“I wasn’t expecting to win,” says Straumanis. “It’s almost surreal that I saw my advisor, Jennifer Grotz, receive the award several years ago, and now it’s my turn.” Poet Jennifer Grotz is a professor of English at Rochester.

In previous years, the award has been given to visual artists, writers, choreographers, and composers. But the community impact of literature in translation can be just as deeply felt as that of other works of art.

“By making people aware of translation, we’re bringing world voices into English and making world literature accessible,” says Straumanis.

Hailing from Minnesota, Straumanis has lived in Rochester for nearly a decade. She graduated from the literary translation program in 2012 before joining Open Letter Books, the University’s nonprofit literary translation press.

“The Rochester community and the Rochester experience has been synonymous with my translation career,” says Straumanis. “This is where I started my translation career; this is where I began working with the press. Rochester is where I got the idea to reach out to Latvian publishers and authors and get more into that part of the translation world.”

Translated into 11 other languages, Doom ’94 is set in the Latvian city of Jelgava in the 1990s. The story is told through the intimate diary of a young boy trying to find himself through death metal and heavy metal subculture, but the book also vividly depicts the beginnings of the second independence of Latvia, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a coming of age story, the book acts as a portrait of a generation searching for its identity.

“This is a book that spoke to a lot of people,” says Straumanis. “I wanted this to resonate with people who were in the same generation as the author, in the States or around the world.”

At the presentation ceremony, , chair of the , called Straumanis’s translation a “remarkable artistic accomplishment.”

Kegl headed the award committee, whose members also included Jonathan Binstock, the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of the Memorial Art Gallery; , an associate professor of musicology at Eastman; and , a professor in the Department of Art and Art History.

“Her prose is equal to the immediacy of the voices of our protagonist and his new friends,” said Kegl at the award ceremony, describing how Straumanis depicted “the subtle shifts in perspective and tone that locate them within larger and longer personal and historical acts of rebelling, faltering, remembering, and forgetting.”

Full of heartache and hope, the collection of short stories touches on themes of class, sexuality, and gender, while highlighting the universal need for human connection.

Crotty is the winner of the Ģ����ý’s 2018 for her work (University of Iowa Press, 2017).

“It’s an amazing bookshelf of authors who’ve won, like Ann Patchett, Jessamyn West, Toni Morrison, and Mia Alvar,” says Crotty. “I was very surprised and very happy.”

Awarded annually by the Ģ����ý’s , and the , the prize recognizes American women who are launching promising writing careers. It was created in 1976 to honor its namesake, a young editor who was killed in a car accident just as her career was blossoming.

What Counts as Love—also the winner of the 2017 John Simmons Short Fiction Award and a semi-finalist for the 2018 PEN America Literary Awards—carries nine unique tales centered on mostly young women. In the title story, a young woman begins a job on a construction site after leaving an abusive marriage. Two 11-year-old girls spy on a neighbor’s sex life in “Crazy for You,” as they both explore their own sexuality. In “A New Life,” a mother’s grief after her infant’s death leads her to reconsider her marriage and understand her husband in a new light.

Crotty’s book was selected by the prize committee, made up of Ģ����ý faculty members , an assistant professor of art, and��, an associate professor of English, as well as English teacher ��from Pittsford Sutherland High School. Mannheimer says Crotty places women’s narratives in the foreground in a complicated and interesting way.

“You get the sense that these characters are living in a world that is less visible, either because they come from disadvantaged backgrounds or they’re not living in major cities,” says Mannheimer. “They’re dealing with different sets of hardships that are keeping them back in some way, whether it’s abuse or drug addiction or an eating disorder. It sheds a light on other perspectives you may not otherwise hear.”

Crotty has published several short essays, such as “Love at a Distance” and “It’s New Year’s Eve, and This is Dubai.” A recipient of a Fulbright research grant, she lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and is currently working on a novel.

Eight out of nine of the stories in this collection are focused on female characters. What inspired you to make this choice?

I was really just writing about what was going on with people I knew. The only feminist choice I made was to revisit the pressure to write about men. I think men don’t really have the pressure to write about women, but women are pressured to believe that male stories are more interesting or more important. I was trying to resist that.

