The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
TUESDay, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
VOLUME 140 NO. 35
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1926, The Miami Student reported that a joint committee of representatives from the Student Senate and faculty voted to exclude first-year students from participating in the university’s honor system. “First year men and women … have not developed a sense of honor great enough to allow them the right to take examinations under such a system as now in operation,” the committee determined.
LAUREN OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
DASHING THROUGH THE ... NO The Tri-Delt Sundial only tells the correct time four times a year. It is rumored that rubbing the turtles’ heads will bring you good luck.
Miami meets ‘green’ goal By Doug Miller
For The Miami Student
Miami University’s goal of reducing its energy use by 20 percent by 2014 is right on schedule, after Ohio legislature passed House Bill 251 in 2004 requesting that both public and private universities in Ohio reduce their energy use. Since the bill was passed, Miami has been working with constructing new buildings and keeping older buildings up to code. This year, Miami’s energy consumption is $23.4 million or one trillion btus (a btu is an energy unit equivalent to one lit match) as opposed to $29 million in 2004. In 2004, Ohio governor Bob Taft helped push several energy conservation bills through legislature, including House Bill 251. Since then, however, Ohio has passed fewer bills regarding energy conservation. According to energy management engineer Anthony Ferraro, the government has rarely requested any information or data on Miami’s progress. According to Ferraro, House Bill 251 was not binding, meaning Miami would not have been punished had it not reduced its energy use by 2014.
Yvette Kline, director of sustainability and energy conservation, said Miami has been using a system called LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, to measure how energy efficient new buildings will be. “All new buildings must have a LEED silver rating in order for us to accomplish our goals,” Kline said. The new Armstrong Student
Both residence halls have shown a 61 percent decrease in energy consumption compared to 2010.” David prytherch GEOGRAPHY PROFESSOR
Center (ASC), for example, will use 35 percent less energy than the Shriver Center, and the new residence halls on Western campus are expected to have similar results. Miami has managed to meet its goals of energy consumption through the first two quarters of the current year. In addition to new buildings, older buildings on campus, such as Elliot and Stoddard residence halls,
have been renovated and changed to comply with Miami’s goal. David Prytherch, associate professor of geography sustainability coordinator, has been heavily involved with most of the energy decisions since House Bill 251’s passing. As a member of the sustainability committee, Prytherch works with others in determining how to make buildings more energy efficient. According to Prytherch, Miami has gone above and beyond the bill’s requirements in setting its own goals. For example, Prytherch said in 2011, Elliot and Stoddard residence halls were switched from coal-fired steam heat to geothermal heating and cooling. “Both residence halls have shown a 61 percent decrease in energy consumption compared to 2010,” Prytherch said. Miami also encourages students to turn off lights and equipment whenever possible and to conserve water using their “Energy Reduction,” posters, according to Kline. Sophomore Andrew Dalton said he is surprised by the university’s progress. “I remember seeing information like that last year, I just didn’t realize how well the school’s actually doing,” Dalton said.
Fall 2013 applications break admissions records, again BY KATIE TAYLOR CAMPUS EDITOR
Miami University has received a record-breaking number of applications for fall 2013. According to collected data, the university has increased its pool of applicants by 10 percent, though the final numbers have yet to come it. According to Director of Admission Ann Larson, the morning report she received Feb. 1, this year’s application deadline, put Miami at 21,354 applicants. The numbers reveal an increasing trend when compared to last year’s also record-breaking number of 20,314 applicants for the fall 2012 semester, Larson said. Larson said the recently revamped campus tours are likely responsible for part of this increase. “The visits to campus are way up, that’s a positive,” Larson said. “We’ve actually enhanced our oncampus visit programming; the visit to campus is so critical.” According to Larson, the number of student visits jumped approximately nine percent with the application increase.
Larson said Miami’s notoriety has been increasing across the country, which has also contributed to the record-breaking number of applications. “I think that national publicity, it really recognizes the strengths of the university, [which] absolutely attracts interest,” Larson said. “Last year we had applicants from all 50 states for fall 2012, this year we’re only missing Utah.” Sophomore Meghan Joyce said she’s not surprised Miami’s popularity has increased considering the positive experience she has had as a student so far. “Miami’s public relations is probably doing an excellent job, so it’s becoming more popular,” Joyce said. “Most of the students seem to be happy here, I know I’m happy here.” In addition to Miami’s reputation, Larson said the unique experience the university provides students will continue to draw in a large number of applicants. “We’re excited that Miami’s still on the radar,” Larson said. “It’s an incredible undergraduate experience we believe, and we believe the students support that.”
