March 2008
Life blood
Shelby Quinlivan ’06 is popular.
"I'm O negative," she says of her universal blood type, "so they like me a lot."
Quinlivan was a frequent blood donor even before she became public relations specialist for the Community Blood Center in Dayton March 3. She's in the gold club, donating at least five times a year. "I'm sure it's more now that they're down the hall from me," she says. "They know where to find me."
She loves her position, working alongside people with the same mission: to save lives. Among her jobs is drumming up participation for local drives, like the one held monthly on UD's campus. The goal for the next drive — 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, March 31, at RecPlex — is at least 80 donations from faculty, staff and students, who will each receive a T-shirt and Buffalo Wild Wings coupon.
Quinlivan first donated blood at her high school drive when she turned 18. "Someone came in and talked about how beneficial donating was," she says. "They told me I was going to be saving three lives. You can’t really turn that down."
My Old House: 418 Lowes St.
Jeanine Forsythe ’02 wrote in looking for her mother's cake pan, accidentally left in her old house. The six seniors took up the hunt.
'What's in Your Fridge?' and other tales from UD
Have 150 channels, but nothing's on? Then log on to Flyer TV, which in mid-January began broadcasting its lineup — campus news, game shows and more — online 24 hours a day.
Some programming highlights:
* "Experimental Chefs" — Becca and Amy cook delicious meals that every college student could make.
* "Can You Dance?" — UD students have a weekly dance-off and raise money to benefit the international spring breakout trips.
* "Date My Roommate" — One student asks three potential dates questions to determine who he or she will go out with.
* "What's in Your Fridge?" — A variety show featuring segments such as Planet Dayton, UD Crime Logs and Grind My Gears.
* "Modern Girl's Guide to College" — Dee and Tracie talk about everything from music to fashion, and interview a "guy of the week" to get the man's perspective.
"I've had family members watch. Many alumni have been able to watch, too, and love it," said Tracie Johnson, Flyer TV co-manager. "There are still a few kinks to work out, but that's what happens with any new system. But, I personally have heard nothing but positive comments about our new capabilities."
The fanatics
The morning before, a radio commentator called it "that silly play-in game in Dayton."
8,464 basketball fans would like to disagree.
Except for a swath of Mount St. Mary's fans and a smattering of supporters from Coppin State, those at last night's NCAA game at UD Arena were there for the love of basketball.
Kids hanged over the iron rails to slap the hands of players they had never heard of. A Dayton fan walked by the Mount student section asking, "Where are you guys from?" (The answer: Maryland, the same state as Coppin).
The crowd exploded equally when Mount forward Shawn Atumpem sailed above the basket and stuffed in two points as when a perfect inbound play left Coppin's Tywain McKee open for a soaring three. Rows of red-shirted Flyer fans — who either couldn’t break a habit or figured it was a neutral color against Coppin's yellow and Mount's blue — cheered skillful plays, booed bad calls and moaned missed free throws.
Both teams will probably hate me, but I was rooting for a close game, as were all the fans in the rows around me. The teams didn’t disappoint, trading baskets all the way to the final minutes amid the fans' ovation.
And March Madness has just begun.
Jumping out of bed, airplanes
Lisa Acton rolls out of bed four times a week at 5:15 a.m. Her mission? As a senior battalion commander, she leads Army ROTC battle drills on campus at 6 a.m. before other students are up for classes.
Some days the cadets run 5 miles. Other days, they do ruck marches with 40-pound sacks on their backs. Acton uses this as training for a half-marathon she’ll be running this month.
One of nine women and 60 UD cadets, Acton recently received the George C. Marshall Award, given annually to the outstanding UD cadet.
Acton, a public relations major with minors in military science and sociology, has traveled the country for training. Last summer she was a public affairs intern in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and went to airborne school in Fort Benning, Ga. “It’s a challenge every day, but by the time 8 o’clock rolls around, I’ve accomplished something while most people aren’t even out of bed yet.”
My Old House: 40 Woodland Ave.
Four seniors — and their beta fish — call it home this year.
Snowy day, but no snow day
Some scenes of the snow around campus today. The National Weather Service says a foot of snow is possible by tomorrow afternoon. Still, classes went on as scheduled.
An advertiser’s dream
A two-page digital camera ad prompted Adam Alonzo’s purchase. His motivation: to take pictures every day.
He has kept his promise. On his Web site, Alonzo ’93 has posted five pictures a day since he purchased the camera in 2004. Highlights of his 2007 work are on display in the Roesch Library Gallery through April 27.
Most are snapshots of daily life. “I try to see the remarkable in an ordinary scene,” he said.
Alonzo developed his photography skills through practice and classes at UD, a benefit of working at Roesch Library.
Everywhere he walks — to and from work, around campus on lunch breaks — he carries his camera. “UD has a good source of images and a lot of picturesque places, like Serenity Pines and the chapel,” he said.
Photography has become an intricate part of Alonzo’s life; “I never knew it existed, and now I couldn't live without it.”
Which leaves him with one question: “What if I had seen an ad for scuba equipment?”
Treasured tresses
Freshman Katelyn Diehl nervously giggled — as a stylist measured 6 inches of hair — 
and then gasped when her thick brown ponytail fell to the floor. Diehl held her locks one last time, smiling, and then handed them over to be mailed to Florida.
Diehl’s donation of hair was just one of 65 made to Student Government Association’s annual Locks of Love cut-a-thon Monday. It was held at Ashworth’s Beauty Group on Brown Street, whose stylists donated their expertise to give free cuts and styles in exchange for at least 6 inches of hair. SGA members placed donations in plastic bags and ran them over to a table to be measured. “Wow, 15-and-a-half inches,” two members exclaimed at one of the longest locks.
The event raised 34 feet of hair for the nonprofit Locks of Love, which makes wigs for children experiencing hair loss. It had taken a lot to convince students like Diehl to go under the scissors, but she walked out happy with her donation and new ’do.
“I have two aunts who are beauticians and could have done this for me for free,” Diehl said. “I did it here because I knew it was for a good cause.”
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