96th year • Issue 3
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
UT vs. Mizzou part II SPORTS / 5» www.IndependentCollegian.com
Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919
INSIDE
CONSTRUCTION
Multi-million dollar project paves way for safer intersection
March on the Mall
Staff Reporter
NEWS / 3 »
TEDDY LIST / IC
The intersection of Dorr and Secor has been a dangerous area for anyone who has traveled through it. The construction and renovations to make it safer are estimated to cost about $5 million in total. By Colleen Anderson Staff Reporter
The International Service Learning Organization gives students the opportunity to travel around the world and help improve the quality of life of those with poor healthcare.
“ COMMUNITY / 8 »
“There are still knots in the yarn ball — little kinks that get in the way and make the student experience more difficult than it should be.”
EDITORIAL Changes made, changes needed OPINION / 4 »
Organize your computer files Copy Editor Jared Hightower explains how to easily organize files on a computer in 30 minutes or less with any operating system. COMMUNITY / 8 »
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for a boat A group of University of Toledo students and a passionate professor took recycling to the next level this past summer by building a boat made entirely out of repurposed materials. COMMUNITY / 8 »
President walks with students to hear input
By Emily Johnson
Presentation allows students to be united by their differences.
Student physicians changing the world
INITIATIVE
The Dorr Street Corridor, with two of its intersections previously ranked by the Ohio Department of Transportation as two of the most dangerous in Ohio, is currently undergoing almost 3.9 million dollars’ worth of construction to make the area safer for pedestrians and cars alike. The intersection of Dorr and Secor in particular has long been a danger area for anyone who travels through it. Jason Toth, Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Construction, said Dorr’s intersection with Secor and Byrne is “one of the worst in the city in terms of accidents.” It’s not just a matter of opinion, either. Richard Martinko, Director of
the Intermodal Transportation Institute at UT, performed a crash analysis study through the Office of Research and Innovation on a volunteer basis, and found that between 2006 and 2008, there were over 100 accidents each in both intersections. In comparison, intersections in the surrounding areas had anywhere from 1 to 35 accidents — a drastic decrease that serves to highlight the necessity of the current construction. In July 2010 the city of Toledo, collaborating with the university, held a meeting to inform the public about the construction being done in the area. Martinko, who put together the application for the project, said there was no significant negative reaction from the local
businesses at the meeting. Ultimately, the application for the project was submitted to the Ohio Department of Transportation, who are the primary providers of funding for the work being done. The construction itself costs nearly 4 million dollars, with over 1 million being spent additionally on preliminary engineering and environmental costs, purchasing right of way and design and development, making the total cost of the project roughly 5 million dollars. Following the beginning of the actual construction, the University has corresponded closely with the city on the project, as, according to Martinko, See Construction / 3 »
AUXILIARY SERVICES
Questions answered about latest UT Auxiliary Services changes By Amanda Pitrof News Editor
While some changes made this summer — like the construction on Dorr Street — are very obvious, other changes are more behind-the-scenes. What was changed and why? The University of Toledo has made a couple major changes to its auxiliary services department. Jennifer Pastorek, Director of Supply Chain Management at UT, said the goal of this project was to improve the level of service offered to students. “We took a look at the auxiliary services umbrella, everything that was underneath it, and we started to ask ourselves some questions of, ‘Are there folks that have some expertise within our ranks?’” Pastorek said. The search for expertise to enhance the student experience led to the separation of dining and parking from Auxiliary Services.
What is in Auxiliary Services? According to Pastorek, Joy Seifert’s position as Director of Auxiliary Services did not change much, “she just has a scaled-down footprint now.” After parking, food service and the bike share program were removed; Seifert still takes care of the copy center and all the print services work, the Rocket Wireless program and the new Rocky’s Technology Central. Additionally, “She still has the Rocket ID card and all of its ‘arms and legs’ … that go with it because it’s responsible for your financial aid, for the dining dollars that go on that could be done with our off-campus merchants,” Pastorek said. Students will be able to see Seifert around campus, as she will be attending student meetings and events “to hear the voice of the student.” Pastorek also said Seifert will still supply the pre-term tables of information about the areas covered under Auxiliary Services.
