"Empty Bowls" Event to Benefit Food Pantry

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The 2nd Annual Empty Bowls Project, a benefit for the Kent County Food Bank, will offer a simple meal of bread and soup served in hand-made bowls. The event will take place Thursday, March 29, 2012 in the Underwood Lobby of the Gibson Center for the Arts on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the program starts at 5:30 p.m.

The soup will be served in hand-made bowls created by local potters, community members and Washington College students. The bowls are unique keepsakes that guests can take home as a reminder that there are “empty bowls” everywhere.

Against the Grain, a Chestertown bakery-café, is donating a variety of breads for the dinner.

Tickets at $20 per adult and $10 for students and children must be purchased in advance; no tickets will be sold at the door. Last year’s event sold out, so reserve your tickets early.

Organizers of the benefit include the Washington College Service Council and Office of Student Development, the non-profit Artworks art center, and Against the Grain. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 410-778-7752 or e-mail student_affairs@washcoll.edu.

Photo: Taylor Kelty shows off her bowl of choice at the 2011 Empty Bowls fundraising dinner at Washington College.

Men will Again Don Red High Heels to March for an End to Sexual Violence

CHESTERTOWN—It takes a big man to wear a woman’s high heels, and on Thursday afternoon, April 28, an event at Washington College will provide the perfect proving ground. Organized by the Office of Student Development and student interns, the second annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event will send men in bright red four-inch heels wobbling down Washington Avenue to raise awareness of sexual violence issues. Through registration fees and donations, the march also will support the Rape Crisis Center at For All Seasons, a nonprofit that provides mental-health services throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

The event kicks off at 4:30 in Martha Washington Square on the College campus. The actual march begins at 5 p.m., and ends about 20 minutes later in Fountain Park. Organizers stress that, while the heels will be issued only to the male participants who register in advance, everyone is welcome to don sensible flats or sneakers and accompany the men on their perilous walk. Supporters also can gather in Fountain Park to await the marchers’ arrival.

To register for the event, email Director of Student Development Beth Anne Langrell at student_affairs@washcoll.edu or call the Student Affairs office at 410-778-7277.

A $5 fee is required, with all proceeds going to For All Seasons. Each registered walk participant—male, female, heels or no heels—will receive an event T-shirt. Deadline for registering to walk in heels is April 18, however, registrations will be accepted until the start of the walk. (Rain date for the event is May 5.)

The Walk-A Mile events were started 10 years ago in California by Frank Baird, a volunteer with a rape-crisis center who labeled it “The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence.” There are now dozens of walks held in communities across the country.

Remember the Titans Coach, Herman Boone To Speak at Washington College April 6

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Herman Boone, former head football coach at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., and the inspiration behind the 2000 blockbuster movie Remember the Titans, will speak at Washington College on Wednesday, April 6. His talk, “Remember the Titans: A Lesson in Multiculturalism,” will begin at 5 p.m. in Russell Gymnasium, Cain Athletic Center, 300 Washington Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

Boone will provide the real-life story of his integrated T.C. Williams team and its efforts to overcome prejudice and racial tension and become champions.

Herman Boone began his career as a teacher and coach in 1958, leading football teams in Blackstone, Va., and Williamstown, N.C., to championship seasons. In 1971, after school officials in Alexandria merged three segregated high schools into one integrated one named T.C. Williams, they invited Boone to be head coach of their new football team. Boone’s approach to coaching not only produced a winning football team, but also tackled new challenges of integration, building positive race relations within the student body and the community.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Titans’ Virginia AAA State Championship game victory. Now retired from coaching, Boone frequently shares his story nationwide as a public speaker. His appearance at Washington College is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Department of Athletics, Student Development Programs, and Student Activities.

Empty Bowls Dinner Tonight to Help End Hunger

CHESTERTOWN—Washington College joins the international community in the fight against hunger with an Empty Bowls Project dinner to benefit the Kent County Food Pantry on Thursday, March 3 beginning at 5:30 in Hynson Lounge. Local potters, community members, and students joined ceramics professor Marilee Schumann in early February at an open studio “Bowl-a-thon” to make clay bowls for the event. The “Bowl-a-thon” bowls will be used to serve up to 100 guests a meal of soup and bread; at the end of the evening attendees will take home their bowls as a symbol of the “empty bowls” that can be found worldwide.

The Washington College Service Council has in years past held similar bowl-making events and then sold the bowls for donations to the local food pantry. This year, for the first time, student organizers Jesse Schaefer and Leah Sbriscia decided the Service Council would join the Office of Student Development and Chester River Artworks to host a dinner.

Empty Bowls events, first conceived by the non-profit Imagine Render Group’s initiative to improve communities through education and the arts, have been held across the United States and in at least a dozen other countries to raise money and awareness for organizations working to end world hunger.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and children. For reservations call 410-778-7752, or e-mail student_affairs@washcoll.edu.

Who's Really On First? Former MLB Umpire Talks About The Issues Of Sexual Orientation In Public And Private Life

Chestertown, MD, November 8, 2002 — Washington College's Office of Student Development Programs, Center for the Study of the American Experience, Student-Athlete Mentors, Campus Events and Visitors Committee, and the EROS Alliance present “WHO'S REALLY ON FIRST?”, a lecture by former Major League Baseball umpire Dave Pallone, Thursday, November 21, 2002, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Norman James Theatre. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
Pallone worked for 18 years as a professional umpire, 10 with the National Baseball league. His 1990 best selling autobiography, Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball, explored his life as a gay man in professional sports. As the third youngest umpire in the game's history, Pallone demonstrated courage and professionalism amidst the adversities, enmities and controversies of Major League Baseball. He has shared his unique perspectives on professional sports and the issues of sexual orientation through numerous television and radio programs, including Larry King Live, The Today Show, Phil Donahue and CBS Morning. In 1995, Pallone appeared on stage with tennis great Martina Navritilova at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for a candid conversation about their personal and professional lives—the first time two prominent, openly gay people in professional sports appeared on stage. Pallone was also featured in ESPN's 1998 documentary, “Homophobia in Sports,” and was recently named as one of the 100 Men of the Century by Genre Magazine. He has brought his program “Who's on First?” to dozens of colleges and universities and, through his work, has made a significant contribution to society by educating and enlightening people to the not-so-openly-discussed realities and issues of sexual orientation.