Butler University students took to social media Sunday—about a camel.

During the hunt for an armed man on and around campus, students received a message from Butler University Police Department stating the suspect was seen running “towrad the camel.”

I could handle a few misspellings as long as they meant I was staying informed.

BUPD is to be commended for keeping students in the loop about dangerous activity on campus.

I received call after text after email from DawgAlert, and even more information came via BUPD’s constantly-updated Twitter account.

Sure, the messages were repetitive and hastily written at times.

But I would much rather have too many warnings than not enough, a misspelled warning instead of a delayed one.

BUPD was quick to put campus on lockdown and deactivate ID scanners for buildings, preventing the fleeing man from hiding inside—or worse, taking aim at students.

And judging from the pictures and eyewitness tweets that filled my feed, BUPD posted guards and worked well with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police to apprehend the man—and more importantly, keep students safe.

Ben Hunter, executive director of public safety, said he has never faced a situation like this in his four-and-a-half years at Butler.

Still, he and his team responded admirably and did their job well.

So continue to laugh about The Butler Camel.

His tweets are great, and Assistant Police Chief Andrew Ryan is enjoying the hype, according to Twitter.

But don’t forget the serious work that BUPD did in keeping us all informed and safe.

Butler parent Nick Frisone helped police capture a robbery suspect on campus this afternoon. Listen to his interview with The Collegian here:

Nick Frisone Interview

A transcription of the interview is below.

I went to Atherton to get coffee at Starbucks. I heard the high-speed chase, which was close in proximity, as I heard the front car, which was not police–it had a heavy engine. Then I heard lots of police cars getting closer and closer and closer.

Then they went past my line of vision behind, I think, Jordan. Then, we saw police officers running toward Atherton but to the building across the mall–wherever there’s a construction fence. There were two guys. I actually didn’t know there were two guys, because the first guy that I saw was running in a black jumpsuit, and he was so far away from the police. That’s the other one who is at large presently.

Then, lo and behold, from behind that building where the fountain is being repaired across from Atherton, I saw this other guy running toward the mall, toward where I was standing. Then I saw police officers that probably were not going to be in a position to catch him ever. So then I ran him back toward the fountain area to where the construction was and knocked him down, and the police came.

He went down to the ground and the police came and stunned him. And he laid down and cooperated after that, and that was it.

They didn’t ask me anything. I told them what I knew about the other person. It all happened in probably less than five minutes. (It was) totally a reaction.

He was probably realizing the jig was up and they would’ve gotten him anyway.

Additional reporting by Colin Likas

A $2.5 million renovation and expansion to the Atherton Union Marketplace greeted students for their first meals of the semester.

The project has a dual purpose of creating more space and making cosmetic changes.

“It was obvious that we had a facility that was aging and inadequate,” Sally Click, dean of student services, said. “It will be a really welcome change.”

Not all changes were completed when the first meal was served, however.

Jerry Carlson, director of maintenance services, said that the addition will not be finished until Sept. 15.

“That is just taking longer because they had to tear down a wall and add some space outside,” Carlson said.

The addition will house a Mongolian grill and provide around 100 more seats.

Dining services is making efforts to accommodate students, especially during the lunch rush, Michelle Bryant-Jones, director of dining services, said.

The UClub adjacent to the Marketplace is open for seating when it is not being used for an event, she said, and a Grab & Go lunch option serves students who don’t have time to wait for a seat.

Click said the décor of the addition will match the existing style, updated over last year’s winter break.

The renovations inside the current structure, which began during last semester’s graduation week, were completed just before students arrived for their first meals.

These include a brick pizza oven and a bakery where students can see food prepared in front of them.

Dish service has been upgraded as well, Carlson said. Students will put their trays on an accumulator, a carousel-like machine that continuously rotates to bring dishes to a washing station in the back.

“It was a much-needed addition,” he said. “We’re pretty excited.”

The renovations have already added about 75 new seats.

