Posted on Apr 17, 1998

The faculty on Wednesday voted to formalize the Academic Computing
Subcouncil as a standing subcouncil of the Academic Affairs Council.

Also, Prof. Robert Baker presented an overview of a proposal to replace
the current seven-year combined-degree medical program with an eight-year “Leadership
in Medicine.” Approved by the AAC, the proposal will be up for a faculty vote in
about two weeks after discussions at division meetings.

After some discussion, the faculty called for a mail ballot on a
proposal to postpone rush until the sophomore year, beginning with the Class of 2004.

Posted on Apr 17, 1998

“Dialogues on Race,” the month-long series of campus-wide
discussions aimed at fostering diversity, continues with a “Speakout” on Monday,
April 20, at noon in front of Reamer Campus Center.

Minority students will first discuss a stereotype that they feel has
been assigned to them, and then “speakout” about who they really are, said Prof.
Linda Patrik, chair of the organizing committee.

Coordinated by MAG, Student Forum and Peer Facilitators,
“Dialogues” continues through the month. Student groups and athletic teams have
been holding sessions.

Other upcoming “Dialogues on Race” include:

Tuesday, April 21, noon to 1:10 p.m., Reamer Campus Center 205:
“What Are We Afraid of When We Encounter Someone Different From Us?” led by
Prof. Malcolm Willison.

Thursday, April 23, noon to 1:10 p.m., Reamer Campus Center 404B:
“How Racism Has Affected Education,” led by Prof. Twitty Styles.

Friday, April 24, noon to 1:10 p.m., Social Sciences 110:
“Does Race Affect Your Salary?” led by Profs. Therese McCarty and Stephen
Schmidt.

Ongoing through April 30, faculty have opened the following
classes:

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 to 3:20 p.m., Humanities 113: “Race in
American Politics” with Prof. Terry Weiner.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 to 3:20 p.m., Humanities 112, sessions on
“Black Existentialism” with Prof. Linda Patrik.

More events will be listed in next week's Chronicle.

Posted on Apr 17, 1998

From “Touring a Torus” to a contest for bad math puns,
everything mathematical is here on Saturday as the College hosts the Hudson River
Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, a gathering of about 300 undergraduates and faculty
from around the Northeast.

Keynote speaker Joseph A. Gallian of the University of Minnesota,
Duluth, will talk on “Touring a Torus” on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. in Memorial
Chapel.

A dozen Union students are to give presentations. This is the first time
Union has hosted the five-year-old event, which draws students from up to 80 institutions
in the Northeast, said Prof. William Zwicker, an organizer.

Student and faculty presentations will take place in three parallel
sessions in Humanities and Social Sciences: 10 to 11 a.m., 2 to 3 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:30
p.m.

A torus, by the way, is a surface shaped “like the glaze on a
glazed doughnut,” said Zwicker. One mathematical pun is on the back of the conference
tee shirt next to a picture of a torus: “Nott holely uninteresting.”

Posted on Apr 17, 1998

Martin Benjamin, professor of photography, received the Community
Service Award from the Hudson Mohawk Association of Colleges and Universities, at their
annual dinner on April 7.

Benjamin was cited for his work in photography with mentally-disabled
adults at the Schenectady County Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC).

The project had its beginning several years ago when Benjamin visited an
ARC day treatment program and let some of the clients use his camera.

The project included a 10-week class for nine adults – taught with
help from several Union students – and ongoing mentoring with several of the
students. The program culminated last year in a show titled Good Shots –
Photographs of and by people with disabilities. It premiered at Union Feb. 13,
1997, and has traveled extensively since then.

Posted on Apr 17, 1998

The April 15 convocation and discussion with Nazi-hunters Serge and
Beate Klarsfeld is to be broadcast by WMHT – Channel 17 on April 23 at 8 p.m. It will
be repeated May 6 at 8 p.m. on Channel 45 and May 16 at 4 p.m. on Channel 17.

C-SPAN, which also taped the event, is expected to air the event this
month on their About Books program. The exact date has not been announced.

Lessons for Humanity – Union's series of Holocaust
remembrance events – continues with a lecture by Prof. Stephen Berk. He will
speak on “Ben-Gurion, Roosevelt and the Holocaust” about the role of the decent
bystander on Monday, April 20, at 8 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.

Yom HaShoah, the day of remembrance, will conclude the series on
Thursday, April 23, at 8 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.

Two exhibitions – French Children of the Holocaust and Of
Light Amidst the Darkness – will be on display through April 23 in the Nott
Memorial.