March 2006 - Concordia University Wisconsin

The
Concordia Beacon
March 2006
The Voice of Concordia Students Since 1984
Vol. 21 Issue 3
Ferry Defends Students on Housing Issue
By Tyler Williams
Following the release of a controversial
housing policy issued by Residence Life that
rattled the Student Senate and initiated a firestorm of criticism against the University’s
administration, President Dr. Patrick Ferry
defended students by asking the Division of
Student Life to revisit the housing issue with
more student involvement, better communication, and a closer look at how Residence
Life would deal with room assignments at
Concordia.
The controversy began after the Office
of Residence Life told members of the Student Senate of the Student Government Association at their February 13th meeting that
a new policy had been proposed to deal with
the ever increasing enrollment and residential population on campus.
In the announcement, Resident Director Crystal Faledas told the students that the
policy would automatically remove fifth year
and graduate students. She also explained a
seemingly oversimplified room placement
process, over which students quickly voiced
concern.
Student response in the meeting was
very negative.
“I have a $7000 scholarship that is dependant on me living on campus,” said student organization senator Nic Cicerale, who
was among the many concerned over losing part of their scholarship dollars. Some
scholarships are dependant on students living on campus, and, while students may live
at University-leased apartments, living elsewhere off campus could mean sacrificing big
financial awards.
Student organization senator Megan
Bishop, who is a nursing student, was frustrated over the fact that the policy, in her
belief, remained insensitive to the varying
programs on campus. “Other classes get
priority over nursing,” she told Faledas.
Nursing, which is viewed by many as one of
the more difficult concentrations at the University, requires a schedule that reduces the
number of credit hours its students take in
one semester.
Many students felt that Residence Life
sent a representative who was ill informed.
Junior resident student senator Jaime Strickert believes that there could have been better
planning on the part of Residence Life to answer important questions on the policy. “It
seemed that the policy wasn’t well thought
through,” said Strickert. Questions and serious problems presented to Faledas, she said,
appeared as unexpected “surprises.”
The policy drafted by Residence Life
called for students to be assigned priority
numbers as to who would be given precedence in room selection. Students with the
lowest priority numbers—determined by the
number credits accumulated on their tran-
The Beacon archives
A PACKED FORUM - Students gathered at February’s Presidential Forum. The Forum, which had record
high attendance, was only days after a new Residence Life housing policy was announced.
New Housing Policy Dominates Forum
Administration agrees to review policy and bring students to the table
By Matthew Theriault
Issues concerning the recently announced and newly developed Residence
Life Housing Policy dominated the discussion at the February 20th Presidential Forum, at which hundreds of concerned students packed Albrecht Lounge to attend the
question and answer period with President
Ferry and other top administrators.
Immediately prior to the Forum, Ferry
was handed a petition developed by the Students for Responsible Policy, a grassroots effort started a week prior by several members
of the Student Senate. The petition represented over 300 students who signed their
name on a document which claimed in bold
print that, among other things, the “University continues to exercise serious neglect in
the area of informing and having open dialogue with students in its decision-making
process.”
Both grievances and proposals raised in
the petition were addressed as part of Ferry’s
opening comments, which signaled that the
University president was willing to discuss
the policy and bring students to the table.
The concern of Ferry over failures of
his administration to cope with the problems plaguing Student Life and the declining
reputation of administrators among students
was vocalized in his introduction. “This has
been one of the most troubling and frustrating years I’ve had as president,” said Ferry,
who cites “polarization” between the administration and the student body. “I really
have wrestled with housing the past several
days.”
At the recent Forum, the primary concern shared by Ferry and students alike perceived failures of communication between
the administration and students. Ferry acknowledged problems with the petition, but
noted that the communication failures were
“more of a problem.”
Ferry responded to the frustrated stu-
dents by adhering to the requests of the petition, which called for the formation of a joint
board of administrators and student senators.
To that, students gave their applause.
