As a prospective woman for Chi Omega, sophomore public relations major Karr was at a loss for words when she received a phone call on the evening of Feb. 10 stating that Chi Omega would no longer be colonizing at NKU.

“A friend told me, ‘I feel like it was all a joke and you fell for it,’” Karr said.

Karr participated in formal fall recruitment in 2011 and didn’t find her match, but whole-heartedly partook in recruitment with Chi Omega this spring, she said. Although disappointment arose from recruitment in the fall, Karr said she was willing to give Greek Life another chance.

The connection Karr felt with the women of Chi Omega didn’t elicit the sudden news she and all of the men and women associated with Greek Life received that Friday. A mutual feeling of confusion consumed members of Greek Life said Kim Vance, assistant director of Student Life.

Vance compared the situation to a break up, where one party knows the relationship is over and another thinks it’s still workable.

“I was in shock, all of the members of Panhellenic got upset quickly because it was something we had worked so hard on,” Julia Fleischer, a member of Panhellenic Council and Kappa Delta, said.
Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council were attending the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values convention in St. Louis when they caught wind of the news.
Although disconnected from campus, the members of both organizations tried to remain calm for Vance’s sake Fleischer said.

The women who participated in Chi Omega’s recruitment process are the primary concern for Panhellenic Council said Vance. Feb. 21 and 24 those women can express concerns to Panhellenic Council in the Student Union.

Vance said she plans to keep an ongoing relationship with Chi Omega to discuss what could have been done differently to produce better results in the future.

“The goal was for Chi Omega to near the other chapters on campus,” Whitney Heckathorne, Chi Omega director of communication at the executive headquarters, said.

After holding two informational sessions and getting acquainted sessions Feb. 6-10, Chi Omega decided to pull the plug two days before Bid Day. Heckathorne said they really didn’t know they weren’t going to complete the process until after the getting acquainted sessions had concluded.
Heckathorne said Chi Omega still has an interest in colonizing at NKU in the future.

“I regret if some people who participated in the process feel it validated that Greek Life wasn’t for them,” Heckathorne said.

Although Panhellenic is still up in the air about the decision, there is the potential to bring Alpha Omicron Pi to NKU as soon as Fall 2012, Fleischer said.
From here Vance said she is figuring out how to move forward with NKU and Chi Omega.

The audio clips were familiar ones, from television shows including “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Home Improvement,” “Seinfeld” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by NKU professor Michael Hatton, the play opens with narration by sophomore theatre major Matt Krieg in the role of David Sarnoff.

Krieg got a couple laughs from the audience of about 125 within the first five minutes, when he explained some background scientific facts so the audience would know “what the hell is going on.”
Although “The Farnsworth Invention” falls into the drama genre, the laughs continued regularly through the first act, as did the profanity. During the show the f-bomb was uttered about 20 times. Most profanity was used appropriately and effectively, but it might be a deterrent to bringing young children to the show.

After providing some context, Sarnoff narrates a scene introducing the play’s title character, Philo Farnsworth, as a teenager, played by freshman theatre major Robert Macke. Following his introduction, the adult Farnsworth, played by freshman musical theatre major Wesley Carman takes over narration. Carman proceeds to introduce Sarnoff as a youth, played by freshman acting major Miles Conger.

For the rest of the play, the narration switches back and forth between Sarnoff and Farnsworth. The two narrators tell the story of Philo Farnsworth, a young man who invented television.
Based on true events, the story follows Farnsworth as he builds the first television to transmit an image. Unfortunately, Farnsworth is not the only person trying to make a working television, though.

Vladimir Zworykin, a scientist employed by RCA gets a patent for television before Farnsworth, but is unable to transmit an image, until Farnsworth shows him his television. When Zworykin builds a television based on Farnsworth’s ideas, it leads to a legal battle between Farnsworth and RCA president David Sarnoff.

One unique quality of the narration was when the character whose story was being narrated would break out of the scene and interact with the narrator. These interactions serve the double purpose of clarifying details and establishing the Sarnoff and Farnsworth’s relationship.

The first of the play’s two acts was difficult to keep up with at times, presenting the audience with various scientific facts and scene changes taking the audience to Idaho, Minsk, Utah, California and New York City. The fast pace lent itself well to many of the play’s humorous moments.

