Josie Iannetta was a very kind and caring person whose legacy will live on, says Maryan Amalow, executive director of the Organization of Part-time University Students.

The founding president of OPUS, Iannetta died February 14. The organization paid tribute to her at its annual awards banquet March 15.

“We all know how much of an impact she has had on OPUS and how compassionate and caring she was,” Amalow said. “Her legacy and the advocacy she did during those times for OPUS impressed us. We will always remember and appreciate her efforts and support.”

Iannetta was a UWindsor grad (BFA 1982) and a University staff member for 19 years. She served as president of the Alumni Association in 1987/88 and received the Citizen Award of the City of Windsor Police in 1983, the Clifton Grant Award for SEIU Local 210 in 1995, and an OPUS lifetime achievement award in 2007.

Read more on the OPUS Web site.

The Educational Development Centre has issued a call for dedicated University of Windsor students to volunteer during Windsor Welcome Week, September 2 to 8.

The week involves academic and social activities created for new students in order to ease their transition into university by allowing them to feel more connected to campus.

Volunteer duties include running events and providing accurate information to new students while promoting campus pride. All volunteers will receive a T-shirt and a certificate of completion, and get to attend a recognition reception.

Applications are due by March 29 at www.uwindsor.ca/edc.

Lavinia Jula, a staffer in the office of the dean of arts and social sciences, won Thursday’s DailyNews contest and two tickets to the Spring Choral Concert, Sunday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Assumption University Chapel.

The program will feature the world premiere of a work by UWindsor alumna Shelley Marwood (BMus 2004).

Jula earned her prize by having her name drawn from all respondents who correctly identified the composers of other featured pieces: Eleanor Daley, Chantez À Dieu; Jens Hanson, The House of the Lord; Stella Goud, The Maid on the Shore; Damijan Močnik, Prošnja (The Prayer); and Rosephanye Powell, Still I Rise.

This weekend also boasts the Wind Ensemble Concert “To Infinity … and Beyond!” on Friday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Banwell Community Church, 2400 Banwell Road.

Tickets to either of these concerts are $10 general admission and $5 for students, available at the door or in advance by phone at 519-253-3000, ext. 4212; or online at www.uwindsor.ca/music.

There are those hockey fans who believe that when the Detroit Red Wings set a new record for home wins this season there should have be an asterisk beside their names because several of those 23 victories came as a result of shoot-outs.

Then again, there are some more cerebral sports analysts who believe that if an asterisk is added to the record books, it should only be to note that with the shoot-outs included, the accomplishment becomes all the more extraordinary.

That’s because the odds of winning a shoot-out on home ice are significantly lower for a team than winning the game during regulation play, according to research conducted by first-year kinesiology master’s student Matt Hoffman.

Hoffman – who presented his findings at the sixth annual kinesiology research day Wednesday – collected data on 7,386 NHL games since the shoot-out rule was implemented following the 2004-05 lock-out. According to his results, home teams won 56.6 per cent of the time during regulation, but in only 47.8 per cent of the games that went to a shoot-out. They won 53.1 per cent of the time during the five-minute regular season overtime periods.

Using a method called logistic regression analysis, Hoffman then calculated the odds of a home team winning in a shoot-out - while taking into consideration the strength of both the home and visiting team - and discovered they decreased by 36 per cent compared to their likelihood of winning during regulation play.

“It’s better for the home team to win during the first 60 minutes, because everything decreases after that,” said Hoffman, a Toronto native who calls the Maple Leafs his favourite team.

After the Red Wings set the new record a debate among sports fans ensued, with many arguing that the shoot-out wasn’t a luxury available to previous record holders. The 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers and the 1929-30 Boston Bruins previously shared the record with 20 consecutive home wins, but won those games in the pre-shoot-out era, an accomplishment which took the shine off the Wings’ new mark, according to some.

Given Hoffman’s findings, their accomplishment is special, according to professor Todd Loughead, his academic supervisor.

“It makes it all the more impressive because the odds of them winning during a shoot-out are so much lower,” said Loughead, who co-supervised Hoffman’s work with professor Jess Dixon.

Hoffman said he plans to pursue new directions with his research, but found the exercise a valuable one just because of the new analytical skills he acquired.

“The stats are quite advanced so he had to learn some pretty heavy-duty material,” said Dr. Loughead.

In all, almost 60 graduate and undergraduate students presented research findings at the event. Human Kinetics Society Research Excellence Awards in the undergraduate category were presented to:

• Kevin Mageto and Jess Dixon for their project: Hired to be Fired: An Examination of General Manager Succession in Major League Baseball, and

• Brittany Becker, Sarah Woodruff and Patricia Weir for their project: Barriers to Physical Activity in Adults 55+ in the Windsor-Essex Community

Graduate awards went to:

• Candice Horton, Matthew Kane, Paul Little, and Can Wu for their project: Becoming a 'Brawler': An Exploration of Female Motivation for Participation in Flat Track Roller Derby

• Mark Badrov, Cassandra Stiller-Moldovan, Matthew DiBartolomeo, Phil Millar, Don Clarke, Nancy McNevin, and Cheri McGowan for their project: Isometric Handgrip Training Lowers Resting Blood Pressure Independent of Training Frequency and Improves Resistance Vessel Function in Normotensive Women

Watch a video of Matt Hoffman explaining his research.

