STUDENT VOICER I V E R F A L L S

www.uwrfvoice.com

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N

May 9, 2008 Volume 94, Issue 25

HONORARY DEGREE, PAGE 3

Alumnus to be awardedUniversity’s highest honor

JOB SEARCH, PAGE 2

Campus service helps toprepare seniors

for future

OLYMPICS, PAGE 6

39th Summer Gameshighlight international

athletes

Sodexo wins next year’s dining contractBen Brewster

benjamin.brewster@uwrf.edu

Starting next fall, UW-RiverFalls students will have a newprovider for their meal plansand dining on campus.

The current contract withChartwells, the dining servicescompany that is currently usedby UWRF, will run out May31.

The decision to not awardChartwells the new contractwas made April 29; the con-tract was given to Sodexo thenext day.

“It was not really a decisionto not re-award to Chartwellsas much as it was a decision toestablish a new contract,”Director of Purchasing TomWeiss said. “And at the point

of establishing a new contract,there is always the possibilityyou will end up with a newvendor.”

The decision was made by acommittee of students andstaff. The committee evaluatedthe bids andgave scores tothe potentialproviders. Thescores weresent to UW-Madison andput togetherwith the cost proposals, andthe highest total won the con-tract.

“[The committee] was partic-ularly impressed with some ofthe food selections, whatappeared to be quality of foodand their efforts towards sus-

tainability,” Weiss said. “Theywere also impressed by thecontinuous dining option.”

Continuous dining meansthat the food service lines forstudents on a meal plan will beavailable from open until

close. Currently,

R i v e r s i d eCommons hasgaps in servicebetween 9:30-10:30 a.m., and2:30-4:00 p.m.

“The C-Store or downstairsis always open, so you canalways get food until mid-night,” junior Bobby Russsaid. “They have enough food,but the main courses couldhave more variety.”

Russ added that he was

unsure whether a new providerwould really affect students.

“I don’t think it will matter;not many students even knowwhat Chartwells is,” he said.

Both providers are usedthroughout the UW System;Chartwells is contracted byUW-La Crosse, UW-StevensPoint, UW-Superior and UW-Whitewater, while Sodexo isused by UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh.

The current contract has beenin effect since the 1994-95school year, but Chartwells hasbeen active at UWRF for over20 years.

Sodexo’s contract will beginin June and run until May 20,2009. At that time, UWRF willhave the option to extend it forsix more years.

“There are a lot of unknownswith a new contract, but I amvery optimistic,” Weiss said. “Ithink a year from now the stu-dents are going to say ‘it was a

great year with Sodexo - thefood was great, the availabilitywas wonderful, the hours wereoutstanding,’ and I think theywill be clamoring for more.”

River Falls cycles for a causeUWRF serviceextends advice,career tools

Nick Carpenternicholas.carpenter@uwrf.edu

Students looking to brushup on their interviewingskills and build a strongerresume are flocking to UW-River Falls’ Career Services(CS) for assistance.

CS offers a wide array ofresources to students, includ-ing career counseling advice,a large resource library filledwith computers and individu-alized books for differentmajors, a digital scanner forcreating an electronic portfo-lio, mock interviews andresume critiques.

Using the resources avail-able to them, students masterthe art of self-assessment,occupational exploration,decision-making, goal-set-ting, self-marketing, jobsearch skills and developingmeaningful connections inthe workplace while offeringan instructional link betweenstudents, faculty, prospectiveemployers and the globalcommunity, according to theCS mission statement.

Students making anappointment to use officeresources and obtain careercounseling will have to waita week or two to get in, CSTechnology ProfessionalMatt Fitzgerald said.

However, a variety ofonline resources are alsoavailable to students throughthe UWRF Hire a FalconSystem (HFS), which pro-vides information about jobsand internships in Wisconsinand Minnesota.

Before using the system,students first have to regis-ter—a process that takesabout 15 minutes. Studentsare then able to search forjobs or internships and signup to receive a daily e-maillist of all jobs that CSreceives relating to a stu-dent’s preference. CS alsogoes beyond waiting foremployers to send theminformation on openings.

“We go out to differentWeb sites and gather differ-ent jobs,” Fitzgerald said.“We don’t wait for the jobs tocome to us.”

HFS allows students toupload their resume, which isthen printed and critiqued by

Kenny Yoo/Student VoiceUWRF’s contract with Chartwells will end May 31.

See CS, page 3

Tyler Liedman/Student VoiceRiders prepare for the start of River Falls’ first “Critical Mass” bike ride May 3 by donning pro-biking signs. The event was to raise awarenessand appreciation for bicycles. More than 30 students and community members participated in the bike ride.

UWRF examines issues of transition to wirelessStephanie Daniels

stephanie.daniels@uwrf.edu

Student Senate voted in favor of anInformation and Instructional TechnologyCouncil (IITC) plan to form a task force todetermine the best strategy for UW-RiverFalls’ transition from traditional stationarylabs to wireless labs that move with the stu-dents. However, a lot of issues need to beresolved before a final plan can be imple-mented.

“Whether we want to do it or not, that’squestion number one,” Hossein Najafi, com-puter science professor and chair of theIITC, said.

Budget and space limitations, as well asstudents’ access to wireless computerdevices, namely laptops, led the IITC to sug-gest that UWRF stop investing money in

permanent labs and become a “Wireless-Portable-Computing Campus.”

The four new labs requested in the 2007-2008 school year would have cost over$250,000 to set up and an additional $29,500to maintain each year, excluding the cost ofupgrades typically done every five years,Najafi said.

Additionally, the space to add new comput-er labs is limited, and existing labs are notalways an efficient use of space.

“These labs are sometimes 100 percentused ... but there are some hours where thereare two or three people in there,” LisaWheeler, IITC vice-chair, said.

More than 68 percent of UWRF students inthe 2006-2007 school year who responded toa technology use survey said they owned lap-Niki Paton/Student Voice

UWRF student Tyler Rheineck studies in Chalmer Davee Library.See Wireless, page 3

“Not many studentseven know whatChartwells is.”

Bobby Russ,UWRF junior

Editor's note: Information for this section is taken from River Falls Police and UW-River Falls Public Safety incident reports.

RIVER FALLS POLICE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Student Voice 2 NEWS May 9, 2008

VOICE SHORTS

TTuunnee iinn ttoo WWRRFFWW 8888..77 FFMM

News and information programming

MMoonnddaayy:: "The Week in News," with PhilBock & Nicole Aune

TTuueessddaayy:: "Let's Talk," with RoseRongitsch

WWeeddnneessddaayy:: "Act on Ag," with Jodi Kauth

TThhuurrssddaayy:: "Mad Movie Man," with AdamHakari & Ken Weigend

FFrriiddaayy:: "Wisconsin and World Issues,"with Ben Plunkett.ALL NEWS AND INFORMATION BLOCKS: 5-6 p.m.

College of Arts and Sciences receives grantThe College of Arts and Sciences received a grant from the

U.S. Department of Education to be used for the UndergraduateInternational Studies and a Foreign Language Program. Thegrant will enrich the existing international education programsby incorporating the study of Asia. The funding will be dis-persed over two years: $89,000 the first year and $82,000 thesecond year. The program will create a new area of learning forresearch and scholarship opportunities for faculty and studentsand will set in place co-curricular and extra-curricular activities

focusing on Asian topics and issues.

Use of D2L extended until JuneThe East Texas Circuit Court judge that ruled against

Desire2Learn in a patent infringement case has agreed to extendthe deadline of use for the infringing versions of the software tobe used until June 11. UWRF will continue to use D2L throughthe end of the term without interruption. D2L will then beupgraded to a version that does not infringe on Blackboard

patents before the summer term begins.

"Lunch & Learn" to be offered for UWRF staffThe next "Lunch & Learn" will be offered from 11:45 a.m. -

12:45 p.m. by the Classified Employee DevelopmentCommittee May 14, in the St. Croix River Room of theUniversity Center. "Gardening—Getting Your Garden BedsReady" will be presented by Diana Alfuth, Pierce County horti-culture extension agent. All UW-River Falls staff are welcometo attend. Those interested can register for this free offering byMay 12, with Doreen Cegielski at (715)-425-3704 ordoreen.m.cegielski@uwrf.edu.

Falcon Foods has end of semester saleFalcon Foods’ end of the semester sale will be going until

May 16. The store will be closed for the summer so it is time toclear out product. The sale is for dairy products only. Theseinclude whatever ice cream is in stock in pints, quarts and halfgallon sizes, and retail cuts of cheese (Cobblestone Red will notbe available). The sale price is 15 percent off the original.Supplies are limited. It is located in Room 149 of the Food

Science Building.

New group promotes Islamic culture, traditionUW-River Falls faculty and staff can learn more about the

Sisters and Brothers of Islam, UWRF's newest student organi-zation, from noon - 1 p.m., May 9 in the Alumni Room of SouthHall. The group was created to help provide and promote widerunderstanding of Islamic culture and tradition within the cam-pus community, officers and members of SBI look forward tosharing information on upcoming events and activities. Tea andtraditional dessert pastries will be served. Contact CarolynBrady at (715)-425-0683

Voice Shorts compiled by

Joe Nourse

Online survey assesses alcohol consumptionTeresa Aviles

teresa.aviles@uwrf.edu

Student Health Services provides an on-line survey called e-Chug that assesses an individual's alcohol consumption and com-pares the results to other UW-River Falls students as well as othercollege students in the nation.

The survey first asks demographic questions. Then it asks manyquestions about the student's drinking habits, such as how oftenthey drink during the week and what their drinking experience islike. There are also questions regarding tobacco and marijuanause.

"It makes the student think about what that means to them,"Keven Syverson, health education coordinator, said. "It gets youto think about [drinking habits]."

The survey is operated and maintained by San Diego StateUniversity and is purchased by over 400 colleges and universitiesin 42 states as well as Canada and Australia to attack underagedrinking issues. UWRF's health services program purchased the

survey with grant funding in August 2006. "I've never heard of the survey, but I do think that it is needed,"

student Beck Forsland said. "I think a lot of students think it'snormal to drink that much. It's just stereotypes."

