Connie Scultz Speaks at JSU By: Kevin Brant

On March 8, Jacksonville State University department of communication had their annual Ayers Lecture at the Houston Cole Library. More than 100 people came and heard Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist Connie Schultz.
Schultz spoke on a variety of things which included her family life, being married to a senator, her dog and life as a journalist and columnist.
According to Schultz, journalists are able to relate with people. “When it comes to journalism, we have more in common with people then most think they do,” Schultz said.
Schultz then spoke on advice her mom gave her regarding getting married to a guy when she was younger. “Don’t marry a guy until you see how he treats the waitress at a restaurant,” Schultz said.
Schultz also mentioned a startling statistic regarding journalists in Washington D.C. “Only half of the 50 states have only one journalist in Washington D.C.,” Schultz said. “Washington needs us as journalists to people so they can know what is going on in government.”
The young people are important to Schultz. “The young people are entitled to have their opinion on whatever is going on in the world,” Schultz said.
After Schultz ended her lecture, there was a short question and answer session. People in attendance were given an opportunity to ask questions on a wide variety of subjects.
Ashley Groover from Rainbow City, Ala., thinks highly of what Schultz had to say. “ I think we need more strong and opinionated women like Connie to help push the generation of college students, Groover said. “ She spoke about being fearless and we need not to be afraid to have our opinions but do it in such a way to where journalism standards are not compromised.”
Jessica Phillips from Southside, Ala., really enjoyed what Schultz had to say. “ I loved it and I thought she had had thoughtful comments.

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WikiLeaks

          WikiLeaks is known for the most classified documents ever to be published in history. Beginning in 2006, WikiLeaks acquired its domain name of wikileaks.org. It was a site where whistleblowers could come anonymously without fear of being recognized. The nonprofit website uses volunteers on a global basis for input. The website is able to be edited by the many volunteers around the globe. Volunteers are anonymous and protected to the fullest extent. They leak all information that is received by many different individuals and have started in 2006 and are presently leaking information. Some publishing companies began to collaborate with WikiLeaks to begin a record-breaking, vast leak within a new digital age era.

          They are not government regulated. The expressions made and information leaked is protected by their first amendment right and a legal open internet of expression without interference. They are a medium and part of a mass media. They are the internet

Since 2006 they have leaked documents uncovering Guantanamo Bay protocol for the U.S. Army, Scientology’s secret documents,  Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email comments, a list of restricted email address of many countries, and intercepted phone conversations with Peruvian politicians in an oil scandal.

            Documents are recovered different ways. It is by hacking into forbidden accounts or inside informants passing on the leaks. They consist of it published tens of thousands of confidential military field reports about the two wars in July 2010; it was denounced by American officials for endangering the lives of soldiers and civilians. The release in late November 2010 of a trove of 250,000 from the State Department led to anger and criticism from officials worldwide. In late August 2011, American officials became alarmed when WikiLeaks published nearly 134,000 leaked diplomatic cablesof classified, secret, and private information (New York Times).

A code of ethics is in place for all journalists. Journalists use this, though not mandatory or legal, as a guide for ethical reasoning when writing stories that will be published. Wikileaks has a transparency way of publishing information without always using the code of ethics; although they do not legally have to. A part of the Code of Ethics describes how journalist can minimize harm by:

— Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
— Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
— Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance. (SPJ).

Other journalists can use these leaked documents alongside their stories for credibility and authenticity. Today large publishers continue to use leaked information in their newspapers. Companies include The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, and El Pais. They are able to do this by their first amendment right of freedom of the press.

In December 2010, a website that the Pentagon had described in 2008 as dedicated "to expos[ing] unethical practices, illegal behavior, and wrongdoing within corrupt corporations and oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East," and that in 2009 had received the Amnesty International New Media Award for reporting on extrajudicial killings in Kenya, came under a multisystem denial-of-service attack intended to prevent it from disseminating information. The attacks combined a large-scale technical distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack with new patterns of attack aimed to deny Domain Name System (DNS) service and cloud-storage facilities, disrupt payment systems services, and disable an iPhone app designed to display the site's content (Benkler).

On December 1, 2010 Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Senator Joseph Lieberman told all parties affiliated with WikiLeaks to stop. This was after the State Department already sent out a letter to WikiLeaks stating someone has broken the law. In rebuttal, all its contributors Amazon, Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, and Apple discontinued its service to WikiLeaks. It lost 90% of its funding.

