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

Calendar
Tuesday, May 5, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. YSU celebrates Cinco de Mayo with a brunch in the Ohio Room of Kilcawley Center on campus, featuring performances by the Mosaica dancers from the Academy of Arts and Humanities in Warren and the YSU Latino Organization Dancers.

Tuesday, May 5, 8:30 a.m. to noon. The Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU presents an export basics seminar entitled “Understanding Exporting” at the YSU Metro College in Boardman. Seminar topics include compliance, payment methods, export financing, development of local representation in international markets, fundamentals of NAFTA and tax benefits of exporting. For more information, call 330–941–2140.

Friday, May 8, noon. YSU introduces the 17^th class of the Leslie H. Cochran University Scholars, YSU’s most prestigious academic scholarship. The University Scholars award, named after a former YSU president, recognizes outstanding academic achievement with a scholarship that covers tuition, room and board. 

Friday, May 8, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. YSU baseball takes on Wright State in a doubleheader at Eastwood Field in Niles. The team also plays a twin–bill noon and 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, against Valparaiso, also at Eastwood Field.

Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m. The Beeghly Family receives the prestigious YSU Friends of the University Award at an invitation–only dinner in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center.

Alternative tuition set for program in Ashtabula 
Youngstown State University will offer a master’s degree in educational administration in Ashtabula County beginning fall 2009 semester, and tuition for the program will be slashed hundreds of dollars.

“This program will greatly assist school teachers in Ashtabula County who want to work toward their master’s degrees,” said Karla Krodel, director of YSU Metro Credit. “The alternative tuition rate that Metro Credit offers for the program will certainly assist teachers during these tough economic times.”

Classes begin Aug. 24 at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School in Jefferson, Ohio. By successfully completing two classes (6 semester hours) each semester, graduate students can earn the master of science in educational administration degree in two years.

Because the classes are held at an off–campus location, YSU is offering an alternative tuition rate of $300 per credit hour, which includes all instructional, general, information services and lab fees. That’s a cost savings of more than $450 per semester. Taking into account the cost of gas to drive to the YSU campus from Ashtabula County, as well as parking fees, the cost savings for the programs jumps to well over $800 per semester.

Applications will be accepted through June 1. For an application packet or more information, contact Sharon J. Schroeder, assistant director, YSU Metro Credit Educational Outreach, at 330–941–2445.

YSU SMARTS presents student operas May 6
Two original operas created by students from Youngstown State University’s SMARTS (Students Motivated by the Arts) will be performed 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6 at the Ford Family Recital Hall in the DeYor Performing Arts Center in downtown Youngstown.

General Admission is $1.

The operas were created by more than 40 first– through 12^th–grade students in the SMARTS class “Telling Stories through Opera.”

“Kid Wonders” was created by first, second and third graders and examines the ways that children wonder about the world. “The 2009 Young Persons Almanac of Relationships,” created by fourth– through 12^th–grade students, examines the relationship between a bandit and a princess.

Both operas feature students from Youngstown and throughout the region, along with original music, sets, and dialogue that have been created by students in the SMARTS opera classes.

“We are excited to share our students’ talents and successes with the public in this annual performance,” said Becky Keck, SMARTS director. “This process requires a huge commitment of students and their families, and we are very fortunate to work with them.”

Keck said that members of the SMARTS strings violin program will also participate in the orchestra for the first time this year.

SMARTS teachers involved in the production are: Corinne Morini, YSU part–time faculty member and performing artist; Sara Williams, a current YSU music student; Mary Farragher, local artist and SMARTS liaison; Robert Joki, local performing artist; and Joel Stigliano, a current YSU music student.

“Our teachers work very well together to help students make their own artistic decisions. I couldn’t ask for more devoted and dedicated teaching artists at SMARTS,” said Kelly Bancroft, who has overseen all nine of the SMARTS operas as the SMARTS coordinator.

SMARTS is an arts education partnership between YSU’s College of Fine & Performing Arts, the Beeghly College of Education, the Youngstown City Schools, and the many vital arts organizations in the community. SMARTS offers free quality arts education classes in music, dance, theater, visual arts and creative writing. The Original Opera is a project of SMARTS and the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Creating Original Opera teacher training program.

