UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS The Reflector staff sends its condolences to all of those affected in the Virginia Tech tragedy.
Money and sports Funding at UIndy: The most successful teams don’t bring home the cash. Page 5
THE
REFLECTOR
REFLECTOR .UINDY. EDU
APRIL 25, 2007
VOL . 85 / ISSUE 11
The president’s pad
Indianapolis’ college community remembers A look inside the ranch-style house Pitts calls home Virginia Tech victims By Dan Friend OPINION EDITOR
On the southern-most corner of campus at the intersection of Otterbein and Castle avenues, University of Indianapolis President Beverley Pitts resides as a member of the University Heights community among students, local residents and those who wonder whether she actually lives there. “I’ve seen them [President Pitts and husband Bill] pull up, but I’ve never seen them go in,” said undergraduate student and Castle Avenue resident Matt Taylor. “I don’t think the president really lives there.” However, Pitts does live in the house with her husband Bill and their cat Sasha. She is the
fifth university president to live there. The president’s house, built and dedicated in 1955, serves as more than a place of residence for campus presidents. According to Pitts, the house is also used to host formal dinners and receptions for guests, donors, faculty and students of the university. “Aside from being the place where we live, this is a university facility,” Pitts said. “We use it as a way to say ‘thank you’ and keep people connected to the university.” Officially called The Nelson House, it was dedicated to Roy and Elnora Nelson and built with a $37,000 donation, which the Nelsons gave to the university for a memorial in 1954, according to Frederick D. Hill’s book, A History of the University of Indianapolis and Its Legacy of Service. The ranch-style house, constructed of Indiana limestone, covers 6,568 square feet
By Nicki Crisci STAFF WRITER
DUSTIN BROWN/THE REFLECTOR
A sunroom faces the backyard of President Pitts’ home.
of floor space, and includes rooms for formal dining, recreation and guest living, as well as the president’s living quarters. According to Jay Sibley, director of Physical Plant Mechanical Services, after former President Jerry Israel retired, the Nelson house underwent renovations to the upstairs kitchen and back porch, which was converted to a sunroom. A furnace was added to the south end of the house, where the president’s living quarters—including an office area, small living room and bedroom—are located. A handrail was added in the guest bathroom on the north end of the house to make the bathroom handicap accessible. The addition of French doors expanded the available reception area and connected the 34-by-34 foot L-shaped formal dining room to the sunroom, giving guests more room to DUSTIN BROWN/THE REFLECTOR mingle, Pitts said. Window panels were added President Beverley Pitts resides in the Nelson House located on Otterbein to the ceiling in the sunroom to let in more natural light.
and Castle avenues.
See HOUSE Page 3
ISG cuts Campus Program Board budget By Sami Shelton STAFF WRITER
The Indianapolis Student Government (ISG) recently voted to decrease the Campus Program Board budget for the 2007-2008 school year. According to Isaac Hughes, ISG treasurer, the ISG Budget Committee was not required to give the Campus Program Board (CPB) Executive Board advance warning that the budget was in danger of being decreased. The budget was cut from $33 per student to $29 per student. The cut results in a loss of approximately $18,400, or 12 percent of CPB’s budget. According to Eric Raider, student activities coordinator, CPB will not know exactly how much money has been lost until the final enrollment numbers are tallied in September. “It looks bad right now, but this is not an attack,” Hughes said. “Because of the raised Student Activity Fee for next year, [CPB] should actually make more money than this past year.” ISG passed the budget cut using evidence such as decreased attendance and decreased quality of events as support. According to outgoing ISG President Susan Decker-Martin, some ISG members who voted assumed that CPB has a rollover fund of $10,000, when in fact a rollover does not exist.
The funds cut from CPB’s budget will be divided into other areas. Intramurals will receive $1 per student and the remaining 52 Registered Student Organizations will receive $3 per student. “There is an increasing number of RSOs on campus,” Hughes said. “We have to make sure everyone has enough money to continue their own organization.” With a smaller budget, CPB members worry that they will not be able to continue to bring large names to campus, such as Little Big Town and Dave Coulier. “We had been working to bring big names to campus, bigger than Little Big Town, by polling students to see what they want. That’s not going to happen with a decreased budget,” CPB President Justin Libak said. CPB has started a petition for a re-vote on the budget cut. According to Decker-Martin, who signed the petition, the vote can be considered if minor changes are made, such as requesting for $3.99 rather than the $4 that was taken away by the first vote. Libak said he started the petition to make students aware that this happened. “ISG is supposed to represent the students. With enough support from the student body, they should be compelled to [re-vote],” Libak said. Students can sign the CPB petition by stopping by the CPB office, or by contacting Libak at libakjn@uindy.edu.
