News

September 1999

The O: It's Not Just On Paper Anymore

After 20 years of printing The Observer, we felt it was time to begin using the computer technology available on campus and take this publication to the next level.

Welcome to The O, the cyberspace version of its newsprint predecessor. But, this is about more than just saving paper (after all, The Observer was recyclable); it's about bringing you the news and information you want and need in a more efficient and exciting way.

In the past, we had to wait until The Observer came out fortnightly on Tuesdays. However, with The O, breaking news can be put on the wesbite in a matter of minutes. It's immediate, it's quick, it's fun, it's The O.

In planning the future of The Observer, we also took the financial picture into consideration, determining that the savings in budget and human resources could not be ignored.

We began planning the new publication in March of this year when we suspended printing of The Observer in order to clear the decks and put our time and energy into designing and creating an exciting website.

Once we had a design in place, we pulled together a group of 24 SIUE employees, consisting of faculty and staff, who formed a focus group. Throughout summer they came up with several great ideas for The O and we've tried to incorporate those. We continued testing with the group and others, and the reactions have been very favorable.

We owe them a debt of thanks in helping us work out the bugs. This is a relatively new technology and a new way of making the campus' official publication available. We may yet hit a snag in this brave new world, but the comments and suggestions our group provided helped to speed the process.

Whenever you want the news from campus, just click on the "Publications" portion of the SIUE website (www.siue.edu) and go to The O. There's also an easier way: make The O one of your favorite bookmarks on your World Wide Web browser and you'll always have it at hand. We're also going to be sending e-mail messages to the entire campus community every other Tuesday (or when news is breaking) and you'll be able to navigate right to The O from there.

General news items will be on the right portion of the main page; just click on the words in blue and you'll be able to read all the details. On the left portion of the page will be more specific information for you, such as the familiar Changes column, along with retirement listings and Academic Affairs Transactions news. In addition, obituary information also will be available as soon as we obtain that information.

But, there are some new "faces" in that column, too. There's the Rumor Mill, where we collect the rumors we hear in the hallways and byways of campus. Plus, if you send us a rumor, we'll check it out and report on it to get to the bottom of things. We also plan to have a little fun with it, too.

Also in the left column is the Weather Channel's website set for current weather conditions in the Edwardsville area, the Intercollegiate Athletics website for your favorite Cougar sports, the Carbondale website for SIU Board of Trustees activities, and a place to check on SURS news and retiremement fund updates.

And, in the near future, we're expanding the technology to include video and audio clips with SIUE In The News, one of the buttons on the left side of the page. We'll feature news clips, both video and audio, when we can obtain them, about happenings on campus that affect us all.

If you have questions or comments-and we'd love to hear what you think of The O, and any story ideas you may have-just click here or e-mail us at: The_O@siue.edu. Or, call 650-3607.

We hope you'll enjoy The O as much as we'll enjoy bringing it to you. Look for important news but also look for the slightly off-beat, the little surprises, to help brighten your day.

See you in The O.

Fall Term Begins; Things Are Happening On Campus

Fall term is under way and the campus is buzzing with activity as students settle into the routine.

But, things are also different. More students then ever are living on campus and the face of SIUE is changing. Enrollment is up, there was a waiting list for housing, more activities have been planned for students, the new Fitness Center addition just opened, and Welcome Week attracted large crowds, including evening events.

And, the physical face of the campus is changing with the Engineering Building taking shape on the west side of campus, while the university opened a charter school in East St. Louis in the former Metropolitan Community College building.

Instructor Nancy Lutz Witnesses East Timor Turmoil First Hand

We were always vulnerable, but never directly in any physical danger," said Nancy Lutz, assistant professor of Anthropology, in speaking of her recently concluded visit to the Indonesian controlled province of East Timor. "I think word had gone out amongst the ranks of the opposition militia that foreigners were not to be harmed," she said, "but at night we could hear gunfire just reminding us that

Ambassador Jamsheed Marker, personal representative of the UN Secretary-General, speaks with voters on polling day in Manatuto. (UN Photo by Simon Davies)

they were out there." Lutz departed from the East Timor capitol of Dili on Sept. 4, shortly after the announcement of the election results favoring independence-and as violent opposition began to erupt.

Even before the election, the province had a climate of intimidation and some isolated fighting, she said. Selected by the Carter Center-the Atlanta-based nonpartisan public policy institute founded by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn-to serve in a fact-finding delegation that would observe the Indonesian province, Lutz departed for East Timor in late July.

It was not the SIUE instructor's first visit to East Timor, having spent the summers of 1996 and 1997 there on research projects. However, this time she would be spending six weeks touring the region, observing preparations for the election on the issue of autonomy for the former Portuguese colony. East Timor has been under Indonesian control since 1975.

The Carter Center's mission was to assess whether a free and fair climate existed for the election. Lutz was witness to the historic developments that led to the decisive mandate. Turning out in unexpected and dramatic numbers, voters arrived by the thousands for the 6:30 a.m. opening of the polls on Aug. 30. With a 99 percent turnout of registered voters, and nearly 80 per cent of the votes cast calling for independence, the SIUE professor was moved by the courage of the East Timor citizens.

"Shortly before the election, I attended a peace mass of priests, nuns, villagers and opposition militia," said Lutz. "By the end of the evening, everyone had pledged to work for a peaceful and just resolution to the issue of autonomy, even the militia members. Tragically, since the election results were announced, a great number of the individuals who took part in the mass have been killed."

