The Stetson Reporter

The S te tsonfiRepor ter ffbrida's Otdest Colkgiatt 9{ezvspaper Extended Forecast Highs in the upper r, 70s, lows in the low ff/i \ Tuesday '■'tfl - WW7\ Wednesday Thursday Source: Novff-loumai January 28, 1997 Stetson University • DeLand, Florida Volume 109, Number 14 This Week... Car buying tips Beware the dangers of purchasing a car without proper preparation, page 2a New student lounge opens The Lynn Business Center has a brand new student hangout, page 3a. Gort returns Michael Raymond discusses the Honors Program as Roscoe T. Gort, page 4a. Super Bowl XXXI Coverage of the Rumble for the Gumbo, page 6a K/k'-v./ . 4vuvC\\ Race Relations How well do blacks and I whites get along? Pagelb Arts & Entertainment Reviews of Mexican restau- © rant Los Molcajetes and current movies, pages 2-3 b. Correction The World Wide Web address for the duPont-Ball Library catalog database is: http://cat.stetson.edu Financial Planning director fired by Davina Yetter the stetson reporter Director of Student Financial Planning Jack Agett, a Stetson employee of 10 years, was fired over the winter holiday. Agett was released due to a university decision to bring about "significant changes in our Enrollment Management program," according to a memo from Vice President of Campus Life James Beasley, who has temporarily as sumed some of Agetf s responsibilities. Recently retired planning associate director Norma Allen is working part-time to help fill the void left by Agett. Beasley did not give specific reasons for Agetf s release, but did say that rumors that Agett embezzled University money or caused a bad audit were "completely false." He added that Agett had an outstanding record f or<f ol- lowing government regulations. Non-traditional services established by Davina Yetter the stetson reporter , To address the needs of a changing student body, Stetson University has established an Office for Non-Traditional Student Services. Stetson defines non-traditional students as age 24 or older, married, parents, or in graduate programs. The university has 189 full- and part-time undergraduates classified as non-traditional students, ranging in age from 24 to 59. More than 100 are women and 147 are enrolled full time. Junior psychology major Beth Joslin of DeLand, herself a non-traditional student, will coordinate the new service. "Beth's door is open and she's well-equipped to help individual students and to build the program - for all non-traditional students," Vice President of Campus Life James Beasley said. Associate Professor of Sociology Leonard Nance, the university's advisor on diversity issues, and Assistant Professor of Psychology Carriella Nance are advising Joslin in her new role. According to Joslin, the office will provide assistance with the academic and personal issues older students face. She pointed out that most non-traditional students haven't been in the classroom for years, although they bring a "wealth of experience" to the educational process. Many such students also juggle several additional roles, including parent, spouse, care-giver or full-time worker. Joslin had two years of college credits when she left a career as a professional photographer to enter Stetson in 1995 at age 36. As she explains, she's never regretted her decision to pursue a degree, but she has been surprised at the range of problems she and other older students face. Added to the normal pressures of academe, non-traditional students deal with anxieties such as loss of income, incurring tuition debt, a sense of isolation, guilt over loss of family time, competing with younger students who haven't been away from the classroom for years and fear of failure. "On a personal level, I have had to handle a much higher level of anxiety this semester because I'm taking math and science with a lab for the first time_in many, years," she said. "Add to that my other classes and responsibilities and it's been very difficult, quite a challenge." While building a support system for adult learners, Joslin also hopes to increase the university community's awareness of their special circumstances. Stetson faculty and staff members are accustomed to traditional students, but they also have been receptive to finding ways to accomodate older students' needs, she said. From an office in the Commuter Lounge at the Carlton Union Building, Joslin is surveying Stetson's older students to determine what problems and areas of interest she needs to address. After an assessment followed up by interviews, she will schedule regular fora on pertinent issues. "After meetings with the three deans, I was very encouraged," she said. "They not only are interested in the survey results, but want me to present them to the faculty at the beginning of next semester." Joslin's office hours are 2:30- 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and 1-4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. 24/7 visitation policy under consideration for next fall by David Young- the stetson reporter A recently passed student government bill calling for 24-hour, seven-day-a-week visitation hours in select residence halls is currently under consideration, according to the Department of Residential Life. The visitation policy bill passed by SGA called for "one coed hall consisting of mostly upperclassmen," such as Emily or Stetson Hall, to switch to a 24/7 policy in time for the spring roommate change week. The bill states that the number of incident reports issues in the building during the following semester would then be examined, in order to determine whether "the new policy has a statistically significant effect on student behavior." Approximately half of SGA's senators were present at the meeting at which the visitation bill was approved. In a memo to Emily Hall residents, Associate Dean for Campus Life Dave Bergen stated that the department "did not believe that it would be appropriate to implement a modification to the policy for the spring semester." "Any amendment to our current visitation policy could affect a resident's decision when choosing their living environment," Bergen wrote. Noting in the memo that the bill was passed "by a very narrow margin," Bergen added, "This does not imply that we either do or do not support a change in this policy." Bergen