Catalyst

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THE Volume XIV, Issue 9 you want mean? go to a political science baccalaureate exam Administrators investigating problems with Goldstein by Erin Marie Blasco Last year, some secondfloor Goldstein residents had a waterfall in their bathroom Their upstairs neighbors didn't have a properly installed shower pan, causing water to leak into the ceiling and light fixture of room their room below. "The construction company did come back and make that right." said Director of Physical Plant Richard Olney. "But the installation of [the ] shower pan in this case was not a good installation ... I felt it was probably a defect in mate rial and a little bit of a defect in workmanship maybe the guy [who installed it] not tak ing a lot of pride in his job that day But we have no r e ason to believe that it would be all rougn that Building that way." While Olney said he does-Dort and as they were idyllicall y en v i s i o ned in an architectural illustration from the Residence Life web site. Sadly, the actual buildin gs are not so picturesque. n't think Goldstein has recurmaintaining New College structing a new residence hall ring problems traceable to dorms can't tell if there's a to house students while current faulty construction, this inciproblem yet, but they are con-donns undergo repairs. dent and others have caused cemed enough to appoint a There's no telling now, but some m e mb ers of the New ta s k force to in ve s tigate the "if there s something that we College community to worry state of all buildings on camhave to fix because [t h e that Goldstein is more proo. pus and to invite an outside builders] screwed up, then we !em-ridden than its older twin, engineer to examine Goldstein. will come at them with all the Dort. Those responsible for They're also considering conI UP student government reaches out to Novo Collegians by Valerie Mojeiko "Pretty much anything we do, you guys are welcome to come," said Vice President of USF Sarasota Student Govern ment Andrea Schillinger. New College and the University of South Florida Sarasota exist in the same spatia-temporal loca tion, although at times it may seem like they must exist in different dimensions. Students from the separate schools rarely interact with one an other, and even seem oblivious to one anothers e isrence. With the independence of New Col lege, the USF Sarasota government is making an out reach effort to bring together the student bodies. If you made it to the west side of campus recently, you may have noticed the West Side Student Center, also in formally known as the "Cheese Building" or "the Wedge." Many New College students have wandered into the Cheese Building to marvel at its architectural weirdness, but few have actually stopped and talked to its inhabitants. Students of USF Sarasota fre quent the West Side Student Center to visit other USF students and use its facilities According to Schillinger, the average USF Sarasota student is betwyen 20 and 30 years old and has a spouse and children Last Tuesday, the building was relatively bursting with activity. Student government members and students of USF sat outside and roasted a cor nucopia of hamburgers and hot dogs while listening to popular music. Inside the building, seven T-shirts hung from the rafters, as a show of support for the clothesline project. Despite efforts to rouse a crowd, the party was less than, well, a party. "It's hard to get our students out here," said Schillinger. "Today we're giv ing out free food and nobody is here:' Although there were no vegetarian options on the grill, Schillinger said that USF Sarasota does, in fact, have a population of students who are The center of the University Program Student Govemmefll vegan or vegetarian. "We had a Jot of that [vegetarian food] last time, but it ended up being thrown away," she said. This was one of several events that USF Sarasota has hosted this year, the first was Week of Welcome, which took place at the end of August. A Teresa concert also took place at College Hall. Last weekend was Unity Weekend. In exchange for a donation of food for victims of the September 11 attacks, donors could ride a bus to Tampa and attend a USF foot ball game. SGA advisor Shelley Neal welcomed New College students to participate. "Canned goods, macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, peanut butter, it don't matter!" said Neal. November 14, 2001 !CATALYST NSIDE Ping Pong is for the ages! From the mists of classical antiquity, to the brave new world of the 21st century this mighty sp01t has remained integral to philosophers and students alike. Inside, read the epic story of the heroic ping-pong athletes living in our own back yard. STORY, PAGE 3 Hossack re-elected to NCSA presidency On Thursday of last week, some 311 students cast their ballots in the NCSA student election, re-electing NCSA President Andrew Hossack by a margin of 66.8%. In the elec tion of SAC officials, mean while, abstentions outnum bered actual votes by a margin ofup to 3 to I. STORY, PAGE 6 The Catalyst has found itself at the center of a great deal of controversy recently. In this week's edition, with the hopes of ending the furor, the Catalyst presents an editorial response to its detractors as well as a clarification of our editorial policy and a with drawal of hostilities. It is an unfortunate commentary on the nature of our community lhat incivility is so often re sponded to with further inci vility. EDITORJA4 PAGE 7

