"The measure of a Life is its Service."
Elizabeth Charrier, counseling psychologist with the SHSU Counseling Center, will discuss the “MISSconceptions” associated with mental health and eating disorders, which affect both men and women, on Monday (March 23).
The lecture, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural and International Student Services, will be held at 6 p.m. in Academic Building IV’s Olson Auditorium.
While anorexia and bulimia are generally associated with women, who are more commonly affected by the disorders, approximately 1 million males had been diagnosed with an eating disorder in the 1990s. As many as 10 million females were fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder during the same time, according to the National Eating Disorder Association.
Because of the secretiveness and shame associated with eating disorders, many cases are probably not reported, the association Web site said.
The “MISSconceptions” event will facilitate an open discussion about the differences and stereotypes associated with eating disorders, as well as present the difference between men and women from a mental health perspective.
“The media today continues to broadcast stereotypes to the world about how individuals are expected to look and act, which all add to the growing problem of eating disorders on college campuses,” said Ashley McDonough, MISS program coordinator. “For this reason, it is extremely important to highlight issues, such as body image pressures, that affect so many college students today—both male and female.”
With incidences of eating disorders rising dramatically over the years, 40 percent of newly-identified cases of anorexia have been reported to be in girls 15-19 years of, according to a 2003 study found on the NEDA Web site.
“Students can be at a pivotal juncture when it comes to eating issues,” Charrier said. “Often this is the age where disordered eating and body image begin or are accelerated and so intervention at this point can be much more effective because it might not be as ingrained yet.”
For more information, contact McDonough or the Office of MISS at diversity@shsu.edu or 936.294.3588.
Career Services will explain the importance of dinner etiquette in job interviewing and give students insight on “which fork to use” at such events during its second annual "Etiquette Dinner" on April 1.
Certified Professional Etiquette Speaker Diane Gottsman, from The Protocol School of Texas, will present on proper etiquette at the table from 5:30-8 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.
“Many companies are inviting applicants to interviews that take place over breakfast, lunch or dinner and that applicant needs to be prepared,” said Vinessa Mundorff, Career Services employment specialist. “I think this information is invaluable for everyone to be aware of and hopefully will have a lasting impact on the student.”
The event is open to all juniors, seniors, graduate students and alumni from all academic backgrounds “because they are the ones who are going on interviews and need to polish those skills,” Mundorff said.
In order to make the event realistic, business attire is required.
Seating is limited to 80, and the cost of the networking session is $10, which includes a four-course meal.
The sign-up deadline is Friday (March 27).
For more information, or to register, call Career Services at 936.294.1713.
Artist and University of Texas at Arlington associate professor of painting Benito Huerta will discuss his work on Wednesday (March 25).
The lecture, sponsored by the art department’s Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, will be held from 2-3 p.m., in the Art Auditorium, located in Art Building E Room 108.
A studio artist who most often works in watercolors, Huerta’s work is displayed in several museum and corporate collections throughout the United States, including at the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, which recently exhibited and catalogued a 13-year survey of Huerta’s work.
In addition, he was commissioned to design two floors for Skylink’s International Terminal at DFW International Airport.
The terrazzo floor design was composed of two variations of one of Huerta’s designs, with each floor measuring 30 feet by 300 feet.
Huerta, who he has been director of The Gallery at UTA since 1997, was named the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art’s “Artist Legend of the Year” in 2002.
He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Houston and his Master of Arts degree from New Mexico State University.
For more information on the lecture, contact Debbie Davenport Harper, art department audio/visual librarian, at 936.294.1317 or ddavenport@shsu.edu.
Texas A&M associate professor of sociology Ruben May will tell the “absorbing story of the hopes and struggles of one high school basketball team” on Thursday (March 26).
“Living Through The Hoop: High School Basketball, Race and the American Dream” will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. in College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building Room C070.
During the lecture, May will discuss the seven seasons he spent as an assistant coach of the Northeast High School Knights in Northeast, Ga., and the players who dreamt of following in the footsteps of LeBron James in post-high school success on the court.
May’s book describes the players’ home lives and the difficulties they face in living in a poor and urban area, particularly the temptations of drugs and alcohol, violence in their communities, run-ins with the police, and unstable family lives, according to the publisher’s description.
“We learn what it means to become a man when you live in places that define manhood by how tough you can be, how many women you can have, and how much money you can hustle,” it said.
May also shows the role a basketball team can play in keeping kids away from street-life, focused on completing high school, and possibly even attending college.
“Their stories, and the double-edged sword of hoop dreams, is at the heart of this compelling story about young African American men's struggle to find their way in an often grim world,” said the publisher’s description.
May, whose research interests include race and culture, sociology of sports and urban ethnography, has taught at Texas A&M since 2005.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Aurora University, his master’s degree from DePaul University and his doctorate from the University of Chicago.
“Living Through The Hoop” was published in 2008 by the New York University Press.
For more information, contact Karen Douglas, SHSU associate professor of sociology, at 936.294.1513 or kmd007@shsu.edu.
