SHSU
Update For Week Of Aug. 20
Journalism Major Wins Trip
To Soccer All-Star Game
 |
| Gene Scallenberg, painted up in support
of the Houston Dynamo, was one of three "ultimate
fans" to win a trip to the MLS All-Star game last
weekend in a contest sponsored by Sierra Mist. |
SHSU journalism major Gene Schallenberg is an ultimate soccer
fan, and his love of the Houston Dynamo won him an all-expense
paid trip and two tickets to the Major League Soccer all-star
game last weekend in Chicago.
Schallenberg won the trip, which included airfare, accommodations
and a food and travel stipend, through the Sierra Mist Ultimate
Fan contest, where participants chose their favorite soccer
team and winners were selected at random for each of the 12
MLS teams. Three of those 12, who each received a $250 gift
certificate for MLS apparel, were then selected at random
to go to the All-Star game in Chicago as a national finalist.
In Chicago, the SHSU senior participated in a showcase where
he received an official Houston Dynamo jersey and had the
opportunity to meet Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario.
In addition, all three finalists participated in Chalk Talk,
a luncheon where soccer player Freddy Adu was interviewed.
“He talked about life in the MLS, being on the U.S.
National Team, and watching the World Cup from home,”
Schallenberg said. “After the interview, the representative
for Pepsi opened the floor for questions from those attending
the Chalk Talk event.
“Afterwards, Freddy Adu took pictures with everyone
there, as well as signed autographs,” he said, adding
that Adu became the youngest player to play professional sports
in America at the age of 14.
The final stage of the Ultimate Fan Contest was held during
the All-Star game against the Chelsea Football Club from England
on Saturday, which was aired on ESPN.
“Using cell phones, fans in the stadium and watching
on TV would be able to text-in and vote for the Sierra Mist
Ultimate Fan,” Schallenberg said. “In the end,
I did not win the grand prize, which was a trip to the MLS
Championship and the All-Star game next year, but that did
not stop me from feeling like a winner.
“Being able to see the world’s best soccer players
on an American stage was really great,” he said. “Especially
being a soccer guy, this has been one of the greatest experiences
I have ever had.”
Back to top
Fair To Introduce Administrators,
Organizations
Students will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with
many SHSU deans, vice presidents, and directors, as well as
student organizations, during the Administrators' and Organizations’
Fair on Thursday (Aug. 24).
Beginning at 11 a.m. in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area,
administration members will be serving lunch provided by Aramark
for students who are on a meal plan. Those who aren’t
on a meal plan can also eat for a cost, according to Student
Activities program coordinator Tiffany Flenoy.
In addition, approximately 30-35 organizations will be set
up along the mall area to offer information about their group
to potential members.
“Statistics and research show that students who get
involved on campus have a higher success rate and a better
retention rate at staying at their college and really enjoying
their experience,” Flenoy said. “So it’s
really important to make it your home and get involved in
something so you don’t feel like you are just waking
up and going to class every day.”
SHSU has 235 student organizations on campus for a wide variety
of interests in which students can get involved. Information
is available about organizations that are not able to participate
in the fair because of space constraints in the Student Activities
Office, located in LSC Suite 328.
For more information, call the 936.294.3861.
Back to top
Activities Lined Up For
Welcome Week
The Office of Student Activities will introduce incoming
freshmen to SHSU and welcome the rest of campus back for the
fall semester.
"Welcome Week is an opportunity for the university to
put its best foot forward with the students and give them
a warm welcome to college life,” said program coordinator
Brandon Cooper. “It's an opportunity to familiarize
as well as entertain them while they are transitioning into
their new surroundings.”
On Aug. 20, Student Activities will teach students about the
many traditions at SHSU during Ravenfest, at 7:30 p.m. at
the Quad. Prizes such as televisions and gift certificates
will be given away and students who have a meal plan will
be allowed to eat through Aramark Dining Services.
On Aug. 21-22, the office and KSAM radio will host Bearkat
Mania from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center
Ballroom.
“Huntsville businesses and organizations have booths
and giveaways to familiarize students with what the community
has to offer,” Cooper said.