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2 The Catal NEWS OF THE WORLD BY CHRISTINE BOTIOMS have to wait years for organs. Many of the pati nts come back to the United tates for follow -American Airlines Jet up care, covered by Medicaid or Cr: he in ew York other government An American Airlines Executed prisoners are Airbus crashed into a w York hina' primary source of trans -neighborhood minutes after plantable organs, though few of lake-ofT on Monday, killing up the condemned, if any, consent to 26 people in an inferno that to having their organs removed sparked fears apparently unpeople involved with the pr e s founded-of a fresh attack on say omc of the unwitting the city. donors may even be inn ent, Federal officials said evihaving been executed as part of den o far indicated the crash a surge of execmion propelled n ar John F. Kennedy by accelentted trials and confes lntemational Airport. in which sions that sometimes were all 260 people on the plane and extracted through torture. up to eight on the ground were The An erican Tmnsp l anta believed killed, wa. an accident. tion Society ay that decision A flight data recorder was recovto donate organ mu t be made ered. But city and state freely and without coercion or auth ritie on a air trigger folexploitation of any sort. It Ojr lowing the Sept. ll hijacked poses any organ donations by plane atta k on the World Trade prisoners even to their relatives, Center and Pentagon. ha tily because the circumstances of in sealed off the city's airports. carce ration make it impossible to The plane split into several en ure that the decision is not part hitting a dozen houses ju t colored by secondary benefit a couple of blocks from like an improved diet, that a pris Rockaway Beach on the Atlantic oner may stand to gain. Dona Ocean. Si. house were detions from death row inmates arc stroyed and anoth r six setiou ly even more uspcct. damaged. their atls or roofs d -The transplants in id ................... i l i officia l s sai d they treated about a are Ill wg, has presented 40 people injured on the groun d t h e A merican med ica l cst a bli h including firefighters and pol i ce ment wi t h an eth ic al quand a ry : officers with smoke inhalation Should American doctors treat patient \\ho have received orurvivor at this point, Giuliani gans from executed prisoners said. adding that 225 bodies had a1 d, if so. would they be tacitly been recovered. Six people, poscondoning the practice and nsibly eight. were mi ing on the couraging more uch ground. he aid. tran plants? Or hould hey re-American traveling to 'hina to receive bod. parts from executed prisoners Kidney livers, corneas and other body pmts from these pris oners are being trclrlsplanted into American citizen or permanent residents who otl1ernise would CA buke patients who. in desperation. participate in a proces. that mainstream trans plant advocates condemn as morally,. rong? WTO approves Taiwan's entry The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ap-y ws Rathoy proved Taiwan's entry, a day after welcoming China into th tmde body, in a move that will increase economic integration Above : Investigators work in the backyard of a lwu e itt th e Rockaway Beach sution of the Queens borough of New York. between the political rivals. an hour to put together 4.500 Minute. after approval, liters of ice cream and 1.000 kg China's foreign trade mini t r (2,200 pound ) of dry fruits and welcomed Taiwan's ent1y but toppings to make India's biggest ruled out direct trade lin unless sundae. It took les than three Taipei acknowledged Beijing's hours for an eager crowd of overeignty over the island. 15.000 people in the western Taiwan's acces ion will Indian city of Ahmedabad to mark a tep into th unknown a poli hoff the three giant scoops both ides try to define their po-of vanilla rich chocolate and litical relationship after being strawberry flavors They said the made equal members of the sundae. served from a seven arne club China sought in vain meter long (26 feet) boat-shaped an assurance from the WTO that container, was an "attempt to the body would never hold a lea e a la. Ling imprc ion minis rial i 'n .. and that it would place curbs on which takes it. icc cream seri the i lan d's reprc entation at o u sly_ W1 0 meetin g s officials s aid "We ma y g ive a s hot at the 1 o dodge t he scnsitiv po l iti existing entry i n the Guinne s s cal i sue. Taiwan will fonnally Book some t i me in the futun;," enter the WTO a the separate Devan hu Gandhi. Vadilal's customs territory" ofTaiwan and managing director. told Reute1 its off: hore islands of Penghu, The de scrt. called the "Sundae Kinmen and Matsu. Taiwan of India" and made by leading aims to enter th WTO in Indian ice cream finn Vadilal January after legislative apIndustries. entered the "Limca pro aL officials said. Taiwan i Book of Records", the Indian the world's 14th large t trading version of the Guinness Book of economy and had ought entry World Record Vadilal officials for 12 years. said. Vadilal i India's second Crowds have giant ice cream licked It took 90 workers just under largest ice