The fire, which took over 90 minutes to contain, was reported a total loss

A fire tore through the Tiger Athletic Club (TAC) house located close to campus at 4:15am on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2011. Benjamin T. Rogers ’12 suffered some minor burns and Kirk Rohle ’12 continues to be treated for second and third-degree burns after being airlifted to the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) in Richmond.

The 911 call was received at 4:12am, at which point Campus Security Officer Noel Malave arrived at the in a matter of three minutes. According to Chief Gee, Director of Campus Security and Police, “the officer responded by vehicle, and upon his arrival, the structure was fully involved with fire.”  Immediately, unit R-12 called for a helicopter while an ambulance arrived on the scene by 04:25am.

The TAC house, also known as the Benedict house, housed nine Hampden-Sydney students and was formally a private residence acquired by the school like most other homes close to campus.  Mr. Thomas Shomo, Director of Marketing and Communications, reported, “the house was up to code with fire safety measures: there were smoke detectors in every bedroom, and all furniture was fire resistant, like all dorms on campus.”

Preliminary evidence suggested that, the one place where there wasn’t a smoke detector, the porch, is where the fire is suspected to have started. Shomo comments that ongoing investigations have pointed to “a cigarette butt smoldering on the sofa located on the porch” to be the source of the incident which took place when eight of the nine residents were asleep.

According to Shomo, the students attempted to put out the cigarette butt, which slipped into the sofa around 1:00am, and proceeded to bed.

Matt Maloney, one of the residents of the TAC and a senior from Atlanta, GA described the incident as it unfolded to reporters from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: “I could see the fire, [so] I ran upstairs shouting — trying to get everyone up.”

As soon as the students rushed outside, it didn’t take them long to realize their 6’1’’, 265 lbs housemate, Rogers, a senior, All-American offensive lineman on the H-SC football team was not with them. “We knew right away that Ben wasn’t there,” confirmed Maloney.

The brave students, including running back Kirk Rohle, defensive lineman Josh Phipps, and quarterback Travis Lane returned to the house to get their friend. Rogers, Phipps, and Lane managed to exit the burning building again; however, Rohle, who had also reentered the burning house to save his friend, was nowhere to be found.

Maloney said he then heard his friend’s voice: “Kirk was just outside a first-floor window, yelling, ‘Help me!’ ”

“It is believed [Rohle] exited the building though a ground floor window,” speculates Chief Gee. As soon as the EMT team arrived, he was air Medevaced to Richmond where he is currently receiving treatment. Sources say that Rohle had to be placed in medically induced coma for better treatment options.

“Kirk has gone through several hardships on campus—none worse than this; however, I know he will return with a smile on his face. He would be the one to run back into a burning building in concern for another studet’s life,” said C.W Hammond, a fellow Biology student and classmate of Kirk.

Krik’s father Ken Rohle commented to reporters that, “His worst burns are on his toes and fingers. We think he was trying to stay low, under the smoke, sort of crab-walking, and burned himself touching the floor.” He also added that his son is most likely to be in the hospital for as long as three months. Families of both students, who are from Mechanicsville, VA, expressed gratitude for the amount of support they have been receiving from coaches, teammates, students, administrators, and President Howard, who just recently promised to cover all textbook expenses for all the residents of the TAC house. The students were moved to the former Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. Rev. Keck, Pastor of College Presbyterian Church, has also been leading a relief effort to raise funds and collect basic necessities for these students who have lost absolutely everything.

The fire took 90 minutes to contain and has been reported a “total loss” by Hampden-Sydney Fire Safety Supervisor, Chuck Ironmonger. Incidentally, the event comes in the aftermath of a series of unpopular fire-safety policies that have been introduced by the Fire Safety Department in the 2011/2012 school year, which have prompted a strong student opposition. When asked whether or not the school will be seeing tighter fire regulations in the coming months, Ironmonger commented, “The administration will review the event, of course, to see if there is anything we can do better, but there is no way I can give you an accurate answer at this time, and I will not speculate.”

Though the College has experienced periodic fire incidents in its history, including the fire that burnt the front portion of the former library at Winston Hall in 1941 and the Mcilwaine Hall fire of 1957, this was the first time in 235 years that an occupied residence hall was fully on fire.

