The Stetson Reporter

\ wed jan-03 http://reporter.stetson.edu LIFE: Best music of 2002 reviewed page lb S_JL_£_T_JS_CL_N U._N_I_V_E|R_S_XJL_Y WHAT'S INSIDE News 2A Opinions 4A Life IB Classifieds 2A Sports 5B Et Cetera 6a issue 12 volume 115 1 Florida's First Private College Newspaper OPINIONS: Joe Millionaire debated as bad reality TV page 4a Students rally for the values support staff By Amy Rigdon f,. NEWS EDITOR From the Carlton Union Building, people could hear the rally cries and honking coming from the direction of the intersection between Elizabeth and Flagler halls the early afternoon of Thursday Dec. 5. The commotion was the result of the Values . Rally The Values Rally, which occurred from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside the formal entrance to the university on Woodland Blvd., was held in response to the reductions and eliminations to the Office of Community Service, the Office of Environmental Affairs, the Alcohol Awareness Office, and the Chaplain's Office. The Values Rally was organized by a student, senior biomedical sciences major Courtney Nail, who worked closely with Courtney Brown, director of the Community Service Office. Brown's position is one associated with - the Values Council that is being reduced from full-time to part-time. Into the Streets, a community service organization assisted Nail in arranging the Values Rally. "We wanted to do this, so we could make a statement to the Stetson administration and community that students want to keep values as a part of campus," said Nail. "We feel frustrated because at times like these that our nation and university are going through that values should be the last thing to go. The values are the last thing to go because they are who we are and what we stand for, and in two years money will be gone, but values are everlasting." Many organizations on campus, as well as individual students, were informed of the Values Rally ahead of time and asked to participate and support the values' commitment. According to the flyer for the Values Rally, everyone should attend who is supportive of keeping values at the university. "I haven't seen Stetson students as excited or willing to get run over for a cause since I've been here," said senior biochemistry major Kasia Walosik. "It is fun and important, really important. Students who didn't know anything would come out here, learn what was going on, and put on a T-shirt to -support us. Students are always the • ones who are prone to protest because they are still passionate and ideal. I ;guess the administration would like to cushion their pockets rather than our responsibility to Mother Earth as well as the community of DeLand." - Supporters at the rally designed T- "shirts and signs with various slogans to provide a visual of their commitment to lvalues to the university and DeLand community. Some of the slogans included, "Values for Sale," "Save the Endangered Values," "All I want for Christmas is Values," "What do you Value?," "Values Matter," "Values does see RALLY, page 2a ^Reporter Contact Us 421 N. Woodland Blvd. # 8409 DeLand, FL 32723 386.822.7224 FAX 386.822.7233' [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] sports® stetson.edu [email protected] advertise® stetson.edu RESIDENTIAL living RA's anticipate return of residents By Julie Farricker associate news editor As the new semester begins, students have been returning to campus for the spring semester from a month-long break away from the university. Over the break, landscaping changes occurred, but most residence halls remained empty, awaiting the return of students. Students who remained in the halls were here for reasons such as nearby jobs, duties, or research. These students were charged a daily fee of $17. As for maintenance, some residence halls experienced a lack of hot water or heat for a few days, but Facilities Management fixed the problem for those students who were in the hall. Other students, when leaving in December, left the university for good due to graduation or withdrawing from school. These situations opened rooms around the campus. This past Saturday, Jan. 11, resident assistants (R.A.'s) returned to campus for spring training. Spring training is shorter than the week-long fall training, and in both training sessions the R.A.'s role and importance on campus was stressed. The R.A.'s are here to foster a sense of community on the floor by creating goals while also reinforcing the community standards by helping students to recognize and resolve conflicts. The R.A. helps reach the goals of the Department of Campus Life within the residence hall community. With training and supervision, the R.A. contributes to 'the creation of an educational environment in which residents are encouraged to develop their unique potential as responsible, contributing members of the university community. "Spring training not only reunites with fellow staff members, but it's a reminder of how crucial we are to student development here on campus, especially in the residence halls with first-year students," said John Palomba, junior chemistry major and second-year R.A. Jane Cordray-Brandon, director UNPACKING: Randi Davis removes from her car the few new additions for her dorm room in Hollis. photo by julie farricker of Career Services, also came to the training to speak with the R.A.'s about how to market the position they each hold and even participated in taking a ^ ",„ . Kiefsey Tempera- ment Sorter II, a self-examination that determines each person's traits of character much like the popular Myers- Briggs personality test. Resident assistants and hall directors are a source to s======= answer any questions about the resources Career Services has to offer. "I highly stress that all students take advantage of the offices here the "Spring training not only reunites with fellow staff members, but