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The UW-Platteville Paintball Club placed second at the national paintball tournament.

The highly successful season ended with a second-place finish at the national paintball tournament, which not only secured their position as the 2010 National College Paintball Association’s number one college paintball team in the nation, but also earned them another trophy to add to their growing pile.

“I have all these trophies piled up in my room and we need somewhere to put them,” said Casey Howard, sophomore building construction management major. “We’ll even build the case if we need to.”

The 10 club members, Howard, Blake McShane, Alex Kornely, Phil Paque, James Tiedt, Lance Schumann, Matt Collins, Tyler Earnest, Christopher Schnurr and Ben Kisling, traveled to Lakeland, Fla. on April 9 to compete in the two-day tournament. They had to use all of their energy, skill and even their salesman skills to overcome a rough start to the tournament to take second place.

“We drove 23 hours straight, and so the first day we were all really tired. It was also about 80 degrees in Florida and we almost lost one of our players to heat stroke,” said McShane, freshman engineering major.

The team also bought bad paintballs, which don’t explode on impact like they should, which made eliminations harder and made their first games extremely difficult.

“The first day I had to walk around and sell all of the bad paint so we could buy better stuff,” said Collins, sophomore mechanical engineering major.

After they had sold all the bad paint, adjusted to the heat, and had a good night’s rest, the tournament went much better for the club. On the second day of the tournament, in the semifinals, they beat one of the most competitive teams attending.

“The University of Nebraska-Omaha’s team had two professional players and two players from Div. I and II schools,” said Earnest, junior criminal justice major. “Out of all the teams, we wanted to beat those guys the most. We actually maxed them one game, which means that we eliminated all of their players and didn’t lose one of ours.”

The fact that they beat Nebraska-Omaha, whom they have named the University of Vicious, 2-0 made losing to the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers in the final round a little easier.

“We put up a good fight, but Tennessee deserved to win,” Howard said.

The club is losing three of its key members this year, graduating seniors Kornely, Shumann and Nathanial Douse, but they are looking forward to next season. The club, which meets at 7 p.m. every Tuesday in the Wisconsin Room of the Pioneer Student Center, is always looking for new members to help defend their No. 1 ranking and bring home more trophies.

“Deidre created a really safe, open and welcoming environment and she let us know that we were there to listen, learn and share thoughts,” Jess Sandry, a graduate student in counselor education and one of the 22 people to attend the training said. “She has a friendly, lively presence that made the entire session an overwhelmingly positive experience.”

“I am very passionate about this training because it is very near and dear to my heart,” Dalsing, a counselor at UW-P Counseling Services said. “The sessions are not the place for religious discussion or political debate, but somewhere where we can encourage exploration of the issues and emphasize an increase in knowledge about the LGBTQ community.”

Throughout the training, Dalsing led open discussions that addressed problematic and offensive language, common definitions and LGBTQ terminology, and the qualities of a supportive LGBTQ ally. The interactive and informative training included large-group activities and small group discussions.

“For people who may be afraid to say something or struggle to think that their opinions matter in these types of situations, the training is a great way to gain insight, build confidence and learn to make more informed decisions,” said Todd Carothers, assistant professor of business and accounting.

Upon completion of the training, all participants picked up a green and pink Safe Zone triangle that identified them as allies for LGBTQ individuals and advocates for the community.

“As a faculty member, I am here to help students tap into their future and I don’t want to be closed off to any element of what that might entail,” Carothers said. “By hanging the Safe Zone triangle in my office, I believe that I am just doing my job: conveying a sense of acceptance and encouragement and sending a message to students that I seek to understand and support who they are.”

“Supporting other human beings should be everyone’s goal,” Sandry said. “Everyone has an impact on one another in some way, even if it is small, and it’s really important to make that impact in a positive way. Safe Zone training is an excellent way to learn how to make that positive impact.”

Safe Zone training is offered once every semester. On- and off-campus groups can also contact Dalsing at any time and request specific times for training. To learn more about Safe Zone training or to request a group training session, contact Dalsing at 342-1865 or at dalsingd@uwplatt.edu.

“I think that it is important for students to get a real taste of agriculture, and because I farm myself, I am able to use a lot of practical, everyday experience in the classroom and incorporate many real-life examples into my teaching,” Kamps said.

Kamps, now in her third semester as lecturer for the agriculture department, began her education at UW-Platteville, earning a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education before continuing her schooling at National-Louis University in Wheeling, Ill., where she received a master’s degree in educational administration. Kamps spent three years teaching agriculture at Lake Geneva Badger High School before she married Josh Kamps, alumnus of UW-P, and moved to Belmont to farm and teach at UW-P.

Kamps teaches agribusiness professional development, introduction to agriculture business, and producer and consumer cooperatives. In her three semesters at UW-P, she has earned a reputation for having high expectations of her students and for creating a fun, interactive learning environment in her classrooms.

“She has the gift of teaching,” said Jodi McDermott, assistant dean of the UW-P College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture. “She is always thinking of creative teaching ideas and finding different ways to relate to and engage her students. She has the perfect combination of positive, enthusiastic personality and get-it-done attitude that makes her an effective and dynamic teacher who really prepares her students for their futures.”

“She comes from a farming background and she really knows how to put things into context and relate to her students,” said Bryan Guenther, a sophomore agribusiness major.

