VOL. CXXXVIII ISSUE XVVIIII • FREE-ADDITIONAL COPIES $1
THE NEWS RECORD THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWS ORGANIZATION / THURSDAY, JAN. 23, 2014
GOLD RETURN OF PIXIES WINNING RUSH STREAK
UC ARCHITECTURE STUDENT SHARES STORY FROM ABROAD
EUROPEAN STUDY
PIXIES LEGACY TOO GREAT TO FAIL, NEW EP ALMOST UP TO PAR
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After lengthy meeting, SG elects two new at-large senators Newly elected senators look to push initiatives in limited time before February’s general election ALEXIS O’BRIEN NEWS EDITOR
MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Student government speaker of senate Kathleen Hurley (center) talks with Gracie Waters (left) and Emily Heine (right), two newly elected senators-at-large after a lengthy student government meeting in Tangeman University Center Wednesday.
New fundraiser joins ranks of UC Foundation
Two open senator at-large seats on the University of Cincinnati Undergraduate Student Government were filled Wednesday night when new senators were elected after four rounds of voting. “You have two very distinct people that have regimented initiatives they want to implement and can implement in the next six weeks,” said student body president Joe Blizzard, “which is what the position is going to allow for before the February full-body elections.” Gracie Waters, a fourth-year biomedical engineering student, and Emily Heine, a first-year biology student, were selected by majority votes out of 11 total candidates. Traditionally, the general student body elects at-large senators during yearly campus-wide elections at the end of February. Waters and Heine are filling the empty seats left by former senators who left their positions at the end of Fall semester. Though their time now is limited, they could run
for positions in the 2014-15 academic year in the upcoming general election. Waters plans to spend her time sanitizing computer lab keyboards and organizing a financial workshop for students. “I’ve talked to so many people who don’t even know how to make a budget, and that’s something so simple and standard that people use for the rest of their lives,”Waters said.“I really think that type of information should be available to students and that they should learn that during their time here.” Heine’s platform centers on student sustainability and activity through a sustainability conference, earth week competition and an all-Ohio track meet — events she thinks will be easily accomplished. “[My biggest challenge will be] learning the vocabulary in here,” Heine said. But Blizzard has faith in the new senators, who add two more female voices to the senate that only had one female at-large voice before they were elected. “They both came in with specific things they wanted to accomplish and presented really well,” Blizzard said.“We look forward to working with both of them and getting started on their initiatives.”
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NATALIE COLEMAN STAFF REPORTER
Coming off the heels of a successful $1 billion fundraising campaign, the University of Cincinnati Foundation is attempting to build on its recent success by bringing in a veteran fundraiser. Jay Browning brings his 17 years of experience to the associate vice president for principal gifts position in the UC Foundation. Specifically, his focus will be on raising high-end principal gifts — the big-ticket fundraising priorities for the university — and developing relationships with important donors. “I was attracted to the University of Cincinnati because it is such a cutting-edge higher education and research institution,” Browning said in a statement to the UC Foundation. “The university has a bright future ahead and I want to do my part to SEE FOUNDATION PG 2
Police searching for suspect in homicide THE NEWS RECORD
Cincinnati Police are searching for a suspect involved in a double shooting that killed one victim and hospitalized another less than two miles from the University of Cincinnati Monday. Investigators have several leads and are conducting interviews but were not at liberty to release specific details as of press time, Sgt. Jeff Gramke said. Police were called to the 100 block of Woolper Avenue —in Clifton roughly 1.2 miles south of UC main campus — around noon Monday. Officers discovered two victims, both with gunshot wounds, in a vehicle outside 178 Woolper Ave. Both men were taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center where one of the victims, 45-year-old William Moritz, was pronounced dead. The other victim suffered a non-life-threatening wound to his lower torso and was released later that day, Gramke said. Within hours arriving on the scene, police were able to determine the shooting occurred at 3606 Irving St. in Avondale — less than one mile away from where the victims were found. The victims, who are both residents of Florence, Ky., were shot while in a vehicle and preceded to drive to Woolper Avenue where the driver lost consciousness. Police are not releasing details concerning why the victims were in Avondale, as well as any possible motives for the shooting, Gramke said. Investigators are actively interviewing people including the surviving victim.
PHIL DIDION PHOTO EDITOR Students and faculty shared suggestions for improving campus safety with officials from Margolis Healy & Associates, which is conducting an external review of public safety at UC.
