DECEMBER 17, 2007
Inside the Community
Community Service Highlight
SIMMONS JUMPSTART REACHES OUT TO PRESCHOOLERS
Responsible for public safety at Simmons, Lieutenant Rob Gilman understands the importance of being a good neighbor with the surrounding community. That’s why one morning last month, he donated his time to Jamaica Plain Head Start’s Jumpstart program, a national nonprofit that focuses on language, literacy, and social and emotional development for preschoolers to prepare them for success in school.
Gilman served as guest reader to the Head Start children to educate them about the responsibilities of police officers and their roles as helpful members of the community. “I am used to working with adults, so getting this opportunity was great,” said Gilman. “As I read to and spoke with the children, I really felt good inside about what I was doing. The kids really made me smile.”
After fielding the children’s questions, Gilman read My Dog is Lost by Ezra Jack Keats, about a boy named Juanito who moves to America from Puerto Rico, but has no friends because he speaks only Spanish. Juanito eventually makes friends throughout New York, including a police officer who helps him find his dog.
“I wanted to get across to the children that police officers are regular people and we like to interact with the community when there is not a crisis,” Gilman said. “I wanted them to have a positive image of police and to know that we are here to help them when they call upon us.”
“The children had a wonderful time engaging with Rob and helping him speak the Spanish words,” said Beth Bauer, site manager of Jumpstart at Simmons. “The theme of the book was particularly poignant to the Head Start children, because 75% of them speak Spanish as their first language.”
Bauer said that Simmons Jumpstart would like to have a guest reader’s series throughout the year that would engage more volunteers from the Simmons community to read to the children. She said that Simmons students consistently volunteer for the program; this year, 45 students are paired with children in low-income preschools in Jamaica Plain for a yearlong Jumpstart commitment.
“It is a wonderful experience for the College to give back to one of its longest-standing community partners, JP Head Start, which has been part of the Simmons family for decades and affiliated with Jumpstart since 1995,” said Bauer. “For JP Head Start, it’s an incredible way for children to get excited about reading and to feel more connected to others in their community.”
If you would like to get involved in Jumpstart, contact Carolyn Swanhall at Carolyn.Swanhall@simmons.edu or Beth Bauer at Elizabeth.Bauer@simmons.edu or x2229. Individuals can volunteer at a service day in the preschool, or be brought in to read. Service days last approximately two hours, while guest readers receive a half-hour orientation before spending approximately one hour in the classroom. “If an individual or group would like to do a specific project, we would be happy to work with them to match their interests,” said Bauer.
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Secret Lives
ALISON WHITEHEAD: ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES
Alison Whitehead, the assistant director of Graduate Studies Admission at Simmons, has a second identity. When she’s not helping to recruit prospective graduate students, she becomes Malicen Thunderland, a roller derby player for the Boston Derby Dames — Boston’s only all-women, flat track, roller derby league.
IN THE LOOP: How did you first get involved with the Dames, and why?
Alison Whitehead: I was out of school and working for many years, and yearning to get back into shape and be actively involved in something that would occupy my free time. Throughout elementary, middle and high school, I danced competitively, and in college I played rugby. In August 2005, I was ready to be active again and considered joining a women’s rugby club, when an acquaintance of mine invited me to watch her roller derby league’s practice.
Alison becomes Malicen.
The Boston Derby Dames were openly recruiting, attempting to build up their numbers to a substantial roster so they could divide into teams and begin competing. They opened their practices to anyone interested. One hour of watching these tough women skate, and I was sold. Building a DIY roller derby league from the ground up was just the right amount of physical and professional challenge to rope me in for good. Not to mention that roller skating is so much fun!
ITL: Tell us about the Boston Derby Dames.
AW: We are skater-owned and -operated, and all profit from bouts and events go directly back to the league. We are members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), a group that promotes and fosters the sport of women’s flat track derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportswomanship, and goodwill among member leagues. The association’s website is http://www.wftda.com.
There are three home teams: the Wicked Pissahs, the Cosmonaughties, and the Nutcrackers, and one travel team made up of all-stars from the home teams that plays nationally: the Boston Massacre. My “alter ego” is Malicen Thunderland. I play for the Nutcrackers as a blocker, and won the Nutcrackers Hardest Hitter award for 2006-2007 season. I’m also a manager for the Boston Massacre.
