2007-11-08

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THE BG NEWS

ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community

Thursday

November 8, 2007 Volume 102, Issue 58

CAMPUS

WWW.BGNEWS.COM

Learning about predominantly black colleges Students attended a NAACP seminar about the pros and cons of attending a race-based institution | Page 3

FORUM

R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Writer’s Guild Late-night shows are feeling the brunt of the recent strike without writers to craft jokes, but a little support is in order | Page 4

WORLD

Archivist credited with amplifying the University’s recordings to more than

Big possibilities for AlertBG Beyond emergency purposes, it could be tailored to students’ needs for class cancellations, meetings and upcoming events | Page 4

Afghanistan death toll count rises to 60 Suicide blast targeting lawmakers and children becomes the deadliest attack since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion | Page 9

Athlete of the Week Alisha Yee’s work ethic for Falcons swimming earned her wins in all of her individual events and MAC recognition this week | Page 7

Rugby team wins Midwest Regional Championship

SPORTS

BGSU’s ‘broken record’: Library boasts largest music collection in U.S.

The team hasn’t earned this title since 1988 and only had four of them in a 27-year span. After beating Northern Iowa and Minnesota, they’re back on top | Page 7

By Kelly Nightingale Reporter

Take one step into Bill Schurk’s office and it’s clear why the University’s sound recording archivist is responsible for making the school’s music library the largest in the country, with more than 700,000 recordings. Everything in his office confirms his passion for music: Hundreds of records clutter his floor, an animated “Dancin’, Shoutin’” James Brown doll, a “Doowop” license plate hanging from his door and vintage band posters line his walls. For the 40 years Schurk has worked in the recording archives, he has lived and breathed popular music. Schurk is chiefly credited for expanding the University’s music collection to the size it is today, and did so by receiving numerous donations and gifts. “To think that I’ve had something to do with every record, every book — it’s neat,” Schurk said. “Before I came here, there was nothing.” Schurk started his library career all the way back in junior high, where he was a page for the Cleveland Public Library. After high school, he went to General Motors Institute, a co-op university where he prepared to be an engineer. His career as an engineer was never fulfilled, however, and his unsatisfactory grades prompted him leave GMI and think about a different career path. Schurk enrolled at the University in 1963 where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in English. He then KELLY NIGHTINGALE | THE BG NEWS went on to Western Reserve RECORDS: Bill Schurk sits in front of his Library School and com- large record collection in his office. pleted a one-year graduate program. Schurk then turned back to BGSU just as the director of the Jerome Library was looking to hire for new positions. After spending the entire interview talking about jazz records, Schurk was offered a job in the music library and has remained there ever since. “I’ve never really had to go job hunting,” Schurk said. In the library, Schurk spends his days selecting and archiving records, books and catalogues to be added to the collection, as well as working the service window. Rebekah Burchfield, a second-year Ph.D student and Schurk’s assistant, said Schurk is great to work with because of his “goofy” sense of humor and personable nature. Burchfield was also impressed with Schurk’s extensive knowledge about popular music, which rivals others’ throughout the country. “The term national treasure is not an exaggeration,” said Burchfield. Jay Grayson, a sophomore who works in the library

WEATHER

PEOPLE ON THE STREET

See RECORDS | Page 2

What’s your all-time favorite album?

ALEXIS HUCKABEE Freshman, Medical Therapy

“ ‘Late Night Special,’ by Pretty Ricky.” | Page 4

TODAY Cloudy High: 50, Low: 34

TOMORROW Cloudy High: 53, Low: 30

Latta edges out Buehrer to take coveted Republican primary By Tim Sampson City Editor

After pulling an all-nighter, State Rep. Bob Latta squeezed out a narrow victory in the Republican primary of the 5th District Congressional special election. With all precincts reporting, results on the Ohio Secretary of State’s Web site showed Latta beat his nearest rival for the nomination, State Sen. Steve Buehrer, by 3.6 percentage points, or 2,649 votes. The candidates were kept up well past midnight on election day. Problems with flood-damaged voting machines in Putnam County delayed reporting of that

county’s results until after 6 a.m. the morning after the election. Latta, who said he only got an hour and a half of sleep on election night, was reluctant to make any statements to the press until formally claiming victory around 6:45 a.m. the morning after. “It would have been presumptuous to claim something while some counties were still out,” Latta said. But all doubt was removed when Buehrer called Latta to leave him a congratulatory voicemail. Latta was talking on another line when the senator called.

