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Theatre Students Shine

March 5, 2014 By casdept1

University of Portland performing and fine arts students received the following awards at the 2014 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Region VII) at the University of Boise in Boise, Idaho, on February 18-22:

Jordin Bradley received an acting scholarship award of $500 toward enrollment fees for CSU Summer Arts 2014
Jeff Phillips received a Full Ride Scholarship to California State University’s Broadway Bound Summer Course
Danielle Renella received a Full Ride Scholarship to California State University’s Michael Chekhov Acting Technique Summer Course
Amy Billroth-MacLurg received a Full Ride Scholarship to California State University’s Social Action Writing: Personal to Political, Words at Work Summer Course
The Regional Design Award for Meritorious Achievement in Costume Design of The Magic Flute for Gregory Pulver’s Costume Design Class: Shen Telles, Andrew Wardenaar, Kristen Gates, Annie Ganousis and Hope Robinson.

For more information contact the performing and fine arts department at 7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Sourced from UpBeat.

UP Speech & Debate Union To Attend National Tournament

March 4, 2014 By casdept1

The University of Portland Speech and Debate Union competed at the Earl Wells Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., over the weekend of February 22-23. Based on the team’s success, the UP Speech and Debate Union will attend the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 21-23. Students were awarded the following honors at the tournament in Corvallis:

Patrick Dolan (freshman, biochemistry) won a Bronze Medal for finishing in the top 6 in the Novice division of debate.
Lakshmi Diener (freshman, communication studies) won 3rd place in the Novice division of Persuasive Speaking.
Elizabeth Hartley (junior, biology) won 1st place in the Open division of Extemporaneous Speaking.
Lisa Holm (sophomore, communication studies) won a Bronze Medal for finishing in the top 6 in the Novice division of debate and won 5th best speaker in that division.
Katie Wilson (junior, political science) won 5th best speaker in the Open division of debate.
Karina Agbisit (freshman, environmental studies) won 4th place in the Novice division of Persuasive Speaking.

For more information contact co-directors Brian Simmons at 8025 (simmonsb@up.edu), or Bohn Lattin at 7352 (lattin@up.edu).

Sourced from UpBeat.

Music at Midweek, March 5th

March 4, 2014 By casdept1

Music at Midweek performers for Wednesday, March 5 are sopranos Rebecca Wascoe from Texas Tech University and Nicole Leupp Hanig, performing and fine arts (pictured). They will be joined by pianist Richard Bower. Their free performance begins at 12:30 p.m. in Mago Hunt Center recital hall. Music will include operatic duets and solos from the romantic era and the 20th Century. For more information contact performing and fine arts at 7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Mock Trial Team Heading to Nationals, Sets Record

March 1, 2014 By casdept1

The University of Portland Mock Trial team competed at the annual Pacific Northwest Regional qualifier for Nationals on February 22-23, at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. The team set a University of Portland record with seven wins and one loss, placing third out of 18 teams, according to coach Aaron Johnson of the University’s political science department. The UP team will advance to the national Opening Round Championship Tournament being held in Washington, D.C., March 21-23. Other teams in the PNW regional competition include Gonzaga, Reed College, WSU, UC-Berkeley, Stanford, University of Washington, and others.

The UP team took five individual awards home from the tournament. Seniors Eileen Kannengeiser, Lyndsey Tsuruda, and Amanda Danforth were all awarded with outstanding witness honors. Amanda Danforth and Eileen Kannengeiser were also awarded with Outstanding Attorney honors. Team members are Brendan Bewley, Susanna Sprinson, Eileen Kannengeiser, Amanda Danforth, Lyndsey Tsuruda, London Ballard, Edward Richter, Jennifer Perkins, Elvia Gaona, Nicola Plate, Arreli Arredondo, Joshua Cleary, Triton Pitassi, Jacob San Agustin, Emily Strand, and Katherine Miller. Assistant coaches Kathya Acuna ’12 and Jeremiah Swisher, both alumni of the Mock Trial program, have been volunteering their time to help the team this year as well.

