New HVAC Arrives on Hottest Day of the Year (So Far)

An exciting morning for Logue Library!  Without A/C since the warm weather began, today a crane arrived, removed the old unit and hoisted a new one in its place.  The new HVAC was placed on the roof in two pieces.

The first of two pieces,  in place ...

And then, the second one ...

We took video!

Riveting footage, to be sure! (Hey, this is exciting stuff!)

All done with walkie-talkies.  The crane operator did not have a visual of the project. Amazing!

And done by 10am!  The Library is working on reduced hours today and tomorrow, and is closed on Sunday due to the extreme heat, but we are hoping to have the A/C running by early next week!

Psychotherapy Training

Logue Library's newest resource adds more to our counseling psychology training video collection.

Through our new subscription to Psychotherapy.net, the library now provides 50 additional training videos that complement the current collection of over 300 through the APA's PsycTherapy series.

Like the APA's PsycTherapy, this collection is organized by your choice of therapeutic approach or expert, as well as by population.  Enter a topic keyword into the search box to search by topic.

Helpful features of this collection include the capability to create video clips and store them, and the ability to download instructors manuals for many of the videos.

Access these Psychotherapy Training collections from the Reference Materials tab of the Psychology subject guide.

As always, we welcome your questions and feedback by emailing us or chatting in using the prompt at the bottom of the screen.

Only 50 Days Until Graduation!

Google Scholar Links to Logue Library Journals

Google Scholar provides more and more open access full text every day, but there are always articles for which a subscription is needed.  If Google knows you are a student here, the search results will include links to our subscriptions.   Here is how to set that up.

To set Google Scholar preferences on an off-campus device:

1. Go to http://scholar.google.com/
2. Click the Settings link at the top right of the page (look for a down-arrow all the way to the right, next to "my citations".)
3. On the left, click library links
4. Type Chestnut Hill College into the search box
5. Check the box next to Chestnut Hill College when it appears below the search box 
6. Click the blue Save button.

Now, go back to http://scholar.google.com/ and start searching!

"Disgusting Slush!"

We've had to deal with some pretty crazy weather lately,  We overheard one frustrated critic complain to friends, "the theme of this winter appears to be 'Disgusting Slush!'" When it's ice and slush, bitter temps and brutal wind, even Winter's die-hard fans are less than satisfied.  It's no fun to play in, and it's hard to know when the college will be opening late, or not opening at all.

So, what to do when classes are cancelled with staff and commuters sent home so that the crews can clear it all away?

Well, the library is open!

We librarians can't be on campus when we are asked to leave, but we have a few very dedicated students who we can count on to keep the lights on so that you have a place to go to research, write and meet with classmates.


Winter is half over. Here's hoping for a classic snow day before Spring!  You know, the kind with beautifully falling snow (and we have the best views!) and the fun of sledding and playing that takes a lot of the stress out of studying and meeting deadlines.  The kind of snow that can be cleared away in a day, and then we're back to work, with snowy slopes waiting for the end of class. That kind! Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Groundhog Day!  Stay safe.

Good Luck With Your Exams!

Logue Library is open until 2am starting Sunday the 7th, through Thursday the 11th.

Technical Glitch

You've lived with technology your whole life.  You know that it's one thing to accidentally "reply all" when you meant to send a private message, and another thing altogether to post something on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram that you know the whole world will see.  Or to be videotaped doing something illegal that someone else posts.

You'd think by now it would be almost second-nature to think twice before sharing. Not so, it seems.

Daily news stories like this from the Chronicle of Higher Education, demonstrate how even an academic professional's tweets could land him in the unemployment line.

A current post from Education Tech News profiles seven recent cases of technology missteps in higher education ... from students and teachers alike.

Now that you're in college, it's more important than ever to protect your ability to maintain that hard-earned scholarship, as well as your ability to get the job you've worked so hard for.


It doesn't have to happen to you, if you follow these three easy rules:

1. Engage in political and social discussions!  But keep it civil. Nobody listens to attacks, anyway. Do provoke thinking. Don't provoke a nasty fight.

2. Realize that you own your retweets and likes because you do. You might as well have said it yourself.

3. Tighten up your privacy settings, but be aware that nothing is ever really private on social media or text messages. You can't control what is reposted, and you can't  control who is looking over the shoulder of a friend who is reading.

What you do in social media can and will be used against you, but it can also work in your favor, if  you're caught doing the right thing.  Wouldn't you like to be a victim of this instead?

Keepers, Beaters, Chasers, Seeker!

Quidditch Through the Ages - Kennilworthy Whisp
 ©2001 JK Rowliing

The Brotherly Love Cup is scheduled for October 18 during Chestnut Hill's Harry Potter Festival.  And who can relate to trying to watch a game when you don't know the rules?  Is it okay to yell at the referees??

While this guide to the history and rules of the game doesn't answer the ref question, it does contain helpful tips for watching the game with a level of understanding that will have others asking you for your expertise and opinion!

"Rules are of course, 'made to be broken.'" Seven hundred Quidditch fouls are listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records, and all of them are known to have occurred during the final of the first ever World Cup in 1473." (p.28)

The book's author concluded that "no public good" can come of publishing the entire list of possible fouls, and notes that the vast majority cannot be committed without use of a wand.  As long as wands are banned from the game, this chart of Ten Common Fouls will suffice in helping spectators understand the game:

Ten Common Fouls
p.29-30

The book also describes each of the positions and common moves, in addition to an overview of the history of the game.  Ask for it on reserve at Logue Library.

Reference Room Improvements

This will be a busy semester in Logue Library, as the Reference Room gets a bit of a face lift!

The previous post showed pictures "before" the new flooring was installed earlier in the week, and they worked so fast, the "during" and the "after" pictures are already here, together!

Half-way done before noon!

Props to the installers, who made quick work of
moving that heavy furniture

And, done by 3pm!

We were unpacked and back in business by the end of the day, and yesterday we hosted a couple of classes and some studious folks getting a jump on the new semester.

  

What an improvement!


Next up:  Some new furniture will arrive later in the semester.  Can't wait!

In with the New!

Welcome to a brand new year at Chestnut Hill and a special welcome to the class of 2018!

The library was full of our new class on Sunday, as the Orientation Day got underway with the program in Gruber.  Meg Mitchell and Diane Arnold were happy to meet you all personally through the presentations they gave in the Library and across campus.

Fun fact:  In the Spring each year, the library staff seems to always know the students who are graduating with honors! So, if you haven't had a chance to come into the library yet this semester, please do! We'd like to meet you, get your student ID bar-coded, answer any questions you might have, and get you on your way to a successful college career!  Feel free to nose around the library if this is your first year. It's an interesting building!

Our Reference Room is a bit untidy these days. We're expecting to have the floor carpeted this week, and then some time after that, new furniture will be delivered.  We are eagerly awaiting these improvements! 

We'll keep you in the loop.  Here are some "before" pictures!

Today, we finished moving the books off the shelves in half of the library for the first phase of the carpeting...  

We'll have to move all of those books, too!









Stay tuned as the saga continues ...

Access to The New York Times, Simplified!

New at Chestnut Hill College for the Spring Semester!  Access to all New York Times website content is free without a personal subscription. Use your CHC email address to create a personal log-in and claim a 24-hour pass whenever your need one.  To learn more, start here.

Search current news and historic archives; search by date range or specify your dates; search everything or specific sections.  There is an image search as well, in beta.

Good Press for Statista!

Logue Library's newest resource makes explaining the statistical impact of business practices, consumerism, marketing, and other concepts a visual cinch.  Take Slate Magazine's latest blurb about Microsoft's new tablet product.  Oops!  Maybe next time Microsoft will consult Statista!*

Give Statista a try, and if you have questions, just Ask!

*CHC log-in credentials needed to use Statista

Catalog at Your Fingertips

From the department of "It's About Time," we've posted a QR code for WebCat, the Logue Library catalog, throughout the library.  Scan the code with a smartphone or tablet QR Code Reader app and easily search for library materials without the need to be at a computer.










The library's mobile site is linked under the picture on the home page.  Any research done on a desktop can also be done here.  As always, we welcome any questions or comments about the library!

UPDATE September 24: Most often, you will be in Mobile mode automatically while using a mobile device. If you aren't, click the link!

Consider standing while you work!

Is sitting the new smoking? 

 A study published online in July combined information from 5 studies from 2005 to 2010 to conclude that sitting more than three hours a day actually decreases a person's life by two years. The study suggests that, even for someone who works out three hours a day, plopping down in front of the TV for three hours afterward has some of the same health consequences as smoking & obesity! And while TV viewing is a leading culprit, sitting while working at a desk or computer for a total of just three hours a day puts health at a greater risk.

Because U.S. adults spend, on average, between 4.5 and five hours a day sitting down, a significant shift in the population's behavior would be needed to have an effect on life expectancy, Katzmarzyk said. This might be achieved through changes at the workplace, such as the use of standing desks.     From CBSNews.com, July 9, 2012

As a result, standup work stations have become a popular experiment among many freelancers who work at home, as well as some innovative companies. Reports are that office workers are coming away from work with more energy, and those who go to the gym after work report better workouts.

There are four computer workstations in Logue Library that sit on a high table in the center of the lab. We haven't taken the chairs away (yet!) but we encourage you to spend some time working on your feet.

There is a fatigue factor. Ease into the change by taking short sit-down breaks. We hear that after a week of that, standing up is no longer tiresome, even after several hours. And the relief to shoulders and back no longer hunched over a keyboard is such that you won't want to go back.

Read more at JustStand.org

Welcome Back!

Click on the link to see a larger slideshow: 14 Jan 2013 by diarnold

SpringerLink Gets an Overhaul!

Today SpringerLink launched an updated platform that makes this a database to bookmark.

Now streamlined, organized by discipline and fitted with an option to view only search results to which you have full access (by unchecking a "preview only" box), it is easy to search for articles and other documents across a wide range of topics, mostly scientific.

Biomedical Sciences

Business & Management

Chemistry

Computer Science

Earth Sciences and Geography

Economics

Education & Language

Energy

Engineering

Environmental Sciences

Food Science & Nutrition

Law

Life Sciences

Materials

Mathematics

Medicine

Physics

Psychology

Public Health

Social Sciences

Statistics

If you are researching any of these fields, give SpringerLink another chance and let us know what you think.

Only a Few Days Left!

Add caption

As we approach election day, the Logue Library 2012 Election Day pages  have been updated -- and will continue to be updated -- with maps, polls, iPhone & Android apps, and other useful resources for studying the election, or just keeping informed as the events happen.

Thank You!

Even on a chilly October afternoon, chocolate melts in the sunshine!  And contributions totaling more than $500 melted the hearts of the Logue Librarians, student leaders headed by Olivia Marcinka and Christopher Dunn, and Sister Regina's family.

Last Thursday was cool enough for sweaters & jackets on the McCaffery Lounge patio, but even so, turnout at the first ice cream social  honoring Sister Regina Maria Brimmer on her birthday was phenomenal!

The party's proceeds will benefit her namesake, the K-12 Brimmer Collection at Logue Library. Funds raised are being matched by the Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society. 

Thanks so much to all who attended and ate ice cream to celebrate Sister Regina's birthday and support her legacy in Logue Library!

Watch the slideshow below, or view the photo album here.

Made with Slideshow Embed Tool

Presidential Debate Coverage

President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, campaign in swing states, Obama in Leesburg, Va., and Romney in Waukesha, Wis., in these Aug. 2012 file photos. (AP Photo)

A link to the Live Streaming of tonight's Presidential Debate and other Election 2012 resources are available on the library's Political Science research page.

See also . . .

What you need to know about [moderator of tonight's debate] Jim Lehrer's rules - from the Christian Science Monitor

Gwen's Take: Debunking Five Myths About Presidential Debates - from PBS

New Poll Reveals Stakes for Wednesday's Debate - from PBS

Commission on Presidential Debates - Transcripts and other information about past and future presidential debates, elections issues, candidate platforms and online voter education. 

New Voter ID and Voter Registration Information

An update to our August 7th post

A judge ruled this week that Pennsylvania state officials cannot enforce a new voter ID law for the upcoming Presidential election. Read full details on the judge’s decision here. 

Even with this ruling, there are still some important things you need to know:

In order to vote in any election, you must first be a registered voter.  In PA, you must be registered before October 9, 2012 for this general election in November.  You have the right to register where you live now, whether that is an on-campus address or off-campus location.  Or you may choose to register or remain registered and vote at your permanent home address.   Get information on registering in your home state here.  Please note that each state sets its own deadlines!

In Pennsylvania, you must be at least 18 years of age on November 6, 2012 and you must vote in the County you are registered in!

A list of local polling locations is available here. Go to VotesPA.com for more information, or call 1-877-VOTESPA.

Absentee Ballot:

If you intend to vote by way of absentee ballot, you will need to be able to provide either the last 4 digits of your SS#, or your driver’s license/PennDOT ID # as proof of identification.   Please contact your local County office for additional information.   

The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is October 30, 2012.  The last day for County Elections to receive the absentee ballot is November 2, 2012. 

FAQs

Where do I vote?

What if I have a problem at my voting location?  

Please ask to speak with the Judge of Elections who is always on site.

What is a provisional ballot?

A provisional ballot is used to record a vote when there is some question regarding a voter’s eligibility.   You have a right to vote by provisional ballot if:

1) Even though you are properly registered and eligible to vote in the election district/location, your name does not appear in the poll book and the election officials cannot determine your registration status

2) An Election Official asserts that you are not eligible to vote

How do I know my provisional ballot is counted?

Within seven days after the election, the County Board of Elections will examine your provisional ballot to determine if it is valid.   After this seven-day period, you can find out if your provisional ballot was counted, partially counted, or not counted by calling 1-877-VOTESPA.

The Future of the Voter ID Law

While you will not need an ID for the November Presidential Election, you may need an ID for future elections.  It is not too early to start planning ahead.  Please read the following if you would like to know more about acceptable forms of ID in PA:

All Photo IDs must contain an expiration date that is current, unless noted otherwise:   A Pennsylvania driver’s license currently valid or expired less than 12 months

•         An ID issued by PennDOT currently valid or expired less than 12 months
•          A currently valid U.S. Passport.   Expired passports will not be accepted
•          A currently valid CHC ID, issued by Chestnut Hill College containing a printed date on the front, bottom left, as the following example shows:

•          A currently valid military dependent’s ID.  Expired ID will not be accepted
•          A currently valid active duty or retired I.S. military ID, including the PA National Guard
•          A currently valid employee ID issued by the Federal, PA. State or PA County or PA municipal government
•          A currently valid ID issued by a PA Care facility 

If you DO NOT have any of the accepted forms of Photo ID as stated above and you are a currently enrolled Chestnut Hill College student, faculty or staff member, you can obtain a new ID (as shown above) by visiting Security on the Ground Floor of Fontbonne Hall.  Please note that free IDs will be issued to individuals who turn in their old ID.  However, free IDs cannot be given to anyone unable to surrender their old ID (this is for security purposes).

Please do not wait until the last minute to prepare for this election!

You may also obtain a FREE acceptable form of Photo ID at any PennDot Photo Licensing Center.  This ID will be valid for voting purposes only.  

Information reprinted from the Chestnut Hill College office of the Dean of Student Life

Sister Regina Maria Brimmer October 11, 1918 - August 11, 2012

Gentle woman, quiet light, morning star,
so strong and bright, gentle Mother,
peaceful dove, teach us wisdom; teach us love.*

Just before Lent. Sister Regina always
gave up her favorite: ice cream!

Many students, especially those in the Education programs, will already be missing a certain presence in Logue Library. Sister Regina had a disarming gift, an ability to relate one-on-one about anything and an empathy that is rare on today's college campuses.  As Sister Anne Myers said at her funeral mass, "Sister Regina was an amazingly flexible person who adapted to the times yet held firm to the values that were most important to her.  How many 93 year olds do you know who have both a cell phone and an e-mail address and relate well to all types of college students?" 

On Wednesday, August 9, in the company of many dear to her, Sister Regina lost consciousness as a result of a "cardiac event" and was taken to Chestnut Hill Hospital. After being surrounded by family & friends for two days, on Saturday, August 11, she died peacefully.

We remember Sister Regina as the engine that runs the library! Her energy, humor, and wonderful perspective kept all of us moving forward on an even keel. We miss her enormously, even as we still feel her presence here with us.

So many people have shared their memories of her with us. We would love to
hear yours! Leave a comment, or stop by any time.

Blessed are you among women,
Blest in turn all women, too.
Blessed they with peaceful spirits.
Blessed they with gentle hearts.*

*From lyrics by Carey Landry and North American Liturgy Resources, "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman." ©1978

PA Voter ID Law Leaves Some Students Out

Click the image to view a larger version

November's election is shaping up to be a complicated affair in Pennsylvania, and a few other states with Voter ID laws.  Logue Library's election resources web page includes a continually updated news feed of the latest issues in the PA Voter ID Law. Students should be aware of the challenges they face in voting this year in Pennsylvania.

"You think your vote doesn't matter? Then why are they trying so hard to take it away from you?" asks Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, a group that works to register young voters. "It does demonstrate the power they have." - USA Today

Under the PA Voter ID Law, a current photo ID with an expiration date is required to vote. Most student IDs in Pennsylvania  do not have an expiration date, including Chestnut Hill College student IDs printed prior to the 2011-2012 academic year, and all IDs for students of the School of Continuing Studies. Some colleges & universities are adding an expiration date this year in response to the law; others are providing expiration stickers for ID cards that have already been printed. Chestnut Hill College is researching all of the options available, to choose the best one to meet the needs of our students.

Why is a college ID so important? Why not just use a drivers license? Students from out of state will need a Pennsylvania ID to vote in Pennsylvania.

It's not uncommon for out-of-state students to vote where they think their vote has the most impact. So if they attend a school in a swing state, they often vote there. It also can simply just be a matter of convenience, and a way to avoid going through the process of getting an absentee ballot. - US News & World Report

It is important for students to decide where they want to vote, and then to take the steps needed to ensure that they are able to vote. It is your constitutional right, but as long as the voter ID law stands, it has become more complicated.

Once-or-Frequently Asked Questions

Ah-ha!! A recent question about our website let us know that at least one virtual user of the library wants to be able do more on-line.   I see how to find books, but what about putting them on hold? (Currently, holds cannot be placed this way; please contact a librarian!)

We are always looking for ways to make library research more efficient and intuitive, and the best way to know what is working and what isn't is to listen to you!  The "Start" tabs on all of the library's web pages have a place for sending a little feedback. We'd like to reply to follow up, but sometimes the comment is left anonymously. As we look for ways to improve, we are adding a tab to the About page of our website. This FAQ tab will give us a space to post the questions we get with answers.

Any time you have a question we hope you'll ask! If the question comes via one of the Feedback boxes, check the FAQ tab in the next day or two to see if an answer has been posted.

Thanks for your feedback!

Google Scholar Interface Update

Earlier this month we posted about the ups and downs of using Google Scholar (among other Google search tools) for academic research. Today, the Google Scholar interface is up and running, making searching this way far more expedient than it used to be. Clicking the "full text" link to the right of a search result will open the article in EBSCOhost.

Set Google Scholar preferences on an off-campus device:

1. Go to http://scholar.google.com/Click the link next to the search box called "scholar preferences"
2. Scroll down to where it says "library links"
3. Type chestnut hill college into the search box
4. Check the box next to chestnut hill college when it appears below the search box 
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "save preferences."

Now, go back to http://scholar.google.com/ and start searching!

Big news on the drive to work today! The New York City Department of Records has released a gallery of over 800,000 images and audio from the Municipal Archives, including glass-plate crime-scene photos from the NYC Police Department. Free and open access makes this historic resource a great tool for researchers in many subject areas ... history, political science, art, criminal justice, sociology, and others.

 In Oct. 7, 1914, painters are suspended from wires on the
Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Photo provided by the
New York City Municipal Archives

The link the the Gallery went live today after being up quietly for two weeks. It contains digital artifacts from as far back as the mid-1800s. Links to the gallery can be found on the Web Resources pages of the Library's website. Let us know what you think!

Using Google for College Research?

It wasn't all that long ago that librarians and educators at the college level admonished students to give up the googling habit they acquired in their primary and secondary schools. So why are so many of us changing our tune now, in a time when there is more information on line than ever, from more sources than ever, creating an even greater need than ever to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff?

Well, because that is exactly what some of Google's tools have been working at, and in the process there has been a collaboration with library systems that makes searching more interactive with the student's library. And that's a good thing because, lets face it, no matter how much we beg students to leave Google for lighter fare, they're never going to do it. The goal, then, is to make using Google work well for academic research.

Google Scholar

Until now we at Logue Library have adopted an "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" attitude," teaching the use of Google Scholar with the added step of how to copy information from the article citation, and plug it into our eJournals directory to see if the library subscribes to that particular issue of the journal that contains the desired article. It's clunkier than searching EBSCOhost, PsycNET or another of our subscription databases that already contains the full article content (or links to the full content) without being asked to pay $15-$35+ from the publisher.

This month, Logue Library is working with EBSCOhost to link its electronic subscriptions to Google Scholar search results. When the process is complete, students searching from locations on campus and using their ID from off campus will be a click or two closer to getting access to the content they find through Google Scholar. We will be asking for volunteers to help us test it in the next couple of weeks. If you would like to see a preview of this firsthand, volunteer!

Google Books (NOT Google Play Books)

Interaction between the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) - the world's largest public access online library catalog - and Google Books (not to be confused with Google Play Books) has been quietly available since 2008 but is still a little bug-gy on the OCLC end. When searching from a computer or mobile device,* select a book from the Google Books results list and look in the left menu. There will be one or the other of two links for searching a library catalog. If the book is not available as an eBook, the link Find In A Library is visible after a list of purchase locations. If it is an eBook, first click the link Get This Book In Print, and then Find This Book In A Library, which is below a list of places selling the book.

That link will take you to the web version of the OCLC catalog WorldCat. Students logged into a computer on campus or through the proxy server will see a box below the book description stating that they are connected to the Chestnut Hill College network, and providing a link to the library's catalog. A link to OCLC First Search is next to the catalog link, and serves as a back-up if the library's catalog link is not configured properly or the library does not have the book or this particular edition of the book. Clicking the First Search link will also give students the opportunity to request a book through interlibrary loan, rather than make a purchase.

*Note from Diane: When you search Google Play Books, you will not see any links to library holdings. When you are on your iPhone or Android and you type books.google.com into the browser, the page that displays contains a button that says, "Get the Andriod App." That app is the Play Books app. There is no app that I am aware of for books.google.com. Ignore that button and search Google Books on your phone the same way you would on your laptop browser.

Google Art Project

Yesterday, Google announced an extensive update to their Art Project, and we have added it as a resource to the Logue Library Arts Web Resources page. As of today it contains some 30,000 works from over 150 galleries worldwide, browsable and searchable by collections, artists and genres. Students and educators can create individual galleries to reference in research and presentations. It is interactive and allows students to not only collaborate with other students and professors, but contact experts directly.

Contact a Logue Librarian for help integrating Google into your academic research.

Help Wanted!

Have you located an awesome resource during your research that you think future students might find useful as well?

We try to include resources on our subject web pages that will make your research dynamic and comprehensive, including RSS feeds of the latest news headlines and blog posts from reputable, citable resources in your subject, podcasts, and current tables of contents from leading journals, with links to the full text.

One thing I've noticed is that there is always more out there than we can possibly collect ourselves. There are only so many hours in a day!

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK!

Your recommendations will help us put the best and newest research and information on our pages for other students to find quick access to. Pop into the "Ask A Librarian" chat window (even if we aren't on line at the time) or send an email to librarians@chc.edu.

And while you're at it, check out our Readers Corner page and give us a short review of your latest favorite book. We'll feature it on our site.

Welcome Back!

As you begin your research using Logue Library's web page, please note that access to many of our resources are limited to the faculty, staff and currently enrolled students of Chestnut Hill College. If clicking a link presents you with a box like THIS:

Enter your CHC email username & password OR your library barcode number in the appropriate boxes. Come to the library's circulation desk to receive a barcode sticker for the back of your student ID.

We are here to help guide you through your research and welcome your questions. See any one of us, or type a question in the Meebo box for answers to quick questions. If you would like to spend a bit of time with one of us working on your research, ask to schedule an appointment, and we will sit with you for an entire hour if you need it.

We hope you have a very enjoyable & successful semester at Chestnut Hill College!

Librarians Do Gaga

It is amazing what you learn to do at library school these days . . .

Award-Winning Teacher a Chestnut Hill College Graduate

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently featured this year's 66 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Prize winners in an article titled In city classrooms, teachers with class.

One teacher from each of the Philadelphia School District schools is honored. Chestnut Hill College alumna Claudia DiCrosta was among them.

Claudia DiCrosta
Swenson Arts and Technology High School

Claudia DiCrosta was born and raised in Portugal. She holds a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Chestnut Hill College, where she minored in secondary education and psychology. Her first teaching position was at William Penn High School. Moving to Swenson Arts and Technology High School in 2006, she demonstrated her commitment to its students from the first day. She also mentors Temple and La Salle University students who are prospective Spanish teachers.

See the entire list of Distinguished Teachers profiled.

Buyer Beware!

FRONTLINE last night delved into the for-profit college industry in their program, College Inc.

These billion-dollar businesses are cashing in on a boom in degree-seeking non-traditional students . . . those who are already established in the workforce and are looking to upgrade or change careers.

From unsavory sales practices to fraudulent degree programs, students have a lot of homework to do before deciding to go this route.

The REAL Reason We Have a Blog!

. . . if anything is going to go wrong, it will go wrong just when you need it the most . . .

Recently the Chestnut Hill College web site server has been experiencing the effects of Murphy's Law. That is to say, if anything is going to go wrong, it will go wrong just when you need it the most. As stress mounts among the student population at the end of the semester -- and academic year -- the more likely access to the resources students depend on to finish their work will fail.

We feel your pain. We live it, too. That is why we created this blog three and a half years ago. On the left side of the page we have listed links to the most used journal article resources we subscribe to, the library's catalog, and a link to an alternative to our Web Resources pages. We use the bookmarking website "Delicious" for that.

We feel your pain.

You can also IM a librarian in the chat box under the links.

Please don't forget that this is here as an alternative! And if you were looking for an easy "'dog ate my homework'-for-the-21st Century" excuse to not have your work done... well, sorry about that!

Student Research in the Spotlight... From Today's Philadelphia Inquirer

Today's paper contains an excellent example of the impact student research can and does have on society and politics. Imagine the implications of YOUR research as you delve into your Senior Seminar project!

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Two debates over marriage

"Former President Harry Truman said yesterday he did not believe white persons should marry Negroes. He said that racial intermarriage ran counter to teachings of the Bible." - New York Times, Sept. 12, 1963

By Grant Calder

Last year, an 11th-grade student of mine wrote a paper examining the controversy over interracial marriage from the mid-1950s to the mid-'70s. My student, Susannah Ivory, wanted to know more about the public debate surrounding Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 Supreme Court decision that unanimously struck down laws banning interracial marriage.

To keep the project manageable, Susannah restricted herself to one newspaper, the New York Times. She ran a search of its historical database for all of the items in which miscegenation or interracial marriage were mentioned during the two-decade period. Since the advent of digitized, online newspaper archives, data of this sort can be gathered in minutes; research opportunities are limited only by a student's ability to pose good questions.

A graph of the results showed two striking peaks: a big one in the mid-'60s, which was no surprise, and a completely unexpected bump in 1956 and '57. The articles revealed that the mid-'50s spike stemmed from the relaxation of censorship laws prohibiting the depiction of interracial relationships in books and films. For the first time, the public had an opportunity to experience and react to this type of integration - a decade before the Supreme Court got involved.

A typical 1958 article began, "A new novel by Legette Blythe titled Call Down the Storm is planned for publication next month by Holt. It is a story of miscegenation and racial integrations from the closing years of the Reconstruction period to the present."

Mentions of miscegenation disappeared almost completely from the Times by the end of the decade, but they resumed again in the early '60s as couples began to challenge the laws against interracial marriage in state courts. This time, higher-profile individuals and groups began to weigh in.

"Interracial marriage is completely compatible with the doctrine and canon law of Roman Catholicism, a national church organization said today," one 1963 article read. " 'Races do not marry,' the statement declared. 'Nations do not marry. Classes do not marry. Only persons marry.' " So much for President Truman's claims, two months earlier, of biblical prohibition.

In 1964, an article reported that a group of scientists working for the United Nations had issued a study stating "there is no biological justification for banning interracial marriages, nor for any advice aimed at banning them."

Susannah ended her paper with a reference to our own era: "The striking down of the anti-miscegenation laws represented a major step forward toward a more open and accepting society, but the time has come again for such a leap. Homosexual couples are now in the same situation that mixed-race couples were a half-century ago, and they face the same challenges."

In Loving, the court wrote, "Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man.' ... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes ... is surely to deprive all of the state's citizens of liberty without due process of law." It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to suggest that these sentiments could apply to same-sex couples.

Today, the United Nations and the Catholic Church both find themselves involved in the debate over same-sex unions. Two years ago, on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a headline read, "In Europe, same-sex showdown moves to U.N." The accompanying article noted that 27 European countries supported a new declaration decriminalizing homosexuality, but the Vatican was resisting it. The Bush administration refused to sign on to that declaration, but the Obama administration joined 70 or so countries in supporting it last year.

Not surprisingly, the most cogent arguments in favor of personal freedoms often come not from governments or organizations, but from the individuals fighting for them. From a 1972 article, Susannah quoted the black mayor of Tuskegee, Ala., who was married to a white woman.

"A lot of things went through our minds," he said. "We felt there might be actual physical danger. We thought about hurting our friends and relatives. We even thought about the effect it would have on my political career. Finally we came to the point and said, 'To hell with it. I love you, and you love me. We're going to do the only honest and right thing.' " Sometimes it's that simple.

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Grant Calder teaches history at Friends' Central School. The full text of the paper is available at researchproject.friendscentral.org.