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February 5, 2008
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Vol. 80 Issue #17
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ADVISE or DEMISE Universal Advising Set To Take Effect at Peak Enrollment By Barry Nickerson Anchor Editor At a faculty meeting held last Wednesday during the Free Period, it was announced that Universal Advising will begin this spring at Rhode Island College. Universal Advising is a system where a block will be placed on every RIC student’s account, preventing them from registering for classes until they meet with their academic advisor. Upon meeting with their advisor, the block will be removed from the account. When the student’s registration date arrives, the student will be able to register. Failure to see their advisor will prevent that student from registering for classes until meeting with their advisor. The meeting, which was held in Sapinsley Hall in the Nazarian Center, began when Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Nancy Carriuolo greeted the audience at about 12:30 p.m. The audience consisted of nearly 100 faculty members from most, if not all, academic departments. She opened with a quote from Charles
Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” “The state budget certainly feels like the worst of times,” said Carriuolo. But certain things are helping fund the college, including faculty-directed research. “I’m extremely proud of RIC’s grantfunded research,” said Carriuolo. The research helps to “bring funds that we need right now.” She said the meeting is “to be a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come this semester and celebrate academic achievements.” Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Mark Motte spoke next about the graduate fair results and enrollment for Spring 2008. He called enrollment “robust” and said, “The college defies the gloom on many fronts.” According to Motte, enrollment has set records this year. As of last week, undergraduate enrollment was 1.7 percent higher than it was last year and graduate student enrollment was up 13.2 percent. More class sections than any time in the last 10 years are being offered this se-
There is an emerging labor dispute between the janitorial staff at Providence College and Hurley of America, the contractor which provides cleaning services for the College. Unfortunately, Providence College is stuck in the middle. “This is an all-too-common occurrence: universities often contact out cleaning and food services in order to save money, and the contractors providing those services pay wages which typically are not in accordance with living standards and housing costs,” said a release from the support group set up by students at PC. A rally was held at Providence College last week in support of the janitors and, despite the cold, rainy weather, a crowd of 6070 students, faculty, city councilors, and community members were in attendance to show their support. On Jan. 31 at midnight, the janitors went on strike. The strike has received huge support from the student body. Many students have been working the picket line and handing out flyers. Students also got together a food drive for striking workers and many more bought strikers coffee during the hail on Friday. The janitors are represented by the SEIU Local 615. The current contract between the employees and Hurley expired on January 31. While the details of the contract negotiations are still largely a private matter, the janitors who ensure that the campus of Providence College is clean would like to see their wages and benefits increase. Also, they would also appreciate pleasant working conditions free from their supervisor’s harassment and intimidation. A full-time janitor makes about $11.50 per hour. This amounts to roughly $460 a week before taxes. Most of
nor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Mathematics and Science Education. This project is slated to be complete in August 2008. The STEM project “promises to provide a pipeline to attract to students to STEM programs—and attract grant dollars,” said Carriuolo. Dr. Laura Cooley of the Physical Sciences department then asked of the expected large enrollment for the fall, “How will we accommodate all these extra students?” Carriuolo responded that when it’s perfectly clear how many students will be in which departments, the college would see how to accommodate the departments who need extra faculty. The next speaker was Dr. Patricia Thomas, Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor of Nursing. She commended the “tremendous
“This spring, Universal Advising will go college-wide, coming to a department near you!” - Dr. Mark Motte.
PC Janitors on Strike By Kameron Spaulding Anchor Editor
mester, said Motte. “Things really do look positive for next year’s enrollment,” said Motte. He added that 298 potential graduate students attended the graduate open house on Jan. 8. Dr. Carriuolo once again stepped up to the podium to talk about accomplish-
these janitors have families they are trying to support and their wages have not kept up with the rapid increase in Rhode Island housing costs (especially in the past five years). According to a report published by the Poverty Institute here at RIC called the “2006 Rhode Island Standard of Need,” the janitorial staff at Providence College does not earn a “sufficient net income to meet basic needs” of housing, food, transportation, child care and medical costs. Both the Providence City Council and the Providence College Faculty Senate have passed resolutions in support of the janitors, calling for a living wage increase in their salaries.
ments towards RIC’s Plan 2010, a plan for several improvements to RIC’s campus by 2010. Students with majors that are under the umbrella of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) will benefit from the upgrading of 17 classrooms on RIC’s campus, using a $4.5 million grant from the Gover-
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Sigma Iota Theta Flourishes At Ric By Anel Pichardo Anchor Contributor Sigma Iota Theta is a local sorority at Rhode Island College that was founded during the fall semester of 2006. When a few friends discussed their involvement on campus and their desire to do more for the community, they worked together to create a sorority which has blossomed over the last few semesters. During the last semester, the sorority raised money for the Station Fund which provides money to the families that were affected by the tragic S t a t i o n Nightclub fire on Feb. 21, 2003. They held a 50/50 raffle in which over $500 were raised. Also, during the week of Nov. 26, an event was held on campus in which almost $300 was raised in just 45 minutes. This tremendously successful event was called “Date-a-Theta, Win-a-Xin.” At the event, any person in attendance was able to donate money to win a “date” with a sister of Sigma Iota Theta or a member of WXIN, RIC’s radio station. Also last semester, each sister completed several community service hours independently, which varied from working with elementary children to a beach clean-up.
The Sisters of Sigma Iota Theta dedicate themselves to higher education, being involved whole- heartedly in bettering their community and fostering a warm and loving environment for each other. The ideals are based on philanthropy, education, and sisterhood. These are exemplified in a variety of ways in addition to volunteer work and planning oncampus events. If you are interested in pledging Sigma Iota Theta, they will be having Rush Week soon. On Feb. 13, Sigma Iota Theta will be in the Student Union Ballroom from 12:302:00 p.m. for the Student Organization Showcase. For those interested in signing up, there is a sign up sheet outside the office in the Student Union, room 423. Rush week will begin with a mandatory meeting the night of Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. All Rush Week events will be released at the Student Organization Showcase with times and locations. Email any questions to SigmaIotaTheta@hotmail.com and visit the sorority at www.myspace.com/SigmaStars. More information about individual sisters can be found at www.webstarts.com/SigmaIotaTheta.