Student Center Renovation Update: November 30

The inside of the Student Center is beginning to look much different than it has during the first months of the renovation process. Where workers spent most of their time on demolition, they are now building. The facility now sports new steel beams, and crews have begun to lay the flooring in some areas. In the part of the building that once housed the Bake Shop below and the Skeller on the main floor, there has been tremendous progress. Concrete has been poured, and steel beams are now in place. Crews will continue with the flooring during the coming weeks. Keep checking the blog for updates!

Christmas Vespers tradition continues

Students will continue a Christmas-season tradition this Sunday with the performance of Christmas Vespers.

This annual service at the College includes scripture readings and songs by a choir, with some singing by the congregation. The music and words progress through the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus.

There is something special about that experience every year, said Randall Speer, music professor and director of the Randolph College Chorale.

"I don't feel ready for Christmas until I do that," he said. Alumnae of the College have expressed the same sentiment when they have returned for the service, he said.

This year's performance centers around O Magnum Mysterium by the Spanish composer Tomas Luis da Victoria. The text of this song speaks about the "great mystery" that Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger as animals watched, Speer explained. The music is exciting, with several different melodies carrying listeners through the text, Speer said. Three students are providing cello, violin, and flute accompaniment for this piece.

The program also includes two Christmas-themed segments from Randall Thompson's Place of the Blest, serving as a preview of an April concert when Chorale will perform Thompson's entire work with Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra.

Speer recently looked through a collection of printed musical programs and found that the College has held Christmas Vespers regularly for at least 30 years.

This tradition is just one way the College is ringing in the holiday season. Tonight, students have the opportunity to decorate a tree in the Main Hall lobby, followed by a tree lighting service at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8.

Holocaust survivor, Medal of Freedom winner speaks at Randolph this week

Gerda Weissmann Klein's story has inspired millions.

She survived slave labor and brutal treatment during the Holocaust. Then she devoted her life to humanitarian service and spreading a message of hope. This year, she received the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama.

This week, she brings her story to Randolph College.

Klein is coming to Lynchburg for an event co-sponsored by the College and the Holocaust Education Foundation of Central Virginia.

At 7:30 p.m. today, the community can view One Survivor Remembers, an Oscar-winning documentary based on her autobiography All But My Life, in the Smith Memorial Building, room 300.

Then, Klein will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Smith Hall Theatre.

Klein was 15 years old when German troops invaded her home town of Bielsko, Poland. She survived six years of Nazi rule, slave labor, and concentration camps. In 1945 she was rescued by Kurt Klein, a U.S. Army Intelligence officer, whom she later married.

Klein's life work has been dedicated to promoting tolerance, encouraging service, and combating hunger. She has written numerous books. She and her late husband founded the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation to provide educational programs toward those purposes. In 2008, she founded Citizenship Counts, a national nonprofit organization that promotes values of citizenship and community service.

The College is happy to host Klein and hear her message this week.

Gratitude this Thanksgiving

We've noticed a lot of people on Facebook listing one thing for which they are grateful every day this month. Randolph College has a lot to be thankful for, too, this Thanksgiving. Here is a list of just a few things—we could never mention them all!

In the comments below, tell us what you're thankful for.

1. Dedicated professors who inspire and mentor. Ranked number one most accessible in the country, in the top 20 overall, our faculty make Randolph College what it is.

2. A rich heritage shaped by alumnae who studied here, started traditions, and built a solid academic reputation over a period of more than a century. Our students have a lot to inspire them!

3. Lively students who keep our campus energized and forward-thinking, whether they're studying, writing, dancing, or playing Humans vs. Zombies.

4. An art collection with about 4,000 works, housed in the Maier Museum of Art and in hallways and offices all over campus.

5. Caring staff that focuses on student growth and success.

6. Our future students. We look forward to meeting the class of 2016!

7. A $6 million student center set to open next year, and the alumnae and their families who supported it. Students will enjoy this space for generations to come!

