According to friends, University of Michigan graduate Ellen Kolasky passed away late Friday due to a recently diagnosed illness. Ellen graduated from the university in 2005 and was heavily involved in the student organization Students for PIRGIM as well as the Residential College, where she was a student. Her family will be holding a memorial service in Toledo, Ohio on Monday.
Update: The family has requested friends donate to the Hospice of Northwest Ohio, the Nature Conservancy, or the League of Conservation Voters in her memory. Friends are welcome to attend the memorial service which will be held on Monday, April 17 at 2:00 p.m. at Temple Shomer Emunim, 6453 Sylvania Ave, Sylvania, OH 43560.
All are invited to leave their thoughts in the comment space below. Ellen was a remarkable person who will be missed. I’ll add links to any obituaries here when I find them.
Update, 4/17: The Toledo Blade published this obituary today:
Ellen Kolasky
Ellen Kolasky, age 24, passed away on Friday, April 14, 2006, at Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Perrysburg. Ellen was born in Philadelphia on December 11, 1981, and moved to Toledo a year later. She is a graduate of Westside Montessori School, Maumee Valley Country Day, and the University of Michigan.
Ellen had an interesting and varied life. Her early passion was fossil collecting, and she and her family spent many hours during family vacations on the beaches of Brighton, Ontario, searching for fossils. Later she became an avid bird watcher. She and her mother, Betsy, were devoted “birders,” together managing bluebird boxes and spending time at Crane Creek and other venues. She even dragged her father to Jackson, MI, to watch the cranes migrating.
A gifted musician, Ellen played viola in various orchestras and ensembles. She also spent hours at the piano, and sat in on gigs at Murphy’s in Toledo. Ellen played tennis at Maumee Valley and later became an enthusiastic rock climber.After graduating from Maumee Valley, Ellen spent almost two years in South Africa, working in the “bush” at a camp for young children combining her love of nature with her love of travel. Upon her return to the States, she enrolled at the University of Michigan, earning a degree in environmental studies and music in May, 2005. She was environmentally and politically active on campus, nationally, and interned at the League of Conservation Voters in Washington, DC. After graduation, she worked at Zingerman’s Deli. She loved her cat, Anya, and the many other dogs and cats her family had during her life.
Ellen will be lovingly remembered by her parents, David and Betsy Kolasky of Toledo; her sister, Becca Spain (John), of Philadelphia, Maggie Kolasky (Martin Whitby) of London, England, and her niece, Elsie Anne Whitby. She will also be loved and remembered by her aunts, uncles, and cousins, and countless caring and wonderful friends from Toledo, Ann Arbor and elsewhere.
A funeral service will take place at Temple Shomer Emunim, 6453 Sylvania Avenue on Monday, April 17 at 2 p.m., followed by interment at Eagle’s Point Cemetery in Rossford, Ohio.A special thanks to the warm and caring staff of Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their support. Contributions in her memory may be made to Hospice of Northwest Ohio, The Nature Conservancy, or the League of Conservation Voters, Washington, DC.
Published in the Toledo Blade from 4/16/2006 - 4/17/2006.
My father pointed me to this article in the New York Times from a couple weeks back (I found a free copy on a blog here, but with editorializing) about a controversy over a proposal to add luxury boxes to Michigan Stadium. The idea has been floated as a means to produce additional revenue for the athletic department, but no concrete proposal has been made before the Regents yet. New York City resident John Pollack, who is the son of a U-M professor and season ticket holder, has organized opposition to the plan and launched a website savethebighouse.com. On the website he argues “The very idea of private luxury boxes in Michigan Stadium runs contrary to the egalitarian ideals to which the U-M is dedicated,” and likens the proposed boxes to the much-hated “halo” which was removed from the stadium shortly after it was added in the 1990s as a response to fan complaints.
The Michigan Daily published yesterday the names of the 2006 and 2007 Michigamua classes, and reported that the organization would be abandoning their name.
