Tickets to University of Nebraska at Omaha sporting events are free for students with the use of their MavCARD. So, why should freshmen attend the games?
“It’s a great atmosphere to make friends in because everyone is so upbeat and excited to be there. It’s also a good way to blow off steam or take a break from homework in a healthy and fun way.”
Ashley Ortmeier, sophomore education major
“I love the competitive nature of our teams. I usually go to basketball or soccer games, but when I have time, I go to hockey games. They are the rowdiest.”
Hilario Mendez, sophomore computer science major
“My favorite part of attending UNO hockey games is how pumped up and rowdy our student section gets to support our hockey team. In the back of the stu-dent section there are big makeshift drums that beat along with the chants we shout.”
Mikala Hunt, senior biology major
“It’s fun and empowering when you’re able to be in a group and you’re all cheering for the same thing. It’s more than just a person or an athlete that’s on the team. It’s for a symbol that the university stands for.”
Joe Hagerty, master’s degree student
“I like UNO games because they give me a chance to represent my school and a chance to cheer on the Mavs to victory.”
Jacob Marsh, junior architectural engineering major
Earth Month at the University of Nebraska at Omaha will be filled with activities that teach students how to live sustainably.
The April events range from learning how to make homemade lip balm to using a bike blender to demonstrating how much energy appliances use.
“I view sustainability as a mindset,” said Sarah Burke, the UNO sustainability coordinator. “It’s
changing our behavior on how we live our lives. We are no longer just looking at what will better me, but instead what will better me, my family, my friends, my city, my state and the world. Every decision impacts all of this.”
The UNO sustainability page provides students a list of available activities. Students can receive free homemade beeswax or vegan lip balm at the natural beauty and cleaning products demonstration table on April 18. They can also take home recipe cards for all products displayed.
“We have a habit of convenience, and we don’t know where our stuff comes from,” Burke said. “It’s reconnecting to knowing the ingredients and knowing how things are made.”
The College of Business Administration’s Green Team is hosting five events, including a clothing swap in the Mammal Hall Atrium on April 12 and 13. Student Government is also getting involved by hosting three events.
They are planting trees on Arbor Day, planting a pollinator garden and hosting a Dakota Access Pipeline Panel. “I think the panel will be an opportunity to hear the difference perspectives and engage the students with a dialogue,” sophomore Emma Franklin said. “A pipeline has more than just a political aspect to it.”
The Wellness Center is hosting outdoor exercise classes. Yoga on the Green is from 12 to 1 p.m. in the Pep Bowl on April 13. That night, Outdoor Zumba Glow is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Pep Bowl.
Celebrating Earth Month instead of Earth Week has allowed more organizations to participate.
“There’s been groups that have always wanted to do events, but the week of Earth Week always falls right before Destress Fest and finals week,” Burke said. “Trying to book a space and get people’s attention during that time period is difficult. We decided to spread it out to the entire month to give groups a better chance of hosting events.”
Students who want to volunteer to work events can search SustainUno on MavSync. Burke encourages students who cannot volunteer to participate in events.
“All we want from this month is to make people understand the importance of sustainability and that it’s easy,” Burke said. “My goal is to provide a wide variety of activities that peaks every student’s interest. I want to give students a little spark, especially ones who question sustainability.”
More and more students are becoming advocates for sustainability, Burke said. When Burke first came to UNO, students only talked about food waste. Now, students are coming to her concerned about global warming, climate change and water accessibility.
“I believe that our world has limited resources,” Franklin said. “We need to be responsible and make the environment suitable for future generations. Being aware of sustainability issues is important because I think we sometimes take the Earth for granted.”
Living a sustainable lifestyle can seem daunting, but Burke reminds students that even a small change in habits can make a big impact.
“It does not have to be all or nothing,” Burke said. “You choose the path that you are comfortable going down. I don’t expect everyone to become a vegan who wears organic clothing and doesn’t drive. That’s a lifestyle that most people are not comfortable with living. Even if you are able to do one or a little bit of everything, you are leading to a better planet for all of us.”
Burke wants to make sure students will continue to be aware of sustainability even after Earth Month is over. “This is my month to advertise what sustainability is, but it’s always happening on campus,”Burke said. “Even if I’m not hosting an event, there is something that is still happening behind the scenes.”
DISCLAIMER. THE TOPICS AND ISSUES COVERED IN THIS EDITION ARE NOT REAL NEWS.
… HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY.
