College of Charleston News Stories
May 2006
Return
of the Sob Sisters
These
narrative stories are lengthy by design, often warrant a dedicated editor and
photographer, and receive top billing in newspaper promotions. They usually are
worth the effort, as far as recognition goes. Such touching tales routinely
receive plaudits and Web visitors galore and frequently nab illustrious prizes.
A study of trends in Pulitzer Prize-winning feature stories, published in the
Winter 2005 edition of the Newspaper Research Journal, found that "a
significant number of winning stories involved a death by murder or
illness." Authors Chris Lamb at the College of Charleston in South
Carolina and Jeanie McAdams Moore, who completed the study as a graduate student
at American University in Washington, D.C., continued: "A second review
indicated that 10 of the 31 winning stories – nearly one in three –
involved a death."
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4117
May
31, 2006
Crews keep new
buildings from rattling old ones
The College of Charleston
is working with a private developer and Holder Construction Co. to remake half
of the block bordered by King, Liberty, St. Philip and George streets. They are
driving about 900 concrete pile deep into the soil to create foundations for a
450-bed dorm, a 200-bed apartment unit, a 575-car parking garage plus a
cafeteria and retail space.
Without the proper
precautions, all that pounding would threaten dozens of historic buildings
nearby, several of which already have visible cracks.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=90784§ion=localnews
May
30, 2006
Education
front-runners chase coastal-area votes
College of Charleston political science
professor Bill Moore said the post usually does not attract significant
attention, but the primary has become competitive this year.
"It's a position that Republicans
would love to capture," Moore said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=90538§ion=localnews
May
30, 2006
Students' event
(Letter to the Editor)
What should have been a historic day for
the class of 2006 turned out to be more of a pat on the back for the president
and his wife. The College of Charleston commencement on May 7 ended up being an
exercise in futility as more time was dedicated to saying good-bye to the president
and his wife than paying respect to the thousands of students who should have
had the privilege of crossing the Cistern.
I might be confused, but I always was
under the impression that graduation was for the students.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=90510§ion=letters
May
30, 2006
Better
way to fix state tax policy (op/ed)
By
JACK BASS
Guest
columnist
Historically, the sales tax in South
Carolina was launched more than a half-century ago by Gov. James F. Byrnes as a
plan to equalize racially segregated schools as a demonstration of the
"separate but equal" principle. The Supreme Court in 1954 ruled that segregated
schools were "inherently unequal," but for many years all sales tax revenues
were earmarked for public education.
Mr. Bass is a professor of humanities
and social sciences at the College of Charleston and has written extensively
about state and regional politics.
May
29, 2006
Stormy tourist season
Steve Litvin, a hospitality professor at
the College of Charleston, just returned from a similar trip with similar
impressions. Litvin said the tourist areas of the Big Easy were fairly intact,
but a few things were disconcerting: no Saturday night waits at the most
popular joints in town and Burger King offering signing bonuses. Finding
employees and places for them to live are the major hurdles.
"When you leave the tourist areas and
you drive around, it's just staggering," Litvin said. "You drive
through miles and miles of middle-class neighborhoods that are just ghost
towns."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=90185§ion=businessreview
May
29, 2006
Forum
to help family businesses handle issues
Now, the College of
Charleston's Tate Center for Entrepreneurship is striving to help family-run
businesses navigate the deep and multifaceted issues they face long before they
wind up in Pearce's, or any other attorney's, office.
"There's no question,
family businesses are kind of a unique setting," said John E. Clarkin, director
of the Tate Center, in explaining the initiative. "Because the reality is,
you're not only building a commercial enterprise, you're creating a lifestyle
for your family as well."
http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/current/12_12/news/6693-1.html
May
28, 2006
Charleston's rising
tide of growth is still lifting all boats
In Scandinavian countries, leaders use
zoning as a tool to restrain sprawl, said Andy Felts, director of the Joseph P.
Riley Jr. Institute for Urban Affairs and Policy Study at the College of
Charleston. The view there is that cities are objects that require care, not
mere consequences of human endeavor, and that the free market cannot alone
determine how they grow. So planners have built a virtual wall around their
cities, designating what's within that wall as the only land on which new
development can occur.
