Volume 103 September 22, 2011 Number 5

Football debated
KELLY DICKERSON News Editor Students protested the addition of a football program to Berry Tuesday morning in front of Krannert on the grounds of the cost and the change it may bring to the atmosphere of to campus. Ten students began the protest with picket signs and marched back and forth on the cross walk between Evans and Krannert. Senior Brett Adams first had the idea of organizing the protest. We hope that this will bring some awareness and that the Board of Trustees will be able to see how students feel, Adams said. Sophomore Sam Andereck said he first thought of starting a petition but wasnt optimistic about the impact it would have. I dismissed the petition idea and Brett and I talked last Wednesday night about organizing an actual protest, Andereck said. Sophomore Mary Patsimas said her biggest concern is that football may take away the academic focus at Berry. I think the sentiment of a lot of students is that it will compromise the integrity of the school, Patsimas said. My high school recently got a football team so Ive seen firsthand how a school can be degraded by football. Andereck said the cost of the program is not justified when many other programs and buildings on campus could use the money. They wont be lowering academic standards to let the players in so academics will still be the most important thing, Chambers said. The school also needs 100 more guys and football will promote school unity and spirit and hopefully keep students here on the weekends. Sophomore Brittany Alfieri said the program will eventually pay for itself with the addition of so many new students. Freshman Jack Chase said football could be a positive change for the campus. Everyone growing up loves football. It will help unite the campus, Chase said. It will increase school spirit for the other sports on campus too. We [students in favor of football] wont be at the SGA meeting tonight for the football discussion because were going to be supporting the volleyball team. Chief of Police Bobby Abrams said the administration didnt have a problem with the students protesting. We just asked them not to block traffic, Abrams said. Associate professor Ron Taylor said he was glad the student protest happened. There needs to be more protesting in general, Taylor said. Berry students need to show that they wont keel over and take whats given to them. Its good to see students acting on their beliefs. Taylor said he would hate to see Berry lose the distinction that not having a football program gives it.
SEE FOOTBALL P. 2

He said the program is going to cost way too much to start and that money could be used for things like the student work program or building new dorms and classrooms. Sophomore Daniel Vetter said Residence Life has had to compromise their goal of having all students live on campus and money should go towards building new dorms, not a football program. Sophomore Ireka Canty was one of the students who joined the protest when she

CHRISTIAN TURNER, Asst. Photo Editor

saw what was happening. I didnt want to go to a school with the atmosphere that big football games bring, Canty said. Not long after the protest began, a second group of students started a counterprotest in favor of a football program. These students began throwing a football back and forth across the road in front of Krannert. Sophomore Mary Chambers was one of the students in favor of football.

Student reports sexual assault

KELLY DICKERSON News Editor A Berry student reported an alleged rape on Sept. 19 to campus police. The incident occurred on Sept. 10 and the incident is still under investigation. Director of Campus Safety Bobby Abrams said the incident has also been reported to Floyd County Police Department. In the campus-wide email sent Wednesday, Abrams said that the suspect was reportedly a nonstudent who is known to frequent Berry official and unofficial social media outlets including Facebook and MySpace pages. This person may claim to be a student and arranges meetings with Berry students. Abrams warned students to be cautious with their social media use. Be very cautious in who youre allowing to view your profile, Abrams said. Make sure you know the person before you accept them as a friend. Dont accept someone just because theyre also friends with 30 of your friends.

Used blood testing supplies found with D-Hall dishes

KELLY DICKERSON News Editor Syringes, testing strips, bloody napkins and lancetspricking needles used for blood tests, have been regularly found among the Dining Hall dirty dishes since the first week of the semester. A sign was put up the first week of school in the Dining Hall by the dining services in an effort to stop the disposal of those items. Later, a campus-wide email was sent and second sign posted by the Health and Wellness Center when the needles and napkins were still regularly being found. Director of Resident Dining Jeremy Oshansky said that his primary concern about the items is the safety of the dining hall workers. We wear cut-resistant gloves but thats not going to protect against a needle, Jeremy said. Oshansky said the discovery of these items has been almost a daily occurrence since the beginning of the semester. There has been no pattern or certain time of day the needles have been discovered, they are found throughout the day. Ive spent eight years working in the dining hall, four as a student and four as a manager, and Ive never seen a problem like this before, Oshansky said. Oshansky said that the dining hall incidents are not the only thing to be concerned about. I worry that its not just in the dining hall that students may be being careless, Oshansky said. If theyre throwing things like this away in dorm trash cans around campus, that can be very dangerous for the housekeepers. Director of the Health & Wellness Center Anita Errickson said improper disposal of needles and test strips is a serious problem.
SEE BLOOD P. 3

Exploring Ford

Features | Pages 6-7

Entertainment | Page

Sports | Page

10

Womens soccer wins

Fact of the Week:

Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesnt wear pants.

