Sixteen Montana State University architecture students have worked to remove barriers for homeless youth in Bozeman by helping design an obstacle course that will be used in a local fundraiser this month.
 
The students from two Honors first-year design classes taught by Brian W. Brush, instructor in the MSU School of Architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture, designed obstacles that will be used in HRDC’s Blueprint Obstacle Adventure Race. The inaugural BOAR event will feature 1K and 5K obstacle races in the style of popular Spartan Races and will be held Saturday, Aug. 21, at Glen Lake Rotary Park, formerly called the East Gallatin Recreation Area. The race is a fundraiser for HRDC’s Blueprint Continuum, which provides housing resources for area homeless youth.

 
Jeremy Alcoke, HRDC Blueprint Continuum coordinator who supports Blueprint’s services, said the MSU-designed obstacles are a key part in what HRDC hopes will be a fun and popular community fundraiser.
 
“We didn’t want to do just another race,” Alcoke said. “We wanted to do something that would also raise awareness about some of the hurdles faced by members of our community.”
 
MSU students became involved after the Bozeman Sunrise Rotary Club, which has supported the local transitional home since 2015, had to step back from providing full support. Also, last summer, Blueprint moved to a larger facility and expanded its services, including rent assistance and long-term housing options, so more funding was needed.

 
HRDC knew races are effective fundraisers in the Bozeman community. The organization already operates Huffing for Stuffing, a popular Thanksgiving Day run that raises money for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Alcoke and others on the race committee had run in popular Spartan Race obstacle runs, and together they wondered if there might be a way to bring the energy and enthusiasm of an obstacle race to the Blueprint Continuum. The race committee emailed the School of Architecture faculty seeking assistance designing the obstacles.

 
At about the same time Brush, who earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from MSU in 2005, was appointed studio director for the school’s Community Design Center. Brush is a runner and outdoor athlete, so the committee’s email caught his attention.
 
“I thought that this was the kind of project that was in my wheelhouse,” Brush said. “I replied that I’d be interested in helping out.”
 
Brush thought the project a good fit for his Honors first-year design studio, which focuses on the design of full-scale objects and spaces that interact with the human body. He also thought the project would give the students an exercise in empathy and public service.
 
The six students in the 2020 first-year Honors spring design studio began working on the project in early 2020. Brush successfully applied for a grant from MSU’s Undergraduate Scholars program so the students could participate in a Spartan Race in California in February 2020 and learn about obstacle races firsthand. But soon after they returned from the race, the COVID-19 pandemic forced MSU classes online, including the studio.

 
“(The quarantine) definitely changed the dynamic, but we switched to digital tools and began designing remotely,” Brush said.
 
Atticus Cummings said the project was a major highlight of his first year, helping him to be aware of demographics in his hometown of Bozeman that were not on his radar before – particularly homeless youth and alternately able athletes.
 
“As a college student, this experience taught me how rewarding it is to take the learning we are doing in school and apply it in the real world to help people,” Cummings said.
 
Rebecca Hennings, now a third-year architecture major from Loveland, Colorado, said working on the project helped her find her place at MSU as a freshman and taught her unexpected skills such as grant proposal writing and project management. It also demonstrated the many options she would have in a future career.

 
“I feel proud of the work that my team did on this project,” Hennings said. “We worked very hard to make obstacles that were enjoyable and accessible, also addressing youth homelessness. This had the added challenge of being abruptly moved to an online course halfway through. We all adapted and learned new programs and continued our collaboration.”

 
The class resumed a year later with 10 new Honors freshmen. Professor Zuzanna Karczewska and instructor Stephanie Irwin also worked with the new class. In all, the students produced a packet of about 30 obstacle designs that they presented to the BOAR committee for consideration.
 
The committee opted to build 16 obstacles that would appeal to a broad range of racer abilities. The 1K is designed to be equitable for all skill levels and accessibility, while the 5K offers more athletic challenges. The obstacles range from what is called a The BOAR strong wall where participants will scale out into the water to a spin maze composed of a field of rotating gates.

 
“We worked with the thought of how we can make this fun and different,” Brush said. HRDC then made the obstacles from materials donated by community partners.
 
