Serving James Madison University Since 1922 BreezeJMU.org
Vol. 94, No. 6
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Not just ‘street art’ Looking back on the history of the MLK Jr. Way mural MARSHAL RIGGS / THE BREEZE
The MLK Jr. Way mural is located near the Wine-Price building. Many have stopped to appreciate the work, but few know its history.
breezejmu.org By ERIN FLYNN The Breeze
For Trudy Cole, a professor in the School of Art, Design and Art History, her mural on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, takes her back to a day in midSeptember 1996. “It was a perfect day,” Cole said, thinking back to the daylong event that took place 19 years ago and the 200 people that made it possible. It was on this day that “Sierra in September,” a flower-filled mural located on historic Cantrell Avenue, was born. It was on United Way’s Day of Caring, an event where businesses give employees the day off so they can participate in community service projects around Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Before this event could even be imagined, however, much preparation was needed. Emily Purdy, the director of United Way, first notified Cole of the opportunity to paint a mural more than a month before it
took place. Cole enthusiastically agreed and began brainstorming design ideas with Purdy, who has since passed away. “We talked about what kind of imagery could go up there that would be non-controversial, that could be easily painted by a volume of people, and after a lot of brainstorming, that’s what we came up with,” Cole said. After making a decision, Cole then designed the mural on a 5-foot piece of paper, which matched the mural’s proportion. She created a grid of 12-inch sections of the design and then asked the fundamental design students to grid and draw the design on the wall. The students also helped by painting in the mural’s background. Despite all the time that went into the mural’s creation, the hard work was more than worth it for Cole. “It was really an amazing experience to watch all these people, they see MURAL, page 6
One Safe haven opens for veterans place for all Through new center, JMU hopes to give back to those who served
By ERIN FLYNN and VICTORIA HOLLOWAY The Breeze
City staff consider benefits of new City Hall building
SAM TAYLOR / THE BREEZE
Ten city offices moved into the newly constructed building last Friday. The entire project is expected to be finished in November or December. By JESSICA NEWMAN The Breeze
With the construction of a new $9.2 million City Hall far enough along, several city offices have moved into the new building, on South Main Street. The entire project is scheduled to be completed around November or December, according to Acting Director of Planning and Community Development Adam Fletcher. According to Mary-Hope Vass, the City of Harrisonburg’s public information officer, the offices were previously operating from three separate buildings — the Municipal Building, a building that houses community development and planning, and the former Council Chambers and IT, which were temporarily located in a house next to the Municipal Building. Last Friday, 10 different offices closed in order to move into the new City Hall building. These offices included Community Development and Planning, City Manager, Human Resources, Finance Department, Commissioner of the Revenue, Real Estate, Treasurer, Voter Registrar, Information Technology and Parking Services. “We are very excited that all of the services that the public needs to access day in and day out will be in one central location,” Vass said. According to Vass, there are also several different offices that will not be moving into the new building. These include some off-site departments such as public works, public utilities and transportation, which have offices in their own buildings. “They need the space that they’re currently in so they will remain where they are,” Vass said. Now that the Municipal Building isn’t being utilized, it’ll be undergoing renovations. The old building only has one central air conditioning unit, and isn’t energy efficient. Because the Municipal Building has historical value, the city has no intention of demolishing it. As reported in a previous Breeze article, the Municipal Building has been used for offices since 1967. However, according to Vass, the city hasn’t yet found an alternate purpose for the building. In the past, most of the offices were housed in the community development and planning
