Taking a nice, long, steamy shower in the morning before a long day of midterms.

It’s a luxury many Newman stu-dents take for granted – at least until the hot water runs out.

Because of a pilot light outage last week, residents in Fugate Hall had little to no hot water access through the weekend and into this week.

When the water turned cold, many residents’ tempers started to flare,

said Haley Hungate, Fugate resident assistant.

“My residents have been relentless over the past week,” Hungate said. “They’ve been so mad.”

The water became progressively colder, starting around March 4. By last weekend, “it was freezing,” she said.

She said a pilot light had gone out, and a new circulator pump was also required to repair the problem completely. It took about a week to get the pump part in.

Residents said they tried to cir-

cumvent the frigid showering situa-tion in a number of ways. Some went to local YMCAs in the morning to shower. Some went to other resi-dence halls on campus to shower at a friend’s pad. Others went to friends’ houses across town to shower.

And then some took the polar plunge.

“It was bad, especially last week, when it was still kind of cold out-side,” third-floor resident Mary O’Neal said. “You’ve got the heat on in your apartment and you go to

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 VOL. 66, ISSUE 6

VantagetheSTUDENT VOICE OF NEWMAN UNIVERSITYsince 1968

Students feel the freeze in Fugate waterBy MATT RIEDLStaff Writer

Newman tuition up 4.75% for up-coming yearBy MATT RIEDLStaff Writer

RESIDENTS OF FUGATE HALL had to either take cold showers for several days or find hot water elsewhere because of a pilot light outage. Hank Griggs, Photo Editor.

WWW.NEWMANVANTAGE.COM

Tuition at Newman University will increase 4.75 percent for the 2015-16 academic year, Vice President for Finance and Administration Jennifer Gantz said Friday.

The increase, which was approved by Newman’s Board of Trustees on Feb. 20, came “from a recommenda-tion from the Cabinet,” Gantz said.

The Cabinet includes high-ranking administrators, such as President Noreen Carrocci, Provost Michael Austin, Vice President for Enroll-ment Management Mark Barrett, and Gantz.

“We look at a lot of things,” Gantz said. “We look at how we’re building our budget for next year and the kind of increase in expenses that we’re anticipating we’ll have.”

The university will not increase student fees next year. The cost of on-campus housing will increase by 5 percent, and board will increase 3 percent.

With the 4.75 percent increase, full tuition for the 2015-16 school year will be $24,920.

Barrett did not respond to an e-mail from The Vantage seeking comment about any possible changes in scholarships the increase may bring about.

An automated response from Bar-rett read, “I will be out of the office without access to email from Feb. 28 through March 7, 2015. I will respond to your message when I return to the office the week of March 9.”

Gantz said the increase in board is to compensate for a likely increase in the price of food from Great Western Dining Company, the company con-tracted by the university to provide meals in Mabee Dining Center. The increase “pretty much just passes along the increase they pass on to us,” Gantz said.

“We’re not really getting a lot more money from that. We’re just trying to

See “Tuition” on Page 2 See “Water” on Page 2

Changes for NSP courses consideredBy JOHN DENNYEditor-in-Chief

The Newman Studies Program has been a source of contention between faculty and students since its intro-duction in the fall of 2011. But chang-es to the program’s core are in the works that will address many student and faculty concerns, said David Shu-bert, dean of undergraduate studies.

Current NSP core requirements include four special upper level

courses from the NSP category in the course catalog. These courses are writing intensive and are meant to push students out of their major, which has been the major complaint against them. The changes that are in the works now are a direct response to student and instructor concerns, Shubert said.

The major change is that students will be able to embed at least one course from their major that will

count as one of the four upper level NSP courses required for students. Nursing and education majors will be able to embed up to two courses.

“They have a larger number of hours required by their accrediting bodies,” Shubert said. For regular courses to count for NSP credit, they must be nominated by instructors and approved by the NSP commit-

SPRING CHILLSee “NSP” on Page 2

News BriefsTHURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 NEWS 2

take a shower, and it’s freezing. It’s a very disappointing thing. I pay good money to Newman. I should be able to have hot water.”

First-floor resident Brandi Boese said she didn’t even notice the hot water was gone. She had already given up hot showers for Lent, she said.

“It’s definitely not easy,” she said,

of her Lenten sacrifice. It involves “a lot of hopping in and out of the wa-ter,” she said.

Hungate stayed at her father’s house over the weekend to have ac-cess to hot water, she said.

The circulator pump was expected to be installed on Tuesday, she said.

Throughout the situation, Hungate said she did not notice an increase in smelliness in Fugate Hall whatsoever.

“We also have about 75 percent

girls,” she said. “Even if there was body odor, they’d probably cover it up with perfume, to be completely honest.”

Director of Residence Life Lucas Mullin said he became aware of the issue on Monday, when Facilities was working to repair the problem. He said he has “not had one student come to me with a concern.”

From “Tuition” on Page 1

Art Day of Giv-ing auditions

Auditions for the New-man Variety Show will be held 3-5 p.m. on March 25 and 26 in the De Mattias Performance Hall.

Students who can act, sing, dance, or tell jokes are invited to participate in the event, which is part of the Art Day of Giving.

Farewell recep-tion for Sister JoAnn Mark

Newman will hold a farewell reception for Sis-ter JoAnn Mark from 2 to 4 p.m. today in the Herit-age Room across from the chapel.

Sister JoAnn resigned to take a job in New York.

compensate for what they’re going to give us, and we don’t actually know. It usually ranges between 2 and 3 per-cent, but with the cost of food going up, it could be higher than that.

“They don’t set their prices until after we have to set ours, so we have to make an estimated guess of what we think they’re going to do and hope that we didn’t set it too low.”

Gantz said overall, the cost of at-

tending Newman still falls below the average at other member schools of the Kansas Independent College As-sociation.

“The national average for four-year not-for-profits went up 7 percent,” she said. “We’re trending below even our KICA schools and we’re trying to keep it as affordable as we can.”

In other financial news, the univer-sity was able to refinance its long-term bond recently, essentially saving Newman $830,000. That amount will

not be realized until the end of the bond – in another 10 years or so – but Gantz said it was a good long-term investment.

“It’s similar to when you refinance your house except quite a bit differ-ent,” she said. “Since interest rates are so low, I thought I’d bring it to the Board, and it was kind of a no brainer. Everybody said, ‘Yeah, we need to do that.’ When the rates fall, you want to refinance them.”

Newman Prayer Break-fast

Newman will host its annual Prayer Breakfast from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. March 26 in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center.

The event is free and a breakfast buffet is pro-vided.

Attendees are asked to RSVP by March 20 at

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-prayer-break-fast-at-newman-university-tickets-15903026380

From “Water” on Page 1

tee, Shubert said. They must meet the same four requirements as normal NSP courses. They must promote ac-tive learning, critical thinking, interd-isplinarity and connectivity. Shubert said one example would be biochem-istry because it covers two disciplines.

“I don’t care if people leave here knowing about zombies, but I do care that students see how different disciplines interact and use different approaches,” he said.

Other changes to the program in-clude website updates that will allow students to view a course list, upcom-ing course schedules, and a list of NSP committee members. A proposed change will alter elections for the NSP committee to allow for a broader rep-resentation from school divisions; and possible proposals may even create NSP courses that lower level students can take.

“We are firmly committed to the value of the program, but we want to make it more accessible to students,” Provost Michael Austin said.

From “NSP” on Page 1

NSP WEBSITE that is currently under development and will likely be ready for student use by the end of the year. Courtesy of Newman University.

Spring Break begins Monday!See you in a week!

For a modest fee, Kansas drivers will soon be able to sport the Newman University logo on their cars, said Sa-rah Cundiff, director of alumni rela-tions.

The “distinctive license plates” are expected to cost a one-time $45 fee, and then another $35 every year, which will be donated back to New-man’s alumni associa-tion, Cundiff said.

Nine universities in Kansas currently have custom license plates – from large D-1 schools like Wichita State and Kansas State, to NAIA schools like Benedic-tine College and Baker University.

The proposal “has been been sitting on the Alumni Board’s desk” for a few years now, she said.

Recently two alumni – Archie Ma-cias, who serves as the vice-chair of Newman’s Board of Trustees, and his brother Rick – told Cundiff to proceed with the plate plans after seeing Ben-edictine plates around town.

