Students at Northern Kentucky University should expect an increase in price of on-campus services. NKU Campus Housing and Dining will be increasing the cost of housing and residential meal plans.

Campus housing and dining, as well as parking services, are all reli-ant on self-sustaining in-house fund-ing. This means that their source of income is directly related to the ser-vices rendered and that they are re-sponsible for their own departmental expenses such as employees, mainte-nance and products like food or park-ing passes.

“The housing, dining, and parking are all what we call auxiliaries, or self-supporting operations which have a special accounting designation,” said Kenneth Kline, senior director of the budget office. “They’re activities that are not related to our core educa-tional mission, but they’re services we provide. So, really those units put together their budgets based on being self-supporting.”

The prices for meals, parking pass-es and housing are all directly re-lated to projected expenses, and ex-cess funding is put aside for various needs, such as emergency mainte-nance or projects like the repainting of the inside of Norse Hall.

Students who live on campus can expect an increase in their housing rates. Students who paid $2,135 to

live in a double room in Norse Hall this semester will be expected to pay $2,200 this coming fall semester, a $65 increase in expense. Students who lived in the double room in the Woodcrest Apartments will similarly be expected to pay $2,755, which is

an $80 increase from this semester’s cost of $2,675.

“We are looking at a three per-cent, across the board, increase for all room types,” said Interim Direc-tor for University Housing Arnie

Slaughter, “and three percent is actu-ally the lowest increase we’ve had in at least five years. Our goal typically is to keep these increases as minimal as possible, but in some cases we do need to increase rates for a variety of reasons.”

Slaughter said the fund increases will be typically expected to be used for facility improvement and antici-pated staff increases. If there are no staff increases, then the funds will be reallocated to possible facilities proj-

ects, programming needs for students and paying off the department’s debt services.

Residential meal plans will see a similar increase next semester, aver-aging around five percent, or about $70 for each meal plan. Students who paid $1,360 for the “15 Meals (Per Week) plus $100 Flex” will now pay closer to $1,430, while students who were on the “Norse Unlimited plus $100 Flex” plan who paid $1,490 will now be looking at a price tag of $1,565 for their meal plan.

“There is going to be a project to renovate a part of the library to pro-vide food on the weekends that will probably be funded,” Kline said. “But as of now there will not be any sav-ing for new parking decks for a while, because if we did a new parking deck construction we would probably is-sue debt, like we borrowed with the [Bank of Kentucky] deck, and these payments will probably go towards issuing that debt.”

Kline explained that the price of dining plans increase based on ne-gotiations with the food service pro-vider Chartwells and may depend on inflation.

“The price of living at NKU goes up every year. We kind of expect it to anyways,” senior electronic me-dia broadcasting major De’sean El-lis said. “I am originally from Louis-ville, so its not like I can commute to school, so I pay what I’m supposed to because I have to. Thankfully, I really have enjoyed living here, so I guess I don’t mind.”

@northernermediathenortherner.comThe Northerner NKU’s independent student-run newspaperWednesday, February 29, 2012Edition 49, Issue 8 Value: 75 cents

Employee denies defamation claim

Students ‘Remember the Times’ in fashion show

Golf teams prepare for upcoming season

See NEWS, p.6 See p.8 See SPORTS, p. 15

Zachary RogersStaff writer

University Housing and Dining plan to increase the cost of living on campus and meal plans to cover “facility improvement” and “anticipated staff increases.”

Photo by Brittany Granville

Housing, dining costs on the riseStudents can expect a three percent increase in price to live and dine on campus

OpEd February 29, 20122

Just

for

laug

hs

Aaron SprinklesViewpoints editor

Santorum: Colleges are ‘indoctrination mills’

The race for the Republi-can nomina-tion this year has been more i n t e r e s t i n g than any I can r e m e m b e r . It seems like Rick Santo-rum may beat Gingrich in

their apparent competition to see who can tell the big-gest, most ideological lie. The former Pennsylvania senator characterized the nation’s colleges as “indoctrination mills” last Thursday in an attempt to criticize one of President Obama’s ini-tiatives on higher education. Employ-ing a variation of the standard “aca-demia is a liberal cesspool” rhetoric, Santorum argued (with a straight face) that our universities brainwash stu-dents – in four to six short years trans-forming them into liberal atheists.

Santorum’s unfortunate comments were made in an interview with the lu-

natic and notorious demagogue Glenn Beck, claiming “I understand why Barack Obama wants to send every kid to college, because of their indoctrina-tion mills, absolutely … The indoctri-nation that is going on at the university level is a harm to our country.” Further, “62 percent of kids who go into college with a faith commitment leave with-out it.” Santorum was unable to cite a source for this figure, and since most of the studies that aren’t ambiguous say the opposite, that those who don’t go to college are the least religious, it seems clear the statistic was a calculated lie.

Santorum is in an interesting posi-tion in the race for the nomination. Ri-val candidate Mitt Romney, as a Mor-mon and a former financier, naturally appeals to business but has been un-able to reach evangelicals and the pop-ulist segment of the Republican power base that opposed the bank bailouts. This makes Santorum an extremely dangerous person. With every incen-tive to weld a coalition between blue-collar workers anxious about outsourc-ing and religious extremists anxious to foist their dogmas on the public, the former senator is building a constitu-ency comprised of the most reaction-

ary and philistine elements of the body politic.

As for Santorum’s comments, they drip with the typical hypocrisy of insti-tutional religion. Indoctrination tech-niques are a mainstay of religious in-struction in many traditions, children and the vulnerable being almost exclu-sively the subject. Additionally, enroll-ment in a university is usually the first opportunity many young adults have to create distance from their parents – and their parents’ worldview. The real problem fundamentalists have with universities is that, unlike the evan-gelical home, the college environment at least nominally promotes intellec-tual freedom. As such it is a weak link in the pattern of control that hardline religious traditions attempt to erect around the lives of their adherents, al-lowing a portion of their captive audi-ence to escape into other interpreta-tions of the world.

Not to mention extremist objections to the fact that universities are the re-pository for information that refutes foolish claims, chief among them being that the Bible or any other religious text is inerrant and literally true. The intel-lectual challenge to fundamentalist

worldviews, although not universally present, is centered on college campus-es and is implicit in the curriculum of incoming students. Paradoxically, the “indoctrination” of students with facts has led a number of these religious fringe organizations to get into the business of higher education for them-selves, allowing their students to by-pass any serious threat to their beliefs. Schools like Bob Jones and Brigham Young are universities in name only, their mission being to inculcate the minimum facts necessary for accredi-tation while requiring students to at-tend religious classes in a sad effort to preserve their worldview unchallenged and unchanged.

Santorum has allied himself with the contemptible and the fear-ridden in a bid for the nomination and can’t be allowed to prevail. The educated pub-lic in Kentucky is used to dealing with, and being embarrassed by, fundamen-talists who besmirch the reputation of our state and its institutions; and we find ourselves in a unique position to educate the nation on the dangers of engaging with extremists who defile the minds (and sometimes the bodies) of children.

ViewsEdition 49, Issue 8 3

Theryn AragonSenior

Human resource man-agement

“I’ve really enjoyed my experience as a

Norseman. It’s a big thing to my family.

They’re proud.”

Raven NelsonSophomore

Nursing

“It’s a challenge because everything I learned is so different from what my

family learned; I couldn’t ask questions at home.

It’s been a positive experience.”

Deandra JacksonSophomore

Theatre

“It’s tough because no one has attended college, they don’t know how to

help.”

rnpCompiled by

Tara Derington & Caitlin Centner

What has been your experience as a first generation college

student?

norse poll responses

Katie SebastianFreshman

Social work

“It’s hard because no one in my family relates but I

have a lot of support.”

