Purdue News Roundup

September 11, 1998 Talk on date rape also to air on Purdue cable WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Author Joe Weinberg will bring his message of sexual ethics and empathy to Purdue University Tuesday (9/15). Over the past twelve years, Weinberg has given more than 1,500 workshops and presentations on the subject of sexual assault and date rape prevention. He has spoken to male audiences in fraternities, prisons and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Initially planned as a fraternity and sorority event, Weinberg's visit to Loeb Playhouse, Stewart Center, is now open to all students. Students also will be able to watch Weinberg's seminar live on the residence hall cable system's Channel 15, said Marvis Boscher, the new director of university residences. "Weinberg is a mesmerizing performer with a message students need to hear. His presentation marks the fourth time we have used the campus cable system to broadcast a live event. We hope to bring more campus events and lectures directly into residence hall rooms," Boscher said. Weinberg will first address a convocation of women at 6 p.m. and then turn his attention to an audience of men at 8 p.m. Each presentation is free and open to the public. Seating at Loeb Playhouse is not reserved. Weinberg's presentation technique shows men how to personally define sexual assault and how to unlearn what he calls the "rape/abusive masculinity process." Weinberg will discuss many topics including dangerous assumptions some men make about dating, how rape hurts men, and the influences of pornography. Weinberg's visit is sponsored by the Purdue Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association in conjunction with a grant from the Indiana Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Project. CONTACT: Boscher, (765) 494-1000; Michael Lindinger, Interfraternity Council representative, (765) 494-2717. Career fair features jobs in restaurant, hotel industry WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Representatives from more than 50 companies in the hospitality industry will take part in a career fair to be held on the Purdue University campus Sept. 22. The event will be held in the South Ballroom of the Purdue Memorial Union from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Both the career fair and a morning session with industry leaders are free and open to all Purdue students and the general public. The career fair is sponsored by the Restaurant, Hotel, Institutional and Tourism Management Department (RHIT). The event is part of the department's Career Day activities. During the career fair representatives will discuss their companies and interview RHIT students interested in hospitality industry management careers. The morning session will feature two industry leaders sharing their insights on the future of the hospitality industry. Gene Rupnik, past president of the American Hotel & Motel Association, will speak at 9:30 a.m. in Room 302 of Stewart Center followed by Joe Fassler, chief executive officer and president of the National Restaurant Association, who will speak at 11 a.m. Rupnik is the president of Rupnik Hospitality Management and the owner of Days Inn of Springfield, Ill. His management company has operated hotels in central Illinois and has developed a quality assurance program for seven lodges operated by the state of Illinois. Fassler is president and chief executive officer of Restaura, Inc., one of the nation's leading dining service companies and a subsidiary of Viad Corp. Fassler is responsible for all Restaura operations including Restaura Dining Services, Restaura Fast Food, which is a franchisee of Burger King Restaurants, and Glacier Park, Inc., which operates lodging facilities at Glacier National Park in Montana and its Canadian counterpart, Waterton Lakes National Park. CONTACT: Ray Kavanaugh, RHIT department head, (765) 494-4643 or Maureen Tate, administrative assistant, (765) 494-4735. Ford Motor Co. gives to diversity at Purdue NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A color photo of the Black Cultural Center under construction is available. Ask for the photo called BCC.constr. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A gift from the Ford Motor Co. will establish the Ford Learning Resource Center in the new Black Cultural Center at Purdue University. The gift of $115,000 was announced this week by Alex Trotman, Ford chairman and chief executive officer, and Marcus Clarke, BCC fund-raising committee chairman and Ford business operations and development manager. "Support of higher education continues to be one of our highest priorities, and we're pleased to have this opportunity to help provide greater understanding and awareness of the African-American experience," Trotman said. Ford employs more than 550 Purdue graduates, and has been one of the university's top research and recruiting partners for a number of years. Clarke said Ford has offered this support for the "bricks and mortar" part of the Black Cultural Center project to help students better prepare for a diverse work force. "Ford recruits more graduates from Purdue than any other university outside the state of Michigan," Clarke said. "And since ours is a global workforce of various cultures and ethnicity, it's important that our future employees understand, embrace and support diversity. We believe that the Black Cultural Center plays a key role in that portion of a Purdue education." Renee Thomas, director of the Black Cultural Center, said the impact of the Ford Learning Resource Center in the BCC library will reach beyond Purdue's campus. "In addition to providing access to the Purdue community, the Black Cultural Center library lends its books via interlibrary loan to libraries throughout the state of Indiana," Thomas said. "And better storage also allows us to preserve our collection in a more effective way. That's especially important because black-related materials go out of print at a faster rate than non-black-related materials and are less likely to be reprinted." The Black Cultural Center serves about 35,000 people each year through its four performing arts ensembles, speaker series, tours and other programs. Built entirely with gift funds, the new $3 million, 18,000-square-foot building, at Third and Russell Streets, will incorporate geometric patterns, textures and materials typically found in African villages. Main rooms will include an expanded art and gallery space, a computer laboratory, rehearsal areas for the performing arts ensembles, and office space for student organizations. Construction