All proceeds from the YellowJackets’ April 5 concert were donated to FARA, as well as money raised through the sale of limited edition YellowJackets fan t-shirts. Gelbard and Dole also started a page through GoFundMe, which allows visitors to make online donations.

“Like Sarah, I have watched someone I love lose her mobility and confront hardships that no one should have to confront—all with the sunniest of dispositions,” says Dole. “In honor of Sara and Laura Ferrarone and Marlise, the YellowJackets are proud to raise funds for and awareness of this rare, devastating, and life-shortening disease.”

A nonprofit organization dedicated to curing Friedreich’s ataxia, FARA grants and activities provide support for research, pharmaceutical/biotech drug development, clinical trials, and scientific conferences. FARA also serves as a catalyst, between the public and scientific community, to create worldwide exchanges of information that drive medical advances.

“I know that the curing of a tremendously complicated genetic disease is, well, tremendously complicated—but I also know that it is possible,” Gelbard says, pointing to the Ferrarone family’s work creating a worldwide patient registry for the disease as an important first step. “Sara was the first person to be entered into the worldwide patient registry in Rochester, and perhaps Laura will be the first person to see the benefits of a cure.”

In a little less than two months, Gelbard, Dole, and the YellowJackets have raised more than $20,000 through GoFundMe and concert proceeds. But, their work isn’t done yet. This week, they are making one last push to raise funds through GoFundMe before closing the page on Wednesday, May 1.

“We hope members of the Rochester community will continue to answer our call to action by giving a small amount or by passing this story along,” Gelbard says. “For these efforts to be meaningful for the 15,000 people across the globe living with FA, they have to be continued, and for that, we need your help.”

Each spring the Office of the Dean of Students recognizes undergraduate students who have made significant contributions to campus life. Nominated by faculty, staff, and peers, Student Life Award recipients represent diverse interests, talents, and accomplishments. Winners are selected on the basis of their leadership and engagement in campus life and positive influence on peers, all of which help the community become stronger now and in the future.

Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students and organized by the Rochester Center for Community Leadership, the 2013 awards recognized 17 individuals and 3 organizations. “I think the winners represent a large demographic that follows their passions and gives back to others in all sorts of ways,” said Ed Feldman, associate director of leadership programs at the Rochester Center for Community Leadership and chair of the selection committee.  He added that he felt inspired by the winners whose “values center around an inherent desire to better themselves and in return make a positive social change in the campus and Rochester community.”

The Douglass Leadership House, this year’s winner of the Outstanding Student Organization Award, is a first year organization. Named after Rochester icon Frederick Douglass, the mission of the Douglass Leadership House (DLH) is to celebrate and raise awareness of the black experience including its culture, politics, history, and Diasporic roots. The organization helped host numerous events on campus, including a lecture featuring author Jeanne Theoharis, who spoke about her book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, in March.

Neuroscience major Kory Buresh ’13  was this year’s recipient of the Seth H. & Harriet Terry Prize, an award given to a male member of the senior class “who, by his industry, character, and honorable conduct, has done the most for the life and character of the undergraduate community.” Buresh and Sam Tramontano ’13 are co-creative directors of this year’s ArtAwake planning committee this spring. Together, they worked closely with advisor Stacy Fisher and the other student directors to iron out the legal and logistical details of planning the art and music festival. Buresh also is an RA, a member of the men’s club volleyball team, and was co-chair for College’s Against Cancer’s “Think Pink” week. Buresh was very surprised and honored to have won the award: “It’s actually a really nice feeling,” he said. “I’ve always felt as though I was an active member of the student body and it’s cool to know that others have recognized the things I do.”

The 2013 Student Life Award recipients are as follows:

Individual Awards:

Andrew Fried Prize: Pedro Vallejo Ramirez

Established by friends and family in 1961 in memory of Andrew Norman Fried, class of 1961. This prize is awarded to the man who, upon completion of his freshman year, has shown outstanding qualities of character, superior moral judgment, and interest in serving his fellow students.

Delno Sisson Prize: Oluwatobi Abubakare

In 1957, this award was established by a gift from Delno Sisson, class of 1966. This prize is awarded annually to the freshman who has shown the most improvement not only in academic work, but also in adjusting to college life and the student body.

