August 2006
When Flyers unite
What
better way to start the fall athletic season than with a party? The athletics
department thought just that and hosted the Red Out Rally Thursday at
the corner of Kiefaber and Lawnview.
The
marching band began with a wildly spirited processional led by Rudy Flyer
and the Flyerettes that started at Stuart Hall, paraded around the bookstore
and wound down Lowes Street, leading a gathering crowd to the ArtStreet
Amphitheater, where they were greeted by what UD students love the most:
free food and cornhole.
The
party continued with food, drinks, music, games, raffles, give-aways and
even a wing-eating contest sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings. Several fall
coaches and players gave Flyer-spirited addresses in anticipation of the
upcoming seasons.
The event fired up Flyer pride and left players and fans alike with high
hopes, ready to follow football coach Mike
Kelly's advice to "shoot high." Every Flyer felt happy to
be home again.
A pocketful of 'gold'
"Excuse me … do you mind if I take your picture?"
In crowded St. Louis bars or at loud concerts, I took pictures of people
as part of my summer internship with The Riverfront Times, a
weekly St. Louis newspaper.
As a marketing intern, I used the picture-taking as an opportunity to
sign people up for a weekly newsletter. I also learned how to make cold
calls, manage a Web site and run events. But it was outside of the office
that I learned the internship's ultimate lesson -- every interaction is
an opportunity to network.
As soon as people saw the letters "RFT" on my shirt, they were
asking me questions. "How do I advertise with the paper?" "How
do I get you to take pictures at my bar?" I'd find someone to answer
them or, as I became more confident, I'd talk with them myself. When I
explained I was the summer intern, people offered advice and contacts
to aid me after graduation.
While I also learned -- like so many other interns -- how to make the
coffee, I was able to return to UD with a pocketful of business cards
of people who will be able to help me next summer.
Electric fish
"I always look for teachable moments. I never thought
I could have a teachable moment under the Stewart Street Bridge."
Geology
professor Donald Pair said this to the 15 University Honors students participating
in the River Stewards orientation program last week. They learned how
to protect and promote water resources throughout the Miami Valley on
a two-day canoe excursion down the Great Miami River from Taylorsville
Dam to Sunwatch Indian Village.
During a fish-shocking demonstration, students watched as spider-like
rods submerged in the river delivered jolts of electricity to unsuspecting
fish. Students scooped the fish into nets as a naturalist explained how
the health of fish can gauge the health of the river. She invited students
to touch the fish, then released the fish, unharmed, into the water.
In
previous years, the program — organized by the Fitz
Center for Leadership in Community — was for Berry Scholars
only but is now open to all University Honors students regardless of major.
The Rivers Institute aims to attract a wide range of students who are
dedicated to improving river awareness during their time at UD.
“The beauty of this program is that it allows students a unique
service-learning opportunity, no matter what their field of study is,”
said Anne Crecelius, student co-coordinator of the River Stewards program.
‘Why should you seek to be excellent?’
That was the question business professor Charles
Wells posed to the Class of 2010 at the new student convocation Monday,
the first day of classes. Then he answered his question with wisdom, self-deprecating
humor and an explanation of how they'll know they’re not in high
school anymore. You can read his remarks here
(PDF format).
Marycrest makeover
It's
a far cry from the old carpeting and circa 1960s pink-tiled walls.
The south wing of Marycrest Residence Hall, renovated this summer, welcomed
first-year students today as they lugged boxes and unloaded their belongings
into their new homes. The students residing in the south wing got new
carpeting, plumbing, windows, closets, and expanded and renovated bathrooms.
Resident advisers living in the wing really appreciated the renovations,
as they had experienced the "before" building. Sophomore Jenny
Diemunsch was particularly excited about the bathrooms.
"The
showers before were way too low to comfortably stand under, but these
new ones are great," she said.
The hallways have new carpet and freshly painted walls with burnished
block, which "won't be as susceptible to damages as other materials
used on walls," said Kathy Gerardi of 
facilities
planning and construction management.
The south wing lounges have also received a makeover, including new furniture.
(Click
for more photos and information.)
The south wing was phase one of the renovation plan. The north wing is
slated for renovation in summer 2007, and the central wing in summer 2008.
Six coats of paint, three houses, one day
Brad
Duncan and approximately 50 volunteers were up to the challenge.
