By Bethany Grov?

Beginning in Fall 2008, there will be a new policy prohibiting students from participating in underground “Greek” organizations. Undergrounds will not be allowed to meet as a group, participate in on-campus activities as a group, wear or display the letters or insignia, according to Amanda Rose, assistant director of college activities.

“As a college we are taking a strong stance on exterminating underground organizations,” said Rose. “Looking at some other schools shows the best way to do it is having a policy, so new students coming in realize that it is not okay. If you choose to be a part of these groups or associate with these groups, there are consequences for your actions.”

Rose said the disciplinary action will depend on the student’s judicial history and the context of the actions, such as displaying an organization’s insignia or defacing the campus.
The new policy is part of an overall attempt by Student Affairs to eliminate underground organizations, a process that involves meeting with the members and asking them to cease and desist.

According to Rose, underground organizations do not have insurance or supervisors, so they have more liability issues than the recognized chapters. If someone in the group were injured or killed, the college and the individuals in the organization would both be liable.

Rose said the college is taking a strong stance because they want the Greek community to be stronger and safer.

Rose said organizations mainly go underground due to suspension by the college for hazing or alcohol use, but it could also be due to lacking manpower or finances.

Senior Paul Boyd, a member of an underground organization, Chi Delta Upsilon, said he feels their case is unlike most. In 1994, the fraternity could not pay the national dues to Delta Upsilon, so the national organization would not recognize them as a chapter. McDaniel refuses to recognize Greek organizations that are not affiliated with a national organization, so the group became Chi Delta Upsilon and went underground.

“I feel as though it’s taking away some of the basic freedoms people have to organize in general,” Boyd said. “I don’t really understand why people can’t meet. Some of the organizations have done things wrong, but we never have.”

Rose said the seven Greek organizations that are recognized by the college have jumped on board with the new policy. The new rule will also prohibit established Greek organizations from holding socials or functions with underground groups.

Junior Laura Davis, president of Phi Mu, said she thinks this new rule will benefit the Greek community as a whole by sending a clearer message about underground groups.

“The new rule is not designed to discourage personal friendships with members of these groups, but rather to show that their organization is not a legitimate part of the Greek community,” Davis said. “Students often complain about underground groups but still hold functions with them, which sends mixed messages. Hopefully this new rule will discourage future students from joining underground organizations since it takes away one of the benefits of being affiliated with a Greek chapter on campus.”

Junior Erika Wawzyanick, the president of Alpha Nu Omega said she agrees with the new policy and also thinks it will be advantageous to the Greek community.

“I think that the new rule is a great step in a process to improve Greek life at McDaniel,” Wawzyanick said. “I can say confidently that everyone in my organization is behind this proposal in the hopes it will bring … more people into the Greek system and we will build a stronger Greek community.”

By Garrett Eagan

Senior Kevin Flanagan, a Green Terror lacrosse player, was injured around 4:30 p.m. during practice on Tuesday, March 3.

The Westminster Fire Department responded along with Campus Safety. Flanagan had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital, in a scene that has become all too common on the Hill this academic year.

Flanagan had sustained a concussion during practice on Tuesday evening, in what junior Jason Stealy called a “freak accident.”

Mike Webster, director of Campus Safety, said that Trooper 3 Air Transport arrived at 5:10 p.m. According to Luke Stillson, director of Sports Information, Flanagan was air transported as a precautionary measure. This has become standard practice with any incident involving a head injury.

This is the third time a McDaniel student has been airlifted from campus due to an injury during an athletic practice.

By Michelle Menner

Up until the fall semester of 2007, students were asked to provide their four digit extension when scheduling an appointment at the writing center, but now according to writing tutor Naomi Raphael, they’re asked, “What is the number where we can reach you?”

Often students provide their cell phone number. The shift from “what’s your extension” to “what is the number where we can reach you” highlights the growing change on campus of students using their cell phones instead of their dorm telephones.
Raphael said that she didn’t even know her four digit extension, and junior Teresa Reardon pulled the plug on her phone.

It may seem that students find their provided land lines useless. However, some students, like Raphael’s roommate, use their extensions when their cell phones don’t work.

Even though the rare student may be using their phone line, the faculty members are using the phone lines the most.

“My sense is that our current phone system is betwixt and between,” said Provost Tom Falkner. “In terms of student use, land lines are pretty much obsolete, but offices still need telephones that can do traditional things.”

