ONNION Finding the beauty in every-day conversations. Page 2 CAMPUS Shimer College’s production of ”Eurydice” adds 2 more shows! Page 3 ABE A review of Youth Lagoon’s new album. Page 6 \ --\\ \\ \ Ii: Student newspaper of the Illinois Institute of Technology since 1928 Student forum tackles recent housing policy changes Utsav Gandhi CAMPUS EDITOR Generations of IIT students, especially undergraduates have gone up from living in MSV or SSV for their freshman year to pick an apartment in Gunsaulus or Carman Halls on campus, and part of this transitionary “growing up" experience has been the ability to be able to care for yourself and grow independent of the school dining services. Last week, however, as students were getr ting ready to sign contracts for onrcampus housing for next year, they were in for a surprise as rumors on Facebook emerged of proposed changes instir tuted by Housing services wherein all students living in onrcampus dorms, regardless of whether the unit contained a kitchen facility, would be required to have aminimum ofa new meal plan, with 50 meals and 50 bonus points for the semester. Understandr ably, there was a furor over these proposed changes and students took to Facebook and angry emails to vent their frustration. The Student Government Association (SGA), spurred by almost 500 viral votes on the issues VoteBox page (http://sga.uservoice.com/ forums/136665’sgarvotebox/suggestions/3823397r repealrtherdecisionrtorrequirermealrplansrforrallr), jumped into action in order to mobilize the student voice and initiate a healthy discussion to bring genur ine student concerns and feedback surrounding the issue to the higher authorities. On Thursday, April 11 2013, Elizabeth Pinkueruizenga (Betsi), the Director of Housing and Residential Services and Katie Murphy Stetz, the Dean of Students held an extremely valuable and brutally honest discussion to try and satisfy the growing student unrest regarding the unpopur lar decision. This was an open forum for students to come vent their frustrations as cordially as possible and for the administration, made out to be the clear villains in the whole situation, to explain reasons behind why the policy change was implemented in the first place. Betsi said that she met with Rani Shah and Raghav Girijala, the SGA President and Exec VP respectively, amidst avolatile Facebook environment to work out some possible changes as recommenda tions. The primary reason they reiterated throughout the night for having decided to institute the change was because university administration saw it best to want and push the overall onrcampus experience to another level altogether by having more Gunsaulus and Carman residents enjoy a greater eating experience in the Commons. Not having a meal plan during very busy times often makes students feel stressful, and they felt that having a meal plan might directly correlate to student wellness and would help them do better academically. Addressing the biggest grouse against the decision, the “crappy timing": they owned up to their mistake and mentioned that sometimes in real life this poor communication does happen. Lessons had definitely been learned from the poor transfer and spread of information as well as the unfortunate timr ing of the proposed change. However, to make sure they were allowing students to make an informed decision whether to accept the new terms and con ditions, they had decided to extend the deadline to accept contracts until May 31. Addressing the other issue with the de cision wherein graduate students would be treated differently, in the sense that they would be exempt from this policy, Bemi explained that traditionally they have always been treated differently on campus and even with this policy this would continue to be done so. However the first real occasion for the ball to land in the studenm’ court came in when it was announced that students who had already been living for a year or more in a residential unit with a kitchen would be “grandfathered in" being exempt from taking up the meal plan mandatory as well. The new clause for the mandatory meal plan would then just affect those students who would be moving in for the first time into an on campus residential unit with a kitchen. Immediately there was an apparent heave of relief in the room, literally nobody spoke for the next twenty seconds. Then, individual cases started springing up. A 30 year old student, who clearly seemed like they could take care of themselves should they be required to do so, explained the sheer redundancy in having to eat at the Commons even in the pres ence of a kitchen unit at home. A nonrtraditional student put in a strong plea to be considered or even consulted when such decisions were being taken for the general undergraduate student body. A student from another culture who has been cooking since she was thirteen and who had been taught to cook by herself urged the administration to factor in the diverse backgrounds