North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 04, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 22, 2013 Page: 3 of 6
six pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Tuesday, January 22,2013
Arts & Life
Page 3
Nadia Hill, Arts & Life Editor
NTDailyArtsLife@gmail.com
New program supports foster care alumni
Whitney Rogers
Intern
UNT has a new student orga-
nization, PUSH, that helps
former foster children through
the college process from appli-
cation to graduation.
PUSH, which stands for
Persevere Until Success
Happens, meets at 1 pm. every
second and fourth Thursday of
the month in Chilton Hall.
"Foster alumni lack much
of the support systems most
students have/' said Brenda
Sweeten, project coordi-
nator for the department of
Rehabilitation, Social Work and
Addictions at UNT. "They don't
have a family unit to talk to
about discussions or rely on for
financial assistance."
Sweeten, along with five
foster alumni students, founded
the organization last spring but
are still having trouble reaching
out to the foster alumni in the
Denton community.
"Lack of awareness is our
biggest issue," senior social
work major and foster alumni
Rebecka Greenhagen said. "It's
hard to find them all because of
Photo by Whitney Rogers/Intern
Members of a new student organization, PUSH, Jackie Davis, Heba Hasan, Rebecka Greenhagen, Krystal Saldivar, Xavier Hicks, pose with their sponsor Brenda
Sweeten. PUSH focuses on helping foster child alumni through the college process.
confidentiality issues."
Sweeten estimates that there
are probably 90 foster alumni
students at UNT. So far, PUSH
has reached seven.
"Not everyone who was in
foster care wants to continue to
be seen as foster kids," Sweeten
said. "We are here to help you
adjust and make it through
College,"
In 2009, there were 26,309
foster kids in Texas, according
to childwelfare.gov. Those
Children will age out of the
program in less than 18 years
and become self-sufficient.
"Thousands of foster kids
want to go to college but don't
ever have the opportunity,"
Greenhagen said. "That's what
PUSH is for, to go find those
kids and help them get into
College and make sure they
graduate."
PUSH members have spoken
at conferences, on radio shows
and on panels, trying to raise
awareness.
"This group of students are
speaking out to the commu-
nity," Sweeten said. "And they
are here on our campus telling
their stories> talking about their
challenges and their education."
Sweeten said she knew a
college freshman who couldn't
afford a coat for the winter and
had no money to eat on week-
ends when her meal plan didn't
cover them. That's one of the
situations PUSH wants to help
with, she said.
Kathy Dreyer, program
coordinator for UNT's
Texas Institute for Research
and Education on Aging, is
impressed with Sweeten's dedi-
cation.
"Brenda is a passionate advo-
cate for these students, not just
what they need educationally
but in every way," Dryer said.
"These are incredible people
who have succeeded in getting
into college, and they want
others to get there as well."
PUSH supplies a support
group for foster alumni, but
it also gives other students
the opportunity to appreciate
what they have and reach out
to others.
"Advocating is the most
important thing we do,"
Greenhagen said. "Going Into
the community and sharing our
stories, being a merit or for kids
that are in the system."
Art professor debuts
playful collection
North Texas Daily
Michael Wood
Intern
The room is Completely still
and quiet, the white walls
clean and sterile. It's a cold
and flavorless environment but
a prevailing sense of warmth
emanates from the bright
colors, the; twisting imagery
and the lush and lavish textures
of 26 paintings. This is one of
many contradictions present in
Robert Jessup's artwork.
UNT art studio professor
Robert Jessup's recent collection
"Pictures and Stories" is now on
display at the Conduit Gallery
in Dallas. Jessup is a long-time
painter and often displays his
work at the Conduit.
"I wanted all of the paint
applications - the marks,
strokes, scrapes, jabs and
swipes - to land like the
punches of a boxer," Jessup
said. "Spontaneity and control
quit battling each other like
mad boxers.: They began to
slow dance together."
While: maintaining the
abstraction and surrealism of
his former paintings, his tech-
nique is refined. Although
he wants the pictures to have
a spontaneous feel, he finds
control and thoughtfulness play
a valuable role in his technical
process.
Jessup said the contradiction
in form is intentional.
"There is a dance between
abstraction and deliberation,"
Jessup said. "The two realms
reinforce each other,"
Jessup said he is "pursuing
a picture/' meaning he feels
the imagery is hidden in his
mind and the painting process
is a psychological journey, a
quest to discover form and this
'hone 940-565-2851 • Fax 940-565-4659 • Email dailyaas@unt.edu • www.ntdaily.com
News To You
^^ Since 191
t
Photo by Harris Buchanan/ Staff Photographer
Painter Robert Jessup is a UNT art professor of 22 years. His solo art exhibit will
be in Dallas through February 16th.
journey is manifested on the
canvas.
Danette Dufilho, Assistant
Director and Project Room
Curator for the Conduit gallery,
said guest response to the show
has been positive. An event
held at the gallery to cele-
brate the opening of the show
brought large crowds.
"Now those people are
returning to the pictures on
quiet days to experience the
paintings in Solitude," Dufilho
said.
UNT art professor Rachel
Black visited the gallery for
that purpose. She acknowl-
edged Jessup's clear notions of
form, technique and imagery,
but feels a sense of wonder and
mystery.
"There is a fairy tale here,
not recognizable by us," Black
said. "It's something we each
have to discover on our own."
The show runs through
February 16.
North Texas Daily
News to you on the web at ntdaily.com
I ke Middle East: A New Era
March 22-23, 2013
University of North r exas
Scholars and Researchers from the US and Abroad
Meet DFW Diaspora Population
>
Dignitaries and Ambassadors rom the Middle East
>
Representatives of Middle Eastern Embassies
Art Exhibit, Cultural Night and Film Screenings
>
Proceedings will be Published
>
Opportunities for Student Involvement
Sponsored by Castleberry Peace Institute, Contemporary Arab
and Muslim - ultural Studies Institute (C.AMCSI),
UN /-International and UN'I academic departments
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Harvey, Holly. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 04, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 22, 2013, newspaper, January 22, 2013; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth336966/m1/3/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.