Syracuse Student Objects to Giulani as Grad Speaker

By Shawn Anderson

The Daily Orange

(U-WIRE) SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Student Association President Colin Seale gave an impassioned speech Monday about Syracuse University’s decision to invite former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as commencement speaker.

“What’s happening this year at commencement can never be allowed to happen again,” Seale said, drawing applause from much of the Assembly.

Seale acknowledged Giuliani had done some noteworthy things while in office, including reducing crime and cleaning up Times Square. But Seale criticized Giuliani for “terrorizing the homeless” and supporting a police department that accidentally killed some minority individuals during Giuliani’s eight-year term as mayor.

“I myself was racially profiled on my bike coming home from Brooklyn,” said Seale, a sophomore computer science major. “I was very scared.”

At the end of the two-hour session, a resolution was proposed. The resolution states, among other things, that Giuliani’s “policies to improve the `quality of life’ for New York included arresting homeless people found on the street,” and he “sought to undermine the First Amendment by arresting artists and threatening to end public funding for museums with provocative artwork.”

In 1999, Giuliani caused a flap when he criticized and threatened to pull funding from “Sensation,” a tax-funded exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum. One piece of artwork featured a picture of the Virgin Mary splattered with feces. Critics cried Giuliani was trying to censor the exhibit.

The resolution states SA “denounces” SU’s invitation to Giuliani. At next Monday’s meeting the Assembly is expected to vote on the resolution.

“Some language will probably be toned down,” Parliamentarian Andrew Thomson said. “That’s what happens in committee.”

Some cautioned, though, not all students are opposed to Giuliani’s visit.

“The most vocal have been the opponents of Giuliani,” Assemblyman Jayson Weinstein said. “But at the same time, I understand there are those who are not opposed (to his selection). I think SA needs to remember those kids.”

After the session, Seale said he wanted the selection process for choosing commencement speakers to change, noting only several representatives from each college are allowed to sit on the board that chooses speakers. A more open and democratic process would produce better speakers more palatable to the campus, he added.

Seale said SA applauds Giuliani’s resolve after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a resolve that resulted in Time magazine anointing Giuliani its “Person of the Year.” But for now, the emphasis is on making sure the university understands the effect of inviting Giuliani to speak.

Tufts Committee Will Investigate Campus Hate CrimesBy Jane Shtilman

Tufts Daily

(U-WIRE) MEDFORD, Mass. – In response to incidents of hate crimes at Tufts University earlier this semester, a new student group intends to combine numerous campus voices in an effort to increase awareness of intolerance on campus. The Cultural Coordinate Committee began operation earlier this month.

Toward the beginning of the semester, a number of cultural groups were targeted by hate crimes. The Africana Center and its residents were objects of an attack in which racial slurs were written on fliers throughout Capen House. Racial epithets about Asian-American students also occurred and homophobic slurs were scrubbed off university sidewalks.

In their last meeting before Spring Break, CCC members broke up into working groups to examine aspects of campus life that need change. The three groups reported on issues that include curriculum and faculty retention, hate crime reporting and awareness and general atmosphere and education.

The group hopes to “accomplish an increased respect for the difficulties facing many of the students on this campus, creating a more positive and respectful atmosphere for the diversity at Tufts, and to create a sustainable movement by the end of this year which will carry on into the next year with increased strength and resolve,” Halpern said.

“It is important that all students participate, and not just those that are already supportive,” Halpern said. “Otherwise, it’s preaching to the choir.”

Senators have stressed the need to inform students how to respond if they are victims of hate crimes. Outgoing President Eric Greenberg has proposed the creation of a Web site outlining the steps a student must follow in order to file a hate crime report. TCU Vice President and junior Melissa Carson said she supports the idea.

“I think that a Web site outlining the steps and what to do if the steps fail is of the utmost importance,” Carson said. “Students need to know where to turn if they follow the steps and fail to accomplish what they need to do. If someone calls the TUPD and does not get the appropriate response, they have to have other options available to them.”

Members of the student body are not alone in their efforts to ameliorate the situation, according to head of the Tufts Bias Response Team and Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez. According to Perez, the administration has not seen a major increase in the amount of racist incidents on campus. Nevertheless, the administration is working to reduce the occurrence of these incidents.

“Every person on this campus has the capabilities of doing something if they just invest in educating and understanding first,” Halpern said.

Study Says U. Arizona Students Lack General Knowledge

By Stephanie Schwartz

Arizona Daily Wildcat

(U-WIRE) TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona seniors will graduate next month, but according to a recent study, most of them will leave college without the well-rounded education they expected.

The study, conducted by the Arizona Association of Scholars, surveyed 167 graduating seniors from all three state universities in 11 subject areas, including history, science, pop culture and civics.

“The results indicated that students could escape college without a great deal of background that the `classical general college education’ had,” said Marianne Jennings, professor of legal and ethical studies in the college of business at Arizona State University and president of the Arizona Association of Scholars.

According to the study, 98 percent of students could identify Snoop Doggy Dogg, but only 14 percent could identify James Madison as the father of the U.S. Constitution.

“The results are not really the students’ fault,” Michael Block, UA professor of economics and law said. “Students are not being required to learn these things.”

The survey is the second phase of a study done in 1999 by the Arizona Association of Scholars to demonstrate to the Arizona Board of Regents that students are not getting a proper education through their general studies requirements, Jennings said.

The association recommended students be required to complete a core curriculum in history, literature, math, fine arts and social and natural sciences before graduating. It also recommended students take courses in American history and pass minimal competency tests in core subject areas to graduate.

The good news, Jennings said, is a similar survey conducted of seniors at Ivy League Schools showed the same results.

“The general undergraduate requirements have clearly been lessened over the past 50 years,” Jennings said. “Less and less is required, and now the level of study is very shallow.”

Students at UA, for example, can graduate without ever taking an American history class, an art appreciation class or a literature class.

“The idea of a college education is that you are prepared for anything life might hand you,” Jennings said. “With a college education, you should be able to look and evaluate any problem, whether it be political, civil, new skills or personal.”

Students may have had higher scores on certain subject areas if they had learned some of the information in high school, Franciosi said.

“I think the survey is embarrassing enough that people might at least think about it,” Jennings said. “You have half a century of decline to reverse, so it is going to be a slow process.”

Exams Cause Panic Attacks

By Scott Martindale

Daily Trojan

(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES – A student feels a sudden surge of overwhelming fear and anxiety.

The feeling comes out of the blue and without reason.

Chest pain, shortness of breath, out-of-body experiences – all are symptoms of a very serious condition known as a panic attack.

Characterized by an extremely intense but brief surge of anxiety, panic attacks strike one in 75 people at some point in their lives.

“It’s a feeling of impending doom,” said Bradford King, director of Student Counseling Services at the University of Southern California. “It’s pretty scary.”

The stress of final examinations at this time of year tends to push students beyond manageable stress levels, leading to panic attacks, said Gerald Davison, chair of the psychology department.

In addition to the stress of final examinations, many students are preparing to leave friends and romantic partners for the summer – a second major source of anxiety, said Dr. Stanley Harris, clinical psychiatrist for Student Counseling Services.

Alcohol withdrawal and caffeine intoxication are the most common triggers that put stressed students over the top, leading to panic attacks, Harris said. In both cases, the body experiences the effects of stimulant drugs.

About 2.4 million adult Americans experience panic attacks each year, and half develop the condition before age 24, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.