Ryann Spang, now a second-year architecture student from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, was in the second class to work on the project and designed the spin maze obstacle. She said working on the project taught her how to “think beyond myself, to see through multiple, unique perspectives. I’ve come to realize that there is so much more to architecture than simply designing buildings.”

 
Spang said she found the process so interesting that she continued to volunteer on the project after class ended helping to build some of the obstacles for the BOAR race, including her design.
 
“I had invested so much emotion into the project that I couldn’t just stop after the class came to an end,” Spang said. “Everything about this project has been such a great learning experience.”
 
Brush said the exercise of designing the accessible 1K course obstacles exposed students to design considerations that come from the Americans with Disabilities Act.
 
“It was also a good lesson in how the design of these obstacles could teach awareness and engender empathy for the homeless,” Brush said.
 
Ralph Johnson, director of the School of Architecture, said the design of the BOAR obstacles is an excellent example of service learning, where students in the school gained hands on experience in accessible design through working with a real client, HRDC, to solve a difficult set of design challenges. 

 
“The project was a wonderful example for first year students of not only the role architects can plan in a community but also the role of the School of Architecture in fulfilling the University’s Land Grant mission,” Johnson said. “It is undoubtably an academic experience for which they can be very proud.”

 
Alcoke said he expects around 500 participants in the inaugural Aug. 21 race. HRDC hopes it will be an annual Bozeman event.
 
“We’re trying to be accessible to all community members, from obstacles that allow anyone to participate, from mothers pushing strollers and racers with ambulatory difficulty and racers with developmental disabilities to challenges for experienced racers,” Alcoke said. “It will be special.”
 
For more details about the race, including aged-based pricing, see runtheBOAR.com.

Montana State University has once again been recognized among some of the top universities in the world for its scientific impact and collaboration.

The university earned a spot on the CWTS Leiden Ranking for 2021, which ordered the 1,225 universities in the world with the largest contributions in international scientific journals. MSU is one of just 200 universities in the U.S. to be included on the list.

The ranking is based on universities’ scientific contributions published in scholarly journals, as well as the impact those scientific findings have on the international community. Impact is measured by the number of times the research is cited in subsequent journal articles.

MSU’s overall publication impact rank was 915, while its overall collaborations ranking was 843. According to the Leiden Ranking, MSU had 1,290 published articles appear in the citation database during the 2016-2019 period used in the latest ranking. Close to a tenth of those articles were among the top 10% of papers cited in their respective fields, signifying their high impact.

“We are proud to see our world-class faculty receive this merited recognition,” said Jason Carter, MSU vice president for research, economic development and graduate education. “MSU’s research and publications continue to have an impact globally, in addition to our service to the state and nation, and I look forward to the continuing efforts across campus to make a difference on a large scale.”

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert Mokwa added that MSU's continued inclusion in the rankings remains a point of pride for its research community.

“Recognitions based on actual work and impact, like the Leiden Ranking, signal that our research and creative solutions to challenging problems are touching lives all over the world”, Mokwa said. “I am proud of our faculty for their efforts in preparing students for exciting careers and for providing the state new opportunities with emerging and important sectors that contribute to the diversity of Montana’s economy. We are humbled and appreciate greatly this recognition for our creative, innovative and hard-working faculty.”

MSU tallied an all-time high for total research expenditures in 2019-2020, totaling $167 million. This marks an 8% increase over the previous year’s expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation and the seventh year in a row that research expenditures have topped $100 million.

The Leiden Ranking is based on a leading bibliographic database, the Web of Science. More information, including the full list, is available at the Leiden Ranking website.

The word festival might make you think of loud music and sleeping in a tent.

A festival, however, can be more of a show of a nation’s culture and tradition. Festivals bring people together in a unique bond of brotherhood and camaraderie. Would you like to be a part of these celebrations? The chances are you would adore the opportunity to experience such cultural journeys. We share some festivals celebrated in various parts of the world that bind people with joy and gaiety.

Holi (India, Nepal, and Pakistan)
Ushering in spring is the “festival of colors,” also known as the “festival of love,” Holi. Held every year in late February or early March, Holi celebrates the victory of good over evil. The festival begins on the night of Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi and the following day is the burst of colors: Holi.

