Habemus Papam

The announcement of a new pope touches home with junior psychology and religious studies major, Flor Ortega, who was born in Mexico and whose mother is from Argentina. Ortega was very moved by the fact that Pope Francis took his name from St. Francis Assisi and is from Argentina. She called her mom as the news was announced to share in the excitement.

3-13-13 by Stephanie Lefeld ’13

Flyers fanatic

March Madness may be just beginning, but at UD, Flyer fans are faithful year-round.

Billy Kingsolver, a senior MIS major from Mason, Ohio, and former president of Red Scare, has been cheering for the Flyers since he stepped on to campus in 2008. From running the business of basketball through Red Scare, to receiving an invitation to watch the First Four games with President Obama in 2012, Kingsolver’s experiences shaped him into the person — and fan — he is today.

“Red Scare has been an incredible undergraduate experience,” he said. “Not only have I enjoyed the game day atmosphere, but as president of the organization last year, it has played an integral role in developing me as a person.”

For Kingsolver, being a Flyers fan isn’t about winning A-10 titles or qualifying for the NCAA tournament, “though these are great,” he emphasizes. Being a Flyers fan is about community. The same sense of community that blankets campus and the student neighborhoods infiltrates the UD Arena and Flyers fans nationwide.

“For me, following the Flyers is about the community of people I get to watch the games with,” said Kingsolver. “Being president of Red Scare has allowed me to meet and become friends with so many fellow Flyers. These relationships and memories will last longer and have a bigger impact than any on the court.”

From dressing up like the Wright Brothers at games with fellow student and current Red Scare president Matt Barrett to marching to the Arena from Frericks Center for the Xavier game, to traveling around the state and country to watch his favorite players hit the court (Current favorite: Dyshawn Pierre. “Gotta love the Canadian!”), Kingsolver epitomizes what it means to be a UD basketball fan: Passionate, dedicated, faithful.

And as far as his plans for the Big Dance this year, he’s settling in for a monthlong affair, hopefully one that will involve his beloved Dayton Flyers.

But, as any good sports fan will tell you, there’s always next year.

“Give [Coach] Archie [Miller] a few years and he’ll have a winner,” said Kingsolver.

First Four and many more

The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament begins next week in Dayton with the First Four and continues through Sunday, March 24, with second- and third-round games. More than 60,000 fans will attend games at UD Arena, but here are some lesser-known numbers surrounding the event that probably won’t appear in your average press release.

17 – The day in March when it all begins with the announcement of the tournament bracket.

12 – Number of different teams guaranteed to be playing in next week’s games. Yes, 12. Although there could be as many as 16 different teams headed for Dayton, the possibility exists that some or even all of the First Four winners could also play their second-round games in Dayton.

10 — Games to be played at UD Arena (Four First Four games, four second-round games, two third-round games)

101 — Number of NCAA men’s Division I basketball tournament games UD Arena will have hosted at the conclusion of the third round March 24

340 — Number of pages in the tournament host manual

900 — Room nights reserved at the headquarters hotel (Dayton Marriott) for tournament officials and media

1600 — Cloth napkins used for catered events during the tournament

35 — Individuals from each institution permitted into closed practices

24 — Buses held for use by schools (one each for team, band and fans) at either the first-round games, or second and third rounds

350,000 — minimum number of copies (including stat sheets, press conference transcripts and information sheets for media members) made for all three rounds

Engineering leaders

Some of you on campus might have noticed the number of well-dressed individuals migrating around KU this weekend. A lot of them were classmates, a few of them were professors and a number of them were strangers. But they all shared two things: a look of determination and pride and a Hispanic heritage.

The University of Dayton hosted the 2013 Regional Leadership Development Conference for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) this weekend. While the rest of campus was enjoying the weather and sleeping the day away, these engineers took the opportunity to meet and expand their knowledge of the professional world.

“The conference is normally about learning how to improve your leadership style in the corporate world. Many of the workshops and seminars are focused on resume building, networking and how to apply to graduate school. The theme this year, though, was service leadership,” said Ciarilis Colon ’14, a mechanical engineering technology major at UD.

SHPE is a student organization on campus with a mission that “hopes to change lives by empowering the Hispanic community to realize their fullest potential and impacts the world through STEM awareness, access, support and development. SHPE’s vision is a world where Hispanics are highly valued and influential in leading innovators, scientists, mathematicians and engineers.”

The conference itself is split into three categories of interaction and seminars: undergraduate, graduate and professional. All of the categories interact, but the seminars and workshops are catered specifically to your level of study in the engineering world: case studies, for example, for undergraduates.

“We are presented with a case study that involves a problem often in a developing country. They try and pair you with someone you don’t know. And once you get the problem at 8 p.m. you and your partner work until 5 a.m. coming up with a solution. Then the next day the judges, the professionals that are a part of the career fair, pick a winner. Oftentimes this is a great way for the professionals at the career fair to recruit new employees and for the students to get an idea of what they want to do,” said Colon.

The conference boasted about 170 attendees comprised of 140 undergraduates and graduates, 20 professionals and UD committee members and SHPE National Staff. They came from eight states in Region 6 which includes Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. A total of 18 universities were represented.

“I like the case studies because I get to meet new people. I did the case studies last year and I am still friends with the people I partnered with. It’s a great tool for networking,” Colon said.

