Spinnaker [Distributed: Wednesday, October 25, 2006]

Approximately 100 violations were filed last week contesting the actions of candidates running in the fall 2006 Student Government elections at the University of North Florida.

A total of 91 violations were filed with the SG elections, selections and appointment committee, by the cut off time of 5 p.m. Oct. 19. The ESAC reviewed 31 of the 91 violations during a committee meeting the same night.

Election violations can be filed by any Activity and Service-paying student at UNF, said Elizabeth Rasmussen, senior social studies education major and SG elections supervisor and ESAC chair. Two SG senators filed the violations.

Of the 31 violations, 29 major violations and two minor violations were presented during the ESAC meeting. The committee upheld 25 of the major violations and rejected four of them, Rasmussen said.

The large number of violations stemmed from the fact that although SG does not recognize either the Assurance party or the Student's Party, many candidates choose to run together in those parties, said Nick Peres, junior finance major and SG deputy chief of staff. If a violation is committed by a party, it must then be assessed to all members of the party individually, he said.

Peres said many of the 60 violations that were withdrawn were duplicate violations against different individuals. Once a specific violation was rejected by the ESAC committee, there was no need to go through more of the same violations, he said.

Filed violations included failure to report sales tax on expense statements, exceeding candidate budget caps, failure to submit expense statements and violation of the SG code of ethics, according to ESAC documents.

As a result of the violations, 15 candidates were disqualified from the elections.

According to official elections results, four of the disqualified candidates had received enough votes during the election to take office but were not sworn in because of their violations, Rasmussen said. The other 11 had not received enough votes originally to take office but were to be moved up the list to fill empty spots as they became open, had they not been disqualified Rasmussen said.

The disqualification of the 15 candidates has created two empty senate seats, Rasmussen said.

According to election results, no candidates that ran with the Student's Party were sworn in to SG due to violations upheld against them.

"We never win," said Joe Huskey, junior political science major and Student's Party member who was disqualified for a major violation. "We only do a little better each time."

When asked if the disqualification of the Student's Party members who ran in this election would affect the Senate's ability to work together as a whole, SG Senate President A.J. Souto responded, "It shouldn't. But it will, and that saddens me. At the end of the day, some people will not be able to put aside their feelings, and it will affect the job we do here in student government."

Despite violations, the recent SG elections were a success, Rasmussen said. More students voted this year than ever before in a fall election.

The Senate validated the election at an emergency Senate meeting Oct. 23. A total of 2,148 votes were cast and tallied according to official elections results.

Business college top in nation

According to the latest Princeton Review, the "University of North Florida Coggin College of Business is an excellent choice for the sensible business student."

The 2007 Princeton Review Best of 282 Business Schools describes UNF's Master's of Business Administration as one the best in the nation.

According to its Web site, the Princeton Review surveyed 18,000 students attending 282 business schools across the country during the 2003-2006 academic years. The Web site stated the 80 question survey was divided into five sections: About Yourself, Students, Academics, Careers and Quality of Life. Students were asked to give their opinions about their school, its facilities, programs and professors.

Most student surveys were done online. Best of 282 Business Schools list the schools' most popular academic programs, admissions procedures, financial aid and other information.

UNF's GlobalMBA program is an international business exchange program partnering with Germany and Poland.

A cohort of 40 students study together, spending one term in each country and then finish at UNF, said Coggin College of Business Dean John McAllister. After successfully completing the program, students earn two Master's degrees: a UNF MBA and a European Master's degree from the European Consortium, according to the UNF Web site.

The Princeton Review editors wrote on their Web site that CCB has a strong "focus on application-based learning." The editors also wrote that UNF offers quality instructors and overall programs at an affordable price.

"I have been very pleased with my professors at UNF," one student reported on the Web site. "A majority of them have published several books, journal articles, and have also been part of corporate America, such as Dun & Bradstreet and Fortune 500 companies. They have brought valuable corporate experience into the classroom."

Another student reported on the Web site, "I have seen a direct correlation between my performance at work and the additional knowledge gained through my MBA courses. Most professors have done an excellent job relating the course material to real-world business examples."

