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Friday November 30, 1979
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Cabrini College, Radnor, PA 19087
SGA searches for candidates BY MAINE KORZON
Student Government Association elections time is almost here, that is if there is an election. As it stands Detsy Lynch '81 and Mary Goldner '81 are the sole candidates for the offices of the president and vice-president of SGA respec. tively. There is speculation that Lynch and Goldner may have an opposing team of running males. But, what will happen if Lynch and Goldner don't have an opponent? Sal Barabuscio, president of SGA said that there are two possible solutions to the elections problem. First Barabuscio said tha tSGA is in the process of drawing up a "constitutional amendment permitting sophomores with two semesters of SGA background to run for president. There is one sophomore that will fit the requirements, but the sign-up poster is down, so the election committee would have to resolve the problem. '"l'he second sol~tion"
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Grants aid.
housing
Barabuscio said "is for there to be an appointed or elected group of people to act in the capacity. But nobody knows who would elect or appoint this group. This has never happened before." Barabuscio said people are "afraid to get involved after Cushing. Nobody wants the aggravation." Barbuscio added that the junior class has always been apathetic. "It's almost like a disease. A certain few do everything, now these people don 't want the hassle to the extent they would have it. "The college is going through growing pains. There is a wider variety of people with more diverse interests. It makes the job more complicateq to deal with this ." "'I feel that the sophomores and freshmen are anxious, so I don't see this as a recurring problem. There is a lot of enthusiasm, unless this apathy gets to everyone." Barbuscio said. "Some kind of student represenBY MARY ANN RIBJCK
"An additional grant of $350,000 from the.George D. Widener Trust has been given the college through the assistance of Mr. and Mrs. F. Eugene Dixon, Jr .," John J. Heiberger, Jr., vice president for development and public relations , said. The grant was announced at a dinner for major donors and the Board of Trustees. "The money will go toward the student houses, leaving us with a balance of$200,000. We hope to get most of this money through some proposals and some private individuals," Heiberger said. "We hope to raise at least a portion of the balance. If necessary, although not the desired option, the balance for the houses could be obtained through a long-term
talion should remain on ' campus," said Barabuscio. "We do have clout. Things may not seem like they're going to get done, but they do. The people that are going to be most affected by this apathy are the people that are going to remain here for two or thre.e more years," Barabuscio said .
"People are afraid to get involved after Cushing" Lisa Sherwood, '80, social activities chairperson, said that the same few people do everything and nobody wants to "get stuck with all the work." Sherwood said "other people see the hassles and they don't want to get involved." Sherw .ood began a volunteer committee to help get people involved and to help her with her job. She said "you get more response mortgage, Heiberger added . "The George D. Widener Trust has supported Cabrini College in the past with funds to renovate the Student Activities Center, the dining hall, bookstore and to make other improvements," Sister Mary Louise Sullivan, president of Cabrini College, said. "Another gin from the Widener Trust this year paid for the new van and the new automatic typewriter in the Development Office," Sisler Mary Louise said . "Mrs . Dixon, vice-person of the Cabrini College Board of Trustees has been very helpful. We're very glad for the Dixons' continued interest in the school and the Widener Trust officers' confidence. We hope other will follow suit," Sister Mary Louise added.
Writing center · initiated BY MITZI CARROLL
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Vol. XXXVI, No. 5
This semester provided the beginning of a new writing center, a concept of students teaching students. The idea of the writing center was growing in the minds of Jerome Zurek, chairperson of the English department, and Arthur Young, lecturer in English, until the opportunity to introduce the program arose. Roxanne Lucchesi, a senior needing three additional credits, provided the opportunity. The program began in City University, New York, about five years ago. At this time, the school's policy of open enrollment mandated that the college accept students of various educational backgrounds. Due to this policy, students were not necessarily at the college writ-
ing level. The expense of hiring teachers to instruct these students led to the idea of students leaching other students . This concept is being adopted by many sch·ools around the country. This concept has several positive aspects. First, the availability of tutors will increase the number of capable instructors. Secondly, the students are less intimidated when being taught by other ·students than if they were taught by teachers. The only negative aspect is that tutors may not be trained well enough to be able to help the students. Cabrini is offering a course in the coming spring semester which will teach students how to tutor other students in basic writing skills. The course being offered is "Advanced Writing: Composition
and Tutoring," under the instruction of Young.