Award for Freshman Leadership: Samantha Lish

This award recognizes an exceptional man or woman of the freshman class who has motivated his or her fellow classmates to become actively involved in the campus community.

Eli & Mildred Sokol Prize: Justine King

This award was established in 1985 by a gift from Eli and Mildred Sokol, class of 1933. This prize is awarded to a sophomore who has emerged as a leader who can be expected to contribute significantly to the welfare of his or her fellow students in the next two years.

Award for Campus Contributions: Annalise Baird (SR) and Jonathan Johnson (JR)

Two awards, one each presented to a junior and senior class member who has made significant contributions to the University community, including, but not limited to, campus life, academic achievement and leadership, and community service. The award winner will have promoted and demonstrated excellence in all aspects of their college experience.

Seth H. & Harriet Terry Prize: Kory Buresh

Established in 1928 as a gift from Seth H. Terry, class of 1883, in memory of his parents. This award is given to the male member of the senior class who, by his industry, character and honorable conduct, has done the most for the life and character of the undergraduate community.

Percy Dutton Prize: Oladoyin Oladeru

This prize was established in 1946 as a gift from Percy Dutton. This award is given to the male member of the graduating class who has excelled in “wholesome, unselfish and helpful influence” among his fellow students.

Award for Outstanding Fraternity and Sorority Leadership: Kyle Coapman

This award recognizes the positive contributions fraternities and sororities make to the campus community. It is awarded to a fraternity or sorority member who has led with integrity within their fraternal organization while also making significant contributions to the greater campus community.

Simeon Cheatham Award: Melissa Gaitan

Established in the 1970s by the Office of the Dean of Students to recognize outstanding University of Rochester students. This award is given to a student who has outstanding qualities in devotion to community service and to growth and development of children.

Rob Rouzer Award for Excellence in Student Government Leadership: Michael Dymond

Established in honor of his 28 years of service to the University of Rochester, the Rob Rouzer Award is conferred annually to a student affiliated with either of the three branches of the Students’ Association Government who has shown immense integrity and perseverance in striving to improve student life and welfare.

Logan Hazen Award for Outstanding Contributions to Residential Life: Cathy Christian

This award is given annually to the student who has “made significant contributions to the community and experience of students living in undergraduate residence halls. This student, through his or her actions, leadership, and innovation has promoted community through respect, fairness, and inclusion.”

Award for Athletic Leadership: Jon Richardson

This award recognizes the positive contributions athletes make to the campus community. It is awarded to a student athlete who has demonstrated leadership within their club or varsity sport while also making significant contributions to other aspects of campus life.

Presidential Award for Community Service: Alyssa Abel

Established by the Dean of Students in 1990 to recognize University students who are committed to community service. Given to a senior for outstanding participation and leadership in service to the community beyond the campus, this award recognizes a student who has worked selflessly and effectively in addressing social causes.  Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, improving literacy, reducing hunger and hopelessness, providing legal or medical assistance to the needy, and serving as a mentor.

Entrepreneurship Award: Marissa Balonon-Rosen

The award for entrepreneurship is given to a student, or group of students, who has turned an idea into a venture that benefited others. The recipient will have demonstrated individual initiative and knowledge through awareness of markets and attention to the needs of others.

Michael Lowenstein Memorial Award: Makia Green

This award, named for Michael Lowenstein, class of 1960 is presented to the University of Rochester River Campus undergraduate who deepens student, faculty, and community awareness of existing social, racial, or political inequities. This undergraduate through his/her words and actions has endeavored to promote the ideals which Michael cherished. Michael sought to give a fresh view of things around us, to focus upon issues, to probe deeply using fact and objectivity and to open a dialogue with the community to find some answers. (Not pictured.)

The Communal Principles Award: Kelly Scull

Established by the Office of the Dean of Students during the 2011-2012 academic year, this award is given annually to the student(s) or organization that best promote(s) the Communal Principals, as adopted by The College. These principles include Fairness, Freedom, Honesty, Inclusion, Respect, and Responsibility. One of these six principles will be highlighted annually and the recipient will have demonstrated qualities that exemplify the principles and/or created programming and activities related to this year’s Communal Principle – Responsibility.

