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History of SVSU: 1989-2013
pieces that may be more controversial, unnerving, occasionally even raw. Audience’s experiences would be sheltered and incomplete without exposure to contemporary plays that raise troublesome questions—even in controversial ways. … Freedom of expression allows the Theatre Department to put on this play, but it also protects the rights of … people to protest this play.” Playwright Tony Kushner contacted Gilbertson and told him that this letter was among the finest statements by an administrator on behalf of his work. Nonetheless, the situation remained tense during the play’s two-week run. Ultimately, the protests galvanized the students and made them determined to go on with the show. As protestors gathered outside the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts on opening night, police officers guarded the entrances and the usual number of ushers working was doubled. The situation never became violent, and the cast and crew took it all in stride. Ticket sales increased by 33 percent over usual levels during the play’s limited run. Roberts recalled that the experience taught his students the degree to which “theater is a mirror to society” and reflected the contentious, yet often respectful manner, in which people debated important cultural and political issues. During a university holiday party that December, Roberts and theatre student Caleb Knudson chatted with Gilbertson. When the topic of the spring’s fireworks arose, Knudson commented that he wished the department would put on Kushner’s sequel, “Angels in America, Part II: Perestroika.” Roberts remembered a long pause while Gilbertson eyed him and Knudson carefully before responding, “Wait until I retire.”53
A Culture of Caring
SVSU fosters experiences inside and out of the classroom that help students develop leadership. During 2010-2011, more than 3,300 students volunteered for some form of civic engagement through the Office of Student Life. More than 1,200 students participated in academic internships. Such activity comes through sponsored programs, such as Christmas in July of the 1990s when students helped renovate homes in Saginaw, or the Alternative Breaks opportunities, offered after 2004, that encourage students to devote their spring breaks to learning more about a social issues in another part of the country.54 The Student Association began The Battle of the Valleys charity fundraising competition with football rival Grand Valley State University in 2003. In November 2012, SVSU students won their fifth consecutive Battle, outraising competitors at GVSU by nearly 30 to 1. In 2011, the Battle and the Relay for Life together raised more than $90,000 for charity.55 In the 10 years of the competition, SVSU students have raised almost $275,000 for such charities as Special Olympics of Michigan, Great Lakes Bay Miracle League and Salvation Army of Saginaw County, to name a few. Concern for the community extends well beyond the borders of the Great Lakes Bay Region. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, nursing students expressed to instructors a desire to do something—anything—to help. Ava Lewis, professor of nursing, responded by organizing a seven-day trip for more than a dozen students and volun-
