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(04/26/06 12:00pm)
Kelly Meisberger: What has been your favorite course to teach and why?
Bob Cole: I've introduced 16 new courses over (33) years. Many were special to me. Beats and Deadlines was special to me because students so often told me later that what we did in the course is what they did when they went out in the field. It's rewarding when a students tells you you prepared them for so and so . it's disappointing when a student tells me (he or she) didn't know how to do so and so. Intro was special because I met students for the first time. It's surprising, but very, very few of them were ever editor in chief of their high school papers. Many hadn't even taken a journalism class. Then there were many special courses I liked. News Editing because I liked to catch mistakes - it's so much fun! Literature of the South, Press and Fiction, Press History . the Toxic Tour in Beats and Deadlines. I really liked so many courses I had the opportunity to teach.
KM: How did you come to the College?
BC: When I got (my Ph.D) I read a story . saying how much in demand English was as a major. Within a month, the whole bottom fell out of it. It's in demand, and the year I graduate, it plummets. A lot of my friends that were in English were just in a panic. There were no jobs for them. Then Watergate hit, and small schools wanted to have someone to teach journalism . I ended up having a choice of about seven jobs in journalism and I picked this one. I'm so happy that I did. I never though I'd be doing journalism.
I thought when I got my Ph.D in English, I'd be an English professor. People I knew asked, 'Don't you feel cheated?' and I said 'No, I loved it' - and I did.
KM: What are you going to miss the most about leaving the College?
BC: Being around students and teaching courses. What won't I miss? Grading stories.
KM: What are your plans for after you retire?
BC: Years ago, I put my book aside for 10-15 years. I brought it out when Professor (Lee) Harrod started up the TCNJ Review. I submitted chapters to him, and over the years, I've submitted 15 chapters. One was chosen for Best American Sports Writing and one got honorable mention for Best American Sports Writing. They were very well received, which obviously made me very happy. It's called "The Beaver Book," which some say is a sexual reference, and it probably is, but Beaver is the name of my hometown. Sometimes they don't want to believe that. I went to a small school, Shady Spring High School in Beaver, and we had a very close group. They always have me read from "The Beaver Book" at reunions. It's really something that enriched my life, to be able to go back in the book and visit a time . like no other. So, I'll be working on my book - hopefully get it published - and visiting with friends.
KM: What is the most important thing a journalist should know?
BC: How to find things and find out things. Where to look for information.
KM: What's your method for finding things in your office?
BC: And just imagine, the areas at home are much more dense than this! All the clutter you see here and the greater clutter I see at home does not prevent me from functioning. Some of my filing is intuitive, some of it is idiosyncratic. But it's striking how relatively few things I lose. I have files and boxes just like other people. The difference is that I create my textbooks so I have massive amounts of duplicate material. It's a lot to keep up with, and sometimes I don't. I think it's the best thing I did as a teacher. Ten years ago in the mid- to late-'90s, I had a string of students come from Germany to take my journalism courses. They had heard about it strictly by word of mouth. One of those students wrote me a letter saying, 'I miss those wonderful readers.' I said, 'One person saw!' They are tailor-made for you. I have great satisfaction in doing those.
KM: You're known for making the classroom environment a fun place. What inspired you to teach this way?
BC: I had a wonderfully eccentric graduate teacher, Carl Strauch, who would say things that were so funny and genuine. He was a delight. And I thought if I'm ever a professor, I'm not going to be careful. If I think motherf---er should go in a sentence, it's going to. And students can relate to that. It overcomes a lot of problems with getting to know people, because students think you're like them in some way. So use of language and anecdotes and things really help.
KM: How did a West Virginian come to have the Phillies as his favorite baseball team?
BC: In the winter of 1949, I was first introduced to baseball. The Phillies had brought up two players who later became very famous: Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons. Ever since, a lot of those years were dedicated fully to being a Phillies fan. In 1950, the year after I got interested, they won their first pennant in 35 years.
KM: If you could say something to all the students you've had over the past 33 years, what would you tell them?
BC: Don't let the bastards get to you.
...
BC: I can't talk about my career without mentioning my parents. My father was a coal mine foreman, and my mother was a registered nurse in West Virginia. They raised four kids up to believe they could do what they wanted to do. They encouraged me and helped me get through hard times, and for the same purpose, my four kids have been a real inspiration to me and I am terrifically proud of all they have done.
(04/26/06 12:00pm)
This wrap was originally supposed to be only a few pages long. After reaching out to over 700 journalism and Signal alumni, it was surprising that, at the beginning, the write-ups barely trickled in. For a week or so, I worried that the alumni and students were too busy with their own lives - that I was going to have to coax some extra content out of the already-swamped Signal staff.
I should have known better.
Once we hit the cutoff date for submissions, in the true fashion of journalists on deadline, the contributions flooded in faster than I ever thought I could accommodate.
If a professor who receives half of these accolades can be considered a success, Dr. Cole is a phenomenon. I extended the wrap to eight pages. Then to 12. If I had the time, and The Signal had the money, I don't think I would have stopped there.
Yet at this point I realized, if I had not already known from the beginning, that no number of pages could do Dr. Cole justice.
Though these pages may be good for a laugh, for a recollection, for a moment to reminisce, they are not enough. The content of these pages are not Dr. Cole's legacy. His legacy is not what we do, what we remember, or even what we know. It is who we are.
If the world of journalism is any better because we are in it, it is only because Dr. Cole was a part of our worlds.
Happy retirement Dr. Cole. I can't imagine anyone who deserves it more.
(04/26/06 12:00pm)
Ladies and gentlemen of the Spring 2006 Staff: Love The Signal.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, The Signal would be it. The long-term benefits of The Signal have been proven by 121 years of basement dwellers, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meanderings as News Assistant, News Editor, Managing Editor and Editor in Chief.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the funny headlines in The Signal, like "Here a penis, there a penis, everywhere a penis, penis," "Aurora borealis was not a bore . ealis" and "DEGRAWESOME." Oh nevermind. You will not appreciate the funny headlines in The Signal because they are utterly ridiculous and not really that funny.
But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay in the 13 issues before you, and how you didn't require as much sleep as you thought you did . you're not as miserable as you think you are now.
Don't worry about the Trentonian misquoting you; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to make the Chief kiss Edgar.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you when you finally get to sleep at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning - like "corrpution" in a headline.
Do one thing every day that makes you want to write.
Eat at Crystal.
Don't be reckless with the paper, but don't put up with people who want you to be too careful.
Play Teen Girl Squad.
Don't waste your time reading articles in your section Wednesday. Sometimes they come out all right, sometimes they don't end and you realize the headline is bullshit, the byline is wrong and you might be getting sued for libel. Either way, it's already in print so there's nothing you can do about it.
Remember the compliments you receive, make fun of the insults in The Singal. If you succeed in doing this, the administration just might steal the paper.
Keep your clips, throw away your hate mail.
Go to Starbucks.
Don't feel guilty if you have no misgivings about beating your interns. The most interesting editors I knew didn't have any respect for their interns in the four years they were here. Some of the most interesting professionals I know still don't.
