By Juliann Guiffre and Laura Hutton, News Co-Editor

Why are you here?

For some this question is easy.

Senior Lauren Esposito says she found her place at McDaniel. Senior Kendall Bieschke formed personal relationships with her professors. The school provided senior Michelle Debuagh with many internship and career opportunities.
Yet for others, a seed of doubt is planted soon after arrival- a seed that may lead to stress, conflict, and eventually transfer.

A retention study done by McDaniel’s Institutional Research reveals that of the students who entered the school in 2001, only 66.3% completed all four years and graduated in 2005.

Percentages in earlier years were in the lower 70s. The percentage of freshman that returned for sophomore year during those years, according to the study, has consistently been in the lower eighties.

These findings, noted Dean of Admissions Florence Hines, are average for a small liberal arts school.

The top three influences linked to retention, Hines explained, include finding a connection with a person on campus, finding a place outside the classroom where they can make a contribution, and outlining a clear academic strategy.

“Students need to feel that someone cares about them and that they are making progress toward some kind of career goal,” Hines said.

Henry B. Reiff, Dean of Student Academic Life is one of the people who signs off on students who are transferring from McDaniel College. He is in charge of conducting an exit interview to learn why the student is leaving and check if they really want to.

Reiff said he does not try to convince unwilling students to stay. However, if a student is only transferring based on a rectifiable problem, like monetary issues, he works with them.

Reiff feels that the main reason that students transfer is because they are not engaged or connected to the campus.

“Some students will say it’s the food; you don’t leave a college for food. It is a deeper issue, a lack of connection, Reiff explained, the year that you lose the most students is the first year. If they are not connecting early, it is unlikely for them to ever connect.”

Junior, Ken Buerger attended McDaniel College for two years before transferring to William and Mary. Yet he was one of the few who decided that the academic standards were not strong enough.

“I was disappointed with McDaniel’s watered-down curriculum,” Buerger stated, “honestly, how are nearly all classes worth four credits?”

“There are times I regret leaving McDaniel,” Buerger added. “Without a doubt, the people are much nicer at McDaniel. Here, there is an alarming number of arrogant, narcissistic, trust-fund wielding babies who don’t look before crossing the street.”

After college, Buerger plans to go to law school; he contends that McDaniel was not the right choice to lead him there. In the end, he made the right choice for himself.

“I wanted a school that pushed students beyond their comfort level,” Buerger added, “so academically, I’m much happier, even though I’m not sleeping as much.”

McDaniel’s approach to keeping students here begins with the very first year.

Assistant Dean of First Students Sarah Stokely, along with the rest of the first year team, has worked hard to determine ways to make the first year better. Some of the most recent installations were the first year seminar, the peer-mentoring program, and assigning a first year faculty advisor to each student.

Stokely also talks with students who are contemplating transfer.

She says that the most common reason she runs into is the “personal” reason. “And by personal I mean that many students are really homesick. I find that if one is more than around four hours away from home than they have trouble,” she said.

She cited the least frequent reason as the “academic” one, saying that students are “almost universal in praise of the faculty.”

“The college should always be concerned about retention. Retention is not a goal in and of itself. We need to make sure we are offering an educational and living experience that is consistent with our educational mission and meets the needs of students,” added Reiff.

A new program, Student Outreach Network, examines any students with cause for worry. Implemented by Dean of Student Affairs Beth Gerl last spring, Student Outreach Network is heralded by Hines as “important” because it is “proactive.”

“We’re not waiting till someone already wants to leave,” Hines said. “We are trying to intervene at the first signs of problem.”

Hines is also part of a recently formed committee to examine the extremely complex issue of retention.

“The president formed this task force because she wants our retention rates to be better than average. This is consistent with her goal of quality improvement everywhere,” she said.

Stephanie Saulsbury, who transferred from McDaniel after her freshman year, said that the decision was one of the hardest she has ever made.

Yet despite “missing the people at McDaniel and the familiarity and small class size”, she is glad to now attend the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, and likes that this school offers a lot of things McDaniel couldn’t because of its size.

One of the most important things to realize, says Hines, is that McDaniel can’t be a perfect fit for everyone. “We just have to show who we are as a school so that students can decide if we will be right for them.”

Two recent occurences lead to invesigations, discussions of recruitment policies

The recent incidents involving potential athletic recruits on campus have led to discussions about the value of overnight visitations for prospective students.

By Geoff Peckham, News Co-Editor

As was reported in the last issue of the Free Press, on October 19 a wrestling recruit was found intoxicated in North Village after attending an off-campus party and required medical assistance. On October 27, two men’s lacrosse recruits were found with alcohol by campus safety in Rouzer Hall. Neither wrestling coach Davey Blake nor men’s Lacrosse coach Matt Hatton were available for comment.

