DAILY HELMSMAN The
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Pastner’s Permanence U of M athletic department considering contract extension, pay raise for Pastner
Vol. 78 No. 096
see page 7
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis
www.dailyhelmsman.com
KILLING THE BUZZ BY CHELSEA BOOZER News Reporter
Dozens of wasps disturbed several classes in Clement Hall on Tuesday, continuing what some University of Memphis students and professors said is a springtime trend. Employees in Clement Hall said they began seeing the flying insects in the building over the weekend, when the weather became warmer. William Madlock, a political science instructor whose office is in Clement, said the building has had wasp infestation problems for the last seven or eight years. “We stopped class (Monday) and had a waspmurdering session,” Madlock said. “It really is disruptive because some people are allergic.” Erin Westrich, a political science employee who is allergic to wasps, said the wasps forced her to leave her office this weekend when she saw about 10 of the insects on her blinds. Westrich went to the department office looking
GOP looks to slash Pell Grant funding BY ERICA HORTON News Reporter Current legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate could decrease the maximum amount of the Pell Grant, which may affect the nearly 10,000 University of Memphis students who receive the grant. Richard Ritzman, director of financial aid at The University of Memphis, said as of now, no changes have been made to the Pell Grant, a federal, need-based financial aid supplement that is currently suffering from a multibillion dollar shortfall. “It’s all speculative at this point,” he said. “I think something is probably going to get cut, but what it is or how much is anybody’s guess.” Republicans in the House of Representatives are proposing a 15 percent cut to the maximum amount of Pell Grant money a student can receive, which is currently $5,500 per academic school year. The cut would decrease the maximum grant by $845. Democrats in the Senate are embracing President Barack Obama’s approach, outlined in his budget and the Pell Grant Protection Act. The proposal would leave the maximum amount at $5,500 but cut the year-round Pell Grant policy, which allows students to receive two of the grants in a year. Ritzman said students who receive the second grant usually use the funds for summer school. Ralph Faudree, provost of The U of M, said the situation is “scary” for those who depend on the Pell Grant to fund their education. “We have a considerable number of students who are eligible for the Pell Grant,” he said. “That would have a huge impact on The University.” Ritzman said 9,843 students used a Pell Grant for the 2010-2011 school year, and the average award was $3,900. “That’s (about) $37 million in Pell Grants for students,” he said. Jane Glickman, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Education, said in an email that Pell Grants have grown by 50 percent since 2008, and the department
see
pell, page 5
for a safe place to work, only to find nearly 30 more in that office, she said. “I swell up a lot and have trouble breathing when I get stung,” she said. “Normally, this is not a huge deal, but left untreated, obviously, it would cause serious health problems. I think they should fumigate the building, since the wasps obviously live in the walls. T h e y are not just coming in from outside.” Westrich is in her office four days a week and in class several other days. She said she shouldn’t have to deal with wasps in the workplace but tries to cope anyway. Connie Diffee, an administrative associate in Clement, called the wasp problem “inevitable.” “It’s just that time of year,” she said. “When people open the windows, they’re going to come in.” Angela Kuykendoll, also an administrative associate in the building, said she’s been stung by one of the wasps. “If they are flying low, it’s like you’re always constantly watching (out for them),” she said as she looked up to see a wasp hovering over her head. “I just kind of keep watching.” Kuykendoll said she called Physical Plant on
Monday to request fly swatters, which had not arrived as of Tuesday afternoon. She said Physical Plant won’t spray t h e building to kill the wasps for liability reasons — someone could accidentally ingest chemicals in the spray just by breathing. Westrich said she considers not spraying the building a bad decision and noted that the school would also be liable if she died from a wasp sting. If someone who is allergic to wasps gets stung, they can break out in hives or experience mouth and throat swelling, nausea, vomiting, chest pains, difficulty breathing and anxiety. A pest control technician from Physical Plant did not return calls or emails about the procedure for dealing with insect problems and infestations.
see
Wasps, page 5
Memphis in danger zone
Thesis identifies structural inadequacies within UM’s infrastructure BY CHRIS DANIELS News Reporter If an earthquake with magnitude near 8.0 — one point lower than the quake that shook Japan less than two weeks ago — rocked the Memphis area, more than 70 of the buildings on The University of Memphis campus could be vulnerable to severe structural damage.
According to U of M graduate Mark Mize’s 2006 thesis paper, “Assessment of the Seismic Vulnerability of The University of Memphis Main Campus Buildings,” 76 of the 96 buildings on campus at the time were “seismically hazardous” and required further evaluation by a seismic design professional. “The extent of damage a building may sustain from an earthquake is the product of many characteristics of the specific building and the earthquake,” his thesis says. Shahram Pezeshk, professor of civil engineering, worked with Mize on the thesis as his adviser and said the paper — Shahram Pezeshk is the most recent Professor of civil engineering research about the buildings on U of M campus, as far as he knows. Mize used an earthquake scenario computer application to calculate campus damages and casualties in the event that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes the New Madrid seismic zone, which begins just west of Memphis and stretches northward to southern Illinois. The scenario, which projected up to 29,358 people on campus, found that if the earthquake struck, U of M would face 1,426 injuries requiring medical attention, 497 injuries requiring hospitalization, 94 lifethreatening injuries and 186 deaths. The estimated damages to U of M main campus buildings and properties was projected at $283,327,330. According to the thesis, The U of M’s Department of Residence Life and Dining Services provided the data for the maximum number of students who might be in the residential and class buildings on campus. An extra 10 percent was added to that figure to
“There is
no such thing as ‘earthquake-proof.’”
see
Quake, page 6