I can never fathom why anyone would want to ban any book, but I was especially shocked to hear the great bard had fallen victim.

Curious as to what other books were thought unfit for students, I looked it up. Among the banned and challenged classics listed on the American Library Association’s website were F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” and Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”

Also on the list: “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee (one of my all-time favorite books). I read it for the first time in sixth grade and many of the themes were difficult to comprehend completely. It’s a story that confronts major issues: racism, rape, treatment of the mentally ill, and injustice.

It was a difficult first read, but because it was challenging I went back to read it for a second, third and fourth time.

Many of these books are censored for various reasons: violence, sexuality, language, or controversial viewpoints. They make people uncomfortable and I think that is exactly why they shouldn’t be banned.

The best works are those that make their readers or audience a bit uncomfortable. They take us out of our comfort zones and teach us something new.

Some of my favorite works were those that made me a bit uncomfortable, but they gave me a new perspective. Sometimes they teach me about a different culture or group of people, transport me to a new world or make me confront difficult issues.

I think it’s funny that in a country where we espouse the value of free speech, we ban literature. If we allow students to read these books, expose them to viewpoints that perhaps aren’t orthodox, but teach them to read it critically, we teach them to evaluate other points of view. Isn’t that what an education should do? Shouldn’t we teach students to challenge what they think they know? Censorship only undermines that goal.

Censorship is a slippery slope; we risk losing that right which we hold most dear (speech) and by banning books, rather than protecting students, I think we harm them.

We should challenge them to read controversial books critically. It tends to be in the controversial works that the most powerful statements are made.

I am grateful to have been exposed to great works that may be questionable to a few. These are the ones that taught me the most about life, the world and human beings.

It became much less abstract and much more real to me, however, while home on break. At all of the family holiday functions or when I would run into a family friend, everyone asked me about my senior year in college. The popular question was, “Are you excited to be graduating?”

It’s a simple question, right? To be honest, I really don’t know how I feel about this being my last semester. (This is the second thing I‘ve realized.) When the idea of leaving my bubble that is John Carroll was an abstract thought – something that would eventually happen someday – it was exciting.

It became more real and a little scarier as I was buying my last set of books and unpacking from winter break for the last time. It became scarier because immediately after asking if I’m excited to be graduating, everyone asks, “So what are you doing after you graduate?”

My answer may be the same as many of my fellow seniors: not a clue. It’s this unknown that scares me most. I have no idea what I will be doing after May or where I will be.  I’m someone who likes to have a plan. Although I’m good about adapting to last-minute changes, new environments and new personalities (at least I think so), I like to have some sort of idea about what I’m doing.

I do know a few things I won’t be doing. I began applying for jobs over break and have already received my first rejection. Oh, well. It was a long-shot job anyway but it confirms my fears that it will not be an easy task finding a job I like. My parents keep reminding me that I won’t get my dream job right away (which I know), but I would like to find something that at least interests  and stimulates me.

I also know I won’t be attending graduate or law school (at least not now). Post-graduate education is something I could accomplish and would squelch this fear of the unknown after graduation. Although school is something I do fairly well, I have a feeling similar to the one I had at the end of high school: I’m ready to move on to something new and different.

In fact, this is exactly how I felt toward the end of my senior year of high school. I was afraid because I didn’t know exactly what my life would be like next, but I was excited for the adventure. So while I will most likely feel anxious for the rest of the semester, I’ve decided to embrace the adventure and the challenge that the “unknown” presents. I could be doing anything after graduation.

Who knows where I’ll be next fall? I may be somewhere awesome. I may be on my parents’ couch. Now, isn’t that exciting?

According to Tonya Strong-Charles, director of media relations & communications, it was a good deal for the University to buy air time that was still available during the game.

“It was a unique opportunity in Pittsburgh to get our message out to a new audience,” said Strong-Charles. “There’s been a bit of buzz. A lot of people have seen it and that’s what we want.”

Assistant Vice President for Integrated Marketing and Communications John Carfagno said JCU is already getting feedback as a result of the commercial.

Traffic to the University’s website has increased 7 percent from the Pittsburgh area since the commercial aired. Carfagno also said there have been emails from alumni who saw it.

Strong-Charles said she has already run into a perspective student from the Pittsburgh area who mentioned he saw the commercial.

Although there is already some positive feedback for JCU since the commercial aired, Carfagno said it would be a couple of weeks before they really know what impact the commercial has had.

“We’ll get a better understanding [of the impact] from the survey results of visiting perspective students,” he said.

The commercial played during the playoff game was part of the University’s most widely targeted commercial campaign.

“[It was] strategic,” Carfagno said of the campaign. “We’ve been concentrating our marketing on Northeast Ohio and Ohio proper. This was a much more concentrated effort to reach to other areas.”

This recent campaign targeted areas of high recruitment for JCU, including Chicago, Pittsburgh and Toledo, in addition to Cleveland.

Aside from broadening its focus regionally, JCU is changing the way it reaches out to prospective students and their families in other ways as well.

“We were relying too much on print in northeast Ohio when we needed to be out further with more tools,” said Carfagno.

This multimedia plan includes more online advertisements, radio advertisements and television commercials, and keyword buys on Google in which JCU advertisements will appear when certain keywords words are searched.

These new marketing strategies are paid for by an already set aside annual marketing budget that is divided among various projects. According to Carfagno, new multimedia will probably become a greater part of the overall marketing campaign for the University.

“We’ve found that when people visit campus they tell us JCU is a well-kept secret. We don’t want to be a well-kept secret. We want to be on the tip of peoples’ tongues,” he said.

For adults, this is annoying but not really a danger. I hate commercials, but I understand them. I know they don’t tell me some truth because I’ve been taught to analyze what people tell me.

Children don’t necessarily know this. They haven’t learned yet to not simply believe what they see. This is why many are against advertising in schools. They say children should have at least one place they can be creative and think for themselves without being harassed by messages telling them what to think.

This is the stance I’ve always had on the issue. Schools should always be a safe zone for students to explore new ideas and concepts, develop opinions and analytical skills and learn about themselves and the world. School should be the one place they don’t have to be bombarded with advertisements, but instead learn how to critically evaluate the messages they are shown.

My opinion, however, is for a perfect world where schools aren’t facing drastic cuts.

Some schools are looking to use advertising on school property to balance budgets so they don’t have to make such deep cuts to curriculum and social activities.

Some schools in North Carolina are allowing advertisements within their stadiums, and are thinking about expanding that to school buses.

WKYC Channel 3 News ran a story last week that some schools are allowing advertisements on lockers and in school cafeterias.

Is this too far? Is this harming students?

In a perfect world, I would say yes. However, the alternative may be worse.

All you need to do is look at Cleveland schools and their cuts.

Last year, the school district laid off more than 600 teachers and closed schools. This year, they recalled 300 of them to avoid making classes so large they would resemble many college seminar classes.

I think small classes are important – it’s one of the reasons I chose John Carroll. Small classes help prevent students from falling through the cracks.

However, this recall will require $11 million budget cuts. On the district’s chopping block are textbooks, preschool, athletics, security and transportation.

I know this must be a tough choice for school administrators, and it’s sad that it has come down to this. So, what is the right choice? I’m not sure there’s a win here. Small classes are important for struggling students, but textbooks should be up to date and schools as secure as possible. School should also be an all-around experience, and although athletics should not be the most important thing, they teach valuable skills and should be offered.

