Willamette Hosts Annual Powwow

Willamette University will host the Sixth Annual Social Powwow Saturday, March 8, in Cone Field House at Sparks Athletic Center. The free event, which is open to the public, begins with a Grand Entry at 4 p.m.

The event will include native arts and crafts, food, dancers and drum groups. Prizes will be awarded in a Fancy Shawl Dance contest, and there will be a raffle to win a Pendleton blanket and other prizes. The master of ceremonies is Bob Tom, arena director is David West and host drum is Four Directions.

This year’s powwow is in honor of Warm Springs tribal elder Warren “Rudy” Clements and his daughter Trudee Clements, both of whom passed away in recent years. Rudy Clements was the leader of economic development and longtime public face for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. For three decades, he lent his political and governmental awareness, leadership skills and unique speaking style to addressing the concerns of the Indian people living in western Oregon. His daughter, a drummer and singer, was a champion Fancy Shawl dancer.

The powwow is sponsored by Willamette’s Native American Enlightenment Association and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. For more information, call (503) 370-6265.

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Puttin' on the Ritz Invites Community to the Dance Floor

Put on your best dress or tuxedo and your dancing shoes and enjoy an evening of big-band music Feb. 29 and March 1 at Willamette University’s 13th annual Puttin’ on the Ritz.

The event starts both nights at 6:30 p.m. with appetizers, followed by dinner and dancing from 7 to 11 p.m. The Cat Cavern in Putnam University Center will be decorated for an evening of swing-style dancing. Bon Appetit will provide the meal, and the Willamette Jazz Ensemble and the Willamette Singers will perform music from the 1940s and ’50s.

“This event fills an oft-mentioned void in the Salem community for an upscale evening where dancing is encouraged and the music is timeless,” said Choral Director Wallace Long.

Tickets are $34.50 per person, $138 for a table of four and $260 for a table of eight. Proceeds will help the Willamette Singers travel to Vancouver, B.C., to perform at the American Choral Directors Association Northwest Regional Convention. Call Susie Thompson-Drain at (503) 370-6214 to reserve tickets.

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Willamette University Events Focus on Global Warming

Focus the Nation, a nationwide conversation dedicated to finding solutions to global climate change, will take place Thursday, Jan. 31, at more than 1,200 colleges and universities across the nation. Willamette University will host a free day-long symposium and a free concert. The community is invited.

Joint Chiefs of Staff, a regional band, will kick off the event with a free concert Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Willamette has invited students and community members to produce an accompanying music video for the original song, "Oceans Rising," by singer/songwriter Kristen Grainger, who serves as Willamette’s vice president. Winning videos will be shown at the concert.

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 31, the eight panel sessions are:

--- "Local and National Responses to Global Climate Change," 8 to 9:30 a.m., Montag Center. Panel moderator is Joe Bowersox, Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics.

--- "Health Effects and Behavioral Solutions to Climate Change," 9:40 to 11:10 a.m., Alumni Lounge, University Center. Panel moderator is psychology Professor Sue Koger.

--- "Economic Incentives to Address Climate Change," 9:40 to 11:10 a.m., Montag Center. Panel moderator is economics Professor Don Negri.

--- "Tomorrow’s Global Citizens: Education and the Challenge of Global Climate Change," 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Cone Chapel, Waller Hall. The convocation will be moderated by Professor Neil Liss, School of Education.

--- "The Role of Law and Policy in Addressing Climate Change," 12:50 to 2:20 p.m., Alumni Lounge, University Center. Panel moderator is law Professor Susan Smith.

--- "Faith and Climate Change," also from 12:50 to 2:20 p.m., Montag Center. The Rev. Karen Wood, associate chaplain for vocational exploration and director of the Lilly Project at Willamette, will moderate.

--- "Private Sector Contributions to Sustainability," 2:30 to 4 p.m., Montag Center. Elliot Maltz, professor of marketing at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, will moderate.

--- A Willamette University student panel, 2:30 to 4 p.m., Alumni Lounge, will provide the closing discussion.

Visiting panelists include Michael Grainey, Oregon Department of Energy; Tim Stumhofer, Climate Clean; Regina Hauser, Oregon Natural Step Network; Bruce Hamilton, PPM Energy; Geoff Huntington, Sustain; Professor Paul Thiers, Washington State University, Vancouver; The Rev. Gail McDougal, First Congregational Church; Dave Aston, Port of Portland; Dr. Ernie Neimi, ECONorthwest; Steve Novick, candidate for U.S. Senate; Jon Yoder, Salem-Keizer Public Schools; Gail Achtermann, Oregon State University Institute of Natural Resources; Maggie Langlas, U.S. Department of the Interior, BLM; Rabbi David Kominsky, Temple Beth Sholom, Salem.

Focus the Nation is the brainchild of Lewis and Clark College Professor Eban Goodstein, who wrote “Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction: How Passion and Politics Can Stop Global Warming.”

It is Goodstein’s belief that university professors will fail as educators unless they prepare students for the challenge of climate change.

For more information visit www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/focusthenation/schedule.htm, www.focusthenation.org or www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/contest/song.htm.

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Willamette Introduces Car-Sharing Program

Willamette University is bringing a new car-sharing program to Salem that gives local residents another form of alternative transportation.

Flexcar, a national program, allows members to “rent” a car for a nominal hourly fee that includes fuel and insurance. The program is cheaper than a traditional car rental and is not limited to people older than 21. Many metro areas across the country, including Portland and Seattle, already have Flexcar programs.

Potential users become members and reserve vehicles online. They receive an ID card that allows them to unlock a Flexcar vehicle, parked in a designated space, and then return the vehicle to that space when finished.

Two vehicles will be available in Salem: a Honda Civic Hybrid parked by Willamette’s Kaneko Commons on Mill Street, and a Subaru wagon on Ferry Street near downtown.

