Nov 7, 2013

Page 1

In this Issue Vol. 44 Issue 12

Rugby pg. 7 Norwegian Foot March pg. 4

Thursday, Thur rsday, Nove November 7, 2013

THE

SHIELD www.usishield.com

E-cigarettes smoke up campus despite policy By SHANNON HALL Staff writer Steve Bequette dipped tobacco for several years. When he played baseball, dipping was part of the sport. It was also easier to dip in a vehicle during his law enforcement days, before he came to USI as Public Safety Assistant Director. When the tobacco-free policy went into effect in July 2011, he quit dipping – “cold turkey.” “This is the longest I’ve ever gone. I can tell a difference. So it’s definitely a health benefit,” Bequette said. “It’s been tough.” But there is an alternative to smoking and chewing on campus that students choose to indulge in: e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain flavored water vapor with an option to infuse nicotine in it when a person takes a puff.

Hitler costume raises eyebrows By JAMES VAUGHN News editor A strength and conditioning trainer for USI’s softball team is under fire after photos surfaced of her dressed as Adolf Hitler with a swastika on her arm. The trainer, Chrissy Fowler, works with the university’s athletic program which hires independent contractors from time to time. She is not considered a university employee. Two photos, one of Fowler standing in front of a University of Southern Indiana AllAmericans sign in the Physical Activities Center and another of her posing with the team, were posted to the unofficial USI Ea-

gles Softball Fan Page Halloween morning. The photos have since been removed. Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications Kindra Strupp said the university became aware of the incident that evening when 14 News reached out to Media Relations Specialist Wendy Bredhold about the photos, which someone sent to the local NBC affiliate. Provost Ron Rochon said civil discourse is his mantra, and he plans to take this opportunity to educate the USI community. “We will learn a lesson from this,” he said. “Our core values will not be negotiated.” Rochon said he does not want

the softball team to be the highlight of this. “This will hopefully lead to some proactive, progressive and productive change,” he said. “Something like this that causes people pain concerns me. We have to be sensitive to our community.” Ashley Oglesby said she is not offended by Fowler’s costume. “I give points for creativity,” she said. “How many other people are you going to see dressed up as Hitler?” The junior criminal justice major said she is not prejudiced, and there is a place to draw the line when it comes to Halloween costumes. “Playing out the victim of cru-

el acts, in my opinion, is drawing the line,” she said. A story out of Michigan about a woman who dressed up as a Boston Marathon bombing victim offends her more. “The key factor is recency,” Oglesby said. “The more current the event is, the more offensive it becomes.” She doesn’t think a big deal would have been made if the costume was portraying a holocaust victim. “There are so few victims left to be hurt by it,” she said. Fowler had not responded to The Shield’s inquiry as of Wednesday morning.

Photo courtesy of Master of Health Administration website

Graduate students establish international ties By ROBERTO CAMPOS Special to The Shield Tracy Snyder was a student in USI’s Master of Health Administration (MHA) in 2011 and took advantage of a study abroad opportunity. Students can study at Hochschule Osnabrück alongside the German university’s health professions students.

Snyder and other MHA and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) students traveled to the German University of Applied Sciences, where Hochschule Osnabrück students and USI students taught one another about their respective culture’s healthcare systems. A group of nine students from the two programs left Saturday

The Shield is a designated public forum.

to embark on the annual November trip that made Snyder challenge her own beliefs. “(Going to Hochschule Osnabrück) made me and my classmate that went really think about our own healthcare system,” said Snyder, a 2012 graduate of the MHA program. “As you grow up in America, you don’t really think so much about the things

that you always take for granted. Going somewhere else and learning how they do healthcare really made us reevaluate our own system.” The students who traveled to Hochschule Osnabrück are the third group of students to participate in the adventure, which is planned around a one-week

HEALTH on Pg. 3

The students publication of the University of Southern Indiana

“I’ve heard rumors about it (e-cigarettes on campus), and I think that our campus proportionally follows local and national trends,” Bequette said. Most states are categorizing them with tobacco products, he said. According to a Washington Post article, four states and Washington D.C. have included e-cigarettes in indoor-smoking bans with three more following suit. The article also mentions nine more states that categorize e-cigarettes as tobacco products. USI also lumps e-cigarettes into its policy against cigarettes; therefore, “e-cigs” are not allowed on campus. “It was included because of the unknowns,” said Dave Enzler, Tobacco-Free USI Committee co-chair.

E-CIGS on Pg. 3

USI steers clear of same-sex marriage debate By JAMES VAUGHN News editor USI has no current plan to take a public position on a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, said Kindra Strupp, assistant vice president for marketing and communications. So far, Indiana University, DePauw University and Wabash College have joined Freedom Indiana, a state-wide coalition working to defeat House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR6), an amendment that, if passed, would permanently define marriage as between a man and a woman and would remove protections under current Indiana law for samesex couples. Purdue President Mitch Daniels, who supported the amendment as governor, declined to comment to the media about his current stance. The university has not taken a position, but the Purdue University Senate may discuss the issue in the next few weeks. IU’s Faculty Council unanimously voted on a resolution opposing HJR6, and endorsing the university’s decision to join Freedom Indiana at its Oct. 29 meeting. USI Faculty Senate ViceChair Jason Fertig said there are currently no resolutions on the table regarding HJR6 or Freedom Indiana. President Linda Bennett had not responded to The Shield’s request for comment as of Wednesday morning Public Relations Instructor Mary Beth Reese said it’s all about perception. “If an organization says they support something, they ultimately support everything

DEBATE on Pg. 3

Additional Copies of The Shield are 25 cents


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Nov 7, 2013 by The Shield - Issuu