The mood was somber and still, mirroring the overcast sky, as students from UIndy, IUPUI, Ivy Tech and Butler gathered at University College Plaza April 19 to pray for the people affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy that occurred Monday, April 16. The service started with a statement that there would be prayers from different denominations since the victims were of different religions. Chancellor Charles Bantz of IUPUI began the service. “It is a day of great sorrow, great reflection as we reflect upon the events that happened,” Bantz said. “We need to come together as a community so we can never experience such an event here.” This sense of community was seen as students, faculty and others gathered to pray for the 32 people who lost their lives. The prayers were from different religions, but for the same people. There were monks chanting prayers and a Jewish rabbi speaking in Hebrew. Public Safety Director, Morton Marcus, spoke out on how important it is to pray. “Prayer has to be an intricate part of facing these challenges,” Marcus said. “Let us realize this lesson and tolerate no aggression.” The service had a leading message of living life to the fullest—to not take anything for granted. He spoke about the thirtytwo who people lost their lives on April 16 without knowing that it was going to be their last day. In order to commemorate the victims, college students read the names of students and faculty who lost their lives. Their naming was accompanied by the ringing of a bell in remembrance. President Beverly Pitts was at the ceremony and was touched by the good will that students had to offer. “I’m extremely impressed with our students. It’s an example of the best we can do—to reach out and show we care and want to help,” Pitts said. “It’s hard to make sense because we don’t have it…we will be struggling with this for a long time.” At the end of the ceremony, 32 doves were released into the air as a symbolic tribute.
NICKI CRISCI/THE REFLECTOR
During a memorial held April 19 at the University College Plaza, members of the Indianapolis community left messages of sympathy on a large banner that was sent to Virginia Tech Monday, April 23.
Distinguished speakers and possible record numbers will accent graduation 2007 Charles J. Dietzen, M.D.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Dietzen, a northern Indiana native, is a doctor and a neuroanatomy professor at UIndy. He brings patients to class to provide the students with a more visual, hands-on approach to the field. He believes this is the best way for a student to learn about what they want to do in the future.
See DIETZEN Page 3
By Adrian Kendrick STAFF WRITER
The University of Indianapolis will host a graduate programs commencement Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. and an undergraduate commencement Saturday, May 5 at 2 p.m. Both ceremonies will be located in Nicoson Hall. According to Registrar Mary Beth Bagg, while the Office of the Registrar manages graduate information and organizes the logistics of the commencement ceremonies, many other people and organizations are involved. “It is not the Registrar’s Office that does all the work,” Bagg said. “This is a campus-wide event; there has to be 100 people from 20 different organizations across campus helping. We’re all doing the best we can to make this a great event.” Bagg said last year UIndy had 982 graduates including students from UIndy international locations. This year the potential number of graduates is 1,030 with an additional 110 from UIndy inter-
national locations, which Bagg says will be a record number of graduates. This year UIndy will be hosting two speakers during the commencement ceremonies. James T. Morris and Charles J. Dietzen, M.D. will speak and accept honorary Doctor of Science degrees during the ceremonies. “This is exciting. [These two men] are very good speakers, and I am looking forward to it,” said Gloria Eichenberg, executive administrative assistant for the president, who also helped with the graduation arrangements. Another major part of the graduation this year will be the awarding of Indiana’s first doctorates in occupational therapy. UIndy’s nationally recognized School of Occupational Therapy was the third such school in the United States to establish a doctoral program, and it is the only one in the state of Indiana. Seven students will receive the post-professional Doctor of Health Sciences degree. “This is terrific for [us] to be the first in Indiana [to be awarding] these degrees. It’s great for the university,” Eichenberg said. UIndy also will host an Athletic Gradu-
ation on Monday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Schwitzer Room 010. “[The Athletic Graduation] is not as good as the regular graduation, but at least we’re doing something for the student athletes,” said Athletic Director Sue Willey. Sports that will participate in the Athletic Graduation are softball, golf, track and field and tennis because of sporting events that take place during the May 4 and 5 ceremonies. According to Willey, the Athletic Graduation is worthwhile; otherwise, the students would just pick up their diplomas from the Registrar’s Office. The Athletic Graduation is more intimate and the students can receive one-on-one time with President Beverley Pitts. There are an anticipated 20 to 25 student athletes participating in the special ceremony this year versus the 17 students who participated last year. “I’m just excited that the president is willing to support this and that the university is doing some type of recognition for the student athletes,” Willey said. “This graduation really represents that they are students first then athletes.”
James T. Morris
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Morris, a graduate of Indiana University with an MBA from Butler University, stepped down this month from a position he has held for the past five years as Executive Director for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). While serving as director, Morris also served as the UN Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa.
See MORRIS Page 3