University Day Strategic
Plan: Blueprint for the Future
When this year's University Day comes to a close, Montclair State is expected
to have a clear blueprint for its future. On Oct. 23, the campus community
will gather for a daylong discussion of a strategic plan that has been
five years in the making.
Units and departments will meet from 9 to 10:15 a.m. to either address
issues that haven't been resolved or begin formulating ways to implement
the plan. The campus community will gather at 10:45 a.m. in Memorial Auditorium
where the vice presidents and deans will summarize the outcomes of the
individual meetings. Provost Richard Lynde also will provide an overview
of the impact of the discussions on the strategic plan.
Following the general session, individuals are encouraged to join with
colleagues from other units at a brown bag working lunch from noon to
2 p.m. in the Student Center Ballrooms. Participants will share unit perspectives
on the strategic plan in an effort to begin setting priorities for its
implementation. "By the end of University Day, we expect to have
reached a consensus on the strategic plan as well as to have a sense of
where our highest priorities lie with respect to its implementation,"
Lynde said.
The Board of Trustees will review the plan at its Oct. 31 meeting.
Purchasing sponsors vendor fair
The Purchasing Department is sponsoring a Minority and Women-Owned Business
Enterprise Fair on Thursday, Oct. 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student
Center Ballrooms.
The fair will include vendor exhibits, door prizes, giveaways, entertainment
and refreshments. For more information, call Purchasing at 4365.
Tennis coach wins 100th match
Head Tennis
Coach Brian McLaughlin celebrated his 100th career win for Montclair State
on Oct. 9 when the women's tennis team triumphed over Stevens Tech, 8-1.
McLaughlin, who joined Montclair State in 1989, is now 100-57-1. He also
has led the Red Hawks to eight or more victories in three of the last
six seasons, including a current streak of 11 consecutive winning campaigns.
Italian Program, UNICO National sponsor
essay contest
The Italian Program and UNICO National are sponsoring an essay contest
on the theme, "Why Columbus Day? The Celebration of Christopher Columbus."
The contest is open to all undergraduate students. The deadline for submissions
is Thursday, Oct. 31.
Two winning essays will be chosen and each author will receive a $500
scholarship at a ceremony on Monday, Nov. 18.
Each submission must be a typed, double-spaced essay, approximately 500
words in English or Italian (MLA style preferred) accompanied by a typed
Contest Application Form available in the Department of Spanish and Italian
office, Dickson Hall, Room 301. For more information, call David Del Principe
at 7499.
Professor talks about daughter's imprisonment in Peru
As part of Latino Pride activities on campus, Mark Berenson of Information
and Decision Sciences last week discussed his daughter Lori's imprisonment
in Peru since 1995. The event was sponsored by the Latin American Student
Organization.
Addressing
an audience of about 50 students and faculty, Berenson read passages from
his wife Rhoda’s book, Lori, My Daughter Wrongfully Imprisoned
in Peru, as well as statements from Lori in both Spanish and English.
The talk focused on social justice, human rights and U.S. foreign policy
in Latin America.
"I was happy to have the opportunity to speak to students
and faculty about Lori's situation and what can be done to bring her home,"
Berenson said.
A native of New York, Lori Berenson was detained by Peruvian security
forces on Nov. 30, 1995. At the time she was living in a Lima suburb with
members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, an armed Peruvian organization.
Lori said she was in the country working as a free-lance journalist and
never knew her housemates were suspected terrorists. During a raid on
the house Lori had rented, Peruvian security forces found weapons, explosives
and a detailed plan of the Peruvian congress.
She eventually was transferred to a desolate maximum-security prison in
Yanomano, high in the Peruvian Andes. At the time, then-President Alberto
Fujimori was waging a war on terrorist groups. Lori's capture was trumpeted
as one of the great successes in that fight. Lori was first convicted
by a military court in early 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.
But questions about the fairness of Lori's trial quickly arose. The trial
was conducted by hooded judges in a secret courtroom and, according to
reports, Lori was never allowed to consult properly with her defense attorney.
In 2000, after years of pressure from her parents, international human
rights groups and other governments, a military court overturned her life
sentence and a civilian court was ordered to retry the case. That court
convicted her and sentenced her to 20 years.
During his talk, Berenson highlighted key events in Lori's case and the
progress made in building support. On June 27, 2000, the Township of Montclair
passed a resolution urging the government of Peru to honor its commitment
to human rights standards, as a signatory to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, by releasing Lori from prison. Other communities
across the nation have passed similar resolutions.
Berenson hoped his talk would "spark interest in campuses across
the nation that will demonstrate students can have a powerful voice, can
make the difference, and can collectively right a wrong."
Panel to discuss marriage rights for same-sex couples
The fight for love with equality made a dramatic advance this summer when
seven lesbian and gay couples filed an historic lawsuit in the New Jersey
courts, claiming their right to marry.
"Marriage Equality: The New Jersey Legal Challenge," a panel
discussion, will be held Monday, Oct. 28, at 4 p.m. in Dickson Hall, Room
178. The free event is sponsored by the Montclair State Gay & Lesbian
Faculty and Staff Association.
On the panel will be representatives from Lambda Legal, a national organization
dedicated to the protection of the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender
and HIV-positive people, and two of the plaintiffs, Cindy Meneghin, director
of Web Services at Montclair State, and her partner Maureen Killian. They
will be joined by their two children.
Meneghin and Killian are one of seven couples asking the State of New
Jersey to recognize that all citizens, and not just heterosexual couples,
are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
Attendees will hear more about the lives behind this landmark legal challenge,
and the current civil laws surrounding marriage in New Jersey. For more
information about the event, call 7716.