An Emory & Henry College music professor will be leaving campus after this semester to be closer to his extended family.

Dr. Stephen Sieck, choral director and music professor, has accepted a teaching position at Wisconsin’s Lawerence University, which has one of the five best choirs in the country. There, he will teach two groups: a concert choir and the Viking chorale.

Lawerence is a small liberal arts college, but has a conservatory with over 350 music majors. Most of his extended family lives in Wisconsin, so he is thrilled to be closer to them.

Sieck has been at Emory & Henry for five years now, and reflects about the value of this institution. When asked what he will miss the most, he replied without hesitation: the relationships. “Relationships are so important here,” Sieck says as he describes that leaving here means leaving 400 friendships.

He also describes the unique quality of teaching at Emory & Henry. Sieck recalls a moment when he sat down to lunch and realized he was sitting at a table full of Virginia Professors of the Year. “The teaching here is the best- ridiculously good teaching,” he said when describing how blessed he felt to be around so many of them.

Sieck’s own career so far illustrates how much he cares for music and his students. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in liberal arts, Sieck moved to Los Angeles, California. In California, he taught middle school students at a prestigious school for children of celebrities. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s children even attended that school. However, Los Angeles was not the place to raise children, so Sieck and his fiancée moved back to Illinois, where he attended graduate school at the University of Illinois.

As well as loving music, Sieck has a passion for philosophy. Finding Emory & Henry was a perfect opportunity for him because he got to teach philosophy. He described himself as a “bookish philosopher and musician.”  It has been quite a delight for him to teach Foundations, and indulge his philosophic knowledge.

As he recalls the students he has seen grow into their voices, he remembers one student especially. Sarah Trotter, a recent graduate of the music program and Sieck’s pupil, was a student he says really grew in confidence and strength of her voice. When she was a freshman, Sieck remembers her being timid, but last year she sang a soprano solo in front of the whole school and on tour. “I want every student to find their voice,” Sieck says with enthusiasm.

Sophomore Jessica Metz had this to say about her professor, “Dr. Sieck has been my favorite teacher since coming to Emory. He is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. He constantly challenges his students to give their best. Concert choir and E&H won’t be the same without him.”

What’s next for Dr. Sieck and our music program? He will leave for Wisconsin in late May after his children finish school. During the rest of the semester, candidates for his position will work with his classes and the choir to audition for the next music professor at Emory & Henry College.

For now, he plans to finish this semester by teaching the best he can, and preparing an easy way for the next professor.

Students may have noticed the massive amounts of dirt and construction in the middle of the Emory campus lately. A new alumni plaza, paid for by alumni Tom McGlothlin is set to finish in May of 2010.

The structure, made to honor all the school’s alumni, is one of the first visual efforts dedicated to graduates. Charles Sydnor, of the Alumni office, says, “It’s more than a memorial.                                                                                                                                                   It’s dedicated to past, current, and future alumni for them to see when they come back.”

The plaza will consist of a semicircle wall with bronze plaques to honor the most distinguished alumni. Sydnor says, “It will be like a living history lesson.”

The Board of Trustees is to pick such distinguished alumni this winter. The requirements for such an honor are that the person has to be a graduate, deceased, and has made a significant contribution to American society.

Among the supposed candidates is Frank Rowlett, a 1929 graduate. He was a code breaker for the government, and one of the founding fathers of the National Security Administration. In World War II, Rowlett was responsible for breaking the Japanese Purple Code, which was what the Japanese used to communicate with their embassy in the United States. By breaking the code, Rowlett managed to find out what the Germans were doing, thereby leading to the victory of the Allies in World War II.

Rowlett also invented a piece of encryption machinery which no other government could break. He was a pioneer in both machinery and code breaking.

Another candidate for the bronze plaque is an 1889 graduate named Robert E. Humphries, who made a major contribution to automobile manufacturing. After graduating from Emory, he received a Ph.D. in chemistry from John Hopkins University. He then went to work for John D. Rockefeller in his Standard Oil Company.

