As I drove around Dupont Circle during rush hour on a Tuesday afternoon, I thought to
myself, “This was not a good idea.” Cars lurched out in front of me and herds of pedestrians fearlessly
threw themselves into the streets as I tried to carefully maneuver myself around the busy streets of
D.C. in my mom’s car. Mom was in the passenger seat, practically hyperventilating over the traffic, and
I was left to find my way and not wreck at the same time. I passed at least ten Starbucks, a handful of
embassies, and a mile long line of people waiting at the Steak and Shake before I finally found my way
down Connecticut Avenue. At around five thirty, I finally spotted my destination and praised the Lord
for getting me there in one piece.

My first place of residence was here, with a Marietta alum and sorority sister who shares my
love for politics. After I unloaded the car and gave Mom a paper bag to breathe into for a few minutes,
we collected ourselves and set out, via Metro, to see the sites and get some dinner. Later that night, as
I gazed up at the Washington Monument in the moonlight, I was immediately at ease. Walking through
the World War II monument and reading the Gettysburg Address at the Lincoln Monument made me
realize that no, this was not a mistake, and it was indeed just the beginning of a beautiful summer
romance with our Nation’s Capital.

The next couple of days were some of the most exciting. After mom returned home, I began
my internship on the Hill, and time seemed to just fly by. I was working for an Alabama congressman in
the Rayburn building and that is where I learned more than I have in most classes and made some great
friendships that I hope to never lose. The first week was filled with answering phone calls, sorting faxes,
and-if I’m being honest-surfing the internet or reading newspapers. In the beginning, when the staffers
were trying to determine if the interns could be trustworthy and capable, time crept by as there was not
much to do. However, eventually I proved my abilities and the tasks began piling up.

I began writing letters to constituents regarding bills they were interested in and handling the
Congressman’s schedule as well. These were some of my favorite things to do, because not only did I get
to do something of importance, but I learned a lot as well. Some more important letters I wrote, such as
five to dignitaries from another country, were signed by the Congressman himself, and that was always
thrilling. I would write them, he would read over them, tell me what to fix, and then sign them to be
sent out.

Tours were also a big job of the interns. If you take a trip to D.C., you can call your congressman
and have them arrange for you a tour of the Capitol, including the House gallery. This is where the
interns come in handy. We would give up to three tours a day when busy. The tours are about 2 hours
long; they begin in our office and end in the House gallery. The house gallery was one of my favorite
parts of the tour. If you watch C-SPAN, you will most likely see a Congressman on the House floor,
speaking about a bill or an issue; the House gallery is the balcony area in the chamber that you usually
see during a State of the Union address given by the President. My second favorite part of the tour was
the Rotunda. Without fail, every time I led a group into the Rotunda my head would fall back as I looked
at the ceiling and my mouth would drop open. Time after time, it never gets old. It is one of the most
beautiful and patriotic places and it makes me proud to be an American. If you ever get a chance to visit
D.C., take the Capitol tour. You will learn so much and it will definitely be worth the two hours.

Outside the office was a lot of fun as well. I went to a Nat’s game, saw the sights, went on a
ghost tour in Old Town, and attended many summer political summits as well. On the fourth of July, I
crawled through a window onto the roof of one of the House Office buildings and watched the fireworks
from there- that was one of the greatest experiences outside of work. I also got to walk around the
outside of the Dome, on top of the Library of Congress- an experience reserved for groups who are with
a Congressman or Chief of Staff. I definitely did not waste my free time at all.

Being in D.C. was quite the experience and I couldn’t have chosen a better time, historically, to
intern there. The “Weinergate” scandal was the first history making event to occur during my tenure.
I remember the camera crews posted outside Rep. Weiner’s office in Rayburn as I walked through the
halls, and I remember meeting his interns and thinking how terrible it would be to be his intern at that
time. The second great debacle this summer was the debt ceiling. I’m sure you’ve heard of those two
words by now but it was much different living in D.C. through it than just hearing about it.

I’ve never seen people so heated; so impassioned. Not only were the Congressmen, staffers, and
lobbyists fuming and fighting; but the constituents, the People of America, were mad as well. There
were times that so many people were calling at a time that the circuits overloaded and people couldn’t
get through. I was told that I hated America, asked if I knew I was going to Heaven and told that I didn’t
understand or care about what the American people wanted because I was making “a big paycheck and
sitting on the Hill.” I had a lot of good experiences on the Hill, but this was not one of them.

Two and a half months after arriving in D.C., I finally got to go home on the weekend that the
debt ceiling issue was to be solved- and I had never been happier to get on a plane and fly away.

I learned a lot this summer, though, and I am thankful for that.

For starters, I learned that while politics gets a bad name- and for good reason-there are some
Politicians out there who are in it for the right reasons, we as voters just have to find them.

Second, I learned that working on the Hill isn’t as glamorous as people perceive it to be. Staffers
aren’t making huge pay checks, congressmen aren’t driving fancy cars, and the office space is less than
desirable- not to mention the tiles that are falling out of the sub-basement ceiling.

Third, Congressmen DO get too comfortable in their offices when they are continuously re-
elected and lose touch with the people they elect. I once heard a congressman say to his Chief of
staff, “The people want us to vote no, so I talked to the Speaker’s people and they said if they have
enough votes we can vote no, but if they don’t we have to vote in favor.” This shouldn’t be happening.

I learned a lot more but there’s always too much to tell. My biggest hope is that you will get
involved and call your Congressmen when you care about an issue; and when you do, remember that if
you talk to a staffer, they are more powerful than you think as they influence the member’s vote. Also,
they are usually overworked, under paid, and underappreciated, so try not to scream at them and tell
them they hate America.

Most importantly for me, I learned what I came to find out. I learned that I love politics, that I
am passionate enough about it to be screamed at on the phone and come back for more, and that I truly
love what this country represents and want to spend my life fighting for it.

My plane took off from Baltimore on July 29th and as the lights disappeared from the runway
and the sky blackened, I settled into my seat and felt the bitter sweet sensation of leaving D.C. sweep
over me. I was so happy to return to Alabama to see my family that I had been missing so much, but I
was saddened to say goodbye to all of my new friends, and a life I knew I wanted but couldn’t have just
yet.

I have two more years at Marietta to dream and plan for that life, so for now I will simply
treasure the experience and enjoy the present.

The Dad Vail Regatta Finals will be aired on ABC 6 in Philadelphia, but more helpful for most Marietta College Crew fans will be the live stream on ESPN3.com.  That coverage will be available starting at 1 PM, and will run through 5 PM.  Chances are good that the Dad Vail website will stream semi-final coverage prior to the TV broadcast.

If you want to know when to tune in to the action, here is the full menu of races Marietta boats will or may be in!  All times listed are EST.

7:48 AM – Women’s Varsity Heavyweight Four+ (Division Two & Three)
Semi-final #3 – Top Two Advance to Final – Race 108 – Lane 5

10:10 AM – Men’s Junior Varsity Heavyweight Eight
Semi-final #2 – Top Three Advance to Final – Race 131 – Lane 1

10:40 AM – Men’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight
Semi-final #3 – Top Two Advance to Final, 3rd & 4th to Second Final – Race 137 – Lane 6

1:03 PM – Men’s Varisty Lightweight Eight
FINAL – Race 149 – Lane 2

1:23 PM – Women’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight (Division Three)
FINAL – Race 151 – Lane 4

*1:33 PM* – Women’s Varsity Heavyweight Four+ (Division Two & Three)
FINAL – Race 152

*3:30 PM* – Men’s Junior Varsity Heavyweight Eight
FINAL – Race 160

*4:23 PM* - Men’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight
Second Final – Race 169

*4:33 PM* – Men’s Varsity Heavyweight Eight
FINAL – Race 170

*Astrix means that Marietta needs to race their way into the race*

Also remember that the ‘Etta Express will be playing in the Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Championship Saturday at 1 PM.  WMOA will have a live stream available to listen to.

There are three major changes being proposed for the Marietta College Alcohol Policy:

• Section H will still allow for students of age to have 12 cans or bottles of beer (empty or full), as long as they are 12 ounces or less.  Or, you can still have a 750 ml bottle of wine.  The new wrinkle is that beer would not be allowed to be stronger than 5.5% alcohol.  There is not a similar restriction on wine.
• Section O will require all social functions and campus dorm rooms to cease serving or consuming alcohol at Midnight on Sundays through Thursdays, and at 2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays.
• The table of automatic sanctions is gone, now replaced by a tiered system.  Tier One offenses are the low-end, while Tier Three are high-end offenses.  There are also two additional lists of sanctions (both social and educational) that can be divvied out as deemed necessary.

The full policy can be read below.  Changes are in red font.

Marietta College Alcohol Proposed Policy Changes

While the Faculty Council has already voted to approve the changes, Student Senate has made several recommendations to Vice President of Student Life Dr. Robert Pastoor and the Alcohol Policy Committee.  Dr. Pastoor can choose to make changes to the proposed policy, or choose to leave the document the same and have Student Senate vote on the document as-is.  If changes are made based on Student Senate’s recommendations, the Faculty Council would then have to re-vote on the policy.