One student does not seem to think that drinking is a problemor that the survey is that important.

"I drink probably three days [out of the week]. People seempretty responsible about it," student Kue Lor said. "The only rea-son I would the do it [the e-Chug survey] is to find out theresults."

The survey results are characterized with visual pie charts andby cheeseburgers in a beer glass indicating the amount of caloriesconsumed within a month.

"We encourage students to check it out. Personal counseling isavailable as well as other services," Syverson said.

If students feel that they have a problem with alcohol, tobaccoor drug use, the counselors at Student Health Services are avail-able in their new office in 211 Hagestad Hall.

Final Senate meeting run by new leadersJenny Sippola

jennifer.sippola@uwrf.edu

Cindy Bendix was deep in slumber whenshe was elected president of the StudentSenate for the 2008-2009 school year.Bendix was studying abroad in Italy aspart of the International TravelingClassroom while trying to run a campaignback home.

“I was incredibly excited. I didn’t haveany idea that I won. I had no idea until Iopened Facebook, and I was like ‘Wow,’”said Bendix.

Bendix is a TESOL (Teaching English toStudents of Other Languages) major witha Spanish minor. She was the shared gov-ernance director.

“I really felt there was more I can do.And with Derek [Brandt] stepping down, Ithought I would give it a try and see if Icould move up and do what I could for thecampus,” Bendix said.

She credits her election to e-mail,

Facebook and friends back home. Vice President selectee Casie Kelley

found out she was victorious using hernew Blackberry.

“Right away when [former president]Derek [Brandt] sent the e-mail, my phonevibrated and I checked it out. Myboyfriend was actually with me and heinsisted on checking it before I read it. Sohe read it and jumped up and down. He’slike ‘You did it! And you got the mostvotes on the ballot,’” said Kelley.

Kelley is an elementary education majorwith psychology. Last year she was therepresentative for the College ofEducation and wanted to be moreinvolved in the Senate next year.

However, one of the major issues Bendixand Kelley need to address is the disap-pointing voter turnout of this year’s elec-tion. Around 400 people participated inthis year’s elections. Out of a populationof roughly 6,000, that is only 7%. To com-pare, the U.S. has a relatively low voterturnout, but it still has a turnout of around

61%, according to the United StatesElection Project.

Bendix and Kelley plan to combat thelow turnout through the power of informa-tion. First on the agenda is to inform thestudent body of what Senate does. TheStudent Senate makes decisions about thedisbursement of segregated fees, the din-ing service, the increases in tuition andrenovations to infrastructure such asRamer Field and the former HagestadStudent Center.

“I want to adamantly get students’input,” Kelley said. “I feel like studentsdon’t know we exist, and they don’t knowwhat we are here for, and they need toknow that we’re there for them. We’rehere to lobby for them to the Chancellor,to the school to get what they want and tobest represent them to the best of our abil-ity. I think we just need to work on gettingout to the students more and meeting asmany as we can face to face, letting themknow that we’re here, why we’re here.”

May 1--Scott L. Hanna, 20, was cited $298 for second offense under-age drinking and $109 for loud and unnecessary noise.

May 2--Karwee A. Marshall, 22, was cited $235 for possession of a fac-simile firearm.

May 3--A bike was stolen from the May Hall courtyard.

Public Safety and Parking NotePublic Safety and Parking will be enforcing all student permit

spaces through finals week, ending at 4:30 p.m. May 16. Allemployee permit spaces and posted spaces are always enforced12 months a year.

Loading Zones near academic buildings will be stronglyenforced. If you need access via one of these loading zones anddo not have a permit, you must contact the Parking Office at ext.3333. All posted spaces, fire lanes and time limitations will alsobe strongly enforced. Special accommodations will be made inlots O, T, G, P and E for move-out parking from May 14-16.

Designated spaces in these lots will be marked with "20 minutemove-out parking" signs. Parking in non-designated spaces with-in these lots will result in a citation. Additionally, accommoda-tions for textbook drop off will be made in J lot meters (the cir-cle of meters between Ag. Science and Hagestad Hall) from May4-16. Designated spaces in this lot will be marked with "20minute textbook drop off" signs. If parking is unavailable, youmust wait for a designated space or find legal parking in an alter-nate location.

Finals cause extra stress for seniorsStephanie Daniels

stephanie.daniels@uwrf.edu

The end of the semester canmean a lot of work and stressfor seniors trying to finish finalprojects and land a career.

UW-River Falls Counselingand Career Services staff seean increase in senior studentsMarch through April everyyear, Gretchen Link, lead per-sonal counselor at UWRF,said.

Various factors contribute tostress for seniors nearing thetransition between school anda career.

"Some people will get to thepoint of graduation and sec-ond-guess their abilities andskills," Link said. "The otherkind of stressor is just the cur-rent economy and job market."Students see reports of down-sizing in their prospectiveemployment sector and worry,"Am I going to be able to finda job?" Link said.

If not dealt with, stress canlead to physical symptoms likenausea, insomnia, migraines oreven ulcers and can leave stu-dents feeling overwhelmedand indecisive.

"So then they can't tell whereto start to get things done,"Link said.

Link recommends studentsvisit both a personal counselorand someone in CareerServices if they feel over-whelmed by balancing schooland the job-hunting process.

A personal counselor canhelp students overcome self-doubt while Career Serviceshelps them develop the skillsneeded to get hired, Link said.

Staff at Career Services offerstudents preparing to enter thejob market mock interviewsand tutorials on filling out aresumé and cover letter.

They also help studentsdevelop a strategy for thesometimes difficult process ofnetworking with others in theirprospective field of employ-ment.

"You can have all the techni-cal knowledge in the world,but...a lot of it's about buildingrelationships," CarmenCroonquist, director of CareerServices, said.

Sometimes, the only way tolearn about a job is throughword of mouth within a givenfield; knowing someone withinthat field can keep a studentinformed of all available jobopportunities, Croonquist said. Megan Rademacher, double-majoring in marketing com-munications and speech com-munications, said that her jobsearch is going "awful"because she's having a hardtime forming connections withpeople already employed inher chosen job field.

"I found that it's more aboutwho you know than what youknow in the business worldwhen you go out there to find acareer," Rademacher said.

"I think also parents add tothe stress of what a student isgoing through," CareerAdvisor and RecruitmentCoordinator Melissa Wilsonsaid.

Students may dread visitswith their families for fear ofagain being asked "Do youhave a job yet?" Wilson said.

The issue of parental pres-

sure arises most commonlyamong first generation stu-dents whose parents don'tunderstand that, even with acollege degree, the job searchcan be arduous, often lastingsix months to a year. This addsa layer of stress for studentsalready struggling to balancefinal projects with a search fora career, Wilson said.

Hillary Lindbom, a broadarea communications majorwith a management option,said she hasn't had time to startsearching for employmentopportunities in her chosenfield yet.

"I work fulltime so I've justkind of been putting off look-ing for a job until after gradua-tion," Lindbom said.

School takes up anothershare of her time.

"I have two Spanish classes,which is a lot of homework,"Lindbom said.

No matter how busy they are,Wilson recommends seniorsset small goals for job-huntingand meet them.

The prime months—October

and March—for recruitingemployees close to graduatingcollege have already passed.

If students wait any longer tobegin applying for jobs, thepositions they are seeking mayalready be filled by their peers,Wilson said.

There are ways students canmake the transition betweenwork and school more man-ageable.

"Focus on the presentmoment, set goals, take care ofyourself ... let go of perfec-tion," Croonquist said."Perfection is the enemy ofprogress."

Not all students struggle intheir search for a job.

LeAnne Holden is an officeaide for a telecommunicationscompany based inMenomonie, Wis., where sheworked through high schooland college. She was told shecould continue working for thecompany after graduation ifshe wanted to, Holden said.Holden will work as directorymanager for the company aftershe graduates.

Student Hailey Voll studies for a social work course whileAlyssa Bruley takes a nap in Chalmer Davee Library.

Niki Paton/Student Voice

Check out the Voice online at

www.uwrfvoice.comFull articles,

photosand much more....

Student Voice 3NEWSMay 9, 2008

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CS. “We usually recommend two

to three different people toview [a] resume,” Fitzgeraldsaid.

Suggestions for improvementare then e-mailed back.

One suggestion for building astrong resume is doing yourhomework on a specificemployer.

“People should tailor theirresume to the job and the com-pany,” Fitzgerald said. “It’smore effective than sendingout 1,000 general resumes to1,000 different jobs.”

The online system also offersopportunities to sign up for on-campus interviews with localemployers,and resumer e f e r r a l sthat allowfor CS tosend themout toi n q u i r i n gemployers.

Perhapsthe moste f f e c t i v eo n l i n eresource offered by CS is thementor network, which allowsstudents to speak with some-one in their desired field ofinterest and learn more aboutthat field. The mentor networkis seen by some as a resource-ful way for students to buildstrong relationships withemployers.

“The single most effectiveway to uncover jobs and land ajob is through networking,”Fitzgerald said. “The morepeople know you, the moreyour name will stand out in alarge pile of resumes.”

Despite the multiple servicesoffered by CS, some studentsthink there are a few neededimprovements that should be

considered to aid students.“I think they do a great job

providing fundamental skillsfor job searching,” StudentSenate President and soon-to-be graduate Derek Brandt said.“The one area that should beexpanded is the search forinternship opportunities.”

Brandt also said he thinks CSshould do a better job offeringadvice to younger studentswho need to obtain internshipsand prepare for future employ-ment.

“[CS] needs to do a better jobof getting students over there,”Brandt said. “They need tohammer it out right away andget students comfortable rightaway.”