cream finn after Hindustan Lever. Bat Boy help underprivileged NYC children learn to read The cast of Bat Boy the Musical performed at the Change for Kids 4th Annual Talent Extravaganza Benefit at the legendary Studio 54 Theater and ightclub on Monday. November 5 Bat Boy i an ex tremely popular feature from Weekly World ews, and had inspired an Off-Broadway mu ical about his tabloid exploit Th reception began at 7:00 p.m .. and was followed by per fomlaRce beginning at 8:30. I bri cvl.!nt included Stanley T cci. Steve Bus cemi, Dav id Wain, frank Waley. Jancanc Garofalo, MTV VJ Brian McFayden. C.atherin Malandrino and Top lMG Models Liya Kebede. and Amy Lemon, among others. AI o performing arc the casts of Cabaret and Love, Janis. plus the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe, and more. Studio 54 is located at 254 West 54th Sts eel. bet ween Broadway and 8th Avenue. This event will raise fundl> for ew York City's most under-funded public schools. lnfonnation from the ew York Times and Reuters used in this The Catalyst is available on the World Wide Web at lzttp:llwww.sar.usfedul-cmalystl General Editor Michael Sander on Layout Editor Erin Marie Blasco Managing F..ditor Max Campbell Photographer Cryslal Fra ier The Cataly tis an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria Ve peri. It is developed in the New College Publications Oftice using Adobe and Quark Xpress for PowerMacinto h and printed at the Bradenton Herald with money provided by the i ew College Student Alliance. Contributions may range in length from 250 to 500 words. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 250 words. Submissions should be labeled a either Letters to the Editor or comribution. and include names and contact information. Printed submis ion may be placed in campus box 75, and all other contributions may be e-rnailed to catalyst@ncfedu. No anonymous submission will be accepted. Web Editor Gimignani Editorial Assistant Graham Strou c Staff Writers Ryan McCormick Price, Esq., David Savarese, Valerie Mojeiko, Jag Davies. Chri tine Bottom:.. Christopher DeFillippi, Renee Maxwell, Li:>: Palomo, Abby Weingarten Direct submi io and inquiries to: The Catalyst 5700 Tamiami Tr. Box #75 Sarasota, FL 34243 cataly r@virtu.sar.usfedu The Catalyst reserve the right to edit submis ions for grammar or style. All u.bmissions must be received by 5:00p.mm order to appear in the following week's ISSUe. Infonnation about upcoming events is welcome throughout the week.

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The Catalyst NEWS November 14, 2001 3 Who's the Forrest Gump of New College? by Abby Weingarten Who ever said there were no compet itive sports at New College? Sure, the University of Florida has the Gators. USF has the Bulls. But New College too has its own batch of jocks, and not only are these guys quick-wristed, but they can talk any quarterback under the table in Plato. These "Ping-Pong Heroes" as they've been referred to, may not be cheered on by tailgate parties, foam hands, or painted faces. During matches, there is the occasional sound of a roaring crowd, but that can usually be traced to some tape recorder wizardry. However, there is no doubt that this choice of sport has become an athletic phenomenon on campus. Each player has even acquired a nickname, whether or not they are aware or even approve of it. When first-year ping-pong player Brian "The Exterminator" Ellison heard that the Catalyst wanted to give the sport some coverage, he said, rubbing his hands together, "It's about damn time!" Ellison considers himself an offen sive player who is "heavy on the spin." "[Ping-pong] requires just as high a level of dexterity as any other sport I can speak of, he said As far as pursuing the sport professionally. he does n t predict a ong-term career, but he does plan to work the ''amateur circuit" for at least a few more years. The whi per on the streets lately seems to be "Has ping-pong suddenly become a spectator sport?" Third-year June Gwalthney asked this question upon noticing a rambunctious crowd as sembled between the piano iind trashcans near the ping-pong table in the cafeteria. After joining in the "'human wave," Gwalthney was asked whether or not she considered herself a die-hard fan. "I've only been hit by a ball a few times, so I don't mind," she said. All walks of student life have been drawn to the sport, including classics majors like fourth-year Erin "Ping-Pong Princess" Slemmens (the only girl found thus far who ranks with the best of them), and fourth-year economics major Jerry "The Bulgarian" Dimitrov. But philosophy majors seem to be the most avid participants. First-year Joe McCue assumes that ping-pong particularly ap peals to philosophy majors because, he said, "It doesn't require any real mus cle." But the athletes might make the argument: what is brawn when you have mental agility? The elusive champion, first-year Scott ''The Lobster" Morris, who ac cording to Ellison, "beats [him] consistently," preferred to talk only off the record. He has been playing ping pong all his life and received his alias because of the crustacean-like way he holds his paddle, resembling a "pincer claw" as first-year Clym ''The Irishman" Gatrell put it. Though Morris currently has a winning streak over him Gatr e ll i s confident tha t his spinni n g backhand strategy will keeQ him o in strong. 