said the department plans to- "do a full review of this proposal" during this semester, obtaining input from of the Office of "Any amendment to our current visitation policy could affect a resident's decision when choosing their living environment." -Dave Bergen Institutional Research and a committee to consist of students, Residential Life staff, and student government representatives. The information, if adequate, will then be given to Vice President of Campus Life James Beasley for further review, he said. . Beasley said he would be willing to support the implementation of a 24/7 policy in select residence halls in the fall semester, if such a measure is backed by sufficient re- see VISITATION, page 2a Speculation has surfaced that Agett was asked to leave because he disagreed with the suggestions of an outside consulting firm to change the financial aid process. Beasley said that while Agett "was not as enthusiastic as others about the changes," he was not released because he disagreed. Beasley said the consulting firm's recommendations were not yet complete, but stated he hoped they would "strengthen the university's ability to fulfill student financial needs and improve ser vice. Beasley also denied that the changes would involve the "bait and switch" tactic of promising incoming students large financial aid packages while decreasing the amount offered each following year. Beasley said that the university did not release Agett as part of a downsizing effort, nor does he expect to fire anyone else in the financial planning department. A national search will be conducted to find Agetf s replacement. The university will also hire an entry-level financial aid counselor. In the meantime, Beasley will work with new student financial aid packages and will assist students and parents. Prior to working at Stetson, Agett was a director of financial aid at the University of South Florida, Florida International University and the State University of New York. Stetson Stars in the Shining Star Photo courtesy of Josette Galtieri Participants in the Hollis International Program take a break during their trip to Puerto Rico. Pictured are (left to right) Julie Schmitt, Will Joseph, Carlos Montenegro, Josette Galtieri, Kelly Sullivan, and Mark Kenneally. Story, page lb. Ebonics controversy stirs debate by Angela Hamel the stetson reporter "G mornin' class, taday we be learnin' log rythms?" asks Stetson music major William Brown. "If a teacher came into my child's class with that statement, I'd snatch my kid out of school so fast!" The issue is over Ebonics, or what some are calling "the legitimate richness" of African American spoken English. Jan 22, the Oakland, Calif, school board declared that many of its 28,000 black students, who make up a little more than half the district's pupils, did not speak standard English. Rather, they conversed in a distinctive language spoken by American blacks called Ebonics, a name taken from the words ebony and phonics. In making the decision, the board effectively equated students speaking Ebonics with other students whose first language is Chinese or Spanish. Oakland Schools Superintendent Carolyn Getridge hassaid the board's resolution was an effort to acknowledge that, "African-Americans have a different language system and we want to recognize that and build on that." Nationwide the Ebonics debate has furnished political cartoonists and comedians with plenty of raw material. Bill Cosby even suggested in the Wall Street Journal recently that movies where Ebonics is spoken should perhaps include English subtitles. But educators and some black leaders are in a frenzy. Should Ebonics be taught in schools? "No," said Stetson student Deonzell Green. "What happens when these kids get out of school and try to get jobs? They will be at a disadvantage later for not having learned standard English." Dr. Patrick Coggins, the director of Stetson's Multicultural Education Institute, states that Ebonics is not a distinctive language, and should not be considered one until it reaches the point where it is codified, or standardized, the stage Vr. Patrick Coggins languages such as Creole have reached. For the most part, Ebonics currently represents regionalized dialects, not universal speech patterns. As a result of this lack of codification, "Ebonics is not in the position to be taught," according to Coggins. But he adds that Ebonics training would help teachers, because they would be able to better understand their students. The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Jan. 19 that the school board in Oakland, Calif., was both foolish and insulting to black students throughout the nation when it declared that many of its black students speak a language distinct from traditional English. Speaking on the NBC News program "Meet the Press," Jackson did not hesitate to wade into the explosive racial and educational issue thrust into prominence last week by the Oakland school announcement. "I understand the attempt to reach out to these children, but this is an unacceptable surrender, borderlining on disgrace," he said. "It's teaching down to our children." Coggins believes that if a student wants to succeed he or she must learn English. This does not mean that educators should ignore these American "subcultures." As for Ebonics' supposed aid to students' self esteem, Coggins rebukes that a student is best served through knowing that he or she has the ability to learn and speak English effectively. If children are formally taught Ebonics'whaf s to prevent the rise of other "legitimately rich" dialects of English? What about "Spanglish?" Or what one Internet junkie calls "Hebonics," or Jewish English? "There's a tendency to laugh, rather than look at the underlying reasons behind an issue," Coggins said. "There are feelings of rejection, poverty, and discrimination at the heart of the issue." Coggins suggests that the Ebonics issue is "symptomatic of a greater problem in American society." The real issue, he says, is identity. "There's a whole segment of Americans who have been here for four hundred years, who are searching for identity through language," Coggins said. According to Coggins, the Ebonics issue suggests that many African Americans still do not feel see EBONICS, page2a