Hilltop Views S t .
E d w a r d ’ s
U n i v e r s i t y
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Volume 29 | Issue 3
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ENTERTAINMENT Two students predict who will win at the Oscars – and who should win.
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VIEWPOINTS: A four-year college degree in Texas for only $10,000? You must be dreaming.
French major says bonjour Molly Williamson mwilliaj@stedwards.edu
Two years ago, St. Edward’s University went to France. Now, France has come to St. Edward’s in the form of an academic program as French, already a minor, is being added as a major. The French minor, which was created only a few years ago, is going to be combined with an additional 18 hours of classes to produce the French major. This will allow students who are currently pursuing a minor in French to get double major, and it will offer French as a major to incoming freshmen. Kerstin Somerholter, area coordinator and assistant professor of German and French, said that it has not been easy to get French approved as a major. “You have to figure out if there’s a market for it, what classes we want to teach, and then of course you have to go and get the support of the dean,” she said. Somerholter said the next step is writing a proposal and submitting it to the Curriculum Development Committee, which gives feedback and helps polish proposals. The final version of the proposal goes through the Academic Counsel. “You only really get there if your proposal really is good,” she said. The proposal for a French major was recently approved, after hard work and many revisions. Those working on the proposal got positive
feedback from professors and other faculty members throughout campus. “I went around and asked for feedback from lots of people,” Somerholter said. “The top person here who I asked is Tom Evans. He is the person who brought the Angers program to existence, so to speak.” Evans is the associate vice president for Professional Education and Global Initiatives. There is definitely a market for a French major, Somerholter said. The number of students studying abroad in Angers, where St. Edward’s has a campus, has increased significantly since the program began in the spring of 2009. Several students are now considering a minor in French thanks to the growing popularity of the Angers program. “The Angers program got me interested in French again, and I’m looking forward to studying abroad and taking classes towards a minor,” freshman Asta Thrastardottir said. The French major will offer several topics classes in addition to the classes required for a minor in French. “There are several topics classes that will be offered, and the topic of each class will vary,” Somerholter said. The classes include topics such as French Cinema, the Semiotics of French Food, and French Translation. “We’re even thinking about offering classes here on location in the summer, which
hilltopviewsonline.com
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SPORTS The baseball and softball teams are flying high while the basketball teams falter.
“N-word” debated in open forum Ari Auber aauber@stedwards.edu
A gathering of students and a few faculty members spent two hours debating and discussing the meaning and implications of one word, and the discussion, stopped because of time
event. Abdul said a student had approached her midway through the discussion and asked her why she had decided to create it, as the variety of opinions in Mabee Ballroom B were not likely to come to a unanimous decision about who can use
The word itself is not the problem. The problem is the intention behind the word.” -Freshman Sheenika Medard
Sophie Schweitzer
Students studying in Angers also visit Paris.
we’ve never done,” Somerholter said. “With a major, we will offer more subjects.” Evans said that students majoring in French can also participate in a dual degree program. “There is a dual degree
Bachelor of Business Administration to be delivered in partnership with Universite Catholique de l’Ouest that was approved by the board last year and is now with our accrediting body (SACS) for their review,” Evans said.
constraints, could have gone on well into the night. Called simply the “NWord Discussion,” the Feb. 8 event featured a panel of seven St. Edward’s University students answering questions about the nword: what they think of it, who can say it and why it’s so controversial. The event also offered the opportunity for audience members to give their opinions – and many had them. The purpose of the event was not to change anyone’s mind about the word, junior Rehema Abdul, the president of the Students of African Heritage Association, said later in an interview. Abdul’s organization and the Multicultural Leadership Board sponsored the
the word. Many of the African-American students present felt it was only their word to say. “I wanted open dialogue about this issue,” Abdul said she told the student in response. “Many students on this campus have intelligent, well-supported views that aren’t heard enough, and they don’t always want to hear an expert talk. They are able to all get involved in something like this and help other students figure out what they believe.” She chose the students in the panel because they come from a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds and know what they believe about the n-word. N-word | 2