Fall newsletter 2015 Draft 2

The Appalachian Popular Programming Society Presents:

The Fall

Newsletter 2015

Homecoming 2015 Not every school performs kazoo routines in costume or takes part in the largest single day blood drive in the country, but here at Appalachian, it’s tradition. APPS took part in every aspect of the Homecoming festivities, and not only did we take part, we went above and beyond to show our school spirit while letting our creativity shine. Banner and Kazoo Band brought home the gold, which in itself is something to be proud of. But without the support (and points) from Lip Sync, Float and Blood Drive, we would not have accomplished the title that we did. The Appalachian Popular Programming Society won first place out of all of the University Funded Organizations on campus. Thank you to all of our members for attending long rehearsals, making extra props without being asked, but most of all for your enthusiasm and for making Homecoming fun! APPS in Wonderland will go down the rabbit hole in history as a very merry unbirthday for all.

Tory Lanez gets sent back to the stage on the arms of fans (left)

The crowd gets ready to jump for joy at the thought of a performance

by Lanez (right)

Deniro Farrar serenades a fan (left)

Dizzy and Tory: A New Era for APPS Last year, with the arrival of a new director of student programs came a refreshed mission for APPS. This year we, as an organization, have worked harder than ever to execute the goals of that mission. Jeff Cathey, the director of Student Programs and beloved mentor and friend to us all, has encouraged inclusivity and diversity in our programming. This idea echoes requests from the student body as well as thoughts that the members and executive board of APPS have had for years. While we have always been a programming board designed to serve the entirety of the Appalachian community, we have been ignoring some key groups when it comes to our choices in events.

This year, we have already worked towards fixing that problem. With performances by Dizzy Wright and Tory Lanez, we have provided entertainment at Legends for people who may have never gone to an APPS event otherwise. In the future, APPS hopes to continue bringing events that stretch the reach of our genres in order to diversify the events that happen on campus.

CASE Council CASE put on a lot of wildly successful events this semester. The What Not to Wear event put on by CASE was an informational fashion show followed by a mediated discussion. CASE chairperson Khedema Roberts emceed the event and Everette Nichols, the Interim Assistant Director of Multicultural Student Development, mediated the platform for open discussion that followed the show. Students from various cultural groups including, but not limited to, the Women's Center, Black Student Association, and the African Culture Club demonstrated stereotyped Halloween costumes that pertain to their identities. The presenters gave examples of culturally appropriated Halloween costumes and explained why they were seen as inappropriate.

Ash Beckham, a TEDx viral sensation, brought her powerful speech "Give Voice to Your Truth" to Legends. The event began with a small meet and greet and then grew into a larger conversation. She took the topic of hard conversations, such as coming out of the closet, and tailored it to the cultural climate at Appalachian. She used her point of view as a part of the LGBTQIA community to relate to and give insight to the students that may have similar difficult discussions. Her message was simple, "we aren't that different". Her approach is frank, "mean what you say". Her goal was humble; help others recognize the power of empathy, respect and conversation. -Morgan Nystedt

CASE Chairperson Khedema Robert (right) poses with member Ana Krah (center) and APPS President, Jazmine Griffin (left) at the Diversity Photoshoot

APPS members pose with performers from Step Afrika

The council chose Norah Hopkins as the "Council Pick" this semester. She's a criminal justice major and is a super involved student. She always gives 100% to CASE and is the first to jump on any task. She signs up for more than one assignment at a time but never fails to produce quality work.

Norah is super awesome! -Khedema Robert, CASE Chairperson Right: Norah (top center) poses with Paige, Morgan and Elise

Cain Luke has become a key member of Club Shows' success, quickly proving his photo shop skills at the start of the year.

Everything from unique flyers to creative buttons and labels Cain is quick to volunteer to help. Members in the council obviously note his hard work and that is why he is the council pick for the Fall 2015 semester! -Taylor Rogers, Club Shows Chairperson

Travers Brothership (below), Ethan Sermersheim of The Remarks (right)

Club Shows Arson Daily members Zach Dunham and Chip Cannon play their headlining show after winning Battle of the Bands last year (left)

While club shows typically puts on the smallest shows, the first show of the year was quite the opposite. We started this year off with a sold out performance by Rainbow Kitten Surprise which could be described simply as "lit". Just a few months before, this band was just getting started on the small stage at Legends. The line for Rainbow Kitten's debut on the big stage extended into the parking lot of Legends before the doors even opened. Sensation of Falling started off the show with the perfect amount of energy.

The crowd was eager for this very young band to take the stage and the energy created by Sensation of Falling grew exponentially throughout the set. This was a perfect show to set the tone for a successful semester. -Savannah Ruff, Club Shows Secretary

Heritage Council

The Heritage Council pick is Morgan Nystedt. Even though she is an officer for another council, she puts just as much work into our promotions and events. Whenever she signs up to make glass cases, I know that they are going to be on time, easy to read, and eye catching! She has even taken on leading the luthiers and workshops group for the Fiddler's Convention this year! Morgan is a very reliable member and she is a pleasure to work with! -Jacqueline Hundley, Heritage Chairperson

On October 30th, APPS Heritage hosted a Costume Contra at Legends. Around 160 students and people from the community attended, making it our club's largest dance of the semester by far.

