The newly built McDonald’s is located on 2234 Warrensville Center Rd., on the corners with Bushnell and Lansdale Roads.

It will open its doors for the first time at 6 a.m. on Feb. 8.  The hours will be 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.

The opening of the fast food restaurant chain is causing quite the conversation on the John Carroll University campus. Students are waiting excitedly for the opening date as the restaurant will be less than a mile away from the campus.

Sophomore Nick Sciarappa, expressed his anticipation of the restaurant’s opening.

“McDonald’s, for many including myself, is a little paradise where one can indulge in a good American tradition: eating delicious Big Macs and other greasy delights,” he said.

Senior Jeff Sigmund, a resident on Lansdale Road, is particularly looking forward to the opening of the McDonald’s.

“It can be helpful to students to have multiple support services in the same area,” Moroney said.

Although Student Services has moved into one building, academic advising has not moved and there is no timetable yet for moving this office, said Moroney.

“Over the last two years, we made some changes and it seemed to make sense to move the office instead of staffing two areas. We wanted to pull everyone together,” said Director of Financial Aid Claudia Wenzel.

It was done out of necessity due to the staffing constraints of the office with two of its staff members on maternity leave. The divided offices have always had a strong relationship but when working together as a full staff [in Rodman], they can better serve the mass quantities, said Wenzel.

The move of the offices from the Administration Building to Rodman happened after the first week of drop/add this year, said Wenzel.

“We didn’t want to cause students unnecessary grief. They are used to seeing that and instead we wanted to wait and not confuse them,” said Wenzel.

There are currently no Student Service staff in the Administration Building office. Signs are posted in the previous office directing students to the new locations they have moved to in Rodman.

Although the move has been hectic, the Student Service staff has been trying to pull through, said Wenzel. She has been consolidating with the staff and together they have been using their resources and skills to try to get through this as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

“We want to see if this is working for the students here at JCU and if we should make it a permanent thing,” Wenzel said. Student Services is going through a turbulent time, now implementing a new portal on campus that students can access themselves, according to Wenzel.

“Students will definitely find this much easier when dealing with registration, financial services and other student needs. We won’t have to go to multiple buildings to get questions answered,” said junior Julia McCormick.

Senior John Winstel said, “It was confusing to know where to go for questions about money or classes. I think merging the offices into one building makes the most sense.”

Wenzel said, “Student Service is really changing a lot, we can now be proactive instead of reactive and I hope to hear back from students on how the move impacts them.”

Beginning this semester, the Office of Residence Life and the Office of the Dean of Students revised the hearing board process for students who are written up in residence halls.

In previous semesters, all students in violation of residence hall policies, such as underage alcohol consumption, were sent directly to the Student Union Hearing Board.

While the hearing board will still be responsible for some part of the ruling on students who have violated the policies, area coordinators will now also be incorporated into the hearing process.

“Residence Life requested that we assign hearings to area coordinators if the student who allegedly violated a policy lives in their building,” said Dean of Students Sherri Crahen. “They want to give area coordinators more of an opportunity to get to know their residents, to meet with them, to talk with them about any possible policy infractions, and to talk with the residents about the impact that their behavior has on the community.”

Assistant Director of Residence Life John Mack said that the ultimate goal is to build community within the residence communities.

“It might just be the first time that you and that area coordinator have sat down and talked. It’s also [about] getting to know that person too,” he said.

He also explained that when you know the people with whom you live, it is harder to cause trouble, vandalize the halls or disturb the other residents.

“When you have conduct situations that take place in your residence hall, doesn’t it kind of make sense for you to meet with those students and to talk with them and to get to know them? The whole goal in conduct is to try to not have the behavior repeat itself,” said Crahen.

However, this change in the distribution of cases has caused concern from the Student Union Hearing Board.

SU Vice President for Communications Lizzie Trathen said, “Student Union was not originally included in the planning and implementation of the revisions to the judicial process for students. We share the Office of Residence Life’s goal of building relationships between the area coordinators and their residents; though we have hesitations about the implementations that these changes may have on these relationships.”

Since this does affect the jurisdiction of the hearing board, Crahen explained the perspective of her office and Residence Life.

“We are not saying we are eliminating the Student Union Hearing Board,” said Crahen. “What we are saying is we’re trying to look at this from the perspective of being an area coordinator.”

Mack emphasized the importance of building the relationship between the area coordinators and the residents.

“It’s a different way of connecting with them [the residents],” he said. “When you’re meeting with the hearing board, you’re still building that community, but you’re building it with people across campus; whereas with the area coordinator you’re talking with someone who is also in that building.”

Instead of bringing a big-name artist to campus for the annual Spring Concert, SUPB’s executive board has created the Carroll Spring Series, an on-campus and off-campus string of concerts.

“We decided to change it up,” said Cassie Pacer, SUPB’s major events coordinator. “We want to satisfy the needs of everyone of various different genres.”

In years past, the Spring Concert Committee planned and held the concert in the DeCarlo Varsity Center, coordinating security, ticket sales and gym preparation – among other things – for the event. Past recent acts included T-Pain, Jack’s Mannequin, Sean Kingston, Chamillionaire, Minus the Bear and Neon Trees.

However, past concerts held at JCU have been very poorly attended. Only 400 attended in 2010.

This year, SUPB is buying tickets to concerts in Cleveland and providing them to students. More than likely, according to Student Union’s Vice President for Programming Taylor Horen, the tickets will be offered at a discounted rate. Students and local bands can also audition to take part in on-campus concerts that will take place throughout this semester. And will take place Feb. 6-8.

Pacer said the goal of the new series is to show JCU students Cleveland’s downtown life.

“A lot of students don’t really ever get the opportunity to get down there,” she said. “And then we want to bring Clevelanders to John Carroll.”

The concerts SUPB is planning to get tickets for include Eric Church on Feb. 24 at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, The Black Keys on March 20 at Quicken Loans Arena and Hot Chelle Rae on April 18 at the House of Blues. SUPB is also trying to get tickets for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert on June 2 at Quicken Loans Arena.

“We’ve kind of seen in the past two or three years that what we’ve been doing isn’t working, so we figure, ‘why not go down another route?’” said Horen. “[We] might as well try it out [and] take advantage of what we have in the area because Cleveland has so many music vendors and venues for great concerts like these […] And if we can spend our money on tickets for better concerts, we might as well do that.”

Horen also cited the experience of going to a concert as a reason for the change.

“When you have it in your school’s gym, you can have lights, you can have a lot of people there to try and create the atmosphere,” she said, “but I feel like it’s better when you’re around the public and at a different venue. Just being able to get off campus and go somewhere kind of helps us out. We don’t have to create the atmosphere. It’s [to] get people excited [and] whether they like the music or not, they’re going to want to go out somewhere.”

Junior Elizabeth Sangdahl said she’s excited about the change in concert format, particularly the opportunity to see The Black Keys in concert.

“This will be the one concert I really want to go to,” she said.

Sangdahl also is in favor of the on-campus concerts. “That could potentially be kind of cool,” she said.

Sophomore River Onwudinjo is skeptical of the off-campus idea.

“We don’t know what kind of seats they’re offering,” he said.

SUPB will also provide transportation in some form, either via RTA or a bus, according to Horen.

For more information regarding the series, or to audition for the on-campus part of the program, contact Pacer at .

For the 2012 year, the board will consist of Greg Petsche as the Student Union president and Steven Palmieri as the executive vice president.

After being sworn into office by Pete Hayden, Vice President for Judicial Affairs Joe Hayek swore in the remaining members of the executive board, including Vice President for Business Affairs Charles Trouba, Vice President for Student Organizations Bill Cook, Vice President for Programming Taylor Horen, and Vice President for Communication Lizzie Trathen.

Former president Rita Rochford gave a departing address thanking her executive board for their support and wishing the incoming executive board the best of luck.

“I am excited that I was able to pass the torch to such a capable leader as Greg Petsche,” said Rochford. “I have every confidence in him and his administration to execute their job effectively on behalf of the student body.”

Following this, the newly elected officers took their oath of office, pledging to serve their student body to the best of their abilities.

In his inaugural address to the student body, Petsche laid out his vision for his term as president.

One of his top priorities is making the Student Union more accessible to the student body, said Petsche.

“My administration will place a bigger emphasis on student outreach. Every student should feel comfortable to reach out to their Student Union,” he said.

In order to do this, the executive board is planning to put suggestion boxes around campus, and they have already created an online suggestion box on the Student Union website.

Petsche’s other major objective this year is the promotion of diversity and inclusion on campus.

