04.21.08

Page 1

Vanguard The

Volume 45, Number 33

April 21, 2008

Out with the old, in with the new -say goodbye to The Vanguard outgoers the proper way see pages 18 - 21

Serving USA SinCe 1965

University-owned Hillsdale homes to be vacated Devi Sampat SENIOR REPORTER dss608@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Renters in all university-owned Hillsdale homes were notified earlier this month that leases would not be renewed beyond Sept. 30. A total of 165 houses, including rental and vacant properties, will be demolished by year's end, according to University officials. The vacating and demolition of the University’s last Hillsdale rental properties will complete the University’s long-stated plan to get out of the single-family rental business, leaving some students upset. “It was a complete shock when we had received the letter,” said Meredith Davis, a freshman student. “We had expected to live here all four years of school.” Davis currently lives in the front section of Hillsdale with her husband, Chris, and baby son, Bryant. To make the transition easier, the University has offered a discounted rate for students to live in on-campus dorms, but many Hillsdale renters will not be eligible to live. “I know some of our neighbors who will have some problems,” Davis said. “The man next door works for the school, and he is an adult, so he will have to find something new, because he is not eligible to live in The Grove even if he wanted to.” Even students like Davis won’t be able to take advantage of the University’s offer of discounted rent in the resident halls. “They [University officials] offered for people who are eligible to live in campus housing, but if you are married or with kids, you are with no option,” Davis said. “So basically it’s only for single people who wouldn’t have lived in Hillsdale anyway.” USA's renters on Hillsdale's west side were not asked to leave. The non-profit group X

see HILLSDALE, page 22

Leigh Patton / Managing Editor

USA students are being forced out of their homes in Hillsdale after their six-month leases were not renewed. Families like Meredith, Chris and five-month-old Bryant Davis are having to find somewhere else to live.

OOZEBALL 2008 What the hell is tenure? Devi Sampat SENIOR REPORTER dss608@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Marzieh K. Atigh / Photo Editor

USA students dug in the mud playing volleyball April 19 for the 2008 Oozeball tournament hosted by the USA Southerners.. SEE PAGE 6 FOR FULL STORY.

Inside

Lifestyles pg. 6

Fine Arts pg. 8

Since last spring, the University of South Alabama has seen protests, circulation of petitions and student opposition due to two recent high-profile cases involving professors being nonrenewed at the University of South Alabama. Dozens of students have pledged their support to Dr. John Kline of the department of psychology and Dr. Moira Amado Miller of the department of English. “We Heart Kline” T-shirts and large “We Heart Kline” sheet signs can currently be seen around campus. Students in support of Kline have even taken their fight to the popular socialnetworking site Facebook, forming a protest group called “We Heart Kline.” Currently, student petitions are circulating imploring the University to reconsider its decision to nonrenew Kline. Last spring, students showed their support for Dr. Moira Amado Miller by performing a protest play in the Humanities Courtyard, proudly wearing “A” T-shirts and circulating a petition in support of Amado Miller. Both professors have had their contracts nonrenewed and will be leaving the University at the end of this semester.

Entertainment pg. 10

The Vanguard P.O. Drawer 25100 Mobile, Ala. 36688 Newsroom - 460-6442 Fax 414-8293 Advertising - 460-6898 Letters, press releases, announcements - vanguard@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Sports pg. 13

While many students are clear in their support for these professors, many students are unclear about what the tenure process actually is. In its most basic form, tenure is simply the expectation of permanent employment. With this expectation comes greater job security and greater levels of academic freedom. According to the University of South Alabama Faculty Handbook, “Tenure is a means to the freedom of teaching, research and of extramural activities and is a sufficient degree of economic security.” The handbook also recognizes that “freedom and economic security hence, tenure, are indispensable to the success of an institution in fulfilling its obligations to students and to society.” The majority of the University of South Alabama professors are hired as tenure-track employees. “We do have some positions that are nontenure, but the vast majority of them are tenure,” said Dr. Patsy Covey, vice president of student affairs. “Instructors and someone devoted solely to research and funded to grants may be nontenured.” The tenure process is one that starts as soon as a tenure-track professor is hired to a university. Professors, including tenure-track professors, X

Opinion pg. 16

see TENURE, page 24

Classifieds pg. 26

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