New Exhibit in Special Collections: 80 Years of Boise State University

A new exhibit commemorating the 80th anniversary of Boise State University was recently installed in Special Collections and Archives. The first day of class was on September 6, 1932, for the new college known as Boise Junior College. The two-year school was created to provide college education for students graduating from high schools in the area who could not afford to travel to attend college.

The first student body of BJC was comprised of 70 students, tuition was $60, and there were eight full-time faculty and six part-time faculty. The first college president was Middleton Barnwell, the bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The school was located in buildings that had previously been occupied by St. Margaret’s School, a day school for girls. The campus was located in downtown Boise near First and Idaho Streets until it moved to its current location in 1939.

In addition to photographs from the early days of classes, pictures from other decades of the university’s history, as well as significant clothing and other artifacts are displayed in the exhibit. A piece of the blue astroturf that was installed in Bronco Stadium in 1986 is also included. The exhibit is on display in front of Special Collections on the second floor of the library. E-mail archives@boisestate.edu with any questions or comments.

Additional images of Boise State University may be viewed in the digital collection “Historic Boise State” located at http://digital.boisestate.edu/cdm/.

Edwin Howland Blashfield, The Angel with the Flaming Sword

Date: 1893
Technique: Unknown

Source

Victor Hugo, The Gnome of the Night (Le nain de la nuit)

Maison de Victor Hugo, Paris

Date: 1856
Technique: Pen, brush, brown ink wash on vellum paper, 38.3 x 23.9 cm

Source

John William Waterhouse, Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus

Private collection

Date: 1905
Tchnique: Oil on canvas, 99 x 149 cm

Source 1
Source 2

Albert Goodwin, The Phantom Ship

Private collection

Date: 1900
Technique: Watercolour and bodycolour, 36.83 x 24.13 cm

Source

Albert Goodwin, Apocalypse

Private collection

Date: 1903
Technique: Watercolour and bodycolour, 44.45 x 27.30 cm

Source

Ephraim Moses Lilien, Dybbuk

Date: Unknown
Technique: Unknown

Source

Arthur Hacker, The Temptation of Sir Percival

Leeds Museums and Galleries - City Art Gallery

Date: 1894
Technique: Oil on canvas, 157 x 132 cm

Source 1
Source 2

Librarian featured in top field publication

Albertsons Library librarian Margie Ruppel co-authored an article that has been selected by the American Library Association (ALA) Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) as one of the Top Twenty publications in the field of instruction and information literacy published in 2011.

The selection committee indicated their article exemplified the criteria of "quality writing, useful research and stimulating ideas."  You can read a synopsis of the article “Information Literacy Follow-Through: Enhancing Preservice Teachers’ Information Evaluation Skills through Formative Assessment.” in Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian 30.2 (2011): 72-84. and the other top 20 here: http://fleetwood.baylor.edu/lirt/lirtnews/2012/jun12.pdf

Congratulations, Margie!

Albert Besnard, The Hanged Man (Le Pendu)

Date: 1873
Technique: Etching and drypoint. 202 x 165 mm

Source

Vovo Telo Newton Park

Though I've been off the radar screen for six weeks or so the Coffee Crawl is alive and well in PE.  Lou and I had to make an unexpected trip back to the States in mid-July and have just recently returned to RSA.  In my absence the Crawlers continued to meet for coffee on Thursday mornings visiting some of their favorite shops in the area.  Just days before I left for the U.S. the Crawlers met at The Baking Shop on Main Road in Walmer.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to put up a post on the shop and, upon my return, found that they had moved across the street.  I feel that, in order to give The Baking Shop its due, we will visit them soon in their new digs and attempt a Crawl do over.

So, on to this past Thursday's Crawl site, Vovo Telo, located at 27a Pickering Street in Newton Park, and the sister shop of Vovo Telo in Richmond Hill which we visited in April, 2011.  All of this week's Crawlers arrived in advance of me... perhaps they thought I'd skipped the country again!.... and were seated at an outside table enjoying the sunshine.  As I approached the table I realized how much I had missed the Crawl while I was away.... after all, we've been at this for a year and a half now.  Well, after giving hugs all around and introducing my guest, Rebecca (visiting from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.), we got down to business and ordered our Illy brand cappuccinos and Americanos from our waitress, Rabi.  The Crawl's signature ordering by a show of hands brought yet another smile to my face.  Our coffees, prepped by barista, Uhuru, arrived with the inevitable extra cappuccino (not ever a problem as someone usually scarfs it up!).  My cappuccinos were hot and delicious.... expect nothing less from Vovo Telo!

