ORGANIZATIONS PREVIEW

Residence Hall Assembly members line up to participate in the Pie Your RA event. For $1 students received a tray of whipped cream to pie the RA of his or her choosing. The money raised went to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) fund that RHA started.

Bethany Wolverton

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ORGANIZATIONS

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Amber Beasley describes bocce ball as a sport rich in tradition.

The sport, which is easy to pick up on, officially became a club at PSU in May 2010. Beasley, president of the club, has been playing bocce for about 15 years.

“It is the oldest sport we have in the world. It has a lot of history,” Beasley said. “My grandparents played bocce, so it has always been around in the family.”

Mark Johnson, faculty adviser of the club, said not only is the sport universal to everyone, but it also helps relieve tension.

“Literally, anyone can play,” Johnson said. “The skill doesn’t come from size or strength. I mean we compete against 8-year-olds.”

Johnson said the object is simple. The game consists of two teams and two players on each team. Each team has four balls, weighing about two pounds.

“There is also a smaller ball called the pallino,” John-son said. “The pallino is the score ball. At the beginning of the game, you throw the pallino to the other end of the court.”

Once the pallino has been thrown, Johnson said, you

want to throw the rest of your balls in an effort to get them as close to the pallino as possible.

“The next team then throws their ball and will con-tinue to throw until they get closer to the pallino than your ball,” Johnson said. “The furthest one away throws first and it continues until all eight balls are thrown. Then you count score.”

Johnson has been competing in tournaments for the past 10 years. He said there are four tournaments annually in Crawford County.

“There are two in Pittsburg on Little Balkans Day and there is a tournament in Frontenac,” Johnson said. “Then there is the largest tournament at Arma Homecoming where there are about 65 teams and 140 players.”

Johnson plans to build up the tournaments in Pittsburg in hopes of hosting the Sunflower State Championship.

Prizes for winning the tournaments vary from gift cer-tificates to money to lawn chairs. However, Beasley said one prize is especially important to her.

“If you get a T-shirt, then that’s a big deal,” Beasley said. “I mean money prizes are out the door, the T-shirt is

This game goes way, way back

Bocce traces its roots to the

story by Brenna Christian

Pharaohs

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what matters. Also, bragging rights is a big one.”

The T-shirts aren’t the only thing that attracts Beasley to the tournaments.

“My favorite tournament is probably the Arma Home-coming,” Beasley said. “All the old-timers come out and it is fun to see people who have been playing for years and years.”

The sport, which was passed down from Egypt, is more than 5,000 years old.

“Pharaohs used to play it and the Greeks picked it up,” Johnson said. “It was actually a true Olympic event in Greece.”

Johnson said that one misconception about the sport is that it is from Italian heritage.

“The Italians claim it was their game,” Johnson said. “That is where they have the International Hall of Fame, but it was really passed down from the Egyptians.”

Although bocce ball seems harmless, it has been banned a few times.

“An interesting thing about the game is that it was banned by the Pope,” Beasley said. “Because they were playing it so often they were not focusing on their stud-ies.”

Johnson also added that King Henry banned his sol-diers from playing because instead of focusing on their fighting skills, they were playing bocce.

Johnson said he first got interested in the sport because of his son.

“His history teacher took him to the park and taught him how to play bocce,” Johnson said. “Well, he taught me and we ended up entering a tournament where we got second place. I have been hooked ever since.”

Beasley started the club, which now has about 15 members.

“We have some math students in the club that try and get technical with the sport by measuring angles,” Beas-ley said. “But for me, it’s just about throwing the ball and listening to some Italian music.”

ORGANIZATIONS BOCCE CLUB 79

PharaohsBocce club members sharpen their techniques during an afternoon practice in preparation for their next tournament.

Photos courtesy of Amber Beasley

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Black Student AssociationThe Black Student Association (BSA) at Pittsburg

State University is open to everyone who wants to be immersed in culture, make new friends, and be a part of a major support group. The BSA has grown from an eight-member base in 2009 to a 50-member base this semester.

Vernon Wiley, senior in marketing, was elected as president of BSA at the end of 2010.

“Last year when I joined, I just kind of helped out with the public relations. Just getting the word out about our

Culture, friendship, supportevents,” Wiley said.

