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JULY 17, 2012 | VOL. 13 #31
LESSMORE THAN EVER. YOU’RE ABOUT TO HAVE
AND YOU’RE ABOUT TO PAY
CLASSES, CAMPUSES, FACULTY AND STAFF
BY DYLANP. 20BOUSCHER
How FAU landed The Misfits for this year’s bonfire
By Ryan Cortes P. 4
Meet Pat Chun, the new director of athletics By Rolando Rosa P. 12
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upressonline.com July UP 17, 2012 FIRST ISSUE IS FREE; EACH ADDITIONAL COPY IS 50 CENTS AND AVAILABLE IN THE NEWSROOM.
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Tuesday
The Staff
July 17, 2012
Read us - upressonline.com Like us - facebook.com/universitypress Follow us - @upressonline
COVER
24.
Dead on arrival campus
Everything you need to know about your tuition being raised while more professors and classes are cut. By Dylan Bouscher
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Ryan Cortes MANAGING EDITOR - Dylan Bouscher
IN THIS ISSUE
ART DIRECTOR - Phaedra Blaize ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR - Elena Medina BUSINESS MANAGER -James Shackelford WEB EDITOR - Andrew Alvino COPY DESK CHIEF - Michael Chandeck NEWS EDITOR - Dylan Bouscher
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SPORTS EDITOR - Rolando Rosa
A look at how FAU landed The Misfits for this year’s fifth annual bonfire.
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By Ryan Cortes
PHOTO EDITOR - Michelle Friswell CRIME EDITOR - Monica Ruiz
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SENIOR EDITOR - Rachel Chapnick SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER - Christine Capozziello
A photoshoot with Phantomime, an FAU band opening for The Misfits in West Palm on Aug 25.
What you missed this week on upressonline.com.
20.
Why FAU’s tuition keeps getting raised.
28.
The tuition increase numbers broken down for you.
By Dylan Bouscher
By Christine Capozziello
COPY EDITOR - Jessica Cohn-Kleinberg STAFF REPORTERS Michelle Ferrand, Jordan Robrish
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STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Melissa Landolfa, Lamise Mansur CONTRIBUTORS
By Rolando Rosa
Danielle Meyers, Charles Pratt ADVISERS
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Michael Koretzky Dan Sweeney COVER Photo taken by Michelle Friswell at FAU’s former campus in Port St. Lucie
777 Glades Road Student Union, Room 214 Boca Raton, FL 33431 561.297.2960
Get to know Pat Chun, the new athletic director from Ohio State.
A special UP pullout poster to get you ready for football season. By Michelle Friswell
WANT TO PLACE AN AD?
WANT TO JOIN THE UP?
Contact Marc Litt 732.991.6353 mlitt705@gmail.com
email upress@fau.edu Staff meetings every Friday, 12 p.m. in the Student Union, Room 214
29.
By Phaedra Blaize
Meet Kellie LewisJay, the first new women’s basketball coach in 13 years. By Rolando Rosa
PUBLISHER FAU Student Government The opinions expressed by the UP are not necessarily those of the student body, Student Government or FAU. upressonline.com
July 17, 2012
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LIGHT Features
IT UP By Ryan Cortes Editor-in-Chief
Photos by: Michelle Friswell Photo Editor
After years of trial and error, the annual bonfire blows up this year with The Misfits
The most popular, most famous music act to ever play at FAU’s annual bonfire didn’t need to be convinced to come here. It was the other way around. The man now in charge of the bonfire, Student Government Coordinator Mike Burdman, remembers last year’s bonfire and the misery that accompanied it. After weeks of promotion, the event had to be rescheduled because of a potential hurricane, and weeks later, his uncle Jerry told him how much he wanted to play the event next time. And while he happens to be Uncle Jerry to Burdman, to others he’s simply Jerry Only, the lead singer of The Misfits. “I never would have thought he’d be interested in playing a bonfire,” Burdman says. “Back then, I told him I don’t have a lot of money for this event. He said, ‘whatever, just pay us enough to cover expenses for the band.’” Since 2008, the bonfire has been an annual event with a music act (SEE SIDEBAR p. 6), and what started off as an event with music coming from OwlRadio evolved into local bands playing, and is now, well, something different. “What kind of music do they play?” former coach Howard Schnellenberger asks. He started the bonfire tradition in 2001, before the football team had its first game. They play, what Burdman describes as, punkhorror. They’ve been around since 1977 and have made seven studio albums. “The band, the symbol, their logo, it’s recognized all around the world,” Burdman says. “It’s almost iconic at this point.” And if this all feels very different to Schnellenberger, very hard to believe, that would make sense.
