The Daily Campus: November 9, 2012

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Volume CXIX No. 65

» INSIDE

UConn Greater Hartford Campus to be relocated By Katherine Tibedo Senior Staff Writer

Nikki Glaser delights with sexual humor Another SUBOG comedy hit. FOCUS/ page 5

I WANT YOU Huskies play MSU in Armed Forces Classic. SPORTS/ page 12 EDITORIAL: PUERTO RICO’S PLEBISCITE VOTE IS A HISTORIC MOVEMENT Puerto Rico deserves affirmation by Congress. COMMENTARY/page 8 INSIDE NEWS: STORRS RECEIVES NEW INNOVATION HUB A new public-private partnership will have one of its four hubs in Storrs. NEWS/ page 2

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Friday, November 9, 2012

In the face of rising repair and maintenance costs, the UConn Greater Hartford Campus will be moving from West Hartford to downtown Hartford within a year. “Ensuring that UConn is fully contributing to the life of our capital city is one of my highest priorities.” UConn President Susan Herbst said in a statement Thursday. “Moving the Greater Hartford campus back to the city, where it began and belongs, will better enable the campus to fulfill its academic mission, provide a major boost for downtown Hartford and save the university millions in the process.” Since UConn is still in negotiations, no specifics have been released on the new location, other than it will be an existing complex. The campus, currently located in West Hartford, is in deteriorating condition. An estimated $18.4 million would be required to bring the buildings up to an acceptable state. Furthermore, updates and repairs need to be made to the technology infrastructure, and the mechanical systems in the three main campus buildings need to be completely replaced. Combined, nearly $25 million would be needed to keep the campus operation-

al, in addition to the $7.2 million spent on continual repairs to the campus over the past four years.

“Ensuring that UConn is fully contributing to the life of our capital city is one of my highest priorities.” -Susan Herbst President of UConn The Greater Hartford campus is home to over 2,100 undergraduates with approximately 60 full-time faculty members. Many of its graduate and undergraduate programs greatly interact with the surrounding environment, and thus are limited by being located outside of the city. The new locations will aid the growth of programs such as initiatives working on K-12 education, and UConn Department of Public Policy’s Master of Public Administration pro-

Photo courtesy of UConn Today

Students walk across the UConn Greater Hartford Campus in West Hartford. The campus is scheduled to be moved from West Hartford to downtown Hartford within a year.

gram, which requires students to complete a professional internship, many of which are located in Hartford. UConn opened a campus in Hartford in 1939. That campus was moved to West Harford in 1970. UConn Media Relations Associate Stephanie Reitz said in an email that the suburban location has held back the development of the

Students support Israel through UConn Political Action Committee By David Wise Campus Correspondent Support for the survival of Israel and its alliance with the United States has renewed its presence at UConn through the UConn Political Action Committee (UPAC). The group introduced its purposes and initiatives about this pertinent subject in a meeting on Oct. 15 and continues to promote democracy and advocate for groups that are frequently discriminated against. President Esti Nof and public relations chief Josh Squire led the interactive session. They promoted the alliance by highlighting similarities between the two countries’ democracies, as well as arguments for Israel’s existence amid growing external threats. After introducing some essential facts about Israel, Nof presented the main focuses of the club. The first is to promote democracy while being impartial. The second is to promote equal rights between commonly discriminated groups, like women and homosexuals. Nof pointed out there are many Christians living in Israel who were formerly persecuted in other areas of the world. The final major focus is the rising threat of Iran wielding nuclear weapons and its refusal of Israel’s right to exist, frightening prospects Israel has to face. Some of the U.S.-Israeli

alliance’s most important assets were presented, such as the fact that Israel has kept a 75 percent return rate of the U.S.’s $3 billion of lent foreign aid. Squire emphasized that both countries have neoliberal interests, holding the belief that if democracies work together, countries are less likely to go to war. Nof said the club’s steps of promotion are leadership and involvement, educating others, attending conferences and being in contact with Congress. She leads a group that seeks to be politically active. “It is common at a meeting to divide between leftists and rightists, and people of different religions, backgrounds and majors,” she said. “We’re not all political science majors, but we’re all politically driven, and I think that is a beautiful thing.” The group sends members to American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy and national conferences. The national conferences are the largest gathering of Israel supporters in the country, held annually in Washington. UPAC tries to maintain involvement with Congress, as they have met with U.S. Rep Joe Courtney (D-2nd District) on Capitol Hill. Students of various majors and backgrounds attended, as the group welcomes all people “with an open mind and passion for leadership,” according to UPAC’s