The second act was slower-paced and more dramatic; however, humor was not entirely absent. The comedy of the second act took on a more subtle tone, such as when the character George Everson, played by senior theatre major Chris Bishop, distinguishes between actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, then exits the stage imitating the gait of Chaplin’s tramp character.
The costumes were well-chosen and appropriate to the 18-year span covered in the play, from 1921 to 1939.

The scenery was particularly striking, not because it was elaborate, but because of how well it set the scene. It was not evident until later in the play, but the patent sketches which created the backdrop are arranged with Farnsworth’s sketches on the left side of the stage and Zworykin’s sketches on the right side. The delegation of the sketches to separate sides of the stage coincides with the scenes, with most of Farnsworth’s scenes taking place on the left side of the stage, and most of Sarnoff’s scenes acted on the right side.

The scenery does more than establish location, though. It lends itself to the question, “Who is right and who is wrong?” Although he is the protagonist, Farnsworth’s behavior is despicable at times. His drunkenness, which is amusing at first becomes shameful as the show evolves. Sarnoff, on the other hand, is a cutthroat business man, who can be cold-hearted at times, but he is not entirely unlikable.

The whole cast gave a solid performance, but Krieg, Carman and sophomore musical theatre major Katharine Moser who played Philo’s wife, Pem, were outstanding. Carman’s interactions with Krieg were intense, often giving the feeling that their arguments were real. Carman and Moser’s interactions were equally well-acted, emanating a genuine sense of endearment between the characters.
“The Farnsworth Invention” will be showing in Corbett Theatre through Feb. 26. For ticket pricing and show times, the Fine Arts Box Office can be reached at (859) 572-5464.

Communication professor Jimmie Manning recently resigned from his position as communication graduate program director because “the vision and direction I and the Graduate Council have for the graduate program are not reciprocated by our current chair,” according to his resignation speech.

The current chair, Rachel Lyon, was appointed before the fall 2011 semester.

Lyon, when approached for comment multiple times via email and in person, refused to comment on Manning’s resignation. She said she would only answer questions through email, which is against The Northerner’s policy.

In Manning’s resignation speech, which he read aloud at the Jan. 25 meeting with the department of communication coordinators and executive team, he said there are “radical differences in what constitutes a quality graduate education and especially the direction our program should go.”

According to Manning, his speech wasn’t meant to “begrudge” Lyon, but instead was honest. He said the two of them were not a good fit, and they couldn’t quite get on the same course.
As department chair, Lyon has “the ability to decide how program directors interact with the chairs, and the dean does not,” according to College of Informatics Dean Kevin Kirby. Kirby would give no further information on Manning’s resignation.

According to Manning, his way of interacting with Lyon was not where Lyon wanted it. In his speech, he recalled a specific time when Lyon was “quite upset” that Manning did not respond to an email within 24 working hours and “reminded me that I received a two course release so that I could answer her emails.”

Manning teaches four communication courses; he also helps teach two additional classes, mentors students for graduate capstone projects, advises five academic organizations, among other responsibilities.

“Clearly, I’m too busy to carry out the job as you think it should be done,” he said in his speech.

Manning also said his decision to step down from the graduate program director position was not him “cutting out on responsibility … but, rather, knowing how to pick my battles, and realizing that my comfort and happiness have to come first sometimes,” according to his speech.

In a Jan. 24 email sent to Kirby, Manning wrote, “I only hope that I am able to maintain enough distance as a faculty member that I will not be subjected to Rachel Lyon’s inappropriate behavior again. She is truly a liability to NKU.”

According to Manning, the response garnered after he gave his speech was “rebuffed,” and Lyon gave no comment in the meeting.

The Northerner requested the meeting minutes and recording from Randy Little, communication academic coordinator for the department of communication, for the Jan. 25 meeting. He respondedvia email, “Rachel Lyon wants me to tell you there is no recording.”

Manning, who will finish out the semester with his remaining duties, will take a yearlong leave to conduct research starting this summer. He said the plan for a sabbatical was already planned before his decision to step down was made, but the timing just happened to be right.

Manning is not the only professor to recently step down from a program director position in the communication department.

Communication professor Andrea Lambert South also resigned from her position as communication undergraduate program director officially on Oct. 19, 2011. In an email to Lyon, Lambert South said the position was “a time-consuming role, and the rewards of the position no longer outweigh the costs personally and professionally.” Lambert South refused to comment further on her decision to step down. The Northerner is currently seeking additional information under a pending open records request.

To take over the graduate program director position, public relations professor Greg De Blasio stepped in. De Blasio said it was a good time to take on the position because it gives him the opportunity to work at the department level, which he has not done in the past.

