Posted on Jan 19, 2006

Sister Helen Prejean, an acclaimed opponent of the death penalty whose work inspired the movie, “Dead Man Walking,” will speak at Union College Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.

Prejean will discuss her latest book, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.'' Prejean tells the story of two men, Dobie Gillis Williams of Louisiana and Joseph O'Dell of Virginia, whom she believes were wrongly convicted and put to death. Prejean accompanied both men to their executions.

Her talk is free and open to the public.

Prejean is a Roman Catholic nun who began her prison ministry in 1981 in New Orleans. She became pen pals with Patrick Sonnier, who was convicted of killing two teenagers and sentenced to death. Prejean became Sonnier's spiritual advisor while he was at Angola State Prison and was dismayed at Louisiana's execution process.

In 1993, Prejean wrote “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States,'' which became an international best seller. The book was made into a movie in 1996 starring Sean Penn as Sonnier and Susan Sarandon as Prejean. Sarandon won the Academy Award as Best Actress for her role.

Prejean received a B.A. in English and Education from St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans in 1962. She earned an M.A. in Religious Education from St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Canada in 1973.

Posted on Jan 19, 2006

Chianti in a Tuscan Villa
Dates: July 23 – 31, 2006
Cost: From $3,095 (includes lodging, airfare, meals and most excursions)
Duration: 7 nights

We had such a positive response to our initial announcement of the alumni travel program to Chianti that our original week (June 25 – July 3, 2006) has sold out.  An additional week, July 23 – 31, 2006 is now being offered to all Union College Alumni and their guests.

Sit back, relax and imagine yourself reaping Italy's rich harvest of pleasures. Acquaint yourself with Chianti in the idyllic village of Marcialla. Ponder, with anticipation, the many regional wonders you are about to explore. Sip sublime white wines and soothe your palate with fragrant olive oils at Castello di Monsanto in the heart of Chianti Classico. Travel to Pisa and be perplexed by its whimsical Leaning Tower before continuing on to ancient Lucca. Meander through Tuscany's character-infused hill country, stopping to visit San Gimignano and the crystal-laden town of Colle di Val d'Elsa. Finally, admire the Renaissance wonders of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza della Signoria and Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, and Siena's Mangia Tower and Duomo.

For more information call the Office of Alumni Relations at (888) 843-4365.

Posted on Jan 19, 2006

The son of Martin Luther King Jr. urged the College community to keep his father's goals of racial equality for all a priority in their lives.

“We've made substantial progress in many aspects,'' Martin Luther King III told the crowd of about 500 people inside Memorial Chapel Wednesday night. “But we have a lot of work to do to eradicate racial injustice.''

In his address, King said the federal holiday marking his father's birthday is an opportunity each year “to begin anew” in pursuit of his father's dreams.

He chided the country's leadership for the high rates of poverty, particularly in the black community and said the billions wasted on the war in Iraq would be better spent on social programs, including more money to improve schools.

“We must demand more accountability from our elected officials, regardless of what party they belong to,'' he said.

The second oldest child of the civil rights leader and Coretta Scott King, King has been speaking around the country about “My Father's Dream, My Mission.'' Many of  his appearances have been on college campuses such as Union College's.

“They are the future leaders of our country,'' he said prior to his speech. “It's important young people have a liberal arts exposure.''

King was welcomed to the stage by the Dutch Piper's a cappella group and Heavenly Voices, the college's gospel choir ensemble. They sang the school's alma mater, Ode to Old Union.

From 1998 to 2003, King served as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization his father helped create in 1957. He has also served on the board of  the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, which his mother founded shortly after her husband was killed in 1968.

Posted on Jan 19, 2006

It was an opportunity out of this world. Bilal Mahmood '08 and Rebecca Koopmann '89, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, traveled to the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center's Aercibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, last month for an observing run.

With a diameter of 1000 feet, the Arecibo radio telescope is the largest telescope in the world. Mahmood and Koopmann used it to detect the neutral hydrogen gas in nearby galaxies as part of the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey.

Mahmood participated in the project through a summer research fellowship and a Scholars sophomore project. His research fellowship and travel were made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Last summer, Union hosted the first NSF-sponsored ALFALFA undergraduate workshop to give undergraduates involved in the project the opportunity to exchange experiences with their peers from throughout the country.

In addition to Mahmood, participants included Michael Gillin '08, Jay Read '07 and Luther Vucic '07.

“The highlight of the meeting was a two-hour remote observing run at Arecibo, in which the undergraduates operated the telescope from a Union College physics and astronomy classroom,” Koopmann reported. “The students targeted a group of galaxies to search for evidence of gravitational interactions between the galaxies.”

Posted on Jan 19, 2006

Anupama Jain, assistant professor of English, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the executive committee of the Division on Ethnic Studies in Language and Literature of the Modern Language Association of America. This year, her responsibilities include convening a panel for the annual convention in December.