Bryant-Jones said she hopes the students will enjoy the overall experience.

“You’re being offered variety,” she said. “You have space. You have a great atmosphere. You have a great meal.”

The money for the $2.5 million project comes from capital investments in the contract that Butler University has with Aramark, its food service vendor, Click said. Butler students’ money is not being used in this construction.

Click said these improvements happen every few years because of the contract.

“They’re looking at keeping those spaces fresh,” she said, “and it’s really helpful to have that capital to do that.”

Capital has been used in the past for Starbucks and Residential College dining renovations.

The changes came because students wanted them, Click said. After meetings with the Butler Cuisine Bureau and members of the Council on Presidential Affairs, the plan was created to match students’ needs and desires.

Click said she is excited to see how students react to the space.

“I really do think our environment shapes our experience,” Click said. “I think people will really enjoy being there.”

Butler University’s Council on Presidential Affairs has made progress this year that it hopes to carry into next semester, members said.

“I think CPA has done a lot,” said sophomore Katie Palmer, CPA’s academic affairs coordinator. “We’ve set the groundwork for next year.”

Palmer said one of the biggest areas of improvement has been in green operations—a new committee this year.
CPA Chair Mike Tirman said he agrees.

“We started the committee this year, and I think they have done extremely good work,” he said.

Green operations has a lengthy list of accomplishments. It played a leading role in the green summit, the green roof, the Brita hydration stations and President Jim Danko’s signing of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

Freshman Becky Pokrandt, a current member and incoming coordinator of green operations, put her focus on water quality and implemented the Brita hydration stations.

“They will hopefully encourage people to use fewer plastic water bottles, because they will have an option for clean water,” she said. “If there’s a positive response from students, we can hopefully get more and make our campus bottle-less.”

Aside from green operations, Flip the Script, an event where administrators cook for and serve students, was also a success for CPA, Palmer said.

While there has been progress, Tirman said he wants CPA to “keep the momentum” and seek more improvements.

Pokrandt said she hopes next year’s green operations committee will install more hydration stations, increase awareness of Earth Week and host another green summit.

More communication between administrators and students earlier in the semester is another goal for CPA, Palmer said.

Tirman said CPA will try to better incorporate the student ideals statement into campus life. He also said that CPA has begun a conversation with faculty and the provost’s office about joint- or combined-degree programs.

“It’s in its infant stage, but at least there’s a dialogue happening,” he said.

Tirman will hand the position of CPA chair to junior Scott Nemeth next semester.

“I think he’s going to bring a lot of leadership and positivity to CPA,” Tirman said.

Nemeth, who has been a part of CPA since his freshman year, said he wants next semester’s CPA to think big.

“We want to do big things next year,” he said. “Each committee is going to be brainstorming this summer about a project it can take on that will have big impact on the university.”

Palmer said CPA will also see many new faces next semester.

“There is a large number of people just starting CPA, so new people are really going to be influential,” she said.

Nemeth said he hopes to continue the success of this year while pushing forward.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do as board,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the administration lets us do and what the student body wants us to do and combining those two things into making really important changes to campus.”

All buildings now have full electricity after a power outage at Butler University Saturday left students in the dark and employees working overtime.

Butler staff shut off power across campus after lightning struck near or on the power plant located behind Schwitzer Hall said Ben Hunter, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety.

Hunter said that electricity problems have occurred before but they “haven’t been as catastrophic as this.”

A 2009 storm caused a campus-wide power outage for 24 hours, said Gerald Carlson, director of maintenance services.

He said that Saturday’s storm and power outage could cost—at a guess—between $25,000 and $30,000.

These costs would take into account the generators, the new wiring and overtime compensation.

Carlson said an underground wire shorted and was burnt through, which caused the smoke. The decision was then made to shut off the switchgear that controls campus power.

“We could not risk losing that switchgear,” Carlson said. “We had to shut it down.”

