THE BG NEWS
AT THE MOVIES
“Girl Gone,” a new film adaptation of a novel, will keep viewers guessing throughout the entire movie and get them talking. Read the review in the Pulse. | PAGE 6
ESTABLISHED 1920 | An independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
VOLUME 94, ISSUE 21
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
WWW.BGNEWS.COM
Faculty member gives students voice Not in Our Town co-chair helps minority community members get representation By Tara Jones Sports Editor
Raymond Plaza wears several hats both within the University and in the Bowling Green community. Plaza came to the University in November of 2012 for a job opening with Not in Our Town after spending 14 years in a similar position at Virginia Tech. The Miami, Fla., native quickly began juggling several positions as he also took on the roles of marketing and public relations with Not in Our Town. In July, Plaza took the role of campus co-chair for the organization. In his position as co-chair, Plaza is responsible for working closely with the University, as well as the community co-chair to ensure that communications between the University and city are made effectively. Plaza is also an advisor to the Latino Student Union on campus and is involved in the Collective, a round table of student organization leaders. He also works in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and is Associate Director of the Falcon Watch Initiative, a program designed to help mostly multicultural students stay on track at the University. With all of his positions, Plaza has made several connections with students on campus. Senior Adriana Darris has worked with Plaza through Not in Our Town, the Latino Student Union and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Darris said through Not in Our Town, she has seen Plaza consistently make sure every voice on campus is heard. “Ray has done a good job of getting in contact and making sure that other people are at the table,” Darris said. “Regardless of what you identify as, if Ray thinks he can do something about it, he will. I think that has a big role when you know that this person isn’t just helping you because you identify as some certain way or because you don’t, but rather because you need his help and he thinks he can help you.” Plaza made it one of his missions to strengthen the tie between Not in Our Town and Call to Action. “Initially there was, I think, this distance between both Not In Our Town and Call to Action,” Plaza said. “It was seen as competition, but in many ways we see ourselves as complimenting the work that we do. We are not against each other, we are working on different things and we can support each other in those ways. That moment in time of student skepticism was a catalyst for us to help grow this movement and
TRAVIS WILLHOITE | THE BG NEWS
Listen and LEARN
ABOVE: Students who are part of the Listening Post course hear out a student in the Union. BELOW: The Listening Post began as a course only, with members meeting in a “talking circle.”
Course emphasizes listening to people rather than responding By Seth Weber City Editor
Students like senior Magen Greer have been listening to students’ problems for class credits. The Listening Post, listed as FCS-4800, is a class devoted to teaching students how to be effective listeners. The class is worth 1-3 credits depending on how many hours of listening are done each week, said Laura Landry-Meyer, associate professor of family and consumer sciences. The first 3-4 weeks of the class are focused on teaching students how to be good listeners, said senior Christina Baldwin, a teaching assistant for the class. Students start at the Listening Post during the fourth week of classes, which is located in the Union next to Starbucks. Landry-Meyer said the goal of the class is for students to learn active listening and “giving the gift of attention.”
See RAY | Page 7
See POST | Page 7
FILE PHOTO
CITY
HEALTHY LIVING
BRIEF Three men arrested in drug trafficking sting
Three men were arrested on Oct. 3 in connection to trafficking drugs. Anthony Vardon, Gabriel Jones and Christopher Romito were arrested and lodged at the Wood County jail. The FBI Violent Crime Task Force and The Wood County Sheriff’s Office assisted city police with the arrest. About a pound of marijuana, $8,000,
prescription pills and a handgun were found at the scene, according to a Bowling Green Police report. The Bowling Green Police Division obtained the items during the execution of a search warrant. Police executed the warrants at three separate locations throughout the day, said Maj. Tony Hetrick of the Bowling Green Police Division. “[It was an] all-day-thing,” he said. “We were out for several hours that day.” The first search occurred on the 200 block of Clough Street, the second was on the 500 block of North Enterprise Street and the third was on the 300
block of South Mercer Road. The police discovered drug activity by conducting a “lengthy investigation,” Hetrick said. With the evidence they had gathered earlier, Hetrick said police were able to put together a case of probable cause to obtain a warrant. The drugs seized most likely came from Michigan, Hetrick said. The way the edibles were “sealed like a product” suggests they came from the state, he said. Although there were three arrests related to the investigation, Hetrick said there is more work to be done. “That was not the end of it,” he said.
Upperclassmen dorms nonexistent Freshmen allowed to stay in any residence hall
By Cassie Sullivan Assistant Managing Editor
ERIC BURGASSER | THE BG NEWS
A MASSAGE is given at the Health Fair in the Union Tuesday. The event was hosted to promote healthy lifestyle.
FALCONS WIN LATE The BG men’s soccer team defeated Cleveland State Tuesday night. Jacob Roth Scored the lone goel in extra time to give BG the 1-0 win. | PAGE 3
As freshmen, some University students look forward to moving into “upperclassmen” residence halls once their first year is complete. But upperclassmen-only residence halls technically don’t exist. “People have perceived and [it] has become known as upperclassmen residence halls, are actually some would call our nicer residence halls,” said Sarah Waters, director of Residence Life. “Upperclassmen have
EBOLA SCARE Columnist Deanna Huffman talks about Ebola and how we need a surgeon general to calm such fears. She says we need to put political agendas aside in order to better the country. | PAGE 4
gravitated to those buildings in their second year.” Waters said one of the reasons is that students are attracted to the suite-style [Founders and Falcon Heights], air conditioning and bigger rooms [Offenhaur]. Part of a strateg y brought to Residence Life by the President’s Office and Student Life asked for freshmen to be put into Falcon Heights this year. “We were asked to look at it by the Presidents’ Of f ice and Student Affairs,” Waters said. “We have a lot of students who in their first years, desire
to live in nicer housing.” This year, about 50 freshmen live in Falcon Heights. While Waters said a distinction between upperclassmen and underclassmen housing doesn’t exist, students do believe there is a distinction in both types of housing, along with the type of communit y freshmen would be living in while in Falcon Heights. Senior Megan Marnien said she lived in Centennial Hall during her freshman year before
See DORMS | Page 7
DO YOU PREFER TO HAVE PEOPLE GIVE YOU ADVICE OR SIMPLY LISTEN TO YOU? “I would rather have people give me advice because you can learn a lot more listening as opposed to talking.” Dorion Lewis Freshman, Undecided