The purpose of the program is to encourage more people to use public transportation, says Joe Bowersox, environmental science professor. This could help alleviate downtown parking issues and also reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the area, he said.

“Many community members have barriers to using alternative transportation to get downtown,” Bowersox said. “They might think they need to drive to work because they have a doctor’s appointment or an errand to run in the middle of the day. This gives you assurance that if you walk, ride a bike or take the bus to work, you have something available to help you make those side trips quickly.”

The program also gives potential downtown residents the option of living car free, Bowersox said.

On the Willamette campus, the goal is to get fewer students to bring vehicles to school, which helps alleviate parking woes and reduces the university’s overall carbon footprint.

For the first year of the program at Willamette, Flexcar is waiving the membership fee, which normally is $35 annually. Rates start at $9 an hour or $65 a day. For membership information and reservations, visit www.flexcar.com/oncampus.

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New Students Welcome Sir Salman Rushdie

Be brutal with the idea but respectful of the person who holds it was a primary message offered by Sir Salman Rushdie during the late August Opening Convocation at Willamette.

Packed with new students and their parents, the audience in Smith Auditorium responded to the internationally respected author with two standing ovations and enthusiastic applause as he discussed with wit and insight his formative years as a student — first at boarding school and then as an undergraduate.

“There are three mistakes you can make in boarding school,” said Rushdie. “Be clever, be foreign and be bad at games. I hit the trifecta.” While boarding school was not a positive experience for Rushdie, he found a much more inviting and positive experience at Cambridge University where he attended King’s College beginning in 1965.

“University is that moment when you come away from the stricture of high school and have the first adult experience of your life. In University, you work out who you are. You experiment with yourself and try on different skins. Through this process you work out what you will be and won’t be. It is your portal to the adult world. You are a migrant and university is where you begin to make your way.”

He added, “The thing I learned most at Cambridge was that you should be as brutal as possible toward ideas but as courteous as possible to the people who hold them. The undergraduate experience is transforming. You learn to be tolerant and open to new ideas. You learn that scholarship doesn’t seek self — it seeks the work.”

It’s clear that Rushdie credits his experiences at Cambridge more than he credits his degree in history. He managed a good natured tease when he said, “Throughout my life, no one has ever asked me what kind of degree I got or even if I’ve got one at all. I have to say it’s been useless.”

Rushdie is the author of such international best-sellers as Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses. The latter was deemed sacrilegious by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa against Rushdie in 1989. Despite this proclamation, and the international controversy that followed, Rushdie went on to produce some of his most compelling work, including The Moor’s Last Sigh and The Ground Beneath Her Feet while living under the constant threat of death. His most recent novel, Shalimar the Clown, was an international best-seller and a nominee for both the Man Booker Prize and Commonwealth Writer’s Prize.

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Pacific Northwest Sustainability Conference to Create Synergies

The Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University will host a sustainability conference April 20 and 21 in Salem, Ore.

“Creating Synergies: Community, University and Business” will provide a forum for business leaders, professionals, scholars, students and activists from throughout the Northwest to share experiences, network and explore opportunities for collaboration. All are welcome.

Sustainability advocates are invited to offer individual or group presentations, discussion panels, information tables, vendor booths or poster projects that address the “four E's” of sustainability: environment, equity, economics and education.

Organizers are particularly interested in presentations that highlight curricular reform, dialogue between educators and business leaders, sustainability research, social justice and sustainable communities, student activism, green building, launching and managing sustainable businesses, the green ecumenical movement, alternative energy and sustainable agriculture. Please complete the online submission form by March 21.

Saturday field trips will include visits to businesses and communities that are guided by sustainable principles, including LifeSource Natural Foods, a wind-powered store that sells 100 percent organic produce; Pringle Creek Community, a neighborhood guided by principles of community-oriented planning, earth-friendly construction and energy efficient practices; Kettle Chips, a natural snack food manufacturer; and the Oregon Garden, which offers more than 20 specialty gardens on 80 acres in historic Silverton. A guided hike in the Cascade Mountains will also be available.

A free Earth Day celebration Sunday, April 22, at Salem’s Riverfront Park will feature food, music, information booths and activities for children. There will be opportunities to buy plants, browse children’s books with sustainability themes, and learn about sustainable lifestyles.

Online conference registration begins March 20. Registration is $30, and free for all students. A limited number of student scholarships are available to defray the cost of travel and lodging. To apply for a scholarship, note interest on the registration form.

Conference partners offer hotel accommodations within walking distance of Willamette University. Salem is served by shuttle service from Portland International Airport, Amtrak and Greyhound Bus Lines. Attendees are encouraged to help make the conference a carbon neutral event by purchasing carbon credits at TerraPass, www.terrapass.com/. (Carbon credits fund renewable energy projects that reduce greenhouse gases, offsetting carbon dioxide emitted when people drive or fly.) Directions and campus maps are available online.

Visit www.willamette.edu/events/sustainability/ or contact Joe Bowersox at (503) 370-6220 for information.

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Salem Teacher to Research with Willamette Professors Through Grant

Two Willamette University chemistry professors were recently awarded a major regional grant that will allow a Sprague High School teacher to work with them on cutting-edge research for the next two summers.

Sarah Kirk and Andrew Duncan, both assistant professors of chemistry, received a $15,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust through the Partners in Science Program. The program provides opportunities for high school science teachers to work with investigators in academic research labs for two summers. Kirk and Duncan have invited Megan Rivera, a science teacher at Sprague, to participate in their summer research program in 2007 and 2008.

The projects Rivera will work on involve the chemical modification of naturally occurring sugar molecules. She will work with Kirk in 2007 to develop novel antibiotics and with Duncan in 2008 to develop new methods for synthetic organic chemistry.

A primary goal of the Partners in Science program is to help high school teachers revitalize their teaching and appreciate the use of inquiry-based methods in the teaching of science.

