Student Life

Comedian Byron Bowers kicks off the Campus Activities Board’s monthly Friday Night Live series at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 5, in the Cone University Center’s After Hours Lounge.
Bowers uses his own experiences to create a comedy routine that crisscrosses a multicultural socioeconomic landscape. Raised in a lower-middle class black community in Atlanta, Bowers was bused into a more affluent, predominantly white school as a child. The comic uses these experiences as a launching point for his routines.

Sports journalist Stephen Smith will present “Adversity: Keep Your Head in the Game” at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 16, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall, as part of the Forty-niner Forum in partnership with the Campus Activities Board.
In his talk, Smith will share his life experiences and use sports-as-life references to offer his perspective on how to keep “your head in the game and use adversity to your benefit.”

Throughout this month, the Venture program is conducting a number of outdoor adventure trips open to the UNC Charlotte and greater communities. Participants can enjoy excursions that range from canoeing to hiking.  Experience is not required, and instruction is provided to prepare for trip activities.
Venture trips scheduled for September are:
Stone Mountain Waterfall Day Hike, Sept. 14

The Office of Parent and Family Services anticipates a large contingent of Niner Nation members at the annual Family Weekend, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26-27.
Registration for the event has been successful with the three family packages offered sold out; however, Kesha Williams, assistant director for parent and family services, noted tickets are still available for select activities.

UNC Charlotte chemistry major Alexis Brown is spending her summer participating in a groundbreaking program at the North Carolina Research Campus, exploring the plant pathways of food crops such as blueberries, oats and strawberries.  And more.
“We are trying to create the super broccoli,” she said.

Andrew Helms and Jake Whitaker recently teamed to win the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship held at Chatuge Reservoir in Georgia.

Helms, a junior marketing major from Monroe, and Whitaker, a senior civil engineering major from Fairview, caught 15 fish during the three-day team event. Their total catch weight of 38 pounds and 9 ounces topped the second-place finishers by 8 ounces.

Staff members from UNC Charlotte are working with community partners to soften the disruption for students whose off-campus apartments near the University will be delayed.
Several new high-end apartment complexes designed specifically for UNC Charlotte students are running behind schedule, with most of them able to accommodate only a portion of the 1,500 students who have leases. Most of those students had expected to move in around Friday, Aug. 15, but construction delays have pushed back move-in for many by up to three weeks.

University Convocation, which traditionally marks the start of the academic year, will begin at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 19, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall. This annual event is an opportunity for the campus community to learn more about the University’s short- and long-term goals and plans.
Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Provost Joan Lorden will address faculty, staff and students.
In addition, Jim Kay, chair of the Staff Council, will give remarks; Greg Starrett from the Department of Anthropology will present the faculty agenda for the 2014-15 academic year.

UNC Charlotte freshman Jack Bretz Jr. was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia this past August. At the time, the 20-year-old was weeks from attempting to obtain a black belt in the martial art form Tang Soo Do.
After months of treatment, staff members at Novant Health Blume Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, inspired by Bretz’s “courage, resolve, determination and discipline,” contacted the Dream On 3 organization to help Bretz realize his sports dream to meet Chuck Norris.

Works by local artist Paul Keysar will be displayed Monday, July 7, through Thursday, July 24, in the Student Union Gallery.
“While the City Sleeps: Night Paintings” features a group of landscape paintings of Concord, Charlotte and other local towns at night.
“As an artist, I am continually observing life around me,” Keysar explained. “I am fascinated by the effects of light, atmosphere, and weather. My goal is to show the beauty of the land and man’s dependence on it.”