Category Archives: Students

Goldfish Owned by Illinois Wesleyan Student Makes a Splash

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University sophomore Stephanie Nudelman’s family was surprised when they received a letter a few months ago. The letter, urging the recipient to register to vote, was addressed to her deceased goldfish: Princess Nudelman the Second. The family had no idea of the national attention that letter would draw.

The letter came from Women’s Voices Women Vote, hoping to convince Princess Nudelman to register so she could vote in the upcoming presidential election. The Nudelmans assumed their dearly departed goldfish’s name landed on their list because they had put a second phone line under their pet’s name to avoid spam e-mails and junk mail.

“When we got the forms this summer, my mom and I thought it was really funny,” said Stephanie Nudelman. “So we sent a Post-It to the county clerk’s office saying, ‘We regret to inform you that Princess Nudelman will not be voting this year because, one, she is dead, and, two, she is a goldfish. Please remove her from your mailing list.’ We thought that would be the end of it.”

Local news organizations broke the goldfish tale, and the yarn was spun by The Associated Press which declared, “Princess Nudelman won’t be voting on Nov. 4 because she is dead. And she is a goldfish.” National news media were drawn to the quirky tale, from The Chicago Sun-Times, The New York Times and National Public Radio, to TIME magazine, The Drudge Report, The Huffington Report, FOXNews. Even Saturday Night Live weighed in during their election special. “Weekend Update” co-host Amy Poehler speculated that Princess Nudelman received the registration materials because “she has the world’s most awesome goldfish name.”

The story, however, does not end there. What started months ago as a humorous mistake has turned into a political flashpoint. Lake County Clerk William Helander informed The Associated Press he intends to investigate the incident in conjunction with other instances of voter registration problems. U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) has gone as far as to link the case to “massive voter fraud efforts” in the area, according to reports of a recent town hall meeting.

Biology Student Named Lincoln Laureate

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Sandy Tun, a senior from Spring Valley, Ill., has been selected as Illinois Wesleyan University’s recipient of the 2008 Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate Award. The award recognizes outstanding academic achievement and extracurricular activities among college seniors.

A campus-wide committee directed by Associate Provost Roger Schnaitter selected Tun, a biology major with a pre-medicine concentration, from a pool of qualified Illinois Wesleyan students. Tun has served as a Bromenn Regional Medical Center volunteer in acute rehab, a summer intern with the McLean County Health Department and has participated in the Summer Undergraduate Medical Science Training Program at the University of Iowa and an NSF funded summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in ecology at Bradley University.

Additionally, she has presented her own research results at the Illinois Wesleyan John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference and served as a teaching assistant in courses in Parasitology and Invertebrate Zoology at the University.

Tun’s extracurricular involvements include co-coordinator of the IWU Red Cross Blood Drive and a team leader for ALANA, an IWU multicultural organization. She was awarded the Silas Purnell Minority Scholarship and is a member of Tri-Beta, biology honor society, and Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta, first-year honor societies.

On Oct. 18, Tun attended an awards ceremony in the Old State Capitol in Springfield and a luncheon hosted by Governor Rod Blagojevich in the Executive Mansion, where she received a certificate, medallion and financial stipend from the Lincoln Academy.

The Ames Library Receives Grant To Study How Students Study

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University is one of the recipients of a grant from the Illinois State Library, which has awarded $177,000 to be shared by five Illinois universities to study the research methods of non-traditional and underserved students.

“Librarians think we know how students conduct their research, or we know how we wish they would conduct their research,” said Lynda Duke, academic outreach librarian and associate professor for The Ames Library, and lead researcher on the project for Illinois Wesleyan. “The reality is we do not have data that allows us to say that we truly understand their research process.” The study will assist the library in tailoring resources to better fit the needs of students, according to Duke. “As a result of this study, we hope to adjust our current services, or offer new options. Changes might range from adjusting the physical layout in different areas of the library, making modifications to our Web site or offering a new resource or service.”

