Introducing Our Incoming History Majors, Part IV: Jacob Hazen

Hello fellow history Majors! I am Jacob Paul Hazen, and here's a bit about me: I am hoping to get my Ph.D in History and Education, and hopefully become a college history professor, or run for senator. I am a big fan of the New Jersey Devils, New York Giants, Red Bull New York, Jeff Gordon, and Liverpool FC. I don't like bacon. I love watching Doctor Who and The Big Bang Theory. I am an Eagle Scout, and I have a beautiful girlfriend. Her name is Sabrina and we are engaged to be engaged! (Promise ring). I am originally from Neptune, New Jersey.

Harrison Leone, a Bona History Major, Visits Gettysburg

           To say that I was “lucky” to be able to be in Gettysburg for the 150^th anniversary of the battle would be a tragic understatement. Thanks in large part to my father’s impulsivity, my family and I found ourselves in a sea of amateur historians and over-zealous re-enactors, sweltering under the early summer sun.

 Even if the greatest battle in the Western Hemisphere hadn’t occurred there, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania would still be an attractive vacation destination. The bucolic community of 3,000 people is complete with lush, verdant hills, brick sidewalks and a quaint liberal arts university and has a small-town charm that borders on the surreal. The battlefield nested on the town’s southern flank can almost be forgotten.

            Until, that is, you get onto Tarrytown Road and head towards the field itself. Soon, placards and statues begin to crop along the roadside. Companies, soldiers and generals are all represented by monuments of varying shapes and sizes, ranging from blocks of granite to larger-than-life representations to temples and obelisks.

Along the center of the former union lines, opposite the site of Pickett’s charge, stands perhaps the most impressive tribute to an individual solider: a massive statue of General Meade astride his war horse Old Baldy, surveying the long-dormant battlefield. From the base of the colossal bronze general one can see nearly the entire breadth of the field, from both Round Tops down to the Peach Orchard, Devils Den and the Wheatfield and finally up along Confederate Avenue to Seminary Ridge.

The stones and earthworks the Union defenders took cover behind during that massive assault on the third and final day still stand. Standing behind the  imagine the experience of those men, holding fast under withering fire as a howling wall of gray descended upon them.

Faculty Research Colloquium on Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Speaker: John Apczynski, Department of Theology, St. Bonaventure University 

Topic: The Political Implications of Pope Benedict's Resignation for the Catholic Church 

Place: Plassmann Hall, Room 110 

Time: 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 

Soda and cookies will be available. 

For more information contact Joel Horowitz, Department of History, ext. 2243 or jhorowit@sbu.edu  

The History Club's First Meeting of the Year!

The History Club will have its first meeting of this academic year! The meeting will be this coming Thursday, September 26 at 7:00 in the Plassmann Student Lounge. Harrison Leone is the president and Nicholas Siciliano is the vice president. The meeting is open to all Bonaventure students. Those attending the meeting will set the club’s agenda for the year and elect additional officers. If you have any questions, feel free to contact any of the officers. 

Albany Law School Professor to Speak on Campus

Paul Finkelman, Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy and Senior Fellow in the Government Law Center at the Albany Law School, will visit St. Bonaventure next week as the Lenna Visiting Professor. 

Finkelman will speak at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 25, 2013 in the Walsh Center Auditorium on “The Ten Commandments on the Courthouse Lawn: Why People of Faith Should Oppose Religious Monuments on Public Space.” The talk will count as a senior forum plenary but is also open to the public.

Introducing Our Incoming History Majors, Part III: Daniel Leopold

The intention of college, or at least its perception, has become misconstrued. When I was in high school, the only stories I was taught concerning college involved crazy parties, promiscuity, and plenty of illicit substances. I had not once heard about amazing professors or interesting classes. Not taking these stories to heart, I came to college prepared to learn, and learn a lot. That wasn’t only my expectation, but my dream. Learning has become a huge part of my plans for the future, even recreationally speaking. And not just for practical endeavors either, but both to improve myself and to help those around me.

Conditionally, this is why I believe Aristotle is the seminal figure of history. Aside from the fact that he wasn’t the greatest mathematician (isn’t that why we all chose history?), his scope of knowledge was unparalleled. He could speak with the greatest contemporary thinkers on any subject, be it discourse, cosmology, or physics. And what I think college should be is to create well-rounded individuals in the mold of Aristotle.

But college admittedly isn’t all about learning. And experiencing new things and meeting new people isn’t just personal dogma, it is my job. As per my description provided by my boss at The Bona Venture, I have to go out into the area surrounding St. Bonaventure and experience a different event or place, and write a story about it. This process essentially advertises these experiences to students and makes Bonaventure more appealing to potential high school seniors.

And for those two reasons, I chose Bonaventure. It has a multi-layered appeal to those on the quest for knowledge who can afford to take a break and have fun.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: George Eastman's Legacy (Chelsea O'Connor-Rosiek)

This past summer, I went to Rochester to visit a friend. Initially, I had no idea what we were going to do. As a Buffalo native, I was of the mindset that there's nothing to do in Rochester. That was until I learned of the George Eastman House, a historical landmark and former home to the founder of the Eastman-Kodak Company, one of the pioneers in household camera use.

                Mr. Eastman was a complicated, successful, and hardworking individual. He was a fiercely dedicated man, committed to controlling his life. This can be seen throughout in every detail of his home that he oversaw from its inception to the tale of his suicide. The George Eastman house was built in 1905 and is an amazing testament to architecture and design of the early twentieth century. The spectacular gardens that line the property feature trellises, 16th century Venetian planters, and the most beautiful arrangements of foxglove, hydrangea, and ivy. Every window in the house overlooks these amazing gardens. The Eastman House features beautiful tile flooring, old-world moldings and carvings throughout, and magnificent art and furniture. Eastman was, understandably, interested in advancing technology. At one point, his house had around nineteen telephones. He also created the first surround sound system of his time by installing the pipes of his organ in the walls, which can be heard throughout his large home.

                George Eastman's dedication to the arts and education are preserved in the 68,000 square foot film and photography museum that is attached to his estate. The photography archives feature works from nearly every major figure of the medium, and the motion picture archives contain stills from many major films and directors, from Orson Welles to Quentin Tarantino.

                The George Eastman House is absolutely worth a visit, whether you're interested in photography, architecture, botany, or film history. It is truly a portal to an amazing period of time.