Student Organization and Programming Awards

Excellence in Programming: Undergraduate Religion and Classics Council

This Excellence in Programming Award recognizes a student organization or group, either formal or informal, for its exceptional creativity, planning, and execution of a University program. Criteria upon which decisions are based include appeal to a broad cross-section of the University community, originality, and participation by members of the organization during all phases of the effort.

Outstanding Student Organization Award: Douglass Leadership House

Awarded to a student organization that has gone beyond the bounds of their membership by helping to create a positive campus environment for all students.

Award for Excellence in Creative Co-sponsorship: Eastman Welcome Weekend

This award recognizes a program that was co-sponsored by a minimum of two organizations or groups. The cosponsored program should have been a new effort, one that brought together different facets of campus, and which served to build and strengthen the campus community.

Over the weekend of March 15th, “Hacklemore”, a team of 10 undergraduate Computer Science students from the University of Rochester traveled to Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada to participate in the CS Games. The team, led by captains Julian Lunger ’14 and Emily Danchik ’13, took 7th place out of 22 teams, thanks to strong showings by the team of Charlie Lehner ’15 and  David Bang ’14 who took 2nd place in Web Development,  and the team of Dan Hassin ’16 and Joe Brunner  ’14 who took 3rd place in Extreme Programming.

The CS Games, an annual competition held by Canadian universities, is attended by over 300 students. Although most of the student participants are Canadian, both the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology have sent teams in recent years. In 2011, the University of Rochester team won the competition. This year, the University of Rochester was the only American university to send a team to the event.

Teams consist of a maximum of 10 people, and compete in 15 to 20 different competitions from Friday to Sunday. These competitions are in different programming areas which range from programming theory, which deals with designing algorithms,  to embedded programming, which deals with writing programs which run on small devices. In addition to the programming competitions, there also are competitions in a few unrelated areas, such as sporting competitions and even a campus-wide scavenger hunt.

Throughout the games, teams must also be on the lookout for “Puzzle Hero” challenges, which are timed “mini-games” that cover a variety of topics and are emailed to the teams at random times. During this year’s games, Team “Hacklemore” had to do everything from solving chess puzzles to identifying pictures and diagrams of obscure plugs and wires. “One challenge even had us listen to a highly modified soundfile and figure out what it meant. The file sounded like a short, high-pitched blip–but we eventually figured out that it was three consecutive Iron Maiden song outtakes,” says Captain Julian Lunger. The team also had the opportunity to participate in “Hacking Questions,” where team members were given a limited amount of time to access websites designed for the competition.

In addition to the challenges, the event also featured large social gatherings for all of the participants.”The social aspect is an important and sometimes surprising one at the Games. Some people typically think of CS majors as unsocial; however, the exact opposite is true at the CS Games,” says Captain Julian Lunger. “The teams of computer geeks there are fun, they are wild, and they stay up til 2, 3, 4 a.m. every night.” The Rochester team also had the opportunity to interact with Computer Science students from different backgrounds. “Meeting French-Canadian students was really cool because they have a different culture and think about things in a different way– it’s almost like they are Europeans in North America,” says Lunger.

This years roster included Emily Danchik (leader) ’13, Julian Lunger (leader, captain) ’14, Thomas Swift ’13, Emily Ansley ’14, Joe Brunner ’14, Nate Book ’14, Shuopeng Deng ’14, Dan Hassin ’16, Charlie Lehner ’15, and David Bang ’14.

The Rochester team already has next year’s competition in mind. Captain Julian Lunger encourages any interested students to contact him through email at JLunger@u.rochester.edu.

For Rochester Raas, the University’s traditional Indian dance team, victory in their final competition of the year brought more than glory. Raas’ first place finish at Nasha 2013 was crowned by a shiny gold trophy and $1,250 in prize money.

