By Jennifer Sanda 

The audience was silent as W.S. Merwin, former US poet laureate, read his poetry at the 27th National Undergraduate Literature Conference opening banquet, held at the Timbermine Steakhouse from 6:30-9 p.m.

NULC began in 1985, when Weber State University professors Mikel Vause and Michael Meyer had the idea to organize a conference giving undergraduates only the opportunity to present their papers, both critical and creative, to peers from campuses across the country.

Before Merwin began, students and professors from more than 77 colleges had the chance to mingle.

WSU senior Eric Riddle said this was his first time being accepted to the conference and attending the banquet.

“I didn’t really know what it was,” Riddle said, “but I was told there was an opportunity for undergrads to submit to the conference, and that’s a pretty novel thing.”

Rachel Rigley, also a WSU student attending the banquet for the first time, had a positive response when asked about NULC.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Rigley said. “It’s good to have a conference where you can be encouraged and be immersed in the world of writing and get feedback from other writers.”

The before-meal time was also an opportunity for students to meet with visiting authors.

“I’m really excited to meet these people,” Riddle said. “It’s always a pleasure to meet fellow authors, people who have actually made it, as opposed to people like me who want to be a cool author, so it’s always nice to be able to meet someone who has done it and lived the dream.”

After the meal, Merwin stepped up to the podium.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Merwin said. “You know, the more often we say things, the less they really mean, and yet it’s like saying thank you. The more you meant it, the less it sounds to be adequate, and yet that’s the only thing you can say.”

For an hour and a half, Merwin related his inspiration behind his poetry and read several of his poems.

When speaking about what he wanted to do when he was younger, Merwin said he always responded, “I’m going to write poems.”

Even when people asked him how he was going to make a living, Merwin stayed with his answer.

Merwin’s poetry received a standing ovation, and many people stayed after the speech to have books signed.

“I thought that he had a lot of good poetry,” Riddle said. “His use of language, the things he was able to convey through his poems, was very interesting and really well done.”

Rigley agreed about Merwin’s poetry.

“Even though the meal was horrible — I basically paid $30 to get a bowl of pasta drenched in butter — the actual poetry reading was great,” she said.

NULC continues today and tomorrow. Students can find an agenda for the conference at http://continue.weber.edu/nulc.

 

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OGDEN — Weber State University will host its 16th annual Storytelling Festival next week.

Yarns will be woven by national and local storytellers between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at Weber State, 3848 Harrison Blvd., and various community locations.

For a full schedule, visit www.weber.edu/storytelling, or call 801-626-6278 for other information.

All story sessions are free, but there’s a charge for storyteller dinner events.

For dinner information, call Lynda Goucher, 801-626-6278.

Weber State University is hosting a week of all things Greek, with the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church’s food festival right in the middle.

Organizers are encouraging folks to head over to the Greek Community Center this weekend to fill their bellies with traditional fare, and then spend some time on campus Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday enjoying classical Greek theater.

The week culminates with a performance of Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Tauris” by the Classical Greek Theatre Festival, a traveling performing group based out of Westminster College, on Wednesday night.

When Caril Jennings took over marketing the Classical Greek Theatre Festival’s annual appearance at WSU 14 years ago, she asked herself, “Why should the guest performers have all the fun?”

Instead of just hosting the performance each year, Jennings decided to turn the event into a series of events including panel discussions and lectures from a variety of perspectives.

“This is a way for me to make connections with other disciplines across campus,” said Jennings, who is WSU’s performing arts marketing director. Over the years, she has invited professors from sociology, health, nursing, botany, zoology, musical theater, dance, history, English and psychology to participate.

Jennings said she uses the plays to connect with departments she wouldn’t normally work with. For example, as part of this year’s festival, David Ferro, dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology, gave a lecture earlier this week.

The topic was the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered from a shipwreck in 1900, but its complexity was not understood until the 1950s.

Ferro talked about the significance of this archaeological discovery, believed to have been constructed between 150 B.C. and 100 B.C., near the Greek island of Antikythera. This is important to his computer science students in understanding that human beings have been trying to invent computers for thousands of years, and it also ties into the time period and geographic location of classical Greek theater.

“All of the presenters have a love for the topic they are presenting on,” Jennings said. “It’s more than publicizing the event, it’s using it as an educational tool.”

