Prof blasts top leader
Tim Nicholson
timmyp@myway.com
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Steve Piscitelli - Stephen Wallace
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President Stephen Wallace's job is safe for the time being, the chairman of the college's nine-member board of trustees says.
"All nine of us have the very highest confidence in President Wallace," Dr. Tom Fryer said in an interview with The Campus Voice. "And calling for resignation is not an option at this time."
Fryer's comments come in the wake of stormy statement by an award-winning history professor who told the board at its meeting earlier this month that the college needs a change in leadership.
Downtown Campus history Prof. Steve Piscitelli accused Wallace and his top assistant, Executive Vice President Donald Green, of creating a disruptive climate that hurts the moral of all employees.
In addition, a long-time speech and English professor, Linda Martin, told the board that Green was "micro-managing" faculty activities.
Board Chairman Fryer said he was startled and saddened by the words of both Piscitelli and Martin.
The friction between the administration and the faculty came as a surprise to him, Fryer said.
"Our college has wandered off course," said Piscitelli, who has taught here since 1988. "Once focused on building relationships, we have deteriorated into lose-lose contests focused on winning at all costs."
Piscitelli went on to charge the administration with subjecting faculty and middle management to what he called "a daily diet of manipulative micromanagement."
He also cited delays in contract resolution, loss of faculty in search of higher pay and respect, and an overly complicated financial system.
"At what point does the current regime take responsibility for what it has created and what it has not?" he asked the board.
In an interview later, Piscitelli said, "I'm not a controversy agent, I don't like that. But I don't shy from it. When I went up it was after great deliberation on my part."
In regards to impact, he said, "I had administrators call me and say, 'I'm proud of what you said; congratulations, you were right on target.'"
Piscitelli, who won an outstanding faculty award last year, said he hopes the board members took him seriously.
"Every time I've been before that board it's been either to present a project that I've been working on or receive some sort of award," he said. "I wasn't somebody coming up there that's a slug who doesn't work."
Wallace said he had no comment on the dispute.
Vice President Green did.
"I think he's one of the finest teachers we have at the institution," Green said. "He has been right beside me leading some of the most important initiatives of the school."
However, in respect to the statements made to the board, Green says Piscitelli is misguided.
"They basically express a sense of wanting things to move forward faster because they're not moving as fast as he--and a small group of people--would like," he said. "He's looking for a way to see if he can speed things up."
The "things" in question are contract negotiations between school administration and the new faculty union, which have been going on since last fall.
"The faculty voted in the union not recognizing how much time it would take to get an original contract," Green said adding that he believed the negotiations were moving along smoothly.
He also noted that the recent contract negotiations for the teacher's union in Miami-Dade County took three years to complete.
Prof. Martin, who has taught at the college for 17 years, said her problem was with a long list of professional standards that Green sent to the faculty members for their reaction.
The list--10 pages long--was, according to Martin "disparate, often ambiguous and repetitious."
She said that the list is a prime example of micromanagement on the administration's part.
"All of the items listed are already fully addressed by our college APMs [administrative procedure manuals], Florida Statute, or in some cases, Federal law," she says, "except the generic 'Best Practices' section which can hardly be part of a binding, legal contract."
The "Best Practices" section deals with many aspects of teacher-student interaction including items like encouraging office visits, posting papers on class web pages for students to respond to each other's work, and learning students' names.
She also pointed out the last item on the list as an example which reads "Develop and implement procedures for preventive maintenance of all LRC equipment"
"I'm quite sure the library has figured out how to maintain their equipment," was her response.
"I felt like the members of the board needed to see how he deals with faculty," Martin said. "My goal was to make sure that each of them had a copy of [the list] in their hand."
Kent Campus math Prof. Jann MacInnes also stands in agreement "I applaud Steve for being courageous and standing up for himself and all of [the] faculty."
Economics Prof. George Bohler, who has taught at FCCJ since 1968, also has issues with the current administration.
He said that President Wallace has had a 10.93 percent pay increase and Vice President Green has had a 11.47 percent increase in the last two years while faculty members have had no raise.
"An incoming faculty member with a Ph.D. earns $34,392. This is six thousand dollars less than an RN with a two-year degree," Bohler said. "And is actually less than a starting teacher in the Duval County public schools with only a master's degree."
