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Serving James Madison University Since 1922
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Vol. 88, No. 21 Monday, November 7, 2011
The digital dream
University presidents team up to implement high-tech classes across Va. colleges By AARON KOEPPER The Breeze
high-resolution monitors and motionsensitive cameras and microphones to switch automatically to each speaker. “This is a transformative technology,” Rose said from the Festival Student Conference Room . “This is the stuff of James Bond and Jason Bourne, the movies of years ago. Right now, it’s available to all of us.” The TelePresence technology is part of the -VA collaboration, an effort by the four universities that began in to add , science, technology, engineering and math degrees in the next years.
President Linwood Rose and three Virginia schools’ presidents met face-to-face Thursday with Gov. Bob McDonnell — all without ever leaving their respective campuses. At the meeting, Rose, Alan Merten, president of George Mason University; Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech; and Teresa Sullivan, president of the University of Virginia demonstrated Cisco TelePresence at the meeting, a video-conferencing tool that uses
The screens in Conference Room , where Thursday’s demo was held were installed in May, according to Rose. A second set of TelePresence screens were installed in Festival Conference Room on Oct. . Rose told McDonnell that sharing and collaborating were not “accurate descriptors” of how universities currently work together, but the TelePresence technology aims to change that. “This technology makes a real see CISCO, page A3
GRIFFIN HARRINGTON / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
President Linwood Rose and Jerry Benson, dean of the College of Integrated Science and Technology, demonstrated the TelePresence technology for the press Thursday. “This is the stuff of James Bond and Jason Bourne,” Rose said.
GRIFFIN HARRINGTON / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
COURTESY OF BRADLEY JONES
Fifth-year senior Nick Keatts, 22, was a dedicated member of the cheerleading squad. “He was always representing JMU in some way, shape or form,” said teammate senior Lamar Walker. By GEORGINA BUCKLEY The Breeze
Saturday’s death of fifth-year senior Nick Keatts, a member of the cheerleading squad, has left teammates reeling. JMU cheerleading coach Kelly Moore said the team is mourning the loss of someone they thought of as a family member. “To the guys, he was a big brother; to the girls, he was a big brother; and to me, he was like a son,” Moore said. Moore said he was the most dedicated
a cheerLEADER In life and in death, senior Nick Keatts leaves behind an inspiring legacy
member on the team and always put percent into everything he did. Currently, the cause of death is unknown, and a police report wasn’t released at press time. Fifth-year senior John Nguyen, a health sciences major and cheer squad member, was close to Keatts. Nguyen said Keatts had been sick in the days preceding his death. Keatts was a popular and beloved member of the cheerleading squad since his freshman year. Some of the student body will remember him as the cheerleader
who dressed up as the Joker during the football season. Senior Lamar Walker, a Spanish major and member of the cheerleading squad, said Keatts was one of the most spirited people he knew – and also one of the kindest. He said Keatts was always giving advice and would do anything to help his friends. “He was always representing JMU in some way, shape or form,” Walker said. Sixth-year senior Edward Rossi, a dietetics major and member of the squad, said loyalty was one of Keatts’ greatest
attributes. “He’d ask me if I needed help even when I was too shy to ask,” Rossi said. Walker remembers Keatts as the guy who would be smiling even if he was feeling down. “He was one of the biggest supporters of the cheerleader squad being a family and bringing everyone together,” Walker said. “Even if that took him getting up in front of everyone and saying something which needed to be said, he’d do it.” see KEATTS, page A4
Senior remembered in candlelight vigil Faculty Senate frustrated with presidential search By RACHEL DOZIER The Breeze
In , after the JMU football team defeated the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg resident Travis Simone decided he would never wear purple and gold again. But on Sunday night, this associate pastor stood outside of Wilson Hall and held a candle up to his purple-and-gold-striped tie for all to see. Simone, the associate pastor of Kathryn “Katie” Mausteller’s church, the Williamsburg Community Chapel, said the closing prayer at the vigil held in Mausteller’s honor on the Quad. The senior died Oct. after a longboarding accident in North . “After Katie’s passing and coming here, I just thought to myself, what a tremendous place and a tremendous student body and tremendous spirit about this place that you all would pause to reflect [on Mausteller’s life],” Simone said. About family members, friends, JMU faculty and community members came out to celebrate the life of this kinesiology and sport and recreation management double major. Several faculty members spoke at the tribute, including Cara McFadden, who taught Mausteller in an introductory course last year. “I think many of us always think that the faculty are here to teach the students, but it’s often the other way around,” McFadden said. “That’s how it was with Katie.”
