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CHIPS LUTHER COLLEGE
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
Please Recycle
September 13, 2012
Vol. 135, No. 2
Since 1884
Resident halls revamped “Norse bus” proposed by safety- Keys replaced by student IDs to improve safety concerned students Noah nelsen-Gross
Staff Writer
A group of students has brought the safety of Luther students to the forefront beginning last year by proposing the idea of the “norse bus” to administration. Danny Smith (‘13) is one of the students who worked on the proposal. “It would be a shuttle bus to transport Luther students to downtown Decorah and back to campus on weekend evenings,” Smith said. The general idea is that it would be a shuttle that picked up students at several locations on campus and dropped them off at several locations downtown on Friday and Saturday nights. While it was proposed to administration last year, there are still some things that need to be worked out within Luther College administration. “It sounds like a great idea, ‘let’s implement it,’ but it’s more difficult than that,” Director of Wellness Greg Lonning (‘83) said. Before the shuttle can be implemented it must overcome several obstacles. One issue with this shuttle is perception. “It’s not simply a bus that moves students from the bars at night back to campus,” Lonning said. Shuttle continued on page 10
Noah Nelsen-Gross/Chips
Driving in Decorah. The proposed shuttle would take Luther students from campus to locations around downtown Decorah.
Katherine Mohr/Chips
Swiping students. Ryan Wilcox (‘14) uses the new ID scanner to gain access to Farwell.
Katherine Mohr
most notably enhanced security people and property,” Director of Campus Safety and Security Bob Harri said. According to Residence Life staff, it has made their access issues much easier to deal with. “The system is very useful during closed breaks when students relocate,” Director of Residence Life Kris Franzen said. Instead of worrying about losing their keys, students can now focus on not losing their IDs. “Now if a student loses their ID, when they go to get a new ID their old one is deactivated and will no longer work to get into the building,” Towers Area Coordinator Myles Coulter
Staff Writer of
This fall has seen the completion of all new entry systems which allows students to use their school-issued IDs for access to residence halls. The process began in summer 2011 with the Miller renovation and was campus wide completed before the fall 2012 semester began. The software infrastructure allows residents to access their residence hall with their school IDs from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., when buildings previously are locked. The ID cards replace access keys, which had been issued with students’ room keys. “There are many benefits to the electronic access system,
said. The process is computerbased and can track who enters the building using their card. “If there’s vandalism in a hall, they can see exactly who entered the building prior to that and narrow it down,” Director of Software Development Marcia Gullickson said. A vestibule was also added in Dieseth, Larsen, Farwell Olson, Ylvisaker and Brandt Halls so that students can enter one set of doors before unlocking the second set. Gullickson says the project cost $138,000, the majority of which was spent on the Card Swipe continued on page 10
Dining services faces higher costs, prices increase John Freude
Staff Writer and our local foods,” Tudor said. “We
A rise in the 2012-13 tuition is not the only price increase Luther students will face this year. Dining services has experienced an increase in costs resulting in the rise in prices of particular items in both Oneota and Marty’s. Popular items like chicken strips, cheese curds and the value meals have all seen a slight increase.General Manager of Dining Services Wayne Tudor attributes the increase mainly to the increase in the cost of food. “With inflation and the drought, it just costs us more to purchase produce, beef
would love to have a year without a raise, but inflation and bad weather have made it necessary to raise prices.” The rise this year can be accounted to roughly a five percent increase in selected items, which is the same increase that occurred last year. This is two percent lower than the increase two years ago. According to the Operations Manager of Dining Services, Diane Narum (‘01), Casey DeLima/Chips
Dining prices continued on page 10
Decreased Dining Prices. Some products, like these to-go sandwiches, actually decreased in price.