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IUP JOINS FORCES WITH WESTMORELAND COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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IUP (left) and Westmoreland County Community College (right) joined forces with a duel admissions agreement.
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EVE TILLICH Staff Writer jxsbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
IUP President Michael Driscoll and Westmoreland County Community College President Tuesday Stanley along with other members of leadership teams signed a dual admissions agreement.
The agreement lets students that obtain an associate degree at Westmoreland to complete a bachelor’s degree at IUP.
“This initiative is about student success and being student-centered,” Driscoll said. “We want to eliminate potential barriers and help students from Westmoreland to feel that they are a valued member of the IUP family, even before they begin their formal coursework here.”
By eliminating barriers, the dual admission agreement is helping student achieve their academic goals.
“This is an excellent next step in the ongoing partnership between our two institutions,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to welcome strong Westmoreland students to IUP and helping them to meet their educational goals.”
IUP and Westmoreland students will also be able to utilize resources and services from both schools such as counseling and IUP’s school mascot, Norm the Hawk (left), and Westmoreland County Community College’s mascot, Westly Wolf (right). (Credit)
support programs. Westmoreland students will also have access to transition support and resources from IUP like housing, dining, libraries and more.
“This agreement allows the student to transfer seamlessly to IUP with their associate degree,” Stanley said. “We are excited that this agreement also allows our students to have access to many of IUP’s resources, including dining and housing. It is all about the students.”
Transferring to a different school can be a huge challenging step for many students.
“It’s challenging – and sometimes a bit intimidating – to progress to the ‘next steps’ in your educational journey,” Executive Director of Media Relations Michelle Fryling said. “With a more streamlined application process, and the opportunity to actually be on the IUP campus and take advantage of IUP resources before you physically are taking courses, we hope that students will feel more comfortable transitioning to IUP from Westmoreland.
“It also gives the Westmoreland students access to all IUP resources, which we hope will help them to be successful at Westmoreland as well as be successful in transition to IUP. Then, when students do transfer to IUP, they will be familiar with IUP resources and opportunities.”
To be eligible for this admission opportunity, students must be attending Westmoreland. Additionally, they must meet a grade point average (gpa) of 2.0 or the minimum gpa for the program they are applying for at IUP. Students must have earned less than 30 credit hours and plan to pursue an associate degree as well as a bachelor’s degree.
“We also hope that as students begin their studies at Westmoreland, this agreement presents new opportunities to new students there, and helps them to make decisions about their next steps by making the process easier,” Fryling said.
Westmoreland and IUP have a strong relationship with one another.
Fryling said that the presidents of both institutions along with other members of the leadership teams have a “great on-going relationship.” So, the idea of dual admissions grew jointly from those working relationships.
Since 2015, around 330 Westmoreland students have transferred to IUP to continue their studies.
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New program helps local community with opportunities in areas
EMILY LOOSE Staff Writer E.D.Loose@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
Local communities are finding new ways to come together through these tough times.
Members of Indiana County have recently formed a new program called Resources, Education, Announcements, Communication, Help (REACH).
The program’s mission is to deal with new concerns and opportunities in the area. According to REACH’S organizers, community awareness is an important aspect of the program.
As COVID-19 cases have begun to spike in Indiana, the first concern that the program will be working with is the impact of the virus on the residents.
REACH was created due to the virus. It evolved from the COVID-19 Task Force that was implemented by Indiana County’s Board of Commissioners.
The task force was created to open lines of communication to REACH was started to help local communities.
help reopen businesses within the county and to keep cases of COVID-19 lowered. REACH will continue to spearhead many of the same ideas.
“With COVID-19 cases on the rise across Indiana County, and the holidays quickly approaching, we know it is critical that our residents have the most current information so that they can keep themselves and their loved ones safe,” Robin Gorman, one of the commissioners in Indiana County, said.
According to Gorman, the program will be important in helping residents understanding the virus and how to prevent it.
“REACH will continue to be a trusted source for accurate and timely information that meets the needs of the 85,000 Indiana County residents we serve,” she said.
This information will be avail(IUP)
able on REACH’s website https:// www.indianacountypareach.org/. The website features a meter that shows the positivity level of COVID-19 in Indiana County.
As of Saturday, the meter is at “High 10%+.” According to the website, this means “stay at home. If you must go out, use precautions and do not gather with others.”
As of the same date, there are 2,493 positive cases of COVID-19 in Indiana County with 1,956 of them being confirmed.
The website also provides information regarding health risks and where residents can get tested. These sites include CVS, Indiana VA Clinic and MedExpress Urgent Care.
REACH has brought together many organizations and sponsors for the program. These include Indiana University of Pennsylvania, YMCA of Indiana County, Westmoreland Community College, Department of Human Services and White Township.
