Sounds from the Marching Mavericks

Marching band students are just flat out great. They're dedicated, talented and involved.

I stopped by practice this morning, and the Marching Mavs sound terrific. Here's a short sound file that provides a peek at what they do.

And Go Mavs! Beat Kearney!



The band keeps a weblog too -- Marching Mavs 2007-08.

Durango Days Service-Learning Slide Show Online

UNO student Jeffrey Lipschultz has posted a slide show of photos from the 2007 Durango Days Service-Learning project online at http://www.unomaha.edu/humanics/durango07/ .

The UNO Service-Learning Academy and American Humanics organized four service activities for incoming freshmen just prior to the start of the semester on Aug. 24. Students rode buses to four community agencies in Omaha--Social Settlement, the South and North Omaha Boys and Girls Clubs and Turning Point--where they participated in a variety of volunteer projects, which included painting, weeding, tree trimming, developing trivia games and playing with children.

Student Housing Safety Story Ran Last Night
WOWT did a nice job with the topic of student housing safety. And RA Matt Nash gave a great interview. Here's the link to the story (and it includes video) --

Dorm Fire Threat A Concern As Classes Resume

Christensen Named NCC Offensive POW
Middle blocker Carlie Christensen has been named the Offensive Player of the Week by the North Central Conference for her performances in the Mavericks' four matches last weekend in the UNO Classic.

Want to know more? Click here.




Mavericks Elect 4 Captains
Three seniors and a junior have been elected captains of the 2007 Maverick football team. Zach Miller, Ben Hochstein, Amp Ferg and Randy Kush have earned the honor by a vote of their teammates. Want to know more? Click here.

A welcome back experiment . . . voices from campus

Here are a handful of voices from campus (the first one is mine, should have spoken louder.) I recorded this straight into a laptop with a USB microphone. It's a new way to tell the UNO story.

More Welcome Week photos

Tim Fitzgerald put together a Welcome Week slide show that's featured in his Through the Lens area of the UNO web site. Check it out by clicking on Welcome Week, Aug. 28.

If you make it to the end of the slide show, there's a photo of a guy in a bunny costume. Kid you not.

Nothing like getting a shout out . . .

. . . and the Gateway is going to be blogging and blogging and blogging.

The link -- We're dipping our toes in the pool of new communication technology

Smart idea from a smart bunch of students.

Soccer road trip results
I'm hoping for a slide show on the soccer team's road trip to California.

Here's the World-Herald story on how they finished.

UNO Women's Soccer: Mavericks fall to No. 5 team

Welcome Week Slide Show

The band? Loud. The food? Free. The people of UNO? Great. And here's a slide show. Happy 2007-08!

Sure hope people are finding parking . . .

. . . and staying patient . . . and having a sense of humor.

It's getting warm out there, too.

See you out in front of the student center.

It's the first day, it's early . . .

. . . and I just went on KETV to talk about the 2007-08 academic year. I'll be on 96.1 at 7:20 a.m., too.

What I'm really looking forward to is Welcome Week. Career Exploration and Outreach is helping us out with an iPod raffle, I'll take some photos, hand out info. on Maverickland, etc.

And for those keeping track -- coffee from a vending machine (even a new vending machine) is still only sort of coffee.

And here's a link to a short, short video called Road Movie to Omaha. Chris Machian, a UNO grad I've mentioned before posted it, and it's interesting.

More later.

A short post . . . for grad students

The Office of Graduate Studies will be open from 7:30 am-6:00 pm Monday, August 27 thru Thursday, August 30 to deal with graduate student issues. If you have any questions please feel free to contact our office at 554-2341.

Durham Science Center Computer Lab to Open Sept. 4

Due to construction delays, 104 Durham Science Center (DSC) Computer Lab will not open until Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 a.m.

"The renovations to the Durham lab will be great for the students. We've got updated lighting, new carpet, new ceiling tiles and updated software on the computers," said Tony Baker Information Technology Services (ITS) lab manager. "I'm just sorry that it's not complete for the first day of classes."

The DSC lab is planning to begin normal operation hours, Sept. 4, according to the following schedule:

- Monday through Friday
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

- Friday
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To locate other open campus computer labs, go to http://its.unomaha.edu/labs.php.

The countdown to the start of 2007-08 . . .

. . . is underway. Parking, like any year, will be a bit of a challenge. Even with that, this may be my favorite time of year.

And so everyone knows -- there's likely to be a KETV live remote on the morning newscast from campus.


New UNO Basketball Assistant
A headline from the Omaha World-Herald -- UNO hires new full-time basketball assistant

Not as cool as the NY Times, but . . .

. . . I talked about UNO parking on KFAB this morning -- the show hosted by Scott Voorhees. It was a lot of fun and I got a chance to answer a few student parking questions. What I said to one student I say to everyone -- I'd enjoy meeting people at the University Relations table on Aug. 27 during Welcome Week in front of the Student Center. There will be a giveaway, too.

The Welcome Week info is right here.


A small experiment . . .
And here's a little audio experiment. The soundfile is from January. Hope this works.