The process of turning crude oil into gasoline was a very tricky and expensive process. At the time, very few people but the rich could afford automobiles because it cost so much to manipulate the oil. Humphries came up with an economically feasible way to do that. By making the process of turning oil to gasoline cheap, he made the automobile affordable for everyone. His laboratory is actually exhibited in the Smithsonian.

The Alumni Memorial is set to be completed by Commencement weekend, and presented in Homecoming 2010.

Students may have noticed the massive amounts of dirt and construction in the middle of the Emory campus lately. A new alumni plaza, paid for by alumni Tom McGlothlin is set to finish in May of 2010.

The structure, made to honor all the school’s alumni, is one of the first visual efforts dedicated to graduates. Charles Sydnor, of the Alumni office, says, “It’s more than a memorial. It’s dedicated to past, current, and future alumni for them to see when they come back.”

The plaza will consist of a semicircle wall with bronze plaques to honor the most distinguished alumni. Sydnor says, “It will be like a living history lesson.”

The Board of Trustees is to pick such distinguished alumni this winter. The requirements for such an honor are that the person has to be a graduate, deceased, and has made a significant contribution to American society.

Among the supposed candidates is Frank Rowlett, a 1929 graduate. He was a code breaker for the government, and one of the founding fathers of the National Security Administration. In World War II, Rowlett was responsible for breaking the Japanese Purple Code, which was what the Japanese used to communicate with their embassy in the United States. By breaking the code, Rowlett managed to find out what the Germans were doing, thereby leading to the victory of the Allies in World War II.

Rowlett also invented a piece of encryption machinery which no other government could break. He was a pioneer in both machinery and code breaking.

Another candidate for the bronze plaque is an 1889 graduate named Robert E. Humphries, who made a major contribution to automobile manufacturing. After graduating from Emory, he received a Ph.D. in chemistry from John Hopkins University. He then went to work for John D. Rockefeller in his Standard Oil Company.

The process of turning crude oil into gasoline was a very tricky and expensive process. At the time, very few people but the rich could afford automobiles because it cost so much to manipulate the oil. Humphries came up with an economically feasible way to do that. By making the process of turning oil to gasoline cheap, he made the automobile affordable for everyone. His laboratory is actually exhibited in the Smithsonian.

The Alumni Memorial is set to be completed by Commencement weekend, and presented in Homecoming 2010.

The Sodexo employees responded with a suggestion of a block meal plan, which would give students a certain number of meals a semester. Most of the students at the forum were very excited about this idea, but President Rosalind Reichard had a rebuttal. “The pricing of meal plans is assuming you won’t eat all the food,” Reichard argued. She suggested the block system was easier at a larger school, with more predictability.
In a discussion of the privileges taken away from students with their meal plan, a solution arose. The meal exchange program at the Hut allowed students to substitute a meal value for anything on the menu. Now, there is only to the option to use the meal exchange for the full meals listed on that specific menu.
Dean Pam Gourley said, “We get different feedback. We heard students were frustrated about the substitutions.” Many students at the forum replied that was not the case at all, to which the dean responded, “I can’t please everyone.”
Triplett, the mediator of the forum, suggested again that Sodexo create a focus group to get student’s opinions about changes and pricing of the meal plans. Both the dean and president were very supportive of this idea. After the suggestion made by Triplett to Walton in an email, Walton herself is very excited about the formation of such a focus group.
At the end of the forum, Dean Sharpe asked, “Is the tuna melt really that good?” to which student’s heads nodded enthusiastically.
The forum also addressed the visitation policy, which many students felt was outdated.
The policy the school has now has an 11pm curfew on weekdays and a 1am curfew on weekends. The dorms do not open up again until noon the next morning.
Many students felt that the hours should be extended until two or three in the morning. According to research done by the Residence Hall Association, many schools similar to Emory & Henry have 24 hour policies.
Veatch suggested if the policy was 24 hours, then the accountability would fall on roommate agreements, which would outline hours for visitation, phone time, study time, and overnight guest policies. This would put a lot of responsibility on the roommates to assert themselves.
This policy would also include a roommate Bill of Rights, because “no one should feel like a guest in their own room,” as Veatch said. This Bill of Rights would empower students to set their own standards for behavior.  It would consist of a contract and a set of rules for roommates, suites, and halls.
In a poll taken this summer by the RHA, seventy percent of students were unsatisfied with the visitation policy now, while fourteen were satisfied. Because of this survey, the forum was also conducted to discuss the “outdated” visitation policy.
While nothing was decided, members of the Board of Trustees and much of the administration was present and open to the ideas discussed.
The forum simply gave students the opportunity to express their opinions and ideas to administration about how to better serve the student body.

