Barry H. Waldman fell in love with the movies, interestingly enough, because of radio.

He used to do radio in high school, but when he got to the University of Miami in 1981, his interest started to wane.

He took one film class, and that was it: “I got hooked, I never went back to radio again,” he said.

Now, 17 years after graduating, Waldman is an executive producer in Hollywood.

He has worked on such films as Pearl Harbor, Armageddon and The Rock, and works regularly with Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, two of Hollywood’s biggest action filmmakers.

“I view the business and career advancement as a master plan-where you start and where you want to get to,” Waldman said.

His latest release was Pearl Harbor, one of 2001’s biggest blockbusters-it has, according to filmonline.com, brought in $198.25 million so far.

Other projects with Bruckheimer films include Gone in 60 Seconds and Armageddon.

Waldman’s latest project is a new film called Down and Under, shot in Sydney and the Australian Outback, and it is scheduled be released in August.

Early in March, Waldman paid a visit to the Cosford Cinema on the Coral Gables campus to participate in the School of Communication’s Communication Week as a panelist discussing working in the film business.

There, for the better part of an hour, along with fellow alumni Jay Tobias and Matt Stein, Waldman talked to students and shared advice on how to make it big in ‘showbiz’.

His first post-UM job was a low-budget horror movie. He was hired as the second assistant director and unit production manager, but those were “titles only,” Waldman said.

“I still picked up the donuts everyday on the way to work while I drove the one winnebago to and from the set. I also had the duty of emptying it at night so we didn’t have to pay the dump fees,” he said.

“It was a long road from graduation to producing, including a couple of turns and U-turns,” Waldman added.

He continued his production career working on a documentary about the war between the Sandinistas and Contras. His work earned him membership into the Director’s Guild of America.

“When I decided it was time to move on to L.A., I made a list of everyone I knew to let them know I was ready to work,” he said.

Finally, Columbia Pictures hired him to work on his first studio movie, The Craft.

“The low budget films in LA are a perfect vehicle to get experience and move up in the business,” Waldman said.

His big break came when he called a producer with whom he had kept in touch and found out about the new movie he was working on-The Rock.

“It was my big chance to step into an A-list picture and show everyone I could handle a big show like this. It was amazing, to experience something on that level,” Waldman said.

“To be standing on the set and see Sean Connery standing in front of you and realize what a great opportunity I had was amazing.”

Waldman describes his current job of executive producer as “riding the fence” between the studio and the filmmakers.

“I work with the director and producer to take their creative vision and translate it to the actual making of the movie,” he said. “I have to insure that we’re all making the same movie.”

Waldman suggests students listen to the professors-both in and out of lectures:

“Ralph Clemente was my favorite professor. I found that Ralph told a lot of stories about the film business, and using that as a guide I would remember some of those stories as I was starting out in my career.”

 CANES FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASES STUDENT FILMMAKERS’ TALENT

Although it’s more than 5,000 miles away from its more famous cousin in Cannes, France, the University of Miami’s Canes Film Festival also showcases the works of talented filmmakers.
What: Free and open to the public, the Canes Film Festival will showcase more than 50 short films and documentaries written and directed by students in the University of Miami’s graduate and undergraduate film programs. Films featured in the festival cover a wide variety of genres and were shot on locations ranging from Miami to Honduras to Moscow. The festival will also feature readings of scripts from students in the screenwriting program. Sample films include “Mooncalf,” a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”; “In the Banya,” a story about female relationships shot on location in Moscow; “Advent,” a futuristic look at the evolution of the human race; and “Seeking: Ginger,” a comic ‘dance-ical’ about two senior citizens looking for love.

When:
6 – 10 pm, Fri., April 26
6 – 10 pm, Sat., April 27
5 – 10 pm, Sun., April 28

Where: The Bill Cosford Cinema Second floor, Memorial Building University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus Contact: For schedule, directions or more information, call the University of Miami Motion Pictures Department at (305) 284-6902 or visit www.canesfilmfestival.com. Contact: Heather Sokolow at (305) 662-7154 or (305) 284-6902

 DISCOUNT PARKING SPACES ADDED

Beginning Fall 2002, the UM will offer 1,800 discount parking spaces at the Ponce Garage, Metro Lots North and South, Red Road Lots North and South, and Scodella and Liguria Lots, each with fast, convenient Hurry ‘Cane Shuttle service to points across campus. These discounted permits can be purchased when Parking Permits go on sale Monday, July 29. Questions? Call 305-284-3096, option 1.