For more information on the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, visit www.murdock-trust.org.

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Football Players Ride Coast-to-Coast to Honor Friend

Willamette University student Kalan Morinaka was a devoted scholar, the valedictorian of his high school class and on a pre-med track in college. But he also was a longtime athlete, a high school football and wrestling star, a national competitor in judo, a golfer.

So when Morinaka’s friends saw the 22-year-old deteriorate from a physically fit, active student to someone who could barely move and talk in less than two years, it was a shock. And when the cheerful young man died Nov. 9 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that typically hits people older than 40, his friends knew they had to honor him.

For them, that means attempting the gargantuan feat of riding their bikes 3,300 miles coast-to-coast to raise awareness and money for the ALS Association. Willamette seniors Alex MacKenzie, Kevin Dean and Wesley Randall, all of whom were Morinaka’s fraternity brothers in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, will ride from San Diego to Miami starting Jan. 10. Jonathan Irizarry, also a senior, will serve as their coordinator at home, tracking their progress and overseeing their efforts from Salem.

“Kalan was such a great competitor and athlete throughout his life, so we thought a physical feat like this was a great way to honor him,” MacKenzie said.

Morinaka, a senior from Nyssa, Ore., was past president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, supervisor of intramural sports on campus and a member of the psychology and chemistry clubs. It was the summer of 2005 when his mother noticed a slur in his speech, the first sign he had ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.

MacKenzie, Dean, Randall and Irizarry — all athletes on Willamette’s football team — can empathize with the frustration of no longer being able to participate in a beloved sport, and they were devastated at the news of Morinaka’s death. It’s only pushing them harder now as they train for the ride and collect money to pay for the trip and donate to the ALS Association. They hope to make the trip in 60 days. Their goal is to raise at least $30,000 for the ALS Association; so far, they have collected $5,000.

The students created a web site, www.coast2coast4kalan.net, which includes bios of each of them, a profile of Kalan, donation information and the trip itinerary. The students also plan to keep a blog on the site as they ride.

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Native American Elders Discuss Northwest Fishing Rights

Native American elders Billy Frank Jr. and Hank Adams will meet Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in Cone Chapel at Willamette University to discuss “Lessons for Future Generations from the Struggle for Northwest Treaty Fishing Rights.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

Frank, a Nisqually tribal member, and Adams, who is Assiniboine-Sioux, are recipients of the national American Indian Visionary Award and are long-time activists for salmon restoration and treaty rights. The conversation will be moderated by Elizabeth Woody, director of Ecotrust’s Indigenous Leadership Program.

Frank and Adams were on the front lines when the battle over treaty-guaranteed Indian fishing rights erupted in the 1960s and ’70s. As the current chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Frank has worked to achieve a number of key agreements between the tribes and various local, state and federal officials that further strengthen treaty-guaranteed fishing rights and environmental protection laws.

In the 1970s, Adams served as a leader behind the famous Trail of Broken Treaties march on Washington and the subsequent Indian occupation of the BIA headquarters building. He also served as the last expert witness in the court case that eventually upheld treaty fishing rights for Northwest tribes, the so-called “Boldt Decision.”

This forum is supported by Indian Country Conversations, a Willamette University series that brings people together to discuss issues of interest to Native Americans. The Indian Country Conversations Series is sponsored by the Office of the President and the College of Liberal Arts.

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Community Invited to Star Trees Lighting

The Salem community is invited to the tenth annual Star Trees Lighting Saturday, Dec. 2, at Willamette University. The free program begins at 6:30 p.m., in front of Waller Hall on 900 State Street, across from the State Capitol Building. A family holiday concert will follow at 7 p.m. at Smith Auditorium on the Willamette campus.

Prior to the event, Bon Appetit will provide an all-you-can-eat holiday dinner from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Goudy Commons on the Willamette campus. The cost is $7.50 for adults and $4 for children six years of age and younger.

The tree lighting event will include music, a welcome from University President Lee Pelton and former Salem First Citizen George Puentes, and hot chocolate and cookies, provided by the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. A drawing will be held for a boy and girl to flip the switch that lights the trees. They will also receive $100 savings bonds from MaPS Credit Union and $50 gift certificates from the Willamette Store on campus. Beta Theta Pi advises attendees to dress warm, and invites community members to bring coats or contributions for their annual Penny Coat Drive.

Planted in 1942, the five giant Sequoias at Willamette are the tallest trees on any U.S. campus. They are referred to as “Star Trees” because the view from the center looking upward creates a beautiful star-shaped view of the sky. Campus lore says that if two people kiss under the Star Trees they are destined for true love. (Numerous couples have tested this premise, but no statistical follow-up survey has been conducted.)

Sponsors include Willamette University, Dick and Linda Carney (CFP Inc.), Elwood’s Tree Service, MaPS Credit Union and Bon Appetit. For more information call 503-375-5304.

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Starting Local, Thinking Global: Students Host AIDS Summit

Two representatives from Willamette University’s chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign quickly discovered a problem last spring when they attended the organization’s national conference in Washington, D.C.: They didn’t meet any college students there from the West Coast.

They were alarmed by the lack of involvement from their region, and though the Willamette group had just formed, the members’ commitment to social justice made them realize that being the only Pacific Northwest university chapter was something they needed to change — especially as AIDS continues to take an enormous toll worldwide, killing 8,200 people every day.

To build momentum among Pacific Northwest high schools, colleges and universities, the students are hosting a regional summit Dec. 1 from 1 to 8 p.m. at Willamette in honor of World AIDS Day. They have secured a visit by Adam Taylor, a well-known Washington, D.C.–based social justice activist who co-founded the Student Global AIDS Campaign while a student at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The event also will include dance-a-thon from 8 p.m. to midnight to raise money for Partners in Health, a global health organization with a proven track record of preventing the spread of HIV and delivering life-saving health care to those in need.

