Bloom Spring 2017

Spring 2017

Breaking Through The Glass Ceiling

EMU’s First Woman President Begins Role With Plans To Continue Growth And Innovation

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Inside

Holly Marcus

SPRING 2017

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your CAREER Women have come a long way in the farming industry.

Head, Heart And Hands

page 2 your FASHION

Get an introduction to EMU’s new president and what she has planned for the university.

Holly Marcus

Spring trends are a lesson in opposition.

A

your HEALTH Foam rolling and stretching can vastly help your muscles.

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CEO Of My Joy Christina Kunkle discusses ways to find happiness within.

Staff Corey Tierney, editor Aleda Johnson, staff writer Shelby Mertens, staff writer Sherrie Good, design Holly Marcus, photography Contributors

MetroCreative

pril showers might bring May flowers, but they also bring an abundance of cliches. The biggest, I’d say, is the BLOOMing (pun intended) of flowers as a metaphor for new beginnings.

But, hey, maybe there’s nothing wrong with that; maybe cliches are overused because they’re true. They certainly seem to be in the Valley. With each issue, each season, we highlight the growing impact women have on our community. Even I — being the only man on staff full time — see how powerful and talented women can be despite pressures or discrimination from society. I am, after all, just a glorified copy editor without them.

Giving into the cliche, we found some new beginnings. Eastern Mennonite University has chosen Dr. Susan Huxman as the school’s newest and first woman president. Having already touched the lives of students, faculty and staff alike, she makes the perfect spring cover story.

We also delved into the world of women farmers. In a historically male-dominated industry, these women are rising above and succeeding in their field (Another great pun.)

You’ll see some lighter fare on the pages, too, including a look at fashion trends for upcoming warm weather, and tips for getting your muscles back into workout mode through the use of foam rolling and stretching.

So, whether you’re changing the face of higher education, or just looking for the perfect off-the-shoulder top, we’re happy you’re here.

Don’t be afraid to reach out, either, because I’m all ears. Send any comments or story ideas my way (ctierney@dnronline.com). And, as always, keep blooming.

Corey Tierney Editor

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Christina Kunkle, columnist Preston Knight, writer Lauren Sharpe, writer Bloom is a publication of Rockingham Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2017 Rockingham Publishing Co., Inc. 231 S. Liberty St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801 For advertising information, call 540-574-6220.

Spring 2017

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your CAREER

Ag’s Changing ‘Face’

By Preston Knight • Photos by Holly Marcus

I

n an industry long dominated by men, Dee Hockman can flash her agricultural credentials and feel pretty good about them.

The 73-year-old cattle farmer from Shenandoah County was raised on a farm, helped maintain it as she pursued her education and came back to tend to the land upon retirement.

She’s proven herself to be more than capable, though unlike her male counterparts, acceptance into the industry has added layers for women in her position.

“Your opinion and your perspective ... get a lot more respect than you used to.”

— Dee Hockman A run-in decades ago with a bank that left Hockman suspecting sexism still comes to mind. She and her mother, who was the landowner at the time, could not possibly know anything about farming because, well, they were women.

“I always felt that we were turned down because we were women,” Hockman 2

Spring 2017

said. “That has changed, everywhere.”

Women farmers are gradually overcoming the challenges associated with feeling accepted, leading them to take on more active roles and gain leadership positions, all of which give both newcomers and veterans hope for a bright future.

“Your opinion and your perspective ... get a lot more respect than you used to,” Hockman said. “Like in any occupation, how people accept you in that occupation makes it easier for you or difficult for you.

“Some of my best friends are gentlemen farmers. When I talk to them about business on the farm, I don’t feel like I’m a dummy, and they don’t treat me that way.”

Land Changing Hands According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, about 17 percent of Virginia’s primary farm operators are women. The figure comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s last census, in 2012, when it was calculated that 14 percent of the nation’s 2.1 million farms had a woman as principal owner.

Michelle Martin has learned to drive tractors and other farm equipment to keep up with the daily chores at Middle River Farms in Weyers Cave.

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Michelle Martin pulls plastic out of old strawberry and pumpkin fields from last season at Middle River Farms in Weyers Cave.

The future for women in farming looks even more promising: In the next two decades, about 240 million acres of farmland are likely to change owners, and much of it will transfer to women, according to the American Farmland Trust, an organization that strives to protect farmland.