Meet the Barista
Uhuru

Meet our Waitress
Rabi

Vovo Telo was really busy on Thursday so I had limited time to spend talking to camera shy owner, Phillipa Zeni.  In the time we did have Phillipa provided me with staff names and shop hours: M-F, 7:15-3:30, Sat, 8-2, Sun, 8-1, along with an extra breakfast/lunch/pizza menu to take home.  She said that though Vovo Telo is expanding from its origins in PE to Joburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town, she is making sure that the Newton Park site maintains a cozy coffee shop feel and limiting the seating to only about 40.  Also, just as with the Richmond Hill Vovo Telo, the breads at the Pickering Street shop are baked fresh daily using traditional artisanal techniques and no preservatives.  The Vovo Telo breads have been PE resident favorites for years!  The other baked goods looked tantalizing as well but, as I had put on a few pounds while in NY, I stuck to the No Food On The Crawl Rule.

As would be expected after a six week respite there was a lot of catching up to be done with this week's Crawlers, Beth and Angela Vieira, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Colleen LeRoux, Margaret Zoetmulder, Fran and Mandy de Beer, and Rebecca Marx.  News of weddings, new babies, travels and casino losses were shared by all.  At some point the discussion came around to the weather.  From what I gather the weather here in PE was pretty horrible while I was away... rainy, cold and windy.  Margaret, just returning from an extended trip to the UK, didn't have it much better.  The weather in NY while we were there was actually very nice... sunny and hot most days.  Since our return we've had no rain here in PE... only nice temps and sunny skies... guess I brought the good weather back with me!!!  Knock on wood....

This Week's Crawlers
Rebecca, Beryl, June, Mandy, Margaret,Stella,
Colleen, Beth, Angela, Gail, Fran

All in all it was good to get back to the Crawl again.  Hopefully there will be no more unexpected trips for a while.  Routine is good.  Now I'm off to practice my bagpipes which I haven't touched for six weeks.  This is not going to be pretty....

~Thank you to Phillipa and staff for your hospitality
~Congrats and Best Wishes to Angela on her recent wedding, Aug 11
~Good luck to my son, Jeff, as he starts his new job in Indianapolis
~A special PE Coffee Crawl welcome to Rebecca Marx!

Until next week,

Ellen

ROLO! Full Moon Paddleboarding Adventure

If there's one thing that the move to St. Kitts has inspired me to do, it's to be adventurous.  So when opportunity arises, jump in that saddle and enjoy the ride!

On August 2nd, 2012 there was a full moon paddle boarding opportunity presented to me by a good friend.  So I told her that Jarrod and I would be joining them.  Although a little apprehensive at first, Jarrod was excited to be going on this adventure with me.  Little did I know that his friends he studied with before we headed out that night gave him a hard time and spooked him with talk of sharks.  LOL!

We met everyone in the parking area across from Shiggity Shack and drove in one car out to White House Bay where we would start our excursion.  Driving out on the peninsula at night is quite an interesting drive with all the potholes/craters that you have to dodge (during the daylight this drive is not much better unfortunately...ha!).  When we arrived, the boards were already there and within a couple minutes of our arrival, our instructor and the owner of Honu & Pelikana: Standup Paddle Board Rentals & Tours (their facebook group where you can see more pictures and paddle boarding events), Dr. Nicholas Spaccarelli (also one of the outstanding clinicians/professors at RUSVM), arrived.

