The Louisville Cardinal
AuGUST 28, 2007
WHAT'S INSIDE
NEWS
Dorm phones to
warn students
University. Housing's new
phones may keep students
informed during a crisis.
Seepage2
Advising to launch
tracking softWare
The University's advising
program is using the web to
point students in the right
direction.
SPORTS
California
dreamin'
Seepage2
Popular soccer trio from
California reunited at U of L.
Seepage4
FEATURES
Incoming
students battle
loneliness
Too many incoming
students fall victim to
homesickness -find out
how you can avoid it.
See pageS
ENTERTAINMENT
'September Dawn'
doesn't break
horizon
See page 11
Visit us online for
more stories and ·
photos: !
·---- ~·-- -
INDEX
Briefs 2
Classified 10
Editorial 7
Entertainment 11
Features 8
Opinion 7
Sports 4
Weather 2
Web link 2
'Ihe independent weekly student newspaper at the University of Louisville since 19 2 6
www.louisvillecardinal.com VOLUME 81, ISSUE 2 • 12 PAGES, 1 SECTION
U of L's domestic partner benefits under fire
By Kirk Laughlin
The Louisville Cardinal
With rallying cries opposing do­mestic
partner benefits rising up in
the Capitol rotunda, and an upcom­ing
election with benefits as a key
campaign issue, the University of
Louisville's domestic partner benefits
program has been at the nexus of
much statewide debate.
In June 2006, rhe Board of Trust­ees
voted 19-1 to approve a plan that
would extend insurance benefits to in­clude
the partner of a U of L faculty
member, regardless of sexual orienta­tion.
"ln providing domestic partner
'' " ... We sought to give the university the potential to recruit
and retain the highest quality faculty possible:'
-University of Louisville Vice President of Communications John Drees
benefits, we sought to give the univer­sity
the po.tential to recruit and retain
the highest quality faculty possible,"
U ofL Vice President of Communica­tions
John Drees said. "Doing this has
given us a competitive advantage."
According to Drees, as of]uly 31,
U ofl has 14 faculty members that are
enrolled in the domestic partner ben­efits
program. According to U of [s
facts Web site, there are 5,948 faculty
and staff employed by the university.
Belknap burglary
KENNETH MALAPOTE/LOUJSVILLE CARDINAL
University of Louisville Professor Patrick Shatto, who teaches psychological and brain science, sits at his d.esk inside the Life Sciences building.
Two female students were assaulted last Tuesday at the Life Sciences building when they came across a man selling magazine subscriptions.
Students assaulted near Life Sciences building
By Sarah McSparin
The Louisville Cardinal
University of Louisville police ar­rested
a suspect involved in two sepa­rate
robberies last Tuesday.
According to the police report,
two female students were approached
at separate times by a white male who
was selling magazines near the Life
Sciences building and the Inter-faith
Center between 5:45 and 8:45 p.m.
on Aug. 21.
One victim told police her life was
threatened, and was forced into the
Life Sciences building where she was
sexually assaulted.
Jordan Fridley, 20, was arrested
on campus Wednesday and has been
charged with third-degree sexual as­sault,
theft by extortion and unlawful
imprisonment.
According to the Department of
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
~ Always walk with a group of
people, and do not leave a parking
lot until everyone is in their car.
~ Remain alert and watchful for
suspicious activity.
~ Be alert for anything suspicious,
especially two or more people just
hanging around.
~ If you sense something wrong,
leave the area immediately.
~ If you are the victim of a robbery,
observe what the suspect looks like
and develop a mental picture so
Public Safety, the suspect may have
been working for the Alliance Service
Company.
Both victims felt threatened to buy
magazines, police said, and were forced
to withdrawal cash from ATMs.
"The suspect was selling magazines
and coerced the victims into purchas­ing
one, threatening them with physi­cal
harm," said Major Kenneth Brown
of the DPS.
Police are encouraging students to
be on the lookout for suspicious activ­ity.
University policy dictates that any
distribution of literature or public
speaking on campus must take place
between the hours of 9 a:m. and 5
p.m. during weekdays. The policy also
prohibits the sale of literanue or the
expectation of a donation upon dis­persal.
University police said that no such
that an accurate description can be
given to the police.
~ Don't chase orfollow the sus­pect.
~ Protect the crime scene. Leave
everything as it is. Don't try to clean
up or touch any possible evidence.
~ Write down a description of the
suspect including sex, race, height,
build, hair color, scars or tattoos,
jewelry, approximate age and
clothing. If possible, note in which
direction the suspect fled.
-DPS
documentation had been filed for
Fridley, who is from Illinois.
"I think it's a hassle," junior art
major Courtney Bray said. "People
shouldn't try to sell stuff on campus.
It makes me feel vulnerable in a way,
like I can't say no to them."
