Author Archives: Despina Williams Parker

A Study of Unrequited Love: Assistant Professor of Journalism Discusses Research on Academic Minute

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Lisa Phillips

Lisa A. Phillips

Lisa A. Phillips,  assistant professor of journalism, was featured on the nationally syndicated educational radio program “The Academic Minute,” on June 12.

In her audio essay, Philips, who is the author of “Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession,” speaks about the effect unrequited love has on inspiration.

“’Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all.’ This quote is often used to soothe people whose hearts have been broken,” said Phillips. “But we don’t always know what it means. In my interviews with people who have gone through romantic rejection and my research into the history, psychology, and science of unrequited love, I found that Alfred Lord Tennyson’s sentiment can hold true, particularly for creative people.”

In “Unrequited” Phillips supplements her own story with extensive social science research. Also included are accounts of other women who have been in obsessive love and the people who have been its target, accounts culled from deeply personal interviews gathered over the course of six years writing this book.

“What I want to do is help people going through this type of experience feel less alone, and help them see plainly the nature of what they are doing — when they are crossing a line, and when they can turn the energy of that obsession in another way, to help them benefit themselves,” Phillips explains.

The act of sharing these stories is confessional, says Phillips, “but I think it’s also a service. People have reached out to me and told me, ‘Your story gave me hope.’ That was powerful.”

A former public radio journalist, Phillips is also the author of “Public Radio: Behind the Voices.” She’s written for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and many other national publications.

To listen to Phillips’ Academic Minute or read a transcript, visit http://academicminute.org/2015/06/lisa-phillips-suny-new-paltz-a-study-of-unrequited-love/.

About “The Academic Minute”
“The Academic Minute” is an educationally focused radio segment produced by WAMC in Albany, N.Y., a National Public Radio member station. The show features an array of faculty from colleges and universities across the country to discuss the unique, high-impact aspects of their research. The program airs every weekday and is run multiple times during the day on about 50 different member stations across the National Public Radio spectrum. For more information, visit http://academicminute.org/.

English Alumnus Success Stems from Liberal Arts Education

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Hoeschele

John Hoeschele ’86 (English)

Part of the beauty of a liberal arts education is the unexpected directions your degree can take you. After graduating from SUNY New Paltz, John Hoeschele ’86 (English)—a member of the College’s Alumni Advisory Council— planned on becoming an English teacher. He enrolled in graduate school, completed his student teaching, and was two requirements shy of completing his master’s degree.

“But I had another plan to get into the advertising business,” said Hoeschele. “I always thought it was a cool business and an interesting way to use an English degree. Before I finalized my graduate degree, I scattered my resume near and far, and ended up getting a job at an ad agency in Ithaca.”

Hoeschele entered the industry as a junior copywriter at the small firm, and quickly climbed to the position of creative director. Later, he landed at Sag MarCom, a larger agency in Syracuse, where he became vice president of creative services, before leaving that job to work for a Syracuse-based dotcom business as head of marketing and communications. He then ran his own consultancy, Drum Creative Communications, for six years before landing his current position in 2006 as marketing communications and government relations manager at Anaren in Syracuse.

“Being able to write, to stare at a blank page and not be afraid of it, is a great skill to have,” said Hoeschele. “Advertising, by itself, is a creative and fun process. You get to think and write. There’s editing. You have to boil down messages and make them more succinct and streamlined.”

While at New Paltz, Hoeschele was involved with the English Club and also studied abroad for a semester in London, which was an inspiring and invigorating experience.

“For an English major, it was a dream come true,” said Hoeschele. “It’s where Dickens lived and wrote, where Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Sherlock Holmes. I got to go to the Lake District where Wordsworth and Coleridge and all those guys did their writings. It was really cool to see the places they were referring to in their poetry, and the things that inspired them.”

Hoeschele also met his wife, Lisa (White) Hoeschele ’85, at New Paltz, where she majored in French. She currently manages a mental health agency and previously worked as a French teacher as well as a development fundraiser for PBS. They have two children, Maxwell and Margaret, and reside in Cortland, N.Y.

Prior to his involvement with the Council, Hoeschele admits he’d largely lost touch with New Paltz, but hopes to change that with his new position. This past December, Hoeschele decided to partner with fellow New Paltz grad Catherine Fisher ’81 (English) to host an alumni mixer at the Onondaga Historical Association in downtown Syracuse as part of Global Orange and Blue Day.