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The Misfits, set to pla y at this years fifth annual bonfire. Photo cour tesy of The Misfi ts
Designed by Elena Medina
Continued on page 4
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Continued from page 4 “Before they played an interscholastic football game,” Schnellenberger says, “the students had to practice having a bonfire before they did it for real.” He wasn’t joking, and before FAU had ever played a game in 2001, its old coach wanted bonfire practice. It was an easy way to sell his team, and he didn’t want them looking like amateurs when the rest of the world showed up to watch. So Schnellenberger would send his assistant coaches out behind the Oxley Center with simple instructions: build and burn. “Our goal was to have the biggest, tallest bonfire that’s ever been in this county,” Schnellenberger says. Ambitious though it was, the fire department wasn’t having any of it, particularly Jim Slowiak, a firefighter driver for 38 years. “We’d stack it up there, and Slowiak came out there with his fire truck and he’d say, ‘ah, that’s too high, go up there and take all five pallets and throw ‘em down,’” Schnellenberger says. “We’d go down and throw them on the side. We’d leave, he’d leave, we’d come back and stack ‘em up.” But not for long. “Somehow this pile` grew to about 14, maybe 15 feet high,” Slowiak says. He had permission to have the pile 10 feet high. “That bastard came back again,” Schnellenberger says. “We’d have to take them down again. This time we didn’t put
them back up until the night before the pep rally, after dark.” “We left it,” Slowiak says laughing. “If it was any bit higher we would have probably said something. The fire marshal was there and he was shaking his head.” And with Schnellenberger’s guiding hand, the bonfire that was once an event with miscues and gaffes galore — one time Burdman had to chuck a gascan into the pile to start the fire, another time an assistant coach’s son had his eyebrows burnt off he was so close to it — is no longer so. There’s going to be a burning head at this year’s bonfire. There usually is. That’s because every year the football team’s first opponent has its mascot built and burned in effigy. This year’s happens to be a seahawk (the Owls play Warner in the first game), and the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega is in charge of compiling it. “The hardest part is actually just getting the pile big,” Alexander Smith, a senior multimedia film and video major in the fraternity says. “We’ll go three hours straight, 10 to 15 people.” According to Smith, it takes about 25 hours to build the pile and mascot, and his fraternity works in shifts, late into the night, but for a reason. “Every year the best feeling is actually topping it,” he says. “Everyone’s all excited at the bonfire site and we always roll up with the cops, they kind of give us an escort down
into the ditch where it’s at, and we kind of need everyone we can get. The coolest feeling is seeing Howard out there and the football players and all the kids so excited — it makes it worth it.” Last year, the band that played (Stampede Movement) cost $1,000 to come. This year, it cost $4,000 to get The Misfits, according to Burdman. Typically, the band charges upwards of $15,000 for a show, he says. But between the 1,000 T-shirts and the kind of music that’ll be heard throughout campus given the sound system the band is bringing, Burdman isn’t worried. “This one here it’s like, what’s the setlist going to be, how’d you get The Misfits, please play American Psycho,” Burdman says. “I haven’t got any negative feedback yet. I think everyone who goes to the show has a good time watching them. They’re entertaining, they have all the makeup.” Senior political science major Michael Turtz, who’s attended the last four bonfires, remembers the first thought he had upon hearing of this year’s act The Misfits. “Who are they?” he remembers thinking. “I looked them up on Wikipedia, they’re actually bigger than I thought. A lot of my friends know they are, some of them are excited.” “I am too”, Turtz says, “to a degree.” Even still, Burdman has a prediction. “This will be the largest, most attended, most exciting bonfire that FAU has seen thus far.”
FAU’s fifth annual bonfire takes place on Aug. 23, at 7:00 p.m. on the northwest side of campus near the track. The event is free for students.
Student Government Coordinator Mike Burdman (above) and Ambassador-atlarge Howard Schnellenberger (right) are draped in one of 1,000 Misfits giveaway T-shirts for this year's bonfire.
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Since 2008, the 2011 & 2010 bonfire has been an official event Stampede Movement with a music act for students. With 2009 The Misfits set to play here in Seeds of Evolution August, here’s a look at the history of music acts for 2008 the bonfire: A DJ from OwlRadio Continued on page 8
Continued from page 6
YOUR THOUGHTS? (above)Photo cour tesy of The Misfi ts (b elow) Photos by Christin e Capozziello
“This year I actually wanna go.� Jain Arosas, sophomore education ma jor.
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"Sounds like a pretty good time." - Ben Scaramuzzino, sophomore economics ma jor.
upressonline.com
"Never heard of them." - Jazmine Lawrence, freshman journalism ma jor.
"Whoever managed to book The Misfits is my new personal idol." Mikayla Larson, sophomore journalism ma jor.
"This is my first time hearing about it, but I'd go." Alecia Hills, freshman pre-business ma jor.
Photos
Michael Galindo
Kevin Stewart
Adrian Beuses
The Phantomime Photos by Christine Capozziello
Phantomime, made up of Andres Beuses, Adrian Beuses, Rico Cruz, Kevin Stewart and Mike Galindo, is currently in preproduction of its first EP to be released under Hoot Wisdom Recordings. They describe themselves as eclectic progressive pop, or, in their words, “like Incubus at the disco.” Since its inception in 2009, the band has played various venues including FAU’s own Coyote Jack’s. Phantomime will be opening for The Misfits on Aug. 25, during Respectable Street’s Anniversary Show in West Palm. Expect their EP in November.
