Photo Spotlights

Photography student Lauren Russell bids during the annual SPAS Holiday Auction on Dec.10. The Photo Sciences Club sponsored the event with nearly $13,000 raised. Proceeds go to Camp Good Days and Special Times and towards equipment for photo labs.

Photographer Eric T. Kunsman’s exhibition at Dyer Arts Center focuses on Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, which closed its doors in 1971 and is now a U.S. National Historical Landmark. Kunsman will give an artist’s talk about “Thou Art...Will Give...” in Dyer at 4 p.m. on Dec. 10. The exhibit is on view until Jan. 21 and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Kate Winnebeck, a senior environmental, health and safety specialist at the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, presented a workshop Dec. 9 on how to choose safer, environmentally friendly toys for children; identify sources for toy testing and product recalls; purchase used toys safely; and find eco-healthy toys at popular toy stores. For more information on NYSP2I, go to www.rit.edu/affiliate/nysp2i.

The Ukulele Club serenaded students on campus Dec. 6 with a selection of holiday carols. As the holiday season approaches, the fall semester winds down. Reading Day is Dec. 11 and final exams begin Dec. 12.

Artesano’s started a new holiday tradition with the Ugly Sweater Soiree on Dec. 5. Guests decorated cookies in ugly sweaters, played games and won prizes. From left, students David Frye, first-year COLA from Virginia, Jennifer Dami, second-year CIAS from Virginia and Sophie Stachowiak, fourth-year CAST from Michigan. Standing is Denise Newman, a supervisor at Artesano’s.

Kaitie Spaude, a first-year journalism/media arts technology student from Little Suamico, Wis., is educating her peers about the Nigerian Kibera slums for a project in her “Exploration of Places and Spaces” class. For 20 days, Spaude replicated the slum dwellers’ $1 a day diet and slept on a blanket instead of a bed in her residence hall. Read more in the December/January issue of Athenaeum or online.

Muslims on campus observe the Friday prayer in the Skalny Room. Muslim Chaplain Rauf Bawany delivered a sermon during the Jumuah Prayer.

Laura Nunez, a communication and media technologies graduate student from the Dominican Republic, was first in line for the FreezeFest kickoff Dec. 3. The 6th Annual FreezeFest weekend that celebrates winter activities is Feb. 19-22 and features comedian Bo Burnham on Feb. 21.

The kindergarten class from Margaret’s House Child Care Center at RIT created handmade ornaments and cards to sell Dec. 4 in the Student Alumni Union. Their sale is 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. or until their items are sold. The children raised $155 for the Rush Henrietta Area Food Terminal.

Clay Patrick McBride, shown here holding a critique of students’ work, joins RIT this fall as a guest lecturer in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.

Students from the CIAS Honors Program are offering family and individual portraits for the holidays. The funds collected will contribute to upcoming leadership trips. Here, Michaela Chapman, a third-year fine art photography student, photographs the Emerson-Jeremy family. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6-7, the students are available to photograph portraits in Gannett Hall, room 1104. For more information, including pricing and photo delivery, contact Debbie Kingsbury at dlkpgd@rit.edu.

A group of nearly 60 RIT students, faculty and staff held a peaceful, silent protest Nov. 25, the day after a grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo. The protest, held between Wallace Center and Liberal Arts Hall, lasted about two hours. Here, Lydia Moore, a fifth-year packaging science student in the College of Applied Science and Technology, hands out flyers with information.