You have a thousands things on your to-do list upon graduating & Urban Bound takes care of the first 999 of them. From insurance to local gyms, Urban Bound finds it all for you in your new hometown — for free.

Urban Bound is the ultra simple support system for prospective movers and doers. You’re moving to a different city, an entirely new setting and you don’t know up from down. Urban Bound makes you feel right at home, right at once. They’ll be the Siri-like servant to all your moving needs. Composed by a group of real estate pros, Urban Bound knows the moving and housing game as well as anyone.

The moving process is typically a wretched, annoying and chaotic one. Urban Bound makes it smooth as silk finding graduates a transportation team of movers to take your stuff to your new place, new community contacts, dentists, activities in the area and all at the absolute best value. Think of it as the “Kayak.com” for those relocating, except even easier.

How are you going to find the best deal on cable? Security? Internet? Assorted utilities? Are you interested in prime deals for insurance? Gyms in your new neighborhood? Good vets in the area? Affordable furniture? Rec sports leagues in your area for young 20 year olds? Random deals in your new home away from home?

Urban Bound does it all for you.

Did I mention their service is 100% free?

The service is built at a college friendly price: entirely free.

Save time, money and stress with the click of the mouse.

You sign up, and they’ll get you squared away with everything you need. Highly recommended for any and all looking to move. If moving to a major city is in your near to distant future, I suggest jotting down the name.

Urban Bound’s college student direct sign up link & information is here.

For a short tutorial video on who Urban Bound precisely is, check out their bio video.

Good luck and happy graduating!

Know your ABCDs

Skin cancer is not only easy to prevent but easy to detect, too. If you notice an unusual spot on your skin, ask yourself the following questions, which Keegan calls the ABCD’s of potential skin cancer.

If you think something on your skin has one or more of these qualities, make an appointment with your dermatologist. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Keegan typically sees her patients once a year for a full body scan. At these appointments, she keeps an eye on moles, freckles or any other skin spots for signs of change.

What do students think about…

Vitamin D?

Sunscreen?

“I never really wear sunscreen, I tan really easily and never burn,” said Eric Schimmel, junior in the College of Nursing.

Keegan cannot stress enough the importance of preventative measures.”Wearing sunscreen is always the number one way to protect your skin,” Keegan says. “I always tell my younger patients, 15 is the first number you should know — 15 being an SPF sunscreen to start wearing.”

Skin Cancer?

“I think of my dad and the importance of protecting yourself,” said Alison Hanley, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences whose father endured many procedures after his melanoma diagnosis. “I know how important it is to wear sunscreen, even in the winter, so I try to use moisturizer with sunscreen.”

Keegan says, “By the time you’re born, to when you’re about 18 or 20, 80 percent of skin damage is already done. I tell my patients that our skin has a ‘memory’. What we do to it will come back to us when we’re older.”

Lava Flow

Prep time: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Serving Size: about six

Ingredients:

12-oz. pineapple juice

12-oz. cream of coconut mixer (we suggest Coco Lopez)

1 package of frozen strawberries in syrup

6 cups and straws

Ice

Start off with the coconut mixer and a can of pineapple juice. In a separate bowl, puree the strawberries. Next, pour the strawberries into a glass until it fills an inch. Blend ice and pour in coconut mix until it is the same height as the ice. Once it is blended, pour it over the  strawberry mix. For an alcoholic version, add rum.

Avocado and grilled corn salad

Prep and cook time: About an hour

Difficulty level: Medium

Serving size: About two

Ingredients:

5 ears of corn, brushed with olive oil and husk removed

2 avocados

2 cherry tomatoes

1 onion

¾ of a cup of feta

1.5 cups of English cucumber

Cilantro vinaigrette dressing (recipe given)

Grill the corn then cut the kernels off the cob with a knife. Dice avocados and sprinkle with lemon juice. Dice onion. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate everything until ready to serve.

Cilantro vinaigrette dressing

6 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. sherry vinegar

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. french, minced, cilantro

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. of fresh ground pepper

Combine all of these ingredients in a small jar, zip-lock plastic bag or vinaigrette spinner. Blend until evenly mixed. Drizzle over a fresh greens salad.

Berry Yogurt Popsicle

Prep time: 3 hours

Difficulty level: Easy

Ingredients:

6-oz. fat-free blueberry yogurt

6-oz. fat-free yogurt

14-oz. fat-free vanilla yogurt

3 cups crushed ice

2 tbsp. sugar

½ cup blackberries

¾ cup raspberries

¾ cup strawberries

Popsicle sticks

This popsicle is made by layering three, separately blended smoothies. Be sure to rinse out the blender between color layers. To make the purple layer, blend blueberries, blackberries, blueberry yogurt and crushed ice. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine vanilla yogurt, sugar and crushed ice. To make the final, pink layer, blend raspberries, strawberries, strawberry yogurt and crushed ice.

Pour the purple mix so it fills one-third of a popsicle mold. Insert a stick into the mold and freeze for one hour. Repeat process with the remaining white and pink layers. Freeze until ready to serve. Yum!

Milwaukee has a variety of farmers markets stocked full of fresh fruits and vegetables to sustain a healthy summer diet

821 E. Locust St.

This farmers market describes itself as “wonderfully diverse.” Riverwest Gardeners Market offers locally-grown fruit, vegetables, homemade crafts and shows from local musicians. Open June 19 to Oct. 30 on Sundays.

Fondy Food Center

2200 W. Fond du Lac Ave.

The Fondy Food Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reinforcing the food system of southeast Wisconsin by encouraging locals to buy fresh local produce. Open June 25 to Oct. 30, Saturdays and Sundays; Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Brown Deer Farmers Market

6300 W. Brown Deer Road

This farmers market offers locally-grown fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and more. Open mid-May to mid-October, Mondays and Wednesdays.

Maggie King, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, thrifts because of a very simple answer: money.

“It’s super cheap, and it is super fun to find unique and kind of out-there clothes,” she said.

ReThreads

2943 N. Humboldt Blvd.

ReThreads not only offers used clothing, but it will buy your clothes for cash or in-store credit. They offer 30 percent of their projected resale value in cash or 50 percent in store credit. The selection at ReThreads is outstanding. It’s not hard to find designer and vintage clothes in great condition, and at unbelievably low prices, while thumbing through racks and bins. Also, stores (like Urban Outfitters) give out-of-season clothing to ReThreads with the tags still fastened, so there is nothing used about these finds.

Value Village

729 S. Layton Blvd.; 324 W. North Ave.

Value Village has many cheap options for bargain-hungry college kids, and they have two different locations in Milwaukee. The store is basically a large warehouse of clothing racks bulging with donated clothing. It will take some time to sift through the rows upon rows of options, but those dedicated to thrifting will not be disappointed. Well, at least depending on what you’re looking for.

Adrian Rojas, a junior in the College of
Communication, found one of his favorite sweaters here. “It was sequined, and Santa and his sleigh were threaded cheesily onto the back where he was delivering gifts to what I assume are happy little children,” he said. “It had a hole in its armpit, but that’s OK.”

Goodwill and Retique

Goodwill: 6055 N. 91 St., 2830 N. Oakland Ave.

Retique: 190 N. Broadway

For those looking for higher quality used clothing, try Retique in the Third Ward.

Retique store accepts limited donations as to keep the merchandise newer and better. In contrast to Goodwill and Value Village, you won’t find that hideous and tattered sweater your great aunt would wear, but you may just happen upon a fancy dress for that next big dance.

WHY THRIFT?

When thrifting, remain patient and persistent. Thrifting is an adventure and an art. It’s also often a hit-or-miss. “Sometimes it’s a pain to have to dig through and really search for what you want,” King said. “Many times you come up empty handed, which is frustrating.” But when you do happen upon that great find, you’ll love the feeling of satisfaction. And with all that cash you saved, you’ll even have some extra drink money.

Tony Rusch hopes to get into law school after he graduates in spring 2013. That has always been his plan. He can’t afford to try an unpaid internship, a “year off,” or a service project, because with Rusch’s diploma comes the burden of student debt. The payments begin, somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 per month, until, as Rusch said, “Oh God … A really long time.”

But he is quick to note that he is not a sob story, or one in 8,000. He is just, “one of the many students who have to deal with this: paying their own way through college.”

Rusch is the middle of three children, all in college at the same time. And as many American families would agree, college for three students at one time is an expensive venture.

“I have always been grateful of my parents support. They cover the expenses they can and they always have supported me, but when it came to college, me and my siblings just had to help out a little,” Rusch said.

And after all, it’s America: where we work hard to pay for things, we work hard for the expected reward. However, as Rusch and other students pointed out, higher education is reaching a danger point.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost of college education increases at twice the rate of inflation. Similarly, the average cost of education at private institutions increases faster than the rate at which it costs for public institutions to educate students.

Rusch agrees that increasing amounts of student debt in the country points to a larger problem.

“The biggest problem is that we don’t have any foreseeable solution for it,” Rusch said. “The large-scale system we have set up and created for higher education is convoluted and complex, I am not sure how anyone would fix it.”

Rusch added that higher education in the United States is “most definitely” overpriced.

………….