Facing a decision like this makes me reconsider my opinion of advertising. It should be a last resort, but when you’re cutting a student’s educational experience, it may be necessary.

This was prompted by a Student Union resolution that recommended residence life look into the matter.

“These are the issues we [Student Union] should be addressing,” said Student Union Vice President of Student Organizations Pete Hayden. “Having storage on campus would save students time and money.”

Lisa Brown, director of residence life, said this is something they are definitely looking into, but they are only in the beginning stages.

“We’re just in the process of looking into whether we can [bring the program back] and how it would work,” Brown said. “It’s a lot of exploring what makes sense [on campus].”

Hayden said now was a good time to introduce the resolution for residence life to look into and hopefully it can be in place as soon as this summer.

“The sooner we introduce the proposal, the sooner we can get it ready [for student use],” Hayden said.

The previous program was disbanded after the summer of 2009.

Brown said, “Space became an issue. We don’t have a lot of storage on campus as it is and we couldn’t accommodate requests.”

According to Brown, there were some students who did not pick up items they stored in a timely manner, which became a problem.

The program, run by the Residence Hall Association allowed students to store items such as refrigerators, rugs and futons on campus over the summer break. It was especially geared toward out-of-state students who found it more difficult to transport the items on and off campus each summer.

Students would pay a fee for the use of space depending on what items they stored. Students could store couches and futons for $25. Chairs, carpets, refrigerators and microwaves could be stored for $20. The items were kept on campus in the cranium of Murphy Residence Hall.

After residence life ended the program, it provided students with a list of area storage facilities and fees of each.

Brown said if the program is brought back, there would probably be a fee again. However, she does not yet know how the program would be structured if reinstated.

“We’re trying to look at it in a creative way,” said Brown.

She said the office is interested in seeing whether it can partner with another organization or group on campus, or even a student, to determine how to reinstate the program and structure it.

“We recognize it’s a need, it’s just about what is feasible on campus,” Brown said.

The compromise passed stipulates that JCU may use the stadium for intramural and club sports Saturday through Thursday until 10:30 p.m. This use includes lighting, but excludes the use of the sound system.

The compromise also grants the University 30 events per year including varsity games and events such as Relay for Life, with prior notice to the City. The events can utilize both lights and sound in the stadium.

The final stipulation of the compromise is that JCU will plant trees where there are currently gaps to block bright lights from surrounding neighbors.

In favor of finding a compromise between the parties, UH Mayor Susan Infeld said, “Helping JCU helps the City.”

The compromise was meant to meet needs and concerns of both the University and area neighbors, who have had issues with the bright lights and noise from the stadium.

Some residents, such as Jim and Mary Thelen, were concerned about lights from the stadium they see in their bedroom at night.

“It’s just the light in the bedroom that’s an issue. We just want a shield or something on the lights,” Jim said.

The issue was voted on after being tabled at the council’s Sept. 6 meeting. Members tabled the issue so they could bring in officials who worked on JCU’s lighting and sound systems to address questions and concerns.

Franklin Krakowski from Paladin Professional Sound answered questions about the stadium’s sound system, which he said was at a significantly lower level than other stadiums he’s worked on and is at the lowest level possible without losing speech intelligibility. JCU also reduced the number of speakers through which music will play before and during the game to reduce noise.

Mike Linpach of Musco Lighting told council most of the lights were blocked by trees along the property line of the field and JCU agreed to a lower light setting for extended hours.

JCU Director of Media Relations University Marketing and Communications Tonya Strong-Charles spoke at the meeting about the need to increase the hours of operation to allow intramural and club teams to host games, and allow varsity teams to practice and host games.

“We can at least then meet the minimum requests and needs of students,” she said.

It was estimated that approximately 1,000 students would be able to utilize the field for intramural and club sports.

JCU senior Meghan Everett spoke at the meeting as well.

“It’s very unfortunate we can’t use the stadium for positive activities at night. It’s a fun way to bond with friends at school,” she said.

UH resident Tom Fanning spoke in support of JCU.

“Events like these bring excitement. We knew there would be some noise when we moved here,” he said.

Councilwoman Susan Pardee motioned to bring the compromise to a vote. She felt keeping one day on which lights would not be on until 10:30 p.m. would allow residents to use their backyards without noise and lights from the stadium.

The compromise voted on was not what JCU originally wanted. JCU requested use of the stadium, with lights, for club and intramural teams until 11 p.m. and extended use of the stadium for more night events.

However, the University is satisfied with the outcome.

“The entire team of folks who worked on this are pleased with the outcome. It’s not all we wanted, but we’re pleased,” said Dora Pruce, director of government and community relations at JCU.

Pruce said what they wanted was flexibility and this allows for some.

“We’re happy – I think this is a significant improvement,” Pruce said.

The agreement goes into effect immediately.

I’m lucky, though. All I have to do to find something happy is look at my Uncle Brian. Uncle Brian has Down syndrome, and he is also one of the happiest people I know. He is so happy, I think, because all he worries about are the simple things in life. His world revolves around Weaver Workshop, eating, singer Tom Jones and the Cleveland Indians. I would add family to that list, but although he loves us, if he had to choose between family and Tom Jones I really think Tom Jones would win.

Uncle Brian is a special person. Despite the chaos and drama that sometimes surrounds him, I almost always see him with a smile. When he drives with my family to Mass each week, he always says, “Hi, Enemy.” He’s never been able to say “Emily,” and it’s a long-standing joke in the family. Someone will quip, “Emily’s no enemy.” Brian responds with a no, he loves “Enemy.”

He also can certainly make me laugh. He spent the weekend at my house once and we set him up with YouTube to watch some Tom Jones videos. He was in the kitchen and, once he was all set up, I was in the family room watching a movie. I turned the volume up so his music didn’t distract but it did absolutely no good. Before long, I had the volume all the way up, but nothing could tune out Uncle Brian’s singing voice. It was so funny I had to record it to share with the rest of the family.

Yes, Uncle Brian loves singing. He has a weekly Saturday night Tom Jones concert. He is known to be wailing songs like “What’s New Pussycat” until the wee hours of the morning. I’m not at all sad I’ve only been exposed to that once.

Uncle Brian also has a hilarious laugh. It’s a silly giggle that makes you want to giggle in turn.

That’s not to say he’s perfect. Like any other person, he certainly has flaws. Uncle Brian tends to be very ornery. (Although I can’t say that’s really his fault necessarily; it seems to run in the family.) When he’s scolded for it, he reacts as a child would and pouts.

He also gets on my nerves sometimes when he seems to need to know everything about everyone. If my dad isn’t at Mass one day because he had a weekend meeting, Uncle Brian will ask five times, “Where’s Patrick?” even though you’ve already told him. Sometimes when he does this I snip at him. I always immediately feel bad about it. I feel badly, partly because he has Down Syndrome and maybe I should cut him extra slack, but mostly because I know he asks because he loves his big brother and is concerned Pat’s not where he usually is on a Sunday morning.

Uncle Brian reminds me to be happy with what I’ve got. It’s important to remember your family and the activities you enjoy. The world outside of your little hamlet can be daunting and depressing at times. I think it’s important to be aware of what happens in the world because it inevitably affects us all. However, it is also important to take time out in the midst of the chaos to do something that makes us joyful, even if it’s singing a tone-deaf to a Tom Jones song at 2 a.m.

