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OPINION
Column: Deleting your Facebook is a healthy way to get back to reality
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SPORTS
Terps women’s lacrosse team wins fifth straight ACC title over North Carolina
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The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
ISSUE NO. 135
ONLINE AT
103rd Year of Publication
diamondbackonline.com
TOMORROW 60S / Partly Cloudy
MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013
State lags on degree goals
JAYSON BLAIR: 10 YEARS LATER
Projections indicate 8 percent gap by 2025 By Jim Bach Senior staff writer
eager — albeit immature — and promising young black reporter who could improve diversity in the newsroom. But it was hardly surprising for the students who had worked alongside him at The Diamondback in his two years there. He lied both as a reporter and editor in chief of the paper, staff members said, yet remained a favorite among journalism college faculty. He continued to receive strong recommendations to help secure high-profile
Although Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state legislature have continued to keep ample state funding flowing to higher education, the state is still projected to fall short of its degree attainment goals. By 2025, the state plans to increase the percentage of state working-age adults who hold a college degree from the latest figure of 39.3 percent to 60 percent. But at the current pace, projection rates show the state would instead be at 52 percent, significantly short of the stated goal, according to a 2012 report from the Lumina Foundation, a private group aimed at expanding access to higher education. While challenging, closing this gap is not out of reach, said Dewayne Matthews, policy and strategy vice president at the Lumina Foundation. However, it will take more investment and innovation in higher education to achieve that 60 percent figure, he said. The issue is more than just a matter of having more high school students enroll in the higher education system — it will also require reaching out to those who dropped out just before getting a degree, Matthews said. Students often drop out of college because of financial problems or poor grades. “College completion rates is the Achilles’ heel of the American higher education system,” Matthews said.
See blair, Page 3
See completion, Page 2
photo illustration by charlie deboyace/the diamondback
a rise predicated on lies PART 1 OF 3
Before torrid career at The New York Times, Jayson Blair wooed journalism faculty while infuriating Diamondback staff By Yasmeen Abutaleb Senior staff writer Jayson Blair had grown intolerable. “Just go already,” the 1997 staff members of The Diamondback quietly whispered among themselves. Blair, the daily independent student newspaper’s 1996-97 editor in chief, walked out the newsroom doors for the final time in April 1997. After a reign full of missed deadlines, questionable ethics and little leadership, the staff was ready to move on. They
threw a party to celebrate a fresh start under Danielle Newman’s leadership. The lyrics, “You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes,” rang through the newsroom. It was a line from an Eagles song, “Lyin’ Eyes,” the anthem for the 1996-97 Diamondback staff, which had grown infuriated with its editor in chief, who members said constantly lied to them. Blair, who declined several requests for comment, ended his tenure early without citing a reason, staff members said. About a year later, he
landed a job at The New York Times, where he went on to destroy his journalistic career and may have cost two high-level Times editors their jobs in 2003 after an internal investigation found he plagiarized and fabricated dozens of stories. The cataclysmic incident was unfathomable at a place like the Times, a place reserved for journalism’s most elite players. Blair resigned from the Times nearly 10 years ago on May 1, 2003. It surprised many journalism college faculty members, who saw Blair as an
Green, Purple buses to reroute for efficiency
Univ. app challenge aids local services
Student concerns prompt DOTS changes By Matt Bylis For The Diamondback
First-place app helps modernize county’s parks department site By Madeleine List Staff writer For some smartphone users, it’s impossible to imagine completing the simplest of tasks without the help of an app. With this in mind, students in the Code for Community Challenge developed new apps to mobilize community service. On Thursday, a panel of judges from Prince George’s County, Baltimore and this university selected first-,
INDEX
team p_recs, comprising students Elisa Escapa, Neelnavo Kar and Joan Zhang, took home first place in the Code for Community Challenge for its county parks and recreation department Web app. photo courtesy of elisa escapa second- and third-place teams from a total of six submissions, though the students did not compete for prizes. Rather, they all earned the honor of benefiting their communities. “This shows that students are committed to helping communities,” said Alex Chen, urban studies and planning professor and challenge organizer. “There’s social consciousness among students to devote their time to service.”
Team P_Recs came in first place with their Web app for the Prince George’s County parks and recreation department. The app will increase the mobility of the department’s website, allowing smartphone users to look up park resources and facilities easily, said Joan Zhang, sophomore bioengineering major and Team P_Recs member.
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See challenge, Page 2
Citing student concerns and ridership data, DOTS will make changes to the Green and Purple bus lines in the fall to better serve students. For several months, Residence Hall Association officials worked with the Department of Transportation Services to address student concerns about safety and efficiency on the Green and Purple lines. DOTS agreed to make changes to the routes, and students should expect to see them this fall, according to an April 25 news release. “It was a gradual process to figure out the changes, but we worked hard with [DOTS Director] David Allen to find the solution,” said Omer Kaufma, RHA student groups
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and organizations liaison. The Purple evening service route will bypass North Campus, taking students directly from Courtyards apartments to Stamp Student Union. DOTS plans to add North Campus stops to the Green Line, allowing students to travel directly to Fraternity Row and the Graham Cracker. For students who live in Courtyards, getting to downtown College Park can be a time commitment, DOTS officials said. “Passengers traveling to and from The Courtyards apartments expressed a desire to have service to central campus and downtown that didn’t require having to first travel through the north campus residence halls which are already serviced by
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See buses, Page 2
© 2013 THE DIAMONDBACK