If an undergraduate student is not making satisfactory academic progress in both a quantitative (passing classes) and qualitative (achieving a required GPA) way, penalties for that student can include loss of eligibility for federal financial aid.

Marquette’s adjusted policy was developed by university officials from the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Student Financial Aid along with assistant and associate deans from the colleges over the past five months.

The quantitative portion of the policy has not been changed. It is standard practice for students not completing 67 percent of credit hours attempted to lose eligibility for aid. Policies like academic probation and Required Withdrawal for Academic Reasons (RWAR) have also always been standard procedure for a student not making sufficient progress. Academic probation does not affect financial aid, and RWAR is based on the federal SAP policy.

The revisions, rather, deal primarily with maintaining a minimum grade point average.

Under the new policy, after each semester, the Office of the Registrar and the Office of Student Financial Aid will monitor cumulative GPAs. Undergraduate students having completed less than 18 student credit hours must maintain a cumulative GPA of 1.5 and those with more than 18 credit hours must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0.

Students who fail to meet these requirements will be asked to withdraw under the RWAR plicy, and those not maintaining the standard cumulative GPA will lose eligibility for federal financial aid.

The appeal form for RWAR and loss of aid will be available on the Marquette Central webpage in May and will be handled through the academic colleges.

Also, a new sanction to the policy is a College Academic Alert (CAA), a registration hold that only an academic college can assign and remove. Colleges can assign the hold if they feel an undergraduate student is not making appropriate degree progress, which is outlined in the student bulletins for each college.

This CAA, however, may apply to students who meet RWAR and SAP standards.

Anne Deahl, associate vice provost for academic support programs and retention, gives the example of the College of Education, which requires students to have a 2.75 GPA — a requirement for teaching licensure in the state of Wisconsin. If a student in the College of Education has a 2.4, while they are meeting RWAR and SAP requirements, a College Academic Alert may be issued.

“Requirement of a 2.0 is more like a minimum to be in good standing and be eligible for financial aid,” Deahl said. “However,  majors may have different standards if it is a requirement of licensure or if the major requires a higher level of performance.”

The CAA removal process involves an internal appeal process. If the appeal is denied, students may apply to another Marquette college and the alert may be removed, but until it is removed, students may not be able to register.

Deahl said the revisions may change student habits.

“It makes it easier for students to determine how many hours they should put toward studying or if they should skip class,” Deahl said.

Deahl says that the 1.5 GPA requirement for those with fewer than 18 credit hours, particularly freshman, is to allow students to get used to college life and academics.

Jasmine Gladney, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, understands that logic.

“For a lot of students, coming to college is a big step. Academically, Marquette is on a higher pedestal than most schools,” Gladney said.  “If someone comes from a public school system where it’s not as rigorous it may be more challenging.”

However, Gladney said the requirements changing to a 2.0 once freshmen become sophomores is a good thing.

“It gives people a reason to study harder,” Gladney said.

Ben Self, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said although the revisions seem a little harsh, they make sense.  Self said maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA has never been much of a problem for him and wonders how many people are going to be affected by the revisions.

As for the distinction in the requirements for those with less than 18 credit hours, Self says it’s mostly irrelevant.

“The idea is you give them more wiggle room, but there’s not much of a difference,” Self said.

The 2012 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, an annual survey of Americans aged 16-25, gauges participants’ perceptions of invention and innovation.

Respondents offered varied reasons for not choosing to further their education or career in these fields, with 34 percent saying they “don’t know much about these fields,” 33 percent saying, “these fields are too challenging,” and 28 percent saying they were not “well-prepared in school to seek out a career or further … (their) education in these fields.” Respondents could choose more than one option.

However, students also noted the effects of their lack of creativity. A lack of innovation was considered to “hurt the U.S. economy” by 47 percent of respondents, and about 80 percent said they’d be interested in courses that would help them “become more inventive and creative.”

Respondents said the best way to improve innovation in Americans would be to include invention projects in school.

Jon Jensen, associate dean for enrollment management in the College of Engineering, said Marquette has not seen a decrease in interest in engineering and has in fact seen an increase in enrollment.

Jensen said STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers have been at the forefront of academic discussions since about 2001.

“There has been a push to bring people into these careers,” Jensen said. “More awareness and more exposure to these careers is a positive thing.”

He said work needs to done early on in education to get kids on track for a STEM career.

Jack Rehn, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said he feels prepared not only to further his education in mechanical engineering but also for a career.

“The professors (at Marquette) give you a good problem-solving mindset,” Rehn said. He said in class he gets experience practicing and solving real-world problems.

“I feel ready to be a professional,” Rehn said.

Rehn said he was involved in Project Lead the Way in high school, which helped prepare him for Marquette. Project Lead the Way is a provider of STEM education programs established in middle and high schools across the U.S.

Adding to Americans’ woes is a notion that technological progress lies elsewhere in the world. About 60 percent of women and 54 percent of men in the survey said they see Japan as the leader in innovation.