when you are given the option whether to do the work or not." Sherwood feels that the requirements for an SGA office are good "because you do need the experience," she said. Sherwood added that maybe a possible solution to the apathy would be to "better delegate the responsibility of the president and vice-president, they have a lot of responsibility ." Tori Ryan, '80, Senior class vice president, said that apathy is "a sign of the times. It has nothing to do with the college." Ryan said that there is apathy toward the elections because "the junior class has run into problems in ·recent times so they are afraid to get involved because tliey are afraid of having these problems on their shoulders" Kelly Coyle '80, activities chairperson assistant, thinks that people don 't know what SGA is all about. Coyle added, "Do you know that you can go speak at the meetings?"
Detsy Lynch, '81, vice president of SGA, said, "People aren't running because most people want to run for an office in their respective class. The same people always run for an office. The students can really run this college," Lynch added . Due to the fact that elections were a week behind schedule the idea of a constitutional amendment letting a sophomore run for this year was voted down by members of SGA on Monday, Nov. 26. Campaign speeches were held on Tuesday, Nov. 27. Detsy Lynch '81 and Mary Goldner '81 said that if elected they planned to concentrate on improving the "social tmospbere" on campus . "In our term of office we plan to sustain the good relationship that SGA has with the administration and to make SGA more of an open forum with the student body. Our major emphasis will be in the scheduling and promotion of social activities on campus," said Lynch.
·Study program meets success BY CONNIE AIELLO
"The program is designed to develop academic skills necessary to complete a college degree," Arthur Young, lecturer in English, said about Cabrini College's General Studies Program. The General Studies Program is a non-credit course that was developed for students who are having academic difficulties. Young said that Cabrini's program has an 86 percent success rate, which, he added, is much higher than any other college in the area with a similar program . The course is designed mainly for freshmen, but is open to anyone. "Anybody can study and improve. The course is designed to make the academically poor stronger and the strong even more strong academically."
The course involves extensive The program was first research on the fundamentals of developed in 1975by the Academic writing and the teaching of these Dean, Dorothy Brown, who asked skills. Tutors will also improve Young to develop a program for their own writing skills by becom- students having academic ing aware of the problems and the difficulties. Young said that he had correct methQd of writing. The stu- secondary experience working dents will also tutor other students with academically poor people. who need to improve their writing This experience helped to evolve technique. The students who are his doctoral studies. His doctoral tutored are teacher-selected or studies, in turn, developed various self-.selected. topics and concepts in the course. · Teachers, as well as students of Young believes that most people all majors, are encouraged to take can deal with college if they are this course. The important thing is able to develop the skills. "We're that students do not have to have taught how to drive a car or type, straight A's. A tutor with average but no one taught us how to study." grades is more sympathetic to the He feels that there is a definite disproblems of the tutee. They are tinction between reading and improving their own skills at the studying a _book and that the same time. . course is designed for dealing with
these types of distinctions . Young feels that the success of the program is from "the freedom that the current administration gives to meet the needs of the students." He aiso attributes its success to the flexibility that the program provides and its "freedom to experiment.'' Young said that the program has two sessions which meet twice-aweek for lecture and discussion . It also offers individual tutoring for those who cannot sit in during classes. Young said the program deals with usually one topic per week. The topics range from how to make a schedule, how to study a textbook in contrast with a novel, how to take tests and how to develop notetaking abilities. He said there are approximately 25 students per session, but approximately 40 students seek individual tutoring . Young said that he hoped to expand the program, especially in the area of writing. "Many students expressed frustration about writing." He said that he hoped to expand the writing aspect with a writing lab to be offered next semester to "show ways of improving and understanding one's own writing ability and the process which one goes through." Young said that the program is for anyone who is interested and not necessarily having academic problems. The program meets on Monday and Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. and is available "in class form or as private tutoring," Young said .