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Designed by Phaedra Blaize
Rico Cruz
Andres Beuses
Upcoming Shows July 13 : Solid Sound Studios, Pompano Beach July 19 : Limitless Studios, Boynton Beach July 20 : Solid Sound Studios, Pompano Beach July 28 : Swampgrass Willy’s, Pompano Beach Gardens July 29 : Limitless Studios, Boynton Beach Aug 25 : Respectable Street’s 25th Anniversary Show, West Palm Beach
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Sports
CHUN change New FAU AD Pat Chun brings his Midwest charm to South Florida
By Rolando Rosa Photos by Michelle Friswell Photo Editor Sports Editor
S
t. Elizabeth’s Health Center in Youngstown, Ohio is one of the best hospitals in the Midwest, recognized for its high performance by U.S. News & World Report. For Owls fans however, the hospital will now be known as the birthplace of two of the newest members to FAU Athletics: Carl Pelini and Pat Chun. Both the 44-year-old head football coach and the 37-year-old Chun, FAU’s new athletics director, were born there. The man tasked with revitalizing FAU sports is equipped with 15 years of experience at Ohio State, his alma mater, where he worked his way up to executive associate athletic director for external relations by the time he left. With $130 million in revenue, Ohio State had the second richest athletic program in the country in 2011, compared to $19 million for FAU, according to USA Today. He’s quick to not draw comparisons to his tenure in Columbus with what to expect in Boca though. “It’s not about re-creating what we’ve done at Ohio State,” Chun admitted. “It’s more about, let’s just be as good as we can possibly be. We’re going to take this day by day and try to understand the things we can be good at.”
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Designed by Elena Medina
When Pat Chun was offered the chance to become a Division I athletics director, his first thought was to call his wife Vanessa to tell her the good news. She didn’t answer. “Ironically, she was coaching our 7-year-old’s softball team, so I couldn’t even get a hold of her,” Chun said. After they finally spoke, the couple agreed FAU made sense for multiple reasons. “It’s a good fit for my wife,” Chun said. “She loves the warm weather, and our kids are at an age where they’re mobile.” Once his initial questions of where the program was headed and what they stand for were answered by President Mary Jane Saunders, whom Chun calls “a dynamic leader,” the opportunity was too good to pass up. “I’ve always aspired to be a Division I-A athletics director. There’s 120 of those jobs. All the stars have to be aligned,” Chun said. “When you meet President Saunders and the people on campus, people on staff and you talk to some of the students, there’s a pulse here at FAU that wants to beat a little bit faster. Beat a little bit louder. They’re looking for the right person to kind of move in that direction. As you do your due diligence and do all your studying, when the offer comes, you realize if you get lucky to get the position, you can make a difference here.” A major reason Chun was hired is because of his ability as a fundraiser. At Ohio State, Chun helped fundraising increase by 20 percent every year for the athletic department: a total of $117.8 million over three years. “Well, that’s his greatest strength. Pat is passionate about higher education. He’s passionate about athletics. When he gets to know people, he really really shares that passion,” Gene Smith, Ohio State athletics director said. “He’s skilled at listening and communicating in a lot of different areas. He’s a great fundraiser.” Chun is confident he can help improve on the $1.35 million that former AD Craig Angelos raised last year. The plan, the execution, is simple: vigorously sell people on FAU. “We’re going to make sure we’re talking about all the right things and bragging about FAU. All the good things we have done, and all the good things we’re going to do,” Chun said. “There’s no rocket science to this whole fundraising deal. We’ve got to go out into the community and deliver our message and try to rally some people around making a difference at FAU.” Being a fundraiser at Ohio State meant never closing your wallet. Martin Jarmond, Ohio State’s associate athletics director for development, laughs about the time he and Chun pulled out all the stops for a donor at a restaurant. “I remember the guy ordered a bottle, like a 2 or $300 bottle. The rest of the way after that, me and PC are both sweating bullets hoping we don’t have to pay for this bill because it’s going to come out of our pocket. It’s one of those moments where we’re both thinking the same thing,” Jarmond said. “It worked out at the end. But, that was a tough dinner because you’re sitting there watching the alcohol flow and it’s like ‘oh gosh’.” On regular days, Chun isn’t as kind, Jarmond quips. “He’s cheap. I’ve always got to pay when I go to lunch with him,” Jarmond joked. “You can go ahead and write that. Martin Jarmond said even though he’s cheap, he’s still my guy.”
