The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 23, 2005 Page: 2 of 8
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2 February 23, 2005
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The Rambler
The Ra
Professor publishes
her second novel
,«
mm
Christine Peirce
MANAGING EDITOR
Dr. Cynthia Shearer
added another book to her
library this year. The
Wesleyan adjunct English
professor published her sec-
ond novel, The Celestial
Jukebox, in January.
"The Celestial Jukebox is
set in the invented
Mississippi Delta town of
Madagascar. The rural south
of Cynthia Shearer is depend-
ent on the rather less attrac-
tive fruits of capitalism,
including agribusiness, gam-
bling and the dwindling vices
surrounding the retail
trades," reads the
Barnesandnoble.com pub-
lisher's notes section.
"For Shearer, music and
writing work hand in hand -
each art influencing the
other," reads a southemliter-
aryreview.com biography.
"Shearer describes herself as
a loner who 'worked at not
fitting in.'" Shearer was
unavailable for comment for
this article.
Shearer was born in
Massachusetts, but spent her
childhood and teenage years
in Georgia growing up. In
1980 she moved to Oxford.
Miss., and earned her doctor-
ate in English at the
University of Mississippi.
During this time, she began
writing more than ever.
Shearer's first novel, The
Wonder Book of the Air, was
published in 1996.
Other books by Shearer
include: The Green leaf Guide
to Famous Men of Greece,
The Greenleaf Guide to
Famous Men of the
Renaissance and Reform-
ation, The Greenleaf Guide
to the Old Testament History,
The Greenleaf Guide to
Ancient Egypt and The
Greenleaf Guide to Famous
Men of Rome.
The Celestial Jukebox
deals with a mix of people in
a small town.
"Into this mix comes
Boubacar, a 15-year-old boy
from Africa joining friends
from Mauritania already liv-
ing in the area-new African
blacks not especially note-
worthy in a small town filled
with Chinese emigrants,
African Americans, and
straggling members of the
original white families of the
area, including a white folk
artist whose startling, myste-
riously powerful yard-art
reminds Boubacar of home,"
read the publishers notes on
the Barnes and Noble site.
The plot is "intricately
interwoven," according to the
publisher, Avalon Publishing
Group.
"We meet Dean, an older
farmer who befriends
Peregrine Smith-Jones, a stu-
dent at Bowdoin College
with a genealogical agenda;
Aubrey, a prosperous
African-American farmer
who is losing his land and
equipment after one too
many late nights at the Lucky
Leaf Casino; and Raine, a
white woman who's losing
her resolve to hold her mar-
riage and family together
against the steady threat of
middle-class affluence and its
inevitable homogeneity."
Prior to Wesleyan,
Shearer worked as a curator
i ■ ■ ■ *\ v, yA
of Rowap Oak, the, hon^of
William Faulkner.
Dr. Linda Carroll, profes-
sor of English, has known
Shearer since her interview
for the adjunct position last
spring.
"When 1 interviewed her, '
I felt as if I had known her all
my life," said Carroll. "She is
warm, sincere, genuine, and
she exudes a friendly percep-
tion. Only later did I learn
that she was a gifted creative
writer."
Dorms
Photo bv Jiilian Jones
The new dorms are beginning to look like buildings. The construction workers began putting the roofing on buildings two
and four on Feb. 21. Roofing is complete on buildings one and three. Currently, electrical and interior work are being done
to those buildings. Buildings two and four are still in the framing process. Steve Roberts, associate vice president of adminis-
trative services and human resources, said, "We are right on schedule, maybe even a little ahead." The projected completion
date is Aug. 1.
Campus deals with animal problem
Linda Lee
GEC, from page I
year and four-year, Fisher
said.
The Academic Affairs
Committee considers these
same sort of things when
deciding whether to accept or
reject the GEC Committee's
proposal. If a new GEC is
approved by the Academic
Affairs Committee, it would
then proceed to Faculty
Council, Faculty Assembly
and administration. The
Academic Affairs Committee
is made up of numerous fac-
ulty members, including
deans and the director of the
library.
Fisher said the GEC is
being updated following the
recommendation of last
year's committee to consider
it, as well as Provost Allen
Henderson's charge to the
2004-2005 committee to
evaluate changes. Fisher said
the changes are not budget-
driven.
CKAal(A FAMILY DENTISTRY
9'
SANIA F. KHATIB, D.D.S.
