Bullet Fed Up with Internet Outages
November 11, 2009
On Monday morning students on campus and in the surrounding area experienced Internet outages…again. Apogee confirmed via e-mail that the outage lasted from around 7:28 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and was caused by a fiber cut, though the location of the cut was not determined.
This is just another thread in the constant Internet problems that students have encountered here at UMW. About a month ago the Internet went down on a Wednesday night for about an hour, bringing the Bullet production to a halt as we all waited for access back to our final source of fact checking and our website.
Twice a year, when it is time to sign up for classes online through Eaglelink for the following semester, there are constant Internet problems as the site can’t handle the massive influx of users all at once. Many people are forced to sit and repeatedly click refresh, hoping that they are one of the lucky few who will suddenly gain access to the site. For those who aren’t lucky, they end up having to scour the website for hours on end in the coming weeks, ready to pounce should someone drops a class that they need.
It is understandable to encounter some Internet issues every once in a while, but unfortunately the problems have become much too frequent. Students are much too reliant on the Internet. To get things done, we shouldn’t have to click on Internet Explorer or Firefox and cross our fingers, hoping that it works.
The students are not the only ones who have been hurt by the Internet woes, as professors have had the Internet down during classes and were unable to access PowerPoints they had previously emailed to themselves or they are unable to access online sources.
There has to be a way for Apogee to provide better, more reliable Internet service. The campus is just too dependent on a trustworthy, fast Internet for these issues to continue. If Apogee cannot provide a better service, then maybe it’s time the University switches to a company who can.
November 4, 2009
Paying tuition online with credit cards through EaglePAY, UMW’s online payment system, is convenient. With the click of the mouse, payment is immediately verified and visible on the computer screen. There is no trip to the cashier’s window in Lee Hall between classes or drives back to campus during the treasured breaks between semesters to shell out cash and checks. Completed transactions are instantly visible within the 17-inch screens of our PCs and Macs.
In order to comply with security standards, however, most universities have to partner with third party vendors to give students the option of paying with credit cards, which adds enrollment and convenience fees to already costly tuition costs.
Nelnet Business Services, UMW’s tuition payment plan provider, charges a $40, $60 or $90 enrollment fee per semester or year depending on the date of enrollment and type of payment schedule. For each transaction, students are also charged a 2.5 percent convenience fee, which is paid to the credit card company.
These additional fees are excessive to students who could just pay the cashier directly with cash or check without the added fees.
The idea of a quick and easy payment with credit cards is appealing, but the enrollment and convenience fees make many students think twice about using EaglePAY to charge their tuition.
The minimum wage that students are making manning cash registers and waiting tables between classes isn’t going as far in an economy of rising gas and retail prices. For most students, every dollar they make has its purpose in their budgets, and the extra enrollment and convenience fees drain their bank accounts even more.
At the same time, it is unfair to expect UMW to cover the costs of the convenience fees when it would mean spending over a million dollars a year in payments to credit card companies rather than having the funds go toward university projects.
The number of undergraduates taking advantage of this useful option to pay with plastic is increasing across the nation. According to “How Undergraduate students use credit cards: Sallie Mae’s national study of usage rates and trends, 2009,” out of 1,200 students surveyed, 30 percent paid tuition with their credit card, an increase of 6 percent from the organization’s 2004 study.
Yet only 17 percent of surveyed students said they regularly paid off their credit cards each month. 1 percent said their parents or family members footed the bill for them, leaving 82 percent of people with credit card balances incurring charges each month.
Nelnet is interest free, but if students can’t immediately pay the credit company in full, the credit card company will likely charge high interest rates of its own, increasing student debt even more.
Still, students can potentially gain small rewards through their credit use from companies with spending reward programs. If these students or their families are able to pay tuition debts off in full, they could benefit from the online payment options. But not all credit card companies even offer reward programs for tuition payments.
At UMW, students have the option of paying with American Express, Discover, or MasterCard. VISA, tucked inside the majority of wallets according to creditcard.com statistics, refuses to partner with vendors that charge consumers convenience fees, calling the practice “unfair” in a July USA Today article.
VISA’s decision to answer for all of its consumers when making their policy affects many students who don’t want numerous credit cards weighing down their wallets and prevents them from taking advantage of EaglePAY.
The enrollment charges and convenience fees are irritating, but that doesn’t mean EaglePAY doesn’t have its advantages. It’s certainly convenient to simply log on to Eaglelink to make our payments online rather than finding time to stop by Lee Hall to hand over earnings. If students are willing to pay with credit cards, it’s Nelnet and the credit card companies who need to reassess their role in adding to students’ debts by charging additional fees.