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1. Coming Soon to a Dorm Room Near You
2. Library Building in Disrepair
3. Smoking on Campus: Opening the Dialog

Remembering that Hampden-Sydney is the home to over 1,000 male students, one must understand that while the College has numerous clubs, intramural teams, and organizations, most of them can be distinguished into two major groups: athletic and non-athletic.  For many years, Hampden-Sydney has especially been successful in various sports.  Producing not only quality performances on the field each year, H-SC athletes are very much involved and prevail in the classroom as well. All of our athletes are catechized, just like the rest of the students, to be good men and good citizens at all times. Unfortunately, no one is perfect, and everyone has their flaws; moreover, when there is a failure to abide by certain standards, consequences will follow.

Beyond the popular notions as to why people consider Hampden-Sydney unique, lies a reason concerning the level of discipline at the college.  Assistant Athletic Director and Head Athletic Trainer Andy McPherson comments:

“In 2007-2008 H-SC participated in a NCAA Drug Testing Pilot Testing. The NCAA tested 40 student-athletes. They found 9 positive tests. The student-athletes were not punished, and they did not inform the college who tested positive.”  In response to the students who failed the drug tests, Mr. McPherson stated, “because of the results of the NCAA pilot, H-SC made the decision to do institutional drug testing on the student-athletes.” The notion to instill a school drug testing policy was made based on a legitimate incident, but is the drug testing process exercised fairly and thoroughly?

Concerning how the drug tests are operated, senior lacrosse player Jack Gibson stated, “the Athletic Department randomly selects a certain number of athletes from each team. Since the selection is random some people get tested multiple times, and some people never get tested.  When you are selected to be tested, the athletic trainer informs you a day or two in advance.  If you fail to show up to the test, it is counted as an automatic fail.”

While many athletes may be opposed to the additional school drug test, the participation and outcomes of the drug test is what helps display some of Hampden Sydney’s singular qualities like cooperation and discipline. These tests are relevant and signify how the College deals with a problem and creates a solution. Division III college athletics are extremely demanding and should not be seen as any less difficult or important than Division 1. Showing up for a drug test should be just a much of a priority as showing up for practice or a game.

As Hampden-Sydney continues to hold these drug tests each year, the right will prevail and the wrong will be disciplined. The question remains that aside from having to wake up at the crack of dawn, do these drug tests really place any unnecessary pressures, inconveniences or reflect a lack of trust, on the administrations side, for the students?

Related posts:

1. Student Athletes and the Balance Between Sports and Academics
2. Student Tutors: Are We Paying them to do their Homework?
3. Death of Student Incites Action

As unfortunate as the incident was, it brought a few things to light concerning the process in which the school handles emergencies and the procedure and interworking of the ENS. According to Dr. Dale Jones, Vice President for Strategy, Administration, and Board Affairs, the school handles incidents such as these in three steps: the first concern is to promptly respond to, the second is to inform the community, and lastly communicate with off-campus constituents. The first step involves police officers, the fire department, and emergency medical responders, or “first responders.” Once they have taken control of the situation, the administration alerts the community using the ENS. After these steps have been taken then parties such as parents are informed via email.

During the latest shooting incident, many members of the community were left wondering: “why did it take so long?” In response to this Dr. Jones comments that the administration also “asked [themselves] why?” This led them to make improvements to the ENS system and form the Incident Management Team. The INS, according to the H-SC website “provide[s] a coordinated approach to preparing for, responding to, and managing an emergency incident at Hampden-Sydney College.” One of the issues that the school ran into that prolonged the time it took to activate the system, according to Tommy Shomo, Director of Communications, was the number of people that had the clearance to do so. In response to that problem, Dr. Jones said that, “we had six individuals before, and now we have fifteen.” This is because, unlike before, police officers are now able to activate the system and send out a message if necessary.