A UNO alum with a photo credit in the NY Times

Chris Machian is a guy I've known for quite some time. He's a genius at the Apple Store on the weekend . . . but I think of him first and foremost as one of the most talented photographers in the city. He came through UNO and worked and worked and worked for the Gateway.

He has a photo in the NY Times today --

Yankee With Bright Future Is Guided by His Past

The photo is the portrait shot of Harlan Chamberlain.

And a quick note . . .

The big TV screens in the Milo Bail Student Center food court are flat out gorgeous.

People heard me on KFAB this morning . . .

. . . talking about parking at UNO as the campus heads into fall.

I'll be hammering away at this in every way I know -- please consider using the shuttle service from the Crossroads Mall. It's simple, quick, free and will help anyone -- students, faculty, staff -- avoid any early semester parking headaches. 1,500 stalls are just there for the taking.


Baseball and summer
Summer isn't over yet. The School of Communications had a night at the ballpark at the end of last week. Click here for the slideshow.

UNO student shooting photos for Omaha.com
Patrick Doty must be a busy guy. He's on staff at the Gateway and he's also shooting weekend assignment photos for Omaha.com. Take a peek at what he put togther for omaha.com by clicking on his What did you do for the weekend? feature on the Surfside Club.

Mavericks Ranked No. 6 in NSCAA Preseason Poll

Taken straight from gomavs.unomaha.edu

"The University of Nebraska at Omaha soccer team is ranked No. 6 nationally in the NSCAA/adidas® Division II preseason poll.

The Mavericks return eight starters and 13 letterwinners from last season's 19-1-2 squad that advanced to the NCAA II quarterfinals for the fifth-straight season and won the North Central Conference title for the third-consecutive year.

UNO will open the 2007 regular season on Friday, Aug. 24 at Cal-State Dominguez Hills. The Mavericks will then travel to fifth-ranked UC-San Diego on Sunday, Aug. 26."

New Web sites for parking, construction

I've never written about the work that Stuart Wheat does for the university. He's just a wonderfully talented guy who puts together smart webpages for UNO. His latest two are extremely important as everyone gears up for the start of classes.

The new sites:
www.unomaha.edu/parking (Parking Place)
www.unomaha.edu/building (Building for the Future)

The latest information on any changes in parking lots, road closings, contruction issues, etc. will be maintained on the sites. Both are interactive, and have useful links that highlight campus plans, building designs and maps.

Check them out. They rock.

Writing Center hours for fall

The UNO Writing Center, located in 150 Arts and Sciences Hall, begins its fall hours Monday, Aug. 27, the first day of classes at the university. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday.

The center offers free assistance with any writing project for UNO students, faculty and staff. Trained writing consultants can help at any point in the writing process, from brainstorming to organizing ideas to editing a final draft. Visit www.unomaha.edu/writingcenter/ to schedule an appointment.

Criss Library will house a satellite Writing Center location Monday through Thursday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. for fall. No appointment is necessary for satellite consultations, but consultation time may be limited to 15 minutes if others are waiting.

Anyone with questions can call the main Writing Center at 554.2946 or send an e-mail to unowritingcenter@mail.unomaha.edu.

Sports links and stories today

Mavericks Picked to Win NCC Soccer
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The University of Nebraska at Omaha has been picked by league coaches to repeat as North Central Conference women's soccer champions in the NCC Coaches Poll released today.

Nebraska-Omaha, winners of three straight NCC titles, garnered six first-place votes with Minnesota State gaining the remaining top vote.

The Mavericks return eight starters and 13 letterwinners from last season's 19-1-2 squad that advanced to the NCAA II quarterfinals for the fifth-straight season.

Want to know more? Click here for the rest of the story.

Mavs Picked 2nd, 3rd in Preseason Football Polls
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The University of Nebraska at Omaha football team was picked to finish second in the 2007 North Central Conference preseason media poll released today. The Mavericks finished third in the voting by league coaches.

In 2006, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota tied for the NCC title while Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota and South Dakota made the field for the NCAA Division II Championship. North Dakota downed Winona State and Nebraska-Omaha before falling to Grand Valley State in the playoffs while Nebraska-Omaha received a first-round bye before being defeated by the Fighting Sioux. South Dakota won a thriller over Northwood in its first round playoff game before being stymied by Grand Valley State.

This season’s media poll marks the 53rd time that the media have made their predictions about the nine-team league that spans five states. Want to know more? Click here for the rest of the story.


Two Exhibitions on Tap for Maverick Volleyball
The University of Nebraska at Omaha volleyball team will hold two exhibitions this week in preparation for the 2007 season. This will be the first chance for both the public and the media to see the 2007 Mavericks in action.

The Mavericks will hold their annual Red-Black Scrimmage on Wednesday, Aug. 15 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Nebraska-Omaha will also hold an exhibition match against the Maverick Alumni on Saturday, Aug. 18. A 5 p.m. match will pit two Alumni teams against each other, followed by a 6 p.m. match with the 2007 Mavericks versus the UNO Alumni.

Want to know more? Click here for more information.