Resources provided by CSare avail-able to allU W R Fstudents ,past andp r e s e n t .UWRF isthe onlyschool inthe UWS y s t e mthat pro-v i d e s

career services to alumni.CS recently moved from

Hathorn Hall to their newhome on the second floor ofHagestad Hall. Students andalumni interested in meetingwith a career counselor, peeradviser or other CS employeescan do so by making anappointment online or by call-ing (715) 425-3572.

tops, but limited power sources andsoftware that can only be used on labcomputers make laptop use in theclassrooms an infeasible solutionright now.

“We felt like today, students whohave laptops have the burden of notbeing able to use their technology tothe full extent,” Najafi said.

New lab additions have been frozenuntil the IITC can work out a planthat addresses these primary issues.

If the resolution is approved by theFaculty Senate, the IITC will name atask force to start developing specificsolutions that best fit UWRF.

One of the task force’s responsibil-ities will be to develop a “financialplan for establishing and supportingthe program,” according to the reso-lution.

Rooms would need to be rewired toallow the use of laptops in moreplaces around campus, in a way that

will accommodate a whole campus oflaptop users. Other updates yet to bedetermined may require additionalfinancial investment.

One critical issue will be figuringout the finan-cial impact onthe individuals t u d e n t ,Wheeler said.

A laptop maybe too expen-sive for somestudents topurchase. TheUniversity would have to implementsome system of ensuring every stu-dent has access to the mode of wire-less technology being used in theclassrooms, though a specific solu-tion will not be decided on until thetask force offers its recommenda-tions.

The task force will also face thechallenge of working out a system forlicensing necessary software pro-

grams and loading them onto eachwireless device so every student canaccess them, Wheeler said.

Biology professor and IITC mem-ber Brad Mogen said finding a way to

keep students who maybe distracted by e-mails or Facebook ontask is another issuethat will have to beresolved.

“That’s one of theconcerns that we actu-ally have is studentsshowing up and not

actually being engaged,” Mogen said. Some students who do not current-

ly own wireless technology mayworry that they will be forced to buya laptop and then find that the teach-ers are not incorporating them intothe curriculum anyway, Mogen said.

For this reason, the task force willorganize faculty development pro-grams to help professors better incor-porate wireless technology into their

lessons. “Faculty teaching faculty is what’s

going to happen,” Mogen said.Wheeler said that one other reserva-

tion students voiced was the potentialfor theft that could arise in awireless campus.

“If there’s a laptop in everycubbyhole [outside ofRiverside Commons], that’sgoing to be a security issue,”Wheeler said.

Item five on the list of taskforce duties concerns devel-oping a plan for dealing withsuch security issues.

“None of these [chal-lenges] are insurmountable,” Wheelersaid.

Despite the potential drawbacks,laptops and other wireless technologyallow students immediate access toinformation during class sessions andmake group work in places outside oflabs possible.

“I guess the way I see it ... the lab

will be anywhere you want to go,anywhere you feel comfortable in,”Michael Bell, a student member ofthe IITC, said.

Computer science and informationsystems major MichaelHovestol, also a studentmember of the IITC, said heoriginally opposed the ideaof UWRF going wirelessbecause he worried thatupgrades would costUWRF, and in turn students,a lot of money, and thatteachers would not have theincentive to incorporatewireless technology into

their classrooms.Then, Hovestol saw that the IITC’s

final resolution addressed theseissues, and he got on board with theplan, he said.

“I think that it has some huge bene-fits on campus, and obviously wire-less is the future,” Hovestol said.

Wireless: IITC designates task force to address issues with technology

from page 1

from page 1

“I think they do a greatjob providing

fundamental skills for jobsearching. The one areathat should be expandedis the search for intern-

ship opportunities.”Derek Brandt,

Student Senate president

Changes in dining services will require allstudents on campus to purchase meal plan

Check out theStudent Voice online:www.uwrfvoice.com

“I think that it [wire-less] has some huge ben-

efits on campus, andobviously wireless is the

future.”Michael Hovestol,

IITC student member

Hossein Najafi

UWRF to award Swensendoctorate for achievements

Tim Stanislavtimothy.stanislav@uwrf.edu

UW-River Falls will be requiringall students living on campus topurchase meal plans beginning inthe fall semester 2008.

The change will mean that juniorsand seniors living on campus willnow be required to purchase mealplans. The student run DiningServices Advisory Committee(DSAC) is the student oversight fordining services procedure. Theywere involved in the process andheld a mock vote but the decisionwas ultimately up to the University.

The meal plan prices are based onthe amount of students purchasingmeal plans. Therefore, if more stu-dents are purchasing meal plans,prices are cheaper for all students,Jerry Waller, director of dining

services, said. Food costs are expected to

increase by about 20 percent nextyear. In order to keep meal planprices the same, juniors and seniorswill be required to purchase mealplans, said Waller.

Safety is a primary reason forrequired meal plans at UWRF.

“None of the residence halls aredesigned to allow for extensivefood production,” Waller said.“The Health and safety of the resi-dents is very important, not onlyfrom a food safety standpoint,(storing and preparing food) butalso from a general public safety ofboth nuisance alarms from burntfood to concerns of real fires result-ing from food production.”

At the beginning of spring semes-ter the University campus, exclud-ing South Fork (not part of required

meal plans) housed 2007 students.325 of these students are juniorsand seniors.

The University could not providestatistics for next year because reg-istration is currently in process.However, the statistics should bevery similar for the beginning offall semester 2008, said ResidenceLife West Area Coordinator, JasonNeuhaus.

“I see the required meal plan fairin some ways, and not in others.First, I enjoy lots of freedoms, andI do not like being forced into pur-chasing a meal plan,” studentForest Kirschbaum said. “On theother hand, the previously listedreasons for the required meal plan,give the change positive aspects, aswell as a low-cost meal plan avail-able only to juniors and seniors.

Sarah Packinghamsarah.packingham@uwrf.edu

For the first time in over 12 years, anindividual will be receiving an honorarydegree from UW-River Falls.

David Swensen, an institutional fundinvestment expert at Yale University,will be presented a honorary doctoratedegree in humane letters during the May17 commencement. He will be honoredat both the 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. cere-monies.

Chancellor Don Betz said the numberof people who have received honorarydoctorates in the past is not clear.

"We have three that we can identify,"he said.

Swensen graduated from UWRF in1975 with a bachelor's degree in eco-nomics. He was also honored with theDistinguished Alumnus Award in 1996.

Swensen's family also has ties to

UWRF. His father, Richard, is one of theformer deans of the College of Arts AndSciences. He also has two brothers andone uncle who have been recognizedwith the Distinguished Alumnus Award,the Public Affairs Web site said.

"I am humbled by the extraordinaryhonor conferred on me by theUniversity of Wisconsin at River Falls,"Swensen said in a Public Affairs pressrelease. "The education that I receivedfrom the University's extraordinary fac-ulty provided a strong foundation formy post-graduate studies and con-tributed immeasurably to my lifelonglove of learning. I owe UWRF a greatdeal.”

“While this is his first honorarydegree, it certainly won't be his lastone," Betz said. "Others will be in thefuture because of his record."

Attempts to reach Swensen by phoneand e-mail were unsuccessful.

VIEWPOINTS May 9, 2008Student Voice 4

EDITORIAL

Read the Student Voice online atwww.uwrfvoice.com

Editor Sarah PackinghamAssistant Editor Katrina Styx

Front Page Editor Jenna NelsonNews Editor Ken WeigendSports Editor Alayne HockmanEtcetera Editor Eric PringleViewpoints Editor Abby MaliszewskiChief Photographer Kenny YooStaff Photographers Ben Brewster

Sally King

Assistant News Editor Joe NourseAssistant Sports Editor Kimberly Kuhens

Cartoonist Stephanie Daniels

Chief Copy Editor Andrew Phelps

Proofreaders Joanna MastleySarah Schneider

General Manager Kirsten BlakeAd Manager Megan Leoni

Circulation Manager Nathan HoweOnline Manager Phil Bock

Faculty Advisor Andris Straumanis

The Student Voice is a student-written andmanaged newspaper for UW-River Falls,and is published Thursdays during the reg-ular school year. All editorial content in the Student Voice is

determined by the newspaper’s EditorialBoard. The opinions expressed in editorialsand columns do not represent those of thenewspaper’s advisor, student population,administration, faculty or staff.Letters to the editor must be 300 words or

less, and include a first and last name andphone number. They can be submitted at304 North Hall or to editor@uwrfvoice.com.

The Student Voice reserves the right to editany material for content, libel or space. Italso reserves the right to withhold letters.All letters, news releases, briefs, display

ads and classified ads must also be submit-ted no later than Wednesday at noon.Single copies of the Student Voice are free.

Printing is paid for through student fees.

Editorials represent the opinion of the Student VoiceEditorial Board and are prepared by the editorial staff.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Motorcycle safetynot just for bikers

As the weather improves thenumber of motorcycles on theroad will increase. May isNational Motorcycle SafetyAwareness Month and theideal time to refresh roadskills in order to avoid seriousaccidents.

Take extra care at intersec-tions, keeping in mind motor-cycles are easily missed or

hidden behind various objects. Follow at a safe distance and

be prepared for the motorcy-cle to stop or change lanepositions quickly as smallobstacles create large con-flicts.

Whether you take trans-portation with two wheels orfour wheels, stay alert on theroads this summer and savelives.

Mandie Lombardo,Student

Services shouldrelocate to campus

It is likely that the demoli-tion of the Ingram Center willcause some disruption to theimportant services offered byPierce County ReproductiveHealth Services.

However, there is also anopportunity here:

Why not relocate PCRHSon-campus? Surely somespace could be made available

to them.It is no exaggeration to say

that students’ lives could besaved because of convenientaccess to free condoms, etc.

My fellow students: if youcare, speak out and make youropinion known.

The Chancellor’s office maybe easily contacted just a fewclicks away from the uwrf.eduhome page.

Brent Hopkins,Student

STUDENT VOICEUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN RIVER FALLS

The United States is theworld’s lone superpower.

Whether you like it or not,the U.S. is the strongestpower in theworld; it hasmoreresources,more moneyand moresway than anyother nation.

