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NEWS
The Hawk Newspaper
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Department of Public Safety Reports (Oct. 17-25) October 17
Public Safety was notified of a suspicious person near the area of the St. Mary’s parking lot. The person was described as an elderly male carrying a brief case, computer bag and a small box. Officers responded to the area but were unable to locate the person.
October 18
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from four students entering Rashford Hall.
An area resident contacted Public Safety regarding St. Joe’s students damaging property on the 5700 block of Woodcrest Avenue.
October 19
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from a student entering Lancaster Courts-Hastings Apartments.
Philadelphia Police cited two students for public intoxication near the area of the LaFarge Residence Center.
Public Safety received an anonymous tip regarding drug sales inside of Villiger Hall. Subsequently, a room search was conducted at which time two mason jars of marijuana was located. Philadelphia Police arrested a St. Joe’s student in regards to this incident.
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from five students inside of Pennbrook Apartments.
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from a student entering Weymouth Apartments.
Facilities Management notified Public Safety of broken furniture on the porch of Sullivan Hall.
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from a non-student entering the LaFarge Residence Center.
Public Safety was notified of the theft of a laptop computer inside of the LaFarge Residence Center.
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from a non-student entering the Ashwood Apartments.
Public Safety was notified of an assault of a student. The student, who was transported to Lankenau Hospital, refused to cooperate with Lower Merion Police and Public Safety.
Public Safety was notified of a non-student having his unattended bag removed from Sweeney Field. The bag contained his iPod and car keys.
Metropolitan Facilities Management notified Public Safety of a gas odor inside of Hastings Apartments. The odor was detected and fixed.
October 21
Public Safety received an anonymous tip regarding a female smoking marijuana underneath the McShain bridge. Public Safety
Officers responded and identified two St. October 25 Joe’s students. No drugs were found. Lower Merion Police cited two students for smoking marijuana near the area of the Lower Merion Train Station. October 23 Public Safety responded to a car fire alarm in the parking lot behind the Hawks Land- Public Safety confiscated alcohol from two ing garage. The Philadelphia Fire Depart- students entering the LaFarge Residence ment responded and extinguished the fire. Center. Public Safety received information from an area resident that students were littering the sidewalk with trash on the 5600 block of Overbrook Avenue.
Public Safety was notified of a non-student attempting to swipe in with another stu- Public Safety was notified of unknown dent’s ID at Lannon Hall. The ID was con- people removing a student’s textbook inside of an office in Mandeville Hall. fiscated. Public Safety was notified of a suspicious female panhandling on the 5800 block of Overbrook Avenue. Public Safety and Philadelphia Police responded to the area, located the female, and advised her to refrain from panhandling in the area.
October 24
Public Safety received information of a drug complaint coming from a room inside of Moore Hall. A search of the room by Public Safety and Residence Life revealed no signs of drugs or drug paraphernalia.
A newly-implemented lab course that runs alongside the introductory Communications Theory and Practice course is now going through major curriculum changes due to student complaints. Saint Joseph’s University communication studies department professors explained that as the communications lab class is brand new this year, there have been a few problems. Students say that they have been disappointed with the lab and have felt they have not been getting the most out of their experience. “Since there wasn’t a structure to the course, I think people got annoyed,” explained Jessica Bradley, ’15, who is currently enrolled in the class and lab. “I didn’t mind it … when I had a question it was useful, but I wish it was more of an optional thing.” The communication studies department took note of these student complaints, and recently refigured the lab course. Starting on Oct. 28, the department will be offering specific lab sessions that focus on certain digital skills such as Photoshop, video editing, and podcasting. In the new, updated course, students only attend the sessions in which they are most interested. “I think it’s better because now, if it’s relevant to me, I can go,” said Bradley. In the past two years, the department has sprung up, with the introduction of the major, hiring of new faculty, and general expansion. With the growing number of students taking on a communication studies major or minor, associate professor and new department chair David Parry, Ph.D., felt that adding the lab was essential in teaching students digital communication skills that would not be able to be covered in regular class time. “We wanted a way to get students detailed, focused, skill-based help in learning some of the digital tools without having to dedicate all the class time to those tools,” said Parry. The department also wanted to make the ‘prac-
October 25
Public Safety confiscated alcohol from a student entering Lannon Hall. Public Safety responded to an alarm in Cosi Restaurant. Investigation revealed that the building is intact. Public Safety was notified of loud music coming from a room inside of Merion Gardens. Public Safety and Residence Life responded. The music was turned down.
