Staff report
SHIPPENSBURG — Shippensburg University’s Center for Applied History is re-releasing the book, “Dum Spiro, Spero: Chambersburg’s Black Civil War Soldiers and Sailors: A Tribute to the Veterans Laid to Rest in the Mt. Vernon and Lebanon Cemeteries.”
The release coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 150th anniversary of War Department General Order Number 143 that established the federal Bureau of Colored Troops on May 22, 1863.
The book features essays written in spring 2010 by Shippensburg undergraduate history majors who were enrolled in the Theory and …

Downtown Shippensburg’s Open House for Business: 2 to 4 p.m. June 11 at 14 W. King St., Shippensburg.
By AMBER SOUTH
@ShipNewsGirl
SHIPPENSBURG — Led by a new loan program, a conglomerate of Shippensburg business and community organizations has initiated a program to expand the downtown business market.
Rebecca Yearick, downtown manager with Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority, led an event Tuesday to introduce the program and its players. Playing headlining roles in the program are Downtown Organizations Investing Together, an organization made up of leaders and participants of various entities who work …

Staff report
SHIPPENSBURG — A senior at Shippensburg Area Senior High School has received a Pennsylvania House of Representatives Scholarship.
Heather Hockenberry, daughter of Jeff and Chris Hockenberry, was one of two high school seniors in Pennsylvania to get the highly competitive scholarship, according to a press release from the office of state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg.
“Heather is already an accomplished young woman, and I have no doubt her future will be filled with success,” Kauffman stated in the release. “I’d like to personally congratulate Heather for being selected for this year’s …

By LAUREN CAPPUCCIO
@LCappuccioPO
At a graduation pushed inside by rain, students were told by former Rep. Todd Platts to “live a life of service,” but to take pride in the accomplishment that all 1,082 of them had achieved.
“If you were told ahead of time how much work you were going to do in school, you would probably have turned around and left,” Platts said, laughing and making the students laugh with him.
Platts is a 1984 graduate of Shippensburg University and is a former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania’s 19th congressional district.
“But remember …

By AMBER SOUTH
@ShipNewsGirl
Bill Ruud ended his presidential reign at Shippensburg University with what is for him one the most rewarding aspects of his job.
For the seventh year, he shook the hands of about 1,000 graduates Saturday as they walked across the commencement stage toward the beginning of the rest of their lives.
He has shaken the hands of 10,257 brand new SU alumni so far. It will be the third time Ruud will see students come full cycle, from wide-eyed incoming freshmen to educated and cultured graduating seniors.
“There’s …

Shippensburg University’s communication/journalism program is one of 111 programs nationally and internationally to receive accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC).
The department received accreditation from the association’s Accrediting Council at its recent meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. Shippensburg is the only member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to be accredited and is one of the few accredited programs in the Mid-Atlantic region.
According to Dr. Barbara G. Lyman, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, “ACEJMC accreditation signifies our commitment …

SHIPPENSBURG — Todd Platts, former U.S. representative and a Shippensburg University graduate, will present the address May 11 during the spring undergraduate commencement ceremony. Platts will also receive an honorary doctor of public service degree.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in Seth Grove Stadium. Approximately 1,000 students are expected to participate.
Platts, a 1984 Shippensburg University graduate, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 19th District of Pennsylvania, from 2001 until January 2013. A long-time supporter of term limits, he …

Staff report
When senior Katie Leverentz, Elizabethtown, walks through commencement May 11 at Shippensburg University, she will continue a 60-plus year family tradition.
“We’re in the third generation when it comes to family members who’ve attended Shippensburg, and we’ll probably get another one from this generation coming here in a few years,” Katie said.
Katie’s grandmother and late grandfather, her aunts and uncles, her cousins and her sister all attended Shippensburg. The connection the family shares dates from the late 1940s when Katie’s grandmother and grandfather met at Shippensburg.
“My …

By DAVID YEARWOOD
Staff Writer/ The Slate
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “drum circle?” You might think of hippies, but at The Thought Lot in Shippensburg, a drum circle is about much more than that.
Every fourth Sunday of the month, Nancy Messich, “The Drum Lady,” holds a drum circle that is open to the community. The drum circle is held at The Thought Lot, a fine arts hub in Shippensburg located at 37 E. Garfield St.
“Everybody can participate,” Messich said about the drum circles, “whether they’re special needs …

By VICTORIA PEROUTY
Staff Writer/The Slate
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club is new to the scene at Shippensburg University.
Specializing in grappling techniques, the martial art promotes the concept that a smaller and weaker person can defend himself or herself against a larger and stronger attacker through use of leverage and technique including chokes and joint-locks.
Randy Myers, a sophomore who serves as the club’s current president, has been practicing jiu-jitsu for two years and grappling since high school, started the club in February 2012.
“I want to teach for a living and felt that the …