The committee, according to Ferry,
would work towards “refining, reviewing,
and improving” the new housing system.
Identified in the committee were resident
student senators and administrators from
Student Life.
While communication was seen as a
serious issue, Ferry did not forget about the
policy itself. One of the most controversial
aspects of the Residence Life protocol has
been the automatic removal of fifth year seniors. According to Ferry, the problem was
simply a lack of room on campus. “It’s a
tremendous affirmation that so many students want to live on campus,” said Ferry.
Despite his feelings, he argued that no students have “an inherent right to housing for
all five years.”
Continued on Page Two
Online at www.cuw.edu/Beacon
script—would be the first to pick the rooms
of their choice. Students that have the same
number of credits would have their ties broken by the number of conduct points issued
by the University for violating the student
conduct code, such as alcohol, vandalism,
and visitation hour violations. As a third tie
breaker, students would then be prioritized
according to number of semesters in campus housing. If students were still tied, GPA
would then be the deciding factor.
The policy also called for students to
be assigned rooms according to the person among roommates with the lowest and
best priority number. The person with the
best priority number among his roommates
would then be able to bring his roommates
along with him, regardless of their priority
ranking. The most desired five-person room
on campus could thus be made up of four
students with the worst priority numbers, so
long as the fifth student’s priority number
was very good.
Under the Residence Life policy, students who could not commit to both semesters of housing for the following academic
year were told that they must apply to live
at the Woodmere apartments. Such a policy
would automatically exclude study abroad
students who leave for a semester and students who graduate in the fall.
In an interview with the Beacon days after the policy had been announced to a frustrated Student Senate, Director of Residence
Life and Judicial Affairs Barbara Wilson acknowledged that there are problems with any
policy. “It’s not fail safe….We’ve reached
the pinnacle of how we should do this,” said
Wilson. She said that the student movement
against her department’s policy was only a
“small group of very vocal students” and
does not believe that the students represent
the majority of the student body.
Wilson said that she knew that her department would face some criticism for the
policy, but believes that students should give
the idea a chance. Wilson told the Beacon
that the policy was not negotiable.
Students were most critical of how the
communication of the policy was handled.
In a rare diversion from regular officer reports in the Student Senate, Vice President of
Commuters and senior student Josh Schroeder vocalized his anger over the lack of student
involvement and adequate discussion during
the process of creating the policy. Following
the presentation by Faledas, Schroeder asked
the students, “What are we here for?”
Faledas was asked during her presentation if the policy was non-negotiable, to
which she answered, “pretty much.” The
policy was printed and ready for distribution
within 48 hours of her presentation.
“They came to us and said, ‘We’ve already done this…What do you think?’,” said
Schroeder. “I am very disappointed in the
way Student Life has handled this.”
Other students agreed.
In a petition presented to Ferry at his
Presidential Forum, over 300 students signed
that they believed “While the University had
the opportunity to call upon the students for
their opinions and feedback on the plan before it was materialized, it instead chose to
not do so.” Ferry told the audience at the
February 20th Forum that the petition was
well written, complimenting it for its desire
to bring students back to the table where policy making happens.
At the Forum, Ferry told a record sized
Continued on Page Two
Beacon
The
Page Two
Forum: Ferry Wants Tuition Increase to
Residence Hall by ‘07 be Decided at Budget
Retreat
From Page One
Ferry’s strongest feelings were on higher admission standards and limiting enrollment at Concordia, neither of which he supports. While he acknowledges that there are
students who should not have been admitted
to the school, Ferry told the students that he
wants all people to have access to Lutheran
higher education. “I don’t support significant change to our admission process,” he
noted.
Also in Ferry’s introduction was a brief
discussion of the completion of a new residence hall. Ferry called the idea a “grander
solution to our current dilemma” and said
that he wants the University to provide “adequate housing by fall 2007,” at which time
another Regents-style facility is slated for
completion. “We need to push forward with
that,” he said.