Benedictine has an enrollment of

about 2,100. Newman’s enrollment is around 2,800.

“It’s a very small donation for our alumni, and our alumni percentage for giving is very, very low,” Cundiff said. “We’ve got to find ways to increase alumni donor participation and this is one.”

Friends University has similar plates available supporting its alumni association.

Before the plates can be available, N e w -m a n has a few ob-s tac les to over-come – namely, it must compile a list

of 500 people agreeing to purchase the plate before production will com-mence.

Cundiff said she is currently work-ing with Director of University Rela-tions Clark Schafer to spread the word about the plates to alumni through articles in the Newman University magazine, through social media, and through Newman’s weekly e-mail newsletters.

The plates could be available as soon as January, she said.

According to Kansas state law, the state’s director of vehicles may cease production of a university’s plates if fewer than 500 plates, including an-nual renewals, are issued by the end of the second year of sales, or if fewer than 250 plates, including annual re-newals, are issued during any subse-quent two-year period.

Cundiff said prior to this, she would give graduating seniors a free “Newman alumni” window decal for their cars at graduation. The plates, she said, are another way for alumni, or anyone associated with Newman, to display their educational affiliation.

“Anyone who has an affinity for Newman can order the tags – you don’t have to be an alumni,” Cundiff said. “We really want our alumni to be proud of their alma mater and to take that forward into our community.”

Applicants must be a Kansas resi-dent that owns a vehicle in-state.

The numbers on the license plate will not be customizable, Cundiff said. “You get what you get.”

For more information on order-ing the Newman license plate, e-mail Cundiff at cundiffs@newmanu.edu.

a&eTHURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

3

GR8 NU PL8Z

NU license plates could be available in 2016By MATT RIEDL Staff Writer

Have you ever been walking down the halls of Sacred Heart and heard a jangling of keys… and they aren’t yours? Odds are, you aren’t alone, even if you’re physically alone.

Newman University is allegedly home to a handful of ghosts, each with their own individual story be-hind them. Students had an opportu-nity to learn more about these spirits in a recent Res-Life event put on by New Hall RA, Brandon Gollhofer, who first heard about the stories from his residents.

“I had no idea what to expect as I hadn’t really heard of any stories to the event,” said Gollhofer. “We had always made jokes about certain buildings being haunted – turns out they are!”

The stories were told by New-man’s resident ghost expert, Rose-mary Niedens, the associate V.P. of academic services and student de-velopment. Niedens said, there have been reports of ghosts in McNeill, Sacred Heart, De Mattias, and Fugate Halls.

“In all the ghost stories, which some I believe and some I don’t, no one has ever been hurt or injured,” said Niedens. “We don’t have fright-ening ghosts. I personally believe that it is the spirit of the sisters that live on in the institution.”

One of the spirits is believed to be Sr. Beata Netemeyer, who is alleg-edly still watching over the school. Newman lore holds that Sr. Nete-meyer moved to the third floor of Sacred Heart after her original home, the first Beata Hall, was demolished in 1988. Some students say it’s com-forting to know they aren’t alone.

“Learning about the stories kind of fills me with a sense of security weirdly enough,” said senior Haley Hungate, who attended the event.

“The sisters who may or may not still be here on campus, I feel, are looking out for their university and for all the students under its roof.”

So, the next time you have a feel-ing that you are being watched, keep in mind that there is a good possibil-ity that is the case. Just keep in mind, you are in safe hands.

Students learn about NU ghosts

LOGO DESIGN for Newman’s specialty license plates, which could be available as soon as January. Courtesy of Newman University.

“We really want our alumni to be proud of their alma mater and to take that forward into our com-munity.”

SARAH CUNDIFF

By WESLEY WILLIAMSStaff Writer

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 A&E 4

“ Question of the Week

Junior Carlson

If you were a sandwich, what kind would you be?

“A meatball sub. It’s my favorite sandwich. And besides, you are what you eat.”

Mark Sophomore

Messenger

“A fancy tea sandwich because I like to think I’m fancy. But I’m prob-ably not.”

KatyJunior

Kilburn

“A peanut butter and pickle sandwich because I’m weird. You should try one sometime.”Kelsey

“Peanut butter and jelly but I don’t know why; probably because I eat it so much.”