“We have quite literally seen the ‘face’ of agriculture change,” said Kim Woodwell, a Shenandoah County farmer and the trust’s 4

Spring 2017

Virginia Women and Land Conservation Program coordinator. “Women are entering agriculture as new landowners, farmers and inheritors of land in unprecedented numbers. Women own or co-own more than 300 million acres of land ... or about one-third of the nation’s farmland.

“And we expect this number to only increase.”

As favorable as the projections appear, the general challenge of feeling

“Women are entering agriculture as new landowners, farmers and inheritors of land in unprecedented numbers. Women own or co-own more than 300 million acres of land ... or about one-third of the nation’s farmland.”

— Kim Woodwell accepted and being taken seriously in a male-heavy industry still lingers, said Brianna Cave, president of the Rockingham County Young Farmers Association.

A Bridgewater native, she now works as a licensed veterinary technician in Lexington, where she is routinely exposed to that obstacle.

Engage and Empower Through her role with the trust, Woodwell led a recent series of “conservation learning circles” for area women farmers.

The meetings are a major part of the organization’s commitment to building a national program to expand its efforts to engage and empower women landowners, she said.

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“Women who work in the agricultural field are very knowledgeable about the area of work that they are in, and can offer information and insight that a lot of men may overlook,” Cave said.

“There are numerous times that myself and one of the other female veterinarians have had male clients believe that because we are short and not as muscular as our male co-workers, that we could not possibly be able to complete specific tasks with

cattle. It’s a daily challenge that we face, but it still does not stop us from doing our job. I believe that it is the same for women in all areas of agriculture.”

Michelle Martin, who, with her husband, operates Middle River Farms between Grottoes and Weyers Cave, has set her own limitations with regard to workload. Her property, which the couple purchased in 2009, features pick-your-own pumpkins, corn, beef cattle, bees, poultry and more.

“I do everything, but I won’t plant the crops. That, to me, is the hardest thing, and I leave that up to my husband,” said Martin, 42.

“The way you have to work that ground, how he does it is amazing to me. I just haven’t gotten that yet.”

The operative word for her is “yet.” Martin advises any woman considering life as a farmer to dedicate themselves to the job. The rest will take care of itself, she said.

“I will never go work another nine-to-five if I don’t have to,” Martin said. “You have to be determined and a hard worker, and set longrange goals. Women have every opportunity as men do in farming. You just have to be willing to work hard.”

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Michelle Martin tends to crop fields and chicken houses at her family farm in Weyers Cave. Middle River Farms used to grow strawberries, and still plants fields of pumpkins.

Woodwell said acceptance is just one challenge facing them.

“In general, we don’t know much about landowners, and less about women landowners,” she said. “We know they tend to be good stewards of the land and are interested in soil health. They want to see their land stay in production and pass onto the next generation. We also know they tend to be less likely than their male counterparts to go into their local conservation offices to meet with the extension agents or conservation staff.

“And they tend to know less about the conservation programs available to assist them, and that puts them at a real disadvantage.”

Staunton resident Morgan Slaven, who grew up on a sixth-generation beef cattle farm in Weyers Cave and still helps out, said she was impressed by the “amazing” 6

Spring 2017

women who attended the educational sessions. She and Cave think women are just now being recognized for their contributions to farming, though their roles, such as handling the business side of operations, have always been there.

Slaven, who works for the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, said women fall into the trap of calling their husbands “farmers,” without thinking how they deserve the same label.

“Now, more than ever,” she said, “women are seeing themselves as equals in the workforce, across the board.”

Cave said, “Today, women are not only the wife, mother, 4-H leader, provider of dinner and farm bookkeeper, but they are also the combine driver, hay baler, loan officer, veterinarian, small business owner and government official.”

Perhaps the best local example of a woman

“Today, women are not only the wife, mother, 4-H leader, provider of dinner and farm bookkeeper, but they are also the combine driver, hay baler, loan officer, veterinarian, small business owner and government official.”

— Brianna Cave reaching the highest level is Harrisonburg native Sandra J. “Sandy” Adams, who in June 2014 became the first woman to serve as VDACS commissioner.

Having the financial means to own and operate a farm will be a major factor for future farmers’ success, both men and women, Hockman said.

“As a young person today, to buy a farm large enough to raise beef cattle is difficult,” she said, adding that she was fortunate to inherit property.

The growing presence of niche markets, which require less investment and manpower, helps set up an encouraging future for women farmers, Slaven said.

