0564: Buddhists celebrate birth of Gautama Buddha
On this day, Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, thought to have lived in India from 563 B.C. to 483 B.C. Actually, the Buddhist tradition that celebrates his birthday April 8 originally placed his birth in the 11th century B.C., and it was not until the modern era that scholars determined that he was more likely born in the sixth century B.C., and possibly in May rather than April.

1916: California road race kills three
On this day in 1916, at the Boulevard Race in Corona, California, a racing car careened into a crowd of spectators, killing the driver and two others. At the time, racing events were still a relative rarity and the fatal accident helped encourage organizers to begin holding races on specially built tracks instead of regular streets. The first organized race of “horseless carriages,” as they were then called, was held in France in 1894. The winning speed was less than 10 miles per hour and the winner was disqualified because his steam-driven tractor was deemed not to be a practical vehicle. The first Grand Prix was held 12 years later.

1994: Kurt Cobain is found dead
On April 8, 1994, rock star Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home outside Seattle, Washington, with fresh injection marks in both arms and a fatal wound to the head from the 20-gauge shotgun found between his knees. Cobain’s death brought an end to a life marked by far more suffering than is generally associated with rock superstardom. But rock superstardom never did sit well with Cobain, a committed social outsider who was reluctantly dubbed the spokesman of his generation. “Success to him seemed like, I think, a brick wall,” said friend Greg Sage, a musical hero of Cobain’s from the local punk rock scene of the 1980s. “There was nowhere else to go but down.”

2005: Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph agrees to plead guilty
Eric Rudolph agreed to plead guilty to a series of bombings, including the fatal bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, in order to avoid the death penalty. He later cited his anti-abortion and anti-homosexual views as motivation for the bombings. Eric Robert Rudolph was born September 19, 1966, in Merritt Island, Florida. He served a brief stint in the U.S. Army and later supported himself by working as a carpenter. On July 27, 1996, a 40-pound pipe bomb exploded in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park, killing one woman and injuring more than 100 people. A security guard named Richard Jewell was initially considered the prime suspect in the case. Then, on January 16, 1997, two bombs went off at an Atlanta-area medical clinic that performed abortions, injuring seven people. In February of that same year, a bomb detonated at a lesbian nightclub in Atlanta, injuring four people. On January 29, 1998, a bomb exploded at a Birmingham, Alabama women’s health clinic, killing a security guard and critically injuring a nurse.

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Every year, ratemyprofessor.com announces its annual ranking list, revealing the highest rated college professors based on student’s ratings from the site. On March 3, the website announced the 2009-2010 ratings, revealing that Millersville University had ranked number 12 out of the top 25 universities with highest rated professors. Other schools that Millersville ranked above included Florida State University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“I think it is a big honor I hope the students and administration at MU recognize it,” Carlo DiMarco said, vice president of University Relations for MTVU, which owns and operates the site.

The rankings went through an extensive process to insure accuracy. The methodology is based off of a five-point Lickert scale as well as a binary scoring system for students to rate professors. DiMarco assured that the ratings on the site are a reliable source because if one or two students are referring to a professor in a positive or negative fashion, “you take that into consideration,” he said, “If 40 or 50 students are in agreement of one another, there is something there.”

Each individual professor’s rating value was standardized around the mean using scores from years 2007, 2008 and 2009. The scores were weighted per year, and professors were ranked from high to low; only professors with 30 ratings or more, and verified as actively teaching, from those years were included.

School size does not affect the outcome of the lists, so it is a great achievement that Millersville University raised so high in the rankings. “There are over 6,000 schools and over one million professors, for a school to bubble up where it did, that high on the list, I think it says a lot,” DiMarco said.

Tyler Kline, a senior Technology Education major believes that the site is a great source for students to pick classes with the best professors, “The ratings on the site are very accurate,” Kline said. Kline actively uses the site, and through the years he has seen a difference in professors who receive positive reviews. “When I got scheduled classes that didn’t get a good rating, I realized why the professor didn’t get the good rating,” he said.

