Wednesday, March 20, 2013
94th year • Issue 26
Dangers of energy drinks / 6 Serving the University of Toledo since 1919
Inside
Spring football training starts /8
www.IndependentCollegian.com student Government Elections
Student Government election down to two
Jordan/Hong ruled ineligible to run
By Lindsay Mahaney News Editor
Crossings residence hall to be renamed /3 Opinion: Make academic advising a bigger topic / 10
In brief Dinner to raise funds for Syrians set for April 6 National organization, Life, is trying to help the poor people of Syria by throwing a fundraising dinner on April 6 at the Central Academy of Ohio at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/YNZpgD and are $50 for adults, $20 for students and children 12 and under are free. The goal is to raise enough money to create 10 field hospitals in Syria while the country is undergoing a major revolution. During the fundraiser, performances include special guest speaker Samer Kadi, a movie producer and Syrian activist in favor of the revolution; Malek Jandali, a renowned Syrian composer and pianist; and Dylan Connor, a rising American artist with many songs in support of the Syrian revolution.
Red Cross encourages participation for Red Cross Month The American Red Cross wants students to donate blood at any one of the Red Cross locations near campus for Red Cross Month. Students can schedule an appointment at 3510 Executive Pkwy for March 20 and March 21 from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. According to the Red Cross website, cancer patients, premature babies, crash victims and people with blood deficiencies need blood constantly.
bob taylor / IC
Student Government presidential candidates Chris Dykyj and Emily Kramp debated Tuesday, March 19, in the Student Union’s Trimble Lounge.
Dykyj, Kramp outline platforms By Danielle Gamble Editor-in-Chief
Improving academic advising and strengthening school spirit were among the topics of discussion at Tuesday’s Student Government Presidential Debate. Candidates Chris Dykyj and Emily Kramp discussed their platforms in the Student Union’s Trimble Lounge for a little over 30 minutes in front
of about 15 students. Dykyj, current SG vice president, said improving academic advising is a major part of his platform, something he and other SG leaders have been discussing this year as part of “Imagine 2017,” Provost Scott Scarbarough’s five-year plan for the main campus. Kramp, who was part of initial discussions with the
Reorganization
provost, agreed that advising is an issue in several areas of the university. She said her good experiences with advising in the College of Pharmacy have left her feeling “blessed,” and other colleges need to be restructured to include all the best parts of other advising systems to streamline the process. See Debate / 13
Student Government presidential hopeful Landyn Jordan and running mate Yeahwa Hong were disqualified from the race this weekend due to a lack of SG experience. Though Hong has served as a senator-at-large, Student Judicial Council Chair Tate Stricklin said Hong did not attend the required amount of meetings to qualify as a candidate. Stricklin emailed the Jordan/Hong ticket March 17 about the Election Board ruling. The ruling cited section IV byline 3 of the Election Board manual, which reads, “Each ticket must have one (1) year (defined as minimum of 30 weeks) of cumulative Student Government experience, not including Student Government Freshman Leaders, in order to be eligible to run for Office.” “We were able to pin down [Hong’s] experience, and we found he had less than 30 percent of the required experience.,” Stricklin said. “At that point, case closed; they don’t qualify.” Hong said he felt his time working with SG qualified him for the position, even if he was not a senator for the entire time.
Jordan
hong
He believes the Election Board manual should be more explicit in its definition of experience. “Experience can be a broad definition, and when the rule book specifically doesn’t state what you mean, it’s called adverse interpretation,” Hong said. Stricklin said Hong misunderstood what SG experience meant and thought it was “anything from attending the election meeting a couple weeks ago, to simply just attending meetings without a title.” “Experience is defined by membership,” Stricklin said. “You have to be a member of the organization to get experience.” The former Jordan/Hong ticket said they felt SJP should make the manual more specific and easier for students to understand. “I’m not a magician,” Hong said. “I can’t read their minds” See Ineligible / 13
Community Service
Big Event asks UT students to give back By Angela Peluso Staff Reporter
Bob taylor / IC
Associate professor of theatre Ed Lingan discuss fusing the communication department and the College of Visual and Performing Arts Monday, March 18, in the Center Performing Arts’ Recital Hall.
Professors discuss merger of communication, arts By Amanda Eggert Staff Reporter
Initial plans to move the communication department to the College of Visual and Performing Arts, CVPA, have been approved by the provost and were discussed by faculty members at a March 18 meeting. Debra Davis, dean of the CVPA, said the idea is to give communication and arts students an integrated experience in which they can learn a variety of related and marketable skills.
“Communication has their degree programs, and what we’re looking at is an integrated program that then becomes another piece of it that integrates everything,” she said. “It’s not taking away your programs or your degree tracks.” The proposal was drafted by an implementation team made up of faculty members from both areas and was approved by Provost Scott Scarborough, Davis said. See Merger / 12
University of Toledo students will meet for this year’s Big Event – “One Big Day, One Big Thanks!” at 9 a.m. in Savage Arena on Saturday, March 23 to take part in community service projects that give back to Toledo residents in the Bancroft Hills and Secor Gardens neighborhoods. This year’s volunteer sign up has a record breaking 1,500 students that will be painting, raking leaves, washing windows and gardening for the neighborhoods residents surrounding campus. Alexandra Schwann, a freshman bio-engineer major, said she is really excited for the Big Event because it is a way to unite campus through service. “I feel it will be nice to give back to the community and make improvements in my home town,” Schwann said. The Big Event was
courtesy of Daniel Janisz
UT students Ashley Warnimont (left), Zach Dickey and Amanda Harvey garden outside of Sunshine Foundation Inc. at last year’s Big Event
created in 2001 but “fell through,” according to this year’s overall Big Event director Daniel Janisz. In 2009, former SG President Matthew Rubin took charge of the event and created a planning committee to develop the program -- he was rewarded with a turnout of 200 students. Then in 2010, student trustee and 2010’s Big Event director Joshua Beekman “completely restructured” the Big Event
by creating a new constitution for the organization that is still followed today. That year had a turnout of 500 students, a record at that time, Janisz said. Since then, the Big Event has become UT’s largest student-run community service event. Last year UT shattered records with over 1,000 students showing up to give back to their community, Janisz said. See Big Event / 12