SIGEP HOUSE BECOMES DORM
C YNIC
2
ALUMNA TALKS FOOD NETWORK WAR ON WOMEN BEING WAGED
THE VERMONT
9
13
LOCAL MUSIC SCENE BROUGHT TO LIGHT
6
The University of Vermont’s independent voice since 1883 w w w . v e r m o n t c y n i c . c o m
T h u r s d a y , A u g u s t 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 – Vo l u m e 1 2 9 I s s u e 1 | B u r l i n g t o n , Ve r m o n t
Sullivan takes top spot New president to focus on quality, cost By Devin Karambelas Assistant News Editor Newly appointed UVM President E. Thomas Sullivan may not have come to Burlington with an agenda, but this could be something of an advantage for the former University of Minnesota provost. In a phone interview with the Vermont Cynic, Sullivan stressed his intentions to work closely with students, faculty, administrators and the Burlington community to raise the University to a new level of quality and excellence. “In my time here already, I’ve travelled from nine to 14 counties and over 500 miles across the state talking to various alumni, donors, community members and education officials,” he said. “It’s been a terrific learning and listening opportunity.” For Sullivan, his early priorities include advancing the quality of education, keeping it affordable and recognizing areas in
which the University has a comparative advantage in to strategically align the budget.
“We’re taking a good look at how we diversify undergraduate enrollment.” Thomas Sullivan UVM president “That last one is especially challenging due to UVM’s smaller size as a university and the fact that only five to seven percent of our funding comes from the state of Vermont,” Sullivan said. Still, his tone sounded optimistic as he spoke of the bright
future that he sees for UVM, especially at the undergraduate level, which he hopes to make more internationalized. “We’re taking a good look at how we diversify undergraduate enrollment,” he said. “We live in a global society right now and there’s great educational value in having a more international student body.” According to the University’s website, 37 percent of students study abroad in nearly 80 countries each year, and UVM is home to over 500 students, faculty and staff from 67 different countries. But at an institution that bears a total enrollment of 13,488 students, 347 international students represent less than three percent of the total student body — a statistic that Sullivan would like to see increased. As the rising cost of higher education becomes a predominant concern for students and See Sullivan on page 3
NATALIE WILLIAMS The Vermont Cynic
Senior Allison Coppola gathers her belongings after her apartment experienced flooding in the Redstone Lofts, Aug 23.
New class meets old tradition Flooding in Lofts First-years welcomed in 2016 convocation ceremony
By Katy Cardin Staff Writer Convocation is the only day until graduation that the new Class of 2016 will assemble in one room together. And this year, no hurricane was there to prevent the 2,400 first-years from gathering. New students packed into Patrick Gym wearing colored T-shirts with the phrase “UVM Class of 2016” for the ceremony that took place Aug. 26. Much of the event focused on academic quality, especially since the new class has the highest average SAT scores in English, reading and math that UVM has ever seen. President Thomas Sullivan praised the class for their academic strengths but warned them that college is difficult and UVM will most definitely challenge them. “With tremendous talent also comes great responsibility,” Sullivan said. Throughout the ceremony the students heard from a number of speakers, including the President of the Student Government Association Connor Daley, University Herald Robert Tyzbir and Board of Trustees vice chairman Harry Chen. Many of the speakers compared the assigned summer reading book, “This I Believe,” by Jay Allison, with the new students’ transformation from high school
NEWS 1-5 Welcome to the Daley show
—
dampens spirits
Water damage wrecks rooms By Becky Hayes News Editor
WALKER SULTZBACH The Vermont Cynic
The Class of 2016 gathers in Patrick Gym for convocation, Aug 26. into college. Following the gathering in the Patrick Gym, the new students paraded down to the University Green behind a mobile performance of African drummers for the 2016 twilight induction. Without knowing exactly what to expect, first-year Angela Seccafico found the ceremony interesting. “It makes me feel more confident about coming into the school as a freshman, and more comfortable with everyone here so I am excited for the year,” Seccafico said. Sarah Headley did not attend the event, but she did not think she and her friends missed much. “We opened the doors 15 minutes late and immediately
ARTS 6-7 The buzz on Bonnaroo
—
decided we were going to spend our time in the grundle eating dinner as opposed to melting in the gym,” she said. Nate Matteson had a more ambivalent reaction to convocation. “I personally thought it was a nice little welcome to a school where I probably won’t be anything more than an ID number in the grand scheme of things,” Matteson said. “The twilight ceremony was cool but it would have been a lot better had it actually been somewhat dark.” “Overall, it was just another freshman first week obligation that will probably be forgotten,” he said.
LIFE 9-10 Top 10 reasons you’re excited for school
—
Waterlogged books and clothes are not what many students would expect to worry about on their first day of classes. But for 16 students, this was a reality. Flooding caused by a burst pipe in Redstone Lofts displaced 16 students residing in the newly built apartments Aug. 22. A supply line that goes into the washing machine from an apartment on floor five burst inside the wall and flowed straight down, flooding the fifth floor room and the rooms directly below it, said Rick McMillan, an employee of the construction company G.W. Savage. “There was high water damage all the way into the basement,” McMillan said. “Water also spread across the floor, but mostly went straight down.” McMillan explained that water finds the weakest point and leaks downward, which is why there was little damage done to the dorms directly adjacent to the burst pipe. “We have drying equipment out, but ceilings were damaged and we will have to remove all the cabinets to ensure the wall behind them is completely dry,”
DISTRACTIONS 11 Camp Morning Wood
—
OPINION 12-13 Please keep it simple, Sullivan
he said. The damage is being fixed now, but the incident was isolated to only a few rooms, said Erin Calig, manager of the north building of Redstone Lofts. “A pipe broke; it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Calig said. Junior Rachel Narkewicz and senior Allie Coppola have a different take on the situation. Their brand-new apartment was piled high with soaking boxes of clothes, a TV and furniture. There was a two-inch line of stripped paint along the wall that displayed the exact height of water that sat throughout their kitchen, living room and bedrooms. “I was asleep and heard some water running,” Coppola said. “I thought someone was in the kitchen, so I walked in and stepped right into a puddle of water.” Coppola said that she and her housemates immediately called 911, the fire department and Redstone Lofts officials, but it took about 45 minutes for someone to respond to them. “We just wanted them to turn off the water,” Narkewicz said. “Someone in the building should have known how to do that.” See FLOODING on page 4
—
SPORTS 14-16 Four bold predictions for the NFL this year