Veritas, Vol. 18, No. 07, November 18, 1977

              A private, independent, international university An equal opportunity employer
Volume 18, Number 7 November 18,1977
Create Retention Environment Butler Tells Luncheon Guests
FACULTY SENATE MEETING 3 p.m., Nov. 21
Law School Auditorium - Rm. 109 Agenda
1.	Minutes of the Faculty Senate Meeting October 24, 1977
2.	Faculty Senate Budget Committee Report - Dr. John Knoblock, Chairman
3.	General Meeting Board of Trustees November 9, 1977 -Faculty Senate Liaison - Dr. Kamal Yacoub
4.	New Business from the Floor
By Sanford Schnier News Bureau
A Madrigal dinner—complete with jesters, wassail, gaily clad singers, the boar’s head, recorders, krummhorns, plum pudding and fanfares—will be presented for the first time at the University Dec. 1 and 2.
The event is open to the public. Tickets at $7.95 per person are available from the Choral Department, School of Music, or by calling 284-4162. There will be no ticket sales at the door.
In calling for all members of the UM community to recognize that “you are the University,” Dr. William R. Butler, vice president for student affairs, welcomed approximately 220 faculty, staff and students to this year’s premier “topic luncheon” held Nov. 7 in the Whitten Student Union.
Attrition was the subject, and Dr. Butler’s theme was the need to refocus attention from attrition to the need to
Dress will be semi-formal. The dinner will be in the Flamingo Ballroom of the Whitten Memorial Student Union on main campus, where tables will be decorated with Christmas greens and candles.
Madrigal dinners are a tradition from 16th century England, according to Donald Oglesby, assistant professor of applied music at the UM, who is coordinating the event.
The first fanfare of the trumpeters at 6:30 p.m. will signal the procession of Continued to Page 7
build a university-wide environment for retention.
Covering the issues with Dr. Butler was Dr. William Goodwin, director of the Bureau of Measurement and Research in the Guidance Center. He presented results of a research questionnaire distributed by Dr. Butler’s office last spring and the results of a telephone survey this fall to a sample of freshmen who did not return this fall.
A sampling of undergraduate students, parents, faculty, administrators, alumni and trustees answered the questionnaire whose purpose was to examine “the attitudes of the University community concerning relevant student issues,” as stated in its April 29 cover letter.
The results revealed a wide range of opinions on a number of the questions, including ones on student involvement in setting tuition^pompetency in faculty advising, and programs and services outside the classroom.
Detailed results of the research will be printed and distributed by Dr. Butler’s office in mid-December, Dr. Goodwin said.
Jesters Will Entertain Guests At First UM Madrigal Dinner
‘Snow’ Due At Lowe Family Weekend
hit snow mountain, and it will cost a dime to play in it. Sixty tons formerly cost $1,200; now the price is up to $2,000.
The community-wide family weekend is the Lowe’s way of enticing visitors to the museum for its sixth annual display of holiday trees, this year decorated by local craftsmen, and its exhibition on “Printmaking: A History.”
Lowe Director John Baratte says “The family weekend has become a tradition for many, but for others, it might be their first trip to a museum. If they have a good time, they’ll be back. There’s no reason visiting a museum shouldn’t be exciting and entertaining as well as educational.”
To make it fun there will be Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus in a candy cane forest, a petting zoo from Crandon Park, choral groups from junior and senior high schools, clowns from South Ridge High School, puppet shows by members of the Puppet Guild and rides on an elephant from Hoxie Brothers Circus.
Ray and Sue Fisher, chairmen of the family weekend, have persuaded Richard Lancaster, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Borovay and Dr. and Mrs. Edward Jarvis to fill the costumes of Mr. and Mrs.' Claus.
Special hours for the family carnival weekend are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.
By Sharon Clark News Bureau
The family weekend at the Lowe Art Museum on the University’s main campus Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4, is a child’s dream come true of snow, elephants, Santa Claus, holiday trees, puppets, music and a petting zoo.
For the fifth consecutive year, a giant snow machine from Royal Palm Ice will shave tons of ice into a frosty mist to form a snow mountain where kids of all ages are encouraged to taste, climb, slip, slide and throw the made-in-Miami version of the real stuff.
But, alas, snowballing inflation has
Photo by Bill Diffenderfer
These young Miamians enjoyed last year’s snow mountain.


“There is no one cause for student attrition,” Dr. Goodwin said, “but we know financial difficulties and the distance from home affect many students.”
A telephone survey of last year’s freshmen who did not return to the campus this fall revealed that their most important reason for not returning was financial. Many also focused dissatisfaction in three areas as well: student life, the residence halls and the University’s attitude toward its students.
In Dr. Butler’s presentation, he said that the attrition rate could decrease if “We create a university-wide environment for retention.” He covered nine points for realizing this goal:
*	Coping with attitudinal variances
*	Improving student adjustment
*	Examining University regulations and procedures
*	Improving student advising
*	Helping students with their goals
*	Improving life in the residence halls
*	Involving students
*	Developing our community identity
*	Recognizing that “you are the University” .
Dr. Butler encouraged everyone to help. “Much as we have committed
Continued to Page 7
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