For more information contact Johnson at 7274 or johnsocu@up.edu.

Sourced from UpBeat.

Two Former Congressmen Discuss Women in Politics

February 27, 2014 By casdept1

Students welcomed two former congressmen this week to discuss their time in the House of Representatives and political issues with students, faculty and staff.

Students in diverse fields, from political science to environmental studies to education, had a chance to meet with former Reps. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minnesota) and Martin Lancaster (D-North Carolina). On Feb. 24 in the Bauccio Commons, the UP community gathered for a Q-and-A session, focusing mainly on the current state of Congress, how it has changed and the role it plays in American life.

Gutknecht compared his time in the House of Representatives to his time in the Minnesota state legislature, and spoke of the differences in debate between the two. According to him, there is a lack of debate in Congress.

“Essentially, what happens in Congress is members just get up and read speeches, unfortunately very often written by their staffs, and there isn’t the give and take,” Gutknecht said. “Members are seldom persuaded by the debate on the floor of the House. In fact, members rarely even listen to the debate that’s going on in the floor of the House.”

Both former congressmen spoke with dismay over the loss of collegiality and bipartisanship they see in today’s politics, and blamed the lack of opportunities for representatives across the aisle to get to know each other.

“There’s very little opportunity for members of Congress to get to know each other on a personal level,” Lancaster said. “There’s less fact-finding trips when members of both parties can get to know each other. There’s just a different atmosphere now.”

Senior Leah Becker asked the congressmen to speak about the lack of women, and how it can be improved.

“Find stronger women. We win with the people who show up, we need to find good candidates who will set up and run,” Gutknecht responded. “There are some good backbenchers on both sides of the political aisle today … There are some pretty strong women in politics today that you will see coming and I think will be stepping up in a few years.”

After the event, Becker was still mulling over Gutknecht’s response before she and the German Culture Club met with both congressmen.

“I was frustrated that their answer was to find strong women when we clearly have strong women continually running who aren’t being voted in and are harshly being depicted in the media, and I was a little frustrated that that wasn’t addressed or maybe even not known by (former congressman) Gutknecht,” Becker said.

Junior Josh Cleary questioned Gutknecht and Lancaster about the importance of civics education, and whether it should be emphasized in the education system from elementary school through grade school.

Lancaster said he views civics education as very important, and mentioned the law in North Carolina requiring one year of civics education for students.

Gutknecht mentioned his own experience of having good social studies teachers. He also highlighted the importance of morality education. He spoke of his dismay at Catholic schools not teaching his own children what he believed should be taught in terms of morality.

“If I were to say anything, now I paid a lot of money in tuition to various schools for my kids. I can say I’m embarrassed to say how little they learned that I thought they needed to learn about morality,” said Gutknecht. “For example, and I asked some classes earlier today (at UP). Even in parochial schools, they don’t teach the Seven Deadly Sins anymore. They don’t teach a lot of the things that we were taught growing up. They’re Seven Deadly Sins because they are deadly. They’re not seven kind of mistakes. I think kids need to understand that.”

Political science professor Gary Malecha closed the event by asking a question he’s always wondered about, concerning the controversial relationship between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“How do the folks in the in the House of Representatives feel about the Senate?” Malecha said, meeting some laughter from the audience.

“There’s always been, in my belief, (the feeling) that the enemy was not the other party, but the other body,” Lancaster said. “It’s just a natural fact of political life that the House and Senate just don’t get along. It’s been true back through my legislative career, so for the last 20-plus years, there’s been incredible tension between the House and the Senate.”

Some students were glad to have the chance to discuss political issues with people who have served in political positions.

“It’s so rare that university students get to talk to people who have been in government,” Cleary said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

Sourced from Beacon

Mock trial ‘A’ team heads to D.C.

