Sociology Club
As some of you know, we are in the process of forming a Sociology Club.
We have tentative officers, and plan to solicit members at our next meeting
-
FEBRUARY 25. The Sociology Club will meet on the last Thursday of each
month - from 5-7PM. The next meeting will be held in the Dillo House,
which is across the street (Rosedale) from the main campus. Our preference
for meeting is the University Club in the basement of the Administration
Building. However, we were not able to meet there this time.
The program for the February 25th meeting will be an informal talk and
discussion by the visiting scholar from the University of Northumbria at
Newcastle, United Kingdom (basically England). He will talk on the
Socialized Government programs in his country, and how they affect education
and jobs. He is an interesting person. We are lucky to have him as
a visitor here. Who knows, some of you may end up as on an exchange to
the
University of Northumbria at Newcastle in the future! So come join
us, meet some old friends, eat and drink, and enjoy a "Sociological" sharing.
Two other programs are being scheduled for this spring. They were mentioned
in the newsletter last year. On March 25 we have invited Dr. John
Lamberton to speak about Jobs for Sociology Graduates. He worked as
a consultant for a number of years before returning to Academia to teach.
He
says that he wanted to make money before he was involved in the intellectual
scene! If you want to visit his internet page, it is: http://www.transtrak.com/
On April 29 (just before finals) we plan to have Becky Salonen, who
will tell us about her invitation from the government of Uganda to visit
that country in connection with her efforts to eliminate FGM (female genital
mutilation). If you think this is a sensitive topic, or one not appropriate
to discuss in public, you are not being a good Sociologist! This is the
type of thing that Sociologists love to investigate and understand. It
promises to be a very interesting program.
All the spring meetings will be at 5-7PM. Hopefully the March and April
meetings will be in the University Club. We plan to have refreshments at
each of them. So, plan to join the club!
Information Center/Send me your email address
If you haven't visited the Information Center in awhile, you will want
to do that. As I have mentioned before, this page is for students. It already
contains a listing of the courses needed for your degree. In the near future
there will be a listing of WHEN the courses will be taught, so you can
plan your schedule, and a suggested course schedule for taking the classes.
In addition to the information about degrees, these Newsletters will be
on that page as well. And there is information about getting an email address.
I know that not everyone has an email address. At the risk of being too
repetitive - I hope that ALL Sociology and Criminal Justice majors get
one - SOON! And send me a message, so that I have your address. My goal
is to have all Sociology students "Wired"! It is much easier to keep in
touch (less expensive, too!) My address is: horsfals@txwes.edu
The Job Page
Another new addition to the Information Center is the Job Page. Many
of you are probably wondering what you will be doing after you graduate.
Job
hunting is a stressful time. To help you in this, The Job Page has
links to job notices. There are also some articles and information about
jobs, and
about Sociology jobs that you might find useful.
A New Chat Line for Sociology Students!
Finally, there is a link to something called WebCT. This is what is
called a course shell. It is being made available to Sociology students.
You can
leave messages, post things on the calendar, send email to other Sociology
students, and even create your own web page. One of the best features,
however, is the chat line. If you have never chatted with someone "on-line"
you should try it! It is great! Distance is not a problem. Two (or more)
people just need to be on the Web - on the WebCT chat page at the same
time. It is a great way to communicate with someone in another area.
Log-in I.D.s and passwords are needed for each one. Unfortunately, I
haven't done that yet. But I will shortly. Since this Newsletter is going
to be
posted, I don't want to tell you what they are here. It will have to
be done individually. Some of you may be wondering about the ID. And password
that I gave you last year. Well, they went down with the computer crash
due to a hacker. So I had to start all over again.
So - visit the Information Center. Visit The Job Page. Visit WebCT.
The address is:
Information Center - http://www.txwesleyan.edu/sociology/information.html
Sociology Homepage - http://www.txwesleyan.edu/sociology/homepage.html
Hatton W. Sumners Scholarship Competition
Karen Krause has sent a notice regarding the 1999-2000 Hatton W. Sumners
Scholarship. This is a scholarship set up for Juniors at Texas Wesleyan
University. It is available for students who have at least 60 hours
by Fall 1999, are a US citizen, have a cumulative grade point average of
3.0 or
higher, and have a record of participation in campus or civic activities
of benefit to the University or the community at large. Students who receive
this scholarship as a junior may have it renewed for their senior year.
Preference will be given to students majoring in political science,
pre-law, history, business, economics, English, or those planning to teach
at the
college level. Students from other program areas who have high academic
achievement and who are involved in activities and exhibit leadership and
a
strong sense of community responsibility will also be considered.
The deadline for the applicants to submit the completed applications
with appropriate documentation is Friday, March 12, 1999. Completed
applications should be returned to the Office of Financial Aid. Selected
applicants will interview with the Hatton W. Sumners Scholarship Committee
on Monday, April 5.
