Hawk's Herald

Marijuana Survey – TAKE A LOOK!

2010-04-05T11:37:00.002-04:00

Hey guys,

The Hawks' Herald is doing an article reporting the real story about students' marijuana habits. We are trying to get the facts about just what students' habits are, so we designed a quick, anonymous survey for students to show us their perspective on pot.

Take the survey here.

Please be honest. We do not have any interest in ratting people out or getting anyone in trouble. We simply want an accurate idea of just how big or small of a part marijuana plays in students' lives.

Thanks guys. We really appreciate your help.

Full E. Coli Report

2009-09-10T00:02:00.003-04:00

Hey all,

Want to know about how long the E. Coli danger will last? Want to know who found out about the contamination first on campus? Do you just want to know what this whole "bad water thing" is all about?

Find out here: www.hawksherald.com

Commencement speaker announced

2009-05-03T17:15:00.006-04:00

It's official: Roger Williams University has chosen a commencement speaker that may have many students, faculty, and relatives asking "who?"

Educator and author Joan Countryman will speak before nearly 1,000 undergraduates at this year's graduation ceremony, according to an announcement on the school's web page posted sometime over the past few days.

Before her work as interim head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa from 2006-07, Countryman ran a private school in RI. She is currently retired and sits on the board of trustees at Sarah Lawrence University. She will be one of four people receiving honorary degrees at the commencement, along with RI senator Jack Reed, businessman Ibrahim Arikan, and RWU board member Jerrold Lavine.

The Chief Justice of Puerto Rico's Supreme court, Federico Hernández Denton, will speak at the Law School graduation where he, attorney Louise Durfee , and US magistrate Jacob Hagopian will also receive honorary law degrees.

Past commencement speakers have included the filmmaker Bobby Farrely, first lady Laura Bush, and track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Immediate action against Tent City

2009-04-20T16:30:00.011-04:00

Well it only took less than 24 hours for RWU to put a stop to some outdoor summer fun. An email was sent to Bayside residents explaining the summer policies. Along with the no open container rule was this:

Camping- Please do not set up you tents in the Baside U's. The university is not able to provide any security measures for those individuals sleeping outdoors. Also, maintenance and facilities will be hindered from properly maintaining our outdoor space with tents set up outdoors. *All tents set up will be removed at the owners expense*"

Sorry guys, looks like your city was ruled under a dictatorship.

Tent City

2009-04-20T02:25:00.004-04:00

Whitecap residents, including Mike Malmberg and Jesse Dickson, were struck by a little cabin fever and decided to go camping--in the middle of the Bayside Courtyard.

As of this posting they are sleeping in their tents. Score one for student debauchery.

RWU in the news

2009-04-19T01:27:00.003-04:00

RWU had only one major mention in the news this week.

The Hartford Examiner conducted an interview with RWU student and twice published author Estevon Vega. At only 18, Estevon is in the process of penning his third book titled Arson. The interview delves into Estevon as a writer and discusses his latest creation.

New Herald Out today

2009-04-17T17:25:00.001-04:00

Hi kids,

So it seems that the printed version of the Herald is a bit delayed today. However, the paper is up in all its glory online at:

www.hawksherald.com

Included in this week's issue are stories about:

* The STAND Die-In
* A Cedar Break-in
* The cancellation of the Spring Weekend Chameleon Club
* Features on Twitter and other cool stuff
* Large Tax-Day protest
* Roe v Wade Lawyer speaks at law school.
and much much more...

Read it and weep!

Academic Showcase

2009-04-17T17:24:00.005-04:00

An exposition featuring the work of RWU's best, brightest, and most talented is on display in the Architecture School's gallery. Check it out!

RWU in the news

2009-04-12T14:40:00.003-04:00

RWU made only a few solid appearances in the news last week, but as promised we have them for you here:

To celebrate Earth Day, RWU and Bon Appetit` dining are holding a "low carbon" meal, which apparently means that they serve food that required less pollution to produce? Kind of confusing.. either way the meal got a write up in the Providence Journal.

Also in the Providence Journal is an article about Planet Forward--an upcoming PBS show about reducing reliance on fossil fuel--that includes a number of video clips and appearances from RWU students. The show will air on Wednesday at 8:00 PM.

Cheers

RWU in the news

2009-04-04T14:51:00.002-04:00

So we thought it might be interesting to do a weekly breakdown of how Roger Williams is being covered in the media; thus the beginning of the weekly blog feature: RWU in the news here is the first edition:

The Providence Journal just published an article on the difficult job market for college grads, that reminds us quite a bit of the article that Tim Hollan wrote for this week's issue of the Herald. Robbin Beauchamp, director of our Career Center is quoted in the article.

One of RWU's own, professor Renee Soto, read some poetry at the providence public library, as part of their week long poetry slam. While you already missed Soto, you can read about the rest of the slam in the Providence Business News

Time Magazine quoted RWU architecture professor Hasan-Uddin Khan in an interesting piece about designing modern masques for a globalizing world. Definitly worth a read.

And finally the Warren Times featured Roger Williams in an article about how local residents are working with our aquaculture program to raise oysters and repopulate the bay. Oysters filter out poluttion from water and are thus an integral part of any effort to clean up the bay.

Well that about sums it up, enjoy the new feature.

Hiatus over!

2009-04-04T14:44:00.003-04:00

Hi kids,

So we haven't posted for a while but we're back. As of yesterday the new Herald is out and about, both in its physical and web manifestations. Not only do we give you the skinny on all the alcohol conversation, but also info on the RIPTA's status, and much more. Also take note of our new news tidbits section where you can find small briefs on the items that may not deserve larger stories.

Read the website, or pick up a copy. At the Hawk's Herald we print all the news and more. Cheers

P.S there will be no issue next Friday due to Easter weekend, however, we expect a few articles to make it online.

Poll results and new poll

2009-03-19T22:17:00.003-04:00

In the last poll, the question of "luckiest item" was asked of the RWU community. Well, here are the results:

1st: four-leaf clover (62%)
2nd: penny (25%)
3rd: ladybug; number 7 (12%)
4th: horseshoe; rabbit's foot (0%)

In light of Spring Weekend, our next poll is asking a question involving the spring concert, so don't be afraid to vote! :)
If you vote "other", comment on this post to tell us what we missed. Also, don't forget you can vote for more than one if you're not fully decided :)

(scroll down to the right of the page)

Police log: March 3-10

2009-03-17T20:32:00.002-04:00

RWU managed to make a few interesting appearances in this week's police log. There were three arrests made: Rismand Pelz, 21, for possession of marijuana; Eric Markow, 19, with willful trespass; Kyle Romitti, 18, willful trespass and possession of marijuana. A wallet was also reported stolen from the rec center, and most interestingly:

A Roger Williams University caller requested police remove a 22-caliber bullet found by their public safety officers in the commons area. It did not appear to have been recently left.

Any ideas as to where the bullet came from? Let us know!

And in the town of Bristol, neighbors are at it again:

An Elmwood Drive resident informed police a neighbor stole a football from their lawn.

To read the full logs, click here!

School gives money to Bristol

2009-03-13T15:39:00.001-04:00

Well, we did it again, we made the news with this story about RWU giving 25,000 to Bristol to help pay for civic problems.

One interesting note is that Bristol residents have a habit of bashing RWU whenever given a chance, notice there are no comments on this story about RWU positive influence on the community.

Accused stalker arrested

2009-03-13T14:58:00.002-04:00

Continuing the veritable parade of news articles featuring RWU, a former dean was arrested today and accused of sending harassing letters to the university since 2001. The article describes the letters as "insulting, derogatory and inflammatory." You can read the entire article here, and expect more from us on this story over the next few weeks. Cheers.

Parking story on the Website

2009-03-13T00:39:00.002-04:00

We promised you updates on the parking changes at RWU and an article was just uploaded to the site. You can read it here.

Cheers.

Herald article making waves

2009-03-11T16:13:00.005-04:00

An article in last week's Hawk's Herald discussing the hiring of Nirschel's son Chris inspired a similar article in the chronicle of higher education that appeared today. You can read that article here.

For the record, they got scooped by us.

UPDATE: the Bristol Phoenix has also posted an article here

Former RWU trustee and school battling over Bayside

2009-03-11T16:01:00.005-04:00

The Providence Journal posted this interesting and important story on their website just a few minutes ago. Apparently Ralph Papitto, the former RWU chairmen of the board who resigned after uttering racial epithets at a meeting has sued RWU over the ownership of Baypoint. In response RWU has counter sued. Let the cat-fight begin.

We will have more on this in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

Awesome upcoming exhibit at RWU

2009-03-06T17:22:00.010-05:00

Yesterday as we were traipsing through the architecture building we noticed that the "Into the Big Blue" art exhibition had been taken down. In case you missed it, the exhibit featured a number of interesting pieces by Tayo Heuserta including a human brain and an interesting shadow piece.

But what struck us yesterday was that visiting artist Deborah Aschheim was discussing the layout of her upcoming display titled "on memory and forgetting," which will begin on March 11. After checking out her work online we became very excited. The picture at the top is her work.

We snapped this picture of Deborah looking at the space with DJ who works in the architecture building. Notice the hanging plugs that power the LED's she uses in her pieces.

Parking and lazyness

2009-03-06T17:10:00.002-05:00

As you may have read in the paper, since we are not publishing another print issue until after spring break coverage of the major parking changes will be continuing online over the next few weeks. Check in and be the first to know the deal.

