by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 11/5/08
Jack Riggs, Writer-in-Residence and instructor at Georgia Perimeter College, will have a new novel on bookstore shelves this December.
The Fireman's Wife, set in the Lowcountry Carolinas and areas in the 1970's South, tells the story of Cassie and Peck, a couple struggling with their relationship after 15 years of marriage.
The author-whose previous novel, When the Finch Rises, won him the Georgia Author of the Year Award for First Novel-works with The Writer's Institute at GPC and arranges the college's many literary events and author visits.
The complex characters are the focal point of the story, though readers may be draw into the incidents that fireman Peck encounters on a daily basis. For these encounters, Riggs did a lot of research. "The internet is an amazing thing," said the author.
Though the book began as a story about firemen, its beginning was more accidental. "I've always talked about the book as being a book of necessity rather than of love and inspiration. But as I was writing it, it became love," said Riggs.
The Fireman's Wife came about after pitching a book to his publisher, Ballantine Books, which didn't go through. Ballantine asked if Riggs had any other projects in the works. Riggs, sitting on the beach, talking to his agent, found his inspiration with the sound of a fire engine crying out in the distance.
"I told my agent, 'I'm going to write about a fireman," said Riggs. When he sat down to write the book, the first thing he put at the top of the page was the date June 1973.
"That's where it started. It became 1970 later, because I had to keep pushing it back for various reasons-things and hot button issues I thought would be in the book."
What started out as a fireman's book, said Riggs, became more of the story of the fireman's wife, Cassie.
Riggs observed his wife, not overtly, but unconsciously, as a writer often does, in order to write from a female perspective. Some of those who read early drafts of Fireman, said Riggs, weren't all that fond of the titular character.
"I always liked Cassie," said Riggs, "Because I always understood what she was trying to do. I love her because she struggles. It’s taken her 15 years to get up the courage, to take that leap."
Riggs was able to craft Kelly, the couple's 15 year-old daughter, with a lot of inspiration from his 12 year-old daughter, "a bundle of emotion" he watched and imagined interacting with him a few years from now.
Crafting characters has always been important to Riggs. That was one of the challenges about The Fireman's Wife.
"One of my concerns was that I didn't want either one of the characters to be a bad guy," said Riggs of Peck and Cassie, "because it was a relationship story, and it was about both of these people's dynamic personalities, separating and battling back towards each other in a way." To achieve this, Riggs opted for a dual-narrator approach, featuring both Cassie and Peck's perspectives through the summer of 1970.
Riggs is pleased with the work, though when he was writing it, he didn't know how the book would end.
"That's where the love comes in for the work… this began as a work of necessity, but once I understood my characters in the geography, the setting for which they live, they start telling me the story."
The first time Riggs let a character tell him the story he describes as a life-changing experience. "I'll never forget it, I'm learning a lesson… and no one is teaching it to me."
The Fireman's Wife will be available in December and would make the perfect Christmas gift for fans of Southern writers.
Showing posts with label Collegian article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Collegian article. Show all posts
Aug 28, 2009
Clarkston Student Life finds new ways to get you fit
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 10/6/08
Clarkston's Student Life office is coming up with new and interesting ways to encourage students to incorporate healthy activities and behaviors into their lives.
One of these ways was a free belly dancing class held during the Clarkston Club Fair on Sept. 10 in the new College center.
The event drew many more spectators than participants as dancing instructors taught simple techniques and low-impact moves. Participants shook their belly dancing hip scarves for more than an hour between classes, laughing and enjoying themselves in the process. Students expressed a desire to attend events like these in the future, and Student Life is providing.
Upcoming events include the African Diaspora, a presentation of African dance, on Oct. 8 at 12:30p.m. in the College Center, with a second presentation later in the month. Stay after the show for a chance to try your hand at some of the dances presented. Also scheduled: Self-defense classes in the gym on Oct. 16 & 30 at 12:15p.m., Family Night on Oct. 11 at the Galaxy Funplex Theater in South DeKalb Mall, where students can see the movie I, Chihuahua in the late afternoon. A Casino Night on Clarkston campus is also in the works, and will be announced soon.
High-speed training offered at GPC
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 11/5/08
Under the auspice of GPC's physical education and recreation, a new, effective type of workout is being taught to those willing to get a little sweaty.
Sessions on high-speed training for overall conditioning and weight loss are being held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. on the Clarkston campus.
High-speed training, with the goal of manipulating fast-twitch muscle fibers, causes the body to burn more calories and lose more fat. By correctly implementing these techniques, students and faculty can train their bodies to fire more motor units using explosive-type movements, essentially combining anaerobic and aerobic training.
Quick and aggressive movements using lots of power and energy are the basis of the repertoire. The focus of each session is teaching people how to move.
For novices, instructor Roy Reynolds recommends going at a comfortable pace. However, he says, recent studies have found that even better conditioning and fat-burning results are achieved through some type of vigorous training.
Though moderate physical activity is, of course, good for overall health, more results can be achieved by working bouts of vigorous training into a exercise routine.
These small classes of about 12 people, taught on the tennis courts of Clarkston campus, are attended by both faculty and students, which "really builds the camaraderie among the faculty and the student body," says Reynolds.
The class accommodates a wide-spectrum of physical fitness and training levels. Each session lasts 45 minutes and consists of three stages; a dynamic warm-up, a 30 minute vigorous conditioning bout and then a slow, progressive cool down.
Interested parties can venture over to the tennis courts on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 4 p.m. to get a thorough, vigorous workout.
The Collegian
Issue date: 11/5/08
Under the auspice of GPC's physical education and recreation, a new, effective type of workout is being taught to those willing to get a little sweaty.
Sessions on high-speed training for overall conditioning and weight loss are being held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. on the Clarkston campus.
High-speed training, with the goal of manipulating fast-twitch muscle fibers, causes the body to burn more calories and lose more fat. By correctly implementing these techniques, students and faculty can train their bodies to fire more motor units using explosive-type movements, essentially combining anaerobic and aerobic training.
Quick and aggressive movements using lots of power and energy are the basis of the repertoire. The focus of each session is teaching people how to move.
For novices, instructor Roy Reynolds recommends going at a comfortable pace. However, he says, recent studies have found that even better conditioning and fat-burning results are achieved through some type of vigorous training.
Though moderate physical activity is, of course, good for overall health, more results can be achieved by working bouts of vigorous training into a exercise routine.
These small classes of about 12 people, taught on the tennis courts of Clarkston campus, are attended by both faculty and students, which "really builds the camaraderie among the faculty and the student body," says Reynolds.
The class accommodates a wide-spectrum of physical fitness and training levels. Each session lasts 45 minutes and consists of three stages; a dynamic warm-up, a 30 minute vigorous conditioning bout and then a slow, progressive cool down.
Interested parties can venture over to the tennis courts on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 4 p.m. to get a thorough, vigorous workout.
Building bridges on the Clarkston campus
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 8/11/08
The bridge that connects the upper level of a new four-level 500-space parking deck to the concrete walk-way directly behind H-building on the Clarkston campus has been completed.
Construction efforts also include the renovation of the entry way to the bottom of H-building, which currently houses the Nursing Department(as well as classrooms and instructor offices), and a new paved walkway between H-building and the tennis courts that leads to other classroom buildings.
According to Lewis C. Godwin, architect and director of Campus Planning and Projects at GPC, as reported in The Collegian October 2007, the design of the parking deck will allow 500 additional spaces to be added at a later date.
At press time, the shiny red bridge had been erected, though the gap between the bridge and the stone-flanked entrance to Clarkston campus had not yet been completed. In October 2007, Godwin estimated that completion of the project was scheduled for this month.
As the papers have hit the stands, the new parking structure has been opened to students and staff, right on schedule.
Currently, there are two ways to access the new parking deck; the first is by entering the stadium parking lot owned by DeKalb County on Memorial College Ave., after the entrances to GPC parking lots 3 and 5. This parking lot, however, is in dire need of repair, with its wide and unavoidable gaps in
broken concrete.
The second access point to the deck is the entrance from Memorial Drive that GPC shares with neighboring DeKalb Technical College.
However, a more convenient entrance is being planned, which would connect traffic from the busy street off of I-285 to the parking deck for easy access to the campus.
Look to the September edition of The Collegian for news of Dunwoody campus's newest construction projects.
The Collegian
Issue date: 8/11/08
The bridge that connects the upper level of a new four-level 500-space parking deck to the concrete walk-way directly behind H-building on the Clarkston campus has been completed.
Construction efforts also include the renovation of the entry way to the bottom of H-building, which currently houses the Nursing Department(as well as classrooms and instructor offices), and a new paved walkway between H-building and the tennis courts that leads to other classroom buildings.
According to Lewis C. Godwin, architect and director of Campus Planning and Projects at GPC, as reported in The Collegian October 2007, the design of the parking deck will allow 500 additional spaces to be added at a later date.
At press time, the shiny red bridge had been erected, though the gap between the bridge and the stone-flanked entrance to Clarkston campus had not yet been completed. In October 2007, Godwin estimated that completion of the project was scheduled for this month.
As the papers have hit the stands, the new parking structure has been opened to students and staff, right on schedule.
Currently, there are two ways to access the new parking deck; the first is by entering the stadium parking lot owned by DeKalb County on Memorial College Ave., after the entrances to GPC parking lots 3 and 5. This parking lot, however, is in dire need of repair, with its wide and unavoidable gaps in
broken concrete.
The second access point to the deck is the entrance from Memorial Drive that GPC shares with neighboring DeKalb Technical College.
However, a more convenient entrance is being planned, which would connect traffic from the busy street off of I-285 to the parking deck for easy access to the campus.
Look to the September edition of The Collegian for news of Dunwoody campus's newest construction projects.
Despite a closing campus, summer enrollment reached all-time high
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 8/11/08
Temperature and gas prices are not the only things that have been soaring lately.
Georgia Perimeter College enrolled 13,540 students in its 2008 summer courses, setting a new record in GPC's 43-year history.
This increase of 6.6% over last year's numbers is surprising, given that the Lawrenceville campus is being phased out of the GPC system.
Nearly 4,000 students enrolled in summer courses at Lawrenceville campus last year, according to Dr. Anthony Tricoli, President of GPC. This summer, no regular classes were offered at the campus.
From this point on, only joint enrollment students and students in the Nursing program will continue to take a limited number of courses at Lawrenceville campus.
In a press release by the college, Tricoli speculated that the rise in summer enrollment is due to students becoming aware of the non-traditional hours offered, the
value of lower tuition costs and the extensive online classes offered at our institution.
"At GPC you can find students with families and students who already have full-time jobs," Tricoli stated. "Online coursework increases our accessibility to these nontraditional students."
The Collegian
Issue date: 8/11/08
Temperature and gas prices are not the only things that have been soaring lately.
Georgia Perimeter College enrolled 13,540 students in its 2008 summer courses, setting a new record in GPC's 43-year history.
This increase of 6.6% over last year's numbers is surprising, given that the Lawrenceville campus is being phased out of the GPC system.
Nearly 4,000 students enrolled in summer courses at Lawrenceville campus last year, according to Dr. Anthony Tricoli, President of GPC. This summer, no regular classes were offered at the campus.
From this point on, only joint enrollment students and students in the Nursing program will continue to take a limited number of courses at Lawrenceville campus.
