By JENELLE GREWELL
News Editor

Cecil Wilson, assistant director of Housing/Dining Services, said Dining Services at APSU will experience a few changes over the Summer.
AP Dining and Chartwells will replace the Mama Leone’s concept with a Papa John’s concept designed especially for college campuses and other fast food type concepts Wilson said.

“Initially, our Papa John’s will serve freshly baked 8-inch pizzas for a quick, grab-and-go meal. Later, we may introduce bread sticks and other side items offered by the Papa John’s franchise menu,” Wilson said.

“I would rather have the Italian place,” Cecibel Rivera, senior social work major said.

Wilson said Chartwells has proposed several ideas to help make Austin’s Diner more of a destination. These ideas include providing a lounging area near the TV to allow for a more relaxed seating space, installing window treatments to add more privacy and warmth, changing the current photo mural and a few “back room” changes that may help expand and speed up the services they now provide.

“In the coming weeks I will continue to meet with Chartwells as we consider the feasibility and cost benefits of such changes,” he said.

Wilson said Denny’s will not be taking over Austin’s Diner. At one point, it was close to happening.

“They sent us a quote that didn’t include the cost of construction, just materials and equipment._” Wilson said when Denny’s sent the new quote with construction added, it exceeded the allotted budget.

“Besides the installation of another nationally recognized food chain (Papa John’s), we have been given the opportunity to move the Peay Pod from the first floor of the UC to a much more centralized location,” he said.

AP Dining and Chartwells recently accepted an offer to move the Peay Pod to the space currently occupied by SGA on the main floor of the UC, room 214. SGA will be moving into the Student Publications office while the vacant Peay Pod space will house Student Publications.

“We feel this location will better serve the students, faculty, staff and guests of APSU as it will be more prominent. This move calls for a complete redesign of the SGA office to facilitate a shopping experience worthy of the new space,” Wilson said.

Wilson also said the panning stages to “refresh” Chick-fil-A are in the final stages.

“We will replace tile, marketing material, and other ‘behind-the-line’ equipment to better serve the students, faculty, staff and our many guests. It will not be a totally new look, but a great breath of fresh air,” Wilson said.

Wilson said it will cost $50,000 to remodel the Chick-fil-A. The money comes from Chartwells’ investment fund. Wilson said Chartwells invested $1 million and some commission from whatever is sold, and the money goes towards improvements in Dining Services.

Wilson said AP Dining and Chartwells are currently considering a new station in place of the Freshens concept in the food court.

“While we haven’t totally settled on a name; for now, ‘Fresh Fusions’ will have to do. The Fresh Fusions concept will serve a rotating menu based, in large part, on customer feedback.”

Wilson said there have already been requests for pasta items displaced by the Papa John’s concept, along with requests for smoothies, sushi and salad.

“The choices are endless when we lift the menu constraints that come with a defined concept space,” Wilson said.

Rivera said she thinks more fresh fruits and healthier options should be provided.

Wilson said the 2010-2011 year is the last of the contract with Chartwells; after this APSU will take bids for the next dining contract.

“This is a crucial time,” Wilson said.

“I would encourage all students, faculty, staff and guests to continue to provide precise, constructive feedback,” Wilson said.

There are comment cards at each register, an online comment submissions form, a Facebook page and the availability of the Chartwells leadership and Wilson.

“It is important we hear from you. In the end, we all benefit from feedback so keep your comments and compliments flowing.” Wilson said.

Mick Blackburn, a freshman physics major said he thinks there needs to be more of a variety of seating and ice cream that is not so frozen.

Rivera said she thinks the food should be less expensive.
The Facebook page for Dining Services is “AP-Dining” and if a Facebook user becomes a fan of the page, Wilson said the fan is eligible for a key chain tag which gives access to specials offered by Dining Services.

After living in the Florida Keys for many years and experiencing the culture and the beauty that comes from the chain of islands off the tip of Florida, it has become my favorite place in the world.

One of the most amazing things about the Keys is the coral reefs. The beautiful fish, the colorful coral and the warm clear water make it an unforgettable place.

