The Stetson Reporter

y_.E_R_&..I„.T .¥ life | 'Rent/ the musical Broadway sensation, rocked the Bob Carr Centre last weekend. Although the story sometimes dips into triteness, the energetic cast, amazing concept, and upbeat music make the show the best to play at Carr in some time, photo COURTESY BROADWAY SERIES [ review, page 3B ] wed 27 jan-99 issue 16volume 111 BY julie gowan ] As Stetson enters the final 24 months of the $200 Million Campaign — a capital campaign targeting scholarships, technology, and physical renovations to the campus — the university only needs $16 million to meet the goal that was set over a decade ago. The central objective of the campaign is to raise money for the endowment, improve technology for students, and fund the completion of the library. The campaign has received S184 million in cash and pledges for endowment, an annual giving program, new construction, renovation and equipment, and the Stetson Society program. The Stetson Society program is those who have left the university in their wills or willed certain amounts of money to certain organizations at Stetson. "Victory comes from doing your best" is the motto for the S200 Million Campaign. The Victory Bell not only represents the motto for the campaign, but will be the symbol for the final phase, as well. The Victory Bell hangs at the top of the Hollis Center and inscribed on it is the philosophy of Mark and Lynn Hollis who believe very strongly in Stetson's ability and cause. "Everywhere students go on campus in the next 24 months — as we approach the new millennium — they will see people wearing a bell on their shirt. The bell symbolizes one's dedication not only to Stetson, but to the final phase as well. We feel that the bell holds such a strong message for everyone that has attended Stetson or visited it. The inscription is our motto that we are living," said Mark Whittaker, vice president of University Relations. Funding the endowment is one of the primary objectives of the $200 Million Campaign. Since the Campaign's inception in 1986, the endowment has grown from $20.4 million in 1986to $128.1 million in March of 1998, according to university figures. "Our endowment is now second only to that of University of Miami [among private Fla. colleges]. The second focus of the campaign is to raise money through the Annual Giving Plan for scholarships, this makes it possible for us to award students over $13 million," said Whittaker. "Once you get past $100 million in endowment then you begin to get income coming in, so you can pay competitive salaries. Then you can give away enough money to attract and retain students. It's just not attracting a freshmen class, it's making sure that current students will stay," said Whittaker. Although the university is only looking for $16 million to reach the goal of $200 million, officials are shooting for "an ambitious" $40 billion for three different categories: gifts forscholarships; capstone capital projects like the duPont-Ball Library and the technology and equipment; and unfinished business such has the Hollis and Wilson Athletic Center, the law library at the St. Petersburg branch, and Melching Field. "The library is the capstone of the campaign because it will be the last of the buildings build with the campaign money, which will not include the building of the campus chapel. That is. something that the trustees have talked about doing. If someone comes along and wants to give us money for a chapel, we will accept it. We have to ask everyone who has been affiliated with us in order to make this a success and make pledges university's $200 million campaign is designed to boost the endowment and fond projects. over a period of time," said Whittaker. "The success for the final phase relies of the help and use of volunteers," said Whittaker. "For us to be successful in the final phase we need the best team and top leaders." The campaign co-chairs are Mark and Lynn Hollis with Hyatt and Cici Brown. There are two sub-campaign committees underneath the main committee. The steering committee includes the chair of the board, the chair of marketing and development, the alumni associations, college and school boards, and the president's parents council. The other committee is the co-chairs and host committee consisting of the East coast of Central Florida, the West coast and, South Florida, and committees existing in Atlanta, Washington, and New York. The event that will officially kick off the final phase of the $200 Million Campaign will be Stetson Weekend on Feb. 19. The theme for this year is "Back For the Future." The second event will be the Music School Gala performance in Orlando at the Bob Carr Auditorium on March 20. "The most important card we can give to people is a pledge card, this is where the motto 'Victory comes from doing your best' comes into play. Twenty-seven thousand people in one a way or another will receive a pledge card with the inscription. Inside they will be asked to decide to which category they would like their gift to go toward and how long they are making this dedication to Stetson. The campaign will aptually start this week when we meet with the faculty and staff. I will put a bell on each card and ask them to make a pledge to the final phase," said Whittaker. Employees can participate in pledging through payroll deductions. A payroll deduction is when a por- [ see CAMPAIGN, page 1a ] The central objective of the campaign Is to raise money for the endowment improve technology and fund the completion of the library mtA2mJUIJjmXAMEM£Jl