The U.S.uses thispower toshape global policy. It uses itspower to affect diplomaticrelations with countries andshape trade agreements. Themost visible use of power theU.S. has displayed is its mili-tary strength, especially inIraq and Afghanistan.

For all intents and purpos-es, the United States runs theworld, for better or worse.Why, then, doesn’t the U.S.use its considerable powerand influence for good?

The argument for the inva-sion of both Afghanistan andIraq has been the perceivedthreat to American security.

Iraq was anespeciallydangerousthreat to theUnited Statesthrough itsattempts tocreateweapons ofmass destruc-tion.

In the process of assistingthe people living in Iraq andAfghanistan, the UnitedStates has destroyed theirinfrastructures and tens ofthousands of citizens havedied or been severely injured.

The U.S. still has one of thestrongest economies in theworld, even despite the recenteconomic crisis.

The United States doessend more aid than any othernation, proportionally it does

not add up. The U.S. gives far less than

the one percent goal of aidset by the United Nations. In2004, of the budget over $11trillion, the United Statesonly earmarked a little over$19 billion for aid. Thismeans only .17 percent of theU.S.’ budget was spent givingaid to those in need.

It wouldn’t be enough evenif it was going to people whoare suffering, but it isn’t evengoing to them. The moneythe United States uses on aiddoes not go to giving peoplein need a check for themoney or even directly forfood. It goes to govern-ments—often times in theform of equipment or militaryaid. The money isn’t alwaysgoing to the countries thattruly need it either.

Then there are emergencies.In 2004, a tsunami hit muchof southeastern Asia. Tens ofthousands of people were

killed, and the U.S. wasamong the first countries togive money to help with therelief effort. Last week, acyclone hit Myanmar. It isreported that at least ten thou-sand people have been killed.Because the amount of aidthe U.S. gives to other coun-tries is already small, it willtake away from money thatcould go to other needs.

While it is important togive money in emergency sit-uations, it is difficult to placemore importance on one needthan another.

In terms of numbers, theUnited States gives more aidthan any other country in theworld. However the UnitedStates lags far behind manyother countries in the worldin the percentage used on aid.The United States should stepup to the plate and give more.

Joe is is a political science and interna-tional studies major, graduating this May.

JoeEggers

Ilook back on the time and laugh a bitabout how I made it as a journalism

major, mainly because I don’t have thestrongest writing ability.

Growing up, I was diagnosed withdyslexia, by all means which madethings interesting. My friends find ithumorous that I made it this far withoutwriting for the paper, and managing tomake it by with the papers I wrote forclasses.

I remember as it if it was just the otherday, when I first came to UW-RiverFalls in the spring semester of 2005. Itransferred to UWRF because I needed achange of scenery and to start over, but Ihave to admit, when I first came, I want-ed to leave right away.

Knowing hardly anyone, I just sat inmy dorm room, lonely and bored. But Isucked it up and ended up staying here. Iwould have never thought I would endup in the position I am in today.

I would have never thought I would ofmade many friends, take pictures of theDTS fraternity calendar and be involvedwith the Student Voice for four semes-ters as chief photographer.

It started off with meeting with thehead of the journalism department,Colleen Callahan, at the old RodliCommons.

I asked her if there was a photographymajor on campus. Unfortunately, therewasn’t, But that didn’t stop me.

I went on and started to pursue becom-ing a photojournalist. The only way Icould get experience was to be part ofthe Student Voice. Eventually my timecame, and I got really lucky in the fall of2006, when the head photo editor quit inthe middle of the semes-ter. I got the opportunityto take pictures and even-tually move on to holdthe photo editor positionthe following semester.

Along the way I metlots of people—oneswho were quite the char-acters as well. I met oneof the most memorableindividuals during this past homecomingfootball game, when a naked studentsprinted across the field.

Running into him at the bars thatnight, I told him that I got a picture ofhim. His first words to me were “youtook a picture of my wang!” That’s justone of many examples of how I endedup meeting people on campus.

The part that surprised me since Icame to UWRF was that since I startedto work for the Student Voice, I found

myself becoming responsible. It kind ofpains me to say this, but I started tobecome a workaholic. It’s pretty badwhen you decide to postpone or cancel adate just so you can take pictures at asporting event. It’s a little sad, but funny,when I look back on it.

So as I come close to the end of mycollege days, I am sincerely going to

miss staying up allnight, whether or not itincludes alcohol.

I’m going to miss thetimes I woke up andharassed whomever Iran into that day oncampus—thanks tothose who put up withme when I did that, youknow who you are.

I’ll always remember the brutal drunk-en walks back from the bars, and all thepranks I pulled throughout the past fewyears, and the RAs and hall managerswho didn’t fine me for it.

I went from basically kicking andscreaming when I first got here, to notwanting it all to end.

Kenny is a journalism major and art minor with anemphasis in photography. He has aspirations to pursue acareer in photojournalism.

The United States falls short on humanitarian aid

Photographer reflects with words, not pictures

KennyYoo

It never seems to fail. College students make mess-es. We here at the Student Voice are no different thanyou, our readers.

We have messy desks, spill on the floor and can’thelp but let our trash overflow, especially since wereceived 11 cases of Vault from the Coca-Cola pro-moters.

And who is there to help out and clean up after us?Simple, it’s the wonderful custodial staff in the resi-dence halls and the academic buildings.

We feel that the custodians at UW-River Falls donot get as much credit as they deserve. We can’tthank them enough for all that they do to help us out.We appreciate what they do more than they mightever know.

Early in the morning, they are there to fix what wemay have messed up the night before. They are thereto clean our bathroom so we have a nice, clean show-er, which is not filled with hair. They wash toothpasteoff the mirror so we can see our pretty faces. Theymake sure we have toilet paper so we can ... blow ournoses.

They replace our light bulb so we can see andstudy in good light. They fix windows when we fallout of our lofts or have snowballs thrown at them.

Their hard work makes our living and learningenvironments much better places to be. They are theones who make our environment a healthy and sani-tary one.

Who wants to walk down a hallway that is coveredin trash or try to make it into a residence hall’s bath-room jumping over a pool of vomit? Nobody does.

But besides cleaning up after us, they are alwaysthere to provide us with a cheery hello or a smilewhen we walk by. For an individual to do this aftercleaning up what we refuse to is pretty amazing.

It doesn’t matter what kind of mess we make, theyare there to help us out.

Appreciate it while you can, because once you getinto the real world you will have to take time out ofyour busy day, spend money on cleaning supplies andclean all your messes up yourself.

So before the end of the year, if you see a custodialstaff, stop and thank them for the wonderful workthat they do.

Custodial staffdeserves respect

Student Voice 5VIEWPOINTSMay 9, 2008

“ For the most part, playing violent games won’tmake a person violent. If they let the violence inthe game become a lifestyle it could pose aproblem.”

voicesSTUDENT

Chris Becker,sophomore

“No, although violent video games may help tomanifest innate violent characteristics in someindividuals.”

Jason McConnell,sophomore

“I think that the issue is parents need to stop buy-ing their kids GTA IV and Halo III and need tostart kicking them out of the house and get themto do something.”

Charlie Guerin,freshman

“Do you think violent videogames increase violence?”

Student Voices compiled by Ben Brewster.

“It depends if they’re at-risk youths. I’d rather notsee at-risk kids being exposed to that.”

Francis Freeman,junior

“If a person has the violence and hatred in them,the video game might bring it out. But if a nor-mal person plays it, I don’t think it’s going tomake them a violent person.”

Marlon Fields,freshman

My friends and I havecome to the conclu-

sion that Grand Theft AutoIV, the amazing new felonysimulator from RockstarGames, really brings out theworst in people.

This was finally proven tome after we had a little partywith some of our favoritepacifists. What transpiredwas nothing less than shock-ing.

GTA IV is an organizedcrime-themed action gamethat takes place in an incred-ibly detailed digital versionof New York City (renamed“Liberty City” in the game).

The game allows you tolive out your wildest gang-ster fantasies in the soft,pale underbelly of LibertyCity.

Mother Teresa, one of ourGTA party guests, reallytook thingstoo far whenit was herturn toexplore thedigital NewYork.

First, littleold MotherTeresahijacked aBuick,cracking thedriver in the neck beforekicking his ass to the curb.

She revved up the enginein her new car and drovewildly through LibertyCity’s version of TimesSquare, crunching pedestri-

ans and bouncing off parkedcars like they were guardrails.

Mother Teresa finallyleapt out of the Buick, send-ing it flying into a group ofpassersby, busted out a 12-gauge combat shotgun andlaid waste to a platoon ofcops trying to end her wildrampage.

When Mama T’s turn wasover, I saw a wild-eyed lookof sadistic glee in herwrinkly little eyes. Goodthing it’s just a game!

Nelson Mandela was next,and boy did he inflict somedamage! After casuallyrolling a frag grenade undera semi-truck stuck in traffic,Mandela whipped out hisknife and approached theexplosive scene with mur-derous intent.

He ripped an older gentle-man out of hisrusted-outjalopy andforced a knife-fight, whichhe won, ofcourse.

Mandelaplayed aroundwith traffic,parking aHummer inthe middle of

an intersection. As carsbegan piling up in the ensu-ing chaos,

Mandela cleaned the placeup with several well-placedrockets from his military-grade bazooka. The only

sound Mandela made whileplaying? Laughter. Evil,maniacal laughter.

Martin Luther King Jr.wanted to try out the gameas well.

Though confident he couldmaintain a manner of lawfulobedience and order, Lutherfell quickly to the lucrativeseductionsof crime.

He beganby pushing aHispanicgangsterinto traffic.After beingclipped inthe hip by apassingsports car, the gangster gotangry in a hurry. Hewhipped out a pistol andbegan firing at King Jr., whoreacted viciously and merci-lessly.

With the help of a newly-purchased Uzi, King Jr.quickly disposed of thegangster, only to find thevictim’s gangster friendsstanding ominously behindhim.

