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President's Letter |
Rankin Gallery Unveils “Them: Images of Separation”
“Them: Images of Separation,” a traveling exhibition that showcases items from popular culture used to stereotype various groups, premiered at Ferris’ Rankin Art Gallery this past April. The negative imagery found on postcards, license plates, games, souvenirs and costumes promoted stereotyping against such groups as Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Jews and poor whites, as well as those who are “other” in terms of body type or sexual orientation. “Them” follows up the success of the “Hateful Things” exhibition, comprised of artifacts from Ferris’ Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Professor of Sociology and museum curator David Pilgrim says that “Them” responds to questions he received from those who saw “Hateful Things,” which focused specifically on imagery demeaning to African-Americans. “In the past we had people ask why we did not have objects that dealt with groups other than African-Americans,” says Pilgrim. “For this show, we took our direction from Martin Luther King’s famous quote, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ This is the next logical step for the Jim Crow Museum.” Through more than 30 separate framed pieces, “Them” tackles some of the most contentious cultural hot-button issues: anti-Arab sentiment, Holocaust denial, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and immigration. The exhibition also includes items demeaning to African-Americans, but that is only a part of the exhibition’s larger message. “I’m hoping ‘Them’ shows discrimination and stereotyping is not just a black/white issue it’s more pervasive than that,” says Pilgrim. In addition to building and showcasing its second traveling exhibition, the Jim Crow Museum is soliciting support to construct a permanent facility on the Big Rapids campus to make the museum’s displays more accessible to the public. For more information the Jim Crow Museum, visit www.ferris.edu/jimcrow. Ferris Students Build Formula Car
It can hug the curves of a Gran Prix track and go from zero to 60 in about four seconds. No, this is not James Bond’s legendary Aston Martin or some concept car fresh from the drawing boards of Detroit. This is Ferris’ first entry in the Formula SAE competition. From its fiberglass body to its chromoly chassis, this powerful, compact vehicle was designed and constructed entirely by students from Ferris’ College of Technology. Senior Ryan Boysen, past president of the student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, captained Ferris’ Formula SAE team. Faculty advisor Chuck Drake calls Boysen the “spark plug” behind the project. Boysen got interested in the competition after going to the 2005 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress at Cobo Hall in Detroit. “We ran into a lot of teams there,” Boysen said. “We started off as a group of about four people and ended up with about 28, including our engineering managers Kyle Kapa and Chetan Joshi. “The best thing about our Formula team is that we got to work with a whole range of students. Since we all work in different programs, it all came together just perfect,” he added. Ferris’ Formula SAE team drew upon students majoring in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Automotive Engineering Technology, Manufacturing Engineering Technology and Welding Engineering Technology. The Ferris-designed vehicle weighs about 600 pounds and is powered by a 600 cc, 100-horsepower engine. Performance criteria such as maneuvering, braking, acceleration and endurance are all part of the competition, which includes the entire project’s engineering, design presentation, safety features, manufacturing plans and costs. The Ferris team passed the required technical inspection and completed the 22km endurance event one of only 47 cars out of 140 entered in the competition by teams from around the world to do so. The competition took place May 17-20 in Romeo. Ferris Hosts Summer Camp “Blues”
Skidding cars, handgun fire and a murder scene where the suspect may still be lurking. Is this the newest episode of Law & Order? No, just some of the activities of Ferris’ inaugural Criminal Justice Summer Camp. Geared for high school students age 16 to 19 interested in a criminal justice career, the summer camp offered a glimpse of what real police work is like as opposed to what gets shown on television. “One of the things that really opened their minds was the jail tour. Most of the kids had never been near a jail,” said Michigan Police Corps Training Coordinator Bob Schneider, who also coordinated the summer camp. “Practicing on the firing range was something they all said was one of their favorites, as well as the mock crime scene. They didn’t know if the ‘criminal’ would still be there or not. We varied the experience from group to group so the students didn’t know what to expect otherwise they might talk about it in advance.” Campers began with team- and trust-building exercises on Ferris’ ropes course. In addition to working a mock crime scene and improving their marksmanship, the students also practiced defensive tactics, watched a session of district court at the Newago County courthouse and performed driving maneuvers with a skid car on campus. They also took academic-style courses on constitutional law and ethics. Schneider said the participants responded positively to the busy schedule. “One of the campers called it a ‘life-changing experience,’” he said. All of which will make it hard for them to claim they have nothing to report if called on to write the classic, “What I did on my summer vacation” essay. Information about Ferris’ Criminal Justice program is available at www.ferris.edu/education/cj. Ferris Presents the Third Annual Thomas Crapper Lecture Series
Last winter semester, associate professor of Political Science Donald Roy organized the third annual Thomas Crapper Lecture Series. Designed to raise awareness about water usage issues in Michigan, the series is named for the Englishman who, according to popular myth, invented the toilet. “I saw this theme of pollution and waste, and Crapper’s name just popped into my head. He isn’t exactly the inventor of the toilet it would be better to say he made major improvements to it,” explains Roy. Actually, Crapper was likely born in 1836. He had a more than 40-year career in the plumbing industry, highlighted by inventions resulting in several patents related to pipes, drains and manhole covers. In addition to organizing the series, Roy is also involved in water conservation issues outside the classroom. He is a board member of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, a group whose goal is to “conserve, preserve and protect Michigan’s water, natural resources and the public trust in those resources for the benefit of the public.” The third annual Thomas Crapper lecture series included the screening of two films about “factory farms” in Michigan Living a Nightmare and Crapshoot; Karl Flecker, co-author of Inside the Bottle, discussed the global threat of bottled water privatization; author and policy analyst Dave Dempsey spoke about his latest book, Governor Milliken, Passionate Moderate; and former Grand Rapids Mayor John Logie spoke about the looming environmental threat of septic tanks in Michigan. |
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