Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Nov. 10, 2010, edition 1 / Page 7
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Campus Poll: Website Redesign Data Gathered by Ashleigh Phniips Are you aware of these new websites? Financial Aid: yes: 20 no: 40 Admissions: yes: 15 no: 45 Athletics: yes: 24 no: 36 Facility Services Repairs Fauity Steam Pipe Caitlin Griffin, Staff Writer On October 19, a large steam line pipe rupture between Joyner and Harris required facility services to shut down the steam distribution on that part of campus. The Meredith Herald sought an exclusive interview with Sharon Campbell, Director of Facility Services, in order to better explain to the campus community what happened that day. According to Campbell, the Mer edith central plant located behind Belk Dining Hall has large boilers that gener ate the steam used to heat individual buildings. A substantial amount of the piping that feeds academic and auxiliary buildings is buried directly underground between buildings. Over tiipe, moisture and ground shifts corrode the pipe cov ering, increasing the potential for small problems or large ruptures like the one on October 19. In order to repair the rupture as ef ficiently as possible. Facility Services immediately shut down the steam line system in the affected area and dug an exploratory hole to see if the specific location of the leak could be determined. The college maintenance crew had to ex pose the entire line in order to discover the exact location of the rupture and to determine as the size of the piping that needed replacement. Digging on Thursday and Friday of that week was performed carefully both by machine and by hand so as not to disrupt the computer network lines that run parallel to the steam lines. The process of expos ing the pipe was handled by two experi enced in-house workers, James Brown and Michael Matthews. Since Meredith’s maintenance crews are not certified nor equipped to perform large pipe replacement and wielding, the college’s contractor was on site on Monday, October 25th, to plan the job, order the needed materials, and tentatively schedule the replacement. The contractor notified facility services on October 29 that all of the materials had arrived at their site and that work could begin on the follovring Mon day, November 1st. In regards to how this affected the campus community, ■ Campbell states, “Safety requirements for working on steam lines mandate that steam be isolated at two separate points. To accomplish this requires us to shutdovra steam distribution [heat] to parts of the west campus.” After the initial repair, each connection or turn will be welded to prevent further steam leaks. The entire process is estimated to last three to five days. Once the contractor has finished the repair, facility services will test the lines for leaks before insulating and burying the pipes again, after which steam will be restored to all of the build ings. When asked about funding for the pipe replacement, Campbell said, “Safety, building functionality, and economics all play into our decisions on the best time to schedule the repair.” She explained that the college budget contains funds for maintaining the college facili ties, including money designated for criti cal emergency repairs. Meredith mainte nance staff provides as much of the labor as possible; in this particular circum stance, the use of in-house crew for much of the excavation work saved the college an estimated $2,500. The complete steam line repair is estimated to cost around $i8,ooo, not including the in-house exca vation, and the cost of concrete sidewalk repair remains undetermined. Religion and Ethical Studies: A Lesson in Learning Meredith’s Religion and Philosophy department was identified as a program un der review at the beginning of last year. The department met to generate some new ideas about how they wanted their department to be analyzed and decided to create a new major. Religious and Ethical Studies, which would communicate the department’s focus more clearly to students and their future employers. Until the beginning of last year, this academic sector of Meredith identified itself as the Religion and Philosophy department. Unless you were a student taking classes within that department, it was difficult to define the Religion and Philosophy major, and some students were weary of future employers not taking the major seriously. “Unfortunately, I don’t think employers see the value of philosophy, but they do see the value of ethics,” said Dr. Margarita Suarez, a professor in the department. This high regard for academic experience in ethics studies by employers influenced the de partment to finally alter their major - but although the name has changed, the values remain the same. “Ethics has always been a core part of this department, even when we were primarily a religion department Ethics has always been an important part of what we teach,” says Dr. Robert Vance. Many students are unaware of what exactly they are getting into when they take a religion or ethics course, although the term ethics draws many students to the program as a desirable field of study. Dr. Shannon Grimes, a professor in Religious and Ethical Studies, stated that “one of the biggest misconceptions on learning religion and teaching religion is that people think it’s all about beliefs and that maybe it’s training Aislinn Murphy, Staff Writer you to be part of the ministiy, but [..,] it’s about culture; religion is the foundation of culture. It will help students understand what is happening globally.” Religion and Ethical Studies courses also provide values and skills that prove highly useful after college. Dr. Suarez reports that the major “prepare[s] students for the ability to think, and the ability to write, and the ability to speak cogently. And that is something that employers really value.” This major will show future employers that its graduates are globally and ethically aware; have great writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills; and have an understanding and respect for diversity and different cultures. World Religion, Religion in the United States, Ethics of Love and Justice, and Re ligion and Film are all classes that would look interesting to future employers. ' But aren’t all of these skills being taught not only in the Religious and Ethi cal Studies major but throughout Meredith College? Dr. Stephen Benko said, “This major reflects the population of the faculty. It sticks to the core values that Meredith College is articulating about women be ing leaders, about women being ethical leaders.” This major will look fantastic on resumes and future employers will enjoy having workers who are trained in criti cal, ethical thinking. If you are a Meredith student of undeclared major and are in terested in attaining marketable, life-long skills. Religious and Ethical Studies may be the major for you. Campus Announcements Hiding: North Korean Refugees A film and discussion presented bv Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) Nov. j,o, 7 pm Ledford 101 “Hiding” is a filpi about a group of North Korean refugees hid ing in China today, and exposes their struggles to survive. The film will be followed by a dilicussion with “nomads” from the group Liberty in Nortli Korea (LiNK), who travel the cbuntiy raising awareness about the -huiuanitafian crisis centered in North Korea. While the world focuses on North Korea’s security issue, hun dreds'of fiipusands of North Koreans continue to be enslaved in prison ^ camps tddaj'. Up fd 300,000 have also escaped to China seeking food, piedicine.'wQrk, or freedom from political and religious oppression. Among the 300,000; 70 to 90 percent of North Korean women are trafficked and sold into the sex trade, and more and more refugees are fleeing to Southeast Asia to escape imprisonment upon repatriation by China. , Contact Hilaiy.Smith for further details (smithhil@meredith. edu) Announcement from Academic and Career Planning: This summer marks the next installment of the North Carolina State Government Internship Program! Last summer, two Meredith , students were accepted into the paid internship program. The intern ships provide ov'er 100 college students with the opportunity to work in 29 different state agenciesand departments across North Carolina. The summer program lasts for ten weeks and students in the program get the chance to get real-life experience in fields they’re interested in. The NC Youth Advocacy, and Involvement Office organized the state-wide program, attracting students from all majors and interests. Appoint ments within many state cultural organizations, siich as the state muse ums, and other departments such as the NC Court of Appeals, have been made - the possibilities are virtually endless! This year, the deadline to apply is Januaiy 20, 2011. Meredith will be horting an information session for the program on Friday, Novemberapth at 10am in ACP. The internship is open to sophomores (rising juniors), juniors (rising seniors), and seniors who arc planning to attend graduate school. Want your department’s event featured in The Herald? Email the details to herald@email.meredith.edu
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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Nov. 10, 2010, edition 1
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