Waiting to Go Home and Beg Our Parents For Money Since 1920
Volume 82, Number 6
October 10, 2002
VCU To Oiiet Virginia Capital Semester Prtss Kileuit
Spirit Leaders dance in their Oktoberfest celebrations. For Oktoberfest see pages 8 and 9
liederhosen during more pictures of
Students dressed up and performed various songs at last Wednesday's Lip Sync. For more Lip Sync pictures see page
Virginia Commonwealth University announced today that it will offer the Virginia Capital Semester — a combined state government internship and policymaking seminar with corresponding course work -- beginning in January 2003. Qualified students from colleges and universities throughout the nation will have the chance to experience state government during the legislative session in Richmond while continuing their studies on a full-time basis at VCU for one semester. The program is being offered by VCU's Department of Political Science and Public Administration. "This program demonstrates what VCU is all about - bnnging real world and classroom experiences together," said Ralph Hambrick, Ph.D., Virginia Capital Semester coordinator. "The Capital Semester program capitalizes on VCU's proximity to the State Capitol, affording students across the Commonwealth a
unique opportunity to simultaneously study and experience government." The first-time program provides internships arranged with the legislative and executive branches of Virginia government, and with advocacy and lobbying organizations. Students will participate in a weekly policy seminar to hear from key leaders at the Capitol and to compare internship experiences, earning three credits for the internship and three credits for the seminar. Students will take additional courses in areas that match their academic interests to achieve a fulltime academic load. VCU will provide individual advising, assist in securing housing, and offer special events. "This is a great opportunity for students across Virginia to get a first-hand look at how government really works," said Robert D. Holsworth, Ph.D., director of VCU's Center for Public Policy, who teaches a course on Virginia government and politics, and is
recognized by the local and national news media for his political commentary. A committee of VCU faculty members and state officials developed the Virginia Capital Semester to expand the opportunities for students to experience and study state government. The program is open to all undergraduate students regardless of major and graduate students on a case-by-case basis. Participants in the Virginia Capital Semester are selected by a committee of faculty members and state officials with preference given to students who will have advanced sophomore, junior or senior standing at the time of participation in the program. "We are excited about participating in this new program, and we believe that it will afford an excellent opportunity for the leaders of tomorrow to gain valuable experience and first-hand knowledge of the operations of the Virginia General Assembly," said Bruce
See VCU p. 4
Patcli Adams Coming to Longwood Kent Booty W Public Relations Hunter "Patch" Adams, the doctor and social activist whose iconoclastic medical school days were featured in a film, is making a house call at Longwood University. Adams, who lives in Arlington and is a 1971 graduate of the Medical College of Virginia, will speak Wednesday, October 23, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. in Longwood's Jarman Auditorium. A longtime clown who believes in the healing power of humor, Adams will perform at a Farmville nursing home that afternoon, accompanied by Longwood therapeutic recreation and theatre students. After his evening talk, hell recite poetry for an hour in a campus coffeehouse - he has at
least 15,000 books in his home and can recite poetry for two hours. Adams' visit is sponsored by Student Health Partners, an advisory committee of Student I lealth and the Wellness Center. He is donating 60 percent of his speaking fee to his non-profit Gesundheit Institute, through which he is building a 40-bed hospital near Hillsboro, West Virginia, that reflects his philosophy of a personalized, holistic approach to health care. "Even though both talks are open to anyone, the one at 10 is primarily for Longwood students, particularly freshmen, and local high school students," said Pam Higgins, director of Student Health and the Wellness Center. "Hell talk about What is your passion?' which is similar to what he often talks about: What is
your love strategy?' His talk at 7 is more for the community." Adams directs the Gesundheit Institute, which he founded in 1971 and which at its height had 20 medical workers, including two physicians in addition to Adams. The Institute's permanent home, on a 310-acre farm he owns in Pocahontas County, WVa., not far from the border with Alleghany County, Va., will include a theater, craft and exercise rooms, vegetable gardens and an orchard. Adams, who neither charges money nor carnes malpractice insurance, is building it through donations and from his talks to medical students and professionals around the country. 'We're not the answer," he has said of the Institute. "We are just one alternative. Gesundheit is meant to be a stimulant and an
irritant. I hope it's a stimulus for you to ask yourself and your community 'What is your fantasy hospital? What are your dreams?'" The major problems facing the health care system, he said in a magazine interview, are "greed,
malpractice, lack of intimacy and paperwork." Healing, he also has said, "should be a loving human interchange, not a business transaction."
See ADAMS p.4
Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams will visit Longwood University Wednesday, October 23.