Above, players celebrate after a 4-3 win against the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday.
Adam Antor/Index

When the 15th win of junior softball pitcher Hannah Washburn’s season was tallied Sunday, it marked the end of a 23-day battle against the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers that ended with a 6-0 victory for the ’Dogs.

While the Bulldogs had began their series against the Lopers March 30, poor weather halted the first game of the series with two outs left during the top of the fourth inning, so when the game was continued Sunday, Washburn threw her first pitch with a force-out at third and two outs. Three strikes later, the top of the inning was finished and the Bulldogs were on their way to a 6-0 victory, with all six runs being scored almost a month before.

The ’Dogs’ sweep of Nebraska-Kearney Sunday ended a six-game weekend, with the team finishing 4-2 as they fought to secure a spot among the top eight teams of the conference to clinch the team’s first MIAA tournament berth since the 2010 season.

During her extended time on the mound against the Lopers, Washburn allowed just three hits as she brought her record to 15-6 with a 2.55 ERA this season. Offensively, the team was led by senior catcher Meredith Kusky and sophomore left fielder Ally McReynolds, who both finished with two RBI’s for the series.

The Bulldogs celebrated their graduating seniors Saturday during the team’s Senior Day series against the No. 7 University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Despite the emotional time for the team’s group of seniors, Kusky said the festivities were not on her mind as the Bulldogs faced  one of the most important matchups of the season.

“I personally wasn’t trying to think about it at all, even though our dugout was decorated,” Kusky said. “We just really wanted to win these games because it was important to pick up wins, so I think we were trying to not think about it.”

The first game began with a pitching showdown between freshman pitcher Kindra Henze and the Bronchos’ junior pitcher Kalynn Schrock, with neither team scoring during the first five innings. A five-run sixth inning for the Bronchos squashed the duel and led to an 11-1 victory for Central Oklahoma.

With a ten-run loss during the first-game of the Senior Day series, Kusky said the team

came back during the second game with a chip on their shoulder, looking to pick up a win against one of the best teams in the nation.

“The first game we were just kind of [mad],” Kusky said. “We were even hungrier for a win after we got beat so bad in the first game. … I think we just kind of wanted to turn around and show them that the first game did not show what kind of team we are.”

The Bulldogs wasted no time during the second game of the two-game series, with senior center fielder Laura Miller crossing the plate after a double off the bat of junior right fielder Kelsey Bollman. A two-run Truman homer during the third extended the lead, and the team secured the win following a six-run fifth inning, led by sophomore third baseman Cate Simon’s two-run home run, that ended the game due to the run rule.

Junior first baseman Kristin Grossman said the win against Central Oklahoma was especially important as the team approaches the conference tournament.

“We really wanted to beat Central Oklahoma, specifically, just to get our morale back and to know that we can beat those tough teams again,” Grossman said. “Losing that first game and knowing we could’ve done a little something extra to win it really made us come back for that second game and just attack them.”

The Bulldogs now sit at 25-15 overall this season with a 13-11 conference record, which ties them with the University of Central Missouri for No. 7 in the conference. To reach the MIAA tournament, a team must be in the top eight teams of the conference, meaning a tournament berth is not guaranteed with just two series’ left for the season.

Kusky said it’s important to remain focused on the team at this point of the season because of the temptation to worry about other teams’ performance.

“People at this time are always looking at the rankings and seeing where we’re sitting, who’s ahead of us and who’s behind us,” Kusky said. “I think it’s going to be important to not worry about other teams and worry about us and get our business done.”

The Bulldogs finish their season next weekend with a two-game series Friday against Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. before heading to Emporia, Kan. Saturday to compete against the Emporia State Hornets.

While Washburn sits near the bottom of the conference, Emporia State remains in fourth place of the conference, making these last two series’ a must-win situation for the ’Dogs, Grossman said.

“This is a big series, and we need these wins in order to make it for sure,” Grossman said. “Our motto for this team is just staying hungry for it, don’t be complacent and don’t underestimate any team.”

This compact, released April 10, is an agreement between colleges, businesses and nonprofits across the country to ensure students have the necessary skills to succeed in the workforce.

Truman is the only institute of higher education in Missouri to sign the compact.

“It’s more than a conversation,” University President Troy Paino said. “It’s a commitment on both educators and employers to work together to try and ensure that our graduates are competent in the intellectual skills they need to be successful.”

