The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 182, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 12, 2009 Page: 2 of 8
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Page 2
The J-TAC
November 12, 2009
Annual Star arty a giant ball of) gas
Bobbi Haire/The J-TAC
Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Tarrant
County College, Raymond D. Benge Jr., looks through a
portable telescope at last Friday's Star Party.
By KENNETH
BRISENDINE
The J-TAC
Tarleton State Universi-
ty hosted the second annual
Star Party on Friday, Nov. 6
that featured Guest of Hon-
or, Dr. Harold D. Abies, for-
mer director of the U.S. Na-
val Observatory in Flagstaff,
Ariz., at the Tarleton Obser-
vatory at Hunewell Ranch.
The Observatory, a
$150,000 building was com-
pleted in Feb. 2006 and has
a $250,000 telescope which
was fully operational in
April after being manufac-
tured and installed by As-
tronomical Consultants and
Equipment, Inc. The Star
Party allowed students and
guests to view the night sky
clearly and tour the facili-
ties.
Outside a display
showed the latest image
captured by the fully robotic
Research-Grade Ritchey-
Chretien 32-inch telescope.
"You're seeing photons
that left a long, long time
ago" Dr. Abies said.
The telescope, which
according to Dr. Shaukat
Goderya, director of the
See PARTY, Page 7
Lower level of student center undergoing
construction to allow for more space
The Barry B. Thompson Student Center is undergoing
lower-level construction to update the look of the bottom
level of the building, as well as improve functioning of the
facility.
Vice President of Student Life Wanda Mercer said plans
for the building will provide more space for the campus
bookstore, offices for Diversity and Inclusion, offices for the
Student Government Association and Student Programming
Association and an organizational conference room for stu-
dents.
The west side of the building, near the drive-thru en-
trance, will be opened up to include a gabble entrance that
will allow access to the lower portion of the building. The
Advising Center will also receive a new storefront entrance
into the building, which Mercer said will make the facility
more attractive.
Students are still welcome to attend fee advising sessions
in the center; however, entrance to the building has changed.
Signs are posted throughout the TSC to direct students to
the center and Mercer said faculty and staff are willing to
give directions. She also said that while the construction may
be inconvenient over the next few weeks, it is necessary and
overall beneficial to the Tarleton community.
"Every time you see a fence or wall, think progress,"
Mercer said.
- Kelsey Fitzgibbon
Interim director working
to prepare department
for successor
By SETH GRIFFIN
Staff Writer
While the Tarleton admin-
istration searches for a perma-
nent director for the recently
reformed Office of Diversity
and Inclusion, Dr. Calvin
Lawrence, assistant professor
of Educational Leadership
and Policy Studies, is serv-
ing as interim director of the
department. Lawrence has
not been idle, however. He is
working to prepare ODI for
the incoming director when
one is found.
Lawrence believes the
new director for the depart-
ment should be a person who
is outgoing, interacts well
with others and has the abil-
ity to bring people together of
different views and opinions.
ODI will be going beyond
its old borders and reaching
out to Tarleton students and
faculty in more and different
ways.
"I think there's a real
desire to place a lot more
emphasis on academic cur-
riculum," Lawrence said.
"There's always been a de-
sire, I think, to include and
increase hiring the aspect of
diversity in terms of faculty
and staff and delving deeper
into the academic aspects of
the university."
OR. CALVIN LAWRENCE
Lawrence said that in the
past, "the perception of this
office has been programs and
maybe policies," but to him
"it is more of a state of being
or a state of mind."
Concerning how the rear-
ranging of Tarleton's diversity
programs has been beneficial,
Lawrence said that "the jury is
still out. When we look back
on this thing about a year or
so from now, we can look
back and see whether we've
been successful or not."
"When I think of diver-
sity and this office, I don't
[think] of one person or just
one office. We have all sorts
of resources on this campus
proper and even out in the
community that hopefully
well be able to access and
use. A key will be bringing
those resources together. It's
not a one man job or a one
woman job, it's a university
job."
New organization
looking to raise
awareness about
multiple sclerosis
By KELSEY FITZGIBBON
Staff Writer
One of Tarleton's newest organizations, the Mul-
tiple Sclerosis Society of Tarleton, is in the process of
recruiting an advisor in order to hit the ground run-
ning to help raise funds and awareness for multiple
sclerosis.
Human Resource Management senior Naiva
Morales, and founder of the organization at Tar-
leton, said the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Tarleton
has made arrangements to begin events; however,
the society is in need of a new advisor after the for-
mer advisor's resignation due to health problems.
Although this is the current goal for the organiza-
tion, Morales said her overall goal is to raise aware-
ness of the disorder, and hopefully raise funds for
the program's chapter in Fort Worth.
"A lot of people don't know about multiple scle-
rosis and it's time we do something about it," Mo-
rales said.
