Posted on May 22, 1998

The Faculty Executive Committee has received the following nominations
for at-large positions on standing committees.

They are:

— Secretary of Faculty: Cliff Brown

— AAC at large (2 positions open): Hilary Tann, Ibon Izurieta,
Barbara Danowski, Andy Feffer

— FRB: Dave Hannay, Kimmo Rosenthal

— Faculty Appeals: Bob Baker

— Faculty Appeals Alternate: Mark Toher

— Trustees, Center 1: Anton Warde

Faculty may make further nominations up to or at the last general
faculty meeting on Wednesday, May 27, 12:20 to 1:20 p.m., in the Reamer Campus Center
Auditorium. Faculty will decide whether to vote during the meeting or by mail ballot.

The agenda will include the following:

a) Request for faculty approval that degrees be granted to students who
have fulfilled the requirements of graduation.

b) Call for further nominations for At-large positions.

c) Motion for vote, during the meeting, or by mail.

d) Report from Admissions, with profile of next year's freshman
class.

Posted on May 22, 1998

“The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed
by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade”
by Peter Weiss runs through May 31 in Yulman Theater.

It is directed by Prof. William Finlay.

The play is based on two historical truths: the infamous Marquis de Sade
was confined to the lunatic asylum of Charenton; and the revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat was
stabbed to death in a bathtub by Charlotte Corday at the height of terror in the French
Revolution. But the play-within-a play is not historical drama. Rather, it is concerned
with the problem of revolution. Among the questions it raises, Are the same things true
for the masses and for their leaders? And where, in modern times, lie the borderlines of
sanity?

The play runs through May 23, and May 27 through May 31. Performances
are at 8 p.m. Admission is $7, $5 for students and seniors. For more information, call
ext. 6545.

Posted on May 22, 1998

Felmon J. Davis, associate professor of philosophy, has written a
review of Emmanuel Eze's “Race and Enlightenment: A Reader,” to appear in Constellations,
A Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory (vol. 5:2 June). Davis has also published
an article on affirmative action, “Rassendiskurs, Gerechtigkeit und Demokratie in
den USA. Eine Fallstudie” (“Racial Discourse, Justice and Democracy in the
USA: A Case Study”) in Demokratischer Experimentalismus, Brunckhorst and Koch,
Essen (Germany).

Chandan DeSarkar, visiting assistant professor of management and
marketing in GMI, presented a paper titled “International Entry Barriers: A Strategic
Review” at the annual conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral
Sciences recently. He also published and presented a paper, “Barriers in Strategic
Marketing: Reviews, Propositions and Implications” in the 1998 proceedings of the
Southwestern Marketing Association's annual conference. He has been appointed track
chair for marketing research for the 1999 annual conference for the American Society for
Business and Behavioral Sciences.

Amanda Mason, capital gifts officer, has earned her Ph.D. in
English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation was titled
“Intimacy Politics and Virginia Woolf: A Queered-Feminist Analysis.”

George Gmelch, professor of anthropology, had two articles
published. “Groupies and American Baseball,” in The Journal of Sport and
Social Issues, examines the history and relationship of groupies and professional
baseball players. It shows how the groupie phenomenon plays out on a small stage the
larger gender roles played by women and men in American society. “Crossing Cultures:
Student Travel and Personal Development,” published in The Journal of
Intercultural Relations, examines what students do and learn when they travel abroad.

Martha K. Huggins, Roger Thayer Stone Professor of Sociology,
presented three papers from her research on extra-legal police violence in Brazil during
redemocratization. She presented “Brazilian Police Violence: Legacies of
Authoritarianism in Police Professionalism: A Study of Torturers and Murderers” at
the University of Wisconsin (Madison) Legacies of Authoritarianism Conference, attended by
30 national and international scholars. She delivered a paper, “Torture, Murder and
Protection Rackets: The U.S. and Latin America” at the New School for Social Research
Janey Program/Sawyer Seminar on “Coercion, Violence and Rights in the Americas.”
She delivered a paper, “Corpo e Sociedade: A Tortura” at the Federal
University of Rio de Janiero (Brazil) conference on “Que Corpo d Esse?” Huggins
is vice president of the International Sociological Association's 350-member Research
Committee on Deviance and Social Control. She is organizing the research section's
panels for the quadrennial meetings this summer in Montreal. Junior Erika Migliaccio
has been assisting with conference planning.

