THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Tuesday August 31, 2010
VOLUME 124, ISSUE 8
www.THEDAONLINE.com
SGA to give first State of Student Body BY ERIN FITZWILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
For the first time in West Virginia University history, members of the Student Government Association will deliver a State of the Student Body Address. The address will be given Sept. 7 during a meeting of the Morgantown City Council. One of the main reasons for the address is to announce a partnership between SGA and the city, said SGA President Chris Lewallen.
Lewallen said he will be announcing the formation of a Community Relations Team. Members of the team will be assigned to attend various city board, commission and committee meetings. The members will then communicate issues raised within the meetings to SGA, said Nelson France, SGA liaison to City Council. The team will be launching this fall, he said. “The CR team will also volunteer in the community, es-
pecially when it comes time for snow removal,” France said. The City Council meeting Sept. 7 was chosen as the place to deliver the address, because SGA desires a better partnership between the two, Lewallen said. “We just need to partner with council and anyone else we can to make sure that the student voice is brought into those decisions,” Lewallen said. He plans to discuss the relationship between the city
and students at the inaugural address. In the past, he said the council has made decisions that do not reflect the will of the students. For example, the council passed an ordinance in July requiring no more than two unrelated individuals to occupy a residence within city limits. France said the ordinance was typical of the council’s activities while students are on break. “The city has a tendency to
propose and implement ordinances during the summer months, at a time when the majority of the student body is out of town,” he said. Thanks to the formation of the Community Relations Team, France said if the student body had an issue with any ordinance proposed, SGA would present those concerns to the Council. Morgantown Mayor Bill Byrne said he is excited for chelsi baker/the daily athenaeum SGA to speak at City Council. Student Government Association President Chris Lewallen will speak at the Morgantown City Council meeting tonight. see relations on PAGE 2
Student Support Services
Diversity increases throughout campus by ann compton staff writer
Tara Mayle/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Freshman general studies major Chris Linden, right, discusses class options and possible choices for majors with adviser Cyprien Lokko, left, Friday afternoon in the Student Services Center.
Program assists more than 200 lower income, first-generation students by nick ashley staff writer
A program that supports tutoring and financial aid assistance has been granted another five years of funding. Cindy Drumm, director of Student Support Services At West Virginia University, said her program has been helping undergraduate students for many years on campus. “For me, I love dealing with students, to help guide them on a daily basis in any way,” said Vivian Lama, educational outreach counselor for the program. “I know the struggles of being a student, and it is good to know you have people that will guide you in the right direction.” The main services offered to students include tutoring, Tara Mayle/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM financial aid assistance, acaThe Student Services Center is located across from Oglebay Hall. Undergraduate ad- demic advising, social activvising takes places in this building. ities and computer worksta-
FOR MORE INFORMATION Students interested in Student Support Services can register online at http://sss.wvu.edu/ or fill out an application at the Gaskins House at 709 North High St. tions, Drumm said. Students who are of lower incomes, first-generation students or those who have documented learning or physical disabilities are eligible for the program, she said. Currently there are 200 students in the program. The program also serves 40 to 50 additional students each year on campus, she said. “I love this group because you build many close bonds with students,” said Kayla Dawson, program member for
see services on PAGE 2
Website allows users see who is in classes, dorms BY MELISSA CANDOLFI STAFF WRITER
A new version of CampusLIVE, a website to help students navigate campus, will launch next week. After six months of updates, CampusLIVE’s new version will allow students to access campus restaurant menus, view who is in their classes, who is in their dorm, find a tutor or even talk to a professor, said Ryan Durkin, chief operating officer of CampusLIVE. “It allows you to see who is in your class, in your dorm. If you wanted to know what the hot chick down the hall was
doing on Friday night, you are able to,” Durkin said. The website will continue to combine various sites like Facebook, Google, weather, news and movie sites into one, he said. CampusLIVE is not trying to create a new form of Facebook or compete with it, Durkin said. “We are building a website where students are able to go find out information without being friends with the person or even knowing them,” he said. Durkin said CampusLIVE eliminates the “awkwardness” of friend requesting or search-
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THAT’S ALL FOLKS
INSIDE
The Warner Theatre is closing for the final time Sunday, Sept. 5. A&E PAGE 5
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News: 1, 3 Opinion: 4 A&E: 5, 6, 7 Sports: 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 9
ing for someone on Facebook. The website tells you who on campus is using the site and what their plans are, he said. “We are breaking it down,” Durkin said. “We don’t want to focus on the events. We want to show who’s in the class, who is in the dorm and then make some discussion from that.” The site aims to get rid of the “clutter,” he said. “CampusLIVE will gear toward what is actually happening, the more important things on campus,” Durkin said. West Virginia University junior Curt Middleton, pre-business and economics major, thinks the site is a good idea
for large college campuses. “I just transferred here, so I really don’t know a lot of people,” Middleton said. “I feel like if I register for CampusLIVE, it will tell me the best places to go and maybe even let me meet some people.” Middleton said the site takes Facebook to the next step by making it easier to talk to and meet people in your class. “Everyone is shy when they don’t know anyone in class,” Middleton said. “If someone is on CampusLIVE and doesn’t know the homework assignment, they can find a
see campuslive on PAGE 2
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LATER THIS WEEK For a preview to this Saturday’s opening game, check out Friday’s edition for DA Game Day, a special football edition.
