The Slate 2-25-20

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SU needs its adjunct faculty, B1

Sorority fundraises stuffed animals, C1

Art demonstration at SHAPE Gallery, D1

Coach Jones picks up 500th win, E1(2)

@ShipUSlate Tuesday

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The Slate @ShipUSlate

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Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Reporting truth. Serving our community.

Volume 63 No. 18

After delays, Stewart Hall project completes within projected budget Jonathan Bergmueller Editor-in-Chief

Jonathan Bergmueller/The Slate Shippensburg University professor José Ricardo-Osorio asks President Laurie Carter a question regarding directives issued by PASSHE Chancellor Daniel Greenstein. Greenstein called on PASSHE schools to curtail the use of adjunct professors to cut back system costs.

Community discusses PASSHE directives Hannah Pollock Managing Editor

Shippensburg University faculty, staff and administration members packed the Old Main Chapel for a town hall meeting on Feb. 18 to voice their opinion about “directives” sent by Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Chancellor Daniel Greenstein. SU administrators called the meeting in response to “directives” sent via email to faculty and staff by Greenstein on Feb. 14. The directives included curtailing the use of temporary faculty, eliminating low-enrolled programs and not filling vacant staff and faculty positions. The full list is available on passhe.edu. SU President Laurie Carter opened the discussion, “The system and individual universities like Ship face serious financial challenges that were left unattended for years and must now be comprehensively addressed,” she said. The announcement of the directives comes after universities submitted preliminary financial sustainability plans,

which the chancellor deemed “inadequate,” according to Carter. Scott Barton, senior vice president of administration and finance, and Tom Ormond, provost and vice president for academic affairs, gave a brief presentation of the preliminary financial sustainability plan, which is available on the S/ Drive in the “PASSHE Redesign” folder. The next draft of the plan is due May 22. “We must do this together,” she said. “We shouldn’t expect our students to pay for it.” “I am more committed than ever to make a life changing difference for Ship students,” Carter said. “I didn’t come to Ship to build my resume. I came to Ship to build futures.” Carter reiterated that her No. 1 priority is student success. After brief remarks, Carter opened up the floor for questions and discussion for attendees. Kara Laskowski, president of the SU Chapter Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges University Faculties (APSCUF), spoke about the confusion surrounding the directives and whether they were requirements or suggestions.

“The directives that were pushed out through academic affairs from Friday afternoon forward will only hurt and undermine our best efforts,” Laskowski said. “We know this, we’ve done it before, we’ve seen it before. And we’re here for our students and will fight for our students. And we’d like to do that with you.” “As the work goes on, if we get to the point where we feel that we cannot meet one of his directives because it will compromise the work that we have to provide to our students for them to succeed, I can assure you that I will speak up on our behalf and I will do that aggressively,” Carter said, which was met with applause from the audience. Laskowski described the struggle department chairs face as they now have to revise fall 2020 schedules and do not have the capacity to remove adjuncts while still providing a quality education for students. She said if adjuncts are completely eliminated, students will not have access to the classes they need.

See “TOWN HALL,” A2

The Shippensburg University Stewart Hall renovation project is finally finished after changes in construction needs pushed its completion back two months. The project totaled $5 million at no cost to students, according to Scott Barton, senior vice president of administration and finance at SU. The SU Foundation raised $1.5 million for the project, while the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund covered the remaining $3.5 million. The conservation fund was established in 1993 to allot funds from the real estate transfer tax to Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education system schools for “deferred maintenance,” according to documents provided by Barton. Barton said the project fell under the projected budget of around $5 million. According to construction contracts signed in fall 2018, the project was set to complete Oct. 13, 2019, at around $4.5 million. Change orders added another $200,000, and furnishings within the building itself cost around $172,000. Three change orders forced workers to add 79 days to the construction plan. This pushed the completion of the project to Dec. 31. The first order changed the process contractors used to remove paint from the orig-

inal bricks in Stewart Hall. Later, the university requested changes to accommodate unforeseen site conditions. Finally, SU requested changes to handrails, front railings, door hardware and additional signage to meet all code requirements. The timeline extension broke down into 14 days for the first change order, 19 days for the second and 46 days for the third, totaling 79 days. The project achieved its substantial completion date of Dec. 31 and the university verified its completion Jan. 14, according to a document provided by Barton. The SU Foundation allowed the public to purchase and decorate bricks with custom text and designs outside the main entrance to Stewart hall. According to Barton, the foundation sold $195,000 worth of bricks. Kim Garris, the vice president of external relations and communications, said the university’s next large capital project will be a renovation of the Franklin Science Center. The Slate initially requested information pertinent to this story Nov. 20 from SU’s communications and marketing department. After several attempts to obtain the information in this story, The Slate filed a Pennsylvania Right to Know Request on Jan. 26 which Shippensburg University complied with.