Russell Palma, professor of physics at Minnesota State University Mankato, will reveal some of the surprises found upon the Jan. 15, 2006, return of NASA’s Stardust Mission on Thursday (March 26).
“The Early Solar System,” the physics colloquium lecture, will be held from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Farrington Building Room 101.
The return of NASA’s Stardust Mission brought back a cargo of particles collected from the coma of comet Wild 2, “the first samples of indisputably cometary matter available for laboratory study,” according to Palma. The coma of a comet is formed from gas and dust that is spewed into space as a comet nears the inner solar system.
Because comets are frozen and largely unaltered reservoirs of dust and gases, they contain records of the chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic characters of primordial solar system matter; therefore, the Sawdust Mission gave scientists an insight to the early solar nebula.
“One surprising discovery is of many igneous, refractory ‘rocks’ formed at very high temperatures, presumably close to the early Sun, then somehow transported to the trans-Neptunian Kuiper Belt and incorporated into Wild 2 at about the time of the solar system’s origin,” Palma’s research abstract said.
“A second completely unanticipated feature of Stardust samples was finding enormous concentrations—though very small amounts—of He and Ne (helium and neon), suggesting intense ion irradiation,” the abstract continued. “These two observations, together with Ne isotopic data similar to that found in primitive meteorites, points to gases implanted in Stardust grains from an ancient, energetic nebular reservoir near the young evolving Sun.”
Palma, who earned his doctorate from Rice University in 1981, also serves as an adjunct professor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Physics and Astronomy.
He also taught in and chaired the physics department at SHSU in the late 90s.
For more information on the lecture, call the physics department at 936.294.1601.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Women’s Caucus will showcase some of the research conducted by women in the college Monday through Thursday (March 23-26) in the Lowman Student Center Atrium.
Seventeen CHSS faculty members and students, with collaboration with colleagues from other universities, will share their work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
“In celebration of Women’s History Month, we wanted to showcase scholarly research about women in both the humanities and social sciences,” said Marsha Harman, professor of psychology.
Topics for Monday’s and Tuesday’s presentations will include: “Intimate Partner Homicide: An Analysis of Motive and Crime Scene Characteristics;” “Mutability and Propensity in Judgments of Sexual-Assault Victim Blame;” “Development and Validation of the Acceptance of Modern Myths of Ethnic Sexuality Scale: An Initial Validation Report;” and “American Muslim Women's Organizations as Innovators in Intimate Partner Violence Policy.”
Also, “Gendering Municipal Government: Female Descriptive Representation and Feelings of Political Trust;” “Looking Across Grrl Games and ‘Pink’ Software to 3-D Avatars: Deconstructing Stereotypes of Female Avatars in Second Life and Beyond;” “Life on the Land: Rural Women’s Stories of Sustainability;” “Evelyn Nesbit—the First Gibson Girl;” and “Dancing in the Flames: Spiritual Journey in the Novels of Lee Smith.”
Wednesday’s and Thursday’s presentations will include: “Women and HIV/AIDS in Zambia;” “Posttraumatic growth and sexual revictimization: A prospective study;” “The Health of Female Caregivers (Aged 57 to 85);” and “Consumer Attitudes, Knowledge and Cognition in Regard to Designer Knockoff Merchandise.”
Also, “The FCS Alliance in Texas: An Online Strategy to Continue the FCS Legacy in Women's Education; “Charlotte Smith: Mourning Becomes Her;” “Life with Cancer: The Breast Cancer Experience of Chinese-American Women in Houston;” and “Dress and Rhetorical Interpretation: The Burka—Culturetype or Freedom of Expression?”
The Political Science Junior Fellows will once again pit local Republicans against local Democrats during their second annual flag football game on April 4.
The game, which will benefit the Huntsville YMCA and the John Holcombe Scholarship Fund, will kick off at 1 p.m. at Pritchett Field.
“This is a great chance for the parties to come together to help the local community, promote civic involvement, and provide a fun event for families,” said junior fellows vice president Laken Jenkins.
The five-on-five contest will include Republicans Russell Martinez, chair of the Walker County Republican Party, team captain and player; junior fellows Jenkins, Cameron Goodman, and Patrick Kenna; and SHSU alumnus Beau Harris, who is returning for his second year on the squad.
Democratic Party chair Tommy Honea will serve as honorary coach of the Democratic team, and the team will be comprised of Wade Schrock, YMCA program coordinator; junior fellows Amanda Carter, Blake Roach, Justin Veillon; and SHSU alumnus Matt McClellan.
Political science visiting professor and junior fellows adviser Mike Yawn will serve as the all-time quarterback.
The game will be dedicated to the late political science professor John Holcombe, who served as the honorary coach of the Democratic squad last year.
“This event reflects the decency and commitment to service that Holcombe held dear,” Yawn said. “When I discussed the game with Holcombe last year, he emphasized the social aspect of the event, saying ‘Political parties should have fun together.’ I think everyone is joining together in that spirit.”
Currently, the students have raised $1,650, 75 percent of which came directly from the Political Science Junior Fellows and the players.
