LSAT Exam Offered at FSU

The LSAT, Law School Admission Test, will be offered at Frostburg State University on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Dunkle Hall, Room 218. Interested students should register by Tuesday, January 10 by regular mail, online, or by telephone. To register online, visit www.lsac.org.

Spencer Deakin and Scott Johnson will be proctors for the exam. Other locations for the LSAT include Morgantown, WV and various locations in Baltimore. Registration fee for the exam is $139, but students must also pay $124 to join Credential Assembly Service for their LSAT score, letters of recommendation, and transcripts to be processed and sent to their prospective law schools. The total fee, therefore, is $263. Fees may be waivered for qualifying students, based on financial need. Visit http://www.lsac.org/JD/LSAT/fee-waivers.asp, but hurry because the deadline for fee waivers is early December. Late registration, which entails a $68 late fee, is January 20.

For questions about the LSAT, e-mail Scott Johnson at sjohnson@frostburg.edu call x7432, or stop by his office at Guild 137.

Ask around.

We are always being told by our elders that the younger generation does not network anymore. Or that ipods and cell phones have caused us to become introverts. Well, to change this, I implore you to talk to people on campus about off campus housing. You might not ever realize that you know people who live off campus. The main reason to do this is to make sure you stay away from bad landlords. I personally have had horrible landlords. Some never return phone calls. Others show up unannounced and some never even bother answering the phone. By talking to other students, one could gain information about where and where not to live.

For instance, I have lived with three different rental companies; Legacy Management, Good Fellow Management, and Unger Apartments. Legacy Management was slightly unorganized but was always there for their residents if they were needed. Good Fellow Managements owner lived out of state and we rarely met face to face with him. I am now living with Unger Apartments and this by far has to be the most interesting and frustrating experience. The major problem with Unger Apartments is that whenever you need to get in touch with the owner, she is never available. If you leave a message, she will not return your phone call for some time. Hopefully, the issue is nothing serious because if it is, you will be on your own. They are also unorganized and often get residents bills mixed up. These are just a few experiences that I have had and I am sure your friends have similar stories. These are only a few of the student rental companies and there are many more. Before making your decision, ask around and familiarize yourself with the companies before you make the wrong decision like a lot of us already have.

Child with Mental Illness

I found an interesting article about a child with ultiple mental illnesses published by the NY Times.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/health/22kids.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1322499541-dGUQ9fayYouc41vjUQBIiA

Cycle, Insipire, Unite: FSU Students Cycle Across the U.S. for Cancer

Looking to do something meaningful with your summer vacation?  Enjoy participating in community service?  Interested in contributing to the fight against cancer?  Finally, are you motivated enough to travel across the country by bike?  If you answered yes to any of the above, then you just might be crazy enough to join the 4k for Cancer’s cross-country cycling journey.

The 4k for Cancer Since their first ride in 2002, the 4k for Cancer has offered young adults the unique opportunity to collaborate their efforts in the fight against cancer.  By participating in a grueling 70 day, 4,000+ mile adventure across the country, these groups of students have become the faces of cancer support, awareness, and prevention.  However, the 90+ college students are on more than just a cross-country bike ride, they are bike commuters – cycling 80 to 120 miles to work each day.   They volunteer in host communities where they visit cancer patients, take part in community dinners, and give presentations.  These students are all committed to the idea of making sure that cancer patients and their families are not alone on their cancer journeys.

The mission of the 4K for Cancer is “dedicated to empowering young adults in uniting communities across the country in the fight against cancer through community service and support.”  To join the 4K as a cyclist, riders must each raise a minimum of $4,5000.  As an organization, the 4k for Cancer has raised over $1,000,000 since 2002.  The money raised goes to support a variety of organizations which offer direct services to cancer patients.  The 4k’s goal is to identify and fund programs that have an immediate impact on the lives of cancer patients and their caregivers.

In 2011, 85 volunteers, including three students from FSU (Chey Hillsgrove, Michael McNair and Ashley Daniels), rode along three different routes: Baltimore to San Francisco, Baltimore to Portland, and Baltimore to Seattle.  Combined the 4K riders raised $476,000 to support organizations and individuals in the fight against cancer.

