Clarion 1997-05-12 Vol. 72 No. 13

              Variety:
pages 11
Different Voices
The National Teacher of the
Year speaks to Bethel.
Arts:
_page7
Variety:
page 14
Concerto/Aria Winners
Students on their way to a
musical career.
Seniority
Seniors speak on the Bethel
Experience and give advice.
Monday, May 12,1997
NEWSPAPER OF BETHEL COLLEGE
Volume72 • Number 13
Learning by doing
Clarion/ Photo hy Naomi Pierre
Students from Dr. Becknell's "Environmental Writing"
class planted a tree for Arbor Day on April 25. The
day originated in 1872 with a Nebraskan who planted
trees to conserve the soil. Dr. Becknell said this planting was an act of hope as well as an effort to conserve soil.
Lawsuit dismissed
Ramsey County judge dismisses claims
from a former student and Bethel
By John Groh
News Editor
The lawsuit brought
against Bethel College and
Seminary by former student
Andrea Sisam has been dismissed as well as Bethel's
counterclaim.
Judge Paulette Flynn dismissed all six counts of
Sisam's complaint and
Bethel's counterclaim, stating
in her court order, "A complaint should be dismissed if
it appears to a certainty that no
facts... exist which would support granting the relief demanded."
Thomas Hutchinson,
Bethel's attorney, said he was
pleased the lawsuit was dismissed on all counts. "Essentially the court has ruled that
the plaintiff should never have
brought this lawsuit in the first
place," he said in a prepared
statement. "Our position has
always been that the college
has done nothing improper
that could justify a lawsuit. It
would appear the court
agrees."
Sisam had filed and served
a six count complaint alleging
breach of contract, misrepresentation/fraud, negligence,
estoppel, and RICO claims
against Bethel College and
Seminary.
College president George
Brushaber stated, "We clearly
expected the judge to dismiss
these unfounded charges."
Bethel countered this class action lawsuit with a counterclaim alleging libel and abuse
of process.
The plaintiff's breech of
contract claim was dismissed,
according to the court order,
because the complaint "failed
to state a breech of contract
claim upon which a relief
could be granted."
"We believe the judge's ruling is an affirmation of our
mission and the proper execution of that mission in the
classroom," said Brushaber.
"Breech on contract claims
between a student and universities must be based on allegations that the educational institution failed to provide specifically promised educational
services, such as failure to offer classes or failure to deliver
a promised number of instruction hours," stated the court
order.
The court order said the
plaintiffs' claim is more of an
attack on the quality of educational experience provided
by Bethel than a claim that
Bethel failed to provide services.
Sisam claimed Bethel broke
it's contract with her in its
"Covenant for Life Together"
when professors used books
and films that she alleges to be
pornographic. In the covenant
Bethel prohibits the possession
and use of pornographic material by students.
This covenant is incorporated into Bethel's most recent
continued on page 2
Flood means war for some, carpentry for others
How the flood reaches Bethel students
By Tesha Christensen
Staff Writer
The Red River Valley flooding has hit too close to home
for several Bethel students
from Fargo and Grand Forks.
Fargo
"They have dirt dykes in the
middle of the roads. It's just
amazing. I've never seen so
many sandbags in my life,"
observed freshman Julie
Turner, who visited her home
town of Fargo April 25-27 for
the first time since interim.
Turner returned to her
hometown to see the destruction for herself and to make
sure her friends and family
were safe. "Going there you
just realize what an impact na
ture has," she said.
"The flood was a war,"
Turner said. "Once it's gone
the cleanup will be even
worse." The friends she
couldn't reach by telephone
were out of their houses. Another had water lapping his
deck where there used to be a
sloping lawn.
In spite of this, Turner is
grateful. "We did get water in
our basements, but we're
thankful we're not Grand
Forks," she said.
Turner's cousin, Alisha
Forbes, is a high school senior
from Grand Forks. Forbes is
waiting at the Turner home
with her parents missing the
last month of her senior year.
"[Forbes] told me 'I had things
planned up to May 25th [day
of graduation],'" said Turner.
"Now she has nothing to do."
Prom was postponed and no
one's signing yearbooks or attending graduation open
houses.
Grand Forks
"Our town will never be the
same," said freshman Sarah
Wenzel of Grand Forks. She
hasn't been able to travel home
yet, but already knows it'll be
hard once finals are over and
she is back for the summer.
Wenzel's basement flooded.
"My room is gone," she said.
Her summer employment at a
grocery store is lying beneath
the river, too. She doesn't
know if she can still work there
because they need a lot of
Associated Press/ Photo by John Gaps III
Sightseers walk past a washed out portion of a county road
after flooding near East Grand Forks, Minnesota.
cleaning and rebuilding.
Sophmore Andy Bakken
has lived his whole life in the
western part of Grand Forks.
He feels like he should have
helped out in Grand Forks, but
he couldn't because the city
closed up.
Bakken's home previously
continued on page 2