™ HERALD
January 29, 2014
Students Lose Printing Stipend, Gain Lower Printing Costs
Marlena Brown, news editor
New Meredith students entered this semes
ter with some unexpected changes, as revisions to the
budget that were voted on by the administration for
the 2013-2014 school year went into effect this spring
semester. Recent changes in campus funding have
resulted in incoming freshman and transfer students -
no longer being allotted money for on campus print
ing services.
This change was not sudden, as it was once
a part of Meredith’s Technology Initiative Program,
which granted new and current students a laptop
computer. Receiving a new laptop unit during a stu
dent’s junior year was a recent addition to the pro
gram. The program also included a printing stipend
of $10 a semester to use Meredith’s printing facili
ties. According to SGA President Caitlyn DeBona,
both of these incentives were closely tied together in
a portion of the annual budget. Yet when the Lap
top Initiative was discontinued, so was the printing
stipend, which according to Jeff Hewlett, Chief In
formation Officer, was a direct incentive from MTI.
Now, new freshman, transfer and graduate students
will receive a five dollar stipend for their first semes
ter while supplementing printing costs on their own
for the remainder of the school year. The change in
the technology policy practically went unheard of, as
students were not formally addressed about the mat
ter.
Karen Brenneman, Director of Technological
Resources, provided a response to shed some light on
the situation. She explained that the annual printing
stipend was originally supposed to be discontinued
along with the Laptop Initiative, but the adminis
trative committee did not feel this would be fair to
“Although five dollars is quite small,
it was a better option for new
students instead of providing no
printing allowanee. The committee
also wanted current students to keep
their printing credit since they were
part of the initial laptop program.”
incoming and current students. Brenneman stated
that “It was supposed to be a gesture to help new stu
dents” and that the printing credit change was “not a
change of policy, but a new policy.”
Brenneman also explained that the commit
tee had little choice, and wanted to go with the kinder
alternative. Although five dollars is quite small, it was
a better option for new students instead of providing
no printing allowance. The committee also wanted
current students to keep their printing credit since
they were part of the initial laptop program. To com
pensate for the limited printing credit for students;
the cost of printing was reduced, five cents per black
and white copy and twenty cents for color copies
(only in the copy center—at convenience copiers,
they are still thirty five cents). This lowering of costs
was directly related to a new contract being imple
mented this school year. She also explained that the
substitute program for the Laptop Initiative is called
BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device. The objective is to
encourage students to bring their own devices, but
not have to be totally dependent upon the institution
for printing costs.
Jeff Howlett provided additional informa
tion, explaining that the printing stipend “came
about due to a student committee sponsored by the
College Sustainability Coordinator on reducing the
campus green print, which recommended the estab
lishment of a campus wide print management system
to replace the printers once given to all members of
the laptop program.” He also explained that the dis
continuation of the laptop program has resulted in
funding for other technology pursuits on campus,
which he said “will provide greater impact to stu
dents,” using examples of the recent fiber optic cable
replacement and providing funding for online/hy
brid courses.
The issue has been taken on by DeBona and
her SGA coalition, as they work to revive the stipend
portion of the budget for new students. She stated
that “SGA has expressed concerns about the printing
costs...a printing allowance should be provided to all
undergraduate students.”
DeBona also stated that SGA is working in
hand with Howlett to ensure that all undergradu
ate students receive a $10 printing stipend each se
mester. According to Howlett, this has been a work
in progress since fall semester. Yet reception from
Howlett has been positive, and as DeBona stated, a
proposal for implementation of the original stipend
policy is being brought forth in a future meeting:
“Jeff Howlett has been very receptive... he has agreed
to take our proposal for the printing allowances to be
provided for all undergraduates to the budget meet
ing for next year.”
Although DeBona explained that there are
still many details being worked out, arrangements
have been made for discussing the issue via proposal
in mid-February or March. So while this issue has
yet to reach a resolution, new and current students
should prepare for ongoing changes on campus.
Good Academic Standing Required for Meredith Athletes
Julia Dent, managing editor
And so, the athletics’ scandals
at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill continue. UNC learning
specialist, Mary Willingham, has come
out with data proving academic fraud
including no-show classes, grade
changes and unsupervised indepen
dent study courses. Former football
player Michael McAdoo has said that
his codhselors pushed him to sign up
for four no-show and independent
studies classes to boost his GPA. These
frauds were mainly within the Afri
can and Afro-American Studies de
partment, and department chairman
Julius Nyang’oro, and his assistant
Deborah Crowder are currently being
investigated. According to the News
and Observer, athletes make up only
five percent of the college’s popula
tion but account for almost 50 percent
of these academic dishonesties. UNC
Provost, Jim Dean, says that because
half of the students involved were
not athletes, these classes and grade
changes were not made as an athletic
motive.
However, Willingham be
lieves the athletes were the motiva
tion behind the fraud because she has
collected data on 183 academically
challenged athletes since 2004 and re
ported that 60 percent read between a
fourth and eighth grade reading level,
10 percent read below a third grade
reading level and one student on the
men’s basketball team can’t read or
write at all. 85 percent of those ath
letes were on the men’s football and
basketball teams.
Meredith College takes steps
to ensure academic honesty with
its athletes. “We take several mea
sures to ensure the staff and athletes
maintain integrity as representatives
of Meredith College. The NCAA and
the USA South Athletic Conference,
our governing bodies, require sev
eral steps to ensure student athletes
are in compliance before each season
of participation,” said Wendy Jones,
the Assistant Athletic Director and
Sports Information Director. Athletes
have to be in “good academic standing
with the college” in order to play, but
Meredith doesn’t require a minimum
GPA. Steps are still taken to monitor
athletes’ academic progress and help
those who are struggling with classes,
and non-athletic violations are also
monitored and athletes can be sus
pended from playing if the violation
is extreme enough. “The athletic pro
gram strives to enhance individual de
velopment by promoting the following
core values: integrity, discipline, re
spect and responsibility,” said Jones.
“The athletic
program [at
Meredith College]
strives to enhance
individual
development by
promoting these
core values:
integrity, discipline,
respect and
responsibility.”
STAFF
Editors: Jessica Feltner, Editor in Chief. Julia Dent, Managing Editor. Cody Jeffrey, Assistant Editor. Lucia Rynka-Estevez, Layout Editor.
Marlena Brown, News Editor. Maitlyn Healy, A&E and Sports Editor. Rachel Pratl, Editorial Editor. Caitlin Davis, Copy Editor.
Staff Writers: Katy Koop, Alyssa Mathewson, Isabel Benson, Jenny Gerardo, Anita Holliday, Fantasia Evans, Kelly Wallace
The Meredith Herald is produced by students throughout the academic year and is printed by Hinton Press. The paper is funded by the College and through inde
pendent advertising. The opinions expressed in the editorial columns do not necessarily reflect those of the college administration, faculty, or student body.
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