This summer, Hillsgrove returns as an alumni rider on Team Portland.  He will be accompanied by fellow FSU students; Ashley Carroll, Colette Hapi, and Sidni Giordano.

The trip to Portland will start in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, heading north to southern Pennsylvania and then riding west through Ohio. The ride continues through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska before landing in Boulder, CO where the Portland team will meet up with the San Francisco team for the 4th of July. From Boulder, the route takes a distinctive northern turn into Wyoming’s Teton National Park.   Then, heading south to Salt Lake City before turning west again through Idaho and into Oregon.  Route highlights include cycling through Tetons, alongside the Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Craters of the Moon National Monument, the Painted Hills of Oregon and the Willamette Valley.

For more information, visit www.4kforcancer.org.

College Freshman Survival Guide

Here is a good websites that all incoming and current college freshman should visit. It gives insight to the struggles of college and the adjustment they need to make to be successful in college.

http://www.college-freshman.com/

College Student Spending

Of course it is always good to change your spending habits because it helps you save money. But if you don't change a bad habit it will stick with you for life. After all, that's what a habit does.

College is a way to prepare us for the real world, but unfortunately money management is not a required or even a real course in some cases. What most college students don't realize, is that in the real world you cant just spend money the way they do now. So learn how to be a better spender, so you don't have find yourself in a hole, owing money one day.

Here is an interesting article I found about bad spending habits and college graduates. Reading this even made me look at the way I spend differently. I hope it does the same for you.

http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/03/06/spending-habits-that-guarantee-you-will-graduate-poor/

Here is a link that explains some statistics on college student spending

http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/The-Spending-Habits-of-College-Students.html

Drinking ages around the world

I was researching this break on various drinking ages around the world and found this site and thought I would share it.

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html

It suprised me that most countries allow the drinking age to be lower than 21. Only Fiji, Pakastan, United States, Sri Lanka, and Palau are 21 to drink.

New Frostburg City Council Decision

Thursday evening, Frostburg City Council voted 4-1 to approve a new regulation for the city.  The city leaders have decided that groups renting out City Place, the community center located on Water Street, can now serve alcohol at wedding receptions and parties.  This decision ends a ban lasting four years in the city, however, there are many restrictions to accompany this change.

The regulations include a limit of 200 people in attendance, the party must be over by 10 p.m., and the hosts of the gathering are required to pay 30 dollars and hour to have city employed, on-site supervisors.  The number of supervisors required for the party is dependent on the size of the event.

While before, hosts were required to rent the Elks, Moose, Hotel Gunter, or other Frostburg businesses to be permitted to serve alcohol, this new regulation allows more options of venues.  City officials hope that this will not cause problems of competition with the other businesses.  The facility was rented 172 times in 2005, before the alcohol ban took place, and only two of the events chose to serve alcohol.

Other regulations enforced for the rental of the facility include applying at least one month ahead, a refundable $350 security deposit, and liability insurance with a minimum coverage of $1 million.  All applications must be approved by the chief of police, the commissioner of water, parks and recreation, and the mayor.  The security deposit is forfeited if police are called for any reason or if any of the rules are violated.

For more information on the decision visit the Cumberland Times-News.

Do you SERF?

FSU has always been a university about being environmentally friendly, but ever since going green has become the new trend to ride, Frostburg has looked deeper and deeper into sustainable energy sources and reducing our ecological footprint. One step FSU has taken is installing a windmill by the Fuller House. They have also had Potomac Edison improve many of the buildings on campus to save them thousands of dollars and millions
of watts of energy. Most recently, FSU has become a smoke free campus, which makes for cleaner air.

An ongoing project that is not too well known is called SERF, which stands for Sustainable Energy Research Facility. This facility will be completely off the grid. It will generate its electricity with wind and solar energy. Solar thermal and geothermal energy will be used for heating and cooling. Once this building is complete it will be used for research and be showcased to show others a self sufficient building.

SERF is funded by the Department of Energy with support and backing from Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. This 6,300 square foot building is estimated to cost around $2.4 million. Construction has already begun, but the completion date in unknown. When the project was officially launched in 2008, it was supposed to be complete in two years. Four years later, the ground has just barely been broken.

