March 21, 2012

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THE ALL STATE.ORG STATE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

Student Newspaper of Austin Peay State University Since 1930 • First copy free, additional copies 50 cents each

#SGAELECTIONS

SGA debate 2012

SGA presidential candidates Drew Smith (left) and Jesse Brewer (right) debated issues and put forward their campaign platforms to an audience of students and staff at the first ever SGA presidential debate on Monday, March 19. NICOLA TIPPY | SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

 By TIFFANY HALL thall29@my.apsu.edu

The first ever SGA presidential debate of its kind was held Monday, March 19, with a small turnout of 25 students. The purpose of the debate was for SGA presidential candidates, Jesse Brewer and Drew Smith, to let the students know what they would do if elected. Voting starts on Tuesday, March 27 at 9 a.m. and will end on Thursday, March 29 at 11:59 p.m. Brewer is a junior majoring in History and double minoring in Education and Leadership. He is also the current Executive Secretary for the SGA. He has held other leadership positions

on campus including working in Student Affairs for two years, being a peer mentor, a freshman orientation mentor and an active member of the Governor’s Ambassador Club. He has held Senate positions for both the College of Arts and Letters and the freshman class. Brewer said that all of the leadership opportunities have opened doors for him to meet and develop relationships with a lot of the faculty and staff members at APSU. He said one of the most important things about being president would be to sit and have conversations, discuss ideas and communicate effectively with the administrators of APSU to get things done. Brewer put a lot of emphasis on

how communication is the key to being a successful president. “To be the voice of students,” Brewer said, “the students must be heard.” Candidate Drew Smith is a sophomore majoring in History and minoring in Political Science. He plans to attend law school after graduating from APSU. He serves on the Academic Council, has been a part of SGA’s G.H.O.S.T., an active member of Governor’s Ambassador Club and is a peer mentor on campus. He was nominated and selected as a rising leader for the freshman class last year and was awarded the rising leader for the sophomore class this year. Smith said that while he was not as well-known with all of the administrators or faculty on

the campus, he is prepared to do whatever he can to get the students represented. “Freshmen aren’t represented. They aren’t involved with things happening on campus because they don’t know about them,” Smith said. Brewer said he wants to use social networks, such as Twitter, to communicate with students. He also mentioned the idea of having a SGA scroll board set up in the MUC, where students can tweet their ideas or thoughts to the SGA Twitter and it will show up on the board for everyone to see. “Every student has a thought, but that is as far as it goes. With

Alleged armed robbery occured on campus, Saturday  STAFF REPORT An alleged armed robbery occurred on campus at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 17. The suspects are described as “three black males in their 20s to early 30s … wearing black, red and white hooded shirts” according to the campus safety notice sent out via the Gov Says email system. The incident allegedly occurred near Drane Street and the Memorial Health Building. According to the campus safety notice, the suspects “flagged down the victim” then “one of the suspects brandished a knife, while another demanded money from the victim.” The suspects then fled on foot in the direction of the “Honors Commons/ Subway area” according to the safety notice. “If you don’t know the person calling you over ... walk away,” said Lt. Carlton Little, campus police officer. He also advised that the sooner someone contacts the police about a crime, the sooner that crime can be solved. According to Little, there are no leads and the investigation is still ongoing. If you have any information about the crime, contact APSU campus police at (931) 221-4848 or (931) 221-7786 or text to (931) 494-6672. Anonymous messages can be submitted at www.apsu. edu/police/reporting. TAS

SOCIAL MEDIA

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#THEGROVE

Alleged homicide occurs at the Grove apartment complex Security not affected, said company officials  By JENELLE GREWELL jgrewell@my.apsu.edu

The company Campus Crest Communities, Inc., which runs the Grove housing complex, said the incident resulting in the death of Shardae Wright, 23, on Saturday, March 3, in no way reflects upon the safety and security of the student housing community. “It is important to understand that this event was an isolated incident

that occurred between an invited guest and a resident, who apparently knew each other well,” the company said in their statement to The All State through their public relations representative Jason Chudoba. According to news releases sent out by the Clarksville Police Department, after midnight on Saturday, March 3, police officers responded to a shots fired call at Building Six in the Grove. The news release states when officers arrived on

the scene, they encountered several shell casings outside the apartment and bullet holes in the door. “Officers entered the apartment and found a deceased female in the bathtub with gunshot wounds,” the news release said. “We responded that somebody had been shot and we tried to figure out who did what,” said Jim Knoll, public information officer for the Clarksville Police Department. The news release states, according to witness accounts, the victim was

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The Grove apartments were the scene of an alleged shooting involving a resident on Saturday, March 3. BRITTANY SPARN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

#STUDENTLOANS

#APDEBATE

Student loan interest rates set to double unless government acts

AP Forum lets students debate controversial issues

 By PHILIP SPARN psparn@my.apsu.edu

Students who depend on subsidized student loans to help them pay for college are expected to see their interest rates double in July if Congress does not act to keep rates down or frozen at their current level. As a part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act passed in 2007, students have seen interest rates on new subsidized student loans gradually decrease over the last several years, from 6.8 percent to its current rate at 3.4 percent, according to direct.ed.gov. As with most legislation passed by Congress, some of the benefits of this law and the interest rates are set to last only for a limited time, unless congress extends the law’s benefits permanently or temporarily.

Starting July 1, 2012, interest rates on all new Subsidized Direct Student Loans are set to double from 3.4 percent, back to their previous level of 6.8 percent, unless Congress intervenes, according to the Department of Financial Aid at APSU. For the 2011-12 academic year there were 6,227 students at APSU who received these Subsidized Direct student loans, totaling more than $24 million, according to the Department of Education. “This increase may be incremental on paper, but this small jump will end up costing a lot of student borrowers thousands of dollars in the long run,” said State Rep. Joe Pitts, member of the Tennessee House Education Committee, D-Clarksville.

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 By ERICKA CONLEY econley@my.apsu.edu

The topic of the fourth annual AP Debate Forum was “Is it morally and ethically acceptable to use deadly force to protect yourself or your property regardless of circumstances?” The event was held at 6:30 p.m., March 19, 2012, in the Music/Mass Communications Building. “The purpose of the debate forum is to provide an opportunity for students taking public speaking to practice the skills they are learning in class in a real life setting,” said Stacie Mumpower, Public Speaking Coordinator and instructor in the department of Communications. “Debate

topics are current, socially relevant issues that engage students in discussion. The design of the event encourages students to voice their opinions in a more effective way.” The debate forum began with the students on stage addressing the “for” and the “against” sides of the topic. After both sides debated the issue, the audience members were allowed to come on stage and debate the topic as well. The students who participated in the debate forum were selected by an audition process. The students who are interested in being a part of the debate forum must be enrolled in public speaking. The six public speaking students who were on the panel

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March 21, 2012 by The All State - Issuu