In this collection, you touch on many topics that concern gender, from sexual assault to eating disorders. Were you hoping to reach young women with these stories?

Of course. If people see themselves represented in the book and want to read it, that’s great. But I hope men are curious about the inner lives of women. Women’s lives are just as complicated as men’s, but I think women are often taught from a young age to censor themselves and to think of how they’re perceived by other people, and because of that there’s often a lot going on in women’s inner worlds that’s often not acted upon, or said out loud. I wanted to try to show some of that in fiction, and I was trying to show that these people’s lives and these people’s stories were worth telling.

The one male narrator of�� “The House Always Wins” is very different from the other eight, in that he is outwardly polite while dealing with aggressive thoughts. How did you come to create this complex character?

Most of these stories start with a story or situation, and that one started with the news of these fires that destroyed several mansions. It was devastating in part because the houses were so big. I was trying to write about that area, and I was trying to imagine someone who would have felt out of place even before these weird things started happening. The character is someone surrounded by what he sees as greed and entitlement, but then also sees that same entitlement in himself and his sexuality, and he’s disturbed by it. I see people’s love of money and need to get money sometimes as the same type of entitlement and aggression that people have in their relationships. He was scared of what he was capable of.

Many of the protagonists come from a low socioeconomic background. Why the focus on class?

I often think about class and money because it dictates, for many people, either what is possible or what seems possible—or what they feel obligated to do, what they feel entitled to do. I also think class is complicated, and it doesn’t coincide just with what you have. It also coincides with education, possibility, and knowledge you’ve inherited from your family, so I think it’s complicated. But each of these stories came out of situations, or people, or circumstances that were interesting to me.

You have a long history of writing essays and short stories, several of which focus on young women and stressors in their relationships. What was your creative process in putting these many pieces together for this collection?

The advice that I’ve gotten from other people is to look for both the differences and commonalities. I think the commonality piece is actually a lot easier than making sure they’re different enough. All the stories come from you and your subconscious, and the ideas and experiences and imagination that’s available to you. So I think it’s highly unusual that someone would write twelve stories and nine of them aren’t clearly connected in some way. That part was easier for me. The harder part was making sure that the stories felt different and weren’t covering the same ground.

��Are you already working on something else? What’s next?

I’m working on one new story I want to write, and one story that I’m mostly done with, and then some essays. Once I do that, I’m going to go back to a novel that I’m working on. It’s been exciting to work on a longer project, so we’ll see what happens.

• Read more about past Kafka Prize winners

Students and tutors from the Ģ����ý’s Language Center appeared on the show “Foreign Exchange” on WAYO, 104.3 FM to read poems in languages such as Arabic, Korean, and Portuguese, along with their English translations. A of the show is available, as is this video��of a poem offered by Andrea Cruz Bendezu ’20, an American Sign Language major and tutor.

Through this celebration of World Poetry Day, the center is promoting “all languages, including those that are indigenous and are labeled as less commonly taught, increasing opportunities for these languages to be heard and highlighted,” Valdez says. “The celebration of the World Poetry Day will allow us to promote the diversity, culture, and identity of this campus.”

“The extensive roster of classes over eight days are taught by fascinating guest artists and faculty,” says Missy Pfohl Smith, director of the and of the Program of Dance and Movement. “The festival is designed to encourage you to try out as many new dance and movement forms as you desire, and to experience dance as art, expression, performance, community building, and a celebration of diverse cultures.”

The festival features more than 30 master classes and styles of dance, including flamenco, contemporary, ballroom, Pilates, capoeira, West African dance, ballet, peacebuilding, and injury prevention.

The traditional first day welcomes high school students from Rochester-area schools, including the School of the Arts and Aquinas Institute, who take part in a day of dance and instruction. There will be a free inspireDance kick-off concert of student performances at 8 p.m. Friday, February 15, in Spurrier Dance Studio.

The world-renowned David Dorfman Dance—a company known for its radically humanistic, innovative, and inclusive movement-based performance—will give a lecture and performance at 8 p.m. Monday, February 18. In a first-time collaboration with Nazareth College, the New York City–based company will also perform “Aroundtown” at the Nazareth College Arts Center on Thursday, February 21.

Guest artists also include Heidi Latsky, Jerron Herman, and Greg Youdan, who will take part in an artist talk and live performance on “Creative Body/Healing Mind,” Saturday, February 16.

The ninth annual inspireJAM—a hip hop battle with dance crews from around New York and Pennsylvania—takes place on Sunday, February 17.

The inspireDANCE Festival is the brainchild of Arielle Friedlander ’10, who was a participant in Rochester’s e5 program (formerly KEY, or Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year), which provides students with an additional, fifth year to carry out an entrepreneurial venture. The festival is a means for students involved in dance and movement to connect with each other and to the Rochester-area dance community.

“Paying tribute to the overwhelming contribution of Soviet men and women to victory in World War II and commemorating their losses would go a long way to soothing that sense of grievance and improving Russian-American relations,” writes Lenoe,��an expert on totalitarianism, Russian and Soviet history, and the Eastern front of World War II.

• Why it’s time to give the Soviet Union its due for World War II:

Early on a Saturday morning last month, the students gathered trash bags, shovels, gloves, and grabber tools and cleared 300 pounds of waste from the shore. Their biggest achievements were the removal of a 55-gallon barrel and a 60-pound bridge railing.

The student group worked with the Southwest Rochester Rotary and other local volunteers, hoping to strengthen ties between the University and the city of Rochester.

“Part of our goal was to clean the river, and the other was to build bridges,” says Daniel DeMarle, a local educational consultant, coordinator of the event, and a rotary member. “We want the students to see that we care about our neighborhood, so they should care about our neighborhood, too. Let’s work together on it.”

Ori Yehezkely ‘18, president of the Inter-Class Living Community and a psychology major from Miami, emphasizes the importance of University students connecting with the surrounding area.

“I think all college students have a responsibility to do good in the community,” she says. “We benefit so much from being in Rochester, I think it’s only right to give back.”

ICLC is a special interest housing group that promotes community engagement by encouraging camaraderie between students on campus, volunteering within the city of Rochester, and strengthening connections among its own group members.

“ICLC is all about bringing people together,” says vice president Sarah Murphy ’19, a Denver native majoring in English and French. “We plan our activities to build relationships between people with different experiences and backgrounds.”

The rotary shares this mission, focusing on service in the southwest Rochester area. The club organizes local projects, such as pop-up art, river cleanups, and volunteer trips that make a positive impact on the neighborhood.

This is the second time that the Inter-Class Living Community and Southwest Rochester Rotary have teamed up to clear the river, and both groups hope to do it again in the spring.

“The people we worked with embody the spirit of Meliora,’” Murphy says. “It was really uplifting to spend time with them. With their kindness and genuine interest in getting to know us, it was a really wonderful group of people to work with.”

DeMarle says that the feelings are mutual.

“The students of ICLC are great to work with,” he says. “They have energy and enthusiasm, and when asked to work, they work hard and do so with a smile. I look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Where to seek help

On campus:

For direct assistance from the��University Counseling Center, students can call 585-275-3113, 24 hours, 7 days a week. A UCC professional is on-call off hours.

Students may also call the��Life Line��at (585) 275-5151.

Detailed information is available on the UCC website at��.

To reach the��CARE Network, visit��, and the Resource Center, available on the UR Mobile app.

Additional resource:

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Suicide is the , according to the American Association of Suicidology. The AAS further reports that approximately one-third of college students have seriously considered suicide.

In response to these grim statistics, the Ģ����ý community is marking National Suicide Prevention Week with a range of efforts to increase awareness of suicidal behavior, the importance of prevention, and the resources available to students.

The University Counseling Center and the CARE Network are two principal sources of help and support for students in distress. ��

The University Counseling Center offers multiple kinds of therapy, programming, and workshops.

“A treatment plan is developed by the clinician that addresses the client’s unique needs and concerns,” explains UCC director Joellen Popma . “This plan may include recommendations such as group therapy, workshops, brief therapy, referrals to a community provider for specialized treatment or longer term therapy services, Therapist Assisted On-line (TAO), case management services, psychiatry or other campus services.”

Often, however, students suffering from depression or other mental health concerns may not seek help themselves. It might take someone else to intervene on their behalf.

The CARE Network offers a means for any member of the University community to submit a “CARE report” about a fellow community member—or even about themselves. The CARE Network then reaches out to the student to help connect them to sources of help.

Heidi Saller, associate director of the network, emphasizes that the CARE Network responds to any type of problem. When students are in distress about college adjustment, discrimination, the health of a peer, or any other concern in their life, the CARE network helps to find the support they need.

“No problem is ever too small,” she says. “If a student needs to get connected, or someone they know needs to get connected, they can submit their concerns to us.”

While students may sometimes hesitate to refer themselves or a peer to the CARE Network, Saller urges students to be proactive in sustaining the well-being of University community members.

“The CARE Network is an opportunity for the UR community to be accountable for maintaining a safe, connected, and inclusive environment. We also help bring multiple campus partners together to ensure students have the best chance at being successful, both academically and socially.”

[Theme music]

You are now listening to the QuadCast, the Ģ����ý’s official podcast.

[Theme music continues]

You’ve packed and planned, picked your courses, and said your goodbyes. Now it’s time to start college. You’re full of questions, but try to relax. You’re not alone.

Katie Emmons: I would tell the class of 2021 to just take a breath. It’s okay to be nervous. Everyone else is nervous. I was really nervous. You’re in the same boat as everybody else.

That’s Katie Emmons, who graduated from the University in May. New students soon will head to Rochester, and orientation director Eleanor Oi says they should travel light.

Eleanor Oi: I’ll say my first tip for students and parents is pack less than you think you should and get stuff later on. Talk to your roommates. Figure out with them what you’re going to share and what you’re not. You don’t both need refrigerators in the room and also from there you can just kind of figure that all out.

Once on campus, Oi says it’s vital for first-year students to get involved.

Eleanor Oi: I believe it’s incredibly important to join the community. You’re going to be here for four years which will fly by, so get involved early and then make your decisions in to what you like and don’t like.

One way to get involved is to join a club. There are 282 student organizations on campus, and more than 90 percent of students are involved in at least one. Associate dean of students Anne-Marie Algier says joining is part of the adventure.

Anne-Marie Algier: College should be a place of exploration. Try something new, try something you’ve never done before. Something I love about our students is the clubs are open, they are willing to take you at any level, you’ve never had to do something before.

Katie Emmons speaks from experience: Try it. You may like it.

Emmons: My biggest advice about student life is try everything. You can at any point, you can say please remove me from this email list but otherwise you might miss out on a great club like I’d never thought I would join Sihir Belly Dance Ensemble, and then I joined that my junior year and I wish I had done it sooner.

There also are more than 40 sports clubs to consider. Soccer, ultimate Frisbee, and rugby are popular, but club sports advisor Griffin LaDew says there are some hidden gems students may not be aware of.

Griffin LaDew: We have a club of about 15 kids who participate in alpine ski. Quidditch club, so all you Harry Potter fans out there can play and they’re pretty competitive as well. We have a rock climbing club and we also have a wrestling club.

Tom Hogrefe, Class of 2019, says first-year students should explore their new surroundings before school starts.

Tom Hogrefe: I think the first week at the University the best thing you can do is to just get comfortable, and learn the campus, learn the people you’re going to be around, and try to reach out and explore as many different clubs, activities, locations as you can. Just really do, take the initiative to make the University feel like a home.

Alex Copperman from the Class of 2020 says it’s important to know your fellow students as well.

Alex Copperman: Meet as many people as possible. There’s a special type of person that applies to this school and decides to go here, and there are a couple of thousand of them so that you can meet with. Do it! You will find people that are going to be your best friends as my past year has gone, the entire year and hopefully for life.

Liz Priore, Class of 2019, says students should get out of their dorms and become part of the University community.

Liz Priore: I think it’s super important for everyone to find their niche on campus. You always have a good connection with the people you live with but that’s a very small percentage of your class in the University as a whole so being able to be involved in other clubs really helps you branch out and meet other people and a lot of times helps you get into the city as well, get out of the campus bubble and really just helps you find yourself on campus.

It’s a new world, full of first-time experiences. Laura Gavigan, the associate director of the College Center for Advising Services, says students should soak it all in.

