Below are a variety of items about upcoming events and other news notes on the campus of Youngstown State University.

• Rich Center students donate blankets to Rescue Mission
• SMARTS Holiday Open House set for Dec. 2
• ‘Carols and Cocoa,’ ‘Holiday Concert’ will be Dec. 3
• Nursing students participate in ‘Drive–Thru’ flu clinic
• Working–Class blog focuses on Obama election

Calendar
Monday, Nov. 24, 8 p.m. The YSU Wind Ensemble and Concert Band perform a special concert in celebration of YSU’s Centennial in Powers Auditorium in the DeYor Performing Arts Complex in downtown Youngstown

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 10 a.m. Children from the Rich Center for the Study and Treatment of Autism at YSU will present blankets to residents and staff of the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley. The Rescue Mission is located at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Youngstown. See News Brief below.

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. “Dispelling the Myths of Native Americans” will be held in the Main Branch of the Youngstown–Mahoning County Public Library on Wick Avenue. Native American Herman Pipe will facilitate a discussion about the misconceptions about his culture. The program is part of the 2008–09 Community Diversity Program Series of the YSU Diversity Council. For more information or reservations, contact Deborah Liptak at 330–744–8636, Ext. 118.

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 12:15 p.m. Faculty Chamber Music is featured at a free Music at Noon concert in the Butler Institute of American Art.

Thursday and Friday, Nov. 27 and 28. University closed for Thanksgiving holiday.

Saturday, Nov. 29, 7:05 p.m. YSU men’s basketball team plays St. Francis (Pa.) in Beeghly Center.

Saturday, Nov. 29, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. YSU’s Ward Beecher Planetarium presents “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity.” Free.

Rich Center students donate blankets to Rescue Mission

A summer art project at the Rich Center for the Study and Treatment of Autism at Youngstown State University has wrapped up just in time to benefit those in need this holiday season.

In an effort to give back to the community, 45 preschool and school–age Rich Center students crafted 80 fleece quilts during the center’s Kids Who Care summer art program.

The children will present the blankets to residents and staff of the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25. The Rescue Mission is located at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Youngstown.

“We’re delighted that our students, staff and parents have an opportunity to collaboratively take part in this unique creative endeavor,” said Georgia Backus, Rich Center director. “This project is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the Rescue Mission for the tremendous service they provide for our community.”

The summer art program is designed to reinforce art concepts through sensory stimulation while teaching students about the importance of community service. Led by art teacher Jill N. Holod–Dunbar, students learned the power of their creative efforts. “The project was empowering to the students,” Holod–Dunbar said. “They learned a new skill and helped other children in the community.”

In addition to the children in the summer art program, nine adolescents with autism participating in the center’s Adolescent and Family Transition Program assisted in assembling the quilts.

The quilt project was funded through a $1,000 dollar grant from the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education. The Rich Center for Autism was one of five schools chosen for the grant out of 49 applications from across the nation.

The quilts are made from fleece fabric that features the multi–colored puzzle–piece pattern that symbolizes autism awareness.

The Rich Center for Autism was established in 1995, as a result of the efforts and shared interest of the Rich (Ricchiuti), Kosar and Rubino families. The center serves as a lasting tribute to the memory of Paula and Anthony Rich, who lost their lives in a 1994 plane crash. The center is an externally funded unit of YSU, with a primary mission to improve the lives of individuals with autism through innovative educational programs.

The center’s summer program is made possible by contributions from the Hine Memorial Fund, the Marion G. Resch Foundation, the World Financial Group Foundation and the UPS Foundation.

SMARTS Holiday Open House set for Dec. 2
Youngstown State University’s sixth annual SMARTS — Students Motivated by the Arts — Holiday Open House will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, featuring student–produced holiday cards on sale in the SMARTS Store.

The SMARTS Center is located at 258 Federal Plaza West in downtown Youngstown, adjacent to the DeYor Performing Arts Center. During the open house, the SMARTS Store will be open for holiday shopping, and there will be hands–on art activities for children and light refreshments. The public is invited.ﾠ

Among the items on sale will be holiday cards created by two elementary students in SMARTS’ Holiday Cheer Visual Arts class.

The class of fourth through 10th graders met for six weeks this fall and was taught by YSU art alumni Mary Farragher and Erin Thompson. All projects in the class were geared toward creating holiday items to sell in the SMARTS Store and for students to take home. Projects included paper birds nests, colorful and festive holiday wreaths, Victorian–style paper ornaments and glass ornaments.

For the SMARTS Holiday Cards, students learned the process of monotype printing and designed winter and holiday themed images. Two student designs were chosen to be printed as cards available for purchase. The cards, which feature a snowman and a tree, are on sale in packs of 6 and 12 for $5 and $10, respectively.

