Wildcat Transit Has New Ideas

UNH students, faculty and staff may soon want to hop on the bus: a recent proposition by UNH Transportation Services could bring big changes to Wildcat Transit as early as October of this year.

If an application for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding is approved, then UNH and Durham residents will enjoy a new route to Rochester, NH as well as three new low floor transit buses which will run entirely on natural gas or biodiesel. And that’s not even all that UNH Transportation Services has in store.

“The plan is to get COAST to feed into our stop in Rochester,” said Dirk Timmons, Director of UNH Transportation, at a public meeting about their plans last week. The future stop, which is expected to be located at the parking lot across from Lowe’s in Rochester, would be the size of the lot C parking lot at UNH. It would be built through state funds.

COAST, The Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation, currently services the seacoast region of New Hampshire as well as Berwick, Maine. Wildcat transit already has links with COAST in Dover, Portsmouth and Newmarket and hopes to expand to Rochester as well.

“The service will expand transit linkages,” said Timmons in a public statement. It will also be the first Wildcat Transit route that is designed to bring students and employees to campus by 7 a.m.

The new route will offer students and Durham residents more options for shopping as well. One of the stops will be placed at the new Lee Market Basket Plaza. “[T]his additional route may help stimulate the economy by servicing nearby retailers and providing students with additional shopping options,” said Timmons in his statement.

The run from Durham to Rochester will also provide undergraduate and graduate students with new opportunities for cost-effective rental units. “We are open to adding stops as well if new housing units are built,” said Manager Beverly Cray.

“I would definitely consider living in Barrington or Rochester if it were cheaper,” said sophomore Stephanie Perkins, who currently lives in an off-campus apartment in Durham now. “I could save so much money,” said Perkins.

In addition to providing more options, the bus route may help many residents and student save money. Students, faculty and staff will still be able to ride for free as long as they present an ID card. Other Durham and local residents will be able to ride for a low cash fare. “We offer one of the most cost-effective transit services in New Hampshire,” said Timmons in his statement.

Another benefit of the expansion is that the connection will help decrease traffic and thus improve air quality along NH 125 and US4. The buses, which are largely run on biodiesel or natural gas, greatly reduce carbon emissions. “We are one of the cleanest transit fleets in New England,” said Timmons.

Being clean is important when you are also the largest transit fleet in New Hampshire. Ridership in 2009 exceeded 1.1 million passenger trips and has been increasing by 5% each year. In other words, 4.4 million vehicle miles were removed through Wildcat Transit, reducing carbon emission by over 21,200 tons.

If UNH Transportation Service’s request for CMAQ funds is approved, then three new, large buses will be added to the fleet. The buses, which are clean and fully ADA accessible offering audible stop announcements, bike racks and low floors, and are run on clean ultra-low sulfur B20 biodiesel or CNG. These buses will cost approximately $444,000 each, but by replacing these vehicles cost per mile expenditures will drop by $2.05 per mile. This correlates to a savings of $78,365 per year.

However in order for all of this to pass, UNH Transportation Service’s request for CMAQ funding must be selected from a large number of applicants and approved. The Rochester Bus Association, Rochester City Council and town of Durham, among others, have all offered their support via letters to CMAQ. “It helps to have five letters of support,” said Timmons.

UNH Transportation will hear in May whether or not their application will be accepted. UNH Transportation Services encourages local support and suggests writing to the state CMAQ Committee members. “I think the Rochester route has a very good chance of being the number one selected,” said Timmons.

UNH Students Save on Spring Break

Imagine your father moving clear across the country in order to get a better paying job. Now picture finding out that you cannot visit him during spring break because neither of you can afford the five hundred dollar plane tickets.

This is the case for Anna Normandeau, a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire, during this upcoming spring break. Normandeau’s family, like many other families throughout the United States, has been hit hard by the failing economy.

Like others, her father lost his job this past year and had to relocate in order to find work.

“It’s just frustrating how expensive everything is,” said Normandeau, “I can’t even visit him and now I don’t have any spring break plans.”

Normandeau is not alone in her frustrations. Many University of New Hampshire students faced similar dilemmas this year upon deciding what to do during their spring vacations.

Colleen Warburton, a freshman, hoped to travel with her sorority to Panama City, Florida, but quickly realized it would be too expensive. “I’m staying with my cousins in Arizona. I’m only visiting for four days, so that’ll make it cheaper,” said Warburton.

Part of the problem preventing students from taking vacations this year is the price of travel. While hotels and travel agencies offer discounts, airline rates have remained relatively stable.

