By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week: Hiemal  

(adj) of or related to winter; wintry  

With the heimel temperatures we have been experiencing, it does not surprise me that February is here. If your friends or family are tired of hearing you complain about how cold the weather is, up your cold-weather vocabulary and change it up on them. Here you can find a whole list of synonyms for “extremely cold.” 

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, Jan. 15 

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit / Falvey First Floor & Online / Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, Jan. 31

Mindfulness Mondays / 1–1:30 p.m. / Virtual / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849  

Friday, Feb. 4

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30–4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public  

This Week in History 

Feb. 1, 1884– Oxford Dictionary debuts 

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, including not only present-day, common meanings, but also the histories of words included.  

In 1857 members of London’s Philological Society set out to produce an English dictionary covering all words starting during the Anglo-Saxon period (1150 A.D.). Although planned to be 6,400 pages in four volumes, the Dictionary was published under the imposing name A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles – contained over 400,000 words and phrases in ten volumes. 

In 1984, Oxford University Press began the five-year journey to electronically publish the OED. The project required the power of 170 people – 120 people to type up the pages from the print edition and another 50 people to proofread. The online dictionary has been active since 2000.  

To learn more about the development and history of the OED, read the full History.com article here. 

History.com Editors. (2009, November 24). Oxford dictionary debuts. History.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/oxford-dictionary-debuts 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, 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. 

If you’ve read any news the past three days, you may have seen the rumors that SCOTUS justice Stephen Breyer may be retiring, leading to the fourth new appointment in the last five years and Biden’s first. It can be difficult to keep up with everything in the political sphere, so this week I’ll be providing a range of podcasts, articles, videos, movies, and books to help you get a better understanding of the Supreme Court and what’s currently going on in the news, whether you have 4 minutes or 12 hours! 

If you have 4 minutes… read the latest on Justice Stephen Breyer’s alleged retirement and how Biden could make history with his new appointment, if it reaches that stage. 

If you have 4 minutes and 30 seconds… watch this video breaking down how U.S. Supreme Court justices get appointed to get a better understanding of the process the U.S. government may be going through real soon.

If you have 39 minutes… listen to the most recent episode of the SCOTUS 101 podcast, a podcast breaking down the latest news from the Supreme Court.  

If you have 1 hour and 28 minutes… watch RBG on Netflix. The 2018 documentary on the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and work on woman’s human rights. 

If you have 12 hours and 30 minutes… read The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin. Although published in 2008, this book still offers an inside look at the inner workings of the Super Court and how justices make decisions.  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week

Every year since 2013 the New York Times has conducted a Vocabulary Video challenge for middle- and high-school students. For the contest, students take a word of the day from the past year and create a video under 15-seconds long that defines or teaches that word. Then, at the end of the year, they select some of the best. Last August, the New York Times posted compilation videos of their best verb, noun, and adjective submissions over the years. Check it out here! Maybe you’ll learn a new word or two.  

Verbs Featured: abscond, amalgamate, defame, distill, exorcise, feign, levitate, scotch, vex

Adjectives Featured: agape, anachronistic, aquiline, cacophonous, callow, dexterous, ghastly, gusty, indolent, macabre, mellifluous, nocturnal, obsequious, piscatorial, puerile, pugnacious, sartorial, Sisyphean, superfluous 

Nouns Featured: acrophobia, alchemy, arrogance, autopsy, bevy, bluff, carafe, cartographer, catalyst, censor, comeuppance, degradation, entrée, equinox, fecundity, finesse, fluke, hallucination, illusion, killjoy, malingerer, mishap, naïveté, nonchalance, onomatopoeia, peregrination, plagiarism, pyromaniac, regicide, serendipity, telekinesis, upstage 

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, Jan. 15 

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit / Falvey First Floor & Online / Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, Jan. 24

Mindfulness Mondays / 1–1:30 p.m. / Virtual / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849  

Thursday, Jan. 27

2022 Literary Festival – Jericho Brown / 7 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public

Friday, Jan. 28

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30–4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public  

This Week in History 

Jan. 28, 1986 – The space shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff 

2021 was a big year for space travel with the first all-civilian space flight taking place in September. Thirty-five years prior, Christa McAuliffe was on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space on the Challenger. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher, had won a competition that earned her a spot on the Challenger’s crew.  

Seventy-three seconds after take-off, the Challenger exploded leaving no survivors. This disaster was the first major shuttle accident, and NASA refrained from sending astronauts into space for two years as they worked to ensure a similar tragedy would not happen again.  

To learn more about what went wrong with the Challenger and the future of space shuttle travel, read this article from History.com.  

