M THE MANEATER
The student voice of MU since 1955
www.themaneater.com
Vol. 82, Issue 19
February 10, 2016
STudent housing
Housing complex awaits building permit Dubbed “Rise Apartments,” the complex would be dedicated primarily to student housing with parking and retail spaces. ALLY SHERWIN Staff Writer
and gender studies professor Joan Hermsen led three Diversity@Mizzou sessions in mid-January. All incoming undergraduate students for this spring semester, including transfer students, had to attend at least one two-hour session. Last semester, multiple student organizations, including Concerned Student 1950 and the Legion of Black Collegians, voiced concerns about the lack of diversity education and training at the university. These concerns led to campuswide protests over institutional racism in the UM System and the resignation of system President Tim Wolfe. Shonekan and Hermsen were approached late last semester by Cathy Scroggs, vice chancellor for student affairs, and Chuck Henson, interim vice chancellor for diversity, inclusion and equity, to attempt to draft a plan for some kind of diversity training for new students that would be starting at MU in the spring 2016 semester. “Stephanie and I were of this perspective that we should try and focus on what it is that students come to school for, and that’s an education and to focus, then, on what are the ways that diversity issues might come up in a classroom,” Hermsen said.
A 10-story student housing project was proposed in Columbia despite a dip in student applications for the fall 2016 semester. The housing complex would be erected on Ninth and Locust streets and take over the property of Quinton’s Bar and Deli and Britches clothing store along with the empty space where restaurant Mackenzie’s Prime used to be located. MU saw a decrease of 941 applications for the upcoming fall 2016 semester, prompting the Department of Residential Life to make housing changes that include closing Tiger Reserve and creating more on-campus housing options for upperclassmen, according to Jan. 31 Maneater reporting. Still, Fields Holdings LLC wants to go through with this large-scale development proposal, Rise Apartments. The complex would be primarily student living, although Development Services Manager Patrick Zenner said the first floor would include retail spaces and on-site parking. Zenner said no architectural or building plans have been submitted for consideration, and in order for the complex to be constructed, a zoning review would have to be performed. He also said a building permit has not yet been issued. “Associated with the issuance of a building permit there may be additional permits required for activities such as demolition of existing structures, temporary closure of sidewalks/ streets, and/or vacation/relocation of public utilities,” Zenner said in an email. “These actions required participation by multiple city departments and in the instance of temporary closures or vacation requests the City Council.” This plan is one of several student housing complexes proposed by developers to be built in downtown Columbia, despite a brief lapse of submitted plans in 2015. In 2012, St. Louis development firm Collegiate Housing Partners proposed to demolish the Niedermeyer apartment buildings, one of the oldest buildings in Columbia, according to previous Maneater reporting. The firm planned on demolishing the
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JORDAN KODNER | PHOTO EDITOR
Interim Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Chuck Henson is honored with other colleagues during halftime at the Missouri basketball game against Mississippi State University Jan. 30 in Mizzou Arena.
EDUCATION
New diversity requirement is subject to change Professor Joan Hermsen: “We want to see students engaging with the material and bringing their personal life experiences to the kinds of questions that are raised in courses.” LILY CUSACK Senior Staff Writer Obstacles still stand in the way of a permanent diversity course requirement at MU, but the university has held diversity training sessions for new students and implemented required trainings for administrators. Former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced last semester that diversity and inclusion training would become mandatory for students, faculty and staff in January 2016. All admitted students would have to go through a diversity training session before they register for classes. However, since Loftin’s resignation in November, there has been little news concerning these proposed diversity requirements. These all-encompassing diversity initiatives made headway at the beginning of this semester. Black studies professor Stephanie Shonekan and women’s
Reaching for Rio The Olympics are six months away, and 13 Missouri athletes have their eye on the prize. They worked for awhile to have this opportunity. Read what it takes to reach sport’s highest stage. | Page 7