Campus gets anticipated summer facelift
GenerationNet.org pairs online organizing with offline activism
Danville celebrates community heritage
New cast of profs arrive on campus
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s going to happen’
Amanda Richardson
Cento News Editor
"I gotta tell you folks, this is pretty cool." These were the first words from Centre President Dr. John Roush when he announced that Centre College will indeed be the host site for the only Vice Presidential debate, during a briefing Sep. 14. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's going to happen," said Roush, above cheers from Danville residents and the slew of Centre students that turned out to hear the announcement.
Roush praised Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. and Paul G. Kirk, Jr. of the Commission on Presidential Debates for their efforts and influence in landing the debate in Danville. "We are very pleased that the campaigns have agreed to these plans," said Fahrenkopf and Kirk. "The American public can look forward to four substantive discussions of the issues central to this general election," they added.
In September, an announcement from presidential candidate George W. Bush raised questions as to whether or not the debate was going to occur as schelduled by the CPD.
At a rally one week before the debate confirmation, Roush read letters he wrote to both candidates on behalf of the college, saying that "we have something spectacular" waiting for them in Danville. Other members of the community who attended the "Save the Debate" rally expressed concern and anticipation for the debate at Centre. One such community member was Michael Ward, a fifth grader at Toliver Elementary School who read aloud the letter he wrote to the CPD. He said, "I believe our candidates will do the right thing, and the right thing is to come to Danville." Political leaders from both the Republican and Democrat parties also stepped up on behalf of Centre and Danville to save the debate, said Roush.
"There are two things we learn by this; it will forever remain a reminder to us, educationally, that when something starts not to go your way, you pull yourself together to try to figure out what you might do to influence that experience or that decision, and then you do your best," said Roush.
Though countless hours and over $700,000 have been invested so far in preperation for the debate, Roush included in his announcement that had the candidates decided not to come to Centre "there would be no regrets." The college is ahead of schedule in preparing, but things still to be done are "too numerous to mention," Roush said.
"On Oct. 5 we will present to the United States of America and the world a first-rate, fantastic debate on the issues," said Roush.
According to Dr. John Ward, Vice-President of Academic Affairs, it is unknown how many, if any, tickets will be available to students. Ward added, "I can assure you that if Eliabeth Perkins or I, or anyone in the Dean’s office, are able to get tickets, we will not be the ones filling those seats. Those seats will go to students."
The CPD announced Tuesday that the moderator for the debate at Centre will be CNN principle anchor, Bernard Shaw. Shaw has experience, having moderated the CPD's second Presidential debate in 1988 at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The format for the debates was also announced this week. The vice-presidential candidates will be seated and will have a two minute response time, with the moderator having the discretion to extend the discussion. Each of the Presidential debates, as well as the Vice-Presidential debate will be ninety minutes long and will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time.Back to top...
Campus gets anticipated summer facelift
Nathaniel Kissel
Cento Writer
Tree-lined streets, carefully tended lawns and stately buildings: these are the images of our campus. But is everything exactly as it was last year?
Surprisingly, the college has changed in several ways. A quick walk around will reveal several renovations to our beloved campus. Most exciting (especially for those of us who are easily amused) is that the scarab on the lawn was finally finished. Time will tell what bizarre traditions develop as it becomes as important a landmark as The Flame.
A new field hockey field, as well as new fencing, a press box and seating at the soccer field top the list of improvements made to athletic facilities during the summer.
Some other obvious additions are the awnings and patio outside Cowan. Olin Hall has been renovated, with new carpeting and paint, and Sutcliffe looks amazing with the refurbished weight room. Most impressive, however, are the renovations to the bookstore. Natural wood floors, higher archways and a new staircase have brought new life into our beloved bookstore.
The original central building of Old Centre was completed in 1820, and now the southern entrance will be given the 21st-century accommodation of a new handicap ramp.
The dressing rooms at the Norton Center were also given a facelift during the summer to provide a comfortable place for both performers and the Vice-Presidential candidates.
President Roush said that “only some of the renovations were related to the debate.” He also assured that there would be “more [renovations] in the years and months to come.”
