Daily Brief

Please check out the February Edition of the Student Union & Involvement Services newsletter!

Please join us in congratulating Ms. Desiree Reasoner, assistant director, Housing & Residential Services, who was recently awarded the “Advisor of the Year” honor for the CAACURH region. CAACURH is the Central Atlantic Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls and is comprised of schools in Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, Washington DC, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Desiree serves as the Advisor to the Residence Hall Association and the National Residence Hall Honorary here at KU.

Faculty and staff please announce to your students - Don’t have a Valentine this weekend? Who needs one?! Bears @ Nite is sponsoring an UnValentine’s Day Party this Friday night, Feb. 12. We will be showing the most unromantic movie, Fatal Attraction, at 8 p.m. in McFarland Student Union 183 followed by free snacks and board games in McFarland Student Union 157. Bring your friends, come dressed in black, and join us in celebrating UnValentine’s Day.

Kristen (Snyder) Gallagher, assistant director, Student Union & Involvement Services

The KU Jam Club meets every Monday night from 6-7:30 p.m. in room 120, the lecture auditorium. Anyone who is interested in playing music and experimenting with sound may attend. For more information, please contact proffesor George Graf in the Art Education and Crafts Department, graf@kutztown.edu.

Tune in at 3 p.m. today for "Town and Gown on Common Ground," the campus and town's exclusive issues talk show. This time around, host Meghan Godorov sits down with Sarah Bollinger and Jennifer Topp of Student Union and Involvement Services. Intermingled at 3:15 p.m., our "Pet of the Week" segment (brought to you by the Humane Society of Berks County), then at 3:30 p.m. "What's Up in KU."

Then at 4 p.m., it's the best in International Studies talk with "Global Chatting" with your host Patrick Haggerty. Then, tune in on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 1:45 p.m. for "The Diversity Rest Stop" Radio Program. This week, host Mike Regensburger sits down with a musician you've probably heard hundreds of times in your daily TV viewing, but never knew it. Smooth jazz keyboardist Chris Geith is one of the musical artists you often hear on "The Weather Channel" playing in the background during the "Local on the 8's!"

These shows are just a small sampling of the informative talk programming you can hear Tuesday afternoons beginning at 2 p.m. and Wednesday afternoons, as well. "Kastle" features the best in movie, music, and book reviews on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 2 p.m., while "Fifty One Percent" deals with women's issues at 3 on Wednesdays and "This Way Out" and "Makin' Waves" at 3:30 and 4 p.m. respectively are your exclusive keys to GLBTQ talk and issues.

Phi Sigma Sigma and Sigma Alpha Epsilon held a shoe drive to send to Haiti. They are short on the money to send the shoes and are looking for anyone who wants to donate any amount to Jennifer Foster (jfost369@live.kutztown.edu), philanthropy chairman, Phi Sigma Sigma. Please e-mail with any questions on ways to help out. Thanks for your help and have a great weekend.

Pop a Tab Help a Family. Help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House! All soda tabs collected will be recycled and proceeds will be used for upkeep of the House. This benefits families that need a place to stay while their child is in the hospital. Drop all tabs off at The Women's Center, 126 Old Main. The soda tab collection will run until April 30th.

EMS Campus-wide Reservation System: Join the Office of Conference Services on Feb. 19 for training on how to use the EMS room reservation system (if you want to reserve a room on campus you need know how to use this system). This training is for both new employees wanting to learn the system and for current employees wanting a refresher course. Training sessions will be 45 minutes long and will begin at 8:45 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. All sessions will be held in the IT training room (room 100 in the Stratton Admin Center). There is limited seating for each session, please call ext. 3-1359 with questions and to reserve a spot. Thank you.

New and improved for 2010-The Keystone student newspaper! You’ll love the new format and we’ve packed all twelve pages with quality student articles and color pictures. Pick up your copy today!

African American Celebration. The staff of the Multicultural Center invites you to African American Celebration today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of McFarland Student Union. This year’s celebration will feature Reggie Wayne Morris Blues Band. Reggie hails from Baltimore and plays the blues with an infectious passion. Having spent a great deal of his childhood on his grandparent’s farm outside of Charlottesville, VA, he was reared on Gospel at the local Southern Baptist Church. The Blues was also a big part of Reggie's family life. Over the years, Reggie has developed an upbeat, rockin’ style Chicago-blues sound that pays homage to those who bore witness and spread the Blues News from generation to generation. Reggie's music often reflects the moods and grooves of yesterday, but his contemporary lyrics have caught the attention of major music publishers, record companies and concert promoters. The Reggie Wayne Morris Blues Band has gained a national audience in the United States and has recently accepted tour dates in Germany, Italy and throughout Europe. Limited soul food sample provided.

I would like to invite all KU faculty, staff and students to a very important presentation on Thursday, Feb.11 at 11 a.m. in DeFrancesco Building, room 100. Our Division of Administration and Finance will share the university’s budget forecasts for the next several academic years as projected at this point. We will have our key administrators present to help answer questions. Our hope is that this session will help everyone understand our budget situation better as we continue to plan for the year ahead. I hope to see you there.

