"Like Yoda we speak, like Chaucer we spell"

NEW COLLEGE CELEBRATES PRIDE WEEK Nick Napolitano

New College and its gay and lesbian community

recently celebrated its 2nd annual Pride Week . This year's

theme was "Community," to reflect the need for the Sarasota gay

community to become more unified and centralized. Amy

Andre, Leif Meneke, and Christa Polley organized the week­

long celebration.

The week kicked off on the 13th of February with a

catered reception (courtesy of Nature's Way Cafe), an art

exhibit, and the screening of two short films: Both and Beauties

Without a Cause. Two more short films were shown on Tues­

day, as well as the full-length feature Homoteens, sponsored by

PFLAG.

Peter Uitenbosch, the founder of AIDS Manasota,

spoke about his experiences in AIDS activism at Sudakoff on

Wednesday. He returned the following night to participate in a

panel discussion with other community leaders. In attendance

were Uitenbosch; Shirley Townsend of the Metropolitan

Community Church (MCC); Nancy Morris, organizer of

Pridefest and founder of Southwe t Florida, a lesbian/gay

business guild; and Betsy Nelson, founder of ALSO, a gay/

lesbian/bisexual youth group.

Also participating in the discussion was Suzanne

Hudson-Smith, the founder of Full Moon Theatre. The troupe

gave their first performance at Sainer Auditorium on Friday.

"We want to raise awareness through the arts," says Smith, "and

give someplace for us to go that's not a bar."

To finish Pride Week, Urvashi Vaid, the former director

of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and

principal organizer of the 1992 March on Washington, delivered

a speech and fielded questions. Her talk ranged from issues like

gay representations in the media to the grass-roots strategies of

the Christian Right. She also addressed the importance of

reaching people through culture-paved avenues, the need for

coming out, as well as the significance of local activism. These

are only a few of the topics covered in Vaid's interesting and

wonderful talk. For those interested in reading a transcription of her

speech, it will be on reserve reading in the library, along with

some quotes from the community discussion panel.

Volume IV, Issue 21 February 28, 1995

STUDENTS WIN STATEWIDE WRITING CONTEST Contributed by the New College Foundation

Two New College students brought home first place

awards in a statewide writing contest sponsored by the Florida

Honors Council. The competition was open to students enrolled

in honors programs at all state universities and community

colleges in the state of Florida. The Florida Honors Council is

composed of faculty, administrators, and students from these

honors programs. Under terms of the competition, students

could enter in categories including documented research, critical

thinking, creative writing, and this year's specific theme selected

by the Honors Council, "Celebrating Diversity Through Learn­

ing."

Josh Heling, a second year student at New College, won

first place in the category of critical thinking f9r his entry,

"Orientalism--Precis and Critique." His faculty mentor at New

College is Dr. John Newman.

Lisa Swanstrom, a third year student at New College,

won first place in the category of creative writing for a prose

piece titled "Saturday." Her faculty mentor at New College is Dr.

John Moore.

The students will receive a cash prize, a plaque, and

have their papers published in the Council's newsletter. Addi­

tionally, Heling and Swanstrom were invited to read their papers

at the Florida Honors Council Annual Conference last week in

Orlando.

The writing contest was initiated in 1987 as a way to

encourage and recognize the talents of students in Florida's

honors programs. John McLeod, who is Director of Emphasis on

Excellence, at Miami Dade Community College, has been the

coordinator of the writing contest for the past two years.

Inside This Issue

Editorial .......................................... 2

Graham's Asylum ................................... 3

Construction Update ................................. 4

SAC Allocations .................................... 4

Isabella, The Multi-National Sex Goddess ................ 4

Mocktails Report ................................... 5

Outside the Ivory Tower .............................. 5

Announcements ..................................... 6

2 The Catalyst February 28, 1995

EDITORIAL

Wallpapering Ham Center with one's thoughts, politics,

and random preoccupations is a time-honored tradition at New

College. Perhaps we do it because we're such children of the

Infonnation Generation that we have a desperate need for

constant visual stimulation. Perhaps its because we're all closet

exhibitionists yearning for attention. Maybe we just like the

decorative quality of hastily-scrawled rants spread out across the

walls. We at The Catalyst do not know.