In one of the last points made in his
opening comments Ferry responded to accusations that the new housing policy was financially motivated. He believes that some
think “all of this is driven by finances” and
that he wants to generate “as much tuition
revenue” as he can. To this, he said, “Is it
true that there are fiscal dimensions to all
this? No question about it…We can’t bring
on more debt than we can bear... Your tuition
dollars do not even come close to covering
the cost of education (of undergraduate students) at Concordia.”
During the time allotted for questions,
a number of students bought forth their dissatisfaction with the new policy itself, citing
its unfair treatment of students that study
abroad, its reduction of international students that live on campus proper, and its unfair mechanism for determining on campus
room placement.
The policy, distributed to students by
Residence Life in the few days before the
Forum, calls for students that cannot commit
to housing for more than one semester to live
in Woodmere apartments off campus. Also,
fifth year students must apply for the apartments only.
The policy also creates a mechanism
for room placement that has been seen as
controversial and convoluted by administrators, faculty, and students. The mechanism
allows one student to select his roommates
based only on his credentials, such as number of credits recognized by the Registrar’s
Office. Instead of averaging the values of
his roommates and figuring such into room
placement priority, the student with the best
credentials thus represents every resident of
his requested room.
When students sought specifics concerning further improvements on the part
of communication, Ferry admitted, “There
is a lot of room for improvement….One of
the things I like about the petition is that it
creates a mechanism for dialog.” The petition also calls for renewal of the Student Life
Policy Board, which would be made up of
students and faculty.
In one of the more direct criticisms of
the administration, SGA Vice President
of Commuters Joshua Schroeder told the
crowd that “students were not involved in
the creation and formation of this policy outside of (Resident Assistants).... This policy
was created in the proverbial smoke filled
room.” While not denying the claims made
by Schroeder and others, Ferry later told one
student, “It was with a fair bit of weeping
and gnashing of teeth that we implemented
(the policy),” suggesting that administration
was not entirely supportive or satisfied with
all areas of the housing protocols.
This was not the first Presidential Forum
where students were angered over student
housing and other resident student issues.
At the previous Forum in the fall, students
were visibly frustrated over random apartment checks at Woodmere, vandalism and
alcoholism, maintenance issues, and the poor
quality of food service. One student called
the cafeteria food “sin,” to which he received
a roaring applause. Still, Ferry rejected such
claims, saying, “I don’t see anything wrong
with it.”
By Stacy Lawrence
At the spring administrative budget retreat, a two day venture which began March
6, the tuition for the 2006-2007 academic
year was determined by the Administrative
Council and the Deans.
A group of 15 to 20 administrators
viewed Concordia’s fees, overall expenses,
and capital expenditures to assist in determining the size of the tuition increase. The
budget retreat took into consideration the
utility cost, labor costs, inflation costs, and
Concordia’s financial aid.
For the school year 2005-2006 resident students are paying $23,820 for the
year, while commuter students pay $17,280.
CUW students are paying a competitive and
average tuition compared to other similar
universities. In the past 10 years, tuition has
increased on average four to five percent annually.
Concordia deals with roughly $40 to
$50 million per year to keep the facility operating. Thus, an appropriate tuition increase
is critical to keep the university functioning
effectively. To assist in this process, the budget retreat received a prioritized list of costs
to guide the group on the amount necessary
to increase. The list displayed the anticipated cost increase for heating oil, electricity,
and the staff payroll.
This presents a challenge.
“Who
would’ve expected a 50 percent increase in
heating oil for this past year?” explained
Vice President of Enrollment Ken Gaschk, a
member of the Administrative Council.
When deciding the amount of increase
in tuition, Concordia gathers the tuitions of
the sister schools to CUW and other Wisconsin universities similar in size. Concordia
reviews these different tuitions to stay competitive. Vice President of Finance and Administration Al Prochnow noted that this “is
just an indicator” in helping Concordia stay
competitive.
