The Stetson Reporter

STETSON U...JN.IJV E ,R S I T Y Town hall meeting draws 46 by andy dehnart | Twenty-five students attended the campus-wide town hall meeting Monday njght, which drew 21 administrators who answered student questions in a round table format. In response to the Emily Hall town meeting last week that dealt primarily with air conditioning issues, the Council for Vice Presidents, along with The Reporter and the Emily Residence Hall Council, sponsored the question and answer session which lasted for nearly two hours. Becauseofthe .— Vice President for Facilities Management Dave Noyes said that, overall, there are about 139 fewer spaces on campus then there are registered vehicles. 'OS < a z o low turnout, attendants formed a circle for an informal, continually back-and-forth interchange between students, staff, and administrators. Questions started with parking on campus. Vice President for Facilities Management Dave Noyes said that, overall, there are about 139 fewer spaces on campus then there are registered vehicles. He said that at Stetson Hall, there is a shortage of 20 spaces, and between Chaudoin and -Emily Halls, there are about 130 fewer spaces than registered vehicles. He said a task force will be formed to address the parking problems. Considering the shortage of spaces, some students asked why cars parked on the grass were being ticketed. Chief of Public Safety Frank Mussoline said that, in response to those concerns, about one-third of recently- issued tickets have been voided in traffic court appeals, but said that people parking in fire lanes and on the grass will still be ticketed. The second question addressed the construction of a chapel. Vice President for University Relations Mark '" [seeTOWN HALL, page 3a] Miss America was student here in 1992 BY andy dehnart | The newly-crowned Miss America was, at one time, a Stetson student. Nicole Johnson was crowned Miss American Saturday evening. The 24-year-old represented Virginia in the pageant. From fall of 1992 to spring of 1993, Lauren Nicole ; . '. " - . Johnson was a registered Stet- 7^ V-""*"" y" son student, according to the registrars office. She went on to graduate from the University of South Florida. Before that, she was a student at Stetson. She lists a Greenfeather community service award in 1992 as one of her scholastic honors, along with president of the Baptist union and president and secretary of the Student Union Board. Johnson recently earned a masters of journalism at Regent University. She wants to be a "national news anchor and national diabetes spokesperson," according to her biography. She's currently employed as a writer/producer for 700 Club promotions. Johnson's platform issue is diabetes awareness; her talent is jazz vocals. Andy Dehnart refuses to be commodified and judged while wearing a bathing suit. : 5. i^ \ ■*. MISS AMERICA: Former Stetson student Nicole Johnson is crowned. PHOTO COURTESY MISS AMERICA ORGANIZATION. UJ < a. i_ z o life | The Cultural Arts Center of DeLand is currently exhibiting twenty African-American quilts in its gallery. The exhibit also displays biographies of each quilter next to her quilts. The exhibit examines the quilting techniques passed down through generations of African-American women. ■ [ see Life page 3 b ] W% ^ ; ife?i -* -.jbrE i: IS-.X m wed 2 3 sept issue 5 volume 111 A K OVER ELDERHOSTEL: Participants in this year's first Elderhostel week gather in the CUB lobby (above) and eat breakfast (right), photos by randi duhigg by julie gowan-I Starting the last week of September and continuing throughout the year, students come face to face with senior citizens dining in the cafeteria. Often, many students do not know why the senior citizens are here; many think it is to visit their grandchildren or enjoy the small town of DeLand, but these seniors are attending Stetson to leam and enrich their knowledge by participating in the Elderhostel program. "These are a group of people that grew up in the fifties, sixties and seventies and range from 55- 70 years old who worked for companies with a retirement plan; they're retired and a very active senior group. They're not done, tired, or finished of learning," said Bill O'Connor.; director of Continuing Education- Stetson is a host to Elderhostel Incorporated, which is an international program out of Boston. O'Connor and Pat Benson, assistant director of the program, follow a certain procedure in order to promote Stetson in the Elderhostel program. O'Connor seeks three professors to teach week- long classes that are provided for the Elderhostels. O'Connor and Benson review the material and make a catalog copy to be printed in the Elderhostel newsletter. Benson notifies instructors nine months before the first week to submit proposals for the classes they would like to teach. Dr. Donald Musser, pro- . fessor of religious studies and director of the Honors Program, is one of the teachers who has been active in the Elderhostel program since the beginning. "There are over 40 sites in Florida running the Elderhostel program, and