North Campus English Prof. Howard Denson, creator of "Kassandra's Kitchen," a web-based journal concerning education issues at FCCJ, also called for a change at the top.
"Wallace doesn't have to resign, but he certainly needs to re-examine his game-plan.
I refer to Saul having a conversion on the road to Damascus," he said.
Bachelor's degree on the way
Linda Brown
Nicole Smith-Johns
nicolesj@myway.com
The college will start offering a bachelor's degree in applied science for the first starting next spring.
A meeting of academic minds is producing a new four -year degree program for FCCJ students.
University of North Florida interim president David Kline and FCCJ president Steven Wallace along with their faculties are developing a program for a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Networking degree.
"The Bachelor of Applied Science degree is just emerging in the area," said Wallace.
Demand for the program came from students and employers. The state Board of Education's mandate for more bachelor degrees was a factor as well, Wallace said.
Those enrolled in the BAS program will receive foundational or general education courses at FCCJ and upper- level, discipline-related instruction at UNF.
The faculty at UNF and FCCJ will work together to develop the upper-level courses. Some of the courses have already been developed and approved by the state of Florida, Wallace said.
" I'm very excited about this," said Kline.
BAS students have a hands-on-approach to the subject and more technical knowledge in the field. The BS degree offers a more theoretical approach, Wallace said.
The hands-on experience of applied degrees prepares students for immediate employment, said Wallace.
Wallace said the time frame for the implementation of the BAS program would depend on the time it takes to develop upper level courses.
The program will unfold spring 2004, said Kline.
Wallace has seen this kind of program come to fruition in other institutions. Wallace's former college took a similar approach and developed such programs with the University of Minnesota.
Florida law requires community colleges to seek a partnership with a university before requesting authority to offer a bachelors degree directly, which is what FCCJ has done.
The approach the college is taking in forming this degree has proven to be successful in other colleges, said Wallace.
The response from students and teachers was incredible and the faculty was extremely excited about teaching upper level courses, he said.
"We are in uncharted territory. We don't know how long it will take to develop the upper-level courses. There is a lot of work to be done," he said.
While FCCJ will offer the BAS degree, the school will not deviate from its core mission, said Wallace, which is to remain an open access community college.
Scam targets texts
Blair McCrone
The college's bookstores are being used in a textbook theft scam, officials say, and the best way to guard against it is for students to mark their books.
The scam, bookstore and security officials said, works like this:
A student puts her books on a cafeteria table while she goes to buy lunch. The thief grabs a book, goes to the bookstore, and sells it back for cash.
Expensive science and math books are the favorite targets, officials said.
Students who think their books have been stolen should always report it to the bookstore and to security.
"We always encourage students that have lost or had their property stolen to alert campus security as well as the bookstore," said Donna Collins, the manager of Follett's South Campus store. Follett runs all the college's bookstores.
"Students should put identifying marks on their property to help with the recovery," she said. "For example, pick a page number in all of your textbooks and write your name on it."
Collins said it is tough to tell how often the thefts occur, but they happens everywhere.
Books have been stolen from the cafeteria, from cars, from classrooms, from the library, and even from a bathroom, she said.
Even so, most buybacks are honest.
"College-wide Follett paid close to $1 million in buyback money this past year," she said. "Like any other retail business there may be some fraud when dealing with this type of transaction."
All Follett bookstores require a valid picture ID--a driver's license or college ID--for all transactions, Collins said.
When a buyback is completed, the customer must sign a form stating, in effect, that it is their merchandise to be sold. Copies of the buyback transaction are kept at the local store level as well as the home office.
Questionable buybacks are reported to the campus security, to the appropriate dean, and, if necessary, to the city police department, she said.
Even after the buyback, students still have a chance, Collins said.
Students who can prove that their books had been stolen then sold back to the bookstore may have their books returned, Collins said.
After that, the bookstore will go after the thieves to get its money back.
Funeral program born
Brad Hall
variablerush@myway.com
Students no longer need to travel to Miami or Atlanta to study to be a funeral director. Last year, Florida Community College started offering a new degree called funeral services.