The pandemic is not the only issue REACH will be working with. The program will also focus on working with the physical, emotional and economic health of the county and its residents and businesses.
REACH’s organizers will continue to update its website with new information as often as possible. They urge anyone concerned that they have COVID-19 to get tested immediately.
(Facebook) Agatha Christie’s signature (left) is known world-wide. The start of the Free Speech Movement (right) began Oct. 1, 1964, at University of California, Berkeley.
December’s start brings events that will be remembered for years
HEATHER BAIR News Editor zzzx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
The first few days of December bring historical events that happened while the holiday season was just getting started.
From the first issue of an abolitionist’s newspaper, to a popular mystery author becoming a mystery herself, to 800 students being arrested at Berkeley and U.S Armed Forces allowing women to see combat.
Dec. 3, 1847 First issue of an abolitionist paper published
In Rochester, N.Y., 1847, Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist, published the first issue of the anti-slavery paper, The North Star. The paper merged in 1851 with the Liberty Party Paper to form the Frederick Douglass’ Paper.
The slogan of The North Star was “right is of no sex – truth is of no color – God is the Father of us all, and all we are brethren.”
After escaping from slavery in Maryland, Douglass became a national leader in the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. He was an active supporter for women’s suffrage as well as a supporter for anti-slavery movements.
After subscribing to The Liberator, a weekly newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass was inspired in 1846 to start his own. The paper’s title was inspired by the directions given to runaway slaves trying to reach the Northern states and Canada. They were told to “follow the North Star,” which was also a figure of speech describing Canada as being the “north star.”
It was published weekly and was four pages long. It sold for $2 per year and had more than 4000 readers in the Caribbean, Europe and U.S. The first page always focused on current events having to do with abolitionist issues.
Douglass began publishing The North Star from the basement of the Memorial AME Zion Church in Rochester.
In one issue of the paper, Douglass printed a graphic passage in which he targeted his former slaveowner, Auld, asking how he would feel if Douglass came and took away Auld’s daughter, Amanda, as a slave, treating her as Auld treated him and his family. He also finished the passage by stating he meant no ill will toward Auld, and if Auld ever needed anything, such as a safe roof, Douglass would offer him a place to stay as, “an example as to how mankind ought to treat each other.”
In 1851, Douglass merged with Gerrit Smith’s Liberty Party Paper. Together, the two created the Frederick Douglass Paper, which was published until 1860.
Dec. 3, 1926 Mystery writer becomes a mystery herself
Agatha Christie was a beloved mystery author who is as classic today as she was in the early 1900s. She is most known for her mystery novels such as “The ABC Murders” and “Murder on the Orient Express.”
However, Dec. 3, 1926, the famous author kissed her sleeping daughter, Rosalind, goodnight and went out to her car. She drove off into the night and was not seen again for 11 days.
Within a few hours, her car was found abandoned, but there was no sign of Christie or any evidence that she had been involved in any type of accident.
A popular theory was that this was a publicity stunt for her newest novel, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” However, the novel was doing well and Christie had become a household name.
Her husband was said to have a mistress, and another theory was that he had possibly murdered Christie.
Eleven days later, she was found in a hotel in Harrogate, but the mystery only grew around the writer. She had no recollection of the past days’ events.
Police decided to piece together the events from the clues given. They determined Christie had left her house, traveled the way to London, crashed her car, then took a train to Harrogate. She checked into the Swan Hydro hotel. Even more odd, she used the name of her husband’s mistress.
Christie made a full recovery and took with her to her deathbed the greatest mystery of her stories: what happened during those 11 days that she was missing?
Dec. 3, 1964 800 students arrested at Berkeley due to protest
The Free Speech Movement (FSM) took place during the 196465 academic year at the University of California, Berkeley. Thousands of students participated, and the FSM was the first mass act of civil disobedience on a college campus.
In 1958, students organized a campus political party known as SLATE to promote the right of student groups to support off-campus issues.
In the fall of 1964, student activists set up information tables on campus and were asking for donations for causes connected with the Civil Rights Movement. According to the school rules at the time, fundraising for political parties was only allowed by the Democrat and Republican school clubs.
On Dec. 2, 1964, between 1500 and 4000 students, led by Mario Savio, went to Sproul Hall on campus to reopen negotiations with the administration on the restrictions of political speech and action on campus. The protest was done quietly; students studied, watched movies, listened to music and sang folk songs led by Joan Baez, a singer and songwriter who was also a strong activist.
Shortly after 2 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 3, the Alameda County deputy district attorney asked for authority to proceed with a mass arrest. Close to 800 students were arrested and transported by bus to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. The university brought charges against the students who organized the sit-in, which resulted in an even larger protest that almost shut down the university.
