The BG News 11.19.14

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THE BG NEWS ESTABLISHED 1920 | An independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

VOLUME 94, ISSUE 38

Flu shots important for student health

Myths surround vaccines

Grounds for Celebration

By Annie Furia Copy Chief

During the influenza [flu] season, University students are faced with the decision of whether or not to get flu vaccinations. Betty DeSilvio, nurse specialist at the Falcon Health Center, said getting a flu vaccine is extremely important. “To keep yourself well, getting an annual flu shot should be right there with getting enough sleep, exercising and eating the right foods,” DeSilvio said. “It should just become part of your wellness routine every fall.” Director of Wellness Faith Yingling said the flu is “a serious disease” and college students may face a high risk of coming into contact with it. “If people are living in residence halls and living in close proximity to one another, there’s a higher chance that infections ... and other kinds of colds and viruses can be spread more easily,” Yingling said. Fifth-year senior Brad Spettel said he was planning on getting a flu vaccine. “I’ve taken them in the past and I haven’t had the flu in a few years,” he said. Junior Olivia Schmidt said she isn’t getting vaccinated because she is scared of needles. Some people may also be wary of getting the flu vaccine because there are some risks associated with it. “The only risks would be those

WWW.BGNEWS.COM

Popular downtown business hits 25-year milestone By Natasha Ivery Reporter

FACTS FOR THOUGHT

There’s a reason Grounds for Thought has lasted 25 years. Below are some facts about the store.

■■ Grounds for Thought

has more than 50 coffee flavors. ■■ Hot chocolate is the most popular menu item, with more than 10 flavors. ■■ When Grounds first opened in 1989, it occupied a 1,000-square-foot space. Now the store is 8,000-square-feet with a full bookstore. ■■ Over a quarter of a million books, films, comics and records call the store home, most of which are pre-owned.

One of Bowling Green’s oldest coffee shops turned 25 on Nov. 15. Grounds for Thought celebrated the milestone this past Saturday with a small concert. Owner Kelly Wicks said that Grounds for Thought is a community place for everyone from students to faculty. “Grounds is a place where everyone in the community can be comfortable, just relax and enjoy the atmosphere; whether that be a book group, poetry group,” Wicks said. “It’s a very chill place.” Grounds for Thought as a business is family-owned and run, he said. “My wife Laura and I are business partners,” he said. “We’ve been married for 53 years and my mom is one of the co-founders of the store. My daughter is a junior in high school and helps out whenever she can, and my son is a sophomore in the College of Music and helps out in the store as well. So it’s truly a family affair in the sense.” Grounds for Thought has experienced some significant changes since their

See COFFEE | Page 2

See SHOTS | Page 2

Directors to be absent from new Greek housing

CITY

BRIEF

Grounds for Thought owner to run for mayor

Kelly Wicks, owner of Grounds for Thought, announced last week that he will run for mayor against Richard Edwards in the 2015 election. This will be the first contested race for Bowling Green mayor in 16 years. Wicks, a Democrat, previously ran and lost the 2012 race for the Ohio House of Representatives. Last year he had to decide whether to run again or pursue a different path. He decided to run for mayor. If elected mayor, Wicks said he will dedicate his time to the position. His wife, Laura Wicks, would take over most of the duties at Grounds for Thought. During the past several decades, Wicks said the mayor’s position has been part-time, but he wants to face the city’s challenges in a “full-time fashion.” “I think with my experience as a small business owner here and the effort I’ve put into downtown Bowling Green over the last two decades just puts me in a good position to try to bring the city together and do good things,” Wicks said. Wicks said he will use social media and will get out into the community during his campaign. He said he usually attends events in the city and at the University so it won’t be a change for him to mingle with voters. Wicks will also be in Grounds for Thought to do some “retail politics” and get involved with the community. He wants to bring his campaign technique to the job if he becomes mayor. Wicks wants to focus on bringing everyone together and focus on things people agree on rather than differences. “By bringing people together, those are the ways that we tackle the issues that we face and try to solve them together,” he said. “I’m tremendously excited about the possibility of being the mayor of this town. I would dedicate all my time and skill to trying to do a good job.”

AN AMERICAN NARRATIVE

Fraternities, sororities to possibly see more internal staffing for new homes By Annie Furia Copy Chief

One more change that will come with the new Greek housing is that Greek House Directors will no longer staff the houses. This decision came about because the Office of Residence Life felt the housing director program had many issues. “The Greek House Director model ... was very inefficient and expensive and did not allow chapters to do their own chapter development,” Director of Residence Life Sarah Waters said. Victor Senn, president of the Interfraternity Council, sees the change as a chance to improve. “This gives us some opportunities to further involve our alumni,” Senn said. One of the roles of the house directors was advising, he said, but now fraternities and sororities are looking to fill that role with alumni. Associate Dean of Students Chris Bullins wrote in an email that

some of the duties for Greek House Directors were to provide advisory support for things like recruitment and service and “respond to and document in a timely manner crises and misconduct that may occur in the chapter house.” Other duties included assisting in check-in and checkout procedures for students living in the houses and performing fire drills and health and safety inspections. Bullins added that “the old houses did have a dedicated efficiency apartment for a graduate student to reside in and serve as the Greek House Director.” However, both the directors and their apartments are absent from the new units. “We will not have Greek House Directors in the new units,” Waters said, “so there is no efficiency apartment built into those ... the way there were in the preceding homes.” Waters said there is no set staffing plan for the housing yet, but a plan is in development.

BG TAKES ON UT BG prepares to take on rival Toledo in a mid-week conference game. The players are looking to put past games behind them. Read more in Sports | PAGE 3

H USING

FAIR

2014

“There will be a staffing presence in the Greek housing,” she said. “We are working on models right now to look at how to best meet the staffing needs.” Without the apartment space for staff, the question has arisen of whether the number of beds available for members of the chapter will decrease to accommodate staff. Waters said staffing plans haven’t been finalized at this point. “There would be 18 people living in [an 18-bed] house,” she said. Senn said that besides using alumni as advisors, the Office of Campus Activities and Fraternity and Sorority Life have also worked with the Greek community to put together a new advising model. “Fraternity and sorority presidents meet with either a graduate student or a coordinator from Fraternity and Sorority Life,” he said. “This meeting gives them all of the information, contact, advice or whatnot that the

See GREEK | Page 2

ERIC BURGASSER | THE BG NEWS

BARBARA MAUTER reads from Native American Narratives Tuesday afternoon as part of the Native American Academic and Research Presentation Series in room 314 of the Union.

SHOPPING ON THANKSGIVING Pulse Editor Kathryne Rubright talks about how you should be respectful to employees when shopping during the holidays. She also suggests that you refrain from shopping on Thanksgiving Day entirely. | PAGE 5

Get all your questions answered about living off-campus next year!

DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET A FLU SHOT? “No, because you can still get the flu even if you have gotten the flu shot.” A’Davius Chambers Sophomore, Accounting

TODAY!

10am – 2pm OLSCAMP HALL Room 101 ®


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The BG News 11.19.14 by BG Falcon Media - Issuu