DSU’s String Ensemble March 28, 2007
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by Jessina Aluise
Every Wednesday at noon a small group of people meet in the choir room of Dickinson State University. They do not meet to sing; but they are making music of a different kind. The group meets to play violin, viola, cello, and bass in hopes to be the founders of what could one day be Dickinson State’s own orchestra.This small string ensemble has been in the making for nearly two years. It started out as a few violin players getting together every week to jam, led by Ella Neishem. Word of the group spread and soon a few cello players joined up as well. One of those cello players is Priscilla Keogh, a music instructor here at DSU, who now oversees the Wednesday string class. During the fall 2006 semester, string teacher Scott Neumann would drive to Dickinson from Bismarck to teach violin, viola, cello and bass to a small group of willing pupils. He proved to be a valuable asset, providing instruments, music books and knowledge to people at DSU. The spring 2007 semester was the first time that the string class was offered for college credit. Right now the group consists of about twelve people of a wide variety of ages. The group is working on a variety of songs and each week sees improvement. The group even has plans to accompany a song for DSU’s chorale concert on April 15.
Anyone is welcome to join the group as it continues to grow. Anyone interested can e-mail Priscilla Keogh at keogh@goesp.com.
Uses for Tooth-paste March 19, 2007
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by Les Hancock
1. To polish up your jewelry simply apply a small portion of tooth-paste to a soft bristle tooth-brush and buff the jewelry to a nice shine. Rinse under warm running water while continuing to brush in order to remove excess tooth-paste from jewelry and tooth-brush.
2. To clean C.D.s, simply apply a small amount of your favorite brand of tooth-paste to the face, (shinny side), of the C.D., rub over the entire face with your finger tip until the C.D. is covered. Rinse under warm running water, rubbing if necessary to remove all tooth-paste, allow C.D. to dry. (Be sure the water is not hot enough to scald or burn your fingers.)
3. Need to patch small nail holes in the walls? Apply a small portion of generic tooth-paste to your finger and rub it into place and allow time to dry. Generic tooth-paste sets up the hardest and dries white. It is also sandable and paintable and known as poor man’s spackle.
4. Need to reseal an envelope or stick something together? Simply apply a small portion of your favorite brand of tooth-paste to your finger tip and rub it on the envelope flap or apply a tiny portion to the back side of what you are trying to stick together. Works well on stamps that have lost their sticky.
FIRST LINK formerly known as the PIPELNE March 19, 2007
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by Les Hancock
Would you like to help someone and feel good about yourself while building a better resume? If so, then FIRST LINK is for you. First link is a non-profit organization in place to help people who want to volunteer find the companies looking for their particular talents.
Some examples are, for those who want to work with animals First Link could hook you up with Oreo or the Pet Project, if helping senior citizens is for you then First Link could hook you up with Elder Care or Meals on Wheels, or if your cup of tea is carpentry then perhaps First Link could hook you up with Habitat for Humanity.
“But I’m a college student and don’t have time to volunteer, why should I go work someplace for free?” Employers are always looking for a resume from a potential employee who demonstrates that he/she is willing to go the extra mile and what could possibly show that willingness than a volunteer section on your resume. Along with a wonderful feeling of contributing, you can add a valuable asset to any resume simply by volunteering a few hours of you time.
Another possibility for volunteering is through the C.E.R.T. (community emergency response team) program. The C.E.R.T. program offers training to enable you to better know what to do in the case of a disaster. C.E.R.T. training does not usually put people on the front lines of an emergency. The fire and rescue people as well as the paramedics and other emergency personal will still do their jobs; however, C.E.R.T. members still play an important role in many natural disasters.
For more information on a variety of volunteer positions available as well as possible links to various internships contact Gail Weisenberger at
FIRST LINK VOLUNTEER CENTER (701)-227-0131 or dickinsonvc@myfirstlink.org or you may stop be her office located at 202 W. Villard, (the Community Action Building).
Naturally 7 Presents a New Vocal Styling to DSU 3/7/07 March 8, 2007
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by Kristi Heinrich
On, Wednesday, March 7th the Campus Activities Board of DSU sponsored another musical event. Those of Dickinson State University and the Dickinson community watched a different kind of musical group perform. “You can hear instruments, but you can’t see any!” is what this group is about. Naturally 7 consists of 7 men, who do nothing but make music solely using human voices. Each has his own special talents: one “plays” the drums, the other the harmonica, another, the trombone and even an electric guitar. It’s something they call “vocal play”, singing, as well as using their voices to play instruments. They entertained all who attended Wednesday night at 7:00pm in Dorothy Stickney Auditorium, with this vocal styling, even singing a cappella (without “instruments”) with songs like “Amazing Grace” and the first song they learned as a group, “Bless This House” (a gospel song). This group has been successful in Europe with Top 10 hits in countries like France and Italy. Naturally 7 is unique, extremely talented, and quite unlike any other group we’ve seen.