 UM RECEIVES $500,000 GIFT TO FIGHT
BREAST CANCER

UM’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and The Taylor Breast Health Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital received a $500,000 gift from the Avon Foundation yesterday. The gift comes from The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and will fund research, diagnosis, treatment, and education of women in underserved communities. Judith Hurley, M.D., director of oncology clinics at JMH and a member of the breast cancer site-based disease group at UM/Sylvester, is the primary beneficiary of the gift.

 ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY INC. ‘S
BIRTHDAY

Alpha kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Iota Nu chapter is celebrating its 27th birthday on April 30, 2002.

APRIL IS NATIONAL STI AWARENESS MONTH

The Wellness Center will be distributing condoms and educational information in the Breezeway every Thursday during April between 11-a.m.-1p.m. to celebrate national STI Month. For more information on STI’s or condoms distribution, please contact 305-284-6524.

MENINGITIS VACCINATION CLINICS OFFERED IN
BREEZEWAY

Vaccines will be offered at the Student Health Center throughout the month of April for students who could not attend clinics.

PONCE GARAGE CLOSING FOR CONSTRUCTION

The Ponce Garage will be closed to all traffic and parking as of Friday, May 3, due to construction, which includes adding two floors of parking. The project is expected to be completed by August 2002. Alternate parking will be available at Coral Gables Municipal Lots 42 and 43, on Ponce de Leon Blvd. across the street from the Ponce Garage and Mark Light Baseball Stadium, as well as the Scodella, Liguria, Albenga, and Red Road North and South Lots. The Hub of the Hurry ‘Cane Shuttle service will relocate from
the Ponce Garage to the Metro North Lot. At the conclusion of the spring semester, shuttle service will operate its normal summer schedule and routes, excluding the Ponce Garage. For further information contact the Parking Department at 305-284-3096, option #1, or visit http://www.miami.edu/parking.

Sign-up for on-campus housing!

Today

Finals are approaching and so is crunch-time stress. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your studies, we can help! Join the folks at the Wellness Center for a relaxing day of movies and popcorn at the center Atrium. For more information contact 305-284-6524.

Looking for Spiritual Enrichment? Campus Advent will be having a Fellowship service today at 8p.m. at Mahoney-Pearson classroom. Join us for enlightening bib
le discussion.

Friday groove on Patio from 11:30a.m.-1p.m.
Happy Hour at the Rat from 4:30-8p.m.
Finals Fiesta from 4-6p.m.
Classes End at 11p.m.!

Saturday April 27

The School of Architecture and the UM Student Council is hosting a symposium titled Downtown Renaissance: New York Perspectives, 1 – 5 p.m., today at the Lowe Art Museum. Panelist include Terence Riley of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Raymond Gastil, Van Alen Institute; Steve Kovats, Intertwilight, New York; and Alex Cooper of Cooper Robertson & Partners, New York. The event is free and open to the public. For reservations and more information call 305-284-3438.

The University of Miami Honor Council sanctioned at least 11 students for plagiarism between the spring semester of 2001 and spring 2002, according to Honor Council records provided to the Hurricane.

At least six students were charged with cheating, however, most of the rulings were overturned on appeal.

Citing the Buckley Amendment, the federal statute that protects students’ academic information, UM administrators have said they cannot discuss the cases.

However, William Sandler, Jr., Dean of Students and Secretary of the Honor Council, has said the Council has seen an increase of plagiarism cases in recent years, largely because of the Internet.

All of the students accused of plagiarism plead guilty, according to records. Four of the students accused of cheating plead not guilty.

One of the students charged with plagiarism was Andre Johnson, UM’s famed wide receiver who was named co-MVP at the Rose Bowl.

Johnson, a sophomore, was found guilty for plagiarizing in a sociology paper last fall.

In February, the five-student panel suspended Johnson for a year.

The Council’s Selection and Appeals Committee-then made up of former student government president Jose “Pepi” Diaz, Dr. Patricia Whitely, Vice President of Student Affairs, and Vice Provost Perry Lee Roberts-slashed the ruling to two summer sessions.

