MSU H20
Rackets up!
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The Student Government Association plans to bring ‘hydration stations’ with purified water to MSU.
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Get a closer look at the MSU men’s tennis team.
wichitan
ht e Wednesday
February 22, 2012
thewichitan.com
your campus/ your news
Regents approve ‘concept’ of master plan Administrators, Regents clash over projects CHRIS COLLINS EDITOR IN CHIEF
MSU Board of Regents members – for more than an hour – scrutinized a master construction plan proposed by administrators last week. Ultimately, the Board agreed to OK the “concept” of the plan, but with some reservations. None of the Regents saw eye-to-eye with administrators about specific projects. Architects from Harper Perkins, who helped create the 5-year master plan,
explained it to Regents Thursday afternoon. The plan included renovations to Christ Academy, tearing down McGaha and Vinson, building a new police station and adding more parking spots. “What we try to do is go through everything with the administration and staff to see their needs and how these things are going to be funded,” one architect said. One of the main points of contention between Regents and administrators was how far down on the priority list adding new on-campus parking was. As outlined by architects, the Christ Academy renovations take top priority. Second is the clearing of old buildings and third is constructing a new police station. Adding new parking and a new residence hall placed near the bottom of the list. “I appreciate the plan, but I’m a little
bothered,” said Regent Dr. Lynnwood Givens. One of the major problems with MSU, according to students, he said, is parking. “Yet that’s in year three or four as a master plan. I’m not very comfortable with that part of it. Let’s see parking in year one somewhere.” The current plan will add 148 additional commuter spaces. About 295 residential spots will be made. The spaces would mainly be contained in the northwest corner of campus, where the Biology House and police station now stand. “I think a really top-notch architecture firm could see a way to get the parking earlier on,” Givens said half-jokingly. Provost Dr. Alisa White defended the Christ Academy project’s top spot on the
LAST KING STANDING Students revive chess program at university MOLLIE COLLINS COPY EDITOR
Nick La Mere scrutinizes the chessboard in front of him as he ponders his next move. His hand hovers above one piece, almost drawing down on it. Not so fast – he thinks again. A grin begins to emerge on his face. Now he has the perfect move. Knight to a6. Checkmate. La Mere is president of MSU’s Chess Club, which was revived almost two years ago. The club was started by La Mere and Tin Phan, who is the club’s vice president. La Mere said he became interested in chess at a young age. He continued to learn the game and its competitive side. “The way the pieces can move and work together to create beautiful combinations makes it a creative and artistic game,” said La Mere. “The science comes in all the stats, theories, and openings that have been tested and retested over centuries of playing.” Linh Vo, club secretary, and Phan said they both enjoy meeting people who are new to the game and teaching them the basics of chess. Midwestern’s Chess Club has been restarted multiple times, but struggled to survive because there were not enough members regularly attending. La Mere said that this time it’s going to be different. “We have a great group of core members with an average attendance of around 10 to 14 weekly,” he said. Professor Richard Simpson of computer science is the club’s adviser. He generously provided the chess club with several tournament chess sets and some books about the game. La Mere said that there are currently no plans of the club playing at a collegiate level because
CHESS pg. 5 Photo by KASSIE BRUTON
master list. “One of the reasons Christ Academy is so important to the academic side is we are making curricular changes that will necessitate realignment of space in mass comm.,” she said. “They are changing the curriculum to have a converged media curriculum as opposed to print and broadcasting.” Regent Michael Bernhardt then addressed his concerns about how far down the list the new residence hall was. “I guess I have, kind of like Dr. Givens, concerns. Maybe we should consider accelerating that up a little bit because that would help our growth,” Bernhardt said. Givens proposed that the new dorm and parking both be placed above Christ Academy. Dr. Keith Lamb, vice president of en-
rollment management and student affairs, said present housing demand isn’t high enough. “We’re talking about 400 to 450 beds,” Lamb said. “Based on the models that we’ve run, we just don’t have that kind of demand.” He said the university may want to reevaluate demand for housing. Regent Jane Spears also questioned the low priority of the new residence hall. Planning, design and construction of the dorm is set for the fourth year of the master plan. It would be functional by the fifth or sixth year, according to the architects. “This timing bothers me,” MSU President Dr. Jesse Rogers admitted. “My
REGENTS pg. 5
Provost nominated for UT-Tyler job CHRIS COLLINS EDITOR IN CHIEF
Provost Dr. Alisa White is being considered for the provost position at the University of Texas-Tyler. She came to MSU in 2010 from UTTyler, where she served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She said she is considering taking the job if she is selected. “I haven’t considered any opportunities outside of MSU other than UT Tyler,” she said. “I was nominated by someone and asked if I would allow my name to be run,” she said. “I was also nominated last year when the former provost left in March, but declined to keep my name in the pool at that time.” She said a leading factor in her decision is to be with her husband, who still lives in Tyler. “What’s changed is that it has become clear that my husband will not be able to move his business to Wichita Falls and we live four hours apart,” she said. “The original plan was for my husband to move his jewelry store here, but the Wichita Falls economy isn’t such that it would be easy for a new store to enter the market.” White said her decision has nothing to do with personnel at MSU. She gets
along with everyone, she said. The provost said she has spent a lot of time making academics jell with budgetary concerns. “I’ve spent a lot of time on budget issues, and with my team, saved a lot of money by delaying hires and reorganizing some units,” White said. “Assessment continues to be a big issue, and Dr. (Robert) Clark and I worked together to tweak the assessment process, particularly in terms of core curriculum assessment.” She has also worked with Dr. Rodney Cate, interim dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics, on a proposal for a new interdisciplinary engineering degree. She helped write a proposal to find money to support the program. In addition, she has worked on clarifying policies. “I asked the Academic Appeals Committee to review the academic dishonesty policy, and the committee has proposed some changes,” she said. “I’ve asked Student Affairs to give input. I’m hoping to reduce ambiguity in some of the policies.” She said she is continually trying to improve the university and herself. “I want to learn more, serve more, and do more, and expect that to be a career-long goal,” she said.
Students get advice on safe sex practices BRITTNEY COTTINGHAM MANAGING EDITOR
Sex can change your life. Unprotected sex can turn your life upside down. Elaine Pasqua who has spoken across college campus for 15 years said she has seen it radically change students’ lives. “I have seen many students who have altered their life direction because they did not make responsible choices,” she said. She quoted one stargazing statistic: “25 percent of all people under the age of 21 in the U.S. are infected with a sexually transmitted infection,” she said. Pasqua spoke candidly with students in a program titled, “Sex and Excess: Surviving the Party.” This interactive lecture challenged students to tackle their own behavior
choices involving alcohol abuse and unprotected sex. Pasqua effectively outlined the consequences of safe sex and the relationship between high-risk drinking and sexual assault. “I believe that some students are aware of the risk of their behaviors, but many are not,” she said. Pasqua’s goal was to teach students that one inconsequential decision could change their life directions and goals. “I want to teach (students) to party responsibly and with respect for one another,” Pasqua said. “I combine the topics of high-risk drinking and sexual responsibility because they do tend to go hand-in-hand.”
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