The largely invisible experience of the growing number of women in the nation's prison system who are mothers is the subject of an upcoming public awareness program at Sonoma State University.
"Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States" describes the lives of these women, most of whom are women of color, and how their children are impacted.
The program kicks off with the opening of an exhibit called "Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States" from March 26-April 28 in the University Library Art Gallery.
This dramatic exhibit of painting, drawings, sculpture and photography documents the experiences of incarcerated persons in the United States.
"Interrupted Life" seeks to educate about current realities and solutions to a major and growing problem in American society in which 70% of the women in prison are mothers, says Criminal Justice Professor Barbara Bloom who is coordinating the program.
It explores the issues related to motherhood, incarceration, policy and politics in the United States where the number of women incarcerated since 1980 has grown by 500%.
A keynote speech by Neil Bernstein, author of "All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated" will be presented from 6-8 p.m. on Weds., April 1, in Schulz 3001.
A panel discussion entitled "Invisible Punishments: The Collateral Effects of Incarceration" brings the mothers, children and allies of imprisoned women together for a discussion from 5-7 p.m. on Mon., April 6 in Schulz 3001.
The month-long program concludes at 7 p.m. on Fri., April 24 in the Cooperage with a dramatic performance of "Life Without Parole," a play based on Elizabeth Leonard's study of battered women survivors imprisoned for killing their abusers.
The number of incarcerated mothers has more than doubled from 29,500 in 1991 to 65,600 in 2007. In 2007,1.7 million children had a parent in prison.
"The increasing imprisonment of women means that more mothers are being incarcerated than ever before and more children are suffering the negative consequences," says Criminal Justice Professor Barbara Bloom.
Bloom is co-author of "Why Punish the Children? The Reappraisal of the Children of Incarcerated Mothers in America" and a national expert on women's issues in the criminal justice system.
Bloom served on the Governor's Rehabilitation Strike Team, working to address the state's crisis in prison overcrowding.Her work on gender-responsive strategies for women will no doubt be the foundation for all future work in this area, colleagues say.
Bloom reports that a significant number of women prisoners do not represent a threat to public safety." The vast majority (68%) are incarcerated for property or drug crimes rather than violent crimes.
Bloom also notes that "many women in prison have histories of physical, sexual, emotional abuse and trauma which are often contributing factors to substance abuse and addiction."
For further information, contact Barbara Bloom, Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies, (707) 664-3928.
The Koret Foundation has awarded a $500,000 capital grant to Sonoma State University for construction of the Donald & Maureen Green Music Center, the university announced today.
The Green Music Center, a $110 million project, joins a long list of premier Bay Area cultural institutions supported by Koret, including San Francisco's new California Academy of Sciences, the M. H. de Young Museum, and the Palace of Fine Arts.
The Sonoma State University grant will be acknowledged with the naming of the Koret Entry Plaza at the Green Music Center.
"In the San Francisco Bay Area, Koret adds to the region's vitality in part by contributing to a diverse cultural landscape," said Koret Board President Tad Taube. "A cultural gem like the Green Music Center helps vitalize the local economy, and so is a particularly important project during these challenging economic times."
The Green Music Center will comprise several buildings,including a centerpiece 1,400-seat concert hall; a 250-seat recital hall (named Schroeder's Recital Hall by the wife of the late cartoonist Charles Schulz); a music education hall; and a hospitality suite/executive conference center.
Expected to be one of the best concert venues in the world, the GMC was designed by William Rawn, architect for Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Massachusetts, which the Boston Symphony Orchestra calls home.
Ozawa Hall's acoustician Larry Kirkegaard was hired to ensure that the acoustics of the GMC match the level of excellence of Ozawa and other outstanding concert halls throughout the world.
"The San Francisco Opera applauds Sonoma State and its community for building a concert facility of the quality of the Green Music Center. We hope to have the opportunity to perform in this wonderful venue," said San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley.
Long recognized for its acclaimed world-class music hall, the remarkable classical and popular music contributions of the 81-year-old Santa Rosa Symphony, and its local musical community achievements, the Green Music Center will add to Sonoma County's reputation as a North Bay destination for music lovers.
"I have been fortunate to have performed in many of the greatest concert halls in the world, and I can say that the sound quality in the Green Music Center is the equal of such world-class venues as Boston Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.
The Green Center will offer the listener a connection to the performance which will only enhance the experience. The North Bay will soon have a musical voice heard throughout the world," says John Engelkes, a trombonist with the San Francisco Symphony.
The university expects a positive economic impact on tourism, as fans who visit the GMC will then enjoy hotels, restaurants,and wineries in Sonoma County. San Francisco's proximity, with its flourishing arts and cultural scenes, makes the new music center at Sonoma State University a perfect destination for weekend or evening events.
"This significant grant from the Koret Foundation has come at a critical juncture in our ongoing fundraising efforts. We have $16.9 million remaining to raise, and Koret's show of support for the Green Music Center will encourage our other community partners to participate in this vital project for the region," said Dr. Ruben Arminana, Sonoma State University President.
There are several Sonoma State University students you won't find lounging on a beach during spring break.
Instead, they will be just outside New Orleans, helping to restore Louisiana families to their homes from April 11-18.
Thirty-five students, including an advisor, will travel to St. Bernard Parish located southeast of New Orleans, to participate in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.
The SSU contingent will work in cooperation with the St. Bernard Project, a non-profit dedicated to bringing St. Bernard residents back to their Louisiana homes and rebuilding the lives of Hurricane Katrina survivors.
This will the third year the campus volunteer service organization called JUMP - Join Us Making Progress - is coordinating the program for Katrina relief.
For more information, contact Alternative Spring Break Coordinators, at (707) 664-4277 or e-mail spring.break@sonoma.edu.
