Family members of murder victims will share their
feelings about revenge and the death penalty in a session titled The Journey of Hope: From Violence to
Healing on Monday April 29, at 4:30 p.m. in Reamer Auditorium.
It also will feature David Kaczynski, executive director
of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, and the brother of the
so-called Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski. Although Theodore's
life was spared, David had “a disturbing glimpse into the dishonesty
and brutality of the nation's capital justice system.”
This event is sponsored by the Campus Protestant Ministry with
a grant from Lamont Funds.
A mentor of David Gerhan once told him that everything
a reference librarian learns will benefit a student some day.
That advice, from Professor Emerita W. Loretta
Walker, Gerhan's predecessor as head of public services at Schaffer
Library, has proven beneficial to Gerhan himself as the reference
librarian prepares to spend his sabbatical next year as a Fulbright Scholar
at the University of Botswana in southern Africa.
For Gerhan, his experience in the Peace Corps in Libya some
34 years ago was instrumental in developing a proposal to
return to Africa as a Fulbright.
“It feels like I've come full circle,” he says, reflecting on
his tour in the north African country where he taught English
to schoolchildren. His Peace Corps assignment was cut short by
the revolution that brought Mohammar Qadaffi to
power, but the experience developed his sense for what it means to be
an American trying to contribute in a foreign culture, Gerhan says.
This time, Gerhan returns to Africa to teach a new
generation of students about reference services and library
administration at one of the premiere library training programs on
the continent. Gerhan refers to the university's library as
“proto-online:” users have access to major on-line libraries
and selected databases, but evidently fewer books and databases
than what most major research universities in the West offer.
The challenge for the University of Botswana is
not unlike that facing Schaffer Library: to enhance its access
with limited resources. “It takes money to be online,” Gerhan said.
“The hardware and some of the subscription resources
are expensive while other electronic documents are free.”
The outlook has improved recently for libraries like the
one at the University of Botswana, Gerhan notes. Because
major library catalogs are mostly publicly accessible and
free-of-charge, they can be exploited for subject bibliography. “If you're
in the Harvard catalog, ” he says. “You're going to get a
fairly comprehensive look at the literature.”
“I'm interested in the role that electronic technology plays
in libraries internationally and how it will level the playing
field,” Gerhan says.
The University of Botswana, in the capital of Gaborone east
of the massive Kalahari Desert on the border with South Africa,
has about 8,200 students in graduate and undergraduate programs. Botswana, a former
British protectorate about the size of Texas, has a population of
1.5 million. The standard of living is somewhat higher than
other African nations, thanks to the discovery of diamonds in
the 1960s. The climate is mostly arid. Religion is a mix of
indigenous traditional faiths and Christianity. Setswana is the native
language; English, the official language, is spoken at the university.
Gerhan says he expects to learn things in Botswana that
will help him in his role as head of reference services in
Schaffer Library. “I've always felt that anything a reference
librarian learns will help a student sometime, somewhere,” Gerhan
says, recalling his mentor's advice. “I cannot predict, but there will be
a time when the experience will prove helpful in my work
with some student here at Union.”
“That's the benefit for me and Union,” he says. “But
more than anything, I aim to train new librarians in a changing world.
For all I've been given, I want to pay something back.”
The ballyhooed “Tough Man Contest” last weekend
at Achilles Rink drew a “tame” crowd of more than 2,200
from “all walks of life” including local elected officials,
attorneys, dentists, off-duty police officers and families,
according to Kathy Natole, rink director.
Besides a couple of bloody noses and black eyes (in
the ring), the only casualties were two spectators who
needed medical attention for heat exhaustion. “Other than
that, we had no problems whatsoever,” she said.
The heat brought a brisk business in bottled
water sales at the concession tables, run by members
of Union's hockey teams, Natole noted.
Among the competitors were two Union students
who advanced to the semifinals before bowing out.
So, what's next at Achilles?
“I thought we'd bring in the WWF or
Chippendale's Review,” quipped Natole, quickly adding, “Just joking.”
Prof. Tom Werner, who recently received a
prestigious American Chemical Society award for research at
an undergraduate institution, was honored at the recent
ACS meetings in Orlando.
Besides receiving the award, he gave a keynote address
on “Some Perspectives and Results from Four Decades
of Undergraduate Research.”
But the greatest honor of all may have come from the
10 Union students at the meeting. Not only did they all
attend Werner's award presentation at the early hour of 9
a.m., they also lifted a sign bearing Werner's name that
was sitting outside a reception in his honor.
(Photographers/Reporters Encouraged to Attend Community Event)
Schenectady, N.Y. (April 22, 2002) – Union College Campus Safety and the Schenectady Police Department will teach bicycle safety to city youth on Saturday, April 27, from 1 to 4 p.m., on the Union College Library Field, west of the Nott Memorial.
The event, sponsored by a grant from Fleet Boston, will offer bicycle safety inspections, minor adjustments and repairs, riding skills demonstrations, and riding skills tests, as well as refreshments and prizes for participants.
Bob Tomeck, Union College Crime Prevention Officer, said this event will also provide an opportunity for the Schenectady Police Department to meet with and reach out to the community. “JP Maloney, a city police officer, will be on hand on Saturday,” Tomeck said. “He lives in Union's College Park Neighborhood, and is viewed by residents as an officer of the community.”
Participants are required to wear safety helmets; a limited number of helmets will be available for use and given away at the conclusion of the event. All Union College Campus Safety Bike Officers have completed the NYS Law Enforcement Bike Patrol Course. First Aid assistance will be provided for this event.
The Union Library Field is located on the west side of campus, near the flag pole. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Ed Teller at 388-6358. Or contact the Kenney Community Center, at 388-6609.
