September 2007

Blues to use

"Do you guys have the blues?" New Orleans musician J.D. Hill asked the crowd as he sat down to his harmonica and tambourine, which he played with his foot. Hill was one of the first in 2006 to purchase a New Orleans Habitat for Humanity home, part of the Musicians' Village that grew from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

The performance was the kickoff event to the 15th annual Humanities Symposium, held last Friday in Sears Recital Hall. Following the jam session, Inman Houston, associate pastor of global impact at the First Baptist Church in New Orleans, spoke on the long process of rebuilding. "Faith-based organizations are capable of having a profound impact," he said. His church was blessed in being just high enough to avoid the worst of the flooding, so "we feel like we need to devote a huge amount of our resources to rebuilding."

He held photos of pastel-colored houses owned by Hill and others. "It's amazing what can happen when faith communities ban together to make a difference," Houston said.

While Hill's band, the Jammers, did not accompany him to Dayton, fellow New Orleans musician Kenny Holladay played guitar along with UD's own Eric Suttman on bass. The group transitioned to ArtStreet for an encore performance, adding junior Alex Hoffman on the drums and more students to the crowd.

by Johnnie Kling ’09 9-28-07

My Old House: 36 Evanston

Five seniors opted for a Marianist house instead of the housing lottery. They keep it clean, cook with fresh produce and even regularly have dinner guests. Oh, did we mention they're guys?

by Liz Sidor ’08 9-25-07

Amazing grace

After a poignant rendition of "Amazing Grace," Father Chris Wittmann, S.M., turned to Garrett Loiselle's family and embraced them with his words, "We know that your grief continues, and we pray that our prayers will support you," he said. "All the ties of friendship, faith and affection that knit us together through life don't unravel at death."

Their 22-year-old son died May 12 during a spring trip to Daytona Beach, Fla., of natural causes related to an enlarged heart. He had graduated from UD just six days earlier. Wittmann presided over a memorial Mass in Daytona Beach just a day after Loiselle's death, but this was the first time the family gathered with the UD community in the chapel to mourn and celebrate their son's life. Their daughter, Lauren, is a junior.

About 100 people, mostly students, processed over to Serenity Pines garden following the Sept. 16 Mass to help bless a leaf engraved with Garrett's name and reflect on his abbreviated life. George Snyder, evening circulation supervisor at the Zimmerman Law Library, called Garrett "a treasure for all of us who knew him. I will remember that smile and those sparkling eyes."

Through tears, Paula Loiselle, Garrett's mother, answered, "All of you are treasures to us."

by Teri Rizvi 9-21-07

Clear-sighted resolve

When Avinash Puli, MBA ’04, visited his grandparents’ home in Warangal, India, four years ago, his grandmother, then 80, could not recognize him because of failing eyesight. He arranged for her to have retina surgery, a laser procedure that restored her sight and her confidence.

This summer, he extended that gift to some of Warangal’s poor and elderly by sponsoring an “eye-camp” that provided eye-glasses to 120 people and retina surgeries for 30. Puli donated the funds and worked with his uncle, physician Suresh Puli, to coordinate the participation of a team of doctors. (Avinash Puli, left, distributes new glasses to a resident in Warangal. At right is Puli’s father, Sarangapani.)

“I don’t want to wait until I’m 80 to start donating,” he said, noting that he is inspired by his father, who emphasizes, “education and health are the most important things.”

A local newspaper covered the eye camp, under a headline that translates “Avinash the Great,” but Puli is impressed only by how much there is left to do. “We helped people in only one ward; there are 48 wards in the urban area of the Warangal district and 50 villages in rural Warangal. The next time my sister and I both will go and we’ll do something big.”

by Deborah McCarty Smith 09-20-07

A Major League debut

Former Dayton pitcher Jeremy Blevins became the first Flyer to play in the major leagues in more than 35 years when he pitched a perfect ninth inning for the Oakland A's on Sunday. Blevins, who came to the A's organization in the trade that sent Jason Kendall to the Cubs, needed just 11 pitches to get three outs, including his first career strikeout (of Texas Rangers center fielder David Murphy on a 2-2 breaking ball).

Blevins is one of three current professional players, all pitchers, who have played for UD head coach Tony Vittorio. Craig Stammen, a 12th-round draft pick by the Washington Nationals in 2005, finished the 2007 season with the Columbus Clippers, the Nationals' triple-A affiliate. In 29 appearances with the Clippers and the Potomac Nationals in 2007, he posted an 8-7 record and a 4.41 ERA. Luke Trubee, drafted in the 33rd round by the New York Yankees in 2006, finished his season with the single-A Charleston RiverDogs with a 5-1 record and a 3.61 ERA.

by Matthew Dewald 9-18-07

My Old House: 108 Woodland

It may be one of the largest houses owned by UD, but that doesn't mean the seven housemates have enough space for groceries. The guys moved in five additional refrigerators this fall.

by Jennie Szink ’09 9-17-07

UD students take action, one song at a time

"Be a hero," the fliers said. The short, yet powerful call-to-action transformed about 2,000 students into heroes last Saturday.

Mud-stained and water-logged, they ignored the dark, dreary weather for Fielday on Stuart Field, a six-hour concert and fundraiser for the Invisible Children Foundation.  

Junior Pat Cline pulled together UD's newest charity event. Cline knew a music festival would be student-popular, so he asked UD Concert Board to aid the cause. Andrew Posani, president of Concert Board, jumped at the opportunity.