Students will be able to try their luck with the annual Casino
Night, on Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. in the LSC Ballroom.
Games will include slot machines, black jack, craps and roulette,
and participants will be given chips to play with that allow
them a chance to win free prizes.
In addition, an expert on study skills will show students
how to enhance their study habits and improve their grades
with “Better Grades In Less Time” on Aug. 24.
The lecture will be held at 6 p.m. in the LSC Theater.
Events such as those held during Welcome Week help new students
with the transition to college life while providing entertainment
for both new and returning students, Cooper said.
“By attending these events, students walk away with
a new perspective on what lies ahead for them at Sam Houston
State University,” he said. “It also gives them
a chance to learn things they didn't know previously and meet
new people."
Welcome week will also include many other events, which will
be held through Aug. 31. For a complete schedule of events,
visit http://www.shsu.edu/calendar/
or call 936.294.3861.
Back to top
Professors To Give
‘Eastern Philosophies’
Sculptures, paintings, drawings and videos by two SHSU art
professors created when both lived and worked on the East
coast will be on display in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery beginning
Monday (Aug. 21).
“Eastern Philosophy,” which will be held through
Sept. 7, includes paintings and sculptures by SHSU assistant
professor of ceramics Brian Benfer and paintings done in encaustic
on wood, graphite drawings and video art by assistant professor
of computer animation Michael Henderson.
Benfer, who lived and worked in New Jersey from 2001-2005,
received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University
in New Brunswick in 2003.
After graduation, he taught and oversaw the ceramics program
at Rutgers and also participated in ceramic symposiums in
Latvia and Estonia with artists from around the world.
He came to Huntsville in 2005 to head the ceramics program.
Henderson moved to New York after receiving his Master of
Fine Arts degree from the University of North Texas in 1986.
As a fellow in the Whitney Independent Study Program, he worked
in a studio provided by the Whitney Museum of American Art
from 1986-87 and stayed in New York after completing the program
to work as an art preparator in museums and galleries in New
York City.
He taught painting as a visiting lecturer at Princeton University,
the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of
Texas at Dallas before coming to Huntsville in 2001 to teach
computer animation.
Benfer and Henderson both deal with the notion of time and
experience in their work, according to Debbie Davenport, art
department slide librarian.
“Henderson organizes representational imagery into grid-like,
narrative structures,” she said. “Benfer’s
work, in contrast, is abstract and about the process of creation
and the residual build up of forms over time.”
The exhibit is open to the public Monday through Friday, from
noon to 5 p.m. A public gallery reception will be held on
Thursday (Aug. 24), from 5-7 p.m.
The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located in Art Building F, at
1028 21st St.
For more information, contact Davenport
at 936.294.1317.
Back to top
Theatre Department Goes
To The ‘Grand Canyon’ Again
Senior theatre major Scott McCarrey takes on life, death,
the afterlife and what comes in between in his play “Grand
Canyon,” which will be presented Aug. 24-26 in the University
Theatre Center’s Showcase Theatre.
Show times for the play, which will be the department of theatre
and dance’s 2006-2007 participating entry in the Kennedy
Center American College Theater Festival, are at 8 p.m. each
evening.
The play, directed by theatre staff member Larry Routh, tells
a story about Abraham Lincoln, who embarks on a road trip
to the Grand Canyon and along the way, picks up beat poet
Jack Kerouac and former Russian dictator Joseph Stalin.
The three men journey on toward the Grand Canyon, all the
while debating a multitude of topics, including life, death,
legacy and fast food.
The cast includes Garrett Graham as Lincoln, Steven Chambers
as Kerouac and Cody Hinson as Stalin.
Tickets are $8 and may be taken at the door.
The play contains adult content and language, and no children
under the age of three will be admitted.
For more information, call the UTC Box Office at 936.294.1339.
Back to top
Student Works On
‘Idea House’ For Internship
The work of a SHSU interior design student was recently
featured in Southern Living magazine.
Rachel Wilson, who graduated Aug. 5, worked on one of Southern
Living’s Idea Houses featured in a 59-page spread in
the magazine’s August 2006 issue for one month as part
of her internship with By Design, Inc.
