WNC News & Notes: Student nets national poetry honor

Western Nevada College writing student Beth Scott has learned that words can mean a lot. She has received an honorable mention in the 6th annual Writer's Digest Poetry Competition for a poem she wrote as a class assignment. With the honor, Scott will receive a formal certificate from Writer's Digest and her poem will be published in the Competition Collection, a compilation of the top 50 poetry selections from the contest. Scott's poem was chosen from more than 10,000 submissions.

It was English Professor Marilee Swirczek's influence that led her to enter the competition. Scott shares, "When I started Marilee's class, I was intimidated by the many talented writers that surrounded me. Throughout the class and from this honor, I've learned a lesson in perseverance."

Scott is a Carson City resident and a retired landscape architect who now spends her time training horses. She writes because she enjoys putting thoughts to words, and searching for metaphors to describe the world around her.

She says, " Poetry changed the way I look at things. I find myself looking at the smallest things, researching all their pieces and trying to convey them with an enhanced perspective."

Her poem, "Letter Home, May 13, 1862" is written from the perspective of a Civil War soldier writing home, griping about the war mules.

Letter Home, May 13, 1862

Our mules do not care for war.

They hardly seem akin to horses.

Cowards, mules do not endure.

Warhorses charge through shell explosions,

Bullet spray and carnage.

They bleed and die among the men.

But the long-eared devils bolt at the crack of pistol fire.

Pack strings drag their drivers through ditches and

Tobacco crops, stampeding for the rear.

Mountain howitzers teeter on their backs,

Munition boxes split and spill their cargo.

Carbines lay like kindling flung about the roads.

Hard-tack and coffee are cast as seeds upon the fields.

Men dodge vengeful bites and lethal kicks to

Catch these contrary creatures

As they high-tail by,

Wrest them to the ground,

Sit on them.

Takes five good men

To throw down a Tennessee Mule.

Night Owls! Davis Observatory to host all-night viewing

The Jack C. Davis Observatory on the Carson City campus will host a full night of stargazing, Saturday, April 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The observatory will remain open until sunrise on Sunday, April 3.

Each year, astronomers try to locate and observe as many celestial objects as possible with the help of astronomer Charles Messier's catalog containing more than 100 galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. Mike Thomas will present a lecture on Messier's celestial wonders at 7 p.m.

For directions, visit www.wnc.edu/observatory.

Summer term registration to begin

Enrollment for summer classes at Western Nevada College begins April 4. Nearly 100 classes will be offered at the Carson City or Fallon campuses, or online. Summer classes provide students the opportunity to fulfill course requirements on a condensed schedule, get prepared for the fall term, or explore other areas of interest.

Summer term begins June 13. Classes vary in length from just a few sessions to eight weeks. Register or view a full list of classes at www.wnc.edu

/academics/schedule.