8. A gorgeous historic campus, and a hard-working building and grounds team that keeps it looking top-notch.

9. Founders, trustees, and benefactors who believe in Vita Abundantior. Thank you for your leadership and support!

10. Our seniors, with funny hats and buttons. You always make us smile!


11. A multicultural campus where students celebrate their heritage and share it with others.

12. Student athletes who make us proud on the field and on the court—including a men's soccer team that won an ODAC title and then battled its way to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

13. Randolph's Innovative Student Experience. Students are using their $2,000 grants to research water quality and coral reefs in the Virgin Islands, purchase art supplies,attend conferences, study abroad, and more.

14. High-profile speakers. Where else can you hear from the likes of evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, Muslim scholar Ziauddin Sardar, architectural historian Richard Guy Wilkins, and Presidential Medal of Freedom-winning Gerda Wiessman Klein all within one semester? We look forward to more great speakers, such as political strategist Karl Rove, next semester.

16. Autumn leaves. Although most of them have fallen now, they added a nice flare to our campus this year.

17. Our Honor Code. Students will start taking their self-scheduled, self-proctored exams shortly after they return from Thanksgiving break. That they have the integrity to be trusted with this privilege is awesome!

18. The right to have a say in government. Some of our students voted in Virginia's recent elections, and some worked on campaigns.

19. The chamber orchestra that the music department plans to debut next semester.

20. The dining hall staff who prepare great food, serve it with a smile, and wash the dishes for us.


21. The novelists, poets, and other writers who share their wit, wisdom and experience in the Randolph College Visiting Writers Series. Our students learn a lot from these professionals, and we all enjoy listening to them read their work.

22. A Summer Research Program that lets students stay on campus over the summer to conduct serious research with their professors.

23. Main Grounds coffee on a foggy morning, and Red Door coffee or hot chocolate on a cool evening, with some drink flavors invented by students themselves!

24. Songshine and Voices, our a cappella groups that make us proud, especially when they sing the College song together.

Education is key to producing leaders, trustee says in lecture

A liberal arts education can help reunite the qualities and ideals that produced great, historic leaders in America, according to Josiah Bunting, a member of the Randolph College board of trustees.

Bunting spoke Monday at the College. The author of a published biography on Ulysses S. Grant and a forthcoming book on George C. Marshall, he discussed the common qualities that made great leaders in the past.

He introduced his audience to a new word—prosopography.

“Prosopography is a branch of history which is concerned with groups allied in a common purpose or brought together by some extrinsic cause,” Bunting said.

In his lecture titled "Where Have the Great Ones Gone?" Bunting focused on a few generations of great leaders and the common experiences that prompted greatness.

A classical education united the Founding Fathers. Education in their time consisted of a significant amount of solitary study and thinking. The most-read texts were histories. “They were familiar with how previous republics, and how successful republics, or unsuccessful attempts at republics, were made,” he said.

Next in his discussion was the generation of 1880. Taught by people who had fought in the Civil War, this group of people later fought in WWI. The group includes Marshall, who served as Army Chief of Staff during World War II and as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense later.

“The generation of 1880 furnished an extraordinary cohort of Americans who led us through the last years of the Great Depression, the cataclysm of the Second World War, and the post-war years,” Bunting said.

He also discussed the generation of young soldiers who fought in World War II. While they accomplished much for the country, they are slow to seek or accept praise, Bunting said. “They are modest. It’s hard to get anything out of them,” he said. “They were raised in a culture that was not dominated by celebrity and terrible political dissension.”

Some qualities found in all three groups include sound judgment; concern for the future; patient collection of facts; and a willingness to understand the positions of those of differing political opinions.

Service was a common theme in their lives. “There was a clear sense that you could put your knowledge to the service of national aspirations,” Bunting said. “It was a time of idealism.”

“I hope you’re all thinking about 2011 as I’m saying these things,” Bunting said.

Many of the qualities that made great leaders in the past are noticeably absent today, he said. People do not spend long hours studying single topics. Politics are locked in partisanship and gridlock. Fewer serve in the military.

