Noticias

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor Western was swept by an ice storm during the week of Jan. 8 — resulting in three classless days and one late start. While students might have relaxed or studied when class got canceled, especially due to the three-day weekend, Campus Safety remained on high alert. “Our biggest concerns were the unknown stuff,” said Associate Director of Campus Safety, Mike Hanson. “Are we going to have power outages? Where can we take students to have heat if we lose it? We were trying to plan ahead for what we didn’t know was coming up.” A few minor rescues were conducted during the ice storm, with car trouble being a common denominator. Campus Safety generally assists with anything and everything on campus, the only service offered 24/7 at Western. “I think we’re very lucky to be unscathed. We had a few slips and falls — we followed up with those folks — had a few pipes break, but those, ultimately, were pretty minor,” said Hanson. Past winter seasons haven’t been as forgiving. Years prior, a destructive ice storm downed trees and severed the power for different parts of the community. Campus Safety spent a month working on the damage, even calling in other crews to assist in the clean-up. Ice, unlike snow, cannot be easily removed or shoveled. It has to melt or break, leading to times when the best option is to wait patiently until temperatures rise.  “Mother nature leads us down — we have to gamble for what she leads us to,” Hanson said. According to Hanson, students behaved safely and...

Written by: Libby Thoma | Staff Writer Western is making the decision to introduce a new grading system called a No Credit grading system. This system would include the replacement of a D- through a failing grade with a “no credit.”  Western’s official press release states that “…it’s about student success, not lowering standards.” This means that a failing grade would not impact a student’s overall GPA. Students worry that this change will lower school standards and that transcripts and degrees from the college will hold less significance to future employers. Provost Jose Coll states that this change was meant to increase graduation rates and keep students at Western. Coll also states that GPAs will now accurately reflect the student’s success rate, although it is unclear how excluding a student’s grade earned will not accurately reflect the student’s success rate. As the student body worries about the quality of their degrees and how seriously Western is taken as compared to other universities, Western, according to the press release, approaches the topic with the ideas that learning will become more important than grades, there will be an overall reduction in grade anxiety and students will focus on the possibilities that may come with academia. Western also aims to lower student discouragement, with students dropping classes and even out of school due to low grades.  Attempts were made to contact the Financial Aid Department, but they could not be reached. According to the SAP Policy, a grade NC does not apply towards completing the number of credit hours that are needed. It is unclear if an NC will affect scholarships the...