MONDAY, MAY 5, 2014
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 107, ISSUE 29
*Graphic by Brett Little
Clery act requires HSU to up freshman knowledge With the investigations of 55 public universities in violation of Title IX, which is a portion on the Education Amendments of 1972, the White House released new guidelines last week for the universities to follow. This is part of a continuing effort to combat sexual assaults on campuses. The guidelines are part of the new Violence against Women Act which, universities that participate in federal student aid programs are to follow. It requires that incoming students are informed of prevention programs and made aware of the definitions of sexual crimes such as, rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The VAWA is actually an amendment to the ever evolving Jeanne Clery act which
was signed into law in 1990. The Clery act requires universities to document reported crimes on campus whether the crime went to the local courts for prosecution or not. At the end of the colleges’ scholastic year the number of documented incidents are to be made public. The Clery report can be accessed through the university and campus police website. In Henderson’s report students can view crime statistics, awareness programs, fire safety and much more helpful information required by federal guidelines. When Johnny Campell took the position as police chief in 2007, the Clery report was not in compliance. Working with the universities resources, Campbell was able to get the report in compliance. “Our efforts are made possible through the offices of residence life, health and counseling, greek life and other groups on campus,” stated in email, Johnny Campbell, Henderson Police Chief.
“This is a constant effort with training our staff and requires responsible personnel to be trained continuously,” also stated Campbell. Campus police are to receive annual training to familiarize themselves with new guidelines. University staff members and counselors are trained as Campus Security Authority personal to help students that are victims of crimes. With the VAWA guidelines new definitions of sexual offenses are added for campus law enforcement to use when determining the degree of the offense. These offenses are also added to the annual Clery report. The new sexual offenses that will be in found in this year’s report are dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. The 2013 report will be available for the public in October. The number of incidents reported may be made public, but the identity of the victims are not. Campus police and counselors protect the identity of students
that have been victims of a crime. “Our first and foremost concern is for the student’s well-being. Reports are confidential and there is information on our website about the process of how students can report,” stated in email, Deborah Collins, director of health services. The new guidelines have added extra cost on the public universities’ budget to provide the training and programs needed. Legislators have asked for more funding to investigate and audit the universities to enforce the guidelines, but have not made available funds for the universities training and awareness programs Henderson is not one of the colleges under investigation for violations of Title IX and has kept in compliance with federal guidelines. As the federal government works to make the universities safer by introducing more guidelines and more programs, Henderson will continue to be ready for the changes.
Comic ar tist, Alan Moore, chosen to be subject of fall course Next fall, students will have the opportunity to spend a semester with the magic of Alan Moore, one of comics’ most unique and respected writers, in Dr. Randy Duncan’s Graphic Novels Seminar course. The special topics course in the communication department is meant to take a focused look at either a unique theme or a specific author. Alan Moore and his works were the chosen topic for next semester. Moore is best known for his works that have made their way to the big screen like his examination of the superhero in “Watchmen” and his retelling of Jack the Ripper in “From Hell.” Duncan, professor of communication, wants students to read some of Moore’s lesser-known works that focus on the ideas of language, magic, and storytelling. The graphic novels seminar has only been taught once before. The course is designed to be more in-depth than a basic
survey of graphic novels, because that is the purpose of the Comics as Communication course. Moore’s work has been finding its way into more classrooms as more educators find graphic novels to be effective and thought-provoking teaching tools. “That Moore’s comics are getting attention from a range of teachers is a further testament to his skill as a writer and intrigue as a personality,” James Bucky Carter, editor of the Sequential Art Narrative in Education Journal, wrote in a recent publication of the journal. While preparing the course, Duncan had a tough time deciding on what the focus of next fall’s class would be. He knew that he wanted to choose an author and had narrowed the choice down to Moore and author Frank Miller, known for graphic novels like “300” and “Sin City.” Once Duncan realized that several themes in Moore’s work tied in with other communication courses like Rhetorical Theory, he knew that Moore was the right choice.
The nicest way to describe Alan Moore is to call him eccentric. “When he turned 40, he declared himself a magician,” Duncan said. “He started doing work outside of comics that were more like performance art and acts of magic.” Some of these performance pieces were adapted into comics, which Duncan is excited to be teaching in the class. The class won’t be reading Moore’s most popular work, “Watchmen.” Instead they will focus on works like “Promethea.” On the surface, “Promethea” looks like a typical superhero adventure story, but “the main character is actually the living embodiment of the human imagination,” Duncan said. Moore’s work contains references to literature, history, religion, and metaphysical ideas like tarot cards and alchemy, so there will be something for every student that takes the course. Duncan is most eager to focus on Moore’s more magical works. “For Moore, stories and how we create our own reality is magic,” he said.
These ideas about constructing our reality also fall into many of the ideas taught in other communication courses at Henderson, so he is excited to bring in many of these philosophical discussions. At the moment, the course only exists in Duncan’s head, but he is sure about the one thing that several students will be pleased to hear. There will be no tests for this class. A large part of students’ grades will be based on participating in class discussions, but there will also be papers and presentations throughout the semester. “It’s going to be a really fun course,” Duncan said. “It’s going to require some real effort, and it’ll be challenging, because these are works that you can’t just skim the surface and understand them.” Duncan is hoping to see students that are open to new ideas and are interested in tackling some new things. “The students might be a little confused at first then proceed to a sense of wonderment before ending the semester in enlightenment,” he said.
Find more news and information online at WWW.HSUORACLE.COM Tuesday
86
60
Wednesday
85
66
Thursday
82
66
Friday
80
INDEX News Features: 2-3 | Features: 4-5 | Sports: 6
63
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
84
88
87
61
63
64