“Choosing the best course and professor is a rite of passage that has been going on forever,” DiMarco said. When he was a student, he used his friends and family as a resource, “the beauty of ratemyprofessor.com is that there is a larger pool to help choose,” he said. He believes it is a great research tool to use as part of the decision making process.

Kline believes it is important that students visit the website, “Students’ opinions on how professors teach are far more valuable than student evaluations,” he said, “When I get student evaluation forms, I just fill in the bubbles. When I take my time to go on rate my professor, I am giving my honest opinion,” he said.

“Professors should check the site, because there is a lot of insightful info in there” DiMarco said. “The professors should know the things they are doing right. Students point out things from a very genuine perspective that they wish the professor would do better.”
Genuine comments are important for the site, the website is not meant to be a bashing tool in any way. DiMarco explained that most of the comments on the site are positive and that when a random negative comment comes up, students come to the professor’s defense. DiMarco does not want the site to “become a place for people to vent their frustrations.”
Tom Baldwin, a junior, uses the site and takes the comments very seriously, “no one has a reason to lie, you use the site and judge the comments for yourself,” he said. “You ca definitely tell personal comments from professional ones.”
Millersville University students obviously take their ratings seriously, and are highlighting their appreciation for the outstanding professors at the university. “For you guys to break through the dialogue is definitely big. Props to the professors, and props to the students for taking the time to report that they are happy with their classes and professors,” DiMarco said.

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“Black Widow” bombers
At least 38 people were killed on Monday, March 29 from a bomb attack on the Moscow subway, carried out by female Chechen suicide bombers, known as the “Black Widows.”
The suicide bomb looks to be Chechen separatists’ latest barrage in their long-running battle for independence in Russia’s northern Caucasus. The use of women or “Black Widows” is one way in which the Chechen are different from the al-Qaeda. “The war is politically motivated, it is not about a religious ideology as in the case of al-Qaeda, so everyone participates and it is ultimately irrelevant if you are a man or a woman,” Bob Ayers, a retired international security analyst said. The “Black Widows” are made up of women whose husbands, brothers, fathers or other family members have been killed in the conflict. The women often dress head-to-toe in black and wear a “martyr’s belt” filled with explosives.

Ten shot to death in Mexico
Ten youths, from eight to 21-years-old were gunned down by drug traffickers in Durango, Mexico. The incident happened Sunday on a road near the town of Pueblo. The unknown gunman shot and threw grenades at the victims. The victims were in a pickup truck, returning home after having traveled to pick up money to support their school. The gunman motioned the truck to stop, but the victims continued out of fear of being robbed. No arrests have been made in the incident.

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The blizzard sparked media attention, as well as the attention of two Millersville meteorology majors, who decided to take advantage of the blizzard by educating themselves on accurate weather forecasting.

Kris Gundel, a freshman and Tyler Morrow, sophomore, both Meteorology majors just launched their forecasting website this weekend, called Weather Snap, which has no association with The Snapper.

The website forecasts for the Mid-Atlantic area. The idea for the website started on Facebook with the February Blizzard, “There is a blizzard coming how cool would it be to start our own forecasting team,” Gundel said was his idea for the site.

With that, they launched a Facebook group called Weather Snap, which currently has 540 fans. Right now the team is trying to emphasize their website, http://www.weathersnap.org. They are currently working on putting all of their old posts from Facebook and putting them on the website, “so you will see what we have already done,” Morrow said. They are also looking to transfer their Facebook fans to the website.

Their website will offer a forecast map that Gundel and Morrow put together, showing the snow fall amounts, there will be visual maps with a key showing snow fall accumulations within the forecast area. “We only put out maps for rain if there is a severe weather or flooding issue,” said Morrow.

Their website will act as a communication tool that other websites do not have. It will be an open comment website, meaning individuals can ask questions, and Gundel and Morrow will respond.