Paino said this compact was initiated by the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ LEAP Presidents’ Trust during fall 2012. Paino said he is part of the Presidents’ Trust, a group of private and public college presidents committed to liberal arts and sciences education.

Debra Humphreys, AACC&U Policy and Public Engagement Vice President, said more than 160 employers from the public and private sectors have joined the compact, ranging from financial institutions and defense firms to nonprofits and manufacturing companies. Paino said the college and university presidents who have signed the trust reached out to employers across the country to form the LEAP Compact. Paino said he reached out to the Boeing Company in St. Louis and Cerner Corporation in Kansas City, Mo., two companies that hire many Truman graduates. Both companies joined the compact, and Paino said he will continue to contact other employers throughout Missouri.

Paino said Boeing in particular is a company that Truman already has a close relationship with. Dean of the School of Business Debra Kerby said Boeing already funds the TruLeaders Academy leadership development program, provides job shadowing and internship experiences for students, connects students with mentors and more.

“We have a very close working relationship with Boeing right now,” Kerby said. “Boeing has been extremely supportive in enhancing the skills of students on campus. They clearly understand the value of the liberal arts. They understand the importance of critical thinking and good communication skills, and they are helping us enhance those in students.”

Paino said he hopes to expand existing relationships through the compact.

For Truman and other institutions of higher education, Paino said the focus of this compact is to ensure students are learning skills they will need post-graduation.

“We need to be held accountable for the quality of education we offer our students,” Paino said. “There’s a lot of talk about getting students degrees, which is important, but I think for Truman, what is even more important is the nature and the quality of the education the students are receiving in the pursuit of those degrees.”

In terms of the compact’s practical application, Paino said his hope is there will be more opportunities, such as internships at the companies who are part of the compact available for Truman students. He said Truman also might offer new classes or change existing classes as a result of the feedback from the participating employers.

Humphreys said the advantage of internships facilitated by the compact is college faculty members will be able to work closely with employers to ensure the internships are effective for students.

Humphreys said she expects the compact to grow significantly during the next year as more colleges and employers become involved. She said there will also be events across the country to promote the compact.

Along with this compact, Humphreys said the AAC&CU released a report April 10 that reported findings from a survey of business and nonprofit leaders, which she said coincides with the goals of the compact.

For example, the survey found 80 percent of employers think students should acquire a broad range of knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences.

“Employers, when they’re looking for employees who they want to be successful in their organizations and ultimately rise to leadership roles within their organizations, are not as focused on majors as one might think,” Paino said. “They’re looking for intellectual skills and they’re looking at how students can apply those skills in a real world setting, so I think what this [compact] does is elevate the importance of a liberally educated individual.”

The men’s team fell during their first round of conference play against Nebraska-Kearney 5-0 Friday. Junior Joe Murphy-Baum said he felt good about a possible conference matchup.

“We all went in pretty focused I felt like,” Murphy-Baum said. “I truly believed we could give them a run for their money.”

The Bulldogs lost to Northwest Missouri Wednesday and were unable to practice before the conference tournament because of rain. Sophomore Griffin Smith said he was glad to have the match even though it didn’t go in the Bulldogs’ favor.

“It helped me because I was able to have a close match,” Smith said. “I think that it gave me a lot of confidence going into the weekend, even with losing.”

The match got off to a quick start for Nebraska-Kearney as the team got all three doubles wins.

“All three doubles matches were close all the way,” Murphy-Baum said. “We were trying to get each other pumped up through the match. That was the only way we were going to keep it close.”

During singles matches against Nebraska-Kearney, Smith didn’t get to finish his singles match when Kearney won.

“I don’t think it really affected me too much,” Smith said. “Playing tournaments in high school I would play two or three matches in a day so I was used to it.”

In the consolation match the Bulldogs played Emporia State, whom they defeated earlier during the season 7-2. The Bulldogs faced trouble early when Emporia took two of the three doubles matches.

When the match went to singles the Bulldogs had the advantage. Smith and junior Kirk Schlueter and junior Mike Merchant won their matches to tie the match for the Bulldogs.

“I carried the momentum from my first match against Kearney into my second match,” Smith said. “I just played better overall and had momentum ,which helped.”

