With the 2012 Presidential Election right around the corner, you’ll likely hear the number 270 tossed around quite a bit. It’s the required number of electoral votes a candidate must earn to be named president. Seems pretty cut and dry. Now throw the popular vote into the equation and you’ve piqued a mathematician’s interest.

Prof. Charles Wessell, assistant professor of mathematics at Gettysburg College, has been interested in the Electoral College for much of his career, particularly how the system provides the possibility of a candidate winning the presidency with less than half of the popular vote. Historically, it has happened several times. On three occurrences, a candidate not only obtained less than half of the popular votes, he even won the election with fewer popular votes than his opponent  (1876, 1888, 2000).

Wessell has done the math forwards and backwards and found numerous ways to accumulate the hallowed 270 electoral votes with less than a majority of the popular vote. In fact, for Wessell, it’s a bit elementary. The real joy of Electoral College math is in the extremes.

In a two-candidate election, what is the minimal percentage of the popular vote possible for a winning candidate?

The answer requires examining the work of a fellow mathematics scholar and “a vague understanding of algebra,” said Wessell, who has lectured on the topic and was recently highlighted in the September issue of Math Horizons, published by Mathematical Association of America.

To tackle the question, Wessell turned to the work of mathematician George Pólya, who crafted the paper, “The minimum fraction of the popular vote that can elect the President of the United States,” featured in a 1961 issue of The Mathematics Teacher. Exploring Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 and 4 of the Constitution as a word problem, Pólya calculated a minimal popular vote percentage within an assumed 1960 framework.

The framework, a few simplifying assumptions added to the equation to produce a more manageable working model, states that there must be 537 possible electoral votes (same as in 1960); there must be only two candidates (occasionally three candidates have run in presidential elections); each state must award all of its electoral votes to the winning candidate in that state (winner takes all); and the number of votes cast in a state must be exactly proportional to the number of U.S. representatives from that state (states may be over or underrepresented).

Pólya’s results: With slightly 22.08 percent of the popular vote, a candidate can collect the required 270 electoral votes for presidency within the 1960 framework.

And how could a candidate achieve this? Win as many of the small states as possible, by as small of a margin as possible – one vote. As for the states a candidate lost, he or she would need to utterly tank, earning zero total popular votes.

Polya’s findings are impressive, but Wessell wanted to do better. Is it possible to win by earning 18, 17, or 16 percent of the popular vote?

Wessell discovered that since the decision variable for the problem could only take two variables, zero or one, a losing state or a winning state, he could use Binary Integer Linear Programming (BILP) to solve the problem within the established 1960 framework and produce a lower result.

Wessell’s conclusion: With only 17.56 percent of the popular vote, a candidate can win the presidency within the 1960 framework (utilizing actual voting totals from each state for that election).  When working out the percentages for all other elections, including 2012, Wessell found that the popular vote for a winning candidate was typically as low as 18 to 21 percent.

Will we see this mathematically anomaly on November 6? Probably not.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition that includes Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate and other distinguished scholars among its alumni. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker, assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.

Prof. Rimvydas (Rim) Baltaduonis can do a lot. As assistant professor of economics at Gettysburg College, he explores academic interests in energy and financial markets, experimental economics, industrial organization, mechanism design, and game theory. Oh, and he speaks seven languages too.

But even Baltaduonis needs a helping hand once in a while.

Senior Taylor Smart is serving as Baltaduonis’ current research assistant for the 2012-13 academic year. It is a position that encompasses more than simply aiding his professor in tackling a lengthy to-do list; his role extends beyond the campus to the farthest corners of the globe.

“Right now, we’re attempting to recreate the Australian electricity market as an experimental program,” Smart said. “The ultimate goal of our research is to find out which dynamic pricing schemes will yield the greatest efficiency within changing electricity environments.”

With an overarching emphasis on smart grid development, the energy research project has the potential to have a major impact Down Under, but to get it off the ground, it first required an individual to take on the challenge of programming the experiment.

“I walked into [Baltaduonis’] office and he introduced the Australian project to me by telling me that my new job was to program the experiment. Mind you, I had no experience programming prior to this moment,” Smart said. “Rim is the rare type of professor who treats every student as though they already have a doctorate – [he] never places limits on you. So I accepted the job and began to learn about electricity.”

Smart’s programming efforts and interaction with Australian graduate students have provided him with the capacity to view the field of economics from a new global perspective. As the duo’s research continues to progress, Smart has also begun to understand and appreciate the countries’ unique differences in electric structures, systems, and economies.

A lesson that is fundamental to Baltaduonis.

“If you want to get to know the world, you have to get outside the classroom,” said Baltaduonis, who has conducted workshops in Australia, Guatemala, and Lithuania. “I encourage my students to see connections, not only in the U.S., but globally. These are experiences [students] would earn in graduate school – it looks great on their resumes.”

Julie Weisz ’12, a former Gettysburg research assistant, knows firsthand that working beside Baltaduonis provides a wealth of real-world experience that many undergraduates never have the opportunity to realize.

While at Gettysburg, Weisz’s work with Baltaduonis spurred her initial idea for an economics honors research paper, “Effects of Feedback on Residential Demand for Electricity in Demand-Side Management Programs,” which she later presented at the 38th Eastern Economics Association (EEA) annual conference in Boston, Mass. In her examination, she primarily studied electricity markets, deregulation, and how to make retail electricity markets more efficient – an endeavor that earned her an acclaimed senior Honors Thesis from the Department of Economics.

“With Prof. Baltaduonis’ help, I was able to find my passion, put it into action, and share it with the world,” Weisz said. “One of the first things Prof. Baltaduonis will tell you in his classes is that grades are less important than caring about your subject and making a difference. His words really spoke to me.”

Today, Weisz employs the skills she learned from Baltaduonis for an energy-consulting firm in Washington, D.C., The Cadmus Group, Inc. Launched into the world of green energy, she currently works to increase the energy efficiency of buildings.

And who does she credit for her success? A professor who may have a laundry list of goals, including global energy solutions, but one who always makes time for each of his students.

“Prof. Baltaduonis was inspiring and encouraging,” Weisz said. “He truly had an amazing impact on my life.”

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker, assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.

Gettysburg College's Department of Theatre Arts and the Owl & Nightingale Players student group will present Lynda Barry's “The Good Times are Killing Me” Nov. 8-12.

Performances in Brua Hall’s Kline Theatre, located on North Washington St., will take place at 7:30 p.m. except for Sunday, Nov. 11's matinee at 2 p.m. Admission is free of charge, but reservations are required for Nov. 9 and 10. The ticket office can be reached at 717-337-6060.

Barry's play, a semi-autobiographical comedic drama, “brilliantly captures the goofy sweet-seriousness of kids on the brink of adulthood. I hope the audience will laugh a lot and maybe cry a little too. It's just that kind of play,” director and theatre arts Prof. Susan Russell said. “I call it a 'poignant comedy'. The two main characters, Edna and Bonna, are twelve-year-old girls, and as such, they do a lot of goofy kid things. But it's also poignant because they're trying to negotiate the world of the mid-1960s when society is being rocked by forces way larger than themselves.”

The cast includes Emilie Woods as Edna Arkins, Cassie Gallo as Lucy Arkins, Rachel Marinello as Mrs. Arkins, Jeremy Savage as Mr. Arkins, Norma Dyer as Bonna Willis, Avery Lentz as Mr. Willis/Elvin Willis, Carolyn Castillo as Mrs. Willis/Kimmy, Kate Forton as Aunt Margaret, James Granderson as Uncle Don, Andrew Gorelick as Cousin Steve, Kierstan Devoe as Cousin Ellen, Sioban McIlhoney as Sharon/Mrs. Doucette, Kyra McFadden as Aunt Martha/Jackie, Wes Jackson as Reverend/Marcus/Earl Stelly, Dorian Jones as Bonita/Kimmy, Emily Resch as Theresa Doucette, and Samantha Mathews as Mrs. Hosey/Mrs. Mercer.

