College of Charleston News
Stories
December 2005
Myrtle
Beach Sun News
Charlotte
Observer
S.C. Historical Society focuses on 20th century
"Most people don't
realize that history is the collective experience of all of us," said Jack
Bass, a writer, College of Charleston professor and historian. "History
goes beyond the records of important people and powerful families.'"
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/13507538.htm
December
25, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
On the holidays ...
Once-minor Jewish holiday is prominent today
By Marty
Perlmutter
This year, the Jewish
festival of Hanukkah is as late as it has been in many years. By coincidence,
Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day this year.
With days beginning at
nightfall on the Jewish calendar, the Hanukkah candles are lit for the first
time tonight, as Christians celebrate Christmas. So, today is a special day for
Christians and Jews.
The Christmas story is
widely known here. But what is the story behind Hanukkah?
Marty
Perlmutter is a
philosophy professor and director of Jewish studies at the College of
Charleston.
https://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=60615§ion=faithvalues
December
25, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Author weaves accounts of S.C.'s role in Civil War (Book
review)
SOUTH CAROLINA'S CIVIL WAR.
By W. Scott Poole. Mercer University Press. 186 pages.
$32.
Mixed feelings ring
throughout the Civil War, as much in the South Carolina experience as anywhere,
from Fort Sumter through Sherman's March to Reconstruction.
So it is with W. Scott
Poole's sweet narrative history that readers approaching with even a mild
interest in the Civil War will find too short.
The concept, Poole
explains, is a synthesis aimed at a popular audience, not academic historians.
It also will be used as a text for Poole's South Carolina history class at the
College of Charleston, and we know how young attention spans waver these days.
https://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=61047§ion=books
December
20, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
C of C students kick the
habit
College of Charleston
students are smoking less, results of a new campus survey show.
This month's survey of
more than 1,000 students found that the number of students smoking at least
three times a week dropped from 30 percent to 21 percent during the past two
years.
The number of students
who reported smoking at least once in the past 30 days or at least once in the
past year also dropped.
The declines come as the
college is considering new campus smoking rules that would ban smoking in
student dormitories and limit where people could smoke on campus. The first
rules could be adopted as early as next fall.
For now, campus health
officials say they are encouraged that smoking rates already are declining
through other means, such as educating students about the associated health
dangers.
College of Charleston
Health Educator Laura Lindroth said she thinks anti-smoking campaigns on campus
and around the community are wearing students down. "We have heard from
students, and they say they just hear about it all the time and it makes them
think about quitting," she said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59970§ion=localnews
December
19, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Attractions draw fewer
In an
attempt to figure out what's going on, the Charleston Area Convention and
Visitors Bureau commissioned two studies from the College of Charleston
hospitality department - one compiled in the fall of 2004 and a second based on
surveys this summer.
"While
the seasons have changed, most of the issues have not," said Stephen
Litvin, the author of the report.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59605§ion=businessreview
December
18, 2005
Hilton Head Island
Packet
The battle over science
Rob Dillon, a biology
professor at the College of Charleston, said he's part of an informal group of
scientists statewide who are following the controversy. He and several
colleagues attended the oversight committee meeting Monday.
"I'm appalled,"
he said. "It's a black day for science in South Carolina."
Just a week ago, the
Fordham Foundation ranked South Carolina's science standards the fourth best in
the nation, he said.
Science education, Dillon
said, "is one thing we're doing right."
The danger of teaching
intelligent design, he said, is that "it's not science. It's religion.
It's faith."
Dillon, who said he is a
Presby-terian, said most religions don't have a problem with evolutionary
science.
The oversight committee,
he said, is trying "to gut the biology standards."
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/5407416p-4885738c.html
December
18, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Is attack on science a sign of weak faith?
Dr. Robert T. Dillon, Jr.
.On Dec. 7, the nonprofit
Fordham Foundation published a report ranking South Carolina's Science Academic
Standards fourth best in the nation, lauding them as "a genuine effort to
define science literacy K through 12."
On Dec. 12, our Education
Oversight Committee, meeting in Columbia, voted to strip four of the seven
indicators from High School Standard B-5 (biological evolution), gutting the
life sciences curriculum in our secondary schools, compromising the entire
document.
Robert T. Dillon
Jr. is an
associate professor of biology at the College of Charleston, trustee of the St.
Andrew's Constituent School Board, and tenor in the First (Scots) Presbyterian
Kirk Choir.
