This is News in :90 for Friday, May 14, 2010.

Social Work Club will host an event Thursday night that gives students, faculty and staff a taste of homelessness and poverty. “Box Town” invites participants to spend a night in boxes in the Lower Quad.

Club President Kate Mortensen sat down with TommieMedia to give some insight on the event.

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu.

Facebook's new plug-ins may change the face of social networking. (John Kruger/TommieMedia)

Concerns about online privacy have risen as Facebook plans to extend its reach to other websites.

The social networking website is planning to install new tools called “social plug-ins” on the website, which would enable users to share their product interests with their Facebook friends.

For example, a Facebook user might visit a website and recommend a movie via Facebook. Depending on the individual’s privacy settings, this information may be passed along to other users in the network. These plug-ins will also allow third party marketers and websites use a Facebook user’s activity information to target the user for personalized ads.

“I’ve noticed that they suggest brands,” junior Kim Laughlin said. “I’m a marketing major, so I kind of understand that it’s a great way for marketers to get their brands out there. So I get that standpoint. I guess I don’t really have a problem with it unless they’re taking really personal stuff.”

Facebook said the the new plug-ins are meant to help personalize the web for people. The websites using the plug-in do not receive any personal information from this new update, but it does mean that information that hadn’t previously been communicated could be broadcast to your Facebook contacts.

“It’s kind of creepy, but it doesn’t really bother me,” junior Katie Gallagher said. “Make sure your security settings are set, especially because they keep changing the security settings so you think it’s set, and then you go check and it’s not anymore.”

Facebook users who do not want to be part of this update have to go through their privacy settings and change their preferences to keep this information private.

“It’s clever marketing, that’s for sure,” freshman Lauren Crawford said. “I guess it depends on how they use it. You do have the power to not put stuff on Facebook, so it’s sort of your fault in one aspect.”

If Facebook succeeds with this new plan, it could change the face of social networking. It would expand the communication from one closed website, allowing users to interact with one another over the entire web. This increase in what can be shared could spark more customized websites, which look different depending on the friend’s preferences and privacy settings.

“I think it’s to be expected,” junior Elina Schampan said. “I mean, we get Facebook for free; they’re obviously going to want something out of it too and making money out of it that way. I think I’m more concerned with information getting to future employers or prospective employers. That’s what concerns me more than them making money off of my Facebook.”

Brian Matthews contributed to this report.

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu.

This is News in :90 for Monday, April 26, 2010.

St. Thomas students’ normal lunch routines were interrupted by a musical performance in the cafeteria at noon Wednesday.

Sophomores Erika Jarnes and Katie Peterson brainstormed and came up with the idea to perform “Stick to the Status Quo” from the original High School Musical movie in the cafeteria.

“There’s always a bunch of people here at a certain time so we were like ‘We want to freak out as many people as possible,’” Jarnes said. “The cafeteria’s perfect and it matches the song from High School Musical.”

Jarnes spread the word of the performance to friends in clubs she is involved with.

“I sent out e-mails and I was like ‘Hey, who wants to do this? It’s really short.’” she said. “I just asked people in person, asked them if they wanted to do it and just got as many people as possible together to do it.”

Roughly 20 performers surprised their fellow students from multiple different tables in the cafeteria. Jarnes and sophomore Jacob Wakem sang the leads while other students performed a choreographed dance.

The impromptu audience was completely surprised by the show.

“I just thought they were turning the radio on and then I saw people dancing,” freshman Liz Maidl said. “I was surprised; it was really cool.”

Other students appreciated the creativity of the performance.

“I thought it was really cool,” freshman Alexis Rodarmel said. “You come to the cafeteria every single day and to see something out of the norm, it’s just fun, it’s cool, it’s college. I love college for stuff like this.”

The students involved in the performance were pleased with the outcome of the show.

“I feel like people reacted the way I thought they would,” freshman Albert Conteh said. “You usually don’t see this all the time. I was really happy because I’ve always wanted to this in the cafeteria.”