CCB has about 4,000 students enrolled in its business programs, McAllister said. The MBA program has 500 students enrolled. Most MBA students attend evening classes part time, he said.

The Princeton Review Web site also lists UNF as one of the best southeastern colleges and one of America's best value colleges.

Coastal Biology to be named newest flagship

The University of North Florida will announce its fourth and latest flagship program to be Coastal Biology at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at Sisters Creek Marina. A major donation to the university will also be announced.

Taylor Engineering, Inc. will make a $1 million donation to the university for coastal engineering research. The funds will then be matched by the state at 50 percent, which will bring the total to $1.5 million, said Pierre Allaire, vice president of institutional advancement at UNF.

The funds will be used to establish the Taylor Engineering Endowed Professorship and the Taylor Engineering Research Institute within the university's college of computing, engineering and construction, according to a UNF press release.

"We believe that this institute will greatly enrich and advance the academic programs of the college of Computing, Engineering and Construction as well as other disciplines engaged in research in coastal and water resources engineering and science," said Bruce Taylor, CEO and chairman of Taylor Engineering, Inc. and UNF board of trustees chair, in the release.

"We want to give students the opportunity to focus their biology education on a coastal program," said, Dr. Daniel Moon, assistant professor of biology and interim director of the Coastal Biology Program.

The flagship designation will provide $1 million for the Coastal Biology Program over the next four years and will allow for the hiring of new faculty and equipment. New courses will also be developed, he said.

"The designation will increase our capabilities tremendously," Moon said.

The new program will involve students and faculty from the genetic and molecular side of biology, along with those from the ecological side of biology, Moon said.

Because of the university's location on the Atlantic coast, proximity to the St. John's River and the Intracoastal Waterway, make the new program a natural fit, said Dr. Joseph Butler, biology department chair.

"This gift from Bruce Taylor and the new coastal biology flagship designation puts UNF in the forefront of environmental research in our region," said UNF president John Delaney.

The Transportation and Logistics program along with the International Business program, both in the Coggin College of Business, were selected as flagships in May of this year. The Community Nursing program in the Brooks College of Health was selected as the university's first flagship program in 2005.

Another flagship program is expected to be announced in the spring.

President Delaney roasted

University of North Florida President John Delaney was the subject of a fundraiser roast Oct. 21 in the University Center..

Approximately 200 people were in attendance. The event was held in an effort to support the university's athletics program and raised over $25,000, said Richard Granger, associate director of media relations for UNF athletics.

In attendance were many of Delaney's friends and family, including Ed Austin, former state attorney and Jacksonville mayor, and David Lamm, a local sports radio personality.

Four of Delaney's colleagues were chosen to carry out the roast. Nat Glover, former Sheriff of Duval County, went first, followed by Mark Mahon who worked with Delaney in the State Attorney's Office over 25 years ago.

After Mahon was Marty Lanahan, Jacksonville area Amsouth Bank President. Lanahan was followed by Richard Mullaney, general counsel for the City of Jacksonville.

Between the cost of each ticket, the live and silent auctions and charitable donations, the roast raised a net profit of over $25,000, Granger said.

The proceeds will be split between the creation of the Delaney Family Endowed Athletic Scholarship and the Kossak Family Endowed Athletic Scholarship, he said.

The athletics department will receive the rest of the money as unrestricted funds, Granger said.

The roast was considered such a success that its title sponsor, Kossak Companies, has agreed to a five-year deal which lists them as the title sponsor for future roasts, Granger said.

When asked what he thought of the evening, Delaney had nothing but praise for his roasters and for the community that showed up to support what he called a "great cause for a great program."

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student government shut down

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shut down its student government Friday after its leaders refused to release its financial records for review.

University police are investigating a possible embezzlement of $10,000 involving a student leader who has exercised extensive power within the student government in recent years.

Even while under investigation, Russell Rueden, a senior majoring in political science, continued to be involved in allocating more than $9 million in student funding as president of the Student Senate.

