The Reporter

Wednesday, December 10, 1997 > FORUM: 'Deafening silence' resounds. Commentary, 5a Volume 110, !ssue 13 Hews, . 2-3a Forum 4-5a Et;Cetera;; -6a - Life 1 -3b Sports ""4": 5b' http://the-reporter.home.ml.org 2K-LiiiLi '.^Pt";'.'':; Third Day rocks Allen Hal] with religious tunes. Life, page 1b Stetson University, DeLand, Florida "^ •< tetsqn University's $1.6 million Wil 5 ?^.son Athletic Center, a state-of-the- **"''art home for rapidly-growing Sport and Exercise Science, allied health and athletic programs, was dedicated yesterday. Dec. 9. Made possible by an initial gift of $750,000 from Stetson alumni Pat arid Patricia Wilson, the center adds sophisticated sports medicine and exercise physiology labs; computers and special equipment; a weight and fitness training room; and classrooms and faculty offices. The new facility, Covering 12,157 square feet, frees up space in the Edmunds Activity Center for women's locker rooms and coachers' offices. It will be in full use when students return to classes Jan. 15. The McDonald Benevolent Foundation, Inc., of Coral Gables also contributed $670,000 to name rooms within the center for Hazel M. McDonald, and in memory of alumni F.H. McDonald, Frank H. McDonald, Jr., and R. Dale Melching, Stetson trustee Dennis Higginbotham, and his wife, Anne, have provided funding to name the office of Associate Professor Elizabeth Schumaker, chair of the Sport and Exercise Science Department. The dedication will be from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. on the grounds west of the Wilson Athletic Center, which is adjacent to the Edmunds Activities Center, 143 E. Pennsylvania Avenue. A reception and tour of the new facility will follow the ceremony. Speakers at the dedication will include the Wilsons, longtime residents of Frostproof and the first couple to receive Stetson's Distinguished Alumni Award, Gail Melching Phillips, daughter of alumni Luella and the late Dale Melching; and Higginbotham, chair of the Trustee Athletic Sub-Committee. Also speaking will be Glenn Brickey, director ofthe Sports Medicine Program, and student Jean Bonnici, a movement therapy major. "The Wilson Athletic Center provides a state-of-the-art foundation for students enrolled in our fastest growing academic discipline, Sport and Exercise Science, and for our students athletes," said President H. Douglas Lee. "The center is, in fact, a tremendous asset to the entire campus community. We will always be grateful for the confidence Pat and Patricia Wilson and the McDonald Benevolent Foundation have shown in Stetson University." The four-year-old Sport and Exercise pro- WILSON CENTER: Students and staff use some of the state-of-the-art equipement in the new, 12,157 square foot, $1.6 million facility. gram, with more than 100 students enrolled, offers tracks in sports administration, sports journalism, exercise science, movement therapy and athletic training. In late 1995, the university launched a three-year, $9.5 million building program on the DeLand campus. Funded by donors, primarily Stetson alumni, the four projects include the Wilson Center; the Hollis Center for recreation and wellness activities, which will be ready for students Jan. 15; a three-phase renovation and expansion of the duPont-Ball library, with the first phase complete and second soon to begin; and the first phase ofthe Mandy Stoll Tennis Center, which was dedicated in Jan. 1997. An $8.9 million Law Library and Information Center at Stetson's College of Law in St. Petersburg, also mostly funded by donors, will be dedicated in September 1998. —Public Relations Photos by PAUL DAVIS ever, Policy M The plan to move IIK0 into lower Nemec Epsilon was cancelled last Thursday. By JEFF HAMRICK and ANDY DEHNART Last week, university officials decided to end Pi Kappa Phi's long-standing residence problem by permitting the fraternity to move into lower Nemec Epsilon. By Thursday afternoon, that decision was reversed by Dr. James Beasley, vice president of campus life and enrollment management, for a variety of reasons. Among other activities, Pi Kappa Phi is responsible for orchestrating a community service program called PUSH America. Their charter was revoked several years ago because it violated hazing regulations. The fraternity was recolonized two years ago, however, and stands ready to be rechar- tered some time in Feb. 1998. The fraternity still has no place for its members to live collectively or hold social functions. Pi Kappa Phi has been forced on several occasions to hold functions in Nite Lights. The initial decision to move Pi Kappa Phi was made jointly by Beasley and Darald Stubbs, the director of student life, and Michelle Espinosa, the director of residential