Solo Artist, Shevy Smith Performed at DSU 3/5/07 March 8, 2007
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by Kristi Heinrich
For the first performance for the month of March, the Campus Activities Board of Dickinson State University, arranged for a solo artist to perform for the DSU community in a Coffee House. Shevy Smith, a new and upcoming musician performed in the student center lounge on Monday, March 5th.Shevy is from a small area in Kansas and has been singing ever since she was four years old. She is currently on tour in the United Statesgoing to the colleges in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, etc. Her music tells her audience stories of her past, present and future as she sings of listening to oldies radio, relationships, and finding the right path in life.While performing for her DSU audience she told stories behind the songs she sang and asked for everyone to sing and clap along, all while playing the guitar. It’s just her and her guitar on stage, and it is easy to tell, that’s the place she belongs and wants to be.
A Glimpse into the Life of Dr. Ford March 8, 2007
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by Jessina Aluise
Dickinson State University’s Dr. Deborah Ford can honestly say “been there, done that.” Anyone who has a little bit of an adventurous spirit can easily become inspired after visiting with Dr. Ford for a few minutes.
Deborah Ford was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. After she graduated, she moved to Manhattan and lived there for ten years. Dr. Ford is not one to stay in one place, however, and she soon embarked on a journey to obtain a total of five degrees. She attended universities in Brooklyn, Santa Fe and Mississippi where she received both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in English, a PhD in English, a Master’s Degree in Liberal Education, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health.
She taught at Carroll College in Montana, the University of Southern Mississippi, and at colleges overseas; these colleges were in China, Colombia, and Denmark. If there was any sort of language barrier for Dr. Ford when she taught overseas, it was a small one. She studied Chinese in high school thanks to a grant she received from the Carnegie Foundation and English is the second official language of Denmark. She stated it is easy to learn languages when immersed in them.
So how did Dr. Ford end up in Dickinson, North Dakota? She came for a job interview at DSU in August of 2000. She described it as a “beautiful summer day” and fell in love with the small town atmosphere. Dr. Ford was originally hired as a DSU administrator in the fall of 2000. She left soon after that and came back three years ago as an adjunct professor in the Language and Literature Department and began working full time last year. She teaches Composition, Secondary English Education Methods classes, Adolescent Literature, and Mythology.
In her spare time, Dr. Ford enjoys writing poetry, cooking, traveling and reading. She just finished teaching a Communiversity class on Mayan culture. Her knowledge of this subject is vast as she visited all of the historical Mayan sites in Mexico and South America.
Communiversity stands for Community University and is a series of classes offered every Sunday afternoon in February. It is a chance for DSU faculty to teach classes to members of the community. This year, Dr. Ford had 25 people attend her class, and she was excited about the turnout. Last year, she taught a class on poetry to 14 people and considered that a pretty good number.
Needless to say, there never seems to be a dull moment in Dr. Ford’s life.
Dr. Corinne Krauss Interview March 5, 2007
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by Jessina Aluise
The Department of Natural Sciences at Dickinson State University is undergoing a major face lift in more ways than one. Dr. Corinne Krauss, faculty member of the DSU’s Natural Science Department, provided some insight into these changes in a recent interview.
Dr. Krauss, who is currently in her third year as an instructor here at DSU, has seen many changes take place in the Science Department. The most noticeable change, of course, has been Murphy Hall itself. The new addition to the building is complete and the old portion of the building is nearing completion. Although the old building was functional, it was past its prime. This new building contains new equipment, updated labs, and a lot more space.
Another change saw the hiring of Dr. Deborah DeMarey. Dr. DeMarey teaches Botany and is in charge of the greenhouse that was part of the addition to Murphy Hall. However, change also came with the loss of another professor.
With the loss of a Biology professor this semester, many faculty members of the Natural Sciences Department had to take over his classes. Dr. Krauss, herself, took over some of these classes. As of now, there are actually two positions open in the Science Department. Dr. Krauss says that this is a great opportunity to expand DSU’s Science Department.
With plans in place to hire on two new faculty members by the Fall 2007 semester, the Science Department will have the opportunity to offer more classes; this means that some classes that are currently offered every other year would be offered more often. These new hires would only enhance a team that Dr. Krauss says is already a “strong department who is willing to work together.”
Dr. Corrine Krauss is teaches Physics at DSU and has taken over some other classes this semester as well. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Montana State University in Bozeman. She then went on to get her Master’s Degree and her Doctorate from the University of
Colorado in Boulder.
