“All in the Timing” by David Ives was performed on Nov. 8, 9 and 10 at the Potter Hall Black Box Theatre.

There were a series of six-one act plays each night directed by 15 student directors and about 23 student actors. There were nine different plays shown from the book during the three nights. Attendance topped out at 121 with 17 vacant seats during the three nights. The admission fee was $4 a night. The acts played out were English Made Simple, Philip Glass Buys A Loaf of Bread, Mere Mortals, The Philadelphia, Variations of the Death of Trotsky, Sure Thing, Universal Language, A Singular Kind of Guy and Words, Words, Words. (Full story)

Missouri Western’s Study Away program announced the trips for the Spring 2008 semester recently. The trips include an Art class going to New York, a Biology class going to San Salvador Island, an English class going to London, and a Law class heading to Washington D.C.

Director of Study Away, Dr. Karen Fulton, says it is important for students to be able to go somewhere and experience a different culture.

“Basically, it changes the way you look at the world,” Fulton said. “Being in a different culture really profoundly affects you for the rest of your life.” (Full story)

The stories, formats and topics were diverse but the common thread at the Prairie Lands Writing Project presentation “Writing Teachers Write VI” was talent.

Tom Pankiewicz, assistant professor of English and the PLWP institute’s director selects the people who will read their work primarily from participants in the PLWP summer program.

“The hard part is I only have time to use eight of them…because I probably could have chosen 28.  I only have two hours,” Pankiewicz said.

PLWP works with teachers at grade levels from kindergarten through university to improve teaching of writing though working on writing projects.

Jill Steinmetz presented an essay on the perils of virtual communication. 

Tina Janc wrote about a storm in Italy and faith in her husband overcoming fear.  (Full story)

A sampling of microorganisms in Agenstein Hall uncovers a currently unnamed bacteriocin that can survive in temperature that reach minus 20 degrees Celsius and can kill other organisms.

Dr. Jason Baker of the biology department came across this bacterium during a class that collected specimens. Through a microscope he saw that nothing was growing around it.

“It grew up on a plate and nothing grew around it,” Baker said. “There was a zone of killing and that’s how I noticed it.”
He became interested in what was taking place and wanted to identify the bacteria. In the process of identifying it, he was given two possibilities. Judith Knadler, an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim and Western student, had access to a Vetmedica.
That analysis identified it as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. A different analysis named it Brevibacterium halotolerans. Neither species have been heavily studied. Baker simply refers to the specimen as Bacteriocin X. (Full story)

Readers, students, professors, and community members gath­ered in Kemper Recital Hall last Tuesday for the 11th annual reading of challenged and banned books.

The list of books read includ­ed popular works such as The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier. Some lesser known works read were The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende and The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar. (Full story)

There is an alternative to the usual general studies program with less sitting in classrooms, less listening to lectures and writ­ing isolated papers. 

It’s called the outdoor semester and while it includes classes, you also get to travel to outdoor settings while you are learning.

According to the brochure, students “learn how the land shaped people’s lives. Read their stories. Listen to drums, fiddles and flutes.  Hike, camp, canoe, horseback ride, rock climb and white water raft your way to a new relationship with the natural world.” (Full story)

This month’s Board of Governors meeting discussed many issues around campus. (Full story)