Methodist College
Fayetteville, NC Vol. XXXIV, No. 11 Tuesday, April 1, 1997
Education Dept, releases first
national campus crime report
Sophomore Boubacar Sarr, one of MC's many international students, volunteers >veekly at Jeralds Elementary School teaching students
French and Spanish. Carr, along with fellow MC student Ruth Falcon, recently hosted a Mardi Gras celebration for the Jeralds students.
(Hioto by Jamee Lynch)
International students appreciate
opportunities available in U.S.
The College Press Service
WASHINGTON-For every
100.000 college students, 65 were the
victims of a violent crime in 1994, the
Education Department said in its first-
ever report on campus crime.
Broken down into catego
ries, that means nine students were
raped out of every 100,000 students,
21 were robbed and 35 were as
saulted. Only one out of every one
million students was murdered, the
report said.
Also, 257 students out of
100.000 were the victims of burglary
or car theft.
TTie report was required by
the 1990 Student Right-to-Know and
Campus Security Act, which mandates
that colleges and universities receiv
ing federal funding must disclose cam
pus crime statistics. However, critics
of the report say many campuses still
underreport crime on or near cam
puses and that campus crime logs and
’ disciplinary hearings remain closed.
The Education Department
was required to issue a report on cam
pus crime statistics by 1995. David A.
■ Longanecker, assistant secretary of
education, told reporters that it was
18 months late because “we simply
couldn’t get started and completed by
the deadline.”
The report indicated that
crime rates were higher at universi
ties with on-campus housing. At col
leges with on-campus housing, there
were 113 violent crimes per 100,000
students, compared to 29 crimes for
those without.
More than 10 percent of col-
The College Press Service
DELAND, Fla.-On her
resume. Stetson University senior
Meredith Preuss boasts of her
computer skills and biology lab
work.
But there’s one thing left
off; her GPA.
That’s because Preuss, 22,
carries a 2.9 out of 4.0—not a
grade-point average that typically
catches a potential employer’s
attention.
“1 know grades count, but
employers are interested in ‘well-
rounded’ people,” she said.
“Someone who can’t handle the
stress or failure is a little scary.”
Although many employers
view a high GPA as a way to
predict success in the workplace,
not every student graduates with a
4.0. For students with a less-than-
perfect academic record, learning
how to tailor your resume can mean
the difference between a job offer
and a rejection letter.
Rebecca Emery, career
services director at Salisbury State
University, says students should
always focus on the positive on
their resume. That means “if your
leges failed to publish crime reports;
also, 16 percent failed to use FBI or
state crime definitions required by law.
The biggest offenders in both cases
were trade schools and colleges with
fewer than 200 students, such as cos
metology or technical schools.
But critics say the biggest
problem with the department’s statis
tics is that they do not paint a true pic
ture of campus crime.
That’s because the statistics
don’t include incidents reported to of
ficials other than the police, such as
counselors at rape crisis centers and
deans, says Security on Campus, Inc.,
a nonprofit watchdog group.
The group was founded in
1987 by Howard and Connie Clery,
whose daughter Jeanne was raped and
murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh
University.
“Although these crimes are
required to be reported under the Cam
pus Security Act, we have found that a
culture of nondisclosure persists due in
large part to an almost total lack of
enforcement by the U.S. Department
of Education,” said S. Daniel Carter,
the regional vice president of Security
on Campus.
In its report, the Education
Department acknowledged that other
crimes may have occurred on campus
but were not reported to local officials.
“For example, forcible sex offenses are
widely considered to be vastly unre
ported crimes, both in the community
and on campuses,” the report said.
Security on Campus argues
that image-conscious universities don’t
report crime statistics because the fear
grade point average is well below the
3.0 level, leave it off,” she said.
In some cases, the GPA in a
student’s academic major may be
significantly higher than the overall
GPA. In such a case, students should
include their major GPA on the
resume, Emery said.
For instance, Preuss plans to
include the GPA in her biology major,
a respectable 3.4, on her resume when
she applies for jobs in the science
field. “That’s the one that matters,”
she said.
Emery adds that students can
even separate their upper level GPA
from the overall GPA to show
employers what they have accom
plished in their last two years.
