The University News Celebrating 90 Years as a Student Voice of Saint Louis University
unewsonline.com
Vol. XCI No. 8
Thursday, October 13, 2011
SLU GRAD MAKES HIS BIG BREAK John Donovan releases album with independent record label >> ARTS
New SLU Librarian gives a hoot D.C. native’s interest in wildlife drives unique hobby
BALANCED BILLIKENS Find out how SLU student athletes succeed >> SPORTS
University gears up for reaccreditation Higher Learning Commission to visit
By HANNAH WILEY Staff Writer
ated and accredited. According to Sanchez, the HLC acts on behalf of all members of With a review from the higher education and the FedHigher Learning Commission eral government. of the North Central Associa“The Federal Department tion of Colleges and Schools of Education is the ultimate looming in April of 2012, Saint boss in this sense. They think Louis University has been colleges and schools ought to working to ensure its status be more accountable and prois accredited through to the vide more direct evidence of 2021-22 academic year. their quality and the return on The HLC evaluates uni- investment that taxpayers put versities and colleges on five into this institution,” Sanchez criteria: Mission and integ- said. rity, preparing for the future, To ensure that colleges student learning and effective and universities demonstrate teaching, acquisition, discov- their quality and accountery and apability, the plication of HLC has knowledge, imposed inand engagecreased rigment and orous criteservice. ria that call Accordfor deming to Vice onstration President of how the for Academcriteria are ic Chairs met at each and Liaison par ticular to the HLC institution. Steve San- -Steve Sanchez “Of late, chez, being the whole evaluated landscape is changing,” Sanon the accreditation criteria is chez said. “The assessment like a student being graded in and accreditation expectaa classroom. tions and rigor of criteria and “Like any class that you the number of things we need have, you have a rubric in to be accountable for through your class and the professor accreditation up to the Desays ‘I’m going to judge your partment of Education is defiessay and I expect to see the nitely increasing.” following things in your esRelative to SLU’s last acsay,” Sanchez said. “HLC ex- creditation in 2002, the curpects to see certain things in rent criteria call for the quality of [SLU’s] work. “The old criteria would It’s the same premise.” have asked us to describe Although receiving accred- our organizational structure,” itation is optional, universities Sanchez said. “This one asks and colleges that wish to re- us to describe, but describe ceive funding from the Fed- and explain why this struceral government for financial aid, Pell grants, federal loans See “Accreditation” on Page 3 and research must be evaluBy BRIAN BOYD
Some avid library attendees may have noticed a new addition to Pius XII Memorial Library recently. Saint Louis University has welcomed Washington, D.C. native Mark Glenshaw to school this year. Glenshaw has joined the Billikens on campus this year as manager of shelving materials at Pius Library and as manager of student workers at the Circulation Unit. Glenshaw comes to SLU from Washington University in St. Louis, where he worked in audiovisual and technical support for the Brown School of Social Work and as supervisor of the Office of Student Workers. Glenshaw said that his experience as “the new guy” has actually been quite enjoyable due to the welcoming staff atmosphere and emphasis on SLU’s mission statement. Working at the library allows Glenshaw to satisfy his diverse array of interests. “I have a host of interests, and I pursue them all at libraries and have done so since I was a kid,” Glenshaw said. “I like working at them because the mission of libraries aligns with my own: Learning, growth, and research.”Glenshaw’s “host” of interests includes something extremely unique: Great Horned Owls. Since the age of five, he has had a strong interest in wildlife. His frequent interaction with libraries allowed him to acquire knowledge on different wildlife animals that interested him, especially owls. Before his interest in owls took full flight, Glenshaw said his mission was to interact more with the beautiful Forest Park, spend more time in nature and learn more about the wildlife that inhabits the St. Louis area. His brisk walks around the park held more than just an opportunity to appreciate scenic walk paths. On one of these walks, Glenshaw spotted his first pair of owls in the park. “I had heard there were owls in the park. I didn’t know a lot about owls but I knew they were going to be challenging to find. They are active when we are not. They move very quickly and completely silently, and they are very well camouflaged. Other than that, it’s a breeze to spot an owl,” Glenshaw joked. After his first owl run-in, Glenshaw began researching owls and embarking on what he refers to as “owl prowls” nearly every night in the same area where he had first seen the owls. His sightings were inconsistent at first, but with some extra help from friends and his determination to witness the owl again, Glenshaw rediscovered the same pair of owls on Dec. 29, 2005, a date he dubs his “owliversery.” “I saw what turned out to be the male of a mated pair of Great Horned Owls fly into a See “Owls” on Page 3
News Editor
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HLC expects to see certain things in the quality of [SLU’s] work.
