IN THIS ISSUE:

A Note from 1

Future of UNH 2

SURFing Through Summer 2

Walk Against Hunger 3

Marching Band 3

Study Abroad — Bahamas 4

A New Move-Out Program 5

Off to Sea the World 5

Graduation 6

A Night at the Theater 6

Julius Caesar 7

PEZ Private Tour 7

Britta Johnson Editor

Spencer Poulin Staff Writer

Lauren Kircher Staff Writer

Patricia Oprea Staff Writer

Jessica Zielinski Staff Writer

Paola M. Mendoza-Rivera Staff Writer

Rachael Gilbert Staff Writer

Lynne Resnick Honors Program Coordinator

Matthew Wranovix Faculty Advisor, Honors Program Director

C ongratulations to our fifty-seven graduating seniors! Each of them has excelled academically and grown intellectually over their four years at UNH. Their honors

theses cover a remarkable range of endeavor, from genetics, the discovery of a new species, and techniques to identify skeletal remains to a fully developed screenplay. The 115 new first-year and rising sophomore honors students have much to live up to.

In this newsletter you will find further information about the activities of honors students. I would simply like to highlight one achievement that I hope will become a tradition — the participation of UNH honors students in the Northeast Regional Honors Council’s annual conference. This year I took four students to the conference at Niagara Falls, New York. These seniors presented the results of their honors thesis research: Christina Kling presented a paper titled “Antimicrobial Effects of Venoms on Borrelia Burgdorferi”; Alice Aleksandrovich presented a paper titled “Government Size and Economic Growth”; and Kristen Alfano and Lisa Luke presented posters titled “Is There a Genetic Connection Between Chiari Malformation and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome?” and “Gender and Western Perceptions of Hentai.” The students enjoyed the opportunity to present their findings to their peers from across the region. Through lectures and the National Collegiate Honors Council’s “Place-as-Text” program, the students were also invited to consider Niagara Falls as a place marked not only by nature but also by develop-ment, industrialization, and tourism.

So, congratulations to Alice, Christina, Kristen, and Lisa! Next year’s conference will be held at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a location steeped in historical memory and meaning. I am very much looking forward to taking students there next April.

A Note From Honors Program Director, Dr. Matthew P. Wranovix

A NEWSLETTER FROM HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS | 2013–2014

HONORS PROGRAM PUBLICATION STAFF

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HONORSPROGRAM

A NEWSLET TER FROM HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS UN IVERS I T Y OF NEW HAVEN2 3

Walk Against Hunger | Marching BandFuture of UNH | SURFing Through Summer

BY LAUREN KIRCHER T his past summer I was able to participate in the

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship here at the University of New Haven. Dr. John Kelly approached me with an idea for a project that

he thought I might like to work on over the summer with him. When we heard back, I was cleared to start developing my project. I was looking at fiddler-crab (Uca pugnax) movement in the salt marsh to determine if they were starting to settle in the upper salt marsh. Then we took some back to the lab and put them in a set-up to observe activity patterns in order to compare that to tidal rhythms. We were given housing in Forest Hills, where I lived with two of my very good friends who were also doing SURF, which provided a generous stipend and money to spend on our projects.

I have conducted biological experiments in my classes before, but this was a unique experience. While work-ing with two professors, I largely developed, researched, collected equipment for, and ran my experiment.

SURFing Through Summer

BY SPENCER POULIN A group of select honors students had the

opportunity to discuss their experiences at the University of New Haven over breakfast with University President Steven Kaplan on March 26.

The students, from a variety of disciplines, listened to President Kaplan’s excitement about the future of the University, from the construc-tion of the new residence hall to the purchase of the University’s graduate school campus in Orange, Con-necticut. President Kaplan explained that he enjoyed hearing the concerns of the University’s best and brightest and that he was open to listening to any concerns that students may have.

Christina Kling, a senior majoring in biotechnology who recently completed her honors thesis, stated that one of her biggest concerns was the scarcity of quiet

workspaces for students writing honors theses. Oth-ers raised concerns about the lack of open space for extracurricular activities and programs. Several students noted that student clubs and organizations are forced to forfeit reserved spaces to accommodate University administrators’ events, such as Accepted Students Day.