President Barack Obama stressed in his State of the Union address last Tuesday the need for a globally competitive workforce, especially in technical fields.

Vito Montana, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said professors have told him that engineers are needed in the United States to improve the country’s infrastructure.

Montana, an environmental engineer, counts himself within the 22 percent of respondents who said they would be inspired by jobs that would give them a chance “to change the world.”

Montana said he wants to build environmentally friendly homes across the country.

“I am not ready to start a career, but I think we have set a good foundation,” Montana said.

The action was in response to concerns raised by Steve Blaha, assistant director of Campus Ministry, who works closely with students of the Islamic faith.

“We hope that this recommendation will show the university (both students and the administration) that we are very serious about becoming a more inclusive campus for now and years to come,” said Sterling Hardaway, a sophomore senator for the College of Arts & Sciences, in an email.  “MUSG is hoping that this recommendation will further demonstrate MUSG’s support of improvements regarding inclusivity and accessibility for the university.”

The present Islamic Prayer Room is on the fourth floor of the Alumni Memorial Union, but according to Wajiha Ahmad, president of the Muslim Student Association, the room poses problems to Muslims practicing their faith on campus.

One pressing issue is that the size of the room and the Muslim population on campus are disproportionate.

Ahmad, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, said there are approximately 100 Muslims on campus, and half are active in the Muslim Student Association. She said the current prayer space is used by students and faculty and is not specifically designated for members of the organization.

According to Ahmad, the prayer space can only fit 20 people maximum.

The Muslim faith dictates that men and women must pray separately, and, with the use of a divider, this is accomplished. However, the current divider being used in the prayer room at Marquette is made of wood and is held together by strings.

“We want the divider to be more sturdy, better than just held together by strings,” Ahmad said. “We want something that can move but still give women enough space to pray… We need a safer alternative than wood and strings.”

Every Friday the organization participates in communal prayer, but since all members cannot fit into the prayer space, they use room 407 in the AMU as well.

The size of the room also poses problems when the group attempts to hold events, she said. When the organization held its Fast-A-Thon and encouraged participants to pray, the room could not fit everyone.

“There were about 25-30 people who wanted to pray. We tried to squeeze everyone in there, but we weren’t able,” Ahmad said.

Another issue Ahmad raised is the center’s location.

“We have a large minority population on campus …. We want to be visible so we can be present with other religions on campus,” Ahmad said.

Another problem is that prior to praying Muslims must a cleansing procedure, wudu, that requires the use of sinks. The current space doesn’t have sinks and the students have to use the sinks in the bathrooms on the fourth floor.

“Nobody says anything. It would make sense that we find a space for that,” Ahmad said.

The Muslim Student Association is searching for a room that can hold 30-50 people at once.

Ahmad said besides MUSG, several other offices on campus support their efforts, including Campus Ministry, Student Affairs,  Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Student Educational Services.

After the relocation of the Office of International Education to Holthusen Hall over the summer and the expansion of Student Educational Services, Campus Ministry and the Muslim Student Association began to look at the possibilities, Blaha said.

“We’re hoping for a centralized location that offers space for individual and communal prayer and ablution — facilities that are dignified, accessible and are a community gathering space to allow for regular fellowship,” he said.

Ahmad believes they will succeed in finding such space.

“We have support,” she said.

Ashley Zimmermann, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, supports the Muslim Student Association.

“It’s a great opportunity to see the different faces of the different religious groups on campus,” Zimmermann said. “Centrality of the location will help everyone see the group. This is an opportunity to respect and promote MSA in general and respect is so important in leaning towards religious plurality.”

Bethany Olson prepares a sign for the Reverse Career Fair. Photo by Elise Krivit/elise.krivit@marquette.edu

Normally at career fairs, students and other job-seekers browse information booths set up by potential employers. But at Marquette’s first Reverse Career Fair, which will take place Feb. 7 in the Alumni Memorial Union ballrooms from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the exact opposite will be true.

The event was planned by Bethany Olson, an event planner and career counselor at the Career Services Center, and will involve more than 50 employers and student organizations.

The event’s motto, “They do the walking and you do the talking,” sums up the process: student organizations will occupy booths while potential employers divide attention among the potential employees.

Olson said she introduced the idea at Marquette after she heard of other campuses planning similar events.

“We did some research and found that employers were interested in the idea and students seemed excited about it,” Olson said.

Student organizations must finance the decoration and establishment of their own booths, but Olson said as an incentive to properly prepare and impress potential employers, the Career Services Center is offering a reimbursement fee of $25 or a $25 Jimmy John’s gift card.

Olson said this money also serves as an attempt to involve student groups that cannot afford to pay various fees for sufficiently equipping their booths.

A $200 grand prize Sobelman’s gift card will be given to the booth that best encompasses creativity and originality.

Some employers in attendance include the Milwaukee Teaching Fellows, Northwestern Mutual Bank and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, according to the Reverse Career Fair Web page.

