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Chick-Fil-A, Steak ‘n Shake confirmed for fall by Gabi wy news@usishield.com @ShieldsterGabi Chick-Fil-A and Steak ‘n Shake will officially replace Burger King and Archie’s Pizzeria, Sodexo Operations Manager Rebecca Diamond said. She said Sodexo aims to have both eateries open Aug. 15, the Monday prior to the start of school. “Just last week or so, Chick-Fil-A finally sent (confirmation) to our legal department,” Diamond said. “Steak
Purdue, USI strengthen resources by nick leighty ndleighty@eagles.usi.edu For a few years now, Purdue and the university have collaborated with Crane Naval Base to bring new startups to the area. “Part of this initiative involves Purdue taking over 130 Crane innovations and running them through their MBA students,” said Daniela Vidal, director for the Center of Applied Research/ Economic Development. “It’s a way to get Crane in a more usable format and out into the world.” USI facilitated the four sessions that mapped and catalogued the resources used by the startups and received funding to allow the startups to start prototyping ideas and innovations. “We were specifically looking at that region of southwest Indiana. Crane just happened to be the biggest employer in that region,” said Cliff Wojtalewicz, managing director for the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue. Purdue brings its company startup expertise to the collaboration. They conducted the partnership intermediary agreement with Crane on this more than a year ago. The agreement allows Purdue to market Crane created technologies such as warhead sensors, anti-tampering in electronics and specialized military equipment. The agreement also allows students there to do anything from market analysis to business-canvas modeling. “USI was actively involved with Crane (and) we were actively involved in Crane, so it was just a natural attraction to get together,” Wojtalewicz said. “There’s no other university that I know of that are spending the time and energy at Crane like Purdue and USI.”
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‘n Shake has been on board since the first phone call. They were very excited.” Aaron Gottman, Student Government Association’s administrative vice president for university affairs, met with Diamond to share student opinions with Sodexo. Gottman announced Chick-Fil-A and Steak ‘n Shake are coming to campus for the fall semester at an SGA meeting Jan. 28. In an interview with The Shield Feb. 2, Gottman said Sodexo was “92 percent sure” about the two eateries being established on campus.
He said Sodexo will remove Burger King and Archie’s Pizzeria and install Chick-Fil-A and Steak ‘n Shake over the summer. “The only foreseeable problem is if people can’t figure out where all of their equipment is going to go,” he said. Gottman said he’s received many inquiries about the future of retail dining, so last week he asked Sodexo when he could give an official announcement. “I had asked them because students were saying ‘this’ or ‘that,’” Gottman said. “They
said it was 92 percent sure, and they told me it was OK to start telling people.” He said Sodexo is still deciding specific hours for both restaurants. “We addressed students that want food at 3 in the morning,” Gottman said. “Stuff like that won’t be implemented until five years down the line. The hours should be similar to Fiesta Fuego.” Diamond also said neither of the two new dining options will offer breakfast, at least in the beginning. “Maybe (Sodexo) will
have meetings with SGA to think about calendars and hours of operation,” she said. Sodexo began the process of replacing Burger King and Archie’s in the fall of 2014, and then distributed student satisfaction surveys in February 2015. The surveys asked students what sort of eateries they’d like on campus and whether there were specific places they’d want to remove. During an SGA meeting in November, Diamond said Sodexo was “in the talks with Steak ‘n Shake,” but nothing had been signed yet.
She said Steak ‘n Shake would specifically replace Archie’s, and Chick-Fil-A would potentially replace Burger King. Vice President for Finance and Administration Steve Bridges issued the following statement: “The university is currently finalizing the transition from Burger King and Archie’s Pizzeria to ChickFil-A and Steak ‘n Shake. Project details, including date of availability and hours of operation of either new food offering, have not yet been confirmed.”