December
18, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
S.C. poetry anthologies
among gift book choices
The
College of Charleston's Paul Allen has written a Pulitzer Prize-nominated
collection of poems called "The American Crawl." The CD of his songs,
"The Man With the Hardest Belly," is as wonderful as it sounds.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59262§ion=artstravel
December
18, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Dunnan head of Kennedy
Center committee
Charleston resident John
Dunnan has been named chairman of the Kennedy Center's National Committee for
the Performing Arts (NCPA), the permanent national advisory board of the
Kennedy Center, with members representing nearly all 50 states.
The NCPA funds the
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, which for the 12th straight
year has a Charleston connection. The festival, which will be held in
Jacksonville, Fla., this year, highlights the works of gifted college students
who specialize in the areas of acting, playwriting, directing and set design.
On Dec. 12, it was
announced that three College of Charleston theater students have been named
finalists for the playwriting division of the festival. These students will travel
to Jacksonville in February, where staged readings of their original plays will
be presented to compete in the regional finals. The winner will go to the
Kennedy Center this summer.
The students and their
plays are: Amber M. O'Neil for "Mockingbird," Will Cavedo for "Playing Gods" and Eric
Kingrea for
"Pals."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59302§ion=artstravel
December
18, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
S.C. artist's images
reflect Confederate money's depiction of slaves
When
Columbia artist John Jones unveiled images of slavery on Confederate currency
four years ago at the Avery Research Center for African-American History and
Culture, he didn't think the acrylic paintings would get much attention beyond
Charleston.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59313§ion=artstravel
December
18, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Hotel height renews
battle
Radcliffeborough
neighborhood president Robert Russell, director of the College of Charleston's
Historic Preservation and Community Planning program, was among several
grass-roots voices who supported the project before the Board of Architectural
Review. "A building of this height, scale and mass seems to fit very well
at that corner," he said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59697§ion=localnews
December
17, 2005
Durham Herald Sun
Web site reflects on Jewish history
Collaboration among representatives of UNC's Davis Library, the
Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, the McKissick Museum and Dr. Dale
Rosengarten of the Jewish Heritage Collection at the College of Charleston, who
curated the exhibit, brought about the new UNC Web site. The UNC Library's Web
team programmed the site in coordination with Rosengarten, who wrote the text
for the site.
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-680185.html
December
17, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Citadel still paying 2
former leaders
The
College of Charleston gave former President Alex Sanders a one-semester sabbatical
after he stepped down. Sanders returned to the college to teach courses.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=59663§ion=localnews
December
16, 2005
The State
Newspaper
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Baltimore Sun
Be careful what you wish for
Only four baseball teams
remain under corporate control: the Chicago Cubs (Tribune Co.), the Seattle
Mariners (Nintendo), the Nationals (Major League Baseball) and the Toronto Blue
Jays (Rogers Communications). Like Braves fans have found when the team was
directed to make payroll reductions the last two years, it is hard to assess
local accountability when the old home team is only a line in someone else's
annual report.
"They are as personal as cash registers," said
Chris Lamb, a communications professor at the College of Charleston and a
published baseball historian. "Are you supposed to put a cash register in
the owners box and pat it?"
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/1205/16braves.html
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/13428369.htm
December
14, 2005
New Orleans
Times-Picayune
A
SISTER CITY FLOURISHES
"These cultures are
older, of a different time," said Ted Rosengarten, a historian at the
College of Charleston. "It's nostalgia. Nostalgia isn't a bad word. It's a
word that tends to cheapen a legitimate kind of longing -- something deep, some
deep kind of need.
"One of the great
things about both these cities is this: You step out of a museum and you're in
a museum. A better museum. You're in a museum without walls. A living
museum."
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1134545175245240.xml
December
14, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Evolution debate simmers
"They
withheld the heart of the biology curriculum. That's unprecedented. These
standards were written by the National Academy of Science," said Robert
Dillon, a College of Charleston biology professor and a West Ashley schools
constituent board member.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=58648§ion=localnews
December
13, 2005
The
State Newspaper
S.C. biology standards in limbo
Monday’s vote enraged
educators from the college and public school ranks in the audience.
“Science is not
democracy,” said Jerry Waldvogel, a Clemson University professor.
“Science is not
negotiated,” said Doug Florian, a College of Charleston professor.