Kiss the hammer of opposition. You'll miss it when you don't have it to throw at people anymore.
Maybe you'll work for The New York Times, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll win a Pulitzer, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll still be playing the "Hello" game at 4 a.m. from your parent's basement in five years.Whatever you do, don't forget The Signal too much, but don't stay there forever - that may just drive you nuts.
Enjoy the Bad Writers Wall. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it - it's the greatest instrument you'll ever have, and the only way you'll ever scare the interns into doing anything.
Eat ketchup packets. It's the only thing anyone will remember about you. Sleep on the squishy couch - even if you're afraid of its spinelessness, it helps to pass the night.
Do NOT watch Nancy Grace. It will only make you feel dumber and more disgusted with journalism.
Be nice to your assistants. They are the best link to your past and will write atrocious ads about how you suck in your old section if you're not.
Understand that friends come and go, but insomniacs bond forever.
Work hard to stay in touch with Signal graduates because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew at Signal to get you jobs.
Live in South 27 once, but leave before Ashley Marty moves in and never leaves. Live in The Signal office once, but leave before it infests you with silverfish.
Overdose on Advil.
Accept certain inalienable truths: interns will be bad, Bob Cole will curse in class, SFB will cut your funding and you too will eventually have to graduate, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were an editor, interns were twice as bad, Cole cursed twice as much and SFB didn't pay you at all - but that one is probably true.
Respect the Editor in Chief and the Managing Editor. No really . stop laughing. If you hold one of these positions, don't expect to be respected. The Signal is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship.
Maybe you'll get to go to Seattle. Maybe you'll get to go to Dallas or Vegas. But always reserve that conference in New York, because you never know when $70,000 might disappear.
Don't mess too much with your computer, or by the second issue, it will hate you as much as you hate it.
Be careful while drinking in class, especially if you plan on talking.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it in circa 8th-grade graduation-speech-style is a way of letting you know the facts of the past four years of my life, painting over the ugly parts with teal and lime green paint and recycling them for more than they're worth.
But trust me on The Signal.
(03/29/06 12:00pm)
College students think they have it tough trying to weed through their interests and settle on a major that will dictate the rest of their working lives. Now think about having four more years of that pressure. If Jeb Bush has his way, Florida students might have to deal with just that.
On Thursday, the Republicans pushed a bill through the Florida House that would require incoming high school students - 13- and 14-year olds - to declare a major like students do in college.
The mentality behind the bill, which has yet to pass the Senate, is that students drop out because high school is not tailored to their specific interests, something Bush said can be fixed by limiting a student's course load to classes related to his or her major. Bush thinks the proposal would also help students better prepare for their chosen majors in college.
A student would still be required to take core classes in math, science and English, but the main focus would be on his or her subject of choice.
As a person who despises all things mathematic, I, more than anyone, would love to have gotten away with taking the few required math courses and forgotten about geometry, algebra honors, trigonometry and AP calculus. But as much as it pains me to admit it, without these classes, I'd be even worse at math than I am now (I still count on my fingers). Under this new proposal, students would be deprived of classes vital to their most basic education, an education that might not be the focus of their future careers, but would strengthen elements of their chosen path.
Do I hate math? Yes. But do I use it when I'm figuring out statistics in a story? Finagling Signal payroll? Making charts for the Wall Street Journal? Definitely. Without core classes, a student will never be as good at his or her major as he or she could be with these courses.
Core classes are also important because they allow students to test the waters in many different areas. I never even had a journalism class until I was a junior in high school. If I would have decided to major in English in high school and never taken the journalism class because it was not part of my course list, I might be having a love affair with Walt Whitman right now instead of writing you this fabulous editorial.
Without enough exposure to core classes, students might end up majoring in something they hate - or never discovering something they could have loved.
It's a good thing that Bush wants students to take classes that pique their interests. But let students do this with the electives most high schools give them. By requiring students to choose something as restrictive as a major - something that will no doubt be changed multiple times by students who are four years less mature than college students who compulsively switch their majors - the stresses of high school life will increase tenfold. Forget the number of dropouts this proposal might prevent and think about how many students are going to have mental breakdowns because of it.
High school students already stress themselves to death starting mid-sophomore year when it comes time to start beefing up resumes and looking at colleges. Now that pressure will be extended as far back as eighth grade, perhaps earlier, if they are forced to choose a major.
This country is going to force students to start preparing earlier and earlier for college, until there's no longer any time for kids to just have fun. In a few years, I fully expect to have to tell my child "Now put down the rattle, honey, and start studying - you have to get your diploma in 20 years."
(03/22/06 12:00pm)
They say that on March 17 everyone is Irish, but it must not feel that way for the members of New York's Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization (ILGO), who were again denied participation in the city's largest St. Patrick's Day parade.
Protesters took to the streets on parade day with particular fury this year, after parade chairman John Dunleavy's loaded comments to The Irish Times last week.
According to the Associated Press, Dunleavy served ILGO with a number of insults, saying "If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow neo-Nazis into their parade? If African Americans are marching in Harlem, do they have to let the Ku Klux Klan into their parade? . If we let the ILGO in, is it the Irish Prostitute Association next?"
The debate over whether gay organizations should be allowed to march in a parade for what is essentially a religious-rooted holiday has been annually erupting since ILGO was first denied permission to march in 1991. Thirty-five members of ILGO did end up walking that year, but after being verbally assaulted and showered with beer, the group has not walked since.
The St. Patty's Day parade conflict is something New York shares with other big cities across the nation - though sometimes it yields a different result.
In New York, ILGO is excluded on the grounds that the parade is run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a Catholic group. But in Boston, a 1993 court ruling forced the veterans who run the city's parade to allow a gay organization to march. The veterans went as far as to cancel the parade in 1994 - as many as 20,000 participants and 1 million spectators make it the biggest Irish-American event in New England - simply to prevent the group's participation.
Dunleavy's comments reflect the tension that has surrounded the conflict for over a decade - but were these comments really necessary? Putting the question of whether ILGO should be allowed to march on the back burner for the moment, Dunleavy managed to single handedly make the conflict worse for all parties involved.
Maybe a peaceful solution was never a possibility, but even something as small as peaceful protest would have been a step forward in the conflict - and might have been on the horizon. But no, Dunleavy thought it would be a good idea to compare the opposition to prostitutes.
The Hibernians argue that ILGO is not excluded because its members are gay, but because the organization does not reflect the ideals the Hibernians wish to promote in the parade. I'm sorry, but I don't think placing a group on the same level as prostitutes is in agreement with honoring a saint.
In 15 years, ILGO has not once petitioned to use the St. Patrick's Day parade as a platform for anything it morally or politically supports. All it has asked for is the right to be identified - just as Dunleavy marches behind a banner that identifies him as a member of the parade board. The purpose of the parade is not for Dunleavy to celebrate his position on the parade board, or any Irish organization to celebrate what its individual organization stands for. The purpose is for them to come together and celebrate something bigger, their members' heritage, which was part of each participant before he or she was ever inducted into any organization.