See LATTA | Page 2

Professor remembered as passionate, patient role model By Gina Potthoff Assistant Campus Editor

The University lost a teacher, a colleague and a friend with the passing of associate professor Julie Burke last week. Burke, 54, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this semester and died Oct. 31. Burke, who had been at the University for the past 15 years, was the chair of the department of interpersonal communication for the past four years and previously held the positions of interim director of the School of Communication Studies from 1999 to 2001 and graduate coordinator for the department of IPC and mass communication program from 1995 to 1998. “She was superbly professional and passionate about fairness,” said Oliver BoydBarrett, director of the School of Communication Studies. Boyd-Barrett met Burke when he became director two and a half years ago and said he has

“She was superbly professional and passionate about fairness.” Oliver Boyd-Barrett | Director never met anyone so professional and reliable. Anything she said she would do, she did, and did it on time, Boyd-Barrett said. Right before her passing, Burke was presented with the Faculty Distinguished Service Award at a ceremony that took place in her home on Oct. 22. Her nomination involved tributes from Boyd-Barrett, chairs of the departments of the School of Communication Studies, school staff, instructors, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni of the school.

See PROFESSOR | Page 2

TREVOR LEE | THE BG NEWS

DIFFERING VIEWS: Porn star Ron Jeremy and Pastor Craig Gross at the porn debate.

Pastor, porn star square off in adult-film debate on campus By Freddy Hunt Assistant City Editor

Last night in the Union, a debate raged -– the horny vs. the holy, the seedy vs. the sacred, the pervert vs. the preacher. Porn star Ron Jeremy, who has appeared in nearly 9,000 adult videos, and Chris Gross, an anti-porn advocate, argued over the effects of the pornography industry on society. Gross, a pastor who founded xxxchurch.com, an online antiporn ministry, tore into the adult film industry, claiming it is desensitizing to viewers and damaging to relationships. “You’re going to be disappointed with sex, if you aren’t already, because it doesn’t measure up to porn,” Gross said. “Girls on campus can’t compete with porn.”

Although Jeremy agreed that porn is often used for self-gratification, he argued that it could actually strengthen relationships. “It can be used to masturbate — I used to masturbate to Gilligan’s Island,” Jeremy said. “But couples see the movie together, they see half the movie, get up and then go to the bedroom.” The message porn sends to the viewers, Gross believes, is one that degrading women is all right, and with the exception of guyon-guy videos, porn is for men. “Sure, women can make money, Jenna Jameson has something like $14 million,” Gross said. “Women can make money, but

See PORN | Page 2

Chancellor: School plan builds economy Fingerhut travels to Univ. for a Q & A session about future of higher education By Dave Herrera Senior Editor

The chancellor of Ohio’s Board of Regents came to the University yesterday to discuss his plan for higher education’s future in the state. Eric Fingerhut met with administrators and faculty for about an hour to answer questions about his 10-year master plan for the University System of Ohio, an initiative to improve coordination among the state’s public colleges and universities. Fingerhut said the system promotes higher education’s role in building the state’s economy. “This state needs people,” Fingerhut said. “What else is going

Eric Fingerhut Chancellor of Ohio’s Board of Regents, who came to the University to bring people to the state of Ohio if not our public institutions?” Under the USO, schools would work with the chancellor to decide what strengths they want to use to distinguish themselves from other schools in Ohio. Distinguishing schools would provide a chance to market a collective of “world-class” education choices throughout the state, Fingerhut said. He added that the goal would

be to cut back redundancies that lead schools to compete with one another for the same students. The state would expect each school to excel in their chosen fields and state funding would hinge in part on their success. “We want to tell the story of public higher education in the state ... but we also want to plan together,” Fingerhut said. But some faculty still had concerns about the program, such as whether it would mean being forced by the state to eliminate other programs. Fingerhut said the state would not force schools to cut anything.

See FINGERHUT | Page 2

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