Lisa Van Valkinburgh, clinical associate professor of communication, appeared on WBEN 930 AM’s morning news program to speak on Sarah Palin and media coverage of the 2008 presidential election.

An audio file from her appearance is available at medaillenews.com.

A safety seminar was held last Friday (10/12/07). Lisa VanValkinburgh shares what she learned:

On Friday, October 12, 2007, I attended a personal safety workshop which was set up by Ron Christopher of our Public Safety department. Police Instructors, Barbara Wopperer & Mark Tataro from the Erie County Central Police Services Training Academy gave the presentation. We learned what to do to be safe and we were encouraged to share this information about personal safety to others.

We learned the 3 D’s of safety: Detect, Deter and Defense.
First we detect the danger that is presenting itself. Next we deter the danger by keeping a safe distance from it, perhaps by putting a barrier between you and the attacker, such as a car, table, chair, etc. We tell the attacker in a loud shout to stay away. This also involves thinking defensively when parking your car, by backing it into a spot so that you can see the threat and it is easier to run someone down this way and/or get away. Finally the defense mode involves physical activity to protect yourself from the attacker, with kicks, hits, punches or other moves to stop the attack.

We also learned the OODA loop, which is understanding what the attacker is thinking. They have the following thought process going on:
Observe the victim
Orienting myself to the victim
Deciding what to do to the victim
Action upon the victim

Anything you can do to distract the attacker from their OODA thought process will delay an attack and/or make them less of a threat. Your main goal is to be in the safety zone, and a swift kick or hit can take the attacker out of their OODA loop.

In the case of a sexual assault and rape, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
1. Do I fight back or not?
2. Do I have the capabilities to kick/hit?
3. Do I have the aerobic capabilities to run?

Statistics show that 74% of people involved in a violent crime fought back.
In sexual assaults, 86% of the victims fought back.
You are less likely to be sexually assaulted if you resist.
If you are taken to another location, you have a much slimmer chance of survival than if you keep the attacker in the original location.
Thinking that fighting back will make them madder at you is a myth–they are already mad.

We also learned some basic punches and kicks and practiced them with the instructors.

Sarah Whitehead, visiting instructor in the Communication Department, has written a book review for the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies. The RCCS published her review in its October 2007 edition.

Her review examines Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s book, The Anxiety of Obsolescence: The American Novel in the Age of Television (Vanderbilt University Press, 2006). In addition to a thorough summary of the book, Whitehead applies traditional theories of communication and information networks to the content and challenges Fitzpatrick’s application of those theories.

Whitehead’s complete review can be found on the RCCS web site.

Cross posted on Medaille College News.

Name: John Schedel

Title:  Associate Professor

Courses teaching this semester: SPE 130. (That’s it!)

Last book read or are currently reading: “Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and the Pythagorean Tradition”.

Last movie you saw: “The Shootist” (on cable).

Favorite TV show: “Dogfights” (Followed by “Ice Road Truckers”, both on the History Channel).

What do you enjoy most about the beginning of a new semester: Being able to share my enthusiasm for public speaking, rhetoric, and history with a new group of students.

Name: Lisa Van Valkinburgh

Title: Clinical Associate Professor/Chairperson of Communication program

Courses teaching this semester: COM 130-2 sections of Broadcasting

Last book read or are currently reading:  “Blue Smoke” by Nora Roberts

Last movie you saw:  Shrek 3 -That was the last movie theater movie, but Blades of Glory is the last DVD I saw, over the weekend

Favorite TV show: House, Nip/Tuck, the Office

What do you enjoy most about the beginning of a new semester:  The hustle and bustle is fun, seeing students ready to jump in and start a new year at WMCB, students telling me how they spent their summer and reconnecting with me!

Name: Sarah Whitehead

Title: Visiting Instructor

Courses teaching this semester: SPE 130….five sections.

Last book read or are currently reading: Currently reading “Are Men Necessary?” By Maureen Dowd. It’s been very entertaining and an easy read. Before that I read the final Harry Potter book.

Last movie you saw: The Chronicles of Riddick, director’s cut. (of course I watched Pitch Black before that.)

Favorite TV show: That’s a tough one. I watch America’s next top model, CSI, NCSI, Shark, and Ghost Whisperer regularly, but we’ll have to see how they all go with the new season.

What do you enjoy most about the beginning of a new semester: New students, new schedule, everything is just so fresh and there’s so much opportunity to do something different.

Name: Lou Pozantides

Title: Clinical Assistant Professor/Field Placement Coordinator

Courses teaching this semester: Advanced Public Speaking, Writing for the Media, Advertising/Public Relations and all the internships

Last book read or are currently reading: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Last movie you saw: Big Mama’s House

Favorite TV show: Family Guy

What do you enjoy most about the beginning of a new semester: The best part of the new semester is getting to see my students again!!!

Name: Dr. Haydar Badawi Sadig

Title: Associate Professor of Communication.

Last Book Read: “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a brilliant Somali-Dutch who became a member of parliament in Holland after just 10 years of setting foot in the Netherlands (fleeing a civil war in her native land of Somalia, Africa). In this wonderfully written memoir, Ayaan Ali talks about her journey from Islamic faith to atheism (to becoming an unbeliever, an “infidel,” in the mind of fanatic Muslims). She describes the horrendous experiences she had been through as a little girl, an adolescent, and as a young woman, before she decided to leave God (and after experiencing life in the Netherlands, the most liberal of all liberal societies). Her rise from a refugee to a being one of the most influential members of parliament -in record time- is one of the most fascinating socio-political narratives ever told.

Last movie watched? The last movie I watched was “Elegant Universe,” a documentary that describes the basics of String Theory (a new construct in physics that tries to explain new dimensions of the universe, building on, but going beyond, relativity and quantum physics).

Favorite TV Show? My favorite TV show is 60 Minutes.

What do you enjoy most about the start of the semester? What I enjoy most about a new semester (especially Fall) is meeting new people, especially new students, who come beaming with enthusiasm, curiosity and inquisitive minds.