IN THIS ISSUE... New Mtn Rec. Prof. Page 2 New Way to Pay
Construction at LSC Page 2
Page 2
Sports Preview Pages 4 & 5
Opinion Page 6
First Copy
FREE
Entertainment Page 7 Student Quotes Page 8
Eric Blaisdell Editor
(adtl. copies 50¢ each)
Friday, September 8, 2011
LSC
Lyndon State College is not in a financial crisis. Since coming onboard as in! terim president at LSC in early July, Steve Gold had only a cou! ple months to get his bearings and deal with a college that he thought was in flux, but quickly found out that that was not the case. "Despite the fact that there was an honest perception of being in a financial emergency or crisis, in fact we are not in an emergency or crisis,# said Pres! ident Gold, but he added that the school is far from stable. "We have to pay very close at! tention to what we are doing with our resources. The road ahead is not smooth in terms of our fiscal situation. We are going to continue to have to fig! ure out how to be as efficient as we can.# After President Carol Moore announced her retirement in April, Vermont State College Chancellor Tim Donovan had little time to find a replacement and contacted Gold about pos! sibly taking the position.
IS
"After I picked my jaw up off the floor we had several conver! sations about it,# he said. "Looking at this as a defined one year position I decided that it was an offer that was too good to refuse, and here I am.# President Gold may only be here for the year, but he has all the power and responsibility of the office he holds, including faculty and staff decisions. Last year students and faculty were upset about some of the ad! ministration$s decisions because of the school$s financial issues, including possibly not bringing back faculty. Students protested that they did not want to see teachers they loved not be brought back and the faculty were worried for their jobs. "The chancellor brought it up to me a little bit, but I think he very deliberately didn$t go into a lot of detail about it,# said Gold. "He told me he was not interested in giving me a lot of information about that because he wanted me to recognize that there had been some turmoil on campus and some sense of crisis and emergency, but he wanted me to come up and find out about it myself.#
Lyndon State College
Volume 58.1
GOLDEN
While President Gold is aware of the unrest on campus last year, he wants to make sure the students come first. "This organization doesn$t exist for the sake of the employees,# he said. "It exists for the sake of the students. The students re! ally should be what are on everyone$s mind here and not their own jobs. The reason we are here is to provide the best possible education that we can for the students that are here.# President Gold wants to be involved with the students dur! ing his short tenure. He already participated in a SOAR group with incoming freshman and plans to have dinner in the din! ing hall during the year to try to stir up conversation with the students and hear what is on their minds. One of the things the presi! dent was pleasantly surprised about was LSC$s focus on first! in!family students and brining in students from lower income households. "It made me proud to be a part of a school like this and it fits in some ways what my whole career has been about,# he said.
President Steve Gold announces President’s List
President Gold$s career has been focused on helping those in need from an administrative standpoint. He has been Ver! mont$s Commissioner of the Department of Social Welfare, Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Human Services, Welfare to Work Program Director, and worked 21 years in the alcohol and drug field with a focus on
Photo by: Eric Blaisdell
prevention. This is his first foray into higher education and for now he is just looking to be a leader and help the college move for! ward. "I$m hoping to have a really great year of relative stability here on campus where people feel we are all in this together,# he said.
Second Largest Class Enters LSC, Bringing New Possibilities Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor
This year$s freshmen are not just bringing their laptops and mattress pads on campus, they are also bringing along some questions. With enrollment reaching record numbers this year, LSC is welcoming 281 Vermonters and 262 out!of!state students, making the class of 2015 the second largest class in Lyndon$s 100!year history. "There$s a lot of different things that we can attribute this years success to,# Vincent Maloney, Associate Director of Admissions, explains. "We attribute a lot of it to our staff.# The admissions department brought in three new coun! selors, extended office work
for student workers, and ex! tended the time spent traveling and in high schools. However, Maloney was quick to give credit to many other depart! ments throughout the school saying, "It was definitely a group effort.# This was also a record year for the number of visitors on campus. "Of those seniors that visited, over half of those stu! dents deposited. I think that speaks volumes for what we do here,# Maloney said. "The VSC is strong,# Mal! oney says when asked how other Vermont state schools did with their enrollment for this year. "Johnson State was right around where they$ve been in previous years, Castle! ton was a little bit below where they$ve been but they were
right there.# After last years concerns about the financial stability of the college, many students and faculty wonder how the uptake in admissions will affect LSC$s crisis. "Is %the problem& completely gonna go away? No.# Maloney explains,"What you have to un! derstand is that, that problem, last years incoming class, af! fects the school for four years because that class keeps mov! ing on in the system.# Interim President Steve Gold warns against growth that may be out of proportion to Lyndon$s current facilities. "Growth for growths sake can be destructive if we don$t have the capacity on campus to do a good job,# explains Gold. Though Gold does not plan on
Campus Calendar Saturday >
Sunday
>
Monday
Courtesy of The National Weather Service
Sun. 9/11: Candlelight Vigil In Memory of 9/11 Mon. 9/12 & Tues. 9/13: Twilight Players Auditions 9/14 - 9/16: Spirit Week Sat. 9/17: Faculty/Staff Yard Sale
starting many new initiatives this year, he does plan on push! ing one. "We need more housing on campus, especially if we con! tinue to have the success with enrollment that we had this year and I have no reason to believe we wont.# Gold believes that maintain! ing the small campus feel at Lyndon is a priority, "The ques! tion that is always evolving is what are the numbers that con! stitute a small college.# Though some might worry about maintaining Lyndon$s small college feel, Maloney does not appear to be con! cerned. "This will always be the same LSC. It will always be the place everyone knows and loves.#
