Methodist College
Fayetteville, NC Vol. XXXV, No. 10 Monday, March 2, 1998
MC’s new RHA impressive at state conference
By Sonya Sparks Murdock
Staff Writer
If it had been the Grammy
Awards, they would have won “Best
New Artist.” If it had been baseball,
they would have won “Rookie of the
Year.” But it was the state conference
of the NC Association of Residence
Halls (NCARH). And Methodist’s
fledgling RHA won five awards ... all
in its first year of existence.
“The judges were very im
pressed with the things we’ve done
in less than one year,” said Rob Fore
man, Methodist’s RHA advisor Fore
man won the 1998 Advisor of the Year
award, while Shawn Hartman,
Methodist’s RHA president, collected
the award for Student of the Year.
Hartman also took home one of only
two Distinguished Awards given by
the state board of directors to recog
nize students who positively impacted
the organization in 1998. The other
Distinguished Award also went to a
Methodist student: Brandi Byrd.
Byrd serves as the National Commu
nications Coordinator for Methodist.
Seeing a small school like
Methodist come in with so much en
thusiasm and excitement energized
the statewide conference, according
to Cliff Wurschmidt, president of the
NCARH Board of Directors. Ten stu
dents from Methodist, along with
Foreman, attended the conference in
Wilmington Feb. 6-8.
Although Methodist’s RHA
officers attended the regional confer
ence in Atlanta back in November, this
was the group’s first appearance at a
state event. Foreman said that their
trip to Atlanta was just a learning ex
perience: “Our goal was to find out
what this was all about so when we
went to our state conference in Feb
ruary, we’d be ready.” The prepara
tion apparently paid off: Methodist’s
RHA was nominated for “School of
the Year.” Although NCSU carried off
the top honors, Foreman was proud
that his group was one of only four
schools nominated for the award out
of approximately 16 colleges partici
pating in the conference.
The delegation from Meth
odist also charmed the audience with
its opening roll call skit, a competi
tion to spark good-natured rivalry
between the schools. The M.C. team
Right: Jonatlian Barber and Brenda
Vandevort practice the art of seating
a lady. (Photo by Amanda Fellers)
The lady approaches the chair. The gentleman puts
a hand on the back of the chair. The lady sits on the
chair. She scoots along toward the table pulling the
chair with her by means of her own hand, placed
behind her knees to grip the front of the chair seat.
The gentleman allows his hand to move along the
back of the chair as she draws toward the table. The
lady murmurs a soft “thank you, ” acknowledging
his contribution to her comfort.
—From the Marriott’s Etiquette and Fine Dining Handbook
Business etiquette
workshop
demonstrates finer
points of dining
By Amanda Fellers
Editor
Don’t eat bacon strips
with your fingers. When you
pass the salt or pepper, pass them
as a set. It’s all right to drink
soup from your bowl.
Participants learned
these manners and more at the
Business Dining Etiquette
Workshop Feb. 17.
Eva Bell, director of
career services, and Johnny
Francis, food services director
with Methodist from Marriott,
planned the event.
“Students will get the
hands-on experience of having a
meal,” Bell said. When students
are being seriously considered for
a job, they are often invited to
lunch. “Table manners become
important,” Bell said. She hopes
students will learn that something
as seemingly unimportant as table
manners could cause them to lose a
job opportunity.
During the first hour of the
workshop, students listened and
asked questions while Francis
discussed do’s and don’ts from the
Marriott Etiquette and Fine Dining
handbook .
Students learned the
importance of the RSVP; how to
dress in formal, informal, and
semiformal situations; how to
properly use a fork and knife; and
the “rules” for eating specific foods.
After the discussion, it was
time for diners to put what they had
learned to the test. A five-course
meal was served, but not before
everyone participated in a little role-
playing. The men were taught how
to seat the ladies, and the ladies
were taught how to grab the front of
their chairs and gently pull them
selves in. The handbook states the
procedure specifically: “The lady
approaches the chair. The gentle
man puts a hand on the back of the
chair. The lady sits on the chair.
She scoots along toward the table
pulling the chair with her by means
of her own hand, placed behind her
knees to grip the front of the chair
seat. The gentleman allows his
hand to move along the back of the
chair as she draws toward the table.
