Former NKU president Albright dies

This from the Enquirer:

Guided early growth in 1976-83

A.D. Albright was the top choice to become the first president of Northern Kentucky University in 1969.

But already committed to a yearlong Fulbright lectureship in Belgium, he declined the offer, which was accepted by Frank Steely.

Eventually Albright would become NKU’s second president, serving from 1976 to 1983 and presiding over a doubling in NKU’s enrollment and $40 million in construction that cemented its identity as a hub in the region.

The delay in taking the job showed Albright’s respect for academics and scholarship that permeated his life until the end. Albright, 96, died early Friday in Lexington...

NKU Mock Trial To Explore Creation Science

This from KyPost.com:

Northern Kentucky University will host a unique interactive mock trial that will turn local citizens into jurors on the issue of whether public school science teachers should be allowed to teach creation science, which attempts to use scientific means to prove the Genesis account of creation.

The trial will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22, at NKU’s University Center Otto M. Budig Theater and is free and open to the public. The first 200 people in attendance will have an opportunity to serve as jurors, using small remote control clickers to register their opinions both before and after the trial. At the conclusion of the proceeding, they will decide the case.

The event is sponsored by the Northern Kentucky Forum, the NKU Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement and Nonprofit Development and the NKU Chase College of Law Center for Excellence in Advocacy.

Mark Neikirk, the Scipps Howard Center’s executive director said, “It is part of the mission of the Scripps Howard Center to conduct public forums. I’ve heard (NKU) President Votruba state many times that a college campus should be a safe place for difficult conversations.”

The mock trial is the first of what Northern Kentucky Forum, a partnership among the Scripps Howard Center, Legacy and Vision 2015, hopes will become monthly events that attract diverse audiences, advocate for public dialogue, provide for audience input and allow all sides of a given issue to be represented...

The Trial: Scott v. Chandler County School Board

The trial centers around the termination of fictitious biology teacher Susan Scott (a traditionally trained “evolution” adherent), who according to her complaint, encouraged students to “explore creation theories.”

Scott, who will be played by Simon Kenton High School teacher Heather Mastin, is suing the fictitious Chandler County School Board for wrongful termination and seeks reinstatement, compensatory damages and a judicial declaration that the school board violated her First Amendment rights.

Scott will be represented by local attorney Phil Taliaferro, who will argue that teaching creation theory is not only permitted in Kentucky, but also legally protected.

The defendant, Chandler County School Board, will be represented by Margo Grubbs, a local attorney, who will argue that Scott’s termination was justified under existing law. Scott’s chief witness will be the real-life Dr. Ben Scripture, who received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame in1998...

The school board will be represented in court by fictional superintendent Bryan Boone, who will be played by retired Boone County Superintendent Bryan Blavatt. Its key witness will be real-life evolution advocate Ed Kagin, a Union, Ky., attorney.

As is so often the case, the legalities of the issue aren’t black and white.

Kentucky has fairly strict guidelines that suggest evolution-only instruction, but also has a pro-Genesis statute. And, of course, the question isn’t confined to the Commonwealth. It is playing out again in the national political debate – as it so often does – and is heating up in a number of states.

The trial judge will be played by retired Kenton County Circuit Court Judge Doug Stephens.

NKU students blitz on cuts

Legislators lobbied to oppose trims

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS - With higher education budget cuts looming, Northern Kentucky University's Student Government Association took to the streets during homecoming this month.

In an initiative called iCare, the association urged students to contact the state legislature to voice their concern.

The association set up three laptops in the University Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during homecoming week, Feb. 1-9, for students to e-mail Frankfort. The senators also passed out index cards advocating students call Frankfort. Several students called on the spot using their cell phones.

"We have been told by Legislative Research Council staff members in Frankfort that NKU has made over 500 calls," said Kelly Sirk, the student association's vice president of public relations.
"Students were giving their personal story. Most were letting the legislators know that they were concerned about the 15 percent budget cut and the value of their quality education being at risk. As SGA, we gave them a sheet of facts about the situation for their own knowledge."...