A Quote to Note “I'm not a prophet or a stone aged man, just a mortal with potential of a superman. I'm living on. ” - David Bowie
Governor Shumlin addresses the NEK Collaborative Economic Summit at LSC. Gov. Shumlin was optimistic about a bright job future in Vermont and encouraged federal spending in the Northeast Kingdom. He also spoke of plans to bring high speed internet to the NEK by 2013. Photo by: Sierra Willenburg
Find us online! Like us on Facebook! Follow @LSCCritic on Twitter! lyndonstatecritic.com
IN THIS ISSUE... Angry Ani Page 3 Climate Change Page 4
Rent-A-Book at LSC Page 11
Sports Highlights Pages 6 & 7
SGA Elections Page 5
First Copy
FREE
Entertainment Page 8 Diversity at LSC Page 12
(adtl. copies 50¢ each)
Lyndon State College
Friday, September 16, 2011
Volume 58.2
BETTER L ATE THAN NEVEPLAST Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor
It!s been a slippery slope, but Ski and Ride members are back on their feet. The club has received the fund" ing it needed to purchase an arti" ficial snow surface#again. The motion passed by a vote of 159 $69%& to 72 $31%& yesterday. Club president Samuel Pierog was ecstatic about the outcome of the vote, 'I was telling everybody in the dining hall really fast. That was pretty much the first thing I did.( Last spring SGA!s final session resulted with )18,930 worth of funding requests being granted to Lyndon State College clubs. The largest amount given to a singular club that day was )10,000 to LSC Ski and Ride to purchase artificial ski surface, Neveplast. However, the money came with two stipu" lations. 'One was that it had to be passed by campus planning, the other was that it would be done by June 30th,( explained current SGA president Nick Russo. Russo was also the SGA financial con" troller last year under the admin" istration that set the conditions. 'They didn!t meet either there" fore…*the money+ went back into the general fund.( In order for the issue to have appeared on this week!s ballot, Ski and Ride had to get 10 percent of the student body to sign the peti" tion. The official count was 175 signatures, allowing the issue to be put on the ballot. The question still remains why the deadline was not met the first time the money was allocated to
Ski and Ride. 'We didn!t get ap" proval from *Campus Planning+ in the timeline that we had because it was such a big investment and because there was so much riding on it, they wanted to get more in" formation,( explains Pierog. Wayne Hamilton, Dean of Ad" ministration and head of Campus Planning, would agree that more information was part of the hold up. Hamilton explained that the practicality and operational as" pects of the project were their pri" mary concern. Hamilton listed that questions the committee had as: 'How much maintenance does it require? How durable is the ma" terial? How well does it perform?( Hamilton asked Ski and Ride these questions via email in late May. 'There was no further action at that point from the committee because we were waiting to hear back if the purchase was going to go forward based on the product issues and that!s kind of where we are today,( said Hamilton. 'The day following the last campus planning meeting in May I com" municated back to the club reps as well as to Nick Russo where things stood at that point… I don!t know where those discus" sions went to be honest with you.( 'It!s hard to do anything if we don!t have great communica" tion…There was a period of about three weeks where we didn!t have any from Ski and Ride about what was going on with the project,( Russo explains. According to Pierog, the delay was caused by difficulty finding answers to Campus Planning!s questions regarding the material due to the availability of the Neveplast representative. 'It was
Snack Bar Shake-Up Eric Blaisdell Editor The Hornets Nest has gone through an overhaul. Aramark, Lyndon State College!s food supplier, has made some changes to the snack bar itself and the snack bar menu in the student center. 'It!s simplified, it is limited a little bit,( said Adam Vigue, Food Service Director. 'At one point we had four different kinds of fries and we weren!t selling four differ"
ent kinds. We were selling two kinds better than anything else so it is simplified more than it was.( There has been some confu" sion as to what is still on the menu and what is not, like mozzarella sticks. 'We need to market that a little bit better,( he said. 'So we need to put up some signs, especially for the mozzarella sticks. Our menu boards are a lot better than they were last year. They are digital, but they changed a few
Potential locations for the Neveplast slope, clockwise, top to bottom: Hill behind gym, near the new basketball court, beside the Rita Boll Complex, behind the softball field, on President’s Hill, and near the new skate park Photos by: Sierra Willenburg
hard to keep in contact with him because he had a project going on in Colorado,( said Pierog. Pierog hopes to soothe worries about the product with a soon to be scheduled conference call with a Neveplast sale representative, 'Once we can figure out the date of that, we can move forward.( The issue of where the terrain park will be located still remains. Last spring, Ski and Ride had rep" resentatives attend a Campus Planning meeting to ask for the committee!s consideration for possible sites. The focus had been to put the slope on Presidents Hill, where there has been a ter"
rain park in the past. Concerns about the site arose due to limited accessibility and difficulty for Public Safety to police the site. 'We can!t be everywhere and we can!t be everything for every" body. It should be a concern be" cause some have proven that they cannot be trusted with the free" dom,( George Hacking, Director of Public Safety explained. 'We!re talking about 18 , 24 yr olds using this hill… Unfortunately there are a few who tend to push the limits and create problems for the rest of the students who want to use that area.( Hacking suggested that if
things around so that is the biggest issue. We just need to get it out there more about the stuff we have in the back.( The decision to abridge the menu came from Aramark. 'It was a corporate decision; they did it for a lot of other schools too,( said Vigue. 'They called it a -grill refresh!, they totally changed over the grill, the menu and every" thing like that so I had some say on what to put on there, but they wanted to simplify it.( But VIgue agreed that it was time for a change. ' That menu hasn!t been changed in like 10 years,( he said.