Max Schuette, the acting site manager of the Milwaukee Teaching Fellows, said his organization will seek specific characteristics among Marquette candidates.

“We are looking for students who will be graduating soon,” Schuette said. “But besides that, we want members who have shown past achievements.”

Schuette said the organization will also seek individuals who exhibit an honest passion in closing the achievement gap in Milwaukee schools.

The Career Services Center held a mandatory training session last week, Olson said, where practice activities included setting up a mock booth and completing guide packets.

“I’m confident that these student organizations are prepared to meet and impress any employer,” Olson said.

The invited employers were specifically recruited because Marquette has established familiar relations with them in connecting with graduates entering the workforce, Olson said.

Schuette said the Milwaukee Teaching Fellows’s relations with Marquette students have been beneficial since the organization’s inception in 2008.

“At Marquette, the students have been (especially) great resources and outstanding candidates,” he said.

Students, including Jessica Paro, a junior in the College of Communication and president of the MU Ad Club, have thoroughly prepared for the fair next week in hopes of impressing potential employers.

“I have asked my (Ad Club) members to practice their interview skills and to be sure that they have resumes and business cards ready,” Paro said in an email.

She also mentioned the Career Services prizes as an incentive to further engage her organization and said MU Ad Club’s booth will serve as an opportunity to visually impress potential employers with a professional table display.

Olson stressed that employer-student relations are not the only benefits of this event.

“Student organizations can benefit from connecting and working together with their own team,” Olson said.

Nevertheless, Olson said the central goal of the event is to provide students with the ability to network with employers and gain experience.

Paro agreed, and said the fair may help her organization’s members secure jobs that could otherwise be difficult to obtain.

“This experience will definitely help us improve our interview skills and hopefully allow us to make contacts with people who are interested in our careers,” Paro said. “I do not see any downsides to this experience.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, shown here giving his State of the State address Jan. 25, has earned 77 percent of his campaign contribution from grassroots donations.

As recall elections approach, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign team has raised more than $4.5 million in its most recent reporting period, and $12 million overall. Although there have been allegations that Walker’s funding has been based largely on wealthy out-of-state donors, his campaign reports 77 percent of the 21,443 individual donations were $50 or less.

Walker’s high volume of small donations points to his campaign’s success in stimulating a grassroots movement motivating Wisconsin residents to make donations, regardless of the amount.

“Governor Walker’s message of moving Wisconsin forward continues to resonate with voters,” campaign Communications Director Ciara Matthews said in a statement. “It is this message, and the success of the governor’s reforms, that have inspired people to contribute to his campaign in overwhelming numbers.”

Volunteers around Wisconsin began collecting signatures to recall Walker in November. Democrats were able to collect more than 1 million signatures, allowing recall elections to take place after all the signatures are verified.

Walker’s campaign team has used the time until the signatures are validated to generate the same enthusiasm among supporters of the governor that Democrats have for the recall among theirs. Until a recall election date is set, Walker’s campaign also has no fundraising limits.

“These donations will allow us to fight back against this baseless recall and ensure Gov. Walker can continue to lay the foundation for a more successful Wisconsin and keep government working on the side of taxpayers,” Matthews said.

While the Walker campaign has had time to raise money since talks of the recall began, Democrats have yet to name a candidate to run against Walker in the election. According to Janet Boles, a professor emerita in Marquette’s political science department, this shouldn’t put them at a disadvantage in terms of raising funds or getting votes.

“Campaign spending doesn’t determine the outcome of an election, but each candidate needs enough money to get his or her message out,” Boles said.

Boles added that once a Democratic nominee is chosen, enthusiasm for the governor via his campaign donations could dwindle.

“Scott Walker’s TV ads to date have succeeded in modestly rebuilding his image among the independent or undecided voters in Wisconsin, but once a Democratic nominee emerges, that initial upswing in ‘favorable image’ may not hold,” Boles said.

Graeme Zielinski, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said that while fundraising hasn’t begun for a Democratic candidate, Walker’s campaign has an advantage because of wealthy out-of-state donors along with its grassroots donors.

“(The Democratic Party) isn’t appealing to Texas billionaires and oil billionaires like Walker,” Zielinski said. “We can’t compete with that kind of money. While people in Wisconsin are losing their jobs, he’s going to Florida to shake down billionaires.”

On campus, Marquette’s College Republicans have tried to motivate students to vote for Walker in other ways besides just donating money. According to Daniel Denis, treasurer for the College Republicans and a senior in the College of Business Administration, the organization has focused more on building a grassroots organization.

“The College Republicans do not typically donate money to campaigns,” Denis said. “This is in part due to our own lack of funds and in part due to campaign finance law limitations.”

Denis said making sure students are informed on campus and getting students to pay attention to Republican candidates are higher priorities than raising funds for candidates.

“We focus instead on rallying conservative students and community members to different Republican causes,” Denis said. “We try to get the issues and candidates noticed on campus and help organize volunteers to counter the recall efforts.”