“We want to spread this movement to the rest of the Pacific Northwest,” said Sarah Zerzan, a junior biochemistry major. “We’re one of the only groups in the West, and that’s a problem. We want to make Willamette a leader on this issue.”

Currently only one other Pacific Northwest chapter exists, at Olympia High School in Washington. The Willamette group members see their event as a way for students to learn how they can start a chapter and work together to address the problem. They plan to bring in speakers from groups such as disaster relief organization MercyCorps, Oregon Health & Science University, Cascade AIDS Project and Jubilee USA Network, an alliance working toward debt cancellation for impoverished countries.

The Student Global AIDS Campaign is a national grassroots movement, the largest student network committed to ending the HIV and AIDS crisis worldwide. The fledgling Willamette group already has a national leader in Will Nevius, a sophomore politics major who is a member of the campaign’s national steering committee, a group of 11 students who plan and implement the organization’s nationwide advocacy efforts.

The Willamette students also have a nationally recognized global AIDS expert, Joyce Millen, as their faculty mentor. Millen, an assistant professor of anthropology at Willamette, is the former director of the Institute for Health and Social Justice at Harvard Medical School. She co-edited and authored the critically acclaimed book “Dying for Growth: Global Inequality and the Health of the Poor,” and she co-authored “Global AIDS: Myths and Facts,” a guidebook to help students fight the pandemic.

Nevius said the organization wants young people to realize that AIDS is a different issue globally than it is in the U.S., with different factors contributing to the spread of the disease in other countries. To mobilize Willamette students, chapter members made presentations in residence halls, held a campus rally and used a campus showing of the film “Rent” as a chance to discuss differences between AIDS treatment in the U.S. and other countries. They also got more than 60 students to participate in an AIDS awareness walk in Portland in September.

They know there is not much time to attract people to their summit Dec. 1, but they think they can tap into the youthful idealism of students everywhere to build a movement that goes far beyond one event.

“University students have to understand the role we play on a national scale,” Nevius said. “We do have a voice and the power to prompt change.”

For information about the summit at Willamette, including how to register, go to www.willamette.edu/events/aids. For more on the national Student Global AIDS Campaign, visit www.fightglobalaids.org.

Please Note: The above press release has been updated. The original time listed for this event was from 1 to 6 p.m. and the dance-a-thon from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning. The event is now scheduled for 1 to 8 p.m. and the dance-a-thon will end at midnight. (November 13, 2006)

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Willamette University Hosts Hunger Awareness Banquet

The Office of Community Service Learning at Willamette University will host its annual Hunger Banquet from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Nov. 15 in Cat Cavern at the Putnam University Center.

Students at this global hunger simulation will experience firsthand the inequities that result from food shortages. When people arrive, they are placed in a category that determines how much food they will receive at the banquet. Ten percent of students will be granted a full meal, 30 percent will only receive a partial meal and the remaining 60 percent will receive an even smaller portion.

The focus of this year’s event is the lack of food and emotional support in war zones and refugee camps. Guest speaker Fidel Nshombo will talk about his experiences as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Students also will have the opportunity to discuss what they experienced during the meal and how it relates to the problem of world hunger. The goal is to give students a better sense of the physical and emotional hunger refugees experience.

The event is mainly geared toward Willamette students, although the public is invited. The cost is $6, and non-student guests must RSVP by Nov. 10 to Amy Johnson at adjohnso@willamette.edu.

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Willamette President Lee Pelton to Moderate Gubernatorial Debate

Willamette University President M. Lee Pelton will moderate the Oregon gubernatorial debate at the City Club of Portland’s Friday Forum. The high profile debate will be Oct. 13 at noon at the Governor Hotel, 614 SW 11th Ave. in Portland. The public is welcome.

“President Pelton is a well-regarded civic leader, scholar and university president, and we are pleased to have him moderate one of the most important debates of this year’s election season,” said Wendy Radmacher-Willis, City Club executive director.

Pelton was appointed Willamette University’s 23nd president July 1999. Under his leadership, the University has increased its academic profile, successfully employing strategies to attract the best faculty and the brightest students from the state, the nation and the world. Since 2001, Willamette University has been ranked a top tier liberal arts college by U.S. News and World Report.

Pelton chairs the American Council on Education and serves as vice-chair of the Harvard University Board of Overseers. He has lectured and written widely on higher education, and is recognized for his knowledge of and commitment to diversity. He serves on the boards of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Oregon Symphony and Portland General Electric.

Pelton holds a doctorate from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in English and psychology from Wichita State University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1974. His area of academic focus is 19th century British prose and poetry.

He served as dean of the college at Colgate University (1988-91) and Dartmouth College (1991-98). At Harvard he taught in the English department and was the dean of one of Harvard’s 13 undergraduate colleges.

City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic affairs organization that promotes civic engagement and active citizenship to build a stronger community. Through unbiased research and compelling programs, the club connects citizens with ideas and issues that affect our community. The club is open to everyone who wants to interact with other citizens and shape the future of our city and state, providing a neutral forum for many diverse voices.

Doors open at 11:30 a.m.; the program begins at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:15 p.m. Luncheon tickets are $20 ($16 for members of City Club) and must be reserved by 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, online at www.pdxcityclub.org or by calling 503-228-7231, ext. 103. Coffee/tea table tickets ($5) and general seating ($5; free for City Club members) will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

A SmartPark garage is located one block away from the Governor Hotel at 730 SW 10th Ave. The Governor Hotel is accessible by bus, Portland Streetcar and MAX light rail.

The forum will be broadcast on Oregon Public Broadcasting and several television stations. People may also watch City Club Friday Forums online or purchase audio CDs, VHS videotapes or DVD videos of the program. For more information, visit www.pdxcityclub.org or call 503-228-7231.