“We have such a terrific cast for this production,” said Russell. “Theatre is a fantastic place to build friendships and community. We get together, we laugh and we play. We all depend on each other and it's an awesome experience.”

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

Prof. Allen Guelzo will give a lecture, “Liberty and Union” on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. as part of the “A Walk Through the Civil War” lecture series.

The talk will take place in Gettysburg College’s Kline Theatre, near the intersection of Water and North Washington Streets. This event is free and open to the public.

The lecture is the second of a four-part lecture series to be held in conjunction with the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Subsequent lectures will be given on Feb. 20 and March 20, 2013.

The first lecture, “The Coming of the War” was held Oct. 17.

Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and a professor of history at Gettysburg College. He is formerly Dean of the Templeton Honors College and the Grace F. Kea Professor of American History at Eastern University. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.Div. from Philadelphia Theological Seminary, and an honorary doctorate in history from Lincoln College in Illinois.

These events are part of Gettysburg College’s American Civil War Sesquicentennial commemoration. The College will sponsor events and programs throughout the anniversary that runs from 2011-2015 with special focus on 2013, which marks the 150th anniversary of the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. For more information, visit www.gettysburg.edu/cw2013 and www.gettysburgcivilwar150.com.

Gettysburg College (then known as Pennsylvania College) played a vital role in the Civil War, with more than 200 alumni serving the Union or Confederacy, and the College’s Pennsylvania Hall functioning as an observation post and hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg. On Nov. 19, 1863, College students and faculty processed to hear Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Earlier in the year, an 1851 graduate of the College, prominent attorney David Wills, had invited Lincoln to deliver “a few appropriate remarks” at the cemetery’s dedication. Lincoln stayed with the Wills family on the square the night before delivering his famous speech.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college, which enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students, is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

Dear Campus Community, 

Gettysburg College will be open for regular business operations and classes will take place as scheduled beginning at noon on Thursday, Nov. 8.

Last evening the main power line into campus was compromised at 10 p.m. near the Jaeger Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Fitness. The College’s IT network, including email communication and website, went down around 11:15 p.m. The College used the emergency text messaging system as well as social media, phone chains, and residence assistants to communicate with the campus community.

Met-Ed First Energy, the service provider, first predicted at 2 a.m. early this morning that power would be restored by mid-afternoon at the earliest. However, Met-Ed worked with college personnel throughout the night to provide a temporary fix and restored power at 5:30 a.m. More information about a permanent fix will be shared in the near future.

Key information for the campus community:

Fall Convocation has been cancelled for Thursday, Nov. 8, and will be rescheduled.

Field trips and scheduled transportation will take place as planned.

The Dining Center and Bullet Hole will be open under normal operating hours. The Dive will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and The Commons will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Ike’s will remain closed.

The College’s IT network is functioning, including email communication and website.

All other campus operations will be open under normal operating hours.

Please report:

Safety concerns to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 717.337.6911.

Concerns about power in offices and classrooms to Facilities at 717.337.6700.

Concerns about computers and equipment to the IT helpdesk at 717.337.7000.

The College will also issue text alerts and voicemails to cell phones when necessary. Sign-up by logging into CNAV, click on My Place, My Settings and select My Preferences. Under Contact Devices add your cell phone number with area code in the box and submit. If you are registered and have not received recent alert messages, contact the IT Helpdesk at 337-7000 or ITHelpdesk@gettysburg.edu. 

Thank you,

Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT)

One might think the transition from Malawi to the United States would be difficult, but when Allan Kawala ’13 began his first year at Gettysburg College in 2009, he was prepared for the change.

“I’ve always told myself it doesn’t matter where I find myself. What matters at the end of the day is the attitude, the approach,” said Kawala, whose trip to Gettysburg was his first to the United States.

Originally from Lilongwe, Malawi, Kawala was the only one in his family to attend college in America.

“I go into a new place with the mindset that I’m not going to see myself as a stranger, but I’m going to see myself as part of that community,” Kawala said.

His approach in adapting to the Gettysburg community proved to be successful. In his four years on campus, Kawala became president of a student club, presented research in Texas, led a group of students to Kansas, organized a peace project in Malawi, and formed professional relationships and quality friendships bound to continue long after his graduation in May.

Kawala first heard about Gettysburg through the United States Student Achievers Program (USAP), a program offered by the U.S. Embassy in Malawi that introduces students to the American educational system and assists with the application and orientation processes. USAP identified Gettysburg College as an institution with excellent financial aid opportunities for international students. Kawala, who was familiar with the Gettysburg Address, felt an instant connection with the College and applied Early Decision.

Attending a boarding school for four years prior to enrolling at Gettysburg helped Kawala learn how to adjust to life away from home. Instead of traveling home on breaks from school, Kawala and his mother explored new places and cultures within Malawi.

“I would go to a different place where I didn’t know anyone and didn’t speak the language,” said Kawala. “That meant that I had to learn the language and learn to live with the people in that area. That was a big help for me – to be able to understand that my experiences are not going to be the same experiences as someone else.” 

Kawala can now communicate in eight languages. Through his exposure to different cultures within Malawi, he realized the importance of celebrating differences. This awareness contributed to his decision to major in sociology, a choice Kawala made before coming to Gettysburg, and is proud of four years later.

Promoting peace through song

Since his arrival at Gettysburg, Kawala hoped to one day apply his work within sociology to the struggle for peace among different cultures in Malawi. Through participating in Toastmasters, a club designed to help members improve their leadership and public speaking skills, and eRace, a group that meets weekly to engage in racial justice dialogue, Kawala gained the confidence and skills necessary to make his dream a reality. Kawala submitted a proposal for the Davis Projects for Peace grant through the Center for Public Service at Gettysburg College, and his project was approved for the summer of 2012.

As part of his Project for Peace, Kawala organized a group of nearly 20 people (pictured below) in Malawi to discuss the importance of embracing differences and striving toward peace. Although the group was small, they sought to deliver their message to a wider audience by composing a song that would promote peace and collaboration.

“For us, the song was putting a plug into the community. We could use the song to start a conversation,” Kawala said.

In creating the song, Kawala and the participants considered the interests of people within various demographics. He classified the song as a mix of hip-hop and reggae—hip-hop to appeal to the youth and reggae to target older generations. The song is relatable to many cultures as it includes references to historical and current events both inside and out of Malawi.

“Some of these issues happened a long time ago. Some of them are current. But we can still see connections and we can’t let those issues continue,” said Kawala, who viewed the song as a way to encourage peace in the present and also in the future. “It’s time for us to stand up and say ‘enough is enough.’ And we have to do this not just for the sake of our generation, but we have to think about our kids and grandkids.”

The group wrote, composed, and recorded the song in merely a few days, but their efforts did not end there. Kawala and the other participants uploaded the song online and began to spread its message to a broader community. Soon a radio station in South Africa found the song online and contacted Kawala and his group for an interview. By the time Kawala returned to Gettysburg this fall, the song had been played on radio stations in more than 30 African countries.

“The project gave me the opportunity to challenge the participants to realize we have differences, but to look for a way of using those differences to unite us,” he said.

Listen to the song here.

