#happy mid semester to all the faculty staff and students out there

[thoughtsafter3am]

I swear today’s undergrads have absolutely no idea they are using their phones as much as they are. It’s like an extension on their hand because as much as I hate being the professor that calls students out by name, the unabashed cellphone use by one of my students today sent me rocketing to the moon in terms of my niceness going away. In what was literal seconds after I said we have to do a better job with participation and that includes putting our phones away, this student had the audacity to pull their phone out and start texting and I swear it took all I had in me to not turn into the Anger character from Inside Out with my head on fire.

It also did not help that today after half a semester I realized the classroom I teach in most does not lock at all which is such a uniquely American fear that I am now buying one of those portable locks with the hope I won’t have to ever pull it off my keys.

[rosecolouredash]

Swan Song ; Hockey!Calum

Summary: This is not a, this is not a...

Warnings: All the softness and...a wee bit of angst.

Notes: Hello! It’s your girl, Ro. I know, it’s been a while. My promotion at work has kept me busy but it was nice to get back into some writing. I answered an ask that included what I’ve been working on lately including this sweet lil number (which I changed to be x childhoodfriend!reader.) Keep your eyes peeled for more (I promised Eve that figureskater!reader is next so) Love y’all 💖

I have a surprise for you

You followed your classmates out of your faculty building, head bent as you overlooked your cell phone; ‘Ashton’ written at the top of the text message. You contemplated what he was talking about, while making your way off campus.

Since it was the first week back after the winter holiday, your pace was brisk.

Even in a thick material coat, your body yearned for the warm interior of your apartment.

You were walking so quickly that you didn’t realize that someone was right in front of you; affectively knocking your head into their chest.

After giving a sincere apology, you looked up. The boy in front of you was tall - a mess of dark curls peeking through a knitted hat. He offered you a smile, the kindness of it, reaching his familiar brown eyes.

You let out an audible gasp. “Calum...?”

The boy in question chuckled, as he gently took a hold of your hand to pull you out of the throng of students moving around you both.

Secluding yourselves by one of the snow-covered picnic tables available on the quad, Calum kept a soft grip on your hand; his warm touch like a burn to your almost frigid skin.

“What are you doing here?” You finally asked, almost in a daze. You were too scared to even blink, in fear that this wasn’t actually real.

Calum laughed. “It’s nice to see you too,” he replied before taking a step to pull you into a tight hug.

You pressed yourself closer to him and nuzzled your face into his neck; right at the crook of his shoulder. Breathing in his comforting scent, you were reminded of the last time he held you in his arms like this, which was now almost four years ago.

—

There was always the need to get out, growing up in a quaint little town. Calum was one of the lucky ones granted the opportunity when he received a full-ride scholarship for hockey at a university in the big city; earning him his one-way ticket out of town. Unfortunately, that meant leaving everything and everybody behind; you being the most difficult to say goodbye to.

Text messages, phone calls and FaceTimes did nothing to fill the void from missing each other though Calum was thankful that you still had Ashton, Michael and Luke to lean on for support.

The four of you had decided a long time ago that once you all finished your post-secondary education, you’d join Cal in the city.

—

Which is why you couldn’t believe Calum was back in town the semester before graduation.

—

You were soft and warm, Calum noted, as he held you.

You both stood in the same position for what felt like an eternity, just basking in each other’s presence.

Calum finally broke the pleasant silence, pulling away to look you in the face.

“What would you say if I told you I transferred my credits to graduate with my favourite person and our three dumb friends?”

“Hey, I resent that!”

Pulling away completely, you turned around to find said trio. Michael was mid-eye roll, while Luke gave you a boyish grin, both bundled in heavy winter coats. Ashton made his way over and threw an arm over yours and Calum’s shoulders, bringing your faces into his chest; his knitted scarf tickling your cheek.

“Isn’t this great? The gang’s back together!”

You all laughed at his excitement but you couldn’t deny the warm feeling in your chest. Ashton was right. This was great.

One thing still bothered you though.

Breaking from Ash’s grip, while Calum swatted at his best friend, you asked, “as happy as I am that you’re here, Cal, I still don’t get why you’d leave that fancy university to graduate here?”

Both Ashton and Calum paused their shenanigans so the latter could reply, “don’t worry too much about that, my future’s already fixed.”

