THE INdependent student newspaper at the university of cincinnati
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Vol. CXXVIV Issue 12
monday , oct . 19, 2009 haunted cincinnati Local establishments ranked in nationwide haunted house list. page 3
bearcat beatdown Collaros steps in for a 34-17 victory over USF. page 6
bird calls Andrew Bird sings a song, but doesn’t quite serenade. page 4
SGA hosts debate on street car
rhoades to success
Carly Tamborski the news record
Cincinnati streetcar opponents and proponents will go head to head in a debate at the University of Cincinnati Wednesday, Oct. 21, before voters head to the polls in November. The event is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and intends to educate voters about Issue 9 before the elections Tuesday, Nov. 3. “The debate is coming to campus because it’s an issue that effects students greatly,” said Tim Lolli, student body president. “Student Government would like students to be as informed as much as possible about the debate and Issue 9.” Voting “no” on Issue 9 means city officials will make the decision regarding the fate of the streetcar – Cincinnati citizens will not have the ability to influence the choice. If Issue 9 passes with a “yes” on the issue, citizens can vote on anything regarding the rail issue. Cincinnatians for Progress (CFP) is a group that opposes Issue 9, citing their support of the preservation of modern transportation options and is endorsed by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. “It’s deceptive and dangerous,” said Don Mooney, treasurer of CFP. “It would prevent any investment, even federal dollars and any type of real transportation. We need the jobs now in Cincinnati.” Former mayor and current city council member Roxanne Qualls is representing CFP at the debate. Mayoral candidate Brad Wenstrup has not publicly announced his position. He made remarks about the timing of the issue, however. “The streetcar idea is ill-conceived and inappropriate at this time, especially during this current economic situation,” Wenstrup said. “We need to look for real transportation solutions for all of our city’s neighborhoods and we need to fund those transportation options with the resources already provided to us by taxpayers.” During the summer, UC Student Government passed a resolution bill opposing Issue 9. “We opposed Issue 9 for multiple reasons, including the wording,” said Tim Lolli, student body president. “It changes the city’s charter and we feel that students can benefit from more modes of transportation.” COAST, originally founded to fight higher taxes and spending in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, supports Issue 9. “We believe folks should have the right to vote for such a large capital expenditure,” said Jason Gloyd, chairman of COAST. “The city needs a clear and concise plan.” Mark Miller, COAST’s treasurer is set to represent the organization at Wednesday’s debate. Currently, 13 of 19 council candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot support the trolley, according to COAST.
photos by sarah richardson | the news record
Gary rhoades, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors stressed giving faculty more power in university affairs.
Universities not investing in faculty gin A. ando AND RUTVIJ KOTECHA the news record
Unless U.S. universities begin to centralize power to include faculty members, higher education institutions will lose sight of their main function: supplying the society with “intellectual capital,” said Gary Rhoades, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors. Current trends suggest university student enrollment is increasing without signs of stopping. To accommodate changes, infrastructure and “human capacity” must be expanded. If not, the quality of education and, in effect, the quality of graduates decline, Rhoades said at his “What’s wrong with this picture?” presentation in Baldwin Hall, Friday, Oct. 16. Many professors are approaching retirement age, Rhoades said. Although there are new faculty members including newly graduated educators, Rhoades said the lack of the middle-age group will effect the passing down of information as well as the process of easing into positions left vacant by retiring professors. “There are more people who are willing to design rather than teach design,” said Dale Murray, a professor in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. But also, those who are willing to teach might not have the qualifications required for a position, Murray said. Government funding changed in the last few decades so that federal money is not going to universities in the form of grants, but it is going directly to students as loans. The lack of government grants puts U.S. universities’ administrators in search of ways to make more money. State governments giving less money to public universities only worsens the problem, Rhoades said. “We’re shifting the burden from the state to an excise tax on students,” Rhoades said. “The problem is the aid hardly ever stays in sync with tuition increases.”
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index
1 News 3 College Living 4 Entertainment 5 Classifieds 6 Sports brief free hiv testing when where
Thursday, Oct. 22 Lindner Athletic Center
The University of Cincinnati will be offering free HIV testing Thursday, Oct. 22. The confidential testing is provided courtesy of the STOP AIDS organization and will be on the third floor of the Lindner Athletic Center. For more information call the Wellness Center at 513-556-6124.
