sealPurdue News
_____

August 23, 1996

BCC initiates new program for freshmen

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University students will have several opportunities to learn about and get involved with the Black Cultural Center in the next few weeks.

The first meeting of a new, semester-long program called Freshman Friday will be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday (8/30) at the center, 315 University St. Director Renee Thomas says she created Freshman Friday to help first-year students succeed academically and socially at Purdue.

That first meeting of Freshman Friday will be expanded to include portions of the orientation program that some students missed because protesters disrupted the session held Tuesday (8/20). The public also can come to know the center during its open house from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, and at a variety of performances and events scheduled for the academic year. Callouts for the BCC's student performing ensembles will be held next week.

Freshman Friday, which is open to all first-year students, will meet every other Friday during the fall semester.

"My goal with Freshman Friday is to provide a sense of community for freshmen and to help them identify the resources and support services at Purdue so they will be successful both academically and socially," Thomas said. "It also will provide a networking opportunity for students."

The open house is designed to acquaint visitors with the purpose, programs and services of the center, which houses a library with more than 6,000 volumes, an experimental staging rehearsal area, an artifacts collection, conference room, formal lounge and newsletter room.

The center's Cultural Arts Series opens Wednesday, Sept. 25, with Michael Dyson's address titled "African-American Cultural Criticism." Dyson, who is director of the Institute of African-American Research and a professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the author of "From God to Gangsta Rap: Notes on Black Culture." His free lecture will be at 8 p.m. in Fowler Hall, and a reception will follow in Room 102, Stewart Center.

The Cultural Arts Series runs through April and comprises 20 events. Among some of the other speakers and performers scheduled are JoNina M. Abron, associate professor of English at Western Michigan University and a Purdue alumnus; master flutist Galen Abdur-Razzaq; the Wilberforce University Choir; researcher, lecturer and historian Yosef A.A. Ben-Jochannan during Black History Month in February; and poet Danny Bellinger.

The center also sponsors four performing arts ensembles, primarily made up of students. A callout is scheduled next week at the center for students who want to take part in these groups: Black Voices of Inspiration, 7 p.m. Monday (8/26); Jahari Dance Troupe, 7 p.m. Tuesday (8/27); Haraka Writers, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (8/28); and New Directional Players, 7 p.m. Wednesday (8/28).

The four groups will give various performances throughout the year.

CONTACT: Renee Thomas, (765) 494-3092; e-mail, rathomas@hfs.purdue.edu

Purdue North Central forges new business/education link

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: You are invited to attend a news conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday (8/27) in Room 219, Technology Building, on the Purdue North Central campus, 1401 U.S. 421 South, Westville, just south of the Indiana Toll Road.

WESTVILLE, Ind. -- Northwest Indiana, the leading steel-producing region in the world, will benefit from a new partnership being formed by Purdue University North Central, the Northwest Indiana Forum and the Northern Indiana Building With Steel Alliance.

Details of this new partnership and its mission will be announced Tuesday (8/27) at a news conference on the Purdue North Central campus at Westville. Included will be a demonstration of a new World Wide Web site designed to communicate the benefits and latest technology for use of light-gauge steel components in the residential construction industry.

"The use of new steel products in the construction industry has immense potential for manufacturers in northwest Indiana and the entire steel industry," said Dale W. Alspaugh, chancellor of Purdue North Central. "Increased use of this evolving technology will result in real benefits to our local, regional and state economy. Purdue University will provide educational and communication resources to support the efforts of the Northwest Indiana Forum and the Building With Steel Alliance."

CONTACTS: Jeff Jones, Purdue North Central Campus Relations, (219) 785-5281; e-mail, jjones@purduenc.edu or Joy Banyas, Campus Relations, (219) 785-5267; e-mail, joy@purduenc.edu

Purdue recycling efforts generate revenue, topsoil

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- In the past year, Purdue University has reused, recycled or reclaimed everything from cardboard and office equipment to motor oil and coal ash, generating revenue and a type of compost that can be used as a substitute for topsoil.

By recycling corrugated cardboard and office paper, Purdue Recycling generated $32,805 in the last fiscal year, said Chris Nolte, refuse and recycling coordinator at Purdue. Bales of cardboard cartons are sold to a recycling processor in Indianapolis and used to make new corrugated cardboard cartons. The money will be put back into the recycling program.

Nolte said more revenue now is being generated by baling cartons from academic and administrative buildings, food service areas such as Stone Hall and Purdue Memorial Union, and all residence halls.

Purdue also saved $21,875 in tipping fees at the Waste Management transfer station in Lafayette by recycling the cardboard and paper rather than throwing it away.

Purdue Recycling and the university's Utilities Department began an experiment last fall called the "Soilermaker" project, which mixed yard waste (leaves and wood chips) with coal ash from the Wade Power Plant and nontoxic byproduct sludge from Eli Lilly's Tippecanoe and Clinton Laboratories. The finished product, after composting for three months, was about 175 cubic yards of soil conditioner, which can be used as a substitute for topsoil in campus landscaping projects.