However, there is one countdown above all else I am excited about. That is the 36 days that stands between me and the beach.

Obviously I’m excited about traveling down to the Outerbanks, North Carolina just because of the simple fact that I will be in the Outerbanks with (hopefully) sunshine, warm weather and the beach. It will be a fun, relaxing week and I will have absolutely no work to do. This is my perfect kind of summer vacation.

Vacations, in and of themselves, are fun. It’s a change of scenery,  a chance to escape the drudge of school and work; an escape from your everyday life for a week. Maybe you go somewhere brand new, or somewhere exotic, or just somewhere different. Maybe you go by yourself, or with a few friends, or a big group.

Although there are other cities I love more, the trip to the Outerbanks is my absolute favorite vacation.

I go every other year with family and when it’s an Outerbanks year it’s something I look forward to months in advance. It’s what gets me through the long, cold, dreary Cleveland winter.

The best part of this trip is that my entire family goes and we’ll all be staying in one house for a week.

And I’m not talking about mom, dad and brother when I say my entire family will be going. I mean my entire family. This includes my dad’s six brothers and sisters, spouses, their kids and my grandmother.

In total there will probably be 34 people. That is 34 people in one house for an entire week.

This may seem crazy. It is indeed crazy, but it’s also the best part of the trip. It’s what makes it my favorite vacation.

It’s hard to describe the chaos and fun to be had on our family vacations unless you know my family. When we’re together we’re loud and funny and ridiculous.

There’s almost a 100 percent chance at least one of my aunts will dance through the house singing at least once, and almost as great a chance that all several will do so.

It’s likely that an intensely competitive game of water volleyball will ensue and it’s almost guarenteed that someone will end up getting hit in the face with the ball.

At least one person will fall asleep in a common area and embarrasing pictures will absolutely be taken of them.

Chances are someone will end up sunburned and they will be made fun of. That person is usually me, but I’m hoping someone else gets that honor this year.

The point is this trip is a family tradition. The location and number of travelers has changed, but it has always been my favorite summer vacation and always lends itself to a slew of great memories.

The film manages to be both a heart-warming drama and a laugh-out-loud funny comedy simultaneously.

“Win, Win” centers around Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), a lawyer to the elderly in New Jersey, who is under tremendous stress. He’s a husband and father of two young daughters, who is trying to balance his duties as family man with his side-gig as coach to a below-average high school wrestling team. However, he is also struggling to make ends meet and is close to losing his law practice something he neglects to tell his wife, Jackie (Amy Ryan).

Things turn around for Mike when one of his clients, Leo (Burt Young), an elderly man with dementia is about to be turned over as a ward of the state and put in a nursing home. Mike finds a note in Leo’s file that says whoever acts as guardian to Leo is paid a monthly stipend – just the extra income Mike needs.

Mike asks a judge to appoint him the guardian of Leo, who doesn’t want to be in a nursing home, so that Leo can stay in his own home. The judge grants the request, but Mike puts him in the nursing home anyway. He reconciles this with his conscience, telling himself he needs the money and Leo would be in the nursing home regardless.

Shortly after this, Leo’s grandson Kyle (Alex Shaffer) appears. He’s a quiet, awkward kid who comes from a rough background. Mike and Jackie take him in temporarily and soon discover he’s a wrestling prodigy. Before long, Kyle is a member of Mike’s team and is becoming a member of the Flaherty family.

“Win, Win” has the same predictable elements that many films have: a man is faced with an ethical dilemma that he hides from his family, there’s a complication that leads to the family finding out about the unethical behavior, there’s a fight that threatens to tear them apart, a sport serves as a vehicle to give a juvenile delinquent a second chance, etc.

However, having these elements doesn’t make the film predictable or boring. In fact, it’s entertaining the entire way through.

The characters of this story are a major reason the film is so endearing. They draw you in: Mike, who makes morally questionable decisions for the sake of his family; Jackie, who is first weary of Kyle but then develops a motherly love for him; and Kyle, a kid who was dealt a bad hand in life and is looking for a second chance and a home.

The film is a drama and there are certainly parts that are sad and tug at the heart strings, but the film balances these parts with an incredible, sort of offbeat humor. Mike’s friend Terry (Bobby Cannavale), assistant wrestling coach Vigman (Jeffrey Tambor), and Kyle’s new friend Stemler (David Thompson) add a lot comic relief and memorable scenes to the movie.

While it isn’t an action-packed thriller and it’s not a romantic comedy, if you’re looking for a great movie with a lot of heart, “Win, Win” is certainly a winner.

It’s that point in the semester when all of the papers, projects, tests, etc. begin piling up in anticipation of the final stretch.

Multiple nights without sleep, piles of homework and an internship on top of that can accumulate stress very quickly I’ve found. My schedule and workload aren’t even as difficult as that of other people I know; I can’t even imagine the overwhelming feeling they probably have right now.

It’s all too easy to succumb to such stress, but what good does that do? If you do nothing to combat it, it gets worse and you end up getting absolutely nothing done. Trust me, I’ve tried.

I have found that when I take a break from what I’m doing and let go of some of that stress, the work gets done a lot faster.

So, I thought I would share a few things that I’ve found to be helpful in relieving stress.

One of the best things to do is, of course, to get a good night sleep. You’re able to learn more and remember more, which is essential to getting school work done and doing well on tests. It also makes you a much more pleasant person (ask anyone who speaks to me on a morning following a CN deadline night – I’m not very nice).

If you’re not getting a good-night’s sleep, maybe try taking a 20-minute cat nap. I hear they’re wonderful, but I’ve never been able to limit my sleep to that. My 20-minute naps turn into 4-hours naps, which leave me disoriented and lethargic when I wake up. This doesn’t work very well because then I get even less work accomplished, leaving me more stressed and my nap an epic fail.

Sleep and college students don’t seem to coincide very often, and if you’re like me and incapable of cat naps, it’s important to find some other way to relieve stress.

One of my favorite ways is to workout. I love to run or do power yoga. Both get your blood moving, which helps you concentrate and focus on your work. Take 30 minutes or so to do some sort of exercise you enjoy. You’ll feel better afterward.

It is also extremely important to have some fun, at least in my opinion it is.  A couple of weeks ago, my roommates and I were sitting at home, all of our heads buried in some sort of work. I think it would suffice to say we were all a little stressed.

Then my one roommate popped her head into my room and asked, “Want to get some ice cream?”

My response, “Absolutely!”

We ended up having to drive to three separate stores for ice cream, but it was fun and we laughed. It was nothing super exciting, but it made my night more fun and took away some of the stress for a while. Doing something simple like that with friends can make all the difference in the world.

So, if you’re like me and feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment maybe give one (or all) of these tips a try. Maybe they’ll work for you, too. If not, Easter Break is less than a week away and the end of the semester is less than a month away.

I’ve always justified it by telling myself that I do a lot and I have a lot on my plate.

It would be wrong for me to complain if I did absolutely nothing with my life but sleep all day, eat cereal and watch television. It would be unacceptable for me to complain if I wasn’t incredibly busy.

However, this is certainly not the case so I have every right to complain. Right?

