the butler
VOL. 126 ISSUE 25 ESTABLISHED 1886 INDIANAPOLIS
COLLEGIAN BUTLER UNIVERSITY | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 | WWW.THEBUTLERCOLLEGIAN.COM
Students covered current internship coordinator Ed Kanis’ office door with post-it notes to show support for the internship coordinator position.
Students, alums petition CCOM JILL MCCARTER JMCCARTE@BUTLER.EDU
NEWS EDITOR
Butler University students, alumni and professionals started a petition this weekend to protest the College of Communication’s decision not to fund the internship coordinator position this fall. This position currently is held by Ed Kanis. The petition, started by the Change.org user “CCOM students,” has garnered nearly 300 signatures since its creation on Sunday. The petition is to “help restore the previous and correct priorities of providing the students with the career services they require to succeed.” Jaclyn Bevis, a 2010 CCOM graduate, said that the internship program through the college put her in the position she is today. “The defunding of it takes so much away from the College of Communication,” Bevis wrote. “Reinstate this position or become just another mediocre communication college.” Sonia Todd, a mother of a Butler student, signed the petition to express anger about the decision. “The system works, why fix what is not broken?” Todd wrote. “My daughter’s adviser doesn’t even know her, but through the internship program, she has received updates
I hope the administration realizes that we’re not going to let this go. KATY MYERS PUBLIC RELATIONS MAJOR on what summer positions are available near our town.” On Sunday evening, a group of about 10 to 15 students and alumni gathered to come up with a “game plan to address the administration.” Post-it notes covered Kanis’s door by the end of the night. “Thanks for the help!” one note read. “I got the job,” another said. Public relations and communications major Katy Myers wrote the code for the group’s website, internshipsmatter.wordpress.com and has helped organize the group’s efforts. “It’s important that the administration realizes that we’re not going to let this go,” Myers said. see petition page 12
Photo by Anne Carpenter
Current contract up HAYLEIGH COLOMBO HCOLOMBO@BUTLER.EDU
EDITOR IN CHIEF
This fall, students in Butler University’s College of Communication could see the return of centralized internship coordination, but they will have to say goodbye to the current coordinator this summer. The current internship coordinator position ends May 31, said President Jim Danko in an email to The Collegian. Ed Kanis, who also instructs strategic communication courses and advises PRSSA, currently holds that position and has overseen internship coordination since 2010. Future decisions about funding an internship coordinator will be left to the
college’s first permanent dean, Gary Edgerton, who Danko said will “determine how best to continue our support of student internships in CCOM programs.” Danko said that if a permanent internship coordinator position was developed and funded, there would be an open search to fill that position. In “CCOM position cut” (April 11), The Collegian reported that CCOM Interim Dean Bill Neher said the internship coordinator position would be cut because the college lacks funding for it. Danko said he is comfortable stating that the funding will continue in the future. He also said he cautioned against relating personnel
During my presidency, preparing students for career success will be a high priority. JIM DANKO UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT matters to position funding. When asked if there was a personnel matter that would preclude Kanis from retaining the position, Danko said he see danko page 12
Butler seeks private INSIDE PHILANTHROPY interest to build parking garage HAYLEIGH COLOMBO HCOLOMBO@BUTLER.EDU
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Butler University now is looking to partner with an outside developer to build an on-campus parking garage in an attempt to mitigate concerns about its current parking capacity. Butler issued to developers a request for interest and qualifications that states a desire to build a structure near Lake Road that could accommodate 600-900 parking spaces along with mixed-use retail. “We have parking issues that we need to address,” said Ben Hunter, chief of staff. Butler issued the RFQ because various entities, including the city of Indianapolis, had concerns about Butler building new structures unless it adds parking capacity, Hunter said. Butler is not committed to award a contract from this request. The school’s current parking capacity also doesn’t allow it to pursue future projects such as potentially adding beautification streetscapes, he said, which would eliminate some current street parking, or developing a hub to attract public transportation. “In terms of future development, we merely don’t have the capacity to do that,” Hunter said. Hunter said the RFQ states that breaking ground on a potential parking structure could take place as early as fall of 2013, but
the process will go through several vetting stages and that there is no official timeline. “With big decisions like this you have to take your time to make sure you’re doing the right thing,” Hunter said. The ultimate decision will come from Butler University’s Board of Trustees, he said. Evaluating existing and new funding sources is a reality that will have to be factored into a future decision, Hunter said. A principal at Walker Parking Consultants Engineers who asked not to be named said structured parking traditionally costs anywhere from $11,000$13,000 per space. Using that estimate, the garage could cost upwards of $9 million to build if it achieves the university’s desired capacity. But the decision to add mixed-use retail to a potential parking garage could alleviate some of the costs associated with building the garage. One possibility is that revenue from retail tenants’ rent could offset the university’s financial burden. The desire to add retail to the mix of the new project isn’t just to offset costs. It is to improve student life, Hunter said. Hunter presented the RFQ to the Council on Presidential Affairs yesterday morning. One idea that came out of that meeting was to
see parking page 4
Lambda Chi Alpha just finished its philanthropy events this week. Most Greek houses participate in philanthropy events.
Photo by Marcy Thornsberry
Events pay off for non-profits, students CHRIS GOFF
CGOFF@BUTLER.EDU COPY CHIEF
For Emma Rhoads, a sophomore biology major, philanthropy changed her life. She never planned to go to medical school until she set foot in Riley Hospital for Children. Signing up for Butler University Dance Marathon, Rhoads said, was the best decision of her college career. “It was that epiphany [that] this is where I need to be,” Rhoads, who hopes to become a pediatrician, said. “I met families. I heard stories and just became so inspired and wanted to make a difference bigger than anything I ever expected.”
Rhoads is one of thousands of Butler students who participate in philanthropy each year. The university approached $300,000 in charitable fundraising in the 2010-11 academic year, according to figures compiled by The Collegian. Students appear set to do so again this year. Although the university does not directly contribute to student philanthropies, a few receive budget supplements from the Student Government Association. Program Board provided budgets this year of $10,000 to Dance Marathon and $25,000 to Spring Sports Spectacular. The allotments are drawn from mandatory
student programming fees. Rhoads, co-president of Dance Marathon, said the SGA support means everything to her organization. “We wouldn’t be able to have our event without it,” she said. “Some schools don’t have sponsorship by the university, so they have to take the money from fundraising to host their actual event.” Greek houses account for much of Butler’s philanthropic output. Campus fraternities and sororities consistently raise about $105,000 annually, Becky Druetzler, the director of Greek life who tracks the data, said.
SPORTS 5 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 8 | OPINION 10 | STORIES 12
Dance Marathon, however, is Butler’s most prolific benefit, Jon Himes, Program Board chair, said. The 12-hour event raised $108,000 in January to aid children’s health, up $6,000 from 2011. Relay for Life, run by a team of students in conjunction with the American Cancer Society, stands as the second-largest Butler philanthropy. It collected $55,929 a year ago. The 2012 relay, scheduled to begin Friday at the Health and Recreation Complex, had raised $37,880 at press time. Spring Sports Spectacular, see philanthropy page 12