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Times of India sounds alarm bells for Indian students in America

A Kentucky story from a foreign perspective - these from the Times of India:

Indian student found dead in Kentucky house

BANGALORE: A student from Bangalore was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his apartment in Kentucky, US, raising questions about the safety of Indian students in America.

In the earlier incidents, 29-year-old Abhijeet Mahato of Jharkhand, a PhD student at North Carolina's Dukes Pratt School of Engineering, was shot dead at an off-campus apartment complex on January 18; on Dec. 13, 2007, two Louisiana State University research students from Andhra Pradesh, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, were shot dead in a flat near their campus.

On Thursday, 20-year-old Mahesh Subramannian's body was received by his family at the Bangalore airport 18 days after his death. He was the only son of P Subramannian and Sharavathi, who reside near Jakkur Aerodrome on Bellary Road. He was cremated at Hebbal crematorium on Thursday noon.

Student of Northern Kentucky University, Mahesh was pursuing his Bachelor in Science with electronics, electrical science and computer science as the major subjects. He was in his final semester and was staying at the Hidden Valley Apartment complex in Campbell County in Kentucky with Sunny, an American student, who was studying MS in the same university.

The death of Mahesh was conveyed to his parents in Bangalore only on January 21. Mahesh's uncle who stays in US was the first one to be informed about the death by the university authorities.

The preliminary post-mortem reports of Mahesh say the reason for the death is ‘unknown'. The family members have been asked to wait for six weeks for the final autopsy report.

"The autospy results are pending in relation to the cause of death," stated a letter submitted by Bryan Avance of Avance funeral home and crematory in Ohio.

"We are kept in the dark. There has never been a proper communication from the US authorities regarding my son's death. Moreover, the contradictory statements from university, hospital and relatives are puzzling us, and we suspect that Mahesh could have been murdered," mother Sharavathi told The Times of India. The family has gone through a lot of anxiety, ever since they learnt about the incident. "We are waiting for the post-mortem report, after which we will register a case with the police," she added.

Murder shocks Indian students in US

NEW YORK: The killing of an Indian doctoral student at Duke University in North Carolina - the third such incident involving Indian students in a US campus in two months - has shocked the estimated 80,000 Indians students studying in this country. It left a pall of gloom on the campus even where authorities beefed up security and reiterated that robbery appeared to be the motive for Abhijeet Mahato's murder. The 29-year-old IIT Kanpur alumnus was shot dead on Friday at his apartment in Durham, outside the university campus....

US: Still a dream destination for Indians?

For decades, the US has been the dream destination for all starry-eyed Indians. From not-so-well-educated job seekers to Silicon Valley aspirants, everybody longed to land on American soil and make it big there. But the rosy pictures of hotel baron Sant Chatwal having cocktails with the Clintons have been replaced, of late, by repeated instances of so-called ‘hate crimes’ against Indians in general and Sikhs in particular. The recent mysterious deaths of Indian students in Louisiana and Kentucky and incidents of Sikhs being mistreated have set alarm bells ringing. ...

Jena 6 moms at NKU Tonight

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS - Mothers of the “Jena Six” will be speaking in a community forum on Thursday evening at NKU.

The event, which is open to the public, was organized by a number of campus groups.
“There’s a lack of awareness of what’s been going on in Jena,” said junior Eva Roberson, president of Students Together Against Racism, which helped organize the event.

Roberson said she hopes the event helps bring to light some of the issues surrounding the case.A reception begins in the University Center’s second floor lobby at 6 p.m. and the forum begins at 6:45 p.m. in the Otto Budig Theater.

NKU is spending some green to go green

SCHOOL PROJECTS A SAVINGS IN ENERGY COSTS

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS --Northern Kentucky University is going green.
The university is spending more than $4 million on energy-saving upgrades and environmentally friendly building supplies, said Larry Blake, assistant vice president for facilities management.

The initial outlay will cost the university $4.5 million for existing and new projects across campus. The school expects to save about $615,000 annually in energy costs, Blake told the Kentucky Enquirer.