Another problem administration ran into in the aftermath of the incident was the reaction from parents regarding their late notification about the shooting on campus. According to Mr. Shomo, the incident happened in the early hours of Dec 4, 2011, but an official statement was not sent to parents until the afternoon of Dec 5. Parents’ reaction to this was very negative, and they wish that they too be informed at the time of the activation of the ENS. Mr. Shomo says the problem with that is it would slow the system down. Another factor is that a parent’s natural response would be to call their sons, and that may slow down the phones on campus which at that time should be open in order to send out other notifications if necessary. The administration agrees that it is the school’s responsibility to alert the campus first, then those off campus.

Lastly, one of the biggest issues the administration faces with alerting the community about emergencies on campus is that not enough students have registered their cell phones in the ENS. According to Dr. Jones we have an “Opt in” system, in which student voluntarily submit their cell numbers. Because cell phone numbers are the students’ property the school can’t require the numbers to be registered. According to Dr. Jones the amount of people that register rises in spurts over time: after the incident, some after an email sent, etc.  Mr. Shomo said that on Dec 3, the day before the shooting, there were 176 students that had registered their numbers in the ENS. Now there is about 450 students registered. Mr. Shomo also said that the administration ultimate goal is to have at least eighty percent of the student body registered for the ENS via their cell phones. Students can register their numbers via the emergency links on the HSC website using their student ID and pin.

The school is continuing to look into other areas to strengthen the ability to respond to events like the shooting. Dr. Jones said that some of the options the school is reviewing are using carillon speakers to audibly alert the community, possibly installing alert beacons within classrooms, installing more emergency telephones around campus, the utilization of social media, and he formalization of an agreement between the school and the Farmville Police and Fire Departments in case assistance is needed. Via the changes already made and the changes that continue to be made the ENS and H-SC’s ability to respond to an emergency situation are constantly growing.

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1. New Gun Locker on Campus Continues to Face Challenge
2. Kaleidoscope is No more
3. Restover Demolished Over Break

Stepping in to fill Pohl’s shoes is current director Mr. Grant Morrison.  Mr. Morrison took over around December 19^th, or, to put it in perspective, 3 days before we left for winter break.  Since Mr. Morrison took over, even though he has not had much time at work, he has already put forth many ideas for improving the dining hall as well as making the Tiger Inn a more attractive place for people to go. Examples of such ideas are decorating the dining hall with student paintings or similar decorations to spice up the blandness.  The only thing stopping the dining hall from putting up paintings or other decorations is the complicated process to get approval, which means having to go through three or four people before it is allowed.

With regards to increasing the appeal of going to the TI instead of other dining options, Mr. Morrison has suggested hosting video game, dart, billiards, and other types of tournaments.  Mr. Morrison also asked to list his email address (Morrison-Grant@aramark.com) so that students who have a good idea for a nightly tournament, such as a FIFA or Tiger Woods Golf tournament, can email him their ideas and possibly create a fun social activity for the entire school.  “I want students to want to come to the TI and dining hall not because they have to, but because they want to,” he said.

Some breaking news that most students are aware of is H-SC’s switch of food providers from Aramark to Thompson Hospitality.  With this in mind, it certainly changes current plans that Mr. Morrison has for the dining services in general; nonetheless, the entire staff is still working together to achieve goals they have already set.  Morrison made aware that they have recently re-organized the management staff to ensure a more efficient system that includes each of the managers dealing with just one specific area in an effort to decrease overlap and confusion.

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1. New Gun Locker on Campus Continues to Face Challenge
2. Senate Rejects Going Trayless
3. Tiger Inn: Renovations Now or Renovations Never?

Our predecessors here at the Tiger wrote with several goals in mind. They intended to bring accurate details concerning athletic events, particularly where the first-hand-accounts of victorious athletes proved too modest. The Tiger was also a means for the student body to voice concerns or criticisms involving the goings-on in their daily on-campus lives. It was also meant as an announcement board for faculty members intending to announce contests, prizes, and exam schedules. It was an important means by which trustees could keep a finger on the pulse of campus life when making decisions, and a way for alumni to arouse feelings of nostalgia remembering their own years here on the hill.

Times have changed, and the Internet has made information easy to access. Even if there is not a desktop or laptop nearby, the proliferation of smartphones and sophisticated software make it a near certainty that there is an app designed to indulge every curiosity. The Tiger finds its relevance in the intent by which it was published. This paper is meant to be the voice of the student body, where you can voice your criticism or satisfaction with campus policies and events. While Facebook is a great place to keep up with friends, The Tiger is the best source of information to keep up with the time-tested institution that strives to make “Good men and good citizens.”