'Also, working side-too=side' :mibiS opponents] mad and tired," he said. Ellison described Gatrell as "deceptively quick, like a big cat." Fourth-year Paul "Ping-PongPolack" Malkowski's tumor is now in remission from the therapeutic aspects with which ping-pong has provided him His paddle. which he calls "Excalibur,'' was purchased at Wal-Mart. A pioneer of the sport, Malkowski remembers the UP SGA held toothbrush raffle !FROM ''UP'' PAGE!\ toothbrush] is real fancy. It's like a hundred-dollar tooth brush." said Schillinger. USF Sarasota is also hosting a series of movie nights in Sudakoff. The next showing will be Pokemon III on November 8. According to Neal, no New College students have come to the movie nights as of yet, even though our student government helped fund them. The movies are free for students who bring their ID. The cost for non-ID holders is one dollar. According to NCSA President Andrew Hossack, New College paid a flat rate of $600 so that New College could attend the movies for free. "[There was] a good turnout for Carrie and the Matrix last year," said Hossack. Some New College students claim social affiliations with our nearest neighbor. "[I went to] maybe a barbecue or something once," said second-year Andy Sellars. "And I saw [an event) in front of the USF Student Center yester day." "I walked through [an event] and they asked me if I wanted a soda," said first-year Sean Carney. "I know a couple of USF students, but they're all from Miami," said first year transfer student Loryn Sheridan. Sheridan added that they are USF Tampa students, not USF Sarasota stu dents. USF Sarasota students claim similar affiliations with New College. "I don't know what that is," said Schillinger when asked about her fa miliarity with PCP, the acronym for New College's tri-annual Palm Court Parties. She added, "I didn't know it was called that. I went to the Halloween party last year and I had a blast." Fourth year Erin "Ping-Pong Princess" Slemmens and first-year David Higgins at play. days when a real ping-pong table was a is weak." He doesn't plan to take ping non-existent thing at New College. 'We pong to the big leagues, but he did say, had to play on a Mariott table with no "As a New College student, it's always net," Malkowski reminisced. His mantra good to have something to fall back on." has remained steadfast over the years --The Student Allocations Committee "Pong or Bust. (SAC) is currently in conversation with Takin g th e Eastern approach ftrst second-year Ben Wright who is trying to y ea r D a v i d Higgi ns, a \ so c alled Dr. g et mon e y to fund a higher quality table Kabuki," does a m ixture of Jeet Kun Do and start up a n e w c\ub Names for that and Kabuki forms d ut"in hi.s ame tha t club are current\ bei.n tossed around. He said, "It prepares my mind mentally lnternauonaf a e s and confuses my opponent whose mind "Balls" is also a possibility. AUTOMOTIVE CENTER eTune-ups eBrakes eFront End Work eSuspension eAIC Repairs eComputer Diagnostics TOTAL SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Call Herb 941/351-7476 Electrical: Starters Alternators Rewiring eEngine Rebuilding eCooling Systems We Accept : Visa, Master Card, Personal Checks, American Express, Discover .. ,. ..

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4 The Catalyst NEWS November 14, 2001 Professor Tony Andrews shares details of archaeological survey by Christopher DeFillippi "There's a saying around those parts," said Anthropology Professor Tony Andrews. 'That before five, the north west comer is empty. People ranch animals and then go home." Between its expanses of bedrock and its plague-brewing wetlands, the north west comer of the Yucatan peninsula would seem to have had as little to attract settlers in the past as it does to attract residents today. This is why few archaeologists have ventured to the northwest in search of significant past settlements. Nonetheless, for the past two years, Andrews has been exploring this region. For its efforts, his team has found Mayan ball-courts, the remnants of a community of marooned African American slaves and a host of other ar chaeological curiosities. l11e discovery of the Mayan ballcowts in the northwest comer has raised far more questions than it has provided answers. The dynamics of the games played upon the stone structures have been lost to history, and analysis of pottery fragments in the vicinity suggest that the courts were constructed in the Pre Oassic period, when such constructions in other regions are from the Classic pe riod. The fact that such massive structures were built for relatively small communi ties is even more perplexing. '1t's like having a tiny village with a stadium," said Andrews. "It's difficult to see a small community investing so much labor in these things." "The African American community is also very interesting," continued Andrews. We found mostly porcelain pottery, fine china of European origin, a few metal artifacts; things you don't nor mally find in an indigenous site. Also, the Maya have oval egg-shaped houses, and these were circular. The masonry was dif ferent, the walls were made of dry lay plat stone, these were very unusual character istics. We could tell right away the site wasn't Maya." These discoveries are particularly im pressive considering the small scale of the project, which has only included two stu dents from New college, three from the University of the Yucatan and two from Tulane University over the past two years. "We're mostly doing reconnais sance," said Andrews, of the project. ''We take notes, collect surface materials, pot tery, and anything else we want to observe. For sites we think are worthy of more attention, we wjlJ go back and do a formal map of the central area." Perhaps more significant than what the nature of individual artifacts reveal is what is suggested by the abundance in which the artifacts have been discovered. "A lot more people lived there than we ever said Andrews. 