The site of the house, located in the Traditions subdivision
on Villa Maria in Bryan, Texas, as well as the architect,
the house plan and the interior designers were all chosen
by the magazine for the issue, according to Wilson.
“I basically helped the designers catalog every item
that we unpacked and put into the house,” she said.
“We had to keep track of everything because everything
in the house is for sale. I also assisted the designers in
placing the items in the home.”
“It was an exciting but intense experience, and she
definitely expects to benefit from it, now and in the future,”
said Janis White, family and consumer sciences department
chair.
Wilson was accepted into the graduate program for construction
management at Texas A&M University for the fall, and said
her future career goals include serving as a project manager
for a construction company.
To take a virtual tour of the Texas Idea House, visit http://www.southernliving.com/southern/homes/house_plans/house_plans_article/article/0,13676,1208277,00.html.
Back to top
Clinics To Teach Techniques
For Climbing Wall
 |
| Students scale the 34-foot rock climbing
wall at the Health and Kinesiology Center. Climbing the
wall is free on Thursdays from 6-7 p.m., when Rec Sports
hosts Vertical Happy Hour. |
The Department of Recreational Sports and Outdoor Recreation
is encouraging students, faculty and staff to utilize the
“born climbers” in us all by hosting a variety
of clinics and events at the Health and Kinesiology Center’s
Rock Climbing Wall throughout the semester.
“We all climbed trees as kids,” said Stephen Thompson,
Rec Sports assistant director for Outdoor Recreation.
“It’s great way to learn about yourself.
“You’d be surprised when people stand at the bottom
of the climbing wall and look up (and think), “there’s
no way I can do this,” how different they feel about
themselves when they come down realizing that they actually
can,” he said.
Every Thursday while school is in session, beginning Thursday
(Aug. 24), the department hosts Rec Sports Vertical Happy
Hour from 6-7 p.m.
During this time, the normal fees associated with the 34-foot
rock-climbing wall are waived for participants, according
to Thompson.
Potential climbers do not have to have climbing experience
to take part in the happy hour.
If you would rather learn about the techniques involved in
rock climbing before taking a stab at happy hour, the department
hosts several clinics teaching climbing movements throughout
the semester.
Top-rope belay clinics, which teach the technique of using
the rope to support someone else as they climb, will be held
Monday and Wednesday (Aug. 21 and 23), from 4-5 p.m., as well
as various times throughout the year.
In addition, the department will teach lead climbing, the
technique of setting your own protection as you climb the
wall and is considered more advanced climbing, and clinics
on climbing movement.
All climbing clinics are $5, are held at the Rock Climbing
Wall and provide a one-year certification pending the passing
of a skills test at the end of the session.Certification is
required for those who want to climb above the “bouldering”
level during open climbing hours, which are Sunday through
Friday from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday from 3-5 p.m.
For more information, call Thompson at 936.294.3656.
Back to top
Sorority To Give Safe
Dating Advice
The Lambda Eta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.,
will give students tips for “Safe Dating” on Wednesday
(Aug. 23).
The program, which will be held from 5-7:30 p.m. in the Lowman
Student Center Theater, will include Elizabeth Charrier, counseling
psychologist at the SHSU Counseling Center, and Doug Stewart,
who teaches martial arts in the Health and Kinesiology Center.
Charrier will address how to develop healthy relationships
while in college, how to notice when a relationship becomes
abusive and what do if a relationship becomes abusive.
Stewart will show the students how to protect themselves if
they are ever attacked while on a date or just while on campus.
“The purpose of our safe dating program is to make the
students of Sam Houston State University aware of the possible
dangers of dating and how to avoid being a victim of date
violence,” said Kristen Jones, second vice president
of Zeta Phi Beta.
The program is open to both males and females.
For more information, contact Jones at stdkyj11@shsu.edu.
Back to top
Send Update Items Here
Please send information for the SHSU Update to the Office
of Public Relations at SHSU. For electronic access to SHSU
news see the public relations Web page Today@Sam.
Back to top
- END -
SHSU Media Contacts: Frank
Krystyniak, Julia May,
Jennifer Gauntt
Aug. 20, 2006
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
|
