The Western Concept

by Beth Hurt 

Audiences, make way for the Dickinson State University theatre and dance program’s eventful season! “The 2006-07 season looks to be full of fun for our audiences and creative opportunity for our students,” says Dr. Ken Haught, chair of the Fine Arts Department. Ron Gingerich, Technical Director for the program, states that, “It will be a very challenging season. We have chosen a wide variety of shows from a contemporary musical to Shakespeare.”

The musical Urinetown will kick off the season, directed by Gingerich. “I think people will enjoy the show if they can get past the title and come see it,” says the director. “The style, music, and humor are contemporary and unlike anything we have done on this stage since I have been here [at DSU]. It is not dirty or obscene in any way, again unless you find the title offensive, but the satire and commentary is for an older frame of reference.”

Urinetown is the story of a drought-invaded city where water is so short that citizens are forced to pay a tax to an evil corporation in order to use the public amenities. Luckily, a fearless leader arises from the people to lead a revolution against their officials. Blending politics with humor, song, and dance, this performance is sure to have audiences captivated. Performance dates are October 26, 27, and 28th at 8:00 p.m. and October 29th at 2:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Stickney Auditorium.

In December, audiences can come see a thrilling performance of Lady of the Camellias in the Backstage Theatre, directed by Dr. Ken Haught. This particular play is based on the timeless novel by Alexander Dumas and follows the story of a beautiful young courtesan and a young man named Armand. Can fate prove mightier than true love? To learn the answer to that, come and see one of six performances: November 30th and December 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9th at 8:00 p.m.

February will bring yet another theatrical production, as Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost hits the stage, directed by Gingerich. This zany tale is about four noblemen who give up all pleasures, especially women, in order to devote themselves to their studies. However, when four attractive ladies come to town, the men begin to question their own willpower. The play will show February 15th, 16th, and 17th at 7:30 p.m. and February 18th at 2:30. All performances will be in Dorothy Stickney Auditorium.

Following the close of Love’s Labor’s Lost, will be the fifth annual “Alcohol Awareness Through the Arts” program, or AATTA. The AATTA is primarily put on by Form and Fusion, DSU’s ever-expanding dance company. “The Dance Program continues to grow in numbers and improve in quality. And for that I am so blessed,” says Artistic Director, Pattie Carr. While AATTA began with Form and Fusion, many different areas of the Arts are used to address the potentially negative results of binge drinking. An art display, short story and poetry readings, and musical performances will also help in stressing the importance of the matter.

“This year we also have the privilege of performing at the Arts and Humanities Summit,” says Carr. At the state-wide summit, Form and Fusion will be given 50 minutes to perform for the North Dakota University System.

In April, the Theatre Department will present its final play of the season, The Miss Firecracker Contest by Beth Henley. This play will be directed by Dr. Haught and tells the story of a young woman who tries to redefine herself by winning a local beauty contest. Described as hilarious yet touching, seven performances will be shown in the Backstage Theatre April 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28th at 8:00 p.m. and April 29th at 2:30 p.m.

To conclude an exciting year will be Form and Fusion’s annual spring dance performance. As always, the performance will offer a wide variety of dance styles, including ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and many more. Says Pattie Carr, “Form and Fusion has become the quality company it has become due to the students’ dedication and commitment. They take their work and the efforts of the group very seriously and the program continues to grow and improve because of them.”

Form and Fusion will have two performances, May 4th and 5th at 8:00 p.m. in the Dorothy Stickney Auditorium. To reserve seats for this or any of the dance or theatre performances, call 483-2154. We’ll see you at the show!

by Meghan Bartz 

Dr. Elizabeth Lasley, is a new member to the Teachers Education department. Lasley is originally from Denton, Texas. She commuted to Dallas to work. She received her Ph.D. at Texas Woman’s University. Prior to coming to Dickinson State University, Lasley worked as a third grade English and as a second language teacher. She has been teaching at elementary and college level for about 27 years.

She said that she finds North Dakota to be a culture shock. It doesn’t take an hour to drive to a mall and it only takes roughly an hour to drive to Bismarck. She said she was told it snows. Her expectations for the year are to survive. Other than that, she hopes to help students succeed with their goals and expectations and to facilitate learning.

Dr. Rebecca Pitkin is a new faculty member in the Teacher Education Department. Originally Pitkin is from Massachusetts; however, she has lived in 12 states and came to Dickinson from Iowa. For the past three years, Pitkin has been teaching in teachers’ education and qualitative research.

When asked about the community and how it is different, the first word that came out of her mouth was windy. Then, of course, she listed off other words. She said that the community is friendly and she likes the fact that there are minimal traffic problems. She also likes the ample amount of coffee shops. However, she wishes there was a Target. Her plans and expectations for the year are first to be an effective professor, then to stay warm. She also plans to go to the Mall of America on weekends and ski.

by Kristi Heinrich

This particular phrase is the motto for the Dickinson State University’s Campus Activities Board. You may be wondering how CAB could possibly be spending your money. If you are in anyway associated with DSU as a student, some of what you pay goes toward the events CAB organizes. If a student does not attend an event sponsored by CAB, he or she is literally paying for someone else to go and have a good time. CAB is an organization developed to give DSU students entertainment over the weekend as well as during the week. A lot of hard work and decision making is put into the organization of all these activities; those who are involved in this process are dedicated and strive to make each event more fun than the last.

A popular recurring event that CAB puts on is the weekend dance. At their last meeting, the members spoke about putting on at least three per month. Some other fun and exciting activities are bingo and game show nights, dinner socials, and movies held in Beck Auditorium. Movies for the month of September include “Click”—already shown—and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” on Wednesday, September 20th (7p.m. & 9:30p.m.).

In the past, CAB was was called “older than average” and out of date as a student organization. The Campus Activities Board is most certainly not older than average. Its members are still attending classes here at DSU and there a few new members (freshman of the university) joining the group. Even though there are few members of this club, each one has a creative, imaginative mind that allows for it to stay alive. This is also how CAB is able to make so many fun activities available for the students here on campus. All activities are also free to every DSU student, so there is no reason why any one student should not attend.

Jaquetta Hancock, the president of CAB stated, “I just want to entertain the students. I want to appeal and entertain to the diversity of this university.” That is exactly what CAB is there to do.

If you are interested in being a part of CAB, meetings are held every second and fourth Thursday of the month at 9:00 p.m. in the Student Center ballroom.

by Les Hancock 

The hail storms of last year brought a new roof to May Hall late this summer. Equipment, including a crane visible from across town, blocked off a major portion of the rear parking areas of May Hall as classes began and work concluded. Woods Hall also received roofing this past summer to repair the damage wrought upon it by these same hail storms.

Delong Hall was closed down during the summer as plumbing work was under way. This was the second phase in the replacement of the old cast iron plumbing with P.V.C. pipe. The first portion of this project began last summer and now, with the completion of the project, the plumbing in Delong Hall has been brought up to date and up to code.

An electrical fire broke out in the north campus housing over the summer. No injures were reported though damage was extensive. Repairs are currently underway on the apartment building to get it back into rental shape, hopefully by the end of October.

With Phase I completed last year, Murphy Hall Phase II improvements are progressing. The work is slated for completion by December 31, and while it is difficult to say if that deadline will be met, officials are pushing hard to accomplish it.

This past spring, steam was seen seeping from the soil between May Hall and Murphy Hall. A steam line has eroded to the point of rupture, allowing the seepage. There is a project currently underway to replace that line. The pipe is backlogged/backordered, but should be here by the middle to the end of September. There is an estimated timeline of three weeks to get that installed. Expect a disruption to the parking behind May Hall; however, if anyone needs assistance, arrangements will be made to get people in so they are able to use the elevator on the ground floor.

Damaged trees were removed from Dickinson State property over the summer; some of the trees were on top of the damaged steam line.

Stickney Auditorium has undergone a rewiring project. In addition to new wiring, Stickney Auditorium received all new light control panels in the main stage as well as in the back stage areas, bringing everything to state of the art as far as lighting goes. This project was brought about by malfunctions to the point that the old wiring and lighting systems could not be relied upon to operate effectively enough for the school to bring in and sponsor major events.

by Casey Neumiller 

Since you’re reading this, you clearly have found the Western Concept. As Dickinson State University’s student news source, I hope you’ve already bookmarked the site and intend on returning again.

It’s my pleasure to bring the Concept back into publication again. Sure, it isn’t the old newspaper-style print, but it’s now a form that’s extremely accessible. With all this new-fangled technology all over campus, it’s probably easier to find a computer nowadays than a print copy of a newspaper anyways.

I’m happy to have our kickoff issue out. While it’s certainly not as large as the regular issues you’ll expect every two weeks, it’s full of valuable information to help you kick off your semester at Dickinson State. From sports previews to new professors to movie reviews, it’s here. We even have a guest column with advice for college living by a DSU alumni (an editor himself for The Washburn Leader).

I can say it’s my honor to be at the helm of this project for the year. I was fortunate to run across a flier advertising an opening for the assistant editor of the Concept last year. A night of caffeine and resume-writing later, I submitted an application. To my utter surprise, I was hired a few weeks later after an interview with the Student Board of Publications.

And now I’m going to use my little moment of fame to self-promote. After all, if you have the microphone, why not use it? For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Casey Neumiller, a senior Secondary English Education and Computer Science double-major. I’ve been working hard for some time here at DSU, cramming four years of college into six. I like long walks on the beach of Patterson Lake, and…Oh, sorry. My advisor just informed me this wasn’t supposed to be a personal ad.

At any rate, the Concept is back, and it’s good to be a part of this Dickinson State tradition. I won’t bore you yet, but welcome back to campus. I hope you enjoy the ride we’re about to take you on.

by Cassandra Moos 

There’s a little bit of devil in all of us as Andy, played by actress Anne Hathaway, learns while working for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), a top-of-the-line fashion guru. As Andy starts her job for Runway Magazine, she soon realizes that hard work and smarts don’t get you where you want to be. So Andy takes her frumpy clothes and “Plain Jane” makeup sense and does a complete one-eighty with her style to become one of the best looking Runway girls around. Though she only has to survive working for Miranda for one year to pursue her career in journalism at any magazine or newspaper in the country, she realizes that it’s going to be way more than she bargains for. Her personal life with friends and family begin to suffer, she has no personal time for herself and finds that she can’t make her own career advances without disappointing her boss.

This movie was a delightful experience. It left me asking myself, “What would I do in her situation?” or, “Would I let a career opportunity get that far?” Both actresses, Hathaway and Streep, were perfect for the parts. We are used to seeing Hathaway go from frump to glam, this movie was no exception. Streep played another marvelous roll and continues her claim to fame and ability to play any role given to her.

I recommend this movie to men and women alike. Though it is a stereotypical “chick flick”, I feel that men will walk away with a new understanding for what women go through at work with having to “dress to impress” and I feel that women will walk away realizing that work isn’t everything or that the models or celebrities that they so value and treasure don’t always have a glamorous life.

by Chris Timm 

Got a problem? Want to know who to talk to get some kind of an answer? The Student Senate is an organization which was created for exactly this: helping students with problems. Not the ones you’d see a therapist for, but ones a little less complex and a little more immediate to your college education.

The Student Senate is the student governing body. Anything the students have a say in is brought to the Senate—not by magic, but by your voice. If you’d like longer hours in the library because the library schedule just doesn’t give you adequate time to study, you’d bring this to the Student Senate.

They meet every Thursday at noon in the Student Association Meeting Room—Room 112 in the Student Center. From there, they work within their power to get things done. Because the higher-ups in the campus administration are a little too busy to listen to every single student’s request, the Student Senate acts as a liaison between the students and the administration. They can’t solve every little problem, but they work for the greater good of the entire student body. Any needs you think you have that are shared by the student body can be brought up in their meetings on Thursdays at noon—anyone is welcome.

President Jami Arnold states she, “wants it [Student Senate] to be more in touch with the students— kind of an open forum,” which is why meetings are open to everyone. Anyone attending these meetings is allowed to have a voice but cannot participate in the voting. It’s important you let the Student Senate know what you want because, as Arnold will tell you herself, “We want students to come to us so we know what they want.” The Senate does not want to “do stuff because we think that’s what students want. We want to do things we know they want.”

Thirteen senators, including four officers, compose the Dickinson State Student Senate. Officers are: President Jami Arnold, Treasurer Leanna Marcusen, and Secretary Bradley Auch. Six of the thirteen Senators, aside from the officers, have been named for the year. They are: Senator Tom Arnold, Senator Becky Bronson, Senator Lydia Johnson, Senator Nickito Johnson, Senator Megan Wagner, and Senator Alexy Schedrov.

There are three Senator positions available right now. Two are senator-at-large positions and one is a Freshman Senate position. Elections are September 19th.

The Student Senate is also in charge of many activities that make student campus life a lot easier. In response to the high cost of new text books, the Senate now organizes a bi-annual Book Swap. There is also a transportation program to shuttle students to the airport during the holidays, as well as to assist students without vehicles in attaining things needed from uptown about once a week.

For those of us who don’t really have any plans for spring break, they are working on a spring break trip—possibly to the Bahamas. It’s not really set in stone yet, but Senator Nickito Johnson is talking to his contacts and is hoping to get some results soon to get this ball rolling for spring break 2007.

The Student Senate may be considered boring, but while maintaining a good work ethic, they also manage to have a couple of laughs. One of the most important organizations on campus, their lack would be felt while to maintain any other organization.

Another function of the Student Senate is pulling the purse strings. Each student organization on campus is allotted $1,500—that is, if it is proven that it will be used for a legitimate purpose. Most groups use their allotment to plan trips that relate to the function of the group or organization, or to pull in speakers to come and speak on topics relating to the function of the group.

An important topic for the Student Senate is the legislative year. The reality that they have an opportunity to make a difference, if they take the correct approach, was discussed briefly in their last meeting. The state of North Dakota’s college students are finishing school with the third highest debt in the nation. President Arnold briefly discussed her plans to approach the NDSA on the possibility of a tuition cap—showing just how in tune with the rest of the campus the Student Senate remains.

by Cassandra Moos

Yo-ho, Yo-ho, it is a pirate’s life for me! Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was anything but a blockbuster bust. This movie had audiences of all ages on the edge of their seats and even jumping back into them with this action packed adventure. Though this movie lacked a little of the slower paced movement and graphics to suit a younger audience, Dead Man’s Chest succeeded in keeping up with the witty humor, crazy love triangles, and amazing characters and scene design that it had in the first movie.

With this movie, Disney brought back our beloved Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), William Turner (Orlando Bloom), and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) to continue on with their lives after “the day they almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow”. The film picks up with the almost wedding of Ms. Swan and Mr. Turner, but as luck has it, a warrant is out for their arrest so they can help capture the infamous Jack Sparrow—or rather, the self-proclaimed Captain Jack Sparrow. On their quest, Turner meets his father—lost to Davy Jones’ locker when Turner was just a young boy—and learns that Sparrow has been cursed with the Black Spot. The only way to free Sparrow from his curse and to save one-hundred other souls is to find the Dead Man’s Chest. Ms. Swan finds she wants in on the action as well and decides that she must find Sparrow, who in turn tells her that she must also find Turner. Along the way Sparrow throws a few blunt attempts to attract Swan to himself and almost succeeds, creating a much anticipated argument for the third movie.

This was a summer movie must see, and if you haven’t seen it yet, do so before the third one comes to theatres this May. However, movie goers, I must warn you—the anticipation between now and then may leave you wanting more.

Cory Neumiller, Guest Columnist 

It has been four years since I walked out of DSU with a degree in one hand and a student loan note in the other. Back then, the college had a rip snorting Western Concept newspaper that covered everything from squirrels on the roof of May Hall to the time somebody carved his name in the bark of a tree on campus. It appears to me that they’ve lowered their standards a fair amount as now they’ve asked me to do a guest editorial.

I haven’t been on campus in a while, but I’m guessing not much has changed. Of course, tuition has gone up, but the potato salad in the lunch room is probably from the same batch they whipped up when I was there. I also heard the Rattlesnake closed, which was really sad for me, as it was the first place I was kicked out of when I moved to Dickinson. Other than that, it hasn’t changed much since Roosevelt, so I thought I would give you a little free advice, and maybe it could save you a few steps in the wrong direction, or at least a fair amount of bail money.

First, jobs during college are not worth your time. Repeat after me, “I will be broke when I leave. I will be broke when I leave.” The sooner you come to realize that, the sooner you can spent that extra ten bucks on an inflatable parrot for your dorm room, and spend your evenings cruising Paterson Lake looking for piranhas instead of joining the cult/staff at Applebees.

Six years at one school isn’t that long.

Next, when the professor says to read pages six through 342 for Wednesday, just realize you are screwed before you even start. If you try, you will be the only one. Sit next to somebody smart and nod your head when she answers questions correctly. Keep in mind she didn’t read it either, but was just born much smarter than you. It will make you look like you read. That is how I passed British Lit and met my wife. Use the time you saved on reading to run out to the Buckskin in Killdeer.

Rent Animal House.

Get involved in some college activities. I joined the Poets Club early on. Meetings were at the Rock, and dues were $1.25 a glass. I tried intramurals, but you often had to run in those activities, and it wasn’t worth it.

Run only if somebody is chasing you.

Road trips are the key to college sanity. I’m sure Dickinson is as happenin’ now as it was back then, so you’ll probably need to get out. Six guys in a Ford Festiva for twelve consecutive hours will make you appreciate staying at college on Fridays more than just about anything else. Especially the guy riding on the shifter – he’ll want to go back to class almost immediately upon pulling onto the interstate.

Other than that, just play it by ear. And if you do notice a squirrel on the roof of May, give the staff at the Western Concept a call. They’ll need the material.

Cory Neumiller is a Dickinson State alumni. He lives with his wife Nicole in Washburn, North Dakota where he is currently the editor of The Leader News.

by Les Hancock 

Night Hawks, the Campus Activities Board’s substance-free program, will be hosting their first annual charity dinner auction on Friday, September 15, 2006 in the Student Center ballroom.

Various clubs and organizations from campus have donated meals to be auctioned; the proceeds will go to the charity of the donor’s choice. Ag Club and 4-H, the International Club, Soccer Club, the Academic Success Center, and S. O. T. A. are just a few of the clubs and organizations to donate to this dinner. The Domestic Violence Intervention Center, the Red Cross, the United Way, and Oreo are a few of the charities that will benefit from this dinner auction. Meals to be auctioned include Italian, Mexican, German, Southern, Lasagna, Pizza, and an International Buffet.

D. Praus, the auctioneer for the evening, will begin the Auction at 5:00 p.m. sharp and will begin with ten ribeye steak dinners. There should be something to accommodate any taste bud or appetites.

Come and enjoy a dinner and friendship while helping charities. There will also be a free-will offering table provided by Night Hawks with fried chicken and salads.