Well, when I put my troubles in perspective, my complaining is really not justified at all.

A few days ago I met a woman named Connie Culp and I can’t help but feel that my complaints are miniscule in comparison to what she has been through and weathered with nothing but a positive attitude.

You may or may not recognize the name Connie Culp. She has been in the news, but not as much now as she was a few years ago; she’s probably in the medical history books as well. Connie was the first person in the United States to receive a face transplant, which she needed after her husband shot her in the face seven years ago.

After she was severely injured, Connie lost much of her face to the injuries. She couldn’t eat solid food, smell or taste.

She underwent 30 surgeries to help her heal, but none of them helped her. Finally she came to the Cleveland Clinic where doctors performed the first face transplant in the United States, a grueling approximately 23-hour surgery.

You would think she’d be bitter or at least angry about what happened to her. Her life was forever and dramatically changed, and it was beyond her control. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine that someone who survived such an ordeal would be depressed or not want to talk about it. No one would blame her for complaining.

She doesn’t complain, though. She acted neither bitter nor angry, self-pitying nor depressed.

She was simply thankful to be alive, happy to be able to be with her children and grateful for the donor whose organs she received.

When someone asked about whether she had grandchildren, Connie lit up. She was thankful she had the opportunity to know them and to reconnect with her family.

She’s also had to deal with the pointing and stares from passers-by who don’t know or understand what she has been through.

Connie said she would rather people ask her what happened rather than simply leer.  She seems to be okay with telling her story, sharing her experiences. She prompts others to become organ donors so that they too might positively change a life, as someone did hers.

Connie has every reason in the world to complain about everything. She has every reason to complain, but she doesn’t.

Meeting Connie has made me reevaluate my complaining. Do I have a lot of work to do? Yes. Do I wish I had more sleep? Absolutely. But these are stressors I have brought upon myself; they’re choices I have made. In the grand scheme of things, losing a little sleep isn’t that big of a deal. So here’s to not sweating the small stuff in life.

“Overall, the City and the University are very pleased to be working together and move forward in a positive way,” said Dora Pruce, director of government and community relations at JCU.

University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld concurred with the sentiment.

“I am thrilled it’s settled and over with. Now we can move forward with the University to achieve mutual, shared interests,” said Infeld.

The controversy over the Carroll Boulevard property began last fall when JCU sought a special use permit from the city in order to transition it from a two-family home into administrative offices for the ROTC and military science programs.

The University Heights Zoning Board approved the permit with restrictions, which Infeld called “typical concerns.” These included prohibiting military vehicles on the property, designating that staff park on JCU’s campus, restricting the office’s operating hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., no signage could appear on the second story of the building and occupancy had to be determined by the building commissioner and fire chief.

The University has said it was fine with those restrictions.

However, University Heights City Council placed additional restrictions on the permit, which the University did not agree with, including prohibiting JCU from buying any more property in the neighborhood, seeking tax exempt status on the property, and rezoning any more residential properties.

It was after city council passed the added restrictions that the University appealed the decision. The dispute was moving through the courts until this month when JCU and University Heights came to a compromise.

The agreement includes the Zoning Board’s original restrictions, as well as a commitment from JCU to not rezone any more property on Carroll Boulevard for five years, except in conjunction with the City, and to not pursue any further litigation concerning the property, except in the event the City breaks the agreement.

Pruce said, “The settlement helps obtain our [the City’s and University’s] mutual goal of stabilizing and enhancing the character and harmony of the area in and around the University.”

According to Infeld, increasingly expensive legal fees and preserving the City’s image were benefits to settling the matter.

“John Carroll is the largest employer and landholder in the city. It’s not good and doesn’t promote the image of University Heights as friendly [when the City and JCU  are engaged in litigation]. I’m happy it’s resolved and settled. We’re a college town and this is not the image of the City I want to present to the world,” said Infeld.

According to Pruce, the timeline for when ROTC offices will move into the house are still being worked out.

“The house needs more renovation work to become office space, so now that we have settled with the city, we are assessing how much more construction work needs to be done to convert the house to administrative use,” said Pruce.

The office space currently used by ROTC in the Lombardo Student Center is being assessed for how it can be utilized after ROTC transitions to the Carroll Boulevard office. Pruce said there are a number of JCU departments whose office space is currently constrained.

I love a good story. Whether it’s a news article, a book, a movie or a play, I’m fascinated by stories. However, there has always been something about reading books that has captured my interest and my imagination above all else. I love that I can be totally enraptured by a good book, lost in the lives and stories of its characters.

If I have a good book, I can literally sit in the middle of a noisy and bustling public place and not hear a sound. I become enthralled in the whole world the author created for me.

Having said this, however, it’s hard for me to describe exactly why I love reading so much. There’s not one particular genre that I gravitate to (although I will say for the most part science fiction is off the table) and there is not one specific author I strictly read.

In fact, I’ve read and equally loved very different stories. Some of my favorites include Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Tim Russert’s autobiography “Big Russ and Me,” the best-selling “Harry Potter” series and Elie Wiesel’s “Night.”

So you can see my slight confusion. Some of these stories are radically different from one another.

I love Harper Lee’s tale which deals with serious issues including crime, racism and stereotypes, all of which we see through the innocent eyes of a precocious child. I will also never forget the heartbreaking recount of Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust experience.

But then again, I can’t tell you the number of hours straight I spent engrossed in the fantastical world of Harry Potter and his friends or the lessons and bits of wisdom Tim Russert incorporated into “Big Russ and Me.”

However, I think I may have nailed down a reason for why I love reading.

A couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a special USA Network ran about its “Character Approved” honorees, people who impact our  society or are agents of change. One of the honorees was author Nicole Krauss.

She’s won laudable awards and recognitions, but it was something she said that stuck with me. She noted that reading is possibly the least passive of arts. Klauss said, “50 percent of reading is the writer and the rest the reader brings herself.”

A writer may describe a setting, a character or a situation, but then leaves it up to readers to interpret or make of it what they will.

As a reader, the writer gives you a story, but exactly what you take from that story is completely up to you. When you’re reading, you’re alone with your imagination even though you have the writer’s words in front of you. I may read something differently than you do, and to me, that is the beauty of reading.

I sometimes take stories and I make them my own or think about them in terms of my own life. When I was younger and reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” for the first time, I imagined myself having the same integrity as Atticus Finch. I’ve also wondered if I’d have the strength to survive the same things Elie Wiesel has. Occasionally, I’ve imagined different endings for some of the books that had conclusions I disagreed with.

I know I will continue to evolve as a person. I think personal evolution in inevitable. We can’t help but change with our experiences and the people we meet and come to know, but I think reading will always be something I love. Hopefully, some things never change.

I’m sure most people have heard by this point about Charlie Sheen’s recent lunacy and slight break from reality. Yep, after being basically fired by CBS and having the 10th season of his hit TV show “Two and a Half Men” canceled, Charlie Sheen did what any sane-minded, reasonable individual who has recently been embroiled in scandal involving both drugs and hookers (America’s favorite kind of  scandal) would do – he went on the talk show circuit.

This week he’s done interviews with the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America” and “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

Listening to him talk to these journalists was, in a word, interesting. A couple of other words I would throw out there to describe the interviews include confusing, disturbing and hilarious.