As the nation turns its collective eyes towards campus and the debates come to Danville, it will see historic turn-of-the century buildings, as well as signs of the innovative community. Back to top...
GenerationNet.org pairs online organizing with offline activism
Peter Schurman
Executive Director of GenerationNet
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - As students return to school and election season nears its peak, hundreds of young Americans are launching an unprecedented grassroots campaign called GenerationNet.org. The new campaign uses the Internet to give young people a voice in shaping the laws that affect our lives, and to overcome the generational alienation that is undermining our democracy.
GenerationNet.org’s two-stage campaign combines online organizing and offline activism. First, from Aug. 29 to Sep. 15, hundreds of members will vote at the group’s website, http://www.GenerationNet.org, to decide democratically the issues that matter most to them. Second, they’ll run an offline, grassroots advocacy campaign to hold politicians throughout the country accountable for progress on their top issues.
“GenerationNet.org is a powerful new voice for our generation,” said Peter Schurman, the group’s Executive Director. “Instead of waiting for politicians to get with it, we’re now deciding for ourselves how we want our country run, and working together to make sure they do something about it.”
“There are 131 million people in Generations X and Y, and that’s almost half the American population,” he added. “More than 40 million of us are active Internet users. Together our voices can have a huge impact.”
Less than one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the last presidential election. Yet more than two-thirds of young adults surveyed by the National Association of Secretaries of State believe that “our generation has an important voice, but no one seems to hear it.”
Politicians’ attitudes toward young people were illustrated in 1992 when then-Senator Wyche Fowler (D-Ga.) asked young activists, “Students don’t vote? Do you expect me to come in here and kiss your ass?” (as quoted in Newsweek).
The group’s website, http://www.GenerationNet.org, asks, “If you could change any U.S. law or policy, what would it be?” and enables members to choose their top priorities democratically. The group then organizes grassroots campaigns for the changes they’ve chosen. New members may join at any time, including now, while the issue vote is in progress and are not required to contribute money.
The website itself is new and different. The ballot of possible issues was generated in an initial issue survey, which ran through Monday, Aug. 28, and enabled every visitor to dynamically add her/his own top issues to the menu of options, with none excluded from consideration. The site also builds a sense of community online by enabling members to connect with others who care about the same issues, who go to their school or who live or work near them.
GenerationNet.org’s commitment to organizing offline, grassroots campaigns is also new and different from other political websites. The “action” components offered by other sites typically enable viewers only to send e-mails to their elected officials or to create online petitions, yet e-mail and online petitions are almost always ignored by members of Congress and U.S. Senators. Instead, GenerationNet.org’s offline campaigns will take the issues to the politicians on their home turf, while they’re campaigning for re-election.
Students at Centre College will have a chance to help lead the campaign, because the 6th District of Kentucky, which includes Danville, is one of a handful of districts nationwide where the Congressional candidates are most likely to respond positively to young people’s priorities in this election season. The unusually close race this year between Scotty Baesler and Ernie Fletcher gives them an unusually strong incentive to respond to new constituent voices. In most races, only long-established, and thus older, constituent groups typically exert such influence.
GenerationNet.org is a new nonpartisan, web-based advocacy organization for young people. The group sets no age boundaries for membership, but appeals primarily to those born after the baby boom, because prior generations already have a strong history of political participation. Generations X and Y are defined by demographic historians Strauss and Howe as beginning in 1960.
GenerationNet.org has more than two hundred registered members. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members, proceeds from online sales of goods including ’01 T-shirts, computers, and general merchandise. GenerationNet.org gratefully acknowledges generous grants from Morton Meyerson, Jim Carlisle, Allen & Company and John and Frances Pepper, and a $10,000 first prize from a Yale business plan competition. Working Assets and eGrants.org have recently chosen the group as an eligible donation recipient.Back to top...
Danville celebrates community heritage
Diana Davidson
Cento Writer
Every year, the Danville community gathers at Constitution Square for the Festival. A mixture of arts and crafts, fun activities and food, the entire Danville community gathers for a weekend of celebration.