What we do know is that thesis student Jenny McKeel

did something unusual when she pasted up her body image

display on the north wall of Ham Center.

She thought about it first.

Her display was thought-provoking instead of preachy,

inclusive instead of exclusive, and used statistics, examples, and

well-selected quotations rather than mere slogans. We have

heard many healthy discussions about body image, the media,

anorexia and bulimia, gender, and feminism that were spurred by

her effort.

That is why some of the more noticeable reactions to

McKeel's display are so sad. Responses such as "The Uglier

The Angrier" and "Nice looking women, should have more of

them on the walls. (Clothing optional)!" were some of the first

commentaries added to the wall. Suddenly the focus of re­

sponses shifted from the issue of body image and media to

attacking the juvenile scrawls.

As pointed out in a message posted by Dwight Mann,

some New College students respond to such offensive remarks

by removing them. Every student should have the right to free

speech, no matter how offensive, juvenile, or silly it may be.

Students should also consider that the existence of such com­

ments should be acknowledged rather than hidden. We are all

adults here, and our reaction to things we do not like should be

to respond to them or ignore them, not to hide from them.

But this is not simply a free speech issue. There are

few reasonably intelligent mammals on this campus who would

deny the significance of body image problems. Most of us have

come into contact with body-related neurosis, either in ourselves

or in people we care about. So let's give Jenny McKeel her say;

and if we want to respond, let's put as much time and thought

into our responses as she put into the original message.

The Catalyst

General Editor: Ken Burruss Managing Editor: lien Zazueta-Audirac

Staff Writers: Graham Strouse, Rocky Swift, Jake Reimer, Byron Hartsfield, Kate Fink, Meg Hayes, and Nick Napolitano.

Layout: Kelcey Burns and Michael Hutch

Business Manager: Anjna Chauhan and Adam Rains

The Catalyst is also available on-line at http://www.sar.usf.edu/-reffell/catalyst/catalyst.html

Direct inquiries/submissions to our Computer Guy, James Reffell (reffell@virtu.sar.usf.edu)

Co-Sponsored by Dean and Warden Michalson and Professor Vesperi

Letters to the Editor should be submitted on disk if possible, if not then in type, to Box 75,

the Catalyst envelope on the door of the Publication Room, or mailed to:

5700 N Tamiami Trail, Box 75

Sarasota, FL 34243

The Catalyst reserves the right to edit submissions for reasons of space or clarity.

The Catalyst February 28, 1995 3

CHEERS, JEERS FOR DRESS TO GET LAID PCP Graham Strouse

It was the best of PCP's, it was the worst of PCP's.

Now that we've had some time to recover from the

(in)famous "Dress to Get Laid" PCP, I'd like to offer some

heartfelt cheers and halfhearted jeers to the dauntless souls

whose task it was to spread post-Valentine's Day black humor

across this campus.

First, the cheers.

To our scruffle-faced, bespectacled SAC Chairbeing

Adam Stone, I give an opposable thumbs up for the those blue

and pink wristbands. The pink wrist-tags the SAC distributed to

us Novo Collegians made it far easier for both students and

police to pick out the restless natives amongst the party-goers,

thus helping to insure our protection (by enabling us to identify

potentially troublesome nonstudents). The fact that they look

like the hospital tags psychiatric doctors wrap around your arm

when they take you to your padded cell only added to the

ambience. The blue wristbands, which identified nonnative

friendlies, served not only as markers but as a nifty revenue

generating device for recouping the cost of the PCP. The cost

for the blue plastic wraps was three dollars. Shrewd, Adam,

shrewd.

Also, cheers to the bubble makers. With six bucks,

some plastic wrap, carpet scraps and a fan, the progenitors of

that little plastic love house planted near third court managed to

create one of more interesting props (aside from the costumes

and students) that made the "Dress to get laid" PCP such a

memorable night.

