Please touch the art

Gretchen Burns | Collegio Writer Several students, faculty and residents gathered in Grubbs Hall on March 15 to hear about the unique artwork of sculptor Jessica Gardner. Sarah Stonecipher says she enjoyed listening to Gardner talk about her artwork. “I really liked it,” said Stonecipher, senior in art. “I thought it was really exciting.” Portico Bowman, university gallery director, says Gardner was chosen to exhibit at Pitt State by a committee made up of members of the Art Department. She says about 300 schools, artists and groups were contacted and invited to exhibit and Gardner’s portfolio was chosen based on the merit and quality of her work. Bowman says she was glad so many people…

Bands rock the Oval

Jen Rainey | Collegio Reporter Students gathered around the Oval on Thursday, March 15, to eat dinner and listen to the local student band Dead Eye and national touring artist Jay Nash. James Smith was in charge of the show, which was hosted by the Student Activities Council. He says club members decided to book Nash for this event after seeing him play last February in St. Louis, Mo. “We saw Jay Nash at NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) and liked him,” said Smith, senior in commercial graphics. “We figured it’d be good to have a chill event, have him play and grill some hot dogs before spring break.” Smith says 150 to 200…

Social gaming distracts students

Jessica Sewing | Collegio Reporter Cell phones have become increasingly complex and the functions they perform are no longer restricted to calling and texting. Smartphones and the increasing availability of mobile Internet connections have led to a rising popularity of games on phones. Heather Laurent says she plays them several times a day. “I play when I get bored, or get sleepy in class,” said Laurent, sophomore in biology. “Before I do homework I usually check Facebook, Twitter, play the games; then I start my homework.” The “with friends” games are among those that are gaining popularity with students. These games include “Words With Friends,” “Scramble With Friends,” “Hanging With Friends” and more recently, “Draw…

iClassroom:PSU implements new technology

Ali Clark | Collegio Reporter Irene Zegar says she jumped at the opportunity when Lynette Olson, provost and vice president for academic affairs, approached her with a new project that would use iPads in the classroom. “I’m always interested in technology,” said Zegar, professor in chemistry. “I’ll always be the first one to jump in and use it.” Zegar was chosen for the iPad Pilot Project last fall. Chris Huitt, professor in commercial graphics, and Ann George, professor in teaching and leadership, also took part. The provost’s funded 58 iPads for the project. Each professor used the iPads in a specific classroom and in different ways. Zegar says she used 25 iPads in her general…

Students find unique use for GPS

Zach Wagner | Collegio Reporter Some PSU adventure seekers have found a novel way to get their discovery fix through a new GPS trend called Geocaching. Joe Strong says Geocaching has been a hobby of his for more than two years now. He says he has located over 600 caches and hidden around 50. “It really is just like a high-tech game of hide and seek,” said Strong, junior in nursing. “Sometimes it can be easy to locate one; other times it may be very difficult. It usually depends on the size of the canister.” In Geocaching, GPS owners start by searching for caches in proximity to their coordinated location. The caches are different capsules,…

Students create new scholarship

Ross Schartel | Collegio Reporter The Pittsburg State Public Relation and Adverting club is taking steps to help future students of the Communication Department because the state has cut funding for the department. “The Communication Departments has seen a 30 percent increase in student enrollment in the past few years,” said Alicia Mason, communication professor and faculty adviser for the PR/Ad club. “But the state has cut back on funding for the department, which would be used for the funding of department scholarships. We needed to help our students out; this is how we chose to do it.” Mason says the Future Horizons Scholarship is front-running a new group of scholarships for students in the…

PSU helps students prep for work place

Jessica Sewing | Collegio Writer Nearly 150 sophomores from Pittsburg High School ventured into the surrounding community to shadow different residents who had different professions. Many of the students made their way to Pitt State’s campus. The severe storm on Feb. 28 caused the event to be postponed until March 17. Koeta Bryant, organizer of the event, says that there have previously been ice storms and snowstorms before the job shadow day, but never a windstorm on the day of the shadowing. “I was fortunate to have an awesome group of committee members who placed calls to all of the businesses that they had contacted earlier to set up the new date,” Bryant said. “The only…

Genocide generates student involvement

Val Vita | Collegio Writer A four-letter name has rapidly spread worldwide: Kony. Joseph Kony is a Ugandan dictator, and his actions in his country have become a viral topic on social media sites for the last few weeks. Tracey Fienen says she felt a strong sense of compassion after seeing a similar video in 2009. That video was made by the Invisible Children group and was called “The Rescue,” which basically exposed the same problem that has been occurring in Uganda for the last 20 years. “My heart just felt for those kids and I knew I had to do something,” said Fienen, senior in marketing. “I felt that I’m privileged being in the…

SGA passes more fee increases

Zach Wagner | Collegio Reporter Members of SGA intensely debated four proposed student fee bills before approving all of them. The increased fees will help in areas such as athletics and facility fees. Most of the controversy centered on Resolution 11-38, a proposed $2 increase in the student activities fee. Sen. Brandon Mills, a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, strongly opposed the bill. Mills cited the Fraternal Leadership Conference as a complete misuse of time and money for the student body. “I think this is the biggest waste of student fees,” Mills said. “I think overall, the increase has good intentions. However, it is going to an event where I cannot see any benefits coming…

Picking up the pieces

ZACH WAGNER | Collegio Reporter The damage caused by the severe thunderstorm on Feb. 28 is starting to disappear, thanks to joint efforts from students and residents. Mike McCracken, director of university police and parking services, says the storm caused more damage than any other he remembers. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen some substantial destruction happen in the city, just from severe weather,” McCracken said. “We had a lot of helping hands from the community, though. After the storm, you could see people taking time out of their day to help clean up.” McCracken says the areas affected by the storm suffered approximately $500,000 in damage. Gov. Sam Brownback declared the area…