Serving James Madison University Since 1922 BreezeJMU.org
Vol. 94, No. 24
Thursday, November 19, 2015
breezejmu.org
A decade of service Alternative Break Program has sent students to New Orleans since 2005 By Caroline Jansen The Breeze
Orleans suffered back to the JMU community.
As the semester draws to a close, many students look to Thanksgiving break as a relief from their heavy course loads. Although some plan on being with their families, a group of passionate individuals decided to do something different with their time. The Alternative Break Program is celebrating its 10th year of service by returning to New Orleans this Friday. Volunteers will return from this trip one week later on Friday, Nov. 27. This year also marks the 10th year since Hurricane Katrina displaced thousands as it hit along the Gulf Coast, primarily in New Orleans. ABP plans to send 63 volunteers, including JMU students, faculty, staff and alumni back to New Orleans to aid in restoring the homes devastated in the 2005 hurricane. Although 10 years have passed since the hurricane struck, 30,000 homes are still waiting to be rebuilt according to Devin Joseph, a student site leader for thisyear’s trip. Joseph, a senior biology major, has volunteered on six alternative break trips and led three. She relates the devastation the people of New
“JMU has a spirit of service and when a community like New Orleans gets destroyed, it’s like JMU getting destroyed — our community getting destroyed.” Devin Joseph senior biology major and site leader
“JMU has a spirit of service and when a community like New Orleans gets destroyed, it’s like JMU getting destroyed — our community getting destroyed,” Joseph said. “You want to go help, and the people there have so much hope even after everything that has happened.”
ABP is teaming up with Project Homecoming, a nonprofit organization that was founded because of the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused. Jeremy Hawkins, the assistant director for Festival Conference and Student Center and faculty staff leader on this ABP trip, explained the significance Project Homecoming has on these destroyed communities. “They work with volunteer groups to provide free labor for people trying to rebuild their homes,” Hawkins said. “So the homeowner will provide the money to buy the materials, and then Project Homecoming will provide the volunteer labor to actually do the building.” Project Homecoming recently established a new program. The Project Homecoming team will hire members of the New Orleans community and provide them with the skills needed to reconstruct these homes. These employees will walk away from the program as — electricians, plumbers and roofersjobs volunteers can’t do. Not only does this aim to aid in the reconstruction process, but it also aims to builds the necessary life skills
courtesy of jeremy Hawkins
For the past 10 years, students have volunteered in New Orleans. Students will return to Louisiana to restore homes this year, and will leave Friday.
see ABP, page 8
Madison Connection aims to link with alumni Office of Annual Giving receives donations through student-run call center
By Michael Better The Breeze
Colleges and universities have the appearance of being wealthy institutions, which just keep getting richer by increasing tuition rates. But that isn’t always the case, especially at JMU. These institutions depend on private funding in order to keep running and providing opportunities for its students. “Obviously, running a university this size is very expensive,” said Brad Polen, senior communications major and student manager at Madison Connection, which is the student-staffed donation request call center. “The amount of money they collect in tuition basically keeps the lights on. That’s really all it does. It covers the bare essentials. The donations cover all of the other stuff.” JMU receives funds to keep the school running in three different ways: state funding, student tuition and private contributions. Madison Connection deals with all private donations up to $1,000. Any contributors who donate more than $1,000 annually become members of the President’s Council. “The reason we are called Madison Connection is we really want to make that connection and get [alumni] back to understanding what is happening on campus, but also to understand them and what they are passionate about and what they enjoyed as a
Abbey Blouch / The Breeze
Kirby Collett, junior, works at JMU’s student call center.
student and getting their perspective,” Gretchen Armentrout, assistant director in the Office of Annual Giving, said.
Expert advice
JMU research center surveys alumni on the student experience
Skye Hagood, a junior media arts and design major, has been working at Madison Connection for two years. She elaborated on the importance of connections with alumni in order to increase private funding. “Yes we ask for donations, but we are about building that rapport with Madison’s past for Madison’s future,” Hagood said. “One fact we really utilize is 93 percent of people who say they love JMU are alums specifically, but only 7 percent give back. That is super low.” JMU has over 22,000 different funds that can be donated to, but the Office of Annual Giving and Madison Connection have a priority set of funds they push for donations to go to. If a donor would like to give a general contribution to the university, that goes toward the Madison Vision fund, which President Jon Alger has discretion over in terms of how the money in the fund can be used. Other funds Madison Connection prioritizes are the Madison Forever Scholarship Fund, which is a one-time grant for students who suddenly have an unforeseen financial situation, the Faculty Success Fund, which helps JMU recruit and keep faculty members, the athletics fund (Duke Club) and the Madison Endowment. The Madison Endowment is managed by the nonprofit JMU see connection, page 4
Home court hopes JMU prepares to host conference tournament
By Molly O’Toole The Breeze
They say hindsight is 20/20, and the JMU Office of Institutional Research is trying to take advantage of that to help current students. A link to OIR’s annual alumni advice survey was emailed to JMU juniors and seniors Monday. Titled “This is Not Your Father Talking,” the survey contains advice from 2012 JMU alumni on how to prepare for life post-graduation. The class of 2012 received the survey in December 2013. Out of an estimate of 600 potential respondents, about 250 to 300 responded to the survey. The advice touches on topics like resumes, internships, graduate school and more. “Over the years, we just started out asking general questions, and then we thought, ‘What do you wish you had done your junior or senior year that would have helped you?’” Frank Doherty, the director of OIR, said. Alumni responses not only talk about internships and resumes, but about important life skills needed after graduation. One alum responded, “I wish I had practice with real-life training — how to apply for jobs, interview, negotiate salary, etc.” The survey also includes a section on resources on campus that alumni wish they had used, such as the Career and Academic Planning department and career fairs. Another section, titled “Starting Sooner,” includes things that JMU alumni wish they had done earlier in their college careers, like working on their resumes or Kelsey Harding / The Breeze
Join the Fight
Organization uses social media to combat extremism News | 3
see feedback, page 4
Sam Taylor / The Breeze
Kate Whitmire, junior outside hitter, spikes a ball over the net in Tuesday’s practice. By Sammy Criscitello The Breeze
The JMU volleyball team is set to host the Colonial Athletic Association tournament this weekend after emerging as the top seed during regular season play by claiming the regular season title. Although JMU, Towson University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Hofstra University all finished 12-4 in conference play, JMU clinched the top seed with a 4-2 record against each of these three opponents. “This is the first time we’ve hosted
Dukes down the aisle Senior and alumnus discuss the married life Life | 7
the CAA tournament since 2002,” head coach Lauren Steinbrecher said. “We’ve got a great group, they’re fun to be around and they work very hard.” As the top seed, the Dukes will get a bye in the quarterfinal round. They’ll first play Saturday at 5 p.m. in the semifinals in hopes of winning the CAA tournament for the first time since 2000 this Saturday at 5 p.m. The Dukes will face the winner of the No. 5-seeded College of Charleston (18-12, 10-6 CAA) vs. No.
TODAY WILL BE
Showers 69° / 38° Chance of rain: 90%
see CAA, page 10