What is especially disheartening is that in war-torn Ireland, gay organizations are allowed - and even invited - to take part in St. Patrick's Day parades. As members of a country that is supposed to be the epitome of all things free, it seems Americans' priorities have fallen by the wayside.
Perhaps Judge J. Harold Flannery wrote it best in Boston's 1993 trial court decision allowing gay organizations to be part of the city's parade: "History does not record that St. Patrick limited his ministry to heterosexuals or that George Washington's soldiers were all straight. Inclusiveness should be the hallmark of their parade."
(03/08/06 12:00pm)
Recently, my pattern of consciousness has consisted of the following: waking up, eating, watching "Law & Order," going to class, eating and watching "Law & Order" - promptly followed by more "Law & Order." Sleep and repeat, and repeat, and repeat.
I am fully aware that I watch too much television. Maybe it's a symptom of living without a TV in my room at home. Maybe it's because "Law & Order" is on a minimum of four different channels at any given minute. Regardless, it seems that every time I'm in my townhouse, my TV is on. I do homework to soap operas. I straighten my hair to "The Daily Show." And I've noticed that I am not alone.
According to WebMD.com, the average young adult watches 20 hours of TV a week - that's almost three hours a day. As college students know, TV tops the list for procrastination techniques. Some blame the obsession on the society in which we were raised - in the average American home, the TV is on for eight hours a day, and it accompanies 40 percent of American families at dinner time.
Some blame technological advances, like the ability to watch TV on a cell phone or replay a missed show at any time, day or night. Excessive television viewing has been linked to everything from antisocial behavior to obesity, but Americans just can't seem to care enough to turn it off. After all, with shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "24" in the lineup, who would want to?
Maybe for you it's "American Idol." Maybe it's "Desperate Housewives." Maybe it's all of the above. Whatever the case, most college students know that the urge to lay around and do nothing only worsens during the winter months, when it's too cold to even think about outdoor extracurriculars.
Though the weather now may not reflect it, March 20 is the first day of spring. Before we know it, things will be warming up, and we'll no longer have the excuse of "it's too cold outside." This is an early call to action. In the spirit of middle school TV Turnoff Week, it's time to combat that cabin fever you've been treating with hours of "Full House" reruns every day.
As soon as it's bearably warm, run the Loop. Play Frisbee with your friends. Eat outdoors on those weirdly adorable one-and-a-half seaters they've bolted to the ground outside Eickhoff Hall. Reacquaint yourself with the fresh air. And leave the remote behind. After all, Jack Bauer will only be one hour older when you get back.
(01/25/06 12:00pm)
As a graduating senior with nearly all my requirements checked off, this should have been the best semester ever. And it started that way. Twelve credits, two of them electives, I was looking to breeze by to graduation. And then last Tuesday happened.
Yes, last Tuesday, as in the day before classes began. Or, as it turned out for me, the day before everyone else's classes began, because by the end of that morning I was left with a jumbled schedule and no idea what to do about it, except bang my head against the wall for hours on end and mentally strangle responsible parties in the office of Records and Registration.
I had logged into TESS to check my course numbers. I was scheduled for two three-hour classes, one on Tuesdays and one on Wednesdays. But that morning, I found that my schedule now showed two three-hour classes on Tuesday nights - at the exact same time.
Being a compulsive e-mail checker, I wondered how I could have missed the e-mail telling me one of my classes had been moved. I checked my old mail and my trashed e-mails only to discover that, alas, no e-mail had been sent. Why TESS didn't catch the conflict either, I'll never know.
The professor of the changed class said his class had never been on a Wednesday - Records and Registration had put the wrong day on TESS during registration. When the error was corrected over break, it pulverized my entire schedule, and I'm sure other students' as well. But the change was something the office apparently felt wasn't important enough to inform us about.
Now, I understand that Records and Registration is one of the busiest, if not the busiest office on campus. I'm not denying its plate is full. But I've received e-mails in the past telling me a course was being cancelled - clearly the office isn't incapable of sending notification. And the fact remains that last Tuesday, while most members of the student body were buying their books and laying out snazzy outfits for the first day of school, I was shooting desperate e-mails to professors who would no doubt like to ring my neck as I begged, cried and pleaded to be excused from or signed into anything that would correct the error in my schedule.
My options were slim. I was forced to drop my ever-so-appealing film class and search for anything that would put me at 12 credits so I wouldn't be knocked down to part-time status, thereby risking eviction from my comfy little townhouse. But let's face it - are there any good classes left open by the time the semester starts?
A week after the ordeal began, it looks like things are straightened out, but I hope this editorial will serve as a thank you to two groups of people. Firstly, I want to sincerely thank the various professors and administrators in the English department who worked to find me a solution and eventually allowed me to slip into a last-minute internship and salvage some bit of enjoyment from my last semester here.
But more importantly, I would like to thank the office of Records and Registration. By keeping me uninformed while instigating the change that made me an insomniac for a week and gave me the blood pressure that no doubt rivals that of the Incredible Hulk, you have made me gladder than ever that I will be graduating in May and never have to deal with this bullshit ever again.
(10/12/05 12:00pm)
River Huston has done more in her life than most people. She's farmed marijuana in Northern California and worked as a dominatrix and a street musician. She's been an unwilling participant in two robberies, lived in an orange van in Mexico and she can put on a condom using only her mouth.
She's also been anorexic, on the verge of suicide and HIV positive.
Roughly 150 people came out to the Music Building on Monday to hear Huston's one-woman show that dealt with everything from having great sex to her battle with two terminal illnesses.
Huston said her story began a week before her college graduation. She was a fitness major, and had just gotten the perfect job.
"I had one more paper to write, one more test," she told the audience. She had even found "the guy." The couple decided to get tested, and Huston's HIV test came back positive.
"'You have a few good years left,'" Huston remembered the nurse saying. "I thought, 'I don't have time for this.'"
Huston, who had been anorexic since she was 12 years old, began to binge eat.
"I thought, 'If I'm dying, I'm dying fat,' she said.
Huston said she almost married a "stalker" who made her want to vomit when he proposed, just so she wouldn't die alone. After she left him, she decided to hang herself in her wedding dress.
Her suicide note changed her life. Huston said it read, "like an epic poem," and she brought it to a poetry slam, where she won the poetry contest six days in a row. But Huston's battle wasn't over - a few months later she was diagnosed with a critical bone marrow disease that almost killed her.
"I decided that if I survived I was going to forgive everyone - give them a blanket of immunity," Huston said. And she did survive.
Barely recovered, Huston began training for the Philadelphia Marathon - a forgiveness run, she said. While running, Huston struggled - and succeeded - in forgiving an overly critical mother, and even herself.
Today, Huston is married, adores her three dogs, and someday hopes to adopt a child. She said she speaks to students because many know little about sex, particularly the risks of HIV.
"I just want kids to have a way to protect themselves and have fun at the same time," Huston said. She said two extremes are presented today - "have sex and die" or "MTV, where everything is 'back that ass up.' There's no in between," she said.
Huston received a standing ovation from the audience.