The government wants to regulate websites from leaking classified information. This started in 2010 when the American government soldier’s helicopter video was leaked globally exposing the acts of the military government. The government believes WikiLeaks has violated the espionage act that states when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military…… and whoever shall willfully advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both (Halsall).

Bills introduced by the United States to regulate the internet have not been successful. Intellectual Property Act (PRO-IP Act) of 2008, which created an IP czar in the White House and funded additional resources for criminal copyright enforcement, Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 that required colleges to redesign their networks and develop offerings to protect the interests of Hollywood and the recording industry against theft students, COICA introduced in September 2010 states sites that have "no demonstrably commercially significant purpose" other than providing access through downloading, streaming, or linking to unauthorized materials (Benkler), SOPA introduced on 10/26/2011 authorizes the Attorney General to seek a court order against a U.S.-directed foreign Internet site committing or facilitating online piracy to require the owner, operator, or domain name registrant, or the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to be found, to cease and desist further activities constituting specified intellectual property offenses under the federal criminal code including criminal copyright infringement, unauthorized fixation and trafficking of sound recordings or videos of live musical performances, the recording of exhibited motion pictures, or trafficking in counterfeit labels, goods, or services (Thomas).

As these bills are being discussed a major “Blackout” happened over the internet. In response to the bills to protest against changing the open internet Reddit, Mozilla, Twitpic, Cheezburger network, Harry Potter themed game site called "Hogwarts New Zealand", Google, and Firefox blacked out there web pages and could not access them.

                                           History of Involved Media Organizations

Many well-known journalists reported WikiLeak’s transparent documents in their news. Below are some excerpts of reports from CBC News television, The Guardian, UK Channel 4, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Spiegel, Aljazeera, and The New York Times to name a few.

Canadian forces may have secretly participated in the invasion of Iraq is contained in a classified U.S. diplomatic memo obtained exclusively by CBC News from the whistleblower website WikiLeaks (Westen).

Bloody errors at civilians' expense, as recorded in the logs, include the day French troops strafed a bus full of children in 2008, wounding eight. A US patrol similarly machine-gunned a bus, wounding or killing 15 of its passengers, and in 2007 Polish troops mortared a village, killing a wedding party including a pregnant woman, in an apparent revenge attack (Davies).

             UK Channel 4 news reports on September 2011 that “WikiLeaks has defended itself against accusations that it may have put lives at risk and in a series of Twitter postings blamed individuals who used to work with the organization and The Guardian newspaper for inadvertently disclosing a password which could be used to open the file containing the cables online”.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism on October 23, 2010 tells what the files leaked of a US Helicopter attack. “According to the files, despite knowing the insurgents wanted to surrender, the crew not only opened fire with a Hellfire missile, but when it missed they actively chased them down to a shack where they had taken refuge. With the approval of their command unit, they opened fire again, killing both”. (Stickler)

Spiegel online international comments, "Our previous dealings with WikiLeaks were on the clear basis that we would only publish cables which had been subjected to a thorough joint editing and clearance process. ... We cannot defend the needless publication of the complete data -- indeed, we are united in condemning it."

Aljazeera reports, “However, certain US and Western leaders contend that Wikileaks cannot enjoy protection under "freedom of information" because they believe it has launched an "information war" against the US that involves espionage, and an attack on US national security.

New York Times headline on October 22, 2010 read Leaked Reports Detail Iran’s Aid for Iraqi Militias, and read “On Dec. 22, 2006, American military officials in Baghdad issued a secret warning: The Shiite militia commander who had orchestrated the kidnapping of officials from Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education was now hatching plans to take American soldiers hostage”.

These media outlets are currently following leaks given by the anonymous source. However, The Guardian is being sued by WikiLeaks for allegedly leaking 251,000 unredacted cables.  

Description of Individuals and Organizations Reported by Media

Not much is known about related entities of WikiLeaks. All the volunteers remain anonymous. Few that has been in the public eye.

Julian Assange claims to be the founder, spokesman, and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. He was able to produce his website under The Sunshine Press Organization and is a member of the Sunshine Press Production Company.

The original publisher of the WikiLeaks website was called the "Sunshine Press", however, WikiLeaks' own internal structure and history remain shrouded in darkness (Rosenthal).