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Continued on page 12 One of the things Pat Chun is good at, really good at, is taking care of his family. So good that other men want to be like him. “For me, I don’t have a family yet. I learned a lot from him just how to be a husband and a father,” Jarmond said. “That’s his best trait and attribute is he’s such a great dad and great husband to his family.” Chun married Vanessa on Aug. 3, 2002 in Phoenix, Ariz. The two met as students at Ohio State two years before. Vanessa was a softball player, Chun was working in sports information. He recalls the first time they met. “I just ran into her somewhere and I used my normal sarcastic charm, conned her into going out with me on a date,” Chun joked. “She probably regrets that.” The date was set. The venue was the mini golf course. The results are a little hazy to Chun, but he takes a guess anyway as to the victor. “I think I won because she’s terrible. She’s exceptional at softball, but other sports she struggles,” Chun said. “She might disagree with that, but if memory serves me correctly I beat her at putt-putt.” Ten years later, they now have three daughters, Vanna, Kennedy and Gretta. His main priority in life is to serve them and his wife. “It’s the most important thing to me. Obviously all the goals in my life surround me being the best husband and parent I can be,” Chun said. “At the end of the day, my family is my motivation. They give purpose to what I do in life.” Chun wants to help elevate FAU to a higher level, but during his downtime, he answers to no one but his wife and kids. “I’m not one who believes the work and life balance thing is the idealistic theory in my opinion. In today’s world you have to prioritize things. You’ve got to make time for your family,” Chun said. “When I’m working, I’m working. But when I’m at home with the kids the phone is off, and I’m not picking up.” Chun is an early riser. It endeared him well with his former Ohio State boss. “We usually were the first ones in the office,” Smith noted. “He’s got unbelievable work ethic. Nobody’s going to outwork him. He has all the requisite talents and skills to help FAU move forward.” Jarmond was hired by Chun two and a half years ago and says he’s going miss having him around. “He’s been the best boss that I have ever had because he’s been so supportive,” Jarmond said. “He’s tough on you when he needs to be. He’s honest with you. That’s what makes him such an effective leader and a great manager.” Chun learned from closely following Smith, the man he calls his role model. “I spent a lot of time with him. Included him on almost all of my major decisions that I had to deal with. Just make sure that he continued to evolve his leadership skills,” Smith said. “At Ohio State, we have a large employee base. You ultimately have to be a good leader of people. That’s what I really tried to help with him was that.” Jarmond is confident Chun is ready to lead the Owls to the next level. “This is his first athletic director job so you better believe he’s going to put his all into it. He understands how important this is and how important this time is for Florida Atlantic. He really gets that,” Jarmond said. “He is the kind of guy that’s a get it done guy. You can
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quote me on that. He’s a get it done guy.” Before he gets it done, Chun will take a backseat. For the first 90100 days, he says he told the search committee he will be the chief listening officer. Chun wants to be a sponge, soaking in as much knowledge about the school and South Florida he can before making any major decisions. “I really got to get to know the staff at FAU, the community, to figure out exactly what we can do. Every athletic department in the country wants to be good but everything’s relative,” Chun said. “I’m just going to ask the right questions and talk to the people that really know this place and can really help my learning curve with things we can be successful at right away and things we can’t be successful at at all.” Something Chun already knows he wants to do is grow the brand of FAU. At Ohio State, he and the staff created a Buckeyes Facebook page, which was the first program to have over a million likes. “When you know how engaged the students are and how they want to be, it’s a good medium to communicate with a certain demographic. I’m very aware of that,” Chun said. “We will be very smart and strategic with our social media presence.” This fall, the Cleveland Cavs fan will be taking his talents to a new city, with a new job and more power than he’s ever had. I ask him a simple question: How is life going to change for you now? “I don’t know,” Chun responded. “And I think that’s the fun of it.”
“
He’s got unbelievable work ethic. Nobody’s going to outwork him. He has all the requisite talents and skills to help FAU move forward.
”
-Gene Smith, Ohio State athletic director
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BASEBALL
GOODBYE
FAU baseball captured the Sun Belt Conference title with a 32-22 record. R.J. Alvarez (114th pick: LA Angels), Kyle Newton (588th pick: Colorado Rockies), and Ryan Garton (1052 pick: Tampa Bay Rays) were selected in the MLB Draft. Seniors Alex Hudak (Kansas City Royals) and Mike Albaladejo (Washington Nationals) were signed as free agents.
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FAU football will look to bounce back from a 1-11 season, the last of head coach Howard Schnellenberger’s career. Led by new head coach Carl Pelini, the Owls first game is Saturday, Aug. 31 versus Wagner (time to be determined) at FAU Football Stadium. The quarterback position is still up for grabs — read about who has the inside track in our football issue, coming Aug. 21
FOOTBALL
HELLO
Photos by Michelle Friswell
This week on the web
READ THESE STORIES AND MORE AT
UPRESSONLINE.COM
Introduced on July 7, new Athletic Director Pat Chun makes his way to Boca from Ohio State. Editor-in-Chief Ryan Cortes wrote a column on the new AD following his press conferences, including talks with basketball coach Mike Jarvis and SG Vice President April Turner.
