Fort Wayne, Ind – Purdue University Fort Wayne student housing held their annual welcome back events this week, starting with the notorious “Foam at the Disco” party on Wednesday evening.
The student housing organization has been impactful in welcoming the university’s students, near and far. This social gathering has provided students and staff with the opportunity to socialize and create yearlong relationships.
Journalism student, Emily Coverstone spoke highly of the event. “It’s a great way for students of any academic level to get to know one another and create friendships,” she said. “Classes can be tough sometimes, so it’s a great way to take a break from classes and just have fun.”
Marc Wanzer, another attendee of this year’s party, said that it was a fun opportunity to participate in events he hasn’t attended before in his three years as a PFW student.
“I loved just walking around and seeing everything that was going on and being offered,” Wanzer said. “The same goes for the other events. It could be a mini horse in front of Helmke or free subs and shirts out in the Science Mall.”
Developing a positive experience for students, especially those incoming, is vital to their success. According to Megan Lester, events such as this are an opportunity to learn just how involved the PFW faculty wants to be with the students.
“They offer so many events and activities throughout the year to keep us from becoming too stressed,” Lester said. “And they also want to make sure that not only is college a fantastic learning experience but also a fun experience.”
On Tuesday, Aug. 29, students gathered at the Science Mall, right at the heart of the campus, to network and grab some free food and giveaways. It was hard to not engage in that event since it was impossible to not pass it while walking to class.
Dean of the College of Science, Ronald Friedman surrounded by fellow colleagues at the College of Science booth.
“The goal of the Don’s College Picnic is to create, foster, and build pride for the university in general and colleges, like the College of Science, in particular,” said the Dean of the College of Science, Ronald Friedman.
The event served mainly as an information hub for those wanting to learn about the different colleges, degrees, and possible career opportunities found throughout campus.
There were 16 booths found at the picnic, such as the Career Development Center, Dormer School of Business, The College of Liberal Arts, the School of Education, and the Student Activities Board, among others, allowing students to connect and network with their fellow classmates and PFW staff.
Students lined up early to check in for the anticipated event, with about 500 students attending within the first hour and a half of the picnic, according to Dean of the School of Education, Isabel Nuñez.
PFW has organized at least ten “Welcome Back to School” events between Aug. 22 and Aug. 31. The University also has hosted events for both high school students and future students, Nuñez said.
Members of the Student Activities Board pose for a picture as another student signs up for the board.
PFW senior Brittany May heard about the picnic from the Student Activities Board (SAB) Instagram.
“I try to hit up all PFW events on campus for the fun and free giveaways,” said May.
There were free sandwiches from Firehouse Subs and Subway, and giveaways for items like notepads, pens, lunchboxes, and umbrellas. Students also could get a free T-Shirt from the College of Liberal Arts.
“They had shirts, pins, and bottle holders that they were giving away,” said Emily Tyler, a PFW Psychology student. “I grabbed one of each.”
According to Tyler, everyone at the booths were so approachable and nice.
“It was very easy to walk right up and engage in a conversation while learning things about my college that I didn’t know, even going into my senior year of college.”
For Nursing student Paige Cavanaugh, the food was the favorite part of the event.
The food and giveaway ticket every student was handed once checking in.
“With this hot weather, the only thing that really keeps me focused is the next meal I’m going to eat,” Cavanaugh said. “It definitely helps balance the knowledge that is gained during these sorts of things.”
The Don’s College Picnic is a considerable way for students to meet staff and faculty helping at the booths. It also builds connections and associations with their colleges as well.
“For example, a psychology or biology major cannot help but realize those departments are part of the College of Science when they visit our table,” Dean Friedman said.
To stay informed on what happens around campus this semester, visit the Purdue University Fort Wayne website and check out the upcoming events calendar.
On Aug. 31, over 90 student organizations set up shop on the Science Mall to recruit new participants and share their messages at the Purdue Fort Wayne Campus Connections Fair. Students looking to join clubs and find their place on campus lined up throughout the area to look around.
The Purdue Fort Wayne Connections Fair is an event held at the beginning of every semester as an opportunity for students to connect with local on and off campus organizations. This year, students could check in and receive a Purdue Fort Wayne tote bag to start before travelling to each table, many of which offered candy or other trinkets and toys.
One of the organizations holding a booth was the Photography Club, who are dedicated to the education and appreciation of photography.
“We are a group of creative people looking to find other creative people to appreciate the art of photography,” said club president Madison Foreman.
Like many other clubs found throughout campus, the Connections Fair is considered to be one of the best sources for sign-ups. The Photography Club ended the day with a total of 90 students registering to join.
“It’s great way to meet so many new people,” said Foreman. “We welcome people of all ability levels, so we’re an option for anyone attending.”