A global population that is only increasing further helps matters, Cave said.

“The agriculture field is definitely a booming industry for not only women to enter, but also men,” she said. “Everyone needs a farmer three times a day.

Whether they are male or female is irrelevant.”

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CEO of My Joy A Happiness-Generating Role To Hold As A High Priority For Balanced Success

By Christina Kunkle, CTA Certified Life and Wellness Coach, R.N.

N

o matter what our job title — teacher, lawyer, entrepreneur, doctor, student, homemaker or volunteer — as purpose-driven women, there will always be an endless and growing list of things that need our attention. Urgent activities, expectations and demands can drag us along until we lose sight of what matters most.

Being out of touch with what we want and need, and pressuring ourselves to “get it all done” while pleasing everyone at once is a recipe for resentment.

After too many days in a row feeling overwhelmed, overworked and overtired, you wake up thinking, “Something’s gotta give, and I’m afraid it’s gonna be me.”

You start to crave a slower pace and yearn for a stretch of time to do as you please. You desperately want to find yourself again.

Does this sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Even the best of us have been there.

Although it often feels that way, life isn’t a race to the finish line; it’s a journey. But if we’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one we’re in?

We all want and deserve a life full of joy, laughter and possibilities; yet, it’s hard to stay present under pressure, isn’t it? And harder, still, to remember that we have the power to choose how we feel no matter what situation we’re in.

That’s right — we get to feel the way we want to feel all the time, no matter what’s going on.

For a long time, I used to think that my happiness was outside my control, but now I know that circumstances really don’t determine how we feel. It’s the thoughts we think about the circumstance — and the story we choose to spin about the situation — that will generate not only the feelings we experience, but the actions those feelings prompt us to take, and ultimately the results those actions create.

I invite you to accept your feelings as an invitation to pause for some fresh perspective and remember that above all, you are the “CEO of your joy” — a happiness-generating role to hold as a high priority. (Because in order to serve others in the

MetroCreative

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highest way, it has to include what is healthy for you, too.)

In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Holocaust survivor Viktor E. Frankl wrote two very powerful statements that help us understand we always have a choice to make: “Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Our power always lies in the present moment and where our inner wisdom whispers the next steps.

Developing these three things provide a path to stay connected to contentment while caring for others, even in the busiest of days.

to the body. Release resentment, disappointments or old hurts to make room for the loving relationships you deserve. The ability to look back gratefully and forward joyfully requires that we complete the past.

A Positive Mindset “Those who face that which is actually before them, unburdened by the past, undistracted by the future, these are they who live, who make the best use of their lives; these are those who have found the secret of contentment.” [Alban Goodier].

Perhaps your health, finances or marriage are not what you had hoped at this point in life. Maybe your spouse has a chronic illness, dashing your dreams to travel the world.

Embrace an attitude of gratitude, giving your best attention to what you do have and can do. Remember, what you resist persists, but what you accept dissolves. So make peace with the present.

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A Loving Heart-set “Above all else, guard your heart. For everything you do flows from it” [Proverbs 4:23].

Follow your heart and intuition, using it as a compass to guide each decision forward. Guilt is to the spirit what pain is

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I encourage you to do this: sit down, open a notebook, pour a cup of tea and try to remember your passions. Think back on your life — the things you wanted to be, the habits you developed naturally, the games you played, the books you read and activities you got so absorbed doing that you lost track of time. Lastly, close your eyes and use your imagination to create a detailed vision of experiences you are excited to engage in based on who you are now. What do you hear?

Taste? See? Feel? Smell? Mine for new ways to use your gifts and skills for a joyful purpose.

In closing, consider making yourself this promise: “As the CEO of my joy, I get to choose how I feel. As best I can, where I am and with what I have, I intend to rediscover what delights me. I give myself full permission to do more of what makes my heart happy, even as I serve others.”

Our happiness provides a surplus of positive things to share, so let’s find joy in the journey.

“Mining For Joy” A Sensual Skillset Exercise What does joy sound like to me?

Example:

What does joy taste like to me?

Example:

I can taste the sweetness of sugar or bitterness of dark chocolate.

What does joy look like to me?

Example:

I can see beautiful pictures and the smiles of my family and friends.

What does joy feel like to me?

Example:

Christina Kunkle, R.N. and CTA certified life and wellness coach, is founder of “Synergy Life and Wellness Coaching, LLC” and creator of the “Synergy Success Circle.” She helps busy women prevent burnout by promoting bounce-back resilience to stay focused, positive and excited about the challenges of work and life. For more information, Visit www.synergylifeandwellnesscoaching.com or call 540-746-5206.

