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November 2008
Calendar of Events
5~Members’ Meeting 11:45 a.m.~MP103
6~Members’ Meeting 5 p.m.~MP103
14-16~Honors Conference
17-21~Phi Theta Kappa Week!
19~Members’ Meeting 11:45 a.m.~MP304
20~Members’ Meeting 5 p.m.~MP103
20-23~ “The Last Mass at St. Casimir’s”
(see Theater Ushers Needed)
Upcoming in December
12(tba)~ Hallmark Awards Planning
Honors Conference
This year’s Honors Conference, being held in
Potosi, is just around the corner on November 14-16th. To the advisors and members who will be attending, have a safe and enjoyable weekend and bring back as much knowledge and as many ideas as you possibly can!
Nov. 19th Meeting Location Changed. The member’s meeting scheduled for Nov. 19th will be held in Room MP304. All other meetings will remain in the regular location in Room MP103.
Theater Ushers Needed
The production of “The Last Mass at St. Casimir’s” will be running November 20-23. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday’s performances will be at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday’s performance is at 2:00 p.m. Ushers are needed for these show times.
Ushers are required to show up early and to wear black slacks and a white shirt. You will be responsible for helping to seat guests and passing out programs for the events.
Have a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving Break!
THANKS…
…to all the members and non-members alike who helped with the bake sale, food drive, theater productions, Falcon Fest, Meet the Candidates night, Katy Trail clean-up, and all other events held in October.
Trivia Night
Our trivia night scheduled for November 7th was canceled due to an insufficient number of registered teams. Thank you to those who volunteered on the donations and questions committees. All donations received will be used at our next trivia night which will be on schedule in the spring of 2009.
Hallmark Award Writers Needed?
The Hallmark Awards Program recognizes individuals, chapters, and regions for their excellence in Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Fellowship - which are the Hallmarks of the FQK society.
In December a meeting will be held to discuss nominees and to determine who will compose those nominations. We will be in need of volunteers to help with writing the selections. If interested, please attend the meeting, time to be announced.
Ideas Needed
Our FQK chapter is always looking for fresh ideas and suggestions for new service projects, fundraisers, etc. If you have any thoughts that you would like to share please email one of your chapter officers or attend a member’s meeting and let them be known!
Your FQK, Chi Delta officers:
Kristen Zeiser, President
kazeiser@gmail.com
Olga Zahorova, Vice President
oyzaharova@student.eastcentral.edu
Jennifer Kopp, Recording & Finance Secretary
cleokopp@yahoo.com
Heather Ottinger, Public Relations Secretary
foreverphotography@hotmail.com
Becky Riegel, Chapter Programs Secretary
dbriegel@yhti.net
Kevin Dixon, Advisor
kdixon@eastcentral.edu
Melanie Dixon, Advisor
mbdixon@eastcentral.edu
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Five Star Membership
Phi Theta Kappa (FQK) is not just an honor society with the sole purpose of recognizing students for their academic achievement, but it also acknowledges the development of leadership and service. Serving our campus and our community is one of the easiest ways to give back to the society in which we live in, take advantage of, and too often take for granted.
If it weren’t for volunteers, such as our members, many things would not be accomplished. For example, our natural environment would be scattered with trash from litter bugs, natural disaster victims would have no assistance after losing everything they own, there would be no money raised for medical research, and the list could go on and on.
To volunteer isn’t something to be done just to receive recognition for doing so. Most volunteers give their time because they care about people, they care about the earth, they just care. Nevertheless, FQK does recognize service because it is something that FQK prides itself in standing for and uses it to encourage member participation.
The Five Star Program provides a set of guidelines in which to follow to become a Five Star Member. Here is an outline of the program level requirements and the rewards there of:
One Star Level: Pay membership fee and attend induction ceremony. Then, receive membership certificate.
Two Star Level: Attend a member’s meeting, attend an honor study topic activity, participate in a fellowship, and attend a second member’s meeting. Then receive a FQK magnet.
Three Star Level: Participate in a service project, participate in a fundraiser, be on a committee, attend a second fellowship, and attend a third member’s meeting. Then receive a FQK keychain.
Four Star Level: Participate in second service project, participate in second fundraiser, be on second committee, attend third fellowship, and attend fourth member’s meeting. Then receive a FQK tassel to wear at your graduation.
Five Star Level: Attend regional meeting or chair fellowship committee, attend an international meeting or chair service project committee, participate in third service project, participate in third fundraiser, participate in fourth fellowship, and attend fifth member’s meeting. Then receive FQK stole to wear at your graduation.
This may appear to be too much to accomplish when looking at it all together, but it really isn’t when you take into consideration you have one academic year to complete it all in. If you have any questions regarding your membership status or would like to obtain a membership card to track your progress, please contact our Chapter Programs Secretary Becky Riegel.
College President Q & A
Last month’s Student Senate meeting featuring Dr. Ed Jackson, ECC’s president, was informative as well as interesting. There were many students and even some faculty in attendance. However, I was hoping for a larger turn-out considering the opportunity this provided to give feedback to and to ask questions of such an influential person.
Many topics were discussed, including the success (or lack thereof) of the smoking huts installed on campus. Concerns regarding non-smokers unwillingly being subjected to second-hand smoke and the littering of cigarette butts all over the campus led to the installation of what was thought to be a reasonable solution. Unfortunately, as many have noticed, not everyone has been taking advantage of this costly, anticipated campus improvement.
Another topic discussed, introduced by Dr. Jackson himself, was the idea of adding a new ECC sport. Among the suggestions from students were baseball and track & field. Unfortunately, Dr. Jackson informed his audience that whatever new sport may be developed at ECC would have to have a balanced gender ratio, therefore making such a decision a little more difficult to determine.
The idea of using solar energy at ECC was shared based on the obvious accessibility of sun light at our campus’s location! Of course it would be a great contribution to the conservation of energy. Unfortunately, due to the unmistakably high expense of such improvements and our highly anticipated completion of the new science and nursing building in the spring; I doubt we will see such upgrades anytime soon.
With that being said, Dr. Jackson did report a couple possible improvements that we could look forward to in the future. They would include the expansion and resurfacing of some of the parking areas and an updated and revamped ECC website.
The topic of the new ECC website was brought to light when, I myself (our chapter’s Public Relations Secretary), brought up a suggestion for a student blog or message board. Due to the rising gasoline prices, I realized how much easier it would be for students to arrange carpools, not to mention many other topics of interests, and issues that could be discussed on such a beneficial upgrade to our school’s website.
Lastly, a concerned student asked about the higher tuition costs for out of district students. Out of district students pay a slightly higher tuition because none of the taxes collected in their district get paid to ECC. For those of you who receive a personal property statement every year, you can see the small dividend that is contributed to the junior college in your district about half-way down the list. The taxes paid by everyone in the district are the reason why junior colleges have lesser tuition rates than universities, which are not supported by taxes.
I encourage students to be more informed and to contribute their opinions more when they are given the opportunity to. The only way to change the things you’re unhappy with or to make improvements is by expressing your views. This is your campus after all; why not make the best of it?!
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