'Even our coolers were out of whack; we were offering every fla" vor of everything so a lot of it was being thrown away.( There are more changes on the way. 'I want to change the deli menu too,( he said. 'It has some weird stuff on there that was brought in before I got here. We want to change things up once in a while, but don!t want to get rid of things that are big sellers.( Vigue knows that not everyone will be happy with the cuts. 'Our goal is not to make less op" tions, but we want to be realistic too,( he said.
Campus Calendar 61
O
Saturday >
68
68
O
Sunday
O
>
Monday
Courtesy of James Sinko and The National Weather Service
Sat. & Sun 9/17 - 9/18: Homecoming Weekend Sat. 9/17: Roller Derby at Fenton Chester Arena Sun. 9/18: Jean Charles Performs Wed. 9/21: Blood Drive at Rita Boll Compex
A Quote to Note “It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word.” - Andrew Jackson
money could be raised for cam" eras to monitor the site, it may become feasible. There are five other more cen" trally located sites that have been suggested, though when a deci" sion on the location should be ex" pected is still up in the air until the Campus Planning!s questions about the material are answered. 'I don!t care,( said Pierog when asked where he would like to see the park. 'I just want it to be here on campus so the students can enjoy it.( Pierog is optimistic about the fu" ture of the park, 'We just have to keep pushing it forward.(
What’s Gone: Waffle Fries Curly Fries Onion Rings
What’s New:
Quesadilas Spicy Chicken Sandwich California Vegetable Burger Combo Meals
Photo by: Sierra Willenburg New digital menus at the Hornet’s Nest
Find us Online! Like us on Facebook! Follow @LSCCritic on Twitter! lyndonstatecritic.com
IN THIS ISSUE... Occupied Opinons Pages 2 & 3
Angry Ani Page 3
Freshman Dorms Page 4
Men’s Soccer Page 6
Ryan’s Review Page 5
First Copy
FREE
Intramural Field Page 6 LSC’s Webmaster Page 8
(adtl. copies 50¢ each)
Friday, October 21, 2011
Lyndon State College
Volume 58.6
RALLY DEMANDS REASONABLE REFORM Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor Shouts for !Free Pizza!" res# onated throughout the Alexander Twilight Theatre Lobby during a rally for higher education Thurs# day, offering a slice for a signa# ture. A petition that addressed the Vermont Legislature calling for !reasonable, incremental in# creases in state funding for the Vermont State Colleges in order to maintain high quality educa# tion and minimize student debt" was passed around the lobby for the Lyndon State College com# munity to sign. Over a 100 names lined the pages of the petition, but only about 52 students, fac# ulty, and staff stayed to listen to the speeches. However, those who did not disappear after 15 pizzas, which were purchased by the Faculty Union, were devoured believed in the importance of the event. Though doubtful about the im# mediate benefits of the rally, Shera Howe, a junior majoring in English, thought student pres# ence was important. !The more people that are standing around, the more people that are likely to look, the more likely people will sign the petition." Natural science professor Michael Miller would agree. !We need to send a resounding mes# sage to the community and the public at large that the state col# leges are in dire need of help and they need it now. Anything that helps get the message out, by its own accord, is a success." Education professor Timo# thy Sturm began the rally by ask# ing the audience the significance of three numbers: 22, 30, 52. The numbers refer to the av# erage college student graduating at age 22; having a 30#year student loan to pay off and not finishing payments on that loan until age 52. Sturm said that loans used to be for 10 years and the student$s education would be paid off by age 32. !Imagine that a person grad# uates from college and ends up at 52 having paid student loans for over half of their life," he said.
!We are bound and determined to strike a better balance." Someone who has felt the economic pressure is Jennifer Adams, a senior psychology and human services major. !I planned to attend graduate school, but that may no longer be financially possible for me," she said. !I have two children and I have to save for their college ed# ucations while trying to pay for mine." She sees the rally as a step in the right direction. !This issue needs attention," she said. !There are people who can$t even graduate because they can$t afford it." Student Government Associ# ation President Nick Russo fo# cused on how the issue is affecting the school. !Out of 719 students who filled out an exit interview survey, 250 of them indicated that finan# cial concerns were among their primary reasons for leaving LSC," he said. !It would be nice if %the state& gave more money from the University of Vermont to the VSC schools because they are geared more towards your mod# est income students who want ac# cess to higher education." State Senator Joe Benning, an LSC graduate, attended the rally and addressed the fact that Vermont is ranked at the bottom of state funding for education. !Through the years the legis# lature has not considered this to be a top priority, that$s only going to change if we get more people in the legislature that want to make it a top priority," he said. !It is not in Vermont$s best interest to be last on that list." Sturm concurred that state funding is drying up. !In 1962, 46 percent of the operating budget was dedicated to higher education," he said. !It is now 18.7 percent. If you do the arithmetic it is about a one per# cent decrease per year." Benning says that part of the reason the VSC schools receive less funding is due to their lack of representation in the legislature. !Not only have they affected the funding, but as you change those dynamics, you can change
Photo by Sarah Murphy
Photos by Sierra Willenburg Clockwise from top: Students and faculty listen to speakers in the ATT lobby, Proffessor Tim Sturm opens the rally, Students signing the petition, Attendees at the rally, LSC Senior Jennifer Adams speaks.