The recommendations from Student Senate are as follows:

• Striking Section O from the policy so that there are no restrictions on when students of age can choose to consume alcohol
• Amending Section H so that students can have beers with up to 10% alcohol per volume.  The policy, if left unchanged, would have made many craft brews illegal to drink on campus.
• Striking an educational sanction that would have required students (if given the sanction) to shadow a Resident Assistant on a Friday or Saturday night.  Senators saw the move as more of a burden to the RA than a punishment to the student.

Student Senate will receive a final proposal prior to their next meeting on Wednesday, April 20th.  If you have any comments or concerns, you can come to the meeting at 7 PM in the Emeritus Chamber, or speak with your Class Representative or Organization Representative.

It is expected that a vote will happen at this meeting.  If passed it is not clear as to when the policy will take effect.

What are your thoughts on the proposed alcohol policy?

6:55 PM – Students filing in, things should start soon!

7:02 PM – Student Body President Josh Maxwell introducing admin/staff present.  Residence Life, Student Life, Athletics, Dining Services, Academics, Physical Plant, Faculty, CPS, Financial Services all represented

7:04 PM – Tim Crandall, Senior – Two side doors on side of Fayerweather need greased, can it be addressed.  Physical Plant responds, saying students should either call Physical Plant at 740-376-4790 or submit a work order online

7:05 PM – Gretchen Reimer, Sophomore – Parking will be reduced during new dorm construction, so what will happen?  CPS responds, adding parking on Church Street.  They are also looking to enforce non-permitted vehicles that currently clog permit parking spots.

Ty Stay – How will public parking be affected?  CPS says it will not be

Ritchie Fredericks, Junior – Why did CPS call my landlord and express concern about living arrangements?  CPS says that Ritchie needs to visit and discuss the issue in private.

Dave Hood, Senior – Idea for Chartwells – reducing prices for Faculty and Staff so they can eat more on campus.  Chartwells is introducing a faculty/staff buy one get one free special

7:09 PM – Laura Finck, Junior – Can changes be made to apartment and off-campus living policies, especially application dates?  Bruce (Res Life) explains that the handbook needs to be updated to further explain room pick process for apartment living.  Laura wanted to as if times could be staggered…Bruce will look into doing that.  Laura also thanks Bruce for getting her into housing late

Adam Stonier – Graphics Dept has printing issues…has had to spend $50 on printing this semester.  Printers in the department are not part of GoPrint, and thinks that things need changed.  IT Response is that GoPrint printers are available across campus, but some printers are owned by the departments, and that the school has no control over those.  They will take a look at new options for website to add MCASH to student ID’s.  Adam also asked about price discrepancy between Library and Graphics Dept printers…cost between printers is the difference.  Some printers more expensive than others.

Kelsey brown, Sophomore – Wants to see To Go boxes at Gilman, and wondering why the Gatorade tastes better at the Gathering Place than at Izzy’s?  Chartwells will check on both

Claire Murphy, Sophomore – Omicron Chi Theta President, wants to know if her organization could get more permanent or consistent meeting places for meetings.  Student Life says they will work to schedule a room for them.  OXO would also like a room on campus to show awards.  Student Life says to talk to them about getting a display case to show off awards as a short-term fix.

7:19 PM – Adrienne Prentice – Wants more traction on the bridge between McCoy and DBRC.  Physical Plant will immediately discuss the issue.

Lindsay Buckwell, Freshman – Thanks CPS for coming at 6 AM to warn her to move her car during recent floods, but could CPS make sure that they have the right people associated with each car.  CPS says there was no permit on the car, and license plate was not necessarily tied to the student, but they will double check practices.

Why is the track team the only team that pays for their trips?  Larry says the question is erroneous, and other teams do pay.  Every team has access to fund raising accounts and operations.

RItchie Fredericks – Asking if Pioneer Pledge / Student handbook trump Constitutional rights?  Admin responds that since this is a private college, things can be a bit more restrictive.

Ty Stay – asking about alcohol policy revisions.  Dr. Pastoor says the committee has pretty much finished up.  Planning to get it through to Senate by Wednesday.  Policy could be in place for next school year.  Main student complaints include simplifying punishment process.  Some things included in revisions he does not agree with, doesn’t think will be included in final proposal.  Continuing to another student asking if Dr. Pastoor could clarify rumors of the new revisions, including reducing 12 cans of beer to 6, and reducing wine to half a bottle.  Dr. Pastoor says he cannot comment on it since nothing has been officially proposed yet.  Student Senate had previously moved to increase amounts students are allowed to have.  Quote of the night so far: Ritchie: “I don’t know how you would have half a bottle of wine” Dr. Pastoor “well you drink the other half [jokingly]”

7:29 PM – “My student ID will not scan me into anyplace. I used to be able to scan into the cafe. What buildings SHOULD I be able to scan into? I’m particularly interested in Mills, DBRC and the cafe. Who do I see to fix this?” – CPS says there are some malfunctioning ID cards out there…CPS will replace them for free in their office if they are undamaged.

