Needless to say, I was not able to give 100 percent of my efforts to each and everyone of those responsibilities. I think I took it all on to try to prove something to myself, but all I ended up proving was that I am a human, I am one person, and I don’t have to – can’t – do everything. I learned the importance of the word “no,” after it was a little too late.

Taking on all of these activities helped me learn my limits, that’s for sure. But it also made me realize something – why did I feel obligated to do all of those things in the first place? Does a person’s value really depend on how many clubs they are in or how many credits they take? Why did I think it would make me feel better because I did so many things?

I think it has become ingrained in college culture that the only way for a student to be successful is to do as many things as possible at the same time. Multi-tasking has become the norm, not the exception. More often than not, this type of lifestyle leaves a student stressed, burnt out and disappointed.

The worst part about this experience was that on the rare occasions when I had a few minutes to myself, I felt guilty about not editing this or planning that or writing this or scheduling that. What I realize now is that those times when I was able to relax were just as important as my responsibilities, because without doing things like sleeping, eating, exercising, or, God forbid, spending time with my friends, I wouldn’t have the energy or motivation to do anything else. When describing yourself, if the first thing that comes to mind is your classes or your extracurriculars, you might be a victim of the same hoax I fell for – that busyness equals worth.

My point is that we need to stop the glorification of busy. Being busy does not make you a more successful person or a more important person or a more popular person – it just makes you busy. As people, we do not always have to be doing something to be valuable and significant. What’s another hundredth of a point in your GPA or another job on your résumé if you’re not happy? People who live their lives focusing entirely on work or school aren’t really living it all. To quote some Pinterest wisdom (I warned you this would come), “Don’t be so busy making a living that you forget to live.”

Going to Chipotle with your friends more times per week than you’d like to admit, laying in bed watching a good movie, taking a long walk on a beautiful day, having a good conversation with a family member – that is life. Life is not projects and planning events and editing newspapers and writing papers. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy (almost) every second I spend working on The Carroll News, and I am forever grateful that Dance Ensemble allows me to cultivate my obsession with dance. I learned a lot about interviewing and writing magazine profiles at John Carroll Magazine, and my classes – well, I might have learned a thing or two there. But I will never, ever, ever again put myself in the situation where my to-do list become more important than my friends, my family, my sanity, my happiness and my overall well-being.

Your friends are still going to love you if you only take 15 credits, you will still get a job if you’re only involved in one or two things on campus, and if you don’t get an internship, it’s not the end of the world. So, as you take this summer to recuperate and come back refreshed and motivated to take on challenges and save the world, I urge you to realize that you can’t be everything to everyone, and that is more than okay.

Niehoff expressed excitement about the prevalence of JCU alum in the NFL. He joked, “I’m not used to hearing on ESPN, ‘that football school in Cleveland, John Carroll.’”

In light of JCU alumni making their mark in the NFL, Niehoff wants to work on bringing some of these alums back to campus, starting with Don Shula. He said he has put Mark McCarthy, vice president for student affairs, and head football coach Tom Arth in charge of this undertaking. On London Fletcher, 1998 JCU graduate and linebacker for the Washington Redskins, Niehoff said, “I can’t imagine he will be playing for many more years – as many as he can, I’m hoping – but then, I expect that we can have him here on a regular basis.”

Niehoff said he has corresponded directly with 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell and Chargers general manager Tom Telesco, all JCU graduates.

“I congratulated all of them and I said, ‘You know, we’re going to love to have you back at Carroll.’ At this stage, it’s too early to say when we will schedule that, but we’ll get around to it,” Niehoff said.

Niehoff also expressed his excitement about the renovation of Murphy Hall, which he called, “the largest construction project of my time as president of John Carroll.” He said he hopes the renovation will increase JCU’s housing stock and make it a more attractive campus for prospective students.

One of the new ideas Niehoff discussed at the meeting was a joint agreement with Ohio University that will allow JCU students to go directly into OU’s new osteopathic medical degree program at the Cleveland Clinic’s South Pointe Hospital. He said that OU is starting a new section at South Pointe, and JCU will have about a third of the enrollment in the first year.

“This is the start of a cooperative agreement and I expect many more,” he said.

On staying in the loop with happenings at JCU, Niehoff said he regularly reads The Carroll News, and joked that he has “his sources,” who he keeps up with via email. Despite his expressed desire to be more connected with the University, Niehoff said he does not yet have a Twitter account.

“I have to be disciplined, because I can’t suck up my time,” he said. “I know a few presidents who do [have Twitter]. Unless we’re going to hire a staff to do that for me, I can’t see that as a value.”

Niehoff also touched on one of the hottest topics around campus – the prospect of Campus Safety Services becoming armed. According to Niehoff, there will not be a definite decision until the early fall of this year.

“I don’t want to make a decision over the summer when no one is around,” he said. “We’re still working out the logistics, [such as] if we were to do this, what would it take?”

The president expressed his pride in all that JCU and its students have accomplished recently.

“I’m excited about the positioning of John Carroll in the region, and getting the recognition we deserve for the quality of our students, the quality of their service, the quality of our educational outcomes and the difference we make in the region,” Niehoff said.

My first thought was that this was just a bunch of northerners wishing they had been born south of the Mason-Dixon. But then I thought, would the flag be any more appropriate if I was in the south? To the contrary, I think it would be even more offensive. This brings me to the question: what does the Confederate flag mean today, and where is its place, if any?

If you’ve kept up with popular culture news lately, you’ve probably heard about country artist Brad Paisley’s collaboration with rapper LL Cool J, who paired up to record a song titled “Accidental Racist.” Just from the title, before I even listened to the song, I was shocked and disgusted. There is no such thing as an “accidental” racist, no matter what the justification. Racism is not an accident.

Intrigued, I listened to the song and looked up the lyrics, the most notable of which are (LL’s parts are in parentheses): I’m just a white man (If you don’t judge my do-rag), comin’ to you from the southland (I won’t judge your red flag), tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be. I’m proud of where I’m from, (If you don’t judge my gold chains), but not everything we’ve done (I’ll forget the iron chains).

Stephen Colbert put it best (as usual), when he said, “That’s a pretty good deal, Paisley. LL will forget 250 years of enslavement if you accept his taste in accessories.” While Paisley has defended the song saying he was just trying to start a conversation that has become, as the song says, “the elephant in the corner of the south,” I’m not buying it.

As a long-time Brad Paisley fan who saw him in concert just last summer, I am thoroughly disappointed in him. After reading up about his defense of the song, it is clear that his intentions were good. However, that’s what makes it even worse, in my opinion. Paisley accomplished nothing with the song, and instead, comes off as blatantly racist (and not the “accidental” kind).

Of course, Paisley isn’t the only one still proudly flaunting the Rebel flag. Even in Ohio, the flag pops up every once in a while. Whenever I see it, I want to ask the person wearing it what exactly they’re trying to express by sporting the flag. I’m not saying they should be ashamed of themselves, but … wait, yes I am.

The more fervently someone defends the pure intentions of the flag, and the harder they plead that it only represents Southern pride, the clearer it becomes that they don’t fully understand the discriminatory effects it can have.

In an attempt to make country music seem more socially progressive, Paisley effectively did the opposite. In addition, it’s still not entirely clear to me what LL’s intentions were in recording the song. His lyrics ask people to realize that racism persists in the south, and that African-Americans are still dealing with the societal effects of slavery. Paisley’s only response seems to be that while he’s really sorry about the whole slavery thing, he’s not about to give up his favorite tee to help stop perpetuating these effects – that would be asking just a little too much, LL.

Not to make a far-fetched, potentially inappropriate comparison, but it’s not often that you see Germans sporting a swastika T-shirt under the pretense of “German pride.” I’m all for freedom of expression, but I can think of at least 10,000 other ways for southerners to show that they’re proud of their roots without looking like – how do I put this gently? – an ignorant hick.

If I’m not mistaken, the point of the song is to ask African-Americans to please be respectful of whites’ decision to showcase the flag of an army that was defending institution of slavery less than 200 years ago. So, call me a Yankee, but I think it’s time for Paisley and anyone else still displaying the flag to put it to rest.