Half of these funds will go to the YMCA, which will use the funds to provide scholarships for Teen Escape, a program that provides young people with the opportunity to travel to a Texas destination and engage in service activities.
The other half of the funds will be dedicated to the John Holcombe Scholarship Fund, which will provide an academic scholarship to a political science major at SHSU.
The event, free to the public, is sponsored by the local Republican and Democratic parties, SHSU’s Student Services Division, and Sy Harris & Associates.
In addition to a face-off between Democrats and Republicans, the YMCA and Political Science Junior Fellows will provide numerous children’s activities including sack races, beanbag tosses, tug of war and other games.
For more information, contact Yawn at 936.577.9695.
Prospective students and parents will have the opportunity to visit the Sam Houston State University campus to see what the university has to offer on Saturday (March 28).
Saturdays @ Sam, sponsored by the Visitor Center, will begin with check-in and a parent coffee from 8-9 a.m. in the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, followed by a 30-minute opening session at 9 a.m.
Throughout the day, students and their parents can meet with academic advisers at the university’s Student Advising and Mentoring Center, have academic sessions with colleges of potential majors, visit the Go Kats Go Center and apply online for free, tour residence halls and the campus, attend an organizations fair, and get information from various departments on campus.
Breakfast and lunch items will be available for purchase from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Johnson Coliseum concession stands. Lunch will also be available from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Café Belvin for $6.25, as well as at the Paw Print and South Paw.
The next Saturday @ Sam will be held on Nov. 21.
Registration forms, online registration, directions to the university and more information is available online at http://www.shsu.edu/~visitor/saturday.html.
For more information on Saturdays @ Sam, call 936.294.1844 or e-mail visitsam@shsu.edu.
The SHSU department of theatre and dance will explore slavery, assimilation, cultural preservation and popular pieces of African American literature with “The Colored Museum” Wednesday through Saturday (March 25-28).
Show times are at 8 p.m. each day with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee in the University Theatre Center’s Showcase Theatre.
Considered to be a pointed satire of the timeless struggles of African Americans and the effect of those struggles on today’s population, the play utilizes audience participation, singing and dancing to move through time using the theatrical device of museum exhibits.
“The Colored Museum” is directed by theatre staff members Kandice Harris and Bill Thomas.
The ensemble cast of theatre, dance and musical theatre majors includes Marcus Cumby, Allegra Fox, Margaret Hoffman, Brittany Jackson, Brandon Johnson, Destinee Rea McGinnis, Kendrick Mitchell, Reggie Tally, Sarah Vaughner and Victoria White.
Sophomore theatre major Caitlin Kellermeyer is the stage manager, and designers include SHSU students Bich Do (set), Charles Page (lights), J.R. Carson (sound), Kaedy Cherry (costumes), Kendrick Mitchell (musical director) and Tania Peterson Alverez (choreographer).
Tickets are $8 for general admission.
The play contains adult language; therefore, no children under the age of three will be admitted.
For more information, call the UTC Box Office at 936.294.1339.
The School of Music will feature its clarinet and flute studios for two recitals beginning Tuesday (March 24).
That day, the Clarinet Studio will present a recital of chamber music, ranging from classical to contemporary pieces, at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
“All of the clarinet students will perform trios and quartets,” said Patricia Card, associate professor of clarinet. “The compositions will utilize the Eb clarinet, the smallest of the clarinet family, Bb clarinet which is considered the standard instrument of the family and the bass clarinet, one of the larger instruments.”
On Sunday (March 29), the Flute Studio will perform selections from Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary styles at 1:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
The concert will feature freshmen through graduate level students, with all but one accompanied by the piano, playing for a program includes music dating from as early as the 1730s to as late as the 20th Century, according to Kathy Daniel, associate professor of flute.
Both concerts are free and open to the public.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Gamma Phi Delta Christian Fraternity, Inc., and Alpha Lambda Omega Christian Sorority will sponsor a night of music and dancing that will benefit the American Cancer Society on Saturday (March 28).
The 2nd annual GammALO Ball will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.
During the formal fundraiser, members from the campus Relay for Life team will give a presentation on the event and the winner of the Gamma Phi Delta annual scholarship pageant will be announced, according to GPD president Darrell Mitchell.
Tickets are $6 by presale or $10 at the door.
The event, for which formal attire is required, is open to everyone 17 years of age and older.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Mitchell at 214.535.3934 or Ashley Callis at 281.239.9794.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
March 20, 2009
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Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
Brian Domitrovic, assistant professor of history, appeared on Book TV (C-SPAN) May 1-2, speaking about his recent book "Econoclasts: The Rebels Sparked the Supply Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity" (www.econoclasts.net).
Houston Chronicle education writer Jeannie Kever recently turned to Regents Professor of English Paul Ruffin for his views on university presses moving toward "digital books" as opposed to traditional ink-on-paper."We're fulfilling the ancient role of the university press, and that is to produce books," said Paul Ruffin, the Texas poet laureate for 2009 and director of the Texas Review Press at Sam Houston State University. "I don't want to give up the book because it is an art."
Monday, May 3
Tuesday, May 4
"The measure of a Life is its Service."