Travel agent Karen Dawson of Horizon-University Travel in Durham, NH says that she has seen a decline in the number of vacations this year. “Although some airlines like Southwest offer deals, unless you’re a frequent flyer and have built up points, flying can be very expensive,” said Dawson.

“Add some kids and the tickets add up fast,” said Dawson.

Dawson explained that many hotels are offering special deals to try to encourage people to take vacations. “A lot of hotels will offer a third or fourth night free as an incentive,” said Dawson.

Despite the incentives, many college students decided to opt out of hotels this spring break, instead trying to bunk with friends or family. For instance, sophomore Brianne Creedon plans to stay with her grandparents in Florida during spring break.

“If I couldn’t stay at their condo I wouldn’t be able to afford to visit,” said Creedon, who will be gone for seven days.

Florida, says Dawson, is one of the most popular spring break spots among college students this year. Cities such as Miami, Panama City, and Key West are popular vacation spots.

“[The most popular spot] used to be Cancun,” said Dawson, “But now that traveling out of the country has become more of a financial burden, people seem to prefer staying within the U.S.”

Senior Leah Reed is one UNH student who chose to visit Florida instead of Mexico. “My friends and I looked up rates and found a really great hotel in Florida near Jacksonville,” said Reed.

“We’re going to have a road trip and drive down to Florida,” said Reed. Reeds hopes that traveling by car and sharing the cost of gas will help her save money.
Another benefit of road trips is that students can chose to make whatever stops they want along the way.

“We’re planning on stopping in a couple states to visit friends as we go,” said Reed. “It’s nice to be able to work it around our own schedule.”

Although many students seem to have plans, not everyone is traveling this spring break. "I've seen fewer students come in this year," said Dawson.

This is likely because a lot of UNH students plan to either relax at home during the vacation or work at local jobs.

Junior Nicole Labbe, who works at Kohl’s in Manchester, NH, says she hopes to work during break. “I’ll probably pick up two or three shifts,” said Labbe, “I could use the hours.”

Although working isn’t exactly a vacation, many UNH students seem to be glad to have jobs to return to.

Andrea Mitchell, a sophomore, plans to work as much as possible during break. “I called my manager and asked to work every day,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell said that saving money for her is essential. Mitchell has to pay for much of her schooling along with books and spending money. “I feel like I’m always broke,” said Mitchell.

Normandeau, who now has no plans as she cannot afford to visit her father, agrees that working is the best idea for this spring break. “At least I can babysit and make some money while I’m home,” said Normandeau.

Wet, Windy Winds Create Wasteland

Thursday’s sudden storm brought about more than dangerous, heavy winds to Durham, NH: over 50 trees were completely knocked over and uprooted, causing damage to cars and buildings but no people, according to the UNH Grounds and Events Manager.

The storm, which was the result of cold air from Canada mixed with warm air from the southern United States, created a strong low pressure system. This Noreaster came from the coast and produced winds gusts near 68 mph in nearby Portsmouth, NH.

Mary Stampone, of the Department of Geography at UNH, explained that although winds of 68 mph were not the average during the storm, the winds were still high enough to cause severe damage to trees.

“I would be shocked if it didn’t get close to setting a record,” said Stampone of the winds.

Thomas Byron, the UNH Grounds and Events Manager, explained that mostly pines and some hardwoods fell Thursday night and into Friday morning. Falling limbs hit parked cards, causing damage to some vehicles, and even hit the honors dorm, Hubbard Hall.

Although the dorm building was hit, only a window was broken. No other damage or injuries to students occured.

Erika Mantz, director of Media Relations at UNH, explained that UNH decided to delay their opening at 4 a.m. Friday morning. Five hours later, however, the school decided to curtail operations for the entire day.

“Power came back on sometime Friday afternoon,” said Mantz. Despite the return of power, damage throughout campus and the continued lack of power in surrounding towns made normal daily functions impossible.

Meanwhile, the Dimond Library, survived its own share of damage over the weekend. A water damage break flooded the building Friday night. The library, which was closed all weekend, may require a more expensive fix than anything charged by removing trees, explained Mantz.

Although no students were injured in the storm, UNH Maintenance workers were forced to work extra hours starting from 2:30 a.m. until early Friday morning.

Unitil Utility Company, a local power company, explained that while this storm was damaging, the 2008 ice storm hit the area harder. They surmise that everyone should be restored to power within the next day. Unitil, which provides power to many in southern NH, has been participating in specialized training since the 2008 storm.

The local hospitals were unavailable for comment on the storm, but were aware of many calls to the fire department reporting fallen trees and powerlines.

Beer Benefits

University of New Hampshire students may now have a good excuse to order another round: a recent study has found that beer may help keep bones strong.

Researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis have found that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon and could help prevent osteoporosis.

Silicon, the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, is one of the major factors involved in increasing bone mineral density.

Researchers tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorized the data according to beer style and source. They did this by studying beer production methods and the resulting silicon content.

Previous research has suggested that beer contained silicon but little was known about how silicon levels varied with the different types of beer and malting processes.

“We have examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer,” said researcher Charles Bamforth of U.C. Davis in a public statement.

The study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, found the beers’ silicon content ranged from 6.4 milligrams per liter to 56.5 mg per liter. The average person’s silicon intake each day is between 20 and 50 mgs.

The researchers found there was little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting process. This is because most of the silicon in barley is located in the husk, which is not affected during malting.

They found pale ales showed the highest silicon content while non-alcoholic beers, light lagers and wheat beers had the least silicon.

“Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element,” said Bamforth in his statement.

The news, which links beer with health benefits, could potentially give beer drinkers some peace of mind.

“It’s nice to know that some of those calories in beer are actually going to help my body,” said UNH junior Julia Laroche, 21.

“I didn’t know that an alcoholic drink could be good for you,” said Bridget McLaughlin, 22, a UNH senior, “I’m not particularly concerned about my bones because I drink milk and all, but this makes me feel less bad about drinking a beer on the weekends.”

Fellow UNH senior Kerri Rosenberg, 21, agrees with McLaughlin that the study’s results have lightened her conscious. “It’s nice to know that some of those calories in beer are actually going to help my body,” said Rosenberg.

Although the research suggests such potential health benefits, it does not indicated if any clinical studies have been done to compare the bone health of beer drinkers to those of non beer drinkers.

“I wonder if bone density is higher because of increased rates of falling down,” said junior Julia Laroche, 21. “Being drunk makes people fall down, and falling down has a high impact on the bones, so maybe bone’s get denser to compensate,” said Laroche.

Many UNH students, however, seem to not be too concerned either way with the results. “Guess I have one more reason to drink,” says Matt Normandeau, a sophomore who turns 21 in two weeks.

“It’s nice to know that beer can be good for me, but I’m really not going to change my habits because of this one study,” said Rosenberg.

Normandeau doubts that many students will change their habits because of these results. If anything, he thought students may drink more. “This is just another way beer makes everyone happy,” said Normandeau.

Nurses from UNH Health Services declined commenting on this subject. The department stated that it does not support excessive drinking and that anyone with substance abuse problems should contact 862-1530 for help.

UNH Symphony Orchestra May Cease to Play

The University of New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra could face extinction if the UNH Music Department fails to find a new conductor and participation rates continue to drop.

The UNH Symphony Orchestra, which is a 1 credit class that meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m to 12:30 p.m has recently undergone some fine tuning as conductors have shifted in and out of the ensemble.

William Kempster, the current conductor of the ensemble, is also the director of the choir at UNH. He has volunteered to also take on the responsibility of orchestra and conduct the next upcoming concert on March 5.

Principal violist Alex Preece, a junior music major, says that the shift in conductors has required the students to make some changes. “I think it was definitely different for a lot of people who have never played or sang in choir with Bill Kempster,” says Preece, “But for those of us who have it was an easy transition. He is a great conductor and musician.”

Preece, a section leader, works with the other section leaders to help lead the ensemble. One of these leaders, the concertmistress, plays a very important role in the orchestra. She is supposed to be the best violinist and is in charge of leading the ensemble. “The concertmistress is responsible for coordinating the bowing and articulations of all the strings,” says Kathryn Skudera, the UNH Symphony Orchestra Concertmistress.

“It’s my favorite class,” says Skudera, who is a music major. However, Skudera, like many of the other musicians, have seen multiple conductors come and go. During Skudera’s four years at UNH she has already had three different conductors for this one class.

Skudera could soon be adding a forth to her list if the orchestra is passed from Kempster to the band conductor, Professor Orovich. Although Kempster denied commenting for this article, he has stated in the past that he will not serve the orchestra for the entire semester.

Preece says that he also has taken on many responsibilities as well to help improve the ensemble. “I lead sectionals for more group work to make sure that everyone is comfortable on their part,” says Preece.

Despite music students stepping up to help secure the ensemble, if the UNH Music Department fails to find a permanent conductor for the group, then it could potentially face being shut down. Without a strong orchestra group to advertise to potential new students, recruiting new musicians from high school into the program could prove challenging.

Another problem the orchestra faces is the fact that there are not enough music majors to fill the seats required. Non-majors are encouraged to join in order to help flesh out the ensemble and fill otherwise empty parts. “String sections always change because more of the players are non-majors and have classes that change semester to semester,” says Preece.