it's a reminder of how crucial we are to student development here on campus..." is perhaps one of the most vital for post-graduate success," said Palomba. When the dorms were reopened this past Sunday, . ... . Jan. 12, at noon, students possibly came back to smaller halls, but Residential Life, which also opened Sunday, assigned new students to empty rooms. Resident assistants around campus were also fewer than in the fall, but during the next few weeks, the open spots around campus will be filled. New R.A.'s are now in Emily and Stetson Halls, with vacant spots left in university has to offer. Career Services Gordis, Nemec, and Carson Halls. "The Resident assistant job is not only one in college, but it seems like an experience that one will* take from in future careers," said Jamie Haskins, a first-year religious studies major who's also considering applying for the position. Information sessions about the Resident Assistant position will be held Wednesday, January 15 and Monday, January 20 at 7 p.m. in the CUB 204/205. Those who are interested in applying to be a Resident Assistant for the 2003-2004 school year and haven't already picked one up should go to Residential Life to receive an application since they are due by January 23. Julie Farricker can be contacted at [email protected] and is a resident assistant. Professors publish leading logic software By Bryan Funk associate news editor The newest tool in teaching logic was published recently by two university philosophy professors. LogicWorks: The Next Generation is a logic course presented on CD-ROM. Through the use of multimedia and interactivity, it provides the sole resource needed by any introductory logic course. Already in use in classes at the university for three years, the software is the brainchild of Professor Rob Brady, chair of the Department of Philosophy, and Ron Hall, professor, of philosophy. Hall wrote the majority of the text, while Brady did the programming, organization, and compilation of the work. The program will be available for professors and students throughout the nation this semester. It is being published by The Philosopher's Information Center, a 35 year-old non-profit organization that also publishes The Philosopher's Index, a catalog of all the work done in the field of philosophy over the course of the last four decades. The idea for the program began over 15 years ago with the inception of the original LogicWorks system. Using programming skills he had taught himself as a programming analyst prior to teaching, Brady created LogicWorks as a way of helping his students to learn and understand the complex subject of logic. The original program and its various versions have been used by over 60,000 students in 200 universities throughout the nation, with some of its versions still in use: This record makes LogicWorks the most widely used software for . teaching logic. With ad- GRAPHIC COURTESY OF LOGICNEXT.COM vances in computer technology, Brady, stopped updating the original LogicWorks and began to conceptualize a more advanced version to take advantage of' the resources available through the internet and modern computers. After two years of considering different designs and more time spent coding, the current version of LogicWorks began to take shape. In its final form, the program showcases a variety of features to fa cilitate learning. The text is presented . in the form of a book, welcome familiarity to any student unfamiliar to learning via computer. Like a book, the text in the program can be bookmarked, highlighted, and notes can be appended to the text, all of which are saved between uses of the program. The size of the text can be altered, or it can be read in its entirety to aid students who suffer visual impairments. It can also be used in either a lab setting or on the student's personal computer. , Numerous Internet features are also integrated to help improve communication between the professor and the student. After each chapter, review'questions are presented to gauge the student's comprehension of the material presented in the text. These questions act as homework, and the professor can set the dates they must be completed. Once answered, the questions are automatically graded and stored where they can be viewed by an instructor. The questions are designed not only to test the student's knowledge, but also to encourage learning. If the student misses a question, a response is given which will help the student to understand the mistake and correct it in the future. "LogicWorks: The Next Generation is an effort to create the learning and teaching environment of the 21st century," said Brady. "The students' learning is enriched by the full integration of sound and. video, and by the interactivity. When they make mistakes LogicWorks tells them so, and gives hints to help them find the right answer." Practice exams can also be taken to prepare for final tests. The goal of all of these features is to free the professor from many tasks of education. Without having to review every misunderstanding of the subject matter, or grading numerous assignments,, the instructor is left free to focus on more important subjects in the class. Brady said that student response has so far been positive. "The curious thing with this method, I have to tell students not to try too hard. If you don't find an answer after ten tries, just come in and ask the professor," said Brady. Retailing for about $50, the software will be sold just like any traditional book. Just released, the program is already garnering mention in "Philosopher's Magazine." Brady and Hall hope to include more features and. improvements in subsequent editions. "The general purpose is really to transform the teaching of logic," said Brady. Bryan Funk can be contacted at bfunk@stetson. edu. http://reporter.s,tej^n.edu- ^^^^JBBM^^ifBElffi^^^^