I can hear laughter, fireworks and my loved ones say, “I Love You.”

I can touch a child’s hand. I can feel the soft fur of my kitten.

What does joy smell like to me?

Example:

I can smell watermelon, ocean air and wet grass.

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Head, Heart And Hands

By Shelby Mertens Photos by Holly Marcus

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r. Susan Schultz Huxman officially took office as Eastern Mennonite University’s ninth and first woman president on Jan. 1. Her office is still a bit of a work in progress, but a quick glance around the room and the items that catch your attention are ones with personal meaning to her.

There’s an antique book on display sitting on the half-empty shelf titled “The Twentieth Century Speaker,” along with Huxman’s own book “Landmark Speeches on U.S. Pacifism.”

In the far left corner of the room is Mattel’s first edition of the Women’s National Basketball Association Barbie from the early ’90s. Barbie, clad in a WNBA uniform, holds a basketball next to a net.

As a former point guard, Huxman sees the WNBA Barbie as an inspiration when relating the game to her career in academic administration.

“It’s just a reminder to me that the most important statistic for a good point guard is assists — how many people did you help score,” Huxman said. “In a sense, I do see leadership at this level being about, ‘How can I assist people to score in their respective areas?’”

“I can really shoot and pass,” the original Barbie box stated, which Huxman laughed off as an absurd statement, as if one was supposed to be surprised.

Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman is the first woman president of Eastern Mennonite University. She started the office on Jan. 1.

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Eastern Mennonite University senior Madelyn Gish (left) takes a photo with the university’s new president, Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman, at a coffee shop on campus Jan. 10 during the president’s tour.

EMU’s First Woman President But perhaps it’s representative of an earlier time, when Huxman wouldn’t be the one sitting at that desk on the third floor of EMU’s Campus Center, overlooking the sweeping views of the Shenandoah Valley, president of a small but growing private liberal arts university.

“I don’t take it lightly,” Huxman said when asked about the honor of being the university’s first woman president in its 100-year history.

“I feel humbled with the opportunity to serve and be a trailblazer for other women who I hope someday will occupy this office.”

A study from the American Council on Education’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy found that in 2011, only 27 percent of presidents at institutions of higher education were women.

“I will say this, that Eastern Mennonite University has long supported women in leadership in the university. This was one of the first Christian universities — and certainly one of the first Mennonite universities — that had women in dean positions and even provost positions for some time,” she said. “The conditions were right.”

EMU’s eighth president, Loren E. Swartzendruber, retired in June 2016 after 13 years.

The university held a weeklong celebration of EMU’s centennial and the inauguration of Huxman that started April 3 through the ceremony, reception and gala that took place on April 7.

There’s No Place Like Home Huxman was born near Daytona Beach, Fla., but considers Kansas her home, where she attended middle school, high school and college, as well as the place where she met her husband, Jesse, a “Kansas farm boy.”

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Huxman’s mother was Mennonite and her father was Baptist.

The family initially attended a Baptist church because there were no Mennonite churches in Florida. However, they found Mennonite communities once they moved to Kansas.

Huxman graduated from Bethel College, a Mennonite-affiliated liberal arts college, with a degree in English and a minor in communication in 1982. She then earned a master’s in communication in 1986 and a Ph.D. in communication two years later from the University of Kansas. She first became interested in teaching at the university level as a junior in college.

“I have been thrilled and blessed to be here.

There is lots happening at Eastern Mennonite University, and we’re particularly well-positioned to enter our second century with a good deal of growth and innovation.”

— Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman “I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do. I thought about being a writer. I thought about being an actor, and really lit on English and communication,” she said. “I did not aspire to become a president, but I did have a variety of administrative posts.”

As a teacher, Huxman taught all kinds of classes from public speaking to interpersonal and strategic communication to political communication.

A ‘Skilled Communicator’ EMU Provost Fred Kniss was impressed with Huxman’s polished and confident public presence as a skilled communicator. Before meeting her last spring, Kniss had very briefly crossed paths with Huxman at conferences.

“I think she brings a number of strong skills, obviously communication skills are really important for a president — and she’s really excellent in that regard — but she’s also a strong academic, so she very quickly has earned the respect of the faculty,” Kniss said.

