TL20050127_001 "Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Thursday, 1/27/05 Union stays up for 'After Hours' 5 Towson baby first of new year in Md. 5 TU alum stars in 'Reefef re-make Dating show plans reality comeback Departments Opinion 3 News 5 Police Blotter. 9 Paw Prints 10 Nations 12 Arts 17 Scheer Cinema 20 Entertainment Briefs 22 Sports 28 In This Corner. 28 BankShots 25 Classifieds 23 TebFest1 unites campus events TU groups combine programming to offer variety of month-long activities, speakers Brian Stelter The Towerlight The spring semester will begin with a February Festival across campus, thanks to the coordinated efforts of the Office of Student Activities and a newly formed Integrated Programming Council. """"We realized that we don't start the spring semester off with a bang the way we do in the fall,"""" Assistant Vice President for Campus Life Teri Hall explained. Using the September Celebration formula, OSA staffers organized several campus events and compiled a calendar of upcoming programming. """"Once we started working on this, we realized how many events were going on in the spring that we didn't always know about,"""" Hall said. Last semester Hall formed a committee of campus representatives to coordinate events on campus. The IPC received $50,000 from Vice President for Student Affairs Debra Moriarty to plan a spring speaker series. The IPC brings """"all the major campus programmers around one table,"""" Hall said. """"All the individual departments have done great programming for years, but this way we're all coming together. The synergy that comes from it...really makes a difference."""" The IPC has been meeting once a month since last fall. The meetings include representatives from the Office of Student Activities, Campus Activities Board, Office of Diversity Resources, Housing & Residence Life, Career Center, Campus Recreation Services, International Student Scholar Office, along with several other campus groups. Hall said the IPC also encourages stronger promotional efforts and enables better use of campus resources. """"It requires a different kind of thinking. It's hard to get past your own calendar and your own events,"""" she said. See FESTIVAL, page 9 Spring semester gets off to cold start mr Lisa Johnson/The Towerlight Students bundled up and trudged through leftover slush Wednesday for the first day of classes. Last week's snowstorm was welcomed by many students who spent the end of winter break sledding outside. USM passes tuition increase plan Brian Stelter The Towerlight Full-time undergraduate students at Towson University will notice a tuition increase between 4 and 6 percent next fall, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents decided on Wednesday. By a vote of 13 to 3, Regents approved the modest increase, but rejected a proposal to cap tuition increases at five percent over the next three years. Tuition will increase an average of 5.8 percent across USM's 11 institutions. At Towson, in-state tuition will increase 5.9 percent, or $290, from $4,890 to $5,180. Out-of-state tuition will increase 4 percent, or $544, from $13,570 to $14,114. Fees will increase 7.5 percent, or $134. Part-time undergraduates will pay $225 at the in-state rate and $528 at the out-of-state rate, increases of 5.9 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. Part-time graduates will notice a 4 percent increase in each credit hour. """"We feel this is a good starting point in the reinvestment in higher education. We think this is a breakthrough."""" William Kirwan chancellor, USM Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's 4.8 percent increase in system funding enabled University officials to implement a """"very significant moderation"""" in tuition increases, Chancellor William Kirwan said. Tuition has increased by up to thirty percent in recent years. """"We feel this is a good starting point in the reinvestment in higher education,"""" Kirwan told the board Wednesday afternoon in Adelphi. """"We think this is a breakthrough."""" Regent Jim Rosapepe introduced a proposal that was similar to House Bill 1188, which was passed by the General Assembly last year but vetoed by Ehrlich. """"I believe it is appropriate that the USM Board of Regents shows fiscal restraint and responsiveness to public concern by limiting the tuition increases for undergraduate Maryland residents to 5 percent a year for this year and the next two ? if the governor and the legislature provide adequate funding,"""" Rosapepe said in a statement on Tuesday. See BOARD, page 6 Today High 23 Low 6 Friday High 25 Low 9 Saturday High 34 Low 23 Sunday High 37 Low 31 Monday High 37 Low 36"