Other topics of interest were the lack of food options for students with food allergies, more access to the Orange Campus for undergraduate courses, and the need for more laboratory spaces for the University’s growing chemistry and chemical engineering departments.

President Kaplan took the students’ concerns to heart and informed students that he would do his best to solve the issues discussed. In fact, renovations to add addi-tional study spaces on the bottom floor of the library are already planned for this summer. Lynne Resnick, coordinator for the University Honors Program, took notes on the discussions throughout the breakfast.

Honors Students Talk about Concerns,

Future of UNH with President Kaplan BY SPENCER POULIN

Honors Students go for a “Walk Against Hunger”

O n Sunday, May 4, several honors students laced up their sneakers and spent the afternoon participat-ing in the Connecticut Food Bank Walk Against Hunger in New Haven.

The four honors students, along with Honors Program Coordinator Lynne Resnick, walked to support the hundreds of families that struggle to afford food on a daily basis. To raise funds and support for the cause, an Honors Program team page was made on the Walk Against Hunger website, and both faculty and students contributed money.

Before the walk, the honors students congregated at East Rock Pavilion, where they socialized with other volunteers and played on the pavilion’s playground equipment. After the two-and-a-half-mile walk around the East Rock neighborhood, the team refueled with complimentary Subway sandwiches, loaves of garlic bread, and sorbet.

The Honors Program’s involvement with the Walk Against Hunger was conceived as a flagship opportunity for honors students to become more involved in community service. Mrs. Resnick plans to incorporate more community service opportunities into honors programming next year.

The Walk Against Hunger is an annual fundraiser put on by the Connecticut Food Bank, a nonprofit organization that collects and distributes food to hundreds of food assistance programs throughout Connecticut. According to the Walk Against Hunger website, the Greater New Haven Walk Against Hunger raised $40,251.46 this year.

M any honors students choose to participate in musical performance ensembles. One of the fastest growing and most popular music groups on campus is the Chargers Marching Band, led

by UNH’s director of bands, Jason DeGroff. The Fall 2013 season’s show, titled “Thanks for the Memories,” comprised Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Piano

Man,” “We Are Young” by fun., “Take on Me,” mashed together with “Feel this Moment,” and Fall Out

Boy’s “Thnks fr th Mmrs.” DeGroff arranged the performance partially in dedication to the band’s senior and alumni members for all the memories they made in the first

years of the band’s development. The Chargers Marching Band started its first year in 2009 with only

University of New Haven Chargers Marching Band

BY LAUREN KIRCHER

20 members, and since then the group has grown phenomenally, attaining nearly 170 members in just five years. Every August, over a week before most stu-dents arrive on campus for the fall semester, the band holds band camp in order to memorize the majority of the show’s music and drill (choreography on the field). Most Saturdays in the fall, the marching band either performs before and during a home football game, most prominently during halftime, or in exhibition at a high-school field band competition. The perks of being in the marching band include: performance experience, lasting friendships, a band scholarship, priority registration, early move-in, a celebratory end-of-season banquet, induction into a zany, new family, and education in discipline, memorization, and multitasking.

From left: Jacklyn Jones, Patricia Oprea, Mengyan Liu, Spencer Poulin, Honors Program Coordinator Lynne Resnick. Photo by Patricia Oprea.

I had the opportunity to help three other students with their SURF projects, giving me even more experience in varied aspects of marine biology and environmental science. In the fall, a poster presentation allowed the SURF students to present their findings to their peers, faculty, and the Board of Governors. Our papers will be published later this year and housed in the Peterson Library. Most students in college do not get such a hands-on experience in research. This project has taught me about the process to design and implement an experiment and has prompted some ideas on pos-sible research for my senior thesis.

A NEWSLET TER FROM HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS UN IVERS I T Y OF NEW HAVEN4 5

A New Move-Out Program | Off to Sea the WorldStudy Abroad — Bahamas

This semester, students have partnered with the UNH Facilities Department and the non-profit PLAN to launch a new move-out program that will help divert potentially tons of usable items from the campus waste

stream. In October of 2013, students on the UNH campus began working with the Post Action Landfill Network (PLAN), a non-profit that mentors college students through the process of leading efforts to improve their campus’s environmental and societal impacts. Alex Freid, the founder of PLAN, began a move-out program at the University of New Hampshire several years ago; this success-ful program is now the model for other college campuses.