My third cheer is also my first jeer. To Oliver Luby,

whose prodigious efforts helped make this rare mid-year PCP, I

offer a hearty thanks and a gentle "Hello, McFiy." Luby's off­

campus advertising (which was originally inspired by a desire to

bridge the gap between New College and the Ringling Art

School) would have been a great idea for any PCP but this one.

Although most New College Students realized that the "Dress to

Get Laid" moniker is (mostly) a joke, some nonstudents (who

couldn't quite tell the difference between a PCP and a frat party),

didn't quite get it. For those nonstudents, and for the handful of

women who they harassed, the evening was not so much fun.

In his defense, Luby's efforts were well-intentioned,

and even he realized the boo-boo of his ways.

"I realize now it was foolish to put that ["Dress To Get

Laid"] on the advertisement", he said.

Thanks, Oliver. For any other party, your advertise­

ments will be greatly appreciated.

Jeers (though an "A" for effort) to the engineers of that

bicycle whirly-bird thing in front of first court. Several students,

including at least one member of The Catalyst staff, spent over

an hour in the mud trying to set up that god-forsaken, PVC

abomination; proving yet again that New College is definitely

not an engineering school.

My last jeer goes to the beery swine, both students and

nonstudents, who felt the need to hassle, harass, and otherwise

irritate various party-goers. Come on guys, no one needs that

kind of schnacka.

By the by, a number of us would like to thank the

campus police for not shutting the party down after they found a

"35-year-old nonstudent" (Sgt. Gene O'Casio's words), tending

bar at the keg. The police extended the Wall-organizers the

courtesy of setting things straight rather than charging in

truncheons raised. Muchas gracias. We appreciate it.

Finally, thesis student Aimee Placas, the cofounder of

the "Dress To Get Laid" party theme three years back, would

like to offer her own special thanks to all those people who did

not blame her for not getting laid.

Until next time, true deceivers, make mine Marvel.

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4 The Catalyst February 28, 1995

SAC SPRI G ALLOCATIONS

QrganizatiQn

Mac Lab

Pool Room

Catalyst

EndGame Play

Sailing

PA System

Zymurgy

GLBSA

Pillow Book

Urban Sympo ium

Empowered Film

Bl, ck Orchid

Valasquez

Hunger/ Activists

Activist Coalition

Womyn'sTea

ISP Show and Tell

New Collage

Recycling

Challenge 2000

Dance

Student Events Committee

Cartoon Book

Glock

EgoStroker

NC-3 Chess

IR

Chess Tutorial

Game Room

Jewish Identity

Awo~s!v

Total Allocations

Buy Sell

Trade

IQtal AllQS<a.ted 9326.82

550.00

1015.00

0

2790.00

260.00

104.00

151.50

220.00

360.00

60.00

500.00

0

274.00

!00.00

40.00

15.00

1500.00

255.00

0

68.00

0

115.00

160.00

180.00

120.00

0

0

250.00

170.00

JOO,OO 18,884.32

• Downtown Sarasota • 1488 Main St. • Sarasota, FL 34236 • U.S.A.

Open 7 Days A Week • (813) 366-1373

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Rocky Swift

In a month that ecms to be unofficially dubbed

"Inconvenience New College Students Month," yet another

construction project has impeded the flow of daily student life.

This time it i the College Hall renovation project. As was

reported earlier, College Hall is undergoing repairs to correct

fire code hazards. A new sprinkler ystem has been installed

as well as a new taircase. Cook Hall underwent similar

repairs that have already been completed.

The construction is scheduled for completion in mid­

March, and everything is on schedule. According to one of the

construction workers, the new College Hall staircase will in

fact be completed ahead of schedule.

Because of the loud and dirty work going on in

College Hall, most of the classes that meet there have been

temporarily moved. Professors that have offices there are not

so lucky, a the dust and debris has caused clutter and damage.

