The Griffin: volume 68, issue 22 - May 1, 1998

              the education of its students Nelson then recognized the eleven faculty and staff members given the Bene Merenti Award for their service to the College for twenty and forty year periods. Concluding the faculty presentations, Nelson recognized those faculty and staff members who are retiring. He thanked them for their throughout their studies at Canisius. Other honors were bestowed upon faculty, staff, and administrators for their dedication to the college. The program began with the entrance of the faculty and administrators, in their fall academic regalia and a welcoming address from Dr. Herbert Nelson, vice president for Academic Affairs. Nelson began the awards presentation by giving the Kenneth L. Koessler Distinguished Faculty Award to Dr. Peter Galie of the Political Science department. This award is given annually to a faculty member judged to be exemplary in their commitment and dedication to Canisius College and The Spring Honors Convocation was held this past Wednesday in Christ the King Chapel. This yearly event, a tradition at Canisius, is held mainly to honor those students who have excelled in their academic disciplines Internationally known author visits campus by Katie Dettman Griffin Copy Editor  The newly-erected fountain on Main St. near the Townhouses was dedicated last Saturday, April 25 to the memory of Joe Ciraolo, class of'94. To find out more about this extraordinary man, read reporter David Colvin'article located in News... Page 2 Join in the debate! It's Viewpoints columnists Betsy Marzahn vs. John Kamoche to answer the question: The foresting industry — friend or foe? Page 7 Join us in marking the end of an era in Cacophony Falls with Feature Columnist Michael Bowen's final episode in his series... Page 12 Go back in time with Features Editor Melissa Lang as she visits the Canisius of 50 years past... Page 15 Breaking records and living life in the fast lane —join Sports writer Pete Montague as he compiles a track and field recap... Cochrane hopes that Mistry's visit to Canisius will be the first in an annual series he is planning, which would bring prominent authors to campus once a year. Cochrane decided to try to have Mistry come when he read his book A Fine Balance and was impressed by it. When he saw that Mistry lives close to the area, near Toronto, he decided to try to get ahold of Mistry's publicist and called Vintage, his publisher. Mistry is a native of Bombay, India and has written three books. The book from which he read at theh April 23 reading, A Fine Balance, is his most recent novel and is set in a city in India. It centers around four main characters who come from very different walks of life who end up sharing a cramped apartment during Indira Gandhi's Emergency in the 1970s. It is an On Thursday, April 23, Rohinton Mistry, author of three prominent books, visited the Canisius campus. The evening with the author was the result of months of planning by the college's writer-in-residence, Dr. Mick Cochrane. Cochrane was assisted by student Michael Bowen, who did much of the publicity for the event. Page 16 by Paul Dumansky Griffin News Reporter Page 18 Photo by PATRICK BRAWN College administrators and faculty, in full regalia, process into the Christ the King Chapel to help celebrate the annual Honors Convocation ceremony on Tuesday, April 28. See Mistry page 3 Spring Fest '98 only one week away So you think Rugby is just a club sport? Maybe so, but they do have a championship title! Read about the team's victories... Among the choices are 50 assorted sausages and 100 mini-roast beef sandwiches from Charlie the Butcher, 300 Chiavetta's chicken dinners, 450 Duffs chicken wings, 50 Chartwell's subs, 20 sheet pizzas from Bob & John's, and a limited supply of hot dogs and hamburgers to go with Gramma Rosa's Birch Beer. One enduring criticism of Spring Fests at Canisius over the years has In contrast to last year's "big, inflatable games," activities in '98 will include candle making, the tye-dying of free T-shirts, and key chain making. Temporary tattoos and wax hand molds are also among the fixtures. Henry also points out that students will probably be more interested in the slate of activities this year. "There are going to be more novelty-type things. As a result, there's more stuff that people can actually bring home with them." See Spring Fest page 3 News 1-5 Letters 4 Viewpoints 7-8 Features 9-14 Sports 16-20 And there's plenty of it. In what CPB describes as its "own version of the "Taste of Buffalo," there will be no shortage of comestibles. "I think people will like the amount of food and the variety of food — people love free food." Campus Programming Board (CPB) chairman Richard Henry is hoping this year's event will supercede previous Spring Fests. "We think we made some improvements that students wanted. One good thing is that this year's is back in the Quad, whereas last year's wasn't. The official end of the school year is near. Spring Fest '98 will take place on Friday, May 8 in the Quad beginning at 3 pm. The annual stress-relief extravaganza will culminate with Albany-based band Conehead Buddha, playing two 50-minute sets in the Student Center at 7 p.m. "Serving the Canisius Community Since 1933" Volume LXVIII Number 22 May 1, 1998 Annual convocation honors students by William St. Jean Griffin News Reporter See Convocation page 3 many years working with and servicing the college Community. Dr. Jerome Neuner, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, then began the presentation of the student awards by recognizing all those who achieved the Dean's List for seven consecutive INDEX INSIDE