Bunting did not paint an entirely negative picture, though. He said the country can produce more great leaders through education that causes people to think deeply and openly.

“I think there is hope for the future,” he said. That hope can be found in “small liberal arts colleges like Randolph, where teachers, in their own lives, constantly visible around students, are themselves the mature product of liberal education and the good it can do.” 

Multimedia journalism minor adds to education options at Randolph College

Randolph College students can now pursue a minor to gain skills that are crucial to today’s journalists.

The faculty recently approved a multimedia journalism minor. Currently, the minor consists of several journalism related courses already offered by the College. More courses could be added in the future, said Chad Beck, chair of the Communication Studies department.

“We have many students that consistently take journalism classes, so we know there’s a demand for it,” Beck said. “We decided that we needed to give students a multimedia journalism education.”

“Journalists today combine traditional methods of on-the-street,traditional investigative reporting, but they have to be multimedia professionals,” Beck said. “They have to use digital cameras for photography as well as filmmaking. They have to use blogs, and various forms of software for editing and publishing.”

Students can declare the minor and fulfill the requirements by taking 18 credit hours, including these courses:

COMM 102: Introduction to Mass Media—This course covers media organizations, what they do, and how we can analyze them.
COMM 111: Introduction to Communication and Cultural Studies—Learn how to analyze media in a cultural context.
COMM 211: News Reporting or COMM 212: Feature Writing—These two classes help students develop skills in writing news articles (about events and issues) and feature stories (about people, lifestyle, and culture).
COMM 330: News Media in the Information Age or COMM 432:Issues in Global Communication—Take a look at how journalism is meeting the challenges of reporting on an international, interconnected world, and how news reporting is playing a role in politics worldwide.
COMM 213: Newspaper Production Lab—The campus newspaper, The Sundial, is produced by students in this class.
COMM 279: Digital Filmmaking or COMM 181: Photography—A picture is worth a thousand words, so how much is a video worth? These classes explore storytelling through video and still photography. Both are essential elements of journalism today.

Students interested in broadcasting may also consider taking COMM 241: American Radio and Television, which examines how these media have changed since American families first tuned in to broadcast entertainment and news.

The communications studies department also encourages students in this minor to obtain an internship with a media outlet.

In the past, students have interned at our local ABC affiliate, WSET; Lynchburg Living, a local lifestyle magazine; Zohe Films, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Fox’s production company;and NBC Universal in Washington, DC.

Beck said this minor will give students a wide range of hands-on experience as well as theoretical understanding.

“We wanted to give students a career-oriented minor that also is grounded in the liberal arts traditions of Randolph College,” he said.

International Photo Contest Winners announced

Congratulations to the winners of our international photo contest!

Here are the winning photos.

Category: People

First Place: Mimansha Joshi '14, Nepal

Second Place: Ashesh Maharjan '13, A Nepali Boy Sitting on the side of the Road

Third Place: Pujan Shrestha '15, People Crossing the River in Nepal

Category: Places

First Place: Shuang "Sara" Li '14, Suzhou, China

Second Place: Qi Zhang '13, Qing Yan, Old Town on a Raining Day, China

Third Place: Mariah Reed '14, Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland

The annual photo contest is open to all students, faculty, and staff, and highlights cultures and places around the world.

You can see the winners from 2009 in the first edition of Randolph Magazine.

WildCat ROOOOARRRRR Heard Across the Country as Fans Send Good Luck Wishes to the Men's Soccer Team!

Friday afternoon WildCat fans gathered in the Quad to send the Randolph men's soccer team good luck wishes and plenty of WildCat spirit. The team left for Redlands, CA earlier in the week and will take on the University of Texas at Tyler Friday night at 8 p.m. EST in the NCAA semi-finals.

Randolph fans are invited to gather in Martin 315 at 8 p.m. for a webcast of the game. Those unable to be on campus can also cheer the WildCats at http://livestats.prestosports.com/redlands
You’ll find the men’s soccer item at the top of the right column—just click the “video” link.

