Yesterday, the College at Florham hosted a performance by Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and author Rosanne Cash, daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash, as part of the 2009 WAMFEST finale.

At press time, the event had not yet taken place, but it had been highly anticipated on campus. Cash’s appearance, hosted by the creative writing department, was called “Fact Versus Fiction, Memoir and Song: A Conversation and Performance.”

Cash was joined by WAMFEST artist and author Wesley Stace, whose stage name is John Wesley Harding. As part of the performance, Cash read from her memoirs and performed her music.
Cash’s 14 record albums, which have been released over the last 25 years, have earned her a number of awards for both songwriting and performance.

She recorded her first U.S. album, “Right Or Wrong,” in 1979 and in the following 10 years she released “Seven Year Ache,” “Rhythm and Romance” and “King’s Record Shop.” She won a Grammy in 1985 for best female country and western vocal performance. She was also named Billboard’s Top Singles Artist in 1988.

Her most recent album, “Black Cadillac,” was released in 2006 and nominated for a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. Her music ranges from country to pop.

Cash’s first book, “Bodies of Water,” was published in 1995 and received widespread critical acclaim, as did her children’s book, “Penelope Jane: A Fairy’s Tale,” which was published in 2000.

Cash’s essays and fiction have appeared in various periodicals and collections, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Oxford-American and New York magazine. She is currently working on a book of non-fiction, which is set to be published in 2009.

Harding has also been no stranger to the spotlight. An acclaimed artist, he has successfully recorded 15 albums. His most recent pop release in 2004, “Adam’s Apple,” was labeled “the finest album of his career” by the All Music Guide. He has been joined on stage by numerous musicians, including Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, among others.

Currently, Harding has been touring the nation with Eugene Mirman as the headliners of the star-studded “Cabinet of Wonders” show. Several of their friends, including Cash, have performed with them. 

Tickets to the presentation were free for FDU students, faculty and staff.

MEGHAN DROGE
Staff Writer

From Friday, March 27 until Saturday, March 28, the communities of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Drew University and the College of Saint Elizabeth will unite to honor cancer survivors, pay tribute to lives lost and raise money to fight the disease.

Relay for Life, hosted by the American Cancer Society and FDU’s own Colleges Against Cancer, is an annual event.

During the event, each college will be representing a certain number of teams that have worked to raise money. The money is used to make a difference for those people whose lives have been affected by cancer. For the overnight event, the colleges of Madison Avenue will gather in the Ferguson Recreation Center. Throughout the night, at least one team member will be walking the track and the event will open as cancer survivors take the first lap.

Highlighting the evening will be a Luminaria Ceremony of Hope held after dark to honor cancer survivors and to remember loved ones lost to cancer. It is the most moving event during the night, as the candles line the track and are left burning throughout the night to remind participants of the incredible importance of their contributions.

The event will run from 4 p.m. on Friday until 6:30 a.m. the following morning.

This year, Fairleigh Dickinson University has successfully recorded 25 participating teams and has raised more than $7,000, followed by the College of Saint Elizabeth with $4,500 and Drew University with $1,500.

Some of the participating organizations from FDU are the Student Volunteer Association, Florham Programming Committee and Student Government Association.

Various activities will take place throughout the night, including Zumba, dodge ball, a dance-off, a relay race competition, tug of war and limbo.

This year, the event will be 80s themed.

Relay for Life is an opportunity for people all over the world to join as one and tackle a lifesaving mission. Above all, the fight against cancer is a team effort and Relay for Life is truly a way to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and empower all people to fight against a disease that takes too much.

Donations to the cause are still being accepted. Money will fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide up-to-date cancer information, advocate for all people to have access to screening and treatment and offer programs and services to improve the quality of life for people facing the life-threatening disease.

MEGHAN DROGE
Staff Writer

Motivational. Honest. Dedicated. These three words, among countless others, can truly be used to describe Coach Herman Boone’s lecture to the Fairleigh Dickinson University community on March 5 in Lenfell Hall. Boone is well known for inspiring a football team in Alexandria, Virginia, in the 1970s and his character is portrayed by Denzel Washington in the award-winning film “Remember the Titans.”