Sheen declared he wasn’t on drugs during the interviews. My intial thought: yeah, right.

However, Charlie voluntarily opened the results of his drug test on camera, and they revealed a negative test result.

Don’t get me wrong here, but I was seriously concerned by the fact that Charlie was apparently clean. At least  if he were on drugs it would explain his behavior.

Although drugs are certainly bad (and illegal), I think I was more concerned by the fact that good old Charlie was clean at that moment because he sounded absolutely high.

Among his declarations were the assertion that he had “tiger blood” and that he was a “winner.”

Charlie also stated, “I’m tired of pretending I’m not special.” He made the statement in regards to his demand for CBS to raise his per episode salary to $3 million once he returns to “Two and a Half Men.”

In all of these interviews he sounds like a raging lunatic, but he maintains that he’s happy with his life right now (other than his apparent unhappiness with CBS, who he claims wished they had his life).

Based on my vast experience in  psychology (I’m being facetious), I would say Charlie needs some serious help.

However, his delusional attitude is only fueled by the fact that shows compete for the exclusive interview with him, and there’s no doubt that all of the major networks did so. The news media that I love and want to be a part of is not helping this man so clearly in need of help.

And why would they? They are competing for viewers and thus must give us viewers what we want. We love watching these celebrities fall to pieces.

We continuously follow the on-going drama that surrounds Lindsay Lohan’s addictions, jail stints and court dates. We devoured the stories about Tiger Woods’ many, many affairs and loss of sponsorships. We took in every word of Mel Gibson’s myriad of ridiculous rants. We followed the mental breakdown of pop star Britney Spears. We seem to revel in other people’s demise.

I thought Lady Gaga said it really well in her “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper.

He was asking about the performance when she acted out her bloody death on stage at the MTV Music Awards. She simply said that people want the drama. They want to see what she’ll look like when she overdoses on drugs she’s supposedly using or when she falls on stages. “Everyone wants to see the decay of the superstar,” she said.

“Isn’t that the age we live in? We want to see people who have it all lose it all.”

Instead of continuing to propel Charlie Sheen’s behavior, the media and the people around him should encourage him to seek help.

It is not likely that anyone will do this, however. Why? To put it simply we love the drama.

The 2010 JCU graduate received a degree from the Boler School of Business and was working as a research and strategy/development assistant at Hitchcock Fleming & Associates. While at JCU, Teodosio was actively involved in Generation Green and the Marketing Association.

Friends described her as a great friend, who was good-hearted and hard working.

“She was always the person you saw that lit up your day. She’d always be running to another activity, but stop to give you a hug and say, ‘hi,’” said Katie Manjerovic, a fellow member of the class of 2010.

Teodosio and Manjerovic were dorm room neighbors during their freshmen year.

“She was one of my first friends at John Carroll and introduced me to a lot people. She was that girl who knew everyone,” Manjerovic said.

Teodosio was also the first friend of another 2010 JCU alumna, Haley Petrucelli.

“She was my best friend,” said Petrucelli. “She had a million friends, but she was the first person I met at JCU. She introduced me to my boyfriend.”

A.J. Spalding, Petrucelli’s boyfriend and another 2010 JCU alumnus, said he and Teodosio were close friends.

“Andrea was a person everyone knew. I was laughing the other day because I don’t think there was a person who ever said a bad thing about her. Everyone says that after someone dies, but with Andrea it’s true. She was just a genuine person,” Spalding said.

According to friends, loving her family and helping others were top priorities for Teodosio.

“She lived her life with everyone else in mind. She put everyone before herself,” said Petrucelli.

According to Spalding, Teodosio used to visit an elderly neighbor daily to help her around the house, get her groceries or simply visit with her.

“Andrea was willing to help everyone,” said Spalding.

Calling hours for Teodosio took place on Wednesday, Feb. 16 and the funeral took place today Thursday, Feb. 17 at Holy Family Parish in Stow, Ohio.

I couldn’t fall asleep right away so I watched for a bit. One of the cases the team was working on included two deaths. One death was a boy who had been run over by a cab; the other was the stomping death of the immigrant cab driver. Although the death of the boy was tragic, it was the death of the cab driver that really struck me.

It struck me because of the nature of the crime. It seemed that the cab driver accidentally ran over the boy because he had been talking to the woman he was driving and was not paying attention. Horrified, the driver ran to check on the boy and when he realized the child was seriously injured, he ran back to the car to radio for help.

The only thing is that he never made it back to the radio. Seeing the foreign-looking cab driver run from the boy, a group of men nearby judged the man from first sight. They saw that he looked different and assumed that he was fleeing from the scene. Their stomping him to death was supposed to be “justice” for the boy.

Full disclosure — I fell asleep before the end of the episode, but even if the case turned out differently the lesson I took from it still holds true. We judge.  Even when we try not to, we do. We all take away first impressions about people. When we meet people, talk to them for the first time or see them for the first time, we make assumptions about who they are and what they are like. Sometimes we get to know them and those assumptions change, but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

That’s not to say that violence always results from these false judgments. I don’t think that the majority of us would take those judgments to the extent of violence that the men in “CSI” did, but that does happen.

I generally try to be open to people, but I too make assumptions about people I don’t know.

I succumbed to this fault this past Christmas Eve. My family was at Mass, and there was a young man in the choir who was acting slightly inappropriately. He was paying a lot of attention to my little cousin, blowing her kisses and trying to reach out and touch her arm. My cousin is adorable and if he were someone we knew, we wouldn’t have paid it any attention. However, we didn’t know who he was and my brother and I felt he was being kind of a creep.

This view was asserted when the guy later said some odd, inappropriate things to my uncle. My brother and I were certain he was a creep and on the drive to my aunt’s house later we weren’t afraid to say so amongst ourselves. There was no reason to believe, given his normal appearance and his inappropriate behavior, that he was anything else.

It turns out, however, that he was the victim of a horrible car accident and had suffered some brain damage which could explain his odd behavior.

I felt horrible. I had been ready to lump him in the same category as the men you see on “To Catch a Predator.” I had judged him when I didn’t know anything about him.

We all judge and it’s hard not to, but remember the age-old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” People may not be what they seem. You could be like me and end up seriously misjudging someone.

A few questions may arise from this introduction. Who are Mary, Olympia and Bob? Where are they going? Well, they are United States senators and they were asking each other out on a date to the president’s State of the Union address.

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson, in which six people died and 13 were injured, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, discussion was sparked about the tone of political debate in this country. Both the left and right were quick to point fingers at each other for using mean, sometimes violent, rhetoric.

This tone seems to be a norm in our political culture, exemplified in the midterm elections last fall. Negative political ads attacking the other side ran rampant. It’s also hard to forget the infamous health care town hall meetings in the summer of 2009, where people angrily yelled at their representatives.

With a divided government now, it seemed that the polarization in Washington would only increase. However, the shooting in Tucson happened just as the new Congress was taking control and hot-button issues like repealing the health care law were put on the back burner for a moment.

Following tragedies, people unify. They are much more careful about what they say. They are kinder to one another.

Following this trend, politicians are unifying – at least for a while. Colorado Democratic Senator Mark Udall suggested that politicians reach across the isle to sit with a colleague from the other party. Hence, Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu asked Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, according to the New York Times, to sit with her at the event.

