Thursday, December 5, 2013 ■ Vol. 44 Issue 15
THE
SHIELD
River City Sound pg. 4
5 Best Places to Study pg. 5
www.usishield.com
TXTBookRental reopens its doors
Senate to vote on HJR-6 statement By JAMES VAUGHN News editor
Photos by CALEB RILEY/The Shield
By CALEB RILEY Staff writer Students who preferred TXTBookRental to USI’s Campus Store are in luck. The West Side store reopened its doors Monday. When a deal went through at the beginning of the year, thenowner Alex Beaver decided to close up shop and sell it with the expectation that the new owner would do as they wished, and liquidate all of the books. Ethan Michael swept in and bought the building at the last minute. Manager Will Bader stayed with the store. “Nothing has really changed
in the store, but we are planning to make changes starting next semester,” Bader said. “We want to try and make the process of
Current store hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday *The hours will change next semester. renting more streamlined and get books out to more people who need them.” Previous customers have been receiving emails about the reopening.
Junior business administration major Mariam Hope plans to utilize the store again. “It’s relatively cheaper and closer,” Hope said. “That’s the advantage of going.” She shopped TXTBookRental every semester, except this one. She said she saves about $300 by doing so. However, she is concerned about the state of the store because of the closure. “They closed all of the sudden before,” she said. Bader said they plan to do more advertising once they get completely up and running next semester. He said there was a decent resurgence of customers Monday,
How will senators vote?
even though the store isn’t completely back on its feet yet. They BOOKS on Pg. 3
Community remembers retired professor, Shield adviser By JESSICA STALLINGS Staff writer Ronald ‘Ron’ Roat died of natural causes Thanksgiving Day at his home in Ludington, Mich. That’s how the author, former journalism professor and longtime adviser to The Shield would have wanted the lede written, 2007 graduate Amelia Hooper said. She remembers Roat explaining to her Basic Reporting class how a journalist should cover deaths. “I specifically remember him calling the phrase ‘passed away’ as fluffy language that journalists should never use,” Hooper said. “People die. They don’t pass away, pass on or fly into heaven.” Hooper said she loved his nononsense style of teaching and signed up for a class with him each year she attended USI. “My favorite class without a doubt was Editorial Writing,” Hooper said. “He would take a relatively hands-off approach, letting us argue our points using our own perspectives, research and assumptions.” She said she liked Roat’s honesty. He was fair even if what he said was brutal at times. “He didn’t expect perfection, but he expected honesty and the ability to learn and grow from mistakes,” Hooper said. “He put more focus on how I rebounded from my mistakes than the actual errors themselves, and that was a lesson I’ve carried with me ever since.” Hooper said she and Roat kept in touch off and on over the years, but there is plenty she will miss about him. “He had a great, witty sense of humor,” Hooper said. “His explanations simply made sense, but he’d love to hear an argument against it anyway, even if just for conversation’s sake.” Roat earned a bachelor’s de-
Photo courtesy of Chad Tew
Ron Roat worked as The Shield adviser from 1987 until 1996.
