Archive for September, 2018

By Theresa Smith GCU News Bureau Long lines of students sitting on the grass or the pavement, endlessly playing cards, snacking, talking and dozing? If it sounds like madness, it is — Midnight Madness. Grand Canyon University students seeking premium seats for Midnight Madness are tailgating and tenting, as organized by the leaders of the Havocs, GCU’s nationally recognized cheer section. “Camp Elliott grows every year and people do it because they like it,” said Havocs Co-President Shelby Langston.  “Yes, they want a good spot for Midnight Madness, but they also enjoy being outside with their friends and changing it up.”  Camp Elliott, coined for Daniel Elliott, the first student to start the tradition, in 2015, will end on Friday, Oct. 5, at 10 a.m. when all students will be given their lineup numbers.  The doors to GCU Arena will open at 11:15 p.m. for Midnight Madness, featuring the men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with their coaches, Dan Majerle and Nicole Powell, and performances by the spirit teams: the Thundering Heard Pep Band, Cheer, Dance and Thunder. The theme for this latest edition of Midnight Madness is mysterious. “They are in for a wild night since The Joker, “Thunder,’’ […]

The CONHCP community reached out in a big way last week by giving sports physicals to more than 300 Special Olympics athletes. It was the second-straight year that the Lopes volunteered for the Medfest event at the the Arizona Recreation Center for the Handicapped, located about 2 miles east of the University on Colter Street. “It gives me goosebumps,” said Stepanie Herrick Kays, an instructor with CONHCP’s family nurse practitioner program. “Children, especially children with low income, if there is something I can do to make their lives better I’m going to do it. If I can give them that sports physical they can’t afford, I’m hopeful going to give them a path. It’s a self-esteem boost and gives them that moment of pride.”

Dr. Rachel Velarde, associate professor of voice, grew up with world influences, considering her mom was a Chinese scholar and dad and Arabic scholar. Her recital with pianist Dr. Luis Rodriguez-Morales, whose “Love Songs Around the World” is included in the program, pays homage to the world influences that helped shape both performers. The recital is coming up Sunday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tempe and Tuesday at GCU.

GCU News Bureau A Grand Canyon University graduate has become a major part of the national sexual assault case involving Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Rachel Mitchell, chief of the Special Victims Division in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, was tabbed by Senate Republicans to question Kavanaugh and the first woman to accuse him of assault, Christine Blasey Ford, during a Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday. Mitchell spoke as the interrogator on behalf of the 11 male GOP members of the committee, while the 10 committee Democrats spoke for themselves. The hearing began Thursday morning and is scheduled to wrap up this afternoon. A USA Today story characterized Mitchell’s initial questioning as a “considerate, businesslike manner befitting an experienced career sex crimes prosecutor” in which she avoided the “barbed clashes” or “politically-laden” remarks of others on the committee. Kavanaugh has been accused by Ford of sexually assaulting Ford when they were teenagers. Since Ford came forward, allegations from two other women have emerged. Kavanaugh has denied all the accusations, according to The Associated Press. Kavanaugh is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mitchell graduated from GCU, then Grand Canyon College, before […]

We Are Messengers’ Darren Mulligan wept, he said, when he and his family left Ireland for America. They didn’t want to leave their family or their home in the countryside. But he believes this is where God wants him to be. Mulligan stopped by the GCU Recording Studio Wednesday, before his band’s appearance at GCU Arena for the Air1 Positive Hits tour, to talk to Worship Arts students about his hard-living days, his return to church, his family and his songwriting process.

Story by Ryan Kryska Photo by David Kadlubowski GCU News Bureau Nothing was different about the traffic at the 35th Avenue and Camelback Road intersection on Wednesday evening: cars, trucks and buses, work vehicles and family vans, people crossing the road, the sun in your eyes heading west. But not lost in the heart of it all was a hue. On the north sidewalk, three groups of teen boys carried basketballs, shoes and gym bags across the intersection on their way east to Grand Canyon University. They were headed to the Ball Out Phoenix basketball developmental camp at GCU Arena, where they’d learn drills, listen to speakers who know what it takes to be successful and meet the kid across town who could turn out to be a best friend. The camp is free, and it’s run by a group of students who are bringing the future of Phoenix down the Camelback sidewalk. “I saw a love for the game and I saw how passionate people would get about simply dribbling a ball,” said Elisha Fronda, a junior Honors student at GCU and founder of Ball Out Phoenix. “I kind of had a different level of how it could make […]

GCU Costume Designer and professor Nola Yergen just wanted to make a video about Renaissance dress to show to her students. But that idea turned into something more — a 9-minute documentary called “Dressing a Renaissance Queen,” which is an official selection in the Lady Filmmakers Festival, coming up Sept. 27-30 in Beverly Hills.

A Colangelo College of Business degree translates well to startups — all kinds of startups. That’s the lesson learned by Susie Baklini and Catherine Zixin, who both graduated last spring and now find themselves working for Naya Energy. It’s not at all what they envisioned.

Collecting things — baseball cards, Beanie Babies, stamps — is perfectly natural. But like most anything, extremes can be unhealthy. Dr. Deb. Wade writes about hoarding, an anxiety disorder that affects 2 to 5 percent of the U.S. population.

Antibiotics have been extremely effective and often lifesaving in the treatment of some infectious diseases. But they don’t cure everything and can sometimes cause medical problems. Also, their overuse has resulted in some bacteria becoming antibiotic resistant. Connie Colbert talks antibiotics in this week’s Fitness Facts.