E-Lumine

April 7, 2006

Articles in this issue:

Scopes documentary on History Channel - Dr. Cornelius, Scopes Festival cast assisted in production. [ Article Below ]

Student chosen Tennessee College Republican vice chairman - Cooperation, communication goal for new officer [ Article Below ]

IT staff earns certification - Workers complete Microsoft programs [ Article Below ]

Construction update - Work continues on North Hall [ Article Below ]

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Scopes documentary on History Channel

A new documentary on the Scopes Trial, produced with the cooperation of Bryan College and the Rhea County community, will air on The History Channel Wednesday, April 12.
            “We were impressed with the production company’s attention to detail, even to the point of having a platform built outside the courthouse to film Darrow’s interrogation of Bryan, just like it happened in 1925,” Tom Davis, Bryan’s director of public information, said. “This is the first time that we have seen anyone do that.”
            “Scopes: The Battle over America’s Soul” will air on The History Channel April 12, at 9 p.m. eastern time, as part of a series titled “Ten Days that Unexpectedly Changed America.” The series runs April 9 to 13.
            According to the web site http://www.historychannel.com/10days The History Channel selected 10 teams of award-winning documentary filmmakers to spotlight “10 historic events that triggered seismic shifts in America’s political, cultural or social landscape.” The programs, including the one filmed in Dayton, include archival footage, reenactments, historic artifacts and interviews.
            Dr. Richard Cornelius, Bryan College Scopes liaison, served as a consultant to the production. Members of the cast of the annual Scopes Festival reenactment cast, including faculty members Dr. Ray Legg as William Jennings Bryan and Dr. Ron Petitte as Judge John Raulston had parts in the film.
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Student chosen Tennessee College Republican vice chairman

Political communications major Jonathan Bryant was elected vice chairman of the Tennessee College Republicans during the organization’s convention in March.
Jonathan, a sophomore from Winchester, Ky., said his role as vice chairman will be to facilitate cooperation and communication between different clubs across the state, and to help college students become involved with Republican candidates in the fall elections.
Political activism is nothing new for Jonathan. “I worked my first campaign at 12 years old,” he said. “My dad was campaign manager for a guy in our church who was running for the Kentucky senate. It got in my blood and I couldn’t get it out.”
During the College Republicans’ convention, Bryan had the same number of votes as Vanderbilt and the Middle Tennessee State University, much larger schools, because of the number of Bryan students in the campus organization.
“When we sent 100 people to Florida to campaign in the ’04 election, that prepared us to be a strong club,” he explained. “We registered more than 300 people for the College Republicans that year. We have been building on outreach. For example, a bunch of us went to Virginia to work in the fall governor’s race, and 10 went to the College Political Action convention this semester. We’ve developed leadership and numbers, and that has helped our strength statewide.”
Although nothing in politics is guaranteed, Jonathan stands first in line to become state College Republican chairman during his senior year.
Jonathan Bryant, right, speaks with other Tennessee College Republican leaders during the State convention.
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IT staff earns certification

Five members of the Information Technology department completed Microsoft certification programs recently, and were honored during a reception April 4. Pictured, from left, are Steve Paulson, database administrator; Stefon Gray, director of IT services; Dan Evans, helpdesk technician; James Sullivan, technician; and Jason Wasser, network administrator. Each completed the Microsoft Certified Professional program, and Mr. Gray completed Microsoft certification as a systems administrator, systems engineer and ComptTIA Security +.
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Construction update

   Masons are nearing completion of interior walls on the first floor of North Hall, as the picture below shows. What looked like a huge open space just a few weeks ago now is taking on the appearance of a residence hall. Electricians and plumbers are working with the masons as the first floor takes shape.
   Upstairs on the second floor, pictured above, most of the preliminary work has been done to prepare for the concrete floor to be poured, and workers are pushing ahead on the third and fourth floors.
   Check the Bryan College web site www.bryan.edu/construction.html for regular photo updates on construction progress.