Community weighs in on external public safety review, call for more engagement RYAN HOFFMAN & BRYAN SHUPE THE NEWS RECORD
As the University of Cincinnati Division of Public Safety undergoes an extensive external review, members of the community are calling for a more engaging and proactive approach to safety on and around campus. “I think the biggest thing is connecting with [students] more and more engagement,” said Jeremy Parker, campus ambassador for the graduate student governance association. Parker’s words echoed those of other students and faculty at a series of open sessions hosted by Margolis Healy & Associates, a professional services firm that specializes in campus safety and security. The firm brought together different segments of the population throughout the day Wednesday, in order to gain feedback on the current functions of public safety and more specifically UC Police Department. “I think [UCPD] has outstanding intentions,” said Megan Pfaltzgraff, director of college computing.“But they tend to be more reactive than proactive.” Faculty members suggested possible solutions, including increased foot patrols by UCPD and emergency drills on campus. Early in the 2013 Fall semester, UC increased patrols from four to seven days
per week, as well as increasing the number of off-duty police officers from eight to 13. Christina Beer, a fourth-year information systems student and chief of staff for the undergraduate student government, said she’s noticed stronger police presence on campus. She said that could provide opportunities for more positive interactions between students and UC police officers, which would benefits public safety’s overall performance. Student body president Joe Blizzard said that while crime on campus statistically has decreased over the past couple years, there is a perception that UC is not a safe campus. He attributed the perception to increased media attention, as well as the emails concerning crime that the university distributes to students — a requirement under the Clery Act. Other students at Wednesday’s session also brought up the emails, specifically the volume of emails sent, which has been a consistent theme during Margolis Healy & Associates’ review, said Aaron Graves, an associate with the firm. Graves also said many of the people the firm talked to are suggesting an increase in more constructive interactions between UCPD and students. Students discussed possible improvements to UCPD’s education style. Most in attendance agreed that the current system of trying to reach students at freshmen orientation isn’t effective. Parker, the ambassador for GSGA, said orientation isn’t required for graduate
students and, consequently, many students don’t show up and miss the public safety presentation. While many students and faculty members in attendance said they’ve seen improvements, others said they attended the sessions because they have serious concerns about safety on and around campus. “My concern is personal safety,” said Alyssa Nicholas, a first-year student in the College of Pharmacy. Nicholas, who is in her third year at UC, lived on and off campus during her first two years, but moved back home for her third. “I just don’t feel safe,” Nicholas said. Charlie Scruggs — a pre-med adviser in the pre-professional advising center and eight-year Clifton resident — said there is a definite lack of safety. Scruggs recalled a recent incident in which faculty member was assaulted near campus in the middle of the day. “The biggest concerns are in the evening,” Scruggs said.“Not just with faculty and staff but also with students maybe not being aware of their surroundings.You know, not looking forward, listening to their iPod or checking emails and being really coherent of who’s in front of them, who’s behind them or who’s next to them.” The general consensus of the group agreed that even though the UCPD is effective, there are measures that should be taken to ensure safety both on and off campus. “Students should be worried about SEE SAFETY PG 2
White House report draws attention to college sexual assault culture UC advocates working to combat, prevent violence against women THE NEWS RECORD
A report released by the White House Tuesday served as a call to action to combat rampant sexual assault and rape across the country; a problem University of Cincinnati advocates say needs to be addressed on campus. The White House Council on Women and Girls released its report,“Rape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action” Wednesday in an effort to combat sexual assault and provide assistance to rape victims, which affects one in every five women in college. “[U.S. President Barack Obama] saying that not only is this a problem that we’re seeing across the nation but we’re going to
make a concentrated effort to talk about prevention programming … That’s so important,” said Ashley Rouster, UC sexual assault advocate. The report included the most recent data about rape and sexual assault in the U.S. Nearly 22 million women have been raped in their lifetimes, most victims know their assailants, and the vast majority of perpetrators — nearly 98 percent — are male, according to the report. Under the Clery Act, UC releases its data on sexual assault and rape annually, but the government report stated that sexual assault on campuses is a specific and particular problem. “The dynamics of college life appear to fuel the problem, as many survivors are victims of what’s called ‘incapacitated assault.’They are sexually abused while drunk, under the influence of drugs, passed out or otherwise incapacitated,” the report
stated. According to university data, 13 acquaintance rapes and six stranger rapes were reported in the 2011-12 academic year. The volume of acquaintance rapes decreased from the 31 reported in the 201011 academic year. Rouster said statistics can sometimes be misleading because sexual assault and rape frequently is not reported. “One of the reasons I hesitate is because sexual assault, we know, is extremely under reported,” she said.“Only about 12 percent of survivors report, so we want to be careful when we think about it in numbers and in terms of investigations.” One study found that 7 percent of college men admitted to committing rape or attempted rape, and 63 percent of these men admitted to committing multiple offenses — averaging six rapes each, according to the report.
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“Americans came to see how serious this problem was and how we all needed to do more to address it,” Obama said in a statement.“That’s resulted in ... a new chance at life for countless women.” The Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized in 2013, which improved support to cities and states to help end sexual assault including the process of testing more rape kits, Obama said. University officials and the Women’s Center have worked aggressively to provide support to rape survivors. UC Women’s Center and police work closely to provide support to sexual assault victims. “Advocates raise awareness about issues of sexual and gender-based violence on our campus, providing resources and opening up the dialogue so that we can have real community conversations,” Rouster said. The Reclaim 24-hour help line is 513-2189531.