Embracing leadership in Gettysburg and beyond

As the ripples of his Project for Peace continue to expand, Kawala has been making waves at Gettysburg as well. Since his sophomore year, he has served as a leadership mentor for the Garthwait Leadership Center (GLC). In this position, he became closely involved with the Leadership Institute, a semester-long, seminar-style leadership experience offered to students. The program explores leadership through social justice issues and culminates at the end of the spring semester with a week-long immersion project at an off campus location.

Last year, Kawala took a group of 12 students from the Leadership Institute (pictured below) to Abilene, Kansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas, where they toured the Eisenhower Library and Museum, participated in the Five Star Leadership Program, and followed in the footsteps of the Little Rock Nine at Little Rock Central High School.

Read about the Leadership Institute trip here.

After graduation, Kawala plans to look for jobs in market research. He would like to eventually return to Malawi and apply what he has learned at Gettysburg to continue in an effort to promote peace.

“I feel like I’m changed,” said Kawala, looking back on his four years at Gettysburg. “I want to do something with my life—not try to make a name, but be able to look back 50 years from now and know I lived a life that was enjoyable, a life that was able to change peoples’ lives.”

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Article by: Liz Williams '13, communications & marketing intern
Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

Gettysburg College Prof. Russell McCutcheon has produced and directed a CD recording that introduces new musical works to the world’s recorded repertoire for chamber wind ensembles.

Cochran Chamber Winds Commissioning Series, Volume 1 is a compilation of four works commissioned by the Cochran Chamber Commissioning Project and performed by the Atlantic Chamber Winds under McCutcheon’s direction. It is distributed on the Mark Masters series label, the premier commercial recording label in the wind band field, and is available through the Naxos Music Library, iTunes, Amazon, and the College Bookstore.

The Atlantic Chamber Winds is an ensemble of professional musicians who came to together expressly for this project. Gettysburg alumnus Andrew Deen ’10 plays oboe on the album. Deen recently completed his master’s of music in performance at the University of Florida.

A chamber wind ensemble, often with one or two instruments voicing each part, provides opportunities for an exploration of styles and repertoire, McCutcheon said.

“Chamber wind performances are especially significant for colleges because the music is designed to be played by highly skilled musicians in situations when programs may not have complete instrumentation, McCutcheon said. He adds that much of the work that exists for these groups is aimed at less experienced musicians or is trans-cribed from work intended for wind symphonies or orchestras.

The Cochran Chamber Commissioning Project inspires and supports the composition of new music for these ensembles. Gettysburg College is a contributing member of the project, which allows institutions to pool resources for new commissions in return for performance rights.

“I think it is important that musicians hear this music and that the work is promoted among other music directors. In this day and age, we learn about new music through recording,” McCutcheon said. “Ours is the first professional recording for three of the pieces and the fourth was out of print, so, other than live performance, this is the only way to hear these pieces.“

McCutcheon received his Ph.D. in music education with a concentration in wind conducting from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is the director of bands and area head of music education in Gettysburg College’s Sunderman Conservatory. He received support for the project through a research and development grant awarded by the College fo

r enhancing instruction, research, creative endeavors, and professional activities. The grants are supported in part by annual giving through the Gettysburg Fund.

McCutcheon characterizes the season’s second release, “Loud, Proud and in Step” as “a celebration of one of the NCAA Division III’s premier marching bands.” One of the largest and most active student groups on campus, the Bullets Marching Band includes students from the Conservatory and many other majors.

“We wanted to promote our band program and create memories for current students, alumni, parents, and friends of the College,” said McCutcheon. “We also want to promote the band to prospective students and a wider musical audience, including music educators and band directors.”

The CD includes the Alma Mater, Bullets fight songs, a halftime revue, and other favorites. For that authentic feeling of live performance, the music was recorded in one 2-hour session in the College’s Majestic Theater on Nov. 14, 2011. It is published on the Mark Records label and available in the College bookstore.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Sue Baldwin-Way, director of development communications, 717-337-6832

Each semester, hundreds of Gettysburg College students take their studies off-campus – studying abroad in places as near as Washington, D.C., as far as India and everywhere in between. Students that study abroad have amazing experiences both in and out of the classroom, and often describe the experience as one of the most influential aspects of their academic career.

Some 57% of the graduating Class of 2012 studied off-campus for a semester or longer, ranking Gettysburg College eighth in the nation for liberal arts colleges according to the Institute of International Education.

Several students sent in photos and reflections on their time abroad. Find out more about Off-Campus Studies.

Vietnam

Alyssa Bosold '13– majoring in Globalization Studies and Environmental Studies, minoring in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Studied in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Favorite Class:
Independent Study Project on wood as fuel in rural Vietnam. Speaking with the women in the hamlet opened my eyes to the complexities involved with fuel use and cooking. This January, I am planning to return to Vietnam to learn more about the issue and to conduct research that I hope will provide more insight on alternative and renewable fuel options.

The photo:
Taken in the Mekong Delta on a boat ride through a protected mangrove forest. We learned about mangrove ecology and observed wildlife, including hundreds of nesting egrets.

Reflection on the experience:
Overall, I feel that my time in Vietnam helped me to grow as a person. Before leaving, and even immediately after I returned home, I didn't quite understand what everyone was talking about when they said "going abroad will change your life." However, reflecting on the experience has made me realize what a true impact my time in Vietnam has made on my decisions, values and perspective on the world.

Greece

Linnea Goebel '13 - majoring in Globalization Studies
Studied in Athens, Greece
Favorite Class:
Citizen, State, and Society: a Service Learning Approach

The photo:
On our visit to Olympia we learned about Ancient Greek athletics. In this photograph my classmates are on the starting line ready to run a race as it would have been done in the original Olympic Games.

Reflection on the experience:
Through one of my classes I had an internship with an anti-trafficking organization, Nea Zoi which means "New Life" in Modern Greek. While other students were busy marveling at the Parthenon, I was able to interact with girls going through one of the greatest injustices imaginable. I met girls my age who were sold into prostitution against their will and had no idea how to get out. We gave them a safe-house, information about their legal rights, counseling, and language classes so they could read the Greek laws describing their rights and options. In talking about this problem with Greek citizens, I also learned about the mind set that Greeks have today toward foreigners. On our historical excursions I learned about ancient Greece and was able to understand how their history has helped influence their current political, economic, and social mentality. For me, Greece was not just columns and Olympic stadiums, it was a chance to fully understand how a modern society is never truly separated from it's past.

India

Colleen Cable '13 - majoring in English with a Writing Concentration
Studied in Jairpur, India
Favorite Class:
Independent Study Project in the tea gardens.

The photo:
Taken in Darjeeling, India. I did a month-long study on the tea gardens and the tea workers in Darjeeling, India. Nearly everyone who lives in Darjeeling either works in the gardens or is related to someone who works in the gardens. The tea pickers need only pick the top two leaves off of every branch because they will produce the highest quality tea, something Darjeeling is known for the world over. Even in the monsoon season, the tea workers are out picking leaves from 7 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Reflection on the experience:
My time in India was a whirlwind of an experience. My conception of the world is radically different from the one I had when I left. I have found through studying abroad in India that poverty, family, and education are not necessarily as I thought they were. Being back in Gettysburg is great, but strange. India made me constantly question who I was and what I was doing. Being comfortable again and being secure in my sense of place again is a very uncanny experience. It's like I've been here before, but somehow it's all changed.

Greenland

Jessica Lee '13 - majoring in Environmental Studies
Studied in Copenhagen, Denmark
Favorite Class:
Climate Change in a Historical Perspective. We studied ice ages and climate changes of the past in order to understand future implications of climate change. We had the unique opportunity to visit the Center for Ice and Climate at the University of Copenhagen, a world-renowned polar research center, where our professors worked as ice core scientists.