Sitting with each other, rather than Democrats sitting on one side of the chamber and Republicans sitting on the other side, is supposed to be a symbolic, unifying gesture made by our lawmakers to promote civility.

Call me a cynic, but I doubt that simply sitting together will result in harmony between Democrats and Republicans, at least not a harmony that will last long. I think sitting together is a nice gesture, but it doesn’t accomplish anything.

If we want there to be  more civility, lawmakers should curb the vicious speech about each other. I’m not suggesting that Democrats and Republicans hold hands and sing “Kumbaya.” Let’s face it, that would be ridiculous and if you’re anything like me you find that song really annoying.

They don’t have to agree on policy; in fact, they probably never will. Many lawmakers view things fundamentally different – taxes, health care, etc. and how involved the government should or shouldn’t be.  In all honesty, I don’t want them to agree. One of the great things about the United States is that we have a variety of opinions that are voiced. I like that there are opposing views on every issue. It allows me to consider both sides of an issue and then decide if I agree with either extreme or fall somewhere in the middle.

However, I don’t like when the debate veers away from the issue at hand and becomes about the person or correctness of ideology. It would be nice if they would just debate the issue. Have an argument, have the reasons for supporting it and debate it on those grounds. You don’t need to attack each other because it doesn’t accomplish anything. It incites more anger and hostility in people.

I enjoy learning about issues that affect our lives and our communities. I get excited to vote every November. I am proud to be (somewhat) aware of what’s happening around me. It’s difficult to like politics when it becomes so divisive.

We’ve had a reprieve from the harsh political rhetoric. I hope it stays that way, but like I said call me a cynic.

I’m sure the name-calling and negativity will soon ensue. Congress will be haggling over program cuts. After that, politicians will be gearing up for 2012 election campaigns.

Although I don’t foresee it, I hope that our lawmakers can maintain this civility and simply debate the issues.

University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld is nearing the end of her first year in office.

“It [the first year] has been busy,” said Infeld. “I don’t know that it has been as productive as I would have liked it to be, but I’m still working on that. I think I envisioned coming in and doing a lot all at once, and it takes time to get things accomplished.”

One goal that she has worked on during her first year was improving relations between John Carroll University and the City.

Infeld said, “My experience with John Carroll has been great.”

Dora Pruce, director of government and community relations, said the City-University relationship has improved.

“I think there is a much more open line of communication, especially directly between the mayor’s office and me and the [JCU] president’s office,” said Pruce.

University Heights and JCU have worked together on several issues since Infeld took office last January.

Infeld donated bicycles the City had to the University, which allowed JCU to start the Coburn Bicycle Co-op.

“That [bike program] was a fun, community-building effort, so I was happy to participate in that with the University,” said Infeld.

Additionally, JCU was granted permission by city council last year to hold its annual Relay for Life outside all night for the first time, although it was forced inside by weather.

Also, in the past, JCU had to present to City Council before large, annual day-time events such as the AC Milan Continental Cup and the  Cuyahoga County East-West All-Star Scholarship Football Game. Infeld suggested that the University should not have to seek approval for these events each year and Council agreed.

Pruce said, “A lot of this has been accomplished through the mayor’s leadership.”

Aside from University programs, Infeld has sought to involve JCU in community affairs.

The City is working to create a community garden off of Taylor Road, north of Cedar Road, and has been working with Margaret Finucane, JCU’s director of the Center for Service and Social Action, to accomplish this.

The City is also involving JCU in its current financial issues. The City recently discovered that it owed more than $2 million in tax increment financing (TIF) bonds. Infeld has set up a payment plan to make missed payments the City should have paid from 2003 until 2005.

“They’re [these financial issues] surprising and then you just deal with them,” said Infeld.

Infeld expects the City to have less operational money and is planning to survey residents about which city services are most important. She has enlisted the help of JCU mathematics professor Tom Short to help with the survey results.

“We uncovered a lot of financial issues that were unknown to me. I want the community to weigh in [on] what is important to them, in terms of city services, because if we have to make cuts I don’t want to do that without some input.”

The survey will layout all of the City’s services and residents will be asked to rank them in order of importance.

“I don’t plan on passing this through to the citizens in terms of increased taxes. If anything is felt by the residents, it may be a change in the  level of services offered would be the only effect; I hope that won’t happen. I think if we’re smart about how we allocate the dollars we have, that we can deliver the service in the same way the people have become used to getting them,” said Infeld.

While Infeld hopes that the city services provided to residents will not be dramatically altered, the City will have to hold off on new services and large purchases, such as large equipment and available land.

Overall, Infeld said that she has received positive feedback about her first year and residents are happy with city services.

Infeld said, “I think we’re doing what we need to be doing.”

The Rapid Transit Authority stop on Belvoir Boulevard will no longer be a stop on the list of shuttle destinations.

According to Director of Residence Life Heather Losneck, this decision was made as result of the lack of use of the RTA stop and in an effort to improve shuttle efficiency.

“The shuttle has had trouble keeping up with the 30 minute route with traffic and construction on Saturdays particularly, so we began to look at how to change it to minimize that problem. The RTA stop seemed the logical choice to remove from the route because so few students get off or on at that stop based on our ridership numbers,” said Losneck.

The Office of Residence Life and the Residence Life Advisory Board, which is comprised of students and Student Union representatives, made this decision.

Sophomore Spencer German, a member of the Residence Life Advisory Board, thinks that this change will benefit students.

“One of the biggest complaints of students lately is that the shuttle runs late all the time and it takes a very long [time] to get back to campus from the various places students try to go during the day. This problem should now be solved and students will hopefully, as a result, be happier with the system and how much smoother it will run now,” German said.

However, other students like sophomore Maurice Redd, also a Residence Life Advisory Board member, do not agree with the decision.

According to Redd, it will be more difficult for students like him who use the RTA to get home during breaks.

“Many students like myself use the RTA stop to get home for breaks, whether it’s going downtown to the Greyhound or Megabus, or to the airport. But now we will all have to lug our suitcases all the way to the RTA station by foot,” Redd said.

Redd suggested that if ridership is low for the RTA stop, the University could eliminate the stop during the semester except for days before a break.

During the week students will still have transportation to the RTA stop via the CSS shuttle that transports students and faculty from campus to the Target parking lot or the Green Road Annex.

According to Assistant Director of Residence Life John Mack, if students request it, the CSS shuttle will take them to or pick them up from the RTA stop on Belvoir Boulevard.

The shuttle route will also change next semester. The shuttle now stops at University Square, Legacy Village and Beachwood Place Mall before it stops at the Green Road Annex. The route will be reversed so that the Green Road Annex stop will be first.

Losneck said, “This should make a lot of students happy who just ride it to get to their cars at the Annex. They will not have to ride it [the shuttle] for 30 minutes first.”

Residence Life will distribute new publicity with the shuttle changes when the semester begins in January.

Senior Meg Haglin was waiting for the John Carroll University shuttle in front of the RecPlex in the Belvoir parking lot on Wednesday, Nov. 17.  While she was waiting, she saw an unmarked white van drive into the area regularly reserved for shuttle loading and unloading.

“I saw a guy get out, and looked in to see what I assumed was someone just dropping this kid off. Well then three guys jump in and ask him to take them to Whole Foods [Market],” said Haglin.

It was then Haglin realized that the unmarked van was a University shuttle.

