Connecticut College Digital Commons @ Connecticut College 2004-2005 Student Newspapers 9-9-2004 College Voice Vol. 28 No. 1 Connecticut College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/ccnews_2004_2005 Recommended Citation Connecticut College, "College Voice Vol. 28 No. 1" (2004). 2004-2005. 20. https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/ccnews_2004_2005/20 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Newspapers at Digital Commons @ Connecticut College. It has been accepted for inclusion in 2004-2005 by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Connecticut College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author. Connecticut College Digital Commons @ Connecticut College 2004-2005 Student Newspapers 9-9-2004 College Voice Vol. 28 No. 1 Connecticut College Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/ccnews_2004_2005 Recommended Citation Connecticut College, "College Voice Vol. 28 No. 1" (2004). 2004-2005. Paper 20. http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/ccnews_2004_2005/20 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Newspapers at Digital Commons @ Connecticut College. It has been accepted for inclusion in 2004-2005 by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Connecticut College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author. INSIDE: A&E recognizes outstanding seniors majoring in the arts. NEWS SPORTS A&E Dr. wallerson has been appointed as the Welcome to a revamped sports section, Savor delicious homemade pastries and Interim Director of Unity House. She kids. Check out OUI two new columnists, exotic blends of cofTee and tea at the will also serve as the Assistant Dean of and catch up on volleyball and sailing newly opened Blue Camel Cafe in the Multicultural Affairs. __ 'C· .. action on page 10. basement of Shain Library. ""'--"'-a....;~.....L....I ..... First Class U,S. Postage PAID Permit 1f35 New London, CT PUBLlSfiED WEEKLY BY THE STUDENTS OF CONNECr/CUT COUEGE VOLUME XXVllf • NUMBER J FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 CONNECTICUT COUEGE, NEW LONDON, CT High Retention Rate Causes Crowding in Dorms BYEu~KnIGmrnNMAN mores placed in doubles to offer ABsocwE New.; EDITOR them the an upgrade to a single. The rising freshman class is then As many students noticed upon placed in the doubles that have been their return to campus this fall, cer- vacated by upperclassmen. tain common rooms had been trans- By August this year, it became formed over the summer and are evident that there were not nearly now inhabited by members of the enough students forfeiting their class of 2008. Contrary to popular rooms to trigger the typical cycle belief, the housing crunch this year and accommodate the remaining was not the fault of the freshman. freshman still waiting to be placed Rather, the class of 502 students in a dorm. Shelley Metivier, was exactly what the college had Director of Residential Life and planned for and expected. Housing, was faced with the press- The issue of having to find hous- ing issue and began to investigate ing for an extra sixty or so more stu- alternative housing options. dents than the statistics had predict- Her main objective was to ed was mainly caused by an ensure that the housing process was increase in the College's retention still a "high quality experience for rate; specifically, more students all students", especially the incom- decided to return this year than in ing freshman. She decided not to g the past..For the college as a whole, evict student organizations out of • this trend is a positive sign. The potential dorm space, such as the increase is attributed to a multitude Women's Center in Freeman. of reasons, including more former Additionally, the office of Res Life commuters deciding to live on cam- decided not to increase capacity in pus, less study abroad participants, current rooms, such as creating a and fewer students who opt to take a forced triple out of a currentdouble. semester off or drop out altogether. After narrowing the search The housing assignments and down to common spaces in the resi- lottery are renowned for being an dence halls, Metivier and company exceptionally complicated process. immediately discarded any rooms Traditionally throughout the sum- that would have been large enough mer, students who have chosen not to house six students, opting to to return in the fall call the office of remain consistent with the philoso- Resident Life and Housing to phy of capping freshman living inform them of their decision. The office i~ tum calls rising sopho- By YONI FREEMAN page. - faculty resources, alumni giving and graduation MANAGING EDITOR There has been a mixture of reactions from and retention." He made it clear that admission both Conn students and the administration. Zach and financial information were two to three years