Talk:Valparaiso University

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Contents 1 In Need of Some Perspective 2 U of Northern Indiana 3 Cambridge, England 4 Protests 5 Notable Alumni 6 Past presidents 7 Redirection 8 Notable Faculty 9 One-Time Klan Ownership?

[edit] In Need of Some Perspective

Half of the article reads like a college brochure, and the other like some random students edited it. If there are no objections, I'd like to edit so the style is consistent throughout. I'd also like to "generalize" the student protest section more - incidents like the one last year happen every couple of years, so I think a more generalized paragraph about student struggles with the VUPD and local police is warranted. I'd also like to correct factual errors in the Greek Life section, and edit the famous alumni section -- some of those alumni are definitely not famous! Any objections? Wxgirl 00:51, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

I think alot of the information in the article, though possibly with a positive bias, should stay. It could be rewritten to be less POV though. I think the biggest problem is that most of the article is that kind of content so it stands out. If the article was flushed out comprehensively, it would help. And anything that can slim the VUPD protest to make it less apocalyptic would also be great. Craig R. Nielsen 05:32, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] U of Northern Indiana

I wrote the article on Lowell Thomas and the materials I used said his alma mater, the University of Northern Indiana, was now Valparaiso University. When was the school called "the University of Northern Indiana"? PedanticallySpeaking 16:38, Sep 20, 2004 (UTC)

What is now Valparaiso University was founded in 1859 as Valparaiso Male and Female College and was renamed Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute in 1983. The name was changed to Valparaiso College in 1900 and Valparaiso University in 1906. --Oct. 31, 2005

[edit] Cambridge, England

Am I right in thinking that some Valpo students study in Cambridge, England? TheGrappler 02:05, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Right you are, along with alot of other foreign cities. Craig R. Nielsen 02:13, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Protests

I see no valid reason why more of this article should be devoted to student protests than to the school itself. The Kinsley Hall Fire event should stay, but the VUPD protest part needs to go.--Daveswagon 03:48, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

The protests did gain a lot of media attention regionally though, and will certainly be a defining moment for those around at the time. However, it is too large, NPOV, and a rambling disaster. It needs to be carefully edited to an objective paragraph or two. Craig R. Nielsen 02:44, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Part of the problem is that it's a recent event so it's hard to know how relevent it will be in a few years time. However, the openning sentence about a 2000 arrest of a theology professor seems pretty unnecessary.

I disagree. The part of the article about the professor incident in 2000 is important. Properly edited and well-written (as we would all have it be), it establishes a longer-term history of difficult relations between the VUPD and the students/staff which is extremely important, such that this isn't just reporting on a current event, which really doesn't much belong in an encyclopaedia. The only reason the section as a whole does belong is because it is not just a crisis now, but part of an ongoing and very serious problem. I will add the section back and and integrate it into the rest of the section, but I certainly welcome further discussion on this.--Apostlemep12 02:20, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

I can see how it may be very relevent and immediate to someone on campus, but from my point of view, the sources I've seen have definately made it seem at least partially like a 'beer protest'. Maybe if we got more citations included in the section it would help clean things up? Dstanfor 14:23, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Speaking as an alumni I am offended that these trust fund babies think they can turn an encyclopedia entry into their own personal message board.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Crsjk19 (talk • contribs)

I am upset that this part of the article hasn't been updated. There was more than 500 students there the number was more around 1000. Also the police avoided handling the issue and just let it die over the summer. What they did end up doing was buying a brand new charger(the rumor is officer Garbers request for a helicopter and a hummer were rejected). They also got rid of the student escort service and turned it into two vans driven around by creepy old men. The vans will sit in parking lots with their lights still on shinning into oncoming traffic, and they have other annoying almost stalkerish habits.

In regards to some of your comments, the reference to the 2000 arrest of a professor is important because I know of a student that was followed into Jimmy Johns and when he didn't reply immediately was kicked behind his knee, buckling him down where they then handcuffed him and arrested him. The charge again was resisting arrest. It was implied that he was drunk, but the amazing police force failed to breathalize him, so despite having to spend the better part of a week in jail (due to previous underage alcohol arrests) he wasn't charged with a thing. The police harrass anyone for any reason. One evening I was personally walking to the Dynasty Buffet on Lincolnway. Both walking there and walking back I was stopped by a VUPD squad car and questioned about where I lived, what I was doing, and if I was under any influences. The reasoning they gave me was that they were looking for suspect in an assult charge. He was described as between 5'8 and 6 foot and was wearing a hoodie. Standing at 6'3 I am clearly too tall, and it is rather obscene to stop a student for wearing a hoodie when it's snowing outside.

