A few not-so-welcome guests recently took residence in Woodbine Cottage. President Peggy Miller discovered three bats in the living quarters of her on-campus house during the past few weeks.

“The first bat flew out of the front hall and into me when I went to get the morning newspaper.

“The second bat came flying down in front of me while I was working at my computer in the little sitting room/office next to our bedroom upstairs,” said Miller.

“I ran into the third one when I went into the laundry room to put some dirty clothes in the washer on Saturday morning,” she said.

Miller said there was a possibility that spaces under the eves of the house were not completely sealed when Woodbine underwent recent renovations, allowing space for bats to enter the building.

“The Physical Plant has a team that is covering the openings that were left during construction, putting a cover on the chimney, and closing the openings in the attic that had been used previously for ventilation,” said Miller.

Dean Kattelmann, director of the SDSU Physical Plant, refused to comment on its involvement in the situation.

The $450,000 complete external renovations on Woodbine Cottage were funded with student tuition and fees and included replacing the building’s cedar siding, installing insulation, replacing the front porch, refurbishing the stained-glass sidelights, repairing or replacing windows and landscaping.

“It is unfortunate that bats were found in Woodbine, but this is not an uncommon occurrence,” said Students’ Association President Alex Halbach. “I’m sure that the Physical Plant is working very hard to find the problem and get it fixed. I don’t think anyone can really know for sure if this situation is linked to the renovations.”

Scott Pedersen, faculty member in the Biology-Microbiology Department, has studied bats for 25 years and said it is very common for the animals to find their way into homes.

“I have pulled young male bats out of Wenona and the engineering building recently,” said Pedersen. “It is just the time of year when young male bats try to establish a new place to hang out. These young males are not strong fliers and will seek refuge during storms: open garages, windows and ventilation gratings offer good protection from the rain. They then adventure further into the house because they are inquisitive animals and get trapped.”

Pedersen said he usually receives seven to 10 phone calls each week regarding young bats found in private residences.

As far as life at Woodbine is concerned, Miller said she now looks everywhere when entering a room, especially in the corners of the high ceilings. She leaves several lights on, keeps the garage door closed and watches around the outside doors.

“If you encounter a bat, use common sense: open your windows and shoo the animal out of the building without trying to catch the animal,” Pedersen said. “Most bites occur when people make the mistake of catching and/or playing with it.”

A new fall special topics class, The Music of Bavaria and Austria, will give enrolled students the opportunity to take their learning experiences overseas on a weeklong trip.

The class is being taught by David Reynolds, the head of the Music Department.

Reynolds has been leading abbreviated overseas experiences for students for the past eight years.

The class will include lectures that look closely at the musical, artistic, cultural and political history of Bavaria and upper Austria. Specific course topics include Ludwig II, Mozart and Beethoven.

The trip to Bavaria will take place in late November. Students will stay in historic, family-owned hotels. The group will travel to several places, including Munich, Fussen, Kremsmunster and Salzburg.

Reynolds said the student limit for the class is 20. He said students do not need to be music majors for the class, nor do they need to know how to read music.

There is a fee associated with the trip. Costs are under $2,000 and are nearly all inclusive.

He said he first proposed the idea for the course when he became the head of the Music Department last year.

Reynolds said a course such as this is a good chance for students to gain an experience abroad while still taking a full course load at SDSU.

For more information call Reynolds at 688-5187.

A new course that examines how visions of the future shape current communications is being offered as part of the fall 2006 coursebook.

Futuristic Communications, taught by Jason McEntee, assistant professor of English, will examine the idea of futurism both as an artistic movement and as a means to gauge the role of technology in national and global settings.

McEntee said the idea for the class came from Provost Carol Peterson.

The Students’ Association passed a resolution to create a wellness intramural recreation (WIR) committee at its meeting Monday night.

The WIR committee will consist of three SA Senators, two HEROH members, two wellness students, two intramural supervisors, one health faculty member, one wellness faculty member, one intramural faculty member, one community member and one WIR director.

Three Senators were sworn into office at Monday’s meeting.

Three SA executive board members were appointed.

Mitch Fargen was appointed to the state and local chair. Krista Schmidt was appointed to the finance chair and Stephanie Chase was appointed as the administrative assistant.

In other SA news:

Interviews to fill eight open at-large Senate positions are scheduled for Monday, April 3 at 6 p.m.

The at-large candidates will be interviewed by the Senate and chosen by the SA executive board.

