Quarterly Vue   Tags: campus, community, library, newsletter, quarterly_vue  

Letter from the Director
by Beverly Stuart

As I write this we are enjoying spring break. Or would that be “enduring”. Often we think of spring as a time of renewal but this year Mother Nature appears to have gone whack. The temperature is at least 10 degrees colder than normal, we’ve had sporadic snow, rain, hail and sun, sometimes all in the same day, and of course there’s the ever present March wind. But lest I sound too negative, I will add that the greenery and flowers are beginning to make their appearances no matter what the rest of our fickle Northwest climate is doing.

More about green: now is as good a time as any to renew your commitment to recycling. “Recyclemania” is currently happening on campus. Other ways you can be green include not printing. Maybe you can read that article online instead of printing it. Many people feel they must have a print copy in order to highlight or make comments but if you save the article as a Microsoft Word document, you can then highlight or add comments as needed. If you must print, the Library encourages double sided printing (ask as how or refer to our Summer 2011 issue).

Of course by the time this newsletter sees the light of day April will be here, so now is a good time to mention that April is poetry month. Yay for poets and poetry readers! The Library has a decent poetry collection for our size and we hope you’ll take a moment to peruse our books and journals. You may also wish to take a look at our Poetry Research Guide. Here you will find links to local poetry readings, slam events, and other information. If you know of an interesting link that should be included, please send it to us and we’ll update our Research Guide. Elsewhere on campus, Carolynn Hall and the Writing Center sponsor “Poetry at Noon” workshops every Thursday in April.

OhioLINK Tips

Think of OhioLINK as the gateway to your research. OhioLINK is actually a collection of databases. For example, PsycInfo, ERIC, and all the EBSCO databases (like Psychology and Behavior Sciences or Education Research Complete) can be accessed through OhioLINK.

From the main OhioLINK page, look on the left hand side of the screen, and click on Library Databases (articles and more) by Subject or Field, OR by Name or Title. Choosing by Name or Title is useful if you know from the start you want to search directly in PsycInfo, PubMed, ERIC, etc. But if you don’t know what’s available in a given subject area, go for by Subject or Field.

Also, be aware that you cannot request books from OhioLINK. Remember the main OhioLINK page? What if you just search directly from the link at the top of the page? Now you’re in the OhioLINK catalog, which shows the physical holdings of all the university and college libraries in Ohio. Students in Ohio may request directly from this point, but we can’t. But not to worry, we have…

We Deliver! Also known as Interlibrary Loan. If you do find something in OhioLINK that you need, you can request it via We Deliver, and the We Deliver staff will borrow it from a nearby library to send to you. This takes a few extra clicks, as you will have to go back to our library home page, click on Interlibrary Loan, log in, and fill out a short form to request the book (or video, article, etc.) that you want.

One more thing: there is always more than one way to find something. Back on the library home page, click on AUS Databases, then click on “Suggested Databases for Specific Programs”. Here we grouped databases together by academic subject.

The categories might not be exact. For example, the gender studies databases are listed under “Psychology”. Some databases cut across all subject areas, such as Academic Search Complete or Electronic Journal Center (EJC); you’ll find these listed under all the academic program categories.

This might be easier than going through the OhioLINK main page. However, you’ll still have to log in from off campus. Some of the EBSCO databases may port you over to a different login than you’re used to. If you see “Opal” at the top of the screen, log in will be your last name, then anse with your Antioch ID#, like this: anse0123456.

The Survival Papers
Jennifer Cunningham ∙ Leo Figgs ∙ Gabe Figgs

The Survival Papers is a collection of poems and anecdotes written by the immediate surviving family members of Isaac Figgs, a gifted son, brother, and friend who committed suicide December 30, 2005. It is a poetic documentation of one family’s grief process. This family’s strength shines forth through the pages of The Survival Papers as a profound example of the reality that post-traumatic growth can occur in the face of tragic loss, despite the odds against it.

My parents have been best friends to Leo and Jennifer for ages. Our families went rafting and skiing together as we grew up, sharing many powerful moments together in each others’ back yards and hearts. Together we witnessed Isaac going from doing backflips off the family’s roof onto a trampoline, to becoming one of the most talented electric guitarists in the world. At 23, Isaac was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, with deep depression and overpowering manic episodes. Between our families and friends is a wealth of talented counselors, psychologists, and other healers, and none could pull Isaac out of the reality he was experiencing. He ended his life in his parents’ bedroom.

When I heard about the tragedy, I told myself that there wasn’t a stronger family on earth that this could have happened to. I have donated a copy to Antioch’s Seattle library because it is an example of how families can use a personal tragedy, through dedicated creativity, to tighten the bonds between the members and find some sense of peace in the aftermath. If you have a chance to read its pages, you may find yourself peering into a family’s most painful personal memoirs. I hope you’ll be able to see it as I do: That some amount of good can come from such a complicated, tragic loss and grief process as the suicide of a family member presents.

-Patrick Dougherty MHC Student

Book Review
by Greg Schuler, Finance & Administration

Returning to Earth by Jim Harrison is the modern day story of a middle-aged Finnish/Chippewa (Anishnabeg) man who is afflicted with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressively and relentlessly debilitating disease that leads inexorably to death. Set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the story is divided into four first-person accounts beginning with the central character, Donald, and then continuing with his best friend, brother-in-law, and wife. Several other persons are woven into the story, most notably his daughter, a young woman who shares his grounding in Native American naturalistic spirituality.

