SHSU Update for Week of Sept. 21
Students who anticipate graduating on May 15, 2004, are to
file degree applications by Oct. 10 in the Registar’s
Office, located on the third floor of the Estill Building.
Vincent Ramos, former state executive director for the Texas
chapter of League of United Latin American Citizens, will be
the second Grassroots: Discussions on Leadership in a Diverse
Community series speaker.
Ramos, a SHSU alumnus, will speak on Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. in
the Olson Auditorium, located in Academic Building IV. The
event is presented by Academic Support Programs of the SHSU
SAM Center.
Ramos received his master’s degree in criminal justice
management in 1988 and went on to receive his doctorate in
school psychology from Texas A&M University in 1993.
A community and political advocate, his work resulted in some
unprecedented legislation during the 77th Legislature, including
the Hate Crimes Bill, Indigent Defense Bill, “Tulia” Bill
and Racial Profiling Bill. His proudest accomplishment during
his work in Austin was his contribution in establishing an
unprecedented coalition between the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People, American Civil Liberties
Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational
Fund, which facilitated the achievements of the 77th Legislature.
During his brief tenure with LULAC, he oversaw the development
and fruition of the first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between Texas LULAC and Texas NAACP, which served as a catalyst
to motivate the black and Hispanic caucuses to follow suit.
Currently, he serves as director of the Center for Cross-Cultural
Pediatric Behavioral Health at the University of North Texas
in the Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work and Addictions
and Director of Training for Fort Worth ISD.
Health Center To Offer Free Flu Shots
As flu season approaches, the SHSU student Health Center will
try to give students a bit of protection from infection by
administering the influenza vaccine at no charge to students
on Oct. 1-2.
Health Center staff members will be set up in the Lowman Student
Center atrium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 1,000 doses of the
vaccine, double the number available in previous years, which
will be supplied on a first-come, first-serve basis, according
to Keith Lott, Health Center director.
“The flu season typically runs from November through March,” Lott
said. “Historically, these are the months in which the highest frequencies
of influenza have been recorded.”
Students should take this opportunity to receive the free vaccination
because of the problems that arise from getting the flu.
“Influenza can cause a significant disruption to a student's academic pursuits,
which could affect a student's ability to remain at SHSU,” he said. “It
is important that the university take proactive measures to contribute to the
retention of our students.”
Students must present their ID card prior to receiving the
vaccine. For more information, call the Health Center at 936.294.1805.
Forensic psychologist Mary Alice Conroy was recently quoted
in the Austin American-Statesman for her interview in Huntsville
residents Virginia and David Owens’ book "Living Next
Door to the Death House."
The book focuses on how the “death house” has affected
the lives of Huntsville residents, including correctional officers,
wardens, chaplains, professors, Conroy and parents of both
offenders and victims, “who, one way or another, confront
its presence daily,” said Austin free-lance writer Stuart
Wade in his review of the book for the Statesman.
Conroy, an associate professor in the SHSU department of psychology
and the director of clinical training for the forensic clinical
psychology program, is quoted within the review as an expert
witness in criminal cases.
“Conroy, who worked in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 20 years, testifies
in court and sometimes assesses already-chosen jurors,” Wade said of her
in his review. “She also lends expert opinion to measuring a convicted
criminal's future risk to society.”
This, too, is what Conroy discusses in the Owens’ book.
"If you're doing a risk assessment of people on the streets, the biggest predictor
you have is their past history of violence," she noted in the book. "But that
doesn't necessarily predict how he's going to act in prison. If it did, death
row . . . should have been a slaughterhouse.
"The murder rate at TDJC is lower than the murder rate in Dallas. You're safer
walking a cell block than you are walking in the parking lot of K-Mart after
dark."
Overall, Wade considered the book to be “an uneven documentary
pastiche that comes off at times like local news copy”;
however, despite the fact that the two authors clearly oppose
capital punishment, he said, “they’ve managed to
resist moralizing, and they include the views of several residents
who support the death penalty.”
Longevity of life and a decreased risk of cancer: those are
two reasons people should quit smoking, according to Health
Center LVN Frieda Turner.
“People aren’t as sick as they are when they’re smoking,” she
said. “It’s a matter of health—that’s what we’re
really pushing for.”
To help students, faculty and staff kick the habit, the Health
Center is offering a tobacco cessation program throughout the
semester. The four-week, one-hour per week, program consists
of providing education, resources and support for smokers.
Turner said the center will work around both students’ and
staff members’ schedules for classes.
“We usually go Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, 4 to 5, but it’s
not a set time,” she said. “It depends on who’s in the class,
and what we can work around for them.”
Although the sessions are generally held four times, they can
be extended to six if students, faculty or staff feel they
need the extra support.
“If we have a situation where we have students who feel that they need
to go an extra week then we’ll have the support group for six weeks, but
it usually ends at four,” Turner said.
Feedback from the program has been good, Turner said, and those
who have been unable to quit find they smoke considerably less.
The program is free and is held at the Health Center. For more information,
or to sign up, call Turner at 936.294.1805.
The SHSU department of theatre and dance will present an American
classic that takes a reminiscent look at the ‘Roaring
20s’ as the S.S. American prepares to embark on a journey
across the Atlantic Ocean with a production of Cole Porter’s “Anything
Goes.”
The play will be on the University Theatre Center Mainstage
Sept. 24-27 at 8 p.m. each night, with a 2 p.m. matinee on
Saturday, as well as special Parents’ Weekend performances
on Oct. 3-4.