Let’s start with my name. While you might be alarmed by the unusual spelling, fear not. When I first saw it, I thought it was a typo, too. But take a moment and realize that you’re reading The Carroll News, where typos go to die. Over the years, I’ve gotten Riley, Rylie, Rhyllie, Railey (I’m looking at you, Einstein’s employee) and several other variations. I’ve even gotten mail addressed to Mr. Ryllie Danylko (I’ll let you be the judge of my true gender identification from the photo to the left). I can’t take credit for my unique name, though. All credit goes to my mother on that one. I’ve grown to like my name, though, and it’s kind of cool being the only Ryllie around.

The first thing you should know about me is that I live an awkward life. I’m not talking tripping-in-front-of-a-cute-boy awkward (although I have experienced this in record numbers), I’m talking accidentally-breaking-the-main-door-of-Rodman-Hall-and-then-running-away awkward. While these experiences can be pretty embarrassing, they teach me to take life a little less seriously, and also serve as hilarious stories that I probably won’t ever share with anyone.

One of my most prominent characteristics is my tendency to procrastinate everything. I live to procrastinate, and I procrastinate to live. Nothing beats the rush of turning in an important paper or application just seconds before it’s due, then releasing tears of joy, relief, misery, desperation and various other emotions. Actually, many things beat that feeling, like getting a full night’s sleep, for example, or being able to sit back and relax on a Sunday evening – at least that’s what I’ve heard.

Something about me that has cost me friendships, family ties, love interests, etc. is my hatred of ketchup. And mustard. And mayonnaise. And ranch. And anything else that falls under the categories of “condiments” or “dressings.” However, given that in the past year, I have overcome my aversion to such exotic food items as cheeseburgers and omelets (which I now consider two of my favorite food items), there may be hope for those slimy concoctions.

In an attempt to redeem myself from those less-than-likeable qualities, I’m going to move on to something about me that is more positive, albeit obvious: I like to write. When I came to college, I took courses in everything from neuroscience to education to economics to English trying to find my academic niche. I had always done well on essays in high school, so I gave journalism a try and fell in love. There’s something about telling a story and seeing people read it and be affected by it that gives me a rush even greater than that which I get from procrastinating.

If you have the good fortune meeting me in person, the first thing you might notice about me is that I’m tall. You can catch me tearing up the basketball court on a daily basis, dunking on everyone in sight.

I’m lying. While roughly 75 percent of people ask me whether I’m a baller upon meeting me for the first time, the fact is that I’ve never played a day in my life. Actually, I spent my whole life in the dance studio, training mostly in ballet. I won’t bore you with the sob story of how a back injury crushed my dreams of performing lead roles at Lincoln Center with the American Ballet Theatre, which effectively scarred me for life and left me with a perfectionist complex ingrained in my psyche by my failure to achieve my childhood dreams. But maybe I just did.

Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of my sardonic commentary in an attempt to be as extraordinarily offensive and insensitive as my predecessor, Brian Bayer. Every once in a while, though, I experience moments of clarity in which I abandon my cynical tendencies in favor of positive, inspirational wisdom. These moments may or may not be the result of a profound quote placed on an artsy background that I found on Pinterest, but who’s to say? Just know that this column will be the first place I go to share these philosophical ponderings.

Lastly, you should know I honestly, truly, sincerely, really do like long walks on the beach.

But parody accounts are not a new phenomenon. Accounts parodying everyone from the pope to the president to “Condescending Willy Wonka” have upwards of 10,000 – and in some cases – hundreds of thousands of followers who “retweet” and “favorite” their humorous or satirical content.

A more recent trend that has swept across college campuses is accounts that poke fun at, satirize, flatter and sometimes potentially embarrass students and their university.

Among JCU students, one of the most active accounts is JCUcompliments (@JCUcompliments). While all of the people behind the accounts asked to remain anonymous, the student behind JCUcompliments gave The Carroll News some insight into the account.

JCUcompliments began as a reaction to another account, called “JCU Hot or Not” (which has since been deleted), that posted pictures of JCU students and rated them as either “hot” or “not,” and often provided other commentary on the person’s level of attractiveness.

“There was so much negativity, and I realized there isn’t a single positive parody account on Twitter, so why not me?” the student behind JCUcompliments said.

He started complimenting his friends and acquaintances based on good qualities he had noticed and recruited friends who had diverse friend groups to help his compliments reach a wider audience. Later, he opened up the opportunity to his followers to send him a message with a Twitter handle of a friend who needed a compliment, and he would mention them in a tweet from JCUcompliments.

At press time, JCUcompliments had 840 followers, and, according to the person behind it, many positive reactions.

“If you look at my interactions, it’s showered with retweets and favorites –  at least four per tweet,” he said. “Occasionally, I’ll get people who will tweet at me saying the compliments are shallow.”

Another one of the more recently created accounts, @JCUcrushes, experienced overwhelming popularity since its creation in March. The account had 1,069 followers at press time, and 1,138 tweets.

The creator of JCUcrushes says she was inspired by a friend from another university that had a crushes account.

“They said it blew up at their school, and so I figured I would give it a try, since JCU didn’t have a crushes account,” she said.

Unlike JCUcompliments, JCUcrushes’ tweets aren’t directly from the person running the account. She created a link where people can send in a tweet about someone at JCU they’re crushing on, and she copies and pastes the tweet as is.

The account experienced extreme popularity within the first two days of its creation. JCUcrushes said the account grew at an overwhelming rate, gaining 1,000 followers by its second night.

“The second day that the Twitter had been active, I had people tweeting anonymously at me like crazy, so I was posting an insane amount of tweets. I actually was locked out of Twitter several times, which put me even more behind in tweeting, because people were sending in and I couldn’t post,” she said.

Like JCUcompliments, JCUcrushes has gotten mixed reactions, but plenty of retweets, favorites and responses. Often times, someone will tag the person mentioned to show him or her that they were talked about on the account, according to JCUcrushes.

“I saw some people tweet how they loved the account and found it hilarious, and others tweeted that the account was immature, or that the account was tweeting too fast and to slow it down,” she said.

One of the many satirical JCU accounts, which goes by the handle JCUNEVERSAYS (@JCU_NEVER_SAYS), tweets about “things that the general population of John Carroll students would never say, and pokes fun at the things that generally bother students on a regular basis,” according to a student who runs it.

While JCUNEVERSAYS did not experience the same instantaneous growth that JCUcrushes did, 224 people follow it, and, according to the student, it gains an average of 10 followers per week. The reactions to JCUNEVERSAYS have been largely positive, the student said.

A more playful account, jcuSQUIRREL (@jcuSQUIRREL), tweets from the perspective of “the most notorious squirrel that runs around campus,” according to its profile. jcuSQUIRREL was created in November 2011, making it one of the oldest parody accounts on campus. jcuSQUIRREL tweets about events on campus, the weather in Cleveland, popular culture on campus and food – with a common theme of nuts working its way into much of the content. The student who created jcuSQUIRREL said that people often take pictures of squirrels on campus and send the pictures to her account.

“I have gotten a lot of people tweeting photos of a squirrel and tagging it with silly comments such as, ‘@jcuSQUIRREL should probably go on a diet. #chunker,’” she said.

One popular theme among college parody accounts is to report who kissed whom at weekend parties, usually with photographic evidence to prove it. A JCU student followed this trend and created JCU Makeout (@JCUmakeout) in fall of 2012. The content from this account is comprised of retweets from JCU students who post pictures of other students caught snogging in public. However, this account, like many others, quickly died out (at press time, its most recent tweet was posted Feb. 22).

Other accounts include Overheard At JCU (@overheardatJCU), JCU Probz (@JCUprobz), JCUpassouts (@JCUpassouts) and JCU ADVICE (@JCUadvice).

The University does monitor the accounts, to an extent. According to JCUcrushes, someone from the University contacted her asking her to change the account’s picture from the JCU seal to make sure that the account would not be mistakenly affiliated with the school.

JCU faculty and staff members do not underestimate the influence Twitter can have on students. Senior Director of Creative Services and E-Marketing Mike Richwalsky said, “If done in a positive way, [these accounts] can serve to bring the community together. Accounts like @jcuSQUIRREL and @JCUcompliments are fun and bring a bit of levity to the day-to-day work we all do.”

He noted that the anonymity of Twitter can become challenging because there is no accountability if a negative or demeaning account is created.

Public relations expert Jennifer Catellier, assistant professor in the Tim Russert Department of Communication and Theatre Arts, thinks these types of accounts are here to stay.