Former spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg has left WikiLeaks. He wrote a book about working with Julian Assange. However, it to, did not reveal any information about the website.

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, has not blocked WikiLeaks access to its customers.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is finding ways to “civil” the internet. Eric Schmidt attended one of his seminars.

Tom Flanagan was a political science professor at the University of Calgary. He is known for making a comment on CBC News Network stating the assassination of Assange. Laughingly he says, “I think Assange should be assassinated, actually.”

The only other publicly known individual related to WikiLeaks is Kristinn Hrafnsson who is also a member of the Sunshine Organization. 

Ethical Issues Involved

The ethical issue before WikiLeaks is free speech verses national security. The Pentagon condemned the website and demanded, through the news media, that its staff return the documents and any other documents not yet released. All four branches of the armed services issued internal memoranda to personnel barring them from accessing WikiLeaks, and the Department of Justice began to eye Julian Assange, the site's founder and public face, for charges under the Espionage Act of 1917. Meanwhile, an Army intelligence analyst, already suspected of leaking classified video and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, was sitting in a military prison in Kuwait, where he instantly became a person of interest in the Pentagon's growing investigation into the source of the Afghanistan documents. WikiLeaks would not confirm whether the analyst was the source (Peters).

A reporter’s privilege involves protection by the government by shield laws. The government can request sources from journalists; if journalists dispute this they can receive prison time. A question arose if WikiLeaks can be protected under this law.

The first amendment right granted to every American citizen is freedom of speech and press. This allows for the open internet and a free flow of information with government regulations.

Investigative reporting involves more than the mere dumping of documents. It is a "watchdog journalistic process of investigating wrongdoing ... with the goal of holding power-wielders accountable for their actions. It often involves in-depth, long-term research and multi-article reporting revealing new information. It is based on documentary research, extensive interviewing, and undercover reporting and surveillance (Peters)”. Wikipedia using illegal means of hacking to upload many documents for the public’s right to know. 

Critique of the Media Coverage

WikiLeaks and the governments of many countries consider issues from different perspectives. The government has become a dictatorship-like for America. It claims freedom but wants to regulate as well. I understand regulating so harm or injury does not happen to an individual, but to regulate for not accepting one’s thoughts is a whole other thing. They feel in this case it threatens the lives of American troops and national security. I do believe it does this.

Military plans in war do not need to be publicly documented for the world to have access. However, cruelty by soldiers in all countries should be publicized. It should not be tolerated.

The free flow of speech with the open internet links us to so many things. Government should not fully regulate it. I do feel they should protect against piracy and privacy.

In class, we discussed two types of ethical considerations; the absolutist and the other situational ethics. I feel the government is the absolutist because they do not believe in any “grey” area. It’s their way or no way and their way is the only right way. The American people are the situational because they feel there is a rational way to handle leaks without a set of rules to govern them. WikiLeaks is also an absolutist. They believe no matter what is published it is in the right for people to know at any cost.

If we can apply Aristotle’s Mean of finding a common ground between the two issues, everyone would benefit. We can still have an open internet with government rules. 

Recommendations for Ethical Media Practice

Corruption should be leaked but use discernment when names are involved. Keep a censor. They could also use a spokesman for addressing the public on what they actually stand for. However, I would not use Assange because he symbolizes trouble among everyone.

Become true investigative journalist. Report and analyze without hiding. Let everyone know what you stand for so there are no surprises.

In truth Assange is not really the story here, nor is Wikileaks.  They simply illustrate the times we are in; media now flows differently. Stopping a newspaper from publishing a story is no longer the issue, nor is it necessarily an option.  Information is now free flowing.  It can be replicated and travel past national borders.  WikiLeaks is simply the first volley. What price people will have to pay for transmitting information, as well as who decides which information is legal to post, are issues that journalists, governments and the public at large are going to have to answer (Mora). 

Elite Honor Students Sponsor S.H.O.E Drive

This will be the third year for the JSU elite honor students to sponsor a SHOE drive. The drive is through the entire month of February. All shoes will be donated to the JCOC (Jacksonville Christian Outreach Center) locally.

Boxes are placed throughout JSU for students to donate new or slightly worn shoes for charity. Last year boxes were only in the academic buildings, however, this year they will also be placed in residence halls. In future years, more boxes can be placed in other areas to increase donations.