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVEAndrew Despotes[despotesa1@nku.edu]

COPY EDITOR Elizabeth Parsons[parsonse3@nku.edu]

VIEWPOINTS EDITORAaron Sprinkles [sprinklesa1@nku.edu]

The NorthernerFounders Hall Rm 314Highland Heights, KY 41099Editor in Chief: (859) 572-6128Newsroom: (859) 572- 6677 or 5620Advertising: (859) 572-5232Fax: (859) 572-5772E-mail: northerner@nku.eduWeb site: www.thenortherner.com

contactinformation

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFKarli Wood[woodk3@nku.edu]

ADVISERJacque Day[dayj6@nku.edu]

northernerstaffSTAFF WRITERSCaitlin Centner[centnerc1@nku.edu]

Tara Derington[deringtont1@nku.edu]

Kevin Erpenbeck[erpenbeckk1@nku.edu]

Zachary Rogers[rogersz1@nku.edu]

NEWS EDITORClaire Higgins[higginsc1@nku.edu]

ASSIGNMENT EDITORRoxanna Blevins[blevinsr1@nku.edu]

PRESENTATION EDITOREmily Lindeau[lindeaue1@nku.edu]

WEB EDITORBrittany Granville[granvilleb1@nku.edu]

furtherdetails Entire content is copyright of The Northerner and may not be reprinted without prior con-sent. Views expressed do not represent those of the administration, faculty or student body.The Northerner is considered a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censor-ship or advance approval. The Northerner staff respects the right to a free and open dialogue as allowed under the First Amendment.

SPORTS FEATURES EDITORStephen Wilder[wilders3@nku.edu]

SPORTS NEWS EDITORJohn Minor[minorj1@nku.edu] BUSINESS MANAGER

Allison Buchanan[buchanana4@nku.edu]

#bellarminehateweek. A trending topic on Twitter in Cincinnati.

While Northern Kentucky University stu-dents may have been excited about the pros-pect of a rivalry -- a certain boost in school spirit -- the behavior intertwined with this rivalry wasn’t handled in the most positive manner.

NKU students took to Twitter, slinging in-sults about everything Bellarmine, from their educational standards to the attractiveness of their students.

When the dust settled, Bellarmine’s men had beat ours and NKU’s women shut down Bellarmine’s. A true 50/50 result.

On the flip-side, Bellarmine had tweeted with responses like, #NKWho. Twitter user Tom Milan even tweeted, “why are no #nku kids tweeting on #bellarminehateweek any-more? guess you cant tweet with your foot in

your mouth.”One thing that seemed to occur after the

win/loss night was that NKU kids backed off, saying things like, “Congrats on the win, Bel-larmine.”

Overall, it seems that the #bellarminehate-week trend took two very different directions. There were those that used it to joke and wish the others luck. Then there were those that used it to send messages of frustration, even cussing and throwing insults.

We have to agree that for a school that is largely commuter-based and often said to have few traditions, a true-blue rivalry was something that NKU students had a right to be excited over.

However, the need for a “hate” hashtag didn’t spawn best results. If it were intended simply to get a rise out of people, then yes, success would characterize the trend. But if it were meant to be a tool to help school spirit increase, there were definitely other ways to do so.

Staff Editorial

#bellarminehateweekFriendly rivalry, or unneeded brashness?

CorrectionsIn the Feb. 22 issue of The Northerner, in the story “Director Steps Down Due to Supervi-

sor’s ‘abuse’ and ‘incompetence,” College of Informatics Dean Kevin Kirby was quoted in the following paragraph, “As department chair, Lyon has ‘the ability to decide how program directors interact with the chairs and the dean does not.’”

The paragraph should have read, “College of Informatics Dean Kevin Kirby said “each in-dividual chair or department decides on how program directors will interact with the chair … the dean’s office does not play a role in this.”

Also, in the story “Owls Out of Sight,” NKU student Chanell Karr did not have her first name used in reference to her. This has also been corrected.

News February 29, 20124

The Student Government Associa-tion is working towards the potential for All Card access after-hours in the Fine Arts Building, but some senators question why the resolution doesn’t include all buildings on campus.

The resolution, presented by Sen. April Landry Feb. 27, requests North-ern Kentucky University add an All Card swipe system to the third-floor main entrance to the Fine Arts Build-ing. Currently, construction manage-ment students are allowed access to the Haile/US Bank College of Business after-hours, according to the resolu-tion.

According to John Sartwell, se-nior construction management ma-

jor, there is not All Card access after midnight that allows students into the Haile/US Bank College of Business building. He said there is lab access through an All Card swipe system, but once the main doors are locked, stu-dents cannot get in.

The resolution states this creates a “disparity between those students [construction management] and Fine Arts students.”

Sen. Aubrey Abbott raised the ques-tion of why the resolution was only for the fine arts students, while other buildings on campus don’t offer after-hours access to other departments, so there is a disparity among all students and the construction management majors. Landry said the science build-ing may also have some sort of access,

but was unsure at the time of the read-ing.

In Griffin Hall, students are only allowed access to the building after-hours when granted permission by Bob McCoy, media equipment manag-er, for one night, according to Abbott.

Before discussion could continue, Robinson ended the allotted five-min-ute discussion period on the resolu-tion.

In addition to the question of build-ing accessibility for all departments, many senators suggested that Landry add support from all fine arts chairs. Currently, the resolution includes Vi-sual Arts Department Chair Thomas McGovern.

He said that “[an All Card swipe sys-tem] will enable the students from all

three departments to safely enter and remain in the building as well as pre-vent an increasing number of outsid-ers from engaging in theft or present-ing a threat to NKU students.”

In addition to the fine arts building access resolution, the resolution for temporary parking first presented at SGA’s Feb. 20 meeting was tabled by Sen. Daniel Cieslack. He said he want-ed more time to research the previous amendments made by the senate.

The senate also unanimously voted Sen. Kyle Haverbusch into the Finance Committee Chair position, replacing Sen. Holdan Markland.

Markland publicly resigned Feb. 20, stating conflicts with class time and management. He still serves on the senate.

As Northern Kentucky University approaches spring break and mid-semester stress, the pressure to find a new president also begins to rise to meet the early April announcement deadline.

The Presidential Search and Screen-ing Committee is well under way with the search for NKU’s new president, and they are right on track, according to the committee’s chair Marty Butler.

NKU’s current president, James Votruba, is retiring after this semes-ter. He announced his retirement in August 2011. Since then, the search and screening committee has involved NKU and the surrounding areas in helping find the right match for the university.

The committee has conducted fo-rums for students, faculty and staff, and community members where people could give input on what they wanted to see in a president for the university. The committee, with the

help of a professional search firm, used the information collected at the forums to create the job requirements and description for applicants.

Throughout January and February, the committee held phone interviews with about 20-25 candidates to nar-row the field down. Before the March 14 Board of Regents meeting, the com-mittee will hold off-site interviews with the semi-finalists to narrow the field to 3-5 finalists.

After the finalists are decided, they will be publicly announced and in-vited to campus for public interviews. Butler said “all stakeholders” will have a chance to meet with the candidates. Stakeholders include, students, fac-ulty and staff, as well as community members.

After meeting with the public, the search and screening committee will submit an “unranked list of two to five names” to the Board of Regents, who will ultimately decide on the final can-didate to succeed President Votruba.

He said the committee is “remain-ing on course” with the timeline set at

the beginning of the fall 2011 semester when the search began. If all goes as planned, the new president will be announced in early April, ac-cording to the timeline.

The timeline is available on NKU’s main website at http://presidentialsearch.nku.edu.

Butler said he is feeling positive with the candidates who have applied so far, but he is unable to release their names due to contract and confidentiality agreements.

The search process will become a lot more public soon, according to Butler. He said “we are turning that corner” to include the public in the process, especially when the finalists are officially announced and make their way to campus.