—GARY RHOADES, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS
Factoring in inflation, universities are receiving less money than before. To make up for budgets tightening gradually, universities are investing in things that appeal to students in a way that reroutes funds and causes a disinvestment in educators, such as putting money toward recreation centers and dining halls, Rhoades said. Universities are targeting more out-of-state students in order to ensure a greater influx of funds. In doing so, they have attracted students
who are willing to pay, but might have lower test scores with “frills,” Rhoades said. Although some universities stress the “fun” lifestyles that come with attendance, it is difficult to gauge the intellectual attractiveness of a facility, Rhoades said. Approximately 20 people listened to the presentation. The majority was made up of UC faculty. “There’s a lot of disinformation out there,” Rhoades said. “It’s hard to be a smart consumer. There aren’t any consumer reports on universities.” By allowing faculty to take a more proactive role in their university’s administration, Rhoades says the “recalibration” back to an education-centered establishment can take place. “Academicians are creators of value, not just labor and they are the ones who would help students realize the American dream,” Rhoades said. “[Administrators] are blocking the students from the American dream.”
the majority of those who attended Rhoades’ presentation Friday, Oct. 17, were UC faculty and staff who agreed that university policies need to center more around faculty than money.
Stem cells grow new face for local teen carly tamborski the news record
weather
“[Administrators] are blocking the students from the American dream.”
Brad Guilkey was born with Treacher Collins syndrome – an effect of the disease left him without facial bones. On May 28, Guilkey of Cincinnati, now 14 years old, received a stem cell procedure at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center enabling him to grow cheekbones. Dr. Jesse Taylor, a surgeon and researcher at CHMC, performed the experimental procedure and said it is an important step forward in discovering the possibilities stem cells have in aiding patients
“While a success, this is just the very important first step in a long process. It’s by no means the end.” —Dr. Jesse Taylor, assistant professor of surgery at UC
who have suffered traumatic bone injuries or deformities. Guilkey’s surgery is unique because stem cells were harvested from his body, not from an embryo. Taylor used cadaver bone to create a model of the missing bones. The cheekbone model was then injected with Guilkey’s stem cells and Bone Morphogenic Protein-2, a growth protein that instructs the stem cells to transform into bone cells. After being wrapped in a membrane of periosteum, which aids in the body’s production of BMP-2, the model was placed into his face. The procedure took approximately eight hours. Within the last decade, large bone loss was managed by filling defects with cement, using cement with screw supports, inserting artificial materials, modular wedges and bone grafts. While experimental stem cell procedures have been performed in the past, Guilkey’s procedure was a first. “This was the first time anyone demonstrated the revitalization of large pieces of bones in a human and the first time the body has been reconstructed with such
1974 First infant to undergo craniofacial surgery. 1998 Human embryonic stem cells first isolated. 2000 NIH begins regulating stem cell study. 2001 President George W. Bush puts hold on federal funding of stem cell research. Source: NPR.org and NFFR.org
Dr. JESSE TAYLOR complex geometry,” Taylor said. “Previous procedures used cadaver bones, allograft, periosteum and BMP-2 individually, but this is the first procedure to combine all those ingredients together to make bone.” The surgery has the potential to help others who have lost large amounts of bone due to genetic conditions or serious injuries.
Millions of people in the U.S. could benefit from this procedure, Taylor said. Reconstructive surgeries can be dangerous if the body absorbs or rejects implanted material, but Guilkey did not present a risk because his cells are growing from the cadaver bone. “Anything of this nature will take about six to eight weeks to solidify, so we performed the first follow-up CT scan about three months out,” Taylor said. “I’m very pleasantly surprised by the results. After I saw the CT scan I said ‘alright, this is working.’ While a success, this is just the very important first step in a long process. It’s by no means the end.”
online @ www.newsrecord.org Photos of the week
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
The happy maladies
View a slideshow of selected photos from last week including UC golf and soccer, Andrew Bird and Books by the Banks.
Videographer Blake Hawk interviews Wade Johnston, a UC student and a player of the ukulele.
Take a look at TNR photographer Coulter Loeb’s pictures from the Friday, Oct. 16 concert at the Rohs St. Café.
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