Not only was there lively dancing, but there was also a cake walk with homemade goodies provided by the council members as well as a costume contest with various prizes. I can't remember seeing anyone there without a costume, everyone was in the Halloween spirit. The dancing never died down and continued well into the night. Hannah Seay, Hertage Secretary

Contra dancers take their places (above), a glass case advertisement for heritage week (right)

Shaun (far right) has been a very active member since he joined APPS. His passion is seen by all who get the opportunity to work with him. He volunteers in every meeting, will stay for full shifts during Hospitality, and does whatever he can to help me, the council, and the artists. His eagerness is appreciated by all of Concerts, and he serves as a mentor and role model to all the new members. Maggie Sherwood, Concerts Chairperson The Steep Canyon Rangers show off their incredible musical abilities (right)

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Tory Lanez performs for an excited crowd

Concerts Council Concerts has had a fairly relaxed semester with only having put on three shows. Cherub started the year out with a sold out show on September 26th. They're always a Boone favorite and this show was no exception. Next to the stage was Steep Canyon Rangers. It wasn't a sell out, but it was definitely a great time! There was a huge community presence and everyone left saying that it was one of the most entertaining shows they've been to at Legends. Last but certainly not least was Tory Lanez. It was a crazy (and fun!) show, complete with stage diving, walking on the hands of the crowd, and dancing on the monitors. It was definitely one to remember. We're looking forward to what next semester will bring! Caitlin Goff, Concerts Secretary

The Films Council pick this year is Matthew Raynor, Matthew is not only a member of films but also an officer in the special events council. Matthew is always willing to lead a helping hand from assisting with promo sign-ups during meetings to actually making promo himself. I can always count on him to finish them all on time and offer to help others that may not be done yet. He also comes to many of the movies as well as other apps events to support all the councils. I couldn't think of a better person to represent what an outstanding member truly is.

-Sarah Pettigrew, Films Chairperson

Films Council The Films Council is one of the 7 awesome committees to be apart of APPS. Not only has Films been able to show the most popular latest films at I.G. Greer, but we also show kickin' retro ones at Greenbriar! Not to mention, our council has been able to show both sensory-friendly movies and showings with a deeper social message, sparking conversation in our community. Although all that is super rad, Films is known to have an awesome addition of "First Fives."

Essentially, the committee votes on what phrase or action will allow the first five people to watch a movie for free! Isn't democracy great? Happy watching! -Hannah Slayton, Films Secretary

There is some overlap in the members of Fims and the student employees who ensure that our films are shown. A group of them gather for a meal after work (left)

Stage Shows

Stage Shows has been filled with many successes, but above all, Dizzy Wright has to be the one. With only a little more than two weeks to promote the show, the council really came together and it resulted in an awesome event. Rainbow Kitten Surprise was shortly after, and was a sold out show. We have a cosponsorship with Concerts next semester: Moon Taxi with The Lonely Biscuits, so things are only getting better!

Looking forward to another lit semester. Tyler Hurd, Stage Shows Secretary

Michael Ream, a sophomore, was selected by Stage Shows council to be the council pick this semester. Michael always puts 110% into APPS, ever since he joined as a freshman. He's an officer for another council, but still volunteers for extra work in Stage Shows. He's at every show early, and willing to help out, even if he's not doing hospitality. You can count on him to be in the office playing music, spreading cheer, and happily completing promo or a task that needs an extra hand.

Michael is a great person for the council to go to with questions, and we can always count on him. Thank you, Michael! -Kate Rhudy, Stage Shows Chairperson

The hospitality crew (right) poses with Luke Combs. A successful show thanks to this group of people and others!

Students paint pumpkins at Appalfest (left)

Noni Alexander, long time Special Events member, had a grand time at inflatable soccer

Special Events has had great success this semester! At the beginning of the semester we had Jeff Lindsay, the author of the book series the hit TV show Dexter was based on, come speak to the student body. We weren't expecting the best turn out because we had never done something like this before. The turn out was surprisingly fantastic and everyone loved hearing what he had to say.

Later in the semester we had our annual AppalFest event that went great. We partnered with APPS councils we never had for this event before and the attendees loved it. We got to incorporate Appalachian culture with an apple cider press and had people jumping on inflatables while WASU played throughout campus. Overall this semester has been outstanding for Special Events and we owe it all to our great members! -Haley Patton, Special Events Chairperson

Special Events

Maddie Lippy (above left) joined Special Events this semester and immediately became one of the most dedicated members to the council! She always signs up for promo and is willing to help if anyones needs it. She works almost every event and kills it sharing events on social media! -Haley Patton, Special Events Chairperson

One of our beloved advisors, Jana Vise, is leaving us this semester.

She has been a supportive role model and friend to many of us over the years and while we will miss her greatly, we are very happy and excited for what will come next in her journey! Thank you, Jana, for your hard work and dedication to APPS and to all of us. Don't forget Texas is only a phone call away!

We'll miss you, Jana!

It's Been A Fantastic Semester, Thanks To You!

We truly would be nothing without our members. Every film, every makeand-take, every concert at Legends, every lecturer, every dance has a dedicated team of people behind it. To those who stopped doing homework to come to a meeting, to those who signed up to work on a poster even though they had absolutely no photoshop experience, to those who hated the band but came to the show anyway to support their council, to those who carried sandwich boards in the rain, put bed sheets up in the wind, and painted with brushes that could be mistaken for rocks, your dedication does not go unnoticed. Every chairperson, vice president, president, and advisor sees your hard work on a daily basis. The success we have had this semester is because of YOU! Thank you.