NEWS | THE COLLEGIAN
DECEMBER 1, 2011
Former professor Riley dies at age of 93 By CHASE HERNANDEZ Staff writer
Dr. James Stewart Riley, a founding member of the board of trustees and a former University professor who taught religion and philosophy, died on Nov. 21 at his home in Sugar Land after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 93. R i l e y graduated from Union University Riley in Jackson, Tenn., in 1939 and later enrolled in the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth where he received a master’s degree and doctorate in theology. He met his wife, Margaret Cansler, while pastoring in Memphis, Tenn., and would marry her in 1942. After his graduation from SBTS, Riley pastored at First Baptist Churches in Caddo Mills, Wills Point and Paris, Texas. In 1956, he became the pastor at Second Baptist Church in Houston, now led by Dr. Ed Young. While at Second Baptist, Riley helped the church relocate from the downtown area to its present site on Woodway and led efforts to build educational, recreational and worship facilities. In 1960, the Baptist General Convention of Texas appointed Riley and several others to the founding board of trustees for the University, then known as Houston Baptist College. He also led the board of trustee committee tasked with locating the first president for the University. The committee eventually brought in Dr. William H. Hinton, who took the position in 1962. Riley retired from Second Baptist in 1976 and became a professor at the University, where he taught religion and philosophy and served as faculty adviser for the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity until his retirement in 1988. While teaching at the University, Riley served as an interim pastor and was invited to preach at many local churches to promote harmony between different denominations. Until his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 1999, he continued to teach a men’s Bible class at South Main Baptist Church in downtown Houston, where he also served as a deacon and interim associate pastor. His students honored him on his 92nd birthday by giving him a title as “a master scholar, an expositor of scripture, pastor, professor and teller of 1,001 humorous stories.” Riley is survived by his wife; sons James Jr. and Jay; daughters Jan and Jeanne; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Services for Riley were held Nov. 26 at South Main Baptist Church. He was buried at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery.
5
Police investigate campus burglary By AYLA SYED News editor
The University Police Department recently filed arrest warrants as part of its investigation involving three suspects who allegedly stole thousands of dollars of electronics from a Husky Village apartment. The three individuals, described as African American males, two in their late teens and one in his 50s, stole two plasma TVs, a personal TV, two laptops and an iPhone after entering through the unlocked door of seniors Simone Greenleaf and Shirolacille Holloway’s on-campus apartment. Police were able to recover the 42-inch plasma TV and the MacBook but have not yet located the other items. Charles Miller, University Police chief, said the investigation is still ongoing and that he hopes to make arrests soon. “It should be pretty easy to arrest the suspects now that we have
CSG:
their information,” he said. Greenleaf said the crime must have occurred during a 50-minute period around 3 p.m. on Nov. 5 when she left campus to get food. She returned to find that her bedroom door had been pried open and her Macbook, personal TV and iPhone stolen. “I just feel violated,” said Greenleaf, who had schoolwork saved on her MacBook. “This is my fourth year here, and I have never had a problem. The cops do a good job of making us feel safe, but there is a whole other world outside of those gates.” Police were able to identify the men after more than a week’s worth of groundwork and with the help a program called LeadsOnline, which allows them to search sales made to local pawnshops by using the serial numbers of missing items or the name of a suspect. Pawnshops must provide the state with a daily list of all merchandise
received and the corresponding serial numbers of the items so law enforcement officers can compare the serial numbers against records of stolen merchandise, according to the Texas Pawnshop Act of 1997. Officer Jason Colon tracked down the serial number for the 42inch TV by spending hours communicating with the Walmart from which Holloway had purchased the TV. Police used the TV’s serial number to track it down to a Houston-area Cash America pawnshop, where they also recovered the Macbook. One of the robbers had provided his driver’s license number when he sold the items, and University officers used that information to file the first arrest warrant. The officers went through the store’s surveillance footage from the day the items were sold and captured still photographs of the other suspects. One of Holloway’s friends was
able to identify two of the men. Holloway said she once allowed a friend to briefly bring one of the men to her apartment when she was not there and that she thinks he took notice of her belongings at that time. “You can’t just let anyone into your apartment,” she said. “I will most definitely lock my doors from now on. We never used to lock our doors because we did not expect anything like this to happen.” There were 11 incidences of theft and larceny in residential area reported in the University’s 2010 crime statistics. More than 30 percent of the nation’s burglaries in 2010 were classified as unlawful entry, or crimes that do not involve forceful entry, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime report. Miller said most on-campus crimes could be prevented if people locked their doors. “That’s the most important thing you could do,” he said. “Just lock your door.”