Amid angry cries of “Eat adick, motherfucker!” and“What the fuckin’ fuck,man?” (real lines of in-gamedialogue),

King Jr. kept his cool andswitched to an assault rifle,which proved to be a mostconvenient (if not the ulti-mate) solution. Who saysviolence can’t solve prob-lems?

I let Bono, lead singer ofthe crappy band U2, play aswell. However, the generousschmuck gave up soon afterfinding out that the onlything you can actually GIVEto people in Liberty City is agut (or face) full of lead.

Yes, our pacifist guestscertainly became giddy with

the power ofa 12-gaugeshotgun and arocketlauncher. Butthat doesn’tmean thatthey’ll oneday take theirrude shenani-gans to the

real streets. Politicians and parents

love to insist that GTA willone day destroy the ethicalintegrity of our children. Butthis simply isn’t happen-ing—if anything, the moreone plays Grand Theft Auto,the less one becomes inter-ested in real-life crime.

How boring must a car-jacking be in real life whencompared to the marvelous,pulse-pounding, ultraviolentchaos of crime in LibertyCity? Once you experiencethe glory of video gamecrime, the real thing justseems to lose all its shinycharm.

Joe is a marketing communicationsmajor and creative writing minor. He isinterested in movies, religion, politics,culture and people.

JoeHager

Violent games decrease real-life violence

Mother Teresa, one of our GTA

party guests, really took things

too far when it was her turn to

explore the digitalNew York.

Inever liked clubs. Going to first meetings of anyclub was always awkward, and there were hardly

any enthusiastic attendees. The first meeting wasalways the last meeting I would attend. A club ororganization should consist of people who encourageand influence each other positively within an area ofinterest.

Communication is vital for an effective, successfulorganization, and in this age we havethe means to accomplish that commu-nication. A strong will is also importantif you want anything to get done. Addthese qualities to a group of people withbig hearts, who want to change theworld, at least a little bit at a time, andyou have something like the PeaceCorps or Greek fraternities and sorori-ties.

But if you are an undergraduate whodoes not want the baggage that Greeks carry, and whostill wants to do work for the community, or rather,international aid, then perhaps UW-River Falls is inneed of a philanthropy club.

Alyssa Olsen and I are organizing a donation drivefor clothing and school supplies, as well as other items,for orphans in a slum of Nairobi, Kenya.

With guidance and enthusiasm from multiculturaldirector Linda Alvarez, we were inspired to bring theproject a step further and extended it to the River Fallscommunity.

You could help prevent the blisters on a child’s feetwith donated shoes; you could prevent diseases by giv-ing clothing or donating money to build latrines thatwould eliminate the waste that covers Kiambiu, theslum in which these children live.

After learning more about the conditions and the lackof necessities that these children and their communityhave, and the things that they have lost, it has enticedthe two of us into giving a helping hand. As Linda putit, “think of it as giving a hand up rather than a handout.”

Alyssa and I are both geography students, and withthat comes a love for the world and all its contents.

Beyond your Wii and color assortedwardrobe are nations with people thatstruggle for food everyday.

Yes, we are all affected by theworld’s food crisis, but at least we areable to pay for that head of lettuce.

A philanthropy club would help tofurther our plans with Project Kiambiu.This would entail a group of peoplewith a desire to change bad to good ina place outside of our country. There

would be several projects throughout the year to workon, because there are many places in the world thatneed help from those that have the ability to give it.

The projects would be a great way for students tofeel good about themselves as they utilize their statusas middle-class Americans for the best.

The philanthropy club would encourage contribution,but the level of commitment is obviously optional. Anyhelp is beneficial to someone, whether it be to theorphans in Kiambiu, starving Haitians, the homeless inMyanmar or the organizers of the project to help fur-ther the plans to help people less fortunate than us.

Teresa is a journalism major and a geography minor in her senior year.She enjoys kangaroo burgers and creating pretty maps.

TeresaAviles

While reading Jon Krakauer’s“Into the Wild,” I realized how

much we’ve become detached fromnature as a society. Being in such atechnological age, we find it easier tolog on to the Internet in our free timethan to go outside and enjoy the natu-ral splendor of the great outdoors.

Chris McCandless may seem like acrazy, irrational character at first, butas I read farther into the book, Ibegan to connect with McCandless’alter ego, Alex Supertramp.

Not many people you know wouldleave everything to go on an Alaskanadventure, especially someone with awell-to-do back-ground. McCandlesswas a wealthy, intelli-gent young man withhis whole future aheadof him, who gave up afuture at Harvard Lawto escape into thewilderness.

Sometimes I thinkthat something madehim snap, but maybe he was just tiredof always doing what was expectedof him, and wanted to break out oforganized society.

In some ways, life would seemmuch more complicated living in thewild and having to fend for yourself,but in many ways it would be much

simpler. Away from the constraints and lim-

its of society, one can live by one’sown rules. But without the rules ofsociety, can we truly function?

To McCandless, getting away fromhis destiny and place in society washis paradise. I always wondered whathe was planning to do after hereturned from Alaska, or how long hewas planning to stay there. Could hehave ever found his way back?

Even though his trip to Alaskaseems like such a drastic adventure, Ithink we can all relate to his desire toescape, whether it be to the backyard

or across the country.Thoughts of escapeconsume studentsespecially aroundthis time of year,with papers, projectsand finals piling up.

With the weathergetting nicer, it cre-ates more anxietyand an increased

urge of escapism. Don’t escape yet; but after finals,

go and have your own “wild” adven-ture—just don’t get lost!

Natalie is a journalism major who enjoys running,reading, lacrosse, shopping and writing.

NatalieConrad

Need for philanthropy org recognized Natural escape necessary

Happy cows come from smart management choicesYou’ve seen those “Happy Cows Come

From California” commercials advertisingCalifornia cheese, right? Those Cali. cowshave it made—they’re free to roam endlessacres of meadows with soft, luscious grass,and the sun shining all the time. They loveeverything in California,including the earthquake “footmassages.”

There’s the grandcow whodoesn’t like to talk to hergrandcalves about her pastbecause she was once stuckoutside during the middle of aMidwestern blizzard. Check itout on YouTube.

Ugh, it must be rough forWisconsin cows; they have to be absolutelymiserable.

Even though I grew up around Wisconsincows, I really wanted to know what makescows happy. So I dug in:

Happy cows appreciate soft, clean places tolay. Cows like routine—they’re creatures ofhabit and they don’t like to be rushed.

The ideal temperature for cows is around 50degrees and they like things well ventilated.

Cows drink about 55 gallons of water a day.If they don’t get enough water, they won’t eat.

They like to be able to chew their cud for atleast eight hours of the day so they can digestforages better, eat more feed and ultimatelymake more milk.

Cows like to be dewormed (much like yourdog) to get rid of any intestinal, lung and stom-

ach worms, ticks and parasites. Allowing cows access to pas-

ture makes cows extremelyhappy. It’s easier on their feetand joints when they can walkon grass or dirt. When a cowhas healthier joints, herlongevity increases.

The cows depicted in theCalifornia Cheese commercialsare seen roaming around in a

setting that is perfect for them. However, acouple of cows on these enormous acres justisn’t realistic.

It isn’t efficient or feasible for all dairy farm-ers to keep their cattle on pasture, and we allknow that the temperature isn’t always around50 degrees—especially in California.

Dairy farmers have to figure out differentways to keep their cows happy in an efficientmanner. Cows that have feet and leg problemsaren’t going to want to stand and eat to get thenutrients and energy to produce milk. And in

the world of dairy farming, no milk equals nomoney.

Simply put, happy cows equals money.Dairy cow barns are designed for cow com-

fort. Did you know that some farmers installmattresses for cows to lie on?

Everything from ventilation to lying space toally width is thought out carefully. But withthe cost of everything rising, especially feedand gas, it’s becoming inefficient to buildbarns that house less than 400 cows. Actually,farmers have to go big to cover fixed costs.

So those “factory farms” that PETA is con-stantly jumping on can’t really be that bad. Forthem to be profitable, they have to have bignumbers of happy cows. Some big farmers hirepeople just to manage the comfort of theircows—if they treat the cows properly (like notrushing them), they get a bonus.

As I mention PETA, there’s probably somepeople thinking about the poor conditions ani-mals are housed in and how they’re jacked upon antibiotics and growth hormones.

Dairy farmers are not allowed to sell milklaced with antibiotics. Before milk is loadedinto a truck to be taken to any creamery it’stested for antibiotics. If there are any detected,the milk is dumped and the farmer doesn’t getpaid. Once milk is delivered to a creamery, the

truck load of milk is again tested. If there’s anytrace of antibiotics then, the samples arechecked and the guilty farmer has to pay thecreamery for the entire contaminated truck ofmilk. (Last month’s base milk price was$17.40 per hundred pounds.)

Growth hormones, however, are not yet ille-gal. This is mostly because cows naturally pro-duce a growth hormone nicknamed bST. rBSTis a synthetic growth hormone administered toincrease milk production about 10 lbs. a day.

Since cows have to produce more whengiven rBST, they’re on their feet more and eat-ing more. According to Monsanto, the makerof this synthetic growth hormone that goes bythe trade name of Posilac, one-third of thenation’s dairy cattle belong to herds treatedwith the hormone.

According to USDA’s February 2008 MilkProduction Report, California had 1,960licensed dairy herds averaging 925 cows perherd in 2007. Wisconsin blows Calif. awaywith 14,170 licensed dairy herds, but Wis. onlyaverage 88 cows per herd.

In 2007, the average milk a California cowproduced was 22,440 pounds. The averageWisconsin cow produced 19,310. Why the dif-ference? Are cows happier in California? Is itbetter management? Or is it something else?

AbbyMaliszewski

Student Voice 6 SPORTS May 9, 2008

At 8:08:08 p.m. on the eighth day of

August 2008, the 39th Summer OlympicGames will kick off in Beijing, China. Amidstrecent controversy regarding Chinese-Tibetanrelations and the air quality in Beijing, theworld’s top athletes will be looking to rewritethe history books and strike gold. The perenni-ally strong American contingent looks wellpoised to build on their success of the Athensgames, where they led the medal count with102, including 36 gold.