life. Beasley noted that Espinosa was "cautioned us" and was "reticent" about the issue. Seven residents and Nemec Epsilon's resident assistant would have been forced to move during the final week ofthe fall semester had the decision not been reversed. The university planned to offer the resident assistant, Michael Gunning, the option of working in Carson-Hollis, taking over a section of Nemec Delta, or working in another capacity for the department of residential life. The members of Pi Kappa Phi living in lower Nemec Epsilon would have been under they jurisdiction of Nemec's Head Resident, Jennifer Pugh, and a residential assistant selected by residential life. The fraternity would not have been permitted to hold social functions in the residence hall. The area would have been considered specialty housing, not a fraternity house, according to Espinosa. The residential assistant would have been a member ofthe fraternity but would have remained an employee of residential life. The women living in upper Nemec Epsilon would have either been under the continued supervision of Gunning or the authority ofthe new resident assistant. "Pi Kappa Phi does not require housing to be chartered," Beasley said. "A sorority or fraternity does not require housing to be chartered on campus." Espinosa said that the university's "commitment to the housing of this chapter," along with failed efforts to identify possible auxiliary housing, lead officials to look at Nemec Epsilon, because the lower portion of Epsilon already houses three members of Pi Kappa Phi. Only seven men would have been displaced, rather than "relocating 10-30 men" on another floor, Espinosa said. Beasley said that after Pi Kappa Phi's national leadership revoked its charter, the university decided to move Alpha Tau Omega—which had been living outside ofthe main campus—into Pi Kappa Phi's old fraternity house. "The university has been making areas of Nemec Hall available for special housing programs since 1989," said Beasley. "There is a diversity of living space there which results from its [architectural] setup." Beasley noted that he does not oppose the idea of moving Pi Kappa Phi into a section of Nemec Hall. "I still, quite frankly, like the idea of moving them there," Beasley said. Beasley said that Nemec Epsilon had been targeted before the start of thi s academic year as a potential living space for Pi Kappa Phi. "We could not get enough people to move into the area initially," Beasley said. Espinosa said that university-owned auxiliary housing was also considered. Because "fire codes do not permit [group living] occupancy in those buildings," and due to contracts with residents in the Best Apartments, those areas were not available, she said. When asked to comment about the unusual reversal of his decision, Beasley said "I thought we were doing the right thing. I was wrong. The error we made is that we have not had a general discussion with the residents." Beasley added, though, that "I'm in favor of those things [special group housing], but now is not the right time for it." "We have decided to leave Nemec Epsilon as it is and we have decided to pursue other options with the Pi Kappa Phi leadership," he said. Those "other options" include, according to Beasley, the possibility of building a new fraternity house. "We are going to work with Pi Kappa Phi to begin a long-term project of this sort, if we can find the financing," said Beasley. Espinosa said that the university will continue to look at auxiliary housing as well. Beasley said that one student and one parent had called him to express concern about the proposed move. "Certainly, the responses and concerns that those students expressed...were factors. We evaluated and listened to those student responses and came to the conclusion that they were correct," Beasley added. "If this situation were to arise again, we will approach it in a different way and will not try to do it mid-year," Beasley said. Beasley said that he favors a diverse mixture of students in residential environments. "The literature indicates that whenever there is an opportunity to create special-interest housing it is beneficial and leads to stronger bonds within the community," he said. "Had we decided to move forward with this at this time, they would have had an opportunity to be a model for this sort of thing," said Beasley. "In terms of any other special- housing requests, I know of no other plans." Jennifer Pugh, the head resident of Nemec Hall, said that she was "taken off guard—there had been no talk about it before it happened." "As a head resident, I was concerned first and foremost with the residents of lower See HOUSING, page 3a oy car di By ASHLEE JONES Staff Writer