Wednesday, April 25, 2018
99th year • Issue 29
THE INDEPENDENT
Replacing Rocky with Shrek / 4 »
C LLEGIAN
www.IndependentCollegian.com
Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919
“ INSIDE
“Larry Pratt denied all claims that black Americans faced oppression by claiming that they needed only to follow the example of the Deacons for Defense”
SPEECH
DISCUSSION
The debate on Free Speech continues
MEAGAN O’HARA/ IC
President Sharon Gaber speaks at the State of the University Address April 18 in University Hall where she discusses UT’s growth and her third year as president.
ANONYMOUS Letter to the Editor OPINION / 3 »
BRYCE BUYAKIE/ IC
Third-year environmental science major Randy Thomas discusses how to get students involved in conversations during UT’s Free Speech dialogue April 24 in SU Ingman room. By Bryce Buyakie News Editor
Student veterans lead flag retirement ceremony
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NEWS / 4 »
“If you haven’t been paying attention recently, UT has had some issues with racism, sexism and censorship on campus,”
EMILY SCHNIPKE Less forums, more action OPINION / 3 »
After a month of forums centered around topics surrounding freedom of speech, diversity and inclusion, UT held a follow-up roundtable discussion in response to students’ First Amendment concerns after the March 22 townhall, said Sammy Spann, dean of students. Administrators including Spann, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Willie McKether and Vice President for Student Affairs Philip Cockrell asked students how to best handle “uncomfortable” speech and topics. “We need to be exposed to different topics,” said Randy Thomas, third-year environmental science major. “In most classes, I’m just recollecting information I’m taught; I want to come to my own conclusion.” Students should be exposed to this information in the classroom, at discussions like the forums seen in April and at events around campus, Thomas said. Specifically, Thomas wants to see a combination of events that allow students to debate, express themselves and have more intimate discussions with administrators. The College Democrats’ decision to put up a banner in March depicting President Donald Trump with a Ku Klux Klan hood that said, “Join the College Democrats” sparked the monthlong discussion about the First Amendment on campus. In reaction to the banner, President Sharon Gaber sent a letter to the UT community saying she was disappointed in the banner, but explained the decision to leave the banner up was a matter of freedom of speech. “The reason is that The University of Toledo respects the First Amendment rights of our students, faculty and staff,” Gaber said in her letter. “While we may
not always agree with the way individuals or organizations choose to express their views, we must respect their freedom to do so.” Lee Strang, professor of law at UT, said the First Amendment protected the banner, and that there are only four instances where speech is not protected by the Constitution – incitement, true threats, fighting words and harassment. The banner did not fall under any of these categories, because it did not cause physical or mental harm and was not “severe or offensive” enough to warrant its removal, he said. The “free speech battle” that resulted from the College Democrats’ banner is not new to universities, said Sam Nelson, chairman of the Political Science and Public Administration Department at UT. “The current moment [of this debate] is not new, but it has different elements,” Nelson said. Social media is a new dynamic that results in “Twitter Outrage Syndrome,” which allows individuals to react immediately and emotionally, he said. Not everyone can make it to these forums, and not everyone who participates influences the student body, Thomas said. “We need to [get] those who have power on campus and those who have an impact on students such as Resident Life, Greek Life and Student Government,” he said. To get students to discuss “uncomfortable” topics, Thomas said the administration should encourage students to be uncomfortable. Sydney Jones, president of the College Democrats, suggested adding on to the orientation program first-year students must take. “It would be called Unpacking Your Bias,” Jones said. “Everyone has bias, and we have to acknowledge that.”
Gaber shares rocket pride By Olivia Rodriguez Staff Reporter
UT’s recent partnership with TARTA, program affordability and a tuition guarantee program were among the many points Sharon Gaber cited in her State of the University Address on April 18 as “successes” during her third year as UT’s president. She also described how the university needs to grow in order to compete with other institutions.
