Vol. 28 No. 13 - November 13, 2023

The St. Louis Ballet will take to the stage at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 in Baldwin Hall Auditorium to perform selections from the holiday classic “The Nutcracker.”

With choreography by Gen Horiuchi and music by Tchaikovsky, “The Nutcracker,” features company dancers, professional character actors and students from the school of the St. Louis Ballet. This performance will also showcase a fun, contemporary ballet titled “Wake Up!” with music by Joe Morra.

St. Louis Ballet consists of 24 internationally acclaimed dancers. They are recognized as the only professional resident ballet company in the St. Louis region, presenting a season of four fully mounted productions serving 20,000 people in approximately 24 public performances annually. Lauded by critics for their artistic innovation and excellence, they are supported by a wide array of corporations, foundations, arts councils, individual patrons and students.

Tickets are available in the Union & Involvement Office in the Student Union Building, the Advancement Office in McClain Hall 205 or the Admissions Office in the Ruth W. Towne Museum and Visitors Center. Tickets are also available downtown at the Kirksville Arts Association. Any remaining tickets will be available at the window starting 30 minutes before the show.

This season all Kohlenberg Lyceum Series events are provided free of charge thanks to the generous support of local sponsors, the Friends of the Lyceum program and the Truman State University Foundation. Friends of the Lyceum receive exclusive benefits including reserved seating, special parking and a commemorative gift of the season based on the level of their donation.

For more information, visit lyceum.truman.edu or call 660.785.4133.

The week of Nov. 13-17 hundreds of donated items will be tagged with distinctive purple tags in honor of Tag Day.

Each year, generous donors give back to Truman. Their donations help make the Truman experience possible. Established in 2013, Tag Day shows appreciation to these donors and raises awareness of how they impact day-to-day life at Truman.

Donors have a measurable impact in tangible ways, including the Sandra K. Giachino Reavey Sesquicentennial Plaza and Fountain, Red Barn Pavilion and the Del and Norma Robison Planetarium. As well as tangible items, donors also provide support through scholarships and student learning experiences.

In celebration of Tag Day, the Office of Advancement will give away free hot chocolate from 12-2:30 p.m. Nov. 15 by the Student Union Building. Additionally special boards will be located in Starbucks in the Pickler Memorial Library and the entrance to the Baldwin Auditorium throughout the week. Prizes are available for individuals who scan the QR code and share information about themselves and their Truman experience.

Season three of “Tea Time with Sue” is back for a limited run with a new, interactive format.


In future episodes of the show, President Thomas will participate in friendly competitions with students while she conducts informal interviews. Potential games may include: Connect Four; table top cornhole; rock, paper, scissors; and more.

The full first episode of the season can be seen here. Highlights of the show will be shared on Truman’s Instagram.

On the day of his visit, Harrigan will stop by Economic Analysis of Social and Policy Issues course (ECON 345) at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the topic of public choice theory.

President Sue Thomas will host the second Coffee (and Chocolates) for the academic year from 1-2 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Student Union Building Alumni Room. The focus of this event is to provide an update on the status of the Kirk Building renovation and a preview of the soon-to-be-housed New Student Success Center and Sustained Knowledge of Integrated Lifelong Learnings Skills (SKILLS) Center. All faculty and staff are invited. An additional subject-focused coffee and two social opportunities for faculty and staff are planned for later in the semester.

An information session focused on Truman’s online Master of Science in Data Science and Analytic Storytelling will take place at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in Del and Norma Robison Planetarium and via Zoom.

Students in this graduate program will gain knowledge of efficient data collection and interpretation techniques. They will also develop the skills needed to communicate the data through evocative and easy to understand visuals. A tech-related undergraduate degree is not required to pursue this program, all majors are welcome.

During this info session, Omar Gasmann, a current graduate student, will share insights about his experience in the data science program and career opportunities. Hyun-Joo Kim, professor of statistics, interim chair of computer science and program director of data science, will discuss the data science program and help students decide if it is the right fit for them. Stephanie Wilson, graduate admissions counselor, will provide information regarding the graduate admission process.

Students interested in attending can register here. Snacks will be available for those that attend in person.

Truman’s Theatre Department will perform “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15-16 in the James G. Severns Theatre.

This dynamic musical adaptation of Rick Riordan’s bestselling book opened on Broadway in 2019. When teenager Percy Jackson discovers he’s a demigod, he and his friends embark on an epic journey to find Zeus’ missing lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods.

This production features the work of student director Jack Danter. The three leading actors are Lydia Lamb as Percy, Margan Youngstrom as Annabeth, and Parker Shin as Grover. This fast-paced musical features fight choreography by Gael Jenks and dance choreography by Danter.

The show will last approximately two hours with one intermission. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at boxoffice.truman.edu. For more information, contact the Truman Theatre Box Office at 660.785.4515 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Bulldog Pitch Day will take place at 1 p.m. with nearly 40 high school students competing for $1,000 in awards. First place will receive $500, second place will receive $300 and third place will receive $200.

The final round of Bulldog B.I.T.E. Pitch Competition will take place at 2:25 p.m. with six pitches vying for $6,000 in awards. First place will receive the Amanda Gioia Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award of $3,000, second place will receive $2,000 and third place will receive $1,000.

 
The next round of data science thesis defenses is open to the public and will take place at 2 p.m. Nov. 16 in Violette Hall 1220 or via Zoom.

Each presentation will start with a 10-15 minute public presentation aimed at communicating the thesis to a non-technical audience, followed by a short question-and-answer session. The same candidate will then move into a longer, more technical presentation designed to go deeper into the data science concepts and ideas used within the thesis, followed by an additional Q&A session.
 