The list includes several members which will no doubt provoke some controversy: MSA President Nicole Stallings and LSA Student Government President Andrew Yahkind. Missing from the list was Michigan Daily Editor-In-Chief Donn Fresard, who had been widely rumored to be a member. From the Daily’s story, here’s the list:
List of members
Pride of 2006: Katie Banas, Nick Benson, Michael Caplan, Jenny Deiley, Chris DeJong, Andrew Ebbett, Tyler Ecker, Andrew Ellerton, Lori Hillman, Brian Hull, Jenny Knoester, Dennis Lee, Neal Pancholi, A.J. Scheidt, Gerry Signorelli, Kelene Soltesz, Davis Tarwater, Peter Vanderkaay, Greg Wagner, Sam Woll
Pride of 2007: Sirene Abou-Chakra, Lindsey Bruck, Josh Churella, Tim Cook, Matt Hunwick, Brian Ignaut, Jon Krasnov, Adam Kraus, Lauren Kraus, Jake Long, Christina Macholan, Leif Mahler, Matt McLaughlin, Gopal Pai, Eric Rose, Ashish Shah, Katelin Spencer, Nicole Stallings, Katie Tamarelli, Eric Tannenbaum, Andrew Yahkind, Dave Young
Their coverage of the news:
>> Michigan Daily: “Michigamua commits to reforms” (4/12)
>> Michigan Daily: “Reactions to Michigamua Reforms Mixed” (4/13)
>> Daily Viewpoint by Sam Woll: “Moving on from Michigamua”
Also, the Daily printed this letter to the editor today:
To the Daily:
I find it absurd that the University would consider recognizing Michigamua as an official student group (Michigamua commits to reforms, 04/12/2006). Any group that has a history of mocking my people and culture, such as this group, does not have a place in the University. Racism is racism, no matter what the name. I also find it absurd that the members of Michigamua would willingly make their names public. I guess it is good for all of us to know the names of racists on campus.Wyaudtnoong Adams
LSA junior
The Daily’s arts section also profiled the short documentary produced by M-Agination Films which will premier at 7 p.m. tonight that I have mentioned here before. I was interviewed for the film in December, and their story about the film opens with this hilarious passage:
His solemnity bordering on pomp, his curly brown hair rippling in the wind and with the Washington Monument looming just over his shoulder, blogger Rob Goodspeed of goodspeedupdate.com simply declares “Secrecy is sexy and exciting.” The fewer the words, the more daunting their power, and Goodspeed’s five in the new M-agination made documentary “Fight Like Hell” certainly make that point. Michigamua, the University’s traditionally secretive, selective and at times racist senior honor society, has remained so closed over the years because, without secrecy, its mystique is lost.
Finally, with this post, I’m announcing my semi-retirement from the Michigamua beat. I originally posted information about the organization’s members on this domain because I believed the University community had a right to know the membership of an elite organization that claimed to be “fighting for Michigan” from the shadows. I also thought the claims of the Student of Color Coalition deserved to be discussed in an open forum. With the publication of the members’ names this week — and a broader, public discussion about the organization’s history spearheaded by young activists taking place on campus — the role this website has played in the debate is no longer needed. I added the “semi” because although I’ll refrain from most posting, I cannot promise no additional Michigamua content (I’ve got to digitize my member directory going back to 1902 at some point).
I suppose that leaves me with one last item to take care of: the naming competition. Unfortunately, the pool of submissions wasn’t as broad as I had hoped. Although containing some clever entries, the jury really didn’t see anything that jumped out at us. I suppose that’s something for the campus community to decide.
Every home business opportunity is worth one scavenging try because you never know when you may strike gold. A legit work at home can mean any kind of job. The key is to follow something you are passionate about. Then work at home would become really interesting. While working from home, one can also take care of a lot of other things. However, the capital required for the home business startup should not be a lot, practically speaking.
With people like Robert Greenwald, perhaps. His company, Brave New Films, has teamed up with filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck to make a feature-length documentary about Tom Delay which will premier in May 5th in Houston, Texas. According to the film website, The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress will document Tom Delay’s role in both the re-districting of Texas and also his scheme to illegally funnel corporate donations to House candidates. Brave New Films is hoping to distribute the film through grassroots screenings, and are currently collecting the email addresses of potential organizers.
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