Today@Sam Article

SHSU Update For Week Of March 5

March 3, 2017
SHSU Media Contact: Lane Fortenberry

Digital Education Summit Set For March 9-10

Sam Houston State University Online will bring the Digital Education Summit, formerly known as the Teaching and Learning Conference, to the DES630Lowman Student Center on March 9-10.

The event starts with registration at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday (March 9) and 7:30 a.m. on Friday (March 10).

Three presenters will discuss topics during the summit.

Todd Primm, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, will present “Blackboard Journals: The Power of Writing.” Erin Cassidy, associate professor at the Newton Gresham Library, will present “Open Education, Open Opportunities.” Pamela Vogel, adjunct faculty member who offers online courses through SHSU Online, will present “Using Kaltura Video Quiz.”

The keynote speaker for Friday morning is Distinguished Alumna Nan McRaven. She will discuss various important areas involving online learning in Texas.

For more information about the schedule or to register, click here.

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Interactive Dance Experience Set For March 25

“TWENTY-FIVE: An Interactive Dance Theatre Experience” will hit the stage with six different showings on March 25 at 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 p.m. at the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center.

TWENTY-FIVE, choreographed and directed by thesis candidate Jaime Frugé, is in partial fulfillment of the Master in Fine Arts degree in dance and is 25630presented by the Department of Dance at Sam Houston State University.

The dance experience is inspired by personal accounts of the effects of mass incarceration in the American prison system. Through a curated world of family dinners, confined spaces and imaginary Plexiglas partitions, the program engages only 15 audience members in a unique and individualized journey to explore the things left undone and unsaid as life is uprooted by a set of unexpected circumstances.

As part of the experience, each audience member is paired with a performer who acts as a guide through TWENTY-FIVE’s curated environments. Performers engage and interact with the audience through movement and dialogue where each participant is encouraged to respond to the various situations.

Through the experience, the audience members and performers investigate the loneliness, loss of identity and vacancy experienced by both the inmates and families in hopes of sparking a conversation about “the new American normal” of mass incarceration and the detrimental and cyclical nature of a broken criminal justice system.

The dance is best suited for adult audiences due to the type of interaction with performers. Wearing comfortable clothing and shoes is encouraged.

Admission is free, but pre-registration is required for each performance. The registration deadline is March 25 at noon.

To register, click here. To cancel a reservation or register for a time that is unavailable, email info@jaimefruge.com.

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GRE Prep Workshop Set For March 11GRE580

The SAM Center’s GRE Prep workshop will be on Saturday (March 11) from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in College of Humanities and Social Sciences Room 242B.

Current students and alumni who attend the free workshop can expect to receive specific test-taking strategies to help approach the GRE.

“The goal of this free workshop is to help alleviate common mistakes and answer relevant questions that students have,” said John Jordan, director of Academic Support Programs.

The focus is on the quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning and analytical writing portions of the general exam by using examples similar to the questions phrased on the test. Attendees can interact with instructors regarding how to analyze and methodically answer questions, as well as familiarization with the vocabulary.

Attendees are recommended to come to the workshop having already put in 30-50 hours of individual study time using a current GRE study guide.

Registration is required, as seats are limited. Contact the SAM Center at 936.294.4367 to learn how to sign up.

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Workshop To Offer Grad School InfoGradInfo630

The Grad Info 101 Workshop will be on Wednesday (March 8) from 5-6:30 p.m. in College of Humanities and Social Sciences Room 242B.

The workshop is designed to give students a general overview of the process of researching and applying to graduate school.

Specific topics include the graduate school admission process and how to pay for graduate school by applying for federal students aid, as well as seeking and applying for graduate assistantships.

The workshop is free and signup is not required.

For more information, contact Roynesha Julius, graduate assistant mentor, at 936.294.4456 or rlj022@shsu.edu.

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Meet Honors Ambassadors On March 9

Students interested in meeting current Honors Ambassadors to learn more about the purpose and goals of the group can do so on Thursday (March 9) from 1-2 p.m. in Austin Hall.

Information will be available about the Ambassadors’ scholarship and the leadership opportunities available to members, as well as how to apply for a membership.

