New De La Salle Christian Brothers statue, Brother James Miller bust dedicated

Brother William greets benefactors of the De La Salle Christian Brothers statue including, from left: Brian Thomas (representing the class of 2013); Frances and Robert Skemp and Jan and Bernie Wagnild.

Maria Glenski does a reading for the dedication ceremony.

The new De La Salle Christian Brothers statue on the Winona campus plaza was dedicated during a brief ceremony on Oct. 4. The statue honors the De La Salle Christian Brothers’ 80 years of service to Saint Mary’s. Benefactors of the project, Bernie and Jan Wagnild, Robert ’49 and Frances Perry CST ’51 Skemp, and the Class of 2013, were recognized.

A new bust of 1966 alumnus Brother James Miller, for whom Residencia Santiago Miller is named, was dedicated Oct. 8 during an informal ceremony. The bust is located just off of the path between the Residencia and Brother Leopold Hall. Brother James was doing “God’s work” of bringing education, faith and hope to marginalized Guatemalans when he was shot and killed on Feb. 13, 1982 by four masked gunmen while mending a wall outside the De La Salle Casa Indigena where he worked.

To see photos, go to www.smumn.edu/photos.

News from Nairobi

We Stand United
By James Chege, librarian
Maryknoll Institute for African Studies

Terrorism reared its ugly head again in Kenya when one of Nairobi’s up-market shopping malls, Westgate, was attacked by what is thought to be militants from the notorious Somalia-based al-Shabab terror group.

What followed was a four-day siege involving local and foreign security forces working hand in hand to bring the attack and hostage situation to an end. Reports from the government put the death toll at 76 with hundreds more injured. Fortunately, none of the staff or students at MIASMU, CTIE and Tangaza University College lost their lives or were injured in the attack. Also, as far as is known, no members of the staff and students’ extended families were directly affected by the tragic events.

We are most grateful to our many friends and concerned individuals from Saint Mary’s University who inquired as to our safety and well-being. We also thank all those who remembered Kenya in their prayers in that difficult moment and continue to do so as many Kenyan families struggle to come to terms with the loss of loved ones.

Halloween Fun Night is Oct. 28

Elementary and preschool children from the Winona area are invited to attend the 13th annual Saint Mary’s University Halloween Fun Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28.

Participants should stop at the guard booth at the main entrance of the Winona campus for directions on where to park. 

Young trick-or-treaters should start out the evening at the Hall of Fame Room, located in the Toner Student Center, where tattoos and stickers, a coloring station, and other fun games will be offered, and the Cardinal mascot will greet pint-sized ghosts and goblins.

From there, SMU students will lead groups of trick-or-treaters through the residence halls of the university, where they can go door to door for candy.

Last year more than 750 youth participated in this free, safe and fun event, sponsored by the Office of Residence Life.

Get set to scream at annual Saint Mary’s Walk of Horror

This year’s Walk of Horror is again guaranteed to give you goosebumps. New scares are planned around every corner.

The 17th annual hair-raising fundraiser for the SMU Cardinal fastpitch softball team will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 25-26 and 30-31 in the SMU bluffs. Walkers are asked to meet on the lighted path between the SMU baseball and softball fields, where the haunted walk will begin.

Groups are then escorted through the dark bluffs surrounding the SMU campus for approximately 20 minutes.

The cost is $5 for adults, $4 for students with ID, and $4 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the gate.

Proceeds from this event will be used for the softball team’s travel expenses.

SMU head fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller said the event is fun for all ages. The scare level is toned down for younger children and turned up for groups bold enough to face their fears. Last year more than 1,100 brave souls took SMU’s Walk of Horror.

For more information, contact Miller at Ext. 6923.

SMU hosts Caravan du Nord Minnesota musicians Oct. 18

Saint Mary’s Off the Page Series will host an impressive lineup of talented Minnesota musicians as part of the “Caravan du Nord 2013” concert series Friday, Oct. 18.

In its third year, the Caravan du Nord concert tour starts Oct. 11 in Austin, with stops in Winona, St. Cloud and Detroit Lakes before ending in Red Wing on Nov. 16. Each event features live performances by artists in a wide range of genres.

The Winona lineup includes some of the most talked about up-and-coming artists — Night Moves, Southwire and Mike Munson — converging on the SMU Page Theatre stage, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Night Moves is based out of Minneapolis and has been receiving airtime on MPR’s The Current; they have been described by Spin magazine as “cosmically expansive and yet twangily intimate.” Southwire, from Duluth, has been praised by City Pages as providing “haunting melodies that sound like they have been carried on the winds of the past.” Winona’s own (and SMU alum) Mike Munson was recently on the nationally broadcast WPR show “Whad' Ya Know” and is regularly heard around town performing his blues-influenced solo guitar.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at www.pagetheatre.org or at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The SMU Student Activity Committee is co-hosting this event.

Members of Night Moves and Minnesota’s top music industry professionals will provide insider insight about marketing, songwriting and more at a workshop Friday, Oct. 18, from noon to 3 p.m. at Sum Some Studios, 168 E. 3rd St. The event is free and open to the public.

‘Make a Difference Day’ and ‘Lasallian Day of Service’ are Oct. 26

In recognition of national “Make a Difference Day,” Saint Mary’s Volunteer Mentors group is inviting Winona residents and nonprofit agencies to submit requests for service.

The university hopes to get as many students as possible out into the community between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. Students are willing to help individuals and organizations with anything from painting to yard work.

“Make a Difference Day” is a national day of helping others, a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Created by USA WEEKEND magazine, this annual event takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. For the sixth year, SMU is proud to join the millions of people throughout the nation who are participating.

Lasallian Day of Service

Also on Oct. 26, alumni are invited to participate in the fifth annual Lasallian Day of Service. This is a day that allows alumni to come together in the spirit of the Lasallian mission in service to others. 

The alumni association has established a volunteer site for the Winona area at the CSTea House, 357 Gould St.

The CSTea House is the home of the College of Saint Teresa Alumnae Association. It is located next to Lourdes Hall and adjacent to the Chapel of the Angels and the Alverna Center. Fifteen volunteers are needed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to organize and clean the basement.

Sites have also been confirmed in the Chicago, Twin Cities, Saint Louis and Denver, Colo., areas. Alumni who reside outside these locations have been encouraged to arrange their own service project(s). 

For more information go to:  www.mysmumn.org/LDOS13.

Alumnus returns to SMU for exhibit titled ‘Excessibility’

Todd VonBastiaans, left, and Bryan McCarthy with their pancake pillow creations.

Las Vegas artist and 1994 Saint Mary’s alumnus Todd VonBastiaans — along with friend and colleague Bryan McCarthy — will curate the next Saint Mary’s University exhibit, “Excessibility.”

The show, which depicts luxury and celebrity accessibility is subtitled, “Access 2 Excess” and features works from 1939 to 2013, including Banksy, Ed Ruscha, Sol Lewitt and Andy Warhol. VonBastiaans and McCarthy will also display their new pancake pillows.

“Excessibility” will run Oct. 10 through Nov. 10 in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries, located in the Toner Student Center.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and the show is free and open to the public.

Special Halloween ‘Boo-fet’ and costume contest is Oct. 31

Halloween costume party participants from years past -- marketing and communication mice

A fantastic farm theme from the education folks

Start planning your spooktacular Halloween costume now; get your office or department together and vie for the highly coveted traveling Halloween contest trophy. The last costume contest winners, the Business Office, aren’t going to give it up easily!

This is the SMU Volunteer Committee’s first “Let’s Do Lunch” potluck/fundraiser.

This year’s winner will be able to direct their $500 winnings to their choice of the following worthy causes: Winona Food Shelf, scholarships at SMU, SMU in Jamaica, Habitat for Humanity, the First-Generation Initiative or the Red Cross.

The lunch, hosted by the Student Success Center and iT, will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in the Common Room. All faculty and staff are welcome!

It’ll be a frigh

Lawing to display work in Decorah, Winona

“Elegant Decay,”new work by Preston Lawing of the Art and Design Department, is on display at the ArtHaus Gallery in Decorah, Iowa. This exhibition moves to Winona with an opening reception Nov. 5 at the Lyon Smith Gallery, 199 E. 3rd St.

SMU ‘In the News’

Here is one way Saint Mary’s is making the news this week:

• The Winona Post featured the SMU De La Salle Christian Brothers statue dedication in its Oct. 9 edition.

Business Office volunteers with Feed My Starving Children

The Winona Rotary Club hosted a Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) MobilePack Event on Saturday, Oct. 5, and the Business Office helped out this worthy cause. Feed My Starving Children is a Christian non-profit organization which utilizes volunteers to put together specially formulated food packets to be sent around the world to feed starving children. The program is reputable and serves children who are starving, even in the United States.

Volunteers from the Business Office donated a two-hour block of time to pack about 4,000 meals. Each team was asked to provide funding to cover the costs of the meals they pack, or $800.

The business office raised the required $800 donation by selling valentine cards and homemade treats. 

Bachler to perform in Winona Cemetery Walk

Marketing adjunct professor Steve Bachler was on WCCO-TV’s “Finding Minnesota” segment last Sunday as he is portraying Cal Fremling in the upcoming Cemetery Walk Oct. 12-13 at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Price quoted in article about Lasallian Social Justice Institute experience

Larry Price, Business Department, wrote an article about his Lasallian Social Justice Institute experience which was quoted in an article on the Christian Brothers Conference website: http://lasallian.info/2013/08/23/lsji-highlights-impact-of-violence-and-peacemaking/

Tristano presents at Christian teaching conference

Richard Tristano, History Department, attended a conference at Calvin College, “Virtues, Vices, and Teaching,” that explored approaches to Christian teaching and learning on the role of character in the classroom. His presentation “Teaching Virtues: Perspectives on the Good Human Life” highlighted the place of the Lasallian Core Traditions program in SMU’s general education program, especially LCT225 Perspectives on the Good Human Life.

Luncheon held for Polish students, benefactors

Pictured are, from left, back: Brother William Mann, Mike Gostomski, Jan Preble of The Wasie Foundation, Ryan Gostomski; front, Marcin Sak, Marzena Drozd, Katarzyna Plawiak and Marta Aleszewicz.

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Saint Mary’s hosted a lunch gathering of students from Poland and their scholarship benefactors. The university enjoys a partnership with the Gostomski Family Foundation and The Wasie Foundation to provide full tuition, room and board scholarships to students of 100 percent Polish ancestry who also meet university admissions criteria.

Blue Angel is Nov. 1-2

The Brothers of Phi Mu Alpha cordially invite members of the faculty and staff to Blue Angel    2013. This year’s performances are Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7 and 10 p.m.  ou may receive a complimentary ticket to the show of your choice by contacting Bob Fisher at Ext. 6658 or rfisher@smumn.edu.