2000-09-22

              Wheaton takes out both New Underground series Debating the benefits
men's and women's soccer brings band and musical of Greek life
... Sports, p. 1.4 and 11 comedian to IWU
... Features, p. 5
... Opinions, p. 9
Remnant Trust brings ancient texts to IWU
By Tracy Quinlan
Staff Writer
America is considered by many to be the land of
the free, and that freedom includes speech.
Throughout the century, that freedom has expanded
shelves with printed ideas in the form of books.
The Remnant Trust, a collection of early-edition
classical books founded by IWU alumnus Brian
Bex ('64), has loaned a selection of
over 70 titles to Sheean Library. "These
They will be on display through
Dec. 7.
"The exhibit is really neat from a gave pe
book lover's perspective, and it is opportt
especially interesting for people
who have studied these works in read an
class," said Sarah George, visiting
instructor/information services indeper
librarian.
The only stipulation the Thinlir
Remnant Trust made when provid- d ang
ing the books was that students be
able to touch, read and turn the activity
pages of the texts.
Featured in the collection is a Minor
leaf from the Gutenberg Bible
(1450). This printed bible provided IWU
people with the opportunity to
directly access their faith and learn -
on their own instead of only being able to listen to
the leaders of the church.
Other texts on display include the first Chicago
printing of the Emancipation Proclamation
(1863), Alexis de Tocueville's "Democracy in
America" (1836), Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"
(1651) and John Locke's "Two Treatises of
Government" (1694).
These pieces strongly influenced the develop-ment
of the Constitution and American policies.
"These pieces gave people the opportunity to
read and think independently. Thinking was a
dangerous activity. It sent shock waves through
the entire political system," President Minor
Myers, jr. said.
The texts on display also show the evolution of
equality towards humans. Students can turn the
pages of a third-edition copy of Thomas Paine's
"Rights of Man" (1791) and then study Mary
Wollstonecraft's reaction, "Rights of
Woman," published three years later.
Students can also study the evolution of
racial equality in James Kerr's 1786 critique
of slavery and in Frederick Douglass'
"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,
an American Slave" (1846).
"This collection is an overwhelming, over-powering,
wide expanse of knowledge,"
George said. "This is essential-pieces
ly the early history of Western
pi e democracy."
>)le the George's most interesting
Sdiscovery when preparing the
nity to books for display was a note
tucked into Josephus'
I think "History of the Jewish
Nation." The scrap of paper dently. with old-fashioned handwrit-ing
detailing an herbal reme-g
was a dy is on display with the book
r OUS in which it was found.
"It reminds me of the ran-dom
things that I stick into
my books. It's incredible to
know that someone from so
yerS, JT long ago did the same thing,"
President George said.
"Some of these books are
500 years old. You can see the
tracks of people as they recorded their notes A
about what was good and bad. You can see his- Rer
tory happening as minds look at books," Myers Rer
said. tur
At a formal dinner Wednesday night, Bex wol
spoke to students and faculty who will use
the books during the fall semester. He said that
people always ask him why he loans out books to
be used firsthand by students.
"Our society has been losing substance for years.
We have become a nation full of fluff," Bex said.
"Students can actually graduate from Big Ten insti-tutions
with a degree in English without reading
Shakespeare," Bex said. "Just maybe we ought to be
talking about ideas, but ideas tick people off. They
make people disagree with you. And if you're smart,
you'll listen to what they have to say."
Many classes, including history, English, religion
and philosophy courses, will use the texts in class.
kn IWU student peruses a book in Sheean Library earlier this week. Courtesy of the
mnant Trust, Sheean will now house several ancient texts. The only stipulation the
mnant Trust made when providing the books was that students be able to touch, read and
n the pages of the texts. Some of them include a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible (1450) and
rks by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Erin White/The Argus
"It's an incredible experience to be able to handle
firsthand these books written hundreds of years ago,"
said sophomore Jared Calaway, a student whose class
on the Enlightenment will use the books:
"This is a phenomenal, opportuiity. Everyone
should take advantage of it, because how often does
something like this happen?" said sophomore Kelly
Keating.
"I would hope that IWU would tell other
schools about what they have here. This collection
is unique, and to be able to touch these books
makes it even better," said Kris Bex, president of
Remnant Trust.
The Remnant Trust will also donate a leaf of a
1788 copy of "The Federalist Papers" to the
library. Also, the trust is making available an addi-tional
leaf to be awarded to a student.
IWU studehs will be able to compete for the
leaf by writing a paper about a stimulating and
enlightening experience that they had with the
texts on display. More information will be avail-able
from the library staff at a later date.
If students are interested in reviewing the books
firsthand or using them for research, they are
encouraged to contact George.
"Use them to ask questions and stump your pro-fessors.
The books are here. Use 'em and enjoy
'em," Bex said.
The Green
Task Force, a
group recently
formed with the
goal of improving
the environment
at IWU, will
focus on eight
different areas.
Three of those
areas are recy-cling,
conserving
energy and envi-ronmental
edu-cation.