Donald’s leading story consists of a recounting of his ancestral history in a narrative that is transcribed by his wife (who often interjects her own interesting observations into the narrative) and centered in the forests of upper Michigan. One is struck with the closeness of these people’s connection to nature including the animal world of this region, how comfortable they are with the many rough edges of “living in the wild,” and how resourceful they are especially compared with those of us who have spent most of our lives in the big cities.

The reader becomes very attached to the characters in Returning to Earth as they grapple with the issues of dignity of life facing the central character, Donald, and then attempt to move on with their lives after his death. This is an enlightening and engaging story that many Antioch friends should enjoy reading. It’s available in the libraries and on Amazon. As one Amazon reviewer wrote, you won’t look at a bear in the same way once you’ve read this book. A piece of advice: pay close attention as the individuals are introduced in the story so that you can keep connected with the relationships.

WORKSHOPS

Refworks is a bibliographic management software that helps you organize your research, format a bibliography, and more. The following workshops will get you started. (You don’t need to go to both).

• Monday, April 16, 2 – 3pm
• Wednesday, May 2, 5 – 6pm

Location: Computer Classroom (Room 110)
Contact Bev Stuart for more info.

Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 Recap
by Beverly Stuart

Antioch University Seattle participated in Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) this year for the first time. The purpose of IAW is to call attention to Israel’s system of apartheid and illegal occupation of Palestine, and to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Academic Affairs sponsored several events on campus, which stretched slightly longer than one week. We held a lunchtime film series, which included 30 minutes of a selected film and 30 minutes of moderated post-film discussion. The films we showed were Palestine for Beginners; Occupation 101; The Iron Wall; a film capture of Omar Barghouti speaking on BDS in Seattle; and last but not least, a film trailer to the upcoming film, Roadmap to Apartheid. We also staged a mock checkpoint in the library, where we pretended to stop Palestinians from entering but allowed all others to come in. Our one evening event was a panel discussion including AUS faculty Nada Elia, Stephanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and myself.

The AUS Library owns three of the films we showed: Occupation 101, Palestine for Beginners, and the Iron Wall. These films serve as an accessible entry to the background of the conflict. For several people in the audience, this was their introduction to the issue and it left them angry at the injustice being done towards Palestinians and wanting to learn more.

The checkpoint was an eye opening experience. We planned the checkpoint at a time when the library is usually busy, so that we would spread the message to as many people as possible. As each person entered the library our “soldiers” explained that we were not allowing Palestinians in the library, and explicitly stated that we were practicing apartheid. We expected more people would engage with us but most just walked in saying “ok” without asking us why we were doing this. A few students were supportive and thanked us for our efforts. We handed out flyers with more information, so presumably students and faculty had a chance to learn more on their own.

The evening event was well attended. I did a shortened presentation of my Palestine trip. Nada talked about BDS, as a tactic of nonviolent resistance, including the cultural and academic boycott. Stephanie Fox spoke about the Jewish Voice for Peace campaign against TIAA-CREF divestment from five companies that benefit from the Israeli occupation. These companies are Motorola, Veolia, Northrup Grumman, Elbit, and Caterpillar. After the formal presentations, the audience engaged in conversation and asked many questions.

Naturally there are many viewpoints on this issue, and we experienced our share of push-back. Our flyers were ripped down and had to be replaced almost every day. But the positive feedback I heard outweighed the negative. People that were new to the conflict were very interested in learning more and becoming involved. Having Academic Affairs sponsor these events was gratifying and made me feel that our campus continues to “practice what we preach” in terms of social justice.

AUS is proud to present
the Art of Lambert House.

Shannon Leahy is an Art Therapy student (Couples & Family Specialization), and an M.A. candidate finishing her final project here at Antioch. She has been interning at Lambert House, and her Master's Project has come out of the work she's done with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth there, ages 14-22. Lambert House empowers youth through the development of leadership, social and life skills; the powerful stories told through their art has been graciously shared on the walls of the second floor atrium / hallway.

New Art in the Library

We're pleased to share a new work, Fire Snake over Sea Dragons (2011) by Patrick Dougherty, Mental Health Counseling student & Library staff. Of the piece Patrick writes "Lately, my preferred canvases are secondhand, makeshift objects such as discarded cabinet doors. I was helping my roommate clean out his garage and he said to give this Carrom board to Goodwill. Instead, I decided it had a nice "framely" shape to it, and it became the beginning of my next art project."

We have two poems to share in this issue!

The first is by Rebecca McColl, Graduate Student, MA Psychology / Ecopsychology & Grants Officer, Antioch University Seattle.

The second is by library volunteer Wyndy Knox Carr who says this is "the poem I read at Hugo House, to be read very calmly, slowly and repetitively."

Check it out!

We've added many new and interesting items to the collection.

Copyright is not glamorous, funny, or sexy. In spite of this obvious drawback, copyright is a topic that gets discussed often, especially in libraries. Instructors need to know what is allowed in terms of posting articles for students to read. Students need to know how and why to cite their research. To help you with situations like these and many others, the Antioch University librarians created a page in the Antioch Portal about copyright.

You can still ask your friendly neighborhood librarian questions about copyright, but this page might answer some of your questions quickly. In spite of my opening sentence, a few of the links we include – especially the “Fair(y) Use Tale” video – do try to put an entertaining spin on copyright and fair use guidelines.

Library
2326 Sixth Avenue
Seattle WA 98121
206-268-4120

Beverly Stuart, Interim Library Director
206-268-4507

Jill Haddaway, Library Associate
206-268-4504