To quote a writer from very first issue, “we are going to do everything in our power to make this a paper that will interest you.” Give us some feedback. Technological innovation means that the campus is no longer only “twenty minutes ride from Farmville by the Norfolk and Western railroad line.” It does not make The Tiger any less your own.

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Drake-Take Care

Rating: B+ (4.5)

In his second album Drake proves that he deserves to be among the best rap artists making music today. Take Care is solid work from start to finish. The album opens with “Over My Dead Body,” a mellow tune that has Drake quasi-singing over a soft piano melody about how despite the money, he hopes not to change. Resisting the temptations of money is the main theme of the entire album, along with his reactions to an ever-changing environment and his hope to remain true to who he is. The theme continues with the second track on the album, “Take a Shot for Me,” a mournful tune lamenting the loss of his past girl. The next track “Headlines” is one of the best songs on the album and really shows what Drake can be at his peak. He raps fast and well and throws in his signature Drake style all over an up-tempo beat. The album slows down a bit here with soft songs like “Take Care” (featuring Rihanna) and “Marvin’s Room,” two of the best songs from the album and songs that show Drake’s versatility. Further flexing his musical muscles, Drake returns to his days of “Over” and “Forever” with “HYFR,” a collaboration with fellow Young Money rapper Lil’ Wayne. The album falls short however on the tracks that Drake tries too hard on. He seems determined to prove that a rapper can be tender and soft yet still have credibility. He does this well on a few tracks (namely, “Marvin’s Room” and “Headlines”), but he does not capture the magic from those two tracks over the course of the entire album.

Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto

Rating: B (4)

The fifth studio album from arguably the biggest band on the planet right now does not disappoint. Despite taking a different direction from their grandiose album Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends, this album is still very good. The band stated that Mylo Xyloto is a concept album focusing on a love story with a happy ending. The band originally set out to release an acoustic and stripped down album, but through the course of recording it came out with a more electronic feel. Despite the “concept” label, the album still has slow piano filled jams that echo “The Scientist” and “Fix You” that Coldplay fans have come to know and love; Most notably is “Hurts Like Heaven.” But where this album really shines is in the more fast-paced songs such as “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” and, in my opinion, the best song on the album “Paradise.” Both songs are filled with lead singer Chris Martin’s soaring vocals. Coldplay also spreads their wings into more of a pop theme with the song “Princess of China” which features vocals from megastar Rihanna. The song doesn’t live up to the rest of the album but there is potential for more of the same nature. All in all, Coldplay still has a lot left in them and Mylo Xyloto serves as a holdover while hardcore Coldplay fans wait for the next Viva La Vida or A Rush Of Blood to The Head.

The Black Keys- El Camino

Rating: A (5)

The Black Keys bring a garage band/blues style to modern rock, and they do it well. This album is the duo’s seventh and, perhaps, their best. The band moves away from their traditional blues style and delves into a broader range of rock and roll styles. Despite the album only clocking in at 37:42, it is great from start to finish. Most of the songs on the album were recorded in one to two takes, which gives it a raw edge that really pushes it over the top. El Camino kicks off with the high-energy jam “Lonely Boy” with a heavy guitar riff and haphazard, yet perfectly timed, drums. The energy keeps coming with “Dead and Gone” and the also brilliant is “Gold on the Ceiling,” which is one of the more blues-rooted songs on the album. Think of the White Stripes… except better. The hits keep on coming with the two more excellent tracks: “Little Black Submarines” and “Sister.” If you ever want to get a party going or need some good beats to frat jam to, this is your album. I cannot say enough good things about this album. I highly recommend it.

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2. Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons
3. A Hard Days’ Night: The Beatles: Rock Band

In the Classroom: ”I’m going to make sure I do my homework sooner than ten minutes before the class.”

Outside of the classroom: “I’m going to try to spend less money on chicken wings.” –Mason Watkins ‘15

In the classroom: “This semester from eight to four I’m treating school like a job.”

