FOUR FULLBRIGHT SCHOLARS DISCUSS SOUTH AFRICA AND LIFE OF NELSON MANDELA
CF faculty members Dr. Irvin Brown and Dewith Mayne also attended the event.
Attendees would sign an “In Memory of Nelson Mandela” card, inorder to show their support for the late Nelson Mandela, whom the event was inpart by.
“The event was filled with Mandela supporters. It was necessary to bring in extra chairs, and some students chose to sat on the floor inorder to preserve space for one another.
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Okey C. Iheduru, Dr. Greg Kiker, Dr. Tshifhiwa Nangammbi, Dr. John Anene, President James Henningsen, Dr. Hunt Davis, Dewith Mayne.
Nelson Mandela could be described as a man of originality. He was a president, a prisoner, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, as well as a spokesperson for human harmony and humanity, among other things. But above all, he loved his country of South Africa.
“The passing of Nelson Mandela was an event that resonated around the world,” said Hunt Davis, professor of African studies at the University of Florida.
This past Tuesday on February 25, CF hosted an event on The Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela. Dr. John Anene professor of political science whom teaches mainly from the Citrus Campus arranged this event.
“We find out [how to get a hold of the scholars] through professional connections,” Anene said. “It is very important for them to tell the world about South Africa and Nelson Mandela.”
The panel includes four Fullbright Scholars from across the United States and world. A Fullbright scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that grants students – as well as teachers, professionals, and scholars – whom want to study abroad with an international educational exchange.
These scholars include; Dr. Hunt Davis whom was mentioned above, Dr. Tshifhiwa Nangammbi from the Tswane University of Technology, Dr. Greg Kiker from the University of Florida, and Dr. Okey C. Iheduru from the University of Arizona. The scholars spoke on a different aspects of South Africa, during the time of Nelson Mandela as well as current national issues.
Davis spoke on a more chronological order of Nelson Mandela’s life. One of several interesting points he stated was that Mandela had been given the name Rolihlaha, which means “troublemaker,” and did not have the name Nelson until later on when he began attending a European school.
Nangammbi, among several topics, explained how women in South Africa are looked down upon by the nation as being unintelligent. Further saying how many women receive social grants for every child born of them. This made AIDS rampant all across the country, with girls having children as young as 10 years old.
Kiker lectured on his experience as a Fullbright Scholar in 1992. He was apart of the first Fullbright scholars in 20 years. Until 2002, he lived in South Africa with the discourse between radical political parties. He stated that in order for evil to die, it had to die slowly. He also stated how how much he valued the leadership of Mandela.
“Mandela loved being apart of life,” Kiker said.
The last of the speakers, was Dr. Okey C. Iheduru. From an economic standpoint, he spoke on the many challenges that Mandela faced during his presidency. Mostly about the discourse between black and white South Africans that included many different groups such as ANC against Apartheid.
“You need to think about change, but it comes with a lot of costs,” Iheduru said.
The four Fullbright scholars closed with several Q&As’ and Anene could not have been more happy with the event.
“This is the very first academic reflection of Nelson Mandela in the United States, if not the world,” Anene said. “It took some time to plan something of this scale, so we are very fortunate to have such a wonderful panel.”
By Clay Gloetzner
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CF HOSTS THE EVOLVING ARTISTRY OF THE BEATLES
Published on January 27, 2014
Sitting in a halfway filled auditorium Tuesday morning at 11 a.m., people shuffle in, a crowd ranging from music appreciation students, to a more mature audience, with a personal attachment to those referred to as “The Fab Four”. As it comes time to begin, the CBS film crew begin rolling, and Dr. Kenneth Womack takes the podium to begin his lecture, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The Evolving Artistry of The Beatles”.
“It is cheap, anyone can play it, and you don’t need to know the words,” said Womack, referring to what seemed to be an off-topic subject, about “the Skiffle craze” that broke out in the UK in the 1950’s. This craze, though, was the undeniable beginning of The Beatles’ journey, since John Lennon was a leader of his very own Skiffle band a few years before being a co-leader of The Beatles.
One of the biggest milestones Womack touched on in the lecture was the meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which happened on July 6, 1957.
“They were real people who came together and worked really hard,” said Womack. “And they thought ambitiously about the future.” But was their goal to become revolutionary rock stars, like they had done? “They dreamed of becoming big-time Broadway composers,” said Womack, a little known fact about the Lennon-McCartney duo.
He also explained a key factor in The Beatles catchy songs, other than the “show tune” quality of them. “It is called the middle eight,” said Womack, “and it comes right after the chorus.” This is a song writing pattern found in many Beatles songs, said to be a secret weapon that helped lead to their success.
