RAMBLER TV wednesday Sept. 26, 2012
Vol. 95 • No. 14
www.therambler.org
Newscast Sports Access The Weekender Wesleyan People
Channel 25 when you’re on campus www.therambler.org when you’re not
The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Josh Lacy continues to battle off the field of athletics.
New Restaurant and Cantina sure to tempt taste buds. Arts & Entertainment, page 6
Sports 8
Rosedale design set, construction begins Alejandra Garcia
agarcia@txwes.edu
The East Rosedale Renovation, a 20 year project-in-the making, is set to break ground in March 2013. The renovation includes two roundabouts located at Miller Avenue and Ayers Avenue, more than 250 new trees, 130 new street lights, 65 pedestrian lights, enhanced paving at seven key intersections, parallel parking and public art spaces. The renovations also include a sustainability portion, a section composed of green scenery to highlight the environment, will be constructed directly in front of Texas Wesleyan University from Nashville Avenue to Collard Street. These new enhancements are integrated with Wesleyan’s new master plan. Wesleyan’s master plan is designed to insure the quality and safety of the university for the students, faculty and staff. President Frederick Slabach introduced the master plan to students and faculty when he arrived at Wesleyan in 2011. The renovation is divided into two phases. Phase 1 consists of renovations from US 287 to Miller Avenue and has a total budget of $15.5 million. Funding for phase 1 is provided by the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Funding for the sustainability portion of phase 1 is funded by a grant from North Central Texas Council of Governments and Texas
Wesleyan, the total cost is $1.8 million. Phase 2 consists of renovations from Miller Avenue to Stalcup Road. Phase 2 has a budget of $16.1 million and will be administered by the Texas Department of Transportation. All renovations are expected to be completed by November 2014. Jim Walker, assistant director for the transportation and public works department for the city of Fort Worth, said this project idea was originally conceived in the 1980s but had to be postponed due to the constant change in cost. The first design to reconstruct Rosedale Street was developed in 1995 and later adapted in 2003. “This project was so complex,” Walker said. “We knew we wanted to fix Rosedale, the only problem was how we were going to pay for it.” After years of planning the East Rosedale project is now finishing the design phase and ready to begin with construction. Construction will begin in March 2013 and is expected to finish in November 2014. Lanes will be reduced and narrowed during these 21 months of construction. “Construction will be an inconvenience,” Walker said. But he thinks it will be worth it in the long run. “It’s going to enhance the environment.” Chris Bosco, project manager for Freese and Nichols Inc., has been working on the design portion of this project
International students bring new perspectives Rachel Peel
rlpeel@txwes.edu
In the library, two ladies wearing a wide array of hijabs, strain to locate a map telling them which way to go to find a quiet place to read. Quietly they make their way to the librarian sitting behind the desk to find out where something is located. These are the sights and sounds of a new generation of Rams, international Rams. Mark Hanshaw, chair of the department of religion and humanities and chair of the international programs committee, said the total number of international students was 50 in 2011, but this year, the number of international students is more than 160. “That [number of students] creates a tremendous opportunity. It also creates a few challenges along the way,” Hanshaw said. “This is really a dramatic change for our institution, ultimately long-term for the better.” Hanshaw said having international students on campus gives domestic students the opportunity to have interaction with individuals and cultures from across the globe. He also said it provides students with opportunities to develop skills that will be essential in the work place environment. “We are all now living in a global community,” Hanshaw said. “That means that all of us increasingly are going to have to, by necessity, engage with individuals that may often come from different backgrounds than ours.” Hanshaw said due to the influx of in-
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Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff Construction crews begin setting up equipment for the Rosedale Street renovation. This crane and other construction equipment are fenced in between U.S. Highway 287 and Rosedale Street. Construction is scheduled to begin March 2013 along the Berry Street and U.S. Highway 287 corridor.
since January. Bosco said his biggest challenge so far has been making sure he integrates the vision the community has for East Rosedale. Bosco said a lot of planning went into the design. He met with advisory groups that included residents from the community, Texas Wesleyan and the city of Fort Worth, and during
these meetings they all gave their input. Although no Wesleyan students were present during these meetings, Bosco said he plans to invite students in the future. Bosco also said the new construction offers significant safety improvements. He said there will be safer roads for students with safer crossings in addition to look-
ing aesthetically pleasing. “Students coming to visit the school will be very impressed,” Bosco said. Laura Alexander, senior political science major and Student Government president, said she thinks this is a good opportunity for new venues to come to the area. “We offer great things on campus,” Alexander said.
“But it’s always good to have more venues to choose from to grab lunch or dinner.” Alexander also said the new renovations will add more scenery to Texas Wesleyan. “It gives students the chance to really enjoy the area and not just drive through to get to school,” Alexander said. “I’m really excited and thankful.”
Slabach restructures debt to save funds Tristian Evans
tkevans1098@txwes.edu
At the beginning of every fiscal school year, Wesleyan’s staff and President Frederick Slabach sit down and plan the budget for the upcoming year, taking into account old debt. As Slabach mentioned at convocation, Wesleyan has been working on restructuring its debt, which will allow for longterm stability. “It’s just a restructuring of our former debts,” Karen Montgomery, vice president of finance and administration, said. “It [allows] for some levelizing of the payments, reduced interest cost and provided some liquidity for those periods of time in between semesters when we’re not receiving tuition.” Montgomery said it is a good thing for the university because it will insure there is a balanced budget, but it also ultimately helps the students. “By restructuring our debt, it allows us to maintain the increases that are necessary for tuition and fees,” Montgomery said. “It allows us to keep those at the minimum.” Montgomery said the wellbeing of the students was a key focus for Slabach’s discussions about the current budget, and will remain the focus going forward.
Restructuring Photo Illustration by Rachel Peel
Montgomery said the restructuring plan kicks into full swing in the spring and the current plan will be good for the next 10 years. “When you have the university’s debt [plan] in place for that long, you don’t have to revisit it on an annual basis so it provides some stability,” Montgomery said. John Veilleux, vice president of marketing and communications, said one easy way of looking at it is to imagine after buy-
ing a brand new car, on which you are paying a seven-year note, you get something in the mail from a local credit union advertising a cheap interest rate for new cars and you decide to take advantage of that lower interest rate. That would lead to more money being saved. “That, in essence, is a debt restructure,” Veilleux said. Veilleux said essentially that is what Texas Wesleyan is doing with its debt. It is more advantageous, and the school will
save money. “We’re just operating in a much more complex world,” Veilleux said. Carla Tennison-Coleman, senior political science major, said the budget restructuring sounds like a good idea and seems like it will be a benefit to the university. “It seems like a good thing,” Tennison-Coleman said. “If it saves money for the university down the road, that will ultimately benefit us students.”