http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlFavqrHw4E

Junior Anthony Marovelli and his band The Mountain Road Ramblers practice for the upcoming Battle of the Bands.

(Photo: Danielle Russell)

by Grace Ames and Danielle Russell
edited by Molly Buccini

3: 20 p.m. – Quiet anticipation accompanies the small crowd at the baseball game against Saint Anselm this afternoon. As snowflakes begin to fall from the sky, scouts trickle in and and strategically place themselves behind home plate. The teams are gathered around their respective dugouts. The crowd has a clear view of Sodexho field where men’s lacrosse practice is taking place.

3:30 p.m. – Music begins to play as the lineups are announced by Richard Raymond as the starting players take their positions on the field. As the first pitch is thrown, coaches and players are already cheering on their team and more of a crowd starts to show up. The snow has stopped but the wind has picked up leaving onlookers clinging to their Dunkin Donuts hot drinks and frozen to their hard plastic chairs. The smell of coffee fills the air.

3:50 p.m. – Despite the cold, Sam Ciulla, Lindsay Leach, and Melissa Richtel come out to support the team with blankets in hand. At the same time a father points to the players and explains how the game works to his young son.

4:10 p.m. -Ten scouts are now pointing their radar guns at the pitchers mound and two frightened girls cling onto each other as a foul ball goes soaring over the net. Every few minutes various members of the Ravens walk out to gather foul balls as their cleats clank loudly against the pavement.

(Photo: Danielle Russell)

4:20 p.m. – The sun is shining brightly as a gust of wind picks up the faint scent of grass that has been covered by a blanket of snow for the past few months. Yet another scout shows up wearing an Under Armor fleece cap. He takes a look at the other scouts. “Look at this crew, everyone’s got their hats on,” he said. A fellow scout blows hot air into his hands for warmth in response.

There are many different factors that play into animal extinction. Professor Rhine Singleton is reviewing a lab in his Evolutionary Biology class to help students better understand these causes.  Students in this Marcucella Hall classroom work on their laptops as the professor comes around offering each of them support, advice and clarification.

Professor Rhine Singleton

He darts from table to table, rapidly but clearly sharing his expertise with the engaged students.

This is the exact kind of one-on-one education that a small university like Franklin Pierce takes pride in offering its student body.

It’s 3:30 p.m. in Cheney Hall and several classes are well underway. The glass practice room rings with the sounds of a beginner piano student practicing scales. The door is shut as their fingers slide up and down the wooden instrument. Inside of the chapel, there are three guitar students troubleshooting through a classical composition with their Guitar Ensemble professor, Scott Sanchez.

(Photo: Nick Marro)

Lou Bunk’s History of Electronic Music class is receiving a lecture on the influential pieces of the genre. He plugs his computer into the speaker system and loud pulsating screeches fill the room. The 1965 piece is titled, “Bye Bye Butterfly,” and was composed by Pauline Oliveros.

As the composition builds and the screeching gets louder, students look across the room at one another donning half smiles and exchanging witty remarks.

Students raise their hands to describe what they think they just heard. “The beginning was irritating,” laughs senior Jake Abbott. Other students describe the piece as space age and ambient. Professor Bunk explains the application of tape delay.

The door to the computer music studio is locked suggesting that a live recording is underway. The sweet and simple sounds of an acoustic guitar leak from under the crack of the door.

(Photo: Dave Dziewit)

by Dave Dziewit
edited by Molly Buccini

The History Channel is on the television in the waiting room at Health Services. Kaylin Mounce checks in for an appointment. Administrative Assistant Sandra Messina is working at the front desk on the computer. It appears to be an ordinary and quiet day.

The television is used for privacy to block out conversations coming from the exam room. Lee Potter, director of health services, walks out of the building. As she walks out you can hear the sound of the bells on the door ringing as it closes.

Sandra answers the phone, and states the times for the next available appointment. There are bulletin boards everywhere stating health facts including brochures on display. The smell is a typical medical facility that includes the scent of disinfectant and rubbing alcohol.

Marzelle Barker walks in and talks to Sandra. A minute later Dr. Robert Koch walks to the desk and they all share a conversation about cigarette addiction.

