The Northerner Print Edition - October 26, 2011

Faculty debate D-I transition

Is D-I good for the community?

German Professor battles breast cancer

See NEWS, p.4 See SPORTS, p.8 See FEATURES, p.11

Thanks to a dust-up over salary caps last season, the Northern Ken-tucky River Monsters are no longer playing at The Bank of Kentucky Center – but many of the players will return.

This time, they have a different name and a different owner.

Joe Euton, who already owns the semi-professional arena football team Northern Kentucky Bulldogs, wanted to buy the team.

“We wanted to bring back the River Monsters,” Euton said. “They were a winning team. The market-ing was in place and the fan base was already there.”

Euton thought he would obtain the team from owner Jill Chitwood and bring it back to the arena.

“We thought it was a done deal,” Euton said. “[Chitwood] was more than willing to work with us. She gave us a fair price.”

However, the deal came to a halt when there was an issue with fines the league tried to impose on the River Monsters for going over the weekly player salary cap in the pre-vious season.

The league’s operations manual said teams would operate under a salary cap, but did not give the limit.

According to court documents, league President Andrew Haines sent an email May 11 notifying team owners the salary cap amount had been set and was in effect as of May 16.

At the time the email was sent, the River Monsters had a 11-1 record with only two regular-season games left.

The River Monsters finished the season with an 11-3 record and in

first place. Chitwood paid her players a $50

bonus for each game they won. When the new rule went into ef-

fect, it put Chitwood in violation of the salary cap. The league imposed

a fine of $8,250 and dropped the River Monsters from first to fourth place.

The team still competed in the playoffs, but because they were dropped to fourth place, they were

not allowed to host a playoff game, taking away potential revenue.

Chitwood followed up by filing a lawsuit against the league May 27. It was dismissed with prejudice June 17, according to court docu-ments.

In the dismissal, both parties agreed they “have finally resolved any and all issues related to the par-ties’ interaction in and with the Ul-timate Indoor Football League.”

The issues were resolved in a set-tlement agreement effective June 6.

In the agreement, the league agreed to “waive any future claims against plaintiffs (River Monsters) unless the terms of this agreement are violated.”

Also, the league agreed to “waive and discharge a fine of $8,250 lev-ied against the plaintiffs for alleged violations of the UIFL salary cap.”

As part of the settlement, the plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew from the league.

There was no mention if the Riv-er Monsters coming back into the league would violate the agreement.

According to Euton, when he tried to buy the team, the league tried to impose the fines on him.

He refused to pay them.“They were trying to jam us with

their fines,” Euton said.Chitwood is still the owner of the

name “River Monsters” despite the team no longer existing.

Although Chitwood’s River Mon-sters will not be back this year, there will be a different team in the arena: The Northern Kentucky Monsters, owned by Haines.

The majority of the players on the team played for the River Monsters last year.

Haines has not been available for comment.

John MinorSports news editor

River Monsters leave the BOKCA dispute over player bonuses causes the team to depart NKU, but a new one will take its place

Illustration by Brittany Granville

@northernermediathenortherner.comThe Northerner Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Edition 48, Issue 9

Northern Kentucky University’s independent student-run newspaper

Views October 26, 20112Ju

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You have that term paper due, and you’ve only pecked out three sentenc-es and a pile of sources with question-able merit. The thought of completing the paper is nigh unbearable, so you decide to distract yourself with some-thing, anything to take your mind off of the task at hand. Perhaps you play a game or read a book, or pick up a newspaper, like this one… or perhaps you’re writing a column for your lo-cal school paper to avoid finishing a research essay. You lament over your prodigious procrastination and raise your fists aloft to the heavens, asking “Is there no way to overcome this lack of productivity?!” Fear not, for one man has stepped up to show us the way, and that man is Stanford phi-losopher John Perry.

Perry was among this year’s recipi-ents of the coveted Ig Nobel prize. “What is an Ig Nobel prize”, you may ask, “and what qualifies someone for consideration?” The official site for the Ig Nobel presents the purpose of the award thusly: “The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make

them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s in-terest in science, medicine, and tech-nology.”

So,what made Perry worthy of this prize, and how does all of this tie in to saving all of us world-weary pro-crastinators? For Perry, it was an ar-ticle he had written fifteen years ago on the art of structured procrastina-tion that put him in the running and ultimately won him the prize. What is structured procrastination? The broad strokes are that we, as pro-crastinators, often take on only a few weighty tasks that are of momentous importance, and we end up frittering our time away “sharpening pencils” (or, rather more likely, playing video games), with nothing to show for our procrastinatory efforts. The trick is to load up with many fruitful tasks that vary in import. By doing this, we can use the tasks that feel less pressing in order to avoid those that are at the top of the list and still remain produc-tive. In short, the impulse to distrac-tion becomes constructive. The most pressing concerns (or at least those that feel the most pressing) are picked

up as even more important concerns invariably present themselves.

Dear reader, on seeing this strategy spelled out you may detect an omi-nous issue lurking in the wings, an issue that John Perry was well aware of: “...you may be asking, ‘How about the important tasks at the top of the list, that one never does?’ Admittedly, there is a potential problem here. The trick is to pick the right sorts of proj-ects for the top of the list. The ideal sorts of things have two character-istics, First, they seem to have clear deadlines (but really don’t). Second, they seem awfully important (but re-ally aren’t). Luckily, life abounds with such tasks.”

This productivity mind-hack re-quires a bit of ingenuity and self-de-ception; you have to find something that you know, in the back of your mind, is not actually so pressing that disastrous consequences will not en-sue should you fail to meet the origi-nal deadline. You also must be able to keep this fact in the back of your mind by picking out possible disas-trous scenarios after the fact, in order to feel as though it should be at the top of your list. The task also must

be relatively long term, so that you can back fill your list with seemingly less important short term tasks that you can use them (in lieu of sharpen-ing your pencils or playing that new video game) to distract yourself while maintaining the facade (and the real-ity) of being highly productive.

On this, Perry notes “One needs to be able to recognize and commit one-self to tasks with inflated importance and unreal deadlines, while making oneself feel that they are important and urgent. This is not a problem, because virtually all procrastinators have excellent self-deceptive skills also. And what could be more noble than using one character flaw to off-set the bad effects of another?”

So there you have it; a nice heuris-tic for us chronic procrastinators to become productive members of so-ciety. Fight that urge to accept only those tasks you’re saddled with, and volunteer for enough tasks to distract yourself with, that people marvel at your productivity. Sure, you might not get everything done, but since those around you likely already la-ment your inconsistency, this strat-egy should prove to be a net gain.

Christopher McGeeViewpoints co-editors

Procrastinators - read this later

ViewsEdition 48, Issue 9 3

AD ASSISTANTAndrew Despotes[[email protected]]

COPY EDITOR Elizabeth Parsons[[email protected]]

VISUAL DESIGNER Emily Lindeau[[email protected]]

VIEW POINTS EDITORSAaron Sprinkles [[email protected]] Chris McGee[[email protected]]

The NorthernerFounders Hall Rm 314Highland Heights, KY 41099Editor in Chief: (859) 572-5812Newsroom: (859) 572- 6677 or 5620Advertising: (859) 572-5232Fax: (859) 572-5772E-mail: [email protected] site: www.thenortherner.com

contactinformation

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFCassie Stone[[email protected]]

MANAGING EDITORKarli Wood[[email protected]]

ADVISERJacque Day[[email protected]]

northernerstaff

STAFF WRITERSNick Jones[[email protected]]

COPY DESK CHIEFEmily Christman[[email protected]]

NEWS EDITORClaire Higgins[[email protected]]

FEATURES EDITORBrandon Barb[[email protected]]

SPORTS NEWS EDITORJohn Minor[[email protected]]

A&E EDITOR Roxanna Blevins[[email protected]]

PRESENTATION EDITORAlysha Durrett[[email protected]]

WEB EDITORBrittany Granville[[email protected]]

furtherdetailsEntire 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.

PHOTOGRAPHERKevin Jo[[email protected]]

VIDEOGRAPHERTravis Gibbons[[email protected]]

SPORTS FEATURES EDITORStephen Wilder[[email protected]]

Vincent CunninghamSenior,

Public Relations

"Allow homecoming to become more diverse. I don’t feel its open to a

variety of cultures"

Jacqueline MarcyJunior,

Elementary Education

"A complete smoking ban. My other problems

have been answered"

Karl BraggFreshman,

Sports Business

“Bring regular track and field to campus and build

an outdoor track."

rnpCompiled by

Brandon Barb and Tara Derington

What do you hope the new president will bring to campus?

norse poll responses

Anela Hadzic Freshman,

Undeclared

"A football team."

A call for student involvementOpen forums for the Presidential Search

and Screen Committee begin Oct. 26 and run through Oct. 28. There will be seven total fo-rums: two for faculty, two for staff, two for the outside committee (down one from the origi-nally slated three), but only one for students.

When asked why there was not another fo-rum for students, committee Chair Martin Butler said search firm Issacson Miller said they typically do not have high student turn-out to forums and therefore one was enough.

However, Butler said they would schedule another if there were enough demand from students.

Still, there is a glaring problem with this ap-proach.

The truth is that the forums have been poor-ly advertised. Yes, NKU is a commuter-based campus. However, for a process that could lead to electing someone who could change the face of the university, it is barely visible. The search committee needs to understand that despite their web page with periodic up-dates, the students need someone to get in their collective face.

For a population comprised of students who often have multiple jobs, children and other obligations, we need someone to tell us, “This matters. Care about it. Here’s why.”

So, here we go. This is important. And here’s why.

Even though students turn over more quick-ly than university faculty and staff tend to, it is students who stand to gain or lose the most. The goals and vision set forth by the univer-

sity’s next leader will set the tone of the uni-versity. Current students should have a voice in this process.

The Northerner’s call to action in this edi-torial is two-fold: One, students, be involved in the process. Show up to the forum, and de-mand more. Two, NKU, give students the op-portunity to be involved in the process. Pro-vide more student forums and advertise them.

On the other side of the argument, students, why did you choose to come to NKU? What values brought you here? Was it small class sizes? Tuition? Location? Did you just get a better financial aid package than other univer-sities?

All of these things can be changed with a different vision from a different president. Would you like NKU to keep the core values it has? Speak out.

Is there something you would like to see NKU do differently? Annoyed with high park-ing prices? Is class registration an inconve-nience? Do you feel like NKU is losing sight of something that’s important to you? Speak out.

Now, NKU. Offer at least one more student forum, advertise it in advance and offer it in a different time frame than the one before. There will always be a sector of students that won’t participate regardless of convenience. But this will help other students who do wish to have their voice heard.

Regardless, the students’ voice needs to be the primary focus. We are NKU’s foundation. We are NKU’s reason to be. If it weren’t for us, our burgeoning “metropolitan” university wouldn’t be growing, university initiatives aside.

Staff editorial

Police lined the street in front of Oak Hills High School Oct. 25, enforcing the First Amendment’s rights of free speech and to peaceably assemble.

Westboro Baptist Church, famous for picketing soldiers’ funerals, protested the school’s right to have a gay-straight alliance group available to students.

“Oak Hills High School, a typical doomed Ameri-can high school, is just another place where the chil-dren of this nation are taught that God is a liar and that his commandments are just suggestions,” reads the church’s official website.

Some Northern Kentucky University students gathered on Ebenezer Road to partake in the event. NKU freshman Grace Freihofer was one of those stu-dents.

“I went to Oak Hills for high school, and I total-ly disagree with the protest,” Freihofer said. “The students and the community came together against such hateful things.”

Westboro Baptist Church picket signs read, “Sol-diers die 4 fag marriage. Thank God for dead sol-diers.”

Counter-protesters gathered on the opposite side of the street, holding signs that portray their mes-sage: people shouldn’t be judged based upon their sexual orientation.

About 100 counter-protesters outnumbered the church’s four picketers. The picketers chanted “God

hates fags” as counter-protesters refuted Westboro’s arguments with cursing and songs.

Emotions were high as people expressed their be-liefs.

“I didn’t think the protest was going to be this big,” said NKU freshman Niki Handlon.

Although all the picketers have the right to free speech, some didn’t agree with Westboro’s message.

Oetjen got word of the protest through Facebook.

“They have no right to tell us who can defend our country and who can’t,” said Bo Oetjen, a public rela-tions senior at NKU.

Numerous strangers gathered for their belief that all are created equal, regardless of sexual orienta-tion. The overall atmosphere was evident. As West-boro left the scene, counter-protesters held their ground, singing, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.”

News October 26, 20114

Deadline to join English honor society approaching

The deadline to apply and pay dues to join Sigma Tau Delta is Nov. 2. Initiation will be Nov. 11 at the so-ciety’s annual dinner.

Sigma Tau Delta is an internation-al English honor society for students with exemplary academic achieve-ment in the English major. Students are selected based on total semester hours of university work, number of hours of work completed in English, and GPA in English classes.

Chase student wins wildlife conservation writing contest

A Chase Law student, Bijaya Shrestha, won the Southeastern As-sociation of Fish and Wildlife Agen-cies 2011 Wildlife and Conservation Law writing competition.

Her article, “Holy Jumping Fish Batman! The Asian Carp Invasion,” focuses on the Asian carp invasion of the U.S. river system. Shrestha will have the opportunity to present her paper at the annual conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Position created to educate campus about discrimination

To comply with regulations out-lined by the U.S. Education Depart-ment and the Civil Rights Office, NKU Student Affairs has appointed Ann James, associate director of University Housing, as Title IX Co-ordinator.

As Title IX Coordinator, James will develop gender discrimination and sexual misconduct program-ming and educational services, and research the Title IX federal man-dates to make sure NKU is in com-pliance with regulations.

James will also respond to student concerns and students who are vic-tims of sexual misconduct.

Student loan payments will soon be on the decline

The Obama Administration has announced a new plan that is de-signed to increase college afford-ability and make it easier to manage student loan debt.

In 2012, the “Pay As You Earn” proposal expects to allow about 1.6 million students to cap loan pay-ments at 10 percent, and all borrow-ers will be able to cap payments in 2014.

The new plan will forgive loan debt after 20 years, as opposed to 25 years as the current law states.

About 6 million students and re-cent graduates will also have the opportunity to consolidate student loans and reduce interest rates start-ing in January 2012.

Visit thenortherner.comfor more informationDid you know about the collision on

campus between two students and a car?

Across the University

Students counter Westboro protestCaitlin Centner and Tara DeringtonContributing writers

Photos by Tara Derington

Students from NKU and Oak Hills lined the streets in front of the high school to counter-protest Westboro Baptist Church’s protest against the school’s gay-straight alliance group. The church is known for picketing soldiers’ funerals and speaking out against freedom of sexual orientation across the country.

NewsEdition 48, Issue 9 5

With the resignation of another senator, the Student Government As-sociation is moving forward with two new resolutions that will work to bet-ter students’ college experience.

According to SGA president Dustin Robinson, Ron Burse announced his resignation last week, and Robinson approved the motion. Secretary for Public Relations Michelle Forlenza is in the process of preparing to accept applications from the student body for senator appointment.

At the Oct. 26 meeting, the first reading of a wireless printing resolu-tion and a resolution for more bike racks on campus were also presented.

Senator Josh Tunning read the wireless printing resolution that asks the university to explore funding op-tions to provide wireless printing capabilities on campus. Tunning is requesting the exploration of fund-ing options because wireless printing “will create a more convenient, acces-sible and flexible work environment for students and staff, while freeing up university resources,” according to the resolution.

Also in attendance at the meeting was Doug Wells, associate director of information technology, who said the university will eventually be capable of implementing wireless printing with a new system that will allow stu-dents to access lab computers from any location on or off campus.

Senator Chanell Karr presented the first reading of a resolution regarding the addition of more bike racks on campus. The resolution asks that the university install bike racks at Steely Library and “other prime locations” on campus.

A main reason for adding more bike racks, according to the resolu-tion, is because “students have raised concerns about the disrespectful na-ture of fastening one’s bike to the flag poles located in front of Steely Library, and with the addition of new bike racks in this location, these con-cerns would be eliminated.”

In addition to new resolutions, Steve Meier, associate to the dean of students, announced that the new campus recreation center project is

underway. The committee behind the new building has sent out requests for proposals for potential architects. Meier said the committee hopes to have an architect selected by the end of November.

Claire HigginsNews editor

New resolutions to benefit students

The latest Faculty Senate meeting covered sever-al current topics, including the move to Division I, the search for a new president and midterm grades for more students.

Faculty Regent Chuck Hawkins and three mem-bers of the search committee visited the Oct. 24 meeting. The committee’s administrative coordina-tor Carole Beere, chemistry professor Kristi Haik, and communications professor Chris Strobel were on hand to answer faculty questions about the firm selection and open forums.

Beere encouraged faculty to voice their opinions at open faculty forums scheduled for 3:10-4:20 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Griffin Hall Digitorium and 11:15-12:30 Oct. 28 in Otto M. Budig Theater. She said consultants from Issacson, Miller, the firm chosen to help recruit and screen candidates, will be on campus through Oct. 28 to host forums.

One faculty senator expressed concerns about the firm coming in with “preconceptions” about what the next NKU president should be like, based on what they read about NKU, that will influence the kind of candidates they are looking for.

Beere explained the firm’s representatives will be asking forum attendees questions about what op-portunities they see for growth at NKU, what chal-lenges the university faces and what NKU’s priori-ties should be. They will find a common answer and use that to use to find candidates.

There will be other options available for people

who are unable to attend any of the open forums. She said a new page will be added to presidential-search.nku.edu that gives information about how to connect with Issacson, Miller, including a form to submit ideas to the firm. Anything submitted can be sent anonymously, Beere said.

The potential move to D-I athletics was another topic discussed at the meeting. Professional Con-cerns Committee Chair Jeffrey Williams expressed dissatisfaction over how the decision was made.

Williams said it seems decisions are being made “unilaterally,” and that the faculty are “last in line” to find out about changes. “We’re left to be reac-

tors rather than participants,” Williams said. But he added, “It’s exciting to be dealing with these im-portant issues.”

Despite saying he feels as if the faculty are left out of decisions, Williams said he will not accept a defeatist attitude.

“One phrase I will not tolerate is ‘done deal,’” Williams said. “There is no done deal until the Fac-ulty Senate allows it to be.”

Faculty Regent Hawkins said the Board of Re-gents has not yet “ruled” on the decision to move to D-I, and they cannot until the university is invited to a conference.

When faculty raised concerns about the motiva-tion behind the decision to move to D-I, Hawkins said, “No one sees it as a revenue generator for the university.”

Instead he said “the whole issue is of branding and where it could take us in the future.”

Faculty Senate President Alar Lipping said Presi-dent James Votruba, Athletic Director Scott Eaton, Associate Athletic Director Kathy Steffen and Bud-get Director Kenneth Kline will be at the next sen-ate meeting Nov. 8 to discuss the implications of moving to D-I.

Faculty members are also discussing the SGA proposal to offer midterm grades for all students in 100-300-level classes. They heard from SGA Vice President Erik Pederson and Student Rights Com-mittee Chair Mike Adkins about the resolution. Faculty Senate is still researching the feasibility of providing midterm grades to more students.

Faculty senate expresses concernsCassie StoneEditor-in-chief


The recent pre-proposal at Northern Ken-tucky University to combine the women’s and gender studies and black studies mi-nors into a major has the programs poten-tially facing a long road of complex change. Even with the difficulty, NKU students and professors from local universities say they aren’t surprised by the national trend of creating interdisciplinary studies programs and shrinking departments.

According to Deborah Meem, chair of the women’s, gender and sexuality studies de-partment at the University of Cincinnati, combining programs like this is not uncom-mon. However, Meem warned that despite both being interdisciplinary studies, “We work closely [together] but we’re not the same program, and we often don’t have the same goals.”

Other local institutions like University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, University of Louisville and University of Kentucky all have their own way of running these pro-grams – most have departments, but Xavier maintains a combined study -- gender and diversity studies in addition to Africana studies. In light of the potential changes at NKU, The Northerner contacted these universities to gain insight on how their de-partments and programs operate and stand in the current academic environment.

Arnold Farr of the UK Africana studies program said that there is already a concern with American education being “male and euro-centric,” and “there’s already a prob-lem with how we educate ourselves.” He feels that the possibility of a program, when combined, being “watered down” is a very real fear. “We have great support from the dean and provost,” Farr said of the UK pro-

grams, which have recently expanded and diversified to include Africana studies.

UK developed the Africana studies pro-gram to give black studies a more global reach. Farr mentioned that cross-listing courses is often a great way to pull in stu-dent interest and maintain involvement. Under the Foundations of Knowledge GenEd program, NKU has one program available in women’s and gender studies, and black studies is completely absent.

The importance of cross-listing classes was echoed by Nancy Theriot, the chair of the UofL women’s and gender studies de-partment. Theriot said that by cross-listing classes, UofL is able to pull in hundreds of students each semester. Patricia Cooper of the UK women’s studies department said that by cross-listing classes into general education, the department is able to pull in a significant amount of majors, many of which don’t enter the program until after they have taken women’s courses for gen-eral education.

Theriot also explained that UofL has a mission to strongly incorporate the black community, fostering a support system for their Africana studies department. Theriot said both departments work closely to-gether and that one of the worst things that could happen on a university campus would be for black studies programs and women’s studies programs to be divided on stance.

Cooper said she thinks it is dangerous for two minors to be eliminated, despite the fact that a major is being created. “I think it’s problematic if any university moves towards collapsing two programs like this without that lengthy and careful public dia-logue and conversation.”

Karli WoodManaging editor

A comparison of local university standards:

Programs or DepartmentsSchools

Gender and Women’s Studies (Department)

Africana Studies (Program/Minor)

African American Studies and Research (Program/Minor)

Africana Studies (Program/Minor)

Gender and Diversity Studies (Program/Minor)

Black Studies (Program/Minor)

Women’s & Gender Studies (Program/Minor)

Pan-African Studies (Department)

Women’s and Gender Studies (Department)

Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Department)

Africana Studes (Department)

Undergraduate Population: 31,523





*The undergratduate population(s) were pulled from the respective university websites

University of Cincinnati

Xavier University

University of Louisville

University of Kentucky

Northern Kentucky University

How do NKU’s black and women’s studies programs stack up to others?

NewsEdition 48, Issue 9 7

The search for a new Northern Kentucky Univer-sity president continues as the committee named the executive search firm Issacson, Miller Oct. 19 to help solicit candidates for the job. Now that the firm has been announced, the committee and search consultants will be holding forums with the community and the university to help form the job description for potential applicants.

Chair of the Presidential Search and Screening Committee Martin Butler said there is “a lot to do in a short time,” but the committee is on schedule to meet the March deadline outlined in their tenta-tive time frame.

Issacson, Miller was chosen based heavily on rec-ommendations from many of the firm’s previous employers, according to Butler. In previous cases with comparable universities Issacson, Miller has consulted universities with similar goals as NKU.

The forums begin Oct. 26 with NKU department chairs, fac-

ulty, the management team and the com-munity. On Oct. 27 the committee and search firm consultants will meet again with staff and the com-munity, as well as hold the only student forum.

The committee decided to hold one forum for students at the discretion of the search firm, who said that in previous experiences, student forums do not have a good turnout, according to Butler. He also said the committee will try to arrange another forum for students if it is necessary.

To finish the forums, the committee will meet with the Cincinnati business community, members of the NKU management team and again with staff on Oct. 28.

According to an email sent to NKU students by Chris Cole, NKU director of marketing, the com-mittee will be asking for input on objectives for the new president, qualifications and experience, per-sonal qualities, and source and candidate recom-mendations.

But-ler said the committee wants to hear from people about any con-cerns they have, as well as any areas where the university needs to grow and where it needs to pull back. After the forums are completed, the committee and consultants will form the job description for a new president and then begin accepting applications. Butler is “optimistic that we’re going to have a lot of good candidates.”

NKU and the community members are encour-aged to submit their own candidate recommenda-tions electronically. Issacson, Miller has posted a submission form to fill out and return via email.

To access the submission form, visit http://pres-identialsearch.nku.edu/searchfirm.php.

The committee will begin accepting applications in November and continue until the end of Decem-ber, according to the tentative timeline.

Claire HigginsNews editor

Faculty Forums• 3:10-4:20 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Griffin Hall Digitorium• 11:15-12:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Otto M. Budig Theater

Staff Forums• 1:45-3 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Otto M. Budig Theater• 11:15-12:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in Stu-dent Union room 107 B/C

Student Forum• 3-4:15 p.m. Oct. 27 in the University Center Ballroom

Community Forums • 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the METS Center, 3861 Olympic Blvd., Erlanger • 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at the METS Center

Sports October 26, 20118

As Northern Kentucky University expands and awaits an invitation from a Division I conference, the people of Highland Heights and other cities in the Northern Kentucky area may face the transition of living in a more populated and progressive col-lege community.

Some people within Highland Heights are posi-tive and excited about the growth and move to D-I, but think it will take time for the area to see the full effects.

“I think Division I is a nice move to get some more recognition,” said Dick Mize of Highland Heights. “It will bring in more sports and a higher quality of athletes.”

Mize said he thinks that once Northern Kentucky University becomes more recognized and seasoned, it will bring in more ticket and revenue sales. Mize also feels that once this happens, enrollment will increase and better recruits will join the program.

Jim Raleigh of Highland Heights has a similar view on the growth within the community and the possible move to D-I.

“I think the growth over the past few years has had a positive impact on Highland Heights with tax revenue coming in and it bringing in new restau-

rants,” Raleigh said. “More things of that sort will be coming along in the future.”

Raleigh also feels the transition should help re-cruiting, but it will take some time to become com-petitive.

“There are some good athletes in Northern Ken-tucky the school can go after, so it’s positive,” Ra-leigh said. “It’s just going to take a little while.”

Another highly volatile issue within the commu-nity is traffic, according to Raleigh.

“I think traffic is already an issue,” Raleigh said. “I’ve lived in Campbell County all my life and the growth of not only Highland Heights, but NKU, and the whole Campbell County area has become an issue. Officials need to meet with the state high-way board and do all kinds of different things with the 275 and 471 highways.”

Judy Ritter, another resident of Highland Heights, feels similar about the traffic situation, and sees another problem around NKU’s campus.

“We need speed bumps out there,” Ritter said. “I also have a problem with the litter. I’m not saying that it’s all students but some folks around here like to litter in the streets.”

With the traffic situation and the university ex-panding, NKU has had to start buying property around campus. Some people see it as positive progress, while others view it as a necessary pro-cess that is out of their control.

Raleigh said that he likes what they are doing with the property and believes that it is helping Highland Heights grow.

However, Ritter said there isn’t really anything residents can do about it anyway, so they just need to accept it and move on.

Alex FitzerContributing writer

D-I: From a residents’ perspective

Illustration by Brittany Granville

SportsEdition 48, Issue 9 9

Tailgating has two popular connotations. One is associated with impatient drivers, and the other is a gathering where people grill out, drink and participate in various activities before a sporting event. Although Northern Kentucky University is a dry campus, any student attending an event at The Bank of Kentucky Center can rent out a space in Lot D to drink and socialize before entering the arena.

Even though such a privilege is available on cam-pus, people may be unaware of this opportunity to tailgate.

“There hasn’t been a request for a tailgating spot in a long time, and it has been that way for a while now,” said Steve Meier, associate to the dean of stu-dents.

One reason reservations have not been consid-

ered is because it is public knowledge that NKU has an active dry campus policy. While that may be, renting out Lot D provides a way to drink on cam-pus without violating the policy.

To rent a spot in Lot D, guests must contact the parking office and request a stall. A stall costs $10 each, and the guest must reserve two stalls. Each stall holds 10 people; if a party exceeds that num-ber, another stall must be purchased. Tailgating events are monitored by NKU police, so attendees should behave in an appropriate manner while in the lot.

Tailgating is permitted until the men’s game is scheduled to begin. Because the men’s teams are the last to play in the day, all drinking must cease and trash must be disposed of properly.

“If everyone abides by the rules, then the tailgat-ing experience shouldn’t be hindered in any way,” Meier said.

He also suggested that as long as everybody is responsible, there shouldn’t be any repercussions. The alcohol must be contained in plastic cups, and kegs are not permitted. Beer pong and other drink-ing games are not encouraged, but they are not re-stricted.

Sophomore and personal training major Dan-iel Osbourne said that if more students went out and attended events like tailgating, then the social scene on campus would start to flourish.

“I usually tailgate for football, but if I were to tail-gate for a NKU event, it would probably be basket-ball,” Osbourne said. “It’s a smart idea by the uni-versity, because it could generate a lot of money if students were to participate.”

Information about the rules and reserving a spot can be found at the Parking Services Office or at NKU’s website.

Matt NeuhausContributing writer

Tailgating available on campus

Photo courtesy of MCT CampusTailgating on NKU campus? Some students are unaware of the popular ritual used to prepare for sporting events. NKU is a dry campus, but the Parking Lot D is exempt for some events.

Although NKU is a dry campus, some exceptions are being granted for tailgating events at The Bank of Kentucky Center

Features October 26, 201110

Paula Morelli, certified nurse-midwife for St. Elizabeth Physicians Women’s Health, wasn’t surprised when her mammogram results came back abnormal. Morelli, a Northern Kentucky University alumna, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003.

“I always had a feeling the mammogram would come back abnormal,” Morelli said.

Morelli told her son Ryan, age 12 at the time, the doctors were going to take out the “bad stuff.”

“We tried to stay upbeat with him,” she said.Morelli was 42 when doctors gave her the news. Her mother was diag-

nosed with breast cancer in her early 40s. Her mother was tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene, and the results were negative.

For Morelli’s two sisters, this means they’re not at a higher risk than the general population.

“More than one in four cancers in women are breast cancer,” Morelli said.

Morelli is an active participant in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that is done annually in Cincinnati. This year alone the event had around 19,000 participants. Morelli began walking in her mother’s hon-or, but has found a new meaning in walking as a breast cancer survivor.

In recent years, she has begun to wear the “survivor” shirt. “It is very emotional for me. It reminds me of how fortunate I am.”

Instead of having a mastectomy, Morelli chose a different route. She explained that other women had sacrificed more than she did.

“At first I wouldn’t wear the survivor T-shirt. I felt like I didn’t deserve to,” Morelli said.

Unlike some breast cancer patients, Morelli’s cancer was detected early on, and she was given more time to take the necessary steps in seeking recovery.

“I don’t like to do more in terms of treatment than necessary. The prognosis is good for early-stage diagnosis,” Morelli said. She had a lumpectomy instead, followed by three months of radiation.

Morelli continued to work throughout her treatments. “I wanted my life to remain as normal as possible,” Morelli said. “Most of my patients didn’t know I had been diagnosed.”

Morelli has created a positive outcome from a negative experience by stressing to her patients the importance of annual check-ups.

“Every woman is at risk,” Morelli said. “Women should be familiar with their own bodies. Not knowing is not a good excuse.”

Starting at a young age, women should learn how to detect lumps in their breasts. Physicians suggest having regular mammograms at age 40. Morelli said women are most susceptible to breast cancer after age 40, although there are rare cases where younger women are diagnosed.

Morelli has been in remission for seven years. Because she is past the five-year mark, she is no longer in danger of a relapse, but she still at-tends her annual check-up with her oncologist.

“Early detection is so critical,” Morelli said. She is living proof.

Caitlin Centner and Tara DeringtonContributing writers

Not just surviving — thrivingNKU alumna beats breast cancer after seven years of remission

Photo by Cailtin Centner

(Left to right: Shauna Zerhusen, Paula Morelli, and Robin Centner) Morelli was diagnosed in 2003 at the age of 42. She has been in remission for seven years, with no danger of a relapse.

FeaturesEdition 48, Issue 9 11

A professor’s closing comments at the end of class fall on occupied ears most of the time. Students are busy packing up, answering texts or talk-ing to a friend, causing the profes-sor’s message to get lost in the shuffle. Northern Kentucky University Ger-man professor Andrea Fieler’s mes-sage was about something different — a life-threatening disease.

She stressed the importance to get-ting a regular mammogram to female students in the class. It was an impor-tant address because it affected her personally — Fieler’s doctor found a lump in her breast.

The semester was coming to a close

and the students in Fieler’s class were gearing up for the final project. Three weeks later the project was cancelled and the course prematurely discon-tinued. Students were confused about the cancellation at first, but received an email with an explanation: Fieler had been diagnosed with breast can-cer.

“You’re just shocked, because what you are used to thinking is that when you hear cancer you think right away it’s a death sentence,” Fieler said.

Fieler was 30 years old when she was diagnosed. The risk of developing cancer never crossed her mind; it took her dog to alert her of the danger.

According to Sheryl Grabram-Mendola, a breast surgical oncologist at the Winship Cancer Institute of

Emory University, the body has cer-tain compounds released when a per-son has cancer that a dog can smell. Grabram-Mendola and her team were able to detect breast cancer in a pa-tient 75 percent of the time.

“For a week or so she kept sniffing my breast, like really digging her nose in to it,” Fieler said. “I thought, ‘This is weird,’ and suddenly I felt myself. I felt a lump in there.”

Because of her young age, Fieler’s doctors thought the lump was a sim-ple cyst. After her surgeon’s failed attempt to remove liquid from the lump, a sample was taken. The fol-lowing day, Fieler received the unfor-tunate news of her diagnosis of breast cancer.

Since the time of her diagnosis, Fieler has been through hell and back. The first procedure Fieler underwent was a lumpectomy, the removal of the tumor and some surrounding tissue. From there she received chemother-apy treatments. The chemotherapy medication disoriented her so severe-ly at times she wasn’t able to remem-ber her name.

She shaved her head after she began to experience hair loss as a result of the first chemotherapy treatment.

“My husband was very cute, he shaved his head with me.”

Fieler continued to endure suffer-ing: eight two-week radiation treat-ments, a painful process that nearly killed her. She received five more ra-diation treatments on her left breast. Fieler went through a double mas-tectomy, meaning both of her breasts were removed due to her high risk of recurring breast cancer.

“Its not easy when I look at my chest and see all these scars, but you get use to it. As crazy as that sounds,” Fieler said.

Even though she has been through so much, Fieler feels her family back in Germany and Lithuania have not been that supportive of her struggle.

Some of her friends were lost as well because they weren’t able to cope with the situation.

“Some people treat you like it’s a cold and you can catch it,” Fieler said.

Though some of Fieler’s friends distanced themselves from her, those within the breast cancer community have been very supportive and she has made new friends.

Through her journey her husband’s family and her colleagues at NKU have kept her spirits high.

“We miss Andrea being on campus tremendously, every day. Her wit, smile and down-to-earth approach to life all make her a wonderful colleague, teacher and friend,” said World Lan-guages and Literature Interim Chair Katherine Kurk.

Fieler hasn’t been on campus since her diagnosis, but she still feels “like part of the department” because of the consistent support she receives from fellow professors.

According to Kurk, the department sent care packages to Fieler, and at each staff meeting cards are signed with kind, encouraging messages. NKU students have kept in touch, as well. Former students of Fieler sent wool hats to her when she was first go-ing through chemotherapy, giving her a “nice variety.”

Fieler is still going through surger-ies and still visiting different doctors on a day-to-day basis. She wishes to return to teaching at NKU, but isn’t sure when because her time wouldn’t be completely devoted to her students.

Fieler’s optimism and cheer come from the support her family and friends bring her. Her treatments in-troduced her to women much young-er, 25 and 18, that had breast cancer as well. As a person who has seen the worst of breast cancer, Fieler has a special message for everyone: “Enjoy life, focus on it, enjoy living. Really look while you’re living.”

Brandon BarbFeatures editor

Staying positive through adversityNKU German professor battles breast cancer but stays optimistic with support of family, friends and faculty

Photo courtesy of Andrea FielerAndrea Fieler was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30. She has gone through a double mas-tectomy and extensive chemotherapy treatments, but plans to return to teaching when able.

Happenings

The student forum for the NKU Presidential search will be held Oct. 27 from 3-4:15 p.m.

MTV logo from MCT Campus

October 26 October 27 October 27 October 27

October 28 October 29 October 31 November 2

Nursing Information Sessions When: noon-1 p.m. Where: Albright Health Center 318 What: Learn about the nursing major, pre-req-uisites to apply and the application process. A panel will answer questions.

A Night in My Shoes When: 8 p.m.-8 a.m. Where: Norse Commons lobby What: Experience what it is like sleeping in the condi-tions the homeless face. Participants should dress warmly and bring a canned food or clothing to donate.

“Trouble in Mind” When: 8 p.m. Where: Corbett Theatre What: A satiric play-within-a-play that follows a mixed-race cast during rehearsals in 1955. Tickets are $14 for adults, $8 with a student ID.

NKU Soccer Double-header When: Women, 5 p.m.; Men, 7:30 p.m. Where: NKU Soccer Stadium What: Norse soccer teams begin their GLVC Confer-ence Tournament. Games are free with an All-Card.

Halloween Hoopla When: 6 p.m. Where: Bank of Kentucky Center What: A free event includ-ing trick-or-treating, cos-tume contests and inflata-bles. Participants can also get free T-shirts and NKU team autographs.

Grand Opening of “Ken-tucky’s Cascade Cave” When: noon-1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Where: Haile Digital Plan-etarium What: Go on a free virtual tour through Cascade Cave at Carter Caves State Resort Park. Open to the public.

NKU Presidential Search Student Forum When: 3-4:15 p.m. Where: UC Ballroom What: An opportunity for students to provide insights about the attributes and goals for NKU’s next presi-dent.

The Buried Life When: 7 p.m. Where: SU Ballroom What: Cast members from the MTV show “The Buried Life” will be at NKU. Free writsbands for the event can be picked up the day of the event at the Office of Student Life.


For those looking for a spooky book to get into the Halloween spirit, Vin-tage Books recently released an edi-tion of “The Woman in Black” by Su-san Hill. The novel is a chilling ghost story published originally by Hamish Hamilton in 1983.

Narrator Arthur Kipps reflects on his past, presumably around the 1930s or ‘40s, by writing his tale. Haunted by an experience in his youth, he begins to write his terrifying tale in an at-tempt to exorcise it from his memory.

The novel begins on Christmas Eve in late-20th century England. Kipps, a 23-year-old solicitor from London, is commissioned to settle the affairs of the recently deceased Mrs. Alice Drab-low in a town called Crythin Gifford. When Kipps explains his business in the town to its residents, he is greeted

with strange responses of masked fear.Soon, Kipps begins to understand

the reason for the fear when he sees a sickly woman dressed in black. At no specific time or known reason, the woman continually reappears before mysteriously vanishing. Alone in the Eel Marsh House, Mrs. Drablow’s es-tate, Kipps begins to notice disturbing noises.

None of the townspeople will an-swer Kipps’ questions about the Wom-an in Black, so he must find answers for them on his own. But the more he finds out, the less he wants to know.

In an era when stories of vengeful ghosts have been done time and again, “The Woman in Black” could seem trite — it is not. Hill’s style causes the reader to feel the emotions of the nar-rator as though they were her own.

It takes the entire first chapter to understand where Hill is taking her readers, and the book plods along at

a slow pace until one-third of the way through. As the action begins to un-fold, the tension heightens and the story quickly becomes a page-turner, with the reader anxiously pursuing answers alongside Kipps.

“The Woman in Black” is far from predictable. It is not until about two-thirds in that it is made clear to the reader why the woman in black seeks vengeance. The punches do not stop there, though. They keep coming right up to the last page, in spite of lulls in the action, when it appears that all is well.

While the story takes place in Eng-land, the dialect is easy to understand, making it very readable. It is also a quick read (176 pages total), which works well for anyone with a busy schedule. “The Woman in Black” is a savory piece of brain candy that will haunt its readers.

Roxanna BlevinsA&E editor

Haunting novel sets mood for holiday

Photo courtesy of Vintage Books publications

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The Northerner Print Edition - October 26, 2011

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