Conteh’s favorite part of the performance was Jarnes’s solo. “It reminded me of a musical so much; very animated. I liked that a lot.”

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu

Activists from the St. Thomas and St. Paul community gathered on the corner of Summit and Cretin avenues Saturday, April 17, to protest the Reclaiming the Culture of Marriage and Life Spring Forum that took place on campus.

St. Thomas students and alumni, community members, and members of OutFront Minnesota–an organization that works toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual equality–attended the demonstration to support equality in marriage rights and a more open discussion with St. Thomas administration about the on-campus speaker policy.

“I think it’s really necessary to have this demonstration to just demonstrate to St. Thomas that there is a significant number of people at this school that are not represented systematically by having the space for their voices to be legitimately expressed and heard,” junior Erik Nielsen said. “This is kind of our way to create that space, and I’m hoping that it really sets a precedent for future situations like these that arise.”

Individuals from the Archdiocese communications office and the office of marriage, family and life were unable to be reached at this time. Only ticketed participants were allowed into the forum. The Catholic Spirit newspaper was the only media organization allowed inside.

Students like sophomore Chad Ellertson voiced their frustrations with St. Thomas’ policy in choosing on-campus speakers.

“I don’t necessarily disagree that a Catholic viewpoint on the sanctity of marriage should be expressed on our campus,” Ellertson said. “What I disagree with is that there’s not an equitable representation of both sides of this really contentious issue. I really feel like the administration has swept this opinion under the rug and has kind of run away from this conversation for a long time.”

The forum, which was held in Brady Educational Center’s auditorium, was put on by the St. Paul Seminary and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, not St. Thomas.

Some students are not only frustrated with the lack of equality in on-campus speaker policy, but also with several organizations’ general concept of the institution of marriage.

“I think the National Organization for Marriage and what they represent is really scary,” said Michelle Fournier, an OutFront student intern.

Students from other nearby campuses also attended the event to speak out against marriage discrimination.

“We believe in marriage equality and that love should be honored in every way,” Augsburg freshman Maren Daniels said.

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu.

Wednesday, the students presented the dean of students office with a notice of intent to demonstrate including an outline their plans to rally peacefully outside the forum. Some of the rally organizers then met with the dean’s office to discuss the event.

“We haven’t gotten a ‘no,’ so we are going to go with it,” junior Nick Kor said. “It’s going to be a peaceful demonstration to celebrate love and respect.”

Kor said students will meet at 8 a.m. Saturday outside BEC.

Forum speakers

The Reclaiming the Culture of Marriage and Life Spring forum is part of an archdiocesan initiative “aimed at helping the faithful ‘Understand the Cultural and Legal Battle’ over the restoration of marriage and the respect for human life,” according to the Archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life website.

Maggie Gallagher and the Rev. Salvatore Cordileone will speak at the forum. Gallagher is president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and president of the National Organization for Marriage. Salvatore, bishop of Oakland, Calif., is one of the creators of Proposition 8: The California Marriage Protection Act stating that only heterosexual marriages would be recognized as valid in the state of California. Salvatore also signed the Manhattan Declaration, a document defending traditional marriage.

Gallagher has spoken at St. Thomas several times. She participated in a Law Journal symposium on the federal marriage amendment in 2004 and spoke in 2001 on “Character, Courtship and Marriage.” Gallagher also wrote an article published in the St. Thomas Law Journal that addressed how gay marriage weakens marriage as a social institution.

Students’ frustrations

The students who plan to protest are frustrated not only by the forum’s speakers but also by what they consider a lack of equality exercised by the administration in choosing speakers.

“When I first heard about the speakers coming to St. Thomas, I was put off by the hateful rhetoric they’re known to use,” sophomore Jess Novak said. “In the context of the St. Thomas community, it just really struck me–the inequality in the policies that are used to decide what events and speakers are able to be held on campus and just how they’re kind of enforced so discriminately.”

Junior Erin Hagen said she hopes Saturday’s rally will demonstrate the group’s frustrations about St. Thomas’ speaker and event policies and further develop a conversation with the administration.

