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Farmer Joel
Joel Salatin speaks at Webster for freshman seminar and discussed the benefits of farm-grown food.
Lifestyle | 6
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The News Source for Webster University Volume 63 • Issue 8
October 8-14, 2009 www.webujournal.com
Students present issues at Delegates’ Agenda
Roof Construction
UPFRONT
ONLINE NEWS
BY BRITTNEY FRENCH Staff Writer
Frankenfoods! How many Americans are aware they’re munching on mutants at mealtime?
Opinion | 5
THEO WELLING / The Journal
The roof on the Sverdrup building is being replaced. Work is expected to continue until the end of the year. Asbestos has been detected in the roof shingles.
Roof repair will cost $1 million BY KAREN MYERS
Mike Riti
Staff Writer
Senior forward is top performer for men’s soccer team, while dealing with Diabetes and injuries.
Sports | 10
Coming OUT Webster students showed support for National Coming Out Day by decorating T-shirts.
When Webster University’s Sverdrup building was constructed in 1987, the roof was supposed to last fifty years. Thirty years ahead of schedule, the roof is leaking, the original roofing company is out of business, there is asbestos in the roof and shingles and WU is out of $1 million. “The roof has been a problem for a lot of years,” said David Stone, the director of facilities planning and management. “There’s a lot of water damage, and a lot of the materials have failed prematurely.”
Stone said there are leaks in the Lantern Lounge and some of the math department offices. “The material is so brittle that if you go on the roof to find a leak you break six to eight more shingles,” Stone said. Work to completely remove and replace the roof on the Sverdrup building began Sept. 24. The contractual start date was after Labor Day, but getting the right permits took longer than expected, as there was asbestos in the roofing material. Some asbestos containing material is present in the roof and being handled according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.
Asbestos is a heat-resistant fiber that, in certain forms, can cause health related problems, including lung cancer, if the fibers are inhaled. It was commonly used in construction material until the 1980s. “There is no risk to anybody,” said Tim O’Connell, president of RMT Roofing and Waterproofing Consultants, the company hired to oversee the construction. Stone said the asbestos in Sverdrup’s roof is encapsulated, meaning it is sealed inside of a protective shell. Asbestos is only harmful if it is ground up into smaller pieces. Tim O’Connell said the amount
of asbestos escaping into the air is less than allowed, so the risk of any harmful effects is minimal. “The personal exposure limit threshold is not even near being met,” Tim O’Connell said. “We had air monitors on the roof collecting air samples to ascertain the amount of asbestos in the air,” said Ryan O’Connell, a consultant from RMT. Workers from Geissler Roofing Co. Inc., the roofing company hired by WU, had to complete a 10-hour course in how to handle the material. See Roof Page 3
Webster University students brought campus issues to administration and faculty members Thursday, Oct. 1, at the fall 2009 Delegates’ Agenda in the University Center Sunnen Lounge. “Students deserved to be heard,” said Paul Carney, vice president of enrollment management and student affairs. A panel of six WU administrators, including President Elizabeth Stroble and Chancellor Neil George, watched as students discussed campus problems they feel need to be addressed and would like to see resolved. “It’s great how the students can not only identify an issue and a need, but also help to do the homework and actually give you some tangible solutions and what it would take to solve the problem,” Stroble said. “I have never seen that before by student leaders at an organization.” Student Government Association (SGA) President Justin Raymundo, a sophomore international human rights and English major, began the event by giving a brief history of the Delegates’ Agenda to audience members and discussing how it has impacted WU in the past. “This year’s Delegates’ Agenda really recognizes the progression and the success that they’ve had,” Raymundo said. “Students are now able to move toward issues that are more on point and can be resolved.” See Delegates’ Page 2
Stroble’s first 100 days
BY MATT BLICKENSTAFF Managing Editor
News | 3
OUTSIDE
THURSDAY Rain Likely 68/56
FRIDAY Rain Likely 61/44
SATURDAY SUNDAY Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny 59/41 56/41
Source: The National Weather Service
INDEX
News Editorial Op/Ed Lifestyle Health The Venue Sports