Bonner Scholars, Public Policy and Community Service majors, students from Mars Hill College, and anyone else who was interested participated in the event that occurred Friday and Saturday. It included group discussions and workshops about how to help communities.
Workshop topics included: How to get People to Care about your Cause, information on the Virginia Organizing Project, EHC Student Government, and One on One sessions. Brian Johns led the workshop on the VOP and Laura Weaver, of the Crisis Center, led the workshop about caring for causes.
Community organizing revolves around the ideas of building relationships, sustainability, social issues, and eventually using community members to change.
To understand and apply these ideas, senior Joni Ritter led a discussion on the issues in our own college community. Students compiled a list of many things they want to change on campus, of which these were included: recycling, gender relations, and a living wage for our employees.
Of the ideas discussed, living wage was a popular issue that warranted improvement. Two years ago, students at Emory hosted a living wage campaign to provide staff enough money for them to be able to afford the necessary utilities. These necessities include housing, food, electricity, and water.
This discussion led to a resounding want for change from the students present. Jasmyne Rowe said, “I don’t want people to say they’re in this, and not follow through.” Her comment sparked much enthusiasm among the group.
The Community Organizing Workshop really encouraged college students to care about each other, and to recognize and solve their issues in their communities. It challenged them to think about social change and action.

The film, a product of the Media Education Foundation, explores the world of pharmaceutical drug marketing. The term “pharma” refers to the extremely large pharmaceutical companies. These companies took in $550 billion in 2004. They target patients to ask their doctor about any and all kinds of drugs. “Patients ask for a drug, and they don’t even know what is it,” says Marcia Angell, of Harvard Medical School.

Patients see the people in advertisements that are happy and cured. However, there is no show of the side affects or symptoms of the condition. Consumers are shown how their life can be so perfect with this new drug.

Many drugs are simply a new version of the same drug. For example, Prilosec was a drug that was losing its market. In order to find a new base of consumers, the company came out with a new product, Nexium. While it has a different name, Nexium is very similar to its parent, Prilosec.

This copycat is called a “me too” drug, which continually market drugs with new names. According to the film, 78 percent of “me too” drugs are not likely to be better than the original drugs. In the testing of drugs, they do not have to be compared to older drugs, but to a sugar pill. Katherine Greider, author of The Big Fix, said, “You’re basically comparing the drug with nothing.”

Another crime of the drug companies has been disease mongering. With such conditions as Restless Leg Syndrome, Adult ADD, and Social Anxiety Disorder, consumers are convinced to believe that they are victim to these conditions, which could also be attributed to being hyper, distracted, or shy. Consumers feel they need to make their lives better by getting these drugs, which are really just new definitions of medicating personality.

During the film, many methods were mentioned on how to avoid being a victim of the drug marketers. When a doctor prescribes a drug, be sure to ask if there is a cheaper, generic brand available.

The discussion following the film involved finding who was responsible for regulating such corruption. Is it the government, doctors, or consumers? One student felt that it was the consumers’ responsibility to educate themselves on the issue. Many others felt that it was the doctor’s responsibility to tell patients about other options; and still others felt there should be more limitations for marketers through government regulations.