Media are encouraged to attend and are invited to sit in general seating. Please contact City Club’s communications coordinator, Chris Cochran, prior to the forum to RSVP and sign in at the registration table on the day of the forum. For broadcast media, an audio press patch will be available, and a riser for videotaping can be provided with advance notice. Contact Cochran at chris@pdxcityclub.org or 503-228-7231, ext. 102.

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“Welcome to Zambia” Celebration Slated

The Elizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund will host a “Welcome, Welcome to Zambia” celebration Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in the Cat Cavern in the University Center at Willamette University. The event is free and open to the public.

The evening will include Zambian food, music and art, and multimedia presentations about Zambia. People will also have an opportunity to learn about the work of the education fund, which was founded in 2004 by Willamette Professors Linda and Gerry Bowers as a legacy for their daughter Beth who died in a bicycle accident while serving in the Peace Corps in Zambia. The nonprofit organization provides education scholarships for girls living in Lumwana West, a small village in remote Northwest Zambia. The Bowers will share memories of their recent trip to Africa to meet “Beth’s Girls,” 65 girls in grades 8-12 who are sponsored by the fund.

“These girls wouldn’t receive an education without scholarship aid,” said Linda Bowers. “With a basic education young women are better equipped to support themselves, their families and their communities.

“The event will demonstrate the success of the organization’s work in action,” Bowers said. “I hope people will join us to learn about this fascinating culture and worthy cause.”

The scholarships are administered by World Vision Zambia. The fund is also currently building a library in the village in conjunction with the Peace Corps Partnership Program.

For more information visit www.bethsgirls.org or call 503-370-6248.

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Joan Didion Opens Atkinson Series at Willamette

Novelist, essayist and screenwriter Joan Didion will deliver the fall 2006 Atkinson Lecture at Willamette University Friday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m. in Smith Auditorium.

Tickets for University students, faculty and staff are available Oct. 16 at the University Center. The first ticket is free with a University ID, and subsequent tickets are $10. Tickets for the general public are $10 and will be available at the University Center on campus beginning Oct. 26.

In May 2005 Didion received the Gold Medal for Belles Lettres from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which is the highest honor the academy awards to a writer and is given once every six years. She was awarded the 1996 Edward MacDowell Medal and the 1999 Columbia Journalism Award. In 2005 she won the National Book Award for The Year of Magical Thinking, which is now in its 20th printing.

Didion’s novels include Run River (1963), Play It as It Lays (1970), A Book of Common Prayer (1977), Democracy (1984), and The Last Thing He Wanted (1996). Her nonfiction includes Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), The White Album (1978), Salvador (1983), Miami (1987), After Henry (1992), Political Fictions (2001), and Where I Was From (2003).

Didion and her late husband, John Gregory Dunne, co-authored the screenplays The Panic in Needle Park (1971), Play It as It Lays (1973), A Star Is Born (1977), True Confessions (1982), Hills Like White Elephants (1990) and Up Close and Personal (1995). She has lectured at colleges and universities across the country including the University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Bard, Yale and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Didion currently lives in New York and is a contributor to The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker. Her latest book, The Year of Magical Thinking, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in October 2005. She is now adapting the book for Broadway.

She was born in Sacramento and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Gubernatorial Forum Held at Willamette University

Campaign Forum 2006, featuring six gubernatorial candidates, will be held at Willamette University in Salem Monday, March 13, at 1:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. The event, sponsored by the University and The Associated Press Newspaper Executives, is free and open to the public.

Participating candidates are: Jason Atkinson (R); Jim Hill (D); Kevin Mannix (R); Ron Saxton (R); Peter Sorenson (D), and Ben Westlund (I).

The forum panel will be headed by Brad Cain, chief correspondent, Associated Press Salem Bureau, who will be joined by three other political reporters from around the state.

Candidates will answer questions from the panel, from each other, and if time permits, they will also answer written questions from the audience.

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Brains Over Brawn in Willamette Contest

This March high school teams from around Oregon will converge at Willamette University for the 20th annual Willamette Computer Programming Contest. Four-member teams from each participating school are asked to bring their preferred computer language software and one computer. By allowing only one computer for each team, the contest mandates collaboration among the students. Teams may also bring a printer. About 50 schools have competed during the past 20 years.

More than a dozen problems will be distributed to student teams Saturday, March 4, at 10 a.m.

“Points are given not only for correct solutions, but for style and flexibility,” said Fritz Ruehr, chair of Willamette’s computer science department and director of the contest.

“We try to include at least two problems that even novices can solve, so that every team can feel good about its participation, but the top teams are challenged with problems appropriate for advanced college students,” Ruehr said.

Some years there are problems no team can solve, and one year a team solved all 14 problems in four hours. Willamette students act as judges.

“There’s an overt attempt on the part of the contest organizers to provide trophies that look like sports trophies,” Ruehr said. “We want to be able to have these kids bring these things home and put them in the high school trophy case and get recognition for intelligence.

“High school culture usually values athletic prowess and beauty over intelligence. Before, ‘being geeky’ was a put down or a negative, but with the Internet boom, academic prowess and technical skills have become more respectable, in the way that athleticism has always been.”

The cultural shift is reflected in the new TV show “Beauty and the Geek.” Willamette graduate Eric Chase recently appeared on the show, wooed by three beautiful women. It’s unfortunate, Ruehr said, that the show neglects to portray women as having technical skills too.

Ruehr volunteers one-on-one with seniors in the Salem-Keizer School District, mentoring teens who have computer science aspirations.

The 20th annual Willamette Computer Programming Contest is sponsored by Willamette University and the Software Association of Oregon Foundation in an effort to encourage the development of computer science skills.