A dissenting sign finds its way among a sea of anti-gay marriage placards at a noon rally Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 in Olympia, Wash., of several hundred supporters of traditional marriage laws. Photo by Steve Bloom/Associated Press/ The Olympian

After two hours of debate, the Washington state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would legalize same-sex marriage, setting the state on its way to becoming the seventh to do so, pending almost-guaranteed passage by the state House and the signature of supportive Gov. Christine Gregoire.

The bill’s passage in the Senate was generally assumed prior to last night’s session, with 25 votes secured beforehand. Supporters gained three more after debate for a total of 28, securing a simple majority in the 49-seat Senate. Those 28 votes included 24 Democrats and four Republicans, while three Democrats and 18 Republicans voted against the bill.

A vote on the bill by the state House could come as soon as Feb. 8, where the bill is expected to pass. Democrats hold majorities in both houses of the Washington State Legislature, and Gregoire, a Democrat, announced her support for the bill last month.

The bill passed the state House Judiciary Committee on Monday along party lines, with seven Democrats voting for it and six Republicans voting in opposition. A Senate committee first approved the Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, last Friday.

Sen. Cheryl Pflug of Olympia, one of the four Republicans to vote in favor of the bill, gave an passionate speech during the debate, emphasizing that tradition is “kind, often, to the majority, but not so kind to the minority,” according to the Seattle newspaper The Stranger.

“It is part of our struggle to ensure that everybody …. should have the right to enjoy those personal freedoms we hold dear,” Pflug said.

Marie Sarra, president of Marquette’s Gender Sexuality Alliance and a senior in the College of Health Sciences, said earlier this week that if the bill were passed she would be jubilant.

“(As more states) legalize (same-sex) marriage, the number of senators and people that realize it’s important to accept (same-sex marriage) — and damaging not to — will increase,” Sarra said.

Rachael Wandrey, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences who participates in GSA, said Wisconsin has a long way to go before it can match Washington’s progress. Wandrey also participates in Empowerment, a student organization that works to address and promote awareness of disparities in equality between women and men.

“There is little hope for same-sex marriage under the governorship of Scott Walker,” Wandrey said. “The best we can do is wish for a Democrat to win the recall election. Even then, Wisconsin likely has a way to go before same-sex marriage will be discussed seriously.”

Washington passed a domestic partnership law in 2007 and an “everything but marriage” law in 2009 that expanded domestic partnership rights. More than 9,300 couples are currently registered in domestic relationships in the state.

Wandrey said the number of people in domestic partnerships should be a message to politicians.

“This statistic should only encourage lawmakers to push for change,” she said. “There are real people and families behind these numbers.”

If the marriage bill passes the House during the current legislative session, same-sex couples could be married as soon as June 1.

Rep. Jay Rodne, R-Snoqualmie, and the bill’s other opponents have threatened to file a referendum if the bill is passed. Rodne told the Associated Press the bill was “an act of raw political power to modify the definition of marriage.”

Rodne and other opponents of the bill would have to wait to file the referendum after the bill is passed and signed by Gregoire. The referendum, which would seek to define marriage as between one man and one woman, also would require 120,577 signatures by June 6 in order to qualify for the November ballot.

Anita Yandle, a senior at the University of Washington and resident of Washington for the majority of her life, foresees the bill becoming law and the referendum not having a shot.

“A substantial majority of Washington voters do support marriage equality, and if the bill is passed through the senate and goes to a ballot, Washington’s voters will most likely vote in favor,” Yandle said before last night’s vote. “The chances of a referendum passing are not substantial because the chances are that if any sort of vote occurs voters will stick to marriage equality.”

Yandle said she is proud of her state and that this is a pivotal moment for Washington and the state’s push for equality. She gave an example of a fellow student and her push for her mothers’ equality.

“A girl testified for marriage equality on Monday at the hearing and said that her mothers were the only ones in her class to not be married and how sad she felt about this,” Yandle said. “This is absolutely pivotal and really important for same-sex couples to be married when other couples can be.”

States that currently allow same-sex marriage include New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland, New Jersey and Iowa. The District of Columbia does as well. Efforts similar to Washington’s are underway in Maryland and New Jersey, and a referendum will be on Maine ballots this November to legalize same-sex marriage.

Jim McMahon, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said Marquette is expecting a class of about 1,900 freshman students along with an estimated 150 transfers.

In order to accommodate the continuing increase in the university’s population, the Office of Residence Life decided some dorms’ resident assistants will be moving into single rooms instead of doubles, which they now occupy.

These buildings so far include Straz Tower, Carpenter Tower, O’Donnell Hall and some floors of Cobeen Hall.

McMahon said current RAs may be disappointed, but incoming RAs should not be affected by the shift. The other option would have been placing RAs with roommates, he said.

RAs receive the benefits of free room and board from the university. A sophomore dorm RA, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said if the job is taken for the right reasons, the room size shouldn’t make a difference.

During the fall, some common rooms in McCormick Hall were converted into four-person rooms to help with the overflow in the dorm.