Frostburg (Re)construction

As most everyone on campus is now aware, owing to the massive fences and complete annihilation of the stairs by the Performing Arts Center, the deconstruction and eventual renewal of Tawes hall is underway.

What most on the campus probably aren't aware of, is that construction on the Sustainable Energy Research Facility (SERF) has now started. Below is a link to the University's official announcement:
http://www.frostburg.edu/news/searchnewsdt.cfm?id_number=6527

So, for now, make with the clicky and see what other building projects the university is into right now.

Services Near You

I bet you didn't know there was 5 mental health institutions within a four hour drive. Now whenever you say you're going to lock that younger brother or sister up for be annoying, you can tell them exactly where:

• Brook Lane Health Services - Hagerstown, Maryland http://www.brooklane.org/
• Perry Point VA Medical Center - Perry Point, Maryland http://www.vamhcs.med.va.gov/perry/perry.htm
• Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health - Rockville, Maryland http://www.adventistbehavioralhealth.com/ABH/
• Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital - Baltimore, Maryland http://www.sheppardpratt.org/
• Sheppard Pratt Health System Baltimore, Maryland http://www.sheppardpratt.org/

Be a Part of Research and get 20 Dollars!

Picture courtesy of http://www.shebainternational.com/serviceresearch.htm

You may find it interesting, considering recent events off campus, that a research project is being conducted on the neighborhoods surrounding FSU. Kathleen Powell, a resident of Frostburg and a social work student at the University of Maryland in Baltimore working on her doctorate, is studying specifically the “intergroup relations and the culture of campus-adjacent neighborhoods”. Reason's for her researched are stated below:

• Research on campus-adjacent neighborhoods is lacking in spite of the unique characteristics of these neighborhoods.

• An increasing number of college students are living off-campus in nearby neighborhoods.

• Campus-adjacent neighborhoods are being targeting for development by private investors, city governments, and universities.

• Residents and property owners in campus-adjacent neighborhoods must negotiate norms in spite of the fact that they share neither common attachment to place nor the same sense of community.

• Residents of campus-adjacent neighborhoods come from diverse backgrounds and can offer insights about ways to build alliances across these differences.

I received this information from Dr. Moore who was given posters to hand out to interested students. However, these posters are not just informative but also have another agenda which concerns gaining interviewees. If you are one of the following:

• Year-round resident of the campus-adjacent neighborhoods.

• College student living in the campus-adjacent neighborhoods.

• Pastor of a church located in the campus-adjacent neighborhoods.

• Realtor who lists properties in the campus-adjacent neighborhoods.

• City or university official

Then Ms. Powell would love the opportunity to interview you! The interviews are 1 to 2 hours long and consist of questions on your neighborhood experiences. To further entice readers who are applicable to be interviewed, Ms. Powell will hand you a one-time payment of $20.00 at the end of the interview. For those who feel uneasy about meeting with Ms. Powell, don't worry, the study is legitimate and has been approved by the IRB.

I have signed up for an interview myself so on Tuesday at 4pm Ms. Powell will be visiting me. If she approves, I'll update this story with what we talked about.

If you would like to help Ms. Powell out with her research and get paid 20 dollars then you can email her at

khpowell@ssw.umaryland.edu

or call

301-707-9900

The Bottom Line has interviewed Ms. Powell. To read the full article, “One Foot in the Community, One Foot in the University”, visit the Bottom Line Online:

http://www.thebottomlineonline.org/one-foot-in-the-community-one-foot-in-the-university-1.2649708#.TsoKE7KNOuI

Also, The Cumberland Times News has covered her story. To read the full article visit the Cumberland Times News:

http://times-news.com/local/x1117976528/Research-study-focusing-on-Frostburg-neighborhoods-off-campus-students

