TNR - 10.14.09

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THE INdependent student news organization at the university of cincinnati

Vol. CXXVIV Issue 10

wednesday , oct . 14, 2009 heisman tony? Pike in hunt for prestigious football award. page 6

cycling across the u.s. UC alumnus Phil Nagle attempted to cross 48 states in 48 days. page 2

the fashion dungjen Curly chaos straightened out by columnist Taylor Dungjen. page 4

LGBT groups march on Washington

jamie royce | the news record

approximately 200,000 people made their way to Washington to participate in a march for LGBT civil rights that attracted celebrities, activists and President Obama. jamie royce the news record

WASHINGTON – People from across the United States descended upon Washington, D.C., Sunday, Oct. 11, for the National Equality March in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights. The march passed the White House and concluded with a rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building. Speakers included LGBT civil rights advocates and community organizers,

such as Judy Shephard, mother of anti-gay hate crime victim Matthew Shephard, and celebrities including Cynthia Nixon and Lady GaGa. “I have seen and witnessed so many things over the past two years and I can say with such certainty that this is the single most important moment of my career [being at the march],” said Lady GaGa, pop-music artist. “As a woman in pop music … To do my part, I refuse to accept any misogynistic and homophobic behavior in music lyrics or actions in the music industry.” Approximately 200,000 people took to the

Metro aims to maintain service, up daily fares

streets for the march, coming from as far as California, Canada and the U.K. Many of those in attendance were students. “Queer youth especially are isolated and marginalized, and many live in constant fear,” said Leah Matz, organizational adviser of the National Equality March Youth, Impact. “The youth space provided the opportunity for these youth to meet other people like them, learn more about their community and learn what they can do to make their own local communities ­– and the queer community at large – stronger.” A caravan of Cincinnati residents attended the march, including second-year University of Cincinnati sociology student Blake Jelley, secretary of UC Alliance and a lead organizer of Impact Cincinnati, a local LGBT civil rights advocacy group. “This is our time. This is the next movement. This is when the youth take the torch we have the energy. We have the movement behind us,” Jelley said. “We grew up in a generation that is out and proud, and [we] don’t understand why we don’t have these rights.” President Barack Obama spoke at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual national dinner on the eve of the march, the second president to do so. He discussed equality for LGBT rights. “This fight continues now, and I’m here with a simple message: I’m here with you in that fight,” Obama said. While many were pleased with Obama’s message, one found the lack of specifics frustrating. “I think it’s great he publicly affirmed his see march | page 3

Yo! Quit Creepin!

Amanda Woodruff the news record

Cincinnati Metro proposed a possible 12 percent service reduction, which includes a slight raise in fares instead of the original, state-mandated 20 percent service reduction. The 20 percent service reduction includes the loss of one million rides and 55 full-time, union jobs. The alternative, 12 percent proposal, was announced Tuesday, Oct. 13. By state law, Metro is required to maintain a balanced budget. While confronted with a $16 million shortfall in 2010, the company’s structure must be tweaked. “We had a public meeting on Oct. 2 as well as surveys given out on the buses or on SurveyMonkey to see what our customers preferred,” said Sallie Hilvers, chief administrative officer of Metro. “They said to raise the fares a little bit in order to maintain the service.” Cincinnati City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal Friday, Nov. 20 and the result is slated to go into effect on Sunday, Dec. 27. As for customers commuting to and from the University of Cincinnati, fares are to remain unchanged for Fall quarter 2009. Although the UC*Metro contract states that students and faculty will continue to be charged $40 each quarter until September 2010, the existing contract might reflect the proposed budget changes. “There are not any specifics to changing the contract since the proposal has yet to be approved,” Hilvers said. The 12 percent service reduction includes minor changes to the main routes in Zone 1, including routes 17, 18, 19 and 78. The services will not be cut; however, the frequency is subject to change. Metro adjusts its routes four times each year.

file art | the news record

to maintain service at its current level, Metro will begin raising fares to make up for budget gaps and keep riders and drivers on the bus.

justin tepe | the news record

Ucpd officers are being encouraged to patrol campus on foot instead of driving their cruisers in an attempt to save money as well as increase police presence.

