Category: Uncategorized

May 13, 2022

May 13, 2022

Summer Movie Releases 

With summer break just around the corner (phew!), perhaps the time has come to begin wondering what life might look like at a little slower pace. If you have movies on the brain, then fear not, because we have a theatrical movie release-filled summer to anticipate!

Top Gun: Maverick
Release Date: May 27

The long-awaited Top Gun sequel was set to be released last fall, though it quickly changed course due to COVID-related safety measures. This Memorial Day weekend, fans of the original 1986 blockbuster will have a chance to see an older Maverick (Tom Cruise) back in the pilot seat. Maverick, a Navy test pilot with over thirty years of service, is called back by the Top Gun program, a school where the best fighter-jet pilots go to hone their skill. Maverick is tasked to train a new group of graduates for a never-before-seen, specialized mission. According to the official synopsis, Maverick’s journey will require he confront ghosts of his past and face his biggest fears. It looks like Top Gun: Maverick will be an action-packed, good time—and one that may be best seen on the big screen.


Elvis
Release Date: June 24

From the director of Moulin Rouge! comes the quasi-musical biopic Elvis. The movie explores over two decades in the life of the legendary King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Moviegoers can expect glimpses into Elvis Presley’s (Austin Butler) childhood and a full-on ride to his superstardom rise. Critical to the biopic is the singer’s complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), through which Elvis’s career will be tracked. Renditions of the artist’s life have been done before, but director Baz Luhrmann hints this one will be deeper. He told Entertainment Weekly, “The great storytellers like Shakespeare, they didn’t really do biographies. They took a life, and they [used] the life as a canvas to explore a larger idea.” Elvis sounds like a promising choice for a dose of musical drama.

Thor: Love and Thunder
Release Date: July 8

The release of Thor: Love and Thunder marks Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as the only MCU hero to receive a fourth standalone installment. The movie picks up in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame. Thor’s on a journey to find peace but is soon interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a vengeful galactic villain seeking the extinction of all gods. Thor needs to stop Gorr before it’s too late. He employs the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and, together, they embark on a long quest to protect the cosmos. Some fun things to look forward to: Taika Waititi directing and Natalie Portman finally wielding Thor’s magical hammer!

May 13, 2022

UREC Climbing Tower

Did you know that all Marinette students can use the Kress Center gym on the Green Bay campus for free? While this gym may be too long of a drive to attend daily, you may want to use your free time in the summer to take advantage of what they have that we don’t: namely, their fancy climbing tower. 

The 28-foot climbing tower is open for scaling on Monday through Thursday, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Want to earn your Top-Rope Belay Certification? Attend one of the free UREC Belay Clinics from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. on the first Monday and third Tuesday of each month, and you’ll come away with your certification (for UREC climbing tower and UREC adventure trips only). Please note that you can use the climbing tower without certification, but you’ll need to wait for UREC staff to assist you with belays. 

The Kress Center also boasts an Outdoor Adventure Center, where you can rent outdoor equipment at super-low prices with your student ID, including the following: tents and camping gear, canoe and kayak packages (including life jackets), disc golf kits, and more. 

See Sydney Hansen’s “Local Favorites” article below for info on free kayak rentals available this summer through the Marinette campus!

May 13, 2022

New Podcast Features UWGB Students 

UWGB EDI Consultant and Professor Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, along with EDI intern and Marinette campus student Nate Ireland, recently launched their new podcast, Let’s Not Do That: Microaggressions on College Campuses. The podcast was Professor Rysavy’s project for her year-long consultantship. 

Let’s Not Do That is a student-led podcast about microaggressions—subtle, indirect, or unintentional incidents of bias or discrimination—on college campuses. Each episode focuses on a different type of microaggression that students of color or LGBTQ+ students encounter. In addition, each features a different student guest co-host who talks about how that microaggression has impacted their life and what they would like professors and other faculty/staff to do to help mitigate the harm from them. 

The podcast is currently in a “soft launch” phase, with two episodes posted on the podcast website. Before the end of May, Professor Rysavy and Nate will be adding three more episodes (currently in editing), and they will be uploading all episodes to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and other podcast platforms. The full launch will be this fall. 

For more information and to listen to the episodes, visit the Let’s Not Do That website.