Another secret weapon Womack talked about was a man named Sir George Martin, who he said to be “the fifth Beatle, if there was one.”
“He said he could work with them if they could be funny and humorous,” said Womack. He helped them to write songs, and also developed a type of song style referred to as the “wind-up piano”. This style of piano is features in songs such as A Hard Day’s Night, In My Life, Lovely Rita, and Rocky Raccoon.
He concluded the lecture with a clip from The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, encouraging those to watch for Ringo Starr’s facial expression on the second close up, later explaining at that point in the show he could no longer hear the band.
After he was done speaking, he answered any questions, and met with audience members.
By: Stevie White
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THE CASHORE MARIONETTES TAKE THE STAGE
Published on: January 31, 2014
Several lifelike marionettes were brought to CF’s in the Charles R. Dassance Art Center Saturday, January 18th and Sunday, January 19th. Joseph Cashore, marionette creator and performer, brought two shows to the stage: “Life in Motion” and “Simple Gifts.”
The longer series of the two “Life in Motion” took the stage on Saturday. The much more family-friendly “Simple Gifts” was set on Sunday. The marionettes that were to be played between the two were split by their theme. Several of them in “Life in Motion” had death in them.
While on Sunday the marionettes had different themes. One such theme was playing instead of doing homework.
There were 15 puppets shown in “Life in Motion” and only 11 puppets in “Simple Gifts”.
Kadeem Samuel, a student in Electrical Engineering, said that his favorite marionette during “Simple Gifts” was Sara in “The Scholar”. It was the one about the girl who decided to play instead of doing homework until right before bed.
“It was interesting to see how such a thing impacts the young children,” Samuel said. There were some kids who were so intrigued by the puppets they even asked their own questions during the Question and Answer section after the show.
After “Simple Gifts” on Sunday kids who had been brought to the show could go into the lobby and make their own little puppets. There were simply sock puppets for the younger children while those older could make simple caterpillar marionettes. The kids are helped by students at CF.
Every puppet was designed by Joseph Cashore who had created his first marionette when he was only 11 years after a fateful encounter in a New Jersey Shop. Not only does he craft the marionettes but every prop he uses and the clothing worn by his puppets are also created by him. After pursuing a career in oil painting he later crafts more marionettes and performs with them for the next 25 years.
“I am very fortunate that way,” Cashore said. His next show will be in Texas.
A few of his pieces were inspired by the music played during the scene. Those were the easy puppets. Most of the time Cashore had to find the music after the puppet. The music had to express both the emotion that’s required and enough changes to choreograph.
Every year they give money to a music library so they can use any music from that library in the performances.
Creating a marionette is a difficult process. Even the simplest of his creations, such as his Primitive Man, takes a long time and effort in order to complete. Not only does he have to design the puppet but make sure that it is completely functional.
The puppet never works properly the first time. Cashore has to make his own custom controls for each of his puppets.
“Whomever one I am working with is my favorite,” said Cashore. The fifteen that he performed with on Saturday are his most prized puppets but out of all 150 there is not one that really stands out.
By: Tara Benjamin
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FROM SOLDIER TO CITIZEN
Outside of the Army, the meanings of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage are common knowledge. These words take on an entirely different meaning when one becomes a soldier.
The Army came to CF in the fall of 2013 with the beginning of an Army ROTC (Reserves Officer Training Corps) course, connected through the University of Florida. The course is taught by Sergeant First Class Paul Shaw, who is currently on mission. During a student’s freshman and sophomore years, he or she has the opportunity to be a part of the Army ROTC course at CF. If a cadet wishes to continue with the program for junior and senior years, he or she can transfer to the University of Florida to complete the program and earn their BA.
“My expectation of the class were to gain the knowledge to lead soldiers in the future,” said Private First Class Jimi Rucker, 19.
Students enrolled in the course have the convenience of being a hybrid student between UF and CF; a cadet can be taking courses at CF while being a UF student.
The course is also involved in many community support activities, such as helping local veterans.
“Our main support comes from our Drill Team, the Gator Guard, that performs Color Guards and Exhibition Drill performances for Football games, Weddings, Ceremonies and more,” said Cadet/Private First Class Gregory Davis, 21, Cadet Platoon Sergeant of the class.
In fall of 2013, CF was ranked among the top military friendly schools in the U.S. The course began as a two credit elective during its pilot semester in fall 2013; CF chose to keep the course going based on its ability to teach students leadership skills, motivate cadets, and offering a variety of opportunities after the completion of the course.
“The U.S. Army cadet Command commissions officers to meet the Army’s leadership requirements,” Davis said. “And provides a citizenship program that motivates young people to be strong leaders and better citizens.”
Cadets are able to earn multiple scholarship opportunities, such as the ROTC scholarship, which will pay full tuition or room and board. Also, as a full time college student, cadets can be a part of the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP), a two-year program whereby cadets serve in the Army National Guard and attend ROTC classes simultaneously.
“I plan to branch aviation and fly the apache attack helicopter,” said Private First Class Paul Malnasi, 19, when asked what he plans to do after completing the course at the University of Florida.
When cadets complete the program with a BA, he or she will be promoted into either active duty, the National Guard, or the Reserves with the rank of Second Lieutenant.
The class focuses on teaching discipline and keeping to the Seven Core Values of the Army: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.
“It is an honor to be a part of the forces that guard our country and our way of life,” Davis said. “These cadets all stand ready to give their lives in our countries defense and it really shows their selfless service by just being a part of that.”
By Ashley Cericola
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Sweet ‘n’ sour
A normal, every day dictionary will tell you that the definition of Valentine’s Day goes something like, “a day for the exchange of tokens of affection.”
The ever popular Urban Dictionary, however, claims that Valentine’s Day is really “the reason why so many people are born in November,” “a corporate conspiracy conceived by candy makers, rose growers, lingerie stores and jewelers to get people to spend money on junk,” or “Singles Awareness Day.”
Those who do have a significant other, or hope to attain one, usually plan something, be it small or big, to make the day special. Sometimes things play out, as they should, while other times, one’s Valentine’s Day turns out to be not all that was hoped for.
For CF student Kathrine Jakob, humanities major, one Valentine’s Day while still in high school is still a memory she can recall.
Normally, the day you are proposed to is a memorable day in one’s life. Perhaps, the fact that Jakob was asked for her hand in marriage, rather suddenly while in a Wal-Mart, made the occasion even more memorable for her.
Jakob was 16 and a freshman in high school when she started dating Ray, who was just about three years older than her and a senior.
“It was the very normal ‘first love’ thing, and we were nuts about each other,” Jakob said, when describing their relationship.
A year later, when Jakob’s high school sweetheart picked her up from school, she expected to celebrate Valentine’s Day by going out to dinner together. At this point, Jakob said she was aware that her significant other had an engagement ring on layaway, and had a suspicion that tonight might be the night he would ask.
“For whatever reason, he didn’t pick up the ring before we went out, so off to Wal-mart we went to get my ring,” Jakob said.
After picking up the ring, the couple started to make their way out of the store.
“We were both very excited,” Jakob said. “I guess he was a little too excited.”
It was when they were passing through the lingerie, amongst the aisles of bras and panties, Jacob said that Ray abruptly stopped and dropped to one knee.
“I took one look at him and asked, ’What the hell are you doing?’” Jakob said.
The lack of romantic skill did not bother Ray. Despite Jakob’s protesting, he refused to stand up until she said yes.
Jakobs said that a year later, the two broke up and her ex-fiancé moved away. However, the experience will always be important to her because it was her first love.
Present day, Jakob is a photographer and tour host at the Marion County Museum of History and Archeology, and said she has gone through several relationships that seem to lack romantic tack.
“I am currently happily single!” Jakob said.
When talking about lessons learned, Jakob did recall her first love as a learning experience.
“It was my first love, and with all first things you learn what does and does not work,” Jakob said. “Well, asking your girlfriend, in the middle of Wal-mart, to marry you is not the right call.”
Maybe Valentine’s Day has a strange gravitational effect on society that makes some people turn towards sporadic proposals. This may be the case, as another CF student has been a victim of such an incident.
Tara Coop is a full time dual enrollment student and business major who looks back on a Valentine’s Day two years ago with quiet an unusual story to tell.
Spending time at her regular hang out spot, Lake Lillian Park in Belleview, Coop said she had only noticed the girl once before Valentine’s Day evening.
“We had noticed each other at the park just the day before, but there was no interaction,” Coop said.
Sitting on the opposite side of the pavilion from said girl, Coop said she minded her own business and occupied herself with her journaling, as she often came to the park to do.
After a short while, the young lady approached Coop.
“She seemed absolutely normal!” Coop said. “We probably talked for about an hour.”
Towards the end of their initial conversation, the girl, who’s name was never disclosed to Coop, admitted to finding Coop “so sweet and nice.”
After this round of compliments, Coop said that the unnamed girl stood up and out of natural reaction and politeness, Coop did the same.
Coop said she did not know what to do as the girl proceeded to only get back down…on one knee.
“She ruffled through her pockets and pulled out this ring and just asked, ‘Will you marry me?’” Coop said. “But before I could answer she was like, ‘Before you say anything…’and then went on this rant of compliments.”
Coop waited until the girl was done speaking.
“During this rant of compliments I was just thinking ‘…can I say no now?’” Coop said.
Finally, when it came time for Coop to speak, she attempted to make a quick refusal.
“I thought of my Florida law classes I was taking at the time and geeked out on her about which Florida statute states that same sex-marriages are illegal,” Coop said. “Also, that we were both under the age of consent.”
Coop said that the girl didn’t move for a moment, but just looked at her in confusion.
“She asked if that was a no,” Coop said. “I was like ‘…yeah.’”
With that, Coop said the girl slowly got up, put the ring back in her pocket, turned around and ran away.
Coop said she remembers the girl’s sad green eyes when she realized she was turned down, but she never ran into the girl at the park afterwards.
Coop said she was not put off by the fact it was a female having some sort of affection for her, but the sudden proposal from a stranger.
“I didn’t know this girl, and it kind of scared me,” Coop said. “I’m bisexual, so that [her gender] didn’t freak me out at all, it was just the random proposal.”
Currently, Coop is single, but does have a crush. Perhaps she will have a less abnormal Valentine’s Day this year, as she thinks back to that one evening that she sums up to be “an odd encounter.”
One Feb. 14th story proves to have a different ending than the previous two, and does not include a marriage proposal.
Kevin Jones, psychology major, said he had the opportunity to play cupid two years ago for a young man who needed a little help approaching a crush.
Jones said he was a long time friend with his fellow high school classmates Jason and Marie. He was aware that the two, being friends for about a year, had interest in one another, but Jason needed help making a move.
“Jason was a nervous, shy kind of guy,” Jones said. “And I told him, ‘You’re gonna have to tell her straight up because you can drop the most obvious hints and she won’t get it.’”
So in their junior year of high school, with Valentine’s Day coming up, Jones said Jason came to him seeking help. With that, Jones took to the roll of matchmaker.
“He could have asked anyone for help, but he came to me,” Jones said. “It made me feel good.”
After gathering a team of friends and speaking to a teacher who had morning watch duty over the outside courtyard, Jones said he got permission to decorate the courtyard and make a conducive environment for Jason to win Marie over.
Jones said strings of paper hearts were ready to be flipped over the staircase railings upon signal, hearts were strategically placed in trees and Jason came prepared to school that day with a rose and poem for Marie.
“I met Marie at the bus ramp and escorted her on my arm to the courtyard,” Jones said.
Upon entering the courtyard, Jones said he gave a whistle for his friends to flip the stringed hearts over the railing and then with another signal, Jason stepped out from behind the tree he was hiding behind.
“I had to make sure each step was careful so she wouldn’t mistake that I was the one trying to ask her out,” Jones said. “I loved her, but I loved her like a sister.”
Jones said the scene unfolded as Jason walked towards Marie, reading his love poem while keeping the rose still hidden behind his back. When he reached Marie, she took the rose with her right hand, and he picked up her left to give it a kiss-princess style. This too was at the direction of Jones, knowing Marie would appreciate being treated like a princess.
“After she took the rose, she got quiet,” Jones said. “Everyone got nervous that she didn’t like him like that.”
Jones said he knew that Marie did, in fact, have interest in Jason and took her hand, which was still on his arm from the escorted walk and placed it in Jason’s hand, then took a step back.
“Some people are nervous about dating a friend’s friend,“ Jones said. “She looked at me as if to ask if I approved.”
Jones said that after his non-verbal sign of approval, Marie embraced Jason and the two even kissed.
“A friend of mine thought I was crazy for setting all of that up, but it made them happy so I don’t care,” Jones said.
Jones would have even added music to enhance the scene, but he said he feared that might be a bit over-kill. However, Jones does feel that it is important to do something in these kinds of situations to make a statement.
“Some people can afford to show someone else they really love them,” Jones said. “If you care for them, do something simple. If you love them, do something big because sometimes ‘I love you’ isn’t enough.”
Jones said scheming this romance scene made him very happy, especially since he felt like he owed Marie a new source of happiness for being there for him not just like a good friend, but also like a sister.
“It’s been about two years now, and they are still a couple,” Jones said. “Jason still thanks me!”
By: Charlotte Harrigan
The Patriot Press 