By TAPINTO GREATER OLEAN STAFF
April 27, 2021 at 7:41 PM
Credits: SBU-TV Graphic
April 27, 2021 at 7:41 PM
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY Students in the university’s Jandoli School of Communication have produced a special report previewing President Joe Biden’s first address to Congress. The program, a collaboration of SBU-TV, the Jandoli Institute and TAPinto Greater Olean, can be viewed on the SBU-TV YouTube page.
Jandoli School students Jaren Holmes and Julia Schneider hosted the show. Holmes and Schneider interviewed Mary Rose Kubal, chair of the university’s Political Science Department, and Richard Lee, an associate professor in the Jandoli School and executive director of the Jandoli Institute. Kubal and Lee discussed the topics the president is likely to address, as well as the role of speeches in American democracy.
University president passes away
By Cassidey Kavathas, News Editor On the morning of March 1, the St. Bonaventure university campus paused as the news of President Dr. Dennis Deperro’s passing sat in everyone’s email inbox. “I was sitting at my desk this morning when the news came from Dr. Zimmer and it was one of those days where I had just felt that something was off from the moment I woke up,” said Dean Whitcomb, the assistant director of admissions at the university. “I was in shock and deeply saddened to read the words on my screen.” The news that the 21st president passed away after his battle with COVID-19 was delivered at 9:17 a.m. as students and faculty prepared for classes and work. DePerro was first admitted to a Syracuse hospital Dec. 29 after testing positive for COVID-19 on Christmas Eve. He was placed on a ventilator midJanuary. DePerro died at 4:30 a.m. on March 1, at the age of 62.
The DEI Commission changes campus mindset
By Cassidey Kavathas, News Editor The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commission is a campus-wide initiative to create a more culturally conscious campus. Since 2018, the diversity task force inside of the Jandoli School of Communication has adopted this initiative. The task force includes Dr. Kimberly DeSimone as diversity advocate, Assistant Professor Heather Harris, Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, and Dr. Chris Mackowski. “The focus of the Jandoli DEI plan is instituting observable and measurable strategies and tactics to enhance and standardize diversity, equity and inclusion in ways that can be assessed and measured quantitatively to ensure we are reaching every student,’ said DeSimone.
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A federal lawsuit will move forward on claims that minority students face higher risks of discrimination and that university officials responded to discrimination allegations with “deliberate indifference.” However, many of the claims in the Jane Doe discrimination suit have been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn issued a series of rulings earlier this month throwing out some of the claims and telling the young women who brought the suit they can no longer remain anonymous.
Lynn dismissed all of the claims made on behalf of Jane Doe’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 against five of the lawsuit’s eight defendants: Russell Mack, an instructor of strategic communication; Dr. Rob Garnett, the associate dean of the John V. Roach Honors College; Aaron Chimbel, a former journalism professor at TCU; Leigh Holland, a Title IX investigator; and Dr. Darron Turner, TCU’s former chief inclusion officer and Title IX coordinator.