Pellissippi’s homepage is undergoing a two year transformation.

Lisa Wills said that new features will include Google search, weather conditions, RSS feeds, blogs, and a new content management system.

The new content management system, Luminis Content Management Suit, will make it easier for the departments to control their Internet content.

The new design will be used on across the campus webpage, although these changes will take time.

Wills said the new system is intended to be simpler, with audience based views divided into four sections.  Customized views will be available to current students, prospective students, faculty and staff, and alumni and friends.

The new system will also be incorporating the reccently launched My Pellissippi system.

Wills said that these changes are taking place in part because the website was last updated several years ago.

Following the July 27 shooting incident at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church, Pellissippi students received an e-mail regarding the opportunity for grief counseling.

Kathleen Douthat, a counselor at the Harden Valley Campus, said, “Counseling is available to all students at PSTCC and is free of charge.”

Douthat defined grief by saying an individual could experience it due to “the death of someone close or the loss of a relationship.”

Douthat also mentioned emotional effects, such as substance abuse, nightmares, anxiety, anger, or inability to meet responsibilities.

In order for a student to get help, Douthat said that a student must realize help is needed.

“The important thing to realize is that the student is not crazy,” said Douthat, “He or she is going through a normal reaction to an abnormal situation, but they can get better.”

Douthat said, “This takes time and will not happen overnight.  But they will survive, although life for them will be changed.”

by Rochelle Williams

On the Wednesday, Pellissippi students had the opportunity to experience a little Asian culture.

East Asia was the spotlight region for Student Life’s annual cultural event, according to Gwendolyn Miller of Student Life and Recreation.

The celebration, called “Asian Flava,” included trying out Asian foods and music. Asian decorations were used, and educational information about the region was conveyed.

Miller said of the occasion, “This is just a time to get students, faculty and staff together in the summer and have some fun while we celebrate these countries.”

Such events are not uncommon at Pellissippi state. There were several multicultural events over the course of the last two semesters.

Some additions have been made to this semester’s flexible scheduling options.

Dr. Denis Adams, Dean of Instructional Programs, said that there will be some additions this semester in terms of flexible scheduling. This is partially due to the rising gas prices of recent times.

These classes will meet less often than regular classes but last for a longer amount of time.

Adams said about five of these classes will be general education classes.

New students will likely find the changes more useful than returning students, as most of the classes will be freshman level courses.

Students who may have had difficulty attending five days a week will now conceivably be able to to attend more hours of classes per day.

This may lead to fewer trips to school and back for some students.

So far, enrollment in these new and experimental classes is unknown. If these classes are successful, there could be an increase in such programs in the future.

Related options include hybrid and online classes, which may help students at the gas pumps this semester as well.

By Rochelle Williams

The main campus of Pellissippi State will be seeing some changes in the coming year.

Director of Facilities David Walton said that these changes are primarily to increase usable space for offices.

The project is funded at approximately $2,085,000.

This process will involve adding on to the front of the building. The cashier’s office and the safety and security section will be moved closer to the financial aid office. The game room will be redone, but it will remain essentially the same size it is now and in roughly the same location.

Walton said changes are also expected to take place in the book store.

The construction will take about a year from start to finish.

The student lounge has been closed since shortly before the end of spring session.

Eight members of the Drama Club of the Blount County campus are going to New York.

They raised $4,000 to pay for tickets to the Broadway show “Wicked,” hotel rooms for four nights, bus fare and other touring expenses.

In New York, members will see a Broadway play as well as visit the Museum of Modern Art, The Statue of Liberty and Yankee Stadium.

Dorothy Donaldson, a Drama Club advisor and mentor, said students worked together to achieve their goal. “I was impressed by everyone’s maturity and people skills,” she said. “People not able to go on the trip were also willing to work and help others. We had fun.”

Members sold coffee and donuts, pizza, Valentine’s Day chocolates, and hot dogs. They also had a bake sale, a yard sale and a car wash.

Club president Sabrina Runyon said, “Our members have worked extremely hard…they have faced many ups and downs, but have overcome to reach our main goal, and never lost focus.”

Donaldson said the club often meets to do theater exercises and games and have dinner together. Last semester club members joined to go to four different theatrical productions in the area.

“The turn out has been great!” said Lee Baker, commenting on the community, faculty , and student support for the Festival of Cultures on April 18.

The night had performances by Hindustani classical musicians Indrajit Banerjee and Gourisankar Karmakar, and the East Tennessee Chinese School Dancers performed as well. The event also featured booths focused on African, Asian, European, and South American cultures.

“The community response to this event has been great,” said Baker. “The students were excited when they heard learned about tonight’s program.”

Gayle Wood of the Access and Diversity department said “People are milling around and are getting a taste of everything that is around here, and I think that is wonderful.”

Although there is no word on this becoming an annual event, Wood said that many people have asked her if that could be possible.

The Festival of Cultures was sponsored by the Multi-Cultural Awareness Club and Access and Diversity Office.

The Magnolia Drama club is alive and well and working on Shakespeare.

This semester, the group performed “Cowboys Don’t Look Down” by John Briggs with a cast of four.

With a larger cast they will be performing “Shakespeare Night” on April 24 and 25 in the campus courtyard at 7pm. The show features pieces from plays like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and The Merchants of Venice.

“It’s a really good experience. You get to meet a lot of people you wouldn’t normally meet,” said Katie Cole, president of the club.

Ben Ward, who played Mark in “Cowboys Don’t Look Down” said after the first performance, “It’s great to see that there are students on the campus that would put this kind of time and commitment into a production.”

Roger Alleyne, the club treasurer, says the club is planning to put together some performances for the community in the fall semester.

The Pellissippi Variations Choir will be performing at the annual Rossini Festival on April 19.

The Rossini Festival is a street fair patterned after the Rossini festival in Italy and is sponsored by the Knoxville Opera Company each spring. Associate Professor of Music Bill Brewer will direct the 36 member choir.

The Variations choir has performed at the Rossini Festival before. “This will be our fourth year to sing for the festival,” said Brewer. Despite this being nothing new for Variations, Brewer is excited nonetheless.

“This festival is a premier event in Knoxville every spring. There is thousands of people downtown for this event. It is a wonderful opportunity to get exposure for the school. Besides that it is just a really festive and fun venue for singing,” stated Brewer.

The Variations choir will be joined by the Knoxville Choral Society’s Chamber Chorale, also directed by Brewer. Variations’ set will start at 4:00 p.m. on the main stage at the corner of Gay Street and Union Street.