Outside the classroom: “I’m going to get a little more peaceful time to myself this semester.”- Joe Bean ‘15

In the classroom: “I’m going to start homework as soon as I get out of class.”

Outside the Classroom: “I’m going to spend more time in the Tiger Rec lifting weights.” –Jay Easley ‘15

In the Classroom: “I’m trying not to go to the library too much. I’m planning on going to classrooms to work.”

Outside the Classroom: “I’m trying to go to the gym more and smoke less cigarettes.” –Orian Ray’15

In the classroom: “I’m going to take a more active role in perfecting my rhetoric skills.”

Outside the classroom: ”Socially, I’m going to be pledging this semester.”

– Tim Coleman ‘15

In the classroom: “I’m taking four classes instead of five, so I can focus on my terrible writing skills with the extra time I’ll have.”

Outside the classroom: “I’m playing some Tiger Lax, so we can get that ODAC championship.” –Jim Woodward ‘15

Related posts:

1. The Freshman Manifesto
2. Professor Involvement Outside of the Classroom
3. Semester-End Throw-out Blowout

Baseball

Eighth-year head coach Jeff Kinne’s Tiger baseball squad will look to improve on a 2011 season in which they went 20-21 overall with a 9-9 record in the ODAC.  In order to do that, they will have to replace four key seniors from last year’s team, most notably catcher Zach Harrelson (.349 batting average) and outfielder Herbie Williams (32 stolen bases).  However, Coach Kinne has several incoming freshmen to help fill void, including right-handed pitcher Garrett Birnbaum and catcher Chris Ferrante.

Hampden-Sydney’s stiffest competition in their hunt for the 2012 ODAC title should be Randolph-Macon, the reigning ODAC champions, and Bridgewater, who went 15-3 in conference last season.  The Tiger baseball team’s 2012 season gets underway at home on February 4th when they host Ferrum in a 1 pm contest.  A dedication ceremony for the new baseball stadium, Ty Cobb Ballpark, is slated to take place an hour before game time.

Lacrosse

                  The Lacrosse Tigers had a solid 2011 campaign, finishing with a record of 12-5 overall and 4-3 in ODAC play.  They played particularly well on their home turf at Everett Stadium, as they accrued a home record of 7-1.  Despite the departure of seven seniors from that 2011 team, including leading goal scorer Cole Hawthorne (41 goals), head coach Ray Rostan, in his 28th season at the helm of the men’s lacrosse team, figures to have another strong team that can potentially contend for the ODAC title.

Among the key returners are senior midfielders Micah Keller and Carter Mavormatis, who combined for 62 goals and 43 assists last season for the Tigers.  The team is hoping for contributions from the incoming freshmen, most notably Corey Mavormatis, Carter’s younger brother.  Roanoke College figures to be the preseason favorite in the ODAC this spring, as they went undefeated (7-0) in conference play last spring and made it all the way to the semifinals of the Division III lacrosse tournament before falling to eventual national champion Salisbury College.

The lacrosse team’s 2012 schedule begins with a road game against Mary Washington on February 18th at 1 pm.  The first home game will be on February 21st at 4 pm against Catholic.

Tennis

Sixth-year head coach Murrie Bates and the Tennis Tigers bring a small yet experienced squad that includes four seniors into the 2012 season.  They will look to continue, and perhaps even improve upon, the success they had in 2011 when they compiled an 11-4 overall record and 8-1 record in ODAC play.  The 2011 team also made it to the ODAC Championship Match, but ultimately fell to conference powerhouse Washington & Lee.

However, the team will need to replace their top two singles players from last year in reigning ODAC player of the year Rich Pugh and Shad Harrell if they hope to replicate 2011′s success.  Looking to fill the void are seniors Kevin Calhoun, who had a 10-3 record in singles matches last year, and Ian Summler, who went 8-3 in his singles matches in 2011. Coach Bates will also look for early contributions from the team’s two incoming freshmen, Zach King and Houghton Flanagan.

The tennis team’s first match of 2012 will be an ODAC bout against Emory and Henry on February 24th at 3 pm.