“[There’s] competition, and at the same time, rising costs because of declining government support for higher education, so it’s a difficult economical environment for small colleges that don’t have the big economies of scale.”

— Fred Kniss

Her first faculty job was at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where she became director of the oral communications program. She then moved back to Kansas to teach at Wichita State University, and served as the director of the Elliott School of Communication, which is the first integrated school of communication in Kansas.

“In the 1990s, that was pretty unusual to have journalism, speech communication, mass communication, theater, film and other fine arts featured as part of one school,” Huxman said.

She served there for 20 years while her husband also found a career as a broadcast news director.

I’ve Got A Feeling We’re Not In Kansas Anymore Then, in 2011, the couple moved to Canada when Huxman accepted a position as president of Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, which is also Mennonite-affiliated.

She got the call last April for the presidency vacancy at EMU. Huxman is the university’s first academic president who rose through faculty ranks starting as a professor.

“I have been thrilled and blessed to be here,” Huxman said. “There is lots happening at Eastern Mennonite University, and we’re particularly well-positioned to enter our second century with a good deal of growth and innovation.”

One of Huxman’s main goals for the remainder of this year is to “maximize and leverage” the university’s centennial.

“It’s not just telling good ol’ stories,” she said. “It’s a way of saying how to do some of the same principles, the same values, the same mission that was firmly planted here 100 years ago, and how ... those footings [are] going to give us the wings for a second century.”

Huxman sees her role as the top administrator as a “champion for people and for programs and the university as a whole.” She’s a strategic thinker who’s results-oriented.

She plans to help carry out the goals identified in the university’s strategic plan, which goes through 2020.

Kniss said Huxman was able to hit the ground running when she took office in January, ready to tackle the issues facing small private colleges.

“The fact that she has experience as a prior president, albeit a smaller institution than ours, meant that the kinds of challenges that small colleges face in the current environment are not new to her,” he said. “There wasn’t a big learning curve.”

Challenges Those challenges are, first and foremost, enrollment numbers.

“Small liberal arts colleges are very enrollment driven,” Kniss said. “[There’s] competition, and at the same time, rising costs because of declining government support for higher education, so it’s a difficult economical environment for small colleges that don’t have the big economies of scale.”

EMU’s total headcount is 1,800, including about 930 undergraduate students. The university hopes to increase the undergrad population to 1,200.

Rising costs of college tuition is still a nationwide problem.

EMU’s tuition has steadily increased every year, however, Kniss said the increases have slowed down in the last couple of years. For the 2016-17 school year, tuition was $34,060 for the year, or $44,860 total with room and board. EMU claims “nearly 100 percent” of students receive some sort of financial aid.

Huxman suggested that if tuition is raised, the school may offer compensating subsidies available to more students.

“So, the bottom line would be, in terms of what they actually pay, will not continue to go up and up and up,” she said.

“All of us in the independent sector, and I would say in the state school sector, too, really have to think anew and have to think with

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more innovation, and I think with even more sense of responsibility of how we keep education affordable and how we demystify the ways in which people can get loans, get scholarship monies and get work study opportunities so that it is not some kind of mass-confusing mess. I have been really pleased with what I’m seeing here thus far at EMU … but we still need to do some other things to make this more attractive, affordable and accessible.”

Continued Growth Expected The small university will continue to grow under Huxman through expanding academic programs and athletics, as well as capital enhancements to campus.

For the first time starting next year, EMU will offer its first doctoral program in nursing.

“That’s very exciting, and it capitalizes on a strength of ours for a long time,” she said. “We’ve had a bachelor’s degree in nursing and we’ve had a master’s degree in nursing for a good long time, and superlative accreditation. … So, it’s looking at growing certain kinds of programs.”

“What are the issues of the day? … It deals with understanding how people are hurting, where they are in the margins, who has a voice and who doesn’t.”

— Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman The university introduced its new engineering program this year as well, offering both computer science and mechanical engineering.

The first students completing the restorative justice graduate program will graduate this year as well.

On the sports front, lacrosse and tennis teams will be added next year.

“Those are targeted growth areas. We’re not just adding them. We’ve done our homework. ... [W]e’ve gotten tons of inquiries,” Huxman said.

EMU’s Science Center was recently renovated and more upgrades are on the way. The track and baseball fields need renovations, and Huxman said the campus needs a dining hall.

“We need a new dining experience. Food and fellowship are very much a part of who we are here, and we’ve really outgrown our dining capacity,” she said.