“I thought it was sort of incumbent upon me to walk the talk,” he said. “I’m trying to create some excitement and a sense of New Paltz community.”

Creative Writing Students Find Inspiration on Historic Huguenot Street

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Twenty-eight SUNY New Paltz students with a passion for creative writing participated in a Huguenot Streettour of Historic Huguenot Street (HHS), the National Historic Landmark District less than one mile from campus.

The tour was organized by Creative Writing Program Director Jan Schmidt and Professor Sarah Wyman, in hopes of helping their writing students feel connected to the local history and architecture preserved at HHS.

“We have an active community of student writers on campus who work with each other, support each other in and out of classes and are committed to honing their craft,” Schmidt said. “The tour of Historic Huguenot Street, workshop and reading is part of our larger effort to inspire our students’ writing and involve them in the wider world of the New Paltz community.”

“My favorite Creative Writing events are always the student and faculty readings, where writers share their new work,” Wyman added. “It was a delight to take our show on the road this spring, and present our micro-fictions, poems and stories fresh from the Historic Huguenot Street tour.”

Students had the opportunity to spend time surrounded by stone houses and accompanying structures dating as far back as the late 17th century, when Huguenots from France and southern Belgium fleeing religious persecution first arrived at the banks of the Wallkill River, in what is now New Paltz.

The tour was followed by a writing workshop and “Read-A-Loud” at which students, faculty and staff shared their poetry and prose in the 1799 Lefevre House.

A number of students expressed feeling moved and inspired by the immersive foray into village history.

“As I’ve grown older I’ve realized how much history is embedded in the Hudson Valley, especially in New Paltz,” said Jeffrey Seitz ’15 (English – Creative Writing). “Gaining a better comprehension of that history has fed directly into my own creativity.”

“It was like entering into another world,” said Carina Kohn ’17 (Psychology). “When you see that the things you know now were once very different, you can choose to try to enter that world and write about that, or to notice the ways in which the present and the past are connected.”

“To be in the places where founders of our little part of the state actually lived was a humbling experience,” said Tsahai Wright ’16 (English – Creative Writing). “As a writer, engaging in these types of activities gets the creative juices flowing.”

HHS is a frequent collaborator with the College for tours, arts events and a summer Archaeological Field School.

“It is important to us that the students of SUNY New Paltz see HHS not as a dusty old museum, but as a place where they can come to learn, grow and be creative,” said Kara Gaffken, HHS director of public programming. “Over and over again, the students from the College have taught and inspired us just as much as we hope to teach and inspire them. It is a fabulous relationship that we hope will continue for years to come.”

For more information about Historic Huguenot Street, please visit them online.

24 Inducted in Lambda Pi Eta National Honor Society

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On Tuesday, May 12, 24 juniors and seniors majoring in communication-related fields were inducted into the Lambda Pi Eta National Honor Society at a ceremony in the College Terrace.  While the national Lambda Pi Eta criteria are a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.25 major GPA, The SUNY New Paltz Chapter requires higher standards of an overall 3.25 GPA and a 3.5 major GPA, as well as junior or senior standing in a communication-related field.

Com Honor Society inducteesThis year’s inductees were: Andrew David Abbott, Anisa Ahdieh Arcos-Pangione, Payal Batra, Alexandria Bizub, Nyah Lee Del Carmen Bonilla, Christine M Borella, Gianna Elizabeth Canevari. Jill M Cronin, Emily Jean DeFranco, Alexa Mara Gold, Anne Eileen Jacobs, April M Lopez del Castillo, Nicholas Magnanti, Daniel Joseph Motto, Casey Marie Nardone, Annamaria Palumbo, Jesse M Pilnik, Ashley Elizabeth Riefenhauser, Amanda Rose Ruschak, Stephanie Anna Ryba, Paige Ashley Schindler, Sara Huq Shameem, Rebecca Zedeck and Nicole A Zuyus.

Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony, including family members, friends, faculty and 2014 Lambda Pi Eta inductees.  All enjoyed the intimate induction ceremony, buffet dinner, and congratulatory cake.  The event was organized by Donna Flayhan, associate professor of communication and the honor society’s faculty adviser. 2014 Lambda Pi Eta inductees Zameena Mejia and April Polydorou led the ceremony.

