Towerlight, February 18, 2010

v..asey riauit:i/ i nc luweuigni Stephanie Harshman shows off her jump roping skills in the Burdick Gym Mezzanine. Harshman is a member of a Frederick-based team, the Skip Wizards, that will go to regional competitions in April. TU students lobby for affordability, civic issues TYLER WALDMAN Associate Arts Editor ANNAPOLIS - Students and administrators met at Maryland’s State House Wednesday for Tiger Pride Day, an annual chance for Towson to make its case to state senators and delegates. The 11th trip comes at a unique time for the University. As Towson continues its construction boom, recent budget concerns have left admin¬ istrators and student leaders concerned if everything in the legislative agenda could be met. James Sheehan, the University’s vice president of administration and finance, remarked, "It’s going to be a challenging year." Sheehan added he had seen this cycle before at Towson and other institutions. "If the economy is good, if the state revenues are good, then the flow to the universities is good and it goes down, just the same as the general economy," Sheehan said. "Things get bad before we realize it and things get better in the economy before we benefit from it” See PRIDE, page 6 LAUREN SLAVIN Arts Editor You won’t see Olympic athletics competing in a jump roping event this week. But if you go to the Towson Center Arena most days, you might catch a glimpse of nationally ranked jump-roper Stephanie Harshman. Harshman placed second in 2007, the last time she competed in the USA Jump Rope Nationals competition. A broken hand and appendicitis have kept her from competing the past two years. Harshman contracted appendicitis six weeks before Nationals in 2009, and her doctors told her she would need six to eight weeks to recover before she could get back to jumping. "Right before surgery they told me that and I started crying," she said. "They were like ‘It's not a big surgery, it's not a big deal' and I was like ‘No, jump rope.”' Regionals are coming up in April though, and Harshman has been training harder than ever with her Frederick-based team, the Skip Wizards. Her team is composed of about 30 members, 10 to 15 of whom compete in nationals in events such as speed, double dutch and freestyle. Maryland, along with Washington, North Carolina and Texas, are well- known states for jump roping. "Anyone from my hometown, if you say I have jump rope practice they don’t ask you 'Really? Jump rope practice?’ It’s just like ‘Oh see you later.”' This is the complete opposite reac¬ tion Harshman got when she started college in 2006. "It’s weird to be like ‘Oh, I’m going to go jump rope.’ People are like ‘You’re going to go jump rope? What are you going to do?’” Harshman said. "It’s almost like every time I tell someone new about it I have this 10 minute spiel." Harshman practices in the Towson Center Arena because of all of the See JUMP, page 10 WATCH HARSHMAN AND HER JUMP ROPE TRICKS ONLINE » THETOWERLIGHT.COM February 18, 2010 Towson s campus and community news source Online Extreme jump roper to compete in nationals after a two-year hiatus Ualet Parking Rtteidants wanted for 6 restairants in Little Italy ** Good Pay. Good Tips. 6:00 pm to ll:OOpm, 7 Jays/ week Must be 19 or over. Applf in person an M ак&ф tin Thirsthf Must be able to drive clutch. 300 South High Street, Valet Office