QUOTE OF THE WEEK

In Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery wrote, “Life is worth living as long as there’s a laugh in it.”

It’s the last week of classes. Finals are around the corner. It’s unarguably a very stressful time, but wallowing in misery and letting your negative emotions get the better of you is probably not the best strategy to ending the semester in success.

Allow yourself to enjoy the little things, and above all, find something that makes you laugh. It might be a cliche that “laughter is the best medicine,” but it really can help reduce stress, especially if you’re with good company.

THIS WEEK AT FALVEY

Monday, December 4

Mindfulness Monday | 1-1:30 p.m. | Multifaith Prayer Room, St. Rita’s Hall | Virtual Option | ACS Approved | Free & Open to Villanova Students, Faculty, & Staff

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Company and Industry Competitive Intelligence 101 Workshop | 5 p.m. | Room 206 | ACS Approved | Free & Open to Villanova Students | Refreshments Served | Register Here

Tuesday, December 5

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Wednesday, December 6

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Company and Industry Competitive Intelligence 101 Workshop | 6 p.m. | Room 206 | ACS Approved | Free & Open to Villanova Students | Refreshments Served | Register Here

Thursday, December 7

Falvey Library’s Annual Stress Busting Open House | 1-3 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Free & Open to the Villanova Community | Refreshments Served

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Sunday December 10

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

HOLIDAYS THIS WEEK

Photo by Aleksandra Tanasiienko on Unsplash

If you need a sweet snack to motivate you while studying, today, Dec. 4 is National Cookie Day, a day dedicated to any cookie you can imagine. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles, and sugar cookies. If you really want to add a little festivity, you can enjoy some gingerbread cookies.

If you’re perhaps feeling a little more fancy, National Pastry Day is this Saturday, Dec. 9. Pastries come in hundreds of varieties, flavors, and textures, so whether you’re into croissants, crepes, bear claws, or baklava, this is your excuse to pop into a local bakery and enjoy.

Sunday, Dec. 10, is Nobel Prize Day. Although Nobel events will take place over the week, Sunday is dedicated to the achievements of Nobel Prize recipients, in honor of the first Nobel Prize. If you’re interested to learning more about all of the past recipients, you can browse the list here. This year’s Nobel Prize in Literature goes to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, whose works you can check out through Falvey here.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Photo by Sudan Ouyang on Unsplash

Musicals naysayers, you might want to take the week off. Musicals are one of the longest-running traditions on the big screen and (of course) on the stage. Something about music has a way of sticking with and moving us, and musicals really capitalize on this.

With workloads increasing and finals coming up, musicals seem like a great way to add a little pep to your step (or to get some emotions out). So, enjoy some musical recs this weekend as you get ready for the end of the semester.

Did you know? If you’re looking for musicals that you can stream–no DVD player required–through Falvey, check out our BroadwayHD Collection here. This collection features filmed live Broadway performances of musicals and plays like Falsettos and Romeo and Juliet. 

If you have 2 minutes and 7 seconds…and like 2000s movies, watch the Mean Girls movie musical trailer. Although the trailer doesn’t really let on, this is a movie-version of the Broadway musical.

Bonus: if you love Reneé Rapp, listen to her singing “World Burn” from Mean Girls The Musical.

If you have 29 minutes and 7 seconds…and think the villains always get the best songs, watch this ranking of Broadway musical villain songs. My personal favorites are “Candy Store,” “Pretty Women,” and “Dentist.”

If you have 1 hour and 28 minutes…and are a fan of kids (or nostalgic) movies, watch The Lion King, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. Despite being almost 30 years old, The Lion King still manages to hook people in with its beautiful score.

If you have 1 hour and 59 minutes…and love Christina Aguilera’s voice, watch Burlesque, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection.

Bonus: if you prefer the classics, watch Cabaret, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection.

Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

If you have 2 hours and 7 minutes…and like slightly nonsensical, campy musicals, watch Moulin Rouge, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. Featuring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, this jukebox musical is a wild ride, but the songs are great, and the set design is unbeatable.

If you have 2 hours and 40 minutes…and want to watch my personal favorite musical, watch The Phantom of the Opera, available free to stream on Youtube. Although I grew up on the movie, live performances of Phantom never disappoint.

If you have 7 hours…and have been moved by the musical, read Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, available online through Falvey.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Image courtesy of the Villanova University Digital Library.

To celebrate Villanova Football’s 2023 CAA Conference championship, we’re throwing it back to 1968 for this week’s TBT. The Villanovan featured a multi-page spread on the Wildcats upcoming season on Sept. 13, 1968. The article included scouting reports on all the Wildcats’ future opponents. Read the full rundown in the Villanova University Digital Library.

