Fountains a classy move for sophomores

Editorial

Finally, the University of North Florida has made it enticing for upperclassman to live on campus.

At a hefty price of $85 million, the new Osprey Fountains residences will give students better amenities than those available at many off-campus apartment complexes.

These lucky students will get two outdoor pools - one with a lazy river and another with lap lanes.

They'll get a fitness facility away from core campus traffic, and they'll get the opportunity to live in a private room.

The university really is movin' on up, and they're even putting the complex on the east side of campus near the Kernan Boulevard entrance. Students won't be able to drive to campus from the dorms, but plans call for a walkway to allow students to walk to and from class.

Compared to the old infrastructure, confined spaces, and a total lack of amenities - not to mention the community washers and driers - students who have a chance to experience the new dorms in 2009 will live in a level of luxury current students do not enjoy on campus.

With the dazzling new additions, upperclassman will gladly trade their 15-minute drives in rush hour traffic for rooms on campus. Problem is, the closest they'll get to the complex is through a guest admission, if they have sophomore friends.

Sophomores will be the only students guaranteed rooms in the most expensive building that has ever broken ground on campus.

Freshmen and seniors can't live there, but plans might allow for some juniors. Freshmen will start in the Cove, Crossings and Hall residence areas, and seniors will finish their collegiate careers living at the Village.

The university is targeting sophomores because it is following up on its commitment to retain more students who live on campus, said Paul Riel, director of Housing Operations.

He said President John Delaney's goal is to see 5,500 students living on campus, and one stage of the development plan targets freshmen who might otherwise move into apartments after their first year.

The next stage of the plan, which has not yet been scheduled, will offer more apartment-style housing for upperclassmen. Riel said juniors and seniors will enjoy private kitchens in the Village, an amenity that is not included in Fountain plans.

Currently, seniors will experience a significant downgrade after spending a year or two in the new rooms to old carpets, old kitchens and old furniture.

It will be convenient for upperclassmen to have kitchens near their bedrooms, but compared to the creme brulee-like effect the lazy rivers will have, the Village will seem like Jell-O.

The new residence sounds above par among campus complexes in Florida, and undoubtedly it will attract students to on-campus life.

If upperclassmen didn't get the shaft, more students would enjoy the expensive improvements; but like in most situations, the bottom line is money.

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Faculty salary inequalities need to be addressed

Editorial

Imagine working and knowing you might be the lowest-paid person in the state with your job description.

Welcome to the world of University of North Florida faculty.

From guest lecturers to full-fledged professors, faculty members at UNF make the lowest average salary of Florida's 11 public colleges and universities, according to a study published by Florida Gulf Coast University.

Faculty in the 14 departments within the College of Arts and Sciences make the lowest average salary, and yet they are responsible for teaching the majority of credit hours taken at the university. Almost every credit hour of general education is fulfilled in the COAS, and the college is also responsible for the largest number of graduating seniors every year.

Even if faculty within the COAS teach the same number of courses as their wealthier peers in the university's remaining four colleges, many have more students per class - a fact which holds especially true for faculty teaching general education courses.

This isn't to say that teachers earning six-figure salaries don't deserve them - just that those people doing an equal or greater amount of work deserve to be paid more than their current salaries.

If a state-owned university's purpose is to provide affordable education at the highest standards possible, UNF should have a vested interest in paying the largest subsection of its faculty a higher wage.

Higher salaries in the COAS not only make the college more attractive for potential hires, they give junior faculty an incentive to stay and help further UNF's academic growth.

The intricacies and bureaucratic levels upon which the university functions do almost nothing to solve problems related to low faculty salaries.

Money that could be used to pump up the salaries on the lower end of the spectrum would have to come from somewhere else within the university.

Faculty earning higher salaries don't deserve pay cuts, but there is undoubtedly some areas from which money could be drawn to better accomplish the payment of faculty handling the majority of students.

The problem in faculty salary inequality doesn't arise from malice or a wish to pay certain faculty members less.

In part it stems from limited resources, and a desire to obtain top-notch candidates for programs UNF is known best for.

However, if UNF's ultimate goal is to become a destination school, it must forego buying shuttles with television screens and focus harder on paying the majority of faculty a higher salary to stay competitive with the state's larger and wealthier universities.