Earlier this month, Chancellor Carlos Santiago asked leaders of the Student Association, which includes the Student Senate, to turn over financial records and policies to university auditors.

Jim Hill, interim vice chancellor for student affairs, said he moved to suspend the association after the leaders refused, saying they would conduct an internal audit of their own.

In a letter that was tacked on the association's office door Friday morning, Hill said student officers, senators and staff were being barred from access to funds generated by student fees and university facilities including the Student Association office and computers until the matter was resolved.

The shutdown, which included changing locks on the office door, infuriated the association's president, Samantha Prahl, who said she was at UW-La Crosse for a conference on Friday.

Prahl said in a phone interview that she had informed the university's auditor this week of her intentions to turn over all of the association's financial records except those for a bank account of fund-raising money. Prahl, who is scheduled to meet with the auditor on Monday, said the administration was violating the students' right to self-governance.

"They just jumped to conclusions and closed down the student voice on campus," Prahl said. "We can't go into the office, we can't govern ourselves."

But senior Jesse Dercks, a former student senator who runs the Student Housing Administrative Council, applauded the shutdown.

Prior to serving as speaker of the Student Senate, Rueden was president of the housing council, president of the Student Association and chief justice of the Student Court. At one point, Prahl served as Rueden's chief of staff.

Over the last two years, the fund-raising account was overseen by Rueden, who was elected council president in 2004, and Matt Franson, who was elected president in 2005. Neither Rueden nor Franson, who were paid $4,400 a year in the post, shared any information about the account with others on the council, Dercks said.

When he became housing council president last summer, Dercks began receiving bank statements for the account, which showed that it held more than $20,000, Dercks said.

One statement, from August, prompted him to become suspicious. The statement showed that a $10,000 check, No. 1297, from the account had been either cashed or deposited. There was no evidence in the housing council records of any goods or services received for the money.

Dercks said Rueden had retained control of the council account along with Franson, who did not return an e-mail and phone call seeking comment. Dercks' discovery prompted him to go to the university police.

Tom Luljak, a spokesman for the university, said the university police "commenced an investigation on Sept. 6, the same day that the housing council discovered the $10,000 check that was made out to AcerPrudens."

He said federal privacy law prevented him from releasing the name of any students under investigation.

University police, Luljak said, presented their findings to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office Sept. 25 but were told to gather more information. He said university police executed a search warrant on a private home in relation to the investigation on Oct. 4.

Four days later, the university demanded access to all financial records for the student association, including the council's fund-raising bank account, for a review by UWM auditor Paul Rediske and UW System auditors.

When he served as president of the Student Association last year, Rueden had control over the fund-raising bank account as well as $150,000 in student fees allocated to the association each year for salaries of student leaders.

Now that he is speaker of the Student Senate, Rueden is involved in allocating more than $9 million in student fee funding that goes to student athletics, organizations and other activities.

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College rapes a rising concern

One in four women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime, according to a national survey conducted by Mary Koss, a psychology professor at Kent State University.

Three incidents of rape on the University of North Florida's campus have been reported since the start of 2002, according to the UNF Police and Public Safety Department.

The National Victim Center reports 683,000 women are raped every year in the United States, with those at greatest risk between the ages of 16 and 24.

Of the thousands of sexual assaults, only 16 percent are reported to police, according to the study "Rape in America," conducted by the National Victim Center. This contributes to why rape is known as "the most underreported violent crime in America."

An act of rape can occur anywhere, and 80 percent of victims know their assailant, the study found.

The incident reports taken by Sgt. Mark Dixon and Cpl. J. Harrell for the three cases of rape reported at UNF concluded that all the victims knew their offenders, and the assaults took place in the residence buildings.

Dr. Anita Vorreyer, director of the Women's Center at UNF, concurred that a majority of rape victims knew their attackers prior to the incident.

"Society has a notion that rapists grab you from behind at night with a knife or weapon, but the majority of cases don't happen that way," Vorreyer said.

The crime statistics for UNF, documented by the university police department, only list reported rapes that occur on campus.