Monday, March 27
9:05 a.m. Public Safety was called to the Durham Science Center to break up a fight between two science professors arguing over whose experiment proved to be fact and whose experiment proved only alternative facts.
1:50 p.m. A hit and run was reported at the Elmwood four way stop intersection between a uni-cyclist and vehicle.
Tuesday, March 28
5:36 p.m. Public Safety was called to Criss Library to break up a book burning.
Thursday, March 30
3:14 a.m. Public Safety received a call about several suspicious people dressed as clowns near the construction site of the parking garage on Scott Campus.
8:43 p.m. Public Safety received a call about a classroom of students suffering from heat stroke in the Arts and Sciences building. Emergency services was called.
Saturday, April 1
10:15 a.m. Public Safety was called to University Village to break up a fight between a couple. The fight reportedly occurred following a fake proposal meant as an April Fool’s joke.
Students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha had the chance to check out 12 “books” featured one day only at the third annual Human Library.
The Human Library – held March 16 – provided UNO readers with the opportunity to converse with diverse individuals for 20-30 minutes, according to UNO’s website. The human books shared their life stories in a one-on-one conversation with the readers.
Criss Library Reference Associate Claire Chamley originally came up with the idea to bring the Human Library to UNO after seeing the idea on Facebook.
“One of my friends at her college, they were doing it,” Chamley said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool,’ so I emailed my supervisor.”
Chamley served as the librarian for the Human Library. She was one of five people who planned and ran the event.
The event had some “agreements” printed on the back of the program and instructed participants to treat the human books with care and respect and not to tear out or bend their pages, spill food or beverages on them or hurt their dignity.
Participants were able to reserve a time ahead or the event, which could be made through the library website, but most of the event traffic came from walk-ins, according to Chamley.
“Reservations are good if people are writing a paper or they need extra credit for a class,” Chamley said, “but a lot of people just come in.”
UNO alumna Melissa Beagley chose to go the registration route and met with human book participant Niki Jordan at 5 p.m.
Jordan’s book was titled “Breathing Out: A Love Story (Tales of Getting Sh*t Done While Hugging the World).” The book’s description said Jordan is a “second generation blond-haired, blue-eyed Nichiren Buddhist” who, “after being diagnosed with a painful medical condition, is continuing her work in social justice advocacy while on wheels.”
Jordan is the only human book that has been available all three years of the event.
Beagley recommended a book new to the event this year: “A ‘Lost Boy’ Who Found His Way” by her husband, Randy Beagley.
When Randy Beagley was ten, his father introduced him to a second family just south of Salt Lake City. He spent the next decade of his life in “the largest polygamist religion in North America,” the book’s description said.
Other books available included “Modern Politics: How Things Really Work” by Eric Aspengren, “Growing Up Transgender” by Brooke McGrorty and “Made in Canada” by Michele Desmarais, Bill Arab, Jane Franklin, Jessica Urban and Lynette Leeseberg Stamler, five Canadians who found themselves in Omaha.
Event organizers begin reaching out to potential books three-to-four months before the event, Chamley said. Fifteen books were scheduled, but three had to cancel.
While the event took place, Tammi Owens, Outreach & Instruction librarian at Criss Library, ran to the human library’s front desk to announce the addition of a human book.
“We just added someone,” Owens said. “His name is Abdi Mohamed. He was born in Somalia and spent many, many years in a refugee camp in Kenya.”
Mohamed supports seven kids and his parents by working two jobs while studying full-time at UNO.
“He just walked over and was like, ‘I want to tell my story,’ and we were like, ‘Okay,’” Chamley said.
Part two will recap “A ‘Lost Boy’ Who Found His Way” by Randy Beagly.
The Center for Urban Sustainability is hosting the first UNO sustainability month in October, which aims to educate students about what sustainability is and what it means to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.
Sustainability is the idea of using resources in a way that allows those resources to be maintained at the same rate or level.
“It is like a three-legged stool,” Farrah Grant, Center for Urban Sustainability project coordinator said. The legs of the stool represent the environment, economy and society. In order for something to be sustainable, all three components must be present.
This month, the Urban Sustainability department will host several talks on social and environmental issues, movie events and demonstrations on how to live a sustainable lifestyle.
Events will be hosted at several locations across UNO’s campus, including the Community Engagement Center and Milo Bail Student Center.
A variety of events will be held, including a demonstration on how rain gardens work on Oct. 11. The bio retention garden will be filled with a fire hose to see how much water the garden can absorb.
