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Name change bill given initial approval

The Missouri Senate gave initial approval earlier this week to a bill changing the name of Missouri Southern State College. The proposed new name is Missouri Southern State University-Joplin. The bill would require Southern and other institutions that offer graduate-level degrees through another institution to print both schools' names on diplomas. Last year, backers of the Missouri Southern name change included their proposal in a bill with lawmakers trying to change other institutions' names. This year's bill is separate from legislation that would change the name of SMSU and Missouri Western State College. "All the bills have different cases to make," Republican Senator Gary Nodler of Joplin, who sponsors the Missouri Southern bill, told the Springfield News Leader.

Saltzman signing next Friday night at Hastings

Art Saltzman, English, and the author of eight books, will sign copies of his new book, Objects and Empathy, from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 at Hastings Book Store, 7th and Rangeline Road in Joplin. The book, a collection of essays on literature, is the winner of the First Series Creative Nonfiction Award from Mid-List Press.

native of Chicago, Illinois, Art came to Missouri Southern after graduating from the University of Illinois in 1979. His books include This Mad Instead, Designs of Darkness in the Contemporary American Fiction, The Novel in The Balance, Objects and Empathy, and others. His creative writing has appeared in numerous journals. Awards for his writing include the First Series Creative Nonfiction Award (Mid-List Press, 2001), the Nebraska Review Creative Nonfiction Award, the Roy Ames Memorial Essay Award (Literal Latte), and three Pushcart Prize nominations.

Members of the public are invited to the book signing for Objects and Empathy to meet Art have books autographed if they desire and discuss literature and literary criticism. Copies of the new book are available at Hastings. For more information call Art at ext. 9643.

2002 MSIPC Junior Division winner to perform

The Missouri Southern International Piano Competition will present Avan Yu, winner of the 2002 MSIPC Junior Division, in concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, Feb 21, in Webster Hall Auditorium. The 15-year-old pianist will play selections by Beethoven, Chopin, Ginastera, Stravinsky and more.

Tickets cost $10 for general admission and $5 for senior citizens and students and are available in the Billingsly Student Center Box office. For more information, contact the MSIPC office at ext. 9755.

Madrigal tickets on sale for March event

ickets are still available for a Madrigal feast and other courtly pleasures scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 5, 6, 7 & 8 (Wednesday through Saturday night) in Taylor Performing Arts Center. A court jester, jousting, juggling, fun and laughing and singing by the Royal Chamber Choir of MSSC will recreate the atmosphere. Dinner will include turkey legs, beef ribs, corn on the cob, potatoes, soup, fruit, cheese and pie.

The Taylor stage becomes the 1549 A.D. banquet hall of King Budward (Bud Clark, director of Choral Activities). The event is a benefit for the MSSC music department scholarship program. Cost is $20 and reservations may be made through March 1 by contacting the Billingsly Student Center Office, Room 102, (417) 625-9366, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. All proceeds from ticket sales go for music scholarships.

Music faculty members to present recital

Jeff Macomber and Cynthia Hukill, Music, will give a joint faculty recital on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Webster Auditorium. The program will feature sonatas (and more) for piano and trombone with works by Stjepan Sulek, Paul Hindemith, David Amram, and Eric Ewazen. The performance is free and open to the public.

No Brown Bag today

No Brown Bag Lunch will be held today. Keep your eye on Accents! and other communications for information on next Friday's speaker.

Free to Be . . . You and Me this weekend

Southern Theatre and the Show-Me Celebration Company will present the play Free to Be . . .You and Me at 2:30 p.m., Feb. 22-23 in Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State College. The play is directed and choreographed by Gerrie-Ellen Johnston. The musical director is Susan Smith, Music.

Free to Be . . . You and Me, from the book conceived by actress Marlo Thomas and friends, celebrates the joys of being whomever it is that makes you happy, regardless of your gender. Whether it's letting kids know that it's perfectly fine for boys to play with dolls or that Mommies can be almost anything they want to be, each joyous, funny messages challenges little ones to abandon stereotypes and embrace diversity. Free to Be You and Me features light, folksy and clever lyrics that will have many youngsters giggling and singing along.

The Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) will host its annual Campuswide Chili Cook Off/Feed Wednesday, Feb. 26. The event will be held from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. in room 125 of the Justice Center. There is no cost to enter and all entrants get to eat for free. The prizes for the contest will be $100 for 1st Place, $50 for 2nd Place and $35 for 3rd Place. To enter your chili in the cook off contact Mike Hulderman at ext. 9519 or hulderman-m@mssu.edu. If you are not interested in entering the contest but would like to eat many different styles of chili and the fixings, admission is $4 for all you can eat and a drink. Drawings will be held for great door prizes.

Faculty/Staff Health Fair next week

This year's Faculty/Staff Health Fair will be held from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Feb. 25, 26 and 27 on the 3rd Floor of the Billingsly Student Center. The Missouri Southern Campus Recreation & Wellness Program is proud to bring you this year's health fair. This year's event is sponsored by the Freeman Screen Team and will be free of charge. For best results, food and drink (except water), should be avoided for 8 hours prior to testing. The Free Health Screening will include:

• Blood Pressure
• EKG
• Blood Cholesterol
• Lipid Panel
• Glucose
• Colorectal Screening Kits
• Prostate Cancer Screening
• Vision Screening
• Body Fat Composition
• Nutritional Counseling
• Osteoporosis Screening

Quirky British Comedy tonight

Peace Corps recruiter on campus

Joseph Zucchini, a Peace Corps recruiter from the Chicago Regional Office, will be on campus Monday, Feb. 24 to recruit graduating seniors for full-time positions. He will be available to make 10-minute presentations to classes at 10 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.

A Peace Corps information table will be set up in the food court of the Billingsly Student Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday. Zucchini will lead a general information meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Room 310 of the BSC.

"These are very tenuous times on the world stage and the Peace Corps continues to serve the developing world and promote global peace, friendship, and sustainable development," Zucchini says. To schedule an appointment or receive other information, contact Chad Stebbins, International Studies, at ext. 9736.

Graduation Expo reduces tension, confusion

Although exciting, college graduation can seem overwhelming as the result of the numerous tasks involved in completing degree requirements, checking on financial aid documents, closing college accounts, and ordering graduating materials. The first Graduation Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 - 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 5 on the main floor of Billingsly Student Center.

Graduating students will be able to pick up pre-ordered caps and gowns as well as place orders for caps and gowns, select invitations and class rings from vendors, complete Financial Aid exit tasks, check the status of accounts with Business Office representatives, confirm information with Public Information for news releases, and meet with Alumni Association representatives. Career Services also will offer mock job interview sessions.

Students should contact Career Services for details by calling 417.625.9343, e-mailing careerservices@mssu.edu or visiting the Website at www.mssu.edu/career. What previously involved several stops in multiple offices, can now be accomplished in one trip to one location, says Kelly Wilson, Student Support Center. "Our students have worked hard to accomplish this important goal in their lives and we want to make the graduation process as fluid and efficient as possible."

Pinkston to direct Little Theatre musical comedy

Alex Pinkston, Theatre, will direct the musical-comedy satire, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying at the Joplin Little Theatre, due to run May 12-18. Auditions for this show will take place at the Joplin Little Theatre (3008 W. 1st, just west of Schifferdecker) at 7 p.m., Monday and Tuesday evenings, March 10 and 11. Those interested should prepare about 90 seconds of an upbeat song (preferably from a musical play) and either bring their accompaniment on CD or cassette tape or bring sheet music for our rehearsal pianist. After singing auditions, there will be some brief scene reading and some simple dance movements. Not all roles require dancing, but all require singing. Those with questions should call ext. 9656.

Financial Aid Fair next Wednesday

The financial aid fair, Show Me the Money, will take place from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26 on the second floor of Billingsly Student Center. The Financial Aid Office sponsors the event. Consumer Credit Counseling Workshops will be held at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. in BSC Room 311 .

The fair is open to current Missouri Southern students and area high school seniors. Dobson says representatives from the following agencies dealing with loans, default prevention, scholarships and employment, as well as MSSC Financial Aid representatives will be available to answer questions.

