SUMA hosts "Cracking the Code" discussion Professors and students discuss a documentary which shows racial inequities, and describes how to combat them. Page D-1
Friday February 20, 2015 • Volume 98, Issue Number 16 • An Independent, Student-Run Newspaper
www.theonlinerocket.com
SRU dance major lands leading role
Boozel staff prohibits theft Students are not allowed to leave with excessive amounts of Boozel food By Bridget McClure Rocket Contributor
PHOTO COURTESY OF OIL REGION BALLET COMPANY
SRU dance major, Morgan Jacoby (front), rehearses with Hector Santos (back), as the principal dancer in an upcoming production at the Oil Region Ballet Company in Pittsburgh.
Jacoby has 19 years of dance experience. Jill Shull, Assistant Executive Director and Public News Editor Relations Chairmain of ORB, said that the dancers in A Slippery Rock University dance major landed the the performance are predominately from Venango, lead role in the Oil Region Ballet Company's (ORB) Crawford, and Mercer counties. She said there is production of Snow White and the Seven Merry also a male dancer who attends Allegheny College in Maids. Meadville, Pennsylvania. Morgan Jacoby, 22, senior dance major from Rocky “ORB holds auditions annually and dancers are Grove, Pennsylvania will portray the role of Snow chosen based on their skill level and technique,” White in a performance that re-tells the traditional tale of ‘Snow White’ with a modern twist. She was the only SEE STUDENT'S, PAGE A-2 student from SRU to audition for the performance.
By Haley Barnes
Men's Basketball Loses At IUP Rock basketball fails to overcome the Crimson Hawks after traveling to IUP Wednesday. Page C-1
Police received a call for an unidentified male who ran off with a loaf of bread without paying at Boozel Dining Hall on Feb. 4. Director of retail operations for AVI Food Systems, Lisa Rogers, said a student carried the loaf out, a couple witnesses saw the student, and the police are handling it from there. “As far as what the punishment is for stealing from Boozel, I don’t have an answer,” Rogers said. “We turn the incidents into campus police and they process the case.” Rogers said theft from Boozel doesn’t happen too often, but when it does the police are always notified. Sneaking in the front without paying or stuffing things in their backpacks are what students try most often, Rogers said. “Boozel is an all-you-care-to-eat facility while you’re in the building,” Rogers said. “Typically one 'snack' item is permitted in your hand when leaving, such as an ice cream cone, cookie, or piece of fruit.” Mike Simmons, director and chief of University Police, said punishment for theft from Boozel depends on what the management of the dining hall says about the occurrence. The item that was stolen, its value is, and if AVI decides to press charges or not are all considered factors. “Whether the punishment is a citation or arrest depends on the value of what is taken,” Simmons said.
SGA aims to end negativity with 'Project Positivity' By Amber Cannon Assistant News Editor
The Slippery Rock Student Government Association announced their new advocacy project at their regular senate meeting Monday. Project Positivity is an advocacy project to help spread awareness about bullying on social media and instill a sense of safety on campus for every student. Vice President of Campus Outreach Jared Stanley explained where the idea for the project came from. “We have noticed that there is an issue on campus with YikYak and Fade and things of that nature. There’s a lot of negative things happening and to combat that our advocacy project is focusing on instilling a positive nature through social media,” Stanley said. Stanley said there will be an event on March 3-4 to help petition to have people sign up to say that they’re not going to produce negative comments and also down vote negative comments on YikYak. Students who would like to participate in the positivity project can hashtag “#projectpositivity” on Twitter and Facebook and also put out positive comments on YikYak. Dr. Brad Wilson, interim associate provost of transformational experiences, was one of the guest speakers at the meeting. Wilson discussed the university’s ongoing plan to integrate academics with student activity and student life.
“Basically what’s happened under President Norton and Provost Way is that there are two traditional areas that are part of the university,” Wilson said. “There’s the academic side and traditionally, there has been another part of the university that focuses on student activity and student life. Those two areas don’t overlap a whole lot. What President Norton was hoping to accomplish with the reorganization is to try to bring the academic and student affairs areas closer together.” Wilson also encouraged students to get involved with the search for a new associate provost for student success. The club tennis team was the second guest speaker at the meeting. They expressed their concern about the rehabilitation of the tennis courts on campus and how the condition of the courts serves as a safety hazard to not only the students, but the coaches as well. Coach Matt Meredith said the courts haven’t been touched in 20 years. “When I was a student at this university we had 24 courts and we had a less population,” Meredith said. “We’ve given up courts to make for parking lots and other things. It would be nice to see that recreation and wellness is part of what we’re doing here and that everyone has a place to play.”
SRU Alumna SRU Teachers Helps Solve Crime Not 'Ill-Prepared'
Baseball Season Starts At King
SRU alumna, Emily Myers, develops a new forensic method to find evidence. Page A-3
The Rock's baseball season kicks off as SRU takes three out of four games in Bristol, Tennessee. Page C-2
A letter to the editor responds to claims of poor educational quality for teachers at SRU. Page B-2
SEE PROFESSOR, PAGE A-2
Women's Center Discusses Gender The Women's Center holds a discussion on feminism and what it means. Page D-3