News, p. 4 Arts & Life, p. 8 Sports, p. 12

Guide to SGA presidential candidates Honeysuckle loses its sweetness Wheelchair basketball hits the court

The Northerner The Independent Student-Run Newspaper of NKU Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Ed. 51 Is. 8

See story on pg. 7

See story on pg. 6University holds ground on investigation privacy, no new information released

STUdENTS qUESTIoN REASoN foR EAToN fIRING

Photos by Kody Kahle

Norse comeback falls short, College of Charleston eliminates NKU from round one of the Women’s Basketball Invitational

NORSE APPEARANCE IN D-I POSTSEASON PLAY

UNIVERSITY MAKESHISTORY

APB to host first ever Student Union Festival

Activities Programming Board will host NKU’s first ever Stu-dent Union Festival on Saturday, March 23 from 7 - 10 p.m. on the first floor of the Student Union. There will be free food, laser tag, a photo booth, music and more. The festival will be the first attempt by APB to try and incorporate more week-end programs into university student life. The first 200 people will receive a free T-shirt. More information for this event can be found by contacting APB through the group’s web page at http://nku.orgsync.com/org/apb.

Presidential Ambassadors raffling chance to be president for a day

NKU Presidential Ambassadors are raffling off chances for a student to swap places with NKU President Geoffrey Mearns for a day. The winner of the raffle gets special presidential treat-ment, such as parking in the president’s parking spot and an official NKU nameplate. To enter, visit the Student Union lob-by March 18 through April 4 and donate $1- 100. Each dollar earns a chance to win. The drawing will be held April 5, and the student will trade places with Mearns in mid to late April, based on the winner’s availability. All proceeds collected will benefit the NKU Annual Fund for Excellence. If you have any ques-tions you can ask the Presidential Ambassadors at one of their

tables from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 18 to April 4 in the Student Union or email Sara Daugherty at daughertys1@nku.edu.

NKU professor to be honored with junior

faculty teaching award

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences has partnered with one of the world’s leading academic publishers to rec-ognize NKU assistant professor Cheryl Lero Johnson with a 2013 ACJS SAGE Junior Faculty Teaching Award. The award is given to 10 new faculty members, annually, who are in the discipline of criminal justice and and criminology. Each win-ner will receive a grant to help with their travel to the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences 2013 annual meeting in Dallas, where Johnson will be recognized amongst a crowd of over 2,000 people. Johnson is an assistant professor in the NKU Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice. She has taught courses in introductory criminal justice, correctional re-habilitation, crime prevention and the criminal offender.

French film festival set to kick off March 21

The 2013 Tournées Festival of New French Films at North-ern Kentucky University kicks off March 21 with two screen-ings of “Les Contes de la Nuit” (“Tales of the Night”) – one at 3:30 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. The screenings will both take place in the Griffin Hall Digitorium. The Tournées program is sponsored by the French American Cultural Exchange, which provides grant money for colleges and universities to host film festivals showcasing some of the best of recent French cinema. In 2010, the NKU Cinema Studies Program partnered with the departments of English and world languages and literatures to make NKU the first school in the region to host the Tournées. The festival will continue through April 18, with screenings of a new film every Thursday at 3:30 and 7 p.m. in the digitorium. A trailer for the March 21 film can be found at http://www.facecouncil.org/tournees/fichesfilms/TalesOfTheNight.html. Admission to the festival is free to students. There is a $5 cost for the general public.

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Various issues concerning the safety of campus, such as a hidden drain near the campus volleyball courts and the lack of paths near several dorm exits, were reported Monday as SGA received a presentation on the findings from their spring Campus Safety Walk.

The presentation was given by SGA senators Kristian Johnson, Donald Taylor and Justin Wynne who led this semester’s Campus Safety Walk event Feb.18.

Other findings noted at the presentation included the lack of a sidewalk in front of Callahan where students currently walk in the grass, lack of a sidewalk near the soccer fields where students currently walk in a paved area for vehicular traffic and the poor surface condition and lack of proper lighting in the gravel lots across from Griffin Hall.

Senator Ashley Hyden also recommended, after the

presentation, the addition of the stairwells in Kenton Garage to the list of findings, in order to address the wa-ter leakage issue that causes a problem during periods of light rain or storms.

“The purpose of the Campus Safety Walk is to bring awareness to safety hazards that exist around campus, especially during the evening and nighttime hours,” Senator Johnson said during the presentation.

This is the second Campus Safety Walk of the 2012-13 year for SGA. The group plans to hold one of these events every semester to ensure continued campus safe-ty for students.

Several members of university administration at-tended the Campus Safety Walk with SGA, so the group could show them, firsthand, the safety hazards on cam-pus.

The next step after the presentation, according to Senator John Jose, is to send a copy of the findings to the proper administrators so that the can be addressed

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Kevin SchultzNews editor

Student Senate addresses campus safety concerns

STAFF WRITERS

WEB EDITORBrendan Dickinson

[dickinsonb1@nku.edu]

As much as students have to remember common and ev-eryday rules, such as looking both ways before they cross the street; campus police, campus safety and campus plan-ning have to remember to accommodate them.

Between Student Government Association, University Police and university construction, there seems to be a bal-ance of problems and solutions that are usually addressed accordingly.

