Year: 2015

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News

Student Juried Exhibition Opens

Last Wednesday, March 18, the 26th Annual Student Juried Exhibition opened in the Ortlip Gallery. On March 27, the gallery will hold a reception at the exhibition from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibition will be open from March 18 until April 16.

Alicia Taylor, Director of Exhibitions for the Ortlip Gallery, stated “The exhibition will feature work by current Houghton students in a variety of media… [including] photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, fiber and textiles, book arts, and ceramics.” The works will be juried by an outside artist and curator, Sharon McConnell. McConnell is the Director of the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery at Alfred University.

According to senior, Merritt Becknell, a juror for such an exhibition evaluates entries and decides which pieces will be featured beforehand, rather than judging them at the exhibition. Becknell is among one of the artists who will be featured in the exhibition.

StudentJuried_RGBCash prizes for exceptional pieces will also be a part of the exhibition. Some of the awards and prizes announced at the show include the Best in Show-Ortlip award, the Paul Maxwell Memorial Award, the Presidential Purchase, the First Gentlemen’s purchase, the Java 101 award, and the Bob and Rosalyn Danner Award. Senior, Amanda Irwin, a student leader of the exhibition  said while there is no theme, the exhibition is an “opportunity for students to exhibit and receive recognition for the thought and creative process of their work. “

The general student population gets some exposure to artwork created by their fellow students in The Lanthorn, The Candle, and in STAR features such as “Artist of the Week.” However, according to Irwin, this is a great opportunity to get up close and personal with high achieving work made by other students.

Taylor added, “The installation and layout of this exhibition will be student led by the Ortlip Gallery assistants who are thrilled to work toward a powerful show, giving voice and recognition to the strong ideas and processes addressed in the works selected.” A few of the gallery assistants, such as senior Alex Hood, will have work featured in the exhibition.

Junior Rachel Wright, who has pieces featured in the exhibition, noted “I’ve submitted work for the past few years, but the juror varies every year so you never know if you’re going to get work in. It’s pretty exciting either way, and it gives us a chance to experience a little bit of what the professional art world is like by framing and preparing our pieces the way we would if we were submitting them to a gallery.”

The exhibition is open to the general public for viewing from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m, Monday through Saturday in the Ortlip Gallery.

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News

Take Back the Night To Begin Tuesday

Take Back the Night began in the 1960’s in Europe and has since spread around the world to over 30 countries.

Take Back the Night, an annual campus event dedicated to speaking out against sexual violence, will begin on Tuesday. The event will consist of panels, workshops, a coffeehouse, and a march to raise awareness of sexualized violence. Take Back the Night’s website states, “No one should fear the night . . . or the day. Make RESPECT the standard.”

This year’s theme, “Beneath the Surface,” will focus on understanding the psychological effects of sexual violence in the different contexts in which it occurs, such as church, workplace, and home.

Facebook_CoverIt will begin this coming Tuesday, March 24th with a coffeehouse, poetry reading, Candle release, and printmaking t-shirts in the campus center basement; Wednesday will feature a short film and panel discussion lead by Title IX Coordinator, Nancy Murphy, featuring Professors Ted Murphy, Kristina Lacelle-Peterson, and Paul Young; lastly, Thursday will have workshops led by the Students For Gender Equality group with speaker Wendy Baxter. The night will conclude with a march around campus, beginning at the chapel steps, and a candle lighting in support of the survivors of sexual violence.

Organizing and leading Take Back the Night are coordinators, Luke Lauer ’15, Connor Vogan ‘15, Katherine Tomlinson ‘15, and Allyson Murphy ‘16. The coordinators hope this will be a chance to combat prejudices, misguided assumptions, and the lack of understanding concerning the psychological impact of violence.

The workshops will be a chance to engage in discussion about sexual violence within the in various contexts and how to support survivors. Tomlinson said the intent of this event is, “Reforming our approach and our conversation on this topic.”

The Take Back the Night movement, of which Houghton is just a part, began in the 1960s in Europe and has since spread around the world to over 30 countries. According to their website, the purpose of the organization “is to create safe communities and respectful relationships through awareness events and initiatives. [They] seek to end sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence.” Events focus on raising awareness of sexual violence, providing resources for victims, protesting rape culture, pornography, and the stigma against victims of sexual assault.

