TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 95, ISSUE 04
WKU discusses confidence in Caboni BY LILY BURRIS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
Two years removed from his entry into a “tumultuous” situation, Timothy Caboni begins his third year of presidency with all eyes on him. Caboni came into his presidency with issues already prevalent at WKU. Larry Snyder, dean of Potter College of Arts and Letters, described it as a “very difficult time” in WKU’s history. “The waters had been choppy when he arrived on the ship, and that has nothing to do with him or his style,
that’s just where we are,” Snyder said. One of the biggest issues WKU was facing when Caboni arrived in July 2017 was balancing a budget riddled with debt. The debt service total from the 2017-18 WKU budget books indicates that WKU had to deal with $17.3 million of debt during Caboni’s first year alone. Dean May, a social work professor, said Caboni may not have known what he was getting into when he arrived. “He, probably once he got here, realized it was probably worse than what he may have realized or what may have been discussed when he was
interviewing,” May said. One of the ways WKU has dealt with its budget issues under Caboni is with tuition increases. During Caboni’s first year, tuition was $5,101 per semester. That has increased to $5,401 per semester. Tuition increases are a part of the way WKU is combating a large budget deficit that’s increasingly complicated due to declining enrollment and lessening state appropriations. Students provide another perspective on Caboni altogether. It would be hard to claim that students evaluate every administrative move made by WKU’s president. Some students like
Kennedy Palmer, a nursing sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee, are more interested in Caboni’s demeanor on campus than his actions taken. “I think [Caboni’s] good spirit helps us want to be better students, because if he wants to put on a good face for the school, then so should everybody else,” Palmer said. Julie Shadoan, paralegal studies professor and Faculty Senate chair, said the circumstances under which Caboni assumed the role of president were challenging. She described the culmination of issues as “the ball has been kicked SEE CABONI • PAGE A3
REED MATTISON • HERALD
Dancers take the stage holding the flags of their respective home countries. The Latin American community makes up the largest percentage of Bowling Green’s minority population, city commissioner Dana Brown said.
FIESTA FOR ALL
Bowling Green celebrates its Hispanic community SEE PAGE B5
PTS changes include parking meter rate increases for 2019-20 BY ABBEY NUTTER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU WKU Parking and Transportation Services has implemented a variety of changes for the 2019-2020 school year, including one measure that, while improving convenience, will cost students more money. PTS raised rates for campus parking
meters, going from 25 cents for 15 minutes to 50 cents for 15 minutes. PTS Director Jennifer Tougas explained that part of this decision was aligning the rates at the meters with public parking areas and recovering some of the costs of the smart meters themselves. “All of the meters now accept credit cards, and there are credit card transaction fees that go along with that,” Tou-
gas said. Another new addition to PTS, according to Tougas, is a free on-demand van service in the evenings for after the buses stop running. “We’re really looking forward to students who are parking in remote areas late at night using that service to get around campus,” Tougas said. Students can download the TapRide app and log in using their NetID after
choosing the WKU option for their location. Once a student has logged into the app, there is a map of all the pick-up and drop-off locations. “It kind of works like a closed Uber or Lyft system, where it goes to the driver and the driver comes to get you,” Tougas said. SEE PARKING METERS • PAGE A2