The campus’ need for a phone system and the students’ irreverent attitudes towards the system often cause a little bit of trouble.

Kellie Wuorinen, McDaniel’s telecommunication/student network manager, receives complaints from faculty “all the time” about the inability to leave messages for students because their PhoneMail is full.

Since faculty members are now making long distance calls to students on their cell phones is this causing an increase in the phone budget?

Dr. Ethan Seidel, vice president for finance and administration said in an e-mail, “The average total cost…over the last three years has been approximately $157,000. There have been no signs of any increases in cost over time. In fact, the total expenditure for budget year 2007 was lower than budget year 2006.”

“For the seven months thus far completed in budget year 2008, we have experienced no discernible difference from prior years,” Seidel added. “If staff are calling students more frequently on students’ cell phones rather than students’ four digit extensions, it isn’t showing up to date in the cost of operating the phone system.”

However, some new expenses may be on the horizon if the college decides to switch to a new phone system called Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP technology.

The FCC’s website explains this as “a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.”

“The two immediate advantages [of VoIP] will be savings in space/power and unified messaging. Currently our PBX system takes a lot of valuable space in the computer center, and uses lots of power that generates heat. With VoIP, basically all the hardware will reduce down to a few boxes, and the phone network will be replaced by our Internet infrastructure,” said information technology CIO Esther Iglich. “Second it will allow unified messaging which means that phone mail messages will reside on your computer . . . and you can choose to view them in any order either in text or audio formats. Once VoIP is set up, it will form the infrastructure for future potential systems like video and data transfer over ‘phone’ lines.”

So, if there are several advantages to this new phone system why isn’t it in place yet?

“There are new technologies out there, like VOiP, but we’ll want to make sure that whatever we decide will work for the whole community, not just some of us,” said Falkner.

By Juliann Guiffre, Features Co-Editor

The new Garden apartments will be completed by the end of this semester, with capacity rising from 96 people to 108 to accommodate for renovations taking place in Blanche soon after.

The new Garden apartments will have 12 apartments with kitchens and 12 with the suite style living; all will have new geo-thermal air conditioning, which Ethan Seidel, vice president of administration and finance, says will save the school money in utility bills. The project is projected to cost $4 to $4.5 million after everything is completed.
“I think we’re going to come in on the low end of that range,” said Seidel, “but you never know what the drillers are going to run into or what problems will arise.”

Seidel said that after adding about 18 more kitchens in the new North Village apartments, they wanted more diversity in the Garden apartments. The suite style apartments are also less costly.

Sophomore Megan Hildebrand thinks that most juniors and seniors would prefer having a kitchen to open up the options for food. Senior Jessica Dittman, who has lived in both the old Garden apartments and the new North Village, disagrees.

“With my schedule I tended not to use [the kitchen] to cook anyways. I really only needed to fridge. I think most students will be happy without the kitchen… since most don’t have it for two years anyways, they won’t really miss it,” Dittman said.

The old Garden apartments had been built in 1975, and Seidel felt the style was very dated. Dittman added that the lighting was very poor; “there was one dim light for the living room and in the bedrooms there was one rather dark lamp.” So while Gardens wasn’t at the top of the list for renovations, it certainly needed them.

“The renovations to Garden apartments to upgrade the buildings and address some of the longer term facilities issues there will certainly help to make that housing more attractive and comfortable to the students again, “ said Michael Robbins, director of Residence Life.

The construction on the Garden apartments is part of a larger master plan to renovate many of the residential buildings, presumably ending with the conversion of a portion of Rouzer Hall to offices, space for clubs and other school organizations.

Robbins also thinks that “it is a very encouraging sign that McDaniel College has entered into an aggressive housing renovation plan and is devoting resources to back it up.”

Seidel said that around 1987 the school came up with a master plan to renovate several academic buildings, including the addition of Academic Hall, Hoover Library, and the campus walkway system.

“After those projects where completed, President Coley determined that our next master plan should focus on residential space,” Seidel said.

Soon after the plan was established, they realized that in order to renovate the current buildings they would need to build a residential new space to hold the over flow of students.

“The second phase of North Village was 100% dedicated to allowing us to renovate the old residential halls,” said Seidel. They knew the construction on the new North Village apartments wouldn’t be done until halfway through the fall 2007 semester, so Seidel said that the logical choice was to let students sign up for these apartments and let them live in the Garden apartments while construction was being finished.

“Everything just fell into place. The new North Village apartments would hold 90 students and the old Garden apartments held 96,” said Seidel. “That’s how Gardens became the first residential hall we are renovating.”