He said, “As students in the Jesuit education tradition, it is our mission to be men and women for and with others. We must ensure that John Carroll University is a place where diversity is celebrated, not hidden.”

A big part of this mission will be a Diversity and Inclusion Week, for which Vice President for Programming Taylor Horen secured funding.

Petsche said he, Rochford and junior Senator Ryan Zubal have been working with students, faculty and administrators to find new ways to integrate diversity and inclusion into the academic and residential lives of students at JCU.

Among his other goals, Petsche would like to improve JCU’s relationship with the 27 other Jesuit universities in the country and the relationship within the University Heights community.

“Our vision is clear and our mission well defined. It’s now time to act,” said Petsche.

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.

Before last semester ended, General Manager for JCU Dining Tyson Dubay listed goals he had. Over break, Dubay said that they were able to complete everything they set out to do and are excited to see it come to fruition now that students are back on campus.

In Schott Dining Hall, the biggest change was the remodeling of the dessert station. “We consolidated our dessert area into one place,” said Dubay. “We now have our bakery out front so you see a little bit more action going on in that space.”

In addition to the renovations, Dubay said they have hired a second full-time baker so that they can gradually increase the diversity of desserts offered in the dining hall.

“[Some options may include] more cakes, more pies, multiple component things, instead of just having cookies, brownies and rice crispy treats all the time,” he said

The other major change that the new bakery has brought to the dining hall is a new way of making the pizzas.

“Along with our bakery comes baking our own pizza. If you’ve had our pizza before and you have it now, it’s quite a bit of a difference in the crust – it’s a fresher product,” said Dubay.

He explained that the dough is made fresh every day and pressed at the pizza station so that it is not as chewy.

The menu at the Inn Between has also been significantly expanded.

Now, in addition to sandwiches, flatbreads and macaroni, patrons of the Inn Between have the option of made-to-order salads and wraps as well.

Because this station is located at the flatbread counter, Dubay said that it has been very helpful in diverting some of the traffic from the grill, which has the highest volume of customers at the Inn Between.

This has also helped bring wait times down, especially during their busiest part of the year in the first several weeks of the semester.

“Our first month is usually our crunch month – that’s when everybody’s back, that’s when everybody wants to use their plus points, that’s when our nights are the busiest and the lines are the longest,” said Dubay.

The salads and wraps are $6.99, the same price as the grab-and-go salads were last semester. Dubay added, “You can get as much as you want or as little as you want.”

Several students have noticed a price increase in several menu items at the ‘Tween, but according to Dubay this is standard for this time of year because food costs as a whole tend to go up.

Sysco is the main supplier for JCU Dining for the dining hall and the Inn Between, so they are subject to Sysco’s price differences throughout the year.

With late night studying underway, the Inn Between is gearing up their call-ahead takeout option.

In order to better manage the large number of customers and decrease wait time, students now have the option to call in their order 15-30 minutes before they want to pick it up.

Sophomore Tyler Weseling was very upset with the long waits. He said that he waited 40 minutes for his sandwich.

Currently, the system uses only plus points and Carroll Cash, but eventually they would like to be able to accept credit cards and actual cash, said Dubay.

So far, this service is in its infant stages of development, and JCU Dining is looking to expand their promotions so more students know about it.

Because the program is new, many students have not yet heard about it.

Sophomore Emily Stolfer said, “I would have called ahead. It would make life easier.” She said that now that she knows about it she will probably use it.

Junior Corrin Powell agreed. “I knew about it and I would use it, as long as it’s still warm and I don’t have to wait.”

Not all JCU students have as much faith in the call ahead service.

Junior Pat Burns said, “I have a friend, who for privacy’s purposes we’ll call Code Red, who ordered his food and stepped out of the Inn Between for 10 minutes. Upon his return [he found] they had cancelled his order. I don’t know how the call ahead scenario will work if they can’t even take orders face-to-face.”

Still other students are skeptical of the service and feel tentative about its potential for success.

Junior Alyssa Harford said that she hadn’t heard about it, but probably wouldn’t use it. “Getting it would be a pain in the butt,” she said.

And sophomore Alyssa Singer said, “They don’t really make it clear what they offer [for the call ahead service].”

Dubay has plans to make this program more well known around campus, including using the InsideJCU updates, student-texting promotions, and ads in The Carroll News. He also hopes that students will spread the word.

“Hopefully word of mouth [will be the best publicity] because sometimes that’s what works the best,” Dubay said.

“As soon as you call your order in, it’s like you’re the next person in line.”

Once this has proven to be a successful procedure, Dubay would like to expand this service to include a residence hall delivery feature. He hopes to have this in place by the end of spring or Easter break.

For the delivery service, the menu will probably be modified to include a larger pizza than the flatbreads that they currently sell, said Dubay.

Students interested in calling their orders in to the Inn Between can call 216-397-6293 between Sunday and Thursday from 8 p.m. until midnight.

“We were down in the office. We’d only been there maybe 15 minutes when someone came and got us,” Morton said.

The person said to head to the third floor, where Morton lives. When he arrived, he was in disbelief of what he saw.

“They took one of the trash cans that was filled with half-filled beer cans, puke [and] all that and threw it down the hall. That same night in the same area … they ripped down some lights, shattered a bunch of mirrors [and] ripped one of the water fountains off of the wall,” Morton said.

But those are not the only problems Murphy Hall – a place notorious for vandalism – has experienced this semester.

According to the John Carroll University Campus Crime Report, Campus Safety Services reported, at 11:53 p.m. on Nov. 16, the door handle to an outer exit of Murphy had been broken off. Lisa Brown, JCU’s director of residence life, said the crash bar – used to push to get out the door – had been broken off.

“Their removing [of the crash bar] left that door completely un-secure, so it caused a significant security risk for the rest of the building,” Brown said.

Recent acts of vandalism such as these have been a headache for other residents, RAs, maintenance workers and administrators. If the people committing the vandalism are not found, residents could also be feeling the pain in their wallets.

The housing agreement for students living on-campus during this academic year states, “Damages that occur to public areas (e.g. restrooms, lounges, study rooms, etc.) that are not attributable or chargeable to a specific individual or group shall be equally shared by the residents of the living area where those damages occur.”

Brown said the crash bar and hall trashing incidents each cost $1,500.

“Unless we find the individual responsible in that investigation – because it  [the investigation] has been recent because of Thanksgiving Break [and] is still very much ongoing – [the cost will] be dispersed through the entirety of Murphy,” she said.

Brown also said all Murphy residents have been notified via email and RAs will discuss it again during upcoming floor meetings.

However, charging residents for damage to their residence halls is not the first option the Office of Residence Life wants to look at.

“Our ideal is to hold the individual who did it, or individuals who did it, responsible,” Brown said. “If we don’t have that information, we are all responsible for what happens in our community. So we need to be aware and either stop it, report it or get someone there who can stop it.”

Senior Doug Morchak, who lives on the third floor of Hamlin Hall, is not happy he has to pay for the vandalism someone else caused.

“Two weeks in a row there were numerous ceiling tiles knocked down, in addition to an exit sign ripped down the one weekend exposing wires that run through the ceilings of third floor Hamlin,” Morchak said via email.

He said Res Life never specifically told him what he would have to pay, but his RA explained the floor would be charged $40-$50 per person if the responsible party or parties weren’t found.

“I’m refusing to pay for it,” Morchak said. “If John Carroll withholds me from classes, graduation, etc., that shows the true colors of the University. Men and women for others? Give me a break.”

Brown said that the residence halls serve as students’ home away from home. Students want to live in an environment that is respected and taken care of, and live with others who feel the same way.

“I always liken it to if you’re at your parents’ house; you’re not going to trash their house,” Brown said. “And this is the same thing – you’re at home here. This is the place where people are coming home, and they want to be able to sleep, study, and hang out with their friends in an environment that is conducive to all three of those.”

Living in the residence halls in also a learning experience, she said.

“You’re learning lots of amazing things in your classes, but you’re also – for many people – living on your own for your first time and learning how to navigate that level of independence that you haven’t had before,” Brown said. “Part of that is being a responsible member of the community and taking care of your surroundings.”

Living in community with other students in a residence hall is a privilege, Brown explained. Not only are residents responsible for their own actions, but also those of other residents in their community.

“We want to hold those who are accountable accountable, but the reality of the situation is that when you live in community, the actions you take impact others,” Brown said. “And so, when we have damage that needs to be fixed, we’ll first look for the person who has done it and that’s why we try to involve the community in that process.”

Morchak does not understand the logic behind Res Life’s policy.