tatives affili# ated with UVM and 16 representa# tives affiliated VSC with the 26 VSC. These affiliations UVM Other mean that the 42 110 senator or representa# tive is an alumni of, has taught at, has children who the numbers," he said. attend, or has served on the The Vermont senate has 10 board of trustees for UVM or a senators that are affiliated with VSC school. the VSC and five senators who !UVM made a critical mis# are affiliated with UVM. The take this year with its severance Vermont house has 37 represen# package to their outgoing presi#
Higher Education Affiliations of the Vermont Legislature
Campus Calendar 55 54 Saturday > Sunday O
O
52 > Monday O
Courtesy of James Sinko and The National Weather Service
Fri. 10/21: Queen City Radio Hour @ ATT Sat. 10/22: Insomnia Bowling Mon. 10/24: Mon. Night Football @ ASAC 100 Wed. 10/26: SGA Meeting @ 8PM, ASAC 100
A Quote to Note “Well, you can go on looking forward. There may be many unexpected feasts ahead of you.” - Gandalf “The Lord of the Rings”
dent and that has soured a lot of people in the legislature about what kind of funding UVM gets," Benning said. !But its going to take a lot more than just one president getting a whopping big golden parachute on his way out the door to change things." The petition is still available for signatures. Banners are hang# ing in the science wing hallway. Sturm hopes to get 1,000 sup# porters. He had a message to stu# dents who did not attend the rally. !This should matter to you. It$s your life and it$s important." Rallies were also held at Castleton State College, Johnson State College, and Vermont Tech# nical College.
Find us online! Like us on Facebook! Follow @LSCCritic on Twitter! lyndonstatecritic.com
IN THIS ISSUE... Opinion Page 2 Prof. Jean Charles Page 4
Meet Suncooked Pages 6 and 7
Shuttle to Burke Mt. Pages 12
SGA Pres. Russo Page 8
First Copy
FREE
Women’s B-Ball Page 8 Cranmore Resort Profile Page 8
(adtl. copies 50¢ each)
Lyndon State College
Friday, February 3, 2012
Volume 58.13
TRUSTEES HIKE TUITION ACROSS THE VSC NEXT YEAR, THERE WILL BE A 4% INCREASE IN TUITION ACROSS THE VERMONT STATE COLLEGE SYSTEM. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, ANOTHER 4% INCREASE WILL BE IMPLEMENTED.
Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor Plates filled with food lined the tables where the Vermont State College Board of Trustees voted 9!4 to raise tuition for VSC students. This is the first time in VSC history that the Board of Trustees voted on tuition increases for two years in advance. One no! table trustee was not present to vote. While Governor Peter Shum! lin was present for the opening ceremony of the new Commu! nity College of Vermont campus in Rutland, he did not remain for
the trustee meeting immediately following the ribbon cutting. This is despite his recent plea to the state legislature to make Ver! mont $the higher education state.% Chancellor Tim Donovan was in favor of the increase saying, $I"m happy to have the board"s support of the proposal, but I know it"s a difficult decision for all of us to come to terms with.% Student trustee for the VSC, John Kleinhans, a senior liberal studies major at LSC, was vocal about his opposition. $We put too much burden on students. It"s time for us to really send a
LSC Tuition In State: 2011!12 '8,568 2012!13 '8910.72 2013!14 '9267.15 Out of State: 2011!12 '18,456 2012!13 '19,194.24 2013!14 '19,962.01 message to the students that we support them.% Throughout the meeting, some trustees wandered in and out to the buffet room, coming back with plates of spring rolls, almond bars, quiche and cookies. See !Promise Broken" page 4
BON APPETITE
MONEY FOR MOUFY Katelyn Zenie Critic Correspondent Jeffrey Fortunato, also known as Moufy is performing here at Lyndon State in late April. Moufy is a well known hip! hop/rap artist from the Boston Mass. area who"s song #Boston Lights" plays at every New Eng! land Patriots home game. He won best new artist at the Boston Music Awards, has opened for Mac Miller, and much more. Christina Cadorette, Brian Lacharite, and an estimated 45 music business and industry ma! jors and Moufy fans attended the student government association meeting Wednesday to show their support. This event was first sparked by the #Event Man! agement" class on campus, through Facebook and word of mouth. Many are saying that just the buzz around campus on this topic is enough to get them to check it out. One of the most convincing arguments in favor of Moufy coming to Lyndon is his
25
O
Saturday >
28
personal tie with the school. His brother, Jose Fortunato, attended Lyndon just last year. There are at least two hundred people that indicated their interest in this event on Facebook, the organiz! ers are looking to fill up the Alexander Twilight Theatre"s 500+ seats. In the past, student govern! ment and the Campus Activities Bored has been hesitant to fund music performances because they don"t get the turn out they need to make up for the money they put into the event. However, students and sup! porters of this project believe bringing Moufy to Lyndon will be worth the money. The event was originally four thousand dollars,
33
O
Sunday
Photo by Eric Blaisdell
Christina Cadorette and Brian Lacharite speak at the SGA meeting
O
>
Monday
Courtesy of Jeremy Goldberg and The National Weather Service
Photos by Samantha VanSchoick
Snow blocks have been installed to prevent injuries from falling ice and snow at the ASAC entrance.