The quads in O’Donnell Hall were once the dorm’s study halls but were repurposed in response to increased residents.

The sophomore dorm RA said she believes the current solution is temporary until a new building can be acquired or built for future students.

It was speculated that the recent raise in tuition for the 2012-’13 academic year had an effect on this decision, but McMahon rejected that idea.

“There is no connection between the two,” he said.

A current RA applicant, who also spoke anonymously, said the situation is not ideal but is understandable considering the university’s recent swell in applications.

“Regardless of placement or selection, the benefits far outweigh the smaller room size for me,” the applicant said.

The changes to living arrangements will also vary according to building. RAs in Straz and Carpenter Towers still have the benefit of private bathrooms and larger facilities.

“Straz still has fantastic facilities,” the RA applicant said. “Other residence halls may be harder for RAs to be comfortable in.”

If the university would have limited acceptance letters sent or found a secondary location for incoming students, the problem may have been avoided, the sophomore dorm RA said.

ORL will be monitoring enrollment and occupancy over the course of next year and if things change then RAs will return to their old rooms McMahon said.

“I think with the housing issues last year they should have expected the same to happen this year,” the RA said. “It’s unfortunate, but not a deal-breaker.”

MCTS is getting a color coded route facelift with new express routes for travelers.

The Milwaukee County Transit System launched its new express service this weekend with the introduction of the Blue, Green and Red MetroEXpress lines.

The new routes are part of a broader change to the city’s bus system, which has been forced to adjust due to reductions in state funding. In an unveiling ceremony held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, MCTS managing director Lloyd Grant Jr. praised the creation of the routes as a new beginning for the city’s public transportation system.

“Today, we are taking a big step forward in the transportation infrastructure of our community,” Grant said. “We will be turning a page in a new chapter in the history of the Milwaukee County Transit System as we launch these three new express bus routes.”

The MetroEXpress lines will cut travel times by having stops placed further apart, often skipping stops already covered by other bus routes. Typically, bus stops are placed every 1/8 of a mile, but express stops are spaced between every 1/4 to every 1/2 of a mile.

Of the three express routes, only the BlueLine, from Fond Du Lac to National Avenues, comes onto the Marquette campus. The GreenLine offers service from Bayshore Mall to Mitchell Airport, while the RedLine travels down Capitol Drive before making a loop at the UWM campus. All three will run seven days a week.

The creation of the express routes has also led MCTS to adjust its other routes, some of which were made redundant by the new lines. Routes 11, 18 and 68 were eliminated while routes 15, 23, 54, 62 and 63 have been significantly changed.

In addition, two new non-express routes have been created. The new route 56 bus will travel primarily down Greenfield Avenue, while route 52 will go from Clement Avenue to 15th Avenue

The recent changes in bus service are due to the system’s fluctuating financial situation. MCTS faced a 10 percent ($6.8 million) cut in state funding for 2012 and 2013, while also experiencing rising fuel, labor and maintenance costs.

MCTS was able to maintain its services through the use of a federal grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program. The $19.1 million grant was created by consolidating $12.7 million originally earmarked for the canceled Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project and $6.4 million meant for a defunct bus rapid transit plan.

Although the grant has enabled the creation of the three new express lines, the money is expected to last for only two years, after which future funding remains uncertain.

Lee Holloway, the chairman of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, called for the system to receive dedicated funding in order to avoid future budgetary shortfalls.

“We need to get off the taxpayer dime,” Holloway said. “We need to have dedicated funding. We are going to be progressive in trying to get any additional funding we can get to make this bus system a great bus system again.”

Michael Mayo Sr., the chairman of the county’s Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee, agreed with Holloway, emphasizing the role buses play in the local community.

“Milwaukee transit is the heartbeat of Milwaukee county,” Mayo said. “We are going to continue to fight hard to make sure transit remains viable.”

C. Terrence Anderson, a College of Arts & Sciences senior along with several other students are launching a new tutoring program to bridge the achievement gap among MPS students.

Marquette student community service is moving into the classroom through an after-school program at Milwaukee’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, located at 3275 N. 3rd St. The group, After School Arts and Tutoring, is led by College of Arts & Sciences senior C. Terrence Anderson and three other Marquette students.

The group aims to close the achievement gap between students in Milwaukee Public Schools and other schools in the nation as well as to improve the school’s academic culture.

The elementary school has been on MPS’ “districts identified for improvement” list for three years, according to its 2009-’10 online report card. Students at the school under-perform in both math and reading on standardized tests.

“Less than 50 percent of (the students) will graduate from high school — we hope to change that,” Anderson said.

The group began to organize last semester with the help of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and offers after-school help in reading, math, social studies, language arts and art. The group has 45 volunteers and is working to get students from other Milwaukee colleges involved.

Anderson said the group’s main focus is on fourth graders.

“The education gap begins to set in during the fourth grade year,” he said.

Anderson said what sets the group apart from other services in the area is its commitment to mentoring, and he acknowledged the reciprocal relationship it brings.

