By Olivia Krauth–
If you haven’t been on Louisville’s campus this summer, you missed a lot. If you haven’t been following The Cardinal’s social media accounts or website, you’ve probably missed just about everything. Thankfully, the only reporter on staff this summer—me—is willing to review all the major news stories coming from U of L this summer so you know what’s up.
U of L cuts ties with Jansport
Remember how some students occupied Grawemeyer Hall during finals in the spring? They were trying to get President James Ramsey to cut ties with Jansport because Jansport’s parent company, VF, had some issues with treating its workers well. Well, their protest worked. U of L decided to not renew the contract with Jansport.
Ramsey gets feisty
Ramsey got pretty feisty in a May meeting with some reporters and the U of L Board of Trustees. Why? In the spring, multiple media outlets reported that some of Ramsey’s “deferred compensation” might have vested rather quickly, too quickly in their eyes. This didn’t sit well with Ramsey, who said he felt “attacked” by the coverage.
Kentucky Telco leaves campus
If you were a frequent visitor to the Kentucky Telco location in the Floyd Garage, sorry. Kentucky Telco chucked up the dueces and left the space in May, ending its partnership with U of L. U of L is currently looking into new options for a credit union partner.
Tuition raised by three percent
Tuition is goin’ up on a Tuesday…and every other day this fiscal year. U of L’s Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition by three percent in June. The only nay vote? The only student member of the board, former SGA President Monali Haldankar. Meal plans and housing will also rise in price.
New ramp opens up
Surprise, there’s now a ramp connecting Third Street to campus! It’ll take you from near the Santa Fe restaurant to near the Speed School.
Floyd Street construction continues
Speaking of new roads, the Floyd Street entrance to campus looks completely different than last spring. After a summer of construction and a few Rave Alerts about gas lines, the heavily traveled part of the road near McDonald’s and the Floyd Garage appears to be done or close to it. Construction continues on the less traveled parts of the street.
RIP The Complex
Nearly seconds after students left campus for the summer, The Complex was torn down. Wellness, Center and West Halls were knocked down as discussed for months. The lot is now home to a future residence hall, set to open next fall.
The incoming housing complex, University Pointe, will have 532 beds in four bedroom, four bathroom apartments and will be meant for upperclassmen. While the new place will be considered a U of L residence hall, American Campus Communities will provide the financing for the project. ACC is the owner of current affiliated housing options The Province and Cardinal Towne.
Also RIP to The Grove
RIP, we just killed The Grove. Well, kind of. After a rough start last August, The Grove’s parent company Campus Crest sold the property to a different housing company. The new company renamed the complex The Arch, and several residents report preferring the new management.
Ramsey gets a raise, people get mad
This one is probably the most talked about story from the summer, but it is also the most complicated. Basically, an outside firm looked into U of L’s finances and saw that Ramsey is making bank by running a public university. Then the Board of Trustees had the option to give Ramsey a raise and a bonus, but it was announced the firm had missed some money and Ramsey was actually making way more than he was originally reported as making. It is also important to mention that Ramsey was making more than a lot of his counterparts at other ACC schools.
The Board initially rejected a six percent raise, but ended up agreeing on a three percent raise plus a bonus. But people still got mad, critics noting his already high pay and mentioning student debt. One donor, J. D. Nichols, offered to pay the bonus himself.
