Around Campus

Stacie Freudenberg/Chronicle Angie Guzman, performing as ‘Mya,’ competes at the Wanna Be An Idol contest Thursday, Dec. 19, in the Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave. The Columbia College Association of Black Journalists organized the event to raise money for their trip to the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention, to be held in August 2003.

Latino Alliance assembly draws college
Administrators promise to address issues raised at meeting

More than 100 students and faculty, and five administrators, participated in a Latino Alliance-sponsored assembly Dec. 12 to bolster administrative support for campuswide multicultural issues.

The forum gave students an opportunity to speak with administrators who made public commitments to meeting the needs of Latino students.

“I think it was incredibly productive,” said Mark Kelly, vice president of student affairs.
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Credit cards turn into campus nightmares
Students find themselves with increasing amounts of debt as they move through school

Bills, Bills, Bills. From credit cards to student loans, some students can’t say no to charging and are now buried in debt.
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Payroll Department goes online
Officials say they are still working out some kinks in system

Columbia’s Payroll Department is introducing a new online payroll system designed to eliminate paperwork and simplify the processing of student workers. The system, which is still being tested in several departments, is expected to become the standard operating procedure on campus by Feb. 15, 2003.
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Library staff donates presents to family
Plans already underway for follow-up next Christmas

Last month, the Glorer family celebrated Christmas with a little help from the Columbia library, which chose one family from a collection of letters sent to a post office in Chicago.
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FUSION brings people together
Students bring fun, food and entertainment to children’s home

Christmas came early for the boys and girls at the Uhlich Children’s Home on Chicago’s Near North Side. On Dec. 15, Columbia student organizations hosted a three-hour event that afternoon, which included dancers, singers and a carnival for residents of the home.
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Poetry MFA helps library nab grant
Columbia’s collection brings money for consortium literature efforts

As a result of its efforts to collect works by contemporary Illinois poets, Columbia’s library was awarded a $1,182 consortium grant from the Illinois Cooperative Collection Management Program. The program allows more than 100 libraries throughout the state to share their collections with each other.
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New labs set for spring
Computer labs in Conaway and residence center planned

When students come back for the spring semester they can look forward to a couple of new additions to the campus.
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Herbal cold remedy frozen out
Study finds echinacea no more effective or harmful than placebo

PHILADELPHIA—Echinacea, a popular but largely untested herbal remedy for the common cold, showed no benefit when given to a small group of college students with sore throats and stuffy noses, researchers say.
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Harvard murals get face-lift
Conservators challenged by difficult restorations

(U-WIRE) CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Battling years of grime with cotton swabs, gentle solvents and boundless patience, a group of Harvard conservators has begun restoring one of American painter John Singer Sargent’s most complex works.
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Tobacco continues to be top killer
Report says smoking still a leading cause of death in United States

(U-WIRE) NORMAN, Okla.—Cigarette smoking continues to be a leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s April 12, 2002 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report said that from 1995-1999, smoking killed more than 440,000 people in the United States each year.
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ACLU challenges U. Maryland ‘free-speech’ zones
ACLU sues U. Maryland over so-called 'free-speech' zones

(U-WIRE) COLLEGE PARK, Md.—The Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit against the university, arguing that First Amendment free speech guarantees are violated by administration policies that limit public speaking and literature distribution to certain locations on the campus.
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Colleges strive to meet INS deadline
INS bumps up deadline for schools to register international students

(U-WIRE) MINNEAPOLIS—The Immigration and Naturalization Service Dec. 11 announced a deadline for universities to comply with an Internet-based international student tracking system.
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Professors shout ‘racism’ on campus
St. Cloud State University professors again warn of racism

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Two St. Cloud State University professors have sent their second letter within a year discouraging minority students from attending the school.
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The Editor's Desk

Well, Columbia, I just have to stick my spoon into the pot of political turmoil for a steaming helping of what is now the “Trent Lott Fiasco.”
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