The constant shifting in both musicians and conductors may make it difficult for music majors, who are required to take the class, feel as if the program is secure and growing. Although the music department holds auditions every year around the beginning of second semester, finding many students to join the string section still can prove difficult.

Still, some may think that the real problem is that less and less people are interested in classical music these days. “I don’t think it’s a matter of recruiting violists as it is the fact that not a lot of people play viola,” says Preece.

The current conductor William Kempster, the head of the Music Department Mark DeTurk and the program coordinator Isabel Gray all declined the option of commenting on the UNH Symphony Orchestra.

2010 Winter Olympics Captivate UNH Students

The start of the 2010 Winter Olympics has diverted many UNH students’ attentions away from their studies this week.

The Olympics, which will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, began on February 12 with an opening ceremony. Over 80 countries will send a total of over 5,500 athletes to the competitions. This is the third Olympics held in Canada, the first in 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.

“The opening ceremonies were amazing,” said sophomore Erika Swanson. The ceremony, which included many performances, a traditional parade of nations, an honoring of the late Nodar Kumaritashvili and the lighting of only three of four Olympic caldrons, due to a mechanical flaw, took place Friday night.

The United States athletes also received one of the warmest welcomes while entering BC Place. Only Georgia, home country of Nodar Kumaritashvili, and Canada were greeted with bigger cheers. Absent from the United State’s team was Linsey Vonn, an alpine skier who is facing an ambitious five-race schedule.

“I’m just so worried about Vonn,” said Swanson, “I love skiing and I really want her to do well.” A favorite from the American team, Vonn recently suffered a calf injury which severely bruised her shin. Not wanting to risk worsening her injury, Vonn did not join the other athletes in the opening ceremonies. Instead, Vonn was in Whistler during the festivities, recovering from her shin injury.

Apart from skiing, other events in the Winter Olympics include ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, snowboarding, luge, bobsleigh, skeleton (a type of sledding), curling, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, slalom, alpine skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined (skiing plus ski jumping), and biathlon (skiing and shooting).

“My favorite is the figure skating,” said sophomore Nicole Labbe. “I used to skate, so I love watching the sport. It's so impressive."

Olympic history was created on Valentine’s day for figure skating. The French pair, Yannick Bonheur and Vanessa James, became the first black couple to compete in figure skating at the Olympic Games. They have been together for two years since James answered Bonheur’s advert on the internet for a new partner.

The winter games will continue until February 28, 2010. “I’m really excited to see how America does,” said junior Julia Laroche. “It’s really such a big even that it’s hard not to get somewhat excited,” said Laroche.

Zumba Zoo

Nearly one hundred girls, all decked out in sneakers and a wide variety of brightly colored t-shirts, flock to the aerobics room in the Whittemore Center every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday night for some “butt-shaking Spanish dancing,” as freshman Michelle Buldoc calls it.

“I try to get there by 7 pm,” says freshman Mandy Abbott, “You really have to be there early if you want a spot.” Zumba, a fitness system that involves learning and performing dance moves to Latin and International music, has quickly grown in popularity at the University of New Hampshire. Huge crowds of girls fill the Whittemore, making it difficult for others to navigate their way around.

The class, which is free to students once they sign the waiver form at the front desk, has become so popular that many girls will be turned away if there isn’t enough room. “Word gets around about how fun it is. And it’s a better way to work out than running or something,” says sophomore Alicia Papandrea.

Many girls agree that the class, co-taught by Hannah and Andrea of the Whittemore Staff, provides a good workout even though it’s mostly fun. “You sweat a ton,” Abbot says, “It’s definitely different. It’s more modern. It fits our generation better.”

Despite the appeal, the question as to whether you will get in or not is daunting for some girls. “I’m willing to wait for a half hour, but that’s it,” says Papandrea. Some girls have asked if a list could be made for the course, or even a fee imposed to guarantee their spot. “It just sucks going all the way there and not knowing if you can get in,” says Papandrea.

Perhaps the rush in interest has to do with Spring Break looming so close. “Probably not a lot of people went last semester but now realize they’ve gained weight and want to loose it before spring break,” says Abbott.

Although there is such a high demand for the class, it is definitely not for everyone. “I hate it,” says Michelle Bolduc. “It’s easy to get frustrated you first time because you have to know what you’re doing,” says Bolduc.

Classes are free to students and ten dollars per class for guests. They are in the aerobics room at 8 p.m every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Says Abbott, “Just make sure you get there early if you want a spot.”