Although he is “busier than ever,” De Blasio said he is excited because of the response he has received from his colleagues, who have expressed thankfulness and confidence in his decision.

The 6’2” lefty out of Lakota West is only in his sophomore athletic season. He redshirted his freshman year of college and appeared in 15 games last season. He is currently looking for a spot in the starting rotation.

Head Coach Todd Asalon said not only is Wagner gifted, but he also has a tremendous work ethic. According to Asalon, Wagner carries his leadership skills from the classroom and brings them to the baseball diamond. He said he has never had a player accomplish feats like Wagner.

Similar to how he acts in the classroom, Wagner continues to be a positive influence in the clubhouse, according to senior right-handed pitcher Brent Wethington.
“He is a leader and gets along great with everybody,” Wethington said. “When he wants something done, he gets it done.”

Wagner started graduate school in January and is pursuing a degree in the Master of Science in Health Informatics program. He is taking three classes this semester, one on campus, and two online.
He also sees the importance of earning a master’s degree and understands that a bachelor’s degree is more common today.

Wagner stays busy with his work as well, logging in about 30 hours per week at the IT department at Paycor, a payroll management company in Cincinnati.
According to Wagner, baseball is the reason why he is not working full-time right now. Currently, he is on his third internship and is training for another position within the company.
Wagner stays busy with baseball, school and work.

“I have always kind of liked having a lot going on and not having much free time,” Wagner said.

His future goal in life is to be a project manager at a hospital once he receives his master’s degree.

However, no matter where you’re positioned inside the Blue Wisp, there is constant, warm rhythm of jazz music surrounding you, and one can’t help but stop, and fixate themselves toward the direct of the stage where live music is created.

On this particular night, students and faculty of Northern Kentucky University came together to perform select jazz pieces. This event came to fruition so that students could play their material out in a public setting, rather than simply playing for a good grade.

“It’s a great opportunity [for students] to take their lessons and apply them out and about,” Sean Fitzpatric said . “They’re getting to be professional rather than students.” Fitzpatric is a senior at NKU who’s working toward a degree in music and jazz studies.

Fitzpatric’s history with jazz runs deep; that dates back to when he was 16 years old, performing at the old location of the Blue Wisp. He was the one responsible for putting the event together.

“It’s a student ran group. The ensemble is made up of students but they perform on their own terms,” says Fitzpatric. “People hear about how great a program is, but you don’t understand how good it is until you hear them … [Indiana University] did it and we wanted to get NKU involved.”

Budding musicians occasionally find that playing in front of the public eye is a bit nerve racking, but for those who performed at the Blue Wisp, they found it to be exciting.

“We have to compete with [the College Conservatory of Music], it’s a good way to let the city know that NKU’s group is good,” Ben Bratton said. Bratton is a sophomore at NKU who spends his time in jazz studies with an emphasis on percussion.

Bratton has been involved with jazz music since the 4th grade; influenced from his father. Bratton performs monthly at the Blue Wisp in a group called Northern Lights Jazz Tech, a group that also includes Sean Fitzpatric.

Faces in the crowd consisted of locals from around Cincinnati, parents of the students who were performing on the night, and even some faculty members; most notably Brian “Boss” Hogg, assistant professor and director of jazz studies at NKU. Hogg has been playing gigs since he was 17 years old, and went on to College Conservatory of Music for his masters degree.

Hogg won a nomination for Best Jazz/Instrumental Group at the National Association of Music Merchants Convention in 1999 and has also recorded with popular performers such as The Temptations, Lonnie Mack, and Josh Groban. This is Hogg’s fourth year teaching at NKU, and describes the rest of the jazz faculty as “professional musicians.”

“[Students] learn humility, how to be humble, and they learn how to play,” said Hogg. “If they don’t succeed, it’s not because we didn’t prepare them.”
Out of the 17 students who were performing on the night, seven of them were performing in public for the first time.

“We expect them to play at a high level, and how to handle themselves,” Hogg stated. “We teach them how to handle themselves and that school comes first … not gigs.”

Junior guard Antonio Bumpus transferred from Division I Utah State University Aggies. He never played for the Aggies as he was redshirting to recover from injuries. It is still unclear what impact Bumpus will have on the season for the Norse.

“We don’t know how good he is going to be,” NKU’s head coach Dave Bezold said. “Whatever we get out of him in spurts will be an absolute positive.”