“When one account dies out or the owner loses interest, another will often pop up in its place,” she said. “It’s just so easy to create an account and tweet that people will likely keep doing this as long as Twitter is popular.”

In addition to the tuition hike, “room and board rates for next year’s resident students will vary based on the building, room type and amenities and meal plan chosen,” according to a letter written by JCU President, the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J. dated Feb. 8 and addressed to parents and guardians informing them of the increases.

A detailed breakdown of the cost of attendance for undergraduate students available on jcu.edu/tuition lists the room and board price at $10,040, which is the cost of a standard double room with a 14-plus meal plan (14 meals per week with 100 plus points).

However, with the renovation of Murphy Hall, students will have the option of living in triples next year for a lower rate. A full list of rates is available on jcu.edu/reslife.

Richard Mausser, the University’s vice president for finance, said the concept of pricing room and board differently based on the options chosen by students is called deferential pricing. He said that while the renovation of Murphy Hall is part of what motivated this change, most other universities already use this model, so JCU probably would have adopted it eventually.

“The Murphy project is going to be a different kind of housing stock than we have in place right now across-the-board. A double in there we cannot price the same as a double someplace else,” he said. “It’s going to force us in that situation anyway, so we wanted to get to that place now.”

He said this model makes more sense given the variations in quality of residence halls. For example, some of the residence halls are air-conditioned, and those rooms will cost more than those that are not.

The University raised tuition 4.8 percent for both last school year (2011-2012) and this school year. Full-time undergraduate tuition was $30,660 during the 2011-2012 school year.

Both the technology fee and health and wellness fees will go up $50, to $450 and $300, respectively. The Student Activity Fee will remain at $400 for next school year.

The combination of tuition and fees, without room and board, brings the total to $34,480 for full-time undergraduate students for next school year.

Students taking classes at the University this summer will pay $700 per credit hour, the same amount charged last year.

Mausser said the main priorities when determining tuition costs for each academic year are maintaining the quality of education and staying competitive. Things like maintenance, health care and the IT infrastructure are putting increasingly expensive demands on the school financially, and Mausser said he and his colleagues must carry out this “balancing act.”

Tuition is not the first place that the board turns when trying to cover these costs, he said. Mausser also said that the tuition increase by itself does not cover these costs.

“We have gone to virtually every one of our external vendors and either switched them or restructured deals with them to significantly reduce our cost base,” he said.

According to Mausser, the process involved with determining tuition raises is a complicated one. A main component of this is staying up-to-date with the tuition of schools similar to JCU, both geographically and academically.

“We have to be informed about what’s happening around us … It’s market-driven now,” Mausser said.

He emphasized that the University’s Board of Directors ultimately make the decision on fee schedules and works hard to keep the cost of tuition down. “The board members do not take tuition increases lightly,” he said.

“There’s a pretty in-depth conversation that goes along with the tuition increase. This year, we didn’t want to go where we were at in prior years, and we didn’t. The president would have liked to have kept it lower, but we had these competing issues of cost and balance,” said Mausser.

He also stressed the importance of JCU’s net price – the amount students pay after subtracting financial aid and scholarships – over what he terms the “sticker price” of  $33,330.

“The sticker price, which is what the increase gets applied to, is irrelevant, I think, because nobody pays the sticker price,” Mausser said. “Financial aid and net tuition is what everybody’s looking at, and I think that’s what everybody should look at.”

According to numbers from the National Center for Education Statistics and its College Navigator, JCU’s average net tuition price for full-time beginning undergraduate students has decreased over the past three school years for which statistics are available. From an average net price of $21,945 in 2008-2009, the rate dropped to $21,850 in 2009-2010 and $21,322 in 2010-2011. The averages reflect costs for resident students, not commuters.

Cost is consistently a concern for prospective students and their families, said Brian Williams, the University’s vice president for enrollment. But he believes JCU is in a favorable position regionally and nationally with the cost and value of a Catholic education at a private institution.

“Our admission process addresses cost and value in a very upfront and direct way with families.  Our staff is very personalized with families and provides a clear sense of why they should consider a JCU degree and experience,” Williams said via email. “As one example, we have a college cost calculator on our site that was completed by over 500 families this fall. I believe the way our enrollment staff works as an admission and financial contact for families allows us to get to know families and their unique concerns early in the process. This allows up to help them through the scholarship and need-based process and let them see that it is possible to plan for and afford John Carroll.”

Despite the rise in the full-time undergraduate tuition rate for next year, interest in JCU has grown among prospective families. As of Feb. 10, according to information from Williams, the University is ahead in applications and acceptances compared to last year. So far, JCU has received 3,457 applications and accepted 2,793 of those applicants.

“This has allowed us to act on admissions decisions and offer acceptances much earlier, and we are actually 11 percent ahead in offering admission to students,” he said via email. “We still have a lot more work to do between now and May 1 to make sure that students choose to enroll at JCU among the other offers they receive.”

According to the John Carroll University 2012-2013 Fact Book, freshman enrollment dipped this year. While JCU received more inquiries and applications, and accepted more students, fewer enrolled. Freshman enrollment rose from 661 in 2009, to 702 in 2010 and 744 in 2011. In 2012, 681 enrolled as freshman at JCU, out of 3,490 applications submitted and 2,843 accepted.

Williams said the University is focused on bringing freshman enrollment back above 700 students for the class of 2017.

“We have a solid number of new majors being added at the school over the last few years that students are starting to see; and beyond the classroom, we are adding lacrosse to our athletic offerings, the upcoming Murphy Hall renovation and have many good stories to tell students,” he said. “Those positive stories in the media and in our process are really beginning to take hold.”

Williams said that institutional aid awards are level-funded, which means that the amount awarded initially to students stays the same throughout his or her four years. In addition, JCU need-based funds don’t diminish based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is a practice maintained at many other institutions.

“Current students should always explore all of the options available to them whether as grants, loans or student employment options. Our financial aid staff is the best first point of contact to have that discussion,” Williams said. “Specifically, when families have seen a significant change in their family income and savings from when they started at JCU, we try to help families through our appeals process as best as we can.”

The Clothes Closet is a place where students can receive an item of clothing, shoes and accessories in exchange for an item of equal value. Located in room 127 in the basement of Grasselli Library and Breen Learning Center, the store opened for the semester on Tuesday, Jan. 29. It will be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m.

Margaret Finucane, director for both the Center for Service and Social Action and the Arrupe Scholars program, said Hutchinson proposed The Clothes Closet to encourage students to reduce consumption by exchanging clothing and accessories instead of constantly buying new ones.

“She also learned of a number of students on campus who didn’t have financial resources to purchase needed winter coats,” Finucane said. “She thought if we had a place where people could donate extra coats, hats and accessories, students who need them could have easy access to them.”

While The Clothes Closet had a “soft opening” in December 2012, the grand opening will take place in fall 2013 when Hutchinson returns from her semester abroad, according to Finucane.

Currently, the store is managed by volunteers from the Arrupe Scholars program, including freshmen Hannah Todorowski and Jackie Sosnowski. However, Finucane said she encourages all students to volunteer their time at the store.

Todorowski and Sosnowski said the library is an ideal location for them. “It used to be more of a storage room. They carpeted it for us and got rid of the big bookshelves that used to be here,” Sosnowski said.

While there aren’t strict requirements for donated items, Sosnowski said that clothing and accessories should be gently used and in style. If the store receives donations that aren’t up to standard, it donates the items to a local charity. The store currently has two racks of clothing and accessories that are organized by size.

Donations have been coming into the store on a regular basis from both faculty members and students, according to Todorowski. Many have been willing to donate clothes without swapping them, which is helping the store build its inventory, she said.

Having just opened, The Clothes Closet is still in its beginning stages. “We have had some visitors and hope to see foot traffic continue to increase as more students become aware of The Clothes Closet,” Finucane said. She hopes that it will become a resource for not only students in need, but also for those who are just looking to update their wardrobe.

“We hope that The Clothes Closet can become a place that all JCU students think of when they are seeking new clothing items or accessories, “ she said.

Similar drops are being experienced statewide, due in part to a decrease in the number of public high school graduates in Ohio, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Education. The number is expected to drop more than 18 percent between the peak of 2008-2009 and 2021-2022 from 122,200 to 99,990.