The photo:
Taken while dog sledding in Greenland. We were given sealskin outfits to keep warm and to fully experience the traditional mode of transportation. The dogs were arranged in a fan formation to distribute their weight across the frozen lakes as well as to travel faster in open lands. Our guides taught us the basics of dog sledding as well as the ecological, glacial, and social aspects of this unique country.

Reflection on the experience:
The entire study abroad experience was absolutely fantastic! While in Denmark, I lived with a host family who were the kindest and most inclusive family. They will always be a part of my life. We shared our culture, food, stories, and lives. I couldn't think of a better way to immerse myself in the Danish culture than by living with a host family.

The academic opportunities were also a huge part of my life in Denmark. The Danish Institute for Study Abroad focuses on hands-on learning with many field trips and study tours related to our course work. With my Sustainability in Europe class, we traveled to Sweden, Germany, and many companies and locations near Copenhagen. Having the opportunity to visit and study Greenland was the highlight of my semester abroad!

Chile

Rorie C. Lentz '14 - majoring in Psychology, minoring in Spanish
Studied in Chile
Favorite Class:
Philosophy

The photo: "Balance"
A Mapuche (an indigenous tribe of Chile) woman harvesting her potatoes. The Mapuche believe that everything is a part of everything, and that we are all connected. If we treat nature fairly, we will be treated fairly in return. In this photo, I tried to capture that balance and her connection with the earth.

Reflection on experience:
My experience abroad was something I will forever carry with me. Chile has a special place in my heart, and I am proud of how it helped me grow. I learned so much about Chilean culture, but more importantly about myself. I loved studying abroad so much, that I am going abroad again next semester!

Tanzania

Lauren Trotter '13 - majoring in Health Sciences
Studied in Nairobi, Kenya
Favorite Class:
Nutrition

The photo:
Taken during spring break to Tanzania. I spent three days with a Maasai tribe, a group indigenous to Kenya and Tanzania. In the photo, we are making traditional Maasai jewelry from multicolored beads. This woman and I exchanged bracelets, a sign of honor and friendship.

Reflection on the experience:
Studying abroad in Kenya was the most exhilarating experience of my life because it really took me out of my element. I witnessed things that people living in our country could never fathom. It removed everything materialistic from my life and every ounce of control I had on my surroundings, and in doing so, I experienced true fear, the natural good of mankind, and the beauty in just living simply.

China

Michael James Boyland '13 - majoring in Organization and Management Studies, minoring in Economics and East Asian Studies (Specialization in China)
Studied in Beijing, China
Favorite Class:
Chinese Language Class. I took 2.5 hours of Chinese language every day. I had taken two years of Chinese prior to going abroad, but spending that much time in a language class was intimidating to me. After two weeks of taking the class, I feel in love with the language. My teacher was absolutely fantastic. We took field trips around Beijing, did projects in the community and learned a great deal. It was amazing to see my language skills improve so quickly while obtaining a greater understanding of the Chinese culture.

The photo:
On a bullet train traveling at 310 km/h (200 mph).

Reflection on the experience:
Studying abroad has been without a doubt the most rewarding experience of my time in college. Traveling to China took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to learn so much not only about myself but also about the culture and language I was studying. I was able to meet some great people and make some amazing long lasting friendships. I learned about a different culture and was able to obtain a greater respect for differences among people.

Washington, D.C.

Abdur Rehman '13 - majoring in Mathematical Economics
Studied in Washington, D.C. with the Lutheran College Washington Semester
Favorite Class:
Business and Public Policy. We looked at how the lobbying industry has blocked regulation against tobacco, big oil companies and Wall Street.

The photo:
A small group of students were given the opportunity to see President Obama entering Marine One.

France

Suzy Englot '13 - majoring in Environmental Studies and Public Policy
Studied in Paris, France
Favorite Class:
French and European Policy

The photo: "Regarde le ciel"
My friends and I were walking on a side street one day early on in the semester when we were first exploring Paris. I think it encapsulates what you should strive to do when you are abroad: take the road less traveled, enjoy what is around you, and always look up at the sky.

Reflection on the experience: Studying abroad was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, filled with so many unforgettable moments. I learned a lot about myself, grew to be a stronger and more independent individual, and made lasting friendships that I never could have made otherwise.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Gettysburg College alumnus and AT&T Vice President of Customer Service Jack Duffy ’79 knows where to find stellar job candidates who will do great work – his alma mater.

Twenty recent grads have joined the ranks at AT&T, many of whom are now enrolled in the company’s prestigious and demanding Business Sales Leadership Development Program in Atlanta. For Duffy, the early success of these young alums comes as no surprise.

“Our business is a relationship business finding solutions for our customers’ business growth. A great liberal arts education prepares you for this challenge,” he said. “Three out of six on our ‘Board of Success’ at the Leadership Program are Gettysburg alums. It’s just very impressive.”

As an accomplished and passionate supporter of the College and current member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Duffy knows what it means to be “Gettysburg Great.” Throughout his years on campus, he has witnessed numerous other promising undergrads blossom into dedicated leaders in their professions, both at AT&T and throughout the nation. This transformation, from a youthful first-year to a skilled contributor of the workforce, is an essential component to the higher education experience – one that is actively reinforced by Duffy and the College’s Center for Career Development (CCD).

“We have an outstanding CCD team and program,” said Duffy, who has served as a career-planning mentor for students for more than five years, often working side by side with the CCD.  (He has served as a mentor at AT&T for 25 years.)

More than simply a resource for networking, interviewing and resume tips, the CCD connects students with alumni and parents through internships, job shadowing, career immersion trips, network dinners, and externships.

Externships, unlike internships, typically only last a week, but include intensive job shadowing to provide a glimpse into the daily life of a student’s desired profession. Duffy has hosted many Gettysburg students for opportunities at AT&T and has been thrilled with the results.

“Students love the program,” he said. “When they come for the week, they are given opportunities that many current associates never experience.”
With help from the CCD, Duffy is not only building tomorrow’s business leaders, but also forging a path to success for his fellow Gettysburgians.  

“I love my college. If alums really assessed what Gettysburg meant to their success, their college experience, they would want to find ways to pay it forward for current students.”

Read more about Duffy’s history of helping students.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition that includes Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate and other distinguished scholars among its alumni. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.

On Nov. 19, the 149th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg College will join with community partners to recognize Dedication Day 2012. A number of events are planned throughout Gettysburg to commemorate the historic occasion.

Dedication Day program featuring filmmaker Steven Spielberg at Soldiers’ National Cemetery

The Dedication Day program will take place Nov. 19 at Soldiers’ National Cemetery, located along Taneytown Road. It begins with a 9:30 a.m. wreath laying ceremony at Soldiers' National Monument. The ceremony, with speakers including filmmaker Steven Spielberg (pictured left, director and producer of the new film Lincoln– in theaters Nov. 16) begins at the Cemetery’s Rostrum at 10 a.m.

Previous speakers include Harry Truman, Colin Powell, Sandra Day O’Connor, Tom Brokaw, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ken Burns.

The Lincoln Fellowship in conjunction with Gettysburg College, Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation sponsors the event.

The program is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, and the public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held at Gettysburg College’s Ballroom, located in the College union building along W. Lincoln Ave.

Fortenbaugh Lecture and Shaara Prize

Gettysburg College’s Majestic Theater will host the 51st Annual Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Steven Hahn (pictured right), professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, will present, “The Dimensions of Freedom: Slave, Emancipation, Indian Peoples, and the Projects of the New American State.” The lecture is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Gettysburg College’s Civil War Institute and Department of History.

In addition to the lecture, the $5,000 Michael Shaara Prize for Excellence in Civil War Fiction will be awarded to Sharon Ewell Foster (pictured below) for her book The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part One: The Witnesses, A Novel.

