Editor’s note: Edgewood College’s student organizations offer opportunities for connection and community service in 2022-2023 with several charting new paths. On the Edge offers today short articles on several organizations submitted by students enrolled in Eng 201: Intro to Journalism and Eng 312: Topics and Journalism.
On The Edge invites any person who would like a story written about their student organization, campus event, or notable campus occurrence to contact Editor Rebecca Dickman at rdickman@edgewood.edu.
Be sure to read previous student org coverage about the Black Student Union, Student Senate, Latinx Student Union, and Student Nurse Association, also written by 201/312 students.
Eagle Cru: Christian Organization Has Strong Faith Despite Low Numbers
By Ana Brennan
For On The Edge
The leaders of Eagle Cru, an Edgewood campus Christian-based student group, say they see a drop in membership but still have a dedicated core group.
“While there might not necessarily be a decrease in faith, I believe there is a shift in the way people follow the Lord,” said Desirae Madisen, a junior leader of the 15-member group.
Emma Hull, an Edgewood sophomore and member of Eagle Cru, said members have a lot of energy to create more awareness.
“There definitely has been a struggle to get people interested in learning about the faith,” said Hull. “But the girls who are part of the community have the best intentions and truly want to get to know others around campus.’
Madisen agrees.
“Cru has given me a caring community to lean into for all aspects of life. I’ve been able to connect and develop friendships with students and staff here at Edgewood,” she said.
Eagle Cru focuses on religious outreach to college students who want to strengthen their relationship with God, and is rooted in Christian values, according to the original founders of Cru.
The group meets at Phil’s on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and worships together at Upper House on Thursdays at 8 p.m.
It works in partnership with the larger Badger Cru at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with its 300 members.
The Cru hosted a Fall Getaway retreat October 7-9 at Sky Lodge Camp in Montello, WI. Edgewood Cru leaders said the trip’s goal was to allow students to step away from busy college life and reconnect with those around them and their faith. Opportunities included horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, pumpkin carving, worship, and hearing guest speakers.
Eagle Cru also hosts annual events such as Winter Conference, Winter overnight, Women’s retreat, Men’s Retreat, and Spring Break mission trips.
For more information, visit Cru’s Instagram page @Eagle_Cru.
Student Veterans Association: Edgewood group aims to unite veterans, non-veterans on campus
By Brooks Kalscheur
For On The Edge
Leaders of the Edgewood College Student Veterans Association (SVA) said they have plans in 2022-23 to create more of an impact for unity of the veteran and non-veteran communities on campus.
Student leaders said their goal is strengthening their focus on homeless veterans and they rallied volunteers for an event called Stand Down for Madison Oct. 8 to show their concern.
During the event, local veterans’ groups invite homeless veterans or those in danger of becoming homeless for “a day of relief” at the area Salvation Army facility, 3030 Darbo Drive. Veterans can get haircuts, apply for services, eat as many meals as they want and spend the day with volunteers who escort them and make sure they get what they need.
It’s not the organization’s first effort to help homeless veterans. For several years, SVA organized a fundraising program called Swipe and Share. Leftover swipes from Edgewood students’ meal plans are transferred into money and used for donations to area homeless veterans.
“It’s great to see $1,000 of donations go towards something to benefit others,” said Matthew Schroeder, the organization’s advisor. “It’s a special thing when everyone can help out with an issue like homeless veterans.”
Student leaders also hosted a Cider Sale in November and will consider other events including projects to support Veteran Suicide Prevention.
Edgewood’s SVA began in 2012 and has met monthly. Now it intends to meet weekly in DeRicci 122 with Schroeder.
Interim President Mason Ostrowsky said he supports the direction the association is moving towards making “a united community” of veterans and non-veterans
For more information about Edgewood’s SVA, contact Ostrowksy at mostrowsky@edgewood.edu or Schroeder at mschroeder@edgewood.edu.
Details about SVA meeting dates will be included on the group’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EdgewoodCollegeSVA/.
Post-COVID Communications Club debuts
By Lauren Juntuen
For On the Edge
Edgewood College Communications students said they recently started a Communications Club to help students with the increased corporate demands for excellence in the field.
Marihelen Stoltz, a senior adjunct instructor in the Communications Studies Department, said technology spurred the increase in the size of the communications industry and students need and want a club to learn more outside the classroom.