Felts applauds Mayor Joe Riley's efforts
to breathe life into the Charleston peninsula, and make it a central
destination for visitors and residents alike. Most great cosmopolitan cities
have their "center," or downtown area, and Riley recognized this
early in his career as mayor, Felts said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=90272§ion=localnews
May
27, 2006
Democratic
governor's race matches legislator, mayor, lawyer
Moore
looks to be the favorite because he has picked up endorsements around the state
from black community leaders who are key to turning out votes, College of
Charleston political science professor Bill Moore said.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/14683683.htm
May
27, 2006
Down-ticket
race for treasurer takes political spotlight
A
second statewide loss "probably makes it difficult for them to
successfully compete for a statewide office down the road," said Bill
Moore, a College of Charleston political science professor.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/14683640.htm
May
27, 2006
Governor
sidesteps political newcomer in GOP primary
"For those who are dissatisfied with
Mark Sanford, Lovelace gives them a way of sending a message," College of
Charleston political scientist Bill Moore said.
"The media really jumps on
that," Moore said.
Sanford "wants to win it handily and
wants to show his strength," Moore said. "If Mark Sanford gets 80
percent of the vote in the primary, Mark Sanford will be beaming from ear to
ear."
South Carolina has an open primary and
there is speculation Democrats will vote in the Republican primary, especially
since the they have a single contested statewide primary: the governor's race.
Democrats could crossover and "try to
weaken Mark Sanford," Moore said. "That's a real possibility."
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/14683665.htm
May
27, 2006
Have fuel, will travel
South Carolina's tourism industry could be
benefiting somewhat from visitors who have decided to travel closer to home to
save gas money, observers noted.
"We may be getting more people from
the North that would have otherwise gone to Florida," said John Crotts,
head of the College of Charleston's hospitality department.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=90124§ion=localnews
May
25, 2006
Food-wine festival
swallows $106,000
By
most estimates, the festival left Charleston hospitality companies fat and
happy. A study by the College of Charleston's Office of Tourism Analysis showed
that 36 percent of the event's attendees came from out of the area, 23 percent
of them boasted house- hold income above $200,000 a year, and almost a quarter
of all festival-goers rented a room while in town.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=89701§ion=business
May
24, 2006
Preschool teacher
faces drug charges
A
teacher in the College of Charleston's laboratory preschool program was
suspended Tuesday following his arrest on cocaine possession charges,
authorities said. Charleston police arrested master Richard Latham, 43, and
another man after seizing about 1.2 grams of cocaine during a traffic stop at
Rutledge Avenue and Grove Street.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=89512§ion=stateregion
May
24, 2006
Something
Fowl Afoot
Finding affordable
real estate downtown is a difficult task. Well over a decade ago, long before
the Charleston market got really hot, a pair of black-crowned night herons
landed a sweet spot in the live oaks above the Greenway path through the
College of Charleston. As is frequently the problem with having the perfect
home in the perfect location, the herons had difficulties with the neighbors.
Their mess scandalized the anal-retentive set of the college community, who had
been kvetching for years.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A13307
May
22, 2006
Sister cities
Charleston Jazz Initiative will hold its
second annual conference during Spoleto. This one embraces a theme close to
GMLc's heart, that Charleston and New Orleans are sister cities. Both are old,
historic port cities steeped in culture, food, art and architecture. CJI,
however, recognizes a most significant connection: music.
"Sister City Jazz: A Gullah and New
Orleans Dialogue" will be May 29, 3-5 p.m., at the Blacklock House &
Garden, College of Charleston, 18 Bull St. $5, free for students.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=89050§ion=localnews
May
22, 2006
Fort Worth, Texas
Black
faculty shrinks at UTA
Alusine Jalloh, an associate history
professor at UT-Arlington, said that even concerted efforts to find black
faculty candidates can come up short. It took two searches to fill a slot
vacated by African-American history professor Marvin Dulaney after he left to
join the College of Charleston in South Carolina in 1994.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14638975.htm
May
21, 2006
Governor's race lacks
slogan power
The original message says little more than
"I am not Mark Sanford," which is not enough for a political unknown
who is facing an incumbent, said Jamie McKown, a political communication expert
at the College of Charleston.
"It might as well be the 'Water is
wet' slogan," he said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88959§ion=stateregion
May
21, 2006
Gibbes has big exhibit
in the 'Hopper'
A
panel discussion addressing the dynamics between artists as couples, such as
Edward and Josephine Hopper and William Halsey and Corrie McCallum, will be
held at 10 a.m. Friday at the museum. Participants will include Elizabeth
Thompson Colleary of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; Mark Sloan,
director of the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art at the College of
Charleston; and Juan Logan and Susan Harbage Page, both of the University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88729§ion=artstravel
May
20, 2006
Police keep eye on
turn lane
Searson
said police received a number of complaints concerning the pedestrian
crosswalks on Calhoun Street in the area of the College of Charleston. He said
complaints have come from motorists, who say pedestrians don't observe the
traffic signals, and also from pedestrians, who say motorists don't yield the
right of way to pedestrians.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88808§ion=localnews
May
20, 2006
Ashley Hall head of
school shares founder's vision
The family has not cut ties with Raleigh
entirely. In addition to independent projects and teaching at the College of
Charleston, Lorenzo Muti still conducts and is artistic director of the Chamber
Orchestra of the Triangle, and Jill Muti plays the flute with the group.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88516§ion=hiprofile
May
20, 2006
Upset graduate (Letter
to the editor)
I would like to express my extreme
disappointment with the College of Charleston's graduation ceremony on May 7.