A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 24). Space shuttle challenger disaster. History.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/challenger-explodes

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, 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. 

Whether it’s because I finally invested in a new iMac after a decade or I’m still mourning the predictable, yet still upsetting death of BlackBerry phones, technology has been top of mind lately. It seems like every day there’s talk of the latest technology trend catching on and spreading like wildfire. For this weekend, I’ve compiled recs to help you keep up with the latest technology news, whether you have 3 minutes or 4 hours. 

If you have 3 minutes… watch this video about the Icelandverse. We’ve all heard about the Metaverse, but have you heard about the Icelandverse? This Icelandic tourism ad pokes fun at Zuckerburg’s Metaverse video and does a good job at making viewers want to book a trip to the real Iceland. 

If you have 5 minutes… get an overview of everything going on regarding the 5G upgrades taking place nationwide and why airports and the FAA aren’t too happy about it. 

If you have 8 minutes… read predictions about 2022 being the year of the smart house and what technological developments we can expect to see in the home. 

If you have 2 hours and 20 minutes… watch Ready Player One on Hulu. Ready Player One is based on the 2011 science fiction novel by Ernest Cline. The story takes place in 2045 where people escape the world by entering into the virtual reality entertainment universe, OASIS. If you haven’t yet seen this movie, it’s definitely worth a watch! 

If you have 4 hours and 30 minutes… read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Arguably one of the greatest dystopian novels of all time, Brave New World takes place in a world where technology has taken the place of some of humanity’s most important traditions and purposes. Despite being written in 1931, Huxley’s novel is still incredibly relevant and thought-provoking today.  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week: Agelast 

(noun) a person who never laughs  

Okay, so maybe 2022 hasn’t started off exactly like we thought it would but try to keep a sense of humor as we move into in the new year to keep yourself from becoming an agelast. To help keep the humor alive this year, I’ve compiled some of the worst jokes about January that I could find. 

Q: Where do storm troopers go to warm up on cold January days? 

A: The Darth Mall. 

Q: What is the first month of the year in Transylvania? 

A: Janu-eerie. 

Q: What can you catch in the winter with your eyes closed? 

A: A cold. 

Q: What happened to the woman who stole a calendar on New Year’s Day? 

A: She got 12 months! 

This Week at Falvey  

Tuesday, January 18th 

Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote Address / 7–8:30 p.m. / Virtual  

Peace and Justice Education will host the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote Address, delivered by Winona LaDuke, Harvard-educated economist, environmental activist, and author who specializes in rural development; economic, food, and energy sovereignty; and environmental justice.  

Thursday, January 20th 

The Freedom School will offer hour-long, online sessions hosted by various faculty members, staff, and students that relate to and extend the vision of Dr. King. The sessions will be hosted at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. 

This Week in History 

January 22nd, 1998 – Ted Kaczynski, the “Unabomber,” pleads guilty to bombings 

Theodore J. Kaczynski is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado after pleading guilty to all federal charges regarding the “Unabomber” bombings. 

The “Unabomber” primarily targeted universities, although he also placed a bomb on an American Airlines flight and send one to the president of United Airlines. Federal investigators set up the UNABOM Task Force (a combination of university and airline) leading the media to give the man the name “Unabomber.” 

To read more about Ted Kaczynski, his history, and how he was caught, read this article from History.com. 

History.com Editors. (2010, October 04). Ted Kaczynski Pleads Guilty. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ted-kaczynski-pleads-guilty-to-bombings 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

The U.S. Mint has announced that on Monday, Jan. 10 they began shipping quarters featuring poet Maya Angelou.  

This quarter represents the first in the American Women Quarters Program. This Mint program will take place over four years and includes issuing five quarters a year to honor women in fields, including women’s suffrage, Civil Rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, and the arts.  

Women to be featured in 2022 include physicist and first woman astronaut Sally Ride; Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation; Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood. 

Women have previously been featured on coins, although never the quarter. In 2017 the Mint introduced a commemorative gold coin featuring Lady Liberty as a Black woman. Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was the first to be featured on a coin in circulation when silver dollars were released with her image in 1979. Other women featured on currency include writer and activist for the disabled Helen Keller and Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who helped Lewis and Clark across the plains.

Author, poet, and Civil Rights activist, Angelou rose to prominence with the publication of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969. She was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama. Although having passed away in 2014 at the age of 86, Angelou’s impact and writings live on.

The quarter design depicts Angelou with outstretched arms and was created by Emily Damstra, a designer, and Craig A. Campbell, a medallic artist. Behind her is a bird in flight and a rising sun. Both of these selected images are inspired by her poetry and the way she lived her life. 

