The Reporter

Wednesday, October 8, 1997 > FORUM* To be or not to be...Greek Debate, 5a Volume 110, Issue I I, ' I I News,. J, \%\ k Forum I ?.£• J l«iH, Etcetera"' I. Life;_.; I Sports^- s ■.-\2.- 3a - ...» 4-5a-j '->6a.\ -; %" 1 - 3b 1 V:\^76b " http://the-reporter.home.ml.org ^.■...•■;»«Ss3>?^t| '. V- i%i-^i^fe;;";:' Hypnotist Tom DeLuca gave a spellbinding performance last Wednesday. Life, page 1b Stetson University, DeLand, Florida By JONATHAN PEARCE Assistant News Editor On Sept. 19, several violations of the university's alcohol and fire safety policies were reported at the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house. Responding to a fire alarm, Public Safety Office Martel and James Disinger, the fraternity counselor on duty, evacuated the fraternity house. Officer Martel contacted Public Safety to dispatch the DeLand fire department to the scene. Upon arrival of the fire department, Captain McDaniels and LL Thornsen conducted fire checks throughout the building. During this search several violations of Stetson's fire safety policy were found. The smoke detectors in several rooms had been vandalized. Three smoke detectors were hanging by wires from the ceiling while another had been completely removed altogether. In addition to the fire alarms, the fire alarm strobe light in the second floor hallway had been vandalized and removed. "[An unknown person ] allegedly vandalized the hallway [strobe light] and ran out of the house" which caused the alarm, said Cory Rhoads, the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity counselor. - "Tampering wffh or inappropriately handling any fire and/or safety equipment (including but not limited to fire extinguishers, fire hoses, smoke alarms and fire alarms) is strictly prohibited" according to Connections, the Campus Life handbook. Due to the hazardous conditions observed, the fire department closed the building to occupancy. The fire marshall, Bill Wilkens, ordered that the building be shut down and no one was to enter until further notice. Michelle Espinosa, director of residential life, responded to the scene to move students to other accommodations. "I don't understand why students would endanger themselves and their fellow students," Espinosa commented. By disabling the fire alarms, everyone was put into danger. Espinosa, Disinger, and Officer Martel proceeded to do a walk-thru to ensure that all students were out of the building. During this walk-thru several bottles of open liquor were observed. According to the university's guidelines contained in the alcohol policy, hard liquor is not allowed in residential facilities. Burning incense and lit candles were also found. Connections states that "any substance that could cause a fire, damage, or an explosion are not permitted inside residential facilities. This provision includes open flames, incense of any kind, and candles." Students were accompanied by the Fire Marshall and Espinosa to remove their belongings in order to stay elsewhere for the night. - The students were allowed to return to their residence the following morning after the smoke detectors and strobe light were repaired. Keep your eyes on the watch Photo by Paul Davis HYPNOSIS: Students hypnotized by Tom DeLuca react to his suggestion that it is unbearably hot in the Stetson Room. By JEFF HAMRICK News Editor Recently, life at Stetson was interrupted by power outages. Three power outages occurred over the past five weekends. While many Stetson students leave during the weekends, other students experienced computer disruptions, brief peripds in darkness and malfunction of electrical equipment. According to Miguel Rodriguez, operations engineer for Florida Power Corporation, the recent outbreak of momentary interruptions and power shortages we're caused by stormy weather. Stormy weather is common during this time of the year in Florida. According to MSNBC, scientists believe that El Nino, a meteorological phenomenon, is causing the strange weather patterns. El Nino is a large band of warm temperatures and lower stratospheric disruption that stretches thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon is particularly unusual because it prevents the formation of hurricanes but increases the level of storm activity. DavidNoyes, director of facilities management, .said that if a power outage occurs during the day, the "staff support will identify the affected area immediately." Noyes said that on-campus power problems usually result from a blown fuse. Blown fuses occur when a tree limb makes contact with a power wire or a squirrel touches two wires at the same time. "At the point when we suspect a problem, support staff will identify the problem and I will call them [Florida Power] and have them send technical support," he said. Noyes also noted that contact with the wire will usually cause a momentary "blink" in power flow. The power line system is designed to correct for these "blinks" within a few moments. On weekends or during the evening, a power outage will usually show up at Public Safety as a series of fire alarms. John Wimer, Stetson's energy conservation manager, said that "that's usually the sign that an outage is occurring. The board lights up all at once." Once Public Safety knows about an outage, they notify a technician at Facilities Management, who will assess the situation, call the on-duty manager, who will usually call Florida Power immediately. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, we will dispatch a worker to begin restoration efforts," Rodriguez said. Restoration efforts frequendy include the installation of a new interruption device which reduces the voltage flowing into a single source. Florida Power will also call for additional help if structural damage has occurred to a building owned by one of its customers. Rodriguez said that all of the DeLand area is served by a single power substation. The substations route power from a central location and distribute it throughout an area served by Florida Power. The substation is located close to Scotty's at Plymouth Avenue. Brett Hughes, a senior engineering representative with Florida Power, also said that "lightning strikes will cause power disruptions. [Anything that] produces a short circuit will trip the circuit breaker.. .if it's only a blink, the problem should be corrected quickly." Noyes said that facilities management looks for problems that consistently cause outages. "Over the past summer.. .1 believe 300 trees were trimmed to prevent contact with power wires." One of Stetson's long-term goals is to bury the remaining above-ground wires. "It's a long-term goal, but definitely something we've been keeping in mind," said Noyes. According to Noyes, there are emergency stand-by generators located in the CUB, Facilities Management, Public Safety, the Edmunds Center, the Lynn Business Center arid Flagler Hall. The stand-by generators are not capable of providing for all of Stetson's power needs during an emergency situation. Noyes stated that "an emergency like a hurricane would be anticipated and we would rent an additional generator beforehand." Recent power outages- have prompted a demand for answers^ why do we keep losing power? Emergency power would be routed to the entire CUB to maintain critical administrative functions and preserve food supplies. Facilities Management recently increased the transformer capacity to the CUB as well. Rodriguez said that 62% of recent power outages in central Florida were caused by harsh weather. Fourteen percent of the total incidents were caused by trees making contact with wires. Stetson spends over $960,000 a year on electricity. The total cost of all electricity, power-related equipment and maintenance to the power system exceeds $1,000,000 per year. I ^fWW^^^Wi^S^M^if^Ml Director of Facilities Management David Noyes and Energy Conservation Manager John M. Wimer, suggest 1) Staying away from overhead wires during stormy weather. 2) If you come across a fallen wire, don't touch it-even if it appears dead. 3) Don't place electric appliances anywhere near sources of water. 4) Call Public Safety if a power outage occurs or if there's damage to a power line. 5) If you're in your car and a live wire falls on it, stay inside your car until help arrives. 6) Don't use extension cords-try a 15-amp power strip with surge protection. 7) Students can purchase uninterrupted power supply boxes from the Purchasing Warehouse at ext. 8842. aasaaiKL, EIXZ3SESE! sieaiBL LLaaaaHia»Mie«B|fWfflsffwmmma iiocirss By PAUL DAVIS Staff Writer The Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee (SAFAC) recently made its final decision concerning which campus organizations would receive money at a meeting last Wednesday. SAFAC is the body that governs the distribution of a portion of the activity fees paid by all undergraduate students here at Stetson. SAFAC distributed $ 11,500 this semester, and plans to hand out a total of $23,000 this year. The committee also plans to allocate more this semester in the form of emergency funding. Two organizations have already applied for emergency SAFAC funding: Students Transcending Homophobia (STH) and the Varsity Club. Eight other applications for emergency funding have been taken but not yet returned.. This semester, no organizations were totally denied funding. However, the Association for Computing Machinery, which approached SAFAC, was not considered for funding. It has not yet been officially recognized by the University Campus Life Committee, which will not meet until later this semester. Any organizations that are formed this semester and approved by the University Campus Life Committee may apply for SAFAC emergency funding. Schwartzel conducted campus-wide notifications and placed an advertisement in The Reporter in an effort to find representatives to serve on SAFAC. According to Schwartzel, the criteria used to judge the various organizations is stipulated by the "Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee Informational Handbook." The handbook states that "[The] Activity fee is paid for by all undergraduate students, therefore SAFAC is primarily interested in funding campus events for all students. The particular amount of money funded will depend on the merits of the program, as determined by the SAFAC committee." Schwartzel noted that SAFAC will ordinarily reject a funding request if the income or dues of the organization can adequately fund the event. Funding is usually denied if the organization desired funds for conference travel, organizational retreats, or entry fees. Schwartzel said that whenever a member of SAFAC is also a member of an organization being considered for funding, that person leaves the room while their organization's funding requests are being discussed. The goal of the process is to make unbiased decisions, said Schwartzel. The members of SAFAC include SGA President Jim Schwartzel, Vice President Wendy Moore, Treasurer Stephanie Bauer, Roman Rodriguez (chairperson, SGA Academic Affairs committee), Susie Brockmeyer (chairperson, SGA Campus Life committee), Gabe Gehret (chairperson, SGA Residence Hall Association Council), Paul Roy (chairperson, SGA Food Service committee), Liz Melody (chairperson, SGA Community Relations committee), Senior Representative Pat Arlington, Junior Representative Lan Quang, Sophomore Representative Shermika Powell, Freshman Representative Emily Massey, Director of Student Life Darald Stubbs, and Campus Life University Committee Chair Monique Forte. j|^»j^KM[MgajlyiB Sfii siMiuIsMy=^^i^^^^ffl^^^^^ ORGANIZATION AMOUNT ORGANIZATION AMOUNT AMSA $450 Chess Club $950 Multicultural Student $1240 Black Student Assoc. $250 Association Catholic Campus Min. $1000 ' Gerentologieal $oe. $250 Young Democrats $360 BSU $1290 Best Buddies $425 Circle K $350' Honors Program $200 FCA $660 Student Alliance Panhellenic/IFC $2000 Phi Alpha Theta . < $325 ' \ Indian Stu. Assoc. $500 College Bowl $600 Carribean Club $650 inside FORUM: How to deal with germs and your mother, 4a LIFE: Will Kirstie Alley escape the 'Cheerscurse?' 1b SPORTS: Hatter volleyball team defeated by FIU, 4b