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Wednesday, October 2, 2013
95th year • Issue 8
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Rockets face Western Michigan SPORTS / 5 »
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www.IndependentCollegian.com I d d tC ll i
Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919 HOMECOMING 2013
INSIDE
STRONG ROOTS
Young alum’s career skyrockets in New York By Veralucia Mendoza Community Editor
Depression in college
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Students discuss their experiences with depression and how to fight it. COMMUNITY / 8 »
“Her allegation is completely untrue. I have never grabbed her or kissed her anywhere, including her lips.” DON WEDDING Former director files allegations against UT’s faculty union NEWS / 7 »
Renovations to commuter lounge in Student Union NEWS / 7 »
$5 gift cards for bluewearing students at televised game The Toledo women’s volleyball match vs. Ball State on Thursday, Oct. 3, in Savage Arena will be televised live on Time Warner Cable Sports, as well as ESPN3. The contest will air on the TWC Sports Channel in Ohio as well as Buckeye Cable System locally. It will be the first time the Rockets’ women’s volleyball program will have a match televised on a regional sports network. In addition to receiving free admission by presenting a UT I.D. at the gate, all UT students wearing blue at the match will receive a $5 gift card to Rocky’s Locker.
Powerful, young, passionate and successful — words to describe the Edward H. Schmidt Outstanding Young Alum award recipient, an University of Toledo alum recognized every homecoming. Also, words that illustrate Heidi Burkhart, an entrepreneur living her dreams in Manhattan and this year’s award winner. “This is a huge honor,” Burkhart said. Burkhart, class of 2002, earned most of her college credits while still attending Sylvania Northview High School. At just 20 years old, she was able to graduate from UT with a bachelor degree in Business Administration. Though she began working towards an MBA, she found a job in pharmaceutical sales which seemed promising. “I wanted to be near a beach,” said Burkhart with a small laugh. “They moved me to the east coast and that was what I wanted.” Soon after, she realized the job was not what she had hoped for, and she soon found herself struggling to make ends meet. Burkhart decided to try something new and went into real estate at the age of 21 — simply by asking for the job, a surprise she said still makes her smile. “Dreams aren’t just to have,” Burkhart said, remembering the beginning stages of her career. “All the little things add up, and they count.” She described herself as passionate and determined, and said those challenges were the catalyst to conquer her fears. She worked
COURTESY OF HEIDI BURKHART
Heidi Burkhart, 31, is this year’s recipient of the University of Toledo’s Outstanding Young Alum award. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 2002 for business administration, she now runs her own company, Dane Professional Consulting Group, in New York City. Burkhart will be recognized at UT’s Alumni Association Homecoming Gala on Friday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium.
closely with experts in her field, learning from their strategies and from their mistakes. “It’s important for students to realize that education comes in different ways,” Burkhart said. “Sometimes opportunities come up and are saying ‘Dude, I’m right here,’ and you’ve got to live and learn.” In 2008, Burkhart found so much success
that she founded her own company, Dane Professional Consulting Group, which is New York City based. The company had a revenue of about $1 billion, even through the U.S.’s economic recession. “You know, I didn’t come from an Ivy See Young alum / 13 »
Blasts from the past: A look at UT’s homecoming history By Veralucia Mendoza Community Editor
This year the University of Toledo homecoming motto is “90 years and still shining.” Throughout the years, UT’s homecoming has been called Toledo’s biggest October event. However, homecoming hasn’t always been the way it is today. Homecoming was originally sponsored by the University of Toledo Alumni Association to spark interest in alumni to visit their alma mater. Homecoming traditions at UT date back to the 1920s, according to The Collegian (now The Independent Collegian). The tradition started on Oct. 27, 1923, when UT defeated Bowling Green Normal College 27-0. The first homecoming queen, Virginia Stainer, was chosen in 1930. Campus organizations began the tradition of building floats to be judged by the Alumni Association. Not long after, a pep rally and school-wide dance were added to the events. Even so, student involvement in homecoming
BOB TAYLOR / IC
Participants ride in last year’s Edward C. Schmakel Homecoming Parade. Homecoming traditions at UT date back to the 1920s. The tradition of Toledo’s homecoming started on Oct. 27, 1923, when UT defeated Bowling Green Normal College 27-0.
festivities were limited to dances, until 1932 when the freshmen and sophomores classes had a competition — a tug-of-war. This began a tradition of “battle of the classes.” It was in 1937 that Homecoming Day became Homecoming Week, with a dedication of the
Glass Bowl Stadium during the game. Throughout the decade, only two more queens were crowned other than Stainer. Back in those days, football teams traveled by train, and it was common for students to wait at the station for the rival team in the spirit of celebration.
From 1943 to 1945, the aftermath of the war reduced student funding, and a large population of the student body was lost to the war effort. In 1946, about 5,500 students “swarmed the campus at the end of the war,” according to The Collegian, and organized a revival of homecoming traditions. In 1947, the university saw its first student-chosen queen. Previous to then, photographers would choose the queen. Students upheld the tradition of voting for their queen, but in 1980 The Collegian reported on the lack of interest shown by the study body for the queen elections, a contest that only 800 students voted in the previous year. “...Queen contests have become a source of both student apathy and ridicule,” wrote Mindy Gladfelter in a Oct. 27 story titled ‘Lack of interest apparent in queen contest.’ “Veering away from the ‘girlnext-door’ image of past homecomings Homecoming Queens recently elected Queens have ranged from pregnant minors to men, in the Toledo-area alone.” See History / 13 »