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The News Source for Webster University Volume 63 • Issue 2
August 27-September 2, 2009 www.webujournal.com
Fire Alarm Delays Orientation
UPFRONT
BY AMIR KURTOVIC AND KHOLOOD EID
News Editor and Photo Editor
Art Cars Invade Webster
A documentary about art cars brought some mobile masterpieces to Webster University. Read more about the filmmaker, and go for a crazy ride.
Lifestyle | 6
Summer Photos Webster students share snapshots of their fun-filled days in the sun from the St. Louis area to the West coast.
Lifestyle | 7
The return of veteran players gives the Gorloks high hopes for the season.
Sports | 10
OUTSIDE
FRIDAY Rain likely 78/62
SATURDAY Sunny 80/53
SUNDAY Sunny 73/49
Source: The National Weather Service
INDEX
News Editorial Op/Ed Lifestyle Health The Venue Sports
KHOLOOD EID/The Journal
Webster Groves Company 2015 firefighters Kevin Owens of Crestwood and Matt Coppin of Eureka leave LorettoHilton after a fire scare before the opening speeches of freshmen orientation weekend on Friday, Aug. 21.
the disturbance. “I don’t think it was hectic at all,” said Jabrina Simmons, an OL and senior biology major. “We tried to move everybody out of way before the fire department arrived.” Stroble stood outside the Loretto-Hilton Center talking with Webster Groves Mayor Gerry Welch and Dean of Business Benjamin Akande, among others. They, too, were relaxed and appeared to
be having a casual conversation. Stroble later remarked that she was exchanging notes with Mayor Welch about the response to the fire alarm by WU staff and Webster Groves police and fire fighters. The city of Webster Groves showed up in force. Three fire engines, one cop car and one ambulance were on the scene by 9:09 a.m. Both lanes of Garden Avenue, behind the Loretto-Hilton center, were closed to traffic,
while one lane of Edgar Road, in front of Emerson library, was also blocked. By 9:15 a.m. the LorettoHilton center was deemed safe by firefighters, allowing the planned event to get back on track. “[The alarm was] a minor setback and delay,” Stroble said, “but also a teachable moment about See ORIENTATION Page 3
Commuter students worry about parking, WU tries to get them engaged on campus
Women’s Volleyball Preview
THURSDAY Rain likely 84/64
A fire alarm delayed the official start of orientation weekend Friday, Aug. 21, in morning at the Loretto-Hilton Center. But instead of fire or smoke, spray paint was the culprit. “Workers in the scene shop in the basement [of the Loretto-Hilton center] were spray painting, and the smoke detectors are pretty sensitive” said Tracy Winka, a Public Safety manager. “Sometimes they put bags over the detectors to stop them from going off, but in this case they did not.” Students and parents were streaming into the auditorium when the alarm went off at 9:02 a.m. Webster University’s President Elizabeth Stroble was only a few feet away from the entrance of the auditorium, speaking to Student Government Association President Justin Raymundo, a sophomore human rights and English major. In the duration of that conversation orientation leaders (OLs) started telling people to evacuate the building. In front of the Loretto-Hilton Center, OLs and Public Safety officers cleared the driveway and told people to move to the sidewalk and grassy areas. Fire sirens could be heard wailing in the distance and nobody appeared overly concerned or annoyed by
BY AMIR KURTOVIC News Editor
At a commuter orientation session inside the Winifred Moore auditorium Friday, Aug. 21, most of the questions from students and their parents were about parking. But representatives of Webster University’s Commuter Council said they would like to see students devote more time to campus activities and less to worrying about parking. “Our hope for this year is to create programs on campus that will get commuter students to be more involved and engaged on campus, rather than continue to be segregated,” said Jennifer Violett, the assistant director of the University Center and adviser for the Commuter Council. Violett would like to see commuter students get involved on campus and attend activities sponsored by different student groups rather than creating separate events. As a former WU commuter student herself, Violett admits she did not feel connected to WU until she took an active interest in campus activities. WU
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KHOLOOD EID/The Journal
Jennifer Violett, the assistant director of the University Center and adviser for the Commuter Council, addresses a packed Winifred Moore Auditorium during freshman orientation Friday, Aug. 21.
lated from the University,” Penberthy said. “We’re trying really hard to get the commuters involved in the different campus organizations.” At the commuter orientation session, Penberthy stood behind the podium and led the discussion. He was accompanied by a six-member panel of WU
Best Colleges To Work For: WU makes list for second year BY AMIR KURTOVIC News Editor
1 4 5 6 7 8 10
started the Commuter Council last spring to help students get involved on campus. Previously, WU students have formed groups similar to the Commuter Council. But without the support of a dedicated WU staff person, the groups would eventually fall apart as its founders graduated or lost interest. That is where Violett comes in. Violett, a full-time staff member, is responsible for advising and planning for the council. Along with Chris Penberthy, the president of the Commuter Council, they plan to work with different groups around campus to make commuter students a more integrated segment of WU’s population. WU, after all, has more commuter students than residents. The council is organized as an advisory board with representation from groups such as the Student Government Association, Public Safety, the Faculty Senate, the Accessibility committee and Residential and Housing Association. “I have a lot of commuter friends who said they feel iso-
Even though 2009 has been a dismal year for employees, employers and job seekers alike, Webster University has reason to celebrate. For the second year in a row the Chronicle of Higher Education, a publication dedicated to covering higher education, has named WU as one of the best colleges to work for. The Chronicle’s second annual survey of “Great Colleges to Work For” saw WU with a spot on the honor roll, the list of the 10 best colleges to work for. WU received the same award last year, in the Chronicle’s first
survey. The survey is based on responses from more than 41,000 higher education employees at 247 colleges and universities. “I experienced the warm, friendly and supportive culture at Webster the first time I visited,” said WU President Elizabeth Stroble in a statement. “It is an honor for the faculty and staff to be recognized nationally among peers for the outstanding work environment they’ve helped create throughout the Webster University network. “The Board of Trustees has empowered the university to continue to build a workplace in which everyone at Webster — faculty, staff and students — flourishes,” said Stroble.
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One measure of job satisfaction is how long employees stay. Don Pillman, a staff member in the Desktop Technical Services department, has worked for WU since 1981. He remembers when most of the school was housed in Webster Hall and WU had to share a library with Eden Theological Seminary. “What has really kept me here is the incredible growth Webster has experienced,” Pillman said. “It went from a sleepy little college to a world-wide university.” Pillman worked in a factory before WU, but wanted to get a job doing something See Webster Page 3
students and staff, each with experience commuting to WU. As they tried to answer all questions coming from the large crowd of incoming freshmen and transfer students, it was clear that the biggest concern was parking. Questions were asked about See Commuter Page 2
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KHOLOOD EID/The Journal
Fightin’ Gorloks Webster University is one of most military friendly schools BY COLLEEN REANY Online Editor
G.I. Jobs Magazine ranked Webster University among the top 15 percent for military friendly schools for 2010 in its September issue. According to Dean Grossman, the military representative for the St. Louis Webster campus, online degree options and financial aid programs give military personal flexibility with their education. “Webster University has a longstanding tradition of welcoming both active-duty military and veterans to its worldwide network of campuses,” President Elizabeth Stroble said in a statement posted online. Grossman feels military personnel are mostly attracted to WU for the same reasons as civilians. “The wide range of programs is a big seller,” Grossman said. “They also have the ability to combine two programs under one degree.” Webster offers classes at more than 100 locations including 40 military installations. As the first university to setup a campus on a military base, WU first began offering See Military Page 3
STUDENT STAT