The Stetson Reporter

SPORTS: Basketball celebrates new season page 5b issue 7 volume 114 OPINIONS:. Gun control doesn't make any sense page 4a JL JL \y\^ JL %JLJLJl\^JL JL highlights the environment By John Mills NEWS EDITOR The university community focused on the environment during the environmental rally That took place on campus last Thursday. The rally brought various environmentally oriented organizations into the public eye. Dining Services worked in conjunction with the Environmental Affairs Office for the rally. "I thought it was great. Anything that makes students more aware of the environment and want to take care of it is great," said Rachel Hallum, a sophomore sociology major. Dining Services, i.e. the Commons, served lunch and John Jett, director of Environmental Affairs, invited various organizations to have booths presenting information about themselves. "This is part of the monthly programs put on by Food Services," said Paul Marcaurelle, director of Dining Services. "It didn't take into consideration people with special dietary needs, and I think it should be more publicized," said sophomore business major Mike Kollenberg. The Volusia County Solid Waste Department and Environmental Services, Roots and Shoots and the Green Team all had booths at the rally. Marcaurelle invited Shade Tree Pickers, an environmentally, focused bluegrass band, to perform at the luncheon. "It's.only here for.us.to borrow, save some for tomorrow" is only one of the many environmentally focused song lyrics sang by the Shade Tree Pickers, "The purpose of the rally is to raise awareness of issues and to get people on board with our campus recycling programs," said Jett. Information about each of the organizations present was available at the booths. The Green Team is a campus organization whose goal is to "assist in the campus recycling program by empowering individuals to oversee the program within their respective buildings," according to a flier distributed by the . Green Team at the'rally. The organization from Volusia County passed out propaganda informing individuals about their options for recycling within Volusia County, com- . posing trash and how to cut down on litter. Contact John Mills at jmills@stetson. edu. Profess©!, kept from teaeBnite ©la ^Reporter C ORRECT1ONS _S__=23SSSSSZ_=S_SS5_S__3 1. "Faculty speaks on national tragedy" NEWS, Issue 5. Dr. Eugene Huskey's name was " spelled incorrectly. 2. "Town hall provokes discussion in Elizabeth Hall" NEWS, Issue 5. Ahmad Yakzan's characterization of jihad was misinterpreted. Jihad is the fight for the sake of Islam, and can take many forms. This does not imply violence on the part of those engaged in jihad. ^Reporter • Contact Us ~E 421 N. Woodland Blvd. #8409 DeLand, FL 32720-3751 386.822.7224 FAX 386.822.7233 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] By Teresa Schwarz MANAGING EDITOR D"\ r. Jeffery Woodyard, a J relatively new professor in —-/ the Communication Studies and Theater Arts Department, was not allowed to teach classes this semester. This surprised many students who had registered for the classes because he was the instructor. Woodyard has taught classes in the Africana Studies Department and the Communications Department over the last two years. He was scheduled to teach several classes this semester, including senior research for communication studies majors. When students returned for . classes this semester they were surprised to find that the courses had been either rescheduled with different professors or cancelled. As to the reasons why this change occurred over the summer, Grady Ballenger said, "All faculty contracts are issued by deans of the college or the schools. Specific assignments for faculty work are also the responsibility of the dean in consultation with department chairs." Ballenger, declining to comment on the specifics, said, "It would be inappropriate of me to offer to The Reporter any specific details about any individual faculty member's contract," Woodyard declined to comment on the situation because "the questions would be best answered by university administrators since they are taking this ■MsV^aff" action." "He's not afraid to address taboo issues,-which makes him so. interesting," said Tara Simone, a junior communication studies major. "1 think he was getting too much popularity too fast and that scared some faculty and administration." "I also do not think that it is right to not give anyone on campus...a reason for Dr. Woodyard's change in contract," said Hillary Smith, a junior communication studies major. Contact Teresa Schwarz at tschwarz&stetson. edu. "%, FT nil /f^H 003 Tl °n In0!0 XVJLCXiLJLJL ^\^JLJLJiJLJL\^ O kJ\J J? vAJLCAJL JL IL y JLJLJL-iJiJLILJL JrjLJL ngfinj___i _»_____ ^ss* ^%»___ Record number of students attend- clinic for tutoring By Amy Rigdon ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Available to any students that need assistance in math, the Math Clinic tutors university students four nights a week in Elizabeth Hall. This year the Math Clinic has been used by an unprecedented number of .students, which has created changes within the Math Department. Department chair and associate professor of mathematics Erich Friedman said, "There may be lots of different reasons that the Math Clinic is being used more this year than in past years. The three reasons that I think are most likely are perhaps due to the quality of students admitted, teachers are more challenging in pre- calculus classes this- year or that word finally got out about the