Dec. 14, 2011 | The Reflector

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CMYK

The Official student newspaper of the University of Indianapolis

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90

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reflector.uindy.edu

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Roadwork comes to an end

Photo contributed by Virginia Sanders

Never been kissed Alumna launches project for cancer research By Kaley Belakovich MANAGING EDITOR

Photo by Jessica Stucky

President Beverley Pitts, Deputy Mayor Michael Huber and ISG President Valerie Wilson cut the ribbon to signify the completion of Hanna Avenue on Dec. 1.

By Abby Ropes STAFF WRITER After more than two years, road construction on Hanna Avenue is finally completed, with landscaping and planting still continuing. On Thursday, Dec. 1, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on the Otterbein Circle at 4:30 p.m. to celebrate the completion of Hanna Avenue. University of Indianapolis President Beverley Pitts and Indianapolis Deputy Mayor Michael Huber spoke at the event. Among the crowd were many people responsible for the Hanna Avenue completion, as well as many alumni and a few students. Associate Vice President of Community Relations David Wantz started the celebration by acknowledging the many people in the crowd who were a large part of the Hanna Avenue construction. He then introduced Pitts. She went on to welcome the completed Hanna Avenue as a part of our campus. Although the road is not technically part of UIndy, the street runs through most of the campus. “I think it changes the look of campus completely. It’s really a wonderful, wonderful change and we are happy it’s completed,” Pitts said. During the ceremony, Pitts mentioned some of the unseen successes of Hanna Avenue, such as the cables that were buried instead of being displayed in the air. She also spoke of the new walkways that make crossing the avenue safer, especially at night.

“It is a relief that Hanna Avenue is finished,”said sophomore communication and sociology major Jessica Leaman. “It’s really nice that we can cross the street safely. Before, the experience was scary, not knowing if cars were going to stop or not.” President of Indianapolis Student Government Valerie Wilson, who helped cut the ribbon at the event, appreciates the completion of Hanna Avenue and its many positive features. “I think it [completion of Hanna Avenue] enhances the entire feel of our community and of our campus. With the wires and the telephone lines being underground, it makes [the] campus feel a lot more natural and a lot more homey,” Wilson said.

Wilson also had some concerns about the changes still taking place on campus, specifically the planting of greenery down the median of Hanna Avenue. “I’m kind of curious to see how tall the plantings will be in there, because I know cars might have trouble seeing anyone who is shorter or in a wheel chair,” Wilson said. “However, I think they [landscapers] are planning on having smaller plantings. So it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. They will just have to be really consistent with maintenance and making sure the plants stay low, so that visibility is good.” After the cutting of the ribbon ceremony refreshments were provided inside Esch Hall for all those who attended.

Photo by Jessica Stucky

President Pitts speaks at the Ribbon Cutting ceremony held at the Otterbein Circle on Hanna Avenue.