With the match tied at 4-4, Murphy-Baum had the pressure on his shoulders.

“At first I didn’t know the score,” he said. “But towards the end of the second set, Schlueter came and talked to me to tell me I was the final match. I liked having that pressure on me and I think it caused me to work harder.”

Murphy-Baum won the third set 6-0 and clinched the victory for the Bulldogs.

“My match isn’t the one that won it for us,”  Murphy-Baum said. “It was everyone’s combined. Last time I had that kind of pressure it didn’t go so well. It was nice to come out on top this time.”

With this win, the Bulldogs ended the season with a record of 5-8 and have strong hopes for next season.

“We are hoping to be above .500,” Smith said. “We have all our players coming back next year so that will be good. And we are switching conferences so that will be interesting for us next year.”

The Bulldogs will compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference next season and tennis will start again next fall.

Senate approved locker replacements in the women’s and men’s varsity swimming locker rooms and the women’s cross country and track locker room. They also voted to replace three hammer cage nets that are part of the track stadium, said senior Dimonique McGruder, Athletic Fee Accountability Committee Chairman.

The locker replacements are budgeted at $50,000 and the new nets at $20,000, McGruder said. She said the committee budgets more money than necessary to accommodate possible unforeseen issues.

The Athletic Fee Accountability Committee proposed the locker replacements as part of a series of improvements made to Pershing during the past five years, including the bleachers and other locker rooms, McGruder said.

She said lockers in all three locker rooms have rotted bottoms and only are half-usable by athletes. The teams do not have large enough budgets to replace lockers, so the committee took the task on, McGruder said. The hammer cage nets will be replaced because they currently are not safe and will not last through the summer, she said.

McGruder said both projects are in the bidding process and will be completed by the start of the 2013-2014 academic year.

Freshman swimmer Ashley Shanel said it is difficult to use the current lockers because most don’t have bottoms and they all are completely rusted. She said she is glad the problem finally is being addressed.

“We’ve learned to deal with the problem,” Shanel said. “But having new lockers that work will be so much nicer.”

Athletic Director Jerry Wollmering said these updates were requested by committee members who noticed the deteriorating equipment. He said some short term improvements he hopes to make include replacing certain scoreboards, improving field maintenance and repairing the fencing around the football stadium.

“It’s been great to be able to do all these things for the campus and provide better facilities for our student athletes and students in general,” Wollmering said. “The student fees allow us to do this.”

McGruder said these two projects likely will be the last proposed by the committee this year. She said some major projects the committee hopes to complete during the next 10 years include replacing the track and creating another recreational field behind Centennial Hall.

Junior Lindsey Owens said she and other members of the third year ROTC class applied earlier this spring to mentor Adair County children ages 12 to 16 at the Bruce Normile Juvenile Justice Center. She said the third-year cadets will spend time with their assigned child several times every month and journal about their experiences.

Owens said the cadets are required to complete a community service project as part of Truman’s ROTC program. Mentoring was one of many proposed ideas, but after researching opportunities for mentors in the Kirksville area, Owens said she thought the program at the Bruce Normile Center was a good fit.

“This one just seemed like the best way to give back to the community and help teenage people who still have potential to do better,” Owens said.

The center provides services for troubled youth throughout the Adair County area through programs like this one, and a residential area called the family center that can house up to 16 kids in need of a safe place outside the home. It also serves as a juvenile detention facility for minors who have committed a crime and need to be detained for 24 hours, according to the Bruce Normile Juvenile Justice Facility website.

Jermaine Talton, Deputy Juvenile Officer and Mentor Coordinator, said the mentors have a great impact for the children at the Bruce Normile Center. He said the mentor provides a positive role model for the child and show him or her someone cares. Talton said the children look forward to time spent with their mentors and the volunteers can make a huge difference by being a consistent presence in the lives of these young people.

The goal of matching a child with a mentor is “to work with the youth to develop their self-esteem, positive attitude and socially appropriate behavior,” according to the website for the Juvenile Division of the Missouri Second Judicial Circuit.

Junior cadet Jared Dietrich said he will mentor a young man who comes from a difficult family situation. Dietrich said he learned not all children in the program are juvenile delinquents. Some of them are facing tough times and need a steady, positive role model. He said he has met with his mentee once so far, and soon will begin visiting with him more often.