'That's very surprising because it means that these people were making use of a lot of different resources. It's not a very good agricultural area, there's very poor soil, so that means they must have really been scrounging for all those people to be liv ing there." The fact that such a sizable population once lived in such a resourcestarved environment suggested to the team that the economy of this region de pended upon a trade relation with the peninsula's interior. "We establish links between coastal and interior sites by similar types of pottery. similar types of architecture, and other simple logistics," Andrews ex plained. 'We wanted to link the coastal sites to sites of the interior. We wanted to find if there was an inland capital, if there was a port for an inland capital, or if they traded with ports in ilie interior. We were trying to reconstruct the economic ex change system between the interior and the coast. In other words, coastal sites would get fish, shellfish, shells, salt, and other things, and ship them inward in ex change for agricultural items." Professor Andrews is expecting to leave for the northwest region January 8, 2002. He will return to New College to teach classes for the first module of the spring term. Latin Ball-shakes its culo in the face of New College by Liz Palomo What's rectangular, covered in signs, 8lld &bakiqg. their c&do in the sultry Latino spirit? milton Center, if you were there on the night of Friday November 9. The first annual Latin Ball (EI Gran Baile) was declared a success. "It was more than a party for me," said fourth year Myriam Alvarez, "it was the crowning jewel of my New College ex perience." The Ball, which was originally con ceived of by Alvarez but made possible by fifteen other students and staff mem bers, consisted of many planned activities such as dance lessons, a Latin dance contest, a Latin star look-alike contest and a pinata party. There was even a system where students could have a carnation and an invitation put in someone's mail box. According to Alvarez, over 160 carnations were sold. The salsa an merengue essons were led by Mateo de Ia Rosa, the Residence Life Coordinator at Ringling School of Art and Design, and his dance troupe. "Tirey did it without being paid," said Alvarez. 'They were an example of the many wonderful people that contributed to this event." De Ia Rosa teaches Latin dance at Ringling on Thursdays. One ofilie attendees, second-year A.J. Azpiazu, said, "it was a lot of fun. I shook my bon-bon and everyone there enjoyed it" Though not many people dressed up as Latin stars, Maxeme Tuchman, one of the organizers, participated in the Latin star look-alike contest as J-Lo. "I won two medals," she said. "One for me and one for my ass.'' 1be pifiata party was the scene of many a diZzy blindfo ded bat-bearer, but the stage was stolen by the unstoppable Sam Ozer, who with one decisive blow, sent candy, glitter, and oilier pifiata en trails flying across the room in an unmatched display of manliness. The Latin dance contest, during which couples were successively eliminated leading up to a fmal dance-off, was won by Jerry Dimitrov (a.k.a. Jerry the Bulgarian) and Melissa Negro, one of the organizers of the event. "I was really ex cited, cause I didn't realize that it was a dance contest Witil they started eliminat ing people," said Negro. Latin Ball was the culmination of Latin Heritage Month, which was celebrated nationally in October. The Gender and Diversity Center has been celebrating this month with events as showings of Latin-Amencan mov1es and scus sions of what it means to be a Latino/a There will be one more event celebrating Latin-American culture, Food for Thought, which will take place on Friday, November 16. Interested students should contact the Diversity and Gender Center at 2-4642. :I think that diversity is something that has been lacking in my New College experience," said Alvarez. "Since Tashia [Bradley] has been here, that has changed so much. I've been dreaming about hav ing a Latin Ball ever since I came to New College, and it's finally happened. It was more than just a party, it was a sharing of heritage, and I think it went really well."

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The Catalyst NEWS November 14, 2001 hero of 1960s gives talk in St. Petersburg 5 by Jag Davtes research, he was dismissed ST. PETERSBURG-In a from Harvard in 1963. small, secluded comer of Ram Alpert continued his re Dass's Richard Alpert's) search under the auspices of a home m San Anselmo, private foundation until 1967 California, there is an altar.