In a press release by the college, Tricoli speculated that the rise in summer enrollment is due to students becoming aware of the non-traditional hours offered, the
value of lower tuition costs and the extensive online classes offered at our institution.
"At GPC you can find students with families and students who already have full-time jobs," Tricoli stated. "Online coursework increases our accessibility to these nontraditional students."
Kerli is Walking On Air
Interview with rising Pop Star Kerli
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 7/8/08
She's 21, has a long blonde mane, and was excited about going to see 'Sex And The City' with her girlfriends. She's a first-time dog owner, the proud parent to a Chihuahua whose yaps punctuated some of her sentences at the beginning of a telephone interview in late May, chatting about how strange it is when people come up to you and your dog and start up a conversation out of the blue.
Kerli, whose debut album 'Love Is Dead' arrived in stores July 8, sounds like someone you know. But this self-described "creepy little girl" is shaking things up with her alterna-pop/world music sound and has critics scratching their heads as they try to locate her home country on a map.
The Collegian asked a few questions of Kerli the day after the video for her song 'Walking on Air' debuted on MTV's 'Total Request Live.'
The Collegian: You're from Estonia, and Eastern European country with 1.5 million people. You used to dream of coming to this country. Now that you've recorded your album in New York and Los Angeles, how do you feel about America?
Kerli: Everybody is talking shit about America, because America is the shit. When they say that this is the land of free, it is. It really is. Little kids… their dreams are supported from a very young age. They say Americans are very self-centered and they don't leave the country, don't go [abroad]. Why would you? America, it's like a real melting pot. Different people, people cultures… everybody comes together.
TC: Now you're living in Los Angeles, California.
K: It's a skanky city, but you know, the weather is great… I came here a year and a half ago. My first year, I was lonely. Now I've got a good group of friends and I really love it. But it's different. I really wish I could bring my family here. One day, I will. I will.
TC: You've said that you don't really claim a lot of musical influences because everything influences you. What are you listening to right now?
K: I'm listening to a lot of 'Future Sounds of London'. I don't know if its because of my soul, but it took years for me to name the influences… and its not that I've got a big ego-trip bullshit snob thing… I studied piano for five years and listened to a lot of classical music. But its hard to pick out a few people. Nobody specific has influenced me. There's too many to pick a few.
TC: You wrote the lyrics to your songs on your forthcoming album. What was that process like for you?
K: I wrote this album over the course of five years; I wrote 150 songs for it. They're all from a time [when I was] going through a lot of emotions and depression, because I used to be really depressed. The album is like my diary of the last five years. Some songs that didn't make it to the album I really loved. The album was about finding myself, my imagery, my look….
I'm writing more music on my own, all the time now. [For the next album] I know exactly how it needs to sound, needs to be. I know what kind of producers I want to work with. I'm definitely going to produce myself for my second album. On the first album, there is no song that I wrote completely on my own, even if they [the songs] were my life.
TC: In the video for 'Love Is Dead', your image morphs from old to young before a background which also transforms with you, growing vibrant flowers and butterflies. Is there any significance to the butterflies in this video and the video for 'Walking on Air?'
K: I have a [butterfly] tattoo on my arm that represents living each day as it was your last one, because there are some butterflies that live only one day. It represents that I am never going to leave a person I love without letting them know I love them, because you just never know. You never know. Its me choosing to be the best person that I can be everyday.
In the video for 'Walking on Air', there are glass dots under my eyes that represent tears, and when they fall, they become butterflies. They represent overcoming the obstacles in your life. After the rain, the sun will always come out. 'Walking On Air' is about this little weird girl who nobody understood, who had no support. Its about finding the strength in yourself and becoming what you want to become.
TC: Do you think that your music is reaching young people who might have felt the way you felt?
K: That is pretty much the only reason I'm doing this. Girls are saying to me on MySpace that they felt like they were the only ones who felt this way, and then they heard my songs, and felt not so alone. When I was younger I never felt like I belonged. I was always writing poems, stories and songs. I was always escaping into my dream world.
In Estonia, which was communist when I was a little girl, you couldn't express yourself. That suppression inspired my music more than anything. I was always very dramatic, expressive, and I questioned authority when it didn't make sense to me. We weren't supposed to laugh and cry, or have an opinion. It was like everybody was trying to break your spirit. That's actually what 'Walking On Air' is saying. I grew up a creepy little girl in a creepy little town of 5,000 people in a forest, where it was narrow-minded. I felt like a freak of the town.
TC: One of the most interesting things about your music is that you manage to handle dark subjects like death with a delicate hand.
K: The song 'Death Is In Love With Me', I don't know if it will be on the album. Its supposed to be a hidden track, but I don't know right now. I actually wrote it, kind of produced it… I know that I'm going to die. That's life. I wrote it after a pretty bad car accident I was in. I could have died, but I lived. So I wrote a love song to Death. Its human nature that we're really scared of death, and the song is saying 'I know that you're going to be with me one day, but don't take me away yet; I have so much to do with it.' I'm scared of death, too, but the world constantly is dying and being reborn again. Like flowers, they only die to bloom again. Because of all the big cities, the pavement on mother earth, the houses-we're getting so far from the nature, which was a totally natural thing for ancient cultures. With all the internet and MySpace, everyone is the center of their own universe. Death is natural.
TC: What do you hope to accomplish in the next few years?
K: I… I don't really like to answer questions like, where do you see yourself in five or ten years. I don't really like to know. Life is so much about finding yourself and creating your own reality. I only have one big dream, and that is to be happy. If in two years, I decide I want to live in a mountain and grow herbs and have seven kids, that's what I'm going to do. I want to be happy.
Tricoli talks communication
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 4/1/08
GPC President Dr. Anthony Tricoli hosted a series of open forum meetings about communication on each campus from March 17- 27 to discuss strategic planning, governance and communication, as well as trust issues and student, faculty and staff concerns.
At the culmination of the meetings on the GPC campuses, there will be a "one day Communication Summit event to discuss what we heard at our campus forums," according to a message from the President dated Feb. 14. At the Clarkston campus' forum on March 19, about 50 faculty and staff members listened to Tricoli's presentation, which was augmented by the viewing of the school's new mission statement on the projection screen in room N2220.
"The entire goal of these meetings is to roll out the new strategic agenda that was developed by faculty and staff to develop a governance model which will help us to carry out our new mission," Tricoli said after the two-hour meeting. In a past interview with The Collegian, Tricoli indicated that the current plan to re-vamp GPC includes each department being reviewed by a task force of faculty and staff members.
During his Communication open forum, Tricoli specifically mentioned customer service, advising and admissions. One of the president's goals over the last year was to establish an office of customer service, which has been done.
"Colleges don't have offices of customer service. We had enough customer service issues that we needed a force to deal with them," Tricoli said before addressing the fact that some faculty and staff were not happy about the new customer service focus of the college. "I feel for you, get over it," he said.
One of the reasons for the creation of the office, Tricoli admitted, is that GPC has "great services, but some people who don't provide these services very well." He expressed a need for both more faculty training and training for administration.
"We don't do a lot of training for administration-we just go, 'Hey! You are now an administrator!'" Tricoli said, mentioning possible efforts to being succession planning.
After the need for transparency of the process was reemphasized by faculty at the meeting, Tricoli turned to the lectern's computer and pulled up his website (http://www.gpc.edu/~presoff/) on the screen. From there, he navigated to the Task Force page and selected the Enrollment and Registration PDF which displays the names of over 220 faculty and staff involved in various task forces, see the recommendations made, and the initiatives underway.
Beth Wallace, Clarkston ESL instructor, emphasized the importance of faculty and staff 'buying into the system' and said, "We need to see things completed. That helps with the buy in." Dean Lisa Fowler suggested posting progress reports online until task completion, giving faculty and staff what one member said they needed.
Perhaps the biggest part of the Communication summit was discussing issues of trust. "Do you trust me?" Tricoli asked the faculty. "I trust you. Generally, I trust you. I trust some of you more than I trust others," he joked. Christine Smith of the Sign Language Interpreting program responded, "When you first came here, we had no reason to trust you. You earn trust. Trust requires work. I think you've done that work. You have us on your team. We're behind you and this college." Associate professor of history Marc Zayac addressed Tricoli from the back of the packed room. "It's reasonable to want our trust. We're reasonable people… We trust you. We want you to know we're doing our jobs and you don't need to look over our shoulders." Zayac then mentioned the practice of addressing an issue at GPC by addressing the masses with reprimands, contracts and 'new policies each week.'" Smith echoed the sentiment a few minutes later when she mentioned not needing to "pound everyone over the head for the sins of a few."
Clarkston campus Journalism instructor Robert Knowles pointed to the recent purchasing card scandal. "We've been hammered on that as if we didn't know it's wrong to steal," said Knowles, the room erupting in laughter. Tricoli responded with risen eyebrows and a shake of his head. "Some people don't know its not all right to steal," he said.
On the issue of trust and in response to the mention of the purchasing cards, new Clarkston Student Life Director Angela Avery-Jones stood before the room and encouraged faculty to trust in the Student Life offices as they are rebuilding. "Trust in us," she said. Tricoli urged faculty and staff to continue sending their suggestions to him as he prepares for his Communication Summit.
"I don't have the answers. That's why I'm asking the questions," he said. "I need your suggestions."
He can be reached at atricoli@gpc.edu.
The Collegian
Issue date: 4/1/08
GPC President Dr. Anthony Tricoli hosted a series of open forum meetings about communication on each campus from March 17- 27 to discuss strategic planning, governance and communication, as well as trust issues and student, faculty and staff concerns.
At the culmination of the meetings on the GPC campuses, there will be a "one day Communication Summit event to discuss what we heard at our campus forums," according to a message from the President dated Feb. 14. At the Clarkston campus' forum on March 19, about 50 faculty and staff members listened to Tricoli's presentation, which was augmented by the viewing of the school's new mission statement on the projection screen in room N2220.
"The entire goal of these meetings is to roll out the new strategic agenda that was developed by faculty and staff to develop a governance model which will help us to carry out our new mission," Tricoli said after the two-hour meeting. In a past interview with The Collegian, Tricoli indicated that the current plan to re-vamp GPC includes each department being reviewed by a task force of faculty and staff members.
During his Communication open forum, Tricoli specifically mentioned customer service, advising and admissions. One of the president's goals over the last year was to establish an office of customer service, which has been done.
"Colleges don't have offices of customer service. We had enough customer service issues that we needed a force to deal with them," Tricoli said before addressing the fact that some faculty and staff were not happy about the new customer service focus of the college. "I feel for you, get over it," he said.
One of the reasons for the creation of the office, Tricoli admitted, is that GPC has "great services, but some people who don't provide these services very well." He expressed a need for both more faculty training and training for administration.
"We don't do a lot of training for administration-we just go, 'Hey! You are now an administrator!'" Tricoli said, mentioning possible efforts to being succession planning.
After the need for transparency of the process was reemphasized by faculty at the meeting, Tricoli turned to the lectern's computer and pulled up his website (http://www.gpc.edu/~presoff/) on the screen. From there, he navigated to the Task Force page and selected the Enrollment and Registration PDF which displays the names of over 220 faculty and staff involved in various task forces, see the recommendations made, and the initiatives underway.
Beth Wallace, Clarkston ESL instructor, emphasized the importance of faculty and staff 'buying into the system' and said, "We need to see things completed. That helps with the buy in." Dean Lisa Fowler suggested posting progress reports online until task completion, giving faculty and staff what one member said they needed.
Perhaps the biggest part of the Communication summit was discussing issues of trust. "Do you trust me?" Tricoli asked the faculty. "I trust you. Generally, I trust you. I trust some of you more than I trust others," he joked. Christine Smith of the Sign Language Interpreting program responded, "When you first came here, we had no reason to trust you. You earn trust. Trust requires work. I think you've done that work. You have us on your team. We're behind you and this college." Associate professor of history Marc Zayac addressed Tricoli from the back of the packed room. "It's reasonable to want our trust. We're reasonable people… We trust you. We want you to know we're doing our jobs and you don't need to look over our shoulders." Zayac then mentioned the practice of addressing an issue at GPC by addressing the masses with reprimands, contracts and 'new policies each week.'" Smith echoed the sentiment a few minutes later when she mentioned not needing to "pound everyone over the head for the sins of a few."
Clarkston campus Journalism instructor Robert Knowles pointed to the recent purchasing card scandal. "We've been hammered on that as if we didn't know it's wrong to steal," said Knowles, the room erupting in laughter. Tricoli responded with risen eyebrows and a shake of his head. "Some people don't know its not all right to steal," he said.
On the issue of trust and in response to the mention of the purchasing cards, new Clarkston Student Life Director Angela Avery-Jones stood before the room and encouraged faculty to trust in the Student Life offices as they are rebuilding. "Trust in us," she said. Tricoli urged faculty and staff to continue sending their suggestions to him as he prepares for his Communication Summit.
"I don't have the answers. That's why I'm asking the questions," he said. "I need your suggestions."
He can be reached at atricoli@gpc.edu.
Voices heard at Diversity Forum
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 4/1/08
The 5th Annual Diversity Forum was held on the Clarkston campus March 27.
The Forum, themed "Voices," took a different direction in showcasing Diversity by not having a panel or keynote speaker and instead relying on the voices of students, faculty and staff in attendance.
Students trickled in and out of the three-hour event, but filled the Jim Cherry Learning Center auditorium with their voices in response to questions and topics brought up by event coordinator Joe Odom and 'co-host' Courtney Godfrey of Clarkston SGA.
"Diversity if one of our defining features and makes Georgia Perimeter College a premier community college," said Odom.
Odom encouraged students to attend the International Festival April 4 and surprised the audience by including that, depending on the semester, 145 to 150 different countries are represented on the Clarkston campus.
Odom stressed that there are many types of diversity; racial, ethnic, cultural, age, ability, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and financial and class status.
Odom began a long slideshow of celebrities' images, featuring the remarks they had made over the last year that were in some way bigoted, including quotes from Don Imus, Mel Gibson, Isaiah Washington, Kanye West, Halle Berry and Sally Kern. Audience members jumped to respond when Odom asked if any of the celebrities or their comments surprised them.
Dialogue across the room included most audience members, the number of which waxed and waned, though did take home the colorful water bottles and the Diversity Forum's signature jellybeans in campus gift bags on their way out.
"Racism is straight across the board," one student said. "We need education. Social education, not just classroom education. The biggest problem is lack of tolerance."
Odom, who zigzagged across the auditorium to bring the microphone to students, passed it on to Godfrey, who worked the audience while images appeared on the projection screen. Godfrey warned students to be mindful of others when stating how each image made them feel.
A male student from the back of the auditorium had the opportunity to address the audience when images of terrorist appeared on the screen. "Terrorists don't represent Islam," he said. "Just like Timothy McVeigh doesn't represent Christianity."
The atmosphere remained respectful through sensitive subjects, which was the goal of the Diversity Forum.
Toward the end, the three entries for the Student Film Competition, sponsored by the Humanities department were viewed and awards given to the students. Third place went to Melissa O'Steen with her film Concrete and Wood, second to students Jalen Reddish and Brian Little for their film What Really Matters?, and first place went to Misty Novitch for her film We Are All Concerned About Humans.
Before audience members broke for ice cream and special Forum-themed cakes, Odom gave Shinning Star awards to Godfrey, Margie Bright-Ragland, Dr. Terri Lampe and Ms. Lois Shelton for their support of the Diversity Forum 2008.
The Collegian
Issue date: 4/1/08
The 5th Annual Diversity Forum was held on the Clarkston campus March 27.
The Forum, themed "Voices," took a different direction in showcasing Diversity by not having a panel or keynote speaker and instead relying on the voices of students, faculty and staff in attendance.
Students trickled in and out of the three-hour event, but filled the Jim Cherry Learning Center auditorium with their voices in response to questions and topics brought up by event coordinator Joe Odom and 'co-host' Courtney Godfrey of Clarkston SGA.
"Diversity if one of our defining features and makes Georgia Perimeter College a premier community college," said Odom.
Odom encouraged students to attend the International Festival April 4 and surprised the audience by including that, depending on the semester, 145 to 150 different countries are represented on the Clarkston campus.
Odom stressed that there are many types of diversity; racial, ethnic, cultural, age, ability, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and financial and class status.
Odom began a long slideshow of celebrities' images, featuring the remarks they had made over the last year that were in some way bigoted, including quotes from Don Imus, Mel Gibson, Isaiah Washington, Kanye West, Halle Berry and Sally Kern. Audience members jumped to respond when Odom asked if any of the celebrities or their comments surprised them.
Dialogue across the room included most audience members, the number of which waxed and waned, though did take home the colorful water bottles and the Diversity Forum's signature jellybeans in campus gift bags on their way out.
"Racism is straight across the board," one student said. "We need education. Social education, not just classroom education. The biggest problem is lack of tolerance."
Odom, who zigzagged across the auditorium to bring the microphone to students, passed it on to Godfrey, who worked the audience while images appeared on the projection screen. Godfrey warned students to be mindful of others when stating how each image made them feel.
A male student from the back of the auditorium had the opportunity to address the audience when images of terrorist appeared on the screen. "Terrorists don't represent Islam," he said. "Just like Timothy McVeigh doesn't represent Christianity."
The atmosphere remained respectful through sensitive subjects, which was the goal of the Diversity Forum.
Toward the end, the three entries for the Student Film Competition, sponsored by the Humanities department were viewed and awards given to the students. Third place went to Melissa O'Steen with her film Concrete and Wood, second to students Jalen Reddish and Brian Little for their film What Really Matters?, and first place went to Misty Novitch for her film We Are All Concerned About Humans.
Before audience members broke for ice cream and special Forum-themed cakes, Odom gave Shinning Star awards to Godfrey, Margie Bright-Ragland, Dr. Terri Lampe and Ms. Lois Shelton for their support of the Diversity Forum 2008.
Students get a taste of Vietnam at IPA Coffee Hour
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 3/5/08
The International Peer Assistants (IPA) held a Vietnam-themed Coffee Hour Feb. 13 in N2220 of the College Center on Clarkston campus.
The lunch-time event centered on a presentation called "Journey to Vietnam," given by students Khoa Dao and Khuyen Nguyen. The presentation provided some basic facts about the Southeast Asian country, including information about its economy, language, education, climate, daily life, night life, large cities and tourist attractions.
The hour began with a few announcements about Study Abroad from The Center for International Education's Adrianne Langston (the event occurred a day before Study Abroad applications were due), and a March tax workshop for F-1 students. Afterwards, IPA members lead the 30 or so students in attendance in an icebreaker that thrust the room into a flurry of activity.
After tables and chairs were replaced, and the PowerPoint begun, Vietnamese students in the audience were asked to point to their birthplaces on a map of Vietnam (pictured). In addition to sharing information about where they came from, both presenters shared personal pictures of schools and tourist spots. Nguyen gave the presentation in a pink Ao Dai, traditional dress in Vietnam, and at the presentation's end, treated the audience to a slow dance that she said was intended to "represent the purity of Vietnamese women."
After attendees learned a little about Vietnam, they got a taste of it: in addition to refreshments, different kinds of rice, noodles, basil and shrimp rolls and sweets were available for students to sample as a slide-show of Vietnam's scenery continued on screen.
Most students said they'd heard about the Coffee Hour from friends, through email, or on campus bulletin boards. But some students attended through different means; Criminal Justice major Kaled Ali, 20, and Drafting/Architecture student Robert Sims, 19, were hanging out in the student center when an IPA member told them about the Coffee Hour and invited them to join.
"I had no idea what it was really about, you know, but they were cool. 'Just come and have a good time,' they said. And now I'm eating fried rice and shrimp rolls," said Sims.
The next IPA Coffee Hour on Clarkston campus will explore Venezuela on March 25 at 12:30 p.m. in N2220.
The Collegian
Issue date: 3/5/08
The International Peer Assistants (IPA) held a Vietnam-themed Coffee Hour Feb. 13 in N2220 of the College Center on Clarkston campus.
The lunch-time event centered on a presentation called "Journey to Vietnam," given by students Khoa Dao and Khuyen Nguyen. The presentation provided some basic facts about the Southeast Asian country, including information about its economy, language, education, climate, daily life, night life, large cities and tourist attractions.
The hour began with a few announcements about Study Abroad from The Center for International Education's Adrianne Langston (the event occurred a day before Study Abroad applications were due), and a March tax workshop for F-1 students. Afterwards, IPA members lead the 30 or so students in attendance in an icebreaker that thrust the room into a flurry of activity.
After tables and chairs were replaced, and the PowerPoint begun, Vietnamese students in the audience were asked to point to their birthplaces on a map of Vietnam (pictured). In addition to sharing information about where they came from, both presenters shared personal pictures of schools and tourist spots. Nguyen gave the presentation in a pink Ao Dai, traditional dress in Vietnam, and at the presentation's end, treated the audience to a slow dance that she said was intended to "represent the purity of Vietnamese women."
After attendees learned a little about Vietnam, they got a taste of it: in addition to refreshments, different kinds of rice, noodles, basil and shrimp rolls and sweets were available for students to sample as a slide-show of Vietnam's scenery continued on screen.
Most students said they'd heard about the Coffee Hour from friends, through email, or on campus bulletin boards. But some students attended through different means; Criminal Justice major Kaled Ali, 20, and Drafting/Architecture student Robert Sims, 19, were hanging out in the student center when an IPA member told them about the Coffee Hour and invited them to join.
"I had no idea what it was really about, you know, but they were cool. 'Just come and have a good time,' they said. And now I'm eating fried rice and shrimp rolls," said Sims.
The next IPA Coffee Hour on Clarkston campus will explore Venezuela on March 25 at 12:30 p.m. in N2220.
'Art and The Spiritual' collection on display at Dunwoody Jennifer Johnson
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
The Dunwoody Campus Library is currently hosting a vivid and interesting exhibit of abstract art by Associate Professor Charles Phillips, who has been teaching art history and art appreciation at GPC since 1990.
The exhibit is entitled 'Art and The Spiritual,' and is a collection of mixed media pieces inspired by his "emotional and spiritual interpretations" of what he sees.
Phillips was born in Ghana and taught there for many years before becoming an Advisor to the Minister of Art and Culture. He left his post there after regime change in 1982, and regrets the impact the politics of his position had upon him.
