Chapman Magazine Now Fall2011

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OCTOBER 2011

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SPECIAL

PUBLICATION

FROM

CHAPMAN

MAGAZINE

THE FRONT LINES OF VOTING RIGHTS U.S. service members’ voices are being silenced on Election Day, a Chapman study finds.

M BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

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hat students of dance, theatre or entertainment technology haven’t dreamed of working for the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil? In Oct. 21–22, many of them will get a taste of what it takes to become a Cirque du Soleil artist or technician when the Quebec-based entertainment organization brings some of its top people to Chapman University. All will take part in a groundbreaking three-day Cirque du Soleil Entertainment and Technology Symposium directed by Professors Alicia Okouchi-Guy, Department of Dance, and Don Guy, head of entertainment technology. The program is the first of its kind at a university and was born out of the couple’s relationship with Cirque du Soleil, which since its launch in 1984 has become an icon of cutting-edge entertainment. Today the company has 5,000 employees worldwide and a repertory of resident shows and touring productions across the globe. Professor Okouchi-Guy’s goal is for students to see what it takes to compete for a place on the entertainment giant’s team. “Students will know what Cirque du Soleil is really looking for and how they can get better,” Professor Okouchi-Guy said. In addition to mock auditions with Cirque du Soleil’s casting director, the symposium will include master classes in performance, multimedia, audio, company management, stage management, rigging, operations, makeup, wigs, automation, props and scenic design. As a bonus for the public, there will be free movie nights Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22. From 7:30 to 9 each night, Attallah Piazza will feature a circus atmosphere for outdoor screenings of two documentaries that feature behind-the-scenes footage of Cirque du Soleil shows. Free snow cones, popcorn and other circus treats will be offered with the films. Friday will showcase The Story of the Creation of KÀ — An Epic Journey! and Saturday, Alegría. For more information, visit www.chapman.edu/cirque/.

en and women serving abroad in the U.S. military are increasingly being cheated out of their voting rights, according to a study from the AMVETS Legal Clinic at Chapman University’s School of Law. Several states fail to comply with federal law requiring the timely delivery of absentee ballots, according to the research, conducted with the Washington, D.C.-based Military Voter Protection (MVP) Project. The study revealed that in the 2010 election, 14 states and the District of Columbia did not mail absentee ballots to deployed service members 45 days prior to an election, as required by the 2009 MOVE Act, and that military bases failed to establish voter registration offices.

>> The study was a significant piece of evidence discussed this summer during Congressional hearings. The report, authored by Chapman Adjunct Professor Eric Eversole, is based on data collected by law students at Chapman University and the University of California, Berkeley. It concludes that of the 2 million military voters covered by the report, only 4.6 percent cast an absentee ballot that counted in 2010. “The data say it all — it is disappointing that military voters continue to have their voices silenced on Election Day,” said Eric Eversole, founder and executive director of the MVP Project. Chapman School of Law Professor Kyndra Rotunda, who directs the AMVETS Legal Clinic, said the findings were the result of students’ comprehensive research.

Pictured with Kyndra Rotunda, executive director of the Military Institute and AMVETS Legal Clinic at Chapman, are Josh Flynn-Brown (left) and Robert Farrell, who as clinic students worked on the voting-rights study.

“We’re proud of the Chapman and Berkeley law students who painstakingly uncovered the raw data,” said Rotunda, who began her career in the Army JAG Corps, reaching the rank of major. “The students called all states covered by the report, in order to get the most accurate figures, so we have it from the horse’s mouth.” The study was a significant piece of evidence discussed this summer during Congressional hearings on the issue, including the military’s failure to establish voter registration offices on military bases in advance of the 2010 election. “The military does not get a free pass,” Rotunda said. “It must comply with federal law, and we intend to seek enforcement of that law against any entity, including the military, that fails to comply with the MOVE Act.”

DR. KIM ADDS ENERGY TO UNDERGRAD RESEARCH

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n the way to interview Christopher Kim, Ph.D., it becomes clear that the first measure of success will be just keeping up. In his new role as Chapman University’s director of undergraduate research, Dr. Kim has moved beyond hitting the ground running; he’s also taking stairs two or three at a time. “One of the reasons I’m so excited about taking on this new role is because Chapman is so well-suited to support a thriving undergraduate research culture,” Dr. Kim said after finally coming to rest at a table in Chapman’s new Student Union, in Argyros Forum. “This is really a sweet spot for us. We’re not so big that the majority of research is done by post-doctorate students, but we’re also not so small that the teaching load keeps faculty from doing important research. “We can achieve a balance between teaching and research that offers great benefits to students and makes a creative contribution to the disciplines.” Since returning this fall after a year as a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Dr. Kim is working to strike a balance of his own between teaching, his ongoing research projects and his new university-wide role. Continued on page 7


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