News

WORCESTER, Mass. – The following Holy Cross students were recently awarded French Embassy Youth and Sports Grants (Bourses Jeunesse et Sports) to participate in short-term cultural and linguistic programs in France this summer:

Emily Lynch ’06 will be among hundred of photographic artists from all over the world attending the International Photography Meeting is Arles, France from July 4 – 12. The program will feature thirty photography exhibitions, several receptions and shows, and lectures and debates with professional photographers about the artistic and practical elements of photography. A psychology major and studio arts minor from Reading, Mass., Lynch is a member of the Campus Activities Board. She works in the photography lab on campus.

Jeanne Normand ’05 will take part in the “Discover Paris by Foot, Cycle or Rollerblades” program from July 18 – 25. The program will allow her to explore some of Paris’ great historical and culture sites, like the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Grande Arche de la Défense, and Cité des Sciences. The program will also feature a component on the economy and culture of Paris. A double major in French and art history, Normand is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Delta Phi, the National French Honor Society. She is a resident of Beverly, Mass.

Nathanael Shea ’04, a resident of Spencer, Mass., will attend the nine-day Avignon Festival from July 7 – 16, where he will have the opportunity to participate in all activities relating to the festival, including meeting the artists and taking part in workshops on theater, dance, poetry and writing. A philosophy major and French minor, Shea studied in Strasbourg, France during his junior year. At Holy Cross, he has been involved in several student and theatre department productions. A recipient of the National Merit Scholarship, he was recently awarded the College’s Bourgeois French Prize for this year’s best French essay. Shea’s mother, Helene Lutz, is a member of the religious studies faculty, and his father, William Shea, is the director of the College’s Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.

WORCESTER, Mass. – As part of Worcester’s Earth Day celebration at Crystal Park (Main Street) on May 2, from 1 – 5 p.m., Holy Cross students enrolled in an environmental mathematics course will present their research project results. In addition, they will be cleaning up Southbridge Street, near the Holy Cross campus, on Saturday, May 1.

Student projects spanned a variety of topics, each addressing an important environmental issue in Worcester. A community-based learning course, projects were completed in collaboration with various local environmental agencies, including the Regional Environmental Council, the EcoTarium, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Department of Public Works. Some of this year’s projects included:

• investigating the links between Worcester’s asthma rate and income level
• examining the dangers of mercury in area households
• assisting the Department of Public Works with drain stenciling projects to alert the public of the run-off to local rivers
• working with the EcoTarium to monitor visitor traffic
• examining litter and recycling in Worcester
• monitoring the water quality of the Middle River for the Massachusetts Audubon Society

The environmental studies program at Holy Cross is a multidisciplinary, student-designed minor run through the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. The aim of environmental studies is to allow students to assemble a series of courses that bridge two or more disciplines and that provides a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will hold the 33rd annual Classics Day on Thursday, April 29. Designed to familiarize students with the Holy Cross Classics department, its faculty and current students, the event features a variety of activities relating to the study of Roman culture.

Approximately 500 students will attend the event this year. Participants include Burncoat High School and Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, as well as several other high schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The schedule of events is as follows:

* Welcoming Address
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m., Hogan Campus Center Ballroom

* “The Fall(s) of Troy” (Lecture by Professor Ethan Adams, of the Classics dept.)
9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., Hogan Campus Center Ballroom

* Upper and Lower Division Certamen (Certamen is Latin for “competition.” Student teams will compete College Bowl style, answering questions concerning Roman history, mythology, culture and the Latin language.)
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Hogan Campus Center

* Costume Contest
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Hogan Campus Center Ballroom

* Chariot Races (Student teams build their own chariots. Each team consists of a rider and student “horses.”)
11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Hart Center

* Lunch
12 p.m. – 1 p.m., Kimball Dining Hall

* Final Round Certamen
1 p.m. – 2 p.m., Hogan Campus Center Ballroom

* Awards Presentation
2 p.m. – 2:15 p.m., Hogan Campus Center Ballroom

WORCESTER, Mass. – Cambridge Mûsiki Cemiyeti will present a concert of Turkish classical and folk music at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 29 in the Holy Cross Brooks Concert Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

The concert will include compositions from two distinct families of Turkish music. The first family is composed of instrumental and vocal pieces associated with Ottoman court and urban life from the 14th century to the present. The second family, originating in towns and villages, is made up of lively compositions often depicting scenes from rural life. Turkish music is built upon highly developed systems of makam (melodic mode) and usûl (rhythmic mode), which provide a solid framework for composition and taksim (improvisation). Turkish folk music has a less elaborate melodic structure and simpler rhythmic modes than the classical music. While the lyrics of the classical pieces are derived from the poetry of the Ottoman Divan tradition, those of the folk music belong to the Anatolian aþýk (minstrel) tradition. These two families of music, however, share the common central theme of love, both divine and romantic.