Lambda Pi Eta inductees Stephanie Black, Nick Magnotti, and Stephanie Ryba will lead the campus chapter next year.

 

Prominent Doctor to Speak on Acid Reflux Disease Epidemic

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Dr. Jonathan E. Aviv, one of the leading authorities on acid reflux disease, will share his expertise on the disease’s warning signs and linkage to the fastest growing cancer in America during a presentation on Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m. in Lecture Center 100.

Aviv head shot folded smile 3.14.14

Dr. Jonathan E. Aviv

The presentation, entitled “Hard to Swallow: The Sweet and Sour of Acid Reflux Disease,” will demonstrate how throat complaints (cough, hoarseness, frequent throat clearing, and lump-like sensations in the throat) even more so than traditional heartburn complaints, may indicate severe acid reflux disease. Aviv will describe how actions by the U.S. government and food industry in the 1970s inadvertently led to the nation’s current acid reflux epidemic and the rise of esophageal cancer. The latest technology available to prevent, diagnose and treat this growing problem, including the use of “food as medicine,” will also be discussed.

Aviv has been named one of New York Magazine’s “Best Doctors” (1998-2013). He has been featured in articles in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times and has appeared on “Good Morning America,” the Discovery Channel and several national radio programs.

bookimage3He is the clinical director of the Voice and Swallowing Center, a division of ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP (ENTA) and author of the health and wellness book “Killing Me Softly from Inside,” which makes explicit the connection between highly processed foods, acid reflux and esophageal cancer. The book advocates for a low-acid, nutritionally balanced diet.

Following the presentation, Aviv will sign copies of his book and low acid refreshments will be served.

The event is sponsored by the Communication Disorders Department, SUNY New Paltz Speech, Language and Hearing Center, Office of Academic Affairs, HealthQuest and Medtronic.

For more information, contact Nina JeckerBryne at 845-257-2399 or jeckerbn@newpaltz.edu.

Students Raise Money to Build Adobe Oven for Guatemalan Nutrition Center

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Nutrition Center

Students in the summer 2015 study abroad class, Human Rights in Guatemala, are raising money to build an adobe oven for the Konojel Nutrition Center in San Marcos, Guatemala.

Students in the summer 2015 Study Abroad Class Human Rights in Guatemala are currently conducting a series of bake sale fundraisers to raise money to build an adobe oven for the Konojel Nutrition Center, located in the Kaq’chikel (Mayan) community in San Marcos, Guatemala. The Konojel Nutrition Center, a non-profit organization, provides 70 lunches, five days a week, to the town’s poorest children, elders, and pregnant women. In addition, they also provide a variety of educational programs. The Project Coordinator, Andrew Raphael, is a SUNY New Paltz graduate.

Andrew Raphael

New Paltz alumnus Andrew Raphael is the project coordinator of the center.

The first bake sale will be at the Mexico Solidarity Network talk on the role of corn in the political violence in Mexico on Tuesday, February 24th at 5:00 in LC 108. Bake sales will be held every Tuesday night at 5:00 during the Spanish Club’s Movie Night. Please come by to purchase some homemade goodies and help support our students’ project as well as the work of the Konojel Nutrition Center.

If you would like to make a donation please contact Anne R. Roschelle (Sociology-roschela@newpaltz.edu) or Luz Porras (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures – porrasl@newpaltz.edu)

Join All-Faculty Band for Talent Show Benefiting Student Scholarship Fund

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Questionable Authorities

 The all-faculty band Questionable Authorities will host “New Paltz Got Talent” at Bacchus Restaurant and Bar, with funds benefiting the College Council Student Retention Fund, on Friday, April 24 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Questionable Authorities is composed of professors Glenn Geher (Psychology), Peter Kaufman (Sociology), Maureen Morrow (Biology), Brian Obach (Sociology) and Anne Roschelle (Sociology).

Last year the event raised $1,000 for the Fund for New Paltz, which provides special opportunities for students.

The band invites members of the campus community who sing or play an instrument to join them as guests in performing a set-list of punk rock classics.Those who choose to perform, should let band members know their preferred song and instrument of choice and should attend one practice session with the band prior to the event.

 Give today!

