Volume 103 March 29, 2012 Number 21

Hate crime at Berry

Racially its upsetting that someone hates me for who I am. -Victim
KELLY DICKERSON News Editor A student returned to his Deerfield residence hall Monday night around 11:15 p.m. to find liquid bleach poured in his top two dresser drawers along with a note reading faggot nigger fuck off. Racially its upsetting that someone hates me for who I am, the student said. Sexually its upsetting that someone hates me for who they think I am. After discovering the damage the student said he called his resident assistant who then called campus police officer Smith. The officer arrived around 11:45 p.m. and filed a police report and the resident assistant then filed a Residence Life report. The student said he planned on going home that night but arrived at his car to find the back right tire slashed and the bottle of bleach behind his car. He then called Officer Smith who arrived and took pictures of the damage. The past couple days have been extremely uncomfortable, the student said. I consider Berry my home and I feel like I have been violated in my own home. The student said he chose a college based on the community, the support on campus, and the kind of people at the school. He said he still feels safe and welcome at Berry but now with a degree of hesitation. The student said he was gone from his room from about noon to 11:15 p.m. that day but he and his roommate left the door unlocked. Director of International Students Tasha Toy said there have been incidents on campus before but nothing to this degree of severity. Dean of Students Debbie Heida said at the beginning of the fall semester, there was one incident of comments made to a student and two incidents of writing on a whiteboard. However, Heida said this occurrence is a greater level of severity since a students property was damaged. Heida said she and Chief of Police Bobby Abrams met with the student Tuesday. An investigation is underway to find the person or persons responsible. The student said there has been an incredible response from the administration, faculty and students. They have all been very helpful and I can see there is a general disagreement with things like this, the student said. Frankly, I hope people are angry, Heida said. Heida said whoever is found to be responsible will be disciplined according to Viking Code and this kind of offense is punishable by suspension. Heida said suspensions are rarely less than one year. Heida said this kind of act can make the victim feel singled out and fearful. I believe its very difficult to feel like youre the target based on your race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion, Heida said. This kind of act arouses a great deal of fear. The student said he thinks it is sad that in the 21st century this kind of thing is still going on. My parents and grandparents experienced things like this, hoping that I wouldnt have to go through the same thing, the student said. Heida said she believes this kind of act impacts not only the victim but the community too.
SEE HATE CRIME P. 2

Tuition, retention rates increase

KELLY DICKERSON News Editor Associate Provost Andrew Bressette said he believes tuition has increased at a rate of about six percent in recent years. Six percent may seem like a lot, but when you compare it to our peer and aspirant schools, the dollar amount is actually less, Bressette said. Our tuition is the second lowest in our peer and aspirant group so a six percent increase of $24,000 tuition is significantly less than say a four percent increase of an almost $40,000 tuition institution. Bressette said that keeping tuition on the lower end and giving out more financial aid than similar schools has been a priority for Berry. Dean of Students Debbie Heida said that need-based scholarships are adjusted proportionally with the increase in tuition but merit scholarships are not. Heida said this years increase was about the same as last year. Bressette said the increase is largely due to maintaining operational costs. Things like energy costs have gone up significantly, Bressette said. Unfortunately most of the increase is from fixed costs like

Head football coach search nears close

KRISTEN SELLERS Deputy News Editor Beginning in October 2011, the future plans for Berry football become official and started a new chapter in Berry history. Among many simultaneous aspects being planned, currently the search and decision for the head coach is coming to a close with the top two candidates visiting the campus. The final decision of the top two candidates was recently made after multiple sessions of closely examining all details of over 260 applications. Athletic Director Todd Brooks released the names in a campus-wide email Tuesday, March 27. Tony Kunczewski of LaGrange, Ga. is visiting Berry Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29. The other finalist, Rick Fox of West Des Moines, Ia. is visiting Sunday, April 1 and Monday, April 2. These two are the ones we have the most excitement about, College President Stephen R. Briggs said. Among the plans on the scheduled itinerary for the candidates are tours of the campus, the Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center, as well as Rome. They will have the chance to meet with faculty and students each in their own open forum where they will introduce themselves, provide background information and answer any questions. Brooks said he hopes faculty and students will attend the open forums and get to know the candidates. We do want to be transparent and let everyone be involved and meet the candidates, Brooks said. At each forum, the attendees will receive an evaluation form to complete and return before leaving. These will be taken into account as a voice from the campus for the final decision.
SEE FOOTBALL P. 3

utilities and insurance so it becomes a take it or leave it kind of thing. Bressette said some of the increase also goes toward modest salary increases for professors. College President Stephen R. Briggs said tuition is a cost that is not necessarily obvious.