The store is open 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and other hours by appointment throughout the holiday season.

In addition to the cards, the SMARTS Store includes a collection of artistic creations and novelty items, including paintings, cards, sculptures, handmade books, CDs, and jewelry made by YSU students, local and national artists as well as K–12 students participating in SMARTS free art education classes.

Currently on display in the SMARTS gallery is the Steel Valley Art Teachers Association exhibition featuring two–dimensional and three–dimensional artwork created with various media by students and teachers from across the Mahoning Valley.

SMARTS is an arts education program at YSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Beeghly College of Education. SMARTS seeks to motivate students to succeed in all areas of life by teaching them the discipline and focus that creating art requires. SMARTS classes are free and open to the public by application.

For more information or to learn more about SMARTS, call 330–941–ARTS or visit www.fpa.ysu.edu/smarts.

‘Carols and Cocoa,’ ‘Holiday Concert’ will be Dec. 3
The Dana School of Music will present two holiday musical performances in one night at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, in Stambaugh Auditorium on Fifth Avenue in Youngstown.

“Carols & Cocoa” and the “Holiday Concert” will be directed by Dr. Hae–Jong Lee.

“Carols & Cocoa” will be performed in Stambaugh’s Ballroom and will feature seasonal favorites, culminating in a holiday sing–along. Dana students will bring cookies to share and cocoa will be available. The Dana Chorale, University Chorus, Women’s Chorus, Flute Ensemble and Trombone Ensemble will be participating.

After a brief intermission, guests will be invited to the Concert Hall, where the main concert will feature Vivaldi’s “Gloria.” Participating vocal and instrumental ensembles include the Dana Festival Chorus composed of the Dana Symphonic Choir and the Stambaugh Chorus, Dana Chorale, Dana Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble 1 and Brass Quintet.

The Stambaugh Chorus, directed by Dr. Hae–Jong Lee, and Austintown Fitch High School Concert Choir, directed by Mrs. Kay Williams, will be guest performers.

The annual event has been presented for more 30 years and first began in the Bliss Hall lobby. After the event outgrew that space, it moved to the Butler Institute of American Art as an afternoon concert. “We certainly didn’t want to lose the momentum we had from ‘Carols & Cocoa,’ yet we knew we wanted to do a major music piece encompassing community choral groups and many of our own vocal and performance ensembles,” said Michael Crist, director of the Dana School of Music. “So, we decided to continue ‘Carols & Cocoa’ but also chose pieces that would work for a major evening concert.” Thus, the move to an evening concert at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Tickets may be purchased in advance either in person at the Bliss Hall Box Office or by phone at 330–941–3105. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens and free for children under 12 and YSU students with a valid ID.

Nursing students participate in ‘Drive–Thru’ flu clinic

Thirty–five community nursing students at Youngstown State University participated in a “Drive–Thru” flu clinic earlier this fall at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

The purpose of the activity, sponsored by the Mahoning County Board of Health, was to have nursing students observe, participate and evaluate their role as well as the RN’s role in a drive–thru mass flu clinic, said Sue Rendano, nursing instructor.

Rendano said the clinic focused on the “social isolation” of the client and is important for students to understand in the event of community disasters or emergencies in which mass numbers of citizens must be immunized, she said.

Social isolation was achieved by having the clients remain in their cars and giving them their flu shots after they answered a few questions from the nursing students regarding the flu vaccine, she said.ﾠ

“Overall, the response from the public was positive as well as most appreciative,” Rendano said.

The clinic was approved by the Ohio Department of Health as a full scale infrastructure exercise. The Mahoning County Emergency Management Team had a command post on site, which was used as the operations center.

State health officials were observing the clinic as well as participating in the post–clinic evaluation.

“Overall the students described the experience as very positive and well organized,” she said. “Most stated they would be willing to volunteer and assist if such an emergency would arise.”

Working–Class blog focuses on Obama election

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Youngstown Election Report: Notes on Unions and White Working–Class Voters” is the latest entry posted on Youngstown State University’s Center for Working–Class Studies blog called Working–Class Perspectives.

The blog is available at http://workingclassstudies.wordpress.com/.

Working–Class Perspectives offers weekly commentaries on current issues related to working–class people and communities. Contributors discuss a variety of issues, from what class means to how it intersects with race and gender to how class is shaping American politics. 

The blog site has had over 5,000 hits in two months, including readers in Germany and the United Kingdom.

The latest entry is written by John Russo, co–director of the Center for Working Class Studies.

For more information, contact Russo or Sherry Linkon at 330–941–2976. 

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