She plans to hold fundraisers such as golf and
poker tournaments, marathons and something simi-
lar to Cancer Bash held by Colleges Against Can-
cer towards the end of the semester. She said 20-30
members are waiting to begin meetings and events,
pending on locating an advisor.
For Morales the foundation of the organiza-
tion stems from personal experience. A close fam-
ily friend passed away at the age of 36 after battling
multiple sclerosis for several years and Morales said
her former supervisor also suffered from the disor-
der.
Membership for the organization is free and
See MS, Page 7
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Briefs
a
Tarleton State University Department of Fine Arts is celebrating the
beginning of the holiday season with a special performance by the
Moscow Ballet touring company.
The program, also sponsored by Tarleton Student Programming
Association and the Cross Timbers Fine Arts Council, will be at 7:30
p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center
Auditorium.
The company will perform selections from several well-known
ballets — "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty," "Romeo and Juliet," "Nut-
cracker" and "Shaharazad."
General admission tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the
Fine Arts Center box office or from the Cross Timbers Family Council.
Ticket sales begin Monday, Nov. 2 and will be sold on a first-come
first-served basis.
The music of Appalachia, Ireland and the Balkans will take center stage
on Nov. 16 at Tarleton State University.
The Texas Tech University Celtic Ensemble will present a concert at
7:30 p.m. in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center Theater.
The program, which is suitable for all ages, spans the Celtic world,
including Breton and English dances, the choral and solo song of the
Anglo-Appalachian Sacred Harp and ballad traditions and instrumen-
tal dance tunes.
Under the direction of Dr. Christopher Smith, the Celtic ensemble
consists of 15 to 19 musicians (winds, strings, percussion and voice) that
perform dance, music and song of seven Celtic nations.
Ensemble members will give a master class to Tarleton students,
who will be invited to sit in with the ensemble to learn and sample
tunes and create arrangements.
Admission to the performance is free. For more information, call the
box office at (254) 968-9634.
Tarleton's dining provider, Sodexo, has teamed with Helping Hands
of America to facilitate a food drive to benefit local individuals and
families. Tarleton's catering van will be parked in front of the dining
hall the week of Nov. 9-13, with the goal to "Fill the Van" with canned
and other non-perishable food items to help those in need.
"The food collected will be sent to H.O.P.E, Inc. of Stephenville,"
said Kimberly Miller, operations manager of Tarleton's dining services.
"The drive is part of a nationwide effort to stop hunger on the local
level."
Community members, Tarleton students and employees interested
in contributing food items are asked to stop by the dining hall located
directly behind the Barry B. Thompson Student Center on the corner of
Lillian and Vanderbilt streets. The van is parked in front of the facility
and open for donations.
Participants who donate five items on the night of Nov. 10 will
receive a free rib eye steak with the cost of a regular meal. Items must
be non-perishable and within their expiration date.
More information on Sodexo's initiative to end hunger is available
online at www.helpstophunger.org.
v,F;vj- ^
w
briefs
By
SETH GRIFFIN and
KELSEY FITZGIBBON
SENATE
The SGA Senate meetings take place at 5:15 p.m. each
week on Monday in Room 219 of the Thompson Student
Center. All students and faculty are welcome to attend the
meetings.
It was announced that the campus laundry services will
be revamped and improved for next semester in response to
numerous student requests and complaints.
SGA is trying to find a sponsor who will donate Scant-
ron sheets to be handed out to students during finals.
SGA will be holding a blood drive in the spring 2010 se-
mester on April 1.
Plans for an alumni brick walk would allow graduating
seniors the opportunity to purchase a brick with their name,
graduation year and their organization inscribed on it and
would be part of a walkway on campus.
HOUSE
The Student Government Association House of Representa-
tives discussed amendments to die Election Code set up by the
organization and approved three funding requests for student or-
ganizations.
Five amendments were approved to strengthen the Election
Code. The council also approved a constitutional amendment, two
bills and a resolution, all of which relating to the election process.
Both of the passed bills discuss information regarding elections for
Student Body President and Vice President. Resolution 90-1 sug-
gested that only Tarleton computers be used during an election
process, in order to assure fairness of the vote.
The council allocated the remainder of their fall budget, totalling
$931.27. Three organizations requested funds, Health and Physical
Educatiori/Phi Epsilon Kappa, Student Social Work Association and
Delta Mu Delta, and the council voted to fund each organization a
portion of their request, in order to fairly allocate money within the
budget. Both HPE/PEK and Delta Mu Delta was awarded $375, of
their original $650 request, and SSWA were granted the remaining
$181.27. The funding totals were approximately 57 percent of what
each organization requested.
For more information, visit tarleton.edu/~sga.
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Cedeno, Michael. The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 182, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 12, 2009, newspaper, November 12, 2009; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth477226/m1/2/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.