Let's Go will Coffee drink get rid of its of choice for Styrofoam busy college containers for students, two days this professors and month. staff. News/5 JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY Focus/17 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1. 1996 VOL. 73. NO. 31 Administration still searching GMU's new for commencement speaker center hub by Jason Brockwell of campus contributing writer Commencement speakers of the past fwe years: by Jaime Dritt JMU has not yet selected this year's spring staff writer commencement speaker and, according to Fred Hilton, director of Media Relations, seniors still May 1995 Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former Secretary of State Universities like JMU and George Mason University are transforming into universities of have time to make suggestions. May I99« Sen. John Warner The university does not formally survey the the 21st century. Evidence of this lies in the senior class but students can call the president's May 1993 Gov. L Doujjla* Wilder creation of new buildings and programs, including the University Learning Center at office to make suggestions, Hilton said. He did May 1992 William Howard Witakcr II (student): not know when JMU would officially choose a GMU and JMU's College of Integrated Science speaker because of the difficulty of matching Dr. Cecil Bradfield. JMU professor and Speaker and Technology. the schedules of potential speakers with the The new University Learning Center, which university's May 4 commencement. of Faculty Senate opened its doors in October at the Fairfax school, is located in the geographical center of JMU has not set up a single, official way of May 1991 State Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth B. lacy selecting the commencement speaker, though it GMU's campus. is usually an administrative decision. Leaders at GMU expect it to become the hub Sometimes an administrative council is set up of campus life, according to Laura Massie, to find a speaker, and sometimes a decision is GMU's Office of Media Relations reached from suggestions given directly to the spokeswoman. president's office. This year the selection of a Features the ULC offers include a state-of- speaker will be an administrative decision. the-art library, an information desk and display Hilton said he did not want to reveal the area for campus events, a bookstore,-student names of speakers under consideration. lockers, a 300-seat movie theater, and a large food and merchandise court. The last three spring commencement ANGELA TERRYIgraphics editor speakers have been former Secretary of State A student media authoring center, which Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Sen. John Warner JMU President Ronald Carrier told Sabados Government Association president, wants includes an electronic editing studio, allows (R-Va.) and former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder in a meeting the university approached Chief "someone insightful but not necessarily students to use new digital equipment to create (D), respectively. Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Sandra political" for this year's commencement video productions. It has not been JMU's policy to spend Day O'Connor, but they were unavailable to address. Poet Maya Angelou is her first choice. The ULC, which has eight acres of floor exorbitant amounts of money to attract a give the address because of scheduling She thinks someone from the literary field or space, provides new dimensions in student speaker. Some speakers on the lecture circuit conflicts, Sabados said. someone who works on social issues "would be services and inter curricular programming, can charge about $50,000, Hilton said. Sabados suggested Attorney General Janet a really nice change from the last three years." Massie said. "If you want to get someone of national Reno in a recent meeting with Carrier, but he Junior Kristen Blalock also expressed a The university can transform The Bistro, a stature, it is difficult because of scheduling, and was unsure about this suggestion because of the desire for a change in the type of speakers and casual eating space in the center, into a forum if you get someone on the lecture circuit, you conservative nature of the campus, she said. suggested humor columnist Dave Barry. for student performers, dances or academic pay large sums of money, which is taking A speaker who could spotlight Carrier's 25 Senior Lauren Webb said she thinks the programming. resources from students," Hilton said. years of achievement at JMU would be a good political speakers are good choices and would "There's nothing like it at any other Senior Class President Nancy Sabados also choice to deliver an address, Sabados said. like to have First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton American campus," she said. "It's the first of its said large sums of money should not be spent to In choosing the speaker, Sabados said she for the commencement speaker. kind, combining the state-of-the-art without get a speaker and likes the political speakers believes the senior class should play a greater Mabe also believes the senior class should walls. We're really proud of it." JMU has had in the past. role in the decision-making process. The senior have more say in the decision. GMU's new technologically enhanced "I agree with having political speakers as class officers are planning to write a formal Last year, she suggested the possibility of library has 100,000 new volumes. It also has» long as they don't promote their own political letter to Carrier requesting him to consider this forming a speech committee starting during the study carrels that allow students to plug in their agenda," Sabados said. She said she thinks in the future. She will also ask for suggestions students' junior year to gather suggestions and lap tops and have access to the Internet, Supreme Court justices and cabinet members as from students in the class council meeting. to make formal suggestions to the university. commencement speakers are appropriate. Senior Jen Mabe, former Student The committee was never formed. see GMU page 2 No set policy on excused absences for illnesses 4 you miss, because we do a lol of psychodrama and role' playing," the committee will ask the faculty member against whom the by Karen Bitz claim is being made to respond. senior writer he said. His block class meets in two-hour increments three times a week. Still, Saadatmand said he excuses students who miss Students who appeal to the committee remain anonymous to In the past month, Valley residents have seen an unforgettable class due to illness, but he requires documentation of the illness its members during its review process. blizzard, flash flooding, single-digit temperatures and 60-degree from the Health Center. If the problem is not corrected, the student may direct the temperatures. The fluctuating weather can have a detrimental According to Donna Harper, Health Center director, when an problem to the academic dean or provost of the college, and, if it effect on lt)e human body, and many students are coming down ill student visits the Health Center, the center will provide the is still not solved, it will go to the Office of Academic Affairs. with a host of different illnesses. appropriate documentation over the phone to a professor with the Mellasenah Morris, director of the school of music, said she The busy student life, which often includes classes, work, student's permission. had not seen problems concerning sickness in her department. tests, projects and who knows what else, is generally not Harper stressed, however, that not all professors accept "We have very accommodating faculty members," she said. conducive to illness, and ill students worry their professors may documentation from the Health Center as an automatic excuse "Accommodation is encouraged. Actually, it doesn't even really be unsympathetic when it comes to missing class and class work for missing class. need to be encouraged, because that is the way our faculty due to sickness. "We have a staff who wants to help students who need our generally is," she said. According to the Student Handbook, a student's attendance in help," she said. "We don't get into the business of saying it's an If a student has a problem about a faculty member in the class and laboratory is up to the discretion of the actual acceptable excuse. We'll simply say they were here." music department, the student can come to her or contact the professor. This is because of the wide variety of courses and Students who feel they were wronged by a professor in terms Student Advisory Board, she said. teaching methods in the university, the handbook states. of grading due to absences may go to the individual department's Richard Whitman, provost of the College of Arts and Letters, If a student becomes ill, whether or not the student is able to Student Advisory Committee, a panel of students and faculty said the grievance, or student advisory, committee is only able to make up missed work is an issue between student and instructor. members that handles student concerns. A student must present a make recommendations regarding students' grades. "(The Bijan Saadatmand, professor of psychology, warns students in written complaint describing the conflict. The student members attendance policy] is a matter left up to the discretion of the his Psychology of Human Intimacy class not to miss any classes of the committee then hold hearings amongst themselves and instructor." if they want to receive an "A." discuss the complaint. Afterwards, the student members will "It is impossible to say you learned everything in the class if discuss the student's complaints with the whole committee. Then see ABSENCES page 2 IS f.< -.h>M.ni id l. 2 Thursday, Feb.