Given that about 70 percent of JCU students come  from Ohio, according to the 2012-2013 Fact Book published annually by JCU, this drop could be felt by the University.

Vice President for Enrollment Brian Williams said he and his colleagues are dedicated to staying on top of trends affecting college enrollment.

Williams referred to a report by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, which shows that high school graduates, while fewer in number, are expected to become more racially diverse overall. He sees this as an opportunity to increase diversity on a campus made up of 84 percent white students (according to the Fact Book).

He said, “Over the next decade, the growth in high school students (geographically and racially) will be centered in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and New York. The overall racial composition in Ohio will not be changing as much as in these key states, but JCU must continue to make strides to be welcoming and inclusive to all students, especially in regards to racial diversity and the changing nature of the graduating high school student population.”

Williams said he and his colleagues have plans in place to deal with the challenges that the expected lower class sizes may pose.

“Locally, in the face of decline, we are working to show John Carroll’s distinctive changes, so that students that might not historically consider John Carroll will,” said Williams.

The Office of Admission is also working to compensate for the lower first-year enrollment rates through alternate sources of enrollment, including transfer and international students.

The JCU Fact Book shows that while there were more freshmen who applied and were accepted  this year than in recent years, fewer actually enrolled.

Furthermore, the number of inquiries for incoming freshman was significantly higher than the average of the past few years. Williams credits this increase to changes in recruitment strategies and growing interest in JCU with different marketing efforts.

“We have done more phone efforts and telemarketing among sophomores and juniors, and that has helped grow our numbers of inquiries recently,” he said. “The decision-making process is always complex, and there is never a direct link between more students being interested and more students enrolling.”

According to Williams, the change in size of the freshman class in any given year relies heavily on the success, or lack thereof, of out-of-state enrollment.

“In years when we are successful, our out of state enrollment is well over 700,” Williams said. “Nationally, approximately 80 percent of students go to school within a two-hour drive from their home, so we need to really focus on how JCU is distinctive and worth a student choosing us from further away.”

Susan Kane: 25 years.

CN: Did you happen to read any of the comments on your article? 

Kane: There were a lot of students that responded, and unfortunately in my initial letter to the Sun Press, I was about 800 words over.  So I had to take a lot out.  I was in no way bashing the entire student body at John Carroll. I know there are a lot of very nice kids that go there. They do do a lot of nice things which I did have in the initial letter. I’m very supportive. I like kids.  I have a couple of my own, but they need to behave.

CN: In the future, would you like to work with John Carroll to promote respectfulness in the neighborhoods?

Kane: Yes. Either that, or I even suggested to [Chief Hammett] to have them take another route back to campus, even walk up Warrensville, because most of Warrensville is JCU rental properties anyway. Take another route. But they can’t forbid these kids, I mean they have a right to be on the street. I don’t call the police all the time. I want to just be peaceful. I just want to live here. Plus, whosever house it is, whosever name is on the lease is getting a ticket. So that’s all important things that these kids should know if they choose to go off campus to party or they live off campus, that they’re going to get in trouble.

The Carroll News: Tell me a little bit about mindfulness and how did you get started on this path?

Tim Ryan: Mindfulness is the idea of paying attention to the present moment and really seeing it clearly [to] know if we’re bringing some level of bias to it. It’s about being aware of the present moment and the practice of mindfulness is about cultivating that awareness. It’s not something that we have to go out and get. It’s something that we all already have. All human beings have awareness. And it’s just about disciplining ourselves in a way that cultivates that awareness so we’re not so distracted. It’s kind of like balance, like we all have balance, but we tend to lose our balance but then we get it back. It’s the same with awareness.

It’s a kind of meditation. This is a particular kind of meditation practice called mindfulness practice. There can be religious meditations there can be non-religious, but this is a pretty secular practice. That’s why I think it’s good for our country, because it doesn’t get into any one particular religion. It helps you create some space in your life, so your thoughts and your actions aren’t so habitual. You actually try to become a little bit more and more aware of what you’re doing. Athletics is a very good example. You really see it in sports. You can’t not pay attention in sports or you’re doomed.

CN: What started you on this path?

TR: Growing up Catholic. My mom [and] my grandparents prayed the rosary a lot so there was lot of appreciation for some contemplation and quiet time and prayer. Later on, I started doing some centering prayer, which is a Christian-based mediation. I knew I was better when I did it. I knew I was more focused. I knew I could be kinder, more tolerant, less stressed. I knew I felt better.

I had a point in my life in 2008 when I was very stressed out with work, and just really busy with congressman stuff and campaigns and what not. I said ‘I gotta jump start my practice.’ I did a 5 day retreat and that was more silence, when I really experienced the silence in my mind and body being synchronized, I thought, ‘this is really good.’ and that’s when I started doing it every day.

CN: College students, similar to Congressmen, have crazy busy schedules; how do you take time to just sit for a few minutes?

TR: “The retreat is so good because once you really taste it you realize that making the time to do it improves the quality of your day and your life in such a way that you realize that you want to do it every single day. Everyone has something that they do that makes them feel better, and you begin to make time to do that. For me it was just a health issue. I don’t want to be distracted my whole life. I don’t want to wake up one day and think ‘I didn’t pay attention to anything that was going on.’ When my nephews were little and my nieces were little, I was not paying attention, and I missed it all. You start to feel like the quality of your experiences [is] deeper. To me, it’s like, why would you want to go back to a more distracted life? Once you start to taste it, you make time to do it.”

CN: What do you think the effect would be on Congress and on politics in general if people started to get into more mindfulness exercises?

TR: People who practice mindfulness tend to notice a change in the quality of their relationships to people, and the quality in relationships to everything – their relationships to food, alcohol, drugs [and] people. I think it could potentially really benefit us by changing the quality of the relationships that politicians have with each other, of people that have different political views the way they talk to each other, the way they approach each other, the way they listen or don’t listen to each other – it could really improve that. I’m not seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, like if everyone practices mindfulness that all these problems will go away; they won’t. The way we address them will, I think. And the way we deal with conflict will. And how we move forward as a country. And I think we begin to see how connected we are. That’s the one thing when you stop and slow down you really say hey you know I really am connected to you in so many different ways. And you work out your differences or tolerate them more. Like not hate each other for being different. Really in an ecosystem or in society, diversity is an asset. Diverse opinions, diverse approaches are assets to be appreciated, not to hate each other for. Hopefully a little touch of mindfulness can help bring that out in all of us.

CN: What issues, locally and nationally, do you see as important for you?

TR: I’m going to spend a lot of time trying to rebuild my district economically […] and really try to spend time building the next generation of manufacturing. I’m also going to try to get mindfulness in the schools in my district. Nationally, we do have to deal with the long-term budget issues that we have and we do have to deal with tax reform and we do have to deal with entitlement reform and do it in a way that is fair and balanced. That is going to be a huge issue when we get back next week. And begin to see that the American people want us to work together. We got a Republican House [of Representatives] again, and a Democratic Senate again. They reelected Barack Obama overwhelmingly. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

CN: You said congress is a reflection of the electorate and of the people that sent them there. What do you think this election, yesterday’s actions shows about America and the direction they want to take the country?

TR: I think what the people have said is that we want a balanced approach in how we do this. We don’t want a Tea Party radical approach. We want a balanced approach. I think the reason we didn’t see gains in the House of Representatives is because of redistricting. Republicans controlled redistricting in a lot of states, so they consolidated their gains in a lot of states. They got really solid red districts that were hard to win. But the states as a whole were flipping or going slightly Democratic. The senators won pretty handily. So I think they were saying ‘we want a balanced approach.’ We want to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share we know we need entitlement reform but we want it done in a way that doesn’t harm our seniors and doesn’t create huge levels of unfairness. We have also realized there are going to be some tough decisions made but we want them made in a balanced way.

Bernie Beyer, director of the physical plant at JCU, said there were 37 reports as of Tuesday afternoon that the facilities department was rushing to respond to. Roof leaks were reported in almost every building on campus, including the Dolan Center for Science and Technology, Millor Hall, the O’Malley Center and Rodman Hall.

Along with much of the country, including over 800 people in University Heights, residents of Hamlin and Campion halls were without power for about three hours on Monday night.