However, the coral reefs are steadily losing their beauty. A visitor of Key West made a comment on www.ecofloridamag.com about declining beauty and color of the reefs.

The Web site responded to the user’s comment by explaining the loss of color vibrancy and the white and gray spots in the coral as the results of natural causes and as man made issues such as “poor water quality due to sewage that is dumped from boats and coastal cities, fertilizer runoff from coastal lawns and gas and oil spills, causing algae to grow in the corals, direct damage to coral from divers, fishermen, boaters, storms and over-fishing.”

In fact, the white and gray spots called coral bleaching, are a direct result of greenhouse gas emissions that warm the surface of the ocean.

The Keys depend on the coral reefs for 8,000 jobs and $106 million in income, and the estimated economic value of the reef itself is $7.6 billion.

The coral reefs are very important to the economy of the Florida Keys. Without them, the Keys would lose breeding grounds and nurseries for numerous types of fish as well as tourism money.

Think about it, would you want to visit the Keys or any other tropical vacation spot, pay money to be taken out on a boat, rent snorkeling gear and an underwater camera only to see a dull and uninspiring coral reef system? I would not.

The environment of a city or community is very important to the survival of the community itself. The Keys are a prime example of the reliance on the environment for survival.

The Florida Keys need a healthy coral reef system to keep tourists and jobs for the community. Even here in Clarksville, the environment is important; we need a clean city with plenty of grass, flowers and trees in order to appeal to potential residents.

On a bad day, the stench of the river can overwhelm the entire downtown area, in turn taking away from the many great restaurants and shops Clarksville has to offer.

A more considerate outlook needs to be present in the minds of tourists and locals alike in these areas. I don’t believe many people realize how important living green and taking care of our environment is.
Not only is it good for our earth, but also fundamental to the economy and well-being of our communities.

By JENELLE GREWELL
News Editor
In the future budget situation of APSU, “good news” and “not so good news,” as President Timothy Hall puts it, are both possibilities.

The Tennessee legislature is in session to adopt a new state budget for the upcoming year.

Hall said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredeson’s proposed budget includes a three percent bonus for state employees, which includes the faculty and staff of universities.

Sonja Stewart, budget director, said the bonus would not include student employees.

It is not certain the governor’s proposal will ultimately be adopted by the legislature, and, if so, how and when the three percent bonus might be distributed, Hall said.

Hall said the governor is proposing a three percent bonus, but last year APSU planned a three year budget. The budget planned for three-percent salary increase in effect July 2010.

Hall said if other state institutions are unable to provide a salary increase, APSU may not be permitted to give the three percent salary increase. “I’m hopeful, though, that we will be permitted to provide at least some salary relief for our faculty and staff, though I am doubtful that we would be able to do so any earlier than the fall,” Hall said.

However, the Governor’s proposal would require APSU to pay for the three percent salary increase. Hall said this requirement, plus a few others would require APSU to spend about $2 million set aside for other purposes.

Hall said there was a budget cut of six percent, but this past year APSU did not actually take the budget because the state gave money to cover the cut. Hall said this money is called “maintenance of effort.”

Hall said Bredeson has told the universities in his proposal to pay for the three percent bonus using the maintenance of effort. “We already had planned on other things to do with that money so we essentially have to come up with $2 million,” Hall said.

Hall said there are two ways APSU will come up with the $2 million. “One, is we had great enrollment this year and we expect that enrollment to increase next year,” Hall said. He also said some of this money will come from the increase in students every year.

He said some of the maintenance of effort money went into physical things for the university such as improving energy. “So instead of doing some of those things with the money, we are going to pull money from our plant funds.”

Part of Bredeson’s budget included a tax on the first $15 of cable service people in Tennessee receive, Hall said. He said currently the first $15 of cable services is not taxed. “This proposal has already drawn some criticism, but the governor has warned that if the tax proposal is not adopted, then institutions such as APSU would be required to take an additional three percent reduction in state funding,” Hall said.

“I still believe APSU is as well-positioned as any of the state’s universities to weather the continued gloomy budget climate,” Hall said.

Hall said for the APSU budget to stay on track of the three year budget plan, enrollment would have to continue to increase at four percent and an increase in tuition of about five percent. He said this past year there was a more than four percent enrollment rate and the tuition was increased by a little more than five percent.

“We are going to have more tuition revenue than expected because we are having more students then we projected.” He said this extra revenue will keep APSU from having to take big cuts from programs.

“The positive effect [of a salary and a bonus for faculty and staff] would be that we can keep and hire good faculty,” Hall said.

He said when salaries stay flat it makes it hard to hire and keep faculty when they see they can get paid more at other institutions.

Hall said APSU salaries are already less than the rest of the salaries of Tennessee Board of Regents.

“We are trying not to cut people because we need people to serve our students, especially as we continue to grow. Otherwise, every line is longer, every class is bigger and every assignment takes longer to get graded. That is what we are trying to avoid,” he said.

“I would rather have bigger classes [than increase tuition],” Ryan Haddock, sophomore biology major said. He said having classes a little bigger would not make a big difference.

Kristien Hinkle, freshman print and web journalism major, said she would also prefer bigger classes to higher tuition. “I wouldn’t be here if it was expensive.”

Hall said APSU is trying not to take cuts from the areas that affect students the most.

“These cuts are particularly happening in administrative types of things. They are happening in the physical plant and the flowers. We have actually increased the amount of our budget that is going towards instruction,” Hall said.
“Flowers are important, we are going to continue to have flowers, but we are going to have fewer flowers than faculty.”

By
PATRICK ARMSTRONG
Editor in Chief
&
JENELLE GREWELL
News Editor

On Wednesday, March 17, a student who claimed to be a victim of an attempted abduction incident on Tuesday, March 16, filed a police report.

On Friday, March 19, at 8:34 p.m., APSU issued an e-mail alert to all students, faculty and staff saying Campus Police had received an attempted abduction incident report on campus.

The target was unable to recall any descriptions of the person or vehicle.

“There is no further information on the incident. No details were provided. This is why the information was disseminated,” said Chief of Campus Police Lantz Biles.

Biles said there is not investigation because not only does the witness not remember anything but it was reported 12 hours after the incident. Biles said there were no cameras in the area of incident to attempt an investigation. As for press time on Monday, March 22, the police report was not available for The All State.

On Saturday, March 20, at 8:09 a.m., a text message alert was sent out about the attempted abduction, telling receivers to check their e-mail for more information.

“This posting was not a timely notification. The incident did not pose a ongoing threat to the university community but we wanted to keep everyone informed of what little information we had,” Biles said.

“Students have to be responsible for their own safety,” Biles said. He said students need to communicate with campus police. He said there are only about three officers on duty at a time and 14 officers total. “How do you cover a whole campus?” he said.

Biles said students need to be alert and aware of their surroundings and report any incidents that seem dangerous as soon as they happen to the police.

Campus does not allow weapons such as mace or pepper spray.

Biles said weapons are not reliable and they could get taken from you and used against you. He said as alternative, take a self-defense class and have a plan of action. “You can always have your own personal weapons, such as punching and kicking,” Biles said.

The Foy Fitness and Recreation Center offers four classes in self defense: Kenpo Karate on Mondays from 5-5:45 p.m., Women’s Rape Awareness Prevention and Survival (WRAPS) on Mondays from 7-9 p.m., Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-4:45 p.m. and Eskrima on Wednesday from 4-4:45 p.m.

Campus Police also offers various safety programs. For more information, visit www.apsu.edu/police/prevention.aspx.

Biles said the Campus Police are going to put up links on the Web site for tips and information about their classes and seminars on safety offered.

“Don’t fall under the ‘it-can’t-happen-to-me’ syndrome. Crime can and does happen on campus. Be aware of your surroundings,” Biles said.

For more information on staying safe on campus visit the campus police Web site for tips and classes offered.
If on campus and there is an emergency call 911 or use the blue light phones. To report any strange behavior call campus police at 221-7786.