The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
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ACC exit fee lawsuit will go ahead after decision North Carolina appellate court denies state, univ bid to dismiss lawsuit forcing univ to pay $52M By Alex Kirshner @alex_kirshner Senior staff writer Three North Carolina appellate judges ruled unanimously yesterday morning against the state and university’s bid to dismiss an ACC lawsuit to force the university to pay a $52 million exit fee when it leaves for
the Big Ten in July, as The Associated Press first reported. The university has argued that the exit fee is unreasonably high, and with the court’s dismissal, that argument with the conference will continue until the parties reach an agreement or North Carolina’s judiciary does so for them. In September 2012, about two
months before the university announced it would move to the Big Ten, the ACC’s Council of Presidents voted to increase the conference’s exit fee from about $17.4 million to $52.3 million, valued by the appellate court at three times the conference’s annual operating budget. University President Wallace Loh voted against the increase, but the court ruled that each of the conference’s schools, including this university, wallace loh, university president, voted against an increase in the ACC’s exit fee to $52.3 million, but a court See ACC, Page 3 ruled the conference’s schools, including this university, are beholden to the fee. file photo/the diamondback
Big Ten may help inspire univ policy Schools exchange ideas on housing, other depts By Dustin Levy @dustinblevy Staff writer
adele’s circle members meet in Stamp Student Union in early November. The alumnae organization seeks to empower female students to realize their full potential with confidence. sung-min kim/the diamondback
‘the power to do what they want’ Alumnae form Adele’s Circle of Women group to foster confidence in female students By Darcy Costello @dctello Staff writer The Rev. Beth Platz, chaplain emerita at this university, became the first female pastor ordained in the Lutheran Church in America in the university’s Memorial Chapel in 1970. A product of a women’s college,
Platz grew up in an environment dominated by the thought: “Of course women can do this.” That empowered view opens doors for women, she said, and she hopes to help foster that thought at this university as part of Adele’s Circle of Women, a new alumnae group dedicated to female empowerment. “It was funny because I was really secure, but no one else knew,”
Platz said. “People would come up and ask me, ‘When you get married, you have to leave the ministry, right?’ And I would just ask them, you know, ‘Is your pastor married? Why would I have to leave?’ They all just needed to work it out.” Adele’s Circle seeks to inspire and inform female students at the university through storytelling, mentoring and connection. The
group is still in its formative stages, holding meetings with alumnae and planning outreach to the student body, but members said they hope to host their first event before the end of the school year. The group has been a dream of Stamp Student Union Director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens’ for a See circle, Page 2
By Ellie Silverman @esilverman11 Staff writer Barry Gilder was 17 years old when he had to complete his compulsory nine-month service with the South African Defense Force. It was 1968, and although Gilder grew up in South Africa, he identified with Western culture and could not fathom the idea of going to war. “I was thus a child of the ’60s, inspired by the same literature and music that inspired my contemporaries in America and Europe. I hated war, I hated racism, I hated exploitation,” Gilder read from his memoir. “I grew up on the songs of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger. I was a child of Woodstock, and I hated the army.”
barry gilder, South African student activist, guerrilla insurgent, folk singer and author, spoke to about 50 students and faculty yesterday at Francis Scott Key Hall about his memoir. marquise mckine/the diamondback Yesterday afternoon, Gilder led a lunchtime talk hosted by the history department in front of a crowd of about 50 students and faculty members in Francis Scott Key Hall.
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He read excerpts from his memoir, Songs and Secrets: South Africa from Liberation to Governance, and answered questions from the audience. From a student activist to African
See models, Page 3
Pre-College Programs try new strategies Amid funding cuts, univ takes on fewer students By Madeleine List @madeleine_list Staff writer
National Congress guerrilla insurgent, folk singer, spy trainee and intelligence official in postapartheid South Africa, Gilder is a man who has lived many lives, said Bernard Cooperman, Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies director. “Folk singing was a form of protest that moved mountains, changed the world,” Cooperman said. “Since I’ve been in the university since I was just a young boy and never left, I’m impressed by people who live in multiple worlds and who actually accomplish things.” Gi lder’s ex per iences h ave enabled him to see firsthand the struggles in South Africa’s past, present and future. Adele Seeff, former director of the Center for Renaissance & Baroque Studies at this university,
After funding cuts this year, this university’s Pre-College Programs are finding creative solutions to further their goals of helping underprivileged high school students excel academically and transition successfully into college. The federal grant that funds the PreCollege Programs received a 5 percent cut when it was renewed in January. Five percent appeared small, but as expenses rise each year with inflation, small cuts can have big impacts, said Georgette DeJesus, Pre-College Programs executive director. “This keeps us from expanding our program and bringing in more students,” she said. “We’ve learned to do more with less. It does put a strain on our staff, but it’s motivating us to be more creative.” The Pre-College Programs academic assistance program, Upward Bound, is free for high school students from low-income families. To qualify for the programs, families must have a maximum annual income of $35,325 for a family of four with varying income ranges for families of different sizes, or the student must
See GILDER, Page 3
See pre-college, Page 3
Former South African insurgent speaks to students Barry Gilder reads from memoir to history dept
The impact of the university’s move to the Big Ten athletic conference may soon extend beyond the athletic program and into residential life and on-campus housing. Last month, Department of Resident Life Director Deb Grandner attended the Big Ten Housing Officers Conference — held at the University of Michigan — to learn about diverse housing and residential life programs other schools in the conference have launched. Because of the parallels between many of the 12 schools in
SPORTS
OPINION
FINDING DEFENSIVE DEVELOPMENT
STAFF EDITORIAL: SGA tries grocery bus again
With five shutouts in its past seven games, men’s soccer leaves early season defensive struggles in the past entering NCAA tournament P. 8
With more promotion, the weekly grocery shuttle should work. But the SGA needs to measure its success to ensure student fees aren’t being wasted on an unused service P. 4