“Even though it’s in the contract, how can you be responsible for all of the others on our floor? I can’t even be responsible for my roommate’s behavior, who I live with, let alone the others on the floor,” he said. “You can’t control the actions of others. School is too stressful to have to worry about other morons who have all the time in the world to rip down ceiling tiles. If John Carroll is so concerned about upholding the integrity of its residence halls, then invest in some security cameras, or get tighter on security and have CSS walk through the halls.”

Students who wish to report information related to vandalism in residence halls may contact their area coordinator or the CSS anonymous tipline. Those responsible for vandalism will likely face restitution – paying for the damage they caused – and go through the student conduct process.

“Part of being a responsible community member is not being a bystander. It’s sharing information, it’s talking – even if you perhaps weren’t home when something happened – with the people who were there,” Brown said. “It’s that positive pressure of, ‘I don’t want to be paying for the poor decision-making of someone else, so who knows what happened here?’”

The residents, who live in homes on Meadowbrook Boulevard from Warrensville Center Road to Miramar Boulevard and on Glendon Road from Washington Boulevard to Church of the Gesu, held a meeting with University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld and police chief Steven Hammett last Thursday evening to discuss the vandalism that has taken place to figure out ways to address the problems.

The meeting was the second one that has taken place with those residents, Infeld and Hammett. The first took place on Sept. 14.

Many of the 15 residents in attendance at the meeting expressed frustration with the University and its students.

One of them, whose husband graduated from JCU and attributes his life’s success to the Jesuits, said she will no longer financially support the University as long as the behavior continues.

She wished not to be identified by name for fear of retribution.

“These parents are paying 40-some thousand dollars a year for their kids to act like animals,” she said. “You better reconsider who you’re admitting as your students.”

Some neighbors don’t mind students having a good time, but say they need to be respectful of residents’ property.

“It’s more the fact of not what was destroyed, but the fact that those items were on somebody’s front porch and that meant that somebody came up to their front door,” said resident Megan Bayhurst. “It feels like it’s getting bolder and bolder. I have noticed it get worse over the years, and the size of the groups increases each year … Now it is literally an entire floor of Murphy [that] goes together to a party.”

Significant steps forward have been recently made in the relationship between JCU and University Heights, and unacceptable actions – like vandalism of neighbors’ property – will hurt that progress, say administrators.

“While we know there are only a few students who behave inappropriately, it is still not acceptable and will not be tolerated by the University, as it is not a good reflection on who we are, and our mission to be ‘men and women for others,’” said Dora Pruce, JCU’s director of government and community relations. “John Carroll seeks to bolster good will with the community, and when we pursue approval for campus improvements that largely benefit the student body, we need to be able to show that our students are respectful of our neighbors.”

Neighbors also brought up concerns of a lack of police presence during the weekend of Nov. 4 and 5, when a lot of the vandalism occurred. Hammett said University Heights police will make some improvements for the next weekend.

“It’s kind of difficult to predict these random acts,” he told the residents at the meeting. “We’ve identified the weekends that are most active and we know what they are.”

After this past weekend, when police stepped up their enforcement, Hammett said it was a quiet weekend.

“The activity was minimal this weekend,” he said. “We’re going do what we’ve been doing and we’ve added a few other twists that we hope will eliminate the problems that existed in the prior weeks.”

One of the initiatives by University Heights police is to patrol using unmarked cars.

“That’s one of the things that we did do that we’ll continue to do,” Hammett said.

Campus Safety Services was also involved – as they are every weekend, according to Hammett – in the increased patrolling this weekend. A mutual aid agreement between University Heights police and CSS, which should be finalized by the end of this year or beginning of next year according to Infeld, will assist both police forces in pooling their resources together.

“It’s a legally binding document. The purpose of it is it would enable us to have some jurisdiction to act beyond the campus. So, it’s typically adjacent streets or whatever is included – maybe Gesu, Miramar, Washington and the surrounding areas of campus,” said CSS Assistant Director Brian Hurd.

Sophomore Megan Landon couldn’t understand why students would vandalize residents’ homes.

“Do you have nothing better to do on a weekend than to wreck someone else’s stuff?” she said. “Don’t crush a child’s jack-o-lantern, that’s just soul-less.”

Freshman Karyn Adams said students are probably being stupid due to their drinking.

“It does not make it acceptable,” she said. “I don’t understand why we [students in general] are doing it.”

Students go through the Shaker Heights Municipal Court if they are caught for acts such as vandalism. Fines rank from $600-$1000, according to Hammett. Students go through a first offenders program, complete community service, go through drug or alcohol counseling if either substance was involved, donate to the Cleveland Food Bank and have a meeting with the dean of students. Hurd also said those caught vandalizing residents’ property could pay restitution if the resident wants them to. Students will additionally go through the University’s disciplinary process.

“[JCU has] a code of conduct that [students] sign,” Infeld explained to the residents at the meeting.

After meeting with numerous JCU administrators this past week, Infeld felt it best to not invite JCU to last Thursday’s meeting at City Hall with residents.

“I don’t think that that would be productive because I knew that people were very upset after last weekend,” she said. “I was concerned that we wouldn’t actually accomplish what I need to accomplish as the safety director of this city.”

At that meeting, one neighbor named Brian said he understands how college students think, but offered a statement at the meeting asking students not to destroy his or his neighbors’ property.

“These are kids. They’re college kids,” he said. “Drink your beer. Walk home. Leave us alone.”

The now Shaker Heights resident is an author and human rights activist who will be speaking at John Carroll in a lecture sponsored by First Year Seminar, The Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the East Asian studies program.

Ung’s books chronicle her life’s journey from her experiences in Cambodia up to her life now.

“First They Killed My Father,” the first of her three books, is a detailed account of her life in Cambodia and the daily struggle for survival in the 1970s during a time of horror.

Ung’s second book, “Lucky Child,” is about her first few years of adjusting to life in America.

Her newest book, which will come out in April  2012, is about Ung’s life after college, falling in love with her husband, and the start of her activism career.

“To all [of] those 1 million and more people, they are somebody’s mothers, fathers and sisters, so I wanted to write a book that takes people into what it is like to live through a war, what it’s like to wake up every day and try to survive that when your rights have been taken away. What it is like to go through that,” said Ung.

Her lecture will focus on her life’s story as well as her activism dealing with the removal of landmines in Cambodia.

“It’s really important for me that people know what happened in Cambodia. 1.7 million to 2 million people died out of a population of 7 million people,” said Ung.

The author and activist has traveled back to Cambodia over 30 times since escaping 30 years ago. She uses this time to bring awareness to the country’s past, present and future.

“Cambodia is a beautiful country. It is a very vibrant, cultural, colorful country. It’s a country that is thriving and working really hard to thrive in peacetime.”

Ung wishes the people of Cambodia peace, prosperity and justice, and will continue to spread the word to other countries.

Prior to coming to America, her view of the country was that it was a place with “boring food.”

English became her fourth language and growing up in a whole new culture and country was difficult at times. When she decided to become an author, she found that people were unsure of how well she would fair.

“There were people who told me I couldn’t do it,” said Ung.

To everyone who has a dream Ung said, “Work hard, persevere, and do not give up.”

As a Cleveland resident, Ung also mentioned that despite all of her travels to over 35 countries around the world, Cleveland still holds a place in her heart.

“I love Cleveland,” she said.

Ung will speak in the Donahue Auditorium from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Among many other universities in Ohio, John Carroll has received a historical marker, being the 104th in Cuyahoga County, for its dedication to serving and educating the greater Cleveland community. A historical marker represents dedication, identification, and commemoration in honoring important people, places, and events that have contributed to the state’s rich history. There are a total of 1,346 markers in the state of Ohio.

In order to receive a historical marker from the state, JCU’s 125th anniversary committee, a group formed earlier this year, was required to fill out an application. Specifically, Dora Pruce, the University’s director of government and community relations, completed a grant application and personally delivered it to the Historical Society of Ohio. “We made the determination to go through with the marker, I kind of spearheaded the grant application,” said Pruce. The application was submitted to the society at the end of March and the committee received a response in late April.

The committee decided this was the perfect time to implement a marker here on campus. With the 125th anniversary fresh in the JCU community, “The committee thought it would be good to pursue. I don’t know if this has come up in discussion before, but the time is now to do this,” said Pruce.

The eligibility for a historical marker includes a specific identification of where the marker will be located and why the place is significant at a local, state, or national level. The statement of significance was an important aspect of the application because it told the Historical Society why JCU deserves to receive a marker, according to Pruce. The statement emphasizes the historical importance of JCU, and how it was the first successful Catholic institution of higher learning in Northeast Ohio. “We gave a little history, we further talked about what we have been committed to which is academic excellence and social justice and we further talked about our economic impact to the Cleveland area, which is roughly $115 million,” Pruce said.