The team, which is just in its fifth season, earned the spot in the Sweet 16 by first defeating Lynchburg College to win the ODAC championship and then toppling No. 2 ranked Christopher Newport 2-1 last weekend. The WildCats also defeated DeSales (PA) 3-2 Sunday to earn the spot at the NCAA Sectional Round.

And the accomplishments keep coming. Coach Bryan Waggoner was named the ODAC Coach of the Year Thursday while Corey Sindle '14 of Gloucester, VA was named the ODAC Player of the Year.

In all, six Randolph WildCat players received awards from ODAC. Sindle earned the squad’s first-ever first-team All-ODAC selection as a forward. Randolph tied for the most All-ODAC selections of any conference team with Roanoke College.

Sindle led the conference in goals and points and was in the top five in assists as well. He currently sits with 15 goals and five assists on the season. Sindle is the first ODAC Player of the Year at the College since 2008 when Lindsay Cross was Player of the Year for softball.

Will Wolf '14 (Goldsboro, NC/Cardinal Gibbons) earned second-team All-ODAC honors in the back for Randolph. Wolf has played in all 22 games this season, starting all but one of those as the captain of the WildCat defense while allowing only 22 goals all season.

Midfielders Jacob Hood '14 (New Market, MD/Linganore), Nick Cornell '13 (Front Royal, VA/Warren Co.) along withforward Timmy Songer '12 (Windsor, VA/Windsor) all earned third team All-ODAC, as did first-year back Coulton Watson '15 (Virginia Beach, VA/Salem). Watson was one of only two first-year players to find his name on the All-ODAC lists.

Waggoner was selected as the league’s top mentor after leading the WildCats to their first-ever ODAC Championship this season along with an 18-5 record. Randolph has posted two win streaks of eight games this year, and also has knocked off two ranked opponents including No. 2 Christopher Newport University in the NCAA Tournament First Round.

Go WildCats!

Randolph chef and professor provide tips on making a local Thanksgiving Dinner

A couple of days ago we told you about Dave Wasson, executive chef for Randolph College's dining services, and John Abell, an economics professor, filming a news segment about buying local and eating locally-grown foods.

Here, you can watch Wasson and Abell in action. They talk about using local foods and how you can make Thanksgiving dinner using local ingredients.

You can read Wasson's recipes on WSET's website.

Watch video > > >

Trustee Josiah Bunting to speak on prosopography

From time to time, a relatively few people accomplish great things that enrich the world culturally and politically.

Josiah Bunting, a trustee of Randolph College, will speak about these groups of people and their contributions in a discussion titled "Where Have the Great Ones Gone?" on Monday, November 21, at 4 p.m., in Legget 537.

Bunting is an expert on prosopography—the historical study of groups allied in a common enterprise or mission. He has written a book on a biography on Ulysses S. Grant for Arthur Schlesinger’s presidential series, and he is currently completing a biography of George C. Marshall, who was Army Chief of Staff during WWII and later served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense.

Bunting will lead a discussion on prosopography in America in 1780, 1950, and 2010, highlighting how concentrations of talented people at certain times in the history of the United States have created great changes.

Bunting is president of The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation in New York City. He previously served as superintendent of his alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. He also has been president of Briarcliff College and Hampden-Sydney College.

Students learn dining and networking etiquette from staff

Linda Ray talks about how to properly carry a glass.

The way you eat at a networking or social event can make a big difference in the first impression you present to potential employers.

Today, Krista Leighton, director of career development, and Linda Ray, catering supervisor, met with students to give them tips for making a good impression through proper etiquette.

“The more one knows about proper etiquette the more successful they will be in connecting with people in a professional and advantageous way,” Leighton said.

Ray pointed out that business manners convey confidence and respect to employers and potential employers.

Several students came to hear the advice and sample some cheesecake and cream puffs that were used in the demonstration. They discussed etiquette for formal dinners, receptions, and social functions.

Here are some tips that Leighton and Ray discussed:

• If you are given a name tag, write your full name. Place the name tag on the same side of the hand you will use to shake hands, where it can be seen easily.