He surveyed the group to get a feel for the level of experience each individual possessed.  Then he got out some really fun glow sticks for us to use as necklaces and help him keep an eye on all of us while we were out on the water.  After we all had our fun pretending to rave with our glow sticks, Dr. Spaccarelli did a nice introduction to paddle boarding, the proper spot to stand on the board, proper way to hold the paddle, most efficient way to get the most out of each stroke, and other bits of helpful information.  Then what really made everyone in the group even more comfortable about this new adventure is that he had actually already been out in the water and traveled the route he was taking us on.  He talked to us about what to expect from the wind (was  blowing a little that evening), the water, and other helpful tips for the trip.

So one by one we climbed onto our boards that he placed into the water for us.  Once we were all in the water, off we went!

The boards that Honu & Pelikana company uses were absolutely comfortable for the entire duration of the trip.  The scenery was exhilarating!  The night sky was lit up by our friend, the full moon.  The rolling hills and mountains stood solidly alongside our group.  Every sound and smell aroused my senses and made me feel entirely at peace.  The island air was cool and definitely felt good towards the end of the trip when I really started feeling the work I had done to get to our final destination.  The water ran its own course underneath my board...sometimes pushing me along and sometimes pushing a little against the board so you had to put more power behind each stroke.  The most mesmerizing characteristic about the water was how absolutely clear it was...distracting at times and making it hard to keep my balance!  I kept looking down and around to see sea turtles or any other creatures that would be out and about.  Can't say I really saw anything, but we did have a few fish that seemed to be attracted to the glow sticks (or any light for that matter) and would jump up out of the water (at times landing on the boards of those in my group!).

I hate to admit it, but I think I was one of the slower ones in my paddle boarding group.  I was just distracted and trying to soak up every bit of the experience.  But no worries, Dr. Spaccarelli hung out at the back of the group and coasted along with me.  So nice to not feel like I was being left behind or anything like that.

At one point during our journey all the way to Timothy Beach, we came across the "St. Kitts lazy river".  It was a man made segregated portion of the ocean against the shore that had its own current that pushed you along to the point that you barely needed to paddle.  Definitely one of my favorite points of the experience.

The originally apprehensive Jarrod was paddling right along the entire way...had never been on a paddle board and was looking like a pro!  I could tell he was having a blast which made me ecstatic.

Before I knew it, we were paddling towards the shore in front of Shiggity Shack where there was music, a huge bonfire, and lots of people (probably visitors to the island) with cameras and taking pictures of us like we were celebrities!  LOL!

As we pulled our boards to shore, there were some familiar faces (professors and fellow students) enjoying the night.  So we hung out for a little bit, danced it up on the dance floor and had a couple beers before calling it a night.

I highly recommend this experience if you ever find yourself in St. Kitts.  Not necessarily a full moon paddle boarding experience, but definitely a paddle boarding tour of the island.  And I will most definitely be using Dr. Spaccarelli's company again for my other paddle boarding adventures during the rest of my stay on St. Kitts.  I felt so comfortable with the entire experience and like he was invested in each and every single one of his paddle boarders and making sure that we were all having a great time out on the water.

I was so happy to have shared this experience with Jarrod...and am definitely looking forward to the other adventures we will get to experience together.

In the words of a good friend of mine...ROLO=Rossies Only Live Once ;)

Bernard Picart, Lycaon Metamorphosed into a Wolf

Date: 1733
Technique: Etching and engraving

From the Temple of the Muses (Neu-Erofneer Musen-Tempel) published in Amsterdam and Leipzig

Source

Oskar Zwintscher, Self-Portrait

Date: 1897
Technique: Unknown

Source

Jacob de Gheyn (III), Triton Blowing on a Conch Shell (Een triton die op een schelp blaast)

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Date: 1616-20
Technique: Etching, 198 x 165 mm

Source

Vivien Thomas and Canine Surgery

by Donald F. Smith, Cornell University
August 25, 2012

When I lecture on the topic of One Health, I sometimes tell the story of the first surgical repair of the blue baby syndrome to demonstrate how important dogs were in achieving major advances in human medicine. 

Through the first half of the 20th century, dogs were used extensively by physicians in medical schools to help them learn the physiologic and pathologic changes associated with disease in people. Many complex surgical procedures were tested by MDs first on dogs to see if they could be successfully performed in people. Surgical residents developed their technical skills in "dog labs" that were common in medical schools. 

