2008 Winter Issue 8 (February 29, 2008)
Varsity teams feel the paucity of college funds
A low budget for varsity sports equipment is affecting competitiveness and safety, according to some varsity athletes and coaches.
Kurt Ramler, head football coach at Carleton, claims that “since I’ve been here, I’ve been fighting for a budget comparable to that of other teams in the MIAC, so that my team can compete.” He adds that though “Carleton does a great job emphasizing its priorities – and they value the right things – I'd be lying if I said I was convinced that our budget is at a point where we can compete with the level of opponents in our conference. Our competitiveness is limited by our budget, which is significantly less than that of other teams in the conference.”
Scott Bierman, Dean of the College, advises the Administrative Council about “broad athletic department financial issues,” as he calls them – such as renovating the arboretum tennis courts and hiring new coaches. Bierman speaks to the claim of varsity teams being under-funded, saying, “if you looked at the Carleton athletic department budget as a whole, you would probably see that it is significantly higher than the MIAC average. If, on the other hand, you looked at the portion of the budget concerning specific equipment, you might find it less. That is a decision we have made to provide the best personnel possible for out athletes.” Bierman states that “our students will have the best athletic experience if we provide the best coaches we can get. I am convinced that our students are receiving the best athletic education from the best coaches in the country.”
Full-time coaches at Carleton receive several privileges, not least of which is enjoying faculty status, which gives them the title of professor and a salary reflecting it. (Incidentally, for Ramler, “being a faculty member is a great honor,” and that “on a personal and professional level, Carleton does a fantastic job with its staff.”) Bierman admits that “hiring a coach full-time represents a significant financial decision, as does giving coaches faculty status.” But according to Bierman, “we are willing to trade cutting-edge equipment for the best personnel – with the exception of safety.” When it comes to safety equipment, Bierman says “I talk with Leon [Lunder, Athletics Director at Carleton] on a regular basis to make sure we are not skimping on safety.”
Yet, Ramler argues “if we don’t have state-of-the-art equipment for football, often we are putting our players at risk.” The issue of lacking and out-dated safety equipment extends into sports beyond football – particularly baseball. Geoff King ’10, a pitcher for the Knights baseball team who describes the current array of baseball equipment as “essentially some bats and balls,” states that “we don’t have very good L-screens, which are important for pitcher safety when throwing for batting practice,” and that “the cage we use for outside batting practice definitely could be replaced.” Cam McDonald-Hyman ‘09, outfielder for the Knights, seconds King. “I can think of six or seven times,” McDonald-Hyman says, “when one of my teammates has either been struck or come very close to being struck by a baseball that passed through a hole in a net.” Also, according to McDonald-Hyman, “the surface of the outdoor batting cage is AstroTurf laid over gravel, not cement or a composite surface as it should be.” As a result, “the uneven surface causes balls to ricochet at odd, possibly dangerous angles.” He says “this equipment is dangerous and not even close to the state-of-the-art equipment that a school like St. Thomas and St. Olaf have.”
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Strong Northfield police presence at recent Chiefs game
Carleton’s hockey games have come to represent a classic case of town-gown relations,this time, with a breathalyzer added into the mix.
The hockey game on February 15 crystallizes these interactions and the implications of tensions between students and the police force in Northfield. At the game, eight Carleton students were cited for underage drinking at the Northfield Ice Arena, the home venue of Carleton’s ice hockey team.
Campus Activities does not renew director Robin Hart Ruthenbeck’s contract, replacement pending (Login Required)
In an email to students early last week, Director of Campus Activities Robin Hart Ruthenbeck announced that the Division of Student Life has decided not to renew her contract this year. Ruthenbeck ended her nine-year career at Campus Activities last Thursday. Reasons for Ruthenbeck’s dismissal are unknown due to the Division of Student Life’s privacy policies and Ruthenbeck’s own desire that her departure not create too much of a disruption.
Sayles-Hill faces modifications in upcoming years (Login Required)
Along with the upcoming closure of the dining hall contract by spring term, the Sayles Hill space may be facing modifications, according to Fred Rogers, Vice President and Treasurer.
“Preliminary plans have been drawn for renovating the snack bar,” Rogers said. Proposals about these possible renovations have been included in the dining hall contracts. “The two companies [Bon Apppetite and Sodexho] have very different proposals for what could be done with the snack bar,” Rogers said.
Minnesota state legislature funds $6.6 billion transportation bill (Login Required)
The Minnesota state legislature began its 2008 legislative session just two weeks ago, but already it has passed a controversial transportation funding bill that failed to pass in 2003 and again in 2005. This Monday, after a weekend long vote scramble, state politicians overrode Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto to pass the Transportation Funding Bill, House File 2800.