A few of the universities Concordia
compares to include Milwaukee School of
Engineering (MSOE), Lakeland College,
Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Cardean
University. Resident students at Wisconsin
Lutheran College pay $23,510 for tuition,
room and board for the 2005-2006 school
year. Lakeland resident students pay a tuition, room and board of $22,880. MSOE’s
tuition is $18,195.
“That puts us in the middle of the pack,”
noted Gaschk.
Concordia University Wisconsin has
one of the lowest tuition cost compared to
its sister schools. For example, Concordia
College in Bronxville, New York has tuition
of $27,740 for resident students and $20,700
for commuter students. Concordia University River Forest charges their resident
students $26,900. Concordia University in
Austin, Texas charges $23,730. This means
that CUW has one of the lowest tuitions
among the Concordia University System.
Some students point to the fact that
those schools have higher tuition rates because they have additional facilities, higher
land value, or features that do not exist at the
Mequon school. For example, Bronxville
recently added an honors college, despite the
fact that the school has a significantly smaller budget, less students, and is located in a
wealthy, upper-class neighborhood.
Administrators generally do not cite
such information. For example, Gaschk attributes the school’s low tuition to “higher
endowments and a low debt ratio.”
Most administrators point to Concordia’s non-traditional undergraduate programs
as the reason for a lower tuition cost. “The
graduate and adult education helps in holding down the tuition cost for the traditional
students,” noted Prochnow.
In his recent speech at the Presidential
Forum, University President Dr. Patrick Ferry noted that traditional students’ tuition “do
not even come close to covering the cost” of
their education. Such expenses, he said, are
covered by other programs.
Policy: Committee Sees Failures, Success
From Page One
crowd that he intended to bring students to
discussion in the form of a committee. In an
interview one day prior to the Forum, Ferry
argued that students did have “legitimate
concerns over the process, involvement” of
students, referring to the overwhelmingly
negative response of students to the policy
and the fact that no students were brought
to the table outside of Residence Life’s staff.
Ferry believes that the staff should have said
“not ‘here it is’…but ‘here is what we’re
proposing.’”
Also, Ferry defended students’ rights
to hear about policy much earlier in the
process. “I’ll have to acknowledge some
insensitivity…(towards) fifth year students,”
he said.
Following the Forum, a Residence Life
Policy Committee was formed by Ferry to
include all resident student senators and persons appointed by the Student Senate. However, controversy quickly arose after one
student, SGA Treasurer Chris Johnson, was
told to leave the committee room during its
first meeting. Johnson, who was not on the
membership list, was told by SGA President
Bishop Sparks that he would be added. A
miscommunication resulted in his name being left off. Wilson, who chairs the committee, held the meeting under closed doors.
Other controversy surrounded the committee. Many argued that meeting times
were unfair, as the first meeting fell at noon
on Tuesday, February 28th and the second
meeting was scheduled for 7:00 a.m. on
Tuesday, March 7th. Wilson told students
that meetings must take place around regular
work hours. Many students have classes that
conflicted with the meeting schedule.
After the controversy faded, the second
committee meeting proved successful. After
a visit by Ferry, where he told the committee that a 9:30 p.m. meeting time would be
more appropriate, members completed much
business, such as establishing that room priority would be determined by the cumulative
average of priority numbers of roommates.
Also, the committee established that judicial
points would not be a tiebreaker but would
instead be considered equally with seniority
in determining room selection precedence.
Senior Regents resident senator and
committee member Robert Graham believes
that Ferry’s decision to be at the second committee meeting was very important. “President Ferry showed up and took a proactive
role,” he said. “It shows that the president
isn’t afraid to reach down and get his hands
dirty.”
Sophomore Wittenberg resident senator and committee member Sean Willman
agrees. “I was happy to see President Ferry….It was nice to hear him parallel what we
thought,” he said. “He expressed concerns
that we had….That was big of him.” Willman was unavailable at the first meeting, as
he had a jazz band concert that conflicted
with the committee schedule.
