Purdue News Roundup

January 9, 1998

Purdue police to coordinate Security Escort Service

Effective Wednesday (1/14), the police department's Purdue Student Security Patrol will provide staff for the on-call nighttime escort service Wednesday through Saturday for students, staff and campus visitors.

"Purdue Student Government approached us because it had concerns about being able to continue to provide adequate numbers of escort volunteers. By utilizing the paid staff of our Student Security Patrol, we will build on this important campus-safety service that Student Government created and nurtured," said James Roush, deputy police chief.

Roush said use of the 40-member Purdue Student Security Patrol for the service has additional advantages, because patrol members have two-way radio communication with the police department and wear easily identifiable jackets while on duty.

Under the new arrangement, the Security Escort Service initially will be in operation Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 p.m. until midnight, and Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. The phone number to request an escort, 494-SAFE, will remain the same, but it now will ring into the Purdue Student Security Patrol headquarters at the Purdue Police Department.

"Monitoring usage and requests early in the semester will help us determine possible additional service hours," said police Capt. Steven Dietrich.

He said the Security Escort Service will be available campuswide, as well as in The Village and the residential area at the south end of West Lafayette.

CONTACT: Roush or Dietrich, (765) 494-8221

Black Cultural Center announces spring cultural arts series

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Black-and-white photos of most of the artists are available from the BCC, (765) 494-3092.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Thirteen events are planned for the Black Cultural Center's spring Cultural Arts Series at Purdue University. All events are free unless otherwise noted.

• The series begins with a performance by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in Loeb Playhouse, Stewart Center. The company celebrates the African-American tradition in modern dance. Tickets are $16 for the public, $11 for Purdue students, available at campus box offices or by phone at (765) 494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW.

• Purdue faculty, staff and students will honor Martin Luther King Jr. through community service on Monday, Jan. 19, in Greater Lafayette. Participants in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service will seek to build bridges of unity and understanding between the university and the community through volunteer activities. The concept of service was at the heart of King's philosophy.

• The BCC, Purdue Galleries and the Greater Lafayette Museum of Art present a Haitian Art Exhibition from Monday, Feb. 2, through Sunday, March 22, in the Purdue Memorial Union Gallery. The works from the Waterloo Museum of Art's collection of Haitian Art give a glimpse of Haiti's complex history. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

• Ivan Van Sertima, world-renowned lecturer, teacher, literary critic, cultural linguist and anthropologist, presents the Black History Month keynote lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, in Room 206, Stewart Center. Van Sertima is the author of "They Came Before Columbus" and will provide his insights on the cultural background of African-Americans.

• Purdue graduate Aquila Barnes presents the play "My People! My People!" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center, as part of Black History Month. In rhythmic speeches and dialogue, the characters express arrogance, humility, pride and anger as they share their opinions on what it means to be black in America.

• An evening of theater and song by the New Directional Players and the Black Voices of Inspiration choir, two of the BCC's performing arts ensembles, closes out Black History Month. They will perform at the BCC Coffee House at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. This event is co-sponsored by the Purdue Student Union Board.

• Educator and author Patricia Reid-Merritt will present "Sister Power: It's Time for Women of Color to Take Charge" at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in Room 206, Stewart Center. Her lecture will encourage all to come together and share in the "sisterhood" on the heels of the Million Woman March.

• Surfing the Internet is the topic for four free workshops on Thursday, March 19. "Researching the Black Experience in Cyberspace" is scheduled with BCC librarian Dorothy Washington in the BCC library for 9-10 a.m., noon-1 p.m., 2:30-3:30 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. Participants will learn about searching on the World Wide Web. Registration is required.

• The BCC welcomes special guest poet B-Tree at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in Room 210, Stewart Center. His poetry has been described as a dive into an enlightened consciousness.

The semester will close with performances by each of the BCC's four performing arts ensembles:

• Haraka Fest '98 at 8 p.m. Friday, March 27, in the East Faculty Lounge, Purdue Memorial Union, will be an evening of original poetry from the Haraka Writers, the BCC's own wordsmiths.

• The Black Voices of Inspiration spring concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 5, in Loeb Playhouse, Stewart Center. Under the direction of artist-in-residence Marshall White, the Black Voices of Inspiration plan to present an afternoon of uplifting and joyful sounds. Admission is $5 for the public and $3 for students. Tickets are available at campus box offices or by phone at (765) 494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW.

• An afternoon with the New Directional Players is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday, April 12, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. Artist-in-residence Don Burrus said he hopes the spring theatrical production challenges the audience to think, to laugh and to experience life.

• A "sea of movement" describes the Jahari Dance Troupe Spring Revue at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 19, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. Artist-in-residence Vonda Brooks said she guarantees a performance that will leave even those with two left feet ready to dance.