Not all groups attending were student organizations. Some other groups came out for a chance to make connections with the students. One group present was the Northeast Indiana chapter of the National Organization for Women.
“We’re here today to find potential new members but also to help young people register to vote,” said Chapter President Keiran O’Dowd.
NOW is “an intersectional, multi-issue, multi-strategy organization that takes a holistic approach to women’s rights”, and the organization can be found on Facebook. Students who stopped by their booth had the opportunity to sign up and join the chapter, register to vote, or check if their voting district had changed.
“A lot of people aren’t aware the lines are redrawn every 10 years,” O’Dowd said. “Just because you voted back in 2020, doesn’t mean you’re currently registered if your district changed.”
The Connections Fair doesn’t just benefit groups, it also allows new and returning students to find their new passion and meet others with similar interests.
One of the students in attendance was Sophia Cheng, a freshman engineering student who just moved to Fort Wayne from California. For Cheng, it was a chance for her to meet like-minded individuals and find some new friends.
“So far I only know a few people from my classes and my roommate,” she said. “I’m hoping to join a club and meet some new people.”
One of Cheng’s favorite booths to stop by was the Q Center, one of her reasonings was because they were offering various stickers as well as pronoun pins.
As for clubs to join, she ended up finding a couple that worked for her.
“I joined the Asian American club and the Table Top RPG club,” Cheng said. “I loved seeing all the clubs in one place and hearing about what each one does.”
For those who were unsure if whether the Connections Fair would be worthy of their time, Cheng recommended coming in the future.
“It’s an amazing way to find clubs that you haven’t heard of yet.”
If you missed this semester’s Connections Fair, you can find a full list of student organizations on PFW’s website.
The Mastodons had a poor shooting night as they went 38.3% from the field, 28.6% from three and 75.0% from the free throw line. Detroit Mercy shot far better as they went 47.5% from the field, 40.0% from three and 81.3% from the free throw line.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 1, 2023
PFW was led on offense tonight by Bobby Planutis. Planutis led the mastodons with 20 points, one assist, six rebounds and three steals. Detroit Mercy was led by Antoine Davis who had 38 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and four steals.
Detroit had the edge in tonight in rebounds. Detroit had 37 rebounds compared to PFW who had 34. Detroit was led in this stat by Davis who had eight. PFW was led in this stat by Planutis who had six.
With the win Detroit Mercy move on to play in the tournaments second round on Thursday.
With the loss PFW comes to an end.
The Mastodons took a step back this year after last years success. PFW was second in the Horizon League last season and were the regular season champions. This year they fall in the first round of the tournament and end the season 6th in the Horizon League.
The Mastodons did not really stand out in any area of the game tonight, as each set was very close. The only areas that PFW led the game in, were serving, hit percentage and blocks.
As a team PFW scored seven aces and only had 14 service errors. McKendree only scored two aces and had 17 service errors. Mark Frazier led all players in this stat with four aces. His teammates, Bryce Walker and Ryan Steponaitis added the rest as Walker had two aces and Steponatis had one. McKendree was led by Tyler Tripp and Kyle Wilson who each had one ace.
PFW had a .205% hitting percentage while McKendree hit .189%. PFW’s best percentage belonged to Steponaitis who hit .571%. McKendree’s Daniel Duggan had a game high .636%.
Just like the other stats mentioned, PFW only had a slight advantage in blocks. The Mastodons had 25 compared to McKendree’s 20. PFW had three players, Frazier, Steponaitis and Walker who each totaled six blocks. McKendree had two players with four blocks, Duggan and Rolen Lively.
While PFW did not lead in team kills, Jon Diedrich led all players in kills with 15. Bryce Wetjen led McKendree with 10 kills.
With the loss McKendree falls to 6-6 on the season and 1-4 in MIVA play. Their next match will be Saturday against #10 ranked Loyola Chicago.
With the win the Mastodons move to 11-4 on the season and 2-3 in MIVA play. The teams next match will be at 7 p.m. on Friday at home against MIVA opponent, Lewis.
Purdue Fort Wayne’s mens team fell in five sets, 2-3 against #11 ranked Ball Sate last night. Set scores were 20-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-10 and 8-15.
This matchup was a rematch of last year’s MIVA Championship which saw BSU winning their first MIVA Championship since 2002.
PFW put up another great performance against a ranked opponent this week. Their first ranked opponent this week was Ohio State who the Mastodons played on Thursday.
PFW dominated in kills against BSU. PFW had 61 compared to BSU’s 48. PFW’s Jon Diedrich led all players in kills with 28. This performance tied his career best mark for kills. Bryce Walker and Carlos Mercado added to the teams kills total with Walker having 13 and Mercado scoring nine kills .
Another area that PFW had the edge over BSU in, was assists. The Mastodons had 58 while BSU had 45.
