Katherine Monasterio 
Opinions & Editorials Editor
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: Kathryn Rosenbaum
Editor-in-Chief Nathan Sergio
Advertising Manager Full list of staff contacts www.xu.edu/newswire
EDITORIAL | BIKE POLICY
Red light for green initiatives
Pretty soon, the red tape will line the walkways of the academic mall, and students who traverse across the greenspace will be ticketed for violating the pristine beautiful, but merely decorative, lawns.
Or so it seems after reading over the new Campus Police bike policy, which was implemented this semester.
While the intentions of the policy are laudable—if, indeed, pedestrians feel their lives are threatened by the coasting bikers and the trees are dying in droves from the bike chains choking their trunks—they only contribute to a growing legalism on campus, illustrating an administrative structure that fails to trust the students.
Much like restrictive policies regarding alcohol—no advertisement of alcohol for campus-sponsored events, for instance—these frivolous policies impose unnecessary fees and suggest the majority of the student body needs prompting to use common sense.
In an effort to promote common sense, the Newswire encourages students to use one of the few available bike racks when parking their bicycles and also to avoid chaining their bikes to “inappropriate fixed objects” around campus, since Campus Police could potentially confiscate your bike, especially if your bike isn’t registered and they don’t know who to fine.
But really, who’s to say that a bike chained to a bench on the greenspace is more of an eyesore or even more of a hazard than the gas-guzzling Campus Police SUV?
The Newswire, after scouring its recent police notes, also fails to notice any accidents or incidents involving bicycles where this policy would have made any impact, calling into question the true motives of the policy implementation (boredom, perhaps? A desperate lack of funding?).
On Sustainability Day, much excitement was generated among students, faculty and staff over the prospect of a campus bike rental system, helping connect the disparate edges of campus, such as the Elet and Cohen buildings. Given the lack of adequate bike racks—and a policy that threatens and mistrusts bicyclists—it seems such dreams aren’t going to fly at this university.
It’s a shame that at a time when students are showing initiative to “go green” by riding their bikes to class, Xavier would insist on putting up a red light.
EDITORIAL | BASKETBALL PARKING
A tale of angst and woe
You are about to explode.
You have been driving your vehicle around campus for the last fifteen minutes trying to find one single God-blessed parking space. Meanwhile, pedestrian traffic blocks you when you try to make a turn. Every single parking space is already taken by eager basketball fans. All you want is to get to Gallagher for a meeting that started five minutes ago. You, a student, are turned away from the now handicapped-only parking lot that was once C5, sprinkled, for once, with empty spaces.
You are ready to gnaw through the streering wheel.
Every off-campus student knows this feeling. At this rate, you may as well have just walked from your house in Norwood. You’ll end up parking that far away anyway, if you even find a space.
Students are tired of this. We love basketball—really, we do—and we love that so many Xavier fans are able to pour into campus to see their beloved sport. But not everyone can can walk or ride a bike to campus; most students don’t own bikes, and graduate students (and those with night classes) can’t just bike in from all over Cincinnati.
This conundrum deserves attention. As current students who need campus for normal academic activities that unfortunately take place during basketball games (cough, Newswire layout, cough), we need parking on campus and we need priority. Xavier should designate a section of C2 for students during games. Part of Norwood Plaza was just repaved and repainted so that basketball fans can have somwhere to park.
So please, Xavier—give us a few more parking spaces. In doing so, you’d be giving back our sanity as well.
Letters to the Editor
Project SEARCH correction
I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to Monica Laco and the staff of the Newswire for the last week’s article on Project SEARCH. We appreciate the exposure, as our success depends on the job opportunities made available by the faculty and staff of Xavier University.
I would like to clarify a few facts. The interns are not “paid” employees. Our program is funded through Great Oaks, Ohio Rehabilitation Services and Xavier University. In lieu of monetary compensation, the interns provide their services in exchange for the skills and experience that will make them more competitive in obtaining a paying job.
The interns are trained to independently ride the Metro. They are financially responsible for their bus fare, appropriate work clothing and shoes, classroom supplies and lunch (unless working for Chartwell’s).
Project SEARCH is included in the Division of Student Life and Leadership, within the Peace and Justice Department.
It is associated with the College of Social Sciences, Health and Education, as well as the Department of Secondary and Special Education. This program is a good fit with the Jesuit mission.
I would also like to take this opportunity to make more Xavier offices and departments aware of the untapped skills and talents these students have to offer. We still have students who do not have jobs every day, and they are missing out on the life-changing skills your office could provide. Please go to the Xavier portal and take a moment to meet these incredible people (click Project SEARCH Interns under the Peace and Justice website). They focus on their abilities, not their disabilities. We hope you will do the same.
If you need more information, you can contact any of the following:
Trish Heim, Project Search Educational Coordinator at heimp@xavier.edu, 513-745-1057.
Dr. Sharon Merrill, Director of Special Education at merrill@xavier.edu
Angela Gray, Peace and Justice Associate Director at graya3@xavier.edu.
Trish Heim
Project SEARCH Educational Coordinator
Construction forum sparks new ideas
By Mfreke Akpaninyie
Editorial Columnist
Are you interested in what Xavier’s campus will look like in the future? Everyone’s answer should be “yes.”
The Sudent Government Association is holding a series of forums for students to voice their opinions about the construction that will take place on Xavier’s campus.
I highly suggest everyone attend one of the multiple sessions offered. Though I am a senior and my time at Xavier is coming to a close, I still have opinions about what this new and improved Xavier should look like.
One of the things that should be brought up is the issue of parking.
I am not only speaking about parking spaces for vehicles but also racks for bicycles as well. Year after year, parking continues to be an issue with the student body.
And with basketball season already here, parking is just going to get worse on the nights of home games.
The next topic of interest is the construction of new residence halls and apartments on campus.
With such a large freshman class, many of them have to live in forced triples. It may not seem that bad living that way for a year, but I am guessing that many don’t want to live that way for the rest of their time at Xavier.
If the university wants to expand and grow, more living space on campus is crucial to construction plans.
Something else I would like to see in the new construction plans is more green space. I have been to other universities that have magnificent and expansive green spaces.
The greenspace we currently have is decent, but it could be improved.
I worry that with all this construction, there will be too much focus on adding new buildings and structures that simple things like green spaces and plants will be forgotten.
Another thing on my Xavier construction wish list is the construction of an outdoor track and turf playing field.
I am a fan of running outside since I enjoy breathing fresh air while I exercise. Running in place on a treadmill is very mundane and unexciting.
Construction of a turf playing field would do a lot of good for Xavier. It would clear some of the congestion and traffic on the greenspace.
Many times while walking on the greenspace, I have found myself in the middle of a two-hand touch football game or in the path of a swiftly-moving Frisbee. Having a turf playing field would make the greenspace a more peaceful, quiet place for relaxation, socializing and studying.
The construction of an outdoor track and turf playing field would be a great thing for the new recreation center when they build it.
Lastly, I think the addition of a fountain and walkways would add a special touch to Xavier. I am a fan of fountains and walkways, and think they would look nice on our campus.
I have a lot of ideas for what the campus should look like and become. You may agree with some or disagree with all of them.
If you want your voice heard, I suggest attending one of the next forums: Nov. 10 at 2:30 pm in the Clocktower Lounge in Gallagher and Nov. 11 at 4 pm in Albers 103.
Learn from deadly mistakes of others
By Katherine Monasterio
Op-Ed Editor
Barely a week after Darren LaCour’s last column about the untimely, tragic death of his cousin, I, too received similar news. I found out Sunday that a friend I’d known in elementary school died this past Aug. 29 of a drug overdose at the age of 21.
True, we’d hardly said much since friending each other on Facebook a few years back, and even less before that. But John—the second of my classmates from elementary school to die young of a drug overdose in the last year—was one of my good friends when I was little, and his death has me a bit shaken.
He was a bright kid. I remember him as a bit hyper and certainly a troublemaker, but he was friendly to everyone. He always had a grin ready, regardless of your place on the social chain. He refused to call me Katherine, preferring a more friendly “Katie.” He taught me to cross the tops of my capital “J”s. His obituary lamented that he wouldn’t produce any more art; he was an accomplished sculpter and photographer.
And he’s dead. All those years we spent in elementary school, none of us knew his time was already almost up.
So here’s a message to all of you prats who take drugs, whether you’re completely addicted or just do it occasionally, whether you’re high right now or you’ve only done it a few times in your basement, whether painkillers or weed is your drug of choice:
Why the hell do you think it’s worth it?
It’s not. Doing drugs when you know they could lead to all kinds of harm is nothing short of stupid.
Imagine, if you will, your parents answering That Phone Call, the one every parent dreads. Read Darren’s words from last week and imagine your own family crippled with grief, trying desperately to find hope that won’t come. Depending on the drug, how you use it and what you do while under its influence, such scenarios may not be that far off.
I’m well aware that sitting on a couch smoking a joint with your buddies won’t kill you. But driving home afterward might. Crossing the street when you think it’s safe, or dropping an unnoticed spark on that old dusty couch might. Having such a dependence that you take desperate measures to obtain your next fix might.
I hate to sound like your fourth grade D.A.R.E. officer, but clearly the message didn’t sink in then. Would the you of 10 years ago be proud of the you today? The one who gets so high on weekends that you still feel it the next day, that you miss class and consistently act like an immature plebe?
I’m absolutely at a loss as to what the attraction is. It’s illegal, dangerously brain-damaging, and after awhile, expensive. We’re college kids; our lack of cash is no secret. Why spend it on a sense-numbing brain-cell-destroyer when you could be using it for a new iPod, a nice date, or a giant bag of Pizza Rolls before exams?
It’s time to re-think your addiction. I’m tired of hearing stories like those of Darren’s cousin Kyle, my friend Chelsey and now John. They were all bright, wonderful kids who happened to do something stupid, and all we have left of them are memories.
Don’t let it happen to you. For God’s sake, use your brain, or what’s left of it. Remember that smarter people than us have ceased to exist because of something they could have easily prevented.
If you need help, ask for it. You know what your resources are. Especially at Xavier, there will always be people willing to reach out to you.