“We’re trying to be very transparent,” junior Erin Hagen said. “[We're] trying to work with the administration as much as possible because we, as students, have a real investment in this school and want to see it grow and really badly want to have this dialogue. We think it can make our campus a better place for future students.”

Kelly Trussell, Gina Dolski and Katie Broadwell contributed to this report.

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu.

St. Thomas students and close friends shared prayers and stories of Daniel Zamlen during a memorial prayer service held in the St. John Vianney Seminary chapel Thursday evening. The service was held on what would have been Zamlen’s 20th birthday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of his death.

Zamlen was first reported missing on April 5, 2009. After a 26-day search, a rescue team recovered his body in the Mississippi River.

Sophomore Greg Scharine, who organized the memorial prayer service and considered Zamlen a close friend, reflected on the meaning of the memorial service.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year ago,” Scharine said. “I thought about where I was April 6th, that morning, down by the river. It’s almost eerie how quickly time went and how different things are now. It was really helpful, very therapeutic for me to go through this planning (of the service), to think about Dan and remember Dan. This time last year I wasn’t in a place where I wanted to be. But now I think I’ve come to grips with it, and I’m trying to honor Dan by living the way I think he would.”

Rev. William Baer presided over the service and commented on the incredible strength and love shown by Zamlen’s family and friends. Baer offered consoling words of encouragement.

“As long as we remember, he will continue to live,” he said.

The St. Thomas choir performed an a-cappella rendition of “Somewhere,” a song originally featured in the Broadway musical West Side Story. Two choir members also performed a rendition of “The Prayer.” It was this song that especially touched sophomore Shannon Calhoun.

“When this all happened, that song kept things going for me,” she said. “I had no idea that song would be played, and hearing it just hit home.”

Several of Zamlen’s close friends and acquaintances shared stories and favorite memories, including how Zamlen was always the first to help out a friend, his passion for history, and his uplifting smile.

Students said they were pleased with the memorial service.

“I thought it was really pretty,” Calhoun said. “I was definitely happy I came. Dan and I came here a lot last year, to the SJV chapel, so having it here was just appropriate.”

Sophmore Kevin Klein agreed that the performances and readings were a good fit.

“The music was really good; it was nice that we got the choir to come out,” he said. “The passages from the Bible were also very fitting … It was really moving and a very good service. I just liked to hear stories about him because I didn’t really know him, and getting to know him more as a person, even though I never really had the opportunity, was nice.”

In the end, Scharine reflected Baer’s words and stressed the importance of never forgetting their friend.

“Everyone I talked to tonight, they’re thinking about Dan today, they’re praying for Dan today, and that’s really all that matters,” he said. “The best thing we can do is remember and keep his family in our prayers.”

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu.

Outside the Classroom founder and Chief Executive Brandon Busteed explained the extensive research that produced the study results. Busteed visited 1,000 universities and colleges to build the world’s largest database on student alcohol consumption, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“We collect those data through our online course, AlcoholEdu, which more than a third of all college freshmen in the United States took last year,” Busteed said. “We have also conducted several studies of alcohol-related issues—depression, sexual assault, eating disorders, other substance abuse—as well as best practices for making alcohol prevention a campus-wide priority.”

Among the many universities surveyed, the University of Tampa reduced its binge drinking rate by 23 percent in 2009 alone. Similarly, the University of Pittsburgh has reduced its rate by 12 percent in the last two years.

In order to reduce underage binge drinking, universities and colleges surveyed made alcohol-abuse prevention a campus-wide priority. In addition to mandatory campaigns informing first-year students about the dangers of underage drinking, university administrations have also increased the enforcement of alcohol policies and the drinking age on campus. Several colleges and universities have even extended these measures to landlords and local police forces to help reduce off-campus underage partying.

