CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
On April 28, Fairleigh Dickinson held its first-ever Twombly Awards. Similar to the Maddy Awards, this event recognized freshmen who stood out in several different categories.
The idea originated with Lindsay Grettner, a GA from last year, and current Resident Assistant, Jackie Radcliff. Radcliff was inspired by the Maddy Awards and decided to hold an awards ceremony for freshmen so they could see that others were noticing their actions as well.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
On April 16, a global peace panel was held in the Orangerie. Sarah Horn, the operations specialist for FDU’s Office of Global Learning, began by explaining this event was a result of a grant the school received to promote global peace on this campus.
Books and movies related to the subject were bought with the money the grant provided. She then introduced one of the reference librarians, Eleanor Friedl, who welcomed the audience members.
The first speaker was Madelyn Hoffman, the executive director of New Jersey Peace Action.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham recently obtained the Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and held a Bridging Cultures event with artists Mona Abdala and Basem Hassan to talk about how the Islamic faith influences art.
Kenneth Sammond, senior lecturer in the Department of Literature, Language, Writing and Philosophy, served as moderator for the event and applied for the grant.
Public and academic libraries were asked to submit proposals explaining how they would promote the materials provided and the Monninger Center was one of the libraries selected to receive this grant.
The grant awarded the library with 25 Islam-related books, four documentary films and access to the Oxford online library for a year. The books, as well as several paintings, were put on display for audience members to view at the event.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
As previously reported, on March 25, students received an email about priority points earned. Two days later, students voiced their concerns over FDU’s new housing process at the Student Government Association meeting.
The new process bases a student’s priority on four different categories – academics, judicial standing, campus involvement and residence hall involvement – instead of relying on academic credits earned and a student’s grade point average.
Jas Verem, dean of students, was at the meeting to clear up any confusion about the process and to listen to what students had to say about it.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
On April 20, the Association of Black Collegians (ABC) will be hosting their fifth annual fashion show from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Recreation Center.
The fashion show will raise money for a cause that will be determined by a vote after Spring Break. It attracts more than 300 people every year.
Not only does the show serve as a fundraiser for a good cause, but it also provides a learning experience for students on how to participate in a professional fashion show.
An actual modeling coach was hired to teach the different aspects of modeling such as walking in heels, posing and portraying confidence. The coach comes once a week for two months so that the student models are well prepared.
Being a model in this show was an opportunity open to all Fairleigh Dickinson University students.
ABC’s five-member executive board held an audition that involved a simple interview and a demonstration of their runway walk from one end of the room to the other.
The process was really more to get a feel for the students’ character rather than evaluate their ability to walk professionally, so nearly everyone who auditioned was selected to be a participant.
There are around 20 models who will be in the show. The models will be wearing the clothes of more than six different professional designers from New Jersey, New York City and Boston, Mass.
Kadi Cisse, the president of ABC, reached out to the designers through their websites and any connections the club members had. Each designer has agreed to have FDU’s models display a fashion line they personally created. Their themes include gowns and African designs.
Apart from modeling lessions and designer clothes, models will also be assisted by a professional make up artist who has been hired to do their cosmetics for the show.
Each year, a popular aspect of the show is the presence of a celebrity host. This year’s big name will be the radio personality Charlamagne Tha God, who is best known for being the co-host of a morning show on the radio station 105.1 and a cast member of MTV’s new comedic show, “Guy Code.”
The theme for this year’s show is centered around Hollywood, which explains the show’s clever title, “Lights, Camera, Fashion,” purposely resembling the popular phrase “lights, camera, action” that is so often associated with filmmaking and Hollywood.
Normally the show would have a runway built, but this year ABC has chosen to go with a red carpet instead, which fits in with their Hollywood theme. The Recreation Center will also be decorated to follow this year’s theme.
This event is open to everyone, including students and the general public. Tickets are $10 and will be sold in the Dining Hall by members of ABC as well as the models themselves. They are only available to buy ahead of time; none will be sold at the door.
Due to the large number of people that attend each year, it will take place in the Recreation Center, rather than the Dining Hall, where it was held in previous years.
The doors open at 7 p.m. on the day of the event.
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
FOX recently released a new show, “The Following,” which airs on Mondays at 9 p.m.
My first impression of the show was that it would be about a serial killer who escapes prison with the help of several devoted fans.
But I was somewhat mistaken to find that was merely the plot of the first episode, as Joe Carroll, the show’s main antagonist and serial killer, is recaptured soon after his escape.
The plot instead follows multiple different characters.
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
If I hadn’t been confused about my entrance into the Honors Program, I may never have really met Rose Andraka. But when I began my freshman year, it turns out that I didn’t fill out the proper paperwork to join, and therefore had to go see the Honors coordinator and find out if I could still be a member.
I went up to her office on the third floor of the Mansion and was greeted by a friendly face surrounded by her many partially unpacked boxes. I explained my dilemma to her, and instead of lecturing me on needing to check those sorts of things, she happily agreed to let me join and switched me into her own Freshman Seminar class with several other Honors students.