The historical marker is placed outside of the library with the Administration Building being the backdrop. It was placed in this location because the 125th anniversary committee wanted it to be near the roots of the University. The Ohio Historical Society “preferred that historical markers don’t turn into just a drive by situation,” which is why it was not placed near any parking lots or driveways, Pruce explained.

“They want it to be more of a place where you can stand and reflect. Being our tour route, it is a well-traveled spot and we thought it would be the best place.”

For Ferri, the central focus of the international business with languages and cultures major is problem solving in an international context.

“In a time when ‘globalization’ is the key word, I believe that an employer would be very happy to consider someone with a background including a variety of courses in international business, a fluency in a foreign language, an advanced knowledge of the culture of another country and a direct exposure to that market from both sides, here and abroad,” said Ferri.

Last weekend, JCU faculty and administration traveled to Milan, Italy to formalize an agreement with The Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, the Italian institution where students will study during their spring semester of their third year. The agreement was signed after the meeting with the rector, professor Lorenzo Ornaghi and John Carroll Provost/Academic Vice President John Day.

The major requires five categories of courses: language, country-specific culture, the business core, international business courses, and international business electives. These electives, with the 302-level of the language of choice, are taken during the student’s time abroad.

Senior Steve Borowy is the University’s first student to go through the program’s process. Borowy studied at The Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, which was minutes from the Duomo, Milan’s breathtaking 14th century cathedral. At this university, Borowy took three international business courses along with courses in Italian language. Following the spring semester, he interned with SMC Italia S.P.A., an Italian manufacturer of pneumatic automation products.

“Working at an international company in a foreign market is one of the most unique and exciting aspects of this new program,” said Borowy. “My internship [with SMC Italia] lasted eight weeks in which I conducted market research for the pneumatics sector of the Italian market, along with working alongside top managers in each of SMC’s department.”

Now back at JCU, Borowy is completing his major and is set to begin his internship in January at a domestic company that does business in Italy.

While Borowy’s focus of language study within the international business major is Italian, Ferri explained that Italian is the pilot language for the IBLC major, yet the idea is to extend the program to as many languages as possible of those taught at John Carroll. However, for each language interested, a network with the specific country must be created, including a university that can teach courses of international business in English and companies willing to offer internships to JCU students.

So far, he said, the numbers are looking good.

“We have several students who have expressed an interest in the IBLC major, mainly in combination with Spanish and Italian, but also French and German,” he said. “Some agreements have been finalized with universities in Italy and Spain, but contacts are available for any country a student may choose.”

For Borowy, the program has not only allowed his network to grow, but also it has instilled confidence in the senior that there will be great job opportunities post-graduation in May.

“Having the international work experience is something that really catches the eye of a potential employer,” he said. “The wonderful thing about this program is that I have to opportunity to ask myself, ‘Do I want to work in the USA or in Europe?’ I don’t know how many other programs can offer you that sort of opportunity.”

There were nine candidates and seven officer positions available.

Junior Greg Petsche won the presidential election with 716 votes, or 87 percent. Sophomore Matt Deboth was Petsche’s strongest opposition, as a write-in candidate, with 51 votes, or 6.2 percent.

Petsche said, “My leadership is going to be focused on building relationships between students and the University, students and the city of University Heights, as well as students and their Student Union.”

He plans to keep his platform promises of “fostering a more diverse and inclusive campus community, further building the Student Discount Partnership program, holding town-hall forums where students can more comfortably bring forward concerns and ideas to their Student Union, improving communications between the Student Union and the student body and creating a National Jesuit Student Government Association made up of the 28 Jesuit universities across the United States.”

Sophomore Steve Palmieri was elected executive vice president with a total of 702 votes out of 777, or 90 percent. Palmieri also ran uncontested.

“As executive vice president, I want to cultivate a spirit of school unity and pride through better communication, and mutual support of organizations and athletic teams,” said Palmieri. “I will also continue the hard work that Greg has done to improve relations between University Heights and John Carroll.”

Palmieri encourages student feedback and suggestions to improve the JCU experience for students.

“At the end of my term, I hope that our senators and all students will feel empowered to create real, lasting, positive change on campus,” said Palmieri.

The vice president of communications for the next semester will be junior Lizzie Trathen, who was in contention with sophomore Deirdre Byrne. Trathen received 456 votes, 53 percent, while Byrne received 381 votes, 4 percent.

Trathen wants to make sure that the bond between the students and their Student Union is strong.

“I want John Carroll students to realize that they are an integral part of the Student Union’s success. I hope to make meetings more inviting to students so they want to attend and share their ideas and concerns,” Trathen said.

With 726 votes, junior Joe Hayek won vice president of judicial affairs with 94 percent of the vote. He also ran unopposed.

Hayek said that he is very excited to have been elected to this position.

“My main goals for this position are to keep a consistent board and to reach out to the student body.  I want to hear what others have to say regarding our rules or sanctions,” he said.

In addition to regular meetings with the judicial board, Hayek said he will also keep his email open to the public, so that anyone with suggestions or disagreements can bring them up.

“I will emphasize that each student appearing in front of the board will be dealt with respectfully and will focus on the educational aspect of the hearing board,” said Hayek.

Junior Charlie Trouba received 93 percent of the vote with 710 votes, and will be the vice president of business affairs.

As vice president of business affairs, Trouba said his main duty will be to make sure that the budget is properly managed and to audit the organizations which receive the most funding from the budget boards are using their funds fairly.

“The purpose of these audits are intended to inform myself and members of the budget board of how SAF [student activity fee] funds are being used. As VP of business affairs my ultimate responsibility is to maximize the use of the SAF budget to benefit all JCU students,” said Trouba.

In the vice president for student organizations race between junior Bill Cook and sophomore Chris Wetherill, Bill Cook won with 60 percent of the vote, representing 479 students. Chris Wetherill got 293 votes, or 37 percent.

Junior Taylor Horen was elected the vice president of programming and received 743 of 775 votes, or 96 percent. She also ran uncontested.

“As the new vice president of programming, I strongly believe that better communication with the student body, unique marketing tactics, more popular events, and most importantly, enthusiasm, is what will make the programs we offer even more successful than they already are,” said Horen.

By the numbers

Out of 3,009 students, only 30 percent, or 897, voted in the Student Union elections.

According to President Elect Greg Petsche, this could have been because five of the nine candidates ran unopposed.

“With uncontested elections there are less candidates campaigning and thus engaging students personally. Uncontested elections also create a feeling of apathy in that many believe there is no point to voting when there are only two contested races,” said Petsche.

The reason that so many positions were uncontested was because many nominees for the positions either couldn’t make the time commitment or did not have the experience necessary.

“The reason many people didn’t accept [nominations] was because of the commitment in terms of time and energy that would conflict with a heavy course load, internship, prior obligations, etc.,” said Petsche. “On top of this, three of the uncontested positions (president, vice president of programming and vice president of judicial affairs) have more stringent qualifications due to the positions’ responsibilities.”

Despite the lack of competition for the candidates, compared to last year, this voter turnout was actually higher by 62 students. According to Petsche, many of the students who did not vote were either seniors or live off campus, two factors that discourage them from coming to the polls.

“Those that live off campus are harder to reach, and many seniors are in a graduating mindset and have a lot more going on outside of Carroll,” said Petsche.

Some of the recently elected officers are disappointed that so many freshmen are applying for the senate but so few upperclassmen accepted nominations for the executive board elections.

The Student Union has received 34 letters of intent for students who will run for senator positions. Of these, 19 are freshmen.

Horen feels that a better-publicized and explained election process will promote a higher number of people running for positions and voting.

Junior Ashley Aberl did not vote in this election, because she felt that the campaigning did not allow her to get to know the candidates.

“I don’t think the [candidate] forums were well advertised,” she said. “I wasn’t approached by a candidate until the day before.”

Sophomore Chuck Mulé agreed. “I only knew three of the candidates. Greg was running uncontested so I didn’t see the point in voting. And the two other people [I knew] were running against each other and I thought they would both do a good job, so I didn’t vote.”

Sophomores Andrew Ettinger and Sarah Alessi, who cast their ballot in the election feel that voting is an important duty for JCU students and citizens alike.

“It’s an important governmental aspect of our lives that furthers the democratic process,” said Ettinger.

Alessi said, “It’s important because it effects us directly and we see the benefits of it.”

Looking forward, Petsche believes that active student participation in the Student Union is essential to the student body’s success.

“We wouldn’t have any authority if people didn’t participate,” he said.

