Week of November 22

Week of November 22 - 28, 2004

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

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

Click any link for these stories:

Excitement Increases for Newly Named Spring Event

Western Librarian Spending Holiday in Iraq

Western Concert Chorale Performs with St. Joseph Symphony

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:
Paula White

Staff Advisers:
Kristy Hill and Diane Holtz

Donating Blood
	Junior Melissa Hunter donates blood at Western's blood drive, sponsored by the Community Blood Center of St. Joseph. Photo by Samantha Lord

Excitement Increases for Newly Named Spring Event

Western is gearing up for the highly anticipated event, “Experience Western-Discover the Treasure,” which will be held Saturday, April 9, 2005.

“I have had very positive feedback from all the departments I have visited to talk about the event,” said Kristy Hill, director of public relations and marketing. “A lot of people have offered very good ideas and suggestions.”

The deadline for departments to turn in a participation form or to volunteer is Dec. 10. For more information, contact Hill at 5649.

There was a campus-wide contest for naming the event and the winners were Debbie Johnson and Kendy Jones of Campus Printing Services. They received a $50 gift certificate for the Barnes and Noble bookstore on campus.

Dr. Diane Gorcyca’s public relations class served as the committee to select the final name and felt that “Experience Western” encompassed the mission of the event, according to Hill. She said “Discover the Treasure” played nicely with the “Discover Gold” brand and that the tagline gave the sense of quality that is associated with the word “treasure.” The phrase also supports the mythological aspect surrounding Western’s Griffon, the guardian of treasure.

The event itself will focus on four major areas: an information and service fair, student showcase, children’s activities, and a free lunch. The entire day of activities will highlight the college’s quality programs, showcase student excellence and demonstrate the wide variety of services offered to the community. Community partners are also being invited to participate in either the service fair or the children’s activities.

Top of Page

New Fulkerson Center

Western's new Fulkerson Center is near completion, with plans to open spring 2005. Pictured right is the banquet hall, which will have the ability to break off into separate rooms.

Western Librarian Spending Holiday in Iraq

Darrin Daugherty, an electronic resources librarian at Western, will be spending his holiday season in Iraq, and all campus departments and units are invited to donate an item to be included in a holiday gift box for him. Items can be left with Maribeth Lee in LRC 209 by Nov. 22.

Some of the items suggested for the gift box are phone cards, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, disposable cameras, paperback books, crossword puzzle books, Little Debbie snacks, dried fruit snacks, beef jerky, hard candy or mints, powdered Gatorade, homemade cookies or candies, DVD movies and CDs. Daugherty enjoys country music, and used paperback books are fine. Departments are being asked to wrap their item and attach a tag with the name of their department. Persons may also donate money to underwrite the shipping costs. For more information contact Maribeth Lee at 4368.

Captain Daugherty was deployed to Iraq the second week of December last year. He returned home this past September, visiting family, friends, and the campus during his 15-day leave before returning to Iraq.

Library Director Julia Schneider is looking forward to the response from the campus and is pleased that Dr. James Scanlon, Western’s president, was willing and supportive of sending the holiday gift package. “I think broad campus support will be very meaningful to Darrin,” she said. “I am pleased that we are doing this as a whole campus.”

Top of Page

Western Concert Chorale Performs with St. Joseph Symphony

This holiday season, the Western Concert Chorale will be performing with the St. Joseph Symphony at 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 518 N. 10^th St. The concert will feature the jazz styling of Chris Brubeck, son of legendary jazz musician Dave Brubeck. The Chorale will be singing a medley of holiday songs that Chris Brubeck originally arranged, with Chris Brubeck himself singing the solo.

The Concert Chorale and the St. Joseph Symphony have a long history of making music together. Dr. Deborah Freedman, conductor of the St. Joseph Symphony and associate professor of music at Western, says that the Chorale and the Symphony have been performing in concert for at least 17 years. Collaborations between the two groups occur once or twice a year, with one performance usually taking place during the holiday season.

“It is rare for a school this size to offer such a wonderful opportunity to students to sing and learn great choral and orchestral works,” said Frank Thomas, director of the Concert Chorale and associate professor of music. “The students will never forget this music.”

Both ensembles have auditions available and welcome interested and talented students with a love for music. Auditions for the Symphony are held each September and the Concert Chorale holds auditions before the beginning of each semester.

As for the upcoming concert, both directors of the groups are looking forward to it and have great expectations. “I hope that this will be an uplifting experience for both the performers and the audience,” said Thomas. Dr. Freedman shares his hope and is confident it will be a “dynamite show.”

Top of Page

The department of Government, Social Work and Sociology is offering the Joseph Ripple Scholarship to declared government and public affairs or political science majors. The scholarship awards up to $300 per year which must be used toward the purchase of textbooks at the college bookstore. For more information, contact Tracy Sharp at 4356.
For students interested in travel-study there will be a trip to Washington D.C. May 11-26. There will be an informative meeting at 2 p.m. Nov. 30 in PS 205. Students can sign up for LAT 492 Current Legal Issues for the May 2005 Intersession. This class has no prerequisites, only a desire to study current legal issues here and in Washington D.C. The total cost of the class is $999. This includes a week in Washington D.C. with round trip airfare, hotel, ground transportation in D.C., and three college credits. Go to the Western Institute in the MC building with your $100 nonrefundable deposit to sign up. For more information contact David Tushaus at 5627.

Top of Page

Tuesday, November 23

Library Closes at 6 p.m.
Center for Academic Support Closed

Wednesday, November 24

Thanksgiving Holiday (Nov. 24-28)
Campus Closed
Library Closed
Residence Halls Close at 6 p.m.
Center for Academic Support Closed

Thursday, November 25

Thanksgiving Day
Campus Closed
Library Closed
Center for Academic Support Closed

Friday, November 26

Thanksgiving Holiday
Campus Closed
Library Closed
Center for Academic Support Closed

Saturday, November 27

Library Closed

Sunday, November 28

Library Open 2-11 p.m.
Residence Halls Open at 8 a.m.
Center for Academic Support Reopens at 4 p.m.

Top of Page

Have a Great Thanksgiving Break!

For Sale: Printer and monitor. Lexmark Printer and NEC monitor, both great condition. If you are interested, please contact Eric at 6829.

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.

Top of Page