Beyer said, “Hamlin was totally dark for a little less than an hour because the generator failed to start, so [the facilities department] had to come in and start it.” The power was also out at the Green Road Annex on Monday night, according to Beyer.

Junior Ally Flesner, who lives on the fourth floor of Campion, said her room experienced water damage on Monday evening.  “[On] the whole inside wall, there are water spots, and [water is] dripping from the ceiling,” she said. She and her roommate also found puddles of water on top of their armoires.

Other Campion residents, sophomores Marie Bshara and Rachel Distler, had water leaking through their window during the storm. “Rachel kept switching towels near the window because everything was getting soaked. The blinds were turning a different color because of the water,” Bshara said.

Junior Jasmine Brown, a resident of Bernet Hall, started seeing rainwater leaking into the ceiling of her dorm room as early as Sunday evening. She and her roommates notified their resident assistant about the damage, but the maintenance department did not repair the damage until Tuesday.

“When we woke up Tuesday morning, the ceiling had begun to sink down from the first leaking spot; an hour later, the second leaking spot had begun to sink,” she said. The damage was so severe by then that the crew had to completely tear down the part of the ceiling that had filled with water.

The storm didn’t just cause destruction in residence halls. Senior Joe Fisher stopped by St. Francis Chapel on Monday night around 1:30 a.m. and noticed leaking in multiple places behind the tabernacle. He said, “I called CSS, and they quickly came over and put some trash cans under the leaks to catch some of the water. I also asked them to help me move the altar so I could move the rug back there away from the sizable puddle of water.”

Fisher was disconcerted by what he saw. “It was pretty unsettling overall, since over my four years here, St. Francis has always seemed like such a secure space for me, and seeing it so damaged like that wasn’t fun,” he said. “Thankfully I don’t think there was any serious damage done.”

When word first reached the JCU community that there was a high likelihood of severe weather, Campus Safety Services, Risk Management, Residence Life and the department of facilities met in order to prepare for any crises that might arise due to the storm and make plans for dealing with them.

Lisa Brown, director of the Office of Residence Life, emphasized the importance of reporting any incidents in residence halls as quickly as possible. “The facilities and maintenance staffs are responding to reports of water issues as quickly as possible,” she said.

Danielle Carter, who serves as the director for the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, and is a member of the Diversity Steering Committee, said, “Phase two allows the campus to put a name and a face to those who support diversity and inclusion on campus. I anticipate this phase being even more successful than phase one because the individuals in the posters are known by a large portion of the campus community.”

The Diversity Steering Committee was established by JCU’s president, the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J., in April of 2011, with the purpose of setting institutional goals for diversity and inclusion as well as monitoring and assessing the progress toward these goals, according to Carter. The committee is also responsible for planning Celebrate Diversity Week, which will take place from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2.

Some of the events during the week will include various workshops, a showing of the film “The Anatomy of Hate,” a Post Secret event, a Culture Fest and prize giveaways, according to Carter.

While the first phase, which began in February, was centered around stopping exclusion based on bias and used a hand image to emphasize the preventative goal of the campaign, phase two focuses more strongly on inclusion and acceptance.

Senior Curtis Walker, the student representative for the committee, emphasized that phase two aims to humanize the campaign. “We wanted to place faces and testimonies to the posters. We found that difficult to do with the first phase.”

Lauren Bowen, the chair of the committee, said that phase one, although it took a more passive approach, was a success. “We did a lot of work to raise awareness on campus, particularly among students, about what bias is – the experience of feeling excluded or marginalized on the basis of some part of one’s identity.”

Phase one was built upon encouraging members of the community to report incidents of bias that they witnessed or experienced on campus through an online reporting tool. Bowen said the committee received 12 reports during phase one, which took place from February to May of last semester. The bias reporting tool is still an important part of phase two. Bowen said, “Since [this semester] has started, we have received reports steadily, and we’ve been able to respond promptly.”

Students have been supportive of the initiative and campaign, and most have seen the posters in their various locations around campus.

Junior Katie Kiliany said, “I don’t know if posters alone  are going to be a ton of help, but I think it’s good to bring awareness.” She added that Celebrate Diversity Week is valuable in furthering this awareness. Senior Frances Csarny, a resident assistant, has gone through training related to diversity and bias and thinks the bias reporting tool is a good resource.

Walker, who appears on one of the posters, said that the second phase aims to spread the word to a greater number of the campus population. “With phase two, we hope to reach more members of our campus community,” he said. “We want the posters and the campaign all over campus, not just in offices and the hallways outside our classrooms.”

Bowen said that the posters will change every month and will feature various members of the committee. “That will hopefully generate some conversation about why inclusion is worth the work,” she said.

“There was a guy coming out of the door, and he had, I’m assuming, a bag full of money; and [another] guy met him right at the door. I guess he pretended to hold the door for him. The guy grabbed [the first man’s] bag, and I saw him running down the street with a gun in his hand,” Riley said.

Lt. Jeff Demuth, of the Shaker Heights Police Department, who responded to the incident, said that the victim was one of the bank’s couriers, and that no money was stolen during the attempted robbery at 4:50 p.m.

Students who work at John Carroll University’s Student Call Center, which is located in Fairmount Circle Shopping Center (which also houses Pizzazz and CVS Pharmacy) and employs 45 students were particularly affected by the incident. Libby Gardella, one of the coordinators at the Call Center, was in the building at the time.

“It was around 4:45, and the other workers up here said the police just wanted us to evacuate because there was a robber and they hadn’t caught him yet.” Gardella and her co-workers decided it would be safer to stay inside the building, lock the door and call the student employees to warn them.

“We cancelled the callers until 6:30,” she said. “They normally come in at 5:45 [p.m.] to start calling at 6 [p.m.].”

However, the coordinators neglected to call some of the employees, four of whom showed up for their shift at 5:45 p.m.

One such employee, junior Devan Gisoni, arrived at work and was surprised to find the door locked. After banging on the door for about 20 minutes, she was let in. Gisoni was uncomfortable with the fact that there were no police officers at the building.

“What bothered me was the fact that there was no security here, even around the building. I was here at 5:45 and there were no police officers, there was nobody guarding the building, saying ‘Hey, there’s a loose robber,’” she said.

Junior Joel Baker, student manager of the Call Center, said, “We had everyone walk in a big group back to campus when we realized that the police had not caught the robber yet.”

Gisoni is one of many JCU students who uses Huntington Bank regularly, because of its close proximity to campus.

“I was in the bank an hour before it happened,” she said. “That was the worst part.”

According to Brian Hurd, assistant director for Campus Safety Services, CSS was alerted to the incident via a call from the University Heights police dispatch.

“Campus police and the Carroll gate attendant were alerted,” said Hurd. “Campus police patrolled the south side of campus, and the gate attendant watched the southwest campus area as Shaker and University Heights units searched the area, with the aid of a K-9 unit. The suspect was not found.”

As of Tuesday evening, the case was still under investigation; and according to Hurd, “There is no suspect in custody or identified at this time.”

The decision was made by the committee for Homecoming week, which consists of representatives from various departments, including athletics, alumni, facilities and the Student Union Programming Board. The University-wide Homecoming planning committee is headed by director of student activities Lisa Ramsey, assistant director for alumni reunions and student engagement Carla Gall and director of orientation and leadership programs Kyle O’Dell.

Ramsey said the decision was made by the entire committee in the early stages of planning in January. “We also sent out surveys to get student feedback about this change,” she said.

Alise Stawicki, the finance coordinator of the dance, said the fact that Parents’ Weekend and Homecoming are on the same weekend this year also affected the decision.

“Because of the numerous events that will be taking place [that weekend], the idea of moving the dance to Friday this year seemed like it may be a good idea,” said Stawicki.

According to Ramsey, in the past, there was a “street fair” on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but this year they changed it to a “block party” that runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in hopes of greater student participation. “This change meant that the dance would need to be on Friday in order to accommodate both events,” she said.

While most students did not seem to be affected by the change, some athletes will be unable to attend because of sporting events on Saturday.

Stawicki said, “The only complaints I have heard about the dance being moved to a Friday is from students that are on the football team and from those who may want to run in the ‘Footprints for Fatima’ 5K on Saturday morning.”

While football coach Regis Scafe said that he has not discussed the dance with players, he said, “I have no problem with a football player being at the dance, provided that he is not consuming alcoholic beverages and is home early enough to be in bed by 11 p.m. We have an early morning on game days.”