of IIT’s many student commur nities in implementing such crucial decisions. Both Betsi and Katie indicated that they are willing to take individual conversations such as these forward in order to be most fair and just to specific cases. Betsi then went on to answer averyler gitimate question about the pricing of the new meal plan: she said that it was priced keeping in mind the competition from the five meals per week meal plan: though it resembles more of an anytime blox. There are fewer meals but more flexibility, and the pricing has been determined keeping in mind recommenr dations from the university’s Chief Financial Ofiicer, the Dean of Students and the new SodexoGeneral Manager. The next legitimate question to come up was to make the Commons amore enjoyable experir ence if it really was going to be the new proposed epicenter of student interaction and community enr gagement. Suggestions thrown forward were the op tion to stayopen until 8 pm. (to accommodate those who have class until 7:40 p.m.), with enough quantir ties of food to ensure they didn’t run out quickly like they sometimes do. A ‘grab and go’ option for a prerpacked meal is also being considered and a major push was made by the SGA Executive VP Raghav to reinstir tute the Food Advisory Board, a subsidiary student body which made recommendations to Sodexo on improving the on campus dining experience but was dissolved due to student disinterest (please email iitsgaexecvp@gmail.com if you wish to be more in volved with this crucial endeavor in sustaining the student voice). The Dean stressed that the whole point behind this endeavor is to really challenge Sor dexo in making or breaking the on campus residenr tial student experience , it was also a huge gamble on her part. The heart of the new policy is building a community centered around the Commons experir ence as one of the ingredients for a more inclusive environment. Other welcome policy changes an nounced throughout the course of the night were to make laundry free for all campus residents next year, to review the cable plan, replace the spot coolers in Carman and Gunsaulus and provide free installation of ACs and cooling units , many little things which will improve the student experience. Other legitimate student concerns brought up were the loss of the experience of mkr ing away the independence of taking care oneself,- those who had severe dietary restrictions and for whom the Commons simply cannot accommodate (one girl even went on to explain how her stomach took to the Commons food unfavorably to the point that she was puking right in front of the staff, but still when she went to ask for contract termination she was asked to present proof of sickness.) A student who corops at an establish ment with Sodexo catering indicated how she could not wait enough for the summer because their car tered food at that location was unbelievably and incomparably healthy and needraddressing. She questioned why Sodexo wasn’t even trying to imr prove their game here when they clearly have the potential and even the feedback from the surveys they sent out. Students brought up the point that such aforum, while invaluable in smrting a dialogue, should’ve been called for before the policy was de cided to be implemented. There should be clearer information on the website and even the suggestion for a Sodexo forum was thrown out. A student expressed the in ability to move into Gunsaulus now due to afford ability issues, with tuition also going up and the stur dens being unable to control expenses ofthings they didn’t need. Another student brought up the fact that the Commons is not equipped to manage so many people, and $750 is much more than money than they need to feed themselves for a semester. The big question cropping up was how we as students paying for a service and an admin istration looking to best serve student needs to hold Sodexo more accountable to their commitment to quality and customer service. One stop solutions such as recommendr ing their vegan diet (no matter what the student con cern is), severe and sustained categorization (are the athletes, the Caribbean students, the architects, the Doctor Who fans really going to segregate following the new policy to promote community integration? Is the Commons really the most practical vehicle to tackle this problem in the first place?), an incredr ible amount of red tape in canceling the meal option even if there’s a legitimate concern , such inherently intricate issues need to be tackled more holistically and with more serious thought at the root of the problem. Has this approach of a mandatory meal plan worked at other universities? Can we invite more local establishments to serve as guest cooks in the Commons here and then to promote flexibility, variety and novelty into the doldrums menu? Can we reach out to more local pizza places to deliver (to which Betsi said very matterrofrfactly that comr panies have been known to stop deliver