The waiting room is empty. Behind Sandra  are filing cabinets most likely used for medical records. The sound of typing remains in the background. Melissa Wade checks in for an appointment and is then called in by Nurse Practitioner Ellen Ostreicher.

(Photo: Dave Dziewit)

(Photo: Dave Dziewit)

by David Dziewit
edited by Molly Buccini

It’s 2:45 p.m. and Marabeth Farmer, assistant director for community services, is sitting in the office sorting through things that need to get done,  along with distributing papers. The office appears to have a very extensive filing system. The room contains papers scattered on the desk, along with three computers. The room smells of lettuce and onions and is most likely from a meal someone recently had. It is rather quiet, with the sound of papers being moved and sorted. You can also hear the computer towers and vents.

Marabeth continues to remain focused while sorting everything out. Many things are on the walls including bulletin boards, a large calendar, a list of all the community service programs, and other notices. There are also many framed awards on the wall. Typically the days are busy from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. however, it varies. Earlier today Reality Check performed skits at a middle school in Wilton-Lyndeborough, NH. Marabeth said that today has been a great day for her to finish her work. Outside of the office you can hear footsteps and people talking. On top of the filing cabinet there are two large bottles of aluminum can tabs. They are collected and taken to Shriner’s Hospital in Springfield, MA.

It’s 3:05 p.m. and Stephanie Manning walks in and talks to Marabeth. Stephanie, a senior, is the community service coordinator. A minute later Matt Walcott and Katlin Wasmanski walk in. Matt shows Katlin the artwork he made for the new design on the office’s wall. Stephanie works on the computer and is writing a description of a Community Service project that received the President’s Award from Campus Compact. Yellow daffodils are on display to be sold to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

(Photo: Dave Dziewit)

(Photo: Dave Dziewit)

(Photo: Dave Dziewit)

The shuttle drivers changing shifts at 11:30 a.m. marks the beginning of Dispatcher Marilyn Lyons’s quiet portion of her eight hour shift.

Shuttle driver Daniel Roberts finishes his shift, handing the keys to Christopher Perez, who then signs the out shuttle and drives Roberts back to his room. After Perez leaves to begin his two hour shift, the Campus Safety building, known as St. Peters, becomes much quieter, with only the sound of CNN softly playing on the TV. Occasionally, the phone rings, and Lyons answers and transfers the calls to other locations on campus. “Mornings are when I get the most calls, but usually around noon things get much quieter.” said Lyons, who works from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. “This particular day is quieter than most days.” During the day most calls are for Res-Life, Admissions, the Registrar, or Financial Services.

Lyons uses the lull in calls as a chance to print out new I.D. cards for students who have reported losing their cards to the Cafeteria. Once the cards are printed, they will be given to one of the Campus Safety officers, who will take them back to the Cafeteria so the students can pick up their new cards for their next meal. Occasionally, while printing the cards, Lyons would have to walk from the back room to the front desk to answer the phone. In a half hour span, she received and transferred nine phone calls in all.

One student, Gareth Dudney, stopped by the office to register his friend Mollie O’brien as his guest for the weekend. Lyons then recorded O’brien in the University’s guest book, and issued her an I.D. and temporary parking permit.

(Photo:(Photo: Matt Jones)

(Photo: Matt Jones)

(Photo: Matt Jones)

(Photo: Matt Jones)

(Photo: Matt Jones)

Franklin Pierce Bookstore (Photo: Colby Houdlette)

The lobby of Admissions was warm and cozy as student employee Brittany Wheeler sat at the receptionists desk. The couches looked inviting to new perspective students. “We’re actually still recovering from an extremely hectic week,” Wheeler said. “We just hosted about 200 overnight students in our Accepted Student Overnight Experience.”

As staff members began to return back to admissions with tours, the offices began to fill with laughter and conversation. Some of the staff members where out on recruiting trips to schools. Wheeler was busy answering phones and staying busy going through the calender and preparing appointments. There were already three tours today and more lined up for the days ahead.

(photo: Torey Montesi)