"I didn't know what to expect," Nina Davidson, senior English and women's and gender studies major, said. "But it was great. It was good to get a firsthand perspective about HIV and AIDS."
Rebecca Mellor, a Norsworthy Hall community advisor who helped put the program together, called Huston "amazing."
"She's not afraid to talk about anything," Mellor said. "It's a really positive experience."
Mellor said Huston has visited the College before to perform during AIDS Awareness Week. She said she was glad the speaker could reach a larger group than usual.
The program was sponsored by the office of Residence Life, the Residence Hall Association, the Women's Center and the Alcohol, Drug and Education Program. The Voices of Planned Parenthood, the Progressive Student Alliance, Women In Learning and Leadership and the women's and gender and communication studies departments also hosted the event.
(04/27/05 12:00pm)
Reading up on Australia before my flight here in February, it hit me how little I really knew about the country that was to be my home for the next five months (beyond clich?d thoughts of beautiful beaches and citizens using kangaroos as a mode of transportation, that is) while I studied at the University of Melbourne.
I also realized that I was not alone in this cluelessness. After all, how many Americans do you know who can correctly name the Australian Prime Minister? How about the nation's capital city? (It's not Sydney.) But John Howard and Canberra are just the beginning to a culture that, for some reason, never seems to reach across the Pacific Ocean. Below are highlights of all that is interesting, strange and in Aussie land.
Australia and America
Though very little of Australian culture touches the lives of Americans, Australians seem to have a preoccupation with our country. Walking across any college campus, you'll see posters for lectures on "The Horrible History of the Bush Family" and "The Bloody Past of the American Empire," yet you'll hardly ever hear discussion about Australia's own history or political engagements (except the occasional assertion to oust Howard for entering Australia into the Iraq War).
American entertainment has also taken Australia by storm. Apart from one or two popular Australian shows, the channels are flooded with "Law and Order" and "CSI," and yes, I've been asked if I knew someone who was murdered. Australians' favorite new show is "The OC," which began here a few weeks ago. It's pretty sad to see teenage girls wearing "I love Seth" shirts. As for celebrities, Australians will kill you if you even think Nicole Kidman is an American, and Australian vocalist Kylie Minogue has achieved Madonna-like status here, which is just plain weird.
American food industries like KFC and 7-11 are on almost every street corner, but the abundant number of street caf?s and eclectic restaurants prevent cities from becoming commercially American-esque. They also have McDonald's (lovingly nicknamed "Mackers") and Hungry Jack's (which is Burger King under a different name) here.
Aussie Slang
Yes, they do really say "G'day mate" and "No worries." Australians tend to use rhyming slang, under which tomato sauce (what they call ketchup) becomes "dead horse." By the way, you do have to pay for packets of ketchup in this fine country. Also under rhyming slang, if you want to "hit the road," you'll be hitting the "frog and toad."
Another trend in Australia is reversed slang, under which a "bluie" is a redhead and "curly" is a bald person. As for other slang, flip-flops are "thongs," plain pizza is called "margherita" and beer comes in "tinnies" (cans), pots (small glass), pints (large glass) and jugs (pitchers). Also, Australians "barrack" for their favorite sports team - "rooting" has sexual connotations.
Weird Australia
Australia is also strange in other ways apart from language. When writing the date, the day comes first (20/4/05), phone numbers have eight digits and on the toilet there are two buttons - for half and full flush.
Australian money is similar to American currency, but because there are no pennies, everything is rounded. There are also one and two dollar coins. There is no tipping in Australia, and tax is already included, so basically the price you see is the price you pay.
Australian politics are so confusing that even Aussie citizens have trouble nailing the facts down. The strangest part is that the Liberal Party is the conservatives, and yes, they realize it's screwed-up logic.
Sports
Australian sports differ greatly from those found in America. Most famous are Australian Rules Football, or "footy." This sport, a combination of soccer, rugby and football, involves teams of 18 men who play with a rugby-shaped ball. The point is to kick the ball between four poles in each end zone, therefore scoring six points for a goal between the center poles, or one point for a goal between a center and an outside pole.
Players are allowed to pass the ball by either punting or serving it (like a volleyball) to one another. Women love footy because the players wear small, spandex shorts.
Other Australian sports such as standard rugby and cricket are also popular. However, there is no baseball or regular football (they call American football "grid iron").
Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly is the Australian Jessie James. The country's most famous outlaw, he formed the Kelly Gang (included Kelly, his brother Dan and two friends) to fight against corrupt police in the 1880s.
Half of Australia looks upon Kelly's spree of bank robberies and murder with loathing, while the other half hails him as Australia's first democrat.
At their last stand against police, the Kelly Gang wore armor made from the iron of a plow. The helmets they wore, which looked like upside-down buckets, are a national Australian symbol. Kelly's accomplices were killed, but he survived and was later hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail), where his suit of armor is displayed today. His famous last words were "Such is life." Anyone interested should watch the movie "Ned Kelly," if for no other reason than it stars Heath Ledger as Ned Kelly and Orlando Bloom as a member of the Gang!
(11/04/04 12:00pm)
Disney classics - we all have them tucked away among the rows of VHS tapes in our movie collections. "The Lion King," "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Little Mermaid" - they're staples of our childhood, ones that seemed so steadfast they would never change. If you have younger siblings, however, you know that they have.
Looking at a child's movie collection today, one might see the following: 10 different films of "The Lion King," 10 of "Aladdin," three of "Beauty and the Beast" and nine of "The Little Mermaid."
Making sequels of classics and capitalizing on popular ideas are not uncommon methods in the film industry - actually, they're quite the norm these days. And it is also expected that the sequel will not be as good as the original. But, for some reason, we tend to hold the company that began with a magical little mouse - one whose inventor claimed to love him more than any woman - at a higher standard.
Disney is considered a savior to parents worldwide. The company offers a basic guarantee that its movies are child-friendly. I know the first movie I saw in the theaters was a Disney production and I'm sure it was for many others.
In recent years, Disney has been churning out alterations of their classics - most of which have gone straight to video - like a well-oiled machine, but one has to wonder about the company's motives. Disney may argue its motive is to promote the G-rated viewing experience in a world of increasingly violent media, but to many viewers it may seem that a company that was once all about the magic is now all about the Benjamins.
If Disney sequels held a high standard of quality as far as storyline and animation go, it would be one thing, but it is quite another when viewing the substandard conditions of movies like "Cinderella II," "The Lion King II" and "The Little Mermaid II."
In "Cinderella II," the main problem is the animation. With a different team of animators than that which worked on the original, it is to be expected that depiction would differ, but it does so to such an extent that it's a sacrilege to the first film, which debuted in 1950. Trying to build on something that was released a year before is one thing, but this attempt to gap 50 years is almost worse than comparing "Star Wars: Episode I" to "A New Hope."
Though bad animation is a problem with many of the sequels, the replication of plot is worse. In "The Lion King II," Simba's daughter, Kiara, has to go up against Scar's predecessor. In "The Little Mermaid II," Ariel's daughter, Melody, is threatened by the sister of the evil seawitch, Ursula. All the writers do is change some names and produce a haphazard clone of the original.
