Photo Spotlights

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.

Members of the Women in Engineering program had a birthday bash with colorful cupcakes to celebrate Kate Gleason’s birthday. The college’s namesake, born on November 25, 1865, was a Rochester business leader, entrepreneur, engineer and the first female member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1998, RIT’s engineering college was named after her, and in 2010, RIT Press published her biography, The Life and Letters of Kate Gleason, sharing her inspiring story of success. Melissa Miller, a fourth-year industrial engineering student from Belvidere, NJ, arranged some of the 500 cupcakes to honor Gleason.

AJ Horde, a first-year business student from Oak Park, Mich., tallied a career-high 28 points, including six three-pointers, in an 85-73 win over D’Youville College on Nov. 23. He was last week’s Rookie of the Week. This week the team has been battling in the 49th Annual Wendy’s College Classic. The Tigers lost to St. John Fisher 70-45 on Dec. 3 and face Nazareth College in the consolation round at 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at the University of Rochester.

Students in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering’s Systems and Project Management class held a “Zumbathon” fundraiser on Nov. 20 to benefit CURE Childhood Cancer Association. About 30 people participated in the fundraiser, which brought in $165.

Faculty researchers Risa Robinson, left, from the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, and Gabrielle Gaustad, from the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, were among those who were introduced to “George?” at the Celebration of Research event on Nov. 20. “George?,” the brainchild of Deborah Gears, associate professor of information sciences and technologies, is a digital database and gamified experience that uses scholar trading cards. Using the database, RIT faculty researchers can create their own scholar trading card to be viewed and printed, and view and collect trading cards of their colleagues. The cards feature information that’s useful in building collaborative relationships across campus. Anyone with an RIT user ID and password will be able to view the entire collection and search for keywords of interest. The primary goal is to foster new connections and promote further interdisciplinary research. Visit george.rit.edu to learn more.

A celebration of Native American culture was held Nov.19. as part of Native American Heritage Month. The event included traditional games, crafts and food. From left, Juanita Sarmiento, Corinne Mendieta and Dwayne Harding play Jacob’s Ladder with yarn.