However, one issue has yet to be solved. Near the inter-section of Kenton Drive and Campbell Drive students find that there are no sidewalks on either side of the street. The same issue arises near the intersection of Grant Drive and Kenton Drive.

Currently, Steve Nienaber, university architect, said con-struction has begun on new sidewalks. The new sidewalks will pick up where the existing ones end by Albright Health Center. They will continue along Kenton Drive and stop at the end of the road. There will also be a similar sidewalk on Johns Hill Road. This 5-foot-wide, curb-sided sidewalk is estimated to cost between $15-17,000, Nienaber said. “And

that’s an inexpensive sidewalk.”Compare this to the sidewalks on the plaza that are 20

feet wide and eight inches thick. According to Nienaber they have to be this massive because of the truck traffic on them. The sidewalks that are in construction can’t support vehicles.

“We have added crosswalks, but what that does then is slows down traffic,” Nienaber said, because you have that many more places to stop, it backs up into the lots and snowballs from there.

“That’s one of my big goals … is to place it where it needs to be but don’t put too much of it in. Don’t overburden the campus with concrete sidewalks because we are a concrete architecture campus.” Green spaces allow for the softening of campus, Nienaber said. “I’d just rather not have hard surface. I want to have green.”

With about 10,000 people, 5,000 of which are student drivers, and buses, Kenton Drive is the most heavily traf-ficked, according to Bryan Allen, University Police captain.

“Drivers and students really have to be aware of what’s going on,” Allen explained.

That means a cell phone or music device shouldn’t con-sume a driver’s focus. Attentiveness is the key everywhere,

but especially in those areas on Kenton Drive that don’t have a sidewalk on either side.

Allen said there are some issues in the spring time with students preoccupied with getting to class, so they have of-ficers direct traffic, but significantly less in the summer and fall semesters.

Student Government Association helps deal with cam-pus safety. The organization’s campus safety walk aims to point out issues that students face. “SGA is about the stu-dents and so anything they can do to improve the campus they will,” Matt Frentz, SGA senator, said.

There are three different portions of the safety walk Frentz pointed out: a campus portion, a housing portion and a Callahan portion.

NKU has a master plan that includes re-routing traffic to the outside of campus and making the majority of Kenton Drive a pedestrian path. The road will go to the turnaround by Norse Commons and dead end. Kenton Drive thus will be for pedestrian traffic, encompassing a bike lane.

The new loop road will move students to the middle of campus and vehicular traffic to the outside. The parking lots will fill from the west side drivers, as drivers can’t make the link from Norse Commons to Griffin Hall, Nienaber said.

EDITION 51, ISSUE 8| News

3University plans for new entrance

Campus sidewalk improvements on the way

Change in direction of traffic will alleviate traffic backups

Though the infrastructure of the campus is not conducive to growth, Northern Ken-tucky University has seen an improvement with the inflow of traffic so far this year.

According to Bryan Allen, University Po-lice captain, the most difficult time to ma-neuver through campus occurs during the first three to four weeks of a new semester.

“With the start of school, we usually hire overtime to control a new influx of kids. It is usually about a three week taper before you see an improvement,” Allen said.

Campus Police usually deploys three to four officers during the day shift to assist with the heaviest traffic times of the day. Normally, this occurs around 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. on weekdays. The big push of students, especially of those with Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday classes, is something they pay close attention to.

With the growth of the university, both in number of students and campus expan-sion, plans must be made to expand the

roads. In the university’s long-term plan, a new entrance will be created with a three to four lane road on the back end of campus, pushing traffic into the parking lots rather than taking commuters through campus to get to those parking lots.

The university’s road structure is based on a car-count that was completed during summer semesters, when fewer students are actually on campus. “You have to build the roads with commuters in mind,” Allen said.

Tentatively, parts of Kenton Drive would be eliminated with this particular project, mainly between the Kenton Drive park-ing garage and Carroll Drive. Kenton Drive, from University Drive to Carroll Drive as well as Johns Hill to that parking garage, would remain open while the rest becomes grassy area with crosswalks remaining.

What many students do not realize yet is that there are other ways of getting to the university.

“It is a habit for people to take 471 or 275 to those areas of the university. Many peo-ple don’t know that you can take the Wilder

exit to Johns Hill, they just stay in one area because of the familiarity,” Allen said.

Some students believe that the traffic di-rection is making the roads both commuter and pedestrian friendly.

“I live in the Meadowview Apartments, and sometimes it’s a pain to get across the street because it is oncoming traffic and they don’t need to stop,” student Ricky Harm said.

Other students, however, are questioning the plan’s effectiveness.

“I don’t like the plan. I believe that traf-fic would still be the same and that making a connector road will be costly and cause tuition to go up,” junior Kyle Kohorst said.

Allen said they are trying to keep the university student-friendly, with newer de-signs and more police officers and substa-tions available to students. They want the community involved, but “plans are plans, they are always changing.”

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Erin PierceContributing writer

Emily HodgesContributing writer

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This year’s SgA presidential and vice presidential candidates have kick-started their cam-paigns by creating promotional videos, engaging students with social media, holding open forum sessions and more, all while embracing creativity and ingenuity in delivering their run-ning platforms for this year’s March 27 and 28 elections.

