THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWS ORGANIZATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI | WWW.NEWSRECORD.ORG
THE NEWS RECORD
131 years in print Vol. CXXXI Issue III
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 27 | 2010
OH SO CLOSE
Late-game rally not enough, No. 8 Oklahoma wins 31-29
MidPoint recant from both sides of the stage
sports | 6
entertainment | 2
College degree increasing in value James Sprague | NEWS EDITOR
A recent report indicates that while students might be incurring thousands of dollars in student loan debt due to increasing tuition, the value of a college degree is rising. The report, “Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society,” was released Tuesday. The report stated that those in the workforce with a college degree earned more and were also more likely to be employed in comparison to individuals with only a high school education.
Statistics in the report show that the median earnings of workers who had bachelor’s degrees was $55,700 as of 2008 – $21,900 more than those with only a high school diploma. The numbers also illustrated that those with a bachelor’s degree will earn approximately 66 percent more than high school graduates throughout a 40-year working period. The report also stated that the unemployment rate in 2009 for college graduates was 4.6 percent, in comparison to a rate of 9.7 percent for high school graduates.
A correlation between a college degree, community involvement and health was also presented by the report. “Education pays out more than dollars,” said Sandy Baum, an independent policy analyst for the College Board. “If you have a college degree you are more likely to exercise, volunteer, vote and read to your kids, and less likely to be obese or smoke.” The report did find that some racial disparities remain. Blacks and Hispanics are less likely to be admitted into college and graduate in comparison to whites, according to the report.
“If it wasn’t clear before, it should be abundantly clear now that a college graduate is far more competitive in today’s workplace,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. Gaston also addressed the concern of increasing student loan debt accrued by students to pay for tuition. “Even for students who use loans to finance all of their tuition, it would only take about 11 years to recoup the cost plus foregone earnings,” Gaston said. “Over the long run, they would be much better off financially than their counterparts without a degree.”
GETTING UP ON THE RIGHT SLIDE
EAMON QUEENEY | photo editor
SHOOTING SOME HOOPS A few students used the event to play games and socialize. Organizers hope the event will break stereotypes and show freshmen students the fun side of taking part in a fraternity and getting involved on campus.
BATTLE OF THE HALLS After the actual competition began, teams had the chance to compete for points in multiple events at stations located on McMicken Commons. “There’s a Slip ‘n’ Slide, knock-out game, water balloon toss, obstacle course, Nerf gun game and three-legged race,” said Carmen Pescatrice, a fifth-year organizational leadership and business student. Volunteer judges — Greek Life team captains — recorded the number of points each team scored. Prizes were given to winners at the end of the event. Prizes included a Playstation 3, iPod Touch, pizza party for an entire residence hall floor and gift cards to Buffalo Wild Wings and Game Stop, among others.
JAYNA BARKER | college living editor
M
cMicken Commons became a combat area for freshmen Sunday for the University of Cincinnati Greek Life’s 2010 Battle of
the Halls. The seventh-annual competition is a way for Greek Life to be introduced and promoted to incoming UC students living in residence halls on campus. “It’s really a low-key event,” said Devin Sullivan, a fifth-year early childhood education student. “It’s like a meet-and-greet for Greek Life.” Each team, consisting of eight members, received a color-coded T-shirt to represent one of the university’s residence halls.
The event brought freshmen in the residence halls together at the end of the first week of classes. “There’s food, friends and friendly competition,” Carmen Pescatrice, a fifth-year organizational leadership and business student and member of Phi Kappa Alpha, said. “It’s a fun and safe event for potential new members.” Throughout the event and pizza party afterward, students are also introduced to the presence and style of Greek Life on UC’s campus. “A lot of people come in with a stereotype of what Greek Life is, but it’s not true at all,” Pescatrice said. “[Potential members] are seeing that the Greek community is more than what you see on TV.”
Business slowed by construction sean peters | chief reporter
Construction on West McMillan Street is doing more than just beautifying Clifton; it is also obstructing local businesses from customers. The stretch of West McMillan Street between Wheeler Street and West Clifton Avenue is undergoing major refurbishing with fresh concrete sidewalks and newly laid brick street corners. “Construction has slowed business,” said Eric Buttelworth of Angel’s II Carryout. “But when people are just coming in for beer or cigarettes, they’ll step around [the construction] and still come in.” While a majority of the work appears to be complete along the main stretch of road, the corners in front of Arby’s and Clifton Natural
UCPD looking into reported sexual offenses
Foods look set to have bricks laid as well. “Nobody told us anything,” said Siyun Hung of Red Pepper, indicating the construction began without any real warning. “[Construction has] hurt our business — they should not have cut down our trees.” Trees between Wheeler and West Clifton streets have been cut down, leaving stumps and orange barrels as the only street décor. The construction started early this summer and looks to be finished before autumn’s end. Businesses on W. McMillan St. have a connection to UC and its students, as UC has deals with local businesses that provide discounts to Bearcat Card users.
FORECAST
JAMES SPRAGUE | NEWS EDITOR
Eamon queeney | Photo editor
SLOWING THINGS DOWN Both traffic and business have been slowed down by the road construction and repairs on West McMillan Street. INSIDE
MONDAY TUES
70° 58°
69° 49°
WED
73° 50°
THURS
79° 56°
FRI
75° 52
2 Entertainment 5 Classifieds 6 Sports
The first week of classes at the University of Cincinnati not only saw students back to campus, but two sexual offenses as well. An unnamed UC student reported a sexual assault Wednesday to the UC Sexual Offense Response Team. The assault allegedly occurred off-campus on Ohio Avenue during the early morning hours of Sept. 18. The incident reportedly involved alcohol, and the prime suspect in the assault is also a UC student, according to the University of Cincinnati Police Department and UC’s Sexual Assault Response Coordinator. The suspect’s name was not released. There were 26 rapes reported to UC’s SARC during the 2009-10 academic year. The most recent incident was followed by a report to the UCPD of an unidentified suspect committing voyeurism in the women’s shower at the Campus Recreation Center. UCPD is still investigating and talking to witnesses about the incident. There are no updates on either case at press time, said UCPD Chief Gene Ferrara.
IN BRIEF
SACUB looking for members Deadline: Saturday, Oct. 11 The Student Advisory Committee on the University Budget is looking for members to fill vacant seats. The organization allocates general fee money to student groups, services and offices.
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Seats for both undergraduates and graduates are open. For more information, contact the
Division
of
Student
Affairs
and Services at (513)556-4119 or check out the SACUB website at uc.edu/sacub.