Brockman busted
Freshmen residence hall assessed with multiple fines for vandalism
Darren LaCour
Opinions & Editorials Editor
Erika Breese
Brockman Hall, home to some of the more outrageous activities at Xavier, has only barely survived the first month from its new tenants. With violations ranging from property damage to drug use, the residents of Brockman have incurred $2,000 worth of fines.
Brockman Hall, the all freshman dorm, has a reputation of being a little bit crazy and a lot of fun. The first few weeks into the semester, however, the scales seemed to have tipped out of control.
Though the residents arrived less than a month ago, they have already accrued $2,000 in fines and damages.
Brockman Hall director Amy Korstange said that the damages are a lot more than she usually sees at the beginning of the year.
The fines arose from a variety of violations, including improper discharging of a fire extinguisher, itself a $200 fine, leaving the building through fire exits, inappropriate vandalism on the walls and urination in the hallways and stairwells.
Sophomore Brockman Resident Assistant Anthony Sinders also reported noticing substance problems in the building, with people smoking marijuana in the residence halls when he was on rounds.
In response to this behavior, Kortange decided to make the Brockman Hall fire safety meeting mandatory for all residents so she could address the issue.
At the fire safety meeting, one of the highlighted points was Xavier’s first priority ranking for the fire department, which will drop everything to report to Xavier in case of an emergency – even if that means leaving another fire.
Sinders said that these facts made the residents realize that setting off fire alarms by leaving via the fire exits is a very serious offense.
He also feels that Officer Grossman’s presence at the meeting may have made an impact on the residents.
At the meeting, Korstange also let residents know that if the guilty parties did not come forward and accept responsibility for the damages, all of the residents would be forced to take up the burden of the cost for damage repair.
“I don’t like making people pay for other people’s choices,” she said in an interview. Unless the people responsible for the damages came forward, all the residents of the hall would have to pay a portion of the $2,000 fine.
The meeting seems to have had the desired effect. Junior Resident Assistant Patty McNearney and Sinders agree that vandalism as a whole has gone down, and that the substance problems that Sinders noticed have decreased.
“People now realize that it’s serious and that the entire hall can be punished for their actions,” said Sinders.
Korstange also acknowledged that the hall has really calmed down, and that several students have come forward to take responsibility for their actions.
As a result, the total cost that must be split among the residents has decreased from $2,000 to $800.
Korstange points to this situation as a learning experience, where students learn how to live in community and hold each other accountable.
“It’s becoming a normal place,” she said. “Well, as normal as Brockman gets.”
Your tuition at work
University’s 2003-04 federal tax form reveals Xavier’s massive cash supply
Matthew Finger
Managing Editor
According to Xavier’s most recent and accessible public federal tax form (fiscal year 2003), at the start of the 2003 fiscal year, which was between June 1, 2003 and May 31, 2004 (the year before current seniors’ freshman year) the total assets Xavier had in its control summed to $369,986,327. Its total income equaled $116,175,968, and expenses reached $134,494,037.
Income generated by “tuition and fees” amounted to nearly $88,035,943 for the university. The question that some Xavier students may be asking is this: Where did that money go?
To begin, almost $24.25 million went to scholarships (grants and allocations) for students. Almost $50 million went to the salaries and wages of the 2,064 employees of Xavier (as of 2003).
Some high end salaries included the academic officers, directors, trustees and key employees, whose combined compensation totaled nearly $1.5 million.
The top five highest paid employees (other than officers, directors and trustees) equaled about $1.1 million, including the highest paid professor at Xavier who grossed $142,600. There were 326 other employees paid over $50,000.
Almost $60.5 million was spent on expenses other than salaries and tuitions. This included categories such as “travel” and “other/miscellaneous.” Travel, which includes transportation, lodging, meals and entertainment, equaled about $3.4 million dollars.
The other/miscellaneous category reached just over $4.1 million. What encompasses “other/miscellaneous” is not known, nor is information regarding the travelers and their destinations. Conferences, conventions and meetings also summed to just over $2.1 million.
Students choose to enroll themselves at Xavier and by doing so they accept the manner in which the school spends its money.
When asked whether she would be interested in seeing how Xavier spends its money, Gina Lieser, a Xavier junior, said “I would definitely be interested. I think it’s important to see that information if we want to.”
Xavier senior Algis Aukstuolis feels that “Any information regarding what you’re paying for at a university is important to know. It is our money that they’re spending.” But Aukstuolis also added that “I’m paying for certain things at a university and I expect to get a good degree out of it. That would be the most important thing I care about.”
Other students feel strongly about the subject. “I feel like we spend between $20-35,000 a year coming here, and that is a lot more than some people can afford,” said junior Jacki Sprinkle.
“It is definitely important for us to receive the services we need as students and to be able to challenge the administration on how it spends our money.”
Xavier by the dollars:
Full-time student tuition (per year): $24,660
Manresa fee (one time fee): $175
Instructional Technology fee (per year): $400
Health and Counseling fee (per year): $210
Graduation fee (one time fee): $50
Brockman/Kuhlman room rate (per year): $4,900
Average total expenses for freshmen (per year): $30,345
John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief
Rachel Peters
Ann Tassone
Darren LaCour
Senior News Editors
The Xavier Newswire 3800 Victory Parkway Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-2129 On-campus location: The Publications House, 3739 Ledgewood Dr. Telephone: 513.745.3607 Advertising: 513.745.3561 Fax: 513.745.2898 Email: John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief Ellie Jaqueth
Advertising Manager Full list of staff contacts www.xu.edu/newswire