SCAN TO READ THE FULL STORY Cortes Photos by Michelle Friswell
As of June 29, students will no longer be able to pay for school in cash at the cashier’s office after it was closed. Senior Editor Rachel Chapnick talked to Linda Sancilio, the cashier operations manager and Dennis Crudele, the senior vice president of financial affairs to find out why.
SCAN TO READ THE FULL STORY
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Oh Boy, We' ve Got
Soy!
Soy Bean Frozen Yogurt now available Non-Fat - Non-Dairy - Gluten and GMO Free Made from U.S. Grown Soybeans
OPEN MIC 7pm - Close Your chance to be
HEARD!
Come out and show your stuff at
FAU’s CHILLEST
Open Mic Night
Find us on Facebook and Twitter:
Tutti Frutti of East Boca
www.TFYogurt.com upressonline.com
July 17, 2012
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news 200
2011
Over the Years
Not only are tuition rates increasing across the country, but so is the rate at which they increase. In the 1980s, tuition increased about 4.5 percent each year, and 3.2 percent in the 1990s. Now, in-state tuition and fees at public, four-year universities are growing at an average rate of 5.6 percent each year since 2000.
2010
150
Source: the College Board’s 2011 report on higher education price trends.
2008 2005
2003
100
2009
2007 2006
2002 2004 2000
2001
1998 1993
1995
1996
1992
$57.77
1993
$59.69
3%
1994
$59.69
0%
1995
$60.24
1%
1996
$63.04
5%
1997
$67.42
7%
1998
$70.64
5%
1999
$75.10
6%
2000
$79.88
6%
2001
$89.96
13%
2002
$92.88
3%
2003
$98.09
6%
2004
$103.07
5%
2005
$108.64
5%
2006
$110.90
2%
2007
$112.23
1%
2008
$122.06
9%
2009
$139.55
14%
2010
$159.81
15%
2011
$177.65
15%
2012
$199.54
15%
1999
1997
THE NEW DIET PLAN
50 1992
1994
Witness the fitness as FAU lifts tuition and fees and tightens its financial belt to absorb a $25 million cut in the new fiscal year
F
AU is always talking about building tradition for its students. And it has. Every year for the last four years, tuition has increased the maximum amount, totaling a 60 percent hike. That’s not the only tradition. Every year for the last five years, the university has absorbed budget cuts, totalling $77 million. These cuts and increases have changed a few important numbers for students, faculty and staff. (SEE INFOGRAPHIC, p. 28) In the aftermath of this year’s $300
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By Dylan Bouscher Managing Editor Photos by Michelle Friswell Photo Editor
million cut to the state university system, students are paying higher tuition and fees than ever before. In exchange, you’ll get fewer campuses, fewer professors and fewer classes offered. The increases start draining student bank accounts this fall. And not only are tuition rates increasing, but so is the rate at which they increase. In the 1980s, tuition increased about 4.5 percent each year, and 3.2 percent in the 1990s. Now, in-state tuition and fees at public, four-year universities are growing at an average rate of 5.6 percent each year since
Designed by Phaedra Blaize
2000, according to the College Board’s 2011 report on higher education price trends. The trend is also expected to continue. Last year, the state government gave approval for the 11 public universities to raise tuition the maximum 15 percent a year until it reaches the national average. This year, FAU decided to ask the board of governors for the maximum increase allowed — for the fourth year in a row. And the increase was approved — for the fourth year in a row. The university’s board of trustees — FAU’s 13 highest ranking officials — voted
Continued on page 22
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Continued from page 20
On June 29, FAU moved out of its suspended campus in Port St. Lucie. The university’s name is scraped off the entrance sign.