 “Students spear-heading this are elite honor scholars, and it’s a big service project for them and they can give back from the benefits they receive for their scholarships.” says Janet Whitmore, Honors Program Coordinator.

Inspiration for this project came from “Tom” shoes. The maker of “Tom” shoes, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina that do not have shoes to protect their feet and walk barefoot every day. He wanted to help by having his company donate a pair of shoes to a child for every purchase that was made.

 Elite honors decided to help those locally. The first year, 50 shoes were collected around campus. Then last year, 220 pairs of shoes were collected. This year they hope to beat last year’s number and progressively get larger.

The drive is personal to the students involved. The students are so spread out with their schedules, this allows them to bring the shoes to one place and count them all together as a group with a similar project.

Plans for the project’s future? They say every year is a growing effort.

Arts and Sciences Symposium

Since 1995, every year an Arts and Science symposium takes place. In the last 6 years Dr. Jan Case has been the chairman for the event at JSU. Through the years there have been different formats and different ones in charge of the event.

It is about students ranging from graduates to undergraduates that do research projects either extracurricular projects working along with their professors or as part of a class they attend. This gives the students a forum to come and present the work they did and discuss it within a ten minute session. Some of the students will present this to committees later on and this gives them a chance to get a trial run.

Subjects include English, Art, Math, Computer Science, and recently the College of Education has a couple of entries this year. A lot of new entries from here and there are submitted.

Dr. Case explains, “It’s a great variety and that’s the good thing about it. It gives us a chance to see what is going on in the rest of the campus… I really like knowing different things that are going on….I have learned a lot about grants and projects they have for freshman biology students.”

Any department that has at least three entries is provided a prize. It is a very “low-key”, but friendly competition.

All the abstracts that are presented from their research are published in a proceedings book so the students will have a collection. It’s a great experience and looks great on a resume if the students apply for a job or enter into graduate school.

Dr. Case says, “It really makes them stand out because we are small enough to foster undergraduate research and our undergraduates can present a lot of things that other universities reserve for their graduates”.

The application process opens up at the end of the fall semester. Most of the students that did their research in the fall and present their abstracts have a little time to revise before presenting.

Projects that are done in the spring are not finished yet and this is why it is held in the fall now. Before the symposium was held later in the spring but it was hard because of all the end of the year things going on. It has worked out well, after many experimental dates, so it is kept this way.

Along with presentations, a graphic art contest is taking place. The winners for this year’s symposium are Nicolette McClure, Lindsey Brooks, and Lindsey Price. The art design was used for the itinerary and will be used for the rest of the year. This was their first year entering the graphic art contest and won!

Alabama College Goal Sunday

Last day to apply for scholarships is March 1^st

This is the second year for JSU and the state of Alabama to hold Alabama College Goal Sunday. This is a nationwide program sponsored by the Lumina foundation through a grant through the YMCA. The YMCA in Birmingham applied for the grant and received for the first time last year. Stephanie Miller is the state coordinator and JSU continues to still be a site for this program.

Stephanie Miller gives incite to the program, “I think it’s a great program because it helps the community not to be afraid of the filing process that you know there is someone there to help them.  Some don’t know what’s available and some don’t have access. In today’s society, we think everyone has a smart phone, everyone has access to a computer, and some live in areas where the internet is not readily available. So the goal of Alabama College Goal Sunday is to help all students in the state of Alabama file a fafsa form, it is free, and there are people that are here to help”.

The program is set up across the state not only in Alabama but in Tennessee, Florida and it’s a time when financial aid professionals come together and we try to reach people, parents, and students that need help filing for financial aid, what the process is, give them information. Whether they decide to come to JSU or not this is the foundation for applying for any federal aid at any school.

            Vicki Adams says, “We have labs set up so that we can take these parents and students that want to apply for the fafsa, a free application, we will get it done today, and they can put up to 10 universities or colleges on the electronic app and just a good time to reach out.”

The program proves to be helpful. A survey said it was a great opportunity for the parents to come in because it may be special circumstances and at least with a financial aid counselor parents can sit and talk with that counselor and walk them through that process.  There are parents that are not working any longer or parents that were married this past year that are not married now and we help them get through the application process.

Adams adds, “The application, of course, we have been doing it for so long...I could imagine a new person sitting down to that application could be mind boggling”.

One family that showed up Sunday has two daughters that received scholarships from JSU. The girls say JSU gave them a better offer than anywhere else.

