The Texas Folklore Society will holds its 81st annual meeting Thursday through Saturday with almost 20 intriguing topics ranging from "Hawklore" to "Cow Pies and Politics" to "Catfishing: More Fib than Fish."
Other topics include: "It All Began the Day My Conscience Died: Cheatin' Songs from Prototype to Postmodern;" "Drought, Cut Worms, Sparrows and Little Green Sucking Lice;" and "Chasing Gunfighters Across the Southwest."
More serious topics include: "Battles as Creation Epics: A Comparison of Texas's Alamo and Scotland's Culloden;" "Life and Death in Old Bexar;" and "Buried in Texas Any and Every Which Way." Society speakers, it seems, are often not serious even about serious topics.
Even more intriguing is the society's registration and dues structure. Folk loricists can register for the entire conference for $5, with an extra $12 for the banquet. Membership is a measly $15 per year per individual, $30 per year for "patrons," or $50 per year for the exalted status of "paisano grande."
The fact that the society has its headquarters at Stephen F. Austin State University should not deter SHSU partisans from membership, said Gene Young, who chairs the SHSU English and foreign languages department and is coordinating arrangements for the meeting.
Registration for the conference is from 1-6 p.m. Thursday in the University Hotel lobby, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday in the Lowman Student Center Lobby.
Burgan's paper was entitled "Wavelet Based Edge Detection," and was based on work she is doing as part of the Texas Regional Institute for Environmental Studies Remote Sensing Project.
Wavelets are a new mathematical tool that can be used to enhance images sent back to earth by high-altitude sensing devices. These images can then be used in such programs as fighting pollution and locating natural resources.
Burgan's faculty adviser in the project is Patrick J. Van Fleet, assistant professor of mathematics.
During the fall semester almost 6,000 students completed the process, according to James Goodwin, assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. This spring even more will be advised, and students will be given a questionnaire as soon as advisement is completed.
Students will then be able to assist in fine tuning the process by dropping their questionnaire in one of the drop boxes placed in every academic department on campus.
Goodwin also said that students should look at their student data/transcript on the university computer for the name of their adviser, and schedule an appointment. Letters of notification will not be sent to students as they were in the fall.
The advisement process is an effort to assist students in assessing academic progress and in taking the most appropriate classes. It is also expected to have a positive effect on student retention, which has been identified by SHSU President Bobby K. Marks as an emphasis of his administration.
The board does HIV education and prevention research, outreach and town meetings within a 16-county area around Harris County. It is responsible for providing an action plan to the Texas Department of Health and the State Legislature on HIV prevention.
Millspaugh was nominated for the position by the Walker County HIV Project, which is made up of most prevention and service providers in the county.
It is estimated that the consortium will be responsible for recommending allocation of $6 to $10 million in funding in the next year within the region.
Proceeds from ticket sales and the auction will go to the SHSU Football Enrichment Fund for scholarships, equipment and recruiting expenses.
Tickets for the event, which begins with a social hour and silent auction at 6 p.m., are $30 each, or $50 per couple. Organizations may participate by reserving a table for eight for $200.
Monday, April 7, is the deadline for buying tickets. Contact Denise Holcomb in the SHSU Athletic Department for tickets and information.
The Orange/White spring football game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 12, in Bowers Stadium.
Muns was the first speaker in the program from outside the UTSA campus community. He has presented the same and similar lectures at leadership enrichment programs at SHSU.
On Thursday, composition student John Blair will present a student recital at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
Admission to faculty recitals is $5, with students and Friends of Music members free. Student recitals are free. Call 294-1360 for information.
Children from throughout the community are invited to meet on the front lawn of the museum at 5:45 p.m. The event's rain date is Thursday at the same time and place. Call Missy Windham at 294-3374 for information.
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