Golf

The golf team, led by second-year head coach John Prengaman, hopes to continue the positive momentum from a great fall season that saw them win two tournaments as a team, including the Hampden-Sydney Invitational that took place on their home course at the Manor Golf Club.  The team’s top two golfers from the fall season were senior Ronnie Fultz and sophomore Rick O’Connell, who claimed an individual title at the Tom Kinder Memorial Invitational this past fall with a score of six under par.

The golf team’s spring schedule commences March 11th when they travel to Dataw Island, SC to compete in the Taylor Made/Adidas Intercollegiate Tournament, and they should be a strong contender in the ODAC Championship Tournament on April 22nd.

Club Sports

In addition to the four intercollegiate sports, two club teams, rugby and track & field, will represent Hampden-Sydney in athletics this spring.

Rugby, led by team captains Phillip Smith and Tyler Wilson, will look to fare better than they did during their fall season, when they wound up with a record of 2 wins, 6 losses and 1 tie.  Head Coach Saranna Thornton’s squad is slated to compete in seven matches, including home games against VMI and Richmond.  Rugby’s spring season begins on the road on February 11th with a 1 pm match against Lord Fairfax Community College.

Meanwhile, the Club Track team will compete in travel to three meets this spring, with the first meet on their tentative schedule taking place on March 17th at Lynchburg College.  Hampden-Sydney’s cross country runners, led by sophomore Andrew Stoddard (who by the way is a very smart guy and a complete badass), will comprise the majority of the club track squad.

It is shaping up to be a memorable and successful spring season for Tiger Athletics, so be sure to get out there and support your favorite spring sports team! Go Tigers!

Related posts:

1. Season Preview: 2010 Tiger Lacrosse
2. Tiger Sports Look to Build on Past Year’s Success
3. Lax Tigers Gain Confidence Over Spring Break

For those of unfamiliar with the gun locker, it is a storage place for weapons and ammunition located in the police headquarters.  This year is the first year the gun locker is located in the Security Office. Before that, it had been located in the basement of the Carp Z dorms. The location was moved for multiple reasons. 

Students had extreme difficulty accessing the gun locker because the key card lock, which was supposed to let them in any time, would often malfunction. This would mean a student would have to call the station then wait for an officer to come down and unlock it for them. They would then have to call the station again to return the gun.  This would cause discontent amongst students and was a factor in the decision to relocate the locker.  As a result of minor inconveniences like this, students have started keeping guns in their rooms causing a safety risk for other students.

 Chief Gee pointed out some other reasons for moving the location, which include the safety of the campus, safety for the students, and safekeeping of the weapons.  The administration had personal interest in moving the location because no one was able to keep watch over the locker and felt that leaving it unattended posed security risks. 

One student weighed in on the topic of registering guns versus keeping them in rooms saying that the gun locker is not only a hassle to use when you want to go shooting or hunting, but it is also bad for guns because the wet wood the locker is made out of allows moisture to seep into the guns over time.  He also said he is tempted to keep his gun in his car or room because he has had difficulty with the police when trying to get his gun because of lost keys. Other times, no one is around to unlock the locker.

Though it is not a common occurrence, other students have made this complaint as well. Chief Gee responded to this observation by saying, “the locker is in excellent shape, but a big factor is the unexpected heat and humidity of this fall; however, we have a solution for this when it starts to get warm again.” The police department is installing a dehumidifier and using other chemicals to absorb moisture before it gets to the guns. 

Another student gave some alternate ideas for future gun locker plans assuming the locker was relocated or updated to function more smoothly.  One idea he had was to build multiple gun lockers and station one near all the dorms to improve convenience and efficiency.  Unfortunately, this idea would be difficult to put into practice because of price and the lack of supervision for all the lockers across campus.  The cost of building the current locker was around $7000, even though Chief Gee’s original plan only cost $2000.  Building more lockers around campus could result in other plans going over budget, and then money spent building extra lockers would have to be taken away from other funds, such as those set aside for academic purposes. 