Guenther recalls a time when Kamps explained supply and demand curves by making her students stand up and tip their arms back and forth to demonstrate the fluctuating market.

“She presents material in a way that is never dry or dull and I always look forward to her classes,” Guenther said. “I recommend anyone who needs to take an agriculture class to take it with Lecturer Kamps.”

Kamps also works as a research technician and outreach coordinator for the Pioneer Farm. She is currently working on starting new programs in environmental science education for secondary education teachers and creating new sustainable courses for graduate students.

“I want students and the public to look to the farm as a resource and to know that they can come to us for quality programs and research projects that are concerned with the future of agriculture,” Kamps said.

In her free time, Kamps enjoys reading, spending time with her family in Clinton, singing in the local church choir, teaching Sunday school and, of course, farming.

“I love the feeling of accomplishment that you get at the end of the day, whether it is a new litter of pigs, a clean cattle yard or a shed full of hay,” Kamps said. “Even if it is just chores being done, some days that is a great accomplishment.”

The UW-P Pioneer Investment Club will be hosting an information session from 4:30 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24 in order to recruit new club members for the 2010-11 school year. The session will be held in room 115 of Ullsvik Hall.

Deb Hoppenjan, accountant for the UW-P Foundation, said the Investment Club collaboratively manages an investment portfolio of nearly $230,000, funds that were entrusted to them by the UW-P Foundation in 2001. The portfolio is managed entirely by the club members who investigate and research potential stocks for purchase throughout the academic year.

“We are a pretty unique club in this regard because UW-P is one of the very few UW [System] schools to put aside funds specifically for student investment,” said Ezra Deutsch, senior business administration and finance major and recruitment manager for the club. “The club provides us with an opportunity to get hands-on experience managing real money and not a lot of undergraduate students can say that.”

Club members will be present at the session to answer questions and provide information about the club’s schedule, investment processes and opportunities for social and professional networking. Club members will also provide interested students with information about club events, including their upcoming trip to the Redefining Investment Strategy Education student investment forum at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.

Brock Waterman, a senior business administration and finance major and member of the club, encourages students from all areas of study to attend the session and learn more about the many opportunities for fiscal learning that the Investment Club offers.

“Through the club, students can expand their financial and business knowledge and develop useful and important investing skills,” Waterman said. “For example, we learn investment strategies that are applicable to many real-life investment situations, such as opening an IRA or 401(k) or dealing with other personal finances.”

Although the club curriculum is primarily centered on financial learning, members agree that the social aspects of the club are just as educational and rewarding.

“The meeting structure includes informal discussion times after stock presentations in order to casually discuss the information, making the club a good environment to learn from others’ interests,” said Drew DiVall, senior business finance and accounting major and current president of the Pioneer Investment Club. “Investment strategy is all about individuality, so the meetings allow members to be introduced to new techniques and concepts nearly every week. The club also regularly hosts social events to allow members to learn a bit more about their peers and to help create a tightly-knit group.”

Deirdre Dalsing, a counselor for UW-P Counseling Services, said the purpose of Safe Zone training is to inform and educate people about GLBTQ issues and to dispel myths and misinformation associated with GLBTQ individuals. The training module takes about two hours and addresses issues such as problematic and offensive language, common definitions and GLBTQ terminology, and the qualities of a supportive GLBTQ ally. In the past, Safe Zone training has been available to resident directors and resident assistants at UW-P. However, Dalsing, who got involved with the program in 2006, saw a need to update and standardize the program curriculum. She also determined that the training needed to be available to all UW-P faculty, staff and students, as well as local community members.

Dalsing said in the month of January, 76 individuals from various UW-P offices and organizations have completed Safe Zone training. One of the offices that recently finished the training was the Prospective Student Services office. Heidi Tuescher-Gille, recruitment manager for Prospective Student Services, organized the training because she saw an opportunity for both staff and student development.

“By completing this training, we hope that everyone, enrolled and prospective students, faculty and staff, who comes through our doors feels comfortable, accepted and welcome on our campus,” Tuescher-Gille said. “By hanging the Safe Zone triangle in our office, we hope to send a message to all students that says that we are informed about the issues that diverse students face and that we are willing to serve as a resource and advocate for any student.”

“I took the foundation of the program and tweaked it a bit,” said Dalsing, who increased the informational content and expanded the training module of the program. Dalsing also invited members of the UW-P Alliance, a student organization supporting members of the GLBTQ community, to assist her with the training.

“It is great to have actual representatives from the GLBTQ community playing an active role in the training,” Rebecca Wonder, president of the Alliance, said. “Members of the Alliance involve themselves in the training module in order to open up a dialogue and to work through any questions, concerns or other issues that participants may have. It is really nice to see the increased interest in diversity training and I hope that it will continue.”

Safe Zone training is now offered once every semester. Training for the spring 2010 semester will take place in March. On-and-off campus groups can also contact Dalsing at any time and request specific times for training.
Dalsing hopes that in the future the number of pink and green triangles on the UW-P campus will continue to grow.

“Our ultimate goal is to have the UW-P campus overwhelmingly identified as a safe zone. We would like to see safe zones in every building, department and office on campus,” Dalsing said. “Although we have more safe zones on campus than we have ever had before, we will diligently continue to offer Safe Zone training in order to provide a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment for everyone.”

To learn more about Safe Zone training or to request a group training session, contact Dalsing at (608) 342-1865 or at dalsingd@uwplatt.edu.