Tim Crandall – Really appreciated the sustainable housing effort

Tom Dougherty, Senior – Wondering why some ATO cards are getting deactivated after each semester.  CPS and IT respond…IT populates the list automatically.  Bruce says that the names are not removed.  ATO needs a member who can’t get in go to the CPS office and have them work through the problem.

Kelly Park, Senior – Is hearing that enrollment is increasing a lot for next year.  Why has enrollment been increasing so much, effecting housing and class selections.  Admins respond, saying they are targeting enrollment of 405, compared to 370-ish last year.  Need to guarantee Freshmen Housing for Freshmen students.  Students are encouraged to go ahead and wait list classes so admin and faculty can potentially add additional classes.  Kelly wanted to know if Writing Center funding is secured for the future.  Rita Kipp says rumors are untrue, Writing Center will still be around.  Have been trying to increase number of work-study students.

7:37 PM – Ian Boley – Wanted to thank CPS for their increase in Community Policing efforts and professionalism.

Claire Murphy – Rumor of key card reader being installed in Hermann.  Is this happening?  CPS says the rumor is true.  Physical Plant has installed new doors that would allow for key card readers to be installed.  Reminder to call Physical Plant or place work orders online.  Continuing, she is an RA in Dorothy Webster.  Apparently they are having an issue with furniture breaking.  Students worried about breaking items.  Bruce says that things will be replaced over the summer.  Items will still look antique, don’t worry.

Sean McKenna – Was going through judicial process, reviewing his file.  There were documents in his file that were removed just before his trial.  Dr. Pastoor says that things need tightened up.  Some of it is learning, some of it is just going through rough spots.  Being looked into.

Question about having to use declining balance to pay for friends/family instead of being allowed to use unused meals.  Chartwells responds that the meal plan is for you.  Some cashiers were allowing students to, when they were not supposed to.  They will look into it.

Ryan Cahall – Was given course catalogue Freshman year, but looking at future course listings, two classes conflict at the same time.  Departments being stubborn about moving times.  Can anything be done about having departments cooperate more?  Kipp says better relations is a good idea.  Coordination usually happens in the Science department.  One potential solution might be to ask for a substitution.  Cahall continues, saying that conflicts could be an issue for early-applicant PA students.  Kipp says they might be able to add another section.

Cody Clemons – Parks in the Freshman Circle, but sometimes can’t get parking spots because of non-permit vehicles and other permitted vehicles.  CPS is updating signage to be more consistant, will help with confusion and enforcement.

Question about break housing.  Needed to come back early due to weather issues while traveling.  Wonders why he is being charged $50 for that.  Bruce says all he needed to do was talk to him because it was an unplanned/emergency issue.  Student also wonders why it was double the standard of $25, and why students are charged to stay over breaks.  Money goes towards paying staff to stay over breaks, and Physical Plant workers to take care of trash.  Students can call CPS if they need items over breaks.  Dr. Pastoor adds that students don’t need to wait for Speak Outs to address issues.

Connor Walters, Sophomore – Doesn’t have a question!  Wrote an article to the Marcolian, wasn’t sure how many people read it, but was really impressed with school spirit during the team’s playoff run.  Wants students/staff/faculty to be just as excited about other sports/outlets.  Larry Hiser was happy the Crew team spelled Marietta correctly every home game, and was happy to see other sports supporting other teams.

“is there a time-line for a greening of school? if so, what is it? if not, why not? Are there any projects being planned, from simple things like making it policy to use CFL lights to medium-sized projects like replacing the drafty windows in freshman dorms with energy efficient ones, or even any bigger projects?” – There is a lot of things the College can do, and is making progress on.  New dorm will have LEED elements, like the area’s largest rain garden.  Pioneer House will be turned into a sustainable living house (modeled after living option at Ohio University).  Fred Smith and others in Physical Plant would be better to ask, but are not here tonight.  Wants to shout out to MC students for doing so well at recycling.  Marietta ranks #30 out of 363 schools in Recyclemania in one statistic.  Sustaintability at MC will be led by students themselves.  Forward ideas to Physical Plant anytime!

7:58 PM – Ty Stay – Wanted to thank Josh Maxwell for being President

Drew Schulte -  Wanted to know if there is a plan to expand the grading scale to allow for an A+ to be rated at 4.0, and an A a 3.75.  Kipp responds that some faculty agree that A+ should be worth 4.33, but majority of Faculty do not agree.  One point was that it is more common in high school than in college to receive more for an A+.  Other point was that there are a wide variety of faculty that either give no A+’s or a lot of A+’s.