The much-publicized Johnson case-which was first reported in the Miami New Times-sent shock waves through the administration and thrust into the spotlight what some faculty members say is the often-rocky relationship between academics and the athletic department.

Another of the student offenders, a freshman, was charged with two counts of plagiarism for buying two papers on the Internet, according to the memos.

The Council voted to expel the student, but the sanction was lowered to a year on appeal.

Three of the other offenders were juniors, three were sophomores, and another was a first-year transfer student, the reports show. Two were seniors. They were all charged with one count of plagiarism.

Some of the Council rulings included three one-year suspensions, three one-semester suspensions and one two-summer session suspensions.

Most punishments were coupled with final disciplinary probations, mandatory attendance of workshops on ethics, as well as writing term papers on plagiarism and cheating.

At least nine of the Council rulings were reduced on appeal. At least two were not appealed.

The mitigated sentences included one-semester suspensions, final disciplinary probations, and summer suspensions.

At least six of the cheating cases involved four juniors, one senior and one sophomore. Four of the students plead not guilty.

The Council voted to expel one of the juniors and the appeals committee upheld it. Another junior and the senior were acquitted. The other two juniors were punished with final disciplinary probation, an ethics workshop and community service.

The Council punished the sophomore with final disciplinary probation and required that he attend an ethics workshop. Upon appeal, the sophomore was given a lesser sentence-disciplinary probation.

Sandler said on Wednesday afternoon that one more Council case was before the appeals committee. At press time, Sandler had not returned phone calls to clarify what type of charges the student had faced.

Although the economy is on the upswing, it doesn’t seem to be enticing enough for UM’s graduating seniors. Most seniors interviewed by the Hurricane chose to continue their academic career at graduate school instead of jumping into the precarious job market.

“I am going to grad school because I feel I still have a lot to learn. Also the job market is not at its best,” said Gigi Frias, who is majoring in photography and psychology.

Frias, 20, will head off to Syracuse University to take part in their New Media program this fall.

“I went job searching and I saw what was out there. Grad school came first,” she said. “I am terrified of not getting a job.”

Mark Puskarich, 22, a public relations and political science major, felt the same way.

“I hope to find a job,” Puskarich said. “Sometimes if you get hired, the company will pay for your graduate work, so I’m hoping to be in a situation where a company will pay for my graduate work, if I decide to go.”

Twenty-two-year-old Marilisa Jimenez, a journalism and English literature major, already decided to go on to graduate school after being accepted into a masters program at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

But even Jimenez will be at home this fall.

“I’m deferring and going there a year from now,” Jimenez said. “It’s pretty expensive and I need to work for a while.”

Jimenez hopes to get a doctorate and become and English Professor.

Another English major, Alex Matzinger, 21, feels graduate school is the way to go, but for other reasons..

“I’ll go to graduate school,” Matzinger said. You can’t do too much with an English degree, if you don’t want to teach.”

Public relations and graphic designs major Tina Moyerman, 21, was one of the only seniors interviewed brave enough to test the job market.

“For right now, I’m staying until August and hopefully finding a job either down here or up north in the northeast,” Moyerman said. “With the market the way it is, it’s a little difficult to find a job.”

Ultimately, Moyerman would like to remain an undergraduate.

“I don’t want to leave. If someone would volunteer to pay for another semester I would stay. I just can’t afford it. You got to go sometime,” Moyerman said.

Puskarich, on the other hand, felt it was time for graduation.

“I’m actually very excited. I’ve been counting down the days until graduation since March,” Puskarich said. “I’m ready to leave college, I’ve enjoyed my time here, but in a way, I’m kind of burnt out-papers, lectures, text books, projects.”

The graduating seniors had a handful of advice for next year’s senior class.

“Prepare. Make sure you know whether you’re considering grad school from early on,” Frias said.

Jimenez had a list of “don’ts” for soon-to-be-seniors.

“Don’t mess up your GPA. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something-it’s trying, but it’s worth it,” she said.