JCU has three vans that are used as shuttles. Two of these shuttles are JCU-owned and are marked with the JCU logo on the side of the vehicle.

The University decided to add a third van to the fleet this semester because of the decreased parking on campus. The option for students and faculty to park for free at the Target parking lot increased the number of shuttle trips necessary each day.

“We knew if we only had two shuttles running that would mean increased waiting,” said Patti Taylor, Campus Safety Services parking coordinator.

This third van is not JCU-owned, but is rented from Enterprise Rent-A-Car for this semester. This van does not have the JCU logo on it.

According to Taylor, the unmarked van is used to transport students and faculty to campus in the morning. When a third shuttle is not needed, the two JCU-marked shuttles are normally used.

The University decided to rent the additional van rather than purchase one because they were unsure it would be necessary.

“We weren’t going to know until we were through the first semester what the impact of parking would be,” said Taylor.

According to Taylor, it is because of this uncertainty that a logo has not been put on the van. The logo would be an added cost for a van that the University may be using for only a few months.

However, Haglin would like to see the vans and drivers more easily identifiable for students.

“When the cab light went on [in the unmarked van] the guy driving was wearing camo[uflage]-style apparel and nothing JCU. So [there was an] unmarked van and [an] unknown driver,” said Haglin. “I waited another 10 minutes for a shuttle that was actually marked JCU, but again the driver was someone I had never seen driving it and also wasn’t wearing any indication he worked for JCU.”

Taylor said Campus Safety Services is looking into getting JCU T-shirts or hats for drivers so they are identifiable as JCU drivers.

“This has not been an issue until we rented the van,” said Taylor.

Taylor also said that many sophomores, juniors and seniors know most of the drivers.

Haglin said, “I just wish that we had more insight to the shuttle, like who the drivers are, where the exact drop off points are, and that the shuttles were actually marked.”

The University is hoping to raise $15 million by the end of this fiscal year, which is May 31. This goal includes cash donations as well as pledges. Thus far, the University has raised $12 million of that goal. 

Last year the University raised $16.7 million, but much of this was due to one major donor, said Doreen Riley, vice president for University advancement. During the 2009 fiscal year, JCU raised 12.2 million. 

Although some of this money comes from pledges and estate gifts, which will not be given to the University immediately, the pledges are positive for JCU, according to Riley. 

“You want it [the number of gifts] to grow so there is always a great future for JCU,” said Riley.   

Approximately $10 million of these funds will be used for scholarships. The rest will fund other projects on campus, including the demolition of the Bohannon Science Center. 

“Most of our money goes to scholarships, which is great because it helps students now,” said Riley. 

This money raised includes the Carroll Fund, which is alumni donations that strictly fund student financial aid. 

The Carroll Fund has raised $1.8 million this year, which has increased by 13 percent. 

Along with the monetary goals, the University hopes to raise the percentage of alumni that give back to JCU. The University’s goal is to raise the alumni give-back percentage to 18 percent for the 2011 fiscal year. 

During the 2010 fiscal year, 16 percent of alumni gave back to JCU. Previously, 14 percent of alumni donated during the 2009 fiscal year and12 percent in the 2008 fiscal year.

Senior Mark Johnson, a Student Union representative to the Advancement Committee which sets the fundraising goals, said, “Alumni are demonstrating increasing support. Even in times like now, people are really supportive.”

The University’s goal is above the national average, which is 11 to 12 percent. 

“Most schools are struggling now to be at the national average and the fact that we’re bucking the national average is awesome,” said Riley. 

Part of the University’s interest in increasing the number of alumni donors is that alumni giving percentage is one criteria for the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. 

According to Riley, JCU is working hard to keep alumni engaged even if they do not donate financially. 

JCU hopes to increase alumni engagement to 25 percent from 20 percent last year.

Alumni engagement includes not only financial donations, but participating in the alumni mentoring program, attending high school college fairs, and making phone calls on behalf of the University. 

The University also expects that alumni engagement will increase with JCU’s 125th anniversary this spring. According to Johnson, there will be many opportunities for alumni to get involved.  

Riley said, “We’re really reaching out to alumni.”

Issues addressed at the debate included increasing student involvement, using resources effectively, and working with the senators and other student organizations.

Both stressed increasing student attendance and involvement at the weekly SU meetings.

Rochford said, “I would target student organizations [to get students to meetings].”

Rochford also stressed increasing advertisement for the meeting via banners in the atrium and Facebook.

Halladay also wants to invite student organizations to the meetings. Additionally, she would like to focus the meetings as an open forum.

“It’s important to discuss ideas students are interested in [order to get students to attend],” said Halladay.

Halladay also wants to change the location of where Student Union office hours are held. Currently, office hours are held in the Student Union Office, but Halladay would like to move it to a neutral location on campus such as Einstein Bros. Bagels.

“During office hours, we need to reach out to students rather than them reaching out to us,” said Halladay.

Rochford stressed further improving the relationship between the University and University Heights. In order to do this SU would have a presence at city council meetings and emphasizing that JCU issues are on their agenda.

Rochford’s other goals include making students more aware of available Student Savings Club discounts, educating students about recycling on campus, improving relations with University Heights, improving accountability within Student Union, and reinstating advocacy chairs.

“No matter how small, I want to make sure student needs are heard,” said Rochford.

Halladay’s goals include expanding communication with the campus, improving dialogue within SU, meeting individually with senators to promote their ideas, and partnering more with student organizations.

Elections also include Dana Hartung and Trenton Oczypok running for vice president of communications, Kayla Naticchioni and Sharonica Smedley running for vice president of student union programming board, Pete Hayden running for vice president of student organizations, Will Butler running for vice president of judicial affairs, Andrew Burns and Joe Cahill running for vice president of business affairs, and Greg Petsche running for executive vice president.

Voting ends on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.

Current SU President Amanda Papa said, “I think if students want their voices heard in Student Union, they should have a voice in the election and vote.”

The door was previously locked, but is now open as a first step in making The Underground a more desirable location for students, according to junior Student Union Senator Jack Kirwin.

Junior Student Union Senator Pete Hayden, who is working with Kirwin on the project, said, “We opened the doors to The Underground in order to increase the number of people in The Underground. For far too long, The Underground has been empty and has not been used properly.”

Plans to make The Underground more accessible and attractive to students are still in the initial stages, but Kirwin and Hayden have some ideas.

“The second step is to get comfortable furniture in The Underground to make the space more inviting and more of a student hangout area instead of an extension of the dining hall,” said Kirwin.

Kirwin and Hayden would like to see leather sofas and other seating around each of the televisions, rather than desks in the space.

The last phase is possibly knocking out the wall separating The Underground and the Student Barista.

“The thought is that this would connect all of that space so it’s used more by students,” said Associate Dean of Students Donna Byrnes, who has met with Kirwin about the possible project.

Only part of this wall could be torn down because it is partially a load-bearing, and is needed for support. Also, if the wall is torn down the catering office currently located there would need to be relocated.

Kirwin hopes the wall can be taken down.

“Knocking down this wall would create more of a sense of community, and would make the entire space much more inviting,” said Kirwin.

Byrnes said the project is still in the very early stages and they are looking into ideas.

“There are a lot of details that still need to be looked at,” said Byrnes.