Dr. William A. Meehan states, “It’s our opportunity to tell you all about financial aid. It’s not about coming to JSU particularly. We want to make sure you have all the information you need to make a wise decision about financial aid and going to college. There is no reason in today’s economy, even though college is very expensive, that you cannot afford to go to college… I think it’s a great opportunity for folks that want to know more about college and financial aid opportunities. It’s not about JSU it’s about helping families and having students have access to college. Financial aid is very important because college has become more expensive through the years”.

It’s a free process. Some fafsa websites will charge you $80, so make sure if a site asks for your credit information log out and go to fafsa.gov. Apply as early as possible. Start taxes early and once they are filed start the fafsa process.

            Parents are helped to get Pin numbers. A pin can be deactivated if it were ever compromised. Follow up with the school’s financial aid office for any additional information that is needed.

The professional financial aid staff included Stephanie Miller, Vickie Adams, Marian Bryant, and Donna just to name a few.

The student ambassadors show their support for incomers to lend a hand to get started at JSU.

Student ambassador, Morgan Cox says,” it can be a complicated process and having these people here to take time out of their weekend to come help students and teach….I think it means a lot to people”.

Another student ambassador, Jordan Vickers, adds, “It simplifies things”.

Habitat for Humanity rebuilds hope

History and Background of Habitat for Humanity

A man named Milliard Fuller had a dream. His dream was not yet realized at a younger age. He attended Auburn University when he met his wife. He studied economics and later went to the University of Alabama to pursue his law degree. There he met his wife Linda and began his business adventures. He dated Linda her whole senior year of High School and a year later married her. Outside of classes he would sell trashcan holders, door mats, had a Christmas tree lot, and a cake service. He made enough money to buy houses and land. He rented the houses to the students and used the land to start a mobile home park.

            After college they moved to Montgomery, Alabama to pursue a business venture with his law friend, Morris Dees. Dees was a young entrepreneur like Fuller. He is known for starting the Southern Poverty Law Center, suing racist organizations and fighting for civil rights. They began a law office and business ventures together. Business became so profitable that Fuller decided to focus mainly on the business aspect of things. Business was thriving for eight years they worked together until he realized his family was suffering because he was never at home. Linda finally left Milliard alone. He took it hard and remembered when his mother died when he was at the age of 3 and his father and stepmother raised him and his house was broken up. He wanted to fix it and met with Linda months later and they both decided to leave the millions of dollars they earned and all their material possessions and start over.

            Now with four children, themselves, and God they ended up in a little town what is now called Americus, Georgia. The town of Americus was poverty stricken to boot. They met a man named Clarence Jordan. He was a very Christian man. He lived his life everyday by God’s word. He began to instill in Milliard and Linda what he has learned and knows. They took it to heart. Then Fuller had an idea to help the people of Americus relinquish their shacks for decent housing. They began to work with the people of Americus and called in some friend volunteers and began building houses. They were not liked in the town by the “white power” extremist that lived there. They would dynamite and start fights with them. However, with support from Fuller’s friend and others he kept pressing on.

            After the work done in Georgia Fuller has a bigger idea to build houses for other poverty-stricken areas. Then he thinks of Africa. He and his wife travel to Congo and build houses for the families there. During all these builds he realizes that there is a need for affordable housing for everybody and believes this is what God would do so why shouldn’t he. So he presses on with his ministry.

            They come back to Americas, Georgia and in 1976 established Habitat for Humanity. The organization gained a lot of attention. Students from many colleges and universities would come to build, volunteers, friends, and finally Fuller managed to get former President Jimmy Carter at his builds. Getting Carter was not easy. He wrote a letter to President Reagan, at that time, asking why Carter would not help. Carter found out and wanted to know why he would say such a thing. Finally it came about one day when the Fuller’s had a national marathon in support of Habitat for Humanity, which people would walk for Georgia to Indiana, when Carter’s wife joined in the march and told the Fuller’s she supported what they are doing. Milliard wrote Carter a letter, with Carter’s request to do so, fifteen things that he could do to help Habitat. Thinking Carter would only choose two or three and told him he would do all fifteen.

            Jimmy Carter definitely gave Habitat for Humanity significance! He became involved with the organization, along with his wife and never stopped. This drew more and more volunteers to help. The company began so large. Donations, sweat equity by home owners, and regular volunteers helped the organization flourish. A board of trustees was a large part of Habitat, almost too large.