but with a combination of a one thousand dollar grant and the #event management" student class fees, the event was taken down to twenty!seven hundred dollars. The student government passed this event with the re! striction set that their money only be used for booking fees and production. Brooke Parciak, a MBI stu! dent involved with this event says, $People believe that this meeting is only for Moufy to come and perform, but realisti! cally this is a stepping stone for the future to get performers to come here.% Trever Gross, another MBI major says $Am I fan of Moufy? No. Do I want to help the MBI program gain some momentum, get the approval to show what we can do, nail it, and be able to ex! pand on this for the good of the college and it&s students? No brainer; absolutely.% For more information on Moufy, and some free mp3 down! loads of his tracks, check him out on www.last.fm/music/Moufy.
Tyler Dumont Critic Correspondent As the final days approach towards a decision of who will be the next food service provider for the Vermont State Colleges, student curiosity has sparked many questions about what to expect when it comes to the fu! ture of $eating% at Lyndon. Aramark, who has been the food service provider for the en! tire VSC system for twenty years, faces an expired contract as of July 1, 2012. The decision not to automatically renew the com! pany"s contract was made by the business affairs council of the VSC last year. The council, also known as the $BAC,% is com! posed of deans of administration from each of the VSC schools and directed by Tom Robbins, Vice President of Finance for VSC. While specific proposals each company would bring to Lyndon State, such as hours of
Campus Calendar
A Quote to Note
Sun. 2/5: Super Bowl Party in ASAC 100 Mon. 2/6: Free Skate! Mon. 2/6: Music Mondays @ 7PM in ASAC 100 Wed. 2/8: Jean Charles Plays Guitar @ the library
“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” - Bill Cosby
operation, meal plans and food served, will not be negotiated until a contract is signed, it is clear that things will not be the same in the coming months. $No matter who is picked, students should expect change,% said Lyndon Dean of Adminis! tration Wayne Hamilton. $I don"t think people should assume if we choose to stay with Aramark that things will stay the status quo. Our whole food service will be rethought, with a focus on local food and sustainability.% Among those new ideas is a Vermont Technical College pro! posal to build new processing fa! cilities that would serve the VSC system with products such as milk, made locally here in Ver! mont. Hamilton added that he also expects that the cost of board at Lyndon will increase next year ei! ther way, although $not signifi! cantly.% See Food Service page 4
Find us Online! Like us on Facebook! Follow @LSCCritic on Twitter! lyndonstatecritic.com
NEWS
Feb. 3, 2012
The State of Things
Photo by Samantha VanSchoick
Interim President Steve Gold delivers his State of the College address, highlighting the presidential search, success in admissions, and new hours at the library.
The Critic, Page 4
‘Promise Broken’ (from page 1) Over the next two years students attending VSC schools will be facing an 8.15% tuition increase—a quarter of which does not go to the colleges, but to paying retiree benefits through the Photo by Samantha VanSchoick GASBY 45 proBoard of Trustees members gram. debate tuition hikes. “We have some long term used by the 1961 general assemobligations to retiring employ- bly when it founded the VSC, ees that have not been funded,” “‘The Vermont State College’s Donovan explained. He noted shall plan, supervise, administer that the board will also look to and operate facilities for educameet these obligations not only tion above the high school level from tuition money, but through supported in whole or in subcollective bargaining. stantial part with state funds.’ Without the increase in tu- That promise has been broken.” ition, budget cuts would have Trustee Jim Masland dehad to be made at the colleges. fended the increase saying, Not everyone was pleased with “When we take away the things the outcome, but it did not that enhance [student’s] educacome as a shock. tion, it lessens what they get “I expected the outcome when they get their diploma.” would be such,” Gordon WinAshley Fortin, an atmosters, vice chair of the board and pheric science major at Lyndon one of four “no” votes, com- State, believes her education is mented after the meeting. “I ex- worth the hike, “I don’t mind pected it, respect it, don’t agree paying the extra. I think it’s with it.” worth it.” Kleinhans cited language However, exercise science
sophomore Dan Rowe was not pleased. “That really upsets me because I’ve already taken out so many loans to pay for college as it is. I already have to work two jobs, so it really hinders the hours I can put into school.” “I’m sympathetic [to student’s], but we have all hit a rough spot,” Masland said during the meeting. As the trustees packed up their iPads and brought their empty plates to the buffet room, all that lined the tables were nameplates and leftover crumbs. “I’ll be having some more of this yummy food before I leave,” Gary Moore, chair of the board, laughed.
