The increased popularity of the University Men’s Basketball team resulted in a jump in ticket sales by nearly 52 percent last season, and a 15.2 percent increase in merchandise sales since this time last year.
Kenneth Taylor, Associate Athletic Director, cites big wins against teams like UCLA, Georgetown, and Notre Dame as key turning points in the Men’s Basketball team’s popularity. A surge in game attendance was apparent by ticket sales which jumped last season by 1,860 more tickets sold per game.
A delegation of 14 University students simulated the United Nations (UN) at the National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN) in New York from Sunday, April 9 to Thursday, April 13.
NMUN is the world’s largest international college-level experiential learning program in which participants cooperate to discuss and brainstorm solutions to global concerns faced by diplomats of the United Nations, according to their site.
For the first time the delegation from the University returned with a Position Paper Award. The award was won by Liam Coffey, a junior political science and history student.
Five thousand students from six continents participated in the 2017 NMUN conference, and 55 percent of the participants were non-U.S. residents, according to nmun.org.
Participants from the University were enrolled in Model UN Conference course, PS-383, taught by Dr. Kevin Dooley, an associate professor of political science. The delegation represented the Kingdom of Belgium.
The School of Social Work has announced its new initiative to continue their efforts in spreading awareness about suicide prevention by launching the SRF Suicide Prevention and Training Project.
“This recent development is the latest in a long line of projects the School of Social Work has undertaken, but it is only the most recent one, as well as a culmination of a lot of efforts over the years.” said Janine Vasconcelos, Assistant Director of Professional Education and Special Projects.
According to Robin Mama, Dean of the School of Social Work, the project has several aims. It seeks to establish training sessions around the issue of suicide in schools and colleges, as well as curriculum development, research, and evaluation efforts on suicide prevention, intervention, and what happens afterwards.
The goals of the project emerged through research discovered by Dr. Michelle Scott, associate professor in the school of social work, who is considered a leading expert on suicide and suicide prevention. According to Scott, about 42,000 Americans take their own lives every year; this means a suicide occurs in America every 13 seconds.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students,” said Scott. “Individuals can be at increased risk for suicide when they experience a confluence of risk factors such as depression, anxiety, substance use, as well as prior suicidal behavior and a trigger event which may be a loss or transition,” Scott added.
The Outlook, the University’s student-run newspaper, was ranked 8th in the Nation for “Best of Show Four-Year Weekly Newspaper,” by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) at the Mid-winter National College Journalism Convention in San Francisco, California.
An issue of The Outlook was submitted in the “Best of Show Four- Year Weekly Newspaper” category and was reviewed by a panel of judges. Judges reviewed submissions from multiple colleges throughout the United States and established a National top ten out of all entries.
Placement was based on the number of entries and overall convention attendance. Over 750 schools attended the Convention this year. The Best of Show award does not signify a ranking of national excellence, but rather overall excellence among the attendees and entries, according to the ACP.
Danielle Schipani, senior communication student and current Editor-In-Chief of The Outlook was honored to be a part of an award-winning paper and commended the work of rest of the editorial staff and their contributions. “Every member of the editorial staff has worked tirelessly all year to ensure that we are printing a quality paper for the campus community,” she said.
Dr. Michael Waters, an English professor, is amongst 173 artists and scholars selected from over 3,000 applicants for the prestigious 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship. Waters was awarded $50,000 for his longstanding poetic experience from the yearlong Fellowship that begins in January 2018.
Fellows are selected from the United States and Canada for demonstrating exceptional skill in productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts, according to gf.org.
“I thought that it was something I would have 40 years ago when I didn’t deserve it. Now that it has come I am just very happy for the acknowledgement,” said Waters.
University President Grey Dimenna, applauds Waters for his newfound success. “Guggenheim Fellowships are one of academia’s highest honors, and we are all proud that Dr. Waters joins the ranks of the gifted scholars, writers, and artists who have received the award in its 92-year history,” Dimenna said.
The University will be redeveloping its Sustainability Council with faculty and students, and forming a detailed ten-year plan to improve Monmouth University’s green initiatives according to Patricia Swannack, Vice President for Administrative Services.
The Monmouth University Sustainability Council was formed in 2009. It originally was a group of 30 volunteers comprised of students, faculty, staff and administrators whose mission was to promote environmental awareness and encourage development of an environmentally responsible campus community, according to the University website.
However, some students recently noticed that the Sustainability Council was no longer active at the University. “Some peers and I were looking at the Monmouth website online a couple of weeks ago, at the Sustainability Council page, and noticed that the a few members of the faculty listed don’t work here anymore,” said Carly Miller a junior homeland security student. “We were so surprised how outdated our sustainability page was. Especially because it was online for the public to see. The site has since been updated, but the last notable edit on the page prior to the site removal, was around Earth Day 2015,” continued Miller.