The grant comes from the Library Services and Technology Act under the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, and was awarded to help answer the question, What do students, especially those in the underserved and non-traditional group identified by each library, actually do when they are assigned a research project for one of their class assignments and what are the expectations of students, faculty and librarians of each other with regard to this assignment? Illinois Wesleyan librarians will focus their research on international, African-American, Latino-American, Asian-American and Native American students, as well as library and teaching faculty. The library will employ methods such as mapping diaries, interviews, photo surveys and observation to gain understanding of how research assignments are approached by students. University Librarian Karen Schmidt notes, “This approach to understanding student use of library programs and spaces represents an emerging field of study for academic libraries. We are honored that Illinois Wesleyan was selected to be involved in this exciting venture.”

Student to Represent U.S. as Young Leader in Berlin

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Cassie Stachniw, a junior German and Russian and Eastern European Studies double major from Galesburg, Ill. has been selected to participate in “The United States Meets Germany: A Forum for Young Leaders.” The event will take place from Nov. 10-14 in Berlin.

Stachniw, who is currently studying abroad in Berlin through the Institute for International Education of Students (IES) program, applied to participate in the conference. The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD), which sponsors the forum, seeks students from the United States and Germany, as well as the wider international community to participate in the forum. Students must also have a strong academic background and/or professional experience and should demonstrate leadership skills and have an active interest in international affairs with particular emphasis on the US-German bilateral relationship.

Green-Thinking Students Launch Vintage Clothing Store

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Thinking green now comes in all colors, and styles. Illinois Wesleyan University students have established a vintage clothing store, and all in the name of environmental awareness.

The store, called PreShrunk, will have its grand opening from 1:30-3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25 in the basement of Adams Hall (1401 N. Main St., Bloomington), with a direct entrance from Main Street.

“Clothing can have a huge impact on the environment, whether it is the chemicals used to make the clothes or the growing landfills where people throw away clothes,” said Josh Clouse, who graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in May and is one of the original planners of the store. “Something as small as a store can reduce our footprint on the environment.”

Manned entirely by Illinois Wesleyan volunteers, PreShrunk is a not-for-profit effort, with all profits to be donated to local sustainable or ecological efforts. “We know we are limited in the resources we have,” said junior Mari Mermelstein, who will act as the executive manager for PreShrunk. “Not everything has to be new to be fun or useful.”

Mermelstein, a math education major, said the effort will also act as an educational tool for students. “We have an executive board of five students who help make administrative decisions,” she said. “We’re learning the ins and outs of a small business.”

Even locating the store on campus will be a small sustainability boon, said Clouse. “It may be one less time a student needs to get into their car to buy clothes. They can walk to the store on campus and reduce car emissions,” he said.

It’s “Celebrate Your Roommate Week”

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It can be a challenge living with a stranger, but at Illinois Wesleyan students have met that challenge. Kim Stabosz, class of ’09, and Erin Wondrak, class of ’09, have been living together since freshman year.

Stabosz said she was nervous about the initial meeting, which did not go quite as expected. “The entire time Erin was pretty silent, and I freaked out because I didn’t know why she wasn’t talking. I was so scared she was going to be quiet,” Stabosz said.

Needing an escape from parents and siblings who were helping them move in, the newly formed pair explored their residence hall. “The second we were away from our parents it was instant relaxation and we just clicked,” said Wondrak and the bonding began.

The Office of Residential Life (ORL) (http://www.iwu.edu/~orl) has a responsibility to pair compatible students as roommates. To promote positive roommate relationships, ORL’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Program is hosting its second annual “Celebrate Your Roommate Week” Oct. 13 to 17 (see schedule of events) to remind students that having a roommate should be a pleasurable part of the college experience.

“The event was created to help students understand how to value their roommate. Conflicts may arise around this time of year, and we are hoping this will progress communication,” said Stacy Ploskonka, Gulick Hall residence director. “Celebrate your roommate week is about ensuring that there are good relationships between roommates and encouraging them to get to know each other better.”

ORL looks for similarities when matching roommates. Stabosz and Wondrak discovered they both had a passion for dance, so they auditioned for the dance team and the Student Choreographed Dance Concert (SCDC) together. They watched many movies together as well, including, The Princess Diaries, and they would talk for hours at night.

According to ORL, the roommate matching process begins early in the summer. First-year students are mailed a letter asking them to fill out a survey online about their lifestyle habits and their interests. The survey includes categories of questions about bedtime, cleanliness, smoking, social environment and pet peeves. Students are sent basic contact information about their roommate so they can begin talking before they arrive at Illinois Wesleyan. ORL suggests that students talk to their roommates before they officially move in together.