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photo by Eric Jenkins
North Campus: Accrediting team reviews new funeral science program.
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The program is not currently accredited; however, the program is applying for candidacy to become an accredited program by the American Board of Funeral Services Education (ABFSE). The college will know in April if they will be come a candidate.
The Board is the governing body that sets standards for the program that is being taught at the FCCJ North Campus, and is the only funeral services program in North Florida.
Currently, there are approximately 50 students enrolled in the program, and on May 8, 20 students will graduate and begin their internships at various local funeral homes.
It is a two-year program leading to an Associate in Arts and Sciences degree in funeral science. From there, they can take the National Board Examination issued by the International Conference of Funeral Service Examination Board (ICFSEB). Once they pass the test and serve a one-year internship at a funeral home they may then take the State Examination. When they pass, the state examination they will be fully licensed funeral directors and embalmers in the State of Florida.
. Most states require that all graduates of such programs take the National Board Examination, which covers all of the subjects such as; business accounting, anatomy, embalming principals, and restorative reconstruction, federal and state laws, OSHA practices and procedures.
It took a lot for FCCJ to get the funeral services program. First, the college had to apply for candidacy and have a site team visit from the ABSFE to make sure everything was in order for the program to begin. This April, Program Coordinator Roy Weimert and an administrative official will meet with the ABSFE in California to present a candidacy report. At that FCCJ hopes to receive candidacy for the program.
If approved for candidacy, then in Oct. Weimert and the administrative staff will apply for accreditation. When full accreditation is achieved, FCCJ will be sanctioned as an institution fit to teach funeral services education. Then all graduating students from the program will be eligible to apply the national examination and state examinations.
Advise us!
The Campus Voice is considering a new column for advice. This column will be for entertainment purposes only; all advice given will be the opinion of the columnist and should be taken at readers' discretion. Please help in this new venture by emailing your questions or topics to campusvoice@students.fccj.org with subject line as "Answer Asylum."
Driver ed classes offered at all campuses
Michelle Martin
mmartin80@myway.com
Obtaining a drivers license for the first time and removing traffic points from state driving record are both circumstances many college students face at some point or another.
Classes to assist in these can be quite costly in town.
Now FCCJ offers relief to students in the cost of courses for drivers.
Two days each month FCCJ's Basic Drivers Improvement Traffic School holds classes at each campus. The cost for this class is $20 for students. People that have never taken a class at FCCJ must pay an additional $15 to register as a student.
Lee Clements, senior support specialist for the Insurance/Real estate/Financial services at Kent Campus said, the classes offered are Basic Driver Improvement, or BDI, which removes points from driving record if taken within 90 days of receiving moving violation, and may make students eligible for insurance discounts. Also the Start class is offered, which is a first time drivers/drug and alcohol awareness course.
Registration is available in person or online as with any other course, said Clements. The course title is BDI and the course ID is SCC3711.
Other questions may be answered by calling 904-381-3557. Start classes are given from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Saturdays and BDI classes are either 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. on Thursdays or 1 p.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Schedule for classes rotates as follows.
· North Campus- 1st Saturday and 3rd Thursday of each month
· Kent Campus- 2nd Saturday and 4th Thursday of each month
· Downtown Campus- 3rd Saturday and 1st Thursday of each month
· South Campus- 4th Saturday and 2nd Thursday of each month
Group lobbies for disabled rights
Cynthia Pereira
cpereira@myway.com
Adults with disabilities are gaining more options regarding the quality of their lives.
The national organization, ADAPT, Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, has started a new local chapter.
ADAPT focuses on promoting independent living instead of nursing home living. Attendant Services would be provided to help with things like eating, dressing and moving from wheelchair to bed.
Director of the Northeast Florida Chapter of ADAPT, Kent Bell, 38, has a disability called congenital quadrarhyteamelia, which means he was born without limbs. He was faced with living in a nursing home and decided to take action.
"I have a choice on where to live and how to live," said Bell.
Bell lives independently and has put his college career on hold to ensure that others in his situation have his same opportunities. " We want to teach people with disabilities to speak for themselves," said Bell.
Bell attended a conference on disabilities that was held in Orlando last June. At the conference he met the national president of ADAPT, Bob Kafka, who resides in Washington D.C. Through this meeting the local chapter emerged.