Still, people buy the sequels because they trust Disney. They're used to the old Disney - the one that made them cry when Bambi's mother died and cheer when Prince Phillip slew the dragon in "Sleeping Beauty." But these sequels don't even offer an emotional thread.
Kids who watch these movies may find them amusing or even entertaining, but nothing more. The sequels lack impact and feeling and seemingly lack the effort that was put into the originals. They therefore lack the very elements that made us buy the classics in the first place, the reason some of us may even have them here at the College despite the fact that we are between 18 and 21 years old.
It's not to say that Disney has lost its touch altogether, though. Apart from sequels, a good animation flick like "Mulan" pops up every few years. Movies like "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters Inc.," have broken into a whole new type of animation.
Not all Disney's sequels fit the low-effort mold, either. From "Aladdin and the King of Thieves" - one of the first sequels - to "The Lion King 1 1/2," which was released this year, Disney has managed to prove it may still have a twinkle of magic buried somewhere under its heaps of cash.
Just as Mickey changed from being Steamboat Willie to a sorcerer in the sky, Disney has obviously changed over time and will continue to do so. With these changes come alterations to the way Disney plays a part in a child's youth. However difficult it may be to accept, this future may be sequels.
All Disney fans can hope for is that the company remembers that its responsibility is to children and magic - not to money - and follows the late Walt Disney's advice for the empire he began: "My only hope is that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."
(09/22/04 12:00pm)
Have you boycotted TV time ever since the sun set on "Friends"? Well couch potatoes, the time has come to dig out your remote (it's under your bed next to that stale piece of pizza from last September) and tune in, because there's a whole new world of broadcasting that has yet to be discovered.
Listed below are 10 television shows that could be loved and lifted to "My So-Called Life"-status - if people only knew about them. Whether you're into comedy or reality, talk shows or drama, here are the shows that are classified as the "underground" of awesome airtime - the ones everyone loves, but for some reason no one talks about. So try your darndest to ward off Buffy's accusing stare - it's about time you moved on. Tune in and enjoy.
The Comedy
1. "Monk"
A personal preference, this show stars everyone's favorite "defective detective," Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub, as Adrian Monk. Monk is a former member of the San Francisco Police Department who became obsessive-compulsive and left the force after his wife's murder. Now acting as a police consultant, Monk is able to solve impossible cases with the help of his nurse, Sharona. The show is mostly a mystery/comedy combo, but every now and then it takes an emotional turn when Monk's wife is mentioned. All in all, you'll get hooked no matter what you look for in a good show.
Airs: New episodes start in January. Get caught up Sunday, Monday and Friday nights on USA. Check local listings for showtimes.
Rating: 5 stars
2. "Reba"
Country singer Reba McEntire plays a single mom who has to deal with more than her fair share of difficulties. Not only does her husband of 20 years leave her to have a baby with his annoyingly upbeat dental hygienist, but her 17-year-old daughter gets pregnant and marries her high school boyfriend. In addition, Reba has to deal with her other two children and her ex-husband's new wife who oddly enough wants to be her best friend. From the creator of "Boy Meets World," this show is nothing short of hilarious and proves that Reba can do a whole lot more than just sing.
Airs: Fridays at 9 p.m. on the WB
Rating: 4 stars
3. "Reno 911!"
This show is an incredibly unique cross between improv and a real
TV series that will keep you laughing. Its witty, satirical undertones support a strange mix of characters who play off a variety of "Cops" themes - hookers with bizarre wigs, belligerent arrests and wacky domestic disturbances. You know it's great when the actors can barely keep themselves from cracking up.
Airs: Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on Comedy Central
Rating: 4 stars
4. "Scrubs"
Perfect for anyone who enjoys quirky humor, the show follows the young medical staff of Sacred Heart Hospital through love, confusion and tragedy, all of which are taken seriously for about five seconds before being thrown into a comic spin. "Scrubs" will no doubt gain a bit more popularity in the future, as it stars "Garden State" actor Zach Braff.
Airs: Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on NBC
Rating: 4.5 stars
5. "Two and a Half Men"
For all the Charlie Sheen lovers out there, this one is for you. Sheen plays Charlie (how original), a wild bachelor whose world is turned upside down when his newly divorced and uptight brother Alan - and Alan's young son, Jake - move in. With a cast of crazy characters, the show is a
developing hit that was wrongly overlooked in its first season. Look for guest appearances by Sean Penn and Ryan Stiles in the near future.
Airs: Mondays at 9:30 p.m. on CBS
Rating: 3.5 stars
The Drama
6. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
Many may be familiar with the original "Law & Order" series, but "SVU," now beginning its sixth season, is becoming the favorite of many who love crime dramas. Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler are tough New York City detectives helping victims and pursuing criminals of sexually based offenses. With twists and turns that will keep you guessing, "SVU" is more action and less courtroom than the original. Oh, and you get to see Ice-T act.
Airs: Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC. Watch reruns on USA every night.
Rating: 5 stars
7. "The Dead Zone"
Based on the Stephen King novel, this show is one of the best psychological thriller series around. Johnny Smith led an ordinary life until he was in an accident that left him in a coma for six years. He woke up to find his fianc? married to another man, raising his son who doesn't even know him. Because of his near-death experience, Smith has visions of the past and future that are brought on by touch and help him stop terrible events. Now signed for a fourth season, "The Dead Zone" is a must-watch.
Airs: New episodes start in Jan. Get caught up Sunday nights on USA. Check local listings for showtimes.
Rating: 5 stars
8. "Third Watch"
It's like "NYPD Blue," just better. "Third Watch" is not only about police officers, but also about the paramedics and firefighters who share the New York streets, trying to make the city a safer place. As with "ER," those who don't like an intense show should be warned - "Third Watch" is action-packed and very emotional. In the midst of too-often tragedies, however, the men and women of the show have strong, funny personalities that really get the audience interested.
Airs: Fridays at 9 p.m. on NBC
Rating: 4 stars
The Reality Show
9. "Last Comic Standing"
For everyone who makes fun of his or her friends who watch "American Idol," or who has sworn an oath never to watch reality television, "Last Comic Standing" might just make you reconsider. Unlike shows where much of the airtime is taken up by what other people think (Hello, Simon Cowell), this show is straightforward comedy. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, you can tune in to see who was eliminated, but if you stick to Tuesdays, all you get are a bunch of comedians with great material packed into an hour.
Airs: Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. Additional telecasts (if you really care) on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Rating: 3.5 stars
The Talk Show
10. "Ellen"
Finally, a talk show that's actually fun! Cheers to Ellen DeGeneres for making an awesome comeback to television. She has great guests, she dances for her audience every day and she never has heavy subjects that bog down the show. It's very rare to find a host who is as fun to watch, but it's not surprising that Ellen fits the mold after her long history in comedy. Ellen is not afraid to act a little crazy, and that is exactly what makes the show stand out. Watch and I guarantee she'll put a smile on your face.
