Indiana Statesman For ISU students. About ISU students. By ISU students.
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015
Volume 123, Issue 27
indianastatesman.com
Campus building to be updated, expanded Helena Walker Reporter
The board of trustees voted to allow Indiana State University to seek state approval to move forward with the renovation and expansion of the Health and Human Services Building at their meeting on Oct. 16. The Health and Human Services Building, or the Arena, has many changes that are being planned for this renovation and expansion. Diann McKee, the vice president for
business affairs, finance and university treasurer, commented on the changes to the building. “The project includes not only renovation of many of the existing spaces within the College of Health and Human Services facility but also the addition of 87,000 gross square feet to the west side of the building,” McKee said. “The interior renovations include major upgrades in building systems to improve temperature control, technology and some reconfiguring of interior spaces to allow academic programs to function more effectively.”
This new space will be helpful for the students when completed, McKee said. “The additional space will be used to house new academic programs within the College that have been recently added,” McKee said. “Currently, those programs are located elsewhere on campus.” Haley Ward, a freshman elementary education major, is concerned with updating another building on campus. “I think they should focus more on finishing the residence halls before they start on a new project,” Ward said. Another student, Raven Stikes, a freshman elementary education major,
said she wants some construction to get finished before ISU starts in on more projects. “They need to finish the other project such as the parking lots and residence halls and fixing things that go wrong in the Commons,” Stikes said. “And to add a second floor that’s a lot of money they are wasting instead of putting it towards more things we need.” “The total project is estimated at $64 million and will take at least two years to complete,” McKee said. “Work will not begin until sometime next summer.”
Emergency response plan changes Miguel Lewis Reporter
This year the University Police have updated the campus emergency preparedness/response plan. Although this emergency plan is updated annually, students may not be completely aware of their resources. The emergency preparedness plan is used as a way to keep campus faculty, staff and students aware of things including what to do in situations such as tornadoes and active shooters. It is also used as a way to keep the campus aware of officials who are designated to be on campus and college name changes like the Scott College of Business and Bayh College of Education. Changes to the emergency plan this year were as simple as updating building coordinators and web links that can be found in relation to campus awareness and student safety, external and internal. University Police has done work to ensure that the emergency plan is up-to-date and being enforced, but often students are not aware of the emergency plan resources available to them. University Police officer Sgt. Ian Loomis said he wants students to make sure they understand the emergency response plan. “I would encourage students to go through the emergency response plan and see what is applicable to them, see what they did not know and ask themselves what to do in certain types of emergencies,” Loomis said. “Whether it be a chemical spill, whether it be a fire, whether it be weather-related, and what we all fear — an active shooter — we want students to know what to do. Whether you’re sitting in class, sitting in the Commons, in your dorm room, start thinking about how to respond in these types of situations. Really start challenging yourself.” One of the key points to consider is that everything in the emergency response plan is not an emergency situation. Some of the things mentioned in the response plan may be as small as
Marissa Schmitter | Indiana Statesman
Hector Tobar, a renowned journalist and author, spoke at Indiana State University as a part of the University Speaker Series.
Hector Tobar tells the story of ‘Los 33’ DJ Reynolds Reporter
At the Tilson Auditorium as part of Indiana State University’s Speaker Series, Hector Tobar discussed his latest book, “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free.” The book talks about the 33 men who were trapped in a mine in Chile in the Copiapo mining accident in 2010. Hector Tobar is a Los Angeles author and journalist. Hector was chosen to be the author of a book that was going to cover details of the miner’s entrapment. He was chosen for his expertise in speaking English and Spanish fluently and his work examining South America. The Copiapo mining
accident that occurred on Aug. 5, 2010, resulted in 33 men being trapped in the mine for a total of 69 days — and all 33 were saved. The men who were trapped 2,300 feet underground and three miles from the entrance were later known as “Los 33” or “The 33.” Tobar discussed some events that happened in and out of the mine during the accident. Rescue workers located the miners 17 days into the entrapment and began to plan how to get them out. Through smaller drilled holes, rescue workers were able to send food, cameras, microphones and other equipment to find out what was going on. Some of the miners became more famous, and the others had thought this was unfair, since they all suffered together. It was
decided that they would sell this story together. Tobar compared this event to “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” and said people will speak of this event for 1,000 years. He had asked the miners what got them into mining and most said that Chilean mining is like farming and most kids start working in the mines at young ages. Tobar explained the event as “Ordinary guys trapped in an extraordinary event that brought out the best and worst out of them.” The worker in charge had quit because he had thought that the situation they were in was too much. One guy stepped in and tried to find a way out. He rationed the food and made them pray; they had even started confessions with one another. Another who was religious gave sermons, ironically sharing the story of
Jonah and the whale one night. When asked what the first prayer was, one man said, “Lord, we aren’t the best men, but take pity on us.” Tobar had felt it was his responsibility to learn as much as he could for the book. He ventured into a mine, learned the mythology, the Bible and learned that Chileans have a noble view of miners and have poetic souls. One of the survivors had stated, “When the lights went out, that’s where Hell is; it is in the darkness.” When the miners were saved, they compared it to childbirth because of the process of going through a tube in the ground to the outside world. Tobar concluded in saying that the story was a broken family routine of having dinner at 9 p.m., and the men just wanted to go back to that family at the dinner table.
EMERGENCY CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Students still have time to complete It’s On Blue training Nevia Buford Reporter
The deadline to complete the It’s On Blue training has passed, but there are still some students and faculty who have not completed it. Students and staff are still available to take the online training and are encouraged to do so. Students are not able to register for spring or summer classes until they complete the training and staff and faculty are not eligible to earn raises until they complete it. Aimee Janssen-Robinson, the Equal Opportunity Director and Title IX Coordinator, encourages
students to complete the training immediately. “I want to remind students to complete the It’s On Blue training today if they have not already completed the training,” JanssenRobinson said. “A hold will prevent you from registering for spring 2016 courses if you have not completed the online It’s On Blue education program.” Janssen-Robinson said that students and staff who have not completed the training should go to https://www.campusclarity. com/signup and enter their ISU email address. Priority registration for spring courses begins Nov. 9. “Students need to complete it before they plan to register for
classes,” Janssen-Robinson said. “The sooner the better.” Currently, 88.7 percent of undergraduate students have completed the training, 61.4 percent of graduate students have completed it and 96 percent of staff have completed the training, Janssen-Robinson said. “10,478 undergraduate students were invited to the training and 9,289 undergraduate students have completed the training,” Janssen-Robinson said. “2,166 graduate students were invited to the training and 1,330 graduate students have completed the training.” Janssen-Robinson said that is important for students to complete the training.
“The online training is one aspect of the It’s On Blue initiative,” Janssen-Robinson said. “It’s On Blue is a campus-wide initiative designed to create a culture of care, safety and support within the ISU campus community.” Students on campus seem to have responded with mixed feelings about the program. Patrick Ellis, a senior chemistry major, said he thought the program was helpful to the student body. “I was pretty well educated on sexual assault, sexual violence and all that, but I think as a training for the student body as a whole, there are students that don’t get exposed to sexual assault education,” Ellis said. “With
how trends have been across other universities, across the nation, I think it was an extremely helpful thing to our university.” Austin Pettijohn, a senior criminal justice major, said, “It taught me some things, and it was realistic. It definitely has me more aware for things like that in the future.” Pettijohn also said he liked the examples and scenarios. Chris Allen, a sophomore communication major, said that there were some parts he didn’t like, but overall felt the program was helpful in reminding people to be aware of their surroundings. Page designed by Carey Ford