“I wasn’t too upset until the officer told me he was writing me a citation,” Kovacs said via email. “At that point, I was rather upset, considering the thought of receiving a citation for making an illegal right hand turn. I tried explaining to the officer how I had no idea that the sign was present notifying drivers of the illegal right hand turn until I went back to look at the sign.”

The sign, posted on a utility pole at the northwest corner of the intersection, depicts a no right turn symbol. Below the symbol, the sign says the law is in effect from “7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Friday,” and is “strictly enforced.”

According to University Heights Police Chief Steven Hammett, the sign has been in place for approximately two decades to curtail traffic in the residential area. Hammett, who began his duties in August, said resident complaints played a part. He said the most recent complaint from a resident came approximately a week and a half ago.

“We do get complaints regularly,” he said. “[They say] that the traffic sign has been ignored and students are still making a right turn coming down their street.”

Timothy Peppard, director of Campus Safety Services, believes University Heights may be looking more for more offenders.

“There might be a little more enforcement going on. I don’t know that for sure,” he said.

However, Peppard said, he has not received complaints from students.

“To be honest, I have not heard from any students whatsoever,” he said. “But I have heard from other people that have had an acquaintance, or a visitor, or somebody coming to the campus for some kind of business that had been given a ticket.”

Kovacs couldn’t remember exactly how much his ticket was, but he said it was in the $200-$225 range.

“I was really pissed off at this point considering it was an absurd fine for such a petty violation,” he said. “I went to court and I remember paying an additional $25-$30 in court fees which made me even angrier. It was a very quick appearance at the courthouse, I think I was there for no more than five minutes.”

Peppard said he didn’t expect the traffic law to be a student issue.

“You don’t want students to get hit for $200, for goodness sakes,” he said. “But, more often than not, [students] figure [the law] out real quick.”

Hammett said the fines imposed on tickets are set by the Shaker Heights Municipal Court, which includes University Heights in its jurisdiction. A phone call to the court on Tuesday afternoon went right to voicemail, as the court was closed in the afternoon due to Election Day.

The Office of Admission, on its website, directs prospective students and their families to enter campus through the Carroll Gate, off North Park Boulevard. At another University webpage, jcu.edu/about/map.htm, visitors are directed to the gate at South Belvoir Boulevard. If the gate is closed, the directions tell visitors to continue down South Belvoir to Fairmount Boulevard. After taking a right on Fairmount, visitors should take the first right on to Hadleigh Road, veering left at the fork and continuing straight into Carroll Boulevard, where they turn right into the Carroll Gate.

“You sure don’t want somebody that’s coming here for the purpose of putting on a program or bringing their children with them to take a tour of the campus, or interview students for employment, or whatever to be put in that situation,” Peppard said. “The signs are big. It’s not like they aren’t visible or anything. It’s [just] not something you anticipate.”

Peppard believes there is a larger issue. Drivers can come down South Belvoir, make a legal U-turn and come back.

“I think that’s probably not the safest thing to do,” Peppard said. “People go down, go past the intersection and turn around and come back. I wish you could turn right [at Carroll Boulevard] personally.”

Hammett does not see the traffic law being lifted in the near future.

“In the morning, you would have a significant increase in traffic, and I believe in the evening probably between 3 and 5 [p.m.], you’d have a significant amount of traffic on a residential street. That’s a lot of traffic,” he said. “And our complaints [that we get] would drastically increase.”

The entire situation left Kovacs with a sour opinion of the University Heights Police Department.

“I’ve never been more angry about receiving a ticket,” he said.

“People understand that if you’re doing something wrong, they have to write something up,” said Cahill. “But a lot of students feel like they are looking for a reason.”

According to Cahill, the resident assistants have conducted unwarranted searches of dormitory rooms and unfairly written students up. He said that it seems that some, but not all RAs this year have been stricter than in the previous two years that he has been at JCU.

The Office of Residence Life, on the other hand feels that this is not the case, and that the RAs are acting only as they have been trained to preserve a safe environment for on campus residents.

According to John Mack, the assistant director of residence life, the number of write-ups has actually gone down this year.

“Comparing to previous years, I would say we’ve had a lot less [write-ups],” said Mack.

Lisa Brown, the director of residence life, emphasized that the reason residence life at any university has to enforce these policies is to ensure that the students living on campus are acting safely and responsibly. However, Brown said that there have been no major policy changes this year from previous years.

She added that the RAs don’t look for specific violations, but they monitor for anything that could be a safety hazard to students.

“I think RAs are enforcing the violations that are brought to their attention. It’s not anything in particular – it’s what’s brought to our attention we address,” Brown said.

According to Mack, building and maintaining a safe community is always the first priority and the main idea behind writing students up.

“I think it has to do with building a community that everyone can feel comfortable living in and enjoy living in. We want a place where everyone is feeling that they are safe, that they are able to study, socialize and just be comfortable with where they live. Because of that, sometimes you’re going to have to put rules in place that help people be mindful and respectful of everyone else that lives around them,” said Mack.

Brown added, “In the write-up process, it’s about the RAs writing down what they’re observing. They are not making a judgment on whether someone is responsible or what is going to happen to that individual if they are found responsible [for a violation].”

Mack also explained that the role of RAs when they are writing students up for a violation is strictly observation.

“The analogy we always use [when] we train them is that you’re a video camera – you’re purely just recording everything that took place; you’re not offering any opinions or judgments. Then it’s up to the hearing board how they’re going to use that information and what decisions are made,” said Mack. “By in large, I think RAs would say that [writing people up] is the part of the job they hate the most. The RA would much rather answer a question or clarify a policy than have to deal with it later on.”

Junior resident assistant Greg Petsche has been in Sutowski Hall for two years. He confirmed that the goal of RAs is to make sure that their residence hall is a safe environment.

Petsche said, “Our goal with [doing] rounds is making sure we’re providing a safe environment for the students in the residence halls. What we’re looking for are activities and things that students may be engaged in that could be potentially hazardous to their health or to the health of others.”

According to Petsche, it is important to understand that RAs are students too, and they aren’t looking for reasons to write people up.

Furthermore, respecting the rule of confidentiality is essential to an RA’s write-up procedure. Petsche said that under no circumstance are RAs allowed to discuss the details of a write-up with anyone outside of the situation. Because of this rule, said Petsche, RAs don’t have the chance to defend their write-ups, so students gossip about what actually happened when they are written up, and rumors get spread.

“We’re here to help residents,” said Petsche. “Most people do this job not for the room and board. Most RAs do the job because of the fact that we actually get to help people. A lot of the things we do are behind the scenes – the hours we spend working with them or just talking with them one on one. There are a lot of things that are not policy-focused. We need to be there for residents and make sure residents feel comfortable coming to us and living in a safe environment.”

He said that most write-ups come from noise complaints that they investigate. “If we’re able to hear it three doors down, that constitutes a noise violation. [And these] tend to serve as a lead in to other issues.”

If there is alcohol in the room in the presence of minors, the RAs have to follow procedure and write the students up.

Brown said that the best way for students to avoid getting written up is to act responsibly.

“The policies are gone over at the very beginning of the year, they’re available online, so students have the responsibility to familiarize themselves with it and then they need to act responsibly according to those policies.”

Cahill agrees that the best solution to tension between RAs and students is through better communication.

“We hope to better the communication between students and residence life so students have a better understanding of the rules,” said Cahill.

The meeting took place in the communication department conference room where 18 interested individuals packed in close to one another for the opportunity to listen to and question Balci. Those in attendance predominantly consisted of journalism students, as well as Buchanan and one interested community member, Susan Schaul.

Balci began the session by introducing himself, explaining proper Turkish pronunciations and meanings for his name, and outlined his past and current positions in journalism.

“I was a lucky journalist,” he reflects when asked about his job experiences prior to becoming the editor-in-chief for The Turkish Review. Thanks to a thorough education in journalism and languages, Balci had no problem achieving a job offer from the Zaman Media Group. ZMG, founded in 1986, is a prominent media agency in Turkey to this day. Balci worked for ZMG’s various daily publications over the years as a foreign correspondent in Israel and London. He currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey working as editor-in-chief at The Turkish Review, a two-year-old English publication. Among other work, Balci advises Aksiyon, another Turkish newspaper, as well as comments on foreign policy issues for other publications. Though his present work only requires him to travel from two to three times per month, Balci still considers himself a “traveling journalist.”