Currently, their website is updated with at least four forecasts a week, “this will increase to three to four times a day when a major storm is approaching,” Morrow said.

So far, their forecasting has been mostly accurate, although they have yet to take any forecasting classes, “We forecast through our own experience and knowledge, we pretty much nailed the forecast for the February 2 blizzard,” Morrow said. They have been off in their forecasting, but they find their website a useful tool to track their progress.

“Many of the fans are impressed by our accuracy. We really picked up on the techniques that other meteorologists use and have also gotten help from Erichorst, the weather center manager at MU,” Morrow said.

Their accuracy stems from a step-by-step process. First they see the potential storm by looking at forecast models found on http://www.noaa.gov. “We see a general consistency of a storm approaching, and we’ll watch that time frame,” said Morrow. They then watch the storm as it approaches and try to pin-point the track of the storm using all of their forecasting resources. “Once the storm track is down to a general consensus we look to determine the temp,” Gundel said. It is a winter storm these temperatures are important to determine if the location gets rain or snow. “As the storm gets fairly close, we try to determine the location of the highest amounts of precipitation,” Gundel said.

This website is acting as a learning opportunity for Gundel and Morrow, they are looking to eliminate the occasional wrong forecast by gaining experience.

“We want to keep everyone informed about the weather that will affect them and allow them to ask questions that they might have,” Morrow said.

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Stacy Nadeau was one of the six real beauty models chosen to support the dove mission: to make more women feel beautiful every day by widening stereotypical views of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves. Nadeau spoke of her life changing experience as a Dove model, on Feb. 16 in the SMC multipurpose room. The lecture was presented by the Power Peer Educators of the Women’s and Wellness Center as part of Body Image Awareness Week.

Nadeau began her lecture sharing her journey of how she became a model for the campaign. Nadeau was a sophomore at DePaul University when she first was confronted with her opportunity. It started as an ordinary day, walking to work with a friend. While walking, she turned around and saw a woman walking very close to her, but thought nothing of it. “I Live in a big city, I see weird people all the time,” she joked.

When she got to work, that same woman walking behind her, asked to hang a model audition flyer at her work, and told Nadeau that she should come audition. “Maim, what about me says model to you?” she exclaimed. Nadeau thought nothing of the request, and shook the thought from her mind, being a model was nothing she had ever planned to do.

When Nadeau came home from work that day, her friend confronter her saying “You are going to be really mad at me,” her friend had pretended to be her and made an appointment to attend the photo shoot the next Tuesday at 3p.m. After talking to her mother, she decided to go to the audition.

“You are going to be really mad at me Stacy, you have to go to the audition in your underwear,” her friend confessed. Reluctently, Nadeau showed up, was there for 30 seconds, only four pictures were taken. “We will never speak of this again,” Nadeau warned her friend.

The rest was history, the next thing she knew, she was in New York for two 12 ½ hour photo shoots. These photo-shoots marked the first time anyone has ever taken real women sizes 2-12 and put them out in an ad campaign. The idea for the ad campaign was inspired by the major study, The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report, which validated the hypothesis that the definition of beauty and become obscured and unrealistic. The study showed that 98% of girls did not feel confident enough to call themselves beautiful, and that 81% of women in the U.S. strongly agree that the media has created an idealistic and unobtainable standard of beauty.

Nadeau showed pictures of women in magazines, who are meant to represent “real beauty”, these women were sickly thin, flawless and genetically impossible to look that way. She also showed pictures of men as well, these men all had six packs, and ripped muscles. Nadeau shared that a friend had once photoshopped an 18 pack onto a model. “For some people it is not in the cards for them [to have abs]” she said.

After the campaign launched, the dove real women billboard landed right next to a Victoria’s Secret billboard in Las Angelis, where it could catch the most attention. Attention they received, in extraordinary amounts.