A former Edgewood organization associated with the Public Relations Student Society of America discontinued operations after membership declined due to isolation during the COVID pandemic, department officials said.
Ethan Brandt, a senior and president of the new club, said the goals for starting the club were to get students from all years to come together and form a community, one of Edgewood College’s core values. The club will allow freshmen to get to know seniors and bridge the gap between the new students and upper-level students at the college, according to Brandt. It will also give freshmen an idea of what their future could look like in a few years, something that would benefit incoming communication majors, he said.
In addition to Brandt, the other founders are Hailey Wagner, Isabella Bortolotti, and Olivia Zanon. They are all seniors and Brandt said the group wants to encourage freshmen and sophomores to join in addition to students who are not majoring in communications.
The leaders said they are considering offering internship hours to students as an incentive to join. Also, they plan on having fun events to keep people interested.
Wagner and Bortolotti said the club will be different from others at the college because it will incorporate guest speakers.
Faculty have a lot of connections such as graduates from Edgewood, who can be possible guest speakers that student organizers can choose from, they said.
The leaders said topics that the guest speakers will touch on are the skills they developed for getting a job and how their life changed after college. They will also touch on interpersonal relationships with family, friends, and significant others, they said.
Brandt said communications in business increase productivity, save the company money, and increase general workplace fulfillment. The workforce is going to value students who can communicate at a high level, he said.
Brandt said “the Comms Club is a way to get entrenched in our school. At a bigger school, it is easy to fall through the cracks and just skate by.
“This club makes it possible for that not to happen and provides an opportunity to grow,” he said smiling and holding a flier for the new club.
“Every campus needs a link organization where information is gathered and disseminated by students with a personal stake in what goes on within the community that impacts them,” said Stoltz.
“Culture reflects communication and communication reflects culture. Communication, in all forms, is the heart of how a culture lives, breathes, or dies. Without it, communities become stagnant or die.”
The Communications Club hosted its first event Friday, Nov. 4 in Predolin Hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, contact Ethan Brandt at ebrandt@edgewood.edu, Marihelen Stoltz at MStoltz@edgewood.edu, Leigh Maxwell st LMaxwell@edgewood.edu, Isabella Bortolotti at ibortolotti@edgewood.edu, or Hailey Wagner at hwagner@edgewood.edu.
Theater Assembly creates home for students
By Maggie Kinney
For On The Edge
The semester is coming to a close for Edgewood’s Theater Assembly with auditions for Spring’s performance of “She Kills Monsters.”
Director and Prof. Jeanne Leap said any student can be involved in the theater program regardless of major.
Joe BonDurant, a senior at Edgewood and Theater Assembly president, said he was involved with Edgewood’s theater department before he stepped foot on campus as a student.
“(During) my senior year of high school, I wanted to do more theater outside of Memorial High School. That was when I was told about Edgewood’s “Little Shop of Horrors.” After acting in that production, I knew I wanted to come here,” said BonDurnat.
Having this opportunity led him to becoming assembly president. BonDurant said being involved with various productions both on and off the stage gave him the chance to make many lifelong friends and allowed him to build confidence he never imagined he would have.
BonDurant isn’t the only one who feels this way. Leap said the mission within the department is to make it a welcoming place.
“We absolutely try to foster an environment where people feel comfortable taking risks, creating art, and building community,” she said. “Theater is a collaborative art form, so creating a community of learners and an academic home for many of our theater students is always a goal.”
Leap said the green room in the theater area offers students to spend time with their fellow students and peers. It is a safe place for students that helps them devote more hours to their classwork as well as their theater productions, she added.
Leap said having stage fright doesn’t have to hold you back from joining because Theater Assembly has many ways for students to be involved without being on stage. She said many students choose to work on sets, lighting, sound, in the box office, or simply to attend productions.
“You only have to want to do it—no experience necessary,” said Leap when asked if there were prerequisite courses needed to participate.
The Theater Assembly holds a variety of events for students without acting experience. Recently it traveled to American Players Theater in Spring Green to see A Raisin in The Sun. The club also hosts Halloween parties and winter holiday parties.
Wood’s Edge: Environmental Club recruits campus artists
By Owen Cargill
For On The Edge
Edgewood College’s environmental club ventures down a new path in 2022-23 by inviting campus artists to express advocacy and appreciation for the environment, student leaders said recently.
