Brent Lowe

Staff Reporter

Sometime between last Monday, April 20, and last Tuesday, April 21, a vandal (or vandals) stole the head from a wooden dinosaur skeleton out of Lewis Hall, according to Office Manager Carole Klapper. Klapper works in the office right across from the deheaded dino.

It is unknown why the head was stolen, but the doors were left open after office hours for students to use the lab equipment, so it is likely someone just walked in and took it.

“It is sorta disappointing,” says Freshman Tom Cartaxo. “It’s completely meaningless.”

“I am saddened that it happened,” says Michael Webster, Director of Campus Safety. When asked what was being done about the missing head, Webster replied that they “have taken an initial report and will follow up on leads as they come in.”

But is this stolen head going to be mourned by all, or is it seen as more of a nuisance?

“It’s a dumb prank,” says Robert Cox, the theater arts technical director, who built the dinosaur as a theater prop for a production called Pterodactyl that played for about four days. When the production was over the theater folks decided to give to the Biology Department rather than throw it away or break it down for use in something else.

“It took me about four days to build total,” Cox says.

The dinosaur has been in Lewis for about one year, Cox explains. That creation is one of many props and theater sets that Cox has created.

There were plans by some to have the beheaded reptile taken to the dump, but Professor Brett McMillan, a visiting Biology instructor, suggested posting a sign asking the culprits to steal the rest to save folks the trouble.

The fate of the dinosaur was not available at press time.

Students are living the ‘high life’ at McDaniel

Jen Noel

Staff Reporter

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. With that being said, I am about to turn over the wild and whimsical world of the Lighter Side to another reporter as I leave the Hill for the real world. I am confident, however, wherever I go, people’s actions will still remain inane although they are well past college age.

For those of us still basking in the glory of college life, the blotter was bustling in the last weeks of school with students wanting to get their party on for the final time of the semester.

Mike Webster, Director of Campus Safety, reported Spring Fling was surprisingly calmer than in years past, but attributes the lack of activity to the unseasonably warm weather.

On April 26, post Spring Fling, it was reported that firecrackers were set off in front of a student’s door in Blanche Ward. Apparently, the culprits felt the live entertainment wasn’t enough and wanted to put on their own Fourth of July display. I know for a fact the warning label on a firecracker states “keep out of the reach of children”; I guess it’s too late for that.

“The fire crackers are being sent to CSI Miami as we speak for forensics, then we will know more,” noted Webster.

Some students must have been very upset about not succeeding at the obstacle course or mechanical bull at Spring Fling because on April 25, a student (or students) sought the recognition they thought they deserved.

Campus Safety officers discovered five trophies discarded in the Rouzer parking lot that had been stolen from Gill Center. At least the culprit didn’t display them in his or her room; that would have shown true desperation to be a winner—most of us weren’t even born when those trophies were won.

Although another reporter is already covering the dino-tale from Lewis Hall, I couldn’t leave the Lighter Side without giving a nod to the dinosaur bandit. You can read more about the perplexing mystery of the disappearing skull later in the issue, but my hope is that this just a prank and not a fantasy about The Land Before Time come to life.

On a final note, several incidents concerning hard liquor on campus were reported as well as under-aged drinking by students who shouldn’t regard being discreet as one of their best qualities. Live and learn, my friends.

Without the students who lost their ability to think clearly on a regular basis, the Lighter Side would not be possible. To that I say, maybe next year will be a smarter year for you.

Be well, be happy, and have some fun; you only live once. Signing off.

Laura Hutton

Co Editor-in-Chief

On April 8, McDaniel College’s students and staff saved up to 348 lives at the blood drive hosted biannually by the College Activities office. Through donations made in the Forum, 116 units of blood were collected. Each unit of blood can help up to three patients.

Erica Immler, the operations supervisor for College Activities, organizes the blood drive each semester. Student volunteers from Alpha Sigma Phi, Alpha Phi Omega, and Gamma Sigma Sigma helped Immler get the word out. They sat at a table outside Glar scheduling appointments and helping to keep students and staff organized during the blood drive.

Immler has worked at McDaniel since 2002, minus the 18 months she spent at Carroll Community College. She has been in the College Activities office since 2006. The job of organizing the blood drive, as Immler describes it, was thrown into her lap. However, she embraced the opportunity to inform herself and the McDaniel community on the importance of donating blood.

“Our region needs to collect 1100 units of blood a day to meet patient needs,” explained Bonnie Rill, senior account executive at the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region of the American Red Cross. Each donation consists of a unit of blood, which is about a pint. All blood types are needed, but since type O is the universal donor it can be given to patients with different types of blood.

Rill explained a possible solution to the blood shortage. “If donors who donate blood once a year would donate twice a year there would not be a blood shortage,” she said.

Many students have their own reasons for donating blood. “When my grandfather was alive he used to have to get blood transfusions every two weeks,” explained freshman Erik Brennan, “and sometimes he would have to skip a week because of a shortage, and I figure I have blood to spare.”

Brennan donated blood last semester when the American Red Cross was on campus and says he will “definitely” be donating blood in the future.

