Below are a variety of items about upcoming events and other news notes on the campus of Youngstown State University:

• YSU Moot Court Team vies for national title
• Students to study in Turkey, India, Thailand
• Game of Hope set for Jan. 23 in Beeghly Center

Calendar
Monday, Jan. 4, 7:05 p.m. YSU women's basketball team hosts Wisconsin–Green Bay in Beeghly Center.

Wednesday, Jan. 6, 5 p.m. The YSU Presidential Search Advisory Committee meets in the YSU Board of Trustees meeting room on the first floor of Tod Hall.

Thursday, Jan. 7, 7:05 p.m. YSU men's basketball team hosts Illinois–Chicago at Beeghly Center. The team also plays in Beeghly 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, against Loyola.

Friday, Jan. 8, 3 p.m. The YSU Board of Trustees' Executive Committee meets in the Manchester Room on the first floor of Tod Hall. The committee also meets Friday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m., also in the Manchester Room in Tod Hall.

Friday, Jan. 8, 5 p.m. YSU swim team takes on Ohio University in the Beeghly Natatorium.

YSU Moot Court Team vies for national title
Youngstown State University students Travis Watson and Kevin Hulick placed among the top eight teams in the Midwest regional competition of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association and will now advance to the national competition at Florida International University College of Law in Miami on Jan. 15 and 16.

The YSU team of Lauren Mylott and Victoria Rusu finished 11^th in the regional competition, held in November at the College of Wooster, and also may advance to the national contest. YSU students participated in the contest under the auspices of the Rigelhaupt Pre–Law Center in the Department of Political Science.

The competition required students to read, analyze, understand and argue constitutional law issues and answer questions as if they were appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. Students had to master and be prepared to answer questions about the application of 20 actual Supreme Court decisions relating to issues of the 4th, 8th and 14^th Amendments.  

In all, 42 teams competed at the Midwest regional event in Wooster, including students from Aquinas College, Denison University, Eastern Illinois University, University of Louisville, Marietta College, Millikin University, Ohio Wesleyan University and the College of Wooster.

Of the 84 participants, on an individual basis, Mylott ranked 11th, Watson 13th and Rusu 16th. As a team, YSU finished fourth out of 10 teams.

Other members of the YSU team included Pamela Falkenberg, Sarah White, Angela Melchionne, Breanna Haupt, Samantha Cavalier, Ryan Garman, Raymond Michaels and Travis Duncan.

Local attorney Ron Slipski, who teaches part–time in YSU's history and political science departments, instructs the YSU teams. Slipski is the 2006 recipient of the Ohio State Bar Association''s Weir Award in Ethics and Professionalism, a past president of the Mahoning County Bar Association and recipient of its lawyer of the year and distinguished service awards, president of the Bar Foundation, Bar Counsel and a partner in the local law firm of Green Haines Sgambati.

Helping YSU prepare for the Regional Competition were various members of the bench and bar, including Ohio Disciplinary Counsel Jonathan Coughlan; Seventh District Court of Appeals Judges Gene Donofrio and Mary DeGenaro; and local attorneys Shawn Scharf, Megan Graff, Robert Budinsky and Michelle Simonelli.

Students to study in Turkey, India, Thailand

Four Youngstown State University students have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad during the spring semester.

This is the second consecutive semester that YSU students have won the prestigious scholarship.

YSU students awarded scholarships this spring semester are:

• Michael Dukes, a history major with a minor in English, who will be studying at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey, will receive $4,000.

• Tracey Roscoe, a general education major with minors in psychology and American Studies, who will also be studying at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey, will receive $4,000.

• Christina Weatherspoon, a geography major, who will be studying at Christ University in India, will receive $4,500.

• Scott Finamore, a sociology major with a minor in Music, who will be studying at Rangsit University in Bangkok, Thailand, will receive $5,000.

The students join a growing number of YSU students studying abroad. In the fall semester, 15 students studied overseas. This spring semester, more than 24 students are scheduled to study abroad.

The Gilman Scholarship program offers a competition for awards for undergraduate study abroad and was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the congressionally–funded scholarship program is administered by the Institute of International Education through its Southern Regional Center in Houston. Since the inception of the scholarship in 2001, nearly 19,000 applications have been received and less than 5,000 scholarships have been awarded.           

Game of Hope set for Jan. 23 in Beeghly Center

The Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley presents the 6th Annual Game of Hope Charity Classic at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23 in Beeghly Center on the campus of Youngstown State University.

The Game of Hope is a celebrity basketball game that benefits chronically and terminally ill children. Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley is a non–profit organization and its mission is to furtherance of charitable and financial support and volunteer services to and for chronically and/or terminally ill children on a local and regional level.

The game is conducted in conjunction with television stations 27 First News & FOX 17/62; WYTV & MyYTV; radio stations 95.9 KISS–FM, MIX 98.9, & News Radio 570 WKBN, Accent Media, UAW Locals 1714 & 1112, NEOEA (North Eastern Ohio Education Association) and the Lamar Advertising Company.

The game features squads comprised of celebrities, dignitaries and the news media. Donations are being accepted on–line, mail or by stopping at any Home Savings and Loan Co. branch.

Additional activities planned for the basketball game include a performance by the Dream Team All–Stars of Girard, the City Printing 10–pt shot; Armstrong Cable $5 for $50 half–court shot, the YSU MenÕs Basketball Exhibition Dunk fest and visits from area mascots.

For more information, visit www.hopemv.org.