The voice of the Spartan community Vol. 58 Issue 10
SpartanEcho.com
3.18.11
NSU RETENTION RATES
72% 67%
By MAYRENES FIGUEREO Echo Correspondent Since April 2010, the students at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) have been protesting the recent budget cuts made to the university. The termination of over thousands of public workers has also lead to large peaceful protest demonstrations over the past year, one in which over 100,000 protesters turned out for support. About 26,000 workers
have been laid off. The protesters are also against the government for warning and trying to shut down the university FM radio station, and for attacking the Puerto Rico Bar Association. On February 9, the students organized a peaceful demonstration in the form of a paint-in, in which they painted messages of protest on an area on the street in front of the main library, without interrupting classes. The students
were protesting against UPR’s Chancellor Ana Guadalupe’s orders of prohibiting any type of protesting, which were also orders from Governor Luis Fortuño, who ordered armed police officers to enforce those orders upon students. Students were immediately attacked by the police and the armed SWAT and Riot Squad teams. The peaceful protests that have been met with police violence Story continued on p. 3
The Spartan Echo is accepting applications now for all editor positions. Editors will serve during the fall 2011 semester and receive a scholarship for their service. Amounts vary by position. Some summer work will be necessary to prepare for the fall semester. Contact the faculty adviser at seopfer@nsu.edu or 757-823-2444 for more detailed information. Students with previous professional or student media experience are strongly encouraged to apply, but previous experience is not necessary. Applicants, however, must be a current full-time student. Applications are available online from Student Activities and Leadership. http:// www.nsu.edu/studentactivities/documents/SpartanEchoPublicationApplication.doc FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 3
2009
University of Puerto Rico student protestors attacked by police
2007
RICARDO ARDUENGO| ASSOCIATED PRESS Riot police confront protesting students inside the University of Puerto Rico.
GRAPHIC BRYON SUMMERS| SPARTAN ECHO Retention rates at NSU have fallen five percent in two years.
Retention rates are decreasing at Norfolk State By BETHANY CARTWRIGHT Students are finding it harder to stay enrolled in a university. Since 2007, retention rates have fallen 5 percent for fulltime, degree-seeking freshmen, making retention for fall 2009 freshmen 67 percent. While retention rates for fall 2007 were at 72%, the highest in the past 6 years, drop-out rates increased for that class in following years. And while none of the students have graduated, almost half of the 2007 freshmen are no longer enrolled in the university.
Mildred Fuller, Interim Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Dean of Graduate School, believes that the decrease in could be attributable to poor student performance, financial constraints and lack of connection with the university. Norfolk State is actively trying to research why students are not staying enrolled in classes. 22 non-returning student volunteers from the fall semester of 2009 did a telephone survey, answering questions about their involvement on campus and their opinion of the quality of service. Story continued on p. 6
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