April 28, 2022

Serial Story: Noah’s Dream Journal #6

March 2, 3:38 PM

My therapist was surprised to hear I had another dream. He must’ve thought I couldn’t have dreams anymore after a few months. Hell, that’s what I thought. He asked me everything that happened to see if there was anything linking it to the last one, anything new that could mean something, basically anything he could derive meaning from.

I told him everything that I had written in the journal, and he too was puzzled at the return of Doc. He tried his best to figure out what Doc meant when he said that I was “cured,” but he had nothing. He tried his best to come up with some optimistic meaning like, “Perhaps you’re cured of these night terrors. You shouldn’t be seeing him any time soon.” I hope so.

As much as I’m terrified to see what the night has waiting for me, I want to have another normal dream again. I miss the nights when I didn’t have to fear where I would wake up the next day, or even if I would wake up. I wanted to feel safe again. Maybe that’s what the Doc meant.

To be continued…

Click these links to read previous entries: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. 

—Jake Puestow, Serial Fiction 

April 13, 2022

Humanizing Our Professors:
Tracy Fernandez Rysavy
English Literature, Creative Writing, and Women’s and Gender Studies Departments: Marinette Campus

A little-known secret around campus is that our professors were once students. Nervous, confused, and probably as hungry as we all are while sitting through lectures, here are their first experiences as professors and what tips they have to offer for students taking their courses.

It rings true that new experiences cause nearly everyone to feel butterflies of uncertainty. It happened no differently for Professor Rysavy. She’d been teaching in many forms before becoming a professor at UWGB, including piano at the age of twelve and, in later years, writing at NWTC in Green Bay. She recalls that the second time teaching a course always went better; the first is a time for trying new things and seeing what worked best. For example, she initially tried to break her habit of being informal and humorous—it didn’t last very long, and I can say it definitely adds to the classroom to have such a light-hearted instructor.

Additionally, Ms. R says that classes are “much more effective when everyone feels they can be themselves,” her included. After all, everyone has a unique experience to offer a classroom, and she’s had the opportunity to learn as much from her students as she hopes they learn from her. The professor wants students who enter her courses to know that they don’t have to be worried or fearful that their answers won’t be “correct.” We come into literature courses fearing the worst. It’s time we remember that our own analyzing of stories counts, too. Our perspectives have much to offer, and usually we can’t go back in time to speak with the author about how they meant the story to be understood anyway. Support your ideas with plenty of evidence, whether they sound crazy to you or not, and let Ms. R have it! And if you ever find yourself struggling on assignments and appearing to class, don’t be afraid to talk to her or send her—and all of your instructors—an email with your concerns. Most of the time, the professors of UWGB will understand your situation and be willing to work with you to the best of their abilities. Remember, you’re paying for this education, she says, and they can’t help you if you don’t speak up for yourself.

March 31, 2022

The Recharge Lounge

Do you remember when the Marinette campus had a bookstore? While we miss our campus store, that space has now become a lovely addition to campus culture—the Recharge Lounge. 

This pair of rooms, located to the right of Student Services as you enter the main building, features comfy couches, soft lighting, lava lamps, and a coffee maker. And if you peek around the doorway in the back, you’ll see another space with floor cushions and pillows if you need a quick power nap. The lounge is a quiet, soothing space to study or just relax in between classes. 


Katelyn Rusk and Payton Furmanski take a blended Zoom class with
Professor Tracy Fernandez Rysavy in the Recharge Lounge. 

March 31, 2022

Free Books in the Little Free Library

Don’t forget about our campus Little Free Library, located in the square in the center of campus. Constructed and painted by Marinette campus maintenance supervisor Ken Lesperance, this sweet little book box has free novels and nonfiction books for the taking. Take a book when you’d like one; leave a book when you have some extra to give away.  (No boring textbooks or damaged books, please.) 

The Marinette campus Little Free Library is now officially registered with the Little Free Library (LFL) nonprofit, thanks to a small donation from Troy Rysavy (Professor Rysavy’s brother). As a result, it’s now on the worldwide map of Little Free Libraries, and you’ll now see an official LFL sign on the front with our registration ID.

March 31, 2022

Must-Watch Musicals 

It’s officially spring, and what better way to welcome the promise of sunnier days than with music and dancing? We leave you with some of our favorite musicals that will surely put you in that bright, spring mood!