Hosted by the American India Foundation of Purdue University, Nasha 2013 was a brand-new competition featuring Bollywood/Fusion and Garba/Raas divisions, and offering a sizeable cash prize for the top finishers. Rochester Raas beat out teams from Northwestern, Tufts, and UNC to take first place in the Garba/Raas division. To see Rochester’s winning set from Nasha 2013, check out this video posted by Raas:

Though their competitive season is over, the group will continue to perform in the community and prepare for next year.

The active members of Rochester Raas include: Minti Patel ‘13, Maryann Hong ‘13, Maral Arjomandi ‘13, Ki Cheng ‘13, Paul Vergara ‘13, Phil Cohen ‘14, Lauren Sava ‘14, Sydney Robinson ‘14, Rohini Rege ‘14, Priyanka Patel ‘15, Shakira Banhan ‘15, Marika Azoff ‘15, Shiv Patel ‘15, Sameer Shamsie ‘15, Sam Benham ‘15, Taylor Sargent ‘15, Sukanya Roy ‘16, Kim Rouse ‘16.

Have you seen a campus tree decked out in a school-spirited scarf? This is called “yarn bombing,” and it is the work of the Society of Crocheting & Knitting Students (SOCKS), a club that is new to Rochester.

With around 20 active members, SOCKS brings out the social aspects of crocheting and knitting by giving students a time and place where they can practice these crafts with other students, learn new skills, and work on group projects. By holding weekly meetings and other social and community events, SOCKS aims to spread the benefits of knitting and crocheting–including relaxation, accomplishment, and community–to students at Rochester.

Group members include beginner to experienced crocheters and knitters. “Most people pick one [crocheting or knitting] and then they might start learning the other,” says SOCKS President Bonnie Nortz ’15.

At every meeting the group does a “show-and-tell” to feature individual projects and help group members get to know each other. In addition to “yarn bombing” tree scarves during Meliora Weekend and Spirit Week, the group has several collaborative community-service projects in the works, such as the creation of a rainbow-colored quilt, stuffed animals, and baby items for Golisano Children’s Hospital, as well as shawls for St. John’s Retirement Home.

For Nortz, who has been knitting for seven years, the activity is more about just the finished product. “I knit in class because it keeps me awake,” she says. “For class lectures I pick projects that allow me to still pay attention to the teacher. It takes some practice.”

The group currently meets on Saturdays from 1 to 3 p.m. in Harper Lounge on the first floor of Susan B. Anthony. Email ursocks@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to be on the mailing list.

With bright blue t-shirts reading Stop. Ask. Clarify., organizers of the conference Survivor to Thriver: Confronting Sexual Assault on Campus spread a message of support and empowerment for survivors of sexual assault and gender violence. The conference, held on Tuesday, April 2, and Wednesday, April 3, gave participants the opportunity to hold difficult but critical conversations about sexual assault. More than 80 University of Rochester students, faculty, staff, and community members came together during the conference, which included a series of lectures, workshops, and panel discussions.

Catherine Cerulli, director of the University’s Susan B. Anthony Center for Women’s Leadership, one of the sponsoring organizations, said one purpose of the conference was to demystify the process survivors go through after an assault. “It’s important that they are making decisions based on knowledge and not on fear,” she said. Cerulli noted that discussing the many services in the community designed to help survivors can encourage them to reach out and break their silence.

On Tuesday evening, more than 40 participants attended a screening of the film Not My Life, which kicked off the conference. Narrated by Glenn Close, the film depicts the scourge of human trafficking on a global scale, taking viewers into a world where millions of children are exploited through practices including forced labor, sex tourism, and child soldiering.

University President Joel Seligman began Wednesday’s daylong series of events by offering remarks about the importance of combatting sexual violence, an area he said is of “fundamental importance” to the campus community. After expressing his gratitude to those who organized and supported the conference, Seligman said, “As a former law school dean who supported domestic violence clinics at two different law schools, I have been exposed first hand to the horror of sexual violence. I join those in our community who wish to take all appropriate steps to prevent sexual assault.”

Read President Seligman’s Full Remarks

During the conference’s keynote address, former Division III student-athlete Maggie Maloy shared her personal story of recovery after an assault. As Maloy recounted her attack, which occurred when she was 15 years old, she interwove stories of her healing process, turning what was “without question the most terrifying time” of her life into an inspiring story of empowerment, forgiveness, and advocacy. During her presentation, which she has delivered on college campuses around the country, she told audience members of the importance of taking control of how you respond to moments of trauma. “You have to pull strength from within,” she said. “You have to acknowledge what’s happened, but focus on what you can empower.”

