A NEW LEAF
COWGIRL BOOTS
Terps have to rebound from Saturday’s crushing loss
Jessica Simpson takes a country turn
SPORTS | PAGE 10
DIVERSIONS | PAGE 8
THE DIAMONDBACK TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2008
N. Campus dorm to bring 650 more beds
DOTS plans For whom the to reassign bell doesn’t toll spots to commuters Until repairs, Memorial Chapel no longer chimes BY KEN PITTS Staff writer
Waitlist for Lot 1 nears 250 despite openings BY JEANETTE DER BEDROSIAN Staff writer
The waitlist for Lot 1 parking permits reached 247 yesterday afternoon, but DOTS officials say there are still open spaces in lots on the campus that will be reassigned to help meet the parking demand. Among the lots with open spaces is Mowatt Lane Garage, which currently has more than 400 unused spots. The garage is traditionally not open to commuter students and underclassmen, but Department of Transportation Services Director David Allen said the department may reevaluate the use of the garage to get students off the Lot 1 waitlist and into nearby parking. All students on the waitlist have a parking permit, but many are assigned to lots on the outskirts of the campus, such as near the Comcast Center.
“If you hear bells, get your ears checked.” So American author Erich Segal suggested lovers do when first they meet, and so too should students on the campus this week, as the beloved bells in the Memorial Chapel ring no more. The bells broke sometime in May, most likely because of a malfunction in the computer program that plays them, chapel coordinator Megan Dillard Miller said. Over the summer, the hourly rendition of the university’s alma mater sounded distinctly out of tune. Chapel staff instead set the bells to play “Maryland, My Maryland,” Dillard Miller said, but it still wasn’t striking the right chord. “Then it sounded like someone was sitting on a piano for about a week or so,” Dillard Miller
USM approves $88M Oakland Hall, which may open by fall 2011 BY TIRZA AUSTIN Staff writer
The university was finally given the go-ahead to start work on a new North Campus dorm after years of disagreement between the university and the University System of Maryland. The university was told Friday to proceed with Oakland Hall, the $88 million, 650-bed dorm, after the Board of Regents approved the project in June under the condition the university seek additional beds through private funding. System Chancellor Brit Kirwan determined enough student housing was being developed along Route 1, so he chose to support the housing project at the meeting. “We’re thrilled for lots of reasons,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement, adding the new building would “round out the community” and make the Denton Community, where the new dorm will be, livelier. Oakland Hall is being designed as replacement housing for New and Old Leonardtown, which will
Please See BELLS, Page 2
Please See PERMIT, Page 2
Prepare to drive the line, do the time
Please See OAKLAND, Page 2
U.S. Senate debates large endowments
A sober perspective of sobriety checkpoints BY KYLE GOON Staff writer
Flashing red and blue lights, flares in the road and a line of cops in wide-brimmed hats, directing cars to stop with bright orange traffic wands — together, probably one of the most intimidating situations imaginable to a drunk driver. And to some extent, University Police want it that way. “One of our main goals is to have people go through the checkpoint, and when they get out, to call their friends in bars,” Lt. Robert Mueck said. “Hopefully, they’ll change their behavior and not become intoxicated or not drive home.”
USM: Regulations would unfairly impact some schools BY KEVIN ROBILLARD Senior staff writer
Please See DUI, Page 3 JAMES B. HALE/THE DIAMONDBACK
Out with the old, in with the older Unexpected openings create room for unusual occupants in dorms BY DERBY COX Staff writer
Alexandr Redkovsky wakes up in his bed at Hagerstown Hall every morning at 6 a.m., goes to the gym, takes a shower and then attends class from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. He eats at The Diner in the evening and spends much of his time studying in the campus libraries and sleeping in his room. In most ways, the psychology and Russian language and literature major’s daily life is nearly identical to that of any other on-campus student.
TOMORROW’S WEATHER:
99TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 6
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
There’s just one difference: Redkovsky is 29. “My first day here, the first time I met [eighth-floor resident assistant] Heidi Shaffer, she said, ‘Oh, you’re 29. You’re that old guy on the floor,’” Redkovsky said. But Redkovsky is not alone, Resident Life Assistant Director Scott Young said in an email. There are 103 people living in dorms older than 22, including 14 older than 25, although these numbers include “many staff” members and some mentors in St.
Please See DORM, Page 3
WASHINGTON — University administrators from around the country yesterday argued that the Senate should not force them to spend more and save less money, saying a one-size-fits-all policy would be unfair to some schools, including this university. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who are leading a congressional investigation into how universities use their endowments, organized the Capitol Hill roundtable discussion. Grassley, the highest-ranking Republican member and former chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is the most prominent supporter of legislation that would require universities to spend a specified percentage of their endowments each year. Grassley has said it is difficult to reconcile the growing size of college endowments with recent spikes in college tuition. He cited a Congressional Research Service statistic that in 2005 found the price of college consumed more than 70 percent of the yearly income of a household in the bottom fifth of the population. He said college endowments have a one-year average rate of return of 17.2 percent, while schools only spent about 4.6 percent of their endowment for fiscal year 2007. In comparison, Welch said if the cost of milk had risen as fast as the cost of college since 1980, a gallon of milk would now cost $15. Most private foundations are required to spend 5 percent of their endowments each year, and that number has frequently been cited as an amount universities could be forced to spend. Presidents from Princeton University, Amherst
Alexandr Redkovsky, 29, lives in Hagerstown Hall, where he gets a slice of the "normal" college life. JAMES B. HALE/THE DIAMONDBACK
Partly Cloudy/70s
INDEX
NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
CLASSIFIED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
DIVERSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . .8 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Please See ENDOWMENT, Page 3
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