Thursday, November 18, 2010

C-SC students take the lead behind the scenes and on-stage for one-act-plays
Stepping across the proscenium to direct a show adds creative dimension to any actor or designer's dramatic experience. Students who major or minor in theatre at Culver-Stockton College have that opportunity as they direct one-act plays through the entire process from choosing and casting to practicing and performing. Covering the spectrum from controversial to comical, the plays are then opened to the public in an annual Weekend of One-Acts at Mabee Little Theatre in the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center on the C-SC campus in Canton, Mo. This year, Beau Becraft, Erin Carmody, Jerica Exum, Sam Kheim, Joe Madras, Patrick Parsons and Krystyn Sarten will present their one-act plays on Saturday, Dec. 11th and Sunday, Dec. 12th at 3 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. The plays are grouped in sets of three and four; each set will have an afternoon and an evening showing on opposite days. Admission to the Weekend of One-Acts is free and open to the public. Some material may be appropriate for mature audiences only and will be publicly designated as such. Theatre arts is a major offered in the Division of Fine Arts at Culver-Stockton College. For more information, contact the C-SC Fine Arts Division at finearts@culver.edu or (573) 288-6413.

Celebrate the spirit of the season at C-SC's Christmas concert
The Culver-Stockton College choirs and bands will once again present their annual Christmas concert. The concert will be held Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Alexander Campbell Auditorium on the C-SC campus. A holiday tradition and one of the most attended concerts of the year; this annual event ushers in the Christmas season with holiday decorations, traditional carols, interesting and novel works, candlelight recessionals and audience sing-a-longs. This will mark the second year of a new element to the program; an after-concert dessert reception with music by the Culver-Stockton College Jazz band under the direction of Dr. Tom Polett. Join us for an evening of music and fun as we celebrate the Christmas season! This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the C-SC Fine Arts Division at finearts@culver.edu or (573) 288-6413.

Students breaking ground for groundbreaking research
It is groundbreaking research that could someday lead to major advancements in the world of bacterial viruses, and it’s happening on the campus of Culver-Stockton College. C-SC is in its first year as a full member of the National Genomics Research Initiative sponsored by Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Education Alliance. The Genomics Research Initiative allows freshmen and sophomore students to collect and isolate colonies of bacterial viruses, or phage, from local soil samples. The collected phage samples are then purified, identified and analyzed with annotation of their DNA sequence.  The goal is to find new phage which could eventually be used to advance medical science in its efforts to combat bacterial infections. “These students are doing the type of research that I didn’t start doing until I was in graduate school,” explains Dr. Indiren Pillay, associate professor of biology and chairman of the natural and mathematical science division. Pillay along with Dr. Wei Li, assistant professor of biology, provide oversight for the two semester “Phage Genomics Research” courses offered by C-SC. The courses give students the opportunity to take part in authentic research, and they teach critical and collaborative thinking skills. Students must apply and be selected to take part in the courses. There are now 14 students enrolled, up from 10 last year, and Pillay would like to add four additional spots in the coming year to accommodate growing interest in the program. “We are actually getting students who are coming to Culver-Stockton because of this program,” explains Pillay, “this is becoming the deal maker, the decision point and that’s exciting.” Bruce Green ’14, biology major from Rogersville, Mo., is one of those students.  “I was deciding between Culver-Stockton and another school.  Here, there are greater opportunities for me to do undergraduate research and that’s what it came down to,” explains Green.  “Now, I talk to my friends who went to other schools, and they’re not doing anything like this.  It a type of complete thinking and research that I’ve never done before,” adds Green. For more information on the Genomics Research Initiative, log on to www.culver.edu/nams/phage. Read more online.

Culver-Stockton College SIFE joins Campbell’s Soup to fight hunger
Culver-Stockton College’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is joining forces with Campbell’s Soup to fight hunger in the Canton area. Beginning Nov. 29, SIFE members will be taking donations of canned goods to donate to area food banks. The project will last through March; the goal is to collect 25,000 canned goods. To reach their goal, the SIFE team will have a competition between the residence halls and greek houses at C-SC and a penny war during the spring. Any cash collected will be used to purchase canned goods at the Canton County Market. For members of the community, food bins will be at the BP station and post office in Canton. SIFE members also plan on going door to door throughout the area and donating the canned goods to food banks in each town they are collected. For more information you can contact Cathy Carmean at ccarmean21@hotmail.com.

C-SC students send care packages to the Madonna House
Each year C-SC's FYE (First-Year Experience) classes are given a small budget to help pay for a class activity of their choice. This year, students in one FYE class have decided to use their class activity budget (along with their own donations) to prepare care packages for the Madonna House in Quincy. The students prepared the care packages Tuesday, Nov. 16. For more information call (573) 288-6337.

C-SC sorority gets closer to granting a wish
The Mu Gamma Chapter of Chi Omega at Culver-Stockton College recently hosted a spaghetti dinner in order to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the sorority’s national philanthropy. The organization raised over $900 with their event. The spaghetti dinner was held at the Immanuel Methodist Church in Canton on Nov. 7. Chi Omega members cooked and served spaghetti and homemade desserts were provided by alumnae and family members. The members were able to raise a total of $912 to donate to the foundation. “On behalf of Chi Omega, I would like to thank those who attended and donated towards our cause,” said Mary Bowman, Mu Gamma of Chi Omega chapter president and senior elementary education major at C-SC. “We are very grateful for all of the support from the college and community.” Around the U.S., Chi Omega chapters volunteer and work with Make-A-Wish and give over $500,000 annually to the organization in order to help serve children with life-threatening medical conditions.  For a chapter to be able to grant a wish they must be able to raise nearly $6,000 in one year and Mu Gamma is currently planning more events for the spring to work toward that goal.

IMA Family Weekend hog roast
During family weekend, the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) welcomed families and students to the annual Hog Roast. The Hog Roast was held from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6th 2010 in the Cat’s Pause, allowing families to come and enjoy the delicious meal. The hog was donated by a Culver-Stockton alum and the funds raised will assist the chapter in travel expenses to the National Student Leadership Conference and the Annual IMA Conference.