As a fresh set of eyes, the EMU administration welcomes Huxman’s feedback.

“She’s certainly been working with us right off the bat on taking a look at our organizational structure, cost

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structure and how we deal with that, but also she has very strong strategic planning skills, which I think has helped us think about how to communicate our strategic plan in ways that are going to be attractive to students, parents and so on,” Kniss said.

Weaving Education And Faith Huxman plans to keep the social justice activism a vibrant part of EMU’s campus.

“This is so woven into the very fabric of our mission and our values at EMU. We’re here to educate and lead in a global context. It’s a simple, yet profound mission, and if we’re going to do that well, they have to be aware,” Huxman said. “What are the issues of the day? …

It deals with understanding how people are hurting, where they are in the margins, who has a voice and who doesn’t.”

EMU’s mission to educate in a global context is also achieved through its cross-cultural requirement that every student studies abroad before graduation.

A higher education institution with a social justice mission mixed with religion is one of particular uniqueness from secular universities or fellow Christian colleges that refrain from social activism.

At EMU, infusing these elements together is natural.

“When we talk about educating the whole person, there is a sense that there is a seamlessness between educating your head and your heart and your hands, in terms of your knowledge, your faith and your service,” Huxman said. “We’re doing much more than creating good minds. We are helping you create a spiritual center for yourself and thinking how you’re going to witness your own faith development in your life, and thinking about how you’re going to show compassion to your neighbor.”

Diversity A Priority A major longterm goal for Huxman is to hire more women and more people of color.

“We’d like to diversify our faculty and staff,” she said. “We are so pleased that we have a diverse student body, and we have a significant international student profile here, but we have our work cut out for us in faculty and staff appointments.”

According to Huxman, 35 percent of the student population at EMU are people of color or international students. She estimates the racial makeup of EMU’s faculty and staff to be less, at around 75 to 80 percent white. The diversity plan includes hiring people of color in all areas, from the arts and humanities to the STEM fields.

“We’ve already extended some contracts with this term for some new faculty and I’m pleased that some of those are individuals of color who come with all kinds of fabulous credentials,” Huxman said.

“That will continue to be a campaign for us for a few years.”

Huxman also thinks it’s important to hire women in the maths and sciences.

“These are areas we’d like to see more female students enter the stream, but at the same time, they need role models, so finding women — particularly in those areas — to teach I think is very much a goal,” she said.

An issue sophomore EMU student Nicole Litwiller would like to see Huxman’s administration address is better ways to integrate EMU’s diverse student population.

“One of the conversations that’s been pretty central in the student body, since the years I’ve been here at least, is the fact that we have a

Eastern Mennonite University’s new president, Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman (left), talks with sophomore Sammy Thomas.

pretty decent amount of diversity on campus, but how do we make integration happen? I would like to see more work being done with her on that,” Litwiller said. “It’s a very difficult topic, and I definitely don’t know how to tackle that, but I think it’s something that’s important, and I would love to see that getting some attention.”

Campus Engagement Students are pleased to see Huxman is wasting no time getting to know students and familiarizing herself with the campus.

“I’ve really been impressed with how she engages students,” said Litwiller, a member of the Student Government Association. “I’ve had various interactions with her on campus. It’s kind of hard not to run into her because of how small we are.”

Huxman attended an SGA meeting earlier this year to introduce herself to its members. Litwiller, a liberal arts major with a focus in psychology, hopes Huxman will continue listening to the voices of the EMU student body.

“In order for the whole student body to be heard, it’s important to build those relationships and hear what people want,” she said. “I hope she’s able to connect with many students and build relationships.”

Litwiller said Huxman is a representation of what EMU wants to be as an institution.

“I think that’s a really cool step to be taking, and not just that they hired a female, but that she’s so qualified and just seems very engaged and willing to listen, and ready to take on tasks that come her way,” Litwiller said. “I’m excited to see what Dr. Huxman will be doing during her time here. I think she’ll add a lot to the EMU community.”

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Mobile clothing store Gypsy Catwalk hosted a fashion show at the Home & Living Expo at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds in April.

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Spring 2017

your FASHION

Opposites Attract

By Aleda Johnson • Photos by Holly Marcus

A

s a child, I would often discover something and decide I couldn’t live without it, whether it was the color blue, a bob haircut or broccoli — I was a strange child.