on the increase two days before the state’s board of governors met to approve their recommendation. FAU received the maximum 15 percent increase along with FIU, UCF and New College of Florida. Originally eight of the 11 state universities sought this maximum increase, but the board of governors only granted it to those four. By charging higher tuition and fees, however, FAU expects to generate over $15 million to offset the cuts. “From 2007-08 to this past year, FAU has lost over $77 million,” Dennis Crudele told the trustees. “Over that same time period we’ve eliminated over 250 positions.” That’s 11 percent of the university’s workforce, according to Crudele. “I would argue even with the decrease,” President Mary Jane Saunders told the Sun Sentinel, “we’ve increased the value to students over the years.” When the board of trustees voted to approve the tuition and fees hike on June 19, Saunders and the trustees voiced near unanimous support for the increase. “It’s very, very, very painful,” Trustee Sheridan Plymale said during the meeting. “I encourage you to understand the dilemma that we’re in and understand we’ve done our best to serve our students well.” Two of the trustees, however, couldn’t side with the rest of the board. “Before the vote, I’d like to suggest next year we [...] not just to come to a vote on a particular day and say yes or no, or a phone call a week before, saying this is the power point demonstration,” Trustee Jeffrey Feingold said. “I think it has to be thought thoroughly out first.” Then Feingold voted against the increase. And Robert Huffman, the student body
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president and only student on the board of trustees joined Feingold in disapproval. “We’re sending a message to the state that if they continue to cut our budgets, we’ll continue to increase tuition,” Huffman said. “I can’t stand here and support something no student supports.” The increase passed 11 - 2. Two days later, the Florida board of governors approved the increase. Some were sitting, others were standing along the walls — dozens more were drifting in and out, but everyone was eager to hear the board of governors vote on the increases. A hundred people squeezed into the Live Oak Pavilion on UCF’s campus for the meeting. When the time came to approve tuition increases, the board of governors voted on each university’s increase one at a time. “We can’t continue to increase [tuition] 15 percent every year,” board member Thomas Kuntz said during the meeting. In the first round of voting, the board of governors couldn’t reach the majority it needed to approve any increases. So it took a five minute recess. To pass the increases at other public universities recommending the maximum 15 percent, the board compromised on lower percentages when it failed to reach a majority for the maximum. UWF was granted 14 percent, FSU and UNF 13 percent, and FAMU 12 percent. “Is it fun? No. Is it easy? No. Is it political? Sure.” Tico Perez said. “But I’m gonna go back to what my dad used to say which is I think we need to have a backbone.” Perez is a board member and chair of its finance committee. When the board of governors came back
Dennis Crudele, Vice President of Financial Affairs. Photo courtesy of media relations
from recess, it was no longer divided or undecided — or it appeared that way. Then the time came to vote on FAU’s increase. The secretary called roll and each board member voted “yes” or “no” one by one. There was an 8 - 8 tie — and a chance the vote wouldn’t pass — then board member Norman Tripp changed his vote. And just like that, in-state, FAU students will pay $40.13/credit hour more for tuition this fall than last. Tripp is a former chair of FAU’s board of trustees. “I just felt at the end of the day,” Tripp told the Sun Sentinel, “it was the right thing to do.”
According to Trustee Jeffrey Feingold, the average student debt at this university is $22,000.
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News By Dylan Bouscher Managing Editor
P
Photo by Michelle Friswell Photo Editor
ORT ST. LUCIE — It’s moving day at NW University Boulevard. There won’t be a university here after today. And the only way you know you’re at the recently suspended Treasure Coast campus is because the university’s name is on a sign up ahead. Or it used to be. It’s hard to see now that the letters are scraped off, and the sign is stained. Barricades connected by black and yellow caution tape are all around the fronts of buildings. They’re there to make room for the moving trucks. Remaining faculty skitter away, retreating to their offices, getting ready to relocate. The interiors of each building have been stripped away, packed and sealed in boxes
stacked in empty rooms. Welcome to FAU’s desolate, former campus in Port St. Lucie. Four years ago, FAU was spending $10 million on a new, two-story building with state of the art technology. Now it’s facing a $24.7 million budget cut from the state, suspending the campus and moving faculty and staff to campuses in Harbor Branch, Jupiter and Boca. Almost every faculty and staff member at Treasure Coast is unwilling to talk. Some are too busy packing the campus away, others refuse to risk the jobs they secured on other campuses. On the third floor of the Administration
Building, there’s an office with a cracked door emitting light at the end of a dark hallway. It’s the office of the only person willing to go on record, Crystal Atkinson, the budget director for FAU’s Northern Campuses. “It’s sad, but it’s change,” Atkinson says. She’s been with the university for 27 years, and calls herself a “hopper,” someone who hops between campuses. She’s hopped between the Jupiter and Treasure Coast campuses for years. Now Atkinson will be stationed on the John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter, along with other faculty and staff who secured jobs there. Nursing and library faculty in Port St. Lucie are moving just 20 miles north
On June 29 faculty and staff moved from their offices in Port St. Lucie to the campuses where they have been reassigned.