Contemplating his words, you gasped, the realization hitting you like a freight train. “You got scouted, didn’t you? That’s amazing! Which team? They must good. I mean, they have to be if you want to play for them. Is it everything you‘ve ever wanted?”

Not everything, Calum thought, as he admired your flushed cheeks from the cold.

“Yeah, I guess I was lucky.”

You shook your head at his nonchalant response. “You can’t just say that. Don’t pass off your hard work as just luck.” Sending him a tender smile, you continued. “Take credit for your efforts. It’s all your doing.”

There was a brief pause before his soft, raspy voice filled the chilled air.

“You’re right. It was my doing.”

—

Within the first month that Calum was home, he had easily joined your university’s hockey team. Though, you were all surprised he hadn’t joined as soon as possible. It took a couple of weeks for the boys to convince him that it’d be good to keep in shape before going back to the big city. Not to mention, how nice it’ll be for all of them to play on the same line again.

Thanks to his success abroad, his reputation on the ice was common knowledge throughout your small community, making the decision not so difficult for the coaching staff.

“Hey Hood, there’s someone asking for you.”

Calum looked over at Luke, having just finished practice, the blond shrugging his shoulders at their teammate’s notice. They skated over to the opening in the glass. Luke took long strides, his skates acting like an extension of his body, while Calum took his sweet time.

They found you in the hallway that led to the locker rooms.

You waved at them both, walking over to the point where the carpeted cement floor transformed into ice.

You had just finished classes for the day and thought since the boys were usually done practice at the same time, that you could all grab some food together.

Calum had accepted your invitation, fast, when some of the guys on the team started calling out for him and Luke.

The team was clearing the ice of the pucks and pylons used during drills.

Before Calum could even reply, Luke cried out. “Hey Captain!”

Ashton looked over at you three, from his place on the ice.

“Cal’s got a date, so he can’t help with clean up!”

Calum flushed red. “Luke, what are you—“

You, on the other hand, sputtered at the comment, heat also rising to your cheeks. You tried to state that you had actually invited all the boys out and not just Calum.

Not that you minded if it was just him.

Ashton’s all to serious expression changed into that of glee. Taking off his right hockey glove, he gave you a thumbs up. “You kids have fun!”

“But not too much fun!” Michael quipped, skating to a stop, next to Ash.

“We don’t need little Hoodlums skating circles around us!”

The team broke out in laughter at that, much to yours and Calum’s slight embarrassment.

—

“I can’t wait to get out of this rinky-dink town.”

After grabbing a bite to eat at the local café, you invited Calum back to your apartment.

You starred aimlessly at the movie - the plot of which you couldn’t follow - playing on your small television.

The two of you were cozied up on your living room couch, under your bedroom duvet which you had dragged out to keep you warm.

“You know, Mike said the same thing.” He paused, thinking back to practice. “But his words were a bit more colourful than rinky-dink.”

You laughed; you could only imagine.

After another moment, Calum spoke up again. “Leaving town...Is it that important to you?”

Now completely ignoring the movie, you twisted your body so that you could look up a Cal.

He kept his attention on the television but you knew he was listening.

“I mean, that’s all we ever talked about when we were kids, right?”

You let out a sigh before continuing. “And then when you left…”

Calum hated the sad expression gracing your face. “Hey…”

He let his right hand, that was resting on top of your blanket, come up to your cheek. His thumb, grazing your bottom lip.

“I’m here now.”

Looking into each other’s eyes, you got lost in his stare. “All that matters is that you and I are here, together, right now.”

“What do you mean by—“

Before you could finish your sentence, you felt Calum use the grip on your head to pull your face closer to his and he pressed his lips to yours.

You froze for a second as Calum kissed you, before wrapping your arms around his neck. You pulled him even closer; the kiss becoming harder and needy.

You both could feel years of pent up emotion. Deep-rooted feelings, once hidden, were finally coming up to the surface.

You let out a soft whimper as Calum bit your lower lip, taking it between his teeth. He pulled away for a moment, so you could both catch your breath.

Your arms were still wrapped around his neck; his fingers still grazing the now blushing skin of your cheeks.

Leaning his forehead to rest on yours; brown eyes watched you, full of emotion. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered, his breath feather-light on your skin.