Scafe said he believes that most players will choose not to attend the dance because of pre-game preparations. Jarrod Killburn, a junior member of the team, said he does not plan to go for this reason.

“Nights before games are all business and a chance to get focused and mentally prepared. Going to a dance would be counterproductive,” he said.

The women’s tennis team has a match scheduled on the night of the dance, as does the men’s hockey team. In addition, several other teams have games on Saturday, which might deter them from attending the dance.

Despite this, the change has not greatly affected ticket sales. “They are selling out just like they have in the past,” she said.

Cassie Pacer, chair of the Homecoming dance committee, said, “There has been mixed feedback with students who do not mind and other students who do mind because ofthe games and meets that will be taking place.”

Junior Kirsten Hagerty said she believes the change is for the better. “I think it’s great that the dance is on a Friday,” she said. “It will be a great way to unwind after a long week of classes.”

According to Ramsey, many of the students who responded to the aforementioned survey liked the idea, “especially since the two weekends could be combined and they could still get to attend the dance and spend time with their families later in the weekend.”

She said that this is the first time in the eight years that she has been at JCU that the dance has been on a Friday.

Joe Ettinger, retail dining manager for Aramark, and David Turska, Aramark’s director of dining services, led the efforts to improve the quality of food and service at the Inn Between. According to Ettinger, all of the meats used in items at the Inn Between are now roasted in house, unlike last year, when they used deli-style cut meat. Furthermore, the sandwiches are now served on bread from a local company, Mazzone and Sons.

“We tried to do as much fresh product as we could, from making mango pico di gallo to making all the sauces that go on the sandwiches; we’re trying to do everything in house this year,” Ettinger said.

“A lot of people were saying they wanted more value for the sandwich they’re getting, so that’s why we went to a bigger sandwich,” said Ettinger. “They’re getting more meat in each one of them; they’re getting more cheese in each one of them; and there’s some fresh toppings on every single sandwich.”

With the changes to the ingredients came price adjustments. According to Ettinger, sandwich prices increased by 50 cents. But price decreases were also made.

“We tried to balance out the menu so it wasn’t all price increases,” said Ettinger. “We took some of the more popular items like macaroni and cheese and the plain cheeseburger and decreased the price on those.”

The price of a cheeseburger dropped from $5.50 last year to $3.00 this year. Macaroni and cheese is also cheaper this year, from $5.00 to $3.00.

Some new menu items include quesadillas, pressed wraps and pierogies, all of which have been well-received.

“The pierogies are great,” said senior Stephanie Debo.

The Inn Between also introduced a milkshake machine that offers a variety of flavors. Ettinger said the machine has been a big hit, selling approximately 50 milkshakes per day.

Turska noted that in order to improve the speed of service at the Inn Between, he has added another employee to the line during peak periods.

“Our goal is to be as quick as humanly possible. With a sandwich, two to four minutes is the ultimate goal,” he said.

Ettinger and Turska said the changes were made in light of student feedback they received over the year. While they said that most of the students’ reactions have been positive, there have also been some negative comments regarding some of the sandwiches.

Ettinger said, “The only negative comment we’ve heard is that people like the old sandwiches, like the ‘Millor.’ But they can get the ‘Millor’ the exact same way if they just ask for it on wheat bread.”

Hauserman credits JCU’s Jesuit education principles as a major factor in the program’s success. “In the Cleveland area, there are over 500 companies owned or run by JCU graduates, ” Hauserman said. “How did they get there? Because of Jesuit education-critical thinking.”

While entrepreneurship is fairly new to JCU, the program was competing against more than 500 other colleges and universities nationwide in Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking. Statewide, there are almost 30 entrepreneurship programs. “There are some big names out there,” said Hauserman, naming the University of Dayton, Xavier University, University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, and the University of Miami of Ohio as schools with entrepreneurship programs. “These programs are well thought of. Even cracking the Ohio market is pretty good because there are a lot of schools here,” he said.

He also noted that the creation of the Muldoon Hatchery sets the program apart from others of its kind. It is one of only six student hatcheries in the U.S., and the most recently developed one. Hauserman stated that the other five hatcheries are all in top-25 programs.

In a previous interview with The Carroll News, recent graduate Katie Moss, an entrepreneurship minor, praised the hatchery for its utility in her business endeavors. “We use [the hatchery] for meetings. Through John Carroll, we were given a mentor to help meet with us,” said Moss. “It really helps to use the resources that John Carroll can provide for us, because otherwise we would have to pay for it ourselves.”

According to Hauserman, the criteria for the ranking in Bloomberg Businessweek include how many hours it requires, course content and whether the faculty are full-time or part-time. “Eighty percent of the faculty who teach in the minor are Arts and Science professors,” said Hauserman, “which is very unusual and automatically makes us stand out from most other programs.”

In fact, Hauserman estimates 75 percent of all entrepreneurs were arts and science majors. Another unique aspect of the program is that it offers two different tracks: one for arts and science students and another for business students.

While many schools offer entrepreneurship as a major, JCU only offers the minor, but not for lack of interest or success. “I’m against the major,” said Hauserman. He thinks that the program will offer more long-term success for students if they have experience and education in other areas as well as entrepreneurship.

Through the entrepreneurship program, students are assigned a mentor to work with them on an idea. “It’s not about us trying to tell them something; it’s about us trying to help them do their own thing,” said Hauserman

The program was originally built for about 60 students, according to Hauserman. This spring, however, 331 students registered for it, making entrepreneurship the second-largest program at JCU, second only to business.

Hauserman believes that recognition by Bloomberg Businessweek will mean even more growth for the program. “National ranking helps because people want to go to the school that has the best program,” he said.

Only three years after its creation, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked it as the best undergraduate entrepreneurship program in Northeast Ohio and 43rd best nationwide. Mark Hauserman, director of the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship, attributes the program’s success to its unique approach.

“It’s not all business, all the time,” said Hauserman. “One of the problems in a university is the disconnect between what you’re learning and what you want to do.”

Hauserman emphasized the importance of the creative, independent side of entrepreneurship that JCU students get in the program, and he estimated that about 75 percent of entrepreneurs are arts and science majors, as opposed to business majors.

“We are one of six student hatcheries in the United States. The hatchery is there to help students develop their ideas; whether they will develop into a business or not is a question,” said Hauserman.

A.J. Teresi, a senior communication major in the program, is working on a project of his own.

“Our corporate name is Summer College Solutions, but we’re going to be doing business as SMILE: Students Moving Ideas Launching Everywhere, which supports student entrepreneurship,” said Teresi.

The purpose of Teresi’s business is to pick up and store items for college students over the summer. He started working on it in October 2011. After graduation, he plans to work on growing the business, and hopes to bring it to nine other colleges in Northeast Ohio.

His goal is to get other college students involved in entrepreneurship. “The best way to describe [my business] is kind of an internship for students at their individual college where they make an hourly wage and five percent commission rate,” he said.

Two other students, seniors Katie Moss and Erika Port, are working on fulfilling their shared entrepreneurial dreams. Their idea is to sell artificial flowers and plant arrangements that are infused with aromatic scents. They recently bought a website called scentedarrangements.com where anyone can go to buy their arrangements.

“We are hoping to sell to a consumer level all the way up to a commercial level,” Port said.

They currently have five different stages where consumers can pick out plant arrangements, flower arrangements, customization and health and wellness.

Moss and Port have divvied up their roles and responsibilities within the business. Moss said, “I am going to be in charge of the creative process, and Erika is more marketing. I am taking classes on how to make flower arrangements and bouquets as well.”

Both seniors were enrolled in Entrepreneurship 102 in fall 2011, where they were put in a group together and had to present a final presentation. Port and Moss submitted their business idea into competitions and have won two out of three of them, including JCU’s own IdeaLab competition, which has proved to be a valuable networking tool.

“We are meeting with one of the judges we met at the competition because he wants to invest,” said Port.

They have also found the hatchery, located on the third floor of the Boler School of Business, to be very useful in their endeavors.

“We use it for meetings. Through John Carroll, we were given a mentor to help meet with us,” said Moss. “It really helps to use the resources that John Carroll can provide for us because otherwise we would have to pay for it ourselves.”

Hauserman said that JCU entrepreneurs will go out into the business world much more prepared than their peers.

