Indiana State University Newsroom

This week for Indiana State University Community Semester events include a discussion on clean rivers, a lecture about bats at a roost and the celebration of Earth Day.

The Community Semester, which focuses on the theme "Our Town," is a way for the College of Arts and Sciences to showcase what it does best and to encourage faculty and students to share what they are learning to the community. It is also a way to bring innovative ideas in the science, humanities, liberal and creative arts to the area.

On April 15 from 10 - 10:50 a.m. in Cunningham Memorial Library Debra Israel, professor of economics, will host a panel of discussions on "Doing Our Part for a Clean River: How Does ISU Contribute?" The discussion will focus on improving the water quality in the Wabash River the reduction of storm water runoff and ISU's potential role in the project. This event is in partnership with The Year of the River celebration.

Earth Day will take place on April 17 from 10:50 a.m. - 2 p.m. at ISU quadrangle. The celebration will give the community a chance to explore sustainability living with a mixture of outdoor recreational activities. This event is in partnership with The Year of the River celebration.

On April 19, the stable at Saint Mary of the Woods College, located off Highway 150, at 7 p.m., Joy O'Keefe, director of the Center for Bat Research, will be discussing about bats and their habitats.

"My graduates and I will be having one-on-one sessions with people to talk about how to attract bats and how to safely deal with them," said O'Keefe.

The United State has lost millions of bats to White Nose Syndrome, which is moving across the nation from the Northeast to the Midwest.

"Bats are good to have because they eat their weight in insect's every day, so it keeps down the pest," O'Keefe added.

A complete list and description of the Community Semester's activities may be found at: http://www.indstate.edu/cas/communitysemester/.

Writer: Beth Pickerill, media relations assistant, bpickerill1@sycamores.indstate.edu or 812-237-3737.