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Show Honors program is on its way Students benefit frotn program at SUU came from faculty members. According to Decker, Bennion has been very s upportive with bis views as well as by putting JOURNAL STAFF WRITm $50,000 toward the new program. Decker said faculty members have been asked for input and "I think it's something that is very necessary he believes all the faculty have been s upportive and is instituted on other campuses," said Rod of the program. Decker, dean of the College of Arts, Letters, He said the initial stages of this and Humanities, regarding the program should be up and eventuality of an honors program running at the beginning of next at SUU. year's falJ semester. He said he Administrators are currently in also believes the program will the process of establishing such a become better with time and program on campus. Decker said review. the program is still in its initial Currently there is a honors stages. "Right now we are in the course, Honors 301/401, offered process of putting a committee each quarter which incorporates together. President !Steven D.] topics addressed by Convocation Bennion is selecting a director for speakers, but there is no honors the program. That director will be series yet, Decker said. He said a current faculty member. He or he thinks the new honor classes she will report to the dean of the will come from current classes, College of Art, Letters, and but this program is still in the Humanities," he said. Decker primary stages and nothing has said he believes that a new .___ _ _ _ _ __ :..___._, been decided. director will be selected in the Dean Rodney Decker Decker said the s tudents who near future. . will participate in the program Mike Donovan, biology haven't been specified yet. He said, "It is deptartmeot chair, has helped organize the anticipated that the program will be for the movement for the program and given support better academically-prepared students who are by looking at the need for and recommending interested in critical thinking skills and more it, said Decker. Decker said that other campuses have similar advanced classes. We want the program to be challenging and for our best students, but not programs which have worked quite well. only for an elite group." Initially tbe idea of instituting an honors By JANELLE PffiLLIPS Colloquium to explore Iran question Phi Sigma Upsilon, the political science honor society, is hosting a colloquium tomorrow featuring Michael Stathis, associate professor of social science, presenting one of two papers that he has prepared for a national convention. The colloquium is at 7 p.m. in the Escalante Room of the Sharwan Smith Center. The paper he will present is titled, "Liberal Democratic Principals and the Middle East: Iran 1989-1998." Stathis said the central thesis of the paper is the possibility of a new type of democracy evolving in the Middle East. There have been three free elections in Iran since the 1989 death of Allah Ruhollah Khumayni, each progressively becoming more open and democratic. Iran' s current president, Muhammad Khatami, has been actively involved in the attempt to create a cultural dialogue between Iran and the United States, which has caused an interesting problem for political scientist to analyze, Stathis said. "All of this is very mystifying to the west," said Stathis. "The Islamic faith and democracy have for a long time been thought of as incompatible, which is a myth." According to Stathis, the opportunity for reconciliation between the U.S. and Iran is currently at an all-time high. The only obstacle is the label Iran has been given as "the greatest outlaw nation in the world" by President Bi11 Clinton because it is still a·ccused of trying to develop weapons of mass destruction, supporting terrorist activities, and disrupting the peace process in the Middle East. Said Stathis, "Khatami has denied that Iran has been involved in any of these activities, so the idea of normalizing relations isn't all that unrealistic." Need tax help? VITA to the rescue By VERONICA GARNER SENIOR STAFF WRITER April 15, the tax return due date and a day that could very well be considered a national holiday, is rapidly approaching. Many students are left with holding W-2 and 1099 forms, and not knowing what to do with them. This season is the busiest time of year for accountants, but not everyone-especially students-can afford to pay an accountant by the hour to file their tax Teturns. Because of this dilemma Jeffrey Barnes, assistant professor of business, has organized a program designed to assist students, those with low and fixed incomes, individuals with dis;ibilities, non-English speakers, and elderly taxpayers. "This program is VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). It's program the IRS helps to organize in communities to assist those who need help," said Barnes. "lt's been very effective in previous years and has received a lot of response so far." Business and accounting graduate students meet each night from 6 to 8:30 in the Business Building room 209 and give aid to those who need it. "Depending on the complexity of the tax return being filed, they generally don't take more than 30 minutes," Barnes said. "We use turbo tax, a computer program, and just enter the numbers and print it out-a fairly easy process." The volunteering students are ready to provide tax assistance for everyone who needs it. If assistance is needed, students are encouraged to bring their tax package, forms, information for other income and deductions and credits, and last year's tax return. • autontot1ve courses By NICOLE BJNGHAM JOURNAL STAFF WRITER SUU's Automotive Technology Program provides a quality education as well as hands-on experience for its students, according to SUU ofHcials. And students not enrolled in the classes can also benefit from the program, said Dick Wittwer, associate professor of technology. Wittwer is teaching two different Auto Mechanics courses this quarter, Automotive Electrical Systems II and Eng,ine Performance I. These courses train students to be technicians in the automotive field. The program also offers a general automotive class for students who have never had any background in auto mechanics. The program provides a hands-on work situation for the students to gain experience necessary to be a technician, said Wittwer. Each class involves eight to nine credit hours and many students may be enrolled in only two classes but have a fulJ schedule. A majority of students carry an overloaded schedule to accommodate their general education classes, Wittwer said. The majority of the classes take place in one of two garage labs. There is a writ repair lab which is used for engine repair and the main lab, which is usually full of cars and is where the auto mechanic students do most of their work. Tue cars students use for lab instruction come from primarily two different places, Wittwer said. Some of the cars they work on belong to students. "If the job that needs to be done on the car is related to what the class is · ·· currently studying, the program is able to work out a win-win situation for both the student and the Senior Teff Kerksiek, a business program," said Wittwer. administration/automobile major The department also has from Beaver, perform.s a valve job. eight vehicles that have been donated explicitly for instructional purposes. The program receives $2,000 per year from the university for its annual supply budget plus a additional $1,800 from a lab fee account. This is used to buy equipment, purchase supplies, and make repairs. Along with the eight automobiles, major engines, automatic transmission, and instructional materials have also been donated. Wittwer said, "When you add it all up, we probably have around a quarter of a million dollars in donations. Tue industry has supported us very strongly." "We been very fortunate to have some kids who have done very well in VICA competitions," said Wittwer. "A branch of VICA known as the National Automotive Technology Education Foundation or NATEF certifies our program as well as our instructors and our instruction methods. This certification verifies that we are teaching what the industry wants." Although Wittwer said he feels most of the campus does not really know about the department, the program is basically running smoothly. Wittwer said, "We have the latest technology for equipment. The administration has been very supportive of us to help us to be successful." "I like it because it is a lot of hands-on work, and the class instruction is good," said Brandon Nelson, a freshman from Hatch, Utah. "I feel like I could work competitively in the mechanics indnstry." ... "Ten years ago there were 60,000 m ore mechanic technicians in America than we have today. However, we have 1.5 million more cars on the road today than we did 10 years ago. Due to this reality and because of SUU's excellent program, our students are in high demand," Wittwer said. The program bas a 95 percent placement, and offers a variety of degrees and certificates, Wittwer said. .Js:iu ," |