University of South Carolina
2
Circle the correct answer. A new Honors College course entitled “Football Writing” … A) surveys the work of American sports writers from Damon Runyon to Rick Reilly B) reviews pigskin-themed movies such as Brian’s Song, The Longest Yard and North Dallas Forty C) is a crip course for student athletes D ) none of the above
V
By Chris Horn
Pigskin penmanship
New Honors College course goes to the gridiron to practice creative writing
isiting instructor Ran Henry could probably lecture exhaustively on sports writers and football flicks, but his course on football writing is, plain and simple, all about students learning to craft compelling stories that deal with some aspect of the sport. And with weekly assignments and stringent grading on the mechanics of good writing, this is no gimme course. “When I heard about this class, I told my adviser that whatever it took, I had to get in,” said Rixon Lane, a junior broadcast journalism major, who has set his sights on a career in sports radio. Suryah Martin was intrigued by the course’s title but wasn’t sure what to expect. “I love football but my writing is not all that great,” said Martin, a freshman international business major. “But I thought — why not write about something that I love?” She struggled with the first week’s assignment — a general piece on football — but threw a TD strike with the second assignment: a story about a particular football, crafting a poignant piece about throwing a worn football with her dad shortly after he retired from the Air Force. Over the course of several months, she came to love the sport and the man who had been a distant figure through much of her early childhood. “Veracity is crucial in this class. This is creative or narrative nonfiction in the tradition of Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood,’” said Henry, who also teaches writing strategies courses at the University of Virginia. “Even if none of these students becomes the next great football writer, they’ll at least develop a feel for the mechanics of great writing.”
Making time
ENGINEERS, cont. from page 1
Another student had the foresight to bring crayons and photocopied pages of coloring book pages to hand out to all the kids.” USC’s EWB members will now spend months devising a specific project plan and raising funds for the return trip to La Victoria. The connections they’ve made there have strengthened their personal commitment to the project, which has expanded beyond the pipeline to include other needs identified during the trip.
By Liz McCarthy
Danielle Schoffman is always on the go — between completing homework, writing her dissertation proposal, working in a lab and maintaining a social life. And, as if she weren’t busy enough, the second-year doctoral student in the Arnold School of Public Health has taken on the Graduate Student Association (GSA), trying to bridge the gap between the colleges and schools. Schoffman says she wouldn’t devote time to something if she wasn’t passionate about it. “I love what I’m studying and I really enjoy my graduate assistant position,” she says. “I find that intellectually stimulating, but I’ve found that GSA is a different set of skills, and it gives me this whole area of opportunities that I’ve never had access to. It feels like it’s worth making the time to do it.” For Schoffman, a California native, her entire Carolina experience has been about intentionally getting out of comfort zones. “I came to push myself and expose myself to different ways of thinking, different family histories than I grew up with,” she says. “And GSA has really catalyzed that.” In her role as president, she’s building connections and fostering collaboration. That’s why she joined GSA during her first year of graduate school; she hoped to meet people from other programs. “It’s still a challenge in graduate school to help people understand the value of doing something beyond their program because everyone is so strapped for time,” she says. “But I really believe if we can foster a sense of community among graduate students and get people engaged in this entire university, not only will we have more access to the resources, we can learn from each other.” So far, Schoffman has found the university to be receptive. In her meetings with deans and department chairs, she says the administration wants to foster the graduate student community. The Graduate School, for example, has deepened its ties with the association to advocate for
When he isn’t teaching at the University of Virginia or helping his wife, Linda, run a wedding business in Charlottesville, visiting Honors College instructor Ran Henry devotes himself to his magnum opus: an authorized biography of Steve Spurrier. He’s been working on the book for 15 years and the final manuscript is due to the publisher early next year. “Ball Coach: How Steve Spurrier taught the South to play football” (Lyons Press) is due out in fall 2014, and it promises to be a lively take on the man who went from Heisman Trophy winner in 1966 to football coaching great.
“I came to push myself and expose myself to different ways of thinking” graduate students, says Jessica Elfenbein, senior associate dean of the school. The association is moving toward a stronger role in the university, according to both Schoffman and Elfenbein. In the last election, for example, seven candidates ran for the vice president position, which typically only had one or two candidates. “It’s not the same 10 people coming to meetings. Things are changing and people are getting excited about GSA,” Schoffman says. Although her duties as president require about 15 to 20 hours a week, she says it’s worth it. Graduate school may be busy, but life is only going to get busier. “Graduate school is a very busy time. It’s also a very unique time when you can make connections like this that you’ll never have again ,” she says. “Whenever I wonder if I’m too busy to do something now, I just remind myself that it’s probably not going to get much better. There’s no time like now.”
The town’s health clinic has a leaky roof and mold growing on the ceiling tiles, among other problems. And many residents living right outside La Victoria frequently battle intestinal infections as a result of drinking untreated water directly from streams. Feigley said the team hopes to establish the framework for a public health campaign targeting residents about water quality. The EWB also plans on helping the clinic construct a new roof. Croom said it’s important that USC’s EWB chapter continues to recruit new members and identify faculty mentors since completion of the projects could take years. “Everyone we met with was very enthusiastic about our involvement, but they wanted to make sure we were committed, that we’d see this through,” he said.