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GRAND VALLEY FARMERS MARKET SETS DATE FOR SUMMER OPENING
GV CLASSROOM INVESTIGATES MOTIVE BEHIND MARTIN DEATH
ROWING, SOFTBALL AND FOOTBALL SEEK VICTORY IN HOME WEEKENDS
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POLICE BLOTTER
Graffiti costs GV $1,400 BY Chelsea Lane GVL STAFF WRITER
GVL / Allison Young
Making their mark: Students, faculty and administrators signing their names on the final beam of the Mary Idema Pew Library’s steel erection on Thursday.
More than 1k come out to sign final beam in new library construction BY ANYA ZENTMEYER GVL MANAGING EDITOR
M
ore than 1,000 students flooded the west lawn of Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof Center on Thursday to sign their names on the final beam in the construction of the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons. The hoisting of the final beam marks the last
of stage of construction in the steel erection of the new library, scheduled for completion next spring. “I was really, really pleased too,” said President Thomas J. Haas. “There was just hundreds, if not over a thousand, students that came sometime during the signing and many of them stayed to actually see it hoisted and put into place.” Haas said the beam was the last structural portion on the northwest corner that was hoisted up last
Thursday after he, along with Kate Pew Wolters and other administrators signed the beam. “It looked like it was going fairly slowly when I saw, literally truck loads of clay taking off to site when it was building the hole in the ground, but once the infrastructure started coming up out of the ground it’s just moving on very, very quickly and what I’d call ontime and on-budget,” he said. James Moyer, assistant vice
president of Facilities Planning, was part of the senior management team — including the Pioneer Construction — that spearheaded the event, in this spirit of engaging the campus community in what Haas called a “milestone” for GVSU. “The idea of students participating in the construction effort is something that we attempt to do on most projects,” he said. “Usually, SEE BEAM, A3
Student Adderall abuse on the rise BY Chelsea Lane GVL STAFF WRITER
Zumberge Library and campus study halls are quickly filling up as exams week draws near at Grand Valley State University. With many students staying up late and pulling all-nighters in an attempt to conquer their workload and maximize study time, studies show an increasing number of college students are illegally purchasing prescription medications like Adderall to help them study. Although originally developed to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, Adderall has also gained a reputation as the “study drug,” since it reportedly enhances a user’s ability to concentrate, focus and stay awake. Adderall is a methamphetamine salts-based medication and is legal only in the U.S. and Canada. Like other prescription stimulants, Adderall directly affects the mesolimbic pathway of the brain, also known as the “reward pathway.” Since Adderall is classified as a controlled substance, it has a higher risk of becoming habitforming. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies Adderall as a Schedule II drug, which ac-
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Decision makers: Members of the University Academic Senate discuss at a past meeting. The number of personnel reviews for tenure-track faculty was reduced.
Photo Illustration / Anya Zentmeyer
Hyper-focused: The illegal use of prescription drug Adderall as a “study drug” by students is growing.
cording to the DEA guidelines means it has “a high potential for abuse” and that “abuse of the drug may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.” Other Schedule II drugs include cocaine, methadone and morphine. Adderall is banned in several countries, including Japan and South Korea, and the NCAA does not allow its SEE ADDERALL, A3
UAS approves personnel review changes for GV BY Lizzy Balboa GVL NEWS EDITOR
The University Academic Senate at Grand Valley State University approved a proposal Friday to provide mentoring programs and reduce the number of personnel reviews required for tenure-track faculty. Figen Mekik, chair of the UAS and associate professor of geology at GVSU, said the proposal was not to alter the standards for those
up for review, but to simplify the process. “The change in the number of personnel reviews will neither make it easier nor more difficult for faculty to earn tenure and promotion,” Mekik said. “The proposal is not to change the standards for tenure and various faculty ranks; rather it is to streamline the process of review so that while untenured faculty receive timely and conSEE UAS, A3
A recent wave of oncampus graffiti has cost Grand Valley State University — and potentially its students — almost $1,400. Grand Valley Police Department officials said they first received reports of graffiti at the start of the month, with four recent incidents occurring in all. In order to clean up campus graffiti, the university must hire a contractor to remove the paint with a sandblaster. Cleaning up and repairing damage from these four most recent instances of graffiti cost the university $1,375, which was taken from the university’s general fund and will be factored into tuition costs next year unless a culprit is identified and held criminally and financially accountable. “Students need to know that this graffiti is costing them their tuition money,” said Capt. Brandon DeHaan, assistant director of GVPD. On April 2, red spray paint was discovered on the Cook-DeWitt Center sidewalk. The graffiti read “Revolution” with a backwards E and L, similar to a design used on Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s website. On April 4, white spray paint reading, “the system is broken” was found on the Arboretum sign. The following day, additional spray paint with the same message appeared on the Cook Carillon Tower. On April 9, “Kony 2012,” a reference to an Invisible Children campaign, was spray painted on the north side of the Kirkhof Center sidewalk. Although the graffiti in question all share political themes, police say at this point they are not sure if the instances were committed by the same individual or group. “We don’t know if they are interrelated but what we do suspect is we have individuals identifying political statements and damaging university property,” DeHaan said. “The university campus, buildings and grounds are an inappropriate canvas to express one’s views, including political viewpoints. Those wishing to express political viewpoints may contact the Office of Student Life to identify appropriate spaces to do so… These are crimes, pure and simple.” DeHaan added that graffiti falls under the legal definition of malicious destruction of property and is not protected by the First Amendment. However, GVSU’s chalking policy does allow registered student organizations to use water-soluble chalks to write messages on designated sidewalks to advertise upcoming events. clane@lanthorn.com