THE BG NEWS Monday
Economic effects
February 4, 2008 Volume 102, Issue 96 WWW.BGNEWS.COM
CAMPUS
Students can now rent textbooks
Univ. optimistic about state funding
The bookstore offers rented textbooks for a select number of classes to give students another option to save money | Page 3
By Kelly Day Campus Editor HTTP://WWW.BGDANCEMARATHON.COM/
GSS discusses Project Search
At its meeting on Friday, GSS also addressed a student memorial service and the top 10 graduatestudent concerns | Page 3
FORUM
Christianity is faith, hope, love
Religion doesn’t have to clash with science or be forced on unsuspecting citizens, it’s really just about faith, writes columnist Benjamin Swanson | Page 4
E-mails won’t stop birthday drinking
Students usually make drinking plans far ahead of their 21st birthdays, and an e-mail from USG won’t change their minds | Page 4
NY Giants snatch Super Bowl title
WEATHER
PEOPLE ON THE STREET
SPORTS
The Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in a last-minute touchdown by quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Plaxico Burress | Page 7
Women’s b-ball beats Toledo in ash-rising win
The Falcons defeated the Rockets 71-41 over the weekend, finally getting a win after a three-game losing streak | Page 7
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
‘One Team, One Dream’ By Kristen Vasas Reporter
For some students, March is the most pivotal month of the year. Spring Break finally arrives and the months of hard work spent at the recreation center finally pay off. But for others, March brings much more than just tan lines and beach bonfires. Instead, creative dance moves, fundraising and weeks of preparation pay off in one monumental event known as Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon, or DM as it is more commonly known, is a 32-hour fundraiser at the end of March that benefits St. Vincent Mercy Children’s Hospital in order to raise money and awareness for children treated by children’s hospitals. This year, BG is sponsoring 12 families known as the miracle families. “We are connected to the miracle families because they benefit from the money that we raise during DM,” Family Relations Chair Lauren Wolk said. “The money goes towards funding research grants for the hospital, Playstations, movies and just anything that the children can play with while they’re in bed.” The children of the miracle families range in age from 5 to 13 and have been treated at the hospital for a number of different reasons, including cancer and invasive surgeries. Participating students, faculty and staff raising money for the miracle families are divided into three separate categories: dancers, moralers and bikers.
JOHN YAGER Junior, VCT
TODAY T-Showers High: 43, Low: 41
TOMORROW T-Storms and Wind High: 52, Low: 32
University President Sidney Ribeau is uncertain how BGSU will be affected by the economic turmoil in the nation and state during the next year, but in Friday’s State of the University Address he said he remains optimistic. Part of his optimism roots from Gov. Ted Strickland’s recent statement that the state would not cut funding from higher education institutions first, but from other state organizations. Ribeau said this is a historical first. Chief Financial Officer Sheri Stoll said she and other administrators were told about Strickland’s decision on Jan. 24. “They really believe that higher education has an incredibly important role to play in changing that future for this state and our citizens,” she said. But Stoll said she is “cautiously optimistic” about the news. The
“They really believe that higher education has an incredibly important role to play in changing that future for this state and our citizens.” Sheri Stoll | Chief Financial Officer
uncertain economic conditions in Ohio could still have a negative impact on the University, even though Strickland wants to help higher education. There could be state budget cuts anywhere from $735 million to $1.9 billion in 2009. Ribeau said the governor is going to try to hold higher education harmless, which means the University would receive at least as much funding as it does now, but it ultimately depends on the financial situation of the state. “He has told state agencies already to begin to prepare for cuts and we have not been told yet to expect any cuts,” Stoll
said. The University is being cautious by planning the budget conservatively for the 2009 fiscal year. With the release of Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut’s 10-year master plan on March 31, Ribeau said he would be inviting 17 faculty, staff and student representatives to be part of a strategic planning committee for other changes at the University. The committee will consist of faculty members, one administrator and two students and will
See FUNDING | Page 2
HISTORY’S MYSTERIES ABOUT THE CITY: Check out part two of the three-part series about the formation of Bowling Green in tomorrow’s paper
See DANCE | Page 2
“I’ve been watching the ‘Batman: The Dark Night’ trailer on YouTube.” | Page 4
ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
BG is part of a dynamic history By Adam Louis Reporter
The city of Bowling Green has come a long way from 40 acres, a camp and two stacks of prairie hay. The United States purchased the Black Swamp area from local Native Americans through an 1817 treaty shortly after the war of 1812 for less than four cents an acre, according to an article by American cultural studies professors Ken Dvorak and William Grant. In 1832, Elisha Martindale claimed 40 acres of land where Conneaut School is today, according to the city’s Web site. He camped there and cut two stacks of hay. Upon returning to his claim in the spring of 1833 to build his cabin, he found the hay burned up by local Native Americans. “I think [their] message was ‘you’re not necessarily welcome here,’” said Randy Brown of the Wood County Historical Society. “It was an anti-welcome mat.” This did not stop settlers for building their homes HTTP://WWW.BGSU.EDU/DEPARTMENT/ACS/1890S/ on the higher ground near present-day Napoleon Road STANDING TALL: The City Building on Wooster is only part of BG’s expansive history. and South Main Street. The settlement was called a new post office for the city, More settlers came to the Mount Ararat, named after and Stauffer and a few others Bowling Green area after the the mountain in east Turkey were discussing what to name Ohio Drainage Act of 1859, said where Noah’s ark may have it. Gordon said, “If you will Central Michigan University been found after the flood. give me a tumbler of cider I’ll professor Ted Ligibel. A significantly larger amount of land The name didn’t stay long, give you just the name.” though; Mount Ararat was Stauffer said he wanted the became habitable after the renamed Bowling Green name to reflect the surrounding Black Swamp was drained dur21 years later. According to landscape. “Here’s to the new ing the 1860s, uncovering rich Dvorak and Grant, in 1834 post- post office of Bowling Green,” soil that launched the farmal worker Joseph Gordon was Gordon said. He downed his ing industry in Bowling Green, delivering mail from Bowling cider, wrote the name on the Ligibel said. Green, Ky., and made his usual petition and left. The village The village prospered in stop at Jacob Stauffer’s cabin was officially re-named Bowling farming, lumber and fur on his way north. There was a Green in 1855, with John C. See HISTORY| Page 2 petition being written up for Wooster as its first mayor.
Conference disects internal, external black identities By Gina Potthoff Assistant Campus Editor
The recent storm couldn’t stop more than 200 students, faculty and others from attending the ninth annual Black Issues Conference held in Olscamp Saturday. The event, “Black is; Black Ain’t,” was put on by the Center for Multicultural and Academic Initiatives. Out of the 235 people who registered, approximately 205 participants were present. James Jackson, multicultural
adviser at the University who has spearheaded the event for the past nine years, said attendance has been high the last two years. Less people were in attendance because of the cold and snowy weather, and Jackson said some people coming from Illinois and Indiana had to cancel their trip. Planning for the event started back in October, when the student planning committee began cooperating with the other campus groups like the
Black Student Union and the Black Intellects Group. The conference included a welcome, three sets of concurrent workshop sessions led by seven different faculty member volunteers, a luncheon, a speech from Na’im Akbar, who specializes in African-centered modern psychology, and a closing. The students came up with the catchy session titles, with names such as “Read A Book, Read A Book, Read A DAMN Book!,” “It’s Cause I’m Black,” and “Acting Black, Acting White: Performing
Race in Our Lives.” Jackson said the sessions were packed. The “Acting Black, Acting White: Performing Race in Our Lives” session was led by higher education faculty member Dafina Stewart and focused on why people act the way they do and what messages it sends to others. The session involved approximately 30 participants discussing how race and culture are enacted in our daily lives and how socialization helps deter-
mine human behaviors. Students came up with what they thought it meant to be black and talked about the negative effects of stereotypes used inside and outside the black community. Keynote speaker Akbar also touched on the consequences of people looking at the external part of a person instead of the internal. In his speech, Akbar explained what “black ain’t” and what
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See DIVERSITY | Page 2