According to the DPS crime log,
the robbery was one of 16 reported
thefts this month.
However, despite the recent rob­beries,
most students said they still
feel safe walking around campus.
"''ve never seen anything happen
or know anyone who's had something
happen, so I assume that the odds of
something happening to me are pretty
slim," Bob Buchberger, a junior bio­engineering
major said. "DPS is never
very far away."
Anyone who has information on
these crimes is asked to call DPS at
852-6111.
CRIME AT U OF L:
~ According to the DPS daily
crime log, Tues., Aug. 21 saw
nine criminal acts at U of L,
resulting in five arrests.
~ Over the month of August,
there have been 16 cases of
theft, five cases of trespassing,
three marijuana charges and
one arrest for carrying a con­cealed,
deadly weapon.
~ To access the university
police's daily crime log on the
Web, visit http://www.louisville.
edu/admin/dps.
The enthusiasm is not shared
across the rest of Kentucky. ln the
spring 2007 legislative session, Rep­resentative
Stan Lee [R-Lexington]
the Republican nominee for attorney
general, sent a letter asking for current
Attorney General Greg Stumbo's legal
opinion on U of Ui domestic partner
plan.
In the letter, Lee contended that
providing health insurance to a state
employee's same-sex partner violates
the Kentucky constitutional amend­ment
passed in 2004limiting marriage
between a man and a woman and say­ing
that any "legal status identical to
or similar to marriage for unmarried
individuals shall not be valid or rec-ognized."
In Stumbo's opinion, he asked the
university to use "any other approach
that would not involve the unconsti­tutional
recognition of a legal status
resembling that of marriage" in pro­viding
insurance benefits to employ­ees'
domestic partners.
On July 31, with a special legis­lative
session called by Gov. Ernie
Fletcher, the issue came up again. The
Family Foundation of Kentucky ral­lied
in the state house rotunda for 'the
' legislators to pass a bill halting domes­tic
partner benefits. Numerous state
legislators, including Senate President
DOMESTIC see page 2
Site gives opportunities
By Brian Ray
The Louisville Cardinal
Students may find the job-seek­ing
process a little simpler with a
newly unveiled Web site, which
compiles career information for on
and off-campus fields.
The University of Louisville
Career Development Center's Web
site will be available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week through Sym­plicity,
an online, personal career
management system. The system
will allow students to browse thou­sands
of on and off-campus jobs in
a variety of fields, as well as enable
employers and students to connect
with one another, according to the
center.
This is a big change from what
students have been offered. In fact,
for the last three-and-a-half years
there has not been a career dev~l­opment
center at U ofL.
Leslye Erickson, the new and
current director for the Career De­velopment
Center, is responsible
for the new center Web site.
"This is a slowly re-emerging
service that has been missed ter­ribly,"
said Erickson. "Symplic­ity
will become a conduit to help
employees find employers and em­ployers
find students."
Employers looki·ng for students
and graduates can post thousands
of jobs ranging from on and off-cam­pus
part time, work study, full time,
internship, cooperative education and
summe~ positions online. Students
can then browse the listings and search
for a job. Also, students will be able to
submit resumes to companies online.
Michelle Strickland, a sophomore
political science major, is a student as­sistant
and entering her second year
working in the library. She is on the
federal work study program, which
uses student labor to pay for tuition.
"They schedule me between and after
my classes," Strickland said. "They
know when I can work and· are very
flexible. Also, it's an easy way to get
homework done and an excellent way
to get resources for research papers."
According to Erickson, students
and employers have been asking for an
easier way to communicate. The Ca­reer
Development Center will attempt
to meet the demand by offering U of
L students and alumni one-on-one
·career counseling and free workshops.
The workshops will address the pro­cess
of exploring, deciding and man­aging
student's unique career goals
during college and after graduation,
according to the center.
The U of L Career Development
Center is still under construction, but
will be located in the basement of the
Houchens Building LL04/03, or on­line
at http:/ /www.campuslife.louis­ville.
edu/career.
Eastern Pkwy. bridge deemed
structurally deficient by state
The portion of Eastern Pkwy. that
nms over the CSX railroad tracks on
the University of Louisville's Belknap
Campus is considered structurally de­ficient
by the state. This classification
was shared by the 1-35 bridge that col­lapsed
in Minneapolis, Minn. on Aug.
1, killing 13.
The bridge, built in 1954, is one of
11 bridges in Jefferson County with
the "deficient" rating. However, the
Belknap structure is the only Lou­isville
bridge set for renovation. U
of L plans to repair the bridge in
2009.
The roadway, which overpasses
Floyd St., accommodates nearly
13,000 commuters daily, connect­ing
South Third St. with Bardstown
Rd.
Editorial502.852.0663 • Advertising 502.852.0669 ©2007 THE LOUISVILLE CARDINAL, INC.