“Doesn’t matter if we’re together in the big city or this rinky-dink town...”

When you hit him on the knee, at the tease, he winced but chuckled and continued, “...as long as we have each other.”

You couldn’t agree more.

—

It was a long weekend, a couple of weeks later, when you and the boys decided to go skate on the town’s frozen pond.

By you and the boys, you mostly meant the boys, as you wobbled your way onto the ice.

“How can you be dating the Calum Hood, hockey player extraordinaire and not know how to skate?”

You stuck your tongue out at the cheshire-grinning Michael when you suddenly lost balance. Before you fell to your icy doom, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist to steady you.

“Watch where you put your hands, Hemmo,” Calum remarked, in a joking manner. Mostly.

Luke gave his best friend a sheepish grin. “Couldn’t let this one fall now, could I?”

You shook your head vigorously in agreement, your grip like a vice on Luke. The boys laughed, to your chagrin.

Eventually, you got to a place where you were being pulled along the ice by Calum, as he skated backwards.

“All right, so to stop you’re going to angle your skates in—yes! You got it!” He exclaimed, as you both came to a stop.

“I did it!”

Calum’s face softened. You were absolutely beaming at the small feat.

As you lingered, you noticed Mike coming up to you. With a finger to his lips, he pointed to Cal.

As Michael drew in, he hipped checked Calum. Since the latter was unaware of the sudden force, though light to Mike’s usual standards, Calum stumbled down onto the ice.

“Oops, sorry mate! Didn’t mean—”

Michael stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the pained expression on his best friend’s face.

“Hey Cal, you ok?”

You crouched down, attempting not to fall in the process and put your hand over his.

Calum was cradling his left knee. “I-it hurts.”

In a panic, you looked up at Michael and you both called out to Ashton and Luke.

The two skated over in a rush.

Calum was almost paralyzed, at this point, from the pain.

Ashton and Luke each brought one of Calum’s arms around their shoulder.

They had to get the clinic quick.

—

The doctor explained that it was a tear in a ligament in Calum’s knee.

What was peculiar about the injury was that it actually wasn’t recent; to Michael’s relief as he sat in the corner of the doctor’s office like puppy who had been scolded.

The statement though, left four of the five occupants very confused.

When the doc had left to attend to other patients, the five of you sat in silence.

“How...how did we not know?”

From the examination table, Calum looked at Ashton, a solemn expression on his face. “I didn’t…”

Calum gripped his bandaged knee. “I couldn’t...find it in my heart to tell you.”

He then recounted how it happened from overworking his knee, the month prior to coming home. How the coaching staff sent him back to their little town so that he could heal and come back to them at one-hundred percent; however long that took. How he was so ashamed with himself, that he couldn’t tell anyone because he didn’t want to disappoint you.

As Calum went on, the rest of you suddenly thought of all the signs leading up to this. How he didn’t want to join the hockey team until the boys had convinced him; begging and pleading. How he favoured his other side during games or even just practice. How, even in intimacy, there were times that Calum’s movements weren’t as fluid or as natural.

It all made sense and you were heartbroken that you didn’t notice sooner.

“You all were set to leave town after graduation and I—I just couldn’t tell you that, this time, you’d have to leave me behind.”

You got up from your seat wrapping your arms around the sombre boy. The rest of your friends joined in, encompassing you both in a much-needed group hug.

“Hey, watch the knee!” Calum chuckled as you all jumped away, immediately. Seeing him smile while making the comment, eased any worries.

“You heard the doc, Cal,” Luke started. “The tear’s small.”

Nodding your head, you continued for Lu, “and there’s no need for surgery, just a few weeks of actual rest.”

“Coach will understand that you can’t be on the team anymore,” Ashton relayed, beside you.

“And we’re still getting out of this fucking town together,” Michael quipped, “we’ve waited long enough. What’s an extra couple months? If that.”

Calum hummed in response, looking at his favourite person and three best friends. He was so thankful at how understanding you all were.

He wasn’t sure what the next couple of months would bring but he believed that he’d get through it.

With you all by his side, he’d get through anything.