            The Board was hand-picked by Fuller. It was pastors he knew as well a smart businessmen. He always wanted Habitat to have Christian values and the satisfaction of helping those who need it, but as the organization grew the Board started to make it more businesslike and bureaucratic. Fuller and the Board disagreed regularly on all aspects.

            In 2005 Fuller was said to have inappropriately touched, hugged, and commented to a female Habitat employee. The Board reviewed the accusations and found nothing. Later Fuller apologized to the female. However, with many years of disagreements with Fuller this was the cherry on top for the Board. A decision was made to oust Fuller. It was not a unanimous vote, but the strong members stated their opinion and swayed the one’s that didn’t agree.  

            This came as a complete shocked to Fuller and his wife, who was also ousted. This is a man who founded the organization and is being fired by his own Board. The Board states, “The board investigated and dismissed the allegations -- and then fired Mr. Fuller, charging that his public comments about the case were "divisive and disruptive to the organization's work."(Berkshire)  Fuller says that the real reason is because they didn’t agree or get along and that is the true reason they wanted to oust him. After numerous law suits on both behalf of both parties Fuller left and started a new organization that helps affiliates of Habitat for Humanity called the Fuller Center.

"We had the heads of Dow Chemical, Citibank," recalls Mr. Fuller. "The board had become a prestigious place to be, and people campaigned to get on it." (Berkshire)

The presence of so many corporate leaders around the board table came with a price, he says. In the final years of his tenure, he clashed repeatedly with the Board of Directors over the charity's direction. (Berkshire)

"I wanted to run it like a ministry and they wanted to run it like a business," he says, citing disputes over such issues as the appropriate rate of expansion (he sought to open chapters in every country in the world, while the board supported consolidating the least-productive affiliates) and whether the charity's headquarters should remain in Americus, as Mr. Fuller wanted, or move to Atlanta as some board members thought was wise. (Habitat officials declined to comment on Mr. Fuller's statements.) (Berkshire)

Detailed Case Description and Media Coverage

            In 2003 a female Habitat for Humanity employee accuses the founder of the organization, Milliard Fuller, of sexual harassment. It alleges to happen in a car ride to the airport in Atlanta, Georgia. He got in the car with her by himself and she claimed to become very uncomfortable with his actions. Fuller says the small town he comes from showing affection to girls is by a hug or a kiss on the cheek is what he has always done and meant nothing by it. He apologizes to her. Then other women start to claim the same accusations against Fuller. He ends up apologizing to five different women. Fuller wife, although stressed about the situation, stays by his side.

            The Board of Trustees investigates the allegations and found no proof of the incident. They still decided to fire Fuller because he continues to talk about the incident to everyone. They say it gives the organization a bad name as long as he is still affiliated with the organization. Fuller never wanted to put Habitat in bad light so he leaves. He starts another organization called Help Habitat but only finds himself in a lawsuit with Habitat because they say people will become confused by the similar names and will not donate or donate to the wrong organization. Fuller likes the idea of having his name in the title of an organization so presses on to change the name from Help Habitat to the Fuller Center.

            Fuller told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I devoted 29 years of my life to this -- morning, noon and night -- and then these people say that they can't stand any criticism.” (Pierce)

Fuller admitted to the Atlanta newspaper that he is "a hard charger" and "sometimes damages relationships," particularly with the Habitat board. In a personal statement released Feb. 1, Fuller called their firings an "extreme decision" but urged continued support for Habitat. (Pierce)

The chief board member says, "In every instance, the Fullers ultimately have rejected or been openly critical of any and all steps taken toward appropriate compromise," said Ramsey. "The board must therefore fulfill its fiduciary obligation to the organization and our moral responsibility to all those who share in Habitat's mission. No issue, no person, no debate can be permitted to compromise the integrity and work of this extraordinary ministry." (Pierce)

So was a miss communication from the board and the founder the issue or was Fuller singled out by his business-like board? Richard Moyers, Nonprofit Sector Fund at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, in Washington has his own opinion.

He notes that, according to the 2006 survey, 25 percent of executive directors aren't getting regular performance reviews from their boards, and even those who are receiving assessments say that they aren't helpful. "That's where you end up with a situation where, from the executive director's point of view, everything is going fine, then suddenly the board is really unhappy," says Mr. Moyers.(Berkshire)

The Fuller Center helps the affiliates of Habitat for Humanity with donations and volunteers. The organization still operates today.