According to Bumpus, he left the Aggies after the 2011 fall semester to be closer to his home in Columbus, Ohio, due to the fact that his grandfather has level-four cancer.

According to Bezold, the NCAA allowed Bumpus to transfer immediately and be eligible, due to his family situation, given it was within a certain radius from his home. However, the NCAA did not allow Bumpus to continue his redshirt at NKU.

After learning this information, Bezold said he asked the upperclassmen about what they thought about allowing him to play immediately. According to Bezold, they did not hesitate to give their approval. One of the upperclassmen who showed his support was junior Ethan Faulkner.

“It is a positive to bring in somebody to give us a boost,” Faulkner said.

Bumpus said the transition has been kind of hard, but he is getting through it. Faulkner has confidence that Bumpus will catch on to the system.
“It is a complex offense to learn,” Faulkner said. “Once he learns it, I have no doubt he will help us this year and be a contributor to next year’s team.”
Bezold said that Bumpus is a “strong athlete with scoring ability,” and is a “better defender then he knows he is.”

Bumpus has played in three games for the Norse, average 4.0 points per game. His best showing was in his debut game against Saint Joseph’s, scoring nine points including going 7-for-8 from the free throw line, in a 85-72 victory.

Bumpus spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Harcum (Pa.) College and earned National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honors both years, including a third team honor as a sophomore.

He averaged 14.3 points his first year and followed that with 18.3 points the next season, becoming only the second player in school history to score 1,000 points (1,021).

“I’m already ready to get a job,” said KhaingZar Aye with confidence. Aye is an international student from Myanmar and senior computer science major. She seems to shine because she has confidence that she can get a job in the U.S.

For Aye, even though she has already had three job interviews, English is her biggest concern when competing with American students. “They’ve asked me, ‘Can you communicate with people like American students?’ whenever I have interview with these companies. It is the most difficult part. If I can’t catch what they say, it looks like I can’t do what the company wants.”

Legal regulations and different society environments can negatively affect international students who try to get jobs in the states. They have to find their job within 60 days of graduating school unless they register for Optional Practical Training (OPT). Otherwise, they have to leave the US.

The Office of International Study and Scholar (OISS) cooperates with the Career Development Center (CDC) to provide programs that help the students.

“We co-sponsor some events, like multi-cultural networking reception and worked with the CDC for some, such as coffee hour. Also we have workshops about immigration and taxes in some cases when international students get a job,” said Elizabeth Chaulk, assistant director of OISS.

Chaulk’s advice for an international student is to take advantage of leadership opportunities on campus. Student organizations, or being involved as a student orientation leader were a couple of examples.

“They’re learning beneficial skills to use in the workplace whether it’s in the U.S. or overseas,” she said, “I’ve heard it’s unusual in some countries to work when you’re 16-18. Working experience in the U.S. is really important, which working within organizations can help with. It’s a unique obstacle for international students.”

Also, the interview process is another cultural difference. Understanding the interview process is really important, such as what to wear, having a well-written resume and showing up early. Even questions can be different from their home country.

Job interviewing with companies is kind of an amazing experience for Donghee Jeon who was an exchange student at NKU from South Korea last fall semester, and is working as an intern at Bethany House Services.

“I was shocked when I had my first job interview in the U.S. because they asked me to write a newsletter right there. In Korea, the questions were always about my personality, or my motivation or plan concerning the job. But they just asked me whether I can do the specific task,” Jeon said.

Passion for experience is one of the important keys for success for finding a job. Jeon was one among 50 American students to compete for the internship. Her boss evaluated highly her passion and confident attitude.

Because of her passion, she could endure failing to get an internship 13 times before getting her internship. “Actually, I decided to go back to Korea on Dec. 27, but I got a job offer the next day on Dec. 28.”

Yunus Simsek from Turkey, an alumnus in computer science, also had a lot of passion in order to get the job that he’s working at dbaDIRECT now. Simsek had various experiences not only in his major but also with American culture. He believes that international students have to show the company why they are worth hiring. This process could be harder than American student’s cases because if the company wants to hire foreigners as their full time staff, they have to pay extra money to the federal government.

Furthermore, the companies must sponsor the employee’s working visa. “I’ve made my own website because my major is computer science, as well as preparing my name card with a brief resume in order to make strong impression on the employer,” Simsek said. “To be creative and to be a professional in your major area are my different strategies.”

