Film festival brings culture to campus
Within the next couple of months, students will be given the opportunity to view films depicting German culture through the German club’s bi-annual film festival. This festival has been a tradition of the German club for many years. “We want everyone to be exposed to something new and different,” said Joelle Johns, a senior majoring in Secondary Education History and the current president of the German club. The club hopes that students not familiar with the German culture might attend to learn a little more. Students should not be discouraged by the fact that the movies are foreign. “They’re really good films, people shouldn’t be afraid of subtitles,” she said. The next film to be shown is “Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod,” which features a restaurant owner, a pianist and a German business man who all fall in love the same beautiful waitress. “Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod” will be shown on Wednesday, Oct. 21. One part of German culture that many people are familiar with is the fall of the Berlin wall, which took place twenty years ago on Nov. 9. “Sonnenalle” shows life between East and West Germany before the fall of the wall. “Sonnenalle” will be shown on Wednesday, Nov. 4. All of these films and others will be shown at 7 p.m. in Whitman commons.
– Max Wojciechowski
Volunteers come together to help kids
On Oct. 10, several NMU students volunteered their Saturday afternoon to help put together a fall-themed event for kids at the Upper Peninsula’s largest child welfare program. Teaching Family Homes of Upper Michigan is a private nonprofit organization based out of Harvey. The organization takes care of children who come from troubled homes, said Amber Baillargeon, a senior English major who also volunteers as an intern at Teaching Family Homes, as a part of the Student Leader Fellowship Program at NMU. “It’s a program that is designed to place kids in a positive environment,” said Baillargeon. The approximately 20 children, who currently live full time at Teaching Family Homes’ campus, range from 5 to 18 years old. The children are often placed in the care of the organization by court mandate and come from all across the U.P. said Baillargeon. The fall themed event, which was called a “Harvest Day Celebration,” consisted of tables where kids could paint pumpkins, play pumpkin ring toss, make tie-dye T-shirts, participate in a doughnut eating contest and play football or basketball with volunteers.
Baillargeon said that volunteering with the organization has given her an opportunity to be a positive influence for kids who might not have had one in their life. Any potential volunteers who would like to participate in an upcoming bowling trip to Superior Lanes on Nov. 14, or any other Teaching Family Homes sponsored projects can contact Amber Baillargeon at [email protected], for more information.
– Cameron Witbeck
