Franklin Pierce held its annual Health and Safety fair at Pierce hall on Thursday, May 6 with a turnout of 80 students.

According to Chris Johnson, sophomore area Experience Director, “I estimate that there were at least eighty people who stopped in but at least fifty people who went around to the different tables.”

There were many different programs at the fair such as Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention, Sodexho, FP Safety Committee, FP Fire Safety, Campus Safety, Judicial Affairs, Residential Life and Academic Services.

Johnson also said “ I think this event is a great opportunity for everyone to learn some useful information in a fun way and try to win a great prize at the same time.”

The raffle prize was a Nintendo Wii and Wii fit. The winner of the raffle was sophomore Nick Emmons.

The purpose of the fair is to educate about health, alcohol, nutrition, fitness, and fire safety.

The Sodexho table had brochures on ways to stay healthy and how to maintain a healthy diet. They also had information on how to balance the mind, body and soul.

Residential Life was giving out snacks after students participated in a quick test to see if they knew the rules and regulations of the dormitory.

At the FP Safety Committee table they had different safety issue articles and what to do if people were ever in a hazardous situation.

EVS Manager Barbara Peloquin said “As the safety committee duty we address the safety issues on any topic of safety whether it’s short or long term needs,”

Students participated in a drinking obstacle activity by Campus Safety that involved impaired goggles and had students walk in a straight line. Students were also able to put on firefighting and as “firefighters” they had to climb and get out of a wooden obstacle with their heavy equipment.

According to Mariama Bonnetti, sophomore, “ I think it was informative and fun.”

Meet the recently installed members of the Student Government Association for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The members of the SGA Executive Board (From Left to Right): Ian McGinnes, Megan Landry, Nick Kostich, Marzell Barker, Amanda Fortier and Joe Ferris

Name: Joe Ferris

What year are you: I am a Junior, Class of 2011

What is your position on the board: I am President of the Student Senate
How long have you been involved: I have been involved with the SGA since second semester Freshman year, so almost 2.5 years to be exact.

What your role is on the exec board: I am responsible for all administrative purposes within the SGA as well as ensuring the completion of goals placed before us. I do my very best to maximize the potential of my already outstanding exec board in order to provide the students with all we have to offer, guaranteeing student satisfaction throughout this University.

What do you intend to do in the upcoming years: I plan on working extremely hard my senior year in the class room and putting every ounce of energy into the SGA, so when my time is over as President I will know I left the organization better off than when I entered it.
Otherhobbies/interst: I’ve always been an athlete, my two loves are Ice Hockey and Baseball. I like the outdoors and training. I also enjoy Modern Warfare 2.

Anything else to add: The SGA is the best avenue to improve the day to day lives of the students. We have a budget close to $100,000 for student initiatives. If you are the type of student who feels like there isn’t enough to do or insufficient events, let us know what you want. We are here for every student on this campus, it is my exec boards goal and first priority to improve the satisfaction of the students here.
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Name: Ian McGinnes

What year are you: Junior

What is your position on the board: Student Body Vice President

How long have you been involved: 2 years, this coming year will be my third.

What your role is on the exec board: I am head of the capital improvements committee, I am delegated work from the president to do, and I also co-chair, the bus to Keene program with our president.

What do you intend to do in the upcoming years: Through capital improvements we already have some things in the works for early next semester, I am going to make sure that we have some kind of great improvement to our campus for next year through that committee.

What being a member of SGA means to you: I choose to be part of this program because I actually want to help the student body, I am happy to be a liaison between the students and the people that run this University. I also don’t mind public speaking to much.

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Name: Amanda Fortier

What year are you: Sophomore

What is your position on the board: I am the secretary of the class senate.

How long have you been involved: This upcoming semester will be 5th semester in SGA. I have been in SGA since first semester freshman year.

What your role is on the exec board: I perform regular secretarial duties such as taking minutes of the meetings, formulating meeting agendas and sending weekly e-mails. A new thing I will be trying out next semester is creating a weekly news letter to e-mail to all students.

What does being a member of SGA mean to you: To me being a member of the SGA means doing everything I can to represent the students and have their voice be heard. I think a lot of people want to create change and don’t realize that they can make things happen if they only speak up. This campus community is very accepting of students’ ideas and very willing to use student input to create change.

Other hobbies/ interests: Other interests include being a peer leader and a women’s rugby player. I am on the executive board of the women’s rugby team and love it. I like to listen to music and be outside. I want to encourage any student with any concerns at all to e-mail me at Sgasecretary1@franklinpierce.edu.