Education’s soaring price in the U.S. has become a hot topic in political discussion in the last few years. Legislation usually can’t change the price universities charge, but it can adjust loans’ stipulations. During the Obama administration, new legislation has gone into effect to lower monthly payments and shorten durations for paying back student loans. The new legislation, however, only affects students borrowing from the government and not those who take out private loans. Even this year’s “Occupy” protest has student debt issues on the forefront of its agenda.

Former Marquette student Matt Reidenbach points the finger at government and politicians for not working hard enough to solve issues involving student debt.

“There are a lot of unintended consequences with the government’s involvement in education and student loans,” Reidenbach said. “If you are in the middle class, you are not poor enough to get scholarships and not rich enough to pay for college. The middle class is really being muscled out, and that’s not good.”

Reidenbach attended Marquette from fall 2010 until fall 2011.

“I knew Marquette was expensive when I decided to go there senior year (of high school), I knew I was paying for pretty much all of it, but I didn’t make a decision based on cost,” Reidenbach said. “When I looked at all the places I applied, Marquette was the most personal and it seemed they put a priority on critical thinking. I chose the place that I thought would give me the best education.”

But the burden of student loans set in, and after fall 2011, Reidenbach moved back home. He is taking classes at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater until he starts at University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall.

“I really started crunching the numbers and in terms of value, I don’t think Marquette was giving me the best value,” Reidenbach said. “It’s a good education, it’s a good school, but so is a state school like Wisconsin (Madison).”

And similar to Rusch, Reidenbach said the increasing amounts of student debt nationwide is a problem that needs to be fixed.

“Year by year, it is getting more expensive and I just felt like when I left Marquette, I was being muscled out by the higher education system,” Reidenbach said.

“My parents made enough money where I got almost no money for going to school, but they aren’t making enough to just pay for it all up front. And I wouldn’t expect a lot of parents could pay for it up front.”

So now, Reidenbach lives at home and works two jobs — one full-time to pay off student loans.

“It’s hard but I’m not complaining,” Reidenbach said, “and when students talk about this stuff, they aren’t complaining, they are talking about a national concern that needs to be addressed.”

Liz Stone, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, echoed a similar sentiment, saying that increasing amounts of student debt are a national problem.

“It’s a huge problem and more and more every year, education is becoming just more for wealthy individuals, and is not an equal opportunity anymore,” Stone said.

Stone, who is an education major, said when she thinks about the principles behind an education, our higher education system is a broken one.

“It’s unfortunate because of skyrocketing costs that if you have the desire to further your education and grow, you may not be able to, because it is too expensive,” Stone said. “It’s becoming harder to grow.”

Much like Reidenbach and Rusch, Stone is paying her own way through Marquette, as the primary signee on all her student loans.

“To be honest, it’s hard to answer if my college decision has been worth it financially, when I think about how expensive it has been,” Stone said. “I have had fun here though, I have gotten a great education and I have made great friends. I definitely don’t regret it.”

However, Stone did say that students who rely on money from loans may have some added day-to-day stress they may not normally have to deal with.

“It definitely affects my schoolwork,” Stone said. “There was one point where I had a realization that I have to make my time here worth it, and I have to be able to get good grades and graduate in four years. My loans sort of motivated me to find that healthy balance.”

Christine Bradford, a junior in the College of Education, is paying her way through Marquette with student loans. She agreed with Stone, saying paying off loans after college is always in the back of her mind, and hard to ignore.

“It’s just a burden that is always on my mind, and I work all the time, but that money I make from working is only a dent,” Bradford said, “a small dent.”

……..

“Some kids, at every school, in every state don’t realize how lucky they are to be getting a college education,” Rusch said. “And sometimes when you don’t have to take out those loans and don’t have to worry about debt, it’s easy to forget about that stuff.”

But Rusch wasn’t complaining.

“That’s one thing that’s good about all these loans,” Rusch said. “I am learning to manage money, I am learning how important my education is, and I am just making the best of it.”

#9. Tyler O’Brien made Marquette history at the Big East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 7, 2011, setting a university record and besting the competition with a time of 21.05 seconds in the men’s 200-yard meter dash. Whose record did O’Brien beat? His own. He previously held the mark at 21.23 seconds.

#8. The casting calls were sent out early for the role of Cinderella in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament. Though the Marquette women’s squad had a solid 24-10 record prior to the NCAA tournament, they were not favored against a top 25 team in the country. The Marquette women’s volleyball squad paralleled the men’s basketball team of 2011, continuing the knack for knocking out the heavyweights by defeating No. 24 ranked Western Kentucky in the first round of the tournament with a 3-1 victory. Not a bad effort for their first NCAA volleyball tournament showing in school history.