because of students not tipping delivery men enough)? As the discussion drew to a close, as sug gestions were getting more impassioned and agir tated, one thing was certain: it is crucial to keep the conversation going. The Student Government urges invested members of the studentbody to join the Food Advir sory Board in making their concerns heard directly where and when they matter the most. We need to see if the Commons improves: and for this things need to work in a certain sequence the way we want them to work, for this the forty five minutes that the one student spent filling out the HT Dining Survey need to be worth more than just shrugged shoulders and an apparent apathy to student opinion. If the quality of discussion at this forum was anything to go by, then one can definitely hope that a Sodexo forum will be announced and held as soon as possible to address the real root problem holding our university student experience from be ing the best it can be. More power to the students, more power to the student voice, more power to the press bringr ing to you this dialogue, more power to the student government and definitely more power to the unir versity administration that are clearly invested in improving this experience for us. The forum ended with an overwhelming ly positive appreciation for Katie and Betsi in taking this initiative to own up to a few mistakes made and lessons learned, to elucidate by example how adminr istrators really have the best interests of students at heart and how we can all engage in productive diar logue to ultimatelymake this a better experience for everyone involved. TUESD APRIL 16, 2013 Volume 175 I Issue 10 technewsiit.com OPINION/SGA 2 CAMPUS 3-4 AErE 6 SPORTS 1 Relay for Life events last 12 hours Katie Peters STAFF WRITER Are you looking for something to do this Saturday night that will not only let you have fun and bond with your classmates, but also raise money for a great cause? Well, this weekend is the second annual Relay for Life on HT’s campus, and it’s coming back better than ever! The Relay for Life committee has been working hard since Der cember to fill all twelve hours with fun activities and fundraisers which will keep participants exr cited and looking forward to the next event. And just as a disclaimer: you don’t have to run or even walk, just come and hang out and bring donations to participate in the activities they have planned. The Relay for Life teams has already raised over $4,000 and are well on their way to their goal of $12,000, but they need your help! You can still sign up to participate at Relay and raise money from your friends or family, or donate to any of the teams or at the event to help reach our goal. In addition to the great events during Relay for Life, this week is Paint Your Campus Purple Week, leading up to the big event Saturr day 27th April. The committee will be decorating as much of campus as possible with purple items, and this week even the Man on the Bench will be sporting his Relay pride. Also, on the bridge the team will be selling raffle tickets to win a signed Chicago Bulls basketball, so bring money during the week to buy raffle tickets or Luminaria to honr or your friends or family who have fought cancer. Keep an eye out on HT Relay for Life’s Facebook page for a photo contest, and follow @HTRelayr ForLife on Twitter and use the hashtag #paintHTr purple to tell us how you are raising money for Relay or supporting it through purple pridel The week’s events culminate on Saturr day with the Big Event philanthropy options and the Hawks Purple Out baseball game at noon. At 2 pm on Saturday IIT’s dance group New Velociity is kicking off the event with their second annual minirshowcase in Keating. At 6:30 pm the Relay for Life Opening Ceremony begins at Man on the Bench Park with opening remarks by Provost Alan Cramb. The first few festivities will be out side in the park, and the Luminaria Ceremony and the events following will be inside the Hermann Hall Expo. The schedule of events for the night is as follows: 6:30 p.111.: Opening Ceremony, Man on the Bench Park 7 to 9 p.111.: Photo Booth 7 to 9 p.111.: Vandercook Iazz Band 9:30 to 10 p.111.: Luminaria Ceremony with the XrChromotones, Hermann Hall Expo 10 to 12:30 3.111.: Band Performance: Way to Fall and Midwest Skies 10:30 p.111.: Root Beer Pong Tourney 11 p.111. to 2 3.111.: ‘Weddings’, Face Painting 2 to 2:30 3.111.: Fight Back Ceremony 2:30 3.111.: D], Trivia game 3:30 3.111.: Raffle winners announced: win a signed Chicago Bulls basketball and White Soxbaseball tickets! 4 3.111.: Zumba 4 to 5 3.111.: Photobooth, “Weddings", Face Painting 5 3.111. Power Hour: Frozen Trshirt, Track Lap 6:30 3.111.: Closing Ceremony Throughout the event there will be opportunities to donate to the cause to bring us closer to our goal of $12,000, so be sure to bring your loose change to support cancer research! If you have any questions, please email iitrelay'forr life@gmail.com.