THE BG NEWS Tuesday
Prospective music students get a taste of BGSU
October 16, 2007 Volume 102, Issue 40 WWW.BGNEWS.COM
Disease is easily spread in residence halls
CAMPUS
ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
Students living on campus are six times more likely to contract Meningococcal disease | Page 3
Laptops reported stolen on campus Campus police have received at least seven reports about laptops being stolen from residence halls, the library, and the College of Technology | Page 3
By Tannen Gliatta Reporter
More than 250 high school students considering studying music in college attended the College of Musical Arts’ annual Music Disovery Day yesterday. High school senior Samantha Veltheims came from Cleveland to Music Discovery Day with several friends who are all interested in studying music next
year. “Visiting BG was fun, we got to walk around campus and go into different places like the Recreation Center,” she said. “It helped to give me an idea on what Bowling Green is like.” The group of mostly junior and senior high school students had the chance to sit in on college classes, attend clinics, learn about different careers in music and meet faculty and
Musical Arts, said the college showcased almost all of the programs that are available for students to get involved in. “We want to help students clarify that they still want to major in music and help them find a specific area of study,” Moss said. In addition to learning about what the College of Musical
staff. The all-day event also included performances from the collegiate chorale, Bowling Green Philharmonia and Wind symphony. “The goal of Music Discovery Day is to introduce pre-college students to what studying music is and what life is like at BGSU,” said Richard Kennell, dean of College of Musical Arts. Kathleen Moss, coordinator of admissions in the College of
See MUSIC | Page 2
By Kristen Vasas Reporter
Thrift shop bargains SHOES: $3.00
FORUM
NATION
Colorectal cancer death rates drop Though it remains the No. 2 cancer killer, recent statistics show that deaths resulting from the cancer have been falling since 2002 | Page 9
SWEATERS: $3.50
The U.S. has always consisted of immigrants from around the world says columnist Mwendah M’Mailutha | Page 4
NECKLACES: $1.00
Trying to make peace in the Middle East
WORLD
T-SHIRTS: $0.75
DRESSES: $5.00
Current laws on illegal immigration are unamerican
JACKETS: $5.00 COATS: $10.00 COA
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice travels to the Middle East to help bring peace between Palestinians and Israelis | Page 10
Falcon runner takes first in home invitational
SPORTS
Recording his second fastest collegiate time, Eddie Kipchoge took the individual crown at the Falcon Invitational | Page 7
USG to postpone its new campaign
JEANS: $5.00
Good donors lead to bigger Goodwill By Hannah Sparling Reporter
Bowling Green thrifters will get a bigger, better Goodwill starting tomorrow. The North Main Street store, which was recently renovated, will open its doors at 9 a.m. Goodwill closed in the middle of August to allow workers time to make the new additions, said Amy Wachob, vice president of retail.
For about eight weeks, the store was moved to a smaller space in the back of the shopping center where it is located. Now it will return to its original location. More space — approximately 2,500 square feet of it — was added to one side of the store to be used as part of the sales floor. This will make room for more items. On the opposite side of the store, 8,400 square
feet was added. This new space will be used partially as a donations area. The reasoning for adding a separate area for donations was because of growth in the business, Wachob said. “Donations have increased so much that we wanted to offer the donor a separate area,” she said.
