Week of January 23

Week of January 23 - 29, 2006

Welcome to the Tower Topics E-newsletter for faculty, staff and students at Western.

Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507, 816-271- 4200

Click any link for these stories:

New Rules for Financial Aid

Channel 39 Makes Programming Change

CME to Host the "Power of Words"

Lost & Found: If you have lost any items, please come to SU 228 to claim them. You may be required to describe the item.

Click on Tower Topics to submit any story or photo ideas.

Guidelines for Tower Topics: Tower Topics submissions should state time, date, place, sponsor, title of event, name of speaker's and admission fees. Send complete information to the Public Relations and Marketing office (Leah Spratt Hall, Room 106).

The deadline for all entries is 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, for the next week's issue. Tower Topics will be online weekly during the fall and spring semester. For more information call 271-5651.

Student Editor:
Katie Johnston

Staff Advisers:
Kristy Hill and Diane Holtz

VIP Day

High school students enjoy Western's VIP Day Jan. 20. The students received information about the programs offered on campus and got a short tour of campus.

New Rules for Financial Aid

There are some changes in the financial aid office that will affect students trying to get financial assistance from campus-based federal programs such as pell grants, work study and other affiliated scholarships. To be considered for any of these and other programs, students must now have their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including verification, no later than March 1.

To meet this deadline, students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov by the first week of February.

Other steps students can take to ensure they receive the most financial aid available include:

Complete the general scholarship application online at
https://www-sec-missouriwestern.edu/admissions/application/CurrentFinaid/BeginScholarshipApp.asp
Submit any letters of reference or other required information by the deadline. Scholarship requirements can be viewed at www.missouriwestern.edu/FinAid/
Complete the FAFSA verification (if applicable) no later than disbursement of the award.

Students who complete the above requirements will be considered for nearly all Western and affiliated scholarships.

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at 4361 or www.missouriwestern.edu/FinAid.

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Art Show

"The English Experience," an art exhibit curated by The Print Consortium, features printmakers from Great Britain and is being held in Potter Hall, gallery 206 Jan. 17- Feb. 3.

Channel 39 Makes Programming Change

In the coming months many changes will be made to Western’s channel 39, and the Instructional Media Center (IMC) is requesting your help in generating programming.

In the past, channel 39 has been primarily used for distance education, cultural, and educational programming; but the IMC’s Educational Television Services is working to develop new programming that will begin airing later this spring, including promoting special campus events and departmental accomplishments. A segment highlighting Western’s “Points of Pride” and new teacher education programming are in the works. The name of channel 39 will also change to Western Television.

If you know of any unique, prestigious individuals or departmental accomplishments, or have any ideas for programming, submit them at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/IMC/ETS/mwtelevision.html, or email television@missouriwestern.edu.

Updated on-campus and off-campus channel information for faculty, students and community use may be accessed at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/IMC/ETS/tvprogguide.html.

For more information, contact Danielle Hunt, manager of educational television services, at 4298 or by email at huntdr@missouriwestern.edu.

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Left: Chris Danner, Dominick Pitts, Ronell Bell and Keith Major take a break from the snow as they lounge in Blum Union. Right: The new computers in the lounge in front of the bookstore have become a popular place for students to do homework, play games and more.

CME to Host the "Power of Words"

Western's Center for Multicultural Education (CME) will present the nationally recognized five-session “Power of Words” social justice series. The sessions will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 21, March 7 and 28, and April 11 in Nelle Blum Union, room 222.

The program is used in educational settings to encourage exploration of words that have gained enough power to dehumanize and demean others, said Tay Triggs, director of multicultural education. Participants will explore male bashing and gender, ethnic stereotypes, anti-Semitism and hate speech, reclaiming pejorative words, ethnocentrism, normative sexuality, multi-ethnic identity, social justice and other titles.

“CME is proud to be the sponsor of this program and encourages all students, faculty, staff and community members to participate,” said Triggs. “This is a prime opportunity to learn something about yourself and fellow human beings.”

For more information, contact Triggs at 816-271-4152 or by email at ttriggs@missouriwestern.edu.

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Tower Sports

Men's Basketball

Jan. 18 - Western 69, Truman State 49
Jan. 21 - Western 74, Southwest Baptist 75

Women's Basketball

Jan. 18 - Western 78, Truman State 83
Jan. 21 - Western 79, Southwest Baptist 37

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Juniors and Seniors! Sign up for Interview Day 2006. Registration begins Jan. 23. Interviews for career positions after graduation and summer internships will be held Feb. 26 at the KCI Expo Center. Mark you calendars and set aside the day. Be sure to contact your instructors to let them know you may be gone that day in order to accommodate the interview schedule. For more information go to www.missouriwestern.edu/careerdevelopment and click on COSMC-KC Interview Day. Hard copy resumés must be submitted to Career Development-Eder Hall 202 (271-4205) as soon as possible so you can be considered for the best positions.
Ready.Set.Go...Discover College, an early awareness program for middle school students, needs faculty to help give presentations as the middle school students visit campus. For example, last year several nursing professors taught the students how to take their heart rate, a criminal justice professor brought a polygraph test to his presentation and demonstrated how it worked. Each presentation is 45 min. and begin at 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Dates available are March 3 and 31, April 21 and 28, and May 5. For more information contact Kim Schank at 4266 or redmon@missouriwestern.edu.
Financial Aid Awareness Week will be held Feb. 13-17. Students may receive help filling out the FAFSA, scholarship forms and other financial aid papers. Anyone visiting the Financial Aid Office during that week will be entered into a drawing to receive prizes.
Gina Kneib of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will give a talk and slide show presentation about Hurricane Katrina at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 in Agenstein Hall, room 308. Her presentation will cover the damage, environmental conditions, and coordinated cleanup of the New Orleans Parishes during the initial wave of EPA's recovery efforts.

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Monday, January 23

Late Registration

Wednesday, January 25

Women's Basketball vs. Washburn - 5:30 p.m.
Men's Basketball vs. Washburn - 7:30 p.m.
After Hurricane Katrina - talk and slide show presentation by Gina Kneib of the Environmental Protection Agency - 7 p.m. Agenstein, 308

Thursday, January 26

Board of Governors Meeting - 5 p.m. Blum Union, 220

Saturday, January 28

C-Base - 8 a.m. Eder Hall, 208

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Calculator for sale: TI 83 Plus Calculator, $60, call Dale at 390-0629 or 232-9655.

Wanted: Your want ads!

You are welcome to submit ads to the Western ADvantage each week.

To be fair to everyone, please follow these guidelines for submission. Only ads from campus constituents are accepted.

Ads for non-campus organizations or professional businesses will not be printed.
Ads can cover items wanted, items to be sold, garage sales, etc.
Ads may be edited for length, style or content. The staff reserves the right to evaluate the appropriateness of ads for inclusion.
Ads received by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday will be included in that Monday's publication. Ads received after the deadline will be included in the next edition.
Ads will automatically run for a two-week period. Extensions are granted by resubmitting the ad.
Ads will only be accepted by email, fax and campus mail. Please send submissions by email to publicrelations@missouriwestern.edu; to fax 4414 or by mail to Tower Topics, Institutional Advancement, Leah Spratt Hall, Room 106.

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