While the search is under way, the university is also holding multiple events to finish out Votruba’s last semester at NKU. Board of Regents Chair Terry Mann said the events are “a true celebration of his presidency.”

Celebrating Dreams: The Presidency of James C. Votruba continues on March 21 with the Em-ployee Appreciation Week Luncheon and on March 25 with an afternoon concert by alumni Anna and Dmitri Shelest in Greaves Concert Hall.

The hunt for new president gains speed

Claire HigginsNews editor

Candidates still secret, but public announcement on the way

Claire HigginsNews editor

New resolution asks for late access to Fine Arts

Across the University

University Police Beats

Fraternity brother named “Tau 2 Watch” by national

chapterNorthern Kentucky University

student and Alpha Tau Omega member Jeff Weckbach was re-cently named a Tau 2 Watch by the national ATO fraternity chapter. Weckbach is a senior political sci-ence, economics, criminal justice and philosophy major. He also is minoring in public administration and geography. According to the feature video on the chapter’s web-site, Weckbach maintains a 3.80 GPA and is slated to graduate in May 2012. Weckbach uses the word “gumption” to describe himself in one word.

Inaugural law symposium to be held at NKU

The Northern Kentucky Law Re-

view is hosting the Law and Infor-matics Symposium March 1-2. The conference will “gather academics, lawyers and industry leaders from throughout the United States, Eu-rope and Asia to focus on cutting-edge issues, according to a Northern Kentucky University announce-ment. The event is free for NKU students. For more information or to RSVP to the symposium, contact CHase-LII@nku.edu.

Griffin Hall roofing contrac-tor wins first place

Northern Kentucky University’s Griffin Hall was recently named a 2011 Roofing Contractor of the Year award by Sika Sarnafil, the world-wide market leader in thermo-plastic roofing and waterproofing membranes. Griffin Hall came out with first place in the waterproof-

ing category. The contractor, Tecta America Zero, faced harsh weather and an aggressive schedule to com-plete the building. The “green roof” is protected by Sika Sarnafil’s G746 waterproofing membrane.

Norse basketball player earns top honor

Northern Kentucky University basketball player Casse Mogan was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year Feb. 28. Mogan, a senior guard for the Norse women’s basketball team, has led NKU to a 21-5 record this season by averaging 17.4 points per game, according to an NKU press release. In addition to player of the year, Mogan was also named to the GLVC All-Defensive team. Mogan is the sixth NKU player to be named GLVC player of the year.

NKU fraternity presents Lifetime Achievement AwardThe Eta Rho Chapter of the Pi

Kappa Alpha Fraternity at North-ern Kentucky University presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dick Murgatroyd, who was initiated into the fraternity over 50 years ago at the Ohio State University. Cur-rently, Murgatroyd is the director of operations and marketing for Visiting Angels, an elder care ser-vices and senior homecare service provider. Matt Bodner, the Eto Rho chapter president, said in an NKU press release that “Dick exemplifies what it means to be a true Pike and has been a great influence on all of our members, both in terms of our personal lives and professional ca-reers.”

Feb. 212:02 a.m. There a dispute between

roommates in the Oak Wing of Woodcrest Apartment. An officer was requested to be present while the roommate gathered her belongings.

11:59 a.m. There was a two vehicle ac-cident in the Callahan parking lot. No inju-ries were reported.

2:44 p.m. There was a two vehicle acci-dent near the Mathematics Education Psy-chology Center. No injuries were reported.

3:11 p.m. There was a two vehicle ac-cident on Kenton Drive. No injuries were reported.

3:57 p.m. An unknown vehicle hit a parked vehicle near the Parking Services office. No injuries were reported.

Feb. 222:52 p.m. A report was received that an

unknown person took a book from an un-

locked closet in the University Center.Feb. 23

2:05 p.m. A smoke alarm in the Wel-come Center was activated by a dust cloud from a shop-vac. The fire department ar-rived and cleared the scene.

9:31 p.m. An underage subject was cited for possession of alcohol in Callahan Hall.

Feb. 2412:21 p.m. A request was received for

University Police to hold an individuals property for safekeeping until they re-turned near Norse Commons.

2:37 p.m. A report was received that an unknown person had posted pictures of an individual on the internet without their permission.

9:39 p.m. There was a two vehicle ac-cident in Kenton Garage. No injuries were reported.

10:14 p.m. Keys were found in Regents Hall and were turned into University Po-lice.

11:11 p.m. Officers responded to a report of the odor of marijuana in the River Wing of Commonwealth Hall. An individual was cited.

Feb. 253:12 p.m. An employee found a

laptop in the Business Academic Cen-ter and it was returned to the owner.

Feb. 262:02 a.m. A female driver was ar-

rested near Johns Hill Road after being found driving under the influence of al-cohol.

7:42 p.m. A report was received that a subject in the University Suites was punched twice in the face by their room-mate after a verbal argument.

NewsEdition 49, Issue 8 5

News February 29, 20126

A human resources complaint filed by a Northern Kentucky University em-ployee alleging defamation of character and the creation of a hostile work en-vironment has been determined to be unfounded, according to the employee that is the subject of the complaint.

Michael Washington, to whom the complaint is directed, said that in a Jan. 5 meeting between himself and Diver-sity and Employee Relations Director Leslie Pierce, she told him that nothing was found in the investigation conduct-ed by Human Resources that would support the allegations of him creating a “hostile work environment” and issu-ing “slanderous remarks.”

In the complaint, Debra Meyers, as-sistant chair to the history and geogra-phy department, cites an editorial writ-ten by Washington that was printed in the Sept. 28 issue of The Northerner and an email that Washington sent on Nov. 7.

“Dr. Michael Washington followed up [his editorial with] a hostile email to all members of the history and geography department, a lawyer, and staff at the [Cincinnati] Enquirer as well as other periodicals. His hostile, slanderous re-marks were aimed primarily at me,” Meyers wrote in her complaint to Pro-vost Gail Wells, College of Arts and Sci-ences Dean Samuel Zachary, and Sara Sidebottom, vice president for Legal Af-fairs.

Meyers requested that the university “protect” her from “further abuse by Dr. Washington.”

In the email referenced in the com-plaint, Washington called the efforts by Meyers and Paul Tenkotte, chair of the history and geography department, to be an “insidious plot … to destroy the Black Studies program,” and ques-tioned their original motives as a result of Meyers’ decision to abandon the pro-posed change.

“It would be very troubling to discov-er that the only value of the pre-propos-al [to do away with the minor in Black Studies] was to lure our unwitting de-partmental colleagues into a trap mak-ing them accomplices in, what appears to be, a racist scheme,” Washington wrote

The email also compares Tenkotte to

white supremacists of the past, includ-ing the Ku Klux Klan, and claims Ten-kotte fabricated accusations against Washington before removing him from his position, but those sections do not directly reference Meyers.

In his editorial to The Northerner, Washington also wrote that Meyers may be distancing herself from an “unethical scheme … well-timed to issue the death

blow to the Black Studies Minor.” However, Washington denies any ef-

forts to defame or abuse Meyers and instead said he has tried to seek recon-ciliation.

Washington pointed out his mention of Meyers in the editorial and said, “I’m still trying to find the slanderous stuff in there myself.”

Instead, Washington said he was just sharing his concerns with how his department handled the ideas for aca-demic change and his demotion from the director position.

Washington said the actions taken in the Fall 2011 semester by others in the department were an “aggressive and successful effort to undermine my authority as the director of the Black Studies program,” and that he had been excluded from talks about the program.

Jeremy Rogers, an attorney at Dins-more and Shohl who has taken part in defamation cases, read Meyers’ com-plaint and Washington’s editorial to see if there was any apparent libel. He said he would expect NKU to dismiss Mey-ers’ complaint.

