“Housing Services has obtained a limited number of units and anticipates that these will be requested very quickly,” said Kyle Wilkie, coordinator of assignments and marketing for University Housing Services in an e-mail.

Students are being offered a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment at a room rate of $3,535 per semester, less than the semester rates for similar on-campus housing, which cost more than $4,500 per semester. Student residents are also only responsible for their own room charge and not another roommates rent.

The cost for a 1000 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in the Cloisters, a housing community run by the Horning Brothers building firm, usually costs between $1,700- 1,800 a month. Leases are also available for 3 – 12 months at a time.

Students will receive one charge for housing to their student accounts which will include rent and utlities.

Students will be able to live in the apartments from August 9 to May 23rd without interruption and all Univeristy Housing rules apply.

Housing said in the email that they will keep “all roommate groups intact.”

In March, students were dissatisfied with the housing lottery and many students were left without housing or had to switch roommate groups.

On-campus housing will be different this year, as the Southside campus is being developed and traditional houses freshmen. Freshmen will be Flather, Regan, Ryan and CV.

Garvey is the first lay man to lead the University since 1982.

“For more than a decade I have been the dean of Boston College Law School, an institution I have loved and been honored to serve. I can think of no other job I would have left BC for. But I have been committed for much of my life to advancing the cause of Catholic higher education, and there is no better place to do that than at The Catholic University of America,” Garvey said in a University press release. “I hope during my term as president to continue the work Bishop O’Connell has done to build the quality of its academic programs, both graduate and undergraduate, and the endowment necessary to support them.”

Garvey previously worked as a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, the University of Michigan Law School and as a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law. He also served as assistant to the solicitor general at the U.S. Department of Justice, worked as an associate at Morrison & Foerster, in San Francisco and as a law clerk to Irving R. Kaufman, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, from 1974 to 1975.

He has been awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Danforth Foundation, and is a well published author.

The search for the next president took nine months to complete and the search committe was lead by Allen H. Vigneron, archbishop of Detroit and chairman of the CUA Board of Trustees

Current University President Rev. David M. O’Connell was recently named the bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey.
The University has established a website for more information on the president-elect.

The University has yet to comment on either candidate.

The search for the next president has been on-going since last fall, when University President Rev. David M. O’Connell announced his leaving.

A search committee was formed for the next candidate and has been lead by alumnus and Archbishop of Detriot Rev. Allen H. Vigneron.

Recently, O’Connell was announced as the next Bishop of the Trenton, New Jersey Diocese.

The University’s Board of Trustees also held their June meeting this week.

O’Connell will serve as coadjutor bishop until Smith ‘s resignation is accepted by the Pope.

The Trenton Diocese serves 113 parishes in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties.

O’Connell’s ordination as bishop will take place in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton on July 30, 2010. Smith will be the consecrator, assisted by co-consecrators Archbishop John Myers of Newark and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington O’Connell will become the tenth bishop of Trenton.

O’Connell stated that the Middle States site-visit chair Dr. Antoine Garibaldi, president of Gannon University in Erie, PA, made positive comments and that “there were no ‘concerns’ expressed in his observations, which is good news.”

Although a formal report is not yet published, O’Connell said that the comments included recognition of the University’s faculty, the work of the Office of Student Life and our program of institutional assessment, especially learning assessment.

There were also several “recommendations” made relating to curriculum development, enrollment and retention.

The University has been preparing for the Middle States evaluation for the past few years. One iniative that was part of the preparation was the First Year Experience Program that was institued for the first time this year.

The exact location and timing of his move will be announced following the Conventual Franciscans’ chapter meeting later this spring.

Father O’Connell met with the provincial superior of the Conventual Franciscans to determine Father Bob’s successor and to establish a renewable, four-year contract for continuity of service by three Conventual Franciscan friars in campus ministry.

A third Conventual Franciscan friar will join the new university chaplain and Rev. Andrew Santamauro, also a member of the religious community and current associate chaplain for faith development, before the fall 2010 semester. A fourth Conventual Franciscan, Brother Leonard Katusz, also works at CUA in the university libraries.

“It has been such a privilege for me to serve at Catholic for these last 12 years,” observed Father Bob. “Every moment has been a gift. I will always treasure my time here. I have received so much more than I could ever have given.”

“I leave Catholic University with very mixed emotions,” said Father Bob. “I am thankful for the privilege of being a part of so many lives. I want to thank Father O’Connell for his support and vision over these last 12 years. His support has meant so much to me and the spiritual life here at Catholic.

