TL20060130-01 "Monday, 1/30/06 www.thetowerlight.com The Towerlight Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice weekly Funding boost minimizes tuition hikes TU gets digital facelift See WEB, page 11 INSIDE: This Week........3 Perspectives....5 News................9 Arts................19 Music..............22 Classifi eds.......26 Sports............32 News: Gov. Robert Ehrlich reveals election-season higher education �surprise� Sports: Get the stats on track and fi eld, swimming Tuition climbs 4.5 percent as Maryland�s university system anticipates growth; TU gets $5,000 funding per full-time student TU ON THE NET COMING IN THURSDAY'S TOWERLIGHT: Who�s going to leave with Oscar? The Towerlight �s predictions for the 2005 Academy Award nominations Arts, page 19 Now introducing: Mr. Gary Neal Sports, page 32 Towson springs to life at start of new semester Sharon Leff Associate News Editor Clicking on Towson University is about to get a whole lot easier. After tolerating a less-than-user-friendly home page for several years, a com-pletely redesigned Web site will appear online on Wednesday. The process of putting it together has taken about two years, and the site will be unveiled at the �Join the �Click�� launch party at 3 p.m. in the University Union Potomac Lounge. Ellen Stokes, associate vice presi-dent of University Marketing, said the best part of the new site is its speed and clarity. �People can get in and get out and get what they want really fast,� she said. The new home page features bright photo depictions of students Brian Stelter Editor in Chief Tuition at Towson University will increase by 4.5 percent for full-time undergraduate stu-dents in the fall of 2006, according to a sched-ule of tuition and mandatory fees approved by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, Friday, Jan. 6. Meeting in the Minnegan Room of the Johnny Unitas Stadium Field House, the 17-member board said the increase would improve quality at the system�s 13 member institutions. Next fall, in-state tuition for full-time under-graduates will cost $5,414, an increase of $234 over the current price of $5,180. Fees will increase 3.5 percent to $1,984. The total in-state cost of tuition and fees will be $7,398. The tuition increase for out-of-state stu-dents will be slightly lower, although they pay almost $10,000 more for their education per year. Tuition for full-time out-of-state under-grads will increase 3 percent to $14,538 in the fall. With fees, the total price will come to $16,522, from $16,030 currently. For part-time undergraduates, the cost is calculated per credit hour. For Maryland resi-dents, each credit will cost $235 next fall, up from $225 this year. After cutting higher education funding in previous years, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich announced a state appropriation of $910 million for the university system on Tuesday, Jan. 3, an increase of $101.3 million or 12.5 percent over fiscal year 2006. �The good news is that the cuts have been restored,� regent Jim Rosapepe said during the meeting. See TU, page 14 After six years Towson�s Web site is redesigned with ease of use in mind Residence halls opened their doors to students over the weekend after six weeks of winter break�s quiet ho-hum. Right and above right: Students flooded the University Union to buy textbooks and supplies for the new semester on Sunday. Above left, families and friends shuttled belongings into empty dorm rooms. Top, to greet residents after their hiatus, Housing and Residence Life, in partnership with University Residence Government, planned a series of welcome-back activi-ties, ranging from pancake dinners to luaus and poker nights. Each residence hall community sponsored a different theme event. Greg Primrose/The Towerlight Heidi Greenleaf/The Towerlight Greg Primrose/The Towerlight Heidi Greenleaf/The Towerlight "