We compete locally and nationally and host bouts at the Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass. Our home teams play six games (two games each) with semi-finals and a championship between November and June. Our travel team plays throughout the year, hosting interleague bouts and visiting other cities to play. The Boston Derby Dames currently are ranked 14 out of 33 ranked leagues in the nation.
ITL: Describe your involvement as a Boston Derby Dame.
AW: About the same time that I joined, we filed for Limited Liability Company status to form a business. I was then asked to join the board of directors, which consists of five skaters, a lawyer, and an accountant. Since the league’s inception two years ago, we have grown from a handful of skaters to 51 skaters, 12 referees, two announcers, four mascots (Sully The Gully, Wicked Pissah’s dirty seagull; Vulvitron, Cosmonaughties’ robot; Mini Bloodbath, Nutcrackers’ mini ballerina with an attitude; and Pinchie, Boston Massacre’s lobster with a musket and a tri-corner hat), one DJ, and a whole host of volunteers we couldn’t dream of functioning without.
The Nutcrackers’ logo
I refer to derby as my other full-time job. When I’m not working or doing schoolwork for the Master’s in Communications Management program, I’m most likely skating, coordinating derby events, producing bouts, or keeping up with the latest happenings in WFTDA. I’m even writing my capstone project for my master’s program on roller derby. It’s all-consuming, it’s fuller than a full-time job, it’s emotionally charged, and it’s the biggest challenge I’ve faced in my life thus far.
ITL: In what way?
AW: Running a successful business (PR, marketing, external communications). Managing a large group of volunteers (conflict management, reward and recognition, internal and interpersonal communications). Growing a new women’s sport (aiming for national recognition as a professional competitive sport). Providing entertainment to the masses (ensuring that we produce high-quality events for our audiences). Being good community partners (participating in community activism, volunteerism, and charity giving). Promoting women in strong leadership roles (providing opportunities for leadership in management, coaching, being team captains, board members, committee heads)…the list of challenges goes on and on.
Through it all, I’ve become friends with the most incredible and driven women from one end of the spectrum to the other. They’re doctors, lawyers, mothers, social workers, bartenders, teachers, students, nannies, and so much more. They are women I may have never met if it wasn’t for the resurgence of this crazy sport. It’s been a wonderful experience for me, and for everyone else involved.
ITL: How often do you train/practice?
AW: We hold 3-4 practices a week (both league and team practices), and we scrimmage [play an informal or practice game between members of the same team/league] every Sunday. We have a coaching team that consists of advanced skaters who run drills and calisthenics. We also invite people from other sports to come in and coach us, like speed skaters and women’s football players, for example.
ITL: Have you ever been injured during a game?
AW: I suffered a bad knee injury during a game against Providence Roller Derby over a year ago. I was off skates and in physical therapy for several months. It was a full six months before my knee was healed and I could go back to full contact. With the high rate of knee and ankle injuries, the running joke in derby is that we all will be “bionic women” by the time we’re 40.
ITL: The Boston Derby Dames website seems tongue-in-cheek. How much of the sport is serious competition, and how much is entertainment?
AW: The look of the sport is certainly tongue-in-cheek and campy, but the competition is 100% real. This is not your grandmother’s roller derby; there is no choreography involved. We all have “alter egos,” our teams have funny themes and mascots, and we wear crazy outfits. But when it comes to game play, the entertainment is the sport itself…and the energy and intensity that the skaters bring to it.
I think when people first learn about roller derby, they think, “Ha! Lets go out and see this spectacle of women in fishnet stockings roller skating and beating each other up.” But when they actually see us play, the high level of athleticism is apparent. People get hooked right away, and they come back to watch the competition — not the short skirts and fishnets.
ITL: How can LOOP readers see Malicen Thunderland and the rest of the Nutcrackers compete?
AW: You can purchase tickets through our website, http://www.bostonderbydames.com, or by going directly to BrownPaperTickets.com and searching for “Boston Derby Dames.” Presale tickets are $14, and $16 at the door ($10 for children ages 6-13; under 6 free), and season tickets are available online. I hope that people will be encouraged to come out and support us. Watch one game, and I promise you will be converted!
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