The Office of the Vice President of Campus Life kicked off "Civitas Week" on Monday. The week will feature five days of events, presentations and initiatives aimed at promoting civility and respect on the AU campus, according to the office.
Several student organizations co-sponsored a voter registration drive held on the Quad. Students can still register today and tomorrow between noon and 5 p.m.
On Wednesday night, AU students gathered in Bender Arena for a speech by Dave Pallone, former major league umpire and author of the book "Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball." Pallone, who spent 18 years as a major league umpire, was eventually fired by the National League because of his sexual orientation.
In Pallone's speech to AU students and faculty, he stressed the importance of accepting human differences.
"Respecting others for who they are, no matter who they are - that's the key," he said. "Society, professional sports and collegiate sports make you live in a box," Pallone said, holding up a small wooden box. "If you don't fit in, they snap it shut. They don't want you. They don't want any part of you." He said that in some way or another, everyone lives in a box. "There isn't anyone in this room that doesn't have something that they're hiding from other people," he said.
Jason Trombley, vice president of the Student Confederation, thinks that Civitas Week has been a huge success. "I feel that the goal of Civitas, which is to get out and be friendly to others, has proved to be a successful week," Trombley said.
On Tuesday night, Housing and Dining Programs teamed up with catering company Bon Appetit to sponsor an "etiquette dinner" in the Terrace Dining Room from 5 to 8 p.m. Tables were draped with white tablecloths, and students tested their knowledge of proper table etiquette by taking a six-question quiz addressing everything from the proper way to eat soup to the correct placement of silverware on the table.
Information cards set up on the tables advised diners to sit up straight, sip soup from the side of the spoon and keep their hands on their laps or resting on the table while eating.
"The idea for the etiquette dinner arose from the Civitas Work Group, who thought that learning to behave in a polite, civil manner would be a good skill for students to have at both a personal and professional level," said Katsura Kurita-Beltz, chair of the Civitas Work Group and Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services director.
Sara Waldron, associate dean of students and a member of the Civitas Work Group, agreed on the importance of table manners.
"How you conduct yourself at a table means a lot," she said. "Our manners reflect on who we are - they create the impression others have of us. A lot of future job interviews could include a meeting over lunch or dinner."
Civitas Week, which concludes this Friday, will also feature a Wellness Fair and "Civitas Celebration" on the Quad on Thursday, and "Feed the City," an initiative to distribute food to the needy in the metro area.
The week also features competitions for the best-designed banners and the best-written "position papers" on civility, and the Residence Hall Association is encouraging students not to use profanity this week.
For more information on the Civitas campaign, visit the Web site at www.american.edu/ocl/vp/civitas.
