The Towerlight, August 31, 2009

SAMMY THE CALF, L Ш ® ШТпНКй Ш)?ШЁ ШЫ [E^cgtLPSDWtEILV ШУМИ I www.thetowerlight.com 4 . Published by Baltimore Student Media for the Towson University community Aug. 31, 2009 Л New, original fight song 'Hail Towson' finalized "Fight On, Towson Tigers" is slowly fading away. Little evidence remains of the fight song heard so often at Towson sporting events. The large banner with the lyrics that was seen hanging on the second floor of the University Union has been replaced. The marching band no longer plays it in the stands. New students did not learn it at convocation. Instead, incoming students were some of the first to be introduced to the new fight song, titled “Hail Towson.” The path to the new song began last summer, when a committee, headed by vice president for stu¬ dent affairs Deb Moriarty, was formed. The process began at an opportune time for the University, according to Moriarty. “We felt like with the way the band has been changing and some of the changes the University has been going through, the timing was just really right to do that,” she said. The other reality of the situation is that the previous fight song's music was borrowed from the University of Arizona. With the lease on the music expiring, Moriarty said it was the best time possible to get an original fight song. The contest to write the instrumental part of the fight song began soon after, and was won by Jeff Hosier, an alumnus of the marching band who graduated after the Fall 2007 semester. Hosier, who is now teaching music at the Mount Desales Academy in Catonsville, said it took him about a week to come up with the finished product. “It took a few times to get a melody that I liked. From that point, I tried arranging it a few different ways," he said. “I thought it would be a really good way to give back to Towson and just leave a legacy. I did enjoy my studies there for the most part. I always love a good challenge, so I was looking forward to that." Hosier played the old fight song until he graduated, and said that he thought the leasing of the former song from U of A situ¬ ation was amusing, but "not right” at the same time. "I do think it’s great now that we have something that is Towson’s. It’s not someone else’s and it’s not a borrowed song,” he said. "We now have something that’s ours, and that’s really good.” Hosier said he’s proud to give back to Towson and happy he won the contest, but he’s trying to keep it on the "down-low.” "I’m not looking for attention or anything. It was a great honor to win that and I was really excited when it happened, but I didn’t want to draw too much attention to it," he said. See FIGHT, page 12 Towson ranked in top 100 TU places 89th in Forbes’ list of best public colleges DANIEL GROSS News Editor Towson University was recently ranked as one of the Top 100 "America’s Best Public Colleges" in Forbes’ 2009 list of America’s Best Colleges. Ranked number 89 in the list of 100, Towson found its way on the chart surpass¬ ing the University of Maryland College Park, which placed at 99. "I think that since President Caret has been here we’ve done a good job at increasing our reputation. We’re now known as a growth institution and we’ve been considered a ‘best buy’ in other publications," vice president for stu¬ dent affairs Deb Moriarty said. The rankings were compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. The ranking system was based on the quality of the education provided, the experience of each student and how much each student achieves. ”1 think students are becoming more satisfied with the education and the oppor¬ tunities," Moriarty said. "We have empow¬ ered students in being involved to create a destination campus for students." Before seeing the Top 100 article online See RANK, page 10 Towson Has a New Indie Coffee Shop... TheFrenchPressCafe.com • 27 E. Chesapeake Ave. • Across from the library See our COUPONS, page 9 .................... J