The majority of the funding that is allotted for disabled Floridians is disbursed to the larger cities in our state such as Miami, Tampa, and Orlando, he said. There is not much left for Jacksonville. ADAPT is working to get 25 percent of the Medicaid long term care funds redirected to pay for the kind of services they are striving to offer.
Bell said that it costs much more to maintain ones residence in a nursing home than it costs to assist one in independent living. ADAPT is looking for a balance, he said.
People who live on their own can go to school, work and pay rent. This can contribute to our economy, said Bell.
The most needed resources for this organization are money and education. They hope to find money through grants, fundraisers and donations.
Education is needed for the public and government so that people will better understand the need for what ADAPT is doing, said Bell.
"I think we can be a real viable organization, not just in Jacksonville, but in the state of Florida," said Bell.
Please contact Kent Bell if you have any questions or information on grants or donations. The number is 904-744-5953. The national website is www.ADAPT.org.
Downtown library closes early
Cynthia Pereira
cpereira@myway.com
On Fridays at noon, the Downtown Campus library closes while the other libraries of all the other campuses remain open.
Downtown Campus librarian, Gwen J. Chandler said the library hours are based on the needs of the students, faculty, and staff. One reason for the shortened hours is the limited library patrons; and there are no classes on Friday afternoons.
Chandler has been with Florida Community College for over 30 years and said that she has never known the Downtown Campus library to be open beyond noon on Fridays.
"If there's a human out-cry we would certainly accommodate," said Chandler.
Surveys are often conducted to determine the needs of our students, and the hours of operation are suitable to the needs of our library patrons thus far, she said.
If an instructor needs to meet with a class after-hours or on Sundays, Chandler said they would be accommodated.
The Downtown library is open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon and closed on Sundays.
Blast the CLAST and go
Ileana Rodriguez
Passing the CLAST exam on June 7 just got a little easier. The South Campus Testing and Assessment Center is providing a workshop, called BLAST the CLAST, to help students get a feel for what the test covers.
CLAST tests basic skills competency in essay, reading, math, and english.
"I would like to encourage students to attend this workshop because there is important information which can help prepare students for the CLAST test," said Judy Jones-Liptrot, assessment certification manager on South Campus.
The BLAST the CLAST workshop will be held on April 9 at 12:00 p.m. in room U-152, she said. This particular workshop is intended to prepare students for the June 7 test.
The CLAST exam is required for all A.A. majors. Students that have at least a 2.5 GPA in two English classes or two Math classes will be exempt from those portions of the test. Education majors applying for entry into a Florida college or university are not exempt, regardless of their GPA. The workshop covers a little bit of everything, Jones said. There is a sample test booklet given to students that has information about the future CLAST review classes and answers many questions regarding the test.
"The BLAST the CLAST workshop is intended to give students an idea of the different skill levels, and how to go about studying for the CLAST," said Jones.
Nurses revive group
Nicole Smith-Johns
nicolesj@myway.com
The Student Nurses' Association, which has been dormant for the past five years, is back in full swing.
The association gives nursing students an outlet for community service, said Billie Williams, the association's president. There are currently about 30 members; however, that number is constantly increasing, said Williams.
"I would like to see full participation from all nursing students," she said.
Florida Community College has a huge nursing program, said Williams; we have about 400 nursing students.
The association meets monthly at North Campus in C-224. The next meeting will be Mar. 10 at 10 a.m.
The Student Nurses' Association is involved in various activities to give support to the community. They will hold a bake sale on Feb. 23 to benefit the Quigley house, a house for people abused in domestic violence.
"The great thing about this program," said Williams, "is that students can join before they've finished their prerequisites, as long as they have declared their major as nursing."
Union contract talks crawl at $150 per hour
Tim Nicholson
timmyp@myway.com
That little bulletin board outside a teacher's office can speak volumes about the person lurking inside.
It's simply a matter of reading between the lines of a Non Sequitur here and a Far Side there and a fairly accurate picture of the bulletin board's owner comes into view.
Professor Gena Casas's Bulletin board in front of her FCCJ South Campus office is no exception; she is politically minded with a penchant for the rights of the underdog.