The Gender Wage Gap

As college students, we are preparing ourselves for the American work force. Along with this preparation, we must be conscious of workplace inequality. The latest Census data reports that women are still only making about 77% of what men make in the United States. This percentage is even lower when race is factored in (68% for African-American women and only 58% for Latins). We would like to think that our progressive society has pushed past discrimination and inequality, but these statistics are disturbing.
Some would argue that this gap is only created because women are traditionally in lower paying careers. It was reported by Time News that if you control for factors such as education, the gap decreases significantly. However, in a study presented by Womens Media, it was found that women with the same level of education still only make a percentage of what men are making (75% even at the Doctoral level!). Even within the same career, women may make less than men based on title. A male worker may have the title of "register specialist", a higher paying job, while a female worker with the same job may have the title "clerk". Of course, this is a little extreme, but you get the point.
So what can we do to see that this wage gap is put to an end? The government is attempting to face this problem through a bill targeting the U.S. wage gap signed into effect by President Obama. The last thing that working women can do is simply ignore the problem and assume that this is just how it is going to be. Contact your local representative, advocate through media, or become educated about the pay practices of potential employers. We can hope that progress will be made and that one day the wage gap will be nonexsistent.

Want more information on this issue? Read the following articles!
Time news: http://tinyurl.com/y7s23f7
Womens Media: http://tinyurl.com/3y2myf

Turkey Day Tips

Thanksgiving break is just a few days away, which could only mean three things: Spending, eating, and saving. If you do all of those things correctly, you can have a successful thanksgiving, but how exactly do you that?

Buying the ingredients to make a delicious dinner can be exciting but pricey. Always check your local Sunday paper for coupons, and pay close attention to prices. Always compare prices. Most people want the best quality brands when purchasing their food for thanksgiving, but basic things such as pasta, flour, sugar, oil, etc. are all the same! As such, when buying ingredients like these, always turn to the generic brand. This will leave you more money to buy a good quality turkey, and even leave you more money to shop black Friday!

Be careful black Friday shoppers, turkey can make you sleepy, along with a full stomach and a serious case of “the itis.” Black Friday shopping requires a lot of strategy, if you want to be successful with your purchases, always plan ahead what you’re going to buy. Follow these key steps:

1. Know what your looking for.

2. Try to find it ahead of time in magazines, news paper ads, commercials, etc.

3. Find the place that has the best deal.

4. Get up bright and early, and go after the items you want.

Getting up early and beating the late shoppers will benefit you, and allow you to grab the best deals and save the most money. Remembering these tips will allow you to have a memorable, successful Thanksgiving break. Happy holidays!

English Students Plan for the Future

Two seniors majoring in English at Frostburg State University discuss what they plan to do following graduation.

Lisa Sidley of Augusta, WV already has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology, but has decided she'd like to teach English. Because of the requirements of the MAT or Master of Arts in Teaching program, she will inadvertantly end up with a second bachelor's degree, ths one in English literature. Sidley hopes to begin the MAT program at Frostburg State University in the spring of 2012. Upon completion of the MAT program, she intends to substitute teach until she finds a full-time job in Hampshire County, where she resides. "To be honest, I'm hoping to win the lottery (big) and not have to wait on that day, but hey,we all know better!" Sidley said.

Lindsay Schmelling moved to Cresaptown, MD from her hometown of Lodi, WI to be with her boyfriend, who had been transferred by his place of employment. She also already has a degree from University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh, but her's is a Bachelor of Arts in English. She will need to complete a Bachelor of Science and fulfill the requirements of the MAT program in order to be accepted into it at Frostburg State, which is her goal. "I have taken the Praxis I, although it was about two years ago and in Wisconsin, so I don't know if the scores still count, in which case I will be taking it again soon."

The Roommate Checklist

As reported in previous blogs, living off campus is not an easy feat. One main reason for this is due to the problems with roommates. After talking to several students around Frostburg’s campus, I have compiled a top 10 roommate checklist. When you do decide to move, use this checklist to guide you.

