Celebrating 100 Years
THEVisTA The Student Voice Since 1903
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2003
To their own beat... Central's dance program offers everything from ballet to hip-hop. by Shawna Parks Guest Writer As you walk through the halls of the Health and Physical Education Building, you hear many different sounds. Rap, classical, jazz, or hard rock may fill the air, but one sound remains the same — the sound of dancers just doing what they love. The UCO dance program offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance education. The program also boasts the Kaleidoscope Dance Company. The company is decided by audition every spring and this year consists of twenty-eight members. Jamie Jacobson, director of dance, said that Central's dance program brings in a lot of different artists, including contemporary artists with a modern background and jazz artists. This provides for versatile, well-rounded dancers. The company and program together offer ballet, tap, jazz, modern and hip-hop. Within each dance form, a variety of styles are also introduced. In all, a very diverse dance education exists. Even though modern dance is nothing new to Central's dance students, many people have a misconception of modern dance. "Many observers or particularly first time audience members feel that they have to 'get it' and understand modern dance right off the bat," Jacobson said. "But modern dance is like contemporary art and particularly abstract art, in that it is not literal and the meaning is not always given to the observer right away, and in fact, many times is left to the individual to find their own interpretation and meaning. On the flip side, modern dance does not always have to have a mean-
ing and can be erijoyable just to watch the complex and intricate movement and patterns." This year, the Kaleidoscope Dance Company received the National College : Choreography Initiative grant. The NCCI project has been done only rwo times, and Central has received it both times, in 2000 and in 2003. In 2000, the award was granted to one university per state. This year, only 35 awards were given total, creating more competition. These granks are no easy taskito get. Jacobson said, "The grant and application process is pretty detailed and extensive." The hard work paid off though with this yeaA grant worth $7,500. his grant money enables the university to bring in worldrenowned choreographers to set works on the Kaleidoscope Dance Company. This year, Bill Evans was chosen. "He was chosen because of his national reputation and experience as a reputable choreographer," Jacobson said. Evans and Jacobson met in 1990, ; and since then Evans has taught at several summer dance workshops here at Central. Evans is a professor of dance at the University of New Mexico. He stated in an article published this month in Dance Magazine that, for him, making dances and sharing them "is a wholly positive, life-affirming practice." This type of enthusiasm is shared throughout the dance world. Describing her own philosophy, Jacobson said "I believe . dance is for everyone and can be therapeutic and healing as well as a technical and skill-driven art form." Senior dance major Tiffany Bruner said, "Dance is such a stress release for me i and it's also .
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Professor honored for public relations, internship program by Rick Russick Staff Writer Jill Kelsey, journalism instructor and faculty adviser to Central's Public Relations Student Society of America, was honored at the society's Upper Case Awards Banquet Oct. 17. The banquet was held at the Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City. She was honored for her story "Fighting Fires with Interns: Building a program that keeps you on track." The story was published in the national scholar/trade publication, Public Relations Quarterly in fall 2002. Kelsey said that informing business practitioners about the value of student intern-
ships was the focus df the article. "I wanted to explain how to develop a program that will make the relationsh p beneficial to both the buliness and the interns," she said. ' "1By developing a developing a: student internship program ithat best:servei the organi4ation while hell3ing studentsl refine their the end result is a win-yhri proposition." Bryan Carlile, coeditor for the PRSSA newsittier and Hilarie Fite, pre4icl4nt ; of PRSSA were recoginiz'ed. for assisting with the llaiiqtiet program entry and regi4tration. Several Central alumni also received recognition for award winning entries.
an escape from the outside world and surroundings. It also allows me to express myself through movement." Dancer Meredith Black said, "It makes me happy. It is constantly challenging." Senior dance major Bethany Stephens said, "I guess my motivation is to. always push myself to and past my limits. I get a sense of freedom when I dance. There is so much release, and it's a great
dence. Bill Evans came here Oct. 24 and will be here through Nov. 9. During this time, senior dance major Steven Dillon, among others, will be dancing 38 hours a week. This is in addition to nondance related schoolwork and jobs. All of this dancing is in preparation for professionally performing and teaching, which most of the dancers wish to pursue. These dancers' future goals include
UCO to hold dance master class by Lauren Pulsinelli Staff Writer Although space is limited, a $15 master class will be held here Nov. 8 for dancers 13 and older. Bill Evans, nationally known choreographer who taught a dance workshop last summer, will teach the master class from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Health and Physical Education Building. The completed dance piece from the master class will be presented in the Kaleidoscope Dancers concert in March. "I chose him because I have worked with him before and he is a phenomenal dancer," said Jamie Jacobson, Central's dance director. Evans has been here since Oct. 24 working with Central dance students. Following the class, he will present "Together in Time," his new tap modern dance piece. -
Evans is a full professor and former head of dance at the University of New Mexico. His visits to Central are part of Dance/USAs National College Choreography Initiative. Central's dance program received a $7,500 NCCI grant for the 2003-2004 academic year. The funding helps support the new work created by Evans. NCCI's overall goal is to enhance collaboration between colleges and professional artists. Funding for the NCCI projects is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts and Dance/USA. Evans will return March 28 to perform a solo concert sponsored by the Oklahoma Community Dance Alliance in Oklahoma City. Evans is also featured in the November issue of Dance Magazine. For more information on registering for the class, call Jacobson at 974-5231.
outlet for stress. I guess I'm lucky to find a profession in something I love." Central dancers may dance up to 25 hours a week on a regular basis and nearly 40 hours a week when a choreographer is in resi-
Broadway, professional dance companies, choreography, music videos, multimedia work, owning studios, and teaching at universities. Many of the dancers will head off to Chicago, Los Angeles or New York after graduation.
