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C YNIC THE VERMONT
The University of Vermont’s independent voice since 1883
A NEW TAKE ON T.S. ELLIOT
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Yep, still naked
JONATHAN POLSON AND NATALIE WILLIAMS The Vermont Cynic
Students walk, run and ride bikes as they circle the Central Campus Green to celebrate the last day of classes for fall semester in the Naked Bike Ride, December 8. By Becky Hayes News Editor Students braved slick pavement and snowfall Thursday morning as thousands gathered on Central campus to celebrate the end of classes with this semester’s Naked Bike Ride. Despite concerns about the new route and the lack of safety, spectators and participants alike said that they were happy the bike ride occurred even after the administration removed its funding. “The interim-president has no right to cancel an event like this,” junior Tommy Tyler said. “This is something that is special to UVM and that should happen every single semester,” Many students had similar feelings about the event. “This president just doesn’t know what UVM is,” first-year Abigail Cook said. “We are a
community. We have been here for years and he has been here for four months. This is tradition—all students look forward to it.” Green Mtn. Concert Services surveyed the event and were hired by the University just like they are every year, security officer Jim Brenner said. “It was billed as Winterfest,” Brenner said. “[We are] more here as a presence than security, but we are prepared for the best.” Student volunteers known as the Green Caps were seen caring for students by handing out blankets and keeping people from enclosing the pathway of bikers and runners. Green Cap Tom Stanley said that the bike ride was uneventful and his area had no injuries to report. Bikes were not the only form of transportation—students were seen riding scooters, skateboards,
a shopping cart and a unicycle this semester.
“This president just doesn’t know what UVM is.” Abigail Cook First-year Junior Samantha Cantell said that she has volunteered for Naked Bike Ride security before and the event went fairly well and it was not much different than from past years. “People ate it on the pavement like normal,” Cantell said. “It was nothing to be completely worried about.” Although the Green Caps said that they had a safe night, emergency crews responded to Con-
verse Hall around 12:30 a.m. Ten minutes later, they emerged with a student on stretcher. A UVM police officer could not comment on whether alcohol was a factor. On Athletic Campus, President Bramley’s alternative event called the Free Finals Food-fest and Fundraiser took place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Director of Residential Life Stacey Miller said that the event was a festival to celebrate the end of the semester and completely different than the Naked Bike Ride. “It’s meant in some ways to replace the Naked Bike Ride and give [students] an alternative option,” Miller said. “It gives people something else to do if they don’t want to participate.” Some students said that the event had no organization because the food lines were too long and they unknowingly had to get
tickets in order to receive food. “I wish they would have put together another event if they were serious about planning something to replace the Naked Bike Ride,” sophomore Victoria Diamond said. As of midnight Dec 7., the unofficial Facebook page for the Naked Bike Ride had 1,992 people listed as “attending” the event. The Naked Bike Ride has been a UVM tradition since 1996 when student Erica Kutcher began the Naked Bike Ride through the Mountain Lions Program, a 2010 Cynic article stated. Kutcher died in an avalanche while rock-climbing in Pakistan in 2005, however, and the event became a celebration of both the end of the semester and the woman who started it all. Contributing: Keegan Fairfield, Ted Levin, Kevin Santamaria
Debate team ranks Spending concerns addressed seventh worldwide VP of Finance dispells rumors over the General Fund
Students rewarded for arguments By Devin Karambelas Assistant News Editor At the moment, the Lawrence Debate Union (LDU) may very well be UVM’s most successful team. The UVM debate team is currently ranked seventh out of 500 colleges and universities that participated in 33 tournaments worldwide, the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) website stated. In the top 10 rankings, LDU is placed behind Sydney Union, Monash, Yale, Cornell, Oxford
NEWS 1-4 Tents disappear, students stay
Union and Cambridge. UVM is ahead of Colgate, the London School of Economics and McGill, according to the IDEA website. “We’ve been fortunate enough to draw some of UVM’s best and brightest students to the debate team,” coach David Register said. “This kind of success would be impossible without the intelligent, dedicated and hardworking students who have committed themselves to the LDU.”
— LIFE 5-6 — Celtic Cats always land on their feet
See on DEBATE page 3
SPECTACLE 7 The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
Want to work for The Cynic? We will train you. Contact cynic@uvm.edu
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By John Herrick Senior Staff Writer
Student concerns about the handling of University’s budget may be misplaced, according to some administrators. In a letter addressed to the UVM community, Provost Jane Knodell and President John Bramley said that statements made about UVM’s General Fund revenues and expenses have been incorrect “Folks have put out information that we felt needed further clarification,” Vice President of Finance Richard Cate said. “We were concerned that if it was left unchallenged, people would be-
ARTS 8-10 Breaking Dawn disappoints
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lieve that it was all accurate.” The data provided by Bramley and Knodell addressed the budget trends between the years 2002 and 2011 because student criticism has been directed toward the spending trends of the past 10 years, Cate said. According to the Budget Report: •The amount of money that the University pays on its debt on academic facilities has increased by 448 percent between 2002 and 2011. This amounts to about $16 million of the 2011 budget. •The General Fund expense for supporting the on-campus Deans and Vice Presi-
DISTRACTIONS 11 Camp Morning Wood
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dents has increased 41 percent between 2002 and 2011, amounting to 1.15 percent of the 2011 budget. •Revenue from student tuition has increased about 177 percent between the years 2002 and 2011, amounting to more than half of the 2011 budget. •The budget also indicates that student financial aid has increased by 177 percent between the years 2002 and 2010 and currently costs over $85 million. •The increase in faculty and
OPINION 12-13 Surviving the holidays on a diet
See on BUDGET page 4
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SPORTS 14-16 An early Valentine’s Day
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