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Photos by: Shah (Yuqing Xia) / Photo Editor
Great Horned Owls “Charles” (upper left) and “Sarah” (upper right) were the first owls that Mark Glenshaw (bottom) sighted. He has continued to follow the owls in Forest Park for more than five years.
Professor petitions against captial punishment By PATRICK OLDS Associate News Editor
Following the executions of two death row inmates last month, capital punishment has recently been the subject of much controversy, and Catholic theologians from Saint Louis University have initiated a petition to help end the policy of state-sanctioned executions. “[The petition] has been a catalyst for a possible new movement,” Tobias Winright, co-author of the petition and associate professor of theological ethics, said. According to the petition, which has already gathered more than 360 signatures, the two state-sanctioned executions of Lawrence Brew-
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er and Troy Anthony Davis prompted the petitioners to call for an abolition of the death penalty. “We urge our nation to abolish capital punishment, and we also implore our churches to work unwaveringly to end it as well as all other threats to human life and dignity,” the petition states. Brewer, a white supremacist in Texas, was put to death for allegedly participating in a hate crime that resulted in the murder of James Byrd in 1998. Davis, a black man, was executed after being found guilty of murdering a white police officer, Mark MacPhail, in Georgia in 1989. The petition states that the evidence presented to the jury in the Davis case was not
sufficient for execution, and that serious doubts remain about Davis’ guilt. “I was deeply troubled by [the Davis execution] and when Tobias contacted me to sign this petition, I was more than happy to oblige,” Kenneth Parker, an associate professor of historical theology, said. Winright said that the Davis case brought forth the question of whether or not innocent persons or minorities are ever wrongly executed, and if there are alternatives to the death penalty, such as life in prison without parole. According to Parker, the fact that executions are sanctioned by the state in particular cases does not necessarily mean it is ethically the right
thing to do.Under Catholic doctrine, murderers still possess dignity as an “image of God,” Winright said. Parker said he is proud of the drafters of the petition for including Brewer as a life that ought to be protected. “We have to be consistent across the board,” Parker said. “How can I care about an unborn child’s life, if I cannot care for someone like him?” Winright said that national and world religious leaders, especially within the Catholic church, have protested the death penalty as an inhumane punishment. On the other hand, Winright said the Catholic church See “Petition” on Page 3
Cross country: Innocent remembered in cemetery
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Students for Life’s annual Cemetery of the Innocents is the group’s cornerstone event of Respect Life Week. The display this year is meant to represent the daily impact of abortion in various countries around the world. Each cross is decorated with a colored ribbion to represent an abortion in a specific country.
Accreditation Criteria 1. Mission and Integrity 2. Preparing for the Future 3. Student Learning and Effective Teaching 4. Acquisition, Discovery and Application of Knowledge 5. Engagement and Service
New program opens link to Oxford University By MARTINA BOYTER Staff Writer
The latest addition to Saint Louis University’s study abroad program puts the “study” back in “study abroad.” Unlike the usual connotation of a semester-long experience that may focus on cultural adventures more than academia, students now have the opportunity to spend an entire year of study and research at the world-renowned Oxford University. The formal agreement allows one exemplary student to study in Blackfriars Hall, an Oxford private hall which focuses on academic work in subjects such as theology, philosophy, politics and the social sciences. The aim is to send the first SLU student to Oxford in the Fall of 2012. Fr. Richard Finn, O.P., the head of house at Blackfirars Hall, visited the Dominican house of studies in St. Louis and met with several SLU administrators. At that meeting, Finn proposed that an agreement with Oxford be made to send students from SLU to study at the prestigious English university. Since May of 2010, Thomas Finan, assistant professor of history and director for the Center for International Studies and International Outreach Coordinator Bert Barry have spearheaded the effort to finalize an agreement with Oxford. They said that real-
izing the breadth of the opportunity prompted them to make the launching of this program a central goal. Finan said that Oxford has always encouraged the idea of exchanging students and professors in order to share knowledge and believes that it creates a better, more globalized campus. In recent years, Oxford has particularly welcomed visiting students from Catholic universities in the United States. According to Finan, SLU and Oxford discussed the possibility for two years. “The approval process and agreements were a laborious process, but both parties wanted to make sure that everything in the contract was laid out perfectly and there would be no surprises,” Finan said. Finan’s simultaneous teaching duties at SLU and planning with Blackfriars led him to visit the hall this past January. Finan said that residents at Blackfriars “rolled out the red carpet” for Finan and made his visit an impressive one. “It’s a great academic environment and people are drawn to places like that,” Finan said. The program of study offered to SLU students will target top students in any area of study to spend their See “Oxford” on Page 3