"COME ON IN AND GET SOME, IT'S FREE!" yelled Dr. Bernard Franklin, Penn Valley's president, out the back door of the Campus Center dining area, to students on the patio. He was talking about not education, but ice cream.

  It was shortly after 11am on Thursday, September 7, 2006, just two weeks into the 2006 fall semester at Penn Valley Community College.

    "We all scream, for ice cream!" Dr. Franklin intoned, concluding his address. And with that, the Premiere Week Ice Cream Social, sponsored by the Office of Campus Life and Leadership (OCLL), was officially underway.

    "It's Your Time to Shine" was the underlying message, explained Mindy Johnson, OCLL Coordinator. "We wanted to put a spotlight on students," she said. "So the Orientation Team came up with the idea of a Hollywood theme for the activities."

Dr. Franklin Mingles

  The ice cream social was intended to provoke all strata of PV inhabitants to come together in a no-holds-barred, smackdown welcome match. Administration, staff and students were invited to meet each other, shake hands, and mix it up. A barbecue and games were set to culminate the week the next day, on the Campus Center patio.

  A blizzard of ice cream grabbing, biting, and uninhibited licking seemed about to bust out as Dr. Franklin stood by the condiments and beseeched the cafeteria crowd to repent, 'fess up, and baptize the offerings freely with sprinkles, nuts and syrup.

   Then, as if summoned from distant stadium seats at a Billy Graham Crusade, dozens of students and staff raptured to their feet, and began making their way, humbly, emotionally, to the uplifted rear of the dining area. Others remained seated, casually speaking in tongues.

  Tables of pure ivory vanilla salvation, scooped into styrofoam communion cups, awaited the pilgrims. A dizzying selection of toppings was complemented by elegant yet subdued napkins and matching plastic spoons. Cold water from nearby fountains was also available, for guests who preferred unflavored snowcone melt.

  Eventually Franklin, genially called Bernard by many who already knew him, waded into the crowd with his pal, the Dean of Instruction, Dr. Al Dimmitt, chatting and pressing the flesh with all souls along the way.

  "It's a great way of connecting with the students," said Dimmitt, genuinely pleased to be getting away from the lofty fifth floor. He said he was enjoying spending some quality time among many he also knew already, as well as making new friends.

  Student Milena Maksimovic was pleasantly surprised to meet Dr. Franklin, who spent a few moments at her table, asking her about her classes at Penn Valley. "I enjoyed meeting him. He is a nice man," she said.

  Spying a trio of PV staff carrying on at another table, Dr. Franklin pulled up a chair and listened intently to their concerns, without firing any one of them for sassing. He apparently even sassed back, managing to get them laughing more than once.

  "What we like about Bernard Franklin is that he is focused on student success," said Zola Gordy, one of the three, and Academic Coach/Retention Coordinator for the Teaching and Learning Center. "He's a blessing, because he knows we need resources to do what we need to do. Whenever there's an opportunity, he is always willing to work with us. He's very creative."

  Karen Moore, Teaching and Learning Center Supervisor, and Sandy Sexton, Campus Network Coordinator, agreed. "We have always had good support from Dr. Franklin," Sexton affirmed.

    Yet none of the women would admit to receiving kickbacks from Dr. Franklin for saying nice things about him to the media. Nor did they show any obvious signs of torture or mind control.

  As everyone mingled and cackled, Jeanette Nolan, poet and secretary for the Black Student Association, stepped up to the open mike on the middle level of the dining area and began to read some of her work. She said she was hoping to hear more from at least two other student poets, Sissy and Artist with Words.

  "I'm also working on a playwright contest for the Paseo Academy of Performing Arts, for Black History Month in February," Nolan said. "They were our first choice, since they work with the arts already."

  The pace slowed as newcomers snagged the last pearls of ice cream and sliced strawberries. Holdovers sat hung over, lolling in a vanilla haze, yet born anew, and grateful for the game-opening ceremony of dessert and fellowship.

  "It was well-received," said Johnson.

  "Anytime we can bring together the students and deans, it's a success," said Shannon Ross, OCLL tech.

    "In fact, anytime we can serve ice cream, it's a success!" she added.

Copyright 2006 Metropolitan Community College