            Fuller is admired by many regardless of the accusations brought against him. His vision to build stable housing for the poor is forever integrated in people’s hearts. He says he planted the seed and it will continue through the faith of others. One person alone cannot do it alone. Jimmy Carter has always admired Fuller’s vision and stuck by Fuller through it all. Volunteers and Habitat employees will always remember him as someone with a big heart. He gave up millions of dollars and material items for the love of his family and for poverty stricken families to have somewhere to lay their heads at night.

Critique of Habitat for Humanity and Media Coverage

            I believe the case for Habitat for Humanity is a reaction from miss communication. Fuller usually stay on the outside building and visiting affiliates when he could. He knew what needed to be done and did it. The board overlooked the finances and the business aspect of things so the two collided with disagreement. He believed in professing his ministry through God’s word and make livable conditions favorable for everyone. The board loaded with business savvy individuals believed in turning Habitat into a business rather than an organization.

            Neither side conferred with the other. So no one knew how the other was feeling about any given situation. I feel if they regularly met and discussed issues relating to Habitat many of the problems could have been fixed.

Fuller said in an interview one time that, “The board of directors of Habitat for Humanity International is a very responsible group of people from around the world who guide the policy of Habitat for Humanity. We now are in 60 countries. We're building in 2,200 cities. We've built 65,000 houses as of mid-1998. We're continuing to build a house every 45 minutes, but I'm never satisfied. The reason I am not satisfied is because I know how big the problem is, and I realize that unless we accelerate the pace, we are not eliminating poverty housing. The problem is getting bigger, so we've got to constantly search for better ways to do what I think God has called us to do in a faster way. It's like the space exploration program. You've got to figure out how to do it better, faster, cheaper.” (Hole)

"When you act in crisis, time is short, options are few, and emotions are high -- it's the worst-case scenario."(Berkshire)

Don’t wait until the last minute to communicate on an issue. Make sure there is no issue by regular input from committees, and boards to alleviate conflict. Everyone should have a say.

I feel the Board took the issue too far when they fired Fuller quickly. Fuller founded the organization and has a face with his organization. This can cause others to react to their decisions that they made. Habitat could have easily gone under quickly.

Fuller should not have spoken to the media but after being fired with no excuses that is to be expected. The Board should have handle things slower and carefully in light of the many individuals who love this man. It caused a negative impact on Habitat that could have been prevented.

ABC 33/40 Storm Alert tour comes to Pleasant Valley By: Kevin Brant

     Spring is a time where flowers are blooming and a time of new beginnings. Bears come out of hibernation. Spring is also a time where rapid weather changes occur and can change from one day to the next. March through May is the primary tornado season for the state of Alabama. The worst tornado outbreak in recent memory took place on April 27, 2011. On that day, 63 tornadoes tore through the state resulting in four billion dollars in damage; left more than 2100 injured and killed 252 people. On March 5, more than 400 people came to pleasant Valley High School for the ABC 33/40 storm alert tour 2012.

    Chelsea Williams of Pleasant valley wanted to see how everyone else fared on April 27, 2011. “My Aunt’s house got hit and was destroyed on April 27,” Williams said. “I came out to the storm alert tour because I wanted to see how bad everyone else got hit.”

    At this event, there was a memorial listing all 252 people who died because of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. All the names of the people were listed by county and in alphabetical order. There was also a map showing the tornado paths and the number of deaths in each county.

    James Spann, Chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Ala., shared his thoughts about the death toll of the tornadoes that took place on April 27, 2011. “We think the death toll was way too high,” span said. “When I see the names of those who died, it just breaks my heart.”

    Spann also mentioned his thoughts on the storm alert tour. “This is great because of the stories people share since everyone has a story to tell about the April 27 tornadoes,” Spann said. “It’s all part of the healing process. It certainly is for me.” Spann went on to say: “We tried to take the tour where the most significant tornado damage occurred.”

    Spann reflected on how rare this type of tornado event is. “This tornado outbreak was a once in a generation event,” Spann said. “Something like this may happen again but hopefully not on my watch.”

     Before the event started, span did the weather forecast live on location during the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts. Then Spann and other fellow meteorologist Ashley Brand signed autographs.