The move-out program works by gathering student volunteers to carry out collections during a campus’s move-out period, gathering items that students are not able to — or do not wish to — take home with them. Without any sort of move-out program, these items usually end up going into dumpsters, where they go to waste and contribute to environmental and societal ills. With a move-out program, items in decent condition can be set aside for further use, while items that are past their usefulness can be evaluated for recycling. The move-out program goes beyond typical recycling by separating out worn items such as old shoes, clothes, and backpacks for textile recycling as well as by collecting broken electronics for recycling.

Items that are still in usable condition are sorted and priced for re-sale the following August, when students return to campus for the fall semester. The sale provides students with affordable options for items such as end tables, lamps, binders, and clothes, alleviating the need to try and bring all these items to campus in a car or buy them at full cost from a store near campus. The sale also

helps to create awareness about consumption habits and how they affect society and the environment. Items that are not sold at the August sale are donated to those in need in the local community. What cannot be donated will be recycled whenever possible and, as a last resort, items will be consigned to the waste stream. Proceeds from the sale will serve to sustain the program financially into the future.

The UNH version of this move-out program has been named “Think Outside the Dumpster” (TOD). TOD consisted mostly of Green Team members, so the UNH Green Team added TOD as an official committee of its club. TOD has been working closely this semester with the UNH Facilities Department, the Office of Residential Life, and the Office of Student Activities to help integrate May collections and the August sale into existing move-out and move-in week events. The UNH Facilities Department has agreed to sponsor the program and is generously provid-ing funding for such program needs as collection trucks, summer storage, and tents for the sale. Collections are scheduled to begin each semester shortly after final exams start and will run until seniors move out of their residences.

If you would like to get involved with this program, there is a TOD Facebook page called “UNH Think Outside the Dumpster.” For more information, contact UNH junior Jessica Zielinski at jziel1@unh.newhaven.edu.

White Snow? How About White-Sand Beaches?!

D ecember 13 — the day I heard about a study abroad opportunity in the Bahamas during winter intercession.

January 3 — the day I boarded a plane with six individuals and a professor to whom I had never spoken before.

The trip’s location was definitely what drew me. Twelve days spent in the Bahamas instead of enduring the bitter cold of Connecticut seemed like a more than ideal choice. Plus, I had the opportunity to receive six credits in the process and pursue two hobbies of mine: photography and writing. Six credits sounds very appealing, especially when you imagine a turquoise ocean and white-sand beaches as your classroom.

We soon came to see that everything about this trip was unexpected. The first day and night we spent in Nassau, one of many Bahamian islands. Nassau is a place carved out of the tourist market; coconut-filled drinks, sun-burned couples, and tacky key chains befell us at every turn downtown. The second day, we boarded a plane, almost too small to be considered a plane, bound for San Salvador Island. By contrast, this island has merely 1,000 locals and is what I consider a “best-kept Baha-mian secret.” What San Salvador lacks in population, it makes up for in beauty and exquisiteness. The beaches were even better than I could have imagined and were completely deserted!

Work and fun on the island were intertwined. Our group stayed at the Gerace Research center, a lone posse of liberal artists among a sea of geology, marine biology, and archeology students. We certainly stuck out with

our cameras and tripods while others donned their scuba gear and scientific equipment.

Aside from our laptops for writing and uploading pictures, there was no technology used for those 12 days in San Salvador. Wi-Fi was not available nor were phone and Internet (unless you wanted to pay for it, which I opted out of). We always had food, shelter, and safe conditions, but the trip was more of an unpredict-able journey than a tropical paradise.

Our day-trips included hiking on North Point Moun-tain, visiting a lighthouse, climbing down to a cavern, exploring old ruins, checking out Blue Hole lakes, visiting the beautiful Grotto Beach, hiking around limestone-laden forests and lakes, learning from marine researchers, visiting a nearby town, and snorkeling. We explored the beach and abandoned village near the research center, finding new things to photograph every time. That’s the thing about a place like that, it is ever-changing. What you see one day will never mimic what you saw the last.

We kept busy visiting astounding sights, having classes, and working on multiple projects at a time in both photography and writing. Although our workload was fairly heavy, the island’s beautiful weather van-quished any possible stress. A feeling of change washed over me as the trip came to a close. I knew that I had not only improved my writing and photography but had also grown as a person in unexpected ways. This trip con-vinced me to minor in photography and hold a mindset of adventure, no matter how intimidating situations may seem. I unquestionably recommend a study abroad experience, even to unsure students. Sometimes a leap of faith can lead to surprising outcomes.

BY PATRICIA OPREA

A New Move-Out Program BY JESSICA

ZIELINSKI

BY PAOLA M. MENDOZA-RIVERA It was the fall of 2013 when I effectively overcame the

biggest challenge that I have had in my life so far, and I did so exceeding my own expectations. During that fall semester, I studied abroad while traveling around

half the world with the Semester at Sea Program. I was part of the Fall 2013 Atlantic Exploration Voyage, during which we visited sixteen different ports located throughout four continents and two islands in the Caribbean. Such exten-sive traveling brings about many complications, especially

My Biggest Challenge – Off to Sea the Worldwhen trying to study for four, three-credit college courses simultaneously. Some of the complications I encountered included getting lost during nighttime in a country I knew nothing about, facing my fear of reptiles, and keeping my grades up despite high expectations, especially in my International Law class. Being a successful, well-rounded individual is about overcoming all the obstacles and challenges that life throws at us from every direction along our path.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Subhead Name Here Subhead Name Here

A NEWSLET TER FROM HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS UN IVERS I T Y OF NEW HAVEN6 7

Graduation: a Short StoryBY RACHAEL

GILBERT And here we are again, the year 2014. Before our perception of the universe began to twist and distort into deceitful paths and dark revelations. When life’s most difficult obstacle was deciphering the map of

existence. When the future didn’t exist and the past didn’t lurk in our dreams. When nightmares didn’t come true and the monsters were just our imaginations running wild. Back when there was hope for what we one day would become.

Next to me, my companion sits hunched and shaking, filling the cups of his hands with the last bit of his emotion, soaking them and adding age to his already weathered body. I pull at him with my gaze; it’s time. Decades we spent debating, planning, dreaming this very moment. And here it is. Here we are again, 2014, a memory. The last year things could have turned around, the last path our generation could have taken to set things right.

My frail body can barely open the door. This will be the final march for us – we’ve sacrificed all we had and dedicated every moment to this. The only object to my name is this car, beat to hell and now worth next to noth-ing. Again I look to my companion, the man I’ve loved throughout the turmoil of the world. We’re ready.

All around us, the city bustles with life. It’s far from the desert we know it to be, merely a ghost of what our eyes

reveal here. Hundreds of people, happy, smiling, laugh-ing, unaware of what they’re about to face. Somehow, the ambiance reaches me and a smile slips past my sorrow. I feel a tug at my hand as I’m led towards a young couple. The man is a handsome one, and the woman beautiful, both with a brightness in their eyes that nobody has witnessed for years. I squeeze the hand that grasps mine as tears begin to stream down. The couple looks at us, incredulous, as they try to interpret our presence. It takes all I have to slow the river flowing down my face.

Here we are, 2014, the pivotal year, when everything began to deteriorate. The last year that hope had a chance to make things happen. And here we are, in the company of our youth, a generation that doesn’t know its importance. Now. Now is the time.

We whisper to the couple. We whisper what we hope will change them, change the world, change the future.

For a moment there is only silence as the couple stares into our eyes, searching for any sign of deceit, and as they come to the realization that everything said was true, my companion and I disappear from memory, from history, from existence. And my last thought is a hopeful one, dreaming of the better world we had just saved.

Julius Caesar | PEZ Private Tour

A Night at the Theater with the Stephen Sondheim Class

BY SPENCER POULIN

BY STEPHEN SHEPHERD O n the evening of Thursday, August 29, 2013,

students in the Honors Program were treated to a live performance of William Shakespeare’s famous drama Julius Caesar by the Elm Shakespeare

Company in Edgerton Park, New Haven. The entire production was outdoors, and every character wore modern-day clothing, including well-tailored suits and

contemporary military armor, not something you would expect in one of the Bard’s plays. The students sat on blankets to watch the skilled players act out memorable scenes on an extremely elabo-rate, multifaceted stage. Many of the

students purchased hot, fresh, homemade kettle corn to eat during the performance as well.

The performance, directed by Alvin Epstein, was nothing short of stupen-dous. The prowess of the actors, the complexity of the staging, and the wonderfully eerie music and lighting all blended together splendidly to give UNH’s honors students a taste of what can only be described as entertaining cultural enrichment. The students greatly enjoyed this event, and many hope to participate again in the years to come.

Julius Caesar: Shakespeare in the Park

Graduation | A Night at the Theater

O n Friday, April 11, 2014, eight honors students visited the PEZ Manufacturing Corporation in Orange, Connecticut. Hosted by Pat Early, PEZ Vice President of Operations and UNH Alum

(B.S. Economics; M.B.A.), the students were given a private tour of this impressive manufacturing plant, which supplies PEZ to all of North America. While on the production room floor, Plant Manager Steve Rowe allowed students direct access to see how PEZ candy is

PEZ® Private Tour BY LYNNE RESNICK

made from start to finish, including the product packaging. After the plant tour, students browsed through the Visitor Center and museum, which holds the largest public display of PEZ memorabilia in the world. One of the many highlights of the day was sampling fresh PEZ candies “hot off the press.” It was truly an amazing and unforgettable trip for all of us.

On September 13, students from the Honors course “Finishing the Hat: The Art of Stephen Sondheim” went to the Phoenix Stage Company in Naugatuck, Connecti-cut to see a free dress rehearsal production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The students, along with Dr. Meg Savilonis, one of the instructors of the Stephen Sondheim course, were also able to participate in a Q&A with the cast and crew after the production. Clockwise, from top left: Matthew Fowler, Heather Konish, Lauren Kircher, Dr. Meg Savilonis, Spencer Poulin, Alice Alexsandrovich, Benjamin Hodge, Reeceann Cabaniero-Buendi, Victoria Galica, Elizabeth Jaikes, Kyle Pickard.

A NEWSLET TER FROM HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTSA NEWSLET TER FROM HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS

HONORS PROGRAM University of New Haven 300 Boston Post Road West Haven, CT 06516 www.newhaven.edu

Off to Sea the World, continues from page 5.

The first obstacle presented itself when I went promenading at night with some friends through the city of Lisbon in Portugal. As the night went by, some of the girls had to go to the ladies’ room, so we congregated in a ‘Bar and Restaurant’ locale. When I came out of the ladies’ room, I found that I had been left behind and was completely alone. It was near midnight, and I had neither a map nor euros left for a taxi, so finding my way back to the ship seemed like an impossible task. I oriented myself toward the ocean and started walking, trying to call the least amount of attention to myself as possible. When I made it to the shore, I saw a big group of young people and figured that at least one person from Semester at Sea had to be there. All of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice. It was a friend of mine from high school, who happened to be studying abroad there in Lisbon. She calmed me down and pointed out to me a group of three people whom I recognized as fellow classmates. They let me tag along on their taxi back to the ship and saved my wreck of a night.

The last two obstacles were not as traumatic as the getting-lost-in-Portugal scenario. Although I do have a great fear of “creepy crawlers,” encountering a salamander in my hotel bathroom in Ghana was a situation that I handled rather well. After visiting the Nzulezu Water Village in a two-hour, round-trip canoe ride and sitting in a bus for over five hours on the first day, I was feeling tired and felt a great need for a shower. However, when

I walked into the bathroom, a salamander started running around the shower area. At this point of the voyage I had survived both the Cliffs of Étretat and the Cliffs of Moher. Therefore, I decided to be courageous and face my fears by covering the salamander with a glass (away from the water and with enough space for it to breathe). I then safely took a much-needed shower.

Finally, there was International Law. Despite the heavy workload, I persevered and did my best to complete the readings and hand in the best legal case briefs I possibly could. I also used my organiza-tional skills to prepare a study schedule to help me divide my time better and finish all of my assignments for all of my classes early enough and still make the most of my time in the ports. Even though I was taking the fewest credits I have ever taken in a semester, those four classes were probably the most demanding I have ever had. Nonetheless, I managed to exceed my own expectations.

In conclusion, traveling not only broadens people’s horizons by making them more cultured and better-educated global citizens but it also forces them to face their fears and overcome obstacles in unknown lands without the comfort of resources such as active cellphone plans, free Wi-Fi, or GPS. For these reasons, surviving my study abroad with Semester at Sea has not only been the best experience of my life but also the biggest challenge I have overcome thus far.