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President Coley announces retirement plans
On Saturday, April 18, President Joan Develin Coley announced to the Board of Trustees that she will retire at the end of June 2010. She will have served as president of the college for over ten years. Coley says her retirement marks the success of her two goals of advancement for McDaniel.Art Department capstones open through May 1
The art capstone projects of majors Emily Biondo, Amanda Beck, Alicia Ciatto, Bobby Coleman, Laura Cox, Danielle Gagliardi, Amber Maurer, Tara Russell, Chase Wolf and Adam Shaw will be on exhibit in Rice Gallery in Peterson Hall through the end of the month. The opening was Tuesday, April 21.
Guest speaker talks diversity
Matt Lenno of the University of Delaware came to campus on Sunday, April 19, to talk about the importance of diversity and understanding. Though all members of the Greek community were required to attend, others were welcome at the event. Lenno is the adviser to the University of Delaware Greek system.
Mike Habegger @ April 24, 2009
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Roxanne Fleischer
News Editor
At a meeting with Provost Thomas Falkner on Friday April 16, students handed him a petition asking for an Arabic Language minor at McDaniel. To fulfill the requirements of the proposed minor, only one more class needs to be offered: one 3000 level course.
“It would be a shame if they could not continue [with the language],” said Dr. Esa, the Foreign Language department chair. But Esa understands the reasons if the proposal for the minor would be rejected. “The college would support the minor if we had the resources.”The two main reasons for not adding the additional class, would be money and the fact that “the college will not start a program with just an adjunct,” according to Esa.
The adjunct teacher, Carol Zaru, currently teaches all of the Arabic language classes, two per semester, and co-teaches the Arab World class with Dr. Esa.
“Carol is an awesome, true human being. She’s an incredible natural born teacher,” said Esa. He said that Zaru prepares her own curriculum and makes her own tests. “This is unique,” he said, “you will not find this with all adjuncts.”
Zaru, who has been working at McDaniel since the fall of 2007, moved from Palestine in 2001. She is a native speaker of Arabic but had been taught English simultaneously with Arabic from kindergarten. Before she came to McDaniel, there had only been two Arabic classes offered.
The third and fourth classes were approved after proposals made, and the quota of at least six students was surpassed; there were 12 students in the third class and there are currently eight in the fourth class. This is the first semester that the fourth class is being offered.
“Students just began to love it, and see it as a beautiful language,” Zaru said. “It makes me feel good that they get that. It is not as difficult as it looks.”
Currently in the Arabic program, there are four classes: two-1000 level classes and two of the 2000 level. With these four classes and three Arabic culture classes, students can get a self-designed Arabic Studies minor, which two current seniors have been approved for.
But, for the students of the Arabic language classes, an Arabic Studies minor is not enough.
“I just think that it’s absurd if they won’t offer it,” said Emily Hajjar, a junior who is in the fourth Arabic class and signed the petition. “There are 6 of us or more asking the college to offer a class that a teacher is willing to teach?it’s kinda frustrating.”
Sophomore Jake Friedman, also in the fourth Arabic class, requested the meeting with Falkner. He wants to have the language minor so that he can continue to speak it with other students. “It’s beautiful, challenging, and very poetic,” he said of the language. He feels “stuck” that he may not be able to continue with the language.
The options that will remain for students like Friedman and Hajjar is to get the self-designed Arabic Studies minor, or to try and get approval on an independent study for the 3000 level class needed for the Arabic Language minor.
But these are not the best options. “Independent study doesn’t work for language, said Friedman. “I need some kind of environment where I can speak it.”
The advantages of learning the Arabic language, is evident to all Zaru’s students, including sophomore Tim Batts, a member of the ROTC program. “It’s not any secret that a lot of things have to do with the Middle East,” said Batts, who is considering either going into the military or working for the government.
“Besides the language, I’ve learned tons about culture and religion, about average way of life and how things are in the Middle East, ” Batts said.
Zaru agrees that the language is “absolutely” beneficial for her students. “I think this is a language increasingly in demand in the U.S. and the world,” she said.
