Professor Appointed

Professor Appointed to Library of Congress Education Panel

SIU Daily Egyptian By BARTON LORIMOR

When he first came to SIUC as a student in 1961, Jerry Hostetler said he spent most of his time in the basement of Morris Library.

But the associate professor of education said Tuesday he now spends more time in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama and Congressman Jerry Costello appointed Hostetler to the Professional-Development Curriculum, a panel charged to instruct teachers how to access the library's digital resources and use them in K-12 classrooms.

"Professor Hostetler will provide a talented and experienced voice to ensure the success of this innovative effort," Obama said in a Tuesday news release.

The panel, made up of 14 teachers from across the nation, will report about the value of using primary source material - accounts of a historic event documented at the time of its happening - in K-12 classes, according to a news release from the library.

The report is scheduled for presentation at the National Education Computing Conference in June 2009.

"One of the great benefits of my job is I get to go to Washington (D.C.) a couple times a year," said Hostetler, who has earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate from SIUC.

Hostetler said some of the congressional archives that have been made available online include pictures of southern Illinois during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Hostetler said he began working with digital resources at SIUC in 2002 through the Teaching with Primary Sources program. He said at that time, the Library of Congress had 5 million digitized materials instead of the 14 million it has now.

Five years ago, Hostetler began working for the College of Education and Human Services to teach graduate students how to locate and download digital resources and use them in their classrooms.

Hostetler also served as director of the university's Regional Center for Distance Learning when it formed in 1996.

The panel members, who met in person for the first time in October, want to find a way to communicate online, Hostetler said.

Obama testy

Obama testy with media on Halloween
Grows visibly annoyed when pursued during walk with daughter

CHICAGO - Democrat Barack Obama got annoyed with the media Friday as he tried to walk down a Chicago street with his 7-year-old daughter, Sasha, who was dressed up in a shiny costume for Halloween.

A pool of national photographers, reporters and a video crew traveling with Obama quickly covered the spontaneous moment.

"All right guys, that's enough," said Obama, wearing a casual outfit and sunglasses in the early evening.

He and his daughter were walking right toward the media on a public street.

"You got a shot," he told the photographers. "Leave us alone. Come on, guys."

He told the media to get back on the bus, referring to the vehicle where the traveling press pool often waits for him.

Obama then crossed the street with Sasha. At least one video cameraman who was not part of Obama's traveling press corps followed him for a while. Obama grew visibly irritated

He and his daughter were walking right toward the media on a public street.

"You got a shot," he told the photographers. "Leave us alone. Come on, guys."

He told the media to get back on the bus, referring to the vehicle where the traveling press pool often waits for him.

Obama then crossed the street with Sasha. At least one video cameraman who was not part of Obama's traveling press corps followed him for a while. Obama grew visibly irritated.

US Government defends

Government defends holding al-Qaida suspect

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A lower court should be able to resolve a challenge to President Bush's authority to detain the only suspected enemy combatant held on U.S. soil, the federal government said in a brief filed Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Gregory Garre wrote that a challenge by Ali al-Marri of his enemy combatant designation can be resolved in federal court in South Carolina, where he is detained. Recently, former generals and U.S. Justice Department officials filed briefs on his behalf exhorting the high court to review Bush administration authority to continue holding the Qatar native as an enemy combatant.

Al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, has been held in solitary confinement at a U.S. Navy brig near Charleston since 2003. He was living in Illinois when he was arrested by the FBI in December 2001 as a material witness to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.