Directed by Feridun Özgören, Cambridge Mûsiki Cemiyeti is a choral and instrumental ensemble dedicated to studying and performing Turkish classical, mystical, and folk music. Since its founding in 1996, the group has played at universities, museums, and other venues in the New England area – including the Worcester Art Museum, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Northeastern University, and the New England Conservatory of Music.

This event is sponsored by MECCA (Muslim Endeavor to Create Cultural Awareness) with support from Student Life.

WORCESTER, Mass. – As part of continuing efforts to improve relations between the College and the greater Worcester community, Holy Cross will host the 20th anniversary celebration of the Briarwood Retirement Community on Saturday, April 24 at 7 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom.

In recognition of Briarwood’s 20 years of service to the Worcester community, Mayor Timothy Murray has issued a mayoral citation honoring the retirement community. The framed citation will be presented to Val Loring, president of Briarwood’s Board of Trustees, at Saturday’s celebration, by Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., Holy Cross president, on behalf of the City of Worcester and the College of the Holy Cross.

“We are delighted to be able to share in this important milestone in support of and in recognition of Briarwood’s many contributions to the Worcester Community,” says Ricardo Surita, assistant to the vice president for student affairs and director of judicial affairs.

Briarwood residents and staff, community members, gerontology professionals, and College Hill and South Worcester neighbors are among the 500 invited to share in the celebration.

The evening will feature a 20th birthday cake, hors d’oeuvres and several performances, including a solo singing performance by Holy Cross junior Andre Isaacs and songs by The Delilahs, the College’s all female a cappella group.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will host Academic Conference 2004 from Thursday, April 22 to Saturday, April 24. The three-day conference is designed to provide students from a broad spectrum of academic disciplines with an opportunity to present the results of their independent work. The programs, projects, and posters are the results of student work over one or two semesters under the guidance of faculty members. Approximately 250 Holy Cross students will be involved in the conference this year.

Representing a fraction of the independent and group-project opportunities of which Holy Cross students have taken advantage this year, the conference includes works from the arts, social sciences, humanities and natural sciences.

The conference will open with a lecture by this year’s Fenwick Scholar, psychology major Shayne Piasta, titled “Influences on Reading Instruction in Massachusetts Public Schools: Research, Policy and Teacher Knowledge,” at 3:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library on Thursday, April 22.

According to Piasta, “The academic conference has a number of functions. Not only does it provide a great experience in terms of presentation and public speaking skills, but the Academic Conference also acts as the culminating event for the projects students have labored over for a year. It provides students an opportunity to reflect back on that year’s worth of work, integrate all they have learned, and then share the knowledge and experience they have gained with the rest of the Holy Cross community.”
A reception open to the entire Holy Cross community will follow the lecture at 4:45 p.m. in the Hogan Main Lounge, with a simultaneous Poster Session in the Ballroom.

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the College, Academic Conference 2004 is free and open to the public.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross students and neighbors will gather at the College Hill Civic Association Building (79 Kendig Street) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 for the dedication and unveiling of “Civitas Branching,” a 24-foot wide by three-foot tall mosaic, created by students and community members last semester. The mosaic has been installed on the side of the Civic Association Building. A reception and all-ages performance by the Pumpernickel Puppet Theatre will follow.

The dedication will include a tree-planting ceremony. An apple and a pear tree, chosen because of their depiction in the mosaic, will be planted outside of the Civic Association building. Shown in the mosaic with intertwining branching, the trees symbolize growth, change and history in the neighborhood.

Worcester Mayor Timothy Murray and City Councilors Barbara Haller and Paul Clancy are among the 500 community members invited to the dedication.

The mosaic project was part of a community-based learning course run through the College’s Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies last semester. Participants in the project met each Thursday evening to work on the mosaic under the direction of Hillary Sloate, a mosaicist and teacher at the Worcester Art Museum.

A resident of College Hill and a member of the Civic Association, Sloate says, “‘Civitas Branching’ reflects renewed cooperation and understanding between College Hill residents and Holy Cross. Not only did 28 students and residents come together to create a beautiful mosaic mural that symbolizes our history and future, but the process that we undertook to create ‘Civitas Branching’ was crucial to developing a new culture of respect between the College and the residents.”

The dedication of the mosaic coincides with a community clean-up at Cookson Park, at 10:30 a.m., and Academic Conference 2004, at which students will display the results of their work over the past year.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Ellen Ryder, the owner of a Manhattan-based communications firm, has been appointed the new director of Public Affairs for the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. She will assume her duties in June.

“We are all delighted to welcome Ellen Ryder to Holy Cross,” says Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College. “As the daughter and sister of alumni, she understands our mission and our goals, and her vast experience will enable her to articulate both to the wider world. Moreover, she is intelligent and well-educated, with broad experience in publishing and public relations. Ellen will be a major asset to the College.”

Ryder worked for 10 years as the founder and owner of Ellen Ryder Communications, LLC, a full-service public relations firm in New York City. Specializing in the representation of publishers, authors, artists and educational programs, her company had as clients Harper’s Magazine, the American Society of Magazine Editors, Scientific American and the National Book Foundation/National Book Awards. Prior to founding the company in 1994, Ryder worked in publicity and promotion management positions at consumer magazines. She established the in-house publicity department at GQ magazine (1992-94), directing press coverage, special events and media relations. From 1989-1992, she served as vice president, corporate and public affairs at Harper’s Magazine, handling all editorial publicity and sales promotion. She began her career in magazines as promotion director at the award-winning regional magazine, New England Monthly, (1984-89).

“This is an exemplary pairing,” says Frank Vellaccio, the College’s senior vice president. “Ellen has an extensive and diverse background that includes journalism, media relations, marketing and management. We’re all quite excited about her strategies for publicizing the extraordinary work being done by remarkable people on Mount St. James.”

Co-author, with Charles P. Daly and Patrick Henry, of The Magazine Publishing Industry (Allyn & Bacon, 1996), Ryder has conducted seminars sponsored by the Magazine Publishers of America and the Council for Literary Magazines and Presses and has lectured at the publishing programs at Columbia, Radcliffe, Rice University, Fordham University and the University of Chicago. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at New York University.

“I’m thrilled and privileged to have this opportunity to work with the community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni at Holy Cross,” Ryder said. “The College has stories of success and achievement unfolding on campus every day, as well as a rich history and a magnificent liberal arts tradition. I’m looking forward to building on the College’s strong communications program, and telling those stories to an ever-wider audience.”

Ryder earned her master’s degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Wellesley College. She is a native of Worcester, Mass.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Asthma rates nationwide are skyrocketing, with more and more children being diagnosed with the disease annually. Because asthma has been linked to both indoor and outdoor air pollution, urban residents are particularly at risk. Yet, according to research done by three Holy Cross students, there are other factors at play as well.

Holy Cross junior Tom Florino has found that there is a strong correlation between household income and asthma. Using data from the Asthma Regional Council and the Census 2000, Florino estimates that the asthma rate for households in Worcester with an income level under $25,000 is approximately 11.9%. That percentage is an estimated three to four percent higher than in households earning more than $25,000.

Florino is one of three Holy Cross students in Professor Catherine A. Roberts’ Environmental Math course working for the Regional Environmental Council to examine asthma rates in Worcester.

Because individual states do not currently keep records of asthma diagnoses, the students’ qualitative research is an important first step in addressing causes and developing preventative measures.

Jeanne Normand ’05 and Michael McLaughlin ’06 are also working on the project. Normand, who suffers from mild asthma, is particularly interested in examining the causes of the higher numbers of asthma occurrences in the Northeast.

McLaughlin, whose father and sister both have asthma, is working specifically to develop an asthma curriculum to be incorporated into the public school system. He will present a lesson to fifth and sixth graders at the Nativity School in May.