Airs: Weekdays at 10 a.m. on NBC
Rating: 4.5 stars
(04/07/04 12:00pm)
Oh dear freshman, how I pity you. And frosh-to-be, I don't even know you and yet I feel your pain. Once again, the ingenious members of the College administration have chosen to screw you over.
Sodexho. The word already strikes fear in the heart of every College student, vegetarian and meat-eater alike. Now there is a new phrase that will be shouted in anger and frustration out of Travers, Wolfe and Norsworthy Halls - Carte Blanche.
For once it is not the actual food that students can find fault with, but instead, the system.
Unlike upperclassmen who will have a choice between the old point system and the Carte Blanche nightmare, sophomores-to-be and incoming freshmen will find themselves taking a metaphorical plunge off the mountain of all that is good and decent in the bizarre world of college meal plans.
Basically, you will have a problem with the new system if you like to bring food out of Eickhoff Hall, if you like to eat at a dining hall that is not Eickhoff, if you have class until 8 p.m., if you don't eat a lot of food or eat often - okay, basically you'll have a problem if you plan to eat on campus next year.
True, under the Carte Blanche system a student can eat in Eickhoff Hall as much or as frequently as he or she wants in a day. However, that in itself is a problem - you have to eat in Eickhoff Hall.
Next year, students will not be permitted to take food outside the building unless it is fruit-or-sandwich-like and food that you have already begun to eat.
In other words, there will be no taking your dinner from Eickhoff back to your room so you can study.
Of course not. Obviously, the only reason students are here is to make Sodexho rich - not to get good grades or anything. Ivy League, here we come.
Representatives of Sodexho said by making students eat in the food court, it will allow students to meet friends. You make friends during Welcome Week. You make friends in classes. You make friends from your dorm. I hardly think it is necessary for students to forge solid relationships over their meatloaf. Not to mention that if you are hungry and your friends are not, you cannot take a plate back to your dorm room and sit with your friends. You must sit in Eickhoff. Alone.
Another reason Sodexho says students cannot take food out of Eickhoff is "food safety" - because clearly when I take a box of cereal out of the dining hall, there is danger of it spoiling - in the year 2008.
Here's another scenario. The Brower Student Center food court is easier for you to grab a quick bite in between classes. By choosing Carte Blanche B Plan, the middle option, you pay approximately $1,352 and only $250 of that money can be used in an eating location other than Eickhoff.
You want more money to spend outside Eickhoff? You're forced to take Carte Blanche A Plan at a proposed cost of $1,456 with $400 for all the other eating locations on campus.
There is no option that allows a student to spend an equal amount of money in Eickhoff and at other eating locations. You're forced to spend the majority of your money at Eickhoff. Period. You don't feel you'll get your money's worth there? Too bad.
Yes, Eickhoff will be open until 8 p.m. instead of 7 and 7:30 p.m. next year. This still doesn't help individuals with 8 p.m. classes who will be forced to spend their non-Eickhoff money at T/W for dinner.
If a student with the middle meal plan spends $10 a day at a dining location that is not Eickhoff (C-Store, T/W, Brower Student Center) it will take a mere 25 days for their non-Eickhoff funds to be completely depleted.
Sodexho says they received positive feedback in regard to the Carte Blanche system. I haven't heard a single individual who thought it was a good idea. Not a student. Not a parent. Not even some members of SGA.
Either Sodexho wrote the positive feedback themselves, or those students who did aren't willing to speak up because they have since realized what a horribly stupid idea it is.
So on behalf of all the upperclassmen-to-be, I'd like to send my deepest sympathies out to the poor freshmen whose innocence is to be shattered by the evils of College dining. May you rise up and be Sodexho's downfall.
(02/04/04 12:00pm)
Have you ever had one of those "I guess you had to be there" moments?
You tell your friends something that happened in class, but it's as if you're conversing with some unengaged gelatinous species that just doesn't get it.
And try as you might, you can't make it funny, you can't make them care, because they had to experience it for themselves.
I used to be one of those blank-faced, subhuman individuals when it came to keeping up with current events.
People could tell me about elections, lawsuits and the world until they were blue in the face and all I heard was "blah blah blah," while staring at them and wondering how anyone could stand the boredom that I believed came hand-in-hand with the news.
A few years ago, when I made the decision to pursue journalism, I realized that it would be impossible to do so without first immersing myself in what the profession was all about.
I bit my lip, put down the comics and picked up the front page of The Star Ledger.
Suddenly, the jibberish that my friends had been "discussing" with me became language.
I no longer relied on others to inform me as to who won the game or what candidates were running for what position. I could participate in intelligent conversation.
I realized that this was my world too, and it was important that I know about it.
Unfortunately, I have come to realize that although we attend an institution of higher learning filled with individuals who have a keen desire to succeed, many students are not at the level they should be when it comes to their awareness of current events.
I see several students buy the paper everyday and I know many others stay updated through the Internet.
However, too many times I have felt like that person trying to get my friends involved in an incident they were not there to see, and I know they are looking at me and thinking "blah, blah, blah."
It worries me that, as adults, so many are detached.
I wonder how our generation is going make any attempt to change the world if so many of us are strangers to it.
Many students are even unfamiliar with the happenings within their own College community.
These are the individuals who, at this very moment, are reading the cartoons in the back of the paper instead of reading this article.
I bet some of your friends are doing just that - I know some of mine are.
I suggest that you give them the following advice: Walk through Eickhoff Hall and grab a free Times. Read The Signal. Log onto CNN.com. Flip on the news at night.
It's important. It's not Beetle Bailey, but it's almost as good.
(10/07/03 12:00pm)
How would you like it if all you received on your birthday were e-mail and IM celebration wishes? What about if on your anniversary, your significant other said, "Here's some flowers, I e-mailed you the card"? The point is that even in today's technologically abundant society, virtual greetings - whether they are through e-mail, IM or even online cards - leave something to be desired.
I'll readily admit that I am an AIM junkie, and that I check my e-mail non-stop. In no way am I saying that it doesn't make me happy to interact virtually with my family or friends. So what's the difference between e-mail and snail mail?
The monetary aspect is not really an issue (I don't think anyone really cares if you spent $2.99 on a Hallmark card and 33 cents on a stamp.) However, I would much rather get something tangible - a card, a letter - something I can put in a keepsake box or hang up in my dorm room.
I'm not saying you can't print out and hang up your virtual messages, but I think it would look a little more than odd if you had e-mails adorning your walls.
Not only is snail mail more tangible, but it is also more personal. True, AIM and e-mail may allow you to talk to individuals whom you may never have the guts to speak to in person, but there is no way to guarantee that these conversations are genuine. It's not that the feelings won't be there, but that you may never know for sure.
Technology makes it virtually impossible to read the sender's emotions, and this can be a bit sketchy (pun intended).
How many times in an AIM conversation do you say "lol" in response to something that isn't even funny? Technology has made us automatons in that some emotionally related reactions come as automatic response to anything and everything.