“I am energized by our researchers’ accomplishments, and the knowledge they are sharing with the world.” SHARON GABER UT President
“The strategic plan lays out five priorities, first improving student success, second reaching national prominence in research, scholarship and creative activities, third cultivating a culture of excellence, fourth building and maintaining a strong financial base,” Gaber said. “Fifth strengthening our reputation and community engagement.” “Our primary goal is to help students succeed and that means for them to graduate and pursue meaningful lives and successful careers,” Gaber said. “While they’re here, we owe them an excellent education, a supportive and inclusive environment, and opportunities for hands on learning through co-ops, internships, study abroad and other experiential learning activities.” Gaber also announced two programs to make UT more affordable. “Our tuition guaranteed program means they will pay the same tuition and general fees from their first day of school to graduation, four years later,” she said. “Our digital course content program provides students a digital version of their class materials at a significant costsavings. This is to combat the high price of textbooks paying up to $300 less.” With the $6 million renovation of Carlson Library completed, the library has seen a 40 percent increase in foot traffic. “We estimate that three million people have come through the doors this year,” Gaber said.
Recently, UT and TARTA partnered to become the transportation provider in addition to the UT bus system. Students and employees can show their Rocket IDs to use TARTA buses to go anywhere in the city for no charge. Phillip “Flapp” Cockrell joined the student affairs division as the vice president, Gaber said. “He set up a positive service, oriented and dedicated to serving our students, which includes snacks and popcorn in his office.” To work more closely with counseling services and make student support services more available, the Title IX office was moved from Scott Park to the Main Campus in Snyder Memorial. She said this is to make these services more accessible, she said. “We have received 233 research awards and $41 million in external research,” Gaber said. “I am energized by our researchers’ accomplishments, and the knowledge they are sharing with the world.” A tight budget and tricky financial stability are not new to UT, but Gaber believes the university is in a better place. “On our first Day of Giving we raised nearly $454,000 in 36 hours,” Gaber said. “For our largest gift to the university ever, Well Tower donated real estate valued at over $30 million.” She also described the need to recruit qualified faculty and staff, a problem she said faces many universities. “We need to recruit top faculty and staff to provide the excellent education our students deserve and we need to do that in modern facilities aided with the latest technology to attract the best students,” Gaber said. As Gaber’s parting thoughts, she spoke about Rocket pride. “We are Toledo’s university, we need to stop apologizing for the fact that we are accessible to many students in Toledo who might not have an opportunity to attend college if we were not here,” said Gaber.
“We have received 233 research awards and $41 million in external research.” SHARON GABER UT President
TRANSPORTATION
Students give tips for finals
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NEWS / 5 »
“There is something beautiful about hearing people share their story..”
AREEBA SHAH Fighting the bias, seeking the truth
COMMUNITY/ 6 »
TARTA to take over bus services at UT By Gabrielle Huff Staff Reporter
UT is overhauling the bus system that many students use to go from campus to campus. The agreement was signed April 16 and will replace UT buses with the city wide transit agency – TARTA. The first TARTA buses will appear during the second summer semester session beginning June 25. They will be fully operational with all routes by the start of the fall semester, said James Gee, TARTA general manager. “It really stemmed from the students, who wanted the greater connectivity with the rest of Toledo,” Gee said. UT students and faculty will be able to ride all
TARTA routes for free during the school year with their Rocket ID cards. According to the contract, students will have no reductions in services, only various enhancements, Gee said. One of which is additional routes from UT’s campus to the Toledo Art Museum. “Since we’re more connected, now we have the ability to visit parts of Toledo that people from out of state have never had the chance to see,” second-year international business and professional sales major Darius Valdez said. “We’ll be able to take trips to the zoo, art museum and Franklin Park Mall with much more ease and frequency.” Student Government Presi-
dent Jimmy Russell agreed. “One of the main reasons that we prioritized this is that we felt that if students have to live on campus, they need a way to get out into the community if they didn’t have a car to experience all of Toledo,” Russell said. Student Government has advocated for the partnership with TARTA for about a year now and is ecstatic an agreement has been reached, Russell said. “We’re happy to be able to have pushed for such a monumental change on campus that’s going to help so many students,” he said. According to TARTA’s website, UT expects to save around $2 million dollars through the
contract with TARTA. “We’re able to save UT money on purchasing vehicles because we have access to federal and state grants for purchasing them,” Gee said. He added that there are some redundant services, such as UT’s and TARTA’s individual routes from campus to the Franklin Park Mall that will be consolidated to save money. The contract will last for 10 years with two possible five-year extensions, but TARTA hopes to continue its partnership with
UT indefinitely, Gee said. TARTA also plans to continue employing UT students as bus drivers, Gee said. “We listened to our student leaders who asked us to expand bus services to enhance access to off-campus experiences and we recognize the importance of UT being a leader in connecting to the broader community,” said Larry Kelley, UT executive vice president for finance and administration, and chief financial officer in a TARTA press release.