February 27, 2014 By casdept1

UP’s mock trial “A” team will travel to Washington, D.C. in late March to compete in the American Mock Trial Association’s Opening Round Championship Series after placing third in the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament in Corvallis, Ore. last weekend.

The “A” team won seven out of eight trials over the course of the weekend-long tournament, a record for them. They also received five individual awards, including seniors Lyndsey Tsuruda, Amanda Danforth and Eileen Kannengeiser for Outstanding Witness, and Danforth and Kannengeiser again for Outstanding Attorney. The “B” team won three and lost five trials at the same tournament.

Kathya Acuña, an assistant coach for the mock trial team, is proud of the work both teams accomplished at the tournament and this season.

“We’ve restructured the team to be a lot more competitive,” Acuña said. “The way it’s structured now, it gives the students more room to push themselves to be better and the team has done extremely well.”

UP’s mock trial teams competed against 10 other universities from the area, including Gonzaga, University of Washington and Stanford. Senior Susie Sprinson, a member of the “A” team, said it was a tough competition but their hard work is paying off.

“We just practice a lot and it showed,” Sprinson said. “I think this was the first time we’ve had a group of people on the ‘A’ team who are very dedicated to having the same goals in the competition, and that helped to bring us together and work hard over the weekend.”

The “A” team’s high placement in the Pacific Northwest Regional allowed it to advance to the Opening Round Championship Series. Different opening round series take place around the country, and the top teams from each opening round series will advance to the National Championship Tournament in Orlando, Fla. in April.

The “A” team was originally supposed to attend the Opening Round Championship Series in Newport Beach, Calif., but the team requested to attend the opening round series in Washington, D.C. because it will give them more time to prepare. Otherwise, the team would only have two weeks to prepare to compete at the national level.

Acuña said this preparation time is crucial because the case they’ve been studying all season changes at the national level. This year’s case, which involved large-scale ticket fraud in an amusement park, was originally interpreted as a robbery case, but now it has changed to a murder case.

“Newport is the first round of opening round championships, and Corvallis was one of the last regional competitions, so it gave us a short turnaround to prepare for the national level,” Acuña said. “We would have been at a disadvantage.”

Competing in Washington, D.C. will expose the “A” team to different teams and judges than they have previously encountered. According to Acuña, many of these teams, like Rutgers and Princeton, have different styles of coaching and argument that UP’s team will have to adjust to.

“They’re very intense programs that have a very high caliber,” she said. “It’s not necessarily something to worry about, but our students will need to devote full time to preparing.”

The Opening Round Championship Series will take place in Washington, D.C. on March 22-23, hosted by the University of Virginia.

Sourced from Beacon

PFA Presents: “Woyzeck,” Feb. 26 – March 1

February 24, 2014 By casdept1

The performing and fine arts department will present Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck on February 26-28 and March 1 in Mago Hunt Center Theater. All performances are at 7:30 p.m., with two performances set for Saturday, March 1, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. No Sunday matinee is scheduled for this performance. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For reservations starting February 17, call the Hunt Center Box Office at 7287.

Woyzeck is an intriguing tale of an everyman being pushed and pulled in a world that tests and manipulates him in every way. Written in 1836, this gripping and engrossing story of one man’s struggle has been produced in many languages and countries, and this version has been adapted by the director especially for our time. The performance contains adult language and stage violence.

The cast, all University of Portland students, is made up of Michael Rexroat (Franz Woyzeck), Danielle Renella (Marie), Emily Biggs (Andrea), Jennifer Beierle (Margaret), Tyler Hunt (Karl the Idiot), Hope Dorman (Katey), Tim Dobson (Grandmother), Samantha Steele (Patient 1), Doug Blair (Patient 2), Jeffery Phillips (The Doctor), Logan Matthews (The Captain), Jacob Orr (The Major), Annie Ganousis (The Sergeant), and Peter Sotos (The Attendant).

