Congress approves funding
for campus abuse clinics
by Caryn Rousseau R-Tenn., who was unhappy with
TMS Campus Washington Correspondent the Aimee's Law attachment say-
October 12, 2000 ing that domestic policy should not
he attached to a bill coming out the
WASHINGTON - Campus domes- Senate Foreign Relations Commit
tic violence shelters won't have to tee. Thompson's appeal was not
worry about federal funding for the successful.
next five years after the Senate Aimee's Law, which passed
passed the Violence Against along with VAWA and the traffick-
Women Act Wednesday. ing legislation, would garnish
The measure will fund programs funding from states that release sex
across the country for $3.3 billion offenders and give that money to
over the next five years. Because states who convict the same sex
Congress is pushing to adjourn in offender for a repeat crime.
the next week it was attached to the The legislation now goes to
Victims of Trafficking and Violence President Bill Clinton, who is sup-
Protection Act, which passed unani- portive of the measures. Clinton
mously. signed VAWA into law in 1994 as
"At campuses around the coon- part of a larger crime bill.
try our young girls are going to be "During the last six years VAWA
protected," Rep. Chris Smith, R- has made a crucial difference in the
New Jersey, said at a press confer- lives of hundreds of thousands of
ence following the vote. women and children, - Clinton said
The bill includes a provision for in a statement. "It has enabled
Megan's Law that would make it communities to expand prevention
mandatory for offenders to register efforts, enhance the safety of more
on campuses. victims and hold perpetrators of
The legislation received one violence against women account
threat from Sen. Fred Thompson, able for their acts.''
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RESEARCHER: CARR
Bar graphs show results of a new study that indicates U.S.
college tuition is rising faster than the rate of inflation.
Beastie Boys' Mix
Master Mike spins
DJ tips to students
by Andy Argyrakis
MIS Campus Correspondent
Benedictine University
October 17, 2000
One highlight of the party scene on
campus is the music played to keep
attendees moving, and grooving into
the wee hours of the night. The U.J.
is a central focus of those weekend
getaways from classes, and a lot of
students have cashed in at their
school by taking up the practice of
spinning tunes tirelessly into the
night.
For some, that
dream is even bigger
than mixing at fresh
man orientation week
end or the frat party
scene. A few of those
D.J.'s may have their
sights set on mixing
things up profession
ally, perhaps as a
headliner at a top
dance club or as part
of a touring music
group. Such was the
dream of the Beastie
Boys' Mix Master
Mike, who got his fo
cus nailed down in his
teenage years, leading
to his current position
in one of the world's
most famous party
styled rock hands.
"I've spent 14 years
building up my own
style and presence," Mix Master
Mike says. "I used to be a break
dancer and I really liked all aspects
of the culture. I got involved right in
the midst of the scene and went to
every party and concert surrounding
the style to study it and see where I
could find my niche."
Mix Master Mike's niche turned
out to be mixing the hip-hop style,
while incorporating vinyl scratching,
scratch drumming and improvisation
of adding in songs from any genre.
"I actually play the turntable as a
percussion instrument," he says. "I'll
scratch sometimes, but I also keep
my ears open to how other instru
ments sound. When I program
Mix Master Mike, the DJ for Beastie Boys,
demonstrates some of his spinning tech
niques for an audience of eager listeners
drums, I know where they hit, and
when I mix in keyboards, I know
where to add those sounds. I'm like
the master of my own art, sort of like
Graduating in 4 years: Is it history at colleges?
by Philip Walzer
Knight-Ridder Tribune
October 12, 2000
Parents, take note: For most college
students, a four-year degree is a thing
of the past.
At most of Virginia's 15 public four
year colleges, less than 50 percent of
freshmen graduate within six years,
according to state data. That's still an
improvement from the recent past; in
the past decade, the graduation rates
have risen at two-thirds of the schools.
The latest data from the State Council
of Higher Education, which are not
final, track the number of freshmen
starting college in 1993 who gradu
ated by 1999. They show:
•About 20 percent graduated at Nor
folk State University, the Virginia
school with the lowest rate.
That reflects Norfolk State's "almost
open-admissions" policy in the early
19905, President Marie V.
McDemmond said. She predicted that
the rate will increase with the
university's recent shift to a C-aver-
age admissions requirement and more
intensive advising of students without
!nal( 1,,
someone who paints a picture and has
complete creative control over their
painting."