Below we have compiled a list of some of Maya Angelou’s most important and impactful pieces of work, all of which are available in Falvey’s collection: 

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) 
• The Complete Poetry (2015) 
• Phenomenal Women: Four Poems Celebrating Women (1994) 
• The Heart of a Women (1981) 
• On the Pulse of Morning (1993) 
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002) 

Click here to find a full list of Falvey’s collection of Maya Angelou pieces and make sure you are on the lookout for these quarters over the next four years. 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

“The transformative power of love is the foundation of all meaningful social change. Without love our lives are without meaning. Love is the heart of the matter. When all else has fallen away, love sustains.” -bell hooks, Salvation: Black People and Love, 2001 

bell hooks died from end-stage renal failure at her home in Berea, Ky., on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. She was 69. hooks’ writings had an enormous impact thinking and scholarship about race and feminism, specifically amplifying Black and marginalized voices, changing what feminism meant both in the US and internationally.  

Born Gloria Jean Watkins, hooks penned the majority of her works under the name bell hooks both in tribute to her grandmother and to bring emphasis to her words, rather than herself. To hear her speak, view this video of her at the Othering & Belonging Conference in 2015 or this clip of her on the show Speaking Freely.  Her works are assigned regularly in classes across many disciplines at Villanova. hooks’ legacy lives on in the people she influenced and thrives both on campus and in Falvey’s collection.  

bell hooks was a giant, and her loss will be felt in big and small ways by all that were touched by her work and all who have yet to discover it. To quote one of the innumerable posts of grief, gratitude, and love that flooded social media in the wake of her passing: “If you’re just learning of bell hooks, there’s no shame. You can always read her words and meet her on the page.” 

Check out bell hooks’ books at Falvey by clicking on any of the links below: 

• Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984)
• Ain’t I a Women: Black Women and Feminism (1981)
• Belonging: A Culture of Place (1990)
• Where We Stand: Class Matters (2000)
• Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (1994)
• All About Love: New Visions (1999)
• Killing Rage: Ending Racism (1995)

To view Falvey’s full collection of bell hooks books, click here. 

Explore additional resources:

• A statement from bell hook’s family regarding her passing (Twitter)
• In Praise of bell hooks (New York Times)
• How bell hooks Paved the Way for Intersectional Feminism (them.)
• The bell hooks Institute (Berea College)
• bell hooks on her latest book All About Love—New Visions (NPR)
• Trailblazing feminist author, critic and activist bell hooks has died at 69 (NPR)
• bell hooks remembered: ‘She embodied everything I wanted to be’ (Guardian)

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud 

This semester is coming to a close as well as 2021, so it’s the perfect time to reflect back on my third semester working in Falvey as a Graduate Assistant (GA.) Also, I may or may not be stealing the idea from Falvey’s other GA Ethan, so make sure to check out his post! At the beginning of this semester, I officially handed off the duties of Cat in the Stax to Ethan.

As excited as I was to see someone new take over the role and provide their creativity, I wasn’t sure where that left me in regard to blog writing. That being said, reflecting back, I definitely was able to fill my semester with fun and challenging projects and content to take on! 

Courtesy of Jenna – Beckett Bites

The first weekly blog post I took on this semester was Peek at the Week, a preview of all the events going on in the upcoming week. I then expanded that to include a “Word of the Week” and a “This Week in History” section. Looking back, I would have to say that my favorite “Word of the Week” probably had to be my first, “petrichor” or the smell of rain. This was also a word I learned during a team meeting at my summer internship and was able to bring over into my job here! Through my “This Week in History” sections, I learned more about historic events from the opening of the New York subway to the lore surrounding the mysterious Bermuda Triangle. 

In addition to expanding my history knowledge every week, my Weekend Recs allowed me to scour the internet to deliver snapshots on what is going on in the world. From recapping important topics like COVID vaccinations to silly topics like potatoes, I kept up with the news and maintained a pulse on what was happening outside of my Villanova community bubble. I also got the opportunity to write about some of my favorite topics including Taylor Swift, the NFL and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Falvey continuously challenges me to find ways to tie my passions and interests into my Falvey writings and the Villanova community.  

Writing for the blog has also allowed me to create and maintain relationships outside of Falvey, including with Villanova Theatre! Last year I got a taste of Villanova Theatre through their virtual productions; however, fall 2021 brought the full experience and the opportunity to see the first live performances in the brand-new John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. This semester I covered “WHITE” and co-wrote a blog on “Beckett Bites” with Ethan. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the theatre community and promote incredibly talented individuals every semester. 

