The Reporter

wed \ _. Lu»x-3^~. /A jan-04 i N S I D E http://rspsrSsr.stetson.edu WHAT'S inside News 2a Opinions 4.4 Life is Classifieds 2a Sports 5 s Etcetera 6a SPORTS; UCF defeats men's basketball at home page 5b IDIOMS; "Bet on Stetson" raises funds, enrollment page 4a Student killed in Tulsa over winter break By Liz Erlenbach NEWS EDITOR On Dec. 26, the university community lost one of its members. Tom C. Lane, a senior political science major, died in his home of Tulsa, Oklahoma of brain injuries resulting from being purposefully struck by an assailant's vehicle, following an altercation in which they were both involved. In spite of the winter break, students learned of Lane's death quickly. The office of Marketing and Communications sent out an e-mail informing students, faculty, and staff on Jan. 6, and the news traveled by word of mouth as well. "As the student grapevine goes, a lot of the students are aware of what's happened. I think word has gotten out among students quicker than it did among faculty and staff," said Michelle Espinosa, Dean of Students. Although as of press time, a date for a memorial service had not been set, Espinosa said that it will likely be held on the Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. "We'll be working with a local minister, and the fraternity and a • cmiple-of-his friends-to -coordinate that," she said. The reaction to this tragic event was felt even before students returned to campus for the spring semester. "A lot of the faculty and staff, were very shocked and saddened this week when they came back and the e-mail went out," said Espinosa. She anticipated that the impact of Lane's passing would be great. "It's very difficult for his close personal friends as well as all students, to think that someone in their class or someone within the community has passed away, and to not be able to do anything about that," she said. The winter break, she said, could also cause students to take this loss harder. "It's difficult when it happens over a break period, because there's nothing that they can do at this point, it's after the fact. They come back, and they will miss him greatly, I know. There will be an absence there—a void there—that will be difficult to fill." Lane was in Tulsa for the holidays with his family. On Dec 24, at approximately 1:30 a.m., he and fellow university student John Martin were walking home after taking a cab from a pool hall when Zachary M. Hudson and another man got into an argument with them. According to police reports, Hudson got out of his car and fought with Lane, then getting back into the car, and speeding towards Lane. Lane turned to walk away, and Hudson ran- into him. Lane was put on a respirator and died on Dec. 26 in St. Francis Hospital 0 nireo identiai Six replacements will serve in dorms with resident assistant vacancies '.'•'-'. I ,c \ *-yy->-.yic- | .^k?',.......... _.^. Aft :t A. V>-i" * •'"- "*~ ^ i • I Sr >• ...... .. - < ..i.ysl . --■ ■•ff*,"* - \ t > ?>*y~* *-<--<$*^m£ DORMS: Melissa Pancoast, one of the new RAs hired this semester, fulfills one of her duties by helping to hang door signs in Nemec Hall, photo by liz erlenbach By Youssef Benkhatar ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR As students grudgingly return to campus after the holiday break, the Residential Life department has already been busy preparing for the semester ahead. s The office's staff returned to campus early to begin addressing the many challenges that arise at the beginning of each new semester. One such challenge was replacing the Residential Assistants who stepped down from their positions at the end of last semester. In all, six new RAs have been hired this semester, according to Patrick Durbin, the assistant director of residential life. "The new RAs are to replace those that have been fired, left to study abroad, graduated, or left because of busy schedules," explained Mr. Durbin, who went on to add that five to eight RAs are normally replaced at the beginning of the spring semester for similar reasons. The resident assistant replacements come from the six different dorms on campus that had vacancies. There is one unique aspect of this year's spring semester RA replacement in that two of the six new residential assistants are first-year students. "Normally, freshmen are not selected as RAs" said Durbin, "but if they have prior living experience in a residential hall set- - ting then they may , „. be considered." The first-year RAs will work in halls that are comprised primarily of first-year students, which should help their adjustment process from regular hall resident to RA. The new RAs had different reasons for joining the Residential Life staff. "I wanted to be able to help people," said Kate Wright, one of the first-year RAs hired. Melissa Pancoast, another recent hire, said that she signed up to become a residential assistant in order "to be more involved and because it was a fi- "NormaUy, freshmen are not selected as RAs, but if they have prior living experience in a residential hall setting then they may be considered.." nancial blessing." RAs receive free housing and a small monthly stipend for their work, which includes holding periodic hall meetings and being on call in case someone gets locked out of their room. The current RAs are eager to begin the new semester and are looking forward to working with their recently hired counterparts. "It's really ex- —„ ^ citing to have new RAs on the staff because it creates new energy and new ideas," said Julie Farricker, the Resident Hall Director for Nemic Hall. Both the current and new RAs participated in a comprehensive training and evaluation process prior to the beginning of the semester that included an assessment of the goals and objectives set at the beginning of the year and a review of the leadership experiences gained from the spring semester explained Darald Stubbs, Associate Dean of Students. The RAs also reviewed the university's values commitments and room selection policies. There were a few new additions to the residential assistant training this semester, including a diversity meeting. "This meeting is an extension of the town hall meeting on diversity held last semester," said Stubbs. The RAs also had a more in depth meeting with the counseling center staff than in previous years. In addition to the standard training, the recently hired RAs also underwent further instruction to prepare them for the challenges of being a resident assistant. "The new RAs met before the break and then met again at the beginning of this semester to go over [residential life] policies, programs, and the judicial process," Stubbs said. The Residential Life department is currently holding interviews for resident assistant and hall director positions for next year. The interview process will continue for several weeks and should be completed by the middle of February, noted Stubbs. * ' Contact Youssef Benkhatar at [email protected]. ^Reporter C ONTACT U S 421 N. Woodland Blvd. #8409 DeLand, FL 32720-3751 386.822.7224 FAX 386.822.7233 [email protected] repottei^news-ii's tctson.edu opinions ii?. stetson.edu [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] By Jamie Kinsley associate news editor While most Stetson students see LANE, page 2a were stressing over fall finals, the Student Government Association was hosting an Adopt an Angel program for underprivileged children. The program underwent some revisions this year. The largest change that the SGA Adopt an Angel program underwent was that students from the Boston Avenue School participated for the first time. This school, which is in danger of being closed, caters to children with disabilities. Crystal Smith, SGA disabilities chair, worked closely with the Boston Avenue School, making certain that their first year with Stetson Adopt an Angel was comfortable and successful. Indeed the December 4th event was dubbed a great success. Every angel, for a total of 101 children, was s-^fear' ■ --■*-*-« 4_- adopted and given gifts that were once mere wishes. "We had people coming to me asking if there were more," said Michael Davis, Student Government Association president. There was no Adopt an Angel program last year, and this year's success took a great deal of hard work. The Social Responsibilities committee, headed by Mary Rodgers, was primarily responsible for organizing the program. The Adopt an Angel tree was erected in the Carlton Union Building by SGA. The tree was then decorated with the names of the children, or rather, the angels. An individual, or a group or organization could choose an angel from the tree and then take the angel over to the Hollis Center where the child's Christmas wishes lay in wait. The monetary limit was set at fifty dollars per child, but it was not always obeyed; a couple of bikes did appear. After the presents see ADOPT-AN-ANGEL. page 2a ANGEL: Santa reads to children receiving Adopt-an-Angel gifts, photo by liz erlenbach i <v ■".M. V