As finals begin and the 2015–2016 school year comes to an end, check out The Scout’s staff-picked top 10 memorable moments of the year, all of which can be found in article form online at bradleyscout.com.
- Campus welcomes new university president
Gary Roberts, a Bradley alumnus (‘70), took over the responsibility of being the university’s 11th president from interim president Stan Liberty in January. Roberts said the main challenges he plans to tackle during his presidency include campus safety, maintaining relevance and affordability, low faculty compensation, faculty morale, facility renovations and financial issues. He has made several appearances on campus through his first semester, including a welcome reception at the beginning of the spring semester, where students were able to interact with Roberts, his wife Donna and their dogs.
- Internet bandwidth increases, issues with servers decrease
In order to support campus’ growing Internet needs, Bradley spent more than $40,000 to increase bandwidth size at the beginning of this academic year. However, the Information Resources and Technology Department said it then faced issues surrounding server connectivity. The IRT Department attempted to remedy this problem by performing an upgrade to the servers March 24.
- Low enrollment plans in place as Wyckoff Hall closes
Bradley has seen low enrollment over the past few years, which former university Interim President Stan Liberty said he attributes to a failure to adjust old marketing strategies to attract prospective students in today’s digital society. While this year’s freshman class is approximately the same size as that of last year’s, the residence hall Wyckoff Hall closed indefinitely at the beginning of fall semester in order to conserve energy and save money. The university hired two consultants to work with enrollment management and communication, and Liberty predicted low enrollment would end after this academic year.
- Hilltop walks on the wild side as Nick Cannon, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis come ‘downtown’
The Activities Council of BU sold out performances at Renaissance Coliseum featuring Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in February and Nick Cannon in April. For the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis show, ACBU extended the pit area to fit about 300 more students than Wiz Khalifa’s concert last year. Students then filed in a line stretching from Renaissance Coliseum past Baker Hall months later as they waited to see Nick Cannon and his comedy troupe. ACBU coordinators said the performance, along with others, might be shown on MTV2 later this year in order to advertise Nick Cannon’s tour.
- New logo system aims to uniformly brand BU
Bradley introduced a new logo system at the beginning of April to replace the watermark logo that was created in the ‘90s. The logo system was a product of a two-year long project and includes three configurations (left aligned, centered and horizontal) in order to provide a consistent look with options. Administration said the logo’s purpose is to modernize Bradley’s brand.
- Graduation no longer includes commencement speaker
Graduating seniors and their friends and families will likely spend less time at the end of the year commencement ceremony with the removal of the keynote speaker. University President Gary Roberts said getting rid of the commencement speaker will speed up graduation, which can last up to three hours. Roberts said Bradley will continue to look into ways to shorten graduation, including separating colleges into different ceremonies.
- Protest strives to raise awareness about diversity
Protests related to racial inequality at the University of Missouri led to its president resigning in November, so Bradley students decided to hold a protest of their own in order to support Mizzou and raise awareness about the lack of diversity on the Hilltop. Students chanted outside Bradley Hall with posters, which contained phrases like “What happened at Mizzou could happen at Bradley, too” and “The color of my skin should not be my death sentence #ConcernedCollegeStudent1950.”
- Famous faces show at the Steiner Sports Symposium
Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Charley Steiner, television host Larry King and Executive Vice President of FOX Sports Scott Ackerson, among others, participated in a discussion at the Inaugural Charley Steiner Sports Symposium in November. The symposium’s guests visited classrooms and gave lectures throughout the weeklong event. Steiner and King appeared at an opening Q-and-A session and talked about various issues that communications students face, such as using social media as a news outlet, job placement after graduation and the ethics of reporting.
- Crime Prevention Officer provides added safety for students
The BU Police Department re-assigned a policeman to the newly created Crime Prevention Officer Position in January, hoping for improved communications between BUPD and the university. Nathan Haynes filled the position, and he participates in and has led several campus outreach programs. He has made risk presentations to greek life and dormitories, led beer goggle exercises with SONOR and HEAT and has run other educational activities. Haynes said as Crime Prevention Officer, he is available to help students anytime and anywhere.
- BU bans exploding hoverboards
Bradley banned the use and storage of hoverboards in all university-owned properties over winter break, claiming the devices present fire risks and are safety hazards. Other universities have also banned hoverboards, as there have been instances of the self-balancing scooters catching fire, especially when being charged.
