WEDNESDAY January 27, 2010
Vol. 93 • No. 2 ONLINE:
www.therambler.org
The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Student gets new start at Wesleyan. College Life, page 4
Track and Field coming in fall. Sports, page 6
Rammin’ Slammin’ Fun
Parking an issue during construction Jonathan Resendez
jlresendez@mail.txwes.edu
The new fitness center is both a blessing and a curse. While students and faculty agree that the current fitness center is in desperate need of an upgrade, construction for the new facility inconveniences both commuting students and faculty. “I like the fitness center, but there’s going to be more of a parking issue,” said senior liberal studies major Hector Mukweyi. “We’re going to have to park down the street and in the neighborhoods. I have to park on the other side of campus just to find parking for students.” Construction closed twothirds of parking with 50 to 60 spots opening up when construction is complete. Steve Roberts, associate vice president for administrative services and human resources, said with some of the parking spaces opening up near the construction site, the school is taking a “wait and see” approach toward the parking situation. In the meantime, Polytechnic United Methodist Church is offering students more than 55 parking spaces in the lot directly across from the church on the corner of Collard Street and Avenue E. The school is also planning to build another parking lot next to the Baker
Rebecca Moore | Rambler Staff
T-shirts were but part of the festivities at the tailgate party Jan. 23. The event celebrated Wesleyan basketball.
PARKING, page 3
Meningitis vaccinations now law for new residents
New Wesleyan Web site underway
Conner Howell
mdbates@mail.txwes.edu
mhowell@mail.txwes.edu
New students have to get vaccinated for meningitis before they can live on campus following a state law that recently went into effect. House Bill 4189 mandates that all new freshman or new transfer students intending to live in university housing must provide proof that they have received the Meningococcal Meningitis Vaccination prior to check-in. As the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board informed each school of the bill and its requirements, administrators would design their plan for adhering to the new legislature. Wesleyan Dean of Students Cary Poole said he wrote the Wesleyan policy along the same guidelines as other schools. “I researched several other private schools to see what they were saying,” Poole said, “and kind of borrowed a little of this and a little of that and came up with our own policy.” Poole said the new policy complies with the strict rules of the bill, but it was written on short notice. “We didn’t even here about it from the state legislature,” Poole said, “we heard it through a colleague.” Poole said he learned of the bill early in December and had to have a policy in place on Jan. 1 before the next term. To make sure new students would be prepared for the policy in time, Poole said Director of Residence Life Aaron Hastings called all new residential students to let them know about the required vaccine. The bill itself states that students can decide not to take the vaccination for what it calls reasons of conscience. Student may decline the vaccine if, for instance, they feel it goes against a religious belief. Students must submit a notarized immunization waiver form from the Texas Department of State Health Services to be exempt from the meningitis policy, but the process can take a few weeks to complete. The vaccine is designed to treat cases of bacterial meningitis. Paige Cook, coordinator of health services, said the bacterial form is the more common and contagious type of meningitis spread among residence halls. Cook said students can become more susceptible to the disease because of conditions that weaken the body and
VACCINE, page 3
Melissa Bates
The Texas Wesleyan Web site is getting a new look, but that new look is a couple of years away. However, a redesign is already in effect for the admissions and financial aid pages. “We started with a redesign of the admissions and financial aid pages first because that’s what new students see the most,” said Bryan Daniel, network operations director. “We’ll be introducing more content in more areas as we move along.” Daniel and his information technology department have been working on integrating a new site for some time, but he said that the new site, as a whole, will take a while. “It’s a multiyear project. It’s estimated that it’s going to take us close to two years to redesign everything and add everything we want to add,” Daniel said. “What we’re doing is really rebuilding, we’re not just redesigning our Web site. We’re really rethinking the whole thing and rebuilding it from the ground up.” He said one of the things the department noticed is that the Web was not meeting student and faculty needs. Included in the project will be changes to the intranet,
“My brother-in-law and my are now new stuIt’s a multi-year project. It’s estimated dentsdadhere, and they went that it’s going to take us close to two years through that process, and it was a lot easier for them to to redesign everything and add everything navigate than it was for me three years ago when I startwe want to add. ed,” Hicks said. She said she has found one Bryan Daniel problem. Network operations director “Financial aid has taken the links for Loan by Web off, and you cannot get to it from our site anymore,” she said. “That was difficult because it Wesleyan’s internal site sites,” he said. took three or four days to do where students access inforFurther changes to the what used to take one click mation like courses, sched- Web site will be implement- and you were done.” ule and assignments. ed this summer and others in She said she still finds the Another change will be to the fall. new look more inviting. the e-mail system, a welcome “Later this fall, we’ll also “It puts the school in a change to some. be able to introduce pieces of more professional light, a “I hate Ram Mail,” said our smart phone application more inviting light than it Camille Daryapayma, junior as well,” Daniel said. had in the past,” Hicks said. biology major. “Change that. Shannon Rogers, junior According to Daniel, the I don’t like the format. I just finance major, said the cur- current site has been in use don’t like it.” rent Web site is outdated for about five years, and it is Daniel said they will con- and is glad it’s getting a new indeed time for a change. vert to using Google Apps layout. “Web sites have changed a for Education. “Some parts are very hard lot over the last several years, “We’ve surveyed our stu- to navigate,” she said. “Pro- and Web sites are more than dents on it, and they prefer spective students would find just a brochure for your init,” he said. “We also found it hard to use if they hadn’t stitution or company,” he that most students are by- used it before. [Texas Chris- said. “Really, they’re now passing our system by for- tian University] is right geared at providing a lot of warding their e-mail to an- down the road, and their services and functionality for other account.” look is more professional.” their constituents, and that’s This program will also proMichelle Hicks, senior re- a lot of what we’re trying to vide other services such as ligion education major, said do as well.” document storage, personal she thinks the new format is Daniel said any suggesWeb sites and collaboration easier to navigate. Although tions regarding the Web site tools like chatting, wikis and as a current student she has are always welcome at webblogs. not used the new admissions master@txwes.edu or 817“Things that you tend to format personally, she is 531-4428. see a lot in modern day Web hearing good things.
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