The staples included basket weaving, face painting, hand-made jewelry, singing and dancing, puppies from the Humane Society and the ever-popular funnel cakes. Some unusual items were the original “can candle” holders, made from empty coffee and food cans.
Rachel Jones ‘03, couldn’t help but notice that “the array of talent within the Danville community is surprisingly diverse, and the community involvement proves that Danville is truly ‘small town’ America.”
Amid the arts and crafts and food, politics was not far behind. The Boyle County Democrats and Republicans were well represented, and distributed Gore/Lieberman and Bush/Cheney stickers and buttons, respectively.
Many children carried balloons imprinted with campaign logos, while parents wore the campaign buttons.
What Danville event would be complete without a Centre College presence? Not far from the Democrat and Republican booths stood the Centre voter registration and debate information booth. The upcoming vice-presidential debate not only occupies the Centre community mind, but that of the Danville community as well. Many people displayed the “Centre Debate 2000” button.
Centre booth worker Mindy Floyd ‘02, commented that “an interesting occurrence at the voter registration booth was that several older people registered to vote for the first time, prompted by the debate at Centre, which has increased awareness of political activity in the Danville community.”
Voter registration booths will continue to “pop up,” so citizens will have more ortunities to register to vote.
One Danville resident commented that the best part of the festival was not just the community atmosphere, but the gorgeous weather, as part of the festival tradition includes rain. Back to top...
New cast of profs arrive on campus
Shelley Nickel
Cento Writer
Who is your favorite professor? Centre students now have seven new possible answers to that question. This fall the college welcomes seven new faculty members. The professors range in interest and experience from a retired United States Navy captain to a scholar of 20th century Mexican artists.
Kathryn McDaniel joins the faculty as a visiting assistant professor of history. McDaniel feels very welcomed into the Centre community, which she believes fosters both academic and social growth among students and faculty.
Edward Montgomery, visiting assistant professor of chemistry, is also pleased with the interested and involved students he has met at Centre. Professor Montgomery is refreshed by the qualities of dedication and motivation, comparable to that of his former students at the United States Naval Academy, that he has observed in Centre students. He says that these qualities are not always common among college students and is pleased to find them in so many students here.
Terri Sabatos, visiting assistant professor of art history, says that she is really enjoying herself so far and that the talented and interested students she has encountered so far have only made her experience better. Sabatos finds everyone on campus to be helpful, very welcoming and is impressed with the Centre community.
Dennis Edwards, visiting assistant professor of economics, and Daniel Henderson, visiting professor of biology, had both received awards for excellence in teaching before arriving at Centre. Centre students will also have the privilege of studying with Maria Calatayud, visiting assistant professor of Spanish, and James Whelton, Jr., part-time visiting professor of classics.
We are all happy to welcome the new faculty into our community and look forward to working and studying with them. Back to top...
Thom Kelly
Cento Columnist
Disgruntled truck drivers brought more transport chaos to parts of Europe as the protests against high petrol prices continued.
It started in late August with a blockade of English Channel ports by French fishermen, then spread across France as furious truck drivers, farmers and taxi drivers blocked oil refineries and depots to protest against high fuel prices.
Within days, concessions by the French government sparked similar protests in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, clogging cities, blocking highways and reducing the flow of fuel to a trickle. Hospitals cancelled operations and stores restricted food supplies as the fuel shortage hit millions of Europeans.
The focus of the action, which in recent weeks has centered on France, the UK and Belgium, switched on Monday to Scandinavia and to Spain, where fishermen blocked the port of Barcelona. Hundreds of drivers blocked 11 oil terminals at key ports along Norway’s south and west coasts.
The angry fuel tax protests across Europe have not only brought massive petrol shortages and empty supermarket shelves, but they may now also strangle any attempts by the European Union to move towards more environmentally friendly transport policies.
In the UK and Belgium, where the demonstrations have largely been called off, supplies of petrol are still scarce as motorists and businesses struggle to return to normal.
Convoys of Spanish trucks and farm vehicles joined forces to slow traffic on the main ring road around Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city. In Ireland, motorists faced disruption as thousands of truckers clogged roads with a go-slow protest. In Poland, columns of trucks driving 18 mph caused disruptions in several larger cities, but police said the action was limited and failed to clog traffic.
In the Netherlands, the government promised concrete action to address motorists’ concerns as the country’s largest protests to date stopped traffic across the country. Hundreds of truck and taxi drivers blocked roads and blew their horns outside government offices in Amsterdam on Friday.
While the street protests will eventually come to an end, their long-term environmental impact is unclear. But the EU is now seriously put to the test to live up to its repeated pledge to stand firm against the road transport lobby and push rail transport as a more environmentally friendly alternative.
OPEC announced a production hike of 800,000 barrels per day last weekend with the aim of stabilizing the price for consumers but already Kuwait has cast doubt on being able to contribute to the new quota. The prospects of reductions in the cost of fuel, after oil producing nations agreed to increase output, looked bleak on Friday when oil prices hit a new Post-Gulf War high. Renewed military tensions in the Middle East combined with a threatening hurricane were blamed for the rises on the New York markets.
Some European governments, such as France and Belgium, have given in to the protesters’ tax cut demands, other countries, such as the UK and Germany, have refused to budge on the issue. Back to top...
Amanda Richardson
Cento News Editor
Being dubbed as, 'The house the Veeps built,' the Centre College Chapter of Habitat for Humanity cut the ribbon to begin the construction of its first Habitat House on Tuesday.
The chapter was first contacted by Andrew Issacs of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati shortly after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that Centre would be hosting the Vice Presidential debate. According to Stacey Bailey '01, the current President of the Centre College Chapter of Habitat, Issacs had the idea of building a Habitat House in Danville through the Centre Chapter, which would also host an event on the house site involving the Vice Presidential candidates. Issacs also mentioned in his proposal that the project may be eligible to receive a grant from the FHLB of Cincinnati, which donates 10 percent of its net earnings to help fund affordable housing. In the last ten years, the FHLB has donated over 10 million dollars to help construct 1,575 homes.
Bailey said that since its founding in 1991, the Centre Chapter has yet to build a house by itself.
With the assistance of the Boyle County Habitat affiliate, students Chris DeHoag '00, Elam Leed '00 and Bailey completed the very long and involved FHLB grant application process. "After dozens of meetings, phone calls, late night trips to SuperAmerica for Cappuccino and not doing any homework for a week, the application was finally completed," recalls Bailey.
The students’ hard work resulted in a $15,000 grant from FHLB, and the Kentucky Housing Corporation awarded the chapter a $10,000 grant for the project. Many banks in the Danville area also joined in the effort by acquiring the site for the home, reported Bailey.
"I want to tell you how very pleased we are to be a partner with all of you," said Carol Peterson, also of the FHBL of Cincinnati. "I think the students of Centre College deserve a very special hand for their willingness to be involved in this project and for sticking with it for so many years," said Peterson.
Don Carney, of Farmers' National Bank, represented the local financial institutions who donated to the project, saying that they are glad to "come together and make something good happen locally. . .We're changing the community one family at a time."
Ground was broken in August, and a foundation has been laid. "Hopefully, on Oct. 5 we'll be ready to raise the walls with the Vice Presidential Candidates," said Bailey.
There has been no actual confirmation from either of the candidates as to whether or not they will visit the site, said Centre President Dr. John Roush. "We are getting some real, real strong signals from one of the candidates. . . That's been our approach from the start, if we can get one of them to say yes, the other one will have to say yes."
"The timing couldn't be better," said Bailey. "The huge media we are getting here is giving us a great opportunity to show what Habitat is all about, and try to get the community more involved and more informed."
"I know that we're making a difference here, that we are going to be changing, for the better, the lives of a family that will be there and will make that their home and their place of memories and their place of happiness and joy. And that's a great thing," said Roush.
The target date for completion of the house is before Christmas, said Bailey, and the Boyle County Habitat Affiliate will be handling the selection of a family to live in the house. Back to top...