News Archive

Every year an average of 572,032 women and 48,983 men experience domestic violence at the hands of an intimate partner. And every year, between 2,000 and 4,000 of those men and women will die from the injuries they receive at the hands of a loved one.

To represent the lives lost due to intimate partner domestic violence, 2,000 illuminated bags will outline the Union College campus on Oct. 8, each flicker telling a story’s tragic end. The process of placing the bags and lighting the candles will begin at 4 p.m. The commemorative service will begin at 7 p.m. on the Tribute Terrace outside the Ortner Center.

Although Union’s Social Work Club plans the event, it is implemented with the help of many student and community hands. Preparation will begin three days prior to the event, as volunteers scoop sand into the 2,000 bags and place a small candle in the center. 

This will be the second year that Union College has used the luminary event to “shine light on a dark issue” and promote the Friendship Home’s annual Safe Quarters drive that will take place Sunday, Oct. 11. Union is a hosting site for the drive, during which more than 1,500  volunteers go door-to-door, collecting spare change and other financial contributions. The Friendship Home uses the donations to help battered women and their children rebuild their lives, free from violence.

Award-winning Christian pop band FFH (which stands for Far From Home) will perform at Union College on Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m at the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church (4801 Prescott). Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is free but limited.

Returning from a three-year hiatus, the group is looking forward to re-connecting with fans.

“The time away has been anything but routine,” says front man Jeromy Diebler on the band’s website. “Since our departure in 2006, [my wife and band mate] Jennifer and I have moved to Africa and back, welcomed our second child, and dealt with my multiple scleroses diagnosis. We’ve been walking the wilderness in brokenness and joy, learning that the two coexist. The waiting has been hard, but the Lord knew we needed a break to deal with some deeper issues, both physical and spiritual, that just couldn’t be dealt with while on the road. We now feel like it’s time to renew our connection with our audience and start telling them about this chapter in our story.” 

For more information on the musicians, visit http://ffh.net/. Questions about the event can be directed to Union College Campus Ministries at 402.486.2508.

 Weekend Schedule

Union College’s 25 physician assistant graduates recently took the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). The attempt was met with total success, allowing the class to rise above the national pass rate.

 “We are very proud of their accomplishments,” said Mike Huckabee, Union College’s PA program director.  “All graduates from the class of 2009 passed the PANCE on their first try.”

The 360-question exam, administered during a six-hour period, gauges basic medical and surgical knowledge. Passing the PANCE is a national requirement to become a certified physician assistant.

“This was an excellent group of graduates who worked hard to be successful,” said Huckabee.  “This distinction is a fitting tribute to their diligence and effort.”
Huckabee attributes much of the class’ success to the support and individual attention Union’s PA faculty provide as well as the careful instruction that more than 70 associated physicians in the Lincoln area contribute.

“This accomplishment shows the hand of God in so many ways,” said Huckabee. “He continues to bless Union College with exceptional students who excel on our campus.”
 

A grant recently awarded to Union College’s Teaching Learning Center (TLC) will benefit the local Lincoln community by empowering students faced with learning and development disabilities such as ADD. TLC, Union’s academic support and disability service provider, received $84,510 in funding from Woods Charitable Foundation, with disbursement set over the next three years.

With this grant, the center plans to implement a program designed to aid high school juniors with learning disabilities transition into college life, and likewise, help eighth graders transition into high school life. The two nine-week pilot classes scheduled to run during the 2009-2010 school year will focus on self-advocating and financial aid.

“This new program was created in order to open educational doors for students with disabilities who otherwise wouldn’t recognize education as an option,” said Debbie Forshee-Sweeney, TLC director. “Many students with learning disabilities and ADD go through high school with the false belief that higher education is not in their reach.”

Union College students who have struggled with similar disabilities will be involved in the new program by servings as mentors. Each student will receive training and a stipend to assist in co-teaching the classes located in Lincoln’s 10 middle schools and six high schools.

It's not often people in academia want to be proved wrong. However, last fall when two different models Union College uses to predict enrollment for the next school year projected a decrease in new students, college administrators, faculty and staff began preparing for the worst and praying for the best.

"We believe each of our students is a blessing, and we've been asking God for many blessings lately," said David Smith, college president. "When I speak to our students and hear their stories about how and why they chose Union, I know those prayers have been answered."

Seth Perkins, associate professor of health and human performance, and Spencer Way clean a playground during Project Impact in 2008.

“We always assume we know what people need, but usually we don’t have a clue,” said Emily Carlson, coordinator for Union College’s annual volunteer event, “Project Impact gives students an opportunity to see through the eyes of the community and better understand what they’re needing.”

Last year, as assistant leader for Project Impact, Carlson delivered bagels to each site of the 50 sites where Union students were volunteering. In the middle of her journey, she spotted a homeless man. Thinking he could use a bite to eat, she stopped the car, grabbed a bag of bagels and handed it to him.

She drove away feeling good about her kind deed. As she looked in her rear view mirror she watched in shock as the homeless man opened a nearby trashcan and dumped the contents of the bag. He proceeded to shove his personal belongings in the bag and walked off with a smile.