Campus Confidential, July 16, 2010

We continue our new feature — Campus Confidential, which debuted last week. Based on our blog stats, these tidbits of news  were popular.

So read, enjoy and send in what you know or hear around campus!

• Got manganese? Blueberries do, and there will be plenty available today from noon to 4 p.m. in Hashinger 103. It’s part of the food science program’s continuing work on a U.S. Department of Agriculture project we wrote about earlier this week when they were testing peaches. And just to squash silly rumors – no, the fruit is not genetically modified, says food science Professor Fred Caporaso, Ph.D., Schmid College of Science.
• Some of us are up in a flap about our ducky couple that nested in the Liberty Plaza pond this spring. Seems they’ve been scarce lately. Are they summering on the coast? Mooching off picnickers in nearby parks? We checked in with our own Professor Walter H. Piper, Ph.D., who runs The Loon Project and he suspects that “disturbances from humans drove them away.” Oops, we’re sorry.
• We know it’s not politically correct to like them, but remember candy cigarettes from back in the day? Those and more retro and nostalgic candies go on sale today at the Orange Candy Company, which opens today at 144 N. Glassell Street in Old Towne Orange. What do you think — Moon Pie, Abba-Zabba or those little wax soda bottles?
• We promised to follow up on the paint colors chosen for the campus’ historic buildings. Thankfully, Kris Eric Olsen, vice president of Campus Planning & Operations, knows all: “Of the five structures in the historic core of the campus, we have one structure that is of Victorian architecture (Wilkinson Hall) and four that are Neo-Classical architecture.  A couple of years ago we did a historic restoration of Wilkinson Hall that included some forensic work to determine the original colors.  We painted the building based on the results; it too was formerly beige.  Our intent is to address the Neo-Classical buildings next, starting with Memorial Hall.”

And yes, the buildings were once painted pink, a fact confirmed during the Wilkinson restoration.