As noted by the jury that selected this year’s Shaara Prize, “Foster tells the story of the 1831 Virginia slave uprising led by Nat Turner in the voices of multiple characters, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nat Turner, his mother, and the woman who kept him as a slave. Foster renders these voices masterfully, allowing readers to inhabit fully each character's life circumstances and state of mind. Moving and profoundly humane, the novel is a riveting account of crucial events on the timeline toward Civil War.”

Prior to the lecture and awarding of the prize, a book discussion will be held on Hahn’s book The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom (Nathan I. Huggins Lectures) Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The discussion is free and open to the public, and will be held in Breidenbaugh Hall, located at the intersection of North Washington Street and Lincoln Avenue. Books are available for purchase at the College’s Bookstore.

About the Fortenbaugh Lecture

The lecture was sustained during its first two decades by an endowment contributed by Mr. and Mrs. Clyde B. Gerberich of Mt. Joy, Pa., in honor of Fortenbaugh, who taught history at Gettysburg College from 1923 until his death in 1959. The endowment has been substantially supplemented by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Harry D. Holloway Fund and Helwett Foundation. Bruce Catton delivered the first Fortenbaugh Lecture in 1962. He was followed by, among others, David Herbert Donald, John Hope Franklin, David Brion Davis, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., C. Vann Woodward, Eric Foner, John Keegan, Drew Faust, Jean H. Baker, Ira Berlin, and Gary Gallagher.

About the Shaara Prize

The Michael Shaara Prize was established in 1997 by Gods and Generals author Jeff Shaara, and is named in honor of his father, author of the novel The Killer Angels. The prize, administered by Gettysburg College, honors a novel about the Civil War and encourages fresh approaches to Civil War fiction.

Find out more about last year's Dedication Day commemoration.

About Gettysburg College and the American Civil War

These events are part of Gettysburg College’s American Civil War Sesquicentennial commemoration. The College will sponsor events and programs throughout the anniversary that runs from 2011-15 with special focus on 2013, which marks the 150th anniversary of the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. For more information, visit www.gettysburg.edu/cw2013 and www.gettysburgcivilwar150.com.

Gettysburg College (then known as Pennsylvania College) played a vital role in the Civil War, with more than 200 alumni serving the Union or Confederacy, and the College’s Pennsylvania Hall functioning as an observation post and hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg. On Nov. 19, 1863, College students and faculty processed to hear Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Earlier in the year, an 1851 graduate of the College, prominent attorney David Wills, had invited Lincoln to deliver “a few appropriate remarks” at the cemetery’s dedication. Lincoln stayed with the Wills family on the square the night before delivering his famous speech.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college, which enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students, is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

A lecture on the theory and practice of public health surveillance will take place on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Masters Hall's Mara auditorium, Room 110 at Gettysburg College.

Dr. Andre Weltman, M.D., M.Sc., who works in the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, will discuss "Information for Action: Public Health Surveillance from the State Health Department Perspective." Surveillance is the backbone of modern epidemiology and public health at the level of local, state, and federal health departments – collecting data on disease occurrence in order to detect and stop outbreaks while they occur, and perhaps learn something to prevent future outbreaks. For example, detecting an ongoing foodborne outbreak may allow for the recall of implicated food from the marketplace to prevent additional illness, as well as identify a practice or product that the food industry or the consumer needs to alter in the future.

Dr. Weltman is board-certified in the field of public health and general preventive medicine. His medical training was in New York City, after which he spent two years assigned to the New York State Department of Health as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1995 he came to the Pennsylvania Department of Health where he works on a broad range of infectious diseases, including foodborne outbreaks, Legionnaire's Disease, rabies, and meningitis.

This seminar program is supported by a grant to Gettysburg College from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Precollege and Undergraduate Science Education program.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and scienceswith a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college, which enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students, is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

When Sarah Eno ’84 boarded a plane to Greece with the Gettysburg College classics department as an undergraduate over 25 years ago, she had no idea that one day she would be traveling to Europe on a monthly basis as part of her career.

Eno, now a physics professor at the University of Maryland, has been involved in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment that discovered what many scientists believe to be the Higgs boson, the particle thought to give all matter its mass. The CMS experiment is based at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located just outside Geneva, Switzerland.

While her trip to Greece as an undergraduate was her first experience in Europe, she now plays a significant role in the global scientific community. Eno (pictured below, at the European Organization for Nuclear Research) began working on the experiment at the LHC in 1999 and expects to remain involved as the project further develops. When the media erupted in coverage of the monumental Higgs boson discovery earlier this year, she was right in the middle of the action.

“It’s an exciting time for my field,” said Eno, whose mornings often consist of video conferences with colleagues in Europe. For a long time she made a trip to the LHC every month, but she has recently cut down to four trips per year.

Working at the LHC is a collaborative effort. Eno is one of five University of Maryland faculty members involved with the experiment out of over 3,000 scientists from around the globe. Contributing to such a large and ground-breaking experiment has been an exciting experience for Eno. Not only has she grown as a scientist through her participation on the experiment; she has also developed a more global perspective and connected with professionals all over the world.

Her research has had a truly global impact, and Eno credits her time at Gettysburg College as influential in getting her to that point.

“I had a wonderful experience at Gettysburg with both the physics and math departments,” said Eno, who graduated with a major in physics and a minor in math.

She recalls doing research as an undergraduate with Dr. Laurence A. Marschall, and learning practical skills that would contribute to her future success in the academic and scientific communities.

“I remember Sarah very well. She was a wonderful student to work with—very smart and very hard working,” said Marschall, who still teaches at Gettysburg today. “Her project was to build a computer-controlled photometer for the college observatory—a device to measure the brightness of stars…The project was state of the art for the time. I hope that work helped her in her future research.”

In addition to sharpening her research skills, Eno learned how to write effectively during her time at Gettysburg, a skill that would prove essential when communicating the results of her work in later years.

“What surprised me after leaving Gettysburg was how much I have to write,” Eno said. “It’s not only about doing research; it’s about writing well, and the liberal arts education made sure I got that training.”

Her improved communications skills led Eno to success after Gettysburg as she pursued a Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Rochester and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago. In addition to the rigorous academics of Gettysburg that prepared her for life after college, she recalls other undergraduate memories with fondness, such as living in Patrick and Stevens residence halls and eating at the Lincoln Diner. Now living in Maryland, Eno enjoys coming back to Gettysburg for class reunions and revisiting the place where she first explored her passion for physics.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Article by: Liz Williams '13, communications & marketing intern
Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803      

Rabbi Steven Greenberg will deliver a lecture, “Religion, Sex and Gender: Ordering a Messy World,” on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. at Gettysburg College.

The talk will take place in Masters Hall’s Mara Auditorium, located near the campus fountain, and is free and open to the public.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Public Service, Fred Mahan Great Question Fund, Department of Philosophy, President’s Office, Department of Religious Studies, Judaic Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Rabbi Greenberg received his B.A. in philosophy from Yeshiva University and his rabbinical ordination from RabbiIsaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Since 1985, Greenberg has served as a senior educator for CLAL—a think tank, leadership training institute and resource center dedicated to building a Jewish life that is spiritually vibrant and engaged with the intellectual and ethical challenges of the wider world. 

He has conducted hundreds of leadership training programs for communal lay andprofessional leaders of Jewish Federations, synagogues and philanthropic institutions in over fifty cities in North America.