The Fairfield Osborn Preserve offers Saturday hikes through May 16 that offer visitors the opportunity to observe the diverse fauna and flora of the popular nature preserve on Sonoma Mountain operated by Sonoma State University.
The naturalist-led hikes give community members an opportunity to explore the grounds of this unique preserve that is home to many native species, says newly-appointed Preserve Director Claudia Luke.
Tours are appropriate for families, friends and individuals.
Visitors should be able to hike two to four miles over uneven ground. Sturdy shoes, long pants, drinking water and a snack are highly recommended.
General admission is $3. Visitors 12 and younger are admitted free. Hikes are held every Saturday at 10 a.m. There will be no hike on April 18.
The Fairfield Osborn Preserve is located at 6543 Lichau Road in Penngrove.
For more information or directions, call (707) 795-5069 or e-mail fairfield.osborn@sonoma.edu or visit www.sonoma.edu/org/preserve.
ABOVE, Copeland Creek runs through the Preserve.
Research in Action, the fourth annual Graduate Student Research Showcase, will be held on Wednesday, March 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Cooperage.
Following on the success of previous events, the showcase will feature live presentations and poster sessions by master's degree candidates and recent alumni from SSU's outstanding graduate programs.
Dr. Melinda Barnard, Interim Vice Provost, will deliver the opening remarks at 4:25 p.m.
All students, faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided.
For a complete schedule and list of research projects on view that day, visit http://www.sonoma.edu/aa/gs/showcase.shtml.
Members of the Sonoma State University campus community are invited to make their voices heard at three open forums on diversity this month.
SSU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to share their concerns and offer suggestions about developing more diversity on campus.
The forums will be held on Tues., March 24 from 2 to 4 p.m., Weds., March 25 from 3 to 5 p.m. and Thurs., March 26 from noon to 2 p.m in the Multipurpose Room of the Student Union.
The forums are sponsored by the Senate Ad Hoc Diversity Committee, the President Diversity Committee and Associated Students.
For more information, contact Eliza Velasquez at velasqel@sonoma.edu.
Sonoma State's Department of Art and Art History's First Annual Open House will be held from 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 21 in conjunction with Seawolf Day.
The department is eager to welcome community members, art supporters and students, as well as anyone curious about the work being created in the campus art world.
A wide array of special activities will be held throughout the afternoon including guided department tours with students and alumni, as well as student exhibitions.
Studios will be open to observe and speak with artists at work and ceramics students will put on a fashion show.
Art history students will give presentations on their current research and demonstrations in printmaking. Ceramic students offer visitors a first-hand experience with faculty.
The highlight of the open house will be a guided lecture of the exhibition "Migration|Immigration" with Chinese-born artist Hung Lui at 2 p.m. in the Art Gallery with a reception to follow.
For thirty years, Sonoma State's Department of Art and Art History has been the hub of visual art on campus and in Sonoma County.
"As a center of creativity and experimentation the department provides students with the foundation for a lifetime of visual arts study and presence," says Department Chair Stephen Galloway.
"Our majors offer in-depth education in the technique, concept and history of art."
Free parking in Lot A adjacent to the Department is available throughout the event.
Visit the website for additional information on department events throughout the school year.
For more information, contact: Stephen Galloway, Department Chair, www.sonoma.edu/art, (707) 664-3046, or stephen.galloway@sonoma.edu.
The Office of Admissions and Student Recruitment hosts Seawolf Day as an open-house for all freshmen and transfer applicants. Approximately 4,000 visitors are expected to tour the campus on March 21.
ABOVE, painting studio in Art Department will be part of tour on Saturday.
The 2009 Faculty Exposition takes place on Wednesday, March 18 from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. in The Commons. The Expo provides an opportunity for faculty to share the results of their research and scholarly activities with their colleagues, staff, students and the community at large. Wine and refreshments will be served throughout the event.
The faculty and a brief summary of their recent work includes:
ENACT: ENSURING ACCESS THROUGH COLLABORATION & TECHNOLOGY - Emiliano Ayala, ELSE - With support from the U.S. Department of Education, EnACT has established an innovative faculty development program to support students with disabilities in attaining their post-secondary educational goals. Specifically, EnACT provides faculty across eight different California State University (CSU) campuses the skills, support and training necessary to implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education.
TREASURE OF THE REALM - Brantley Bryant, English - This project considers key works of late medieval English literature alongside parliamentary and legal records to show the growth of new ways of thinking about economics in medieval England. It aims to contribute to an understanding of the social force of medieval literature and of the history of society and institutions.
A SCALABLE APPROACH TO MAPPING LAND-USE/ LAND-COVER CHANGE OVER BROAD SPATIAL SCALES: A CASE STUDY IN THE CRY CHACO ECOREGION OF ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA AND PARAGUAY - Matthew Clark, Geography and Global Studies - The Dry Chaco eco-region covers 79,000,000 hectares across southeastern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and western Paraguay and includes large areas of tropical dry forest. Clark analyzes recent land-cover change in this ecoregion using an image classification process based on MODIS satellite imagery and terrain data.
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF PINNIPEDS, SEALS AND SEA LIONS - Dan Crocker, Biology - These studies provide animal-acquired oceanographic data in areas for which satellite and ship-based technologies are limited. National Science Foundation funded studies investigate the metabolic physiology associated with fasting adaptation.
IS THE DEATH PENALTY A DETERRENT TO MURDER?- Steven Cueller, Economics - Using murder statistics for the US by state over time and combining this data set with economic and demographic data from the Current Population Survey, Cueller intends to provide a rigorous analysis of the death penalty's affect on the murder rate.
CONSEQUENCES OF LEOPARD PREDATION ON WILD VERVET MONKEYS - Karin Enstam Jaffe, Anthropology - Jaffe describes changes in ranging and social behavior of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) after group fusion induced by population decline.