The club will seek not just art majors but all Edgewood students who consider themselves artists to contribute to art displays soon, says Sydney Schonhoff, president of the club and Edgewood College Junior.
Members say the effort reflects Wood’s Edge goals of inclusiveness and its history of offering opportunities to make friends with students from an array of majors.
“There is nothing better for my mental health than getting outside and enjoying friends’ presence,” said Schonhoff.
Members of Wood’s Edge participate in guided hikes, planting, maintaining, and harvesting the campus garden. As well as hosting Earth Week, a week of events, informational fairs, highway clean-ups, and more.
Katya Novichkov, Wood’s Edge treasurer, said she enjoys the natural beauty of Madison and hikes around the University of Wisconsin—Madison’s Arboretum with fellow Wood’s Edge members.
“Wood’s Edge has been such a welcoming environment and has made me appreciate all of the connections and opportunities that this community has brought my way,” said Novichkov.
Schonhoff, who joined the club as a sophomore commuter, agreed saying “being a part of this club really kickstarted me making friends.”
Wood’s Edge aims to reach new students in their focus on environmental issues not only on campus and around the Madison area, but around the globe, said Schonhoff.
Leaders said they plan to provide a forum for inclusive ideas and conversations concerning environmental justice and the future of our world, while gaining an appreciation for the natural world around them.
Wood’s Edge hosted its first event of the academic year, Sept. 18, with a two-hour hike through the Arboretum.
Meetings for Wood’s Edge are held biweekly in Mazzuchelli, G11 at 4 p.m. For more information, visit the Wood’s Edge Instagram page @woods__edge or contact Sydney Schonhoff at sschonhoff@edgewood.edu
Project Sunshine: New program helps children post-COVID
By Tierney Herman
For On The Edge
Project Sunshine, a popular Edgewood College campus organization, offers a new opportunity this year to get involved through Gigi’s Playhouse, an organization that helps Down Syndrome children in Madison.
Leaders of Project Sunshine said members wanted in-person volunteer opportunities and Gigi’s Playhouse needed help after children suffered isolation during COVID and fell behind in educational programming.
Edgewood students say they support the goal of Gigi’s Playhouse, which is to change the world views of Down Syndrome and to send a global message of acceptance for all with its 56 multinational locations and a Madison facility at 4104 Monona Drive.
Students interested in working in area hospitals found volunteer activities disappear during COVID and Gigi’s Playhouse renews students’ opportunities, said Lauren Reilley, president of Project Sunshine.
Project Sunshine also sponsors other activities including a walk/run and social events.
“If people want to help kids who are facing a challenge, Project Sunshine is a beautiful way to help achieve those goals and a way to feel good about what they are doing,” said Katie Glass, the organization’s faculty advisor and Director of the Child Life program.
Project Sunshine has groups in 100 colleges, but it is fairly new to Edgewood College.
Glass said that Lauren, now a first-year graduate student, proposed this campus organization in 2020 and has had a huge role in building it to what it is today.
The organization started during COVID, and it has been a struggle getting students involved, according to Reilley. But that has not stopped the committee and the active members from organizing events, she added.
One of the successes last year was in the Sending Sunshine Program, in which members make activity kits for children that the national organization sends to U.S. pediatric hospitals. The kits include markers, stickers, books, and other crafty items.
This year, the Sending Sunshine kit-making activities will be held on the first Wednesday of every month in Predolin 115A from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the second Wednesday of every month in Predolin 308 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“As you are making those kits you can’t help but think about every single little pediatric patient that it will bring joy to and put a smile on their face,” said Reilley.
According to the Project Sunshine committee, there are about 90 students on the email address list, but active involvement has been lower.
Desirae Weisenberger, the Edgewood branch secretary, and an Edgewood junior explained that this club is flexible which makes it difficult to have a great turnout all the time, but “overall the people that do come put in hard work.”
The 5K walk/run took place last spring, according to Wiesenberger, which members funded by finding sponsors.
Money from the event funded more activity kit supplies.
The race took place on the lakeshore path in the beauty of Madison, said Wiesenberger, smiling at the memory. The group plans to organize another 5K run/walk this spring.
For more information, go to events @projectsunshineedgewood on Instagram.
Or contact Lauren at LReilley@edgewood.edu, Desirae at DWeisenberger@edgewood.edu, Belle at BFoley@edgewood.edu, or Sara at SNemgar@edgewood.edu
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