Mallory Haynes, Sophomore – Annoyed that bottled water is 50 cents at Izzy’s, but no additional fee at the Cafe or Express.  Chartwells says the difference is that there is a water option on the Izzy’s Pop/Soda Fountain.  Second question is wondering why Petro can get 19 credit hours for no additional fee, but her major (accounting?) she would have to pay for 19 credit hours.  Kipp says the concession to Petro students no longer exists.  Concession was due to an FYE class required Freshman year.

Valerie Price – Was wondering how sign-offs and substitutions would be made wit the new electronic system.  Kipp says that signatures still need to be made on audit sheets in person with advisers.  Price also wants to know if school has considered removing pluses and minuses completely, feels penalized for being in the A range but not getting full points.

Matt Booth, Sophomore – Member of the Second Amendment Club and College Republicans, wanted to know if there was any progress made on allowing officers to have weapons.  Response is that Board of Trustees has to make that final decision.  Proposals from students, faculty, and staff have been heard, currently working to progress it through the school’s processes to approve things.

Phil Sizemore, Senior – Most successful campus communities have a central place for students to visit, but MC has a place that nobody uses.  David Travis listing off reasons students have given for not going to the Gathering Place, and that the College is trying to address those issues.  Admin panel continues that adding a new building for a new student center would be very costly.  “Master Plan” document says that a student center could be built in Hermann Bowl, Hermann Parking Lot, Gilman, or converting Hermann and building a new Fine Arts building.  So unless a lot of money is dropped on the school, probably will be a while before a specific new building would be constructed.

8:13 PM – Sorry Adamn, had to miss your question.  Apologies!

8:18 PM – Moving on to do Student Senate Officer Debates

8:20 PM – Running for Student Senate President are Tim Shields, Ryan Nolen, Danica Cunningham, and Nyssa Wilkerson

8:20 PM – Tim Shields is first.  Thinks communication needs to be improved between Student Senate, Administrators, and Students.

Ryan Nolen wants to increase safety, increase communication between students and administration

Danica Cunningham feels President should serve as a leader and a liaison.  Wants to increase transparency, and make sure right choices are made for President and Provost selections.

Nyssa Wilkerson feels that Student Senate is lacking diversity and needs more turnover.  Wants to make sure more people are involved so students are adequately represented, and communication is improved.

Ryan is asked by Writing on the Mall “You advertise yourself as a candidate of change.  At the same time, you are a member of an organization that has has a member as President of the Student Body for the past three-four years.”  He says that when he represents Student Senate, he is not a member of his Fraternity, but a student of Marietta College.

Question asked to all candidates about how to increase transparency.  Tim says more e-mails should go out to campus.  Ryan points out that most students did not know about work many campus committees do and are not told about.  He says meetings are open and more people need to attend.  Danica says that Student Senate could utilize its Facebook and Twitter accounts more.  She also wants more open communication throughout the year.  Nyssa says that open communication is great, but Student Senate needs to reach out more, and keep the website more up to date.  She says that Senate needs to be seen as a means of communication for Students.

Name one thing you could bring to Student Senate.  Tim says he can bring accountability.  Ryan says he would use committees and delegate more.  Danica would like to see Senate have more of a backbone and stand up for students.  Nyssa says that policies need to be enforced.

Biggest issue you’ll face in the next year?  Tim says the Pioneer Pledge, and that many things have not progressed.  Ryan says that Faculty can be written up to HR, and that the new alcohol policy could be an issue.  Parking and safety are two other issues.  Danica says current students are taken care of, not just future students.  Nyssa says that finding the new President and Provost are the biggest issue.

Changes to safety on campus?  Tim says the Second Amendment club has a valid point to allow officers to have weapons on campus, and encouraging more use of CPS.  Ryan took a walk around campus to find dangerous areas on campus, says that it is possible to get more lighting added in dark areas.  He would also like to see more emergency call boxes across campus.  Danica says that a lot of progress has been made over the past few years, just need to look for the gaps that Ryan mentioned.  Nyssa says that self-defense classes should be offered to male students, not just women.

8:40 PM – Now for the Vice Presidential Candidates…Sarah Snow and Dawn Lantz

Sarah Snow is already helping plan Senior Week, one of the main points the VP deals with.  She wants to improve communication and transparency.

Dawn Lantz wants to be VP to work with Juniors to make their Senior Week awesome.

VP has to take over for President at some points…Question is what are the thoughts of being in charge of Student Senate.  Sarah Snow has presidential experience in other campus organizations.  She is planning to lessen her schedule for next semester.  Dawn says she has never been the president of an organization, but that she has worked closely with Josh this year as the secretary of Student Senate.

Question for Sarah…concern of time management issues.  Sarah says that she works agreements with directors in the Theater department, and that she will be doing her last show at MC this weekend.  She has been in multiple organizations and still has a GPA over 3.75.  Cutting back to major interests and career interests.

