Every year, students look forward to well-known Bowl-a-thon in the fall. This year, the Department of Communication is improving the format and increasing the creativity of Communication Week.
Communication Week is a week-long campus-wide event which consists of a fundraiser Bowl-a-thon, guest speakers and free hearing screenings. It is sponsored by the honors society called Lambda Pi Eta, Communication Club along with the Communication Department.
The department tries to find some sort of organization that is in need of funding.
Last year, the department helped the Wayne County Children Services with the Bowl-a-thon. ìFor every pin you knock down, you get people to contribute or give a donation. We have done it for many years,” said Margaret Wick, Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication.
Two years ago, the department did a fundraiser for Change Through Chance, which is a local organization. The classes are therapeutic horse-back riding for children with physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities. The department assisted the youth mentoring program with their riding. ìFor other years, students here have partnered with kids. It was somewhat like a big brother/big sister mentoring program,” said Wick.
Yesterday between 5 to 7 p.m. in Wishart, Communication ended their week with the Freedlander Speech & Hearing Clinic Open House. Students and professors who visited the clinic could take advantage of the free hearing screening. The hearing screening is used to find out if a person has a hearing problem, which students can acquire from listening to extremely loud music over the years. They could also tour the clinic and learn about the clinicís services while they enjoyed the salsa and chips, sushi and other refreshments.
The clinic is used primarily for speech-language therapy with children and adults by professors and students. ìIt sets Wooster apart because on most college campuses, you have to be a graduate student to do therapy with people who need it. Students here can start out being observers, then assistants, then lead therapists that work with kids and adults,” said Wick.
Earlier on Thursday, there was informal gathering for students interested in meeting Michael OíNeil between 11 p.m. and 12. Michael Oí Neil, a Class of í03 graduate, is the fromer finance director for Senator Sherrod Brown, Midwest Finance Director for the Obama Presidential Campaign, and now the White House Director of Priority Placement. Michael OíNeil spoke at the Alumni Forum from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Severance Auditorium in Room 009.
Sylvia Leimkuehler Sullivan, R.N., a Class of í02 graduate, is a former advanced clinical nurse at University Hospital, Cleveland, a former staff nurse at Christiana Care Hospital and is now a staff nurse at Shadyside Family Health Center. Sylvia was a Communication Science and Disorders major getting honors on her Independent Study. She went into the nursing field for graduate school at Case Western, not the usual speech-language pathology or audiology. Students also got a chance to have an informal gathering earlier on Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m.
The Alumni Forum is the main event of the week. ìWe try to bring back someone who graduated in the Communicative Studies and Communication Disorders field. We ask what they did while at the College and about what they do now. It it interesting to see how far theyíve gone in their career and how it was that the College of Wooster prepared them,” said Wick. ìIt gives students the opportunity to get advice about how to maximize their experience at Wooster, so they might get the career they want. Students really like hearing how they can use a Communication major for lots of different things. Last year, we had an alumni involved with communication and radio speak.”
This year, however, there was no Bowl-a-thon because of Yom Kippur. ìWe did not want to have it on a religious holiday. There were also the Rita Dove and Wangari Maathai forums. We did not want to compete with the forums,” said Wick. Instead a fund-raiser was held on Monday and Tuesday for Heather Roberts and her family of seven. Heather is a Momís Truck Stop employee who lost her home and possessions in a recent house fire. The family lost everything but a washer and drier that were in a different location at the time. The family has no insurance, so the department is trying to raise $500. As of Tuesday afternoon, they had raised $255 in cash and gift card donations. The family has also been given some home appliances, which includes a television and a sofa bed.
There will be a table at the block party on Oct. 10 before the evening football game.
The family needs clothing for the respective family members: Makayla, age 4 needs 5/6 girls and size 11 shoe; Zack, age 7, needs size M shirts, 6/7 pants and† size 1 shoe; JR, age 10, needs size L shirts, 12-reg. pants and size 5 shoe; Barbara, age 17, needs size L shirts, 12/14 pants and size 8.5 shoe; Felisha, age 18, needs size XL shirts, 15/16 pants and size 7 shoe; Mr. Roberts needs size 2XL/3XL shirts and size 40 pants; Mrs. Roberts† needs size 2XL shirts and size 22W pants.
The department is willing to take donations of money and gift cards from the community throughout the semester. Donations should be made to the Communication & Theater office, c/o Patrice Smith or Dr. Johnson. Students can place any money donations in campus mail addressed to Dr. Johnson, Communication Studies Department or Patrice Smith, Communication Studies Department. Items such as clothing, furniture or anything else can be brought to Patrice Smith’s office in Wishart.