The main switchgear controls electricity for buildings across campus and is comprised of nine switches that distribute power. Carlson said that the $600,000 switchgear was installed last summer and that it would have taken three months to replace it if it had been destroyed.

The burnt cable belongs to switch five, which controls power for Lilly Hall, Irwin Library, Residential College and the east and middle parts of Jordan Hall.

A generator was brought in to power Residential College while employees from Butler and Barth Electric made repairs, Carlson said.

He said Atherton’s wiring goes through the same switch, so power was shut down, while a second generator provided power to keep food services running.

“Our goal was to make sure power was back on so we didn’t disrupt classes two weeks before finals,” Carlson said.

Though power was up in time for classes, Saturday proved a difficult time for some Butler students.

Brandon Douthitt, a freshman music major, was practicing saxophone in Lilly Hall when the lights went out.

“I looked outside, and it was pitch black,” he said.

ResCo’s power returned just before midnight Saturday, but Douthitt said he was concerned the power in his residence hall could have been out until Monday. Jordan, Lilly and Irwin regained power at around 7 p.m. Sunday.

Alyssa Setnar, a freshman motorsports engineering and physics major, was getting ready for the Kappa Alpha Theta formal when the power went out.

“I was about to dry my hair when the power went out,” Setnar said. “I realized that I had dinner in an hour and my hair was wet.”

After walking to the Kappa Alpha Theta house to dry her hair, Setnar said she was left out in the rain because Schwitzer’s ID scanners were shut off due to the power outage.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened on the same night as formal, but it’s not their fault that it happened,” she said.

In addition, the power went out during the Saturday matinee of “Les Misérables” at Clowes Memorial Hall.

“I feel sorry for all the patrons that bought tickets,” Carlson said, “but they can work with Clowes to see about refunds.”

Students received alerts and updates about the power outage via DawgAlert and Twitter.

Douthitt said the situation was “handled well.”

Carlson credits staff, some of whom worked until 3 a.m. Sunday, for getting the power up as quickly as possible.

“We’ve got great employees who came up with a game plan to get it operational so that it didn’t affect classes and students,” Carlson said. “Two of them had about two hours of sleep between Saturday and Sunday.”

Butler University has increased both its number of applications received and the number of admittances extended for the class of 2016.

Tom Weede, vice president for enrollment management, said that Butler has admitted about 6,300 students for next semester.

“That was right around our goal for what we were hoping to admit,” he said.

Weede said that that number could rise even higher because of late applicants, late sports recruits or specialty performers in the Jordan College of Fine Arts.

Weede said that the ideal size of the class of 2016 is about 1,000 students, just a bit above the size of the current freshman class.

Dropping from 6,000 admitted students to 1,000 enrolled students may seem difficult, but Dean of Admission Scott Ham said the office of admission made a concerted effort to admit a high number like this.

“Nationally trending, students are applying to more institutions,” Ham said. “Because students are applying to more schools, we have to make more offers of admission.”

This is a 9 percent increase in the number of offers from last year.

Ham said that ease of applying to college is one reason for this.

“The Common Application makes it so easy to apply to 10 or 15 schools simply by clicking a link,” he said.

In addition, the office saw an increase in the total number of applications it received. More than 9,500 students applied to Butler. This is a 3 percent increase from last year, building on the 41 percent increase in 2010.

Success of the Butler men’s basketball team is still a major reason for the increase.

“I think the basketball tournaments the last couple years have introduced the university to people who didn’t know about it before,” Weede said. “But the nice thing is people don’t enroll at a college because it has a good basketball team. They enroll because it has the right size, fit, location, majors.”

Lade Akande, an admission counselor, said that basketball success is only the first step.

“They (high school students) got on the web and realized that Butler is a small, liberal arts school, the class sizes are small, there are not teaching assistants,” Akande said. “They found out all these great things, and that’s what drew them to Butler even more.”

Akande, who works with high school students from not only the Midwest but also the Southeast and Puerto Rico, said that the championship appearances have also increased the number of out-of-state applications.

