1 3 Terrorist Attacks Affect UNCW

The return of Cucalorus: 5 lndependant film festival in its tenth year March Sadness: 13 Basketball seasons finish at tourney Serving UNC Wilmington since Terrorist attacks affect UNCW Students' ratings of professors cause debate KATIE TRAPP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATHY GILLEN worry that all too often it winds up being either a popularity contest STAFF WRITER The U.S. Department of or an entertainment quotient, .. said State's Web site offers the follow The popularity of Web sites Dan Noland, associate professor mg advice for college students used for rating teachers is grow of English. "And so, somebody traveling abroad for Spring ing and 484 UNCW professors could be highly rated because Break: "Most [students] will have are among over 300,000 college they're fun to sit in class and listen a safe and enjoyable adventure, professors across the United to even though at the end of the but for some the trip wtU become States and Canada who have been semester, what have you done? On a nightmare." Two UNCW stu rated on Ratemyprofessors.com, the other hand, suppose you con dents experienced both extremes one of the national professor-rat ceive the notion that I needed to be on their recent spnng break trip to ing Web sites. punished, that I needed to be Europe. Since 2002, the Web site has destroyed. Then you could get Last week in Madrid, 10 added over 2,000 schools to its together with a few people on the bombs exploded on four com listings. In the same time penod, computer versions and just artifi muter trams at 7:30 a.m March Spaniards gather in Puerta del Sol to protest teacher ratings rose from about cially lower the average by giving 11. More than 200 people were 200,000 to over l .5 million. terrorism after the train explosions March 11 the lowest possible score ... killed and 1,647 people were Ratemyprofessors.com went English and Spanish maJor wounded. It was the deadliest in Madrid. Many UNCW students were in online in 1999. The site's presi Melinda Johnston also has con attack on a European city smce Madrid for the attacks. dent and founder. John cerns, "Whereas some people World War 11. Swapceinski. created the site after might find ll beneficial to read got out of their cars and people in Seniors Bryan McDowell and trains ran on Friday." a particularly bad experience with things about a professor like good stores stood silently. You could Matt Cottet spent four days in "I di<ln't want to use public a professor in graduate school. comments. there are also very hear sirens in the background.'' Madnd over break, one of those transportation after the attacks," Professors are rated according inappropriate comments that There are currently 34 UNCW days being March 11. Cottet said. to easiness, helpfulness, clarity aren't really important for other students studying abroad in During the attacks. the two With Prime Minister electlons and hotness. The teachers get an students to know, like if the Spain, and all were accounted for students were afely asleep in in three <lays. the city worked Overall Quality grade, wruch is teacher's hot or not." after the explosions. including their hostel. hard to settle down Madnd. the average of their helpfulness Junior Charles Osgood thought ·There was an uneasy feeling "Madnd officials <leeided that one student studying at La and clarity scores. the la..:k of regutations on the Universidad Europea de Madrid. 10 the city. You heard sirens all they would let people ride the Icons denote whether the pro Internet discredited the site and "We have a lot of students in over the place, and everybody metro for free Fnday afternoon so fessor has a good, average or poor those like it entirely. "You really was on edge throughout ihat was an effort to help the city Spam and they are all safe," said rating. If a student rates a teacher can't go by what they say." Thursday," McDowell said. return to normal," McDowell Liz Adams. director of Education as "hot," they get a cruli pepper Many students agree, however, Due to cancelled trains, travel said. Abroad Programs. icon. that finding a legitimate way to ers had to find other modes of The attacks spawned protests Valene Rider. a foreign lan Both students and faculty look at professors· ratings and guages and literatures lecturer at Iran portation "We decided not and moments of silence m the fol members say Internet grading comments by other UNCW stu lo use public transportation until lowing days. "We were m Puerta UNCW. took a group of 16 peo sites hke Ratemyprofessors.com dents is a good idea. When a stu Fnday when we hall to go to the del Sol on Fri<lay for the 15 min ple from the university. aren't reliable indicators of a dent is registenng for a class that airport," McDowell sai<l. "All the utes of silence. Everybody was "I take groups of students to teacher's proficiency. These sites has several sections taught by dif trains w11h destination to Ma<lnd standing and facing the flags in Spain every Spring Break," also raise issues of the accounta ferent professors. it's a common Atocha were cancelled on Puerta del Sol,'' McDowell said bility of the reviewers. SEE ONLINE, P,1GE 3 Thursday, but the majority of "Even taxi drivers topped and SEE MADRID, PAGE 3 "Some of my colleagues ... Inside This Issue Contact Us Visit Us OP/ED UNCW Life Classifieds Sports Editorial: 962-3229 www.theseahawk.org 4 5 10 13 Ads: 962-3789 2 the Seahawk I NEWS I March 18, 2004 UNCW awarded funding for Great professional master's programs decisions the second phase of the process. The AsHLEY SHEFFIELD Environmental Studies, Applied Behavioral Analysis in Psychology, Profess10nal Master's Degree must receive DOUG BIGGERSTAFF STAFF WRITER support from UNCW administration and Gerontology and Applied Sociology. STAFF WRITER In February the UNCW Graduate Jack Hall, the chair of Environmental UNCW Graduate Council, as well as School received $28,000 from the Council Science said, "Each one of the six pro admitted by the University of North An interesting new lecture series here at of Graduate Schools. Out of the seven pro grams that got funded received $4,000 to Carolina system's Office of the President UNCW offers students course credit as posals that were submitted as Professional $5,000 for expenses to essentially deter and Board of Governors. well as lectures and d1scuss1ons on current Masters Degrees, six were accepted, which mine is there a market, is there the capabil If the plans are passed then the second events. was more than any of the other 450 institu ities and so on to develop a Professional phase of implementation begins. Each UNCW is one of the hosts of the Great tions in CGS. Master's degree which is typically a non Professional Master's program could be Decisions lecture series for 2004. It 1s a This funding for the CGS goes toward thesis degree." granted as much as $25,000 each from the forum for students, professors and the com planning and researching possible future During this frrst stage of development, CGS. munity to learn about and discuss current Professional Science Master's degree pro an advisory board comprised of potential Hall said of the programs, "It's not foreign policies. grams and Professional Social Science and local employers of businesses and indus emphasizing the research component, pri The lectures are held every Tuesday Humanities Master's programs. CGS part tnes as well as non-profit and government marily because it is a professional master's night at 8 p.m. m Cameron LOS and anyone ners with the Ford Foundation and the agencies is established. This advisory degree, what it is pushing is preparing peo can attend. An average of 200 students Sloan Foundation to organize these funds. board meets with faculty to develop app,-o ple to go into the workforce, not preparing have attended each meeting. "The CGS is a long standing organiza priate curriculum and assess training nec them to get a Ph.D." Students will be The Great Decision's design allows it to tion that is sort of the national organization essary for the workplace. The planning required to do advanced work and a cap be used as a course. For one credit hour, of graduate schools," said Robert Roer, process also involves surveys and polls of stone project in their field. students can participate in the lecture senes dean of UNCW's Graduate School. students and industries to determine Although the second applicahon is not once each week. The six areas that qualified for the demand for the programs. due until October of this year, Computer The Foreign Policy Association publish grants were Computer Science and Once the program has been organized Science and Information Systems is es a Great Decisions book every year. The Information Systems, Applied Statistics, and established, then it must pass through already well on it's way to becorrung the book contains articles on current, topical only Professional Master's CSIS Program issues. Each student 1s required to read and m North Carolina, according to Art Gowan, submit a one-page summary for each lec associate professor of information systems. ture. "Our plan is by the end of this spring ... After each lecture. the students go into to submit the final proposal for the jomt pre-arranged groups where they discuss the program in CSIS," Gowan said. Posted on topic.

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