The Reporter

Vel. CXXI Issue 06 THE EPORTER Stetson University | DeLand, Fla. 400 families attend Friends and Family Weekend Olivia Sorrells News Editor Approximately 400 families attended Friends and Family Weekend this past weekend, compared to about 350 from last year. "Friends and Family weekend was a success," Assistant Director for First Year and Transition Programs Vince Applegate said. While events of the weekend were well attended, Applegate hopes to alter a few events that started on Friday so that all working parents and family members can attend. He also hopes to include a more kid-focused area for guests that need to bring children with them. There was increased attendance at Friday night's event 'Stetson Fest.' This year it featured family karaoke in the Hollis Center lounge and trivia with the Dean in the Hollis Center classroom. 'Classes without Quizzes,' a 50-minute event that featured classes on a variety of topics, was a Friends and Family favorite. The best attended session, "Stetson History and Traditions," was led by Associate Professor Sims Kline and Dean of Students Rosalie Carpenter. The First Year honor society, Phi Eta Sigma, inducted its new members. This included over 100 students that were high academic achievers in their first year at Stetson. 'An Evening of Improv' hosted by the Theater Department, sold out the Second Stage Theater in the Museum of Art. The football game, which had great attendance by families and alumni, had a special event for Legacy Families. Families that have more than one generation of Stetson students were invited to ring 'Big Green,' the Stetson bell, during the football game. "The feedback that we have received from families and friends that attended has been very positive," Applegate said. "We always like to respond to feedback so based on some of the comments we heard last year we made sure to make the shirts and other materials more Stetson focused. The shirts and buttons that were part of this re-design were a big hit with both students and families." "While the weather may have been not so nice, the friends and families that visited were excited to be here and we hope that they will return to campus again for Homecoming in November," Applegate said. Photos courtesy: fnstagram, found under #ffwsu2013 National Smithsonian Museum Day boosts visitors by 200% Sam Votaw Staff Contributor Stetson's three on-campus museums participated in the 8th annual National Smithsonian Museum Day on Saturday, along with 11 other Volusia County museums. The Hand Art Center, the Museum of Natural History and the Gillespie Museum were all open to showcase their respective exhibits on this unofficial holiday designed to celebrate the institution of museums, and each reported an average of 200% increase in the number of visitors. The exhibits took place during the university's Family & Friends weekend and admission was free of charge. Dr. Gibbs, the director of the Aquatic Marine Biology Department, was pleased with the showings Smithsonian Day yielded for the little-known Natural history museum located in Sage Hall. "Not a lot of people [of the general public] know about this museum," Gibbs said. "When a day like this comes around it's typically a great showing." Full of fascinating remains of Floridian wildlife found during field- work, the room also hosts an impressive albatross skull dated from 1874. "We're very proud of what we have here," Gibbs said. The Gillespie Museum located at 234 E. Michigan Ave. showcased its rotating series of rare rocks and minerals from all over the worid, including some permanent establishments, like a towering 6-foot-7-inch purple crystal geode. With anticipation of celebrating its 55th anniversary in November, the Gillespie Museum showcased the "fun of collecting and what collecting can lead to," Dr. Karen Cole, the museum's director, said. The Hand Art Center continued to stage its faculty driven "Convergence" show, as well as the color sketches of Oscar Bluemner. All of these museums are open year round. Cultural credit is available for some. -<SN^S ^S-SS A letter from the editor It's that time of year. We're slowly but surely approaching midterms, Fall Break is right around the comer, and the weather is thinking about cooling down. It's hard to believe that it's already October, and it's even harder to believe that this is our sixth issue of The Reporter this semester. Unless you know one of our staff members personally, you probably don't know what all goes into any given issue of our little paper. I'm not going to get into specifics, but coming up with content for eight pages is actually harder than it sounds. Plus it has to look nice, have pretty pictures, and a catchy headline so students will actually think about reading it. Trust me, it's not an easy job by any means. But our staff has been busting their butts to put out these issues like clockwork, despite the fact that they're all full-time students who work at multiple other jobs and are involved all over campus. We're incredibly vested in this newspaper, all of us. And we're here for you, Stetson. That encompasses everyone here: students, faculty, staff, alumni. If you're not happy with us, tell us. Let us know what you want to see in The Reporter each week. Our staff members are all part of the Stetson community, but we aren't able to be everywhere at once. We might not know about an event that's happening on campus, or a student athlete who won a huge award, or the most recent scandal. We can't do our jobs without you. So tell us what it is that you want. Tell us everything, all of your ideas and grievances, and we'll do our best to make it happen. -Eleanor Eleanor Roy can be reached at [email protected] What's in this issue © Students report on interactions with Public Safety officers News, page 3 © Improv show brings full audience ASE, page 4 © Learn more about new changes to dining services Opinion, page 6 © Photos from the football game last Saturday Back, page 8