Miami Hurricane, April 24, 2001

              UM comes up with road sweep of FSU
page 5
Coral Gables, Florida
Volume 78, Number 49
WWW.HURRICANE.MIAMI.E
University mentioned seven times in ‘Florida Leader’
UM wins 7 of the ‘best of categories in the new ‘Best of Florida Schools'issue
By Jacqueline Brown
Hurricane Staff Writer
Florida Leader magazine's “Best of Florida Schools” issue features the best of everything—from	Student
Government and campus newspapers to the best orientation program, students, classes and college towns.
The issue mentioned the University of Miami seven times—more than any other school in Florida.
This year the University of Miami received the “best of” rating in the following categories: Mock Mardi Gras; Religious Mirer: Orientation Program; Apathy Buster; Rap Session and Pre-medical Procedure. UM was also ranked a runner-up for the “best private colleges and universities college newspaper.”
“It’s an adequate newspaper for a small private college. The best feature of the paper is the editorial page,” said Gonzalo Soruco, a professor in the School of Communication, when asked how he felt about the school’s newspaper, The Miami Hurricane.
Florida Leader stated that they expected more of The Hurricane.
“1 thought that Carni Gras was fun and at the same time beneficial. I liked walking around the different booths, learning and winning prizes at the same time,” said Stacey Seigel, a sophomore and public relations major at UM.
This year’s mock Mardi Gras event included tarot card readers, tattoo artists, as well as piethrowing contests, kissing booths and a paper-planethrowing competition.
Michelle Ventura, a sophomore and biology major at UM, said she liked Carni Gras but thought the event did not last long enough.
UM held its third annual Religious Diversity Week at the end of March. It was sponsored by the Department of Multicultural Student Affairs, the department of Religious Studies; University’s Muslim Center, the Islamic Society; the Hillel Jewish Student Center; and various campus Christian groups.
This event united 15 different religious groups in order to provide students with an dpportuni-ty to learn about the various religions.
“It’s a good idea, having all the different religions recognized. UM has students from all over and from various religious backgrounds,” said Eliza Zelachowski, a fourth-year architecture said of the week-long event.
The “Great Start” orientation program at UM allows commuter students to spend the
See LEADER • Page 2
4	*


Since 1927 Tuesday, April 24,2001
UM
experience
On-campus perspective
Part One of a two-part series
By Aubrey Andel
Hurricane Staff Writer
What is “the UM experience"? It is a combination of all the factors that shape a student’s life at the University of Miami: from living situations to campus activities to interaction with professors.
Students living on campus inevitably have a different perspective about the “UM experience” than commuter students.
UM students living on campus said that although they attempt to balance
their schoolwork with their free time there are many obstacles to overcome.
“Living in the dorms, you’re more inclined to do what you shouldn’t be doing,” sophomore Teresa Sampogna, who lives in ftarson Residential College said. “Freshman year, everyone drinks in the dorms.”
Sampogna is currently in the process of looking for off campus accommodations with her roommate because she does not like the residential colleges.
Freshman Erica Cano from Texas said she enjoys the residence hall atmosphere.
“There’s always people out there, hanging out,” she said of her Mahoney Residential College floor.
Marcus Chaidez, a second-year Architecture student, is not satisfied with the meal plan that must be purchased when living in the residence halls.
“It really pisses me off that it’s mandatory,” he said. “I only use it like once a week.”
“The dining facilities suck, it’s unhealthy and it’s a rip-ofT Sampogna said.
A majority of students also said they hardly ever saw their RAs and resident masters.
The Wellness Center, Richter Library and the Hurricane Food Court are facilities students said they enjoy.
Diverging from facilities to faculty, the high quality of professors and programs at UM exceeded many students’ expectations.
“I’m in a good program,” Chaidez said, referring to the School of * Architecture. “I was pleasantly surprised when I came here.”
Second-year Architecture student Gilbert Laban from St. Croix, who lives in Hecht Residential College, was attracted to the University because of
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Adam
Seidman relax in their room
its athletic and academic opportunities.
“I wanted to swim for UM,” he said. “And the Architecture program was pretty good too.”
Laban was able to swim for a while, but his overload of schoolwork forced him to drop from the team after two months.
Students acclaimed the diversity of the faculty, although diversity among the student body disappointed many students.
“There is basically one main stereotype, and that’s the majority (of students at UM |,” Sampogna said.
“The typical UM guy/girl has a cell phone and goes to the gym in designer T-shirts. They talk on their cell phones and run on the treadmill at the same time,” she said.
Cano said she has not gotten used to the students at UM yet.
“It’s a lot bigger than the school I transferred from,” she said. “It’s harder to meet people here, but I hang out with the foreign exchange students, so I think it’s really diverse.”
Cano also said that she attends a lot of cultural events such as International
JORGE GALVEZ/ Photo Editor
TIME TO DO LAUNDRY: Della Rocca and Seidman affectionately refer to this pile of clothing as “Mt. Slob.”