“The first to call was the today show,” Nadeau said. She even had an appearance on Oprah, Despite the fear of her “jiggle” being noticed, her and the five other models walked on stage and were interviewed in their underwear. “We knew with Oprah it would make a really big splash,” Nadeau said.

After that day, the Dove girls realized how inspirational and life changing their campaign was to the men and women of the U.S. After the show, they were to do a meet a greet and pass out gift bags with Dove products, they had 15 bags, hundreds came to see the girls.

Many of the people came to say thank you, it is about time, but there was a woman who stood out inparticular. A woman, hysterically crying hung to the grirls and repeaditly said thank you to them. “No problem,” was Nadeau’s response. “You do not understand, you girls have single handily saved my daughter’s life,” was the woman’s response.

The woman’s daughter was batteling severe anorexia and could not have any media. Her mother saw the ad, and zerozed copies her her daughter and the entire hospital was covered with the ad. The daughter was inspired, “I am sick of this,” she said, “If these women can show their bodies fat and all, I can beat this.” The girl did beat her anorexia, she gained over ten pounds after hearing about the campaign. “We changed her, we made her better,” Nadeau said.

Nadeau’s experiences were not all positive however. There were many critics of the campaign that were disgusted by the campaign. The Chicago Sun Times called the models fat, ugly, that if he saw us at a bar he would run the other way. He added, “To my favorite Scatcy Nadeau the next time I see thught that big, the better be in my KFC Bucket.”

This article sent hundreds of women and men to retaliate against the writer, and a public apology was given. One commented saying “She looks like me, my sister, my mother my grandmother, we’re beautiful.” Another said, “I live in the building next to you, I see you come and go all the time, P.S. You are no God’s gift to women.”

Nadeau concluded her lecture by offering advice on how men and women can find their best self, most fit self, and most mentally healthy self. Her advice was to be a friend to yourself and stop fat talk. She wants people to do what makes them feel beautiful, and to have a productive day.

She also wants women to stop the, “Girlfriend Poker,” or the, “I’ll take your arms and legs and raise you a butt,” as she put it. This does not help self-esteem, it lowers it. “What you think and what you say affects you, “ she said.

She also wants women to think about their relationships, “surround yourself with people who build you up.”

After the lecture, an active discussion began between her and the audience. She had truly touched student’s lives. Nadeau offers advice for all men and women that would like to learn about body image, you can contact her at nadeau@campuspeak.com or become a facebook fan of Embracing Real Beauty.

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Dr. Frank Duba, Assistant Professor of English, was one of these rare professors who so greatly impacted his students and friends lives that even the simplest of lessons he taught will forever stay in their minds.

After a long struggle with cancer, Dr. Duba passed away on Monday night, Feb. 15. His passing is a great loss to the English department, and he will sorely be missed. He was an understanding and approachable person, and a fair and enthusiastic professor.

In reminiscence of Dr. Duba as a professor, friend and colleague, faculty and students have shared their memories:

“Dr. Duba was a thoughtful, expert, and engaging teacher who cared deeply about students. His scholarship was original and important to his teaching and to the profession. His service to the department, university, and larger community was generous and unfailing. I will miss his positive outlook, compassionate patience, good-natured humor, and boundless energy to do good. It is hard to believe that one so much alive can now be gone. He will survive in his friends, colleagues, and students,” Dr. Steve Miller, Professor of English said.

“It may sound corny, but I learned almost everything I know from Dr. Duba. I only had once class with him, but I learned more from him in one semester than other professors I’ve had for two or three semesters. Everything I do when it comes to being an English major or looking at anything even remotely related to literature, I got from Dr. Duba. I can’t even imagine not knowing what I learned from him. Some of my friends never had class with him, and I just can’t believe that they’ll never get a chance to,” Michelle Topper, a senior, said.

