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Show Wednesday, March 29, 2000 THE SIGNPOST Page 3 Edge continued from front program were struggling to prove their language proficiency, but he had no problem because he had passed the internationally recognized PWD at WSU. Daines is the only professor in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming or Nevada certified to administer this test. Daines travels to New York every two years to take an examination for recertification. Time that Daines invests in preparation, testing and grading the PWD is all volunteer. European students pay $500 to take the test, but American students pay only $80 because the majority of workers involved in the testing process are volunteers. WSU's German department is excellent, said Jayne Bingham, former WSU student and wife of Darren Bingham. "I was so over-prepared when 1 got to graduate school," Jayne said. "Grad school at Georgia State University was a cake walk. I received a full-ride scholarship because of the preparation I received at Weber." Our students do well because WSU's German professors are proficiency oriented, Daines said. They make sure their students speak fluently, understand German business culture and write well using the vocabulary and terminology necessary for success in international business. International companies look for people not only knowledgeable in a foreign language, but qualified to function independently upon arrival in a foreign county, Daines said. Students who pass the PWD are recognized as proficient in the language and accepted within the German business community and educational system ahead of students not taking the exam. Graduating summa cum laude with a double major in German and communication was not enough for WSU graduate Ande Tulp to enroll in a university in Aachen, Germany. Although she spoke Estonian, Russian, Finnish and German, it was only after Tulp passed the PWD that she was accepted at the German university. In 1998, the German Federal Statistics Office reported the United States as the second most important international trade partner for Germany in both imports and exports. Germany's direct foreign investment reached $24 billion in April 1999 according to an independent German institute of economic research report.Fifty-six-percent of all German foreign investment capital is invested in the United States, Daines said. That equates to $13.4 billion invested in the United States in one year. A strong business relationship with Germany is very important, Daines said. However, "many people believe there is no need for Americans to learn German, because most Germans already know English." This may have been the case prior to the reunification of East and West Germany, but it is not true today. A lot of the new start-up companies are in the former East Germany, Daines said, and those students all learned Russian instead of English. This year's test candidates include WSU students Brian Yoachum, Matt Laker, Kyle Lindmann. Mike Schmidt and former WSU student Ryan Connelly. There will also be students from Utah Valley State College taking the exam. Yoachum said Daines is really "going out of her way" to help students prepare for the exam. Daines encourages students to use their knowledge of language as an asset in the business world. "Professor Daines is so smart and she really cares about all of her students, not just for their education, but their future as well," Yoachum said. "I love my job. I love what I do," Daines said. "I am one of the fortunate people who doesn't have to get up in the morning and cuss because they have to go to work." The hard work and dedication in the German department has earned WSU national recognition. WSU was recognized in a 1997 national press release as one of six test centers with the most candidates, with nine students taking the test locally that year. In 1999 80 American students took the test. Three candidates received a perfect score in the oral exam, and one of them was a WSU student. "Weber State University has never had a student fail the exam," Daines said. Honors conference provides opportunities and ideas By Danielle Blaisdell news vvriter-The Signpost Around 1 80 students and faculty from colleges across the Western United States spent three days last week at Weber State University, the host of the 2000 Western Regional Honors Conference. 