In the money

Tax refunds and the students who spend them Stephanie Rogers Collegio Reporter This year, students are receiving anywhere from $60 to $2,000 from their tax refund. “I’m saving my refund for my first few weeks of summer because I’m going to L.A. to work for Toyota,” said Dan Rundquist, senior in psychology. “I’ll use it there to pay for stuff before I get my first paycheck.” For other students, the refund will go to more mundane costs. “I got back $382 from federal and $74 from the state,” said Aaron Rexwinkle, junior in mechanical engineering. “I didn’t qualify for the education credits because of my scholarships and grants. That money will be going to bills…

Jones, Osborn to lead SGA

Whitney Saporito Managing Editor Collegio Reporter Students selected Eric Jones and Austin Osborn to lead the Student Government Association as president and vice president in the 2011-2012 school year. The results were announced by President Steve Scott on Monday, April 18, at noon on the marble staircase in Russ Hall. The two were sworn in at the SGA meeting on Wednesday night. “I’m relieved,” Jones said of his victory. “I’m really happy I’m going to be able to serve the campus. I think quite a few people knew me and knew my message.” Both Jones and Osborn have experience in SGA, with Jones serving as treasurer for the last two years and Osborn as a…

Spring is in the air (pollen, too)

Adriana perez Collegio Reporter According to Carrie Farrington, nurse practitioner at the Student Health Center, an allergy is a reaction that occurs when the immune system recognizes a foreign or abnormal substance in the body, and then reacts to it. Farrington says there aren’t many ways to prevent allergies, but that you can avoid exposures that could trigger a reaction. For example, if you are allergic to pollen, you might try to limit your time outdoors and keep windows shut. But since avoiding allergens can be so difficult, most of the time the best you can do is to treat a reaction after it occurs, Farrington says. Recognizing symptoms early is important, according to Farrington,…

Moon over Frontenac

Award-winning children’s novel set in area town Luke Pryor Collegio Reporter Frontenac has been immortalized in fiction. Manifest, Kan., the setting of Clare Vanderpool’s award-winning novel “Moon Over Manifest,” was modeled after Frontenac. The novel, Vanderpool’s first, won the 2011 Newberry Award and was first published in October 2010, by Random House. Vanderpool says that although she considered other locations, she chose Frontenac because her grandparents live there. However, this was not the only deciding factor for Vanderpool. She says that the location fit well with the story, which tells the tale of a 12-year-old Abilene Tucker as she tries to adjust to living in a new town after a life on the road. “It’s…

Top dollar, top notch

In some departments, tools for higher education come at a higher cost Todd Miller Collegio Reporter Every department at PSU needs computers and office supplies, but what about the high-dollar stuff? The Nursing Department has not long ago purchased a special mannequin, estimated to cost about $80,000. This mannequin can simulate human breathing, blinking, bleeding and urinating. It weighs about 160 pounds. The Nursing Department also has three other similar mannequins, but the newest one is highly prized because of its mobility. It runs on a battery pack and connects wirelessly to the department’s computers. The other three mannequins are tethered by wires. Although the Music Department has a lot of expensive instruments that it…

Making ‘cents’ of education

College of Education helps students prepare for job market Sarah Poland Collegio Reporter As one school year ends and the beginning of another approaches, seniors in the College of Education will spend their summer looking for jobs. Although a positive job outlook is expected for the Midwest, a poor economy and budget cuts may affect the job placement of some Pittsburg State University education students. Jean Dockers, director of teacher education, says more jobs should soon open up for new teachers because of the effects of the recession on current teachers. “Approximately 20 percent of [currently employed] teachers are past retirement age because they kept teaching during the recession,” Dockers said. “They will have to…

Will pedal for food

Campus Christians raise money for Jordan Alexandria Mott Collegio Reporter Three students labor and sweat atop stationary bikes in the Oval, despite 80-degree weather and almost no wind to cool them. The students, Holly Roberts, Hannah Hunsinger and Josey Martin, all of whom are members of Campus Christians, are informally competing to clock the most miles during their hour-long shifts, because the calories they burn will become food for starving families in Jordan. The Campus Christians are calling the 36-hour bike-a-thon “Tour de Hope,” and some of their sponsors are giving 25 cents to 50 cents per mile biked toward the relief effort. James Bacus, minister for Campus Christians, says that none of the money…

SGA approves funding for student groups

Whitney Saporito Managing Editor Members approved allocations for student groups and voted on a conceal and carry resolution at the Student Government Association meeting Wednesday night. A total of $32,456.36 was allocated to student groups, with sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha coming in first with $690.97. Coming in close behind ASA is the Honors College, which received $679.10 in funding. The organizations that received the smallest amounts were the Out of State Students Group who received $62.79 and the International Business Student Association with $109.07. The total amount requested by student groups was $54,317.75. In addition to passing allocations, members also voted to pass a resolution consistent with Faculty Senate opposing the potential Personal and Family…

Greeks celebrate unity

Stephanie Rogers Collegio Reporter Greeks in blue, green, yellow, and pink pastel T-shirts stood together, holding their wooden Greek letters and spilling out onto the lawn around the Oval on Wednesday, taking their annual Greek photo and anticipating the Greek Games. Greek Week, when PSU Greeks show pride for their organizations and participate in festivities, opened with Big Event on Saturday, when Greek organizations do volunteer work for Pittsburg residents. In charge of this year’s event planning and theme is Danielle Long and Steve Chastain. Long says that, so far, Greek Week has been going smoothly. “This year we’re not doing points for Greek games,” Long said. “We want to get away from the norm…

Advancement opportunity: Student Employee of the Year awarded

Madison Dennis Editor-in-chief Jessica Hicks, grad student in management and marketing, didn’t set out to be a star employee. Rather, when she first attended Pitt C.A.R.E.S. as a freshman, someone happened to tell her about a job opening in the economics department in Kelce. She didn’t get the position. There wasn’t a spot available for her in the economics department. Instead, her name was forwarded to the College of Business, where she started her first day of her freshman year. “I was the youngest students working there,” Hicks said. Now, more than  four years later, Hicks has been awarded the Student Employee of the Year award. Hicks said that she believes she received the award…