     Breonna Cole, a future meteorologist from Gadsden, Ala., is very passionate about weather. “I am a future meteorologist and because of that, that is why I am here tonight,” Cole said.

    The event started with a video highlighting all the severe weather Alabama dealt with in the year of 2011. There was special emphasis on the tornadoes of April 27, 2011.

    Ashley Brand, another meteorologist from ABC 33/40 took the microphone and shared how hard it is sometimes to make forecasts. “Weather affects our lives every day,” Brand said. “It’s very tough to give these severe weather forecasts on occasion.”

    After this, a video was shown which shared the personal stories of the meteorologists and what they dealt with on April 27, 2011. Two other videos played. One video was on the community of Shoal Creek and the other was on DCH Regional medical Center in Tuscaloosa. After this last video played, a small tribute was given to the nurses and doctors who attended at this event.

    The real tear jerker of the night happened when stories were read about the April 27 tornadoes. Children at East Elementary School in Cullman, Ala., put together a book called “Tornado in the eyes of a child.” Some of those stories were shared in a video format.

    After this, Spann spoke directly to the children in order to help calm their fears. “Tornadoes are not something you should be afraid of,” Spann said. “When you hear thunder, it’s all part of the water cycle. If you don’t hear thunder or if it did not rain we would have drought,” Spann said.

    Spann mentioned some safety tips to keep one safe during a tornado. “During a tornado go to a basement and get under a sturdy bench or table if you have one. If one is not available go to the lowest floor like a hallway, closet or bathtub,” Spann said. “Make sure to put a helmet on to protect your head. If you are in a mobile home during a tornado, you need to leave it and go to a safer place.

    Mark proper, Assistant Principal at Pleasant valley High School wants to help where he can. “We love our kids and they are excited about this event coming to Pleasant valley High School,” proper said. “We want to be a contribution to the community by having events like these.” Proper went on to say: “We want to bring the information to the people so they can use it for future reference and help out where we can.”

    Spann also emphasized not to rely on outdoor sirens for tornado warnings. NOAA weather radio or the weather radio app on a smartphone is the best way to receive tornado information.

    Five lucky people won a weather radio at the event. Those people were: James Preston from Anniston; Quinton Boozer from Piedmont; Darrell battles from Alexandria; Billy Holden from Jacksonville and Adam Cooper also from Jacksonville.

James Spann speaking to the crowd at Pleasant Valley High School in Jacksonville, Alabama about the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak on March 5, 2012. Photo Taken By: Kevin Brant

Nails for Awareness

Today I came across something I have never seen before. A set of nails with supportive messages on them. I was really moved to see such a creative idea on something as simple as your nails. The pictures I seen were in support of 17 year old Trayvon Martin who was killed recently. I also saw breast cancer awareness art all hand-painted. You can also show your support for your favorite team whatever it may be. I believe there is no end to her creative ability to give anyone what they want no matter what it is, literally. Put that memory of a loved one on your nails if you do so feel the need. Currently, she is not licensed, but is well on her way to an endless career of arts.
She said, "I began doing my own nails about two years ago. I was fed up with going to the nail shop and not getting exactly what I wanted. To save money, I decided to learn how to do my own nails. I am not a licensed tech...yet:) But I plan on getting my license in the near future!"
The link to view her nail design is at http://www.facebook.com/nailsbydomonique/info

The Ingredients for a Healthy Registration

According to the orientation guide this past April, the largest crowd at the seminars is, 300 – 400+ students, undecided and nursing.

A Michelle Green is the Director of Academic Advising Seminars. This spring instead of having regular academic advising seminars, she plans to focus on the undecided students. She will incorporate more workshops to see which ones the students like and the ones they don’t. The advising will be Monday through Thursday rather than once a year.

Financial aid, CPA, Dr. Forb from computer science, and tutoring department will also be incorporated this year.

The fall semester will be aimed at the medical profession. Alumni will come and talk to students.

The information is valuable. No matter how many students show up.

“I bring the mountain to the students…..it can be one, it can be two”, says Michelle Green, Academic Advisor.

The seminars give incoming freshman an easy transition to college.

Fall 2012 Seminar Series will be held in the TMB auditorium. The dates are: September 19, 20 and October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, and 18. Time is to be announced.

There will be various titles such as financial aid, financial aid scholarships, registration process, and so you want to be a Doctor?