Campus Currents

The Young Performers Competition held during the Black Hills Summer Institute of the Arts (BHSIA), which is hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, recently received a $100 grant from the Spearfish Optimist Club.

The Young Performers Competition is designed to encourage and advance young vocal and instrumental musicians by providing a venue for a formal performance and the opportunity to be judged by professional artists. The event attracts between 15 and 20 young musicians who compete for monetary prizes.

The Optimist Grant will help fund the rental costs of the Matthews Opera House, the awards to the top performers, and the honorarium to each of the three judges.

The College of Arts and Sciences will host an open house in Jonas basement and
Jonas 109 Thursday, Feb. 27 from 1-3 p.m. All are welcome to view the newly renovated classroom and basement areas. Where once there were cavernous, poorly-lit storage areas, Jonas basement now houses darkroom and studio facilities, the newspaper office, the animal care facility, and psychology and biology research spaces. Refreshments will be provided.

The Black Hills State University Theatre and Music Departments will present Two by Two Feb. 20-22 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. in Woodburn Auditorium.

A musical by Richard Rodgers, Two by Two, based on the play The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets and the book by Peter Stone, is a refreshing retelling of the biblical story of Noah. Rodgers entered his seventh decade of writing for the theatre while collaborating with Martin Charnin to write this portrayal.

The play depicts Noah facing many challenges as he fulfills a command from God. It seems that the building of the ark was only the first of Noah’s many daunting challenges in a journey that wasn’t always smooth sailing. By turns inspirational and hilarious, we discover that being chosen by God for great things does not necessarily simplify the daily demands made of a father and husband. It’s good fun from The Good Book and when the land has dried, man and beast alike are invited to go forth and prosper in a bright new world.

Contact Al Sandau for more information at 642-6268. Tickets may be reserved by contacting the BHSU theatre box office at 642-6171 the week of the play or emailing theatre@bhsu.edu.

The Black Hills State University Community Band and Chamber Winds will present a winter concert Monday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union Jacket Legacy Room.

The band will play “comfort” music-traditional fare including marches, ragtime, spirituals, and some big band music.

During the concert a raffle will be held to win a conductor’s baton and a chance to conduct the band. The winner needs no musical ability.

For more information contact Christopher Hahn, instructor of music at BHSU, at
642-6888.

An employee group at Black Hills State University, the Career Service Advisory Council (CSA), is once again making plans to sell daffodils during the American Cancer Society fundraiser known as Daffodil Days.

“The BHSU community has done so much for this fundraiser,” Mary Bonrud, Daffodil Days chairperson, said. “They have been a great help to us. It was unbelievable what the

CSA group did for us. The community of BHSU really rallied together to support the entire community.”

Bonrud noted that the campus contribution was especially significant because faculty, staff and students came together in support
of a couple of students who are

CSA council members are once again planning to take orders for daffodils as a part of the American Cancer Society daffodil days fundraiser. Council members who are taking orders include, front row, left to right, Jeanne Hanson, Krista Schroeder, Lynette Long, Joanne Wilkening. Back row, Cheri Leahy, Deatta Chapel, Linda Allbee, Nancy Shuck, and Dennis Walkins.

directly affected by cancer. “That makes their support especially meaningful,” Bonrud said.

In their third year of participation in Daffodil Days, the CSA Council is hoping to increase their contribution. Last year the group effort added $834 to the fundraiser, up from the $500 in 2001.

“We are hoping to increase that amount this year,” said Cheri Leahy, CSA Council member. “The is the only CSA community service project we are involved in and we look forward to participating. It’s kind of a fun project because everyone enjoys getting the daffodils and watching them bloom in the offices.”

Leahy credits the generosity and participation of everyone on campus and the dedication of the CSA Council members for the success of the fundraiser.

CSA Council members will be taking orders for daffodils now through Feb. 20. Daffodils are sold in bunches of 10 for $7 or individual daffodils for $1. Daffodils can also be purchased as a gift in the “gift of hope” bouquet for $15 which includes 10 daffodils in a blue vase delivered with a card to a cancer survivor or anyone affected by cancer. Flowers will be delivered March 17.

Funds raised make it possible for the American Cancer Society to support research to find a cure for cancer, educate people to prevent cancer and detect it early, advocate to affect cancer-related issues and serve those touched by cancer. The daffodil has been selected because it is the first flower of spring, and to many, represents the hope of a new season…hope for a world free of cancer.

