LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 25, 2003 - 3 . .. .. Students weigh merits of service classes Orpheus Singers to perform concert at Music School Jerry Blackstone, the Music School's director of choirs, will lead the Orpheus Singers in a concert tonight at 8 p.m. The event will be held in the Music School Recital Hall. Astronomy buffs to congregate at observatory The University Lowbrow Astronomers will host an open house this Saturday from 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Local astronomy buffs can head to the Peach Mountain Observatory on North Territorial Road in Dexter. The event is free and depends on clear weather. Bring your own tele- scope. Pagan chant night offers open mic to rookies All are invited to join the Seven Generations Community Center in "Chant Night," to learn, recite and sing pagan chants like "Fur and Feather" and "Blood of the Ancients." If you have a chant, please bring handouts for everyone. The event will be 8 p.m. Friday at the center on 1910 Hill St. Students receive chance to pine over holiday decor The Michigan Union will be offering students time to create pinecone wreaths for the holiday season. Beginning tonight from 7:30 to 11, ArtsBreak will be held in the basement of the Union. Arts exhibit will feature fiberarts, artisan guild An arts show highlighting the fibers media will wrap up its exhibits today beginning at 8 a.m. in the Wall Gallery in the Pierpont Commons. Featuring the works of artisans of the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild, the show contains weaving, spinning, basket making, beading, quilting, surface design and doll making. The showing is presented by sponsored by the Pierpont Com- mons. Film portrays flight attendants in 1950s Asia The film Air Hostess will be shown in room B-120 of the Mod- ern Languages Building at 1 p.m. Sunday. Sponsored by the Cinema Guild, the free film encapsulates the atmosphere of late-1950s Taiwan and Thailand in a tale of three women who work as air hostesses. Directed by Yi Wen, the movie is about 105 minutes long. 'U' museum will feature poetry reading, no art The University of Michigan Muse- um of Art will observe the 15th annual Day Without Art on Dec. 1, beginning at 5 p.m. The day coincides with the World AIDS Day and features a poetry reading that recalls the deaths and illness caused by the AIDS virus and reflects on personal loss. Band to perform concert on Bach, Corigliano The Concert Band will perform pieces by Shostakovich, Schuller, Bach and Corigliano tonight in the Michigan Theater. Sponsored by the School of Music, the performance begins at 8 p.m. and is conducted by Stephen Davis. The Concert Band is an ensemble of about 80 undergraduate and graduate music majors. Buddhist teachers instruct on how a to find zen By Lindsey Paterson Daily Staff Reporter Community service is a pursuit that benefits society while at the same time providing self-ful- fillment - so wouldn't it be great to also receive school credit for it? Some students agree whole- heartedly while others think the credits aren't worth the work. This winter term, several courses grant credits for performing community service. The classes' curricula involve working with preschool children, traveling to Detroit schools to mentor students and going to women's prisons to study the lives of women before and during incarceration. Psychology 211, also called Project Outreach, is a two-credit course that has five different sections, with topics including "Working with Preschool Children; Big Sibs: Community and Opportunity; Juvenile Delinquency and Criminal Justice; Health, Illness and Society; and Exploring Careers." All of these sections include a weekly seminar, discussion and four to six hours of field experience per week. LSA junior Lindsay Sutton took Psychology 211's Health and Big Sibs courses last fall and win- ter. As a pre-pharmacy major, she found that the health course was more applicable to her interests. Sutton was assigned to the emergency room and the Women's Breast Care Clinic in St. Joseph's Hospital in Ann Arbor. She was given duties such as changing the sheets in the emergency room, and said that it was "very high-paced." "I learned more from the clinical settings (the class lectures) than the field experience. We had guest lecturers and registered nurses that spoke. They really wanted the students to learn," Sut- ton said. Sutton said she thinks that two credits is a fair amount for this course but warns students that it is a lot of work. While there are no tests or quizzes, there are weekly journals - and hours of fieldwork. "If you are really interested in it, it is worth the two credits, but if you are trying to get more cred- its, you may end up working more than you get credit for," Sutton said. More information about Psy- chology 211's courses is available "Experien at www.umich.edu/-psy- cours/21 1. of intellec Sociology 389, "Project Com- learning. I munity," is another course that offers credits for community 'rich and t service.1 . ,, Thiseclass is three to four cred- learning. its and requires the corresponding - S