CONTACT: Renee Thomas, BCC director, (765) 494-3091; e-mail, rathomas@hfs.purdue.edu

Purdue Jazz Festival hits the stage Jan. 23 and 24

The festival kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday with a Purdue Convocations concert with jazz pianist James Williams and his band, The Intensive Care Unit. The group features jazz, rhythm and blues and gospel-inspired music. Tickets are $20 for the public, $13 for Purdue students, available at Purdue box offices, (765) 494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW.

The concert is presented by Purdue Convocations with support from Friends of Convocations and United Technologies.

Williams, who last appeared at Purdue with the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, is a former member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The Intensive Care Unit includes saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Yoron Israel. Also in the group are vocalists Miles Griffith and Roger Holland, both of whom are former members of The Boy's Choir of Harlem.

Williams will lead a discussion of the evening's music at 7 p.m. in Stewart Center, Room 206. The discussion is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, Jan. 24, more than 75 high school and middle school jazz bands from Indiana, Illinois and Michigan will participate in jazz competitions and educational clinics. Bands will perform in several sites in Stewart Center and the Purdue Memorial Union, including Loeb Playhouse, Fowler Hall and the Memorial Union Ballrooms. Judges will evaluate each band and will select the honor bands and honor students from the festival.

Also during the day on Saturday, Williams, the Purdue Lab Jazz Band, the Purdue Concert

Band and other professional soloists will present educational clinics on topics such as improvisation, rehearsal techniques and performance techniques.

A grand finale concert rounds out the day at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the Elliott Hall of Music. The top high school and middle school honor bands selected from the day's competition will open the concert. The Purdue Jazz Band also will perform. The jazz band will be joined by three soloists:

• Terell Stafford, on trumpet, is the head of jazz studies at Temple University. He is a regular in the trumpet sections of Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Jon Faddis' Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He also has produced two critically acclaimed compact disc recordings.

• Conrad Herwing, on trombone, is becoming known as one of the most exciting trombone soloists in the world. His most recent recording is the new Joe Henderson compact disc featuring music from "Porgy and Bess."

• Jim Snidero, on alto saxophone, has recorded more than six compact discs and has toured extensively with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Eddie Palmieri and Frank Sinatra. He is an experienced educator and works as an instructor at the Jamey Aebersold Summer Workshops.

Tickets for Saturday's activities are $8 and will be available in the main lobby of Stewart Center the day of the festival. The Purdue Jazz Festival is the largest event of its kind in the Midwest.

Although Purdue has no school of music, students can participate in a wide variety of instrumental musical activities, including five concert bands, four jazz bands, a full symphony orchestra, a vocal jazz group, the largest marching band in the country, individual instrumental study, and a multitude of solo and ensemble opportunities.

The bands department is in the midst of a $2 million fund-raising campaign that will run through Homecoming 1999 with a goal of $400,000 for band scholarships, $800,000 for new instruments, and $800,000 to support student travel opportunities.

CONTACTS: Jennifer Tucker, director of public relations, bands, (765) 496-2697; e-mail, tuckerj@concentric.net, and Jeff Langford, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; e-mail, jilangford@convos.purdue.edu

Drug tip phone line in operation

Effective with the start of the spring semester Monday (1/12), persons who wish to make an anonymous report on any illegal drug activity should dial 496-DRUG. That number will ring into a voice-mail recorder at police headquarters.

"The tip line will be monitored and reviewed by our personnel as well as the Tippecanoe County Drug Task Force," said Purdue police Capt. Steven Dietrich. "We were looking for a way to enable concerned students to help us locate those who abuse drugs."

He said the drug tip line came out of a recommendation from a Purdue Residence Halls study committee.

"The anonymous aspect of the line may make it easier for people to notify us," Dietrich said. "It's another tool we hope to use in our enforcement efforts."

CONTACT: Dietrich, (765) 494-8221

Purdue Notebook

-- The School of Mechanical Engineering received an honorable mention in the 1997 Curriculum Innovation Awards competition sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The school and associate professor of mechanical engineering James D. Jones were cited for improving student attitudes and performance by using cooperative learning techniques in large-enrollment basic mechanics courses. One winner and two honorable mentions are named annually by the national society to recognize exemplary innovations in engineering education. Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering has been recognized each of the four years the award has been given.

-- In the School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Robert Bill, associate professor of basic medical sciences, and Dean Knoll, large animal anesthesia technologist, each received the veterinary technology program's Lilly Outstanding Teaching Award for 1997. Each received $250 from Eli Lilly and Co.

Veterinary technology graduates earn cash awards

• Jennifer Bishop, Fort Wayne , Ind., a $250 award sponsored by the Indiana Veterinary Technicians Association and the Western Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.

• Nila K. Jones, Bloomfield, Ind. , $150 for the Eber H. Allen Leadership Award, sponsored by the Northeast Indiana Veterinary Medical Association and Auxiliary.

• Keri Ann Karris, Brook, Ind. , $150 for the Highest Academic Achievement Award, sponsored by Vetamac Inc.

• Amy L. Zollman, Henryville, Ind. , $150 for the Highest Technical Proficiency Award, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health.

Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

To the Purdue News and Photos Page