“We’re not only investing in their lives — they’re investing in our lives,” he said.

Anderson said the main message the group wants to send to students is not just to listen to them during tutoring, but for the students to be themselves.

“Our future success depends on their success,” he said. “In order for Milwaukee to be successful, every kid in Milwaukee has to have a chance to be successful. We have an opportunity to be in solidarity with that notion.”

The group’s presence has already been requested by another school in Milwaukee, Anderson said.

Sharon Chubbuck, an associate professor of educational policy and leadership studies in the College of Education, said there is no quick fix in attempting to improve under-performing schools.

Chubbuck said education majors spend three semesters doing field work learning how to teach reading and math to elementary students.

“We appreciate the concern and energy that the tutors value the students’ experience enough to say, ‘I want to make it better,’” Chubbuck said.

Helen Hillis, campus campaign coordinator for Teach for America and a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences , said the personal relationship between tutors and students is very important.

Hillis said Teach for America emphasizes one-on-one relationships with students and their families so students are not overlooked.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” Hillis said. “Teach for America recognizes that.”

Milwaukee Public Schools appreciates the help from organizations such as Anderson’s, said Roseann St. Aubin, communications director for Milwaukee Public Schools.

“We are delighted to have help,” St. Aubin said. She said tutoring will help MPS close its achievement gap.

St. Aubin also recognizes the benefits of the one-on-one relationships volunteers forge with students.

“We love the stability it brings into our schools, the stability it brings to student relationships,” she said. “It helps the students understand that college could be ahead of them through the behaviors that are modeled by Marquette students.”

The largest source of federal financial aid, the Pell Grant, recently increased its eligibility criteria, making it harder for students to qualify. Eligibility is determined by financial need and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the standard formula. Students need a EFC of 0 to be eligible for the maximum Pell grant.

More families are also applying for financial aid during tough economic times. More than 21 million families filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2010-11 academic year, up 49 percent from the 2009-10 school year, according to the United States Department of Education.

Pell Grants are given out to undergraduate students who have financial need, and do not have to be paid back to the government. The maximum amount of Pell Grant money a student could receive for the 2010-11 school year was $5,550.

Some students have stopped trying to receive Pell Grants due to the strict eligibility requirements.

Carolyn Piggot, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she receives federal student aid but not a Pell Grant.

“I applied (for a Pell Grant) freshman year but was not eligible,” Piggot said. She has not applied for a Pell grant again because of the competitiveness.

“(Tuition) restricts the number of students who can come (to Marquette),” Piggot said. “Everyone should be able to attend (regardless of finances).”

The number of Marquette students applying for need-based aid also continues to increase.

For the 2011-12 academic year, about 75 percent of full-time undergraduates applied for need-based financial aid. Four years earlier, during the 2008-09 school year, only 70 percent of those students applied for need-based aid. The percentage of applicants who receive aid has remained at about 80 percent during the same four-year period.

The decreasing amount of federal student aid stems from the nation’s fiscal situation.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R) said in an email that in the last fiscal year alone, Washington added $1.3 trillion to the nation’s debt, which now exceeds the size of the American economy.

“This mountain of debt threatens the hopes and dreams of future generations,” Johnson said.

Federal aid remains one of the main sources of monetary assistance for Marquette students. For the 2011-12 school year, Marquette students were awarded more than $6.8 million in need-based federal student aid.

Institutional scholarships and grants — those offered by Marquette — are the largest source of aid for students. For the 2011-12 year, Marquette awarded its students more than $59 million in assistance. This did not include athletic awards or tuition waivers.

Students who are able to receive federal aid are grateful.

Connor Showalter, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, received the maximum Pell grant for the 2011-12 school year.

“It made it a lot easier for me to attend Marquette,” Showalter said. He said he has not filled out the FAFSA for next year but hopes to receive the maximum grant again.

“I’ll get mad (if I do not receive the maximum Pell grant), but I will still go here,” Showalter said.

Simone Smith contributed reporting to this story.

U.S. Secretary Shaun Donovan came to campus on Thursday for a town hall style State of the Union Address to talk about the president’s policy initiatives and hopes of “making public service cool again.”

Nearly 75 students gathered in the Alumni Memorial Union to hear the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development talk about President Obama’s most recent State of the Union address and answer audience submitted questions. The event was made possible because of communication between the White House and Marquette University Student Government.

“Last week, I got a call from the White House Office of Public Engagement,” said Joey Ciccone, MUSG President and a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. “On the phone, they said that the President would like to send Secretary Donovan to campus to host a student town hall on the State of the Union and student issues. I gladly accepted the invitation for MUSG to host it.”

Ciccone added that many university departments played an important role in making the event a success, including the Office of Public Affairs, the Office of Media and Communication and the Office of Student Development.

Donovan focused his talk around audience questions, which ranged from affordable student loans to immigration. He also talked about housing issues and how those relate directly to Milwaukee.

“Milwaukee has been a pioneer in lifting up neighborhoods,” Donovan said. “We want to continue to find ways to keep people in their homes.”