of the center, designed by Blackburn Architects of Indianapolis, began this spring and completion is expected by the fall of 1999. CONTACTS: Marcus Clarke, (313) 322-9231; Renee Thomas, (765) 494-3091 BCC Cultural Art Series to open with acclaimed play WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue University Black Cultural Center will begin its 1998 Cultural Art Series on Wednesday, Sept. 30, with the critically acclaimed play "The Inside -- Afrikan Centered Theatre." "This play is a piercing take on race, academia, art and sexuality. It's a deeply engaging exploration of personal identity," BCC Director Renee Thomas said. "The Inside" is about Emma, a black college student who reaches a crisis at a party given by and populated with her white peers. The free performance begins at 7 p.m. in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The next event in the Cultural Arts Series will be a day of workshops by Dorothy Washington, BCC librarian, on "Researching the Black Experience in Cyberspace." She will conduct four one-hour workshops in the BCC Library beginning at 9 a.m., noon, 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. The event is free, but registration is required. Maulana Karenga, the creator of the African-American cultural holiday Kawanzaa and the Nguzo Saba, will deliver a lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Room 206, Stewart Center. As part of his talk entitled "Embracing the Good and Pursuing the Possible," the activist-scholar will discuss the principles and practice of the Nguzo Saba, which include unity, self-determination, collective work/responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. He is the author of 12 books and numerous scholarly articles. Illustrator Javako Steptoe will give a free slide show and lecture at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in the Black Cultural Center multipurpose room. Steptoe's grouping of illustrations entitled "In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall" celebrates fatherhood with illustrations rich in texture and emotional impact. Steptoe's use of a multimedia technique to illustrate the works of dozens of poets has earned multiple awards. The BCC Coffee House will feature an evening of theater and dance when the Jahari Dance Troupe and the New Directional Players perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in Fowler Hall. Admission is $3 for students and $5 for the public. The Purdue Student Union Board is co-sponsor of the event. Saturday, Oct. 24, the Purdue Black Alumni Organization joins with the Black Cultural Center to co-sponsor the BCC Homecoming Tailgate Party. The fun begins in the BCC parking lot three hours before kickoff time for the football game against the University of Illinois. The cost is $5 for students, $7 for the public. The Black Voices of Inspiration will hold its fall campus concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in the Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms. The free concert is co-sponsored by the Student Union Board. George Curry, editor and chief of Emerge Magazine, will present a lecture on "What African Americans Must Do to Help Ourselves" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, in Fowler Hall. Curry is a regular panelist on "Lead Story," a news analysis program that airs each Sunday on the BET television network. The free talk is co-sponsored by the Historically Black Institution Visitation Program. On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Black Cultural Center sponsors the DuSable Museum Tour and African Dinner in Chicago. Participants will visit the nation's oldest nonprofit institution devoted to the collection, preservation, interpretation and dissemination of African and African-American history and culture. After the guided museum tour, Ethiopian cuisine will be served at an African restaurant. Tickets are $20 and include transportation, entrance to the museum and dinner. The registration deadline is Nov. 10. For more information, call (765) 494-3094. A showing of "The Color of Fear" is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, in the BCC multipurpose room. Lee Mun Wah's film portrays the pain and anguish that racism has caused in the lives of eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino and African descent. The screening is free and open to the public. The four BCC performing arts ensembles -- the Jahari Dance Troupe, the Black Voices of Inspiration Choir, the New Directional Players and the Haraka Writers -- will present the BCC Cultural Arts Festival at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, in Loeb Playhouse. Admission is $3 for students, $5 for the public. A chance to attend a final study session is available Thursday, Dec. 10, at the BCC. The study session at 6 p.m. will be followed by a study break featuring cards, dominos, games, music and fun. CONTACT: Renee Thomas, BCC director (765) 494-3091; e-mail, rathomas@hfs.purdue.edu Purdue bells to help celebrate Constitution Week WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue Bell Tower will help ring in U.S. Constitution Week Sept. 17-23. The tower's bells will peal briefly at 4 p.m. Thursday (9/17) along with other civic, church and school bells across the community to call attention to "our heritage of freedom and those whose foresight made it possible" through the crafting of the Constitution, said Mary Ann Scott, committee chair of Constitution Week of the General de Lafayette Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. The Constitution was adopted by a convention of the states on Sept. 17, 1787. CONTACT: Scott, (765) 447-4632. Purdue Notebook Campus activities: -- Students in computer-related fields can attend the annual AITP Computer Roundtable, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (9/15) in the Ballrooms of the Purdue Memorial Union. More than 120 companies are expected to participate and recruit students for employment and internship opportunities. The event is sponsored by the Purdue student chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals. More information is available at the roundtable web site: * * * * * Faculty and staff honors: -- Barry Wanner, professor of biological sciences, has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. Fellow grade membership is the highest honor the organization bestows on its members. The mission of the Academy is to recognize scientists for distinguished achievements in microbiology and provide microbiological expertise in the service of science and the public. 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