The Oldest College Newspaper in Florida March 28, 2003
entertainment
Rollins College
visit us at www.thesandspur.org
Winter Park, Florida
Vol. 109, No. 19
Open Your Mind
This year’s GLBTA Awareness Week is a large success. by Natalie Millan
Musician/songwriter Clay Cook prepares to release his first long play album, “Self Serving.” Read more on
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sports
Mike Reese, ‘03, recently received several awards for his achievements on the baseball field.
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on the inside features Andrew Merkin, ‘03, is one of seven finalists for the Florida College Student of the Year Award. Read more about this great scholar on
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on the street Money motivates people. Find out what some students would do for one million dollars that they would NOT do for ten thousand.
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opinions War is understandably an emotional topic, but one writer asks for us all to be respectful of each other’s opinions.
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photographer
The fiery, slam poet threw her whole body, soul, and voice into the passionate performance, and the audience responded with cheers, laughter, fervent attention, and finally—a thunderous standing ovation. This was the scene of Tuesday’s Second Annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance (GLBTA) Banquet, where feminist spoken word artist, poet, and activist Alix Olson inspired the gathered audience at Rollins College, leaving them breathless with her scathing challenges towards corrupt mainstream points of view. By the night’s end, those in attendance left actively discussing the points raised and praising
photo / NATALIE MILLAN
ARTIST, POET, AND ACTIVIST: Alix Olson speaks out against ignorance and intolerance at this year’s GLBTA Banquet on Tuesday evening.
Olson’s forceful and engaging performance. The enlightening evening started out with Rollins’ Assistant Professor of Communications Lisa
Tillman-Healy reading her article “Remembering a Cool September: Pain, Prejudice, and Patriotism.” TillmannHealy, author of Between Gay and Straight: Understanding
Friendship across Sexual Orientation, will have the article published in the journal Cultural studies - Critical Methodologies. The article
letics, contributing to the Crummer Business School’s new Bush Executive Center, and the purchase and installation of the flagpole on Mills lawn. Another noteworthy contribution on behalf of the Barker family to our school was the one million dollar donation that they gave toward the construction of the fitness center located in the Alfond Sports Center. Barker played baseball and basketball here at Rollins, and his monumental donation “reflects the family’s long-held belief in the importance of health promotion and disease prevention. Now as the chair of the board of trustees, Barker continues to leave his legacy here at Rollins.” “It is a great honor to chair the board of trustees of my alma matter,” Barker highlighted after receiving his new position. Joining Barker in a newly elected position is Cynthia Wood, as the vice president of institutional advancement. Wood also has a long history here at Rollins. In
As the war continues on, Rollins’ connection grows.
who has a friend from high school who was deployed to Kuwait a month ago. “It makes me realize how good I have it here and how sheltered I am. It’s frustrating because you really don’t know if they are okay or not.” Noelle Moore also has a loved-one abroad and along with Jones, recognizes the difficult uncertainty of not knowing where the troops are and whether they are safe. “[My boyfriend] is in Korea now,” said Moore whose boyfriend, Sean Stokes, is a navy seal. “He does a lot of undercover work, though. He could be in Kuwait right now and I would never know because he can’t tell me a lot of things.” Another student, Natalie Jackson also has a significant other who is involved in the military. Her boyfriend, Jeff, is in the reserves. “He is in Ft. Stewart, Georgia now but he is leaving this week for an unknown location,” she said. “He’ll be going to either Iraq or Kuwait, he just
A New Era of Leaders
Rollins College Board of Trustees elects new leaders. by David Grasso
staff reporter
The Rollins College board of trustees recently elected a new president to lead the board, Frank H. Barker. Along with Barker, Cynthia Wood was elected to vice president of institutional advancement. Barker is no stranger to the Rollins community. Both him and his wife are alumni of Rollins classes of 1952 and 1953. He is not only an alumnus but also the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1992, and has been on the board of trustees since 1992. A very accomplished man as the former corporate vice president of Johnson & Johnson, Barker has been instrumental in making Rollins what it is today. The Barker’s impressive record of support for Rollins includes funding scholarships in economics and ath-
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Hitting Close to Home
by Kate Alexander staff reporter
As the war with Iraq continues into its second week of combat, anti-war as well as pro-war rallies rage in cities across America including New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. At Rollins College, students are organizing both anti-war vigils as well as initiating pro-war discussions. Although some students are taking action and expressing their viewpoints openly, for many it may seem as though life is “business as usual” around Rollins when compared to some other regions across the nation. Though the Rollins student body may not outwardly seem overly impacted by the war, in actuality, many students are individually affected because they have a lovedone overseas that is in the military. “I feel affected personally,” said Whitney Jones,
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