ber m e Nov e v ha ted! S o N ar t s has
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013
Indiana’s Oldest College Newspaper
Gas leak alert alarms, ends quickly
out k c che les on sty es 6&7 pag VOL. 162,
ISSUE 16
Faculty debates Winter Term By MEREDITH REED news@thedepauw.com
Three texts were sent by DePauw Emergency Services to students Tueday afternoon recommending shelter and providing information concerning the gas leak. BY NETTIE FINN news@thedepauw.com
A “Red Alert” was sent to student, faculty and staff cell phones all over DePauw’s campus at 3:56 p.m. on Tuesday, alerting those on campus that a gas leak had been reported and that all those in the nearby area should stay inside. The leak was traced to a gas line somewhere in the vicinity of Ohio and Locust Streets. It was reported to DePauw Emergency Services at 3:42 p.m. “A few minutes after the time they had responded, they started checking the area. At about 3:52 [p.m.] they asked us to put out a message recommending shelter,” Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Cox said. Emergency Services, the Greencastle Fire Department and the Police Department were called to the scene to ensure the safety of those nearby and stop the leakage. Angela Nally, Director of Public Safety, was called out of a meeting to do her part to reinforce the safety of the campus community. “I sent out the text alert and we notified WGRE and there’s a scrolling banner on the DePauw website,” she said. Nally and Cox then asked all those on or near the South Quadrant of campus to stay inside. “They were checking Delta Gamma [sorority house], Hogate
[Hall], those sorts of areas,” Cox said. The fire department moved from building to building, alerting people to what happened, ensuring that they stay safe and taking gas readings. “Obviously they’ll evacuate if there’s any sign of anything,” he added. The checks went successfully, all buildings were given the all clear and the leakage was isolated, according to Cox. Cox and Nally are both thankful that DePauw’s alert systems worked so efficiently and that Fire Department and emergency service teams were able to quickly secure the area. “It’s good news, it’s looking good: nobody’s in danger,” Nally said. An “All Clear for the leak was sent out at 4:22 PM, though the fire department continued to ask the community to avoid the intersection of Ohio and Locust Streets. “[People have been] disrupted in their activities maybe, but not harmed,” Cox said. Though at the time of the leak on Tuesday no official cause had been given, a follow up email from Cox clarified how the leak occurred. “We are told that Vectren Gas Company was working on a very
Gas Leak | cont. on page 2
Nearly 30 members of the DePauw faculty debated potential changes to the current Winter Term model in an open forum yesterday afternoon. Proposed changes to Winter Term include: the availability of classes for one-half credit, optional participation for faculty, one required off-campus experience and a one-time-only $5,000 grant for students to participate in or design their own off-campus experience. Larry Stimpert, vice president of academic affairs, in collaboration with the DePauw deans sorted through comments and concerns from recent student and faculty forums. “We have written down every comment, and we’ve tried to understand what are the patterns or commonalities of the kinds of things we’ve been hearing,” Stimpert said. “We have a sense, that the key thing that we need to address, is this lack of consistency across the Winter Term.” Stimpert was referring to the inequality of the ability for opportunities for student socioeconomic class to participate in off campus winter terms. The possible introduction of a $5,000 grant, under the working title of the “DePauw Opportunities Grant,” would allow students who were previously unable to afford off-campus Winter Term experiences to do so. It would also reduce DePauw’s financial expenditures on total aid by committing money previously given by merit aid. “We right now, are giving $50 million to financial aid to our students, to put that in perspective, we spend $30 million on the entire academic program,” Stimpert said. “Let’s turn $5,000 of those merit aid awards into these ‘Opportunity Grants,’ which we would give one time. So we would actually save $15,000.” Many members of the faculty expressed concern about the incorporation of Winter Term with fall or spring courses as outlined in one of the initial proposals on Winter Term changes. “There are many models out there, and the devil is in the details,” said Raj Bellani, dean of academic affairs. “There’s no wrong way to do it, it can be seen as extra or it could be part of the course.” Anne Harris, professor of art and art history and chair of the committee on experiential learning, said there are distinctions between previous Winter Term discussions and the current debates. “Before, we did a grassroots survey first, proposal later,” Harris said of the approaches taken to adjust winter term. “Here we’re getting the proposal first and the discussion right away. I love having a proposal to think about instead of a survey to answer.” In addition to administration and requirement changes, Stimpert and many faculty members also discussed extreme concern with the social culture of Winter Term and the persistence of the “Winter Term Challenge” and binge drinking. Harris said that she hopes minimizing the drinking over Winter Term will occur naturally if the classes are offered for credit. However, according to Stimpert, student reactions towards putting a stop to the “Winter Term Challenge” were different than faculty expectations.