Campus Connection

Journalist known for investigations of fraud in vaccine research to speak at UW-L

Brian Deer, an investigative journalist for the Sunday Times of London, will give a lecture “An Elaborate Fraud: The MMR Vaccine & Autism” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at UW-L’s Centennial Hall. Deer comes as part of a Distinguished Lecture in the Life Sciences. Priority seating for UW-L students and staff with a UW-L ID is available up to ten minutes before the talk.

An impressive freshman class

UW-L has about 1,900 incoming freshman this fall. What does the class look like? Check out their average ACT, class rank, age and more.

Advocate Gail Williamson to share positive perspective of Down syndrome

Gail Williamson, Down syndrome advocate, will share her story at UW-L Friday, Oct. 5. Ever since Williamson’s son Blair, who has Down syndrome, was cast in a national commercial her perception of the media has evolved.

‘High School Band Day’ set at UW-L Saturday, Oct. 6

Eight area high school bands will step out with the UW-La Crosse Screaming Eagles Marching Band for the Eagles’ football game Saturday, Oct. 6.  

UW-L Oktoberfest royalty, alumni and friends in Oktoberfest Maple Leaf Parade

[caption id="attachment_15519" align="alignnone" width="770" caption="Miss La Crosse/ Oktoberfest, UW-L sophomore Tianna Vanderhei, donned her crown, sash and a big smile at Saturday's Maple Leaf Parade. Photo by UW-L student Mark Fei.  "][/caption] See more photos of the parade at https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/109328896964480296137/albums/5794334062372920561  

MUFASO meeting to be held Oct. 1

The Multicultural Faculty and Staff Organization (MUFASO) will hold its first meeting of the semester from 1:30-3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, in 257 Cartwright Center. MUFASO is a professional and communal resource for all multicultural faculty and staff. Membership is open university faculty and staff regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other human differences. For more information, contact MUFASO President Jearold Holland at jholland@uwlax.edu or 785.8214.

Cash Cart to make rounds on campus this week

Students should look for the It Make$ Cents Cash Cart from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, on campus. Participants can win candy and It Make$ Cents! dollars to be used at the “Price Is Right Game Night” Thursday, Nov. 15. It Make$ Cents! is a financial literacy program that offers all UW-L students information and promotes financial success. Find out more at www.uwlax.edu/itmakescents/.  

'Why Drawing' is topic of UW-L Art Visiting Artist series Oct. 4 presentation

Invited artists share their art perspectives with students, faculty and staff the community at UW-L's Art Visiting Artist Series. A free public lecture, "Why Drawing," is set for 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Cameron Hall of Nations in Centennial Hall. Julia Randall and Megan Vossler are the featured artists.  

'Freedom for Birth' film to be shown Oct. 4, discussion to follow

A new documentary about human rights in childbirth, "Freedom for Birth," will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in Port O' Call, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition. Local birth experts will answer questions following the free film screening. Find out more about the documentary at www.freedomforbirth.com.

Power of empathy and compassion is focus of Oct. 5 brown bag discussion

This year, the Campus Climate Office is hosting the year-long series “Brown Bag Lunch Film Series: Bring Your Food, Bring Your Thoughts." The campus community is invited to participate in this month's brown bag film discussion at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 5, in the Cameron Hall of Nations in Centennial Hall. Matt Evensen from the Campus Climate Office will facilitate the featured topic of “The Power of Empathy and Compassion.” Brown bag discussions are held on the first Friday of the month on a variety of contemporary social justice, diversity and climate issues. Films range from TED Talks to documentaries and typically last fewer than 45 minutes and are followed by discussion. Film Series Events are presented and facilitated by friends and colleagues of Campus Climate and are free and open to everyone. Participants are encouraged to bring their lunch and are welcome to come late or leave early. To learn more about the film series and upcoming events, visit www.uwlax.edu/campusclimate/foodforthought.htm or find “UW-La Crosse Campus Climate (Official)” on Facebook.  

Avett Brothers is featured band at Oct. 5 Album Encounters

 

Tickets for Nov. 3 Chanhassen Dinner Theatre available

Tickets for the Saturday, Nov. 3, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's production of "Bye Bye Birdie" are still available. Cost is $74. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Marla French at 782.6589 or mfrench000@centurytel.net.

Donate books to the Better World Books project via UW-L Registrar's Office before Nov. 7

The Wisconsin Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (WACRAO) is holding its annual conference in La Crosse Wednesday, Nov. 7, through Friday, Nov. 9. Representatives from five states and three Canadian provinces will attend. The conference is a joint venture with the Upper Midwest Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (UMACRAO). Several UW-L staff members are helping to plan the conference. “This year a service project has been included and we could use your help,” says UW-L Registrar Chris Bakkum. UMACRAO and WACRAO are partnering with Golden Key International Honour Society to collect gently used textbooks or children’s books to the Better World Books project. Better World Books is committed to helping provide better lives and a chance for economic, social and political freedom through literacy. So far, the company has converted more than 58 million books into more than $10.4 million in funding for literacy and education. In the process, they’ve also diverted more than 40,000 tons of books from landfills and have donated more than 5 million books to partner programs around the world including Books for Africa. The books collected at the conference will be donated to the Books for Africa organization with the help of Better World Books. Books for Africa collects, sorts, ships and distributes books to children in Africa. The goal is to end the book famine in Africa. “If you need room on your book shelves and don’t know what to do with the books you’d like to get rid of, bring them to me in 117 Graff Main Hall,” Bakkum says. “They will be donated to Better World Books at the conference. Your help with our service project is appreciated.”