"It is not necessary as an operational requirement," Blake said. "We feel that it is our responsibility to provide leadership for the region in sustainability and to do what we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible."

Northern Kentucky's environmentally conscious move is part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

This from the Herald-Leader.

Boozing 101

Every college in the region

is facing the question:

What to do about alcohol abuse?

Diego Varela, who just graduated from Northern Kentucky University, learned the hard way about the dangers of students drinking alcohol...

..."I would say about 75 percent of students drink and about 25 percent drink too much," said Varela, who as a dormitory resident assistant for four years had to enforce NKU's prohibition against drinking in its residence halls.
A recent study finds that student drinking - a perennial campus problem - is getting worse, and officials of area colleges are stepping up efforts to curtail it.

Northern Kentucky University is hiring an alcohol and drug counselor; Xavier University is encouraging parents to talk to their college-age children about drinking, and Miami University is implementing nearly 40 recommendations made by an Alcohol Task Force.

Thomas More College displays a wrecked car to illustrate the dangers of driving drunk; the University of Cincinnati organizes non-alcoholic weekend activities, and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College distributes lots of literature about the problems alcohol can cause.

Countering those messages, however, is the stereotype that college and drinking go together as a normal rite of passage.

"Students know about the movie 'Animal House,' and that's what they think they're supposed to do at college," lamented Lori Lambert, director of residence life at Xavier University.

The study, by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, found that 3.8 million full-time college students - 49 percent - binge drink and/or abuse prescription and illegal drugs and that 1.8 million full-time college students - 22.9 percent - meet the medical criteria for substance abuse and dependence. That's more than twice the percentage of the general population.

The survey saw no significant change from a dozen years ago in the percentage of students who drink, but it discovered that the intensity of excessive drinking has jumped sharply. Between 1993 and 2001, the proportion of students who frequently binge drink increased 16 percent, those who drink on 10 or more occasions in a month went up 25 percent, those who got drunk at least three times a month increased 26 percent and those who drink to get drunk was up 21 percent, the study found.

Among the consequences of alcohol abuse on college campuses were 1,717 deaths from alcohol-related injuries in 2001, up 6 percent from 1998, and a 38 percent increase from 1993 to 2001 in the proportion of students injured as a result of their own drinking.

The report said there was a 21 percent increase from 2001 to 2005 in the average number of alcohol-related arrests per campus and noted that in 2005 alcohol-related arrests constituted 83 percent of campus arrests. In 2001, 97,000 students were victims of alcohol-related rapes or other sexual attacks and 696,000 students were assaulted by a student who had been binge drinking.

This from the Cincinnati Post. Photo illustration by RYAN OSTRANDER/The Post

NKU sets policy on protests

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

No longer will campus demonstrations be limited to a small, confined area outside the University Center; parades and marches will be permitted; and chalking will be allowed to continue.

“The act of caging free speech wasn’t just a physical act, but a mental act,” said junior Alex Kindell. “A university is supposed to be where speech is expressed freely.”

Kindell, president of NKU’s Students for Choice, was a leader in getting the policy changed. Under the old policy, students who wanted to protest or rally could do it only in that segregated area next to the University Center.

Should Northern Kentucky University change its name?

NKU President James Votruba raised that possibility at a campus convocation of students, faculty and staff Wednesday.

Votruba said several community leaders - whom he didn't name - have told him they think the university needs a new name.

"They said we ought to re-brand the university and disconnect it from what they refer to as the directional universities - the easterns, westerns, northerns, southerns - and create a unique niche for the university," he said.

This from the Kentucky Post.

NKU opens door to high school students

Northern Kentucky University has launched a special scholarship program intended to make it financially possible for virtually all graduates of Newport and Holmes high schools to attend NKU.

The new Holmes/Newport scholarships of up to $3,000 a year, when combined with federal and state grants, should cover the cost of NKU's annual $5,900 tuition in almost all cases, NKU officials said.

this from The Kentucky Post.

NKU wants off-campus exodus

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

Northern Kentucky University is trying to get as many students housed off-campus as possible to alleviate the campus housing shortage.