Swine Flu is Not a National Emergency
October 28, 2009
As of this week, swine flu is a national emergency, a move by President Obama that’s more of a formality than anything else, despite the dire-sounding name.
Officially, the declaration gives Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelious the ability to bypass certain federal restrictions, particularly regarding the establishment of off-hospital treatment centers like at schools and tents more than 300 yards away from the hospital building.
Swine flu is a nasty bug that will knock you out for a couple of weeks and certainly it’s no fun to have, but does it really deserve to be a “national emergency,” on the same caliber as natural disasters on the level of Hurricane Katrina?
Let’s look at the facts: Swine Flu is indeed easier to catch than the regular flu, at least for demographics that aren’t usually susceptible to the seasonal flu. Our own campus now has more than 140 suspected cases.
But even according to the World Health Organization, which originally declared H1N1 a pandemic, the disease is only moderate, meaning most people recover just fine and most hospitals are equipped to handle the amount of patients they get.
The scariest thing about H1N1 is the speed at which it spreads, and even that is not necessarily “national emergency” caliber—similar diseases like the Norovivus spread just as quickly, and that hasn’t been made a national emergency.
The point is this: While the powers granted to Sebelius are probably helpful, there are other ways to grant her those powers that don’t cause national panic. Whether the intent was to avoid administrative red tape or warn people of the dangers of the flu, the result will inevitably be panic. The word emergency carries certain connotations with it, and people will pick up on that.
It’s a bad bug, to be sure, and everyone should amp up their basic hygiene to avoid getting sick, but the H1N1 virus is not a national emergency, and labeling it as such causes people to panic unnecessarily. We’ve all got enough to worry about as it is.
UMW Employees Deserve Recognition for Enthusiasm
October 21, 2009
As much as we love to point our grubby, ink-stained fingers at various campus injustices, we here at the Bullet aren’t above showering praise on deserving culprits of goodwill. Unlike faculty who receive feedback via ratemyprofessors.com and administrators who receive feedback via six-figure salaries, other UMW employees often go without recognition of their commendable work. Granted, we don’t have the space to mention every deserving employee here, but there are a few that have stood out to the Bullet.
Greg Render, who has been serving as the Post Office’s Customer Service Associate for almost a year now, is one of the friendliest faces you’re likely to see on Campus Walk. Sporting an easily distinguishable salt-and-pepper five o’clock shadow, Render sorts incoming packages, handles long lines at the Post Office and delivers mail to most of the university, with an enthusiastic affability that’s contagious.
After swiping cards at Seacobeck for eight years, cashier Amber Lashlee has become something of a Mary Washington institution and is more than likely on a first-name basis with at least half of campus. Even after 16 semesters of handling never-ending lunch rushes, Lashlee still makes an effort to get to know students, greeting them with a smile and a refreshingly wry sense of humor.
Doris Jean Barnes, better known among students and fellow employees as “Mama Jean,” is just as much an institution at Seaco, where she’s been whipping up everyone’s favorite home-style pasta for the past three years. However, there’s more to “Mama Jean’s” awesomeness than merely a knack for making mouth-watering meatball rigatoni. As every student in the lengthy line that forms daily at the pasta station could probably tell you, “Mama Jean” really goes the extra mile to interact with students.
Over in the Nest, Cashier Clara Clark has won the affection of many students with a similar enthusiasm. On Friday afternoons last year, Clark was known to ring a bell for no other reason than simply announcing to everyone within audible distance of the Nest that it was, in fact, Friday. A Nest stand-by for the last five years, Clark is one of the most vocally enthusiastic workers on campus, and the savior of many students who, when faced with horrendously long lines at lunch time, have had their wait cut in half by Clark opening up another line.
These outstandingly congenial employees aren’t getting paid any more to give students a smile, much less a few kind words. As we progress through college and our lives become increasingly more selfish and career-driven, there’s an important lesson to be learned here: it doesn’t hurt to smile back.
Campus Safety Walk Shows Problems in Security Despite Blue Light Improvements
October 7, 2009
The administration is making an effort to make our campus safer, even if it is one baby step at a time. The annual Safety Walk, which occurred on Wednesday Sept. 30 led by Judy Hample herself, was an alleged success.
The police department is said to have “passed” this year, which is an obvious improvement from last year’s embarrassing “fail” when the police failed to locate which blue light the Safety Walk participants were near.
However, it still took the police six minutes to get to the site of Hample’s “attack.” On such a small campus, it stands to reason that the reaction could have been much quicker.
Also, one would think that the campus police department would over-prepare for this year’s walk given the incident last year. The safety walks are no secret. They are announced far enough in advance for the police to have their crack team assembled and game plan prepared.
If the six-minute responders were our campus security’s crack team, our university is in more than a little trouble. A student briskly walking to class can make it across campus in ten.
Not to say that our Fredericksburg campus is particularly unsafe, but safety has been on the minds of most students, parents and faculty since the heavily publicized sexual assault that occurred last year in the parking deck.
This semester, there have already been four reported cases of sexual assault or misconduct on campus. The majority of these cases happened within the residence halls however, and not outside on Campus Walk where the blue lights are located.
Even so, the blue lights are supposed to provide a sense of security for students walking the campus alone or just at night. That is why it is imperative that faith in them be restored.
A department that is allotted as much money as our entire athletics department needs to show results. Those results should not only include bright, shiny new golf carts that rival those at the country club.
Security incentives also should not include refusing their well-advertised escort service. There have been several instances reported to the Bullet of students asking for escorts and being either denied, or told they will have to wait as long as 30 minutes alone in the dark.
Really, if the van’s not available, crank up one of those golf carts. Students aren’t picky.
In short, improvement is good. “Pass” is much better than “fail.” But the university should look carefully at what constitutes a “pass” and strive not only to pass but exceed standards.
Polanski Did the Crime and Should Do the Time
September 30, 2009
Since Roman Polanski’s arrest in Zurich on Sunday, people have come out in force to defend a man who raped a 13-year-old girl.
We’ll say that again: people have come out to defend a man who raped a 13-year-old girl.
Polanski, who directed a famous version of “Romeo and Juliet” as well as “Rosemary’s Baby,” even pled guilty to the act in Los Angeles in 1977. Then he fled to Switzerland, where, like most fugitives, he lived a life of luxury as an acclaimed and rich director.
Not only was Polanski able to stay on the lam for 32 years, he kept directing and making money and enjoying acclaim as if he weren’t a convicted sex offender. If he had been a garbage truck driver who tried to flee the country after pleading guilty to drugging and raping a young girl, he’d have been whisked back to serve his sentence almost before the plane landed.
Authorities in France, where Polanski now holds citizenship, said they were shocked that Polanski had been arrested. In an article in the New York Times, the French foreign minister expressed the desire of the French authorities that “…the rights of Mr. Polanski be fully respected and that this affair rapidly find a favorable resolution.”
Yes, his right to remain silent will be respected. His right to be represented by an attorney in a court of law will be respected. His right to a trial by a jury of his peers will be respected. Other than that, he’s on his own. As far as any other rights go, it’s safe to say 32 years of prosperous freedom in France and Switzerland will probably suffice.
The girl Polankski raped, who is now a 40-year-old woman, has said she doesn’t wish any punishment for Mr. Polanski and that she’s over the ordeal.
That’s nice, but does it relieve Mr. Polanski of responsibility for the crime? No. He was convicted of a horrible crime by a plea deal he agreed to. That means he should have gone to jail. If he didn’t like the deal, he should have either stood trial in front of a jury, or, better yet, not raped anyone in the first place.
Just because Roman Polanski can afford a decent lawyer and a plane ticket to Europe doesn’t mean he should get away with rape. That our jails are clogged with poor people doing time for minor drug offenses while a Hollywood director gets away with rape shows an unacceptable double-standard in American justice.
The fact that the case is now more than 30 years old shouldn’t make a difference. The fact remains: Roman Polanski is a rapist who has been on the loose since the seventies, and it’s time he gets put away for good.
Construction Projects Proceed on Time and Will Benefit Students
September 23, 2009
As the pile of dirt in front of Eagle Village gets smaller and smaller, students seem to be more and more excited about all the construction changes on campus.
When construction began on the Eagle Village apartments, we snickered at the idea that the apartments would be done for August 2010 move-in, but it seems that UMW is proving us wrong. Every day, the apartments seem to be growing larger.
What many students do not realize is that the UMW Foundation, an independent non-profit fundraising organization, is overseeing and paying for this project. Students should be happy to hear that their tuition is not paying for these projects. The Foundation is planning to spend $115 million on the first phase of Eagle Village. The Foundation also owns the current apartments on William Street.
It was also nice to return this year to the new deck outside of the Eagle’s Nest and to see that all of these construction projects will pay off for students. With the warm weather still upon us, students have time to enjoy sitting outside. Additionally, more seating and tables were recently added to the deck.
Right now, students need to keep this progress in mind as they make the move from taking classes in Monroe Hall to the trailers. While students are complaining about the scattering of departments and trailer classrooms, they have to remember that these types of construction projects are only improving our campus.
