Meredith College Hosts the North Carolina State Science Fair
By Kristen Scott `05

On April 30, Meredith College will host the North Carolina State Science Fair. Initially started during the 1950s, this is Meredith's second year to host this fair.

More than 300 people are expected to attend this event. The day will consist of a session of closed judging of the displays, interviews with the students by the judges, a public viewing of these displays and an award ceremony.

Students ranging from third grade to twelfth grade from eight different regions in North Carolina will be competing for various awards in numerous categories. Students competing in the state competition have already won two preliminary fairs to get to this level. Awards include first, second and third places along with exemplary winner awards and honorable mention awards.

Judges for the science fair are professionals in the science world. Last year, professors from institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State University and East Carolina University judged the event. Projects titled "The Color of Genetics, " "Pretty Peas with Sugar on Top" and "Hope or Hoax? The Effects of Essential Oils on Brain Tumor" were some of the top ranking in the 2003 competition.

Meredith's new Math and Science building allows the displays to be categorized into smaller groups and helps the judges to distinguish each category from room to room. Meredith students also volunteer to assist with the activities throughout the day. Dr. Virginia Knight, dean of the School of Natural & Mathematical Sciences, and Dr. John Mecham, professor of biology, serve as liaisons for Meredith College and the NC State Science Fair.

"Many professionals got the impetus to go into the sciences through science fairs. It is a wonderful way to promote the sciences and for Meredith College to encourage youth to excel in the field of science," Mecham says.

The day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Bayer Biological Products, Fisher Scientific, GlaxoSmithKline and Progress Energy are some of the companies that contribute to this event. For more information, please visit http://www.ncsta.org/sciencefair/index.html.

Meredith College to Host N.C. Council on the Holocaust's Observance
By Erin Hege, '04

Meredith College will host the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust's 2004 Holocaust Observance program at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, in Jones Auditorium.

The afternoon presentation will consist of a discussion led by filmmaker and author Joshua Green on his 1998 Emmy-nominated film Witness: Voices from the Holocaust, a documentary based on the filmed testimonies of 19 Holocaust survivors. Green will also deliver the keynote address on "Justice at Dachau: The Trials of an American Prosecutor."

The afternoon will also recognize the participants of the fifth annual student art and writing exhibition. To conclude the event, there will be a candlelight vigil by Holocaust survivors and their families.

For more information visit www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust_council.

Disease, Death and Sex in the Middle Ages
By Erin Hege, '04

If a name says it all, Biology 947: Disease, Death and Sex is saying plenty to grab the eyes of students and faculty across campus.

This course is designed around how epidemic diseases of the past and present affect human societies. Two diseases of the past are the main topics of the course, the Black Plague during the Middle Ages and syphilis in the Renaissance. The course is part of the College's Medieval and Renaissance Studies minor.

Students are learning how diseases begin and spread to become continental epidemics. In doing this, the class is also studying the historical, social and economic influences certain diseases cause.

The course also relates disease epidemics of the past to understanding current emerging diseases such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, West Nile Virus, Mad Cow and Ebola.

In the class students are required to keep a portfolio of articles, Internet sites and journal entries to better understand the subject matter. All students are required to research a disease and relate the causes, symptoms and results of the disease to how it affected society during its lifespan.

Dr. Larry Grimes, professor of biology, has been interested in this topic for many years. Grimes' fascination grew from many sources, the first being his undergraduate and master's studies of parasitology and entomology. Grimes also has a passion for history in the medieval times, so he has studied the history of the Middle Ages as well as the biology of the time.

While on sabbatical in the fall of 2002, Grimes attended the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) conference where he developed the idea for the course.

Grimes said, "This conference opened my eyes to see how science departments need to develop new courses with issues facing society today. Although the main focus of this course is in the Middle Ages our world experiences the same phenomena with the AIDS and SARS diseases."

Grimes would like to see this course taught every spring because it fulfills requirements for the new general education science in society elective and the biology major. He would also like to teach this class abroad during the summer sessions so students could travel to the places that were affected by the Black Plague.

