For all the new freshmen students: overwhelmed? exhausted? feeling lost? Whatever you are feeling, you are not alone. It happens to everyone, some just hide it better than others. If you are a First Gen student (first in your family to go to college), there are a number of resources on campus and online to check out if you need to reach out somehow. If you go to this site, you will see some very short videos put together by...
Welcome to all new and returning students! Hope you had an enjoyable summer and are ready to get into the swing of a new school year. There are all kinds of new things happening in the library including some new group study rooms. Its your tuition dollars at work! For all the returning students, you might not notice right away, but we have a new library page to search out what books, journals and media are available through the Detroit...
One hundred fifty-three years ago in June, 1863, Sojourner Truth (a name chosen by Isabella Baumfree, former slave and abolitionist) attended a Sunday School Convention in Battle Creek, Michigan. On the last day of the convention, during a mass meeting of white children and their teachers at the local Methodist Church, she sat patiently in the back of the church listening to various speakers. When the last one finished his speech, she rose and spoke clearly and distinctly to the...
Have you ever wondered about the history of UDM’s yearly Convocation? Each year university faculty and employees gather together to kick off the new academic year. Did you know that the Digital Archives offers a way to trace the history of this annual event through our Convocation Collection? And not just the history of these important assemblies at UDM, but also those held when we were known as the University of Detroit and Mercy College. What can you find there? ...
This first publication of the Tamarack came after 20 years of discussion about whether or not to start a college newspaper, or so the editor tells his readers in his “Salutatory” introduction (shown below). The college itself had only been around that long. And during those first 20 years, Detroit College was alone the only Catholic college in Michigan. Having its own newspaper was important not only to ensure its place among institutions of higher learning, but as an expression...
This is not exactly something in the Archives or Special Collections, but it is a location where archival material is kept. Yes, the University of Detroit Mercy Library on the McNichols campus is now a Pokestop. I’ve already seen a couple of students check it out. I believe there are other locations on campus as well. So tell all your friends in search of some Pokemon characters that they can pick up a few on the University of Detroit Mercy...
“The job of art is to turn time into things.” (Robert Genn) Summer is my favorite time of year! I’m a “summer” person! Oh, the other seasons are nice and all. Each has its own unique expression. But, for me, you can’t beat the full complement of experience packed into a perfect summer day. For me, summer is a special type of color that seems to stretch from June to August. And summer days are filled with a seemingly endless...
In an editorial published in the the Weekly Anglo-African newspaper on March 9, 1861, there’s a review of a recent book (titled, American slavery distinguished from the slavery of English theorists, and justified by the law of nature) on the defining of slavery and slaves as human beings. The writer of this article compares this recent publication with another book published by John H. Van Evrie (another pro-slavery writer) about the same time. The focus is on the question of...
During those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer when the sun is high in the sky and the air feels warm and comforting, it’s nice to find a cozy spot and dive into some interesting reading. If you’re like some people, you’re reading at least two books at once. Others find happiness in the latest novel or a stack of magazine articles. These days readers often prefer electronic reading sources, whether it’s a book in digital format or something interesting...
All Americans celebrate Independence Day (July 4th) as a federal holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776. This event marked this country’s freedom from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). But did you know that August 1 (Emancipation Day) was celebrated as a day of independence and liberation for thousands of enslaved and formerly enslaved people in this country and others for years after slavery was abolished in the West Indies on this day...
