The Stetson Reporter

^Florida's OUkst Cotkgiatt Qfewspaper orter Ult'U .As-if,; Aryy yiyyyu - -a yy iy H w i*.i; i;yy r )( ■ v' N: ;!"i?;)»yi . y yy.,fy •' vyULy > ' I ^Ki'iy.V ■y ^ -i ~ u \iot: ^ i«tiHv>,yj< ..#,1 ^STfTiJ] lj vy 7/- ■); ,'§^[(?U4(0Tfii- iU'lWli HtKf(e\r5iH_E\* H%C<f1 SHOt IFI-tejjTiiQy) \\''f(liyO)no|c iNikhifadcfrvMr ground THE AVORLD Assassination threats scare many Washington (Reuters) - The United States has told the Haitian government of reports of assassination threats against opposition figures and urged it to prevent such actions, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said Friday. Christopher told reporters that U.S. ambassador to Haiti William Swing "has brought those reports to the attention of the Aristide government and we have urged them to make every effort to ensure that the kind of threatened actions do not take place." The New York Times reported Friday that the Pentagon has warned the U.S. Embassy in Haiti that 27 political opponents of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide may have been selected for assassination. Asked about the reported assassination threats, Christopher declined comment on specific reports "because there are a number of reports that vacillate back and forth. . "But what I will say is that those security issues are ones that we frequently raise with the Haitian government, including with the President Aristide," he said, speaking to reporters before talks with Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec. One prominent opposition figure, Mirielle Dorocher Bertin, was shot dead in Port-au-Prince March 28. Bus strike causes fiasco Philadelphia (Reuters) - An 11-day strike against the city's transit system spread to a second suburban division Friday morning, shutting down bus services in Bucks and Montgomery counties. At the same time, the heads of the largest union and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority gave signs they may be ready to resume stalled talks on a new three-year contract. The strike has idled SEPTA's Frontier Division, which serves industrial parks and shopping centers scattered throughout the northern suburbs. Only re- i gional commuter trains are serving the 400,000 rid- .*- ers who use the nation's fourth largest transit system daily. After two days of disruptive tactics earlier this week, Harry Lombardo, president of Transit Workers Union Local 234, said it was time to resume negotiations to narrow the $37 million gap between union demand and SEPTA's offer. SEPTA has offered annual raises of two percent in each of the first two years and three percent in the third,year, but with some concessions in health coverage and pension benefits. The union wants a three percent raise each year and improved benefits. Local 234 members shut down a suburban bus depot Tuesday and, after they were dispersed under a court order, snarled key commuting highways by driving convoy style at 20 mph. Police arrested 10 union members and issued scores of driving tickets. On Wednesday, union pickets blocked commuter trains at two SEPTA stations in Buck County. Forest fire kills children in China Beijing (Reuters) - A forest fire whipped by fierce winds killed 29 primary school children on a hilltop excursion in northern China, burning many beyond recognition, local officials said Saturday. Distressed parents hoped to complete the horrid task of identifying the victims, most of them sole offspring bprn under China's strict one-couple, one- child family-planning policy, by the end of Saturday, a local official said by telephone. The children died Thursday when fire broke out on Hongqing Mountain in Huairen county in Shanxi province, 170 miles west of Beijing, said the Xiaoyu Coal Mine office. He said 195 children and four teachers from the . Xiaoyu Coal Mine Number Two Primary School had gone on the spring excursion up the 330-foot hill. The blaze raced across the hill, whipped by strong winds and fueled by dry bushes in an area parched by drought for months, he said. Most of the children managed to escape, but 18 boys and 11 girls between the ages of nine and 14 were killed. One boy was in critical condition and three others were slightly hurt and being treated in a local hospital, he said. Compiled from America Online Mike Demko The Stetson Reporter The Student Government candidates for president and vice-president have been on the road to the elections for about a week now. Monday night will bring debates between the two candidates, and on Wednesday the student body will have the chance to choose between Rachel Ward or Jeff Pointe as their new president. y . Rachel Ward said in a written statement that/if elected, she hopes to "not only serve as an effective leader, but commit myself personally to making a difference on our campus." Ward, who currently serves as SGA secretary and president pro tempore, said she wants to see "increased campus spirit, improvement of older campus facilities, and an increased opportunity for direct student input upon university policy changes." She would like "to help Stetson become a place that offers the same resources that other schools do, including a radio station, computerized information boards, and supplements to the course offerings." Ward's running mate, vice- presidential candidate Lindsey Brown, has much the same beliefs that Ward represents in her platform. Brown, a sophomore who serves on the SGA Community Affairs Committee, wrote that SGA s prepare for student election officers must be "in touch with the students." She added, "I am more than willing to dedicate myself-to working with Rachel and for the school." Ward's opponent, Jeff Pointe, said in his written statement that he hopes to "represent the entire campus" so that he can "help to make Stetson University a better place to live and learn at." Pointe, a junior who has served as an S.G.A. senator for two years, wants to "increase toleration of all people regardless of race, gender, color, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation," and if elected, he wants to see the campus modernized and to see something done about the parking situation on campus. He supports more lenient alcohol and visitation policies, as well as the creation of "more cash labor jobs for students." Pointe has picked Sharlene DiNicola to run for the office of Vice President. DiNicola, a junior in the ROTC program, wrote that she wants "to work for you!" She added that she and Pointe will represent all of the Stetson student body, even the most diverse parts. On Wednesday, the student body will have their final word on this situation. The average student niay not think that he or she can make a difference with one vote, but as Lindsey Brown noted, "On April 12, the decision is up to you!" •i «• • ■"*>>■•''!