For more information contact Leahy at 642-6145, Bonrud at 644-1260 or Michelle Kruger at 722-5246.

BHSU students will volunteer for a home building program during spring break - top

Nine students at Black Hills State University will spend their spring break using hammers, saws, and other tools of the construction trade as they serve as volunteers on a house-building project.

In direct contrast to the general impression of usual spring break activities, this group of BHSU students will do volunteer work during their week-long break as they participate in the Habitat for

Humanity Spring Break Collegiate Challenge program. The students and two career counselors from the BHSU Career Center, Heather Johnson and Sarah Chase, will travel to Norman, Okla., and participate in the spring break program through Habitat for

BHSU students Erica Littlewolf (front left) Jessica Shaffer (front right) Kris Olsen (back left) and Wendy Jones (back right) do roofing work during a spring break volunteer program last year. Littlewolf and eight other students from BHSU are making plans to volunteer through the same program this year.

Humanity. The volunteer group consists of a variety of students with different majors and ages who have a common goal of helping others. This year the group includes a mother-daughter team who will be working together alongside students from other universities throughout the country.

“These students are really interested in helping other people and are looking forward to the adventure and having fun while we are there. The experience also gives students a chance to learn more about themselves and what they want to do when they graduate,” Chase said. “Beneath it all is the desire to help. The students feel like they make a difference in the world and have a real sense of accomplishment.”

Erica Littlewolf, a senior psychology major from Busby, Mont., who spent her spring break doing construction work through the same program last year, is looking forward to going again this year. Littlewolf said the experience was such a good time and she feels it was well work her time.

“Last year we did roofing and demolition work,” Littlewolf said. “I’m not sure what we will be doing this year but I know it will be a worthwhile project.”

Littlewolf, who was selected as the 2002 homecoming queen at BHSU, does a lot of volunteer work. She has volunteered at the Humane Society and Bible School at her church, served as a camp counselor and helped out at the Artemis House in Spearfish.

Another participant last year, Wendy Jones, said the time volunteering was a good experience for her. “When I signed up for the trip initially, I just wanted to get away for spring break. Once I got to the work site and met the family that would be living in the home we were working on, I realized that this was more than that. This was a home for someone with an unfortunate history…and I helped build it,” Jones said.

Like Littlewolf, most of the students volunteer for other causes throughout the year. Students who will be making the trip this year are Becca Angove, a sophomore biology/psychology major from Spearfish; Maureen Blake, a freshman English major from Spearfish; Amanda Blake, a freshman English major from Spearfish; Andrea Farr, a senior instrumental music major from Colstrip, Mont.; Hope Hauber, a senior human services major from Gillette, Wyo.; Mary Laudenschlager, a junior elementary education major from Rapid City; Frank Nightpipe, a senior English/history/sociology major from Rapid City; and Erin Power, a freshman physical education major from Bismarck, N.D.

Students work as a group to raise money for the trip to Oklahoma. While there, they will spend four to five days on the construction site and spend the remainder of their time exploring the region. The Career Center at BHSU coordinates the spring break trip through Habitat For Humanity International, an organization that brings families and communities in need together with volunteers and resources to build decent and affordable housing. Habitat For Humanity houses are sold with no profit.

Habitat's Spring Break Collegiate Challenge program is the country's largest alternative break program for high school and college students. By participating, students join thousands of other students who will work to eliminate poverty housing from the world by building houses for people in need in over 50 host sites. Students are not required to have construction experience. The program largely depends on the work of unskilled volunteers. For more information on the Habitat For Humanity group, visit their website at www.habitat.org.

Black Hills State University will host a student reception and information session Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Room 205.

The reception will provide information about future opportunities available at BHSU and university staff will assist students with their college planning. Representatives from the Spearfish campus and Ellsworth branch campus will be available to discuss admissions, financial aid, Internet classes and correspondence courses.

Reservations are not necessary. For more information contact the Enrollment Center at 1-800-ALL-BHSU (access the admissions prompt) or admissions@bhsu.edu.

The Spring 2003 Film Series at Black Hills State University will continue Thursday,
Feb. 20 with the movie “Italian for Beginners.” A bonus film screening of “A Hard Day’s Night” will then be shown Saturday, Feb. 22 during the upcoming Stay on Campus Weekend.