The plan is to start renovations on Blanche Ward Hall soon after those in Garden are completed and make enough progress over the summer to have students occupy one wing of the building in the fall. Again, Seidel said the numbers just work out; there is enough room in the new Garden apartments to empty the back wing of Blanche. Several new rooms will be added to Blanche but won’t add to the capacity of the building because of the placement of a lounge on each floor.

According to Robbins, discussions have begun for work to be done in McDaniel Hall once Blanche is complete.

McDaniel borrowed $20 million in the fall of 2006 which helped to fund North Village, the new fitness center and Gardens.

“Overlaid on that is the money from the Carpe Diem campaign. Both have allowed us to keep on going,” said Seidel. “The money for Blanche is there, but after that we don’t know. We have to keep fundraising.”

Administration interviews underground Greek organizations and hope to stop activity

By Rose Eney

In the last few decades, the “underground Greek organization,” has emerged. The school administration and some students worry that these underground organizations cause problems and promote negative stereotypes about Greek life. Recently, the school has decided to take action in order to eliminate these illegal entities.This process of elimination has begun with an investigation into the actions of a Phi Alpha Mu. Future meetings will take place with the men of Chi Delta Upsilon, Gamma Beta Chi and Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Assistant Director of College Activities Amanda Rose said, “The whole basis for stopping the underground groups is to help the McDaniel Greek community.”

She explained that there are a lot of on-campus organizations that bring many good things to the school, and they are trying to improve that condition by eliminating the underground ones.

The first major action that the school has taken to begin eliminating these groups was the investigation into the actions of Phi Alpha Mu, a group of women who had joined a remnant of an old on-campus sorority.

Rose said that this investigation started in the fall of 2007 and was based on information that had come to the school that same semester. Reports of activities reminiscent of hazing were brought to light by McDaniel parents and teachers.

The way that the school went about this investigation was simple. Rose said they, meaning herself and Director of Campus Safety Mike Webster, gathered a list of the women known to be affiliated with Phi Alpha Mu. They then spoke with each one separately and asked them similar questions in order to collect information.

This information was used to determine whether or not the group was still functioning as an organization and bringing in new members. They also had follow-up interviews with a few members to clarify some details.

“There was no doubt in our minds that the group was still acting underground,” Rose said.

They chose to wait until two weeks into the spring semester of 2008 to call all the women in for a group meeting. The meeting was direct and was scheduled to give the former Phi Alpha Mu members the results of their investigation.

Webster, Rose, Vice President of Student Affairs Beth Gerl, and Director of College Activities Mitchell Alexander all met with the women to explain that they must stop functioning as an organization.

This means that they cannot meet as a group, participate in on-campus activities as a group, wear or display the letters or insignia of Phi Alpha Mu or do anything else that would continue the group’s existence.

Rose said that they fielded questions as well and that she “has no problem explaining and talking with students.”

She believes that everyone who joined Phi Alpha Mu after the group’s suspension in the spring of 2005 knew that they were not recognized for a reason, but did not realize that joining would impact the group’s ability to reform on campus.

One unnamed former member of Phi Alpha Mu said, “I felt exhausted by the investigation, mentally and physically.”

Another former member said that she felt completely attacked by the way that the school went about the investigations.

As for the other underground groups, they too will have meetings with school officials. The school knows of the existence of these groups because of how small McDaniel’s campus is and because “It’s obvious,” according to Rose.

She added that they are not 100 percent sure whether the three other underground groups are still taking members or not, but the fact that they exist is the issue.

The meetings with Chi Delta Upsilon and Gamma Beta Chi will be straightforward. The school will be telling their suspected members to cease and desist.

The case of Sigma Phi Epsilon will be different since many members have been given “alumni status” by their national organization. The real question for them will be about the members they may have who weren’t initiated at the time their charter was revoked.

There are three main goals that the school hopes to accomplish, which include getting rid of the unrecognized organizations, promoting the growth of the recognized and expanding the Greek life spectrum that exists.

They have several ways planned to enforce the banishment of the underground groups from now on. For the spring semester of 2008, former underground members who do not abide by the rules that the school has set for them will be charged with “failure to comply with a college official.”

This investigation, meetings, new policy and overall process has been for the betterment of McDaniel’s Greek community.

“We have a long history,” Rose said, “and we want to keep that.”

Rose Eney is a member of Phi Alpha Mu.