Food Service (from page 1) Photo by Sierra Willenburg
Prof. Jean Charles serenades students in the library.
Music While You Read Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor Students fill the first floor of the library studying, typing, and reading as Jean Charles, an adjunct professor here at Lyndon State, begins to strum his Spanish guitar. Every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Charles fills the room with the sound of classical acoustic guitar. “Students are busy, so to come and listen they really have to have music in their hearts,” Charles said when asked how he would encourage students to come listen. Charles teaches a guitar course at LSC. He has been playing music since he was a young boy in Haiti, starting with
instruments like the clarinet. He began playing guitar around the age of 19. “I have always been drawn to music,” said Charles. Another passion of Charles’ is politics, which may stem from his service in the United States Military. Just when he was old enough to be drafted, he entered the service and served during Vietnam, though he never had to go there. “It was good because I don’t have the scars in here,” Charles explained as he pointed to his head. Charles serves as the town chair of the Lyndon Republican Town Committee. Lyndon’s library is not Charles’s only venue, he also plays at weddings.
Aramark and Sodexo have both proposed to do some kind of renovation to the Stevens Dining Hall, although a complete renovation will not likely be possible until the summer of 2013. Their proposals, according to Associate Dean of Student Affairs Jonathan Davis, also included financial information, a sample of the weekly menu, a head chef position, more student discounts or meal plan credits at local businesses, guest meals and more. “We’d like to work on everything,” Davis said. “From promotions, to vegetarian meals, coffee refills, bringing food out of the dining hall, the size of the container…we’re going to cover it all,” In an effort to inform all LSC students of what to expect in the future, The Critic contacted representatives from both companies. Greg Yost, Senior Public Relations Specialist for Sodexo one of the largest food management companies in North America - told The Critic that it is their policy not to disclose any information regarding specific contract proposals while in ne-
Photo by Tyler Dumont
Changes may be coming to LSC’s dining experience
gotiation, but information on a variety of their school programs and schools they serve is available on their website and they encourage Lyndon students to log on and review it. Multiple calls to Aramark’s Food Service Department were not returned. Lyndon Food Service Director Adam Vigue also declined comment. Vigue, an Aramark employee and former Lyndon student, would keep his position if Aramark remains at Lyndon, Dean Hamilton said. Sodexo has offered two different candidates for the director job. The final decision on who will be the next provider will ultimately be up to the Business Affairs Council of Vermont State Colleges, who has been meeting with committees of students and staff from all schools
in the system. A date for the final decision to be made has not yet been set. Owen Pruden, the consultant hired by the VSC to gather proposals from the food service candidates, is currently in the process of redoing final analysis, which will then be presented to the selection committee to make a decision. The decision is reportedly expected in the next week or two. “The whole system represents an improvement in the quality of services to the students,” Pruden told The Critic. “Students will see obvious improvements no matter who the contractor is.” The awarded new contract will allow the chosen provider to begin service on July 1.
IN THIS ISSUE... Opinion Page 2 The Model UN Page 4
David Plazek Page 4
Mr. Lyndon Page 12
Health Insurance Page 5
First Copy
FREE
Basketball Pages 8 & 9 Ryan’s Review Page 10
(adtl. copies 50¢ each)
Friday, February 10, 2012
SHOW US
Lyndon State College
Volume 58.14
MONEY
THE
Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor MONTPELIER, Vt.'Over 350 students and faculty from across the Vermont State Colleges stormed the Statehouse Tuesday demanding more state funding for higher education. The rally came on the heels of a VSC Board of Trustee deci! sion to raise tuition by about 8( over the next two years so the state colleges could continue to operate at current capacity. Freshmen sisters Olivia and Hannah Hamel were among the 15 Lyndon State students who rode the bus to the Statehouse. "We will have debt. My mom is a single parent and she$s trying to help pay for both Olivia and myself,# Hannah ex! plained while wearing the white shirt she decorated to read "Swimming in debt! Help!# Many students wore white shirts sporting the amount of student debt they have incurred while in college. See !Rally" page 3
Photo by Eric Blaisdell
Students rally at the State House
LSC STUDENT ACCUSED Danielle Drown Critic Staff A March 5 court date has been set for a Lyndon State College student accused of sexually as! saulting a New Hampshire woman, last year, on the LSC campus. Taylor Burke, 20, from Ben! nington, Vt., was "cited and re! leased# earlier this week, the Vermont State Police said. He is scheduled to appear in Caledonia Superior Court. AJ Raskin, a junior Music
Business major, said he did not see the grounds for the citation against Burke. "I really don$t know what hap! pened. I think it$s just all hearsay and rumors. All I know is he is a great guy, a great friend and I$m sure this is all going to blow over,# said Raskin. In a text message, Jake Machell, a junior Music business major had a similar response. "He$s a great kid. Anyone who knows him would say the same,# said Machell. The identity of the alleged vic!
tim has not been released. The incident is being referred to as "an acquaintance sexual assault.# The state police began an in! vestigation on March 27 and the college sent out a community no! tice about the incident April 14. LSC spokesman, Bob Whittaker, could not provide any specific in! formation about the investiga! tion. "I have not had a chance to talk with %George Hacking& to get updated and reminded about the occurrences and details of last year,# said Whittaker. Whittaker stated that the col!