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week display

Being back in-person full-time for the fall semester brought with it new and exciting changes to my daily duties. Rather than being in the office solo once a week, I was surrounded by my co-workers and a team of student workers! The opportunities for collaboration were something I didn’t know I craved so much coming out of last year. From learning the ropes on poster deliveries from Kelly, to collaborating on the Taylor Weekend Recs with Anna, to reading Allie’s Flick or Flip blogs, I have genuinely enjoyed growing with all of Falvey’s student workers.  

Being on campus altogether also calls for more displays and events! Putting up the Homelessness Awareness Week display with Anna challenged me to think about ways to get students’ attention for important topics through a static display. Our salty & sweet finals grab-and-go table required creative thinking to find a way to help relieve students’ stress in a COVID-safe way!  

All in all, I cannot express how grateful I am for this past semester at Falvey and part of what made it great was you all reading and engaging! Time is flying by and I am excited to make Spring 2022 the best semester yet. Cheers to 2022! 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

Word of the Week: Allyship 

(noun) the status or role of a person who advocates and actively works for the inclusion of a marginalized or politicized group in all areas of society, not as a member of that group but in solidarity with its struggle and point of view and under its leadership 

Dictionary.com announced “allyship” as their 2021 word of the year on December 6. Speaking of their decision, dictionary.com says: 

“As our Word of the Year for 2021, allyship carries a special distinction this year: It marks the first time we’ve chosen a word that’s new to our dictionary as our Word of the Year. 

Our addition of the word allyship to our dictionary in 2021—not to mention our decision to elevate it as our top word for the year—captures important ways the word continues to evolve in our language and reflects its increased prominence in our discourse.” 

Read the full announcement here. 

Kelly, J. (2021, December 6). Dictionary.com’s 2021 word of the year is … Dictionary.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year/. 

This Week at Falvey  

Monday, Nov. 15–Friday, Jan. 7 

Cabinets of Curiosity Exhibit / Falvey First Floor / Free & Open to the Public 

Friday, Dec. 10–Friday, Dec. 17

Shevlin Family Foundation Donation Collection / Boxes on Falvey First Floor or Old Falvey Second-Floor Lobby  

Items such as individually wrapped cereal bars and snacks, blankets and new or gently used socks, hats, gloves, scarves (kid and adult sizes), and hygiene items will be gratefully accepted. 

Monday, Dec. 13–Friday, Dec. 17

Salty & Sweet Finals Pop-Up / Falvey First Floor  

As you’re studying in Falvey this week, be on the lookout for the Grinch and Buddy the Elf (and our student workers) so you can snag a grab-and-go finals treat while supplies last! 

Monday, Dec. 13th   

Mindfulness Mondays / 1–1:30 p.m. / Virtual / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

This Week in History 

December 17, 1903 – First airplane flies 

As we get ready to travel for the holidays, we can look back in history to 1907, the year Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The plane stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight. 

The historic Wright brothers’ aircraft of 1903 is on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. 

A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 24). First airplane flies. History.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-airplane-flies. 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Gssistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, 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. 

Whether you have accepted it (or are still in denial like I am) finals are upon us, and the Holidays somehow seem farther away than they did last week. This week I’m sharing recs that help you stay in the know about what’s going on in the world, but also will help you relax and crush the end of the semester. So take a deep breath and add some news reading and stress-buster activities into your weekend.  

If you have 3 minutes… download a mindfulness app like “Insight Timer” or “Headspace” to clear your head and re-center your focus.  

BONUS WEEKDAY REC: On Monday, Dec. 13, attend Mindfulness Monday via Zoom from 1–1:30 p.m. More information and the link can be found here. 

If you have 5 minutes… read The Skimm’s daily newsletter from Thursday that breaks down everything from the Daunte Wright trials to the Beijing Olympics to the latest on the omicron variant. Their quick daily newsletters will help you stay in the know, so the world doesn’t seem entirely different when you emerge from finals in a week. 

If you have 1 hour… and are near Falvey from 4–5 p.m. Friday evening, stop by Room 205 for the Stress-Free Healthy Happy Hour event. Take a break from studying and join in for an hour of pet therapy, giveaways, and stress-reducing activities. Learn more here. 

If you have 1 hour and 3 minutes… listen to the Little Women movie soundtrack on Spotify while you study. It’s one of my go-to focus and study albums! 

If you have 1 hour and 39 minutes… go see Encanto, Disney’s newest animated film that features music by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. Relax watching a Disney movie with great music!  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.