 

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News

City Harmonic Headlines Houghton’s First Accepted Students Weekend

Featuring The City Harmonic, Houghton College, will host its first Accepted Students Weekend, allowing prospective students to experience Houghton before many of them make their final decision.

The weekend, beginning on Thursday, March 19 and will conclude Saturday, March 21. Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m. in the Wesley Chapel, Houghton will welcome multi-award winning rock and worship group, The City Harmonic, with special guest and recent Houghton graduate, Taylor Wilding ‘14. The performance will take place as a stop on their nationwide tour. Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m. in the Wesley Chapel.

The Admission Office has put together a weekend “geared toward providing accepted students an opportunity to visit campus, meet other potential classmates, and interact with faculty and staff,” said senior admission counselor, Zina Teague. Accepted students will arrive on Thursday evening and will stay through the weekend, leaving Saturday morning.

Screen Shot 2015-03-19 at 11.21.26 PMEach accepted student will have the chance to stay overnight with current Houghton students, view a movie in the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, and attend The City Harmonic concert. Following the concert there will be an after party in the Center for the Arts building and all current and prospective students are welcome. Teague said of the accepted students, “Overall, we want them to have a chance to experience what it’s like to be a Houghton College student.”

Houghton offers many Visit Days or Opportunity Days for prospective students to have a tour of the campus, attend classes, and meet other current and prospective students.  However, this Accepted Students Weekend offers high school and transfer students the opportunity to spend a weekend on Houghton’s campus, while attending events to make their stay more memorable.

Accepted Students Weekend is unique to other Visit or Opportunity Days because it offers accepted and current students the chance to attend The City Harmonic concert. According to Housing Liaison and Resident Director of Lambein, Krista Maroni, the concert is helpful due to a lack of activities during overnight visits. Maroni said, “I’ve found that hosts often struggle to find creative activities to share with their visitors. The concert provides an easy way for current and prospective students to share an experience and connect. Ideally the concert and the after party can be a jumping point for future connections.”

Maroni also mentioned how the concert will leave accepted students with a “lasting memory of their visit”.  In past years, Houghton has hosted bands such as Jars of Clay and Sanctus Real, so The City Harmonic will add to Houghton’s repertoire of award-winning performers.  Having The City Harmonic perform during Accepted Students Weekend enables accepted students to engage in an energetic, exciting weekend that is different from the typical weekend here at Houghton.  Maroni stated “Prospective students are vital to Houghton’s future and the culture we want to create; this concert is an expression of that value.”

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News

English and Writing Department to Host Connections Weekend

The English and Writing Department is hosting a Career Connections Weekend tonight and tomorrow giving students the opportunity to examine their career paths by talking to alumni from the department.

The six alumni attending the event are Rand Bellavia, library director at D’Youville College; Krestia DeGeorge, News Editor, Alaska Dispatch News; Samantha Lioi, Peace and Justice Minister for Eastern District and Franconia Mennonite Conferences; Dani Rizzo, Immigration Attorney; Brenda Tremblay, Morning Classical Host on WXXI-FM; and Scott Ross Wilkins, Director of Marketing and Communications at Luxbrush. The alumni all graduated with degrees in English and Writing at Houghton and have a wide range of experiences that allow them to relate to students who are not necessarily English or Writing majors.

Luckey_2The event will from Friday evening on March 20 until mid-afternoon on Saturday March 21. On Friday, the first session begins at 4 p.m. with Career Stories from the alumni. Then, on Saturday, there are small group sessions and a conversational lunch in the Alumni dining room. It is a small event that is open to all majors which allows students to network and have one-on-one conversations with the alumni in their field. Professor Susan Bruxvoort Lipscomb feels that this event will allow students to, “see what they can do with English and Writing Majors” because there is a “wide range of possibilities.”

“[I] hope students are encouraged to pursue majors such as English and Writing and see that those are foundational majors that you can do a lot of different things with” said Bruxvoort Lipscomb. English and Writing majors prepare students to have good reading and analytical skills which are very important and helpful in different jobs. Rizzo,an immigration lawyer, got her first job after Houghton as a paralegal because she possessed creative writing skills even though she did not have any prior experience in the field. Bellavia, library director at D’Youville College, said, “The combination of good writing and problem-solving/critical thinking skills is more attractive than most liberal arts graduates think” because “employers can no longer assume that a candidate with a BA or a BS has these skills.”