Below is a preview for the three SgA presidential and vice presidential campaigns’ running platforms. Full running platforms for all of the campaigns can be found at the accompanying links. All candidates will take part in the annual debate hosted by The Northerner on March 25 at 5 p.m. in SU 104.

PEDERSON&TRUMP

JOSE&CASTLE

EDWARDS&GROSSPresidential Candidate Erik Pederson- Junior business and communication majorVice Presidential Candidate David Trump- Sophomore theatre major

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT:• Make sure every student has access to mid-term grades, not

only first year students• Provide an open syllabus bank so students can know what

their professors require of them before they ever apply for the class

• Create an A+ grade possibility so that students can achieve the grade they deserve and help improve their GPA for the better

• Achieve Academic Review Week, a week of study before finals

week where professors cannot teach anything new or give any new projects- strictly for preparation for finals week

• Make the Rally for Higher Education bigger and better than ever before

UNIVERSITY INITIATIVES:• Build a Diversity Center• Fight for Upper Division Housing • Showcase and encourage the efforts of campus beautification

and campus branding• Allow students to receive a Parking Pass Advance before their

loans and grants are received• Advocate for the Health Innovations Center

http://www.facebook.com/PedersonTrump/info

Presidential Candidate Chaz Edwards- Junior English and communication majorVice Presidential Candidate Abby Gross- Senior respiratory therapy and health science ma-

jor

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT:• Expand access to mid-term grades from only freshmen to ev-

ery student• Increase the amount and availability of learning assistance

programs by working with the administration and the programs staff to increase their resources

• Increase course availability by advocating for increased sup-port from Frankfort to provide the necessary funding

• Allow students to purchase a parking pass through their FAF-SA refund before it is released, similar to the book advance

• Create a permanent position within Student Government for an international student representative

UNIVERSITY INITIATIVES:• Create a University Diversity Center for the LGBTQ, African

American, Latino, and International students/communities • Work with Career Services to increase student awareness of

internships and co-ops• Increase Legacy Funding for student organizations• Advocate for state funding of a new building on campus, the

Health Innovations Center, which will serve as a new home for allied health and psychology fields

• Work to increase NKU’s funding to equal other comparable Kentucky universities based on per-full time student

http://www.facebook.com events/496821213712555/

Presidential Candidate John Jose- Sophomore undeclared majorVice Presidential Candidate Clayton Castle- Sophomore journalism major

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT:• Find new and creative ways to increase funding for student in-

volvement to help increase retention and allow all students to get involved in extracurricular activities

• To do as the SGA Constitution says and “protect and promote the rights of Northern Kentucky University students”.

• Protect the right of students to park their vehicles on campus at affordable prices

• Explore alternative, more affordable meal plan options for those living off campus

• Expand communication between the student body and NKU

Administration by holding events where students can publically address grievances and concerns to the university

UNIVERSITY INITIATIVES:• Promote school spirit and campus rebranding by “Norsifying”

campus• Advocate internally and externally for a new Health Innova-

tions Center• Support President Geoffrey Mearns’ Campus Beautification

Plan to plant more trees on campus, only one of several other proj-ects to make our campus “greener” and more “Norsified”

• Support the creation of a Diversity Center that offers services to students that identify themselves as African American, Latino, LGBTQ, and International students

http://www.facebook.com/JoseCastleNKU/info

Kevin SchultzNews editor

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The lights start to shine and the music begins to play, slowly the curtain begins to rise and the performers start their num-ber. These are not your typical perform-ers though, they are students between 8-14 years old. They have worked hard all year long, preparing for this moment when they finally take the stage.

The NKU preparatory program Mainstage helped guide these students and prepare them for their performance.

It started in September 2012 with a desire to have a theater class in the preparatory program offered at NKU. The program start-ed as Drama-Rama, which taught students the fundamentals of acting and singing.

With such a great turn out with Drama-Rama, Heather Attar and Danielle Knox,

the creators of the program, decided that in order to grow the program and to take the performers to the next level a musical the-ater camp was necessary. Thus Mainstage was born.

Mainstage offers students a chance to ex-plore the world of musical theater. The class is based on singing, movement and acting. This semester’s class is performing a con-densed version of “The Pirates of Penzance” with orchestra, props, sets and costumes.

Students are involved with not only the performing end of the production but also learn about directing, script writing and even costume design.

“We like the students to be very involved in creating their costumes. We ask them to draw sketches of what they think their char-acter would look like and what they would wear. We use their sketches and ideas as a

starting point for their costumes,” director Knox said.

The 90-minute class begins with a warm-up comprised of different vocal and acting exercises to prepare the students for the remainder of the class. Then the students

move on to learning music and dialogue for the show they will perform at the end of the semester. Finally, the students are taught the staging and choreography that matches the music they have learned.

It is not only the lessons about theater

Right now aging probably isn’t something on the mind of young college students; however, most of us have an older relative who we think of often. Currently a traveling exhibit entitled “Positively Ninety: Interviews with Lively Nonage-narians” is putting the spotlight on those older individuals. The display, showing in Steely Library until April 5, features photographs of active individuals in their 90s and their sto-ries.

The idea began in 2007 when, for a freelance article, Con-nie Springer interviewed an amazingly energetic 90-year-old neighbor. There she realized that the 90-plus crowd are still moving and they each have a unique story.

“People always know someone who’s dynamic, who has a story to tell,” Springer said.