"The housing situation in (Dayton's) Twin Towers (neighborhood) is bad
and getting worse," Duncan, professor in the department of electrical
and computer engineering, wrote in an e-mail message. "Many of the homes
are from the early 20th century. Foundations are cracking, homes are leaning
badly, porches are collapsing and old lead paint is coming off in sheets."
Owners of three of the neighborhood's worst houses were in a bind. Their
late 19th-century homes were run-down and dangerous, and they faced citations
from the city. However, they couldn't afford to fix them up.
That's where Duncan, other volunteers (like Jan Lepore-Jentleson ’'71,
right) and donations from local community groups, businesses and UD came
in. After power washing and scraping the exteriors
of the three houses last week, Duncan and the volunteers spent 12 hours
Saturday putting two coats of paint on each house.
One
of the residents, a little boy named Adrian (left), helped the crew at
his house.
"We want to be sure he lives in a safe home," Duncan said.
Wide-open view for Rudy's Fly-Buy
Recent
students knew Benisek Hall as the home of UD's department of public safety.
For an earlier generation of students, it housed The Bookstore, which
had no books but served many drinks.
When
public safety moved to the new College Park Center on Brown Street, the
building sat empty. Last week, it came down, giving Rudy's
Fly-Buy customers a good view of RecPlex from the patio out front.
The
lot will remain vacant pending the development of the University's new
master
plan.
New beginnings
Resident advisers are moving in. The marching band will
soon be practicing. Campus is springing to life. For some people, the
first day of classes each fall is as exciting as Christmas morning.
This summer, alumni welcomed new students to UD at picnics in 22 locations
across the country, including Puerto Rico, Boston, Chicago, Rochester,
Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Dallas, Buffalo, Detroit, Indianapolis,
Milwaukee, New York City, Pittsburgh, Toledo and Fort Wayne.
Worried
the new students might be nervous and reserved, Fort Wayne picnic hosts
Dennis and Marylou Hipskind, both 1972 graduates, welcomed guests with
a sign from Dennis' company, Three Rivers Barricade and Equipment.
"I think it kind of set the tone for the whole thing," said Dennis.
On campus, 21 African-American alumni met at the Alumni House Wednesday
to begin a year of coaching incoming Morton-Hathcock Leadership Scholars,
a new program offering enrichment opportunities to a select group of incoming
African-American students.
This time next week, the Class of 2010 will be well
into its new student orientation and getting ready for classes to start
bright and early at 8 a.m. the following Monday. And a new semester will
begin.
Burmese potholes
Greg Kaiser likens the Burmese health care system to Burmese
roads, which even in the largest city, Yangon, contain potholes 6 or 8
inches deep.
Kaiser, a senior marketing and operations management major, is helping
develop the first private health care system in Myanmar through a six-month
internship at Pun
Hlaing International Hospital. His job includes organizing a business-funded
employee benefits plan and training future hospital managers.
Here are some observations he e-mailed from Yangon:
•
There are monks everywhere, many of them only 10 or 12 years old. They
come through my neighborhood each day banging a gong as they take alms.
For special offerings, they all walk in a line from tallest to shortest,
and when they cross the street they may hold up traffic for many minutes.
• Most of the health care facilities in and around Yangon are unclean
and under-funded. ... Burmese health care and the Burmese government are
intertwined in many ways.
• I don't think I have had an evening with a steady flow of power
yet. Phones come and go. ... If you can get a dial tone, it is quite possible
that the phones are down for the party you are calling.
• Be careful when carrying something in both hands while wearing
a longyi.
If the longyi comes loose, you will look like a fool.
Where students really study
With
wireless access just about everywhere on campus, UD students can study
just about anywhere. But where do they actually study?
When UD's information technology group, UDit, measured wireless usage
during finals week at the end of spring semester, it found that three
of the top five spots for wireless access were campus laundry rooms. Who
says students can't multi-task?
Here are the top 10 spots for wireless use during finals week spring 2006,
as measured by the maximum number of simultaneous users at a given access
point:
1. Miriam Hall 101, a classroom
2. LTC Forum in the
basement of Roesch Library
3. Garden Apartments 343, a laundry room
4. Garden Apartments 363, also a laundry room
5. Marycrest south laundry room
6. The
Blend coffee shop in the LTC
7. Marianist Hall 200, a lounge and common learning space
8. Main lobby of Virginia W. Kettering Residence Hall
9. St. Joseph 221, a classroom
10. Marianist Hall 326, a lobby in the sophomore wing
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