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Two Facility Operations staff members die Bob Rust and Custodial Services Assistant Bob Alves died April 10 and April 14. Rust was a project engineer for the university on campus and in Historic New Harmony for 15 years before retiring. Alves had been working in Custodial Services for 18 years before
by riley Guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
One former and one current university employee from the Facility Operations and Planning department died last week. Staff Engineer Emeritus
his death last week. “He was one of the most gentle, compassionate people I have ever met,” Custodial Services Supervisor Donald Broshears said of Alves. “He was extremely reliable and dedicated.” Alves started out as a third shift custodian before
working his way up to become Broshears’ assistant. “He was congenial and easy to get along with,” Broshears said. “I never received a negative comment from anyone about him.” Broshears said Alves was versatile, doing everything from clerical work to equip-
Meningitis immunization to be required by Sarah rogers opinion@usishield.com @suruhgrace
news@usishield.com @rguerzini
Construction for the Fuquay Welcome Center will be further delayed after bids continue to run overbudget. “We have been using a construction firm to give us a pre-look at what they thought it might cost,” Vice President for Finance and Administration Steve Bridges said. “We would like to be successful when we send it back out for bids.” Bridges said the bids are currently over budget by $300,000, and original bids were much higher. “I’m hoping we will be able to resolve that and get a project started pretty soon,” he said. DKGR Architects, an Indianapolis firm, drafted the
This story will continued to be updated online.
Alves
Welcome Center delayed
by riley Guerzini
ment maintenance. “He cared about his job,” he said. “He handled it like it was his personal responsibility. He will be sorely missed by the university.”
original plans for the Welcome Center, but changed some of the exterior materials and interior finishes to cut some of the expenses. Funds for the Welcome Center total to $2.5 million, with $2 million in donations from the Fuquay family and $500,000 from Old National Bank, with no state funding. No additional funding is expected, and Bridges said that is why they are working so hard with the existing budget. Bridges said construction companies have been unwilling to bid on a small project like the Welcome Center with other big money construction projects available like the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Hyatt Place hotel. “It’s a bid of the market,” he said. “Construction is booming in Evansville and there are a lot of people who
are fully employed and this is a smaller dollar amount project, and for them to commit their resources there, they are hoping for it to be a little bit higher.” Bridges said the university has tried to see if Empire Contractors, who are working on Phase I construction of the Physical Activities Center (PAC), will bid on the Welcome Center. “They may have an interest because they are already here,” he said. “We are going to bid it out. It’s going to be whoever gets it, but we think if they are already here they may find it more advantageous for them to add it to what they’re doing.” Bridges said he is hoping the Board of Trustees will approve a bid soon, and he expects construction to start by the end of the summer or beginning of fall. He said
Kennya Santiago was surprised when a hold appeared on her student account. The English teaching freshman received an email saying the hold was due to insufficient immunization records. “It was a week after school started when I was made aware the university didn’t have all my medical records,” Santiago said. “I wish I knew I didn’t have everything I needed before classes started.” Santiago said students who live further away would have a lot harder time getting medical records after they have already come to school. House Bill 1069, making the meningitis immunization required at Indiana public universities, passed through the state House of Representatives and the Senate and is waiting to be signed by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. Indiana residents are required to have this immunization in high school, so this bill will only affect out of state college students and international students. Hold are placed on accounts of students who are in need of immunizations. These holds prevent students from being able to register for classes until the hold is removed. Brady Sitzman said
the construction timeline will go unchanged and is still expected to take 12-15 months. Bridges said the fence surrounding the construction zone will remain up for the rest of the semester despite no construction taking place until after the conclusion of the semester. “Had we known how long it would have taken, we would have held putting it up to begin with,” he said. There will not be a second groundbreaking, and Bridges said construction will start as soon as a bid is accepted. “When it’s unsuccessful, we usually go back to the drawing board and don’t dwell too much on what came in,” he said. “We try to fix the dollar amount to determine what adjustment we need to make for a successful bid.”
there are four ways to remove an immunization hold. Sitzman, the Deaconess Practice Manager for the university Health Center said the easiest way to remove the hold is to receive the immunization. “Obviously we encourage students to receive all immunizations,” Sitzman said. “But students can get the immunization hold removed without getting the shot by claiming religious objections, medical objections, or if they are pregnant.” Sitzman said to qualify for the medical objections the student must sign a form of understanding they are putting their life and the lives of the university community in danger by refusing the immunization. “We make it very easy for students to receive their vaccinations on campus,” Sitzman said. “We offer the vaccinations at a discounted price than what a student would pay at the local CVS.” Sitzman said the University Health Center offers the meningitis vaccination for $115, compared to the $145 students would have to pay at CVS. Ward Harbin said the benefit of the bill is establishing preventative standards. “Meningitis is rare, but devastating,” the University Family Practice Physician said. “The disease grows most rapidly in
immunizations, PAGE 2
Student talks being “open-minded and educated” by Megan thorne Special to The Shield
Ellen Cooper said she believes spiritual diversity on campus is “essential” for students. “It’s very easy to sit in your own box with the ideas you’ve been raised with,” she said. “But college isn’t about being in your comfort zone; it’s about learning and expanding your mind.” Cooper, an intern for the Spiritual Diversity Project (SDP) at the university said the project is a product of Historic New Harmony, Office of Religious life and Office of the Provost. Its mission is to help students live wisely in a diverse community. Cooper said SDP hosts multiple events to get students involved and educated on spiritual diversity; however they have been poorly attended.
“It’s hard finding people who are very comfortable and happy with where they are,” she said. “…People feel no need to learn something that doesn’t pertain to them, especially if it’s not for class credit.” Cooper said they mainly use social media to spread the news and are hoping to expand their means of connecting in the future as the amount of people interacting with Facebook posts increases. “Students can expect to expand their understanding of the world through a religious lens,” she said. “Although our main goal is to create an inclusive religious environment, we also value education and understand that it is essential in creating a more tolerant campus.” Cooper, a senior English major, said the campus isn’t as diverse as it could be. “There are people with
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It’s overwhelming for someone who’s not Christian because they see all the options for someone that’s not them, and that’s not inclusive.
-Ellen Cooper Intern for Spiritual Development Project diverse religions on campus, I’ve met Mormons, Satanists, Pagans and Buddhists. Some of them have
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expressed they have a hard time connecting to USI and Evansville because there aren’t organizations that
pertain to them,” she said. “It’s overwhelming for someone who’s not Christian because they see all the options for someone that’s not them, and that’s not inclusive.” Cooper said she knows many students are fearful of learning about new religions because they feel they are being sacrilegious when really they are being “openminded and educated.” “As a college student, you look insanely ignorant if you can’t see something outside your perspective,” she said. “Students need to learn and be more compassionate.” Cooper said she feels President Donald Trump has had negative effects on people wanting to branch out of their comfort zones. She said she has seen places of worship and homes in the LGBTQ community vandalized, some-
thing that she feels the President “not only encourages but rewards.” Cooper said she encourages people to be educated on other people’s religions and wants them to have the ability to find out what the five pillars of Islam are, learn the Buddhist and Hindu theologies and the basics of Judaism. “If you let yourself learn something about someone’s perspective, that will make that person more human to you, and when you view someone as a human you can treat them well,” she said. “It’s easy to take the face off of a religion. For instance when you hear about Muslims in the media, you won’t see them as people following their god. You see people in hijabs as terrorists, and it’s important to find the truth and the humanity in the religion.” Religious Life Direc-
diversity, PAGE 2
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