After receiving a City of Cincinnati Individual Artist’s grant to fund the work Springer began her quest of meeting 28 individuals who were staying active and “extremely en-gaged in the present” well into their 90s with stories of their

own.“It helps the people interviewed, who don’t always get to

tell their fascinating stories,” Springer said. From inspiring tales of a Holocaust survivor, to the wise

words of one woman who said “with a book she’d never be

lonely,” Springer gained new perspective on aging. “My mother kind of shriveled as she got older, which gave

me a negative view on aging. Now I have these people to be inspired by,” Springer said.

Springer’s traveling display also led to a book of the same title, featuring her list of traits that she saw in every grace-fully aging individual she met. She calls them the 20 Person-ality Traits of Lively Nonagenarians, which include having a sense of humor, relating to younger people and having a “nothing can stop me” attitude.

“A lot of them had to reinvent themselves and they did it,” Springer said.

Springer’s exhibit has been in eight Cincinnati area loca-tions, but this is the first university it’s traveled to. Springer hopes that its presence on a college campus can give younger people the same positive perspective on aging that she has gained.

“I’m hoping for anyone to be inspired. Maybe [students] can even gain a deeper appreciation for their elders,” Spring-er said.

EDITION 51, ISSUE 8| Arts & Life

5Young students take the Mainstage

Over 90 and still living life to the fullest

NKU prep program invites 8-14 year olds to theater classes on campus

Local photographer brings an aging yet lively exhibit to Steely Library

Students posed after a class in the Mainstage program at Northern Kentucky University. Mainstage is a preparatory program to help young students learn about theater performance.

Photo by Sarah McIntosh

Sarah McIntoshContributing writer

Nancy CurtisStaff writer

Photo courtesy of Connie SpringerOne of Springer’s subjects, Gordon Maham, 91, said he spends almost every waking minute fighting for close-to-home causes.

Northern Kentucky University was stunned by the unexpected termination of Athletic Director Scott Eaton earlier this week. Since March 20, the university has not released any more information about the ethical miscon-duct Eaton participated in that led to the firing, which has sent the students of the university into a whirlwind of ideas on what might have happened.

On March 20, President Geoffrey Mearns released a letter sent to the Board of Regents stating Eaton’s termi-nation and claimed ethical misconduct as the motivating factor in the decision.

In the letter, which was also sent to all NKU students, faculty and staff, Mearns said that Eaton failed to comply with NKU’s ethical principles and code of conduct.

At this point, Mearns said he is unable to provide spe-cific information about the misconduct because the in-vestigation is ongoing. But he did confirm that there is no information for NCAA compliance issues, no evidence of similar misconduct from other university employees, no evidence of conduct that would give rise to criminal charges and it is not related to university finances.

Because of these responses, students have started talking amongst themselves and some have taken to Twitter to voice their opinions regarding what they think may have happened.

Maggie Altimier, a senior history major, said she’s “...curious as hell. I think it did more damage sending out the email… causing so much speculation. When you don’t tell people the truth their minds go to the worse thing.”

The word going around is all speculation, as most

students are unaware of the situation because President Mearns is the only official university member allowed to speak on it.

Starting with the letter and email to the NKU commu-nity, Mearns said he is working hard to be as transparent as possible, as opposed to “other institutions who have not acted with the same level of dispatch and have not been particularly forthcoming with the public.”

Compared to other universities that dealt with similar situations, Mearns said the university has taken three steps to set them apart: he acted quickly, he took action and he publicized the information.

“In my judgement, it is in the interest of the university to be honest with all of its constituents,” Mearns said.

Some students, like Norse Force President Sara Daugherty, trust Mearns’ decision, but are still anxious for answers.

“When I spoke to Dr. Votruba about it he assured me, and wants me to pass it along to NKU’s students, that we should trust President Mearns’ decisions...I’m wait-ing for answers just like everyone else,” Daugherty said.

Mirroring Daugherty’s response, John Jose, current SGA senator and university improvements committee chair, said “his [Mearns’] transparency has been awe-some since the beginning.”

Mearns credited his decision to not release more in-formation at the time of publication to protecting the confidentiality of the investigation and the privacy of the individuals involved in the situation.

The investigation into Eaton’s actions began March 8 and with the help of a law firm, Mearns received infor-mation that led him to suspend Eaton on March 12.

Mearns said he did not know when he would be able to release more information, the timeline depends on the Cincinnati law firm Dinsmore & Shohl’s investigation.

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Maggie AltimierSeniorHistory

“I think it did more damage sending out

the email… causing so much speculation.”

Lance WhiteJunior

Computer science

“ If they’re going to send everyone an email about it they should at least say why he was

fired.”

Isis SolomanSophomore

Public relations

“I’m confused mostly because I don’t really

know why it happened. I’d like to know more

because I’m nosy.”

Tanner RubrergSophomore

Exercise science

“It was odd that they let everyone know he

was fired but didn’t say why.”

Chris WaltersSophomoreMarketing

“I want to know all the juicy details but I guess it will come with time.”

Campus responds to firing with mixed feelings, confusion

Claire HigginsEditor-in-chief

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NScott Eaton began working at NKU as an administrator, playing key roles in academics, compliance, budget, event management and facilities.

Eaton served as NKU’s interim assistant vice president of stu-dent affairs.