Ham said that a final factor in the growth of applications is word-of-mouth, starting with students.

“They go home and talk about what a great experience they had,” Ham said. “The best promotion that Butler University can have is a satisfied student.”

BY THE NUMBERS

9,658 students have applied this year—a 3 percent increase from 2011.

About 6,300 have been admitted so far—an increase of 9 percent.

The goal size for the class of 2016 is about 1,000 students.

One Dean Miller will leave, and another Dean Miller will start at the end of this semester.

Butler University chose Julie Miller to become the new dean of libraries when current Dean Lewis Miller retires.

“Butler excited me because it’s a place where the emphasis is on academic excellence and student success,” Julie Miller said. “Those are the things that matter to me.”

Julie Miller, associate dean of libraries at Eastern Washington University, said Butler libraries have a solid foundation through current leadership and community support.

“I really wanted the opportunity to build on success,” she said.

She said she sees Butler as a place where academic interest is a priority.

“I’m first in my family to go to college, and so, for me, education was such a transformative experience in my life,” she said. “I really want to be at places where that happens.”

The title “dean of libraries” can be abstract, but current Dean Lewis Miller said times can change.

“The dean is responsible for the vision and direction of the library,” he said. “Five years from now, the task that your staff is doing is going to be very different. How do you prepare them?”

This forward-thinking approach will be important for Julie Miller as libraries are in a transition process, said Stuart Glennan, professor of philosophy and chair of the search committee.

“We’ve had an information revolution, and libraries are right in the middle of it,” he said.

Julie Miller said she recognizes that challenge.

“Academic libraries realized they needed to reposition themselves with students because students have choices for resources, and often, the library is not at the top of that list,” she said. “If we think about what libraries will look like in the future, that has to be grounded in what faculty and students need.”

In order to understand these needs, Julie Miller said one of the first things she will do when she arrives is talk with students and faculty.

Sally Neal, associate dean of libraries and member of the search committee, said that communication will be important.

“We were looking for someone who is a good marketer,” Neal said, “to articulate to the campus what our mission and goals are, what our vision is.”

Neal and Lewis Miller both said that improvements to the library space will need to be a priority. Julie Miller said that she will work with development and advancement in many ways, such as getting more donors.

Neal also said involving librarians in instruction and digitizing more collections will be important steps for the future.

Lewis Miller said planning, personnel, the budget and organization of the library are additional concerns for the dean.

“It [the position] is considered similar to the dean of a college,” he said.

For this reason, the search process was conducted in a similar way to the searches for college deans, Glennan said.

“What that meant practically was that there was elected representation from the library faculty, and then the provost would appoint the balance of that committee,” he said.

The search for the dean of libraries began in October when the search committee wrote an advertisement for the position.

The committee then reviewed applications and conducted Skype interviews with a narrowed list of candidates. It selected three finalists, who came to campus for visits. The committee then recommended Julie Miller.

“The fact that we got who we wanted was just wonderful,” Neal said.

Julie Miller will officially begin on June 1, even though she is already getting involved in the Butler community.

“I listened to the basketball game the other night,” she said, referring to the men’s loss to Pittsburgh on March 21. “I was really sad. I’m already feeling like part of the team.”

Photo by Rachel Anderson

The Butler University College of Communication will welcome its first permanent dean next semester.

Gary Edgerton, currently a professor and chair of Communication and Theatre Arts at Old Dominion University, will join the Butler faculty on Aug. 1.

“I think we’re very fortunate to have Gary coming to Butler University,” LAS Dean Jay Howard, who chaired the search committee, said. “He brings very valuable and appropriate experiences, and he will be a visionary.”

New ideas are one way that Edgerton will aid CCOM, CCOM Interim Dean William Neher said.

“Looking at Old Dominion, his department has instituted some innovative programs,” he said. “I think you’re going to see a lot of new programs.”

Edgerton could not be reached for comment, but Neher has been in contact with him.

