October 2008 Articles
Story ideas? Opinions? Questions, Compliments, or Complaints? Send us an email at facultyadvocate@gmail.com.
Learning Lessons from Refugee Children by John Frazier
New—But Maybe Only Sort Of! by Karin Evans
Is It Safe in There? Meet the Epidemiology Committee by Chris Petersen
A Call To Leadership: Faculty Senate Elections by Konkel & Newman
Blackberries: Or What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Tom Montgomery-Fate
CODFA Quiz Answers, Reluctantly by Mike Losacco
Accolades by Konkel & Hagman
Learning Lessons from Refugee Children by John Frazier
Emir heard an airplane approaching his rural village, and without hesitation, he grabbed his
six-year-old brother and ran under the shade of a neighboring tree. Huddled
underneath were fifteen other villagers who saw their village air bombed and riddled with bullets.
After the aerial raid and witnessing the massacre of eight fellow villagers, fearing an impending
attack of armed militia, nine-year-old Emir fled his village for a 200-mile hike as the "father"
of his younger brother. Ten years later, "how sweet life is" as Emir works in a Chicago chocolate
factory with his night terrors and immigrant clothing as a constant reminder of his previous
life.
Emir, whom I first met in a refugee camp, is one of a thousand Sudanese refugees living among us. At least seven of these refugees are among our students right here at COD.
While we hear that there is relative peace between the north and south in Sudan, the Darfur region is still bathed in blood, rape, and government sanctioned murder. Only two months ago, President al-Bashir was indicted for crimes against humanity in the Darfur region of Sudan. Al-Bashir has permitted 20,000 UN peacekeeping troops into Darfur, but they have a limited geographic range. The government-sponsored air raids and Janjaweed attacks on non-Arab villages continues, as does the mass exodus of women and children, now numbering 250,000 in neighboring Chad alone. Many of these children have suffered a lifetime of war, violence, and poverty, and they need the very basics of life: food, water, shelter, medical care, and clothing. The one thing that most of these children still have is hope for a better future.
In most third-world nations, there is no government social support network for the distraught. Without outside assistance, many of these refugee children will starve to death, become addicted to glue huffing to curb their appetite, or venture into illegal professions such as prostitution. United Nations programs try to turn these refugee children's hopes into a marketable job skill in the local economy. This summer I continued my work with UN and UNICEF education programs for orphaned refugee children in Sudan, Chad, Kenya, and Rwanda. In Sudan, young boys, some as young as seven, are collecting brightly colored insects to make jewelry or winding colored telephone wire into beautiful baskets, and girls are learning the techniques of weaving beautiful rugs and baskets. These children then sell their products to a local collective in order to provide for themselves. Sink or swim in the deep end of life for a nine-year-old child.
Ironically, the refugees in these programs have taught me the most valuable lessons in my life: that hope, love, encouragement, and a refusal to give up can, and do, conquer everything. Imagine making minimum wage, living in Chicago, and still sending 20% of your paycheck home to a family who has lost everything-daughters to disease, fathers to war, and sons to other countries to support the family. Yet Emir persists because he demonstrates what is best about humanity in the face of what is worst about humanity.
Image of Emir and his brother as children in Sudan
New—But Maybe Only Sort Of! by Karin Evans
This year, looking back at the new faculty on the mainstage in August, I realized that some of them looked mighty familiar, and I began thinking about all the ways there are to be "new" at COD. So I asked these new faculty to share a little bit about what it's like to be them, now that they are settling into their new roles. Here are some highlights from their responses!
Karla Aleman, Resident Librarian, arrived from California for her first experience living in the Midwest. She says it's less of a culture shock than she expected, but she didn't know what the tornado sirens were the first time she heard them! She writes, "I've been running around the library, the campus, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, and Naperville, trying to get a better handle on the community I've so recently moved into. When you send someone off from the reference desk, you have to know where you're sending them."
Jessica Dyrek, Counseling, is very excited to be full-time after four years of working part-time at COD. The biggest difference, she says, is not having to pull a rolling cart around all the time! She loves having all her stuff in one place in an office. Jessica says she has time to do more with students and feels more in the loop with campus information now that she attends discipline meetings.