Math Clinic and students are taking advantage of it." The student tutors who work at the Math Clinic have noticed the increase in students, too. "Last year there were usually only one or two students needing help," said Bruce Moser, a junior math and piano major. "This year it has increased dramatically, to 10 to 20 students a night. We had 29 students here one night, which is a maximum so far." In addition to Moser, there are four other students who work as tutors at the Math Clinic, which is open Monday through Thursday nights from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Some tutors alternate nights that they work at the Math Clinic, while others work there all four nights a week, but typically there are two or three tutors a night. "The math department used to hire tutors- based on word of mouth among math majors. But since this year the Math Clinic is understaffed with more students attending, the Math Department has been hiring tal- HELP: Junior tutor Bruce Moser helps first-year student Darius McPhall with his pre-calculus homework, photo by amy rigdon ented students, based on a teacher's recommendation, who are not math majors," said Friedman. "Several people quit because it was too overwhelming. We are constantly looking for interested people to work." Recently, the tutors received a pay raise so that they now earn eight dollars an hour. "The popularity of the Math Clinic coincides directly with our pay raise,", said Moser. ' Friedman agreed that a pay raise was overdue. "The pay raise is due to the fact the tutors were underpaid and because the Math Clinic needs students to work it," said Friedman. Even with the higher ratio of students to tutors, the Math Clinic is still able to help students without a problem. The Math Clinic offers tutoring to pre-calculus, business calculus, finite math, calculus and calculus I classes. Geometry, a new course offered this semester that is required for education majors, is not a course approved to receive help at the Math Clinic. The State of Florida's Board of Education changed its requirements this past year for education majors, and one of these changes requires a geometry course, which the university did not have at the time. "In the beginning of the semester, I said to send the geometry students who needed help to the Math Clinic, but now the Math Department is no longer encouraging them to go there," said Friedman. "I told the geometry teacher that she should offer more help to students because the Math Clinic was not available for her students." Danyelle Harris, a junior math education major, who tutors at the Math Clinic, understands the frustration of the geometry students who need help because she is one of them. Harris said, "The Dean of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Friedman will not allow geometry students at the Math Clinic because they say that math tutors are not necessarily equipped to tutor geometry. They are afraid that too much time would be spent with the geometry students when the Math Clinic's emphasis is [on] pre-calculus and calculus. The irony is that the geometry class is required for education majors, and as it is over half the class has dropped because see TUTORING, page 2a ©[TDD By John Mills NEWS EDITOR International students were recently given an . opportunity to increase their chances of attaining a green card. Attorneys from Maney and Gordon, a law firm in Tampa, assisted international students in applying for the green card lottery, "[The international students] need a lawyer to help them because it [applying for a green card is] so director of International Programs at the university. Maney and Gordon hold similar assistance days at eight other regional schools. The green card lottery, is held annually. Applications for the lottery are always due in October, and the applicants are generally notified if they are selected within eight months. Those people whose names are drawn in the lottery are allowed to apply "[The international students] need a lawyer to help them because it [applying for a green card] is so bloody difficult," bloody difficult," said Nancy Leonard, for a green card without a sponsor. Justin Greth, a client service representative for Maney and Gordon, said that in order to obtain a green card one must have a sponsor unless his/her name is pulled in'the green card lottery. If a person has his/her name drawn in the lottery, he or she does not need a sponsor. "We do this as a service, free of charge," said Greth. Leonard said that some countries, such as Canada and Mexico, are not eligible for the lottery because, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, there are already enough citizens from those countries living in the States compared to the number of citizens that live in the States that are from other countries. Greth said that the Immigration and Naturalization Service divides the world into six regions and allocates a certain number of lottery winners to each of the regions. Being from a region of the world with very few people living in the States increases one's chances^of being, drawn in the lottery. Greth said that on average there is a one in 70 chance of being pulled in the lottery. Thirty-one out of 105 students at the university that are on student visas applied in the lottery. "I would like to stay in the States and work. It doesn't cost you anything to apply [for the lottery]...so why not?" said Ulugbek Shodmonov, a senior general business major from Uzbekistan. Contact John Mills at [email protected]. ^H___^_HH^I__^