One would think that the 2001-2002 school year was more eventful than previous ones.
Or maybe the Hurricane just reported it all this time.
Regardless, looking back there were a lot of watershed events that occurred and that the Hurricane staff covered this school year-from 9/11 and all of its fallout to the closing of the five-year-old school of International Studies to the two tragic student deaths.
President Donna E. Shalala probably had no idea what she was going to be in for.
In her first year, she was celebrated at her inauguration and yelled at on her birthday, she elected UM’s first African-American undergraduate dean and dealt with two sex scandal lawsuits against the university.
It was an eventful year.
The Miami Hurricane staff has compiled a list of all the top stories that hit UM this year .

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

UM’s office of admission was so successful in their recruitment for fall 2001 that the freshman class this year was the largest ever. However, this record admission-46 percent of applicants-meant that some students were left without on campus housing. Displaced students-mostly returning students-were housed temporarily in the Holiday Inn, the Terrace Inn, Building 34, guest apartments, and residence hall study lounges. By Labor Day weekend all of the students in alternative housing were relocated into the residential colleges.

SEPTEMBER 11

Terrorists crashed three planes into two of the buildings heralded as monuments to the American way of life. The world and all of its occupants changed that day.
UM students sat glued to their televisions, cell phones to their ears, as phone lines internationally were tied up and people tried desperately to make sure all their loved ones were still okay.
President Shalala, administration, and students alike sprung to action to preserve the safety and wellbeing that were lost that day. Shalala issued a statement asking students not to let these terrorist activities disrupt their lives; extra counseling services were set up for grieving students; and some put together a candlelight vigil for peace.
One of the results of 9/11 was the sudden and vengeful turn against Muslims and the Islamic faith. At UM, female Muslim students were harassed in the UC and blamed for the terrorist activities. The School of Engineering received threatening phone calls about their Muslim and Arab students and any student looking remotely Middle-Eastern or Indian had to deal with dirty looks and side-long glances.
Another scare hitting South Florida was anthrax. Just 60 miles away in Boca Raton, Fl., the first threat of bio-terrorism at the American Media, Inc. occurred on Oct. 5.

AEPi

In late September, 2001, students associated with Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity allegedly asked residents of Hecht residential college an inappropriate question-“What are we going to do about these damned Arabs?”-and after that the Hurricane and AEPi became involved in an interesting chain of events that led to the suspension of two AEPi brothers and the probation of another. AEPi members failed to prevent news of their alleged indiscretion from being published in the Hurricane and then, 90 percent of those Oct. 5 issues of the newspaper were stolen from the news stands. Three days later, a representative from AEPi confessed to the theft and returned the missing papers to the office of the Dean of Students. The three students sanctioned for the theft were also forced to pay the Miami Hurricane restitution for the stolen papers.

Construction

All year long, the University of Miami has been in a state of renovation and construction. The Rock was tiled and benches were added all over campus. Extra lighting and a traffic circle were installed on San Amaro Dr. to increase safety on the street. Construction for the new convocation center was and is still taking place as is renovation of the Otto G. Richter Library. The Pavia parking lot shut down and the Pavia parking garage is in the midst of going up. Construction for the Pearson garage will begin in May.

THE DEATH
OF CHAD MEREDITH

Freshman, Chad Meredith, died while swimming in Lake Osceola on campus early Nov. 5 morning during the aftermath of Hurricane Michelle. Meredith, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, had been swimming with friends and had been drinking the night before. It was ruled an accidental death with the choppy lake waters, heavy winds, and alcohol consumption as possible factors in the drowning.

INAUGURATION

Students, administration, benefactors and Florida governor Jeb Bush and Edna C. Shalala [the president’s mother] were on hand for the combined celebration of UM’s 75th anniversary and President Shalala’s inauguration. Although there was the threat of bad weather, the sun shone on Shalala’s official ceremony and the food and festivities that followed.

HOMECOMING

Homecoming 2001 held all of the traditions that UM holds dearly in greater reverence because of the tragic events earlier in the semester. It was also considered especially important because it was the university’s 75th homecoming. The theme was Storm Watch. Erin Fowler was crowned Miss UM and Cory Cain Mr. UM.