Often when applying for jobs, students eliminate themselves from the pool of candidates by submitting poorly written cover letters and resumes due to a lack of proper editing. However, “In journalism, and probably in other fields, a certain minimum level of writing ability is taken for granted, so simply possessing some skill as a writer was rarely enough to make a candidate stand out” said DeGeorge.

Bellavia constantly writes reports; white papers, a government or authoritative report giving information or proposals on an issue; budget and grant proposals; and letters of renewal or promotion as an academic administrator. Rizzo, however, drafts petitions to the U.S. government to request immigration benefits on behalf of her foreign national clients and their U.S. employers. DeGeorge said, “Writing is central to my job, even when it’s editing other people’s writing.”

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News

College Media Conference NYC

Last weekend, six members of the STAR staff traveled to New York City to attend the College Media Association’s Spring National College Media Convention. The staff attended workshops on topics ranging from writing feature stories, data visualization, and the value of photojournalism. Workshops were led by a mix of college professors from across the country, administrative staff, and guest journalists from the New York Times. In addition to the workshops, the staff attended both a web and print critique of the STAR. They almost successfully snuck into the New York Times building. Maybe next year.
Photo: (from right to left) Tyler Ashley, web editor, Anthony Burdo, photo editor, Holly Chaisson, features editor, Hattie Burgher, future features editor, and Allyson Murphy, opinions editor (not pictured, Luke Lauer, editor in chief) in front of the New York Times headquarters located in Manhattan.

 

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International News

Shooting in Tunisia Museum

On Wednesday, March 16, gunmen entered and open fired on The Bardo Museum in Tunisia killing 19 people and injuring at least 20 more.

The museum, according to CNN, is housed in a 19th century palace, and calls itself “a jewel of Tunisian heritage.” The museum hosts exhibits featuring art, culture and history, marble sculptures, furniture, jewels, and mosaics dating from the back to the Roman and Carthaginian era, including one of the widely known poet, Virgil.

imgresAccording to Reuters, a London based news agency, the gunmen, dressed in military uniforms, stepped off of a bus and began open firing on tourists. Two of the gunmen then fled inside the museum with hostages.The two gunmen inside the building were later killed and are believed to be Tunisians, while the other three gunmen are still believed to be at large. Their identities, as well as their motives remain unclear.

Among the dead were five Japanese tourists and visitors from Poland, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as at least one Tunisian native, according to Reuters. In addition to the deaths, there were another 20 tourists and two Tunisians wounded in the attack.

While there is no solid evidence linking ISIS to the attack, many factors are forming suspicion of the influence of the Islamic State. The biggest factor causing suspicion, according to The New York Times, was the celebration of the attacks by ISIS supporters via social media which cited a video released by supporters in December that claimed there were ‘more attacks to come.’ Boubakr Hakim, a Tunisian militant, urged for the support of the Islamic state and claimed responsibility for the assassinations of two liberal Tunisian politicians and warned authorities, “You will not live in safety as long as Tunisia is not ruled by Islam.”

Another one of the largest indicators of the Islamic State’s involvement with the shooting is, according to New York Times, it’s emergence as one of the largest sources of foreign fighters joining ISIS. According to The International Centre for the Study of Radicalization in London, “Up to 3,000 Tunisians are believed to have traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight as jihadists, more than any other country.” While the country has not experienced as much violence as other nations that were part of the Arab Spring, it has experienced its share of outbreaks and protests. The Arab Spring, which took place in Tunisia, sparked protests throughout North Africa and the Middle East and was a revolutionary wave of non-violent and violent demonstrations, protests, and civil wars that took place in the Arab world.

