Roman Era Political Corruption Endures in Our Times

 Prof. Skentzis Making a Presentation at the Library

Dennis Skentzis, Professor of History at Truman College, today gave a moving speech about the Roman writer Tacitus. The presentation, hosted by Ray Cosgrove library, was titled “Tacitus: Romans Behaving Badly. “

             “We had Skentzis last year and he made a well received presentation about the Greek civilization,” said, Leone McDermott, Assistant Professor and Library Chairperson, who presented Skentzis, “and we asked him, this year, to give equal time to the Romans.”

Interim President Lynn Walker Chats with Prof. Skentzis After the Speech

The presentation began at 2 p.m. and attracted over 60 attendees including staff, faculty and students. Professor Skentzis used slides and a documentary video to aid his speech. He described Tacitus, whose full name is not even known, as a Roman governor, senator, an orator and most of all, a historian, whose work has inspired many who came after him.

Students Self-serve Snacks and Refreshments After the Presentation

Tacitus, the Professor said, “Wrote about the history of bygone Roman Republic periods,” rather than the then ruling emperors to save his career from the wrath of imperial tyrants. He, however, noted it was also freer to write during imperial Rome than Republican times.

Skentzis highlighted similarities of Roman era decadence and culture of political corruption to our own times.

The presentation lasted a little over half an hour and refreshments, and snacks were served both before and after the speech.

Inside Truman: How Much Are Students Utilizing Resources on Campus?

Laura Maciel Talks to  UIC Admission Counselor Amanda Williams as Another Student Waits on.

It’s amazing how time moves so fast. If you feel the semester began just in the third week of January and that we didn’t get anywhere yet, you need to think again. The most interesting news for you is that half of the semester is right behind us already. As we count down towards the end of spring 2011, we also need to reflect on campus events and about people around us who we usually don’t pay much attention to.

Many times we take for granted how much effort Truman staff spends to organize or help bring outside institutions to our campus, to expose students to relevant information and  as a result, to more opportunities.

Worse even, it’s important to ask whether we are taking full advantage of services that these outside organizations offer including information about transfers, campus life, scholarships and job opportunities after graduation.

Student Laura Maciel Talks to  UIC Admission Counselor Amanda Williams

At 11 a.m. today, I stopped by at two stands at the cafeteria entrance where female admission representatives from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and DeVry University answered questions about transfer and related opportunities at their respective schools.

Udamtsog Magsar stops at DeVry University Stand to Seek Transfer Information

Although the ladies were cheerful and prepared, both with answers, and with information brochures, very few passersby stopped by to ask them anything; I stayed there for half an hour, observing, and only three students stopped at either one of the two stands.

Is it because students are really busy to mind what happens on our campus or we have all the information we need to transfer to other schools, especially at a time when the District is studying why City Colleges of Chicago have such a low retention rate?

Next time you pass before the cafeteria, just observe how many students check out the fairs that are usually showcased there and think about how much gratitude we owe to those who made those resources available to us.