Learning Centers Go Global

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ROUNDING UP CAMPUS NEWS SINCE 1900 THE BAYLOR LARIAT TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 Study says social work schools too political Dean says BU school political allegiances in the social took the experiences of three left formulations such as social improve social conditions to ment and trying to advocate doesn’t push politics work profession had “blurred students and then generalized it and economic justice.” meet basic human needs and social justice,” she said. “I don’t the line between academic prac- to all social work programs.” Baylor’s School of Social promote social justice.” necessarily think it matters if into classrooms tice and political activism” and The study said that taking Work is accredited by the coun- Garland said there is a NASW you’re conservative or liberal or become incorporated into class- into consideration the tradi- cil, but Garland said it absolute- chapter on campus, but students if you even care about politics as By Star De La Cruz rooms to change the opinions tional academic ideals that go ly doesn’t require advocacy. aren’t required to join. much as you care about humans Staff writer of students about social work against closed inquiry and par- “What we teach is skills of “We’re prohibited to advocate and their problems.” issues and problems. tisan engagement, its findings advocacy and critical thinking certain legislation to our stu- The third finding of the Last week The National Dr. Diana Garland, dean of are scandalous. of assessment, not to indoctri- dents, and that would be con- study states that the mission Association of Scholars released Baylor’s School of Social Work, The study gives four cru- nate (our students),” she said. sidered unethical for NASW,” statements of the chosen pro- a study concluding that social has read the study and said it’s cial factors to support its con- The second important find- Garland said. “The study is full grams are full of ideologically work education at public schools a political document attempt- clusion. First, the study states ing, the study says, is that nine of errors and wrong about what burdened statements dealing is highly political. ing to discredit social work pro- that all 10 programs examined of the 10 programs require stu- they say is going on in the class- with the empowerment of the The top 10 public universi- grams. are accredited by the Coun- dents to conform to the Code rooms.” oppressed and understanding ties with the highest enrollment Garland said the aim of those cil of Social Work Education. of Ethics of the National Asso- Katy junior Lizzy Hamburg, a how discrimination leads to in social work were chosen for behind the study is to get people This organization “requires ciation of Social Workers, which social work major, said the aca- poverty, racism and sexism. the study, including the Uni- on their side, which is political programs to embrace and/or commands social workers to demic discipline goes beyond The mission statement of Bay- versity of Texas at Austin. The and not scholarly. prepare students to advocate “engage in social and political politics. researchers behind the study “It’s not a good research for social and economic goals action, to advocate for chang- “Part of the social worker’s were interested in knowing if paper,” she said. “They basically described by decidedly liberal/ es in policy and legislation, to job is to work with the govern- Please see STUDY, page 6 Learning 9 strategic centers proposals accepted go global Programs to be implemented over course of 10 years, New living community proposed to cost $20 million to help international students, By Anita Pere Baylor students interact Staff writer By Shannon Daily Baylor is moving forward with Baylor 2012 Reporter initiatives by selecting nine strategic proposals for immediate implementation. The cho- With five Living-Learning Centers up and run- sen proposals were revealed at Friday’s uni- ning, Baylor officials have decided to go global. versitywide faculty and staff meeting. An Intercultural Community Living-Learning The accepted proposals include the incep- Center has been proposed to start in fall 2008, tion of a doctoral program in comparative bringing the total number of programs estab- religion studies and literature; a doctoral pro- lished since 2003 to six. gram in information technologies; a doctoral “This fall we have 1,200 students in a residen- program in environmental sciences; an inter- tial learning community. That’s up from zero in disciplinary master’s program in environ- ’03-’04,” Dr. Frank Shushok, dean for student mental health sciences; an academy of teach- learning and engagement, said. ing and learning; expansion of the center The woman with the vision behind the pro- for reservoir and aquatic systems research; gram is Janet Norden, an instructor in the Spanish expansion of the Baylor Institute for Studies department. of Religion; creation of seven research scholar Shushok said “the great thing for us has been positions under the vice provost for research; encountering Janet,” since the programs only and the creation of a research initiative in form through proposals offered by the academic terrestrial paleoclimatology. Various colleges departments. and programs at Baylor submitted proposals Norden said she originally had the idea in for consideration for a total of 59. 