Come cheer on your #8 Wildcats in the second round of NCAA FCS Playoffs this Saturday, Dec. 2, at noon. They will take on Youngstown St. in Villanova Stadium. Tickets for the game can be purchased here!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

As Falvey’s Cat in the Stax, Rebecca writes articles covering a broad range of topics, from academics to hobbies to random events. All the while highlighting how Falvey Library can enhance your Villanova experience!

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash.com

Welcome back to campus, Wildcats! I hope you all had a restful break and were able to enjoy your time off and spend it with friends and family. It is important to be rejuvenated and re-energized as we enter the home stretch of the semester.

The passing of Thanksgiving marks various occasions: the end of November, the approach of December, the beginning of official preparations for Christmas, and the coming of finals. We are not only entering the Christmas season but the season of finals as well. From today, there are only two weeks until the first day of finals. And for those of you who are liberal arts majors, chances are you have papers to write instead of tests to study for, so these next two weeks are really crunch time.

While you research, write, and study, remember that it is important to take care of yourself too. Your work is only as good as you are! If you are stressed, tired, and overwhelmed, you won’t do as well on your assignments.

Take it Little by Little

This is a potential time-management strategy you can use to complete your final assignments. Let’s say you have a ten-page research paper coming up. Instead of looking at this project as a huge undertaking, break it down into smaller steps: read, highlight and take notes, outline, and write. You can break it down even further by doing a little bit each day (starting today). Reading 1-2 sources and take notes on Days 1-3, create an outline on Day 4, write 2-3 pages on Days 5-10 (or even 5 pages a day if you’re a fast typer, meaning you could have your entire paper written in 2 days), and review and edit on Day 11. And just like that you’re done, with some time to spare! This process works the same if you have a big test to study for. Study a chapter or section each day and review the material the day or two before the exam.

This method only works if you start early enough and give yourself enough time to work. If you wait until a few days before a paper is due to start working on it, you’re going to have to do everything at once which will stress you out. Starting your work ahead of time and working on it in bite-sized portions allows you to complete everything in a timely manner and keeps you from feeling overwhelmed. Hopefully, you’ll then have some free time to relax and focus on self-care. This strategy is also great if you have multiple assignments: you work on a little bit for each project every day, and you’ll have everything completed before their due dates.

Do Something You Enjoy

With all your focus directed toward schoolwork, it can be easy to forget to take some time to yourself. Do something this week that you love. This can be a range of things: read a book, watch a movie, workout, take a nap, get dinner with a friend, whatever makes you happy and will get your mind off school and exams.

Villanova’s Health Services has many opportunities for students to de-stress and take a break. They offer Pet Therapy every Wednesday at noon and 15 minute Chair Massages every Monday.

To remind students to take care of themselves during the finals season, Health Services will be hosting a Thriving Through Finals event on Thursday, December 7 at 12 p.m. in the Connelly Center. Pick up a healthy snack, meet the campus dietitian, and learn what foods you can eat to support you during finals week!

If you happen to be studying in Falvey on December 7, feel free to stop by Speakers’ Corner for our Stress Busting Open House from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Library will have snacks and video games. It will be a great way to take a break from work and re-energize yourself!

Rebecca Amrick is a first year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

By Shawn Proctor

Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford at National Women’s Conference in support of ERA in November 1977. Credit: The Carter Center

Rosalynn Carter, who became a leading mental health advocate after serving as First Lady, died Nov. 19.

The Carter Center, founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, to advance peace and health worldwide released a statement upon her death.

“For more than 50 years, Mrs. Carter was a tireless advocate for those living with mental illnesses, supporting practical measures and policy reforms to create parity for mental illnesses with physical illnesses in Georgia, the United States, and the rest of the world. She taught generations of journalists how to report about behavioral health in a way that reduces stigma and stimulates understanding and equitable treatment. She also advocated for caregivers, for acceptance of life-saving vaccinations for children and adults, for the elderly, for humane end of life, and even for the survival of the delicate and beautiful monarch butterfly.”

“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” President Carter said via statement. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Learn more about Rosalynn Carter, in her own words and through others, by exploring the resources below. Furthermore, discover how she fits into the timeline of First Ladies and addressed the pressing crises of the era.

