Students Gain Despite the Rain During Study Skein in ‘Sunny’ Spain Professor’s Family Learns Forgiveness (On Oct. 24, 1990, Michael Cousens, director of the University’s Center for Science Education, died when his van was struck by another by Charlie Schill vehicle. One month later, Jeffrey S. he world is a classroom to John Z. Kartchner — the Spanish-speaking world, that is. For 15 years, Mr. Kartchner, an assistant professor of foreign languages at Weber State, has been improving the conversational fluency of Spanish students by leading them on study tours of Spain, Mexico and South America. The most recent excursion took place last spring, when Mr. Kartchner and 29 students spent five weeks in Salamanca, Spain, a trip the professor says was his “most successful ever.” “Tn traditional classroom settings, the students’ conversational partners are their professors and fellow students — not an ideal way to become fluent in any language,” Mr. Kartchner says. “On an intensive languagestudy tour like the one we made to Spain last spring, students are immersed in the language. Their conversational partners are native speakers who the students live and work with day in and day out.” Over the years, Mr. Kartchner has been fine-tuning his study tours to improve their educational value. Rachelle Carlson, a Spanish major from Morgan County, says this year’s excursion was very effective. “The trip taught me things about the Spanish language and people that I never expected,” Mrs. Carlson says. “Spain was very different than I imagined it to be.” Mr. Kartchner says the keys to success were preparation and dedication. Ze Powell was found guilty of automobile homicide. It was Mr. Powell's third alcohol-related driving offense and he was sentenced to serve up to five years in the Utah State Prison. In this article, Tim Gurrister describes how Dr. Cousens’ wife and daughters have responded to their tragic loss.) by Tim Gurrister /, SHOWERED STUDENTS—University students get soaked by Spain’s summer ra in during a study-abroad program. Professor John Rartchner says, “Every tree ... seemed to drip with history and culture, not just rain.’ “This was a first-time program for students who want to teach Spanish or work in a profession where proficiency in the language is required,” Mr. Kartchner says. “It allowed someone who already has acquired basic classroom skills in Spanish to earn additional credit for completing conversational exercises in Spain and studying Spanish culture and civilization.” Rather than spending a full quarter in Spain, Mr. Kartchner taught seminars on campus before and after the tour. “The cost of staying overseas for a full quarter was prohibitive,” Mr. Kartchner says. “Teaching some of the time at Weber State allowed us to better prepare for living in Spain, capitalize on the students’ experiences after the trip, and hold down expenses.” Mr. Kartchner urged his students to speak nothing but Spanish during the tour. Although only one student managed to achieve this goal, most spoke Spanish 50 to 75 percent of the time they were overseas. While staying in Salamanca, the students lived with Spanish host families and spent about half of each day studying with professors from the College of Spain. The remainder of their time was devoted to developing conversational language skills through a series of extracurricular assignments. Mr. Kartchner says students toured historic sites, shopped for household items in tiny specialty stores, taught American games to Spanish youngsters and interviewed native Spanish-speaking professionals. Students were required to keep journals of their experiences, written in Spanish. Some of the journals ran more than 100 pages. Not all of the tour went as planned, Mr. Kartchner says. Students who expected sunny weather were greeted by unseasonable rain and snow. Mr. Kartchner cancelled plans for his students to perform community service work and conduct guided tours, in Spanish, for their classmates because of a lack of time. Other aspects of the studytour worked well. Mrs. Carlson says Classes taught by professors from Spain provided the best language instruction she’s ever received. She praised the experience as a “wonderful way to learn about Spanish history, art and culture.” Mr. Kartchner says, “In a traditional classroom, you leam about Spanish culture and literature by reading. But if you’re in Spain, you can see where an author or artist lived; you can understand how he grew and developed; and what colored his attitudes. Every tree we walked under in Spain seemed to drip with history and culture, not just rain.” @ cute little girl approach4 esa burly man and puts (. “i_her arms around him, sharing one of those big familial hugs that little girls do, nestling her head against his chest. Both of them smile. The girl’s mother stands next to them, beaming, her eyes moist with tears. “No contact,” says a corrections officer sternly, as he separates Jeff Powell, formerly of Ogden, now a Utah State Prison inmate, from 10-year-old Holly Cousens, at the conclusion of his parole hearing at the prison. For security reasons, inmates are banned from physical contact with outsiders. In October 1990, Mr. Powell lost control of his vehicle and rolled it into a van driven by Holly’s 46-year-old father, Michael Cousens, director of the Widow Marlene Cousens University’s Center for Science Education. Dr. Cousens died almost instantly. Mr. Powell’s blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit. Holly, now 10, suffered head injuries, including inner ear damage that affects her balance, and broken teeth for which she still is undergoing dental reconstruction. Of the four people in the van, Holly’s 12-year-old sister Heidi was the least injured, suffering only bruises and scrapes. Heidi applied her first-aid training on her dying father and assisted her sister and grandfather, whose legs were crushed under the Refuses It wasn’t easy for Marlene Cousens to forgive her husband’s killer, but she decided it was the most important thing she could do for her children. “We could be victims of anger our whole lives,” Mrs. dashboard. Mr. Powell was convicted of automobile homicide — his third alcohol-related driving offense — and sentenced to zero-to-five years in the prison. One year later, most of the physical and emotional injuries of the accident have healed. Holly hugged the 30-year-old Powell — now a friend of the family — at the parole hearing where he was granted a release date of Jan. 26, 1993. The granting of parole followed sympathetic testimony from Mrs. Cousens, who works in the University’s freshman support services department. to Become Cousens says. “But healing doesn’t come through anger.” Mrs. Cousens’ testimony at a parole hearing last year helped win an early release for Jeffrey F. Powell, convicted of automobile homicide in the a ‘Victim death of her husband. Mrs. Cousens says many have criticized her for helping Mr. Powell. “They expected me to go She said Mr. Powell “deeply believes he made a mistake or I would never have allowed him to meet my children and my elderly father.” Before his prison term began, Mr. Powell attended the Cousens girls’ basketball games, trying to provide some semblance of the father figure he had taken from them, she said. “Having Jeff in prison doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t think he’s an angry, vicious or unkind person. He’s a religious person. He’s a person who’s very unhappy and needs counseling help he can’t get in prison.” While the Cousens have become friends with Mr. Powell, Mrs. Cousens said the friendship has not been a panacea for all their pain. The two daughters are still in counseling to deal with the trauma of the wreck, and Mrs. Cousens has had to cope with the loss of a companion. “We were married for 25 years. We had goals,” she said. “None of us will ever be the same. That includes Jeff and his family.” @ Tim Gurrister is a reporter for the Standard-Examiner. This article is an edited version of a story that originally appeared in his newspaper on Sept. 14, 199 . of Anger’ ‘Let it go.’ There’s nothing we could do that could make him feel any worse. If I keep pursuing it, it will only harm my children.” = for blood, to sue him for a mil- lion dollars,” she says. “I say, 23