SYNTHESIS OF PYRAZOLE CONTAINING AROMATIC HETEROCYCLES - Steven Farmer, Chemistry - It was discovered long ago that 2-methylaniline formed indazole in very low yield when diazotized in acetic acid. The unexpected conversion of isoquinoline into pyrazoloisoquinoline suggests that this method could be more versatile than previously thought. The present project explores the scope of this reaction.
PALEOENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM ESTUARINE SEDIMENT CODES, COASTAL ECUADOR - Dolly Friedel, Geography/ Global Studies - This research sought evidence of variations in climate and vegetation during the Preceramic and Formative periods on the Pacific Coast of Ecuador. Sediment sequences suggest a gradual rise in sea level in the earlier deposits, followed by rapid deposition during the mid-Holocene in some localities, and slow infilling of estuaries.
BOLLYWOOD AND PLATO'S CAVE - Ajay Gehlawat, Hutchins School of Liberal Arts - Gehlawat's research reconsiders the role of cinema, specifically, Bollywood cinema, as a supplement to the process of enlightenment. Whereas the typical approach, whether in classical film theory or Indian cultural studies, likens film viewers to the chained prisoners in Plato’s cave – and thus the film-as-shadow to "delusion" – his aim is to demonstrate how the Bollywood film experience comes closer to that of the prisoner who is thrust out of the cave, thus recognizing the integral role the Bollywood film can play in the process of "reorientation," itself a first step to enlightenment.
THE SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE - Robert Girling, Business Administration - The Sustainable Enterprise Conference was initiated by Professors Robert Girling and Art Warmoth in 2006 in order to provide an avenue for SSU involvement in generating change in the business environment via a community-business-education partnership. Now in its fourth year the project has become an annual conference showcasing how business can become more sustainable. It has also incorporated a cadre of student volunteers and interns from SSU and working with business leaders from the community to learn valuable skills in business and community organizing.
STUDENT REACTIONS TO CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS OF RACISM AND BIAS: STIGMA CONSCIOUSNESS AND TOKENISM - Diana Grant, Criminology and Criminal Studies - How do students react to classroom discussions of topics such as racial profiling by law enforcement and hate crimes? Given extant research on stigma consciousness and stereotype threat, how do such discussions affect students from underrepresented groups, in comparison with students from 'majority' groups? How does the demographic composition of the classroom influence the experiences of students in courses that address racism and other biases?
ROMANI SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH PERFORMANCE AND VISUAL ART - Michaela Grobbel, Modern Language and Literature - Grobbel explores Romani artistic self-expression, including a Romani filmed musical "Gipsy Style: Alles andere als... Schnitzel" (2006), an exhibit of paintings by the Romani artist and writer Ceija Stojka and the Romani music ensemble, Ru_a Nikolic-Lakatos and her family.
RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RTI) PROCESS - Jennifer Mahdavi, ELSE - One key component of the Response to Intervention (RTI) process is collaboration among special and general education teachers. To examine the role that social validity and acceptability of the RTI process play in increasing professional collaboration, which in turn affects implementation fidelity, increases positive student outcomes, and sustains collaboration among educators, surveys were administered to teachers and administrators over a three year period. Results of these surveys were analyzed along with student outcome data to evaluate RTI models in 4 schools. The unique experiences of each school are discussed as a way to inform development of future models.
"LOS ENGANO DE UN ENGANOS" BY AGUSTIN MORETO- MANUSCRIPT REVSION - Tania de Miguel Magro - In the summer of 2008, de Miguel Magro reviewed and finished a manuscript for an edition of Los enga§os de un enga§o by Agust°n Moreto, one of the main Spanish playwrights of the seventeenth century.
QUANTIFYING THE AMOUNT OF THINNING A ZONE OF TRANSPRESSIONAL SHEARING: A KINETIC ANALYSIS OF A SECTION OF THE ROSY FINCH SHEAR ZONE - Matty Mookerjee, Geology - The Rosy Finch Shear Zone (RFSZ) is a zone of transpressional shearing belonging to the Sierra Crest Shear Zone extending along the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The RFSZ trends roughly NNW and is approximately 3.5 km wide. Foliation in the RFSZ is NNW-trending and sub-vertical, with a dip, dip direction of 78, 241. The orientation of the mineral stretching lineations have a bimodal distribution, with the stronger of the two trending and plunging at 156, 60 and the weaker at 295, 71.
THE WISHING YEAR - Noelle Oxenhandler, English - In her recently released memoir, The Wishing Year: A House, A Man, My Soul (Random House:2008) Noelle Oxenhandler explores the history and meaning of wishing. The book is a chronicle of her own year-long attempt to set aside her doubts and launch a year's "experiment in desire." It is simultaneously the exploration of wishing as a very ancient human practice.
ARCHAEOLOGY OF HEINLENVILLE-NIHONMACHI, SAN JOSE - Adrian Pratzellis, Anthropology - Before it is destroyed by imminent development, the Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) is excavating the site of San Jose, California's historic Chinese and Japanese settlement. Located in the city's predominantly Asian-American Japantown district, the five-acre site of Heinlenville-Nihonmachi was occupied from the 1880s through the 1930s.
SAFE HARBOR? CULTURAL PLURALISM AND CONTEXTED LANDSCAPES IN A HISTORICAL FIJIAN PORT-O-CALL - Margie Purser, Anthropology - The cultural landscape of Levuka, Fiji demonstrates the complex development history of one 19th century Pacific port of call in the context of later British colonialism.
SSU ENTOMOLOGY OUTREACH PROGRAM - Nathan Rank, Biology - Sonoma State University possesses biological collections of plants, vertebrates, insects, and other organisms. It uses these collections regularly in courses, but has recently begun to use them in community-based education and outreach programs. Currently, SSU is bringing informational materials and insect specimens to elementary school children at public events and classrooms.
RESEARCH IN ALGORITHMS AND HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACE - Bala Ravikumar, Engineering Science - Ravikumar presents recent research work in the following areas: (a) pen-based computing, (b) algorithm design and analysis and (c) data mining.
BLACK-BOX POWER MODELS FOR COMPUTER SYSTEMS - Suzanne Rivoire, Computer Science - Rivoire looks at maximizing a computer's energy efficiency during use by understanding the relationship between usage patterns and power consumption. Her modeling infrastructure allows computer operators to create and apply models of system-level power consumption based on commonly available software metrics for resource utilization These models provide accurate estimates of the power consumed by a wide variety of computer systems.
MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE & KING MOHAMED VI OF MOROCCO - Jennifer Roberson, Art & Art History - Roberson studied contemporary mosque architecture in Morocco, examining the legacy of King Hassan II's architectural program which included buildings such as his Hassan II Mosque (1986-93) in Casablanca. In particular, she considers the extent to which Hassan II's notions of a Moroccan identity have remained evident under his son, King Mohamed VI.
ADAPTIVE OPTICS AT SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY - Scott Severson, Physics & Astronomy - The science of measuring optical distortions and correcting them in real-time is called "Adaptive Optics". The Adaptive Optics Laboratory in the Department of Physics and Astronomy is home to experiments in the sensing and correcting of these distortions. Recent work has included the use of these "wavefront sensing" techniques to monitor the Earth's atmosphere during astronomical observations. This is, in essence, measuring the "twinkling" of stars.
NANOMETER SCALES POROUS ALUMINUM OXIDE TEMPLATES - Hongtao Shi, Physics & Astronomy - Ordered nanometer scaled materials, such as porous aluminum oxide, have attracted much attention recently due to their potential applications in microelectronics and data recording industry. In this work, Shi reports how electrochemical reaction to fabricate nanometer scaled porous aluminum oxide templates (1 nm = 10-9 m) are used.
GROUP INJUCTIVE NORMS AND MEMBER PROTOTYPICALITY INFLUENCE INTENTIONS TO DRINK ALCOHOL - Heather Smith, Psychology - Given that most undergraduate students overestimate how much their peers drink alcohol, if they learn the true norm, they, in turn, should drink less. However, interventions based on a "social norm" approach have mixed success. Smith presents data from an experimental investigation of sorority members' drinking attitudes and intentions that suggest when social norm interventions could be more effective.
ACTIVITY OF A PH NEUTRAL SUPER_OXIDIZED SOLUTION AGAINST BACTERIA SELECTED FOR A SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE RESISTANCE - Eileen Thatcher, Biology - Due to use of chlorine compounds for water and surface disinfection, it is easy to isolate bacteria with resistance to these compounds. This study's purpose was to examine the activity of a pH neutral super-oxidized solution (SOS), Microcyn(tm), against bacteria selected for high resistance to domestic bleach containing sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl).
WHAT DO TEACHERS DO WHEN THEY HAVE PRESCHOOL AGE CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS? - Elisa Velasquez-Andrade, Psychology - This research examines the strategies used by child care providers to help preschool age children with identified behavioral and emotional problems. Teachers were very resourceful and acknowledged that the solution to a child's behavioral problem resided at multiple levels, including their personal characteristics and interactions with the child.
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of a telescope to view the skies, Sonoma State University is joining a worldwide event consisting of a wide range of public outreach activities.
The event - dubbed "100 Hours of Astronomy" - takes place around the world from April 2-5. Included will be live science center events, research observatory web casts and sidewalk astronomy events. SSU's participation in the international outreach effort will include two lectures, and a Public Viewing Night at the SSU Observatory.
In addition, SSU's NASA-funded robotic observatory will be the star of part of the "100 Hours" activities taking place on April 2 at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
One of the key goals of "100 Hours of Astronomy" is to have as many people as possible look through a telescope as Galileo did for the first time 400 years ago.
The "100 Hours" is part of the year-long celebration of the "International Year of Astronomy" (IYA) honoring Galileo's contributions. As part of the celebration, SSU will also host "From Earth to the Universe" - a display of magnificent large-scale astronomical images - on campus from March 21-April 6.
Award-winning UC Berkeley Professor Alex Filippenko presents a free public lecture entitled "Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe" on Saturday, April 4 at 4 p.m. in Warren Auditorium.
Professor Filippenko is the 2004 recipient of the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization, as well as being named the 2006 US Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
He is known for his dynamic lectures, as well as his contributions to the discovery of dark energy, a mysterious force which is accelerating of the expansion of the Universe.
"From Earth to the Universe" (FETTU) is a worldwide exhibit designed to bring the undeniable beauty of astronomy to the general public throughout the world.
The San Francisco Bay Area FETTU exhibits are sponsored by the Lunar Science Institute at the NASA Ames Research Center and SSU's Education and Public Outreach group, under the direction of Professor Lynn Cominsky, Chair of the Physics and Astronomy department.
"We are just thrilled to be able to bring FETTU to the North Bay, and hope that the community will be able to see these amazing images while they are here on campus" says Cominsky.
With images taken from both ground and space-based telescopes, FETTU showcases the incredible variety of astronomical objects that are known to exist: planets, comets, stars, nebulae, galaxies, clusters, and more.
With short but informative captions on each panel, (in both English and Spanish) the goal is to introduce some basics of the science once an individual has been drawn to the image.
FETTU will debut on the SSU campus on Seawolf Day, Saturday, March 21, when thousands of prospective SSU students and their parents will be visiting. Afterwards, the FETTU images will be on display in either the Darwin Hall Lobby or in the Schulz Library.
Other special events at SSU for the International Year of Astronomy include:
Dr. Lynn Cominsky's "What Physicists Do" lecture will explain new results from the most sensitive gamma-ray telescope ever flown, "Exploring the Extreme Universe with Fermi" on Mon., March 23 at 4 p.m. in Darwin 103.
On Thursday, April 2 from 6-10 p.m, Dr. Kevin McLin of the SSU Education and Public Outreach Group will operate GORT, SSU's NASA-funded robotic telescope.
GORT is generally used to take images in support of NASA's Fermi, Swift and XMM-Newton missions, but as part of the "100 Hours" outreach event, the telescope will be showcased for the public, with remote observing from the California Academy of Sciences, located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
Additional telescopes will be available outside the Academy for viewing the Moon and Saturn. GORT's sensitive CCD detector and dark sky location will enable it to view much fainter deep sky objects and display them on a computer screen.
As part of the "100 Hours of Astronomy" there is a free public viewing night at the Sonoma State University Observatory, on Friday, April 3 from 9 to 11 p.m.
The public is welcome to join professional and amateur astronomers as they observe Saturn and the Moon, as part of a worldwide event. This special viewing night was timed to align with the Moon shifting from its new moon to gibbous phase, the ideal time for early evening observations.
As part of the long and distinguished public colloquium series, "What Physicists Do," Dr. Jodi Cooley of Stanford University lectures on the mysterious dark matter in the universe. Her lecture is entitled "Whispers in the Dark" and takes place Monday, April 6 at 4 p.m. in Darwin 103.
For more information on FETTU, visit http://www.fromearthtotheuniverse.org.
For more information on the International Year of Astronomy, visit http://astronomy2009.us
DIGITAL IMAGES RELATED TO "100 HOURS OF ASTRONOMY" ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
TOP, The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope will open the high-energy world of space to exploration.
MIDDLE, Eagle Nebula.
BOTTOM, SSU physics and astronomy professor Lynn Cominsky.
Leonardo da Vinci, viewed by many as the greatest creative genius of Western history, comes to life in Rob Weiner's multimedia performance, Leonardo Live, at 7 p.m. on Mar. 26 in Ives Hall, Warren Auditorium.
As entertaining as it is informative, this play brings the audience back to Renaissance Italy and reveals the struggles and joys of the man who created two of the most famous paintings of Western history, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, as well as countless inventions, like the helicopter, ball bearings, birds-eye view maps, anatomical drawing, and the telescope.
Following the play, the author will be available to discuss Leonardo for those interested.
Rob Weiner is a writer, teacher, and performer. He holds degrees from Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Yale, and the University of Cologne. He teaches at Sonoma State University in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies and has also taught at Saint Mary's College and John F. Kennedy University.
He is author of several works, including Creativity and Beyond: Cultures, Values, and Change. He has performed Leonardo Live, for the past several years at universities, community centers, and museums.
Performance is about 1-1/2 hours (including a brief intermission) and is open to public for free with a request for donations to the SSU Student Scholarship Fund.
For further information, video clips and photos, visit leonardo-live.com.
Above, Weiner as Leonardo Da Vinci
Professor Laura A. Watt's extraordinary and sensitive images of water will be featured on KQED's QUEST science and nature television program at 7:30 p.m. on March 17 on Channel 9.
Watt, a Professor of Environmental Studies and Planning, will be featured as part of the ongoing series of shorts, "YPOQ: Your Photos on QUEST," that is broadcast
alongside feature stories.
Watt's photographs, taken with a variety of cameras, including digital, medium format and Polaroid, at locations all over the Bay Area, explore water in its many forms. Watt lives on a boat at the Loch Lomond Marina and her close-up perspective on the Bay helped inspire the series of water images.
"I live on the water and spend as much time as possible out on it, and have become fascinated with photographing its changing colors and patterns and textures -- both out on the bay and wherever else I might find this precious substance," she wrote on her Flickr group where she shares her work with friends and fans.
"Considering the number and magnitude of complex water-related controversies facing our state, I believe this set of images reveals how deeply at the core of our lives water is, how it affects everything around us," Watt writes of her photographs.
To view Watt's series of 40 water images, visit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawatt/sets/72157611025942652/.
For details on the KQED QUEST feature on Watt's photographer, visit
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kqedquest/discuss/72157611572627862/.
For more information on Laura Watt, visit
http://www.sonoma.edu/ensp/faculty/laura_watt.html.
She can be reached at her SSU office at (707) 664-2722.
High-resolution versions of the photos are available upon request.
Professor Watt's slide show from the QUEST program can now be viewed at:
A lasting memorial to the Holocaust and genocides in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America will be dedicated on the campus from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, March 29 near the campus lakes area.
A reception at the Commons follows. The lakeside program is open and free to the public.
Rwandan United Nations Ambassador Prof. Joseph Nsengimana is the keynote speaker at the lakeside ceremony and unveiling of an original sculpture of glass and steel designed and constructed by Prof. Jann Nunn, associate professor of sculpture at SSU.
Other speakers include representatives from ethnic and national groups victimized by genocide including Native Americans, Armenians, Jews, Cambodians and Darfurians of the western region of the Sudan.
The sculpture, a three-year-old project entitled the Erna and Arthur Salm Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove, is intended to remember past and present genocides and serve as a re-dedication of world commitments to prevent future crimes against humanity.
The monument will carry the personal remembrances of survivors of the Holocaust and genocides as well as the relatives and friends of the dead on some 460 laser inscribed bricks that are part of the sculpture foundation.
The memorial bricks have been purchased from people throughout the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, North Carolina and Nebraska, Ontario, Canada, and other areas of the United States.
The sculpture will become a permanent installation at the edge of a lake in Alumni Grove on the northeast side of the campus.
The project is sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide and School of Social Sciences at SSU, the Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust of Sonoma County, and private citizens. No public money was used to finance the approximate $100,000 project.
The sculpture design consists of two 40-ft long railroad tracks emerging from a gentle grassy rise, crossing a foot path, and narrowing to a width of six inches where the rails disappear into a black granite pedestal and foundation of a 10-ft tall, clear glass tower.
