The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, April 19, 2010 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, April 19, 2010 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
FLINT, Mich.
Authorities suspect
arson in string of
weekend fires
Authorities in Flint are inves-
tigating a dozen weekend fires
- most of them suspected to be
Flint Fire Department Battalion
Chief Andy Graves said yesterday
that 12 fires were reported since
midnight Friday. The first occurred
at 1:38 a.m. Saturday in a vacant
house.
Graves says 10 of the 12 fires
are being investigated as possible
* arson.
He says a total of 107 fires have
been reported in April, which he
says is a "gigantic" increase from
the 37 reported in the same time
period last year.
WASHINGTON
Officials say U.S.
withdrawal from
Iraq is on track
The planned withdrawal of
nearly 45,000 U.S. troops from Iraq
by the end of August is on track in
spite of a recent increase in attacks
by militant forces, the top U.S. mili-
tary commander in Iraq said yes-
terday.
Army Gen. Ray Odierno said
that al-Qaida's strength in Iraq is
steadily degrading. Unless there's
a dramatic and unforeseen change
in the security situation, the U.S.
troop drawdown will go ahead as
scheduled, he said.
There are now about 95,000
U.S. troops in Iraq, according to
Odierno. The U.S. plans to cut that
number to 50,000 by Aug.31, when
it will end combat operations.
"I fully expect us to be at 50,000
by the first of September," Odierno
said on "Fox News Sunday."
As part of an agreement with
Iraq, the U.S. will withdraw all
forces by the end of 2011.
JIEGO, China
Flood of aid reaches
China's remote
earthquake zone
Badly needed aid finally is
arriving in a remote western
China town shattered by an earth-
quake, including enough food and
shelter for tens of thousands of
suddenly homeless, though some
complained it wasn't reaching
everyone in need.
The surge in aid coincided with
the arrival yesterday of Chinese
President Hu Jintao, who cut short
an official trip to South America
to deal with the disaster in this
remote Tibetan region where resi-
dents have frequently chafed under
Chinese rule. The quake Wednes-
day killed 1,706 people and injured
12,128.
The president's carefully script-
ed trip included visits with dis-
placed families living in tents and
rescue teams as they dug through
debris looking for the 256 still miss-
ing. He promised that the Commu-
nist Party and the government was
doing everything they could. Tibet-
an anger over political and religious
restrictions and perceived econom-
ic exploitation by the majority Han
Chinese have sometimes erupted in
violence.
China Central Television
showed Hu sitting with a Tibetan
middle school student at a field
hospital and comforting her as she
wept. Her right arm was bandaged
and supported by a sling.
"Rest assured, you will have a
full recovery," he told the girl. "You
will have a bright future. Grandpa
will be thinking of you."
VALLETTA, Malta
Tearful pope says
church will better
protect children
With tears in his eyes, Pope
Benedict XVI made his most per-
sonal gesture yet to respond to the
clerical sex abuse scandal yester-
day, telling victims the church will
do everything possible to protect
children and bring abusive priests
to justice, the Vatican said.
The emotional moment carried
no new admissions from the Vati-
can, which has strongly rejected
accusations that efforts to cover up
for abusive priests were directed by
the church hierarchy for decades.
But the pontiff told the men that
the church would "implement
effective measures" to protect
children, the Vatican said, without
offering details.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Retired art teacher Adrienne Rudolph discusses the history behind a replica of a painting by Georges Seurat created by patients at C.S. Mott Children's Hospit
years ago. Several patients who contributed to the painting reunited yesterday for the anniversary of the completion of the work.
ARTISTIC HEALING
Hospital patients reunite, celebrate 15-year
anniversary of bed sheet painting's creation
By MICHELE NAROV
Daily StaffReporter
In a hallway of the C.S. Mott
Children's Hospital, past the col-
orful lobby with a large Big Bird
statue and the patient check-
in, hangs an eight-foot-wide
bed sheet showcasing a replica
of pointillist painter Georges
Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande
Jatte."
Yesterday - 15 years after the
replica was finished - patients
who created the piece, their
families and hospital employees
gathered around the painting for
a small reunion as they reflected
on their experience creating the
work.
Though the painting took
Seurat two year to complete, the
135 hospital patients who par-
ticipated in the project took three
months to complete their imita-
tion, which has been hanging in
the hospital ever since.
Adrienne Rudolph, Ann Arbor
native and a retired art teacher,
orchestrated the pointillist rec-
reation after years of struggling
to bring artistic expression to
the children being treated at
Mott.
According to Rudolph, bring-
ing art to the hospital was a
struggle because many patients
lacked the energy after heavy
treatments to take part in activi-
ties like painting, sculpting and
making collages.
"Many of them were too sick,"
Rudolph said. "They were tak-
ing medications that made them
too sleepy, or a technician would
whisk them away for a test before
we could begin."