A panel discussion followed the keynote address, which included representatives from University Security, University Counseling Center, Rape Crisis Service, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Services, and the District Attorney’s Office. Panelists helped demystify the process by walking audience members through the many steps survivors can take after an assault, including medical examinations, interviews with law enforcement officials, and discussions with rape crisis counselors.

Activities moved to Wilson Commons in the afternoon, where attendees had the opportunity to view posters featuring ongoing efforts to prevent and respond to gender violence, while community and campus organizations shared information about their services in “Caring Circles.” Participants also had the chance to speak one-on-one with Maloy and panelists from the morning session. Two lectures delivered by English Professor David Bleich and Rev. Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough, director of Religious and Spiritual Life, rounded out the conference program.

The conference was made possible through the financial support of co-sponsors including Susan B. Anthony Center for Women’s Leadership, University Intercessor, UHS Health Promotion Office, Equal Opportunity Compliance Office, The College, Office of the Dean of Students, Athletics and Recreation, University Health Service, Rochester Center for Community Leadership, Susan B. Anthony Institute, Communal Principles Project (CPP), Greater Rochester Association of Women Attorneys, Graduate Organizing Group (GOG), Women’s Caucus, University of Rochester Pride Network, UR Cinema Group, and Southside Hall Council. Supporters also include Panhellenic Association, Multicultural Greek Council, GlobeMed, Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, University Security, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Services, University Counseling Center, Rape Crisis, Monroe County Sheriff Office, Rochester Police Department, and Sexual Health Advocacy Group (SHAG).

Photos and video courtesy of Brandon Vick and Dawn Wendt, University Communications.

This year, for the first time since the group’s founding in 1999, the University of Rochester Mock Trial club sent two teams to the prestigious Open Round Championships (ORCs). This came about because one of their teams placed in the top seven, taking second at Regionals for an automatic bid, and the other took 8^th, narrowly missing an automatic bid, but still securing an open bid to the ORCs.

The president of the club, Hannah Sherry ’13, says that usually only the best mock trial programs and the largest universities send two teams to ORCs, so she is very excited to have earned that honor this year. The teams competed in ORC’s in Greenville, S.C. and in Hamilton, Ohio.

The club typically begins the year with about 35 members, which is carefully winnowed down to around 25. Of these 25, 17 are currently competing. One of these members is Wil Dietz ’16, a newcomer to the college mock trial scene, who won the outstanding witness distinction at a competition a few weeks ago.

This year’s case is one regarding the recklessness of a made-up scuba diving company. Other year’s cases have included murder and drunk driving. However, our mock trial team must spend half their time preparing a case proving how reckless the scuba company was, leading to a fictitious woman’s death, and the other half defending the scuba company. The team only works on one case each year, and tries it at all competitions they attend.

With the occasional help of lawyers from the greater Rochester area, the club practices cross-examinations, directs, and opening and closing statements. The Mock Trial team will quickly become a force for justice in the courtrooms of tomorrow.

At the Simon Graduate School of Business, members of the Simon Women in Business Club gathered to recognize the day. As an organization dedicated to supporting businesswomen both during their tenure at graduate school and in the years that follow, SWiB coordinates efforts in career services, professional development, and mentoring. Celebrating March 8 is just one way the organization fosters camaraderie throughout Simon’s female community.

For the past three years, the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies (SBAI) has also celebrated International Women’s Day. The Institute brought  more than 30 students, faculty, staff, and members of the greater Rochester community on an annual historic field trip to the Matilda Joslyn Gage home in Fayetteville, NY.

Matilda Joslyn Gage was a founding member of the National Woman Suffrage Association and publisher of its national newspaper. Trip attendees toured Gage’s home while learning about Gage’s life as a suffragist, Native American rights activist, abolitionist, and fearless advocate for religious freedoms. Gage worked closely with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, including co-editing the first three volumes of The History of Woman Suffrage. Her views on human rights deeply influenced her son-in-law, L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz stories.

