November 2006

Division of Criminal Justice & Legal Studies
An October 25th lecture entitled “Women and Equality…not just a women’s issue,” featured Roslyn Muraskin, Ph.D., adjunct professor at John Jay College and well known author on the subject of criminal justice. Professor Keith Carrington, Ph.D. and Professor Antoinette Collarini-Schlossberg, Ph.D. moderated the event, which was part of  the Dean’s Lecture series; 280 students and faculty participated.

Professors Carrington and Collarini-Schlossberg also moderated the November 29th presentation in the Lecture Series, which was entitled “Sexual Assault, Harassment and Domestic Violence.” Detective Lydia Martinez, Special Victims Liaison Unit of the New York City Police Department and Assistant Professor Mary Noe, J.D., addressed the 160 students and faculty in attendance. 

On November 27, 2006 students from the Staten Island Moot Court Club presented oral arguments in the semester’s final moot court competition. The panel of judges, which included newly appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Legal Studies Ralph Porzio, J.D., gave students high marks for their responsiveness to questions regarding the government’s warrant-less search of email communications. The Moot Court Club is moderated by Adjunct Assistant Professor Ellen Boegel. J.D.

Division of Mass Communications, Journalism, TV and Film
Students and faculty from CPS and St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences engaged in a semester-long, co-curricular project to create a multimedia advertising campaign intended to combat the growing problem of underage drinking. 

On November 29, the St. John’s team submitted its ideas to the Albany-based New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), which had invited 13 select New York colleges to participate in a $2 million State-sponsored marketing competition to curb drinking among underage college students.

The winning school, the State University at Albany, was announced at a December 13th OASAS banquet at Albany’s Desmond Hotel. Their campaign will be developed by professional advertising agency Sawchuck Brown and rolled out on college campuses and across various media throughout the state next year. 

The St. John’s campaign, with the slogan “…24/7,” will be launched on campus on January 19th in a “no-use alcohol” event, says Associate Professor Thom McCarthy of the Department of Communications Journalism and Media Studies. He adds that the TV, radio and print ads will appear in University media, including the University website and The Torch, and will also be shared with local communities.

In addition, a “sober24-7.com” website will be launched and t-shirts and water bottles with “…24/7” labels will be distributed. Posters will be displayed around St. John’s campuses.

CPS students who worked on creating the campaign are enrolled in Advertising Strategies, Radio Production, TV Production, Advertising Copywriting II, Web Design and Typography classes; a number of students from the Web Design and the Advanced Typography classes in St. John’s College Department of Fine Arts were part of the collaborative team. The TV and Radio Clubs also contributed. Faculty overseeing the project included Professor Frank Brady, Ph.D., Associate Professors Judith Cramer, Ph.D. and Thom McCarthy, and Assistant Professors Alla Baeva and John DiMarco, all from the Department of Communications, Journalism and Media Studies. Assistant Professors Aaris Sherin and Liz DeLuna of St. John’s College Fine Arts faculty also contributed their guidance and skills.

Dean’s Office
On September 23, 2006, as part of St. John’s University’s Annual Service Day, the College of Professional Studies participated in two separate events. Dean Kathleen MacDonald and Associate Dean Nancy McGeveran joined an ad hoc knitting circle to produce colorful woolen afghans for battered women and caps for newborns. The idea for the project came from alumna, Ines Glick, co-founder of Care To Knit, Inc. (http://www.caretoknit.org/ ) an organization that provides hand-knitted and crocheted items to people in shelters, hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. All items created by the St. John’s knitters will be donated to Care To Knit, which is located in Deer Park, NY, for distribution 

Seven staff members from the Dean’s Office recently volunteered their time at the Castle Senior Living facility in Forest Hills. Among other tasks, they helped serve lunch, played trivia games and visited with the residents. It was a very rewarding day for everyone involved.