“Science is based on
evidence,” said Joe Pollard, a Furman University professor.
All three said they
either had a role in evaluating the current science teaching standards or
endorsed the modifications Tenenbaum said are needed to help teachers focus on
the best lessons to present to students.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/13394245.htm
December
12, 2005
Charleston Regional
Business Journal
Accolades & More
Ellen
Bensten has earned the designation of project management professional from the
Project Management Institute. Bensten is a project and resource manager of
administrative computing at the College of Charleston. To obtain PMP
certification, an individual must satisfy education and experience requirements,
agree to adhere to a professional code of conduct and pass the PMP
certification examination.
http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/current/11_25/accolades/5391-1.html
December
12, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Aquarium looks warily at
Atlanta's new fish tank
Steve Litvin, a College
of Charleston hospitality professor, had an opposite take, noting that a large
number of Charleston visitors come from Georgia.
"I think it
certainly adds challenges," Litvin said. "It's just going to be that
much harder for any of the smaller aquariums to generate attention. There's
only one largest one in the world and it happens to be in our region."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=58175§ion=businessreview
December
12, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
History relies on the
ordinary
"Most
people don't realize that history is the collective experience of all of
us," said Jack Bass, a writer, College of Charleston professor and
historian. "History goes beyond the records of 'important people and
powerful families.' "
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=58407§ion=localnews
December
12, 2005
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch
JOURNALISM:
Cartoonists can help save newspapers (op/ed)
By
Chris Lamb
When
Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette was once asked
whether his drawings ever made a difference, he deadpanned: "Yes, I ended
the Vietnam War."
Marlette, to set the
record straight, didn't end the Vietnam War - at least not by himself. But
editorial cartoonists helped capture the war's folly with often searing
imagery.
Chris
Lamb, an associate professor of media studies at the College of Charleston in
Charleston, S.C., is the author of "Drawn to Extremes: The Use and Abuse
of Editorial Cartoons" (Columbia University Press, 2004).
December
11, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Event
to raise money for Kwanzaa speaker
Daso's
Art Gallery is hosting "Just Ask," a charity event to honor Dr. Yusef
N. Kly and raise money to bring Kly to the Avery Research Center as the keynote
speaker for the Kwanzaa celebration of Kujichagulia (self-determination) on
Dec. 27.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=58337§ion=localnews
December
11, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Ex-Marine leader poses
hard questions about war
Those
consequences - the erosion and eventual loss of trust in American forces and
American policy - were the subject of a recent lecture Fick offered College of
Charleston students and faculty when he stopped here as part of a book tour. He
is the author of "One Bullet Away," a memoir of his experience as a
commander in the Marines' elite 1st Reconnaissance Unit.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=58041§ion=faithvalues
December
11, 2005
The
State Newspaper
Alzheimer’s derailed run for third term
“He could have come back
and easily been elected,” says College of Charleston political scientist Bill
Moore.
What a different place
South Carolina might have been.
“Campbell certainly would
have had the potential to be more effective than the governors who followed him,”
Moore says.
Republican Gov. David
Beasley, Campbell’s chosen successor, was crippled by the Confederate flag
flap. Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges clashed with a GOP-dominated Legislature.
Today, Republican Gov. Mark Sanford has been at odds with his own party.
“It’s highly unlikely
Campbell would have had the degree of conflict that Sanford faces,” Moore says.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/13380630.htm
December
9, 2005
Oxford Press
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Southern
Democrats take shine to Warner
It is
Warner's political message that could propel him in the 2008 Democratic
presidential contest, said Jack Bass, a professor at the College of Charleston
and biographer of Southern political legends Sen. Strom Thurmond and Judge
Frank Johnson Jr.
"You
don't see many candidates with messages that well developed even before a
campaign has begun," Bass said after hearing Warner's speech.
http://www.ajc.com/today/content/epaper/editions/today/news_349933e21729c0421072.html
December
9, 2005
Myrtle
Beach Sun News
Campbell's influence felt in education
(Editorial)
I remember when I saw
Gov. Carroll Campbell for the first time.
It was the summer of 1990
on the campus of the College of Charleston. I was one of about 240 students
attending that year's Governor's School of South Carolina, then a five-week
program designed to expose some of the state's top students to a rigorous
academic and cultural curriculum in a college setting.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/columnists/issac_bailey/13366178.htm
December
9, 2005
The
State Newspaper
What’s the best part of the paper? Do I
have to draw you a picture?
