News in brief

November 6, 2006 —

"Hateful things" art exhibit displayed in Zahnow Library

Ferris State University has compiled a travelling exhibition etitled, "Hateful Things," that will be displayed in the library beginning Nov. 13.

The exhibit is comprised of racist images and artifacts that are said to be deserving of both historical consideration and contemporary analysis.

Most of the items that will be on display were directly picked out of popular or commercial culture, and the viewing of the items is meant to increase a new critical thinking of contemporary American culture. It also looks to show how racism is allowed to infiltrate that culture and do so in largely unchallenged ways.

The exhibit will be on the fourth Floor of the Zahnow Library, in the Roberta R. Allen Reading Room from Nov. 13-16 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Nov. 17 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

David Pilgrim, the curator of the exhibit, will be giving a lecture Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. on the larger context of the images in the exhibit. The exhibit and lecture are both free and open to the public.

Sims Public Speaking Contest on stage Friday

The annual Sims Public Speaking Contest will take place Nov. 10 with the final round of the competition beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.

Reserved for SVSU students only, participants will deliver prepared persuasive speeches for the competition.

In order to fit with the rules of the competition, the lengths of the speeches can only range between five to eight minutes in length.

The top six speakers will receive cash prizes with $300 awarded to the first-place winner.

The second-place and third-place winners will receive $200 and $100 respectively.

There is a $50 prize for the fourth, fifth, and sixth-place winners.

SVSU professor concludes religion lecture series

Thomas Renna, professor of history at SVSU, will be holding a lecture entitled "Fundamentalisms in Conflict on Temple Mount: A Historian's Perspective" Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.

He is the first SVSU professor to receive all three of the University's highest awards - the Landee Award for Teaching Excellence, the Warrick Award for Excellence in Research, and the House Family Award for Teacher Impact.

Renna is also the author of nearly 100 scholarly articles and four books. He speicializes in ancient history but is fluent in European, early world, and the Middle Ages.

Exonerated man to give address on justice system

Wrongfully convicted of rape and robbery in 1994, Ken Wyniemko will discuss the "Price of Innocence" at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7 in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts at Saginaw Valley State University.

Since his exoneration, Wyniemko as been an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform and has been named to the board of directors of the Innocence Project.

Wyniemko is also a member of the newly-formed National Council of Wrongfully Convicted Exonerees.

Wyniemko's lecture is sponsored by the SVSU Department of Criminal Justice. It is open to the public, and admission is free of charge. For more information, contact Richard Priehs, SVSU professor of criminal justice, at (989) 964-4079.

Artist-in-Residence concert this weekend

Jeff Hall, jazz artist-in-residence at SVSU, will lead a jazz ensemble in concert Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.

The performance will feature favorites from Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt and other jazz notables; it is part of SVSU's artist-in-residence concert series.

Admission to the concert is $12 for the public and $5 for students.