1) Do they know any of your friends? If so this could potentially prevent fights about company
2) Does this person have a significant other? If so, this person could become another roommate if you are not careful
3) What this person have weird sleeping patterns? If so, this could determine if you can have company or play loud music
4) Is this person a neat freak? Some people do not like dishes in the sink or anything out of place
5) Is this person stingy? This will help to determine if they will share things like food and detergent with you
6) Does this person have good hygiene? If not this could cause conflict
7) Is this person financially stable to depend on for money for rent and bills? If not, this could leave you with the burden of paying the bills
8) Does this person get hot or cold easily? If so one or both or you could be left feeling the effects
9) Is person a control freak? If so they might try to dictate when and how things are done
10) Is this person wasteful? Some like to sleep with their tv on or leave the lights on where they are not in the house. This would cause your bills to increase

Career Development Days Going On Now

Career Development Days Workshops are being now held through Wednesday, Nov. 16 to help students with resumes, cover letters, social networking, and more. The schedule is as follows.

Social Network Mistakes and On-line ID-iocy
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 ~ 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
124 Sand Spring Hall Conference Room.
Limited to 9. Please call to reserve: 301-687-4403.

Career Services Information Tables
Lane Center, second level
Tuesday, Nov. 15 ~ 10 a.m. – noon
Wednesday, Nov. 16 ~ 9 – 11 a.m.
Career development resources available for resume writing, cover letters, interviewing & much more.

Bartlett's Last Term?

As Maryland is currently working to redistrict our state, Roscoe Bartlett's seat may be in jeopardy. The 85-year-old Republican has served the sixth Congressional District for the past 20 years. Four Republicans and three Democrats have announced their intent to run for Bartlett's seat. Bartlett is currently the only Maryland Congressman to announce his running for re-election.

The new sixth Congressional District includes a larger portion of Montgomery county, while portions of Baltimore, Harford, and Carroll County were removed. It is expected that the increase of Montgomery county will add Democratic voters to the district, making a Republican victory very difficult.  For years, the sixth district of Maryland has been a majority of registered Republicans, a total of 140,797 voters.  Montgomery county, however, has the second highest number of registered Democrats in the state, a total of 322,981 voters.

The three Democratic candidates include Garagiola, 39, Pooran, 34, and Trachtenberg, 57.  The last Democrat to serve in the sixth Congressional District was Beverly Byron of Frederick from 1979 to 1993.

Will this change affect the Republican counties in the district, such as Garrett and Allegany, as a Democratic Representative would mainly focus in the Democratic counties?

To read the full story, visit The Cumberland Times-News.

It's Not for Women...

Beginning on October 10th, 2011, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group began their television ad campaign for their new product, Dr. Pepper 10. What started out as advertising for a more "manly" diet soda turned into a controversy concerning sexism. The tag-line for this new product reads "Dr.Pepper 10, It's not for women". Besides the slogan, viewers are also upset about the stereotypical inferences contained in the actual commercial. The short video depicts several men in the process of shooting lasers and doing other action-oriented things. During these visuals, one man makes the statement, "Hey ladies, enjoying the film? Of course not! Because this is our movie." Those who have been offended by the commercial argue that it reinforces the old-fashioned stereotype that women do not enjoy action, danger, or anything "masculine".
Just on the basis of this commercial, it is easy to counter argue that the makers of Dr. Pepper 10 have no intention to be sexist, but are rather just employing clever advertising techniques in order to appeal to men (who statistically shy away from diet soda). However, the issue goes past this particular television commercial. Dr. Pepper 10 also has a Facebook page which cannot be accessed if you identify as "female" on your profile. Anita Lederer with the National Organization for Women makes some especially interesting points concerning this controversy and actually visited the Facebook page through the use of a male friend's profile. She reports that the profile consists of even more "sexist nonsense" including a shooting gallery game where the targets are feminine objects such as lipstick and high-heeled shoes. To see her entire article on Dr. Pepper 10, visit http://tinyurl.com/6o43pcm.
So what do you think? Is the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group simply utilizing unique targeted advertising approaches or should we be offended by their sexist message? Obviously there has not been enough of an uproar to take the commercial off the air or ban the Facebook page. However, there is a petition going around to express your anger with the commercial. If you would like to see the actual commercial in question (and I hope that after reading this, you do!) then please visit http://tinyurl.com/6aubske.