Susan Schaul, a freelance writer for CoolCleveland.com and a local citizen interested in learning more about Islam, asked Balci to share a story from when he was a young journalist rising in the ranks. In response, Balci told about an assignment to Palestine when he was a war correspondent. He commented that the experience was “very scary” because he expected to be welcomed since he was a Turkish Muslim journalist. To his surprise, he was stoned several times by young people because he looked western in appearance. A lesson from his story when in other cultures: “If you know other languages, I encourage you to speak in English because you may learn valuable information as they speak amongst themselves. This was the first time I realized that my appearance gave me away as a westerner.”

But Balci’s explanations about his work with ZMG and The Turkish Review proved to offer his audience quite the contrast from traditional journalism.

“Often, journalist language is pejorative, negative. The mentality of journalists before us is bad news is good news,” he said. He qualified his comment by explaining that ZMG still publishes “bad news,” but they do so on their own conditions. “Whenever we have bad news items, we must have analysis, asking why this bad thing is happening,” Balci said. “Because most readers are looking not for information but for entertainment.” Thus, the ZMG publications accompany more depressing or upsetting news with analysis and offer a potential solution.

They do not put horrific pictures on the front pages of their papers. “[In order to avoid sensationalism], we believe socially responsible newspapers should do that,” he said.

Balci later discussed comparisons between Turkish and U.S. culture. When asked if Balci considered himself a westerner, he replied, “Yes, yes in fact I do,” and said that Turkish and U.S. philosophies are quite similar. But when working in Israel, he said he met a lot of young American Jews who “didn’t know about the world. Some American youngsters are not willing to learn other languages. Many Americans do not know where Turkey is.” He encouraged the students present at the meeting to come to Turkey, advertising it as one of the stronger regional languages and as the only healthy regional economy besides Germany. “Many people are moving towards Turkey,” Balci said. “In that sense, not because I am Turkish but as a journalist, I see a bright future for Turkey and whoever comes to Turkey. We are quite similar to the ideological version of the United States.”

Before departing, Balci was able to offer some advice for the journalism students. “After college, don’t think life will be easy, especially if you want to be a journalist,” he said.

He told students to be aware of the convergence that is sweeping media culture where journalists will be required to do the job of multiple positions – writing, editing, filming, photographing, and uploading. While he admitted that English is a journalistic language all journalists should know, he advised young Americans to learn many languages.

“We are competing with citizen journalism and mobile content,” he said, so young people should learn other languages, be aware of convergence, and simply know about the world.

“Since the beginning of the semester, posters and chalkings have appeared on campus describing acts of intolerance and bias and calling for action to end discrimination,” read the Inside JCU write-up for the event. “At the Student Forum students are encouraged to share their concerns and issues related to discrimination and harassment and to consider ways we can eliminate exclusion and intolerance on our campus.”

The forum, which was sponsored by the vice presidents for academic and student affairs, was attended by approximately 70 students, faculty, staff and administrators. FSA in attendance came from departments such as Campus Ministry, Campus Safety Services, the Office of Residence Life, the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, the University Counseling Center, the athletic department, and the Office of Student Activities.

After the forum, a small group of people, including students and student leaders, met in the Multicultural Lounge to further discuss problems and ideas for solutions to issues of inclusion on campus. Student Union President Rita Rochford said the small group meeting provided them “a way to be more frank” about issues, including helping improve the student-to-Student Union relationship.

“We discussed ways in which the Student Union could be a more effective voice for the entirety of the student body,” she said.

Vice President for Student Affairs Mark McCarthy said student input was important for the event.

“I am grateful for the turnout of students and their courage to share painful experiences,” he said. “I am also encouraged by the student leaders who continued to meet long after the forum to explore ways they can improve the overall climate and make suggestions for the institution as a whole.”

John Day, the University’s provost and academic vice president, said that paying attention to the full range of a student’s experience at JCU is important.

“What we tell our faculty, staff and administrators is that whether they’re in daily contact with students, or whether they work behind the scenes, everyone who works here has something to contribute to the educational experience of students,” he told attendees of the forum. “So, when something doesn’t seem quite right in some part of the educational experience, it’s something that all of us who have responsibility for the educational experience of all students to be aware of, and to think about what we can do to improve the situation and to take actions that will, in fact, improve the situation.”

The posters referenced in the forum’s Inside JCU announcement were hung in several campus locations early on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 6, according to an email sent by Dean of Students Sherri Crahen later that evening. The information on the posters referenced past acts of intolerance that occurred on campus.

“The information on the flyers is understandably upsetting and is not reflective of the type of welcoming community that we are working toward,” Crahen wrote in the email.

The chalkings, which appeared all over campus earlier this month, included phrases such as, “No justice, no peace,” and “JCU – Action = No Change.” Senior Jevon Page admitted to forum attendees that he drew the messages.

“I stayed until about three in the morning doing this chalking and I was caught … but it didn’t really matter to me because this is something I wanted to fight for,” he said at the forum. Page said he probably will be fined for breaking the chalking policy.

“They said, ‘You should have asked for permission first’,” he said. “OK, if I’m going to ask for permission to write these things down, would they [administration] have granted me this permission to say what I wanted to say?”

Page added, “It’s not like I’m saying, ‘Down with John Carroll,’ ‘Kill John Carroll.’ I’m not saying those things. I’m saying things to try to move forward, to try to talk about what we need to talk about.”

A lack of specifics is hurting the process of changing the culture on campus, according to Page.

Lauren Bowen, a JCU political science professor and associate academic vice president for academic programs and faculty diversity, told the forum that the Diversity  Steering Committee has been working hard behind the scenes.

“It’s hard to wrap our hands around everything,” Bowen, who also chairs the steering committee, said.

She said the current goal of the committee is to create a centralized bias reporting system for acts of intolerance on campus. Currently, she said, multiple reporting methods exist.

“Some of them are effective [and] some of them are not effective in some moments,” Bowen said. “So we’re working to centralize it and figure out the best way to roll it out and make it visible and known and meaningful.”

According to Rochford, who moderated the forum, the discussion last week was the first of many to happen.

“The quality of students there made up for the quantity we may have been lacking,” she said of the forum. “It gave us a starting point to address the issues from a student standpoint.”

Senior Michael Daniels, who spoke up at the forum and attended the small group session afterwards, echoed Rochford’s sentiments, saying it was a positive meeting.

“It was definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “That was just a first step.”

McCarthy said the University’s student affairs division is putting in place professional development training focusing on issues of diversity and working with students of diverse backgrounds.

“We are also looking to enhance all of our student leadership and student employee training programs to increase knowledge and understanding of cultural differences and to build confidence among students to confront and report acts of intolerance on campus,” he said.

McCarthy also said that he appreciated the work of students throughout the evening to take the first step towards confronting discrimination on campus.

“I am grateful for the turnout of students and their courage to share painful experiences,” he said. “I am also encouraged by the student leaders who continued to meet long after the forum to explore ways they can improve the overall climate and make suggestions for the institution as a whole.”

All John Carroll University faculty, staff and administrators have been sent personal invitations, and flyers have been posted in all the residence halls on campus encouraging students to attend. It is a mandatory event for all students who are a part of the Student Union including Student Organization Budget Board, Student Union Senators, members of the Hearing Board, Student Union Executive Board, Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee and the SUPB Executive Board.

Executive Vice President of the Student Union Greg Petsche has been instrumental in planning the event. “It is a great way for students to meet their representative and the people that are working for them on a day-to-day basis,” Petsche said.

The State of the Union address is intended to be an annual event but in the past years Student Union administrations have opted not to have it.

Current Student Union President Rita Rochford said, “Executive Vice President Petsche has done a remarkable job of bringing back certain traditions and ensuring we are doing all that we are required to do. This is an example of such work.”

After drinks and appetizers, the program will begin with a short welcome from John Carroll University President the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J. followed by an invocation by the Rev. Bernie McAniff, S.J. Petsche will then present a retrospective look at JCU and the Student Union over the past 125 years.

Following Petsche’s presentation, University Heights mayor Susan Infeld will discuss the vital role students play in the relationship between JCU and University Heights.

The main event will be a speech from president Rochford outlining what her administration has done so far to help the John Carroll community, as well as what they still hope to complete.

“I will be addressing, first and foremost, the great need and responsibility we have to ensure we are living out the Jesuit principles,” said Rochford.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Cannone believes that all students should make the effort to attend.

“I think this event is important to students that aren’t involved in the Student Union, that way we know what our student government is doing to help us,” she said.

Both Petsche and Rochford agree and feel the State of the Union Address is an important event and the tradition should be kept every year. It gives the Student Union an opportunity to showcase their hard work, and students to hold them accountable.

“By attending and listening,” said Petsche, “students can better judge the success of an administration and where it may need improvement.”

