IN HONOR OF THE KING
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated with a day of service. See CAMPUS on PAGE 3 for photos of Monday’s events.
THE BG NEWS ESTABLISHED 1920 | An independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17 , 2012
VOLUME 91, ISSUE 54
WWW.BGNEWS.COM
Union’s 10 year anniversary sparks celebration Festivities to take place throughout week to commemorate history include trivia contest, cake, prizes, scavenger hunt
By Dominic Binkley Reporter
Beginning Tuesday the University will host a week-long series of events in celebration of the BowenThompson Student Union’s tenyear history. The University community will
have the opportunity to participate in activities including a QR code scavenger hunt, a trivia quiz and ice sculpturing at the Union, said Gale Swanka, senior associate director of the Union. Grand prizes throughout the week include a semester of free textbooks, three different tablets,
a one-day parking pass in the gated parking lot outside the Union, a mountain bike and a Segway donated by 7-UP, she said. “It’s partly a way for us to give back to the community and acknowledge that we hope we’re doing good things and we’ll continue to do good things,” she said.
As the third Union in the history of the University, the BowenThompson Student Union marks a transformation from what was once a simple cabin, into what Jill Carr, vice president of student affairs, calls “the living room of the campus.” According to the University web-
site, the first Union on campus was a log cabin constructed in 1941 called the Falcon’s Nest. Because of the rapidly growing student population, the cabin was moved to Portage, Ohio, to create space for
See UNION | Page 2
LOCAL POLITICS
GROUNDS FOR ELECTION Local citizen, business owner runs for Congress By Bryan Warrick Reporter
This year’s upcoming election may have a greater impact for the town of Bowling Green as local business owner and volunteer Kelly Wicks will run for state congress for Wood County this fall.
See WICKS | Page 8
PHOTO BY TYLER STABILE | THE BG NEWS
CAMPUS BRIEF
University tests Canvas during spring semester At the end of the semester, the University’s Blackboard may get erased. This is because the University is conducting a pilot project with the Canvas Learning Management System and ePortfolio tool that could replace the Blackboard LMS. The surveys being conducted this semester involve a representation of faculty, students and staff meant to test the system and provide feedback, according to the Office of the Provost’s page on the University’s website.
The process began this past semester when the pilot participants prepared course materials on the trial system for testing. The pilot LMS features an integrated gradebook, discussion boards, multiple assignment submission options as well as drag-and-drop uploads, HTML5 video and automatic speech-to-text conversion, according to the University’s website. According to the website, the University is conducting the survey as part of an effort to “reenvision the BGSU undergraduate experience.” One new feature from Canvas is integration with social media like Google Documents and Facebook. If the University chooses Canvas, the system will be fully functional by the end of the fall 2013 semester, according to the website.
BGNEWS.COM
@
Photo of the day
Visit our site Tuesday for a photo and specifics about Interfraternity Council Information Night.
Students service community during day off About 40 volunteer sites were active during Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service By Geoff Burns Reporter
Yesterday was a day full of service for the University during Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Many volunteer events took place throughout the city, including a large service called “Martin Luther King Day of Service.” The event began in the Union
where more than 500 volunteers divided into groups. Buses and vans were used as transportation to move every group to their scheduled location throughout the town to do community service. Paul Valdez, assistant director of the Co-Curricular Program, said the buses and vans took volunteer groups to about 40 different community sites.
SPORTS
FORUM
The BG women’s basketball team defeated the Buffalo Bulls 79-59 during an away game Sunday afternoon. | PAGE 6
Phil Schurrer discusses possible misconceptions about First Amendment rights and the rationale behind media censorship. | PAGE 4
Falcons defeat Bulls
Censorship debate continues
“It’s basically about six hours of community service where we bring in all of the students, faculty and staff together and get them fed and excited for the day before they venture off,” Valdez said before the groups left the Union. “Some of the variety of different things that the students will be
See VOLUNTEER | Page 8
How did you celebrate MLK Day? I bought a turtle named Dr. King.
JORDYN TILLMAN Freshman, Business