#7. Jae Crowder was the paramount picture of Marquette basketball this season. His offensive consistency, defensive prowess and overall court theatrics not only put his Marquette squad back in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year, but also earned him the Big East Player of the Year award. His 17.6 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game and 2.1 steals per game put Crowder in the Big East top 10 for each category. The enthusiastic artist alternatively known as “CJC Boss” is the first Marquette player to win Big East Player of the Year since MU joined the Big East in 2005.

#6. In a tenacious bout with Pittsburgh, Marquette men’s soccer battled for their first ever Big East conference title… and prevailed. The 1-0 win was especially noteworthy considering the men’s team defied expectations, as the preseason coaches’ poll had them finishing sixth out of the eight teams in the Blue Division. It resulted in Marquette’s third NCAA regular season conference title — in school history — and the first in nearly a decade.

#5. The victories on the soccer field was contagious as Marquette women’s soccer scored its third Big East American Division Championship in the last three years. The team also impressed a national crowd, earning their highest ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America at No. 5. Similarly, a quartet of upperclassmen Golden Eagles made the NSCAA All-Central Region Team.

#4. Scene: Villanova shoots out to an early 18-point lead in the first half against Marquette men’s basketball. By halftime, the score is cut to 46-36. On a night where Darius Johnson-Odom was bruising ankles and egos, the star senior drained a season high 26-points. DJO concluded the first half with a three-pointer at the buzzer as fellow senior Jae Crowder kept the silk smooth and the #CJC32 Twitter trend prevalent with a fade away game-tying three pointer to make it 55-55, concluding a 10-0 run. The momentum took over as Marquette overcame the seemingly mountainous deficit and concluded with a mighty comeback win of 82-78 at the Pavilion in Pennsylvania. End scene.

#3. Marquette’s men’s basketball 61-60 win over West Virginia was an inspirational story. Coach Buzz Williams had his hands tied behind his back as he was forced to sit several players for principles he felt were important to the team, as he explained he is preparing the men for life both during and after basketball. With half of the starters sitting out half of the game, Williams was forced to coach his underclassman lineup against a tough Mountaineers squad. Despite a 15-point deficit at the half, the Golden Eagles proved they were the comeback kids, yet again, with a revival in the second half. However, the highlight for Marquette students was just as much about the post-game as it was the mountainous comeback. The nationally televised ESPN game depicted a passionate Buzz Williams, moments after their remarkable win, charmingly dancing to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The song actually hit home with Williams, a Texan at heart, as the southern hit kindled Williams’ basketball romanticism. Marquette was proud of their coach not only for his values shown during the game, but by his personality and heart presented after.

#2. What do Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and sophomore guard Katie Young have in common? The story begins after 39 minutes and 59 seconds of back and forth basketball against Big East rival, Villanova, as Marquette trailed 50-48. (Insert dramatic sports music here.) Consequently, the standout guard launched a 40-foot prayer in front of the home crowd with time expiring. The game-winning swish was rightfully ESPN’s top play on Jan. 11 as it gave the Marquette women’s team their 11th win of the season.

#1. Marquette men’s basketball had not been very successful on Senior Day in the past few seasons — they hadn’t celebrated a Senior Day victory since defeating Florida Gulf Coast four years ago. The dynamic duo of Crowder and Johnson-Odom wanted to change that recent trend on their final home game at the Bradley Center. Georgetown guards served as a human traffic cones for the driving clinic. Johnson-Odom put on against the Hoyas defense, putting in 17 points while Crowder dropped 26 points on the No. 11 ranked Georgetown. Suggesting the MU crowd was amped up and electric would be a mighty understatement. The full capacity Bradley Center crowd brought new meaning to home court advantage, chanting “I believe that we will win” through the game’s opening minutes. The Marquette team properly ensured that belief with an 83-69 celebrated victory over the heavyweight Hoyas.

Under its original name, Club Adrenaline offered its members the opportunity to go zip-lining in the fall and snowboarding over winter break.  The introduction of two new co-presidents for the spring semester, however, has brought big changes to the club, including a new name: the Great Outdoors Club.

“The idea behind the club is … a way of
getting students to break outside of the Marquette bubble,” said Frank Will Bufe, a sophomore and co-president of the club. “We’re trying to engage students with the city in a way that’s fun.”

Instead of only hosting large trips, Bufe and co-President Alex Kane intend to involve members on a weekly basis.

“Who doesn’t like kayaking?  Who doesn’t like canoeing?  Who doesn’t like hiking?” Bufe asked.  “They’re just inherently fun activities that can bridge that connection and connect you with this community that is so essential.”

With about 45 current members, the Great Outdoors Club hopes that actively engaging in the Milwaukee community will bring in more interested parties and greater student involvement.

Watumishi

Three Marquette students ventured to Voi, Kenya in the summer of 2004 for a stay with the Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph at the St. Joseph Shelter of Hope. After returning from their five-week trip, these students developed Watumishi, a Marquette club centered on HIV/AIDS awareness. They began a project to aid in the construction of a library for the shelter.

“The building’s up, the internal structure’s done, it’s been thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of dollars that have gone into this,” said Hillary Gorin, senior and current president of Watumishi. “We’re pretty much just putting the final touches on it.”

Over the years, Watumishi has helped raise funds for the completion of the library with events such as Kick for Kenya, which is a barefoot soccer tournament, and its annual Chili Cook-Off. With the project nearing completion, Gorin hopes for a continued future of success for Watumishi and the St. Joseph Shelter of Hope.

“All of the current members and the future members hope to maintain a relationship with Voi, Kenya and continue, in one way or another, making a difference there,” Gorin said.

Active Minds

As one of the nation’s 330 university chapters, Marquette’s Active Minds club has partnered with the Counseling Center and the Center for Psychological Services to promote mental health awareness among college students.

“A lot of what we do is trying to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.  For some people, it’s just not easy to talk about … what we try to do is ease the conversation about that,” said Meghann Rosenwald, a sophomore and current historian of Active Minds.

To promote mental health awareness and reduce said stigma, Active Minds frequently occupies a table in the Alumni Memorial Union in order to advocate their message, as well as recruit new members.  Not only this, but the club hosts events like National Day without Stigma in October and Mental Health Awareness Week in the spring.

With an email list of about 200 students and 25 to 30 students actively attending meetings, Rosenwald is excited to get students involved in Active Minds and informed about mental health issues as they relate to college students.

“We’re slowly gaining a lot of momentum getting in with this movement,” she said.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE:

Step Up! Marquette Chapter

 The Step Up! American Association for Rwanda Women was founded in response to the Rwandan genocide that took place over the course of about 100 days in 1994.  Marquette opened up its own chapter in 2009 to aid in relief efforts.

“A lot of the survivors are women from the genocide, so they need a lot of psychological help.  They are the ones who are rebuilding their country, so our goal as an organization is to fundraise to help them reestablish their lives,” said Lara Johann-Reichart, junior and president of the Step Up! Marquette chapter.

The club is continuing such fundraising efforts as bake-sales and film screenings.  Not only this, but the club will be hosting a panel discussion with Step Up! founder Dr. Bea and her husband Dr. Tim this April.

With about 10 to 15 student members, the Step Up! Marquette chapter is hoping to continue growing as they have over the past two years.  They hope to incorporate T-shirt sales and other social fundraising activities in the future, as well as collaborate with other social awareness clubs around campus, in order to bring more members to the club.

MCCORMICK

In some respects, the legacy of Victor McCormick is as tumultuous as life in the iconic Marquette residence hall bearing his name. McCormick, a 1922 graduate of Marquette’s Law School, made his fortune primarily through a series of lucrative investments in the Proctor and Gamble, Corp. Alumnus of the year in 1952, McCormick then became only the second person to receive the Founder of Marquette designation in response to a $2.5 million donation that went into the construction of McCormick Hall. This donation was the largest single donation at the time. In 1976, McCormick suffered a debilitating heart attack and his estate went under the control of his wife. Both Marquette and St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., filed lawsuits to collect the remainder of pledged donations. McCormick passed away in 1987 at age 88.

WEHR

By the mid-1960s, Marquette was in desperate need of new classrooms. Then president of the university, the Rev. Edward J. O’Donnell, traveled to Libertyville, Ill. to visit former Wehr Steel Co. chairman, Milwaukee native and philanthropist Todd Wehr. It was during this visit that Wehr reportedly asked O’Donnell how much it would take to construct a building to honor his family. O’Donnell told Wehr what Marquette needed, and several weeks later, Wehr wrote a check for $2.2 million.

The three-building complex consists of the Todd Wehr Chemistry building, a physics building named after Wehr’s brother, William, and a life sciences building named for the entire Wehr family. But the Wehr name isn’t exclusive to Marquette. Through a personal foundation, much of Wehr’s estate went to charities and universities across Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

CUDAHY

Home of the math, statistics and computer science departments, Cudahy Hall is named after the mother of a famous Milwaukee businessman from a famous Wisconsin family. Katharine Reed Cudahy, for whom Cudahy Hall is named, is the mother of Michael Cudahy, founder of Marquette Electronics, a manufacturer of medical monitoring equipment. Michael’s grandfather is Patrick Cudahy, and if you need any proof of his cultural significance, go seven miles south of campus to the city of Cudahy, Wis., home of the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant. Michael’s business success allowed him to subsidize a substantial portion of the $12 million construction cost of the building in honor of his mother, who grew up in a house that once stood in the middle of campus. Michael Cudahy’s philanthropy extends all across Milwaukee, including his donations to cultural landmarks like the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Pabst and Riverside theaters and the Milwaukee Ballet.