Jennings believes Greek theater is an important educational tool in itself, backing up her words with a reminder that Greek and Roman history were once the foundation of a classical education.

Euripedes’ women

According to Jennifer Kokai, assistant professor in the department of performing arts, modern-day events are reflected in these ancient plays.

Kokai, a new staff member at WSU who has an educational background in theater history, is presenting the lecture “Swearing, Seducing and Other Problems With Euripides’ Women,” in the Wildcat Theatre at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Euripides, she explained, is the latest of the Greek playwrights, and his work has troubled many people because of his morally problematic characters.

Kokai will highlight the women from his works “Medea,” “Hippolytus” and “The Bacchae.”

In these plays, Euripides humanizes his characters and reveals their motives in a style that sets him apart from his tragedian counterparts Aeschylus and Sophocles, who portrayed women as the ideal — caretakers of the home who were seen and not heard — or as villains with no explanation behind their actions.

In “The Bacchae,” the women have fallen under a spell and run off into the woods where they are dressing immodestly and drinking.

The main character, Medea, in the play of the same name, murders her children — and the female character in “Hippolytus” is placed under a spell by the gods that makes her fall in love with her stepson.

These are shocking themes, but Kokai said they are likely extreme versions of things that were really happening at the time. Greece was involved in a drawn-out war and the men had been gone for a long time.

“If you look at the cultural context, it gives a better understanding to Euripides’ characters’ extreme behavior. He gives his characters good reasons for their actions,” Kokai said.

‘Wealth,’ then and now

On Tuesday, Greek Readers Theatre, with a cast from WSU faculty, staff, students and some members of the community, presents “Wealth” by Aristophanes.

This political satire, at 1:30 p.m., looks at the unequal distribution of wealth.

“Every year, we see a current topic reflected in a play written 2,300 years ago,” Jennings said.

A poor, virtuous man wonders why horrible people are rich and sets out to try to fix the situation, turning the world upside down in the process.

Jennings said that the personalities in the play are the same as individuals we recognize today.

She also warned: “Greek comedies are vulgar, full of sexual innuendo and crass language.”

The main event

On Wednesday, the festival comes to its featured event, an evening performance of “Iphigenia in Taurius” by Euripides, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wildcat Theatre in the Shepherd Union Building. Tickets are required ($8-$11).

At 6:30 p.m., one hour prior to the performance, Jim Svendsen, artistic director of the Classical Greek Theatre Festival, will present a slideshow and lecture to help set the stage and give context to the story. He explains what was happening historically at the time and helps audience members gain an ancient Greek point of view.

Though it is considered a classic Greek tragedy, it appears more like a comedy or Shakespearean romance. “It is an odd plot for a Greek tragedy,” Svendsen said.

In the tale, it is revealed that Iphigenia was not sacrificed at the hands of her father as the audience was led to believe in an earlier production. Instead, she was rescued by the goddess Artemis and forced to take part in human sacrifices. The story leads to her brother being brought to the altar to be sacrificed, and then takes on a Hitchcockian thriller feel as the brother and sister recognize each other and plot their escape.

Svendsen said that there are many elements in the story that the audience will relate to. First, it is a story of justice and revenge, “topics we all love,” he said.

Second, it is a good coming-of-age story about two 18-year-olds and a girl in her twenties, all of whom search for meaning and find their true selves in a chaotic world.

Third, it reinforces the patriotic values that bind people to their home country. The lead characters are separated from Greece and long for old-world values such as justice, piety, wisdom, moderation and hospitality.

It is also a play about a dysfunctional family, one that specializes in lies, deception and the killing of children. And, finally, it is a love story. More specifically, a story about “brotherhood” or “friendship” — a kind of love that can sometimes be the strongest of all.

Svendsen is one of the founders of the Classic Greek Theatre Festival, now in its 41st year.

After 40 years of operating out of the University of Utah, the festival recently relocated to Westminster College. This move allows for open auditions to university students and members of the community.

Svendsen said one component of the CGTF mission statement is that Greek drama, like Shakespearean drama, has much to offer modern audiences.

The plays have great characters, interesting plots and lots of ideas to think about, he said. “And, I think people like ideas. They like to debate topics,” Svendsen added.