Grimes said, "This course, like all new courses, is formed while it is being taught. That's great for me because I enjoy teaching biology as long as I can spice it up."

He concluded, "The enjoyment of teaching is when you love teaching and you love to constantly learn new things. With a new course and new students, that happens every time."

Kent Lyman Prepares for Meredith, Korea Recitals
by Kristen Scott, '05

Kent Lyman, associate professor of music and coordinator of piano, is preparing for his faculty recital in April as well as a performance at two universities in Korea over the summer.

Lyman's faculty recital will be held on Thursday, April 29 at 8 p.m. in Carswell Concert Hall, in preparation for his departure to Korea a few weeks later.

Lyman, who has been at Meredith for four years, primarily teaches piano pedagogy, training students who wish to be private studio teachers upon graduation. He also teaches applied piano lessons to piano majors and keyboard skills classes to music majors and non-majors.

Lyman says "timing and good luck" brought him to Meredith College. Lyman received a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and a master's and doctoral degrees from Indiana University. His degrees are in piano performance and pedagogy. Having previously held positions at Western Kentucky University, Southwest Missouri State University and Coker College, Lyman is thrilled to be at Meredith College.

"The campus is so beautiful. I get to look out my studio window and see the lake and the amphitheater every day. I think I probably have one of the best locations on campus as far as the view is concerned. The faculty as a whole seem to really care about what they do, and are interested in finding ways of making Meredith better than it already is," Lyman says.

For his faculty recital, Lyman will be performing pieces from both old and new composers.

"I wanted to include some works from the old masters, so I picked works by Bach and Beethoven to start with. The remainder of the program reflects my primary interest of playing works by more contemporary composers, and includes works by Olivier Messiaen, David Burge, and George Rochberg. Messiaen is French, and the other two are Americans. Although David Burge is an American composer, the set of his pieces that I am playing on this program were written because of his experiences as a soldier in the Korean War in 1953-54," Lyman says.

From 1978-80 Lyman served as a missionary in Korea. Throughout the years, he has continued to study the language and follow unfolding events there with great interest. This summer, he will be returning to Korea and performing at Inje University in Pusan and Kookmin University in Seoul.

"I made the contact with Pusan through a current piano student of mine who is from Korea. She put me in touch with her former teacher in Pusan, who then put me in touch with Inje University," Lyman explains.

Lyman also made a contact in Seoul through a graduate school acquaintance who is now teaching at Kookmin University. Lyman's cousin lives in Seoul with her husband and her children who attend school there. Lyman hopes to arrange a presentation at their school during his stay in Korea as well.

When Lyman is not preparing for his faculty recital or for his trip to Korea, he enjoys spending time at home with his family, doing crossword puzzles and studying the Korean language.

For more information on this event, please contact the Music Department at ext. 8536.


Meredith Holds International Week
By Erin Hege, '04

The Meredith College International Association (MIA) hosted a variety of events to celebrate Meredith International Association Week, March 15-19.

Suwai Sonko, MIA President said, "MIA International Week is important so the entire Meredith community can broaden their horizons on the rest of the world. It gives students, faculty and staff the opportunity to learn from the source, which is our international students, about different world cultures."

Each night featured a different program to celebrate international students.

On Tuesday, the MIA members and others put on a fashion show at the Alumnae House where audience members enjoyed international music, dance, fashions and the Blue Moon Belly Dancers.

MIA also hosted the 10 a.m. worship service on Wednesday in Jones Chapel with guest speaker Rosita Najmi. Najmi co-founded and coordinated Project Bokonon, a program that provides medical assistance and education to Benin, West Africa, a country with one doctor for every 19,000 people. (Visit www.projectbokonon.org/ for more information.)

On Thursday, MIA sponsored an international dinner for faculty and staff. To conclude the week, the organization held a bake sale in the Cate Center Lobby.

Sonko said, "The main message and theme of this year's MIA week was 'Making Connections Around the World.' We wanted to send a message that we are proud to bring a taste of our rich cultures to Meredith in order to create a more diverse community."

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