Top-end jobs, however, do
look closely at your overall grade-
point average, warns Michelle
Ohayon, director of the Career
Resources Center at Nova Southeast
ern University.
“Your grade-point average
loss of enrollment or endowment.
“When crime information is
withheld by a school, their students
are put at risk because they can’t
make informed decisions about se
curity precautions,” Carter said.
The group’s president,
Benjamin F. Clery, whose sister was
murdered, says the report is “an ab
solute flop, as far as the Department
of Education is concerned. They
can’t attest to the accuracy of any of
this.”
Security on Campus has
been the driving force behind a con
gressional bill introduced Feb. 12, the
“Accuracy in Campus Crime Report
ing Act of 1997.”
The bill would require uni
versities to open campus police logs
and confidential, on-campus disci
plinary proceedings.
“University disciplinary
boards are the only closed court
rooms in America,” said Jennifer
Markiewicz, former editor of Miami
University of Ohio’s student news
paper.
Markiewicz sued the uni
versity in 1996 when she was unable
to obtain information about criminal
incidents being handled by Miami’s
disciplinary board. The Ohio Su
preme Court heard arguments in
January and is expected to rule later
this year.
“The secrecy [universities]
have been allowed to operate under
only serves to paralyze the entire
community from protecting itself
against violence on campus,” she
said.
matters a great deal if you’re
hoping to work in a technical field
such as engineering or in the
sciences,” she said. “If you’re
going into journalism, employers
are more interested in your writing
samples. If you’re going into sales,
your personality matters more than
your grade-point average.”
Real-world experience
through internships, cooperative
education, or volunteer experience
can compensate for your grades,
notes Ursula Hibbert, career
counselor at Champlain College.
“Employers look at these
as a true indication of ability,” she
said. “A good employment history-
-even when it’s not career-related—
can show determination and a
willingness to work hard in pursuit
of goals.”
Students should use their
college’s alumni network to help
them get over the low-grades
hurdle, says Will Smith, career
services director at Wartburg
College.
“That way professors who
are familiar with your abilities can
make recommendations to alumni
which may help you get your foot
in the door,” he said.
Of course, the best track
to take is to have everything:
strong academics, activities, and
experience, says Frank J. Kollar,
director of career development and
placement services at Mansfield
University.
“The bottom line is that if
your grades are lacking, you better
have something else of significance
to offer an employer,” he said.
By Amanda Fellers
Staff Writer
Three of Methodist’s inter
national students plan to stay in the
United States after they graduate.
They all agree that this is truly the
“land of opportunity.”
Nathalie Estoppey, a sopho
more with a double major in French
and Spanish, initially said she came to
Methodist from Villeneuve, Switzer
land, because she wanted to go to
college. The real reason soon came
out. She had spent a year as an ex
change student at a high school in
Smithfield, N.C., where she met her
boyfriend. She wanted to come back
to the area, saying, “I was in love.”
The two have been engaged for a year
and a half.
After graduation, Estoppey
would like to teach foreign language
in high school. Although she would
like to go home for one or two years
to work, she said, “I have a better
chance of working in the United
States...I know for a fact that when I
graduate I’m going to get a job.”
Opportunity is one of the things
Estoppey likes best about being here.
Estoppey spends some free
time tutoring students in Spanish at
By Whitney Larrimore
Assistant Editor
Feeling stressed? Panicky?
You’re not alone. Anxiety disorders
are common among college students,
and MC’s Counseling Center recently
held a free screening clinic to help stu
dents determine if they need help.
According to Darlene
Hopkins, director of the Counseling
Center, approximately 23 million
Americans have some sort of anxiety
disorder. Most of them are between
the ages of 18 and 24. There are many
different types of anxiety disorders,
but the most prevalent are generalized
anxiety disorder, panic disorder, so
cial phobia, obsessive-compulsive dis
order, and post-traumatic stress dis
order.
Generalized anxiety disorder
is when the affected individual has
constant anxiety and is basically wor
ried or scared when there is really no
cause to be. There is no particular
fear of any one thing. The individual
has anxiety at levels above what un
affected individuals would have from
day to day. A diagnosis of this disor
der can be made when a person spends
at least six months worried about ev
eryday usual problems.