Anna, the experimental dog used 
to develop the corrective surgery 
for blue baby syndrome.
Photo from Johns Hopkins U.

The blue baby story holds special interest to me not just because of its profound impact on human surgery, but also because of the special place of a dog named "Anna" in the folk lore of Johns Hopkins Hospital.  

The term blue baby refers to the bluish-purple appearance of an infant's skin caused by lack of oxygen going to the tissues. A rare but well-known cause of this problem in the early 20th century was  tetralogy of Fallot, in which heart defects during fetal development result in the inability of the heart to pump venous blood into the lungs to be properly oxygenated. Affected babies usually died during the first year of life. 

Vivien Thomas (1910-85), the surgical technician
who developed the technical procedure
for the correction of Tetralogy of Fallot.
Photo from Johns Hopkins U.

In the early 1940s, Alfred Blalock was head of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Vivien Thomas was his laboratory technician. A cardiologist named Helen Taussig approached Blalock and Thomas one day in their surgical laboratory and appealed to them to find a way to surgically repair tetralogy of Fallot. Though Taussig did not know it, Blalock and Thomas had years earlier created an experimental model in dogs in which blood to the lungs had been rerouted. The two men devised a variation of that model (in which the left subclavian artery was anastomosed to the pulmonary artery) and developed a plan to test the idea.

Blalock went back to his busy surgical practice and his administrative duties, and Thomas worked in his laboratory to create an experimental model in dogs to mimic the birth defect. Though he had never trained with a veterinarian and had only worked in a human surgical laboratory, he devised a way to surgically produce a condition in dogs similar to the one affecting human babies. Once he could produce the blue baby-like signs in his dog model, he operated on an affected dog to make sure that the type of repair that he and Blalock had devised would correct the blood flow problem that killed the babies. He designed instruments and delicate operative techniques to ensure that the repair could be performed on a tiny child. In his autobiography, Thomas said that he used 200 experimental dogs over a several-month period to accomplish this astounding breakthrough.

Photo from the first successful operation for
correction of tetralogy of Fallot, November 29, 1944
Vivien Thomas is at back left.
Photo from Johns Hopkins U.

The procedure was first performed on a baby girl on November 29th, 1944. Blalock was the surgeon. However, looking over his shoulder and coaching him throughout the procedure, was Vivien Thomas, whose knowledge of every minute detail of the operation was critical to its success. The symbiotic relationship between Blalock and Thomas was complicated by the fact that Thomas, though perhaps the most accomplished canine surgeon of the era, had no formal training in medicine or veterinary medicine. He was a tradesman, a carpenter, whose plans to go to medical school in the late 1920s were thwarted by the Depression.

He was also African-American, working in the segregated environment of Hopkins. His story was beautifully told in "Something the Lord Made" which premiered on HBO in 2004.

In his waning years and with Blalock deceased, Thomas identified what he referred to as the "troika" who developed the procedure to correct the tetralogy of Fallot. Equal with Blalock and himself, he included the dog named Anna. It is a beautiful example of One Health and the impact that physicians had on advancing canine anesthesia and surgery 80 years ago. 

Thomas' expertise continued to be felt for decades as he used dogs to train surgical residents who later progressed to important positions at prestigious medical schools. He occasionally assisted a veterinarian in a nearby animal hospital practice where he used his skills in canine anesthesia and surgery to save lives of dogs with spontaneously-occurring surgical problems.

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Josef Mandl, Triumfátor

Date: Unknown
Technique: Oil on canvas, 56 x 108 cm

Source 1
Source 2

Ernst Stöhr, Vampire (Vampir)

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna

Date: 1899
Technique: Ink drawing

From Ver sacrum.

Source

7th Semester Banquet: A legit reason to fundraise for your class!

Third semester brought a lot of debate amongst my class.  To fundraise or not to fundraise...that was the question.  As class rep during third semester, I saw the issues surrounding fundraising semester after semester.

From my point of view, it seemed as though the same group of individuals was helping with our fundraising events (ie. bake sales, etc.) each and every event.  It seemed like there was a majority that weren't participating...maybe they were not financially able to help, maybe they didn't care to step outside of their studies, maybe they figured others would do the work for them, maybe they didn't like the idea of fundraising for a banquet at the end of our seven semesters.  I'm speculating of course...

