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By Mandi Enger
The Nevada State College (NSC) Department of Financial Aid welcomed the Henderson Police Department Financial Crimes Unit to campus on Thursday, Feb. 21 to discuss Identity Theft and Internet Fraud with a group of students, faculty, and staff. The event was held in the Marydean Martin Library as the fourth segment of NSC’s Financial Literacy Series.
It was an honor to have Detective Chris White and Detective Brent Wagner visit the NSC campus, said Anthony Morrone, associate director of financial aid and student employment. The topic of identity fraud is important as many individuals have been victim to these crimes or are likely to become victims in their lifetimes.
Topics covered by the officers included an overview of identity theft related crimes, preventative actions for all individuals, and recommended steps for those affect by this type of theft.
As a victim of identity theft, I attended this presentation to learn how to prevent it from happening to me again, said Tony Dare, an NSC visual media student. The warnings provided by the officers, such as signs of skimming machines on ATMs, were the most helpful to me.
The Financial Literacy Series was introduced to the NSC campus in November 2012. The casual, discussion-based presentations are open to current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents. Topics such as budgeting and understanding credit, have been selected based on student needs recognized the Department of Financial Aid. Presentations have featured both guest speakers and online webinars.
Our team developed the Financial Literacy Series as many of our students may not have experience in managing finances, budgeting for higher education, or repaying loans post-graduation, added Morrone. Additional topics such as identity theft have been added to the series due to special requests made by students.
Two upcoming presentations will complete the series for the spring semester. Scholarships and Grants will be held on March 26 at 10 a.m. in the Basic and Water II (BWII) building, room 203 and on March 28 at 2 p.m. in the Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) building, room 127. Loan Repayment Options will take place on April 18 at 9 a.m. in BWII, room 105 and again at 2 p.m. in LAS 127.
The series is anticipated to resume during the fall 2013 semester.
For additional information on the series, please call 702-992-2150 or email financialaid@nsc.edu.
If you have been a victim of fraud or would like to learn more about fraud protection, please visit fightfraud.nv.gov.

By Mandi Enger
Committed to building long-lasting traditions for Nevada State College (NSC), a group of students joined together on Monday, Feb. 18 to hike to the top of the McCullough Mountain located just south of the college’s Liberal Arts and Sciences building.
Led by Nevada State Student Alliance (student government) President Deuvall Dorsey, the four-mile hike has become a ritual and friendly challenge for many NSC students, faculty, and staff. In honor of its mascot, the college nicknamed the mountain Mount Scorpion in early 2012.
Creating traditions such as the hike to Mount Scorpion instills a sense of accomplishment, pride, and camaraderie for participants, said Dorsey. As a relatively young institution, it is important that we develop a sense of community to share with current and future students.
The first official group hike was held on Oct. 26, 2012. Originally planned solely as an annual Nevada Day event, the Feb. 18 hike was planned due to popular demand from students.
An avid hiker, NSC President Bart Patterson has hiked Mount Scorpion three times, including two trips with the student group.
I’m proud to see such a spirit of adventure and school pride in our students, said Patterson. Our campus culture is developing into something truly fantastic with our students leading the charge.
Assistant Professor of English, Gregory Robinson is the first known NSC hiker to reach the top of Mount Scorpion. In 2009, during his first hike, Robinson left a journal at the mountaintop for future hikers to sign. To-date, over 50 entries have been made in the journal by members of the NSC campus community as well as other area hikers.
Robinson recently retrieved the journal with plans to archive its contents in NSC’sMarydean Martin Library. A new journal was placed at the mountaintop by students during the February hike.
In the future, Dorsey and other members of the NSC community plan to work with city in order to officially name the hiking trail on behalf of the college.

By Mandi Enger

Nevada State College was proud to partner with the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to host an on-campus Tourette syndrome (TS) lecture on Monday, Feb. 11.
Held in the Marydean Martin Library, the presentation titled Tourette Syndrome: In the Classroom and School, focused on the symptoms of TS, co-occurring conditions, and educational considerations for students affected by the syndrome.
Topics of discussion included personal management techniques for families and children as well as classroom strategies that can create the best possible learning environments for students with TS.
TS is often misunderstood by the public and even many professionals in both the education and medical fields, said Shirli Brautbar, assistant professor of history at NSC. This lecture was a step in the direction of providing our campus and community with up-to-date information.
Led by Judy Peterson, a nationally recognized expert in the field of TS, the event welcomed education and nursing students and faculty from NSC, local K-12 educators, school nurses, psychologists, and social workers.
Peterson is a mother of an adult son with TS. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Speech Communications and English-Language Arts and is a former high school teacher. She previously taught at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado. In November 2000, Peterson received the National Tourette Syndrome Distinguished Educator Award.
An advocate of expanding TS education and peer training in schools, Peterson shared her family’s experiences in learning about TS when her son was diagnosed at the age of 9. According to Peterson, Tourette syndrome is more common that once thought it is likely that at least one child in every school has TS.
My goal is for kids with TS to be able to verbal about it, she stated during the presentation. It’s important to teach your child how to talk about his own symptoms and how he feels about himself. Open communication is the best thing we can do for our kids.
The speaking event was organized by Brautbar in collaboration with Roberta Kaufman, assistant professor of education. The event was made possible through a CDC grant designed to raise TS awareness in coordination with the TSA.