The lady murmurs a soft ‘thank
you,’ acknowledging his contribu
tion to her comfort.” They were
continually reminded to be sure
to always seat the guest of honor
first. Bell and Francis served as
coaches.
The menu consisted of
rolls, salad, soup, chicken and
asparagus, and cheesecake for
dessert. To drink was water, iced
tea and sparkling grape juice.
Throughout the course, diners
were taught which forks, spoons
and knives to use. They were
reminded to break their rolls into
small pieces and to try to eat with
their left hand. When questions
arose, they weren’t afraid to ask:
Which way do I pass the rolls?
(Pass from left to right.) Where
do I set my knife when I’m done
with it? (Lay it across the top of
See ETIQUETTE, page 3
“Spam” provides web site’s food for thought
By Kristina Lane
College Press Service
Want some stuff? Maybe
$1,000 worth of stuff? How about
$ 1,000 worth of stuff, with no strings
attached?
So begins a piece of unso
licited commercial electronic mail, oth
erwise known as junk e-mail or
“spam”. Spam annoys just about ev
eryone and gives Internet advertis
ing a bad name. Many states are
working to implement anti-spam laws
that would inflict hefty fines on orga
nizations circulating unsolicited e-
mail (“spammers ”). Numerous anti
spam Web sites exist, acting as sup
port centers for angry netizens (Inter
net users) irritated by superfluous
spam.
In spite of such adamant
opposition, spam prevails. But why?
Eric Crump, Web site project
manager for the National Council of
Teachers of English, offered an expla
nation.
“Even though spam bothers
almost everyone you talk to, it con
tinues to thrive, and that’s because it
works,” said Crump, editor of Rhetnet,
an electronic journal designed to teach
writing. “The bottom line is,
spammers are making money because
there has always been and probably
always will be, a market to pay for
those schemes.”
Crump, who believes that
spam is a useful learning tool, created
a web site last September to test his
belief (http:www.missouri.edu/
-rhetnet/smamonade/). This site is
offered as an alternative to the delete
key. Interested parties send actual
spam messages to the site, and the
messages are posted for rhetorical
analysis or the browsing pleasure of
participants. Some of the spam at the
site include an offer for free tacos and
beer, a proposition for free weekly in
vestment service, and a memorial to
Princess Diana that urges readers to
buy T-shirts and to believe “she lives
in you, she lives in everyone!”
“Spam is rhetoric in action.
and we can’t just dismiss it by react
ing with vehement anger in a rush to
get rid of it; we need to study why the
arguments posed by this sort of mail
do or do not work, and who the audi
ence is,” Crump explained.
He wants students and pro
fessors to use examples from the site
as subject matter for class discussion.
By doing so, students learn about
rhetoric’s role in society and the pow
ers of persuasion. According to Mick
Doherty, co-founder of the site and
Internet editor at the Dallas Conven
tion and Visitors Bureau, studying
spam is a fascinating way to learn
about the tools of persuasion.
Doherty claims there is much to learn
by analyzing the methodology of
spam, right down to the subject head
ings.
“Many subject lines have
evolved from ‘Get your free money
now! ’ to ‘Hi, how are you?’ to get more
personal so people at least open the
message instead of immediately hit
ting delete,” said Doherty. “This is a
fundamental rule of persuasion—find
a way to get people to read what you
are writing—and it usually works.”
This way of teaching ex
pands the walls of the classroom, en
abling students to learn by doing.
Students can use Spamonade to form
educated opinions about spam’s in
fluence on the Internet, and share their
beliefs with classmates and other In
ternet users. Sandye Thompson, a
participant in the Spamonade project,
thinks this is crucial in a society con
tinually influenced by technology.
“As the classroom becomes
computerized, students need to learn
how to process information that is no
longer just the printed word, but the
electronic word,” she said.
“Spamonade provides students this
opportunity, as well as the chance to
experience the evolution of Internet
culture.”
