College of Charleston News
Stories
August 2006
August
31, 2006
Getting a 'leg up' on the Lost & Found
At any rate, other lost and found collections around the area
include items, expected and occasionally unexpected, such as the sword found on
the College of Charleston campus this year.
No lie. A real sword, pointy and metal, like the one that guy from
"Lord of the Rings" had. No, not the dwarf or elf, they preferred
other weapons.
College public safety department officials presume a theater
student used it as a production prop, only to abandon it. From last year's
schedule, "The Tempest" seems a possibility; "Cabaret," a
reach.
August
31, 2006
Hell
To mark this anniversary, the College of Charleston had planned a
major panel discussion on The Great Charleston Earthquake on Wednesday night.
Government officials scheduled to talk, however, were somewhat
busy preparing for Tropical Storm Ernesto.
"With a different natural hazard walking on top of it, we
really had to postpone it," said Dr. Steve Jaume, professor of geology and
environmental geoscience at the college.
"Earthquakes happen repeatedly here," Jaume said.
"Something like 1886 will happen again in the future here. The problem is
to figure out how often. Earthquakes of that magnitude occur on the same fault
about every 500 to 600 years. That's an average. It might be 200 years after
1886. It might be 1,000.
August
31, 2006
Judging a textbook by cover price is a lesson in college finances
101
Rob Dillon, a biology professor at the college, said he considers
the cost but "they're all expensive."
"They go from outrageous to outrageouser," he said.
"In the end, I have great sympathy for students, and I don't know the
solution."
August
30, 2006
THEATRE | The Sound and the Fury
The College of Charleston's Shakespeare Project opened its 2006
production last Thursday night – Shakespeare's King Lear, the sole entry
this year in what has historically been a double-bill. Sadly, it was to a house
of yawns and sighs. Lear is thought by many to be Shakespeare's greatest
tragedy. The biggest tragedy in this case is that it wasn't done proper
justice.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A17012
August
30, 2006
VISUAL ARTS | All Together Now
About once a year, students at the College of Charleston's Studio
Art Department get a special treat. One or more of their teachers put their own
work up for scrutiny at the Halsey, baring their best efforts for the students
and public to view. The show has to work on two levels — one, as a
platform for their talents and a validation of their teaching tools and
methods; and two, as a satisfyingly kick-ass art exhibition that will lure the
public into the gallery. After all, this exemplifies the best of the teachers'
current work at the pinnacle of their academic profession thus far, with the
kind of quality that their students are working toward.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A17011
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Anthony Varallo
How does Anthony Varallo find time to write? He has a two year old
at home, teaches fiction full-time at the College of Charleston, and looks at
every single short story submitted to Crazyhorse, the college's lit mag, which
works out to be about 5,000 stories a year.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A17001
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Henry Riggs
At 20 years old, College of Charleston theatre major Henry Riggs
has just two years of higher learning under his belt. But he's also got the
writing, music, and direction credits for a full-length theatrical musical
that's been produced in both Charleston and Chicago. Not bad for a fresh-faced
kid who technically can't even buy a beer yet.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A16991
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Jarod Charzewski
Amid the inevitable sea of idealistic, jaded, or downright inept
lecturers that train our nation's youth, a small percentage of effective
educators occasionally bob to the surface. For the next three years, scores of
students at the College of Charleston will be lucky enough to encounter one of
those buoyant personalities as Jarod Charzewski becomes the Studio Art
Department's latest visiting artist.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A16976
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Currie McCullough
When Currie McCullough decided to open her own art gallery at 53
Cannon St. in early 2005, she knew what she was getting into. After growing up
with her renowned father, painter William McCullough, and working for years as
a horseback riding professor at the College of Charleston and then as an
agent/manager for her father and four other artists, she had spent the vast
majority of her life in professions that require patience and focus and was
prepared to wait it out.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A16974
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Janine McCabe
College of Charleston alum Janine McCabe is frankly surprised to
find herself back in Charleston, but she's not complaining. After graduating
eight years ago with a degree in theatre from the School of the Arts –
her area of concentration was not in the scenes but, rather, behind them, in
the costume shop – the New Jersey native earned an MFA in costume design
at University of Virginia. An internship in New York City with longtime
Broadway costume designer Martin Pakledinaz (La Cage aux Folles, The Diary of
Anne Frank, Thoroughly Modern Millie) followed, after which McCabe decided she
was ready for her own shot at the Great White Way – though again, beyond
the footlights, which is where she likes it.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A16969
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Metropolis
For years, Charleston's tight jazz scene has enjoyed the runoff of
musical talent streaming from the College of Charleston's arts program. Some of
the cats held in highest regard either teach or study in the jazz performance
programs.