In another note, you may have noticed the blog has been rather sparse over the last month. I attribute this to the new presence of our website and the continued dreariness of winter. Soon, when we are all frolicking in the spring air, we hope to better catalogue the little enjoyable oddities of this here university. Cheers.

New Herald out today

2009-03-06T17:03:00.004-05:00

Hey kids,

So the latest issue of the Hawk's Herald came out today and it is jammed packed with interesting news. Here's the breakdown:

1. A story on RWU's fall hiring of President Nirschel's son.

2. H and I lot are most likely going to become parking for law school students only... right after spring break.

3. A number of students were arrested and transported at the last Chameleon Club.

4. A feature on how broke students are planning to spend spring break.

5. A feature on alternative spring breaks.

6. Good ol' WTF of the week

7. RWU gives money to Bristol's public library.

8. Opinion pieces on RWU's drinking habits.

9. Sports, music reviews and the results from last week's poll.

And much, or at least some more!

So pick up a copy, or read it online at www.hawksherald.com

New Herald kind of out today

2009-02-28T00:45:00.002-05:00

Due to an error with our printer the physical copy of the paper has yet to arrive on campus. However, I've loaded almost the entire paper onto our website www.hawksherald.com so there's no need to wait! Be the first to read all about RWU's increase in alcohol violations, possible hate crimes, and issues with weight. Enjoy.

Bristol police log Feb 17 - 23

2009-02-27T23:15:00.006-05:00

While the week was rather busy for the Bristol PD, RWU played only a small part in the large number of arrests that were made. Only two student's were arrested, one for good possession of marijuana, and the other for simple assault. One particular call caught our attention:

"A Buttonwood caller complained to police that Styrofoam plates a woman was using to feed stray cats at the Kaiser building were blowing around the neighborhood."

Had the plates been bio-degradable would she have called the cops?

Check out the rest of the log here

RWU Featured in local paper

2009-02-23T04:39:00.003-05:00

In case you weren't following the local news we figured we would do it for you. The Bristol Phoenix featured RWU prominently in three articles over the last two weeks; stories cover the progress of our many construction projects, the canola shuttle, and the sale of the King Phillip residence hall. Click on the included links to read the stories.

The Herald has previously featured articles on both the construction and the shuttle, so in two out of three cases the Phoenix got scooped; sorry guys.

NOTE: the canola shuttle link doesn't work but I swear they did write an article. The Phoenix seems to have taken it down for some reason but it may be back online soon.

No paper this week

2009-02-20T02:49:00.002-05:00

Though the Herald was originally scheduled to be published this week and not next, we have reversed that order and will printing next week but not this week. Confused? Don't worry, we will be putting a number of stories on our website www.hawksherald.com in the upcoming days. So stay calm, your thirst for news should be sufficiently quenched soon.

Students wanted for Nate Mott Band music video

2009-02-18T15:00:00.006-05:00

As you can tell from the heading, local group the Nate Mott Band, based out of Bristol, is making a music video and is looking for students to be in it.

Filming will take place Friday at 499 Hope St., and Sunday all day at the Bean. Sunday (Feb. 22) is the day they really need people, so if you're interested in being a part of the music video either post your name/email on this entry, or you can send your email address to apersinger532@gmail.com. You can also join the music video group on Facebook.

Also note that no compensation will be given (besides the fact that you'll be in a music video), but food will be provided. Nate Mott also says he'll be giving out kisses (on cheeks) and hugs. Dress casual, in darker colors (basically no neon).

So again: Nate Mott Band music video--if you want to be in it, post your name/email as a comment or send it to apersinger532@gmail.com :)

Poll results and new poll

2009-02-15T20:17:00.004-05:00

Another poll has come and gone, and here are the results answering the question 'which gift woos best on Valentine's Day':

1st - I don't like Valentine's Day (37%)
2nd - dinner and/or movie; flowers (33%)
3rd - card; stuffed animal (8%)
4th - chocolate/candy; jewelry; lingerie/underwear; other (4%)

So there you have it: most RWU students don't seem to like the Hallmark holiday. Be sure to vote on the latest St. Patrick's Day - Luck of the Irish poll. As always, if you choose other comment on this post to tell us what we missed (scroll down to the right of the page)
thanks! :)

New Herald out to today

2009-02-13T20:58:00.004-05:00

The latest issue of the Hawk's Herald came out today and time and in stunning fashion. Stories include:

1. A debate over whether RWU public safety should carry weapons.
2. A rundown on what the new dorm has to offer
3. a piece on the nearing completion of the new academic building
4. RWU hired a big name
5. Students throw away nearly 500 pounds of food a day
6. loads of soppy valentines day stuff
7. movie and CD reviews and much much much.. well not that much more.

you can pick up a copy at your local hangout spot, or read the news at our website: www.hawksherald.com

Bristol police log Jan 2 - 12

2009-02-13T20:42:00.002-05:00

RWU makes one measly appearance this week. A simple possession of marijuana charge. If fact, it was generally a mundane week for the Bristol PD. A man shot himself in the hand, and there was a hazardous material incident, but other than that not much out of the ordinary.

You can check out the entire report here

Core and RAs fired at KP

2009-02-12T12:55:00.005-05:00

Apparently the core of King Phillips and a number of the dorm's RAs were fired (last semester), possibly for lax oversight of the off campus apartments. We will have more information on this soon.

UPDATE: according to a comment on this post, the Core was fired last semester and if any RAs were fired it would have been last semester as well. If you have any information on this incident, please write us at hawksherald@gmail.com

Late paper and Website back online

2009-02-06T18:35:00.003-05:00

Okay, so after a little hesitation the website is back up and running. Please visit the site at: www.hawksherald.com

In other news, the printed paper was a little late coming off the press today but word is it should be arriving soon and at least some distribution will go on over the weekend. Pick up a copy to enjoy the news in all its tactile glory.

Parking is getting scarce in I Lot

2009-02-06T16:27:00.012-05:00

A RWU student was in such a rush to grab an open spot in I-Lot last night that they accidentally hit the gas, instead of the reverse, while attempting to turn around. As you can tell, they ended up creating their own spot. Note to student: you need a rainbow sticker to park on the hill.

Unfortunately their car is still stuck on the hill almost 15 hours after it slid to a stop and public safety is refusing to help pull the car off.

UPDATE: the car is now unstuck, so only tire treads remain.

Website update

2009-02-06T15:31:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: Okay, so according to our site providers the glitch has been fixed but will take a few hours to correct itself. We are waiting on sending our weekly update until the site is back online.

As you may have noticed, the website, unfortunately, is currently not working--unless you checked the site out at about 3am, because it was working fine at that point. We have called College Publisher to help correct the problem, but so far nothing has come of that. We apologize for this let down, but we're doing everything we can to fix it--trust us, we're just as (if not more) upset as you are. So stay tuned and keep checking the website--it could work any second! Thanks for your patience :)

The website is here!

2009-02-06T04:45:00.007-05:00

This is a VERY big day for the Hawk's Herald, as this is the day we launch are spanking new website www.hawksherald.com. You can expect to find almost all of what you find in our print version online as well as added bonuses such as more photos, polls, video, and multimedia content.

We are very excited about this site, and hope you will bear with us as we become accustomed to our new digs. This is a learning process for us too; over the next few weeks we will continue to work with the site to tailor it more too our specific needs and design purposes. That's to say, we will make it far more beautiful then it is now.

Also as of this posting the site is actually glitching a bit, something we hope will be worked out in a few hours. If it doesn't work on your first try, don't be discouraged! Try again later and all will most likely be fixed and spiffy.

New Hawk's Herald out today

2009-02-06T03:19:00.002-05:00

We are pleased to announce that the first Hawks's Herald issue of the semester will be out later today. Here is a rundown of some of the stories you can find in this week's paper:

1. Why students have so much trouble finding off campus housing.
2. A rundown on the new warning siren system.
3. A survey find that a majority of RWU students have cheated on their work.
4. The top 10 things to do on a snow-day.
5. An Afghan student adjusts to life in the United States
6. Some important curriculum changes
7. RWU starts a music major

... and much much more

This is a jam packed issue so pick one up and stay connected. Happy reading.

Bristol police log Jan 27 - Feb 2

2009-02-05T00:15:00.003-05:00

Well, after a few week's absence from the Bristol police logs RWU is back in full force with three appearances last week. Two involved marijuana, and one was about a computer stolen from the Rec. Center equipment room. A local man was charged with "manufacturing marijuana," (I always thought it was grown), and my personal favorite:

• Bryan Machado, 28, of Warren, was arrested at the Bristol Sports Club on Wood Street and charged with making crank or obscene phone calls.

You can read the full log here

1000th visitor to blog

2009-02-03T11:38:00.003-05:00

At the momentous time of 9:36 this morning, after three months of existence, the blog received its 1000 visitor! Next up: one million. Thanks for reading us and making this a walloping success.

The website is coming

2009-02-02T22:16:00.005-05:00

You've heard the hype, lay awake at night thinking about the possibilities, and probably spend countless hours dancing at the thought of the Hawk's Herald getting a website, and now after months of anticipation modernity is on the horizon.

On Friday the Hawk's Herald will formally expand into the 20th century and get a full fledged website! Keep checking the blog for updates over the next few days, and feel free to get excited. We are.

