Communications students to screen The War at Home for veterans and their families

                                               

For Immediate Release                                                                         Contact: Daphne Larkin

March 16, 2010                                                                                          802-485-2886

                                                                                                                        dlarkin@norwich.edu

NEWS RELEASE

Communications students to screen The War at Home for veterans and their families

“The viewer is witness to a confidential conversation between combat vets. This is a discussion that you wouldn't be privy to otherwise”

NORTHFIELD, Vt. (March 16, 2010) – Norwich University communications students have completed a documentary film, The War at Home, and will be screening it for veterans interviewed for the film and their families on March 28.

The screening  will also be attended by veterans featured in Vermont Fallen, the previous Norwich documentary about Vermonters killed in Iraq.

The film will be presented on Sunday, March 28 at 3 p.m. in Dole Auditorium and will be followed by a reception. Students and news media are invited.

For The War at Home, students interviewed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and explored issues soldiers face upon returning to civilian life.

The project was inspired by the families involved in Vermont Fallen who were worried about the soldiers who survived and came home bearing the burden of witnessing the effects of IEDs, said communications Professor Bill Estill.

Bonds among people involved in the two projects, student producers and student veterans grew strong during the course of the work.

“The core group of student producers was and is on track for commissioning and they are friends with the student veterans in the story, so there was an enormous bond between those in front of and behind the cameras,” Estill said. “The viewer is witness to a confidential conversation between combat vets. This is a discussion that you wouldn't be privy to otherwise.”

Students made the film to help veterans process their experiences, to give insight to those preparing to deploy and their families and to inform the general public of the effects of serving in war.

The War at Home by the numbers:

·         The project began with a summer research grant in 2008.

·         Twenty-four veterans were interviewed.

·         Producers collected 70 hours of tape.

·         More than 50 students worked on the film.

·         The film runs just over an hour.

The film was shot in High Definition 1080i widescreen 16x9 aspect ratio.

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Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army. Norwich University is the oldest private military college in the United States of America and the birthplace of our nation's Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). www.norwich.edu

Norwich students raise almost $8k for employee in cancer treatment

For Immediate Release
March 12, 2010
Contact: Daphne Larkin
802-485-2886
dlarkin@norwich.edu

NEWS RELEASE

Norwich students raise almost $8k for employee in cancer treatment

NORTHFIELD – On Tuesday, March 9, Norwich University students presented dining hall employee Rosemary Sprague with a check totaling just under $8,000. This was not to cover an outstanding debt for an overcharged meal card but rather an act of love for someone the students see every day as they enter the dining hall to eat.

Sprague, of Northfield, is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and the fundraiser was meant to help her through this time of added medical expenses.

“They just wanted me to feel better,” she said. “I love them. I didn’t realize how much they really cared about me until this situation the other day.”

In her eighth year working in the dining hall, Sprague mans the counter where students swipe their meal cards. But anyone who has ever dined in the Wise Campus Center knows she is more than just an employee.

“We wanted to do this for Rosemary because she is part of the Norwich Family and has brought joy into so many lives with her beautiful personality and encouragement,” said Alison Lanz, the regimental commander of the Corps of Cadets and the student behind the fundraiser. “She is always complimenting us. It is the least that we could do for her.”
The idea to raise money to help Sprague through her treatment came from the Corps of Cadets, who paid $10 each to wear civilian clothes on Monday.

Upon learning of the fundraiser, civilian students joined the effort raising almost $400. They made pink breast cancer awareness pins, to which they added blue (Sprague’s favorite color) and sold 215 of them. Some students paid $10-$20 for a pin selling for $1.

“Everyone loves Rosemary,” said Jessica Henderson, senior resident coordinator. “And so when told they had the opportunity to donate some money to support her, they jumped at the chance.”

Editor’s note: The photo shows(on the left) student Alison Lanz presenting Rosemary Sprague (on the right) with a check for $7,931 raised by Norwich students.

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Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army. Norwich University is the oldest private military college in the United States of America and the birthplace of our nation's Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). www.norwich.edu

Norwich to hold 15th annual military writers’ symposium

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2010
Contact: Daphne Larkin
802-485-2886
dlarkin@norwich.edu

NEWS RELEASE

Norwich to hold 15th annual military writers’ symposium

NORTHFIELD, Vt. (March 1, 2010) – Norwich University will hold its 15th annual Colby Military Writers’ Symposium on Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5 with five authors engaged in presentations and a panel discussion.

The theme for this year’s symposium is: America at the Crossroads: The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have consumed a combined 15 years, with no clear resolution. While the situation in Iraq has greatly improved, the future of Afghanistan and the problems of Pakistan provide only uncertainty and controversy. President Obama’s recent announcement that 30,000 additional troops are being sent to Afghanistan signals an even deeper American commitment. Our mission and role in Afghanistan and the lessons of Vietnam and Iraq are among the important issues that will be discussed at the 2010 Colby Symposium.

Highlights of the event include a panel discussion with the authors on Thursday at 1 p.m. in Plumley Armory. And on Friday at 2 p.m. in Dole Auditorium the military veterans’ communications seminar will present a screening of “The War at Home,” http://bit.ly/WarAtHome a student-produced documentary film made up of interviews with veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A full schedule of events and author biographies can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/NUColby

Founded in 1996 by Carlo D´Este, W.E.B Griffin, and Ambassador William E. Colby, and renamed in the latter’s memory in 1997, the Colby Symposium has brought more than 50 top authors, historians, and filmmakers to Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., for a two-day residency to participate in open forums, lectures and other related functions.

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Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army. Norwich University is the oldest private military college in the United States of America and the birthplace of our nation's Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). www.norwich.edu