“We use a listing of about 20 different preferences that have been determined as key concerns for students. Differences in lifestyle preferences such as drinking and smoking habits or living habits such as cleanliness or desired temperature in the room are issues that can easily cause roommate conflicts,” said Terrance Bond, assistant director of Residential Life. “By asking some of these questions up front, we can attempt to pair students with others who closely match their individual preference.”

Habitat for Humanity to Host Shanty Town Sleepover

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity will hold a sleepover in a Sustainable Shanty Town on the Eckley Quadrangle (located at the center of IWU’s campus) on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day.

The event is free and open to those 18 years and older.

The Sustainable Shanty Town will be made up of students and their cardboard-box “homes,” who will participate in activities including a cardboard house building competition. The chapter hopes the Shanty Town will raise awareness regarding homelessness and Habitat for Humanity’s efforts to provide affordable housing.

Interested participants should dress warmly, bring their own cardboard box home and sleeping bag. Also, bring a mug for complimentary hot chocolate. Participants are asked to bring any spare change or aluminum cans they can donate to the Habitat for Humanity program as well.

MUSE Undergraduate Conference is Sept. 27

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The fourth annual MUSE Undergraduate Literature Conference, to take place on Saturday, Sept. 27, will feature keynote speaker Lisa Ruddick, professor of English at the University of Chicago. Ruddick will give her address, titled “Literature and the Feeling of Aliveness,” at 12:30 p.m. in the Center of Natural Science Learning and Research (201 E. Beecher St., Bloomington), room C101.

MUSE is presented by Illinois Wesleyan University’s Alpha Eta Pi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta (STD), the international English honor society, in conjunction with Illinois State University’s Lambda Delta chapter.

The conference, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Center of Natural Science Learning and Research. Registration begins at 8 a.m. in the commons area and conference activities begin at 9 a.m. with student research presentations. The conference will also feature informational panels on post-graduate options for literature majors, Feminist literature, and British literature.

Ruddick’s current scholarship focuses on the ways in which “training in the humanities, conducted with the best of intentions, can thwart the feeling of aliveness by partially dissociating practitioners from their intuitions and their deep affective resources.” She is the author of Reading Gertrude Stein: Body, Text, Gnosis (Cornell University Press, 1990), “The Near Enemy of the Humanities is Professionalism” (Chronicle of Higher Education, November 23, 2000) and “Stein and Cultural Criticism in the Nineties” (Modern Fiction Studies 42, 1996).

IWU Intern Receives COUNTRY Financial Scholarship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For Illinois Wesleyan University senior Danielle Lauritson of Bloomington experience as a student intern meant more than catching a preview of the working world—it also earned her a scholarship.

Lauritson’s public relations internship at COUNTRY Financial in Bloomington included such responsibilities as writing news releases, monitoring the intern pages of www.countryfinancial.com and assisting with projects like the COUNTRY Chef Challenge.

One of four recipients, Lauritson earned her scholarship through writing an essay in response to the prompt: “U.S. corporations continue to focus more attention on Generation Y both as consumers and potential employees. What challenges and opportunities do you see for COUNTRY Financial in trying to reach this group? How can COUNTRY uniquely target this group through marketing and/or recruiting efforts?”

Lauritson is a business administration major with a marketing concentration.

Student Earns Academic Scholarship Through Summer Internship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Senior Accounting major,M. Darius Gant of Oswego, Ill. was named a recipient of the Frank R. Ross Scholastic Achievement Recognition Award and Scholarship, sponsored by the KPMG Chicago African American Network (CAAN). Gant served for KPMG, an international professional audit, tax and advisory services, as a summer accounting intern in Chicago. The award and scholarship is named in honor of Frank K. Ross, the first African American partner elected into the KPMG LLP (KPMG) partnership. It is based on personal commitment to promoting the development and success of African-Americans on campus and in the community, and helping the success of future generations of diverse professionals in the corporate arena.

At Illinois Wesleyan, Gant was a member of the basketball team for 4 years, served as president for Alpha Phi Alpha (APA) social fraternity, Inc. last year, and is now the current chair of educational activities for APA. He is also the founding and active president of the Bloomington chapter for the National Association of Black Accountants.

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