Campus snowman

2009-01-31T02:11:00.004-05:00

This snowman popped up outside the Commons after the last snow storm. It's a pretty impressive snowman, and if anyone knows who built it please comment on this post. :)

*according to one of our readers who commented on this post, the snowman was built by some of the swimmers and wrestlers...thanks :)

Mystery tire swing

2009-01-31T02:07:00.004-05:00

We actually noticed the tire swing last semester, but never got around to taking a picture. The swing is located across from the back of the Bayside 200s near the woods. We have no idea how it got there or why, but if anyone knows or has any information on the swing, please comment on this post. :)

Police log Jan. 20-27

2009-01-29T14:06:00.002-05:00

Well another week has gone by without RWU's name in the Bristol police logs. However, school is back in session and perhaps next week a student will manage to make it in the papers. For now, enjoy reading about ice ruining cars and teens arrested for assault by clicking here.

Poll results & new poll

2009-01-29T13:40:00.008-05:00

The blog poll answering the question of favorite snow hobby is officially closed. Here are the results:

1st - build snowmen/snowball fight (44%)
2nd - sledding (33%)
3rd - doesn't like snow (22%)
4th - eat snow-catch snowflakes/build a fort-igloo (11%)
5th - make snow angels/skiing/snowboarding (0%)

***Scroll down to the right of the blog and vote on the new Valentine's Day poll***
(if you choose other, comment on this post to tell us what we missed)

:)

Shoveling for "cash money"

2009-01-27T19:21:00.003-05:00

According to an email sent out by John King today, RWU is compiling a list of students to be on call to shovel snow if needed. That alone is not particularly noteworthy, however, the way King writes it is :

"We are currently gathering a list of students interested in being on call to shovel snow for cash money if we have a major storm."

That's right, "cash money." Kind of like cash money records, the record label of such Hip Hop stars as Lil' Wayne. Let it be forever known that John King is accidentally hip. If you are interested in filling your pockets with cash money email your name, building/room number, and cellphone number to King at jjking@rwu

Bristol police/fire logs Dec. 29 - Jan. 6

2009-01-09T15:03:00.002-05:00

While RWU managed to remain out of the logs this past week, popular spots for students did not. At Topside Lounge a group of people were reported arguing, one ending up in the Rhode Island Hospital. An intoxicated man was taken to the Newport Hospital after a report of disorderly conduct at the Sip 'n Dip on Hope Street. However, this week's favorite log had nothing to do with hospitlization or fighting:

Police investigated a report of men opening manhole covers on the corner of State and First streets. They were discovered to be plumbers clearing a drain from a home to town sewer.

To read more logs, click here.

Emergency siren warning system at RWU

2009-01-06T15:58:00.003-05:00

During winter break, RWU will be installing an emergency siren warning system (ESWS) on campus. There will be four sirens placed around the campus to warn people of "life-threatening" situations, such as "lightning storms, chemical spills or a dangerous intruder."

If an emergency occurs, the Department of Public Safety will activates the system, which sends students a phone call/voice mail, text message and email on top of the sirens. When the sirens sound, everyone is advised to seek the nearest shelter.

Sound tests for the siren will be held during the day January 20-23. Additional tests will be announced on the ESWS webpage, which you can also visit for more information. To hear a test, click here.

RWU hires big name

2009-01-03T14:43:00.008-05:00

RWU has hired a prominent figure away from RI's state administration to take the position of "senior vice president and chief business and administration officer." Jerome F. Williams, was Director of RI' Department of Administration and prior to that RI's Department of Transportation.

Williams is the latest in a series of big names to walk through the revolving door between RI public service and RWU. At the end of the 2007-2008 school year former public safety director J. David Smith left RWU to run RI's Emergency Management Agency, and Providence police chief Dean Esserman has some involvement with RWU's criminal justice program.

Williams' appointment at RWU comes at a time when the school's endowment has decreased by approximately 20 percent. During Williams' time with the DOA he cut staff, and organized a series of capital projects. It is possible his position at RWU will include working with the school's numerous construction projects and navigating the current financial crisis. It is currently unclear if Williams' position at RWU was created specifically for him or if he is filling a vacancy. Expect more updates on this story soon.

Read the Providence Journal article on Williams here

Police imposter strikes again

2009-01-03T14:37:00.003-05:00

According to the Bristol Phoenix a 75-year-old woman was pulled over on Metacom Ave. by a man impersonating a police officer on Dec. 18. The incident was eerily similar to one earlier this year when a RWU student also encountered an imposer but refused to get out of her car. Police don't know if the incidents are related. You can read the full story here

Bristol police report 12/22-12/28

2009-01-03T14:24:00.001-05:00

Another week of crime has come and gone in Bristol RI. This is our particular favorite from this week:

"A Brian Drive man told police his wife poured a beer on his head."

It is times like these that I am most proud to be human. Check out the rest of the report here

Bristol police log Dec. 16-22

2008-12-26T13:50:00.004-05:00

Well RWU managed to stay out of the police logs this week--of course, everyone is on winter break so that would explain it. A few people were caught shoplifting, and a few breaking and enterings were reported. But don't worry, the logs weren't all that bland:

"A Beach Road resident told police his doorbell had rung but no one was there. It was determined the doorbell malfunctioned."

Check out the rest of the logs here

Poll results & new poll

2008-12-20T21:59:00.003-05:00

The blog poll for favorite delivery place has officially closed. Here are the results:

1st - Sub Station (38%)
2nd (tie) - China Moon/The Wrap Shack (23%)
3rd - Classics (15%)
4th (tie) - Dominoes/Jade Palace/Pizza Wave/Wings to Go (1%)
5th - Golden Harvest (0%)

If you scroll down to the right of the blog, you will see a new winter-break poll up, so be sure to vote :)

(if you choose 'other', send us your preferred answer by commenting on this post)

Bristol police log 12/9-12/16

2008-12-20T00:22:00.003-05:00

Roger Williams makes two boring appearances in last week's police log. Thankfully a Bristol resident livened the log up with this report:

"Artificial plants were reported stolen from a High Street residence."

Check out the log here

June Speakman website

2008-12-17T22:41:00.002-05:00

Since we have been getting so many hits on the June Speakman article, we decided to put up a link to a website that includes all of the Speakman election coverage. Feel free to check it out:

June Speakman election package

(This website layout was a mock version of what the Hawk's Herald might look like when it goes online. However, we have been informed that the Herald should have a website online for next semester.)

June Speakman: an artist of chaos

2008-12-14T01:36:00.003-05:00

For full article click here

53% of RWU students cheat

2008-12-13T00:07:00.004-05:00

One student recalls seeing cheat sheets pasted on the back of a Dasani water bottle; another admits to programming chemistry formulas into his calculator; a third says he has actually heard a student listening to tape recorded notes in the back of an exam.

“We could all hear him playing it,” says Joe, who asked that his full name not be used. “He spent the entire exam fast forwarding and rewinding the tape.”

Though these methods may be somewhat extreme, they are evidence of a pervasive cheating problem at Roger Williams University. A survey of 330 students, conducted by the Hawk’s Herald in early December, found that 53 percent admitted to cheating while at RWU.

For full article click here

No students allowed

2008-12-12T23:48:00.004-05:00

It became one of her “tool-bar favorites”. Searching Craigslist for off-campus housing became a morning ritual. For months she looked at tons of houses, and in each search found the perfect home for her—unfortunately, it came with a minor snag:

No students allowed.

“I understand why [homeowners] have prejudices against college students,” says Katie Heuston, 21, a senior at Roger Williams University. “But there are good people in college, too, and if you’re going to live in a college town you have to assume you’re going to be renting to college students.”

For full article click here

Bristol Police Report 12/2 - 12/8

2008-12-12T15:37:00.004-05:00

Yay! Police reports! Roger Williams makes at least two appearances in last week's report. However, my personal favorite incident has nothing to do with us:

"Police arrested Joshua Corriveau, 20, of 25 Thompson Ave., Apt. 2, and charged him with domestic refusal to relinquish the telephone and domestic disorderly conduct."

I did not realize one could be charged with domestic refusal to relinquish the telephone. Had I known this when I was younger my sister would have been charged yeas ago. Read the rest of the week's crime news here: POLICE REPORT

I doubt there will be many updates to the blog over the next few weeks. However, if there is something to say, or RWU makes it in the news somehow, I will send out a Facebook message. Enjoy your breaks.

Majority of RWU students cheat on work

2008-12-05T22:36:00.004-05:00

We surveyed 320 students, or roughly 8.5 percent of undergraduates, and found that 53 percent admitted to cheating on their schoolwork during their time here at RWU.

Of those who cheated 67 percent said they do it rarely, 25 percent said they cheat "sometimes" and 8 percent admitted to cheating frequently.

The worst offenders were juniors with 67 percent admitting they have cheated, compared to 49 percent of freshman who said they have cheated as of this point.

We defined cheating as anything that your teachers would not accept.

This number may sound high but a recent survey found that 64 percent of high students admitted to cheating on a test in the past year.

You can expect an interesting article on cheating at RWU in the Herald when we return from break. However, I will post it here in the next week!

Police report

2008-12-05T22:30:00.003-05:00

I said I would post this weekly so here is Bristol's police blotter for Nov 25-30. From what I can tell Roger Williams makes no appearances during the period. This makes sense since most students were home for Thanksgiving.

Police report

De-illumination

2008-12-03T15:03:00.005-05:00

According to a member of stage crew--who are currently setting up for tonight's "winter illumination"--the campus will host far fewer lights this year. Only a single tree is to be lit up at tonight's ceremony in contrast to the past few years where entire buildings were strung with lights. I spoke to Scott Yonan the Special Asst and Ombudsman for the Office of the President about to find out why this year will be so dim:

"A couple of reasons: in today's economy we're all cutting back. It's a very expensive venture... the labor just to put lights up on these buildings was over $3000," he said. "There's also the green issue. All those light not only cost money to run but there's emissions involved. It increases our carbon footprint, so this year we're de-illuminating."