"It is important that my work should challenge the viewer optically, intellectually, and philosophically," and this is certainly the effect his works tend to have.
Upon first glance many of the pictures do not lend themselves to obvious or immediate interpretation. There are many colors and sweeping lines and curves that can appear chaotic, at first, and require much of the viewer to discover the communication within each piece.
One of the students' apparent favorites is entitled 'Jubilation,' which Phillips said was inspired by a picture of ballet dancers.
Phillips' favorite piece is entitled 'Keep Watch,' a picture is of a bird watching over its nest, which Phillips said depicts how we must all be mindful of our thoughts, our words and our actions.
Deep feelings and a sense of the invisible influences in our lives are evident throughout his work, which will be on exhibit at Dunwoody until Feb 28.
Phillips ended his interview by giving his basic philosophy of how to live; "Make sure you place yourself where people will enjoy you -not admire you, but enjoy you," said Phillips. "[It is always best] to be a team player, to love people. And in order to love others, you must first love yourself."
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
The Dunwoody Campus Library is currently hosting a vivid and interesting exhibit of abstract art by Associate Professor Charles Phillips, who has been teaching art history and art appreciation at GPC since 1990.
The exhibit is entitled 'Art and The Spiritual,' and is a collection of mixed media pieces inspired by his "emotional and spiritual interpretations" of what he sees.
Phillips was born in Ghana and taught there for many years before becoming an Advisor to the Minister of Art and Culture. He left his post there after regime change in 1982, and regrets the impact the politics of his position had upon him.
"It is important that my work should challenge the viewer optically, intellectually, and philosophically," and this is certainly the effect his works tend to have.
Upon first glance many of the pictures do not lend themselves to obvious or immediate interpretation. There are many colors and sweeping lines and curves that can appear chaotic, at first, and require much of the viewer to discover the communication within each piece.
One of the students' apparent favorites is entitled 'Jubilation,' which Phillips said was inspired by a picture of ballet dancers.
Phillips' favorite piece is entitled 'Keep Watch,' a picture is of a bird watching over its nest, which Phillips said depicts how we must all be mindful of our thoughts, our words and our actions.
Deep feelings and a sense of the invisible influences in our lives are evident throughout his work, which will be on exhibit at Dunwoody until Feb 28.
Phillips ended his interview by giving his basic philosophy of how to live; "Make sure you place yourself where people will enjoy you -not admire you, but enjoy you," said Phillips. "[It is always best] to be a team player, to love people. And in order to love others, you must first love yourself."
Red Cross Blood Drives make difference
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
The Georgia Perimeter College-Dunwoody Health and Wellness Program sponsored a Red Cross Blood Drive on Jan. 28 in which it offered an opportunity for students, faculty staff, and community members to donate blood. The Blood Drive took place in the Student Center located in the B building between noon and 5 p.m.
Ashley Atherton, Coordinator of the GPC Dunwoody Health and Wellness Program, organized the event.
"College students are regular donors," said Atherton. "Having a Blood Drive in a college campus is a convenience factor for students, and it is easier for them to fit it in their busy schedules."
During the Blood Drive donors received a free Chik-Fil-A sandwich, snacks, and a t-shirt. Other Blood Drives were organized at Clarkson and Decatur Campuses as well.
In order to be a qualified donor, you must be at least 17 years old, weight a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in good health. If you have a tattoo done in Ga., there is a waiting period of one year before you can donate blood.
There are also other factors that may affect your eligibility to donate based on your health history. For additional information, visit the Red Cross at www.redcrossblood.org.
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
The Georgia Perimeter College-Dunwoody Health and Wellness Program sponsored a Red Cross Blood Drive on Jan. 28 in which it offered an opportunity for students, faculty staff, and community members to donate blood. The Blood Drive took place in the Student Center located in the B building between noon and 5 p.m.
Ashley Atherton, Coordinator of the GPC Dunwoody Health and Wellness Program, organized the event.
"College students are regular donors," said Atherton. "Having a Blood Drive in a college campus is a convenience factor for students, and it is easier for them to fit it in their busy schedules."
During the Blood Drive donors received a free Chik-Fil-A sandwich, snacks, and a t-shirt. Other Blood Drives were organized at Clarkson and Decatur Campuses as well.
In order to be a qualified donor, you must be at least 17 years old, weight a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in good health. If you have a tattoo done in Ga., there is a waiting period of one year before you can donate blood.
There are also other factors that may affect your eligibility to donate based on your health history. For additional information, visit the Red Cross at www.redcrossblood.org.
Richard Garcia shares poetry with GPC
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
Award-winning poet Richard Garcia came to three GPC campuses Nov. 14-16 to read selections from three of his four nationally-published collections and work with GPC students in an intimate poetry workshop.
GPC's Humanities Department, Honors Student Association, and the Office of Student Life sponsored the poet's visit, which included readings on the Lawrenceville and Clarkston campuses, and a poetry workshop on Dunwoody campus.
Garcia's Clarkston campus audience on Nov. 15 mostly consisted of Anna Schachner, Dr. Rosemary Cox and Tim Tarkington's classes.
Before the evening reading, Garcia lounged on the plush seats on the second level of the College Center, where the reading took place. While Lawrenceville English professor and Honors Program coordinator Dr. Jeffrey Portnoy set up the massive fruit and cookie trays the 25 or 30 students and faculty took advantage of, Garcia chatted with students about prison-themed TV shows and movies, his wife, and his career.
Garcia was surprised when asked about his poem 'Paper', as he'd forgotten it had been published. Journalism major Vivian Giang told Garcia about analyzing the poem in Anna Schachner's creative writing class.
After an introduction by Portnoy, Garcia opened the reading by discussing the class's interpretation. "It was strange to me that the one thing that confused students was the most literal meaning," said Garcia.
Garcia's visit, his first to the state of Ga., was part of the Georgia Poetry Circuit, where collegiate faculty nominate and select a poet to give readings and workshops on different college campuses in two separate week-long periods, covering, Garcia said, five institutions per trip. Garcia noted that the circuit was "one of those things where you have to ask where you're at." But he was far from unhappy about the situation-"They give you big lunches and then take you out to dinner. Whatever happened to the starving poet?"
The not-so-starving poet read from three of his collections; 'The Flying Garcias', 'Rancho Notorious' and his latest release, 'The Persistence of Objects', discussing each poem before its reading. Garcia spoke of his mother, "the most morbid person I'd ever known," his dog Louie, and the fact that he often writes about chickens. He read the poem 'Chicken Head' from 'Rancho Notorious', about Jesus and a gangster, which one can find on the web-in Dutch. It is particularly popular with magazine editors and 6th graders, Garcia noted.
Garcia's website features the view from the window of his home office, the place he prefers to write when not composing with his students. Garcia was pleased, he said, to hear that attendee Rod Epps, a GPC journalism student, say the reading made writing poetry seem a little more accessible. "It made me like, 'okay, it's not this unachievable goal."
"That's what I want students to believe," said Garcia. "It's not about what you know, it's about what you discover."
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
Award-winning poet Richard Garcia came to three GPC campuses Nov. 14-16 to read selections from three of his four nationally-published collections and work with GPC students in an intimate poetry workshop.
GPC's Humanities Department, Honors Student Association, and the Office of Student Life sponsored the poet's visit, which included readings on the Lawrenceville and Clarkston campuses, and a poetry workshop on Dunwoody campus.
Garcia's Clarkston campus audience on Nov. 15 mostly consisted of Anna Schachner, Dr. Rosemary Cox and Tim Tarkington's classes.
Before the evening reading, Garcia lounged on the plush seats on the second level of the College Center, where the reading took place. While Lawrenceville English professor and Honors Program coordinator Dr. Jeffrey Portnoy set up the massive fruit and cookie trays the 25 or 30 students and faculty took advantage of, Garcia chatted with students about prison-themed TV shows and movies, his wife, and his career.
Garcia was surprised when asked about his poem 'Paper', as he'd forgotten it had been published. Journalism major Vivian Giang told Garcia about analyzing the poem in Anna Schachner's creative writing class.
After an introduction by Portnoy, Garcia opened the reading by discussing the class's interpretation. "It was strange to me that the one thing that confused students was the most literal meaning," said Garcia.
Garcia's visit, his first to the state of Ga., was part of the Georgia Poetry Circuit, where collegiate faculty nominate and select a poet to give readings and workshops on different college campuses in two separate week-long periods, covering, Garcia said, five institutions per trip. Garcia noted that the circuit was "one of those things where you have to ask where you're at." But he was far from unhappy about the situation-"They give you big lunches and then take you out to dinner. Whatever happened to the starving poet?"
The not-so-starving poet read from three of his collections; 'The Flying Garcias', 'Rancho Notorious' and his latest release, 'The Persistence of Objects', discussing each poem before its reading. Garcia spoke of his mother, "the most morbid person I'd ever known," his dog Louie, and the fact that he often writes about chickens. He read the poem 'Chicken Head' from 'Rancho Notorious', about Jesus and a gangster, which one can find on the web-in Dutch. It is particularly popular with magazine editors and 6th graders, Garcia noted.
Garcia's website features the view from the window of his home office, the place he prefers to write when not composing with his students. Garcia was pleased, he said, to hear that attendee Rod Epps, a GPC journalism student, say the reading made writing poetry seem a little more accessible. "It made me like, 'okay, it's not this unachievable goal."
"That's what I want students to believe," said Garcia. "It's not about what you know, it's about what you discover."
The Mikado takes center stage
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
The Theatre Arts Guild at GPC presents Gilbert and Sullivan's Japanese-themed comic operetta, The Mikado, in the Cole Auditorium, Fine Arts Building on the Clarkston campus, Feb. 1- 10.
The play, directed by Sally J. Robertson, with music conducted by Susan J. McEwen, takes place in the town of Titipu, where the local government has fallen into the hands of two dubious characters; Pooh-Bah and Ko-Ko, the executioner. A young man arrives, who-unknown to most-is the son of the Emperor Mikado, and is fleeing an arranged marriage to the elderly Katisha, but falls for the beautiful Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko's fiancée. When the Mikado arrives, thirsty for execution, Ko-Ko thinks he has the perfect plan… until Katisha turns up, bent on revenge.
GPC students, faculty and staff will be on stage, behind the stage, and responsible for the stage; GPC visual arts students hand-painted the kimonos designed by Joanna Schmink, Costume Coordinator at The Atlanta Opera, who also designed the set which GPC Technical Projects Manager, Lizz Dorsey, constructed.
Cole Auditorium Manager Jennifer
Jenkins will be shedding light (as the lighting designer) on student actors Jeffrey David Gibb, Marcus Megahee, Lindsey Martin, Ava Thibodeau, GPC alumnus Matthew Carter and Aaron Gotlieb, and chorus members Ebony Collier, Judit Llorens, Barna Lumpkin Jr., William Houston West and alumnus Jay Aiken. GPC staff members Richard Beaubien and Marsha Powell-Forbragd will also lend their voices to the chorus.
The Collegian
Issue date: 2/1/08
The Theatre Arts Guild at GPC presents Gilbert and Sullivan's Japanese-themed comic operetta, The Mikado, in the Cole Auditorium, Fine Arts Building on the Clarkston campus, Feb. 1- 10.