The team is lead by an outstanding senior class which includes pitcher Stacie Goddard, infielder Megan Covert, and outfielder Kerry Convery. Along with a great senior class, the team also has phenomenal underclassman, which includes recently named Conference Rookie of the Year, Sophamore Megan Rizzie.

“This is a completely different team. We have more depth than we did last year, and we have players that are stepping up their game,” said senior Megan Covert when asked what the biggest difference was between this year and last.

The team is lead by head coach Bruce McConkey. In his eighth year of coaching, McConkey is looking to continue his winning ways of last year in which the Cardinals made it to the Landmark Conference
Championship. In his eight years, Coach McConkey has developed the program into one of the best teams in the conference. In 2007, he coached the Cardinals to the CAC Championship, and in 2006 he managed the Cardinals to a program best-20 games while leading the country in doubles per game.

After a few tough exhibition games during a spring break tournament in
Kissimmee, Florida, the Cardinals are now in the swing of the regular season. When a number of the players were asked what they expected to come out of the season, all replied the same way: “Home field advantage for the conference tournament, and a conference championship.”

Luckily, however, this did not eradicate the use of supertitles all together. Though perhaps green was not the best color choice, they come in handy for those moments when the actors’ diction
fails. Sadly, these moments seemed synonymous with whatever technical difficulty hindered the accuracy of the projector.

Act I sets up the show with a series of deceptions orchestrated by the clever Dr. Falke, (played by Alexander Indelicato) who seeks to gain revenge on his good friend Von Eisenstein (played by Eric
Gramatges) for an embarrassing practical joke that resulted in Falke waking up in the middle of town dressed as a bat (hence the show’s title). Through a series of amusing manipulations Falke manages to get Von Eisenstein, his wife Rosalinde (Ashley Alden), and his maid Adele (Danielle Lozano) to attend Prince Orlofsky’s ball in disguise.

Act II finds the full cast at the party enjoying themselves. Here the plot thickens with more deception and some sexual tension. Sadly, this act dragged considerably toward the middle and one found oneself wishing the second intermission would come sooner. More annoying, however, is the fact that you walk away with The Laughing Song deeply engrained in your head and find yourself “ha, ha, ha”-ing for the rest of the evening.

The third act opens in a fit of morning-after comedy that effectively causes the audience to forgive the former drudgery. The story unfolds
in the prison office as each of the characters try to resolve their deception without embarrassment. However Falke steps in to reveal his scheme to the amusement of all but poor Von Eisenstein, the butt
of his friend’s joke.

This show was certainly worth the price. What the performers lack in acting ability, they make up for musically, and with all the deception, sexual tension, humor, and drunken nonsense, what more could you ask for on a Saturday night? So, to the cast of Die Fledermaus, thank you. How delightful, ha, ha, ha; you amuse me ha, ha, ha.

Originally published in the March 26 issue of The Tower.

The motion passed with 17 yeas and 6 nays, with one abstention. SAGA bylaws state that in the case of a vote of no confi dence, the delegates vote by secret ballot.

Maxwell Woodger Bacon, freshman delegate, made the motion at the end of the meeting to replace O’Neill with Rob Durbano, a delegate from the class of 2011.

“I was surprised,” said Durbano.

“He [O’Neill] has a very lazy attitude,” said Woodger Bacon. “I think you should take this job fairly seriously.”

O’Neill was not present at the meeting, because he was fulfilling his duties as Resident Assistant of Opus Hall, according to fellow junior delegate Mike Provine. He sent junior delegate Tom Horsman as
his proxy.

“He has demonstrated he has a broad knowledge of parliamentary rules and procedures,” said Horsman, who was allowed to speak in
O’Neill’s defense. “It’s late in the semester, and he was elected last year.”

The body took a short recess to attempt to contact O’Neill, but delegates were not able to reach him.

“I have a huge problem with this,” said Provine. “Charlie is one of the most proactive members of the student community.”

Despite protests by O’Neill’s fellow 2011 delegates, the motion passed and Durbano will now head the Rules Committee.

“I see myself finishing Charlie’s term,” said Durbano, who talked to O’Neill after the meeting about the committee. “It’s mine now and I will make changes as I find appropriate.”

O’Neill could not be immediately reached for comment.

O’Neill will remain liaison to Disability Services and a non-chair delegate, said Speaker Chris Pierno. If he decides to resign his seat, SAGA will be notified.