So after a meeting amongst the class reps and fundraising chairs, we thought we'd implement a point system to even the playing field.  You'd acquire points in a variety of ways and ultimately your points earned through participation/help in our fundraising efforts would give you a larger vote in where our money would go at the end of our seven semesters whether it would be towards a banquet, donations to our community in St. Kitts, etc.  Welllllllll...that didn't sit well with everyone in our class.

To make it fair, we put it all to a vote...everyone busted out their clickers and our fundraising chairs presented everyone with their choices.  The first choice to be voted on...to fundraise or not to fundraise.  If we voted to not fundraise, there was discussion on everyone paying a portion of the grand total needed to have a decent banquet, make donations, etc.  The majority voted to continue fundraising.  So then our next choice that was to be voted on was the decision to install a point system or not to install a point system.  The majority voted to not install a point system.  So that was that...

Our fundraising chairs continued on their course the rest of the semester and successfully held the remainder of our fundraising events and actually got us to our target amount of funds needed by the end of the semester.

For me, when I made the decision to step away from the position of class rep, it also helped me to step away from fundraising.  In my position, I always felt obligated to help with every one of our fundraising events whether that meant baking a baked good, working a shift at a bake sale, helping at the other events where ever my help was needed.  So I came to realize that I didn't always have to be the one chipping in...I could kick my feet up every once in a while and let others take the reins and do some heavy lifting.  I also realized that the success or failure of our fundraising was not necessarily my problem so to say.  It relied on all those in my class...not just me.

Towards the end of the semester I was fortunate enough to accompany Jarrod to his 7th semester banquet at Spice Mill restaurant.  As we drank, ate, and danced the night away with each other, I thought in the back of my mind...if only everyone could experience a 7th semester banquet before their own.  The evening was just perfect.  Professors and staff from RUSVM that had seen each individual in this semester make the journey came to show their support, give their congratulations, and wish all the 7ths the best in their clinical years back in the states.  There were slide show presentations of each student as a child (photos submitted by loved ones), a slide show of the professors they wanted to thank, and a slide show of some through the times fun (submitted by those in the semester).  The food was glorious and plentiful.  Decorations saluting their semester's color, pink, covered the entire venue.  With an open bar, the drinks were flowing and the bartenders were busy bees.  At some point in the night, a legitimate fireworks display was set off on their beach.  And the dj spun songs until the wee hours of the night and the last call for taxis were made.  Oh!  And luckily there were hired photographers to document the night and the amazing memories.

Although I may not participate in every fundraising effort our class holds, I will do my share to support the efforts so that one day I too can have the time of my life at my own RED semester banquet.  The memories of that night will forever motivate me to support my class' fundraising.  And because I know that previous semesters have been charitable (and another one) with portions of their funds raised, I know that it will be possible for my class to not only put together an amazing and worthy banquet, but also donate to those in the community around RUSVM.  I hope that this blog entry provides some insight and guidance to students that may be just beginning their journey at RUSVM.

Muudda Nature St. Kitts Style

A little explaining behind the title...that is in honor of Dr. Gyimah.  If you have ever had him as a professor at RUSVM...you can appreciate this and maybe even get a little chuckle in.  He has a very interesting accent and every time he said mother nature in his courses (Immunology and Virology), it sounded just like the title of this blog.

Anyways...onto the good stuff!

So this past semester was extremely interesting in terms of weather and other natural occurring phenomenas.

July 4th, 2012
As I slaved away in the library, trying to study right up until the time of the 4th of July party that Jarrod's friends were hosting, for about 3 seconds I felt the entire building shake.  All around me the bookshelves and their books gave to the tremor and added their noise to the event.  I've never experienced an earthquake before this incident.  So initially I was baffled at why the entire building was shaking around me.  And after doing a little googling  (and watching the reactions of my friends on facebook) I confirmed what I thought the rockin and rollin was all about.

Earthquake East of Anguilla
5.1 Magnitude Earthquake
Report from SKNVibes

July 11th, 2012
Wildfires in St. Kitts!!  I luckily did not live in the areas that were being threatened by these fires.

Bush fire sweeps across 15-plus acres of land

July 31st, 2012
Cowabunga!!!  Tropical Wave!

All the way from Africa, it came to St. Kitts with the chance of becoming Tropical Storm Ernesto.  Luckily all this tropical wave did was bring on some crazy flash floods that did their damage to the streets and island.

Report by SKNVibes

Pictures of the damage...FYI...Ghauts are not something to play around in or drive across during flash floods on the island!

August 8th, 2012:

Woke up one morning and noticed that the island looked hazy and later in the afternoon the air smelled almost like sulfur...just not the typical smell for the island air (ie. burning cane grass, etc.).  To my surprise there was apparently a nearby island whose volcano had shown some signs of activity leading to the presence of volcanic ash in our skies.

Minor Ash Venting from Montserrat Volcano

Well I think that wraps up the crazy happenings with mudda nature for this past semester...I do know that there was a recent tropical storm to pass through SK (TS Isaac).  But it sounds like it just brought some wind and rain with it (as well as flight cancellations unfortunately).  Looking forward to another eventful semester next semester!

Just remember.......

Édouard Manet, The Absinthe Drinker

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

Date: 1859
Technique: Oil on canvas, 178 x 103 cm

Source

Viktor Oliva, The Absinthe Drinker (Piják absintu)

Café Slavia, Prague

Date: 1901
Technique: Oil on canvas

Source

Safety and Security: It happened to me...

Unfortunately I too have fallen victim to petty crimes here on the island of St. Kitts.  One night this past semester, my car was broken into (as well as several of my neighbors within my complex).

It's that sinking feeling in your gut when you go about your normal routine and you are walking out of your apartment towards your car and you see the passenger door ajar...definitely not how you left it.  So I start looking through my car and taking inventory to see what is missing.  Nice hiking shoes...check.  Pull on boots for school...check.  Coveralls...check.  Umbrella...check.  White board for studying...check.  I start wondering, what in the world did they take??  Ah-ha....glove box...no flashlight.  Wait...a car full of all this stuff and all they took was my flashlight?!  Ok...weird.

The weirdness doesn't stop here though.  Baffled by the criminal's choice of items from my car and desire to share the humor in the situation, I posted on my facebook a status just stating that I must have left my car door unlocked (just an FYI...I have no door handles on my car...just a nub on the passenger door that lets me open that door and then reach across and push the driver door open) and all that was taken was my flashlight.  A fellow colleague and friend then posts that her roommates car was broken into that evening and a flashlight was left behind.  After describing the flashlight to her, my flashlight was returned to me.  Unfortunately the criminal stole the roommate's coveralls, lab coat, and scrubs....why were mine not taken from my car??  After offering to help purchase the items the roommate had lost to the theft incident, she promised me she already had immense help from her classmates and all items were restored.

Immediately after I was on campus that morning, I reported the incident to Safety and Security at the main gate.  I also text my landlord and informed her of the break-ins as well as messaged all my neighbors so they were aware of the breach in security at our apartment complex.  After my classes, I went home and studied well into the evening.  I was at some point during the evening visited by two RUSVM Safety and Security officers (looking very snazzy in their new uniforms I might add).  They were very polite, they evaluated my apartment and provided me with some helpful tips to keeping myself and belongings safe, interacted with my neighbors, interacted with my cats, and listened to my full story as well as asked some questions surrounding the incident.

The visit by our security officers made me feel slightly at ease.  But still a little shaken up from the incident, I parked my car in the little patch of grass under my bedroom window (probably an eye sore to my neighbors lol) and had my boyfriend sleep over for a few nights.

It was maybe a day later that I received an email from our head of the Safety and Security department, Mr. Du Plessis.  He requested a meeting with me at my earliest convenience.  Immediately I thought I was in trouble for something (it was equivalent to the feeling you got in grade school when you were called to the principal's office)....even though I didn't do anything wrong lol.  So I gave him my availability and we scheduled our meeting.