Lutz has returned to her classroom and is sharing her experiences and observations with students this fall. She continues to monitor the situation, and is encouraged by talks of U.N. peacekeeping forces moving into the troubled country.

Summer Fun!

Summer seemed to go by in a hurry, as usual, and while many of us spent some time relaxing, the campus was a veritable hotbed of activity. Here's a quick look at the more visible projects completed this past summer:

• Ralph and Donna Korte donated $1 million to the School of Business

• Construction began on B. Barnard Birger Hall

• The University Museum has a new home in back of Supporting Services

• The Wagner Complex was turned over to Lewis and Clark Community College

• The U.S. Open brought some of the world's finest track and field athletes to campus.

• The Student Fitness Center addition was completed

• The Engineering Building moved closer to completion

• SIUE opened a charter school in East St. Louis

• For five days in June and July, the Youth Nationals gathered boys and girls from around the nation for a chance to qualify for the World Youth Championships in Poland.

• After playing host to numerous events at the Prairie State Games for the fifth consecutive year, Korte Stadium was the site of the State Games of America.

• A new conference facility was completed at School of Dental Medicine

• Completion of the Nursing Psychomotor Skills Lab

• SIUE finished third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference All-Sports Trophy Competition

• The service road behind Peck/Founders/Alumni halls was resealed

• New concrete footings were poured and sidewalks replaced in front of Rendleman Hall

• Payroll office moved to Personnel Services

• Korte Stadium was renovated

• Bricks in the Stratton Quad were repaired

• Health Services offices were renovated

Will The Real P-7 Stand Up

OK, let's try to pay attention for a minute.

The parking lots have been renumbered to close gaps created when some lots were eliminated to build University Park.

Here's the new numbering system: The lot behind the Vadalabene Center has been renamed Lot F; meanwhile, Lot P4 (one of the fan lots) is now called WH (Woodland Hall). The other four lots in that row are now called P4 through P7; the two red lots in the back row have become P8 and P9.

Still with us? The Cougar Lake Recreation Area lot is now P10 and the red lot across from the Early Childhood Center is now P11.

Whew! Call Parking Services, Ext. 3680, if any questions.

Archives In MUCG Spotlight

The jazz is hot but the exhibition in the Morris Center Gallery is full of warm memories of area and national musicians who have contributed throughout the years to the jazz music scene in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.

The exhibit "A Celebration of Syncopation: The 25th Anniversary of the National Ragtime and Jazz Archive" will be on exhibit through Oct. 15 in the second-floor gallery. The archive was established by the SIU Board of Trustees in 1974 to maintain materials on the subject of ragtime and jazz in the American cultural experience.

The archive documents early-recorded jazz and the lives of notable jazz musicians from the St. Louis area. The John Randolph Collection, with approximately 10,500 78-rpm records, provided the basis of the archives record collection. Today there are more than 20,000 records in the collection, as well as audio and videotapes, sheet music, piano rolls, photographs, and oral history materials.

"The Celebration of Syncopation" exhibition will feature more than 100 photographs from the archive as well as records, sheet music, posters and excerpts from oral history interviews.

Honored at an opening reception earlier this month for their contributions to the archive were The Old Guys Jazz Band, consisting of SIUE faculty members. The Old Guys gave concerts and issued and sold recordings to benefit the archives. The ensemble included Jack Ades, Jim Austin, Warren Brown, Bill Feeney, Jim Hansen, Dan Havens, Ray Helsel, Lyman "Zeke" Holden, Jean Kittrell, and Deane Wiley.

Donors of materials and musicians who participated in the oral history interviews were also recognized at the reception for their contributions. Donors honored included John Randolph, Bernice Brown, Philip Havens, Jean Kittrell, Jack Luster, Peg Meyer, Dan Stevens, Trebor Tichenor, W. Cecil Trotwein, and KMOX Radio.

Among the many jazz musicians represented in the archive through their oral history interviews are Willie Akins, Eubie Blake, Robert Carter, Singleton Palmer, and Eddie Randle.

Archives To The Rescue!

A 17-year rescue mission has been successfully completed and the hero is the Louisa H. Bowen Archives at Lovejoy Library.

Library and Information Services Dean Jay Starratt recently announced that a "remarkable" collection of 19th and early 20th century Madison County legal records, which had been given sanctuary in the archives for 17 years, is being moved to a permanent home at the Illinois State Archives Regional Depository on the SIU Carbondale campus.

Starratt said the staff of Lovejoy Library has provided a public service to Madison County citizens by preserving what he called "invaluable documents" for nearly two decades. "We are pleased that Ms. Judith Nelson, chief deputy in the circuit clerk's office, and the judges of the court, have collaborated with the Illinois State Archives to assure the permanent safety of these records and to provide enhanced accessibility to their contents."

The records consist of the original paper files of many Madison County legal cases from 1803-1924, including proceedings in law and proceedings in chancery. The records are considered extremely valuable to historians and to genealogists because they contain substantial information about personal circumstances and interests of early Madison County residents. The entire collection consists of approximately 270 linear feet of case files.

Associate Counsel Named

Prior to her appointment, Singer had been a legal associate with Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, LLP, in St. Louis, where she was experienced in the litigation-at-trial and appellate levels of employment and school law. Previously she had served as a legal associate with Gallop, Johnson Neuman, L.C. of St. Louis and as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

A 1991 graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law, Singer also holds a master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor of Social Work from Southwest Missouri State University.