DEAD CAMPUS ON ARRIVAL
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Charging an arm and a leg — to lose an arm and a leg Continued on page 26
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Continued from page 26 to the university’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce. Other faculty and staff remaining will relocate to Jupiter or as far south as the main campus in Boca. The Boca campus is an 80 mile trip from the Treasure Coast campus. The board of trustees — FAU’s 13 highest ranking officials — are voting to suspend the downtown Fort Lauderdale campus. “We rent it, we don’t own it. We’re going to pay millions of dollars to keep our sign on top of a building?” Trustee Anthony Barbar says. “That’s not helping us. We need to do what’s right for Florida Atlantic University, and not anybody else.” Another trustee gives his own reason for approving the suspension. “The programs are phenomenal, just not necessarily the location,” Trustee Paul Tanner says at the BOT meeting before voting to suspend the tower. The Reubin O’D Askew tower on FAU’s Fort Lauderdale campus opened in 1987 under the university’s last female president, Helen Popovich. Now it’s set to close next June under FAU’s second female president. “This location is a great fit for our programs,” Stephanie Cunningham signed on an online petition to keep the campus open. Cunningham is a graphic design
professor on the campus, who along with other faculty started the “SAVE FAU FTL” campaign to keep the tower downtown as part of the university. Two students and a professor from the campus are speaking to the trustees about its decision. Shane Eason, multimedia professor, told the trustees about staff who are still unaware they’re being laid off. “Specific job losses are going to happen in Fort Lauderdale,” Eason said. “There is staff downtown who are still unaware of this. It needs to be reiterated to them.” The students remind the trustees of the weight their decision carries. “This is an opportunity to create a legacy, and the only thing being created is a void,” Marta Viciedo said. “A void that most certainly will be filled by another institution or another entity that has the vision to see what opportunity exists.” Viciedo is a graduate student in the urban and regional planning program. “Talks will be ongoing about that campus for the next year,” Plymale told Viciedo. Viciedo claims Plymale cut her off before she could respond. When FAU opened new buildings on the Treasure Coast campus in late 2008, the final headcount of students was 971. Back then, those 971 were 3 percent of FAU’s student body. After three years and a $10 million
investment to expand the campus, the final headcount of students dropped to 402. This year administrators estimated 247 students remained on the campus, less than 1 percent of the university’s total enrollment, according to an FAQ about the budget cuts. “I think those students will probably go with us,” Atkinson says. Her trust lies with President Mary Jane Saunders. “Those students are going to be cared for, and our president promised that,” she said. Whether Saunders is fulfilling her promise by suspending the campus and relocating faculty, staff and students to Harbor Branch, Jupiter and Boca remains uncertain for Atkinson. “Well, right now, I can’t say too much about that.” It’s June 28 and it’s the first day of construction on the Boca campus. Fences are going up around Lot 25, the parking lot next to a road on campus called St. Lucie Avenue South. The road will reopen next summer. The fences here at Boca resemble the barricades back at Treasure Coast, except they’re not surrounding abandoned buildings. They surround the site of a new, sevenstory dorm with lakeside dining options and a parking garage.
Campus For Sale? When the UP visited the suspended Treasure Coast campus, sources claimed that FAU planned to lease the campus to Indian River State College. We asked President Saunders to confirm but she couldn’t be reached. A university spokesperson, however, told the UP otherwise. “FAU is considering all options right now involving both the Treasure Coast campus, as well as the Fort Lauderdale campus,” a university spokesperson said. “At this time, there are no contracts, leases or other agreements. We are only in the conversation stages right now.”
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Trustee Sheridan Plymale and President Mary Jane Saunders at a board of trustees meeting. On June 19, the board voted to suspend campuses in Ft. Lauderdale and Port St. Lucie. Photo by Charles Pratt
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More tuition = fewer campuses
Health fee $9.42
Athletic Fee $17.27 Activity & Service fee $12.32
technology fee $5.16
Financial aide fee $15.08
Captial improvement fee $6.76
$369.82 graduate in-State price per credit hour
By Phaedra Blaize and Dylan Bouscher
Tuition $281.21
In the aftermath of this year’s $24.7 million budget cut, FAU is raising tuition, suspending two campuses, cancelling classes on another, and laying off professors. Here’s a breakdown by the numbers. Tuition $103.32
Health fee $9.42
technology fee $5.16
Tuition differental $40.13 Capital improvement fee $6.76
$718.09
Athletic fee $17.27
Non Resident fee $493.85
Financial aide fee $5.16 Activity & Service fee $12.32
Undergraduate Out-of-State price per credit hour
Activity & Service fee $12.32
Athletic Fee $17.27
Health fee $9.42 technology fee $5.16
$199.54
Financial aide fee $5.16 Capital improvement fee $6.76
Undergraduate in-state price per credit hour
Tuition $281.21
$1024.81
Tuition $103.32
graduate Out-of-State price per credit hour
Tuition differental $40.13
Capital improvement fee $6.76
Financial aide fee $46.37
Activity & Service fee $12.32
Athletic Fee $17.27
non-resident fee $623.80
Health fee $9.42 technology fee $5.16
With the extra money you're paying in tuition this semester, a full-time FAU student could afford:
14pairs of “BEATS” headphones at TECHU
240 CINEMARK PALACE 20 MOVIE TICKETS 1,755 20oz. Pepsis from Outtakes
*numbers based on 12 credit hour enrollment
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Since the 07-08 academic year,
250 positions. Thatʼs 11 percent of FAU has eliminated
the universityʼs workforce, according to Crudele.
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Student to faculty ratio
In that time, the university also completed the Recreation and Fitness Center, Living Room Theaters and Innovation Village Apartments.