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Harbor Branch Senior Scientist discusses recent technological studies on deep sea life (Login Required)
On Friday February 22, Edith A. Widder, Senior Scientist of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, presented convocation. Her talk was entitled “New Technologies to Discover our World.”
Widder’s many accomplishments include co-founding the Ocean Research Conservation Association (ORCA) in 2005, the creation of the Eye in the Sea camera system, and the education of people across the USA, including students at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida, where she served as a senior scientist and acted as a consultant for the deep sea portion of Blue Planet. Widder graduated from Tufts University and then continued on to receive her PhD in neurobiology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is considered to be an expert on bioluminescence.
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Knights lose tough match (Login Required)
First year head coach Luciano Battaglini suffered his first loss at Carleton as the Knights lost 9-0 to Luther College, the number 9th ranked team in the central region. The loss came as a disappointment as the Knights won last years match 6-3
Basketball loses heartbreaker to Gustavus in Semis (Login Required)
The Knights lost to Gustavus in dramatic fashion last night in overtime in the MIAC semi-finals.The Knights led for most of the contest and the entire second half until Gustavus’ Jesse Van Sickle hit a three pointer with five seconds left in regulation. Gustavus then won in overtime 71-70. Jeremy Sutherland ‘10 had an outstanding game with a career high 25 points. He got off to a fast start scoring ten of Carleton’s first twelve points. He ended the first half with ten points. Behind Sutherland’s hot shooting, the Knights pulled out to an early 19-11 lead,but Gustavus worked their way back and were only down by 31-29 at the half.
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Women’s track attends Parent’s Day Open (Login Required)
The Carleton women’s track and field team rose to the competition at Saturday’s University of Minnesota Parents’ Day Open, recording 21 season or personal best performances. One of the most impressive personal best performances was recorded by Laura Roach ’10, who had a seven second personal best in the mile run, to finish third, and second among collegiate athletes. Her time of 5:11.32 is the fourth fastest time run in the MIAC this season.
Men’s tennis undefeated after eighth regular season match (Login Required)
The Knights remained unbeaten after an impressive defeat of St. Thomas University. The Knights are now 8-0 and 3-0 in MIAC competition. The Knights won 7-2, losing only in first singles and second doubles.
Knights advance to MIAC Championship Game (Login Required)
After defeating Concordia college in the first round of the MIAC playoffs, the Knights defeated St. Benedict on Wednesday to advance to the MIAC Championship game on Saturday where a bid to the NCAA tournament will be on the line.In advancing to the championship game, Carleton has already bested last season’s effort when they lost in the semi-finals of the MIAC playoffs.
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Is the rehabilitative promise of the American prison system still valid? (Login Required)
“For the first time in the nation’s history, more than one in 100 American adults is behind bars, according to a new report.” Conducted by the Pew Center and published by the New York Times, this report points to a steady rise in incarceration rates in the United States. Interestingly, the report also states that the rate of violent crimes has actually decreased, indicating that the number of non-violent prisoners has increased substantially in recent years.
Dangerous Liasions: Community participation in recycling and sustainability at Carleton (Login Required)
A month ago, I had a conversation with a friend about recycling during which he told me that he had become disillusioned back in high school when he had seen one of the custodians dump the contents of both the trash bin and the recycling bin together into one massive can after school one day.
The wrong turns of winter term (Login Required)
Well, it’s the end of the term. The end of nine stressful, sleep-deprived, frustrating, drama-filled weeks. And, like during the end of every term, I have time to look back and objectively reflect on the events of these past few weeks, both at Carleton – the cancellation of the Pre-Frosh Trips, the termination of Robin Hart Ruthenbeck’s contract, just for starters – and nationwide – Fidel Castro stepping down, Ralph Nader stepping up.
Stroke of Genius: 2008 NFL Mock Draft (Login Required)
With the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine wrapping up earlier this week, I thought that I would take some time and write up my own mock draft.
Missed DVD Fest? All movies reviewed here (Login Required)
Did you not make it to DVD Fest? Were you not lucid enough to remember the films? Either way, we can help you figure out which movies you’ll want to watch online.
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Arb Noted (Login Required)
While Puxatony Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, this week in Minnesota seems to be defying his prediction and hints of spring abound if you look in the right places.
Caught in the ACT (Login Required)
Bolstered by generous CSA funding, Carleton College Habitat for Humanity is sending 52 students on spring break trips this year.
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