Witches, ghosts and ninjas haunted the halls of the West Hall dorms for trick-or-treating Oct. 31. The West Hall Council coordinated "Safe Trick or Treat" which drew nearly 50 children from the Edmond area to the UCO campus. Hilarie Fite, senior public relations major and vice president of WHC, said 35 residents participated in the event.
"Safe Trick or Treat 'is designed for kids and parents to stay indoors and get candy," Fite said. Misti Howell, freshinan undeclared major and hall representative, gave tours and directed children and parents where to receive candy. "The funniest part of the night was a little girl dressed as a princess," she said. "Her costume was too big and she kept on tripping on it." Jourdan Shockey, junior science education major and senator of West Hall, passed ,
Dance major Eric Champray exercises Nov. 4 in Wantland Hall during Intermediate Jazz - Tech 2. The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University also have dance programs, but Central dancers chose to dance here for many different reasons. Senior dance major Jaymi Bush said that the quality of the classes made her choose to dance
at Central. Tiffany Bruner said, "I chose UCO because of the diversity and wide range of styles that are studied here. Also, the program is
see dance page 3
University teaches MBAs statistics with a healthy dose of ethics By LENA WARMACK St. Paul Pioneer Press ST. PAUL (AP) — When Meghan Whitehouse enrolled in the new full-time MBA program at the University of St. Thomas, she didn't expect her statistics class would go beyond numbers. "It's not about crunching numbers," said Whitehouse, 25, of Minnea . polls. "You want to balance the rights of the organization with the rights and interests of the people that will be affected by your decisions." She is one of about 28 first-year students enrolled in a master's of business administration program that places a heavy emphasis on personal values and ethics. "This program's making us reflect on everything we decide and everything we create," Whitehouse said. Amid the downfall of high-profile corporations such as Enron
and WorldCom, colleges and universities are revisiting the basic fundamentals of ethics in course curriculums. According to a national business survey conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics Resource Center, managers who are younger than 30 are twice as likely to feel pressure to compromise their ethical standards. The Twin Cities' primary business schools — St. Thomas and the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota — are addressing the issue. "We're leveraging the strengths we had in ethics in a new way," said Teresa Rothausen, program director for St. Thomas' MBA program. "The raw material was all there, but it hadn't been pulled together in a strategic way to a large degree." The program integrates ethics through simulation, a teaching approach introduced this year. In
West Hall Council conducts safe trick or treat for Edmond children by Rachael Tully Staff Writer
Photo by Justin Avera
out candy to the trick-ortreaters. "The cutest costume was a boy dressed as the Hulk," she said. "He had defined abs and big arms, but was so shy. He didn't even say a word." Many residents who participated in "Safe Trick of Treat" said seeing children on campus gave them "a breath of fresh air." "Kids can light up the day when you see them dressed up like little lady bugs or Frankensteins," Fite said. Nearly 800 invitations were
sent to Edmond elementary schools from WHC inviting children to "Safe Trick or Treat." Central students and the Edmond community were brought together by the program, Shockey said. "I love doing 'things with the community," she said. "Tonight was all about having little kids come to the dorm rooms, where its safe, instead of being outside on the streets."
one class, students can hire or fire classmates based on their decisionmaking performance and group participation. Students work on projects that deal with ethical issues, and they receive comments from key business professionals, said Christopher Puto, dean of the College of Business at St. Thomas, who created the simulation program at the school. "They take away what it's like to be in the real world of business while they're still in school," Puto
said. "It's an attempt we have created to provide genuine relevance in their business education." To further emphasize the importance of ethics, St. Thomas brought a group of convicted white-collar criminals to campus in June to speak to business and law students about the consequences of unethical behavior. Though St. Thomas has offered an evening and part-time MBA
see ethics page 3
Health fair to offer free screenings, counseling by Kim Roberts Staff Writer The UCO Fall Health Fair will offer students several free services Nov. 6 in the Wellness Center. The fair, sponsored by the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), will be open to students in three time windows — from 11 a.m. to 1 p.rn., from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. "This is the first year we've done this as a comprehensive event, with all the student organizations that deal with medical concerns on campus," said LaBetta Wallenmeyer, director of the Student Health Center. "We hope this will be an annual event." The fair will offer several services from different departments on campus, including hearing screenings from speech and language clinician students, depression screenings from the counseling
department and nutrition counseling from dietetic student interns, she said. The Kinesiology Department will also do height, weight and body mass index tests. Nursing students will conduct glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure and give flu shots under supervision, Wallenmeyer said. "Those tests will take about five minutes, so we'll probably have a wait list. If the cholesterol test shows high cholesterol, we'll do a more complete test on them," she said. The flu shots will cost $10 and almost all other services will be free. A booth listing the programs offered by. the Wellness Center will be set up, and Planet Smoothie will be giving free samples during the fair For information about the fair or services offered, call Wallenmeyer at 974-2317.