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“Let the chips fall where they may.” Since 1884
May 3, 2012
Vol. 134, No. 23
Honors core temporarily cut Megan Creasey
Staff Writer
The Honors Core program will be suspended for the 2012-2013 school year
the chance to review and revamp the curriculum. This year marked the fourth year of the program, which consists of a series of
four courses spanning over a variety of disciplines that students begin during their sophomore year. Associate Dean and Director of College Honors Terry Sparkes says Honors students have enjoyed the program. “The students who have been through the Core think it’s a marvelous addition to their liberal arts curriculum — the breadth, the perspective, the connections,” Sparkes said.
program and researching other schools’ honors programs, says taking the classes in
people see the progression of thought, so obviously you want to take them sequentially,” Darling said. “Programs [at … [at Luther] people ended up having a dropping out.”
completing the program this year, the the courses are designed to be taken in
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Honors core classes coming to a close. Assistant Professor of Physics Erin Flater (left) talks with Jill Hughes (‘12) (right) during her honors class.
Honors course into his or her schedule, dropping out of the program may be the only option. “We can only offer a couple of sections, and if they meet at the same time as a major requirement, then there’s a bit of a delay in completing the next course,” Sparkes said. Magie Darling (‘12), who has been working with Sparkes to revamp the
of the goals as the faculty involved with the Honors program consider changes. Part of this process involves examining other schools’ honors programs. However, Sparkes said, programs like Luther’s are rare. “The most selective schools don’t have [honors programs], the less selective colleges tend to have a bigger Honors Core continued on page 10
Groundbreaking date set for new aquatic center Fundraising goal met; project moves forward Jayne Cole
Staff Writer
Construction of Luther’s new aquatic center is set to begin this July. A groundbreaking ceremony for the $5.5 million project is set for May 11, after a meeting with the Board of Regents. “We made good progress to secure the funding,” President Richard Torgerson said of the largely donation-based aquatic center. The center will -Steve be built on the northeast side of the Regents Center, adjacent to the existing structure. The current 50-year-old pool will be replaced after many years of discussion around the community. “With a community this size, we should collaborate as much as possible,” Torgerson said.
The new aquatic center will be nearly twice the size of the current pool, which will help swimmers, in particular the swim team. “It will provide more space to train as a team,” Swimming and Diving Head Coach Lance Huber said. “Right now it is so limited. It would be like if you took a basketball court and chopped off 20 feet on each side.” The larger pool will include eight competitionwidth lanes. The pool depth will be a consistent eight feet, which will make for a fast pool. “The deeper the pool, the Sorenson faster it is,” Huber said. (‘15) There will also be an added 14-feet deep diving section. 3-meter diving boards will replace the current 1-meter boards. The diving area will slope upwards to include a shallow area. A larger pool deck will incorporate seating for more than 250 people.
“We need more space, and will be able to host bigger meets with better facilities.”
State of the art equipment, including starting blocks and timing systems, will complete the project, which hopes to make the facility more efficient. The swimmers, especially the ones who will see the completed project, see the aquatic center as a great benefit to the future of the program. “It will definitely help the team, Steve Sorenson (‘15) said. “We need more space, and will be able to host bigger
meets with better facilities.” With the new aquatic center, the swim team can look forward to hosting multi-team competitions and possibly even the Liberal Arts Championships. The current pool will be dismantled after the project is complete. Plans are to hopefully turn the area into a recreational center. The current pool schedule will not see many changes and will still continue to incorporate lap
swim, classes and high school practices. Many hope that the larger pool space will create even more community involvement. “The atmosphere is exciting and it is an attraction to all people,” Huber said. “It will be great for adaptive P.E. classes and other classes. A lot of new ideas will come up as well.” Aquatic Center continued on page 10
Courtesy of luther.edu
A breath of fresh air. A video posted on luther.edu explains the plans for the new aquatic center.