Brain tumor survivor walks 250 miles to bring awareness

20 years ago, wife and mother Heidi Gottlieb received news that changed her entire life. Doctors diagnosed her with a benign brain tumor, which eventually turned out to be cancerous. Since then, she has had two brain surgeries and two rounds of radiation. This experience led her to become the founder and director of “Brain Matters,” an organization created to bring awareness to the public about brain tumors.

Gottlieb has endured several surgeries, radiation, side effects such as double vision, trouble swallowing and paralysis of the tongue and also, the feeling of fear. When she was first given the news, her daughter was one year old and it was a “frightening time.” It was a time before the Internet and where it was very difficult to find out information about different diseases. Just three years ago she was told that she had a slow-growing, cancerous brain tumor, but after proton radiation, the tumor stopped growing. She is a wife and mother of two and although it is still somewhat scary, Gottlieb is happy about the Internet availability and the knowledge she has now.

On October 1, Gottlieb will be Walking Miles 4 Brain Matters, from her home in Port Washington, NY to Massachusetts General Hospital’s Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center where she was last treated (in 2008)—because this time going there will be under her control. This will be, in total, a walk of 250 miles.

“I am walking for a cause that needs more awareness,” Gottlieb said. “I’m shining a light on a subject quite dark.”

Heidi Gottlieb|| Facebook.com

Gottlieb plans to film a lot of this and will stop at schools, hospitals and various businesses to introduce herself and hand out flyers.

“I’m hoping to have more school participation,” she said. “I wish I had more time and more people.”

Gottlieb said that during the planning of this event she focused more on high schools, but if she had known how difficult it was for high schools to get on board with a project like this, she would have pursued colleges. The estimated number of participants in the walk is yet to be seen, but she will try to post her routes online as she walks.

Gottlieb plans to be in Bridgeport on October 7 and is looking for supporters—whether to join in the walk or to donate for the cause.

“The Brain Matters fundraising website with some great donation ‘perks’ will be up until September 30 and we’re still trying to reach our goal,” she said. “The link to that site is www.indiegogo.com/brain-matters.com.”

Gottlieb emphasized the importance of using a headset with one’s cell phone. She describes herself as an early cell phone user and, as a former film producer, she stated that she was on film sets in 1985 when cell phones weighed “about 5 pounds” and received poor reception.

“The weight has decreased and the reception is much, much better, but there is more and more information and statistics that connects cell phone use to brain tumors, especially cancerous brain tumors,” she said. “Why take the risk? Wear a headset.”

Gottlieb has redefined what it means to keep moving forward and this walk is meant to help create the awareness it needs about a disease that affects thousands of people each year.

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” Gottlieb said. “And there aren’t many, unfortunately.”

Gottlieb plans to write a book in the future about her story and hopes it will be inspirational to people.

Visit www.Brain-matters.org to donate to “Brain Matters” and learn more about how you can get involved.

<View article on The Scribe website>

Modification in Library hours causes reactions from UB students: UB announces 24-hours access to 1st floor of Magnus Wahlstrom Library

Two purple balloons and a standing white board stands at the entrance of the Magnus Wahlstrom Library, informing students, faculty and staff of the major change that will take place tonight, Monday, September 19. The 1st floor of the Library will be open for 24-hours on weekdays, ensuring more study and quiet time for those interested in taking advantage.

Senior and Martial Arts major Shane Staat is “absolutely ecstatic” about this reform in library hours.

“I get so much more done here than I do in my apartment,” Staat said. “I feel better getting work done here than I do at home.”

Staat said that he would have liked for it be 24 hours on weekends, but he can understand how student-demand can play a part in that decision. However, he feels that if Scribe café were open 24-hours too, they would make a lot of money, especially from coffee purchases.

“We [students] need fuel!” Staats said.

Junior Jocelyn Barna is happy about the new library hours.

“I get more done here than my dorm room,” Barna said. “I feel like if I’m in the library, not that I’m forced but, it’s more of an option to do my work.”

No library services will be available after midnight and the Print Room and Copiers cannot be accessed between the hours of midnight and 8 a.m. The Scribe café will have the same hours on Friday and weekends, but will close at 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday, extending three hours past the usual closing time.

Scribe Café Cashier/Server Ramona Nogic said that the new hours don’t really affect her, since she leaves hours before the closing time. However, she does not see the reason for the new 24-hour access.

“I don’t think it’s necessary,” Nogic said. “I don’t see many people after a certain time.”

Junior and Biology Major Hannah Boyd lives off campus and states that this change won’t affect her much, except during Finals.

“It encourages us to study at night,” Boyd said. “[Whereas] we should be studying during the day and sleeping at night. I prefer to study in the day [and get my eight hours of sleep].

Boyd is not only concerned about the employees having to work during the night now, but if the extension of hours will even be worth it.

“I wonder if it’s worth the staffing, electricity and the investment,” she said. “I wonder if there will be much people.”

Junior and Student Government President Colin Capaci, is proud to have this change at UB.

“I think it adds to the academic legitimacy of the university,” Capaci said. “Any reputable academic institution has a 24-hour library.”