With a very commanding presence and his thick German accent...its hard not to be just a wee bit intimidated by Mr. Du Plessis.  The first thing Mr. Du Plessis says to me is "What can we do to make you more happy during your stay here?".  My immediate thought and what I then asked him was "What has given you the impression I'm not happy here?".  And then ensued our hour long meeting which brought many interesting topics of discussion to the table.  I shared with him some concerns I have heard (/seen on facebook) from my peers as well as their ideas (i.e. traffic stop issues, etc.).  I also shared many ideas stemming from my experiences since being on the island (from patrol officers picking fruits off my landlord's trees and lying to my face about having permission to do so to many issues surrounding "mechanics" to the most recent situation of having my car broken into).  And I listened to his insight and information regarding our safety department at RUSVM.

To be honest I was pretty impressed by the momentum and progress that our Safety and Security department has made.  With the departure of Mr. Lynell Nolan, Mr. Du Plessis has taken on our Safety and Security department and continued to help the department grow as well as polish its rough edges.   I'll share some of these happenings with you.

• Donations made to the local police force to strengthen the already growing relationship (a beautiful K9 unit, equipment, vehicles, etc.).
• Launching initiatives with the local police force such as an actual anonymous hotline for all St. Kitts residents to report any crimes/criminals (I was shocked...well kind of...to learn that there really isn't an anonymous hotline for locals to utilize to provide tips about any crimes or criminals at question; one of the biggest pushes for this hotline launch is to provide children with a way of reporting domestic violence in their homes).
• Continuing to recruit through a very selective process our Safety and Security staff members which must have not only resumes that provide evidence of their past related experiences but also surpass an interview process that Mr. Du Plessis conducts himself.  Once on board, our Safetey and Security staff undergo intense training.

In conclusion to our meeting, Mr. Du Plessis requested that I help him in critiquing their current website for Safety and Security, survey my classmates on their thoughts/feelings/experiences/ideas regarding Safety and Security at RUSVM, and also provide a summary of the ideas that I had generated during our meeting.

I was definitely thrilled that he thought of me for such an interesting project.  He probably saw me in action during the weekly SCAVMA meetings and took my recent experiences as an opportunity to pick my brain and gather a student's perspective on his department, staff, and ultimately our feelings regarding safety.  I did appreciate his closing compliments regarding my character in that I am an individual that is very analytical and looks at all the pieces before continuing in a certain direction so to say.

So my "report" is due to him during our first week of school next semester and I am looking forward to what follows and comes from this project.

David Teniers the Younger, Witches' Initiation

Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna

Date: 1647-49
Technique: Oil on wood, 48 x 70 cm

The Witches' Initiation was a popular subject in the circles of the Saftleven brothers in Rotterdam. In Teniers's version the witching is taking place in the distant background, where a young, naked witch with a broomstick between her legs is being anointed before she flies off through the gaping hearth. In the foreground two ladies are studying books in a civilised fashion. The assemblage of objects at right retains the character of a still-life.

Source

Marianne Stokes, The Passing Train

Private collection

Date: 1890
Technique: Oil on canvas, 61 x 76.2 cm

Source

Welcome to your library!

Welcome to the Albertsons Library. We've been a busy library this summer and we're ready for the Fall 2012 semester. Here are a few of the things available to you to make your visit to the library a fun, research-handy place:

• Bring your laptop or mobile device--the whole building is Wi-Fi enabled.
• There are over 110 computers with Microsoft Office 2010, Mac and PC laptops and notebooks for checkout.
• Check out an iPad (2nd gen.) at the Circulation desk, each with tons of helpful apps.
• Scanners, microform readers, and multiple BroncoPrint stations in the first and second floors--all wired to include wireless printing from your laptop.
• Access the library from your phone via our mobile website.
• A Starbucks coffee shop on the first floor.
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Ernst Barlach, Dance of the Dead IV (Two walking skeletons)

Private collection

Date: 1924
Technique: Lithography, 21.1 x 20.1 cm

Source

Lajos Gulácsy, Daughters of the Night (Az éj leányai)

Private collection

Date: Early 1900s
Technique: Oil canvas on cardboard, 21 x 35 cm

Source