By: Olivia Schoeph and Brian O’Donnell
“On this trip, we take a look at some of Fort Wayne’s alleys.”
Category: Features
Kason Harrell: A Mastodon back home
By: Jeffrey Collier Jr. and Pele Vargas
Fort Wayne Museum of Art continues to grow
By: Merab Omeregie
At the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Suzanne Slick is a staff member, and Charles Shepard is the CEO and president.
The Resource Center offers community and space for LGBTQ students
By: Brittany Smith
Victoria Spencer, Director of The Resource Center
Jordan Sanderson, The Resource Center Coordinator
Three Rivers Visiting Dogs fosters love and reduces stigma
By: Lydia Braswell
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is at its close, but Three Rivers Visiting Dogs promote visibility all year round. The Fort Wayne-based organization has a goal to reduce the stigma with the help of trained dogs certified to make a difference in our community.
College students engaged in activities during Mental Health Week at Purdue University Fort Wayne to raise awareness and help prevent suicide – the second leading cause of death among people aged 10-34, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The center of attention was dedicated to floppy ears and wagging tails who welcomed love and attention from students as we took a break from dealing with the daily stresses of college life.
“It really helps the kids– coming here, petting the dogs,” said Bob Everest, founder of the nonprofit. “It lowers your blood pressure and changes things in your day that are going bad.”
Trained service dogs can detect oncoming anxiety and provide stress relief, according to Medical News Today. Three Rivers Visiting Dogs’ immersion into the Fort Wayne community gives the team members a chance to share their own stories and show that mental health issues don’t have to always be associated with negative memories.
Ginger is a Cavalier lap dog with a special talent for service to her owner. To some, she is a physical reminder that a person relies on her help to tackle their daily life. To others, she is a reminder that mental health issues don’t have to be kept secret.
Charlotte Coburn, Ginger’s owner, reminisced on how she bonded with her service dog. “We got her for our 50th wedding anniversary… and that was ten years ago,” Coburn said with a laugh.
Raising awareness is a primary way to reduce the stigma around mental health. PFW’s counseling center is a free, convenient resource for the general public that has not been heavily advertised. Dr. Joel Givenz, a counselor at the center, explained how the “disease model” impacts a person’s choice to either stay quiet about the issues they tackle or not tackle them at all.
“Depending on cultural norms, sometimes a person will believe that counseling is for ‘crazy people’ or ‘really sick people’, so sometimes counseling is associated with severe mental illness, and that’s kind of the disease model,” Dr. Givenz explained.
Sending positive messages about seeking professional help is necessary for turning over the stigma. Tim Hill, counselor-in-training at PFW’s center, said that one benefit of forming a connection with a client is creating an environment for change.
“It’s no different than if they had a cold and they went to see their doctor,” said Hill, who juggles a full-time job and providing for his family with volunteering as a counselor. “It’s still just a part of who they are, and if they think they need to improve it… then we are here and willing to help.”
Three Rivers Visiting Dogs and local counselors are doing their part to foster a welcoming environment that reduces stigma. We as a community can get involved, too. Dr. Givenz said that the more that students are involved with awareness events, the more the stigma is lowered, concerns are normalized, and people can talk about those concerns without embarrassment.
Sessions at the counseling center can be scheduled in Room 131 of the Dolnick Learning Center for Mondays 5-8 p.m, Tuesdays 12-2:30 p.m, Tuesdays 5-8 p.m, Wednesdays 5-8 p.m, and Thursdays 5-8 p.m. Call 260-481-5405 for more information.
Dr. Givenz and Everest both said that mental health professionals are transforming the way they think about treatment, and the presence of therapy dogs raises awareness for visibility. “We see the importance of touch,” said Dr. Givenz. “When it comes to an animal, it could be doing a lot of work for a person just to have something soothing nearby.”
Everest founded Three Rivers Visiting Dogs in 2000. He and his team of about 100 members go to suicide prevention events, health fairs, hospitals, and nursing homes throughout the year. The team’s many experiences led the founder to share stories that show the mental and physical impact dogs in his organization have on the public.
“We’ve had people in comas waking up petting a dog,” Everest said. “We can’t explain it… but they do a big thing.”