Donovan also addressed the importance of attending college and what President Obama is doing to keep college and student loans affordable.

“The president has proposed [in his State of the Union address] that we restructure the way that we fund universities so that they have more of an incentive to keep cost down for students,” he said.

Since American universities, including Marquette, often draw international students, Donovan touched on the importance of immigration and keeping valuable students here in the United States.

“Right now, we give students visas to come [to America], attend the best universities in the world, and then we tell them to leave,” he said. “We’re basically training the entrepreneurs of the future to compete with us in countries around the world. It makes no sense.”

Donovan stressed that in order for any of President Obama’s goals to be accomplished, especially those that directly affect college students, Congress needs to work together on both sides of the aisle.

“We need to take steps to take the special interests out of Congress,” Donovan said. “I also believe that after the economic hurt heals from the past year, Congress will be able to work somewhat more civilly and more rationally.”

Throughout his talk, Donovan emphasized the importance of public service in every form, including “making your voice heard” at the polls.

“[Public Service] is not the easiest job in the world, and you won’t get paid the biggest amount of money,” he said. “But I couldn’t do anything else because it is so rewarding.”

Students in attendance thought Marquette was lucky to be able to host such an important and relevant member of President Obama’s cabinet. Sam Schultz, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the secretary seemed genuine during his talk.

“At Marquette we constantly hear the, ‘one person can make a difference’ vision of service in the community,” he said. “Those issues are so relevant to Milwaukee, and he genuinely seemed passionate about making the lives of people better.”

Elizabeth Spaits, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, agreed that Donovan’s talk was interesting and relevant. She added, however, that she wished a few more issues specific to Milwaukee had been discussed.

“I do wish that he had discussed issues that pertained specifically to Milwaukee and its economic growth,” Spaits said. “Politics aside, Mr. Donovan described his desire to help others and how he pursued that.”

Hailing from the University of Pennsylvania as the senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator, DiStanislao will report directly to Pilarz and will oversee the Office of Administration, the Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Human Resources. She will also have a hand in implementing campus-wide strategic planning with the president and the provost.

“Mary brings excellent leadership and management skills to Marquette,” Pilarz said in an email. “It is important to note that she describes her most crucial job as the development of students. She will be reviewing ways we can continue to ensure students are at the center of all of our work, using resources for their benefit.”

DiStanislao brings more than 35 years of experience to the newly created position. She has previously worked in higher education administration as a Division I women’s basketball coach and served in various positions within Penn’s Department of Athletics.

Last semester she was part of the peer review of Intercollegiate Athletics at Marquette.

DiStanislao has a doctorate in higher education from the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as master’s degrees in business administration and education from the Kellogg School of Management and the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, respectively.

At 5:37 p.m., an employee reported that five students were in possession of alcohol and fraudulent IDs in the Union Sports Annex. MPD was contacted.

At 10:48 p.m., a student reported being sexually assaulted by another student in the 1500 block of W. Kilbourn Avenue between Sat., 11/5 and Sun., 11/6.  MPD was contacted and took the student suspect into custody.

Fri., 1/27

Between 12:01 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., unknown person(s) removed a student’s unsecured, unattended property estimated at $110 from an unknown off-campus location.

Between 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m, unknown person(s) removed two students’ secured, unattended property from Campus Town East. Estimated combined loss is $22.  MPD was contacted.

At 12:12 p.m., a student reported being harassed by another student in McCormick Hall. MPD was contacted.

Sat., 1/28

At 2:49 p.m., a person not affiliated with Marquette removed cash from an open register in a business in the 1500 block of W. Wells Street and fled the scene. The suspect was chased by an employee of the business and physically detained by DPS. MPD took the suspect into custody.

Sun., 1/29

At 12:05 a.m., two students acted in a disorderly manner in the 800 block of N. 18^th Street and were taken into custody by MPD. The students were cited for underage drinking and obstruction and released.

At 2:24 a.m., an alumnus struck a student in the face with a closed fist in a business in the 700 block of N. 16^th Street. Medical assistance was declined and MPD was contacted.

Paul Wilkes reads an excerpt from his book. Photo by Rebecca Rebholz/rebecca.rebholz@marquette.edu

Catholic writer, filmmaker and Marquette alum Paul Wilkes spoke Friday at Boswell Book Co., 2559 N. Downer Ave., about his latest book, “The Art of Confession: Renewing Yourself Through the Practice of Honesty.”

Wilkes takes a nontraditional approach to confession, believing it is a daily ritual of self-examination that allows a person’s mind and soul to feel unburdened and at peace in order to live a prosperous life.

Wilkes graduated from Marquette University in 1960 after working various jobs to pay his way through school. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in journalism and was accepted to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, despite his grades.

“Marquette told me not to even apply with a 2.24 out of 4.0 GPA, but look who accepted me regardless,” Wilkes said.