Athletics

Purchase season tickets now for 2012 Eagles football. Purchase season tickets  for $44 or All-Sports passes with reserved football tickets for $95. Call the UW-L Athletics box office at 785.8616 or purchase tickets online at uwlathletics.com. Join the Eagles the first Tuesday of every month at Howie’s Restaurant in La Crosse for the Eagle Eat and Greet events. On Eat and Greet days, Howie’s will donate 50 percent of all food sales made from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to the L-Club. The next Eat and Greet event is set for Tuesday, Oct. 2, and features UW-L Soccer and Volleyball teams. Join the Eagles for the ultimate college football experience — tailgating. Three hours before each home football game, Lots C-2 and C-3 outside of Veterans Memorial Stadium will open for tailgating. Enjoy music, games, grilling and more. Visit uwlathletics.com to find out more.   John Greany, Health Professions, presented with Kris Greany, Biology, and Physical Therapy graduate student Heather Fortuine “The Acute Effects of Exercise and Exercise With Cocoa Flavanols on Post Exercise Hypotension” at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Orlando, Fla., on Sept 7.-8. Kris Greany, presented with John Porcari, Exercise and Sport Science, and Clinical Exercise Physiology graduate Megan Knutson “The Acute Effect of LifeMovesTM on Resting Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate and Perceived Stress” at the conference. Barrett Klein, Biology, published "Robots in the Service of Animal Behavior" in the September/October 2012 Communicative & Integrative Biology. He published "Infrared Video Captures Bees Cooking Wasp Invader" in the Aug. 28, 2012, issue of NewScientist.  Kathryn E. Perez, Biology, had two papers printed in September. A paper on snails, "Spatial Distribution of the Balcones Elimia, Elimia Comalensis (Pilsbry, 1890) (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae) in Comal Springs, Texas," was published in the Texas Journal of Science, 63(1):1-14. A paper on students, "Biology Undergraduates’ Misconceptions About Genetic Drift," was in Cell Biology Education: Life Sciences Education, 11: 248-259.   A summary of some of the stories about UW-La Crosse spotted in the news. "UW-L's Habitat for Humanity breaks down for a build," WXOW-TV, Sept. 22. ... Schick is part of UW-La Crosse's Habitat for Humanity. Saturday, girls from the group drilled, smashed and plied out a playground to make room for one that's safer for the kids of La Crosse to play on ... (video clip) "Jennifer Shilling: Wisconsin must narrow its 'skills gap'," Op-ed, La Crosse Tribune, Sept. 26. As Wisconsin continues to struggle with the effects of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, employers are still having a difficult time finding workers with the necessary skills to fill vacant positions ... It doesn't take a workforce development expert to make the connection between the significant funding cut for our technical colleges and the growing skills gap dilemma facing our state ...   [caption id="attachment_15410" align="alignright" width="134" caption="Ernest Gershon"][/caption]

UW-L Professor Emeritus Ernest Gershon

Professor Emeritus Ernest Gershon died Sept. 23. Gershon graduated from UW-L in 1937, served as a faculty member in UW-L's Physical Education Department from 1946-83 and remained involved in campus life in retirement. For an overview of his career see www.uwlax.edu/sah/files/newsletters/winter_2012.pdf. A funeral mass was held Friday, Sept. 28, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in La Crosse. He was buried at Crucifixion Cemetery in La Crescent.

UW-L Professor Emerita Hope Hagar

UW-L Professor Emerita Hope Hagar died Sept. 22. Hager worked at UW-L from 1974-99 in the Social Work and Sociology. For a full obituary, see http://lacrossetribune.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/hope-o-hagar/article_e5b3fc06-05ca-11e2-b6c7-0019bb2963f4.html.  

For students

By Charlene Holler, Academic Specialist, Counseling and Testing Center Have you ever heard of a “rule of thumb” as to how many hours you should study in college? When I ask this question most often I get the response of “two hours outside of class for every hour I am in class.” But when I ask those same students where they heard that piece of advice they are unsure. Some say high school teachers, some say their parents, and many do not know. Could it be an “urban myth?” But “urban myth” or good advice, try to think of putting in twice the effort outside of class for the learning covered in the class. Keep in mind that not all classes are created equal when it comes to study efforts. If you lack the knowledge background in a subject, if you are only taking a class because it fulfills a requirement, or if you really have no interest in the subject matter, odds are that you will not treat that class as you do one in your major. I would like to stress the point however that you must balance your study time. The total amount of time you study cannot be skewed to just the classes that you like. In fact, with any of the tips I present I would like you to remember that when the class is the hardest for you that is when you need to use all the learning tips possible to master the material. If you are very purposeful in what you need to learn you will be much more effective in your learning. Think in terms of the quality of your study time instead of just the quantity.  

Wanted

Beginner Chanter bagpipers. Class starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, on campus. No bagpipes needed. Call 608.790.7739 or email bogart.lloy@uwlax.edu.

For rent

Very cute one-bedroom furnished walk-up apartment available Nov. 1. La Crosse south side, near Route 2 bus line, newer appliances and carpeting. No smoking or pets. $500 per month, includes utilities and wireless Internet. Call 608.385.0484.