*? V :N v„ V^ pnoTO Dy Nancy wiii An award-winning work by Bill Gallagher from the Juried Student Art Exhibition. Jeff Pointe Running mate: Sharlene DiNicola; Class: junior; Qualifications: SGA vice-presidential candidate, model senate (2 years), SGA representative for various groups. Rachel Ward Running mate: Lindsey Brown; Class: junior; Qualifications: SGA president pro tempore, secretary of SGA, president of Alpha Xi Delta, student ambassador, youth motivator. Read the candidates' statements in their entirety at the SGA display at the post office. Faculty: pro' and tenure Stetson has promoted 15 members of the faculty and granted tenure to 14 faculty members, Provost Eugene Lubot announced. .' " Two associate professors, Dr; Mitchell Reddish, chair of religious studies, and Dr. Betty Thome, decision and information science, have been promoted to full professor. Assistant professors promoted to associate professor are: Dr. Lawrence Belcher, finance; Gary Bolding, art; Dr. Diane Everett, sociology; Dr. Terence Farrell, biology; Dr. Roberta" Favis, chair of art; Dr, Margie Hale, mathematics; Dr. Peter Hauck, chemistry; Dr. Paul motions'. announced > Jerome Croce, American Studies; Dr. Robert Leahy, education; Dr. Leonard Nance, sociology; Susan Ryan, government documents librarian; Dr. Susan Wilson, communications studies and theatre arts, and Dr. Terri Witek, English. Faculty members receiving tenure are Belcher, Bolding, Everett, Farrell, Favis, Hale, Hauck, Croce> Leahy, Nance, Ryan, Wilson,,Dr. Joseph Witek, English; and Dr. Terri Witek. All changes are effective in September 1995. compiled torn press release Communications forum helps students Kelly Underwood The Stetson Reporter- Local journalists and public relations specialists gave area students advice about careers in the communications field in a forum last week. The keynote speakers and panelists spoke to students from local colleges about careers in the communications industry. Keynote speakers Lisa Malone, news chief for NASA, and Jerome K. Full, a public relations consultant, stressed the importance of internships to the 50 students attending the forum. Panelists included a variety of journalists and public relations specialists that spoke about how to succeed in their career fields. A question and answer session was held by the panelists after the forum. The main idea emphasized by the different panelists was the value of internships. Most of the panelists advised the students that in order to get an edge on the competition in the communications industries, internships are essential. Other topics that the panelists covered were the roles of women in the communications industry and the" competitive nature of careers in journalism or public relations. The speakers and panelists spoke to students from Bethune-Cookman, Embry Riddle, Daytona Beach Community College, and Stetson. Itetson benefits from African symposium Kelly Guldi The Stetson Reporter. A visiting professor of African religions at the University of Tennessee addressed several Stetson faculty and administration during a lecture two weeks ago. During the afternoon lecture, part of an International Symposium ori Sub-Saharan Africa, Rosalind Hackett outlined reasons and benefits of adding an Afrkana studies program at Stetson. Referring to possible curriculum, Hackett advocated the idea of a program, saying, "The material is so interesting, you'd have to be a lousy teacher to kill it." Hackett supported her statement by listing the effect of African knowledge and traditions in several academic fields. Some important contributions of the African continent, she said, are oral histories, philosophic traditions, and art forms that are typically more conceptual and functional than Western art. Because of the integrated nature of the many facets of African life, from religion and politics to economics and culture, a focus on African studies would force an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning, Hackett said. She added that providing an opportunity for African studies at Stetson would help the university'in meeting the needs of the African-American student community. Also speaking at the March 28 lecture was N'Dri Assie-Lumumba, Professor of Africana studies and women's studies at Cornell University. Assie-Lumumba, who is from the Ivory Coast, described a "huge gap between what Africa is and has been, and what it is in people's minds." She pointed out the significance of the family in African society as an example. It is not just biological relationships that compro mise the family, the professor said- -it is whole communities of people caring for each other. As the afternoon lecture drew to a dose, Hackett indicated several reasons that an Africana studies program could benefit Stetson in particular. Florida law now requires the teaching of African and diaspora history in public schools. The Stetson program could become a hub for secondary instructors continuing their education in these areas. Likewise, Hackett said, the program could draw scholars form other nearby universities, in particular Bethune-Cookman College and the University of Florida, thereby pooling resources, reducing costs, and increasing networking between schools. Finally, Orlando will host the African Studies Association's annual conference next year, where many United States and international scholars will convene. The symposium, which took place from March 27-29, included lectures from professor Goran Hyden, acting director of African Studies at the University pf Florida, and Robert Press, East Africa correspondent for the Christian SdenceMonitor. Hyden spoke on March 27 about African development in the post Cold War era, and Press discussed Rwanda and Somalia on the last night of the symposium. Assie-Lumumba gave a subsequent lecture Tuesday evening, "Women, Education, and the Liberation Struggle in Africa." The Artists and Lecturers Committee and the-International Symposium Committee provided for the annual three day event, which has. focused on Latin America and South Africa in past years. Ranjini Thaver, assistant professor of economics, and Stephanie Athey, assistant professor of English, collaborated in arranging.the symposium.