(July 27) Eaton became NKU’s athletic director after serving as senior associate athletic direc-tor for administration. He replaced Jane Meier, who held the position for 21 years.

(December 8) Eaton played a major role as NKU’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to make the move to Division I by joining the Atlantic Sun

Conference. (March 2) Eaton helped NKU Athletics launch the Go Gold Campaign to support the university’s transition into Division I and the A-Sun.

(March 8) NKU President Geoffrey Mearns became aware of possible misconduct by Eaton.

(March 12) Mearns received additional information and retained outside counsel from Dinsmore and Shohl to con-duct an independent and thorough investigation. Mearns suspended Eaton from his duties the same day.

(March 18) Eaton was terminated from NKU by Mearns for failure to comply with ethical principles and the code of conduct, by not meeting his responsibility to the university and lacking fundamental integrity.

ScOtt EAtON’S timE At NKU

1998

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2013

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2011

Northern Kentucky Univer-sity’s women’s basketball team could not withstand a scor-ing barrage from the College of Charleston early in the second half of the contest on Wednes-day, falling in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invita-tional 72-70.

Charleston used an early run in the second half to pull away from the Norse, taking a 16-point lead with 13:26 left in the game. The Norse chipped away at the Cou-gar lead late in the game, closing the deficit to one point with 13.7 seconds remaining, but could not complete the comeback.

NKU junior guard Kayla Thack-er missed a potential game-tying basket with five seconds to play, allowing Charleston to run out the clock.

Norse head coach Dawn Plit-zuweit was pleased with the ef-fort of the Norse late in the game, praising their toughness while facing a big deficit.

“I thought our kids really found a way to dig themselves back into that game,” she said. “It didn’t look very promising when we were down 16 in the second half, but we battled, we fought and we found a way to get ourselves back in it.”

Thacker led the late rally for the Norse, scoring 13 of her 15

points in the second half.“We did a better job in the sec-

ond half of taking good shots,” Plitzuweit said. “We worked the ball, we got inside-out rhythm shots... Kayla hit a couple of those shots, which was really big for us.”

Senior center Ellen Holton led the Norse in scoring with 21 points and added six rebounds as well. The Norse made an effort to get Holton and fellow senior Tiara Hopper involved on the in-side early on.

“I just try and help my team as best I can, tonight it was inside,” Holton said. “I thought we played really hard. It just didn’t end like we wished it would.”

Charleston guard Alyssa Frye seemed to have an answer for ev-ery Norse run, playing a pivotal role in keeping NKU from com-pleting the comeback by hitting several key shots.

“They hit shots at a very high percentage, and unfortunately at home, we didn’t hit those same kind of shots tonight,” Plitzuweit said. “She [Frye] played very, very well and hit every crucial shot they seemed to need.”

The loss eliminates the Norse from the WBI, while Charleston will move on to face the winner of Detroit and Belmont in the sec-ond round.

The Norse finished the season with a record of 15-13.

EDITION 51, ISSUE 8| Sports Special

7

Photo by Kody KahleSenior forward Tiara Hopper fought to get to the basket in the Norse’s 72-70 loss. Hopper finished her final game at NKU with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

College of Charleston defeats NKU in first-ever Division I postseason tournament

Lady Norse makeuniversity history

Kyle BiggsStaff writer

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Amur Honeysuckle, the shrubby plant known for its white blossoms and sweet aroma, is becoming a major problem for many local ecosystems. Local ecologists and environmental management agencies have begun studying and combating the honeysuckle, hoping to learn what strat-egies best alleviate the problem.

Assistant professor of biology and environmental science Kristy Hopfensperger is collaborating on an ongoing proj-ect studying local honeysuckle populations.

The Amur Honeysuckle, which originated in China, is an invasive species found in abundance throughout the tri-state. Honeysuckle out-competes native vegetation by be-ginning to grow earlier in the spring, which gives the hon-eysuckle an advantage over native plants by blocking their access to sunlight.

Hopfensperger began studying the plant two years ago after discovering how far reaching the problem has become. Even after several years of research, she still gets surprised by exactly just how far, citing an example of when she dis-covered the honeysuckle in an urban area of downtown Cin-cinnati a couple weeks ago.

“That was the plant, it was everywhere in this really con-crete area,” she said.

According to Hopfensperger, honeysuckle is a major

problem, not only because it blocks native plants’ access to sunlight, but because native wildlife does not generally feed on honeysuckle and because seeds are readily transported by the wind and wildlife.

Hopfensperger works in conjunction with the Center for Applied Ecology. The CAE works with private landowners, companies and government agencies to restore local Ken-tucky ecosystems which have been altered by commercial and agricultural practices. The CAE offers students an op-portunity to learn, in the field, through the availability of internships and co-ops.

It was the Stream Project which created a perfect op-portunity for researchers to study the honeysuckle inva-sion. According to Hopfensperger, the reconstruction of a Northern Kentucky creek created a great area to research how long it takes honeysuckle to return to an area after it is removed.

Alicia Weber, a biology major who graduated in Decem-ber 2012, helped research the ways honeysuckle seeds are dispersed throughout the environment. She monitored seed traps, mesh screens placed within a wooden frame, for two years.

