PBA Local scoop on Spring Formal: an interview with Jessica Twiest

PBA Local reporter Kristina Webb was able to get the full scoop on the upcoming Spring Formal event from Jessica Twiest, Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership. For more information, students can contact Student Activities: (561) 803-2561. Send any questions or comments to pbalocal@gmail.com

KW: What is the basic info on Spring Formal?

JT: Spring Formal is Saturday, April 18, 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. at Ironhorse Country Club.

KW: What led you to choose Ironhorse Country Club as the venue?

JT: The location was chosen because it is reasonably priced but also because it is very pretty, with lots of space to sit, eat and dance.

KW: How was the theme chosen?

JT: We chose this based on the feel of the club and what we thought would be interesting. It was voted on by [the entire] student activities team.

KW: Are you encouraging students to dress up with the theme?

JT: Not really, we want it to be a formal event, not something that you would wear a tux for but more formal than khakis and a button down; maybe throw in a tie or a nice suit.

KW: I saw your golf cart! How effective has that been in spreading the word about Spring Formal?

JT: We are really excited about that. We are really trying to find creative ways to get the word out; this is one of them! People give us crazy looks but at least they remember us!

Follow the jump to find out more including info on a ticket price jump and what kind of food they’ll be offering this year.

Breaking News Update: Southbound traffic on I-95 affected by brush fire, lanes reopened

Two lanes of traffic are currently blocked off as Palm Beach County fire fighters battle a brush fire. If you will be traveling south this afternoon, your best bet would be to get off I-95 at PGA Boulevard and take Military south.

The brush fire is one of the first this season for Palm Beach County, which has seen unseasonably dry weather for this time of year. An article in the Palm Beach Post in February predicted the drought conditions to worsen over the next several months.

Here at PBA, students can reduce their water usage by running only full loads of dishes and clothing, monitoring usage of water when brushing teeth and showering and encouraging other students to do the same. The purchase of bottled water instead of using water from the tap can also reduce daily water usage.

UPDATE: According to WPTV News Chanel 5, all lanes are reopened and the fire is contained.

Found: Christians eat babies?

Found today in the parking lot between Towers and Lakeview:

Says the anonymous source who took the picture: “It looks like this car drove right out of the Dark Ages. And they’re 85% what? Polyester?”

Students caught stealing from the caf without remorse

Photos and story by Kristina Webb

Maybe you’re craving a snack. Maybe you’re a little low on bread, and need a few slices to make some toast for breakfast. Or maybe you just walked away with blue plastic cup without thinking twice because you’re really low on dishes.

Students have been sneaking food to their rooms from Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Frasier Dining Hall, also known as the “caf,” for years and it might start to influence food prices.

“It does make prices go up,” said Abbie Rosemeyer, Sodexo’s representative on the PBA campus. “We based prices on per usage. It impacts everybody.”

Rosemeyer has seen students steal everything from a piece of fruit to a gallon of milk and even a napkin dispenser.

“We started out [last] semester with 78 [napkin dispensers], and at the end of the semester we had 69,” Rosemeyer said.

Some students feel that they have the right to take a few items away from their visit to the caf.

“The food’s pretty bad,” said sophomore Bryan Heck, a biology and education major that steals food regularly. “The good thing about the caf is you can have as much as you want. I’m paying how much for this food? I can take some extra.”

Heck added that in the past, he has taken everything from milk, bread and bagels back to his dorm room.

Margaret Carty, a Sodexo employee who works in the caf, said that she has had to take food away from students in the past.

“They just shouldn’t take it,” Carty said. “It affects everything in here.”

When students take extra food from the caf, it factors into a formula that weighs the food inventory against the amount of cash and swipes that are used per day, Rosemeyer said. This makes it easier to keep track of how much food is being used.

“If it were up to me, I would not allow the bags,” said Bruce Metrie, front of house supervisor in the caf, referring to the large bags that many students carry. “We provide you meals, not just snacks.”

Top Beacon News: Recession hits PBA with $3 million deficit, Tuition goes up for incoming students by 5 percent

Original article appeared in The Beacon student newspaper on March 3, 2009. Please visit the PBA website for supporting press release on this issue here.

By Kristina Webb

Facing a deficit of over $3 million, Palm Beach Atlantic University has laid off seven employees and scheduled a tuition increase for the fall.

Tuition for full-time undergraduate day students will increase by $1,150, about 5 percent, to total $22,400 annually. Tuition will remain at current levels for evening undergraduate students, graduate students and students in the Orlando campus. Housing costs and meal plan prices will stay the same.

As colleges across the nation wrestle with economic shortfalls, PBA officials have managed to make budget cuts and still fill faculty openings.

“We are continuing to hire outstanding faculty to fill positions,” said Dr. David W. Clark, PBA president. “Three new faculty joined us in January and several more will be hired for next fall. We will continue to add talented faculty to strengthen our academic programs.”

The current school year’s budget was $71,603,608, but as revenues fell short of projections, budget officials made cuts totaling $3,453, 937.

“This year we did not make our enrollment numbers, so we had to adjust the budget downward to show that we had a lot less revenue,” said Renae Murray, acting chief financial officer for PBA.

“We asked the provost to talk to his deans, and volunteer areas where they could cut,” said Murray. “They went through and they took their travel budgets in half, and their faculty development.”

Seven people were laid off at the end of the fall semester, including employees from the library, Technology Services and Student Services. Nonetheless, officials remained optimistic that they can avoid severe financial cuts.

“You may have seen in the [Palm Beach] Post that the University of Miami has frozen all positions, all salaries and are not contributing in the coming year to their faculty and staff retirement,” Clark said. “I trust we will not face such actions in the coming year.”

Discovered: That’s a sock.

Transferring to Palm Beach Atlantic from Palm Beach Community College, I thought more of an effort of cleanliness would be made here. However, it seems I was wrong.

Last semester, I was shocked one day to discover a discarded pair of panties on the walkway between Oceanview and Baxter. I had noticed some pretty weird stuff around campus already: an empty beer bottle near Rinker, a wadded-up tissue with a cigarette butt stuffed into it next to Lassiter and various other oddities. I guess I just wasn’t prepared for the panties.

I don’t think the word “skeezed” even begins to cover it. Skeezed is better used when referring to this clip from For the Love of Ray J, which was featured on The Soup. I think the better word was nauseated, perhaps with a twinge of appalled.

Like so many other students, I walked past. What was I supposed to do? Stop and pick them up? … I don’t think so.

So here’s where this has been going: today, around 4:15 p.m., I found a sock.

This sock was located, no pun intended, approximately a foot from the dumpster next to Pembroke. It is in the same general location as the panties, but I’m led to believe it belongs to someone else (I’m hoping it belongs to someone else) because it looks like a man’s sock.

Also for your consideration, dear reader: the numerous cigarette butts located in the vicinity of the sock.

I don’t even live on campus and I’m disgusted. I can’t imagine how the residents feel.

Find something random on campus? Snap a pic and send it to us at Pbalocal@gmail.com