Jen Noel

Staff Reporter

When Dr. Joan Develin Coley arrived at McDaniel in 1973, she didn’t envision becoming the first female president of then Western Maryland College. She began her tenure as the director of the graduate reading program and now has announced that she will end her time here on the Hill as McDaniel’s eighth president.

Sitting in her office on a rainy afternoon, President Coley expressed her deep admiration for the Hill, but explained that she has spent most of her professional life here and it is time to move on.

“Being the president is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week job,” said Coley. “I want to retire while I’m still young and energetic.”

Energy is key for Coley’s daily activities; on alumni weekend, she had a list of 11 dinners she was to attend in one day.

“I didn’t get a chance to eat at any of them,” she joked.

Coley was elected president of the college on October 20, 2000. It was not long after that she placed a plan into action to change the name of the college.

“The name change was something we new needed to be done for a half century,” noted Coley. “I think that is my biggest accomplishment while on the Hill.”

President Coley has to decided to leave McDaniel after the 2010 school year, as she feels at that time all the major projects she was a part of will be coming to a close.

Dr. Ethan Seidel, Vice President of Administration and Finance, also noted the historic nature of the name change under President Coley as well her dedication to making fundraising a high priority.

“Her largest impact has to be presiding over the largest and most successful fund raising campaign in the College’s history,” said Seidel. “The goal of $65 million has already been exceeded, and the campaign does not end until December 31, 2009.”

President Coley also hopes that future generations remember that she worked hard to put the College’s needs in the forefront and do what was best for everyone involved.

Students recognize the efforts President Coley puts forth in order to connect with them on a personal basis.

“I’ll be interested to see the difference between her [Coley] and the new president,” said junior, Brittany Cooper. “I hope they care about the students as much as she does and as much interest in them.”

President Coley is known for her monthly dinner gatherings with students at the President’s House; each student is guaranteed at least one dinner with her during their four years on campus.

“The dinners she hosted really mean a lot especially because she is so busy,” said sophomore Diana Desmond. “I will be sad that I have a new president my last year here; it won’t be the same.”

As President Coley prepares for her last year on campus, she admits the experience will be bittersweet.

“I feel I will be content I made the proper decision,” said Coley. “But it’s difficult to leave a place you spent almost your entire life.”

“The people are what I will remember most and the kind of warm community McDaniel is—that’s why I’ve stayed for so long.”

The search for a new president will begin this summer by a committee of trustees, three faculty members and a student. An advertisement with the committee’s criteria will be released nationally somewhere between July and August.

As for the President’s plans after retirement, she hopes to travel with her new husband, Lee Rice, take classes, and read books that have been a few years in waiting.

Katelynn McGinley

Features Editor

For one day only, McDaniel students could say they went to school the state’s capital city.

As a part of the “Capital for a Day” initiative, Governor Martin O’Malley spent the day touring the town of Westminster, window shopping on Main Street, eating lunch at Gulianova Groceria, and shaking hands with residents and listening to their concerns. The Governor even made time to stop in at the Carroll Arts Center to take in the ‘Peep Show’ exhibit, which showcases more than 150 scenes created using Peeps – the gooey confectionary treats that are a staple in many Easter baskets.

O’Malley ended his day in McDaniel’s Forum, where students could sit in on a Cabinet meeting and listen to the Governor discuss issues ranging from the placement of mobile computers in patrol cars to water regulation issues and stimulus money with local legislatures. The Governor listened carefully to the discussions – occasionally taking notes and asking clarifying questions. He was praised by legislatures as being “a real people person” in addition to his “classy” handling of protestors on Main Street – most of who were there in opposition of O’Malley’s budget plans and stand on immigration.

Delegate Susan Krebs (R- District 9) specifically asked for O’Malley’s help in closing down Henryton – an abandoned former tuberculosis hospital in Marriottsville, MD that she says has become a health risk. Krebs and O’Malley discussed the possibility of using Browns Fields funding to possibly raze the buildings to the ground and restructure the land. Though no concrete solution was reached, O’Malley did promise to look into the matter further, citing that “a lack of dollars” would be the greatest hurdle to overcome. “None of us [are] so good [at budgeting] that we can save everyone and everything from this national, global, recession we are currently in,” the Governor said.

Following the Cabinet meeting, O’Malley mingled with the students and local residents packed into the Forum, shaking hands and posing for pictures. Keith Ludington-Adams, a junior, offered O’Malley his guitar, and O’Malley obliged by playing a song for the crowd.

“He was really cool, very friendly,” says Ludington-Adams, a member of the band Turtle Buddy (made up of all McDaniel students) who also gave O’Malley a copy of Turtle Buddy’s newest CD; Bright Bright Moon, which the Governor enthusiastically thanked him for.

“It was an honor for me to visit y’all today,” O’Malley told students, “you have an institution to be proud of here, and I thank you for your warm welcome.”

Kate Delenick

Co Editor-in-Chief

Shawron Gabriel Bibbs, of Reiserstown, is facing charges of negligent manslaughter by automobile, theft of more than $500, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, as well as a dozen misdemeanor charges resulting in the February hit-and-run crash that killed McDaniel sophomore, Thomas Rouleau.

Bibbs was arrested by the Hempstead New York Police Department in March and then held in the Nassau County Correctional Facility. After several delays due to unresolved matters in New York, Bibbs waived his extradition rights at a hearing in Nassau.