“It was mostly like a meet and greet,” Dietrich said. “Judging by what we talked about we’ll be doing stuff like go to watch a movie and just pretty much be a friend, positive role model.”

Junior cadet Adrienn Myers said she met with her mentee last week for the first time. Myers said she thinks the cadets will have a great impact through this program, and most of the class plans to continue meeting with their mentee next year as well. She said she thinks the project has the potential to empower these children to rise above their current situations and rough pasts.

“They’re not bad kids,” Myers said. “They want to have fun with you too. We can give them a positive outlet.”

Sophomore Courtney Cisler takes practice shots at the range with her fairway wood. The women competed at the MIAA tournament Monday and Wednesday.
Adam Antor/Index

The Truman State women’s golf team secured a fourth place finish at the MIAA Conference Championship after the first round as a strong showing from senior Jessica Tomash. The team’s freshmen lifted the Bulldogs into contention during day one at Paradise Pointe Golf Course Monday afternoon.

Tomash’s score of 80 left her just out of the top 10 of the tournament field as she finished tied for 11th overall, while freshman teammate Kim Barmettler and senior Kathryn Hogan recorded scores of 82 and 83, respectively, to both finish in the top 20. Senior Lynn Dreisilker shot an 84 and sophomore Riley Keltner scored a first-round 98 to give the Bulldogs a team score of 329 through the first 18 holes of the tournament.

The Bulldogs ended day one of the two-day event five shots behind third -place Northwest Missouri and were 28 shots behind the University of Central Oklahoma, who entered the clubhouse with a 301 combined scorecard, featuring junior captain Aly Seng’s first-round 71 atop the leaderboard.

Tomash said her team was excited to start Monday’s round with warm weather and bright skies. Despite the ideal weather, Tomash said the course presented challenges that left many golfers frustrated.

“It wasn’t windy at all and we didn’t get rained on, which we had expected, but the grounds crew aerated the greens last night so the greens are really bumpy, which presented a challenge for everyone,” Tomash said.

Tomash said despite the bumpy greens, the team shot well with four of the five golfers less than 85. She said the biggest surprise of the first round was the freshmen’s performances.

“Only Kim and Kathryn haven’t seen the course before, and yet they ended up shooting two of our three lowest scores,” Tomash said.

Last week, Barmettler said the team would have a fighting chance to take the conference title, and she stayed confident Monday. Barmettler said if her teammates all came close to their capabilities and shot good scores both days, the Bulldogs would have a chance. She said Coach Lesseig told the team after round one to stay focused and be confident they could shoot low scores the second day, despite projections for rain and temperatures below 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tomash said the course was tough no matter the conditions, as it has a lot of water and hazards throughout a difficult front nine holes. Tomash said the par three green is surrounded by water on three sides, with the other side showcasing a steep drop off, which has converted several golfers into fishermen after the first round. Another difficult hole, the long par five hole, has two water hazards on the fairway, which Tomash said have been difficult to approach.

“The tournament may come down to which team best handles the tough front nine, especially the par five,” Tomash said. “You have to remain steady and land both your drive and your approach shot. Once you do that, you have to land a solid green shot just to save par. Whoever can execute that hole will be in a good position for the day.”

After Monday, the five golfers were getting ready to play for Tuesday’s final round when it started raining and play was postponed. The rain stayed for a most of the day, so the executives made the decision to call the tournament after one round of play.

With the fourth place finish, the women still have a shot at a super regional position. They are now waiting to hear whether the NCAA-II Selection Committee to see if they play May 5-7 in St. Joseph, Mo.

Above, athlete Maddie Koenig makes her long jump as junior Sara Holmes and freshman Sung Huh watch.
Dan Mika/Index

Athletes from northeast Missouri gathered Saturday at Truman State’s Pershing Arena to compete at the sixth annual Special Olympics Missouri Spring Games.

Junior Kristen Little, Special Olympics director for Students Supporting the Exceptional Community, said 187 volunteers, known as “buddies,” spent the day with 135 athletes as they competed in various events such as 50 to 400 meter dashes, relay races, long jumps, shot puts and softball throwing. 120 other volunteers worked at first aid stations, prize booths and refereed the events.