The program will include apartment-style living accommodations for first year students, feature the ability to request your living arrangements as a group, and even assign every student on a floor to one specific section of the University 101 course, which will essentially allow students to become more accustomed to their respective neighbors.
Although these changes are currently implemented, they will only apply to students who are beginning their college career in fall 2012.

“It would have been great to be in homeroom setting my freshman year. It would’ve been really familiar and comfortable,” said senior marketing major Ryan Duvall. “I don’t think that a lot of us have a strong sense of involvement here [at NKU], but if we were actively encouraged to do so by people we live near then … I probably would’ve gone to a lot more events.”
University housing has taken three of the six hallways, or “breezeways,” that are located in Woodcrest Hall and devoted them entirely to first year students.

“This gives the first year students who are in the apartment-style facilities easier access to other first years and easier access to their Residential Advisers,” said Assistant Director of University Housing Arnie Slaughter. “It also gives those RAs an easier time to develop those communities with the given knowledge that all the students living on their floor are first years.”
Slaughter said the group registry for students will be available for everyone through what is called the “Priority Room Selection Process,” and will work similarly to the class registration process with which many students are already familiar.

Known as “Friendship Clusters,” sections of NKU housing will be reserved for students who wish to sign up as a group with their friends or classmates. This will reduce the probability that students who wish to be placed near each other will be placed on opposite ends of the housing community.

“I have a couple buddies that I met on my floor freshman year, but me and my roommate got separated from them because we could only request one person to room with,” said sophomore Stephen Ryle. “We still go over to each others’ places a lot, but if we do the group thing then that’ll save us a lot of trouble.”

“A first year student who is confined to an apartment-style room has a tendency to wall themselves off and not be as involved with the NKU community as they could be,” Slaughter said. “We want those students to feel comfortable engaging themselves in new social experiences and have a good time overall, and we really want to continue adding academic proponents to our residential programs.”
University housing is working with the NKU Office of First Year Programs to potentially offer new students a University 101 class specifically for the residents of these new breezeways. Slaughter noted that there are classrooms built in some of the residential halls, so that students will not have to venture far to attend these classes.

For more information regarding the “The Norse Experience” and other first-year programs, visit http://firstyear.nku.edu/. If you are more interested in the Friendship Clusters or the Priority Room Selection Process, visit http://housing.nku.edu/.

Participants were split up into two different teams, the American League and the National League. Both were based on the Negro League Baseball’s teams and each player had a shirt that represented a different franchise from the league they were playing for. The American League came out victorious in the battle.

Sophomore athletic training major Charlie Montgomery participates in intramural league wiffle ball, but this was his first All-Star game. He plays for the Tau Kappa Epsilon team, but was representing the Cincinnati Tigers from the Negro League’s National League.
Montgomery said he likes playing wiffle ball for a few different reasons.

“It’s a fun sport that you can compete in and get out there and get exercise,” Montgomery said. “Anybody can play.”

Jeremy Chipman, coordinator for intramural sports and outdoor adventure programs, said it was a great turnout, and it is neat for the students to see the president come and be a part of something that they really enjoy playing as an extra-curricular activity.

“President Votruba has been around quite often to our campus recreation events,” Chipman said. “I think he really knows the importance of campus recreation and intramural sports. Just giving something back to students, or for something that students can engage in and have fun and feel part of the university.”
Chipman said people feed off childhood games like wiffle ball.

“I think pretty much our entire lives we’ve played some form of it, like baseball, or something along those lines,” Chipman said.
Instead of just having basic games in intramurals, Chipman said his goal is to make events more appealing and exciting.

“We try to look at each sport and bring what we call hoopla, a little extra energy,” Chipman said. “We could sit out there and just play wiffle ball any given day, but we bring a little extra emphasis on it and allow students to have fun and kind of give back, and what better way than during Black History Month.”

Votruba said wiffle ball is great because it doesn’t require being young and agile and helps NKU students connect with each other.
“It is really fun, and this is one of the ways to build community through campus,” Votruba said.
Votruba said he has thrown several first-pitches at different games.

“I threw the first pitch over at Great American [Ball Park] two years ago, and this was just as much fun,” Votruba said.
Chipman said that the All-Star game collaborates with the time intramural teams play in the wiffle ball league.

“We came up with the idea to do something [creative] and every year it has been a great hit, so we just keep trying to build upon that a little bit more,” Chipman said.
The intramural teams play four games during the regular season. If they don’t forfeit any games they make it to the post-season. It’s a single elimination tournament and then a champion is crowned. The playoffs will be starting and ending Feb. 22.