Betsy Simon

Junior

English Major

You will not come back to the same room. Paint will be splattered all over the once clean walls and floor, and the children will resemble the inside of a crayon box, as they will covered from head to toe in every color of paint they had available. Remember, though, there were no rules or guidelines for them to follow. Without guidelines, making decisions is like handing a three-year-old paint supplies without rules; you never know what you might get in the end.

A growing concern among faculty members, in particular female faculty members, was that UD’s policy for maternity leave was much like leaving three- year-olds with paint supplies; no faculty member who became pregnant could be guaranteed to receive equal benefits as someone in another school, or even within their own department, as each case was treated on an individual basis with each faculty member’s department chairperson. And only rarely, if needed, the dean would step in.

Until now, a maternity leave policy for the female faculty at UD had never existed in writing, so no one knew exactly what to expect.

Both women, according to Schwartz, explored the maternity leave policies at "peer institutions and other places of higher education, in order to see what kinds of policies and benefits were being offered." What was discovered when the two women joined forces and discussed their findings, was that most universities, like UD, did not offer their faculty members this essential policy. Dr. Hughes stated that the policy was needed for a variety of reasons, including "the attracting and retaining of female faculty, to assist department chairs with staffing issues, and to have a policy that provided equity across the board."

With the help of Dr. Untener in the Provost’s office, a maternity leave policy was created, and then taken to a handful of female faculty for feedback. The chosen faculty members consisted of women that gave birth prior to the implementation of a maternity leave policy, some women that might use the policy in times to come, and to members of the Association of Faculty Women Leadership Team.

After much assistance from the faculty in perfecting the original draft, the maternity leave policy was taken to the Academic Senate and approved in November of 2004, and the policy went up on-line at the beginning of the current term, Winter 2005.

Schwartz and Dr. Hughes stated that there are still points to be ironed out in the maternity leave policy, and a conference was held a few weeks ago to try and begin smoothing out the wrinkles.

Under the new policy, there is no revision of paternity, foster care or adoption leaves, but those changes might be considered at a later date.

"UD is very family oriented, and the policy now helps to back that up," Dr. Hughes said.

All in all, Schwartz added, "people are very happy to have guidelines now."

The Marianist Charism hangs on Lisa Rismiller’s wall. It includes many of the usual adjectives connected with Mary – mother and friend – and those not usually considered with such a spiritual woman – risk-taker and confrontational.

But Rismiller, director of the Women’s Center, says that it is that broader vision of Mary that embodies the spirit of the Miryam Award.

The Miryam Award recognizes UD faculty, staff and students who embody the image of Mary as they work on the behalf of the women of the university community. As Andrea Stiles, coordinator for community outreach in the Center for Social Concern, says, the award came from "a desire to recognize things that are going on for women on campus."

The award, which comes out of the Center for Social Concern, is given every year. Applicants are reviewed by a committee that is chaired by the Center for Social Concern and staffed by other departments that sponsor the award.

Usually only one award is given with a name on a plaque in Barrett Dining Room and $1,000 to be donated to any activity or organization on campus that promotes women. However, the past two years the Miryam Award has been bestowed upon two winners, in each case a student also winning.

Rismiller says the committee has a desire to hold up a student who has done exceptional things. Those nominated promote women’s issues outside of their job. They take a stand for women by supporting, advancing and impacting women. "That is hard to do as a student with so much on their plate," Rismiller says.

Rismiller continues, "It’s an important award for young women who don’t have women role models to look up to … these are models of women leaders we can relate to and aspire to. We can all be leaders."

This year’s winners are the Annie T. Thorton Women’s Leadership Conference, the first time an event has been recognized, and a senior psychology major, Ashley Neu.

Debra Monk, director of community standards and civility and on the committee for the Women’s Leadership Conference says it is great to be recognized for their work.

All involved in the conference are volunteers and receive no funds from the university. "The award is community recognition that we are doing something," Monk says.

Neu, who graduates in May and plans on pursuing her doctorate in clinical psych-ology, is the com-munication director of the Women’s Center. She spent last summer in Cameroon working with women’s groups teaching them independent living skills. Women’s issues are a passion for Neu and she is "so honored to be considered among the many incredible individuals… who work so hard for women’s issues."

