MEDIA MATTERS
FISH OUT OF WATER Freshman golfer Marcus Dahlin adjusts to
Students can learn about the importance of social media professionalism with Lt. Brad Oyer of the Charleston Police Department 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Coleman Hall Auditorium.
life in Charleston after moving from Sweden to play for the Panthers. Page 8
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Dai ly Eastern News
THE
WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013
VOL. 98 | ISSUE 32
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
administr ation
entertainment | lec ture
African-American issues explored in forum Board revises contract policy By Marcus Curtis Entertainment Editor @DEN_News
By Robert Downen Administration Editor @DEN_News Contact extensions for four of the university’s vice presidents were approved unanimously at a meeting of Eastern’s Board of Trustees Friday, following a revision to the university’s governing policy for administrative employees. According to the policy, administrative employees were defined as “employees who are not employed under the State Universities Civil Service System.” Prior to the meeting, the university could offer only three-year contracts to senior administrative employees and coaches, a stipulation that President Bill Perry said was detrimental to Eastern’s athletic and research endeavors. By allowing Eastern to extend five-year contracts, Perry said the university would remain competitive with other athletic departments across the nation, where he said such contracts are relatively standard. Additionally, he noted the growth of new programs at Eastern, such as the Center for Clean Energy Research and Education, necessitated longer and more enticing contract offers. “As research centers at Eastern grow, we often need to hire new directors,” he told the board. “These people may not want faculty contracts. They’ll want to have a five-year guarantee from the university.” The four university vice presidents were the first to receive extensions under the revised governing policies.
CONTRACT, page 5 Crime
2012 crime stats online
Kicking off their week of service Monday, Kappa Alpha Psi members presented an open- forum where themes such as black identity and social norms were brought to the forefront. The fraternity started their week of service titled, “Kappa Kares,” with a lecture that focused on topics related to African-American culture and how society has an impact on it. The different topics covered included fashion, television and behavior. But the topic that received the most responses from the audience was the topic about the African woman, Saartjie “Sara” Baartman. Baartman was a woman who was abducted by Europeans in the 19th century and put on display circuses and “freak show’ attractions. The members of the fraternity took the role as the mediators for the discussion. They described the story of Baartman and how she was ostracized for her abnormal sized buttocks and breasts. Individuals would laugh and degrade Baartman for her abnormal features. She later died from syphilis after being sold into prostitution. Fraternity members proceeded with the discussion by connecting the story of Baartman back to today’s pop culture and society. In addition, they mentioned how popular culture today glorifies the degrading and exposure of women. There were only a few students in attendance that voiced their opinion. One of those students was Ashley Howard, a junior psychology major.
K atie Smith | The Daily Eastern Ne ws
Brittany Staten, a graduate student studying family and consumer sciences, comments on pop culture’s influence on individuals’ thinking during a Kappa Kares lecture Monday in the Robertson Auditorium in Lumpkin Hall.
Howard said the story about Baartman stood out the most to her. “The information was really critical to our culture,” Howard said. She added that a lot of people
change toward the issues of popular culture if they talk about them not only inside of forums but also outside of them. “If we insert them in our everyday conversation, it becomes of our
"It’s imperative that we open up people’s minds. We don’t want people to leave with their same mindset that they came with. That’s our whole purpose " Jarvis Burks, historian for Kappa Alpha Psi did not know of Baartman’s experience. “Not a lot of people are aware of what happened,” she said, “You still see the moments of her experience in our culture.” Howard said she feels more people will become aware and make a
everyday life,” she said. Additional topics included twerking and Miley Cyrus. Kahmal Patterson, the chair of Kappa Alpha Psi, informed the crowd on how he viewed the situation and how it affects AfricanAmericans.
“It’s looked at to be degrading in our culture, but when a Caucasian does it, they call it a trend and give a definition.” At the end of the forum, the Kappa Alpha Psi members proposed two questions: “Do you think black people struggle with their identity?” and “Do black people struggle with black consciousness?” The two questions sparked responses in relations to slavery and the oppression of AfricanAmericans. Jarvis Burks, a senior business major and historian for Kappa Alpha Psi, said he thought the proposal of the two questions about black identity received more indepth responses.
ISSUES, page 5
student government | revisions
New committee to update constitution
Staff Report
By David Mitchell Staff Reporter @DEN_News
Eastern’s annual crime statistics for the 2012 calendar year are now available online through Eastern’s website. The statiscs can be found under the annual security report tab on the university police department’s page. Dan Nadler, the vice president for student affairs, sent an email to all students at 7 p.m. Monday with a link to the information. In the email Nadler said publication of annual crime statistics is required for all institutes of higher learning under the Federal Campus Security Act. The annual security report also contains links to information concerning campus safety, sexual assault policies, parking and other safety information.
Student government members will be making revisions to its constitution, including removing an obsolete position from the constitution. The revision of the constitution is expected to be completed around the middle of November. Members of the Constitution Revision Committee are amending the student government constitution. One of their responsibilities involves being in charge of making sure all of the rules and regulations correspond with the bilaws of the organization and up-
dating some of the positions. The Constitution Revision Committee will consist of members from Student Senate and Student Supreme Court. Student Body President Kaylia Eskew said student government members will not have the committee set-up until members of the Student Supreme Court convenes their meeting Friday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The senate recently approved the Supreme Court members: Mariah Wallace, a political science major, Katherine Kade, Alaysia Mitchell, a business management major, Nicole Burlingame, a history major and Gregory Schoonover, a philosophy ma-
jor. “We will have the committee by next week, after the Student Supreme Court meeting,” Eskew said. Eskew said members of the Constitution Revision Committee will be removing the student vice president of business affairs position from the constitution. She said the reason for the removal was because student government has not had the position available for more than two years. The position was dissolved into the student vice president of student affairs position. “There is just a lot of things that are in there that are outdated,” Eskew said. She said the committee should
enlighten student government on any changes that need to be changed immediately. In order for the revisions to be implement successfully into the new constitution, the entire student body will have the chance to vote on the constitution. If voted in successfully, the changes are subject to take affect at the start of the spring semester. Voting will take place in November, but no specific date has been set. Jarad Jarmon contributed to this article. David Mitchell can be reached at 581-2812 or ddmitchell@eiu.edu.