Despite the fact that several administra-
tors have acknowledged problems with how
the situation has handled, Wilson and Vice
President of Student Life Dr. Andy Luptak
have not publicly apologized or admitted to
any mistakes on their behalf.
“I stand by the decisions that I made,”
Wilson said in an interview. Wilson does not
believe that bringing students to the table in
the first place was necessary in the creation
of the policy. On the subject of whether or
not students should be included in discussions, Wilson said that they “could be…but
not necessarily should be (included).”
“Feedback doesn’t hurt,” commented
Resident Director Crystal Faledas in an interview. “But, I think it’s really neat when
students would work together with staff.”
Wilson and Faledas said that six Resident Assistants were also part of policy discussions, but no students outside of her department were included.
The final committee meeting is Thursday, March 9.
Beacon
The
Page Three
University Hosts 55th Annual CIT Tournament
Tournament is second-longest running college basketball tournament in the nation
Submitted by Chris Johnson
The annual Concordia Invitational
Tournament was held on the CUW campus
in January. The tournament, now in its 55th
year, brought thousands of fans and players from four Concordia’s for a weekend of
competition and comradery.
The tournament itself is the second longest collegiate basketball tournament in the
United States, surpassed only by the National
Invitational Tournament (NIT). Over 15 colleges, seminaries, and universities have participated in the event over the years including schools from as far away as Portland.
“There have been years where they
couldn’t even find four Concordia’s [to participate],” said Rick Riehl, Sports Information Director. “For a lot of the early years
it was the St. Louis seminary who hosted it,
and the seminarians played in the tournament.”
The tournament was the brainchild of
Eldon “Pete” Peterson and was held in the
field house that now bears his name in St.
Louis. In the inaugural tournament, four
schools competed: the St. Louis Seminary,
the Springfield Seminary, Concordia College
Seward, and Concordia College Ann Arbor.
St. Louis defeated River Forest 50-40 in the
championship.
“Our whole season was aimed at CIT,”
said Dean of the School of Education Dr.
James Jergunsen and basketball player in the
1958-1962 CIT for Seward. “Then, there
weren’t any national tournaments or anything
and it was the hugest thing in our life.”
Since the very beginning, the tournament has always brought out the best in ev-
ery team that participates.
Seward has been the dominant player
over the past decade winning both the men’s
and women’s championship game, but this
year, for the first time ever; Concordia Ann
Arbor won the men’s championship game.
“At CIT you can throw the records out;
every team is equal because every team is
going to play hard,” said Ben Limback,
coach of tournament champion Concordia
Ann Arbor men’s basketball team. “We have
come a long way and it is a big accomplishment. [Seward has] a lot of tradition; to beat
them in a championship game, there’s not a
better feeling.”
The last time the Seward men lost was
when Coach Limback was a junior playing
for Seward’s head coach Grant Schmidt.
This interconnection is not unusual at the
tournament. CUW head coach Rev. Wayne
Rasmussen coached Grant Schmidt and assistant coach Marty Kohlwey at Seward
when they attended there.
“Coach Rasmussen played in the CIT
for the seminary in 1962, which was my senior year, so we actually played against each
other,” said Jergunsen. “I think Dr. Sohn
played for River Forest maybe his last year
was ’58 which was my first year, so it does
all tie together.”
The stands at any CIT game are full of
young fans and those who have attended
many tournaments in the past, sharing memories of bygone games.
“I guess [my favorite game] would be a
CIT here in Mequon. Seward won the men’s
tournament on a last second shot from 35 feet
or more,” said Dr. Orville Walz, President of
Concordia Seward from 1990-2004. “The
Athletics Requests $4
Million New Facility
By Nick Drabek
Despite the recent construction of the
new athletic facility in 2002 on the northwest corner of the campus, a new multi-sport
facility has been requested by the athletic department to support the continued growth of
Concordia sports teams.
Completion of this new complex would
cost Concordia between $3.5 and $4 million
for the entire renovation and, being a stand
alone entity, CUW must fundraise for the
project, unlike Concordia River Forest who
went to local school districts to help fund
their sports facility.