Since forming in January, Metropolis – comprised of four
talented CofC jazz students – have taken advantage of opportunities in
the city's live music scene and ventured toward a more professional situation.
In short order, the band developed a groove-heavy electric sound and a
surprisingly confident approach to improvisation.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A16966
August
30, 2006
ONES TO WATCH | Lee-Chin Siow
Violinist Lee-Chin Siow might not be a celebrity here, but the
College of Charleston professor has her own postage stamp in Singapore. The
president there personally arranged for the government to sponsor her 1750
Guadagnini instrument. Despite being renowned in her native country, Siow has
spent most of her time since she was 10 traveling internationally to perform.
She's lost count of just how many nations she's played in.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A16962
August
29, 2006
Help rebuild school libraries of the Gulf Coast
This contribution was raised by the students, faculty and staff of
the 2006 South Carolina Governor's School. They want their colleagues in the
hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast to know that they are always much in their
thoughts. Best of luck this school year!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13482851/
August
29, 2006
Strange critter a gray fox
"It's unequivocally a gray fox," said Jaap Hillenius, a
biology professor at the College of Charleston.
But it's not just any gray fox. No, this gray fox, delivered
frozen from Mount Pleasant to the college, is an odd-looking critter. For one
thing, it doesn't have all the hair it's supposed to. And the woman who found
it dead in the road, Ann Concannon, said the proportions don't look right to
her.
August
28, 2006
Charleston Place - 20 years
And some still question whether the large-scale development made
the best use of the property, contending that more tourists would have come
anyway and that the downtown economy was poised to rebound with or without the
marquee hotel, thanks to the growth of the College of Charleston.
August
27, 2006
Macon,
GA.
Midstate colleges not ready to brand academically
dishonest students
Starting this semester, administrators at the College of
Charleston in South Carolina are trying a different tactic to try to prevent
academic dishonesty.
Students who cheat will be awarded the grade of XF, the
"X" signifying that they failed because of cheating, according to The
Associated Press. Students may petition to remove the X after completing two
years without any further violations.
But some midstate college administrators said they aren't ready to
go that far.
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/15371349.htm
August
27, 2006
Back to College After All
Financing, of course, is a big issue. Just before I left the
College of Charleston to become president of Connecticut College, my wife and I
had friends over for dinner. During dessert the woman leaned over to her
husband and said, ÒShould we tell them what weÕve been thinking?Ó They
surprised us with an extremely generous donation to the college. I was floored
at the amount. IÕm not usually emotional but I was so happy I got up and did a
little dance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/jobs/27boss.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
August
27, 2006
King Lear
With poetic grandeur, stark violence and disarming wit, "King
Lear," considered Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, will be performed by the
College of Charleston's department of theater today through Sept. 5.
Directed by Todd McNerney, theater department chairman, the play
opens the 2006-07 theatrical season at the Emmett Robinson Theatre.
"This tale tells of a prehistoric king in a mythical time
before recorded history," explains McNerney. "It is a barbaric and
savage world in which people struggle to survive, and these struggles are not
only between each other, but also with nature."
August
27, 2006
Voters in 15 counties key to governorÕs race
While these counties generally vote Republican in presidential
election years, they are known to vote Democratic in state and local races.
Swing county voters generally are blue-collar whites and professional women,
noted College of Charleston professor Bill Moore.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/columnists/lee_bandy/15372026.htm
August
26, 2006
New
Orleans, LA.
Newcomb Dean Moves On
Cynthia Lowenthal, Newcomb College's last dean, has been named
dean of the College of Charleston's School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Lowenthal, who also will teach and conduct research, became dean
of the largest academic component of the South Carolina school July 1, the day Newcomb
ceased to exist. She had been Newcomb's dean since 2000.
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1156572108292430.xml?NSBED&coll=1
August 26, 2006
The differing definitions of marriage (Op/ed)
By CRAIG KNOWLTON
Guest columnist
On Election Day, South Carolina citizens will vote on a proposed
state constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage. In a society whose
political climate seems continually shaped by concepts of family values, itÕs
important to question this intended gay and lesbian marriage ban to perceive
who benefits, who suffers and what values are being defended at what costs.