11/7 INSIDE
By GEORGINA BUCKLEY The Breeze
LAURA WEEKS / THE BREEZE
Friends gathered at a candlelight vigil on the Quad yesterday in honor of senior Kathryn “Katie” Mausteller, who died on Oct. 10 after a longboarding accident.
The memorial began with a slideshow of photos of Mausteller posing with friends and family. The silence that filled Wilson Auditorium was occasionally broken by laughter prompted by photos of Mausteller posing with a variety of facial expressions and in eccentric costumes. A common theme of the evening was Mausteller’s infectious personality. Julie Wallace Carr, a parent from the soccer team of -year-olds that Mausteller coached, said, “Rarely did I see Katie without a mischievous smile on her face. She connected with the kids immediately.” Fernando Perez, a member of her band, Adam in America, talked about
A3
NEWS Weighing in
Is the “freshman ” fact or fiction? Studies point to it being false.
Mausteller’s willingness to help others, including her fellow band members, before singing an original song titled “Katie’s Dance.” All in attendance then took a moment on the Quad to light candles and say a prayer in Mausteller’s memory. “She was probably – even though I never really told her – an example to me of how to relate to people and how to have an easy spirit, but at the same time show love to everybody,” said her brother, Will Mausteller. Mausteller was scheduled to graduate this May. CONTACT Rachel Dozier at breezepress@gmail.com.
A6
OPINION The debate goes on
Abortion opinions should be respected no matter what side they come from.
Faculty Senate spent the majority of their meeting on Thursday debating two motions, both of which disapproved of the presidential search process, which has been almost entirely confidential. Don Egle, university spokesman, said the targeted selection date is sometime in January or February. Robert Jerome, speaker for the Senate and member of the Search Committee, said he discussed the confidentiality of the search at the Faculty Senate of Virginia meeting on Oct. — with not much progress. “I brought it up at the State Senate meeting this Saturday and said we had this issue with confidential search and if they had any experience with it and, if so, what was it,” Jerome said. “The feeling was this is the way that these things are going to happen from now on.” The days of transparent selection of college presidents, especially in institutions of JMU’s size, are probably over, according to Jerome. Faculty Senate member and secretary David McGraw from the integrated science and technology department submitted a motion for consideration which stated, “While we recognize that there may be times in which candidate
B1
SPORTS The hole gets deeper
JMU’s loss to the University of New Hampshire means it must win its last two games for playoff potential.
privacy is necessary to produce the optimal outcome in administrative searches, the Faculty Senate believes strongly in the principle of transparency in searches and adequate faculty involvement in the selection process.” The Senate then debated the merits of the motion, specifically about whether it was worded strongly enough. “No one wants to be confrontational, but at the same time, this is a process we are discussing — not an individual,” said senate member Cole Welter of the art and art history department. Welter also submitted his own hypothetical faculty response to the Presidential Search Committee. The response was put together by Welter and faculty members from the art and art history department. Welter said he was concerned about the lack of contact between the applicants and the faculty. “I would have sincere concerns about an individual that didn’t want to meet us and would be scared away of having their anonymity stripped away and to have contact with us,” Welter said. >> Read the full story online at breezejmu.org. CONTACT Georgina Buckley at breezenews@gmail.com.
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LIFE Country strong
Randy Montana brings country to Wilson Hall.