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Name: Megan Landry

What year are you: Junior

What is your position on the board: I am the executive board treasurer for 2010-2011 academic year.

What your role is on the exec board: We have many goals as a group but my most important individual goal is to change the budget cycles.  Right now we go through and look at budgets every two weeks.  My freshman year we did this twice in a semester and now we changed this because the planning had to be done so far in advance and when problems arose the money just wasn’t used.  My goal is to find a happy medium between the old and the new. I think that if we can do budgets maybe 5 times a year we can get some happy medium.

Other hobbies/ interests: On a more personal level I think that I am very easy going, approachable and easy to talk to.

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Name: Marzell Barker

What year are you: Sophomore

What is your position on the exec board: Secretary of clubs

How long have you been involved: This is my first time on the executive board but I’ve been in SGA since second semester of freshman year.

What your role is on the exec board: I make sure clubs are actually having meeting and they send me minutes from them as well as inventory. Think of me as the mother hen of clubs really.

What do you intend to do in the upcoming years:  I’m only going to be on the exec board for this upcoming year and I hope to help set up a system that will help clubs stay on track so that we don’t lose any more good clubs.

What being a member of SGA means to you: It has helped me see the inner workings of the school and has allowed me to solidify some of my relations with the clubs I’m currently in. It also is presenting me with an opportunity’s I would not have otherwise had. All in all for me it means I can give back to the school that I really do love.

The Cheney hall performance room was filled with family and friends to see the Franklin Pierce University Guitar Ensemble perform in front of a crowd of over 35 people.

The ensemble consisted of Jesse Allain, Jason Westover, Mark French, Matthew Begin, Benjamin Moss, and Joseph Gause.

The performance showcased over ten songs with each one having a very different feel. After each song the musicians would nod and the crowd would applause.

The show started with an opening performance by Allain and Scott Sanchez. They opened with more then three pieces preformed together including a piece in South America.

Next the rest of the ensemble came on stage to join Sanchez and Allain to perform multiple ensemble pieces. With the seven men on stage it made for a large ensemble with each man playing a different and crucial part to each song.

The ensemble ended with a crowd favorite and left everybody smiling. The group played Eight Days a Week which is a Beatles song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Watercolor Paintings by Mary Lou Burness

By Whitney Pettibone
Edited by Adam Stahl

Mary Lou Burness, and her husband Don Burness donated two water color paintings to the Ingalls Library in the Rindge Town Center on May 4, 2010.

A group of about 30 people gathered in the adult section of the library to celebrate Mary Lou and the donation she was giving the library.  Everyone went up and hugged Mary Lou, as Don went around saying thank you to others in the library.

The Burness’s have been going to the Ingalls Library for 42 years.  Mary Lou has been an avid reader and exceptional painter.  She has always been in love with books and traveling.  After bouts of illness and strokes, she is wheelchair bound and cannot speak very well.  Her son Phil Burness was there to give a speech on the family.  “My mother is an adventurous and curious spirit who is a great lover of the written word.  She always has had a book in her hand,” her son said.

One of the paintings Mary Lou donated was of the Pont sur L’Ouveze in France.  The other was of sunflowers in a vase.  She painted them both in 2001, before the strokes.

Mary Lou has always been an exceptional painter.  Her and her husband have traveled all over the world, but they have a great attachment to France.  “We were married in France,” Don said, “we lived in a tent for eight months and traveled everywhere.”  They would go to art museum after art museum, and read every book they could find.

“Mary Lou is a very interesting person, but when you have strokes it takes a lot away from you,” Don said.

To see the paintings go to the Ingalls Library in the Rindge Town Center.

Mary Lou Burness and son Phil Burness

Students in the composition and dance technique classes presented five duets in a program they called Bodystories on Tuesday May 4.

The event was held at the Warehouse Theater at 7:00 p.m. and was a project the students had been working on throughout the spring semester. Their movements blended improvisation and dance performance. Each student was asked to work independently on dance sequences and then combine their ideas with those of a partner in order to create the duet they then presented.

(photo: Sheila Vargas)

“We worked on our duet for a month,” said sophomore Jaime Montagno, who is majoring in both education and dance.

“We practiced every Tuesday in class and the students would give us feedback, it was always very positive. I also met with my partner outside of class.”

The nine student performers were Elissa Cummings, Sarah Dembishack, Nora Cuddy, Alex Hajjar, Jaime Montagno, Gabrielle Aufiero, Colette Fortin, Heather Wilson and Crystal Pratt.