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See GOODWILL | Page 2
Goodwill is located at 1085 N. Main St. in downtown Bowling Green Opening day is Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. Ribbon cutting ceremonies will take place on Oct. 22 at 9 a.m. Goodwill has added a total of 10,900 square feet. New features will include: a larger sales floor wider aisles a larger selection of goods a training center for individuals with employment needs a separate donations area
The Undergraduate Student Government’s new communication plan was the focus of last night’s general assembly meeting. President Johnnie Lewis said the plan would go into effect this Monday, a week later than originally expected. “This week was originally supposed to be the kick-off week,” he said. “But due to a number of concerns and misunderstandings, it’s been pushed back in order to ensure clarification.” One of the main goals of the communication plan discussed among the student government was the “Got Issues” boxes. The boxes, which will be placed in residence halls around campus as well as in Olscamp, will offer students a chance to voice their concerns. The boxes will be checked once a week and issues from them will be discussed at general assembly meetings. “We want to make them cute, make them stand-out and make them noticeable,” Vice President Nick Gamero said. “One idea is to put shoes at the bottom of the boxes and make them look like they have feet. It will say something along the lines of them being our little campus communicators that walk the issues to us.” Gamero also plans to have the box in Olscamp appear different than the others. “It will be in the shape of a bottle and will say something like ‘don’t keep your issues all bottled up’,” Gamero said. “People may think it’s dumb or lame, but if we show that [USG] cares, then [students] will start to care too.” Along with the addition of the boxes, USG has also created a new logo. “Our old one was out of use,” Speaker Jeremy Lehman said. “I saw the logo recently and I know it’s going to be good.” The logo will be available to students next week. USG’s Web site has also received an upgrade thanks to the focus on communication. The Web site will contain executive blogs that will be available to students. “It’s just a click away from being uploaded,” Lewis said. Along with the number of improvements and renova-
PHOTO BY BRIAN BORNHOEFT | THE BG NEWS
WEATHER
PEOPLE ON THE STREET
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY CARRIE CRANE | THE BG NEWS
What’s the best thing you’ve ever bought at a thrift store?
Students join in celebration of Saudi National Day By Amy Dillon Reporter
NATALIE LONGER Freshman Undecided
“A Marilyn Monroe Halloween costume.” | Page 4
TODAY T-Showers High: 67, Low: 54
TOMORROW Partly Cloudy High: 74, Low: 56
See USG | Page 2
Last night people of all nationalities gathered in the Student Union to celebrate Saudi National Day with the newly created Saudi Student Organization. FeiFei Kong, a grad student from China studying statistics, was prompted by fliers around campus to come experience the Saudi National Day celebration. It’s no surprise, however, that a majority of the attendants at the celebration were members of the Saudi Student Organization as there are more than 50 international students from Saudi Arabia on campus. Saudi National Day is a patriotic holiday where Saudis inform others about their culture and celebrate the establishment of Saudi Arabia, graduate student Esmail Alsalen said.
The overall message of the evening was to educate other students about Saudi culture and clear up any misconceptions. Students were able to sample two kinds of dates and Arab coffee while they viewed pictures of Saudi Arabian leaders and landscapes before the entertainment began. “We give American people an idea about our culture because [many] of them have bad ideas about it, especially about Islam,” Alsalen said. Last night’s festivities included traditional Saudi music, food, dancing and dress. The male Saudi students wore traditional long white gowns called Thobs and a red-and-white headdresses called Shmaghs with black rings called Egals. The traditional Arab song “Jet Assa’al An Al Halah” (“I Came Here to Ask About You”), was played with an Arab guitar
called the Oaar. Meanwhile, two people performed a dance with a gold sword called the Samera on stage and audience members clapped to the beat. Chicken and rice dishes, salad, hummus and the Arab desert Baqlow were served buffet style although according to Alsalen, “[On Saudi National Day,] we all eat together from the same plate with our hands.” Omar Bafakeen traveled from Case Western Reserve University to speak about his experiences as a Saudi student in America. “Some [Saudi students] complain about security [in airports] and when I came here at first it made me upset,” Bafakeen said. “Then I realized it’s a good thing because I live in this country too and I want to be safe.” Freshman Sahar Sewaid, who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia gave a speech about
ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS
ARAB MUSIC: Members of a music group perform folk music for a crowd at Saudi Night.
the status of women in Saudi Arabia. Sewaid gave her speech to clear up the misconception that women living in Saudi Arabia don’t have the same rights as men. “It’s true that women are
restricted in careers but they have important positions in the community,” said Sewaid. She added that women from Saudi
See CELEBRATE | Page 2
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