The Women's Center handles cases that transpire on and off campus, involving students, faculty and staff.

Vorreyer said the center's counselors have seen approximately 10 victims of rape since the start of 2006.

"It affects way more people than we would first think or guess, and many people suffer in silence," Vorreyer said.

University of North Florida Chief of Police Mark Foxworth said the majority of sexual assaults go unreported.

"I believe only one in every 10 is actually reported," he said. Despite the low number of documented rapes at UNF, Foxworth said, "One is too many."

Foxworth recommended some actions to help protect against assault so that one can become none: People should be aware of their surroundings, lock their doors, use a buddy system in unfamiliar places, consume alcohol responsibly, and say no when they don't want to do something.

The association of alcohol and sexual assault is a strong one, and both Vorreyer and Foxworth agree to the correlation and its ability to cloud judgment and lower reaction time and awareness.

"Despite alcohol, there is no excuse for it, and we never want to blame the victim for what has occurred," Foxworth said.

Even though rapes have happened at UNF, it is still a statistically safe school.

"Overall we are one of the safest campuses in the Florida State University System," Foxworth said. Of the 11 schools, UNF has the third lowest crime rate, according to the crime statistics published by the U.S. Department of Education.

Marcy Hall, a junior majoring in education, said, "I feel safe on campus because it is well lit at night, and there is an even distribution of emergency stations people can hit if they are in trouble."

If a person is in trouble or needs help after a rape occurs, the Women's Center offers counseling through its Victim Advocacy Program.

The counselors help victims process the ordeal, accompany them to treatments or court, keep them from being re-victimized by recounts of the event and direct them to further treatment at the Sexual Assault Treatment Center of Jacksonville. A 24-hour crisis help line is available at 620-1010, and the center is located in Building 14, Room 2623.

Reactions to student Playboy shoots vary

Separated by 100 miles of interstate, Baylor University (a Southern Baptist university) and Southern Methodist University (a United Methodist university) seem even farther apart when it comes to students posing in states of undress in a men's magazine.

Southern Methodist University's approach is decidedly hands-off. When Playboy magazine photographers set up temporary shop next week near SMU for a "Girls of Conference USA" pictorial, they'll do so without university opposition.

"SMU is not a participant in or a proponent of this project, which is sponsored by an off-campus publication," said Kent Best, director of media and communications, in a prepared statement. "Any student's decision to participate is strictly between that student individually and the publication."

Playboy "will not be on campus," Best added. "It's an individual student's decision" whether to pose.

Not so at Baylor. When Playboy ran a photo of four bikini-clad coeds and much of the membership of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity four years ago for a "Girls of the Big 12" spread, Baylor's administration quickly responded. School officials suspended the fraternity for a year and required the 50 or so students to perform community service. One student, who posed individually, was suspended.

Playboy returned to Waco, Texas this spring for another Big 12 shoot. This time, Baylor made a pre-emptive strike. Dub Oliver, vice president for student life, sent out a university-wide e-mail warning that posing for "a magazine that is clearly antithetical to Baylor's mission" would violate the school's code of conduct and be penalized accordingly.

That could mean anything from a warning to expulsion, depending on the circumstances. It worked so well that the Big 12 became the Big 11, generating at least one complaint from a reader who felt shortchanged by Baylor's absence.

That couldn't be helped, Playboy responded on its blog. "When administrators heard we would be coming to Waco, they threatened to expel any student who posed," the magazine stated.

SMU's stand, leaving the decision to individual students, provides no such difficulties.

So when Playboy publishes its intimate look at the "Girls of Conference USA" in its May 2007 issue, chances are the women of SMU will be fully represented, if not fully clothed.

The visit has generated some attention and a bit of controversy. In 2004, an editorial in SMU's Daily Campus newspaper said 2003 graduate Amber Campisi embarrassed her alma mater by appearing in Playboy's 50th anniversary model search. And that was even before Campisi became Miss February 2005. The upcoming shoot, too, was criticized in an opinion column and letter to the editor in the Daily Campus.