Choreographed and directed by Jonathan Charles, the play features
SHSU students Charles Swan, as Billy Crocker; Heather Scheffel,
as Hope Harcourt; Dylan Godwin, as Evelyn Oakleigh; Ben Mikolaj,
as Moonface Martin; Haley Dyes, Bonnie; and Melissa Pritchett,
as Reno Sweeny. The show also features Matt Redden, Kira Brasel,
Paul B. Copenhaver, Brian Frolick, Claire Menger, Natalie Wilson,
Jennifer Dyer and Katie Clarke.
Senior theatre major Chimmy Gunn is the stage manager; junior
theatre major Steven Kemp designed the set; faculty member
Don J. Childs is working lights; and faculty member Kristina
S. Hansen designed the costumes.
Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for all SHSU
students, faculty and staff, or senior citizens. For reservations,
call the theatre department at 936.294.1339
or 936.294.1329.
Teams representing Sam Houston State University are now being
recruited for the 2003-04 Walker County Division American Heart
Walk, which will be held Nov. 1.
The deadline to have teams in place is Sept. 26 so that captains
will have time to distribute materials to their members for
the collection of pledges before the date of the walk.
The walk will be held at Bowers Stadium with a route to go
through the Sam Houston State campus, down Bearkat Boulevard,
and back to the stadium. The four-mile route has a stopping
point at the stadium after two miles.
Teams can be comprised of faculty, staff, students, alumni,
or a combination of any of the groups. Those who are
interested in forming a team or serving as team captains should
contact Maggie Babcock, special events coordinator at SHSU,
by e-mail or by calling 936.294.3415.
Assistant professor of physics C. Renee James has been appointed
to a three-year term on the Astronomy Education Board, an advisory
body to the American Astronomical Society.
The individuals selected for service on this board are experienced
astronomers and/or educators. James was chosen in recognition
of her role in astronomy and physics education at SHSU.
The Astronomy Education Board consists of 10 astronomy educators
from around the country and includes the former president of
the AAS, as well as several textbook authors. The board is
charged with the oversight of the educational activities of
the AAS.
It accomplishes this task by conducting a comprehensive view
of current educational activities and recommends optimal mechanisms
for an effective astronomy education strategy and the role
for the society in exercising leadership in education.
James received her Bachelor of Science degree in physics from
Rice University and a doctorate in astronomy from the University
of Texas at Austin.
The culmination of assistant professor of sociology Joanne
Ardovini’s graduate work will hit the bookstores on Oct.
15.
Using her own experiences as a graduate student at Western
Michigan University, “It’s cold and lonely at the
Middle: Discrimination Against Female Graduate Teaching Instructors,” further
explores gender discrimination in universities by looking into
the lives of female graduate teaching assistants.
Along with the use of anecdotes, she observed participating
female assistants, took surveys and looked at journal entries
to determine that discrimination does occur for female teaching
assistants and that a chilly climate may be chillier, and more
hostile, for them, since graduate teaching instructors do not
have the status of a professor.
Ardovini also concludes that discrimination in all forms was
not found in one particular program or department, but across
the board.
“It fits into a plethora of programs, not just sociology, but education,
psychology, counseling,” she said. “It covers challenging of knowledge,
inequality, deviant behavior; so it’s not just a myopic focus on a sociological
issue. The most common form of discrimination was challenging of knowledge and
a complete devaluation.”
Ardovini’s book, which is being published by University
Press of America, will be available in the campus bookstore
and online at the publisher’s Web
site for $29.
The SHSU art department has recently completed a project
to beautify the downtown area through a new educational course
designed to teach the process of designing art for public
spaces.
The course, designed and taught by art professor Tony Shipp,
required students to work with public officials in finding
and designing an appropriate public artwork display.
Staff from Huntsville Main Street worked with the students
and Shipp to finalize a suitable design for the project:
new handrails for the 12th street side of the square. Located
in a prominent area for pedestrians and vehicles, the handrails
allowed the opportunity for interesting public art that was
also functional.
“The students were really fortunate to have this opportunity,” Shipp
said. “The city was great to work with, and I think the class learned a
lot about the nuances of designing art for public spaces.”
Through in-class discussions, two designs for the new handrails
were submitted to Main Street, which were then shown to business
owners along the street who voted on their favorite. In the
end, a design that represented trees with spring and fall
foliage was chosen.
“The pieces are very organic,” said Shipp. “I think they go
well with a tree theme that identifies Huntsville and makes us unique.”
Similar designs often cost thousands of dollars, according
to Shipp, but for only the cost of the materials, downtown
Huntsville gained truly unique works of art that will last
a lifetime.
Kat Klub Games Up For Tournaments
The Kat Klub is gaming up to host several tournaments throughout
the semester.
On Sept. 24, there will be a Table Tennis Tournament, beginning
at 6 p.m. Students can sign up to participate in Kat Klub,
located on the first floor of the Lowman Student Center.
A Video Arcade Tournament will be held on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m.,
and a Chess/Foosball Tournament will be held on Oct. 22,
also at 6 p.m. There will also be another Table Tennis Tournament
on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. Sign-ups for all three will begin a week
before the tournaments are held.
Trophies will be awarded to winning participants.
Please send information for the SHSU Update to the Office of
Public Relations at SHSU. For electronic access to SHSU news
see the public relations Web page Today@Sam.
- END -
SHSU Media Contacts: Frank
Krystyniak, Julia
May, Jennifer
Gauntt
Sept. 21, 2003
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
|