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' 6 The Catalyst NEWS November 14, 2001 Hossack wins re-election with 50% turnout; constitution in legal limbo by Renee Maxwell New College students voted in the NCSA elections in an emotional cli mate last Thursday. Nonetheless, the show must go on, and Elections Supervisor and first-year Erin Ingram said that 311 students turned out to vote. Andrew Hossack emerged as the winning presidential candidate, beating Michelle Brown and Titus Jewell with 66.8% of the votes. Co-candidates David Savarese and Damayanti Byars and their slate dropped out of the race right before the election. According to Savarese, the Catalyst Business Manager, they chose to withdraw their candidacy for a number of reasons, one of which, he said, were the "contradic tions between our platform and the revised constitution." Also of interest is the status of the revised student constitution. A two thirds majority is required to ratify that document, and it received 56.3% votes in favor of the revision, 11.3% against, and 32.5% of voters abstained. According to Robert's Rules of Order, abstentions do not count as negative votes, and consequently Student Court was charged with the final decision. On Monday, Student Court Justice Brandon Keene said that the constitu tion was not ratified and would remain under review. Andrew Hossack said, "The pro posed constitution must, in my opinion undergo a couple of revisions before it goes to the administration and the board of trustees for ratification." Hossack plans to take advantage of the continuity of his current position by prioritizing this issue in the remainder of his current term. He also said he will have more information regarding the student constitution at the next Town Meeting, where he will speak about this issue. In addition, Hossack also mentioned another topic of interest that he intends to devote some time to, which is the proposed deal with Grease Car, a com pany started by a New College graduate that converts vegetable oil to diesel fuel. According to Hossack, "The pro posal is for the conversion of a new diesel van in order to use the vegetable Goldstein fails to live u ftRoM "GOUJSTEJJ.'Vu P.4.GE I/ force of legal power we can," said Dean of Students Mark Blaweiss. looking into replacing Dart and Goldstein's microwaves as they break because it's actually cheaper than re pairing them. While nothing lasts forever, Blaweiss and Campbell said there may be evidence that certain parts of Goldstein should have lasted longer be fore breaking. "I think the tirst step is to look in detail at what the [specificaoil, that comes out of Marriott, for fuel." As for his strategy for tackling the presidency solo this time, Hossack said, "I am going to have to demand more from my cabinet next year. They al ready devote a lot of time, but I've chosen an experienced cabinet that can handle more delegation." During his campaign, Hossack stated that his cabi net would consist of the following members: Maggie Phillips as Vice President of Student Affairs, India Harville as Vice President of Academic Affairs, Mark Hengge as Alumni/ae Representative, and Jason Blinder as NCSA Secretary. Other results of the election were as follows: Student Court Justices: Brandon Keene (20.9/o of the votes), Stefanie Marazzi (20.4/o), and Rachael Johns (18.1 o/o); 35.7/o abstained. SAC Representatives: -First year: Damayanti Byars, 73.1 /o; 25.3o/o abstentions -Second year: Emma Jay 31.3o/o; 63.6/o abstentions -Third year: Patrick Hickey, 20/o; 74.1o/o abstentions -Fourth year: Dave Johansen, 18.7/o; 56.3/o abstentions Erin Ingram speculated that the reason why the percentage of abstentions were so high is that all of the nominations for SAC Reps were write-ins, with the exception of Byars, who re ceived the least abstentions. Now, when a student files a work order, it can be accessed by computers in both Physical Plant and Residence Life. The database will increase communication between these offices and also allow them to track maintenance requests by room. After a while, they'll know when certain routine mamtenance issues have to be addressed and will be able to iden tify trends as they emerge. and Goldstein, so we have to fix it now." "I'm cautious about lambasting con tractors on the basis of some anecdotal evidence," said Director of Residence Life Mike Campbell ... But what we do know is that there are some problems." Besides difficulties with shower pans, Olney said that there have also been isolated concerns, about fire sprinklers. faucets, microwaves and the quality of materials used in the building. Blaweiss expressed concern about kitchen sink piping and Campbell said that limited data pointed towards some general plumbing problems. Blaweiss said, But summer just isn't long enough to complete needed repairs. Dart and Goldstein also host summer confer ences, which bring in revenue the school can put towards repairs, so they are rarely totally empty. To solve this problem, Blaweiss wants to construct a whole new dorm to house students while their dorms are repaired. The dorm building would then be used to provide housing for the anticipated ex panded enrollment. "I don't think [the construction company or contractors] cut comers," <'It's not the Motel Six, but it's cer tainly not the Ritz Carlton." Students can help the repairs process by submitting work orders as soon as they find problems so that the new database can show Residence Life said Olney. "They followed construetions] were for the building," said tion codes, they followed standards." Campbell. "If we find that the contrac But he has found some trouble with intors, for whatever reason, didn't dividual parts. "I attribute any problems comply with the specified terms of the you see not so much to construction but contract, then I do think ... the question with manufacturers of equipment who [will be] how can they be held account manufacture thousand and thousands of able for work that was fully agreed to." parts. I'm not sure the manufacturers But Campbell said he doesn't think are turning out the best quality," he legal action is inevitable. "I do think said. But he also warned that, "even if there are a lot of things that could be you've got thousands of good parts done before we escalate it to a level of from a good company things break legal action" he said. ''I'm most con every now and then." cerned about getting it fixed so that we For instance, Olney said that any aren't liable for problems we didn't ere Florida building will experience setate." tling and Goldstein isn't fairing worse In order to find out whether or not than expected He said that Physial, these problems c.ouJq_ add -wp to ..S