• Don’t pile hors d’ourves on your plate—it leaves a bad impression.

• When carrying a wine glass on a plate, use your thumb to hold down the base. Also carry a napkin, since the glass will get condensation.

• Look into a glass while drinking, rather than looking over the glass to observe your surroundings.

• Don’t point out another person’s breach of etiquette.

This event is one way that the College is providing students with the chance to polish their skills that can be helpful in job searches and employment later on.

Linda Ray serves a dish of hot peppers from South Africa to demonstrate how to take food from a passed tray.

Krista Leighton shows how to shake hands firmly and where to wear a name tag.

Randolph chef, economics professor film news segment on local foods

Randolph College Executive Chef Dave Wasson will make his TV premiere Thursday, November 16 at 5 p.m. on www.wset.com in Lynchburg.

Wasson recently filmed a cooking segment with Lauren Compton, a WSET reporter. The story will explore the locavore movement and why people should be concerned about where their food comes from. John Abell, a Randolph economics professor, will also be featured in the story offering expert commentary on the movement and the pros and cons associated with buying your food from mostly local sources.

Wasson, who works for Aramark Dining Services, the company contracted by Randolph College, spent time with Compton showing her several tasty, yet easy recipes for food using mostly local ingredients.

Watch WSET on Thursday to see what dishes they chose and the outcome! You might even get a recipe or two!

Randolph professor speaks on discipline in local news broadcast

A local television station recently turned to a Randolph College professor to explain good ways to discipline children.

WSET produced the story in reaction to a YouTube video that purports to show a parent beating a teenage child. A reporter asked Consuella Woods, who teaches teacher education at the College, to talk about the line between acceptable punishment and abuse.

Woods stressed the importance of avoiding violence and anger during punishment. You can watch the video here.

Randolph College presents hit rock 'n roll musical, Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening

A Rock n Roll Musical

Directed by Mace Archer

Shows: Nov. 17 – 21

Time: 7:30 p.m., except 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20

Tickets: $13 General Admission, $10 Randolph College Faculty/Staff/Alumni,
$10 Adults over 60, $5 all students

A musical that rocked Broadway is now coming to the Randolph College stage.

Spring Awakening, which opens in one week, features a rock ‘n roll sound track. It also touches on material that will help people ponder difficult issues, said Mace Archer, a theatre professor and the director.

“Spring Awakening is a contemporary rock musical that deals with young people, high school students, coming to terms with their blossoming sexuality,” he said. “I think those issues are ever present for this age group.

“But in this show, it takes place in an environment where adults are not willing to talk about it.”

The play follows the story of several teens in 19th Century Germany, and it shows how a lack of information regarding sexuality causes confusion. It includes themes such as sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, homosexuality, and suicide.

“That play resonates in a place like Lynchburg, where people do have a wide range of views on these matters,” Archer said.

The musical is based on a play written by Franz Wedekind in 1891 that was banned in Germany due to its controversial themes. It was adapted into a rock ‘n roll musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater. It received acclaim on Broadway and was popular with high school theatre students, Archer said.

In Thoresen Theatre, the cast and technical crew are building a set to create a rock concert feel, including a large guitar that looms at the back of the stage and lights that will change more than 160 times during the show. The actors and musicians also are working to perfect their performance.

“From a performance standpoint, this play asks the actors to take risks. It demands that these young actors be mature and responsible,” Archer said. “It's nothing to take lightly. We want the young people who see this play to really think deeply about these issues.”

Amber Keesee ’14, the stage manager for the show, has seen it come together as actors, choreographers, and the technical crew have brought the story to life.

“This play was a craze when it was on Broadway. It’s not been off Broadway all that long,” she said. “It’s awesome to be a part of that.”

Randolph first-year wins ODAC honors

Congratulations to Shana Nelson, a first-year student at Randolph College, for being named to the all-Old Dominion Athletic Conference second team.

The volleyball player from Columbia, Md., is the first WildCat first-year to win all conference honors since 2007.

For more information on her outstanding season, see the Randolph College athletics page.