Past trips included visits to the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, the Harriet Tubman House, the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Interfaith Institute. Plans for next year’s trip are already underway! If you would like to be included in information about the trip, as well as other SBAI activities, send an email to sbai@rochester.edu.

Three students from the University, Kyle Coapman ’13 of Delta Upsilon Fraternity, Harini Morisetty ’13 (T5) of Delta Phi Omega Sorority, and Kelly Scull ’14, Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, were recipients of the Greek Leaders of Distinction Award. This award recognizes students who exemplify the ideals of their fraternity or sorority within their daily lives. Nominees were judged on several criteria, including leadership, scholastic and academic achievement, character as displayed through fraternity or sorority membership, and service to the University, to the individual’s organization, and to the fraternity and sorority community at large.

Sigma Phi Epsilon also was recognized with the Amy Vojta Impact Award for Philanthropy & Service; which recognizes programming and initiatives that made an impact on a chapter. The fraternity was honored for their work planning and organizing the 19th Ward Spelling Bee.

The annual event is a partnership between Sigma Phi Epsilon, the 19th Ward Community Association, Rochester City School District, Rochester Area Community Foundation, and University of Rochester Admissions Office. Throughout the academic year students in grades three through seven receive spelling bee support in their respective schools and attend monthly sessions where members of Sigma Phi Epsilon tutor them in preparation for the preliminary and the final rounds. Students’ hard work culminates with the final round, held in the spring. Prior to the competition students and their parents also have the opportunity to explore the River Campus and engage with members of the University community.

“By bringing students to our school and showing them what they are capable of, we believe that we intrinsically motivate them to learn and reach their full potential,” wrote Jonathan Macoskey ’15, Sigma Phi Epsilon president, in a letter nominating the fraternity for the award. “We hope that as these students near the end of high school, this event’s impact will be visible; encouraging the pursuit of higher education at a young age will hopefully aid in increasing high school graduation rates in the city of Rochester.”

Winners for each grade level receive a $500 scholarship given upon high school graduation and intent to attend college.

The University of Rochester’s co-ed a cappella group After Hours emerged victorious at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinals at Penn State on Saturday, February 9th, beating 10 other highly competitive groups and placing first in the competition.

The ICCA competition, of which popular comedy “Pitch Perfect” is based, is the only international tournament that showcases the art of collegiate a cappella.  Each year, the tournament takes place from January through April in six regions: West, Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast America, and Europe. Each region holds several quarterfinal events and the top two college groups advance to semifinals. A final event is held in New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where groups compete for cash prizes and the coveted title of Grand Champion.

After Hours’ set of three songs featured the smooth solo vocals of Rei Ramos ’15 on “Too Close” by Alex Clare, which stunned the audience and the judges with its dub-step drop in the last chorus. And, according to The A Cappella Blog, “Too Close” showcased the “monster vocal percussion” skills of Ethan Lobenstine ’12 (T5). The set also included a choral take on Regina Spektor’s “Samson” featuring soloist Michaela Reichert ’16 and David Guetta’s “Titanium” featuring powerhouse soloist Rohini Rege ’14.

Video: After Hours Performs at ICCAs

In addition to winning the competition, musical director Ben McCormack ’13 and Lobenstine were given a special award for “Best Arrangement” for all three songs in the set.  After Hours, along with the 2nd place group, the Penn State Statesmen, will perform at the Mid-Atlantic semi-finals at Rutgers University in New Jersey on March 30.

In other University a cappella news, Rochester all-male group, The Yellowjackets, were recently named a “Top 10 Must-Hear College A Cappella Group” by schools.com.  The website praised the Jackets new album “United We Sing” and their after-school program (also called “United We Sing”) designed to cultivate a passion for a cappella in local schools.

Audio: Hear “Wavin’ Flag” from “United We Sing”

 The group also was recently nominated for a 2013 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) for their song “I Smile” off of “United We Sing” in the Best Religious Song category. The winners will be announced on April 5 at a live awards ceremony at BOSS, Boston Sings, and then posted to casa.org.