The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 14, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 9, 2009 Page: 1 of 6

WEDNESDAY
September 9, 2009
Vol. 92 • No. 14
ONLINE:
www.theraiTibldr.org
The Rambler
The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Academic Convocation kicks off fall
semester
Campus, page 3
Guidditch comes to college
campuses
Entertainment, page 5
SUB intrusion costs $10,000
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Even though few traces of
criminal behavior were pres-
ent shortly afterward, the
Brown Lupton Campus Cen-
ter was vandalized and bur-
glarized in the eady morning
hours of Aug, 3 L
According to a police re-
port by the Port Worth Police
Department, security guard
Leonard Peterson called po-
lice after noticing damaged
and stolen property while
making his morning rounds.
Police were dispatched at 6t30
a.m.
Although the police re-
port initially listed approxi-
mately $5,000 in damages, the
amount required to repair and
replace everything exceeded
$10,000, according to a state-
ment released by security.
"There was severe property
damage done - hinges were
taken off [there was] damage
to the doors that secure the
snacks, cash registers were
completely demolished, and
several items were stolen" ac-
cording to the written state-
ment. "The loft area upstairs
was tampered with; however,
the burglar was unsuccessful
in retrieving the flat screen
TV
"They took some cash and
stole all of the candy, which
is kind of odd," said Christine
Tham, student manager of the
center
The police report indicated
that $200 in miscellaneous
candy and soap powder was
stolen. New locks were in-
stalled and cabinets rebuilt,
Tham said, and the store re-
opened for business a day and
half later, she said
The police report states
that the area was searched for
fingerprints, but none were
found. The report records
no signs of forced entry but
does say that a security guard
making his rounds the night
before found the building
locked and secure.
One member of a campus
sorority said she encountered
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Revitilization is on the way
Jonathan Rawmxc
jlresendezfflmail.bciwes.edu
With the new bookstore as its beacon, Texas
Wesleyan is poised to breathe new life into the
surrounding neighborhood by attracting more
restaurants and businesses.
Wesleyan students can expect a Subway sand-
wich shop to open next to the bookstore as early
as spring, said Phillip Poole, lead development
executive for TownSite Company. Eventually,
students can expect a restaurant that serves wine
and beer across the street from the Baker Build-
ing.
"That would just be phenomenal? said fresh-
man theater major Ladedrick Minnifield
Bill Bleibdrey, senior vice president of finance,
said the partnership with TownSite has already
led to the remodeling of two blocks, the 3000
and 3100, which they hope to fill with attractive
new businesses from west to east
"Each successful tenant should be easier than
the prior one," he said.
As the legal issues are ironed out, plans for the
revitalization of the neighborhood are begin-
ning to take shape, Poole said in reference to the
22,000 square feet of remodeled historic store-
front.
The Subway lease is in the process of final-
ization, and several other local restaurants are
starting to show interest, he said
"We're beginning to get some real interest in
getting things bade together in the Polytechnic -
Wesleyan neighborhood," Poole said
Hie 3000 block, where the bookstore is lo-
cated, is expected to fill up with restaurant and
retail-type businesses. Neighborhood services
like an attorney's office, insurance agents office
and barbershop are anticipated to fill up the
3100 block, he said.
Bleibdrey said businesses will give students
more places to go and make the neighborhood
look better
Lindsey Wilson, freshman math major, said
she would probably stay and hang around on
campus as long as die had money to spend
"More people would hang out rather than sit
around in their car or the library," she said.
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New bill
provides
repayment
aternatives
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While college students were
either partying or studying
throughout the summer, their
government was hard at work
passingan other stimulus plan.
As a result, a student loan re-
duction and forgiveness plan
was passed in July.
The new program allows
borrowers to reduce their
loan payments to 15 percent
of their annual adjusted gross
income. Interest rates on loans
were cut from 6 percent to 5.6
percent, and Pell grants in-
creased from $619 to $5,350
for the 2 009-2010 school year.
College students graduate
with an aw rage of $25,000
worth of student loan debt,
according to cnn.com. The
average college graduate earns
about $130,000, which makes
their payments $288 a month
with an interest rate of 6.8 per-
cent. Under the new loan pro-
gram, students could opt for
payments of $172 per month
and spread their payments out
over a longer period of time.
Graduates who work in
public service jobs for 10 years
can have the balance of their
federal loans forgiven after a
decade of consistent repay-
ments. Eligibility for this goes
back as far as Oct. 2, 2007, so
the earliest a borrower in the
public service field can be for-
given is Oct 2,2017.
Ribbon cutting ceremony draws big crowd despite heat
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With live mannequins in
the window and barbecue
waiting, about 100 people
gathered for the ribbon cut-
ting ceremony of the new
Te.ias Wesleyan bookstore.
Students, faculty and staff
joined administrators, alumni
and local officials in recog-
nizing the efforts of everyone
who played a part in estab-
lishing the new bookstore.
"This is the payoff for all the
hard work that the trustees
put in at this university" said
Anne Skipper, chair of the
board of trustees.
Alan Strapman, region-
al vice president for Follet
Bookstores, said he was in
shock when they were asked
to move off campus.
"However, when the revi-
talization talk of the neigh-
"This is the payoff for all the hard work
that the trustees put in at this university."
Anne Skipper
Chair of the Board of Trustees
borhood came to reality we
got on board very quickly" he
said
The district director for the
office of Rep. Michael C Bur-
gess, Eric Whip, said he and
Burgess had walked around
the Polytechnic neighbor-
hood five years earlier trying
to figure out a way to relocate
their offices there. Whip pre-
sented the university with a
flag that had flown at the capi-
tol in honor of the work being
done.
"We look forward to a lot
of success for them and for
the others that will be joining
them here in the near future,"
Whip said
Phillip Poole, lead develop-
ment executive for The Town-
Site Company, said they have
partnered with the school and
asked for the North Central
Texas Council of Govern-
ments to help with a sustain-
able development grant pro-
gram. The program would put
back the urban fabric, he said.
"It would literally calm
down East Rose dale, add
signalization and make the
oil-street parking safer" said
Poole, in reference to the
grant criteria. "It would really
turn this street back to what it
once was."
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Junior mass communication major Tiffany Smith is all smiles after the ceremony Sept. 8.