The goal of Crump and his
colleagues is to attract more people
to Spamonade. Angry netizens could
See SPAM, page 2
won the competition with its perfor
mance to Beach Boys music, which
incorporated the conference’s
“Cruisin’ to the Coast” theme. Jenni
fer Packard won the “Starfish Award”
for her work on the skit as well as for
making up cheers for the Methodist
delegation. The award, which is
given to one student from each col
lege attending the conference, recog
nizes an emerging leader who demon
strates spirit and enthusiasm.
Foreman said that the stu
dents attending the conference par
ticipated in educational and leader
ship development programs through
out the weekend. They learned per
sonal leadership skills and collected
new ideas for future fund- raisers, ac
tivities and programs.
The young committee,
which will celebrate its first birthday
on April 21, has offered two educa
tional programs since its inception last
spring: a date rape seminar and “411
of Alcohol,” an alcohol awareness
class. The new student organization
also sponsored “Spirit Week” for this
year’s Homecoming, including a bon-
See RHA, page 3
Tlnne to conne out
and show you care
By Dawn Melvin
StaffWriter
Show You Care Day will be
held on March 28 from 8 am until
noon, and it promises to be just as
exciting as last year’s.
Last year’s Show You Care
Day was the biggest yet. More than
125 people participated in various ac
tivities and projects. Several stu
dents, clubs and organizations orga
nized into groups of eight to 10 people
and took responsibility for their
projects. The groups were Weaver
and East Hall Resident Advisors,
Women’s Basketball, Sanford Hall
Resident Advisors, Counseling Cen
ter, American Health Club, Leon
Clark’s Group, Kris Broneill’s Group,
and Public Safety. Dr. Suzan Cheek
sponsored a group of youngsters
from the Community Impact Program,
who were accompanied by Robert
Brickey.
Show You Care Day has tra
ditionally been used to improve the
quality of life for the Methodist Col
lege community. Students, staff, fac
ulty, friends of the college, and family
members are encouraged to come out
and participate in several pre-planned
projects and activities.
“It’s a time to beautify our
community. It’s one day out of the
week where people can come together
and help out others,” said Wilford
Saunders.
Tickets will be given out the
morning of Show You Care Day, and
they will be good for several prizes to
be awarded at noon that day.
“The prize can be a telephone
or tape recorder. We try to think of
ways to encourage people to stay and
^.lot to leave as soon as Show You
Care Day is over,” said Saunders.
All group projects will now
bear a plaque with the name of the
group that built the project and the
date the project was completed.
According to Saunders, last
See CARE DAY, page 3
Students reach out
to rebuild Bosnia
By Kris Lane
College Press Service
Imagine getting to a history
class only to discover a destroyed
building and no professor. Heading
for the library and finding it no longer
exists. Walking back to your apart
ment in fear of gunfire.
Sound like a bad dream?
For students in Bosnia, this
was a brutal reality. In April 1992, af
ter Bosnia was granted independence
from Yugoslavia, Bosnian Serbs
launched a war that pitted three eth
nic groups against one another:
Bosnian Serbs, Muslims, and Croats.
Lasting 1,000 days, the siege lefl be
hind mass destruction and claimed
more than 200,000 lives.
A first step toward peace
came in December 1995 with the sign
ing of The Dayton Peace Accords.
After three weeks of charged debate,
the leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(Alija Izetbegovic), Serbia (Slobodan
Milosevic) and Croatia (Franjo
Tudjman) agreed to bury their differ
ences and end the bloodshed.
The agreement declared
Bosnia one nation divided into two
territories—a Muslim Croat federation
and a Bosnian Serb republic.
Although the three groups
initially protested the accords,
progress has been made. A crucial
part of that progress was the Univer
sity of Dayton’s 1996 decision to get
involved.
“The university felt it could
play an important role in making the
peace work in Bosnia,” said Bruce
Hitchner, UD’s Director of the Center
for International Programs.
In November 1996, UD
hosted a symposium marking the first
anniversary of the accords. Ameri
can, Bosnian, and Croatian diplomats,
See BOSNIA, page 2
INSIDE
New volleyball club takes to the court
-page 3
MG honors three football All-Americans
t -page 3
Spring sports schedule
Students need to demonstrate a
little more respect
-page 3
-page 4