Greenberg is the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi and a founder of the Jerusalem Open House, the Holy City's GLBT community center. He appeared in Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews. In 2004, he finished a decade-long book project, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, which exploresbiblical, rabbinic, medieval and contemporary Jewish responses to same-sex relationships.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and scienceswith a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college, which enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students, is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

Africana studies Prof. Ashley Brown Burns, an expert in American race politics and public policy, and Classics Prof. Samuel Ortencio Flores, a master of philosophy and classics, joined Gettysburg College's faculty this fall as Derrick K. Gondwe Scholars. 

The Gondwe Scholars program, dedicated to increasing faculty diversity, memorializes economist Dr. Derrick K. Gondwe, who died in 2004 after teaching for 27 years at Gettysburg College, where he founded what is now the Africana Studies program. Born in Malawi, Gondwe was the first black person to earn tenure and become a full professor at the College.

The Gondwe Scholars program allows scholars to focus on scholarship by giving them substantial time for research, but also giving them ample time to plan out the course they are teaching.

Burns and Flores both attended liberal arts schools as undergraduates, so they are enjoying Gettysburg's liberal arts atmosphere. “Being at Gettysburg College has given me the opportunity to meet scholars, professors, and students across a broad range of academic fields and on a more individual level than I would be able to at a larger university,” said Flores. “I hope to contribute to the college's academic culture both inside and outside the classroom.”

“The people are the highlight of Gettysburg,” Burns agreed. “The faculty, staff, and students are all focused on investing in each other. It's a great environment to learn and live in. I feel honored to have this opportunity.”

Burns and Flores also feel strongly about the importance of diversity on campus and are proud to contribute to that as Gondwe Scholars.

About Burns

Ashley Brown Burns is a PhD Candidate at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Ashley completed her Masters in Public Policy and Graduate Certificate in African and African American Studies at Duke. She received her BA in Political Economy from Williams College. She is passionate about community outreach, especially in her hometown of New Orleans; and, has been the Director of the Duke Engage New Orleans civic engagement program for the past five years.

Burns will be teaching Perceptions vs. Realities: Poverty, Race and Housing Policy in Urban America in the Spring of 2013 as a part of the Africana studies department. This semester, Burns is working on research in the demolition of public housing communities in the south, gentrification, and race politics. In her research, she will be looking at issues of class and the way that lower income groups are affected after gentrification occurs.

Watch Prof. Burns' profile video.

About Flores

Samuel Ortencio Flores is a PhD candidate at The Ohio State University in the Department of Classics, where he also earned his M.A. in classics in 2008. He earned his B.A. with a double major in Latin and English with minors in Greek, philosophy, and creative writing at John Carroll University in 2007. His dissertation is entitled The Roles of Solon in Plato’s Dialogues, and it is a study of Plato’s use of Solon as a powerful rhetorical figure vis-à-vis the establishment of the practice of philosophy in fourth-century Athens.

Flores' recent work looks at Plato's dialogues in their literary context amidst Greek poetry, historiography, and oratory. He is currently teaching Latin 101 as a part of the classics department.

Watch Prof. Flores' profile video.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition that includes Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate and other distinguished scholars among its alumni. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Article by: Emily Kleinburd '13, communications & marketing intern
Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

In film, as in football, every detail counts. From the shading of the backdrop–to the angle of the lights–to the focus of the camera, it all makes a difference in the end product. Just ask the Baltimore Ravens video production team.

Last week, the Ravens opened their doors to Gettysburg College film students to emphasize the importance of becoming detail-oriented filmmakers in the world of visual media.

“What was most eye-opening about the experience was getting to see the attention to detail and the significant time [they] put in to prepare for such short, quick segments,” said Jason Travaglini ’14 of witnessing the production of Ravens Report, a television show highlighting the National Football League team.

“Everything that is in a shot has the potential to tell part of the story, and these seemingly trivial details cannot be overlooked,” Ellen Eickenhorst ’13 said. “It is very important to keep your shot visually interesting by using props and careful lighting.”

The Ravens video production team worked with the students to adjust high-powered lights, both on the ceiling and floor, to ensure reflections and dark spots were not present on film. The crew also tapped into the students’ current knowledge of film to reveal unique techniques in camera movement and editing.

“A lot of the editing terms and basic camera functionality I've learned in class helped me understand much of what was being demonstrated throughout the day,” Jeff Lindstrom ’14 said.

“I understood how and why they were doing certain things, which helped make me less of a spectator, especially when we were asked to help with certain tasks, like relighting a scene or reframing a shot,” Eickenhorst said. “Most importantly though, it gave me a greater respect for what these professionals do, because having done it myself on a much smaller scale, I know how much work goes into making a short video.”

The students, joined by Prof. Jeffery Williams, adjunct instructor of interdisciplinary studies, and alumnus Pete Yingling ’62, also had the opportunity to hear Ravens Report commentary from acclaimed radio broadcaster Gerry Sandusky (no relation to Jerry Sandusky, the imprisoned former assistant football coach of Pennsylvania State University).

Sandusky, exalted as “one of the best in the business” by his Raven colleagues, advised Gettysburg students to focus on the timeless principles of film rather than ever-changing technology, and to always be eager to absorb new information made available from experts in the field.

And the students did just that.

“Having the opportunity to learn from those with such useful experience is always helpful when trying to understand something you have an interest in,” Lindstrom said.

“The more opportunities that place you in the field not only give you credibility, but [the experiences] teach and inspire you as well,” added Eickenhorst.

See more photos of the learning experience.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker, assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.

On Nov. 19, 2012, the 149th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, a famed filmmaker known for his ability to bring history to life spoke to thousands at Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg during the annual Dedication Day ceremony.

Standing on the ground that Lincoln dedicated 149 years earlier, Steven Spielberg, director and producer of the new film Lincoln, spoke of the humility he felt as he stood upon such hallowed ground.

He felt humility, Spielberg said, not only because he stood where Lincoln had delivered the most “perfect prose poem” in history, but also because of the soldiers buried here who, in Lincoln’s own words, had given the “last full measure of devotion” to defend liberty, equality, and a government of the people.

Spielberg continued by acknowledging the great place in history that Gettysburg still holds. Nearly 150 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, “Gettysburg reverberates,” he said.

“Gettysburg was the crux of our national trial,” Spielberg said. “[There was] such a concentration of heartbreak and heroism here.”

Spielberg spoke of his own passion for history, noting its importance, “Without history there is no hope.” He continued by acknowledging that without memory, we as a people learn nothing.

He also noted how much he enjoyed bringing Lincoln back to life in his new film, which hit theaters on Nov. 16. After recognizing the Lincoln scholars in attendance, Spielberg quipped to the crowd, “We’re all Lincoln obsessives now.”

Gettysburg College President Janet Morgan Riggs ’77 was also in attendance. She spoke about the College’s connections to both the Battle and the Gettysburg Address, including the fact that it was an 1851 graduate of the College, David Wills, who procured the land for the cemetery, invited Lincoln to deliver “a few appropriate remarks” at the dedication, and hosted Lincoln in his home the night before the Address.

Attendees heard from historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals, the book on which Spielberg based Lincoln, author and historian Harold Holzer, and representatives of the Lincoln Fellowship, Gettysburg National Military Park, and the Gettysburg Foundation. The commemoration was capped off with a naturalization ceremony for 16 new citizens.

Gettysburg College community members turned out in droves for the historic event.

James Frye ’16, a history major, attended because he “loves Lincoln and believes the Gettysburg Address was the most important speech ever given."

And it wasn’t just history majors who attended, as evidenced by Brynn Moynihan ’16 who is undeclared and Richard Huy ’16 who studies environmental studies and French.

“I saw Lincoln on Friday,” said Moynihan. “Although I’m not a history major, I’m interested in everything about the Civil War, and I wanted to see Spielberg.”

