AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Central Connecticut State University
Speaking On Multicultural Education
kassoNdra GraNata the recorder
1300 out of 1800 seats were filled in Welte Auditorium as CCSU held the New England Conference on Multicultural Education on Sept 27. The NECME promoted three internationally known keynote speakers that each had a common goal: multiculturalism in education. The three speakers, James A. Banks, Lee Mun Wah, and Dr. Kris D. Gutierrez, all Education specialists, voiced their opinion of how educators should teach their students. James A. Banks, the first speaker, known to be the “father of multicultural education,” holds the title of the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies and is the Founding Director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington, Seattle. Professor Banks is the past president of the American Educational Research Association and is widely known for his books in multicultural education and social studies education. Lee Mun Wah is an internationally known Chinese American documentary filmaker, author, poet, Asian folk-teller, educator, community therapist and master diversity trainer. Wah previewed his new film, “If these Halls Could Talk” where he brought eleven college students
Dr. Kris D. Gutierrez addresses the NECME audience last Tuesday. from around the country to document it with its release date Winter 2011. The third speaker, Dr. Kris D. Gutierrez is known as Professor Emerita of Social Research Methodology at GE&IS and
UCLA. Gutierrez is an a leader in education and is also Professor of Literacy and Learning Sciences and holds the Inaugural Provost’s Chair at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Gutierrez is a member of the National
Campus Has Come A Long Way justiN muszyNski the recorder
The Burrit Library is in the basement of Willard, the parking garage behind the student center is nowhere to be found, and Vance Academic Building hasn’t even been thought of; this is the way CCSU was described by Dr. John Heitner, associate professor of English, when he started teaching here. “As I remember the campus was very beautiful back then,” said Heitner. “It’s still beautiful today but it was different back then. There were many more trees and nature was more prevalent.” He also says that most students wouldn’t even recognize the area behind the Student Center back then because the garage wasn’t there. Instead, it looked just like a scene out of a magazine. “There was a lovely stream running behind the student center that was a beautiful place where students or faculty could go and enjoy,” said Heitner. “There was a bridge that went over the stream and a great big field.” While Heitner isn’t the biggest fan of getting rid of nice scenery, he also knows it’s a necessary part in the growth and development of the University.
Volume 108 No. 06
“We were just getting so big that the school needed more room for parking,” said Heitner. “I guess it’s a good thing when you think about it, it means the school is experiencing success.” CCSU was founded in 1849 as a teacher-training-facility and became a state college in 1959, only six years before Heitner started teaching here. It wasn’t until 1983 that the school officially became a university. “I remember it was a very big deal around campus,” said Heitner when asked about the school becoming recognized as a University by the state. “Everybody was excited because the Governor was coming to campus and was going to speak about how much we’ve grown. It’s funny how most schools just call themselves a University but we had to earn it,” he jokes. CCSU is the largest of all the schools included in the CSU system. According to its website, Central serves almost 12,500 students in any given semester, 10,000 of which are undergraduates. In the last 15 years or so, there has been a new effort in international studies. Many courses abroad are offered and encouraged as well as trying to be the recipient of foreign exchange students.
“I’d say that’s the biggest difference in the school now,” said Heitner. “There’s been a huge emphasis on international studies. Most big schools are encouraging that now, CCSU is no different.” He also says however, that becoming as big of a school that CCSU has become has some downsides. The primary one that he has noticed has been what he calls a depersonalization in the overall feel of the school. “A lot of people don’t know that the class sizes used to be bigger, I know it’s hard to believe,” said Heitner. “But even so, there has still been a much more impersonal feel around campus since our growth. The doctor on campus was like a family doctor in the sense that everybody knew him. Most students today probably don’t even know we have one.” CCSU has received a number of recognitions that support just how much CCSU has grown over the years. In a Princeton review, CCSU has been called one of the “best Northeastern colleges.” Octameron Associates say it’s one of the “great colleges for the real world.” With about 100 majors offered, 400 full-time faculty, and more than 65,000 living alumni, CCSU certainly has come a long way since only being a teacher’s institution.
keNNy barto | the recorder
Academy of Education and is currently the President of the American Educational Research Association and President of the National Conference on Research on Language and Literacy. Dr. Gutierrez served as a member
of President Obama’s Education Policy Transition Team and was recently identified as one of the 2009 Top 100 influential Hispanics in the nation by Hispanic Business Magazine. William Howe, Education Consultant for the Bureau of Accountability and Improvement Division of Teaching, Learning and Instructional Leadership of the State of CT attended to oversee the conference. After the speakers presented, Howe was very satisfied with the turnout and the feedback that the sponsers and he recieved as well. “This conference is not just focusing on race,” says Howe. “It is focusing on class, gender, sexual orientation..any different trait that an individual can have.” “One of the problems we have with teaching students of a second language is that we have a tendency to make them forget about their first language,” Howe stated. “That is demeaning to the students, you cannot strip them of their culture.” After sponsoring the event for 16 years around CT, CCSU finally had the opportunity to host the conference with guests from 16 states, including Hawaii and Japan. “For the last couple of years we have been holding these conferences tradionally at hotels or other public areas due to expenses,” says Howe. “It’s an honor to have CCSU hold this conference here.” The NECME will return next year on October 18th. The location is to be determined.
SGA Senate Allocates Funding to Two Clubs matthew clyburN the recorder
The SGA Senate allocated funding to three campus organizations last Wednesday during a three hour contingency budget request meeting. The representative body passed several motions during the session, granting $2,700 to Hip-Hop Nation and $3,000 to DanCentral. Motions to grant additional funding to the Karate Club and the Communications Club were withdrawn and defeated, respectively. Hip-Hop Nation’s mission is to “unity, love and acceptance” through greater awareness of hip-hop culture. DanCentral is a student performance dance
ensemble that performs in several student showcases each year and hosts guest artists to promote dance on campus. Senator McLaughlin submitted a motion after club presentations that made the additional funding possible. McLaughlin’s motion transferred $20,000 from the SGA’s reserve account into a base budget account. In support of McLaughlin’s motion, Vice President Liz Braun said that funding clubs is a vital function of the SGA. “The SGA is supposed to be allowing these clubs to thrive...the right thing to do is to make sure that clubs do not die,” Braun said. “This motion would definitely allow for us to give clubs the bare minimum so that they can survive.”
keNNy barto i the recorder
The SGA listens to a presentation from DanceCentral, who was funded $3,000
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