In an inevitable attempt to define herself as an individual free from my shadow, my younger sister had to love the opposite. She loved the color red, grew her hair to her bottom and refused to eat anything that wasn’t white.

The trend of opposition translates into adulthood, and the spring 2017 runways of New York, London and Milan were not immune.

Designers gave the masses a confounding dichotomy between what is traditionally feminine and what can be sartorially learned from the menswear section of a department store.

Feminine Grace When looking to stock her shelves, Kasey Fuller, who owns the boutique Gypsy Catwalk, found that soft blush, white and neutral tones were “everywhere.”

Predictably, delicate floral prints are popular come spring, but unlike the hint of sexy from last year’s runways, we’re seeing longer hems, lace and overstated ruffles, all in the soft colors

appropriate for a garden party in Buckinghamshire.

Ruffles popped up from head to toe, whether on the ends of sleeves at Tome or the bottoms of skirts at J.Crew.

“There are ruffles on the tops and ruffles on the bottom, whether they’re tiered or layered, and the sleeves or shorts have ruffles,” Fuller said. “They’re more pronounced, and not necessarily all laying flat as you would expect.”

In keeping with an English tea party, Fuller has seen hems on the runways drop from thigh-brushing to shin-skimming.

But Peyton Johnson, 20, a representative for James Madison University on CollegeFashionista.com, is still seeing miniskirts around campus.

“Miniskirts are making a comeback, and I definitely think the skirts will stay really popular this summer,” said Johnson, who polled about 100 women about what they’re stocking up on.

Meeting in the middle, Fuller has stocked her shop with some illusion clothing that has length at first glance, but is sheer enough to see shorts or bloomers underneath.

“It’s like a skort. That’s basically what it is, and Spring 2017

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Jessica Lee Shenk models an outfit.

they’re coming back,” Fuller said of the bottoms once popular in the late ’90s.

“Some of them you can see the shorts underneath, but some of them you can’t.”

Of course, designers wouldn’t focus simply on fabric and embellishments when dressing femininely; silhouettes are also pulling in around the middle with waist cinchers and bustiers.

Instead of an accessory typically rocked in the Moulin Rouge, designers are repurposing them as overgrown belts: nipping in a dress at Tibi or pulling together an undone tailored shirt at Misbhv.

Lush velvet fabrics are thrown into the mix to keep things from getting too stuffy, according to Leila Ostria, also a JMU rep on CollegeFashionista.com.

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Spring 2017

“I would say the biggest change I’m seeing this season is mixing textures,” Ostria, 21, said. “I’ve noticed people who wear a velvet top, but with a leather skirt or a velvet dress and put a jean jacket on top.”

Masculine Charm At the other end of the spectrum, we have structured, figure-hiding menswear. While some designers chose to pull oversized pockets and boxy shapes from the menswear lines, others took the prints.

Whether the pinstripes of Wall Street, or the rainbowbright stripes of a rugby team, or nautical stripes pulled from 1920s bathing suits, stripes have quickly disseminated from the runways to the streets.

“I think banker stripes will stay on trend, but become T-shirt dresses when it gets warmer,” Johnson said. “I would wear them tucked into either a miniskirt or shorts that are more highwaisted, so it looks sharper and more tailored.”

To keep looks from becoming too boardroom, designers again messed with shapes, incorporating the “undone” antithesis of the tailored suit a la DKNY and Rag & Bone.

In three different shows Fuller attended for the spring, she saw jean bib overalls.

“They were pants, and they were tapered and one model had them rolled up,” she said. “They all had heels on, which made it all sexy with hardly anything underneath.”

Viktoria Bondaruk models an off-the-shoulder outfit at a Gypsy Catwalk fashion show at the Home & Living Expo.

Fuller would tie a sweater around the waist if she wore a pair to pull the waist in and break up the sea of denim.

But as my sister and I could find common ground in our sugary breakfast cereal and mutual love for Nickelodeon, designers agreed that regardless of which side of the gender spectrum the style was pulled from, shoulders were meant to be bared.

Unlike the trend from last summer, shoulders aren’t totally free, whether they’re covered by a sweater softly falling to one side, or a shirt that cut off one sleeve like a disease.

As with most things in provincial life, trends are slower to take root, so Fuller recommends using your best judgment when incorporating

styles into your wardrobe.

Research on social media or follow celebrities like Johnson does, but only wear what feels like you.

“Miniskirts are making a comeback, and I definitely think the skirts will stay really popular this summer.”