Laura Gavigan: You’re going to be coming to a place where you’re going to be experiencing things that you may not of ever have known that existed, you know, different kinds of people, different kinds of food, different kinds of classes and climate maybe, I mean for some of our students they’ve never seen snow before and embrace that, you know. Embrace all of the things that you may not immediately see as exciting or positive.

And if you need help deciding on a major, or whether you should take a course, Gavigan and her staff are right in Lattimore Hall.

Laura Gavigan: You can come in and schedule an appointment or you can just come in during walk-ins and meet with any advisor. My office is the first door as you walk in the building on the right so come say hi. Introduce yourself. If you need a hug or a cup of coffee or whatever, that’s what we’re all here for.

Eleanor Oi offers one final tip for incoming students: Learn about the place you’ll call home for the next four years.

Eleanor Oi: I believe you’re joining a University that is deep with traditions and community. Learn about those traditions. Learn about why the Ģ����ý is what it is today, and all of the many men and women that it has created and sent off into the world to do wonderful and amazing things.

��

(MUSIC BEGINS)

For the University’s QuadCast, I’m Caitlin Davie, Class of 2019

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Each year, seniors in the College are invited to nominate a high school teacher for the prize. The award recipients are invited to Rochester to be recognized at the University’s Commencement ceremony. In addition to accepting this honor, this year’s award winners received $3,000 and a plaque, $2,500 for their school, and coverage of all travel expenses.

“The Paul Singer Family Foundation feels strongly that while devoted secondary school teachers play a vital role in the intellectual development of American society, they often receive little recognition or acclaim for their endeavors,” said Gordon Singer, son of Paul Singer ‘66, who funds��the prize.

Marvin Gordon Hall, Mathematics and Robotics, Campion College High School
Nominated by Mark Auden ’17

Auden, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in physics, says that Hall “actively got me excited about the field of mathematics.”

“He listened to some of the many ideas I used to come up with. But rather than pass them over as the wishful thinking of an adolescent, he gave me a copy of Dan Kennedy’s How to Make Millions with Your Ideas,” says Auden, who participated in the University’s Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year program.

Auden notes that Hall has taken a hands-on approach in his many years as an educator and public speaker, and as the founder of an organization, Halls of Learning, dedicated to empowering the lives of people through education, no matter their background.
Deborah Morand, English teacher and Student Council Advisor, Fitchburg High School
Nominated by Brian O’Neil ’17

Although O’Neil, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, was originally more interested in STEM subjects, Morand was able to open up an entirely new world to him. “Mrs. Morand’s passion, her obvious and deep caring for her students, her generosity, resulted in a love of literature that hasn’t left me since,” he says. “She listened, she advised, and she treated me not as a subordinate, but as an equal, giving me the freedom to learn and grow without fear or embarrassment.”

Describing Morand’s teaching style as collaborative, O’Neil also notes that she “agreed to guide the debate club I founded, and what would have been one semester of reading and writing became four years of mentorship and trust.”

Lisa Ricci, Italian teacher, Thomas R. Proctor High School
Nominated by Nicholas Contento ’17

Contento, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, says that Ricci taught him more than just the language of Italian. “We learned to view Italian culture as a discourse, a contextualized exchange of words and ideas that varied by region,” he says. “We explored the structure of Italian government and politics, while asking critical questions.”

Characterizing Ricci’s teaching style as innovative and thought-provoking, Contento emphasizes Ricci’s impact on his University experience, as well as on his personal growth.

“I can state with confidence that Lisa’s classes have set me on a life course filled with critical inquiry, and most importantly, understanding the value and salience of cultural differences,” he says.

Jesse Warren, English teacher, Pomona High School
Nominated by Shelby Corning ’17

Corning, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences with a minor in linguistics, credits Warren with fostering intellectual debate, personal growth, and passion in his classroom. “He galvanized and inspired students to see their studies as more than just busywork,” she says.

Because of Warren’s challenging, innovative assignments, as well as his guidance, Corning says that she “again saw school for what it could be: a platform for change, a stepping-stone to an endless expanse of opportunity.”

Corning also emphasized the impact Warren made on her academic career by inspiring her to revive and pursue her interests in conservation, writing, and the outdoors. “Without him, I may not be where I am today, poised to graduate into the field of environmental science and prepared to change our planet one word, one person, one community at a time.”