Residence Hall Assciation elections are this week.

Tickets are on sale for the Switchfoot concert. The concert is scheduled for Monday, April 24. Tickets can be purchased at Info Exchange.

A six-week safe-ride program will begin Thursday, March 30.

The program is free for SDSU students.

The pilot program will determine whether the safe-ride program will go full-time for the fall semester.

Interior design students at SDSU recently had the chance to put their skills into action.

Les Rowland, a professor in SDSU’s Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design Department, and his wife, Sara, enlisted the help of SDSU interior design students in creating design elements for their new store in Brookings, Planet Kydz.

Planet Kydz is a consignment shop offering gently used brand-name children’s items at affordable prices.

Sara Rowland said the idea for the store came about after she and her husband moved to Brookings four years ago and were surprised that Brookings didn’t have children consignment shops.

While many students spent their spring break free from studying, one group of SDSU students spent their week applying classroom work to real world experiences.

Over spring break, Dr. Thomas Osowski, assistant professor of rural sociology, took seven SDSU students to Mississippi as an extension of his social policy class.

Dr. Osowski gave his social policy students the choice between the spring break trip and a research project looking at federal policy.

Dianne Nagy, the service learning coordinator, said she was the one who came up with the idea for the trip.

The Students’ Association approved the constitution to establish an Equip organization at its meeting Monday night.

According to the mission statement of Equip, the organization exists to provide the information necessary for Christians to strengthen and defend their faith in the areas of Christian history, apologetics and theology.

Representatives from Equip said their organization has an intellectual focus rather than a faith focus.

SA unanimously approved the creation of a campus table tennis team.

Representatives from the team said their first goal is to start recruiting more members.

In other SA news:

Any students that want to apply to be on the presidential search committee to find the next SDSU president can pick up an application in the SA office. Applications are due by Friday, March 17 at 5 p.m.

The UPC announced that Switchfoot will hold a concert at SDSU on March 24 at the Swiftel Concert. Tickets are now on sale and are $16 for SDSU students.

A record number of students attended this year’s health and wellness fair.

A total of 1,405 students visited this year’s fair, compared to last year’s total of 1,250.

The Students’ Association budget of $69,843 was approved at Monday’s meeting.

An $8,000 increase is included in the budget for the creation of a safe ride program for SDSU students.

Although the safe ride funds do not have to be used, having the $8,000 in the budget will help secure a matching grant from the SD Department of Transportation.

The Oakwood budget of $2,100 was approved at Monday’s meeting . SA senators suggested that Oakwood representatives work on establishing the presence of Oakwood to SDSU students. Senators suggested the creation of an Oakwood website and increased advertising.

Senators approved the creation of an SA State and Local executive position.

A special allocation of $1120.82 was approved for the Post Secondary Ag Students (PAS) organization.

The special allocation is contingent that PAS secure $1120.82 from the Ag/Bio college.

The requested funds were requested to help pay for the national competition.

A resolution to promote increasing E-85 vehicles in the SDSU motor pool was passed by SA.

SA approved a 3 percent increase in the General Activity Fee (GAF)

In other SA news:

Over 400 participants attended the SDSU’s winter formal.

The University Program Council is currently sponsoring a food drive. Donations may be dropped off at the UPC office. All donations will go to the downtown Brookings food pantry.

There is currently an opening for UPC coordinator. Students interested in applying can pick up an application from the UPC office.

The Students’ Association approved five constitutions at its meeting Monday night.

SA approved to reinstate the constitution and by-laws for the SDSU Art Club. Representatives said the club will provide an outlet for students interested in art.

The constitution and by-laws for the Muggles for Harry Organization was approved. Representatives said the organization not only provides an outlet for fans of Harry Potter books but is also a community service organization in providing literacy encouragement.

SA approved the constitution and by-laws for the Nepalese Students’ Association.

The constitution and by-laws for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists was approved by SA. Representatives said the association will work to provide awareness among students of opportunities for pharmaceutical scientists.

SA approved the constitution and by-laws for the Japanese Animation and Cultural Society. No representatives attended the meeting.

In other SA news:

The president and vice president debates for SA elections are scheduled for Wednesday, Feb 22 at noon in The Market of The Union.

Students may purchase tickets at info exchange in The Union for the winter formal until Wednesday, Feb. 22.

The wellness center bill was officially signed by Governor Rounds. The proposed project must now pass the Board of Regents in March.