I have been told numerous times that Stetson is the best for the program," said O'Connor. O'Connor and staff have to coordinate not only meal times and classes but also numerous evening activities and day activities for the seniors. Examples . include a trip to the lighthouse in Daytona and nature walks at Lake Woodruff in DeLand. Being in its 15th year, the Stetson Elderhostel program provides an avenue for the individuals to do three things: travel, indulge in social interaction with 20-40 people all over the states, and learn. The seniors participating in the group pick the weeks to attend Stetson and what classes to take. Each program that Stetson hosts is completely different from the previous one. The curriculum is diverse and often seniors looking at the week programs want to take two out of three classes offered during a particular week. The program at Stetson has attracted seniors from over 49 states; Alaska is the only state that has not had a resident attend the program here. "One senior who was out West at an Elderhostel program had said he attended over 160 Elderhostel programs and Stetson was the best one out of all his visits," said O'Connor. O'Connor believes it is Stetson's academic popularity, "strength, great professors, and environment that attract the seniors to the area, making Stetson one of the top choices of an Elderhostel program to attend. The classes are seven and a half hours in length spread ,out over five days much like a college class without exams and textbooks. The format is lecture and discussion. "Dr; Reddish and Dr. Musser are known to be two of the popular teachers amongst the Elderhostel community," added O'Connor. Dr. Musser teaches a diverse course within the Religious Studies department. Musser will be teaching the philosophy of religion regarding the problem of evil,, the natural world and spirituality, a course on religious truths entitled "Would you know it if you found it," and a course called "The End." In the past, Musser has taught a course on atheists, agnostics, and unbelievers as well. ' He said "I teach in the program for a variety of reasons. I find it stimulating; the seniors bring years of wisdom and are very interested in learning. Once I found it to be a terrific experience, I kept on teaching in the program. It's a program that is full of stimulating, serendipitous happenings that I always enjoy," said Musser. Musser has also volunteered to teach at other Elderhostel programs such as one in Colorado because of the experience and joy it brings to him. O'Connor has had much experience working with the senior community before coming to Stetson and feels he is a strong leader with creativity and always lending a futuristic aspect to the program. O'Connor added at one point in time there were over 600 seniors on a waiting list just to attend the program at Stetson. In response to this demand, there is another program held in Daytona Beach for seniors from across the country and state to attend. "The Elderhostels love being around the college kids. It gives them a chance to interact with them and attend different college functions to support the school," said O'Connor. Many of the seniors attend senior recitals, the baseball games, theater productions, and lectures that students are participating in. A good portion of the Elderhostel also take information about Stetson back home to circulate the richness and academic quality that Stetson portrays. Julie Gowan is the News editor of "The Reporter and a sophomore communication studies major. \ i-i i S '' I ' D E c;; r: Bill Clinton threw away his big chance by andy dehnart | Amid cigars, hundreds of pages of lurid sex acts, immunity deals, boxes of evidence, videotapes, rumors, 'Wag the Dog' theories, hidden microphones, and stained dresses from the Gap, we've completely missed the point. Salon magazine's revelation that bloodthirsty republicans like Henry Hyde can be scum, too, sahently illustrated republicans' utter hypocrisy and, more importantly, that sex scandals involving politicians are nothing new. So why the charges of moral bankruptcy and accompanying cries for impeachment, censure, or beheading? [ read this story in Forum, page 5a ] Collecting at school BEANIES, BABY!: Ty's Beanie Babies are a popular collectible on campus, photo by sara rosenblad [ read this story in Life, page 1b ] Partnership leads to a new stadium by randi duhigg | With the construction of Stetsons new baseball stadium, Jeff Altier, director of athletics, said, "It really brings to us an opportunity for our baseball program to take the next step up." It also brings together a unique partnership between Stetson University, the City of DeLand, and the DeLand Sports Redevelopment Association. Altier explained, The city was going to build a new facility and we were going to build a new facility but it didn't make sense to have two facilities... at a level less than [what we will have now] m a small town. So the idea for Melching field at Conrad Park was born. [ read this story in Sports, page 4b ] **r*B»w*pj(wr*T'TWT :IStgfefrSW^