This must be why she decided to run for the position of president of the faculty union last May, which she won. She is now working at the contract negotiation table.
"The chief negotiator is Jo Berry-Segna from the United Faculty of Florida," said Casas.
The negotiations, which started in late July, are only now coming around to actual "contract talk."
"We spent the first few months working on ground rules and on a preamble that included a statement of mutual need," said Casas. "That took a number of meetings to agree on the language of what we could both agree is a mutual need."
Actual contract negotiations began in late November and have focused on faculty rights.
It is unclear whether there are-or will be-any sticking points in the contract negotiations or how long they will last.
Dr. Steven Wallace, president of FCCJ, said, "To the best of my knowledge, there are no 'sticking points'."
Casas was mildly less vague in her assessment of sticking points.
"The fundamental difference is how we view the roll of the faculty at the college, she said. We feel the faculty should be involved in the decision making, especially when it comes to academic affairs and academic freedom,"
In Casas's view, the administration sees the faculty federation "as being only involved in compensation, working conditions and benefits."
In regards to when the negotiations would wrap up, Wallace-who has had prior experience with contract negotiations-said, "There is no way to know. First contracts typically take longer to negotiate."
"I don't have a ballpark figure," Casas agreed, but added: "we are hopeful that this spring we will have a contract."
Casas points out that the negotiations are not all friction and that both parties want to see a pay raise in the faculty's future.
Casas says that both the union and the administration are working toward a reduction in the teaching load since FCCJ requires more hours of work than the average college to be considered a full time professor.
Considering his prior experience, one might assume that Wallace would handle the negotiations personally.
However, he is quick to quell this idea: "First of all, it is not proper for the college president to get directly involved in negotiations-virtually never-and it is very customary for colleges to retain legal council to handle negotiations and that is virtually always the case."
The legal council in question is Michael K. Grogan of the law firm Coffman, Coleman, Andrews, and Grogan.
The law firm is being paid a flat standard rate of $150 per hour, according to Vice-president of Human Resources Christine Arab, who contacted the Campus Voice for this interview.
On the other side of the negotiating table the pay structure is a bit different; Casas and the rest of the faculty get no financial compensation for their time.
She says she does it because she believes in what she is doing, "and I believed the faculty needed a voice."
North offers checkmate match
Thomas Eadie
hibikki-san@myway.com
Two armies face each other on the battlefield. The kings command their troops, combining both leadership skills, and cunning strategy.
While this may sound like a national best seller, or a new action thriller, in actuality it is only a game. A game of strategy and skill between two people, where the lines are drawn and the goal is in sight. The game is chess and students can experience it first hand at North Campus. The spring semester chess tournament is all most here. It will be held on Tuesday Feb. 25, in the North Campus student lounge, Room E235.
"This tournament is open to all students and faculty who would like to play the game," says Kerry Roth, the North Campus recreation coordinator. "Players of all levels of ability are welcome to participate."
Admission is free, simply present a photo ID and proof of enrollment.
Walk-ins are welcome to join the tournament if they arrive before 12:45 p.m., prior to when the tournament starts. The top three finalists will receive movie passes.
To enter the tournament, stop by Student Activities, Room E235 and sign up or call them at 766-6786.
Future teachers must take new test
Michelle Martin
mmartin80@myway.com
The Assessment and Certification Center at the Downtown Campus hosts the General Knowledge Test and is the only site in Northeast Florida to offer it in the computer based version.
Education majors need to start learning about another test; it is called the General Knowledge Test. This is just one in a number of tests needed to get a teaching certification in the state of Florida.
There are two ways in which you can take this test the old fashioned paper and pencil test and the new computer based test. There is currently no fee for the paper and pencil version of the test, and only a $50 fee for the computer version.
While this test parallels the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), all education majors have to take both.
"I would recommend education majors take the GK(General Knowledge Test) right after they pass the CLAST, while the information is still fresh in their minds" said Patricia Becton Downtown Campus manager of the Assessment and Certification Center.
The subject areas covered in the test are; math, reading, english language skills and essay writing. All areas, except the essay writing, can be taken on the computer version of the test. The essay writing portion would need to be taken at a testing site.
