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Jan. 26, 2005

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One-woman performance to bring history to life at SBU

St. Bonaventure University’s student body will have history brought to life when they welcome award-winning actor, writer and educator Awele Makeba, who will perform “Rage is Not a 1-Day Thing!” Friday, Feb. 10, in the Dresser Auditorium of the John J. Murphy Professional Building.

A theatrically rich one-woman performance piece based on real events, Makeba plays 16 characters of varying genders, ethnicities and personalities that were important parts of the Montgomery Bus Boycott Movement.

The play is an artistic history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 381-day boycott of Montgomery, Ala. bus lines that overturned the 60 year-old Plessy v. Ferguson decision that African Americans were considered “separate but equal.”

“I saw Awele perform in April at a conference on white privilege and her performance was electrifying,” said Dr. Robert Amico, professor of philosophy at St. Bonaventure and chair of the University’s Diversity Action Committee. “Her performance will be something talked about and remembered.”

Amico received a Martine Grant to sponsor speakers and performers that will enhance the Clare College experience. The James Martine Faculty Development Endowment is intended to provide funding for faculty members involved in programs that benefit the University. The Martine Grant is particularly used for programs facilitating learning and growth within the University’s Clare College program.

“Rage is Not a 1-Day Thing,” which was written by Makeba, focuses on protagonist Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl who refused to give up her seat on the bus nine months before Rosa Parks famously became a
spark for the Civil Rights Movement.

Makeba researches, writes and performs forgotten African American history. Her performances inspire audiences to consider emotional and complex issues and appreciate our common humanity, potential and purpose. While she has performed for audiences around the country, she is also internationally known, performing in Russia, Taiwan, France, Canada, Austria and Suriname.

“Makeba will also be having a ‘talk back’ session after her performance to allow the audience an opportunity to discuss with her the issues and details surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and her performance,” said Amico. “Her performance brings to life an untold piece of our American history in a way that no book can,” said Amico.

Awele will also be performing at Alfred University the night before, Feb. 9, in Holmes Auditorium. Admisssion for both performances is free and open to the public. For more information on Awele Makeba, visit her web site at www.awele.com.

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SBU SIFE returns to the Bahamas

“I got off of the bus, felt the sun warm my face and heard the waves crashing the way I always do,” said Jennifer Schiffino, St. Bonaventure University senior and Students in Free Enterprise president. “But something was different. Instead of children playing, I heard hammering. Instead of a playground, I saw a lot full of debris. My heart sank. This last hurricane seems to have hit the hardest.”

SBU SIFE made its third annual trip to the Bahamas, arriving Jan. 4. More than 50 members strong, the group stayed until Jan. 14, providing relief to hurricane victims in addition to teaching entrepreneurship in several local schools.

“It felt good to be back,” said Schiffino. “They needed our help, and we were eager to get our hands dirty.”

Since 2004, hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma devastated homes, schools and buildings with tidal waves, flooding and high winds. In some cases, entire blocks of houses were uplifted by water and demolished. People lost most of their belongings, and the houses that managed to stay put were left with severe water damage.

SBU SIFE members did everything from painting and cleaning to complete reconstruction of walls and roofing.

“This is such an enriching experience for both the Bahamians and SIFE students, said Dr. Todd Palmer, SBU professor and SIFE adviser. “The relationships they form are remarkable, and the Bahamian spirit and optimism are contagious.”

Students also worked with members of the Catholic Archdiocesan Hurricane Relief to assess damaged homes in need of basic household furniture, food and clothing.

“The SBU students are welcomed,” said Basil Christie, chair of the Archdiocesan relief effort. “Lots of people come here to bring stuff, like Santa Claus. SBU’s presence here represents how the outside world cares and is coming to help us.”

In addition to providing financial support, Christie is in charge of organizing volunteer teams, teaching hurricane relief, applying for donations and assessing damaged homes.

“We assessed the home of a Bahamian woman who was seven months pregnant,” said Holly Gendron, SBU sophomore and SIFE member. “Hurricane damage left her sleeping on the floor every night. I hope our visit will help get her a bed sooner.”

Assessing involves personally visiting damaged homes, interviewing residents and determining what needs to be replaced as a result of the hurricane.

“That needed to be done,” said Christie in response to the SBU students involvement with assessment. “People need to see someone and know we are here to help them. The students’ work was a tremendous help for me.”

In addition to service work, a large part of SBU SIFE’s mission is to go into local schools and teach programs targeting marketing, business ethics and entrepreneurship.

Danielle Ruffino, SBU senior and SIFE member said, “You can definitely tell the impact we left on the kids after teaching for just a few days. They seemed to really enjoy our programs, and on the last day made us all thank-you cards telling us how much they loved us.”

Students taught at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School; Mary, Star of the Sea School; and Free Town Primary School.

“Do I think the students are truly grasping SIFE’s concepts? Yeah, I think they are,” said Alexandria Roberts-Bowe, principal of St. Vincent de Paul. “Morals, values and business skills, those things stick. I can see a lot of results in our student population.”