Diane Gryglak, Medical Assistant Program, had taught in economically depressed areas prior to arriving at COD and is easily adjusting to our plentiful supplies of chalk and copy paper. She was concerned about fitting in because COD seemed to be a very different environment, but has found it welcoming. She writes, "I'm learning to wear comfortable shoes because there is an enormous amount of walking around this very large campus. I'm indebted to my program coordinator, Nancy Feulner, who is helpful, patient and wise."
Lubna Haque, Chemistry, having adjuncted recently at three colleges at once, is grateful to have time to settle into COD and learn more about resources such as the library and the wellness program. She feels better able to address students' questions because she is available to see them in person. She looks forward to contributing more to the college community as a whole—at college night, through the engineering club—and finds that colleagues are eager to help her with her own questions!
Tracy Kopecky, Anthropology, has a bittersweet view because of her nine-month contract. Although she is enjoying the daily luxuries of having a quiet office and a computer to herself, as well as professional benefits like attending a conference and subsidized national dues, she still has to look for a new appointment for next year. Tracy writes, "Unexpectedly, I also get to see firsthand the division between full- and part-time faculty from the full-time point view."
Eric Thompson, Criminal Justice, is a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois Chicago. His research interest is computer crime. Since Eric had taught at COD for several years as an adjunct, he thought he already knew the institution fairly well. He's changed his story now, though—"each day, I learn more about resources that are available to students, faculty, and the community. My experience as a new full-time faculty member has been genuinely invigorating."
Image of Jessica Dyrek, Counseling
Is It Safe in There? Meet the Epidemiology Committee by Chris Petersen
Please contact the Epidemiology Committee (EC) should you have concerns about indoor safety
issues on campus. The charge of this Faculty Senate committee is to promote
safe work environments inside buildings used by the College. We identify problems that compromise
health and safety in the work environment, investigate suspected causes of injury and/or illness,
promote solutions to suspected concerns, and endorse procedures and/or policies that attempt to
prevent injuries and or illnesses. We also coordinate efforts with other College committees and/or
groups having shared interests, relying heavily on input from College staff.
Current concerns include issues in the MAC, where recent renovation has been sub-par. Since renovation, we have worked to resolve concerns about noise, signage, ventilation, roof leaks, and design. We have yet to resolve all issues, but are working to do so. Similar issues are likely to crop up with new buildings and renovations elsewhere.
Issues that we helped to resolve in the past include mold remediation in many of the buildings on the Main Campus, adequate air ventilation of rooms and buildings, and renovation of the air systems servicing the science laboratories. The science laboratories only had limited ventilation when the committee first began its charge. Progress is often slow and contentious, but we continue to work to resolve the issues.
EC members are Marianne Berger, Kathy Kamal, Chris Petersen (Chair), Tom Ruehlmann, Ben Whisenhunt, and Keith Yearman. Additional participants at meetings include individuals from Classified and Administration.
A Call To Leadership: Faculty Senate Elections by Mary Konkel & Mary Newman
Elections will be held on Wednesday, October 29! The Election Committee encourages all eligible
voting members of CODFA to run or to nominate an eligible colleague to run for
positions in the Faculty Senate. Please seriously consider sharing your time and talents.
At the end of this month, we will elect the following:
- President of the Faculty Senate
- Treasurer of the Faculty Senate
- Senators in the following disciplines:
- Counseling
- English
- Liberal Arts (non-English)
- Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Natural & Applied Sciences
- PAC Executive Director - 1 year term
- 2 - IEA Regional Council representatives - 2 year terms
Nominating petitions for the office of Senator must be signed by at least 5% of the eligible faculty members (n=16) assigned to the election unit and shall file with the Election Committee Chair. Candidates must be full share members of CODFA.
Nominating petitions for Faculty Association/Senate officer must be signed by at least 10% of the eligible Faculty Members (n=32) and shall file with the Election Committee Chair. Candidates must be full share members of CODFA.
All nominating petitions must submitted at least fifteen (15) days prior to the first day of the election, so are due by October 14, 2008. Completed nominating petitions should be sent to Kathy Horton at IC2026 in the Business and Technology Division by that deadline.
Candidates for IEA Council representatives and PAC Executive Director must submit their names to the Election Committee Chair by October 14, 2008.
For more information on election procedure, visit the CODFA Web site and check out the Senate Special Rules, p. 19-21.