For more information, contact the performing and fine arts department at 7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Sourced from UpBeat.

Environmental Studies Public Screening of “Backyard,” Feb. 25

February 22, 2014 By casdept1

In cooperation with PCC Sylvania, the University’s environmental studies program will host a public screening of Deia Schlosberg’s 27-minute film, “Backyard,” on Tuesday, February 25, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Clinton Street Theatre (2522 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202). Schlosberg’s film is a documentary about fracking (fracturing of rock by pressurized liquid to extract uranium, oil, etc.) and its effects on five people’s lives. Following stories in Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Dakota, and Montana, an eerie similarity emerges despite vast differences in geography and personal histories. “The Sky is Pink” will be screened In addition to “Backyard,” and Schlosberg has agreed to lead a discussion after the films. The movie is free of charge but donations will be requested at the door, to go to 350.org. For more information contact Steve Kolmes, environmental studies, at 7291 or kolmes@up.edu.

Sourced from UpBeat.

Simmons to leave UP for alma mater

February 20, 2014 By casdept1

Upon walking into the classroom on the first day of the semester, students in Brian Simmons’ communication studies classes are invited to kick back, relax and settle into the living room, but come the end of the semester, this living room will close. Simmons, a well-loved professor, will be leaving UP at the end of the school year to join the communication studies department at his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian University.

Simmons has been a part of UP’s community for the past five years, following the closure of Cascade College where he taught for 15 years. Students and colleagues say he will be well missed, but well wished.

“I remember getting there the first day of class and I knew I had picked the right major because he was so enthusiastic about what he was doing,” freshman Danny McGarry said.

After taking three of Simmons’ classes, McGarry looks at professors at UP in a new light.

“Him wanting to teach us so much had a huge impact on my view of professors in general,” McGarry said.

Simmons’ passion for what he teaches shines through his lectures, which cover everything from how to discern what flirting is to the value of understanding other cultures’ ways of interacting.

“As a teacher, Brian is very competent, very engaging, very passionate and truly believes that what we are learning has value for our lives,” sophomore Nathan Seppi said. “He’s just a fun guy to learn from.”

Communication studies Department Chair Jeff Kerssen-Griep has enjoyed working with Simmons during his time at UP.

“We’ve really benefitted from him being here,” Kerssen-Griep said. “Both as a person and a teacher he’s really admirable (and) someone to look up to.”

Simmons is known best for creating a “living room environment” where students are invited to relax, freely share their thoughts, ask questions and address Simmons as a peer instead of an authoritative figure. Simmons has enjoyed bonding with all of his students.

“Three years ago I was telling my class how much I love Taco Bell,” Simmons said. “I walked into class one day with about 50 chalupas and fed all of my students.”

The choice to leave UP has been a difficult one for Simmons, who along with teaching intro to communication, interpersonal communication, communication law and public speaking courses, is an adviser to the speech and debate team. Under his coaching, the team is ranked seventh in its division.

“I love it here,” Simmons said. “I love the classes I teach. I love the college students I work with. Honestly I feel guilty, like I’m abandoning my students, like I’m letting them down.”

Simmons’ decision to take a teaching job in Oklahoma came down to the job security it would provide for him and his family.

“They approached me about teaching for them,” Simmons said. “They have actually approached me essentially every year since I’ve been working here, and I kept telling them no. But they made an offer that I couldn’t refuse that gives me more job security in the long term than I have at University of Portland.”

Simmons will begin instructing at Oklahoma in the fall as a professor, teaching lower and upper division communication classes at the university, as well as working with their honors students.

Looking back at his time spent at UP, Simmons will miss the sense of community and place the most.

“My students and the people I work with have accepted me, liked me, and shared their lives with me,” Simmons said. “I have to start all over again from scratch. I know how things work and where things stand. When I came here I didn’t know anyone on this campus. So for five years I’ve created a sense of place. And (when I leave), it’ll evaporate.”

Sourced from Beacon