The tower, a cylinder fabricated from 5,000 pieces of glass, will be illuminated from dusk to dawn, by sunlight during the day and artificial internal lights at night.
On the granite base is engraved the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
"The narrowing distances between the tracks and the convergence into the lighted tower represent the hope that as civilization progresses and we learn from past errors there will be fewer incidents of genocide and holocaust," said Nunn.
Other speakers will include:
- Prof. Brenda Flyswithhawks, Santa Rosa Junior College and a member of the Bird Clan (Cherokee) Tsalagi Nation
- Archpriest Fr. Sarkis Petoyan; Very Rev. Fr. Baret Dz. V. Yeretsian and Very Rev. Barthev Gulumian, representing the Western Diocese of Armenian Church of North America
- Rabbi George Schleshinger, Beth Ami, Santa Rosa
- Venerable Masarin Visothea, Cambodian Buddhist Temple, Santa Rosa
- Jerry Fowler, Save Darfur Coalition, Washington, D.C.
The program begins with welcomings by Prof. Elaine Leeder, Dean, School of Social Sciences, and SSU President Ruben Arminana. It also includes Native American singers and drummers, Yiddish music, Cambodian classical dancers, and a Rwandan dance group.
The sculpture was designed and constructed by Nunn. She was assisted by students of the SSU art department and organizers. It is being funded by private contributions, in-kind donations of materials and services from Sonoma County area businesses, and funds raised from the sale of memorial bricks that will make up the railroad-tie base of the iron tracks and on which personal statements on the Holocaust and genocide are inscribed.
The project has been spearheaded by Leeder and David Salm, a Sonoma County businessman and leading financial supporter, who together conceived the idea for the memorial three years ago and enlisted the enthusiasm of the sculptor Nunn.
Leeder brings two perspectives to the project.
As Dean of the School of Social Sciences, she said the Memorial Grove will be an important addition to the landscape of the university which for 25 years has been home to the Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide.
From a personal standpoint, Leeder said Nunn's art will stand as a monument to members of her own family - a grandmother, aunt, uncle on her father's side and dozens of relatives from her mother's - who were victims of the Holocaust.
"I've been a survivor's daughter my entire life. This is probably my lasting memorial to the victims," said Leeder, a former visiting scholar at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Project activist David Salm, whose parents fled Nazi Germany shortly after the Nazi attacks against Jews in November 1938 - Kristallnacht - and whose father was imprisoned at Dachau for four weeks, hopes the project will both commemorate the past and cause people to be more aware of genocides still occurring today.
Although the Memorial Grove sculpture's railroad tracks cross the foot path along the lake, it is installed in such a way that passersby may not realize they are in the presence of a monument to millions of victims of genocide.
"We do that everyday, walking over present and past atrocities as they occur throughout the world. We still go on, puttering along with our normal lives," he said.
Memorial bricks are still available for purchase. The bricks come in two sizes. A 4 x 6 inch brick, which costs $100, provides purchasers with three lines of text. An 8 x 8 inch brick, at $250, provides six lines of text.
A short video on the project is available online at http://www.sonoma.edu/socsci. To find out how to purchase a memorial brick, contact Sophia LaRosa, sophia.larosa@sonoma.edu, (707) 664-3221.
TOP, Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove sculpture by Jann Nunn, pictured above right.
Julian Bond, a leader in the modern American civil rights movement, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 20 in the Evert B. Person Auditorium on the topic of "The Road to Freedom: From Alabama to Obama."
A first-hand eyewitness to many watershed moments in the history of the Civil Rights Movement, Bond speaks on the centuries-long struggle of African-Americans for equality.
From his student days to his current chairmanship of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Bond has been an active participant in the movements for civil rights and economic justice.
As an activist who has faced jail for his convictions, a veteran of more than 20 years service in the Georgia General Assembly, a university professor and a writer, he has been on the cutting edge of social change since 1960.
The event is part of the Andrea Neves/Barton Evans Social Justice Lecture Series in conjunction with the and the Center for Culture, Gender and Sexuality Heritage Lecture Series.
There will also be an open forum for faculty and students to meet with Bond in an informal conversation and Q&A session from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Schulz 3001.
This special evening is free for Sonoma State University students, staff and faculty and $10 for the general public. Group rates are available. For more information or tickets, call (707) 664-2382.
Lectures
IMAGING WITH X-RAY LASERS - Dr. Stefano Marchesini, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, describes how novel x-ray sources will be used for high resolution three dimensional tomographic imaging required for developing nanoscience and nanotechnology. What Physicists Do Lecture Series. 4 p.m. Mon., March 9. Reception, 3:30 p.m. Darwin 103. http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/wpd/.
ONLY SIX DEGREES? SEXUAL NETWORKS AND HIV PREVENTION IN QUEER MALE COMMUNITIES - Scholar-activist Kyriell Noon (left), Executive Director of STOP AIDS Project, describes how even in major metropolitan areas, queer men are more closely connected to each other through sexual networks than previously thought. Working these networks to guide HIV prevention allows agencies to support existing friend groups, maximize community assets, and shape healthy community norms. Women's Health Lecture Series. Noon-12:50 p.m., Tues., March 10. Carson 68. http://www.sonoma.edu/WomenStudies/current_lectures.htm.
PANDEMIC FLU - Dr. Mark Netherda, Sonoma County Dept. of Health Services, examines the danger of a flu pandemic. Biology Colloquium Lecture Series. Noon to 1 p.m. Tues., March 10. Darwin 103. http://www.sonoma.edu/biology/home/colloquium.shtml.
SAFE HARBOR? CULTURAL PLURALISM AND A CONTESTED LANDSCAPES IN A HISTORICAL FIJIAN PORT-O-CALL - Anthropology professor Margie Purser explores the cultural landscape of Levuka, Fiji, a port town that demonstrates the complex development history of one 19th century Pacific port of call in the context of later British colonialism. School of Social Sciences Brown Bag Series. Noon to 1 p.m., Tues., March 10. Stevenson 2011. http://www.sonoma.edu/socsci/.