William M. Murphy, Thomas Lamont Professor Emeritus of Ancient
and Modern Literature, recently presented a paper titled “Learning and Love in
Schenectady in the Eighteen-Forties: The Jotting Book of Charles Lewis Beale” at the
Fortnightly Club of Schenectady. Beale (who lived from 1824 to 1900) was an 1844 graduate
of the College. A Union College senior and a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, Beale kept
his diary for only 19 days. But during that short time, Murphy says, the writer provided
an unusually rich record of life at Union and in Schenectady.

Posted on May 15, 1998

Have a few old tires you want to get rid of? How about chopping them up
and using the rubber pieces to reinforce your slopes?

According to senior James Cogan Jr., it's not a bad idea.

Cogan, a civil engineering major, has completed an independent research
project that suggests this might be a viable solution to disposing of old tires. He
recently presented his findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at
Salisbury (Maryland) State University, and at Union's Steinmetz Symposium. His
advisor was Ashraf Ghaly, assistant professor of engineering.

Cogan said he got the idea from an engineering journal he read, but
tried implementing their idea with smaller scraps of rubber. He used scrap rubber pieces
approximately three millimeters in diameter, mixing them with 90 percent sand to optimize
the stability of the earth slope and safety factors.

“It's really just another way to use scrap tires, rather than
sending them to a landfill,” Cogan said, adding that we send about 250 million tires
to landfills each year. Cogan hopes we might reduce that number. “We already recycle
bottles and cans successfully – this is just another way to expand upon
recycling.”

A 1984 graduate of Colonie High School and a resident of Albany, Cogan
recently returned to college to earn his bachelor's degree.

Posted on May 15, 1998

Friday, May 15, 9:30 p.m., West Beach. Outdoor showing of film, Scream,
presented by film committee as part of Springfest events. (Other events will be posted
on campus.)

Saturday, May 16, 8 p.m., Memorial Chapel. Pianist Grigory
Sokolov presents the final concert of this year's Schenectady Museum-Union College
chamber series. (see story)

Monday, May 18, 12:15 p.m., Humanities 019. Committee on Teaching
presents “Interdisciplinary Discourse.”

Monday, May 18, 7:30 p.m., Nott Memorial. John Rand, of U.S. Army
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory on “The Spirit of Inquiry:
Engineering at the South Pole.” (see story)

Wednesday, May 20, between 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Silliman Hall.
Start of Healthy Heart Program's community fitness walk. (see story)

Wednesday, May 20, 4:30 p.m., Raymond Coffeehouse. Prof. Tony
Rubonis of psychology speaks on “Paradoxical Powerlessness: Does Alcoholics Anonymous
Really Work?” Supported by the Intellectual Enrichment Program.

Wednesday, May 20, 8 p.m., Yulman Theater. “The Persecution
and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of
Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade.” by Peter Weiss, directed by
Prof. William Finlay. Run ends May 31. (see story)

Thursday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Reamer Campus Center. Health
Fair sponsored by Health Services. (see story)

Through June 5, Mandeville Gallery, Nott Memorial. Nikon Small
World Exhibition: Photographs Through the Microscope featuring first prize photo by
Barbara Danowski of Union's biology department.

Posted on May 15, 1998

Thanks to some Union students, residents of Schenectady's Hamilton
Hill can participate in a Latino Festival that will be fun for kids and educational for
their parents on Saturday, May 16, from noon to 6 p.m. at Hispanic Outreach Services, 801
Craig Street, Schenectady.

The festival is free and open to the public.

Union fraternity Phi Iota Alpha, in conjunction with Hispanic Outreach
Services, is sponsoring the festival, the theme of which is “You Can Always Do
More.”

The idea for the festival came two years ago when members of Phi Iota
Alpha participated in a similar event which, while informative, offered little in terms of
entertainment, said Greg Van Holt '99, fraternity vice president. “We brought
dominoes and started playing and a lot of young people got interested,” he recalls.
“This time, we wanted to do something that would get more people involved.”

Activities for children include basketball, dominoes, dance contests,
carnival games and face painting.

While the kids are enjoying the games, adults can visit the information
booths of non-profit organizations to learn more about community resources. Among those to
be represented are the League of Women Voters, who will sponsor voter registration; and
Schenectady Health Services, which will offer information on health care options.