Posted on Apr 16, 2004

Recent
photographs by Prof. Martin
Benjamin from
China, Cuba and Vietnam are featured in a show in the Mandeville
Gallery at the Nott Memorial.

“China/Cuba/Vietnam:
Recent Photographs by Martin Benjamin” runs through Sunday, May 23. It is free
and open to the public.

Benjamin,
professor of visual arts at the College, grew up in a simple pre-Internet world
when “Main
Street,
the corner store, and trout streams” were his primary sources of amusement and
wonder. He is part of a generation who witnessed some of the nation's most
psychically traumatic events in the 20th century – political
assassinations, atomic bomb tests, the Cuban missile crisis, and the Vietnam
War. As a budding photographer in college he realized what Diane Arbus meant
when she said, “Photographing is not about being comfortable, either for the
photographer or the subject.”

Benjamin's
photos capture what engages him, but that doesn't mean exclusively what is
beautiful. This collection was taken during his forays to China, Cuba, and Vietnam (often at his peril). These photos range
aesthetically from the beauty of the landscape and people to the gritty
realities of the street market and daily life. Along with evoking a range of
reactions, they also tell a between-the-lines story of the photographer and his
subjects.

Gallery
hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

For
more information, call 388-8344.

Posted on Apr 16, 2004

A team of Union
College alumni will match up with
the Harlem Wizards “show” basketball team in an event aimed at recruiting
matches for the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program on Sunday, April 25, at 2 p.m. in Memorial Fieldhouse. Doors will open
at 1 p.m.

Tickets are free for children
under 18 and for “Big-Little” matches. Adult admission is $5. Tickets will be
available at Reamer Campus
Center and at the door.

The game, which includes a host of
on- and off-court antics and a meet-and-greet with the players, is sponsored by
Union's Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. The Harlem
Wizards have been thrilling audiences for over four decades with a show they
now call “Trick Hoops, Alley Oops and a Whole Lot More.”

“This will be a great time for
basketball fans of all ages, and a good event to unite the campus and local
communities,” said Doug Bush, a Union
College junior who is president of
the College's chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. “But the real winners
are the kids who benefit from Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We want to use this
event to let people know how fun it is to be a 'Big.' And with a small
investment of time, a 'Big' can make a huge difference in the life of a
'Little.'”

Union
College's Big Brothers-Big Sisters
program, with more than 65 matches, is one of the largest college programs in
the country. But not every child who applies can get a match, Bush said, adding
that there is a waiting list for both “Littles” and “Bigs.”

The Harlem Wizards have been the
playground for some of the NBA's greatest legends and the training ground for
some of the games most flamboyant basketball entertainers. Two NBA Hall of
Famers and “Top 50 Greatest Players of All Time” donned Harlem Wizard uniforms:
former Phoenix Sun Connie Hawkins, and former Boston Celtic Nate
“Tiny” Archibald. Current Harlem Wizards like Eric “Broadway” Jones
and James “Speedy” Williams are known to a
wide audience after appearing in the Nike freestyle TV ad campaign and the 2001
MTV Music Awards. Wizard role models like “Tojo” Henderson and “Tex” Barnwell,
who started with the Wizards in the 1970's, still share their passion for the
Wizards' mission and appear regularly in games.

The show is made possible by
funding from the Union's Social Enrichment Grant and the
president's office.

Posted on Apr 16, 2004

The Dean of Student's Office is sponsoring a Laws of Life
essay contest, open to students. The contest features a $1,000 first
prize. 

The contest is open to all students or student groups. The
topic is “How to Improve Union's Campus Community.” Essays should be no longer
than 750 words, due April 23.

For more information, visit http://www.union.edu/LawsOfLife/ or
contact Melissa Heil at heilm@union.edu.

The dean's office is also seeking nominations for the U
Make a Difference Awards.

Students, faculty and staff can nominate someone on campus
for outstanding service to others, on the Union
College campus or to the world, by
filling out the U Make a Difference nomination form(s) at this site: http://www.union.edu/UMake

Awards are granted in the following categories:
individual, group, new initiatives, “U Turned Your Fortune Around,” and class
citizen of the year.

Posted on Apr 16, 2004

The Silken Phoenix, a chamber music theater work featuring
actress Fiona Choi and the Core Ensemble with cello, piano and percussion, will
perform on Monday, April 19, at 7:30pm
in Memorial Chapel.

The Silken Phoenix is a chamber music theatre work for
actress and trio (cello, piano and percussion). It celebrates the life, times
and works of three of Asia¹s greatest women poets: Ho Xuan Huong of Vietnam,
Izumi Shkibu of Japan
and Li Qingzhao of China.
All emerge as strong, independent personalities and vibrant writers, with a
direct and immediate appeal to audiences. The text, written by Shanghai native
Wang Ping, contradicts the stereotype of passive and demure Asian womanhood,
using comedy, narrative drama and evocative poetry ­wed to a wide ranging
collection of chamber and solo music of composers Kui Dong, Melissa Hui, P.Q.
Phan, Chinary Ung, Somei Satoh, Keiko Abe, Bun-Ching Lam, Lei Liang, Tan Dun
and Chou Wen-Chung.

The concert is sponsored by East Asian Studies, the
Department of Performing Arts, and the Katharine Van Meter Sadock Lecture Fund
for Women.

For more contact Prof. Jennifer
Matsue, matsuej@union.edu.

Posted on Apr 16, 2004

The Kenney Center's
recent food drive, “Care to Share,” collected a total of seven large boxes of
non-perishable food from the campus, donating two to Bethesda House and five to
Schenectady Inner City Ministry's food pantry.

“I would like to thank you all for your donations of
non-perishable food and personal care items,” said Sarah-Jo Stimpson '05, who
organized the event with a number of students and staff.

The two food pantries were most appreciative of the items received from the seven-week drive because their supplies
had been depleted by demand from a severe winter, fires and the recent
mudslide, she said.