BREAKING THE SILENCE: A HOLOCAUST CHILDHOOD - Author Paul A. Schwarzbart (left) presents a lecture on the years of his childhood spent in hiding at a Catholic boys school. 26th annual Holocaust and Genocide Lecture Series. 4 p.m. - 5:40 p.m., Tues., March 10. Warren Auditorium, Ives 101. http://www.sonoma.edu/holocaust/center.htm.
WHY CERTAIN INTEGRALS ARE "IMPOSSIBLE" - Pete Goetz, California State University Humboldt, explains why certain integrals are "impossible." The proofs rely on a 19th century theorem due to Liouville, and can be phrased in the language of differential Galois theory. M*A*T*H* Colloquium Lecture Series. 4 p.m., Wed., March 11. Reception, 3:45 p.m. Darwin 103. http://www.sonoma.edu/math/nsf/colloquium.shtml.
PI DAY - SSU's Math Club holds its once-a-year tribute to the number Pi by with a pie-throwing fundraiser. The club provides an opportunity for participants to throw pies at the math faculty. For $1, students can throw a pie at a faculty member. For $5, students can walk up and smash the pie directly onto their target. A video from last years Pi Day fundraiser can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dtw-IDBfh8. Noon, Thurs., March 12, outside the west entrance to Darwin Hall.
"'BELOVED COMMUNITY IN THE TECHNOLOGICAL AGE" - Kim Hester-Williams, chair of the English Department, explores "Oprah, Obama, and the Popularization of 21st Century African American Expressive Iconography." She suggests that arguing that possessing expressive "blackness" through language, media, and music seems to suggest an unremitting belief that African-American expressive discourses can save a spiritually deprived, alienated, and tenuous "technological age." Arts and Humanities Forum. Noon, Thursday, Mar. 12. Schulz 3001. (707) 664-2146 or http://www.sonoma.edu/a_h/AHForum.htm.
RUBY: AN INTRODUCTION - Ytha Y. Yu, California State University East Bay, offers a quick tour of Ruby, an interpreted object oriented programming language that has become popular recently. The Ruby on Rails framework is designed for fast and easy development of websites. Computer Science Colloquium Lecture Series. Noon, Thurs., March 12. Salazar 2016. http://www.cs.sonoma.edu/cs_dept/events/index.html.
"AIR: THE ANTIDOTE TO NATURE DEFICIT " - Rocky Rohwedder, Professor of Environmental Studies and Planning, leads a panel discussions on the increasingly important role of experiential, outdoor and community-based approaches to teaching and learning to offset the injury done to the human body by excessive exposure to electronic devices, especially among young people. Rohwedder calls this "nature deficit" and the first step is fresh air. Panelists include Ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison and Craig Anderson, Executive Director of Landpaths, experts who work to connect students with outdoor classrooms. Six Elements of Sustainability Lecture Series. 4 - 6 p.m. Thurs., March 12. Environmental Technology Center. Rocky Rohwedder, (707) 664-2249.
THE DEEPENING ECONOMIC CRISIS: CAUSES, EFFECTS, SOLUTIONS - Richard Becker, the Western Regional Coordinator for the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition, explores the "real causes of the present recession" - the housing bubble, the deliberate inflation of housing prices and loans, and wild speculation - and more long-term underlying problems. He will address how millions of people are being negatively affected and what needs to be done to help the growing numbers of people who are being harshly affected by the crisis. $5 optional donation at the door accepted for expenses. Students and low-income guests admitted free. Project Censored, Students for Media Democracy, and Media Freedom Foundation.7 p.m. Thurs., March 12. Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center. Peter Phillips. (707) 664-2588.
MARY LIGHTFINE: NURSE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES - Mary Lightfine, author of "Nurses, Nomads and Warlords," founder of Nurses Without Boundaries and a seasoned veteran of the Nobel Prize-winning organization Doctors Without Borders, presents an inspiring multimedia presentation that illustrates how one person can make a difference in the world. Lightfine has felt the inhumanity of war, starvation and desperation from an up close and has lived among dozens of the world's most fascinating cultures in Countries like Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan. She will be speaking about all that she has encountered on her journeys, encouraging a new generation of leaders who intend to make a difference in the world around them. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., March 12. Cooperage. (707) 664-2382. http://www.sonoma.edu/as/asp/more/0312730.shtml.
THE TYRANNY OF OIL: THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL INDUSTRY-- AND WHAT WE MUST DO TO STOP IT - Antonia Juhasz discusses her new book, "The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry- And What We Must Do to Stop It" and "What Now" for U.S. oil and energy policy with the new Obama administration. Modern Media Censorship Lecture. 7 p.m., Fri., March 13. Stevenson 1002. (707) 664-3160. simsk@sonoma.edu.
STAND-UP COMEDY WITH MARGARET FRANCE - Maragaret France draws on her experiences as teh smart, saucy, lesbian next door. She has become a variety show until herself by including costumes, singing and dancing into her act. Fri., March 13, 8 p.m. The Pub. http://www.sonoma.edu/as/asp.
PUBLIC VIEWING NIGHT - Join amateur and professional astronomers to observe the Orion Nebula and the Beehive Cluster. 8 - 10 p.m. Friday, March 13. The Observatory is located inside the stadium area at the southeast corner of the campus. Call before coming if it appears possible that clouds or fog may force cancellation. (707) 664-2267. http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/observatory/pvn.html.