Connecticut College experienced a drop this Steacy '06 said he does not pay much attention to old and did not portray the improvement of the year in the annual U.S. News and World Report the rankings and that they may be "a little phoney college's budget situation. rankings. According to last month's publication, as they are based heavily on a school's endow- President Fainstein said that the rankings can- and Well-Rounded Conn is currently in position 35 on the Liberal ment." He added that he believed what really mat- not "fully measure or accurately describe the Arts Colleges list, compared to 34th place last tered was the "relationship between the professor Connecticut College education program," and year. In 2001 the college's ranking was 26. and the student", an area not included in the cal- gave an example that the rankings placed "great The US News and World Report's rankings culations. weight on how much money a college spent but Class of 2008 are among the most notable in the world and are Chris Devine '06 remarked that he would be did not attemptto evaluate how well it was spent." considered by college officials to be a common concerned if Connecticut College "plummeted" Fainstein did not believe it will affect applica- By MICHAEL O'NEIL lent competition to athletics, add to tool for college applicants, particularly at the in the rankings. With regards to the latest one tion numbers because he believed students "knew STAFF WRITER community service, and contribute undergraduatelevel. point decline, Devine commented that it only pro- better than to let these rankings dictate their col- to artistic programs. The US News and World Report's website vides a "psychological effect." lege decisions." He concluded that the college The Class of 2008 arrived on The Class of 2008 has 30 inter- explains how rankings are determined. There are Richard Zbeda '06 observed that he did not was strengthening. campus August 28 for freshmen ori- national students representing 21 seven categories, which are each assigned a spe- believe "a number could realistically summarize Dean of Student Life, David Milstone, con- entation. After the initial process of different countries and a legacy cific percentage of the school's final score. The the value of the entire liberal arts education." firmed that the school was aware "thatmany peo- moving into their rooms, the fresh- count of 39 children and grandchil- areas included are peer assessment (25%), reten- Members of the college's administration ple use these rankings as an indicator of how men participated in a four-day series dren of alumni. There are four ball- tion (20%), faculty. resources (20%), student responded in similar ways to some of the views graduate schools and employers will view their of events planned by the Office of room dancers, several competitive selectivity (15%), financial resources (10%), expressed by the students. President Norman degree." He noted it was a serious matter in that Student Life. The class, which con- Irish dancers, and even a Gumboot graduation rate performance (5%), and alumni Fainstein actually saw some improvement to the instance. Milstone elaborated that the rankings sists of 502 students, was joined by dancer. Additionally, the class has giving rate (5%). Ultimately a score is calculated magazine's view of the college. "If you look did not "accurately measure what most people the rest of the student body on many musicians, including a bag- out of 100 points. Further information is avail- closely, you'll see that the college showed signif- August 31. Classes officially began piper and a student from China who able at the U.S. News and World Report web icant improvement in four of the six subcategories continued on page 6 on September 2, marked by the plays the Zeng. College's 90th Annual Convocation. The freshmen also have diverse Summer Conference Attendees Vandalize MOBROCBarn With the highest number of academic interests and credentials; applications in the history of the one student likes to study herpetol- By EMtLY MORSE College and the second most selec- ogy, or the study of reptiles. Another EDITOR-iN-CHIEF tive admittance rate, the numbers student was recognized as a Thoreau stand for themselves. For example, Scholar, due to his "potential to On July 28, 2004, the MOBROC MOBROC it gives them an opportu- 55% of matriculated students gradu- affect positive change in the way barn, located behind Crozier- nity to communicate with other ated from their respective high humans respond to the environ- Williams, was broken into and ran- musicians and network and form schools in the top ten percent of their ment." Another student, from sacked by members of a Christian [bands]," said Ryan Hoyler 'OS, for- class, nine points higher from last Bulgaria, attended the Bulgarian youth group using facilities at mer technical support staff.