According to Dr. Rob Barnhill, Director
of Athletics and Offensive Coordinator of the
football team, “A finalized master plan phase
has been presented to the foundation board.”
Under the master plan, the football field and
track would be renovated and the current stadium demolished. The new project would be
located about 50 yards northwest of Century
Stadium’s plot.
With several new features, including
state-of-the-art field turf, elite press boxes
and a pavilion, and a new home side of the
stadium that will seat just over 1,000 people,
the facility would give the soccer, football,
and track teams a new place to play. The
baseball and softball teams will also receive
permanent fences, larger bleachers, and
press boxes.
Brian Gryzb, junior third baseman for
the Falcon’s baseball team, loves the idea of
a new a renovated stadium. “I think that a
new stadium w(ould) give the baseball team
more credibility and attract a lot more people,” said Gryzb.
Although these upgrades would not be
completed for a few years, sophomore allconference football player Wilbur Allen believes that, “Even if we miss out on the opportunity to make use of these tremendous
facilities, Concordia is still the main one
(that would) benefit” from a new facility.
Barnhill believes that a new multi-sport
“[T]he current master
plan would place (the
facility) among the
top three in the new
conference.”
Director Dr. Rob Barnhill
complex would “provide athletes the best
venue to showcase their talent, also giving
the athletic department a great recruiting tool
for prospective athletes.”
With Concordia sports joining the
Northern Athletic Conference next year, it
will be imperative that the sports teams come
into the season on a high note. Barnhill commented, “It’s important to know that the current administration wants athletic venues on
par with the best in the new conference, and
the current master plan would place it among
the top three in the new conference.”
Submitted by Chris Johnson, Contributor
DEFENSE - Steve Huenink (CUW) blocks a shot from Scott Beck
(CUNE). CUW lost to CUNE.
ball went through the basket as the buzzer
went off to end the game.”
While the current tournament shares the
same name, much has changed over its 55
year history. The original tournament only
had male teams but in 1965, the River Forest Kittens woman’s basketball team played
Seward’s Lady Bulldogs.
This tournament is the first to be broadcast online with both audio and video. The
stream featured play by play action from
CUW veteran broadcaster Matt Menzl.
Another fan favorite that was new for
the tournament was the Concordia Blimp, a
remote controlled blimp that flew over the
fans and dropped tickets for prizes.
Even though many aspects of the tournament have changed, the message has stayed
consistent.
“The thing I really like is the comradery;
the sense of being more than just one place,”
said CUW President Dr. Patrick Ferry. “It’s
really great to be part of a larger system with
the same values and goals.”
Concordia Baseball
Brings in New Blood
Gonring, Mueller bring experience to the Falcons
By Mike Mueller
After having an improved 21 - 18 season last year, Coach Val Kieper knew that he
was still missing a piece to the puzzle. Over
the off-season, he hired Willie Mueller and
Doug Gonring to add a new dimension to the
Falcon baseball team.
“I knew we needed some coaches that
had an immeasurable amount of love and
knowledge for the game. I could not have
found two better coaches,” said Kieper. “I
feel that this is something that could last for
many years.”
Gonring, who will serve as the hitting
coach as well as the defensive specialist for
the Falcons, also has high expectations for
the team this year. “I expect the kids to go
to class and become good student athletes,”
noted Gonring. “The kids are also working really hard, and I am looking forward to
making a run at the conference title.”
Gonring, who is starting his second
year as an assistant coach, was a catcher for
the Houston Astros and the Toronto Blue
Jays teams in the mid-1980s. He played
with baseball greats like Ken Caminiti, Pat
Borders, and Cecil Fielder. He has also been
involved in countless camps and was a two
time state champion in high school baseball.