'This conference is unique because so much is going on," said Mike Vause, honors program director. "It's a good way for students and honors faculty to meet with other schools." This was the first year WSU hosted the conference. Students and faculty shared ideas and discussed topics, ranging from the legacy of Greek slavery to the episte-mology of fly fishing. Students were also able to meet with and listen to a variety of people, including author David Harris and cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell. Participants gathered Thursday at the Union Station for dinner and a presentation by Harris. Harris served as student body president at Stanford University in 1967 and two years later served time in prison for draft resistance. The audience listened intently as he shared lessons from the Vietnam War and bridged the gap from his generation to college students of today. The conference had a change of pace on Friday as Mitchell entertained a packed audience in the library's Special Collections. Complete with hat, boots and a shiny belt buckle, Mitchell entertained the audience. "Writing poetry can be as fun as anything else." Mitchell said. "What makes it funny is that we can recognize human nature." He also shared an important message: that writing can work as therapy . and can be meaningful in many ways. "Tell your story," he said. "Whether it's in a journal or letters to your kids, if you start to write your story now, people will read it and it can change their lives." Mitchell also spoke to a crowd at the Timbermine restaurant Friday night. College students played an important role in the conference, as many presented ideas in workshops. Adam Taintor presented a panel discussion, 'The Epistemology of Fly Fishing," with Craig Oberg. microbiology professor, Sally Bishop-Shigley, associate professor of English, and Charity Bentley. The panel discussed how the class can benefit students in critical thinking and in several aspects of life. This is a great opportunity for students and faculty to get together and share ideas." Taintor said. The conference wrapped up SaUirday afternoon and the participants, from as far as California, made their way home. Two key players in making the conference a success were honors adviser Marilyn Diamond and secretary Leanna Riddle. They have been planning and organizing every aspect for the past year. "It's been such a joy to meet these people," Diamond said. "It's a different level now. I'm very fortunate that 1 was able to do this." Vause was pleased as well, not just with the conference but with the hospitality of WSU. "Comments I've heard from out of town are how caring, concerned and helpful everyone was. One person said that Weber State must be the best kept secret in the Western U.S." Horizon continued from front view of tenure at least every three years," Guliuzza said. "If so, the school will likely adopt that method." The committee also recommended that those with unsatisfactory reviews have a certain amount of time to improve, Guliuzza said. Academic Vice President Mike Chertudi acts as-WSUSA liaison to the faculty senate along with Native American senator Margaret Pilcher. In Monday's meeting of the WSUSA senate, Chertudi told student senators that tenured professors would be reviewed based on three criteria: quality of scholarship, service and teaching. But there were two ways these criteria might be used, he said. An "analytical" evaluation would require professors to perform satisfactorily in all three areas for tenure to con tinue. A "holistic" evaluation would require satisfactory performance in only two out of three areas. "Holistic evaluation is some-' what of a concern," Chertudi said, "because if you do well in scholarship and service, and you receive 'satisfactory' in those two areas, and you receive an 'unsatisfactory' in teaching, that means we have a tenured professor that is an unsatisfactory teacher." Chertudi said he brought that point up in Thursday's meetings. He believed the faculty senate treated his comments seriously. Guliuzza agreed, 'There should never be a plan approved and students should never stand for a plan to be approved where professors would be allowed tenure without acceptable teaching." Candidates continued from front tioned the court to review them. "We can't do anything until someone petitions us," said Miles, prior to the petition being filed. Petitions can be as simple as an e-mail detailing a perceived problem, Miles said. Former student activities adviser Judy Hurst, who now works at the WSU-Davis Center, said the elections process has come under more student supreme court scrutiny than any other area of student government. "At one point in time," she said, "it seemed to be that their main function was on election processes and procedures." But the court has not dealt with election rules during the last three years, Hurst said. Miles said the new ruling could possibly affect some seat's election, because when there are seats with no registered candidates, a very few votes could carry the election.This year, one seat that of Native' American senator had no registered candidate as of Wednesday, despite the election committee extending the registration deadline up to the last moment before final election voting begins. Miles pointed out that last year only six people voted in the contest for African-American senator, so it was not "without the realm of possibility" that one person's friends could write that person into office. START EARNING AFTER TWO WEEKS!!! TWO WEEKS IN CLASS THEN YOU ARE ON THE ROAD! it dick siman TRUCHinG RIUER SCHOOL 800.727.5865 dUU.Z.bKUNK www.simn.com Are you over 55? "Look What Seniors Can Get Free!" Washington DC (Special) An ama.iiig now. report out today reveals thousands of I ill 1c -know n Government give-aways tor people over 55. 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