AFROTC freshman class largest in recent years

The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) program is seeing a dramatic increase in numbers over the last four years. Cadet Paul Kolars, AFROTC wing commander, said this year’s freshman class is the largest class size he has seen.

St. Thomas’ program isn’t alone as the other 273 ROTC programs across the country have also seen an increasing trend in numbers.

Ordinance would blame landlords for underage drinking

The St. Paul City Council is considering passing a social host ordinance that would make it a crime to host or allow a party where underage drinking occurs.

But this ordinance has a twist. If it passes, all adults, including landlords, who knowingly allow underage drinking parties, would be guilty of a misdemeanor and could face up to $1,000 in fines and up to 90 days in jail.

‘Disturbing’ incidents around campus have increased ‘tenfold’

John Hershey, neighborhood liaison for St. Thomas, said he has received about 40 separate complaints from neighbors this semester regarding student behavior.

“I’ve received a lot more really bitter complaints from people about roving bands of students,” Hershey said. “Not just that they’re in the neighborhood but that they’re being disrespectful … who knows what’s true and what’s not, but I don’t have reason to disbelieve them.”

Sky’s the limit for classes, community events

The dedication of the new observatory atop the Anderson Parking Facility Tuesday initiated new advances in both the science and educational programs at St. Thomas.

“The primary mission of the St. Thomas physics department observatory is science education,” physics professor Gerry Ruch said. “We want to use this facility to reach as many people as we possibly can and get them excited about science and the natural world.”

Portal users nearly double since last spring

Portal, a Web application that combines elements of Blackboard, Murphy Online and Outlook e-mail, is growing in popularity. Since its launch last spring, the number of daily visits has nearly doubled.

When Portal was initiated last semester, it averaged 1,800 visits per day, said Elizabeth Houle, Web and media services director for Information, Resources and Technologies. This fall, Portal has received an average of 3,500 visits a day and 14,000 page views per day. But IRT is unable to discern what portion of the students using Portal are undergraduates or graduates, Houle said.