The Black & Magenta Blog

In conversations with Vice President of Enrollment Jeff Zellers, and other area college officials, the Times Recorder found that each has been expanding its diversity among college students, and also how diversity is defined.

From the article in Sunday’s paper:

When people think about diversity, people tend to think only of race and ethnicity, Muskingum Vice President of Enrollment Jeff Zellers said.

“We do believe it’s important to have racial and ethnic diversity, but sometimes people get hung up on those and forget about others. We have socioeconomic diversity within the student body, geographical diversity and then we have our learning disability program, so we have students who have learning challenges and that’s a diversity as well,” Zellers said.

More than 40 percent of Muskingum’s students are from Appalachia, which makes them diverse, Zellers said.

About 9 percent of students are minorities at Muskingum — 7 percent are African American, and about 2 1/2 percent are Asian, Hispanic and/or Native American.

Muskingum’s 9 percent is considerably higher by comparison to 3 percent at Zane State, according to the article.

Sophomore Landel Shakespeare is quoted in the article, and said Muskingum might be able to attract more minority students by creating more minority-focused programs. Zellers said the college is actively recruiting minorities, and during visits, tries to pair minority prospects up with minority faculty members to make them feel more comfortable.

Dr. William Schlacks, professor of music and chair of the music department, passed away this morning. Thoughts and condolences can be left in the comments section below. Look for more information on the life and legacy of Dr. Schlacks in the first, Fall 2009 edition of the B&M.

Muskingum President Dr. Anne C. Steele sent the following to students today:

To: Muskingum University students
Fm: Anne C. Steele

With profound sadness and deepest grief, I am writing to let you know that Dr. William Schlacks, The Ruth Dorsey Neptune Distinguished Professor of Music, passed away this morning. Dr. Schlacks inspired us all. He was a truly gifted educator and renowned musician. Please keep his wife Mary, daughters Erin and Samantha, and the entire Schlacks’ family in your prayers.

Our Chaplain, Rev. Will Mullins and our University Counselor, Ms. Tracy Bugglin, will be available in the Chapel and in the Top of the Center this afternoon. Please know that all of  our faculty and staff are here to help you in any way they can.

Muskingum might be number one in our hearts, but it didn’t make the Center For College Affordability and Productivity’s top 600. Forbes.com’s coverage of the list and all the top colleges and categories can be found here.

If you hadn’t heard yet, “Muskingum College” is now “Muskingum University,” as the Times Recorder reported. If you haven’t already, you’ll be receiving correspondence from the college at some point with the new name. Muskingum President Anne Steele also has released a statement discussing the name change.

Changing a name, in that respect, is expensive. Think of all the different things that have the word “college.” How is all of that being paid for? We’ll try and find out after we all return.

Muskingum administrators first indicated their interest in name change last October, when the B&M covered Malone’s name change. Additional stories from local media sources can be found here and here.

Recently I received news of the death of Amy Adams, a junior here at Muskingum. Though I never knew her very well, my interactions with her, albeit limited, were nonetheless memorable.

Every Sunday when I would walk into the Kelly Coffeehouse for Mass, she would always be there with a smile on her face, ready and willing to help out in any capacity. I myself simply wanted to get through the service so I could back to dorm room and goof around before starting on my homework much later in the evening. Despite my grumblings, I never saw her once complain, gripe, or beg for more than any had ever given. Instead, she sang along with the psalms, and offered her services for any sort of need in our small congregation with her steadfast piety and humility.

To Amy’s family, I would just like to say Amy was an amazing person, and easily a role model for anyone, Christian or otherwise. She certainly inspired me to give more and be more than any inspirational speaker or story ever had. You will be in my thoughts and prayers and I wish you well these next few months. Having had lost a much younger brother six years ago, I know from experience just how hard the first few months may be.

To Amy’s friends, I offer my time and a sympathetic ear should they ever desire it. My e-mail is listed on the directory, and my Facebook account is open to any and all.

R.I.P. Amy Adams. You will be missed.

Enjoy not having to make payments on your student loan? Don’t get used to it, because starting tomorrow that will no longer be the case for students borrowing from Sallie Mae, the bank most of us evidently borrow from.

From the story in Saturday’s Dispatch:

The company, formally known as SLM Corp., is replacing its signature loan with a shorter-term version that requires students to make interest payments while in school. For many families, the move is expected to push private loans out of reach in an already-tight credit market.

The upside is that the cost of a private student loan will be cut by about 40 percent, said Jack Hewes, chief lending officer for Sallie Mae, which is based Reston, Va.

Families also would repay loans between five years and 15 years, compared with the previous 15 years to 30 years. Despite the shorter term, Sallie Mae says the monthly bills upon graduation wouldn’t rise dramatically.

This is because the interest payments students make while in school would avoid negative amortization, where the loan balance grows because of deferred interest.

The loans will be available for the 2009-10 school year.

As an example of how the loans will work, Sallie Mae paints the scenario of a student who wants to borrow $17,000 over two years.

For the first semester of freshman year, the student would pay $40 a month. That figure would rise each semester, reaching $160 by the second semester of sophomore year. The $160 monthly payments would continue until graduation.

Once out of school, the student would owe only the principal of $17,000.

This would be paid off over the next six years at $328 a month. Under the previous setup, the student would have repaid the money over 15 years at $250 a month.

The new requirement will lower the total cost of the loan to $28,000, compared with the previous $45,000.

At a time when President Obama has promised to make college more affordable and Governor Strickland is pushing his education plan, this comes at quite a hit. This will most definately have an impact on some students’ decision to go to or remain in college.

Two people sent me a gift on Facebook — a picture of the new recycling bins on campus.

A new Facebook app created by Dr. Vivian Wagner, B&M adviser and professor, features many pictures of New Concord-area scenes that users can send as gifts to each other. It’s really pretty neat.

Some other gifts include Steve the Mullet Man, Xmas Lights in March, Elf Guy, and for every gift you send that gets accepted, you unlock even more picture gifts. One includes a professor’s vehicle.