Other demonstrations will be held to teach students more about recycling, sustainable transportation and ways to get involved.
Students will also have a chance to win prizes at the events. A “Guess the Gallons” contest will be held at the rain garden demonstration. Whoever has the closest guess will win a $25 gift card, Grant said.
Free snacks will be provided during many of the events. For each event a student attends, their name will be put into a raffle. At the end of the month, the raffle winners will receive prizes.
“Not only did we want to educate and raise awareness, but we wanted to provide actual steps that people could actually take in their daily lives,” Sarah Burke, Office of Sustainability coordinator said.
At the end of the month, an event will be held to launch the Campus Kitchen food recovery program that will be managed by the student group, Every Bite Counts.
This food recovery program will make sure leftover food gets donated, according to Burke.
The Urban Sustainability department is active on Facebook with their page posting two TED talks every Tuesday, according to Burke.
The page will also feature both informational and motivational talks on sustainability.
“One misconception that people have about sustainability is that it is just recycling, turning off the light switch and not littering,” Grant said. “Sustainability is so much more; it impacts every facet of our lives.”
Sustainability doesn’t have to be an all or nothing idea, Burke said. Sustainability is about doing what a person is comfortable with and being aware that their decisions impact the community and the planet.
Sustainability can be done on a budget.
Instead of going out and shopping for organic materials, Grant said, use the local thrift store or have clothing swaps. Instead of using commercially produced cleaning products, use baking soda and vinegar. These options are cheaper and safer for the environment.
“Sustainability is all about giving people options,” Grant said. “Instead of driving to campus everyday use the MavRide program or walk. This tip will save money on gas.”
Students who want to be involved in this month’s events should go to Urban Sustainability’s Facebook page or UNO’s website to see the event schedule.
Imagine being able to save someone’s life just by donating bone marrow. According to the Be The Match website, every year over 12,000 patients in the United States are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases for which a marrow transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope for a cure. Students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are working to make a difference in those patient’s lives by partnering with the Be The Match organization.
“Be The Match is an international bone marrow donor registry,” UNO Be The Match Secretary Basma Basma said. “It matches people on the registry to people in need of bone marrow, that includes people with leukemia, lymphoma, etc. Bone marrow donation is typically the last resort to try to cure someone with blood cancers.”
Having the opportunity to save a life is what inspired UNO Be The Match Co-president and Co-founder Matt Ormer to create the organization here on campus.
“It took me no time at all to decide to join the registry, because it’s not every day you get a chance to save someone’s life,” Ormer said.
Photo Courtesy bostinno.streetwise.co
After helping to host a Be The Match event with a group of University of Nebraska Medical Center students, Ormer and friends decided to create a new chapter of the organization at UNO.
“A few of our involved students helped host an event at which a bone marrow donor, a transplant recipient, and a physician participated in a panel discussion regarding donating bone marrow,” Ormer said. “It just made sense that we expanded this deserving cause to UNO’s campus.”
Basma said she was approached by Ormer to bring the organization to UNO’s campus.
“As a future physician, I will come across many patients who suffer from blood cancers and I like knowing that there is a registry out there that is doing everything it can to help these patients find bone marrow matches,” Basma said.
The organization has been off to a great start. “In our first semester, we added 125 potential life savers onto the bone marrow donor registry, and towards the end of last semester we raised nearly $1,400 for Be The Match’s national effort,” Ormer said.
Ormer said that it is pretty rare for a donor to actually donate marrow, as only 1 out of 540 registered donors are ever contacted.
“Unfortunately, every 10 minutes someone in America dies from a blood cancer, so we in Be The Match try to do everything we can to maximize the number of people on a bone marrow donor registry,” Ormer said.
Even with the unlikely odds of being contacted, there is still the chance you could make a difference in a patient’s life.
“Two of our chapter members have been contacted by Be The Match to let them know that they may be interested in doing some additional testing to see if they are a close match to two patients,” Ormer said.
The organization’s main projects have been setting up bone marrow registration drives.
“Signing up to be a bone marrow donor is a very easy process,” Ormer said. “After you have talked with one of our repre-sentatives about any of your questions or concerns, you fill out a brief consent form and then swab your cheeks with four cotton swabs. That’s all it takes to commit to saving a life.”
The organization has future fundraising events planned for spring including more bone marrow drives and a finals week care package that parents can send to their student. Ormer said the proceeds will be used to advance critical blood research through Be The Match.
Students can see the time and location of future bone marrow drives on the UNO Be The Match Facebook page.
