PANIC! Budget Cuts Redux~

The list of proposed/finalized (idk?) budget cuts got released yesterday via email. You can find the full report here and the cuts themselves here. Warning: this document is long and kinda boring. I went through and pulled out some interesting cuts.

• The Oxford CMRS Exchange Program has been cut completely. Wonder how Maggie O'Brien will feel about that~
• Most departments lost some money, some more than others
• Larry Vote's summer program (I think this is the program that sends singers to Alba every summer?) got cut from 25k to only 10k.
• Nitze lost a lot (all?) of its money
• Alba-Italy Director position was cut
• Audio-Visual is losing 25k which sounds like a position has been cut
• Faculty Development lost 5k which sounds like a lot less Wine for faculty functions
• Campus Wellness Program has been cut (idk what that is, maybe First Responders Network?)
• They are removing a trash dumpster from PG FUCK THIS BULLSHIT
• River Concert Series is being reduced from 40k to 15k :/ :/ :/ (this was bound to happen eventually)

All of this is from my understanding of the spreadsheet, which may not be 100% accurate because even though I took a lot of accounting classes in high school, I never really understood it (we just shared our classwork via email, shoutout to B.A.T. c/o 2007 go Mavericks~) so I probably made some mistakes/have some misconceptions.

So there you have it, lots of cuts. I think International Education got his the hardest? Wonder how students will react~

PANIC: Episode 3: Return of the Mold

Guess who's back, back again
Mold's back, tell a friend
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back?

via that Eminem song

Really miss circa 2k10 when 'mold' was a new thing.  Mold reports were 'unconfirmed' and it was really difficult to get anyone to do anything about it.  But these days they announce mold before school has even started!  Email below~

Each fall we thoroughly prepare and inspect the residences for occupancy, including checking for the presence of mold.  It is not uncommon to find isolated incidents of what could be mold given our damp climate.  This year we have found what appears to be possible mold in some of the townhouses.  Housekeeping staff, Facilities staff, and Residence Life staff went through every unit on Friday and Saturday and we have minor occurrences, mostly on bathroom walls and some linen closets, in some units.  A few areas have spots of suspected mold on some of the upholstered furniture and/or carpet.

We do not want to alarm residents.  However, we know that everyone on campus is quite sensitive to mold issues so we want to be open and transparent when we find it.  It is important to note that this situation is unlike what we experienced last year in CD & PG where we encountered systemic mold outbreaks that were pervasive in each building.

We found one townhouse unit (Morsell 3) where conditions require the early arrival student to be temporarily relocated elsewhere on campus while the carpet and all upholstered furniture and mattresses are replaced.  We found five other units that require some level of carpet cleaning and nine units where some upholstered furniture will be cleaned next week, before classes begin. This work will be done following standard EPA guidelines by a professional carpet and upholstery cleaning firm.

Housekeeping staff are completing spot-cleaning in other units in the bathrooms, kitchens, and linen closets following our normal mold-removal protocols.  This work will be completed by Monday evening. These types of issues can recur during the semester.  We ask the residents to report any suspected mold growth to the Residence Life staff or Physical Plant(240-895-4287) as soon as it is seen.

As always, the safety of our students is our highest priority. We are closely monitoring this situation and will keep you apprised as needed.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Joanne Goldwater (jagoldwater@smcm.edu or240-895-4207), Derek Thornton (assistant VP of Campus Operations at dkthornton@smcm.edu or 240-895-4287), or Chip Jackson (ccjackson@smcm.edu or 240-895-4412).

Email is not entirely correct, via some students that were supposed to move into Homer (information based on a trusted source) two three days ago were forced to move elsewhere.  But that wasn't included in the email.  Not a big deal really. 

Actually not a lot to say really.  Mold sucks etc.  Did yall like the title of this post, it was a Star Wars reference.  So that was 'cool'.

Also I have hired an intern for the coming year!  The intern will be putting up flyers and blogging at the intern's leisure. 

-Tommy Seahawk

ATTN: Blocks Running Low!

It's the end of the semester, so y'all know what that means: balances on your ~*OneCards*~ are running low. You may be saluting/harassing/begging your resident first year or large meal planned friend to swipe you in. You may even be hitting on bros or biddies in exchange for a swipe (via it's nothing personal bb, it's just business). Hopefully y'all will figure out a way to get your nom on without reverting to ramen for the next 2-3 weeks. 

I feel like the best way to run out of your OneCard balance is to have nothin' but 69. It shows that you're wild and fun and experimental and probably go crazy in the great room (via 69) but also that you probably had a good amount of blocks to begin with. Or you just gave up on great room food early in and just lived off of cheese and crackers (meal of choice). Also that you are a ~reflective student~ as, look! No pay for print left! You probably used all of that on research papers and the HOMEWORK you do! How very honors college of you, 69er!

If you find yourself with an empty OneCard then that probably really sucks. The best way to combat this is to trade beer, cigarettes, friendship, small animals, children, or even your grandparents for a swipe or two. It usually works. You will be fed, and isn't that the only thing that counts?