Soon after that the vice president of the group had to step down and Wiley was nominated to take her place until the end of the year, when he was elected president. Before that time, the BSA was rarely in the limelight.

Darrell Chism, undecided freshman, found out about BSA at Pitt Cares last summer and has been a member since the fall. He said that the BSA has many activities for their members, including talent shows, bowling nights, skating nights, movie nights, game nights, and, during

story by Ali Clark

Photos by Bethany Wolverton

Fencing ClubFrom left to right: Brad Edson, Jackson Kendrick, Chris Torok, Cam-eron Leslie, and Christel Benson.

Andrew Dodson Yuyang Xiao

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Far left: Black Student Association mem-bers line up for a group photo, showing

off their black history fashion outfits.Above: BSA member Evellyne Kangeri per-

forms a traditional African dance called Binti Wa Africa.

Darrell Chism per-forms a modern inter-pretative dance to the song “Heart of a Paper

Chaser.”

Olujimi Sode hosts theUnity Variety Show inthe Crimson and Gold

Ballroom on Feb. 12.

football season, they watched Monday night football together.

“In Pittsburg, there’s not always a lot going on,” Wiley said. “So we try to get together and have good wholesome family fun.”

In addition to the activities that the BSA has on campus, the group also attends the Big XII Conference on Black Student Government every year. This year it was in Columbia, Mo.

“I met a lot of guys who were speakers there, like Steve Birdine. He still emails me to this day,” Wiley said.

Wiley says that the BSA also acts as a support group for its members.

“In all honesty, in southeast Kansas the African-American population isn’t very strong,” Wiley said. “We feel strongly about people having something they can relate to.”

Many members of BSA come from the Kansas City area and are at least a couple of hours from home.

“It’s set up to be a place where we can all get together and discuss the things we go through in our day-to-day lives,” Wiley said.

ORGANIZATIONS BLACK STUDENT ASSOCIATION 83

Pictured right: Student Government AssociaitionFront row from left to right: Thomas Gregory, Bran-don Mills. Second row: Barb Circle, Marcus Nelson, Rhaysa Velazquez, Emily Smith, Eric Jones, Jonna Fearmonti. Third row: Carson Felt, Shanhe Xu, Em-ily Klaver, Jeanine Kunshek, David Adams, Jason Bil-berry. Fourth row: Billy J. Butler Jr., Shan Deng, Kerra Tener, Josiah Keith, Ivan Hunnicutt, Jordan Simoncic. Fifth row: Katie Engelland, Brian Woods, Zach Krum-sick, Brenden Cassity, James Saltat. Sixth row: Steve Chastain, Lara Ismert, Tieg Tullis, Tyler Edwards, Peter Kipp. Seventh row: Austin Osborn, Jared Wetzel, Dan Rundquist, Jacob Dvorak, Ryan Woodriff.

Pictured left: Peers ProgramFront row from left to right: Alex Rausch, Erica Jones, Ili Bakhtiar, Emily Eddy. Back row: Ryan Woodruff, Ryan Pittsenbarger, Robert Kinsman, Aaron Ward.

Aaron Anders

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Hands frantically rose into the air throughout the Overman Student Center’s Sunflower Room. The hosts, sophomores Jhonatan Sierra-Leon, and Marissa Fernan-dez, members of Hispanics of Today (HOT), are scanning the crowd to see who can give the best answer.

The audience was asked to name Hispanic-Americans who have contributed to American society. Among them were Sonia Sotomayor, George Lopez, Eva Longoria Parker and Alex Rodriguez.

The show was given to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, a time when people recognize the contributions of

Hispanic Americans to the United States through various forms of celebration. HOT featured numerous activities to increase awareness of their culture around campus.

The audience remained engaged through slide show presentations and demonstrations of dance with prizes and gift cards given to audience members who could retain the information presented. Samples of a side dish called chipa gauze, and a beverage called horchata were served buf-fet style by HOT members who kept the crowd engaged throughout the night.

Some of the facts in the slide show seemed to surprise the hosts themselves.

Family and Consumer Sciences Department. Back row from left to right: Kari Cronister, Cris Elliott, Sasha Ball-Rives, Duane WhitbeckFront Row: Katie Swezey, Amber Tankersley, Holly Page.