Despite Tunisia’s transition from dictatorship to dictatorship, it’s recent completion of presidential and parliamentary elections, and “ a peaceful handover of political power from one governing party to another,” authorities have struggled to handle periodic attacks by Islamic extremists. According to CNN, in February 2015, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry announced the arrests of about 100 alleged extremists, and “published a video allegedly showing that the group possessed a formula for making explosives and a photograph of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”

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Stories In Focus

Athlete of the Week: Andrea Melhorn

Growing up in the heart of Amish country, Andrea Melhorn ‘15 began her track and field career as a high school first year at Donegal High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  She soon discovered that she not only loved the sport, but also excelled in all throwing events.  Once in college, she continued throwing weight and shot put for indoor track; and hammer, discus, shot put, and javelin in outdoor track.  Andrea has qualified for Indoor and Outdoor Track Nationals every season since her first year of college.  She has placed at Nationals every year, often within the top five, and holds the school record for weight and hammer.  In addition, she was picked as the NCCAA Athlete of the Week.

While Andrea has a deep love for track and a variety of other sports, such as downhill skiing, she said that it is the people who make it worthwhile.  As captain of the Houghton Track and Field team, she is constantly encouraging and supporting her teammates.  However, Andrea takes it a step beyond to truly encapsulate the slogan of Houghton Athletics: “Excellence for the Glory of God.”

AndreaMelhorn1_LukeLauer_RGBAs Cara Davenport ‘15, a teammate and close friend of Andrea’s, puts it: “She consistently improves and is always making new goals for herself and setting the bar higher.  It’s encouraging and inspiring to see the way that she interacts with the throwers from other teams, and her camaraderie and investment in them epitomizes the team’s mission of outreach to other schools at meets.”

Andrea would like to continue with athletics after her time at Houghton as a collegiate coach.  Her coach, Robert Smalley,  has been “one of the most influential people in my life at Houghton,” Andrea said. “He is the epitome of a servant leader and I strive to be more like him.  He is such an example of what grace should look like; he puts his athletes first.”  She wants to coach because she sees sports as “a tool to teach more than just athletic abilities, but also learning about others, yourself, and God.  You can teach morals through sports.”

For Andrea, track is not just for exercise, but rather a way she “experiences God’s joy.”  Realizing that she can do sports for God puts so much purpose behind why she competes, she explained. Andrea credited part of this realization to a program she did in Spain during summer 2015 called Athletes in Action.  The purpose of the program was to spread the Gospel through training with Spanish club teams and competing against them.  At the end of the program, she participated in an ultimate training camp involving 24 hours of non-stop intense physical activity, modeled along the same timeframe as the Stations of the Cross.  “Experiencing a snippet of Christ’s pain made me understand so much more about the deepness of Christ’s love for me on the cross.”

Majoring in Spanish, she carries her love for athletics into her academics with minors in business and sports ministry. While she wants to eventually go on to coaching collegiately, she has some exciting plans for the meantime, such as working for a fishery in Alaska, as well as trying out for the US Women’s Olympic bobsled team this summer.  However, her Lancaster roots still shine through as she hopes to one day “grow old on a farm making warm chocolate chip cookies for her grandchildren.”

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Stories In Focus

Innovation Coming to Houghton

More than just a college town.

It can be safely said that Houghton is not the biggest, most notable town on the map. Yet a number of Houghton administrators want to make Houghton, New York more than a small college town. Through a set of varied initiatives, they are hoping to make Houghton “a destination,” as Rob Pool, vice president for student life, put it, “for visitors and guests.”

This plan has already been partially implemented through the opening of the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex (KPAC) this past September. Pool explained that because of the KPAC, “there are rich, varied events we now offer that we couldn’t do before.” Athletic director Harold “Skip” Lord indicated the KPAC’s capabilities. “Obviously, the size is a big factor. The flexibility of arrangement and the ability to break it into smaller or larger units are plusses.”

Accreditation4RGBSince the KPAC has been built, a concert has been held, which Lord noted “was twice as big as any ever held here.” There have also been twelve high school and college indoor track meets. Pool explained that with the KPAC’s size and capabilities, Houghton is “reaching out to section five and six schools,” which increases the amount of people who will “hear about the college, hear about this tiny place called Houghton, New York.” In addition to concerts and sporting events, the KPAC has also hosted youth events and a Frisbee tournament. Overall, Lord said there have been “almost 18,000 visitors this year.”  Regarding future opportunities, Lord said “we are looking at many different options ranging from athletics to concerts to trade shows and special events.”