Regarded as a renowned motivational speaker, Boone travels and delivers hundreds of speeches each year across the country, teaching lessons of respect, determination, and hope. Today, Boone is retired but he continues to motivate and inspire audiences with his presentations on respect, teamwork and community involvement.

Sponsored by the Office of the Campus Provost, the Diversity Committee and the Division of Student Affairs, this event generated a tremendous response from the FDU community as a famous icon spent time at a small university in northern New Jersey.

During a time of racial segregation in America, Boone was presented with the challenge of trying to find a way to unify a football team at T.C. Williams High School, an institution in which three schools merged to form a newly integrated one.

During the presentation, Boone tried to communicate the point that football in the south is not only a sport, but rather, it is truly a way of life. This team contained a total of 92 sixteen and seventeen-year-old boys and tensions were high as Boone soon became one of the most controversial and radical men in the entire country.

After beating out local favorite and successful Coach Bill Yoast of the formally all-white high school to become head coach of the Titans, Boone knew that he had his fair share of problems before him and the most pressing concern was how he was going to be able to overcome the racial diversity and divisions within the team.

Boone stated that even Yoast would not be able to handle this situation, even though he was the community favorite to lead the team, but the two persevered together.

Dean Brian Mauro began the presentation by playing a clip from the movie in which the team is sent off on a two-week training trip and they follow Boone down to the battlefield at Gettysburg. During the presentation, Boone spoke about how this moment in his team’s history was truly a turning point, as he wanted to stress the fact that if the team was unable to come together, there would be no other choice for them but to falter and fall apart. He faced difficulties day in and day out but there had to be a way to form a sense of unity. Even to this day, Boone stated that his players were forever changed by this experience in which the team had to overcome complications of sitting on integrated buses, eating at the same lunch tables, and merely talking to one another as well.

Surprisingly, most of the players had never even been close to another individual of the opposite race. Boone stressed that at that Gettysburg cemetery, people destroyed each other for the same reason that the team was destroying itself, due to their individual hatred for one another.

Additionally, on the Gettysburg trip, Boone had to face the difficulty of integrating races for different positions. While this is not in the movie, Boone said that on one specific day of the trip he laid out two rows of chairs – one row for defensive players and one row for offensive players. He then posed a question to the players which stated that if any of them wanted to play for his team, they would have to take a seat in one of these chairs. Upon asking that question, tons of offensive and defensive players flooded the seats without realizing that a majority of them were sitting on top of a player of another skin color. Boone said that the players did not have to like one another but they certainly had to respect each other, and that hatred and prejudice would not be tolerated, but rather, it would be celebrated. Although the team faced problems even upon returning from the trip, they all knew that it was a powerful learning experience for them because they all were living and working towards one unified goal.

Throughout the presentation, Boone made it clear that he often spent much of his coaching time telling stories and relaying life lessons to his players.

He lives by such statements as one “cannot survive without a sense of humor,” in addition to stating that “the word ‘can’ always comes before ‘can’t.’”

Through his motivational talks to his players, the team was able to find commitment and eventually went on to complete an undefeated season and win the 1971 state championship.

The team as a whole was soon viewed as an American role model and saved the city from being torn apart by racial strife. Boone stated that the team even received recognition from President Nixon and the United States Army for its achievements.

While lecturing, Boone made it a point to engage the entire audience and he even walked into the crowd when it came time to ask him questions.

While speaking, Boone consistently pointed to the audience, as if he was coaching everyone who was sitting in the crowd.

Commenting on Boone’s presentation, FDU student-athlete Marcie Schlanger said, “It was so inspiring to hear an intense story from someone who was actually placed in charge of such a difficult struggle.”

When answering one of the last questions, Boone stated that coaching is not necessarily the most lucrative profession, but it is certainly one of the most rewarding ones.

MEGHAN DROGE
Staff Writer

Every year, February is largely devoted to the observance of black history. This year, Black History Month is sure to receive more attention than ever, due to the recent election of the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama, who has taken on the vow of rejuvenating the hopes and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. into the America of the new millennium.

This month, FDU’s College at Florham has an extensive list of events on campus that will allow all students and faculty to partake in many exciting activities. The majority of the events are being hosted and sponsored by Becton College.