The play, directed by Sally J. Robertson, with music conducted by Susan J. McEwen, takes place in the town of Titipu, where the local government has fallen into the hands of two dubious characters; Pooh-Bah and Ko-Ko, the executioner. A young man arrives, who-unknown to most-is the son of the Emperor Mikado, and is fleeing an arranged marriage to the elderly Katisha, but falls for the beautiful Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko's fiancée. When the Mikado arrives, thirsty for execution, Ko-Ko thinks he has the perfect plan… until Katisha turns up, bent on revenge.
GPC students, faculty and staff will be on stage, behind the stage, and responsible for the stage; GPC visual arts students hand-painted the kimonos designed by Joanna Schmink, Costume Coordinator at The Atlanta Opera, who also designed the set which GPC Technical Projects Manager, Lizz Dorsey, constructed.
Cole Auditorium Manager Jennifer
Jenkins will be shedding light (as the lighting designer) on student actors Jeffrey David Gibb, Marcus Megahee, Lindsey Martin, Ava Thibodeau, GPC alumnus Matthew Carter and Aaron Gotlieb, and chorus members Ebony Collier, Judit Llorens, Barna Lumpkin Jr., William Houston West and alumnus Jay Aiken. GPC staff members Richard Beaubien and Marsha Powell-Forbragd will also lend their voices to the chorus.
GPC hosts Southeast Model African Union
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 11/1/07
The 11th Annual Southeast Model African Union (SEMAU) conference was held November 1-3 on GPC's Clarkston campus. "For most students," said GPC associate professor of economics James Kahiga, "This was the first time they made a direct connection between the theoretical model and actual African Union." Kahiga directed the 2002 model A.U. for GPC and this year, was once again invited to coordinate the event.
The opening session was attended and addressed by GPC president Dr. Tricoli, Dr. Paul Hudson, Chair of the Clarkston Business and Social Sciences department, Phil Smith,
Dean of the business department?, Ms. Susan Pratt, Assistant director of the Office of International Education for the Board of Regents, and Dr. Eustice Palmer, Chair of the University System Africa Council. Three special guests were also in attendance; Dr. Michael Nwanze, director of the National Model in Washington D.C., keynote speaker
Dr. Sulayman Nyang, Professor of African Studies at Howard University, and on Saturday, Her Excellency Amina Saloum Ali, the Ambassador of African Union to the U.S.
21 African countries comprised the Model Union, six of them represented by GPC delegations, made up of 5 to 8 students and an advisor. GPC had the most delegations and, up until two years ago, was the only two-year college participating in the model. Each delegation was represented in each of 5 committees that dealt with economic, social human rights, peace and security matters. Some of the issues addressed during SEMAU included foreign debt, the status of women, free education, the use of technology and Darfur.
Before the model A.U. took place, each student participant prepared a resolution to be presented to the committee addressing problems facing the continent of Africa. The resolution was first debated within the committee, which eliminated weaker issues and helped to combine proposals for strong resolutions. By the second day of the conference, the remaining resolutions were ready to be presented to the Heads of State assembly which met the next morning to debate them.
Resolutions that emerged from the model union are going to be complied and sent to the African Union at the encouragement of the Ambassador. This is the first year the model A.U. will be sending the thoughts, views and suggestions of the students to the African Union.
GPC student Danny Fraga of the Guinea delegation learned a lot about the country his group chose, both through weekly SEMAU-prep meetings and independent research.
"I thought it was awesome. I think it's a great program... it touches a lot of aspects-economic issues, social issues, problem-solving issues, you have to present vocally, so it helps with public speaking and is good leadership training. It was very well-rounded," said Fraga.
SEMAU also provided students and advisors with a social aspect that, as Fraga said, was an integral part of the experience.
"There is no way of explaining to students the experience they would get until they participate," said Kahiga after the conference. "Attitudes change; they form long-lasting friendships, and a long-lasting interest in Africa. It's the most cost-efficient way of study abroad without necessarily going there."
Students might not have left Georgia, but they did get a taste of Africa during the event-on Thursday night, participants enjoyed dinner with an authentic South African menu, and on the following night, were treated to African music and performances from the GPC International Dance club and the Soweto Street Beat Dance Group, who taught a few dance moves and a little Zulu to their audience.
"SEMAU was wonderful, and we need to have more people there," said Debra Denzer, director of the Center for International Education, who paid the registration fees for each of the GPC SEMAU delegates, and provided staff support.
Students interested in SEMAU need only identify an instructor interested in advising a delegation, Kahiga said, as there are no prerequisites to participate. Instructors interested in supporting the model may include SEMAU as an option for a class project or extra credit.
"But certainly," said Kahiga, "the amount of learning that students get at the model is much more than any course credit they can receive."
The Collegian
Issue date: 11/1/07
The 11th Annual Southeast Model African Union (SEMAU) conference was held November 1-3 on GPC's Clarkston campus. "For most students," said GPC associate professor of economics James Kahiga, "This was the first time they made a direct connection between the theoretical model and actual African Union." Kahiga directed the 2002 model A.U. for GPC and this year, was once again invited to coordinate the event.
The opening session was attended and addressed by GPC president Dr. Tricoli, Dr. Paul Hudson, Chair of the Clarkston Business and Social Sciences department, Phil Smith,
Dean of the business department?, Ms. Susan Pratt, Assistant director of the Office of International Education for the Board of Regents, and Dr. Eustice Palmer, Chair of the University System Africa Council. Three special guests were also in attendance; Dr. Michael Nwanze, director of the National Model in Washington D.C., keynote speaker
Dr. Sulayman Nyang, Professor of African Studies at Howard University, and on Saturday, Her Excellency Amina Saloum Ali, the Ambassador of African Union to the U.S.
21 African countries comprised the Model Union, six of them represented by GPC delegations, made up of 5 to 8 students and an advisor. GPC had the most delegations and, up until two years ago, was the only two-year college participating in the model. Each delegation was represented in each of 5 committees that dealt with economic, social human rights, peace and security matters. Some of the issues addressed during SEMAU included foreign debt, the status of women, free education, the use of technology and Darfur.
Before the model A.U. took place, each student participant prepared a resolution to be presented to the committee addressing problems facing the continent of Africa. The resolution was first debated within the committee, which eliminated weaker issues and helped to combine proposals for strong resolutions. By the second day of the conference, the remaining resolutions were ready to be presented to the Heads of State assembly which met the next morning to debate them.
Resolutions that emerged from the model union are going to be complied and sent to the African Union at the encouragement of the Ambassador. This is the first year the model A.U. will be sending the thoughts, views and suggestions of the students to the African Union.
GPC student Danny Fraga of the Guinea delegation learned a lot about the country his group chose, both through weekly SEMAU-prep meetings and independent research.
"I thought it was awesome. I think it's a great program... it touches a lot of aspects-economic issues, social issues, problem-solving issues, you have to present vocally, so it helps with public speaking and is good leadership training. It was very well-rounded," said Fraga.
SEMAU also provided students and advisors with a social aspect that, as Fraga said, was an integral part of the experience.
"There is no way of explaining to students the experience they would get until they participate," said Kahiga after the conference. "Attitudes change; they form long-lasting friendships, and a long-lasting interest in Africa. It's the most cost-efficient way of study abroad without necessarily going there."
Students might not have left Georgia, but they did get a taste of Africa during the event-on Thursday night, participants enjoyed dinner with an authentic South African menu, and on the following night, were treated to African music and performances from the GPC International Dance club and the Soweto Street Beat Dance Group, who taught a few dance moves and a little Zulu to their audience.
"SEMAU was wonderful, and we need to have more people there," said Debra Denzer, director of the Center for International Education, who paid the registration fees for each of the GPC SEMAU delegates, and provided staff support.
Students interested in SEMAU need only identify an instructor interested in advising a delegation, Kahiga said, as there are no prerequisites to participate. Instructors interested in supporting the model may include SEMAU as an option for a class project or extra credit.
"But certainly," said Kahiga, "the amount of learning that students get at the model is much more than any course credit they can receive."
Gwinnett PD opens its doors to GPC
Criminal Justice students tour Gwinnett Police Department
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 10/1/07
Nearly 30 GPC students learned what it might be like to work in law enforcement when they toured the Gwinnett County Police Department on September 27. Criminal Justice majors in John Siler's courses, as well as Dr. Kim Krinsky's online criminology class and members of her psychology class constituted the group that spent several hours being lead through GCPD facilities by Major Bart Hulsey, a veteran of the force who spent 17 years in SWAT-and is also a GPC student.
Students walked by pieces of the police department's history displayed in frames and shadow-boxes along many of its grey walls. Quick inspections of different uniforms, badges, weapons, pictures of past police chiefs, once-occupied buildings and vehicles peppered the tour that took students past the evidence room, the detective's offices, the uniform division, and to the crime labs and impound lot.
In the hallway, the group met the Commander of Professional Standards Lt. P. T. Cronin, who urged students to fill out an online application early and go through the process that takes three to four months. The GCPD will hire before the academy begins and help with physical training to prepare future officers for time at the academy and the $25 million new training center that Hulsey called "second to none in the southeast." Cronin urged students to apply soon, noting that because the county provided tuition reimbursement, students could begin while still perusing their degrees (Cronin, like Hulsey, is back in school at Troy University).
An early stop in the tour was to the Communications center, where all the 911 calls in the county are received. In shifts, the group was lead in by Communications manager Angie Connelly. Students observed operators sitting before two computer screens, one which receives the call, the other which routes the information to appropriate departments-law enforcement, fire department and EMS-based on the type of call and its originating address.
While students waited in the hall, Hulsey took questions and shared his insight as a SWAT officer with Krinsky and her psychology students about the necessity of having a psychologist assigned to the team because of the high number of people SWAT encounters 'who have mental problems.'
Once regrouped, students were escorted to the Crime Scene Unit where they were again divided to be walked through the department. CSU officer Cendi Nicholson took one group through the offices and into the color lab, where all the film from crime scenes is processed in-house by CSU techs to ensure confidentiality and security. Nicholson pointed out that everyone in her department is cross-trained in equipment, processing and documenting evidence, going to court and testifying.
After a quick walk-through of the interior of the department-which included an introduction to a Crime scene technician busy fingerprinting a tire-iron, Nicholson took the group outside to the crime scene mobile unit and vehicle bays. Later students were escorted through detectives' offices and the electronic crime unit, complete with their own computer crime lab. Even though the labs are expensive to maintain and keep up to date,
"Everybody keeps their records on computers now," said Hulsey.
Rashied Hooker, double major in Criminal Justice and Business Management, is taking several of Siler's courses this semester and thought that the tour of the GCPD was "very informative and gave me a lot to think about... and cleaned up some stereotypes brought up by TV."
After the tour of the department, students got in their vehicles and traveled across Highway 316 to the air field where, in a massive aviation hanger owned by the police department, they saw firsthand state of the art equipment such as a full-body bomb suit, an electronic robot for bomb disarmament, two helicopters, an RV converted into a backup 911 center with funds from a Homeland Security grant and a DUI task force vehicle which is used for road checks and sobriety tests.
