On Nov. 10, during a brown bag lunch, Senator Dale Schultz made his first visit to the campus to discuss the Senate’s current issues. Schultz talked about furlough days, education and budget plans.

“I just want to make it clear that you can blow off steam and make statements here,” Schultz said.

During discussion of the long term funding crisis and balancing the budget, many suggestions to cut spending arose. Schultz said, “We have too much government to handle.”

He raised the question of getting rid of programs people can live without. Furlough days came up after this question. Schultz said that furlough days do not impact the budget a great deal.

Students spoke about parents working for the state dealing with furlough days.

In response, Schultz said, “We have considered taking pay back from people instead of instating furlough days.”

Regarding education, Schultz brought up several points of view. “Change will help keep costs low and some people suggest that we should drop 12th grade and focus more on 4-year-old kindergarten,” Schultz said. “This is different from the norm but it’s something that we may have to consider.”

Schultz would like to find ways to help the economy grow. He asked for opinions regarding the economy and how to gain funding. Schultz suggested raising taxes or cutting programs and services for the people. Some students agreed, saying that while many people don’t like paying taxes, they often don’t realize the way the taxes come back to help them by funding schools or roads.

The senator stated that it is hard to raise taxes because people do not like what the government does with their tax money, and they may think that money could be used more effectively elsewhere.

Rosalyn Broussard, a political science professor teaching current issues said, “The meeting was very informative. Students should attend these whenever the occasion arises. Students should ask legislators questions and find out about public policy.”

Mike Hruby, a sophomore Spanish major, said, “The senator came in to talk to our current issues in democracy class. We have mainly talked about health care and other issues. The meeting went well. Schultz was surprisingly polite on every issue.”

After scrimmaging during the summer, the UW-Platteville women’s basketball team is ready to start the 2009-2010 season. Official practice began Oct. 18 to gear up for the home opener Tuesday Nov. 17.

“We would scrimmage twice a week in summer, and when we got to school we would work out four days a week in the morning as a team,” senior Charity Stotmeister said. “So we got ourselves in good shape before practice even started.”

Head coach Tina Kuhle said the team has been conditioning for the season since September.

“They condition as a team with agility drills, stadium stairs, a timed mile and other basic conditioning drills,” Kuhle said.

“We have worked harder in our summer and in the pre-season this year than ever before,” Stotmeister said.

Of the 15 women who made the team, 11 are freshman or sophomores.

“We have more depth this year,” Stacia Nemitz said.

Even though the team is fairly young, they have set high goals for the season.

“We want to finish first in the WIAC Conference Championship,” said Kuhle. “We would also like to win all of our home games and non-conference games and also host the first round in the WIAC tournament.”

“Everyone’s main goal is to win conference, but realistically we want top three,” Stotmeister said. “We also want to host a tournament game, and just build our presence at home by winning at home.”

This year’s captains include the three seniors on the team: Stotmeister, Nemitz and Dru Schneider. Stotmeister and Schneider are three-year letter winners for the UW-P womens basketball squad.

The team only lost one senior, Lisa Grantman, at the end of the last year.

“[Grantman] was a great player who did a lot for the basketball program at UW-P but we have gotten some great freshmen this year, and the returners have really worked hard this summer,” Nemitz said. “She will be missed but we have almost gained as a team with our newer players and returners.”

The women’s basketball team will host their first game at home against Millikin University, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17.

UW-Platteville’s Brodbeck Hall, located in the Center for the Arts, hosted the voices of associate lecturer Rebekah Demaree and lecturer Susan Savage Day, accompanied by pianist Sharon Jenson, on Oct. 4 as part of the Kassia performing arts piece.  The concert consisted of pieces of poetry taken from a variety of women poets throughout history, which were then paired with opera singing and piano music. Some of the poems put to music were the works of well-known poets, including Sylvia Plath, Lady John Scott and Rose Fyleman.

“It was a wonderful concert,” Sarah Darrow, of Platteville, said. “They are fine singers. The concert was well put together.”

Day and Demaree are both sopranos, and each sang solo pieces with Jenson’s accompaniment on the piano. Demaree and Day read brief pieces of background on each woman poet and their poetry before singing the selection.

“We wanted to focus on women composers and poets,” Day said. “We want to bring creative poets and their talents together with music.”

The next performance for the soloists will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 31, when they will be singing with instrumental accompaniment.
“Its fun to do work with other people, Demaree said.

Both Day and Demaree encourage everyone to join them in January at the Center for the Arts when they perform Kassia and Friends II.

Attendees of the concert saw a presentation of poetry put to music by two soloists from the UW-P’s music department.

Alcalay played “33 Variations on a Waltz,” by A. Diabelli. Even Alcalay was surprised, “That was a really good crowd,” he remarked after his performance.

Photograph by Stephanie Coren
UW-Platteville music professor Eugene Alcalay played the music of Beethoven on Sept. 17 in the CFA. He’s set to perform Beethoven’s work in Trafalgar Square in London next year.

Alcalay’s choice of “33 Variations on a Waltz,” by A. Diabelli is 33 short excerpts from Beethoven’s work.

“It’s so hard to remember the order of the variations,” Alcalay said about the first part of the concert. “How they begin and where they transition is difficult, it’s a challenge.”

“He really got into it by showing the emotions,” Rose Kopecky, a freshman environmental engineer major, said after the show.

The second piece chosen to be performed was “Five Variations on Rule Britannia.” Alcalay said that Beethoven wrote this late in his life when he was “very pro-British.” He told the audience that he learned this piece for his British wife.

Alcalay then finished the concert with “Six Bagatelles,” composed in Beethoven’s last years.

“I love playing Beethoven’s late work because you don’t get to hear it as often,” Alcalay said.

Two local women, Lynn Dew and Joyce Wisnewski, had wonderful things to say about Alcalay’s concert; “Astonishing! Amazingly good!”

“Eugene Alcalay is so gifted and brilliant. I am bothered by the fact that more people from town don’t come to enjoy his music here on campus,” said Wisnewski.

“Terrific, an amazing player, a master. It is an honor to have him on campus,” said David Rowley, associate professor of history. Rowley had checked online prior to the recital to see what Alcalay would be playing for the evening. While glancing through the information, he stumbled upon the excellent reviews from his performances in London.

Alcalay will perform for the Beethoven Society at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Theatre in Trafalgar Square, London next year.

Hao Chen, the new communication technologies assistant professor, was hired by UW-P to teach five communications classes this fall.

He recently moved to Wisconsin from New York and is pleased with the small town of Platteville.

“Everyone is very friendly and kind here,” Chen said.

Communication technologies professor Mary Rose Williams was appointed as his UW-P mentor. He said that Assistant Professor Steve Yunck has also helped him in the last few weeks.

Chen recently became a professor, so he can sympathize with his students on homework and test-related issues. He graduated from the University of Buffalo in New York with his Ph.D. in May 2009.

He took an interest in teaching at UW-P when he looked at the curriculum and saw that it compliments with his expertise.

“I’m very satisfied with this decision,” Chen said about moving to Platteville two months ago to become a member of the UW-P academic staff.

As a teaching assistant at the University of Buffalo he lectured and assisted with grading, which  he feels helped prepare him for the responsibility of a classroom of students and being able to help in their learning progress. Chen is also excited about the opportunity to improve his teaching skills at UW-P.

Hao Chen will teach communication courses in his area of expertise: Introduction to Mass Media, Principles of Interactivity, History of Imaging and the software classes which include Flash, Dream Weaver and Photoshop.

Chen wants his students to work together as teammates to achieve not only the goals of the class but also their future goals in the working world.  He would love to see team spirit in his classes, as he knows this will be vital on or at the job site.  Chen hopes his students will build a good knowledge base to get the job or project completed efficiently and correctly is a goal he hopes his students learn.

“I would like to see students leave here with those skills,” Chen said.