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FYI archives :: March 5, 2010

Sports Update

Lacrosse
LacrosseThe debut of the LaGrange College women’s lacrosse team was Thursday at Agnes Scott. LaGrange’s Hannah Ramsahai scored the first collegiate lacrosse goal in the state of Georgia just 48 seconds into the game. However, it was the Panthers’ only goal as they lost 14-1 to Agnes Scott. The team will play at Ferrum on Saturday and at Greensboro on Sunday.

Men’s tennis
Men’s tennisThe Panthers (2-2, 1-0 GSAC) defeated NCAA Division II member Tuskegee 5-4 on Monday, and beat GSAC foe Huntingdon 5-4 on the road Wednesday. Tyler Clinebell won the deciding match against Huntingdon in three sets at No. 1 singles.

Women’s tennis
Women’s tennisLaGrange (0-5) lost 6-3 to Tuskegee on Monday and 9-0 at Huntingdon on Wednesday. The team plays at Reinhardt next Thursday.

Baseball
Robbie SheltonThe Panthers (5-6) lost 8-5 at Emory last Sunday. Junior Robbie Shelton was the GSAC Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 28. LaGrange hosts Case Western University on Saturday and the College of Wooster on Sunday.  Game time is 1 p.m. both days.

Softball
SoftballLaGrange (0-6) lost 8-7 and 12-11 at Truett-McConnell last Saturday. The Panthers will play in the Rhodes College Invitational in Memphis, Tenn. on Saturday and Sunday.

Golf
GolfThe Panthers finished 11th at the Callaway Collegiate Invitational at Callaway Gardens on Tuesday. Their next tournament is the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational on March 19-21.

Sustainability tip
Sustainability tipPaying bills will never be entirely painless, but you can eliminate much of the hassle and environmental impact by registering to receive and settle them online. Not only does this save time and cut down on trips to the mailbox, but it also reduces paper waste and pollution associated with mail transportation, and trims your postage costs. You can even schedule automatic bill payments so you’ll never miss a payment or pay a late fee again. This tip is brought to you by the Sustainability Council, which supports the College’s sustainability campaign titled On Holy Ground: Cultivating Sustainability at LaGrange College.

 

‘Laramie Project’ examines hate and hope

‘Laramie Project’ examines hate and hope

Kim Barber Knoll, Chair of the Theatre Arts Department, was looking for something current and contemporary for the College’s spring 2010 production.

She found her show in “The Laramie Project,” which opens March 18 at Price Theater. The play is based on the 1998 murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student. Shepard was severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo. His death became a rallying cry for hate-crime legislation across the country.

Five weeks after Shepard died, playwright Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and, over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200 interviews with the townspeople.  From those interviews came “The Laramie Project,” a chronicle of the life of the town in the year after the murder. 

Today, “The Laramie Project” is one of the most-performed plays in America.

“This is a play that will resonate with and, I think, truly affect an audience,” said Kim Barber Knoll, the director and Chair of the Theatre Arts Department. “We are still facing many of the same issues today that are brought to light in this play.” 

She said she started to get phone calls from local actors interested in auditioning as soon as the season was announced last spring.

“They wanted to be part of it,” she said. “They feel, as I do, very strongly about the story that is being told and about the incredible way in which it is told.”

The play is presented in an almost documentary style, with 60 characters telling their personal stories.

“The dialogue was not created’by a playwright.  The text was taken directly from interviews with Laramie residents,” Barber Knoll said. “These are the words of the people of Laramie. The play is less about Matthew’s murder and more about the life and reaction of the town of Laramie after the crime.” 

The cast of 30 features 19 students and 11 guest actors, including College alumni and faculty. Three of the guests drive from the Atlanta area to appear in the show. One of them is Toby Smallwood of Roswell, a 1997 graduate of the College.

“I grew up in a town out West that was all white and full of hate,” he said. “I wanted to speak out against that. The irony is that I was cast as a voice of hatred in the play, but the message of hope is at the very heart of this show.”

Senior Sam Gambino said the cast feels a strong connection to the play because of its similarities to their own lives.

“In Laramie, the college and the community are very closely related to each other, just like it is here (in LaGrange),” she said.

Alumnus Ryan McWhorter, Class of 2000, agreed.

“We are a community that is very similar to Laramie, with similar issues,” he said. “This play forces you to examine what you believe and why.”

John Messerall, a guest actor from LaGrange, said the play isn’t written with a certain agenda in mind.

“It doesn’t have an ax to grind,” he said. “There is a lot of latitude for the audience to come up with their own thoughts and conclusions.”

Nate Tomsheck, Technical Director and Assistant Professor, said the play has a very personal resonance with him.

“I’m the same age as Matthew Shepard, and I was in college out West when all of this happened,” he said. “I was quite indifferent to it at the time. I wanted to do this play because it allows me to examine my life and finally ask those questions that I should have asked then.”

