Friday,Feb.11,1994 Vol.XL,No.15 CabriniCollege _Radnor, Pa. 19087
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Playin' the blues
Cabriniwelcomescivilrightsspeaker by Celene Wright staff writer
Waiting for truth and justice to becomea permanentpart of America, Dr. Mary Frances Beny, civil rights leader, continues to fight. Her plightto gain completecivil rightsfor allindividualswillbring her to Cabrinion Wednesday,Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. in the Grace Hall atrium. She will deliver her speech titled, "Wither the Civil Rights Movement," whichplaysin partof the Ivy Young Willis Memorial Lecture Series, one of the events set up for the celebrationof Black History Month. Ontheday thatBrownvs. Board of Education was decided, court case that would enforceschools to become integrated,Beny remembers saying, "This is going to be great! Starting next year, the kids will all be going to school together!" Beny was destined to play a largerolein the fightfor civil rights when she began to show signs of her interest in the plight at a very young age.
Dr. Mary Frances Berry, civil rights speaker
She was also influenced by her mother, who was not admitted the right to further her educationbecause at the time, high schools for AfricanAmericans were non-existent. These influences encouraged her to work hard to contributeto the continuous fight for civil rights. She becameone of the foundersof the Free SouthAfrica Movementand played a huge role in the movement. She was arrested five times as a resultof her takingpart in demonstrations,which revealedher commitment
to fighting against apartheid. Beny was also a memberof the U.S.CivilRightsCommissionand, while underPresidentReagan,she was fired becauseshe was one the outspoken critics of the administration's civil rights policies. Beny descnbed the day that Reagan fired her as the happiest day of her life. She felt that his firing her was a way to tell her she was doingwhat she was supposed to. Beny did not take her termination laying down and went on to sue in a federalcourt. She won the case and was reinstatedin the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Obtaining a bachelor's and a master's from Howard University, a doctoratein Historyfrom the Universityof Michigan,and ajuris doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School, Beny continuedto work to be overqualified for everything. She hasworkedas a historyand law professorat Howard, provost of the Universityof Marylandand chancellorat the Universityof ptoyncr
see more BERRY on pg. 4
Dr. Blue soulfully sang the blues and ragtime on Monday in the Widener Center gathering area during lunchtime.
Studiesshow rise in collegeage by Catherine Smotherman
At Cabrini, the correspondingfigure was 59 percent for the class of 1988, the most recent class to have Students generallydo not think of passed the six-year mark. their institutionas a companyselling a The other statistic schools watch product. To most students, the more closely is the percentage of starting visiblefact is that,if they do not toe the first-yearstudentswho returnfor their line, they will not get the education sophomore year. and, perhaps more saliently, the deAt Cabrini, that number has hovgree they are attemptingto purchase. ered right around 80 percent for the To the a state college administra- pastfiveyears,accordingtotheCabrini tor,the studentis a customerwho must College Fact Book for 1989-93. be recruitedand retained.WithoutstuExperts in the field have said that dents, a college is not in business. 81 percent is standard, according to Schools are prevented from pan- Mary Ann Biller, vice-presidentfor dering to students by various regula- enrollment management and special tions and the fact that, if their product assistant to the president for educais too easy to acquire, it loses its value. tional affairs. Only about half the first-year stuThere are many reasons a student dents entering college in any given may leave a school, some of which year will obtain a bachelor's degree indicatedissatisfactionwiththeschool, within six years, according to the Di- and some of which do not Cabrini gest of Education Statisticsfor 1992. attempts to determine the reason beIn public schools,about 46 percent of hind every student's departure. the studentsgraduatewithin six years. 'The real issue is, forget the numIn private schools,the figure is about bers," Anthony Tomasco, chairof the 55 percent. psychologydepartment,said."Are we doing all we can do to keep our stuassistant news editor
dents, keeping in mind that you will never have 100 percent?" According to numerous studies, one significantindicatorofwhetheror not a student will completecollege is previous academic record. Students with lower high school grade point averagesand SAT scores areless likelyto completetheircollege degree. Cabrinitakes a number of steps to insure that all studentsare successful, Biller said. The centerfor academicreinforcement provides help for students who need help with a particularskill. Faculty members are encouraged to notify the administrationwhen a student is doing poorly,so the student can receive more intensiveadvising. The school is consideringissuing mid-tenn grades, Biller said. "The final grade can be a real eye-openerfor some students,"she said. A mid-term grade report would provide a reality check on how the student is doing. Another factor in student persistence, according to Biller, is whether
or not thestudent is focusedon a field of study. The college is offering a career explorationworkshop on Feb. 17, at 12:30 p.m., for students who have not yet chosen a major. Workshopattendeeswill be able to take either of two interestinventories, which can help pinpointareasof interest and those for which the student might be well-suited. The customer base for colleges is changing. The traditional image of a collegestudentis an 18-to 22-year-old who goes from high school to college and finishes a degree in four years. Increasingly, the reality is a 30somethingwho returnsto collegeafter a longabsenceand studies,whileholding down a full-timejob. Across the nation, enrollment in colleges and universities rose each year between 1985 and 1991, despite a decline in the number of high school graduates, according to the 1993 edition of The Condition of Education. The number of students under 25 years old increased by two percent between 1980and 1990, accordingto
Inside ... Week at a Glance ... tl'NEWS
pg.8
Extensive analysis on how the college dealt with the recent winter storms Inside ...
tl'A&E pgs.6 &7 Tum to another installment of the PERSONALS and see if someone loves you.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY SUNDAY
V 9:30p.m.
V 7 p.m. Men's
SGA's Valentine Dance Party in the Widener Center Gathering Area.
Basketball at Marywood College. 7p.m.Men'.;JV Basketball vs. Valley Forge Military Academy.
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V8p.m. Philadelphia Wings game at the Spectrum.
the Digest of Education Statistics. During that same period, the number of students 25 years old or older increased by 32 percent. That trend is expected to continue, though not as strongly. Continuingeducation,COMP and graduate students took 52 percent of all the credithours taughtthis past fall, accordingto the Fact Book. In terms of actual bodies, there were 821 studentsenrolledin the day divisionthis fall and 1046 studentsin the continuingeducation,COMP and graduate divisions. "We haven't saturatedthe market for evening programs," Biller said. Thecollegepredictsan averagegrowth rate of five to six percenteach year,for the continuingeducationand graduate programs. There also is a general intent to grow the day division, Biller said. Eventually, there will 1000 students in the day division. Clas.sroom space and dormspacewill be issuesin deciding how much and how fast the student body should grow.
Feb. 11 to 17
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAYTHURSDAY v
12:30 p.m. Fr. Rayford Emmons will lecture and lead a discussion about Black Catholics.
V8a.m.,12& 6:30p.m.Ashes will be distributed in the Chapelfor Ash Wednesday.
V 8p.m. Dr. Mary Frances Berry.
V 11:30 a.m. Philadelphia Jazz All-stars will perform jazz at lunchtime in the cafeteria.