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Refusal to sell student tickets to Cole event cost school money

Staff Opinion

By Jenna Strom
DISCOURSE EDITOR

Several weeks ago a friend came to me crestfallen that he had not been able to get tickets to the Oct. 20 Natalie Cole concert in the Fine Arts Center because the $10 student tickets were "sold out."

Cole, the 57-year-old jazz and R&B sensation, is an eight-time Grammy Award winner and a 2007 Grammy performer, so the fact a lot of people would pay to see her wasn't surprising.

Ads in a local newspaper, however, stated tickets were still available. Days before the concert, details were listed in a Student Update e-mail with an advertisement that offered Natalie Cole concert tickets at $46, $52, $58 and $125 for a VIP pass. The end of the e-mail said student tickets could be obtained if purchased with a regularly priced ticket.

The Fine Arts Center's Director of Marketing and Events, Dani Deyton, said the venue stopped selling student tickets after the first 150. She said she reopened sales to students three days before the concert, but she didn't know whether students knew about the availability.

Deyton said in the future, she will modify wording to say students should check back at a later time to see if the discounted tickets are available.

Being the lucky girl that I am, my aunt was dying to go to the concert, so I was able to land a discounted ticket. Arriving at the theater, I expected to see a full crowd packed in their seats eagerly waiting for the show to start. In the balcony, there were more than 100 seats unoccupied and scattered empty seats below.

Official numbers report 1,082 people bought tickets, including 133 students, and 218 tickets were left over.

That's 218 students who could have enjoyed the show and an extra $2,180 the university could have made.

Apparently, the university expected to make big bucks on Cole. And why shouldn't they? She puts on a decent show and she's Nat King Cole's daughter, which gives her an automatic license to perform duets with his voice recordings. She also charges more than most other artists who come to campus.

Deyton said she could not tell me how much Cole charged, as the university and Cole signed a private contract.

She said the arrangement will be the same with Itzhak Perlman, a nationally renowned violinist who will play March 8. After the first 150 tickets are sold, students will have to pay full price if they want to attend.

In the 1 million people who live in Jacksonville, the university figured there had to be enough Cole fans that were willing to pay to see her on stage - so why should it waste profits on students?

If that's the tactic university marketers are going to take, it's not going to get the funds it's expecting from University of North Florida alumni. My friend, as well as countless other students, could very well become CEOs of multibillion dollar corporations with access to plenty of moolah to send the university.

The Ospreys need to put most of its focus on current students and alumni. In shunning them by not offering enough student tickets, the administration doesn't demonstrate an interest at all.

That's OK. We'll remember that when we're watching University of Florida basketball games and we're ready to drop a couple million.

Contact Jenna Strom at discourse@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Letters to the Editor

Homosexual tendencies natural, can't be changed with education

Dear Editor,
I'm writing in response to Kay Guerrero's Oct. 7 column, "Homosexuality and infidelity: It's time to educate children." My understanding of the point of the article is to express the need for sexual education among adults due to the "tendencies toward homosexuality and bisexuality that can develop in anyone."

I agree completely that adults should be provided ongoing sex education throughout life, as I educated my own family on human papilloma, one of the fastest growing STDs among sexually active people of all ages.

I do not agree, however, with the reasons provided for adult sex education. Guerrero said "the problem lies in the confusion these individuals might have," referring to those who are cheating on their spouses with the same sex.

Homosexuality and bisexuality is not randomly developing in one in 10 straight men, it is a result of the oppression of society on people who identify their sexual orientation as anything other than the supposed norm of male attraction to females and vice versa.

My father, at the age of five, had his first crush on a boy in kindergarten. But, being raised Mormon and the oldest of six boys, he quickly came to realize that boys are not "supposed" to like boys.

With five younger brothers following behind him and no money for college, he spent his eighteenth birthday in boot camp for the U.S. Navy and married my mother a year later, after being with her for four years throughout high school.

He was 19 years old and knew he was probably gay, but had also been told he would be excommunicated from the Mormon church, end his hope of a successful career in the Navy, and go to hell if he chose to live his life openly and honestly.

My parents came to terms with my father's homosexuality 12 years after being married and divorced when I was nine years old. A few years later, my father received an honorable discharge from the Navy.