University of Indianapolis alumna Virginia Sanders came up with an idea in May to raise money for charity. The idea includes auctioning off her first kiss and giving the proceeds to a cancer-related organization. She launched the “Kiss Chronicles” in June. Sanders, who came up with the idea shortly after her 30th birthday, said the idea just came to her. “I just was trying to think of a solution to what I consider a problem that I want to get solved,” she said. “And then finally something came to me that I hadn’t thought of before, and that was, ‘Hey, you know what? All sorts of people sell odd things on Ebay.’ Why couldn’t I do that? Why couldn’t I auction off my first kiss and then the money could go to charity?’” Sanders began the project by creating a blog on which she shares “kiss stories” that people have sent her and the mission of the Kiss Chronicles, among other things. Sanders wants to have a “donation war” to raise money for her first kiss. For the donation war, Sanders said there will be a number of potential kissers, and people vote for the man they think should be the kisser by making a donation to the charity. Sanders reached out around October to Chair of the Theatre Department Jim Ream for help with the Kiss Chronicles. “[At our first meeting] she just kind of laid out the idea [for the Kiss Chronicles] and where she had been with it so far and the progress that she had made,” Ream said. “And her request at that time was to see if she could get some sort of a forum with some of our theatre students who may be interested in assisting her.” According to Sanders, she wanted to see whether the theatre students would be interested in helping her improve her blog. “I invited them to do what theatre students do best, and that’s get creative and tell a story and entertain people with those stories, which is what I try to do on my blog,” she said. “I solicit kiss stories for the blog, but I need more kiss stories. What I did was I asked them to provide some of those stories, and whatever it is they could think of, either written, or video or other means of just providing entertaining kiss stories.” Ream said that Sanders spoke to members of what the theatre department calls its Theatre Production class. “We invited Virginia [Sanders] to come in and talk with them [students] a little bit at the beginning of the class and ask anybody who’s interested in helping to meet her afterwards,” Ream said. Sanders said she has not yet received anything from the students she spoke with, but hopes to soon. “I’m thinking I should give them a nudge at the start of the next semester and say, ‘Hey! Send me stories!’ Or if they need to, go out and kiss people and then send me stories. That would work, too,” she said. “I told them that would be a perfect excuse to go out and get extra kisses. I don’t know, I thought it would be fun homework.” Currently, Sanders does not have a set date for ending the project. In the meantime, she encourages people to share their kiss stories with her. “I’d love to get some stories that people would be willing to share for my blog that I can post for everyone to see,” she said. “There are all sorts of hysterical kiss stories out there. The problem is finding them.” Sanders’ blog can be found at www.kisschronicles.com.

Food service donates food to not-for-profits By Stephanie Snay EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Just the swipe of a meal card allows University of Indianapolis students to enter The Market Place and help themselves to all they can eat. However, a lot goes on behind the scenes, behind the baked potato bar, the made-to-order stir fry and the soft serve ice cream. Polk Food Service Inc. Director Ted Polk does what he can to try to make sure edible food does not go to waste. “We try not to throw away any more than we have to, because there are so many people needing stuff.We’re so lucky here,” Polk said. “People need it and we don’t want to waste it. It’s good for the environment; it’s good for everyone.” Each Monday, Manna Ministries of Indy, Inc., a not-for-profit ministry, picks up a donation of leftover food from PFS. “Ted and the school do a wonderful job on helping us out with food, and they play a main part of our ministry,” said president of Manna Ministries Dennis Glazebrook.

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Manna Ministries’ mission, according to its website mannaministriesofindy. org, is “to minister to the spiritual and temporal needs of people throughout our community. To feed the hungry, to cloth the naked and to shelter the homeless.” Each Thursday, the all-volunteer staff of Manna Ministries sets up a food line for an average of 30 people in need.Volunteers then give the homeless a “bus ticket” to take turns getting on the their bus. The Manna bus is full of donated items, such as non-perishable food items, clothing, overthe-counter medicines, tents and more. “Anything you need, if you’re out on the streets, we have it on that bus,” Glazebrook said. After everyone is done on the bus, the group prays for a while and then everyone goes on his or her own way until the following Thursday evening. Manna Ministries has done this each week for nine consecutive years. In addition to Manna Ministries, Polk also has donated to Gleaners Food Bank, Wheeler Mission Ministries and a women’s shelter in Indianapolis. He tries to donate to places near campus, because there is no truck for deliveries,

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but has gone as far as Johnson County with donations. According to Polk, he donates all that he can. UIndy went trayless a few years ago, and according to Polk, that move cut back on the amount of food waste in the dining hall. The amount of waste in the dining room dish room at each meal is about 100 to 130 pounds. Polk is trying to start donating to an organic garden on Southport Road, which was the reason trash was weighed. Glazebrook said that anyone wanting to get involved with Manna Ministries can call him personally at 317-637-1415. He said volunteers do not need to be with a religious organization, but what they do is “a God thing.” Polk said he strongly believes in helping others, which is what prompts him to donate leftover food from PFS. “I worked at a couple universities before I was here, and the students here are a lot more interested in service and things like that,” Polk said. “You can tell the difference. Our motto here is ‘Education for Service,’ and I see that. I love the students here. It makes you feel good.”

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Photo contributed by Manna Ministries

Volunteer members of Manna Ministries pass out food, clothing and other supplies at their weekly event.

College Mentors Art Show

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Percussion Ensemble

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