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Larger class size discussed in University Senate By Lena Zhu Course capacity -- the number of students allowed in courses based on educational standards set by faculty -- is becoming a major issue at Kean. Two separate University Senate meetings and an open forum were held in the last month where the faculty discussed the changes in class size. Some professors reported that various administrators were telling them that their course capacity will be increased in apparent violation of University Senate rules. More psychology courses are expected to increase from 35 to 50 students. An upper level communication course was initially going to be increased from 25 to 35 students, then settled on 30. This change was done without the approval of the University Senate. The University Senate is the principal agency for the formulation of Kean University policy, according to the University Senate’s webpage. The University Senate focuses on matters such as faculty affairs, curriculum, finances, and other matters that are relevant to Kean University. Then, they make recommendations to the president. “Every one of our course documents that gets approved has a course capacity number on it developed by the individual who is developing and teaching that course,” said Dr. Patrick Ippolito. “That document goes through the department reviewing committee…and is signed off by the dean. So that we have in place, in the registrar’s office, a document that says EMSE 3123 has a course capacity of 30.” The appropriate number of students in a particular course is determined by the professor teaching that course. The amount of students in the class will attribute itself to how well the students learn. A class size with a possibility for 35 students may not be the best environment in which a student can learn effectively. “We keep saying to prospective students that one of the things that we are very proud of is our class size,” said Ippolito. “We’re not like some of the other institutions that have three or five hundred students in a lecture who never get to know the faculty member.” Dr. David Joiner, Vice President of the University Senate
Photo by Lena Zhu
The public forum only contained a few professors.
and a professor teaching in the STEM field, raised a question of the validity and approval of the document itself. “My question is did the University Senate ever endorse to approve this document?” Joiner asked. His question was followed by a few moments of silence, before Ippolito stated that he believes that the University Senate did approve them, but would need to double check. Prof. Holly Logue, a Professor in the Theater Department, said, “I was on this task force at the time and my understanding is that ‘guideline’ meant recommendation. Not standard, not must, not should, not mandated. It was a guideline. And I don’t think that the senate voted on this, either.” With all of the questions flying, Ippolito suggested to go
to Provost and find out more information and get all of the facts straight before making a final decision. A public forum on the discussion of course capacity occured on Feb. 27. Dr. Christopher Lynch, a communication professor who attended the public forum, said, “The course capacity were increased on my class. Dr. Sargent had a meeting with Dr. Bousquet and the compromise seemed to be that the class size would increase by 5 instead of 10.” Lynch, a communication professor, stated that he has one of the most difficult classes in the program. His need for a smaller class size is vital to his teaching methods. continued on page 4
Watergate reporter speaks at University’s first Distinguished Lecture Series By Joshua Rosario Credit: Kean University
Undergraduate Commencement Speaker U.S. Senator Cory Booker
Kean 2018 Undergraduate Commencement speaker to be U.S. Senator Cory Booker By Joshua Rosario U.S. Senator of New Jersey, Cory Booker, is the University’s 2018 undergraduate commencement speaker, according to a Kean press release issued Feb 26. “We are thrilled that Sen. Booker will be our commencement speaker,” said University President Dawood Farahi in the press release. “His leadership on a host of issues from the local to the national level provides a strong example to our students of what they can achieve and how they can make a difference in our world.” At 29, Booker, was first elected to the Newark City Council. In 2006, he was elected Mayor of Newark and served for more than seven years. He was elected to serve as New Jersey U.S. Senator during a special election in 2013. Then re-elected a year later for a full six year term. Commencement is always such an exciting time for our graduates and their families, and I cannot think of a better person to address them than Sen. Booker,” said Ada Morell, chair of the Kean Board of Trustees in the press release. “We look forward to hearing the message he has for our graduates as they embark on the next chapter of their lives as Kean alumni.” Class of 1961 Alumna Diane Miron will receive a honorary degree at Undergraduate Commencement. Miron graduated from Kean then Newark State College with a degree in elementary education. The Miron Student Center was named after Miron after a large donation made by her and her husband, Bob Miron, in 2015.
“It was so fast when Carl Bernstein and I worked on Watergate stories, sometimes we would work for two to three weeks on one story,” said Bob Woodward, one of the journalists famous for covering President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal. Woodward, a two-time Pulitzer prize winning journalist and author, spoke at the first of Kean University’s Distinguished Lecture Series in the STEM building auditorium on Feb. 22. Woodward is most known for his investigative reporting that led to a best-selling nonfiction book and movie called, “All The President’s Men.” The book details Woodward’s 1972 investigation of the Watergate hotel break-in alongside co-author and journalist, Carl Bernstein. Their continuous investigation unveiled scandal for then President Richard Nixon, who would resign because of it before the end of his second term. “The editors would have questions, ‘Get more sources? What about this? This is not clear.’ …when the questions were answered … run the story,” Woodward said. “ Now, reporters literally have to find the six versions of the story in 24 hours.” During his lecture, Woodward reflected on his time covering the scandal with Bernstein, the Trump era and a story about a lunch he had with former Washington Post publisher, Katharine Graham (currently portrayed in the movie ‘The Post” starring Meryl Streep). “She had a management style I later described as mind on, hands off,” Woodward said. Woodward told the full crowd that Graham knew what was going on, but never told editors how to edit or journalists how to report. At the time of the Watergate stories, Graham asked him when they will
Photo by: Lena Zhu
Credit: Cody Louie
Bob Woodward speaking to some students and faculty before the lecture
get vindication about their stories, as they seemed to be the only ones to believe them. He told her the truth may never come out. “Never. Don’t tell me never,” said Woodward quoting Graham. “ I left the lunch a highly motivated employee.” Before the event, Woodward met with several journalism, history and political science students. He started off by asking the students where they get information from? Students answers ranged from scholarly articles to everywhere. “Human sources. If you want to find out something that’s going on you go to a human being who is a witness, who has information, who has opinions,” said continued on page 8