The next year, the new acting chancellor Martin Meyerson changed the rules, allowing for freedom of speech and open discussions on the campus.
Since then, the college has had open discussions about freedom of speech while on campus.
While December is best known for the holiday season, there are other events that made the month memorable.
The faces of history that changed December as we know it
Frederick Douglass Agatha Christie
(Facebook) Frederick Douglass (top left) published the first issue of the first abolitionist paper, The North Star (top middle), Dec. 3, 1847. Agatha Christie (top right), a popular mystery author, became a mystery herself Dec. 3, 1926 when she went missing for 11 days. The mystery still surrounds the disappearance to this day. Mario Savio (bottom left) was a leader in the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley (bottom right) where 800 students were arrested Dec. 3, 1964.
News December 2, 2020 9 IUP’s Giving Tuesday raised funds to help students
EMILY LOOSE Staff Writer E.D.Loose@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
Giving back to students has been the goal at IUP, but this year proved to be more important than ever.
IUP took part in Giving Tuesday this week to provide help to its students.
Giving Tuesday is a global movement that pushes people and organizations to help their communities through donating and other means. Since it first began in 2012, the movement has raised millions.
It takes place the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving each year.
“IUP focused promotion of this opportunity to ‘give back’ on Giving Tuesday through the university’s social media platforms,” Executive Director of Media Relations Michelle Fryling said.
This included using the hashtag #GivingTuesday on Twitter.
IUP has done Giving Tuesday since 2017 and has raised $36,400 from combined donations of students, employees, alumni and friends.
These proceeds have always MARTY WEAVER Staff Writer zlgz@iup.edu @ThePennIUP
As December lumbers closer and closer, that means it’s finals season once again at IUP.
All classes are required to have some sort of “culminating activity” that usually takes the form of a final project or exam. As students progress through their college education, often they will see fewer exams and more final projects.
Obviously, the kind of final depends on the type of class. For professors who teach large liberal studies classes, exams might make more sense than having to read and grade dozens of projects or papers.
Not to mention, COVID-19 has really thrown a wrench in every professor’s plans.
But which is the better test of learning? IUP students weighed in.
“I feel like final projects or term papers are a much better finals week. alternative to exams in general and especially right now,” Kyle Chastulik (senior, music performance) said. “In my experience, an assignment has been much more representative of my knowledge of the course material than a multiple-choice exam.
“Given the circumstances of this semester, I feel it is better to let students work on a final proj(Heather Bair/The Penn) ect at their own pace rather than drop an exam on them during everything that’s going on.”
Matt Gulish (junior, English education) agreed.
“I prefer final projects,” Gulish said. “Really, I prefer final papers if we’re being honest because that’s my wheelhouse in terms of skill.
“But I feel like it’s unfair to do cumulative finals for a lot of students because it is a lot of pressure, especially this semester because it’s already so stressful.”
Though, not everyone is fully on-board with projects.
“Well, I have really bad test anxiety, but projects (if I have a lot) can also stress me out so I like a mix of both,” Maddie Vogan (junior, sociology) said. “I feel like I don’t learn well online, so I guess with [COVID-19] I prefer projects.”
“I prefer final projects that are done individually,” Sarah Burk (senior, criminology and political science) said. “Meeting up with others for a group project is difficult in these times due to schedule conflicts, and it being hard to meet in-person, especially since internet calls do not work as well as in-person [meetings].
“Final exams are OK, but only if they aren't cumulative as I don’t retain the information as easily as I have in previous semesters.”
Ultimately, students’ learning styles play a role in the type of (Facebook)
IUP’s Giving Tuesday’s funds went to help the Student Assistance Fund. went toward helping students, but raising $1 million. So far, the fund have been directed to providing this year’s donations will go direct- has raised $295,437.47 and has assistance to students in emergenly to IUP’s recently made Student helped 433 students. cy situations,” she said. Assistance Fund. Because this year’s Giving When COVID-19 first broke out,
The Student Assistance Fund Tuesday proceeds are going to the Osseiran-Hanna said she knew that was first started by the school Student Assistance Fund, there will IUP would need to act fast. in March as a response to the be an increase in helping those “Families could no longer help COVID-19 pandemic. who are struggling. their student with rent or food, and
Originally called the Emergency According to Khatmeh Ossei- so many students lost their own Response Fund, the goal of it was ran-Hanna, the vice president of jobs that were helping to finance to help students with costs toward university advancement, it is the their education,” she said. technology, travel and other ex- right idea. Osseiran-Hanna related the nepenses due to the pandemic. “For the last three years, funds cessity of helping these students
The fund currently has a goal of raised during IUP’s Giving Tuesday to struggles she had seen in her home country, Lebanon.
