“Ciao,” “Grazie” and “Scusi” are just a few of the phrases that students in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design learn on the Italian Study Abroad Program. Students in this college are given the option to study abroad during the fourth year of the program. In 2010, 62 students chose to study abroad. The program has been offered for more than 20 years. In celebration of this cultural expansion, The Manhattan Arts Center is hosting an exhibition called “The Italian Connection.”
The exhibition will highlight students’ drawings, photographs, sketchbooks and visuals completed during their study abroad experience. Additionally, sketches and watercolors produced by numerous faculty members who accompanied the students on the study abroad will be available as well. The exhibition will also feature an authentic collection of Italian artifacts, including posters, books, pottery, flags, clothing, music, accessories, furnishings, a Pinocchio collection, a bicycle and a motor scooter.
“I wanted an exhibition to showcase the work of K-State students and to showcase my personal interest in everything Italian,” said Carole Chelz, the exhibition curator.
Chelz spent four months in Italy when her husband, Tony Chelz, accompanying students on the study abroad experience.
“Italians are very aware of where they are from,” Chelz said. “Every region has its own identity.”
Chelz enjoys all aspects of the Italian culture and has many artifacts in the exhibition.
“Many of the artifacts in the exhibition came from my house, but the pottery was borrowed,” Chelz said.
Chaperoning this cultural experience for architectural students has made Chelz more aware of the Italian landscape.
“Italians utilize and respect all of the landscape,” Chelz said. “There is a strict way of maintaining the country’s landscape. When an Italian wants to fix an older building, the blue prints must remain the same from the original building.”
Increased interest in this study abroad experience has developed two programs at Orvieto and Castiglion Fiorentino.
“My favorite part of the study abroad experience is being immersed in the culture,” said Brooke Swercinski, graduate student in architecture. “It is a different experience living in a culture opposed to just visiting.”
Swercinski studied abroad through the Orvieto program.
“The students’ experience of studying in unfamiliar environments heightens cultural and historical awareness and broadens professional horizons,” said Lynn Ewanow, associate dean and director of international programs for the College of Architecture, Planning and Design.
The exhibition is available until April 9 with a reception at the arts center on April 1.
Baltimore was not a single industry town like Pittsburgh. He said Baltimore seemed too complicated a setting because there were racial tensions that would possibly complicate the story. Those racial tensions developed from different migrations coming in and out of the city. Setting the story near Pittsburgh fit better, he said, because it was a one company valley.
As for telling the story from the different points of view of his characters, Meyer said that the audience gets a sense of each character as a person by reading from the character’s point of view rather than simply reading them as characters in a book.
“All these people are focused on their own problems,” Meyer said. “You see how much each one of their individual decisions affects everyone around them.”
Perhaps Meyer’s greatest challenge in writing “American Rust” was his section on Grace and writing from a woman’s point of view.
“You find some thread and latch on to it and use that to pull yourself inside a person’s psyche or consciousness and once you found that thing that you really understand about them, at that moment it becomes much easier,” Meyer said.
The audience seemed pulled into each excerpt Meyer read. The theater was silent except for Meyer’s voice humbly reading his own work.
“I thought I was reading a real Greek tragedy,” said Jerome Dees, former professor in the English department. “There was a sense of inevitability in the narrative and the characters had brought on their own fate, so to speak.”
“His chapter from the point of view of Gracie, I thought, was an interesting exercise of inhabiting the character and his projections of desires were pretty interesting,” said Dan Hornsby, a senior in English.
“American Rust” was a Washington Post Top Ten Book in 2009, a New York Times Notable Book, an Economist “Book of the Year” and a top 100 book in the Kansas City Star.
Meyers said he saw this story as being one about two guys. It gradually shifted to the story it is now.
“This is one of those things where you have a feeling and you kind of have to go with it, which is what, pretty much, all of writing is now,” he said.
“Martavious made some big plays and they all had confidence,” Pullen said.
K-State took a 41-38 lead into the locker room after Missouri fought to get a last bucket down in the post but could not convert. After Pullen’s resurgent first two minutes of the first half, he ended with 15 points and three 3-pointers at halftime. Missouri was led by Laurence Bowers, who chipped in 12 points. As junior forward Jamar Samuels had said earlier in the season, the Wildcats were “not” thieves in the first half, recording zero steals, while Missouri had five. K-State was also 5-of-11 from the charity stripe. During the break, the 1950-51 men’s basketball Final Four team was honored. Head coach Tex Winter led the team to a 25-4 record with one loss in the then Big Seven Conference.
The second half opened up completely different than the first. The game had been physical throughout, and it was not helping the Wildcats favor in the early minutes. A lot of loose balls and hard fought rebounds by the Tigers helped them to a 6-3 run led by Bowers’s four points and an easy layup by Kim English.
The bartering of baskets continued for the first five minutes of the second half, and Henriquez-Roberts was having problems avoiding foul calls.
Nonetheless, senior forward Curtis Kelly extended the team’s lead chipping in six straight points, helping the Wildcats go on an 11-2 run. Spradling also knocked down an open 3-pointer, once again forcing another Tigers timeout when the going got tough for them.
K-State was also using the shot clock well and using its new offensive set to diminish the Tigers defense. On the defensive end for the team, they were blocking shots, suffocating Missouri’s offense down low.
“Curtis played with unbelievable energy and focus,” Martin said. “Those are his two biggest challenges, and I thought he was really good with that today.”
With a little more than eight minutes left in the game, K-State was clinging to a 58-56 lead after Missouri’s Phil Pressey converted on two free throws. To make things a bit worse, Pullen was called for an inadvertent fourth foul while sliding to the ground for the ball. Head coach Frank Martin was livid by the call and let the officials know about it.
Like the first half, the younger guards stepped up in Pullen’s absence. Spradling and McGruder combined for 12 points over seven minutes. Russell also helped out, driving down the lane and getting fouled on a layup attempt and converting both free throws. K-State had a 69-60 lead, as part of a 9-0 run with less than four minutes to go.
“We had some turnovers during that stretch,” Anderson said. “K-State protects their home turf in a great atmosphere.”
Martin said the young players were a big part in helping the team get a win.
“Our bench has been good all year,” Martin said. “They’ve played consistently, and I’m proud of those guys getting it done without Jacob in there.”
Pullen came back into the game after a timeout and knocked down two key free throws to give the team a 71-62 lead. K-State closed out the game on a 20-10 run and won the game by 10 points.
Pullen finished the game and led the team with 24 points, while Kelly had 15 points and six rebounds. Marcus Denmon led Missouri with 22 points, while Bowers contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
“I hope when I look at the standings tomorrow morning it will look good,” Kelly said. “We are trying to get that bye in the Big 12 Tournament and hopefully the outcome will be successful.”