Schedule of Events

• 10 a.m.-10 p.m today and Saturday — Enjoy traditional Greek food at the Greek Community Center, 674 42nd St., South Ogden. This is the annual fundraiser for the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. Food is sold a la carte for $2-$6.
• 1:30 p.m. Monday — “Swearing, Seducing and Other Problems with Euripides’ Women.” Jennifer Kokai presents a 40-minute lecture, followed by a question-and-answer session. Hetzel-Hoellein (Special Collections) Room, Weber State University Stewart Library, on campus at 3848 Harrison Blvd, Ogden. Free.
• 1:30 p.m. Tuesday — Greek Readers Theatre, Aristophanes’ “Wealth.” Mature themes, for adults only. Hetzel-Hoellein (Special Collections) Room, WSU Stewart Library. Free.
• 1:30 p.m. Wednesday – Panel discussion on Euripides. Hetzel-Hoellein (Special Collections) Room, WSU Stewart Library. Free.
• 6:30 p.m. Wednesday — Introductory lecture and slideshow by Jim Svendsen, Classical Greek Theatre Festival director, in the lobby outside WSU Wildcat Theatre in the Shepherd Union Building. Free to those who purchase tickets to the performance.
• 7:30 p.m. Wednesday — Performance of Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Tauris.” Wildcat Theatre, Shepherd Union Building. Tickets, $8-$11, available through the Dee Events Center box office, 1-800-WSU-TIKS or weberstatetickets.com. They can also be purchased at the door.

 

Article found here

America's Most Livable Cities 2010
Francesca Levy, Forbes.com
Apr 30th, 2010


In these affordable metros, jobs are plentiful, crime is low and there are myriad entertainment options.

Each year Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business attracts some of the brightest master's degree candidates in the country. But the admissions staff occasionally has to sway prospective students with their choice of top schools who wonder why they should relocate to Pittsburgh, Pa.

"Pittsburgh has a really great cultural scene. We have a great ballet and a great symphony that travels the world and performs to packed houses, and there's a restaurant scene that's much more diverse than it ever was when I was growing up," says Wendy Hermann, director of student services for master's programs and a Pittsburgh native. "And it's an easier sell, now that the Steelers and Penguins won their respective titles."

Rachel Griffith, a graphic design student at Weber State University, has designed the logo for Ogden's first Winterfest which takes place on February 12 & 13th, 2010. Winterfest will host a multitude of snow related activities, events, and races. There will be snowmobile drag racing, skijoring (being towed on skis by a horse at high speeds), snowshoeing, demos, dog sled races, more!

Check out the Standard-Examiner's article about her experience! You can see her winning design in downtown Ogden or by going to Ogden's Winterfest Website!

The UTA Ed pass will give you free transportation on all UTA buses, Frontrunner and TRAX. Ride to school, work, the mall or even Salt Lake or Provo. You won't have to worry about traffic or gas prices. You'll be contributing to a healthier environment and you'll get stuff done that you couldn't driving a car -- like studying, working on your lap top or taking a nap.

To participate in the Weber State UTA ED Pass program:

1. Take your Wildcat ID to the Shepherd Union Building Information Center, Dee Events Center Ticket Office or Davis Campus Information Center. They will issue you a UTA ED Pass free of charge. (There's a $50 charge to replace a lost or stolen pass.)

2. Ride! You will be required to show your Wildcat ID with the UTA ED Pass when you ride the UTA system, which includes UTA buses, Frontrunner and TRAX.

Restrictions Apply: Passes are only for full-time students, full-time faculty and full-time staff. The pass is non-transferable and spouses and dependents are not eligible. The availabilty of the pass may change; please check with the Shepherd Union Building Information Center, Dee Events Center Ticket Office or Davis Campus Information Center for the most up to date information.

The UTA provides mass transit along the Wasatch Front with FrontRunner trains, TRAX lines, and buses. Servicing Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Box Elder and Tooele Counties, UTA gives you access to countless shops, restaurants, museums, ski areas, and more!  

Please visit their website to help plan a trip, find a route, check schedules, view maps, and learn how to ride UTA!

Ogden Valley Balloon Festival 2009

Take a stroll down 25th Street on the First Friday of every month and you'll experience art, culture, music and our colorful local community.