SWAT and EOD Commander Lt. Kevin Moran spoke with students about the roles that his team assumes in conflict situations. Before students investigated the hanger, Corporal Willie Bailey spoke briefly about the recruitment efforts at Gwinnett County and suggested anyone interested in a career in law enforcement go to www.gwinnettpolicejobs.com for information on applying for a position.
"I thought it was amazing," said Vincent Bullock, 21, a Criminal Justice major with his eye on the law program at GSU. "Any question I asked was answered directly."
Students were encouraged to ask questions throughout the tour, whether equipment-specific queries or questions about an officer's experience on the force.
To wrap up the tour of the GCPD facilities, the students were taken to the police academy where recruits are, according to Hulsey, issued the finest fire-arms training in the state of Georgia. Special attention was paid to the two indoor ranges and a computerized driving simulation that uses a full dashboard set up of a squad car, with three monitors serving as a windshield, Bullock recalled. Recruits learn to safely negotiate their vehicles at all hours and in different weather conditions with the vehicle responding in kind; if it was raining in the simulation, the vehicle would hydroplane, and if it was icy, it would slide.
By the tour's end at about 2:30 p.m., students interested in the field of criminal justice had spoken to veterans of several departments, had seen the latest equipment, vehicles and facilities, and created images that they will carry with them into their careers.
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 10/1/07
Nearly 30 GPC students learned what it might be like to work in law enforcement when they toured the Gwinnett County Police Department on September 27. Criminal Justice majors in John Siler's courses, as well as Dr. Kim Krinsky's online criminology class and members of her psychology class constituted the group that spent several hours being lead through GCPD facilities by Major Bart Hulsey, a veteran of the force who spent 17 years in SWAT-and is also a GPC student.
Students walked by pieces of the police department's history displayed in frames and shadow-boxes along many of its grey walls. Quick inspections of different uniforms, badges, weapons, pictures of past police chiefs, once-occupied buildings and vehicles peppered the tour that took students past the evidence room, the detective's offices, the uniform division, and to the crime labs and impound lot.
In the hallway, the group met the Commander of Professional Standards Lt. P. T. Cronin, who urged students to fill out an online application early and go through the process that takes three to four months. The GCPD will hire before the academy begins and help with physical training to prepare future officers for time at the academy and the $25 million new training center that Hulsey called "second to none in the southeast." Cronin urged students to apply soon, noting that because the county provided tuition reimbursement, students could begin while still perusing their degrees (Cronin, like Hulsey, is back in school at Troy University).
An early stop in the tour was to the Communications center, where all the 911 calls in the county are received. In shifts, the group was lead in by Communications manager Angie Connelly. Students observed operators sitting before two computer screens, one which receives the call, the other which routes the information to appropriate departments-law enforcement, fire department and EMS-based on the type of call and its originating address.
While students waited in the hall, Hulsey took questions and shared his insight as a SWAT officer with Krinsky and her psychology students about the necessity of having a psychologist assigned to the team because of the high number of people SWAT encounters 'who have mental problems.'
Once regrouped, students were escorted to the Crime Scene Unit where they were again divided to be walked through the department. CSU officer Cendi Nicholson took one group through the offices and into the color lab, where all the film from crime scenes is processed in-house by CSU techs to ensure confidentiality and security. Nicholson pointed out that everyone in her department is cross-trained in equipment, processing and documenting evidence, going to court and testifying.
After a quick walk-through of the interior of the department-which included an introduction to a Crime scene technician busy fingerprinting a tire-iron, Nicholson took the group outside to the crime scene mobile unit and vehicle bays. Later students were escorted through detectives' offices and the electronic crime unit, complete with their own computer crime lab. Even though the labs are expensive to maintain and keep up to date,
"Everybody keeps their records on computers now," said Hulsey.
Rashied Hooker, double major in Criminal Justice and Business Management, is taking several of Siler's courses this semester and thought that the tour of the GCPD was "very informative and gave me a lot to think about... and cleaned up some stereotypes brought up by TV."
After the tour of the department, students got in their vehicles and traveled across Highway 316 to the air field where, in a massive aviation hanger owned by the police department, they saw firsthand state of the art equipment such as a full-body bomb suit, an electronic robot for bomb disarmament, two helicopters, an RV converted into a backup 911 center with funds from a Homeland Security grant and a DUI task force vehicle which is used for road checks and sobriety tests.
SWAT and EOD Commander Lt. Kevin Moran spoke with students about the roles that his team assumes in conflict situations. Before students investigated the hanger, Corporal Willie Bailey spoke briefly about the recruitment efforts at Gwinnett County and suggested anyone interested in a career in law enforcement go to www.gwinnettpolicejobs.com for information on applying for a position.
"I thought it was amazing," said Vincent Bullock, 21, a Criminal Justice major with his eye on the law program at GSU. "Any question I asked was answered directly."
Students were encouraged to ask questions throughout the tour, whether equipment-specific queries or questions about an officer's experience on the force.
To wrap up the tour of the GCPD facilities, the students were taken to the police academy where recruits are, according to Hulsey, issued the finest fire-arms training in the state of Georgia. Special attention was paid to the two indoor ranges and a computerized driving simulation that uses a full dashboard set up of a squad car, with three monitors serving as a windshield, Bullock recalled. Recruits learn to safely negotiate their vehicles at all hours and in different weather conditions with the vehicle responding in kind; if it was raining in the simulation, the vehicle would hydroplane, and if it was icy, it would slide.
By the tour's end at about 2:30 p.m., students interested in the field of criminal justice had spoken to veterans of several departments, had seen the latest equipment, vehicles and facilities, and created images that they will carry with them into their careers.
'American Apartheid' performed at MLK's spiritual home
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 9/1/07
In the same room in which Martin Luther King, Jr. was baptized at the age of 5, a collection of community leaders, local actors and GPC faculty and staff presented a thought-provoking play about race-relations set against the backdrop of a violent four-day Atlanta race riot to close out one the of most significant exhibits the National Parks Service has ever displayed.
On Saturday, August 25, in the Fellowship Hall of Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the play American Apartheid, written by Wade Marbaugh and Dr. Paul Hudson and adapted from the 1908 novel The Law of the White Circle by Thornwell Jacobs, was presented in honor of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot Exhibit that was on display at the National Parks Service's MLK Historical Site from September 15, 2006 through August 31, 2007.
The exhibit 'Red Was the Midnight' shed light on a "significant, major event in Atlanta History… which has largely been erased from public memory," said Dr. Clifford Kuhn of Georgia State University, who spoke on behalf of Atlanta's Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot.
"I'm not sure that Thornwell Jacobs had an audience like this in mind when he wrote The Law of the White Circle," said 'Red Was the Midnight' co-curator Dr. Clarissa Myrick-Harris of the hundred or so men and women of various ages and races.
She discussed the ending exhibit and its artifacts, which included a copy of The Law of the White Circle that was borrowed from Carrie Jacobs Henderson, Thornwell Jacobs's granddaughter. The biography of Walter White (a 13 year old boy during the riot), as well as a Sterling Brown poem called "An Old Woman Remembers" were also part of the exhibit showcasing historical documents from the African American community during that period.
Myrick-Harris, whose daughter Amina is a psychology major at GPC, had not seen any of the play's five previous readings, but had read the book on which it was based. She believed the staged reading was very entertaining. "I would have liked more direct addressing of the issues of 1906 that deal directly with 2006. The references at the end dealt in passing, but attempted to make a connection... It was an honest attempt to bring Thornwell Jacobs and his view of the world of segregation through the eyes of 21st century white liberals."
Hudson, the Business and Social Science department chair of Clarkston campus, conceived of the play after writing the article "Immovable Folkways" about Jacobs and his book in The Georgia Historical Quarterly in 1999. (The Law of the White Circle was reprinted in September 2006-with Hudson's article-for the hundred-year anniversary of the riot.)
In September of 2005, Hudson enlisted friend and playwright Marbaugh to develop the story after outlining Jacobs' plot over the phone. Hudson provided "awesome historical research on W.E.B. Du Bois [a character in the play], the Flatiron Building… he added a layer of richness to the story. My primary contribution was to modernize the story, develop the characters and themes that Jacobs couldn't with the limited viewpoint of his times," said Marbaugh, who Hudson maintains wrote more than 80% of the play. The two collaborated on several aspects of the production that tells the story of Lola, the daughter of an octoroon (a person who is one eighth black), attempting to pass for her white half-sister during a time when a class of educated and enterprising blacks began to threaten the long-standing social order of the South. Just over 100 years ago in Atlanta, a mob of white men beat and killed African Americans and extensively damaged black-owned businesses in a the blood four-day period known as the Atlanta Race Riot.
After the last staged reading at Clarkston campus in April, said Marbaugh, he and director Michael Chechopoulos discussed another performance. Chechopoulos unilaterally approached the National Parks Service after viewing the Race Riot exhibit.
During a family vacation, Marbaugh received a call from Chechopoulos (in the NPS's publicity office) telling him the organization wanted to partner with them in the production. Marbaugh expressed his excitement with whoops and hollers from the backseat of his car to the surprise of his wife and daughters.
The actors, dubbed the Being Human Players and assembled for this specific event, were both local actors and GPC faculty and staff. Marbaugh works for the Human Resources department, director Michael Chechopoulos works at the Clarkston campus, and Athena Jones, an Los Angeles native with a few community productions under her belt, also works in Human Resources. Music and vocals for American Apartheid were provided by Fire Management program coordinator Derwin Daniels as well as Daniel Moore Jr. and ensemble. The staged reading included props and scripts and multiple roles for the actors. For this special performance, noted actor Elisabeth Omilami (daughter of the late Hosea L. Williams) portrayed Lola's mother. In an email to Marbaugh, Omilami said that participating in American Apartheid in this historic setting was "was an inspiring moment."
Among the audience that Saturday afternoon was GPC Dean Lisa Fowler and professor Debra Constable, who seemed to agree with Omilami. "It was awakening, enlightening and it helps to understand the history of Atlanta," said Constable.
Ty Stone, a social work major who took Hudson's United States History course, had seen the staged reading at the Clarkston campus in the spring. "I was still as sucked into it as I was before," she said.
Dwayne Carl, who Marbaugh tapped after seeing the actor/singer in last year's GPC production of Big River, commented about the audience's reactions each time they've had a reading. "Different audiences laugh at different things. Older audiences, younger audiences, black, white-they all got it. The underlying message is the same… and being here right now, the significance of having it here-its truly amazing."
"That performance and the audience reaction was a great moment in the history of my theater experience," Marbaugh said of the Ebenezer reading. Both writers were pleased with the reception American Apartheid received. A smiling Dr. Hudson quoted his hero, Thornwell Jacobs, on how delighted they are at the success of the play: "Nothing is too beautiful to happen."
The Collegian
Issue date: 9/1/07
In the same room in which Martin Luther King, Jr. was baptized at the age of 5, a collection of community leaders, local actors and GPC faculty and staff presented a thought-provoking play about race-relations set against the backdrop of a violent four-day Atlanta race riot to close out one the of most significant exhibits the National Parks Service has ever displayed.
On Saturday, August 25, in the Fellowship Hall of Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the play American Apartheid, written by Wade Marbaugh and Dr. Paul Hudson and adapted from the 1908 novel The Law of the White Circle by Thornwell Jacobs, was presented in honor of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot Exhibit that was on display at the National Parks Service's MLK Historical Site from September 15, 2006 through August 31, 2007.