“I would not be surprised if this kind of complaint were dismissed, simply because it does not appear to be a com-

plaint about workplace harassment, but rather a disagreement about what was published in the editorial. Further, it does not appear to be defamatory but rather a difference of opinion about what’s going on in the various programs that are talked about.”

In his meeting with human resourc-es, Washington requested a sit-down meeting with Meyers and Pierce to “en-gage in the process of reconciliation,” but Meyers refused.

“Mediation is necessary on all levels,” Tenkotte said. He explained that he feels it is up to individuals to say yes or no and that mediation has to be volun-tary. “I think mediation is open certain-ly between Michael and me, but I can’t speak for other people.”

Sidebottom, who also works as an ar-bitrator for NKU’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Center, said that mediation, even among NKU employees, must be voluntary. The Northerner found no university policy for mandatory media-tion.

The Northerner made several at-tempts to obtain comment from Mey-ers, Human Resources, and Legal Af-fairs.

When asked about Meyers’ com-plaint, Pierce said she was, “not at lib-erty to comment,” and hung up the phone abruptly. Meyers also refused to comment. Neither Legal Affairs nor Human Resources would confirm if the complaint had been closed.

The Northerner has filed an open re-cords request to obtain more informa-tion.

Karli WoodEditor-in-chief

“Mediation is necessary on all levels,”- Paul Tenkotte

Says recent complaint of ‘hostile work environment’ found to be unwarranted

EMPLOYEE DENIES defaming collegue

This year, just like every other, an email is showing up in students’ inbox-es about the National Survey of Student Engagement.

The National Survey of Student En-gagement (NSSE) is a national survey for improving the undergraduate edu-cation system. The NSSE asks incoming freshmen and graduating seniors about their experiences during their first and final years in the universities.

Northern Kentucky University uses this data to investigate the level of stu-dent engagement for the freshmen and senior classes. NKU has participated in this national survey since 2001 as part of the Kentucky System Consortium which consists of eight public universi-ties in Kentucky.

This year, the National Survey of Stu-dent Engagement is given during the spring semester.

“Students get emails to respond to the NSSE, this email is sent throughout the spring semester,” said Shawn Rain-ey, associate director of assessment at NKU.

According to Rainey, the first email was sent on Feb. 8, and that two more emails that will encourage students to participate are planned to be sent on March 14 and 22. “The last email will be sent by the end of April right before finals week,” Rainey said. “After we get the results, we can look at the data and then do a focus group, if we want to be more detailed.”

The NSSE explores student engage-ment from two perspectives: what students do and what institutions do. Research shows that the types of edu-cationally purposeful activities that students engage in can positively influ-ence their academic achievements. The NSSE also examines how institutions guide students towards these educa-tionally purposeful activities.

Although this survey has a lot of po-tential to create good educational poli-cies and practices, the response rate is low. The last survey had a response rate of 40 percent, and the response for this survey is projected to be between 30-40 percent.

“It looks interesting, but I haven’t heard about it before,” senior politi-cal science major Bridget Bratton said

while looking at NKU’s National Survey of Student Engagement website.

“To encourage students to reply to the survey, we put posters up in build-ings across campus, because we were afraid that if we just sent out emails they would have been deleted automati-cally,” Rainey said.

Bratton and Seulgi Lee, a fresh-man pre-nursing major, both said they agree with the aim of NSSE, and they think the survey would be useful for the school when they’re trying to supervise students.

“NKU could use this data more ac-tively to help students get a job and have a better campus life,” Bratton said. “As a senior my perception is that I’m getting a useful education, but it’s hard to say how that will actually translate into getting a job because the job mar-ket is so unstable. I definitely think that using this survey can help NKU prepare its students for the future.”

“NSSE is such a wonderful tool to improve the academic condition of the university,” Lee said. “Personally, I always wanted to have some kind of mechanism which lets me communi-cate with the school as to what has to

be changed or what is needed to offer a better condition for students ... This program will be doing students good if they give us some kind of feedback via email or bulletin board about how they will reflect students’ opinions on their new year budget or policy.”

News February 29, 20127

They wear average clothing and walk briskly to and from classes. They make up 63 percent of Northern Kentucky University’s student population, and they are known as first-generation college students.

Student Support Services specialist Anita Adkins de-scribes a first-generation college student as one whose parents have not completed bachelors’ degrees. She believes first-generation students differ from students with degree-holding parents. For one, they may not know all the questions to ask. Generally, Adkins said first-generation students come from lower-income families, making paying for college more difficult.

“First-generation students carry the burden of suc-cess and also a responsibility to their families,” Adkins said.

Emily Crawford, a graduate student in the computer information technology program, believes that being a first-generation student has affected her education.

“The financial aspects of my education have been the most difficult for me to figure out,” Crawford said. “My parents couldn’t afford to pay for my education and

didn’t go to college so I have been the one making all the financial decisions.”

Since first-generation students make up the majority of the NKU student body, Adkins said it is important that the university learns how to serve these students. She said first-generation students have a much lower graduation success rate than non-first-generation stu-dents.

Recently, Adkins and Student Achievement Center Director Susan Mospens led a workshop for advisers on how to properly advise first-generation students.

Along with offering advising workshops, the Stu-dent Achievement Center offers several programs in Student Support Services for first-generation students who meet two out of three qualifications. The criteria is being a first-generation student, having a low income and/or having a disability recognized by the state. Cur-rently, the Student Achievement Center can only ac-cept 225 students into their program since it is funded by a grant. Adkins and the staff at Student Support Ser-vices reapply for the grant every five years.

Mospens decides which students are accepted. Once accepted, students receive several benefits, including advising, career/major assessment,counseling, finan-

cial guidance and workshops. “The SSS program keeps me sane,” said sophomore

theater major Jessica Borchers. “It has provided me with people to rely on academically and mentally.”

Borchers described the program as one that has cre-ated a second family for her.

Adkins said they would like to expand Student Sup-port Services to more students, but looming budget cuts are a factor. She will be going to the Kentucky state legislature soon to lobby for funding.

For first-generation students who are not accepted or do not qualify for the Student Support Services pro-gram, Adkins offered some advice for academic suc-cess. She said it is important for first-generation stu-dents to establish extensive relationships with advisers on campus. She also said it is important to get involved and find a connection with other students on campus.

Even if a student isn’t in the Student Support Ser-vices program, Adkins said students can stop by the Student Achievement Center located in the first floor of the University Center for assistance anytime. If stu-dents are interested in joining Student Support Ser-vices, they can apply online at sss.nku.edu.

First-generation students can get support they needCasey BinderContributing writer

Hana KimContributing writer

National survey benefits students, universitySurvey for freshmen, seniors receives low responses despite importance

Photo courtesy of Hana KimThe NSSE flyers hanging around campus have not created the interest hoped for in students.

A hush fell over the seated audience as the female models emerged from the back of the room to line the aisles. The speakers resonated with Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time” as the male models began to ascend the t-shaped stage. As the song continued, the models danced to the beat of the music.

The evening of Feb. 23, Northern Kentucky Uni-versity’s Student Union ballroom was filled with peo-ple in support of the “Remember the Time” Fashion Show. The event was a collaboration between NKU’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch and the African American Student Affairs (AASA) to promote Black History Month.

Anntress Manion, a sophomore and public rela-tions coordinator of NKU’s NAACP branch has been working with her co-chair Brooke Ratcliffe, a sopho-more and parliamentarian of NKU’s NAACP branch, since October to put this event together. Manion and Ratcliffe said the show was a way of breaking the pat-tern of past Black History events. “We wanted to have a fashion show because we didn’t want to do the tra-ditional programs, such as lectures or a workshop,” Manion said.

The theme “Bringing it Back” developed though the process of planning the event. Ratcliffe said she learned that “while putting together the show, noth-ing that we wear today is new. It was all worn before.”