If, however, one of those individuals whom you never had the guts to talk to other than on AIM writes you a letter, then you would get the impression that whatever he or she had to say was sincere. It would be in his or her own handwriting. I know that when I write letters they come complete with doodles, stickers and maybe even perfume - how are you able to personalize virtual communication to that level?
Some may think snail mail to be old fashioned, because there is no way around the fact that it takes a while to get a letter as opposed to the much quicker type-and-send method the Internet provides. AIM and e-mail are not without benefits for individuals with tight time constraints, or those who need to contact several people at a time. But I believe that a message someone took enough time to write and send is worth the wait.
All in all, AIM is great for first introductions and quick messages, but if you really want an individual to understand how you feel, there's no way but the slow way. :)
(09/23/03 12:00pm)
If you were anything like me last weekend, the threat of hurricane Isabel had you glued to your TV, searching for weather updates from any channel that could provide them.
As was to be expected, most channels served up big helpings of meterologists such as Al Roker, reporting live from the heart of the storm.
So why don't I ever want to be an embedded weather reporter like our esteemed Mr. Roker? Because, honestly, that kind of reporting makes you looks like an ass.
Don't get me wrong, I do get a kick out of watching people in their big yellow ponchos attempting to report on the hurricane while insane conditions make it impossible for them to even hang onto the microphone, nevermind report on anything.
The problem is that I'm watching the Weather Channel for - let's take a wild guess at this one - the weather, people! What's the point of putting a reporter in those conditions when you can't even hear him or her through the wind, thunder and rain?
Watching the weather during intense storms is more like tuning in to "Survivor - Newscaster." Are the news channels afraid no one will tune in if they don't provide some form of entertainment? I would think that a storm that is supposed to blow the Carolinas off the map would be enough of an incentive for viewers to watch.
I know that this type of close-up reporting brings the viewers at home to the scene of the action. Those watching, however, would get much more out of watching the cameraman pan the storm area and the anchor handling the story from inside a nice, dry newsroom.
I can't say I've never thought about being an embedded weather girl - the reporting is exciting in a dangerous sort of way. But, for instance, reporting from a helicopter inside the eye of the hurricane is dangerous in a stupid sort of way.
I can't help but think of storm chasing reporters who broadcast somewhere in the middle of Texlahoma while everyone at home is screaming at their TV for them to turn around because the twister just crept up behind them and devoured the news truck and the makeup girl.
I think the point of being a live reporter is to provide viewers with updates on what's going on - not to give them heart attacks because they made the mistake of turning on the news.
All in all, it is not necessary for me to stand out in a hurricane while 90 mile per hour winds and rain make me eat my hair or risk my life on live television and while the viewers at home are left saying, "That was pretty cool, but I don't know if the storm is five seconds away from hitting my house." I'm sure if those watching wanted more entertainment than simply the facts, they'd flip the channel to "Friends."
(09/16/03 12:00pm)
The Rat pulsated with acoustic rhythms as five student soloists performed for a jam-packed audience last Friday. Mike Heitmann, Riki Marucci, Dave Salge, Steve Swanson and Jesse Szuch took the stage to play everything from catchy originals to crowd-pleasing favorites.
The duo of Salge and Heitmann started the night with a sound check of Dispatch's "The General," that left fans screaming for more. Together, they performed a variety of covers, ranging from Dion and the Belmont's classic "Run Around Sue" to Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta." Salge showed off his kazoo skills during their rendition of Blues Traveler's "Run Around."
Salge said they chose high energy covers because, "In this kind of setting people want to hear songs they know."
Salge and Heitmann have performed at the Rat several times. "We have very opposite tastes so it's hard to decide on songs," Salge said.
"This shows just how bizarre I am," Salge, sophomore art education major, told the crowd before playing Dashboard Confessional's "Hands Down." Clearly, the crowd didn't mind Salge's selection and sang along, while devoted fans held signs that read, "Dave is da bomb."
Heitmann, sophomore biology major, played songs by individuals who have influenced him musically. He covered Jason Mraz's "On Love, In Sadness" and "Halloween" by Dave Matthews Band (DMB).
Heitmann's performance of the latter displayed his versatile voice, as he was able to successfully capture the raspy semi-disturbing style of this DMB song.
Szuch, senior communication studies major, followed the twosome with several original songs including "Drown" and "Lost Horizons."
The highlight of Szuch's performance came with his performance of another original, entitled "Waves Crash Over Me." This song drove ecstatic cheers from the crowd when Szuch displayed some fancy finger work near the song's end. Szuch also played covers by Phish and Cat Stevens.
According to Szuch, the accomplished guitarist has never had a lesson. But, it was clear that no one cheering noticed. Szuch said his musical inspirations include Ben Harper, Phish and his grandfather, whose black-and-gold unicorn guitar strap he wears while performing.
Steve Swanson, accompanied by Riki Marucci, finished the night. The fact that Swanson had to sit during his performance due to a sports injury did nothing to deter the crowd's enthusiasm, as he performed six original songs including "Lifetimes" and "Reminder." He also played "Song For My Sister," which he performed at last year's Talent Show.
Swanson finished off his set by playing several enthusiastic Jack Johnson covers, including "Rodeo Clowns" and "Bubble Toes." Swanson said he likes to think of his originals as "Jack Johnson with edge."
(09/09/03 12:00pm)
Construction has begun on the new chapel, which is expected to reach completion in the spring of 2004. However, some members of the campus community have voiced displeasure with the limited size of the new building.
The new chapel will be shared by the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic ministries, as well as be used for secular activities.
According to Joan Fasulo-Harris, the project architect for the new building, this structure will have non-fixed seating for up to 150 people in the main sanctuary, with room for an additional 25 people in the meditation room.
Rev. Gabriel Zeis, Catholic Campus Minister for the College, said the new chapel is too small to accommodate the number of students who want to attend Mass.
According to Zeis, Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses will be held in the new chapel after its completion, however the structure will be unable to house the 300 or more people who sometimes attend Sunday evening mass.
This mass will remain in the Travers/Wolfe main lounge.
"I mentioned what I thought of the size during the planning but it wasn't really taken to heart," Zeis said. "It's the only negative, but it's a big one."
"The new chapel seems pointless to build if Sunday night mass, the biggest one, will still be in T/W," Laura Giannella, sophomore English secondary education major, said.
According to Zeis, other students who are members of the Catholic Campus Ministries (CCM) program are displeased with the size of the new chapel.
"What can I say, other than you can't look a gift chapel in the mouth," Zeis said.
The Board of Trustees announced plans for the new chapel in the summer of 2001.
The new chapel will cost $1,875,000 and according to Fasulo-Harris, "will be funded through operating costs."
Fasulo-Harris said that the new chapel is of traditional architectural design that matches the rest of buildings on campus.
According to Fasulo-Harris, the new chapel will include a main sanctuary, three counseling rooms and a more private meditation room.
The meditation room will have access to a patio and garden, which will overlook Lake Silva.
The Alumni Meditation Chapel occupies the site where the new library will be built.
According to Fasulo-Harris, the old chapel will be demolished within the next few months, as soon as the contractor for the new library begins to excavate that area of the campus.