While the KPAC is bringing in visitors and guests through hosting events, Pool has his own plan to bring in new life to Houghton. Pool is working toward a Houghton alumni village, meant as a place for “active retirees” to spend part of their retirement. Here, they could play an active role in campus life. Pool noted the possibility of taking classes at a reduced or waived fee or even auditing them. Beyond this, they could act as mentors, advisors, or career coaches.  Pool explained that at such a stage in life, they are often “at the top of their careers, with vast amounts of wisdom to share. Thus in playing such roles, they could create “a multi-generational learning community,” where students could have “the complementary benefit of older generations.” Pool explained that for students, “it’s so inspirational to see flesh and blood people who have had the Houghton experience and went out and lived.”

In practice, the alumni would likely be housed in the flats. The inherent difficulty is mobility for the retirees. The flats have multiple floors, and although the retirees are specified as “active,” not requiring constant care, stairs could still be arduous. Pool is still working to find a workable solution to housing, but he affirmed his overall hopes for the idea. He noted other small colleges that had accomplished a similar idea, and reiterated his feeling that alumni would like to be involved on campus in this way. “Many retirees don’t want to lounge in the sun,” Pool explained. They want an active role, and “what better place to do that than at your alma mater?”

Phyllis Gaerte also wants to make Houghton a destination, specifically through theRIVR Group, an organization working toward reinforcing Houghton economically. They were responsible for bringing in Three-Bums and Addie’s, and have hopes of creating a new park by the fire hall. “It’s all designed to make the area around 19 more attractive,” Pool explained. The goal is a Houghton “filled with thriving businesses.”

“It’s a beautiful place,” Pool says of Houghton. “Not the scenery, the people.” Lord, Pool, Gaerte, and several others share a vision of a thriving Houghton where many more people can see its beauty.

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Stories In Focus

Printed Matter Press

Stepping outside the automated world with screenprinting and letterpress.

The Printed Matter Press (PMP) may be one of Houghton’s less visible student organizations, but when they set up shop, they stand out. The self-described “team of designers, printers, printing assistants, marketers, and sales students,” appears during Homecoming Weekend, at the Arts and Crafts Fair, or prior to a major holiday. Visitors will see their table, neatly arranged with a collection of cards, T-shirts, and posters for sale, all designed and handmade by the team.  More present among the Houghton community during these sales, PMP nevertheless remains active all year, working to design and print a variety of products from tote bags to notebooks and cards.

PMP1_LaurissaWidrick_RGB “It’s a fairly big time commitment,” said junior Mason Wilkes, who is a recent member. Ten members attend regular meetings where they anonymously submit designs and vote on which to print. Then, as a team, they meet in the Stevens Art Studio to either screen print the designs onto T-shirts or to use the college’s century-old letterpress to print cards, notebooks, and posters. According to senior Laurissa Widrick, a member since 2012, the group will often hold midnight printmaking sessions.

“We’ll all be up at the studio at the same time printing, packaging, and getting everything done for the upcoming sale,” she said. “There is always something for everyone to do, whether it’s printing, packaging, folding T-shirts, cleaning screens, or just making sure we have good music playing.”

While PMP uses college facilities to create their products, they provide all of their own supplies. Senior Alex Hood, who has acted as “a sort of director” for the loosely structured organization over the past year, oversees their finances with assistance from faculty advisor, interim art professor, Alicia Taylor. For the most part, the students themselves control the business aspect of the organization. Taylor helps with logistical issues, such as paying for tickets to the international printmaking conference that the group attends yearly.

PMP3_LaurissaWidrick_RGBSince the group’s inception over five years ago – a joint effort between students and Jillian Sokso, former art professor – one of PMP’s primary goals has been to raise funds to attend an annual conference held by the Southern Graphics Council International, the largest print organization in North America. This year, seven PMP artists, along with Taylor, are currently attending the conference in Knoxville, Tennessee between March 18th and 21st. They will attend exhibitions, demos, and keynote speeches offered by high-profile printmakers, as well participate in open portfolio sessions.

“It is a gathering to try and concentrate as many printmakers in one spot as possible,” said Wilkes about the conference’s attraction. “[Printmaking is] a growing market right now again, but it is still a niche thing. There really aren’t that many studios out there.”

The conference gives students an excellent opportunity to make connections in the printmaking world, and even to advertise their own work. Last year, students took a suitcase of their inventory and sold it during the open portfolio. Senior Katie Kloos, a member of PMP for three years, recalled the positive reaction the group received for their work at last year’s conference.