Of the Centennial Conference schools, only Swarthmore offers a “Special Major in Interdiciplinary Arabic Language and Literature” as well as and Arab Language minor. Other conference schools, like Gettysburg and Franklin and Marshall, also offered classes in Arabic, like McDaniel, but do not have a minor.
“Arabic is an upcoming language that not many colleges offer. It would benefit the college to offer [the minor],” said Hajjar, whose favorite things about the class are when Zaru brings in news clippings in Arabic, and the students are successful in reading them.
“The classes are interactive, not just a straight lecture, very demanding but in a good way,” said Hajjar. “She expects a lot out of her students.”
Hajjar went on to describe Zaru as “like a mom” who even invited all of her students to her house so they could taste the different Arabic foods. She has also brought in her children and nephew to speak to the class so the students could hear different voices speaking the language.
Friedman agrees. “[Carol] works way too hard?it would be super nice [for her] to get that return from the college,” he said. “She’s completely unknown but she is the Arabic program.”
While it is not likely that the 3000 level class will be offered next year, Dr. Esa has said “eventually we will have the minor, it would be a matter of money.”
Dean Falkner could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.
Mike Habegger @ April 24, 2009
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Caitlin Flynn
Staff Reporter
Professor Julia Jasken of the English department is giving her students a little more than an English lesson this semester, one which will not only give her students experience with planning and promoting events as well as creating fliers, but will also help them recognize how they can make a difference in the community.
“Operation Prom Dress” is a dress drive that was started by an organization known as the Appalachian Poverty Project. The purpose of the drive is to collect donated, lightly used prom dresses and give them to young girls in Appalachia to wear to their prom, since many of the girls in that area do not have enough money to purchase their own. The project’s hope is to give the girls something to look forward to in school, which will hopefully decrease dropout rate in that area, which is currently over 75 percent.
Jasken’s class is called Writing for Nonprofit Organizations, where the students work and write for an area nonprofit organization. They learn skills such as developing letters, grants, brochures, press releases as well as creating other public relations material.
They were informed of “Operation Prom Dress” through Leslie Shaub, who runs the Appalachian Poverty Project, at a community meeting at the nonprofit center located on Clifton Boulevard. Shaub mentioned his need for donations at the meeting, and the students were immediately influenced by his request.
“We happened to be reading about special events in the class, so there was a natural connection for us,” said Jasken.
The students in Jasken’s class figured it would be relatively easy to round up participants here on campus, since a lot of girls probably still have their prom dresses from high school and do not plan on wearing them again.
Jen Noel, a student in Jasken’s class pointed out that by participating in the dress drive, they are “trying to shine a little light in such a dismal area.”
A little light, to say the least.
The class began promoting the event by sending a notification to the college events board to be placed on the college activities arch as well as sending out a campus announcements email to students to inform them about the dress drive. The class also split up and hung 150 fliers, and even held a PR stunt outside of Glar on Monday, April 13. The students spent their lunch hour dressed in prom dresses and suits and stood outside of Glar handing out fliers to promote the drive.
The dresses will be dropped off in the English Department office on the second floor of Hill Hall and will be accepted until May 8. From there, they will be sent to the young girls in McDowell County.
Laura Garrison, a student in Jasken’s Writing for Nonprofit Organizations class has a lot of positive things to say about the drive. “It’s been fun working with everyone in the class to pull it together as a campus event. It really hasn’t taken as much effort as I would have expected, so it’s especially exciting to see the results,” said Garrison.
Although the drive will most certainly be a big success, Jasken points out that the class’s biggest obstacle will be the timing. Since they had just recently learned about the drive, they had to quickly promote the event and get the fliers up. However, she points out that the sooner they are able to get the dresses, the sooner they can get them to the girls.
“I think it’s important for all of us to recognize that there is a lot we can do in our communities, even if we don’t have much money,” said Jasken. “There are always people in need and always ways we can help.”
Garrison definitely feels that the dress drive was a great opportunity for their class as well. “It’s easy to fall into the mentality that Third World poverty is something that only exists in faraway places,” said Garrison, “when really it exists just one state over from us.”