“The last thing we want to do is send somebody out to start a business that is not going to be successful,” he said.

Throughout the past week, and continuing until Saturday, April 28, students on the committees have been partaking in various activities to increase awareness of environmental issues on campus.

An estimated 10 to 15 students were involved in the planning and execution of the week’s activities. The committee itself is fairly new, and Green Streak Week is one of its first major events.

Chris Razek, a freshman who helped coordinate the events, said that it has been a success. Anyone who has been on campus this week has probably seen the string of bottles surrounding the main Quad. “We did the water bottle display out on the Quad, and I think it got people talking,” Razek said.

Caitlyn Falasco, a senior and president of the Environmental Issues Group, also had a significant role in this week’s activities. She too, noted the bottle visual as one of the highlights of the initiative.

“It forces you to confront issues that you don’t really confront in your everyday life,” she said. “You throw away your plastic bottle and expect to never see it again, and here it is back from the dead on your campus. And this is only one day’s worth [of trash].”

The purpose of the trash audit on Tuesday was to demonstrate how many things people throw away on campus that should be recycled.

“Most of the reason why people don’t recycle is either ignorance or the facilities are not available,” said Falasco. “If recycling bins outnumbered trash cans then people would be forced to recycle.”

The group feels that JCU has a long way to go to become a truly sustainable, “green” campus. “We don’t think that John Carroll is doing enough to promote recycling and to give sustainability issues a level head,” said Razek. “We want to bring the sustainability issue and environmental protection to the student body.”

Falasco agreed that the University needs an extra push in its environmental awareness and efforts. “John Carroll is marketing itself as becoming greener, and so we want them to hold true to that promise and we want the students to identify with it as part of John Carroll’s values,” she said.

Since the group is still in its initial stages, the goal of this year’s Green Streak Week is awareness. Esther D’Mello, a junior who helped coordinate the week, said, “We’re just trying to be more sustainable on campus. I feel like there’s so much more we can do and this is just our first step to make people aware of being more sustainable and being more green.” The next step is to get the JCU community to start taking action, she said.

The week kicked off with an Earth Day Lunch in the Schott Dining Hall and an environmental documentary on Monday night. Tuesday, the group participated in a waste audit on the Quad, during which they picked through trash bags from around campus and sorted it into different recycling bins.

On “Water Wednesday,” they distributed free reusable water bottles in the LSC Atrium and hosted a water tasting. The activities continue with today’s information fair and Friday’s Tremco tour in Beachwood, as well as pop can lamp making. The week’s events will end with Saturday’s Jesuit Day of Service that will include JCU students, alumni, staff and faculty.

Aside from continuing their efforts to promote recycling on campus, the Sustainaiblity and Recycling committees are starting a bike co-op on campus that students can use to rent bikes for a day with the goal of reducing the pollution created by car use. Razek said that he hopes the group will grow and start holding even more events in the future.

“Hopefully we’ll hit the ground running in August or September next year and do some events in the next semester,” he said.

Consultants from Fresh Eyes Housing Consulting visited John Carroll last summer to offer some advice on how to improve residence life and on-campus housing. Lisa Brown, director of Residence Life, said that they took a look at all of the housing options on campus.

“They gave us an idea based on their understanding of campus as well as their knowledge of residence life and housing at other institutions, some suggestions that they had for us in terms of making us competitive as well as maintaining the uniqueness of John Carroll in that process,” Brown said.

The consultants admired the beauty of the buildings on campus, but suggested ways to make them more modern.
Brown emphasized that one of the main priorities is to modernize the hall and make it look more up to date.

Brown said that Millor, which holds about 240 residents, was chosen as the first dorm to undergo these changes because it is one of the smaller dorms on campus, and there are already plans for maintenance and repair work, as well as work on heating and air conditioning for the summer, making it an ideal choice.

“In the future we will be looking at other buildings. [But right now, updating Millor is] a way to make a visible change at this point in time, but not a major renovation,” Brown said.

Residence Life made sure to include the students in its decision-making process. Brown said that they invited future residents of Millor as well as the Student Union to look at the different furniture options and give feedback that will be used to make the final decisions.

The budget for this project is still in the works as the details have not yet been finalized, the final furniture selections have not been made, and the bidding for the work is still in progress.

Carol Dietz, associate vice president of facilities, said that the Facilities department is also working on the design for the replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in Millor and adding thermostats to all of the rooms.

“The HVAC replacement is a two-year plan, and we don’t know how much can be implemented this summer,” Dietz said. “The amount of work will depend on the coordination of schedules between the HVAC contractor and the carpet, paint and furniture contractors.”

Brown said that the renovations will take place in other halls over time, and that one of the projects that Residence Life and Facilities hope to accomplish is making the dorms more handicap-accessible.

Brown said, “One of the things we’re really committed to is making sure that our residential students are living in really good buildings that they feel comfortable in.”

The policy in question, made by President Obama on Feb. 10, made it so that religiously-affiliated employers (like JCU) are not required to cover contraception, but employees who want such coverage can request it and receive it at no cost as a part of their insurance plan.

In a March 16 email to the campus community, Niehoff said that while John Carroll will continue to be a part of the overall conversation, “Our health benefits have not changed at John Carroll—they remain the same.” He has said that while most of the media attention has been centered on contraception, at the heart of this national dialogue is religious liberty. Niehoff has described Obama’s accommodation to respect religious liberty as a step forward, but “not enough.”

The faculty’s letter to Niehoff addressed this as well. “The American bishops have accused the Obama administration of attacking religious liberty in mandating insurance coverage of contraception,” it read.  “On the contrary, we believe the insurance mandate is driven by concern for women’s health.”

Despite his adamant position on the issue, Niehoff continues to be very active in regards to it. He has been working with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and Bishop Richard Lennon in Cleveland.

In the email to the student body, he outlined Obama’s accommodation and its significance to the university and its faculty.

“There are many tensions surrounding this issue,” Niehoff wrote, “I understand the strong feelings that many have for this particular subject. Let me make it clear that our University must be a place where this issue — like any other — can be discussed in an environment of mutual respect.”

Jonathan Smith, vice president and executive assistant to the president, has been working closely with Niehoff since he received the letter. “The HSS mandate has been under discussion at presidents’ meetings, both the Catholic university presidents and the Jesuit school presidents meetings in late January,” Smith said.

“This was a significant part of their discussions then and in smaller meetings and private conversations since then.”

Smith said the next steps that Niehoff will take are “to continue the national conversations, follow the discussions of and challenges related to the HHS Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and follow the legal challenges to various parts of the health care act.”

While this particular issue directly affects only JCU faculty and staff, student groups have reacted to the debate as well. Christopher Wetherill, JCU sophomore and president of College Democrats, spoke on behalf of the group. He said, “We feel that reproductive rights are inherently an absolutely personal matter, and that no organization has the right to dictate the level of access that its employees have to basic preventative health measures.”

Wetherill and the College Democrats encourage the University to adopt a policy that would cover contraception costs for faculty members, but he also said, “We understand the conflict that this might cause with the teachings of the Catholic Church and feel that the University has the right to first navigate this.”

Respect for Life, another student group at JCU, holds a different perspective on the issue.

The president of the group, sophomore Brian Botti, said he and the other members are on the side of the bishops.

“Essentially, contraceptives are not vital to one’s health, so why force it into health care when it violates the religious beliefs of more that 68.5 million Americans?” said Botti. “To mandate a religious institution that is opposed to contraceptives to provide for their employees the very contraceptives that they are morally opposed to is an injustice.”

Despite the Jesuit philosophy of justice and solidarity, there are still instances of bias and prejudice that occur on campus. In response, the Rev. Robert L. Niehoff, S.J., president of JCU, sent an email out to the JCU community on Feb. 3 introducing a campaign titled “Stop Bias: Be Informed, Be Involved, Be Empowered,” whose goal is to “help us work toward the goal of eliminating hostility directed at members of our community simply for who they are.”

Niehoff has made increasing diversity a priority since his inauguration in 2005. In the email he said, “While we have increased the diversity of our student and staff populations, there is room for improvement. We need to make more progress in increasing the diversity of our faculty, for example.”

Niehoff plans to make the initiative a permanent effort, even creating a chief diversity officer position in the near future.

