Guns on Campus: Safety, Liberty, or Insanity?

Imagine walking into a classroom, looking at your classmates, and not knowing who may or may not be carrying a gun.  If some people get their way, that could soon be the case. 

Creating a storm across New Hampshire universities is a recent bill that would prevent public universities from having policies that would prohibit students from exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms.  If House Bill 334 is passed when it goes up for vote in the House in January, it could affect all public universities as well as public facilities in New Hampshire. 

House Bill 334 Controversy

On Wed., Dec. 7, a forum regarding New Hampshire House Bill 334 was held in the Fire Place Lounge.  This bill, which is trying to get passed in the house, would rescind the right for a public campus to form firearm policies at their personal discretion. It was the unanimous feeling of the Student Senate that this issue be brought to the attention of the entire PSU student body, the faculty, and the staff, because House Bill 334 ultimately affects every member of this campus. Participating in discussion and taking all student concerns and questions were Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Mark Fischler and Campus P. D. representatives Jen Frank and Chief of Campus Police Creig Doyle. 

Viva La Plymouth?

In the HUB on Dec. 1, the president of PACE, Adam Berthiaume, spoke to a seemingly empty Fire Place Lounge. A couple professors showed up, but surprisingly, only a handful of students, mostly from PACE. After Berthiaume's speech, Delilah Smith from the S.A.G.E Center stood up and personally thanked him for making the decision to not allow Barstool's Black-Out party to come to Plymouth State University. 

Two Dead in Virginia Tech Shooting

Breaking news. Various reports across the nation have confirmed that around the noon hour on Thurs., Dec. 8^th gunshots were fired at the Virginia Tech Campus. It is reported that the initial victim was a police officer. According to the Washington Post "the first alert advised of gunshots reported at the school's Coliseum parking lot." The report continues that "a campus-wide message advised of a potential second shooting victim. ‘Stay indoors,' it warned. ‘Secure in place.'" The suspect remains at large on the Blacksburg campus. This event has occurred at a crucial time as House Bill 334, which would take away a campus's right to restrict firearms, has recently come under fire. Campus officials have most recently released the information that a campus police officer and one other victim are confirmed dead.

To Be Employed, or Not To Be Employed?

Following your dreams may not be the most realistic piece of advice for young minds nowadays. Recently, The Wall Street Journal released a list of college majors with the highest and lowest unemployment rates over 10 percent. Many of these majors are what most students are passionate about, especially the students who attend Plymouth State University.

Student Success Soars to Unprecedented Rates

Last May, 41 percent of students from Plymouth State University's 2007 cohort turned their tassels at the Commencement Ceremony, constituting the largest group of students to graduate in four years in more than two decades.

In her October 2011 Report to the Faculty, Provost Julie Bernier compared 2011's four-year completion rate to that in the 1990's, which was 24 percent. According to thecollegesolution.com, the national average of four-year graduation rates at public colleges and universities is 29.4 percent. 

Academic Calendar Set to Change for the Next 8 - 10 Years

On Sun., Nov. 13 there was a great deal of talk at the Student Senate meeting regarding the possibility of changes being made to the academic calendar. Senator Kelly Donovan reported that the changes to the calendar proposed by a select group of students, staff, operating staff, people from academics and from ResLife, had been rejected by the Faculty Senate.

The rejected proposition was that Winterim be shortened by a week. This idea fell through due to the fact that during Winterim students and staff are traveling abroad, students are taking courses, and there was also a problem with meeting New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation requirements.

Republican Front Runners

The 2012 Presidential race is heating up as candidates prepare for the New Hampshire Republican Primary. With every candidate rising and falling in popularity, no one can say with any degree of certainty which candidate is going to win N.H. on Jan. 10, 2012. With the primaries right around the corner, it's important for students to stay informed and get prepared to vote.

We Must Always, Always Remember Our Vets

On Thurs., Nov. 10, a Veterans Remembrance service was held in honor of Veteran's Day.  The theme of the remembrance ceremony was the support and commitment to our nation's veteran service members.

Keynote speaker, Major General William N. Reddel III, who is the Adjutant General of the New Hampshire National Guard, reminded the crowd that "we must always, always remember our vets and what they've done for us." He urged the crowd of about 40 people to especially remember the veterans of the Vietnam War, who were treated without respect or support upon their return to the United States. 

Ski Package Voting Results

Cannon Mountain approved as PSU's ski package for the coming ski/board season. 

Revolution in the Streets

On Tues., Nov. 15, Dr. Whitney Howarth presented a lecture titled "What's Going On? Revolution in the Streets", as part of the International Education Week celebrations here at Plymouth State University. The lecture focused on youth movements, making change in the Middle East as well as in the United States. Relating the Arab Spring movements to the Occupy Wall Street movements, Dr. Howarth's presentation examined what it is in today's world that is making young people strive for change.

Occupy the Movement

On Nov. 12, Occupy New Hampshire protested in Concord. A small mass combined its ideas, picket signs, and goals outside of the State Building. "This is man-made, not just a cloudy day," Dick Pollock, a fellow Concord protester, stated when asked about the social and economic inequality movement here, Occupy New Hampshire.

USNH Trustee Resigns, Creating a Void in Senate

Plymouth State University's Student Senate is down a crucial member after the resignation of USNH trustee Nicholas Casali on Thurs., Nov. 10.

Casali, who had been an active member of Student Senate for three years, resigned in an email to his fellow Senate members, stating his reason for resignation as needing "to strongly concentrate on my academics for my direct future."

"Taking Root," Much More Than Planting Trees

On Mon., Nov. 14, International Week kicked off here at Plymouth State University with the commencement of the Parade of Nations. This event was followed by numerous others in support and recognition of the various ethnicities represented on Plymouth's campus. One event in particular, which rounded out the first day of International Week events, was the screening of the documentary "Taking Root."

Man Physically Assaulted and Robbed while Walking Alone on Campus

Early on the morning of Thurs., Nov. 3, a Mandarin Taste employee reported to police that he was physically assaulted and robbed after delivering a food order on campus. The suspect and his whereabouts remain unknown.

The victim told police that he was walking by Samuel Read Hall Hall around 12:38 a.m. when he suffered a blow to the back of the head and fell to the ground. No serious injuries ensued.

Undergraduate Senior Check List

Calling all seniors!  Spring semester is fast approaching, and with that comes the responsibilities of finishing out classes and requirements for your major, filing all the paperwork out on time, and preparing for commencement and the job market.  The problems that most seniors face are where to start and what to do.  Fear not! PSU is here to help you get that diploma on time.

Plymouth State Speaks Out at the March Against Violence

If one were to guess where most college students would be at 9:30 am on the Saturday of "Halloween Weekend," one of the biggest college party weekends across the country, they probably wouldn't say speaking out against domestic violence and sexual assault. However, that is precisely what approximately 75 Plymouth State University students and area residents were doing on Oct. 29, 2011.

Why I Hate Math

Light up the Darkness

I hate math. 

Not just because historically it is the only class that could sucker-punch my GPA harder than George Foreman, but because people put far too much belief in things they don't completely understand. 

Adjuncts to Vote for Unionization by End of Semester

On Mon., Oct. 17, representatives for pro-union adjuncts at Plymouth State University filed with the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board to hold an election to unionize adjunct faculty members. An election is scheduled to take place within 45 days.