The data science master’s thesis presentations continue to cover a variety of topics, including generic drug rollouts, utilizing ChatGPT3 to recreate poetry, analyzing K-12 education funding and outcomes, turning a famous 400-year-old book about the ancient world into a useful data set, rainwater collection practices, managing power plants and more.

The schedule for the next round of defenses:

“Success factors in Wisconsin school districts by locale”
Kim Rolands
2 p.m.

“Understanding the cost of healthcare inpatient services”
Brianna Carter
3 p.m.

Break
4 p.m.

“License Plate Recognition through Neural Networks”
Olivia Halma
4:15 p.m.

“Identifying Architectural Styles from Photographs”
Megan Folken
5:15 p.m.

Students who want to live on campus during the 2024-25 academic year can start planning where they and their friends might like to reside.

The housing portal is now open for students interested in living on campus during the 2024-25 academic year. Residence Life is offering new options for next year, including expanded pet housing and more deluxe doubles in some residence halls at the same price as a regular double room, as well as more single-occupancy availability.

In former triple occupancy rooms in Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall, which were rarely in demand, students will now have the option to secure a deluxe double room for the same price as a standard double. For upper-class students, Campbell Apartments will also offer single-occupancy options for the first time.

“Returning students living on campus have more options than a first-year student because returning students self-select their room earlier,” said Jamie Van Boxel, director of Residence Life. “Returning students can group up with their friends to take over a section of a residence hall or a group of apartments in Campbell. Returning students also have the opportunity to live in larger rooms or in an on-campus apartment with more space with a roommate of their choosing.”

On-campus housing will be available in Missouri Hall, Ryle Hall, West Campus Suites, Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall and Campbell Apartments. Due to the Dobson Hall parking lot being utilized as a construction staging area, that hall will not be available. As a result, additional options will be available in West Campus Suites and, if needed, Missouri Hall.

“From a community building standpoint, this will allow us to offer a better student experience,” Van Boxel said. “Having more students in some of our more in-demand locations and room types will give students more opportunities to meet one another, make friends and have access to a full range of services.”

Pet housing will still be offered for the 2024-25 academic in the south wing of Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall. The demand for pet-friendly housing has increased every year since the option was first offered in 2021. More information about pet-friendly housing can be found online.

Students planning to live on campus are encouraged to submit their housing application as soon as possible. Room self-selection begins Feb. 15 for returning students and April 3 for new incoming students. More information regarding the room self-selection timeline can be found online here. Questions about the housing process can be directed to Residence Life at 660.785.4227 or reslife@truman.edu.

Union & Involvement Services will continue accepting Spring 2024 Lottery requests on a first-come first-serve basis. These submissions will be processed after priority consideration lottery, which ended Nov. 3. Forms can be found here. Paper forms will not be accepted. Contact the Union & Involvement Services Office at union@truman.edu or 660.785.4222 for more information.

CLAS 310: Classical Antiquity on Screen taught by Amy Norgard is available to take in the spring 2024 semester.

This class will study film, TV and video games set in/around the ancient Mediterranean. Particular attention will be paid to how different forms of screen media influence each other and work together to communicate different notions of the ancient past to modern audiences. Class time may be spent in Truman’s Esports gaming facility playing ancient world video games. Students will be able to access the Esports center outside of class to log hours for gaming homework.

This class counts for the arts and humanities perspective and the aesthetic area of the film studies minor. Contact anorgard@truman.edu with any questions.

The next issue of the Truman Today will be available Nov. 27.

At the Norton Speech Tournament, two Truman competitors advanced to the semifinals, senior Ella Schnake in prose and sophomore Alexis Peterson in impromptu speaking. Schnake also secured the position of tournament runner-up in dramatic interpretation, earning her qualification for the National Forensics Tournament (NFA) in DI. Other teammates in attendance included senior students Megan Ford and Jillian Humke, as well as sophomores Briggs Maynor and Jessie Philips.

At the ISU debate tournament, seniors Alicia Stout and Elijah Baum advanced to elimination rounds and finished as octo-finalists (top 16). Both seniors earned recognition as Baum finished as the fifth speaker, and Stout finished as second speaker. Other teammates in attendance included senior Eli Bartz, sophomore Aidan Bressawitz, and freshmen Peyton Luaders, Frankie Schuman and Ben Croat.

Any alumni interested in judging or students interested in joining the Forensics Union should contact Ben Davis, director of forensics, at bdavis@truman.edu.

Two Truman English majors presented their original research at the Missouri Folklore Society conference in Boonville, Nov. 3. Lucy McCormick studied “Non-Traditional Traditions Among St. Louis Catholics” and Gracie Doolin discussed the folkways of librarians. Jocelyn Cullity, associate professor of English, spoke as part of a panel of historical novelists.

Truman Media Network earned 10th place for best website at the Fall National College Media Convention’s Best of Show competition in Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 29-Nov. 2.

TMN competed in the four-year, 15,000 students or fewer category. The website is maintained by Rahul Chaudhari, digital director. TMN members Madison Backes, Sydney Ellison, Grace Potter, Mark Fisher and Toby Parker attended the convention, as well as Don Krause, Index advisor.

The convention brought student journalists from across the country to attend sessions taught by professional journalists, designers, editors and photographers.

“I enjoyed networking with other students and professionals in the industry and learning how to improve my journalism back home,” said Backes, 88.7 KTRM station manager.

The convention had keynote speeches from; Charles M. Blow, New York Times columnist; M. Alexis Scott, former vice president of The Atlanta Daily World; Ernie Suggs, journalist and film producer; and George Chidi, freelance journalist.

“I really liked being around a bunch of people who have the same goals, and it was very inspiring to see how much other people have done,” said Potter, news editor.