The Reporter

thurs sept-os http://" .stetson.edu issue Ifiti volume &l i & O Silll§il#^^ I ^^T^^i__________^___^'vtWj'+.'?A|t €#.«?.. .. >£■«a^'^^•jti^-n.rU'Ai'-'**i^k^^ShiBiP^^i .. ,..'J...,-..A.,. ^r^.feSSjs.sf! ff_ft___ffp___,_ff_| -""'^ aa- A-i1*- ; *k FOCUS Leader Jessica Walton a Caroline Peterson NEWS WRITER This year the FOCUS (Friends On Campus Uniting Students) program had an additional directive compared to past years. For students new to the university in the fall of 2005, FOCUS extends until Family Weekend in October. This is change from the four day "crash course" in college life previously implemented by the university. This program was designed to make students continue to feel noticed, welcomed, and stay involved on campus during their first semester with entertainment and educational sessions planned for first,- year students. Even the theme, "Kick off Your Sandals and Make Yourself at Home" maintains the sense that first-year students are home away from home. Extended orientation events ' generally include any events on the official calendar of the university, such as lectures, service opportuni- nd Abby Mamalakis eat pancakes at ties, or concerts. Many have already taken place and the program is in full swing. It appears to be successfully making a positive impact on first-year students and all over campus. "We are just trying to arrange get- togethers with our group throughout the semester; until parents weekend....we try to encourage on-campus events, even just eating in the commons. We sometimes organize off campus trips like going .out to eat or going bowling," said senior communications studies major and FOCUS leader Bronwen Keyes. "It's just a way for students to stay in contact with people on campus, and get introduced to events that the school provides." "I see my focus leader all the time and I always feel like I can ask her questions when I see her around campus," said first-year discovery major Erin Mason. One of the larger events to take place has been First-Year Student Service Day on Saturday, Sept. 17. The event drew around 130 students and nearly 30 of the university's faculty and student staff. The student staff CAMILLE BILLY / THE REPORTER Sugar Mill Restaurant during a FOCUS-related event on Sept. 24. CAMILLE BILLY / THE REPORTER Doug Sweeney and FOCUS Leader Jon DeAngeio prepare signs. served as site coordinators for the Club of Spring Hill, the Spring Hill various projects, which included 5 Micro-credit program, Big Broth- Habitat for Humanity homes, the Hu- ers/Big Sisters, University Center mane Society, The Boys and Girls See FOCUS, 2A Campiuis safety aided through preparediies Marie Franzman news writer As a student walks out of his/her dorm this student notices a strange person standing outside waiting to be let in. This student does not ask questions and held the door wide open for them to enter his/her dorm. Later "people find out that this person was not even a student and used that student to get into the building. Safety of students on and off campus is a very pressing topic. There are so many ways that students are placed in danger during school and it is important for them to know how to stay safe and protect themselves. "I walk with other people at night and when I am going out to my car in the dark I hold my keys between my knuckles just like 'General' Judy taught me when I worked at Applebee's in South Carolina," said Senior Megan Zillhardt, a Bachelor of Music (voice) with outside field in Communication (BMOF). Another senior, business major Jennifer Thomas said that she also stays in groups of people at night. While some of these may seem like a good idea at the time, it is not. Many college students, especially women, have been attacked and even killed by people who slipped through propped open doors. See SAFETY, 2A Domes violence Sorority Alpha Chi Omega sponsors Stop Domestic Violence week in effort to educate. Samantha Lange LIFE WRITER The sisters of Alpha Chi Omega brought Stop Domestic Violence Week to the university from Monday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 25. Events occuring before press time, were a visit from Deborah Ebert, a representative from the Sexual Assault Recovery Center in Daytona Beach, and a candlelight vigil. A dodgeball tournament for charity was to occur on Sunday, Sept. 25. Ebert revealed statistics regarding rape and domestic violence and provided numerous resources for victims of that form of abuse. The talk took place on Tuesday, Sept. 20 in the Elizabeth Hall Chapel. A few outside guests attended, but for the most part it was a Greek wide affair. Tuesday night's topics are essential knowledge for university male and female students when one considers the fact that in Deland alone, 26 rapes have been recorded since January 1, 2005. Rape is any forced, non-consensual sex onto another person. It is an act of violence, aggression, hostility, and power. Rape is a crime of violence, not passion. Ebert followed this definition with statistics: In this country, there is an attempted rape approximately every two minutes and a completed rape every three minutes. One in four women currently attending college is expected to be raped. Last year, there were thousands of attempted rapes in universities nationwide. Eighty percent of the victims knew their perpetrators; forty percent of the crimes took place in a dorm or house. Ninety-five percent of these crimes involved alcohol while fifty-five percent of female victims were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. These percentages are neither meaningless numbers nor statistics meant to frighten students. Awareness on campuses is what helps students avoid becoming part of the statistics. Ebert went on to discount popular myths about rape: (1) Rape is an expression of intense sexual desire; (2) rape is always spontaneous; (3) some women deserve or invite rape-by wearing revealing clothes or selling See AXi , 2A Web earns used for public relations Michael Riggs SGA REPORTER Unless a student is inches away from any one of the lenses, it is unlikely that the webcams around campus are going to capture anything other than grainy images. After all, they are not for security, but rather a new development in university public relations. According to Ed Gowan, director of board operations for Dining Services, "these cameras, especially the one in the Hat Rack, are for promoting an alternative image of Stetson, where the students don't have to eat in "just the school cafeteria." The Hat Rack is not the only place on campus where a webcam surveys the scene. There is also a webcam near the fountain which catches people coming and going. "Prospectives, when they check Stetson out online, want to see a campus that has a lot of community and a lot of activity. The webcams will allow us to provide a live image of Stetson, and possibly rework the virtual tour students can already take" says Gerry Ewing, the director of Instructional and Media Services here at the university. The Stetson Virtual Tour, an online program that allows students to see 3- D photos of places around campus, received over a million hits on its website in the past year; which is why Gerry Ewing thinks it will be the perfect place to incorporate the webcam. Sometime in the next year, thinks Ewing, students will be able to see See WEBCAM, 2A CAROLINE JONES / THE REPORTER Students congregate in the Hat Rack while webcam survey the area. Thursday's Forecast: Chance of Scattered thunderstorms. High 89, Low 75 r- a -i* /Pi i.t CALENDAR CROSSWORD HISTORY HOROSCOPE LIFE • METRO REPORT MOVIE LISTINGS 3B 2B 2B 2B IB 2A 3B NEWS NEWSMAKERS OPINIONS RUMINATIONS MOVIE REVIEW 2A 3A 4A 2B 3B STUDENT GOVERNMENT 3A .9 S ■.A.'V'Tl'A. ". <A S. J aJ j ,- "A , . -rf r>± "S^q Rts-^ r-4""'"'"1'! £ * il !""-.?w 3 J .Cls J 5! Paj ,-. a rASA is a iPU b iki h xrJV i *JVj Life Editor Erin Lovell gets Movie Critic Blair Townley feedback from participants gives Lord of War 3 of 5 of Innsbruck Program stars. PAGE 1C PAGE 1C SGA Senators Despite low turnout, selection of President Pro Tempore announced. PAGE 1C Forecast on page 6A