Manion said the show is a reflection of “what our par-ents and grandparents used to wear and we’re just bringing it back.”

Deborah Strahorn, coordinator of AASA, said, “It’s is a social program and it’s supposed to be fun, but it also has some historical content to it.”

Manion and Ratcliffe planned the show to profile the black history behind each era of fashion.

The show revisited the fashion and the history of the Antebellum Period, The Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights, the 1970s through the ‘90s and all the way up to the present day.

The show started with host Rico Weaver, health and wellness officer of NAACP, dancing down the runway to “Flashing Lights” by Kanye West before bowing to one knee at end of the stage. Co-host Nicole White, treasurer of NAACP, followed Weaver’s entrance and ended by sitting on Weaver’s knee.

The audience cheered with excitement as Weaver and White stood and announced the show. Before in-troducing the first era the hosts interacted with the crowd by playing music trivia. After a few songs, the audience was ready for the models

The first model to grace the stage was Orsella Iram-bona wearing a gown from the Antebellum period. During this time period it was more respectful for women to cover themselves. The result was Iram-bona’s long gown, with sleeves covering her arms. Although, her dress covered a majority of her skin, embroidery and a small waistline made the gown at-tractive.

When moving between eras Weaver and White would give the audience a brief history. They would highlight the most important events in black history and its affect on fashion.

During the intermission, Jeffonia Wynn from Norse Code Radio’s The Ebony J Show gave away a Macy’s gift card to the best-dressed female and another to the best-dressed male from the audience. Wynn an-nounced that the winners had to compete with each other by “working the runway.”

Taylor Staples wrapped up the intermission by singing Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Before she finished, the audience was clapping along with the song.

Once they had reached the present era, all 16 mod-els displayed a sense of the fashion from the 2000s. The models took the stage by twos before lining the aisle of the audience one last time. Before leaving the hosts asked the audience to join their soul train.

The energetic audience left the room through the soul train after Manion and Ratcliffe gave their thank yous to all those that helped put together a successful show.

Psychology major, Sabra Dunlap fulfilled the hopes of Manion, who wanted to create something that was fun and creative. After seeing the show, Dunlap said, “I thought it was very creative.”

Although Black History month is coming to an end you can follow the NKU’s branch of NAACP on Twit-ter or Facebook. Twitter: @NKU_NAACP. Facebook: Northern Kentucky University NAACP Unit #3853.

Samantha HaydenContributing writer

Student organizations parade yesterday’s fashions in celebration of Black History Month

RespectingtheRETRO

Students work the runway at the “Remember the Time” fashion show presented by NKU’s NAACP chapter and African-American Student Affairs Feb. 23. The theme, “Bringing it Back,” honored Black History Month and to show what African-American ancestors used to wear.

Photos courtesy of Dannie Moore

Arts & Life February 29, 201210

As an initiative to employ former and future gradu-ates in today’s struggling economy, Northern Ken-tucky University held it’s annual Job Expo in the Student Union ballroom on Feb. 22. The expo is spon-sored by the NKU Career Development Center. More than 100 employers were on hand to meet with stu-dents and alumni who plan to seek employment op-portunities after graduation.

According to career advisor Amanda Meeker, the purpose of the NKU Job Expo is to give students the opportunity to connect and engage with high-profile companies in Greater Cincinnati. While Meeker says that the expo is a great prospect for students, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee them a job.

“The goal of the event is more for sharing informa-tion and scheduling interviews so it would be very un-usual for someone to leave with a new job,” she said. Meeker also added that it is up to the students to fol-low up with their potential employers.

Becker Professional Education was one of the many vendors on hand for the event. According to Field Mar-keting Specialist Karen Diercks, Becker is a worldwide leader in providing quality education to professionals in the fields of finance, marketing and accounting.

She also added that Becker requires participants to take a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam, which tests students on their accounting skills and basic knowledge which in turn certifies students to become accountants. “The main goal of our company is to give students the tools and the resources necessary to suc-ceed to in the business world,” Diercks said.

Western & Southern Financial Group is currently offering employment for the group’s sales and market-ing department. District manager Ebony Balter said that Western & Southern Financial is not particularly looking for students with sales experience, but stu-dents who would be able to maintain a sense of stabil-ity with the company.

“Our company is really big on recruiting the right candidate for the right fit in a position such as this. We’re a very large and stable company,” she said.

Overall, the job expo was a success for the univer-sity. Meeker said the percentage of students who will become employed after graduation is yet to be deter-mined. “In terms of placement rates, that data is being collected by the university, and we’re hoping to have some of the data later this year,” Meeker said.

Expo gave students chance to meet with potential employersTy GreeneContributing writer

The Communication Department at Northern Kentucky University will be hosting nationally known speak-ers through the month of March in the Griffin Hall Digitorium. These speakers will present about different aspects of communication and the media.

There will be three events in March featuring experts in the field of com-munication.

The first event will include a joint presentation by Rachel Lyon, chair of the department of communication; David Harris, managing director of Harvard Law School’s Charles Ham-ilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice; and Mark McPhail, dean of the University of Wisconsin-White-water College of Arts and Communi-cation.

The presentation is at 11 a.m. on March 1 in the Griffin Hall Digito-rium.

The three will be speaking about their joint research regarding Troy Davis’ 2011 execution and social me-dia’s effect.

According to Lyon, over one mil-lion people signed a petition to halt Davis’ execution. There were people all over the “blogosphere” speaking out against the execution of Davis,

not because they believed he was in-nocent, but because there was not enough proof to say if he was inno-cent or guilty.

“Seven of the nine original eye wit-nesses in Davis’ trial recanted their testimonies,” Lyon said. “We think of social media saving democratic ideas.”

Ultimately, Lyon said, social media failed when Davis was executed Sept. 21, 2011.

Lyon also said that channels in our legal system are closed and that they are not transparent.

“We are looking at digital divisions. We want to know what went wrong in this case. In our presentation, we are going to look at critical law theory, critical race theory and critical media theory and see how they interact with each other,” Lyon said.

Lyon said that there is an assump-tion that social media is a good thing and that it leads to results. “We want to look at that critically, and then look for change at more than a social media level.”

The second event will include a presentation by Vincent Waldron. “Good Work: Communicating the Moral Emotions in Organizational Settings” is March 15 at 12:15 p.m. in the Griffin Hall Digitorium.

Waldron, a professor of commu-nication at Arizona State University,

will present his research and findings about different emotions, and mor-als connected to those emotions, that people experience in the workplace.

“Based on research, if we listen closely to how people react in a work-place, we can learn a lot about what is going right and wrong within that organization,” Waldron said.

According to Waldron, in some fields, producing emotion is part of your work, in jobs such as social work or medical professions that deal with people. He said that he looks into how people handle their emotions.

“Some people in emotionally de-manding jobs take out their frustra-tions within their family relation-ships,” Waldron said. He looks at why and how people handle their emotions stemming from their place of work.

“My books are based on 20 years of research and experience, observ-ing people in fields of government to factories, teachers to prison guards,” Waldron said. Not only do people express their emotions differently, but in some professions, people are trained on how to communicate their feelings.

The third and final presenter for the inaugural session of this speaker series will be given by Steve Buttry, director of community engagement and social media for Digital First

Media. The event, “Preparing for Journalism’s Future: A Training Ses-sion with Steve Buttry,” is hosted by the NKU College of Informatics and Cincinnati’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The event will take place March 30 in the Griffin Hall Digitorium, and will include four separate training sessions.

Buttry has been in the news busi-ness for almost 40 years and has be-come an expert on the changing field of journalism, including digital jour-nalism.

“I am a big fan of Steve Buttry,” said journalism professor Michele Day.