Application consists of the following information:
Name, address, SS#, Classification, GPA, Anticipated grad. Date, Major,
Universities or colleges attended with dates and with credit hours in your
major, a statement of your plans after graduation, a statement of how
you see yourself in 10 years, a brief autobiography, leadership activities,
a
statement of how you will benefit from this scholarship and how the
community will benefit if you receive the scholarship.
Sigma Tau Delta Writing Awards Contest
Another notice is the writing contest for all Texas Wesleyan students.
The categories include poetry, short story and essay. All work must be
original
and submitted on or before March 31, 1999. More than one category may
be entered, but entries are limited to two per category. The submissions
must be word processed on 81/2 by 11 standard paper. The name of the
writer must not be included on the entries, as they will be judged
anonymously. Winners will be announced and presented with a certificate
and cash prize at University Awards Day. Please submit entries to Dr. Judy
Aycock Simpson, Stella Russell 105, Phone 531-4509.
Pre-Professional Program
Some of you are already involved in the Pre-Professional program, but
others of you may not know about it. The 3PR program is to provide enhanced
academic preparation for students considering a career in professional
areas of medicine, law, psychology, ministry or teaching at the college
level.
There are two full Pre-Professional scholarships to Texas Wesleyan's
School of Law given away each year. All that is required for students to
be in
the Pre-Professional Program is to sign up for a one credit class.
The classes meet at noon or in the evenings. If this sounds interesting
to you, get the
details from Marilyn Hagan, who oversees the Program, or from me.
New Graduates in May
Many students are getting ready to graduate in May. While we will be
sad to see you go - we are so happy to see you have completed your studies.
Some have gone the traditional route of four years of college. Others
have taken considerably longer - going to school at night or on the weekend,
in
addition to holding down a full time job, and taking care of family
members. To everyone - Congratulations!
First, except for a few students with special situations, I have been asked to be the advisor for all Sociology and Criminal Justice majors. That means you will need to come to my office to get your degree plans, and to get your schedule signed once you have your classes planned out for next semester. With registration less than two weeks away, November 17, 1998, I encourage those of you who can to drop by my office as soon as possible to avoid long lines during the week of registration.
Second, we have several plans for developing the Sociology program at Texas Wesleyan University. We have an internet page for the Sociology program and one specifically for Sociology students. The Sociology page contains many links to sites of sociological interest. They can be helpful to you when doing research papers. The student site will be a place for you to check out information about the Sociology program – including the publication of the schedule of classes for the next four years! There will be announcements that I have been asked to convey to Sociology students from University officials, and a thumbnail sketch of all the affairs concerning sociology. So check it out!
The address for the student site is:
http://www.txwesleyan.edu/sociology/info.html
The address for the Sociology page is:
http://www.txwesleyan.edu/sociology/homepage.html
The third item is related to the computer communication above. Many of you are very computer literate. Can you PLEASE send me your email address. Just send me an email, and identify yourself, and then I will have your address. It is SOOOO much easier to communicate via email. For those of you who don’t have email already, you can get a free email address from any number of internet sites. Instructions and addresses are found on the Sociology page. Please get an email address and send me a note. Then check your mail often. I plan to disseminate information via email in the future. So if you want to be someone in the know – get me your address.
Fourth, we have plans to form a Sociology honor society, Alpha Kappa Delta. This is a national honor society that provides various sociology related opportunities to Sociology majors. Students will have an opportunity to meet with other Sociology majors on campus, receive information about professional opportunities-scholarships, professional meetings, rub shoulders with professional Sociologists, and interact with other Sociology majors in AKD across the country. Out Spring kick off meeting will feature a speaker who has been traveling around the country, and the world, educating people about Female Genital Mutilation. This is a practice that has been common in some African Countries, but has, in recent years, become an issue of international importance. This is a fascinating topic of interest not only to Sociology students. If you are interested in being a charter member of AKD, please attend a meeting at 10:50 (free period) in the Stella Lounge on Thursday, November 12.
Fifth, some changes to the Sociology degree plan are being discussed, namely changing the degree title to Bachelor of Science in Sociology (rather than a Bachelor of Science in Social Science with a Criminal Justice or Applied Sociology emphasis). Criminal Justice majors will earn a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with a Criminal Justice Emphasis. If this proposed change is approved by the Academic Affairs Committee, it is likely to take effect immediately so that those who prefer this degree title can. A number of new Sociology courses will most likely be available from next fall: Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to Women’s Studies, and Spirituality and Folklore.
Lastly, if you have a grade point average of 3.0 or above and would like to have your name submitted as an All-American Scholar to the United States Achievement Academy, thus, making you eligible to apply for scholarships through that organization, please contact me. I am in the process of drawing up a list to submit to their office.
If you know of any students that are Sociology or Criminal Justice majors
but did not receive this letter, please let me know or share this letter
with them. I am looking forward to working with all of you during
your remaining years as a student here.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sara Horsfall