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volume 138, Issue 12 • wednesday, December 7, 2011
1700 S.W. College • topeka, kan. 66621
Christmas Bureau gives children hope Megan Hash
WASHBURN REVIEW
A child wakes up on Christmas morning, runs down the hallway in excitement, only to discover disappointment—no presents wait for him under the tree. For many children in Topeka, this is a reality they face every year. The United Way of Greater Topeka hopes to change these circumstances. The United Way’s Christmas Bureau is in its 70th year of adopting local families in need for Christmas. There are almost 3,000 families that have signed up to be adopted this year who need assistance providing Christmas presents for their children. Household sizes vary from one single individual to a family of 12. “We have more than 9,000 peo-
ple total of all ages this year seeking help,” said Tom Baumgartner, director of volunteer engagement for United Way of Greater Topeka. Baumgartner said that number is up from previous years. More families are seeking help this holiday season. Families that qualified for assistance completed a thorough intake process that reviewed income documentation and verified identification for each person in the household. “The economic recovery has been slow and many families are dealing with unexpected issues from unemployment to disability and more, causing an increase in the number of families that applied for help this year,” said Jamie Hornbaker, director of communications for United Way of Greater Topeka. The increased numbers translate
to a need for more adopters. The cost to adopt a family varies based on the family size. For a family of three, the recommended cost is $125 – which includes a gift of $35 for each person in the family and food for a holiday meal. “College students can help in many ways – they can either pass the hat with a group or organization and adopt a family together or collect money to send to the Christmas Bureau,” said Hornbaker. “Some people have asked their families to consider adopting a family in lieu of a gift exchange.” For students who may not be able to make monetary donations, there are other ways to get involved. “College students can volunteer,” said Hornbaker. “United Way needs volunteers to do the shopping, gift
wrapping and delivering of gifts for Christmas Bureau. It’s a fun, easy way to get involved.” At this time there are still more than 410 families in need of adoption. The easiest way to get involved or adopt a family is to visit the United Way online at www.unitedwaytopeka. org. After submitting a request for a family, volunteers first process the information and then match the adopter with a family in need. The family’s contact information and wish list is sent to the adopter via email or mail. “It’s important that once an adopter receives their family’s information that they pick up the phone and call them,” said Baumgartner. “So many of our families get nervous if they don’t hear from anyone. This is true especially when there are kids involved; they worry about their kids’ Christmas
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more than their own.” After contacting the family, the adopters can shop, wrap and deliver presents. “Adopting a family would help students feel connected to the community and the meaning behind Christmas,” said Hornbaker. “We will take donations right up until Christmas, but hope to adopt out everyone by the 15th of December.”
Graphic by Maggie Pilcher, Washburn Review
Megan Hash is a senior double majoring in mass media and music. She can be reached at megan.hash@washburn.edu.
Sports
Scatterbrained artist
Tricia Peterson
WASHBURN REVIEW
Art can be inspired by many things, and senior art student Travis Garwood found his inspiration through death, as well as birth. His senior art exhibit “SCATTERBRAIN” reflected his transitions throughout his life as well as scattered subject matter from throughout his experiences at Washburn University. Garwood’s love for photography began in seventh grade when he watched a documentary about videographers and photographers on the National Geographic channel. Since then, he knew what he wanted to do with his life, so in high school, he attended Kaw Area Technical Institute, which is now Washburn Institute of Technology. There, he received an Associates in Applied Science in 2006, then began attending Washburn University in pursuit of his bachelors of fine arts degree. Garwood’s photography progressed right along with him as he experienced life. “I started with landscape type stuff when I first got to Washburn,” said Garwood. “Then, I transitioned into more conceptual-based art.” With the death of both of his grandparents on his father’s side, Garwood’s art became his way of dealing with his grief. His art took on darker themes, which reflected his loss of very important members in his family. “The deaths affected me the most because I worked through [my grief] through my art,” said Garwood. “There are a lot of darker themes in my conceptual art, because of their deaths.” Garwood explained that his grandparents were a large part of his childhood, because he would stay there while his parents were at work. He continued the close relationships as he became an adult, so their deaths significantly affected him. “Their deaths were the worst, because I went over there in the summers with my cousins,” said Garwood. “When they both died, it was like the official loss of my childhood, even though I had been over 18 for years.” After the deaths of his grandparents, Garwood continued to attend school, got married and worked on his art.
Anthony Richardson, Washburn Review
Senior Art: The piece is a documentation of Garwood’s artisitc career thus far. It shows his progression through different mediums as well as through his life.
With the start of a family and the births of his three children, he began to focus on lighter themes, and some of his art involved two of his own children. His “Social Commentaries” series, which was also featured in “SCATTERBRAIN,” reflected his working through having children and how it changed the way he thought about the world. “[The series] involves commentary on how to overcome consumption of America’s goods,” said Garwood. “[Also], it’s about how we are treating our environment and how we are going to leave our world for our children.” The pieces in the collection featured artwork of his children in various destroyed surrounding. For example, one piece shows his daughter standing in front of some old, broken televisions, with old dolls and toys laying inside one of the televisions, symbolizing his concern for the world we will be leaving behind for our children. He feels more people should be more concerned with the environment, so humans can leave the world a better place. In addition to “Social Commentaries,” Garwood likes to do abstracted nudes as well as impressionistic landscapes with oil painting, and both were featured in “SCATTERBRAIN.” “I positioned the person in a certain arrangement of their body and zoomed in close to where their legs
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Photos by Jordan Loomis, Washburn Review
Season of Highs: Washburn running back Sean McPherson looks back over his shoulder as the offensive line comes to greet him in the endzone. McPherson was one part of a two headed running attack that helped lift the Ichabods to a 10-3 season.
Season lifts WU to new heights Rob Burkett
WASHBURN REVIEW
History. It’s a word that carries a lot of connotations. From a star quarterback who soared to new heights to a team that finally broke through while elevating an already accomplished program to a new level, the 2011 season for Washburn Football was nothing short of impressive. Prior to the season, Washburn had obstacles and tragedies to overcome. June 11, 2011, is a date that will live in
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the memories of those associated with Ichabod football. Redshirt freshman Jermon Watson, a promising young player for Washburn’s defense, was the single fatality in a car accident. The tragedy in some respects helped to bring the team closer together. Throughout the season, the team kept Watson in its thoughts as a player during each game took a turn wearing what would have been Watson’s jersey number, 20, to honor his memory. From tragedy, the team then was side-swiped by controversy when star junior running back Ver-
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shon Moore was arrested and later pleaded guilty to bank robbery. AllAmerican defensive back Pierre Desir later left the team after missing training camp for personal reasons. Through all of these trials, the team never lost focus as they continued to prepare for the upcoming season. To show skeptics, despite all that had taken place over the offseason, that Washburn was ready for a strong season, the Ichabods went on the road to open the season.
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