gree in journalism from Michigan State University and a master’s from Oregon State. He served as a reporter, editor or columnist at nine newspapers in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana. He joined the USI faculty in 1986 and became adviser to The Shield in 1987. He was also the program coordinator of the print and online journalism sequences. He retired from the university in 2007. Laura Buchanan, 2007 graduate, said she liked Roat instantly. “He always had an air about him that was so pessimistic, but on the inside he was so loveable and willing to crack a joke, especially at others’ expense,” Buchanan said. “His dry wit was always so attractive to the other students and me.” She said Roat never sugarcoated anything, and she learned so much about writing from that approach. “If he thought something didn’t work, he told you so, and if it were stupid, he said it was, right to your face,” Buchanan said. “At the same time, if you did very well, he didn’t hesitate to tell you that, either.” Buchanan said she remembers
one day in particular when he told her Editorial Writing class to stop writing “bullsh*t.” “I took it personally, so I stepped up and said, ‘You better tell me what your idea of bullsh*t is – that way I know, because I know your definition is different than mine,’” Buchanan said. “He replied, ‘Oh, but you write bullsh*t so well.’” That was “so Ron,” responding with an insult that was mixed with a compliment, she said. He was very frank, but everyone loved him for that. “In the professional world, your editor will often say, ‘I like this, this is good’ or ‘This is bad, remove it.’” Buchanan said. “But I survived Roat. I can take the heat, tell me what you really think.” Communications Department Chair Wayne Rinks said he first met Ron when he interviewed at USI in 1991. He remembers his strong personality best. “He had this really loud, somewhat boisterous laugh, and it was pretty infectious,” Rinks said. On Sept. 11, 2001, he became a lot closer to Roat. “We were sitting in our offices three doors down from
each other and I heard Ron say, ‘Oh my God, you have to come here’ and we saw that an airplane had crashed into the Trade Center,” Rinks said. “Ron was a pilot and he said, ‘How the hell does a plane hit the World Trade Center’ and as we were standing there watching, the other plane crashed.” Rinks said Roat was, in his opinion, an excellent author of crime novels. “I was never understanding why he didn’t make it bigger in that field,” Rinks said. “I really thought Ron was a great writer, particularly with his crime novels. I was just totally impressed.” He said he will miss Roat’s experience as a journalist, too. “He had encountered so many of the same situations and kinds of individuals and stories,” Rinks said. “His experience in that area was very valuable. It was valuable to the students and also to those of us that were his colleagues.” Brittany Evans, Roat’s only daughter, said her father was not shy about his opinions and you always knew what he thought about things. “He was very opinionated but had a giant heart and once you got to know him you would definitely see that,” Evans said. “He came off as rough around the edges, which he was, but the inside was really good.” She and Roat had plenty to bond over, and they were similar in a lot of ways. “We bonded about movies and television a lot,” Evans said. “Something serious would be going on, and we would be talking about what happened on the X-Files.” She and Roat also bonded over their love for cats. “He loved his cat,” Evans said. “He thought he was funny and he talked about him like he was a person. I got that from him.” Evans said her father loved to ROAT on Pg. 3
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The Faculty Senate will decide whether or not to make a public statement opposing House Joint Resolution-6 (HJR-6) Friday. The 14-member body failed to come to a consensus at its Nov. 22, meeting regarding its stance on the amendment that, if passed, would permanently define marriage as a bond between a man and a woman and would remove protections under current Indiana law for same-sex couples. After more than half an hour of deliberation, senators were split down the middle. The senate tabled the discussion, requesting Assistant Professor of Philosophy Garrett Merriam, who introduced the topic at the Nov. 8, meeting, and Vice Chair Jason Fertig collaborate on a statement.
The student publication of the University of Southern Indiana
The Shield asked senators Monday how they were going to vote. Chair Mary Hallock Morris said she would vote to make a statement opposing HJR-6. But other representatives weren’t as sure. “I’ve given it a lot of thought - I have mixed feelings,” said Peter Cashel-Cordo, economics professor. “I’m undetermined.” Assistant Professors of Health Services Frank Ward and Ethel Elkins were undecided as well. “I have no idea what the resolution will say at this point,” Elkins said. Merriam said he and Fertig will present a pair of resolutions to the senate Friday. One will reaffirm USI’s and the senate’s commitment to diversity and equality, but maintain that it is not the senate’s place to weigh in on political matters. The second will oppose HJR6, encourage the administration to do the same and acknowledge the “controversial nature” of the resolution, but hold that it is contrary to the faculty, staff and student’s best interests. “I am confident that one of these two resolutions will pass,” Merriam said. “I honestly do not know which of the two - time will tell.” He said individual faculty members are encouraged to use their voice as they see fit, and some are.
Stand-in planned for Friday:
Assistant Professor of Psychology Amie McKibban organized “Stand by me, and I will stand by you: Opposing HJR-6,” which will take place at 2 p.m. Friday in USI’s free speech zone, located between the Orr Center and University Center East. Students and faculty who attend the event will stand armin-arm silently as senators make their way to the UC to decide on a public statement. McKibban said her goal is to create a visible sign of support, not a loud protest. “When an issue is perceived as being controversial by higher administration, there is always that perceived threat of repercussions,” McKibban said. “The HJR-6 on Pg. 3
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