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Forgotten falcons
Demolition of Statesman Towers threatens habitat of feathered friends
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 Indiana State University www.indianastatesman.com Volume 119 Issue 31
Katy Karmazinas Reporter
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For over ten years, a peregrine falcon named Helga has made the Statesman Towers her home; but with the demolition date set for the towers in the summer of 2012, many students and faculty wonder what will become of her. The Statesman Towers are being issued for demolition due to their old age. The College of Business and Education were originally built to be dorms during the Vietnam era. Because of excessive maintenance, the buildings are set to be destroyed this coming summer. The peregrine falcon was at one time endangered and is now listed as a threatened species, Ruth Rukes, Administrative Assistant
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in the Dean’s Office of the College of Business said. “The question is, what will happen to the birds that nest here when the buildings are taken down?” Rukes recalled walking the campus two years ago when she heard strange noises. It sounded like a bunch of little kids, Rukes said. Rukes soon realized, however, a falcon perched in a tree. According to the band on her leg, Helga hatched in Minnesota. She can be spotted atop the Statesman Towers, which are home to the College of Business and the College of Education. With the demolition of College of Education and Business in plan, Helga may decide to move her nesting location as well. Rukes says that when she sees Helga around campus, she is usually coupled with her mate, and she believes that the male is the smaller of the two. Although the Statesman Towers will no longer remain on campus in the coming year, Rukes said she