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Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s legendary First 100 Days, presidents have been judged early on by their performance within their first few months in office. Webster University President Elizabeth Stroble’s first 100 days have been a time for learning, introductions and discussions about WU’s future. Aside from a few monthly visits since she was hired by WU on Feb. 10, 2009, Stroble officially began her tenure as president on July 1. Oct. 8 will be her 100th day in office. Stroble said her first goal was to get to know WU’s history, culture and direction. “I think the learning process probably never fully ends, but 100 days certainly isn’t enough to feel like I know it all,” Stroble said. “It probably will take a year before I’ve even experienced every one of the key learning events here. I’m still really in a learning mode, but I do know more than I did on July first.” Part of this process involved open houses with members of WU’s different departments, and meetings with faculty, staff and student leadership. “Most people know I don’t spend a whole lot of time in my office,” Stroble said. “I’m out in this community a lot because I need to hear what people think the next level is for Webster.” Stroble has focused primarily on advancing the strategy laid out in WU’s The 20/20 Vision plan. The plan, which outlines a series of goals to be accomplished by 2014, includes objectives such as setting WU as the standard for global education and enhancing WU’s overall reputation. “I think she’s really got a vision in terms of how to help us achieve our vision,” said Karen Luebbert, WU’s vice president and assistant to the president. “She hasn’t come in here with a new vision. She knew our strategic plan before she came, she has accepted and endorsed it, and believes that it is indeed the right thing we ought to be doing, but we all recognized she’s the leader of the university and she can help us in ways that
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY THEO WELLING AND KHOLOOD EID / The Journal
Crime on campus is down, but burglaries are still the biggest problem, report says.
Annual crime report shows drop in campus incidents BY AMY BUCHANAN
SAM DITTMANN / The Journal
President Beth Stroble in her office in Loretto Hall on Oct. 6, 2009.
none of us can.” Of course, Stroble points out, interpretations of the 20/20 Vision vary from person to person and department to department. “Reading a document’s one thing,” Stroble said. “Talking to people about it and understanding why they thought this piece or this goal or this strategy was important helps me be more effective. Not everybody thinks that global citizenship means the same thing, but were having the conversation. These divisions make us strong. We want to celebrate the divisions, but we want to use that strength to get to a great result.” Like any large institution, WU’s faculty and staff have divergent ideas of where WU should be headed and what the best way
is to get there. “As a leader there’s no way you’re going to get 100 percent buy in on anything,” said Ralph Olliges, the president of the Faculty Senate. “It doesn’t matter what it is but we want a general consensus Stroble isn’t the only administrator adjusting to a new position; Chancellor Neil George is about to wrap up his first 100 too. The presidential search process ended with a bit of a twist when Stroble was chosen as president and George, then the interim president, was given the newly created job of chancellor. Without any precedent, George has had to define his role from scratch. See Stroble Page 2
Staff Writer
Webster University has seen a steady decrease in crime on campus since 2006, according to the Clery Report. Public Safety wants students to understand and use the safety resources available to them. “My goal is to have the safest campus in the world,” said Dan Pesold, director of Public Safety. “We strive to be the best at what we do.” T.J. Wille, a senior photography major, feels public safety is doing a good job at keeping WU safe. “Public safety will go out of their way to make sure any situation is handled,” Wille said. The Clery Act, established in 1990, is named after Jeanne Clery, a 20-year-old Lehigh University student that was murdered in her dorm by another student. This
bill, initiated by Clery’s parents, is a federal law that requires all colleges and universities to disclose security policies and annual statistics of all violent crimes on campus. “Crimes that happen on campus and property adjacent to campus have to be documented,” Pesold said. “We have to report on everything.” In the past, burglaries have been the biggest problem at WU. In 2006, there were 47 cases of unlawful entry reported. Seven of those unlawful entry cases were reported in the resident halls. Last year, 20 burglary cases were reported and three of those were in resident halls. Pesold attributes the decrease in burglaries to students taking a greater sense of their surroundings. See Crime Page 2