For example, while it was annoying that Lee Hall was closed for two years, the renovations have provided a new upgrade to campus. In renovating Lee Hall, the administration really considered at the needs and wants of students.
Construction, no matter where it happens, causes disturbances. While the construction may seem visually unappealing right now, in the long run, our university will be more appealing for prospective students. All of these projects are just helping create a better atmosphere and catering to student needs.
The Anderson Center is also a much needed improvement. The new location will be able to hold larger sporting events than were possible in Goolrick. This project has been talked about since 1989 so it is exciting to see it finally get started.
So as UMW renovates and upgrades our campus, it is important for students to be understanding and patient when they walk to classes in trailers and are woken up in the morning to the sound of bulldozers.
Public Figures Should Give Public Apologies for Their Indiscretions
September 16, 2009
Apologizing is one of the first things we learn to do as children. When we mess up, we’re told to say we’re sorry and do what we can to rectify the situation.
In recent months, politicians and celebrities alike have forgotten the importance of this particular moral value and have refused to make things right after doing something that is clearly offensive to another public figure.
Republican Rep. Joe Wilson’s interruption of President Obama’s congressional address concerning his health care plan last week was an unceremonious and very public mistake. To tell the president that he is lying when he is mid-speech is a rude and counterproductive gesture.
However, the true problem is not with this incident, as bad as the comment was. The problem is with the congressman’s refusal to apologize publicly for his actions and for his improper conduct as an American political figure.
People can get caught up in the heat of the moment and say things they shouldn’t. We’ve all been there. But according to common practice in our society, when we put our feet in our mouths, we are supposed to take responsibility for our actions and apologize.
Wilson is no exception, and since he is a public figure who made what has become a very public mistake, he should have made a very public apology. A private phone call to the White House does not suffice, nor will it help to remedy the damage he has caused to his political reputation.
There are some public figures who have gotten it right recently. Obama himself worked to fix a mistake he made in berating Sgt. James Crowley for arresting Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. when Gates broke into his own home. Gates was combative from the moment Crowley arrived at his house, prompting Crowley to arrest him.
Obama’s initial comments that Crowley had “acted stupidly” were unfounded, as Obama did not know about the aggressive nature of the confrontation. To make amends, the president invited both Crowley and Gates to the White House for a couple of beers and to talk about the situation.
Wilson would do well to follow this example of reciprocity. Even though they are public figures, they still have the same responsibility to other people and to society that the rest of us do. Perhaps they should take their cues from Obama—or from the core values of human decency that we are taught when we are young.
UMW Begins Year with Improvements
September 9, 2009
Complaining about the administration is a time-honored tradition at UMW, and the Bullet admittedly loves to participate. But none of us would be here if they really never got anything right, and this semester, UMW has had a particularly good start.
Campus looks as beautiful as ever, and the completion of Lee Hall is a relief for anyone tired of looking at an ugly white fence. Both Lee Hall and the Underground have been well received by students and visitors and give the campus more of a “real” university feel while still utilizing UMW’s traditional architecture style. The construction on
Eagle Village has taken off faster than past construction projects, too.
Last year, President Hample declared that encouraging a more diverse student population was one of her main goals. It looks like she’s already delivered, as there was a notable increase in the freshman class’s racial diversity from last year.
Even in the face of difficult news events, UMW has pulled itself together. After the death of junior Preston Hirsten, the Athletics department came together across teams to commemorate the tragedy. President Hample also did a stellar job of informing the campus and honoring Preston in her e-mails to the university population.
The administration has also improved its communication with the university in other areas. Updates regarding the H1N1 virus have been detailed and regularly e-mailed, keeping campus alerted and, hopefully, a little healthier this flu season. Students want and need those types of updates and efforts to communicate as much as possible, and if administrators can keep up, we’ll probably all be happy even when things are going wrong—often students just want to know when and why things are going wrong in the first place.
Diversity, updated buildings, communication and the ability to use your meals whenever you please—it’s hard to criticize any of that. Give us and the rest of the student body time and we’ll probably manage to find plenty to jump on. But as for now, our hat is off to the administration. Keep it up.
Hample, Obama, Brown: UMW’s Year in Review
April 22, 2009
It’s been a remarkable year for Mary Washington, and the Bullet has strived to inform and entertain you through every step of the way.
The end of the 2007-2008 school year marked an end of transition: UMW was starting its second century of existence with its first female university president. That summer, a controversial new wrought-iron fence was installed on William Street. We were ready to move forward.
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