Learning from Violence

After recent tragedies at Frostburg State, violence has been a hot topic for debate. Many people and organizations on campus are trying to come up with ideas and programs to stop or prevent violence. Some of the effect are the freshman students who live in Simpson Hall. Kortneigh McCoy the victim of senseless violence was a RA at Simpson Hall. Freshman Tyler Logan a Sports and Exercise Science Major who lives in Simpson hall said" Its so sad because she was just there walking the hallways. I still can't believe it, sometimes I feel like I'm going to turn the corner and see her. You never think something like this could happen at your school, its like you hear it going on but you never think it could happen at your school." It can never happen at my school; seems to be a common statement. Everybody thinking what happened at one school could never happen knock on their front door.

On November 12, 2011 at Delaware State University another life has been taken far too early. Another phone call a family never wants to get. Tevin Perry a sophomore at Delaware State was fatally stabbed by 17 year old Aaron Johnson. the incident occurred after the individuals were part of a fight that took place at a party. These event sequences seem all too familiar to those still morning at FSU. The common thread of violence after a party and many lives being ruined by reckless decisions seem to be spreading like wildfire among college campuses. Can we not learn from one another, benefit from previous mistakes? Do we really see ourselves so much different from our neighboring schools? while we come from different places and may speak different languages, our hearts sill beat as one.

Top 5 Energy Efficient Cities

When thinking of energy efficient cities in the United States, many people think of San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle. However, when looking at the five cities that contain the most energy efficient buildings, only San Francisco makes the cut. Portland falls to 12 and Seattle sits at 14.

To be considered energy efficient, the EPA deems the building an “Energy Star Leader” that reduces energy use by 10 percent and performs in the top 25 percent of similar buildings worldwide.

According to the Huffington Posts’ Green section, these cities top the charts.

1. Los Angeles: Contains 293 Energy Star buildings and saves $93.9 million a year. This is the most shocking on the list because when most people think of LA, they think smog. Imagine what the smog would be like without energy efficient buildings at all.

2. Washington D.C.: Contains 204 Energy Star buildings and saves $62.3 million a year. Could their small footprint be in relation to this being the city of politics? If politicians talk the talk of energy efficiency, they had better walk the walk.

3. San Francisco: Contains 173 Energy Star buildings and saves $69.4 million a year. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, as San Fran is often seen as LA’s green neighbor.

4. Denver: 136 Energy Star buildings and saves $29.6 million a year. Denver’s numbers are a dramatic drop from San Francisco’s. Could it be weather related in that it is harder to efficiently heat buildings in Colorado than in California?

5. Chicago: Contains 134 Energy Star buildings and saves $50.2 million a year. For the amount of buildings Chicago has, they save a disproportionally large amount of money. Give me the number of their electricians and engineers!

Although this post is not directly about Frostburg, it does lead into my next post which will talk about Frostburg's energy efficient buildings.

Cartoons

I thought I'd give the articles a rest this week and treat everyone to some cartoons. Enjoy :)

http://sosiaalikeskus.wordpress.com/page/8/

http://rlv.zcache.com/swat_out_mental_illness_poster-p228656284739921861t5wm_400.jpg

http://www.brainlesstales.com/images/2007/Sep/mental-illness.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/for/lowres/forn146l.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/rjo0934l.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rni/lowres/rnin1068l.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/ear0395l.jpg

FSU Students Plan for the Future

Several Frostburg State University students discuss their various plans following graduation.

Jessie Wismer of Annapolis, MD is a junior studying mass communications. She hopes to work as a staff event planner under and established wedding planning company or through hotel that hosts weddings. Her dream is to eventually own her own wedding planning company specializing in "green practices" and environmental sustainability. She is currently working as an assstant director of special events for the university, as which she and her co-workers handle many university events.

Tavarsha Timmons of Baltimore, MD is an English major and a junior. She intends to enter the MAT program at Frostburg, upon graduation and then hopes to eventually become a professor at a University of Maryland school.

Lindsay Crabtree of Oldtown, MD is an art and design major, with focus areas in painting and illustration and minors in graphic design and art history. The senior plans to graduate in spring 2012 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts is to attend Frostburg's MAT program. She hopes to find a career teaching art in a public school system while pursuing her doctorate. "Some laugh at this 'unrealistic and overly ambitious' statement, but my ultimate goal is to have my masters by age 21, and my doctorate by 23 or 24, and afterwards, have a career in teaching, preferably at the high school or college level, illustrate children's books, editorials, and complete my own children's book." Crabtree said.