Day said that Buttry has done train-ing and gotten big into social media, so she thought he would be a great source for students and faculty to learn more about the changing world of journalism, into the digital age.

Buttry will be holding four work-shops for students and faculty. Day said Buttry’s workshops will be ex-tremely useful in understanding the new age of journalism and how to get a job.

For more information, visit http://informatics.nku.edu/news/com-mspeakerseries.html.

Series brings new light to comm. and media

Shelby RodgersContributing writer

Communication Dept. to host three events with experts in the field

Arts & LifeEdition 49, Issue 8 11

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Several Northern Kentucky Univer-sity students, faculty members and neighboring citizens of the campus gathered into Landrum’s auditorium for Kinoabende, which means “cin-ema evening.”

The event focused on the debut of Germany’s “Der Untergang,” or “Downfall” in English translation. This German film includes English subtitles. “Kinoabende” is the first of a three-night event here at NKU in which people can come to view differ-ent foreign films.

“Downfall” is a 2004 German/Ital-

ian/Austrian epic war film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It depicts the fi-nal twelve days of Adolf Hitler’s life in his Berlin bunker during the Russian invasion and Nazi Germany in 1945. Some students were present purely for entertainment; others were there to brush up on their German language, whether it is for a grade or not.

“I think it’s cool for me to under-stand the language a little bit better,” said senior history major Aaron Rock-enstein. “The subtitles help in case I get a little lost in the scenes with gun-fire and explosions.” This World War II account provides him with plenty of historical references to apply toward his degrees.

The event was put together by NKU Connections, which according to the website is “a schedule of NKU-spon-sored events that are open to the pub-lic or a sub-set of the public.” NKU Connections is part of the Office of Regional Stewardship. The events that NKU Connections puts on the sched-ule are sponsored by different depart-ments of the university, depending on what the theme is for that particular event.

Everyone who was in attendance at Kinoabende had the opportunity to receive free refreshments, includ-ing bags of popcorn and a variety of drinks, just to enhance the movie the-atre-like theme of the night.

“It was a good movie and it kept me entertained,” said senior computer in-formation technology major Josh El-bert. “I really enjoyed the snacks too.” Elbert claims to have attended purely for enjoyment, stating that he enjoys WWII films.

There are two movie nights remain-ing. The next film, “Sun Alley,” will be shown on March 20 in LA 110 at 7 p.m. The final film, “The Princess and the Warrior,” will be shown on April 12 at 7 p.m. It is free admission to watch these films. For more information, visit the Department of World Lan-guages and Literatures’ news Website at http://worldlanglit.nku.edu/news/index.php.

Brett SchreinerContributing writer

German film festival catches students’ eyesThree movies over three nights provide a new perspective on the culture

Arts & Life February 29, 201212

Local woman promotes African-American history through writing, performing

In the shelves of Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University is a recording of Patricia Humphries-Fann’s performance of “The Ghost of Harriet Tubman.” A lifelong Northern Kentuckian, Fann has made it her life’s work to help educate people about African-American history.

Fann is a youth advocate, an ordained exhorter at St. James A.M.E Church and the president of the missionary society.

Growing up in Northern Kentucky, Fann said she did not recall being exposed to racism. As a student at Holmes High School, a forced-integration school in Covington, Fann said her teachers didn’t talk about slavery; she said she learned by hearing oth-ers discuss it. In her youth, education of black his-tory was not important to her.

She had the opportunity to witness Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver a civil rights speech in Frankfort, Ky., as a teenager in 1964. But it wasn’t until 1979, during her work at the Northern Kentucky Commu-nity Center, that she made a perspective-changing discovery.

A white janitor was earning more than a black principal.

With this discovery, she became engrossed in the movement for change.

The high school-educated Fann began writing, and eventually began freelancing for the likes of NIP Magazine, the Kentucky Enquirer and the Lou-isville Defender.

In 1982, she founded the Suspension Press, a Northern Kentucky newspaper organization. Six months later, she aired the first episode of the ca-ble television show Suspension Press Presents. The newspaper published for 9 years. She plans to start her show back up on Public Education, Government channel A-21 on Thursdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 9 p.m.

Margaret Myers, associate professor of market-

ing, calls Fann a “very dedicated community citizen. [Her] tremendous spirit brings unusual levels of en-trepreneurial energy to both her non-profit and her business endeavors.”

In 1983-84 Fann begin working with NKU on the Annie Hargraves Education Achievement Program, at the encouragement of then-NKU president Leon Booth. The program, sponsored by P&G and was presented through the Afro-American Studies Of-fice, aimed to help integrate the campus.

“She was a community liaison with the black studies program at NKU,” said Michael Washing-ton, professor of history at NKU.

After working with young people in the commu-nity through her newspaper, television show and program at NKU, she discovered a new technique to bring awareness of black history in the community.

“The Ghost of Harriet Tubman” project was born in 1985.

In the performance, which Fann describes as an exhibit, she dresses as a slave, wears makeup and clutches a staff as she takes on the character of Har-riet Tubman. She has presented “The Ghost of Har-riet Tubman” throughout Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, as well as in California and London, England.

Fann has had many other achievements. She started two more organizations: New Directions in 1990 (a group that helps disadvantaged girls) and The Lincoln Grant Youth Outreach Achievement Program, with which she has helped many young people get into college.

“Give me a lemon, I’mma make lemonade, candy cookies, pie,” Fann said in relation to her ability to turn any opportunity to help people into a success.

LaChandra Washington, a former NKU student, said that she appreciates Fann’s “will and drive to help the people in the community.”

“She is real educational about everything she does,” LaChandra said.

She continues to perform “The Ghost of Harriet Tubman” and is now pursuing a career in making inspirational gift cards.

Fann is also still active in the community. Her participation in the Annie Hargaves Day celebration is an ongoing activity on her agenda. She helped found the event in 1997. Copies of her newspaper still linger in the Kenton County Library; you can find them in microfilm format.

Fann was honored by her home city of Covington a year ago with an official designation: Pat Fann Day.

Darren JonesContributing writer

Patricia Humphries-Fann (pictured above) has been working to educate the community about civil rights through many forms.

Photo provided by Fann

CIVIL RIGHTSE D U C A T O RS T I L L G O I N G S T R O N G

Arts & LifeEdition 49, Issue 8 13

Mandy McDonough has some confessions to make, and she will be sharing them with the public March 15.

McDonough, a graduate com-munication student at Northern Kentucky University, will present her Capstone project, “Secrets of a White Girl” in Griffin Hall Digi-torium March 15.

“Secrets of a White Girl” is a multimedia show, which will in-corporate spoken word, audio re-cording, video and a PowerPoint presentation. According to Mc-Donough, the show is “a look at racism from a white perspective.”

“I think that I will be labeled as a racist when I leave,” Mc-Donough said. “But I also think at the same time it will really kind of make [audience members] take an inward look.”

According to communication professor Jimmie Manning, who served as McDonough’s advisor

for the project, some of the top-ics that will come up in the show include whiteness and racial di-versity.

“A lot of times when people hear the words ‘racial diversity,’ they tend to think in terms of people who are not white,” Man-ning said. “But what she wanted to cover is how being white is a form of diversity, and then how white carries privilege on some level with it.”

“Secrets of a White Girl” draws on McDonough’s own experienc-es with racism as well as stories she has heard from others.

“This is her story, and where she comes from, and what she did when she learned about whiteness theory,” Manning said.

McDonough received bach-elor’s degrees in communication arts and theatre from Wilming-ton College, a school that she said emphasized equality and justice. When McDonough came to NKU, she said she was “deeply hit” by the discussions about racism and

social justice that came up in some of her classes.

The concepts being discussed in her classes led McDonough to question if she was racist, in spite of her view of herself as an open-minded and accepting individual. McDonough’s self-evaluation led her to explore racism deeper in “Secrets of a White Girl.”