Mostly, though, Playboy's visit is drawing a mixed reaction from students: The men seem enthused, the women more circumspect.

Austin Kilgore, editor in chief of the Daily Campus, wrote about Playboy's plans in the Oct. 17 edition. "I think before my story, nobody really knew about this," Kilgore said. "The only reason I knew about it was because (Playboy) took out an ad in the paper, and whenever there's an ad that's a little risque, I'm asked to approve it."

So he set off across campus to see what people thought. No one condemned it, though some hoped the school's female students wouldn't be interested in that kind of exposure.

"But when I talked with students," Kilgore said, "it wasn't like, 'Oh my God!'"

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School ups gator precautions

Signs advising students to not feed alligators have been placed around three University of North Florida lakes.

The signs, which are located at the Boathouse Lake, Candy Cane Lake and the lake around the Hayt Golf Learning Center, are a necessity as some alligators have become greatly acclimated to human interaction, said Daniel Endicott, director of the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at UNF.

"It is against the law to feed alligators, but some people may not have known that," Endicott said. "These signs should alert people of the law."

Three reports of alligators in campus lakes have been received this year, Endicott said, and two have been removed from campus. Once the alligators are identified, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission coordinates the removal of the animal, he said.

Blair Hayman, a biologist and the assistant coordinator of the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, is a member of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who works in conjunction with independent alligator trappers. Once a complaint about a nuisance gator is processed, a permit is issued to the trappers, Hayman said.

"If we get a complaint about an alligator that is over four feet long, the trappers take the animal and harvest it," Hayman said. "They [trappers] are compensated primarily through the sale of the alligator's meat and hide and a small stipend paid by us. Due to the commercial value of the alligators, this program was set up to cost the taxpayers less money."

There is a different process for alligators fewer than four feet, Hayman said. "If they are smaller than four feet, the alligators are removed and relocated if they prove to be a nuisance," he said.

Ryan Meyer, park manager of the UNF nature trails, said the problem is not alligators - it's the people who feed them.

"Anytime there is a water body in Florida, there is probably going to be alligators," Meyer said. "Once alligators get more comfortable with people, they begin to approach them. The main problem is not the alligators' presence, but human behavior. If people could resist feeding them, which these signs should help with, there will no longer be a problem."

"If you feed an alligator on campus, you are indirectly signing its relocation papers," Endicott said.

More information on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's policy on the handling of alligators can be found online at www.myfwc.com/gators/default.htm.

Princeton professor to speak on identity

Kwame Appiah, a preeminent scholar in the field of African-American studies, will be speaking at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 in the University Center as a part of the University of North Florida's Distinguished Voices lecture series.

Appiah, the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, will deliver a speech entitled "The Ethics of Identity," a topic he researched for his books, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers and Ethics of Identity.

In addition to teaching at Princeton, Appiah has worked at a variety of institutions including the University of Ghana, Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and Duke.

Appiah first gained acclaim for his book In my Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture, which won the Herskovitz Prize, and led to his designation as an expert in the field of African-American studies.

He is also a fiction writer, having written three novels entitled Avenging Angel, Nobody Likes Letitia and Another Death in Venice.

Chris Gabbard, an assistant professor of English at UNF and the chair of the Inquiry and Insight Lecture Series Committee, said that Appiah would be a solid addition to the lecture series' line-up due to his unique perspective.

"Appiah is one of the leading philosophers in the country and he has an interesting background," Gabbard said. "He was born in London but is of West African descent and his father was a barrister in Ghana. He is a well-respected figure and an exciting speaker. We are glad he could come speak at UNF."

The speakers chosen for the Distinguished Voices lecture series are recommended by the Inquiry and Insight Committee, said Connie Corker, an employee of academic affairs.

"The committee is made up of faculty members and they provide recommendations for the upcoming academic year," Corker said. "The committee was started by former interim president David Kline and it has selected six speakers for the fall. Hans Koegler recommended Kwame Appiah as a speaker to the committee and they [the committee] selected Appiah based on a group decision."