More parking information , , ,

. . . is in the pipeline. A webpage is in the works to update campus about parking at UNO as we head into the semester. It should be helpful to students, faculty/staff and the public.


This week's Through the Lens
Also -- here's a link to this week's slideshow on the UNO website. It's focused all on summer commencement 2007.

550 to Receive Degrees Today

Summer commencement goes a little quicker, but it's still a great ceremony. And how many events are there in life where people are honored for being smart and working hard.

To put people in the mood, a fast moving version of "Pomp and Circumstance."

Parking for fall

The Gateway did a great job with the parking issue for fall. Construction on campus means that there will be fewer spaces available for awhile. Check out the following --

Construction on campus cuts parking possibilities, mayhem ensues

and

Patrick's parking page: How to find that spot, avoid that ticket

Photos from UNO Football Media Day . . .

. . . are online at "Through the Lens."

And they look great.

Tim Fitzgerald does an amazing job.

Should have photos soon from football and volleyball media day

Tim Fitzgerald is back from a vacation and he attended yesterday's media events for football and volleybal (even with all the rain.) When the photos get posted, I'll link it up.

In the mean time --
UNO Volleyball: Mavs have Elite Eight in mind

and

UNO Football: 8-3 record OK for some, but not Mavs


And if you're out on Facebook, there's a new group out there --

Battle for the Victory Bell. There's a rivalry with Kearney?

Big edition of the Gateway. . .

. . . is out tomorrow. Even in this era of virtual everything, a big newspaper is sort of a wonder. Give the staff their due and pick one up. And if you think you can do better . . . come on down to the newspaper office in the student center and take a story assignment. Lots of stories to go round.

Facebook vs. MySpace

So I'm out running this morning, listening to a podcast of NPR's "On the Media." The show is focused on communications--both traditional newspapers and broadcasters and "new" media--and they aired just a terrific piece on Facebook vs. MySpace. It's not as simple as liking one over the other, according to the researcher they spoke with. I know many students keep themselves involved in both social networks. Me? I've got a MySpace account, but hardly ever use it.

Here's the story, "Gated Social Networks."



And now to throw out a couple of question to readers:

• What are the positives and negatives to Facebook and MySpace?
• And should the university do more in either or both to better communicate with students?

Writing this blog and expanding my social network on Facebook has been incredibly positive for me as university communications person. The best stories an institution of higher ed has are, of course, focused on students. Keep the stories and information coming my way. I don't think I've ever written it quite this way, but UNO students are fascinating and cool.

And one more post -- Volleyball media day

Taken straight from gomavs.unomaha.edu

Maverick Volleyball to Hold Media Day on Monday
The 2007 University of Nebraska at Omaha volleyball team will hold its annual media day on Monday, August 6 at 3 p.m. in the Sapp Fieldhouse. The event will take place following the Maverick football media day which begins at 2 p.m. at Al F. Caniglia Field.

Coach Rose Shires, who is entering her 18th Maverick season, will guide a squad that returns five starters and eight letterwinners from last season's 21-7 team that advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for a third-straight season.

The Mavericks' 13-player squad will open the regular season on Friday-Saturday, Aug. 24-25 when they host the five-team UNO Classic.

Happy Friday -- one week before summer commencement

Long, long day . . . and when it's been a long day it's time for a little musical pick me up.

Just go to Slavic Soul Party!

Nothing like NYC style Balkan-soul-gypsy-funk.

Zombies (no, not on campus)

The editor of The Gateway, Scott Stewart, and I have a bunch of stuff in common -- both of us came out of Bellevue East, have birthdays in July, and have spent (in Scott's case, is actively spending) lots of time at the old college newspaper.

And we both agrees that the new online access to the back issues of the Gateway just provides a wealth of cool stuff to paw through. With that in mind, Scott posted this little gem from 2004 -- a review of The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. He wrote on his Facebook page --

"Are you prepared for zombie attack? (A Gateway review from 2004.) Actually, we were considering doing a photo poll of incoming freshman about this question. It's one important aspect of campus personal safety that often goes neglected during orientation, especially for those of us living on campus."

Just click on the graphic to read it---

Can't argue with it. I think it's safe to say the university is very much against zombie attacks.

Now a couple years back, we had the whole mountain lions in the metro and that generated some strange calls . . . another story, another day.

Library hours . . . they're changing with the season

Gayle Roberts over in the library keeps us on our collective toes. She's great about sending over events, changes, what's going on. And she's wonderful with UNO's students, too.

Here's the latest on library hours for after summer commencement and into fall that Gayle sent our way --

"The Criss Library announces the following change in hours for intersession, and hours for fall semester:

Intersession (Aug. 13th – 17th; Aug. 20th – 24th):
Monday-Friday 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Aug. 11th – 12th Closed
Aug. 18th – 19th Closed
Aug. 25th – 26th Closed

Fall Semester, regular hours:
Monday – Thursday 7:00 am – 12:00 am
Friday 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 12:00 am

Additionally, the Criss Library will be closed September 2nd and 3rd in observance of the Labor Day Holiday."