“Peanut butter and banana because I get protein from the pea-nut butter, potassium from the banana and it’s not too crunchy ”

JuniorEmilie

Director of Theatre MannetteMark

“I would be a peanut butter and jelly with strawberry jelly be-cause I hate grape.”

LaurenJunior

Leivian Gardner

The Newman university campus will be abuzz with activity around 7 p.m. on March 27 because Chris-tian rock bank Rush of Fools will be putting on a free outdoor concert for the campus and community.

Rush of Fools, from Birmingham, Ala., started as a band in 2005 and is most known for its hit song “Undo.” The band released its first album, “Rush of Fools,” in 2007 and has been touring since then.

The opening band for the show, local Christian band Aviator Worship, was chosen by an online poll on the Newman University Facebook page.

The stage will be set up in the plaza area outside of De Mattias to have enough space for all attendees, Director of University Relations Clark Schafer said.

“We’re expecting anywhere from

500 to 1,500 people,” Schafer said. “Depending on weather, that number may raise. We’re hoping for nice weather to bring a good turnout.”

The radio network House FM, a Kansas and Oklahoma Christian sta-tion, will be on campus the day of the concert holding various promotional events leading up to the performance.

There will also be an opportunity for Newman students to meet the band members before the show, at the ‘BBQ with the Band’, which will be at 5:30 p.m. in the atrium area of De Mattias. The food and drinks at the BBQ will be free to all Newman students.

There will also be four food trucks available on campus during the event for the general public. The concert will be open to the public, Crouch said, so students are encouraged to invite family and friends.

“We really want to get people on campus and bring some new faces out

to see what’s going on at Newman,” Schafer said. “And we also want it to be an event for the students to enjoy and have some fun at.”

Talk of the concert has started to spread around campus and many students are looking forward to it.

Freshman FCA Co-President Sarah Peterson said they are so excited for

the concert because it’ll be a great way to worship and grow in my faith. “FCA will be coming out to take part in the fellowship and have fun listen-ing to some live music,” she said.

The opening band will take the stage at 7 p.m. and Rush of Fools will come on around 8 p.m.

Christian rock band to perform on Newman campusBy DELANEY HIEGERTSports Editor

RUSH OF FOOLS will perform on Newman campus on March 27.

Every other week, Jacob will serve up a new tech tip to try to supercharge your college experience, or even get you

ready to deal with computers in the work force!

sportsTHURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

5

MEN’S TENNIS (9-4) WOMEN’S TENNIS (11-0)

Newman vs. McPherson CollegeW 7-2

Newman vs. Northwest Missouri State L 3-6

Newman vs. Missouri - St. LouisW 5-4

Newman vs. Arkansas - Fort SmithW 6-3

Newman vs. HardingW 6-3

Newman vs. McPherson CollegeW 9-0

Newman vs. Missouri - St. LouisW 8-1

Newman vs. Arkansas - Fort SmithW 5-4

Newman vs. Central OklahomaW 9-0

Newman vs. WashburnW 7-1

newmanjets.com

scoreboard

the ability and chance to play the sport he loves.

Hamersky said he has high hopes for his future in soccer.

“After I graduate I plan to continue my dream of playing soccer and see where it takes me,” Hamersky said. “My father, Steve Hamerksy (the li-brarian at NU) told me when I was younger that I had to get a degree be-fore he would let me go try out around the world for semi-professional/pro-fessional soccer teams.”

In the B52’s next indoor season, Hamersky said he hopes he’s proved himself enough to not need to try out and just retain his current spot.

By MEI-MEI SENTHAVYStaff Writer

Every athlete dreams of making it to the next level and playing under the bright lights of the biggest stage in sports – the professional leagues. One of Newman’s own athletes has been able to make this dream a reality.

Senior Steven Hamersky, former goalkeeper for the Newman men’s soccer team, majoring in sports com-munications, made his first appear-ance in a professional game on Feb. 21 as the goalkeeper for Wichita’s Profes-sional indoor soccer team the Wichita B-52s.

Hamerksy is the second current college student to ever play in a B52 game. Jason Dewey, a Newman alum who graduated in 2013, was the first and was also goalkeeper.