The Library Hours are as followed: 

Monday- Thursday: 24 hours

Fridays: Open until 9 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday: 1 p.m. – all night

Marilyn Nelson shares her renowned poetry at Necessary Voices

The prolonged silence experienced in the Tower Room of the Arnold Bernard Center on Thursday, September 15 was a chance for listeners to absorb the words of Marilyn Nelson. She is an award-winning poet and helped to kick off the first Necessary Voices Lecture Series of the semester with an evident passion for the art of poetry intertwined with history.

Due to construction being undergone in the ABC Building, the Necessary Voices Poetry Reading was held in the spacious Tower Room, on the 9th floor, which provided a scenic view beyond the vast windows. At 4:30 p.m. English Professor (Dr.) Diane Krumrey officially opened up the 2nd year of Necessary Voices, which she explained began last year at the University of Bridgeport and is meant to energize the discussion of ideas and the arts. Krumrey then went on to introduce a “great, poetic treasure,” Marilyn Nelson. Nelson has been teaching for 12 years, has written poetry, music lyrics, children’s books and poetry translations, and is well-known for being Connecticut Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2006. According to The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism (CCT), the Poet Laureate serves as an advocate for poetry and promotes the appreciation of and participation in poetry and literary arts activities among Connecticut citizens.

Nelson began her reading by first emphasizing briefly the importance of meditation, stating that “we learn in silence,” and then moving on to begin a reading from her book, “The Fields of Praise.” She introduced a series called “Mama’s Promises in which she intended the poems to be about feminist theology, where she calls God “Mama,” and started with a poem entitled, “The Lost Daughter.” It highlighted parenting and the importance of children being seen by their parent(s), however, is based on a true experience of being lost in a department store when she was younger.

Poets.org

“[It’s about] accepting the responsibilities of parenting, yet finding it terrifying,” Nelson said. “But connecting it to generations of parents who felt the same way.”

She mentioned her love of historic research and read other poems that were influenced by figures in history—whether it was Venture Smith and “A Treasure Buried,” Connecticut’s official state heroine Prudence Crandall and “Jump, Jump, Jump,” or even “Not my Bones” written in honor of a set of human remains unknown at first but later found out to be an 18th Century slave named Fortune. She shows admiration for George Washington Carver and described him as a saint. Nelson has written poems on Carver and felt that this man is what motivates a person to live a virtuous life.

“I’ve fallen into accident [into] writing about history,” Nelson said. “[I’ve] fallen into it by coincidence, not by choice.”

Sophomore Julie Torres attended the Poetry Reading and said she had read a couple of Nelson’s poems before. Although appreciating Nelson’s historic focus, Torres admits wanting to know more about the person behind the verses.

“I love history,” Torres said. “I wish she would have written more about herself.”

A few years ago, English Professor Eric Lehman saw a wonderful presentation of her work at the Florence Griswold Museum at which “they paired her Venture Smith poems with the work of artists.”

“It was quite moving and got me interested in the rest of her poetry,” Lehman stated. “I hope that my students will be inspired to read and write poetry.”

Dr. Krumrey hoped that her students walked away from Necessary Voices appreciating how inspiring it is.

“She [Marilyn Nelson] really showed us how history can be an inspiration and can be transformed to people of our own time,” Krumrey said. “She’s a really important Connecticut poet and has a lot to inspire students at UB; plus, she’s cool and fun to listen to.”

“I write poetry in an attempt to find deeper truth,” Nelson said. “The truth we are seeking is essentially the same truth.”

When asked what she hopes listeners took away from her readings, Nelson said, “the kind of pleasure that comes from a story told well.”

<View article on The Scribe website>

The memory embedded in America one decade later: The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks

“Where were you on September 11, 2001?” is a question that many individuals, who were of age at the time, can answer in immense detail. The memory still remains embedded in the minds of those who may have witnessed the horrific scene of the planes striking the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, those who ran up the street of Manhattan after the buildings’ collapse to escape the smothering smoke and ash or even those who were spectators of this fateful occurrence via-television.

Freshman Kristin Shackleton was in her 3rd grade classroom in Illinois at the time of the attacks in 2001.

“A teacher came in to explain [what had happened],” Shackleton said. “I was extremely confused.”

Shackleton said she saw the plane hit the building on the TV when she got home. At the time, she truly thought it was closer to home than it actually was.

Senior Sydney Brown was in Bloomfield, Connecticut 10 years ago, sitting in her 6th grade Social Studies class.

“I remember my teacher found out and started crying,” Brown said. “I didn’t understand and I couldn’t even grasp it.”

At that time, Brown had never been to New York and so the occurrence of a terrorist attack was something that she couldn’t entirely comprehend. Years later, she began meeting different people from New York and was exposed to other points of views and received a brand new insight of that unforgettable day in 2001.

“It could have easily been me,” Brown said. “Those people were just as innocent. It makes you think—to really live your life and keep yourself in check.”

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, there will be a Remembrance/Memorial Service in the Social Room of the John J. Cox Student Center at 6 p.m. tonight.