The Capital Timesfe' 25, 1999 Volume XL, No. 1 Make a Run for It with SGA By Barb Roy Capital Times Staff Writer Jane Doe (not her real name) finally makes it through a long school day and is finally caught up with a six-chapter reading assign ment and a ten-page paper. Time for a little fun with her Penn State Har risburg friends. On this particular night, like so many others, they have the choice of hanging out at their dishes-stacked-to-the-ceiling place, hanging out at the library for a little recreational reading, or jumping into whichever car has the most gas and heading for anywhere out of Middletown. The rubber squeals even as the car doors are slamming on their way out of the drive. Meanwhile, John Doe (not re lated to Jane) makes his weekly trek to the campus after a long workday in his cubicle. Although he nods and smiles and makes small talk with some of his classmates, he remains unconnected to the school as any thing more than an ex-military building where he receives yet an other assignment to add to his weekly workload. Does this sound disturbingly familiar? Fun as this is, you can sit back and whine about things as you wish they were, or you can grab the power bull by the horns and run for a seat in the SGA. The Student Government Asso ciation (SGA) is the “voice” of the student body. There are three branches of the SGA: the elected officers, the junior and senior sena tors representing each academic school as a direct link between stu- Continued on Page 3 INSIDE TUITION UP, AID NOT Tuition increased 5 percent over the summer, but student loan amounts have held steady. Page 3. A SUMMER IN BRAZIL Craig Donmoyer spent part of his vacation with missionary friends. Page 6. PSH AT THE MILLENIUM A look back at the early years. Page 11. Interim Provost and Dean John L Leathers. Apartment-Style Housing Planned There’s no place like home, Dor- othy once said. And today’s col lege students pretty much feel the same way, at least in terms of their housing preferences. So when the preliminary designs for new cam pus housing were shown to univer sity trustees in July, the plans did not look like traditional dormito ries. Instead, the designs were of apartments and townhouses. “Students prefer this apartment style residence as opposed to dor- mitories,” said Public Information Work on the new library has moved inside and should be finished in October. Story, page 4. Photo by Kristy Pipher By Matthew McKeown Capital Tunes Editor Manager Steve Hevner. The new apartments for the tra ditional college student will be built on the east side of the Olmsted Building. They will be four-bed room apartments in two-story buildings with each building con taining at least eight units. Each will have kitchen appliances and washer and dryers. The plan calls for construction to be done in two phases. The first Continued on Page 3 Wednesday, August Interim Provost and Dean Says," Students Come First" Interim Provost and Dean Dr. John L. Leathers started our con versation about his goals and ob jectives by telling a story. Periodi cally, Capital College faculty and staff gather for an all-college meet ing. On August 19, faculty and staff from Penn State Harrisburg boarded a bus to the Schuylkill campus for the first all-college meeting of the semester. Leathers opened the meeting by reminding the attendees, “I got on the bus at Capital College and I got off of the bus at Capital College, which is my way of saying we are the Capital College with two major locations.” By Cathie McCormick Musser Leathers wants both campuses to think of themselves as one college, one faculty and one student body. He provided an example of his commitment early in our conversa tion by asking if The Capital Times covers and is distributed on both campuses. Leathers' appointment as Interim Provost and Dean is not his first exposure to the merger of Penn State Harrisburg and the Schuylkill campus. In his role as Assistant Vice President for Research/Special Projects, Leathers was asked to as sess the merger. When asked about additional ob- Capital Times Staff Writer jectives, Leathers responded, “I’ve got a lot more listening to do be fore I can do a whole lot more talk ing.” He did say that we need to look at who we are, where we are, where we want to be, how to get there and how to pay for it. Leathers added that we should also look at how to continue strengthening the schol arly community. The most poignant statement came at the end of the list. What’s important, according to Leathers, “Students come first.” Continued on Page 4 Retiring Bruhn Reviews His Time At PSH By Cathie McCormick Musser Capital Times Staff Writer “I give myself a B+ or A-,” Dr. John G. Bruhn volunteered as he finished our informal review of his tenure as Provost and Dean. I met with him in his temporary office in the Swatara Building. Neatly packed and labeled boxes line the bare wall opposite a simple desk and folding table in this narrow room beside the back door. The retiring Bruhn is winding down and preparing for his depar ture on August 27 for Scottsdale, Ariz., where he plans to have time to do some fun things like write poetry and edit a professional jour nal. Bruhn is retiring from aca demic administration. One thing he is not involved with during his remaining days is the search for his successor. “It wouldn’t be politically correct,” Bruhn says. A committee of fac ulty, staff, students and alumni led by Peter Glenn, Dean of Dickinson School of Law, is searching for our new leader while Dr. John Leathers acts as Interim Provost and Dean. When asked about the college continuing his vision, Bruhn ad mitted that one problem with Continued on Page 4
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