Professor of Journalism Releases New Book on Love and Obsession

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Drawing on elements of memoir as well as her own reporting and research, Assistant Lisa PhillipsProfessor of Journalism Lisa A. Phillips’ latest book, “Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession,” examines the perils and power of obsessive love in women’s lives.

“What I want to do is help people going through this type of experience feel less alone, and help them see plainly the nature of what they are doing — when they are crossing a line, and when they can turn the energy of that obsession in another way, to help them benefit themselves,” Phillips explains.

Phillips’ interest in this subject is rooted in her own experience falling in love with a man who did not reciprocate her feelings. She first opened up about the experience in a widely-read column that appeared in the New York Times on Dec. 3, 2006.

In “Unrequited” Phillips supplements her own story with extensive social science research. UnrequitedAlso included are accounts of other women who have been in obsessive love and the people who have been its target, accounts culled from deeply personal interviews gathered over the course of six years writing this book.

“Those conversations tended to be really long and intense,” Phillips says. “We gave each other a lot of support.”

The unflinching honesty of the author and her interviewees drives the book’s ultimate message of understanding. The act of sharing these stories is confessional, says Phillips, “but I think it’s also a service. People have reached out to me and told me, ‘Your story gave me hope.’ That was powerful.”

Phillips will give a reading of “Unrequited” on campus at the Honors Center in College Hall on Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Phillips has taught at the College since 2003. She previously worked for 12 years as a public radio journalist, contributing stories to a number of outlets including NPR. She is the author of “Public Radio: Behind the Voices,” a book profiling the most listened-to voices in public radio.

For more information on Phillips and her work, visit http://www.lisaaphillips.com.

Sociology Professor Cautions Against Making False Distinctions Between Incarcerated Youth and Adults

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With the U.S. incarcerated population projected to grow by three percent in the next three years, criminal justice reforms must go beyond granting leniency to young offenders and “extend mercy to all individuals who have transgressed the law,” says Alexandra Cox in a Jan. 14 article published in the online Juvenile Justice Information Exchange.

Alexandra Cox

Alexandra Cox

In “The Perils of False Distinctions Between Juveniles and Adults in Prison,” Cox, an associate professor of sociology, advocates for criminal justice reforms that address the “politically unpalatable” issue of sentencing for violent offenders.

Cox cites a recent National Academy of Sciences report that concludes that “lengthy prison sentences are ineffective as a crime control measure,” and argues that reducing sentencing for violent offenders is the only way to reduce mass incarceration and achieve social justice.

As liberal reformers and the public media advocate for the need to keep youth and nonviolent offenders out of the criminal justice system, they have created a false distinction in the public’s mind between the “dangerous and the ‘rest’”, notes Cox.

“While many support the idea of prison reform due to their exposure to the growing national media on the subject their sense of punitiveness remains unflappable,” Cox writes. “Students consistently draw distinctions between individuals accused of drug offenses and those they see to be deserving of prison time, and they express outrage when they learn about countries where life sentences stop at 10 and sometimes 20 years.”

Cox argues that violent offenders should be granted “a chance to live their lives, and perhaps even become college students, so that they and others can help us build knowledge about why and how violent crime begins and ends.”

At New Paltz, Cox teaches Crime and Society, Criminological Theory, Juvenile Delinquency, and Race Crime and Punishment.  This semester, she co-teaches an “Inside Out” course with Karanja Carroll, an associate professor of black studies, at a local juvenile facility with New Paltz students and students inside.  Cox’s research is about young people’s experiences of being governed in the juvenile justice system.

Cox also published (with Jane Spinak) an article advocating for independent oversight of New York’s juvenile justice system on the CityLimits.org website on Jan. 26.

Department of Black Studies Hosts Spring Lecture Series

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The Department of Black Studies will host a Spring Lecture Series, with talks presented by Assistant Professor Zelbert Moore. All lectures will be held on Mondays in Lecture Center room 104 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

MLK

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Moore will deliver the first lecture, “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Where is the Dream?” on Jan. 26.

The complete schedule is as follows:

Feb. 16
Integration in America: Real or Imagined?

March 9
Dr. Henry Kissinger: Secretary of State or Secretary of Terror?

March 30
Brazil in the World

April 13
Soldiers and Doctors: Cuba Around the World

The lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Black Studies Department at 845-257-2760.