“It is amazing to see how many people [gather] to commemorate the brave and loyal people who fought here,” said Huy.

This event is part of Gettysburg College’s American Civil War Sesquicentennial commemoration. The College will sponsor events and programs throughout the anniversary that runs from 2011-15 with special focus on 2013, which marks the 150th anniversary of the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. For more information, visit www.gettysburg.edu/cw2013 and www.gettysburgcivilwar150.com.

View photos from the event.
Watch Steven Spielberg's remarks.

About Gettysburg College and the American Civil War

Gettysburg College (then known as Pennsylvania College) played a vital role in the Civil War, with more than 200 alumni serving the Union or Confederacy, and the College’s Pennsylvania Hall functioning as an observation post and hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg. On Nov. 19, 1863, College students and faculty processed to hear Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Earlier in the year, an 1851 graduate of the College, prominent attorney David Wills, had invited Lincoln to deliver “a few appropriate remarks” at the cemetery’s dedication. Lincoln stayed with the Wills family on the square the night before delivering his famous speech.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college, which enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students, is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

Zach Thomson ’15 turned in a record-breaking season on the wrestling mat in his freshman year at Gettysburg College. Most students would sit back and enjoy the summer months after a grueling year of academic study and varsity competition, but not Thomson. The wrestling standout packed his bags and spent the summer pursuing his career as a member of the U.S. Military.

Just one day before beginning his freshman season at Gettysburg, Thomson signed up with the Army Reserves. With his military duties looming on the horizon, Thomson left nothing on the table in his first year on the Bullets wrestling team. A former district champion and state qualifier at Mechanicsburg High School, he opened the 2011-12 campaign by winning his first 17 matches at 165 pounds and claiming individual titles at three different tournaments.

After suffering his first loss, Thomson would rack up 23 more victories in a row on his way to being named the Centennial Conference Wrestler of the Year. He finished runner-up at the conference tournament and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in La Crosse, Wis.

Thomson won his opening match at the national tournament by pin, but was upended in his second bout. He injured his shoulder in that second confrontation and was forced to withdraw from the event, ending his bid to become Gettysburg’s first freshman All-American since Bob Ortenzio ’79 in 1976. He finished the year 41-3, breaking Gettysburg’s single-season wins record previously held by Jake Dell ’98 and Matt Shank ’08.

“Zach got off to a great start and kept things going the whole season on the way to our single-season wins record and the Centennial Wrestler of the Year award,” said Gettysburg Head Coach Andy Vogel. “He set his goal before the season to become an All-American. It was a realistic goal that unfortunately was derailed by an injury at the end.”

On May 14, just two days after his last final, he shipped out to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for 14 weeks of basic training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Thomson would have little contact with his family and friends, aside from the occasional letter and a Sunday phone call.

Wrestling is a physical and grueling sport and as one of the nation’s top grapplers, Thomson maintained a strong work ethic to keep fit and healthy. But even his wrestling training regimen couldn’t entirely prepare him for the rigors of basic training.

“I did not think it was going to be as hard as it was,” recalled Thomson. “Physically, I thought I was in shape. But when I got there, once they start making you do everything, it makes you take a step back and think I wasn’t really prepared for this. They throw a lot of things at you. It’s kind of like wrestling where they throw moves at you, but in basic training they throw skills at you.

“Wrestling taught me self-discipline,” he added. “Watching your weight, knowing what you can and cannot eat; doing what’s necessary to get your weight down. You could see some of the other guys that didn’t have that discipline struggled with the training.”

After nine weeks of basic training, Thomson began his job training, or AIT. Thomson’s role was as a combat engineer where he worked with explosives. One of his favorite memories was a mission where his unit had to use explosive charges to get to high-value targets. After setting the charge, Thomson and his team hid behind a Kevlar blanket for protection.

“You stand 10 feet away at a 45-degree angle and you can feel the shock wave go off when this thing goes off and you can feel the heat wrap around the blanket,” he recalled. “Whenever you drop it you can see the smoke swirling, you can feel the heat, and you can taste the explosives in the air.”

Watch a video on Thomson here.

Thomson’s wrestling background also helped when it came time for his unit to train for combat. In a company combat tournament, Thomson took first place in his weight class, which featured competitors from 180 pounds and up. The Gettysburg grappler also led his platoon to the overall title in what Thomson described as “an all-out brawl.” Three competitors from the three platoons were sent into the fray. Thomson eliminated all of the competitors from second platoon and one from the third platoon.

The physical aspects aside, Thomson indicated the biggest obstacle in basic training was on the mental side, a trait he related to the wrestling mat.

“Mentally in wrestling you are put in some bad positions,” said Thomson. “You have to face getting hurt. It’s a physical contact sport. In the Army, in basic training, you also have to be looking at that. It takes a lot of mental toughness to do either.”

Less than six weeks after the end of his military training, Thomson and his Gettysburg teammates began preparing for another season on the mats. The 19-year old believes he has grown in a number of ways as a result of his military experience this summer and that will play a big role in his performance in the upcoming wrestling season.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much the Army has done for me personally,” said Thomson. “You feel like a stronger person and that you can overcome anything. I feel like that will help with wrestling. I had the confidence last year of being a good wrestler. With the training I did this summer and mental toughness they instill in you, it compares to nothing else.”

Vogel hopes Thomson’s time in the military and his personal growth will help the Bullets as a team. The squad is coming off a strong season in which it placed five grapplers at the conference meet and sent two to the national tournament.

“I expect him to take on more of a leadership role on the team this year,” said Vogel. “We’ve got a pretty good leadership core in place that’s he’s a part of. One thing can you see in any sport is that when someone achieves a certain level of excellence they can help bring their teammates along.”

“I’m really excited for our team this year,” said Thomson. “I feel like we have a lot of good talent coming in. We all have areas that need work and if everybody puts their mind to it and focuses on what they need to do, I feel like we could have a really good season.”

For Thomson, his individual goal on the mat remains the same - he wants to be the first national champion at Gettysburg since Craig Helmuth ’78 claimed the title at 126 pounds in 1975.

But Thomson’s ultimate goal lies beyond the wrestling mat. The sophomore, who is looking to major in history at Gettysburg, has his sights set on attaining his degree and then following his family’s path to a military career. His mother, father, two uncles, both grandfathers, and his great-grandfather all served in a branch of the military.

“I would like the military to be my career,” said Thomson. “Once I’m done with school, I’d like to switch to active duty. Right now, with the reserves, it works with school and everything.”

Thomson could potentially be pulled away from wrestling, and even school, should the military come calling. He missed Gettysburg’s season-opening tournament, an event he won as a first-year, due to weapons certification. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make for the betterment of his future career.

“I’m a soldier, first and foremost. I have to honor my military obligation before my wrestling.”

Read this story on GettysburgSports.com.

Contact: Corey Jewart, associate director of athletic communications, 717.337.6323

Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader will present the keynote address at Gettysburg College’s 29th Annual Fall Convocation on Dec. 6 at 11:30 a.m. in Christ Chapel on campus. The original ceremony, previously scheduled for Nov. 8 featuring Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Anthony Romero, was cancelled due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Nader, named one of the “100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century” by Time Magazine, is a consumer advocate, lawyer, and author. For more than four decades, Nader has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into public interest groups to advocate for solutions. He will relate the struggle for justice to the outcome of the 2012 presidential race and share ways to inspire us to take charge of America’s democracy.

The 2012 Silent Leader Award and the 2012 Faculty Award for Community-Based Engagement will also be presented at the event.

Gettysburg students established Fall Convocation in the 1980s to focus attention on current social issues. Past speakers include Maya Angelou, Jim Hightower, Jonathan Kozol, Benjamin Spock, and Rebecca Walker, among many others.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker, assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.

