The Capital Times&f S her 8,1999 Volume XL , No. 2 Spanier Urges More Faculty Involvement By Ken Lopez Capital Times Staff Writer Penn State president Graham Spanier called on all faculty mem bers to “get more involved in the lives of their students,” in his yearly State of the University address which was given at the University Park campus on August 27. Spanier, in his 16th year as uni versity president, said faculty need to accomodate students inside and outside the classroom. He said more than 100 new faculty posi tions have been created over the last three years to attract professors who will have immediate ties to the uni versity. “Faculty need to make students <iiuul wi— mnwiMintori f the -uoiver- sity, more a part of Penn State,” Spanier said in his address, which was broadcast in the Olmsted audi torium via satellite from State Col lege. Spanier cited several examples collected from across the university system of faculty members who lacked concern for Penn State or its students, recounting one instance where the academic dean at Penn State-Berks pleaded with Spanier to keep a particular faculty member. After talking by phone with that faculty member, Spanier decided that individual was not aptly quali fied to teach at the university. “There exists a whole new aware ness about what faculty members university-wide and at Penn State Harrisburg need to do in order to increase those ties,” Steve Hevner, PSH public information director, said. Hevner added that even though he doesn’t immediately per Continued on Page 4 INSIDE PSPEC NEWS Membership drive is on. Page 4. ROCKING FOR GOD Brad Moist went on tour with Christian rock band Devoted Molded. Page 6. PSH AT THE MILLENIUM Campus news and happenings from 1973 to 1975. Page 11. Photo by Cathie McCormick Musser The cast of PSH professor Eton Churchill's new play, "Son of Liberty." Leftto right: Mike Severeid, Peter Hewett, Mary Smetak, Ray Manlove, Anne L Alsedek, Theron Holmes, and Cary Burkett. Churchill is in front. Latest Churchill Play Takes Shape By Cathie McCormick Musser Like all creative endeavors, playwriting is an evolutionary pro cess. On September 2, about 60 people joined PSH Humanities Pro fessor, Eton Churchill, in the birthing of his newest offspring, “Son of Liberty.” The audience perched on folding chairs in the Mt. Gretna Hall of Phi losophy while ceiling fans spun soundlessly. Lining the rear of a Capital Times Staff Writer small platform at Ihe frant of the room were six tall, wooden stools. During the staged reading, actors advanced and retreated from these perches and followed along in their scripts; each in turn read their lines. The stools and two strategically placed chairs were the only props. The sound of late-summer insects Continued on Page 3 Wednesday, Visting Professor Addresses Women's Issues On August 31, Congmei Chen, an associate professor of linguistics from Mian Yang Teacher’s College in China, met with a small group of students and faculty in the Gallery Lounge to discuss some of the greatest concerns facing women in her native China. Chen is now completing a year long trip to the states. She came here to study African-American vernacular English with Bernard Bell, a professor at University Park. Though her background is in lin guistics, Chen hoped her presenta tion would enhance understanding between the two cultures. “Most American people don’t have the opportunity to go to China and see with their own eyes, but -Aiey areveryinterested,” she said. “I’m a woman, so I feel very inter ested in issues affecting women. I want to speak out my opinion.” Her speech’s title, “Half of Sky in China” refers to an expression from the time of Chairman Mao Tse Tung. It means that women and men each hold half the sky; there fore, they share equal rights and eptem By Paula Marinak Capital Times Staff Writer in China responsibilities. However, Chen told the gather ing of 25 to 30 students and faculty that three major concerns face women in her homeland. Employ ment and the struggle for indepen dence in the work force remain a major issue. The professor explained that women typically devote their mar ried lives to care of the home and family. This cultural expectation makes it difficult to begin or main tain a career. “Married women can work and earn money, but few can continue to develop their abilities,” Chen said. “In their minds, they don’t have much bigger goals.” A main reason women have trouble advancing in the work force is the expectation that they will be absent for long periods to raise chil dren. A 1997 law stated that up to half of the workers at major companies would be laid off unless the could demonstrate the knowledge and skills needed to perform their jobs adequately. This regulation com pounds problems for women, re sulting in family difficulties such as divorce. Chen cited educational opportu nity as the other main concern fac ing Chinese women. Chen said that before 1949, the illiteracy rate among women had reached 90 per cent. Education reforms over the last five decades, have, however, re duced that figure to 30 percent. Fur thermore, laws now mandate nine years of schooling for girls aged seven to 15. Only in some rural areas does the belief persist that females, as the inferior sex, do not require educa tion. Even so, the government has created several programs to im prove education among the poor. One of the best examples is Project Hope, which began in Oc tober 1989. It has financed 500 pri mary schools. It has also provided scholarships to high school stu dents. Another pro-education program is Continued on Page 3
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