The Stetson Reporter

UJ < a. O tt IL life | Last Monday night, Life in General once again kicked off the school year, jammin' on the Hat Rack Patio. On Tuesday night, Harland Williams, a comedian, took center stage in the Rinker Field House. CSA activities wrapped with a dive in movie showing, 'Something About Mary,' and having contests and various trivia games through the night. [ coyer, section B ].| wed 01 sept-99 issue 02 volume 112 ETF calls for green literacy by jeff hamrick | Anne- Hallum doesn't ordinarily get angry at the thought of running car engines. When she found out that a student—who was in class—had left one running near Presser Hall last year, though, she wrote a letter to The Re- _ porter condemning the lack of environmental sensitivity. Today Hallum says that this kind' of behavior can be corrected with education and ecological literacy. Hallum recently finished a preliminary outline of a plan that she says will "integrate environmental knowledge into academic courses and in extracurricular programs and projects." The proposal is currently under review by the Environmental Task Force, a subcommittee created by the Values Council. The Values Council is a group of interested faculty, staff, and students who support the elevation of the university's "values commitments." The associate professor of political science said that the university's environmental sciences program is competitive, but that "main edges" possessed by the university's competitors are "money and numbers of people." "I think that we. are holding our own," said Hallum. "The environmental sciences program has undergone extraordinary growth over the past year." Dr. Paul Croce, chair of the environmental sciences committee, con- firmed this information. Croce said that "the biggest reasons [for the growth of the program] have nothing to-do with Stetson. Environmental issues are hot—and for good rea- son. Hallum, who teaches a class on environmentalism and politics, argues in her report that the university must more effectively publicize its environmental outreach programs. The founder of Alliance For International Reforestation (Guatemala) points out that the university offers more environmental studies classes than Rollins College. In the report, Hallum also recommends that "Student Life officials could incorporate conservation into their training of resident advisers and practice and teach conservation at [ see CURRICULUM, page 3a ] i\ Ai 'Ml t .] I] t ll'.l 'I X : *f&&§$a8&?a*''■'■'■* On Aug. 6, students, faculty, and staff cametogether to devise a strategy to reform the college campus into a haven of learning by julie gowan | After nearly ten years of seeking out protection for gays at Florida's public and private university campuses, leaders from differing colleges involved in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) groups held a statewide meeting to discuss future measures to bring this issue to the front lines of policy making. On August 6 the University of South Florida (USF) sponsored a day-long meeting inviting individuals from public and private Florida institutions of higher education who are working on issues of sexual orientation. Students, faculty, and staff were part of the meeting; representatives of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Equality Florida attended as well. Over 41 members of different GLBT groups met at the conference to plot various strategies on such issues as an ongoing proposal to change the equal opportunity policy based on sexual orientation, domestic partner benefits, and campus support systems. "We wanted the meeting to be free and open to anyone interested in working in a collegial, constructive manner toward equality regardless of sexual orientation in our institutions of higher education," said Todd Martinez-Padilla Simmons, director of Media Relations at USF. The meeting also touched base on expanding campus programs for homosexual students and campaigning for the schools to extend benefits, but it focused mainly on "the anti-discrimination language found on college campuses," said Simmons. The three speakers who headlined the event were Sue Flaig, Nadine Smith, and Stratton Pollitzer. Flaig is the director of Human Resources from Hillsborough Community College. Flaig discussed the new domestic partner policy — the only one of its kind offered by an agency of the State of Florida. Flaig played a leading role in the creation and implementation of this measure. Smith and Pollitzer are executive and assistant director of Equality Florida. The two lead a statewide GLBT organization leadership roundtable in Key West. Both gave information on goals that the Equality Florida network is pursuing in the 2000 legislative session. "Activists also each completed a survey on campus climate issues that revealed 45 percent had experienced.discrimination at their institutions because of their sexual orientation and that nearly 94 percent know someone at their schools who hides his/her sexual orientation out of fear of potential discrimination.. About 65 percent said they would be interested in domestic partner benefits package if their institutions authorized them," said Simmons. Simmons announced a coordinating committee is to be formed and composed of one student/faculty member and one student member of any institution of higher education in Florida where individuals seek representation. Fourteen meeting attendants accepted membership on the body and will begin work immediately on attracting additional members from other campuses and examining equal-opportunity issues. Luis Perez, Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual Association (GALBA) chairman at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), said, "All people interested in efforts to make colleges and university environments better aware of gay students' needs should get involved in any way they can." The meeting was made possible due to a close electronic networking of Central Florida colleges'/universities' gay groups of which GALBA at ERAU created and maintain. To get more involved in these issues and more concerning differing sexual orientation, contact the GLBT group on campus, Common Ground. Sara Cotner spearheaded the group last year and sophomore Jason Croxton is now president. Julie Gowan is the News editor for The Reporter. Mclntyre is now coordinator of community service by julie gowan | Courtney Mclntyre, the former Values Council coordinator, has now taken over as the Community Service coordinator to create more awareness about the need for this service in the West Volusia County area. ' The shift in position came about ■ this summer, when an administrative staff member was' needed to run the program. Mary Ann Rogers, President Lee's executive assistant, stepped into Mclntyre's previous position as coordinator for the Values Council. "Due to the need and interest in volunteerism, I felt I could help bring more awareness to the program," said Mclntyre. "I was chair of the Community Service task force last year and, having established the structure of the values council being the coordinator, and working with President Lee, I fully believe in all of the values and how they're being implemented." "However, I saw the need to have an office as a clearinghouse for volunteerism and community service on campus and took the opportunity to do so," said Mclntyre. In order to get students "more on fire" for community service, Mclntyre