RESULTS: $184 MILLION CASH AND PLEDGES Endowment Annual Giving Program New Construction, Renovation & Equipment Stetson Society Program $58JWllion $73MMlkm "$19MiUioii $34 Million research day will be held by randi duhigg | The University announced last week that the first annual Undergraduate Scholarship and Performance Day will take place onApril 16. Dean Grady Ballenger first proposed the idea of an undergraduate research day upon his arrival at Stetson. Ballenger "realized that we as a university have much to be proud of in terms of undergraduate academic research/ performance," according to Dr. Kevin Riggs, head of the planning committee for USAPD. The committee is made up of Ballenger, Riggs, Jan Kindred, John Rasp, KimReiter, Mercedes Tichenor, Robert Boerth, and Tandy Grubbs. "The idea here is to take advantage of the fact that many students across the university are already engaged in research, scholarship, or artistic endeavors," said Riggs. He went on to say, "We would like the USAPD event to have the flavor of an interdisciplinary academic conference, where academic m "We hope that-[those attending] will see the interconnectedness of the different academic disciplines and note common methods of inquiry and argumentation." scholarship is celebrated." Undergraduate Scholarship and Performance Day will be set up very much like a professional conference. Riggs said that "while many of these students have [had] the opportunity to present their work at pro- fessional • meetings across the country, we would like to provide an additional opportunity for them to show off their wonderful work to faculty and their fellow students." Applications for USAPD, including an abstract and a letter of recommendation from a sponsoring faculty member, will be accepted until March 12. Riggs said, "These abstracts (and letters) will be reviewed by a committee of faculty to ensure the highest academic standards for the conference." He also said that the abstracts will be published and available to all that attend. The sessions will be spread across campus to allow all students an opportunity to sit in on portions of the event. "We hope that [those attending] will see the interconnectedness of the different academic disciplines and note common methods of inquiry and argumentation," said Riggs. He went on to say, "the attending students (and faculty) may leam something of interest outside of their own academic area of study or major. This of course is one of the goals of a liberal arts education." According to Ballenger, there will also be a luncheon with all presenting students and sponsoring faculty invited to attend. The keynote speaker, according to Riggs, will be Dr. John Mateja, Dean of the College of Science at Murray State University. Mateja is a past president of the national origination the Council on Undergraduate Research. Additionally, the Gary L. Maris Awards for Academic Excellence will be awarded to the best presentations. Information about and applications for USAPD will be available shortly at www.stetson.edu/departments/ physics/usapd or by contacting Dr. Riggs. Applications should be sent to USAPD, Box 8335, Department of History, Stetson University. Randi Duhigg is the Sports editor of The Reporter. utoday m IN IHE'REFOHIhR OPINIONS: Has the Values Council met its goals? column; page 4a LIFE: Yoga offers a way to relax-if you don't fall asleep, column, page 2b SPORTS: Men's basketball beats Mercer, Troy State, story, page 4b Student analyzes the Values Council BY jeff hamrick | As students who are concerned about the university's values commitments, we should review the goals of the Council and evaluate its performance during its first semester of operation. This column will draw mostly from the Council's Stetson University Hertiage and Values document. We should begin by taking the list of goals enumerated in this document and dividing those goals into three groups: passive goals, active goals, and vague goals. Our working definition of those goals will be as follows. [ read this story in Opinions, page 4a ] Give a little time, give a little blood by luis maldonado | Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the OUCH! Actually, it's not that bad. Giving blood is something that everyone should do. It's a rather simple, process that takes little time. For starters, the donor is asked question regarding illnesses and past sexual history. (S)he is then required to provide a sample of blood to see if it contains enough iron. They draw the sample (relax, it feels like an ant bite) from either an earlobe or an index finger and drop it into a blue liquid. If everything goes well, that is if the sample sinks to the bottom of the liquid within 15 seconds, the donor is all set for the grand occasion. [ read this story in Life, page 1b ] New baseball era begins this Friday by chris tunno | A new era of Stetson Hatter baseball begins Friday night when tjie Melching Park Gang heads south for Mark Light Stadium in Coral Gables to take on the third-ranked Miami Hurricanes in one of Florida's oldest rivalries. On paper, the Hurricanes look like the big favorite returning two star pitchers and a core of hitters that would make any pitcher think twice before stepping on the mound. The Hatters are not Miami's average early season whipping doll. Stetson was picked to finish first in the TAAC by Baseball America and boasts the 27th best recruiting class in the nation. [ read this story in Sports, page 4b ] ^®&@SM epMr^e.|!stetspn "^5 ^'*SI5EP^ mff:5 5 :¥!^ f-' ^&rp&f^&- 1fP Sf SPlt iSiM^