Author: emilyharring

UW-Parkside bids farewell to Dr. Laura Gellott

If a student were to walk into her office, the first thing that student would notice is that her room is a lovely shade of welcoming green. Next, the student would notice the boxes stacked with books, the shelves waiting to be packed, and the papers waiting to be filed away. After 30 years, Dr. Laura Gellott, a history professor here at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, will retire in May.

“I guess UW-Parkside chose me,” Dr. Gellott stated. “1982 was another one of those years where there were way more Ph.D.’s finishing graduate school than there were jobs…I remember sending out 17 applications to schools that were advertising for jobs in European History of any sort. I argued that I could teach it whatever it was.”

In 1982, after sending out applications across the nation, Dr. Gellott had invitations for interviews from four campuses, UW-Parkside being one of them. After completing the interviews for each of the campuses, Dr. Gellott received a campus interview from UW-Parkside. Much like the recent history candidates this past year that had campus interviews, Dr. Gellott taught a class and had a daylong interview on campus. A week after the campus interview, Dr. Gellott got a phone call telling her she had gotten the job.

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Hate crimes hit UW-Parkside

1 February 2012, marked the beginning of Black Heritage Month at UW-Parkside; festivities for the month-long celebration took place at noon in Main Place. Wednesday night, however, a noose made out of rubber bands was found in a commons area in Pike River Suites. Reportedly, next to the noose was a sign that read “noose,” so people would be sure to know what the object was. A student reported the incident to the police immediately.
Yesterday morning, 2 February, a second noose was found outside of the door of the student who reported the incident, accompanied by racial slurs and threats against the student. News of the two nooses found its way throughout both campus and the surrounding Kenosha and Racine communities, as well as the entire UW-system. Students around campus sported old LGBTQ “Respect” shirts because of the events.

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UW-Parkside welcomes poet Gabriel Gudding

On Thursday, 8 December 2011, poet Gabriel Gudding graced UW-Parkside with a wonderful poetry reading in CART 131. A multitude of English 206/406 students sat in the audience; also present was local poet Nick Demske. To start the night, professor Mark Bilbrey gave a short prelude of thanks to those who made the night possible, such as Dean of Students Dean Yohnk and chair of the English Department, Jay McRoy. Then, Bilbrey gave an introduction about Gudding’s work. Gudding, an assistant professor of English at Illinois State University, has released two books. He also translates poetry.

Afterwards, Gudding stepped to the front of the room, giving a small acknowledgement and thanks to the audience. As the poetry class had read A Defense of Poetry, Gudding chose to read from that book for most of the night. Gudding began the night with laughs with his first poem, “Bird.”

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Professor Spotlight: The Fight for Equality and Justice

While it may not seem obvious, returning students this semester can see the change brought about on campus by both those professors who have left us and those who have quite recently joined the UW-Parkside community. Academic departments throughout the campus have both lost and gained professors; while some may yearn for the professors of yore, the fresh faces bring about a certain atmosphere of diversification.

One such professor is Jennifer Correa, a new Sociology professor who joined UW-Parkside at the beginning of the semester. Enjoying her stay thus far at UW-Parkside, Correa pointed out that one of the aspects of the campus that drew her here was the diversity the campus yields. Correa, originally from Texas, returned to her home state on 10 October for a conference that was held at the University of Texas at Austin titled “Contest Terrain: Undocumented Migration and Enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Correa presented her original research amongst others in the same field from around the country.

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Letter from the Editor

It’s amazing how quickly a summer can pass. It feels like I’ve just finished my last final, yet here I am preparing for a whole new school year. I’ve organized all my new school supplies, brand new textbooks sit glaring at me from my bookshelf, and I’ve already begun writing out daily to-do lists once more. I’m more happy for Fall to get here than ever before (and not just because I’ve been craving a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte for the past month). New classes and new faces aren’t the only exciting things awaiting me this semester: I also have the privilege of being the newest Editor-in-Chief for The Ranger News!

I have to be honest, the idea is sort of daunting, a bit scary, but ultimately one of the most exciting things I’ve had to look forward to. This will be my third year on The Ranger News, but my first year to experience the paper in print. I joined after everything was already transferred online, so I’m really glad I get to be involved with the process of printing and making a print edition of the paper. It’ll be a journey, and it’ll take some time to learn the ropes completely, but it’ll be thrilling! And I’m really glad I get to embark on this journey with the rest of you. (No more cheesy moments after that one, promise.)

We have a lot of new things planned for you all this year, but none of it will be possible without all of you getting involved! Send us your opinions, get involved with the paper (meetings are Fridays at noon in Molinaro 107), feel free to drop in the office if you have any questions, just be sure to let us know how we’re doing and what you think. The campus newspaper is nothing without the campus community, so we need you to get involved in any way you can.

Here’s to having a great semester!