The individual who is largely responsible for organizing much of the events is Professor Monifa Brinson-Mulraine, who volunteered an astounding amount of time to make this year’s experience such a success.

Much support also came from numerous other faculty members, in addition to Dean of Students Brian Mauro and Dean of Becton College Geoffrey Weinman.
“This is the richest and broadest schedule the school has ever had,” Weinman said.

In regards to the recent election of President Obama, Weinman further commented that even though we now have an African American president, this does not mean that individuals should just stop learning about all of the history the African American population has bestowed upon America, but rather, all students and individuals should continue learning about this rich past.

The Orangerie room of the library has been featuring a large gallery of African American portraits, in addition to a sampling of books displaying some of the works of African American writers and photographers.

A panel discussion entitled, “No Momma’s Boy: A Tale of Resiliency,” featuring author Dominic Carter and other panelists and graduate students, took place on Feb. 3.
The Black History Month opening ceremony entitled, “Reflections of the Past — Focus on the Future,” took place on Feb. 5 and featured FDU’s own Melodies of Heaven Choir.

One of the most highly anticipated events at the College at Florham was the Hot Topics program, and this month’s theme was: “The Black Church in America: Fools or Freedom Fighters.”
The Hot Topics event featured a number of guest panelists and speakers.
Additionally, on Feb. 17, Twombly Lounge was expected to feature a Black History Month film screening and discussion of “My Brother’s Wedding,” followed by a panel discussion of African American health issues on Feb. 19.

BY MEGHAN DROGE
STAFF WRITER

On Jan. 31 the College at Florham’s master’s program in corporate and organizational communication began the annual Schering-Plough executive lectures series in Hartman Lounge. According to the FDU Web site, the master’s program is determined to produce critically informed graduates who will be competitive contributors to a challenging global marketplace.

The College at Florham is sponsoring the series through an endowment given to FDU from the Schering-Plough Corporation.

One of the first speakers for the lecture series was Ron Alsop, a renowned writer and editor for The Wall Street Journal. Alsop has also written several books, including his most recent manuscript, “When the Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the Workplace.” Last Saturday Alsop shared his guidance with up-and-coming communication scholars.

The series covers a range of topics that are connected to corporate and organizational communication, and is directed by corporate communication professionals, communication scholars, journalists and a handful of guest lecturers, according to FDU Web site. The series allows students to interact with the scholars and some of the most forefront figures in their respective fields.

These collections of lectures have been an integral part of the entire FDU community. Each series is distinguished by a specific theme. This semester’s series is called “Next Steps…Where Do We Go From Here?” The theme is based off of the idea that dramatic changes are set to come for Americans in the near future due the recent inauguration of the nation’s 44th president. Americans are also dealing with a struggling national economy and need to be guided on how to communicate and implement ideas and methods of change, particularly in a business environment.

The corporate communication series will allow a helpful discussion to ensue between students, faculty and the guest speakers.

The lectures will run every Saturday from now until March 14. This week’s guests are Brian Lewis, executive vice president of corporate communications for Fox Television Channels, and Courtney Barnes, editor of PR News.

BY MEGHAN DROGE
STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 20, Jeffery Allen, who spent part of his career lecturing at FDU and teaching creative writing in the master’s program, came to the campus to give a reading to the FDU community in Lenfell Hall. The event was conducted by English Professor Rene Steinke.

Recently, Allen has been receiving a variety of praise for his most recent collection of short stories called “Holding Pattern” and his most recent debut novel “Rails Under My Back.” In a humble and slightly quiet tone of voice, Allen began the program by reading one of his short stories known as “The Near Remote,” a story that largely depicts a world where surrealism and reality collide. This short story is particularly interesting because there is no established conclusion and therefore, Allen has left it up to the reader to determine how this story should end. Allen then continued reading a few passages from his short story collection before he began taking questions from the audience.
When asked where he gets the influence for most of his works, Allen replied that most of his stories are autobiographical but a majority of them are drawn from much research as well. Most of his stories deal with urban experiences that are mixed with fantasy elements. Since most of his works depict the ghetto areas of Chicago, Allen stated that while these regions are mostly seen as places of limitations, the fantastic elements of his stories offer his characters a chance to achieve another life, perhaps one that is more fulfilling. The intense and often explicit words of his short stories are meant to startle the reader, but Allen also stated that he is largely looking to entertain his fans as well.