Getting hit in the face with a pie is nerve-wracking, says Andrea Gallo, but she would do it all over again.

Still friends: Andrea Gallo and Jodie Baillargeon.

The second-year biology student is a volunteer with the Windsor chapter of Free the Children, a charity that works to inspire young people to develop as socially conscious global citizens. The group set up a station outside the CAW Student Centre Thursday, allowing donors to throw paper plates covered in whipped cream at targets – like Gallo.

“It’s worth it for the cause,” she said, citing its educational projects to free children from poverty and exploitation.

Thursday’s Pie Throw for Poverty was part of the organization’s Five Days of Freedom campaign, which concludes Friday at the CAW Student Centre.

“We’re just trying to get people involved,” Gallo said. She invites students, faculty and staff to check out Friday’s activities – outside the centre, weather permitting, otherwise in the Commons area.

It may have been scorching hot Wednesday afternoon, but it was much less smoky than usual, as the Leave the Pack Behind student health services group held its awards ceremony in the Thirsty Scholar.

With about 50 student participants on hand to watch, UWindsor president Alan Wildeman handed out awards to those winners who reduced or eliminated cigarettes from their lives.

“I was smoking a lot of cigarettes, and I figured out that I needed to stop, I was spending too much money on it,”  said an overjoyed Abdullah Sadi, a business student who won the grand prize of a $500 tuition voucher for quitting smoking completely.

“I read something that said that if you can’t control something, you’re addicted to it, and that really hit me hard.  I was spending a lot of money, and I just wasn’t happy with the situation,” Sadi said.

Meanwhile, Sherise McDowal, winner of the $100 prize for pledging never to smoke, believes it’s all about the people you associate with.

“I surround myself with friends who don’t smoke, so there is no temptation or peer pressure to smoke,” said McDowal, a kinesiology major.

Organizers called Leave the Pack Behind a huge success this year, with 241 people involved -- 35 who have quit for good, and 18 who have reduced their smoking by half, which is a big stepping stone on the way to quitting.

— by Brendan Johnson

A team of five third-year Odette School of Business students has come together to host a dodgeball tournament on Saturday, March 24. The tournament begins at 10 a.m. at Assumption College Catholic High School and will last until a winning team claims the $500 cash prize.

The cost to enter is $10 per person, or $50 a team; participants are to form teams of five. Contestants who are 13 or older are welcome to form teams and come out to compete. Any team will be welcomed, even those who have not registered prior to the day of the event. Show up with the money for registration at 10 a.m. and you will not be denied.

The organizers recommend teams coin a catchy name -- many are going so far as to dress up in costumes for the event. There have been 13 teams confirmed for the event so far, and many of the teams have created team cheers, costumes, and gimmicks of all sorts.

The students running the event will donate all of the proceeds to the Miracle League of Amherstburg. This organization allows for children with disabilities of any sort to play baseball in an environment free of discrimination.

There will be pizza and beverages available for purchase, so come on out and have a ball! Assumption College Catholic High School is located at 1100 Huron Church Road.

To register a team or to find out further information, contact Tyler Jahn at 519-977-2030 or tjahn@cogeco.ca.

— by Kate du Toit

Interested in building inner strength and resilience?

Anne Baird, associate professor of psychology, is conducting a free workshop offering information and skills aimed at increasing positive thinking and reducing negative thinking about getting older. The workshop is part of her research study, funded by an internal grant from the University of Windsor.

This study is for people age 50 years and up. Please telephone or e-mail Dr. Baird for more details and a telephone screening to see if you qualify: 519-253-3000, ext. 2234, abaird@uwindsor.ca. Voicemail and e-mail messages will be returned in 72 hours.

Those who qualify and enroll in the study will come to the Psychological Services and Research Centre at 332 Sunset Avenue for 90-minute individual pre- and post-workshop sessions on March 24 and April 28. All workshop sessions will be on Saturdays – March 31, April 14, and April 21 -- from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Participants will receive $6 at the pre-workshop session. Those who complete all sessions will receive an additional $24 at the post-workshop session, as well as handouts and refreshments during sessions.

This research program has received clearance from the University of Windsor Research Ethics Board.

Spring 2012 may be just a few days old, but don’t tell Mother Nature that – she has the season well underway in Windsor. More than a week of record warm temperatures has campus flowers blooming much earlier than normal.

A DailyNews photographer captured a few blossoms to share.

Violets are edible, though pretty bland unless candied.

Magnolia trees are ancient and, predating bees, evolved to be pollinated by beetles.

These pretty blue scilla are located outside Memorial Hall.

A flowering shrub, forsythia produces clusters of bright yellow blooms.