The digital magazine for faculty, staff, students and friends of Pensacola State College
June 17, 2020
In light of the country's current racial tensions, Pensacola State is presenting a students-only town hall "Living Room Conversation on Racism.” Set for 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, the event will have as its moderators Dr. Rameca Vincent Leary (at left in photo), PSC Coordinator of Diversity Initiatives, and Dr. Liz Moseley (at right), director of the College's Student Resource Center for ADA Services.

Students will receive information from Student Engagement about how to register and join the conversation.

"In the United States, there is a long history of discrimination against people of color, and this history is still affecting all sectors of our society today in harmful ways," said Moseley. “Human beings have a tendency to form groups, and this leads to attitudes about ‘us’ and ‘them.’ We will always need to educate ourselves about how to avoid bias against people and groups that we see as being ‘different.’” 

“There are so many emotions that the College, nation, and world are feeling," Leary said. "That is why we must not evade the issue of racism. It must be addressed. There are wounds that need to be healed, voices to be heard. We must continue the conversation and work together to seek positive change."

Mary Mabins spoke with Leary and Moseley about the town hall event and filed this report.

AFC Member Spotlight for June: Dr. Michael Payne
The Pensacola State College chapter of the Association of Florida Colleges is looking to the amazing faculty of the College for this month’s Spotlight. 

Dr. Michael Payne, Assistant Professor, BAS, Business, has made a big impact within AFC and at the College during his somewhat short time here, which is why he was selected as the June Member Spotlight. Payne began his career at PSC at the beginning of 2018 and joined AFC at the same time. He says that as soon as he met Obi Kalu , AFC President-elect, and Tammy Henderson, AFC Vice President of Membership-elect, during his faculty orientation, he knew they were people he wanted to be around. He completed his AFC membership application that day. 

Payne’s interest in the association grew after he attended the 2018 annual conference in Orlando and was able to experience all AFC has to offer employees of the Florida College System . He threw his hat in the ring to become the 2019 PSC Chapter Legislative Representative . His reign as Legislative Representative, however, was cut short because of a death in his family, requiring him to step down. Nonetheless, he has continued to be an active member at every level in the chapter. When his schedule allows, he attends general membership meetings, socials, professional development sessions and legislative updates presented by the chapter.
Even when he is unable to attend in person, he offers his service in other capacities, such as hauling donation items around campus, washing cars on the weekend, purchasing fundraiser items or assisting with graduation flower sales. Chapter President Mel Miner said, “Dr. Payne’s support of the chapter activities and mission is invaluable. I know I can always count on him to reach out and offer assistance or to write a letter of recommendation for other members being nominated for AFC State awards. He, himself, was a finalist for the 2019 Faculty Commission Professor of the Year award.”

Payne said his favorite part of being involved with the association was, “How it ties dozens of buildings, with multitudes of disparate subject matter experts in administration, faculty, service and more, into a tight-knit family. When you join AFC, the inner workings are revealed of how Pensacola State College brings world-class education to the most deserving students. Our students are here and succeeding, despite worldly challenges, because every cog in the PSC AFC machine is zoned in on that effort. I feel family and kinship on our common path.”

Please contact Melonie Miner , 2019-20 Chapter President to recommend an AFC member for the monthly spotlight.
PSC Student Engagement Office offers online activities to stay engaged
The PSC Office of Student Engagement & Leadership has created some virtual events to help you stay engaged! Participate in these virtual events by liking the Student Engagement & Leadership Facebook page ( facebook.com/pscpirateslife) or Instagram ( @pscpirateslife).

The weekly Trivia Thursday will be posted at noon on Thursday, June 18. The Digital Escape Room will be posted at 1 p.m. on June 18. The theme of this week's Digital Escape Room will be "Sherlock Holmes: The Musical."
PSC's Charlie Schuler relishes classic beauty
Humanities professor relinquishes his classes for the lure of the beach
Charlie Schuler seeks the beauty of the world, whether in art, language or the lonely sea.

The Pensacola State College humanities professor teaches students the classics and educates them on the Latin history of Greece and Rome, as well as philosophy, art and the elements of academics that provide a certain refinement to education.

But Schuler isn’t teaching this summer. The beach is calling. 

The lifelong surfer, who lives on Pensacola Beach, is spending as much time as possible enjoying the Gulf of Mexico. (In January, Schuler placed third in the Men’s Longboard category at the Waterboyz Winter Classic.)

“We had a good run," Schuler said of the previous day’s surf. “There’s just something people about leaving the shore and being out there in the ocean with the dolphins and pelicans. It’s a beautiful escape from a mundane world.” 

It’s the same beauty Schuler tries to instill in his teaching.

He recalled what a Japanese engineering friend said when Schuler asked the man why he was teaching his children Latin.

“He said ‘It adds elegance to your education,'" Schuler said. “And that’s a perfect answer.” 

Schuler has been a Pensacola State College instructor since 1990, after previously teaching Latin at Escambia High School. In 1989, he was named the Escambia County School District Teacher of the Year.

A graduate of Choctawhatchee High School, Schuler would go on to attend the historically black college ─ South Carolina State University ─ on a swimming scholarship. He was one of the few white students at the school, and his experience prompted him to write a novel based on his experience at the university. He attended the school just three years after the infamous “Orangeburg Massacre” when South Carolina law enforcement officers killed two university students and a high school student who were protesting the segregation of a local bowling alley. 

“It was ugly times," said the 67-year-old Schuler. “My novel is about race relations. I’ve been working on it forever.” 

Schuler attended South Carolina State University for two years before transferring to Florida State University, which is where he decided to pursue a career in education. 

He said he knows that some students only take humanities courses because they’re required, or because they think it will help get them into law school or medical school. 

“I tell them if they think Latin is going to help them (get into law or medical school), there are lots of doctors and lawyers who have never taken Latin. But it does help with English grammar, since 80 percent of English comes from Latin. And students get exposure to the Greco-Roman world, which has contributed significantly to our own culture. They’re exposed to art, literature, music, philosophy and language that helps them understand their own world.” 

And the elegance of that world.

“If they’re interested in something we’ve studied in class, hopefully they’ll go back and read and research more," Schuler said. “In Humanities of the Western World, they’re learning about everything from Gregorian chants to jazz music. They learn about the elements that give beauty to the world.” 

-- Troy Moon