Custodial staff numbers dwindle as university seeks efficiency By Katie Taylor Campus Editor
A reduction in Miami University’s custodial staff over the past several years has led to an increase in responsibility for those who remain. Bill Moloney, senior director for residential conference and auxiliary services said last year Miami restructured its program to differentiate maintenance and custodial staff. In addition, the university brought in a consultant to measure the square footage of each residence hall, factor in fixtures and determine how much time it should take to clean each room. According to Moloney, the university decreased the number of custodial staff members gradually through the process of attrition—not replacing staff members who retire or quit—as opposed to laying off individuals. Manager of First Shift Operations Don Reed said, as a result, the number of custodial staff members assigned to each building has decreased significantly in the past several years. “In [2004] we had three senior managers and now I’m the only one left, so I get all three shifts,” Reed said.
For him, conditions remain manageable. “You know, I hear a lot of complaints about the benefits and things, but it’s like that everywhere,” Reed said. “It’s a good place to work. I’m still here, so I must like it.” Others said the cut caused a chain reaction, negatively affecting both staff and students. According to a Senior Building and Grounds Assistant who has worked at Miami for over 20 years, John Row, who asked that his name be changed to protect his job, the cut has made it impossible for he and his partner to keep their assigned residence hall clean, and its 200 occupants happy. “There used to be four people that cleaned this building, now there’s only two of us, which is crazy,” Row said. “We feel bad, I mean we used to vacuum every other day, sometimes every day, and now we’re lucky if we do it once a week.” According to Row, though the changes have saved a significant amount of money for the university, and staff members are currently paying the price. Despite the lack of help, Miami’s custodial staff is asked to continue going above and beyond Row said; he feels it may not be worth it. “If I didn’t have so many years
here, if I was new here, I would quit,” Row said. Joe Cottman, who began working recently as a building and grounds assistant in Porter Hall recently, said hall size makes all the difference. “I’ve only been working here a month and a half, but it doesn’t seem to be too difficult,” Cottman said. “This is a small building though, I bet larger ones would be a lot harder with only two people working them.” According to Row’s partner, Building and Grounds Assistant Jenny Cast, who has worked at Miami for 25 years and also asked that her name be changed, students seem to notice the worsening conditions of the halls and use it as an excuse to continue trashing them. “It’s like [the students] almost do this stuff deliberately,” Nunn said. “It’s not all of them, some offer to help. [Others] will just walk in front of you and throw something down. To me that’s just very disrespectful.” Moloney noted an increasing trend in vandalism. “We’ve had some increases in messes and vandalism over the last two or three years, it goes up a little more each year,” Moloney said. “It’s just a trend we try and educate with our residence life staff.” According to Row, Miami’s
consultants failed to account for student vandalism when calculating the amount of time needed to clean the residence halls. Moloney said the consultants’ formula has proven to be fairly accurate, though when issues are brought to his attention, they are addressed. “People always loved the way things were, and we have some of that [feedback] as well, but we try to treat our staff, and work with our staff and get them the tools they need to do the job,” Moloney said. However, Cast said many issues remain, including staff members often having to run to other buildings just to get sweepers or other necessary supplies. Moloney said Miami is taking steps to improve conditions by utilizing a program introduced in 2010 called Leveraging Efficiencies and Aligning Needs (LEAN), which aims to increase efficiency and, in turn, make staff members’ jobs easier. “Right now, the custodial operations in the residence halls are operating very efficiently; there’s no need to cut any more staff,” Moloney said. “There is a need, through the LEAN process, to involve our staff more … now we’re looking at how to do a better job of helping our staff do their job better.”
Moloney said a LEAN expert was introduced to staff over winter break to kickoff the program. According to Brian Woodruff, LEAN representative for Housing, Dining, Recreation and Business Services, the program works towards enhancing job efficiency. “Essentially we want to provide the best experience we can for students, we want to provide great service as efficiently as we can,” Woodruff said. “So, [LEAN is] looking at ways to reduce waste, to find smarter ways of doing business.” In providing the most efficient service, Woodruff said LEAN will simplify the work of staff. “The goal ultimately is that we make the job easier so that it can be done well, more efficiently, allowing people really to be more productive,” Woodruff said. Moloney thanked the custodial staff, and praised them for their hard work and patience. “I can’t give enough praise to the frontline people who are out there doing it,” Moloney said. “I’m sure that they’re frustrated at times, with how things used to be, and I wish things were like that, but they have high standards and they maintain good quality.” Additional reporting done by Trevor Jordan.