TNR - 6.3.10

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THE INdependent student newspaper at the university of cincinnati

Vol. CXXX Issue 87

thursday , june 3, 2010 sports year in photos Some of the most memorable moments of the year captured in photos. page 8

you’ll never know

so long, farewell Editor-in-Chief Taylor Dungjen bids goodbye to UC and TNR. page 4

DAAP professor Carol Tyler gives details of her comic book trilogy. page 5

Conversion on course Switch to semesters in 2012 still moving along jeremy davis the news record

coulter loeb | the news record

TIMES ARE CHANGING Like the architecture of campus has changed, the academic year will change from quarters to semesters in 2012.

The University of Cincinnati’s conversion from quarters to semesters is moving right along toward its expected implementation at the start of the 2012 academic year. Currently in its first phase of planning, university faculty is working on converting its course material so the transition from quarters to semesters goes through without a hitch. Much of the initial phase is scheduled to be completed Fall 2010. At the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, faculty in every department are busy working to complete the conversion process. “All A&S departments are engaged in this process and it’s a big job,” said Joanna Mitro, associate dean for undergraduate affairs at McMicken. “Our faculty have entered 1,147 courses into the e-curriculum system; so far only 340 have been completely approved by their departments and the college-level course approval process and more courses are still being created.”

VP laptop spurs SG’s suspicion

The transition into semesters might provide additional benefits to students by allowing further opportunities to study abroad, easing the transition of transfer students and giving students more flexibility in regards to switching and dropping classes due to a semester’s extended time period, according to UC’s semester conversion website. The impact of the semester conversion also has many A&S faculty members wondering how it will affect their ability to advise some students who began under the current quarter system. “One impact that worries faculty is the amount of effort that will be needed to advise students whose college careers will span both quarters and semesters,” Mitro said. “In A&S we have very broad and flexible core requirements, and many students now

combine programs (such as double majors or a major plus minors), and our majors have varied structures.” The third phase of the plan, set to take place September 2011 to August 2012, will have advisers meeting to help students ease through the transition. Despite those concerns, the semester conversion will bring many positive advantages not found under the current system, Mitro said. “But there are also advantages for A&S after we get to the other side of the conversion,” Mitro said. “The e-curriculum system enables some processes that are difficult or impossible now. For instance, in semesters we will have real cross-listing of see conversion | page 2

“One impact that worries faculty is the amount of effort that will be needed to advise students whose college careers will span both quarters and semesters.” —joanna mitro

A&S uNDERGRADUATE ASSISTANT DEAn

IS THAT A FLASH MOB I SEE?

Student misses court, warrant issued for arrest gin a. ando the news record

University of Cincinnati student Sarah Knigga is currently facing a capias warrant after missing her indictment hearing Friday, May 28. Brian Stretcher, Knigga’s lawyer, said she did not miss the hearing on purpose. If caught by the police, she may be arrested. If she opts to turn herself in, she will be held on a $100,000 bond. Knigga, 23, allegedly assaulted two Cincinnati Police Department officers that responded to a call saying the fourthyear electronic media student punched a SARAH man in the head. KNIGGA Knigga was claimed to have kicked one police officer multiple times and kicking another after throwing a table when the officers responded to an apartment on Ludlow Avenue the night of Monday, May 10. At the hearing, Knigga was scheduled to receive her formal accusation of one count of felonious assault. Additional misdemeanor charges of assault and resisting arrest were suspended — the cases will be brought up at a yet-to-be-determined date. Another charge of felonious assault was “ignored,” Stretcher said. The case, however, is complicated by Knigga’s impending graduation. She has been working to find a way to graduate this month and eventually turn herself in to authorities. However, if Knigga turns herself in, there is a chance she would remain in custody at the Hamilton County Justice Center until her next court date, Stretcher said. “There’s no way to know how long she’ll be held,” Stretcher said. Judge Norbert Nadel is assigned to preside over the case.

gin a. ando the news record

After a lengthy back-and-forth, the Undergraduate Student Government approved $660 of its budget to use toward a laptop for student body Vice President Mark Rooney. President Drew Smith, who brought the bill up at Wednesday night’s meeting after it was tabled due to budget questions, reintroduced the bill, which was received with mixed reactions. Originally, the bill had put aside approximately $990 for a vice presidential laptop. Many senators, however, argued the specifications and the price tag were extreme for its intended uses. Any money not used from the body’s see sg | page 2

sam greene | the news record

WORKING FOR STUDENTS Atlarge Sen. Shy Ruparel questions the $989 set aside for a laptop.

MOST PROUDLY

CINCINNATI

index

1 News 4 Opinion 5 Entertainment 7 Classifieds 8 Sports

coulter loeb | the news record

STUDENT

PRIDE OF CINCINNATI Lucy the Bearcat relaxes on McMicken Commons during a flash mob Tuesday, June 1. The 2-year-old Lucy was on loan from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden for the event and is a frequent visitor to UC football and basketball games.

weather forecast

Professor’s work wins award

thursday

gin a. ando the news record

81° 61°

fri

86°

O NLINE www.newsrecord.org

65°

sat

84° 60°

sun

79° 52°

mon

79° 56°

A University of Cincinnati professor got a tip of the hat from the Ohio Board of Regents for his unique teaching style. Richard Harknett, an associate professor of political science at UC, received the 2010 Faculty Innovator award for introducing electronic substitutes and technologies to help reduce textbook costs for students. “I was really pleased to receive [the award] from the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio State Senate, because it represents the recognition that faculty on their own engage creatively in advancing new ways of teaching and that the State of Ohio wants to promote such creativity,” Harknett wrote in a statement. “The University of Cincinnati has been very supportive of faculty using instructional

TNR ALL THE TIME Now flip through the full issue online. Subscribe to The News Record Web site and RSS. If that’s not enough, follow us on Twitter @NewsRecord_UC.

technology and has supported my efforts in creating original web-based course materials.” Harknett’s “web-textbook” is aimed to give students a different style of learning, in which those enrolled in his classes can “become more engaged directly with course material, which in turn helps them think differently about that material,” he said. The award, however, was not something Harknett was aiming for. “My main motivation was to use instructional technology to teach differently,” Harknett said. “The side benefit was that instead of spending $250 for [course materials], students pay less than $15.” Harkett said he was also looking for a way to help students become more immersed in the course materials. “Through role-play exercises and a web-textbook that allows non-linear reading of material, my classes allow students to become more engaged directly,” he said.

weekly headlines Check out a video of TNR stories that made headlines throughout the week.

Kayla Groene—34.8% “I am so honored that my peers voted me as the most Proudly Cincinnati. Winning the contest is the icing on the cake and a great end to my senior year.” Lars Burse—14.9% Tyrone Brown—13.3% Brad Kiser—12% Matt Silverstein—9.7% Alyssa Penick—9.5% Jeff Stephens—5.8% 549 total votes


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