Yonan said that he expects the return to more lights in the future. However, he said they will likely use LED lights because they use less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs.

The event is scheduled for 4-5 tonight on the quad outside the architecture biulding. .

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T23:52:00.002-05:00

Bristol police report

2008-11-26T13:43:00.002-05:00

Below is a link to the Bristol police report from Nov. 13-24. RWU makes a few appearances including two assaults and credit card fraud. We will be posting a link to the police report weekly.

POLICE REPORT

New Herald out today

2008-11-21T18:08:00.002-05:00

The latest issue of the Hawk's Herald came out earlier today. Inside you will find the following:

Why one student wears shorts in the winter
An article on dorm damage
Faculty approve proposed new contract
An article about students stealing food from the cafeteria
A synopsis of David Gergen's visit to RWU
A number of interesting opinion pieces and letters to the editor.
How RWU plans to combat student drug use
and much more

Actually after listing all of that I would say this is a pretty packed issue. Check it out, and remember you heard this week's breaking news first on this blog.

Faculty contract approved

2008-11-19T00:46:00.001-05:00

Members of RWU's faculty union voted overwhelmingly earlier tonight to approve a new four-year contract; the current contract officially ran out over the summer. Pending approval by the board of trustees the contract will go into effect for next semester.

The new contract includes a number of revisions such as an increase in the amount of merit pay available to faculty, and changes in medical benefits. Possibly most important is that the faculty teaching load (the number of classes faculty are required to teach per semester) has been reduced from 4/4 to 4/3. Smaller course loads are common at established universities.

A late addition to the contract, the reduced load means that additional teachers will have to be found for 1/8 of the courses currently offered. It is unclear at this point how the university plans to deal with the disparity. One possible temporary solution is that faculty would be unable to take their course release until the fall of 2009.

The new contract was approved by 71% of the votes according to an email sent out to union members. After months of waiting, faculty received the proposed contract only a few weeks ago and have been debating it ever since then. The contract was discussed at a Nov. 7 union meeting, and its approval was by no means a forgone conclusion. According to a source close to the negotiations, the contract was the most controversial since faculty at RWU became unionized.

Part of the reason that it may have been approved --even as many faculty members agreed it was weak-- was the slumping economic climate. Many felt that faculty lacked sufficient leverage to play hardball at this moment. Had the contract been voted down, new negotiations would have taken place in the midst's of a time when RWU is coping with the loss of around 18 million in endowment.

Expect more updates on this as the story unfolds

Senate Coverage- Noteable News and possible leads

2008-11-18T21:49:00.004-05:00

For the Senate Meeting of November 17th, 2008

Student Russell Feely came to the meeting to speak during the open floor portion. Feely voiced his concerns about what has been done in the past to improve the transparency of the Senate as well as building a Senate that works well together.
In response the Senate sited retreats that Senators attend in order to create stronger relationships between them. Also the Senate mentioned there success in strengthening their transparency through holding meetings at the Mary White Teft Center more frequently in order to encourage participation. Further the senate sited time sensitive legislation and student involved sub-committees. Above all the Senate commended Feely for coming before them and holding them to their responsibilities, something the Senate wishes it could see more of.

On Wednesday Alicia Merschen-Perez will be talking to John King about various items. Most notably, the Senate will be bringing up the concept of a Safe Ride program for the student body. Plans like this at other schools have utilized methods to provide rides home for drunk drivers.
IRHA- Mr. RWU is set for Saturday Night.

ICC- Hosting Senior Night this Friday at Gillary's 7:30-12pm- There will be one extra bus than there were for last Senior Night at Topsides.

WQRI- In following with creating more jobs by splitting positions the station appointed a new Promotions Director, as well as an Underwriting Director.
The station also appointed their first Genre Director ever. Max Blackledge is now the Hip-Hop Genre Director.
$800 was granted to the station for a new HP Laptop for a live unit. The intention is to created better quality remote broadcasts. Along with this the station plans to begin broadcasting home games at RWU. This will start with the men's basketball team and parlay into several other sports as time progresses.

The Multi-Cultural Student Union will be hosting a Senior Yard Work Day on November 22nd and will be hosting the annual 5K Trot on the following day, the 23rd.
Planning is also continuing for their celebration of Chrismahanukwanizakeed as well as the next Global Fest.
Planning has also begun for Black History Month

CEN-Friday at 9pm in the upper commons there will be a comedy show.
The Dark Knight will be showing on December 2nd at 8pm in CAS 157
On December 5th there will be a Stuntman for a Breaking Norms program. CEN is also working on improvements for the Spring Chameleon Club.

Academic Affairs- expressed concerns about diversity within the curriculum

Student Affairs-had an interesting discussion about Juicy Campus. They suggested ways not only to deter students from using the site but also to offer support to those who are targeted. A support hot line was offered as a potential method. Student Affairs also met with Director Dan Goff to discuss the safe rides program.

Public Relations-are putting the finishing touches on Student Senate Day on Wednesday from 10am-2pm

Winter Illumination Committee is having Ginger Bread Cookie Decorating for their event to accompany the illumination itself.

Alumni Council- is continuing to plan for the Alumni Dinner in the commons. Ron Tippe, the President of the Alumni Executive Council, is compiling a list of Alumni along with their occupations. The date is still tentative but it will take place either December 4th, 5th or 6th.

The Ad-Hoc Committee on Alcohol and Students- building their foundation as a young committee. They want to ask the student body "Does RWU have a drinking problem?" or perhaps "What would happen if RWU banned hard alcohol?". Committee chair Brian McGrath suggested posing these questions will create a stir among the student body, thus spreading awareness of the committee.

The Senate passed three bills, all of which were chair appointments sponsored by the Senate Executive Board. Cory Egan was appointed to the position of Finance Chair, Lindsey Spinella was appointed to the position of Senior Class Vice President and Senator Cait Gosselin was appointed as chair for the Recycling and Sustainability Committee.

Say Word

Kyle P Toomey

Transformer

2008-11-15T00:41:00.008-05:00

This is actually an old post that was once up on another site that no longer exists (The Birdcage). But it's still kind of a cool video: it's the truck/stage from the Eve 6 concert back in Aug. That's right--a truck that transforms into a stage. A real-life transformer...

stage crew and truck-company.

To make this video, I had to film the entire stage-to-truck transformation, and than take a snapshot of every other second (sometimes every other 5 or 10 seconds) to make a time-lapse video, than put all of the snaps into a slide show and add music, using Windows Movie Maker. Over 200 snapshots were taken, but not all of them were used. Needless to say, the video took some time to make, but it was worth it.

Faculty contract negotiations

2008-11-14T02:41:00.004-05:00

Last Monday the faculty union held an all faculty meeting to discuss the proposed new faculty contract for the next four years. The current contract officially ran out last summer, and negotiations have been going on for some time to bring a new contract up for ratification.

Faculty received the product of those negotiations last week. They are set to vote on the proposed contract next Monday evening. Since becoming unionized, no faculty contract has ever been voted down here at RWU. From what I have heard, faculty as are close this year as they have ever been to voting a contract down.

That is not to say that they will vote it down. But it seems that excitement for the proposed contract is very low. One of the issues some faculty have is that the contract downplays the idea of merit. Another issue is that pay increases for the contract are unusually low this time.

And while many faculty may be unhappy with the proposed contract it seems that there is a serious worry that this is not the time to vote one down. The argument goes that with the economy so weak, faculty have little leverage to renegotiate a new contract. If they were to vote this one down at least three things could occur:

They and administration could decide to extend the current contract longer. They could vote to strike (highly unlikiley), or they could work without a contract. it will be very interesting to see how next monday's vote plays out.

Stay tuned for updates

53% of RWU students cheat

2008-11-12T23:55:00.005-05:00

“We could all hear him playing it,” says Joe, who asked that his full name not be used. “He spent the entire exam fast forwarding and rewinding the tape.”

The survey, which defined cheating as “anything your professors wouldn’t condone,” found that of those 53 percent, 67 percent said they cheat rarely, 25 percent said they “sometimes” cheat, and 8 percent admitted to cheating frequently.

“There’s a lot of pressure to do well in school,” said Marian Extejt, Associate Dean of the School of Business. “I think much of what happens is desperation: ‘I chose to go out with my friends instead of studying and now I’m up against the fence and I got to do something, I can’t flunk this class’.

RWU’s student handbook calls academic dishonesty “the most serious academic crime there is,” and lays out the conceivable penalties for cheating: “A first offense may result in failure of the course involved; the ultimate sanction is suspension or dismissal from the university.”

Although the student handbook states that instances of cheating are to be reported to the Office of Academic Affairs, students are rarely caught, and when they are, many professors often choose to deal with the matter internally, handing out light punishments that entice students to cheat over and over again.

“I allow for a certain amount of weakness in the face of temptation,” said philosophy professor Michael Wright, who prefers to keep instances of cheating between the student and himself. “It’s got to be mighty severe for me to take it to the point where the student runs the risk of expulsion.”

Wright said that when he was a college student, administrators relied on the honor system to keep students from cheating, something he still believes in today.

“I’ve left my philosophy classes to take exams by themselves and I’ve never had any trouble with them,” said Wright.