^Texas Wesleyan Alumni
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(817) 921-4646
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Custom Teeth Whitening Kit For Upper & Lower Teeth
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STAFF WRITER
Campus personnel posted "no pets
allowed" signs in the dorms, following
problems with students caring for stray
animals. Stray cats and dogs have been
spotted around campus this semester,
posing a hazard to students and resi-
dents.
"The residents are really only doing
a disservice to everybody else by feed-
ing them." said Residence Life Director
Zandy Baker. "I know everybody has a
really big heart and they mean well by
feeding them, but they really need to
abide by the policy we have."
The dorms have always had a policy
against pets in the dorms (except for
fish) because of various residents' aller-
gies, but problems the past two semes-
ters arose regarding strays.
Students have spotted strays around
the cafeteria, as well as the dorms. Allen
Turner, kitchen manager, said this is par-
ticularly concerning because of diseases.
Juah Alviar, junior chemistry major and
campus resident, shares the concerns.
"Who wants dogs running through
the cafeteria when you're trying
to eat? Who wants them in the
dorm rooms? If they're living
here, then that means they're
using the restroom here. Nobody
wants that," Alviar said.
Stray animals can pose sev-
eral problems, according to
Jason Lamers, spokesperson for
the Fort Worth Public Health
Department.
"When it comes to stray ani-
mals, there's really three basic
problems the public has to
worry about: nuisance, safety
and illnesses or disease,"
Lamers said.
Animals digging in the trash, for
example, is a nuisance factor. Possible
safety concerns include car accidents or
bike injuries occurring from stray ani-
mals in the road, Lamers said, and ani-
mals pose threats for diseases such as
rabies.
"It's a serious liability to the proper-
ty owner," he said.
Texas Christian University repeated-
ly faces this issue with a growing popu-
lation of cats near the university dorms.
"The TCU cat population
eventually grew to 30 or 40,"
said Lamers. "There is an ongo-
ing effort by the university to
trap the animals because they
pose a liability to the school. So
far this year, 27 have been
caught. School personnel traps
the animals and then calls Fort
Worth Animal Care and Control
to pick up the cats."
Several of the animals are ill
and must be euthanized. A group
of students and faculty are
attempting to raise funds to man-
age the colony of cats, an effort
that includes spaying/neutering
and vaccinating the cats and
keeping track of them in the
years to come.
The prospect of trapping the
cats at Wesleyan has been
explored but is cost-prohibitive.
Tammy Terihay, facilities opera-
tions administrative assistant,
has a simpler way of fending off
strays.
"The problem could be simply
solved. No food, no cats," she said.
"They'll go else-
where."
L y n d s e y
Jones, a sopho-
more education
major, said peo-
ple must stop
feeding the
strays at Wes-
leyan to prevent
a serious prob-
lem. While she
doesn't mind
having a few
cats around, she
said she doesn't
think students
should continue to feed the cats.
"I think as long as they stay outside
and don't come in the dorm, I'm fine
with it," she said. "1 think they're cute
too, especially the one cat who is black
and white. It's the campus cat, but there
are like 50 cats on campus, and if we
keep feeding them, there's going to be
100 cats on campus because they're all
going to mate and they're all going to
have babies and then we'll be the kitty
campus."
1
a!
40 p«ts
wedl
Photo by Phil McNcary
Signs reading "No pets
allowed" are posted in the
dorms to let students know
that animals have no place in
the buildings.
1
Photo by Whitney Fowler
Meg Acker, a music student's mother, takes her
dog Lady Acker for a walk on campus.
Neysa Joseph-Orr, a resident assis-
tant at Elizabeth Means Armstrong Hall,
said that someone is undoubtedly feed-
ing the stray cats but hasn't heard any
complaints from residents about them.
The only controversy she's wit-
nessed is what to name the cats.
Although Joseph-Orr is sensitive to the
problem of an unwanted feline popula-
tion, she said she doesn't believe in
spaying animals.
The "no pets" policy indeed
includes the feeding of stray animals
because upon feeding an animal for
three days, the animal is considered that
person's pet according to Fort Worth city
ordinance, Lamers said.
"I am an animal lover, yet I do not
believe the dorms are suitable for pets
because rooms are too small and circum-
stances don't allow for proper supervi-
sion and care of pets," said Joseph-Orr.
There is an important exception to
the no-pets-allowed policy - that .of.
canine companions. These canines are
highly trained animals that are working
companions, not just pets.
Baker encourages students to call
and report any stray animals to the
Residence Life office at (817) 531-4873
or Fort Worth Animal Care and Control
at (817) 392-3737.
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Fowler, Whitney. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 23, 2005, newspaper, February 23, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253339/m1/2/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.