Rudolph began painting on the
casts of patients as well as face
painting their bodies, which she
said was sometimes easier than
trying to coordinate an art proj-
ect. In the 14 years she worked
at the hospital, Rudolph said she
painted every image imaginable,
including cowboys, animals and
superheroes.
Rudolph said she even painted
on the heads of children with leu-
kemia in the cancer ward.
"A lot of the time, if the kids
ORDER
From Page 1A
dent group Here EarningA Destiny
through Honesty, Eagerness and
Determination of Self, or HEADS.
According to Stinson, the mem-
bers ofthis year's classuwere chosen
based on leadership and achieve-
ment in their respective campus
activities.
"We value diversity, and we
value individuals who have earned
the greatest respect from their
peers," Stinson wrote.
In the recent past, each class of
order of Angell was referred to as
a "pride," but on the list released to
the Daily this year the term was not
used.
Stinson wrote that while the
organization no longer considers
itself "secret," members prefer to
do work without recognition.
The group decided to change its
name in 2006 in response to claims
that the name insensitively referred
to a fictional Native American tribe,
officially becomingOrder of Angell
in 2007. The group was also histori-
cally known for engaginginvarious
Native American rituals.
In 1989, the group agreed to
stop all Native American rituals
in its ceremonies, due to criticism
from people not affiliated with the
group who were offended by their
knew they were going to lose
their hair, they asked to have it
shaved right away because they
were so anxious to get their heads
painted," she said.
Despite her success with using
art to lift spirits, Rudolph contin-
ued to search for a way to encour-
age children in the hospital to
express themselves artistically.
She said she found a solution dur-
ing a visit to the Art Institute of
Chicago, where she was blown
away by Seurat's masterpiece,
"A Sunday on La Grande Jate."
To create the picture of people
sitting and strolling in a park,
Seurat developed pointillism - a
technique that involves forming a
picture with dots of paint.
"I thought, 'This is it. Eureka!
I've found it.' Because I knew any-
one could paint dots," Rudolph
said of seeing the painting.
Rudolph immediately contact-
ed the institute for permission to
replicate the painting and used a
recycled, old hospital bed sheet in
place of a heavy canvas.
By splitting the painting into a
grid, Rudolph was able to trans-
form the 10-foot work onto the
eight-foot sheet. Patients could
choose which square they want-
ed to paint, which allowed them
to work individually on a small
portion of the painting in their
rooms.
Because it was easy to trans-
port, the recycled bed sheet trav-
eled through burn units, bone
marrow transfer units and sev-
eral other hospital areas with
patients who had injuries that
prevented them from participat-
ing in other art projects.
Rudolph said even if patients
only had a fewminutes, they were
able to contribute a few dots.
During her presentation yester-
day, she pointed out sections of
the painting where different art-
ists worked.
"The young person who did
this figure had to have extensive
surgery," Rudolph said while ges-
turing to a woman strolling in the
painting. "She painted until the
minute the gurney came to get
her."
Because of the pointillist style,
practices.
In 2000, members of Students
of Color Coalition allegedly found
Native American artifacts in Mich-
igamua's meeting space in the
Michigan Union tower. The Coali-
tion subsequently alleged that the
group was in violation of the 1989
agreement.
After the Students of Color
Coalition occupied the office for 37
days, Michigamua chose to move
out of the office in the Union per-
manently. Accordingto past Michi-
gan Daily articles, it has never been
confirmed why the Native Ameri-
can artifacts were in the office.
Also in 2000, the group began
tapping women for membership for
the first time.
Stinson wrote that Order of
Angell will work this year to
rebuild trust with all communities
- particularly those hurt by the
group's past actions.
"We do not consider any cur-
rent disagreements or hostility as
permanent or immutable," Stinson
wrote. "History cannot be undone,
but we, as progressive, conscien-
tious leaders can change the future
and act with sensitivity and pride
for all members of the Michigan
community."
- Because of his membership
in the group, Editor in Chief Jacob
Smilovitz did not edit this article.
patients with every kind of injury
could partake in the project. The
border of the painting was done
by sick toddlers as young as 22
months old, and Rudolph said
two paralyzed accident victims
painted their dots "painstaken-
ly" with special brushes in their
mouths.
Rudolph said a young blind
patient was able to paint the sun
in the painting, as his mother
guided his hand. She said that
though he had never seen the sun,
he said he had felt its warmth,
and she explained to him that
there are warm colors that corre-
spond to the sun.
"All of the time he was paint-
ing he was thinking about what
yellow could look like," she said.
"And I really think that he got
it, because he not only used his
yellows, but he mixed in some
oranges and did an absolutely
beautiful job."
Though it has been 15 years
since they painted their portion
of the painting, several patients
returned to the hospital to reflect
on their experience at Mott.
For many of them, the painting
is an important relic of the dif-
ficulties they faced during their
hospital stays.
Joe Pollack, a patient who par-
ticipated, said he is doing much
better today than he was when he
painted his dots.
"I worked on this painting 15
years ago when I was waiting on
a heart transplant," he said. "My
heart is now as old as this paint-
ing."