Student veterans on campus now have a place to call their own. Last Friday, the JMU Student Veteran’s Association opened a new center in Wilson Hall that will be reserved for military veterans. “JMU, as an institution and community, has always prided itself on being ‘All Together One,’’” Bill Wilson, director of Madison Institutes, said. This is why he and Rob Tucker, the JMU community affairs manager, felt that student veterans needed their own space on campus. They decided to provide a space for this particular group of students for several reasons, including the age difference, gender distribution and their unique experiences. “That time that they spent in the military, the experiences that they’ve had make them a very unique population that we needed to kind of focus on, [in terms of] what that population’s needs are because it isn’t the same as every other group — not that every other group is the same, but they have more similarities, where this group has very unique circumstances,” Wilson said. Wilson also said that they hope the new center will help those who choose to serve in the military succeed. “It’s a potentially growing population on our campus that have chosen to serve the country,” Wilson said. “And we want to make sure that when they return and they begin to figure out those next steps in their lives that we’re providing them with the best opportunities to succeed where we can, and that connectivity with a center like this is huge in the success rate.” There are about 225 student veterans at JMU, many of whom have jobs, and some who have spouses and families. According to Wilson, the new center will serve as a home for both current and prospective student veterans. The center will offer veteran students JAC card access to lockers, a kitchen area with a refrigerator, a lounge area and a meeting space with conference tables, white boards and video monitors, according to Tucker. According to SVA faculty adviser and assistant political science professor Jennifer Taylor, the center not only helps build community but also provides resources for veterans. “Veterans have so much to offer us in terms of the very best of what being an American, and a global citizen, is all about, [including] service
LOREN PROBISH / THE BREEZE
President Jon Alger speaks at the center’s ribbon cutting ceremony last Friday.
to each other, to our nation, and helping make the world a better place,” Taylor said in an email. “In the past, student veterans had to search for other[s] within the greater student body and in social media. With a physical presence on campus, that opportunity to build community is so much more readily accessible.” According to SVA president and junior history major Chris Nelson, the center will help veterans with issues that aren’t common among the average student, academic struggles they may face and time management. Nelson also believes that the new place will allow veterans to be themselves. “Veterans have a unique world view, and a shared experience that others may not understand. It is not always easy to be in large crowds, around loud noises, and the controlled chaos a college campus can be,” Nelson said in an email. “Sometimes, we need a place to go where see WILSON, page 3
Chow, Bella From chilly sweets to hot espresso, new bakery adds flavor to the Friendly City By EMMA KORYNTA The Breeze
Silver chairs lined against a brick wall are filled with families and students alike taking spoonfuls of gelato, sips of lattes and bites of croissants. This isn’t France, it’s downtown Harrisonburg. Wade Luhn, owner of Harrisonburg’s Bella Luna, opened Bella Gelato this past May. Already, the business has gone further than he originally imagined. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Bella Gelato offers food and sweet treats for all times of day. “We were doing all of our breads [at Bella Luna] and our kitchen is really too small given the amount of business we have, so we were looking to expand,” Luhn said. “The off-site bakery came available, and we thought gelato would be a great opportunity for the folks downtown.” While the original thought of Bella Gelato was to sell gelato and provide a place for Bella Luna to bake, Bella Gelato expanded to sell a wide array of newly baked pastries, fresh tasting gelato and coffee products. From the layers of precisely folded croissants to the exact balance of the juicy blueberries and licorice-like thai basil combinations in gelato, everything at Bella Luna has carefully crafted flavors. “It’s been amazing just being able to serve something when everything we have is handcrafted down to our pastries, our gelato, our espresso drinks, our coffee,” manager Kristin Sven said. “It’s just something that’s really special and unique.” As Bella Gelato is right across the street from Bella Luna at 49-A W. Water St., it provides a convenient location for fans of the restaurant. “There’s a great vibe right downtown,” Luhn said. “It’s something really street friendly as you’re downtown and you’re going to dinner someplace else or seeing a show with some friends. It’s provided a nice little gathering point.” They hope that the location and overall experience will invite new
see MOVE, page 3
A THOUGHTFUL PROFESSION New faculty member discusses practicality of philosophy NEWS | 3
see GELATO, page 7
JAMES ALLEN / THE BREEZE
Vanilla Hazelnut gelato gets scooped out at the new bakery located on Water Street.
FOUR DOWNS OF THE WEEK JMU looks ahead to first conference opponent SPORTS | 9
TODAY WILL BE Partly Cloudy 83° / 54° Chance of rain: 0%