Running for President next year?  No and no.

What kind of activities do you have in mind for Senior Week?  Sarah wants to get most of her ideas from the Junior class for next year and what they want.  She lists off events that she has helped plan for this year’s Senior Week.  Dawn says she would use her committee to help find what students want in their Senior Week.

How well do you connect with the student body, specifically the rising Seniors.  Sarah she has been involved in many organizations, and has great relations with many people.  Dawn pretty much says the same thing.

8:50 PM – Treasurer time!  Mallory Haynes

Mallory Haynes has been involved with Student Senate and is currently Sigma Kappa’s treasurer.  Wants to be a CPA

Brittney Knellinger is currently Alpha Xi’s rep on Student Senate.  Petro major, so pretty good with numbers.

Caleb Mueller wants to play a larger role in the Student Body.  Understands appropriations and bylaws, and knows Excel well.  Can work with numbers and is pretty organized.

How do you feel about having to break the bad news about appropriations not being given?  Mallory says that she has experience with this from CUB, since she has had to cut budgets.  Thinks communicating well and providing options for the future are important.  Brittney says to tell them why and to give them tips for next time.  Caleb says it’s not easy, but his experience as a TA has helped him with relaying bad news.

Could you deal with backlash from changes to the Constitution and Bylaws?  Mallory says she has had to deal with many types of people in the past.  She would like to be able to set up meetings with concerned students to receive feedback.  Brittney says the biggest thing is to take a step back and not to take it personally, and to explain why it is the way it is.  Caleb says it is important not to take it personally, and remind them that it takes a Senate majority to pass things.

Are you familiar with appropriations processes, and what would you improve with appropriations?  Mallory says she has had no experience directly with appropriations due to other time commitments, but she has an understanding of them.  She would like to create a survey, or something like that, to see what organizations that are appropriated money ended up using, among other things, to help make future decisions.  Brittney has been to appropriations before, but not the experience that Caleb has.  She promises to jump in head first and learn as much as possible.  She also agrees that organizations need to be checked on to see what they have spent, and to also support the events that are given money.  Caleb has appropriations experience.  He says he would improve communication between the appropriations committee, Senate, and the applying organizations.

9:02 PM – That’s all!  Thanks for reading!

As a part of Pro-Panhellenic Week, the women of the Panhellenic Council put on a philanthropy event. For the event they could make letters that are being sent to Ladies of Liberty. Everyone could also bring different products that will be sent over to the women troops deployed.

The philanthropy event was a part of the Panhellenic Council’s Pro-Panhellenic Week. The week was dedicated to uniting the women of the Greek community and to display the benefits of the council.

“I am very excited for everything that has been collected for the troops.  We’ve been very excited for this week since the beginning of the semester and hope to do many more events like this.” Elizabeth Oswalt, President of Marietta College’s Panhellenic Council stated.

Ladies of Liberty is a national organization ,which Buckeye Blue Mothers is working with. Buckeye Blue Mothers is a non-profit organization that is made up of mothers whose sons or daughters are deployed overseas in the military.  Their goal is to support their troops anyways possible, mostly by sending boxes of products that the soldiers need. For more information visit, http://buckeyebluestarmothers.org/index.htm.

“I felt that this was a good event to get the women of the community involved,” Sarah Griffin, Vice President of Community Development for Panhellenic Council, said, “It let’s them see that these items are going to women who are around the same age as many of us.”

Panhellenic Council is the governing body of the sororities at Marietta College. The community consists of Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega and Sigma Kappa.

The Marietta City Police are currently searching for a man, approximately 6-foot, 200 pounds, who allegedly robbed the Smoker Friendly in the Giant Eagle shopping plaza earlier Saturday. He was last seen heading away from campus down the alley behind the Giant Eagle and Smoker Friendly.

The suspect was wearing a brownish/green hoodie, a black mask with light gray trim, blue jeans and tennis shoes. He was also armed with a .22-caliber pistol.

In light of today’s robbery near campus, Marietta College Police will have additional officers on duty throughout the night. Any students who see anyone suspicious should call the College Police at (740) 376-3333. Also, any students who would prefer to have a police escort across campus should call (740) 376-4611.

With new dorm construction starting in March, a major portion of Marietta College parking spaces will be destroyed near Mills and McCoy Halls.  At the same time, proposed legislation in the City of Marietta would require parking permits for street parking on the North side of Campus.  Wondering how that’s all going to play out?  Check out the map below!  You can click on the colored boxes to find out what type of parking it will be, and where temporary and new parking lots will be.

More to the story below map!