The new pitching coach, Mueller, was
a pitcher in the major leagues for two years
and spent a total of 11 years playing for the
Milwaukee Brewers. Pitching in the late
1970s and early 80s, Mueller learned from
players like Jim Gantner, Rollie Fingers,
and Robin Yount. Mueller, like Gonring, has also worked
many baseball camps, including his work at
the Jim Gantner baseball camp for the last
five years. Mueller also played a role as the
closing pitcher for the Yankees in the early
90s movie, Major League.
“We have a lot of pitching depth this
season. Our attitude is outstanding,” said
Mueller. “I am looking forward to a very
successful season.”
The new coaches each have over 15
years of professional baseball experience.
Senior outfielder Adam Rohlinger is
ready to make it a great spring. “With coach
Gonring and coach Mueller added to the
coaching staff, I think this will really add
to our development as players,” said Rohlinger.
The Falcon baseball season begins
March 12.
Editor’s Note: Mike Mueller is the nephew
of Willie Mueller, the new pitching coach.
Beacon
The
CAMPUS MINISTRY
Concordia’s Haven
Continues to Grow
By Andrew Guenther
Six years ago, former campus pastor
Rev. Wayne Braun and a group of Concordia University students started a small devotional service in Albrecht 113 at which they
sang songs with the accompaniment of a
band, listened to guest speakers, and prayed
together. The once relatively small group
of 40 students, known formally as The Haven, has now grown into a large service of
over 200 people from the University and its
neighboring churches.
One of The Haven’s strongest attributes
is that it is managed by students. Each year,
different students volunteer to lead Haven
services, develop prayer teams, and form
various bands.
“I feel that the reason The Haven has
grown so much over the years is that it has
the ability to adapt to the students’ needs,”
said Rev. Steve Smith, the University’s campus pastor, who has recently been increasingly involved as one of the main leaders of
the ministry group.
The Haven has been known for its various music styles, and its band has brought a
large following.
Recently, the group has made use of
their access to technology and has included
movies with a devotional message and biblical overtones, all developed and coordinated
by students. The success of the movies—directed, cast, and filmed by a mix of students
who often have brought their professional
experience into the movies’ development—
has been another attraction of the Sunday
night devotional services.
Smith said that these many factors have
contributed to high levels of growth, as the
group encourages fellowship and reaches out
the people who may not go to a traditional
service.
While the long-term outlook of the
group is all but certain, Smith does believe
that there will be changes over the years,
including “more solid music” and a “solid
message.”
Overcrowding is not a major current
issue, but students do foresee a time when
moving out of Albrecht Lounge, The Haven’s current gathering space, may be necessary. Such a move would necessitate the use
of one of Concordia’s larger spaces, such as
the Todd Wehr Auditorium.
The Haven, funded and supported by
Campus Ministry, meets on Sundays at 7:45
p.m.
Page Four
As University Grows, Need
for Daycare Center On Some
Faculty Minds
One option is simliar to River Forest’s Christopher Center
By Rebecca Blech
After many years of rumors over the
possibility of a child development center,
Concordia University Wisconsin is coming
closer and closer to making it happen. If
space allows, a center could be available in
the next five years, according to the Director
of Early Childhood Education Dr. Candyce
Seider.
Such a center would bring opportunity
to many on campus, as it would likely make
use of students in various fields of study. An
all campus integrative activity, would include students in education, communication,
business, art, occupational therapy, physical
therapy, and others.
“I can see the positive benefits a child
development center would have for the nursing students. It would be convenient and
a great learning experience to provide care
(for) the children,” said junior nursing student Amy Streich.
A primary purpose of the center would
be to serve as a daycare for children of students, faculty, staff, and families in the surrounding communities. Seider believes the
center would “touch the community in an
authentic way.”
Education students studying to work
with small children would benefit, as well.
“A quality child development center
would fulfill the mission of the University,
by integrating the collective resources in all
the schools in Concordia, providing care,
and reaching out to the community,” added
Seider.
Business and communication students
would also be integrated into the center’s
operations. Students would be able to work
first hand at promoting the center throughout
the University and the surrounding communities.
