f riday, sept. 22, 1989
cabrini college, radnor, pa 19087
vol. xxxvi, no. 2
Racismp_lagues campus again by Johanna Church In response to two racial incidents that occured last week, residents ofWoodcrest display signs on their doors reading "Respect your Community.'' The first incident occured on Sunday, SepL J0, between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. Racially derogatory statements were written on the message board outside the room of two minority freshmen. The usual report were filed to tbe Director of Resident Life John Doyle as well as Dean of Students Robert Bonfiglio. Shortly after the reports were filed investigations behind the incident began. On Friday morning, Sept. 15, one of the students being harassed found more racial comments written on her door. Again, action was taken and the investigation is stiU
underway. "I think for a year now, Cabrini College has semiattempted to grow culturally,'' said Pam Stempleski, resident assistant in Woodcrest, "but by now, cultural diversity isn't enough." "The cultural programs that resident life is coordinating, such as the reggae band and Last year's steel drum band, were wonderful, but at this point, its not cultural diversity we need to focus on, it's racism. "Not only are we mono culture, we are racist and a mushy code of conduct isn't going to help the situation. "What we need is a cut and dry system that says 'if you do this, you'll get this.''' Although Stempleski is up et about this recurring problem, so are some of the freshman, most of whom are new to experiendng and dealing with this discrimination.
• 'That is so ignorant,•' said Trish Hickman, freshman. • 'Who do they think they are. It's bad enough that you are a freshman trying to adjust to college, let alone getting harassed like this." •'My high school had a lot a this type of stuff going on, so it's nothing new to me," said Lorraine Lill, freshman. "It is not fair though. All they want to do is get their education." ''That's not right at all,.'' said Donna DeKome, freshman. "This is the placewheTeeveryone thought it would be different.'" ''The people who did this should be kicked out of this school,'' said Colleen Reemmer, freshman. ''It makes the freshman that aren't racist lookrealJy bad. The scary part is, what if whoever is doing this is one of our friends, and we don't even realize it," she said.
Minorityenrollmenthitsrecordlow by Kevin George Cabrini College, statistically has been a racially-unbalanced school, and is becoming even more so. This year's freshman class is one percent black, with only two African American students, according to unofficial records from the Admissions Office. There are also two new black transfer students. Numbers aren't availableforlast year's freshman class, but records from the registrar's office show that overall the body is four percent black, 94 percent are white, two percent are Hispanic and less than one percent belong to other races. The percentages of Hispanic, Asian and other races in the new freshman class are the same as those for the upperclasses, according to the Admission Office. No one is quite sure why fewer black students are coming to Cabrini, but the answer that comes to mind first is an incident last February between a black resident as istant and a white student that put Cabrini on the evening news. •Tm sure it didn't help,'' said Nancy Gardner, director of admission . ''It is hard to determine lhe incident' impact, but, we do know the timing was poor. February is deci ion time for many students.'' Stati tics from the admissions office show that over the courseof the l 98889 school year, black student interest in Cabrini wane.ct. While only one percent of this fall's freshmen are black, three percent of the applications, which started coming in last Fall, were from black students. Some of tho e applications were denied and some were accep~ed. But of those that were accepted, 12 black students declined the invitation to come to Cabrini. Others are quick to point out that the issue isn't whether the last year's incident kept black students away or not. They say the problem is that CabTini is racially
unbalanced. "We were in bad shape before, and now it's deplorable," said Rita Calicat, director of student activities. ''Those numbers scare me. Whether its due to the incident or not, they are worrisome numbers. There are quality black students out there and we're not reaching them.'' Mia Jackson, president of the Black Student Alliance, agrees that Cabrini is unheard of in the predominantly black sections of Philadelphia. "I think if they went into the right parts of ci re d v•~~~,....uf students willing to come,·· Jackson said. Recruiting is one factor, but there are many others, according to Dr. M. Antoinette Schiesler, academic dean. Schiesler said she would add money, location, and transportation to the list of reasons for low minority enrollment. Schiesler said she has been working on a plan to obtain funds for minority scholarships, but she added that financial aid alone will not make Cabrini more popular among minorities. To make the campus a ''place where minority students want to be, Schiesler said a concerted effort must be made by faculty, taff, administration and "most of all, students." Increa ed minority enrollment wiU be a goal for the admissions office according to Gardner. "We're making a concerted effort to have a more organized minority plan this year," Gardner said. "We 're not here to bring in minority students just for the sake of numbers. We believe an increased cultural diversity enhances the educational experience for everybody.'' Improving Cabrini's appeal to minorities will also be a goal for Calicat's office, where she helps minority students "adjust toon a white campus.·' Calicat is not only concerned about the low freshman numbers but also the upperclassman as well. "After last year• s incident I've talked to a
good percentage of students who have chosen to move off campus and commute," she said. Calicat also wants to see a tudy done to find out why only two out of 14 AfricanAmericans chose Cabrini this year. That's exactly what the admissions office will be doing, according to Gardner .. Her office wi!J be contacting those students who turned down Cabrini's offer to determine their reason for declining. De pite the reports of that racial incident, nifa.Williaro a black freshman chose Cabrini. .. My mother was scared, but I told her
that if I'm going IP face ~his (racLm) problem sometime in my life, I might as weJI learn to deal with it now," she said. So far, Williams has yet to get her first lesson. • Tm glad I came here. Everyone has been great,•' she said. Both Calicat and Gardner agree that the problem of racial unbalance will affect all students. "One of our appealing features is our personal care towards studen ." Gardner said. ''So, I think, when situations of any kind arise that show there may not be that kind of respect, we lose some of our appeal.' •
New curriculumconsidered challengingby freshmen by Carrie Corr
Freshmen are enthusiastic about the new core curriculum, which replaces the general education requirements that sophomores, juniors, and seniors still take. Dr. Mary Ann Biller, vice president of academic affairs, said the new core cuniculum affects the freshmen only, and parents, as well as students, have been very receptive to the changes. The new core requires 123 credits for graduation, replacing the old requiremenr of 130 credits. The coursework incJudes a seminar on the topic of self-understanding, and when current freshmen are juniors, a eminar on the common good. Competencies include coursework in mathematics, writing, foreign language and computers. Students will also select courses from the required distribution. These combine to make -atotal of 40 courses, plus one credit each for science lab, physical education and success seminar. The required distribution allows a student to choo e courses from categories such as,
Natural Science, Heritage, Cultural Diversity, Values and Commitment , The Individual and Society, Imagination, Creativity, and Aesthetic Appreciation, and Contemporary Issues. A category such as Heritage includes courses like Folklife Studies, Poetry. Art History,JazzandltsHeritage, World Warll and The Catholic Church in America. The opinions of freshmen are that the new core will be challenging. yet more practical because of the wide variety of classes being made available to them. "The new core gives us a variety of choice for classes," said Dawn Pritchard, a freshman in Woodcrest. Freshman Lisa Costello also of Woodcrest said, "The success seminar class will help guide freshmen in their decision making process regarding majors, and what classes to take." John Cain, a freshman commuter, said the new core will give freshmen an opportunity to take more of the classe they are inter
more Curriculum on page 6
inside perspectives .......... 2
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sports.................. 7, a