SBU SIFE members also held a career fair for high school students. There they promoted attending college and were able to answer questions ranging from financial aid to different majors requirements.

In addition visiting professors from the University’s Department of Education, Dr. Adam Brown and Leslie Chambers, assisted Bahamian teachers by teaching staff development and teaching techniques.

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SBU's Quick Center highlights Puerto Rican, Lithuanian cultures in new exhibitions

Two exhibitions highlighting the diverse heritages of the countries of Puerto Rico and Lithuania opened at The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University on Friday, Jan. 20.

The color and culture of Puerto Rico is revealed in “Atención: 20th century Puerto Rican Silk Screen Posters, the James G. Shine Collection, Samuel Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz,” which was organized in conjunction with the “Latin Connection: Arts across our Region” exhibition consortium organized by the Castelani Museum at Niagara University.

In conjunction with the poster exhibition, the Quick Center will host a Latin program, “Besame Mucho,” by Baritone Luis Ledesma at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10.

The Puerto Rican Department of Education hired a group of young artists in the 1950s to produce vivid, durable posters that would educate the mostly illiterate population on civic, health and social issues. The government poster workshop created many jobs because the hand printed silk screen posters were produced in tremendous quantities. Many of Puerto Rico’s most talented artists, including Rafael Tufiño, Lorenzo Homar, Antonio Martorell and José A. Alicea, participated in the program and soon the countryside was adorned with brilliant posters, which freely used Puerto Rican folklore images. Over the years, the poster campaign expanded to include all cultural and political events, in an attempt to foster national pride.

The posters on view were collected by SBU alumnus James G. Shine, who is also one of the artists represented. A native of Puerto Rico, Shine took advantage of the opportunity to study in the United States and then returned home to pursue his career as an artist. After retirement and resettlement in New Paltz, Shine has had a second career teaching Spanish at SUNY New Paltz. Shine gave his collection to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz in honor of Latin American Studies at SUNY New Paltz and students of Spanish past, present and future. The posters will remain on view until May 7.

The second exhibition now open is “Photo Passport I: Lithuania by Juozas Polis.” Intended as the first in a series of exhibitions featuring photographs of a country and its people, this show features one of Lithuania’s most distinguished and renowned photographers, Juozas Polis. Polis has been photographing his homeland by helicopter since 1957. He has carefully recorded every inch of the country from on high, showing the beauty of a country and people who persevered in spite of much suffering at the hands of Soviet occupiers throughout much of his lifetime. Polis recorded the painful rebirth of Lithuania, as his people forgot their fears and went out into the streets in 1991 to demand freedom.

Born in 1920, Polis has exhibited his work throughout Lithuania and in cities across the globe, such as Berlin, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chicago, Cleveland and Madison. He has published 10 books of his photographs, including: “Across Lithuania, Lithuania’s Seashore, Lithuania, our Fatherland, and Lithuanian Theatres.” The album, “Lithuania Reborn” sold 50,000 copies within four months of its 1989 publication. Passport to Lithuania will remain on view until June 11.

Admission to the Quick Center galleries is free and open to the public. Galleries are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For information on group tours, please contact Jason Trimmer at (716) 375-7686. For general information, call (716) 375-2494, visit our Web site at www.sbu.edu or e-mail us at Quick@sbu.edu.

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St. Bonaventure to host regional competition for national math contest

On Feb. 4, St Bonaventure University will host the regional competition for Mathcounts, a national mathematics contest for sixth- to eighth-grade students.

Students will work individually and in four-person teams representing their schools. They will answer questions created by the National Society of Professional Engineers, who are the main sponsors of the contest. The schools set to compete are: Allegany-Limestone Middle School, Falconer Central School and Salamanca Middle School.

Other organizations sponsoring the contest nationally are CAN Foundation, ADC Foundation, General Motors Foundation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrup Grumman Foundation, Raytheon Company, Shell Oil Company, Texas Instruments, 3M Foundation, Xerox Corporation, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

St. Bonaventure University and two anonymous grants support the local competition. The top three school teams and the trop three individuals will receive trophies.

The three highest scoring teams will be invited to the New York State Mathcounts competition to be held March 18 in Troy, N.Y. The top students from the state contest will be invited to the national competition, which will be held May 11 through May 14 in Arlington, VA.

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St. Bonaventure University announces 2006 graduate open house dates

St. Bonaventure University has announced the 2006 graduate open house dates for both the SBU and the Buffalo Center at Hilbert College (Hamburg) locations. The open house events for the SBU program will be held in the Robert R. Jones Board of Trustees Room, Doyle Hall, and the events for the Buffalo Center program will be held in Franciscan Hall at the Hilbert campus.