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Willamette University Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Grammy-award winning a capella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, will appear in concert Friday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. in Smith Auditorium at Willamette University as part of a week-long celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Tickets are available to the public at the Putnam University Center Information Desk from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18; from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 19, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 20. If available, tickets may be purchased the night of the event at the Smith Auditorium box office beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 with a four-ticket per person limit.

Other events open to the general public include a Willamette University Convocation Thursday, Jan. 19, from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. in the Hatfield Room of the Hatfield Library. The event features the PBS documentary “Sweet Honey in the Rock—Raise Your Voice!” Admission is free.

The public is also invited to the Thursday, Jan. 19, “Raising My Voice for Justice” forum in the Bistro from 3 to 6 p.m. Members of the University community will share their ideas for justice through speech, poetry and other expressions. Refreshments will be served. For details, call Paula Sams-Ingle at 503-370-6103.

Four additional events are for Willamette University students, faculty and staff only.

• Signing the Birmingham Pledge, Monday, Jan. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in University Center, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. in Goudy Commons. The pledge encourages people to make a personal commitment to racial harmony.
• Raise Your Voice luncheon Friday, Jan. 20, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Cat Cavern includes a showing of “Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years” with a discussion of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott. Discussion participants include representatives from the Salem/Kaiser Coalition for Equality, The Farmer Workers Housing Development Corporation, and Basic Rights Oregon. Emily Drew, assistant professor in American Ethnic Studies at Willamette, will lead the discussion. For lunch reservations call the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 503-370-6265.
• Students, faculty and staff are also encouraged to attend Into the Streets: Community Service in Salem Friday, Jan. 20, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge in University Center. Participants will learn about community service opportunities in the Salem area.
• The Hunger Banquet Friday, Jan. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Cat Cavern. The banquet is a simulation of world hunger and includes a speaker and discussion of hunger and poverty. Willamette students donate meal points from their individual University meal program and agree to skip a meal in support of the project. Last year, Willamette students raised more than $2,000 for the Salem Outreach Shelter.

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Harp Guitarists to Gather in Oregon

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Willamette student interns are a mainstay at Capitol

The cross-the-street relationship is mutually beneficial.

Joanne Yuan, for the Statesman Journal

John Turner, beet-faced and glistening, reaches for his can of Diet Coke — even before he can catch his breath.

“This is the drink of choice around here,” said Turner, wiping off shiny beads of sweat forming from his 5-minute sprint from Willamette University to the Capitol.

His coffee mug sits empty on his small but tidy desk, leading the 21-year-old to chug, not sip, his soda, as if desperate for his daily fix of caffeine. He then begins to talk of his daily routine as a Capitol intern, detailing his passion for politics — and his love for audit reports.

“It’s just this amazing insight into the process,” Turner said, with enthusiasm he attributes to his boss, Rep. Alan Bates, D-Ashland.

This wide-eyed and ambitious excitement is exhibited not only in Turner but in many of the 47 Willamette interns working at the Capitol.

For as long as many legislators can remember, Willamette interns have been a continuous presence at the Capitol. Bates has hired five Willamette interns in his two terms.

Traditionally, students from the private college dominate the crew of interns working in the building and the number continues to grow each session.

Willamette professors say it is due to a budding interest in politics. Interns say location is their incentive and a quality work environment is its appeal.

The comfort level between interns and their respective employers is high, especially for Turner, who gets his boss’ attention with “Hey, Bates.” Bates has nicknamed his intern “Rock Star.”

Bates said the interns are a lot of fun to have around, and when it comes to working, they are great.

“They’re bright young kids interested in policy, and we get to take advantage of that by having them help,” he said.

For many politics junkies at Willamette, getting one foot in the door of government while keeping the other grounded in classwork is what makes the internship worthwhile.

Working close to the college was not a fluke for Sarah Sutton. It was a calculated decision to further her career aspirations.

“The reason I chose to go to Willamette is because it was right across the street from the Capitol,” she said.

Sutton, 22, said she knew of her love for politics at age 12, when she began writing random letters to President Clinton. Now, she writes proclamations for Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

But Sutton said she still is getting used to people wanting things as soon as they ask.

“People are here with a mission and are pushy — but that’s part of public service,” she said.

During a dramatic session such as this one, Turner said it can be hard to not debate issues among peers, though most of the interns he associates with are Democrats.

Among the youth politicking, the more heated issues have been the budget, abortion and Measure 28. Personal values also can weigh in for some.

A registered independent, Turner said he would not consider working for a Republican, based on many of their decisions this session.

He said his views are more parallel to Bates.

Sutton, a Democrat, was exposed to working in an all-Republican office her sophomore year, when interning for Sen. Steve Harper, R-Klamath Falls, last session. She was affectionately nicknamed “Dixiecrat,” a political cliche referring to Democrats who stick around Republicans.

Interns work on average 20 hours per week. They start in January and are warned about the uncertainty of an end-of-session date.

Politics senior Emily West said that stretching the hours between school and work is easier with the Capitol being so close. Bringing a dose of reality politics into her learning gives her an advantage in class, she said.

Many of the students are preparing for a future in politics. Turner said his next step is law school. Sutton is weighing her choices, and West expects to stay with public service.

Joanne Yuan can be reached at (503) 399-6663. Visit the Statesman Journal online.

This story was reprinted with the permission of the Statesman Journal
© Copyright 2003 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon.

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Local Students to Attend Hands-On Arts Festival

More than 80 students from Salem’s Richmond Elementary School will immerse themselves in the arts at Willamette University May 28-31 for the third annual School of Education Fine Arts Festival.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, students will focus on a different art form. Day one is about the visual arts. Students will view sculpture at Willamette’s Hallie Ford Museum and architecture at the Elsinore Theatre. They will create their own self-portrait after studying the “Self Portrait” by Picasso. Following a discussion about drawing with graphic artist Jason Kenitzer, students will design and paint their own t-shirt.

