Daily Egyptian TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2015
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
SINCE 1916
VOL. 100 ISSUE 26
University still searching for origin of Campus Lake toxins ANNA SPOERRE | @ASpoerre_DE
Despite multiple tests conducted this semester on pipes surrounding Campus Lake, there is still no definitive source of high E. coli levels in the water, according to Phil Gatton, director of the university’s Plant and Service Operations. RJN Group Inc., a professional engineering and specialty field services firm, partnered with the university to test pipes surrounding Campus Lake this fall. The most recent tests used cameras to inspect the inside condition of the pipes after smoke tests in September indicated potential leaks in the system. Testing has cost the university $63,500, including $25,000 for the camera test alone. Three cameras with LED lights were guided through the pipe system, Gatton said. He said results received by the university last week concluded the nearly 60-year-old pipes to be in surprisingly good condition. While results did not indicate major issues with the pipes, he said there is concern that as manholes age, they become more porous and water can seep into the sewer system from storm pipes. He said some of the manholes, which are made of brick and mortar, may be deteriorating. He said this is also a concern vice versa: if sewage pipes became pressurized from liquid coming in through a leak, contents would get into the storm pipes that are connected to the lake. However, Gatton said this would be a rare occurrence. A section of storm sewer pipe was found broken near Lentz Hall, and Gatton said it has the potential to effect the sewer pipes around it. “We do not believe we are putting raw sewage into the lake,” he said. He also said if while not likely, in certain conditions there is a chance it could have happened in the past. The physical plant has also conducted soil boring tests. Last week, four soil samples were taken by boring 28 feet into the ground between Lentz Hall and the lake to further investigate the abnormally high groundwater E. coli levels. The results reaffirmed previous tests conducted by zoology professor Marjorie Brooks, which had also found an unusually high concentration of E. coli in the groundwater. Please see LAKE | 3
Jacob Wiegand | @JacobWiegand_DE Rachel Slick, a senior from Roscoe studying social work and Spanish, leads a Zumba class Monday at the Recreation Center. “I like working out and I like people,” Slick said. “I think teaching fitness is a cool way to inspire other people to work out, too.” Slick has been teaching classes at the Recreation Center for more than two years. “She rocks,” said Anna Marie Burke, a former fitness instructor who attends Slick’s class. Burke said she has taken various classes and there is something for everyone.
Group fitness classes to be free next semester CORY RAY | @coryray_DE
The Recreation Center today announced the elimination of $25 group fitness pass fee next semester. While patrons will no longer have to pay for activities such as Zumba, where an instructor leads a group in exercise, less classes will be offered. Recreation Center Director Troy Vaughn said there are about 45 to 50 classes per week,
but about 35 will be offered next semester. Sally Wright, associate director of programs at the Recreation Center, said the reduction of classes allowed the center to eliminate the fee. A schedule of classes has yet do be decided, but Wright said the popularity of classes and heavy traffic times at the center are being considered to maximize student use. Group fitness passes were created
in spring 2013 to offset costs such as paying class instructors. However, because of decreasing participation, the center looked at other ways it could better provide services to students. During the first two or three weeks of each semester, group fitness classes are free to Recreation Center members and Vaughn said participation is so strong that many classes are completely
filled. But, he said, the amount of participation drops significantly. Wright also said about 600 passes were sold in fall 2014, compared to about 400 this semester. Tori Gusewelle, a senior from Worden studying human nutrition and dietetics, said she’s noticed a decrease in class sizes since she started instructing a year ago, and after free trial periods end. Please see FITNESS | 2
Architecture students construct plans for 2017 eclipse observation SHANNON ALLEN | @ShannonAllen_DE
In August 2017, people across the world will be able to see the first total solar eclipse in 26 years, but those in Carbondale may get the best view. Bob Baer, an SIUC physics department staff member, is leading a project of 11 architecture students to draft plans for an observation space at the SIU Farms Dark Site. The Farm is west of campus and was chosen because of its dark, secluded grounds. “People from all over the world will be viewing this eclipse,” Baer said. “The Superbowl is a tiny event compared to this.” Baer said since Carbondale is the closest city to the greatest duration point of the eclipse, about 50,000 people will be able to view it from
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Saluki Stadium and on TV screens in the SIU Arena. However, he said those places are unable to accommodate the number of people anticipated to travel to the area to see it. Chad Schwartz, assistant professor of architectural studies and interior design, has spent the semester helping students create their observatory designs. “I was contacted by the physics department to create a project for viewing the eclipse,” Schwartz said. “The students did all the design work.” Baer said although 2017 may be far from now, the project will require a large amount of grant funding that has yet to be requested. “If we had the money, the actual construction of the project would go quickly,” Baer said.
Baer and other physics department staff members will pick ideas from one to three of the students’ projects in hopes of eventually building an actual structure to view the eclipse. Students presented their plans to the public Monday in Quigley Hall. Teresa Meyer, a junior from St. Louis studying architecture, was one of 11 students to create a design, which was required to have three phases. The first phase of each project was meant to include the most important design elements so those components could be prioritized for financially-efficient construction. In Meyer’s case, it was a roll-off roof. Meyer designed this to allow for viewing from the west and north. The students had to pick one part of their design to emphasize on, so
Meyer chose to draw and construct a planetarium seating area. The planetarium would provide guests with an inside screening of the eclipse. Phases two and three consisted of details not necessarily vital to an observatory’s functioning that could be added in future expansions with more funding. Meyer intends for the planetarium to be used both during the day and night, so she suggested putting in a rooftop coffee shop. “I wanted to get back into my artistic roots, so I decided to free-hand my drawing of the planetarium,” Meyer said. “This project was a lot of fun and it was worth the time I put into it.” Shannon Allen can be reached at SAllen@dailyegyptian.com or at 618-536-3325.