The ban asserts that, ÒA marriage between one man and one woman is
the only lawful domestic union that shall be valid or recognized in this
State.Ó
Mr. Knowlton is a graduate student at the College of
Charleston.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/columnists/15366249.htm
August
25, 2006
Difficult 'King Lear' performed well at C of C
"King Lear" is arguably the greatest of Shakespeare's
plays, though it is not frequently performed.
The reason for this: It's so difficult! The department of theater
at the College of Charleston opened "King Lear" last night in
Robinson Theatre, and most of the large cast acquitted themselves more than
adequately.
August
25, 2006
8 is enough
'Scientifically, it was probably the right decision,' says Robert
J. Dukes Jr., a College of Charleston Physics & Astronomy professor.
'Personally, I would have rather seen it stay a planet.' Dukes was
friends with Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930.
Tombaugh helped chart Dukes a course in the field and, for that reason, the
smallest planet has always held a big place in his heart.
August
24, 2006
Cut loose
With summer's end near, the dread of class and studying creeps in.
But there is hope for the weary student.
Below is a list of local college fall activities sure to liven up
even the dullest of days.
College of Charleston
What: POPaganda Tour 2006 with headliner Head Automatica.
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Where: The Cistern.
Info: Head Automatica will be playing a rock showcase with Rock
Kills Kid and Men, Women, & Children and Young Love. Call student
activities 953-5726 for tickets and information.
August
24, 2006
Club establishes CofC scholarship
The Charleston Running Club presented a $25,000 check Wednesday to
the College of Charleston to establish a permanently endowed scholarship fund
in the memory of Dr. Charlie Post.
Post was an avid runner. In 1985, the club created the Charlie
Post Classic 15K and 5K road races in his memory. He died earlier that year
from complications caused by an accident while training for a triathlon.
Proceeds from the races, held on the last Saturday in January on Sullivan's
Island, helped raise money for the endowment.
August
24, 2006
Citadel snaps to attention over results of revealing
survey
Indeed sexual assault is a problem on college campuses nationwide,
said Jeri Cabot, dean of students at The College of Charleston. She said she's
not surprised by national statistics that estimate from 20 to 25 percent of
college women may be raped or experience an attempted rape while at college.
Cabot said the biggest problem on most campuses is alcohol abuse,
which leads to increased rates of sexual assault. "I applaud The Citadel
for doing the survey and reporting the results," she said.
August
23, 2006
Choice colleges
Five South Carolina colleges are among Princeton Review's 361 best
academic schools in the nation... College of Charleston, Clemson University,
Wofford College, Furman University and the University of South
Carolina-Columbia. They also appear on some sublists. Let's run 'em down:
College of Charleston. One of the Best Southeastern Colleges. One
of America's Best Value Colleges.
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/GMLc.aspx
August
22, 2006
Finally, a list that matters
Yet another list has appeared this year as the fall semester
begins. This one doesn't name the top 25 colleges in the nation on the basis of
faculty-to-student ratio or the size of the endowment or the cost of attendance
or the reputation among peers whose assessment may or may not come from
personal knowledge. Instead, the rating is based on the contribution the
institution has made to the welfare of its community. It is a long-overdue
approach that measures the school's stature on the strength of its commitment
to helping save the nation's cities from increasing blight.
Compiled by Evan Dobelle, president and CEO of the New England
Board of Higher Education and former president of the University of Hawaii, the
list recognizes the "extraordinary efforts" made by schools
throughout the United States in contributing to the educational, economic and
civic well-being of their surrounding environment. It is a subject Dobelle
knows well, having fostered and designed a unique and widely heralded
cooperative effort between Trinity College, where he was president for six
years, and the city of Hartford, Conn., to revitalize the neighborhood adjacent
to the school, the city's worst.
The schools from one to 25 are the University of Pennsylvania;
University of Southern California; University of Dayton; Indiana
University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI); Rhode Island School of
Design; Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland); Clark University
(Worcester, Mass.); Virginia Commonwealth University; University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Emerson College (Boston); Trinity College (Hartford,
Conn.); Emory University (Atlanta); Mercer University (Macon, Ga.); Middlesex
Community College (Lowell, Mass.); Portland (Ore.) State University; Carnegie
Mellon University/University of Pittsburgh; George Washington University
(Washington); Springfield (Mass.) College; College of Charleston (S.C.); Union College
(Schenectady, N.Y.); University of Missouri-Kansas City; Creighton University
(Omaha, Neb.); Yale University (New Haven, Conn.); Miami-Dade College, and
Tufts University (Boston).