• Academic Video Online, et al. Great Romances of the 20th Century. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 1999.
• Carter, Rosalynn. First Lady from Plains. Houghton Mifflin, 1984.
• Carter, Rosalynn, et al. Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book for Caregivers. Revised edition. The University of Arkansas Press, 2023.
• Godbold, E. Stanly, Jr. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: Power and Human Rights, 1975-2020. Oxford University Press, 2022.
• Godbold, E. Stanly. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: The Georgia Years, 1924-1974. Oxford University Press, 2010.
• Kaufman, Scott. Rosalynn Carter: Equal Partner in the White House. University Press of Kansas, 2007.
• Mayo, Edith. The Smithsonian Book of the First Ladies: Their Lives, Times, and Issues. H. Holt, 1996.

Video: First Lady of Mental Health

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Falvey Library inspires students to challenge their minds and hearts by accessing expansive print, digital, and archival resources and collaborating with expert subject librarians and staff.

That is why we are asking you to consider supporting the Library this Giving Tuesday.

The University is recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, and the Library is a critical component of student and faculty research and scholarship. In 2013, the Association of College and Research Libraries honored the Library with the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award for its outstanding accomplishments in furthering Villanova’s educational mission – yet there remains opportunities for Falvey to do more in support of Villanova’s student-scholars.

Help the Library this Giving Tuesday to continue to evolve to meet the needs of modern students, acting as the campus’ academic and intellectual hub and a point of alumni pride. Falvey Library has never been more essential to the campus community, providing resources vital to student and faculty academic and research success.

Give to support the Library today!

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is the Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library. Article originally posted on December 3, 2019. 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

In Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery wrote, “Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.”

Happy Monday, Wildcats, and welcome back! As we approach the end of the semester, with assignments and exams piling up, there will be more and more opportunities to succeed and to fail. With the foreboding pressure of failing, it’s easy to feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and even like you should just call it quits and do the bare minimum.

But if you don’t try, you almost certainly won’t succeed. So, while still being mindful of your mental health, try your best in these last few weeks of the semester, especially in the classes and areas that are the most important to you and your future. And regardless of the outcome, be proud of yourself and your hard work.

THIS WEEK AT FALVEY

Monday, November 27

Mindfulness Monday | 1-1:30 p.m. | Multifaith Prayer Room, St. Rita’s Hall | Virtual Option | ACS-Approved | Free & Open to Villanova Students, Faculty, & Staff

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Tuesday, November 28

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

A New Chapter: Women Writing Northern Ireland Now | 6 p.m. | Topper Theater, John and Joan Mullen Performing Arts Center | Free & Open to the Public | RSVP Here

Wednesday, November 29

Panel Discussion on Dana Lloyd’s Land is Kin: Sovereignty, Religious Freedom, and Indigenous Sacred Sites | 3:30-4:30 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | ACS-Approved | Free & Open to the Public | Light Refreshments Served

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Philosophy and Film Series on “Creativity and Madness”: Stanley Tucci’s The Final Portrait (2017) | 5:30 p.m. | Room 415 | ACS-Approved | Free & Open to Villanova Community | Light Refreshments Served

Thursday, November 30

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

Sunday, December 3

The Learners’ Studio/Center for Speaking and Presentation | 4-9 p.m. | Room 301 | Free

HOLIDAYS THIS WEEK

Today, Nov. 27, is National Brand Day. Brands aren’t simply a group of products made by the same company. Brands are an opportunity to support a company with the same values and beliefs as you. Whether you’re in the mood for some retail therapy or are doing some holiday shopping, you can celebrate by buying from a brand that you believe in. If you’re an entrepreneur, this is a great opportunity to celebrate your own brand.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Tomorrow, Nov. 28, is Giving Tuesday, or the National Day of Giving. Celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this day is dedicated to the “giving” part of the holiday. To celebrate, you can give money to an important cause, volunteer your time to a local charity, or even donate blood. As Falvey graduate assistant Rebecca discussed in her blog, we are experiencing a blood shortage, and there are currently still spots open to donate at Villanova on both Nov. 27 and Nov. 30.

In the mood for some seasonal sweets? National Peppermint Bark Day is this Friday, Dec. 1. Peppermint bark combines the ultimate winter flavors: mint and chocolate. If you want to get into the holiday spirit, enjoy some peppermint bark.

Got a tight budget this holiday season? Sunday, Dec. 3, is National Make a Gift Day. Although everyone is different, I am of the opinion that homemade gifts are a great way to show your appreciation and tailor the gift to whom you’re giving it. So, if you’re feeling crafty, get out your crochet hooks, markers, recipes, and any other supplies you have and make a homemade gift for someone you love.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Thanksgiving break. Here’s to some heaping helpings of hugs.