Prior to the vote of no confidence, junior delegate John Byers brought up a referendum that will be placed on the ballot for the student elections next week. The question will ask students whether they
think the University should lease John McCormack Road, which borders campus to the east.

“As a student, and not as a delegate, I contacted the city, the Department of Transportation and other universities. It turns out it is actually quite doable,” Byers said. “Nobody so far has told us no.”

Opus Hall parking is always full and other student options are inconvenient and limited, said Byers, who co-sponsored the referendum with sophomore delegate Leslie Martin.

“We want to rally people behind this because it has the potential to get very complicated,” said Byers.

Howard University leased Bryant Street, which runs through their campus. The City removed the parking meters and Howard now plows the street. Students can buy parking permits for those spaces.

The referendum is based on the experience of Howard. Students will be able to park closer to their dorms, on a surface permit.

The law school parking garage is almost never full, said Provine. Byers responded that convenience is a major factor when considering the usefulness of such an action.

The city will send a surveyor to assess price and feasibility, but the request must come from the University.

Byers said that inquiries have been well received by the University.

A “Referendum to Elect Every Member of SFAB” was met with protests from most of the SAGA body. Currently, one representative from
each class and the director are elected. The other four members are appointed.

Current director of SFAB Rachael Staab was present at the meeting and spoke up against the referendum, sponsored by seniors Brian Bligh and Mark Koury.

“The appointed people are so important,” said Staab. “SFAB should be people with communication skills and the right tools to do the job. It’s more than just allocating funds.”

The referendum ultimately was defeated, with 13 votes against it. Koury argued that students had brought the issue forward.

Martin responded that SAGA approves all SFAB liaisons and can impeach them as well.

“Appointed members offer a different persepective,” said Martin.

Originally published in the March 26 issue of The Tower.

Despite continued housing availability, students were vocal about their dissatisfaction with choices.

“I’m not sure where the accountability lies but whether that is in housing or the University as a whole, I feel that they could have better informed us to the extent of which we would be left out in the cold,” said junior Britnie Morris, who couldn’t get a room with her group of friends.

Many students had to split up prearranged roommate groups in order to find space. Juniors and seniors were told well in advance that they would not be guaranteed housing because of the impending tear down of Conaty and Spellman Halls on the south side of campus.

“In light of the large variance of room types available and the nature of the lottery process, it is diffi cult to anticipate the frequency at which certain room types will be chosen,” said Kyle Wilkie, Coordinator of the Assignments and Marketing. “Historically, juniors and seniors select apartment style spaces in the Millenniums before other room types.”

Next year, sophomores will be housed in Opus Hall as well as Centennial Village. Previously, only juniors and seniors lived in Opus Hall which opened last Jan.

“We had a group set to be in a fi ve person suite, in the Mills preferably,” said junior Elena Forbes, who is currently an RA in Ryan Hall. “Our lowest number was 53 and we didn’t get on-campus housing.”

At the end of the lottery, 555 juniors and seniors had selected an on-campus space, said Troke.

“We were scrambling to find a last person the day of housing,” said sophomore Adam Bracy, who will be living in the Curley Court trailers next year. “While we were informed well in advance, forcing juniors and seniors to house off campus makes academics significantly more difficult to pursue.”

The space for upperclassman was about the same as previous years, according to Troke. The number of students who did not pick a room was less than in previous lotteries, he said.

“At no time during the lottery process were juniors and seniors denied the opportunity to select an on-campus assignment and at the conclusion of the junior/senior lottery, spaces remained that students did not select,” Wilkie said.

For students who didn’t receive campus housing, Troke suggested that they submit a Non-guaranteed Wait List Form.

Sophomores Juliette Lacombe and Kelly Ferrante decided to live off campus once they knew they weren’t guaranteed rooms.

“We’re excited. I don’t even know if we would have stayed on anyway,” said Ferrante. “After two years, living on campus gets kind of boring.”

Housing Services has resources available for students who can’t get rooms on-campus. “We have a Coordinator of Off- Campus Housing who is available to meet with individuals or small groups to provide consultation to learn more about living off-campus,” said Kelli Bodrato, Assistant Director of Housing Services for Auxiliary Services.

Although students are overall not pleased with the results of the lottery, Housing Services still has space available for interested students.

“I understand no one using the term‘crisis’ but ultimately, I’m sure I speak for many of us when I say this, that’s what we should deem it,” said Morris.

Originally published in the March 26 issue of The Tower.