—_____£-------------------------------&-------------------
JORGE GALVEZ / Photo Editor Della Rocca (left) and Hunter in Eaton Residential College.
Week and would like to join the Latin American Students Association.
The types of events that draw students from all cultural backgrounds are athletic events, Laban said.
“Sportsfest is fun,” Laban said, who also plays intramural volleyball.
“I like going to football games the best,” Sampogna said. “But I also go to tennis and baseball games.”
Laban’s and Chaidez’s expectations of UM’s on-campus social scene was left unfulfilled.
• “When we came here, we thought there would be a lot of parties here,” Chaidez said. “But it’s pretty sad.”
Students said they have to go off campus to look for entertainment during the weekends.
“I go to South Beach a lot and I take random trips to Tampa or Daytona,” Cano said. Sampogna said she heads to bars in the Grove, clubs and the beach.
Students said, however, they love the city of Miami’s nice weather, endless activities, multiculturalism and tropical atmosphere.
The tropical landscaping of the UM campus also impressed many students.
“I think it’s a beautiful campus,” Sampogna said. “I was in awe when I first came here. The setup is really nice.”
Overall, the UM experience from an on-campus perspective has had its positives outweigh its negatives, students said.
“I’m having a good time here at UM,” Laban said. “I’m enjoying it. I couldn’t see myself being anyplace else right now.”
Look fof the Friday April 27 issue of The Miami Hurricane where we explore commuter students’ views on life at the University of Miami.
__________________________P_____________
Turning obstacles into advantages
By Karen Bennett
Contributing Writer
In honor of University of Miami's celebration of the first annual Alumni Appreciation Week, the Miami Hurricane will begin running a column on an outstanding UM alumnus in “Hurricane Watch.”
Betty Amos’ determination has lifted her over hurdles others might turn away from. Amos, who graduated from the University of Miami School of Business magna cum laude in 1973, “was a little older than the average graduate because I had been divorced and had a small child to support.”
Hoping to become a CPA, she set about interviewing with accounting firms in an attempt to get the work experience required to get her certificate. But despite her fine academic record, she was not hired. “Finally, someone told me that it was because I was female and a few years older,” Amos says.
But there’s more than one way to get CPA credentials, and Amos pursued the other option, further schooling. She chose the broader background afforded by an MBA.
“It was a blessing in disguise,” Amos, a Missouri native, says of that transition.“! was able to get my CPA certificate, and 1 started my own firm, as a tax advisor and investment manager. 1 had worked in that field while I was in school. 1 was looking for a vehicle to point clients toward, and I found Fuddruckers, a casual dining chain.”
Amos liked the chain so much that in 1983 she became a franchisee herself. Today she is president of Abkey, which operates 11 Fuddruckers restaurants in Florida and Tennessee. “If I’d not had my MBA, I wouldn’t have had the entre-
Hurricane
Betty Amos
preneurial skills that the job really requires,” says Amos. “You have to be very diversified”
Amos is remarried, and her son, now in his 30s, is a partner in her Tennessee restaurants. She is actively involved with the University of Miami as a member of the Board of Trustees and is national president of the Alumni Association.
“I was a working mother, and the University was very good to me,” Amos reflects. “I received scholarships and loans—otherwise, I would never have made it through school—so it’s a joy to be able to give back."
Any career advice to the like-minded? “You’re certainly going to run into road blocks. You can’t let them defeat you. You either have to climb over them or go around them, whether or not that means changing your goals. Remaining adaptable is very important!”
Karen Bennett is a freelance journalist in Hew York. She teaches a journalism course at Eugene Lang College, the undergraduate division of New School University in New York City. This article first appeared in the Fall 2000 issue of Business Miami, a University of Miami School of Business Administration publication.
Award-winning student art featured at Lowe
By Aubrey Andel
Hurricane Staff Writer
The Department of Art and Art History’s Annual Student Show is showcasing the works of BFA and MFA degree-seeking UM students at Lowe Art Museum from April 19-May 3.
Last Wednesday, the works of art were judged and awarded during the show’s opening night.
“It is an opportunity for our students to experience the anxiety and anticipation of participating in a juried group exhibition in a museum setting,” Marcilene Wittmer of the Department of Art and Art History said.
“It is part of the real world expe rience all artists share at one time or another,” she said.
Melissa Casey’s Untitled, a paint ing of an Italian woman who, like the Mona Lisa, seems to be looking at you no matter where you go, won the Anne Lemos Undergraduate Award for Figurative Painting.
The Jose Berardo Award in Ceramics was awarded to Troy Alwine for his work, Equivalent. Alwine portrayed the waste that Styrofoam cups produce by displaying a large pile of disarrayed cups underneath a table, and another pile
See ART • Page 2
RUSSELL WQJTUSIAK/ fhoto Ecitor
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION: Student art will be displayed in the Lowe Art Museum from April 19-May 3.
it	«