STRAZ

David A. Straz Jr., Business Administration ‘65, has two buildings on campus named after him. There’s Straz Tower, the former Milwaukee YMCA, also known as East Hall until its rededication in 2000, and Straz Hall, the home of Marquette’s College of Business Administration.

After attending law school at Marquette, Straz went into the banking business, purchasing his first bank at age 25. From then on, Straz was extremely successful, buying and selling banks across Wisconsin and Southern Florida. He was chairman of the board of the Southern Exchange Bank in Tampa, Fla., where there is also a performing arts center named after him.

Straz kept close ties to Marquette, saying at the dedication of Straz Hall in 1984, “The education I received at Marquette University contributed greatly to my success. As a result, I am very proud of the on-going relationship I have with my alma mater.”

CARPENTER

M. Carpenter Tower is unique in that it bears the name of three different Carpenters who just happen to share the same first initial. The first ‘M’ is for Michael Carpenter, who founded the Carpenter Baking Company in the 1800s. Michael is the original patriarch of the Carpenter family, but it was two of his children, Mary Carpenter and Matthew Carpenter who were Marquette benefactors. When Michael died in 1926, it was Matthew who took over the baking company, which he ran until his death in 1950, while also acting as a member of Marquette’s board of governors. By the time Marquette purchased the former Catholic Knights Tower in 1960, it was Mary Carpenter who made the financial contribution to the university in honor of her father and brother. Mary passed away in 1975, but not before witnessing Carpenter Tower become the first coed residence hall at Marquette in 1972.

MASHUDA

While Mashuda Hall is probably most famous for hosting The Beatles in 1964, there’s a history to the building beyond the one overnight stay of the Fab Four. The Coach House Motor Inn The Beatles stayed in was eventually renamed the Holiday Inn-Central, and it kept that name until 1979. This was when Josephine Hallman Mashuda, the widow of Frank Mashuda, made a significant donation shortly after Marquette purchased the building. The name changed to Mashuda Hall. Frank Mashuda was the founder of the earth moving contractor Mashuda Corp., and when he died, Josephine Mashuda’s longtime friend, then university president the Rev. John Raynor, convinced her to give money to help transform the hotel into an upperclassman residence hall.

Mashuda Hall is actually the second Holiday Inn to house Marquette students. The first was a former university building called West Hall, located near 20th street.

COBEEN

Another hotel-turned-dormitory on campus, Cobeen Hall is named after the one and only “Mr. Student Union” himself, Charles Cobeen.

By the time Cobeen graduated from the College of Business Administration in 1920, he had already cemented his legacy on campus. During his senior year, alongside future Jesuit and Marquette president the Rev. Peter Brooks, Cobeen helped organize Marquette’s first student union. With Brooks as president of the union and Cobeen as business manager, the union was the first of its kind in providing a relaxing area for students. Even after his graduation, Cobeen stayed on as the business manager of the union until 1947, when he became business manager of the entire university.

It was some time later in 1966, two years after Marquette purchased the LaSalle Hotel building, that the building was dedicated in honor of the man who really made the union.

LALUMIERE

Love or hate the architectural decisions that went into the design, Lalumiere Hall was named after arguably the most important person in Marquette history, the Rev. Stanislaus Lalumiere. In 1861, under the direction of the first Archbishop of Milwaukee, John Martin Henni, Lalumiere purchased a plot of land at 10th and State streets, the very beginnings of Marquette College and the cornerstone of what is now Marquette University.

Following a period after the fledgling school got on its feet, Lalumiere was named president of Marquette in 1881, but due to chronic health problems, Lalumiere served only one year as president.

