AM P
T H E
u
C A M P U S
u
D I G E S T
W I N T E R
THE SEASON “Late lies the wintry sun a-bed / A frosty, fiery sleepy-head / Blinks but an hour or two; and then/ A blood-red orange, sets again,” says the greatest of all writers in English, Robert Louis Stevenson… “Black are my steps on silver sod / Thick blows my frosty breath abroad / And tree and house, and hill and lake / Are frosted like a wedding cake….” ¶ Winter is the biggest break in the academic year on The Bluff; finals end mid-December, and classes do not begin again until mid-January. ¶ Among January’s saints: the freshly minted Brother Andre Bessette, C.S.C., the very first, and surely not the last, saint among the men and women of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the University’s order. Riveting lad, Andre: son of a woodcutter, an orphan at age twelve, and a lifelong jack-of-all-trades at Notre Dame College in Montreal. To his credit he was much annoyed at his fame as a healer, and snarled that he had nothing to do with it, that it was faith and Saint Joseph that moved mountains. We much admire the gnarl and blunt of the man, for whom a campus chapel is named.
STUDENT LIFE Winter is basketball and volleyball season on The Bluff; both teams start officially in November, and wrap up in March. Baseball also starts in winter, curiously; the Pilots open their long season (52 games) in February. See page 12 for sports news. ¶ The University’s Chapel of Christ the Teacher Choir will be on tour in the Seattle area in mid-
January; call Andy Sherwood in the alumni office for details, 503.943.8327. ¶ The University’s annual letter from the president about a slight tuition increase is usually sent in February; the University’s tuition remains the lowest among its peers, and below the national average. ¶ February 15-17: Junior Parents & Families Weekend, a great chance to dive into the seething energies of your child’s life on The Bluff. For details call the admissions office, 503.943.7147. ¶ April 9: the University’s annual Scholarship Lunch, during which donors of same meet recipients of same, and chat, and get to know each other, and are photographed laughing together. It’s so intimate and moving. Info: Diane Dickey, 503.943.8130.
quad to sign thank-you notes to donors and annihilate thousands of doughnuts. It’s wild. Info: Trevor Harvey, 503.943.7826. ¶ April 9: Founders’ Day, the University’s annual celebration of its founder, Archbishop Alexander Christie of Portland, and the invaluable essential cofounder, Father John Zahm, C.S.C., who provided books and teachers for Christie’s dewy university. Nearly a thousand student presentations and performances fill the day; classes are canceled, events are rife, and creativity is the coin of the campus.
ARTS & LETTERS
THE UNIVERSITY A University night at Portland Center Stage: I Love to Eat, playwright James Still’s love letter to Portland’s own James Beard. A complimentary dinner outing with Bon Appétit star chef Kirk Mustain (see page 6), is offered before the show. Tickets are $35; contact the alumni office at 503.943.7328. ¶ March 6 through 11: Pilot men’s and women’s basketball at the West Coast Conference in Las Vegas. Discounted rooms are available for alumni and friends at the Orleans, Palms, and Bellagio Hotels. ¶ March 1: Tuition Freedom Day on The Bluff; this is the day the University makes note of the fact that the average student’s tuition “runs out” and the rest of his or her school year is covered by gifts of all amounts from the University’s donors, as well as grants and income from the endowment. Approximately 20 percent of the cost of a UP education is covered by funds other than tuition dollars. Students gather on the west
On Hunt Theater’s stage this winter: the drama Twelve Angry Jurors, February 27 through March 2, and the musical Bat Boy (April 12 through April 20). Information: 503.943.7287, email magohuntboxoffice@up.edu. ¶ Reading from their work on campus this winter: novelist Lois Leveen, on March 5 (at 7:30 p.m., in BC 163), and poet James Logenbach, on April 8 (also 7:30 p.m., BC 163). ¶ For the whole slate of visiting writers, performers, pontificators, brilliances, gurus, and visionaries, see www.up.edu, and wander through the event listings; most events are free, and those that cost cash are almost always a roaring bargain. Trust us.
FROM THE PAST Born December 26, 1911, oldest of ten children of a steelworker in Chicago: Steve Kordek, who invented that classic work of American genius, the two-flipper pinball machine, on which you, yes
Winter 2012 3
you, spent a thousand hours. “I had more fun in this business than anyone could ever believe,” said Mr. Kordek, who died last winter at age 100. ¶ Passing into the Light last December 13: the quiet generous Fred Fields, who gave the University Fields and Schoen feldt halls, the Schoenfeldt Visiting Writers Series, and much else. Raised on a farm in Indiana where he and his brother farmed 100 acres of corn while their dad worked in a factory, Fred served in the Army Air Force, played pro football in Canada, earned his engineering degree, and eventually owned and ran the Coe Company, a wood and technology firm. He had a cool sidelong grin that we miss. ¶ January 12, 2010: the Haiti earthquake. More than 100,000 people were killed, a million made homeless, and among the dead were Molly Hightower ’09, in whose name a scholarship blooms on The Bluff; see page 8. ¶ February 1, 1902: the great poet Langston Hughes is born in Joplin, Missouri. ¶ February 3: the Feast of Saint Blaise, to whom we turn when we are sore of throat. Riveting man, Blaise: a doctor and bishop in what is today Turkey, he lived in a cave, healed animals as well as people, could talk to wolves, and is the patron saint of wild animals. ¶ February 9, 1964: the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. ¶ February 10, 1952: The Blanchet House of Hospitality opens in Portland, founded by University alumni. What a great idea. ¶ February 12, 1809: the greatest of Americans is born in rural Kentucky: Abraham Lincoln. ¶ February 21, 1902: the University wins its first baseball game ever, 3-1, against Bishop Scott Academy, an Episcopal school. ¶ February 25, 1956: Nikita Khrushchev condemns his savage predecessor, Josef Stalin, for “intolerance, brutality, abuse of power,” and other vices and crimes. Sometimes someone calls something by its true name.
ART BY MILAN ERCEG
L