Developing that art form has come
from years of practice and listening
to each and every artist he could get
his hands on. "I've learned not to just
study one style," he says. "That
means not just listening to pop mu
sic, but getting into everything, from
blues, to jazz, to rock. Switching
styles has given me a universal ap
preciation for music and helped me
understand the process of mixing."
Having found that universal appre
ciation, and having been almost ev
•Slightly less than 40 percent gradu
ated from Old Dominion University,
down from 41.4 percent of 1983 fresh-
ODU President James V. Koch said
the change is small and termed the
rates "basically irrelevant" for ODU.
Thirty percent of freshmen, including
military dependents, "tell us they do
not intend to graduate from ODU."
Koch thinks those students should be
excluded from the rates.
• Twenty-eight percent graduated at
Christopher Newport University,
down from 30.5 percent of 1983 fresh-
The school has the state's second
lowest rate, but its provost, Robert D.
Doane, said: "1 don't think that reflects
what students at CNU are like today.
What we're doing now is accepting
much more qualified students."
The colleges with the best gradua
tion rates remain the University of Vir
ginia and the College of William and
Mary, at 91 and 88 percent, respec
tively. That's no surprise to Phyllis
Palmiero, executive director of the
state council, who echoed academia's
caveat: Don't compare schools.
"Students who go to William and
erywhere in the universe throughout
his touring schedule, Mix Master
Mike has developed a passion for
helping out and giving advice to
young D.J.'s.
"You must have a unique talent to
do this and in order to be successful,
you have to stand out," Mike says.
"The key to making it is to iden
tify your own sound. Once you have
that sound as a DI, you also have to
have it as a producer, who can form
their own grooves and mix up sounds
that fit within that style."
An additional tip he has for those
starting out is to keep track of all the
Mary and the University of Virginia
are academically prepared,"
Palmiero said. At some other col
leges, "students may be less prepared
or they may have more challenges
paying for school. So they're going
to be dropping in and out, and tak
ing fewer courses."
Academics say Virginia's figures
are in line with nationwide results.
ACT Inc., an education organiza
tion in lowa, surveys 450 public
four-year colleges. It says the five
year graduation rate has fallen from
48.5 percent in 1987 to 42.2 percent
in 1999. It does not compute six-year
rates, as Virginia does. Neither com
piles four-year rates.
Kelley Hayden, a spokesman for
ACT, offered two major reasons for
the decline: "inadequate preparation
for college work" and the need to
work to pay tuition.
Krista Harrell hopes to graduate
from ODU in May, five years after
she started. Her explanation: She
began as a political-science major
but after a year switched to human
services counseling.
She couldn't take summer courses,
because she was too busy working.
progress they've made.
"I've written on paper some of the
formulas I've discovered for mix
ing," he says. "I would highly rec
ommend writing down anything
you create so you make sure you
have record of it and can recreate it
some day."
As to a new Beastie Boys creation
in the near future, Mix Master Mike
is cautious about giving away too
much.
"Adam [Yauch] and Mike [Dia
mond] are working on separate
projects right now," he reveals.
"They're really moody musicians,
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2000
"If you don't work part time and you
Can go to summer school, you can
graduate in four years," said Harrell, 22.
"Other than that, it's very, very hard."
Longwood College enjoyed the big
gest growth in its rate, which went from
44.6 percent for 1983 freshmen to 60.6
percent for 1993 freshmen. The presi
dent, Patricia P. Cormier, says it's a mix
of tougher admissions standards and a
revised freshman course focusing on
study skills and time management.
The answer isn't totally in the class
room. At Virginia State University,
which also recorded increases in its rate,
President Eddie N. Moore Jr. says up
grades in food and housing didn't hurt.
"You have to pay attention to creature
comforts," he said.
Some administrators play down the
rates, saying the numbers don't take into
account transfer students. Plus, a one
year blip based on a few weak students
in a freshman class could hurt a school's
image.
But Cormier said: "Paying attention
to graduation rates is very important.
... It is a measure of whether or not we
are able to recruit and retain students to
graduation. My objective is to give ev
erybody a baccalaureate degree."
so it will come when they feel it's a
good time."
In the meantime, Mix Master Mike is
focusing on solo performances, like
his dates on the Twix Mall Tour, where
he's disc jockeying a set of music and
giving fans the chance get some quick
one-on-one turntable training.
"I've never done such a tour, but I'm
been real interested in helping people
go down the same path I've taken. And
a mall is a cool place to start because
it incorporates many aspects of cul