Campus Calendar 9 26 Saturday > Sunday O
O
19 > Monday O
Courtesy of Jeremy Goldberg and The National Weather Service
OF
Sat. 2/11 - 2/12: Winter Weekend Tues. 2/14: Blood Drive @ Bole Gym Thu. 2/16: Black History spoken word event
SEXUAL ASSAULT
lege worked with the Vermont State Police to investigate the in! cident. "We learned of the incident through the Vermont State Po! lice. The victim went right to the state police to report it,# said Whittaker. "We cooperated with them once we learned of it. They took the investigation right from the start. We sent a community notice out to make sure people were alerted that something had occurred.# Jonathan Davis, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and George Hacking, Director of Public Safety, declined comment,
A Quote to Note “Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid.” - John Wayne
referring any questions to Bob Whittaker. Special Investigation Unit De! tective, Russell Finn, was not available for comment. Burke was unresponsive to the Critic$s multiple attempts to reach him for comment. Photo taken from Facebook
Accused student, Taylor Burke.
Find us online! Like us on Facebook! Follow @LSCCritic on Twitter! lyndonstatecritic.com
NEWS
Feb. 10, 2012
The Critic, Page 3
Rally (cont. from page 1) !I think we"re going to make a huge difference,# Olivia said. !I don"t think a lot of stu$ dents know that Vermont is dead last in financial support for higher education institutions.# Vermont is close to last, ranking 49 in the country in providing state support to higher educa$ tion institutions. LSC had about 24 students attend the rally, while Castleton and Vermont Technical College had a total of 63 students pres$ ent. Johnson State brought over 125 students to the statehouse steps. !Instead of urging the leg$ islature to do the research, we are bringing the research to them,# JSC Student Govern$ ment president James Dempsey was excited about the student presence. !We"re going to show them, %this is how much I owe, I go to JSC, and you can ask me questions.# !I"m hoping we just get the word out,# Kristina Gorden, a junior majoring in wellness and alternative medicines, ex$ plained. !I see a lot of students leave school because they can"t
afford it.# Gorden"s enthusiasm for the event began on the bus ride over when students were busy making posters for the rally. Currently Vermont"s higher education system, including the five state colleges, University of Vermont, and Vermont Student Assistance Corp., receives about &80 million a year from the state. In$state tuitions around the state colleges range from &8,568 at Castleton, Lyndon, and John$ son, to &10,656 at VTC. Out$of$ state tuition is as low as &18,456 at LSC to &20,376 VTC. Many students were quick to point out that tuition does not include extra charges such as lab fees, office supplies, and textbooks. Room and board can add up to &10,000 to the student"s bill. After listening to student leaders and members of the leg$ islature speak on the steps, stu$ dents had the chance to interact with legislators. !Every single student was assigned a state leg$ islator,# explained VSC student trustee John Kleinhans. Going to have one on one conversa$
tions‌ they have a little pledge sheet and if they want to pledge the Vermont State College they can sign.# Some students found legis$ lators hard to approach. !I was a little nervous,# said Rain Nissen$Reilly, a senior global studies major at LSC. !I don"t know why though. He was very nice,# Roland Pol$ lard, a sophomore computer and sustainability major at LSC, who was partnered with Nissen$ Reilly, added. !I wish I had talking points though, I kind of lost my words. He was open to talking to us though, he seemed to care about higher education,# Nissen$Reilly explained. As students loaded back on the bus to LSC, the Hamel sis$ ters felt good about what had been accomplished. !I do feel like we made a difference,# Olivia said. !They know we are here.# !And during lunch we did a little shopping,# Hannah smiled and held up a small blue bag.