Men's soccer captures ODAC title, advances to NCAA

Randolph College's men's soccer team was founded only five years ago. Now, it has won a conference title and will advance to the NCAA National Championship Tournament.

The team bested cross-town rival Lynchburg College 2-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference finals Saturday night at WildCat Stadium.

This Saturday, they will compete at Christopher Newport University in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Coached by Bryan Waggoner, the WildCats have had an impressive season on the soccer field. Winning the past six games, they have scored a 16-5 record.

For details on last Saturday's championship game against LC, check out coverage in The News & Advance, WSET, and Hill City Sports. Find photos from the game at John Shupe Photography's Facebook page. Also, here is a video showing some game highlights:

Alumna to speak to students, community about environmentally friendly chemistry

Every day, Libby Somer ’03 helps companies make their products more friendly to the environment.

On Sunday and Monday, she will talk to current Randolph College students and members of the community about how green chemistry can create opportunity in the economy.

Somer was a math major, and was the first student at the College to minor in environmental studies, said Karin Warren, the Herzog Family Chair of Environmental Studies.

After graduating, Somer received a master’s degree in energy and environmental analysis. She currently works for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment program.

“They will, as a free service, help companies redesign their products so they don't use as many toxic chemicals,” Warren said.

Somer will meet with students to give them career advice on from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday in the Alcove Conference Room in Caldwell Commons.

Then she will give a public talk, “Creating Opportunities for Business through Green Chemistry,” at 5 p.m. Monday in room 101 of the Psychology building.

Student Center Renovation Update November 4, 2011

Construction continues on the $6 million Student Center renovation. Footings have been poured, and workers continue to make the final preparations before the steel beams are placed and floors are constructed. Demolition work takes time, but the end result will be worth it!

President John E. Klein Volunteers During Lynchburg Exchange Club's Annual Pancake Jamboree

Randolph College President John E. Klein joined dozens of other city leaders and celebrities Friday, November 4 to “flip pancakes” for the Lynchburg Exchange Club’s Annual Pancake Jamboree.

The event, which is in its 52nd year, benefits programs of the Lynchburg Exchange Club. In recent years, proceeds from the event have gone to organizations like the MDA, Crisis Line of Central Virginia, Boys and Girls State, For Kids’ Sake Safety Day, CASA of Central Virginia, the Miller Home, Patrick Henry Boys Home, American Red Cross, Lynchburg Life Saving Crew, and the Lynchburg Police Foundation.

Klein volunteered during the busy lunchtime rush and manned one of the busy griddles with John Randolph “Randy” Nelson, a member of Lynchburg City Council. The $8 tickets included all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, coffee, and other beverages, and the event ran throughout the day.

Randolph College professors team up for poetry reading

Randolph professors Jim Peterson and Randall Speer are teaming up for a special poetry reading Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. in the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.

The free reading will feature poetry from Peterson’s latest books, The Resolution of Eve and The Owning Stone with musical compositions created by Speer. Peterson, an English professor, and Speer, a music professor, will lead the reading, which will also include performances by Harriet Peterson, Jerry Wells ’12, Ed Mikenas, Rafael Scarfullery, Katie West-Hazelwood ’13, and others.

Scholar to address 'The State of Islam' in lecture at Randolph College

This year has brought significant change to the Arab world, with protests, uprisings, and revolutions, and one Civil War in the Middle East and North Africa.

What do these events mean? How will they impact the relationship between Islam and politics; between the Middle East and the rest of the world?

Ziauddin Sardar, one of the world’s most renowned scholars of Islam, will address those topics at Randolph College next week.

He will deliver the lecture “The State of Islam” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Wimberly Recital Hall.

“In today’s world, someone who is discussing the state of Islam is talking about something important,” said William A. Coulter, Randolph College’s Eichelbaum Professor of English and the chairman of the committee that invited Sardar.

Coulter said that a Randolph College student met Sardar two years ago while participating in The World in Britain, the College’s study abroad program in Reading, England. The student then suggested that Sardar come to speak here.