Tagged: @irwinkitten @calpops @rosecoloredash @lilbabycalum @gorgeouslygrace @rainingcal @asht0n-irwin @lockthisheartinchains @americanhorrorstudies @lovableah

[ledenews]

Wheeling University: Pressing Forward Through it All

Tumultuous times have reigned at Wheeling University for the last 13 months, and in reality, since 2017 when the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston took ownership of the physical campus, leasing it back to the University whilst agreeing to pay off more than $30 million in bond debt. Two years later, the declaration of financial exigency in March of 2019 put the status of the school, then still called Wheeling Jesuit, into question. Course offerings were trimmed considerably, as was the staff. The lack of pathways of study in history, philosophy and theology cost the University its official Jesuit affiliation, necessitating the name change to the current Wheeling University. But a combination of new leadership, a strong show of support from students and faculty to the community itself, and the willingness to innovate have things looking positive for the state’s only Catholic institution of higher learning. That was BEFORE the coronavirus pandemic took the country, and the world, by storm. Difficult changes were needed, and made, by the university. But it hasn’t done anything to dampen the spirit of the university or the upward path that it continues to march.

New President Inherits Difficult Task

Ominous or not, Ginny Favede became the school’s 13th president since its inception in 1954 and did so during one of the darkest times in its history.  Not only did Favede need to find a way to help generate renewed interest, and students, for the university, but it had to be done with a trimmed course offering list, a name change and numerous questions surrounding the viability as a university. It’s hard to recruit a student to attend a school they aren’t sure was going to be around for the next four years. Favede, who had a successful career in both local and county government along with the careers in the private sector, had recently joined the university’s board of trustees and was named chair in July of 2019. A few months later, she received a request, and an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. “Word got home before I did and the first thing my husband asked me was why,” Favede recalled. “I told him, ‘It was the Archbishop. I’m Catholic. It never occurred to me to say no.” Favede’s background in local government aided her immensely in the transition. She did several mid-year budget reviews, seeing where money was being spent, and where it didn’t need to be. Remaining faculty and staff joined her in helping to find dollars. Soon the dollars started to make sense and she was able to hire a vice president on enrollment management and start to work on rebuilding the school’s student base, as well as its reputation with its students. “When you operate a city or county budget, it’s not like a federal budget, you have employees, and a set amount of money and you have to manage them. When I was with Belmont (County as a commissioner) back in 2009, we were just going into the recession and we were able to weather the situation. That background has helped tremendously.” Favede admits she now understands what it means to have a calling. For a woman who never put less than her best effort forward, this is truly her labor of love. “I love it. I love the kids, love the business aspect of it, love the challenge,” Favede said. “Seeing what our hard work is able to create has been amazing.”

Despite criticism of cost and need, Wheeling University pushed on with the debut season of its football team, once that Favede believes will only help the university in battling back.

Seeing is Believing

Heading into the 2019-2020 season, the Wheeling University softball team was a microcosm of the school’s issues. When things went bad, coaches and players bailed, understandably so, for more stable pastures. The incoming squad had three seniors, no coaching staff and barely enough players to field a roster. Not the ideal situation to lure a coach to. But Tiffany Buckmaster, then an assistant coach at NAIA Lourdes University in Sylvania was convinced this was the place for her. It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted. “Truthfully, everything they’ve told me has held true,” Buckmaster said. “President Favede is the right person with the job. She’s a transparent, honest, fantastic person who believes in this university. She told us to believe in one another and believe in the program, even when no one else would. That’s her technique, she believes.” After the coronavirus necessitated the cancellation of the spring sports season by the NCAA, Buckmaster looked back pleased on a positive season, however short it was. Now, like the other sports’ teams and the university itself, she’s off to work building back up the numbers. The coach feels her own tale of coming to WU can be used as a selling point. “Honestly, it’s been a little bit easier for me because of the fact that I chose to say yes,” Buckmaster said. “That gives them the confidence to do so too. I came here, despite all that was going on, because I believe in Wheeling University.” Favede knows the important of collegiate athletics, especially at a school like Wheeling. They help to generate excitement and provide an identity. No sport has a greater impact in that area, especially in the Ohio Valley, quite like football. So, despite the school’s financial troubles, the overall cost of football and the fact Wheeling was set to play only its first official season, Favede and the university decide to press forward with football. It’s a decision she never wavered on, despite hearing a good deal of criticism. She knows the dedication that head coach Zac Bruney and his staff, along with the Bruney family at large have put into the program already. She knows it will pay off and success looms right now the road, not only for the program, but for the school at large. “If you had been here on campus for any of the home games, the excitement and energy that football brought to campus; it will make a significant difference in our ability to turn this university around,” Favede said. “People want to go where that excitement and energy is.”

