The University News A Student Voice of Saint Louis University Since 1921
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Vol. XC No. 17
Super sunday Steelers vs. Packers Final Gridiron Battle >>SPORTS
Planning process reviewed By KRISTEN MIANO News Editor
The student response to the Cross Cultural Center Student Leadership meeting on Jan. 27 was, for the most part, confusion. “We appreciate being told about the changes,” UNA Core team member, Teresa Wink said. “But I feel like there is a lack of communication between the administration and student leaders.” Much of the confusion stemmed from the explanation of event planning processes. At the being of the 2010- 2011 school year, a new timeline was set for student groups looking to schedule future programs. Groups must now submit the necessary forms to the Student Involvement Center 20 business days prior to the date they hope to have their event. “Twenty business days is the minimum amount of time, though, not the maximum,” Manager of Operation for Student Involvement, David Young said. “Groups can request an event a lot earlier.” The process for planning a CSO event begins with a Program Planning Form, which is the primary form used to request an event. Student Involvement encourages student leader to submit this form, along with an Event Registration Form, six to eight weeks prior to their desired program date, but the absolute minimum is the 20 days. The form initially needs to be signed by both the group’s academic advisor and an advisor in the CCC before it can be brought to Student Involvement for approval. According to Young, the amount of time an advisor will take to sign off on the event
Friday, February 4, 2011
Check out unewsonline.com for exclusive coverage of this week’s winter storm.
Brrrr! It’s cold out there!
Two sought in slew of break-ins By JONATHAN ERNST Editor-in-Chief
Forty minutes. That is how long it took two suspects to break into 15 vehicles on three Saint Louis University parking lots on Wednesday, Feb. 2. According to Assistant Director of the Department of Public Safety and Security Services Kenneth Hornak, at 5:38 a.m. a DPSSS unit pulled into the Seattle Parking Lot on the corner of Vandeventer and West Pine and observed the suspects duck out of sight. The officers got out of their vehicle to engage the suspects when they fled north toward Lindell Blvd. As the officers put in a de-
scription of the suspects over the DPSSS radio, they noticed an empty, running vehicle on the lot. The officers were able to recover the vehicle for evidence and they called the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to investigate further. “I am really proud of the DPSSS officers because if the officers did not spot them when they did, the suspects could have hit 15 more cars,” Hornak said. No suspects have been taken into custody, but investigators are “working some very strong leads in the case,” according to the SLMPD. Officers recovered the ids of both suspects in their vehicle, and
a warrant has been issued for their arrest. Detectives with the SLMPD believe that these suspects may be responsible for multiple car break-ins in other parts of the city. Commander of the Ninth District Michael Caruso credited the DPSSS officers for assisting in finding evidence that lead back to this “two man wrecking crew.” On campus, the two suspects broke into three vehicles in the Salus Center Lot, four in the St. Peters Lot behind Marchetti and eight in the Seattle Lot. In the suspects’ recovered vehicle, the officers found the stolen items from the vehicles See “Break-ins” on Page 3
Noah Berman / Photo Editor
Public Safety officers Jon Seefeldt (left) and Jonathan Young patrol the St. Peters parking lot on February 3rd. Four breakins were reported in the same lot the day before.
Winter storm slams SLU campus Ice Storm 2” of sleet
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2” of snow
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1/4” of ice
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9,000 student commuters
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4,946 faculty and staff
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3,000 students on campus
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See “CCC” on Page 3
SGA braces for upcoming election By SEAN WORLEY News Editor
The onslaught of snow and ice may have canceled two days of class and it may seem as if spring will never arrive, but there is one season that is sure to affect the Saint Louis University campus rain or shine: election season. The 2011 Student Government Association election season is upon the members of the SLU community. One year ago, Courtney Anvender and the “Come Together” ticket began their would-be success campaign for SGA executive office and now other aspiring students are setting up to take over. As the election season begins, there are some notable changes to the proceedings of this year’s election. Election commissioner Chris McGeehan said that there will no longer be an option for senatorial candidates to run alongside the executive board candidates this year. McGeehan said this change came after the elections last year under the commission of Sam Moore. “This will change things a little bit and I’m curious to see how it turns out,” current SGA president Courtney Anvender said. “Endorsement of individuals will still be a part of the game but to a hopefully lesser extent.” The other notable change to this year’s election procedures was enacted in order to “make running easier” said McGeehan. No longer due senatorial See “Elections” on Page 2
Two cancelled days in a row since 1982 Victor Liou / Photographer
Seniors Mitchell Johnson (left) and Alyssa Herrera play in the new-fallen snow on Feb. 2. All University activities were suspended from Monday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. and resumed Thursday, Feb. 3, giving students time off from classes.