Of the many legends associated with Holi, there's one that says that it’s a celebration of the victory of Lord Vishnu and Prahlada over the latter’s father, the power-hungry Hiranyakashipu. Another legend goes that the festival celebrates Radha’s deep love for Lord Krishna. Some associate the festival with Lord Shiva, the destroyer of evil.

Fes Festival of World Sacred Music (Fes, Morocco)
It is probably the world’s finest music festival, which was launched in 1994 under the patronage of King Mohammed VI. The festival is a celebration of the ancient city of Fes founded around the late 8th or early 9th century and showcased the rich traditions in spirituality and the arts.

Featuring around 60 different concerts and shows, the artists performing in the festival keep changing every year. There’s an array of musicians who have performed at the festival. Multimedia performances are held all along the festival, and there are nights of the mystic sacred Sufi Music.

Mount Hagen Cultural Show (Papua New Guinea)
Despite being the world's second-largest island after Greenland, Papua New Guinea has a low population of only 8 million people living on a large island. Home to more than 7000 cultural groups, Papua New Guinea has enough variety in its culture, and you need time to experience it thoroughly.

Held annually since 1964 in the Western Highlands, the show brings together various cultural groups to foster brotherhood and prevent feelings of animosity. There are representatives from more than 100 tribes who showcase their culture in vibrant costumes playing enchanting music.


Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China)
The Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival is unique. It is held in biting cold in Harbin, where temperatures plummet to -31°F. Yet, people flock to Harbin as the city showcases some of the world’s largest ice sculptures in a month-long festival. The sculptures are displayed at two of the main exhibition areas: the recreation area on the banks of the Songhua River showcasing giant sculptures and the Ice Snow World, which opens its doors only at night. There are other attractions as well, like alpine skiing, ice lantern exhibitions, and the unthinkable- a swim in Songhua River's ice-cold water.

Semana Santa (Spain)
The Holy Week, in much of Latin America, is called the Semana Santa. It’s an extravagant celebration of the holiday here in Spain featuring processions of Catholic brotherhoods whose origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Though the central elements remain largely the same, there’s plenty of variety in the celebrations from one region to the other. The cities of Malaga and Seville see the most elaborate celebrations while things tend to be far more somber in Valladolid and Zamora. Penitents march along in colorful robes covering their faces. Bound by chains and shackles, many walk barefoot carrying candles or crosses.

Smart Way to Book your Tickets
You might be eager to book your trip to one of these festivals. Of course, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of them had to postpone until further notice. However, you can prepare for the future. And one way to prepare is to get the best deal for traveling. Tools like Atlas VPN are great at helping users find exclusive deals. Change your virtual location by connecting to a VPN server, and you will find better deals for many goods. For instance, festival tickets, car rentals, or plane tickets are one of the possible things to be discounted.

Festivals are a celebration of brotherhood and fraternity. They are a display of the culture and tradition of a region. Some of them have their origins in religion, while some showcase music and art. Festivities make you forget your worries and immerse you in joy and happiness. Join the celebrations for the experience of a lifetime.

Writing an argumentative essay is an academic project commonly assigned to students. While crafting the essay is already challenging in itself, choosing the right topic can also be tricky. Some topics have been written about so many times before they have become stale. Among such, one area you can look at is mental health. In this post, we explain what an argumentative essay is and offer a list of mental illness argumentative essay topics that double as persuasive speech topics about mental health.

What Is an Argumentative Essay

As the term itself suggests, an argumentative essay is a type of essay that presents an argument concerning a topic. This argument may be a position on a contentious issue, a specific claim, or any such similar statement. The purpose of this essay is to convince the reader to recognize the argument as valid.

Tips on Writing an Argumentative Essay on Mental Health

Completing an argumentative essay about mental health can be a little daunting. After all, this topic can get complex and, in some instances, even controversial. That does not mean you should not write about it. In fact, writing about mental health can be a very educational experience. Whatever topic you choose, keep in mind the tips below to make the writing process faster and easier.