"Of course I said yes," Posani said. "Dayton hasn't had an event like this for years, and it was a great chance to get our name out there." 

The concert included three up-and-coming bands. Click the image above for highlights of Chicago-based Marking Twain performing on Stuart Field after the rain.

Profits from Fielday ticket sales went directly to ICF, then to northern Uganda, where approximately one-fourth of children older than 10 have lost one or both parents during 21 years of war there. The money will be used to fund the reconstruction of war-devastated schools.

by Rachel Bade '10 9-14-07

Facing AIDS

Music lovers gulped red berry smoothies amid red balloons tied to red tables at last Thursday's second annual Face AIDS free concert.

The event brought visibility to the group, said senior religious studies major Holly DeHaven, president of the Face AIDS service club. "It [AIDS] is a disease of the human family," she said.

The group sold beaded pins and smoothies at ArtStreet Café to raise money for Partners in Health. Donations from residence halls helped Face AIDS top $1,500.

Club members worked through the summer contacting groups to perform: UD students Julie Roth and Pat Kelly, the UD Improve Club, and Brian's Moving Out, a student band from the University of Cincinnati. DeHaven said 300-400 students attended the event at the ArtStreet amphitheater.

The club is planning an AIDS awareness week and another concert .

by Johnnie Kling ’09 9-12-07

Angels around us

The journey of healing can be found in the new self-published book Angels Encamped About Me: Provision in the Wilderness by Donna Cox, professor and music department chair.

For years Cox worked on reconciling the abuse and poverty that plagued her past. Each attempt at writing her story ended in tears. Listening to God's call guided her to the home she feared. Back home she found people – her angels – who guided her to a life of success.

"Each chapter is named after a friend or family angel," Cox said. Her most cherished angel is Godmother Charnetta, exemplified by the quote, "Every child deserves one person who is crazy about her."

By opening her life to publication, she hopes her book will teach others, "You can overcome."

by Liz Sidor ’08 9-11-07

My Old House: 412 Kiefaber

Horses once called each stall in this carriage house home. Now, two women share the four rooms that reveal the history of this landlord-owned property.

by Jennie Szink ’09 9-10-07

No longer ‘Hotel UD’

Picture blades of grass magnified, formations of hands and photographs embedded with caricature illustration. These and other art collections now grace UD’s residence halls and were featured during an Art Hop last week.

“I love leaves, I love the color, I love the veins,” said graduate student Julie Renee Jones to a student admiring her large nature photographs in the Marianist Hall lobby. She and seven other students were hired as artists in residence during the summer.

Junior Emily Ahrens' images of hands are displayed in Marycrest's south lobbies. “Even after the Art Hop, I have had people approach me and want to discuss the reasons and meaning behind my artwork,” Ahrens said. “This is a wonderful start to introducing the Dayton population to the thriving art community on campus.”

The location of the art is important. “We want to not only improve the space but expose people to art,” Jones said. “Someone said it’s not ‘Hotel UD’ anymore.”

You can read the artist in residence blog and view their creations online.

by Johnnie Kling ’09 9-6-07

My Old House: 1433 Frericks Way

Six juniors opted for tighter living space so they could have a place on Frericks. The bonus? Neighbors in the other half of the duplex.

by Liz Sidor ’08 9-5-07

The Flyer was first

The first American to cross the finish line in the women's marathon at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan, on Sunday was Ann Alyanak, Flyer women's cross country head coach and assistant track and field coach. Her 2:42:23 pace was 31st overall, helping Team USA finish sixth.

Alyanak has her eyes on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She qualified for the Olympic trials when she finished second among American women and ninth among all women at the Boston Marathon in April. There, she ran a personal best 2:38:55. That finish, she told Runner's World in an interview last month, "gave me a little more belief in myself, some extra confidence, and puts me in the mindset that now I can go out and compete with these people."

by Matthew Dewald 9-5-07

Parishioner perspectives

After spending three years painting portraits of strangers, friends and family, Tom Davie ’97 is sharing his reflections of faith through art.

His 20 paintings and eight drawings are on display at The Dayton Art Institute’s Regional Artists Gallery until Dec. 2.

Inspired by his childhood church, Davie would work 80 hours on a single 2-foot-square image, hand-painting a complex series of dots to construct an image. (Shown below: "Carl. (Mr. Carl Roth, 1974)," 2004, permanent marker and acrylic on canvas.) “This is my personal investigation into Catholicism,” Davie said.

The Parishioner Series includes paintings and drawings, several constructed with multiple panels and layers, of images taken from the 1974 St. Mary’s Parish directory in Sandusky, Ohio.

Davie scanned the images into his computer and layered photos and manipulated the images before redrawing them by hand.

An opening reception will be held at 6 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 6) at the institute with remarks from Davie at 6:30 p.m.

by Rania Shakkour ’09 9-05-07

A national power

Wins over No. 17 Purdue, Utah and North Carolina at the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette, Ind., during the weekend propelled UD's volleyball team to a perfect 6-0 record and the program's first-ever national top-25 ranking. UD, ranked 23rd in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll released yesterday, is the first A-10 team to be ranked in the top 25 since 2002.

The team defends its ranking tonight against Cincinnati at 7 p.m. in Frericks Center. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and youth. Or, you can follow the action online with Gametracker and live video for free at http://www.daytonflyers.com (click "Dayton All Access;" registration required).

by Matthew Dewald 9-4-07