Although his tenure was cut short, Lalumiere’s place in Marquette history was pretty much assured. While other buildings bore his name in the past, it wasn’t until 1971 that the currently Lalumiere Language Hall was dedicated as we know it today.

by Erik Schmidt

Johnny Simon wasn’t meant to play basketball. He looks like a chump anyone could shut down at the third court of the Rec Center, squat and stumpy and strangely proportioned, destined to be confined by earthly limitations and the annoying persistence of gravity. He wasn’t constructed to ascend effortlessly into the rarified air around the rim or perform dazzling miracles with a little orange ball. His anatomical inadequacies are glaring: legs and arms too short, torso too bulky, a running form so awkward and inefficient that his high school football coaches made him do sprints in front of his entire team as an example of how not to run. He should be a wrestler, a linebacker, a bouncer, a weightlifter, a firm and immovable pillar at the bottom of a human pyramid. But then again, Johnny Simon doesn’t give a crap what he should be doing. He’s stubborn. He’s defiant. He wants to prove the world wrong. So when he looked in the mirror as a boy and realized he was built for lower ground and slower speeds and not to play basketball, he said, “Screw it, I’m doing it anyway.”

The thing is, Simon doesn’t need anyone’s approval. He does things his way, always has, from his formative days back home in St. Louis to his three and half years at Marquette to his current, post-graduation venture in Washington, D.C., he’s always been a dissenter of the status quo. Twenty-two years old, 5-foot-7 and 200 pounds, he’s a living paradox, a cultured sophisticate who wears 150 dollar cuff links yet isn’t above primal threats of bodily harm if you look at him the wrong way, a man who is simultaneously the yin to his yang, the LeBron to his Kobe, the rebellion and the evil empire, his earthbound, mortal body merely a vessel for his divine gift: a shooting stroke, honed to perfection during long, lonely practice sessions at Chaminade Prep back in the Gateway City, that has come to be his unstoppable weapon.

When Simon is at the Rec holding down the middle court, it usually goes like this: He’ll start off with a sharp jab step, quick and to the point, a subtle declaration of “F*** off,” and after he has your attention he goes to work. He’ll crossover, switch hands, then, POOF!, he’s gone like Houdini, streaking down the court with a head of steam, ready to pull up from five, ten, 100 feet behind the three-point line — it doesn’t really matter — and fire off a high-arcing rainbow jump shot, releasing the ball in one smooth motion, arm straight up, fingers wagging and dancing back and forth as the ball turns end over end in the air. It gives off the distinct appearance that Simon is a magician guiding the sailing sphere via some sort of pagan witchcraft voodoo. He poses for a moment as the ball gently falls through the net, arm still stretched out like he’s waiting for a high-five. Then he smiles. Game over. Thanks for coming out. Better luck never.

“Next,” he says.

He trudges off as his next victims head onto the court, chest puffed out, eyes a hazy blue. He knows he’s the best, and even if he’s not, he’s still going to act like he is. Double him. Foul him. Fight him. Doesn’t matter. You can’t ever beat him. See, that’s the game he plays. Simon Says. And you always lose.

But sometimes, for a brief second, you can catch a hint of fear in Simon’s pupils. It’s a small, fleeting sign of weakness, barely noticeable if you’re not already looking for it, but it’s there. He’ll grab at his chest, tug at his shirt, pound on his heart as if he’s trying to kick start it. Is he tired? Is he beaten? Is his overmatched body succumbing to the physical stress of taking on longer, faster, more proficient athletes? No. That can’t be it. Simon never gives up. Never takes shit from anybody. Yet something is definitely wrong.

…………

The Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center opened in 1975. Back in the day, the Rec, as it’s known, meant fuzzy green balls, rackets and Golden Eagles tennis. Now it means people like Simon, wayward basketball players who come to play the only game they’ll ever love. That’s really what all this is about. It’s a love affair between a boy and a game. The people who come could have given up years ago. Moved on. Learned to realize that as days go by and responsibilities pile up, things like basketball become a little less important. Yet they come. Day after day, from the halls of Marquette’s dorms to the shoddy campus apartments to the surrounding, local housing, they come.

They put everything aside for a couple hours on the hardwood, all alone with their fickle mistress if it wasn’t for the dozens of other forlorn lovers trying to do the same. Their homework and exams and projects and jobs and chores and spouses and children, for a moment in time it doesn’t matter, and they pretend as if it’s the first time they’d ever laid eyes on Dr. Naismith’s perfectly imperfect creation.

The courts are awash with suitors. Bony freshmen with jerseys hanging off their bodies like sad, droopy smiles, limping veterans fending off time and rationality as they drag their creaking joints up and down the lane. Future doctors and lawyers and dentists and advertising consultants. Former high school jocks and homecoming kings. Has-beens. Never-beens. Wannabes. And everyone in between. They all come.

When Simon comes, people take notice. He busts through the doors of the Rec smiling a villainous smile, clutching his discount Nike’s high and tight under his heart like the grubby shoes are the Crown Jewels and he just swiped them from under the Queen’s nose. He knows what’s about to happen, you don’t.

“Like wudduuuuup,” he says. “It’s gonna be a long day for all y’all. Don’t even know why you bothered showing up.”