“Italian for Beginners,” directed in 2000 by Lone Sherfig, is not your usual lighthearted romance. The heartwarming comedy warms the usually chilly Dogme 95 world of prickly eccentrics and damaged souls with a glowing sense of hope and passion. A belligerent restaurant manager, a repressed hotelier, a lonely hairdresser, and a clumsy, childlike bakery clerk are among the lonely thirtysomethings who escape the social disasters and comic chaos of their unfulfilled lives in an Italian-language evening course. The film is presented in Danish and Italian.

Director Richard Lester’s 1964 film “A Hard Day’s Night” features the Fab Four from Liverpool, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, in their first movie. An exaggerated day in the life, screenwriter Alun Owen based his script on the Beatles’ actual celebrity at the time, catching them in the delirious early rush of Beatlemania: eluding rampaging fans, killing time on trains and in hotels, and appearing on a TV broadcast. This film will be shown on the newly-remastered DVD providing great video and sound.

Both films will be shown on DVD in Jonas 305 at 6 p.m. There is no charge for attending the films and the public is welcome to attend. Free popcorn will be available courtesy of the BHSU Residence Hall Association. For more information contact David Salomon at davidsalomon@bhsu.edu or 642-6249.

The University Programming (UP) Team at Black Hills State University will present Casino Night Friday, Feb. 21 in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union.

The “bank” will open at 6 p.m. and casino activities will take place from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Market Place.

Entertainment will be provided in the Jacket Legacy Room. Comedian illusionist Mike Hammer’s show will run from 7 to 8 p.m., and Brother Otis will appear from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

The public is welcome to attend but only BHSU students will be eligible for the prizes given away at the Brother Otis concert. Contact Morgan Miles at 642-6418 for more information.

Black Hills State University is now using a redesigned Yellow Jacket mascot to represent its athletic department.

The new look for the Yellow Jacket graphic was designed by Brian Busch, a 1984 BHSU alumnus, now president/CEO of So Square Advertising in Rapid City. BHSU changed the mascot after notification by Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Ga., that the Yellow Jacket graphic formerly used by BHSU too closely resembled the copyrighted mascot used at Georgia Tech.

The use of a Yellow Jacket as a mascot has a long tradition at Black Hills State, dating back to the late 1920s. Over the years, the school has used a variety of graphic representations of the Yellow Jacket. The Yellow Jacket bee most recently used should be replaced with the new graphic.

The new Yellow Jacket mascot is available for on-line use here. For a print quality mascot contact University Communications or Sheryl Styles in University Printing.
The University Bookstore has apparel with the new mascot.

The University Assessment Committee met Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. in Jonas 103.

Absent were Cook, Haislett (H. Johnson), Gallagher, Lembcke, Norby, Myers, Calhoon and J. Miller.

The next University Assessment Committee meeting will be March 25 at 3:30 p.m. in Jonas 103. The College of Education, MSCI, and political science reports will be considered.

The CSA Council met Jan. 16 in Pangburn Dining Room. President Nancy Shuck called the meeting to order.

Members present were Linda Allbee, Cheri Leahy, Krista Schroeder, Shuck, Joanne Wilkening, Deatta Chapel, Dennis Walkins and Lynn Fox.

Walkins moved to accept the minutes as approved from the Dec. 12 meeting. Chapel seconded and the motion carried.

The next CSA Council meeting will be Feb. 11 at 9:30 a.m. in Pangburn Dining Room.

Below are the program materials received Jan. 23 through Feb. 12 in the Grants Office, Woodburn 309. For copies of the information, contact the office at 642-6627 or e-mail requests to grants@bhsu.edu. Fellowship information will also be posted on the Student Union bulletin board near the information desk.

The Faculty Research Committee has funds available for the current fiscal year. Write a short (about three-page) proposal. Proposal forms are available in the Grants and Special Projects Office, Woodburn 309, or can be printed from the website.

It is anticipated that successful applicants will request support for faculty release time, research equipment, travel to research sites or research support for the production of creative work. Preference is given to new applicants, particularly in the areas of education, business, social sciences and humanities. Applications are now being accepted for faculty release time for Fall 2003. Release time is awarded to full-time faculty who teach on the BHSU campus. The next application deadline is Friday, Feb. 21 at 12 p.m.

The applicants are encouraged to contact the committee members for advice prior to completing their proposals. The members are John Alsup, Earl Chrysler, Tom Cox, Abdollah Farrokhi (chair), Jim Hess, Kathleen Parrow, Shane Sarver, and Rob Schurrer.