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DAYS UNTIL THE “APOCALYPSE”
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012
VOLUME 48, ISSUE 15
Transitioning transfers to Columbia
by Ivana Hester
Assistant Campus Editor THE RISING COST of higher educa-
tion has many students searching for affordable alternatives, such as attending community college to complete general education classes before transferring to a fouryear institution. To attract these transfer students, Columbia launched an initiative at the beginning of the year to make transfer students’ transition more seamless and create a more transfer-friendly community, according to Keri Walters, head of the initiative and assistant dean 2500
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for faculty advising in the School of Fine & Performing Arts. “We want students who are interested in coming to Columbia … to be able to readily see how the work they have already done would map onto Columbia’s requirements,” said Louise Love, interim Provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. The initiative follows the lowest transfer student enrollment numbers since 2004. According to the college’s General Summary Report of Student Registration, there were a total of 1,258 transfer students at xx SEE TRANSFER, PG. 8
Number of Students
2,082 1,948
]
Registration Status of Transfer Students from 2004 – 2012
of incoming = number transfer students per year
1,977 1,891
2000 1,725
1,691 1,573
1,614
1500
1000
1,258
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
2009
2010
2011
2012
Information from Office of Research, Evaluation & Planning
A letter from the editors The Nov. 26 issue of The Chronicle carried a story on its front page reporting that the Chicago Police Department’s long-running CAPS program is being dropped for lack of funds, a development that will deal a serious blow to neighborhood policing efforts. The story quoted a number of sources, including Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward); Elizabeth Rios, a CAPS community organizer; 14th District police officer Thomas McNamara; and Police Sgt. Scott Oberg of the 21st District. On Dec. 1, we received an email from Sgt. Oberg stating that he had never spoken with the reporter who wrote the story. This was a shocking charge. When confronted, the writer admitted that he had,
in fact, interviewed none of the people named in the story and had fabricated all of their quotes.Our response was immediate. The writer was terminated and, as is required under the college’s academic dishonesty policy, the case has been reported to the interim provost’s office, since the newspaper is considered an educational arm of the Journalism Department. To say the least, making up any form of information, including putting words into people’s mouths, is unforgivable behavior for journalists, whose entire enterprise is built upon the public’s faith that what is presented to them is the truth as best we can attest
CAMPUS
at the time of publication. It is difficult to restore a news organization’s credibility once it has been damaged. We at The Chronicle know that. All we can do is to assure you, our readers, that we have always made the utmost effort to provide factual information and will continue to do so in the future. That does not, of course, excuse this unfortunate incident. And so, to the entire Columbia community and the sources who were misrepresented, we offer our deepest apologies. We understand the implications of this incident are many, and we vow to do our best to rectify whatever damage has been done because of it. chronicle@colum.edu
SPORTS & HEALTH
Heidi Unkefer THE CHRONICLE
Apocalypse now or later by Brandon Smith
Assistant Sports & Health Editor AS THE INFAMOUS Mayan calendar
doomsday date of Dec. 21 approaches, one question persists: Will the world end? There have been some pretty outrageous apocalyptic theories throughout history, but people have never been able to scientifically calculate their probability until recently. From the Yellowstone su-
ARTS & CULTURE
pervolcano to solar flares, scientific institutions have been working for years to predict and anticipate cataclysmic events. But what does calculating the end of the world mean? According to Ames Hawkins, an associate professor in the English Department who teaches Writing, Language and Culture: Rhetorics of Apocalypse, the word “apocalypse” originates from the ancient Greek language and actually means “to
METRO
unveil or reveal something.” She said that definition could completely change what people think about the end of the world. “What is being unveiled?” she asked. “Our fears.” While the Mayan calendar may be the trending apocalyptic prediction in Western culture, there are several scientific apocalyptic theories that are equally valid. xx SEE APOCALYPSE, PG. 12
Campus ..................................................3 Sports & Health ....................................11 Arts & Culture .......................................17 Commentary .......................................30 Metro ..................................................33
Transgender student fights policy • page 3
Risks and rewards of cannabis• page 14
Industry fights battle over piracy • page 20
Wireless scams on rise• page 33