has implemented some changes into the various organizations that do perform community service throughout the area, and bringing students and agencies together for a common cause. Into the Streets, a student-run community service organization, will now hold office on the second floor of the Carlton Union Building, where they will be matching students with various agencies in the West Volusia county area based on their personal interests and schedules. "Into the Streets has done a great job in the past with community service and I know will continue to do so. With student leaders leading the path down to getting more students involved will get everyone in the Stetson community involved," said Mclntyre. The Community Service office will be housed across the hall from Into the Streets. However, the offices won't be ready until after Labor Day. Both offices will work in conjunction with one another and run their operations off of a two-file cabinet system. "What the two-file cabinet system means is that students who received the' community service form from their Resident Assistants and returned to the office will display their interests in what type of interests they have, situation preferences, list special skills they have, if in need of transportation and time preference. What will then happen is that the office will cross reference the students' wants' with agencies in the area, and match them up as best we can," said Mclntyre. The RAs got a taste of just a few agencies that are in need of volunteers in the area. Five groups of 10 to 15 RAs were sent to the Duvall Home for Handicap Children, The House Next Door, the YMCA, Salvation Army, and the Gillespie Museum. . "I think all of us got something different out of the experience," said Chris Day, RA for Stetson Hall. "All of us did various things, but it made us more aware of how much volun teering is needed in the area, not just for the agencies' sake, but to bring, a unity among students." First-year students also participated in the yearly FOCUS event Into the Streets Day. Mclntyre commented, "The turnout was great! We had over 80 students attend and went to more sites and got them really involved." "Many of the first-year students already performed community service in their high schools and want to get involved here and I think that's great," said Mclntyre. Mclntyre, quoting President H. Douglas Lee, said that students should "make a difference in this world. Pay attention to the level of your expectations—what you dream about and what you hope for—because hope and dreams sometimes come true." Julie Gowan is the News editor. ALANA house finished BY KAITLIN BELLEROSE | The university took a firm step towards realizing what they have put only in print in the past few years. Over the summer the university requisitioned funds for a house to be used by ALANA (African-American, Latino/a, Asian-American, and Native American students). Located two doors down from the Counseling Center, the ALANA House marks a visible effort by the university to act on what it had promised in its mission statement. "Building on Stetson's Christian tradition, we pursue truth in an open and caring environment that is socially and religiously diverse." Organized by Dr. Leonard Nance, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and associate professor of sociology, ALANA House will provide a means for students of underrepresented groups to meet and discuss current events and problems. ALANA itself began approximately one year ago. The Diversity Council, led by Dr. Nance, had brought in a consultant group to gauge social relations at the university. According to a presentation given by Director of Institutional Research John Tichenor, ALANA issues will play an integral part in achieving greater diversity in and around campus. Nance examined the situations of other universities and discovered that many of them had multicultural centers.' "Since diversity is keynoted at Stetson we considered the opportunity to explore the possibility" said Nance. "I think it is a major change in approach and attitude," stated Nance in response to. a query about Stetson's approach to diversity. With the funds received from the university, Nance hopes to "see a lot of discussions and maybe even small classes as a possibility," in the ALANA House. Members of ALANA also hope that the ALANA House will serve as a location where many different clubs will hold their meetings and speeches will be given * about issues concerning ALANA. The ALANA House could house mailboxes for the various clubs, too. The ALANA House faces an uphill battle to gain recognition in the campus community. "I think it is going to take a few dedicated individuals to galvanize the situation," stated junior English major Luis Maldonado. Added junior'English major Belkys Torres, "It's the ALANA house's duty to make a good impression." Some ALANA students feel that the ALANA House should draw in more than just students. "The faculty needs to become more involved," stated senior finance major Iris Owens. The ALANA House hopes to also attract the upper level administrators. "I think it is wonderful that the university is providing ALANA students to house offices and to organize meetings. It will be a valuable asset for programming in the coming year," said sophomore Brian Crooks. Further discussion of the ALANA group about the ALANA House will come this Friday. There the group hopes to rename the House and to agree on the basic function of the ALANA House. Kaitlin Bellerose is the Opinions editor. Communication dept. adds two new teachers by brian Campbell | The communication department announced the doubling of its department with the hiring of two new faculty members: Dr. Cindy Irizarry and Dr. Jeffrey Woodyard. Offering full programs in communications studies and theatre arts, as well as a journalism minor, the department stresses a strong liberal arts training in communication theory and practice, as well as performance art for the theatre program. . Stetson hopes to further develop and expand the horizons of the Communications Studies and Theatre Art program, and with the addition of Irizarry and Woodyard, it seems'possible. , Irizarry, a graduate of Nebraska University, specializes in the areas ofOrganizationai^'.^aiuuicationsandGendei u..v. '' ', . "• vibusly an assistant professor at Hofstra University in Long Island, [ read this story in News, page 2a ] Innsbruck proves to be a valuable journey IN CLASS: Dr. David Dysart, this year's.McEniry winner, teaaies students at Innsbruck, photo byjohn rasp [ read this story in Life, page 1 b ] Men's soccer begins quest for TAAC title by chris tunno | Lastyear,.the Stetson men's soccer team made their first Trans American Athletic Conference playoff appearance under first year coach Sean Murphy. Murphy came to Setson from after serving as an assistant at Atlantic Coast Conference soccer powerhouse Clemson University. In his first season, the Hatters went 9-9-1 and won their first TAAC playoff game against Campbell 2-0. The Jacksonville Dolphins halted the Hatters progress with a 4-0 drubbing in the second round. This season, the Hatters are looking to go back to the tournament for some unfinished business. Stetson was picked to finish fifth, with with one first place vote, in the TAAC by the coaches. Coach Murphy seems optimistic about the projected ranking, though. [ read this story in Sports, page 4b ] tsijfilS ~ji