It's not a day off; it's a day on

Classes at Ursinus College are cancelled on the 23^rd of April due to an annual student event. The third annual Celebration Of Student Achievement (COSA) will be taking place. Individual students who either volunteer to present or are selected by their professors give presentations and performances throughout the
day. The presentations will range from performances by the a capella choirs B-Naturals and Bearitones to presentations of scientific research.

Junior Biology major Laura Ng spent the fall 2007 semester abroad with the UC in Florence program. She wants to share all her adventures with the campus as an extension of her Italian language independent study with Professor Giovanna Steyaert. The main focus of her presentation will be on cultural differences between America and Italy. Two main differences are transportation and eating habits. For example, when it came to transportation, she said that it was very easy to get around. In Florence, there was an elaborate bus system, and that plane travel around Europe was very cheap, unlike here. “I also want to practice my Italian.” Her entire presentation will be given in Italian.

What would you get out of a French short story class here at Ursinus College? Student Matt Whitman is getting a lot out of this class as he relates his presentation to areas of interest in his own life. His COSA topic ris in regards to a French novel called Jonas Ou L’artiste qui travaille which translates in English to Jonas or artist at work. He will be presenting the themes, characters, and plots of the story at 1:00 PM. The story is about an unknown French painter who becomes successful and loses his passion for the art. Whitman connects the artist to small time bands he enjoys listening to. Such bands display much originality when they are unknown but tend to lose it when they become famous and conform to ideasa the media presents. Whitman has good reasons for taking this task of presenting on. He says, “It’s a way for me to practice giving presentations. I’m not a great public speaker and this can only help.”

Feminist research reflects the earlier intentions of feminism to raise consciousness for the purpose of understanding and making change possible. Ursinus College student, Danielle Langdon feels that through her COSA piece, Dance Feminism, she can make way and open the door for a world Ursinus never seen before. “I have been studying feminism all through college so I had a lot to say. Katie Fritz and I choreographed and cut and edited a video clip. We both have been a part of Escape Velocity here at Ursinus all 4 years so we just wanted to do a senior project. We combined forces to make a stronger piece together.” said Danielle Langdon. The methodology of feminism is to examine critically the social and cultural forces and discourses of power and construct our (women) being in the world. Langdon does not consider herself to be a feminist but fights for feministic issues because she is a woman. “The woman’s body has been objectified for years. I don’t see myself as an object. I believe and intend to be a dancer so that’s what I am. I have created a piece that is avant garde and risqué- to shock the audience and open the door here for others at Ursinus College,” Danielle concluded.

These COSA presentations seem promising and appealing to students because of their original and interesting topics. These are only three of the many presentations that will go on throughout the day. It’s not a day off; it’s a day on.

Crikey!

A Michigan woman was killed on Thursday, March 20^th, when a 75-pound stingray flew out of the water and struck her in the face as she rode in a boat in the Florida Keys.

According to AOL news, Jorge Pino of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that Judy Kay Zagorski of Pigeon, Michigan, was sitting in the front seat of the boat, which was going 25 mph when the spotted eagle ray leaped out of the water. The impact knocked the 57-year-old woman back onto the floor of the boat and most likely died from the impact since no barbs were found on her body. The stingray also died after landing on the floor of the boat.

"It's a bizarre accident," said Pino. Zagorski’s father was driving the boat on the Atlantic Ocean side of Vaca Key. "He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously," Pino said. Zagorski's sister was standing next to her when the stingray appeared but was not injured.

While they may not purposefully attack people, people do suffer injuries from stingrays. According to CBS News, in Lighthouse Point, Florida, 81-year-old boater James Bertakis received a foot-long barb in his chest after a stingray flopped onto his boat and stung him in October 2006. Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the ray from his boat when it stung him.

Lighthouse Point’s acting fire chief David Donzella described it as a “freak accident” and “very odd.” “We still can’t believe it.”

Bertakis underwent surgery to remove the barb, which lodged in or near his heart. While he was in critical condition, he has since fully recovered.

Bertakis’ accident was less than two months after what may be the most publicized stingray attack in the world, the death of TV presenter Steve Irwin, better known as the “Crocodile Hunter.” According to cnn.com, the 44-year-old Irwin was killed when a stingray barb pierced his heart while he was filming an underwater documentary off the north shore of Australia.

Spotted eagle rays can grow to be one of the largest rays in the world, growing up to 17 feet and 500 pounds.

Stingrays are generally docile creatures that use the venomous barb on the end of their tail for defense. While stingrays are known for jumping, they leap from the water for other reasons than aggression. According to AOL news, Lynn Gear, the supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea is Islamorada, explained that stingrays jump to escape predators, give birth and rid themselves of parasites. “They do not attack people,” Gear added. According to Wikipedia, if a stingray is threatened, their primary instinct is to swim away. However, if they are stepped on or feel trapped, they whip their tail up.

Stingrays will often bury themselves in the sand on the ocean floor. If you are in an area where stingrays are common, it's advised that you slide your feet through the sand since stingrays can detect this movement and swim away.