Sardar, of London, is known as a pioneering thinker on contemporary Islam, writing about a wealth of topics relating to Islam and the modern world, including cultural relations, science policy, literary criticism, and more. He teaches in The City University and regularly contributes to the New Statesman and The Guardian. He has written more than 45 books, including two international bestsellers.

His speech at Randolph College is part of the Philip Thayer Memorial Lecture series, which is funded by an endowment in the honor of a retired history professor.

Students create their own mandalas

Sarah Cottone '15 and Amanda Cooper '13

Some students are making mandalas of their own after observing the art form.

Last week, Kathy Muehlemann, an art professor, took all of her classes to Houston Memorial Chapel to observe a group of Buddhist monks as they made a mandala.

The week-long demonstration allowed the students to experience another culture and its approach to art, Muehlemann said.

Many other students viewed the demonstration throughout the week, including those in religious studies and sociology classes.

Wednesday morning, some of Muehlemann's studio art students were making their own mandalas.

While a real mandala is made by arranging colored sand on a 5' x 5' board, these students are making their own on a smaller scale, using paint, markers and other materials. Some are making original designs, while others are copying intricate designs of real mandalas.

Sarah Burgeson '15	Michael Ehilegbu '14
Chris Ernestine '14	A mandala made by Victoria Francis '13

WildCats Advance to ODAC Championships!

Randolph College's men's soccer team clinched a spot in the ODAC championship final Tuesday night with a thrilling win over Virginia Wesleyan. On Saturday, the WildCats will face the winner of Wednesday's game between Lynchburg College and Eastern Mennonite.

The men's soccer team is the third team in a year to advance to the ODAC championships. The men's basketball team and women's softball team both made it to the finals last season.

For more coverage, please see

http://web.randolphcollege.edu/newsevents/pressreleases/news_detail.asp?id=1348

http://wildcats.randolphcollege.edu/news/update.asp?id=2075

Another paper written at Randolph chosen for intercollegiate academic journal

An essay by a 2011 alumna of Randolph College will appear in Apollon, an intercollegiate journal of academic writing from all disciplines.

“Writing the Female Experience,” by Elizabeth Zehl ’11, will appear in the online edition that will go live this month.

The paper examines, compares, and contrasts How I Became Hettie Jones and Jane Eyre as stories that relate the experience of a woman growing to adulthood. “The nearly 150-year distance between the works’ publications indicates the extreme divergence of the experiences of their authors,” Zehl wrote.

“It offers a fascinating comparison very concisely,” said Jason Cohen, founder of Apollon. “It’s a good paper.”

Nominate Now

Bunny Goodjohn, director of Randolph College’s writing program, has started accepting nominations for the Best short Paper and Best Long Paper awards for this academic year.

Professors can nominate those papers until March 2012 by e-mailing Goodjohn.

A professor at Berea College in Kentucky, Cohen said Apollon was started to help academic writing reach an audience beyond the professor. “While every school has an outlet for creative work, very few have an outlet for what happens in the classroom after it’s been graded,” he said.

Randolph College has had a connection with Apollon from the start. Mara Amster and Bunny Goodjohn, English professors at Randolph, have been enthusiastic supporters of the publication, Cohen said. Randolph College students have participated in the editing and review process for the journal, too.

Two of the four papers selected for Apollon’s first edition were written by recent Randolph College graduates: Victoria Winfree ’11 and Katherine Janson ’10.

The papers by Winfree, Janson, and Zehl have something else in common: They have all won writing awards at Randolph College and were featured in The Jack, the College’s own online publication for academic writing.

As part of its commitment to excellent writing, the College presents student writers with awards and cash prizes for Best Short Paper, Best Long paper, and Best Senior Paper each year.

The winning papers then are published in The Jack, along with a list of students who received excellent writing evaluations from at least two professors.

Cohen said Randolph’s “in-house celebration” of writing achievements creates an atmosphere that can help students succeed and continue to publish their work in journals beyond the College.

For more information on Randolph College's Writing Program and The Jack, read this Randolph magazine story.