“They sort of capture the
times as they are happening,” says Chris Lamb, a College of Charleston media
professor who has studied the history of editorial art. A good cartoon gets
right to the point. It “grabs you by the shirt collar. It shakes you out of
your indifference,” Mr. Lamb says.
And it does so with a
quick, cutting visual jab. Columnists can equivocate, ruminate or sneak up on
their subjects, he says. Not a good cartoonist.
Professor Lamb also
points out how cartoons meet some of the challenges that obsess newspaper
editors today. They appeal to everyone, young and old, and provide a quick,
funny, visual message for folks with little time to spare for the morning
paper.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/columnists/mike_fitts/13365037.htm
December
8, 2005
Hilton Head Island
Packet
Campbell
will be known for economic investment, developing state GOP
College of Charleston
economist Frank Hefner agreed, conceding that he was one of some who were
skeptical of the BMW deal early on.
"It's pretty clear
that BMW was a winner for South Carolina," Hefner said. "It put us on
the economic development map worldwide."
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/regional/story/5383875p-4867856c.html
December
7, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Sanford calls for
tuition hike caps
Gary McCombs, the senior
vice president for business affairs at the College of Charleston, said there's
a direct correlation between the amount of money states spend on higher
education and tuition costs in those states.
"That's not a
coincidence," he said. "It's frustrating to me that we have failed to
make the connection that money spent on education is an investment in our
future, not an expenditure."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=57476§ion=stateregion
December
7, 2005
USA Today
Blacks a growing part of retirement migration south
"That
is their largest form of financial investment because, typically, they didn't
get into stocks and mutual funds," says Frank Hefner, economist at the
College of Charleston (S.C.). "If they bought a house in Detroit, even in
a nondescript neighborhood in the '50s and '60s, those houses appreciated, and
they'll have a windfall. They can come back (home in the South) and all of a
sudden live in much better housing."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-07-black-retirees_x.htm
December
6, 2005
Charlotte
Observer
U.S. troops in Iraq
Q. Responding to criticism and
declining poll numbers about the war in Iraq, President Bush gave a speech
outlining the administration's plan for staying the course with the war in Iraq
and refused to set a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. What do you
think? Is the administration on the right course in Iraq? Should there be a
timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops?
Samuel Spence, 19, College of Charleston, Charleston,
S.C.: The acknowledgement and qualification of the varying
interpretations of {quot}staying the course{quot} in Bush's speech to Naval
Academy students this week is indicative of the defensive mode the
administration has adopted. Concerned with the strength of the Republican
Party, Bush has become weaker by not setting definite goals at the risk of
weakening the GOP. The fireside chats of FDR throughout the Great Depression
and World War II emphasize the power of full disclosure to the morale of the
citizenry during difficult times. With continued, visible progress along with
frank communication, voters would regain confidence in this administration.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/13334956.htm
December
6, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Charleston architecture
has always pitted old against new (op/ed)
The public debate on the
proposed Clemson Architectural Center reached a low point in a letter contained
in Edward Gilbreth's recent column. The letter contained a personal attack on a
member of the Board of Architectural Review.
The BAR member's
relatively recent arrival in the community was contrasted, very disparagingly,
with the ancestral roots of Gilbreth's correspondent. A most unmannerly
comparison, if not downright nasty.
Robert
P. Stockton
is an adjunct professor of history at the College of Charleston and a member of
the city's Board of Architectural Review.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=57248§ion=letters
December
6, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Katrina evacuees
attending colleges in Lowcountry facing big decisions
Donald
Burkard, the College of Charleston's associate vice president for enrollment
planning, said many of those who came to Charleston have opted to return to the
Gulf Coast. The college did, however, gain coverts. He said helping students
decide to stay or return is a delicate issue for college officials because they
don't want to be seen as "pirating away" students from other schools.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=57289§ion=localnews
December
5, 2005
NPR
Cuts Worrying to
Editorial Cartoonists
All Things Considered: Major U.S. newspapers continue to
cut staff to offset disappointing revenue. But recent layoffs and buyouts at
two newspapers owned by the Tribune Company prompted editorial cartoonists to
protest. The cartoonists fear the cost-cutting measures may signal the end of
an era for their profession. This interview includes College of Charleston
Communication professor Chris Lamb.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5039622
December
5, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Distinctions
College
of Charleston chemistry professor Dr. Charles Beam has won the American
Chemical Society award for research at an undergraduate institution for his
contributions to chemistry and the professional development of undergraduate
students.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=56667§ion=businessreview
December
4, 2005
Greenville News
Upstate may speak with muted voice in Columbia
With the top three
political slots in state government, the Lowcountry finds itself in a powerful
position, said William Moore of the College of Charleston. There's a caveat, he
says: "It's easy to exaggerate the importance of location.