“People loved it. It was really reaffirming to have people who know about letterpress and screen printing like and buy our merchandise.”

Right now, PMP is winding down for the semester, with only one event officially scheduled before the end of the year: Take Back the Night.  As in past years, the organization will set up a table to live print their “Take Back the Night” design onto T-shirts or paper.

Though several PMP artists are about to graduate and are currently focused on their own senior art shows, members are working to ensure that the organization endures. The group is always looking for new members to keep the legacy going.

It isn’t just the teamwork that goes into sales or the pride the group takes in their work that makes them so intent on keeping PMP going.In a world where goods are often pumped out in identical batches by machines, they know what they’re doing is special. It’s the kind of work, says Widrick, that allows one to “…step outside that automated world for a while, and into one that’s more personal and meaningful.” Through their work both on campus and off, PMP invites the Houghton community to step into that world with them.

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Opinions

The Death of the Night

I was six the first time I saw a meteor shower. I woke up at around midnight to my sister shaking my shoulder and pointing to the window where hundreds of lights were zipping across the blackness of night. I remember running outside and staring into the sky, even long after the meteors had stopped their frenzied flight. My half-sister from Chicago was with us, and she remarked that she had never seen so many stars in her life: sadly, there are not many places left with skies as dark as my rural New York hometown.

RachelBrunea_RGBIf you look at a satellite picture of the world at night, you will see what seems like an endless number of lights peppering the landscape, concentrating most thickly in the U.S. Each point shows the artificial light thrown from street lamps and buildings in various cities. This “stray light” which is cast into the sky is known as light pollution, and it is effectively putting an end to night.

Not only does darkness allow us to gaze at the stars, it is essential to the life and health of many creatures. When baby sea turtles hatch on the beach, they do so under the cover of night and are guided to the water by the bright horizon over the ocean. Millions of hatchlings die each year because they are drawn away by artificial lights. Migratory birds often travel by night and navigate using moonlight and starlight. Artificial lights can confuse them and cause them to veer off course, often into brightly illuminated buildings.

Animals are not the only ones who suffer from this unnatural situation. In 2012, the American Medical Association stated that “many species (including humans) need darkness to survive and thrive.” Humans have an inner clock (or circadian clock) which tells us when to sleep and is governed by light and darkness. The hormone melatonin is essentially what puts us to sleep at night, and it functions best in complete darkness. When we are exposed to unnatural light during the night, our bodies have trouble detecting whether it’s time to sleep or time to be awake.

According to an article in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, “disruption of the circadian clock is linked to several medical disorders in humans, including depression, insomnia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.” Artificial lights allow us to stay awake much farther into the night than our ancestors were ever capable of, and the orange glow from cities make it impossible to ever truly experience dark nights. Much like the baby turtles and the migratory birds, humanity is experiencing the negative effects of light pollution.

Light pollution is an issue which, on the surface, may seem impossible to resolve. After all, our culture has been dependent on artificial lighting for over a hundred years. Fortunately, however, this is not a matter of powering down our buildings and streetlamps and returning to candlelight. On the individual level, we can help by closing our blinds at night to keep the lights inside our homes from throwing light pollution into the sky. We can also become more conscious of turning off unused lights, which has the added benefit of cutting energy costs. On a larger scale, specialized outdoor lighting has been developed that reduces the glare cast by inefficient streetlights. This type of lighting has been proven to increase visibility while simultaneously shielding the sky from stray light.

Rachel QuoteOverall, Houghton’s campus does not drastically add to the problem of light pollution: our campus is small and the light sources we use tend to be more environmentally friendly. For instance, the specialized dome shape lights, which reduce glare, are used around campus. However, the simple task of turning off indoor lighting when a building is closed should be better enforced. Multiple facilities around campus, such as the music building and the athletic fields, should become more conscious of the light pollution they cause. The KPAC light emission can be seen from a far distance and this must change. Our campus should make these small steps and more in order to effectively decrease light pollution.

The stars have fascinated humanity for thousands of years, giving inspiration to folktales, poetry, and backyard stargazing. The night sky is part of our culture, part of our heritage. As it disappears, it takes with it the possibility that our grandchildren will ever experience the sight of the Milky Way or the splendor of a meteor shower. What would the world be like after the death of night?