PSU students provide tax assistance

Pittsburg State University accounting students are helping take some of the sting out of tax time by providing free income tax assistance for PSU students and community members.

The students, under the supervision of Dr. Becky Heath, an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Charles Heath, director of the Mid-America CDC, will help prepare income tax forms for PSU students and members of the community with an income of $35,000 or less. This service is part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.

The tax assistance site, which is located in the computer lab of Kelce Hall, will be open from 5-9 p.m. each Wednesday and from 1-5 p.m. every other Sunday beginning Feb. 1. The dates are: Feb. 1, 5, 8, 15, 19, 22; Feb. 1, 5, 8, 15, 29; and March 2, 5, 12.

For more information, please contact Dr. Becky Heath at 620-235-6197, ; or Charles Heath at 620-235-4924, .

For information about the VITA program, visit their Web site at .

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Southeast Kansas Symphony concert set for Feb. 3

The Southeast Kansas Symphony will perform a concert entitled “The Art of Discovery” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Pittsburg’s Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine. Featured in the concert will be composer-conductor Jeffrey S. Bishop, who will conduct the premier of his concerto for wind soloists, percussion, and strings. The work will feature David Hurly, oboe; Joanne Britz, clarinet; Russell Jones, bassoon; and Robert Kehle, trombone.

Tickets for the concert are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and free for children under 12. Tickets can be purchased at the door. For ticket information, please call Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium at 620-231-7827. For more information about the concert, please contact Linda Hoffman at 620-235-4466 or e-mail at .

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PSU students learn to be leaders

Approximately 140 Pittsburg State University students will learn some important lessons about becoming effective leaders in their campus organizations at the Basic Leadership Training meeting on Saturday, Jan. 28. The training will take place from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the Overman Student Center on the PSU campus and is sponsored by the PSU Leadership Institute and the PSU Presidential Emerging Leaders Phase III.

Ed Wirthwein, assistant director for campus activities, said the students will break into small groups to hear from a variety of speakers from the campus community who can share their own experience and knowledge about leadership.

Wirthwein said most of the students participating in BLT are involved in campus groups.

"We like having the training at the beginning of the semester because now is when the student groups are planning their activities for the spring and they are thinking about what they would like to accomplish," Wirthwein said.

The BLT keynote speaker will be Michael Poll, a nationally known college speaker and author. Poll’s companies are Leadership by Design, Inc., and Poll Management Consultants, Inc. He works not only with students, but also businesses, corporations, associations and non-profit organizations.

For more information on the Beginning Leadership Training, please contact Ed Wirthwein at 620-235-4795, cwirthwe@pittstate.edu. For more information about Michael polling, visit his Web site at www.leadersmakeithappen.com.

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Pitt State makes paying tuition easier

Although paying for college remains a concern for most students and their families, Pittsburg State University continues to work to make the process, at least, a little less difficult. Students this spring can view and pay their tuition and fee statements online. Beginning this spring, they can even give parents, guardians or any other person access to their accounts so they can pay the bill.

University officials say the online bill paying is a safe and easy way to make the chore less onerous. Previously, students had to mail in their tuition payments or stand in lines at the cashiers’ windows.

The deadline for paying tutition is Jan. 25.

For more information, please contact the Cashiers and Students Accounts Office, 620-235-4092 or the Registrar’s Office, 620-235-4200.

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Poet, activist to perform at PSU

Hip hop spoken word poet and prison activist Bryonn Bain will perform at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom of the Overman Student Center on the Pittsburg State University Campus. This free event is sponsored by the PSU Leadership Institute and the PSU Office of Student Diversity.

Bain has lectured at more than 50 colleges and correctional facilities in the U.S., has performed in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and has shared stages with Maceo Parker, the Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, DJ Red Alert, Poor Righteous Teachers, and dead prez.

In 2000, an article Bain wrote about being racially profiled and wrongfully arrested was published as the cover story for The Village Voice. His essay, "Walking While Black: The Bill of Rights for Black America," received more than 100,000 replies from around the world and resulted in an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes.

During his first year at Harvard Law School, Bain was crowned Boston's 1999 Slam Poetry Champion, and then went on to win the 2000 Grand Slam Poetry Championship at Nuyorican Poet's Cafe. Bain is an adjunct professor at New York University’s Gallatin School where he teaches The Spoken Word. He is featured in director Jane Han’s spoken word poetry documentary "Urban Scribe," and stars in the independent film "Hunting In America." He recently published a spoken word epic, "The Prophet Returns." His debut album, "Problem Child," was released in 2005.

For more information about Bain's Pittsburg State performance, please contact Ed Wirthwein at 620-235-4795. For more information about Bryonn Bain, visit his Web site at .

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New semester begins at PSU

A new semester is about to begin at Pittsburg State University and activity has picked up sharply on campus and in the community.

Because most students enroll online, enrollment is no longer the hectic or stressful time it once was. Enrollment for those who have not already done so is from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Classes begin on Jan. 19.

New undergraduate students taking their first course for credit in residence, must file an application for admission with the Office of Admission. To do so, they must pick up an enrollment packet in the Office of Admission, Room 107, Horace Mann. New graduate students must file an application for admission with the Graduate Division. They should pick up an enrollment packet in the Graduate Office, Room 112, Russ Hall.

Returning students who did not enroll online, will be advised and obtain their advisement number from their faculty adviser.

Tuition and fees for the spring semester are due by Wednesday, Jan. 25, which is also the last day to enroll late and to add or drop classes. Returning students should log into the GUS system and click on student accounts and then View/Pay Tuition online for additional information on paying their tuition and fees. For information on adding or dropping classes, visit the Office of the Registrar’s Web site at .

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