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T h u r s d a y, F e b r u a r y 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 | U s i s h i e l d . c o m | v o l . 4 7 i s s u e 2 4
SGA elects new president
Library unveils strategic plan Additional popular fiction, lower level main focus
by Riley Guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
The Student Government Association elected Christina Lutes as the organization’s new president following the resignation of former president Ashley Wright three weeks ago. Interim president Ashlyn Jones will step down and re-
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Being an economics major, I love making decisions, especially the big ones. -Christina Lutes SGA President
turn to her duties as executive vice president. Lutes will serve as president for the remainder of the semester. Lutes, a junior economics major, started as a Romain College of Business representative last year before becoming the associate vice
Lutes
president of University Affairs this year. “I had some people that were pushing me to run, and I thought I could fit the bill very well because I already attend SGA events or make SGA events,” she said. Lutes said former AVP of University Affairs Damien Burge instilled in her the confidence to pursue her goals. “Being an economics major, I love making decisions, especially the big ones, and I think this new role will bring that out in me,” she said. “I’ve always wanted people to look up to me and appreciate some of the work that I’ve been doing.” She said she gained experience from her time running a babysitting company along with her involvement in organizations like the Habitat for Humanity, but withdrew from these activities to spend more time on SGA.
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illistration by philip Kuhns | The Shield
The Rice Library announced their new strategic plan for 2017-2021 last week. Among the plans are the addition of more popular fiction titles, increased faculty outreach, expanding the uses of the lower level of the library and replacing part-time staff with full-time staff.
by riley guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
The Rice Library released its strategic plan for 2017-2021 last week focusing on four objectives: collections, services, spaces and staff. The strategic plan is the library’s second, the first one was set for 2010-2016 and was one of the last objectives of the previous library director, Ruth Miller. “I was really happy and thankful that that was in place,” current Director of Rice Library Marna Hostetler said. “It was very helpful as I was interviewing and preparing to come work for the library.” One objective for the strategic plan is the addition of more popular fiction books.
The collection of over 500 titles will be loaned to the Rice Library through the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library. Hostetler said the library will have a year-long trial run before making any permanent decisions. “We are going to see how it goes,” she said. “We will track the numbers and see if people like it.” Another objective for the library is further outreach to faculty, including space for faculty receptions. “We are hoping to hire a librarian who will work on scholarly communication issues, and this person will work closely with faculty on things like retaining author rights when they publish articles.” Hostetler said. “Libraries are changing, but publishing is changing very quickly and
rapidly, so this is part of that transition to digital that we’ve been seeing for some time now.” The strategic plan also includes expanding the use of the lower level of the library. Hostetler said the library is looking to keep the lower level open until midnight year-round, as it currently closes at 9 p.m. Hostetler said this will open up more study space in the library, but she is hesitant to keep it open until 2 a.m. like the rest of the library due to safety concerns in the lower level after midnight. “There is a known war for study rooms on the second, third and fourth floors, so if you leave it open until midnight, I don’t think there will be as much of a problem with people fighting for study rooms,”
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library student worker Joycelynn Witherspoon said. “I think the biggest problem currently is the study rooms and study spaces. I think with the new BookIt! System, it hasn’t been as much of a problem, but just having more study spaces would be very beneficial.” The last objective of the strategic plan is replacing part-time staff with full-time staff. Hostetler said the change would not happen until fall of 2017. She said the idea was also implemented into the first strategic plan. There are currently 10 part-time staff working at Rice Library. “I think it will be a lot easier for the communication between library staff,” Witherspoon said. Hostetler said the plan will continue without any
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Alumni faring differently since graduation
Photo courtesy of Taylor Hall
Graduates sit during the 2016 spring graduatin ceremony and listen to an address. The university holds two graduation ceremonies each academic year.
by Taylor O’Neil Hall Special to The Shield
Teddi Rausch accepted an internship in Indianapolis last month and was told to look for a place to live. The next day the company told her the position had been offered to someone
else because she wasn’t moving fast enough. Rausch, who graduated with a degree in international studies in December, said instead of interning at the LegisGroup where she would be under the guidance of professional lobbyists, she is now working
at what she describes as a “boring” job. “I’m working at the Evansville Country Club trying to save up money because I don’t have a bunch, and I need to start paying my [student loan] interest off,” she said. “I haven’t completely given up. I’m
just kind of taking a little bit of time to actually chill out.” The unexpected turn Rausch’s life took in the span of two days could serve as a cautionary tale for future college graduates who expect to have a job waiting for them after
graduation. “I thought I was set and ready to go and pursue my dreams to get to work in the Statehouse and get to work directly with politicians,” Rausch said. “I guess that’s where you find heartbreak sometimes is when you have to rethink your whole life when you didn’t think you would have to. No matter how much time you’ve put into it.” Even though some of her sorority sisters from Alpha Sigma Tau found jobs in their fields right after college, Rausch said she avoids comparing herself to them because it would cause her to be mad at herself for not having the same pace as other people. Rausch said she doesn’t feel like the university prepared her for a job in her field, but she gives credit to Career Services for giving her the interviewing skills necessary to be hired for a job outside of her field of study. Rausch said if she could give any advice to current undergraduates, it would be for them to plan ahead and make multiple plans because she feels that’s where she went wrong in the time leading up to graduation. “I think before you graduate you need to have plans a, b, c, d, e,” Rausch said. “I feel like that’s where I
lacked because everything fell [through], and I was hesitant to do something else because I was thinking ‘what’s going on’ and I had to take time to collect.” Though Rausch’s life since graduation hasn’t gone the way she had hoped, that doesn’t mean all USI alumni are faring the same way. Some, like Nick Mathis, don’t have to worry about the next few letters in their plans. Mathis, who graduated with a degree in engineering in 2015, said he doesn’t have any complaints since graduation. He’s married, and has a house and a job as a process engineer at a Fort Wayne company called Colwell which makes paint chips for hardware stores. The whole process of finding a full-time job in his field took him around six weeks, once he started looking. Until he found a job, he spent his time working at the campus bookstore and Azzip Pizza, Mathis said. He said he began searching for a job by applying online, but none of the jobs he applied for ever materialized. After receiving no replies from the places he applied to online, he started applying in person so that the employers would be able to associate his face with his resume.
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