Edina, Mo. resident Jared Niemeyer was named the Northeast Missouri Special Olympics Athlete of the Year for his involvement with multiple Special Olympics events and the national organization’s Youth Activation Committee.

Jessica Nunan, Special Olympics coach and teacher, said it is fun to watch her students participate in activities that build their self-confidence. She said it allows the students to make more friends and become more social in the classroom.

Tim Schuster, Northeast Area Director for Special Olympics Missouri, said during the six years Truman has hosted the event, the students have made planning a “hands-off experience” for him.

“This is all student-planned and all their ideas,” Schuster said. “I just have to bring the equipment and the paperwork.”

Schuster said Special Olympics always will call Truman their home because of how the students and the University have accommodated them throughout the years.

A lounge and student-occupied room flooded April 17 in Grim Hall.
Heavy rain flooded a lounge and a student-occupied room in Grim Hall April 17.
Submitted Photo

Freshman Grace Hobbs said she and her roommate noticed water leaking into the first-floor room from their building’s foundation at about 10 p.m. and eventually covered the floor with about a quarter inch of water. Hobbs said people from the entire residence hall were able to move their belongings off the floor and prevent them from being damaged. Two other student rooms and two lounges in the building were flooded, but not badly enough to cause an evacuation of the room.

Physical Plant employees arrived the next morning to clean up the water, but Hobbs said they were not there early enough. She said she called the  University Fix-It Line and the emergency line, but neither could offer assistance during the night.

“We pay like $6,500 to live in a room that you share with another person, and then it floods,” Hobbs said. “Nobody was here to help except our friends. Nobody from the University was here to help.”

Physical Plant Director Karl Schneider said the Fix-It Line employees wouldn’t have been able to fix the room that night.

“We know that building’s foundation leaks when there’s heavy rain,” Schneider said. “There’s no way to stop water when that building leaks.”

Hobbs said she thinks the University owes her and her roommate a refund for placing them in a room they knew was prone to flooding.

“I know it was only one night, but still, it’s kind of ridiculous that we can’t be in the rooms that we paid for,” Hobbs said.

Schneider said he hopes the University will renovate Grim Hall soon, but currently it doesn’t have the time or money to do so. Schneider said he hopes Grim will be the next residence hall to be renovated, as it hasn’t seen any major renovation work during the last 15 years.

“Since they’re going to keep using it as a residence hall, it makes sense to spend some money on it,” Schneider said.

Mackenzie McDermott

Just hours after the deadly Boston bombing April 15, a NYpost.com headline read, “Authorities ID person of interest as Saudi national in marathon bombings, under guard at Boston hospital.” Washingtonpost.com posted a similar headline, “Police question Saudi national on Boston Marathon bombings.” The day after the bombing, Fox News aired a clip of an interview with the roommate of the alleged suspect.

This “Saudi national” never was a suspect, but a witness ­— an injured one, at that. There was similar inaccurate reporting last year when the Supreme Court reviewed Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Fox News and CNN both prematurely tweeted that a portion of the bill had been shot down, when in fact the bill had been wholly upheld.

When news is reported too soon, it does not represent just the missteps of pundits. Biases and beliefs of news media do not remain those of the individuals who make incorrect statements. Instead, they enter the public sphere. When news is identified as fact rather than viewed as potentially fictitious, it is easy to forget to question its validity. Those of us who watch and read the news sometimes subscribe ourselves—however subconsciously—to the ideals and beliefs presented by the outlet we choose to watch. Because of this, news media must be digested with caution.

People make mistakes, pundits and reporters not excluded. There is no such thing as completely unbiased or entirely factual journalism. Words come from people. People have opinions and make errors, so there naturally will be some biases and inaccuracies, however slight. For this reason, it is impossible to form an opinion entirely your own or be completely informed about an issue if you are getting your information from only one or two sources. It is important to watch, listen and read news from diverse sources for accurate information.

The Boston bombing isn’t the first time news outlets have reported news prematurely, nor will it be the last. To keep ourselves informed, we must look to the entire range of media options we have and analyze the information only after we have filtered it through a skeptical viewpoint. Take everything the news media — especially Internet and television — say with a grain of salt, because the 24-hour news cycle allows for plenty of mistakes due to hasty news coverage.

Allowing only one media outlet to inform you about what is occuring in your community, the country or even the world can skew your ideas about significant events like the Boston bombings. It also can leave you entirely misinformed, as it did for those reading only the New York Post or Washington Post during the hours immediately following the Boston bombing.

Inflammatory statements not only misinform, but perpetuate already under-toned prejudices. News outlets are pressured to break a story first, and that easily can lead to premature finger-pointing like the reports about the alleged “Saudi national” person of interest. Reading daily newspapers in addition to watching television news and reading from online sources also can keep you from being misinformed because printed news sources don’t have the same immediacy as online and television sources.

During times such as the tragedy in Boston when emotions are high and a strong feeling of camaraderie is fostered, it becomes easier to think with the crowd. Even so, you must separate the premature breaking news, which often follows events as significant as the Boston bombing and the Affordable Care Act, from reality. Make sure you watch and listen, but do so with a critical eye. Being ill-informed is worrisome, but so is being uninformed. News media is important and should not be taken lightly as a source of understanding and information. However, it also should not sway your beliefs or decide your truth. Next time you find yourself longing to be informed, flip the channel between a few news stations, open a few newspapers and turn on your thinking cap. It’s the only way to figure out what’s actually happening.

Above, Truman’s CARE for AIDS group poses with the founders of CARE for AIDS. Below, Truman students package meals to be sent to Kenya Friday in Pershing Arena at CARE for AIDS Im[pack]t event. Each packet contained enough food for six people.
Submitted photo

Truman students and local volunteers worked together to package 105,000 meals of rice, lentils, dried vegetables and salt seasonings into sealed bags to be distributed at one of the 15 CARE for AIDS centers in Nairobi, Kenya. CARE for AIDS founders Cornel Onyango and Duncan Kimani, along with volunteers from the organization Feeding Children Everywhere, joined Truman’s CARE for AIDS chapter to host the event.

Jenn Stewart, College Development Fellow for CARE for AIDS, said Truman is one of three universities in the nation that hosts CARE for AIDS University, a student organization with the mission of raising awareness and funds for the Kenyan operations.

Stewart said each of the nutrient-filled packets contains enough food for six people. Weighing about one pound, each pouch is about the same size as a bag of Doritos and has the potential to sustain an entire family for several days, Stewart said.

“Each bag has six meals in it, so that’ll feed a family for a few days,” Stewart said. “If it’s a smaller family with more girls it can last up to twelve meals.”

Onyango and Kimani participated in the event with the volunteers by scooping cups of rice into bags, checking the other tables to ensure they had sufficient supplies and helping with various other tasks.

Onyango said the vision for CARE for AIDS came from his experiences growing up in Kenya and watching people suffer and die daily from HIV. He said AIDS is a problem throughout Kenya largely because those found to be positive for the disease often are shunned by their families and have nowhere to turn, especially the women and children who cannot support themselves.

“Before we started this program we were kind of asking, ‘look at these people suffering innocently,’” Onyango said. “So I said, ‘what can we do to save the women, what can we do to save these children?’”

Onyango said the CARE for AIDS program partners with Nairobi churches to provide counseling, treatment and vocational training. He said the program lasts nine months, during which the staff at each center teaches their clients how to properly take their medicine and eat a nutritionally-balanced diet, as well as counsels the patients and their families as they attempt to embrace the reality of living with HIV and AIDS.

“We just want to bring their life back,” Onyango said. “And so far it has been very positive.”

According to the website careforaids.org, the story of this organization first began during 2007, when three college students returned from a life-changing mission trip to Kenya. These young men — Justin Miller, Zach Fallon and Josh Titus — were inspired by Onyango and Kimani, who hosted them during their trip, Stewart said.

The men told the trio about their desire to help people living with HIV and AIDS — the only thing they lacked was funding, Onyango said. The three students returned home and began raising support, he said. By January 2008 they had gathered substantial funds to open the first CARE for AIDS center at Imani Baptist Church in Nairobi, he said.

“A person living with HIV or AIDS can die as soon as tomorrow,” Onyango said. “That’s how it was. With the proper care, they live over 30 years.”

Through involvement with the CARE for AIDS University chapter, Truman students have helped those halfway around the world. Through their fundraising efforts, the Truman chapter has raised nearly $20,000 in support. Their next event is a textbook drive, which will take place on campus May 6 to 10, according to the CARE  For AIDS website.