“Frank was a remarkable man. Besides being insightful and funny—usually at the same time, he was so conscientious and generous. When I would do something as small as watch his cat for a weekend, he would give me a bottle of wine. He put people at ease about his illness because he was always upfront about what he was going through. Many in the department were surprised by his passing because of the matter-of-fact way he presented his situation. It was hard to tell how close he was to the end hearing him joke about the crazy stuff he was going through. I really admire how he led his life, right to the end,” said Dr. Caleb Corkery, Assistant Professor of English.

“Well for me, Dr. Duba was my professor and my advisor. I remember the one time I had no idea what to put into my schedule and he took the time to sit down with me for a good half hour to look at all the classes that were available and he gave me tips on which classes would be better to take. He always got back to my emails with whatever questions I had and no matter how long it took to answer a question; he would keep trying to explain the subject as best he could in different ways until I understood what the topic was about,” Cait Fitzpatric, a senior said.

“For me, Dr. Duba was simply a kind, caring person who always wanted to help his students find new ways to think about and enjoy literature. He was always on the same level as his students – there were times when he even admitted that he didn’t like or understand a certain philosophical or theoretical framework – and that connection he developed with all his students was loved and appreciated by everybody. He never had a bad word to say about anybody and was always helpful if you needed something clarified or further explained. He was also funny – his one-liners, sometimes about a phallic symbol or poking fun at an author, always kept his classes light and interesting.

Let’s also not forget how smart and insightful he was. He opened up new ways of thinking for me about not only literature, but life, whether it was through Freudian analysis or introducing the “Death of the Author” concept, in which it is argued that the author’s intended meaning in a piece is much less important than the interpreted meaning by the reader.

Needless to say, the Millersville English department has lost one of its best and Dr. Duba will be sorely missed” Wesley Schmidt, a senior, said.

To share your memories of Dr. Frank Duba, a memorial will be held Feb. 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the Ford Atrium. A memory book will be created in his honor, to be given to his family.

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Continuing to support the Haiti relief was the main focus of the “Rally 4 Haiti Relief Project,” which was held in the SMC-MPR on Feb. 16. Although the turnout was small, it did not lessen the impact of the event. The rally humanized the disaster by showing the Haitian culture.

The event welcomed Candy Hozza, the community development coordinator who presented the video “Frank McKinney’s Extreme Birthday Experience,” which was of her visit to Haiti in 2008, when she participated in the Caring House Foundation Project, building houses with her friend Frank McKinney. “It costs $500 American dollars for a house,” she said.

The video shed a glimpse of the spirited Haitian culture. Men and women were playing music, dancing, and celebrating. To thank the volunteers, the Haitians found instruments and learned the American National Anthem, and performed it.

“One of the things that everyone should know, is that the Haitians are unbelievable people, even when they are in need they tried to give,” Hozza said. She was able to experience the Hispanic tradition of blessing during her visit to a home for orphans and the elderly. Whenever the children left their home, their grandmothers would bless them; the children blessed Hozza and the rest of the volunteers to show their appreciation, “We have a lot in this country, but they have the spirit,” Hozza said.

A panel was held during the event with two faculty members: Audrey Lilley from Volunteer Central, and Hozza, as well as two students, Immanuel Jean Phillipe, and Mackenzie Vernat. Sepideh Yalda, Professor of Meteorology and Interim Director Center of Disaster Relief Research and Education, moderated the discussion.

Each person took turns sharing their story of how they are participating in the Haiti Relief Project. Vernat, only moved from Haiti to America six years ago, shared his story of how the earthquake has affected him, and how he is trying to help his family and native country from the U.S.

“After this happened my mom was crying, and we didn’t know what to do,” he said. His cousin, sister, nieces and nephew were in his Haitian home when the earthquake hit and the house collapsed, which left them with a few injuries and without a home.

“There are so many diseases spreading around Haiti right now because there are dead bodies everywhere,” Vernat said. Continuing to send medical supplies, he believed should be a long term form of support. He also would like to do his part in continuing to raise money.
“I am here doing the best I can to help…we need it right now,” he said. Vernat and Phillipe as well as their brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first black fraternity, have worked together to raise roughly $1600 for the cause.