When I went to Enrollment Services to switch into the program, the woman behind the desk told me that I needed Mrs. Andraka’s signature on the form before I was officially a member of the Honors program. I felt bad for inconveniencing her, as the woman called up to let her know. I could tell Mrs. Andraka was obviously very busy, and it had been my fault in the first place that I had to switch. I was expecting her to be understandably irritated and wondered if I would have to go back up to get her to sign the form. Yet she took the time to come downstairs and didn’t appear irritated at all.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
On Nov. 13, students assembled in Twombly Lounge for a presentation on Irish folklore by Associate Professor of English and Literature Matthieu Boyd as part of a series on campus relating to the novel “Brooklyn” by Colm Toibin.
At a young age, Boyd was taught Breton, a Celtic language. His relatives were native speakers and emphasized the importance of learning the language.
As he grew older, he took an interest in all Celtic languages and decided to study their backgrounds within Irish folklore. He shared his knowledge of these topics both in connection with “Brooklyn” and beyond.
Boyd began by explaining the difference between English and Irish language by speaking a sentence in Gaelic. To the audience’s amusement, no one could understand a word he said. He said Irish is known by many in Ireland and is even taught in school, yet there are few people who speak it fluently.
Boyd proceeded to tell several different tales of the Irish. One story was of a woman named Katrina who recently died and has nothing to do but lay in her grave for the rest of eternity, gossiping with the rest of the corpses around her. Barely anything changes throughout the story; they just keep doing the same things.
The comparison Boyd drew to the novel was how it mentioned that the protagonist’s town in Ireland was full of gossipy people, and nothing ever really changed. Boyd believes that Toibin used that allusion in his novel but perhaps did not know about all the parallels that could be drawn to Irish folklore within his book.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Staff Writer
On Oct. 4, a number of students and faculty headed to the Mansion in formal attire for the Honors program reception to welcome new members and recognize returning members for their achievements.
Although some students were unable to attend because of classes, the turnout was fairly high.
There are currently more than 120 students in the university’s Honors program, not including the more than 50 Florham Scholars who were also in attendance.
The hour-long event opened with introductions by Robyn Schiffman, professor of English literature and interim director of the Honors program.
In her speech, she quickly reassured those in attendance that she would not be reading every name on the list of members, but emphasized just how large the program really was.
Continue reading
CHRISTI PEACE
Contributor
New young adult fiction books are coming out all the time, yet just how many of them are actually good?
I recently went to a Barnes and Noble to see if I could find a decent book, and was pleased to see a sequel to a recent science fiction book I had read. “Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen,” is written by Richard Paul Evans.
The series revolves around the main character of 14-year-old Michael. On the surface Michael appears to be an average teenager, but in reality, he actually has the power to control electricity.
Eventually, he learns that Taylor, the girl he has a crush on, also has electrical powers – although of a different nature. With this surprising discovery, they attempt to uncover the source of their powers and stumble across the Elgen Academy.
But their digging stirs up trouble, leading to the kidnapping of both Taylor and Michael’s mother. With the help of his best friend, Ostin (who is literally a genius) as well as two other boys from their school, Michael goes after Taylor.
They learn that the academy holds every other child who was unintentionally given similar electrical-based powers at birth due to an experimental medical machine. The leader of the academy, Dr. Hatch, has more sinister plans for the electrical children than he claims, and even imprisons Michael when he doesn’t go along with them. The end of book one results in their escape, along with a few other electrical teens as well.
At the beginning of the second book, the “Electroclan” (as they have dubbed themselves) is trying to stay one step ahead of Hatch and his followers. Yet when they arrive at their homes, they see everything has changed and they are no longer safe there.
After a few close brushes with the well-equipped men who are chasing them, as well as phone calls and assistance from a mysterious source they know little of, the teens find themselves on their way to Peru.
Using downloaded data from the academy, they learned Michael’s mother is being held in an Elgen facility there, and decide to attempt a rescue. When they arrive they find a Nazi-esque training facility for an army of Elgen.
On top of that, they learn of Hatch’s clever and devious plot to essentially take over the world. Fighting and action ensue, with bits of comedy, romance and redemption thrown in. As for the end of the book, it leaves readers on a cliff hanger, just waiting for the third book to be written.
When it comes to this series, one has to keep in mind that it was written for readers 12 and up. The vocabulary and writing style are all fairly simple in structure. Although I generally prefer somewhat more challenging reads, this book would be great for anyone who is not a big reader and prefers an easy to understand story. As for the plot, I must say I do find it interesting.
Clearly I have to, or I would not have read the second book as well.
However, the story line is admittedly clichéd and the plot pretty straightforward; there aren’t too many surprise twists to look forward to.
But even though it is an uncomplicated story, readers will still be interested in these diverse characters and be rooting for them to win in the end. Evans does a decent job incorporating humor with seriousness, keeping the book light enough despite the serious nature of their quest.
As for the character development, it is much better than many books I have read before.
The characters are likeable and relatable, as each one has a different personality and something unique to contribute to the story line. The author is clearly big on loyalty and friendship, as is evidenced in the strong bonds between the characters. In the second book, he even begins to develop romantic interests other than that of Taylor and Michael.
In all, is it the greatest book I have ever read? No. But it certainly is an interesting book that held my attention and made me care about the characters.
It is straightforward enough that, no matter what your reading level is, everyone can enjoy it. It addresses important topics like loyalty and what it means to sacrifice for your friends, and has elements of both humor and action.
My recommendation would be to read both of these books when you get the chance, so you will be caught up for whenever the next installment of Michael Vey hits the shelves.