For more information or to apply for classes, call 330–941–2787 or visit www.fpa.ysu.edu/smarts.

Working–Class Studies starts online survey research

The Center for Working–Class Studies at Youngstown State University is launching an online survey research project that will continually measure and analyze public attitudes regarding a variety of issues that impact the Mahoning Valley and the nation.

The initial survey, designed to assess public sentiment about President Obama’s first 100 days in office, is accessible through the CWCS website at http://cwcs.ysu.edu/survey.

Those wishing to participate in this initial survey will have through May 6 to complete the survey. The center will then release results and analysis.

John Russo, CWCS co–director, said the center is undertaking the survey project to expand its study of contemporary working–class issues.

“Since our founding in 1996, we’ve concentrated on the history, art and culture of workers locally and across the nation,” Russo said. “That work has provided invaluable insight into the evolution of working–class attitudes and behavior over the past century. Essentially, we understand how the working class got to this point in history. The survey research project will help us understand who they are and where they are headed in the future.”

Russo noted that the new research project is timely due to the fact that the politics of the working class has been the focus of hundreds of books and articles over the past 24 months.

“In the run–up to the presidential election, Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, pundits, and academics spent considerable time and energy attempting to define the working class, suggesting ways to capture their votes, predicting their behavior, asserting that they would provide the decisive margin in 2008, and then, after the election, either dismissing or emphasizing their impact on the outcome,” he said.

“We believe that by constantly gathering and analyzing information about working–class attitudes in real time we can help ensure that the conversation about and study of this important segment of the population continues unabated.”

Russo said that in order to gather responses from a broad cross section of Americans, the CWCS has mounted an intense effort to encourage participation in the survey research project.

“We’re reaching out to working–class studies programs at other universities, to labor unions, to business groups, community and political leaders and activists, and the public at large and encouraging them to visit our Web site and complete the survey.

“We want to have the largest possible sample, not just so we can measure the attitudes of the working class, but so we can compare them to those of professionals, the business community, and other demographic groups. As far as we’re concerned, it is impossible to have too much data to work with.”

For more information about the survey research project or the Center for Working–Class Studies at YSU, contact Russo at 330–941–2976 or jbrusso@ysu.edu, or visit the CWCS website at http://cwcs.ysu.edu.

History professor presents at Oxford Round Table

Fred Viehe of Boardman, Youngstown State University associate professor of history, has devoted the last five years of his research to social justice issues, culminating in a paper on atavistic, or antiquated, culture.

In recognition of his efforts, Viehe spoke at the by–invitation–only Oxford Round Table symposium earlier this spring in Oxford, England. The symposium was themed, “Social Justice: Poverty, Food and Race — An Interdisciplinary Perspective.”

“Since the focus [of the conference] was on social justice, I largely suspect that my recent work on this subject caught someone’s eye, and that resulted in an invitation,” Viehe said.

Viehe, one of 42 scholars from across the world invited to the six–day Round Table, presented his paper, “Atavistic Culture: The Bete Noire of Social Change.” Viehe, who has been at YSU for 24 years, said the paper examines how “historically, minority groups have been thwarted and frustrated by those in the dominant culture who use atavistic values and norms to prevent social justice.”

Written specifically for the Oxford Round Table, “Atavistic Culture” focuses on American atavistic cultures that opposed Irish immigrants in the mid–19^th century, and British atavistic values that arose with the arrival of West Indian immigrants in the mid–20^th century.

Having presented to like–minded scholars on the topics of poverty, food and race within social justice, Viehe said he hoped to enlighten his peers about the restricting nature of atavistic values within the realm of social change.

“Hopefully, what they learned was that social justice and social change are often opposed by those who advocate that society continue to be organized using ancient, antiquated and pass values that have long outlived their usefulness,” he said.

Viehe, who earned his doctoral degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, likened his visit to the conference to a tennis match — one only improves if he or she plays with a more talented athlete.

“On one hand, it is a high honor” to have been chosen, he said. “But far more importantly, it is a unique opportunity to discuss an interest I deeply care about with others who share my interests and concerns.”

For more on the Oxford Round Table, visit www.oxfordroundtable.com.

YSU teams deemed ‘Meritorious’ in math contest
Two teams of Youngstown State University students received “Meritorious” rankings in the 2009 MCM–COMAP competition.