Athletic Director Jamie Smith said the situation is being monitored, and Dean of Student Affairs Beth Gerl asserted that the Athletic Department was taking these incidents “very seriously.” The parents of the wrestling recruit are reportedly very angry, and have discussed that with Coach Blake.

“This should not be happening,” Gerl said. She is confident that they are isolated incidents, but that she would be meeting with Smith and Dean of Admissions Florence Hines to evaluate the expectations that go along with the overnight visitations. She said that both incidents were still being investigated and that the “judicial process is being adhered to.” She said that there could potentially be hearings before the Honor and Conduct Board for the students who were in charge of the prospects.

Dr. Ethan Seidel, vice president of Administration and Finance, said that over the decades he’s been with the college incidents like these have happened, not just with athletic recruits but with prospective students in general. He doesn’t see a trend but doesn’t believe there needs to be one to review McDaniel’s recruitment policies. He said that there had even been discussions prior to both incidents involving a potential change to those policies.

The Office of Admissions does not do overnight visitations anymore, but the Athletic Department does, as well as other organizations on campus. Potential student-athletes must sign a form before their weekend saying they will not use any drugs or alcohol, will not violate criminal law, will not attend any activity that could promote bad behavior, and that they will not participate in any physical or verbal abuse while on campus.

Field hockey coach Melissa Miranda said that the prospects must be accompanied at all times by a current student and are not allowed to go to any off-campus parties. She added that there was a certain protocol coaches followed with these visits, but that coaches may have a few of their own personal guidelines to be followed, as well. She stressed that it was up to those current students escorting the recruits to maintain integrity. She has observed maturity issues among a few male athletes, but that overall many student hosts do a great job with the recruits. She emphasized that “[students] do need to come overnight.”

Seidel agrees, but sees the potential downside as well.

“It’s an old dilemma. You want the prospective students to experience various aspects of student life, but you have to weigh it against the pitfalls. You don’t want to put them in a situation that exposes them to certain things.” He said it was a cost-benefit analysis, and that McDaniel should now be asking “are there better ways?”

Seidel said there was no timetable for when the recruitment policies would be formally evaluated, but that it would most likely be within this academic year. While it has not been formally suggested, he believes getting rid of the overnight visits would be a consideration.

That would be bad news for many current and future students in the eyes of some.

“If it were not for overnight stays, I would not be here. Staying on campus for two nights convinced me to come here,” one anonymous student-athlete said. “The stays offer one-on-one time with students, without the administration in the shadows, and that’s how you get to see what life is really like.”

The Administration is still investigating, and will evaluate all options. But as Dean Gerl pointed out, “the bottom line is what happened cannot happen again.”

Radiator burns, flying chairs, slashed tires, and violence? It’s all part of the lighter side.

By Becky Snider, Blotter Reporter

With all the excitement during Homecoming, it was time for campus to cool down. And I’m not talking about the weather; although the weather is certainly quite biting, if you catch my drift.

You might not catch a drift of snow—yet. Though neither will students catch themselves before they fall and hit their heads inside their dorm rooms. I guess we’ll have to be more aware of our surroundings to prevent tripping. Then you won’t have to refuse treatment from the considerate members of DoCs.

Apparently many students seem to be refusing treatment, a few cases of “flu-like symptoms” have worked their way into Campus Safety’s report. That has to be better then receiving a complaint of burns from an un-insulated heater pipe though.

On November 1, Campus Safety received a call from a student who had been burned after brushing up against a heater pipe in one of the McDaniel Hall bathrooms. The student seems to be all right, just a bit upset that the incident occurred in the first place.

If students aren’t watching out for their safety from the heater pipes, they’re be drinking. McDaniel Hall seems to be the popular place to drink now instead of Rouzer. Though it doesn’t matter where the drinking occurs, the DoCs can still catch underage drinkers. That is exactly what they did just before 1 a.m. on November 1.

All the excitement of Halloween must have gotten to one student who had apparently had so much alcohol that Campus Safety deemed it necessary to take the student to the hospital for possible alcohol overdose.

Not all of the excitement is happening at McDaniel Hall though. On the night of November 2, Campus Safety officers witnessed a student throwing a trash can and a ‘furniture item’ later identified as a chair out of a first-floor window. The incident is still under investigation by DoCs though there is no apparent reason for this behavior. The student was, however, witnessed as addressing a group of students at the wall while doing this.

These are all clear signs that people have started to get antsy with the approach of finals. Numerous incidents termed ‘violent’ have happened recently. Vandalization seems to be a common theme. Reported incidents of hate bias have been reported in ANW. Graffiti was written on one door of a dorm room numerous times. A suspect later admitted to doing it.

