BEETHOVEN’S BACK
Vol. # 95, Issue # 2
September 19, 2011 Arts & Life, Page 16
Faculty Council sets date for tenure talk
Artistic Rebirth
By PAIGE WAGENKNECHT News Editor
RACHEL METEA | The DePaulia
DePaul celebrates the grand opening of the University’s new art museum, located at 935 W. Fullerton Ave., with the the debut of the exhibition “RE: Chicago” on Saturday, Sept. 17. The exhibition, which runs through March 4, 2012, features art selected by Chicago’s leading art figures including critics, scholars, and collectors.
DePaul drills down on Facebook Revolution By NATALIE FICEK Contributing Writer
LISA ARMSTRONG | The DePaulia
It all began in Tunisia with a young man setting himself on fire, cascading into a full-blown regional movement for greater freedom in many neighboring countries. In the following months, the “Arab Spring” spread into Libya, Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Egypt. Professor Nimrod Luz from the Western Galilee College in Israel gave a presentation about The Facebook Revolution and the Arab Spring at DePaul on Sept. 12. “The revolution joined the youth together and organized them in protest against poverty, unemployment, political repression, corruption and torture,” Luz said. In Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, a man named Mohamed Bouazizi was confronted by a police officer for selling vegetables without a license. They officer confiscated his unlicensed cart and when Bouazizi tried to pay, the officer allegedly slapped him and spat in his face. As an act of protest, he set himself on fire at a local municipal office. As the news spread throughout the region, the roots of Tunisia’s uprising began with people on the streets holding signs stating “GO AWAY BEN ALI.” Ten days after
Bouazizi’s death, Ben Ali’s rule of Tunisia ended. Professor Luz indicated that in order to understand the protests, one must clearly understand the tormented past of the Middle East. As the Ottoman Empire declined, European powers took over the land and colonialism officially began. Suddenly, new countries like Sudan and Transjordan arose at a time when the Middle East was not prepared to handle the complex creation of borders and nation states. “Straight lines on maps indicate that people drew them out and that they were not put together on their own volition, which can lead to consequences,” Luz said. Wael Ghonim is seen as the face of revolution and change in the region. As Google’s head of marketing, Ghonim had a good life but wanted to activate change in his homeland, Egypt. He created the “We are all Khaled Said” Facebook page because he could not keep quiet anymore about the violation of human rights in Egypt. Khaled Said was allegedly dragged out of an Internet café and beaten in the street by police. Within moments, pictures of Said’s beaten face were posted onto Facebook, an example of the kind of police brutality carried out under Egyptian President Hosni See FACEBOOK, page 11
Concerns over the tenure and promotion process were discussed at Faculty Council’s first meeting of the quarter. A petition addressing concerns over the tenure and promotion process sparked a Council of the Whole, which Faculty Council determined would take place at the Merle Reskin Theatre on November 4. Faculty Council debated motions set in June for the CoW at their first meeting this quarter on Sept. 14. A Council of the Whole (CoW) was issued after a petition of 61 signatures from full-time faculty was presented, requiring such a meeting to take place. Faculty Council passed a motion on June 1 stating that Faculty Council officers must verify the signatures before the CoW is held. As of Sept. 14, 38 have been verified, and at least 50 signatures must be verified by Oct. 18. A petition called the Council of the Whole to “discuss the unresponsiveness of the administration to faculty concerns, including but not limited to those related to the tenure and promotion process, a lack of shared governance in key decisions impacting faculty, and faculty morale and campus climate.” Faculty Council also determined in June that the Council of the Whole “will be open to Faculty only, there will be no students or outsiders in the meeting.” At Wednesday’s meeting, Council said the motion was vague and they debated who was allowed to attend versus who could vote at the meeting. The council decided all faculty members may attend, but only fulltime faculty members as defined by the Faculty Handbook can vote or be counted for a quorum. The Provost, president and college deans cannot be present at the meeting. Assistant deans are allowed can attend if they have faculty status. The petition called the Council of the Whole, but in order for it to proceed, a quorum (25 percent of fulltime faculty according to the faculty handbook) must be present. With close to 1,000 faculty members total, around 245 faculty must attend for the meeting to occur. If there is a quorum present, faculty will discuss issues and set forth motions for consideration of the entire faculty. If a quorum is not present on November 4, the petitions cannot be used to call another Council of the Whole for two academic quarters.