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Hate Crimes Awareness Week Scheduled Hate Crimes Awareness Week will be observed at Meredith January 17-21. The theme for the week is "Social Justice for All." Junior Cheryl Stanley organized the week as her LeaderShape vision project. Stanley's vision is to have an ideal society where there is acknowledgement, respect and acceptance of all people regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or lifestyles and where differences between everyone will be celebrated. The Association of Cultural Awareness, the SGA Diversity Committee and the Diversity Council are co-sponsoring the following events: Monday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Memorial March (Transportation will leave at 9:30 a.m. in front of Johnson Hall. Assembly starts at 10 a.m. at the State Capitol Building) Tuesday: Viewing and discussion of the documentary "Shadow of Hate" at 6 p.m. in 2nd Cate. This Academy Award-nominated documentary traces the history of violence and prejudice in the U.S. against various racial and ethnic groups and women. Wednesday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Worship Service featuring guest speaker Dr. E. B. Palmer, co-founder of the African American Cultural Complex, at 10 a.m. in Jones Chapel. Thursday: Guest Speaker Alice Hom, 7 p.m. in Belk Dining Hall Alice Y. Hom, an honored writer and educator, links academic arenas to community-based activism. Her experiences and research inform her moving and timely talks on racism, sexism, homophobia, Asian American feminism, and Asian American lesbian and gay cultural activism. This lecture is free and open to the public. Friday: Community Building Student Forum facilitated by Alice Hom, 10 a.m. in Kresge Auditorium. This event is open to Meredith students only. For more information, contact Charletta Sims, director of commuter life and diversity services, at ext. 8521. Meredith Professor Rosalie Gates Named to National Board
The ACL is a national association that for more than 30 years has provided a forum for higher education professionals involved in cooperative programs. Members include Colleges and universities and affiliations include the American Council of Education and the Association of Governing Boards. CRC is a consortium comprised of Meredith College, North Carolina State University, Peace College, Shaw University, Saint Augustine's College and Saint Mary's School. As CRC director, Gates also serves as the chief executive officer of the CRC Education Channel, a Time Warner Cable channel with more than 300,000 viewers in the Raleigh area. Gates holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and doctorate in history from Duke University.
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Grounds Manager Aims to Create "Outdoor Classroom" for Meredith
Schettler, who joined the staff at Meredith two years ago, leads a team of eight that maintains and preserves the beauty of the Meredith campus. Their responsibilities include maintaining campus trees and garden plantings, mowing turf areas and maintaining the athletic fields, in addition to managing waste removal and campus recycling. One special project that Schettler is proud of is the College's new Biological Diversity Garden adjacent to the Biology Greenhouse, which was completed in June 2004. The planting area has a large variety of plants arranged in a mixed border composed of both evergreen and deciduous shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and ornamental grasses with an emphasis on plant family diversity. Schettler consulted with Professor of Biology Janice Swab, who uses the greenhouse in her botany classes, on the planting project. Having the new greenhouse plantings means Swab now has dynamic examples of numerous plant families, and can readily demonstrate differences in form and reproduction. The beds are "designed for students to walk by and become interested in biology," Schettler said. Plants are also grouped by bloom and foliage color, so viewers can easily see the contrasts. The beds include sections that range from blue to purple, a dark foliage section and a "hot colors" section. "Botany classes often use books and photos to show variation among plant families," said Schettler, who has a degree in horticulture from Oklahoma State University and a degree in environmental design from the University of Oklahoma. "With the greenhouse plantings, we are giving the students an outdoor classroom." The greenhouse beds also bring a bit of international flair to the campus, featuring plants from around the world, including Chinese windmill palm, Japanese hardy banana, Australian bottlebrush and Mexican bush sage, among others. Beyond the greenhouse, Schettler aims to utilize unusual and underutilized plants throughout campus. When designing the landscape at Meredith, Schettler focuses on using plants that provide seasonal interest with an emphasis on plants that bloom during spring (for graduation) and late summer (for the fall semester). He hopes to diversify the plantings at Meredith, with the aim of "preserving the beauty of campus while adding to the diversity of the plantings."
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Dr. Rosalie Prince Gates has been elected to the national board of the Association for Consortium Leadership (ACL). Gates is professor of history at Meredith and director of Cooperating Raleigh Colleges (CRC).
Throughout the year, Grounds Manager Aaron Schettler and his staff work diligently to maintain an attractive campus environment.