Panic disorder is an anxiety
disorder where affected individuals
have feelings of terror that strike sud
denly and can cause physical symp
toms like light-headedness, weakness,
or fainting. Many people who expe
rience these attacks feel like they are
the Salvation Army in Fayetteville.
She tutors eight to 10 students of ev
ery age twice a week. “I love to work
with the kids because they’re kids.”
She enjoys working in the field of her
major as well as the challenge of an
swering students’ questions.
During the summer and win
ter holidays, Estoppey returns to Swit
zerland. She misses her family and
friends the most, but admits that six
months isn’t that long to wait to see
her friends. “We call...we have ex
pensive phone bills,” she said. She
also misses the lakes and the Alps.
Boubacar Sarr, from
Senegal, West Africa, is also a double
major in French and Spanish. He came
to Methodist after being in the Army
for four years. He spent his last year
stationed at Fort Bragg, and Method
ist seemed like the perfect opportu
nity. Methodist “has soccer and it has
foreign language,” Sarr said.
After graduating from a mili
tary high school in West Africa, Sarr
headed for New York City. He wanted
to go to college, but there was no one
to tell him how. He ended up getting
a job, sometimes three or four jobs at
a time. He was tired of the low-pay
ing jobs, though, so after he saw an
out of control, going crazy, or even
dying. Attacks can occur at any time
and without warning; this causes even
more anxiety for affected individuals.
Another anxiety disorder is
social phobia. Social phobia is a fear
of public humiliation. People who
suffer from this disorder feel they
aren't competent in social situations
and that slight mistakes they make are
noticed by everyone. They may try
to avoid social situations and some
times the disorder can affect normal
life and a career. Dreading a social
event can occur weeks ahead of time
and cause debilitating physical symp
toms.
The fourth most common
form of anxiety disorder is obsessive-
compulsive disorder. This disorder
involves anxious thoughts or rituals
the person just can't control. One
manifestation of this disorder is when
people wash their hands many times a
day; much more than normal hand
washing. This can also involve re-
Army commercial, he joined the mili
tary.
Sarr would also like to teach
in the United States when he gradu
ates. He would like to move to
Monterey, Calif., to teach French and
Spanish to elementary students. He
wants to move west because they of
fer more pay.
Sarr has also been gaining
experience in the field of his major.
Both he and Estoppey volunteer once
a week at Jeralds Elementary School,
where they teach French and Spanish
to the children who are in the foreign
language club. TTiey also have par
ties for the children and teach them
games. Sarr said he loves going to
the school. He loves language and
believes that the earlier people can
learn a foreign language, the better.
Sarr has a message for stu
dents of all ages—from elementary to
college: “You can be anything you
want to be if you put your head to it.
You have a lot of opportunities; you
should grab them.” He would like to
continue giving motivational speeches
to elementary and high school stu
dents. He believes school-aged chil
dren can be shaped more easily. “You
See STUDENTS, page 3
peated doubts (continually thinking
you didn't lock a door), feeling that
things must always be in a particular
order, aggressive impulses, or even
images that constantly resurface in
one's mind.
In post-traumatic stress dis
order, a particularly tragic event leaves
the person with a helpless and fright
ened feeling. This disorder has been
prevalent among Vietnam veterans. In
this case, affected individuals have
flashbacks or terrible nightmares. The
affected person relives the traumatic
moment over and over again in his or
her mind.
The campus screenings,
which were co-sponsored by Dr.
Jackie Hansen of the psychology de
partment, were very successful, ac
cording to Hopkins. She said, "Lots
of people came. We were busy all day.
Out of the people who stopped...[we
were able to diagnose] a handful of
people [who] had an anxiety disorder
See ANXIETY, page 2
INSIDE
Monarch Theatre presents comedy to close season page 2
WTVD staff hosts discussion of media issues page 3
Seniors reflect on record-setting basketball season page 4
Methodist may shut down after EPA mandate page 6
Wasting taxpayer money does not fix history page 6
Is hazing necessary to promote loyalty? page 6
Even students with low GPAs can sell
themselves big, according to counselors
A good employment history—even when it’s not
career-related—can show determination and a
willingness to work hard in pursuit of goals.
Anxiety disorders prevalent, yet treatable