Tennis: Will the Williams sistersregain their title?

In 2000, Venus and Serena Williams werethe best doubles team in the world, and theirOlympic gold medal only solidified that status.However, a knee injury forced Serena to with-draw from the 2004 games in Athens. At theAustralian Open earlier this year, both verballycommitted to the 2008 Games, and they seema near lock for regaining the gold.In women’s singles action, Russian superstarMaria Sharapova, currently ranked No. 3 inthe world, has won three titles so far this year,including a Grand Slam at the AustralianOpen. On the men’s side, world No. 1 RogerFederer of Switzerland will be making histhird Olympic appearance, and the gold medalis his to lose.

Swimming: Can Phelps finally get7 gold medals?

An outstanding Olympicexperience in Athens—inwhich he won a record eightmedals (six gold, twobronze)—left AmericanMichael Phelps at the top ofthe swimming world. Thoughhe fell just shy of MarkSpitz’s record of seven goldmedals in one Olympics(Spitz did it in 1972), Phelps has anotherchance to match it in Beijing. At the 2007world championships, he won seven goldmedals and broke five world records, many ofwhich he already held. The 6’4” Phelps willrace in eight events in Beijing, and, barringanything unusual, should take home a medal ineach of them.

The swimming events at the 2008 Gameslook to be some of the most interesting, asU.S. stars Brendan Hansen, Katie Hoff,Kaitlin Sandeno and Aaron Peirsol take onthe world’s best: Pieter van denHoogenband of the Netherlands, France’sLaure Manaudou, and Grant Hackett andLeisel Jones from Australia.

Gymnastics: Just how good are theUS women?

They’re good. Very good. Andas the reigning world champions,they have the goods to take themto the top of the medal stand.Though they are arguably thedeepest and most talented teamin the world, the U.S. womenaren’t the only ones in contentionfor the gold. Enter the Chinesewomen’s team: the 2006 world

champions and runners-up last year. However,perhaps more powerful than world medals isthe fact that the Chinese will be competing onhome soil in Beijing. It will be interesting tosee if they crumble under the weight of expec-tations, or are inspired by the home crowd (a lathe Magnificent 7 in Atlanta in 1996). TheAmerican women have something to prove aswell. In 2004, when gold was expected, silverfelt like a disappointment to many. They’llhope to redeem themselves this time around.

In addition to winning a team gold medal,the American women will contend in the all-around competition as well as on all four eventfinals. Sixteen-year-old Shawn Johnson ofWest Des Moines, Iowa, is the reigning worldall-around champion, as well as the goldmedalist on the floor exercise. In Beijing, shedefinitely has the potential to win individual

medals in the all-around, balance beam andfloor exercise. Her teammate, 18-year-oldNastia Liukin, is stellar on the uneven barsand balance beam (she’s the 2007 worldchamp on this event), but needs to remaincompletely healthy if she is to have any shot atan all-around medal. Liukin recently tied thegreat Shannon Miller’s record of most worldmedals for a U.S. gymnast (9 total).

Other U.S. contenders are AliciaSacramone, the best vaulter on the Americanteam and three-time world medalist in thatevent, as well as the reigning world silvermedalist on the floor exercise. Florida’sShayla Worley could find herself on the teamas well, due in large part to how much she cancontribute on the uneven bars.

Rounding out the rest of the six-memberteam could come down to a few different ath-letes: Sam Peszek, Ivana Hong, Jana Biegerand 2005 world all-around champion ChellsieMemmel are strong contenders.

In the men’s event, 2004 Olympic all-aroundchampion Paul Hamm of Wisconsin is backleading the U.S. team. The American men wonthe silver medal in Athens, but a medal of anycolor would be considered a success for thisyoung team, which will most likely include theUniversity of Minnesota’s Guillermo Alvarez.

Eric is a sophomore journalism major and international studiesminor. He is the Etcetera editor for the Student Voice andcoaches skating at the Hunt Arena.

Alayne Hockmanalayne.hockman@uwrf.edu

The UW-River Falls women’s track and field team is doingwell in the 2008 outdoor season, with several of the team mem-bers already qualifying for the NCAA Div. III Championships.Nationals will take place at UW-Oshkosh May 22-24.

The women’s track and field team competed in the WIACOutdoor Championship at UW-Eau Claire May 2-3.

Senior thrower Vicki Cooper was named Field Athlete of theMeet, adding 22 points to the team’s overall score of 118 points.Cooper won the shot put with a toss of 44-11 3/4, her best dis-tance of the season. Her score provisionally qualifies for thenational meet, and Cooper said she thinks the mark will be highenough for her to compete there.

Cooper stresses the vitality of each and every member on theteam. “We have a really good chance at doing well at nationals,”Cooper said. “The more I can do as a thrower, the more I can helpthe team.”

Cooper also placed in the other three events she competes in atthe meet: the discus, javelin and hammer throws. She placedthird in the discus with a distance of 145-5, which also earned hera provisional qualification for nationals. Cooper threw a 103-21/2 in the javelin, placing fifth and 148-6 in the hammer throw.

Falcon Becca Jordahl was named Track Athlete of the Meet,adding 20 points to the team’s total with two first-place finishes.According to the Falcon Athletics Web site, she won the 10,000-meter run with a time of 36:53:43. She also won the 5,000-meterrun in 17:01.58. Both times provisionally qualify her for theNCAA meet.

Senior Krista Hasselquist won the discus competition with athrow of 154-6. She also placed third in the shot put with a throwof 41 11-1/2. The women’s track and field team has been set back in its out-door season by poor weather, which has caused the cancellationof several meets.

“Our women’s team has made some huge improvements in spe-cific areas and as a team as a whole,” Cooper said.Several last-minute meets will give the team a chance to make itsfinal scores for the season before nationals.

The Falcons will compete at the University of MinnesotaFriday. The team will also compete at the La Crosse Last ChanceMeet May 15, and will host the UWRF Multi-Qualifier May 15-16.

EricPringle

World-class competition on display at 2008 Olympics

Women’s track, field excels at conferenceSubmitted Photo

Becky Ponick, Krista Hasselquist, Vicki Cooper and Kim Altenhofen are Falcon throwers. The women’s team received numerous awards at the WIAC Championship meet May 2-3.

Caleb Stevenscaleb.stevens@uwrf.edu

Senior track athlete Jason Phillippi may have accomplished a lot in four yearsof running, but his goal of running in a national championship still remains, andthis weekend will be his last chance to qualify for it.

“I’ve kind of accomplished pretty much everything, I just want to make it toa national meet, that’s my big goal,” Phillippi said. “And it’d be nice to steal anAll-American award there.”

Phillippi holds four UW-River Falls track records for the indoor 1,000-meterrace, mile and distance medley, and has one outdoor record in the steeplechase.Phillippi won the steeplechase at the Phil Esten Challenge April 14 in LaCrosse, in preparation for the WIAC meet.

“The one at Phil Esten was just a tune up before conference, didn’t really havemuch competition at all,” Phillippi said. “I just kind of ran to get used tosteepling, not for a time or anything like that.”

Phillippi followed up his win at the Phil Esten Challenge with his personalbest finish in the WIAC meet in his four years at UWRF.

“At conference I was seated like sixth or seventh with that time from the pre-vious meet,” Phillippi said. “I wanted to try to win or get top three, that was mygoal. I felt pretty good when I got done.”

Phillippi will now travel down to Naperville, Ill. to run in the Last Chance raceat North Central College.

“The last two years he has been one of the first ones left out,” track distancecoach Keven Syverson said. “This year’s honor role doesn’t appear as tough, ifhe can run a good race he has a good opportunity to get there.”

Phillippi has been a provisional qualifier for nationals twice for the steeple-chase, and once for the indoor mile. Phillippi is also one of the top runners forthe Falcon cross country team, and will run in the fall after sitting out last sea-son.

“We had a couple other top guys sitting out as well, I figured I might as wellwait with them,” Phillippi said. “Then come back this fall and be that muchstronger, it just made sense.”

Phillippi has one year left before he graduates with a degree in Health andHuman Performance. He said after graduation he plans to go where his resumétakes him and said he will continue to run, but he doesn’t know about compet-itively.

But right now Phillippi is focused on this weekend’s race in Illinois.“I just want to go down there and run a fast time. If I can run about as fast as

last year at the end of the season, that should be enough to hopefully get me intonationals,” Phillippi said.“I just want to get into a fast race with some morecompetition and just roll with them.”

Falcon chases after last opportunity for nationals CLASSIFIEDSStudent Voice Business Office

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Campus media—when studentshear this term, many of them maythink of such news organizations asWRFW and the Student Voice. Butthere is one campus medium that hasa more creative bent: Prologue.

Prologue, UW-River Falls’ literarymagazine, is published once yearlyevery spring. It showcases creativeworks submitted by UWRF students,including poetry, short stories, essays,non-fiction, two- and three-dimen-sional art and even a graphic story.

Students submit their work to theeight-person staff for review.Prologue staff members rate eachwork on a scale of one to five, fivebeing the best. The average of scoresis taken and used to determine whichpieces get published.

“We don’t have a magic number ofpieces we put in; that all depends onthe lengths of the pieces,” senior

Prologue editor Alli Malkmus said.Though there is no technical stan-

dard the works have to meet, the staffis looking for quality.

“Originality is the biggest thing,”Malkmus said.

There are other requirements aswell.

“It has to grab your attention almostimmediately,” co-editor BradBrookins said.”

Brookins also said that works mustbe grammatically correct, addressissues and not be cliché.

Because of the stress put on gram-mar and literary merit, staff membersare chosen out of the English depart-ment or other major fields that requirestrong English language skills,Brookins said.

Student exhibitors, however, can befrom any department on campus.

“[Prologue] gives all students anopportunity to creatively expressthemselves,” Malkmus said.

Jenny Brantley, Prologue’s academ-

ic adviser, said that the magazine alsoacts as a historical record.

“It serves the University by provid-ing a history and future record of theaccomplishments of our students,”Brantley said in an e-mail interview.“It has become a community con-stant-changing with the times yet stillproviding a link to the past.”

The publication is an opportunityfor creative writers on campus to gettheir work into the public sector with-out having the difficulties associatedwith higher-end publications.

“It’s a way for somebody who’sserious about writing and is good atwriting to get published,” Brookinssaid. “Your work has a much higherchance of getting published with us.”

Brookins will take over the senioreditor position next year.

“Typically there are two editors forPrologue,” Malkmus said. “The sen-ior passes on the ropes to the junior tokeep the Prologue traditions going.”

While most of the traditions will

remain the same, Brookins said thathe plans to start accepting submis-sions much earlier next year, begin-ning as early as December and possi-bly earlier, as opposed to waitinguntil spring semester.

“We’d like to get a head start on it,”he said.

Malkmus has also made sugges-tions, including using color on thecover and developing a multi-mem-ber art staff. Traditionally there hasonly been one art editor to select andedit non-text submissions.

Brantley also said she hopes to seesome new developments, includingcolor art, longer issues, and contribu-tors from every department.

“I know that every department oncampus has a writer,” she said, “andthey need to go public in Prologue.”

This year’s publication has met withhigh readership.

“In half a week we have handed outmore Prologues than we did for aweek last year,” Malkmus said.

She also said that “the quality of thework this year was a lot better thanlast year.”

“This issue is the strongest of thelast couple of years,” Brantley said.“Prologue has its ups and downs, butI give it the highest marks.”

Student Voice 7ETCETERAMay 9, 2008

Just as Iron Man the charac-ter is of a different school

than super-powered characterslike Spider-Man or the X-Men, “Iron Man” the film isthe same as far as comic-to-screen adaptations go. Thoseexpecting a slam-bang, explo-sion-a-minute blockbuster outof this flick will be sorely dis-appointed. “Iron Man’s”duties lie with being a charac-ter-driven yarn with particu-larly explosive set pieces,rather than using constantpyrotechnics to woo the ADD-afflicted masses.

But as much of a downer asit sounds, such care given tothe scriptand storyonly serveto strength-en “IronMan,” put-ting it inthe sameleague asfilms like“BatmanBegins,” which capture thesoul of superheroes instead ofjust recanting their adven-tures.

Robert Downey Jr. top linesas Tony Stark, gazillionaireplayboy and all-around tech-nological dynamo. While inthe Middle East to demon-strate his company’s latestmilitary weaponry, Starkbecomes the victim of his ownmerchandise after his convoyis attacked by a terrorist cell.Initially forced to build thegroup their very own missile,Stark revolts, whipping up asuit of armor with which heescapes his captors.

He emerges from the expe-rience a changed man,

announcing upon his return toAmerican soil that he intendsto shut down production on allweapons of mass destruction.In the meantime, Stark con-centrates on perfecting the suitthat saved his life, tweakingand modifying it until he’sready to take on evil acrossthe globe as the metallicdefender of justice, Iron Man.

At heart, “Iron Man” is thestory of a flawed genius whocomes to see the error of hisways, who puts his vast intel-lect towards helping peopleinstead of being the source oftheir destruction. Of course,Stark isn’t a complete BoyScout once he dons IronMan’s iconic red and goldsuit, but the journey he goesthrough leaves him a littlewiser, a convincing characterarc that director Jon Favreaupulls off brilliantly.

But “Iron Man” couldn’thave come together as well asit did without Downey’s

dead-on per-formance asStark, acareer-defin-ing turn thatdoes a greatjob of bring-ing out theman behindthe mask.Even if you

shift “Iron Man’s” more dra-matic and character-basedaspects to the side, it stillemerges as a pretty damn funpopcorn flick. It doesn’t havea great number of actionsequences, but those it doesinclude are tons of fun, espe-cially a scene in which Starkdefends a Middle Eastern vil-lage for the first time as IronMan.

After licensing their charac-ters for a few years, MarvelComics has made “Iron Man”the first film in which their

people are in creative controlof the production. As it turnsout, this choice was a wiseone, for as easily as TonyStark could’ve ended up assome jerk running around in atitanium suit, the filmmakersexcel at proving how, as themovie’s tagline states, heroesaren’t born—they’re made.

This decade will be remem-bered as the phoenix years

for the superhero, boasting animpressive 21 comic-characteradaptations, 15 of those beingproduced by comic empireMarvel. The industry has hadits uber-successes (Spiderman,anyone?), but it has also seenits share of crushing defeats(Elektra, Fantastic Four). Forthe most part, however,Marvel flicks fall somewhere

comfortably in the middle,being not too thought provok-ing but at least an enjoyableaction go-around. And that isprecisely where “Iron Man,”Marvel’s latest cash-cow-come-home, finds itself.

While making a sales call inthe Middle East, playboy bil-lionaire and weapons industri-alist Tony Stark (RobertDowney Jr.) is captured byinsurgents who order him tobuild them a very powerfulbomb. Stark, gravely injured,is kept alive by fellow inmateYinsen (Shaun Toub), a for-mer physicist who develops aspecial electromagnet chest-plate to keep the shrapnel inStark’s chest from piercinghis heart.

Stark uses the terrorist’sworkshop to secretly con-struct a powerful suit ofarmor, and escapes the caves,returning to the U.S.Refining his design, this newiron pugilist takes to theworld stage in an attempt tocurve the illegal buying ofweaponry by his former cap-tors.

“Iron Man” will be firstand foremost regarded as acrowd-pleasing popcornaction flick and, for the mostpart, it doesn’t disappoint.There are plenty of “whoa!”moments as helpless badguys are thrown around likerag dolls by the impressivelyrendered Iron Man.

Director Jon Favreau filmshis action as shots of pureadrenaline, condensed intoshorter, yet more intense,jolts. He is a Baz Luhrmannon steroids, directing hisMoulin Rouge of steel andexplosions to an entropiccrescendo.

Some sequences may be, inthe grand scheme of things,ultimately just for show—designed to inspire the

inevitable video-game spinoff—but who cares? Thesemoments come as welcomeshots of excitement. They areeasily forgiven in the wake ofDowney’s commanding pres-ence, every bit the sex-symbolmerchant of Marvel. Downeyplays Stark like an alcoholicBond, aloof with a bitingtongue defense.

His supporting cast is not sobrilliantly realized, however—star power in pursuit of prof-its, never profundity. GwynethPaltrow turns her hand asStark’s gorgeous and piningsecretary Pepper Potts; remi-niscent of Kirsten Dunst’sMary Jane, Paltrow goesthrough all the motions butnever captures that depth ofsoul.

The hardest character toswallow, however, is JeffBridges, Stark’s shady busi-ness partner. Forever typecastas “The Dude”-and actingvery un-dude-like here,Bridges is never allowed theopportunity to become hischaracter, detaching viewerswith every line of dialogue.

“Iron Man” is tremendousentertainment, a well-craftedaction romp that kicks off thesummer blockbuster serieswith a bang. It serves as animpressive exposition for thesequel sure to follow (makesure to stay through the cred-its, wink wink). It doesn’tquite match the depth or qual-ity of recent DC superheromovies, but that’s fine.

A.J.Hakari

A.J. is a senior journalism studentwho has been reviewing movies foralmost 10 years. He digs horror moviesand documentaries the most.

Ratings for movies are based on a scale from one to five. A film that scores five stars is worth seeing at least once.A film that scores one star is horribly acted or directed,

with no substance.

KenWeigend

Ken is a junior journalism major with afilm studies minor. He has aspirations towrite film reviews as a career. His favoritegenres are drama and comedy.

If music be the food of love, play on/Give meexcess of it, that, surfeiting / The appetite

may sicken, and so die.” Thoughwritten nearly 400 years ago,Shakespeare’s famous lines ringas true today as “All you need islove,” “The times they are a-changin’” and “Seacrest out!”

Seriously, how often are youlistening to music? Car, home,computer, iPod—the list goes on,but needless to say, we fill ourlives with it, and rarely a daypasses when our ears aren’t pleased with it.

Still, as abundant as it is, music in generalseems to be in a state of decline, and I’m nottalking about the plummet of record sales sincethe late 90s as digital downloads are at an all-time high. I’m talking about the “appetite”

which Shakespeare mentioned all those yearsago, and the idea of music being something

deeper than a simple matterof taste.

It happened when TomYorke sang to me: “You canscream and you can shout / Itis too late now / Because youhave not been paying atten-tion.” I listened to thescreeching, distorted guitarsscream in my ear whilewalking along campus, iPod

on, and observing fellow music lovers, eachequipped with ear buds reaching into theirpockets. He was right. Music has changedwithout us even realizing it.

The digital era has turned music from asocial experience to one of solitude, fueled byour own narcissistic attitudes. Think about it.

How many times have you judged someoneelse’s tastes, or cringed when riding in the pas-senger’s seat of a friend’s car while the radioblasted a certain song you loathed? Whetheryou’re the type that listens to pop radio exclu-sively or that guy who digs deep into theunderground, we’re all at fault. We put on ourheadphones and walk to our own beat so as notto be disturbed by the sounds of others.

There’s nothing wrong with having opinionson what music is preferred—that’s what makesus individuals—but it’s how we express them.“American Idol” is a prime example, as a TVshow that thrives on opinion. While the showis nothing more than a glorified karaoke com-petition, its audience feeds on the ability todecide the direction the show takes and playsout. The ability to hold the fate of contestantsthrough text messages is tasty, and we cheer onthe “good” ones and laugh at the train wrecks,

while failing to realize none of the perform-ances are really that good, at least in the shad-ow of the original artists. But it doesn’t matter.Complete control is hard to let go of.

We need to go back to the roots music wasbuilt on—an experience that brings peopletogether and expands on events and ideas rele-vant to history and today. Let’s not judgemusical tastes, but instead, share what weenjoy. Expand your library, be diverse in whatyou listen to, and experiment with musiciansand genres you wouldn’t normally give thetime. You may be surprised at what you find.Most importantly, remember that music isn’tjust something to move your feet to, but aforce that feeds the human soul.