"Republican legislators
agree on many issues regardless of location, and Upstate Republicans remain a
significant voting block within the party and Legislature -- something that the
leadership certainly recognizes," he said.
December
4, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Hilton Head Island
Packet
Greenville News
Spartanburg
Herald Journal
Augusta Chronicle
The
State Newspaper
Power shifts from
Greenville with new legislative session
"It's
easy to exaggerate the importance of location," Bill Moore, a College of
Charleston political science professor, says. "Republican legislators
agree on many issues regardless of location and Upstate Republicans remain a
significant voting block within the party and Legislature - something that the
leadership certainly recognizes."
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/regional/story/5376762p-4862508c.html
December
4, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Grant to put
basketmaking in spotlight
Rosengarten
is curator and historian of special collections at the College of Charleston
Library. She earned a Ph.D. in history of American civilization from Harvard
for a thesis titled "Social Origins of the African-American Lowcountry
Basket."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=56647§ion=artstravel
December
4, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Christians, Jews
pursuing goal toward understanding
The director of
interfaith affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, says the best way for
Christians and Jews to get along is to "find trust and respect."
"Tolerance is a
dirty word. We must move beyond tolerance," Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor
said during a discussion late last month at the College of Charleston's Jewish
Studies Center.
Bretton-Granatoor was at
the center to address the topic: "Failure to Communicate: How Christians
and Jews Misunderstand Each Other on the Most Fundamental Issues."
"Our goal is to try
and create opportunities for us to move what has been a fairly fruitful
discussion over the last 40 years from a discussion to a dialogue,"
Bretton-Granatoor said. "A discussion allows us to get comfortable with
each other and in each others' places of worship.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=56604§ion=faithvalues
December
4, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Playwrights
Tonight!
The College of
Charleston's theater department will present Playwrights Tonight! at 7 p.m.
Monday in the Halsey Gallery at the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 St. Philip
St.
Titled "The Things
We Did Last Summer," the evening will feature plays tracing the
relationships of eight couples, written by students in playwriting classes at
the college. It is free and open to the public.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=56855§ion=artstravel
December
4, 2005
The
State Newspaper
Charleston professor gets NASA award
Norine Noonan, dean of
the College of Charleston School of Mathematics and Science, was awarded NASA’s
Public Service Medal during a ceremony at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Noonan was cited for her
work as a member of the NASA advisory council and for her duties as the first
chair of NASA’s Planetary Protection Advisory Committee.
Noonan is the former
chief of the Science and Space Programs Branch, Energy and Science Division, at
the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, DC. As the chief, she was
responsible for the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Space Council
and other agencies.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/13323287.htm
December
1, 2005
Charleston Post and
Courier
Venus
is so bright we gotta wear shades
Venus, low in the western
sky just after sunset, is so bright it looks like an airplane.
"It has been shot at
during wartime by anti-aircraft weapons," said College of Charleston
astronomy professor Terry Richardson.
Tonight, Venus is SO
bright that with perfect eyesight and excellent sky conditions you can see its
crescent.
"It's at
crescent-moon phase right now in a telescope," Richardson said.
Venus is SO bright it
casts a shadow that's easily visible in northern climates on snow but also can
be seen in Lowcountry woods if you lay a white sheet on the ground.
You can even photograph
the planet's shadow.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=54957§ion=localnews
December
1, 2005
Houston Chronicle
After 35 years, Doonesbury
still makes readers think
Christopher Lamb, an
associate professor of communication at the College of Charleston in South
Carolina, dedicated a chapter to Doonesbury in his book Drawn to
Extremes: The Use and Abuse of Political Cartoons.
"Satire is ephemeral.
It doesn't last. For Trudeau to do it for so long is just incredible,"
Lamb said. "He may be competing with satirists like Mark Twain, Ambrose
Bierce and H.L. Mencken. He rides the cultural, political and social waves.
He's a heck of an observer."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/3497116.html