News

When Furman switched to Office 365 a few years ago, it upgraded to a more advanced email client that significantly increased the storage space allotted to all students, faculty, and staff. But in the switch, Furman also lost a forum feature from the previous email client that had been a central part of university communication.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster dumped an estimated 4.9 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, causing significant environmental damage that persists to this day. A new art exhibit showing at Furman attempts to make sense of the devastation.

Homecoming at Furman will undergo a few minor changes this year, implemented through the Student Alumni Council and FUSAB, the two organizations that jointly plan and sponsor homecoming.

It’s now widely known that the budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year is projected to be around $6.4 million, and for some at Furman, that figure has led them to question the substantial amount of money recently invested in the university’s athletic programs to renovate facilities and add men’s and women’s varsity lacrosse teams.

After attracting more than 1000 attendees in its first year, the World Religions Symposium is back, seeking to encourage religious dialogue with a series of seven CLPs focusing on Jewish identity and theology. Called “Judaism: Ancient Conversation, Contemporary Voices,” the series runs from Oct. 22 to Dec. 2 and boasts thirteen sponsors — including the Office of the Chaplain, the Jewish Student Association, and the Religious Council — emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding religious traditions.

Designed by three Furman students, Dicho, which is short for dichotomy, is an iPhone app created as a way to get feedback from a specific group or the general public by posing questions with two answers.

It’s a question that seems simple — what should be the role of Furman’s president? — but the answers given at last month’s Presidential Search Committee’s Listening Sessions were anything but.

When the Department of Theater Arts stages a play, it’s often a work written by dramatic titans like Aristophanes, William Shakespeare, and Tennessee Williams, giving student actors a chance to perform great theater from the Western canon. But next month, Furman’s theater majors will have a unique opportunity to perform a play that stands out not because it’s a timeless classic but because it’s brand new.

Earlier this semester, Interim President Carl Kohrt announced that Furman is running a projected budget deficit of $6.4 million for the upcoming fiscal year and would need to find ways to cut costs in order to fill the gap, a surprising announcement that once again raised questions about how the university can achieve financial stability during a turbulent time in higher education.

After a three year hiatus, Furman’s television network FTV-2 is back in action. FTV-2 is a student-run news organization and was winner of the “Best Organization” award on campus back in the ’90s, but due to low membership, the network has not produced any shows in recent years.

It’s only been open a few weeks, but already the new Center for Academic Success has been achieving results worthy of its name. Located in the basement of the library near Information Technology Services, the Center includes the Office of Academic Assistance and the Center for Teaching and Learning, which houses the Writing and Media Lab.

The rules apply to everyone, but the new student organization policies implemented this year have had their greatest effect on Greek organizations. The reason? Alcohol’s involved.

The discussions were wide-ranging, the opinions passionate and diverse, but if any consensus emerged out of the Presidential Search Committee’s listening sessions last week, it was that students, faculty, and staff admire Interim President Carl Kohrt and are looking for a candidate with similar qualities to lead a university that they say has lost its way during the past few years.

During a regularly scheduled faculty meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24, faculty learned from Interim President Carl Kohrt just how bad the budget deficit is projected to be for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. It’s currently estimated at $6.4 million, though the figure is likely to change as the administration gathers more information.

In the wake of student reports about mold in Lakeside Housing, Facilities Services and Housing and Residence Life said in an interview with The Paladin that they are aware of a “mold-like substance” in buildings on campus but that they did not view the substance as a cause for concern, except in cases where the problem was caused by water leakage.

Furman inaugurated a new partnership with the Greenville Health System at a signing ceremony last Thursday, Sept. 26 that names Furman as the system’s primary undergraduate institution.

Due to budget concerns, Furman will not even be hiring someone to replace Shaner, which has forced the philosophy department to make adjustments to keep business running as usual, shuffling professors and eliminating three classes that Shaner taught.

Later this month, the Greenville Health System will designate Furman their “primary undergraduate institution” as a part of a new agreement that the administration says will provide Furman with additional resources and enable the university to consider new joint-programs with the hospital.

This past weekend, the Student Government Association spent a weekend at the Montreat Conference Center in Asheville for their annual retreat to lay out plans for the year ahead.

This past summer, Aramark dining services and Dining Hall management attended a three and a half hour workshop at the Furman Farm to learn about how to improve the university’s food waste composting system.

It was well-accepted when it started, but the First Year Seminar Program, which has been in place for five years and has received mixed reviews from faculty and students, is up for a review that could lead to significant changes by the next academic year.

The 16-member Presidential Search Committee charged with finding Furman’s next leader met face to face for the first time last week, moving forward with a search process that committee members say could identify a new president by the next academic year.

While some students found signing up for fall classes easy and quick, others were faced with a dilemma recognized by many: the absence of certain courses on the registration spreadsheet. Some courses did not make the available course list this semester, often due to low enrollment.

Since becoming the university’s new Chief of Police in June, Tom Saccenti said he’s noticed that most Furman students don’t know any of the names of their campus officers. It’s a problem that Saccenti, who came to Furman from Marietta College in Ohio to replace the retiring Bob Miller, aims to change.

About twenty students turned up for the Student Government Association’s meeting last Tuesday to learn about the new Paddock restaurant and the new hours for the PDen and Einstein’s Bagels.