Chief Gee also gave more insight into the behind-the-scene issues involving guns on campus. “I don’t mind having guns on campus the way its set up now, but I have a yearly battle at the General Assembly about allowing people to carry concealed guns on campus.”  This would mean that students would be allowed to carry concealed weapons in class rooms, dorm rooms, and other places like the fraternity circle.  Arguments for concealed guns use the Virginia Tech shooting as an example.  They claim that had students been carrying concealed weapons at the specific time, they could have stopped the shootings before innocent people were killed.  Chief Gee points out that if the police were to walk into a room after someone had killed or shot the original gunman, Chief Gee and his team would most likely “pop” the one with the smoking gun before the situation could be settled. 

Situations like this are why the administration has to be careful with students bringing guns to school and keeping them in their dorm.  Keeping guns in dorm rooms could eventually lead to the banning of guns on campus for good, especially if it becomes a pressing issue with campus security.  Several students have already been caught this year with guns in their rooms.

Everyone can be assured the freedom to keep guns on campus if they abide by the requirement. After all Chief Gee and many other students could not come up with a better way or place to store the guns.  Along with being able to track the usage of registered guns on campus, the police station gun locker ensures that student’s guns will also be protected from theft and kept in good condition.

It is a large responsibility to have guns on campus. When placing guns into the hands of others for safekeeping, the owners usually want careful watch over the belongings.  In the end, the college has the students’ best interests at heart when it compromises some freedoms and luxuries for the long term benefit of sanctioned gun usage.

Related posts:

1. Hoping to Deter Damages, Campus Police Increase Presence in Dorms
2. Bookstore Poses Challenge to Campus Users
3. Police Station Moved to Alphabet Row

Only Aramark may provide refreshments for events held on campus

Hampden-Sydney students are very fortunate to attend a school that offers a vast number of seminars and forums from well-accredited speakers, but events such as these are sometimes a hardship on their hosts due to a seemingly harmless culprit: cookies.

Faculty and students both have had issues with the catering policies and prices provided by Aramark. The price of light refreshments, such as cookies, bottles of water, and cheese trays have become a problem among members of the community who want to serve refreshments at school events.

According to Aramark’s H-SC catering website, the price of one dozen cookies is $6.60 and “English Tea Sandwiches” are $25.00 a dozen, but the customer must purchase at least two dozen, driving the price to a $50.00 minimum. When satisfying a large group of hungry, male college students, one can foresee how events can become pricey. But there are also service charges for the event: including a drop off and pick up fee, an hourly fee for each employee involved actively serving food, and charges for each table with linen.

One might ask, “Why don’t people just go to Wal-Mart and purchase cookies and water there?” The official answer is found in “H-SC Policy on Room Chargers and Rules,” which states, “All food service at College facilities and/or property must be contracted for and provided by H-SC Aramark catering office.”  In short, Aramark has a contractual monopoly on all served foods on campus. Because of prices and obligation, some faculty members have said that they are forced to host many events without refreshments.

This issue is also affecting students. Nay Min Oo ’12, president of the H-SC International Club, hosted the sixth annual International Food Festival in the past month. It featured a number of dishes made by students. The event was only allowed to be held in College Church. The Church is the one building on campus that is not owned by the college, thus creating a loophole in the contract. In past years, the club cooked food and hosted the event in Settle Hall, but due to recent changes in policies, students were forced to move to College Church. Clubs only have a certain amount of money given to them by the Student Finance Committee, and if a club wanted to have an event with refreshments, it may leave them bankrupt. Oo expressed concern about the requirement noting, “As limited as a club’s budget is, I don’t think it is helpful to have clubs required to buy food from Aramark.”

Only Aramark may provide snacks and refreshments for events held on campus

            Aramark’s catering policies aren’t all bad though. Glenn Culley, the new Vice President of Business Affairs and Finance, comments that a large benefit of Aramark is the “Quality control of food being served on campus.” If third party caterers’ food was to be served on campus and people got food poisoning, it would be a massive liability. Another positive view came from Thomas Shomo, Director of Public Affairs and Marketing. He said that Aramark’s services benefit our institution in terms of accessibility and cleanup.

            When talking to Mr. Culley about Aramark’s contract and the issues people have been having, he said that the problems have become apparent and are being looked into, but Mr. Culley also noted, “Nothing is going to change this fiscal year.”

Related posts:

1. Regarding Going Trayless
2. New Gun Locker on Campus Continues to Face Challenge
3. After 26 Years, Pannill Commons Greets a New Face