“He’s excited about the situation,” Neher said. “The reason he’s coming here is he sees a great deal of potential.”

Neher said that potential lies in Butler’s location and recognition and in CCOM’s mix of programs.

“He has ideas for making (CCOM) larger and better, and I think you’ll see a lot of growth,” Neher said.

Howard said that the search committee looked for a candidate who could bring credibility to the college.

“The College of Communication is a brand-new college, and you need a leader who has professional prestige to lend that credibility to the college,” he said.

The search began after candidates submitted applications in response to an ad. Members of the search committee ranked the candidates, narrowing them down to six finalists. After Skype interviews, the committee chose three finalists, who were then invited to campus.

One candidate withdrew his name, but the remaining two met with faculty, administrators and students. The final decision was left to President Jim Danko.

Howard said members of the committee kept a mindset that they not only had to look out for the interest of their program, but also had to look out for the interests of all the other programs in the college.

Neher said that Edgerton will look for a balance in his colleagues.

“One thing interesting that he is looking at is that in the first two years, we’ll have probably a 50 percent turnover in faculty,” Neher said. “That’s good because we’ll have enough people left—50 percent—who have the tradition and can carry on how we do things at Butler, but not so many that they won’t be dominating him.”

The new faculty will not have “any of the assumptions, preconceptions and rivalries from the older departments,” Neher said.

“That’s a really good advantage for a new dean,” he said.

Neher and Howard both agree that CCOM will benefit from Edgerton.

“He will help set the course for this brand-new college,” Howard said. “He’s the right person at the right time.”

Butler University’s College Democrats was denied a grant from the Student Government Association due to the  organization’s political involvement.

This has caused some people to question a long-standing policy in the SGA grants requirements and has led to confusion within many organizations.

On Dec. 15, 2011, the SGA grants committee informed College Democrats that the committee would not be able to provide a grant due to the grant guidelines, which state that “organizations allotted grant money through SGA may not use those funds to provide:  financial support for political programs, parties, individual political candidates or direct lobbying efforts.”

James Schubert, the SGA representative for College Democrats, wrote the application for the grant.  He said he disagrees with the decision.
“When the budget proposal went in, it was supposed to be to educate people on what it meant to be democratic and to reshape the perception that a lot of students have here,” Schubert said.

He said that the event was about “no candidate, just government in general.”

However, Lexi Gehring, the co-chair for the grants committee, said that the denial stemmed from the items College Democrats listed as requiring grant money.

“We looked at ‘political awareness movies’ [as one of the items listed], and it doesn’t sound [on paper] like it’s political party-oriented, but when they were talking, they described democratic or liberal-type movies,” Gehring said.

Gehring said the same method of judgment was applied for the other items:  food for political awareness forums “where they would invite democratic candidates,” subsidized T-shirts that said, “What is a Democrat?” and money for advertising and information for “What is a Democrat?” events, which is “clearly a political party.”

SGA cannot support just one party, Gehring said.

“In the email we sent them, we said if they would co-host something with College Republicans and Students for Liberty and they had these forums or movies that they all put on as a series together, we could give them money then,” she said.

This is what College Democrats planned to do, Schubert said.

“It [the event] would have been in conjunction with College Republicans,” he said, “a bipartisan effort with a couple different forum-type things to try to get students engaged in the larger political arena.

“It was designed to be bipartisan to educate people on what it means to be one party or the other and to get them to see the significance of being involved politically in their government.”

However, Gehring said that an offer to work with College Republicans would not be enough.

“It can’t just be inviting College Republicans,” she said. “It has to be co-sponsored.”

Chase Smith, the president of College Republicans, said that political organizations’ events do not directly support political candidates.

“Our policy, and I’m sure  (College Democrats) have a similar policy, is not to endorse individual candidates,” he said. “When we do political events, we try to make them bipartisan; ‘Get out the Vote’ is a big thing for us.”

Dan Schramm, the SGA vice president of finance, said the rule exists so that SGA is not sponsoring any political agenda and can remain neutral.

College Democrats is not the only organization to face problems with grants.

Smith said College Republicans has avoided problems by avoiding the grants process.

“To my knowledge, honestly, I can’t tell you the last time we applied for a grant,” he said. “Political organizations are typically not favored when grants are given out.”

Schubert said his organization’s inability to receive grants is an obstacle.

“Even if we don’t back a candidate, which we weren’t planning on doing with any of the funds, to still be denied that kind of limits what we can do as a club,” he said. “[College Democrats] hasn’t been as active on campus as they would like to be, partly because of the funding restrictions.”

Students for Liberty struggles with financial needs as well. It has never applied for a grant.

“We were aware of the fact that it would be hard to get a grant since we started,” current member Josh Ackermann said. “It’s been a struggle to raise money. It is hard to move forward without any sort of budget.”

Gehring said that the grants committee has approved grants for bipartisan events hosted by these political organizations in the past.

“One or two years ago, we did give one out for a debate between a Republican and a Democratic candidate,” she said.

Ackermann said that he would “definitely be open to talking to the other groups’ presidents or vice presidents” about encouraging SGA to reconsider its policy.

Even when political organizations cannot receive grants, Schramm said they still have a voice in SGA.

“They can still vote at assembly and speak up at assembly,” he said.

Butler University’s Student Government Association is hoping to increase student interest and voter turnout for the presidential and class officer elections on Feb. 27.

Allie Combs, the public relations representative for the SGA Election Oversight Committee, said that SGA is turning to technology for this election.

“(SGA members) usually do a ‘Rock the Vote’ campaign,” she said, “but it was causing confusion. People thought you could only vote that way and that you couldn’t vote online, so we’re not doing that this year.”

Instead, voting will take place completely online and will be promoted through social media.

Combs also said a debate and a Starbucks forum will be held for students to learn more about candidates.

The candidates will not have to face an incumbent, since current SGA President Al Carroll said in an email to The Collegian that he will not be running for reelection this year.

Applications for president and class officers went up Thursday and must be returned tomorrow by 5 p.m. Until that process is complete and applications are verified, an official candidate list cannot be made, Jonathan Himes, SGA vice president of programming, said. However, contenders are emerging.

Mike Keller, a member of the SGA Finance Board, and Kelsa Reynolds, SGA vice president of operations, both said in emails to The Collegian that they will be running for SGA president.

Getting students interested in the election is key to increasing turnout, Dan Schramm, SGA vice president of finance, said. He said that students should care about the elections, particularly the presidential  race.

“The president is the spearhead person of SGA, and most of the programs we do are at least approved by him, if not led by him,” Schramm said.

The money for those programs, such as The Fray concert during the fall semester, comes from the SGA budget, Lauren Pedigo, SGA vice president of public relations, said. This budget is made up of the $288 fee each student pays.

“Students pay an activity fee every year to get programming on campus, and you’re voting for the person who will ultimately be the decider on programming,” Pedigo said.

Money is not the only reason to vote, she said.

“You’re voting for someone who will represent your views,” Pedigo said.

Last year, The Collegian reported in “Al Carroll on winning SGA president, moving forward” that 27 percent of students voted in the presidential election, which was a 6 percent drop from the previous year (Mar. 3, 2011). In addition, The Collegian reported in “SGA presidential candidate debate draws 35 students” that less than 1 percent of the student body—35 students—attended the candidate debate for the 2010 election (Feb. 17, 2010).

Pedigo and Schramm both ideally want 100 percent voter turnout but said they realize that result is nearly impossible.
Schramm said he hopes for 50 percent, and Himes said he aims to double last year’s percentage, which would require hitting 54 percent.

“A good goal would be to improve upon last year,” Pedigo said, “and get more people involved and caring about the election.”

Campaigning begins Monday, and voting will take place on Feb. 27.