"We've had to go farther and farther away from campus to get topsoil from university fields, but as the Soilermaker project progresses again this fall, we should reduce the amount of topsoil we need from those fields," Nolte said.

Other recycling efforts at Purdue, from July 1, 1995, to June 30 of this year, include:

New lecture series focuses on discoveries in geosciences

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: "Harshvardhan" is the full name of the head of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A new lecture series sponsored by Purdue University's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences will interpret for a lay audience recent news topics in the geosciences.

The first lecture, "As the World Turns: A New Spin on the Inner Core," will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, in Room 1252, Civil Engineering Building. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the pubic.

Scott King, assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, will talk about recent findings that show the Earth's inner core is spinning at a different rate than the rest of the solid Earth. King will review the basics of the inner core -- where it is, what it is made of, how it formed -- and will show the evidence for inner core rotation.

The lecture series, aimed at audiences of high-school age and above, was developed to introduce and interpret breaking news in the geosciences, said Harshvardhan, head of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

"People often read about such events in the paper or in scientific journals, but we wanted to have experts in the field who are well-versed on these issues to interpret them for the lay public," he said.

A second lecture will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, and will focus on the meteorite from Mars that bears traces of primitive life. The location of the lecture will be announced later.

CONTACTS: Harshvardhan, (765) 494-4753, e-mail, harsh@summer.atms.purdue.edu or King, (765) 494-3696, e-mail scott@geo.purdue.edu

Career day aims to interest young women in computer sciences

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A "Women in Computer Science Career Day" will be offered Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Purdue University for young women in their junior year of high school.

The Department of Computer Sciences will host the event from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The program will include hands-on workshops, a demonstration, luncheon, and a tour of the facilities. During a closing reception, participants will have opportunities to talk with professionals in the field.

The event is free, but enrollment is limited to the first 45 applicants.

The goal of the event is to show young women that they can achieve success in a career in computer science, said Jean Jackson, director of the undergraduate office, Department of Computer Sciences. The day is being financed by a grant from the United Technologies Corp.

High-school juniors in Indiana interested in attending the career day may obtain an application form from their high-school guidance counselor, or by contacting Jackson, Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., 47906-1398. Jackson's toll-free phone number is 800-320-6132, and her e-mail address is jackson@cs.purdue.edu

Sept. 3 program will focus on animals in society

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A symposium on human and animal issues in society will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Room 218, Stewart Center, at Purdue University.

The program, free and open to the public, is "Animals in Our Lives."

Among the topics are animal welfare vs. animal rights, "mad cow" disease, the importance of animals in child development, and the role of the veterinarian.

Samuel Ross Jr., executive director of Green Chimneys Children's Services in Brewster, N.Y., will talk about the use of animals in personality rehabilitation.

Other speakers are faculty members in Purdue's schools of agriculture, veterinary medicine, and consumer and family sciences, and Dr. Carol Ecker, a South Bend veterinarian and a Purdue trustee.

The symposium is co-sponsored by Purdue's Center for Applied Ethology and Human-Animal Interaction, the School of Veterinary Medicine and Gamma Sigma Delta honor society for agriculture, consumer and family sciences, and veterinary medicine.

CONTACTS: Professor Alan Beck, director, Center for Applied Ethology and Human-Animal Interaction, (765) 494-0854; home, (317) 497-7881; Internet, abeck@vm.cc.purdue.edu

Dr. John Fessler, School of Veterinary Medicine, (765) 494-8548

Purdue 'All-American' Marching Band selects solo twirlers

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Black-and-white photographs of the solo twirlers are available from Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2096.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Ann M. Loppnow, a freshman majoring in occupational therapy from Hartland, Wis., became the 20th Purdue University Golden Girl after auditions Friday (8/16).

The Golden Girl is one of the most prestigious solo twirler positions in the United States and has been part of the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band since 1954.

Also chosen Friday were a new Girl in Black, Karen M. Asadourian, and Silver Twins, Erin Griffin and Alisha Stenger.

The four solo twirlers not only perform with the band, but also represent the university as ambassadors at meetings and other events, performing and giving speeches.

Loppnow has been twirling for 13 years and has won more than 1,000 trophies in local, state and national competitions. She recently served as the captain of "Julie's Touch of Silver," a national twirling corps.

Asadourian is from Westlake, Ohio, and is a junior in electrical engineering. This is her third year in the "All-American" Marching Band -- last year she was captain of the band's twirling line.

Griffin and Stenger were last year's Silver Twins. Griffin, from Valparaiso , is a junior majoring in math education. Stenger, from Plainfield , is a junior majoring in special education.

The Golden Girl position was created in 1954 as the band's counterpart to Boilermaker football quarterback Lenny Dawson, who was dubbed Purdue's Golden Boy by the press. The band added the Silver Twins in 1960, and the Girl in Black position was created in 1962.

CONTACT: Jennifer Tucker, director of public relations, Purdue University Bands, (317) 496-2697; e-mail, tuckerj@omni.cc.purdue.edu

ler/rounduplocal/9608e8

Compiled by Ellen Rantz, (765) 494-2073; Internet, ellen_rantz@purdue.edu