Happy
St. Patrick's Day!! THE March 16, 1989 Vol. 87, No. 42
VISTA
Thursday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Grad assistant charged with DUI
Nancy Kidd, West Hall residential assistant, donates blood Tuesday at the CSU Health Fair. (Photo by Stan Pollard)
Internationals praise prof By Mei Pong Staff Writer A witch in a black hat, a crooked broomstick, a jack o' lantern, a pail of pecans and a tray of sweets. Thunderous laughter and voices uttering words from "War of the Worlds" relieving the good old scary, bygone day. No, this is not a first-grade Halloween party. It is English 1153, English grammar and composition for international students, taught by Mary Spelman, lecturer at Central State University. "I think her class is bizarre, strikingly out of the ordinary, and I love it. She really tries to get us acquainted with the American culture. The students in her class come from different countries, and she understands that they might not be familiar with the culture and some of the holidays observed here like Thanksgiving Day and Halloween," said Katherine
Chiang one of her former students. Susie Chang, another former student said, "She takes great pains to understand her students. She realizes that international students have certain difficulties, and she tries to help them with any difficulties they might have. "She also posseses great perseverance and is willing to teach something over and over again. If I have to do freshman English again, I will definitely choose her all over again." Poon Kin Hung, a former student of Spelman has only praises for her dedication to her students."I have never seen someone as dedicated as she is. We used to swarm around her after class for hours asking her to explain to us various things that we did not understand. "She just stays around in spite of having other things to do. I think she never turns any of her students away," he said.
Chong Fu , a new student at CSU said "I am taking four subjects this semester and she is the friendliest and the most caring teacher that I know. She knows all her students by name. "She also makes learning vocabulary a lot of fun. She devises various games to play in class, just to make the lessons more interesting. "A lot of us in her class are new students and I guess she knows that we might have a hard time adjusting to being away from home and adapting to a new culture and environment. "At the end of each period she allots some time for her students to talk about the difficulty that they are encountering in understanding and conversing English. "If we have other adjustment problems, she will try to help us. I think the key word is that she cares. Somehow this makes a lot Please see Spelman on page 8.
By Deanette Intrieri Student Writer A Central State University graduate assistant in the creative studies department was arrested Friday in Edmond on charges of DUI and destruction of city property. Russell Thomas Bowlan, 24, of Oklahoma City, was arrested at 2:33 a.m. at 1000 S. Broadway for driving 45 mph in a 35 mph zone and driving under the influence of alcohol, the police report states. Police Sgt. Jim Turner administered a breath test to Bowlan which registered .21 percent alcohol, police reports indicate. The legal limit is .10 percent. After Bowlan was placed in a cell, he ripped a blanket into several pieces, the report states.
He then was charged with destruction of city property and transported to Oklahoma County Jail. Bowlan said people do make mistakes, but he is taking it in stride. "Things are looking better, and I am taking action in my personal life as well to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said. "But on the brighter side," Bowlan said, "while I was in the county jail, I found a lot of creative material to write about. I might be able to use it in a poem or novel later on." Bowlan has been employed at CSU since August 1988 and teaches fundamentals of creative writing I and II.
President Bill Lillard prepares forms to give blood Tuesday at the CSU Health Fair in University Center. (Photo by Stan Pollard)
Easter celebrated by Jewish meal, seminar By Kamal Mazian Staff Writer A Passover meal held yesterday and a seminar scheduled for tonight are two events sponsored this week by the Baptist Student Union to celebrate the upcoming Easter holiday, said Suzanne Lillard, BSU associate director. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the BSU is sponsoring a seminar titled "Plug Into God" by Robin Cowain, pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church at 400 N. Blackwelder in Edmond. "The seminar," Lillard
said, "will deal with ways to develop a daily devotional time to talk to God through scripture readings and prayers and to learn how to be more consistent in the daily walk of a Christian." A Passover Celebration held yesterday consisted of a 30-minute service in which the symbols of the Passover meal were discussed and a meal was eaten, Lillard said. "Though Passover is a Jewish holiday," Lillard said, "Christians still need to look back at it to understand and appreciate the meaning and
significance of Easter." Lillard said the symbols of the Passover meal are bitter herbs to symbolize the bitterness of the Jews as slaves of the Egyptians; unleavened bread to symbolize the hasty exodus of the Jews to the Promised Land; lamb, which relates to Jesus Christ; and grape juice to symbolize blood. Lillard said though BSU does not have a formal membership, its activities benefits between 300 to 400 CSU students, including international students.