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Wednesday, February 25, 2015
VOLUME 94, ISSUE 70
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Classroom Olympics innovates
Firelands celebrates anniversary
Huron campus ushers in 50th birthday
New ways to engage students presented
By Lindsey Meyer Reporter
By Kelly Savela Reporter
The first ever Active Learning Classroom Olympics proved to be both beneficial and successful for the Center for Faculty Excellence. The Center for Faculty Excellence hosted their first classroom Olympics this past Friday where half a dozen instructors were able to present. Instructors were given ten minutes to demonstrate their classroom initiatives to a panel of judges and fellow colleagues. A professor initially developed the idea of White Board Olympics and the idea expanded from there. “Because of the new active learning classrooms, we really want to place an emphasis in how faculty can engage the students,” said Karen Harris, assistant director of the Center for Faculty Excellence. The Center for Faculty Excellence invited faculty members to partake in this event where their creative ideas could be shown to other faculty members. The panel of judges, consisting of Paul Cesarini, Susan Kleine and Jodi Haney, gave special recognition to the three presentations that they deemed the most engaging for the benefit of the student. There were faculty members ranging from General Studies Writing courses to American Cultural Studies who partook in this event. A Food and Nutrition instructor showed in one of their courses students didn’t use textbooks but read and reviewed scholarly articles in small groups during class time. Another presented an activity in which students wrote down five things on notecards they would put
Breaking Stereotypes
ERIC BURGASSER | THE BG NEWS
Panel discusses minority discrimination By Natasha Ivery Reporter
We often look at people and determine specific details about them, like their sexuality or favorite drink or how smart they are without ever saying a word, judging them on how they look. Graduate Student Senate, in conjuction with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and International Student Services, hosted a panel Tuesday afternoon to get to the root of these misconceptions. “Breaking Stereotypes: Who I Am and Who You Think I Am” was facilitated by Dinah Tetteh, a Graduate Assistant in the School of Media and Communications. The panel featured graduate assistant students and faculty members. The panel shared personal stories and experiences of discrimination and stereotyping, followed by a slideshow addressing the misconceptions of certain minority groups and personalities ERIC BURGASSER | THE BG NEWS
See STEREOTYPES | Page 5
Graduate Assistant in the School of Media and Communication Dinah Tetteh, pictured above, facilitated the “Breaking Stereotypes” discussion.
Panelists
Chris Valentino
Grad Assistant, Office of Residence Life
Martha Nyce
Grad Assistant, Department of Arts Village
Keenan Colquitt
Grad Assistant, School of Intervention Services
Tobias Spears
Assistant Director, LGBT Resource Center
Maryam Kamran
Grad Assistant, Department of Biological Science
BGSU Firelands campus is celebrating its 50 th anniversary this upcoming August. A lot has been done to plan for honoring this anniversary and the school is highlighting its accomplishments through the past five decades. The Firelands campus is located in Huron, Ohio, next to the shores of Lake Erie. Dean Schnurr, director of Marketing & Community Relations at the Firelands Campus, said the anniversary date for Firelands is based on the day the University’s Board of Trustees approved the request for a full time branch campus in Sandusky; this date is Nov. 19, 1965. In June of 1968, students began attending classes; the first class held about 600 individuals, Schnurr said. Over the years the campus has received students from all around the Sandusky area and it now has about 24,000 students. According to the Firelands website, the campus will be hosting many events, activities and promotional opportunities to recognize everything the campus has done in the past 50 years. Schnurr said the three main events that will occur are an awards celebration to honor those who are important to the Firelands campus and history, a ribbon cutting and grand opening of the new Allied Health and Sciences’ Project Expansion and a community celebration which will occur in April of 2016. The awards celebration for the 50 th anniversary is being hosted by the Anniversary Award Committee. As said on the Firelands calendar website, the committee is currently
See OLYMPICS | Page 5
CAMPUS BRIEFS
USG passes resolution opposing Ohio Bill 4
A resolution was proposed at Monday’s Undergraduate Student Government meeting opposing Ohio Senate Bill 4, which would require Ohio public universities to cut tuition by five percent. If passed in its current draft, the bill would require universities to lower their tuition by the 2016-2017 school year.
See FIRELANDS | Page 5 The decrease in tuition would severely lower the University’s budget which could result in cuts to certain programs and services on campus, said Internal Affairs Chair Jeff Devereaux. There would be no financial assistance at the federal or state level, said President Brian Kochheiser. “The real issue here is the lack of investment from the state,” Kochheiser said. TOMS Campus Club President Rodrigo Patterson presented his organization’s plans to host a live Trivia Crack event to take place March 5 in Olscamp Hall room 117 at 7:30 p.m.
Entering a team costs $8 per team. The money raised from the event will go to the charity or philanthropy of the winner’s choice. “It’s all about giving back to our community and bettering our students as a whole,” Patterson said. USG Speaker Kasie Durkit addressed the opinion piece that ran in The BG News on Feb. 12. The author of the column said USG is largely ineffectual and needs drastic reform in order to be able to affect meaningful change on campus. Durkit cited the perceived harsh language in the column and urged USG members to ignore it. “That’s the best response you can have,” she said.
Fifty Shades of Reality
Author gives talk about finding inspiration in everday life Rebecca Solnit
By Carlye Pollack Reporter
Rebecca Solnit, spoke of her writing career and the inspiration behind her works to students, faculty and guests on Monday evening. As an award winning independent writer, cultural historian, art critic, public intellectual and political activist, she also read passages from her books and gave audience members the opportunity to ask questions at the end. Solnit knew at a young age
Writer, art critic and historian that she wanted to become enriched in literature. Starting out as a journalist, Solnit soon realized she was set out to be an essayist. She had a thirst for “voice,” f lexibility and a meandering style, she said. At the age of 20 she sold her first book about six artists who
WORKING HARDER THAN BEFORE Forward Richaun Holmes has worked harder than he ever has in his life this season. His mindset has the Falcons in a position to win the MAC Championship. | PAGE 3
were a part of beat culture in the 1950’s on the West Coast. From there, her career in writing took off, releasing over 16 books. The London Guardian, a newspaper in London, described Solnit as “One of the most magnificent writers of our time.” During the anti-nuclear movement, Solnit visited the Nevada nuclear test site. She said that visit is what taught her how to write. This sparked the political
See SOLNIT | Page 2
AMERICAN SNIPER
EVAN FRY | THE BG NEWS
50 SHADES of Gray is a blockbuster hit, but for those who don’t know about the phenomenon and culture of BDSM sexualities, the Student Wellness Network hosted a panel Tuesday night called 50 Shades of Reality to talk about the book and healthy sex lives with BDSM.
Guest Columnist Seth Weber talks about how Chris Kyle’s actions during war were morally wrong. He says that killing shouldn’t be applauded even if it occurred during war. | PAGE 4
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH ONE YEAR’S TUITION? “I would donate the money evenly to campus ministries.” Amir Huggins Sophomore, Business