The day of Hamersky’s first profes-sional game, he said he had a hunch he would be getting time on the field that night.

“The B52 coach Kim Rontved likes to announce the starters right before the game, so everyone has to be men-tally prepared just in case they are se-lected,” Hamersky said. “So I knew I had to be ready.”

Hamersky’s first game chalked up a win for the B52’s, 12-6 against the Tulsa Revolution, and wrapped up the team’s season.

Playing at the professional level at such a young age may make an athlete nervous, but not Hamersky.

“I didn’t feel any different, I wasn’t nervous or anything,” he said. “I was constantly reminding myself until game day that all this game would be is practice except with 3,000 fans watching.”

Normally, Hamersky is used to having a smaller crowd at Newman watching him play in his college games, but it was a whole new experi-ence playing at Hartman arena in front of all the Wichita B52 fans. Hamersky said it was a big change going from maybe 30 parents and student athletes

at his games here at Newman to about 3,000 the night he made his debut. The crowd size wasn’t the only thing that was different, Hamersky said, but the game itself was too.

“Indoor is completely different than outdoor,” Hamersky said. “Es-pecially with goalkeeping. It’s a com-pletely different mindset in that posi-tion, too.”

Newman soccer fans know that Hamersky hits the crossbar and posts before each game. Hamersky said the meaning behind this crossbar, center ground, left post, right post ritual, fol-lowed by the sign-of-the-cross, is his way of thanking God for giving him

Newman soccer player makes it to the big leagues

SENIOR STEVEN HAMERSKY dives to deflect a shot on the goal during a game this season. Hank Griggs, Photo Editor

BASEBALL (5-9) SOFTBALL (3-18)

Newman vs. Southern NazareneW 7-0, L 1-3

Newman vs. Lubbock ChristianL 2-6, L 8-15, L 0-10

Newman vs. Cameron L 3-9, L 4-12

Newman vs. Texas A&M Interna-tional L 4-12, L 4-5, L 2-8

Newman vs. West Texas A&ML 3-9, L 4-5

Newman vs. Lubbock ChristianL 11-13, L 1-8, L 3-14

Newman vs. Emporia StateL 11-16

Newman vs. Wayne StateL 3-5, W 14-3, W 8-0, L 1-4

Newman vs. Texas A&M KingsvilleL 7-8, W 7-5, L 8-9

Newman vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State W 5-3, W 9-2

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 SPORTS 6

By MATT RIEDLStaff Writer

The Newman women’s tennis team made history Feb. 27 by claiming a spot in the national rankings with its win over No. 50 Arkansas – Fort Smith.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Asso-ciation announced that the women’s team comes in at No. 46 in the nation after this win. The Lady Jets are 11-0 on the season cur-rently, beat-ing other stiff c o m p l e t i o n aside from UA Fort Smith.

As the season continues, head coach Shella Augspurger said she has confidence that her team will do great things. She feels that the season still has some big challenges ahead but that her team is prepared.

“We have some really tough highly ranked teams left to play,” Augspurg-er said. “We are ready to take the chal-lenge. However it is up to the girls and how hard they are willing to work.”

Augspurger said she thinks that they are in the best position to take on the challenge and has the confidence in her players to beat the teams or give them a run for the money.

Junior Ariana Raga said she thinks the teams’ effort is what has gotten them this far.

“Our success so far this season has come from our hard work and dedication,” Raga said. “It seems to be paying off.”

They have set a goal to make it to the Heartland con-ference tournament and win, but they have some chal-

lenging matches left still. Junior Kate Bugayenko said she be-

lieves that their toughest match will be against St. Mary’s, an away match on April 10.

“The St. Mary’s match is only a month away,” Bugayenko said. “We’re putting in a lot of work to get a win out of that match and to keep moving towards the goals the team has set.”

By ALY JARMANGuest Writer

SENIOR HILLARY HICKS and Junior Kate Bugayenko laugh together after a match this season. Hank Griggs, Photo Editor

Women’s tennis lands spot in national rankingsNo. 46 Lady Jets make school history with first ever national rank

Half-completed improvements to Newman’s softball facilities will re-main half-completed for the rest of the season, Athletic Director Vic Trilli said.