The award ceremony commenced with a prayer service in the Immaculate Conception Chapel, open to campus, on March 31st. It reflected the spirit of Mary and celebrated the positives aspects of being a woman. The service was followed by the presentation of the awards and reception in the Women’s Center.

A quick look through the AIM profiles of UD students reveals countdown after countdown. From freshmen to fifth-years, everyone’s anxiously marking down the days until the same big event… Dayton to Daytona 2005.

The Dayton to Daytona tradition is one of UD’s favorite, right up there with St. Patrick’s Day and beating Xavier. And this year is sure to be no exception.

With over 450 groups signed up already, Dayton students plan to take over the city of Daytona Beach once again from May 10 – May 16.

Sponsored by SGA and Breakaway Tours, the week-long event is the culmination of a year, or four, of hard work for students. The trip costs students anywhere from $169 to $289 and includes six nights accommodation, a t-shirt, mug and two hours of free beverages every day, along with a wristband entitling students to other special deals.

An SGA committee of 25 students has helped to market the event, run the campout-style sign-ups, and plan activities for Daytona.

Suzanne Grover, one of the two SGA Trip Coordinators, believes, "SGA’s role in the planning of Dayton to Daytona is to provide an affordable and safe trip for the UD students."

Safety is also a concern of university administrators every year as students high-tail it off campus in May in pursuit of sun and fun. Their anxieties most often concern the excessive binge drinking and the lack of non-alcoholic activities in Daytona. Some also worry about students making unsafe preparations for the trip and the dangers for students in transit to and while in Daytona Beach.

Despite concerns, Dayton to Daytona will go on. And judging from the responses of students, trip-goers are as excited as ever.

Below is a sample of some students’ expectations and preparations for this year’s trip:

Senior, Visual Design

• Maybe eating less and I’ll go tanning before the trip. I’m lucky because my parents are giving me spending money this year as part of my graduation gift so I dont have to save money.

• I am preparing by trying to save money, keep my body looking good, and staying extra sweet to my parents who are paying!

Junior, Intervention Specialist

Junior, Political Science & Public Relations

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Women’s Studies as a field—including faculty here in UD’s program—has long been interested in broadening our notions of what counts as knowledge and of how we measure excellence: gendered oppositions such as depth vs. breadth and solidity vs. softness, for instance, have often aligned rigor with masculinist and objectivist epistemologies that feminist scholars and teachers urge us to question.

From a Women’s Studies perspective, self-reflexive, personal, practical, holistic, and social-justice oriented research and teaching are important factors in determining excellence.

So, as our recent formal conversations about the University’s vision have shifted from talking about the importance of "rigor" to a discourse "academic excellence," it seems like a good time to pause and highlight some examples from within and beyond our Women’s Studies classrooms, where students report learning both mind- and life-transforming lessons.

One obvious way we honor student excellence is through the Susan R. Hermes Award for Excellence in Women’s Studies. This year we decided to grant the honor to two students, both graduating minors in the program who have earned near-perfect GPAs in their Women’s Studies courses.

Sarah McCormick (who took almost twice the number of hours required for the minor) is a double-major in Psychology and Sociology, and Ashley Neu, who is also being honored with the Miryam Award this year for her extraordinary contribution to improving the campus climate for women, both exhibit a compelling blend of academic skill and passion for social change.

Ashley will also join the Women’s Center staff and me at the annual meeting of the National Women’s Studies Association in Orlando this June.

The Stander Symposium also featured a number of panels and posters highlighting exemplary student research on women’s and gender issues, this year.

Finally, we look forward to highlighting academic excellence in Women’s Studies courses across the disciplines with the inauguration of a new essay contest next year. Look to future columns or contact the Women’s Studies office for more information.

Megan Curley

Sophomore

Public Relations Major

This August the University of Dayton’s Dr. Monalisa Mullins, a lecturer in the Philosophy and Teacher Education departments, will have the honor of

presenting her research paper entitled, "The Goldilocks Syndrome: Finding the Mark of Virtue in Women’s Leadership", at the prestigious Oxford Round Table on Women’s Leadership.