Mike Habegger @ April 24, 2009
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Spring Sparks are Flying, from Fender Benders to Fire Mishaps
Jen Noel
Staff Reporter
The calm before the storm. The old adage must be the explanation for the lack of activity in the blotter this week. Campus Safety must be loving the down time, relaxing, just strolling through campus. One thing the blotter does show this time is that students just can’t seem to learn their lessons.
Several incidents reported in the blotter dealt with underage possession of alcohol. On April 4, a student was seen outside Rouzer with an open container. Its one thing to hide the fact you are drinking and aren’t 21, but a stroke of brilliance must be the only explanation for standing outside and drinking from a bright, red solo cup. That’s not obvious in the least bit.
Another trend this week was a string of vehicle related accidents spread across campus. From the water tower to the stadium lot students were driving into parked cars left and right. I guess sometimes when you hit a car, you hope you can sneak away because the damage really isn’t that noticeable.
However, on April 14, it was reported that a student struck mirrors with another car and fled the scene. I am confident that when getting into their car, the owner noticed their rearview mirror hanging on by a thread.
Even I fell victim to a careless driver who put a noticeable dent in the front of my car and then took off. I kept my unfortunate incident from the pages of the blotter, because the reporter never wants to be the one reported on.
With the warm weather also comes grilling season. Students must have forgotten, however, when food burns there is smoke and smokes sends the smoke detectors blazing.
Campus Safety noted six separate occurrences of fire alarms being triggered in residences by cooking related smoke. In the past few weeks students must have been dining on burnt toast and Cajun style chicken. I don’t think that’s the way Martha Stewart intended.
On April 7, Campus Safety responded to a mulch fire outside a residence. Either a students’ grilling quickly turned into a bonfire or the group just wanted to perform a home rendition of Myth Busters, but no matter what the cause all of us missed a good chance to roast some marshmallows.
A final entry this week for the Lighter Side is more like a plea than a report. The perpetrator I have deemed the “phallic fanatic” is still on the loose. On April 12, a student reported a floor in ANW residence hall was vandalized. An unnamed source told me that the vandal in fact drew a several pictures of the male anatomy on the walls of the dormitory floor.
I cannot confirm that this wanna-be artist is the same person that left their trade mark drawing throughout Hill Hall, but I am asking you please, if you want to express yourself get a sketchbook. None of us want to witness your renditions anymore.
The next issue of the Free Press will feature my final installment of the Lighter Side. I can only imagine what the upcoming weeks will have in store.
Mike Habegger @ April 24, 2009
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Press Release for McDaniel Free Press
A group of McDaniel College students hosted a celebration/awareness event on campus Monday, April 20, to honor Mission of Mercy for meeting the healthcare needs of Carroll County’s uninsured for 15 years. The all-day event featured a visual display in Red Square that represented the 8,200 patient visits that have been performed by Mission of Mercy in Carroll County since the organization began serving the community in 1994. In addition, Mission of Mercy volunteers offered free blood pressure screenings and tours of the 29-foot mobile clinic.
The Mission Of Mercy celebration is part of McDaniel College’s continued efforts to offer more service learning opportunities for students. Christy Beatty, a 2009 Social Work major, and Mary Beth Bounds, a 2009 Political Science major, organized the event as part of their internship with Mission of Mercy through Professor Julia Jasken’s Writing for Nonprofit Organizations class.
“Aside from wanting to publicly acknowledge Mission of Mercy for their commendable service to our community, I feel it’s important for college students to have a thorough understanding of how many uninsured people there actually are here in Carroll County,” says Beatty. “Additionally, I think it’s important that we promote awareness of this problem among the student body because this will be something that they could possibly be dealing with after graduation.”
Bounds also adds that most students remain isolated on campus and rarely see what is going on in the local Carroll community.
Mission of Mercy is a medical nonprofit organization that operates a free mobile clinic at seven sites in Maryland: Brunswick, Frederick, Mt. Airy, Reisterstown, Taneytown, Thurmont, and Westminster; and at two sites in Pennsylvania: Gettysburg and Harrisburg.
The mobile clinic operates with the support of more than 250 volunteers and relies entirely on private financial donations from individuals, foundations and corporations to provide these services. All gifts are deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
(Editor’s Note: This Press Release was prepared by Christy Beatty).
Mike Habegger @ April 24, 2009