1. Choose a fresh topic. There are many topics to choose from. But a lot of these have been selected before, thus making them somewhat boring to professors. When writing your argumentative essay on mental illness, try coming up with a fresh topic. Consider an angle no one else has written about before. Make the paper surprising to keep your reader hooked.

2. Keep it fact-based. Psychology and psychiatry fall squarely within the realm of the sciences. Therefore, mental health essay topics should be based on sound scientific information. Be sure to conduct adequate research and choose only reputable sources. Avoid skewing details just so you can embellish your arguments. Twisting facts or distorting the truth to strengthen a point is never an option.

3. Observe sensitivity and empathy. There’s a lot of stigmas affecting mental illness essay topics. People diagnosed with mental health conditions are already gravely misrepresented on various platforms. So make sure you write with sensitivity and empathy. Avoid using offensive or derogatory words, use accepted or standard terminology, and do not include myths or misconceptions.

4. Know your reader. Not all readers are the same. Some readers may have more knowledge of mental health than others. Create a profile of your reader, including their possible level of knowledge regarding the topic, their attitudes, and any assumptions they may have. This will help you write a paper that they can comprehend and connect with.

5. Advocate for progress and social change. Unless you have no choice about the position or specific subject, try to write in a way that advocates for positive transformation. Mental health is an important subject, as issues affect millions of people around the world. Who knows, your essay might not just get you a good grade but also inspire your reader to take action.

Issues related to mental health are ideal topics for argumentative essays. But because of the nature of this subject, doing the essay can be hard. These tips are designed to smoothen the process. So make sure you follow them as you complete your essay. 

Argumentative Essay Topics About Mental Health

The important thing to remember when writing your essay is that the topic should be debatable. There is no use in advancing an established fact as your argument. The topics listed below are written as questions since they can be answered in different ways. The answer will serve as your thesis.

Should the DSM V be reviewed and revised?
Are Americans overdiagnosed with mental health conditions?
Are Americans overmedicated?
Are American children overdiagnosed with mental health conditions?
Is there a link between the number of working hours and the risk of developing mental illness?
Is the importance of mental health downplayed in popular culture?
Is social media bad for mental health?
Should mental health treatment be free?
Should reparations be paid to people diagnosed with disorders removed from the DSM?
Are current depictions of mental illness in film and television beneficial or harmful?
Is there a link between artistic talent and mental illness?
Is the American mental health system lagging behind compared to other countries?
How strong is the evidence linking COVID-19 to mental health illness?
Should mental health illness caused by COVID-19 be covered by health insurance?
Is working from home better or worse for mental health?
Should health insurance coverage for mental health be expanded?
Is there a hidden epidemic of mental health illness in the United States?
What is the best way to address drug dependence?
Which diagnosis in the DSM V should be removed?
Does social media contribute to the development of narcissistic personality disorder?

Because of the similarities between argumentative and persuasive essays, mental health argumentative essay topics may also be considered as persuasive essay topics on mental illness. In fact, the similarities in these types of essays and their speech counterparts make them also appropriate as mental health persuasive speech topics.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a police officer with the Bozeman Police Department? Do you often question why the Bozeman Police Officers do what they do or wonder what challenges the community faces? Is it really possible to solve crime in an hour or less?

The Bozeman Police Department is proud to sponsor the thirteenth session of our popular Citizen’s Police Academy.

This FREE class will meet every Wednesday evening from 6:15-8:30 pm over the course of eight weeks with an opportunity to ride along with our patrol officers in their beat! The academy starts September 22, 2021 and will run through November 10, 2021.

One of the main objectives of the Citizen’s Police Academy is to have fun while fostering stronger communication between the citizens of Bozeman and our police department. It is also to enhance citizen understanding and awareness of the role of the Bozeman Police Department.

This will be a hands-on training with an emphasis on student involvement. Classes about the department and criminal justice system will be offered to the students so there can be a better understanding of the services the Bozeman Police Department provides to our community. Students will learn about the different divisions, such as patrol, detective, and support services.

If you are interested in attending this high-energy event or have questions, contact Community Resource Officer Marek Ziegler at mziegler@bozeman.net or at 582-2969. You may also find this application via Bozeman Police – Community Involvement - Citizen’s Police Academy or directly at Citizens Police Academy | City Of Bozeman

Don’t delay, this event fills up fast!