The spring dates for the SBU campus open houses are:
• Anytime between 6 and 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 2
• Anytime between 6 and 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 29

The summer dates for the SBU campus open houses are:
• Anytime between 6 and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 13
• Anytime between 6 and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 18

The spring dates for the Buffalo Center campus open houses are:
• Anytime between 2 and 4 p.m., Saturday, March 25
*2 to 2:30 p.m. – admissions and financial aid presentation
• Anytime between 3 and 5 p.m., Saturday April 29 – Education Programs only

The summer dates for the Buffalo Center campus open houses are:
• Anytime between 6 and 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 7
• Anytime between 6 and 8 p.m., Wednesday, July 12
• Anytime between 3 and 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 5 – Business and Integrated Marketing Communications

Please contact Connie Horan at (716) 375-2021 with any questions. Those planning on attending can register for the events online at www.sbu.edu.

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Acclaimed baritone Luis Ledesma to perform at SBU's Quick Center

The Friends of Good Music, in association with the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, will present Luis Ledesma, baritone in “Bésame Mucho,” at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10.

This concert is offered as a bonus concert for all Friends of Good Music subscribers who purchased their season subscription by Aug. 15, 2005. Additional tickets are for sale from the Quick Center for the Arts Box Office.

Luis Ledesma has established himself as a singer with unusual vocal and theatrical gifts. Hailed by critics as a “young Mexican baritone with a very beautiful voice,” Ledesma has established himself at the international opera houses and concert stages of Europe, North America and South America.

A reviewer summed up his performance of “Don Giovanni” writing, “His silken-baritone coupled with a lithe, nimble physical presence, made for a seductive villain.” Of the same performance, the British magazine “Opera” stated, “He has the dark Latin looks and commands the firm attractive baritone right for this role.”

Recent engagements include performances of “Germont” in “La Traviata,” and “Silvio” in “I Pagliacci” at the Cologne Opera; the role of “Enrico” in “Lucia di Lammermoor” in Las Palmas, Mallorca; Leoncavallo’s “La Boheme” with the prestigious Klangbogen Festival in Vienna; and performances of Puccini’s “La Boheme” for his debut at the Dresden Opera.

In the United States he has performed at the New York City Opera, Portland and Indianapolis operas, Opera Pacific, and Connecticut Grand Opera. Ledesma also sang his first “Scarpia” in Tosca at the Memphis Opera.

Upcoming engagements include the role of the “High Priest” in “Samson et Dalilah” at the Memphis Opera; his debut at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in “Barbiere di Siviglia,” and the role of “Escamillo” in “Carmen” at Opera Pacific.

Accompanied by Danielle Orlando, Ledesma presents a recital of Latin songs, Zarzuelas, and serenades the audience with romantic songs for Valentine’s.

This performance is sponsored in part by the New York State Council on the Arts. For tickets and information, call the QCA at (716) 375-2494.

The QCA will extend its gallery hours opening one hour before, and remaining open one hour after, each performance. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 12 to 5 p.m. Museum admission is free and open to the public, year round. Visit us at www.sbu.edu.

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Senior Matthew Cressler wins oratory competition

Matthew Cressler, a St. Bonaventure University senior theology and history major from Smyrna, Ga., won first place in the Diversity Action Committee’s student oratory competition held in conjunction with the University’s Martin Luther King Week activities Jan. 19. Cressler presented original prose titled “Remembering the Forgotten.”

Armando Ortiz, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major from Bronx, N.Y., took second place for his original poetry “He Had a Dream.” The third-place winner was senior theology major Brianna Giacoia from Marlboro, N.Y. Her original speech was titled “The Unshakable Spirit.”

Cara Pavlock of Clarence Center, N.Y., a freshman political science major, earned an honorable mention for her original essay “Love Your Enemies.”

The winners received gift certificates to the St. Bonaventure Bookstore.

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Newsmakers ...

Dr. Doug Cashing, professor of mathematics, had an article titled “Mandatory Shooting Percentages” published in the winter 2005 issue of the New York State Mathematics Teachers’ Journal.

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Dr. Kimberly S. Young, associate professor of management sciences, appeared in the Dec. 1, 2005, issue of The New York Times for the article “Hooked on the Web: Help is on the Way,” which explored the growing number of clinics across the country offering treatment for Internet addicts. In addition, Young was featured in the January issue of Current Biography, a reference publication that is found in libraries throughout the U.S. and Canada.

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Friday Forum

All SBU faculty, staff and administrators are welcome to all the Friday Forums.

Date: Jan. 27, 2006 (this Friday)
Speaker: Anne Foerst
Time: Lunch starts at noon, Forum goes from 12:35 to 1:30 p.m., including Q&A
Place: University Club - Above Hickey
Title: "Is Shakespeare Really the Greatest Bard of All Times? Introduction to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 'Faust'"

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Career Center News ...

Check out the Career Center’s monthly newsletter, Directions. For information on on-campus recruiters and orientations, information sessions, FREE Kaplan practice test sign-up deadlines, teacher recruitment days and a new program on how to design and utilize a job search portfolio, visit the Career Center Events Web page.

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