Public Safety was notified of a possible Facilities Management notified Public Safe- guest pass violation at the Sourin Resity of unknown people removing the emer- dence Center. Public Safety and Residence gency cover light and battery from the base- Life responded. ment of the Ashwood Apartments.
Students discontent with communications lab Katryna Perera ’16 Special to The Hawk
Public Safety was notified of unknown people forcing open a student’s room inside of the LaFarge Residence Center and removing currency belonging to the student.
tice’ portion of Theory and Practice become a reality. Parry explained that current communication studies students maintain their own blogs, where they make posts every week. The lab provides students with the assistance needed to maintain, update, and develop this digital presence. “We thought if we are going to require students to do this, we needed a set support structure in place for them to learn this stuff,” said Parry. The new lab class also engages students in a new style of learning and instruction. Aimée Knight, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication studies, explained that the new lab employs collaborative and experiential learning—something essential to communications. This type of learning includes students learning together through trial and error and not from a textbook or lecture. “There is a culture,” Knight explained, “and part of this culture … has a kind of DIY [do-it-yourself] ethic.” Knight said that the whole department “believes in this sort of learning by doing ethos,” and that this was one of the primary foundations on which the idea for the lab class was built. The lab course, however, does not provide students with academic credit. The department cites that the reasoning behind this was a necessity to integrate the lab into the 200 level course as much as possible, and simply provide a space and time for students to continue developing what they had learned in class. “We didn’t necessarily want to have a separate lab grade because we wanted people to feel more free,” said Knight. Knight noted that the course is still a work in progress and that the student feedback is helping the department develop the best possible plan for students. Parry explained that the department is constantly developing courses and class structure in order to best meet the needs of students. “Broadly,” he said, “we are growing.”
News Briefs Kensington stabbing
An unidentified suspect stabbed two women in the 1900 block of East Albert Street Kensington, Philadelphia on Nov. 1. One 30-year-old woman was stabbed six times and is in critical condition. The second 38-year-old woman was stabbed four times and remains in stable condition. Both women were taken to Episcopal Hospital and then transferred to Temple University Hospital. No arrests have been made. (NBC10)
LAX shooting
Paul Ciancia, the man who opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport last week, was shot four times by airport police and remains in critical condition as of Nov. 4. He has been charged with murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport. Ciancia killed one Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer and wounded three other people, including two more TSA workers. Any court appearance Ciancia makes will depend on when his doctors say he is stable enough. (AP)
FDA approves new leukemia drug
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug, Gazyva, to help treat patients with leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, on Nov 1. This drug comes from Roche, a research-based health care company. The FDA has cleared Gazyva to help patients who have not yet been treated for the disease fight chronic lymphocytic leukemia in combination with chemotherapy. (BBC)
French journalists killed in Mali
Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont, two journalists for French radio station RFI, were kidnapped in the northern town of Kidal in Mali and found dead nearby shortly after. The journalists were last seen interviewing a local political leader. The kidnapping happened only a few days after the release of four French hostages from Niger. (BBC)
Nazi-looted art found in Munich
$1.35 billon worth of art, including works by Picasso, Matisse, and Chagal, were found in a storage closet of an 80-yearold man from Munich. At least 300 paintings found in the closet are believed to be among about 16,000 works that were declared by the Nazis as “degenerate art.” The collection is currently being held in a safe warehouse in Munich. (USA Today)