Kimberly Brothers, who saw the performance for the first time, said, “The part I found the most interesting was when Colette and Heather used their bodies to make noises instead of using actual music like everyone else.”

Gabrielle Aufiero, who performed twice during the night commented on her performance by saying, “I think you can always improve but in terms of this performance I have no complaints. This was also the first time I’ve worked with Jamie.”

After the dance portion of the program there was also a piece of a theater final project presented from the advanced acting class. They read a portion of the children’s book “Haroon in the Sea of Stories.”

Senior Courtney Falite, who read with the advanced acting class, also performed two monologues for the crowd on her own as well as a dance piece.

photo by google.com

On Tuesday May 4^th, the second annual Senior Reading for the English Department featured six Creative Writing majors and minors presenting their works they have accumulated over the last four years.

Teresa Lardo, Bryce Mainville, Sara Saldivar, Shane Sevier, Abbie Tumbleson and Katie Wilcock shared stories they have been working on in various classes. Their works included both poetry and fiction.

“I think I surveyed a broad variety of thought I have as a writer,” said Sevier. “It is a breath of topics I like to cover.”

Thirteen people squished into Petrocelli 315 to listen to stories of nature, an autistic boy who pretends he is in the middle of a Scooby Doo mystery, university life and a Dwarf fighting in a war against Goblins, all in a two hour span.

“It is a proud moment for the Creative Writing faculty. We have seen students develop over four years. The writers know what their peers think, it’s a good way to let other people know what they can do,” said Professor Donna Decker.

The reading used to be part of a larger spring time reading that combined all students in creative writing classes to read their works written during the semester. The decision was made last year to allow seniors to have their own night for reading.

“It gives seniors to show a final project and show some expertise,” said Professor Anne Shaw.

Each senior was given ten minutes to read a story of his or her choice, followed by a question and answer period. Seniors shared what inspired them, explanations, advice and got feedback from teachers and other students.

“The reading is to feature writing students. It is a chance for them to share their work with the community. They worked hard on their stories. Writing isn’t just dashing something on paper, it’s writing, revising, editing. It gives students the chance to show that,” Decker said.

The seniors offered advice to future Creative Writing students.

“Read everything, even if you don’t like it,” said Mainville. “It might help with craft. Newspapers, books, read anything written.”

Sevier said, “Read and write as much as you can.”

The underclassmen in creative classes will have a spring time reading on May 10^th at 7 p.m. in Pierce Hall.

For more information about the senior and spring time readings, contact Donna Decker at deckerd@franklinpierce.edu.

Photo by Amanda Paul

Photo by Amanda Paul

The manager of the Portland Sea Dogs was thrown out during the game Saturday afternoon at Hadlock Field, located in Portland, Maine, with the Sports and Recreation Management Club in attendance.

Fans enjoying the game. (Photo by: Scott Lettre)

The game was tied at one until the bottom of the seventh inning when Portland scored a run. They added two more runs at the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 4-1. The game did not go without conflict. Throughout the game, some questionable calls and wild pitches brought temper out on both sides, which prompted Portland’s Manager Arnie Beyeler to be ejected.

“I think it was a bit unnecessary for the Sea Dogs coach to go out to the umpire…the scene was entertaining though,” said Jennifer Cotnoir, Senator of the Sports and Recreation Management Club.

After a trip of almost three hours, the club arrived at the game. Portland is the Class AA Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The special promotion at the game was “Bark in the Park.” People brought their dog to the park as part of a fundraiser for Planet Dog Foundation. Before the game started, employees of the team led the dogs and the owners around the warning track of the field. After, they had a special bleacher section for them.

Professor Keith Detjen, the Sports and Recreation Management Club Advisor, said, “Hadlock Field is a refreshing alternative to what Major League Baseball has come to stand for: over commercialization, big money corporate sponsorship deals, and Personal Seat Licenses. It’s good to know that there are places left in America that you can watch America’s pastime without having to take out a small loan.”

The club decided to go to a baseball game because most of the things they have done this year have been volunteering and industry events. They wanted to do something fun as a group for the last event.

Parade for the dogs in attendance. (Photo by: Scott Lettre)

“The trip in all brought the club closer together even though some are graduating. It was a very fun and exciting way to spend a Saturday afternoon and it helped that it was so gorgeous out,” said Mary Holland, Vice President of the Sports and Recreation Management Club.