Honors Ambassadors are select members of the Elliott T. Bowers Honors College. Chosen through an application and interview process, the Ambassadors represent the Honors College and the university at special events throughout the year.

Honors Ambassadors often meet with visiting alumni, university officials, political representatives or other dignitaries. During special Honors events, the Ambassadors play important roles as hosts and greeters, table leaders or panel participants.

The application deadline is March 15.

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Legal Services Offers Spring Break Safety Tips

Student Legal and Mediation Services will present “Spring Break Kick-Off” on Wednesday (March 8) from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Kat Club.

The presentation will include safety tips and a slideshow on criminal matters, sexual assault and other situations that could arise while students are on spring break.

Mocktails and snacks will be provided for attending students, as well as a prize drawing for two coolers full of spring break essentials. There will also be free-to-play games.

For more information, contact SLMS at slms@shsu.edu.

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Free Percussion Group Concert Set For March 9

The Sam Houston State University School of Music will present a free percussion group concert on Thursday (March 9) at 7:30-9 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

The Sam Houston Percussion Group is under the direction of Associate Professor of Percussion John Lane.

The group is comprised of a select group of students and preforms chamber music.

According to Lane, the group is dedicated to bringing about and championing new and imaginative repertoire for percussion.

The upcoming concert is called “Indivisible” because it explores concepts working together, improvising and collaborating to form the final product, according to Lane.

“One of the problems we face in our current political climate is that we seem to talk past each other and not work together to solve problems,” Lane said. “This program does exactly the opposite. The students have had to work together to realize this music in ways that we normally do not in the course of a typical music concert. These pieces go beyond simply learning notes on a page. It will be a challenging, but memorable concert event.”

Pieces preformed will include “Ryoanji,” composed in 1983; “The Great Knot,” composed in 2011; and “playbook-game 1,” composed in 2016.

“‘Playbook’ is a collection of sound games for standard and homemade percussion instruments,” Lane said.

“Some of the pieces are completely written out, some are vaguely open-ended, and some are completely taught by rote—similarly, some of the 'rules' at play are easier to determine than others,” Lane said. “Regardless, they are all rooted in the sheer curiosity and unabashed joy of what can happen when people make sound—and listen—together.”

Lane hopes to spread a positive message of unity through this concert.

“In the context of recent dramatic social events, which have provoked powerful and emotional responses, I am proud to invite our students, faculty and community to come together to celebrate art, education, and music,” Lane said. “The composer Frederic Rzewski once said that, ‘Music probably can't change the world, but it is a good idea to act as if it could. At the very least you stand a chance of making some good music. And music is always better than no music.’”

Members of the percussion group include Chris Dial, Kin Lam Lam, Kameron Landes, Chandler Long, Garrett Reebenacker, Will Artiga, Joseph Cohn, and Chris Nguyen.

The group has worked alongside and commissioned composers such as John Luther Adams, Mark Applebaum, David Adams, Jeff Herriott, Kyle Gann, and Peter Garland.

Recently the percussion group performed at the National Symphony of Panama, the Alfredo de Saint-Malo International Music Festival, and concerts at the National Institute of Music in Panama.

For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360 or email music@shsu.edu.

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Send Experts, Story Ideas Here

Are you an expert in a topic might be of interest to reporters? Or even a unique topic? Would you like to have your research interests highlighted or discuss your expertise with reporters seeking interviewees?

The university Communications Office is collecting information and story ideas for its ongoing projects, including the online SHSU Experts Guide, the SHSU home page and Today@Sam. 

The SHSU Experts Guide was established as a resource for the media, who turn to university experts lists for potential interviewees for news stories. Faculty who are interested in being a part of the university's database of experts can submit their biographical and personal information, as well as their areas of expertise, through the Experts Guide Submission Form.

Other story ideas, both news and features on faculty or student research and accomplishments can be sent to today@sam.edu or jenniferg@shsu.edu. For news stories, please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.

All information, including news story ideas and update items for Today@Sam, should be sent a minimum of a week in advance of the event in order to make necessary contacts and write a story. Feature story ideas for the SHSU home page ("sliders") should be sent a minimum of two months in advance. 

To see a full list of the Today@Sam submission guidelines, or to access submission forms for news and feature stories or hometown releases, visit the guidelines page.

For more information, call 936.294.1836.

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