weekly hours of community serv- Director, Lives o ice in addition to a weekly semi- nar, weekly readings and journal assignments, a midterm assignment and a final] paper or project. Project Community offers more than 35 service settings, including "schools, hospi- tals, correctional facilities, a domestic violence < shelter, advocacy agencies, and care organizations," according to the LSA 2004 Course Guide.E Freshmen are urged to look into the first-year seminar University Course 151, Section 4, which grants three credits in conjunction with the program LUCY - Lives of Urban Children and Youth. The program not only consists of this course but also i encourages first- and second-year students to make a two-year commitment to LUCY. Students in this class have two weekly require-t ments - to attend a seminar and to perform four to < six hours of community service at one of four com-t munity sites in Detroit. "Experience is part of intellectual learning. I call it 'rich and textured learning,"' LUCY Director Stella Raudenbush said. The students serve as men- tors and tutors to children in grades K-12 through after-school and in-school programs. "It's really, really exciting. Not only do the students study the sociology and history of Detroit, but they work first hand and affect the ce is part tual call it extured Stella Raudenbush of Urban Children and Youth life prospects of children in Detroit," Raudenbush added. Participants in Section 20 of Women's Studies 484 also work with primary and sec- ondary school students - in a partnership with students from Wayne State University - and spend time with mid- dle school girls. The program is also called "GO-GIRL: Gaining Options: Girls Many students who said they would be inter- ested in these courses are simply unaware that they exist. LSA sophomore Kevin Francies said, "I'm as interested in community service as the next per- son." He said that he did not know that these cours- es were available but now plans to take Psychology 211 since he is a psychology major. LSA freshman Jill Setter was also unaware of the community service courses. She thought that a class that volunteered at a children's ward of a hos- pital would be worthwhile. Setter added that she was interested in the health topics since she intends on becoming a dental hygienist. But the credits granted for these courses may be inadequate for the amount of work involved. LSA junior Sabrina Claude said that the two service classes she had completed had this problem. Claude took Sociology 389 and worked with the Ann Arbor Tenants Union in fall 2001, and again in winter 2003 when she worked with the Full Circle Mental Health Center. The Ann Arbor Tenants Union required more than four hours per week of outside work, plus class time and other outside assignments. The Full Circle work entailed three hours of community service per week, an hour and a half of class time, and two hours of outside work per credit. "We were definitely doing more than three cred- its worth of work," Claude said. She added that she thought it should be a four-credit course. Most classes are willing to work with students regarding transportation. Please see the Winter 2004 Course Guide for more details, prerequisites and restrictions regarding the community service classes. Investigate Real Life." GO-GIRL emphasizes the importance of math for middle school girls and encourages undergradu- ate students to enrich the lives of these impression- able females. The program hopes that by sharing experiences of higher education, college students will persuade seventh graders to follow in their footsteps. This course meets 10 Saturdays during the semester, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 or 3:30 p.m., depend- ing on travel time needed. Women's Studies 333, Women in Prison, is another community service class offered this win- ter. It focuses on women's lives before, during and after prison, specifically the "oppression" plaguing their lives, according to the Course Guide. Organization surprises campus with random acts of kindness A different look at laundry y* By Bartosz Kumor For the Daily If you happen to be strolling through Ann Arbor minding your own business, be on the lookout - good will is on the prowl. Members of Do Random Acts of Kindness, a serv- ice-oriented campus organization, may ambush you with balloons, candy, hot chocolate, nice notes and a general ran- dom assortment of kindness. "It feels so good to brighten someone's day," said Stephanie LaGrasso, co-director of the group. Asking for nothing in return and often remaining completely anony- mous, the group is responsible for numerous acts of kind- ness occurring both on and off campus. Just this semester, DoRAK members say they have spent an estimated 500 hours "RAKing." "We gave cookies to people at the blood drive. Last year we RAKed the dancers at Dance Marathon with back massagers, candy and gum," said LaGrasso, an Education junior. Last winter, the group passed out hot chocolate on the Diag. This year's football game against Purdue was RAKed with noise-makers. On Sunday, DoRAK's target was the Meijer store