Day two focuses on dance. Beginning with a demonstration and lecture by Ballerina Jennifer Hoyt, students will participate in country line dancing, jazz and modern dance and ballet. Darryl Thomas, co-artistic director and choreographer for Rainbow Dance Theatre of Portland, will join his company in demonstrating African American, West African, and Haitian dance styles.

Day three features music. Students will visit with composer Glen Bledsoe and try their hand at music composition. They will study the life and times of Beethoven, how an orchestra works and the role of each instrument. Using Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” students will also write their own libretto. The high point of music day is the student performance of the opera “Starbird.” Children from area schools will join the Richmond Elementary students in this delightful adventure featuring singing animals, evil robots and a mystical bird from outer space.

The opera will be repeated at 7 p.m. on May 30 and will be free and open to the public in Smith Auditorium at Willamette.

The fourth and final day is about theatre. With help from the Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre of Portland, students will construct puppets, experiment with stage make up, play games and learn to tell a story through hula dancing.

Participating teachers are eligible for Continuing Education Credits through Willamette University. For more information about the event, contact Robin Fromherz at the Willamette University School of Education at 503-375-5410.

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National History Day State Finals Competition Is Scheduled

The 7th Annual National History Day State Finals for Oregon middle and high school students are set for April 20 on the campus of Willamette University, Salem.

The event will draw 95 entries involving 165 students, 27 teachers and 19 schools from eight school districts including Astoria, Baker City, The Dallas, Medford, Pendleton, Corvallis, Beaverton and Madras.

The competing students, who are local and regional contest winners, will present papers, individual and group documentaries, exhibits and performances focused on revolution, reaction and reform in history.

Judging will take place in Willamette’s Eaton Hall and Smullin Hall from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The awards ceremony, with featured speaker Norma Paulus, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, will be in Cone Chapel at 3:30 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Willamette University, Oregon Historical Society, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Columbia River Maritime Museum, National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Columbia George Discovery Center and the Umatilla County Historical Society.

The event is free and open to the public.

Event coordinators are Cara Ungar and Tania Hyatt-Evenson, Oregon Historical Society, and Jennifer Jopp and Rosalyn Edelson, Willamette University. For more information, call 503-375-5451.

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$1.3 Million Grant Will Impact Teaching in Oregon

Imagine having to relearn major components of your job every year. That's the challenge for many teachers who routinely face technology-savvy students who know as much or more than they do about software and gadgets now commonplace in America's classrooms.

How do Oregon teachers keep up and what kind of support is in place for them as they deal with the daily realities of technology-based teaching?

Part of the answer is the $1.3 million U.S. Department of Education grant given the Oregon Technology in Education Network for "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology." The goal of the three-year grant is to increase the integration of technology into the K-12 classroom and to develop and nurture communities of learners who will support and encourage each other. The program will serve about 800 teacher education students per year, plus faculty and K-12 teachers.

Six private institutions with teacher education programs will benefit from the grant. They are Willamette University, Western Baptist, Concordia, George Fox, the University of Portland and Pacific University.

Dr. John Tenny, grant interim director and professor of education at Willamette University in Salem, said, "This grant will help faculty who prepare students to become teachers, student teachers and K-12 supervising teachers. They will receive training and access to cutting edge technology, but perhaps the strongest component of the program is the partnership among the six participating institutions and the diversity they represent.

"These are schools that represent a wide range in student culture, experience and opportunity. We bring together teachers and students from urban areas within Portland and Salem, from outlying suburban communities, rural districts with small dispersed populations, as well as students and teachers on some of Oregon's Native American Indian reservations."

The six institutions are already sharing a lending library of technology that includes 24 wireless networked laptop computers, CD burners, data projectors, digital camcorders, high storage disk drives and software. The grant will support additional equipment for K-12 classrooms and will underwrite travel to educational technology conferences for lead faculty in the undergraduate and teacher education programs at each institution.

The challenge is not simply teaching teachers how to manipulate the technology. Technology has significantly influenced how students learn and teachers must now restructure the very nature of classroom learning.

"Faculty and student teachers must understand how to employ technology as a fundamental element of the learning process," Tenny said. "We need to reexamine the role of the teacher in the classroom and develop new models of teaching that can appropriately utilize these modern learning technologies."

Developing new teaching models will evolve in grant-supported workshops and restructured teacher preparation programs formed in collaborative partnerships involving all six institutions. Tenny and others believe technology has fundamentally transformed teacher education in America.

"Most all of the current K-16 students have been born during the age of the desktop computer," said Tenny. "They are the first truly digital generation and it's the job of America's present and future teachers to help them learn in ways that will prepare them for a future that will differ greatly from our past."

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Willamette University Introduces the World of Art to Richmond Elementary Students

Willamette University will bring the world of the arts into the hearts of fourth-grade students at Richmond Elementary, Willamette's partner school, through the Summer Fine Arts Festival. The program started in the summer of 2000.

For the week of June 4-8, 2001, 100 fourth-grade students will enter the campus life of Willamette from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Artists from the community are selected to teach classes in all arts areas. Guest performers and artists are keynote speakers and presenters each day and the children will participate in a performing a full-length opera.

The children's opera, "Sid, the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing," will be performed on Thursday, June 7 at 7 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public. Children from Richmond elementary school will join area professional and semi-professional singers in this fun, fast paced opera. For more information on the opera or the week of events, contact Robin Fromherz at 503-375-5410.

The schedule for the week of activities includes:

Monday, June 4 – Visual arts day
Includes performance and demonstration of puppetry by "Tears of Joy" puppet theatre from Portland followed by round robin classes (groups of 25 each) in watercolor, understanding the art of Georgia O'Keefe, t-shirt painting and quilting.

Tuesday, June 5 – Dance day
Begins with a demonstration of Native American dance from The Confederated Tribes of Grand Rhonde followed by classes in Western line dance, ballet and show dance. After lunch Darryl Thomas and his dancers will lead an interactive dance demonstration featuring African American dance.