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The Catalyst OPINION Editorial: In response to the recent controversy "editorial. n. (1830) : a newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinion of the editors or publishers."Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, lOth edition. The Catalyst holds and affirms that it is.a newspaper's duty to bring to the at tention of the public any issues which we feel are in need of community action or discussion. To this end, nearly all news papers in America have unsigned editorials, which state the official opinion of the paper based on writing and report ing. These editorials may often include recommending candidates or criticizing them as unfit. Although editorial boards at the Catalyst with staff writers may be formed on an "issue-by-issue basis," it is in the end the editors who are responsible for newspaper journalism, which involves setting editorial policy. Our Opinion putting out a paper every week. The page/Contribution Guidelines, which Catalyst has accomplished this for the explain the Catalyst's own editorial rKF""'"'''past eight years. At no point have we process, was omitted from the claimed any official status, nor have November 7 issue due to space we claimed to be the voice of considerations. Given the 1\\ the student body. The freewidespread misunderstanding dom of the press to determine of how the editorial process works, and publish its own opinions we should have again printed our should not need repeating. Opinion page/ Contribution However, the Catalyst recognizes that Guidelines when addre sing a controverthe level of rhetoric in last week's editor sial issue with strong language. ial was gratuitously mean to second-year As the masthead on Page 2 states, the Titus Jewell. The caustic appraisal of Catalyst is a academic tutorial sponsored Jewell's past political activity crossed a by Professor Maria Vesperi, who is a forboundary which we have set ourselves: mer editorial writer and columnist for the the Catalyst's long -sta nding policy of not St. Petersburg Times. The subject IS printing personal attacks in our publica-November 14,2001 7 tion. We did not intend to criticize his per sonal character, however, in this caSe we made an error of judgment in confusing the boundaries of the political and the personal in our criticism of Jewell. We further note that, in response to the aforementioned editorial, the quality of the debate at hand was drastically low ered. Last week saw a rising tipe of incivility and juvenile, purely personal at tacks-aimed at Jewell and Catalyst editors. It is an unfortunate commentary on the nature of our community that inci vility is so often responded to with further incivility. Perhaps the more venomous of our critics should take a moment to con sider the hypocrisy of their position. -------------------------------------------------------. From the Archives: In light of recent violations of the this letter to the editor from January Catalysts philosophy of reporting the 23, 1998. The editor that spring was news, not making the news, we present Rocky Swift. Letter to the editor: what's in a name? by Aaron Caldwell WITTY BEGINNING: Now, I didn't learn much in chemistry class, but one thing I did learn is that a "cata lyst" is a little thing that causes a chemical reaction. To wit: The 'Catalyst,' long-stand ing voice of sensil::i e news on our campus, does not exactly stand up to its name. Yes, it's true that campus papers generally have inspirational names, but I don't think they should be misleading. The name "Catalyst" sound like the paper's intention is to whip up Novo Collegians into an in tellectual (or unintellectual) furor, which would be impossible owing to our chronic apathy. But instead the paper is pretty low-key, with fairly unopinionated pieces, goings on about campus, news of the outside world that would otherwise be neglected, and the occaisional sillyness. Now, let's not allow this paper's name to continue to instill false hopes in peo ple wishing for a manifesto ala Marx. So either rename the paper or abandon it to acerbic activists. A third option (there are several others, of course) is the one that will probably be c osen: to ow a 1 ton a keep the name and nature of the paper intact-a brave choice in this day and age of constant changes. Good point Aaron. Another im portant characteristic of catalysts is that they never get personally in volved; they leave that to more reactive elements. Our mission is clear: you make the news, you get ar rested; we tell the public and laugh at you in or staff meetings. By the way, our paper is named after one of the first New College newspapers that ran for a few years in the late sixties. Ed. Opinion page! Contribution Guidelines: Editorial: A statement of the opinion of the paper detennined by the board. \At the, Catalyst, boards are formed on an ad isstw-by*i;ssue basis and consist of '"'"'u",..., and staff writers. Only the ted11tona1 board can produce editorials. written by a Catatvststatt or a guest do not oftbe Letter to the Editor: A reader's response to pr-eviou, articles. letters, editorials or opinion pieces, or a response to an issue or event related New College not covered in Catal$it. Letters to the Editor should be nl.i more than 250 words. Note: "How the Other Half 'Lives"' did not appear last week due to space considerations. This week we present two comics, on Pages 4 and 7.

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8 The Catalyst Corrections eLast week's i e misidentified the title of Director of Phy ical Plant Rtchard Olney. The Catalyst regrets the error. eLast week's coveragt! quoted an orga nizer a sayin that n add!tional cop wo ld have to be hired for every cg. According to Chief O'C' sio, thi state-,.. ment was incorrect. "Retraction" e In I t we k's editorial, lhcsi.tud nt Jeb Ltmd contributed a comment comparmg Titu Jewell to Richard ixon with the undcrstandmg, on hi p. rt, that it not b quoted and attributed to tum. Therefore, we retract the quote and th attribution to Lund. Also. we retratt all mention of I und from this retraction. A1 o, don't r d the e-forum postmg.. where Lund again makes the comparison or where he demands tlu retraction. retraction"?! 'm going to utthatfool ght, Jebbus has given people ood informa-. on about how e Catalyst operates. I pity the fool. Open Ho : 1 arratives of Domestic Space Thur ay, ov 15, 7:00PM Felsmann Building. Room 408 Caple Fi e Art Complex How do you organiz y ur domestic pace? his on -night collaborative exhibition is in conjun tion with the 'ew College and Ringling School of Art and De i 'n's Vi. iting Artist Program. For the pa l month, students from both schools have been studying with in lallation arti. t Julie Ault. The ANNOUNC NTS &C. Th nk V H world fundamentally a nevolent or a a .I QU arry malevolent place? Can one rely on ones Potter f. own mind or not? Is life to be eagerly embraced or fearfully skirted? Can the good The following oped was sent to the succeed or d evil ultimately win? Catalyst by the Ayn Rand Institute. 1be Harry Potter series appeals ro so by Dianne L. Durante many children (and. incid ntally, adults) With a long-tcnn war in progre s and because the answers it giv' to the qu s threat of further terrori t atta I< n tions arc overwhelmingly positive. It Ar1'1erican soil. is it mere escapism to go to shows a world in which happine s can be movies uch a Harry Potter'> Not at all; achieved, villain can be defeated, and the uch movi provide om thingju t e mean of succcs can be learned. When semial to winning a war as weapons and my seven-year-old races around the din soldiers. ing room table swathed in an old Harry Pouer lives m a world wh re bathrobe, with a broor 1 tick made of a hat and paintings speak. broom. ticks fly mini-blind wand and cardboard, he is n and goblins run banks but these arc non ex pre sing an interest in witches or the -essential details TI1e essential clement 1 supernatural. Rather. is try'ng on the the inspiring depiction of a boy' tripersonality of an independent couraumphant struggles. The sen tells the geou intelligent individual who. tory o f an clcven -yC: means ofth theme, plot and charactcriza mineml are essential to a child's healthy Calif. 17le lnstihtte promotes tlu> philoso Lion-particularly as they involve th phy ical development, so literature with phy of Ayn Rand. author of At/a hero--every children tory implicitly this vi w of the world i e ntial to a luugged .md 17le Foulllainhelul. addrc: s uch broad question as: Is the child's healthy mental development. So exhihit will transfonn the blahstudio that is CFA 408 into a "domestic" space with reprc entation.s of participating t dent li ing spaces utilizing photo >raphs, drawings. videos, and ass mblages. ew Colleg J>a ec Group Friday, Nov 16 & Saturday. r ov 17. 8:00p.m. Mildred Sainer Music and Arts Pavilion -A semi-annual event. Need we ay more? CAREER CENTER What's Happeni g? Wed. Nov. 14th, 10:30 am 2:00 pm niv. of Florida, Levin College of Law. f Iamilt n Center Infom1ation table. Michael Patrick. A si. tant Dean of Admi ions Wed. Nov. 28th, 6:00 pm Fund for ublic Interest Re carch. Sudakoff Center Wed. 1\lov. 28th. 7:00pm Off-campus tudy S s ion. uda off Center expcrknce i for undergraduates or re cent 'raduat majoring in sci nee. mathematics, engineering or technol ogy 1elds. Benefits art: a weekly tipend. hou ing allowance, and reim bur. em nt for inbound and outbound travel. Application deadline: ch. I. 2001. For an application and more in fonnation go to w bsite: http://www.orau.gov/hereatoml. he Harlem Renaissance and the Anthropology of Performance Hear from other ew College students about their experience abroad. Find out more about the ational tudent Exchange program. J obsllntemships Off-campus Study The ational Student Exchange S ) application and Directory of E change Opportunitie. for 2002-2003 academic year are now available in the Career Center. The SE program provide the qpportunity to attend one of 174 col-Toe day, ovember 20 at 7:30. "Acting in the Living Museum." James Horton, Ph.D., Department of History, George Wa hington niversity and the Smith onian Institution. Teach for America: Interested appli cants must apply by Feb. 1, 2002. Applications available on-line: www.teachforame ca.org. Oak Ridge :-.lational Laboratory: Paid ummer or semester research experi ence. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, this hands-on leges and universities aero s th S and Canada for a emester or academic yea at in-state tuition. For more information vi it the E websile at http://www.nse.org. Applications must be proce sed through the Career Center.