The exhibit 'Red Was the Midnight' shed light on a "significant, major event in Atlanta History… which has largely been erased from public memory," said Dr. Clifford Kuhn of Georgia State University, who spoke on behalf of Atlanta's Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot.
"I'm not sure that Thornwell Jacobs had an audience like this in mind when he wrote The Law of the White Circle," said 'Red Was the Midnight' co-curator Dr. Clarissa Myrick-Harris of the hundred or so men and women of various ages and races.
She discussed the ending exhibit and its artifacts, which included a copy of The Law of the White Circle that was borrowed from Carrie Jacobs Henderson, Thornwell Jacobs's granddaughter. The biography of Walter White (a 13 year old boy during the riot), as well as a Sterling Brown poem called "An Old Woman Remembers" were also part of the exhibit showcasing historical documents from the African American community during that period.
Myrick-Harris, whose daughter Amina is a psychology major at GPC, had not seen any of the play's five previous readings, but had read the book on which it was based. She believed the staged reading was very entertaining. "I would have liked more direct addressing of the issues of 1906 that deal directly with 2006. The references at the end dealt in passing, but attempted to make a connection... It was an honest attempt to bring Thornwell Jacobs and his view of the world of segregation through the eyes of 21st century white liberals."
Hudson, the Business and Social Science department chair of Clarkston campus, conceived of the play after writing the article "Immovable Folkways" about Jacobs and his book in The Georgia Historical Quarterly in 1999. (The Law of the White Circle was reprinted in September 2006-with Hudson's article-for the hundred-year anniversary of the riot.)
In September of 2005, Hudson enlisted friend and playwright Marbaugh to develop the story after outlining Jacobs' plot over the phone. Hudson provided "awesome historical research on W.E.B. Du Bois [a character in the play], the Flatiron Building… he added a layer of richness to the story. My primary contribution was to modernize the story, develop the characters and themes that Jacobs couldn't with the limited viewpoint of his times," said Marbaugh, who Hudson maintains wrote more than 80% of the play. The two collaborated on several aspects of the production that tells the story of Lola, the daughter of an octoroon (a person who is one eighth black), attempting to pass for her white half-sister during a time when a class of educated and enterprising blacks began to threaten the long-standing social order of the South. Just over 100 years ago in Atlanta, a mob of white men beat and killed African Americans and extensively damaged black-owned businesses in a the blood four-day period known as the Atlanta Race Riot.
After the last staged reading at Clarkston campus in April, said Marbaugh, he and director Michael Chechopoulos discussed another performance. Chechopoulos unilaterally approached the National Parks Service after viewing the Race Riot exhibit.
During a family vacation, Marbaugh received a call from Chechopoulos (in the NPS's publicity office) telling him the organization wanted to partner with them in the production. Marbaugh expressed his excitement with whoops and hollers from the backseat of his car to the surprise of his wife and daughters.
The actors, dubbed the Being Human Players and assembled for this specific event, were both local actors and GPC faculty and staff. Marbaugh works for the Human Resources department, director Michael Chechopoulos works at the Clarkston campus, and Athena Jones, an Los Angeles native with a few community productions under her belt, also works in Human Resources. Music and vocals for American Apartheid were provided by Fire Management program coordinator Derwin Daniels as well as Daniel Moore Jr. and ensemble. The staged reading included props and scripts and multiple roles for the actors. For this special performance, noted actor Elisabeth Omilami (daughter of the late Hosea L. Williams) portrayed Lola's mother. In an email to Marbaugh, Omilami said that participating in American Apartheid in this historic setting was "was an inspiring moment."
Among the audience that Saturday afternoon was GPC Dean Lisa Fowler and professor Debra Constable, who seemed to agree with Omilami. "It was awakening, enlightening and it helps to understand the history of Atlanta," said Constable.
Ty Stone, a social work major who took Hudson's United States History course, had seen the staged reading at the Clarkston campus in the spring. "I was still as sucked into it as I was before," she said.
Dwayne Carl, who Marbaugh tapped after seeing the actor/singer in last year's GPC production of Big River, commented about the audience's reactions each time they've had a reading. "Different audiences laugh at different things. Older audiences, younger audiences, black, white-they all got it. The underlying message is the same… and being here right now, the significance of having it here-its truly amazing."
"That performance and the audience reaction was a great moment in the history of my theater experience," Marbaugh said of the Ebenezer reading. Both writers were pleased with the reception American Apartheid received. A smiling Dr. Hudson quoted his hero, Thornwell Jacobs, on how delighted they are at the success of the play: "Nothing is too beautiful to happen."
GPC stretches to accommodate highest ever enrollment
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
There's a reason that GPC is experiencing such growing pains-this fall semester, the institution has enrolled the highest number of students in its 43 year history. 21,562 students now attend our campuses or log in to our online courses.
Enrollment is 7.2% higher than it was last fall, according to the director of the office of institutional and research planning, Dr. Godfrey Fuji Noe. This is in spite of the slow abandonment of the Lawrenceville campus off of Collins Hill Road and Highway 316.
Currently, only returning GPC students, transfers and transient students are able to take classes on Lawrenceville campus. New college students who began this semester (with the exception of Nursing and Joint Enrollment students) have been required to take their courses at one of the other GPC campuses or online as the college wean their students from the site of the new Georgia Gwinnett College.
As directed, students from Lawrenceville are finding their way to other GPC campuses, which may account for the noticeable increase at the Dunwoody location. The campus that has parking spaces for approximately 7,000 students now accommodates more than 9,000. A new parking deck is currently under construction.
Several new projects that will ease the student squeeze are in various stages of planning and implementation around the perimeter. (See list below for details.)
Furthermore, GPC and Georgia State University recently collaborated in a request for funds for new construction in Fulton County and have received upwards of 12 million for the construction of a new classroom building in Alpharetta.
But for the time being, and for many students this semester, class sizes have increased and parking spots may be a little harder to find.
New projects at GPC:
• New parking deck on Dunwoody
• New Student Center on Decatur
• New parking structure and entrance for Clarkston
• New Student Center and Library building for Newton
• New academic building on Dunwoody
• Major renovation of a Dunwoody building
• Major renovations of two buildings on Clarkston
The Collegian
There's a reason that GPC is experiencing such growing pains-this fall semester, the institution has enrolled the highest number of students in its 43 year history. 21,562 students now attend our campuses or log in to our online courses.
Enrollment is 7.2% higher than it was last fall, according to the director of the office of institutional and research planning, Dr. Godfrey Fuji Noe. This is in spite of the slow abandonment of the Lawrenceville campus off of Collins Hill Road and Highway 316.
Currently, only returning GPC students, transfers and transient students are able to take classes on Lawrenceville campus. New college students who began this semester (with the exception of Nursing and Joint Enrollment students) have been required to take their courses at one of the other GPC campuses or online as the college wean their students from the site of the new Georgia Gwinnett College.
As directed, students from Lawrenceville are finding their way to other GPC campuses, which may account for the noticeable increase at the Dunwoody location. The campus that has parking spaces for approximately 7,000 students now accommodates more than 9,000. A new parking deck is currently under construction.
Several new projects that will ease the student squeeze are in various stages of planning and implementation around the perimeter. (See list below for details.)
Furthermore, GPC and Georgia State University recently collaborated in a request for funds for new construction in Fulton County and have received upwards of 12 million for the construction of a new classroom building in Alpharetta.
But for the time being, and for many students this semester, class sizes have increased and parking spots may be a little harder to find.
New projects at GPC:
• New parking deck on Dunwoody
• New Student Center on Decatur
• New parking structure and entrance for Clarkston
• New Student Center and Library building for Newton
• New academic building on Dunwoody
• Major renovation of a Dunwoody building
• Major renovations of two buildings on Clarkston
Political science professor, student impress movers and shakers
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 9/1/07
Political Science professor Robert King and a former student attended the 103 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the American Political Science Association at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago over Labor Day weekend and presented a proposal to the movers and shakers of the discipline.
King and Carlos Tejeda Gonzalez, a former GPC student, were given fifteen to twenty minuets on Saturday afternoon to present "Losing Public Space, 'Practicing' Political Literacy" to an audience King said "were fascinated by it… it was great to be there and show them what we're doing."
What King is doing is trying to get his students to develop their political voices starting with 'thought pieces'. Enter former students like Gonzalez; in King's online and hybrid political science courses on WebCT, students post on message boards and discuss issues with former students who act as "instigators and mentors" and, according to King, spur his students into thinking about a topic or position and responding.
The purpose of the exercise is to test the ideas students have against other ideas. The blog or message boards offer students an opportunity to practice their opinions as well as discuss issues and weigh arguments and facts against these ideas.
Encouraging this open dialog is important for the formation of a strong political voice. Too often, King said, he has seen his students on the outside of this forum that, in the absence of citizen's political voices, has been dominated by 'government and big media'. "So all my students, outside looking in, say, 'Oh, this is what I'm supposed to think.'" Class by class, King is beginning to change students' minds about their roles in the political arena, and this online exercise is another way to further this goal.
King and Gonzalez hope to eventually publish the presentation that they gave at the APSA meeting, but there is more work needed on the paper, and both will be busy this term; King is teaching 5 classes this semester, and Gonzalez both became a father and began Law School at Georgia State University this semester.
Gonzalez came illegally to the U.S. in his late teens and, at 32, began taking courses at GPC. He had "an insatiable curiosity and a really quick mind," King said of the student who was named Political Science Outstanding Student of the Year at Clarkston before continuing to GSU for his bachelors. Gonzalez, who was working on a brief in his spare time during the meeting, was able to attend thanks to a small grant from Scientific Atlanta that covered his expenses.
King hopes to begin this exercise for his three current online classes in an effort to engage them with the help of former students like Gonzalez.
"The classroom," King said, "Just isn't enough."
The Collegian
Issue date: 9/1/07
Political Science professor Robert King and a former student attended the 103 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the American Political Science Association at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago over Labor Day weekend and presented a proposal to the movers and shakers of the discipline.
King and Carlos Tejeda Gonzalez, a former GPC student, were given fifteen to twenty minuets on Saturday afternoon to present "Losing Public Space, 'Practicing' Political Literacy" to an audience King said "were fascinated by it… it was great to be there and show them what we're doing."
What King is doing is trying to get his students to develop their political voices starting with 'thought pieces'. Enter former students like Gonzalez; in King's online and hybrid political science courses on WebCT, students post on message boards and discuss issues with former students who act as "instigators and mentors" and, according to King, spur his students into thinking about a topic or position and responding.
The purpose of the exercise is to test the ideas students have against other ideas. The blog or message boards offer students an opportunity to practice their opinions as well as discuss issues and weigh arguments and facts against these ideas.
Encouraging this open dialog is important for the formation of a strong political voice. Too often, King said, he has seen his students on the outside of this forum that, in the absence of citizen's political voices, has been dominated by 'government and big media'. "So all my students, outside looking in, say, 'Oh, this is what I'm supposed to think.'" Class by class, King is beginning to change students' minds about their roles in the political arena, and this online exercise is another way to further this goal.
King and Gonzalez hope to eventually publish the presentation that they gave at the APSA meeting, but there is more work needed on the paper, and both will be busy this term; King is teaching 5 classes this semester, and Gonzalez both became a father and began Law School at Georgia State University this semester.
Gonzalez came illegally to the U.S. in his late teens and, at 32, began taking courses at GPC. He had "an insatiable curiosity and a really quick mind," King said of the student who was named Political Science Outstanding Student of the Year at Clarkston before continuing to GSU for his bachelors. Gonzalez, who was working on a brief in his spare time during the meeting, was able to attend thanks to a small grant from Scientific Atlanta that covered his expenses.
King hopes to begin this exercise for his three current online classes in an effort to engage them with the help of former students like Gonzalez.
"The classroom," King said, "Just isn't enough."
GPC hosted Best-selling author on Memorial Day
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 6/1/07
On May 28, Georgia Perimeter College's The Writer's Institute, in conjunction with The Georgia Center for the Book, independent bookseller A Cappella Books, the International Center and The Chattahoochee Review welcomed best-selling author Khaled Hosseini to the packed Cole Auditorium on Clarkston campus.
The free event, which began at 7 p.m. with an introduction by President Tricoli, was opened to the community and allowed Hosseini to speak to the audience and answer questions about his new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
The Kite Runner author signed books purchased at the event and those bought from A Cappella Books. The pre-orders gave excited event-goers a reserved seat.
A Cappella, a valued corporate partner, says The Writer's Institute director Rob Jenkins, will donate a portion of the proceeds to the GPC Alumni Association.
"Every bookstore in America tried to get him on this tour," said Frank Reiss, owner of A Cappella Books. "We were very fortunate to get him."
That is, in part, because of the involvement of The Georgia Center for the Book and its director Bill Starr, who had the connections to reach a lot of people about the event, Starr said. Reiss added that Marc Fitten, editor of The Chattahoochee Review, secured GPC as a venue for the event, and that the involvement of the Georgia Center for the Book was "the crowning piece that encouraged the publisher" to bring Hosseini to the Cole Auditorium, even if it was on Memorial Day, the only day Hosseini was available. Hosseini thanked the audience for choosing to spend their holiday with him.
"The Writer's Institute is very pleased to be hosting the event," said Jenkins, who was on hand for the event, as well as writer-in-residence Jack Riggs, who introduced Hosseini to the crowd.
The event and its signing turned out to be quite a success. For DeKalb county residents who missed the reading, it will be broadcast on GPC's Educational Access Channel (22 on Comcast cable) later this summer.
The Collegian
Issue date: 6/1/07
On May 28, Georgia Perimeter College's The Writer's Institute, in conjunction with The Georgia Center for the Book, independent bookseller A Cappella Books, the International Center and The Chattahoochee Review welcomed best-selling author Khaled Hosseini to the packed Cole Auditorium on Clarkston campus.
The free event, which began at 7 p.m. with an introduction by President Tricoli, was opened to the community and allowed Hosseini to speak to the audience and answer questions about his new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
The Kite Runner author signed books purchased at the event and those bought from A Cappella Books. The pre-orders gave excited event-goers a reserved seat.
A Cappella, a valued corporate partner, says The Writer's Institute director Rob Jenkins, will donate a portion of the proceeds to the GPC Alumni Association.
"Every bookstore in America tried to get him on this tour," said Frank Reiss, owner of A Cappella Books. "We were very fortunate to get him."
That is, in part, because of the involvement of The Georgia Center for the Book and its director Bill Starr, who had the connections to reach a lot of people about the event, Starr said. Reiss added that Marc Fitten, editor of The Chattahoochee Review, secured GPC as a venue for the event, and that the involvement of the Georgia Center for the Book was "the crowning piece that encouraged the publisher" to bring Hosseini to the Cole Auditorium, even if it was on Memorial Day, the only day Hosseini was available. Hosseini thanked the audience for choosing to spend their holiday with him.
"The Writer's Institute is very pleased to be hosting the event," said Jenkins, who was on hand for the event, as well as writer-in-residence Jack Riggs, who introduced Hosseini to the crowd.
The event and its signing turned out to be quite a success. For DeKalb county residents who missed the reading, it will be broadcast on GPC's Educational Access Channel (22 on Comcast cable) later this summer.
How GPC is working to prevent violence:
GPC prepares students for law enforcement
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 6/1/07
A growing number of our men and women in uniform are beginning their careers in law enforcement at GPC. The criminal justice program, and its five major-specific classes, are helping to prepare students for the next level in their training. The number of graduating criminal justice majors doubled since 2006. Currently, ten to twelve students of this program are in various stages of applying for law enforcement positions in the Greater Atlanta area.
"It puts us at quite a big advantage if someone comes to us with a general basic knowledge of the system because they had been exposed to it… [the major] makes them a better recruit in the police academy," said Major Jim Helms, an adjunct professor at GPC and the Director of the DeKalb Police Academy.
The program, which is also touted as an excellent jump-start for those interested in continuing on to law school, centers on base knowledge of law enforcement, court administration and corrections. These classes, which will be online in the Fall, include Introduction to Criminal Justice, American Police Systems, Corrections, Criminology, and the Judicial system.
"Introduction to Criminal Justice should be taken by every GPC student," says instructor John Siler, a former police department intelligence analyst for over 30 years. It is Siler's hope that the course will soon be an elective and not restricted to the criminal justice major.
"Young people don't realize that in their life, they will be exposed to the criminal justice system," said Helms. Both men described the situations students will undoubtedly find themselves in-involved in a traffic accident, subpoenaed, experience a theft, called to be a witness, a juror, or be a victim of a crime. "This is important information," Siler stressed. "Real-life stuff you're going to use."
Richard James uses this information every day. James, 27, works full-time as a corrections officer at Clayton County prison, and is in the process of interviewing with the DeKalb police department. James, who recently bought a home in Lithonia, said, "What better way to help out your neighborhood than to work in the place you live?... Being a police officer, you can actually make a difference in the community," he said. Because of his classes, which he began this time last year, James knows that corrections have come along way. "You learn stuff at training, but the college is giving you background... I'm understanding it better because of college. I like Georgia Perimeter. I will graduate from here-it's a great school."
Chris Green, 21, recently graduated from GPC, and is transferring to a four year institution. "It has been something I have always wanted to do, just as the military," he says of his future plans. "Protecting others and paying back my country and community for the freedoms that I, and others, take for granted."
Green will enlist after completing his education, and have a career in law enforcement following his service. "[The curriculum] has helped me understand the laws and regulations that govern our society as well as how to use them, and what effect they have on the members of society."
John Bender, 21, who will graduate from GPC in the Fall and has completed all his CJ coursework, was recently accepted by the Gwinnett County police academy. When we spoke with Bender, he was awaiting word and finished with the preliminary screening in the application process. It is a process which includes an interview, physical exam, completion of an online application, a thorough background check and both a polygraph test and psychological evaluation.
Bender feels that the criminology class in particular helped him learn a lot about criminal behavior and the criminal mind. The curriculum, he believes, "helped me with the interview-just knowing a little bit about what you're getting into."
Chris Delon is into it right now. Delon, 25, was a Criminal Justice major and took courses with Helms when he was at GPC. Delon is now in the DeKalb police academy and will graduate August 17.
"Everything that I learned at the classes at GPC gave me a better knowledge of what I'd be doing…. The classes I took-whether it was American Police systems or the intro to criminal justice-it all helps. It all ties in to help figure out what I was in for."
In addition to the information offered, students indicated that their instructors played a major role in their preparation for the future.
"Major Helms has about 32 years with DeKalb Police," Delon says. "He's a wealth of information and experience on everything from the citizen's aspect of the justice system, how citizens perceive law enforcement... to what the recruits can expect when they come into the academy and how the classes are arranged." Taking classes with Siler, with his background in law enforcement, Bender said, were also an asset to his education.
by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 6/1/07
A growing number of our men and women in uniform are beginning their careers in law enforcement at GPC. The criminal justice program, and its five major-specific classes, are helping to prepare students for the next level in their training. The number of graduating criminal justice majors doubled since 2006. Currently, ten to twelve students of this program are in various stages of applying for law enforcement positions in the Greater Atlanta area.
"It puts us at quite a big advantage if someone comes to us with a general basic knowledge of the system because they had been exposed to it… [the major] makes them a better recruit in the police academy," said Major Jim Helms, an adjunct professor at GPC and the Director of the DeKalb Police Academy.
The program, which is also touted as an excellent jump-start for those interested in continuing on to law school, centers on base knowledge of law enforcement, court administration and corrections. These classes, which will be online in the Fall, include Introduction to Criminal Justice, American Police Systems, Corrections, Criminology, and the Judicial system.
"Introduction to Criminal Justice should be taken by every GPC student," says instructor John Siler, a former police department intelligence analyst for over 30 years. It is Siler's hope that the course will soon be an elective and not restricted to the criminal justice major.
"Young people don't realize that in their life, they will be exposed to the criminal justice system," said Helms. Both men described the situations students will undoubtedly find themselves in-involved in a traffic accident, subpoenaed, experience a theft, called to be a witness, a juror, or be a victim of a crime. "This is important information," Siler stressed. "Real-life stuff you're going to use."
Richard James uses this information every day. James, 27, works full-time as a corrections officer at Clayton County prison, and is in the process of interviewing with the DeKalb police department. James, who recently bought a home in Lithonia, said, "What better way to help out your neighborhood than to work in the place you live?... Being a police officer, you can actually make a difference in the community," he said. Because of his classes, which he began this time last year, James knows that corrections have come along way. "You learn stuff at training, but the college is giving you background... I'm understanding it better because of college. I like Georgia Perimeter. I will graduate from here-it's a great school."
Chris Green, 21, recently graduated from GPC, and is transferring to a four year institution. "It has been something I have always wanted to do, just as the military," he says of his future plans. "Protecting others and paying back my country and community for the freedoms that I, and others, take for granted."
Green will enlist after completing his education, and have a career in law enforcement following his service. "[The curriculum] has helped me understand the laws and regulations that govern our society as well as how to use them, and what effect they have on the members of society."
John Bender, 21, who will graduate from GPC in the Fall and has completed all his CJ coursework, was recently accepted by the Gwinnett County police academy. When we spoke with Bender, he was awaiting word and finished with the preliminary screening in the application process. It is a process which includes an interview, physical exam, completion of an online application, a thorough background check and both a polygraph test and psychological evaluation.
Bender feels that the criminology class in particular helped him learn a lot about criminal behavior and the criminal mind. The curriculum, he believes, "helped me with the interview-just knowing a little bit about what you're getting into."
Chris Delon is into it right now. Delon, 25, was a Criminal Justice major and took courses with Helms when he was at GPC. Delon is now in the DeKalb police academy and will graduate August 17.
"Everything that I learned at the classes at GPC gave me a better knowledge of what I'd be doing…. The classes I took-whether it was American Police systems or the intro to criminal justice-it all helps. It all ties in to help figure out what I was in for."
In addition to the information offered, students indicated that their instructors played a major role in their preparation for the future.
"Major Helms has about 32 years with DeKalb Police," Delon says. "He's a wealth of information and experience on everything from the citizen's aspect of the justice system, how citizens perceive law enforcement... to what the recruits can expect when they come into the academy and how the classes are arranged." Taking classes with Siler, with his background in law enforcement, Bender said, were also an asset to his education.
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