I'm a 2006 graduate and am very upset with the way it was handled.
First of all, we were told that in the
event of rain it would be held at the North Charleston Coliseum. The college
knew that it would rain, but instead of relocating, decided to cut it short. It
was a selfish act so tradition wouldn't be broken by having it take place
somewhere else rather than the Cistern.
Second, there were families who traveled
hours to see their child graduate but unfortunately only got to see them stand
by their class and not walk across the stage and receive their diploma. How
disappointing for us who worked so hard to earn our degrees only to have the
most memorable moment taken from us.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88716§ion=letters
May
19, 2006
Did You Know? St.
Mark's Episcopal Church
Founded Easter day, 1865,
it symbolically rose as the first Episcopal church in Charleston founded by
freed slaves, in which those former slaves governed themselves.
"It's a congregation
that was established primarily by people who were free before the war,"
said College of Charleston historian Bernard Powers.
"But they were not
free to build their own church until after the war.
http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0506/329339.html
May
19, 2006
'Da Vinci' a chance to
teach - or protest
It's precisely the blend of fiction and
fact that has made "The Da Vinci Code" so popular, scholars say. John
Huddleston teaches courses on the Bible at the College of Charleston and has
found plenty of factual holes in the historic narrative put forth in the novel.
Before the book begins, Brown points out that the book is fiction but that much
of it is based in fact. Huddleston argues that this simply is untrue.
But it doesn't hurt Brown's ability to
draw the audience in.
"That's the clever part - you
don't know the difference," Huddleston said. "You have this constant
blurring of lines between history and fiction."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88514§ion=localnews
May
19, 2006
Romans
The great thing about insomnia is that you
see weird and sometimes wonderful History Channel, Discovery Channel or Travel
Channel programs on medieval stonemasons, airplane engineering, hotels in
Toronto, whatever. They have pretty pictures and soothing, boring narration
conducive to sleeping.
As that voice droned on Wednesday morning
about the Pantheon in Rome, we remembered that Gene Waddell will speak Thursday
night at C of C on "Why Charleston has Three Different Types of Roman
Architecture." He'll also tell you where the buildings are. The lecture is
at Addlestone Library, Room, 227, at 7. It's free.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88535§ion=localnews
May
19, 2006
College forever
Those who spent their four (or more) years
in college and are now retired, or getting there, can enroll in the senior
citizen program at College of Charleston
If you're 60 or older and living in South
Carolina, you can enroll in or audit credit courses on a space-available basis,
for free. Well, not quite. There's a $25 registration fee, and you have to buy
books. Call (843) 953-5620 for info.
C of C also has a Center for Creative
Retirement that gives newcomers to the area an opportunity to learn about
Charleston, its history, its venues and its people. Dues are small. Call
coordinator Claire Robinson at (843) 953-5488.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88535§ion=localnews
May
18, 2006
C of C picks search
firm for president
The College of Charleston on Wednesday
selected the Atlanta search firm Baker Parker and Associates to lead the search
for a new president. Lee Higdon, the school's current president, will step down
June 30.
The college's search committee interviewed
three firms before deciding on Baker Parker. Representatives from the firm will
visit the campus in late May, said spokesman Mike Robertson. The search will
likely cost about $90,000, plus up to $14,000 in additional expenses, Robertson
said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=88386§ion=localnews
May
18, 2006
C of C Holds
Dedication for House, Garden
The College of Charleston
has dedicated the new Edward Leon Guenveur House and the Lauretta
Goodall-Guenveur Garden. The house and garden are located at 57 Coming Street.
"This house and garden
will be permanent reminders of the Guenveur family's commitment to higher
education," says Sue Sommer-Kresse, Senior Vice President for Institutional
Advancement at the College of Charleston.