Her presentation will focus on the benefits of exploring women’s leadership styles that encourage a type of Aristotelian balance between the model of servant leadership and leadership models based on power and authority. Mullins explains that leaders following this model will be viewed as having high moral character and will have the capability of realizing the broad implications of their decisions on others.

Mullins’ field of interest is the philosophy of education, specifically critical pedagogy and service learning. In addition to her work for the Oxford Round Table, Mullins recently co-authored a book with Thomas Hunt entitled, The History of Moral Education in American’s Schools: The Continuing Challenge. She is also writing an encyclopedia of moral education that is due out in early 2006.

As the school year approaches its end, the Women’s Leadership House will say goodbye to its current occupants. Eight women lived in the house this year and enjoyed every minute of it.

Together the women worked to organize events concerning the issues faced by women. Through these experiences, they have gained further understanding of these issues while also helping the community.

Sarah Kessler, a junior international studies and political science major, is one occupant of the house this year.

According to Kessler, the purpose of the houseis to promote and earn more about women in leadership, hold functions, volunteer when necessary, and attend events.

In January, the women organized an event called, An Evening with Rhine McLin, Mayor of Dayton. The mayor came to the University of Dayton to give a speech to the female organization leaders and faculty.

"She is probably the most inspirational woman I have met other than my mother," Kessler said.

For her time, McLin would not accept any payment,so the women donated money to her father’s scholarship fund.

Most of the women were volunteers at the Women’s Leadership Conference this year.

Katherine Mone, a junior nutrition major, enjoyed the opportunity to network and attend the speech by Coretta Scott King. "Her speech was very impressive and really opened my mind to important issues facing our country today," said Mone.

The women who lived in the house feel they benefited from the experience in different ways.

The women want to thank Peggy Desautels, their faculty advisor, and Lisa Rismiller and Pattie Waugh in the Women’s Center for their suggestions, feedback, and criticisms. "They were great mentors and leaders themselves," noted Mone.

Next year, eight different women will live in the house.

Brittany Hargis, a sophomore accounting and operations management major, hopes to increase her awareness of women’s issues through service.

Hargis added, "I really appreciate the opportunity that Residential Services, Women’s Studies and the Women’s Center have given us, not only to live in the house, but to learn from each other and the surrounding community and serve the women around us."

Spring break has come and gone, and while that week of rest came as a welcome respite for many of us, it left others longing for more.

And for good reason. Americans today are working longer and harder—8% longer than a generation ago, in fact. While America’s work ethic has made us the most economically powerful nation in the world, it has also made us the most stressed.

A recent Gallup poll showed that 40% of workers would describe their job as extremely stressful and 25% call work the number one stressor in their lives.

Stress in the workplace leads to accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover and diminished productivity—all bad for both workers and their employers.

So what can we do? The answer is simple-- take a vacation.

Vacations are vital for well-being, say psychologists. They help recharge us and keep us more efficient. Leisure also helps us fend off stress-related problems like heart disease, fatigue and back pain.

Many Americans are finally starting to get the hint and are taking cues from Europe, where leisure is built into the framework of life. America is still one of the few countries that does not mandate paid vacation time, while Europe averages six weeks.

Self-proclaimed leisure experts are taking the country by storm and pointing out the benefits of taking a break. For example, 80% of workers report a better outlook on their job when they take sufficient time away off from it.

Many faculty and staff here at UD have joined the growing leisure movement and planned their own vacations for the upcoming summer months.

Their plans demonstrate that leisure simply means doing what you enjoy.

So go ahead, take a break... and find some inspiration.

• I will travel to a friend’s wedding and spend some long weekends at music festivals. I’d also like to do a short backpacking trip in Ohio or Kentucky.

• We’re starting with a trip to North Carolina at a camp for seriously ill children. Then a long weekend in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby Festival. Summer culminates with a long weekend in New Mexico for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

• Family vacation to the nearest beach due to rising fuel prices. Also, mini trips with my daughter to experience new sites.

• My husband, three other couples and I have a week in St. John’s planned - we will relax around the pool, scuba dive, and ride around the Caribbean in the boat we are renting.