If you have further questions or need a petition, please contact either Kathy Horton (Co-Chair) at x2176 (IC3029d) or Mary Konkel (Co-Chair) at x2662 (SRC 3038a).
The Election Committee is comprised of:
- Kathy Horton (Co-Chair)
- Mary Konkel (Co-Chair)
- Chikako Kumamoto
- DeJang Liu
- Mary Newman
Blackberries: Or What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Tom Montgomery-Fate
Late in August, on one of the last good "beach days" of the year, my family and I drove to southwest
Michigan to enjoy the lake. It was hot—nearly ninety degrees, so the cool blue
pulse of the water was a lovely distraction.
Something odd though: Amid the blazing heat I noticed a young man sitting alone near us on a towel in the sand working on a little hand-held computer. He was typing madly with his thumbs, but when I asked him what he was doing he was calm and friendly. "Oh, I'm just trying to stay in touch with the office," he said. "My Blackberry allows me to come to the beach on weekends and still work when I need to," he said. He was a Chicago attorney. "Your Blackberry?" I asked. "Yes, that's what this is," he said.
I had of course heard of Blackberrys, but I had never seen one up close. Call me a Luddite if you want, but I was amazed that the little blinking, beeping plastic brain in his palm was named after my favorite fruit. How is a sweet, sun-drenched berry related to a hard plastic tool?
I did some research: The Blackberry designers noticed that the little buttons looked like the tiny seeds of a strawberry. But they thought "straw" sounded too slow to market the product, as it was to represent the speed and 24/7 ultra-convenience of the modern business world. Thus, since it was black, they decided on "Blackberry." The naming of the Blackberry was part of a marketing strategy.
But I shouldn't be so cynical. These days I both need and fear this little device. I need a Blackberry because I can't keep up. Like most people, my life is complicated: two jobs, three kids, and a laundry list of other obligations. I tend to get quite scattered, and distracted. This became clear last week when I again couldn't find my car in the parking lot. For fifteen minutes I wandered in the rain on a clueless meander across an acre of blacktop. Not too long ago I found my lost billfold in the cheese drawer of our refrigerator.
But I also fear getting a Blackberry. It's not rational. I worry that if I get one, I'll become so programmed and organized and productive that I'll never make time to do the slower things that don't seem "practical." Like picking real blackberries with our kids. Which is one of my favorite things to do—which is why I already miss summer. It all has to do with nostalgia, with re-membering the continuity of my life with my children's—which I can't program into a computer.
Blackberry canes thrive in Michigan's sandy soil. I often picked them there with my parents and brothers forty years ago when we visited the lakeshore. Now my wife and I do the same with our kids. And little has changed. They still ripen in August, marking the end of summer and the unmeasured hours of childhood. The thorns still scratch and cut us as we reach into the thicket for the ripe black clusters. The purple juice still bleeds on to our hands and stains them with memory.
I can taste it now—the aching sweet and sour of a ripe blackberry. Even as I sit here in my office grading papers and answering email and wondering how the summer passed so quickly.
CODFA Quiz Answers, Reluctantly by Mike Losacco
Little did I know back in September, when Tom was reminiscing the extraordinary flavor of that
exquisite purple-black fruit (which, btw, is delish—as Rachel Ray would say—with
chicken and roasted artichokes), that my CODFA brothers and sisters would so closely emulate those who sit
before me each day. Well, actually, only Monday through Thursday because I'm underworked and overpaid and
since I never have anything to do I might as well do nothing for only four days. And, for all you overworked,
underpaid people out there, try doing nothing from 9:00am to 9:30pm on Tuesdays and see how easy it is. But
I digress. No one submitted answers. No one. Throughout the month I would be engaged in light
conversation with a colleague and nonchalantly ask if they were going to try to win the fantabulous prize.
"No, I don't think so." Why wouldn't you? The prize is, after all, fantabulous. "It's too hard." Too hard?
Too hard? Waaaahhhh!!!! Sound like anyone you know (e.g., your students)?
And just think, since no one responded, all you had to do was submit one incorrect answer and you would have automagically walked away with the fantabulous prize. You could have seen your name right here, in REALLY BIG TYPE in this edition of the Faculty Advocate. Years from now, while sitting in a comfortable chair sipping a beverage, you'll hear Frank Sinatra's voice lift off of an old vinyl platter (or maybe an 8-track) extolling how he did it his way, and when you sing along (quite off-key I might add) with that line regarding regrets, you will, with abashed sorrow and anguish, remember this moment.