Phillipe was also born in Haiti, but left when he was three years old. It was difficult for him to talk about the earthquake, because he had lost family members. Phillipe’s family is from Port-au-Prince, located a few blocks from the President’s Palace, which is now destroyed. His grandmother was injured during the earthquake, and his aunt lost her parents.

Phillipe showed his gratitude for all who have helped support the Haiti relief, “Things are changing slowly, people are putting their heads together to help us out, and I appreciate it,” he said. Phillipe would like to see the support continue, “We can collect money, clothes and donations and try to partner with trusted organizations to collect money,” he advised.

Millersville University is working hard to aid the victims; Lilley mentioned during the panel that there is a long list of volunteers wanting to help, “I am really encouraging of students who want to get involved with this program,” Lilley said.

Special acknowledgements went out to The Slip and Score Society, who attended the event, as well as The Visual Communication and Graphic Design II class, instructed by James Pannafino, and Diane Fleishman, Director for the Office of Internships and Civic Engagement Service. Slip and Score sold donated ceramic pots made by current students and alumni during the event. All of the profits went to the Haiti Relief Project. The club raised $425 for the fund.

The students of the Graphic Design II Class designed a 10×10 composition as part of a service learning class. The posters were meant to create awareness for Haiti earthquake relief. The students picked a charity or nonprofit organization a communicated their message through the use of type and image.

Fleishman and the Office of Internships and Civic Engagement have been acting as a central coordinating site, working with student affairs and faculty to coordinate the relief effort. “The need for the Haiti relief was needed before…it is a decade long effort. We do not want students and faculty to forget about it when it is off the news,” Fleishman said.

Donations for the Haiti Relief fund are still being accepted. Visit “Haiti Response” at www.millersville.edu or e-mail Volunteer.Central@millersville.edu for a complete list of items needed. Be on the lookout for donation boxes, which will be shipped directly to Haiti through the United Nations.

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 Adam Shickling, a junior, studied abroad in London his sophomore year from September 2008 to December 2008. “It was an amazing experience. Studying abroad is the best decision I’ve ever made,” Shickling said.

     Shickling was introduced to the Study Abroad program from family who had previously gone through the experience, and he knew that this was something he would want to do. “I knew Millersville had a great studying abroad program, and that is a major reason why I chose to come here,” he said.

     Not wanting to deal with a language barrier, Shickling juggled between studying in either Australia or London, finally settling on London because of its close proximity to other countries, “which increased my traveling options,” he said. Also, Shickling had visited London in high school and he wanted to experience more of the city.

     Before leaving for London Shicklin was “anxious to see the living quarters and see how my classes would be structured.” 

     However, his anxieties were eased when he met other Millersville students, and got settled into his daily routine. “The flight over was a great chance for us to get know each other and we were all very good friends from there on,” he said.

     Shickling stayed in an apartment complex built for international students, and shared a room with a Millersville student. He was able to make friends with students from Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas. Schickling still remains in touch with the Millersville students he studied with, as well as the friends he made from other parts of the U.S.    

     Studying abroad is a great opportunity to gain experience outside of your culture, and delve into a lifestyle completely unlike one’s own. For Shickling, he realized how similar our country is to other European nations. “In London, I cannot recall any serious cultural barriers I had to overcome,” he said. “Politically, European countries are much more liberal than the U.S. so you need to keep that in mind when talking politics with Europeans, and trust me this will be one of their favorite conversations.”

     Shickling had a good experience in Europe, and found that most people love talking to Americans, and were willing to help them overcome any language barriers. “As soon as they discover you are American they want to talk about politics and at that time, Barack Obama,” he said.

      Classes continue just as they would in the states, and they are much like a regular semester of college. Shickling only took 12 credits to help lighten his workload: A history class, a film class, a government and an economics class. “Education in the U.K. is a lot different than in the U.S.” Shickling said. “There’s more of a focus on personal responsibility and few professors grade attendance. U.K. classes also tend to be more writing-oriented than exam-oriented. For example, I didn’t have a single exam while studying abroad but had seven papers to write.”