ON THE BRINK
Financial office links with advisers to help students
by gabi wy news@usishield.com @ShieldsterGabi Kristin Pender depends completely on financial aid to pay for college, but she isn’t completely sure how it works. Student Financial Assistance is planning to partner with academic advisers to help students like Pender understand how to maintain financial aid and plan courses accordingly. The partnership involves notifying students when they are at risk of losing their aid and will be fully implemented by this fall. Pender, a junior nutrition major, nancial aid is based said she knows her fi financial on her grades and how many credits she drops and she can check it on myUSI, but she isn’t clear about the specifics. “I was told by another student that on myUSI, it tells me how many credits I’ve attempted and completed, and another tab says completion for financial aid,” she said. “I don’t know how low it has to go before I lose my financial aid.” Lately, Pender said she’s had trouble communicating with the financial aid office. “I rely on my FAFSA (aid) 100 percent,” she said. “The financial aid office has always made it 10 times harder than it
Photo illustration by ALyssa Smith | The Shield
should be. be They always try to get me out in just five minutes.” Pender said the office partnering with academic advisers is a step in the right direction. “If I would’ve dropped classes not knowing how it would affect my financial aid, I would’ve been stuck,” she said. Student Financial Assistance Director Mary Jo Harper said 85 percent of students at the university benefit from financial aid. She said she appreciates communication between the office and students. “I encourage students at risk to seek guidance,” Harper said. “Notifying the
students and advisers is an extra step the office is taking because we care about our students. We care about their success.” Vice President for Enrollment Management Andy Wright said when he was a first semester freshman, he considered giving up. Wright was paying tuition out of pocket as a freshman and working 35hour weeks. By the second week of classes, he said he didn’t know if he could c uld do it. co “I asked if maybe I wasn’t meant to be (at college),” Wright said. “I didn’t have that support. All I needed was someone to tell me that I could do it.” He said college isn’t the best fit fit for everyone, but before dropping out, students need to be having conversations with advisers and faculty. When students receive federal Title IV financial aid, they must stay within satisfactory academic progress (SAP). They have to be completing and passing at least 67 percent of their classes as well as meeting GPA requirements depending on the number of credit hours taken. “We’re looking to help students be more proactive,” Wright said. “Ideally, students will meet with their adviser and develop a plan to move away from the danger zone.”
Mandela events, speaker to address white privilege by megan thorne features@usishield.com @ShieldsterMegan Melinda Roberts said speaking out about religious freedom will have a ripple effect on the university. “At the end of the day, you don’t feel privilege,” Roberts said. “But you always feel discrimination.” The gender studies interim director worked with her department to donate money to bring anti-racist writer and educator Tim Wise to the university. Where he will give his presentation “Resurrect-
ing Apartheid, from Ferguson to the Voting Booth to the Border – Combating Racism in the Post-Obama Era,” for Nelson Mandela Commemoration Day Feb. 11. Wise has written seven books including “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, Racism and Denial in the Age of Obama” and his most recent release “Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America.” “I think it’s very important to debunk things about race, criminality and those kinds of things,” Roberts said. “I think
it sparks conversation.” She said the event will provide people with an honest conversation about what’s going on instead of what they are hearing on social media. “Sometimes, in terms of our experience, we tend to compare ourselves to others with gender, race and sexuality,” Roberts said. “…I think this will be an important point where people can get together and experience other people.” ‘Colorblind racism’ Denise Lynn, an associate professor of history, said Wise will pinpoint “colorblind racism.”
“I hope students enjoy it,” Lynn said. “I think he is very eye-opening and interesting… I hope students will walk away from this thinking about things more deeply.” Lynn had the idea to bring Wise to the university after she heard him speak about Human Relations less than a year ago. “When (Wise) talked before, he said when people talk about racism, they get uncomfortable,” she said. “He (talks) in a way that’s not accusatory and allows people to not be defensive and for them to think more clearly about racism.”
the Spring 2016 edition of
Wise discusses how white people tend to ignore racism problems because it doesn’t affect them personally, Lynn said, even though it actually affects society as a whole. “I have a lot of hope for the (event),” Lynn said. “I think
it sparks a conversation about race in American culture.” Sakina Hughes said Wise doesn’t just talk for people of color and talks about how racism has changed over the years.
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FASt FACTS What:
Nelson Mandela Commemoration Day events
When: Where: Cost:
2 p.m., 5 p.m. & 6 p.m. February 11 Carter Hall Free
available online now A guide to usi athletics