Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Oct. 24, 2013

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DR. HOUSE

HOME SWEET HOME? UM goes for second straight home win

PLAYS THE BLUES

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PAGE 4 THE MASSACHUSETTS

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DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Thursday, October 24, 2013

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Blue Wall café to be renovated Boy charged with murder in slaying of Mass. teacher

Dining area to close next semester By ShelBy AShline Collegian Correspondent Students who frequent the Blue Wall for meals will soon be forced to find alternatives as the University of Massachusetts plans to undergo renovations of the dining area after the end of this semester. The transformation, which is expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2014, will include a redesign that is hoped to provide better, more efficient service to its customers and become a more inviting space, according to UMass Director of Retail Dining Services David Eichstaedt. Though the new design of the Blue Wall has not yet been finalized, Eichstaedt said it is likely that self-sufficient stations will be set up around the perimeter. “We’re changing our way of thinking (regarding) the quality of the food and the preparation,” Eichstaedt said, “and this new design will allow us to do that.” There is expected to be a larger variety of seating after the renovations with increased space for dining. In fact, according to Eichstaedt, the plan is to

Blood found in school’s bathroom By MAtt PeArce And AlAnA SeMuelS Los Angeles Times

JUSTIN SURGENT/COLLEGIAN

The Blue Wall will be closed next semester in order to undergo renovations. increase seating enough so that it will be feasible to close the Hatch, consolidating the Hatch, Blue Wall and the Marketplace into one organization. Designers will be creating a “more open, freeflowing space” by removing the concrete walls in Blue Wall, according to Eichstaedt. The layout will also allow for traffic to flow quicker, according to Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises.

“We knew that we had to increase the seating and increase the number of food service venues. We’re over capacity now, and when that new classroom building opens, it’s going to be even worse.” David Eichstaedt, UMass Director of Retail Dining Services The opening of the new academic building next to the Campus Center was “a big contributing factor” in

deciding to renovate the Blue Wall, Eichstaedt said. see

BLUE WALL on page 3

A popular 24-yearold math teacher at Danvers High School in Massachusetts, was found dead in woods near campus, and a 14-year-old student was charged with murder in her death, authorities said. Colleen Ritzer, described as an upbeat teacher who enthusiastically tweeted out class assignments, was reported missing Tuesday night when she did not come home from work and was not answering her cellphone, police said. During a police search, officers discovered blood in the second-floor bathroom of the suburban high school, and began to search school property. Ritzer’s body was found in woods near the school. “It is apparent that she is a homicide victim,” Jonathan Blodgett, the

district attorney in Essex County said at a news conference. “This is a terrible tragedy for the family of Colleen Ritzer and the entire Danvers family.” A missing-person report was also filed Tuesday for Philip D. Chism, a Danvers High student who did not come home from school and was one of Ritzer’s students. About 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to a report of a pedestrian on a busy road, who turned out to be Chism. Investigators said in court documents that arrest was based on statements by Chism, corroborating evidence at multiple scenes and surveillance video from the school, the Boston Globe reported. Chism, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in adult court to a first-degree murder charge. His attorney moved to have the boy physically shielded from view so he couldn’t be seen by court goers, but a judge denied see

MURDER on page 2

UMass dean Tuition increases at public elected to APA universities at much lower rate By eleAnor hArte Collegian Correspondent

Christine B. McCormick, Dean of the University of Massachusetts College of Education, was recently elected a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) for her contributions to the field of psychology. “I think it’s certainly an honor,” McCormick said. “I’m excited and pleased.” The APA is the largest scientific and professional psychology organization in the United States, according to its website. The organization seeks to advance the creation of and application of psychological knowledge to improve society and people’s lives. Becoming a fellow of APA requires substantial contributions or performance in the field of psychology. McCormick is an educational psychologist who has co-authored chapters for the Handbook of Psychology and the Educational Psychology Handbook, and she has been an associate editor for the APA handbook. One of the chapters she co-authored was about metacognition, which is how people learn to learn. She has also conducted research in educational psychology and human develop-