I Believe in Frostburg

Student making an "I believe in Frostburg" poster.

“Nearly all of our calls are in the college district Thursdays through Saturdays when the college is in session".

“Nearly all of our calls are college-related".

“Years ago, we used to have fist fights but now things are a lot more violent. They’re not trying to win a fight. They are trying to do more physical harm. It’s a miracle we don’t have more people dead or seriously injured".

Cumberland Times News http://tinyurl.com/cor7wn3

FSU Students can agree that the negative comments from Police Chief Royce Douty in the Cumberland Times News on November 7th, were shocking (full article at the end of the page). Unfortunately, Chief Douty's actions have helped perpetuated the bad reputation FSU has been trying to fight against. Though Chief Douty probably meant no harm to FSU students with his comments, they caused a reaction nonetheless. To combat the rumors and negative thoughts brewing, the UPC, University Programming Council, decided to host a "I Believe in Frostburg" table in Lane Center today until 5pm. Students were encouraged to write down why they believed in Frostburg, and at the end of the day the UPC will hang up all of the posters in the Lane Center on the top floor. Kristin Brown, a representative of UPC, encouraged all students to come visit the display to help restore faith in their school.

To the left: Kristin Brown; "We, UPC, thought that we needed to do this in response to the quotes from Chief Douty. Tell all your friends to come by!"

POSTERS
By anonymous contributors"I believe in Frostburg because it's HOME!"

"I believe in FROSTBURG!""I Believe in Frostburg: because we have the ability to shine throughout adversity"

"I believe in Frostburg because... We love and support one another in bad times and in good"

November 7, 2011

Emergency personnel experienced death threats

Jeffrey Alderton

Cumberland Times-News

FROSTBURG — Following the fatal stabbing early Sunday of a Frostburg State University student on Maple Street and the quick arrest of a second student, Frostburg’s police chief has issued a directive to his department after death threats were allegedly made to fire and ambulance personnel who responded to the fatal incident.

“We had two officers on duty Saturday (night shift) when the stabbing occurred. When our officers got there, there were 100 to 150 people gathered. One officer began giving CPR to the victim and the other officer tried to control the crowd before we had a full response from our medical personnel and allied agencies in law enforcement,” said Frostburg Police Chief Royce Douty.

“There were verbal death threats made to the fire department and the ambulance at the scene. People were upset that they didn’t get there quickly enough. I issued an order Sunday for one of our officers to routinely respond to 911 calls within the off-campus college district.

“You have to take every precaution. You can’t take any chances or you might have another bad incident,” said Douty.

“Nearly all of our calls are in the college district Thursdays through Saturdays when the college is in session. Saturday night we didn’t have that many calls. It was generally a quiet night up to the point of the incident.

“Nearly all of our calls are college-related. You never know when something is going to break out. You try to put as many officers on our night shift as possible Thursday through Saturday but it can happen any night. We only have 14 officers and one is assigned to the C3I Unit and one as a school resources officer. Our officers walk into hundreds of people. We walk into some dangerous situations.

“The type of incidents we run into, it is amazing we don’t have more deaths and serious injuries. Some incidents don’t get reported until the next day when a victim has gone to the hospital and has serious injuries and is now facing numerous surgeries. Then they call their parents and we are notified.

“I’ve been here 34 years. We have people that get knocked out and get their teeth knocked out. I’ve seen people beat unconscious and the suspect is still beating on them.

“Years ago, we used to have fist fights but now things are a lot more violent. They’re not trying to win a fight. They are trying to do more physical harm. It’s a miracle we don’t have more people dead or seriously injured.

“When these things happen, there are a whole lot of victims. There are all kinds of victims from incidents like this.

