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The Merciad Mercyhurst university
Est. 1929 Vol. 89 No. 8
Wednesday, noveMber 4, 2015
Athletes to run, swim, row, skate into campus housing By Erin McGarrity Staff writer
Beginning in the fall of 2016, Mercyhurst will require all student athletes, excluding those in special circumstances, including commuting students and those with financial troubles, to obtain on-campus housing. Currently, approximately 650 athletes compete in 24 varsity sports at Mercyhurst. The university expects to move about 120 of these athletes in the next school year. According to Laura Zirkle, vice president of student life, the mandate stems from President Michael Victor’s vision of the Mercyhurst student experience. “This really goes along with his whole desire for student life to be as vibrant and dynamic as possible. We’ve seen that in a lot of different things already this year — Hurst Day, for example,” said Zirkle. “What group of students brings the most energy and spirit to campus? Athletes.” Mercyhurst’s long-term goal is to require virtually all undergraduate students to live
Student athletes will be required to live in on-campus apartments and townhouses beginning next fall.
on-campus. For now, university officials are slowly working their way toward that goal by beginning with the largest subset of off-campus students. Zirkle claims that despite concerns among the student body, the university will have more than enough room to house that many students. “That is, of course, one of the reasons why we’re not moving everyone at once. But
we are not concerned about space at all,” Zirkle said. Students reactions to the announcement are mixed. “Personally, I feel like administration’s first step should be to improve on-campus housing before they force students to live here because then more students would probably choose to live on campus and then probably won’t make a big fuss about it,” junior field hockey player
Alex Albright said. Zirkle says that the university will seriously consider renovations and improvements to existing housing in the coming years as a way to further enhance the student experience and accommodate larger incoming classes. Senior soccer playerMacarena Aguirre said she does not think it is a bad to have a larger on-campus community, but worries about the
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price and quality of housing, and wonders why athletes are being required to move first. She also mentioned her team gathering in off-campus houses for bonding activities. “If we didn’t have this there would be many activities that are a tradition that couldn’t happen again, because basically it’s impossible to fit 25 girls into an apartment and feel comfortable,” Aguirre said.
In the face of negative feedback from students, Zirkle wants to reassure them that this new requirement is not a punishment for athletes’ bad behavior. “The athletes make up the majority of our campus leaders. They are all good people,” said Zirkle. “I would hate for any of them to think that this is a form of punishment.” Further squashing the rumor that this requirement is meant to crack down on off-campus partying, Zirkle asserts that Mercyhurst officials have spoken to the Erie County Chief of Police, who has cited a major decrease in noise complaints over the past few years. Zirkle said that her biggest worry moving forward is the spread of the student body’s negative perceptions of this decision. “We are going to be very generous and flexible with students in accommodating all of this,” said Zirkle. “We all simply believe that the best way to be part of campus is to live on it, and we have no motivation other than that.” Read more student opinions on page 6.
Criminal Justice Department confronts domestic violence issue through month-long campaign By Devin Hardner Contributing writer
October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Mercyhurst students and faculty showed their support with a passive campaign by the Criminal Justice Department. Maria Garase, Ph.D., criminal justice associate professor and department chair, said the campus campaign emerged from her Women and Crime class, where the issue of women who are victims of domestic violence is discussed, along with the responses of the public. “The goal was to raise awareness that domestic violence occurs, to give informa-
tion how to identify domestic violence and to address that it affects all segments of the population,” Garase said. She noted that although women are primarily victims of domestic abuse, men can also be victims. Domestic violence exists among all socioeconomic statuses, ages, races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. Garase, who is also a member of the Bystander Intervention Committee, said the campaigners conversed with the Mercyhurst Counseling Center, as well as SafeNet in order to include validated information for victims. “We didn’t want to just present statistics but rather we wanted to present some examples of verbal and behavioral
cues in a relationship that may lead to domestic violence. We noted resources for individuals who read the signs and may identify or recognize these activities in their own relationships,” Garase said. Along with the Counseling Center, SafeNet and the Bystander Committee, the Criminal Justice Department also worked with the Step Up program. President Victor was asked to speak on the issue by the Bystander Committee and he responded with a campus-wide video. In his video, President Michael Victor explained how the Step Up program functions and its importance in ending domestic violence on campus. The program encourages everyone to take charge
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on-campus student, we have ‘no trespass’ orders, which prohibit the attacker from entering the campus,” Kuhn said. Kuhn also mentioned the Student Outreach Committee, online tool anyone can use to submit an anonymous observation of a potentially dangerous situation. This can be used for any situation. It is not limited to domestic violence. Aside from hanging informational flyers around campus including in women’s restroom stalls, Garase hosted a guest speaker in her Women and Crime class who was able to validate the campaign. “Robyn Young, director of counseling services at SafeNet, discussed how to identify behavioral and verbal
cues that indicate an unhealthy relationship and she also noted all of the services that SafeNet offers,” Garase said. SafeNet has a Silent Witness Project, which is a traveling exhibit of life-size, wooden silhouettes that represent the victims that have been killed by a significant other. It puts a visual aspect on an otherwise invisible problem. “There wasn’t a lot of direct feedback. However, anything that can raise awareness of this important issue is a step in the right direction. Domestic violence is seen as an invisible crime: it happens behind closed doors and is underreported,” Garase said. “If even one person saw the signs and sought assistance, then [the campaign] was a success.”
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in a problematic situation and try to help. “Be the one who looks out for others, especially those who are most vulnerable, and who is not afraid to confront or report abusive behavior,” Victor said. When there is an altercation on campus, Police and Safety should be the first to be called. According to Chief Robert Kuhn, there is rarely domestic violence on campus, but it happens every day within the City of Erie. “When two people who reside on campus get in a domestic dispute, we have ‘no contact’ orders, which prohibit the assaulter from contacting the victim. When there is a person from off-campus who threatens or harms an
Do you plan to vote in Tuesday’s upcoming election? 1 2 3 4
I’m not sure, but I would like to. (35%) Definitely, I believe voting is important. (29%) I’m not registered/able to vote in this election. (29%) I probably won’t. (6%)
Be sure to vote in this week’s online poll: How do you feel about athletes having to move on campus?
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