Weber worked closely with Hopfensperger at the recon-struction site last school year measuring honeysuckle seed dispersal. Last semester she worked predominantly alone in the field, collecting data which will help researchers des-ignate areas that are likely susceptible to honeysuckle inva-sion.

Hopfensperger is currently working on several other projects including wetland restoration, salt water intrusion studies and the study of invasive earthworms.

Hopfensperger’s current student working with her is freshman environmental science major Ellen Albrecht. Al-brecht, who decided to pursue a degree in environmental science after taking a class with Hopfensperger last semes-ter, said she will continue to monitor the seed traps for the honeysuckle project.

Hopfensperger said she is excited to have an incoming freshman student to work with. She likes the fact she will be getting a student who is new to the project and will be able to stay with her for several years.

“I didn’t even know honeysuckle was an invasive species, this is all new to me,” Albrecht said. “I had never even heard that earthworms were an invasive species either.”

According to Hopfensperger, the earthworm is not native to this area and, although helpful in your garden, can wreak havoc on a forest ecosystem.

“The way earthworms move around organic matter has a big impact on nutrients and seeds that are available for the forest,” said Hopfensperger.

There are many ways students who want to help the en-vironment can become actively involved, those interested can look at the CAE website at www.appliedecology.nku.edu, or visit the student resources section of the depart-ment of biology’s website at www.artscience.nku.edu/de-partmetns/biology.

Matt PopovichStaff writer

Turns out honeysuckle isn’t so sweetProfessor and students continue to fight invasive plant in the region

With the termination of Athletic Director Scott Eaton, it seems like the games have really begun on NKU’s cam-pus. Students campus-wide have been piecing together news bits, using them as clues and trying to figure out just what ethical misconduct Eaton got into.

With just a letter from President Geoffrey Mearns and a lot of not commenting, students’ imaginations are run-ning wild with ideas, which isn’t beneficial for anyone involved, whoever they may be.

By acting quickly and publicly announcing the deci-sion, Mearns and the university have made a conscious effort to be open, transparent and honest with the com-munity about what happened, but they may have hit a wall. The ongoing investigation into what Eaton did is what’s stopping Mearns, who is the only person from the university allowed to talk on the situation, from reveal-ing details.

He told The Northerner that he received praise from students, faculty and staff on how he handled the situ-ation. He also said that our ideas on not being open enough are “completely unfounded.”

And we disagree. It’s frustrating not only because we’re journalists (we know that information is not easy to get), but because we’re students and want the real story.

As students, it is our right to know at least the basics of what happened to the university’s athletic director, who undoubtedly plays a huge role in student life on campus. We don’t need to know the nitty gritty or even names, but just something to ease students’ minds about what happened.

Without that little bit of information, there is more chance for rumors to spread and grow at a rapid rate — and they have. The rumors are harsh and could quite possibly have an even more negative effect on the people closely involved.

The reasoning behind not revealing any details are definitely understandable. Mearns said he doesn’t want to undermine the independence of the ongoing investi-gation, so he is keeping it under wraps to preserve that confidentiality.

He also said it was to protect the privacy of the indi-viduals involved. As student journalists, we understand the need to minimize harm, that’s in our Code of Eth-ics. But after hearing the speculations circulating among students, those rumors, which are often more persistent than the truth, could be even more painful.

To avoid future ramifications of damaged reputations and to keep your word on transparency, open up a little more, let other people besides the president talk if they want to. It may be hectic at first, but it’s time the rumors should be put to rest by the truth.

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I am writing in regards to the story entitled “New Factors Impact Stress in College Students” that was written by Staff writer, Maggie Pund on February 28, 2013. The article talks about how great the “financial” stress has been on students whom already face a lot of academic stress. I largely disagree with the article for a few reasons. First of all, the majority of college students are younger, most likely a year or two removed from college, and they were involved in a study via the article, which labeled 40% of them as reporting a higher stress level in the past year. When you are 18 or 19 years old, do you really know what stress is? When most of us were that age, we stressed out about our classes, what shirt we would wear with our jeans, and whether or not we would be eating Ramen noodle soup or a frozen pizza for dinner.

Just like the younger generation of today, we had financial obligations and had to make ends meet and we met them. There are plenty of jobs available if one needs the money. It might not be the ideal job, but if you are stressed out to the point where you would spend up to 70 dollars for a stress relieving massage, which is now being conducted at college campuses, then maybe you should consider it… and save that 70 for a book you need for your next semester which will in turn lower your financial stress.

Maybe the problem isn’t the actual lack of money. What if the problem lies in the mentality of today’s younger generation? It really feels as if more and more people are feeling “entitled” to things today. We hear about “tuition reim-bursement” but what makes it right to do that for people today when everyone else in the past made it work?

Take a look around you when you are driving the next time you have to run out. Look at the nice cars a lot of younger folks are driving. Look at the expensive smart phone they are using to Text, Tweet and Facebook their friends with all day. Maybe it’s time we all face the fact that while times are changing and money seems to be short, we all have it in ourselves to make ends meet no matter the cost. Maybe if we live within our means and avoid keeping up with the Joneses, stress factors would subside because we’d need less money to survive. Maybe it’s time to ask not what others can do for me, but what can I do for myself?

