THE NEW PERSPECTIVE Thursday, October 16, 2003 News Campus Safety, page 3 Roger Smith, page 4
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Volume 27, Issue 3
Features Homecoming, page 9 I.D. Theft, page 11
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http://newperspective.cc.edu
Arts & Entertainment
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Cold Stone Creamery, page 12 The Teammates, page 13
Intramurals, page 15 Soccer, page 16
The Student Newspaper of Carroll College
Carroll unites for justice
Photo by Susan Brastad
Senior Katharine Barrett shows her support during the rally held on Oct. 1 for the professors that were denied tenure last spring.
Amanda Bothe News Editor
Chants echoing “Justice for Faculty” rang out on College Avenue Oct. 1, as approximately 85 members of the Carroll community came together to show support for the four professors who were denied tenure positions last spring. The crowd gathered near Voorhees Hall, then proceeded the two blocks to the front lawn
of Dr. Joseph Dailey of the communication department. Charlene McMahon of the chemistry department, Penny Johnson of the computer science department, and Joel Heim and Nelia Beth Scovill of the religion and philosophy department were all in attendance as supporters sang their praises to a captive audience. Though the rally was organized rather loosely, as Dailey explained, students, fellow faculty
and the lawyers hired for the suit against the college, represented all four professors. “I think we wanted to call attention to the injustice towards the four professors denied tenure,” commented Dr. Paul Rempe of the history department, regarding the rally. “I’m hoping the administration will understand the seriousness of their actions,” he continued, “If we want to be strong, we can’t deny tenure to good faculty.” Rempe expects more rallies to be held until all questions are answered by the administration. The lawyers were optimistic about the cases; attorney Michael Fox has had success in the past against other colleges and universities with similar situations. Fox believes the college is not fulfilling its promise of a good education by letting four good professors go. Attorney Jeffrey Hynes commended students and faculty for showing such strong support for the cause and encouraged members of the Carroll community to continue to take action in support of the wronged professors. President Frank Falcone commented, in response to the rally, “People have the right to express themselves and they did, that’s part of an academic institution.” Last spring a group of stuSee Rally Page 3
Professors file lawsuit Jessica A. Bauer Editorial Assistant
Three of the four professors who were denied tenure last spring have filed a lawsuit against Carroll College and the Board of Trustees. Dr. Nelia Beth Scovill and Dr. Joel Heim of the Religion and philosophy department and Dr. Penny Johnson of the computer science department decided to filed the suit after the Board of Trustees indicated they would not reverse their earlier decision of denying tenure. The suit’s claims are threefold: there was a breach of contract dealing with tenure, a breach of contract dealing with academic freedom and a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Carroll spokeswoman Claire Beglinger issued a written statement saying that the tenure decisions of May 2003 were final and it is the policy of the college not to comment on personnel issues or pending litigation. Originally the professors were following an internal investigation rather than taking legal action but decided to file the lawsuit when it became clear the investigation was “going nowhere fast,” said attorney for the plaintiffs Jeffrey Hynes.
“Both the Carroll College community as well as the community at large is being deprived of three outstanding professors while the process lingers and so we felt the need to come forward and begin to move this one way or another,” Hynes said. “Our sincere hope was the administration would sit down with us and through the power of good faith communication that we could resolve our differences. That is not to be and that is where …as a last resort, we are now using the legal process in order to vindicate their rights.” Dr. Charlene McMahon of the chemistry and biochemistry department , the fourth professor denied tenure in May, has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. She believes she was discriminated against and denied tenure because she is female, married and was pregnant at the time when her position was denied. McMahon said her lawyer is still doing some investigating before filing a lawsuit. She anticipates having a court date within 12 to 18 months. The contract referred to in the lawsuit, the “Conditions of Employment at Carroll College,” lays out the specific requirements for earning tenure. See Lawsuit Page 4
Workshop counts as convocation points Tabitha Menning Opinion Editor
Students who attended the diversity workshop Wednesday evening entitled, “Dismantling Racism and Creating CrossCultural Alliances – Beyond the Color of Fear” by Hugh Vasquez already know that it counted for one convocation point. Students also learned various ways in which they could help to dismantle racism. The workshop was created by one of the country’s top diversity leaders, Hugh Vasquez. Vasquez is an expert in the area of diversity and has starred in an award-winning film, produced a documentary, co-authored two books, co-founded a camp and co-founded the TODOS Institute at the Sherover-Simms Alliance Building Institute in Oakland, Calif. All of these accomplishments dealt with the topic of cultural awareness and understanding. He has also developed a successful model that works to eliminate institutional racism,
sexism and classism. The workshop introduced this model and gave the audience various ideas on how we can all work together to eliminate institutional racism or as Roger Smith, Assistant Director of Cultural Diversity and Admissions Counselor for International and Non-Traditional Students put it, “tearing down walls of racism and building bridges of understanding.” Not only did students, faculty and various members of the community gain useful ideas and information from a well-credited speaker and enjoy complimentary refreshments, but students that attended this four hour workshop earned a convocation point. The idea was discussed at a Student Senate full board meeting after a request for funding the event was made by senior and Student Senate member Immanuel Grenni. Senior Sandra Springer, Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee of Student Senate, brought the idea to Lynn Bernier, See Diversity Page 4
Homecoming magic!
Photo by Nathan Brunner
Touchdown! Sophomore Adam Fletcher makes the first score that leads to a win during the homecoming game on Oct. 4 by making a leaping catch over a Ripon defense player during the third quarter of the game.