Many options were discussed, but the discussion concluded with the idea that it is the responsibility of everyone in the situation to make things better by a communal effort.

In order to build this new tower, four trees would have to be cut down. As Chair of the Landscape Committee for the area, Davis was asked to approve this step in construction. In investigating the issue, he found that it was not just trees that would be destroyed, but a whole colony of honeybees.
Honeybee populations in the United States are declining rapidly because of a condition called “colony collapse disorder”. While specialists are not sure exactly what causes it, there is some suggestion to mite problems and especially invasive species that cause disease. This disorder has wiped out about one third of the honeybee population in the United States.

Because of this disease, it is very important to keep the existing hives healthy and protected; and that is exactly what Davis intended to do with the hive near the radio tower.
He was not only concerned that the tree was being cut, but also when it was being cut. If they were to cut the tree in the fall, the bees would have no time to gather honey before the winter. Davis consulted local beekeepers on the best way to solve this problem.
Option one involved having separate boxes with honey in them just outside the tree. When it was cut down, the bees would hopefully swarm to the honey boxes and be able to survive. However, this option was a risk because the queen bee might want to stay, and so the whole colony would remain in the tree.

Option two involved cutting down the tree and dragging it to another location, while keeping the hive inside. Davis reports, “We’ve got to save the tree!” In late August, the tree cutters donned their protective gear and succeeded in dragging the tree away and relocating the beehive.
Because the tree was then horizontal, Davis also made sure that water couldn’t destroy the hive by placing wooden boards over the entrance hole to the hive.
Teresa Keller of the mass communications department warned Davis that the hive seemed less active lately. As a result, Davis had a bee specialist report on the progress of the hive, to which he reported it was very healthy.

Davis said, “Our main objective now is to keep the hive healthy.”

His dedication to protecting the environment has proven to pay off as Davis saved the beehive from displacement and possible destruction.

While the tower was erected at the end of August, there are still many things to be done before the station is fully operational. On Thursday, Sept. 9, a team of engineers came to site the tower, making sure the signal pointed in the right direction. Friday, the station shelter, which holds the transmitter and equipment needed to run the station, arrived.

The station will reach a much wider radius than the current 500-watt station does. It will broadcast north to Richlands, south to Mountain City, Tenn., east to Rural Retreat, and west to Blountville, Tenn. It will cover five counties.

This project has been in the works for decades. The Mass Communications Department started out with a 100-watt station in 1992. Teresa Keller, the head of the department commented, “We didn’t know about thinking big in the 90s.”

For eleven years, the college fought the Federal Communications Commission to get a 500-watt station. This process took so long because Virginia Tech University was also looking to build a station in the area. Finally, the FCC ruled in the favor of Emory & Henry. However, the college decided to share broadcasting time with Virginia Tech. They have Radio IQ for half of the day, which broadcasts NPR and BBC; Emory & Henry holds the rest of the time.

When President Rosalind Reichard came to the college, she encouraged the department to “dream big.” Keller was ecstatic to have the president so supportive of their program. This gave them the chance to grow, thus beginning the dream of a 9000-watt station. For such a small college, this was a rare and large feat.

The new station will be supervised by Richard Graves, a 2008 graduate of Emory & Henry. After graduating, Graves went to Atlanta, Georgia, to work with WNNX 99.7. Keller describes him as “excellent” in his field, and thinks he will bring many new ideas to the station. “He will make it so much better: the sound quality, training, everything.” She is ecstatic to have him on board.

Graves will cover the duties of day to day operation, while Keller will manage more general aspects. She deals with legal issues, FCC regulations, promoting programs, and community relations.

The local community reaction was a major concern for the station. However, Keller declares that the community has embraced the station in “an amazing way.” They give feedback, call in, and are regular enthusiasts of the sports programming.

Keller shares, “I’m pleased and proud that Emory & Henry can offer a new option of programming for the region.” The radio station is a grand step in serving more of the public interest, and reaching a wider range of listeners.