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Case Western Reserve University volume L, issue 3 friday, 9/7/2018
Observer Fall Convocation celebrates spoken poetry, distinguished faculty Sarah Kay’s witty remarks, relatable poetry rings in the academic year stories in their words. I want them to feel their stories are valuable and worthy of our attention and amplification, especially in communities where there are voices that have been historically silenced or told that they don’t count.” Currently, Project VOICE is “dedicated to promoting empowerment, improving literacy, and encouraging empathy” in students around the world. Still, Kay admitted she does think about film school. “Writing for the screen felt like a great white whale that I had one point thought that I was going to pursue and then didn’t,” she said. A group of her friends created a movie, “Blindspotting,” and Kay remarked that her onscreen appearance, which is
Courtesy of TED Conference
Sarah Kay, author of the Common Reading book “No Matter the Wreckage,” spoke at Fall Convocation on Aug. 29.
“Sarah Kay is so relatable and I loved her performances. It was a nice way to start the first week of classes.”
only signals the beginning of the school year, but also serves to celebrate several faculty members with the Distinguished University Professors honor. Recipients of the prestigious award must be fulltime, tenured faculty members with a strong background in research, scholarship, teaching and service. This year’s recipients include Mark R. Chance, Ph.D., Ross Duffin, Ph.D., Kalle Lyytinen, Ph.D. and Shirley Moore, Ph.D. Chance’s expertise in proteomics and structural biology have earned him more than 280 publications, as well the position of Director of the Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics at the University. Duffin, meanwhile, specializes in Franco-Flemish music of the 15th century and English music of the Jacobean period. His passion for music was instrumental in his success as chair of the Music Department 11 (non-consecutive) years, as well as Head of the Historical Performance Practice program at CWRU and as the founding artistic director of Quire Cleveland.
Read an interview with Kay on Pg. 9
Sarah Kay gave her Fall Convocation speech peppered with her typical amusing remarks, “Sometimes, when I make plans with a friend, they ask if I want chocolate chip cookies or ice cream after dinner, and I say, ‘Sometimes the question is “or,” but the answer is “and.”’ Sometimes, in a game of ‘Would You Rather?’ my friends ask, ‘Chris Hemsworth or Chris Evans?’ and I say, ‘Sometimes the question is “or,” but the answer is “and.”’” Kay’s witty remarks, charisma and relatable poetry have earned her invitations to speak in over 25 different countries on prestigious stages like New York City’s Lincoln Center and the floor of the United Nations. Her most recent performance, though, was at Case Western Reserve University’s Fall Convocation ceremony on Aug. 29. Kay was invited to speak at Fall Convocation after her book, “No Matter the Wreckage,” was chosen as the Universi-
ty’s annual common reading book. The common reading book has become tradition at CWRU, functioning as a way to provide first-year students a shared experience for stimulating discussions. In her speech, Kay hails college as a time to “date yourself” and explore your interests. She shares her stories from Brown University, her alma mater, and admits that she was a chemistry major for her first two years before switching to modern culture and media, on track for film school. But she never went to film school. Nearing graduation, while all of her friends applied to graduate school, Kay realized sharing poetry with high school students made her happier than anything else and decided to spend one year doing just that—a single year which has since turned into almost one full decade. She expressed no regrets, her eyes shining as she described her vision for Project VOICE which she helped found: “I want to continue introducing young people to poetry until they feel ownership over it and feel they can tell their
about eight seconds long, makes her feel that her former dream is not so far away. In context of the recent run-in with film, she reiterated the theme of her speech. “Sometimes, the question is ‘or,’ but the answer is ‘and,’” she said. “It’s nice to feel that I can be on the path that I’m on, [poetry], and still find my way back [to filmmaking].” Kay’s speech was well received by the primarily student audience that filled the seats of Severance Hall. Chloe Mieras, a second-year student, said, “[It] was really comforting to [hear] that even someone as successful as [Kay] is doesn’t always know she wants, and I feel less badly about changing my major.” Second-year student Nitya Talasila agreed with Mieras, adding, “Sarah Kay is so relatable and I loved her performances. It was a nice way to start the first week of classes.” The Fall Convocation ceremony not
Lyytinen has a repertoire of past positions including vice president for the Association for Information Systems and editor-in-chief for the Journal of the Association for Information Systems. He also boasts more than 300 publications, making him one of the top five scholars in the information system field by citations. The fourth recipient of the award, Moore, is a self-management science visionary. Nationally and internationally, she has contributed over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles to her field, as well as more than 80 other publications. Fall Convocation stands as a foil to CWRU commencement, which will take place in late May.
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pg. 2 Students deal with heat
pg. 7 Stunning artwork at CMA
pg. 4 Understaning media bias
pg. 14 Women’s soccer splits two
Yvonne Pan Staff Reporter