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Program honors King

Lisa Trubiana/Senior Photographer

TRIBUTE FIT FOR A KING: Anta'nia Curtis, left, and Ali'ah Curtis sing along to one of the many musical tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday evening at Loeb Playhouse.

A racially diverse audience filled Loeb Playhouse Monday night, clapping and shouting as they celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

With a focus on "True Freedom," the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Musical Celebration brought together the MLK Mass Choir, PMO Express, Jahari Dance Troupe, President Martin Jischke and the Rev. Harold Pettigrew Jr. to dance, sing and speak.

The mass choir started the evening off with joyous gospel hymns as they swayed and sang, getting the audience in the mood to celebrate. The PMO Express bubbled over with glittery enthusiasm, singing several stylized songs.

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Art class difficulty surprises students

Marshall Wade/Exponent Photographer

EYE FOR ART: Rachal Seidel, a junior in the School of Consumer and Family Sciences, works on a project in her A&D 114, "Drawing II" class. This class, along with many other art classes, is very popular and not easy to get into.

A professor of art and design said many students enroll in his classes and other fine arts classes because they’ve been misled, expecting the classes to be easy "A"s or similar to high school art classes.

"A lot of people had these classes in high school and had really positive experiences there," said Dan Engelke, a professor of art and design. "But that might be the wrong kind of experience. These classes involve a lot of time and hard work. The biggest thing I hear from students is that they didn't realize the class would take so much time."

Engelke said he doesn’t think students are well-informed about the requirements of the course. He said this leads many to enroll in classes such as A&D 207, "Photography I," and A&D 242, "Ceramics I," expecting them to be less difficult than other courses, which leads to a 25 percent drop-out rate once classes start.

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Purdue scientists apply for funding

Purdue scientists recently requested $9 million from the state legislature to further scientific fields like genomics and biotechnology at Purdue.

"This is a growing area of science," said Randy Woodson, the director of agricultural research programs. "We think our graduates need to be better educated and prepared in biotechnology and life sciences in general."

The money would be part of an initiative for Purdue. Vic Lechtenberg, the dean of the School of Agriculture, said the initiative would not only go to programs in agriculture though. "Agriculture is an important component, but other Purdue schools like Science, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Consumer and Family Sciences, Engineering and Education would also participate in the proposed programs if this initiative is funded," said Lechtenberg.

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