Junior Marsha Harrison spent Thanksgiving break playing basketball in Nebraska for the Hatter's varsity team. Prior to arriving back at Stetson she called a friend to check up on her car, only to find that late Friday, Nov. 28, it had been broken into. This was one of five reported forced entries into vehicles during the five day holiday. "Public Safety put a plastic bag over my window so that it wouldn't get wet, but the damage was on the inside. Whoever broke into the car couldn't get the radio out so they demolished it. Now parts of the face plate are missing and electrical parts of the CD player have been ripped right out. I really hope that everything that they took or broke is covered by my insurance," said Harrison. According to the incident report taken by Public Safety the total estimated damage to Harrison's '96 Eclipse was $1670. Each of the victims agrees that the next time they leave for the weekend or any holi day they will not be leaving their cars on campus. "When I leave for the Christmas holiday I'll probably leave my truck in a friend's garage who lives in DeLand. I don't feel that it would be safe on campus for that long of a period and I'm not taking the chance," said freshman Marc Troob. Mike O'Donnell, Troob's friend, found the back window of the truck broken out Saturday morning and reported it to Public Safety. "Before I left I parked my car right infront of Smith. I figured that it would be safe my the doors and in the light, but I was wrong. Troob's amplifier, speakers and stereo were stolen equalling to an estimated $1160 loss. Troob is astonished by the fact that Public Safety didn't see anything going on. "It bothers me that no one saw anything. When I found my stuff stolen out of my truck there weren't any cut wires or broken pieces; therefore, the thief had to sit in my truck, with the window smashed out, unscrewing everything neady. I can't believe that they could have enough time to do that," said Troob. While Ashley Carpenter was in Kentucky for the holiday her Honda Civic was also burglarized. On Saturday, Nov. 29, a public safety officer noticed the passenger side window had been broken out of the car. Nothing was reported stolen until after Carpenter returned. "I didn't find anything about my car until I got back. A bag was over my window and glass was on the ground. There's approximately $135 worth of damage just to the car," said Carpenter. . During the holiday there is only one Public Safety patrol on duty for each shift. "There's only one patrol on duty during t he break because there are not that many students on campus and the fact that it's a holiday, we have to pay each working patrol time-and-a-half," said Chief Mussoline. Mussoline also explained that with the Hollis Center still under construction a patrol is needed on the site at all times if construction workers aren't there; so, during a holiday that leaves the guards watching that the Hollis Center isn't vandalized and not the rest of the school. On a normal school week there are two to four officers on each shift, depending on the evening. "I'm hoping that we can fix this problem. I've hired anew patrol to strengthen our staff and I hope to have more patrols on duty in the future," said Mussoline. On the morning of Saturday, Nov. 29, Joy Abrisch's car and Ron Smith's truck were also found by Public Safety patrols with forced entry. Abrisch's white Nissan was found with a broken passenger window. She reported Dragon sunglasses missing, dents on the passenger side, damage to her radio, and its face place missing. An estimated total of $1200. Smith flew in from New York to find his Chevy pick up missing the stereo system, that wasn't covered by insurance. "I can understand one car break-in, but more than that is ridiculous. We should feel safe when leaving our cars when we leave for "It bothers me that no one saw anything...! can understand one car break-in, but more than that is ridiculous." the holiday weekend, but now I see we can't" said Troob. Some people are looking for ways Public Safety can keep the school more safe. "Keeping the students' cars safe is im- . portant. Maybe if Public Safety put one surveillance camera in each parking lot or if they periodically drove through around each parking lot. At this point anything would help," Harrison said. "Like a friend of mine said; Public Safety is the first people on the scene to write you a ticket, but they aren't around when your car is getting broken into," she said. As of Monday, Dec. 8, no additional break-ins had been reported by Public Safety. inside J] FORUM: Millard spends a day with H. Douglas Lee, 5a LIFE: Christmas Candlelight illuminates Elizabeth Hall Chapel, 3b SPORTS: Women's basketball preview, 4b