Indiana Statesman For ISU students. About ISU students. By ISU students.
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015
Volume 123, Issue 30
Indiana State student arrested Morgan Gallas Reporter
Indiana State University student Jomo Bennett was arrested on his way to class Oct. 26. On Friday, Bennett was identified as the person who allegedly brought a gun onto campus allegedly looking “for a specific person concerning a personal matter,” according to the Crime Alert from Public Safety sent out Friday. Upon arrest, Bennett was not carrying the gun. “He did not have the gun in his possession,” said Joseph Newport, chief of the ISU Police Department. “(The gun) was not recovered.” Bennett was preliminarily charged with criminal recklessness and intimidation, both felonies, and made an appearance on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in Vigo County Court Division 6. Investigation into this incident continues. Indiana State University is a gun-free campus. If you see suspicious activity on campus, contact ISU PD at 812-237-5555.
Theft rates increase as break looms closer Morgan Gallas Reporter
As Indiana State University approaches holiday breaks, students should be aware about the potential for thefts occurring while they are away. Because there are not many students on campus over fall and winter break, some may see an opportunity to strike and steal. “Thefts from vehicles and burglary rates usually go up during the holiday season,” said Michele Barrett, assistant chief of police at the Indiana State University Police Department. Once students leave for break, there is an increase in thefts on and around campus. “Thieves know that one, students are out of town on break, and two, people usually have extra cash and merchandise laying around during the holiday season,” Barrett said. Students should take preventative measures to thwart burglary from occurring in their dorms or homes. “Keep vehicles, dorms and homes locked,” Barrett said. “Keep valuables out of plain sight. Thieves are more likely to break into a vehicle where they can see a purse, laptop and other electronics in plain view.” Upon returning to campus or off-campus housing, students should look out for signs of burglary such as broken windows or locks and items rearranged or rummaged through in their vehicle or home. “The north side of campus usually sees a higher theft rate during the holiday break because there is a higher population of students living in theses apartments and townhouses,” Barrett said. “Thieves know that many students are out of town during the holidays.” If you see suspicious activity on campus, report it to 812237-5555. Suspicious activity in Terre Haute can be reported to the nonemergency police number 812-232-1311.
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El Nino shouldn’t affect local weather Nevia Buford
Assistant News Editor
This year’s El Nino may last longer and be slightly stronger than in previous years, but will not have a large effect on the weather at Indiana State University, sources said. An article found on weatherchannel.com describes El Nino as “an anomalous, yet periodic, warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.” El Nino occurs when easterly trade winds weaken and reverse from west to east, meaning that warmer Pacific waters change directions and move towards the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Normally, these winds cause warm water to move towards the Western Pacific Ocean, and cold water to move towards the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. In layman’s terms, “El Nino is an unusual warming of the waters in the east Pacific Ocean and the tropics,” said Dr. Gregory Bierly, a professor in the department of earth and environmental systems. “Essentially that’s what it is. It causes changes in atmospheric wind and pressure, which can lead to heavy rains in some places and droughts in some places. It can also affect weather more distant from that region.” El Nino plays a part in the weather that some regions experience. “Typically what happens in the United States and North America is that we have wet-
ter than normal weather along the southern states and on the west coast,” Bierly said. While El Nino may affect the Terre Haute area, the changes will not be significant. “Now as far as Terre Haute, the connection with El Nino is not nearly as strong,” Bierly said. “We’re getting pretty far from where it has its influence. But usually El Nino winters are a little bit warmer than normal. Right now the prediction for this winter from the Climate Prediction Center is that we will be warmer than normal and a little bit drier than normal.” El Nino is not the only factor that impacts the weather. “I think right now what you’re seeing with the day-today weather variation is just the fact that in a fall, and in spring too, but in fall the westerly winds that go across the United States are in a period of adjustment, so there are a lot of changes that happen right now,” Bierly said. “Summer is a fairly stable period, and the middle of winter is fairly stable, but spring and fall are what they call transition seasons, so there are lots of disturbances in moving waves, so a lot of times that’s what causes up and downs with temperature and also little bursts of storms.” According to the article, “El Nino is not the sole driver of the atmosphere at any time. Day-to-day variability in the weather pattern, including blocking patterns, forcing from climate change and
other factors all work together with El Nino to determine the overall weather experienced over the timeframe of a few months.” “It’s been a while since we’ve had a significant El Nino,” Bierly said. “This one has been
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in effect for a good part of this year, and it’s predicted to continue on into the winter and then start to weaken a little bit, or go back to normal sometime in the spring or maybe in the summer of next year.”