PFW’s Zach Solomon led all players in this stat with 47 assists. The next closest to this total was BSU’s Jakub Wiercinski who had 39.
The only statistic that BSU had the upper hand in was blocks. They had 26 compared to PFW’s five. Wiercinski led all players in this area with 11.
With this win Ball State improved to 7-5 on the season. This win got them back to .500 in MIVA play with a 2-2 conference record. Their next match will be at Lindenwood on Feb. 24.
With the loss PFW suffered their first back-to-back loss of the season and fell to a record of 10-4. They are now 1-3 in MIVA play.
They will look to get back into winning form on Wednesday as they face off against McKendree at 8 p.m. on the road.
Purdue Fort Wayne’s softball season begins today with a double header against Virginia Tech and UNC Wilmington.
Last season, the Mastodons finished with a 7-42 total record. In conference play, they finished second to last with a 6-20 record.
Amber Bowman leads the Mastodons in her second year as head coach. Heather Sanderson and Courtney Holm return as assistant coaches. Brian Tackett will join the team as a first-year volunteer assistant coach. Lauren Miller will also join the team as a first-year student manager.
PFW looks to improve from last year’s poor season with the help of nine new incoming players.
PFW has ten women returning this season, including junior infielder, Brooke Wintlend, who was awarded athlete of the week May 14 of last year.
Most of the Mastodons opponents are the same as the 2022 season, but two big changes are that the team will have to matchup with Indiana on Mar. 3 and Wisconsin in a doubleheader on Mar. 4.
As the second semester of the school year begins, many students are beginning to get back into the groove of their academic lives and head back onto campus.
For some they will begin writing paper after paper, others will work on new sketches for their end of the year showcases. Yet, for a group of students found in Neff Hall they have to begin their hunt for patients to get their Dental Hygiene degrees.
From sophomore to senior year, students who are accepted into the Dental Hygiene Program get to learn as to what it exactly is that dental hygienists do in their day-to-day life while at work along with how to do it.
With clinics designed just like what you would typically see at an actual dental office, both friends, family members, and randomly assigned patients can get to see students learn more and more while cleaning their teeth and providing other services such as x-ray and scaling.
Each student in the program has to reach a certain number of patients each semester to move onto the next level and to also graduate. Although the students may have their agendas full at the beginning, not every patient can be reliable on showing up to their appointment, and because of this, that student can begin to fall behind on their requirements.
IUFW Junior, Alana Lester, has dealt with a patient or two canceling last minute, as well as many of her fellow peers who have also experienced the same thing.
“It is a slight setback when it comes to cancellations, as it is very difficult to get someone else to take that spot which in turn makes it difficult to meet requirements necessary to finish the class,” Lester said. “Many of us started this semester off behind due to the lack of patients from cancellations.”
The appointment itself will usually take around 4 hours to complete as students will be taking each step thoroughly and getting the go ahead by the licensed dentists and dental faculty who are supervising the students.
With hours differing each day of the week between the months of January to April, the clinic will be open Monday through Friday.
Monday
8:00 a.m. – noon 1:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday
8:00 a.m. – noon 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Friday
8:00 a.m. – noon 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Depending on holidays, times will vary.
Not only does the clinic offer teeth cleanings, but for a reduced price, you can get oral exams and cancer screenings, periodontal assessments, local antibacterial medicaments, local anesthesia, oral hygiene instructions, fluoride treatments, sealants, and x-rays.
The Dental Clinic fees range from $20 to $64 depending on age and services. The clinic also accepts dental insurance to those who bring in their card and fill out the information on the paperwork handed out before the appointment.
An appointment is required and there are three reserved parking spots available in the patient-only parking lot (Lot 8) located outside of Neff Hall. Additional parking is available in Lot B and parking garages. Handicap spaces are available adjacent to Neff Hall.
To get a high-quality, low-cost preventative dental service with the IUFW Dental Clinic, call 260-257-6826. For more information about costs, services, or clinic hours go to https://www.iufw.edu/dental-clinic/index.html
For some people, they consider that the talk of menstruation is considered as a taboo subject. Due to this belief, others don’t feel as if they are allowed to talk about it and so questions begin to arise without many answers.
On December 7th from 5:30 pm to 8 pm, the Department of Communication, the Women’s Center, and Helmke Library will be showing the popular Disney movie, Turning Red.
If you don’t know what the movie is about, Turning Red follows the story of a thirteen-year-old girl who is torn between continuing her role as her mother’s dutiful daughter and dealing with the changes of adolescence. If the challenges were not enough for her, whenever she gets overly excited she transforms into a giant red panda.
The movie was chosen to start the conversation around menstruation in order to celebrate Dignified Menstruation Day which is December 8th.
They will also be accepting menstruation product donations to go back to the local community. The movie will be played in Walb G21 and popcorn will be provided.