May
15, 2006
Last meal
Although
Lowcountry chefs and restaurateurs said Trident Tech's facilities are much
better than Johnson & Wales', most also said the program will struggle to
fill the void. Trident will not be able to handle as many students, and it will
not offer a four-year degree, although it has set up an arrangement for
students to matriculate to the College of Charleston's hospitality program. It
also will take some time to attract renowned instructors and lure prospective
students from around the country.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=87426§ion=businessreview
May
15, 2006
College says meeting violations unintentional
College of Charleston officials admitted
their failure to notify the public of a meeting and their hiring of an interim
president behind closed doors violated the state's open meetings law.
But they say the violations were
unintentional and that they will comply with the law as they continue their
search to find a permanent replacement for Lee Higdon, who announced in April
that he will step down to accept the same position at Connecticut College in
New London.
A search committee met once without notifying
the public and the board of trustees' executive committee hired Conrad Festa as
interim president without taking a public vote.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/14576695.htm
May
15, 2006
People
in the News
Robert
E. Cape has been named the senior vice president/chief information officer for
the College of Charleston. He previously taught computer science at the
University of Virginia and led the information technology service delivery
organizations at Carnegie Mellon University, St. John's University, the
University System of New Hampshire and American University.
http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/current/12_11/people/6585-1.html
May
14, 2006
College's FOIA lesson
(Editorial)
We were willing to give the College of
Charleston search committee the benefit of the doubt when it violated the
state's Freedom of Information Act at its initial meeting. At least we were
notified of the second meeting, although it was out of town in a location not
readily accessible to the public. But the recent hiring of an interim president
without benefit of a public meeting raised real alarms.
Since then, Bobby Marlowe, chairman of the
presidential search committee, and college staff members met with Post and
Courier staffers and an attorney for the S.C. Press Association. In our story
on Saturday, Mr. Marlowe acknowledged that FOIA mistakes were made but said
they were inadvertent because the committee wasn't aware of certain aspects of
the law. It won't happen again, he said.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=87617§ion=editorials
May 14, 2006
Professor divides
truth from myth in 'Code' (Op/Ed)
'Isn't
it true that the Vatican conspired to hide the Dead Sea Scrolls from the public
because of what they said about Jesus? Wasn't Jesus the leader of the Dead Sea
Scroll sect, its Teacher of Righteousness?" Aren't the Nag Hammadi texts
the same as the Dead Sea Scrolls?" ? these are frequent questions from my
students. Add to these the media- and money-driven eternal mysteries of the
Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic gospels, the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the
James ossuary, the Gospel of Thomas (who could forget the film
"Stigmata"?) and don't forget the sensational new Gospel of Judas,
and you get a sense of my job as a professor of biblical studies at the College
of Charleston.
John
R. Huddlestun is associate professor of religious studies at the College of
Charleston. He teaches classes in biblical studies and the ancient Middle East.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=87421§ion=faithvalues
May
14, 2006
The New Testament
could have turned out differently, say Bible scholars
From his office at the College of Charleston,
John Huddlestun emphasizes that what we call Christianity today didn't exist in
the century after Jesus. There certainly was no concept of a Christian canon.
"There were all these different
people, with many different, often contradictory views of Jesus, who called
themselves Christians. But there were serious debates among Christians that
didn't get hashed out until the fourth and fifth centuries," explains
Huddlestun, a religious studies professor who teaches an introduction to the
New Testament.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=87402§ion=faithvalues
May 14, 2006
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Last laugh not in sight
Chris Lamb, professor of media studies at
the College of Charleston in South Carolina, said Bombeck brings laughter and
relief to those who fear they are in it alone.
"Once you start having kids, you think
she's peeking in your window," he said.
One of Lamb's favorite Bombeck stories is
about her being confronted by her grocer because her young son liked to eat
fruit from the produce section as they were shopping.
He said Bombeck suggested her son be
weighed both before and after shopping, and she would pay the grocer the
difference.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/14575161.htm
May
14, 2006
Charleston tends its
history as carefully as its gardens
During
my whirlwind weekend stay, I missed several "must do's": a nighttime
walk through the gaslit campus of the College of Charleston, a horse- or
muledrawn carriage ride, a ghost tour through "the most haunted city in
America," a boat tour of Fort Sumter, the Dreighton Hall plantation house,
the Southern cooking at the wildly popular Jestine's Kitchen, the Old Exchange
Building — the list extends to three or four visits at least.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/travel/travel.php?story=dispatch/2006/05/14/20060514-F1-01.html
May
14, 2006
Lovelace
could hurt Sanford even if he loses
"If there are a number of those local
vetoes, they could end up hurting him significantly," said College of
Charleston professor Bill Moore.
