Since 1916
Volume 100, Number 3
Thursday, September 17, 2015
www.marquettewire.org
Know your rights Can MUPD enter your residence hall rooms?
Editorial PAGE 5
Climate study results reveal lack of support
PAGE 14
2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 SPJ Award-Winning Newspaper
Barraza taking reins Real Salt Lake’s development team prepared him for starting role PAGE 19
Survey results announced University to react with concrete steps to increase inclusion By Maredithe Meyer and Kathleen Baert
maredithe.meyer@marquette.edu kathleen.baert@marquette.edu
The results of February’s campus climate survey were released this week and the university is in the process of deciding its action plan. Survey takers were undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff and administrators. 4,293 of them took it, resulting in a 31 percent response rate. Marquette needed responses from 30 percent of campus to accurately collect data and generalize results for the university climate study. Susan Rankin, the study’s consultant, said the response rate is excellent compared to other surveys she conducted this year. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had an 8 percent response rate during the 2010-’11 school year, the lowest response rate she ever received. Rankin worked with a committee to conduct the study throughout 18 months. Town hall meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday were held to present the study’s results to the
Marquette community. “Campus climate influences student learning,” Rankin said. “If learning is our reason for existence in higher education, then we should be concerned about climate.” Eleven undocumented residents took the survey, making up 0.3 percent of all respondents. Rankin said it’s important to realize that undocumented students are on campus, and administrators need to provide for them. The survey contained 99 qualitative and quantitative items measuring campus perception of overall comfort level, work life, academic success and sexual assault. The survey measures undergraduate academic success and intent to pursue education. According to the results, female undergraduate students perceived higher academic success than their male counterparts. White students perceived higher academic success than any other race and heterosexual students perceived higher academic success than LGBT students. Faculty reported an overall positive work life attitude. Eighty-seven percent reported that their supervisors are supportive of work flexibility. Eighty-one percent reported that Marquette provides employee resources to help balance work life issues. Seventyeight percent reported believing
SOF process changes, allows applications every Tuesday at 7 By Sophia Boyd
sophia.boyd@marquette.edu
Photo by Ben Erickson/benjamin.a.erickson@marquette.edu
Susan Rankin speaks to an assembly of staff, students and faculty.
that the parental leave policy was consistently applied across all faculty members. However, Marquette has policies in place which give supervisors flexibility with allowing employees time off. Rankin said this policy contributes to a
negative staff climate because it causes perceptions of inequality, even if none were intended. Nineteen percent of respondents reported experiencing exclusion, intimidation, offensive See Climate, Page 3
Alumnus to welcome pope in DC
Aaron Ledesma, a 2014 Marquette alumnus and author of “The Gay Catholic” blog, received an invitation to welcome Pope Francis to the
White House alongside President Barack Obama Sept. 23. A White House correspondent called Ledesma on Aug. 13 and offered him the opportunity to hear the pope speak in person. This happened after Ledesma sent the White House a note sharing his life story and thoughts on the papal visit. “I started crying,” Ledesma said. “I was speechless. I was just shocked that someone even called me.” University President Michael Lovell will also be at the White
House for the pope’s welcoming ceremony. Ledesma’s blog documents his return to the Catholic Church as a gay man. He was introduced to the blogging platform Medium by his friend and mentor Tim Cigelske, Marquette’s director of social media. Ledesma said he uses the website as a journal for his faith. “I didn’t expect people to read it,” Ledesma said. “I remember the day I created it, I had just spent a few days going back and forth with my mom
about whether or not I should create a blog about this.” After being invited to the White House, Ledesma said his blog shifted from a personal journal about his faith and sexuality to a platform for him to discuss what it means to be gay and Catholic. “People are wanting to hear things like this,” Ledesma said. “I think everyone is ready to learn more about what it means to be gay and not just what it
INDEX
NEWS
MARQUEE
OPINIONS
Member of Sigma Phi Epsilon seeing Obama, pope in DC By Laura Litwin
laura.litwin@marquette.edu
CALENDAR..........................................3 MUPD REPORTS.................................3 MARQUEE..........................................10 OPINIONS.......................................14 SPORTS...........................................16
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Hockey aims for Nationals
The team begins its season with a doubleheader against DePaul.
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Comic book enthusiast
See MUSG, Page 8 SPORTS
MURPHY: Students are tired of buying expensive oline access codes.
MU professors implements curriculum for Wisconsin high schools.
Marquette Student Government Financial Vice President Ted Eberle announced the 2015 MUSG was overbudget by $20,000 at the first senate meeting Sept. 14. Last year’s budget committee was set at $475,850 in consideration of expenses and revenue. Eberle explained most of the $20,000 went to Student Organization Funding and was not compensated from the expected revenue. Eberle was asked to discuss more about the budget, but replied in an email that he preferred to wait until all information was finalized. The majority of revenue for the budget comes from the $30 student semester activity fee that is taken out of tuition each year. Past revenue budgets received money from other sources such as Senior Week and Varsity movies. Changes were made so MUSG did not receive that money this past year. This year, SOF is changing its application process. MUSG Vice President Aliya Manjee said SOF will still hold two bulk funding periods in fall and spring semester. In addition, MUSG will begin spot funding this year, where MUSG will accept applications every Tuesday at 7 p.m. This change was administered last semester after an evaluation from the Lean Six Sigma program. “The conclusion that (the evaluation) came to is that (SOF) could be more effective if we did this spot funding
See Pope, Page 5
Online access code crock
Computer science grant
A Q-and-A with a philosophy professor who owns 1,000 comic books.
2015 MUSG over budget, reserve fund to be used
“Loose Lips Sink Ships”
A generation of babies
Helfaer’s first musical of the season celebrates women of World War II.
COMSTOCK: Younger generations love engaging in offensive media.
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