“When you ask a given professor ‘do the students cheat in you class?’ they will tell you no, but when you ask them ‘do they cheat in the university?’ they will tell you yes,” said Professor Robert Engvall, who received a presidential fellowship to examine cheating at RWU in 2004. “It’s a kind of moral myopia… It allows me the comfort of saying ‘I know there’s a problem out there but I’m not a part of it.’”

Engvall said it became obvious to him that cheating was a problem at RWU after he caught a few students doing it during his first five years here. And it wasn’t just at RWU; everything he read told him that the cheating problem in the US was widespread. According to a national survey conducted by The Center for Academic Integrity, 50 percent of students were sure that another student had cheated in the past year. The survey he conducted in conjunction with the CAI found that RWU’s numbers were higher than the national average, with 65 percent of students saying they knew a peer had cheated in the past year.

“What I found is that we’re a little better at cheating than the typical university, but only marginally,” said Engvall, who wasn’t surprised by the results.

There are a number of reasons why cheating occurs so often at RWU, including light punishments and the ease of getting away with it.

“I’ve gotten through an entire semester cheating,” said Joe. “You take a risk and if you get away with it you keep going with it.”

Like many students, Joe, a senior, didn’t cheat when he first came to RWU, expecting that the school cracked down hard on those who attempted it.

“My freshman year I was a saint when it came to that thing, but by sophomore year you kind of get a feel about who’s paying attention and who’s not paying attention.”

The Hawks Herald survey found that only 49 percent of freshman cheated compared to 58 percent of sophomores and 67 percent of juniors.

Many faculty members say they do what they can to stop perennial cheaters like Joe. Robert Potter, the Dean of the School of Engineering, Computing & Construction Management, said the professors in his departments make students spread out for exams, frequently write fresh tests, stay with their students while they take the exam, and tend to devise questions that require problem solving so as to reduce a copy and paste mentality.

“Our examinations don’t lend themselves to the type of sophomoric cheating that some people envision as cheating,” he said.

“Some faculty in the School of Business, especially during exams, will say you can’t wear a cap because people write answers on the brim,” said Extejt. “I think as you learn that these things are possible there are faculty who have the initiative to put in the preventive measures.”

A few years ago the university invested in Turnitin, a computer program that analyzes papers for plagiarism, in an attempt to curb cheating.

Extejt said a student recently passed in a paper that the program realized was identical to one passed in two years earlier.

“Before the technology the faculty member would never have remembered those answers two years later, and I’m sure that’s what the student was counting on.”

But some faculty members remain undereducated about the use of such technology. While Wright said he had seen programs like Turnitin used in New Zealand when he was on sabbatical there, he didn’t know we had it here.

And many students say that their professors are not doing all they can to make cheating difficult.

Lots of professors are very into something else while they’re proctoring an exam, like grading other papers, or reading a magazine or newspaper, and not really paying attention to what’s going on in the classroom,” said a student who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s pretty obvious if you are looking around and there’re a lot of kids looking down at the floor, or looking at their crotches.”

And then of course there is the innovation of cheating: notes stuffed in socks or written on the soles of shoes and hat brims; iPod playlists of recorded information stealthily listened to through headphones taped inside shift sleeves; and more recently text message filled trips to the bathroom.

The battle between cheaters and those who try to stop them is in constant evolution. Websites dedicated to cheating, like rajuabju.com, boast “detailed instructions on how to cheat in school, no matter the grade level,” and a search of “how to cheat on tests” on Youtube.com turns up 2,840 results.

Engvall said that even in the rare cases where faculty do catch students cheating, the punishment system is set up in a way that places the burden of proof on professors who often don’t want the guilt that comes with confronting a potential cheater.

“We have the interaction with them and say: ‘hey I caught you cheating in class, this is what I’m going to do,’ and often that’s met with tears, or met with a story legitimate, or otherwise talking about how their life is going to ruined,” said Engvall. “That changes things for a lot of professors.”

“You want to give somebody a break,” said Extejt. “You want to say ok you made a terrible poor choice in this class and you’ve learned from it, I’m not going to negatively influence other faulty in some future semester.”

Wright felt the same way. Though he said he has never suspected a philosophy student of cheating, he has on occasion encountered cheating in his core classes.

“In the very few cases in which people have actually copied, or worked together, I call them in, and if they ‘fess up to it I’ll give them an F, and that’s it.”

It is also common, Engvall said, for student to lie about their cheating habits when confronted by a professor. He would like to see a system utilized where teachers submit reports of cheating incidents to a central database that can be checked to see if they are telling the truth or not.

Engvall also said that the introduction of an Academic Integrity Officer would take the burden and guilt of punishment, out of the teacher’s hands, and lead to more reporting of cheating from professors.

“That’s what the Center for Academic Integrity recommends,” said Engvall. “It is possible that our system makes it a little easier to cheat and a little bit harder for professors to take the time to have to deal with it.”

In the meantime students continue to cheat at RWU and get away with it.

Last year Joe received an email from a professor that said he and another student in his class had submitted identical homework assignments. The professor said he knew they had cheated and mercifully told them they would only have to redo the assignment.

But this time Joe knew he hadn’t cheated, that in fact the other student had found his assignment and copied it, and now his neck was on the line.

“At first I was kind of angry” said Joe. “But the kid was cool about it and he redid the assignment for me.”

In an ironic twist, Joe turned to cheating to deal with a problem caused by cheating.

“If I know I can get away with something than I’ll do it,” said Joe. “Not to insult our own learning institution, but it’s easy to cheat here.”

No students allowed - full article

2008-11-12T23:24:00.003-05:00

No students allowed.

“I understand why [homeowners] have prejudices against college students,” says Katie Heuston, 21, a senior at Roger Williams University. “But there are good people in college, too, and if you’re going to live in a college town you have to assume you’re going to be renting to college students.”

Although she moved into the house in August, Katie has been paying for the house since May to ensure that she had a place to live come the beginning of the semester.

“I basically used it as really expensive storage over the summer,” says Katie.

Unlike the stereotypical college party house, Katie lives with two other girls in the suburbs of Bristol, RI. The white house comes equipped with a canopy of grape vines to the left of the driveway. With the exception of the clucking of chickens from the coup in the backyard, the house is quiet.

“We like having an apartment where we can come back and work, but you go out to parties,” says Katie. “We have friends over, but we’re quiet here.”

According to Mary Tavares, Century21 employee of 18 years, about 90 percent of rentals say no to students, and usually only take one if they’re a law student. Legally homeowners can say they don’t want students and it’s not discriminatory.

Homeowner Nicole Sowning, of Bristol, has her reasons not to rent to RWU undergraduate students.

“I did have some RWU students and the ones I had problems with were the underclassmen,” says Sowning. “Graduates have more direction and are a little more respectful. I’m a graduate from RWU so I know what college life is like.”

“[College students] are stereotyped,” says Tavares. “But unfortunately, you read the police reports in the paper every week and they’re stereotyped for good reasons.”

On a weekly basis, one to two RWU students are sited to appear in court due to house parties and noise levels such as loud music, revving engines, and unamplified human voices, according to Lieutenant Steven Contente, who has worked for the Bristol Police for 13 ½ years.

“Normally students go out at night Wednesday through Saturday, and when they come back they make a lot of noise,” says Contente. “It’s not for a long duration…but in a quiet neighborhood it’s disruptive.”

However, noise isn’t what students are normally sited for. According to Contente, when the police arrive at the scene the noise quiets down, so other violations, such as underage drinking, procurement of alcohol and disorderly conduct are the charges that are sited. These charges are than bought to the attention of RWU’s judiciary system as a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

Students living off-campus abide by the “good neighbor policy”, in which students living off-campus have the same punishments and expectations (respecting neighbors, the law, etc.) applied to them as students living on-campus. With the exception of being kicked off housing, students are still fined, given warnings, and put on probation. According to Heidi Hartzell, Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards, if a student off campus violates probation they can be removed from school for a semester.

“Most students who live off campus really work with us and understand the good neighbor policy,” says Hartzell. “Students…are representing themselves and the university while they’re in our communities, as well as the value of their diploma.”

Although RWU has no official office for off-campus housing, they do have their own ways to help students find homes. According to Jen Stanley, Director of Residence Life, there are about 1,000 undergraduate commuters at RWU, which in turn means that each of them lives off-campus. Online students, graduates, and faculty can find local listings put up by different realtors and landlords, along with lease-signing information.

Another way the school tries to help students find housing is with an off-campus housing fair. Four or five realtors come to campus to answer students’ questions about finding housing, prices, etc. Last year there were about 85 students who showed, according to Carol Sacchetti, Assistant Director of Housing.

When going to a real estate agency, students can walk in and ask if anything is available. If the landlord allows students, an agent will show them the property. When it comes time to fill out the credit application, the agency normally asks for the parent’s signature and does a credit check on the parent rather than the student.

“They come in hordes looking for apartments or houses,” says Tavares. “Every parent says their child is a very studious child, that there will be no partying. And than we get complaints from the landlords, and we have to turn that over to the parents because they can be held liable for a whole year’s rent if [the student] gets kicked out.”

In the last year to year-in-a-half, three sets of students that Tavares knows of have been kicked out; one only living in the house for two months this semester.

“When I see boys coming at me I almost want to run the other way,” says Tavares. “Landlords tend to think girls will be better. But what happens with the girls is that they attract the boys, and you end up having the boys over anyway.”

Joe Delamura, 20, a junior at RWU, had a difficult time trying to rent a house. With two real estate agents, it still took over five months before anyone would rent to the group of four boys. In one instance, a group of four girls looked at the same house, and the landlord gave it to the girls “hands down, no questions asked.”