Some professors become ill and blamed the problem on the

poor air quality in College Hall. Air samp1es have been sent

off for analysis to see if any dangerous substance have

become airborne due to the construction.

"ISABELLA, THE MULTI-NATIO AL SEX GODDESS" PLAYING SOON

MegHaye

"Isabella, The Multi-National Sex Goddess,"

written, directed and starring thesis student Sheila Bishop,

is a comedy centering on exi m, feminism, and sexual

interactions.

As part of Bishop's thesis, "Isabella" represents

the culmination of all her theater works during her years at

New College.

First year student Stephanie Martin p]ay Thing

One, third year Steve Wilder plays Thing Two, and first

year Heather Oliver performs the duties of stage manager,

props manager and lighting technician. Morgan Deiringer

will play piano for the piece.

The play will show on March 3 at 8:00 pm in

Sainer auditorium at the Caples Fine Art Complex.

Refreshments will be offered after the performance, which

is free for everyone.

The Catalyst February 28, 1995 5

STUDENTS DISCUSS ALCOHOL USE Meg Hayes

Question: So what's there to do at New College if you

don't feel like chemically altering your mind?

Answer: The RA-sponsored mocktail party at Tim

Richardson's apartment on Thursday the 23. Students who

attended received glasses of non- alcoholic daquiris, margaritas,

pifia coladas and other mixed drinks, snacks and an invitation to

participate in a discussion about alcohol use. Richardson and

the RAs directed the discussion towards the role of alcohol in

our community.

The group's deliberation centered on why more people

don't turn out for non-alcohol related events, and how individu­

als can organize activities that will draw as many people as show

up for alcohol-centered parties. Richardson suggested that

maybe one reason people have trouble attending social functions

when there is no alcohol is simply that they feel self-conscious

and that they can't relax without alcohol. Also, many felt that

there is a pull towards spontaneous activities, and alcohol

consumption is easy to do without any planning. Sara Kuppin,

fourth-year student and RA, recognized that parties with alcohol

are often accompanied by good music, and that draws people as

well.

The group suggested some possible activities such as

"crafty study breaks" (such as the one B-dorm organized at the

end of first semester), board game competitions, slyly planned

but apparently spontaneous card games in Ham Center (be on the

look out), billiards contests, more planned sports, movies and

many other activities which do not require alcohol. They

recognized that although many students complain about having

nothing to do but drink or smoke up, few of us actually seek out

other forms of entertainment. Richardson commented that it

only takes one person to start a tradition, so those looking for

alternatives to the alcohol party scene should take matters into

their own hands.

The SAC-funded party was not well-attended. Konnie

Kruczek, thesis student and RA, commented, "Obviously,

alcohol is a center of most of our social life, and it's too bad that

more students didn't come out to talk about alternatives."

OUTSIDE THE IVORY TOWER Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Lougainis

admitted last week that he suffers from full blown AIDS.

Lougainis, who acknowledged he was gay last year, has known

he was positive since 1988. He had himself tested after he

learned a former lover was dying from the disease. Lougainis,

35, is the only diver in Olympic history to win gold medals in

both the three meter springboard and ten meter platform events

in consecutive Games.

James Herriot, author of the famous All Creatures

Great and Small Series, died of prostate cancer on Thursday,

February 23, at the age of 78. His books were dramatizations of

his experiences as a veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales of

England.

On Capitol Hill, Congress is talking about drastically

reducing the federal school lunch program. Under the new

guidelines, only the neediest children would have their meals

paid for. The "neediest" will probably be youngsters whose

families fall under the federal poverty level of $14,800 for a

family of four. Last year, 14-million American schoolchildren

ate free or reduced-priced lunches, and another 5-million

participated in breakfast programs. According to one estimate,

about 6-million youngsters would lose lunch privileges.

In an effort to offset severe budget cutting in state

university systems nationwide, many institutions have adopted,

or are considering adopting measures to ensure swifter gradua­

tion rates and higher revenue. These include lessening the

requirements for degrees, eliminating entire departments,

making freshmen declare their majors, imposing financial

penalties on students who take more courses than are necessary

to graduate or who take too few per semester, charging part-time

students full tuition, and raising overall tuition rates.

If you ever wanted to know what a Soviet bomber base

looked like in 1966- now's your chance. The Clinton adminis­

tration announced last Friday that some 800,000 spy satellite

photographs taken between 1960 and 1972 will be available to

the public, either by mail or over the Internet. A small preview of

the collection, including photographs of bomber bases, volca­

noes, and the Aral Sea, is now available at http://

edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/dclass/dclass.html.

Finally, in other news, our brand-new Republican­

dominated Congress announced last week that they will ask the

President for more money in military spending than even the

Pentagon wants for this year's budget. The United States

already spends more money on its military than the rest of the

world combined.

6 The Catalyst February 28, 1995

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Join the Human Race! Saturday, March 4th/7:30am at Sarasota Square Mall. If you want to get sponsors and walk for Planned

Parenthood or sponsor someone who does, call Sharon Maloney at 365-3913.

* * * * * The Action Auction, sponsored by New College Foundatjon, has student job opportunities for the night of Saturday, March 18,

1995, from 5 pm until about 11 pm in Hamilton Center. $5.00 per hour. Cash paid at the end of the night. Sign up in the trailer next

to Robertson Hall. Only 30 openings available; don't delay. You must be able to attend a short pre-auction meeting on March 14 at

4:30pm in the trailer by the admissions building.

***** A next Rape Aggression Defense Class is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 18th and 19th, from 9:00am to 4:00pm in

Sudakoff. Class is open to all female New College students, faculty, and staff at no charge. Class is limited to 10 participants. Call

USFPD at 359-4210 to sign up.

***** The USF/New College Library will be having a New/Used Book Sale Tuesday, March 21, through Thursday, March 23, from 9:00

am to 6:00 pm at the Rita Kipp Music Room of College Hall.

* * * * * AIDS-Manasota is offering free, confidential couseling for people who are HIV positive. Couselors are available from 10:00 am to

noon and from 2:00pm to 4:00pm each weekday. For more information call (813)954-6011.

* * * * * Student Activities News:I~you are interested in joining a student/faculty/staff committee that will be writing a sexual harrassment

policy for New College, get in touch with Kevin in the Student Activities office, or call 359-4266.

There are still some cheap ($5) Van Wezel tickets available for the spring season performances. If you want one, let us

know.

Kevin would appreciate it if any students who have volunteered with a community service organization in Sarasota would

let him know so that he can include it in the Center for Service Learning database.

Thesis students who would like to present their work at a thesis colloquium later this semester should sign up in the

Student Activities office.

* * * * * There will now be recycling activities every Sunday at 2:00 in Palm Court, and volunteers are needed! Do you have what it takes?

Requirements: One hour of your time, and the ability to crush cans and take caps off bottles. Interested CWSP students may be

eligible to be paid for coordinating/working with the recycling program. Contact Mark Johnson or Amy Mormino (box 389) for

more information.

***** David F. Noble, author of A World Without Women: The Christian Clerical Culture of Western Science (Oxford Paperbacks, 1993),

will speak at 3:30pm, Wednesday, March 15 in Sudakoff Center. Dr. Noble's talk is entitled The Religion of Technology: The Myth

of a Masculine Millenium.

Dr. Noble is an historian of the ideas and social structures that gave rise to modern science and technology. His work has

demonstrated that the hostility toward women in science is a product of science's origins within an all male clerical culture formed in

flight from women. This counters the popular beliefs that science rose in opposition to religion and that women were outside science

because the scientific way of thinking was inherently different from women's way of thinking. Dr. Noble is a professor in the

Division of Social Science at University of Toronto.

***** FREE TICKETS TO THE MEDIEVAL FAIR!!!!! Tickets are available for the Medieval Fair March 2 thru March 5 for New

College and University Program students. Present your student I.D. at the Business Office and receive 2 free tickets. First come,

(j rst served.