on Ann Arbor Saline Road. RAKers assisted employees in bagging groceries, while customers found random nice notes in carts, among other RAKs, leaving most recipients scratch- ing their heads and smiling simultaneously. But while the group has come far, its origins were hum- ble. DoRAK was born in the fall of 2001 as a committee within Circle K, another University service organization. Now an independent organization that boasts 84 members, DoRAK is making its mark on campus and beyond. The group never expected to become as large as it is, said LSA senior Anne Kellogg, who is also one of the founders of the group. "We were practicing for our first mass meeting, expecting three people to show up. Sixty- five did." Both of the group's directors admit they would not be sur- prised if other RAK clubs appeared around the country. In Colorado, a Random Acts of Kindness Foundation performs tasks similar to the campus group, but on a much larger scale. The foundation's website boasts worldwide chapters and allows users to post inspirational quotes and stories. "Ran- dom acts of kindness has brought meaning into my life, and I am committed to spread the word," wrote Carol, a Hawaii state parent facilitator. Like the foundation's members, DoRAK is more a way of life than an extra-curricular activity. "Once you realize how easy this is, you start doing it all the time," said Kellogg, also adding that she plans to take this philosophy past the University by incorporating it into her daily life after she graduates. Circle K President Payal Patel, LSA senior, is impressed with DoRAK's progress thus far. "That's a really cool thing DoRAK did. It's great for Cir- cle K, because a lot of these groups sprouted from us, and our mission is to develop in people a commitment to serv- ice," said Patel, who is also a captain in DoRAK. "If they can, we encourage people to go out and do their own thing." Both directors said they are hoping to cause a ripple effect with their work, in which one RAK spawns another and the good will spreads. Measuring their successes in smiles rather than money or votes, DoRAK members are generating quite a response from people they have affected. In one of the grateful letters DoRAK received so far, a Michigan alum wrote, "Finding parking on campus is hard! I really appreciated coming from my seminar at the Busi- ness School to find that I indeed did not have a ticket on my car - thanks for feeding my meter!" Asked if the commitment to DoRAK is exhausting LaGrasse said, "No, the group is well-organized and has more people now than it used to." She added, "It's worth it. It's fun." Putting into perspective just how addictive anonymous random kindness can be, Kellogg said, "I do DoRAK before homework." JONATHON TRIEST/Daily Kinesiology senior Bryan Fenster does laundry at Mr. Stadium Coin Laundry & Dry Cleaning yesterday afternoon. CLASSES Continued from Page 1 ability of classrooms as well." While recent budget cuts have taken a toll on the University, Nurse said that they have not affected course offering in LSA. "In budget discussions last year, Dean Terry McDonald, LSA made sure that undergraduate education was protected. It may not be readily apparent, but additional resources were earmarked for courses in high demand." But Amy Roust, Student Services Assistant in the Romance Language Department, sent out an e-mail to Spanish concentrators Friday requesting that students not plan- ning to remain in upper-level cours- es drop them so others could register. Most upper-level Spanish classes were closed by Friday afternoon, one day after registration for under- graduates began. BECKY TARLAU/For the Daily Florida residents and many University students participate in the Miami protests and march over the weekend. Interested in getting ahead of your peers? Gain marketing and advertising experience at one of the best student papers in the country!!! Most important of all: Earn some dough in between classes! The Michigan Daily Classified Department is hiring Account Executives for Winter 2004 - Fall 2005. Drop by: The Michigan Daily at 420 Maynard ARRESTS Continued from Page 1 ple, women and people of color. Goldstein said police tore the clothes off a transgendered activist; Sobin said police took the shoes of an arrested transgendered activist and forced him to stand in a wet prison cell. Goldstein said one female pro- tester was forced to perform sexual favors in prison. Goldstein, an LSA senior, said that although the event at Oneline Studio was originally scheduled as a celebration of Moment's second should do is have a benefit for these detained individuals," he said. Goldstein said the journal is part of the independent media movement around the country. "Although it's not official yet, Moment is a progressive journal that is a print media outlet for Indy- media.org," Goldstein said. Submissions include poetry, essays, news analysis and artwork. He added that once the finances of Moment are finalized, the con- nection between Indymedia and Moment will be official. Moment distributes around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and plans to