"Typically the two areas requiring retest of the GK are math and essay" said Becton.
"The test was long, but not really hard, it was a lot like the CLAST," said Melissa Carmichael, who is entering University of North Florida's education program in the fall of 2003, "I am glad I got through it now, I think I would have forgotten half this stuff if I waited."
Over 200 people took the test at the Downtown Campus Jan 25-27. The General Knowledge Test is given on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Special accommodations are made at all testing sites if needed.
Testing Sites Northeast Florida**
· Florida Community College at Jacksonville Downtown Campus
· University of North Florida
· Jacksonville University
**Other testing sites are available throughout Florida.
See your campus assessment center for registration bulletins and more information
12 portables house communications at South
Lokelani Thomas
Twelve portable classrooms are being used this term for most of the South Campus communications courses.
Catherine Horn, South Campus Director of Administrative Services, said that the portables are being used temporarily, so that the classrooms in building T can be technologically upgraded.
The portables were installed over the holiday break to ensure that they would be ready for classes beginning on Jan. 6, she said.
The portables are on a 12 month lease from Williams Scotsman.
"These buildings are as safe as others. They have fire alarm systems and have to meet all of the same building codes," he said.
Horn said that as soon as renovations on building T are completed, renovations on the 2nd floor of building N will begin. The portables will be in place for the next year, until all of the renovations are complete.
photos by Mirko Bonet
South Campus: The field before and after the portables were trucked in.
Freaky Links
Brad Hall
variablerush@myway.com
Have you ever been sitting at your computer and wanted to eat a hamburger, but were not able to go to a restaurant? Well, check out Ninja Burger. It's not a real ninja food delivery service, but it's funny anyway. The people who made this site had fun, and it shows.
http://ninjaburger.com/
"Engrish" is humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design. This website catalogs some of the weird Engrish that pops up on everything from vending machines to cars.
http://engrish.com/
Just because a person created an empire made of computer software and X-Boxes like Bill Gates did, this does not make him evil. However, if you feel he is evil then this site is dedicated to the supposed harbinger of the apocalypse, Bill Gates.
http://www.ihatebillgates.com/
Faculty displays talent
Jonathan A. Mack
FCCJ's faculty can do more than just teach, as they plan to demonstrate in a series of one-act Reader's Theater presentations on Feb. 28.
Speech and forensics professor Jeff Hess has compiled various accounts on the history of electroshock therapy. Appropriately named Shocked, Hess draws on first-hand accounts and even the play adapted from the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Shocked is produced by the school's speech and debate team.
Electroshock (or electroconvulsive) therapy was introduced in the 1930's along with several other methods for treating mental disorders. While insulin-coma therapy has gone the way of bloodletting, electroshock therapy is still used on patients for whom anti-schizophrenic drugs are ineffective.
Reader's Theater differs from traditional dramatic presentations in that the actors perform with scripts in front of them. This allows the presenters to focus on the text rather than the appeal of the visual set. It traditionally centers on one theme.
Also being performed that night will be an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic short-story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Guest director Tina Fallon will be performing this piece. She promises to give an electrifying performance through the use of live percussion throughout the dialogue.
Each of these performances represents a month of practice.
The performances will take place from Feb. 28 through Mar. 1 at the Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts Studio Theater at 8 pm. Admission is $3 for students and faculty, and $5 for the general public.
photo by Jerry Carver
Black History Month kick-off
Civil War historian Sparky Rucker and wife Rhonda kicked-off black history mounth at Kent, South and North campuses earlier this month. Here they are shown entertaining students and staff at North Campus.
No get-out-of-jail-free cards when traveling in other countries
Michelle Martin
mmartin80@myway.com
With spring break and summer vacation just around the corner, many college students are making plans to travel abroad. However, before students go, there are a few tips from the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs that should be reviewed.
Each year more than 2,500 American citizens are arrested abroad. Approximately half of these arrests are on narcotic charges, including possession of very small amounts of illegal substances. Many of the Americans arrested did not know that they were transporting narcotics, while others assumed that they could not be prosecuted or held responsible in foreign lands because they are American citizens.
The fact is that American citizens are expected to obey all of the laws of the countries they visit. Breaking the local laws can result in severe penalties including; incarceration, hard labor, heavy fines, lashings, and even the death penalty in some countries.