Pandemic Problems and a Familial-Feel Response

Wheeling University’s seniors have battled through quite the ordeal, showing tremendous faith in staying the course and making it to their final semester. That’s why the adjustments the university has made in response to the coronavirus have been so tough for Favede to make, no matter the need. “It’s been heartbreaking,” Favede said. “Things were going so well for us here. The kids were happy, which was our first and primary objective. We are giving the students a great, quality education, but we also wanted to make these the best four years of their lives. I vowed to myself never to let these kids get hurt again, so it was very hard to make the decisions that we’ve had to make.” The university’s spring break came earlier than other local institutions, so the students were out whilst the first major adjustments to daily life were being experienced. Favede credits her staff for being able to shift on the fly and basically get an online education plan and program off the ground in less than 72 hours. It started March 16. Three days later, and three before West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s official stay-at-home order, Wheeling U decided to send its students home. It was a sad time for both faculty and staff but one that the university worked to minimize the immediate impact on its students. Favede noted that the school obtained many moving boxes from Lowe’s in Wheeling and had staff members help students box up and remove their belongings from the dorms. Some students who lived clear across the country were unable to transport all their belongings home. To assist, the university rented a moving van to help these students transfer their things to storage lockers located at The Highlands for safe keeping until the next semester begins. The president recalls sitting and talking with several students that waited until the last minute to vacate as they simply didn’t want to leave. This had become their home and they wished to take in all they could. That’s part of the reason Favede opted to delay spring graduation until Winter 2020. She wants the students to be able to officially walk across and receive their degrees they’ve worked so hard for, and she wants to be there to hand it to them. The university and its alumni association has developed a president’s emergency fund to help offset the costs both the students and faculty are dealing with. A part of that will go toward helping any of the graduating international students who otherwise might not be able to afford to come back and receive their degrees in person. If they wish to return, Favede said, the university is going to help find a way to make that happen.

While the Jesuit name and affiliation on longer are associated with the school, the state's lone Catholic institution of higher learning still has its members involved in campus ministry and other activities. The Theology major is also making a return for Fall 2020.

Moving Forward

There is good news going forward for the university. Favede noted the school already has its 100th deposit for the 2020-2021 school year for incoming freshman, a number that exceeds the previous two years collectively at this time. There are roughly 400 undergraduate students with another near 200 in graduate programs. New students are showing interest, as other student athletes. A quick scan of the athletic department’s Twitter account at @WUCardinals shows a number of athletes across various sports committing to play for the Cardinals. “Our coaches and our school are recruiting virtually. We’re being innovative and learning new ways to do things and, in the end, it will make us a better university.” Favede also mentioned that starting in 2020-21, all the school’s general education classes will be available online. The Theology major is also making a comeback, and with it, a pastoral ministry certificate. She also noted that while plans are still being finalized, they are looking at a certificate of hotel management and creating a school of construction management.  Another moved aimed at bolstering enrollment in the face of the pandemic’s disruption of the academic world is the school is temporarily waiving the SAT/ACT score entrance requirements for next year. While this doesn’t apply to student athletes needing NCAA Clearinghouse eligibility, it will help the general student population. SAT and ACT testing has been suspending because of the pandemic and Favede felt it was the right thing to do, taking away one less stressor for incoming students. “The University’s flexibility at this crucial time will ensure prospective students aiming for Wheeling University get a full and fair shot—no matter their current challenges. We encourage any students who have questions to contact our Admissions Office.” It’s a trying time, both for the university and the nation. But steps have been taken to ensure that Wheeling University, like America, will recover and press onward. Read the full article

[ateldip]

Extracts from a letter 'concerning life drawing'

.......' I've been life drawing since 1993, teaching it for 20 years, and been involved in decisions regarding accommodation for most of that time. It has allowed me a degree of perspective, time to question the practice, and also time to observe the personalities and cultures of the schools, faculties and institutions who've employed me in this capacity. For the outsider, it may appear to be an obscure, anachronistic, or opaque method for teaching in a world that is increasingly concerned with technological novelty, and with forms of education that are grounded in quantitative resolution.'