Three scholarships will be given away for the fall 2003 semester at Missouri Southern. A 2.0 minimum GPA is required for current students to register for the scholarships. One $500 grand prize and two $250 prizes will be given away. Participants must attend the fair, play the appropriate game and register to be entered for the scholarships and door prizes. Some scholarship restrictions apply. Information will be available at the registration table.

German film Destiny next in Film Festival

Destiny is the fifth program of the 41st Annual International Film Festival presented by the Missouri Southern Film Society. In the movie, a despairing girl is given three chances in widely separated exotic destinies (early Baghdad, Venice and China) to save her lover. Director Fritz Lang used varied camera angles, chiaroscuro lighting and a slow tempo that allowed the camera to emphasize each composition to tell his story. Destiny was one of the first German films to win international acclaim. The philosophy of this "fairy tale" reflects the German mood in the 1920s of pessimism, defeat of the individual, romantic melancholia and the role of fate in ordering human lives.

Film author, Paul Rotha, hailed Destiny as "magnificently conceived and realized." Another, C. A. LeJeune, labeled it "an impression of living tapestry unfolded before our eyes, rich in story and remote in spirit." The film will be shown at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Matthews Hall Auditorium on the Missouri Southern campus. Single admissions at the door are $2 for adults and $1.50 for senior citizens or students. The Missouri Southern Institute of International Studies assisted in providing financial assistance for the International Film Festival.

"Love Your Body, Treat It Well" Week Feb 24-28

Movie Night: 6:30 p.m.,Tuesday, Feb. 25, Student Life Center, bottom floor (next to the dorms). Featuring Dying to be Thin followed by consultations with nutritionist, Carrie Pipher, and counselor, Dale Voigt-Catlin.

Screenings for Eating Disorders: Thursday, Feb. 27. Treat Your Body Well Fair: Thursday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., 2nd Floor, Billingsly Student Center food demos, yoga, massage, blood pressure checks, screenings for stress and eating disorders, and more. Body Talk: Thursday, 7 p.m., Taylor Auditorium: A fashionably unusual fashion show followed by guest speakers.

All Week: Private, confidential on-line screenings for eating disorders. Go to www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening. Type in helpinghand as password. Click on Eating Disorders and follow the instructions. All MSSC activities sponsored by Student Supprt Center and CAB.

FACULTY/STAFF NOTES

Kaye Abight, Teacher Education, will accompany six student teachers to Southampton, England this spring. The students are Jari Jacobs, secondary social studies, Sydney Merritt, secondary English, Janelle Starchman, K-12 music, Amber Lybeck, early childhood, and April Brown and Jenni Badley, both elementary education. The group departs Friday, Feb. 28 and will return Friday, April 11.

Win a vacation in Las Vegas! The prize includes $500 spending money, three nights for two in a standard suite at the Venetian in Las Vegas, round trip airfare from Tulsa, and limo service to and from the Tulsa airport. Each ticket is $10. The raffle is part of a fund-raiser for Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School. Contact Joy Dworkin, English, through e-mail (dworkin-j@mssu.edu) or at ext. 9647. Other parents of TJ students may also have tickets.

Bill Kumbier, English, presented a paper entitled "Souvenirs of a Killing: Figuration and Subjectivity in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo" at the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association conference in Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 12-15.

Alex Pinkston, Theatre, will direct a special Cuba semester production in the fall, which will be a celebration of Cuban literary and performance arts. An evening featuring poetry readings, song, dance, and perhaps a short play or scenes from several plays with a common theme is being contemplated. Suggestions from our faculty/staff regarding material are welcome. E-mail Alex or call him at ext. 9656.

Alex Pinkston, Theatre, will deliver a paper on "The State of the Art in Theatre" at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Washington, D.C. on March 6.

CLASSIFIED

For Sale: Maytag Washer, $50. Works good. Call Linda at ext. 9381 or 782-5847.

For Sale: 1983 Ford F-150 XLT V8 Auto. Loaded. 86,000 miles on rebuilt 302 engine, $1,750 or best offer. Call 649-6430 after 5 p.m. or leave a message.

For Sale: G.E. stove/oven with drawer. White, very good condition. $150 or best offer. Call 626-9328.