"Lovelace isn't going to defeat Sanford," Moore said. "He
doesn't have the resources or the political backing. You will see a protest
vote, however. If it's 30 percent or higher, that would be significant. It would
be seen as a vote of no confidence in the governor by members of his own
political party and spell trouble for the governor in the general election."
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/columnists/lee_bandy/14575536.htm
May
14,2006
How
senator steers sub under radar
The College of Charleston has four Hunley
workers on its payroll. Their total salaries this year are $239,320.
The Hunley foundation, called the Friends
of the Hunley, reimburses the College of Charleston and the archives department
for the Hunley employeesÕ pay.
Most money allocated to the Hunley has
avoided usual budget channels.
"Why don't you get an appropriation for
the (Hunley) Commission? That would certainly relieve a lot of pressure and, in
my opinion, be entirely appropriate," then-College of Charleston president Alex
Sanders wrote to McConnell on Dec. 8, 1998.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/14577313.htm
May
13, 2006
The Stono Rebellion
"What they are
attempting to do is to march south," said College of Charleston historian
Bernard Powers.
"All the way from South Carolina down through Georgia and ultimately find
their way to Florida, which is owned by Spain at the time.
Most people don't understand the international dimension of a story like
this.
Many slaves had
just received word of the war between Spain and England.
http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0506/327441.html
May 13, 2006
C of C to open search
meetings
College of Charleston officials admit they
violated the state's open meetings law in their search for a new president but
say the mistakes were inadvertent and that they will comply with the law
throughout the rest of the search.
Since college President Lee Higdon
announced in April that he will step down to accept the same position at
Connecticut College in New London, a search committee met once without
notifying the public. And the Board of Trustees' executive committee hired
Conrad Festa, executive director of the state's Commission on Higher Education,
as interim president without voting on the matter in public. Festa will begin
July 1 and will be paid a $153,594 state salary per year, plus a supplement of
$25,000 from the College of Charleston Foundation.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=87504§ion=localnews
May
11,2006
Bombeck's
humor still resonates
Chris Lamb, professor of media studies at
the College of Charleston in South Carolina and a former Daytona Beach
News-Journal reporter, said Bombeck brings laughter and relief to those who
fear they are in it alone.
"Once you start having kids, you
think she's peeking in your window," he said.
One of Lamb's favorite Bombeck stories is
about her being confronted by her grocer because her young son liked to eat
fruit from the produce section as they were shopping. He said Bombeck suggested
her son be weighed both before and after shopping, and she would pay the grocer
the difference.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Entertainment/Headlines/entTV02051106.htm
May
11, 2006
'Penumbra: Points and
Boundaries in Recent Collage'
"This
group exhibition features the recent work of four collage artists and a collage
poet/filmmaker. Collage artists utilize existing images and combine them in
ways that often surprise and illuminate," says Mark Sloan, director and
senior curator at the Halsey Institute. "Beginning with Dada and
Surrealist artists of the 1920s, collage art became a provocative form of
artmaking, with heroes such as Kurt Schwitters, Hanna Hoch, John Heartfield in
its pantheon. In the 1950s and '60s, San Francisco collage artist Jess
reinvigorated the genre by combining the sensibilities of jazz music and beat
poetry. The artists included in 'Penumbra' could be said to be descendants of
this noble tradition, exploring the literary and associational possibilities of
found materials."
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=86915§ion=preview
May
11, 2006
Under the Radar: A
Juried Exhibition of Emerging Lowcountry Artists
Enjoy
the last day of "Under the Radar" at the City Gallery at Waterfront
Park. The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston's
School of the Arts and Charleston Magazine are hosting this delightful event,
which includes 10 selected area artists. The main criteria for submitting works
for this juried exhibition were that the artists could not have had a major
solo exhibition of their works, and they must live in the Lowcountry. The
selected artists range in both age and medium. There are paintings,
photography, sculptures and mixed-media works.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=86908§ion=preview
May
11, 2006
Higdon resigns from
board
College of Charleston President Lee Higdon
has resigned from the board of directors of a gold mining corporation that has
been accused of polluting in Indonesia and Peru.
Higdon, 59, announced last month that he
will step down as president of the college June 30. He is scheduled to take
over the leadership of Connecticut College here in July.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=87086§ion=localnews
May
11, 2006
Rosengarten
speaks on sweetgrass baskets
Dale Rosengarten of the College of
Charleston is giving a spring lecture at 5:30 p.m. today at the Kaminski House
Museum.
Rosengarten will speak on the art and
history of African-American sweetgrass baskets in tandem with Barbara McCormick
from McClellanville, a local sweetgrass basket maker. Numerous crafts will also
be on exhibit during the lecture.