The Kutztown University Athletic Department would like to invite all KU faculty and staff to join us on Wednesday, Feb. 10, for Faculty/Staff and Dean’s Night as the Golden Bears take on Mansfield University. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men) at Keystone Arena. KU faculty, staff, and their immediate family members may attend free of charge with a valid KU ID.

At halftime of the women’s game, we will be honoring all of our student athletes who were named to the Dean’s List for Fall 2009. The night will feature a special hospitality area in Keystone Hall rooms 106 and 107 for KU faculty, staff, and their guests; with performances by the bleacher band, dance team, cheer team, and Avalanche!

Anyone interested in bringing a guest to the games should pick up complimentary tickets in advance at the KU Athletic Office in Keystone Hall during normal business hours. Please contact Martha Johnson (ext. 3-1376) with any ticket questions.

The KU Philosophy Club will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 11 a.m. in DeFrancesco 207. Peter Secor will be speaking on "Is Human Nature All That Bad?"

Social Welfare Club Meeting Tuesday Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. in Old Main 140.

Samantha Walsh, secretary, Social Welfare Club

How does someone fall from the middle class into poverty? Once there, how does one survive? The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky explores these questions and more Feb. 23 through 28, in KU’s Rickenbach Theatre.

Gorky’s most famous work paints a portrait of people fallen into a dank and dangerous existence, from misdeeds, mistakes, or mere misfortune. Peopled with colorful, realistic characters, the play is at once unflinching and darkly comic, despairing and hopeful. Adapted and directed by theatre professor Roxane Rix, this production, reset from 1902 Russia to present-day America, examines the struggle to maintain humanity in the face of poverty. Is there a way out of the lower depths? Has the failure of society, or of individuals, created the lower depths? Is the individual more than the product of society? Can a lie – a fantasy, a belief in things unseen – be better than truth in finding a way out?

The Lower Depths opens Tuesday, Feb. 23, in the Rickenbach Theatre, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 28. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15; $10 for students in advance, and may be purchased at McFarland Student Union, by phone at 610-683-4092, or online at tickets.kutztown.edu. All tickets are $15 at the door. For more information, contact wynne@kutztown.edu or ext. 6-4337.

The Community Outreach Center is sponsoring a blood drive for Miller Keystone on Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. in 218 McFarland Student Union and are in need of donors. If interested in being a donor, please contact Daniel D’Haiti at ddhai270@live.kutztown.edu, at 484-646-4127 or stop in or sign up at the Community Outreach Center, 281 McFarland Student Union. Walk-ins are welcome.

Nancy Brynildsen, secretary, Dean for Student Services

KU will host the annual Central Eastern Regional Science Olympiad for the first time ever on March 11 (snow date March 12) at 8:30 a.m. With more than 600 middle and high school students from grades 6-13 competing in a series of challenging events, there is a great need for student, faculty, staff and community volunteers in the following areas: greeters, registration, food voucher sales, food delivery, lost & found, score checkers and many more. Please check out our Web site at www.kutztown.edu/acad/physci/olympiad or contact Sara Serrano at sserr562@live.kutztown.edu for general event information or to volunteer.

Are you interested in trying Blackboard? Attend this workshop to learn about useful, timesaving Blackboard features including those that enable posting of course handouts and PowerPoint presentations. Learn how to use the Drop Box, Grade Book, Discussion Board and more in this Blackboard Basics workshop.

Ready to try real-time, synchronous delivery of your lecture using Blackboard? Wimba Classroom makes this easy. Attend this workshop to learn how to configure and deliver an interactive lecture using your existing PowerPoint presentations and the Wimba Classroom suite of tools.

To register, please contact Anne Manmiller, Department of Learning Technologies secretary at ext. 3-4900 or at manmille@kutztown.edu. One-on-one training can also be arranged by contacting Will Jefferson, Learning Technologies Center Coordinator, at ext. 3-4757 or via e-mail at wjeffers@kutztown.edu. Visit our Web site to learn about other upcoming workshops and events www.kutztown.edu/academics/lt.

We are offering a Pepperoni Flatbread Panini at the Deli in the Cub Cafe. Grilled Flatbread stuffed with pepperoni, fresh mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, and a pesto spread for only $4.95. You can add chips, whole fruit, or baby carrots and a fountain beverage or 16.9 oz bottled water to make it a combo for only $6.50.

Also with Valentine's Day approaching we will be offering some chocolate indulgence: Strawberries with Ghiradelli Choc. Sauce, and brownie with strawberries, Ghiradelli Choc. Sauce, and whipped topping available in the Fresh Case. These are two items you are not going to want to miss out on! We will also have strawberry cheesecake and shortcake available this week in the Fresh Case.

T&B coffee shops will be offering an Almond Brittle Latte for a limited time. Espresso flavored with butterscotch and almond and is topped off with butterscotch swirls and toasted almonds. Stop by Tuesday, Feb 9 and Wednesday, Feb. 10 to receive a free sample in the McFarland Student Union T&B and Library T&B.

To submit items for the Daily Brief, please e-mail dbrief@kutztown.edu (no attachments) to the University Relations Office by 2 p.m. on the day prior to publication.

Persons with a disability and who require accommodation should notify the KU Disability Services Office two weeks prior to the event at 610-683-4108 (TDD: 610-683-4499) or e-mail accommodation@kutztown.edu in order to discuss accommodations. Every effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations.