Posted on May 15, 2008

Computer Science major Hazen Woolson ’08 of Keene, N.H., got a camera his senior year in high school and has been shooting films ever since.

“I like being behind the camera,” said Woolson. “The storytelling aspects, showing something visually without words, are really interesting.”

Woodson is one of 16 students in “Documentary filmmaking: Filtering your World,” taught by Troy native and visiting filmmaker Jim de Sève.

De Sève’s contacts in the industry have provided a steady stream of filmmakers to the College, including Academy Award-winning documentary Director and Cinematographer Cynthia Wade. Wade will present her Oscar-winning short documentary “Freeheld” Friday, May 16, at 3:15 p.m. in Sorum House.

The 38-minute film chronicles New Jersey Police Lieutenant Laurel Hester's struggle to transfer her earned pension to her domestic partner. The film also received the Special Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and screened in 45 film festivals, 26 states and seven countries, garnering 11 additional film awards.

Sponsored by Spectrum, the Minerva Program and Film Studies, this screening is a special preview before the film debuts on Cinemax Reel Life in June.

The burgeoning interest in filmmaking and the Film Studies minor, which launched last fall, is heartening to Associate Professors Michelle Chilcoat (Modern Languages and Literatures) and Andrew Feffer (History).

“It would be great to have a campus that becomes more film literate each year,” said Feffer, “not just in the sense of being able to appreciate classic films or art film, but to understand the world better through film.”

De Sève’s class is less about the technical side of filmmaking and more about learning to tell a story visually.

 “The biggest mistake documentary filmmakers make,” de Sève explained, “is telling all your facts up front. You need to hook the audience, but then reveal the facts a little bit at a time.”

With a background in still photography and a passion for real-life stories, de Sève said “the filmmaker should not be ‘removed’ from the story. "It’s more intimate and personal if he becomes a character.”

By term’s end, students will have developed elevator pitches and synopses for their final project, a six-to-12-minute documentary that will have a public screening on campus. Woolson’s project highlights two local immigrants who have owned and run Pizza King in Schenectady for the past 20 years.

“It’s about surviving as a business in Schenectady,” said Woolson. “It’s very character-based. They know their customers and joke around with them all the time.”

The course will be offered again in the fall. For more information on the Film Studies minor, contact Chilcoat at chilcoam@union.edu or (518) 388-7103.

Posted on May 15, 2008

For the 12^th straight year, the Kenney Community Center will host U-Care Day, a carnival featuring face painting, games and other crafts, Sunday, May 18, noon-3 p.m. in the Memorial Field House.

The event celebrates the success of the Union Community Action Reaching Everyone Program, which helps connect undergraduates with community organizations and volunteer services in the area. .

“We’re trying to make the event even better this year by inviting more schools to attend,” said Cybil Tribie '11, one of the carnival’s coordinators. “More clubs and Minervas are participating. Everyone is really motivated to interact with the children in the community.”

Working with Tribie are Shabana Hoosein ‘11 and Donald Austin, a 2005 Kutztown University graduate who is assigned to the Kenney Community Center through the Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA).

U-Care Day is sponsored by the President’s Office. Stewart’s Shop will donate ice cream for the third year; Wal-Mart and Price Chopper are providing paper products.

The event is free and open to the community. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, or to volunteer, contact U-Care 388-6777 or ucare@union.edu.

Posted on May 15, 2008

Union’s own Chester A. Arthur, the country’s 21^st president, is featured in a documentary that debuts Thursday, May 15, at 9 p.m. on WMHT.

“Presidents in Our Backyard” examines the life of eight U.S. presidents with close ties to New York state.

Arthur, Class of 1848, is prominently featured in the one-hour program hosted by Matt Ryan of WMHT. Ryan visited the campus in March, examining artifacts and other memorabilia from Arthur’s days as a student, along with items acquired by the College, including a walnut and leather writing desk (rumored to have a secret liquor cabinet) currently used by President Stephen C. Ainlay.

Rachel Seligman, director of the Mandeville Gallery and curator of the Permanent Collection, and James Underwood, the Chauncey H. Winters Research Professor of Political Science, are interviewed in the program, which also includes scenes of campus and the Chester Arthur statue, which stands outside the gate of Jackson’s Garden.

Local politicians were enlisted to read from letters or speeches of the presidents, with State Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Schenectady, providing the voice of Arthur.

For a preview of the Arthur segment, click here.

The son of a Baptist minister, Arthur grew up in Union Village, N.Y. (Greenwich, N.Y.) In 1845 he entered Union College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon and the Delphian Institute debating society. He was elected into Phi Beta Kappa his senior year.

A Republican, Arthur held several positions in New York state government and was nominated to be James Garfield’s vice president in 1880. He was sworn in as president on Sept. 20, 1881, a day after Garfield died from a gunshot wound.

Known as the “The Gentleman Boss” and the “Dude President” for his sense of style, Arthur died from a kidney ailment on Nov. 18, 1886, a year-and-a-half after leaving office, at his home in New York City. He is buried near his wife in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, N.Y., some 20 miles from his alma mater.

Besides Arthur, other U.S. presidents featured in the WMHT special are Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland and William McKinley.

The documentary will be rebroadcast Saturday, May 17, at midnight and Sunday, May 18, at 7 p.m.

Posted on May 14, 2008

A family of seven will celebrate its new home Sunday, May 18, when Union College and Habitat for Humanity of Schenectady County help dedicate the latest Habitat project.

President Stephen C. Ainlay will join Jeffrey W. Clark, executive director of the local Habitat chapter, at the 1 p.m. dedication by Michael and Kelly Harris, and their children – Sujea, 12, Sabrina, 9, Michael, Jr., 8, Isaiah, 8, and Samone, 3.

The College donated the house at 1124 Barrett St. in Schenectady to the local Habitat chapter two years ago, and the campus community has worked since last fall to help refurbish it. Hundreds of volunteers, including student, faculty and staff groups, pitched in on the renovations.

“You have all confirmed my conviction that we have a keen understanding of our sense of social-connectedness and civic commitment,” said Ainlay, in a note to the campus community.

The Union volunteers “can be proud of their participation in this project,” Clark said.

The Harris family, which currently lives in the Woodlawn section of the city, completed 400 hours of “sweat equity” and a financial background check to qualify for the Habitat home.

Posted on May 14, 2008

Posted on May 14, 2008

“The Gospel According to Bob: An Evening of Hootenanny, Harmony and A Cappella,” is set for Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. in Old Chapel.

An outdoor barbecue featuring music by the local Celtic rock group, the McKrells, begins at 4 p.m.

The Bob bash, the 10th annual Dylan tribute at Union, is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by The Sanctuary at Old Chapel and Mystery Tramp Productions, in association with the Office of the Dean of Students and Green House, Sorum House and Music House.

“Bob turns 67 on May 24, but we’ll all sing Happy Birthday a few days early — not only to Bob, but to ourselves, too,” said the Sanctuary’s Dale Metzger. “After 10 years of singing his praises, we think we deserve a hoorah as well, or at least some harmony and hootenanny.”

Among the Dylan devotees scheduled to appear this year: Co-producer and emcee Michael Eck, the Ramblin’ Jug Stompers, the Gospel Train, Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, Sgt. Dunbar and The Hobo Banned, Frank Jaklitsch, the Sidewinders, Jammin’ Brothers, Johnny Willis, Hale House Band, the Dutch Pipers, the Garnet Minstrelles and Hannah Imbesi.

While there is no cover charge for the concert, a suggested donation of $5 will go to the Chris Ryan Scholarship Fund. A pub menu and pub beverages will be available.

“And cake, naturally, will be served to all who sing a rousing chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ to Bob,” Metzger noted.

For more information contact Metzger at 388-6124 (metzgerd@union.edu) or Tyson Fricker at 432.6634 (mandhand@aol.com).