MBA Association. Back row from left to right: Scott Hopson, Eugene Ryaboshapko, John C McCoy III, Sergey Shamenin. Front row: Kelley Gorman, Ashlee Ricks, Sandy Huang.

story by Nayshona Jones

Shalin Patel Shalin Patel

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“I didn’t know that we were the biggest minority in the United States, that was very surprising,” Sierra-Leon said. “It makes me feel like, ‘OK, we’re here! Don’t forget us!’”

Fernandez, a resident of Pittsburg, seems to believe more involvement is needed from the university and com-munity.

“I think we should inform them more ahead of time.

A lot of people don’t even know when Hispanic Heritage Month is,” Fernandez said. “They don’t even know that it is actually a holiday.”

HOT President Melissa Archuleta says she’d like to see the organization grow.

“We know there are 235 Hispanics on campus, but our group is 20 to 25 members with only 10 members ac-tive and strong,” Archuleta said. “It is hard to get people involved because we do not have a big group”

The Office of Student Diversity assists with the organi-zation’s goals.

“Being involved with the Office of Student Diversity is a great help having the opportunity to have the funds we could do and the resources we need,” Archuleta said.

To Archuleta, collaboration with the Paraguayan Stu-dent Association is a big step toward increasing student involvement.

“We try to do collaboration with this event because we want to get them involved with us, all of our Hispanics,” Archuleta said. “We want them to be a part of Hispanic Heritage Month.”

But size isn’t everything.

“We are super close, and there is that family knit among the Hispanic people so when we do get together, we have fun and we do things outside of school,” Archu-leta said.

Nation Hall 3rd Floor West. Back row from left to right: Kelsey Kohn, Kayla Clause, Katie Shaw, Jaime Bernhardt, Amanda Crutcher, Ashlie Shim-min, Alexa Zarich, Han-nah Zarich, Erica Testa Front Row: Amanda Eck-ols, Shelby Rawles, Me-gan Green, Meagan Linn, Kelsey Denham, Emily Westhoff

Far Left: Jhonatan Sierra-Leon, sophomore in international business and Spanish, with Marissa Fernandez, sophomore in international studies, show a crowd some hispanic dance moves during the Hispanic Herratage presen-tation.

Above: Hispanic students demonstrate how hard it is to tell the difference between Latin Hispanics, Mexican Hispanics, and Latinos during the Hispanic Heritage month presentation.

Shalin Patel

Photos by Aarron Anders

ORGANIZATIONS HISPANICS OF TODAY 85

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Shruti Panchal, graduate student in human resources, says she had a tough time figuring out why her laptop was not working. Then she knocked on the Gorilla Geeks’ door.

“My laptop accidentally fell on the sidewalk and I didn’t know what to do,” Panchal said. “I lost all hopes of it getting fixed again, and I thought that it would be cheaper to buy a new one than to pay hundreds of dollars for repairing this one.”

But the Gorilla Geeks came to the rescue and fixed her laptop for $60.

The Gorilla Geeks office, 109 Whitesitt Hall, is where students end up when they experience computer problems. It is a help desk made up mostly of students who provide technical support on hardware, like Panchal’s laptop, and software and websites, like GUS and Angel.

Shaykh Muyeed, junior in sociology and justice studies, says that he enjoys working on something outside his major.

“I do this to learn more about new technology and different aspects of it,” he said. “I feel good when I am able to help students out as we are their last resort.”

Jeremy Butler, junior in computer science, says he likes working on computers and fixing them.

“Some strange computers come up and we start doing our research and digging,” Butler said. “When we solve the problem, that is the ultimate level of our satisfaction.”

Band of techies handle students’ computer problems

Butler said that there are some badly messed up computers that come through, but that usually it all ends well.

Zach Comptom, junior in business management, has a different passion for computers.

“More than fixing computers, it’s like a lifestyle as

I have a passion for it and it describes my personality,” Comptom said. “Sometimes, looking at computers, I really want to play WarCraft. It is tempting to see many computers just in front of us.”

He also says some students can’t wait for the time it takes some off-campus computer shops to make repairs.

“We, on the other hand, repair major computers in less than a week.”

Jesse Dylan, junior in computer science, says that this job helps him apply the skills from his major and that it will help him find future jobs.