Hans Koegler, an associate professor of philosophy and the graduate coordinator for the M.A. in practical philosophy and applied ethics, was instrumental in bringing Appiah to campus.

"I worked with him at a conference on dialogue and universalism in Boston," Koegler said. "He is a unique thinker in the world of philosophy as he bridges the gap between the worlds of African and Western ideas. He believes in freedom and equality for all individuals but, he also takes into account that they come from different backgrounds."

Koegler recommended Appiah to the Inquiry and Insight committee because of his abilities as a speaker and writer.

"Appiah is a clear, focused and enticing speaker," Koegler said. "He has an elegant delivery and he speaks about many topics. His writing style is also unique as he uses a number of anecdotes and metaphors so his presentation is not dry and technical."

Gabbard says he and the committee want to bring speakers to campus that people would like to hear.

"We are always striving to bring new and interesting speakers that would appeal to the students, faculty and community."

The event is free and open to the public. A book signing will take place directly following the lecture. Tickets can be ordered online at www.unf.edu/development/news/mediarelations/lectures/.

Football, cocktails return to Jacksonville

Sports fans migrate every October to Jacksonville for one of the most hyped-up college football games and what is known as "The World's Largest Cocktail Party" at the Jacksonville Landing.

The University of Florida and the University of Georgia come together in Jacksonville every fall for one of the fiercest rivalry games in college football, and festivities continue before and after the game has been played.

This year, the game between the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs is Oct. 28, and 60,000 people are expected to return to Jacksonville Landing this year, said Ken Jefferson, public information officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff's office.

"The Gator and Dawg rivalry is one of the biggest in college football, and it attracts people from all over both states to come to Jacksonville and watch the game either at the stadium or at the Landing," said Brandon Jester, a junior criminal justice major at UF who transferred from UNF after his sophomore year. "The rivalry is really fierce, but it creates a good atmosphere for competitors and fans to come out and watch and participate in."

With so many people crowded into one place, most of them drinking and many of them arguing with one another over team rivalries, the potential for conflicts and violence is high. Jefferson said that potential hazards during festivities at the Landing include overindulging in alcohol and pickpockets that thrive on such crowded situations.

Last year, UF junior Thomas Brown was found beaten to death outside of the CSX building by the Landing Oct. 29. Five men were arrested and named suspects in Brown's death. The year before, another death occurred near the festivities at the Landing when David Ferguson, who had been seen partying and was presumed drunk, fell from one of the upper floors of a parking garage.

"Personally, I haven't felt unsafe," Jester said. "It's really just knowing the limit to how competitive you can be with the other fans. The event is there to be fun, and some people just take it too far."

People who want to partake in the festivities but don't want to go to the Landing have other options. There are festivities all over town, including Metro Park where there is live entertainment, and with Halloween shortly after the game, clubs and concert venues are hosting special events as well.

But for those who choose to go to the Landing for the weekend of the game, Jefferson offered a few tips. To stay safe he said participants should drive responsibly, drink responsibly, stay with their groups and, most importantly, have a designated a driver.

"I'm always with my friends and we're a big group, and we can handle ourselves, so I don't worry about it," said Marc Lepecheur, junior graphic design major at UNF who attends the annual festivities at the Landing.

"We want people to come and enjoy our city," Jefferson said. He also said that the Jacksonville Sheriff's office isn't taking any extra safety or security precautions this year, but that its job is to make the people who come to Jacksonville feel safe while they're here. He said that the event is well covered as far as police and security personnel.

"Any time there's alcohol involved the possibility of a situation getting out of hand can arise," Jester said. "The last time I went to the Landing, I remember seeing quite a few beer stands."

Print Edition

NEWS

Students' Party disqualified

Business college top in nation

Coastal Biology to be named newest flagship

President Delaney roasted

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student government shut down

College rapes a rising concern

Reactions to student Playboy shoots vary

School ups gator precautions

Princeton professor to speak on identity

Football, cocktails return to Jacksonville

News in Brief

Ethnic Culture Festival

Dave Pallone to speak about 'life behind the mask'

Lecture to explain impact of vehicles on environment

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