An extension to the dugout area that would serve primarily as an equipment storage facility and a small coaches’ office will not have a roof for the rest of the season.

Trilli said the weather was one of the main reasons the improvements could not be finished.

“I can’t even get anybody to say we’re going to do anything anywhere with the weather, let alone play games or build a roof on top of that build-ing you’ve got out there,” Trilli said. “We’re going to wait until the season’s over.”

Senior pitcher Kelsey Jones said most team members are “just kind of bummed,” but they “are not that sad or angry” about it.

“It’s a gift that we got it – it’s not something we were owed,” Jones said. “It’s a blessing that it even got start-ed. Before this, we didn’t have any-thing at all. All we had was a dugout and a small little storage place next to the dugout, so anything’s better than nothing.”

As a senior, she said it is disappoint-ing that she will not be able to see any of the upgrades as a player; however, she does plan on coming back to visit the team and tour the facilities.

“The softball team is getting up-grades, and it’s been a long time that we’ve had very little,” she said. “It’s nice to see a change for the better.”

The improvements to the softball facilities were part of a long-term plan, Trilli said. That plan begun with the re-sodding of the softball field and the installation of a sprinkler system a few years ago. Within the past few weeks, crews constructed a new fence around the back of the field as well.

The additions to softball would in-clude the storage area, coaches’ office, and buildings to enclose the Port-a-Potty units out by the softball fields.

Currently, players store equipment in the maintenance shed, and some even change into practice gear in the handicap-accessible Port-a-Potty, Trilli said.

“Those Port-a-Potties just drive me nuts, to have them out there where everyone can see them,” he said. “My idea is out of sight, out of mind.”

Since both teams are currently in season, Trilli said he will not get

enough time when the fields are not being used to complete the improve-ments.

The press boxes at both facilities are slated to get an upgrade, including the installation of insulation and sheet rock.

Trilli acknowledged the fence at McCarthy Baseball Field is in need of repair; however, “if I tear it down, I’ve got to put it back up,” he said.

“It’s not going to be fast enough for anybody, but it’s better than what we’ve been doing before, which is ba-sically nothing,” he said. “In my opin-ion, we’ve got to do a better job at hav-ing facilities for them.”

Trilli said he “struggles” with out-door sports, because there are typical-ly more athletes per team than there are on indoor athletic teams.

He said he has been working on the baseball and softball improvements since his second year at Newman. He is now in his seventh year as New-man’s athletic director.

“Facilities help you get better –they’re not the answer,” he said. “In my opinion, the most important thing you can have is the coach, not the fa-cilities. They all help you recruit, give you a place to get out of weather, but

you tell me why the University of Tex-as basketball program is struggling now. There is nothing they could use – they have everything. It’s the coach.”

Another obstacle to completing these sorts of improvement projects is the required capital to fund them, Trilli said.

“If somebody walked in here and said, ‘Here’s $10 million,’ I’d fix a lot of things in a hurry,” he said. “That ain’t going to happen, so I have to do little by little.”

Trilli stressed that this phase of im-provements should be completed by next season.

“It’ll all be done – I might not be around when it gets done,” he said. “I don’t know how long I’m going to continue to do this. I’d like to be able to do it another three to five if the boss lady would keep me.”

Jones, the senior pitcher, said it is bittersweet to see her Newman career come to an end this spring.

“It’s been an experience – a good experience for the most part,” she said. “There’s always your ups and downs. All the team records for the past few years have not been so good, but I have put everything I’ve got out there. There’s not much else you can do.”

Softball, baseball facilities’ improvements on hold

“Our success this season has come from our hard work and dedication. It seems to be paying off.”

ARIANA RAGA

If you have a day where the teach-er doesn’t show up for class and you don’t have to either, you call that a “can-celled class.” You might also call it “heavenly.”

What do you call it when all your classes are can-celled?

A snow day.Spring is here,

but I’m upset that the ever-unpredict-able Kansas weath-er failed to give us a snow day before the weather warmed up.

The joys of running around an empty campus: non-existent. Snow fights on the quad did not happen. Snowmen were not built, homework was not worked on, Netflix was sadly ignored, and I couldn’t celebrate the anniversary of the memorable snow-pocalypse that happened two years ago.

There’s not much I can do about the weather, but I’ve come to the conclu-sion Newman should use at least one unused snow day this year to give stu-dents, faculty, and staff an extra day off later in the year.

Some might argue that every day of the semester is absolutely neces-sary to teach all the content in New-man courses, but I would like to point out that we survived the last two years – which both had lengthy periods of snow days – just fine. Do we really need to use every single day of the se-mester?

Others might argue that students will not get their money’s worth of education if a day is arbitrarily estab-lished as a day off. I also value my ed-ucation and the money that goes into it, but I think we all have days where we would pay money to take a day off just to work on homework, run er-rands, and relax.

The benefits of such a situation are easy to list. Students would have the chance to relax, work on homework, or hang out with each other as they desired. Teachers would have an extra

Volunteering has always been a part of my life. My family raised me to help others, and to know that I can make a difference in the lives of those I meet through kind gestures, smiles and having a positive presence. Words my mother taught me to live by: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love” were reinforced in my ASC class, where I learned that even the simplest acts of kindness are impor-tant.

I went through lots of decision processes of what my capstone project would be and how I could incorporate it into my life. Rosemary Niedens who provides oversight to the ASC service scholars guided me in the direction of finding an organization that would fit my life-style and my interests. Since I’m an art minor, one of the ideas Rosemary suggested was to volunteer in the art department at Envision, helping chil-

dren and young adults who have low vision or are blind.

Art therapy was something that I had come to know well. When in grade school, I struggled with processing information as fast as my classmates and was often sent to the learning center because I could not keep up in class. While I was there, I learned how to express myself through art.

Before I even arrived at Envision, I knew I would love the idea of helping with art therapy because of my own experience.

It was the perfect fit because of my love for art and my patience with children because of my large family. I looked forward to Tuesdays with my group of Envision students and it didn’t feel like I was volunteering – just my weekly arts and crafts time with my pre-teen friends.

It was such a good experience I wanted others to have the opportunity to join me in the art therapy room. On Feb. 24, I took a group of students and alumni to help, and I came up with the idea to do food art with them. The kids loved it. It was a fun and deli

opinionTHURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

7

So, I went outside recently and it was kind of awesome. As a child my parents were always yelling at me to “Get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!” and I would reply with a whiney, “There’s nothing to do out-side!” and go back to whatever adoles-cent T.V. show I was watching – prob-ably “Zoey 101.” Only now at the cusp of my 21st year have I discovered how wrong I was – about the nature thing not “Zoey 101.”

By now every-one reading this has surely realized the weather is un-reasonably won-derful and will be for another week or so. I admit I was skeptical first about the warm weather and I wore both a sweater and a jack-et on Monday just in case it was one of Mother Nature’s tricks.

A lifetime of Wichita weather has made me distrusting, and I fully ex-pected the weather to go from mild and warm to horrible-torrential-ice-wind-tornado-storm by the time my 1 p.m. class got out. To my surprise it stayed temperate, and I had to remove my protective layers because things were getting sweaty.

Now that I was sure that the weath-er wasn’t going to trick me into letting my guard down just to stab me with an icicle I decided to get outside and roll around in the nature. I laid on the grass for about 15 minutes, and just… laid there. I got up completely ener-gized. I felt better after that 15 minutes than I’ve ever felt after a 45 minute nap, and that was when I realized the true value of nature: the sun.

It apparently has some sort of pow-er that I don’t truly understand, but that once harnessed, could change the way we all live. I am going to run some more experiments on myself, varying the intensity of sunlight and amount of clothing I am wearing. So, if you see me sitting on the grass in jean shorts rolled up to a dangerous height just know that it is for science and don’t interfere. Now go outside and soak up some of that “sun juice.”

So... how ‘bout this weather?

John Denny

I’m gonna soak up the sun!

Rachel Myers

Art therapy? More like smart therapy!

Capstone a valuable experience

LENDING A HAND

Courtesy of Rachel Myers

No snow days is snow good

See “Snow day,” on Page 8

Jessica Sponsel

This is a rip off!

See “Capstone,” on Page 8

on the weatherThursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Mostly Sunny

Low:72° 43°

Partly Cloudy

High: Low:71° 42° High: Low:64° 37°

Sunny

High: Low:69° 41°

Sunny

High: Low:76° High: Low: 38°

Mostly Sunny

High: Low: 38°

forecasts from the weather.com

Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny

High:

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 OPINION 8

Published every Thursday, except during University breaks and the summer session. De Mattias Hall, Room 266 3100 McCormick Ave., Wichita, KS 67213.

About this paper — The Vantage is a weekly stu-dent produced newspaper serving Newman University and the surrounding community. The content of the opinions page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Newman University, nor the opinions of the entire paper staff. The views expressed by columnists are their own.

Advertising matter — Except as clearly implied by the advertising party or otherwise specifically stated, advertisements in The Vantage are inserted by com-mercial activities or ventures identified in the adver-tisements themselves and not by Newman University or The Vantage. Advertising material printed herein is solely for informational purposes. Such printing is not to be construed as a written and implied sponsor-ship, endorsement or investigation of such commer-cial enterprises or ventures. Complaints concerning advertisements in The Vantage should be directed to the Business Manager, De Mattias Hall 266, 3100 McCormick, Wichita, KS 67213 or e-mailed to vantage.nu@gmail.com.

Letters to the Editor Policy

Letters to the editor are welcomed on any topic relating to Newman or the contents of The Vantage. Letters should be between 75 and 250 words in length and must include the writer’s name, year or position, major or department, student identification number, contact phone number and e-mail address. Letters are subject to editing for space and clarity. Nameless letters will not be printed.

Send letters to:

Opinions Editor, The VantageDeMattias 266, 3100 McCormickWichita, KS 67213or e-mail: vantage.nu@gmail.com

John DennyEditor-in-Chief

Jessica SponselNews Editor

Kati BushA&E Editor

Delaney Hiegert Sports Editor

Hank GriggsPhoto Editor

Joe McCormickOnline Editor

Denise NeilAdviser

Tre’ BlountStaff Writer

Erica CarterStaff Writer

Ellen Healy

Staff Writer

Rachel MyersStaff Writer

Matt RiedlStaff Writer

CL SmetStaff Writer

Courtney SartinStaff Writer

Darius WallerStaff Writer

Wesley WilliamsStaff Writer Mark FosterCartoonist

Justin RalphAdvertising

Vantagethe

43° 63° 63°

First copy free, all extra copies 50¢

Get connected with The Vantage!

Like “The Vantage” on Facebook to submit your opinions! Be on the look-out for contests and prizes!

Follow “@VantageNU” on Twitter for the latest updates on campus life and breaking news.

Forget power-walking, unicycling, carpooling, flying, or teleporting onto campus for the latest news. Visit thevantage.net for weekly online exclusive content.

Interested in joining The Vantage?

Do you have what it takes?

Email vantage.nu@gmail.com for more information on how to be-come one of our writers, photog-raphers, editorial cartoonists, or donut delivery personnel today!

From “Capstone,” on Page 7

day to do the same (minus the homework); staff members could also spend the day as they chose.

Everyone could come back to cam-pus refreshed and ready to get back to work. We could have all these benefits without the hassle of dealing with real bad weather.

Let’s make it a date. How about mid-April?

The Vantage will print your opinion!

Send a letter to the editors at

vantage.nu@gmail.com.

From “Snow day,” on Page 7

Spring is now here, guysSo play frisbee on the quad

Tuition went up

THE HAIKU ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

cious mess. I was so proud to watch the group

of students I brought with me interact with my new pre-teen friends, and I was amazed at the beauty these kids find in everyday life and their positive mentality.

A typical Tuesday consisted of helping the young students getting supplies, though many are very in-

dependent. My job was not to correct their artwork just to encourage and be there to assist with supplies if need-ed. I found that this came natural to me because of my approach when it comes to art.

Art should be fun and your own in-terpretation and expression. I strongly encourage more people to volunteer at Envision and volunteer in general, even if you are not an ASC scholar. It helps you learn about yourself through

personal growth while strengthen-ing your community. Throughout my time at Newman University I have been able to explore, grow, and chal-lenge myself to find the person I am today.

Volunteering has allowed me to grow a deeper sense of empathy for others. You hear the cliché “you can make a difference in the lives of the people you help” but at Envision I found that I really did.