Baseball historians to give insight at history forum

by Kendra Clark staff writer

The history club will play host to five renowned historians of baseball on Saturday, Nov. 11.

These five historians will be speaking at the club's annual symposium, titled Baseball and the American Tradition.

The symposium, which is free to all of the Cabrini community, will take place in the Widener Center Lecture Hall at 9:00 a.m.

The discussion will consist of five topics with each speaker discussing on their own topic. The speakers and topics included are Dr. Gai I. Berlage, professor of women's studies, speaking on Women Ball Players: A Part of American Baseball History. Dr. Lawrence D. Hogan, senior professor of history, speaking on Before You Can Say Jackie Robinson: Black Baseball in America in the Era of the Color Line. Ellen Rendle, historical society of Delaware, will discuss Judy Johnson: An Invisible Hero. Dr. Robert Ruck, professor of history, will speak on The Tropic of Baseball: The Evolution of the Caribbean Pastime. Dr. William Simons, professor of history, will discuss Searching for Joe DiMaggio: Baseball and the American Ideal.

Several of these five historians have spoken at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and each of the five have books to their name, according to Dr. James Hedtke, history department chair.

The symposium, which requires pre-registration, begins with the late registration at 8:30 a.m. and as mentioned above the lecture starting at 9 a.m. A catered lunch by Wood Dining Services is offered halfway through where guests can speak one on one with the speakers.

According to Hedtke this forum is something that is expected from an Ivy League school and that it will expose students to a scholarly experience.

He also adds that students of

Cabrini may also receive one credit for attending if they register in the registrar's office.

One point that Marie Aragona, president of the history club, would like to make is, "It is not about last night's game, but it's relating to how baseball is part of the American fabric."

Hedtke also adds, baseball is the salad dressing of America. It brings together a great variety of people in gender and ethnic backgrounds.

The symposium is open to all.

Non-members of the Cabrini community may obtain a registration form from the history department. Non-members do have a registration fee of $25 for guests and $15 for visiting students, but parking and lunch is included. Registration is a must because of a limited number of spaces, but Hedtke said, "Students have put this forum together. "Come and support them."

Aragona also adds "I would like to see a big campus turnout because I think they will enjoy it."

"It will appeal to everyone."

All students should have received a_mealregistration form in their mailboxes. If interested, students are asked to fill the form out with their meal number and return the form to the history department, along with all registration forms for non-members.

ImportantAnnouncementfor FinancialAid Studentswith Federal PerkinsLoans

Perkins PromissoryNotes have been distributedto student mailboxes. If you receiveda Federal Perkins Loan as a part of your financialaid award, then you must sign a PromissoryNote in order to keep the money. The Note is your agreement to repaythe loan upon graduatingor leavingthe college.

What You Must Do

1. Get the promissorynote from your mailbox.

2. Sign and date the promissorynote.

3. Returnone (1) signedcopy of the promissorynote to the FinancialAid Office. You must returnthe signed promissorynote to the FinancialAid Office before 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2000. Failureto do so will cause you to lose your Perkins loan funding. .. If you have any questions,call the FinancialAid Office at (610) 902-8420

Plumbing problems flood offices in Grace Hall

by Jennifer Devereaux assistant news editor

The offices of Neal Newman, the~ director, and Mary Hill, admm1strativeassistant, have sustained damage as a result of flooding. Both offices are located below female first-year dormitory bathrooms in Grace Hall. The flooding took place on Thursday, Oct. 19.

Newman's office had been flooded four times prior to the Oct. 19 incident. All five incidences of flooding were caused by toilet overflow in the above bathroom. The first time was Monday, Aug. 28, two days before the fall semester started. On the Thursday following the Labor

Day holiday, Newman entered his office to find that his desk was covered with one inch of water. This was the second time his office flooded.

Newman is not sure of the exact dates of the third and fourth flooding, although he does remember the inconvenience and damage each incidence has caused. As a result of the five floods, a computer, a printer, papers and personal items were ruined. The computer and the printer have been replaced; however, the personal items are irreplaceable.

Mary Hill's office, which is located in academic affairs, was flooded for the first time on

Thursday, Oct 19. Like Newman, her office is located directly below a dormitory bathroom. In both cases, the water from toilet overflow caused damage to the ceilings of each office. The water caused the ceiling tiles to cave in, bringing with them dirt and debris.

Two tiles had fallen from Hill's ceiling in the Thursday, Oct. 19 incident. They were replaced, but they fell again on Saturday, Oct. 21. On Monday, Oct. 23, Hill entered her office to find the desks empty and the two office computers moved. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, facilities came in and ripped up the carpet and padding from her office. Hill is not sure if the two computers are being repaired or will be replaced. Hill lost many papers and she says that her office was basically out of commission last week.

As of Friday, Oct. 27, the plumbing in the bathrooms above both Newman and Hill's offices had been repaired and had no leaks. Hill's office is supposed to receive new carpet and padding this week. Throughout the past five incidences, Newman says that the college has been accommodating. However, he feels that, by no fault of his own, his teaching has suffered. Student's papers have been destroyed, he's been unable to respond to e-mail and he is unable to locate items in his office.

Newman has a message for his students. He said, " I want the students to know I'm not usually this disorganized and confused. My office is usually a mess but I know where things are. However, the way things are now, it's a mess and I don't know where things are."

Mary Hill said about the flooding, "It's an unfortunate situation for everybody. I feel sorry for the girls upstairs too." Steve Murphy from facilities reinforced the reason why the offices flooded. He did add, the reason the toilets flood is because people flush them when they are already clogged.