“If I owned a house, I wouldn’t want to rent to college kids either,” says Joe. “Things get broken and things happen in your house that you prefer not to happen. If I was a landlord and drove by my house to see people getting charged five dollars a cup at the door, I’d be a little upset. …But a lot of people just won’t rent to guys.”

Joe and his roommates lucked out when finding the waterfront property in Bristol during Law School spring break. The vacation home is an academic rental (meaning from September through the end of May), and though Joe and his roommates were not the Law School students the landlord was looking for, they were the first to offer her the price she wanted, so she took it.

“I absolutely hated living in the resident halls; the rules are ridiculous, it’s like living in some type of communist society,” says Joe. “For the same amount of money I’m able to afford a much nicer place and not have to deal with people knocking on your at 11pm saying to quiet down.”

Of course, Joe admits that he and his roommates are not exactly the “cleanest or most orderly and civil people.” Having already broken their glass stove with a fist, throwing a can of Monster through a wall, and trying to make Moonshine in the back of a toilet, things have been broken and repaired.

“[Our landlord’s] brother-in-law lives four or five houses down the road, so we told her about the stove,” says Joe. “She’s very cool with us because she knows if we were to leave or she was to evict us, she’d lose out on a lot of money.”

Katie also decided to live off campus for the freedom. In addition she says it’s cheaper to live off campus with roommates: while she was paying about 800 dollars a month to live at RWU, she pays about 300 dollars a month in the house.

“[Living off campus] makes me feel like a grownup now—I have to worry about bills,” says Katie. “And I can have my dog here—that was big.”

Whatever the reason for wanting to live off campus, students will continue to find it difficult to find off-campus housing with college stereotypes, whether true or not.

“Off-campus housing is disruptive in many neighborhoods,” says Contente. “But there are a lot of good college students that are good neighbors, too.”

June Speakman preview video

2008-11-11T04:34:00.002-05:00

After going through hours of footage, I managed to make a close to 90 second preview video for the article that Teddy is writing. The video features June Speakman's Election Day, and includes quick quotes from a student of hers, a fellow politician, herself, her husband and her mom. Enjoy..

On a side-note, the music in the video is by a band called The Postal Service. The song title is Natural Anthem.

Senate Coverage- Noteable News and possible leads

2008-11-10T21:23:00.002-05:00

For the senate meeting of 11/10/2008

During this weeks meeting there were a few things that may be newsworthy in the coming weeks-
WQRI is undergoing their semester evaluations and making assessments on their evolving station. QRI Representative to the senate Dom Lombardi said that they will be creating new jobs in the station by splitting the responsibilities of current positions. Also, the station will be planning to make changes to their on air sound including better broadcast sound quality as well as "new music" time slots. Additonally the stations methods for training will be changing.

The Multicultural Student Union will be hosting a Christmahanukwanzikee[sp] which now includes a middle eastern holiday.

IRHA- Mr RWU seems to be slated for December 2nd if I have it correctly.

Student Affairs talked about parking issues including several appeals which have generally been tabled. Juicy Campus continues to be a point of discussion within the senate and SA wants to address ways to deter use of the site. Also SA spoke about having a meeting about a Safe Rides program, which in the past John King has said he and President Nirschel wouldnt necesarily be thrilled about, arguing that such programs do not work proactively towards the drinking issue. Finally the SA will be soon to host an Open Session much like the open forum with the president but with the Senate.

Finance Committe declined to allow AIS and Construction Management sizeable moneys (which will further be investigated)

The Alumni Council has set a date for the AEC dinner where Alumni will attend dinner at the commons and students will be encouraged to sit with them. The Alums would be separated by major allowing same major students to sit with the almimlni. The hope on the end of the AEC is to build relationships between Alumni and students that bear fruits of networking and mentoring. The date is set for December 4 at 6pm in the upper commons.

The Winter Illumination Committe, who got $500 after their bill passed this evening, will be involving the chorus for the event.

The Dining Committee reminded everyone of the food drive that is going on as well as the holiday pie sale. The deadline for pie orders is thursday, November 20th.

The senate passed two bills. One bill allowed the afformentioned funding for the WIC. Finally, a bill passed creating an ad-hoc committee on Alcohol and Students. The committee would be comprised completely of students and would encourage all students to contribute ideas, concerns and criticisms related to the alcohol issue at RWU.

Say Word

Local woman takes drive-thru literally

2008-11-09T16:35:00.014-05:00

A woman took the concept of a "drive-thru pharmacy" just a tad too literally today when she hopped a curb and smashed through the wall of the CVS/Pharmacy on Metacom next to the King Phillips residence hall. The impact injured three people and left the car partially lodged in the wall.

We happened upon the scene on our way back from Stop & Shop. By the time we arrived ambulances had already departed though we were told that at least one person was taken to the hospital on a stretcher. A Cumberland Farms Employee said she was told everybody was expected to be OK.

Surprisingly when the car was removed from the wall it was in relatively good condition save a little damage to the front bumper.

In a good sign for RWU journalism a number of student reporters had gathered to take in the scene. Stephen DePasquale and Lorin Richardson of The Feed were gathering interviews for a video that they just finished completing. You can view it on the top of the video bar on the right of the blog.

Photos by Gregg Kelly

The Feed

2008-11-08T13:57:00.007-05:00

If you didn't know, The Feed is a weekly news video put together by a team of journalism professor Micheal Scully's students here at RWU. Their coverage spans a wide array of topics, from features to issues. We have placed links to The Feed on the right of this post. Notice the strip of videos entitled "The Feed." These should automatically update whenever a new Feed if uploaded. The top clip --an update on campus construction-- was posted earlier today. Enjoy.

Interviews in the Biltmore

2008-11-07T15:53:00.009-05:00

At the Democratic Party at the Biltmore in Providence, we were able to get a few interviews on video. Some of them are a bit hard to hear, but we pulled out the best quotes into an article ("A snapshot of history). So if you were curious to see the emotion and rest of the interview, here they are...

Jermaine Whitehead, 30's, of RI

Amanda Buckley, senior at RWU, VP of College Democrats

Brian Leby, 16, of RI (on the right, Elizabeth Rose A'vant)

Ok, so this video isn't actually an interview, but it's still pretty interesting. Unfortunately, the Flip ran out of space so we only caught about 14 seconds. Walking back to the car through Kennedy Square in Providence, we came across a hoard of college students euphorically screaming for Obama. It looked like the Patriots won the Superbowl...

Construction Sign

2008-11-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

So on Election Day as Teddy and I were following June Speakman around, we passed by the school to witness a huge construction truck running over and crushing a "No Construction Access" sign at the main entrance. Well, we thought it was pretty funny, so veered off the campaign trail for a few minutes to turn around and get some awesome video. Enjoy

By Teddy Applebaum

Recap

2008-11-05T13:50:00.001-05:00

We hope you enjoyed our live coverage of election day. You can expect to see more coverage of the election in Friday's Herald. Keep checking the blog in the coming days for more video of the day's events. The clips are currently on the editing room floor as they say.

Here are just a few more interesting moments from the end of last night:

- In the lobby of the Biltmore a highly intoxicated man became violent, punching a number of walls while lamenting the fact that he had been kicked out of the campaign party. He claimed to have been working for Obama for two years.

- A man in his early 20s wearing a thick pair of leather gloves approached us and explained that something green was growing on his hands. We found this to be relatively creepy.

- A Jack Reed campaign sign leaned against the bathroom mirror in the men's rooms outside of the party. Surrounding it were four cups of alcohol and a bloody napkin. Possibly this was the still life of an election.

- On Kennedy Plaza a large crowd of RISD students ran wild towards the Biltmore high-fiving us and screaming "Obama" as they passed. Many of them were stripping off their clothes as they ran. On half naked girl straggled behind, her fishnet clad lower body draped in a battered American flag. Trailing them was a lone police cruiser.

- There was a sound in downtown providence that I have heard only a few times in my life. It was a low rumble of muted screams and unquenched riots. I heard this sound after the Red Sox won the world series in 2004, when people poured onto the streets in need of mass celebration.

- As we drove towards 95, a group of college-aged people hurtled towards the statehouse steps. They were followed by three police cruisers. Where there is chaos there is order.

Obama wins!

2008-11-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the Blair Witch type quality of the videos, but capturing the footage was much easier without a stand. The emotion in the room was incredible--possibly one of the most intense moments of complete blissful unity that I've ever experienced. I hope these videos do justice to at least some of the passion that we were surrounded by.

There will be more videos coming as soon as we can upload them.

Obama headquarters: The Biltmore Hotel in provdence

2008-11-04T23:47:00.001-05:00

Alright sorry this took so long but the connection at the top of the Biltmore was lackadaisical at best.

From the Obama headquarters.

The moment when the networks announced Obama as a winner was surreal. People flung themselves into each others arms with an emotion only wrought in moments of sublime unbridled joy or those of intense unquenchable sorrow.

A man danced with a women next to him his wine spilling on the floor as sweat rolled down his forehead. He exclaimed to nobody in particular "i love you"

The sound was overwhelming. Screams of pure excitement, distilled happiness. Then came the tears. They flowed free, breaching levees of self control.

They cried for the end of the Bush years, they cried for the first black president they cried because the emotion they felt could not be expressed with words or sounds. They cried because they could.

A black lady with dredlocks told me that she never in her lifetime expected anything of this magnitude to occur for african-americans. She cried as she spoke, a tear rolling down her cheek as her voice wavered. She didnt have the words.