“My home country has faced war and invasion. People lost their homes in an instant. That was the feeling I had as the pandemic hit the U.S. and our IUP alumni and friends all over the world.”
She said that it meant some of these students were “living on the edge,” and that there was no time to overthink the situation.
“We need to meet the needs of our students,” she said. “It’s just the right thing to do.”
The Student Assistance Fund is part of IUP’s Imagine Unlimited campaign, which was implemented to help transform IUP as a leader in enhancing student experience with grants, scholarships and more.
The goal of Imagine Unlimited is $75 million. It is currently at 99% of its goal. This is in part due to the many gifts provided to the school.
“When times are challenging and uncertain, support from our alumni, employees and friends becomes even more important in our efforts to provide stability and growth for our promising students,” Osseiran-Hanna said. “The love and passion that they have for
Students prefer projects over exams as finals week approaches
The first snow of the season led the way into the beginning of
IUP and our students is inspiring.” finals they prefer. Some people learn best through exams, while others prefer to apply what they learn to projects. Neither learning style is “better” or “worse;” they’re just different.
One thing everyone can be certain of this year is stress. Online/hybrid learning is difficult on students and professors, and the uncertainty that has wrought 2020 isn’t making life any simpler.
Professors, take it easy on your students. And students, remember that your professors are people, too.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to professors with questions or concerns. They’re there to help you, and much more often than not, they’re willing to be flexible, especially concerning this nightmare of a year.
Now crack open those textbooks you haven’t looked at once this year, consume an appropriate amount of caffeine, start about six different Google docs at the same time and get studying/writing, IUP.
Opinion
Steelers, Ravens rescheduling debacle is no ‘screw-job’
It’s hard to imagine that this is what fans are thinking of the National Football League.
Since Thursday, Steelers fans have questioned the transparency between commissioner Roger Goodell and his call-to-action for teams breaking the league’s COVID-19 protocols. It started when Pittsburgh and Baltimore were slated to be the Thanksgiving night game, but after a breakout among the Ravens’ locker room occurred in the days prior, the game was postponed.
After rescheduling it multiple times, the Steelers are now facing a possibility of playing three games in a span of 12 days, and fans believe it is part of some conspiracy to strip them of a perfect season.
Yes, you read that correctly. Fans really believe there is a conspiracy over one team.
What really solidified these beliefs was what happened among the Denver Broncos’ quarterback platoon. The squad, consisting of four QBs, held a team-approved meeting away from the rest of the team without masks, causing a small outbreak and leading to the Broncos playing against New Orleans with no QBs on the depth chart, and a practice squad wide receiver taking snaps with only a day of preparation.
“They were forced to play,” Steeler fans said. “Make the Ravens forfeit since they also veered away from health protocols.”
Yeah… no.
What fans need to realize is that there are many differences between each outbreak.
The Ravens could not control the source of the outbreak quick enough, which led to additional positive test results as the week progressed, whereas the Broncos identified it quickly, isolated all the QBs from the team and had contact tracing that determined no one else was at risk.
Another factor is that there is no official report for what started the outbreak in the Ravens’ locker room.
If one were to come out be(Behind the Steel Curtain) Defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was a thorn in Baltimore’s side in their week seven matchup, tallying seven total tackles.
(USA Today) David Tyree’s famous “helmet catch” sealed New York’s upset and cost New England a perfect season in Super Bowl XLII.
fore the game, which is scheduled for Wednesday, it would make the consequences for them more dire, since it would prove whether or not there was any deliberation from protocol or if it was a freak incident.
If it’s reported that the Ravens intentionally broke protocol to either avoid playing Pittsburgh or from ignorance, then yes, the game should go as a forfeit, and the Steelers should pick up the win.
Until then, we’re left to speculate.
But regardless of how protocol was broken, there is no possible way the Steelers can get screwed out of an undefeated season via conspiracy theory.
Plus, for as sour as it sounds, wouldn’t fans WANT Pittsburgh to lose here soon?
Think about it, the longer Pittsburgh stays undefeated, they are more at risk of losing in either the AFC Championship round or, worst of all, the Super Bowl, due to the added pressure of staying perfect.
It happened in Super Bowl XLII when Eli Manning and the New York Giants tarnished the New England Patriots’ dreams of a perfect end to a perfect season. Granted, David Tyree made a catch that would normally have a catch percentage of 30 percent or less, but the concept stands that no one is guaranteed a Super Bowl win even if a team had zero losses during the regular season.
While looking back on the regular season, the Steelers, realistically, should have three losses right now. One being to the Dallas Cowboys who led the entire game and ultimately blew it with less than five minutes in the game.
So, fans need to take a step back and see that the Steelers would put themselves in a losing scenario without the assistance of a league-wide conspiracy.
Just be thankful that you’re not trailing behind Cleveland in the AFC North.
