WEDNESDAY JUNE 19, 2019
President Davenport announces new changes Dr. Richard Davenport addresses changes with the MNSU campus MARIA LY NEWS EDITOR Dr. Richard Davenport, president of Minnesota State University, Mankato, addressed to faculty and staff in the annual 2019 President’s Convocation on expected changes, accomplishments and challenges the university has faced during the prior academic year. Changes recently made is the new upgrade to the Meyer’s field house with brand new flooring and track equipment. Another accomplishment and change the university has completed is the Clinical Sciences Phase 2 project which includes: new installed solar panels, relocation of programs in one building, building of a collaborative learning lab in Morris Hall, upgrade of food labs and classrooms, and an upgrade of the HVAC systems.
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The Maverick all sports dome, located off of Monks Avenue, is looking to be completed around December. A new directional university sign to help navigate people to the campus placed at the corner of Stolzman and
Stadium Road will be implemented later in the fall. Another prospective change for the fall semester is the remaking of the gateway entrance on Ellis Road. The university has added a new Institute for Regen-
erative Resources and AgriSciences to coordinate its research efforts related to soils, water, crops, renewable energy, land stewardship, and rural transportation. The School of Communication was recently founded
on July 1, 2019 to address regional needs and feature an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to the curriculum. Faculty in the School of Communication are currently working on interdisciplinary programs in agricultural communication, health communication, sports communication, intercultural communication, etc. Along with recent changes, Davenport also announced a new master facility plan for the next decade. Among the plan, the university is looking to replace Armstrong hall, add new residential halls, upgrade and replace the old football stadium, and add a new building for the College of Business. The master facilities plan has been given 95 percent approval and the university
CONVOCATION page 4
Mavs for Clean Air advocate tobacco policy MICHAEL MCSHANE STAFF WRITER For those who walk through campus on their way to and from class tired of constantly smelling the unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke, you are not alone. The MSU-Mankato Tobacco Free Policy Task Force is a committee created through a grant funded by the American Cancer Society which focuses its efforts on collecting data, surveying students and faculty, and figuring out a solution to a policy that has gone largely ignored by the campus populous. “We have a lot of people who are unhappy with the status quo,” said Dr. Mary Kramer, assistant professor in the Department of Health Science.
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Dr. Kramer interviewed 20 “key informants” and submitted data from the interviews to make her case about the need for the funding before submitting the grant application a year ago.
MNSU is billed as a smokefree and tobacco-free campus, but there are many students seen smoking in certain areas around the university. Well known spots are outside the main entrance to
IN THIS ISSUE: New university app .................................... Page 2 Alcohol allowed for tailgating ................... Page 6 “Lover” review ......................................... Page 16 Maverick’s volleyball fall short ................. Page 25
the MNSU Memorial Library, the dumpster area outside Armstrong Hall and the Taylor Center. In her reports, Dr. Kramer has found that the clean-up effort to get rid of cigarette
butts left behind from smokers on campus can cost the university around $60,000 a year. Even though MNSU is billed as a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus that has signs posted all throughout school grounds, there remains a portion of students who still smoke on campus with security having limited ability to enforce the no-smoking policy. “All they can say is please stop,” Dr. Kramer said. “And from what I’ve seen, and heard, and witnessed they’re not even addressing it.” What looks like a losing battle, the campus security is at a loss when it comes to enforcing a policy that does
VAPING page 9
WEATHER OUTLOOK: WEDNESDAY (6/19)
H: 80 L: 57 Sunny.
THURSDAY (6/20)
H: 80 L: 60 Sun & clouds; humid.
FRIDAY (6/21)
H: 83 L: 63 Shower and thunderstorm.
SATURDAY (6/22)
H: 81 L: 57 Overcast; thunderstorms.
SUNDAY (6/23)
H: 75 L: 59 Mostly cloudy.
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Email News Editor Maria Ly maria.ly@mnsu.edu