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Show 2 SignpostTuesday, August 11, 1987 -- "" jj ' Popular conference explores today's families Ann Peterson Staff Reporter The eighth annual Families Alive Conference, sponsored by the Department of Child and Families Studies and the Division of Continuing Education, will be held in the Union Building at Weber State on September 10-12. This year's theme is "Enhancing Relationships." Each year's conference centers on a theme relevant to contemporary issues pertaining to the family. In accordance with this year's theme, twenty-two different workshops will give information about enhancing relationships between parent and child, government and family, and between parent and teacher. Weber State pioneered Families Alive eight years ago in hopes of helping concerned parents find solutions to problems occurring within the family unit. "The purpose of this program is to allow individuals to seek informative counseling and advice from authoritative figures to help them understand and cope with pertinent familial issues and problems," said Dr. Francis M. Woodard, of the Department of Child and Family Studies. According to Woodard, the program has helped Weber State gain international recognition and support. College credit for attendance to the conference may be obtained for fall quarter. Housing accommodations are The Signpost Staff Editorial-Advertising-Production Summer Quarter 1987 Editor-in-Chief Chris J. Milter Manai?irn Editor Tanja Schaffer Sports Editor Blaine Bringhurst News Editor Coral Lou Glenn Entertainment Editor YuniluiPak Ass't News Editor Hal Davis Senior Reporters Linda Nimori JaNae Barlow David R. Allison Staff Reporters Katy Frandsen Mike Butler Tony Buller Amy Tribe Charles Harrington Ethan Yorgason Donna Green Craig Rammell Sue Hialt Ann Peterson Copy Editor Stephanie Carbine Photographers Jeff Bybee JuddBundy Graphic Artists Michael Chrislenson Sieve Thorpe Advertising Manager Jolet Olsen Assistant Advertising Manager Steve Anvar Ads Production Manager Mark Plumley Production Staff Andrew Thaeler Distribution Jeff Bybee Advisor P. Larry Slahle Publisher Randolph Scott The Weber State College Signpost is published every Tuesday and Thursday during fall, winter, and spring quarters, and once a week during the summer quarter by the VVSC Department of Communication. Editorial content appearing in this publication is that of the Signpost staff or guest contributors and does not necessarily reflect the view of Weber State College in general. The Signpost is distributed free of charge and is available by subscription for $9 per quarter. The Signpost offices arc located in the Union Building in U.B. 267. Mail correspondence should be sent to: VVSC SIGNPOST Weber State College Ogdcn, Utah 84408-2110 Editor-in-Chief 626-7121 Advertising Department . . . 626-6359 News Department 626-7105 Entertainment Department . . 626-7105 Snorts Department 626-6358 available through reservations at Weber State's Residence Halls. Other key benefits and special features of thethree-daylong conference include insights to help families prepare for the nineties, information for effective daily living, and various entertainment highlights. The culminating feature of the conference will be the two keynote presenters, Dr. Stephen Glenn and Paget Wilson Hinch. Glenn is an internationally acclaimed family psychologist who is returning because of overwhelming requests from last year's participants. Hinch is the Associate Commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau, managing 292 youth centers for adolescents nationwide. Workshop presenters from Wcbcr include Shannon K. Butler, Craig Campbell, Chloc Merrill, Pamela K. Morris, Shirley Porter Murdock, Roy Van Orman, Kay Rawson, Gary Willdcn, and Francis Woodard. Parents, grandparents, students, educators, and professors in a family-related field should attend this conference. It will offer concrete information that can be used to help families become stronger and healthier. Phone-in registration using VIS A or Mastercard will be accepted during regular weekly business hours at 626-6600. Walk-in registration can be made at Promontory Tower, Room 402. Mail-in registration should be sent to Division of Continuing Education, Attn: Registration, Wcbcr State College, Ogdcn, Utah 84408-4007. Housing information can be obtained at the Residence Halls. Professor promotes pre-nuptial pacts Prc-nuptial contracts can save divorcing couples from being financially fleeced, Joan Collins, but for the less rich, contracts can also enhance marriages. "There arc two schools of thought on marriage contracts," said Francis M. Woodard, a marriage and family expert at Wcbcr Slate. "One says that the prc-nuptial agreement prepares the couple for failure by making provisions for it in advance. The second one is that it may actually shore up the marriage. It may force people to sit down and think about things they normally wouldn't consider." The rich approach marriage somewhat as they would a business deal, drawing up pre-nuptial agreements, Woodard said. Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy waited a year before lawyers could finish theirprc-mar-riagc agreement. Actress Joan Collins recently won a court case in which her divorced husband askedSl50,000-a-month alimony. Collins escaped the high payment because of her prc-nuptial agreement. However, for those in the less-exorbitant income brackets, prc-nuptial agreements could well be a marriage-saver instead of a financial protection. "Normally, we get swept up in the emotion of love, and the adrenal glands arc pumping just enough to get the person to the altar. The prc-nuptial agreement forces the couple to look beforehand at some of the things necessary for a lasting marriage," he said. People tend to consider the outward characteristics of their intended spouse while they arc dating things such as beauty and social status, Dr. Woodard said. The key to a happy marriage is to find someone who is "kind, decent and patient," and a marriage contract can help do that, he affirmed. . A contract should slate personal goals and expectations, including lifestyle and place of residence preferences and discussion of whose career should be given prioriiy. Some contracts spell out specifically if thccouple will go to the ball game or to the theater, and how many times. Contracts should also discuss income management, who will pay the bills, division of labor in the home, sexual expectations, birth control, size of family, spacing of the children, and child-care responsibilities. "The couple should also consider their relationship with kinfolk and with others. How much leisure time will they spend with relatives? Will they take care of their parents when they get old? How much time will they spend with friends and business associates? And in the case of a second marriage, they should also define obligations and time they will spend with previous spouses and children," Woodard said. He noted that over a dozen states have laws that uphold pre-nuptial agreements, and that the other states which do not necessarily address marriage agreements, such as Utah, have contract laws covering such agreements. "Any agreement should be in harmony with state legislation," Woodard added. "The American Bar Association has prepared a 57-page pamphlet on laws and marriage," said Woodard. All this may sound unromantic, but the WSC professor said this is exactly the point. "We're so caught up in a tidal wave of romanticism in this country that we don't sec people using intelligence (in marriage)," he said. Transcript (cont'd from front page) that anymore. What's required now, is more." Protzm an suspects theco-curricular transcript willscrvc as a powerful instrument employers use in screening candidates. "Indeed, it's meant to be that (powerful instrument)," he said. While the transcript can certainly be useful to students toward the end of their college careers for resume writing; to faculty and staff as a resource in writing letters of recommendation; and to employers seeking a more rounded picture of the student's development; in terms of real personal development, the transcript is probably the least important clement in a cocurricular program, according to Cosgrovc. The answer to the "right format" question (most institutions initiate their own format), doesn't matter as long as the process is initiated early on for students, said Cosgrovc. "(The format should be) a process which assists them in becoming more intentional in their choices of co-curricular activities and which assists them in becoming more conscious of skill development as it is occurring." Cosgrovc said that students who arc aware of their development arc in a better position to present themselves articulately and convincingly to potential employers. According to Prolzman, one of the favorable outcomes in operating such a program is that students encounter improved-quality experiences. "It gives organization advisors mechanisms to maximize student growth within those settings," he said. "This will result in better learning experiences, better clubs and organizations and will help advisors advise and develop a closer and better rapport with students." The "down side," as Prolzman views it, is that the program will lake more effort from the faculty and staff on campus. "They have to be willing to go the extra mile to support students and help them in carrying out the program," he said. "We need to compensate for those students who do make the extra time and effort to round out their education through their involvement in campus organizations," Prolzman said. "They ought to have a leg up on the job market." Exercise regularly. 'EHOm'iNOFOU YOU? LIFE American Heart ;f Association p |