June Speakman wins reelection

2008-11-04T21:38:00.000-05:00

The votes are in and tallied and June Speakman won her reelection bid with over 5000 votes. For the second election running she was the highest vote getter. Now it is on to the Obama party

2008-11-04T19:04:00.001-05:00

Its 7:00 and we are sitting in a cafe in warren RI. We last checked in five hours ago. here's what happened during that period.

3:00 We are sitting outside June's office at RWU she recently received an email from a former campaign worker of hers. He now runs the campaign to reelect democrats to the senate from Washington. He told her at least seven senate seats would be going to the democrats. June is visibly excited though she claims it has to do with the fact that her friend is so successful and not simply that the democrats are doing well.

4:00 June is getting tired. She has been trying to convince her aging mother to let he take her to vote. Her mother says she isn't feeling all that well and has so far declined. As is common with June's office a steady stream of students and professors filter in and out. Her view of relaxation is different than most.

5:00 June actually leaves RWU. She is off to see her parents in Barrington. On the way she stops to pick up a pizza for her mother and father. "Half cheese half veggie," she says.

5:45 Her parents live in a cluttered house. A picture of a younger June climbing on some rocks sits behind the kitchen table which is littered with newspaper clippings. Her mother explain that June climbs mountains - metaphorically. She emphasizes the last part. Her father, a jazz drummer, once worked as Motown Record's distributor in New England. Their basement is filled with soul paraphernalia. Her mother was a stay at home mom. June kicks back and opens a beer. Bush. She says she is drinking it because she wants it, not because she needs it.

7:15 in 15 minutes June will arrive at the democratic club in Barrington. This is where she will eventually receive the results from today's local elections.

One hour and forty-five minutes until polls close.

stay tuned

On the campaign trail

2008-11-04T14:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long blogging delay. Alyssa an I have been shadowing June Speakman since 8:00 this morning and haven't had a chance to log on until right now. Lets catch you up:

8:00 am June teaches her class. She is wearing red and blue, colors she says are traditional for candidates on election day. Her prediction is that democrats are going to win big tonight. In case you wondered, she had an English muffin with butter for breakfast.

9:00 She hurries to gather her things on route to the Barrington Senior Center which is a polling station. RI's Lieutenant Governor Roberts has come to campaign with Barrington democrats in order to build relationships that might help in a possible run for governor in 2012. This lasts for about an hour.

She comes across a baby and exclaims "I'm supposed to pick it up and kiss it, but I don't know..."

10:00 One of her fellow town council candidate's car broke down so June drives her home. The trip through Barrington proves the town to be the picture of a New England fall. The leaves scattered on the ground are a spectrum of reds, oranges, and yellows.

10:30 June proves she practices what she preaches by voting. She proudly displays her completed ballot. She voted the party line--no surprises there. For the next hour, as she waves a sign for a friend also running for office, she explains how she became a teacher (28 years and counting), and how she got her entrance into politics in 1998. She lost that campaign for school committee before running in 2002 for town council. She has held the seat ever since. To her delight and surprise she garnered the most votes in her 2004 bid for election.

11:30 We drive to June's house, a modest abode near the bay, where we spoke to her husband Jay. He told us that their sons, 18 and 21, both voted for the first time this year. One son was excited to be able to vote for his mother, showing off his absentee ballot to friends at school, according to June's husband. June apologized for the clutter in her house but it is nothing compared to her office at school.

12:30 June stops off at a Bristol polling place to visit with a few students from her campaigns and elections class. The students are dressed to kill, in suit pants, starched white shirts and pastel colored ties. If it weren't for the ties they would look remarkably like missionary Mormons. For her class, June requires that students spend at least 10 hours volunteering for a campaign. These students estimated their volunteering time thus far as between 18 and 25 hours and seem to love their work.

1:00 We drive to the Franklin Court polling place in Bristol where a few more students are busy holding signs and handing out fliers. A union employee from Mass. expresses his hope that ballot initiative 1 in Mass.--getting rid of the income tax--will pass. A few people wearing shirts emblazoned with cats and dogs stump for ballot initiative three in RI, which would allow for the construction of a new Bristol animal shelter. They brought four large dogs with them to the polling place, apparently hoping to for the guilt vote.

1:30 We arrive at the Performing Arts Center; or as RWU students affectionately call it, "the Barn". For the day the Barn has been turned into a polling station, supplanting classes in the building to the chagrin of performing arts faculty and staff. More of June's students are here. It seems that they are out in force. June reflects on herself as a leader, wondering out loud why it seems she always seems to be running things.

2:00 Junes sits down for a much earned rest in her office at RWU. She plants herself to grade papers for the next few hours and grab a bite to eat. She says she is tired. Only seven more hours until the polls close.

more soon.

Live election day blogging!

2008-11-03T19:42:00.000-05:00

As advertised in the Herald, we will be blogging live from a number of locations on Nov. 4, election day.

Alyssa Persinger and I will be following either 2008 RWU graduate William Grapentine (R) on the last day of his campaign for RI's 69th district seat in the house of representatives, or political science professor June Speakman's (D) quest for reelection to the Barrington town council.

Hopefully a member of the Herald will also be blogging live from RWU's "Hawk's Nest," in order to convey student sentiment during what should be quite a historical, riveting and polarizing night.

Finally at the end of the night as election results pour in from around the nation we hope to bring you live coverage from Barack Obama's campaign party in Providence RI a the Biltmore hotel. If the McCain party is public we may blog from there as well.

Expect photo's and possibly video from the day's events throughout the day. Tune in and tell your friends. And obviously, make yourself heard and vote!

even more polling data

2008-10-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

Come Tuesday millions of US citizens will trek to the polls, waiting hours in line to elect our country's next president. Hopefully you have already figured out that this election is kind of important. Part of that was a poll of RWU students and how they will be voting in Tuesday's election.Keeping that in mind we at the Hawk's Herald thought it was important to see how students here at RWU would be voting.

Included in the latest issue of the Herald is series of election oriented content. Here is some of the content we didn't quite have room for in the paper.

The poll, which surveyed 391 students, looked at among other things including student's party affiliation which revealed some interesting results.

40.6% of students said they are registered independents which trumped registration for all other major parties. National polls suggest that the election will swing on the Independent vote.

With these votes potentially carrying so much weight we took a closer look at RWU's registered Independents to see who they will be voting for next week.

It turns out that Independent voters favor Obama by an overwhelming majority. If McCain loses Independents by anywhere near the margin of our poll then he won't stand a chance in the general election

On a lighter note: my entire life I have been trying to figure how women think to little or no avail. This time I took to the polls in order to break down the presidential vote and party affiliation by gender. What made this interesting was not a series of glaring differences, but the surprising similarity between the sexes. Perhaps we have more in common than realized.

Unfortunately we forgot to mention in our polling piece in the paper that out of 391 students only one was voting for Colbert. Perhaps his influence is waning. To his credit however, he ran even with Bill Clinton-- who also received a vote-- and garnered a fourth of the vote that Ralph Nader collected. We were midly depressed that people took the polling so seriously. What is happening to our country?? Honestly, nobody votes for Micky Mouse anymore.

Keep checking the blog for breaking election coverage. On election day we will be blogging live from some interesting election locations, so tune in.

RWU students favor obama

2008-10-30T03:30:00.001-04:00

we did a poll of 391 RWU students to find out how they might be voting next Tuesday and got some interesting results:

it turned out that 84% say they will be voting next week.

we broke down those likely voters and here is how they will be voting.

72% Obama
22% McCain
5% Undecided
1% Nader
less than 1% others.

Stay tuned for more data! The full breakdown of our poll will be in this weeks Herald.

President's forum

2008-10-28T01:02:00.000-04:00

President Nirschel hosted this semester's student forum tonight in CAS. Allison Collins was there and reported on what was a relatively uneventful forum:

"MSU is upset that they don't have an office. The president didn't really give a response to that, except to say that they want to expand the Intercultural Center. The sailing team made an announcement that they won nationals over the weekend, and the Lacrosse and Rugby teams are upset that they still don't have a turf field. They made a big deal out of it. It was definitely the most talked about issue."

Athletics director George Kolb was interviewed for a providence journal article about RWU athletics, published in August of 2007. The article discussed the status of the turf field as it stood over 14 months ago:

"Kolb announced last spring that the school authorized construction of an artificial turf field to replace Bayside Field, home of soccer and lacrosse and is considering options to enhance the baseball and softball fields, which share outfield space now. The projects are on hold as a result of escalating costs and a university master planning process that is under way.

“In the short term it’s disappointing, but in the long term it’s the right decision,” he said

Also announced at the meeting was that RWU's endowment lost an additional 7-8 million on top of the 10 million it had already lost from its high of 114 million in 2007. If our math is on point that means the endowment is currently around 96 million. Due to the global economic crisis such a loss was to be expected. However the loss could lead to a little belt tightening of university spending.

Hello, loyal readers

2008-10-24T14:45:00.001-04:00

Welcome to The Hawk's Herald blog, your place to get news on the go. Here you'll find information on stories that break after The Hawk's Herald goes to print each week, along with quick updates on stories you see in the paper.

Want to know how a story was written or even why we wrote it? Get insight from the editors and writers who make the paper happen every week.

The Hawk's Herald is about to launch a Web site we're sure you'll love. When the site is up, this page will be linked to it. In the mean time, bookmark hawksherald.blogspot.com and check back often.

