Page 2 — LION'S EYE — November 13, 1992. Truett Retires After 12 Years By Artin Armani She selectively arranged the carnations she had received as her retirement gift from a fellow faculty member and placed the flowers in a vase with water. It was Friday, October 30, and it was her last day. Ruth Truett, receptionist, retired after working here for twelve and a half years. Due to recent budget cuts and the installment of the new voice system, her services were no longer needed. : The feeling between Penn Sate and Ruth was mutual. It had came as a coincidence that Ruth wanted to retire at the same time Penn State decided to cut her position. Before she came to Penn State, she had worked for Bell Telephone, but she quit Bell Telephone to raise her children. When her children were old enough to be on their own and all “cookie making was done,” she looked to Penn State for employment. At the same time in 1980 that she put in an application to the University, someone else had just announced their retirement from the same position. In came Ruth, and what an impact she had! She became a part of Penn State more than any one else, and she loved it. “I felt as if I contributed to the kids’ education,” she said. What will Ruth do now? “I will visit my family and friends and maybe pick up some hobbies. You know, I've never been to Florida,” she replied. From this day on, every time people call Penn State Delco on the telephone, they will get a pre- recorded voice, and Ruth Truett will be somewhere learning a new hobby, visiting with her family and friends, or basking in the rays of the Florida sun. Good luck, Ruth, in whatever you do. We will miss you. Ruth Truett, a wonderful former Penn State employee. Earn Credits, Teach Literacy By Artin Armani The Student Literacy Corps is looking for students to volunteer their time to tutor adults, high school students, and middle school students who have reading and writing deficiencies. Students who wish to volunteer are trained through a course which prepares them to tutor effectively. The course, C I 297 B, is being offered Monday nights from 6:10 to 8:40 during spring semester “There are few prerequisite requirements except for an open mind and patience,” declared current volunteer, Eric Voight. For more information, contact Norma Notzold in the Learning Center or call (215) 892-1640. ‘State campuses. Cultures of Asia Program To Liven Campus in 1994 By Cristine Phillips In keeping in line with its cultural goals, Penn State Delco has scheduled a semester long Cultures of Asia Program for Spring semester 1994. Organizers of the program have already begun planning dozens of exciting and educational activities for the event. As an all-campus cooperative effort concentrating on cultural diversity, this program can serve as a model for emulation by other Penn The Cultures of Asia Program is planned along the same lines as Delco’s previous program African Cultures in 1992 due to that program’s great success. However, The Asian Program seeks to embrace several additional dimensions. The academic component of the program is centered around several undergraduate courses which focus on the Asian culture. These courses range in topic from The Survey of Eastern Art to Oriental Philosophy. Eleven additional courses (five of which are contingent of staffing and funding) will also have a significant percentage of the course work pertaining to Asian cultures. These course deal with religious studies, history, political science, art, education, and more. A large part of the Culures of Asia Program is centered around interactive and participative activities dealing with art, craft, photopgraphy, films, and literary works of the Asian culture. An Art News From University Park and Craft Exhibit, for example, will be held in the student lounge, displaying Asian artifacts including jewelry, textiles, and ornaments. The Visiting Artist exhibition will bring three artists into an on-campus studio, located in the library lounge. This setting allows the artist to work in full view of students, thus encouraging thoses students to watch, discuss, and learn from a practicing artist. The Spring 1994 International Cinema Festival will be devoted to Asian films. A series of six screenings of films in their original languages (subtitles as needed) will be shown Tuesdays at 2:30 in the Auditorium Theater of 101 Main. The theater will be open at that time to the entire campus body as well as the general public. Asian themes will be visually highlited at the campus by way of banners, logos, buttons, posters, and T-shirts designed especially for this program. Students will be invited to participae in designing such Asian imagery. Contests will also be sponored for poetry, visal arts, logos, posters or essays on the theme of Asia. Entertainment will be provided throughout the semester-long program during common hour. In conjuncion with the Cultures of Asia theme, traditional Asian dance and music performances will be featured. A dozen other events are being organized to make this program an educational advecture of epic proportions. Enrollment Drops; Recruitment Aimed at Minorities By Weekly Collegian Staff Writers Wendy Kops & AmandaThompson Penn State’s minority student enrollment increased again this year, but African-American enrollment rose by just five students. Universitywide minority student enrollment increased this Art student Ali Afshari sketches a cartoon drawing for Penn State Delco’s Campus Poster. Anyone interested in being ‘sketched’ on the poster for $1.00 can come to Rm. 112 LC on Tuesday & Thursday morn- ings or contact Connie Kirker at Ext. 468. Watch for tables outside 101 Main and the cafeteria to purchase the poster. Photo by: DIANA MICERI year by 286 to a total of 5,559, while overall student enrollment fell to 70,576 from 70,597 last year, according to a University news release. But the small African-American enrollment increase from 2,261 to 2,266 reflects the University’s recruitment efforts and the environment for minorities, said Desiree Trader, Black Caucus president. “I'm not surprised,” Trader said. “I don’t think the University has ever done any vigorous minority recruitment.” Asian/Pacific Islander student enrollment rose this year to 2,199 from 2,009; Hispanic student enrollment rose to 987 from 892; and Native-American student enrollment fell to 107 from 111. Mirla Otero, Puerto Rican Student Association vice president, said Penn State does not do enough to recruit Hispanics. University officials should visit more high schools with high percentages of Hispanic students, Otero said, adding that Hispanic students also need more faculty who can relate to their culture. University President Joab Thomas said the figures do not show ineffective recruiting methods. Enrollment must be reviewed for several years to evaluate an overall trend, he said. The decline of out-of-state student enrollment may have contributed to the low increase of African-American students, Thomas said. But the small increase should not affect prospective minority students’ decision about where to attend college, he added. “I'd be interested in the reaction of the students that are presently there,” he said. Because Pennsylvania does not have many African-American students, the small increase is not surprising, said Mike Blanco, director of the Multicultural Resource Center. High out-of-state tuition also affects enrollment, Blanco added. “The increase in African- American enrollment is not encouraging, but it’s not unexpected,” he said. : The University should compile a more competitive financial aid packet for minorities and communicate available support services, he added. “That can be very intimidating,” Blanco said. “I think we need to more effectively articulate the resources that are available for students. LaVerne Gyant, interim director of the Black Studies program, said prospective students should learn about its programs. Although she said University admissions is trying to increase minority enrollment, Gyant said more needs to be done to increase the numbers.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers