THE BG NEWS Wednesday July 30, 2008 Volume 101, Issue 160 WWW.BGNEWS.COM
CAMPUS
Arts, area of pride for Univ.
PULSE
‘Step Brothers’ a step back for Ferrell
FORUM
Real estate executive turned Board of Trustee member Friday to vote in a special session that decided the search firm that best fit the University’s needs. The board decided to pursue a contract with Witt/Kieffer, a Chicago based executive search
The presidential race has become a hot topic on campus, and much of the conversations have centered on Barrack Obama, says columnist Levi Joseph Wonder | Page 4
Mission accomplished
Road to the Olympics U.S. basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski uses exhibition games to determine the best way to use his team during the Olympics | Page 5
If you could go away for a week, where would you go?
KEVIN CROTTE, Grad Student, MBA
“Margaritaville.” | Page 4
TODAY Isolated T-Storms High: 87, Low: 65
TOMORROW Partly Cloudy High: 86, Low: 62
ment due to unfinalized contract details. Doctoral student who Trustee William Primrose, chair of the search committee, was appointed to the believes Witt/Kieffer would Board of Trustees work well with the search committee because of the company’s vast experience. Assuming Witt/Kieffer passes firm that is the eighth largest in the nation and has 17 U.S. reference checks, Primrose said offices, represented on Friday the contract should be finalized by John Thornburgh from their See TRUSTEES | Page 2 Pittsburgh Office. Thornburgh declined com-
By John Lopez Reporter
Addicted to ‘Warcraft’
After spending the summer in New York, columnist Alison Kemp thinks she may have completed her to-do list | Page 4
SPORTS
Gov. Ted Strickland’s appointment of two new University Board of Trustees members has allowed the board and the presidential search committee to begin the journey of finding the University’s next president. Real Estate Executive David Levy and Doctoral Student Antwan Jones joined the Board of Trustees for the first time last
Antwan Jones
McCain, Obama rep., debate at National Forum on Disability Issues
Buzz word: Obama
PEOPLE ON THE STREET
David Levy
Will Ferrell failed to move beyond fluff in his latest film according to film critic Aaron Helfferich | Page 6
“World of Warcraft” has moved beyond a simple online game to become an addiction and way of life for some gamers | Page 6
WEATHER
Firm decided to find president By Scott Recker City Editor
Under Gov. Strickland’s education plan, the University is identifying areas of excellence, arts being the first named | Page 3
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TO THE HILLS!: The Great Smoky Mountains
Freshmen intro course heads to the mountains
The National Forum on Disability Issues converged in Columbus on the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act being signed into law, outlawing discrimination against people with disabilities. PBS moderator Judy Woodruff interviewed presumptive presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, who filled in for Sen. Barack Obama while he was on a European tour. Each candidate took time to outline their plans to secure funding for the disabled, since nearly 32 million people with disabilities are of voting age. Marc Williams, a social worker and disabilities activist of Pickaway County, Ohio, calls people with disabilities the largest American minority. “It is very important for the candidates to work with the disabled because they are becoming a coalition,” Williams said. For Sen. McCain, who was introduced via satellite, capturing the disabled vote may be an uphill climb, as many people with disabilities tend to lean toward the left because of their perceived investment in social programs, such as Social Security Disabilities Income and Medicaid. During his opening statement and interview, McCain tried to clarify his position to the 800 people in attendance and the thousands following via Internet. Sen. Tom Harkin campaigned heavily for the presumptive Democratic nominee. Harkin argued that if Sen. John McCain were to be elected, he could potentially nominate one or two U.S. Supreme Court justices, who in turn could continue to cut funding for disabled people.
By Tony Hunter Reporter
This year, the University is looking to take its introductory freshmen course to a whole new level, literally. For the first time freshmen students will be able to earn academic credit for their UNIV 100 course, a first-year University Success class, while hiking the Appalachian Trial just south of the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. The University is the first and only school in the state to offer such a program. Students will spend a week starting Aug. 2, hiking in the woods, making their own meals and sleeping in tents while participating in different group discussions and activities. Program Director Jerome Gabriel said he was excited to see the reaction from students when he presented the class during freshmen orientation. “It took us nine days to fill the class and a waiting list with little to no promotion ahead of time,” Gabriel said. Interim Director of Sustainability Nick Hennessy will be one of three faculty members traveling with the class. Hennessy said he is interested to see how the different environment will affect students’ engagement with the material presented in the course. “It was highly optional and they are going to really want to be there,” Hennessy said. “I think they will open up a lot more.” Junior Adam Lerma is one of the upperclassmen for the UNIV 100 course and will be a student guide on the trip. Lerma said he is also excited about the trip and hopes to encourage students to get involved while attending classes on campus. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know some of the students,” Lerma said. “I will be encouraging them to study, but I also think being involved and getting to know people has a lot of importance as well.” After the trip, Gabriel said his staff will meet with the class once a month during the school semester and end the course with students creating a promotional video about their experience as a group project. If the course goes well during the test trial year, the staff hopes to use the promotional videos to show other students and extend the class to more freshmen in the following year. “The response has been absolutely tremendous,” Gabriel said. “We are definitely looking for it to grow.”