For Dylan, the job’s downside is seeing other students’ computers that are newer and faster than his own.

“Seeing new computers makes me want to buy a new one,” he said.

On the first day of the 2010 fall semester, the Geeks say they worked on 200 computers and calls. The office was open for 11 hours. Later in the semester, the number dropped to about 300 cases a week.

story by Shantanu Gavai

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ORGANIZATIONS GORILLA GEEKS 87

Left: Jeremy Butler, senior in computer science, makes re-pairs to the tower of a student’s computer. Right: Nolan O’Tool, sophomore in information systems, sprays dust bunnies out of a student’s computer.

Photos by Bethany Wolverton

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Answering to students’ sAnswering to students’ spiritual needs

CrossQuest, a student organization that meets at Broadway Baptist Church, is another place where stu-dents can come for worship, Bible study and fellowship.

“At the meetings, we try to have a message that will

help believers learn about Christ and not just throw facts in their face,” said Shea Smith, senior in chemistry edu-cation and member of the CrossQuest leadership.

CrossQuest also does outreach around the campus.

Other than weekly meetings, the club plans various activities, including tailgating, game nights, scavenger hunts and bonfires.

“We try to plan lots of activities so that more people have a chance to be involved,” Shea said.

Whether it’s a dimmed room or a bright gym, a small circle or a huge assembly, an afternoon cup of coffee or a late-night hotdog, PSU’s spiritual organizations seek to affect students from every angle. No matter what day of the week, worship, prayer and fellowship exist on and off campus to boost the spiritual walks of students.

From hotdog feeds to prayer in the U-Club, the students of Campus Christians seek to reach out to students every night of the week.

“We’re probably best known on campus for hotdogs,”

said Ty Burgoon, senior in math education. “Every Friday night we give out hotdogs across the street from all the frat houses. We are trying to get our name out there more on

Campus Christians

campus and help out in any way we can.”

Students can be found praying in the U-Club on Mon-day and Tuesday afternoons, or at Bible studies, which meet several nights a week. On Friday nights, students head over to the Campus Christians house to hang out and enjoy a cup of coffee.

Amanda Clover, senior in elementary education, said, “I read about CC online, so I just started coming. The worship and messages are great, and I love discovering God’s will for my life.”

Left: Campus Christians socialize before their meeting in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom at Pittsburg State University.

Right: Hunter Peterson on guitar and Ryan Hizey on electronic drums lead worship for Campus Christians in the Crimson and

Gold Ballroom.

stories by Kimber Lane

Campus Crusaders for Christ, nicknamed CRU, provides a casual Bible study atmosphere for students looking to get involved.

“I was invited two years ago by a friend, and I loved

it so much I just kept coming,” said Sarah Jensen, senior in commercial graphics and secretary for CRU.

CRU, an outreach-based ministry, provides prayer

and other forms of ministry to the campus.

“We did ‘See You at the Pole’ this year, and some-times we just walk around campus and pray for people,” Jensen said. “We just want to help the students in any way we can.”

CrossQuest Campus Crusaders for Christ

Zack Fields

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ORGANIZATIONS SPIRITUAL 89

to students’ spiritual needsAnswering to students’ spiritual needs

The Newman Club offers fellowship for Catholic students.

“My favorite part of being a part of the Newman Club is probably the retreats,” said Maria Smithson, sophomore in communication. “I got so much out of going on the March for Life last year.”

Members of the Newman Club are involved in all kinds of activities and events on campus, as well. The club participates in the Homecoming festivities with Yell Like Hell, and serves a free lunch on Wednesdays, accompanied by Mass.

Smithson said, “I love being a part of the club because you get to have that Christian community to help form and shape you into a better person.”

The University American Islamic Alliance offers an opportunity for Muslims on campus and throughout the community to come together for prayer and fellowship.

The group meets on Fridays at the mosque for

prayer, and, throughout the year, members strive to reach out to the surrounding areas, both in Pitts-burg and through the Islamic Center in Joplin.

“Being a part of the Islamic Alliance gives peo-

ple a chance to be exposed to a different culture,” said Bilal Alnahass, senior in biology, founder and president of the alliance. “Many of our members are born Muslim, but a lot of people come to learn something new.”

