The Northerner Print Edition - Sept. 2, 2009

Sept. 2, 2009 Edition 44, Issue 2 -Value: 50 cents

Remembering a life well spentA tribute to a former student

thenortherner.com

2 Edition 44, Issue 2

contactinformationThe NorthernerUniversity Center Room 335Highland Heights, KY 41076Editor in Chief: (859) 572-6128News & Sports: (859) 572-6677Features: (859) 572-5859Advertising: (859) 572-5232Fax: (859) 572-5772

E-mail: [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. wwThe Northerner staff respects the right to a free and open dia-logue as allowed under the First Amendment.

northernerstaffPRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEFTim Owens[[email protected]]

WEB EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJoe Castelli [[email protected]]

NEWS EDITOR Kelly Phelan [[email protected]]

ASST. NEWS EDITOR Rachel Frommel[[email protected]]

MANAGING EDITORMark Payne[[email protected]]

PRESENTATION EDITOREmily Teaford[[email protected]]

ASST. PRESENTATION EDITORKarli Wood[[email protected]]

ASST. VIEWS EDITORBrandon Barb[[email protected]]

WEB ASST. VIEWS EDITORHeather Willoughby[[email protected]]

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT EDITORJeremy Jackson[[email protected]]

SPORTS EDITORMichael Collins[[email protected]]

PHOTO EDITORCharlotte Etherton[[email protected]]

ASST. PHOTO EDITOREd Morris[[email protected]]

STAFF WRITERJenn Corbett[[email protected]]

COPY EDITORSCassie Stone[[email protected]]Chelsea Asher[[email protected]]

ADVISORGayle Brown[[email protected]]

AD MANAGERWilliam Fisher[[email protected]]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERPatrick Delaney[[email protected]]

WHAT’S INSIDE

Note from the Newsroom

3Edition 44, Issue 2

NEWS

VIEWSPromote Yourself: What some conisder nar-cissism, others see as a chance to stand out.

SPORTSBasketball Preview: The schedules have been re-leased as the men’s and women’s teams prep for rigorous seasons.

COVER STORYA life’s dream fulfilled: Graduating from Northern Kentucky University was what Cameron Draper lived for.

8 & 9

4 & 5

6 & 7

12 &13

A&ECanadian TV invades the U.S.: Fresh out of ideas, three broadcasting stations are adapting adapting shows from our neihbor up north.

10 & 11

Let’s settle this, once & for all: Kevin Reynolds VS. Keith Kaseke for SGA President.

I never met Cameron Drap-er. In fact, I don’t recall seeing him around campus, so I can’t say much about him from my perspective.

However, after reading this week’s cover story about Cameron, written by Jeremy Jackson, I was put to tears by the piece.Cameron had Duchenne Mus-cular Dystrophy, which usu-ally causes death to victims by their mid-twenties.

Cameron faced things that most students, or most people for that matter, never face — the idea that your life can be taken away in one moment. We students certainly know that the possibility is there,

but Cameron had the threat of death in his face everyday. It was real. He could see the evidence in the mirror every morning.

What Cameron did with the threat of death though was something most students wouldn’t do: He beat it back. Beat it back by not letting it get in the way of the goals he wanted to achieve.

Cameron’s story is one of inspiration. His story is one of the greatest to come out of Northern Kentucky Uni-versity and is a story that will live on past the pages of this publication.

-Mark Payne Managing Editor

All photos of Cameron Draper in this issue are courtesy of the Draper family.

Corrections: In Issue 1 Michael Collins wrote The Soccer Preview, not Zac Collins.

NEWS

Edition 44, Issue 24

Kelly PhelanNews Editor

Let’s settle this, once and for allKevin Reynolds and Keith Kaseke face off in SGA President race

Photo Illustration by Charlotte Etherton /Photo Editor

Kevin Reynolds (left) and Keith Kaseke (right) duke it out for SGA President. The election takes place on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3.

Days before the SGA re-election on Sept. 3, The North-erner interviewed both Presi-dential Candidates, Kevin Reynolds and Keith Kaseke. Their answers to these ques-tions represent how they feel about Northern Kentucky University and the issues fac-ing students.

What do you think is the most important issue facing NKU today?

Kevin Reynolds: In his ad-dress to the faculty senate on Aug. 24, Dr. Votruba spoke to the fact that growth has been one of the central goals of the University for the past several years. He went on to say that growth would no lon-ger be the central focus, but would take a back seat to im-proving quality in every facet of the university. With NKU capping admissions, opening a brand-new Student Union,

the Bank of Kentucky Center, and breaking ground on the new Center for the College of Informatics, it’s time to stop focusing on what we can build, and start focusing on what we can develop. I believe that the “Student Experience” is the most important issue to be ad-dressed. What would improve the student experience inside the classroom? Outside the classroom? What can be done to help the total college ex-perience more affordable for students – “total college expe-rience” involving everything from parking prices, textbook prices, tuition, scholarships, meal plan prices, housing pric-es, student union prices…etc. Are there creative ways that we can ask our administration to look at in order to make some of these costs go down? Improving a student’s experi-ence here at Northern is what Student Government should be focusing on because who

knows what students need better than the students?

K. Keith Kaseke: The key issue facing students today is the economic situation. There are not enough jobs on cam-pus. Students are incurring debt through situations be-yond their control, costs such as textbooks, housing and tu-ition. Kaseke/Chaney’s goal is to inspire students to take direct responsibility in lob-bying the administration and the government to bring these costs under control and make it possible for a student who is dedicated to learning to go through a quality institution without loading up on the av-erage $25,000 in student loans upon graduating.

Why do you think you (and your running mate) would be the “best choice” to represent NKU students?

KR: Leigha Phelps (VP candidate) and I are the best choice for this position be-cause of the one thing that sets us a part from our compe-tition, experience. We have the experience necessary to run an effective Student Govern-ment Association and proper-ly represent the student body. I have been a past member of the Student Government Executive Board as the Vice President of Student Involve-ment for the 2008-2009 aca-demic year. Leigha has been on student government since she was a freshman and has served the student body in several different roles. She has been an SGA senator, a com-mittee chair and has served on several university-wide com-mittees such as the Student Code of Conduct committee. We, unlike our competition, know what a fall semester looks like in student govern-ment. And with SGA already

being months behind sched-ule, wouldn’t you want those students who know what to expect to be representing you? We think so.

KK: We believe that we have a deep feeling and sense of the meaning of education and what students want and desire to see the university provide. NKU exists to serve the students. We want to see the growth of the university emphasized on academics above all. We will focus shap-ing the budget on emphasizing what NKU excels at-- educa-tion, critical thinking and en-abling students to reach their academic potential. This can only occur with up to date pe-riodicals and journals in the library, increasing student em-ployment and increasing the number of teaching faculty.

See JUMP on page 14


NORTHERNER

New grading scale in effectPlus and minus system difficult for some to swallowRachel FrommelAssistant News Editor

Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay.

No, we’re not talking about rock n’ roll — we’re talking about Northern Kentucky University’s new grading sys-tem. If you’re an undergrad and plan to stick around at least this semester, prepare to change your GPA calcu-lations. In 2007, NKU’s Fac-ulty Senate proposed the new grading scale — a new plus/minus grading scale this fall. This means that instead of the old grading system (A, B, C, D, F), professors will have to add pluses and minuses to a stu-dent’s overall grade.

“I think it’s ridiculous. I think that it should go back to the old system. I feel like we’re back in high school.” said Ni-cole Rindsberg, senior social work major.

The scale will make it harder for students to earn 4.0 grade-point-averages. Instead, many students will find themselves r e c e i v i n g A minuses, worth 3.67 gradepoints. However, a student who earns a high B will receive 3.33 grade-points per hour, instead of just three.

Regardless of where your grades fall on the line between C, B, or A , the new number will be more precise than rounding up or down to two, three or four points.Studies conducted by other

universities that use this sys-tem show there is no overall effect on students’ GPAs.

Geography coordinator

John Metz said it is a good move.

“It will allow a person’s grade point average to more closely reflect the quality of the work that he or she has

done. There is a big difference between someone who has 79.6 percent of the points and someone with 88.5 percent, so

that will be differ-entiated,” he said.

There has been some controversy between NKU faculty about whether or not this grade scale adoption is ben-eficial.

“I didn’t vote for it,” said Dr. Penny Summers of the journalism department. Her

main concern with the new grading scale was for hopeful graduate students.

“While undergraduate GPA is only one part of the admis-sions process for graduate

schools, GRE and letters are also very important. It could put A minus or B plus students at a slight disadvantage in competing for graduate school positions with those not on the plus/minus,” she said.

Some faculty are hoping the grading scale will make students more aware of their classwork and aim to do bet-ter.

“I hope that the new grad-ing scale will also create a sense of importance about all assignments, as every single graded assignment will seem-ingly matter more to students, to avoid minuses, and earn pluses, for example,” said Cady Short-Thompson, chair of the communication depart-ment.

See JUMP on page 14

I think it’s ridiculous. I think that it should go back to the old system. I feel like we’re back in high school,” said senior Nicole Rindsberg

,,

,,


Promote YourselfSocial networking is your chance to shine

VIEWS

Kevin Wilson Sophomore, EMB

"Yeah. It has its tendencies."

Adam Carpenter Freshman, Education

"Yes. The people get a power trip when on

there."

Rex Martinez Freshman, Theater &

English"The photos are, but find-

ing friends and talking to them is going in the opposite direction."

Compiled byBrandon Barb & Charlotte

Etherton

Do you think that social networks

are making people narcissistic?

rnpnorse poll responses

For more Norse poll responses and video, visit www.thenortherner.com

Becca SchneiderFreshman, Psychology

"They can. Depends on the people in the network

in the first place."

The Northern Kentucky University police department is busy these days. After they are done with crossing guard duty in the mornings, they are out investigating the mysteri-ous case of “the missing decoy coyote.”

The investigation began on Aug. 22, when an unidenti-fied female took one of the decoy coyotes located near Loch Norse, situated behind the Fine Arts building. This person then took the coyote to her dorm, Callahan Hall, where she was stopped by the hall director, Richard Kane. According to the police report, the female gave up the coyote voluntarily. Kane contacted university police to give the dog back. Upon ar-rival, the officer asked for the girls information, but Kane didn’t ask her for it.

I wouldn’t have either, since she gave it up voluntarily.

You’d figure the case would be closed. The girl gave it up easily and went on her way. Apparently the police depart-ment wasn’t satisfied.

The police report states the investigation continued when a dispatcher retrieved pictures of the girl from the Callahan camera system. Kane didn’t recognize her, so they went as far to to contacting a resident adviser. The RA didn’t rec-ognize her either. The police printed out the pictuers of the girl, and Kane stated in the report he will be passing them around in upcoming staff meetings. The officer asked that police be contacted as soon as the girl was identified.

I say leave the girl alone. It was a college prank — we all do something immature at some point or another. Young people make mistakes, which is how they learn. This doesn’t seem like something we should be allocating mon-ey towards. There are more important things to worry about -- such as the fact we have to use campus police to direct traffic, which is becom-ing a very obvious problem.

Listen to how it sounds: “Police are investigating the disappearance of a missing decoy coyote. The coyote was returned, but the authorities are taking the necessary steps to find the culprit.” Is this something we really should be putting time and money towards?

Mark PayneManaging Editor

If your Facebook, Myspace or Twitter popularity is off the charts, you may very well be a narcissist.

According to a recent study by associate professor W. Keith Campbell and Laura Buffardi, a doctoral student in psychol-ogy from the University of Georgia, social networking sites , especially Facebook , have been linked to narcissism — especially in college age stu-dents.

Campbell and Buffardi ana-lyzed 129 Facebook users’ pages, polled them and had un-trained strangers view and rate the page owners for narcissism.

How would you stand to this test? Nearly all college stu-dents use Facebook — does that mean we are all secretly narcissists, shamelessly using Facebook and like sites to pro-mote ourselves? If this is the case, which I doubt, does any-one really care? Does it really matter?

According to a national sur-vey out Aug. 25, 57 percent of college students admit that our generation is more narcissistic than past generations.

Campbell said that narcissists lack the ability to form healthy, long-term relationships.

“Narcissists might initially be seen as charming, but they end up using people for their own

advantage,” Campbell said. Buffardi and Campbell cor-

related the number of friends and wall posts that an individ-ual has on their profile pages with narcissism. Buffardi said that a narcissistic Facebook user’s online personality is con-sistent to the way narcissists behave in real-world settings, especially in the fact that nar-cissists form numerous shallow relationships.

I don’t agree with this. Sure, I don’t have a record-breaking amount of friends on Face-book, but my list is fairly large.

To be honest, I’m nosy. I want to know what is going on around me, and sure, I will ad-mit to that I am slightly seek-ing attention. Everyone wants to feel noticed. But if attaining these traits means having a few more friends, then what is the harm?

The goal of a narcissist in us-ing social networking sites is to get as many people as they can come into contact with to think as highly of them as they do themselves. Because of the nature of networking sites, it is simple to control the informa-tion released. It makes it much easier to brand or market your-self.

Does branding or market-ing yourself really make you narcissistic, though? I don’t

think so. I feel like it is very important to present yourself in a professional, polished and controlled manner. Really, ev-eryone is their own brand, es-pecially considering how com-petitive life is today.

According to the national survey, many young people agree with me. Almost 40 percent of young people said that “being self-promoting… is helpful for succeeding in a competitive world.”

The pictures people post on their profiles also could be a warning sign to narcissism, according to Campbell and Buffardi. Narcissists are more likely to choose glamorous, “self-promoting” pictures for their profile photos.

Campbell and Buffardi do concede that not everyone who uses Facebook is a narcissistic (obviously), but that narcissists are taking advantage of the so-cial site to promote themselves in a way they would be unable to without the internet.

I can understand how these people could possibly be “abus-ing” Facebook, but is it really our concern? Sure, Facebook lets some people stroke their own egos, but I say, if it makes them happy and they are not hurting anyone, doesn’t each person deserve to feel good about themselves?

Heather WilloughbyWeb Assistant Views Editor


NORTHERNERDespite the poo, I miss the geeseFake coyotes have driven away feathered friends from waters of lake norseHeather WilloughbyAssistant Views Editor

Geese poop, on average, about once every 12 minutes, according to “The Truth About Poop” by Susan E. Goodman. Apparently that’s one of the reasons Northern Kentucky University officials felt the need to place ugly coyote de-coys around Loch Norse.

Personally, I always liked seeing the geese waddling around campus, almost like a few dozen of NKU’s very own pets. I do admittedly avoid walking the sidewalks around the lake most times because, while I’m a fan of the geese, I’m not so much a fan of their droppings.

That being said, I think I like the goose poo more than I like the weird looking fake coy-otes lurking around the lake on campus. I understand that geese droppings are unsanitary, messy, and annoying. I also understand that NKU is run-

ning out of ideas to ward away our feathery friends, but I wish they could find another way.

I think it is great that the maintenance department was able to find a solution spending only around $100 altogether (even though the cutouts seem heinous to me), but I am not so confident in the solution itself. NKU has tried to get rid of the geese before to no avail, and I am just wondering if this “solu-tion” is going to end up just as flat as the previous.

Paul Frazier, a past NKU grounds and transportation superintendent, has been quoted as giving testimonial on a goose deterrent Web site saying “The University spent over a million dollars to make our two ponds a focal point for the campus, but the project was not complete until AwayWith-Geese.com took care of our geese problem.”

Now, obviously, the geese have come back! For some reason, the geese must have simply adapted to the floating, flashing lights. What is to keep them from discovering that the coyotes are actually decoys, so they can waddle right up to them and make friends?

He also said that we paid all that money to make our ponds a “focal point” on campus. Now, I don’t know about you, but there is nothing better that I can think of than to add a big ugly fake dog to a wonderful “focal point.

I do realize the hazards of having the geese on cam-pus, and I am not a complete wishy-washy “save the birds!” kind of person. However, I just get a little sad when I think that, even for a short time, the campus might become goose-less. At least the geese are kind of pretty.

Photo courtesy of MCT Campus

NKU had to get rid of the geese due to health hazards.

In our society, the meter by which success

is measured is diverse and sometimes skewed.

What could easily be considered a form of

wealth to one person may just as likely be

worth little or nothing to another. The mean-

ing of success for some is derived from tangible

measures: accumulation of money, possession

of high-dollar items, the perfect 4.0 semester,

or arriving at the pinnacle of the newest trends.

Hardly is the circumstance of success a mat-

ter of spirit, a matter of drive and sacrifice, a

matter of balance between courage and emo-

tion. Hardly is the impetus to continue on in

the wake of surmounting adversity a scale by

which today’s success is weighed.

For Northern Kentucky University student

Cameron Draper, every day was an exercise in

success. Not the usual type of success, but one

poised within the uncertainty of everyday — a

brand of success that suffices to be overlooked,

and often resolves to be dismissed.

Draper succumbed to muscular dystrophy

Aug. 15, 2009, but not without achieving one

salient and uncompromising goal: graduate

from NKU.Growing up with a debilitating affliction,

Draper embodied the tenets of true success:

sacrifice, courage and character, said his moth-

er, Teresa Draper. These things were integral

to a man who was riddled with Duchenne mus-

cular dystrophy — an affliction that swarms

with phrases such as “wheelchair-stricken,”

“entropy of muscle and skeletal degeneration”

and “certain death by early twenties.”

“Cameron was always high-spirited and nev-

er let the idea of dying get him down,” Teresa

Draper said.Being raised in an American household,

Draper certainly had the normal conventions

as a child — loving parents, a younger brother

to play with, the promise to grow up, and even-

tually old. But at age 3 he was diagnosed with

DMD, an affliction that strikes without much

warning.A child with DMD will begin the normal

stages of life: crawling on all fours and test-

ing the parameters of his environment with

little sign of muscle degeneration. But signs

that anyone would dismiss will begin to bleed

through. Hands will start to lose grip, legs will

not work accurately, and balance will be com-

promised. The promise of a full life will be

abridged.“We noticed that he was falling down a lot

and was unable to ride a small bike we had giv-

en him,” said Ralph Draper, Cameron’s father.

By the time he was 7, Draper was bound to

a wheelchair. It was a simple chair, with two

sets of parallel wheels set in motion by human

hands, and later an on-board battery and mo-

tor. According to his mother, he became syn-

onymous with the chair — finding it hard to

imagine a life unrestrained by it. Draper would

spend the rest of his life in it.

“It was who he was,” Teresa Draper said.

“He identified himself with that chair.”

But the wheelchair, a bleak prognosis, and

the full compliment of medical equipment

needed to maintain his life would not stem

Draper’s persistence to live a life well spent.

The family took to the road as much as possi-

ble, searching out historical sites such as Pike’s

Peak and Civil War battle reenactments at

Gettysburg and Antietam — a hobby reflected

in one of Draper’s majors: History.

When Draper entered Conner High School

he became statistician for both the baseball

and the wrestling programs. He counterbal-

anced his inability to walk with enthusiasm,

vernacular and intelligence. By the time he en-

tered NKU in the fall of 2004, he had honed, to

a finite point, the qualities of a scholar.

“He didn’t speak much, but when he did,

you could certainly see the intelligence coming

through,” said Vicki Ragsdale, public speaking

professor at NKU.The consummate student didn’t miss a beat.

Draper attended all his classes, even in the

most desolate months of winter.

“He would roll into my class ready to go,

bundled in a parka,” Ragsdale said.

But time slipped by and changes began to

seep through as the DMD progressed. Rags-

dale ran into Draper and his mother, who aided

him at school for his last three years, while in

between classes at Landrum Hall. She was ap-

palled at the loss of weight and signs of weak-

ness in Draper’s appearance — an indication

that the DMD was waging a war, and winning.

“His mother pulled me to the side and said

that his heart was failing and that he would die

soon,” Ragsdale said. “But, I saw him a few

months after that and he and his mother were

just beaming. He found out that he would fi-

nally be able to graduate in May.”

Elation was the dominant emotion when

Draper discovered his life’s goal would finally

be met. But the little boy’s body that struggled

through childhood, battling against all odds to

reach the age of 23, was yielding to the abso-

lute of his disease.

Draper’s heart began to feel the effects of

his condition, and like scores of other muscles

in his body, its beat began to wane.

At the request for more medicine to alle-

viate his pain, the family decided to load the

family car, then checked him into Cincinnati

Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Draper died by morning.

“To talk to him, you would have thought he

would live forever,” Teresa Draper said. “His

spirit was that strong.”

In the middle of the intensive care unit, sur-

rounded by family, Draper had a few requests

before his end.“He wanted me to tell his cousin Anna that

he was sorry to miss her wedding,” Mrs. Drap-

er said. “And he wanted to be placed back into

his wheelchair.”The device that identified Draper and af-

forded him movement for so many years was

his last demand. But, as much as the doctors

wanted to approve his request, they advised

against it.So, like many nights, Draper methodically

rolled over on his side, embraced his family,

and took his last breath.

A few days later, family and friends stem-

ming from the furthest reaches of the country

arrived to pay respects, adding their name to

the more than 500 guests on the funeral reg-

istry.“I went to sign the guest book and noticed

the photo of (NKU President James) Votruba

next to the book,” Ragsdale said.

The photo shows Votruba shaking hands

with Draper at his commencement ceremony

last May, when he graduated cum laude in both

political science and history. It was a photo he

prized.Ragsdale made her way past the guest book

and into the adjacent room. Next to the casket,

on display, was his NKU diploma.

“I nearly lost it,” Ragsdale said.

“That was his one goal. It was what kept

him alive,” Teresa Draper said. “Everything he

worked so hard towards was finally realized.”

Four days after dying, as faculty made prep-

arations for a new fall semester at NKU and

students made promises toward their future

dreams, Cameron Draper was buried. It would

have been his 24th birthday.

“On one hand, he had accomplished more

than anyone had ever expected,” Ralph Drap-

er said. “While on the other hand, he also knew

there was nothing else for him.”

A life’s dream fulfilledGraduating from NKU was what Cameron Draper lived for

Jeremy JacksonA&E Editor



Jeremy JacksonA&E Editor

Canadian TV invades the U.S.TV stations look to our neighbors up north for inspiration

A&E

Turning on the television nowadays is an act of futility. Seemingly endless programs that have become aged relics festooning the halls of three of the big four broadcasting sta-tions (ABC, CBS, NBC) have become the status quo. Ev-eryday escapes such as, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, NCIS, The Mentalist and all the CSIs (Miami, NY, and Las Vegas) — to name a few — have become virtually inescapable to the untrained and uninspired eye. But, somehow Americans clamor for more.

One would think we had enough, or that the infinite pot of ideas, spin-offs and pilots have finally reached a creative bottom—and to a certain de-gree, they have.

It has been a recent phe-nomenon for the big three to turn a different direction for proven ideas coupled with fresh writing. More and more, the major U.S. networks are seeking fall lineup fillers from Canadian television. The concepts are fairly similar to the homegrown American fare: cops, guns, detectives, flannel clad love affairs — but the

Canadian counterpart offers a lighter price tag and unsullied writing.

According to an article by Judith Klassen for Movie Entertainment’s August issue (Canada’s version of T.V. Guide), the shows being cre-ated in the great white north are appealing to the American public because the Canadians have gotten the following down pat: good production values, tight writing skills and strong performances — thrown in with a few “Ehs” from time to time. How could one go wrong?

Also, in the aftermath of the writers’ strike and in the wake of the current economy, the equation seems simple—im-port cheaper, fresher writers who have already vetted their talents on a not-so-different viewing audience. And, when the licensing fees for new dramas in the U.S. are reach-ing upwards of $1.6 million per episode, according to AllBusi-ness.com, it seems a no-brainer for the big three to court Canadian TV at half the cost.

It should come as no sur-prise that Canada is beginning

to crack the simple code that is American TV. After all, they are our brothers to the north. The similarities between the countries are uncanny. Both U.S. and Canadian economies are equally plummeting; the U.S. is seeking to amend a bill which will incorporate a Canadian-like universal healthcare system. And, while the states have mainstays like McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and volatile town hall meetings—the provinces of Canada have, well, Tim Horton’s.

Considering the recent cache of Canadian television series hitting the U.S. market, it’s not such a new concept. Take for instance Due South, the police comedy-drama that migrated to America in the 90s, and ran for two seasons on CBS. The show may have fizzled out in a relatively short period, but it did become the first Canadian-made series to earn a prime-time slot with an American network, heralding in the great sitcom migration of today. So, the next time you tune in, sample the local fare—with a Canadian spin.

Canadian T.V. Shows Broadcasting in the U.S.

•CornerGas - A comedy. (WGN Chicago) •Flashpoint&TheBridge-Police dramas. (CBS)

•TrailerParkBoys - A mockumentary comedy. (Direct TV)

•TheBorder - An immigration and customs drama. (Ion Television)

•TheListener- A drama. (NBC)

Photo Courtesy of MCT CampusCraig Olejnik stars as Toby in the U.S. adaptation of The Listener on NBC.


NORTHERNER

Jeremy Jackson A&E Editor

Jackson on local fareCovering unique and affordable restaurants, bars and entertainment

Cock & Bull English Pub

As the name suggests, Cock & Bull delivers the pub experience. From typi-cal pub-type seating inside to the tradi-tional black wood trim stretched across the outside, the pub offers a sense of the English pastime — drinking. The pub, which is located in the heart of Main-Strasse Village, has received numer-ous food and beer awards, with prices that are fairly reasonable —especially on college nights on Wednesday,which feature discounted drinks (Cheers big ears!). As for the eats, colossal burgers, wraps and a variety of salads fill the menu, with the “Award Winning” fish & chips at the helm. The pub is also one of many perennial stops along the way during Oktoberfest, which runs from Sept. 11 through 13.

Billie’s Skyline Tavern & Restaurant

Quite possibly the staple of North-ern Kentucky University, Skyline Tavern has been looming over our fair school atop John’s Hill Road for decades — dishing up the typical bar fare, ranging from nachos and quesa-dillas all the way to Billie’s Famous Skyline Burger. And, with better than reasonable prices ($1.75 for a basket of fries, $2.00 for a beer) the tavern offers a unique dinning environment on the cheap. The mixed crowd at Skyline appeals to both young and old. And with a cabin-like atmo-sphere, chock full of aged beer signs, flat screen TVs, a billiards room, and outdoor deck/patio area, one can’t go wrong. (And you can smoke!)

Charlotte Etherton/Photo Editor

Bartenders at Billie’s Skyline Tavern always have beer at the ready for thirsty compatriots.


Mark PayneManaging editor

Men’s soccer captures two winsStrong wins move the men from No. 4, to No. 2 in national polls

Tim Downer/photographer

Northern Kentucky University senior Chris Dobrowolski (right) goes up for the ball against Lake Erie’s Jacob Magdich. The men picked up two wins in their opening weekend in the John Toebben Classic. The tournament was hosted at NKU’s homefield, Town and Country, in Wilder, Ky.

SPORTS

The Northern Kentucky University Men’s soc-cer team is on a roll. After winning its two preseason games against two Division I schools — Marshall and IU-PUI — the Norse continued their winning streak into the regular season.

The season opened Aug. 28 against the Bobcats of West Virginia Wesleyan. The game was a part of the John Toeb-ben Classic held at Town and Country in Wilder, Ky.

The then No. 4 nationally-ranked Norse were led by sophomore Steven Beattie, sophomore Andrew Mont-gomery, and senior Seth Eckerlin — each scoring one goal. Also contributing with assists were senior Braden Bishop, sophomore Anthony Meyer and freshman Paul Andrews — each having one assist. Junior goalie Michael Lavric had three saves.

The three goals proved to be enough against the Bob-

cats, as the Norse went on to win by a score of 3-1.

On Aug. 30, the Norse went up against the Storm of Lake Erie College. (The Storm recently transitioned to Di-vision II, and will become a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2010).

The Norse dominated the Storm by a score of 6-1. An-drew Montgomery, who had two goals, led the Norse. Ste-ven Beattie (1), senior Mike Jonca (1), Braden Bishop (1)

and Seth Eckerlin (1) also recorded goals. Leading the way with assists were Steven Beattie (1), Andrew Mont-gomery (1) and Mike Jonca (1). Goalie Michael Lavric had one save.

This win brought the home winning streak for the Norse to 25 consecutive games. The strong wins helped bump the Norse up to No. 2 in the Divi-sion II poll.

According to the Sports Information Web site, this

is the 33rd week NKU has been ranked. The streak be-gan Oct. 3 2006. According to SI, it’s also the fifth week the Norse have been ranked in the top 10.

The Norse will continue their season Sept. 30 with their first GLVC matchup in Evansville, Ind. against the Screaming Eagles of South-ern Indiana.


NORTHERNER

Mike CollinsSports Editor

Basketball PreviewNorse gear up for rigorous ‘09 season

The Northern Kentucky University Men’s and Wom-en’s Basketball schedules were released on Aug. 24 and the teams have begun to pre-pare for the season ahead.

The men’s basketball team, won the Great Lakes Val-ley Conference Tournament c h a m p i o n -ship and fin-ished with a 24-7 record last season, will open the 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0 season with an exhibition game against the Xavier M u s k e t e e r s on Nov. 7 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.

The Norse will kick-off the regular season to take on Grand Valley State in Al-lendale, Mich. against Grand Valley State, who wrapped up their season last year with a 21-10 record.

The Norse will play their first home game against Lake Erie in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic at 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 20 at The Bank of Kentucky Center.

Beginning on Nov. 23, NKU will play the next five games on the road, which will send them through three states during that time. To top off the rigorous road trip, the Norse will open conference play against the Indianapolis Greyhounds Dec. 3 and then match-up with Southern In-diana Dec. 5 before finally returning home.

Two new teams have joined the GLVC this sea-son. Maryville and Illinois-Springfield now give the GLVC 15- teams, which will increase the competition to

earn the right to participate in the GLVC tournament. Only 12 teams will have the opportunity to be in the tour-nament.

NKU will face the Maryville Saints in the schools’ first-ever meeting on Jan. 18 in St. Louis.

The two rounds of the GLVC tournament will be played on Feb. 27 and 28 on campus sites, according to the NKU Sports Information Web site. The teams that ad-vance to the semifinals and the championship will play on March 6-7 in Springfield, Ill.

The NKU Women’s Bas-ketball team will open play on Nov. 1 in an exhibition game against the Louisville Cardinals who finished the ‘09 season as the NCAA Di-vision I runner-up.

“Our whole schedule, from top to bottom, is going to be tough this year,” Head Coach Nancy Winstel said.

The Norse posted an im-pressive 29-3 overall record and won the GLVC Tourna-ment Championship for the third time in school history.

NKU will start the regu-lar season with a three-game home-stand beginning with the University of Cincinnati-Clermont on Nov. 18. The

Norse will host Kentucky State and Georgetown Col-lege before they play their first road game.

“I feel like our schedule is as tough as it’s always been,” Winstel said. “The GLVC is an extremely challenging conference and I think our

region is argu-ably one of the best regions in the country.”

NKU will go on the road for a three-game stint, playing Wayne State on Nov. 28 in De-troit, Mich. On Dec. 3 they will battle GLVC ri-val Indianapo-lis to start con-ference play.

“The GLVC is a tough con-ference to be successful in and a lot of that is because of the success of teams like us, Indianapolis, Bellarmine, Southern Indiana, Lewis and Drury,” Winstel said. “Our conference is very strong.”

A conference champion-ship rematch will take place on Jan. 4 as the Norse host GLVC rival Quincy at The Bank of Kentucky Center. The Norse defeated Quincy 77-72 on the Hawks own home floor on Mar. 8 to take the title.

NKU will hit the court with GLVC additions Maryville on Jan. 18 and Illinois-Springfield on Jan. 28

The opening rounds of the women’s conference tour-nament will also be played on Feb. 27 and 28. The four teams that advance will play in Springfield, Ill., for the semifinals and champion-ship March 6-7, according to the NKU Sports Information Web site.

Women’s Basketball 2009-2010 Home ScheduleVS. UC Clermont 11/18/2009 7 p.m.VS. Kentucky State 11/21/2009 2 p.m.VS. Georgetown(KY) 11/24/2009 7 p.m.VS. Saint Jospeh’s 12/10/2009 7 p.m.VS. Saint Francis(IN) 12/12/2009 1 p.m.VS. W. Virginia Wesleyan 12/22/2009 4 p.m.VS. Lewis 1/2/2010 1 p.m.VS. Quincy 1/4/2010 5:30 p.m.VS. SIU Edwardsville 1/13/2010 7 p.m. VS. Wisconsin-Parkside 1/16/2010 1 p.m.VS. Kentucky Wesleyan 1/21/2010 5:30 p.m.VS. Bellarmine 1/21/2010 5:30 p.m.VS. Drury 2/4/2010 5:30 p.m.VS. Missouri S&T 2/6/2010 TBDVS. Southern Indiana 2/18/2010 5:30 p.m.VS. Indianapolis 2/20/2010 5:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball 2009-2010 Home Schedule VS. Lake Erie 11/20/2009 7:45 p.m.VS. Tusculum 11/21/2009 7:45 p.m.VS. Mt.Vernon Nazarene 12/12/2009 3:15 p.m.VS. UC Clermont 12/23/2009 7 p.m.VS. Lewis 1/2/2010 3:15 p.m.VS. Quincy 1/4/2010 7:45 p.m.VS. Wisconsin-Parkside 1/16/2010 3:15 p.m.VS. Kentucky Wesleyan 1/21/2010 7:45 p.m.VS. Bellarmine 1/23/2010 TBDVS. Drury 2/4/2010 7:45 p.m.VS. Missouri S&T 2/6/2010 5:15 p.m.VS. Southern Indiana 2/18/2010 7:45 p.m.VS. Indianapolis 2/20/2010 7:45 p.m.

Our whole schedule, from top to bottom, is going to be tough this year. - Head Coach Nancy Winstel said.

,,,,

What issues do you plan to bring up should you be voted into office?

KR: International Student Scholarships? Our interna-tional students are hurting from tuition increases more than anyone, we need to do what we can to help them. Textbook prices? Can we put a cap on them? Can we cre-ate a textbook library that students can use to check text-books out? Meal Plan trans-ferability?

There is a brand new direc-tor of Chartwells at NKU; lets get on the ball with talking about improving prices in the Student Union and can we get it to where students can use their meal plans in the union. Improving Campus Rec. fa-cilities/funding? We started this last year, but lets keep the efforts up. Campus Rec needs our support.

Keeping NKU Green? Making syllabi online would help us save a lot of paper. Lets support the faculty sen-ate’s efforts to get students to take their student evaluations online.

Improving teaching evalua-tions. Our administration uses the teaching evaluations for decisions of tenure, pay in-

creases, and much more. Do you think that the questions asked on those evaluations are adequate? Leigha and I don’t.

Improving NKU Pride? Why aren’t students going to the home games? Why don’t students stand when the fight song is played. Why don’t more students know the words to the fight song. Supporting the office of First Year Programs in their efforts to help freshmen in their first semester? That office is one of the most important offices that the students come into contact with. Are they receiv-ing enough support or rec-ognition, Leigha and I don’t think so.

Lets talk about MyNKU? Tuition? Registration? Fund-ing for Students organiza-tions? And most importantly, we would bring up whatever issues the Students brought forward. The E-Board of SGA is not responsible for making decisions for the student body, our job is to make decisions with the Student Body.

KK: Our main focus will be easing the financial burden on struggling students and improving campus life and activities. Many students who

don’t participate on campus or interact in class discussions do not do so because they don’t understand the impor-tance of these interactions in their academic development, but because their minds are most likely focusing on finan-cial issues. When students are worrying about loans, jobs, or how they will keep their cars from being repossessed they are distracted from the learn-ing they are attempting to complete. By working to ease these pressures for students, we believe NKU can become a more lively and interesting campus.

What are the three main points of your platform?

KR: Maintaining and Improv-ing the NKU Student Experi-ence – (as discussed before) this involves the experience students have with NKU in-side and outside of the class-room, from their freshmen orientation to the day they walk across the bridge into the Bank of Kentucky Center for graduation.

College affordability – tu-ition is not the only thing that makes financing a college career difficult. The Council of Post-Secondary Educa-

tion sets tuition increases, not NKU, so we can’t help tuition going up. What we can do is look at all of the other items that students have to pay for. This could be anything from textbook prices, to meal plan prices, prices of the food in the Student Union, parking pass prices, housing prices. College affordability also forces us to ask questions like: Do we offer enough scholarships? What could be done to increase the number of students that re-ceive some sort of financial aid? Could NKU increase the number of on-campus jobs available? We know what it’s like to a broke college student, because we are both living it with you.

The third platform is simple. We want to make SGA more transparent. I hope that more students attend SGA meet-ings. I hope that this newspa-per runs an article about what student government is doing every week. I hope that we can get more students to vote in the election. I, honestly, hope we have to find a larg-er meeting room because so many students are coming to let their voices be heard. We want students to know when the senate will be voting on big issues. We want students

to have the same information we have. Lets take the elitist attitude out of SGA and bring it back down to a branch of NKU that is honest and ap-proachable and willing to ask the hard questions.

KK: Our platform has been crafted with the goal of in-creasing the role of students in University policy making. By encouraging on and off campus interaction between faculty and students. Students will be more likely to engage the campus, faculty and staff in addressing broad university and societial issues. We also are striving to internation-alize campus and faculty to broaden the educational per-spective of the university. An internationalized campus will afford students a broad per-spective otherwise unavailible in this region. Meal plans are another major concern for a great number of students who live on campus. SGA will be working extensively with the Resident Housing Associa-tion in crafting a better meal plan policy with meal transfer-ability (between SU and Com-mons options), more healthy options, and keeping prices af-fordable and flexible to meet the needs of students.

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While some faculty, like Dr. Summers, oppose the new system, it seems the majority of NKU faculty think it is a good idea.

“Even though it means more rigidity in terms of ab-solute numbers, most faculty I have heard from are in fa-vor of it,” said Debra Pearce, chair of the biology depart-ment. “There can be a huge difference in someone who scores a 70 versus a 79, which is not reflected in the past sys-tem.”

Doctor James Ramage agrees. “I have been assigning

plus and minus letter grades for exams, research papers, and other assignments since I started teaching over thir-ty years ago,” he said. “I’m pleased to now have the op-portunity in determining the grades of the students in my classes. The new system is a more accurate reflection of the student’s performance and that, I think, is fair to ev-ery student in the class.”

Still, other professors seem to be uncomfortable talking about the new grade system at all, or have not formed an opinion, which could be an

indicator of possible ramifica-tions of it.

It would seem that NKU faculty need just as much time as the student body to adjust to the new grading scale.

The new system is also a delicate topic among students.

“I think in the long run it will hurt more than help,” business administration grad-uate student Matt Brown said. People’s averages will drop, making them look bad when they apply for grad school or the work-force. The old sys-tem was fine — it should have stayed that way.”

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NKU Transcript

This is a fake transcript. The grades and numberson the right represent NKU’s new grading scale.

Class Grade

University 101 A (4.0)Math 105 A- (3.67)English B+ (3.33)Astronomy B (3.0)News writing C+ (2.33)Accounting C (2.0)Marketing 202 C- (1.67)Anthropology 201 D+ (1.33)Physical Therapy D (1.0)Copy editing/layout F (0.0)

The Northerner Print Edition - Sept. 2, 2009

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Transcript of The Northerner Print Edition - Sept. 2, 2009