Films
SILENT COMEDIES: CHAPLIN, KEATON AND LANGDON! - A selection of three silent comedies featuring Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon. A DOG'S LIFE - (left) Regarded by many as Charles Chaplin's first masterpiece, the Little Tramp rescues a mutt from a dogfight. (1918, 40 min., silent). THE GOAT - A mistaken-identity crisis precipitates an almost continuous - and continuously brilliant - chase through two adjoining towns where Buster Keaton is taken for Dead Eye Dan, Public Enemy. (1921, 23 min., silent). THREE'S A CROWD - Rarely shown film by the baby-faced silent clown Harry Langdon. This sentimental comedy that finds Langdon caring for a young woman and her child lost in a snowstorm. (1927, 60 min., silent) Screenings on Thurs., March 12 at 7 p.m. in Darwin 103 and Fri., March 13 at 7 p.m. and Sun., March 15 at 4 p.m. Warren Auditorium, Ives 101. (707) 664-2606, http://www.sonoma.edu/sfi/contact.html.
NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST - (2008) (right) A comedy about two people thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living and live, loud music. Scene It Big Screen Movie Night. 9 p.m., Sat., March 14. Cooperage. (707) 664-2804.
Galleries
HIDDEN TREASURES: SELECTIONS FROM THE SSU ART GALLERY PERMANENT COLLECTION - Many of the 16 artists shown are household names - Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky; others are names known to those more familiar with 20th century art history - Dubuffet, Appel, Bellmer; and many others are renowned Bay Area artists - Morehouse, De Forest, Linhares. These works have come to the SSU Art Gallery from generous donors - some who have been collectors their whole lives, some who have donated one piece, all of whom believe in public education and access to art. The University Library Art Gallery is open Monday-Friday, 8 am - 5 pm; weekends, noon-5 p.m. Through Fri., March 13. Karen Brodsky, (707) 664-4240.
CONTEMPORARY WARRIOR: SCULPTURE BY WANXIN ZHANG - With a collection of clay figures intended as a reference to the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, whose mausoleum was discovered through four pits excavated starting in 1974, Zhang explores his own inner warrior and represents the world he sees through an artistic kaleidoscope. On view until Sun., March 22. Tues.- Fri., 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.; weekends, noon- 4 p.m. University Art Gallery. Carla Stone. (707) 664-2295.
MIGRATION IMMIGRATION: HUNG LIU - Born in China, Oakland painter Hung Liu combines Western and Chinese traditions to create larger-than-life images that often make use of anonymous Chinese historical photographs, particularly those of women, as subject matter. Many of her paintings and prints incorporate imagery from photographs taken during China's Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s. Thurs., Feb 26 through Sun., March 22. Tues.- Fri., 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.; weekends, noon- 4 p.m. University Art Gallery. Carla Stone. (707) 664-2295.
Low cost physical examinations and health appraisals for well adults and children will be available on Wednesdays at the Family Nurse Practitioner Health Maintenance Center from March 18 -May 20.
The exams are supervised by Nursing Faculty and performed by Family Nurse Practitioner students who are registered nurses enrolled in the Master's nursing program.
Services include a complete medical and health history, identification of health risk factors, complete physical examinations and screening tests such as blood pressure checks, vision testing, audiology testing, urinalysis, hematocrit (for anemia),cholesterol testing, and Pap smears for cervical cancer. These services can be utilized for annual exams, sports physicals, pre-employment physicals, camp physicals and Class II DMV licensing physicals.
Appointments are available only to Sonoma County Residents.
The cost of a physical examination is $30, Pap test $45, cholesterol check $25, hearing tests are free and a DMV physical examination is $60. Copies of records are given to clients upon request as well as mailed to private physicians or agencies.
Appointments may be made by calling SSU's Nursing Department at (707) 664-2466, Monday through Friday,8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If virtual reality is the problem, Dr. Rocky Rohwedder (left), professor of Environmental Studies and Planning, has the antidote: fresh air.
On Thurs., March 12, 4 - 6 p.m., Rohwedder, Professor of Environmental Studies and Planning, leads of a discussion about the importance of getting students away from computer and television screens and back outside to fresh air.
He will explore the increasingly important role of experiential, outdoor and community based approaches to teaching and learning. The lecture and panel will be held in the Environmental Technology Center (located at the northwest corner of campus).
While studies have shown solid links between excessive media use, and obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the same studies have indicated that when children explore, learn and play outside in nature, these
conditions and disorders subside.
In the panel discussion, Rohwedder will be joined by Kathleen Harrison, ethnobotanist, and Craig Anderson, Executive Director of Landpaths, experts who work to connect students with outdoor classrooms.
This is the fifth lecture in The Six Elements of Sustainability series, a series of lectures and panels inspired by Belgian surrealist Magritte's painting "The Six Elements."
Women's Herstory Month is celebrated at Sonoma State in March with an insightful selection of lectures by guest speakers Mary Lightfine and Daisy Hernandez, for a dialogue about the past and continued contributions of women in society.
As a "Nurse Without Boundaries," Mary Lightfine (left) has traveled all throughout the world, helping to save lives in war zones and developing countries. On Thurs., March 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cooperage, through her inspiring multimedia presentation, she will share the humor and tragedy of her journeys and demonstrate how one person can make a difference in the world.
Daisy Hernandez, renowned author, journalist and co-editor of Color Lines, a national journal on race and politics, will explore what racism, sexism, and bigotry mean to young Americans in the "post-civil rights" era. Hernandez believes that the idea of a "post-racial" America is a misconception and strives to shed light on racism and bigotry in modern life. She will be speaking in the Cooperage on Weds., March 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Other Women's Herstory Month events will include a Historical Women's Poetry reading with Kerbrina Boyd. On Tues., March 24 at 7 p.m. in the Pub, she will explore the history of several famous poems and their African American women authors. Also in the Pub, on Fri., March 13 at 8 p.m., comedian Margaret France will bring her saucy, lesbian brand of humor to SSU with a variety show that includes costumes, dancing and free pizza.