Everest said that he has been on several visits to people with Alzheimer’s who remember their time with the dog, and even the pet’s name, but not anything else. In another instance, the dog encouraged progression in a burn victim. Over the course of several visits, the patient went from only being able to pet the dog with one finger to embracing the animal with strength.
The team trains dogs in an immersive eight-week program to determine how they react and interact. A simple test such as bringing the dog in a hospital elevator can play a factor in whether they become certified therapy dogs or not.
Ginger passed the program with flying colors despite her own disability. “She’s completely deaf, but you would never know,” Everest said. “She loves what she’s doing.”
Three Rivers Visiting Dogs works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness by attending support groups for people with mental illness and their families every Tuesday night to reduce the stigma.
NAMI provides free crisis counseling by texting NAMI to 741-741. The National Suicide Hotline is 1-800-273 TALK (8255).
Editor’s note: A related version of this news article was featured on the Journal Gazette’s Nov. 12 edition.
Fall festival at the Kuenhert dairy farm
By: Pele Vargas
Source: Andrew Kuenhert, a family member of the Kuenherts and a worker on the farm
Appreciation for the recognizable Notre Dame stadium
Created By: Jeffrey Collier Jr.
Almost 90 years ago the Fighting Irish played their first home at Notre Dame stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The original seating capacity was 60,000 and stayed that way for six decades. It patterned one scale around the stadium and was built according to the design of Michigan Stadium.
More than 21,000 seats were added for the 1997 season, which increased the capacity to over 80,000.
Notre Dame Stadium Usher and graduate John McDonald added, “the original stadium was made up of over one million bricks mixed with limestone to add more of an Indiana feel since we don’t like those guys from Michigan”.
After the Campus Crossroads renovation to add more lighting, the number of seats decreased to 77,622. The playing surface was changed to artificial turf in 2014 after 84 seasons on natural grass.
The stadium is known for its view of the large mural looking over the stadium called Touchdown Jesus.
There have been 249 consecutive sellouts at Notre Dame Stadium. The stadium host other sporting events such as soccer and hockey.
“No matter who plays in this stadium or how much it changes it will always be the house that Knute Rockne built.”
A night to cherish
Purdue University Fort Wayne hosts first Students with Families Night of the semester. The next event will be Nov. 2 for a skate night at the Roller Dome North.
By: Moriah Weaver
Purdue University Fort Wayne students and faculty gathered at Crazy Pinz for a night of fun festivities on Sept. 27 during the first “Students with Families Night” of the fall semester.
Those who attended the event from 6-8 p.m. enjoyed free pizza, beverages, and passes for bowling, laser tag, mini golf and the arcade.
The university has been offering these free and fun-filled nights to students for several years, allowing families to engage in unique and entertaining activities each month. The program, which is led by Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, was created with the goal to provide leisure activities for families that would not typically be able to spend nights out together—low-income families in particular.
According to Bachelor and General Studies Student Outreach Coordinator Cicelle Beemon, who currently plans and organizes each of the Students with Families Nights, the periodic events have attracted several regular attending students and their family members during her few years in the position.
She said it takes an immense amount of time to put together such events, but the outcome and grateful reactions from students are worth the work invested.
Beemon also explained that she feels it is of growing importance that students have this time to spend with loved ones as they get busier and pick up more responsibilities.
One Purdue University Fort Wayne student who attended the Crazy Pinz event, Nicole Bowe, definitely knows and appreciates the value of the night.
She was able to enjoy the Students with Families event with her 1-year-old daughter, Meris. The two spent time watching friends and family compete in rounds of bowling while indulging in their pizza.
Bowe said that it can be hard to take her daughter out much while in college full-time, so she takes full advantage of the Students with Families nights.
According to Bowe, the time spent with her daughter is priceless. She hopes to savor every moment she can while bonding during fun activities.
It appears the difficulty families face with spending time together is not limited to Purdue University Fort Wayne students and their families, either. According to a 2018 study conducted by Visit Anaheim, the average amount of quality time American families spend together each day during the week is about 37 minutes.
The study also found that 60% of American families describe their lives as ‘hectic’ and attribute the lack of quality time to busy work and school schedules.
Beemon and Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs recognize the struggle American families face and created the Students with Families Nights as a response to this dilemma. The faculty believes in the positive impact a night out with loved ones can have and will be continuing to host the events periodically throughout the school year.
