GE 4 U TODAY | FALCON SCREECH | PA YO ING GG BU ’S AT WH US LD YOU TO
THE BG NEWS
ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
115 Volume 104, Issue 126
www.bgviews.com
Low grades, less involvement leaves students at risk
21 TO FIGHT FOR
By Angela Green Reporter
Equality BG fights for protection for 21 groups with anti-discrimination legislation By Alaina Buzas Senior Reporter
November. “We want one collective group branching out as a well-oiled machine,” Koob said. As of now, the upcoming meetings will likely be ocal Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender (LGBT) group, Equality BG, met Sunday to prepare bi-monthly and are not open to the public. City Council member John Zanfardino, who once again to rally support for an anti-dishelped get the ordinances on the council’s table last crimination ordinance in the city. After the ordinance was passed by City Council August, said the student body will likely be targeted last August, those opposed to the legislation suc- by organizers. “It will be interesting to see how word can be cessfully petitioned to have it paused. The legislation will now appear on November’s ballot for a gotten out,” he said. “It wouldn’t be unusual for students to not know the ordinance existed.” public vote. Vision plans to be involved in educating the camEquality BG held their first organization meeting on Sunday, March 28 at Grounds For Thought coffee pus community about the ordinance. Koob said the group will be working on spreading the word shop in downtown Bowling Green. Rob Koob, president of the University’s LGBT about the ordinance and registering voters before group, Vision, said the meeting was a success. November. According to Koob, the meeting was spent stratSee LEGISLATION | Page 2 egizing how to spread information throughout the campus and the city about the issue and vote in
L
Cesar Chavez blood drive raises awareness of Latino actvisim Cesar Chavez
By Christie Kerner Reporter
A national event will bring recognition to the University’s work with Latino students and raise awareness about the activist Cesar E. Chavez. The National Cesar E. Chavez Blood Drive Challenge will take place for the first time at the University from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in the Union Ballroom. Over 100 Universities will participate in the national competition, with Bowling Green State University and Ohio State University representing the state of Ohio. “The main purpose [of the event] is to save lives and raise awareness about Chavez and what he did,” aid Samantha
Latino activist
Pena, vice president of the Latino Student Union. Bowling Green Mayor John Quinn will speak at Wednesday’s event at noon, as well as the former Chairman of Ohio Latino Affairs, Richard Romero. As a student in the late 1970s, Romero was surprised about the small percentage of Latino students at the University when he and a group of students decided to protest the University. The protest would make national news. “Students took over the
CAMPUS
President’s office,” Romero said. “I left the protest to perform in a play, and when I came back they [the students] were already arrested.” Chavez sent a lawyer to represent the students at the trial. “There’s a tie with Cesar Chavez and Bowling Green State University,” Romero said. “He reached out to many Latino students in the 70s, and we were one of the groups he reached out to.” As a result, administrators met with students to put together an event to aggressively bring more Latino students to the University. “It went from one extreme to another,” Romero said. “As a state commissioner, I gave an award to BGSU for having one of the largest percentages of Latino students by any state
Freddie tests students smarts
FORUM Wars limit Americans’ freedom
Students test their knowledge about the University against Freddie Falcon in a “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” style trivia battle | Page 3
Columnist Mike Thurau argues all of us are involved in the nation’s current wars, but does not believe participation in warfare should be included in a definition of what is “normal” for Americans | Page 4
university in Ohio.” Quinn will present President Carol Cartwright and the University with the award for the University’s work with Latino students in retention, student programming and more. March 31 will also be proclaimed Cesar Chavez Day in Bowling Green. Chavez was forced to quit school in the 8th grade when his father lost his ability to work. While working to support his family he learned about the injustice and bad treatment of farm workers. “I met him personally and I was extremely impressed with his non-violent approach to justice,” Romero said. Students planning the blood
See BLOOD | Page 10