The cost of tuition is the cost of what students dont pay for, factoring financial aid, Briggs said. Tuition covers a small portion of overall expenses of the college, and other areas of the colleges revenue that dont grow as fast.
SEE TUITION P. 2

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NEWS

MARCH 29, 2012

Tuition
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-Property damage- On March 27 a student reported unknown person(s) entered his room in Deerfield Hall and poured bleach on clothes in his dresser drawer. He later discovered someone had also punctured a tire on his parked vehicle.

Briggs said colleges are a professional service industry which tend to be more expensive than the consumer price index. We look at all the expense areas, and also analyze revenue services, Briggs said. Bressette said retention has been increasing slightly over the past few years. Not only have we seen better retention with the freshman class, the upper classmen rate has gone up, Bressette said. Right now about 92 percent of students who are eligible to register for the fall have registered. Bressette said preregistration for next year appears to be about the same amount as last year. Weve seen our largest incoming classes in the last few years

and next year could be the first year we top 2,000 students, Bressette said. I have been at Berry since 1998 and Ive never seen the student population over that. Bressette said the presidents office has set a goal of about 2,000-2,100 students. Once this goal has been reached, the office will assess any changes that need to be made to accommodate more students, like adding more faculty or residences while still maintaining other departments and existing infrastructure. The science department in particular has experienced rapid growth in the past three years. Bressette said the Office of the Provost has been meeting with the chairs of the science department to assess the needs of each department in regards to faculty and departmental budget. Bressette said sometimes an incoming class will have an usually high proportion of one major choice. The trick is determining if the increase in science students is a temporary blip or a steady trend, Bressette said. It then becomes a question of how do we respond by still maintaining quality in every other department and not increasing tuition too much.

News analyst of ABC, NPR to speak

KELLY DICKERSON News Editor Political commentator and news analyst Cokie Roberts will be this years Gloria Shatto lecturer. Roberts will give her speech Insiders View of Washington D.C. Thursday night at 8 p.m. in the Stephen J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center. Roberts has had over 40 years of experience in broadcast journalism, has won three Emmy Awards and been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. From 1996-2002 Roberts co-anchored the ABC program This Week. Roberts was also named by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the fifty greatest women in the history of broadcasting. Roberts and her husband, Steven Roberts, are editors at USA Weekend Magazine and wrote the New York Times bestseller From this Day Forward. The book is an account of their over 40-year marriage and other marriages throughout American history. Roberts has written three additional bestsellers: We Are Our Mothers Daughters in 1998, Founding Mothers in 2004 and Ladies of Liberty in 2008. Roberts graduated from Wellesley College with a bachelors degree in political science and holds over 20 honorary degrees. Roberts is also involved in several nonprofit organizations and the Presidents Commission on Service and Civic Participation. The Gloria Shatto Lecture Series is in memory of Gloria Shatto, who served as president of Berry College from 1980-1998. Shatto made history as the first female college president in Georgia.
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Hate Crime
CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 I think we all think of Berry as a safe place, Heida said. So something like this makes us all react. Something like this can make students think will I be the next target? I think the three emotions aroused by this are fear, anger and frustration, Heida said. Fear of being targeted, angry that something like this could happen at Berry and frustration since individuals responsible in the fall were not identified. I hope that students will not have to be frustrated again.

Heida said she believes Berry is built on a sense of caring. I encourage students to speak up, Heida said. We need to stand up against this kind of thing and be the caring community that we say we are. Students who can offer any information are encouraged to immediately contact Campus Safety. Heida said tomorrow there will be a presentation on the Trayvon Martin case and said she expects this instance will be brought into the discussion as well. Heida said the Speak Listen Stand campaign the senior class and SGA developed last year in response to the incidents in the fall will continue to be active and provide an outlet for students to take a stand against this kind of behavior.

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