     Studying abroad also provided an education outside of the classroom. “Traveling puts intense pressure on expanding your independence, sometimes you’re going to be walking around a foreign city alone and you need to know how to protect yourself and get around safely.     

     Shickling’s study abroad experience is one that he will never forget; there were many sites that he was able to see, such as the Tower Bridge in London, Heidelberg Castle in Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. One of his favorite memories happened in the Netherlands, “A bunch of us rented bicycles on day in the Netherlands. It was amazing riding past windmills and over canals,” he said.

     Shickling still misses the history and the nightlife of London. “It was really something to walk past castles and bridges older than the United States on Your way to class,” he said.

     All of the excitement, schoolwork, and traveling kept him busy, so he never had time to get homesick or think about home. However, he was able to stay connected to his friends and family by buying a prepaid cellphone.

“It only cost a couple cents a minute to call the U.S.,” he said. “A lot of my friends used Skype to keep in contact with their families.”

     One problem that he did run into was the five-hour time difference between London and the East Coast.

     Returning to the states was a strange experience for Shickling, but it only took him a few weeks to get back into his old routine. His experience was a great one, and he would advise students to “absolutely do it.”

     For more information about the Study Abroad program, contact Stacey Bainbridge at globaledga@millersville.edu, or stop by the Cumberland House. Applications to study abroad for summer 2010, or fall 2010 are due by February 19 at 4:30 p.m.

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Several changes were made over the break. “The construction crews finished the footers and brought the area in front of the RMPR up to grade,” said Geoff Beers, Chief Operating Officer. The crew also continued to work on the footers and walls for the new open recreational area, as well as complete the concrete walls of the mechanical room.

This week, the steel skeleton of the addition will begin to go up. This is the reason the crane is in front of the SMC. It is used to place the steel framework.

Students should not worry about any disruptions in the SMC, other than occasional construction noise. The Student Memorial Center will operate normally through the spring semester.

On May 10, 2010, the SMC will close with the exception of the University Store, textbook room, and copy shop. “The fitness center will close for the summer to do overhead work in the ground floor areas,” Beers said. The fitness center will re-open for the fall 2010 semester.

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In an effort to connect with alumni using social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, the Millersville University Alumni Association (MUAA) will be holding a photo contest on their Facebook fan page until May 15, 2010.

Alumni and current students are asked to participate by sending photos of themselves wearing an eye patch.

There are several categories within the competition, including cutest baby marauder, best school pride, most creative, best family of marauders, oldest marauder, most marauders in photo, and marauder wedding photo. Photos can be submitted by simply posting a photo on the fan page wall with the category attached to the photo, the MUAA will then move your photo to the appropriate category.

Once submitted, fans of the alumni page can vote on the best photo. The photo with the most votes wins a $100 gift certificate to the school store.

The winner for each category, as well as the grand prize winner, will have their photo appear in an issue of the Review.

“This contest is an effort to gain more awareness of our Facebook fan page and stir up some marauder pride,” said Marah Harbe, the Assistant to the Director of Alumni Service. “We also want to get more current students involved with the Alumni Association.”

This year, the Alumni Association has created the Technology Committee. This committee is responsible for finding new technologies that can be used to engage alumni with their university.

John Held, the committee chair of the Technology Committee came up with the contest idea while traveling to a wedding with his fellow marauders.

“Weddings are always an opportunity to take some group alumni photos, why not spice it up with an eye patch to show that marauder pride?” Harbe said.

The contest is open to anyone for voting. To vote, comment on the photo that you like. Only one vote per person will count. You can find the alumni fan page by typing Official Millersville University Alumni Page in your Facebook search. “If you don’t submit a photo, at least come and check out the page or become a fan, students are future alumni,” Harbe said.

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