Outreach Bozeman- A partnered program between Bozeman Police Department, HRDC, City of Bozeman, and the Downtown Bozeman Partnership

The City of Bozeman, HRDC, Downtown Bozeman Partnership and Bozeman Police Department have partnered to launch a pilot program, Outreach Bozeman. The purpose of Outreach Bozeman is to educate, communicate, and work with our business community to provide the resources and knowledge needed to understand and respond to our homelessness needs with compassion and understanding. We want to ensure our approach is sensitive to the unique needs of individuals experiencing homelessness, while also responding to the safety concerns of the greater community.

Outreach Bozeman is aimed at education, outreach and involvement and is currently providing the following resources available to our businesses, property owners and community members. The following resources are now available, and data will be collected and updated regularly.

• Downtown Partnership Business Resources:
      o Homelessness Resource Toolkit: PDF Document

• HRDC Resources:
      o De-Escalation Trainings will be provided to businesses, schedule and information will be sent through email platforms. The first de-escalation training was held on July 30, 2021 and the next will be held this fall. HRDC’s Outreach Specialist(s) will conduct street outreach.
      o Homeless Services: Homeless Services | The HRDC - Bozeman & Livingston, MT

• Bozeman Police Department Services and Resources:
      o Bozeman Police Officer is teaming up with HRDC for weekly Downtown walk-arounds to speak with persons experiencing homelessness and businesses.
      o Contact: Community Resource Officer – Marek Zeigler, mziegler@bozeman.net
      o Police non-emergency line – 406-582-2000

For more information contact the Downtown Bozeman Partnership at 586-4008 or check out our website at https://downtownbozeman.org/news/outreach-bozeman.

Bozeman, MT— The Bozeman Public Library will feel a little different this fall as longtime Children’s Librarian Cindy Christin is set to retire on August 6, 2021. The City of Bozeman and the Bozeman Public Library wish Cindy the best as she takes on this next part of her life and thank her for over three decades of work spent in the Library. 


Cindy Christin started part-time at the Bozeman Public Library in August 1988. Over the past few decades, Cindy has started Books & Babies, Little Ones toddler storytime, Turn Off the TV week (and Library Sleepover), Kids Book Club, Creative Workshops, Ready2Read early literacy programs, including Ready2Read Reach Out to childcare programs, the Library PlaySpace project providing blocks and other play materials, the Outdoor PlaySpace, and other services for families with young children.


Cindy will continue to organize the Children’s Festival of the Book, which is planned for Saturday, November 13 featuring author Chris Barton and illustrator Don Tate. This will be the 12th year bringing award-winning creators of children’s books. She will also stay involved with early literacy projects with the Montana State Library, and the Collaborative Summer Library Program which provides summer reading materials and resources nationwide.

 
On the topic of her retirement Cindy says, “I hope to spend more time doing all the things I love outside of my job: time with friends and family, reading, playing and listening to music, hiking and walking, and maybe a few new activities!”
 
She adds that she will miss so much about her work, “Most of all I will miss the interactions with families and children on a daily basis, getting to know kids and watching them grow up, and helping readers find books. If I’m lucky I’ll still get to see families around town, and on visits back to the Library!”

 
Susan Gregory, Library Director says, “There are some people in this world who, because of their instinctive understanding of a child’s spirit, will enrich a child’s life in a profound, lifelong manner. Cindy Christin is one of those people.  Her joy in working with children and their families is almost tangible.”

 
She adds, “It’s impossible to count how many children have discovered the wonder of books, words and ideas because of Cindy’s influence not only in Bozeman but through her early literacy work at a state and national level.  We will miss her very much but we’re excited for her future plans and we’re thrilled that she will continue to produce our annual Children’s Festival of the Book.  Her delight in working with our littlest patrons and their loved ones is contagious!”

 
Cindy will continue to work as the Children’s Librarian until her last day on August 6, 2021. All patrons are encouraged to drop by to wish her well. For those wanting to share their appreciation with Cindy there will have a banner in the atrium for people to leave a note. This is for patrons of all ages to leave their mark, just like Cindy has left her mark on patrons of all ages!