What’s going on with dining? Dining services has been moved out from under the auxiliary services um-
brella, but that’s not the only change affects food. “Students … have consistently over the past couple, two, three years, complained about dining services,” said Kaye Patten Wallace, the senior vice president for student affairs. “What I try to do is look at student complaints and concerns and see if they’re systemic, and if it’s consistent, if there are large numbers of students complaining about it, we look for many opportunities to get the feedback from students.” This is an effort Patten Wallace calls, “You speak, we listen.” She said they try to make changes and let students know those changes are in response to the feedback the students gave. An example of this is the addition of a few meal plans to offer more options, as students had requested. While looking for a way to improve the student experience with dining, Patten Wallace said they found a similar initiative the Health Science Campus began a couple years ago that had since been very successful. “We talked to them about how they did that,” she said, “and it really boiled down to the person that they had who was holding staff kind of in a different way of setting expectations and then holding people to those expectations.” The person mentioned is Mario Toussaint, who was recently appointed senior director of operations--dining, retail and clinical nutrition services for the entire food system for both campuses. I-House dining hall renovations “We have opened I-House, which is a major undertaking,” Toussaint said. The project was huge; Patten Wallace said students have been asking for it to reopen for two years now, and not only was I-House dining reopened, but it was renovated inside. “I am very proud of that … we updated it, we upgraded it, we painted it. It’s more friendly, and I think that’s going to be a huge venue that students will appreciate,” Patten Wallace said. The reopening of a dining hall means new staff as well, including more jobs for students. “It created — I believe — 30 more jobs, whether part-time or full-time,” Toussaint said.
TORRIE JADLOCKI / IC
Students stand in line Aug. 28 to get food at Magic Wok.
What is Agave? KFC was removed from the SU, leaving room for something new to move in a couple weeks ago. “We have the Agave restaurant, which is a Southwest-style. So it’s like our ‘Chipotle’ brand,” Patten Wallace said. “We are trying to respond to what students told us that they want.” How do we give feedback about dining? • Suggestion cards at dining halls • Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UToledoDiningServices/ reviews?ref=page_internal • Office for the Student Experience online feedback system • Ask Rocky • Surveys will be passed out later and put online later in the semester Who do we see about parking, then? The way parking services had been set up, according to Pastorek, it was split between two different people. “Joy [Seifert] had a piece of it with parking services so when you got your permit, you worked through her camp,” Pastorek said, “and then Parking Enforcement with Sherri Kaspar under Jeff Newton and the police division.” The confusion for students came with not knowing which person to talk to, or which office or website to go to, about parking issues and concerns. All parking matters are now dealt with by UT’s police department.
“I need your help: I am determined to lose 20 pounds by May, with the help of Walk with the President,” said UT interim president Nagi Naganathan, with a smile and a laugh, at New Student Convocation. The heat from the sun burned down on the Student Activities Fair on Wednesday, Aug. 27, but Naganathan didn’t seem to mind. Wearing a dark grey suit, he walked the fair without breaking a sweat and stopped to talk to students and organizations as part of the first official Walk with the President. “It was fascinating to see all of the organizations that are in place, that are functioning, and to see the student enthusiasm associated with that,” Naganathan said. The newly named interim president said Walk with the President wasn’t initially his idea; it was actually that of a former student whose son is now going to UT. When he pitched the idea, Naganathan started Walk with the Dean last year. Karen Bell, assistant to the interim provost, is in charge of working with Student Affairs in planning the walks so they fit with Naganathan’s schedule. She will also be with him on the walks so there will be a log of what the students ask in order to give attention to them in a timely fashion. According to Naganathan, there were three informal Walks before the Student Activities Fair: two of which took place at the health science campus and the third at a College of Pharmacy event. During the first Walk, he met some of his old engineering students and talked to other students about their time at UT and anything they had concerns about. “These are real issues presented in a real way, not always about a PowerPoint presentation. It is really speaking about the issues in a plain way. I wanted to make sure I was listening to the voice,” Naganathan said. He also said that when he was the dean of the College of Engineering, he made it his passion to listen to his students, and to make sure that they were comfortable talking with administration. “The real issue is not so much the walk, even though it will do wonders for this body,” Naganathan said. “It’s about communicating to the students and anyone who wants to talk to me about the issues and things they are curious about.” According to Naganathan, it is very important to have a successful mindset. “It’s like condition your body, but instead you are conditioning your mind.” He said that he advocated this when he was teaching at the College of Engineering. “I want to look back and say that we got things done when I step down from office.” Naganathan said. He said that he wants to paint UT in a positive way, he wants “UT be a top choice in choosing where you go to college.” One student expressed approval of Naganathan’s work as interim president. See Walk / 3 »