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. March 18-20 and March 25-27. The play contains explicit language and mature subject matter.  It is not intended for children.

For reservations, call the box office at (706) 880-8080. In lieu of admission, patrons may make a donation to The Matthew Shepard Foundation.


College getting serious about tow-away zones

College getting serious about tow-away zonesBeginning March 15th, the College will enforce a tow-away zone on the fire access roads on campus, according to Marty Pirrman, Vice President for Finance and Operations.

“For everyone’s safety, all fire lanes must be kept unobstructed, and all fire hydrants must be accessible at all times,” he said. 

This means that any vehicle parked in an area with a yellow curbing and signage will be towed and fined. Specific areas include the access road in front of Turner Hall, and the passageways behind the Quillian Building and in front of Mariotti Gymnasium, but there are many other yellow-curbed areas on campus.
Keeping access roads open to emergency vehicles in case of fire or life-threatening events is vital for everyone’s safety.

“Failure to do so threatens all of us and also puts us in violation of the Georgia Fire Code,” he said.
Space will be dedicated for 5- and 10-minute loading zones, with appropriate signage, behind Candler Cottage and in front of Turner Hall.

“However, if you violate those limits or if you park in a yellow-curbed area, we will have no choice but to tow your vehicle,” Pirrman said. “Please note that this includes evenings and weekends.”

The College has communicated with both the LaGrange Police Department and Crockett Brothers’ Wrecker Service regarding enforcement measures.  All vehicles that are towed will be taken to Crockett Brothers, which is located at 301 Vernon Street.  The towing charge will be $100, plus $20 per day storage.  Their office number is (706) 884-1404.

“As members of LaGrange College’s caring and ethical community, I know that, upon some reflection, we can all agree this is a matter we simply cannot ignore,” Pirrman said. “The safety of all members of this community, not the desire for individual convenience, must guide us in all such decisions. I am certain that the members of this community will realize the importance of compliance with these regulations, that we will be able to count on your cooperation and that there will be few instances when we will be required to resort to the enforcement measures planned for violators.”


In the News

Battle for Georgia: Birth of a rivalry – Lacrosse Magazine, March 2

Here’s an appeal for keeping the state Tuition Equalization Grant (guest editorial) – Newnan Times-Herald, Feb. 15

LaGrange College to offer Education Specialist Degree – Hogansville Home News, Feb. 19
(no link available)

 

 

 

Campus Notes


2010 Large Business of the Year Award

The College received the 2010 Large Business of the Year Award from the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce.  Martha Pirkle accepted the award on behalf of the College at Tuesday’s Early Bird Breakfast. Above, admiring the new banner are Janet Hughes and Dawn Coker, who along with Stacy Jackson, prepared the application.

The Rev. Dr. Quincy BrownThe Rev. Dr. Quincy Brown attended the National Association of College and University Chaplains' professional meeting at Duke University where he was elected to serve on the organization's 10-member executive committee as secretary.  NACUC has 140 members who serve as university and college chaplains across the country.

Jo KittingerJo Kittinger, author of 15 children’s books, will speak on “The Power of Words” at 11:15 a.m. March 11 in the Dickson Assembly Room.  This cultural enrichment event is sponsored by the Education Department and the Lewis Library.

The Family Council will host its Spring Fling Cookout at 11:30 a.m. March 13 at the Soccer Field.

Music students Doug Bassett and Austin Burns will be spotlighted at Monday’s concert by the LaGrange Symphony Youth Orchestra, LaGrange Symphony Youth Orchestra String Ensemble and LaGrange Symphony Youth Orchestra Piccolo String Ensemble. The event will be at 7 p.m. at Callaway Auditorium.

The LYSO program features music from The Beatles as arranged by Bassett and conductor Lee Johnson, Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Music at the College. Burns, a vocalist, will perform.

Also featured will be winners of the 2010 LSO SCALA competition, including Libby Criswell, cello, winner of the Emily Katherine Smith Award for String Performance; Philip Botica, voice, winner of the Emily Wentworth Landa Award for Vocal Performance; Christine Yin, piano, winner of the Ashley Hawkins Award for Keyboard/Percussion Performance and Susanna Brown, soprano, winner of the Barbara Malis Award. Christine is the daughter of Drs. William and Carol Yin, Professors in the Mathematics Department.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for students sixth grade and older. Children fifth grade and younger are admitted free with an adult. Tickets will be available at the box office the evening of the concert.

For more information, call (706) 880-8351 or e-mail asellman@lagrange.edu, or visit www.lagrangesymphony.org.


Produced by Communications and Marketing, LaGrange College, 601 Broad St., LaGrange, GA 30240.
Comments or questions? Contact Ron Hamilton at rhamilton@lagrange.edu.