Photos by Samantha VanSchoick
Above: Students, faculty, and family members rallied at the State House in support of further funding for higher education Below: Hannah Hammel shows off her customized rally wear
Engine Tune Ups Exhaust & Brakes
Front Ends Suspensions
Veilleux!s Auto & Equipment Service Call Bob or Marc at 802-748-3253
Light & Medium Duty Trucks Farm & Construction Equipment Photos by Eric Blaisdell Top: John Kleinhans speaks to protesters at the State House. Center Left: Student body president Nick Russo makes his remarks. Center right: Students wear their college debt on their sleeves Bottom: Students arrive at the State House rally
VT State Inspections Plowing & Sanding
NEWS
Sept. 16, 2011
The Critic, Page 10
Music Business and Industry at LSC: Growing into a Symphony Derek Campbell Critic Correspondent Lyndon State College’s Music Business & Industry program is living proof that…… If you build it, they will come… In 2005 LSC didn’t have a music major. Enter Beth Norris, an Opera singer who has performed in opera’s at her almamater Indiana University and across the Midwest. Norris wanted to bring a Music program to LSC that was less traditional and more different than typical music programs. Norris began talking with Linda Mitchell in the business department and others about creating a Music Business program. A huge think tank was brought together made up of faculty and students from the school as well as Vermonters already active in the music industry like studio tech Chuck Eller, Halogen Records’ Justin Hoy and others. Together they brainstormed on how to build an MBI program at LSC from the ground up. If you build it, they will come…. In the spring of 2006, soon after the program was conceived, Norris received an unusual phone call. The man on the line was Ralph Perkins. He said “I manage a folk/rock artist who was very popular in the 70’s, his name is James Taylor.” Norris had certainly heard of James Taylor. Heck, who hasn’t? Ralph
continued “As soon as you get your program up and running, we need interns to go on tour with James.” Ralph wanted people who were prepared to work in the music business. Norris was sure she could provide what he wanted and accepted his offer. If you build it, they will come…. Shortly after Ralph Perkins’ call, Norris’s phone rang again. The woman on the line was looking for a position as the Theater Technical Director. Norris asked her “What instrument do you play?” The woman said “Well, actually, I’m a sound engineer.” That was just what Norris wanted to hear. The Woman on the phone was Britt Moore. Britt was hired to teach production classes in the brand new MBI program. Britt was instrumental in stepping up the production aspect of the program. According to Norris “Early on it was Britt who really pushed this program forward.,” said Norris. If you build it, they will come… It wasn’t long after meeting Britt that Norris received another phone call. It was a fellow by the name of Joe Gittleman. Norris, being more of a fan of classical music than modern rock, wasn’t exactly sure who she was talking to. After a bit of research she realized that the man who had contacted her is in fact
a world famous performer. Joe Gittleman is the bass player for the band that invented the sub-genre “SkaCore”, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Joe has been steeped in the music industry for decades, played concerts around the globe and worked with countless musicians as producer, A&R man, studio musician, tour manager… You name it, Joe’s done it. He was the perfect person to really bring the Industry to the Music Business & Industry program. Together with the other teachers in the program, Norris, Britt, Joe & Department Chair David Johnston have built an MBI program that is drawing students from around the country as well as around the world. The program began with eight students majoring in MBI. By the end of the second semester the number had grown to 20. Now, with the program in its fifth year, the number has skyrocketed to 115 students majoring in MBI, making it the fastest growing program in the history of LSC. Last year the program graduated seven students, four of whom have already gone on the work in the industry with jobs at Skyline Music, Citadel Broadcasting, Atomic Music Group and Q Division. Of the 20 student enrolled the first year 90% have graduated. On average, programs usually see about 30% of students graduate from a
Photo by Derek Campbell
MBI Professor Beth Norris Teaching a Class.
given program. Norris still has big dreams for the future. She and Britt Moore would love to one day see an MBI department building on the LSC campus complete with rehearsal rooms, production studios, performance spaces, and a student’s Gold record hanging on the wall. Incorporating theater, dance and other performing arts into the program is part of that dream. Norris knows that many students will come to the program in search of fame and stardom, but as she puts it “We have, from the time we started, been a plan B program.” She explains “Plan A is: ‘I’m coming here because I want to be rich and famous, write the next great rock song, have an album. I’m gonna make a million dollars!’ That’s plan A” Norris continues “Plan B is: We’re going to get
you into the industry, working in a job that you absolutely love being a support person for all of those plan A people. And then you’re there and if you’re in the right place at the right time and you get lucky and you have these skills, then you’ll get bumped up. So we’re trying to be really realistic with our students when they come here with plan A dreams. We’re not going to promise that. We are going to promise that we will teach you how to use the equipment, how to understand what’s involved in the industry and get you ready to be able to walk into a job. For an in depth view of the story with more info about Norris, Moore, Gittleman and first year student Jeremy MacDonuogh visit the critics website at: www.lyndonstatecritic.com and for audio clips go to http://lynd o n u n d e r g r o u n d . co m / t h e critic.htm
Some People’s Trash, Other People’s Scholarships Samantha VanSchoick Managing Editor The Faculty Staff Scholarship recipients for the 2011-12 school year have been decided, and they are excited. “Some people look at a 500 dollar scholarship and say, that’s only 500 dollars, but to me its like ‘Oh my god! That’s 500 dollars, let me get it!’” Kelly Butler, a sophomore double majoring in Atmospheric Science and Applied Math, said enthusiastically
about receiving one of the Faculty Staff Scholarships for this semester. “Overall, I just feel very honored and appreciative,” said Erin Milne, a junior whose primary major is Math Secondary Education. Butler and Milne are two of five Lyndon State College students to receive the 500 dollar scholarship from the committee this semester. Vance Brooks, Mariah Ogden, and Julia Trombley were also selected after an application
and committee review process. “It was pretty simple to apply, there was a form on the LSC website. It asks you some questions about your extra curricular activities, work experience, your major, just general stuff like that,” Milne said describing the application process. The scholarship comes from money raised by the Faculty/Staff Scholarship Committee throughout the year with events such as The Faculty/ Staff Silent Auction, Comfy
Days for staff, the PEI musician’s concert and bake sale, and the popular campus event The Spring Dip. This weekend, Saturday, September 17, the committee is raising money for the scholarship with a yard sale outside the Rita Bole Gym from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sale items were donated by faculty, staff, and community members. There will be an array of items to choose from- everything from books, to jewelry, to kitchen items. All the leftover items
will be donated to local charities to prevent waste. “I feel like Lyndon is reaching out to people because I can’t really afford to go to school, so having scholarships available that people can fill out shows that being involved with others on campus can benefit you,” Butler explained. “I encourage people to apply because it’s easy and you never know when you’re going to win!” Milne said enthusiastically.