Wilkes is also the executive director of Homes of Hope in India, a non-profit organization that works in 32 orphanages, social centers, schools and junior colleges in South India to help provide education for disadvantaged children and assist rescue shelters and orphanages.

How many jobs did you have while at Marquette?

I probably had 15 different jobs. Everything from bartender to orderly in a hospital, to factory worker, to working in a grocery store, I did everything.

Can you explain a little about how you got to where you are today? Did faith play a role?

Well, yeah, the thing of it is that I think for any journalist you have to have five percent talent and 95 percent tenacity. I only have 5 percent talent, but I do have 95 percent tenacity. I am just very tenacious. ‘No’ is not an acceptable answer to me, I don’t hear ‘no’ and so I never took ‘no’ for an answer. I mean, most of my first pieces were rejected early on. I’m told ‘no’ all the time, but I just have the desire.

What piece of work are you most proud of?

Well, my two sons of course. But I think as a journalist I did a profile for the New Yorker and then it became a book called “In Mysterious Ways.” It’s a profile of the life of a parish priest who is dying of cancer, and it won the Christopher Award. (An award that acknowledges a writers persistence in observing the human spirit and values.)

Can you give a brief synopsis of “The Art of Confession?”

Well, I think “The Art of Confession” is a book about personal honesty and how to achieve it. In a time in America where there are so many things calling out to us, and it is confusing to live a life, it’s a book that says, be quiet, go into yourself, find out who you are, improve the things that need to be improved and continue to do the things that you do well.

What is the role of confession in your life?

The role of confession in my life is like a steering wheel for me. I need to keep on adjusting and so I need to keep on making adjustments so I can stay on a good path. Confession helps me do that.

When did you start practicing this system?

I think I have been practicing it on and off for a good part of my life. But really really this kind of thing — 10, 15 years as I got older and stupider.

Do you have any advice for college students?

I think just, at some point in the day, draw into yourself. Take that one moment, or three minutes and say, who am I? How am I doing today? What have I done that I’m proud of? What have I done that I’m not proud of? Always take that short time. But it’s not so much hustle and bustle, it’s a lot of crap. We all waste time on a lot of crap, so get rid of the crap.

What do you get most out of your project in India?

The realization that unless the people that work with me did what we do, their lives would be much harder. There would be girls on the street that would be raped, abused, killed, and we are saving lives. It’s not me, you know, I’m just the guy that’s helping out with this thing, but we are saving lives.

Can you explain how you came to meet the Dalai Lama?

I was doing a documentary on Thomas Merton, which you should see sometime if you can, called “Merton: A Film Biography”, it’s probably in your library at Marquette, Netflix has it. Really it’s one hour about Thomas Merton and I wanted to interview only people who knew Thomas Merton and right before he died he went to see the Dali Lama. So, I wanted to interview the Dali Lama about this. So I called up his office in New York, made the arrangements, went to India and interviewed him. Easy as that. You can do the same thing.

A study released Jan. 9 by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that gossiping may decrease stress and that people gossip in order to help others.

This knowledge could be helpful to the 26.4 percent of Marquette students who reported that stress has affected their academic performance, according to the Marquette Center for Health Education and Promotion.

Participants in the study played games in which a cheater unfairly collected points. Researchers found that when the cheater collected their points, the other participants’ heart rates increased. When participants were able to ‘gossip’ about the game, their heart rates lowered. Participants’ heart rates were the lowest when they were trying to warn others of cheating.

Although gossip is often viewed as trivial or even anti-social, the study results show gossip can be pro-social and necessary for fairness and cooperation in groups, said study researcher Robb Willer, a social psychologist at UC Berkeley, in a statement.

“Spreading information about the person whom they had seen behave badly tended to make people feel better, quieting the frustration that drove their gossip,” Willer said.

A 2009 study showed that up to 80 percent of our conversations are gossip, according to the New York Daily News. The study also said only about 5 percent of all gossip is intended for harm.

Students agreed that gossiping is prevalent on Marquette’s campus.

Jasmine Baker, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she thinks gossiping can be a stress reliever.

“Gossiping can be a form of venting, which can relieve stress,” Baker said. “Gossiping about others is negative, but it may make you feel better.”

Many students, however, feel gossip only creates more stress.

Kelly Rasmussen, a freshman in the College of Communication, said she doesn’t think the results of the study are true.

“Gossiping creates stress,” Rasmussen said. “The more you gossip, the more stress you have, and it always comes back to you.”

Students agreed with researchers in that gossiping is a social activity.

Charlie Hoover, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said he thinks people gossip to feel involved.

“It’s social backup for when people don’t have anything else to talk about,” Hoover said. He said people mostly gossip about mistakes others make.

Meghan McNamara, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, agreed that gossiping gives people something to talk about.

“When people gossip they are usually just bored,” McNamara said. She said people mostly gossip about others’ love lives.

Chris Hardin, a freshman in the College of Engineering, said students use gossip as a way to get and spread news.

“They aren’t trying to be mean,”  Hardin said. ”People just want to know what their friends are doing and who they are doing it with.”