According to professor Mark Leeman, one of the three mem-bers on the project’s defense pan-el, McDonough will be “taking a big risk in front of a lot of people” when she shares her show.

Leeman said McDonough’s show should ideally create a dia-logue, not spur anger, but he has no way of knowing how people will react until March 15.

“It’s both the beauty and the risk of this show,” Leeman said. “You don’t know what you’re go-ing to get out of it.”

McDonough will present “Se-crets of a White Girl” at 7 p.m. March 15. The show is free and open to the public.

It seems like cell phones can do any-thing. They can give us directions and the time, and many can speak to us. However, this luxury came at a high price for Jacy Good and her family: her parents were killed and she seriously injured in an accident in May 2008 due to distracted driving because of a cell phone.

Good made an appearance Feb. 23 at Northern Kentucky University in the Otto Budig Theater thanks to the Activi-ties Programming Board (APB).

Christina Hoesl, the director of APB, heard Good speak while attending a Na-tion Conference held by the National As-sociation for Campus Activities (NACA) in St Louis. After hearing her speak, Hoesl was confident Good would make a positive impact on NKU’s students.

At the time of the accident, Good had

just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Muhlen-berg College in Allentown, Pa. It was May of 2008.

She was ready to show the world what she could do. “I had my entire future ahead of me and nothing was going to stand in my way,” Good said. But the celebration soon came to a shocking end after the devastating accident happened.

Good’s father Jay was driving Good and her mother, Jean, at the time of the accident. An 18-year-old male was talk-ing on his cell phone and ran a red light, causing another car carrying a tractor trailer to collide into the Good family’s station wagon.

Both Jean and Jay were killed almost instantly. Jacy was in critical condition, but if it weren’t for the efforts of an off-duty paramedic who heard the crash from his home, Good would have been dead as well.

After the accident, Good spent two

months in a coma and had to undergo multiple operations in order to remain alive. As days turned to weeks and weeks into months, Good finally regained her ability to walk and talk again.

As time marched forward, her grief slowly began to transform into anger. “As upset and angry as I was, deep down I knew the only way to change what had been done was to go out and tell the world my story,” she said.

She began speaking to high school students and lawmakers across America with the hope that she could help pre-vent someone else from experiencing the same awful fate.

Hoesl wanted Good to present her story before spring break. “When I saw [Good] at the NACA Conference, I really enjoyed her speech, and I felt that stu-dents could relate to her story and that they would be able to take away some-thing from the experience,” Hoesl said.

Before her presentation, Good re-

vealed why she is compelled to tell her story. “The main reason I started travel-ing to different states was not only to get others informed about my story and the dangers involved with distracted driv-ing, but also as a coping method,” she said. “Each time I do a presentation, I feel more closure.”

Good ended the speech with some in-spirational words. “No matter what hap-pens in life, remember it all comes out in the wash,” she said.

Those words hit hard for psychology major Erica Osborne.

“Her story was meaningful and re-ally opened my eyes in the sense that we do take life for granted,” Osborne said. “And she was right that we shouldn’t dwell on the negative side of things but rather the positive aspects of our lives. The negative things will not matter later on,” Osborne said.

Roxanna BlevinsAssignment editor

Student creates show about racismMultimedia used to give audience an ‘inward look’

Photo courtesy of Mandy McDonough

Grad student Mandy McDonough is presenting her Capstone proj-ect, “Secrets of a White Girl,” at 7 p.m. March 15 in the Digitorium.

Andrew BowlesStaff writer

Speaker brings personal distracted driving story to NKU

Sports February 29, 201214

Sports business is a fairly new program and other universities are starting to implement this field of study. Within the program, an internship is required in order to graduate, and some start their relevant experience working in a collegiate athletic depart-ment.

Alicia Lawrence was one of those students who not only went to class, but also competed in athletics as well. She was a sports business major who played on the golf team.

Lawrence began her undergraduate degree at NKU in 2004 and graduated in December of 2008. She was also a student worker at NKU. She went to Ohio University for her master’s degree and volunteered with the NKU Athletic Department during the win-ter break and shadowed around. After graduating from Ohio, she became the coordinator for athletic development at NKU, starting in August of 2011.

Lawrence is no stranger to the collegiate athletic department. Prior to her return to NKU, she worked at the University of Georgia and then at Ohio as a

graduate assistant.“I answer to the director of athletic development,”

Lawrence said. “I have the annual fund, which in-volves operating budgets and scholarships, season tickets for men’s and women’s basketball, alumni outreach in ramping up and keeping former stu-dents athletes connected through the program, and stewardship.”

SMG owns the facility for The Bank of Kentucky Center and works closely with NKU Athletics. Law-rence is the liaison between athletics and the box of-fice, operated by SMG. Lawrence works with season-ticket holders at the Bank of Kentucky Center.

“Her personableness is definitely outstanding, she did a number of internships,” said NKU Athletic Di-rector Scott Eaton. “She just has a vast amount of experience and is an outstanding asset to our de-partment.”

As a member of the golf team, she treated the golf course as her job, according to women’s golf coach Daryl Landrum.

“Alicia made good grades and got involved in school activities,” Landrum said. “She is what you want everybody to be at NKU as a student.”

Being a role model on the golf course was just the

beginning. Her pas-sion for sports mo-tivated her through-out her academic studies.

“She works on ev-erything, she is a perfectionist and she always wants to do her best,” Landrum said.

During her time at NKU, she was an athletic council rep-resentative. She ac-complished numer-ous awards and continues to fill the trophy case for her achievements.

“I always knew that I wanted to be back here at NKU,” Lawrence said. “This is home, and I love NKU.”

Currently, Lawrence is living her dream of work-ing in collegiate athletics and plans on playing more golf this summer now that she has adapted to her work schedule.

Every February on National Signing Day, high school athletes sign letters of intent to continue their athletic ca-reers at the collegiate level, but not all will play all four years while in college.

There are several levels in intercol-legiate athletics. Division I, Division I-AA and Division II are considered “big schools,” and Division III and NAIA are considered “small schools.”

A large percentage of small-school athletes do not play for four years, for reasons including: financial issues, grades, lack of social life and coaching.

According to Sam Flynn, former Marian University starting linebacker and Chase Law School student, small-school athletes put in the same time and effort as big-school athletes and rarely get the same recognition.

“We started with early morning workouts, then went straight to class,” said Ben Schneider, former Union College golfer and current Northern Kentucky University senior commu-

nications major. “After class I had to drive a half hour to and from golf prac-tice. A lot of times I would miss dinner because we would get back so late.”

Small schools tend to have higher tuition rates, and in Division III, ath-letic scholarships are not awarded. This causes many athletes to withdraw

from college sports prematurely.“I was paying $14,000 a semester at

Division III Thomas More, and I am

paying way less than that here,” said Steve Weatherby, a senior criminal justice major who played football for a season. “I loved football, but it was a better move financially for me to switch to NKU.”

Sam Diehl, senior marketing major, is a former starting running back and

quarterback at Georgetown College agrees that tuition can be steep.

“I had a $1,000 football scholarship

and a $10,000 academic scholarship, but I was still paying seventeen grand a year,” Diehl said. “It was the best experience of my life though; I don’t regret a single day of it.”

Flynn paid more in tuition while on athletic scholarship at Marian than at NKU.

“When you get to the point where the cons outweigh the pros, it becomes not even worth playing anymore,” he said.

As small-school athletics are the little brother of bigger col-lege athletics, coaches use them as stepping stones to get more prestigious coaching jobs.

“The coach’s job relies on what you do on the field. If you don’t perform, you’re done,” Flynn said.

For athletes, little time is left for academics and social interaction with others.

“Looking back on it, I don’t regret my decision to quit,” Schneider said. “I’m glad I came to NKU.”