ment. Election to become a fellow isn’t based on popularity or how long someone has been in the field, according to McCormick, but rather it is based on contributions to the field of psychology, mainly in research and scholarship. McCormick was surprised by the attention that she has received at the university for her election as a fellow, including being featured with a press release on the front page of the UMass website. “I wasn’t expecting everyone to make such a big deal out of this,” she said. “But it seems to have received a lot of attention.” McCormick stressed that there are at least three other faculty in the College of Education who are APA fellows, and a number in the psychology department as well. “I think it caught attention because I’m a sitting dean,” she said. “But there are other APA fellows at UMass.” She believes that her honor reflects well on the school. “It’s a good thing for the university when we have a see

DEAN on page 2

By lArry Gordon Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — The rise in tuition at public colleges slowed this year to the smallest increase in more than three decades, although financial aid has not kept pace to cover the hikes, according to a College Board study released Wednesday. At public four-year colleges and universities across the country, the average price for tuition and fees rose 2.9 percent this year - the smallest annual rise in 38 years to $8,893 for in-state students, the report said. Room and board adds about $9,500. However, analysts urged students and families to pay closer attention to what they described as the more important figure: the net average cost after grants, tax credits and deductions. That was $3,120, up from $3,050 last year, for average net tuition and fees at four-year public colleges. “It does seem that the spiral is moderating - not turning around, not ending, but moderating,” said Sandy Baum, a co-author of the College Board study and research professor at George Washington University. Baum said that

the relatively small increase, while still above the general 2 percent inflation, was good news and that she hoped it will encourage more students to enroll in college and apply for financial aid. The tuition hikes at fouryear public colleges from 2010 through 2012 had averaged 7.9 percent, 8.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. At private nonprofit colleges, the average sticker price for tuition and fees was up 3.8 percent, to $30,094. That was a bit less than the rise of at least 4 percent in each of the previous three years. The much lower net cost, what students actually pay, averaged $12,460 after grants and tax benefits, up $530 from last year, the College Board reported. Room and board at private schools average about $10,820. Both public and private colleges have faced more pressure from the public and federal government to keep costs down, said economist Jennifer Ma, a co-author of the report. “Obviously, they have been mindful of that,” she said. For example, President Barack Obama has proposed a new college rating system that takes pricing and financial aid into account. Plus, with the recession

receding, some state governments have started to restore higher education funding that had been cut after tax revenues shrank five years ago, experts said. California voters last year, for example, approved Proposition 30, which increased some taxes that helped avoid tuition hikes. A related College Board report tackled the controversial issue of rising student debt as part of the overall aid package. College Board President David Coleman said that too many students may be scared away from college by fears that education loans would be impossible to pay off when, he said, most college graduates are able to manage those payments. According to the report, 57 percent of graduates of public four-year colleges in 2011-12 had school debt, with the average at $25,000. That amount is 22 percent higher than the load carried by graduates a decade ago. At private nonprofit colleges, 65 percent of 2011-12 graduates had debt averaging $29,900, which was 24 percent more than a decade ago. Those figures do not include students who transferred into the colleges.

Coleman estimated that such loads would require payments of about $300 a month over 10 years, which he believes is manageable and worthwhile given the boost in income that most people receive over the long haul by earning a college degree. “I don’t diminish the concerns,” he said. “But I want to be clear that a college education is one of the best investments a student or their families can make in terms of health, income and upward mobility.” Debbie Cochrane, research director for the Institute for College Access & Success, which pushes for college affordability, said that because many recent graduates are having a hard time finding well-paying jobs, many are straining to make their payments and are postponing car and house purchases and marriage as a result. “It really is a signal of the financial toll the debt is taking,” Cochrane said. Students and parents should beware of colleges that show high loan default rates among their former students. “That may show they have to question the quality of the education being provided,” Cochrane said.


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