UW News

June 21, 2011

Etc: Campus news & notes

UW News

Chris McEwen

Chris McEwenMary Levin

FIDDLES AND MAGIC: The UW Alumni Association is sponsoring a special preview of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for its members on July 15 and 16 at the Boeing IMAX Theater. The event is likely to involve a considerable time of waiting in line, but the alums will get some entertainment. Chris McEwen, the assistant director of computer support for University Advancement, will be there playing Irish fiddle tunes. McEwen says she plays regularly, though mostly in her living room. “I avoid paying gigs so that it remains a relaxing non-obligatory part of my life,” she said. “I do play out once in a while, such as at weddings and things but I dont accept pay — so I never end up playing ‘professionally!”

POSITIVE DISRUPTION: Seattle columnist Dan Savage and Starbucks have both been honored by the UWs Master of Communication in Digital Media program for their “disruptive” ways of using digital media to positively impact society. The annual Anthony Giffard “Make the Change” award — named after the professor who founded the program — recognizes local individuals or organizations that disrupt traditional communication models with innovative digital solutions.

The Stranger sex columnist and podcaster Savage, along with his partner, Terry Miller, were recognized for their “It Gets Better” YouTube campaign, which seeks to provide hope and support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teens. Starbucks was honored for its Starbucks Digital Network, developed in partnership with Yahoo.

Robin Schoemake, left, and Ken Rogers haul a mattress out of the fountain.

Robin Schoemake, left, and Ken Rogers haul a mattress out of the fountain.Dale Baxman

DROWNED TRASH: Facilities Services completed its biennial draining and maintenance of Drumheller Fountain in May, and part of the job was clearing out trash that winds up in the fountain. According to their departmental newsletter, heres what staffers found:

  • Four pairs of sunglasses
  • Five cell phones, including one iPhone and one Blackberry
  • One disposable camera
  • One garbage/recycle can from the campus
  • One bollard
  • One barricade reading “Keep off the ice”
  • Four traffic cones
  • One mattress
  • One water meter box lid
  • Eight golf balls

There were also numerous cans, bottles, paper, newspaper, coins, sticks and rocks — 1,500 pounds of material filling 38 garbage bags.

Saving a Bainbridge Island eagle's nest for the Burke Museum's ornithology collection.

Charles Thompson

This may seem funny, but its anything but. All the trash is expensive to remove and a hazard to the ponds watertight liner, says Dale Baxmann, a maintenance supervisor who was in charge of the clean-up. Baxmann says he understands the phones and the sunglasses that slip out of hands and pockets, but a mattress? “This isnt a garbage dump,” he says.

NESTING: Other Facilities Services employees were pressed into service recently for an unusual errand — retrieving an eagles nest from a downed tree on Bainbridge Island. Maintenance Mechanic Lead Charles Thompson and Heavy Equipment Operator Denis Mahony transported the nest, a rare item, to the Burke Museum for its ornithology collection.

BRAZILIAN BRAVO: Jeff Richey, professor of oceanography, was inducted into the “Academia Brasileira de Ciencias” (the Brazilian National Academy of Sciences) last month.