The next Students with Families Night will be Nov. 2 for a skate night at the Roller Dome North.
Dates and times for the rest of the Students with Families Nights during the fall can be found in the Purdue University Fort Wayne Fall Programming Guide. For more information, visit https://www.pfw.edu/offices/cwra/programs/students-with-families.html
Mastodon Run for Scholarships connects student athletes to the community
By: Sam Frick
Kelly Hutton: PFW Director of Athletics
Ashley Malone: Assistant to the Director of Athletics
Evan Berkley: Participant
Jerry Paul: Participant
“Flora” cast brings new meaning to “break a leg”
By: Caroline Chastain
The Purdue University Fort Wayne Department of Theatre started their 2019-2020 season “off on the wrong foot” when an actor broke his foot three weeks into rehearsal for their production of “Flora, the Red Menace.” The otherwise seamless show starred Brittney Bressler and Joshua Smith, running for two weekends, beginning Sept. 27 and closing on Oct. 5.
“Flora, the Red Menace” tells the story of a spunky fashion designer, Flora Meszaros, and her journey to finding a job and love during the Great Depression. Along the way, Flora falls for Harry Toukarian, an awkward artist and member of the Communist Party. Flora finds herself torn between her career and relationship after joining the communist movement for Harry.
PFWs performance was directed by Craig Humphrey, associate professor of costume design and director of design and technology. Humphrey first discovered the show while working toward his undergraduate degree at University of Massachusetts, where he frequently checked out the albums of theatrical shows he did not know.
Humphrey shared that the original production focused on showcasing the talents of a young, Liza Minnelli, who went on to earn a Tony Award for best performance by a leading actress in a musical. Despite her talent, critics claimed the show was complicated and confusing, and it closed this rendition.
“So for years Flora existed in my head as ‘that Liza show with some great songs,’ but then in the mid- ‘90s I stumbled upon a new recording of the show,” Humphrey said.
Once Humphrey was aware of the available rights to perform the newer adaptation of the show, he was eager to put on a production with PFW students.
The process to put on the department’s performance of “Flora, the Red Menace” began with auditions at the end of April. Students were cast and equipped with their scripts before beginning their summer break. Then, the week before classes, they began the six-week rehearsal process.
However, the ensemble of 10 actors experienced a unique spin to their show when Chase Lomont broke his foot riding a longboard on campus.
The cast from “Flora, the Red Menace” (Instagram)
This injury became an obstacle to overcome, since Lomont played the character Kenny, the show’s only male role that required the actor to dance on stage. With Lomont now bound to crutches, Humphrey had a tough decision to make.
The cast took a night off of rehearsal and came back the next day to the news that another actor would be added to the show. Humphrey made the decision to have two people fill the role of Kenny on stage so that the non-injured actor could execute the dance numbers.
Bressler, a senior theatre major who played the role of Flora, said that at first it was an interesting dynamic to work with both men playing the same role. She said that once she got used to acknowledging both of them on stage, she didn’t even notice that it was strange.
“When we actually started doing it, it felt really natural for some reason, the way Craig had them go back and forth with their lines and kind of say things together,” Bressler said.
Although it may have eventually felt natural for the actors, some of the audience was uncertain about this alternative casting decision.
Sophomore theatre major, Anthony D’Virgilio, attended the performance to support his peers and stated that he felt this dynamic of the show was “funky.”
“In all honesty I think they should’ve just had one actor because it didn’t make sense the way it was with the jokes that they had with his character,” D’Virgilio said.
Humphrey made the choice to cast freshman theatre major, Tyler Birely, to also play the role of Kenny after Birely auditioned on Sept. 8 for PFW’s upcoming production of “Ghetto,” just 20 days prior to the opening night of “Flora.”
Birely said that it was nice to get recognized as an incoming freshman.
“Going into college you’re afraid of making good first impressions, and they had enough faith in me that I could do it joining halfway through the rehearsal process,” Birely said.
In the end, Humphrey shared that he does not regret this decision and thinks this casting worked out for the best.
Birely, including five of his other castmates from “Flora, the Red Menace,” can be seen in “Ghetto” at PFW’s Williams Theatre the weekends of Nov. 15 and 21.
For more information, visit https://www.pfw.edu/departments/cvpa/depts/theatre/current-and-past-seasons/current-season.html.