Some of the issues that need to be resolved before anything can be done include funding for the project.

Kirwin said they would like to use unallocated and unused funds from the Student Activity Fee.

“We’re optimistic, but not sure [we will get funding from the SAF],” said Kirwin.

Byrnes said they can apply for the funds and SAF funding is a possibility, but there may not always be a large pool of unallocated or unused SAF funds available.

Kirwin said they would like to have plans for the space finished this semester and possibly have changes in place next year, if the project receives funding.

“These improvements would make The Underground one of the best places to hangout and meet new people on the John Carroll campus. If the University is able to fund this project, I would be ecstatic to see our student body benefit from these improvements,” said Kirwin.

John Carroll University is working to make recycling bins more distinguishable and increase recycling on campus. 

“We have an invisible [recycling] program right now,” said Rory Hill, facilities services technician and recycling sub-committee chair for the Sustainability Committee. 

The goal right now is to make recycling easier and more obvious to students in residence halls. 

Coca-Cola gave the University 100 recycling bins when it became JCU’s vending provider, and two-thirds of those bins will be placed in the trash rooms of the residence hall floors. In the past, the recycling and general waste receptacles have looked identical. Existing general waste containers will also be relabeled.

“They [recycling bins] will look completely different from the trash cans. Students can’t say [once the bins are in place] they look the same anymore,” said Hill. 

Educational posters will also be posted inside the trash rooms.

Additionally, small blue recycling bins will be distributed to each student’s room. Each room will have one trash can and one recycling bin and students will be encouraged to sort recyclable items from other garbage. 

Other than residence halls, new distinct recycling bins will be placed in high traffic areas and near vending areas, such as outside of Einstein Bros. Bagels. This constitutes the remaining one-third of the Coca-Cola recycling containers. 

The University’s Sustainability Committee is meeting later this week to finalize proposed changes, as well as the timeline for implementing any decided changes.

The official timeline for implementing the new program is pending approval, the Greek floors will be the first to receive both the recycling bins for the entire floor and for each student room to test the new program. This could be implemented as soon as the end of the week. 

The rest of the student floors will receive both sets of recycling bins over Christmas Break. 

“The main reason for waiting [until Christmas Break] is the time required in resetting the trash rooms, some cleaning of them and then installing the marketing pieces in the areas for the educational part of the program.  This would be best accomplished if done over the break and the students will have the experience of coming back to campus after break and seeing that a change has happened,” said Hill. 

In the past, JCU has had issues with recycling on campus. The main issue has been contamination. There was little distinction between recycling bins and general waste bins in the residence halls. Many items that could have been recycled were then contaminated and could not be recycled. The other issue was that items that were not contaminated had to be sorted from the general waste, and it was not done on campus. 

“However, with the new bins our recycling will be separated from the trash making the recycling process much more efficient; therefore the new bins will be tremendous help if used properly by students,” said senior Raymond Chahoud, founder of Environmental Issues Group and Sustainability Committee member.

Additionally, JCU is better able to track the campus’ waste this semester. The University recently renegotiated its contract with Landmark Disposal for waste removal. Part of the new deal includes installing scales on the truck to measure how much waste the campus generates. 

“We’ll have a more accurate account of trash on campus and a better understanding of how much we generate,” said Andrew Fronczek, director of purchasing and auxiliary services. 

Fronczek said the University could monitor which days are light days and perhaps cut down on the number of times per week trucks pick up garbage on campus, which is currently six days per week. 

Both Fronczek and Hill said the University’s primary goal is to improve recycling and make it more visual for students.

Hill said, “We’re trying to be more proactive and visible about recycling on campus.”

They recently attended a leadership conference through the American Student Government Association, with two other Student Union representatives. The conference dealt with student government activities at universities across the nation and university SAFs were discussed.

“Ours [SAF] is exceptionally high,” said Cahill.

University SAFs vary depending on the school. Ohio schools like Oberlin College and The University of Findlay have SAFs that are lower than JCU at $96 and $75 per semester, respectively. Several Jesuit universities have lower SAFs as well, including Canisius College, which is $120 per semester, and St. Joseph’s University, which is $75 per semester.

However, other universities have higher SAFs. Notre Dame College’s SAF is $275 per semester, Marietta College’s is $295 per semester and Loyola University of Chicago is $325 per semester.

“I don’t know if we’re lucky ours is higher. It seemed like a lot of schools had problems [with their lower SAF]. They didn’t have enough money to have good events. So, there are positives and negatives about it. I think it’s more of a positive than a negative,” said Cahill.

Cahill said that other universities at the conference had fewer activities on their campuses due to their low SAF.

Petsche, however, feels that despite the number of events that take place on campus, the high fee is a negative.

“We pay $400 a year and I don’t think most students get their $400 worth out of it,” Petsche said.

Part of their concern is how the SAF is allocated. According to Petsche and Cahill, many other universities allocate funds to their Legion of Student Organizations, and it is individual student organizations that plan campus life events.

“From what we learned at the conference from other schools and from what I see on campus, we have a lot of great student organizations that I think can plan events and can focus more on specific events than SUPB, which has to plan two events every weekend,” said Petsche.

Petsche and Cahill suggest cutting funds elsewhere such as the Student Union inauguration, which is allocated $2,800 from Student Union’s budget and SUPB’s $312,000 budget. Money cut from these other allocations could then be transferred to LSO, which now receives $50,000, to allocate to the more than 100 student organizations on campus.

While Cahill supports simply reallocating funds, Petsche would also like to see SAF reduced by $50.

“We can lower the SAF and increase student involvement, without decreasing quality. We just have to find where we can make cuts without cutting quality,” said Petsche.

SU Vice President for Budget Affairs Michael Fox said, “As of right now, I do not see that as being plausible. The SAF is set by the John Carroll’s Board of Directors and was just raised three years ago.”

Additionally, Fox said SUPB used almost all of their funds last year, while LSO had several thousand dollars remaining.

According to Mary Ann Hanicak, assistant to the vice president of student affairs and co-chair of the student activity allocation fee committee, she does not see the SAF increasing or decreasing either.

“I think it will remain the same. I can’t predict the future, but I can’t imagine it changing anytime soon,” Hanicak said.

Hanicak said that SAFAC collects annual reports from all supervisors of the groups that received allocated funds for that year. These reports detail how money was spent and what the group was allocated. They review these reports and the allocation request for the next fiscal year. Depending on whether the group spent its allocated money, the SAFAC may cut their budget or increase it.

The budget must be approved by the Student Union Senate, the vice president for student affairs, and the Board of Directors.

Hanicak said there are often unallocated or unused funds left over. These funds are put aside and can either be petitioned for use by allocation supervisors or student affairs departments.

Last year, $150,000 unused/unallocated funds were available. After $90,000 was additionally allocated for use, $60,000 still remained unused.

There has not been a need in recent years to increase the SAF because there are consistently funds left over, according to Hanicak.

The SAF was increased most recently in 2008, when the fee was raised from $145 to the current $200 per semester.

Hanicak said, “We’d love for students to be more critical of SAF and how it’s spent. We want students to be more engaged in how the money is spent.”

According to Petsche, in order for a senator to request any change in the SAF amount, there would need to be a resolution introduced to the senate.

Petsche is currently researching budget material to see if such a reduction is possible and if there is interest from other students and senators.