Andrew DespotesStaff writer

Matt ReedContributing writer

Former golfer swings back to NKU

Students leave sports behind at small schools

Alicia Lawrence works as the Coordinator of Athletic Development

(From left to right) Senior criminal justice major Steve Weatherby, senior communications major Ben Schneider, senior marketing major Sam Diehl, and law student Sam Flynn played sports at other colleges.

Photos courtesy of Steve Weatherby, Ben Schneider, San Diehl and Sam Flynn

Photo courtesy of Alicia Lawrence

SportsEdition 49, Issue 8 15

After solid fall showings, Northern Kentucky University’s golf teams look to continue that success in the spring season.

In the fall, the men’s team led the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a 291.6 scoring average, seven strokes better than second place Indianapolis.

In the final Division II Golf Coaches Association of America poll for the fall season on Nov. 23, NKU came in at No. 41 behind conference rival Indianapo-lis, who was No. 28.

“I am very happy with the fall season, but the spring season counts twice as much,” Head Coach Daryl Landrum said.

Leading the way for the Norse in the fall was junior Steve Rickels, who fin-ished second in the GLVC with a 72.8 scoring average, only a tenth behind the leader. Landrum said that Rickels’ consistency was fantastic and that he

“played solid steady golf.”Three more NKU men golfers fin-

ished in the top 10 in the GLVC in scor-ing average. Senior Ryan Hines (73.6) was fourth, freshman Zach Wright (73.9) placed sixth and sophomore Corey Richmond (74.5) came in ninth for the Norse. Hines only played seven rounds of competition because he was working on changing his swing.

“I just made my swing a little flat-ter, which made me hit the ball lower,” Hines said. “And I became more consis-tent.”

The men’s team will look to go back to the NCAA Division II Midwest/South Central Regional, where they tied for seventh place last year.

The women’s team finished the fall season with a 327.9 scoring average, which was fifth in the GLVC.

“We started real slow, as we were young,” Landrum said. “We continued to get better, and by the end we played some solid golf and had some solid tournaments.”

The team was led by junior Rachel Brown, who finished 15th with a 80.5 scoring average, while freshman Taylor Wogenstahl was 21st with a 81.8.

Landrum said Brown is “definitely the most consistent,” and most “sea-soned golfer on the team.”

Brown qualified for the NCAA Divi-sion II East Region Tournament last year and finished the 54-hole event with a score of 244 (+28), which tied for 12th place.

“My goal is to make it to regionals again, and I will have to lower my scor-ing average,” Brown said. “I would like to average in the 70s.”

The men will start the spring season at The Shootout in Arizona at Aguila Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz. The match will take place March 8-9. The women will play in the Red Rock Invi-tation at Oak Creek County Club in Se-dona, Ariz. from March 3-4.

“We are looking forward to playing in the desert and getting in four rounds of golf and practice time,” Landrum said.

John MinorSports news editor

Norse look to carry fall success into spring

Senior Ryan Hines competed in the NKU Spring Invitational at the Pendleton Country Club in Butler, Ky. on March 19 and 20, 2011.

Photo by Tim Downer

NKU men’s and women’s golf teams prepare for upcoming season

Sports February 29, 201216

Norse wraps up regular seasonNKU splits doubleheader against Bellarmine

Northern Kentucky Univer-sity’s men’s and women’s bas-ketball teams wrapped up their regular seasons as Division II members Feb. 23.

Both teams played against longtime league rival Bellarmine University for their final GLVC regular-season game. Ironically enough, Bellarmine was also the first league team the Norse played when they joined the GLVC in the 1985-86 season. The women won that game 68-67, while the men lost 63-62.

The women’s team came out victorious with a strong win on Thursday, defeating the Knights for the second time this season, 74-53. Head coach Nancy Win-stel said her team was ready from start to finish and shot the ball well.

“When you make shots, the game is a lot easier than when you don’t,” Winstel said. “We’ve played games where we didn’t make shots and our defense pulled us out. This game, offen-sively and defensively, we played well.”

The Norse stayed consistent with their shooting throughout the night, as they shot 48.5 per-cent from the field in the first half, and 50 percent from the field in the second half. They forced Bel-larmine to play catch-up for the entire game, never trailing to the Knights.

Defensively, the Norse forced 15 turnovers, nine of them com-ing in the first half. They also held Bellarmine to 30 percent from the field in the second half, after the Knights shot 57.1 per-cent in the first half.

Four seniors were honored in the pregame festivities. Casse Mogan, Sadie Bowling and Steph-

anie Hodges are all four-year stu-dents at NKU, while Maria Ben-nett is a first-year senior, who transferred from Wright State at the beginning of the season. All four players combined for a total of 47 points in the game.

“We knew we had a lot of scor-ers on our team,” Bowling said, who had 15 points. “Since it was senior night, our last home game, and the fact that Bellarmine is our biggest rival, we knew we all had to be focused. I thought ev-eryone came and brought it to-night.”

Winstel said junior forward Kelsey Simpson had a special night as well, and played the game of her career. Simpson had 18 points, while adding four blocks and a steal.

Winstel was proud of her team’s performance and the sea-son they had.

“This was an important win and game for us,” Winstel said. “It’s important in the NCAA re-gional standings and from a con-ference standpoint.”

The women’s team will con-tinue action on March 1 against Maryville in the 2012 GLVC Women’s Basketball Tourna-ment.

The men’s team, however, lost their game 86-75. The Norse trailed for most of the game, but fought back within striking dis-tance a few times throughout the night. In the end, they were not able to get over the hump, as all five starters for the Knights had double-digit points. The men are now 0-2 against Bellarmine this season.

Head coach Dave Bezold said defensive errors by his team made the difference in the game.

“We were unable to defensive-ly limit the mistakes we made,” Bezold said. “We would cut the lead [offensively], and then go down to the other end and make

mistakes. It was too much for us to overcome.”

NKU struggled to find any way to cool down Bellarmine’s shoot-ing, as the Knights shot an over-whelming 59.2 percent from the field. In fact, all of Bellarmine’s points came from its five start-ers, with senior forward Luke Sprague leading the way with a game-high (and career-high) 28 points.

Bezold said Bellarmine is the best team in the nation, and when an important game like this arrives, it is hard to tell how the players will respond.

“You hope that when the ball goes up, they can relax and settle in,” Bezold said. “I think it took them a little time to do that.”

Three seniors were honored before the tip-off. Jon Van Hoose and Tony Rack have spent four years at NKU, while DeAndre Nealy finished his only season at NKU, having transferred from Kent State at the beginning of the season.

Van Hoose, who had a team-high 19 points, said his time at NKU has been unbelievable.

“I’ve really got to thank all the people I’ve met here at NKU,” Van Hoose said. “This is a great school with great fans. I just have to thank everybody for the support they’ve given me while I’ve been here. I really enjoy this place.”

Bezold said that even though it is upsetting and frustrating that his team could not pull off the win, they still provided everyone with a tremendous season so far.

“This team has been motivated all year,” Bezold said. “They care about one thing, and that is win-ning. We’ve got tremendous con-fidence. I know that for sure.”

The men’s team will face off against Kentucky Wesleyan on March 2 in the 2012 GLVC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Stephen Wilder and Kevin ErpenbeckSports features editor and staff writer

Junior forward Kelsey Simpson was the leading scorer for NKU. She finished with 18 points, shooting 9-11 from the field.

NKU President James Votruba and his wife, Rachel, were honored at half-time during the men’s basketball game.

Senior center DeAndre Nealy finished his last regular-season home game with 19 points, one block and one assist.

Norse Force and other fans filled up the Thunder Zone as NKU wrapped up their regular-season against rival Bellarmine.

Photos by Kevin Erpenbeck and Stephen Wilder