MattLoosbrock

Matt is a senior double majoring in music and creative writingwho likes both old and new music, especially if it’s good.

Strong cast, script lay foundation for enjoyable ‘Iron Man’

But “Iron Man” couldn’t have cometogether as well as it

did without Downey’sdead-on performance

as Stark.

Tolerance, appreciation required for all types of music

Prologue honors students’ creativity

Submitted Art

Student Voice 8 FEATURE May 9, 2008

2008-09 Hall Managers ready to take chargeSarah Packingham

sarah.packingham@uwrf.edu

Seven new and three returning hall managerswill be in control of the campus residence hallsfor the 2008-09 school year.

The three returning include Mike Bremer,Jessie Gadach and Mallory Schultz.

“We are excited to havethem back,” Jason Neuhaus,west end area coordinator,said. “At the beginning ofthe year it can get a littleoverwhelming with ques-tions from the hall man-agers. This should helpspread it out a little.”

Mallory Schultz, fromMinnetonka, Minn., will beworking in Johnson for the

upcoming school year. She said she is lookingforward to getting to experience working withthe substance free wing.

“I think one of the challenges for me will beadjusting to living on the west side of campusfor the first time,” she said.

Jared Acker will be the hall manager inStratton Hall next year. Acker is a food scienceand technology major who said he is lookingforward to having a cohesive staff that goesabove and beyond the expectations of all thehall’s residents.

With the experiences Acker has, he knows thatone can never know what to expect and he saidthat will be his biggest challenge.

“[It’s] being prepared for the unexpected,”Acker said. “Even with two years experience in

residence life, unusual circumstances willarise.”

Acker said he is looking forward to getting towork with his staff and the other hall managerson campus.

Nicole Grundtner, a junior elementary educa-tion major, will be in charge in Prucha Hallwhen school begins in the fall.

“I hope to have a great hall community atmos-phere,” she said. “I hope people will be excitedabout things going on inthe hall and about thestaff.”

And although Grundtnersaid it will be challengingto remember everyone’sname, she is excited to bea part of the campus andPrucha community.

Patricia Fredricksen isthe hall manager in Mayfor next year.

Fredricksen is fromStewartville, Minn. andwill be a senior in thefall. She is a communica-tive disorder major.

Fredricksen said she looks to create a posi-tive academic and social environment, butknows there will be some challenges that goalong with the job.

“The most challenging thing for me will beto delegate different tasks to the RAs and tothe residents,” Fredricksen said. “I have a ten-dency to want to do everything a certain wayto get it done right. As hall manager I have tolearn to delegate.”

Jessie Gadach, from Elk River, Minn., will be

graduating next spring with a degree in biologyand chemistry. She will be spending her finalyear as the hall manager in Hathorn.

“Overall, this job is can be very busy at times,but the experience is worth it,” Gadach said.“Working in the residence halls is great.”

Kayla Haines will be the hall manager inCrabtree. She is an elementary education majorfrom Scandia, Minn.

“I am looking forward to working with firstyear students,” she said.“There is a lot of growthduring our first year of col-lege and I am excited toprovide programming andopportunities in Crabtreethat aids students in thisgrowth.”

Junior Ken Weigend willbe the hall manager inGrimm for the upcomingschool year. He is fromJackson, Wis. Weigend saidhe will miss the one-on-oneinteraction with residentsthat you get being an RA.

“I look forward to thechallenges and rigors that will obviously beafforded me through hall manager,” Weigendsaid. “I am honored to have been selected and Ihope I don’t let everyone down to much.”

Mike Bremer will be the hall manager inMcMillan for the 2008-09 school year. He is amarketing communications major.

“ ... I hope to create a hall that is accepting ofall types of people and their different beliefs. [Iwant] a place where everyone can be safe, relaxand have a really great year gaining new friend-

ships and living in McMillan Hall,” Bremersaid.

Becca Peine, a junior from Cannon Falls,Minn., is a communications studies major andwill be the hall manager in Parker next year.

Peine knows it will be difficult to balanceschool and the job, but said she is excited for thechallenge.

“As a former resident of Parker Hall I am real-ly excited to become the hall manager,” shesaid. “I had so many positive experiences theremy freshman year that I would like other resi-dents to have.”

Daniel Scott will be the hall manager in theapartment style living for students next year inSouth Fork Suites. Scott is a sociology and psy-chology major who is looking forward to work-ing with the generally upperclassman living inthe Suites.

“The opportunity to work in an upper classstudent environment is going to be fun one, butalso a challenging one,” Scott said. “The RAsand I are going to utilize our experiences we’vehad as staff members to create an environmentthat appeals to the interests of upperclassmen.This is going to be a challenge, but I am lookingforward to meeting this challenge head on, andso is my staff. We are all very excited for nextyear to come.”

Neuhaus said he was confident in new hallmanagers and looks forward to working withthem next year.

Hall managers had the opportunity to meetwith their staff and brainstorm ideas for nextyear at RA camp April 25-27. Staff worked onteambuilding and came up with their halls’themes.

Resident Assistants pivotal part of campus life

“ ... I hope to create a hallthat is accepting of all

types of people and theirdifferent beliefs. [I want] aplace where everyone canbe safe, relax and have areally great year gaining

new friendships and livingin McMillan Hall.”

Mike Bremer,2008-09 McMillan Hall manager

Ken Weigendkenneth.weigend@uwrf.edu

An old saying says there are only two constants: death andtaxes. For student residents of UW-River Falls, there is a thirdconstant: resident assistants.

Out of 69 total positions, 38 new RAs have been hired for the2008-09 academic year at UWRF. These new staff members willbe placed into positions in all 10 Residence Halls on campus,affecting the lives of every student living in the halls. These 38new members of Residence Life were selected through a two-tierapplication process aimed at sifting out the most qualified appli-cants.

Students interested in the position were required to submit anapplication along with resumé, cover letter and three referenceforms by Feb. 15. The number of open positions vary from year-to-year, but on average, 100 students show interest and submitapplications each spring.

According to the resident assistant position description avail-able online through the school’s Web site, an RA is a “live-in stu-dent staff member ... [who] contributes to the student life pro-gram and works specifically to develop and enhance communityfor residents.” Therefore,resumés must reflect emergingleaders willing to step up and“work with student residents tocreate an open, inclusive andsupportive residential communi-ty.”

Coordinators within ResidenceLife reviewed applications andselected which applicants wouldreceive interviews. Since thereis more to being an RA than afree single room and a free mealplan, coordinators looked forapplicants that were willing tobring something unique to therole.

“Resumés need to captureexperience that can translateinto the [RA] position,” saidJason Neuhaus, the west areacoordinator for Residence Life.“[But] if their GPA meets therequirements they’ll [probably]receive an interview. We almostalways try to offer the chance tostudents.”

Interviews took place duringthe final two weeks of February.Panels of interviewers weremade up of one to fourResidence Life staff members,at least one of them beingNeuhaus or Kristie Feist, theeast area coordinator forResidence Life.

“We try to ask questions thatwill allow the applicant to shareexamples of experiences theyhave that will illustrate theirability to succeed in the posi-tion,” Feist said in an e-mailinterview. “We want to see ...how they will handle certain sit-uations if hired.”

Once all the interviews werecompleted, the professional staffwithin the department ofResidence Life reviewed all theapplicants and their impressionsof them from face-to-face inter-action. In most cases, intervie-wees were asked if they had anypreferences to the type of com-

munity they would most like to be placed in: first-year studentwings, returning student wings or substance-free lifestyle.

The different personalities of the applicants were also matchedup to create diverse staffs that will mesh well together, bringingunique viewpoints and skill sets to each hall.

It is also important to find individuals who are able to connectwith residents. For that reason, a variety of personalities werehired.

“We’d be in trouble if we hired 100 percent extroverts or 100percent introverts—we wouldn’t be able to connect with resi-dents that way,” Neuhaus said.

This concern for a healthy and effective staff is reflected in res-idents’ attitudes.

“My overall opinion of UWRF RAs is positive and I feel thatthey are effective in their position,” said junior HeatherPederson. “I do feel that this University can hire competentRAs.”

“It’s hard to know for sure how people will handle the job withjust one interview,” said Jared Fritz, a first-year student. “But Ithink they’ve [the administration] done a good job at it.”

“We have been fortunate to have enough returning RA’s toplace in each building to act as mentors and role models for our

new staff,” Feist said.This year, Residence Life is test-driving a new method of bring-

ing returning RAs closer together with newcomers. On March27, an RA social was held in which staff members from differenthalls were paired up into buddy teams. The goal was to providenew RAs with an experienced individual that could answer ques-tions and be a general resource. The staff for 2008-09 seemedupbeat for the upcoming year, with first-time RAs excited for theopportunity to be young leaders.

“[It’s a] really awesome position to be a part of,” said HannahTjoflat, a first-year student and a new RA for next year. “I’mreally excited to get involved.”

The RA position is one that can really help with outreach to stu-dents, according to Hailey Samples, a sophomore hired for nextyear.

“RAs can do a lot to show students what they can do on cam-pus,” Samples said.

Applications for the RA position are accepted at the beginningof each spring semester. Applications can be found at theInvolvement Center desk or online through the University’s Website. Resident assistants, hall managers and area coordinatorscan answer questions about the position as well.

Aaren ManeringThe spring 2008 Student Voice Staff. Front row: Sally King, Sarah Packingham, Katrina Styx, Sarah Schneider. Middle row:Alayne Hockman, Jenna Nelson, Abby Maliszewski, Kenny Yoo. Back row: Eric Pringle, Ken Weigend, Megan Leoni, JoannaMastley, Andrew Phelps, Ben Brewster (Not pictured: Phillip Bock and Kirsten Blake).

The Student Voice staff says “You stay classy, UW-River Falls!”

Jason Neuhaus