April 1 - 7

Experience experts and films

A presenter introduces a film in the Weissberg Auditorium during a Beloit International Film Festival.Beloit College is a strong supporter of the Beloit International Film Festival, which kicks off later this week. This year’s festival features a number of showings on campus as well as the work of several Beloit alums.

Hello Beloiters! As we enter the month of April, Beloit will host three renowned scholars and authors who will present thought-provoking ideas during their campus residencies. Plus, several films will be screened at campus locations as part of the Beloit International Film Festival, which kicks off on Friday.

Crom Visiting Philosopher Lecture

Michael Sandel, Harvard University political philosopher and author of “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do,” is the 2024 Crom Visiting Philosopher. His interactive lecture tonight at 7 p.m. at Moore Lounge on “The Tyranny of Merit” will explore how we can rethink approaches to success and failure to resolve issues related to globalization and growing inequality.

Wanda Hollensteiner Conservation Lecture

This year’s Hollensteiner Lecture is at 12:30 p.m. Thursday and will be presented at the Wright Museum by Hannah Segrave, associate curator of European art at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Two recently conserved landscape paintings from the school of Salvator Rosa will be on exhibit.

Mackey Chair

Kimberly Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of In-Na-Po (Indigenous Nations Poets), is a writer, photographer, scholar, and the 2024 Mackey Chair in Creative Writing. She and two other Indigenous Nations Poets will deliver this year’s Mackey Keynote Poetry reading at 7 p.m. on Friday. 

Beloit International Film Festival

The Beloit International Film Festival is hosting its 19th season from April 5-14. Over 100 films will be screened in venues on the Beloit College campus and across the city of Beloit. BIFF celebrates filmmakers of all genres — features, documentaries, shorts — who enjoy the Beloit setting as much as the attendees do. Here are some events of note this week:

  • A film trivia event is being hosted by Blue Collar Coffee Co. at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

  • Late Shift: Diane Hendricks hosts a brand new, first-of-its-kind experience borrowing from both film and game worlds, and allows the viewer to literally rewrite film history by choosing the fate of the on-screen protagonist, using an app. There are two screenings on Saturday and Sunday, both at 2:30 p.m. in the Powerhouse. Tickets must be purchased beforehand. $7 with Student ID.

  • Hearts of Glass - Brian Morello & CELEB host a plunge into the critical first 15 months of operation of Vertical Harvest (VH), a highly innovative experiment in growing crops and providing meaningful employment for people with disabilities. Screening is 5 p.m. Sunday at the Powerhouse. Free admission for students, staff, and faculty with college ID.

Check out the Beloit College Calendar and the Beloit International Film Festival website for more BIFF screenings.

What Unity Day Means to Me, by Autumn Green

“Unity Day is an opportunity for the voices of students, faculty, and staff to be heard. It is not often that the campus community is able to connect on this level. As a biracial woman, sharing my experiences with unity is empowering, and I am excited to make empathetic connections!”

The Unity Day Summit is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday.  

New Department Offering Classes

Looking for a Theatre, Dance, or Music course for the Fall? These three programs are merging into the Department of Performing and Applied Arts, and courses previously labeled MUSI or THDA will now be PART courses. The department will also offer new courses unique to Beloit College moving forward.

Check out the permanent courses in the new PART department, as well as for PART courses offered next semester. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Sarno (sarnofra@beloit.edu) or Daniel Barolsky (barolskd@beloit.edu).

Sports recap

Beloit Softball matched up for a double header against Rockford University on Wednesday. The Bucs lost the first, 9-0, but had a strong showing in the second, losing a nail-biter, 10-9.

Baseball took a three-game series over their rivals Ripon College. They split a midweek double header on Thursday and took the series with a big 4-3 win at home on Saturday.

Beloit Men’s Lacrosse went 1-1 in two non-conference games during the week. The team won a home thriller against Centenary College (Louisiana), 9-8, on a last-second goal by attacker Emmet Morgan’25.

Women’s Lacrosse went 2-0 on their weekend Minnesota trip. The Bucs defeated Augsburg University, 14-10, and won in overtime against Hamline University, 12-11. Midfielder Maya DeGeorge’25 sealed the deal with the game-winning goal.

Stories

Presenting at a national conference

Tianlong (Ethan) Wang and Takeshi Matsuda

Tianlong (Ethan) Wang and Takeshi Matsuda have written “Decentralized Machine Learning Approach on ICU Admission Prediction for Enhanced Patient Care Using COVID-19 Data” with guidance from professor Mehmet Dik. Their paper has been published in the journal Proceedings of International Mathematical Sciences, and both will present their work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in California on April 8-10.

Bridging passions to sports management

Cameron Alonso’22 has taken quite the journey from his initial aspirations in mechanical engineering to finding his passion in sports management. As a McNair Scholar, Cameron delved into research focused on understanding the barriers faced by Latinx youth in accessing soccer programs.

Upcoming Events

Announcements

Biology Summer Research Opportunities

Multiple 4- and 8-week summer research opportunities are being offered through the Pakula Biomedical Fellowship program. Interested students should meet with the faculty mentor and complete the application form by March 31. Two faculty references are required to complete an application.

Apply to be a Summer Resident Assistant

Residential Life is in search of Resident Assistants (RAs) to help complete summer projects. Includes office work, community programming, and other duties. Compensation is a free room in Blaisdell/Bushnell, as well as opportunities to work for pay in our office. Apply to be a summer RA.

For Beloiters

Find more campus happenings on For Beloiters.