English department considers degree changes Miguel Lewis Reporter
The English department has proposed a degree change that may take effect within the next year. English department chairperson Robert Perrin said the college has traditionally awarded more Bachelor of Science degrees than Bachelor of Arts degrees. In order to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, students must have at least two years of a foreign language. Recent studies suggest that the designation of either degree depends on the type of coursework that is required for each major. “We’ve talked about this for several years saying, ‘Why aren’t the sciences giving Bachelor of Science degrees and why wouldn’t the theatre and music and English and art automatically be an artsfocused degree?’” Perrin said. Time after time and discussion after discussion the conversation has always gone back to the requirement of having at least two years of a foreign language to qualify for an arts degree. “We always thought it was odd in English that we weren’t considered an arts degree, and the science department thought it was odd that we were giving a science degree,” Perrin said. This discussion among the university and the departments created a problem because there was no question or thought of changing degrees and requirements in past years. The push for the change may take up to a year or more depending on the efficiency of the approval process. Furthermore, this change also involves more than just the English department. If this change is approved, what is considered a Bachelor of Science degree now may no longer be considered science, but arts instead. For example, a student may look at his
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Dr. Robert Perrin, professor and chair of the English department, has pushed for the English degree to change to a Bachelor of Arts from a Bachelor of Science.
or her degree audit and see that their major is theater with a Bachelor of Science. However, if this change takes place they will see Bachelor of Art instead. Although word of this change is getting around campus, not all students have heard about it. “I’ve only heard rumors about this change, specifically about the language requirement so I’m not really sure what all is going to happen,” said senior English major Stephanie McFarland. “ … but I feel like this would be an inconvenience to some students. If they take away the
language requirement and students have already completed the requirement, it may just end up being a waste of time and money.” The final review of the process has to go through a computer program called Curricu-log before it takes full effect. Students who are currently on track to graduate will not be affected by this change. “Students graduating within the next few semesters won’t have anything to worry about. There are still a few final revisions that we have to worry about,” Perrin said.
Illinois college students feeling loan pain Gail MarksJarvis
Chicago Tribune (TNS)
Despite all the attention being paid to the nation’s $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, borrowing is growing, and the burdens are especially painful for students in Illinois colleges. Nationally, 69 percent of students who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2014 have student loan debt and left school with an average of $28,950 in loans, according to a study done by
the Institute for College Access and Success. While there has been no increase in the last two years in the percentage of students who borrowed money to pay for college, students are leaving school with more debt than in the past. The debt load for undergraduate students climbed 2 percent in 2014, from $28,400. Over the past decade, the debt load for college graduates has jumped 56 percent, more than twice the rise in inflation.
Illinois students are among the largest borrowers in the nation. Students who graduated in 2014 from Illinois colleges left with average debt of $28,984 — ranking 16th among states in terms of debt burdens, according to the study. The number of students who must borrow to attend Illinois colleges is especially high too. Illinois ranks 11th of all states, with 67 percent of students finishing college with loans in 2014. Debt levels differ greatly be-
tween states and institutions — ranging from $4,750 to $60,750 per college. The study points out that students could cut their debt substantially if they would take time to compare the costs of attending various public and private colleges before selecting a school. Many state institutions — including Illinois’ — have faced cutbacks in government budgets and consequently have left students carrying a
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