The Griffin: volume 73, issue 15 - Feb. 14, 2003

              CJ. BUSCAGLIA A time for peace The Montante Cultural Center glows on Main street as the cultural heart of Canisius. Students and faculty came together yesterday to pray for peace and a safe return for all students who have been deployed. The Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance. The course outlines the points in time at which African Americans had their "first taste of freedom and began in the 1860s and The courses offered will be the most direct way for a student to participate, but will be limited since one course will be offered in each year of the three year grant. "History of Slavery" will outline West African tribes that most of the 14 million slaves came from, the passage to the Americas and slavery societies. "The bulk of the course will address the life and work of slaves, as well as the ways that they retained their African identity and resisted such mistreatment, particularly by running After three decades of African American history courses not being offered and a 13-page proposal, Dierenfield has the chance to expose students to "values and assumptions other than those of mainstream American culture," Dierenfield said. The program will be offered in three parts beginning this year. The proposal offers the three different aspects in order to give Canisius students a wellrounded experience. An approval from the Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professorship is affording Dr. Bruce Dierenfield of the history department the opportunity to provide an African American history program forstudents. The program will include three courses, nine speakers and four field trips. X-country contracts not renewed By Danielle Haynes Editor in Chief The Citizens Regional Transit Corporation (CRTC), a grassroots group spreading its message mostly through letters and petitions, is a non-profit Not many people are aware of the efforts of the group that is trying to inform the public of the advantages of expanding the Metro Rail line. system into their neighborhoods, a small but determined group is advocating an important cause. For College officials who have looked into a Metro pass program and for students who would benefit from an extension of the rail organization "committed to creating a broad base of support for the improvement and expansion of bus and rail transit for all citizens of the Niagara Frontier." Essentially, CRTC understands the environmental, economical, and social benefits of public transit and works toward making it available for everyone. With its prime location falling on the subway route, College officials realize the significance of the rail system for students. In the fall semester of 2001, NFTA approached Canisius with a proposal for a pass system providing unlimited access for students to Metro busses and the rail line. Although it was pursued by officials, the deal ultimately fell through when administrators decided they could not absorb the cost and were unwilling to add it to tuition. "I pursued it with vigor, as I felt it would decrease parking Metro expansion proposed College considers pass system By Amanda Breidensteiri News Editor See Subway page 2 Dillon that they needed a chance to defend the track and held program—that its elimination negatively affected their student athletes as well as their own program. "If we had a fair way to present our side and defend the program, I don't think the board would have gone [with cutting cross country program was kept on board because it is considered by the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to be a core sport. MAAC rules state that in order to be a part of the Despite the fact that track and field was eliminated, the ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS Athletic Director Timothy J. Dillon recently announced that the College will not renew the contracts of head women's cross country coach Joanne York-Rappl (left) and head men's cross country coach Paul Lewis (right). conference, a school must have 12 of the 14 core sports (like cross country). Lewis, who coached men's cross country for two years, and York- Rappl, who coached women's cross country since the program's inception 16 years ago, both said that they pointed out to the track and field program]," Lewis said. This, Lewis and York-Rappl believe, is why their contracts were not renewed. Dillon cited a lack of track facilities and coaches as the main reason for cutting the In her 16 years with the women's cross country team, York- Rappl achieved five conference championships and produced the NCAA's Female Athlete of the year in 1991—Mary Beth Riley. "If I had everything to do again, I would do the exact same thing—I would fight for he kids in the program and that's why I got fired," York-Rappl said, "the worst thing I could have done is nothing." Both Lewis and York-Rappl coached their teams through successful seasons. Under Lewis, the men's cross country team obtained its first regional ranking this year. They finished third at the MAAC championships and 14th out of 33 teams at the NCAA regionals. While Dillon was unable to provide information as to the reason for the discontinuation of their contracts (citing it as a private personnel matter), both Lewis and York-Rappl believe that their objections to the cut of the track and field program were to blame. Track and field, along with several other sports, was cut from the College's athletic program this past fall to funnel more attention and funds into the school's other sports programs. Canisius Athletics Director Tim Dillon announced last month that the school would not renew the contracts of Cross Country coaches Paul Lewis and Joanne York-Rappl. Canisius College. Buffalo. NY )Cr/iA Volume LXXIII. Number 15 Friday. February 14. 2003 African American history offered By Lacey Johnson News Editor See Coaches page 3 The second course "The New Negro" will explore life of African Americans in the Reconstruction through the Roaring Twenties, away via the Underground Railroad," Dierenfield said. PUBLIC RELATIONS The Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professorship allows history professor Dr. Bruce Dierenfield the opportunity to provide a new African American program. The third aspect allows history to became a first hand experience for the students. Field trips will be orchestrated locally and nationally to see the places and starting points that affected the African American culture. Locally, The second part of the proposal presents a distinguished lecture series. Tentative speakers include Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, a prominent civil rights leader and Jules Tygiel, author of Baseball's Great Experiment, a novel about Jackie Robinson. The series will bring a "mix of historic activists and scholars." Lectures will be free and open to the public. Major cities of the U.S. influencing the movement mark the units of the course. The last course, "Civil Rights Movement," will narrate the story of the movement that "not only freed African Americans in one of the most moving and dramatic stories in all of American History, it also inspired women, Asians, Latinos, gays and lesbians and the physically challenged to demand justice for themselves," Dierenfield said. 1870s to unite their families, work for themselves and hold political office." The course will also cover topics such as the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow Laws, grandfather Claus and other obstacles faced after Emancipation. See History page 2 Che e"™r"" WWW.SUBWAY.BUFFALONET.ORG The subway system currently runs from the University at Buffalo's South campus to Marine Midland Arena in downtown Buffalo. Missed the "Hands Off! Let's Talk" program on Monday? Don't worry about it. We've got complete coverage on page 2. Make steps towards conflict resolution in your relationship. Feeling fat lately? Well have you recently gone shopping? Check out Editorial Page Editor Stephanie Kortan's piece about the mall as an anorexic breeding ground on page 7. The results are officially in! We've got the winning poems for the 2003 MLK Poetry Contest. To find out the winning faculty members and students, and to check out the poems, turn to pages 8 and 9. Hodari Mallory scored his 1000th career point in the men's basketball team's loss to Niagara. For coverage on the Griff's three games and a feature of their shooting superstar, check out page 13. INSIDE TODAY'S ©tiffin m 1 MOM 6 mm i6