'There have been periods in education where life drawing has fallen foul of fashion. The foundation course was born in the UK out of the Basic Design movement, which in turn drew heavily on the original Foundation course - the introductory year at the Bauhaus. Priority here was essentially nonfigurative, addressing the essential qualities of colour, shape, form, texture and inherent materiality. Many UK art schools in the 60's, gave life drawing a wide berth. If you look at the specification for the foundation course today, there is no mention of life drawing, although drawing from live experience, as an experimental process, covers the entire first semester. There isn't a single art school of any quality, in the western world today, who would consider operating a foundation course, or any course of drawing, without life drawing. Life drawing, in observing the nude human form in space, can address every aspect of drawing. Line, tone, colour, texture, space, compositional design, description of form, division and arrangement of picture space, kinetics, spatial tensions and dynamics. There is a lifetime of study to understand the human form itself. Anatomy, balance, movement, weight, proprioception, stillness, the effects of time, gravity, and the relationship of each of these to historical and philosophical canon. Its relevance to human centred design practice, from fashion, animation or furniture design is unquestionable.

Quality here, is a key distinction. It underpins all questions related to teaching and delivery of life drawing, at every stage of the process. It is a distinction that many are happy to avoid, because teaching life drawing is often inconvenient in many ways. It requires time. Time out of a curriculum for which it is often seen as a supplementary practice. It requires time to learn. Its not an instant fix. The more you do it, the more you realise how much you have to learn. This means also that you need experienced staff. It requires space - a simple, large room, which is not a studio that is otherwise in daily use (meaning that all staff can access the room efficiently), in the same way that sportsmen access a gym. A suitable analogy. The room needs easels, furniture for the model, somewhere set aside for changing, adjusatable heat, adjustable lighting, and a floor that can receive ink, paint or similar without hindering practice.

In his preface to Richer's anatomy, Beverley Hale describes something close to the heart of life drawing as a learning process. He points out that when confronted with a model, the student draws upon an image of the figure which is held in the mind, as a means of dealing with what he perceives. The nature of the figure in the mind, dictates the success of the drawing. In simple terms there is a correlation between assumption of knowledge in the student and pitfalls fallen into within the drawing. Making a life drawing is a significant feat. The students enters a space and must confront the model, taking what they believe they know with them. They must then undergo an examination of perception, and on the surface of a blank page, translate the conversation between perception, knowledge, assumption and correction, through their own body, and the medium of their ability and familiarity with tools and materials. The evidence is present, visual, and unforgiving. Life drawing is a philosophical endeavour, as much as it is a practical one, asking the student to pass through an unsuccessful model of understanding, in the hope of briefly glimpsing a better one. This is true of every student in every life class, in every drawing, at every stage of development. Osi Rhys Osmond equated it to asking the student to become a better person. It is a microcosm of teaching and learning, based on a question that can never be answered. As such it is a process that must be considered continuous, and any desire to reduce the practice to the requirements of a module, has missed the point of it entirely. Pirsig discusses the first and second university - the first made of students and teachers, the second as a business/political model. There is obvious interdependence between both, but as a rapidly aging practitioner from the first, it's my responsibility, sometimes, to communicate with the second........

Economically, demographically, we're in different circumstances to those we enjoyed in the mid 1990's. The neoliberal project has put education under the yoke of private debt creation, driving higher level providers to drop all pretence of quality in pursuit of a rising bottom line. It's a balloon that will burst in the next five years, as the ideological ravages of compulsory and further education, devastate choice in the pursuit of statistical accounting. When the second university remakes the first in its own image, the unanswerable question of the white sheet of paper in the life room, looks increasingly anomalous.

As educators, we want to be better people. We want to face the unanswerable question, which is, 'what do you know' and also 'prove it then'. There's a danger... that there's less space to ask the question....We need, in all things we do, quality rather than expediency. In a shrinking market ..... our only selling point is excellence. We have it. To preserve it, looking ahead, it might mean doing less, but doing it properly.

I'm off now, to resume my own life drawing studies. Still hoping to be a better person.