I truly believe if my parents had tried to stay together beyond this and "make it work," as they had for many years already, my father would not be here today due to suicide. It's very hard to live a double life and be happy with who you appear to be when you're not being true to yourself.

You see, my father didn't choose to dabble in homosexuality - it was a part of him from the beginning. Upon finding my mother, a woman he truly loved and still does to this day, he thought she could be his saving grace, and so he took a leap of faith and tried to live a "normal" life, one that is acceptable to society.

As a result, my sister and I were born. We were among the 50 percent statistic of divorced, single-parent households that this country consists of, and it wasn't due to a homosexual or bisexual curiosity "developing" in someone. It was the result of the oppression of homosexuality in our judgmental society.

Look at it this way: My father gave up a nuclear family household, his career, and many of his so-called friends to become a part of society that is looked down upon and is discriminated against by the majority. Why would somebody choose this?

For our family, my parents' divorce was probably one of the best things that happened for all of us. Granted, it was not easy dealing with it as a child, but the five of us, including my dad's husband - our other father - are closer now than ever as a family.

Bethany Sutherland
Junior, Accounting

Political principles more important than mindless compromise

Dear Editor,
In response to the letter titled "Compromise diminishes political process' efficacy," in the Oct. 17 issue, I would suggest that John Lightie read Thomas Jefferson's notes on the debate on independence, which can be found in Jefferson's autobiography, or in the multivolume collection Annals of America, Volume 2, page 442.

Let him read The Federalist and the many tracts written in response. Let him read the debates in Congress on any of the important measures in American history.

Compromise has been misunderstood by recent generations. It doesn't mean "abandon all your principles and give in to the other guy." It means give a little to get a little, and get done the work that needs to get done. If everyone is stiff backed, unbending, and digging in their heels, nothing gets done.

We've had too much of that in recent years. "Come, let us reason together," Lyndon Baines Johnson used to say. That's an attitude that can get things done. Compromise does not diminish the efficacy of the political process; it is the political process.

Certainly we would all be delighted if politicians didn't make promises they couldn't keep. As far as I'm concerned, the only promise a politician should make is to do his best to do his job, using all of his knowledge, integrity, and ability.

However, I would prefer a politician with brainpower, knowledge, and courage enough to recognize when the people are full of baloney, and people should vote based on their own consciences, rather than a politician's.

I would also prefer a politician who knows when to give a little and get a little when necessary, to get important work done. I would not want a politician who feels he is nothing more than the voters' mouthpiece, because sometimes the voters are full of baloney.

Karen Rhodes
Junior, Spanish and History

Ron Paul right to believe abortion choices better made locally

Dear Editor, In response to last week's letter regarding Congressman (not Senator) Ron Paul, I would like to clarify one student's inaccurate and misinformed opinion of the "Taxpayer's Best Friend."

To claim that Dr. Ron Paul, an OB/GYN who has delivered more than 4,000 babies, is against women's rights because he is sponsoring House Bill 300, is ludicrous. He does not seek to abolish women's rights to have an abortion. He believes that according to our Constitution, federal law has no place in interfering in this issue.

States have the right to abolish, decriminalize or allow abortions. Paul understands it should not be the decision of a group of men and women on Capitol Hill, but the choice belongs at a more localized level.

He does not need to make himself feel better by speaking as a congressman on this issue.

Secondly, Paul is not an isolationist. Isolationists support tariffs on foreign goods and embargos against nations they disagree with.

He is a noninterventionst who believes in free trade. Noninterventionists believe in avoiding entangling alliances with other nations and all wars not related to defense. This is also what our Founding Fathers believed.

As for the ad hominem attack against Paul, have you ever met him? He is not a nut, and he is nothing like Democratic Party candidate Mike Gravel. When you use insults to discredit a candidate rather than tackle him on the issues, you discredit yourself. He is principled and consistent like no other candidate from either party.

I consider myself a fairly enlightened female UNF student, and I hung the "Ron Paul for President" banner. My sentences are complete and punctuated correctly. I'm also the Vice President of Ron Paul for President 2008 Club on campus. Our club has more than 80 members. How many members does the Dennis Kucinich group have?

Amber Verloove
Senior, Nutrition

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