• This summer I’ll be going to Smith Mountain Lake for a week of hiking and boating in June and then in July will be spending a week on Topsail Island NC for my daughter’s wedding.

• We will spend time camping in our motorhome as a family for a week or so. Then I will spend three weeks with my kids at my parent’s house in Panama City Beach.

• We’re visiting European friends and attending a wedding. First we’re meeting a Slovene couple and their new baby along the Adriatic coast of Dalmatia. Then we’re going to Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina to attend the wedding of UD grad. We’ll also visit Sarajevo and Medugorje while in Bosnia. From there we’re going to Verona, Italy to visit a Hungarian friend.

• It wouldn’t be summer without our annual trek to Cape Cod. This July we’ll also be attending a family reunion in Delaware, our son’s MFA show in upstate New York, and celebrating my mother’s 90th birthday.

• We’re spending the summer painting our house – want to to help?

Dear Laura,

High protein diets provide almost no carbohydrates and force our bodies into a starvation mode, which forces it to burn fat for energy. While that by itself sounds good, people tend to get many side effects from running on just fat (fatigue, bad breath, etc.) and no one knows for sure if eating just protein and fat can be harmful to the heart, as this can increase "bad" (HDL) cholesterol levels.

There is currently some research being done to see if what we theorize is true. The ideal diet includes all food groups, with a strong emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Did you know you should eat a minimum of 5 fruit and vegetable servings each day, and many dietitians would encourage us to have 8-11 servings? Fruits and vegetables not only provide lots of vitamins and fiber to fill you up, but also lots of phytochemicals, which help prevent a variety of cancers and decrease our risk of heart disease and stroke. Plus they’re low in calories.

Lots of folks think carbs are bad. They’re not really, but it’s very easy to eat way too much—look at the serving size on your next box of Cheez-its or bagel bag. Our portion sizes have grown, so we have to be in tune with how big a proper portion should be. (Usually about 150 calories of a bread type food is equivalent to 2 servings; many bagels today are 300-400 calories, or 4-6 servings!)

Make sure also to eat quality proteins: chicken or turkey without skin, fish, legumes. And don’t be afraid of lean red meats and the occasional burger—they’re a good source of protein, iron and zinc. Finally, don’t be "fat-phobic". Our bodies benefit from fats like olive oil, canola oil, nuts, avocados, and oily fish.

Dr. B

Leigh Carlton

Senior

Public Relations Major

There is no question that our Marianist brothers at the University of Dayton are extremely gifted. Students know the brothers in the classroom and through campus ministry, but there is also another place to find them, although it is not as well known.

Traveling outside UD’s campus borders into Beavercreek, you will find Mount St. John/Bergamo, a retreat center and nature preserve. In the heart of Bergamo is a Marianist art gallery, Gallery Saint John.

Gallery Saint John is free and open to the public and offers a number of different art shows throughout the year. UD art majors have had the opportunity to host their own show in the gallery this past winter.

Brother Joseph Barrish is the director of the gallery and also has his own art studio on the premises. Barrish’s work, along with that of other local artists, can be found in the gallery. Bro. Barrish is a Marianist and has taught courses in art all over the Midwest.

Bro. Barrish works everyday on his own personal art along with organizing and maintaining the different shows and publicity for the gallery. The gallery also gives UD communication majors and opportunity for an internship. Three students have done public relations work for the gallery so far.

Along with Bro. Barrish, Brother Don Smith has created clay creations at the gallery for years. Currently, Bro. Smith is working on a mosaic tiled figure of Mary surrounded by flowers on UD’s campus. The committee originally wanted a statue of Mary, but Bro. Smith’s work is more geared towards clay tiles.

"The mosaic mural will be installed on the wall which runs between the chapel and St. Mary’s Hall," said Bro. Smith. "In the small courtyard, UD will plant a garden and the mosaic will enhance that garden."

Bro. Smith is having a private show at Gallery St. John this spring and is displaying his past and present work. The gallery invites you to visit and enjoy some art from our Marianist Brothers.

"Art is beauty, beauty is God’s great gift to the world," said Bro. Smith. "My effort to make beautiful objects enhances Gods great connection to us and helps his mission to enhance the world and take advantage of all the beautiful things."