— Joe Seiter, NKU community member

LETTERTHE EDITOR

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Staff editorial

Eaton firing leads to speculation across campus

Rumors on the rise, administration stays quiet

cHEcK US OUT ONLINE

& ADD US TO YOUR SOcIAL NETWORK@ tHENORtHERNER.cOm

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Softball

The softball team traveled to North Carolina on March 8 to compete in the Camel Stampede tournament. The games against Morehead State (6-8) and Campbel (4-6) l both resulted in a loss. The other two games in the tournament were won versus Drexel and Norfolk State 5-1 and 4-1, respec-tively. On March 12 - 13, they faced USC Upstate in three games and lost all three, 1-3, 2-10 and 2-7. They finished out the week on March 16 with two home games against Mercer both resulting in losses, one 2-7 and one 1-3. The team plays next on March 23 against Kennesaw State at 1 p.m.

Tennis

The men’s and women’s tennis team had matches against Austin Peay on March 9 both ending in losses, men 2-5 and women 0-7. The next two matches were against Bethune-Cookman and both

teams lost again. The men’s team faced Chicago State next and came out with a win 6-1. On March 14, in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener the men and women fell against Stetson, 1-6 and 0-7. On March 16, both teams lost to Florida Gulf Coast 0-7. Both teams play again on March 23 against Lipscomb at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Baseball

Between March 9 and March 17 the baseball team lost to Marshall, Tennessee Tech, Butler, Eastern Michigan and Cincinnati. Their overall record is now 2-18 and they are 10th in A-Sun standings.

Golf

Both golf teams played at the Benbow Invitational on March 11 - 12, the men came out in third place out of 14 teams and the women came out in eighth place out of 10. The teams appeared again at the

Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate Invitational on March 18. The men placed fourth out of nine teams and the women placed 11th out of 12. The men’s team plays again on March 25 at the Jim Bishop Toyota Classic and the women play again on April 6 at the Colonel Classic in Richmond, Ky.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team traveled to San Fran-cisco, Calif. on March 14 to face San Francisco for their last game during season play. The men were not eligible for postseason play but traveled to play San Francisco even though they are not in the A-Sun conference. The team fell to San Francisco 68-73. The men’s team ended their season ranked sixth in the A-Sun with a 9-9 record in conference play and 11-16 overall.

Kaitlyn and Kristyn Hooper have not only been together since birth but they have stuck with each other in the classroom and on the track at NKU. They have helped each other compete and become better runners by training and encouraging each other and their team to push it to the fin-ish line.

The twins had a pleasant childhood growing up in Central City, Ky., a small town four hours from Northern Kentucky University. They began to compete athleti-cally and find what they liked on their own as they grew up.

Kristyn wouldn’t let her sister run with her when she first began her track career. She wanted to do something as an indi-vidual when she first decided to run track. After two years of waiting the two decided to start running together.

“I wanted something for my own,” Kristyn said. “In sixth grade I began to run track. I wouldn’t let her do it for a while with me, at least for two years.”

While attending Muhlenberg County High School they competed against each other for their first year running at the same time.

“Before our [high] school was combined we used to run against each other,” Kristyn said. “We were very competitive against each other.”

The two would be considered a package deal for the NKU’s track team for the two years they have been running here.

They are now sophomores at NKU, competing in Division I track and field for the first time, both competing in the 5000-meter run and mid-distance events for the team.

“It is harder this year, definitely more competition,” Kaitlyn said.

The two have worked harder this year by training differently. They are both recover-ing from injuries during last year’s season each with a stress fracture in the same foot.

“Kaitlyn has been fine and been able to run every meet,” Kristyn said. “I feel that I can’t run my full potential if I’m hurting too much that day. It has kept me from running some indoor meets.”

Head coach Steve Kruze knows that Kaitlyn is very competitive and does her best on the track, while Kristyn wants to be there for the team and knows that she is supportive of her teammates.

Kruze believes that the two share a unique bond with the team, and each other, through their friendship, mentality and by bringing the “family feeling” to the team.

“They are very team-related players,” Kruze said. “Their parents are always there at the games and that reflects how they re-late to each other and the team.”

Being sisters participating in the same sport changes expectations from the two but it doesn’t change their performance on the track.

“It’s hard for some people to separate us,” Kristyn said. “They assume that we should be running at the same time.”

The two are able to keep focus in the

classroom and stay competitive while re-ceiving good grades. Kaitlyn currently is majoring in nursing and Kristyn in physi-cal education.

“We compete with each other in the classroom,” Kaitlyn said. “Our teachers sometimes would help us compete against each other. It’s always been like that.”

They work hard together and with the team, achieving their individual goals to become better on and off the track. Kaitlyn

and Kristyn are trying to run to their full potential this year.

Kaitlyn works hard to run faster and get in the lower 18 minutes for the 5000, while Kristyn gets back in shape from being in-jured last year and trains to continue to be a stronger runner.

The twins understand and connect with each other on and off the track daily while still keeping their sisterly bond strong.

Dejoria PhillipsContributing writer

Twins stay focused on and off the trackThe Hooper sisters help each other become better runners and students

Photo courtesy of NKU AthleticsTwins Kaitlyn (left) and Kristyn (right) Hooper both run for the women’s track team. The two have been running with each other since high school, and came to NKU as a “package deal.”

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Replacing legs with wheels, players and students took to the court at NKU’s Rec Center in a different fashion, putting an interesting twist on the ordinary game of basketball.