Concordia University Wisconsin is not
the only school in the Concordia University
System to consider such ideas. Sister school
Concordia University-River Forest, a smaller
university with 2,783 students, recently built
the Christopher Center, a child development
facility. The Center has infant, toddler, full
day preschool, and kindergarten programs
available to staff, students, and the public.
A center on the Mequon campus would
have to be approved by the Academic Council, the Administrative Council, and the
Board of Regents.
Housing Policy Can Teach University Many Lessons
As an outspoken critic of the proposed
housing policy, I will address three concerns
surrounding the recent controversy.
Financial Aid: All institutional aid
should go to tuition. I see no point in having scholarships or grants go to living on
campus. Why does the university care if
students choose to live off campus? I have
no problem giving on campus housing to all
freshmen who want it, but don’t take money
away from students who choose to live off
campus. Since our dorms are bursting at the
seams, a great way to alleviate this pressure
would be to leave housing out of financial
aid. This would also eliminate university
co-signed leases and additional staff positions.
Admissions: Cap enrollment. Our
school can only teach so many students. We
only have so many professors; we only have
so many beds on campus. A fire chief determines how many persons can fit in a building or room; similarly, a school can only
handle so many students. Some students
feel that CUW has exceeded its capacity
and that continuing to accept students hurts
the whole university. Having too many students lowers the quality of life on campus.
The Concordia Beacon Staff
Turning lounges into temporary or permanent housing (Augsburg and Wittenberg
to name a few), affects the whole student
body. There are two reasons the university
will not cap enrollment. One is that they
don’t want to reject anyone, but the other is
that capping enrollment will limit revenue.
Woodmere: End prohibition. If the University is nothing more than the co-signer of
Woodmere students’ leases, I see no reason
for on-campus rules to apply anywhere beyond the Mequon campus. Unless a lawyer
or politician proves me wrong, the school
cannot be legally implicated if a Woodmere
student is involved in an alcohol-related
incident in their apartment. Many, if not
most, students at Woodmere are 21 or older.
Campus Safety doesn’t cover Woodmere;
the Cedarburg’s finest does. If we’re displacing super seniors and student teachers,
the least we can do is let them have a beer
in the privacy of their own apartment.
There is much more I would like to
say but the limitations of space dictate
otherwise. I hope this letter generates open
discussion and fosters better communication
throughout our university.
Josh Schroeder, Senior
Cartoon by Micah Rabe
Dr. Jeff Walz
Faculty Advisor
Lindsey Wheeler
Tyler Williams
Executive Editor
Assistant Editor
Loveth Anyanwu, Rebecca Blech, Teri Dillett, Nick Drabek, Andrew Guenther, Emmanuel Johnson, Stacy
Lawrence, Mike Mueller, Steve Mustari, Brian Nord, Shelly Podjaski, Micah Rabe, Matt Theriault
The Concordia Beacon Editorial Policy
The Beacon newspaper is the official
student newspaper of Concordia University
Wisconsin, and its target audience is the
university’s community. Letters to the
editor from students, staff, and community
residents will be published under the
discretion of the Beacon editorial staff.
These letters must be signed and under
300 words to be considered for publishing.
The staff also reserves the right not to
publish any letters that are vulgar or are
malicious in intent. Letters may be sent to
the editor,
Lindsey
Wheeler,
through campus mail.
Beacon staff members also have the
ability to voice their opinion in Beacon
editorials. Editorials will focus on topics
that are debatable and that directly affect
Concordia students.
The paper reserves the right to refuse
any advertising not found to be within the
publication’s standards, particularly in
reference to good taste and to products and/
or services that are illegal, inappropriate, or
against the doctrine of the Lutheran Church
Missouri Synod.
Errors and Omissions
In the December 2005 article, “Winterim Enrollment Drops Nearly One-Third,”
the Beacon referred to decreased enrollment of January 2005. The article has been
misinterpreted as referring to the enrollment of January 2006.