As part of their fall programming, the 2012 Eisenhower Institute (EI) undergraduate fellows have worked together to organize panels on a range of topics, each relating to some aspect of the 2012 presidential election. For each topic, two undergraduate fellows invited a guest speaker to campus and organized a corresponding lunchtime faculty presentation. Now that Election Day has passed and the heat of the campaign season has died down, EI undergraduate fellows reflect on the topics each lecture addressed.

For the first guest lecture of the semester, Katelyn Stauffer ‘13 and Alexandra Papada ’13 invited Anne Kornblut (pictured above) of the Washington Post for a discussion on the role of the female vote in the presidential election. Kornblut’s Sept. 20 lecture emphasized the importance of gaining the women’s vote in past elections and sought to assess how Obama and Romney would gain women’s votes in the 2012 election.

Undergraduate fellows Nick Jesteadt ’13 and Brencis Navia ’13 chose to address the topic of the economic influence on the presidential election. A discussion on Sept. 25 with professors Charles Weise and Rimvydas Baltaduonis, both of the Economics Department, preceded a Sept. 27 lecture given by David Lynch of Bloomberg News.

“Mr. Lynch displayed the knowledge that Nick and I were looking for in our search for our expert panel,” Navia said. “He brought a lot of experience that helped to shed light on a topic that many found interesting yet tough to follow.”

In his lecture, Lynch (pictured left, with Navia and Jesteadt) discussed the effect of the economy on campaigning and electoral outcomes in past presidential elections and made projections based on these insights for the 2012 election. The discussion explored economic factors that influence voters, including unemployment, GDP growth, and inflation.

Navia and Jesteadt, who have both explored their interests in economics during their time at Gettysburg College, chose to focus on the economy because they knew it would be one of the biggest topics in the 2012 presidential election.

“I saw this as an opportunity to understand how the macro-level economy works and what effects each policy proposal could have on the national economy,” Navia said.

In early October, fellows David Wemer ’14 and Rose Kane ’13 organized a faculty presentation and guest lecture on the role of religion in the 2012 presidential election. Panelists at an Oct. 2 lunchtime discussion were Professor of Religious Studies Jacqueline Robinson and Reverend Joseph Donella. David Masci (pictured below, with undergraduate fellows and Professor Shirley Anne Warshaw), a senior researcher at the PEW Forum on Religion & Public Life, came to campus on Oct. 4 to deliver a lecture, “So Help You, God.”

“In several of my classes here and for my research abroad I have relied on data from the PEW Forum for Religion and Public Life,” Kane said. “When we were asked to bring an expert to campus focusing on religion and the 2012 election, I immediately thought to look to PEW. After doing a bit of research, I found that Mr. Masci specialized in the study of ‘culture war’ questions that pertained heavily to the influences of religion on making electoral decisions.”

Masci's talk addressed the relationship between religion and science in several wedge issues, including gay marriage, abortion, evolution in the classroom, assisted suicide, public religious displays, and stem cell research.

The final presentation organized by the EI undergraduate fellows explored the role of campaigns and media in the 2012 presidential election. Anthony Palmer ’13 and Colin Gorman ’13 invited John Baer of the Philadelphia Daily News to participate on a panel with Political Science Professor Bruce Larson and Interdisciplinary Studies Professor Joel Berg on Oct. 16. The panel discussed the impact of an evolving media landscape on political campaigns and governance, with a focus on how the 24-hour news cycle has changed the campaign cycle in American politics.

“Our interest in this topic began when Colin and I spent the fall semester of our junior year studying at American University's Washington Semester Program. We were lucky to be in D.C. when the presidential campaign was first getting under way,” said Palmer, who also spent the semester interning on NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show.

“The news cycle is only getting faster. We are bombarded with a surplus of information every day. I wanted to approach our panel with the goal of exploring what these radical changes in the way we communicate and receive information mean for the future of American politics,” Palmer said.

He and Gorman planned to welcome Richard Benedetto, former USA Today White House Correspondent, for an Oct. 30 lecture, but Hurricane Sandy prevented his travel. The lecture will be rescheduled for the spring semester.

The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College is a distinguished center for leadership and public policy based in Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, honoring the legacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that develops and sponsors civic discourse on significant issues of domestic and international public policy.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Article by: Liz Williams '13, communications & marketing intern
Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803

Gettysburg College is bigger than a 200-acre campus in south central Pennsylvania – much bigger. The College not only produces graduates who live and work in locales around the world, but it also enhances global consciousness and multicultural understanding on campus through participation in the Davis United World College (UWC) Scholars Program.
 
“The program allows international students from United World Colleges to gain valuable educational experiences from institutions in the United States,” said Gettysburg senior and Mahindra UWC of India alumnus Samir Lalvani. “[It also] encourages us to showcase our knowledge and culture to create unity in diversity.”
 
Since 2007, Gettysburg has partnered with the Davis UWC Scholars Program, the largest privately-funded international undergraduate scholarship program in the world. The program, which assists more than 2,500 undergraduates from 146 nations, eliminates many of the economic obstacles facing today’s international students by providing institutional grants that support need-based scholarships.
 
“[The program] gives students the opportunity to reach high levels of education and become international citizens, which enables them to become the change-makers of tomorrow,” said sophomore Asger Hansen, a Norwegian citizen and participant of UWC Red Cross Nordic.
 
“Without the grants of the program, many UWC students would hold back from [attending any university] but their home countries’, which would, in a way, be detrimental to the UWC philosophy,” Lalvani added.
 
United World Colleges promote education as a force that can unite people, nations and cultures, and inspire peace and a sustainable future. To reach this end goal, however, the UWC movement requires a diverse cross section of students who can develop into effective leaders.
 
UWC scholars are initially selected by independent evaluation committees in their home countries. Once chosen, they complete their final two years of high school at one of 12 UWC sites around the world, including hubs in Hong Kong, India and the United Kingdom.
 
While at the UWC locations, students are taught nine central ideals deemed critical for the promotion of peace: international and intercultural understanding, celebration of difference, personal responsibility and integrity, mutual responsibility and respect, compassion and service, respect for the environment, a sense of idealism, personal challenge and action, and personal example.
 
Upon graduation, students have the opportunity to enroll at any of the 90 UWC partnering colleges and universities in the U.S. This year, Lalvani, Hansen and five other UWC students are building cultural connections and pursuing their academic dreams at Gettysburg.
 
“Gettysburg helps you realize your potential and has multiple avenues for [your] development,” Lalvani said. “Apart from the strong academics, [I’ve served as] a leadership mentor for the Garthwait Leadership Center and studied abroad in Florence last fall.”

Lalvani’s interest in studying abroad while at the College comes with good reason. In 2012-13, the College earned a No. 7 ranking in the nation by the Institute of International Education for mid-length (one semester) duration of study abroad among baccalaureate leading institutions. The school also ranked No. 27 for the total number of students abroad based on category.

From studying outside the country to inside Musselman Library, the international experience has been rewarding for the College’s UWC scholars.

“Gettysburg has forced me outside of my comfort zone,” said senior Monique Browne of UWC Costa Rica. “It has had its challenges, but overall, I would say that it has been a positive experience.”

“Although everything is very new [at Gettysburg College] and it takes some getting used to, people seem to be very nice and the academics are definitely of high standards,” Hansen said. “What I especially like about the College is that it has all the facilities you could possibly imagine to do whatever you want to do. Freedom is at the tip of your toes.”
 
Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition that includes Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate and other distinguished scholars among its alumni. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Mike Baker, assistant director of communications, 717.337.6521.