The students will supplement their research with a survey to be distributed at Worcester’s Earth Day activities in Crystal Park (Main Street) on May 2. The survey will include questions on income, age and ethnicity.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Katie Yue-Sum Li, a Holy Cross junior from Danvers, Mass., has been named a Harry S. Truman Scholar in a national competition. The prestigious scholarship, which provides $26,000 for the senior year of college and two or three years of graduate study, was awarded to 77 students nationwide this year.

Students selected plan to embark on a career in public service, whether in government, uniformed services, public-interest organizations, nongovernmental organizations, public-service oriented nonprofit institutions (such as those intended to help the needy or disadvantaged or to protect the environment), or educational institutions. Colleges and universities can nominate up to four students for the award each year. Important criteria are not only academic excellence, but also significant service and leadership that give confidence that the student will be an “agent for change” in their future career.

One of three Holy Cross nominees this year, Li is pursuing a self-designed major in Asian-American Studies, through the College’s Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, and a concentration in Africana Studies. She has been highly visible on campus as a leader of A.S.I.A. (Asian Students in Action), a multicultural peer educator, and an advocate for multiculturalism in the Student Government Association. Active in the Boston Chinatown community and the Los Angeles Asian-American community, she has developed a seamless integration of her academic and community interests. Li is one of the College’s Dana Scholars and a member of the highly selective Honors Program. She is studying this semester at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Li hopes to earn a Ph.D. in urban policy, and someday teach at the university level, while continuing her activism in urban neighborhoods.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sixteen student volunteers from Holy Cross will aid last-minute tax filers in preparing their returns at the Worcester Post Office on East Central Street, from 4 p.m. – midnight tonight.

Participating students are all members of the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Practicum Class offered each spring at Holy Cross. This comprehensive course taught by Professor Scott Sandstrom exposes students to IRS guidelines within the classroom setting. Volunteer time in Worcester complements classroom learning by providing students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in real life situations.

VITA students have been working the past few months to help low income and elderly members of the Worcester community and non-exempt College employees file their tax returns. In past years, the students have helped filed over 200 federal returns.

Tax night is traditionally one of the biggest mailing days of the year. The post office expects a large volume of customers tonight rushing to file their returns before midnight.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross presents Project 11: Works from the Senior Concentration Seminar, from April 27 through May 28, 2004. An opening reception for artists will be held on Friday, April 30, from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at the Cantor Art Gallery. The gallery will be closed Saturday, May 15 and Saturday, May 22.

Each spring semester the Cantor Art Gallery mounts an exhibition of work by graduating seniors enrolled in the Senior Concentration Seminar offered by the Visual Arts Department/Studio Art Faculty. The two-semester course is designed to provide students the unique opportunity to work for extended periods of time, producing artwork that reflects their own vision and technical abilities.

The course allows students access to private studio space, opportunities to visit museums and artist’s studios and to have their work reviewed by contemporary visiting artists. The Senior Concentration Seminar culminates with a professional level exhibition in the Cantor Art, where each student presents their body of work.

Project 11 includes works by: Jonathan Acocella, Katherine Daly, Matthew Petricone, Natalie Willett, Rachelle Beaudoin, Elizabeth Hamilton, Michael Sandstrom, Heather Yanusas, Jennifer Corsilli, Jessica Maturo, and Kiara Upshaw.

Student presentations in conjunction with the exhibition will be held at the Cantor Art Gallery on Wednesday, April 28, at 12 p.m.

The hours for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery are Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Saturday, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closed, Saturday, May 15 and Saturday, May 22. Located in O’Kane Hall, 1st Floor, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610. Admission to the gallery is free.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Jean-Pierre Leguay will perform an organ concert on Sunday, April 25, at 3 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at the College of the Holy Cross. Part of the Holy Cross Chapel Artists Series, the concert is free and open to the public.

The program will feature Baroque Spanish music, works by J.S. Bach, and original works by Leguay.

Jean-Pierre Leguay is organist of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. Blind from birth, he is considered one of France’s greatest composers. He has received numerous commissions including several from the French government and many festivals throughout Europe. He has recorded extensively and is sought after throughout the world as a jury member for international organ competitions. This concert will be Leguay’s third performance at Holy Cross.