Sleet, snow forces two day closure St. Louis shivers under ice storm, blizzard By ANDREA ROYALS Managing Editor
and JONATHAN ERNST Editor-in-Chief
Children were not the only ones rejoicing at the sight of snowfall this week when several businesses and schools in the St. Louis area closed their doors for a snow day. An ice storm prompted Saint Louis University officials to cancel classes starting Monday evening and reopening Thursday morning, citing the safety of the campus community as a primary concern. “It was a unique storm,” said Manoj Patankar, Vice President of the Frost Campus. “There was a lot of uncertainty, not just in the amount of snow or ice we would get, but when it would hit.” The storm, which began Monday afternoon and carried into Wednesday morning, brought with it a quarter inch of ice, classifying it as an ice storm, two inches of snow
and two inches of sleet. “The sleet could have amounted to an additional eight to 12 inches of snow, had the storm not pulled in warmer air aloft, causing the snow to melt into sleet,” said David Koeller, SLU-TV chief
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It was a unique storm ... there was a lot of uncertainty, not just in the amount of snow or ice we would get, but when it would hit. - Manoj Patankar
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meteorologist, explaining that the difference in temperature kept the St. Louis area from receiving more snowfall than predicted. However, Koeller said that the quarter inch of ice with
the sleet was particularly dangerous, and that the decision to close the University was a good call. “Safety is first,” said Kent Porterfield, Vice President for Student Development. “If we feel that we put people at risk, then we don’t feel we should hold normal operations.” According to Brett Magill, the Director of Institutional Research and Data Integrity, approximately 9,000 students, both undergraduate and professional, commute to campus on a daily basis. Additionally, 4,946 faculty and staff also travel to and from campus, according to Human Resources Specialist Karen Beyrouty. The safety of commuters was of particular interest to the University. Roland Corvington, Director of the Department of Safety and Security Services, said that the wellbeing of the approximate 3,000 students who live on campus was also a concern in the case of an See “Snow Days” on Page 2
By MARK J. ZINN Staff Writer
With predictions of a major ice and snow storm from the National Weather Service, the city of St. Louis mobilized their emergency operations center (EOC) Monday morning to prepare for any situation involving the winter storm. Directors and chiefs from nearly every city department and agency gathered at the City Emergency Management Agency’s bunker at Solder’s Memorial to gather information and coordinate any emergency situation that developed. During a press briefing at the operations center on Monday afternoon, city and regional officials urged residents to prepare for the worst and offered insight into individual departments’ plan to deal with the then projected major ice and snow accumulations. “Ice conditions are the
greatest threat to light rail,” said John Nations, president of Metro. As of print time, the MetroLink system saw only minor delays due to power outages. Ice conditions aren’t ideal for roadways either, but St. Louis Street Department Director Todd Waelterman credited the public’s compliancy of staying off the roads for his crews’ ability to be “twice as productive.” Waelterman said that when cars stay off the road, accidents don’t happen and traffic doesn’t prohibit the plow trucks from efficiently clearing the pavement. Routes like Grand and Lindell Boulevards were treated rapidly and continuously throughout the storm, but secondary roads like Laclede See “Weather” on Page 3
Is it spring yet?
We asked students: What did you do with your snow days? “I spent the first day hanging out with friends and the next day I went sledding.”
“I studied as much as you can on a snow day. I went to the gym a lot.”
“I had a couple movie nights with friends, baked and did homework.”
John Wendel Senior, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology.
Danmei Zhang Junior, Doisy College of Health Sciences
Amy Winkler Senior, College of Arts and Sciences
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