LSA junior Erin McElhenie
said she was only four years old
when she contributed to the bed
sheet, and Sunday was her first
time returning to the hospital
since her treatment.
"I had cancer when I painted,"
she said. "Now I'm 15 years can-
cer-free. Most of my time here
is kind of blurry, but being here
today helps me to remember."
After the presentation,
Rudolph explained that because
hospitalized children have rigid
existences and are unable to
make any of their own decisions,
giving the patients a chance to do
ORDER OF ANGELL
Class of12011
Chris Armstrong, Michigan Studenf
Assembly
Carl Buchanon, Men's Track andField
Lee Collins, Army ROTC
ChrisfDouville, Men's Swimmingand
Diving
Dara Fisher, UniersityofMichigan
Engineering Council
Mike Friedman, Interfraternity Council
Veronica Hicks, Women's Basketball
Shawn Hunwick, Ice Hockey
Afshan Khan, Muslim Students'
Association
Frances MedinaFfO.K.U.S
Crosby Mdrowski. SexualAssault
Preventionand Awareness Center
Mark Moundros, Football
Stephanie Parrish, ONE Campaign
Sean Preston, NationalSocietyofBack
Engineers
Lee Quackenbush, Men's Glee Club
Dorian Shaw, Softball
Jacob Smilvitz, The Michigan Daily
Jame Stinson IIdere farningA
Destinythrog Hnesty Eagerness
and Determination ofSelf
Danielle Taur, Women's Track and
Field
Kim Tlbert, Minority Peer Advising
Jeff Wojcik, LSA Student Government
Alex Wood. Student Athlete Advisory
Council
LexiZimmerman, Volleyball
art is important because it allows
them to make choices.
"Art is very empowering," she
said. "It's a wonderful method of
self-expression and sick children
really relate to it.
Rudolph, who spoke during
the presentation with tears in her
eyes, said she feels a strong con-
nection to the patients. She keeps
in touch with some of them and
recently attended the wedding
of a girl she worked with many
years ago.
Rudolphalsosaid shehadnoth-
ing to do with the accomplish-
ment of the piece itself. Though
she said she never painted a sin-
gle dot, some of the ex-patients
were inspired by her work and
the work of hospital staff.
Rudolph said after the "last dot
was dotted," she wanted to do
something significant with the
painting. In honor of Mott's 25th
anniversary, the patients and
their families decided to donate
the work to the hospital.
The piece, which is now framed
and hung, holds a special mean-
ing to the patients who come to
the hospital, Rudolph said.
"It is a monument to all of the
children who dame to this hospi-
tal, and all the children who ever
will come here," she said.
Melissa Barghs is a mother of
one of the patients who contrib-
uted to the painting with a few
dots atthe lower left corner of the
scene. Her daughter was an infant
when she painted, but Barghs
said the hospital did everything
to keep her happy.
"It was a great distraction from
what was happening in our lives
at the time," she said.
Now, years after the paint-
ing was finished, her daughter
is attending college, and Barghs
said little things like this remind
her that she is very fortunate.
"We never thought it would be
finished all the way," she said. "I
think it turned outbeautifully."
First 'U'
national
champ.
since
2005
From Page1A
their dismount on the rings was
given a second chance to compete.
Oklahoma was a full three points
behind Michigan at this point, so
the likelihood of them catching up
was slim to none, even with two
competitors left. And as it turned
out, junior Thomas Kelley was
able to compete again, increasing
Michigan's score, and sealing the
deal for the national champion-
ship.
The top eight scorers in each
event Friday were crowned All-
Americans and went on to com-
pete for individual event titles on
Saturday. Redshirt senior Kent
Caldwell was named All-Ameri-
can on the floor exercise and vault
and redshirt senior Ryan McCar-
thy won the only event title for
Michigan on high bar.
"I had to focus on making sure
that I was aggressive on my high
bar set," McCarthy said. "Every-
thing came into place after that.
I caught my release move, did a
good dismount, and a clean land-
ing."
Following McCarthy on the
high bar, junior Ian Makowske
placed second and Santander tied
for third. Santander and junior
Thomas Kelley placed second and
fifth on the parallel bars. Cam-
eron and McCarthy were also
All-American on the parallel bars,
tying for seventh.
Though the season is over, some
Wolverines are not done yet. Gold-
er and freshman Rohan Sebastian
left immediately after that meet to
travel to England for the European
championships as coach and par-
ticipant of the Irish national team.
Cameron will be traveling to Aus-
tralia for the Pacific Rim Champi-
onships for the U.S. national team.
As the Wolverines hoisted the
national championship trophy at
the conclusion of the meet, they
began to chant: "It's great to be a
Michigan Wolverine." The voic-
es resonated all through Christl
Arena as everybody watched.
"With ourtlast national champi-
onship that we won, when we got
back on Monday it was the best
day of work in my life," Golder
said. "So unfortunately, I'm going
to miss that this year."
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