1992. She said she nurtured the idea until last Proposals must include a budget and spring, when the proposal was announced at a describe sources of revenue for the proposal. candlelight procession attended by more than 300 Internal funding for the proposals is limited. Baylor students and held to promote intercultural At Friday’s meeting, President John Lil- awareness. ley said “our financial team feels comfortable There will be 38 positions available in the cen- having our university invest approximately ter, two reserved for community leaders and nine $2 million dollars in new programs in each for international students, Norden said. of the next two years.” She said the center would be on the first floor of “The dollars for these programs will come Brooks Flats, and every room will have one inter- from a surplus that results from our con- national student paired with two to five American servative financial model,” he added. “It is a students. The language the international student slightly less conservative strategy than we’ve speaks natively would be “the only language those been following, but we believe it is a prudent walls should hear,” Norden said. strategy.” This aspect of the program will be mostly Stephanie Jeter/Lariat staff Dr. Lar r y Lyon, v ice provost for institution- enforced through the honor code, but Lingo al effectiveness, said this is a small amount Groups, discussion groups under the supervision considering the estimated $1.2 billion dollar of a faculty partner, will be formed to hold stu- Sitting pretty price tag if all 59 proposals were implement- dents accountable. ed over the course of 10 years. The cost of The students are expected to enroll in the pro- Longview junior Taylor Thomas plays with her roommate’s cat on Monday near Waco Hall . gram for a minimum of two years. They are also Please see STAFF, page 6 expected to spend at least one semester abroad. The students will participate in sensitivity training and cultural training to prepare for their time abroad. The program is designed for students of any Survey gives BU low marks on sexual health religious affiliation, but they must have an interest in spiritual growth. “It’s not just for anyone,” Norden said. “It’s an By Caitlin Forehand In Trojan’s sexual report card, it Human Sexual- immersion experience. It’s not easy, but it’s highly Reporter states the survey was necessary because ity, a textbook for beneficial.” the United States has the highest rates Baylor’s course Arkansas sophomore Stephen Williams is a Baylor Bears are experts on many of sexually transmitted infections and on human sexu- ality, is cus- mentor with the Leadership Living-Learning Cen- things, but “the birds and the bees” may unplanned pregnancies among devel- tomized by the ter and agrees the experience within the centers not be one of them. oped countries. The report cites sta- publisher for the is beneficial. The makers of Trojan brand con- tistics for the U.S. such as “more than university. It con- “I actually came into it expecting less than I got doms released their second annual 750,000 unintended teenage pregnan- tains two photo- from it,” Williams said. Sexual Health Report Card, in which cies, 19 million sexually transmitted copied chapters The other programs in operation right now are they ranked 139 colleges and universi- infections, and more than 1 billion on sexual behav- Brooks Residential College; the Honors College; ties across the United States, including acts of unprotected sex among single iors and pleasure Leadership, Engineering & Computer Science; Baylor. adults.” and sexual prob- and Outdoor Adventure Living-Learning Cen- Baylor was ranked 134 with a “GPA” To conduct the survey, research- lems and solu- ters. of 1.45. It is the lowest-ranked school in ers polled college health centers and tions. The chap- Students of any major may apply for the Inter- the Big 12 and in Texas. reviewed the schools’ Web sites. They ters also contain cultural Living-Learning Center. Lori Fogleman, director of media then assigned a GPA based on 11 cat- large areas of “The whole point of this is whatever major — relations at Baylor, called the survey egories. Among others, these categories white space, biology, philosophy — they’ll have a global dimen- “goofy” and “a marketing tactic.” She include: sexual health and awareness seen here.

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