Alnahass, along with being president of the

group, lectures for various audiences, including the World Religions class on campus.

“We are trying to dispel the image of Islam

that the media has created,” Alnahass said. “We present an opportunity for people to learn about our religion from a welcoming and more reliable source.”

Another organization, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, typically caters to the athletic members of campus, but Brian Dean, senior in communication and member of the FCA leadership staff, says that PSU’s FCA is a little differ-ent.

“We have a lot of athletes that come out to FCA, but the majority of people aren’t. We’re more like a fellowship of Christian students,” he said.

At FCA gatherings, students come to fill up on food,

shoot hoops and play games, all the while spending time with other students who share their beliefs. Along with the fun, they hear local pastors speak, listen to student testimo-nies and have small-group Bible studies.

“We have worship nights and prayer groups, as well,”

Dean said. “We don’t care about people’s history; we’re just here to share the word of Christ.”

Newman Club

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

University American Islamic Alliance

Yuyang Xiao

Reading her textbook, Fatimah Alfashkhi, senior in marketing, studies in the Oval on Monday, Aug 30.

Andrew Dodson

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The place: Dellinger Underground. The time: 7 p.m. The murder victim: Bethany Harris, freshman in political science.

Who killed her, where and how? Murder, mystery and mayhem surrounded the students who participated in the Residence Hall Assembly’s version of Clue on March 16. RHA created this event for students to participate in during Pittsburg State’s safe spring break week. In this version of Clue, students were the characters, spring break destinations were the rooms and spring break items were the weapons.

“We needed to do a program for safe spring break,” said Rachel Jordan, junior in commercial arts and executive chair of programming. “We wanted to do a ‘mystery-who are you’ event, but then it just hit me. Why don’t we do a giant game of Clue?”

Some students came in not knowing what to expect of the game.

“I thought it was going to be a normal game of Clue,” said Gretchen Burns, freshman in biology. “We were the game, and that made it more interesting.”

The sleuth who solved it: Jeffrey Tangney, junior in geography, who won the game by correctly guessing the murderer, the place and the weapon before any

other participant. The victim in this game was slain by a hypothetical student and drunken driver.

“It’s scary and it’s sad to know that these things really do happen,” Harris said.

Harris is the finance records coordinator for RHA, and she helped coordinate the program. Harris first became involved with RHA after her sister suggested it.

“I love being in RHA,” Harris said. “We have a lot of fun and we provide a lot to the campus. I get a sense of satisfaction from being involved with the residence and the halls.”

In addition to activities like Clue, RHA hosts Mr. Residence Hall in April each year, Spring Fling in late spring semester, Walk on the Wild Side early in the fall semester, and various programs throughout the year.

“We are a community service-based group,” said Jacob Mendez, senior in history.

RHA participates in Habitat for Humanity and The Big Event, both community service events held in the spring semester and numerous other community service projects. RHA also focuses on the students and their lives in the residence halls.

“RHA is about making the experience and life in the residence halls meaningful,” Mendez said. “We want to

story by Sara Liming

Bethany Wolverton

Murder,may h emwhipped cream?

&Life in the Residence Hall Assembly

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Bethany WolvertonBethany Wolverton

know if you have a problem. We love to hear suggestions on how to make things better in the halls; we want you to come back.”

Mendez highly suggests that students in the residence halls become involved with RHA.

“I’ve met most of my friends through RHA,” Mendez said. “Being on the national committee, I get to travel to places like California and Arizona. Because of RHA, I meet tons of different people and make connections all across the states.”

If a student stays in RHA for four semesters, he or she will receive special chords at graduation and they can apply for scholarships available only to those in RHA.

“We are a close-knit group of people,” said Mendez. “I’m going on my fifth year in RHA and I’m traveling over spring break to see the people I met at conferences. I love it.”

Above left: Derek Busby, Tanner Hall resident assistant stares down the camera after being attacked by a plate full of whipped cream.

ORGANIZATIONS RESIDENCE HALL ASSEMBLY 91

Bethany Wolverton Sara Liming

Joe Bower and Nora Rindt participate in the Pie Your Resident Assistant fund-raiser.