“Surely nothing was that serious between these two people that it had to come to this,” said Douty. “It can’t be that serious that it takes a life. It’s sad. It’s just terribly sad.”

http://tinyurl.com/cor7wn3

Dealing with other tenants and landlords

Living off campus comes with different problems than one would deal with living on campus. One main problem is dealing with other tenants. Sometimes students live in houses or apartments that are occupied with other students with different sleep patterns, study, and party habits. On certain streets, like Maple, which is known as a party street, one can encounter tenants who are always loud or disturbing. The best thing to do would be to get to know the tenants in your building and the surrounding buildings. Once you are able to build relationships with other students living around you, they will be more mindful of their noisy behavior. While this does not always work, you will have a better chance of being able to get them to turn their music down if you are acquainted with them.

Not only do you have to deal with other tenants, but most importantly landlords. Some landlords are over bearing and some are not. The best advice to dealing with an overbearing landlord is to stay away from throwing parties and pay your bills on time. Too often, landlords look for ways to evict students; whether this is for late rent, too many people over the house, or unattended trash. Sometimes these issues are minor but still offenses none the less.

Micheal Jackson vs. Prescription Drugs

For all who haven't heard, Dr. Conrad Murray has been found guilty for the death of Michael Jackson. Dr. Murray was the physician hired by Jackson to help him sleep during his training leading up to his "This Is It" world tour. According to testimony, Murray had been giving Jackson surgical anesthetic propofol to help him sleep nearly every night for the last two months of his life. The cause of Jackson death was said to be from "acute propofol intoxication" and two other sedatives. The evidence about Michael Jackson's longtime addiction to prescription drugs was not allowed to testimony. It was said that Jackson's addiction began in 1984 on the set of a Pepsi commercial, when he received second degree burns to the head from his hair catching  fire. He was prescribed pain medications for his pain and discomfort, and he was taking prescription drugs from then on. Demerol is reported to have become the drug of choice for Michael Jackson during those years. I asked ten FSU students/staff a quick yes/no question survey about Michael Jackson and drug use. 90 percent of the people believed that Michael Jackson was addicted to prescription drugs, but at the same time only half believed Dr. Murray was completely innocent. 90 percent also believed that Micheal Jackson used illegal drugs as well. Myrna Harris a fan of Michael Jackson for nearly 40 years was outraged when she seen Latoya Jackson, Michael's older sister happy about the Conrad Murray trial outcome. "His family should be the ones thrown in jail", she says. She feels like everyone close to him knew that he was addicted to drugs and they should have done something about it. She also feels like it wouldn't make sense for Dr. Murray to purposely kill Jackson, when Murray's financial woes were getting out of hand and Jackson was paying him 175 thousand a month for his services. "Freak accidents happen all the time with doctors", Sean Steighner, senior Business major at FSU, says immediately after taking the quick survey.

Winter Activities

Over the last four years it seems that we've gotten at least a little bit of snow before Halloween. We tell our friends back home but it never seems to register with them because it might be a couple flurries or a dusting. This year however we got a good early taste of winter. Last weekend we got about 7 inches of snow, a couple days before Halloween. When the cold hits we are often inclined to stay inside where its nice and warm. In combination with the cold, you might find yourself thinking that there is nothing to do even if you did go outside. Some people go sledding, build snowmen, and have snowball fights. All of which are good suggestions for ways to have fun in the snow. What you might not know is how many other outdoor activities the winter has to offer. Here, in Frostburg, we are only 45 minutes away from Deep Creek Lake. Deep Creek Lake is known as a warm weather destination to many, however it offers plenty of winter activities as well. For example, Wisp Mountain Resort. You might know Wisp as a ski resort. But, Wisp offers much more for those of you who might not want to ski. A cliche but fun date idea might be to go ice skating. Wisp offers has a 50 by 80 foot ice rink. A 90 minute session would cost you only $10 if you have your own skates or $12 if you need to rent some. In addition, you can take a 90 minute ice skating lesson which costs only $25 and includes skate rentals. If ice skating doesn't sound fun Wisp also offers snow shoeing and snowmobiling. A mid week pass to the snow shoe trail is only $10 and a 2 hour snow shoe rental is $20, $30 for a half day rental, and $40 for the whole day. If snowmobiling sounds more exciting, Wisp offers 30 minute guided tours for $59 a person.
All of Wisp's winter activities can be found here:
Wisp Resort Winter Activities