How can you be successful at Keene State?
Some things are obvious: attend class, do your coursework, ask your professor for help early if you feel swamped. Get involved in other ways, too. Studies show that participating in activities helps lead to success in college.

Keene State's small size makes it easy for any student to play a sport, appear on a stage, edit a publication, or lead a trip. Activities will help you meet other students who share your passion for film, politics, sustainability, music, rugby, fencing, or dozens of other interests.

Keene State's student organizations – nearly 100 strong – change from year to year, depending on the expressed interests of students. See the list of clubs and organizations on the Student Center website. And if you don't see the activity you want, start your own club!

KSC also enriches students' lives with a roster of lively events and speakers that bring new perspectives to politics, current events, art, and literature.

Last year, speakers and performers included prominent artist Wolf Kahn, political economist Anwar M. Shaikh, African development expert John Uniak Davis '84, concert pianist Virginia Eskin '94H (performing women's music of the Holocaust), and author John Irving, as well as numerous music ensembles, theatre groups, and dance companies.

During the summer of 2007, all first-year students read Luis Alberto Urrea's The Devil's Highway, a book about immigration that will be discussed in classes, campus forums, and workshops.

As this edition of the Viewbook goes to press, plans are being finalized for a four-day campus-wide symposium on citizenship in the fall of 2007.

And with 2008 being an election year, KSC students will have ample opportunity to meet candidates from both parties during the New Hampshire primary election campaign and in the contest for the presidency.

The Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond showcases dance, music, and drama, bringing renowned performers to the theatre and recital hall. Highlights of the 2006-07 season included a three-week residency by Cambodia's Sovanna Phum dance troupe, a visit by the Chilean folk ensemble Inti-Illimani, Aquila Theatre's production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the Turtle Island String Quartet playing the music of John Coltrane, and the dazzling Dallas Brass.

The Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery featured five exhibits ranging from the kinetic "Art = Body + Mind" to the classic "The Simple Art," featuring works by 16th-century Italian printmakers. The season ended with "Emerging Art," the annual student art exhibit.

Meanwhile, at the L. P. Young Student Center, the Night Owl Café packs them in for weekly Open Mic Night, where students perform for each other, and comedy and pop groups play to enthusiastic audiences.

KSC Centennial Prelude: President Giles-Gee and community members reenacted the vote to found the school in a performance of In Perfect Harmony, February 2007.

For the extrovert lurking in everyone, Open Mic Night is a chance to try out a song or practice a new comedy routine for a friendly audience at the Night Owl Café.

Residential Life staff organizes weekly antics and activities, such as this Holloway Hall/Butler Court Iron Chef Contest, which brought out unimagined culinary skills in student Lauren Duffy and staff member Mark Schmidl-Gagne.

KSC students are eligible for discounted tickets to all Redfern Arts Center events. Pilobolus, a premier dance company, is part of the 2007-08 lineup.

Updated: September 25, 2007