According to Fasulo-Harris, relocating instead of knocking down the old chapel was considered.
However, she said, the final decision was that "a new and more useful structure would be in the best long-term interests of the College and student body."
According to Zeis, CCM is paying a carpenter to build an altar for the new chapel, using wood from the beams of the old chapel.
"This is a very nice way to tie some of the old chapel to the new one," Zeis said.
He added that stained glass will be taken out of the old chapel and placed in the new building's meditation garden.
According to Fasulo-Harris, the remaining stained glass will be made into an interior window design for the new library.
She added that a cornerstone of the new chapel will contain "a sealed box with mementos from the old chapel."
(04/22/03 12:00pm)
Nadia Gorski, along with Christina Puglia and Annelise Catanzaro, who shared campaign posters and T-shirts, were elected to the positions of executive president, executive vice president and alternate student trustee of the Student Governement Association (SGA) Executive Board.
Mike Cilia was re-elected to his position as vice president of administration and finance.
Those elected that ran unopposed were Jamie Gusrang, vice president of academic affairs, Marco Zelaya, vice president of legal and governmental affairs, Laura DeLucia, vice president of student services and Caitlin Shinneford, vice president of community relations.
Elections were held on Monday, April 14, and Tuesday, April 15, in the Brower Student Center.
According to election chair Monique Manfra, the elections went "very, very well."
Gusrang agreed they were a success because Manfra "was fair and followed the rules."
Manfra said that she would like to see more people running for positions because more candidates would increase the number of voters.
According to Manfra, only 820 students of the College voted.
Manfra added that if more candidates were to run, "it would make (the elections) more fun."
Roy D. Johnson Jr., who lost as alternate student trustee, said "although I don't have many years for comparison, I thought the elections were run very poorly."
Johnson said that it was disappointing that such a small percentage of the College voted. However, he felt that the lack of interest in the elections reflected directly on the SGA itself, because the organization has "been inactive and done nothing for the student body all year."
Johnson said that by no means was this "bitter talk," and that although he will not be involved in SGA next year, he may consider running for a position the following year.
"I plan to give my energy next year to BSU, who actually does something for this campus," Johnson said.
As president elect, Gorski said she was happy with the elections. "I'm glad with the outcome, and relieved that they are over," she said.
Gorski said that she is looking forward to begin her new position. "I have a great senate coming in, and I'm ready to do the job that I was elected to do," she said.
DeLucia also said that she enthusiastic and ready to start doing her job. "I am eager to work with my committee on issues such as getting a 24-hour facility on campus," she said.
Catanzaro said that she would like to thank everyone that voted. "I'm excited to learn more about my position and to run elections myself next year," she said.
(04/15/03 12:00pm)
Students gathered in the student center atrium for the Candidate Forum, where speeches were heard from Student Government Association (SGA) members running for executive board positions on Wednesday, April 9.
According to election chair Monique Manfra, about 50 people were present, though most were SGA members and friends of those who gave speeches.
All candidates spoke except Jamie Gusrang, who is running for vice president of Academic Affairs, and Marco Zelaya, who is running for vice president of Legal and Governmental Affairs, both of whom are unopposed.
Larissa Shelton, who is running for executive vice president, said that each candidate was given two minutes to make his or her speech. Following the speeches, she said, the candidates were asked a question by a group of moderators.
This group included SGA President Chris Portera, and the election committee, which was made up of Karen Martin, senior class president, Ema Puskas, senior class vice president and Manfra.
The candidate was then given 30 seconds to respond to the moderator's question, and his or her opponent was given 15 seconds to formulate a rebuttal. The audience was then permitted to ask the candidate questions.
Shelton said that she was asked about how she would help to facilitate better communication between the students and SGA.
"Currently the SGA is caught up in thinking that everything they do is right," Shelton responded.
"SGA needs to do to a better job in representing the students. This past year, I have fought for that, but it's difficult when it's one voice against a whole group," she added.
Shelton added that she was upset with how the forum turned out.
"A lot of the questions asked were questions of my opponent's supporters and friends," she said.
"Instead of focusing on matters that are important to the students, they dissected parts of my speech to make me look bad," she added.
Christina Puglia, Shelton's opponent, also spoke at the forum. She was asked a question about how, if elected, she would solve conflicts with the elected SGA president.
"I believe that there is a very personal relationship between the president and vice president," Puglia said.
"I would sit down and try to talk things out, but if we couldn't come to an understanding, it would be the executive vice president's position to take a step back," she added.
Roy D. Johnson Jr., who is running for alternate student trustee, also spoke. He said that although he could not stay for the entire forum he enjoyed the speeches he heard.
Johnson said that whoever was elected should give student voices adequate representation.
If elected, he said that he plans to improve on the quality of the job, because he feels that it has been done poorly in previous years.
"Win or lose, I hope the person who gets the position keeps an open mind and not be a hand puppet to the administration and the executive board of SGA," he said.
Jesse Place, candidate for vice president of Administration and Finance, said the forum went "overall pretty well."
The only exception, he said, was that he felt more students from the general public should have attended.
Place said that he was asked how the budget cuts would affect student organizations.
"In one sense, the cuts don't really affect the organizations," he said. "I do feel, however, that we have to be conscious of the fact that as the College cuts back in certain areas, there will be more pressure on SFB to contribute student activities fees to different things," Place added.
Place's opponent, Mike Cilia, is the current vice president of Administration and Finance. Cilia spoke about why he deserves to be reelected.
According to Cilia, he was asked why he is more qualified than his opponent to hold the position.
"Because I have experience, I feel I can do a good job," Cilia said. "I also feel like I can continue to help student organizations with my position on SFB."
"I don't like to leave a job half finished," he added.
All in all, Manfra said that she felt the forum "was the same as it is every year."
She added that it "went well and addressed many issues" that concerned the College community.
(04/15/03 12:00pm)
The Student Activities Fees (SAF) allotted to College organizations will not be affected by the impending budget cuts, according to Craig Gross, Student Finance Board (SFB) chairperson elect.
"These funds are separate from the College's normal budget because the SFB has direct discretion on how they are spent," Gross said. "Therefore, this money is secure."
Gross said that SAF costs are added to students' tuition fee by the College.
Ren?e Marchioni, current SFB chairperson, added that this money is collected in the amount of $56.50 per semester.
According to Gross, "SFB has basically been delegated power to appropriate these funds by the President of the College."
Marchioni said SAF money can be allotted to multicultural groups, organizations, services, clubs, intramurals, sports and communications, such as The Siren and The Lion's Eye. Altogether, Marchioni said, there are about 200 student organizations that are funded by SAF money.
"The College wouldn't want these funds to be depleted," Gross said. "The students need to have things to do on campus. They are a necessity to student services."
SAF money is allotted to each of these organizations at the beginning of the year during SFB's annual budget retreat. In addition, Marchioni said, groups can come to SFB to ask for more money to fund new programs for the campus.
According to Marchioni, unlike budget cuts, the base budgets for SAF-funded organizations have for the most part increased this year, with minimal exceptions.
Marchioni said that SFB has also used SAF fees this year in