St. Thomas alcohol consumption

St. Thomas has seen a steady decrease in liquor law arrests and referrals, according to a 2009 Public Safety Campus Security Act Report. In 2006, there were 48 liquor law arrests, in 2007 there were 43, and in 2008 there were only 15. In 2006, there were 582 liquor law referrals, in 2007 there were 504, and in 2008 there were 456.

The Wellness Center has also noticed a decrease in the number of students assigned to the the alcohol responsibility course. From September 2008 until the spring of 2009, about 261 students were required to take the course. That number has decreased to 232 students from September 2009 until the spring of this year.

Wellness Center Graduate Assistant Sara Gustafson has not experienced a great student interest in learning the harmful effects of underage binge drinking.

“Personally, I have not had students stopping in to seek information,” she said. “I have had a number of students seeking resources for students in recovery from drugs and alcohol.”

Gustafson recommends several campus programs such as Passport to the Twin Cities, which allows students to attend events at St. Thomas and throughout the Twin Cities for free or at a discounted price. The Wellness Center also recently handed out 600 Safe Spring Break kits to students with information about the risks of underage drinking and tips for staying safe on break. The center also promotes e-CHUG, an online survey that asks St. Thomas students to analyze their use of alcohol. Students can also pick up a taxi card at the Wellness Center that includes a blood alcohol chart to help them determine their limits.

Tommies weigh in

Although the results from the Outside the Classroom study and St. Thomas’s decreasing numbers of alcohol-related incidents may look promising, many students are not convinced underage binge drinking is diminishing.

“I don’t think drinking has decreased,” junior Katie Wood said. “People still do case races, have triple kegs, drink all day to black out during game days or special occasions and students go to bars a lot more this year and still binge drink.”

Senior Patrick Krebs agreed, pointing out the potential bias of the Outside the Classroom study.

“As far as I can tell, everyone still drinks as much as they always have, though it’s not surprising a study would say that [numbers are decreasing],” he said. “I mean, who is readily going to tell a survey or interviewer, ‘Yes, I regularly black out on the weekends when I’m drinking under age at a house party or at the bar that I used my fake ID to get into?’ It just wouldn’t make sense.”

Other students, such as junior Leah Renter, simply choose to avoid binge drinking situations entirely.

“I think the fact that I have more responsibilities and don’t go out or see underage drinking as much anymore may play a part,” Renter said.

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu.

The Mississippi River had reached 18.47 feet at noon Wednesday. (Gina Dolski/TommieMedia)

With the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers rising, many St. Thomas students, faculty and staff are being affected.

The Mississippi River had reached 18.47 feet at noon Wednesday, according to the City of St. Paul. That level is the eighth-highest mark in St. Paul’s recorded history.

Although city officials are not concerned about the rising Mississippi River affecting homes and businesses, several St. Paul roads and city parks were closed due to the rising water. Areas around Harriet and Raspberry islands were closed because of officials’ concern about swift river flow and floating debris. About 50 commercial and industrial businesses also continue to pay close attention to the threat of flooding.

Along the St. Croix River, the Stillwater Lift Bridge was closed earlier this week.

Flooding in several of these areas is affecting St. Thomas students and faculty members.

Associate Professor of Economics Monica Hartmann lives in downtown St. Paul between Shepard Road and the Mississippi River.

“The water is supposed to crest, I think, Thursday night, but it will still be below our garage,” Hartmann said. “Interestingly, this is the eighth-highest the river has ever been, but No. 4 or 5 is from 2001. Our garage and our building [are] actually below those flood levels that were in 2001.”

“I bet it has been more of a problem for anyone coming from the suburbs into downtown or coming out,” she said.

Senior Connor Anderson’s hometown is Stillwater, Minn. He knows many people who live and work in Wisconsin, and who now have to detour south to Hudson, Wis., rather than crossing the lift bridge at Stillwater.

“They have to wake up early to make the drive,” he said.

Ramsey County is still under a flood warning, and according to the National Weather Service, the river is expected to rise to 19.4 feet by Thursday afternoon. The water level is expected to start dropping this weekend.

Stephani Bloomquist contributed to this report.

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu