Q&A with Elyse Kosakowski

Photo courtesy of The Intrepid

It’s an honor no St. Bonaventure University student has been recognized for before this semester – being named a finalist for the Most Promising Minority Award given out by the American Advertising Federation. But now, senior Elyse Kosakowski can proclaim she is the first St. Bonaventure student to receive this recognition.
Named one of twenty finalists for the award, Kosakowski, a journalism and mass communication and integrated marketing communications dual-degree major, sat down with The Intrepid’s Features Editor Maddie Gionet, @MaddieGNA, for a Q&A.

Gionet: How does it feel to be the first Bonaventure student to be honored in this way? 

From Zero to Hero

Photo courtesy of The Intrepid

Women’s rugby team completes a dramatic two-year turnaround by capturing State title
By Maddie Gionet, Features Editor, @MaddieGNA
     ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Nov. 8) — It was a decision Kayla O’Keefe never expected to make.
     “My freshmen year, I tried out for cheerleading, and the next day I was so sore,” she said. “I asked myself, ‘What am I getting myself into?’”

Meet the Professor: Fr. John Coughlin, O.F.M

Photo courtesy of Maddie Gionet

The St. Bonaventure University and Mt. Irenaeus communities welcomed a new friar to their families this year.Fr. John Coughlin, O.F.M., sat down to give The Intrepid an interview on how he became a friar and where this journey has taken him.
By Maddie Gionet, features editor, @MaddieGNA
Gionet: You entered the Franciscan Order in 1995. But describe your journey of becoming a Franciscan priest before that.

'We've Got Your Back'

Photo courtesy of Maddie Gionet

Peer Coaching Program makes stride on improving students’ first-year experience

By Maddie Gionet, features editor, @MaddieGNA

     ST. BONAVENTURE (Oct. 16) -– It’s like having a superhero for a friend. That’s how Kate Timony would describe a peer coach.

     As an incoming freshman this year, Timony can attest that these so-called superheroes live up to their motto: “We’ve got your back!”

     “I panicked before my first exam,” the freshman biology major said. “I got a hold of my peer coach, who is also a bio major, and she helped me calm down and told me what to expect.”

     The St. Bonaventure University Peer Coaching Program matches incoming freshmen and transfer students with upperclassmen known as peer coaches and peer leaders, said Abby Cohen, assistant director for the First Year Experience. These upperclassmen give them a helping hand and a familiar face through their first year of college.

All For One, One For All

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Starting this semester, on-campus and commuter students no longer have to park in different parking lots
By Maddie Gionet, features editor, @MaddieGNA
     ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Sept. 26) – Fawn Wilson commutes three days a week from her Olean home to St. Bonaventure University.
     Last semester, even though the junior early childhood education major went to classes like all the other on-campus students, Wilson was limited to a specified parking lot labeled commuters.
     “We all pay the $100 to park, and we all pay tuition,” Wilson said. “Just because I don’t pay to live on campus doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be allowed to park in the same spots.”
     Starting this semester, that won’t be the case for Wilson.
     Vito Czyz, director of Safety and Security, said Safety and Security Services has erased the distinction between commuter and student parking, allowing all students to park in any of the 1,279 available student-designated spots on campus. He said this not only simplifies the parking program but makes it more efficient.

Meet The Student: Kristy Kibler

Photo courtesy of The Intrepid

     Kristy Kibler, ‘11 alumna, is the 2011 Mark Hellinger Award winner — an award given by the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communications to the most promising young communicator.

     Kibler gave Maddie Gionet (@MaddieGNA) an interview talking about winning the award and life outside of the university.

Maddie Gionet: Can you describe your first emotions after learning you had won the Hellinger Award? Were you with anyone?

How Bonaventure Remembers the 10th Anniversary of September 11th

By Maddie Gionet, features editor

The Intrepid, 2011

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Alleged assault on student by campus security official

By Mark Belcher and Maddie Gionet, editors

     ST. BONAVENTURE (Sept. 9) - A St. Bonaventure University student said a security official assaulted him Thursday afternoon, resulting in a call to 911.
     The student said the official took his left arm and pushed him against the wall at Parking Administration. However, Vito Czyz, director of Safety and Security, said no laws were broken, and nobody was assaulted.

     Captain Robert Buchhardt, head of Cattaraugus County sheriff’s patrol division, said an officer responded, but closed the complaint file.

     The campus security official in question declined to comment for this story.

     Around 1 p.m. Thursday, the student said he visited Robinson Hall with two purposes: to receive a parking decal, which he purchased Wednesday, and to negotiate a $50 ticket for not having the decal on his car.

Meet the Professor: Br. Basil Valente, O.F.M.

Br. Basil Valente, O.F.M. has been named director of the Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications program over the summer. 

Photo courtesy of The Intrepid

Br. Basil gave The Intrepid’s Maddie Gionet an interview talking about his new appointed position. 

Maddie Gionet: How has the transition been from a professor of the IMC Program to director of the IMC Program?

     Br. Basil: It’s been exciting to jump into a program that more than 10 years ago I had a chance to create from the ground up. It’s been exciting to be on this side of the table of this program. I’ve always enjoyed teaching marketing and communication classes, and I’m excited to begin and really take IMC and the legacy that is IMC to another level. 

SBU-TV Sports falls short

St. Bonaventure University’s TV crew gets nominated for a College Sports Media Award but loses out to neighboring school
By Maddie Gionet - features editor
    

     ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (June 20) – Unlike Michael Davenport’s buzzer-beating shot, SBU-TV Sports’ clip of the February 5 game could not beat Rochester Institute of Technology’s at the College Sports Media Award ceremony on June 7.

SBU-TV Sports nominated for award

By Maddie Gionet, features editor
     ST. BONAVENTURE (June 2) - With 1.6 seconds left on the clock, Michael Davenport shoots and sinks a 3-pointer for the Bonnies.
     After a failed Hail Mary, the crowd stormed the court since St. Bonaventure just defeated the then undefeated-in-the-Atlantic-10-Conference Duquesne, 64-62, on February 5.
     While the students ran amuck, SBU-TV Sports and its crew calmly continued on its broadcast, which included various shots of the court storming and an on-court interview with head coach Mark Schmidt.

Students balance busy social life and academic life in different ways

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (May 10) – Monday, 8 a.m. Abhi Aggarwal wakes up and immediately turns on his iPad – but not to check Facebook or Twitter. Aggarwal’s finger taps the calendar application and a sea of appointments washes over the screen.

     “I have a daily schedule,” said Aggarwal, a junior bioinformatics major. “It really helps to have all my appointments in front of me at every second of the day. I even have to schedule getting a haircut.”

     Friday, 8:30 a.m. Aja Wzientek has worked out for an hour and now heads to class. Afterward, she’ll go to intramural volleyball practice and then complete her 32-hour work week at Tops.  Beginning and finishing her homework are two thoughts that haven’t even crossed her mind yet.

     “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough time in the day to do everything that needs to get done,” said Wzientek, a junior physical education major. “But I’m totally self sufficient. I pay for my car, my housing, everything. It’s nice to provide for myself, but I’m definitely busy all day, every day.”

Students learn about the Franciscan values outside of the classroom

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (April 27) – Someone takes a few extra seconds to hold open the door for you. Drop a notebook? Before you can pick it up, someone has already done it for you. You’re walking to class and someone smiles at you. Some call these actions selfless acts of kindness. St. Bonaventure University students call them Franciscan values.

     “These values are innate in us,” said Alex Henry. “We don’t even realize we’re using them in everyday life.” 

     Henry, a sophomore gerontology major, defined Franciscan values as subconscious acts of kindness.

     Other students defined Franciscan values as encompassing four factors – generosity, kindness, humility and service.

     Bonaventure’s definition of Franciscan values compared similarly to the students’ definitions, as does its mission statement:

     “St. Bonaventure University is a Catholic university dedicated to educational excellence in the Franciscan tradition.”

Students, professors agree writing well prepares students for the professional world

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (March 28) – You didn’t get the promotion. You work for an employer instead of being the employer. You are not credible. You can’t write well.
     “Writing is one of the few products we have to offer the real world,” said Daniel Ellis, an English professor at St. Bonaventure University.

     Students and professors said writing well prepares students not only for college, but also for their job through good communication skills.

     “It’s a way to communicate effectively and show your level of intelligence,” said Frankie Matuszak, a freshman biology major.

     Nick Hillman said writing well helps students in their college courses.
     “It helps you clearly answer assigned questions so professors understand you,” said Hillman, a freshman political science major.

     Each professor had his or her own definition of writing well, but all agreed with Tracy Schrems’  “three C’s.”

     “Clarity, coherence and caring,” said Schrems, an English lecturer.  “Writing is an extension of who you are. If you don’t care enough to follow the three C’s, then what does that say about you?”

What happens in a classroom stays in ... cyberspace?

What Happens In A Classroom Stays In … Cyberspace?

A student takes a comical professor’s quotes and shares it with the world on Tumblr.com

By Maddie Gionet, staff writer

     ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (March 22) – You’re falling asleep in yet another boring class. As your eyes begin to close, you hear your professor say, “I don’t get my news from a cell phone. In fact, I left mine at home today and tried to make a call with my car keys.” What would you do?
     If you were Joey Mullin, you would post this quote to your blog.

     In honor of John Hanchette, his Introduction to Mass Media professor, the freshman journalism and mass communication major put together a blog dedicated to quotes that Hanchette has said in class.
     “He’s one of the funniest people on the planet,” Mullin said.

     Quotes like “Now I can get stiff at the bar and roll downhill to my house.” and “That’s the bad news, that there is a midterm. The good news is … I stole candy!” don Mullin’s blog that had 55 laugh-out-loud quotes as of March 20.
     He said he began posting Hanchette’s quotes from class as his Facebook status during the 2010 fall semester. Once Mullin decided to take Hanchette for another course, he created a Tumblr blog dedicated to Hanchette’s quotes.

Students say schoolwork increases stress levels

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Feb. 25) – An alarm clock rings in Máire Reynolds’ dorm room. She rolls out of bed and shuffles to her desk. Her first task—set up her daily schedule.
     “I strictly manage my time,” said Reynolds, a sophomore management major with a 3.7 grade point average. “I make a checklist to see what I need to do and check things off when tasks are finished.”

     Sam Spinelli spends his day in class or in St. Bonaventure University’s Café La Verna with friends. It’s 8 p.m. He has a proposal due tomorrow morning for his psychology study. He’s not worried.

Students, professors differ in amount of technology usage

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Jan. 31) – Ryan McDonald sits in Café La Verna, a coffeehouse on St. Bonaventure University’s campus, typing a text message. Thumbs a blur, they suddenly stop. Message sent.

     “Funny, isn’t it?” said McDonald, a junior management major. “I’m about to be interviewed about technology and I can’t put my phone down for two seconds!”

     David Levine, a computer science professor, types up PowerPoint slides in his office for his courses.

Words mean something

     By the time I was in seventh grade, I knew my future profession would involve writing. I didn't know what journalism was at that point, but I knew the rest of my life would revolve around the use and careful consideration of words.
     I grew up in a house where my father would always say, "Words mean something." I would roll my eyes and nod my head when he would say that to me, acting naive and unappreciative of how a simple sentence made of three words would end up changing my life.
     Words mean something. They always will. It's our job, as journalists, as writers, as teachers, as human beings, to use words to make this world a better place. Whether you're speaking these words, yelling these words, singing these words, writing these words, rhyming these words - words will always mean something.