Heavy drinking, disorderly behavior and underage alcohol use are among the other top offences Americans are arrested for overseas.
Tips For Traveling
There are a few things you can do before you go on your trip to be sure that your much-anticipated vacation does not turn into a nightmare experience by serving time in a foreign jail or worse.
· Familiarize yourself with local laws and customs for all of the areas you will be visiting
· Make sure you have a signed, valid passport and visas if required. Also, fill in the emergency section of your passport
· Read Consular information sheets and Public Announcements or travel warnings
· Leave copies of your itinerary, passport data page, and visas with someone at home
· Make sure you have insurance that will cover you overseas
· Do not leave your luggage unattended in public areas
· Never accept packages from strangers
· Do not announce you are traveling alone
· Avoid using illicit drugs or drinking in excess
· Avoid becoming a target by wearing conspicuous jewelry
· Do not carry excessive cash or credit cards
· Get directions from hotel you are staying before leaving
· Deal only with authorized agents to exchange money
· Avoid demonstrations and other situations where anti-American sentiments may be expressed
If you are arrested here is what your U.S. Consular Officer can and cannot do for you.
· Can visit you in jail after being notified of your arrest
· Can give you a list of local attorneys
· Can notify your family and friends and relay requests for money or other aid (with your authorization)
· Can intercede with local authorities to make sure your rights under local law are observed and that you are treated humanely, according to internationally accepted standards
· Protest mistreatment or abuse to the appropriate authorities
· Cannot demand your immediate release or get you out of the country
· Cannot represent you at trial or give legal counsel
· Cannot pay legal fees or fines with U.S. government funds
Source: State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs
Upcoming Events
Feb. 25 -North Campus- Marsha Phelts, American Beach, 11 am, auditorium
Feb. 26-Downtown Campus- Fashion show, noon A-1068
Feb.26-Kent Campus-Medieval Fair, 9am-2pm, Courtyard
Feb.26-South Campus- Ethnic Food Fest-11:30am cafe
Mar.03-South Campus- Women's History Month Kickoff- Charlotte Mabrey- 11am Wilson center M bldg.
Mar.04-Kent Campus-Shana Smith, 11:30am, G-stage
Mar.04-Kent Campus-Gallery Opening-B
Mar.04-Kent Campus-Claudhurt,6pm E-112
Mar.04-North Campus-Gallery Opening-6pm,D301
Mar.05-Kent Campus-SGA Open Mic-11am G-stage
Mar.05-North Campus-Shana Smith, Noon, auditorium
Mar.06-Downtown Campus-Shana Smith, 12:30pmCafe
Who needs money to go to school?
Jerry does.
Jerry Carver
jcarver@myway.com
If you are like me and live from paycheck to paycheck, finding money for college can be a challenge. However, for those who truly want to attend college, money can be found.
For several years I did not go back to school because of a lack of finances. I wasted too much time waiting for my ship to come in. Then I realized if I wanted to go back to school, I would have to make my own way.
My first step was applying for financial aid, which, of course, I did not qualify for because the government said my husband makes too much money.
Too bad I can't pay my bills.
Sadly, I had to accept the fact that I would add more bills to the ones I could not currently pay, by accepting federal loans. But, hey, I am getting an education and will later be able to get a higher paying job so I can pay those bills. Right? I hope so.
Borrowing money is not my favorite pastime. So I began to search for hidden treasures. Other students get a free ride. Why not me?
I found the student catalog to be a wealth of information. That is where I found my first golden nugget.
I learned of the campus newspaper and that there were scholarships available. I hunted down the advisor and expressed my interest. From there I had to prove my abilities, but after a semester of sweat and blood I earned a talent grant from the paper.
I also spent many a night searching extensively on the web for scholarships. This soon produced a nice diamond in the rough. The website www.fastweb.com is an excellent resource for thousands of scholarships.
You have to fill out an extremely long profile sheet, yet the payoff is great. The site takes your profile of experience, major, interests, jobs and many other factors like demographics and then systematically fits your profile to all of the possible matches for scholarships.