Students who are at risk are of great concern to the University. “At risk” is the University’s term for those students who are more likely to not return to school. There are many different factors that could cause a student to become at risk. Barb Henry, assistant vice president for advising and academic success, said there are social, personal and academic factors. She said students can be at risk if they have a low GPA or ACT score, if the University is a long distance from their home, if a family member is ill or if they do not join any campus organizations. The University’s institutional research department has students complete a new student transition questionnaire every year to look at these factors. “This typically identifies 300 to 500 new students who are at risk of not returning to college,” said Bill Knight, assistant vice president for planning and accountability and professional associate in the institutional research department. The department has been doing these questionnaires since 1998 and, based on responses and GPA, they can develop an at risk scale. Students at the bottom third of the scale are considered at risk. The University tries to help students who are at risk, particularly those who do not have good academic standing, based
“This typically identifies 300 to 500 new students who are at risk of not returning to college.” Bill Knight | Institutional Research on their GPA. Linda Swaisgood, director of undergraduate services in the College of Technology, said the college has an intensive intervention system for students who are on academic warning, on probation or have been reinstated. “Students sign a success contract and meet with an academic adviser once a month until they get back onto good academic standing,” Swaisgood said. Swaisgood said of the approximately 220 new students who entered the college in the fall, 26 are on academic probation and 20 are on academic warning. This semester is the first that the college is also requiring at risk students to attend at least one of the University’s First Year Success Series workshops. Assistant Dean of Students Andrew Alt said the University started the series five years ago to provide transition assistance to first-year students. The workshops help students learn about study skills, leadership and time management and also offers tutoring. “We had about half of our first year class attend at least one this
See RISK | Page 2
Organization prepares Passover meal for students Hillel brings traditional meal to student’s second home By Ryan Bort Reporter
For Jewish students on campus, today marks Passover, an event that symbolizes the Jewish People’s exodus from Egypt. The holiday started Monday at sundown and will last until sundown of next Monday. Many Jewish students on campus are unable to spend the holiday at home, so Hillel, the on-campus Jewish organization, is bringing the celebration to students. The group will be putting on a Seder meal on Wednesday. This meal is an annual event for Hillel, in which they eat traditional Passover foods, including unleavened bread, matzo ball soup, salad, fish and a vegetarian dish, all provided by dining services. According to Rachel Rosenthal, treasurer of Hillel, matzo ball soup is a staple of Seder meals and said it is similar to chicken and dumpling soup. “For Jewish people, you are used to being home during this time, but because it’s a weekday, you can’t really go home,” Rosenthal said. “So we want to provide a nice home away from home experience for people.” The executive board of Hillel is trying to make the dinner a traditional Seder meal and spent approximately $500
SPORTS Golfer takes first at Classic Golfer Matt Schneider won the Ball State University Cardinal Classic last weekend to pace the falcons to a second place finish | Page 6
of their budget on the dinner because of its significance to their faith, Rosenthal said. Hillel is expecting 30 to 40 people to attend the event, said Dan Lubin, president of Hillel. “Because of limited food and space, the event is kind of by invite only, but we also wanted to invite people of other faiths,” Lubin said. “So all the members of Hillel are invited, as well as some people from other religious organizations on campus.” Ashley Berman, vice president of education and religion of Hillel, said the event would be beneficial of people of all faiths to attend. “ We’d re a l l y l i ke it to be a lea r n i ng ex per ience for people to lea r n more a b ou t Je w i s h h i s t or y,” Ber ma n sa id. Students who attend the event will get a different experience with their meal. “During the dinner, we tell a story,” Rosenthal said. “You eat a specific thing and learn the symbolism of it. Everything is part of the story and you can’t eat something until you get that part of the story.” The dinner will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Business Administration Building room 117. For more information, contact Ashley Berman at bermana@bgsu.edu.
PEOPLE ON THE STREET What would you bring if you had to travel in the dessert for 40 years? LAURA CAMMARN Sophomore, Music Education
“My dog, Eskimo.” | Page 4
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