— Peyton Johnson “If something doesn’t work in one place, it might work in another,” Fuller said.

“It’s so weird to go to a festival and no one will pick up this one item, and I’m thinking this was a horrible buy. But the next weekend, I will sell five of them at a different location.”

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foam fitness

By Lauren Sharpe • Photos by Holly Marcus

Olivia Duca, a James Madison University senior and Sentara RMH Wellness Center intern, models a foam roller techinque.

S

pring is here, and the warm sunshine beckons us outdoors to enjoy this beautiful season.

Having been cooped up inside these previous winter months, our bodies are aching for activity. Now hold on — before we lace up and hit the trail, consider trying something new to prepare muscles for training.

Many have likely experienced muscle tightness, and for different reasons. During

the cold months, we tend to engage in less physical activity. We drive to work instead of commuting by foot, and we find adventure in theater seats instead of atop mountains.

According to the study “Muscle Injuries” by S.W.F. Middleton and J.E. Smith published in the magazine Trauma, reduced physical activity during the winter promotes muscle tightness that could lead to altered

body mechanics and injury.

The journal also claims that repetitive exercise can lead to muscle tightness.

So, those who choose to religiously hit the gym or trail in the winter also likely experience muscle tightness from their workouts.

Whether our muscles are stiff from overuse or underuse, living life perpetually tight inevitably affects the way we move and can lead to injury. To keep

your body safe and maximize experience this season, it’s important to approach exercise with flexible muscles.

So, what do we do to loosen our muscles in preparation for our favorite spring activities? In the 2015 edition of The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, J.E. Bushell and colleagues explained the effectiveness of a technique called foam rolling, a Spring 2017

25

form of self-massage to promote muscle relaxation and assuage our stiffness struggles. The foam roller provides a way to put pressure on tight muscles, stimulating the muscle to relax so you can perform a deeper stretch. Various types of foam rollers can be found in fitness centers and can be purchased in stores like Target or Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Foam rolling has grown in popularity just within the past decade. George Reid, director of the Sentara RMH Wellness Center and strong

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Spring 2017

proponent of the foam roller, shared his first experience using the device at an American College of Sports Medicine conference in Indianapolis eight years ago.

After his wife spent 15 minutes rolling her muscles, he noticed a significant, positive change in her posture. Reid also tested the roller himself and experienced improved range of motion in his left hip, which had been significantly tight from a childhood surgery.

A personal trainer at the time, Reid pushed for foam rollers to be available at the

“So far, [foam rolling] seems to be the best way to promote muscle relaxation and proper alignment.”

— George Reid

Wellness Center and made sure to have his personal training clients begin each session with foam rolling and stretching.

“So far, [foam rolling] seems to be the best way to promote muscle

relaxation and proper alignment,” he said.

In the academic journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, G.Z. MacDonald and colleagues documented their investigation of the use of foam rolling following exercise. These scientists discovered that it not only increases flexibility and promotes proper form during exercise, but also facilitates muscle recovery.

Dr. Robert H. Sease, member of the Wellness Center, is an avid runner dedicated to foam rolling after each exercise session,

usually two to three times each week.

“Some days, due to time constraints,” he said, “I have to delay [the foam rolling] until several hours after a run. But it still seems to reduce soreness the next day.”

Both Sease and Reid mentioned the initial discomfort foam rolling causes, as tight muscles are sensitive to pressure.

Nonetheless, both emphasized that over time, the increased range of motion and reduced soreness

were certainly worth the temporary discomfort.

To use the foam roller effectively, lay on it so that your body weight presses the muscle against the roller.

Maintaining pressure on the muscle, move your body so it rolls along the length of the

muscle. You will find certain areas that are particularly sensitive.

At these points, pause for 30-60 seconds, or until you sense a release in the muscle.

Then, perform a gentle stretch to further loosen the

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muscle. Make sure not to press your joints — such as the knees, lower back and neck — directly on the foam roller to avoid straining these areas. Depending on how many sensitive areas you discover during foam rolling, this may take you anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.

Common areas of tightness include the quadriceps, at the front of the thigh; the calves and hamstrings, along the

back of the leg; and the chest muscles.

Foam rolling and gently stretching these areas before every exercise bout (or whenever experiencing soreness) will significantly increase your flexibility, reduce muscle soreness and reduce your risk of injury.

So loosen up, roll away the tension and actively enjoy the beautiful season ahead.

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Spring 2017

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