“Oh, White Man!” responds the mob. “You ain’t shit!”

“We’ll see about that,” says Simon, toothy grin now curling up menacingly on the corners like the Grinch when he stole Christmas. “We’ll just see about that.”

Playing high school ball back in St. Louis, Johnny Simon knew he had a choice. He could either accept that, as all physical and concrete evidence indicated, basketball was not the sport for him. Or, quite simply, he could work harder than everyone else. For a teenager, that’s not an easy decision to make, and it’s a choice that ultimately came with great sacrifice.

Other kids, the tall ones, the talented ones, could have their fun. They could spend their free time playing video games or ding dong ditch or chasing girls at the movie theaters. It didn’t matter if they weren’t practicing. They had something to fall back on. If all else failed, they still had height and speed and hops. There was no backup plan for Simon. No margin for error. He was predestined to fail from the very beginning. So he spent most of his time in the gym and in the weight room, getting better and stronger, making sure that nobody would ever overlook the short, white guy again.

“I know I wasn’t supposed to be doing what I was doing,” says Simon. “I know that, given my size and athletic ability, I shouldn’t have been starting on varsity, or getting recruited by Division 1 schools, or nearly walking on to Marquette’s team my freshman year. It’s funny, man, people, like kids back in high school, would ask me what my secret was, like it was some great mystery how I got so good. It’s no secret, man. I tried harder than everyone else. That’s it. I practiced more. Eight hundred, 900 hundred shots a day, ya know? Other people had the natural talent. I had the heart.”

At the Rec, much unlike the glitter and razzle-dazzle of AAU or prep ball, heart is not an overlooked commodity; in fact, it’s almost a requirement. That’s what you get with a gym full of cast-offs, a bunch of marginalized high school players who were this close to making it to the next level, only to fall short at the very end. But failure breeds success. And by and large, the Rec Center is a place overrun by failures, something that has helped establish the do-or-die, win-or-walk culture of Marquette’s marquee gymnasium. Players are chippy. They’re aggressive. Sometimes they’re downright mean. Verbal sparring sessions are common, pushing matchups frequent, fisticuffs not totally frowned upon. This is a place where the strong survive, just like Darwin intended. Losers walk. And the faint of heart don’t make it out alive.

…………

Simon is a testament to this. He pours his body, all 67 inches of it, all over the court. He dives for loose balls, runs the break, locks up the other team’s best scorer. To hear him tell it, it’s his heart, and not his shooting touch, that makes him the player he is. His heart defines him. It gives him the strength to do what nobody else can. His heart is the reason he got to where he is today, which is funny, because it’s almost the reason he never played basketball again.

His sophomore year of high school Simon suddenly collapsed during a practice due to severe chest pains and shortness of breath. Turns out he has a heart condition that constricts blood flow to the rest of the body, an obviously dire problem for an athlete who only survives because of his constant motor. No more basketball, the doctors told him, unless he wanted to risk more serious complications, possibly even death.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “Of all the people to have this problem, why me? Basketball is such a huge part of my life, there was no way I could ever give that up, ya know? So I just chanced it. I kept playing. I mean, there’s only a very small chance that anything really bad happens, but it’s still there. It crosses my mind whenever I play. Pete Maravich died that way. Just collapsed on the court out of nowhere. I always wonder, could that be me? So when I’m out there and I grimace or grab my chest, that’s what it is. This pain, this reminder that I’m risking more than everyone else. It might be corny or whatever, but I always figure the pain would be a lot worse if I stopped doing what I loved.”

………

Simon knows here at the Rec, in downtown Milwaukee, at a school celebrated for its grace and dominance in the sport of basketball, everyday is a blessing. He knows this is where history is made, where legendary head coach Al McGuire turned dreams and prayers into trophies and magic, where 1970s scoring machine Dean “The Dream” Meminger rocked the Afro and short-shorts, where current NBA professor Doc Rivers taught his first class on the hardwood, where Dwyane Wade went from a nobody to nobody-can-stop-me in one mind-blowing season. It’s where basketball happens.

As Simon walks back onto the court for the next game, he suddenly reaches for his heart. Not because of that nagging pain. No, he pounds his chest to show his opponents what he’s all about. What the Rec is all about. Desire, passion, dedication, strength, purity, love for the game, nothing else. It’s all heart, baby.

Oh, and that heart condition?  The one that almost ended Simon’s basketball career before it had even started, the one that made him pass out during a practice and fear for his life every time he stepped on a court in St. Louis at Chaminade Prep, and here today at the Rec? Well, it turns out Johnny Simon’s heart is too big for his body. Go figure.