2008 Woodie Awards
Tonight, when you head down to your local DC for your evening meal, don't be surprised if you are turned away. No, there isn't a strike. There hasn't been a kitchen fire. The University hasn't simply run out of food - quite the contrary, in fact. Tonight, University of Massachusetts Dining Services is pulling out all the stops, redirecting all their resources to the Mullins Center for an event they like to call, "Taste of UMass.
The island in the campus pond is an oft-traveled student shortcut, allowing one to bypass the concrete behind the University of Massachusetts' Fine Arts Center in favor of a more natural path from class to class, though many students may not see the island for what it actually is - a work of public art.
In a small cramped kitchen, on a scorching hot Saturday afternoon, Fred Obeng-Ampofo stands over a hot stove, grinning from ear to ear. He dices onions, blends tomatoes and cubes chicken, shouting "miracles happen" in regards to finding a pot big enough to hold it all.
With summer on the way, self-consciousness is on the rise. For some people, it is now "crunch time" - time to hit the gym and sculpt the quintessential beach bod. Those old diets that failed before are given another try with new hopes of greater willpower.
Art should be insightful and thought provoking. If it isn't, then it should at least be beautiful. The work currently being housed in Southwest's Hampden Gallery is the rare combination of all three. Laura "Lola" Baltzell describes herself on her Web site as "a self-taught painter, yoga teacher and bilingual clinical social worker, living and working in the Boston area.
Few college students today, having grown up in the middle of the 90s alt-rock frenzy, could have emerged from childhood without hearing the name Third Eye Blind. Their classic single "Semi Charmed Life," with its famous chorus and catchy sing along moments, coupled with the slow ballads "Jumper" and "How's It Gonna Be," provided the perfect soundtrack to the typical suburban adolescence.
My name is Adam Szajgin. I am the Comics Editor for The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, and a full-time student at the University of Massachusetts. I am afraid of heights and I get cold very easily. Also, I'm not a huge fan of spiders. I have never trained with the British Special Forces, but I was a cub scout for a little while.
With a rough voice, tousled grey hair and hands waving animatedly, University of Massachusetts Distinguished Professor in Geosciences Lynn Margulis stands in front of a Biology 280 class, guest lecturing on the importance of microbes and the role symbiogenesis plays in evolution.
The lobby is overflowing with awaiting spectators. The line swerves around an imaginary rope. People stand patiently. There is not enough room to hold the growing crowd. The concession stand line has been swallowed up by the line waiting to see a movie. People are trying to get a cup of tea or some popcorn, while others wait for the theatre showing "Juno" to open up.
Remember the good old days when you could turn on the radio and hear the upbeat chords of power pop on almost every station? The days when Third Eye Blind and Counting Crows were pervading the air waves? The 1990s had its own style of music, but it seems to be fading - giving way to emo or screamo or hardcore-heavy-death-metal.
He has a Ph.D in Communications, his bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology and history, and is a renowned professor of over 23 years at the University of Massachusetts. Chances are, if you've taken a sociology class at UMass (or anywhere in the country, for that matter), you have studied his concepts and arguments, read one of his books or articles, been to one of his lectures or are at least familiar with his work.
Have you ever wanted to learn the steps of the salsa, or the sway of the waltz? Can you see yourself swinging away in the arms of your partner, floating along the dance floor? If so, you should consider joining the ballroom dance club at the University of Massachusetts.
The seemingly mysterious art around campus - elaborate paintings of University scenery, the dice in the Bartlett Hall garden, a red … thing by the Haigis Mall bus stop - is always the topic of discussion. Who made these works and how did they get there? Perhaps the most noticed yet unfamiliar piece of art on campus is Robert Murray's "Quinnipiac" that stands 18-feet tall and alone outside of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts.
Acclaimed screenwriter Nancy Oliver has become a breakthrough success with her crafty writing for one the most-talked about movies of the year, "Lars and the Real Girl." The movie received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and critics have even been dubbed it this year's "Little Miss Sunshine.
Our University is known for a lot of things. Booze. Riots. An encroaching police force and rising tuition fees. One thing it isn't known for is its student organizations. But the Outing Club is looking to change that. Established in 1922, the Outing Club gains distinction as one of the oldest - and most revered - student organizations on campus.
You've all seen him. I mean, how could you not? Whether it's a YouTube video, a sporting event, a Relay For Life race or a cheerleading competition, he's been there, big head and all. That's right, we're talking about the University of Massachusetts mascot Sam the Minuteman, and just like Visa, he is everywhere you want to be.
The University of Massachusetts Studio Arts Building stands as a gateway into campus. Right across the street from the Fine Arts Center, its fellow art department building, the new building stands on one of the University's most prime pieces of real estate.