April 12, 2010 Issue

Page 1

Vanguard The

VOLUME 47, NUMBER 30

Serving USA Since 1965

April 12, 2010

Proctor Elected President Brendan Davis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR thater@gmail.com

Kimberly Proctor has been elected SGA president for the 2010-2011 academic year with 1,105 votes, more than 72 percent of the ballots cast for that office. Todd Fowler got 411 votes. Colin Al-Greene also came out far ahead of Laventrice Ridgeway with 993 votes to 494 for the office of vice president. Troy Shephard edged out Basia Smith for the position of chief justice with 737 votes to 624. Michael Baldwin ran unopposed for treasurer and collected 1,418 votes. Devi Sampat and Cameron Macon will continue to fight for attorney general after neither were able to secure a majority in the three-way race with Jean-Pierre Arditi. Macon got 717 votes while Sampat received 419, and the runoff will take place April 1214. Arditi received 275 votes. Ashley Pittman managed to keep her seat as student-at-large with 1,002 votes, compared to Sid King’s 375. This year the College of Nursing lost two seats on the Senate due to the fact that students taking their online courses exclusively don’t pay student activity fees. One of the seats was given to the College of Arts and

Daniela Werner

MANAGING EDITOR danielawerner87@gmail.com

see SGA, page 4

Financial Aid: Apply for It ASAP Daniela Werner

MANAGING EDITOR danielawerner87@gmail.com

USA Director of Financial Aid Emily Johnston has one simple message for South Alabama students who will need financial aid in fall 2010 and spring 2011: Fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. Now. President Barack Obama’s health care bill removed private lenders from the financial aid process, ushering in direct lending for colleges. Private lenders will no longer award students loan monies; the U.S. federal government is doing all the lending now. The University of South Alabama wasn’t exempt from this mandate, which came from the U.S. Department of Educa-

Inside

Police Blotter p.2

A Look Into The Life Of A Homeless Mobilian

See Etc., p. 6

Engineering Professor Hospitalized

tion. “The loan program that South Alabama students have known forever is gone as of July 1,” Johnston said. Johnston and her staff have been working to make the University’s transition to direct lending a smooth one, but Johnston said she needs student cooperation to ensure that financial aid monies aren’t awarded late into the fall 2010 semester. Johnston, who has been trying to get students’ attention by sending Jaguar1 account e-mails, said her largest obstacle is getting students to fill out their paperwork before this semester is over. On April 8, Johnston e-mailed 4,733 USA students who received financial aid this semester but haven’t applied for aid for fall 2010. The same day, she e-mailed

Etc. p.6

Arts & Entertainment p.8

Four USA Students’ Art On Display At Mobile Arts Council See Arts & Entertainment, p. 8

3,103 students who filled out the FAFSA form for the 2010-2011 academic year but still need to complete other paperwork to finish the application process. Most of the FAFSA applications the Financial Aid Office has received are from new students “shopping around for schools,” Johnston said. The financial aid application process is electronically completed, so it’s simple for students, she said. “The three things they need to be doing are filing their FAFSA, checking their Jaguar1 e-mail account and PAWS, and [completing the electronic signature],” she said. “If [students] can do those three things, they’ll be good to go.” Johnston expects to mail out the first

see FINANCIAL AID, page 4

Sports p.11

Opinion p.14

USA Softball Steps It Up See Sports, p. 11

USA Civil Engineering Professor Dr. Joseph Olsen has been hospitalized and several Civil Engineering faculty members have taken over his classes, according to Department Chair Dr. Kevin White. Olsen, who has been teaching at USA since Olsen 1987, is “unlikely to return this semester,” White told The Vanguard. Civil Engineering major Jeff Brooks is enrolled in Soil Mechanics (CE 340), a class Olsen was teaching before his hospitalization. College of Engineering Associate Dean Dr. James Laier is now teaching the class, Brooks said. “The transition has been about as smooth as it could possibly be with a transition of this magnitude in the middle of the semester,” Brooks said. “No two instructors teach exactly the same, but I don’t foresee any real issues with adapting to Dr. Laier’s methodology. “Due to the unpredictability and severity of Dr. Olsen’s condition, one class was canceled as the department worked to devise a suitable solution for continuing the course,” he said. “Class cancellations are a pretty common event in all courses throughout the semester, though, and the syllabus has been adjusted to compensate for the missed time.” “We all wish Olsen a speedy recovery,” White said, calling Olsen “instrumental” in the Department of Civil Engineering’s ABET accreditation process in 1991. ABET is the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, a federation of 30 professional and technical societies representing the fields of applied science, computing, engineering, and technology that accredits college and university programs in these fields, according to the ABET Web site. Distractions p.17

Letters p.19

‘In God We Trust’: Religious Or Patriotic? You Decide See Opinion, p.15


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