Detjen said, “For the club, it was a great way to end a successful year. We participated in many events that provided crucial networking and educational opportunities about the sports and recreation industry. From a faculty member’s view point, it is uplifting to know that there are some students that care about and take ownership of their education, and get involved not because they have to, but because they want to.”

The Sports and Recreation Management Club hopes to continue the volunteering and panels that were put over the course of the year. There have also been talks about having a panel come to campus to help with students in a more personal setting at some point in the fall.

Special guests Andrew Scher and Candy Crowley were honored during the seventh annual Fitzwater Honors Wednesday afternoon in Pierce Hall.

Scher, Executive Producer of the CBS show, “The Doctors” and Crowley, Senior Political Correspondent for CNN were both awarded the Fitzwater Center Medallion for Leadership in Public Communication.

“I am honored to be here tonight and extremely lucky to be receiving this award,” said Scher while speaking to the audience. 

Crowley shared her experience and shared some words of wisdom with the aspiring journalists.

“Whatever sacrifices you make in journalism you will get back. Keep going; in the end you will be surprised where you end up,” said Crowley.

“Excellence requires commitment, dedication, and hard work,” said Kristen Nevious, Director of the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication during her opening speech.  

The Fitzwater Scholars Medallions for Academic Excellence were the first awards to be given out. The recipients of the medallions were seniors Kevin Flanders, Robert Michaelson, and Abbie Tumbleson. The three seniors had a combined average GPA of a 3.75.

The award for contributions to the public discourse by a New Hampshire high school media advisor was presented to Gordon Lang of Kingswood Regional High School.

“To tell you the truth I never thought I would be teaching journalism but when I transferred to Kingswood I found myself doing just that. I take great pride in my students and the things they accomplish,” said Lang during his acceptance speech.   

Bailey Gaffney took home her first award of the night while Michaelson took home his second award when they were awarded for their contributors to the public discourse.  The award is given to graduating seniors.

“To me Journalism is about bringing people together. Journalism is about what’s happening, people, and life,” said Michaelson.

Marlin Fitzwater and President James F. Birge also spoke at the event.

“The faculty as well as the students should be congratulated on the fine job that they do shaping the young minds of our students,” said Birge.

The University rejected a proposal to have “Granite State of Mind” creator and viral youtube sensation Christian Wisecarver perform and speak at this years 2010 graduation ceremony in May. School officials said he would not be “appropriate” for the ceremony.

Wisecarver has gained national attention after making “Grantite State of Mind,” a spoof of the popular Jay-Z song, “Empire State of Mind.” Over a million people watched his video on youtube, he was featured on The Today Show, WMUR did a piece on him and he even got a personal phone call from N.H. native Adam Sandler.

Sophomores Anthony Marovelli and Derek Sensale’s audition tape will be viewed by talent agencies in New York and Los Angeles after they won 500 dollars and the title of America’s Next Great Star of FPU.

More than 60 people attended the talent show on Saturday, May 1st. The event was put on by Pierce Activities Council (PAC) and the show’s live presence resembled that of American Idol. At the end of the show, each viewer was able to text their vote for their favorite performer or performing group. Each performance was evaluated by a panel of three judges.

Marovelli and Sensale both played guitar and sang an upbeat, acoustic rock song together. They were chosen out of the final three competitors, which also included Sistuhs and musician Mattie Anderson.

Marovelli and Sensale had their own “posse” who showed up especially to support them. The judges said that “they had great energy and that they had the right look.”

Sistuhs performed a dance routine to the popular party song “TiK ToK”. The judges said “they were in sync and that they had killer attitude.”

Anderson performed as a solo act, playing acoustic guitar and singing a song called “Wrapped In Your Arms.” “I wasn’t really disappointed at all when I didn’t win. I had such a blast that it didn’t really matter,” she said. “I actually didn’t think I’d have as much fun as I did. It turned out to be a great experience. All of the guitarists, [Me, Brianna Bell, Mark French and Will Kelley, and Derek and Anthony] jammed backstage just about the entire show. It really was a lot of fun.”

Mark French and Will Kelley also performed as a guitar-playing duo. The Raven Thunder dance team had two costume changes and a solo dancer.

Brianna Bell played guitar and sang, and she had the audience in tears. Ricardo Gassant rocked bright purple pants as he sang the song “Chasing Pavements.” Melissa Dymek played piano as Jenn Wagner and Michael Brown sung an Andrea Bocelli duet. “My experience with the talent show was a lot of fun,” said Brown. “I felt like my performance personally was really good, I basically feed off of the audience anytime I perform, and the audience was awesome last night. As a group though I thought we put on an awesome performance.”