Students and other members of the NKU community came together Monday night to watch and participate in the univer-sity’s first annual wheelchair basketball event.

Jeremy Chipman, assistant director of intramural sports, said he got the idea for the event several years ago when he attended a national conference for campus recreation faculty members at Wright State University.

When Chipman returned to NKU, he and his graduate as-sistant Jeremy Moore started to contact people to see how they could get the program started.

They reached out to Cindy Jacobelli, director of adaptive recreation at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in Lexing-ton and head coach of Cardinal Hill’s team, Hill on Wheels.

Jacobelli said they chose to come all the way from Lexing-ton to help bring attention of the sport to the Northern Ken-tucky area. Even though the team is based out of Lexington, there are some members that practice outside of that area.

The team also came to increase college students’ awareness about people in wheelchairs and just how able-bodied they

are. “What we find the most is that people just don’t understand

and they’re scared,” Jacobelli said. “Everything is the same [about these people], except instead of legs, they have wheels.”

Charles Coon, center for Hill on Wheels, has been around wheelchair basketball his entire life. His father returned from the Vietnam War an amputee and started playing the sport, which has been around since amputee veterans started re-turning from World War II and “just wanted to get back into life and athletics,” according to Jacobelli.

Coon, who is not bound to a wheelchair himself, has been playing for 14 years. He was with Hill on Wheels when they won the Division III National Wheelchair Basketball Associa-tion national championship in 2008.

“We’re practicing two to three days per week, with four to five hours of practice,” Coon said, commending the team on the hard work they put in.

Coon said that everyone on the team inspires him to be a better person. “Anybody can wake up and say, ‘Oh, I don’t feel good today,’” he said. “They wake up and say, ‘Huh. I can’t walk today,’ and they go out and achieve anyway.”

For more information about Hill on Wheels and about the sport of wheelchair basketball, visit Cardinal Hill’s website, http://www.cardinalhill.org/services/athletics-recreation/hill-on-wheels.

Mac PaytonStaff writer

Photo by Stephen WilderHill on Wheels forward Jack Shepard attempted a layup during the exhibition game Monday night. Students who participated in the game got a taste of how difficult it is to play the sport.

Rec hosts first annual wheelchair basketball event

Marta Romeo and Shana Kleynen have both traveled great distances to play tennis at NKU. Despite a rocky start to the year, the two have high hopes for the rest of the season.

Romeo and Kleynen are interna-tional student athletes who play for NKU’s women’s tennis team. Both Romeo and Kleynen were recruited by NKU online via websites designed to bring international athletes in contact with American universities.

Romeo and Kleynen both jumped at the opportunity to attend college in the U.S. to pursue both an education and further athletic competition. The two explained, in Europe, athletics and schools are completely separated and unless you are a highly ranked athlete the chance to pursue both simultane-ously is rare. The opportunity to pur-sue an education while continuing to play the sport they loved competitively was the incentive needed to leave their family and friends to attend college in the U.S.

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Twenty-year-old psychology major Marta Romeo was born in Zaragoza, Spain and came to America three years ago to play tennis for NKU. Romeo was discovered by coaches at NKU via her profile on the website agmsports.com, a site where international athletes can interact with coaches at U.S. colleges.

Several colleges contacted her, but she decided to attend NKU because of the lower SAT score required for admis-sion at NKU. She had only a few weeks to learn English before taking her SAT, which made the test very difficult.

“I graduated high school in June, and in July I already had to choose a university to attend,” Romeo said.

Romeo explained the teaching styles of European countries differ greatly from those in the U.S., which made her first semester at NKU difficult. After her first semester abroad, she began to adjust to the new culture and teach-ing styles.

The team flew to Florida for matches over spring break, where they went 0-3 against several Florida colleges. Even though the team flew for this trip, Romeo spoke of the fun she has had in the past with her teammates during long van rides to away games.

Romeo stated NKU’s move from Division II to Division I has changed more than just the way the team travels. The move to Division I brought rule changes and the need for more players.

“We should be like at eight or nine. If someone gets injured, we don’t have enough players,” she said.

Matt PopovichStaff writer

Women’s tennis plays with international flare

Twenty-year-old sophomore communication major Shana Kleynen was born in Diest, Belgium; 20 minutes outside the capitol city of Brussels. This is her first semes-ter living away from home, although she has traveled to the U.S. previously. It was during those trips Kleynen decided she wanted to attend college abroad.

Kleynen was discovered by NKU recruiters after her coach posted a video of her online. She was approached by several schools, but found NKU to be her best option with the limited time of two weeks to prepare for the SATs. She said the adjustment to American teaching styles and the

new language made the test very difficult. Kleynen, who is in her first semester at NKU after trans-

ferring from a school in Belgium, said she still has not com-pletely adjusted to living in a foreign country. Her first few weeks at NKU were not pleasant.

“I got the flu and mono after… I couldn’t even leave my bed, I was just sitting in my room alone. I’ve had nobody in the beginning,” said Kleynen. She went on to say her team-mates and other international students have helped her begin to feel more comfortable living abroad.

Kleynen said the move to Division I has made this year difficult, especially since she got sick. She said the team needed her due to the increased amounts of matches.

“I couldn’t play when I had mono,” she said. This made her absence on the court strongly felt.

mARtA ROmEO

SHANA KlEyNEN