Ursinus College

Dennis Stanton of Ursinus College, the Centennial Conference's all-time leading men's basketball scorer, has been named a first-team academic all-American. The La Salle graduate from North Wales becomes the fourth Ursinus student-athlete and only the second men's basketball player in conference history to earn the honor. Last week, Stanton was named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, which is awarded to the Division III player of the year. Stanton, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, enjoyed the best individual season in Ursinus and conference history.

Last summer, while competing in the Hank Gathers League, Dennis Stanton gave a preview of future scoring outbursts when he netted 50 points in a game. Stanton, a sharpshooting wing guard for Ursinus College, is the leading scorer in NCAA Division III men's basketball. Through 14 games this season, the senior is averaging 30.1 points. On Saturday, Stanton hit seven three-pointers en route to a career-high 45 points as the Bears topped Johns Hopkins, 82-74, in a Centennial Conference matchup at Helfferich Hall in Collegeville.

The works by Ann Hopkins Wilson on exhibit at Widener University manage to combine abstract painting with a powerful, almost primitive sense of mystery that almost intrudes on the viewer. Unlike many other artists' handiworks, they don't merely exist objectively, either to be admired or discussed. Instead, rather like wonder-working images, they carry uncomfortable overtones of power, giving off a peculiar vitality. This Plymouth Meeting painter, president of the Conshohocken Art League, is also an art therapist at Paoli Memorial Hospital.

In 1869, a group of orthodox ministers from the Reformed Church of America received a charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to found a college. The new school, Ursinus College, was named after the 16th-century European religious reformer Zacharias Ursinus. Ursinus College, one of several distinguished, highly selective, liberal-arts colleges that grace the Philadelphia suburbs, was founded as a result of a controversy over liturgy within the Reformed Church. The Reformed Church in the United States traces its roots to the 16th-century German Reformed Church, which was established in the German-speaking states of Central Europe.

Mia Hamm added to her world-record goal total yesterday, helping the United States beat Mexico, 5-0, in San Jose, Calif., in the national team's final tune-up for the Women's World Cup. Hamm scored on a penalty kick in the 73d minute, with the other goals coming from Shannon Boxx, Abby Wambach, Brandi Chastain and Aly Wagner. Julie Foudy set up two goals as the Americans remained unbeaten in their last 24 games (22-0-2) at home and improved to 9-0 against Mexico. The Women's World Cup begins Sept.

Work crews have begun construction of a $30 million performing arts center at Ursinus College, bringing the school a step closer to what officials say will be a more arts-friendly campus. The 55,000-square-foot center, which will be built into a sloping hillside on the west end of the campus, will house two theaters, a rehearsal studio, classrooms, and faculty offices, Ursinus president John Strassburger said. The arts center, which has yet to be named, is expected to be completed by April 2005.

Todd Witzleben and Sheila Klick of La Salle won their races yesterday as the Explorers captured the Atlantic Ten cross-country championships for the second straight year. Witzleben won the 8,000-meter men's race in 25 minutes, 22 seconds on the Schenley Park course in Pittsburgh. He won both the race and outstanding male performer honors for the second straight year. Klick won the 5,000-meter women's championship in 17:39 and was named outstanding female performer. Junior Brandon Rowe and senior Greg Bielecki finished first and second as Haverford College won the Centennial Conference title for the 10th straight year and the 17th time in the last 18 years.

The Best Buddies chapter at Ursinus College will begin a project in the fall to increase opportunities for developmentally disabled people whom the students befriend during the year. The chapter will commence e-Buddies to build e-mail friendships between those with mental retardation and volunteers across the country. The goal is to increase computer, writing and socialization skills. Best Buddies International started the project about four years ago, and Ursinus is the first college in Pennsylvania to undertake it, said Carlos Ciruelos, a manager of the program.

Complete the following sentence: The new writing section on the Scholastic Aptitude Test will (A) Make high school students better writers. (B) Accurately reflect a student's writing skills. (C) Enable educators to better prepare students for college-level writing. The correct answer: (D) None of the above. The addition of a writing section to the SAT should worry many in the academic community. The new essay exam is absolutely the wrong answer. True, a growing number of high school graduates lack the writing aptitude to succeed in a collegiate environment.

In an art world that sometimes seems to grow more giddy by the hour, an example of another sort is being set by Ursinus' Berman Museum in its show of Rembrandt etchings. As much as any subject, this one reaches out to the public across centuries. The fame of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69) is as firmly established as that of Dante and Shakespeare, and his name is a household word. This 27-item traveling show highlights Rembrandt's trailblazing role in launching the growth and advancement of the etching medium.