Forum discusses impact of Michigan cases

By Kevin Fitzsimons Faculty, staff and students discuss affirmative action at a forum Feb. 25 at the Hale Black Cultural Center. Seated at table, the panel included, from left, Assistant Vice President of Under-graduate Admissions Mabel Freeman, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Martha Garland, President Karen Holbrook, Vice Provost of Minority Affairs Mac Stewart and Vice President for Student Affairs Bill Hall, who shared how the Michigan affirmative action cases under examination by the U.S. Supreme Court might impact admissions policies and diversity at Ohio State. For more information on the University's position on the cases, visit www.osu.edu/diversity/michigan.html.

Ohio Bicentennial

Lecture series covers Ohio's 200 years of history

By Jessica Sherrick, Media Relations

From European settlement to globalization, the Ohio Bicentennial Distinguished Lecture series, "Ohio and the World," will feature scholars and experts discussing different themes related to Ohio's continuing development. The eight-week series will provide attendees from within and outside the University community an opportunity to journey through Ohio's past, present and future.

"It is important that Ohio State be involved in the commemoration of the bicentennial because the University is the major center of learning in Ohio and one of the major centers of learning in the world," said Richard Sisson, professor of political science and co-chair of the series with Geoffrey Parker, professor of history. "What the University can do is share knowledge. This is a modest contribution to the examination of our past and what we hope to be.

"We wanted to have lecturers who would spark the interest and excitement of public audiences. The idea is to share knowledge, information and ideas, and to do so in a very engaging and embracing way," Sisson said. "Every lecturer in the series is a distinguished contributor and expert."

The inaugural lecturer will be R.W. Apple Jr., associate editor of the New York Times, who will present "Views and Themes from Ohio's Past" at 3:30 p.m. March 20 in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium.

Organizers of the lecture series, created in collaboration with the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, recognized the importance of going beyond the University community to reach a variety of audiences. In addition to Columbus, most lecturers will present in a second Ohio venue -- in Newark, Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton, Cleveland or Athens.

To cover Ohio's 200 years of history, each presenter was instructed to address a specific time period and topic to discuss. The periods of history were segmented into 50-year intervals and cover topics such as European settlement, the Civil War, progressive reform, civil rights and globalization.

"The lectures will not just focus on one specific year, but the time surrounding the year, whether circa 1753, 1803 or 2003. Overall, we wanted to have consistent themes that would tie the different periods of times together," Sisson said. "Every topic will lead to a thread of continuity that will transcend each of these slices of time."

Sisson and Parker's goal is to get as many Ohioans as possible to think about the state's past and future, not only during the bicentennial year, but in years to come.

"Through the lecture series, we can establish the foundation of information that can be used next year, in 10 years and 50 years from now," Sisson said. "It is educational, and that is, of course, what universities are all about."

Kenneth Andrien, chair of the Department of History, said the lecture series will not only be a time for celebration, but a time to reflect on the state's achievements and obstacles.

"The bicentennial is an important moment in the history of the state. These are the moments when you can look at your past, celebrate the accomplishments and look at the challenges ahead," Andrien said. "The series speaks volumes about our faculty. As a public university, we have a greater responsibility to outreach to the community. This event will help shape the public's thinking about the past and future."

Other presenters in the Ohio Bicentennial Distinguished Lecture series are: R. David Edmunds, professor of American history at the University of Texas; James O. Horton, professor of American studies and history at George Washington University; Eric Foner, professor of history at Columbia University; Kathryn Kish Sklar, distinguished professor of history and co-director of the Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender at State University of New York at Binghamton; James T. Patterson, professor of history at Brown University; Herbert B. Asher, professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State; and William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and former president of Ohio State.

For more information regarding the lecture series, visit the "Ohio and the World" Web site at www.osu.edu/bicentennial.

College students learn value of second chance at life

More than 80,000 people in the United States are awaiting organ transplants

By Emily Caldwell, Medical Center Communications

Paul Alan Huffman never told his wife and two children how he felt about organ donation. So when a hidden blood vessel abnormality caused his unexpected death in 1999, his family faced the question of offering his organs for donation. They decided that, based on how he lived his life, Huffman would have wanted to give the gift of a second chance to people who needed transplants to live.

His daughter, Ohio State sophomore Sara Huffman, is taking her family's selflessness a step further. She is one of 20 students leading educational sessions for her peers as part of an Ohio State Medical Center program designed to convert college-age adults into committed organ, eye and tissue donors.

The statewide educational program follows the enactment of an Ohio law that extends a person's designation as an organ donor on his or her driver's license to a donor registry of consenting individuals maintained by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The law removes the decision-making burden from families of people who have died without discussing the option of organ donation.

"This takes the pressure off families, because with the strengthened law, the final approval for donation is provided on the driver's license," said June Hinkle, principal investigator for the program and manager of bereavement services for OSU Medical Center. "In our society, we don't talk about death, so we don't typically talk with our families about what we want to have done when we die."

This lack of discussion is particularly applicable to the college-age population. Hinkle surveyed nearly 500 OSU students about organ donation awareness before seeking funding for the program from the Ohio Department of Health. The survey showed that 80 percent of students said they wanted to donate organs, eyes and tissue, but only 68 percent had signed a donor card, just 50 percent had discussed it with their family and 47 percent reported they had received little or no education about donation.

"The need for education in this age group is the thrust of the program," said Stacey Baker, education resource specialist for the project. "And it's important for college students to hear about this public health issue from their peers -- the information is received in a more positive way."

The educational sessions, continuing at OSU through March, include a video presentation dispelling myths associated with organ, tissue and eye donation. For example, donation does not alter funeral arrangements, and there is no fee associated with donating organs, eyes or tissue. At least 100 videos will be produced and sent to college campuses across the state with accompanying educational materials to extend the program's reach under Baker's guidance.

The statistics tell students the heart of the story: More than 80,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant, and that number increases by at least 5,000 each year. An estimated 750,000 Americans need a cornea or transplantation of tissue, such as heart valves, skin, bone, veins and connective tissue. For Sara Huffman, the donation of her father's organs turned out to be a healing experience. Her family has received updates on patients in four states who received his organs, including two men who were in their 30s and one who was her father's age, 44.

"It's important that those people got a second chance," Huffman said. "And the fact that five other people could have another chance has really helped us through the grieving process."

Reaching out

Photos by Kevin Fitzsimons Members of BalletMet and dance students rehearse in BalletMet's downtown studio Feb. 26 to music recorded by the OSU Marching Band.

Ballet in Scarlet and Gray features BalletMet, Marching Band

By Susan Wittstock, onCAMPUS staff

Susan Hadley is directing traffic. She's sitting inside one of BalletMet's downtown studios on Feb. 25, watching as her student dancers leap and run through the space in front of her in shifting groups of two to five. Several minor collisions occur, and Hadley stops the rehearsal to figure out who needs to move downstage, who needs to join a different group, and who needs to slow down.

BalletMet dancers stand nearby, leaning casually against the ballet bar that lines the studio's edge. Soon Hadley will merge them into the traffic patterns, integrating for the first time choreography she designed for both groups to perform simultaneously, although they've rehearsed separately until now.

In two weeks, a third group experienced in executing complex choreography, will ease into the traffic: 32 members of the Ohio State Marching Band.

Ballet? Marching band? Performing together?

Audiences who attend Ballet in Scarlet and Gray will see just that, when Hadley's dance "Across the Field" premieres on the stage of Mershon Auditorium March 13-16. Also premiering will be "Gazebo Dances," by internationally renowned choreographer James Kudelka, set to John Corigliano's score of the same name and performed by OSU's Wind Symphony. The OSU Jazz Ensemble also will take a turn in the spotlight, when they accompany excerpts of BalletMet's "Gershwin Dances," choreographed by David Nixon.

Susan Hadley directs OSU and BalletMet dancers in a rehearsal for "Across the Field."

Hadley credits Gerard Charles, artistic director of BalletMet, with the idea for the production. "He has a serious interest in making connections with the larger community," she said.

"BalletMet's first performance was done on Ohio State's campus. It feels right to have a performance there in our 25th anniversary season. Ohio State is such a big part of what Columbus is about," Charles said. "It's been a good experience. We're hoping for future collaborations."

Charles first contacted Hadley, a professor of dance who has choreographed several pieces for BalletMet, last March.

"He said to me, 'Would you choreograph something? I want it to be huge -- your dancers and my dancers and I want it to be with the marching band,'" Hadley said.

Although some might be taken aback at the idea of choreographing a ballet set to marching band music, Hadley said she didn't blink an eye.

"I happen to have grown up here in Columbus. I understand the traditions. My grandfather had season tickets to the Buckeyes in the '50s," Hadley said. "My understanding of football and my artistic life have always been completely separate. And now, I feel there's two parts of me speaking to each other for the first time."

The 30-minute piece has 12 sections, and will have OSU school songs, as well as portions set to "Stars and Stripes Forever," "America the Beautiful," and the "Navy Hymn."

To create the dance, Hadley drew from a sense of gratefulness about the United States that deepened for her after the events of September 11.

"I believe that the greatest strength in this University and this country is that we come from diverse backgrounds," Hadley said. "It is that aspect of our greatness that I try to bring to the front for this piece. It's a celebration of pluralism."

America's tradition of religious tolerance is evoked in a section in which praying motifs from diverse faith traditions occur side by side.

"There are moments of solemnity -- prayerful almost -- and some pretty funny moments," Hadley said. "In the middle of the work, I have a look at Ohio State football."

No performance of the marching band would be complete without "Script Ohio," and Hadley promises that this show won't disappoint. "We will have 10 guests at every performance who will dot the 'I,'" she said. The honor will go to a wide cross-section of people from the community and University, Hadley said, including religious leaders, professors and athletes.

She's looking forward to the mix of people this performance will attract for an audience. "I think this piece will speak to a number of constituencies -- the dance community, the OSU community, football fans and music lovers. And I think it will speak to us as Ohio State alumni and citizens of Columbus," she said.

She's also happy to be bringing together her 12 student performers and 13 understudies with BalletMet's 13 professionals. "It's been great for our students to be working with professional ballet dancers and to have the opportunity to be a part of the creation of a large scale work. Some students are heading off to be professional dancers in New York, and having this kind of experience should be very helpful to them," she said.

Students like Kristina Mola, an undergraduate dance major who is graduating in March and was excited about the chance to work with BalletMet. "This is good preparation for what I'm about to do," she said. "It's fun because I go to all of their performances, and now I get to be in one."

As the Feb. 25 rehearsal continued, Hadley put both groups of dancers through their paces, at times walking them through her intricate choreography. With two minutes left in rehearsal, she let them dance the section set to "America the Beautiful" straight through. Although the piece was a bit rough on the edges, the dancers gracefully executed the steps -- swinging arms and legs in windmill arcs, lifting one another into leaps and crossing the stage with feet stepping into sharp turns. By the music's last note, they'd arranged themselves into three vertical rows, pliéing in a ripple effect before all snapping their heads up with synchronized precision, creating a moment to make even a marching band proud.