McCAIN ■
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McCain clarified his stance on the Community Choice Act introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin, which allows persons with disabilities to choose where they live. He said he’s committed to pursuing a model where “the money follows the person,” but he doesn’t support the current legislation because of cost. McCain argued that spending is rampant and has made Congress corrupt. McCain publicly came out in support of ADA Restoration Legislation. “I support the House Bill, and I plan to support a Senate version as well,” McCain said.
HARKIN ■
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Harkin said the Community Choice Act would only cost between $3 and $4 billion, an amount he said is equivalent to about one week’s spending on the war in Iraq. Harkin argued that the American Disabilities Amendment has been weakened by strict interpretations of so called “activist conservative” judges. Harkin praised Senator Obama for his plan to roll out Universal Health Care within two years. Harkin wants to let Social Security Income and Social Security Disabilities Income serve as a safety net while still allowing people to make as much as four times the poverty level without losing their benefits.
Faculty Senate discuss grievances with Univ. By Jessica Spies and Amy Gostkowski The BG News
Nearly 100 University faculty members and staff filled the Gallery in McFall Center last Tuesday for a rare summer Faculty Senate meeting. “I don’t recall having [a meeting] in decades,” said Faculty Senate Secretary Richard Hebein, who has been with the University since 1969. A petition signed by 83 faculty members questioning recent administrative actions was the reason for the meeting. The petition, compiled by faculty, was presented to Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Shirley Baugher on June 16. It contained 11 points of concern including faculty, staff and student issues. The Provost’s office submitted a response to the petition with detailed answers a month later. The senate meeting was the first time these issues were addressed by the administration and faculty face-toface. The first question regarded the administration’s creation of several ad-hoc committees without the consent of the senate or its established committees. Ad-hoc committees are usually created for a specific purpose and are disbanded once the task has been completed. Baugher addressed the senate’s concerns by identifying several “task forces” or ad-hocs that were called into question in the petition, and explained that they were not official committees but “informal groups.” The faculty have been dissatisfied with the “fancy footwork” on behalf of the administration, meaning they have not been following the academic charter as closely as they should, said senator and geology professor James Evans. “The academic charter makes it extremely clear that ad-hoc university committees are to be staffed by the Faculty Senate through a procedure which is detailed involving the forming of committees,” Evans said. The academic charter states that if a standing senate committee cannot meet the needs of a certain task, the senate
See FACULTY | Page 2
See FORUM | Page 2
Stormy weather washes away public pool profits By Jessica Spies Reporter
Attendance at public pools in Northwest Ohio has been down due to cool temperatures and storms, which means those pool profits are taking a downfall. Northwest Ohio has experienced several days of thunderstorms, cool temperatures and even tornadoes in the Findlay area. This type of weather has been responsible for the slow start to the swim INFO PROVIDED BY JOE CAMP, COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF MAUMEE season, reflected by the low A DIP IN THE POOL: This bar graph displays the attendance numbers of swimmers at attendance numbers. Maumee Rolf Park Pool. At the Bowling Green Family Aquatic Complex, pool attenLast year about 4,500 people ture falls below 70 degrees. This dance levels are down about came during the first full seven is similar for the other pools, 22 percent from last year, said weeks of the pool’s opening but some are not heated, which Josh Chatfield, fitness/aquat- and now the number is down makes for more early closings. In past summers, Maumee’s ics manager of the Bowling to about 3,500, Chatfield said. Green Parks and Recreation The heated Bowling Green Rolf Park Pool has been closed pool closes if the air tempera- one or two days out of the Department.
entire season. But this year they closed five days during the first five weeks of being open. Business has been down at the Maumee pool this year but not as bad it could be, said Joe Camp, commissioner of public service for the city of Maumee. For the first five weeks of business, the pool admitted 7,249 people in 2008, a 40 percent decrease from 12,206 in 2007. Since 2005, 2008 has had the lowest attendance, with an average of 35 percent decrease from each year. At Findlay’s Riverside Pool, Jeremy Horne, pool manager, said he noticed this type of weather has affected pool membership. “Business has been different
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