According to the Carroll County Times and Captain Gerry Frischkorn, Westminster police took him into Maryland custody on Thursday, April 30. Charging documents in the case say that Bibbs took a pickup truck from a man he was staying with at the Best Western without permission.

Shortly before the fatal crash a 911 call was made describing the pickup hitting another vehicle on East Main Street then driving away in an erratic manner, and at a faster than normal speed, according to the documents.

Westminster police made an attempt to stop the pickup after an officer clocked the vehicle at 45mph in a 25mph zone; continuing more than 130 feet before it came to a stop at the intersection of Md. 31 after striking the car of Rouleau.

Randall Fields was identified as the owner of the pickup after police traced the vehicle. Fields told police he had been in Westminster completing work and met Bibbs during the week. Bibbs said he needed a place to stay and Fields allowed him to stay with him in his Best Western hotel room. He was introduced to Bibbs as “Jay.” Fields later identified “Jay” in a lineup as Bibbs.

In an interview Frischkorn said, “He [Bibbs] is only in jail now because the judge believes he is a flight risk and wants to ensure he will come to trial.” He continued saying, “This case is unique in that it took so long just to get Mr. Bibbs into custody because he fled after the collision. If he had not fled, he would have been charged the night of the collision and may or may not have been in jail now depending on the bond amount. To many it seems like the case is over because he has now been apprehended, but again the real issues associated with a trial have just started.”

For all of us in the McDaniel community it seems this case has been pending forever, but as Frischkorn said it is only the beginning. Many around campus still think of Tom every day, whether it’s when they pass the theater where Tom spent so much time, or when they hear a funny joke, knowing Tom was a true comedian.

While we learned from Tom’s parents that the arrest of Bibbs did not bring closure to their son’s death, the Westminster Police Department feel very similar. Frischkorn explained that officers, much like those of us at McDaniel, will probably never experience closure. The officers and detectives involved in this case and many other don’t feel the deep and intimate loss that the family and friends of Tom have experienced but that does not mean they can forget this tragedy simply because another day has passed.

As spring turns to summer and we all begin to leave the Hill take time to remember Thomas Rouleau, a member of the McDaniel community that we lost.

There is no way to tell how long the trial through appeal process will be and for so many of us it is that kind of uncertainty that keeps us weary. However, as we have from the very beginning we must continue to stick together through this ordeal and hope and pray for the best possible outcome.

We’re still thinking of you, Tom.

Roxanne Fleischer

News Editor

After 14 students signed a request for an Arabic language minor, Provost Thomas Falkner approved of the 3000-level class needed to make it possible.

“The interest in Arabic is just taking off,” said Falkner, who said at least six students will be signed up for the new course starting in the fall of 2009.

“Because of the student interest, because of good teaching in those courses, there is a very strong enrollment,” he said. “We try to be responsive to academic interest.”

The 3000-level is the last course needed to fulfill the Arabic language minor, but for the time-being, the minor will remain self-designed. “The challenge is really this: in order to make the commitment to a minor, you have to have the staff. We don’t have that yet,” Falkner said.

Currently, adjunct lecturer Carol Zaru is the only teacher of Arabic, teaching two 1000-level and two 2000-level courses. Falkner said that the Zaru will be invited to take the position of teaching the 3000-level course this fall.

“We have an outstanding person in [Carol Zaru],” he said. The college does not have the ability to offer her a full time position at this time, according to Falkner. “We will need to be considering this for the future,” he said.

Falkner also said there has been more interest in the Arabic program “than I would have imagined.”

Junior Emily Hajjar, a signer of the petition said, “I think its one step closer to offering an Arabic minor.” Hajjar will be taking the newly offered course in the fall. “I am really excited to be continuing my Arabic education,” she said.

Danielle Azoulay

Staff Reporter

After a long day of fun filled activities and drinking at McDaniel’s annual Spring Fling, the residents of Garden Apartment 155 reported that the glass of the left front door of the building had been completely shattered at some point between the hours of 1-3 am on Sunday April 26th.

On Wednesday April 29, the building’s RA, Maria Clark sent residents an email asking for any information on the incident. The e-mail stated that it was both Clark’s and Area Coordinator of Garden Apartments and North Village Michelle Reihner’s decision that if no one was to come forward that all the residents of 155 would be charged for the repair.

After receiving the email from Clark senior Kim Pavlovsky, a resident of 155, said, “It was a major concern of mine that we were going to get fined… fined for the stupidity of other people.”

Because the incident occurred over the weekend repairs couldn’t be made until the following Monday.

“It also concerned me that the door wasn’t boarded, especially because of our location on PA Avenue.” Pavlovsky calls it a “sketchy area,” due to other incidents that have occurred their in the past.

According to Reihner, the Physical Plant informed her that in order for a board to have been effective, they would have needed to drill holes into the door. This would have caused the entire door to be replaced, rather than just the glass. Reihner says that the “(Physical Plant) went along with the thinking that every apartment door is locked, and every apartment bedroom inside that door can be locked… We have RAs who do rounds every night, and Campus Safety do their rounds too.”

However, not all residents consistently lock their doors, and the ability to lock a door was not of much help in past incidents, like the armed robbery that took place in Rouzer.

Further discussion with the physical plant and house keeping staff lead to the conclusion that the door was broken from the outside. This was deduced from the shattered glass covering the floor inside the entrance of 155, and parts of the stair wells. As a result it was impossible to determine if the incident was caused by a resident or non-resident of 155, and according to Reihner it would therefore be unfair for the residents to be fined. The school paid for the repairs, and will not be billing the residents.