However, not everyone is eligible to donate blood. According to the American Red Cross Web site, a donor must be at least 17, or 16 with parental consent, and must weigh at least 110 pounds. Recent international travel, piercings, and tattoos can also negate one’s ability to be a donor.

Senior Amy Faby wanted to give blood last year, but her recent tattoo prevented her from being eligible. This year she was able to and “wanted to do it and help save some lives,” explained Faby.

The most common disqualifier for blood donation is low iron. Immler credits this to the poor diet of college students. The American Red Cross Web site explains that protein-rich foods help improve iron levels and vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron ingested.

Junior Andrea Mills could not donate due to a low iron reading. She had not been planning to donate blood until she saw the drive set up in the Forum. Mills wants to try again and explained, “Donating blood is really important because someone, somewhere, every day needs a blood donation.”

Many students do not donate blood due to a fear of needles or a fear of blood, while others are concerned about the long wait, which Brennan described as “taking forever.”

Overall the students had positive experiences. Senior Anja Jones donated for the first time and described her experience: “It really makes me feel good knowing that the little bit of blood that I gave could save a person’s life.”

After donating it is important to rest and replenish fluids. According to Rill, it takes the body 24 hours to restore the volume of blood lost and six weeks to build the red cell count back up.

Although the blood drive at McDaniel is only announced to students, if a member of the Westminster community was to hear about a drive on campus and show up, they would not be turned away, said Immler.

In recent years, the length of the blood drive has been extended from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. The Red Cross has also encouraged Immler to extend the drive to a two-day event. The Forum is the best space to hold the drive and concerns were expressed by Immler regarding the availability of the space for a two-day drive. More importantly, however, is the interest on campus. The single-day drive is a packed event and the turnout of April 8 yielded an average number of units for a McDaniel drive.

Katie Smith

Staff Reporter

At the moment, McDaniel’s hiring freeze appears to be more of a chill than an actual freeze.

The freeze went into effect in November 2008, when the college revised its budget, according to Dr. Ethan Seidel, vice president of Administration and Finance. Seidel explains that the freeze does not mean that an empty position will not be immediately filled but instead that other options will be explored before a decision is made to hire a new person.

If an employee of the college resigns or retires during the freeze, Seidel says a redistribution of the workload will be implemented where possible, but where that is not possible, the position will be filled.

“The freeze is not frozen solid,” Seidel explains.

Faculty and students are unlikely to feel the effects of the freeze for a while, if at all.

Regarding faculty, Seidel says they are unlikely to be greatly affected for several reasons, the first being that the college sees little faculty turnover. Seidel also says there “tends to be a one-year lag in filling faculty positions that become open.”

He explains the best time to search for a new professor is early in the year. If the search begins later in the year, the best are already hired. However, most faculty members do not tender their resignations until late in the year, so the search for a replacement is usually delayed.

This is the case in the English department, as Dr. Rebecca Davis will leave McDaniel at the end of this semester. Despite the department’s loss, Dr. Leroy Panek, the English department’s acting chair, says the freeze is “not relevant” to him. Panek has full confidence Davis’ position will be filled as soon as possible.

“The president and the provost have made clear that critical people will be replaced,” Panek says.

He adds that a request to hire a new faculty member must be approved by the Academic Planning Committee. If that request is approved, Panek says a national search to fill the position will not begin until 2010. He is confident the request will be approved.

Panek makes clear that this process would be the same with or without a hiring freeze in effect.

Students are not greatly affected by the freeze either.

Sarah Stokely, associate dean of student academic life, says she has not seen any students who have been affected by the hiring freeze, and suspects that if students feel the impact at all, it won’t be until the next academic year.

“If offices on campus or the library are not replacing people, that would affect students,” Stokely says. However, she has not seen this to be true and says she has “seen no negative impact in terms of classes being offered.”

“Students are not really feeling the effects and my hope is that we’re on our way out of a recession,” Stokely says.

(Editor’s Note: This story was initially submitted for Terry Dalton’s Advanced News and Reporting Class).

Jenna Little

Staff Reporter

The Commuter Student Association presented the first annual “Note This: McDaniel’s Own Musical Showcase and Competition” to showcase the best musical talents of McDaniel. Performers competed for votes to determine the winner of the competition. The show took place in Alumni Hall Theatre on May 9 at 7:30 P.M., and five acts performed, including Casey Crough and Rob Holthouse, Kristie Menzies, Brittney Stanton, Jessica Curtis, and the band, Twelve Hour Shower, with special host performer Steven Carney and The Dixie Hiway Band!

The performers were judged by Jane McIlvain, Dean Henry Reiff, and Pastor Marty Kuchma with the winner announced at the end of the show.

Note This is co-sponsored by McDaniel community organizations like Gamma Sig, Alpha Psi, Ars Nova, Pi Gamma Mu, SGA, the Music Department, and Relay. Drinks and snacks were also available to buy during the show and donations will be accepted to benefit Relay for Life.

Stuart Clarke, president of the Commuter Student Association, encouraged students to come out and support the event saying, “It’s for a great cause!”