‘CANES WIN
THE ROSEBOWL

After completing a perfect 11-0 season under the tutelage of first year head coach Larry Coker, the Hurricanes went to Pasadena and completely dominated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 37-14. Ken Dorsey hooked up with his Co-MVP Andre Johnson for two touchdowns. The ‘Canes never looked back from their 34-0 lead at halftime.
On Jan. 25 the city of Miami honored the football champions with a tickertape parade through the streets of Miami. After the parade, UM had their own celebration complete with fireworks and live music for the ‘Canes on the green. President George W. Bush even beamed in via video to congratulate the team.

SEX SCANDALS AT UM

Toppel Career Center employee, Mariselly Chiroldes; two former Toppel employees, Dulce Ramirez-Damon and Francesca Escoto-Zavala; and sophomore Nicole Pytel sued the University of Miami in three sexual harassment lawsuits-two against former Toppel director, Michael Gage and the other against football team employees.
Gage was accused of blatant use of Internet pornography websites and the football team co-workers of disgusting and offensive behavior such as various comments on the size of Pytel’s breasts and the type of underwear she was wearing.
Chiroldes valued the damages she and her newborn baby incurred at $1 million while Ramirez-Damon and Escoto-Zavala sought damages in excess of $15,000. University Relations would not comment on the lawsuits.

STUDENT FALLS
IN RESIDENT COLLEGE,
PARALYZED

Transfer student, Maria Paola Ramirez, fell from the fire escape of Mahoney Residential College early in Feb. 2002 and was paralyzed. Ramirez was rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center and was then transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital. According to Amber Lee Condray who found Ramirez lying on the floor, Ramirez told her she had been drinking at the time of the accident.

SCHOOL OF
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
DISSOLVED

In the second week of February, UM administrators announced that the school of International Studies would be dissolved and reincarnated as a department within the larger college of Arts and Sciences. This was the second time in the school’s history that a school has been dissolved. President Shalala gave better financial support for international studies as one of the reasons for the dissolution. On Shalala’s birthday, Feb. 14, angry students from SIS confronted the president about her decision, which they felt was not made on their behalf. SIS students protested and went through the official channels to try to abort Shalala’s plans to close the school. But in the end the president won out and as of next semester, there will be no more school of International Studies.

LINEBACKER DIES
IN CAR CRASH

Senior linebacker Chris Campbell, 21, died in a car crash while driving drunk on Feb. 16, 2002 at a Coral Gables intersection. Joel Rodriguez, who was in the car with Campbell at the time of the accident, left the scene with a punctured lung and a few broken ribs. Campbell was a liberal arts major from Pleasant, Texas and was slated to graduate this May. He was awarded posthumously with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.

MIKE JOHNSTON
ELECTED
AS SG PRESIDENT

Seasoned student government member, Michael Johnston, was signed in as Student Government President on March 29. He had already held positions as Freshman Senator, Chief of Staff and Speaker of the Senate. Johnston, a junior, ran on the ticket A Change in U…’Cause it’s Time with Justine Levine and Mahala Dar who won their respective races as SG Vice President and Treasurer.

WIDE RECEIVER
ACCUSED OF
PREFERENTIAL
TREATMENT BY
HONOR COUNCIL

Sophomore wide receiver Andre Johnson was caught plagiarizing in an anthropology course and given the required one-year suspension laid out by the Honor Council. However, on appeal, the Honor Council’s Selections and Appeals Committee-made up of the Vice Provost, the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Student Government President-reduced his sentence to suspension for the upcoming summer sessions. Johnson’s story began a rash of complaints by faculty and students who felt that student athletes received preferential treatment from UM administration.

NEW
ARTS AND SCIENCES
DEAN HIRED

Dr. James Wyche was hired as the new Dean of Arts and Sciences-UM’s first African-American undergraduate dean. Wyche held positions as president of Tougaloo College, and professor and associate provost at Brown University. He comes to UM with a background in sciences although his work as the executive director of the Leadership Alliance-a consortium of 23 colleges and universities, including leading research institutions, historically black colleges and six Ivy league schools-has given him a lot of experience in other academic areas.

FORMER SG
PRESIDENT WINS
FLORIDA STUDENT
OF THE YEAR

Jose “Pepi” Diaz, Student Government President for 2001-2002 won the award for Florida College Student Leader of the Year from Florida Leader magazine. Diaz, 21,is UM’s first recipient of the prestigious award and also the first Hispanic-American to ever receive it. He will graduate this May and go on to graduate school at Columbia University.