THE INdependent student newspaper at the university of cincinnati
Vol. CXXVV Issue 58
thursday , march 11, 2010 margot and the nuclear so and so’s
Indie rockers embrace shortened lineup while playing Southgate House. page 4
staff ed Taking a poll on banning smoking is great — but we already have a policy. page 3
pro day NFL scouts descend on Nippert Stadium to watch Pike, Gilyard and other Bearcats. page 8
Groups exploit general fee funds james sprague the news record
A Student Government “mini social” has caused some internal discord among student representatives. The event planned for Student Government members took place at Catskeller Wednesday, Feb. 3, after the weekly Student Government meeting. The stated purpose of the meeting was to reinforce friendships and working relationships between student Senate members, said Sen. Lane Hart, an internal holdover senator.
Student body President Tim Lolli was recorded in the meeting’s minutes saying the social was a way of rewarding representatives for putting in uncompensated hours. There was, however, opposition to the bill from some senators. If the Student Government wanted to get together socially, it should use their own money, said Sen. Andy Koesterman, a second-year marketing student who voted against the bill. “My opinion was that we were basically having the student body buy us dinner,” Koesterman said. “Which I did not think was right.”
The University Funding Board (UFB), which is part of Student Government, allocates operating funds for student organizations on campus. The funds are to be used by the student groups to promote interaction and awareness benefiting the entire student body. The funds are collected from the general fee money that all students pay to the university as part of their tuition bill. The $292.60 spent on the student government event nearly matches the $300 allocated by the UFB for yearly operating funds for student groups on campus. “In order to have a successful Senate, members must be able to cooperate and
collaborate,” said Sen. Alyssa Penick, a fourth-year neuroscience and biology student. The event was the result of a student Senate appropriations bill, which originally called for $271.70 to be allocated from the Senate’s operating budget for the event. The bill was later amended, passing by a 19-7 vote. The change increased the total funding for the event to $292.60 — to account for 10 percent overhead. These funds were used to purchase meals up to a total of $6.50 for 38 Senate members at Catskeller. In the UFB’S funding pamphlet for see spending | page 2
UC|21 looks to overhaul diversity
Fork it over!
jamie royce the news record
The University of Cincinnati will soon revamp UC|21, the university’s strategic plan for charting its academic course, to include more diversity initiatives. “We are not walking away from that road map of goals for this university. They will be reshaped, they will be modified, they will be restructured in some forms, but the heart of what UC|21 tries to do will remain the same,” Vice President of Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer Mitchel Livingston said during his address at the Student Activities Board Presidential luncheon. “But what UC|21 lacked from its very inception is an explicit commitment to diversity.” While what the new UC|21 initiatives will look like is still unclear, Livingston is confident the Diversity Council, (a task force created to tackle issues of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and regional or national origin) will create a specific diversity plan by the end of the summer. coulter loeb | the news record
see uc|21 | page 2
getting the goods Junior Girl Scouts Alexis Powers, 11, Casey Evans, 11, and Taylor Becker, 11, of troop 49332, hock Girl Scout Cookies to students in the Tangeman University Center Atrium to help raise money for the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
SG supports Prescription drug abuse bike program prevalent among students
index
1 News 3 Opinion 4 Entertainment 7 Classifieds 8 Sports
amanda woodruff the news record
Gin a. ando the news record
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“When I was in college, we took No-Doz or chewed on coffee beans.”
University of Cincinnati students are popping prescription pills to do more than stay awake for examinations, according to a student-conducted survey. The 10-question poll, conducted by electronic media adjunct professor Steve Oldfield and his class, polled 784 students in a two-week period in early February found 40 percent of those who completed the questionnaire were using the drugs for things other than studying for tests. “I was surprised how many people knew someone who use or abuse prescription drugs,” Oldfield said. “It was kind of shocking.” Results from the survey showed almost half of those who admitted to using the drugs illegally abused Adderall, a medication used to treat attention deficit disorder. “When I was in college, we took No-Doz or chewed on coffee beans,” Oldfield said.
—steve oldfield, electronic media adjunct professor
The survey served as a group project in Oldfield’s Research and Resources Class, and students were tasked with physically handing out surveys to students on campus. Instead of using a widespread random sampling, the students who conducted the survey aimed for certain demographics and distributed the poll to random samplings within the group, said Darienne Jordan, a firstsee pills | page 2
In efforts to reduce the carbon footprint, the University of Cincinnati will sponsor a Bearcat Bike Share pilot program, which is midway through the fundraising process. Student Government agreed to donate $7,000 to the pilot program although directors Alan Hagerty and Shawn Tubb requested a donation of $9,000. The bike share is based on daily rentals through the Campus Recreation Center. The bikes will be stored in the area between Market on Main and CRC, which is one reason that justifies the request for security cameras, Tubb said. Students and faculty will be able to rent a bike during CRC operating hours, but must return the bike by the end of the day. Small damages and regular maintenance will be at no cost to the renter. However, late fees and cost replacements will be applied as necessary. “Keep in mind that this is a pilot program, so things will have to work themselves out,” Tubb said. The program’s total cost is $18,500, including see bikes | page 2
Region outpacing others in conventions chelsey billock the news record
The convention industry in the Cincinnati region is booming as the city is outdrawing other U.S. cities in booking conventions. The region is 11 percentage points ahead of other eastern seaboard cities in convention bookings from 2010 to 2014, according to the company Trends, Analysis and Projections, which monitors convention bookings for 50 cities throughout the United States and Canada, including Cincinnati. The Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau creates a list of approximately 500 corporations and organizations fit to meet in Cincinnati. They then book the conventions mostly through solicitation, but also use trade shows to attract organizations. The bureau attended 26 trade shows
throughout the country in 2009, setting up a visitor’s booth and offering slideshow presentations in order to inform prospective why Cincinnati would be a great place to host their convention. “The goal of success of the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors bureau, Duke Energy Convention Center and the city of Cincinnati is a great opportunity to show the things the city has to offer,” said Jon Frost, marketing manager for Duke Energy Convention Center. “When we get the chance to bring a convention in, it is a chance for them to show what the city has to offer for a week, which in turn brings people to our area.” Hosting conventions in the city helps bring visitors and is huge for the economy, said Randie Adam, director of marketing for the Cincinnati USA Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
SO, it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out Check out a slideshow featuring this week’s Bearcat baseball games from TNR photographers.
see conventions | page 2
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sara blankemeyer | the news record
cincinnati means business The Queen City is hosting more conventions, which means more visitors to the city and more business for the region, bringing in an estimated $59 million to Cincinnati.
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