Meredith
April 10, 2002
Hi
ERALD
Volume XVIII, Issue 23^
GENERAL EDUCATION
PROPOSAL PASSES
□ The vote was
63-40 at the
meeting on Friday.
Christina Holder
Ediior-ln-Chlef
The final version of the
College’s new general
education proposal passed wiih
a vote of 63-40 at the faculty
meeting on Friday, April 5 in
Kresge Auditorium.
The new general education
program, called Making
Connections, Making a
Difference, builds on three
main components: Students
will connect concepts in a
interdisciplinary curriculum,
will practice cultural and
global awareness and will pre
pare for and engage in civic
activites.
The vote on the proposal
marks a year-long endeavour
by the faculty and the
General Education Task
Force, headed by Dr. Betty
Webb of the English
department.
The meeting served as the
final forum where faculty
could voice their opinions on
the proposal before it went to
a vote.
Some faculty expressed
concems about the proposal’s
ability to provide
opportunities for
undergraduate research and
its requirement for science
and mathematic courses.
Webb said one of the goals
of the reform agenda was to
“move away from the
checklists” students currently
use.
She said students often tell
her, *‘I want to check off my
last gen ed requirement so I
can get on to the real stuff”
Among those who voiced
support for the program were
Dr. Louise Taylor, assistant
professor of English, who
praised the proposal’s
focus on engaging students in
the educational process.
She said that throughout her
years teaching she has learned
that “participatory education is
crucial.”
Dr. Elizabeth Wolfinger,
professor of biology, also
praised the proposal, but as “a
scientist and as a woman” she
was troubled that the proposal
did not include an increased
requirement of science
and mathematics courses.
Currently, Meredith students
are required to take 13 hours
of science and math.
"I wanted a bold statement
alongside that building,” said
Wolfinger referring to the new
science and mathematics
building currently under
construction.
Psychology professor
Cynthia Edwards pointed out
that with the new math/sci
ence category, called “Scien
tific Literacy,” a psychology,
sociology, economics or
dance major could "in fact be
taking less math and science”
if the student chooses from a
list of new electives
within the category.
Newly proposed electives
such as “Price Theory" or
“Statistical Methods in
Psychology may look more
appealing to students in those
majors instead of the base
math and science choices.
Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs Alyson
Colwell-Waber, who has
worked alongside Webb on the
proposal, said that after
studying 150 other institutions
nationwide, the task force
discovered “the vast majority
had less” than Meredith did in
math and science courses.
She said the fact that the
task force chose to keep the
same number of required
courses made a bold statement
about how Meredith values the
discipline.
Look for the Herald's full,
two-page spread on what a
new general education
program will mean for the
student in next week’s edition.
Laptop investigation procedes
Campus police chief says office doors were unlocked when six laptops were stolen over Spring Break
The Herald investigates and discovers that three of the doors were locked.
□ Faculty are
taking more
precautions since
laptop theft.
Christy Sadler
Staff Reporter
Campus Police Chief Frank
Strickland has confirmed that
the laptops that disappeared
from faculty offices recently
were stolen. He could not
reveal possible suspects but
said that the situation is “still
under investigation.”
According to Strickland, six
laptops were stolen over two
weekends in March from the
Joyner and Harris classroom
buildings. Three were stolen
between March I and March 4,
and three more were taken
sometime between March 14
and March 18.
Of the six total lantnn^
stolen, three were taken from
offices in Joyner, and three
were taken from Harris.
Strickland said, “In most
cases, the offices were left
unlocked and the computers
were not secured by the
cables that locked them to the
desks.”
However, in the cases of at
least three professors who
had their laptops stolen, this
was not true.
Dr. Tony Bledsoe, a
professor in the busmess
department, confirmed that
his laptop was stolen from
his office on the first floor of
Harris over the first weekend
in March. He said that when
he left the oftlce that Friday,
his door was locked. Howev
er, his computer was not
secured to the desk with a
cable.
Bledsoe confirmed that his
door was still locked when he
returned on Monday morning,
but his laptop was gone. He
said that the lock did not
appear to have been tampered
with.
Two other business
professors, Dr. William Burpitt
and Bern Shuey, had their
laptops stolen from their
offices on the second floor of
Harris.
Student workers for Dr.
Robin Colby and Suzanne Britt
in the English department also
confirmed that the two
professors had locked their
offices on the first floor of
Joyner before leaving for
Spring Break, during which
time their laptops were also
stolen.
Sophomore Courtney
Harris, student worker for
Colby, said that Colby’s door
was definitely locked and that
the computer was locked to a
desk in Colby’s office. How
ever. she thought that the
method Technology Services
had used to lock the cable to
the desk would have made it
fairly easy for someone to
remove the cable from around
the desk.
Laptops can be secured
with a combination padlock,
in which professors spin four
mini-dials of numbers to the
proper code.
Britt’s student worker,
junior Tanesha Williams, said
that she arrived at Britt’s
office Monday morning
before Britt did and found the
door to be locked as usual.
However, her laptop was
missing from its usual place
on her desk.
The remaining stolen lap
top belonged to Dr. Veronique
Machelidon in the Foreign
Languages department.
Jeannette Rogers, the
foreign languages departmen
tal assistant, said that she
didn’t know whether the door
to Machelidon’s office was
locked. She did say that she
was confident that the outer
door to the suite of offices was
locked when she left. It was
still locked when she returned
the next morning, she said.
All six professors had their
computers replaced within a
few days by Technology
Services.
Strickland added that all of
the stolen computers were
ones provided by Meredith for
faculty use, and no other items
were reported missing from
any of the offices.
While Strickland could not
comment on possible suspects
or leads in the ongoing
investigation, he did note.
•The serial numbers of the
computers have been entered
into the National Crime
Information Center network,
and all pawn shops in the area
have been notified.”