Student Senate
first passed a res-olution
to form
the task force
last April, and
the faculty subse-quently
passed
the resolution.
Both times, the
resolution passed
unanimously.
Kate Weber/The Argus
Green Task Force aims to make
IWU environmentally friendly
By Katie Coleman
Staff Writer
"Not only should we care more, but we
should do more as students," Student
Senate President Matt Glavin said. Just wi
This was the point of a resolution which nges
led to the April 1999 formation of the c an
Green Task Force (GTF) at Illinois lives,
Wesleyan University.
The task force will take on new chal- make t
lenges to improve the natural environment
of the campus and community. The familiar Versity
blue recycling bins are only the beginning.
Glavin said that last spring, he and friendl
Student Senate Vice-President Sara Nelson
decided they needed to start making the
campus more environmentally friendly. _ Sa Student Senate drew up a resolution, which
passed unanimously. The resolution was then Stud
brought to a faculty panel for approval.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Vice
and International Studies Abigail Jahiel and
Associate Professor of Biology Given
Harper, co-directors of environmental studies, presented the
resolution to the faculty, and it again passed unanimously.
Jahiel and Harper were faculty correspondents for the
resolution and reviewed drafts of the resolution.
"I was pleasantly surprised by the support we received
from all parts of campus," Nelson said.
Unlike many environmental programs,
GTF does more than simply recycle, h minor although that is one of its goals.
"Ever since I've been here, there's always in our been a push to improve the environment of
ve can the campus, but we've never really had a
universal recycling program," Nelson said.
ie uni- Having a more universal recycling pro-gram
means recycling glass and plastic, in
a more addition to the aluminum .and paper the
It campus already recycles. It would also place." include putting recycling bins out all over
campus in places such as the cafeteria.
Nelson said the goal is to have all types of
a Nelson, recycling in all buildings.
Jahiel said that State Farm recycles about
nt Senate 60 percent of its waste, and Illinois State
University reaches 40 percent, which is the
President Illinois state guideline. She said IWU
should try to achieve levels similar to ISU.
Expanded recycling is just one of the task
force's goals. GTF will also include eight committees to
focus on specific areas of the environment: energy, water,
see GREEN TASK FORCE p. 4
1911 - Dr. Kemp, an adminis-trator
at IWU, acquired a large
house on Main Street from A.
E. DeMange. The house was
built in 1907 and was one of the
largest, most luxurious homes
in Bloomington at ther time.
This building, later renamed
Kemp Hall, was the first
women's dorm on campus and
originally housed 50 women.
1938 - The School of Music
announced the arrival of a new
recording machine. One music
faculty member commented,
"This machine makes very
good records and can be of edu-cational
value to any student
interested in hearing the exact
sound of his own voice."
Students needed to make:an
appointment to use the
machine.
1946 - Veterans of World War
II returned to IWU for a new
school year. The singe men
moved into barracks, located
on t east side of the quad,
even though plumbing and
heting wouldnot be installed
for at least another week.
Returning soldiers with fami-lies
lived in slightly larger
apartments on the north edge of
the quad. All of the veterans liv-ing
on campus had attended
IWU before serving in the war.
1950 - A poem in The Argus
read: Most girls know the rules/
Of just one sport/ That's indoor
lounging/ On the davenport/
Wherever you roam/You'll find
it the same/ So never take a
woman/ To a basketball game.
1986 - IWU's enrollment rose
to a record high of 1,693 stu-dents
after new students moved
in. Four first-year students lived
in each of the Munsell-
Ferguson lounges.
--Compiled by Natalie Studwell
Task force recommends
fraternity house directors
By Stefany Polinko
Staff Writer
With Rush in progress, fraternity and sorority life
occupies the minds of many IWU students. But students
are not the only ones with decisions to make involving
the Greek system. The Greek Affairs Task Force
(GATF) proposed mandating professional staff supervi-sion
in all fraternity houses as early as next year.
According to Angela Flinn, assistant dean of stu-dents
for Greek affairs, the GATF was established in
October 1997 to examine Greek social organizations
and their relationships with the university. The task
force is comprised of students, faculty, staff and
administration.
In a final report released February 15, 1999, the
GATF called for "live-in supervision in the form of a
house director in.all Greek chapters by 2002."
"The presence of live-in staff members would
reduce the exposure to liability on the part of the uni-versity,"
said Dean of Students Jim Matthews, a mem-ber
of the GATF. "Members of the task force also
agreed that in the event of a serious situation, the
presence of a trained professional would instill a
sense of security within the house."
Greek peer counselors currently reside in fraternity
houses and play a role similar to that of a resident
assistant in a residence hall on campus. The counselor
is an elected member of the chapter responsible for
programming, activities, ensuring safety, providing
support and communicating with campus services.
Flinn said the new house directors would perform a
role comparable to that of a hall director in the uni-versity's
traditional residence halls.
"In essence, the house director would deal with
see HOUSE DIRECTORS p. 4
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