Color Codes:

White = Lost parking spaces
Light Blue = Temporary Parking Lot
Purple = New Parking Lot
Green = Faculty and Upperclassmen Parking
Blue = Upperclassmen Only Parking
Yellow = Faculty and Staff Only Parking
Red = Freshmen and Commuter Parking

Mills and Lower McCoy parking lots will be lost completely, while the College will maintain about 12 parking spots in the Upper McCoy lot (two of which will be handicap spots).  Temporary lots will be placed on either side of the old Miller Welding building on 4th Street, near the Commuter Lot across from the College’s tennis courts.  Demolition of Parsons Hall will yield a new parking lot on its location, with part of Parsons Field being paved as well.

Across the street from campus, if approved, homeowners would be eligible to purchase up to two parking passes for street parking spots near their home.  This is according to the Parkersburg News-Sentinel, which has been reporting on the issue more so than the Marietta Times of late.  As part of the proposal, parking spaces would be reserved for Sorority members living in the Chi Omega and Alpha Xi Delta houses.  Spaces would be restricted to pass holders between 7 AM and 6 PM, but would be available to anyone outside of those hours.  Fines for violating the parking restrictions would range from $25 to $50.

So how do you feel about this huge parking mess?  Let us know in the comments!

10 – Looking Back At Campus Flooding

This was the only story submitted by Tom Perry’s writing classes to make it to the Top 10.  Stacy Frederick did a great retrospective piece on the 2004 and 2005 floods.  The Ohio River went over its banks twice that year, flooding Marietta and the College in the process.  Frederick’s article had some great interviews with alumni and College officials, and shows the improvements made to the College’s flooding preparedness plans.

You can read that article here.

9 – Student Speak Out Coverage

Our Student Speak Out coverage was so popular this Fall that it actually crashed the site, which I was impressed by.  If you want to take a look back, here is the Spring 2010 and Fall 2010 live blog pages.  We will actually have our Top Questions from the Fall Student Speak Out here this week.

8 – Student Senate Posters Get Defaced

Maybe when I originally ran this story, it was a bit “Fox News”-ish.  But apparently readers wanted to hear about Student Senate candidate posters getting defaced.  The original story ran here.

7 – The Front Street Fire

A lot of students found out about the fire just by waking up to the tell-tale scent of fire, which floated across campus from Front Street.  In what we now know, the fire was an arson set by burglars trying to cover their tracks.  Their decision caused the loss of the former Goodwill building, which housed the Marietta Wine Cellar.  An adjacent building was also burned, which included the Front Street Deli and the Riverside Gallery.

You can find the photo gallery we posted here.

Here is some video we took, and a package we made to cover the fire.

6 – Movie and Game Rental Options

A smaller filler article we ran to talk about new movie and video game rental options was apparently a big hit, as it makes the list.  The article makes even more sense now that the Marietta Movie Gallery has closed.  Blockbuster’s new movie and game rental service was featured in the piece, along with Netflix’s announcement about adding more movies to their online streaming service.  Also, Hulu now has their Hulu Plus service, which adds to the list of shows and seasons available to viewers on their website, and allows shows to be watched on devices other than their computer.

5 – 4/20 Mall Chalking & Cleaning

We never found out who the culprits of the 4/20 Mall Chalking were, but their “artwork” gave those heading to class something new to look at.  Of course, it also gave Physical Plant a headache.  While we had originally reported that chalk in appropriate areas would be left, Physical Plant brought out water pumps and cleaned the entire mall of their messages.  Well, that and all the chalk on buildings, curbs, and benches.

You can check out the photos right here.

4 – The Fake Senior Week Flyer

You know somebody pulled a good April Fool’s Day joke when the College has to send out an e-mail to make sure everybody knows it is a fake.  A flyer was posted around campus that included Senior Week events, and how Seniors could go about registering for the week of activities.  It looked pretty legitimate.  Except instead of things like “Strawberries and Creme” or “Senior Picnic”, we saw fictional events like “Hobo Train Ride” and “Degree Auction”.  I was personally looking forward to the “Million Dollar Bonfire”, but that’s just me.  No word if the official (unofficial) bar crawl happened or not.

You can see the flyer at the link here.

3 – Norovirus Week Of Hell

I got it.  I know countless others that got it.  I know people that had to go to the hospital because of it.  And I even know a few souls that almost activated their Z-Day Apocolypse plans because of it.

I’m referring to the norovirus that swept its way across campus early in the Spring 2010 semester.  We never heard the official numbers, but over 30 students had to be admitted to Marietta Memorial Hospital at some point.  I think it would be easy to venture to guess that hundreds of Marietta College students got the norovirus.

Almost comicly, the College and Chartwells went into disinfection mode.  They shut down all food service locations, and contained all food operations to Gilman.  Silverware and plates were replaces with plastic and styrofoam.  Cans of pop and bottles of water were handed to students.  And to top it all off, they wrapped individual fruit, like bananas, to protect them and us.  Hopefully we don’t see a repeat of this come January.