The underpass tunnel that crosses over cedar avenue collapsed on Sunday April 16 and was discovered at 12:55 p.m. by a Residence Assistant (RA). There were no injuries and no one was in the underpass when the incident occurred.
The Monmouth University Police Department (MUPD) responded and notified Patricia Swannack, Vice President for Administrative Services, of the situation. Swannack was called and advised MUPD to close the underpass until they could assess the damage. The Facilities Management staff came in and removed the pieces that had fallen after its closure.
The underpass was closed from Sunday to Tuesday April 18 and during its closure the University placed a Safety Officer at the corner of Norwood and Cedar Avenue to assist pedestrians from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The underpass is expected to reopen the morning of Wednesday April 19, according to Swannack.
They tell you that college goes by so fast. They tell you that one minute you’re a freshman and the next you’re a senior about to grace the graduation stage. They tell you to have fun and enjoy the moment, to get involved, to open up and put yourself outside of your comfort zone. But what you don’t hear about and what they don’t tell you is just how many impactful people you will meet and how hard it will be to let them go.
I walked onto this campus afraid of what it meant to leave home, afraid that I would lose connections with the people that I love, and scared of change. What I soon realized was that Monmouth had been a part of my life all along and that I was always meant to be a Monmouth Hawk. The people that I have met here and the education I have been honored with has allowed me to grow into the person that I always wanted to be but never thought I deserved. I am grateful for this experience and for everything Monmouth has given me and there are countless people I would like to thank.
My sister: Hey sisterrrr! You are the light in my life and my best friend. You are the reason that I keep going and stay motived. Thank you for always supporting me, for always listening to me, and for always being able to make me laugh. I know it was hard a lot of the time being apart during my years at Monmouth and I wish I could have been around more for you. Thank you for always being understanding when I was away and for being there for me when I needed you the most. I can honestly say that without the love and the comfort you have given me throughout my entire life I would have never made it to graduation day. I am so proud of everything you have overcome and accomplished this year. You are the strongest person I know. We are in this world together, you are never alone, and I will always be there for you. I love you.
It pains me to write this because it means that I am nearing the end of a riveting installment in the series that is my life. Four years ago, my parents waved me off as I drove to class, for the first time in our families 8-passenger minivan. Any growth since that frightful day is due to the kindness and generosity of individuals who took the time to push me forward, or point me in the right direction. So please pardon me as I begin this drawn out letter of gratitude for those who deserve tremendous applause.
Mi Familia: Thank you to my dysfunctional clan who has put up with me over the last four years. Sorry for all the times that I missed a game, or a family dinner, because I was studying, doing homework, in class, at a conference, or hosting an event...or a protest. I love you all--you are my backbone.
Dr. Datta: Words cannot describe the short amount of time it took for you to make a tremendous impact in my life. You are my mentor, teacher, and friend. Thank you for helping me see my own potential for change; for helping me see the power of women and girls; and for helping me see the importance of education. Dhanyavaad.
Dr. Patten: You have always said that you are my number one fan. Thank you for always encouraging me to shoot high. I will try my best.
Professor Morano: You helped us become great editors so we could create a weekly publication that we could be proud of. Thank you for teaching and leading us.
The Visiting Writer Series hosted acclaimed fiction writer, Colm Tóibín, on Tuesday, April 4, in Wilson Auditorium. This is the last installment of the spring 2017 season, and marks the end of the 12th season of the Visiting Writer Series.
The event opened with two introductions: Michael Thomas, Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Director of the Visiting Writers Series and Dr. Elizabeth Gilmartin, lecturer of English, who teaches Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn in her Irish Literature class.
Gilmartin mentioned in her introduction of Tóibín that he had previously visited the University seven years prior to this most re-cent visit, which was just after one of his most popular works, Brooklyn, was published.
According to Gilmartin, this character and theme development can be seen in Tóibín’s work The Testament of Mary. In this work, Tóibín humanizes the Virgin Mother, Mary, to where the reader can actually relate to such a historic and influential fig-ure.
Monmouth University held its sixth annual Made in Monmouth event in the OceanFirst Bank Center on April 8 with over 200 local vendors.
Made in Monmouth is a seven hour, free admission event open to the public organized by the Grow Monmouth Team within the County’s Division of Economic Development.
The event’s purpose is to gather different local vendors like Delicious Orchards and Booskerdoo Coffee and Baking Co., who set up tables at no charge to sell their products.
The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties was also in attendance and encouraged shoppers to bring along donations of nonperishable food items to support the local food bank.