Here are the answers we promised. Some of these may show up again on the Midterm or Final.
- Comparing January through August, we averaged 2.4 times more visitors to the site in 2008 than 2007. True
- More than half the people that visit the site are on it for 2 minutes or less. True
- Of the following sections of the site, which one averages the most visitors: Committees, Documents, or Newsletters? Committees
- As of the publication of the September 2008 newsletter, how many registered members are there in the discussion board? 255
- Name the top two people who have made the most posts to the discussion board. Tom Tipton & Glenn Hansen
- Who spends the most time online in the discussion boards? Tom Tipton
- What topic in the discussion board was viewed the most? Chand Resignation
- In what month and year did the most people view the discussion board? May 2008
- How many Welfare Notes are there? 16
- What is the target publication date for an issue of the Faculty Advocate? First Monday of the Month
- Bonus Question: How many people have earned the title "Contributor" because they have had at least 70 posts? 7
- Extra Credit: Am I the only person who gets to have 5 green stars next to their name when they post a message? If not, who else? No, Denise Coté
Accolades by Mary Konkel & Ida Hagman
Dan Blewett (Library)
His joint proposal "Emerging Markets, Emerging Problems: Environmentalism and Globalization in Asia,
Latin America, and Africa" for the Consortium of Academic
and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) Collection Enhancement Awards was awarded in the amount of
$2,000. These funds will be used to strengthen the Library's collection in the areas of globalization
in Latin America, with a focus on Mexico and Central America. Materials purchased will be housed in
the COD Library, accessible via WorldCat, and available for interlibrary throughout the State of
Illinois.
Tony Chen (Computer & Internetworking Technology)
As a user of the Cisco Networking Academy online courses, both personally and in the classroom, Tony
noticed many errors that he particularly didn't want COD students to encounter and repeat when they
used these courses. He went to the source and documented and reported 450 problems. Cisco was so
pleased with these corrections that they awarded him the 4 R Award for Rigor, Relevance,
Relationships and Results.
Deborah Klein (Criminal Justice)
Admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 2, 2008, and attended the ceremony,
appearing before the full Court in Washington, D.C. Deb is now qualified to argue a case before the
Supreme Court.
Mary Konkel (Library)
Joined the ranks of over 9,000 triathletes in the Chicago Accenture Triathlon held August 24th at
Lake Michigan, along with her 26 year old daughter, who dared her to do it. While not an accomplished
swimmer and definitely not a runner, she completed the ½ mile swim in 33:48, the 13 mile bike
in 1:08 and a 5K run (well, actually she walked) in 51:31, doing two 15 minute miles, which the water
station volunteers can attest to as she went jiggy on them in passing.
She was also invited to join 2 panels at the 2008 Illinois Library Association Conference in Chicago to present: Qualty or Quality in Your Catalog (September 24) and Does Cataloging Have Value in These Times? The Changing Bibliographic Universe and Its Implications for Next Generation Cataloging (September 25). Her remarks focused on the practitioner in the field, including best practices from the community college library perspective.
Jackie McGrath (English)
Completed the Chicago Big Shoulders 2.5 kilometer swimming race on Saturday, September 6 in 42:58 in
Lake Michigan. The event raises money for the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Tom Montgomery-Fate (English)
Orion Magazine published his article, "The Art of Dying: a lonely act of surrender on the
streets of downtown Chicago," in the September/October 2008 issue. Read Tom's reflections
here.
Thomas E. Reed (Natural Sciences)
Many late nights in the studio have paid off as his gospel group, God's Promise, has
successfully completed its 2nd CD titled Praise Him. If you want to give it a listen or
purchase a copy, contact Thomas at ext. 2426.
Accolades submissions can be sent to Ida Hagman or Mary Konkel. We want to hear about your personal accomplishments, as well as academic ones. Tell us about your educational achievements and degrees, publications, program development, awards, athletic achievements, musical/theatrical accomplishments and more. Go ahead, inform on your colleagues! We'd love to join you in a "Snoopy dance" to help celebrate your accomplishments.