The Y-Haven Program is a program for men in recovery for drug and alcohol addiction that provides transitional housing, recovery services, treatment for mental illness, educational training, vocational services and permanent housing placement. Since 2000, they have been working together with the Cleveland Public Theater to help the Y-Haven residents recover through the writing, producing, and performing of plays.

However, these aren’t your standard plays. The performances these 15 to 25 men create each year are based on their personal struggles with addiction and recovery. This year’s production spotlights family issues and the struggle to do right within the community.

The group will be making a stop on their cross-Cleveland tour at John Carroll on Friday, Dec. 2 at noon.

Chris Seibert, director of education at the Cleveland Public Theater, said their stop at JCU last year elicited a strong response.

“I think students got a lot out of seeing people who were homeless at one point,” said Seibert. “It puts a different face on a population that is very poorly represented in the media.”

The project gives audiences a peek at what it is like to be in recovery. Seibert noted this is a unique aspect of the program.

“It can be a mysterious process since most projects are anonymous. This is a group of men openly talking about their recovery,” she said.

The men have been hard at work since August, and as opening day approaches, they will ramp up their rehearsal schedule to five days a week.

The project has helped over 200  men since its inception in 2000, and the participants themselves have responded positively to the project.

“Many of them cite this as a great opportunity to finally show their family and friends that they can do something that they’re proud of,” said Seibert.

The men are paid for successfully completing their work on the project, which adds an element of job training as another facet of recovery. They are actively involved in each aspect of putting the production together, from story and character development to running lights and sound.

“They talk a lot about how it supports their work in recovery, having to learn the teamwork, compromise, and support needed to make and perform a play is the same thing they’re practicing in the recovery process,” said Seibert.

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the production occurs after the performance is over, and the men have a “talkback” with the audience, which Seibert calls “a structured feedback session.”

Aside from its JCU stop, the project will travel to various Cleveland locations. It will open on Nov. 17 at the Cleveland Public Theater, where there will be four performances running until Nov. 20, one of which will be a large benefit for Y-Haven.

“We’re really excited to be back at John Carroll,” said Seibert. “It’s a really intelligent and caring community that is both ready for this message and open to it.”

The exhibit, to which the museum has dedicated two entire floors, features over 70 artists and includes artifacts, video, and listening stations where visitors can move through the various rock and roll eras, from 1920s blues women Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith to today’s leading ladies such as Janelle Monáe, Lady Gaga and everything in between.

The groundbreaking exhibit that highlights women who broke the boundaries of American pop culture has caught the attention of the PBS network, which will feature the “Women Who Rock” exhibit as a part of their PBS Arts Fall Festival at 9 p.m.  Friday, Nov. 18, on WVIZ-TV.

Scoring a spot on the program was a no-brainer for the Rock Hall, according to Meredith Rutledge, assistant curator at the museum.

“The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has a great relationship with PBS at the local and national level,” she said. “When we found out about the ‘Arts in America’ series idea, we pitched Cleveland as a city to include because of the amazing arts community here. PBS loved the ‘Women Who Rock’ concept and decided to devote a great portion of the film to telling this important story being told for the first time out of Cleveland.”

The exhibit has no shortage of inspirational, talented artists who paved the way for the eventual female takeover of music, including Tina Turner and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.

Though “Women Who Rock” is focused predominantly on females who influenced the rock and roll genre, the exhibit also features music trailblazers from other genres, including country’s Loretta Lynn and, as part as the “Pop Explosion” section, such ladies as Cyndi Lauper, Britney Spears and Janet Jackson.

Perhaps the most fascinating features of the exhibit are the artifacts the museum has collected, including handwritten Madonna lyrics and Wanda Jackson’s old acoustic guitar.

If that’s not enough to draw attendance, Lady Gaga’s controversial raw meat dress has been dried out and put on display.

For those who don’t get the chance to tune in Nov. 18, the “Women Who Rock” exhibit will be open until Feb. 27, 2012.

According to Rutledge,“Women Who Rock” is defined by both its uniqueness and historical and cultural significance.

“This exhibit is the first of its kind anywhere and tells an important story about our history and the music that changed the world, and the women who helped create that music,” said Rutledge.

“The purpose of Streak Responsibly is to provide factual information about the alcohol use of John Carroll Students,” said Dzurec. “The perception of alcohol consumption by students is typically inaccurate, and we hope to dispel myths about drinking, and also reiterate the fact that almost one-quarter of our students typically do not drink.”

The campaign, which is in partnership with Recovery Resources (a non-profit agency in Cleveland with mental illnesses and addictions) kicked off in March and has held various events on campus.

One such event, Beer and Burritos, took place in the residence halls. Chipotle was provided for students who attended, and there was a discussion about alcohol use at John Carroll and about how the way it is advertised in the media can establish early drinking behaviors.

This event brought in as many as 59 students in Sutowski Hall. Dzurec estimated that about 450 students have attended Beer and Burrito events in their respective residence halls.

Streak Responsibly also hosted Iron Chef Mocktails in March, which involved students concocting alcohol-free mixed drinks with a variety of ingredients. This event, which took place in the dining hall, included a competition among 14 students who formed teams and competed in front of a panel of judges for the best drink.

Streak Responsibly recently presented to members of the Greek community, and the events are available to anyone or any group that is interested. Dzurec said that any late night events that are alcohol free also qualify as a Streak Responsibly event.

The main initiative driving the cause is the social marketing aspect of Streak Responsibly, and advertising its message. Posters around campus declare, “The majority of JCU students who drink consumed one to four drinks the last time they partied.” Another states, “The last time they partied, one to four John Carroll students didn’t drink. And they had a good time.”

These statistics are gathered from the National College Health Assessment in Spring 2010, and Dzurec is determined to get the word out. “We know that the majority of John Carroll students are either not drinking at all, or they’re drinking really responsibly,” said Dzurec.

“There’s a myth out there that John Carroll is the number one or number two binge drinking Jesuit school, and if that was ever true, it’s from old statistics,” said Dzurec. “Based on the data that we have, that isn’t true. Once students hear that rumor, it tends to perpetuate itself, and people don’t realize it’s from old data.”

Dzurec hopes the campaign will infuse the campus community with positive messages about alcohol use. “We are committed to maintaining a safe campus community and preventing injuries amongst our students,” she said.

Losneck is departing from JCU in order to further her career in business training and development as well as project management, in a setting that is more accommodating to her role as a mother to two young children.

She started her career at JCU as a live-in residence hall director in 1994, and has since worked her way up through the ranks of Residence Life, from assistant director to interim director, and finally to her current position as director.

“I consider myself very lucky to have been able to stay at a place that I love so much, and to be able to grow in this field,” said Losneck.

Her responsibilities as director are far-reaching, including involvement in the process of resident assistant training, monitoring the Loop Shuttle, residence hall maintenance and crisis management.

More recently she has been focusing on marketing on-campus living to students living off-campus or commuting, as well as implementing the “super-single” room option to expand the private living option for students.

Losneck has nothing but fond memories of her time at JCU, and she expressed her love for the students and her colleagues.

“To be able to help students resolve issues and help them understand why things work the way they work, and using their feedback to help make improvements is important, and it’s very rewarding,” said Losneck.

During her time as director, Losneck helped to create the Residence Life Advisory Board, whose main goal is to collect student feedback through “ambassadors.”

Losneck made some interesting observations during her years here that many other administrators do not have the chance to see.

“In Res Life, we see people at their worst, as opposed to other offices like Career Development or Campus Ministry, who deal with a lot of positive experiences with students,” said Losneck.

“For us sometimes we’re dealing with ‘It’s 3 a.m., I’m intoxicated, and I decided to punch out the ceiling tiles’ kind of stuff.”

She feels that her departure will allow for a fresher perspective on the position as Residence Life director.

“I think someone else being able to look at things that I could do in my sleep is going to be good for students,” she said.

“To bring someone on board who can use technology in a different way, and develop some bridges with academic affairs, there’s a lot of possibilities for new opportunities.”

The University is currently conducting a national search for Losneck’s replacement, when she leaves at the end of spring break.

Losneck hopes to stay connected to JCU in the future, and she has made lifelong friends across the various departments.

“Working here really opened my eyes to the values of a Jesuit education that I had no idea about when I was going to school,” she said. “It has changed my perspective about where I want my kids to go to school.”