HOLIDAY TIP SHEET


	Holiday greetings from the public information staff at the
University of Virginia!  Here is a sampling of stories you can use
throughout the holiday season. Best wishes from all of us at
University Relations for a Happy New Year! 


	* The evergreen tree has played a symbolic role in winter
holiday celebrations for millennia, even before Christians adopted
the custom as part of their Christmas celebration. Roy Wagner, an
expert in symbolic anthropology at U.Va., can explore winter holiday
customs and symbolism in Christianity and other religions with
reporters. He can be reached at (804) 924-6827.

	* C. Brian Kelly, a U.Va. lecturer in news writing, has
written a book that was released just before the holidays: "Tales of
the Clubhouse Cat (Cont.), A Christmas Tale at That!" The story,
which should appeal to cat lovers, children and anyone who loves a
heartwarming holiday story, follows a lonely cat on Christmas Eve as
she searches for a warm place in which to give birth to her kittens.
Behind her, a fox has begun to follow her blood-tinged footprints,
left by paws raw from the long journey. Kelly can be reached by
(804) 924-7105 or (804) 295-3559. 

	* So what was the Star of Bethlehem, really? Charlie
Tolbert, a professor of astronomy, can explore the technical side of
the question, reviewing the possibilities that modern astronomers
have pondered over the years -- a supernova, comet, etc. Tolbert can
be reached at the office at (804) 924-7494 or at home at (804)
296-0609.

	* More than 3,000 U.Va. students, nearly two of every five
undergraduates, contribute 110,000 hours of volunteer social work
each year. Special holiday programs include Holiday Sharing, in
which students and faculty contribute food and presents to 100
families throughout the community, and an effort, in collaboration
with Sprint/Centel and Live Arts, to bring participants in the Big
Siblings, Little Siblings and Adopt-A-Grandparent programs to a Live
Arts performance of The Christmas Carol. For more information on
U.Va. volunteer efforts at the holidays and throughout the year,
call Cindy Fredrick, executive director of Madison House, which
coordinates U.Va.'s volunteer activities, at (804) 977-7051.

	* The secret to enjoying trouble-free holidays with former
in-laws and ex spouses is to make plans well in advance, says
psychologist Robert E. Emery, who researches relationships following
divorce and separation. A long-time mediator in custody battles and
divorce, Emery offers practical advice on how to handle
relationships after divorce -- especially during the emotional
holiday season. A professor of psychology at U.Va. and author of the
book, "Renegotiating Family Relationships: Divorce, Child Custody
and Mediation," Emery can be reached at work at (804) 924-0671 or at
home at (804) 295-7873.
	* Norman Rockwell-type portrayals of happy families,
gathering for the holidays, may lead to feelings of loneliness,
guilt or depression in those whose lives are not so rosy, says Peter
Sheras, a clinical psychologist who specializes in relationships.
Sheras has developed practical strategies for coping with the stress
of the holidays and warding off the holiday blues. Sheras is an
associate professor of education at U.Va.'s Curry School of
Education. He can be reached at (804) 924-0795 or at home at (804)
973-3536.

	* Among the most troubling facts about domestic violence is
that pregnant women are at a higher risk of being hit, slapped,
kicked or otherwise abused by their partners than non-pregnant
women. Six percent of pregnant women and teenagers are physically or
sexually abused by their husbands or boyfriends, says U.Va. nursing
professor Barbara Parker. And women are abused more frequently
during holidays and highly publicized athletic events, i.e.,
SuperBowl games, than at any other times of the year. Parker, who
studies domestic violence, can be reached at work at (804) 924-2744
until Dec. 20. Her colleague, Sally Reel, who likewise can speak on
the topic, can be reached at the same work number or at home at
(804) 296-0636 until Jan. 1.

	* As a child growing up in a black, working-class community
in rural industrial Alabama in the 1950s and 60s, Deborah E.
McDowell was determined to get away as soon as she could. By
escaping her neighborhood called Pipe Shop, 12 miles outside of
Birmingham, McDowell thought she could "permanently put the images,
slights and restrictions of racial segregation far behind me, or so
I naively thought." Today, one of the nation's leading scholars of
African-American literature and culture, McDowell has written a
passionate book, "Leaving Pipe Shop," that both laments her loss and
celebrates the vibrant community of her youth. A professor of
English at U.Va. and an editor of the recently published "Norton
Anthology of African-American Literature," McDowell is an authority
on violence, mourning and the symbols of loss in African-American
culture. She can be reached at the office at (804) 924-6661 or
924-7105; or at home at (804) 979-9564.

	* Mainstream medicine hasn't always accepted alternative
therapies. But patients are demanding a holistic approach to
treatment and, especially with pain management, it seems to be
working. Ann Gill Taylor, the Betty Norman Norris Professor of
Nursing at U.Va.'s School of Nursing, has been working in pain
management for more than two decades. She's a strong advocate of
massage therapy for premature infants and has developed and taught
one of only a handful of pain management courses offered nationwide.
And last year, the U.Va. School of Nursing's Center for the Study of
Complementary and Alternative Therapies, led by Taylor, was the only
nursing school to be designated as a National Institutes of Health
research center in the field and awarded a $1.1 million NIH grant.
Taylor is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and in 1994
received the Outstanding Educator Award from the American
Association of Critical Care Nurses. Taylor can be reached in her
office at (804) 924-0087 or at home at (804) 293-2629.

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December 13, 1996