This feature is helpful because it saves the student hours of laborious searching for the needle in a haystack. Now, instead of looking though thousands of scholarships, the list is narrowed to just a hundred or so. The hardest part is applying for the scholarships, but now you know they exist.
The last tip that has helped me find free money is networking. I talk and listen to everyone. Because of this, I have learned of other programs that offer money to students. My latest award was for joining the Honors Academy. This group offers scholarships based on academics. In this case, grades go a long way.
So the lesson is never give up looking. Use your talents and interests to your advantage. Make good grades and apply, apply, apply.
Gird your loins, grab you signs,
it's time for protest
Tim Nicholson
timmyp@myway.com
The time has come for change. As I hurry from one class to another of late, I have come to notice a disturbing trend on the old FCCJ campus grounds.
It's not something that I noticed right away, but day after day the realization grew in me that something was amiss.
Everyone parks in nice neat little rows and then marches, en mass, off to class like perfect little clockworks.
We swing into the cafeterias, eat our meals, put our trash in the proper receptacles, and swing right back out like so many pendulums.
Oh sure we may try to look rebellious by picking up an outfit or two at some second-hand store, but it's all a facade.
The pressure is building on campus, my friends; I can feel it in the air as though lightning is about to strike and it's driving me cuckoo.
I tell you this place is a ticking time bomb.
And I'm just the guy to light the fuse.
This is the hour for us to gloriously rise up in righteous protest.
Mom and Dad did it years ago (and in some cases: Grandmother and Grandfather, and in a few cases: you yourself), so it's only natural that we follow in their footsteps.
That's part of what college is about, I read it one time.
Now, I see the wheels turning in your heads and I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking "Tim, you're absolutely right, but with so many worthy causes to be alarmed about, how do we pick just one?"
Well, let me just chime in right there and say that I feel your pain.
I know that we can't just traipse off to the next big injustice we see on 60 Minutes because, sadly, we're too inexperienced.
We can't start off with anything too big.
Ben Franklin once said, "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of."
Bearing that in mind, I kept my ear to the grindstone to expeditiously find out what the buzz was on campus.
Then it struck me.
Clocks.
Campus clocks are what we must band together and protest.
Now, on the face of things this may seem ludicrous, but when is the last time you've seen a campus clock that showed the correct time?
Let me field that one for you: the twelfth of Never.
All it would take is some new batteries and a little initiative and everyone would know what time it is.
Just thinking about it makes my ears ring, so something must be done.
It'll be great, but don't think it will just be an analogue to the protests of a bygone era; no "Kumbaya" singers need apply.
Instead of "sit-ins" we can have "log-ins" so that we can protest from the comfort of our own homes and not have to sit holding hands in the hot sun.
Dial up your favorite Internet provider, log onto your favorite granolahead or dirtyhippy website, throw on a tie-dye, and you'll be a true 21st century digital beatnik.
And for those who reside on the more adventurous end of the bell curve there's still the actual thing.
We could square off with campus security like it was high noon: them with their nightsticks and pepper spray, us with our protest signs and incense.
It could get rough out there so don't be surprised if you get clocked on the head, but the pepper spray should not be a problem as long as we bring plenty of duct-tape.
So rise up my brothers and sisters. Revolution is in the air and we can't waste a minute.
Hands in pockets up to their wrists and backs against the wall are no way to change the world, my friends.
And if this goes well, then we can see about ending war and the like.
The only problem looks to be coordinating a time to do it.
Cafeteria still needs work
This concerns your Feb. 11 editorial, "Cafeteria Prices Break Students".
I've looked at the food in the Downtown Campus Cafe', but it wasn't worth the cost or the risk.
It would have been nice to get a meal before a night class, but in three years, I've never bought more than a soft drink and crackers or candy bar from the vending machines.
You should check out past issues of the Campus Voice from two to three years ago, before the cafeteria was rebuilt. It seemed there were complaints in almost every issue. There were suppose to be big changes after the rebuilding, cheaper prices, better food, different vendor, etc., I don't think any of it happened.
Maybe you should do a more in depth article, find out what the plans were and if any of them were put in place. Of course, you might find out that the cafeteria is like the book store, where it seems that the college is more interested in making money than benefiting the students.
Downtown Campus student
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