Staying in trend, one student had the four tires of their vehicle slashed between 9 p.m. on October 30 and 1:30 p.m. on November 1. Campus Safety never did find out who slashed the tires, so anyone who lives down by PA Ave. should be on the lookout for slashed tires.

Those slashed tires could have definitely helped prevent one student from driving against traffic at an excessive speed on a one way road though. Luckily enough, the reckless driver took a ticket without much complaint and was pretty easy going about the whole situation.

Easy going is what all of us need to be despite the impending doom of finals. We all need to take it easy this Thanksgiving break and cool down. Look on the lighter side of things and stop to think for a moment.

Editor’s Note: This weekly piece highlights some of the more inane calls and incidents to which campus safety responds.

By Mario Valone, Contributor

It’s no fun to lose $500–just ask Teresa Reardon, who recently misplaced her $500 designer ring.

Sometime in September, not but a month after purchasing the expensive ring, which, according to Sak Fifth Avenue’s website, can range somewhere close to $550, Teresa Reardon was washing her hands – she doesn’t know which building it was in – and she took her ring off. The intent was to protect the valuable ring, but she ended up leaving it in one of the bathrooms. This is all theory; however, because she can’t truly recall how or when exactly she lost the item.

She said she hasn’t been searching that hard for it until now, because she kept thinking it was just going to pop up somewhere around her apartment, because she recently moved out of the Garden Apartments into North Village, and she thought she might have misplaced it in the move.

She has been scavenging the local pawn shops and Ebay for her ring. Neither location has resulted in her finding the precious gem.

Reardon is a transfer student from Montgomery College. She says that she has faith in her new school’s honor code, and really hopes that she will be getting a phone call shortly.

Her hopes slightly dissipated when she was making copies of her fliers at a Kinkos, where the woman making copies said, “I would have taken this [the ring] if I found it.”

Reardon said that if someone were to hand in her ring, “It would make my college experience.”

If you find a David Yurmin ring please contact Teresa Reardon at 301-651-3370.

By Cori Simpson, Features Co-Editor

Rouzer residents are notoriously untamed. Everyone has heard the rumors; many people have seen the damage and the statistics confirm the fact: Rouzer is a mess and a moneypit – for students and the administration.

In the 2006-2007 school year, the total cost of damages in Rouzer was $21,718, compared to the freshman women’s dorm Whiteford, whose total cost of damages was $595.50, according to Residence Life.

What kind of damage is being done?

Students spray fire extinguishers, fill water balloons with GLAR hot sauce and launch them from various floors, and knock out ceiling tiles so often the administration rarely puts them back in, according to interviews with several residents.

This year, students are also launching what they call “MRE bombs,” which are a combination of heating powder that is packaged in a Meal Ready to Eat, put it in a Gatorade bottle, and then shaken so that it explodes what it is thrown.

But it doesn’t stop here.

“Every Saturday morning, the same kid thinks it’s hilarious to crap on the shower drain,” explained Tim Winneke. “This is particularly disgusting because there are only four shower stalls per floor.”

However, for some students, this behavior is not so irksome.

“I was excited to live in Rouzer after I heard that there was a slip-and-slide on one of the floors,” said KJ Mazurek, who added that he had heard many other entertaining stories from upperclassmen.

But maybe reality just hasn’t set in yet. KJ added, “Right now it’s hysterical, but when I see the numbers, I’ll care.”

Liz Towle, Associate Dean of Students, and some students agree that the primary cause of damages is underage alcohol use. “When students gather and drink too much, decision making skills are impaired and students do things they wouldn’t do if sober,” Towle said.

“If at all possible,” Towle advised, “stop it before it happens. If you see a friend doing something they shouldn’t, stop them. Also, encourage individuals to come forward so others don’t have to pay.”

In addition to advice, Towle and other administrators have implemented and talked about a host of other strategies to address the destruction of Rouzer, including fines, increased surveillance, curfews, and tightened access by guests after certain hours.

Residents are told their first night in the dorm that damages will be billed to everyone, regardless of their involvement, unless the perpetrators turn themselves in (or get turned in) and accept full financial responsibility.

To some residents, like Josh Aaron, the fact that the innocent have to pay for other’s behavior doesn’t seem right. “It’s really not fair,” he said.

Some, who are paying their own tuition, like freshman Zac Seitz, are also bothered by the vandalism. In his opinion, “Playing pranks is one thing, but when it causes damages, it’s another.”

Residents contend that additional and continual campus safety or RA presence would help matters, as well as fewer students and more bathroom and shower facilities in the dorm.

“If Rouzer had more drywall, 10 more showers, more toilets and more toilet paper, the residents might calm down,” said Mazurek. “It’s [the problem is] that the dorm is all freshmen who feel like they are finally free and that freedom comes with a price.”