Going back to the protest. It filled the last month of school. Shirts were made and worn. Signs were put up in front of every fraternity house. When more than 1/10 of your school shows up to protest the very organization that's supposed to be protecting them...that's a big deal. The numbers are skewed to make it look like the police just don't go around arresting students. I think the number publicized for arrests from alcohol last year was between 25 and 50. The number is easily 2 to 3 times that number. They alone arrested some 15 off the escort vans that one weekend.

I hope that somehow a follow up to the protest will be recorded on the site, and I'm actually dissapointed that the information has been condensed. I understand that I would write a biased statement, as I am a current student. On the other hand it's hard to truly believe how bad the VUPD are unless you watch them drive circles around a fraternity hoping to spot something to give them "probable" cause to investigate —Preceding unsigned comment added by Oopiewan (talk • contribs)

There was most definitely not 1,000 students at the protest. That would have been a 1/4 of the university (despite your claims that it would have been 1/10 -- VU does not have 10,000 students).--Daveswagon 08:44, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Not to argue mathematics here, but 1/4 > 1/10, which is what I was saying. We all met at the union and then walked peacefully down both sides of the street in single file all the way to the police station. That is about 2 city blocks. It took about 30 minutes. If your telling me there was only 500 students, then valpo is either the most out of shape college in the US or simply the slowest. The number 500 was approximated off of the signed protest sheets. Which unfortunately were very badly passed around, and there wasn't enough of them. We may have only had 500 signatures, but I know we had more than 500 people there.

As another Valpo graduate, who was a junior when the event happened, I think we need to minimize the importance of the protest in this article. The event was big for about a day (and didn't have 1000 students -- Wehrenberg dining hall had as many students as normal that night), and then everybody forgot about it. People just got worked up about the policies of a dry campus, something they knew about when they first applied, were actually being enforced. Spell4yr (talk) 23:58, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Alumni

The notable alumni section is being spammed repeatedly. The individuals that are added don't seem to have anything notable about them except for they went to Valpo and have jobs or personal websites. (even rediculous words like 'buzzcock') If some evidence of notoriety can be provided, maybe we can resolve this. Craig R. Nielsen 02:44, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

No offense to the man himself, but is that areana football player notable enough to be on the list? My vote is: "no."--Daveswagon 15:14, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Past presidents

Is the past university presidents section necessary or useful? Dstanfor 22:11, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm wondering about that myself.--Daveswagon 21:12, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Redirection

Valparaíso university should redirect here. the accent mark over the letter i is in the name of the city so that name should redirect to here --Johnrob69 07:33, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

even if the city is different some people probably wont know that --Johnrob69 07:35, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

I have NEVER seen the city (at least the one in Indiana) have the accent mark. Spell4yr (talk) 23:59, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Faculty

Most of these faculty are hardly notable. I mean, come on: there has to be some justification for putting a faculty member under the headline "Notable Faculty." People like Meilander, Wangerin, and Morgan have some reputation outside of the university. Most of these other people don't. This should be a list with a few carefully selected names and then a justification of why these people are notable. For instance: "Walter Wangerin, Jr., National Book Award winning novelist" not "Carole A. Pepa, nursing, health literacy, complementary medicine."—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.56.113.89 (talk • contribs)

No offense to the editor who added that section, but I agree. It's overly-long and non-notable for inclusion in a global English encylopedia.--Daveswagon 16:22, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

I third that, Meilander and Wangerin (I'm unfamiliar with Morgan) are perfect examples of faculty that should both have articles and be listed. There has to be some level of extra-Valpo notability for mention here. Craig R. Nielsen 18:15, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] One-Time Klan Ownership?

The article currently states that the Klan merely tried to buy Valpo. But Time reported at the time that the Klan actually purchased it, listing a purchase price.[1] Could this be clarified? --Editing 17:50, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

I believe the deal with the Klan was all but done, but they never arrived with the funds. Thus, the school remained on the market for purchase by the LUA. Craig R. Nielsen 00:56, 23 October 2007 (UTC)