UCPD ups security despite budget cuts gin a. ando the news record

Facing an 8 percent budget cut, the University of Cincinnati Police Division is attempting to simultaneously boost security and keep costs down. Although UCPD has previously experienced decreases in funding, it received a unique task: responding to requests of a more visible presence while balancing a budget $500,000 less than the previous year’s. The program put into place, which involves more overlapping hours during peak times of reported crimes, is testing how UCPD can accommodate the loss of money and provide students with a sense of safety. “We rung everything we could out of the non-personnel side of the budget,” said Eugene Ferrara, director of UC Public Safety. UCPD salaries also took a hit. Collectively, the division allotted approximately $400,000 less than last year for salary ­– which does not necessarily implicate staff-round pay cuts. Throughout the year, staff positions were vacant. Since UCPD could function without those jobs, they were eliminated from the budget. Approximately 88 percent of UCPD’s budget is dedicated to personnel costs, Ferrara said. To make up for the loss, Ferrara assembled a team to assess the situation and find ways to distribute the cut across every area excluding officers and personnel. The new policies are a “pilot program,”

which will be evaluated halfway through the 6-month trial; gauging its effectiveness will come at the end of Winter quarter. Interim-President Monica Rimai requested that Ferrara patch the holes in UCPD’s budget and address problems of areas surrounding campus, Ferrara said. The team then tasked themselves with spreading out the cut. Operating costs took the biggest hit, Ferrara said. UCPD saw more than $50,000 cut from their operating costs, which includes a broad range of areas. “It’s not just paper clips,” Ferrara said. “Sometimes, some things [we purchased] that made sense three or four years ago don’t make sense now.” There are also new suggestions for UCPD officers to aid in the effort of saving money. Patrolling on foot instead of driving cruisers is one way to prevent spending, Ferrara said. To keep the steady hours for patrollers, shift changes and overlaps were examined. Due to the lower crime rate during the afternoon, UCPD is stretching shifts. Rather than having three, two-hour overlapping shifts, officers are assigned to patrol campus during shifts that overlap with one another five hours after nightfall, Ferrara said. Stressing education for students on crime prevention tips, UCPD aims to stop crime from happening in the first place as a cost-saving measure. “We can get a better return on educating people than putting a car on the streets,” Ferrara said. “You can’t be everywhere you want to be at once.”

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justin tepe | the news record

UC library to digitize Cincinnati records robert weil the news record

A Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA) grant gave the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library the funds to add historical Cincinnati documents to a computer database. The project is set to receive $140,437 after approximately seven years of rallying. The grant allows the university libraries to digitize records, which makes them more accessible to the general public. It benefits students as well as the community, genealogists, urban historians and public health officials. “The wide appeal of the records was what attracted the LSTA to award UC libraries the grant money,” said Melissa Norris, director of library communications. “These records will be a great resource for everyone.” Detailed information such as dates of birth, gender, race and parents’ names and occupations are included on each birth record, as a cause of death is provided on each death record. There are approximately 340,000 birth and death records in the catalog. The death records date from 1865 while the birth records date from 1874. However, the records end in 1908, when the state took possession of the records. “It will make the records more accessible to students and expand who is viewing the birth and death records to new audiences,” said Kevin Grace, university archivist. “It will make the possibilities endless.” The library received approximately 3,000 requests for information regarding the birth and death records during in the last year. weather

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index

1 News 2 Spotlight 4 Opinion 5 Classifieds 6 Sports brief

Communiversity Class when

6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 6 - 27

where

One Edwards 6130

Need career help? UC’s Communiversity is having classes to help identify strengths and make occupational changes. Call Donna Burns at 513-556-6932. Classes take place at Edwards 6130. Three meetings: $69 (plus $50 for class materials) payable to the instructor at the first class meeting.

correction In the Monday, Oct. 12, issue of The News Record, it was inaccurately reported that the Aronoff Center for Design and Art/DAAP Building was designed by James E. Allen instead of Peter Eisenman. There are also indeed right angles in DAAP.


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