Point Park Globe Spring 2019 Issue 1

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@PPUGlobe January 9, 2019

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Amanda Myers reviewed big winners at the 2019 Golden Globes Editor-in-Chief Carley Bonk reflects on her past three years at The Globe Over a dozen freshman have been added to Track & Field’s roster ppuglobe.com

Covering the world of Point Park University news since 1967

Issue 1

PRO GUN ENTHUSIASTS EXERCISE Student loan debt: SECOND AMENDEMENT RIGHTS A never ending cycle By Dara Collins Editor-Elect

Jared Murphy| The Globe

A man waves a ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ flag during a gun control protest outside of the City-Council Building. A package on local-level gun control proposed by Mayor Bill Peduto and City Council drew hundreds enthusiasts to protest on Monday.

USG holds first meeting USG By Andrew Brinker Co-News Editor

United Student Government (USG) introduced Point Park’s new Director of Title IX, Vanessa Love, in the first legislative body meeting of the new year on Monday. The new hire comes after the University’s former coordinator, Elizabeth Rosemeyer, announced that she would head up the Title IX office at Carnegie Mellon University in October. Before starting at Point Park, Love worked for the Community College of Allegheny County as a Civil Rights investigator and has a background in law. According to Love, Title IX covers “sexual misconduct and gender discrimination” at the University. Love informed the legislative body that the University could expect changes

in Title IX policy to be announced at the end of January, but that the office could not yet discuss specifics. Following Love’s introduction, USG wrapped up the meeting promptly. The body briefly touched on potential guests for future meetings including University President Paul Hennigan, while Dean of Students Keith Paylo recommended the body meet with Point Park Chief of Police Jeffrey Besong to discuss recent changes in desk attendant policy. Additionally, Treasurer Kortney Lampel informed the body that budget proceedings advanced as expected over break. A matter-of-fact meeting provided significant contrast to last semester when President Kearns faced censure proceedings in the first legislative body meeting of the school year.

Andrew Brinker anbrink@pointpark.edu

Graduate student Dani McSweeney does not pay a dime as she attends Point Park University to receive her master’s degree. However, a mound of student loan debt still awaits her from the loans she used while working toward her undergraduate degree. Alum Lauren Ortego’s parents told her to not worry about the cost of an education when looking at universities. As her first student loan payment appeared last month, she questions if she would have considered pursuing higher education in the first place. No two students at Point Park have the same financial situation, but 97-98% of the student population receive some type of financial aid, according to Director of Financial Aid George Santucci. Although the university attempts to help every student financially, every student will accumulate some amount of student loan debt. “It is kind of sickening the debt you put yourself in just trying to get a four-year degree,” McSweeney said. For a four-year undergraduate degree at Point Park University, the 2018-19 yearly costs are $29,980 for the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Communication and Education and $38,220 for the Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA). Point Park University students received more than $95 million in financial aid during the 2016-17 academic year, and the average student from the class of 2017 owes nearly

$20,000 in federal student loan debt. Many students utilize various types of financial aid and recognize the $1 trillion student loan debt crisis will include them in the near future. In fact, student loan debt has climbed past $1 trillion in recent years, according to Salem Press Encyclopedia. In 2014, total student loan debt increased by $31 billion to reach $1.1 trillion. The trend continued as the total debt climbed to $1.4 trillion in 2017. According to the article, Managing Student Loans in a Changing Landscape, by Adam S. Minsky, J.D. one of the nation’s leading experts on student debt, student loan debt is the second largest type of consumer debt. This leads students to look for various types of aid as well as resources other than loans to earn money.

Financial Aid at Point Park Santucci said the first thing students need to complete for financial aid consideration is their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). “We can’t do anything until you fill out your FAFSA,” Santucci said. Students could begin filling out their FAFSA as early as Oct. 1, 2018, for the upcoming academic year, and it is due on May 1, 2019. The FAFSA will inform the Financial Aid Office if a student qualifies for the Federal Pell Grant, and, if the student is a Pennsylvania resident. The FAFSA also determines if

LOANS page 3

Professor reinstated following closed Title IX investigation By Sarah Gibson Copy Desk Chief

Following a Title IX investigation held last October over controversial classroom comments, Dr. Channa Newman has been fully reinstated as both a faculty member and chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. “She’s always been very controversial in class,” a student source that would like to remain anonymous in concern for taking future classes with Newman recalled. “In class she takes time to promote her own personal beliefs and agenda regardless of the actual class topic.” The situation, described by said student, began when Newman began discussing the “Me Too” movement in class. Newman expressed a distaste for the movement. Her students reacted by try-

ing to explain the purpose of the movement and explained that it gave the people who believed in it hope. Newman responded by saying that it was a “false hope.” One student in the class spoke up to say as a rape victim, it gave them hope. Newman reiterated her previous statement, telling the student that the hope the “Me Too” movement gave them was false hope. While the events of the incident happened on Oct. 4, it was not reported to Title IX until Oct. 9. On Oct. 16, students in Newman’s classes received an email from Assistant Provost Jonas Prida telling students that Newman’s classes had been cancelled. However, all three classes Newman had been teaching at the time were able to be covered either by Prida or other staff members. “When we sent the first

email out, we had no idea when Newman was going to return,” Prida said. “I was asked to cover the courses to the best of my ability when she was put on leave.” The Title IX office declined to comment about this specific case for confidentiality reasons. However, according to Dr. James Thomas, associate provost and judicator for Title IX, the process is fairly simple. When a Title IX complaint is filed and officially submitted to the Title IX office, a group of people investigate the incident by gathering interviews and talking to those involved and writing a document that is sent to the judicator, which in this case, is Thomas. The judicator reviews the documents submitted and then determines if there was or was not an offense.

INVESTIGATION page 2

Weather Forecast Today: Cloudy H 32, L 23

Thursday: Cloudy, H 27, L 21 Friday: Partly Cloudy, H 31, L 23 Saturday: Cloudy, H 33, L 26

Sunday: Cloudy, H 33, L 21 Monday: Partly Cloudy, H 34, L 24 Tuesday: Mostly Cloudy, H 36, L 27

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