Downtown Rome

Please recycle our paper.

Science Building foundation alters pendulum

KRISTEN SELLERS Deputy News Editor Complications with the foundation of the Science Building has tilted the circular magnetic collar at the top pivot point of the Foucault pendulum and in turn have altered the directional swing of the pendulum. French physicist Lon Foucault developed the pendulum in 1851 to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. With the pendulum, Foucault was able to prove the theory that the earth is always rotating. On his scaled display and experiment he verified that if a pendulum was suspended inside the earth in a plane of oscillation with its suspension point directly at the North Pole, the pendulum would make one full clockwise rotation in a 24-hour day. Associate professor of physics and astronomy Todd Timberlake said there are certain aspects with the Science Buildings pendulum that create conflict, causing it not to work as well as Foucaults did in the 19th century. Chair of the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geology, Chuck Lane said the magnetic collar is the main reason for the dysfunction. The mechanism at the top gives the pendulum a kick to restore energy it lost from the friction in the sand and air resistance, Lane said. Lane said the mechanism at the pivot point is misaligned which makes the kick go slightly in the wrong direction. It is supposed to restore the energy for the pendulum, not redirect it. Lane said when students see the pendulum stopped and wonder why it is not working, the simplest and most common answer is not the inaccuracy but that the presentation. Briggs said that Berrys current operational budget is $100 million. A football program would be one half of a percent of the budget, Briggs said. Briggs said the money for the new facilities would be raised or donated and would not come from student tuition costs. The Cage was $32.5 million and a new stadium would be $3 to 4 million, Briggs said. Its definitely doable. Briggs said that the 12:1 student to faculty ratio would not change with the addition of the new students. New faculty would be hired to offset the larger student population. Many students were concerned about the need for new residence halls. Briggs said that someone has stopped it with his or her hand or it has been turned off for cleaning. When the electric motor is turned off, the pendulum proves the theory and continues to rotateIt is symbolic of the sciences and an example of regularity and nature, Timberlake said. The Foucault pendulum may not be accurate all the time due to the factors working against it but students still enjoy having it. Freshman Angle Fortnash said, On a tour I heard about the rotation of the earth demonstrated in the sand. Im not a science person, but I think its neat. Even though the Foucault pendulum is not always precise, Lane said a reason for keeping the pendulum is the artistic and visually impressive element along with it being a meaningful symbol for the history of science.

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NEWS

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Football
CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 I can see why it would be a good idea. But Im not convinced its the best or only way to bring positive changes to Berry, Taylor said. One student at the protest threw a football to Associate Director of Athletics Jana Johnson. She caught the ball and threw it back to a student and received applause from several students. Johnson declined to comment on the protest. President Stephen Briggs and Dean of Students Debbie Heida presented a brief powerpoint on the Alden & Associates study of

the feasibility of football at Berry at the SGA meeting Tuesday night. Possible opportunities created by football presented in the powerpoint include increased male and multicultural enrollment, home game weekends, increased alumni visits during those weekends, more community engagement with the school, increased support for other athletics, and potential for a marching band and full time track and field program. Possible problems created by football in the presentation included the $600,000 operating cost, the $3 to 4 million new facility cost, current residence hall needs and the impact on campus culture. There was an open question and answer session following

new residence halls are selffunding and its better to be operating at capacity that to build a new dorm and have 30 to 40 empty beds. Some students pointed to the new lacrosse team as an indicator of the campus culture change that football could bring. Vetter said lacrosse players were responsible for an increased number of Viking Code infractions. Heida said there is no difference in the amount of athlete and non-athlete behavior incidents. She added that the athlete average GPA is slightly higher than the non-athlete GPA. Briggs said there is no intention of adding Greek life if a football program is started at Berry. Heida said the football play-

ers would be quickly integrated into the current Berry culture. Part of the reason we went D-III is so academics would still come first, Heida said. We would it make it clear what we expect of the football players and make sure the head, heart and hands mission of Berry is still upheld. Briggs said that the decision to add football has not been made yet. The Board of Trustees has been presented with all aspects of what the program could bring to Berry, Briggs said. The Board of Trustees meeting will be the weekend of Oct. 21. Briggs said the decision will likely be made then, though the board could decide to delay the decision.