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Vol. 92, No. 4 Thursday, September 5, 2013
Drink less
study more photo illustration by matt schmachtenberg and lauren gordon / the breeze
Bringing students back into focus New film series downtown gives students a chance to showcase musical and comedic talents
Jillian Paul / THE BREEZE
By Molly Jacob The Breeze
Break out of the JMU bubble this weekend and experience Harrisonburg’s finer side. At the Downtown Film Series, a part of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance that began this past May to promote the arts and culture of downtown Harrisonburg, JMU students’ work will be showcased this tomorow night. The Downtown Film Series began on May 3 and will continue on the first Fridays of September and October as a way to showcase Harrisonburg artists, performers, food vendors and other local businesses. The May event’s theme, “Flashback Night,” was a nod to Harrisonburg’s past, and featured storytelling by people of all ages recounting their finest memories and experiences, as well as selections from the “Super Gr8 Film Festival,” an event where local filmmakers could only submit short films shot using the classic Super 8 film format. This weekend’s theme is “Student Night,” so JMU performers such as a cappella groups Exit 245 and The Overtones, the hip-hop dance crew Mozaic Dance Team and the comedic improvisation troupe New & Improv.’d will bring some Duke Dog spirit to the ‘Burg. “We are very excited to represent JMU at the Downtown Film Series,” said Andrew Levering, the business manager of The Overtones. “I think we, and the JMU community as a whole, help add youth and diversity to the already rich culture of Harrisonburg and I can’t wait to be a bigger part of it.” Adrian Jarvis, director of New &
“Even though we are all residents of this city, it sometimes feels as though we, as students, stay separated from the life and culture downtown. Events like these help break down those barriers.”
Faculty group suggests scheduling deadlines near weekends to discourage high-risk drinking and negative behavior By IJ Chan The Breeze
While JMU students might complain about being burdened with schoolwork over the weekend, some faculty are saying it’s beneficial. A message was sent out to all faculty via MyMadison from the Madison Teaching Fellows for Alcohol and Academic Culture suggesting that faculty consider scheduling assignments around “high-risk weekends,” or weekends when students might be inclined to drink heavily. “As Thursdays tend to mark the early start of the high-risk periods at the end of the week, suggestions for Friday assignments and exams are accounted for on these recommendations for Monday assignments,” the message said. The message goes on to list high-risk weekends in both the fall and spring semesters. Among those listed are Homecoming and Saint Patrick’s Day weekends as well as weekends when there are home football games. Carol Hurney, a biology professor and director of the Center for Faculty Innovation, said the Fellows are a group of faculty that were originally based out of the CFI. Hurney said they began a campus-wide conversation among faculty and students regarding the faculty’s role in students’ alcohol education and prevention following the Springfest riots in 2010. The purpose of the message, Hurney said, is not to enforce rules on faculty or overwhelm students. Rather, the proposal as a way to strengthen the relationship between faculty and students. “I think the faculty here bleed purple for the students … We’re trying to do everything we can to make
your experience better, because at the end of the day it makes our experience better and makes the whole JMU experience better,” she said. “I don’t want this to be viewed as we’re trying to get into people’s business, but we’re trying to be in the same community with you, and things that we do on the weekends and things that I do on the weekends affect the community.” Katherine Ott Walter, a health sciences professor, was a member of the Fellows and said that the proposal stemmed from a discussion among faculty about academic rigor at JMU. The Fellows, Ott Walter said, spent a year studying JMU’s academic culture as well as examining the role of faculty in alcohol prevention and education. “If the university requires studying and papers and harder classes, then ideally you would see high-risk consumption go down, because the individuals are more concerned about their grades,” Ott Walter said. Eventually, the Fellows received permission from the Provost to post high-risk weekends on MyMadison for faculty. In partnership with the Counseling and Student Development Center, the Fellows also started a program called “Here to Help,” which trains faculty members to be a resource for students who might struggle with problems such as alcohol abuse. Ott Walter, who has spent most of her professional career in substance abuse education and prevention, said it’s important to recognize the drinking culture at JMU and its effects on academics. ”What I’ve heard from a lot of students is that the idea is to drink as much as you can as fast as you can,” Ott Walter said. see DrinkING, page A5
>> Football aiming to improve and get a win at Division I-A University of Akron
Adrian Jarvis
DIrector, New & Improv.’d
page B3
Improv.’d, is excited to kick off the troupe’s season with a community show and to see such great student talent exhibited in the heart of Harrisonburg. “Getting to perform on Friday is not only a great way to get New & Improv.’d on the radar for some of the students that have never seen us, it’s also a fantastic opportunity to mix the student population of JMU with the general population of Harrisonburg,” Jarvis said. The first half of the Downtown Film Series will be from 8-9 p.m. and will feature these student performances along with food vendors such as Strite’s Donuts and Blue Nile. The event will also incorporate performances by EMU students. This community festival, held at the Turner Pavilion behind the see downtown, page B2
photo by matt schmachtenberg / the breeze
news 9/5 Inside A3 Sleeping for success Festival bean bags
become JMU’s first official napping spot.
A7
opinion Ditching the dorms
Despite the increase in commuters, on-campus life is worth the cost.
B1
life Get out while you still can
Savor the last warm days of the year before it’s too late in the Arboretum.
B3
sports Champs back to work
The defending CAA champion women’s golf team debuts Sunday.