Wednesday, June 6 – Writing day
The creator of Flying Rhino publishing company will present the keynote followed by rotations to a class led by Flying Rhino illustrators on how to illustrate writings, a trip to the Hallie Ford Museum for museum writing, a guest writer of scary stories and poetry workshop. After lunch, author Colleen Coleman will visit the group with her pet pig.

Thursday, June 7 – Music day
The day begins with a performance by Taeko Drummers followed by a discussion of the orchestra, marching, playing chimes and listening to the story of John Phillip Sousa. After lunch is the first showing of "Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing."

Friday, June 8 – Theatre day Class rotations will include a trip to the Elsinore Theatre, theatre make-up and theatre games followed by a performance by the theater troupe from Howard Street school. After lunch, the Tyger's Heart Shakespeare Company from Portland will present a segment of a Shakespeare play and work with groups of children.

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Author of Measure 58 to Speak at Willamette

Helen Hill, author of Measure 58 - Oregon's "open-file" adoption law, and Adam Cornell, an advocate for scholarships for foster children, will speak in the Cone Chapel on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. Their lecture is part of Operation Dream 2001- a weeklong program organized by students focusing on educating the Willamette campus and local community on current social justice issues. This year's topic, chosen by student co-coordinators, is "Lost and Found: Exploring Adoption and Foster Care."

All events during the week of March 5 are free and open to the public. No tickets are required. For more information on the events listed below, contact the Community Outreach Program office at 503-370-6953.

Other events during the week include:

Monday, March 5
Craig Lesley, Willamette English professor and author of Storm Riders, will speak on his experiences fostering a Native American boy, 11 a.m. in the Hatfield Room, Hatfield Library.
Movie "Secrets and Lies," 7 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center

Tuesday, March 6
Helen Hill and Adam Cornell will speak in the Cone Chapel at 7 p.m. Helen Hill is a schoolteacher from Oregon, who made legislative history when Measure 58 passed in 1998 and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. This law makes it possible for adoptees to have access to their birth records. Adam Cornell is a former foster care youth who is currently lobbying for bill HB2431 to grant educational scholarships for foster care youth entering a college or university.

Wednesday, March 7
Bistro Night with music band "Blue Eyed Soul" and a panel discussion on issues of transracial, gay, single parent, disabled parent and international adoption at 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 8
Adoption and foster care orientation and training provided by Services for Children and Families (SCF) at 6 & 7:15 p.m. in the Autzen Room, the Putnam University Center.

Resource Fair for anyone involved in adoption or foster care 6:45 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center.

Friday, March 9
Movie "Second Best" featuring William Hurt will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center.

Saturay, March 10
Play day for foster and adopted children from 1-5 p.m. in the Sparks Center.

Foster and adopted children and their parents will come to Willamette's campus for a day of interaction and appreciation.
Willamette students will spend time with the children throughout the day's events, including pool games, gym games and the movie "Stuart Little."

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Willamette University to Co-host Authors' Day

The Willamette University School of Education will co-host "Young Authors' Day" with the Oregon Writing Project. Over 100 Molalla Elementary fifth graders and their teachers will gather on Willamette's campus on Friday, Jan. 12 for "Young Authors' Day."

The day will feature special guest Kathleen Contreras, author of the Scholastic published Pan Dulce, a book about a Mexican sweet breads baker. The participants will begin the day at 9 a.m. listening to Contreras read her book and describe her experiences as a writer. The reading will be followed by a snack of sweet breads and juice.

The children will then begin a three-stop tour on campus led by Willamette School of Education students. The children will visit College of Liberal Arts Dean Ken Nolley, the Mark O. Hatfield Library and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

The students will receive their first college credits, as Dr. Linda Tamura conducts an interactive lecture for young writers. The program will end at 1:00 p.m.

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Willamette Professor Concludes Measure 2 Can Cause Serious Problems

Willamette University's Public Policy Research Center today released a detailed legal analysis of Measure 2, the "administrative rules" initiative that will appear on Oregon's 2000 general election ballot. The report by law Professor Susan Smith, entitled "Ballot Measure 2: Creating Accountability or Wreaking Havoc?," concludes that Measure 2 is unnecessary and has potential to seriously harm the effective functioning of Oregon's state government.

Measure 2 amends the Oregon Constitution to create a new process for challenging administrative rules, which are developed by state agencies to implement laws passed by the Legislature. Under the proposed measure, existing rules referred to the Legislature through a petitioning process are invalidated unless the Legislature affirmatively acts to approve them. A similar initiative, Measure 65, was defeated by Oregon voters in 1998.

The report describes how the Measure is likely be implemented, the existing process for reviewing administrative rules and the likely impact of the Measure. Professor Smith concludes that Measure 2 is unnecessary because there are already numerous processes in place to assure that state agencies write administrative rules consistent with legislative intent. She concludes that Measure 2 has the potential to seriously harm the effective functioning of state government in Oregon.

The funding for this report was provided by 1000 Friends of Oregon with a grant from the Hewlett Foundation. It answers four specific questions:

1. How would Measure 2 work?
2. What are the existing processes for citizens, the courts and the legislature to review administrative rules?
3. Assuming Measure 2 passes, what administrative rules are most likely to be the subject of the Measure 2 petition process in the near term?
4. What could the impact of Measure 2 be on Oregon's land use planning laws?

Copies of the report can be obtained by contacting Allisa Jones at the Public Policy Research Center, 503-370-6961 or ajones@willamette.edu, or from the Center's web page www.willamette.edu/dept/pprc. For questions about the content of the report, contact Professor Susan Smith, Willamette University College of Law, at 503-370-6493 (office), 503-510-2305 (cell) or smiths@willamette.edu.

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