Speakman: an artist of chaos

2008-06-14T01:31:00.001-04:00

June Speakman sits rigid at the table, her eyes trained on the cell phone placed before her. Its 9:05 PM on Nov. 4–Election Day—and the RI polls closed five minutes ago. Any minute the phone will ring, and results will begin to stream in, marking the end of months of campaigning. Soon the wait will be over and she will find out if she has been reelected to Barrington’s town council. Her hand hovers, ready to answer at the first vibration.

At 9:08 the phone rings. “This is June,” she says into the receiver. “Tell me the results.”

You might say that she is an artist of organized chaos; a sculptor of disarray. Professionally June is a walking conundrum; simultaneously a mother, a daughter, a teacher, a politician, a wife, and a political scientist.

“She wears many hats,” says her mother. “There’s nothing she can’t do.”

At 8:00 AM June dons her professor hat and strides energetically into her American Government and Politics class. Here, in front of 26 half awake students, June seems in her element, seamlessly weaving quick wit and personal anecdotes into her lecture. Of the many things she does, June says she puts teaching first. But the balancing act isn’t easy; many of her days are spent split between her students and constituents—all of whom require her undivided attention.

When the class ends she hurries to gather her things en route to the Barrington Senior Center polling location. RI’s Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts has promised to campaign there with Barrington democrats in order to build relationships that might help in her possible run for governor in 2012. At a red light June the politician emerges. Pulling down her overhead mirror she quickly combs her hair. The light turns green; she flips the mirror up, and drives on. Today fashion travels at 35 MPH.

As the car passes through Warren, the roadside becomes increasingly cluttered with campaign signs blurring past in a choreographed political dance. On these well manicured lawns, political aspirations have bred inspiration. One politician prefers his name emblazoned on an elephant, while another has his monogrammed on helium filled balloons attached to bulging leaf bags.

June arrives at the Senior Center and quickly settles into the comfort of conversation. June is a master of banter, a skill she relies on in all of her professions. It wasn’t always this way.

“When we were in graduate school she was kind of shy about public affairs,” says her husband Jay Speakman. “It’s nice to see her come into her own in that respect”

While she discusses RI politics with Roberts, other candidates shake the hands of passing voters.

“She’s not a typical politician,” says Jim Hasenfus, a Barrington school council member who occasionally lectures at RWU. “She’s got a real good head on her shoulders, and good common sense.”

Soon Roberts is swept off to pander her prestige in another town, and June makes to depart as well. On the way to her car she crosses paths with a small child.

“I’m supposed to kiss it,” she says. “But I don’t know.”

Even on a day as frantic as Election Day, June the Good Samaritan takes the time to help out fellow councilwomen Kate Weymouth, whose car broke down and needs a lift home.

The drive through Barrington proves the town to be the picture of a New England fall: a man with a leaf-blower fights the inevitable in his attempt to blow a spectrum of fallen leaves into the street; children play in their front yards, raking foliage into piles only to leap into it laughing hysterically; venerable wooden houses stand framed in the morning sun light.

Barrington is in many ways still a small town. A box in front of June’s house is left out for the local milkman, a remnant of bygone times. A slightly eerie and wholly beautiful calm hangs in the air; only the rustle of the trees and the occasional chatter of birds overhead breaks the silence.

Come 10:30 AM June proves she practices what she teaches by voting. She proudly displays her completed ballot. An active democrat, she voted the party line. For the next hour, as she waves a sign for a friend also running for office, she explains how 28 years ago she became a teacher, and how she got her entrance into politics.

“Sarah Palin and I entered into politics in the same way,” says June. “Through the PTO, which is a very common way for women to enter politics.”

Though she lost her first campaign for school committee in 1998, she ran again in 2002 for town council. She won that year and has held the seat ever since. To her delight and surprise she garnered the most votes in her 2004 reelection bid. As she reminisces, she slowly waves a campaign sign back and forth.

After about an hour, June decides she has done enough sign waving and makes her way home for a quick break. The house is mildly cluttered in a cozy sort of way. She laments the sorry state of her fruit bowl as she crosses her threshold.

The hiatus is brief, a short conversation with her husband about possible dinner plans before heading back towards Bristol.

On her way back to school June stops off at a Bristol polling place to visit with a few students from her campaigns and elections class. The students are dressed to kill, in suit pants, starched white shirts and pastel colored ties. If it weren't for the ties they would look remarkably like missionary Mormons. For the class, June requires that students spend at least 10 hours volunteering for a campaign. These students estimate their volunteering time at between 18 and 25 hours and seem to love their work.

“I know that a lot of us wouldn’t have done this without her forcing us to do it, and now that were involved, we do it on our own,” says George Siares, a senior at RWU. “So yah, she kicked our asses out the door, but after that’s it’s your responsibility to take it as far as you want to.”

“This would be my hidden agenda,” says June, “to get students excited about politics and to get them to meet real politicians.”

“A lot of teachers teach based strictly on analysis, and what they have read in books,” says Aaron Kerzner, another student of June’s who feels her political status makes her lessons more dynamic.

“She actually campaigns, she’s elected”

Around 1:00 PM June admits she is getting somewhat tired and hungry. Before returning to her office for lunch she makes one last stop at RWU’s Performing Arts Center which has temporarily been converted into another polling location.

“My next door neighbor said ‘do you have to be the president of everything?,’” says June, noticing a poster advertizing a political forum she will be moderating the following day.

“And then I reflected upon that, and I thought, ‘I’m chair of the [political science] department, I’m the past president of the [faculty] senate, I’m the president elect of the [faculty] union, I’m the vice president of the [Barrington] town council, I’m the president of my neighborhood association. I don’t understand that … am I fulfilling some psychological drive to dominate?’”

At 2:00 PM June returns to her RWU office, satisfied to take a much earned rest. She slumps down into her chair intent using the next few hours to make a dent in a towering stack of papers.

June’s office is a microcosm of her hectic personality. Packed to the brim with books and political memorabilia, a steady stream of students and professors filter in and out. On a bookshelf she keeps a bowl of candy that is so frequently plundered it must be refilled multiple times a day. Her view of relaxation is different than most.

In six hours June has done more than many do in a day, and there are still seven more hours until the polls close.

“The attempt to both run for office and to help students understand the electoral process through my teaching gives me a very stressful election day,” says June with a sigh.

During a moment of down time June the daughter emerges. She tries hard to convince her mother to let her take her to vote but has little success. Her mother’s heath has been sub-par, and lately she has been bothered by a bad back. June decides to visit her parent’s house in Barrington before going home to grab dinner.

On the way there she stops to pick up a pizza for her mother and father. "Half cheese half veggie," she says.

June’s parents live in a cluttered house in Barrington. They moved there a few years back to be closer to their June. A picture of a younger June climbing on some rocks sits behind the kitchen table which is littered with newspaper clippings.

“Give her a mountain to climb, any mountain and she will climb it,” says her mother. “By mountain I mean not a real mountain.”

Her father, a jazz drummer, once worked as Motown Record's distributor in New England. Their basement is filled with soul paraphernalia.

“As you can tell, my mom is funny, she’s edgy, and she’s tough, and all of that is a good thing. And she’s stubborn,” says June. Her mother interjects “Oh I’m a bitch too”

June kicks back and opens a beer: Busch. She says she drinks it, not because she needs it, but because she wants it.

The entire day–with her reelection hanging in the balance–June remains remarkably calm, maybe because she’s been here before.

“She was disappointed,” her husband says about her loss in 1998. “I think there was probably some element of personalizing it, you know, ‘they’re rejecting me’, but she took it pretty well.”

This year however, he says she probably has less riding on her reelection.

“She’s not so heavily invested, I don’t think that she would lose any sleep if she lost the election,” he says. “It would be one less thing on crowded plate.”

At 8:05 PM June arrives at the Barrington Democratic Club where she will receive the election results, and meet more of her students. These students have been trusted with the important task of driving to the polling places, phoning in the results after they close.

Upon entering the room June begins to resemble a general assembling her troops for battle.

“Do you all know here you are going?” She asks the assembled students. Some nod confidently while other’s nervous faces give away their confusion. Like all good leaders, June knows who needs more guidance and goes around individually helping those in need.

At around 8:30 PM the students disperse and June becomes visibly nervous; she is unable to stop pacing the room. In constant motion she gathers a series of the town’s democratic bigwigs by two plastic tables. For her there is always the need to lead.

At 8:45 a number of cell phones are placed on the tables. By each phone there sits a person hunched over the table ready to react instantly upon vibration. June paces some more.

When June’s answers the phone the room becomes noticeably tense. At one end a large whiteboard stands ready to receive the totals and tally the votes. In another corner a TV blares out statistics from the national election. At this moment, nobody cares whether Barack Obama or John McCain won Ohio; this is Barrington, the center of the universe.

She begins reciting candidate’s names into the phone. A student on the other end gives her their precinct’s totals for each name. She jots down the numbers vigorously. All around her the other phones begin to ring.

As the precincts report the numbers, a lady copies the results onto the larger whiteboard. Candidates stand by their families, watching intently, calculating in their heads whether they are ahead or behind. From time to time silence gives way to spontaneous eruptions of emotion.

June’s early results look good. She is receiving the most votes in majority of the reporting precincts. She continues to pace.

And then as quickly as it began–like a political orgasm–it is all over. The results are in and the votes tallied.

When the calculation is complete June has, for the second election running, received the most votes of any candidate. She is elated.

“I think it validates the work that my colleagues and I have done for the last four years, and me for the last six years,” says June.

Asked what is next for her, June admits she aspires to higher political office, saying she might run for RI’s House of Representatives in the future. But according to her mother, that is selling her dreams short.

“She has eyes for Washington,” she says.