Coming events

A Reading to Benefit Hurricane Katrina victims takes place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. today (Wednesday, Sept. 14) in the Student Center Auditorium. Seven authors from the English department's Creative Writing Program will read from their works and from the works of writers of the Gulf Coast Region. A $2 donation is suggested. All proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

A fund-raising dinner for Hurricane Katrina survivors and their families is from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15 at the Newman Catholic Center. The suggested donation is $5 at the door. Jambalaya, gumbo and red beans and rice is on the menu. The dinner is sponsored by Tau Kappa Epsilon and the Inter-Greek Council.

Lee Jones, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and professor of Educational Foundations at the University of Wisconsin lectures on "Diversity: What Does it Really Mean?" at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15, in Student Center Ballroom D. Jones is the author of five books relating to blacks in higher education.

SIUC's Hispanic Student Council hosts Festival Latino, in the University's Free Forum area, from noon to 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16. There will be plenty of food, cultural performances, music and fun.

Area playwrights, actors and directors will participate in a "24-Hour Play Day," a 24-hour theater project — during which they'll collaborate, write and perform their own original short plays this weekend. Activities begin with a brainstorming session at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, in the Communications Building and culminate with performances beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, in the building's Christian H. Moe Laboratory Theatre. The event is open to all. Admission to the staged plays is free.

Parents and children can take advantage of seasonal weather to participate in a Botany Quest, from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17. Meet at University Museum by 1 p.m. to get a ride to Giant City State Park. Parents and children can then create a plant journal and explore the outdoors. The cost for a parent/child pair is $20, and $12 for each additional child. For more information contact University Museum Education Coordinator Robert DeHoet at 618/453-5388.

A panel discussion on "Current Issues in European Media Law," is at 11:30 a.m., Monday, Sept. 19, in the Kleinau Theater in the Communications Building. The main presenter is Ad van Loon, an adjunct professor of law at the New York Law School, and a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Five panelists from SIUC's law school and the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts will join the discussion. The event is free.