In the Mathematical Contest in Modeling–Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications competition, students spend four days to develop a mathematical model that deals with two problems: designing a traffic circle to best control traffic flow, and evaluating the “energy” consequences of the cell phone revolution.  

A record 1,675 teams representing institutions from 14 countries participated in the 25^th year of the contest.

The YSU team of Matt Alexander, Krista Foster and Moriah Wright received a “Meritorious” ranking (top 15 percent) for their work on “Cell Phones, Energy Vampires, and Future Predictions.” The YSU team of Matthew Guidosh, Josh Mike and Doug Wajda also ranked “Meritorious” for their solution to the “Traffic Circle Modeling and Optimization.” 

The all–freshman YSU team of Aaron Margraff, Greg McCumber and Mario Sracic was designated a “Successful Participant.” A second YSU freshman team composed of Tara McCart, William Seck and Michelle Stipetich also earned a ranking of “Successful Participant.”

Writing about family history is topic of workshops
Steel Valley Voices: An Ethnic Community Archive will sponsor a two–part workshop on writing about family history 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 9, and Saturday, June 6, at the Struthers Public Library.

The workshop will be led by retired Youngstown State University English professor Carmen Leone, author of Rose Street: A Family Story and Rose Street Revisited.

During the first session, Leone will guide participants through exercises to help them develop stories based on facts, photographs, letters and memories. In the second meeting, participants will share their work and discuss strategies for revision. Leone and his cousin, Bob Calcagni, have also co–authored a book on writing family history, Remembering Our Rose Streets.

The workshop is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.

This program is part of a series of workshops sponsored by Steel Valley Voices, a project that aims to collect, preserve and celebrate the ethnic and racial diversity of the Mahoning Valley. Along with sponsoring workshops to teach area residents about strategies to research and share their own histories, Steel Valley Voices hosts an online collection featuring letters, photographs, recipes, audio and video recordings, and more. Project coordinator Dr. Sherry Linkon, professor of English and American Studies at YSU, said Steel Valley Voices is an opportunity to capture local history before it disappears.

“So many families have boxes of old photographs and letters stashed away,” she said. “And sometimes the younger generation just isn’t interested. If we don’t preserve our history now, we may lose the chance. If we forget the past, we lose an important part of our identity, as families and as a community.”

Linkon said she hopes the workshops and website will promote the idea that everyone’s stories matter.

The Steel Valley Voices digital archive has collections of materials from the African–American, Irish, Italian and Romanian communities, as well as a section on inter–ethnic weddings. Linkon said she hopes to add more materials and more groups over the next year.

“I’m talking with people in the local Mexican, Polish, Slovak, Lebanese, and Puerto Rican communities about how to add their stories to the collection,” she said. Steel Valley Voices is online at http://steelvalleyvoices.com.

For more information on the workshops, or if you have materials to contribute to Steel Valley Voices, contact Linkon at 330–941–2977 or sllinkon@ysu.edu.

YSU Women’s Club opens tour of New York
The Youngstown State University Women’s Club will join Classic Heritage Tours on a bus tour of New York City from Thursday, Oct. 1, to Sunday, Oct. 4.

Members of the YSU community, their family and friends are invited to join the group on the tour. Cost of the trip is $455 for double occupancy, $370 for triple occupancy, $335 for quad occupancy, or $745 per person for single occupancy.

The tour includes roundtrip motor coach transportation, two nights at the Milford Plaza Hotel, shuttle service to various sightseeing stops at group request, dinner at the Country Cupboard Buffet, all taxes, meal gratuities and baggage handling (one per person).

A $100 per person deposit is required with checks made payable to Classic Heritage Tours. Deposit checks should be sent to Pat Shively, YSU Women’s Club President, at the Marion G. Resch Center for Student Progress, Kilcawley West. Checks must be received by Wednesday, May 19. Deposits for the tour, which is open to anyone over the age of 21, will be returned if a tour bus is not filled. The balance of the cost for the trip will be due Friday, Sept. 25.

Classic Heritage Tours has Tour Cancellation Insurance available upon request. In the event Tour Cancellation Insurance is not purchased, it is the responsibility of the traveling passenger to find a replacement in order to receive a refund.

For more information, contact Shively at 330–941–3197.

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