You can read about the story here.

2 – Greek Week Lip Sync

What more can be said other than that the Greek Week Lip Sync videos were some of the most-watched videos Writing on the Mall has ever had.  And the page where you could view all five (ATO didn’t have one this year) on one page.  The most popular video was Delta Tau Delta’s lip sync, which won the competition.  That video actually has a chance of breaking the 1,000 view barrier, a first for Writing on the Mall.

Click on the link here to view all five lip sync videos.

1 – The Sexual Assault Case

Undoubtedly the most viewed story of 2010, the stories related to this received a ton of attention.

In February of 2009, a woman was allegedly raped in her room in Parsons Hall.  Over a year later, police allegedly matched DNA evidence to Brandon Marino, who had been sitting in a Hamilton County jail for unrelated charges.  Things went quiet for a while, until the Fall election season rolled around, and then-candidate for Attorney General Mike DeWine began using the Marietta College Rape in political ads.

His point was that it took too long to process the rape kit and related DNA samples.  The claim was that it was normal for the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in the state of Ohio to take up to six months or longer to process samples..  It picked up so much attention that even Politifact decided to weigh in on the claims.  They found that a majority of DNA samples were being processed in 70 days, but that about 8% of cases took longer than six months to process.

You can see some of the most popular stories here and here.

With the last piece of the puzzle (funding from the Ohio Higher Education Facility Commission) dropping into place, the new dorm project is finally on its way to leaving conceptual drawings.  The new dorm, which has not been named yet, will be built along Putnam and 7th Street, and will form a “cornerstone” of the campus in what is currently a grassy area.

Marietta’s new dorm will follow the trend set by other schools its size in Ohio.  The new living space for over 350 students will feature a mix of living options: specifically, singles, doubles, and apartments like McCoy Hall.  Two singles will share one bathroom, while two doubles will do the same.  But different from McCoy, and original dorm plans from 2008, will be an in-dorm dining option and a health and wellness center.  We have sent an e-mail off to Tom Perry, Director of College Relations, for a better explanation of the health and wellness center.  What we do know for sure is that counseling services will move their offices into the new dorm as part of the center.

Another change with the new dorm design is the exclusion of Greek housing.  The original plan was to take the first floor of each wing of the new dorm, and place Delta Tau Delta and Lambda Chi Alpha chapters in those wings.  It was supposedly a way to get both chapters out of their decaying (and possibly non-code compliant) houses and into new digs.  However, various issues arose, and most Greeks were not for the move.

And if you’re a ‘green freak’ you’ll be happy to hear the new dorm will be built using LEED specifications as guidelines.

Heidelberg University recently started construction on their new dorm, which features many of the features Marietta has placed into theirs.  The major difference is that Heidelberg’s new dorm will be tied into a new Student Center.

With construction beginning this Spring, students may be left wondering where they will be parking.  According to the press release, the Mills and McCoy parking lots will be replaced with a new parking lot where Parsons and Parsons Field are currently located.  Considering that Parsons will still be in operations until the new dorm is built, we could be facing a parking crunch for the next year or two while construction and deconstruction occur.  We have also asked Tom Perry about this, and will publish more once we receive new information.

The new dorm will raise Marietta’s capacity from 1,400 students to 1,500.  MC is hoping to lure students who have moved off-campus back into college dorms, as fewer and fewer homes become available to rent to students thanks to City codes.  Another benefit will be eliminating the need for Parsons Hall, which has been in disrepair for years.  It’s design has also made it susceptible to crime, as we have reported on in the past.  it’s twin, Timlin Hall, was torn down years ago to make room for McCoy Hall.  Timlin was in much worse condition at the time.

Overall, the State of Ohio has the 10th highest average debt, which is $25,842, and the ninth highest percentage of debt, with 66% of graduates having debt.  Marietta College grads are slightly higher than the Ohio average, at $27,455.  But MC is much better when compared to other schools in the OAC…

Debt Accrued by 2009 Graduates on Average (Percent Of Grads Owing Money)

Ohio Northern University – $45,902 (82%)
Heidelberg University – $35,397 (90%)
John Carroll University – $28,830 (74%)
Muskingum University – $28,343 (79%)
Marietta College – $27,455 (74%)
University of Mount Union – $25,804 (70%)
Baldwin-Wallace College – $17,716 (67%)
Capital University – N/A
Otterbein College – N/A
Wilmington – N/A

If you were curious…Ohio Northern grads averaged the sixth most debt in the entire country, out of all the schools and states that provided data.  The graduation debt average was also in Ohio, at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  And if it makes you feel better, the average debt of MC students in on par with most of the big public Universities.  Kent State grads owed $26,698, while Bowling Green grads averaged out at $28,542.