Aaron Anders

Far Left: Tan-ner Hall resident Brandon Terry smashes a plate of whipped cream into the face of Derek Busby, a resident assistant at Tanner Hall. Left: Erika Sayles, Noelle Kownslar, Katie Robinson and Nora Rindt pose for a group picture.

Students and residents dance during the Resi-dence Hall Assembly party next to Willard Hall on Sat-urday, Aug. 21.

Jacob Mendez, senior in history, and Ashley Dyche, freshman in music education, exchange clues during RHA’s Big Clue game in the Dellinger Underground.

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The Fashion Merchandising Association, an organization that helps give fashion experience to its members, has become more active in hosting and participating in events all over campus.

Lauren Williams, junior in fashion merchandising and FMA president, and adviser, Sasha Ball-Rives, work together to coordinate events that pique interests and add a variety of experiences for FMA members to become better skilled for future career opportunities.

“FMA is a great networking experience for the fashion world,” Williams said. “ My favorite thing about it is the opportunity to network through the fashion shows and trips.”

An event that FMA has kept going for the past three years and has taken much pride in is the TOM shoes project. For previous TOM shoes events, T-shirts were designed for anyone who helped decorate the shoes. Members have also participated in TOM’s a day without shoes, an annual event on the fifth of April.

The Fashion Merchandising Association also plans trips to New York touring fashion shops and to Dallas for market experience. In New York, FMA members and interior design students visit numerous fashion related companies including designers, magazines and boutiques.

Brittany Perry, vice president, says the experience that FMA has brought her has helped her in positive ways.

“I have met new people that have the same interest that I do,“ said Perry. “The best part about FMA is doing the events that we set up.”

This year’s FMA trip to New York includes visiting designer companies such as Calvin Klein, Patricia Underwood, who designs for Ralph Lauren, Nicole Miller and Michael Kors. The FMA itinerary includes 12 company tours.

“I am very excited for this trip,” Perry said. “Since I am a junior this year, I plan on doing an internship this summer. So, I plan on taking my resume with me to New York and maybe I can make some connections while I am there and maybe get an internship.”

FMA also sponsored and helped organize the Sara Loree’s Fashion Show Fundraiser held in January which showed off the new styles in dresses for the 2011 prom season. Members planned everything, from marketing to deciding on the atmosphere of the show.

“I think that it was a success, we were able to get a lot of donations from local businesses as far as gift certificates,” Perry said.

From participating in many events and activities on campus, to traveling with each other, experiencing New York and Dallas, are opportunities that motivate FMA members to stay active and into fashion for hopes of future success.

Morgan Sherrell, se-nior at Galena High School, displays a gown during the Prom 2011 Fash-ion Show at Loree’s Bridal & Formal.

story by Stephanie Rogers

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From the classroom to the runway

Fashion Merchandising AssociationBack: Eryn Montonye, Lacey Hartman, Sasha Ball-Rives, Lauren Wil-liams, Adrian BlountMiddle: Trish Garrett, Alex Horttor, Aubrey Poindex-ter, Shalae Elliott,Front: Taylor Plowman, Brittany Perry

Fashion Merchandising Association

Jenna McCarty, junior in nursing, far left; Amanda Scott, junior in art educa-tion, left; and Taylor Rit-thaler, freshman in fashion merchandising, below; display their gowns during the Fashion Merchandising Association’s Prom 2011 Fashion Show at Loree's Bridal & Formal.

YuyangXiao

ORGANIZATIONS FASHION MERCHANDISING 101

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1.

3.5. 6.

Diwali The festival of lights

Yuyang Xiao

Yuyang Xiao

Jodi Heflin

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Diwali, also known as “The Festival of Lights,” is the most important event the Indian Student Association organizes every year in the fall. Known to be one of the highest attended events on campus, Diwali showcases various types of traditional dance performances, singing and traditional food.

Wells Hall, graduate student in graphics and imaging technology, attended this event with his family. He said that he had never seen so many different cultures of one country under one roof.

“I enjoyed all the performances and especially loved watching students perform in their tradi-tional outfits,” he said. “I was totally thrilled by tasting food of different regions and especially the drink called mango lassi made out of mango and milk.”

Shalin Patel, president of the Indian Student Association, says that this was yet another suc-cessful event, which drew around 500 people from various places including Joplin, Fort Scott and Arkansas.

“All the Indian students worked really hard to make this event a grand success. Our committee started planning for Diwali around two months before the event,” he said. “Our organization has always been in the limelights for this event and our efforts have always kept our bars high.”

Alheli Aranda says that she was fond of the Indian culture but could only get to know it well through the Diwali event.

“Coming from different parts of the world, we international students are very excited and ecstatic to see these events and be a part of it,” she said. “Diwali made us feel as if we were in India itself with the food and culture that they presented.”

Vidhi Kundalia, post graduate student in hu-man resource development, says that Diwali has always been fun as it is the best event which they could get involved in during classes.

“On Diwali, we do performances, treat every-one with Indian food and also fire crackers at the Weede, as that is the authenticity of Diwali,” she said. “We always keep Diwali’s spiritual signifi-cance in mind and show presentations related to Diwali to give an overlook to the audiences about India and its festivals.”

1. Manreet Ludhar, sophomore in computer science, and Divya Anandaraju, graduate student in international business, perform in Diwali, “Festival of Lights.”2. Shruti Panchal, human resource graduate student, and Shalin Patel, senior in plastic engineering and international business, perform an Indo-western song.3.Indian students perform an Indian form of a dance, Raas Garba.4.Vidhi Kundalia, graduate student in human resource, performs an Indiandance, Raas Garba.5. Indian students gather to show off many different Indian dances.6. Indian Student Association members perform a medley of Bollywood songs wearing association T-shirts on Diwali, held in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom in the student center on Sunday, Nov. 7.

2.

4.

Indian Student Associationstory by Shantanu Gavai

ORGANIZATIONS INDIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION 109

Jodi Heflin

Yuyang Xiao

Jodi Heflin

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While most students spend their hours in a white-walled class-

room, those of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle program spend their classtime

in a garage packed with tools, parts, and, most importantly, bikes.

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle program is one of three programs in which Pittsburg State has a partnership with Fort Scott

Community College. The Harley program began in 2004 and has 100 to 120 students enrolled.

“We have two options for students who enroll in the fall,” said Stacey Seroy, administrative assistant for the program. “Students can choose to go through the day program or the night program. We take 40 students in the fall and 20 in the spring.”

The Harley-Davidson program is one of the few programs of its kind in the country. It prepares students to work in a variety of jobs pertaining to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Students learn the maintenance of the bikes, as well as learn-ing sales and management skills. It’s a two-year program and students are required to participate in an internship between their first and second year.

They also compete in Skills USA, a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives who work together to ensure that America has a skilled work force.

“We have several national officers in Skills through the Fort Scott program and several state officers,” said William McElron, freshman in motorcycle technician. “We’ve won three gold medals and two bronze since the beginning of the program.”

Fort Scott and Pittsburg State also partner in the John Deere program, a two-year agricultural technician program. Stu-dents take classes in hydraulics, power trains, electrical systems, tillage and seeding, heating and air conditioning, equip-ment diagnostics, agricultural management systems, engines, fuel systems and harvesting.

“You can work for a dealer, go through parts, sales, service, etc.,” said Keeley Fields, junior in the John Deere pro-

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An Educational PartnershipHarley-Davidson, John Deere and HVAC

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gram. “If you decide to take it into your own hands, like I’m planning to do, you can farm or specialize in a lot of different things like balers, combines, tractors, but you’re guaranteed a job when you get out.”

Students must certify in several components of the program and if they don’t pass one they are kicked out of the program. They must also be sponsored by a company in order to apply for the program.

The HVAC program is the third partnership be-tween PSU and Fort Scott Community College.

This program prepares students to work with air conditioning and heating in residential and industrial compa-nies, or independently as entrepre-neurs. These students graduate from the program prepared to design, install, maintain and operate small- or medium-sized air conditioning, heating and cooling systems.

Above Right: Jason Schumacher, freshman at the Fort Scott Commu-nity College Harley-Davidson School, works on assembling an engine in the lab. Above Left: Harley-Davidson motorcycles technology majors William Werth and Daniel Kelley take apart the spokes of a Harley wheel.Left Below: Lee Tillman and Danny Moore, freshmen in the Fort Scott Community College Harley Davidson School, reassemble an engine in the lab.

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