SRU names “Shout Out for the Humanities” winners

Attendees watch a video entry at the March 1 “Shout Out for the Humanities” contest.

March 3, 2016

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Seventeen Slippery Rock University students participated in the March 1 "Shout Out for the Humanities" contest sponsored by The Stone House Center for Public Humanities.

The contest, open to all SRU students regardless of major, provided a chance for participants to tell the world why the humanities are important, according to Laura Coulter, SRU instructor of geography, geology and the environment and event co-organizer.

The SRU event was an offshoot of the national "Shout Out for the Humanities" contest sponsored by 4humanities.org, the advocacy arm of the National Humanities Alliance.

Entries submitted for consideration included: videos, essays, artwork, posters and poems from a variety of majors. Submissions were judged for message, quality and impact.

Judges for the competition were: Eva Tsuquiashi-Daddesio, dean of SRU's College of Liberal Arts; Brad Wilson, SRU interim associate provost for transformational programs; MJ McCurdle, owner, Bottlebrush Gallery; Karen Pierce, librarian, Slippery Rock Community Library; and Kevin Lukacs, a 2015 SRU graduate with a bachelor's degree in history.

The top three finishers were:

1. 1. 1. "The Humanities Matter," a video by Adam Riddle, a senior from Slippery Rock. Riddle was awarded $100.
      2. "Why We Need The Humanities," a poem by Joseph Szalinski, a junior from Pittsburgh. Szalinski was awarded $75.
      3. "Why We Matter," a video by Casey Squires, a senior from West Mifflin. Squires was awarded $50.

Wise Physical Therapy and the Office of Transformational Experiences provided prize monies.

MEDIA CONTACT: Robb King | 724.738.2199 | robert.king@sru.edu