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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
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THE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-PRODUCED NEWSPAPER
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Fundraising campaign at halfway mark Truman has raised more than $24 million during its fundraising efforts by Elena Bellamy TMN Reporter
Photo illustration by Emily Wichmer The above image depicts a student using an emergency response pole on Truman State’s campus. The Department of Public Safety established the Student Assistant Foot-patrol and Escort Program to increase on-campus security.
Patrol program aims for campus safety By Lindell Sconce TMN Reporter
Truman State’s Department of Public Safety recently re-named the Student Assistant Foot Patrol and Escort team. If a student feels unsafe on Truman’s campus and contacts DPS, a team member will be sent to make sure the student safely arrives at their destination. The team consists of student security workers and officers, and can be called at any time of day. DPS Director Sarah Holzmeier said there always has been a safe escort policy at Truman, but it was not wellknown by the student body. She said the main purpose of renaming the program was to make the team known to the public. “We had what they called a student escort service,” Holzmeier said. “It wasn’t very publicized. I don’t believe that many people really knew we had that kind of program.” Holzmeier said to get the word out about this resource,
DPS gave the service a new name and acquired security vests that designated the members as part of the SAFE team. Anyone who calls for an escort will now recognize SAFE members as they arrive. Security officers will not wear a vest and instead will arrive in their regular uniform. “It’s just one of those things I think we as public safety need to advertise and provide, to make sure that if people aren’t feeling safe, we’re there for them,” Holzmeier said. Holzmeier said she thinks the new name and vests are more professional, and will go a long way toward promoting the service. Officer Steve Nelson, head coordinator of the SAFE team, said even though the service is advertised for use during the evening and night, it is available to students at all times. “On a case-by-case basis, we do it 24 hours a day,” Nelson said. The student security workers on the team also assist DPS with other security measures on campus, Nelson said. The student
Emily Wichmer/Index The above image shows a button on an emergency light around campus. The Department of Public Safety offers a 24-hour escort program for all Truman State students. workers aid the officers in clearing campus buildings and securing them at midnight, as well as keeping an eye out for any problems they might see, Nelson said. Additionally, Nelson said the student workers provide additional security at sporting events and campus events, helping to control
crowds and traffic flow. Student workers are required to report any suspicious activity to DPS, he said. Students must be interviewed and undergo a background check to apply for a position at DPS, Nelson said. He also said DPS might be looking for another student worker as basketball season approaches.
Truman State’s Pursue the Future campaign is past the halfway mark of its fundraising goal weeks after its formal announcement of the campaign’s public phase. The campaign, announced Oct. 9, has been active since July 2013 during what is called the quiet phase, in which $24 million was raised in large donations, and will end June 30, 2018. University President Troy Paino said the campaign has raised $25.8 million of its $40 million goal, including a $7 million donation by Dan and Jan Shepherd. He said the campaign’s top priority is scholarships, and the campaign is aiming to prioritize $25 million toward university scholarships. “For us, it goes back to access and student support,” Paino said. “That has been, and will be for the foreseeable future, our top priority. It’s also the most appealing thing to our donors. They’re less interested in brick and mortar, building a statue, things like that — they really want it to go to students.” Paino also said he plans to increase employee salaries by moving budgeted money from scholarships to salaries when more scholarship money is available from the campaign. He said not all of the almost $25.8 million received so far is currently available for use — many gifts are deferred or pledged over time — but at least 45 new scholarship funds already have been created. He said most gifts include usage provisions by the donor. If scholarship provisions are extremely restrictive, a qualifying student cannot always be found, and the money cannot be used, Paino said. “Every once in a while, someone gives us an unrestricted gift, which we can use for whatever we determine the highest need is,” Paino said. “Usually those come through estate gifts. That’s a really small percentage of what we get but most donors want their money to be spent, so we try to make them aware that we want to establish the criteria broadly enough to where the money is going to be spent.” See PURSUE, page 3
Speaker discusses police brutality Students host open forum about Rise Up October movement By Jack Derbak TMN Reporter
The Students for a Democratic Society hosted an open forum Oct. 20 to raise awareness about police brutality. Sophomores Benjamin Wallis and Will Chaney organized the forum to spread information about the national movement Rise Up October. The event was a march in New York City on Oct. 24, along with protests and demonstrations Oct. 22 and 23, according to the Rise Up October website. The forum featured guest speaker Carlos Ball, whose brother, Cary Ball Jr., was shot and killed by two police offiVOLUME 107
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cers April 24, 2013. Ball said his brother was a leader, a provider and a father figure. He said he wishes he could talk to him one last time. “I would definitely tell him that I love him, and let him know that his gifts that he blessed the world with, I’m carrying them all for him, so just because he passed … in the physical sense, his spirit still lives through me,” Carlos Ball said. “I’m sure he’d be proud of us — proud of me.” Carlos Ball said now is the right time for action protesting police brutality because he actually had a family member killed because of police violence. Carlos Ball said his brother’s death inspired him and his family to go out and protest. “It was like the tip of the iceberg for us,” Carlos tmn.truman.edu
Ball said. “People have had enough. I feel like the time is now because the whole world is watching.” SDS member freshman Bryant Bell said he thinks the event was important. “I attended the forum because I believe that police brutality will not go away unless [we] take action,” Bell said. Since the time of the forum, 15 Truman students are planning to travel to New York City for Rise Up October, Wallis said. Wallis said he was happy about the audience turnout at the forum. “I think most who attended found their attitudes and opinions on police brutality sharpened by engagement in a critical discussion, and I hope the forum will serve as a call to action for many,” Wallis said.
Rise Up October
Oct. 22
#SayTheirNames About 40 families gathered in Times Square in New York City to say the names of people who died because of police actions.
Oct. 23 #ShutDownRikers Demonstrators gathered to protest outside Rikers Island jail in New York City. A dozen people were reportedly arrested and then released without being charged. Oct. 24 #RiseUpOctober Demonstrators gathered in Washington Square Park in New York City and marched to Bryant Park for a closing rally.
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Sources: ibtimes.com, riseupoctober.nationbuilder.com
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