Youthful energy

A schoolful of energetic elementary students with access to plenty of sugar and a day’s worth of games might sound like a recipe for disaster, but this spring, it resulted in about $2,000 for local service agencies.

For more than 15 years, the philanthropic Fat Tuesday event, Mission Day, has been sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization at Holy Angels School.

“The children and staff pay to participate in carnival type games, to try and win raffle prizes and eat yummy snacks,” said Michelle Lehmann, Holy Angels’ after school extension director.

The youngsters weren’t the only students on hand. Members of UD’s chapter of Gamma Epsilon Lambda, a service fraternity, donned green, purple and gold alongside teachers and parents to stay in keeping with the day’s Mardi Gras theme. Their outfits were festive, but still paled in comparison to the enthusiasm of the students. Humongous hats, face paint, costumes: the students of Holy Angels were just as happy to donate money as they were to jump in a giant bouncy house.

Skill events included a pop toss, with players throwing rings at two-liter soda bottles in hopes of “hooking” one to take home. At the “café,” children could buy various snacks and baked goods. The most popular item? Pizza, of course. Raffled prizes reflected the group’s age range, with tickets to Kings Island and sporting events, a Wii gaming system and a Kindle Fire.

All proceeds raised throughout the day benefited two charities in the Dayton area. This year, Holy Angels School student council chose the Artemis House, an organization that supports domestic abuse victims, and Miami Valley Family Care Center, which offers education-based childcare for children of all social, religious and economic backgrounds. Each received approximately $1,000 from this year’s event, Lehman said.

“Mission Day has been a great event that allows our students and staff to have tons of fun while following the teachings of Jesus to help others,” Lehmann said.

Women’s oppression: a 21st-century problem

There’s a certain level of discomfort you expect to feel when listening to a lecture on human trafficking. But two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof rendered the audience speechless when he recounted one attempt to rescue women from what is a $35 billion industry: While on assignment in Cambodia in the 1990s, he bought two girls from a brothel.

It was one of many stories that illustrate the problems facing women and their importance on all of society.

“We must invest in girl’s education,” Kristof said. “Women and girls aren’t the problem, they are the solution. The only thing these girls have done wrong is be born in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

Kristof, along with his wife Sheryl WuDunn, has covered social justice issues ranging from sex trafficking in India and Cambodia to the genocide in Darfur, all topics he covered at the second annual Consciousness Rising conference Saturday. Women’s oppression, he said, is the social justice issue of our century, and the answer to it lies in women’s education.

Kristof said the effort University of Dayton students are making to learn more about human trafficking impressed him.

“The students have latched on to two issues that I think are among the most important; one, human trafficking, and the other, education,” he said. “I am so impressed by their passion and their dedication to addressing these.”

After the talk, Kristof stayed at the conference for a book signing of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Kristof and WuDunn co-wrote the book, which details their travels and recounts stories of trafficking, in 2009. Kristof also launched a game on Facebook where students can learn more about trafficking.

Concert for a cause

The RecPlex reverberated with the sounds of live music and students cheering as three bands took the stage to raise awareness for Consciousness Rising Friday night.

Parachute, Steve Moakler and The Future Laureates were featured at the concert to the delight of the students.

The Future Laureates, a folk-infused rock group based in Chicago, performed some of their own ballads, such as “Kingston Blues,” and some classics, like “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

“We’ve done a handful of fundraisers since we’ve been a band,” said Danny Surico, acoustic guitar player for The Future Laureates. “I think part of it comes from when we went to Loyola in Chicago. It’s a Jesuit school, so there is a focus on social justice. If there is an opportunity to play and give back, then we are about that.”

Following The Future Laureates were Steve Moakler and Parachute. Moakler runs a charity called Free the Birds, which “funds freedom and restoration for women and children who have been exploited by human sex trafficking,” according to his website.

Parachute, the pop-rock band from Charlottesville, Va., pumped up the crowd with some of their Billboard hits such as “Kiss Me Slowly” and “She Is Love.”

“It’s always nice to play for a good cause,” said Will Anderson, lead vocals for Parachute. “If that good cause is one that can throw a good show and have a good party, then we are always about it. That’s the best of both worlds.”

The concert was the result of collaboration between Campus Activities Board and Consciousness Rising.

“We were looking for bands and artists who affiliate themselves with social justice and use their music to promote it,” said Colin Franklin, junior education major and CAB performers chair. “Steve has his obvious ties with his Free the Birds campaign, Parachute has ties to issues with clean water in Africa and The Future Laureates organize social justice benefit shows.”

The concert ended with smiling students and an overall feeling of accomplishment.

“We love playing for a good cause, love Dayton, Ohio, and love the University of Dayton,” said Anderson.

A woman’s world

In honor of International Women’s Day March 8, the famed “pink ladies” spent a week on display in the lobby of Kennedy Union. The mannequins were donned in traditional attire from one dozen countries, from Austria to Zambia, along with facts about women in those parts of the world. Click image to view more photos.

The Women’s History Month observation continues with the exhibit, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Changing Roles of American Women.” Sponsored by UD’s Women’s Center, it features the work of ninth-grade students at Dayton Regional STEM School; they employed printmaking techniques to portray 20 different women — from Colonial times to the present — in a life-sized installation. It runs March 8-29 in the Women’s Center on the 2nd floor of Alumni Hall.