The Student Union encourages all students, faculty, administrators and staff to attend in order to ensure that every voice is being heard loud and clear.

What most of the students perceive as gross is actually the smell of victory. According to Carol Dietz, the associate vice president of facilities, she said the field is nearing completion.

“We’re almost to the point where we can plant the sod,” she said. “The field should be done by late November.”

This is excellent news for spring sports that will be looking to use the field once it is finished.

As any student that made the mistake last year of trying to walk across that field will remember, it had a terrible time draining, and with this record-setting year for rain, this was a concern for the athletes who would play on the field.

According to Dietz, the field was completely excavated this past summer and a new drainage and irrigation system were put in place so the water would not puddle as it did last year.

With the field expecting to be completed in November, the attention turns to the new parking lot and when it will be opened and completed. That is a two-part answer. The lot opened with about 200 spaces yesterday, Wednesday, Oct. 26, but the full 338 parking spaces will not be open until the main drive section of the lot is completed.

Many students who have passed by the new lot may wonder how it can be completed so soon, as the road next to the lot and the actual parking lot are not on even levels. The main road is at a much higher level, so much so that it would damage most cars if they attempted to make the change.

Dietz said that the crews will actually be closing down the main road and allowing cars to either use the road in front of the Administration building or allowing them to drive through the new lot.

With the main road closed, it takes out the actual ability to use all of the spaces which is why the parking lot will not be able to open to full capacity.

The new lot on campus will now allow students who have had to park their cars at Target to move their cars onto campus making their cars more easily accessible.

Senior Stanton Kochanek is one of those students that will be able to move his car from Target.

Kochanek said, “They [the school] did a good job of informing us about progress, so I can’t really complain.”

After the tuition rise last year students have been more keenly aware of the cost of the new improvements on campus and this huge renovation has been a point of content among students.

According to Dietz, the project was $2.5 million and was funded through gifts.

Dietz said they were coming in under budget at the moment; although, there is a safety net of money that is in place if they were to come into any unexpected complications.

Kochanek is just one of many students who are looking forward to being able to move their cars onto the campus.

Fundraising accomplishments, a pilot program for international students, various faculty changes, and John Carroll University’s re-accreditation all took effect as the semester began.

A ‘soft landing’ for 

international students

Over the summer there were several developments in support of student success at JCU. Eric Patterson, who now works for the enrollment division, coordinated a “soft-landing” program for new degree-seeking international students.

The students receive specifically designed academic courses for the first semester, a rigorous orientation, handpicked roommates and access to a student support network of peer mentors and resident assistants.

“We have faculty, admissions, residence life and student affairs all working together on this. And that’s a good thing,” said Patterson.

Although still a pilot program, Patterson said the students are “transitioning successfully,” and the staff is learning how to prepare for a larger number of international students.

New faces, new positions

Students may need to update their contact information for many departments, as various administrative changes took effect recently.

Julia Karolle-Berg took over for Robert Kolesar as the director of the Honors Program.

Maryclaire Moroney is now the associate dean for advising and student services. Mindy Peden completed her two-year term in this position and went back to teaching in the political science department.

Mary Beadle, Marc Lynn, Cathy Rosemary and Paul Shick are new department chairs for communication, management, marketing and logistics, education and allied studies, and mathematics and computer science department, respectively.

They replace Karen Gygli, Rich Grenci, Brendan Foreman, and Doug Norris, who have completed their terms. Dianna Taylor was re-appointed as chair of philosophy.

Juan Cantu Luna will be an ACE Fellow in the academic vice president’s office this year. Luna is from the University of Monterey, Mexico, and will be with the University for a total of 16 weeks this year as part of his professional development as an ACE Fellow.

JCU’s science programs have also welcomed new members to their programs. Hans Wrage is the new teaching and research support technician in physics. Kathleen Lee is the new health professions advisor, succeeding Gwen Kinebrew, who has retired. Nick Santilli has returned to the faculty in the psychology department and will serve as director of planning and academic budgeting.

Re-accrediting the University

Also, John Carroll is preparing for its re-accreditation visit by the Higher Learning Commission in the academic year 2013-2014. The criteria for re-accreditation are changing, so a number of faculty and others will be sent to learn more.

A forward-minded school

The University advancement team, with the support of many of the faculty members, raised over $23 million in cash and new commitments last year. This includes hitting the $1.9 million goal for the Carroll Fund.

At the opening faculty workshop, the deans announced two new gifts that will support two faculty positions – a $2.5 million endowed chair in business ethics in the Boler School of Business and an endowed professorship in the College of Arts and Sciences on environmental studies in honor of the late Miles Coburn.

JCU and Coburn’s family are currently raising funds to fully fund the professorship at $1 million minimum.

Two major gift officers have recently been assigned to support the deans in the fundraising effort – Christina Beg, director of major and corporate giving, will support Dean Karen Schuele and the Boler School of Business, and Mary Vining Rycyna, director of major gifts, will support Dean Jeanne Colleran and the College of Arts & Sciences.

John Carroll is held accountable for the offices and residential areas around campus, as well as the Green Road Annex, so the new eco-friendly truck is used to take people and tools to and from these areas.

They used to use the green golf carts often seen roaming through campus, but they wanted to opt towards a more street-legal alternative.

The mini-truck gets roughly 35 miles to every charge and clocks in at a top speed of about 25 miles per hour. While this is not an issue for its purpose on campus, it shouldn’t be used for long distances. In terms of its limitations, Dietz said, “I don’t think we’d ever use it to carry parts or anything like that, we’d just use it around the main campus.”

So with this huge push towards going green and limiting the carbon footprint of the campus, the question is raised: Is this a purposeful move or a symbolic move?

“I’d say it’s a purposeful move for the facilities department. However, there will also be a picture of it on the sustainability website,” said Dietz.

Dietz is also the chair of the University’s sustainability committee, which means that she was one of the driving forces in the purchase of this new truck.

“A lot of things the facilities department does are to make the campus greener,” she said. “We keep that and keeping our carbon footprint in mind in pretty much all the decisions the department makes.”

With the list of green and electrical cars filling the market and becoming the new cars to have, there is certain hype about them. People often buy the cars to fit into the green movement or to fit into the trend, but this car seems to live up to the hype of being a real electrical car. While it may not set any records for ground speed, it appears to be a long-term vehicle.

The truck is equipped with many amenities. While it has no air conditioning, it is equipped with a heater and radio. Also, the windows are rolled down manually to conserve energy.

Dietz said the department will probably not purchase another electric vehicle at this point in time.

“This one was purchased to replace an old minivan that was on its last leg,” she said. “We will use it to serve the Green Road Annex, and the residential properties and offices on the perimeter of campus. The electric golf carts, used on the main campus, are not licensed to travel on the city streets.”

Michael Bestul, JCU’s chief information officer of ITS, and James Burke, the associate CIO, said phishing emails are scam messages disguised as being from legitimate sources. They are sent by hackers who seek to obtain people’s personal information and passwords in order to hack into their email, credit and banking accounts.

Phishing is a form of spamming, but it is different because it seeks to steal from and hijack accounts of those it is sent to. Since phishing is often national or international, it can be considered a federal offense with serious consequences. The last phishing message halted by the ITS came all the way from Hong Kong.

Due to the size of their networked communities, universities are common targets for phishing messages since thousands of messages are sent daily.

“We have big servers and can be a launch pad to sending out these messages,” Burke said.

John Carroll is a large system in which these emails can go through without being detected. In smaller systems with less email activity, the phishing messages can be detected more easily and quickly weeded out.

“[At JCU,] most of the phishing right now is geared to get email accounts from us, but then typically what they’re doing with those is turning around and trying to get account information,” said Burke.

Many people use the same usernames and passwords for different accounts, so if a hacker gets a hold of one, they can manipulate multiple accounts. These hackers primarily target bank and credit card accounts, so the effects can be devastating to the victims.

Phishing messages are often received by individuals at random, rather than large groups all at once. Those who send the phishing messages do not have access to JCU’s email list, so instead they send the messages to addresses they manage to find on the internet.

To handle the situation here on campus, ITS is warning students and faculty as well as using their filtering systems.

“We do have defensive mechanisms in place,” said Bestul. “Not only the anti-spam filtering, which catches a lot of [the phishing emails] before they even get to us, but we also have an artificial limit on how many emails any one user can send out.”

“In one hour, you can only send 50 messages,” added Burke. This policy limits the spread of any types of potentially harmful emails should they slip through the filters. Faculty and administration on campus can receive exceptions and have distribution lists created in order to communicate with large masses of students.

The tech center has the capability to block messages from certain addresses, but “[the phishing messages] move constantly, so for us to block an address is almost pointless,” said Burke.