Allen confessed that he is heavily attracted to folk tales and exaggerated stories which relates to how most of his works are known to stretch the truth. He also stated that he is drawn to oral stories because he is interested in the way that stories sound and this relates to how his works are written in a type of street, slang language. Allen is influenced by a number of renowned authors such as William Faulkner and Toni Morrison.

Allen is an acclaimed contemporary author and poet whose works most commonly depict the African American experience. Allen’s family is largely descended from Mississippi and therefore, most of his stories are rooted in the “Old South.” Allen’s literature world is grounded in the gritty reality of urban hardship in Chicago. He is most commonly known for incorporating a wide variety of magical realism in his literature in which his stories depict a surreal world. Within this surreal world, Allen’s plots touch on a variety of intense subjects such as religion and violence. The plots of his stories are also very dream-like and Allen confessed that one of his goals when writing is to take his readers into the world of his characters.

His literature is far from traditional and he has been known to experiment and push conventional boundaries in his works. His characters often find themselves caught up in obstacles that are both familiar and fantastic. He is very skilled at stretching realism, using an intense amount of absurdity, and writing in heavy, often vulgar street language, dialects and accents. Allen’s short stories have often been compared to contemporary poetry as well. When commenting on Allen’s works, Donna Seaman of the Chicago Tribune said, “Every relationship is epic in its contentiousness, every conversation an escalating confrontation, every foray out into the world a combat mission. The, suddenly, in moments of terrible suspension, the essence of life, in all its profound strangeness, is revealed with supernatural clarity.”

When speaking with some of the students after the reading, many stated that listening to Allen speak was a tremendously different experience for them as opposed to reading his works on their own. Many were also very surprised to hear his almost timid tone, but they stated that his humble voice truly made his work much more authentic because it was easy to tell that his literature is largely written from his heart and with much care. Moreover, when reading his works, it is important to keep an open mind because Allen’s plots are not an easy read and they are far from linear. Overall, his work is very contemporary and he is certainly looking to make a statement in each short story that he writes. Copies of “Holding Pattern” can be found in the FDU bookstore.

MEGHAN DROGE
Staff WriterJeffer

On Saturday, Oct. 18, the FDU Athletics community and the Alumni Association honored former student-athletes at the Division III Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

The ceremony, which took place at the Ferguson Recreation Center, gathered both former and present inductees for a night of celebration and recognized those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to our campus’ athletics department. About 130 people attended.

William T. Klika, FDU’s athletic director, started the event with a welcoming ceremony. Before getting into the awards, Klika took a moment of silence to honor Bob Shields, FDU’s first athletic director, who recently passed away; the night’s festivities were dedicated to honoring his legacy. The campus’ football field is also named in honor of Shields, who is credited for his tremendous work and perseverance in building FDU’s athletic program.

Six new inductees were presented with Hall of Fame honors. Two members from the basketball team, one member of the baseball team, the football team, the softball team and the lacrosse team were honored.

The ceremony recognized the first three Hall of Fame Inductees before switching gears to feature a couple of other awards as well. The renowned 1986 field hockey team, which held a winning school record of 15-3, was recognized during the ceremony and their award was presented to them by the FDU Hall of Fame Coach Hallie Cohen. After the team award, the spotlight turned to presenting a current FDU student and member of the field hockey team, Lauren Wright, with the Dennis McAdam’s Scholarship. McAdam was a former FDU athlete, but three days before he was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he passed away. In his honor, McAdam’s family has created a scholarship to recognize his legacy. The award is presented to a student-athlete who is in good academic standing and who is active on campus.

After that award, three more inductees were honored and the night ended with the presentation of the Contribution Award, which was awarded to a former basketball player and coach. The night was very memorable for a number of individuals who have made their mark and left their legacy at FDU. These athletes are also still very active in the community of their alma mater.

Check out the second floor of the gymnasium to see the new Hall of Fame photos that will be added to the collection, commemorating some of the history of FDU athletics.

MEGHAN DROGE
Staff Writer