February 2008
A Quickly look at The Game
Had we been told that 58 points would be enough to beat XU, a lot of us would have liked our odds going into the game. The team effort was there, but it turned out to be too high a mountain to climb. Final score: 57-51, them.
Here's a look back at the game, from when the doors opened at noon to after the postgame coach's interview — four-and-a-half hours condensed to two minutes, 15 seconds.
Royal fan
Behind the mask of the UD King is one of the Flyers' most loyal fans.
"I was in the front row for every (men's basketball) game except the Xavier game two years ago," when a lottery randomly dumped him in other seats, said the student in the cape, tights and mask.
Senior engineering major Paul Mykytka made sure he'd be in front this Sunday — when UD takes on Xavier in UD Arena — by attending all the fall sporting events and racking up spirit points that determine men's basketball seat distribution.
"I have a lot of responsibility to get the fans riled up," he said. "My main goal is to help every fan to get excited and lead players to victory."
Graduating in May, Mykytka said the Xavier game marks his second to last home game in the Red Scare section. But he hopes that won't be the end of the UD King.
He's considering holding tryouts and passing down the uniform to keep the tradition alive. The most important requirement: attend enough spirit point events to be in the front row.
Spike speaks
“So, March 4. Buckeye State. Do the right thing.”
Spike Lee’s politically charged opening comments were greeted with roaring cheers and applause Monday evening as his speech concluded UD’s 2007-08 Diversity Lecture Series at the Schuster Center.
The theme of Lee’s talk was “The World Through My Lens.” Known for his outspoken disposition, he discussed politics as well as his journey from growing up in Brooklyn — the setting for many of his films — to becoming one of America’s premier independent filmmakers.
Lee’s fascination with cinema began during childhood when he and friends regularly spent all day at Saturday matinees.
“It was apparent to me that the richness of the African-American experience was not on the screen,” he said.
Lee credited his supportive family and college professors with helping him achieve his dream, and he encouraged young adults in the audience to follow their dreams, even if that means going against their parents’ wishes. He also fielded questions from the audience about his favorite “Spike Lee Joint,” the secret to staying on top and how he decides to pursue a story.
“Film chose me; I did not choose film,” he said. “I say my prayers every night because I’m doing what I love, which is making movies. I’d do it for free.”
My Old House: 226 L St.
Now just another house in the UD housing lottery, Zeta Tau Alpha alumnae may remember 226 L St. as home. It was the ZTA house until 2005.
UD stands for oud
Middle Eastern sounds filled Kennedy Union Boll Theatre Thursday when musician Simon Shaheen took the stage as part of the World Rhythms Series presented by Cityfolk and the UD Arts Series.
The Palestinian artist has goals of enriching the world with Arabic music and diminishing misconceptions of Middle Eastern culture. “We need to feel together with the Iraq people,” said Shaheen, who played violin and the oud, a traditional stringed instrument.
A mix of energetic and relaxing songs included “Dance Mediterranean,” where spiral sounds floated over percussion staccatos. Another song, with a repetitious and relaxing melody, served as a meditation to the crowd. The final song was fast-paced — incorporating guitar, bass, flute and percussion — and left the full house clapping to Shaheen’s oud.
Pleased to have shared his music, Shaheen said, “You know the University of Dayton is UD, and UD stands for oud.”
‘Streets’ dancing
Senior Monica Ginder danced her way through the past three weeks.
Between study groups, sorority commitments and an on-campus job, she fit in more than 10 hours a week preparing for this Saturday's concert at the Victoria Theatre with Rhythm in Shoes, Dayton's music and dance company. She joined the cast of eight dancers at the request of Sharon Leahy, Rhythm in Shoes artistic director and ArtStreet artist-in-resident.
Ginder dances in two pieces, “Streets of the Capitol” and “Greatest Hits.” She conveys the “Streets” story through wooden shoe dancing and stick fighting. The piece was inspired by the Bosnian civil war but contains themes that carry into modern battles.
“It really relates to today with all of the conflicts,” she said. “It will be easy to put emotion into it.”
The concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $21 for adults; students can get $10 discounted tickets at ArtStreet, with money due by noon Friday.
As a marketing major and theater minor, Ginder said she may not get to dance forever. For now, she is dancing five days a week through steps that will lead to the stage and applause before 1,100 seats.
Freedom fighters
“Our country is the beacon of freedom, and we are the champions of equality,” said Brant Goldstein, writer for the The New York Times and associate professor at New York Law School. “But there’s a place under the stairs where we don’t always follow our own rules.”
Speaking to students Thursday in the Kennedy Union ballroom, Goldstein highlighted the importance of human rights activism and suggested freedom doesn’t come free at all, but only when we put up a fight.
Referencing his personal involvement in a 1993 lawsuit, resulting in Guantanamo Bay’s temporary closure and the release of 300 detainees who had sought political asylum in the United States, his lecture focused on political rights of refugees fleeing from violent governments.
Goldstein, who spoke as part of Human Rights Week, suggested that just realizing a problem is not enough. We have a responsibility to protect the weak, and activism is the only way to stimulate change, he said.
“I’m not asking you to sue the U.S. government,” Goldstein said. “But you need to find your own ‘refugee,’ your own ‘Guantanamo Bay’ … Find the principle you’re willing to fight for, then fight.”
The ghost stories about the small and mysterious fifth floor of Founders Hall led me to the dorm where I lived freshman year.
“The joke is the steps don’t go all the way up,” Founders receptionist Teresa Mosher said. The stairs to the fifth floor are hidden behind a door on the fourth floor, away from the main stairwells of the building.
Today, 11 first-year women live on floor five, sharing a residential assistant with the south fourth floor. Fliers on hall walls indicate the residents' pride: “Founders, it’s not just a place, it’s a lifestyle.”
The few on floor five said they educate random students who seek to see if it does exist. “We get asked almost weekly,” said international studies major Jill Bucaro who, like the other residents, has heard ghostly sounds of two girls talking in the stairwell.
The residents are the newest members of this secret society. To illustrate, Susan Robins, a first-year dietetics major, led me to “The Chub.” The closet-sized room is now padlocked. Robins explained that the girls had found it opened and documented the findings on the social networking site Facebook. While they didn’t find ghosts, they did discover evidence of past floor five inhabitants, including names and graffiti from residents dating back to the ’70s.
Few may see the jewel of a floor within Founders, but the women know better. “They call it the attic, but we call it the penthouse,” Robins said.
Alumni Winter Weekend is back
Students dreamed it up, and now they've brought it back. The second edition of Alumni Winter Weekend, first held in 2006, brings students and alumni together on campus for three days of basketball, basketball and more basketball Feb. 15-17.
Mix and mingle with students and Flyers past and present at a Friday night reception. Apply what you've learned in the student/alumni 3-on-3 basketball tournament at RecPlex Saturday morning. Then benchmark your progress by watching the Flyer men's team take on Temple and the women's team take on Rhode Island Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Pregame events include a pep rally and a coach's chalk talk.
For more details, including registration information, click the image to download a PDF, or contact the Alumni House at 888-UD-ALUMS or 937-229-3299. Reservations and payment must be made by Feb. 8.
300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-1679
udquickly@udayton.edu • 937-229-3241