Grant part of broad effort to reduce costs
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number of other initiatives designed to help students fund their college education. “This is part of a plan to help students financially,” he said, adding that lower housing prices and the meal plan structure overhaul are included in this effort. Seniors with 90 or more credit hours by the conclusion of the summer term will receive a grant of $1,300, which means their tuition will be $23,945 for the coming academic year, according to data provided by Sandy Mooney, vice president for financial operations. That is 4.82 percent more than their current tuition rate of $22,845, an increase on par with national trends for private nonprofit four-year institutions of higher education. Rising juniors, or those students who have 64 or more credit hours, will receive a grant of $1,000. Their tuition will be $24,245, a 6.13 percent bump from this year’s rate of $22,845. That increase falls short of the $25,245 they would have paid without the grant. Those not receiving the grant include rising sophomores, many of whom received larger aid packages when they first enrolled in the University, and incoming transfer students, who have access to award packages that were also increased in recent years. The University’s tuition for the coming academic year is below national levels, even when combined with the increase in fees to $1,350 from $1,300, a 3.84 percent rise. The combined figures, which vary depending on classification, are several thousand dollars less than last year’s national average for private nonprofit four-year institutions, according to the latest report by the College Board. In 2011-12, institutions in this category increased their tuition from $27,265 to $28,500, more than what students currently pay to attend the University and are expected to pay in the coming academic year. The reinstatement of the grant upends the financial equation for
many current students, making college more affordable for those at the University who achieve junior or senior classification in the fall. One such student, junior Joshua Velasquez, said the grant would help him continue his education at the University. “The grant will personally help
me because I really am having trouble financially paying for school,” he said. “This will help my family pay for my school.” Other students voiced their approval of the administration’s decision to continue the grant for rising juniors and seniors. Sophomore Cynthia Calderon
became really excited when she first heard about the continuing student grant. “They’re trying to help students as much as they can, and they are actually listening to what students want and need,” she said. Ayla Syed contributed reporting.
MEAL: New options offer greater
flexibility, lower prices for students
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continuing student grant for rising juniors and seniors. “We feel that these revised rates make our dining options extremely competitive while providing students a great deal of flexibility,” said Sandy Mooney, vice president for financial operations. Freshmen living in residential housing will be able to choose between three of the plans: Pack 19, the 15-65 plan and the Pack 12. Sophomores and upperclassmen living in residential housing without kitchens may select from these three plans as well as the new 9-375 Plan. The first option includes 19 meals per week with $25 in declining balance dollars, or funds that can be utilized at all on-campus eateries. This plan will cost $1,695 per semester, a $145 reduction from this year’s rate. Option two offers students 15 meals per week with a declining balance of $65. The plan will be $105 cheaper than the current pack of 15 meals and includes an additional $5 in declining balance funds. The pack of 12 meals provides the said amount of meals per week with $175 in declining balance, $50 more than the current amount. It is priced at $1,395, a $155 drop over this year’s rate. Students living in apartment-
style units either in the Lake House or Husky Village will have a default five meals per week plan that also provides them with $215 in declining balance, $5 more than they currently receive, but they may select another option if they so desire. Mooney said that this plan may appeal to commuter student, but they may choose any of the other option. The last option, which is available for sophomores and upperclassmen, features nine meals per week and $375 in declining balance dollars. This new plan will replace the Block 128 and Block 160 plans, which provided students with eight meals per week with $290 in declining balance dollars and 10 meals per week with $130 in declining balance, respectively. The new option, costing $1,250, will save students $300 per semester. Husky Village residents will receive an extra meal per week with next fall’s five meal option. This plan, which costs $725, will provide $215 in declining balance. Mooney said the administration decided to make these changes as part of an effort to reduce costs for students. “We just think the meal plans will go hand in hand with the reductions we made in housing to make it more affordable for students,” she said.
Peter Huber, director of dining services, said Aramark Food Services and the University administration have been working to facilitate these changes since early this semester and finalized them this week. “I just think it’s great — the partnership with HBU and what we’re doing to attract and retain more students and help build more of a residential campus,” Huber said. This spring, Aramark will institute another change in on-campus dining with the creation of the meal equivalency program that will allow students to use their meal plans at all five food retail outlets on campus. Currently, meal plan holders can only use their meals in the Baugh Center. With the new meal equivalency program, students will be able to substitute one meal for specific combos at Tila’s, Husky Express, Java City and the Provisions on Demand. Huber said these changes are designed to promote a greater sense of community among residential students. Junior Anthony Perez said he appreciates the changes the University will implement to help offset the costs of the next academic school year. “The meal plan drop will be a big plus and will help offset tuition,” he said.