In the Heights is a vibrant musical set in the pan-Latino barrio of Washington Heights, Manhattan. Our main lead, Usnavi, runs his bodega—infamous for its delicious café con leche—while dreaming of the Dominican Republic. He loves Washington Heights, but his eyes are set on returning to the warm Caribbean nation of his ancestors. Usnavi is not the only one aspiring. His friends in the barrio are striving fashion designers, undocumented students with hopes, small business owners, and young people who carry their family’s dreams. The cast raps and sings about gentrification, identity, love, and so much more. Though rents are rising in Washington Heights, the movie’s optimism pours through its breakout song “Paciencia y Fe. Patience and Faith.” In the Heights celebrates, without shame, an American tomorrow that can still hold the promise of something better. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of Hamilton), this movie will not disappoint in either entertainment or heart. Catch In the Heights on HBOmax.

Tick Tick…Boom! is a homage and celebration of Jonathan Larson, the late Broadway composer who wrote Rent. The movie, based on Larson’s autobiographical rock-monologue of the same name, follows an artist’s passion and anxiety as he “tries to make it” in New York City. Larson, whose looming 30th birthday haunts his waking hours, is busy with his musical’s first production. This could be his chance to be noticed by a Broadway producer with a big check who could change his life. Meanwhile, he has a girlfriend whose calls he hasn’t returned, he can’t pay his bills, and the country is being ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. Tick Tick…Boom! has the elements of an engrossing memoir, but with all the charm and enchantment of a musical. If you didn’t know Jonathan Larson’s life before, you’ll be glad to experience it. And for all you theater nerds out there, this one’s for you. Stream Tick Tick…Boom! on Netflix.

—Shannon Ribich, Movies Editor

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga: Are you in the “I hate Will Ferrell” camp? I’m not, but I’ve talked to a lot of people who refuse to see Eurovision Song Contest because they can’t stand the former Saturday Night Live comedian’s movies. Tragically, these people are missing out on one of the funniest feel-good films released during the pandemic. Eurovision Song Contest tells the story of Fire Saga, an Icelandic singing duo made up of Lars (Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), who perform regularly at a tavern in their hometown of Húsavik. While the two are busy satisfying bar patrons who hilariously demand that they sing a jaunty, slightly risqué tune called “Ja Ja Ding Dong” at least every other number, they dream of entering the Eurovision Song Contest. Like the soccer World Cup, America has largely ignored this American-Idol-style contest, despite its international popularity. It features singers and bands from across the European Union, the more outlandish, the better. While the residents of Húsavik have their doubts, Lars and Sigrit are determined to try for one of Iceland’s spots in the contest—especially since Sigrit feels that the elusive “Speorg note,” a gorgeous note that can only be sung when you’re being your truest self—is within her reach. Things go well during their first number in the opening rounds, until a hamster-wheel prop Lars is running in falls from its cables, sending him sprawling across the stage and nearly strangling Sigrit when it catches on her scarf. They’re the laughingstock of the EU, but then, a miracle happens…. Eurovision Song Contest:The Story of Fire Saga was just what I needed at the start of the pandemic—it made me laugh, it tugged my heartstrings, and it had me happily singing along on my couch. If you like your musicals with a side of ridiculousness, be sure to catch this fun little film. And I dare you not to join in when the contestants, featuring several real-life Eurovision favorites, launch into a group “Song-Along.” Now streaming on Netflix.

—Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, Driftwood Advisor

March 31, 2022

Around the World: Latin America

Despite being right below the Southern US border, most people in this country may not know much about the cultures of South and Central America outside of cuisine and negative internet comments. Much like anything, if you look just a little deeper into it, there’s so much more than meets the eye and you wouldn’t want to turn back. These countries have created many wonderful, exhilarating films worth anybody’s time, and here are a few of them:

Black Orpheus (1959)
A retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus & Eurydice set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Orpheus makes his endeavor to bring back his love, Eurydice, from the dead. From the first frame to the last, this film is packed with energy that heightens every scene, with not a dull moment in sight. With the colorful arrays in the carnival and the delightful bossa nova soundtrack, this is one that I could never tire of watching. Now streaming on HBO Max.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Ophelia, a little girl traveling with her pregnant mother in WW2 Spain, is tempted to a world of magic and fantasy while fearing her violent, fascist stepfather. A love letter and analysis of old European fairy tales, this film carries with it a strange beauty in its wonder and brutality. It may not be one to watch on date night, but that gives no excuse not to see one of the most (pun intended) magical films ever made. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.