Facebook page. “I think that this group is like a mold that everyone can put their hands on and add to,” she said. Nof most prided herself on the club’s diversity, evident in the meeting’s seven of 11 non-Jewish attendee turn-out rate, allowing different types of voices to contribute to the group. Attendees’ majors ranged from economics to psychology. A graduate student and the president of UConn College Democrats of America, Molly Rockett, was among the six of 11 attendees currently studying political science. Rockett praised “the nonpartisan aspect of the meeting and the focus on engagement.” “What really fascinated me was the human rights angle,” she said. “I think a lot of people can find common ground.” Sam Kleinman, vice president of Israeli Affairs at UConn Hillel, the organization for on-campus Jewish social life, was also in attendance. “It’s great to see a culmination of people from diverse backgrounds supporting Israel on campus,” he said. “Israel truly has something for everyone.” Nof explained the group invites people in opposition of Israel to come to meetings, consider the information offered and challenge it if necessary.

David.Wise@UConn.edu

campus. In addition, UConn wishes to integrate itself more in Hartford by moving back to the city. By bringing the Greater Hartford Campus back to downtown Hartford, the University believes the campus can achieve its full potential. Herbst said, “The campus was originally intended to offer an urban education near

the seat of state government and there is no better place to accomplish that than in the heart of downtown. This will be a win-win for UConn, our students and the City of Hartford.” The current West Hartford campus will be sold after the completion of the move.

By Brittany M. Bousquet Campus Correspondent

year of work went into preparing UConn to be able to open the Google Apps for Education. Initially the transfer to Google Apps was optional. This transfer started in 2011, and since then, roughly half of UConn’s students have either opted in or have simply been started in Google Apps. The migration is now being mandated for two reasons. The first reason is that the Attorney General had initially required that students opt into Google Apps, according to Josh Boggis, Team Leader of Unified Communications Group. That restriction has now been waived. The second reason the switch is being mandated is because the Huskymail system is antiquated and no longer needs to be running. Smith also said that a replacement system for Huskymail would be costly. With the positive feedback Google Apps has received, it makes sense to consolidate all student email services into Google Apps. “Gmail offers many great benefits,” said Smith. “Large mailboxes, excellent spam filtering, a tagging system and a modern user interface for both the web and mobile devices.” Boggis said he wants students to know about the benefits Google Apps offers. “With Huskymail, there was only mail,” said Boggis. “With Google Apps, students have access to Google Calendar, Google Talk and Google Drive.”

Katherine.Tibedo@UConn.edu

UConn to finalize transition from Huskymail to Gmail

On Dec. 15, students at the University of Connecticut will be mandated to switch from Huskymail to Gmail. The transfer to Google Apps has been in the works for several years “In October 2009, UITS and USG held a joint forum called The Huskymail Sucks Forum where students had an opportunity to voice their concerns with the current Huskymail and their ideas for what a future service should look like,” said Matthew Smith, Linux and Virtualization Team Lead in UITS.

“With GoogleApps, students have access to Google Calendar, Google Talk and Google Drive.” -Josh Boggis Team Leader of Unified Communications Group Because it is a university, UConn had to put out a bid for a new email system. Google was the only company to respond. From there, more than a

Brittany.Bousquet@UConn.edu

What’s on at UConn today... MetroPal.is 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Benton Museum of Art The Benton Art Museum will host the creations of the contemporary artist Shimon Attie.

Women’s Volleyball vs. USF 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Gampel Pavilion UConn will play USF at Gampel Pavilion. Admission is free.

Men’s Hockey vs. Sacred Heart 7:05 p.m. to 10:05 p.m. Freitas Ice Forum

UConn will play Sacred Heart at the Freitas Ice Forum.

Late Night Goes Back To Kindergarten 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Student Union Come to Late Night and spend an evening of kindergarten-themed festivities. There will be karaoke, crayon art and more. -CHRISTIAN FECTEAU


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