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_9410.shtml
August
21, 2006
Latest guess on area mystery animal: It's a greyhound
Her daughter discovered one of the animals dead on their street,
and Concannon put it in a freezer. Now it's in the hands of Jaap Hillenius, a
biologist at the College of Charleston who has sent a DNA sample of the animal
to a colleague at the University of California at Los Angeles.
August
21, 2006
College experimentation can become lifelong bad habits
Dr. Michael Vinson, director of counseling and substance abuse
services at the College of Charleston, has been witnessing college life for 30
years and knows too well the health challenges for collegians.
"With the freedom from supervision and amid the abundance of
appealing and sometimes risky options, many students struggle with self-care
and making responsible decisions with regard to alcohol, sex and food,"
says Vinson. "Obviously, partly this is human nature - pizza tastes better
than tofu - and partly this is expectation."
At the College of Charleston, some health experts are worried less
about the Freshman 15 and more about the other side of it: anorexia, bulimia
and the root cause of those diseases, negative body image.
"We tend to have more eating disorders, or body-image
concerns, than obesity issues," says the college's health educator, Laura
Lindroth, speculating that it may be because the college's student population
tends to be upper middle class and 63 percent female.
Health professionals such as Jane Munro-Reno, registered nurse and
health services director at the College of Charleston, says many college health
professionals will take a "wait-and-see" approach on the vaccine, but
may start offering it to students as soon as January.
"This is a huge vaccine breakthrough. We may see the
eradication of this disease," she said.
August
21, 2006
Schools battle Internet plagiarism (editorial)
Ohio University has been rocked recently by allegations of
plagiarism against several former engineering students. At the College of
Charleston in South Carolina, officials have become so concerned about academic
dishonesty that they are branding perpetrators with not only an "F,"
but an "XF" on transcripts.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/aug/21/schools-battle-internet-plagiarism/
August
20, 2006
Clemson deserves our cheers for architectural center move
While the Dialysis site had been eyed for some months as a
possible alternative, it only recently came on the market. As it turned out,
both the College of Charleston and Clemson were among those expressing
interest. But College of Charleston interim President Conrad Festa tells us
that after lengthy discussions "it seemed to us to be of greater advantage
to the city, the state and the college if Clemson would go ahead with the
purchase and then work in collaboration with the college to mount our joint
programs on architecture and historic preservation." The agreement, he
said, would allow the college to move its historic preservation program into
the house on the site and also use space in the architectural center. "I
think," he said, "that everyone is highly pleased."
August
19, 2006
Moving Day For College Of Charleston
The class of 2010 moved into their alma mater's residence halls on
Saturday.
580 new students carted, carried, lugged and unloaded their things
into the College.
100 volunteers helped speed things along, helping new students
carry things, direct traffic, and offer snacks and sodas.
The day was characteristically hot and streets blocked off jammed
traffic down Calhoun and around campus.
http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0806/354099.html
August
18, 2006
A reporter's role in breaking baseball's color barrier
(Op/Ed)
By Chris Lamb
CHARLESTON, S.C. – On Sunday, Aug. 16, 1936, Lester Rodney,
the sports editor of the Communist newspaper the Daily Worker, called for the
end of the color line in baseball. Mr. Rodney wrote that black ballplayers
would improve the quality of play in the major leagues. He urged fans to
pressure team owners to make baseball the national game it purported to be.
"You pay the prices. Demand better ball," Rodney wrote. "Demand
Americanism in baseball."
This was the beginning of the New York City-based newspaper's
decade-long campaign to integrate baseball. Once Rodney began writing about the
issue, he said he realized that the story of baseball's color line was the
newspaper's - by default. "It was wide open. No one was covering it,"
he said. "We were the only nonblack newspaper writing about it for a long
time."
¥ Chris Lamb is an associate professor of Media Studies at the College of Charleston. He is the author of "Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson's First Spring Training." His next book, "Conspiracy of Silence: Sportswriters and the Campaign to Integrate Baseball," will be