Ironically, Bestul and Burke said they haven’t received any calls about students being affected by the messages, but rather warnings about the messages from others so the ITS can block them and take appropriate preventative measures.

Bestul said, “First of all, don’t respond to [the phishing emails]. If for any reason you did, the next thing to do is to go and start changing passwords.”

According to Burke and Bestul, faculty and students at JCU have gotten a lot better at identifying and avoiding responding to phishing messages over the past few years.

It is extremely important to keep personal account information and passwords confidential unless requested by reliable sources. Email is an easy way for hackers to get people to give away vital information. Bestul said ITS promises to never ask for account information, passwords, and personal information via email.

“You’re a girl and you’re walking around campus at midnight – it’s a little freaky,” Novak said.

Sophomore Kate Pifer had an embarrassing experience to describe how much light marks her path on campus.

“I was right in front of Pacelli [Hall] and I went to give my friend a hug, and I realized it wasn’t my friend,” she said.

Carol Dietz, John Carroll University’s associate vice president of facilities, said that as part of recent campus improvement projects, new lights have been in the works. During the summer, a consulting group came to campus to discuss housing, but also identified a need for additional campus lighting.

“New parking lot and sidewalk lighting will be installed in the new surface lot in the Bohannon [Science Center] footprint and along the Hamlin Quad as part of the project,” Dietz said via email. “These lights are LEDs. Students will find that they provide more light as well as being energy efficient.”

Following a meeting with students, according to Dietz, JCU President the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J., told the facilities department of the need for a light in the area of Rodman Drive, between Rodman Hall and the O’Malley Center.

“Facilities is in the process of ordering and installing a new light fixture in this area,” Dietz said. “The lead time for this light is eight weeks, so it should be installed before the end of the semester.”

Assistant Director of Campus Safety Services Brian Hurd, along with Student Union senators from the Committee on Facilities and Security and Mike Roeder, JCU’s manager of facilities services, plan to walk through campus at night every semester and identify issues with lighting. Sophomore Student Union Senator Deirdre Byrne, who serves as chair of the Committee on Facilities and Security, said she hopes the walkthrough will take place in the coming weeks.

“What I heard [from students] was that the lights were flickering on and off, and they’re just inconsistent,” Byrne said. “[When students are] walking back from the library late at night, it’s really dark. It’s a question of safety.”

Dietz said the upcoming walkthrough will be a great time for students to give their input.

“Making our campus more attractive, comfortable and safer for our students is an important goal,” she said. “A collaborative process between the Student Union and [the] facilities [department] is a great way to address our needs.”

Development work to update lighting across campus was done in 2005, according to Dietz.

“This was before I joined John Carroll,” she said. “We have not looked at this lately. Attention to lighting has just recently surfaced as an interest.”

Recent campus construction projects, according to Hurd, has affected outdoor lighting.

“Some lighting has been removed and new is being added,” he said, “and the power was cut off in certain areas.”

The bottom line, according to Byrne, is that students feel safe when walking around campus.

“We want to find where students are walking at night and be able to make their walk a nice, [lit] walk,” she said. “[Students] pay to go to this school, they want to know that they are going be able to go back their dorm safely because that’s their home. This [entire] campus is their home.”

“I think it’s great that John Carroll is having this,” Stiles said of the forum. “To me, ultimately issues aside, the deepening and enriching of the democratic process [is] the most important thing that’s going on tonight.”

Dora Pruce, JCU’s director of government and community relations, agreed, and said the event benefits not only JCU administrators and students, but also the entire University Heights community.

“I feel that it’s part of our civic duty as a university to host forums like this,” Pruce said.

Seven of the nine candidates running attended the forum: Pamela Cameron, Tom Cozzens, Dan Hanna, Conor McLaughlin, Kevin Patrick Murphy, Steven Sims and Adele Zucker. Candidates Al August and Steven Bennett were unable to attend. Murphy and Sims are incumbents on council.

The forum began with short opening statements from each candidate, and was followed by a question-and-answer period. Attendees wrote their questions on note cards, which were passed to Stiles. She then read the questions to the candidates, who each had 30 seconds to answer. After the question-and-answer period, the candidates each gave a one minute closing statement.

The questions asked included the potential sharing of police and fire services with other neighboring municipalities, the importance of attending council meetings, the City’s relationship with JCU and how each can better communicate, relations between council and Mayor Susan Infeld and what each felt the most important issue was facing the City.

Infeld said that the group dynamic on council would change with the addition of new members. A lack of respect towards each other is causing tension on council, she believes.

“I think that would be a positive thing to have the group dynamic of the city council change,” Infeld said.

She later said, “The level of civility is lacking [currently] … I’m expecting with the new mix of council members that the level of civility will improve.”

Infeld is endorsing Zucker, Cozzens and Cameron, who are running together, even though voters elect them individually. She referenced Zucker’s 20 years of experience in city government, Cozzens’ service on the City’s zoning board and Cameron’s involvement in the public school system as reasons she endorsed the trio.

“The candidates that I have endorsed are very much in favor of helping the University grow and prosper and be as strong as it can be,” Infeld said.

Sophomore Bryan Kroetsch attended the forum. He hopes the City and University can repair the growing rift between them.

“I think that’s certainly something that’s most important,” Kroetsch said. “The meeting tonight was definitely about the community getting information, but I think that the council members might also need to recognize that the 3,000 students that go here are also residents of this community and we would like to be heard and appreciated. So I would like them to resolve their rift with the school, for sure.”

The deadline for voter registration in Ohio is this Tuesday, Oct. 11. Students can register by visiting sites.jcu.edu/civicengagement.

A fourth straight loss to Otterbein would not be in store.

On Homecoming 2011, the Blue Streaks outlasted the Cardinals in double overtime, 47-41, in yet another offensive showcase (12 touchdowns and 1,039 yards of total offense).

“This is a win that I wanted more than any other this season,” said senior right tackle Devin Martin.

Led by senior quarterback Devin O’Brien, the Blue Streaks’ (2-2, 2-1 OAC) offense torched the Cardinals for 579 yards, including 353 on the ground. O’Brien amassed 403 yards of total offense alone (185 rushing, 218 passing), accounting for four touchdowns. Otterbein (1-3, 0-3 OAC) relied on senior quarterback Austin Schlosser, who tossed five touchdowns on 20-34 through the air for 353 yards.

“We knew it was a huge game for us,” said O’Brien afterwards. “It was a great team effort tonight. We faced a lot of adversity in the second half, but we battled all night; you can’t ask for much more than that from your teammates.”

O’Brien wasted no time in creating his Homecoming highlight reel. On the game’s first drive, the senior capped a 56-yard scamper with a dive at the pylon to put the Blue and Gold ahead.

That TD began a stretch of scores for the Blue Streaks on each of their first four possessions of the game. Freshman kicker Kresimir Ivkovic booted a 20-yarder with no time on the first half clock to send JCU to a 27-13 lead at the break. Both teams adjusted defensively during the intermission, resulting in a scoreless third quarter.

The Cardinals neutralized John Carroll’s offense in the final 15 minutes of regulation, while tacking on three scores of their own. With the score knotted at 34 and only a minute remaining, O’Brien marched his offense quickly down field with long passes to junior Lane Robilotto (six catches, 109 yards) and freshman Joe Quinzio (two grabs, 51 yards). A botched snap and a costly turnover (the game’s first) on the 17-yard line denied the Blue Streaks a sure chance to go for the win in regulation.

In the first overtime period, O’Brien hit junior tight end Ben Madden in stride in the end zone for a score on third and 10 from the 25-yard line. Schlosser would force a second OT with a touchdown pass to senior Trey Fairchild, who finished with eight catches for 132 yards and two scores.

After the Cardinals missed a field goal wide right, the Blue Streaks would turn to their dual-threat quarterback to put the game away from a yard out. O’Brien punched in the winning score two plays after junior fullback Anthony D’Aurizio plowed through the Cardinals’ defense for 24 yards.

Another win, another outstanding game for the John Carroll linemen – offensively, JCU finished the game with a second straight 350-yard rushing effort, while the defense dropped Schlosser five times behind the line. The senior-led offensive line leads the OAC with only two sacks allowed through the first four games.

“In the four years that I have coached here, I think this team has more of a chip on our shoulder,” said offensive line and special teams coach Tom Zagorski. “These guys really want to write their own chapter in the storied football tradition here at JCU, because they’re sick of hearing that the prestige of our program isn’t what it once was. I can’t wait to see how the rest of 2011 unfolds.”

John Carroll’s next game will be played at Wilmington this Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m.