Minority enrollment has been steadily increasing at West Virginia University over the past few years. As of fall 2009, minority enrollment was close to 10 percent, including students who identified two races, said Elissa Evans, program coordinator for multicultural recruitment. Evans’ position is devoted full time to reaching out to prospective minority students. “I work with underrepresented students, including African Americans and Latinos,” Evans said. “I travel to different high schools around the country.” A lot of recruitment takes place in Washington, D.C., neighboring Maryland communities, Pittsburgh and northern Virginia, she said. Evans has even traveled to Puerto Rico to recruit students. “I go to these high schools, and I talk about what we have to offer to underrepresented students,” she said. “We have great programs in place, such as the Center for Black Culture and Research and other student organizations.”
When talking about diversity at WVU, Evans said she is always up front with the students. “Obviously, by the definition of underrepresented, we are a predominantly white campus, and I always tell students that,” she said. She stresses the programs that celebrate diversity on campus to prospective students, which includes STARS, Students Achieving and Reaching for Success, conducted by the Center for Black Culture and Research prior to a student’s first year at WVU. Brenda Thompson, associate vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Services, agrees with Evans. “We’ve been very successful in attracting students from Puerto Rico, and we hope to continue to raise minority enrollment here at WVU,” she said. The University works in different ways to attract students, such as working with alumni and conducting research in high schools with a minority presence, Thompson said. “This past spring, we had a special recruiting event called
see diversity on PAGE 2
Student group petitions for legalized marijuana BY SARAH O’ROURKE CORRESPONDENT
A West Virginia University student organization is collecting signatures for a petition in support of legalizing marijuana in the country. The Students for Sensible Drug Policy have joined in a movement across college campuses in support of Proposition 19, California’s legalization measure being voted on in November. Drew Stromberg, president of WVU’s SSDP chapter, said his group has joined a challenge called, “Just Say Now Campus Challenge: Legalize Marijuana.” The aim of the challenge is to collect signatures in support of legalization of marijuana, Stromberg said. The signatures will be sent to President Barack Obama to let him know how popular the issue is, he said. More than 1,000 college chapters are participating. “This gives students a chance to participate in what’s going to be happening in California in November,” Stromberg said. “Even though we are not in California, we can still have an effect and influence on it.” If passed, the proposition would allow the government to tax the sale of marijuana in California. The measure could set a precedence in how other states deal with the legalization of mar-
ijuana, he said. The campus challenge has only been going on for a few weeks now, but WVU does not have many signatures so far. SSDP will be holding awareness events throughout the semester to get signatures for their petition, said Justin Lawrence, business liaison and promotions manager of WVU’s SSDP. This past weekend, SSDP held its first event at the Fletcher’s Grove concert at 123 Pleasant Street on Saturday night, Lawrence said. “We feel that crowds at shows like this would be interested in participating in the petition and be in the same line as the ‘Just Say Now’ campaign,” he said. SSDP plans to have similar live music events and shows to gather signatures. “We’re just trying to get an idea about what events will work and experiment at different events,” he said. This is the first year the petition is being carried out, Lawrence said. He hopes students will get active and participate in the challenge by providing signatures. “Students’ voice on this campus is very important,” he said. “They need to go out in the community and educate themselves on some of the issues going on in the government.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
WVU PREPS FOR GAME 1 The Mountaineers start the season Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Check out the coverage. SPORTS PAGE 10