October murder, drug cases head to court Hannah Pollock Managing Editor

Three cases related to a shooting in October that resulted in the death of one man and critical injury of another during a drug deal that turned sour on High Street in Shippensburg have moved to the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas. Quentin Eric Furlow, 20, of Philadelphia and Samir Rodney Stevenson, 22, of Carlisle, had their formal arraignments on Feb. 20 while Clayton Steve Wilson, 21, of Philadelphia, was arraigned on Jan. 23. The cases revolve around a shooting that occurred at approximately 8 p.m. on Oct. 6 following a drug deal that wrong, according to court documents. According to the affidavit of probable cause, police found several large buds of marijuana, a burnt blunt and a large amount of money in a car parked in an alley behind the 200 block of High Street. That is where police found 21-year-old Shakur Richard Myers dead from two gunshot wounds to the head and chest and Stevenson with a “critical” gunshot wound to his neck. The doctors who treated Stevenson reported that the bullet nipped the top of his right lung and missed major arteries by mere millimeters. During Stevenson’s preliminary hearing in Shippensburg District Court in front of Magisterial District Judge H. Anthony Adams on Dec. 5, Trooper John Boardman answered questions from Courtney Hair Larue, Cumberland County chief deputy district attorney and Stevenson’s defense

attorney William Davis. During the hearing, Boardman shared information from the state police’s investigation. According to transcripts from the preliminary hearing, officers recovered multiple cell phones, mason jars of marijuana and drug sale paraphernalia including, a scale and plastic bags, and more than 40 grams of marijuana from the car where the shooting occurred. A .380-caliber Ruger handgun, that was reported stolen in 2017 in Lynchburg, Virginia, was also found at the scene. He also reported that police found a bloody hooded sweatshirt that was still damp to the touch, evidence related to the sale of drugs and three large-capacity magazines for a .40-caliber Glock handgun in Wilson and Furlow’s apartment during a search warrant execution that same night. During questioning at the hospital, Stevenson told police he could not remember who he was with and said, “everything happened too fast,” according to court documents. Through the investigation, Wilson was determined to be the shooter, Boardman reported at the hearing. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Wilson called someone, who later reported the information to the police, after the shooting and told them what happen. The informant told police that Wilson said Stevenson wanted to buy marijuana from him but that they did not want to meet in Wilson’s house. See “COURT,” A2

Jonathan Bergmueller/The Slate

SU Police Department detective Karl Schucholz retrieves burned books from Room 203. Police do not yet know who was responsible for lighting the fire.

Fire in FSC causes no damage; police investigate vandalism Jonathan Bergmueller Editor-in-Chief

A small fire failed to trigger smoke detectors in a lounge on the second floor of Franklin Science Center (FSC) at late Wednesday afternoon. Police are still investigating vandalisms that have occurred in FSC over the past several weeks, according to an email sent by SU police chief Michael Lee. Professors investigated a burning smell Wednesday and found Room 203, a student lounge, was full of smoke. No fire was present in the room. Physics professor Kate Shirk and chemistry profes-

sor Robin McCann said they did not hear a fire alarm. In response, a detective from SUPD investigated the scene while several fire engines were parked in the lot between FSC and the Grace B. Luhrs University Elementary School. “It is concerning that alarms did not go off,” Shirk said. “We don’t have a way in the building to notify everyone that things are all right.” “Safety is an issue here. This is an older building and needs updated,” said Robin McCann, a chemistry professor. McCann said the university has helped the chemistry department stay to code. She said facilities and manage-

ment worked hard with her at the beginning of this year to improve safety in the organic chemistry lab. However, she said Franklin has been waiting for 10-15 years for a renovation and that Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education approved such a project. Kim Garris, SU’s vice president of External Relations & Communications, said SUPD is investigating the fire, which she says was “very small and isolated and was extinguished quickly.” Garris also confirmed Franklin Science Center will be the next large capital project for the university.


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