2006 Year in review

2006 was a year of …

For the campus community, that sentence could be finished a dozen different ways as UM-St. Louis had its fair share of headlines in 2006. Now, in 2007, The Current takes a look back at the newsworthy events of 2006.

The year started with uncertainty for student curator Maria Curtis (now Maria Kerford after her marriage to UM-St. Louis alumnus Alexander Kerford last year) as her status of student representative to the UM Board of Curators was questioned because of ambiguous language in a Missouri revised statute. In the end, she kept her position and still serves as student curator. January also brought Mexican food lovers La Cantina Loca to the Pilot House and 65 Vashon High School students got an early taste of college life.

The first mention of a doubtful future for the MetroLink pass program made headlines in February. A power failure on Feb. 8 gave students a snow day to enjoy, but the biggest news that month came with the arrests of three baseball players involved in thefts from Dick's Sporting Goods. Gov. Matt Blunt announced plans to sell MOHELA, and UM-St. Louis mourned the death of Marcus Allen, the University's first black professor. In sports, the Riverwomen basketball team reached the GLVC tournament but lost to Northern Kentucky in the first round.

March roared in like a lion, as columnist Dan Savage visited the campus and the search for a permanent dean in the Nursing College began. Talk surfaced of money from the MOHELA sale going toward renovations to Benton-Stadler Hall, but how much would UM-St. Louis get?

SGA elections dominated news in April, as did Student Court's ruling to disqualify potential presidential candidate Muhammed LaMotte. Nick Koechig, Thomas Helton and Shanna Carpenter of the LEAD slate won SGA president, vice president and comptroller, respectively. For Helton, winning vice president was not the biggest news, but the UM-St. Louis showdown softball game between students and faculty/administrators.

"A lot of people think of changes and improvements to UMSL externally, more money, new buildings, more students, but internally there are improvements to be made and I think this was one of them," Helton said. "And the students slaughtered the staff/admin 37-13." Juliann Sebastian became the next dean of the College of Nursing in April. Reel Big Fish rocked Mirthday, while on April 3, "The U" student-run radio station broadcasted for the first time on 101.9 FM.

April showers normally bring May flowers, but May brought student organizations' budget allocations from the SABC. Rep. William "Lacy" Clay's criticism of the Iraq War and President Bush at spring commencement created a stir. Construction of the Express Scripts headquarters moved along, which graduate student Daniel Cohen said was the highlight of 2006. "It was just neat seeing the progress made and the building going up," he said. Progress also meant the baseball field would have to be moved to South Campus, but where would the observatory go?

In June, charges were filed against 16 baseball players in the Dick's Sporting Goods theft case, but it was not all bad news for the baseball team as the Oakland A's drafted Josh Morgan, Rivermen pitcher and outfielder. The Honors College lost professor Dennis Bohnenkamp June 1.

The storms of July left students living on campus without power, which graduate student Jan Mayer said she remembers most about 2006. The storms also caused $750,000 in damages. Repairs to the Mark Twain gymnasium would not be finished until October.

A new redesign to The Current was unveiled in August, as were the new Pepsi machines. August also marked the opening of Oak Hall, "the first residential facility that we have actually built ourselves. It's a real jewel and raises our on-campus housing capacity to about 1,500," said Chancellor Thomas George. Oak Hall also flooded for the first time that month, and it would flood two more times by the end of September.

Another highlight for George was when "the undergraduate International Business College reached its highest yet national rank of 8th by U.S. News & World Report … their faculty deserve a lot of credit," he said. A woman was struck by a MetroLink train at the UM-St. Louis North Station, and the Center for Student Success started the Early Alert System to catch students before failing.

September promised UM-St. Louis an $18-million check from the MOHELA sale for Benton-Stadler Hall renovations. Two Waynes visited campus, comedian Wayne Brady and former Senator Wayne Goode, a founding father of the campus. SGA announced shuttle route changes, and soccer coach Beth Goetz picked up her 100th career win.

The month of October was a roller coaster of ups and downs. The men's and women's soccer teams reached the GLVC playoffs, but both teams lost in the first round.

Homecoming at the Chase Park Plaza drew another record crowd with 870 tickets sold, and Sean Haneberry and Cadence Rippeto were named king and queen. Pop singer Nick Lachey performed at the Touhill, the newspaper card readers came in, as did the sushi bar in the Nosh. PRIZM hosted its third annual drag show.

"Perhaps no single event seemed to have entertained the campus quite as much as the outrageous follies of the PRIZM drag show," said PRIZM member Michael Rankins. "I will certainly never forget the 2006 show, the latest in a line of success stories that demonstrate that student leaders, using student funds, truly can bring top of the line entertainment to the whole of the campus community."

October also marked a time of mourning as UM-St. Louis lost custodian Rufki Dullovi and student Heather Brandow, both killed in car crashes.

Voters highlighted national news in November, but at UM-St. Louis, the SGA assembly had its own vote to approve an increase in the student activity fee. Kathy Griffin headlined the Touhill, which also announced that the performing arts center would break even that year.

The year ended with a campus tragedy, as student Brian Schlittler died in a fire at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. "It showed that things can change over night," said Koechig, fellow fraternity brother. Parts of campus lost power in the December ice storm, and the University lost its appeal in baseball coach Jim Brady's age discrimination case. In the last weeks of 2006, UM President Elson Floyd announced he was leaving for Washington State University, and basketball coach Lee Buchanan was placed on administrative leave.

What will 2007 bring? Look forward to the opening of Express Scripts, a new UM system president, and who knows what else?