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Sports
The new era Meet FAU’s new women’s basketball coach, Kellie Lewis-Jay
By Rolando Rosa Sports Editor
F
Photo by Christine Capozziello Senior Photographer
AU’s new women’s basketball coach is still adjusting to life in South Florida. However, between the clutter of boxes, papers and folders in her new office she takes a moment to reminisce on how her basketball career began. “Seventh grade,” Kellie Lewis-Jay recalls as she shyly looks down. “That’s when it started.” Basketball tryouts were coming up. Kellie was more interested in soccer and tennis at the time, but a friend wanted to tryout for basketball and insisted she go too. “She was too embarrassed to go to tryouts by herself so I said I would go,” Lewis-Jay said. “I went, and it actually wasn’t as bad as I
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thought it would be.” It was even better than she expected, but with a twist. Kellie made the team, but her friend didn’t. She laughs, thinking about the irony of the situation. “Which, probably wasn’t the best thing,” she said about their friendship at the time. “We stayed friends, but it’s funny looking back on things now.” “So,” as she said with a smile. “Here I am.” Lewis-Jay was an assistant for head coach Connie Yori at Nebraska for the last five seasons, helping lead the Cornhuskers to the NCAA Tournament three times. Yori is thrilled that Lewis-Jay is getting the opportunity to lead a program.
"Everybody here at Nebraska is excited that Kellie is becoming a head coach. Kellie has done a tremendous job in building our program,” Yori said. “She is a tireless worker, and she is dedicated to excellence in everything in the coaching profession." Lewis-Jay was a recruiting coordinator as well and traveled all across the country to find talent. Even Wyoming and Alaska. “The kids that we signed when I was there came from all over the country,” she said. “Definitely have recruited in every state in the country at least once.” She believes there’s a clear parallel to her first year at FAU compared to Yori’s first at Nebraska. At FAU, Lewis-Jay has just six returning players from last year’s 17-13 NIT
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Continued from page 29 squad coached by Chancellor Dugan, the coach for the last 13 seasons before she resigned. Yori only had five scholarship players when she began in 2002, before she turned Nebraska into a perennial contender. She says her experience on Yori’s staff helped prepare her to run her own team. “By the time I left we were a program that was going to compete for the championship every year,” Lewis-Jay said. “Just watching her build the program from where she took over when she first began to where it is now. If you have that kind of support it makes it easy.” Her dad Chuck was a former California highway patrolman. He was a standout baseball player drafted in 1957 by the Cardinals. His mother did not want him to play. Since he was under 18 at the time she decided not to sign his paperwork. “She said that’s not a real job,” Lewis-Jay said. “That’s not how you make a real living,” Her father was baffled at first by the decision to head south. “I’m just surprised that she really had it in her mind to go to Florida,” he said. “That’s the only thing she wanted to do. She’s from California.” He never doubted she could reach her potential however. “From when she started playing basketball, I knew where she was headed. She was headed to the top,” he said. “She’s a perfectionist with it. Once you start following her, you’ll see what I see. It’s got to be done right or it can’t be done.” The first person Lewis-Jay told about her new job doesn’t even like basketball. It wasn’t hard to put into words why coming to Florida would be fun for her 8-year-old daughter Kobie. The allure of building sandcastles and collecting sea shells did the trick. “It was an easy way to convince her it was In 2011-2012, under former coach Chancellor Dugan, the Owls’ coach for 13 seasons, they lost their final game 76-20 to USF in the first round of the NIT. ok to move,” Lewis-Jay said. “She was very excited. Being able to sell the beach to her, and that we might have a swimming pool,
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Photo courtesy of Nebraska Media Relations Operations
then it was an easy sell.” Aside from a leftover picture of an owl, the only other photo in the office she’s added so far is of Kobie. With brown hair and tan skin, she very much resembles her mother, but the two couldn’t be any different. Whereas Kellie was a tomboy growing up, Kobie prefers doing her hair and wearing dresses and makeup. “Completely out of my line of expertise,” Lewis-Jay jokes. “She has not one desire at all to play basketball in her body, so unfortunately I won’t be at basketball games watching her,” Lewis-Jay says. “Kills me, but yeah. They say before you have a child the child’s going to be their own person, so I can see that. Maybe in a couple years. Ask me in a couple years if she likes basketball. Hopefully I can say yes.” Lewis-Jay is currently out recruiting players for next season. She’s already signed junior college transfer Shanequa Schrouder from Daytona State College. With half the team departing, there’s no way of knowing whether the 2012-2013 Owls will be more talented than last year. “A little bit challenging to think of competing with seven players,” she says before mentioning
In 2009-2010, Lewis-Jay, an assistant coach, helped guide the Cornhuskers to: a 32-2 record, the best in school history, a perfect 16-0 conference record and the school’s first Big 12 regular season title. the team will add three more players before the season starts. Owls junior guard Kimberly Smith was on the interview committee that selected LewisJay. Smith immediately came away impressed with her personality and vision for the team. “She seemed real energetic and excited. I felt like she would be a good fit for our team because she seems like she wants to play quick and we’re going to be a quick team,” Smith said. “I just got excited talking to her because I know she has big things planned for our program here.” The first two seasons of her college career were with Dugan, who led FAU to its NCAA Tournament birth in 2006. Smith admits it’ll be odd to take the court for the first practice without her, but is still looking forward to next year and a chance to improve as a unit. “I think it’ll definitely be weird. Sometimes it doesn’t even set in that we have a new coach,” Smith said. “But, we’re all excited just to have another season and another opportunity.”
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