Knox in the News

From Medill Reports:

They are on every TV channel and lots of street corners. They are outside your office and at the mall. They are neighbors, friends, mothers, sons and significant others. They are activists.

And, despite the sentiments of discontent visible on their signs, stickers and slogans, activists may just be happier than their passive colleagues, according to a new review published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Political Psychology.

The review encompasses a set of three studies showing that people who engage in activism tend to be happier and possess a greater sense of vitality.

Determining the effect of activism on a person’s well-being was the objective of the research conducted by Tim Kasser, professor and psychology chair at Knox College in Galesburg and visiting German graduate student Malte Klar, of the University of Gottingen.

Their findings suggest that activism and civil engagement is a natural force in any developed society and provides people with a sense of involvement in regard to problem solving.

“I think that, by nature, people are social animals,” Kasser said. “Once society becomes complex, it leads us to becoming political.”

Kasser noted that activism fulfills basic psychological needs for feelings of competence, relatedness and autonomy.

By writing letters or protesting on the street, people assert their autonomy and power as an individual, he said. Activists very rarely act alone and usually operate within a network, thus providing a sense of relatedness. Kasser contended that, by setting reasonable goals such as acquiring a certain number of signatures for a petition, activists feel competent about their pursuit.

From WGIL radio:

A Peoria native selected to be the U.S. Secretary of Transportation stopped by a local college in an effort to promote what the community is doing to look towards the future.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was in Galesburg Tuesday speaking to members of the community about how proud he is that over $88 million is coming locally to improve the railroad system.

LaHood was with a number of officials at a luncheon at Knox College and LaHood told the crowd that money is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve a number of projects in the area.

“For starters, 11 road and bridge projects in Knox, Peoria, Stark, and Warren Counties, including $2.3 million dollars to resurface State Road 116, $77,000 to make Amtrak’s Galesburg facility more accessible, and nearly $600,000 for bus shelters and other equipment to help modernize transit facilities in Galesburg.”

LaHood says every time you see an orange barrel or orange cone it means jobs to him like when people in the Galesburg area get stuck at trains, he sees jobs and progress.

From the Peoria Journal Star:

Old farmhouse reflects philosophy of Galesburg artist and poet

Artistry, poetry and a focus on process have infused new life into an 1890s farmhouse on South Lake Storey Road in Galesburg.

What was once a modest central Illinois farmhouse is now home to Alex and Deborah Moreno and their five children. It’s a house of natural materials, light, textures, angles and shapes strongly influenced by life experience and philosophy.

It is not a house filled with purchased, commercially manufactured items but one that reflects the philosophy of poet Deborah Moreno and the vision of Alex Moreno, an artist and owner of Moreno Tile & Stone.

The couple both graduated from Knox College. Deborah Moreno now teaches at Knox.

Alex Moreno grew up in Mexico and California. He recalls moving to California and being surprised to discover hot water was available instantly with the turn of a faucet. In Mexico, hot water entailed a bare-footed walk to the river listening to the songs of birds and insects, carrying water back to his dirt-floored home and finally the aroma of a wood fire to heat the water.

From the Register-Mail:

Each week, The Register-Mail will feature a graduate of a local high school or college who has accomplished notable things in her chosen field. This Saturday’s notable alumna is Lori L. Sundberg, GHS Class of 1976, and a woman whose history is impossibly intertwined with Carl Sandburg College. The recipient of a 1977 cosmetology certificate from CSC, Sundberg attended Sandburg in the early ’90s on her way to three additional degrees, including a doctorate. She returned to CSC as an instructor and later administrator. On Tuesday, Sundberg was named the college’s sixth president. She will replace the retiring Tom Schmidt in July 2010.

Occupation: CSC vice president of academic services.

College: Bachelor’s degree in economics and history, Knox College; master’s in business administration, Western Illinois University; and doctorate in business administration from St. Ambrose University.

Announcement of Sundberg’s appointment in the Register-Mail.

From the Washington Post:

NBC hopes the denouement of the Booker-O’Brien kerfuffle attracts a lot of viewers — both to the Friday broadcast and its online afterlife. To some extent it will depend on how well Booker performs. When Booker’s good — as when he appeared on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show on election night in 2008 — he’s very, very good. But when he’s bad — as when he appeared on “The Colbert Report” on Sept. 14 to plug “Brick City” — he’s horrid.

Conan’s feud with Booker is similar to the one Colbert ginned up in 2007 when he threatened to burn his honorary doctorate of fine arts that Knox College awarded him when he gave the school’s commencement address the previous year. On his show he said he would torch the document on air if the school bestowed the same honor on Bill Clinton.

A faux feud erupted; Knox College President Roger Taylor finally offered to go on Colbert’s show to explain the difference between Colbert’s degree and Clinton’s. And, in his commencement speech, Clinton spoke thusly:

“When Lincoln ran for president in 1860, the truth is that’s why he got this honorary degree. Your college was trying to help him get elected and you wanted to give him a little boost. One hundred forty-six years later, you gave Stephen Colbert a degree to give his ratings a boost. That’s what Al Gore now calls an assault on reason.”

From the Register-Mail:

Nearly 40 Knox College students boarded a rented school bus Thursday morning and headed to Springfield to protest proposed cuts to the Monetary Award Program.

MAP provides grants to Illinois students so that they may attend selected Illinois colleges and universities, including Knox, Monmouth and Carl Sandburg Colleges.