PLATO Weekly Update 

February 28, 2023

CURRICULUM

SPRING COURSES
Spring Courses are underway! Some courses still have space – view the Spring Course Schedule posted on the Courses page and contact the course coordinator to register. If your course meets in person, please review the COVID-19 Protocols posted in the Curriculum Showcase. 

COURSE CANCELLATIONS
The following two Spring courses have been cancelled:

· Tuesday Evening – NYTimes The Ethicist & Social Q's Discussion

· Thursday Morning – Women's Journeys to Self Acceptance

CLASS CANCELLATIONS DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER
When a class session is canceled due to weather or another unforeseen situation, the course coordinator will contact the participants to let them know.

SPECIAL EVENTS

THEATER TRIPS
TWO PLAYS – now open for registration! 

God of Carnage, Tony award-winner for best play – Sunday, April 23, 2pm at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Learn more and register here.  

The Greatest Love for Whitney: A Whitney Houston Tribute – Saturday, May 6, 3pm at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Learn more and register here. 

BREAKFAST GATHERING
NEXT WEEK! Second Friday, March 10 at 9:30am, join fellow PLATO members and guests for breakfast and conversation at at Lakeside Street Coffee House in the Bay Creek neighborhood. Seating is on both the main floor and downstairs levels. You will need to climb nine steps in order to be seated on the downstairs level. RSVP and learn more here.

LECTURES
Wednesday, March 29 at 2pm at Capitol Lakes, author Scott Spoolman will share highlights from his new book Wisconsin Waters: The Ancient History of Lakes, Rivers and Waterfalls. Learn more about this event, parking validation, and the author.

Check out recordings of past PLATO Lectures on a variety of subjects.

MEMBERS, PLEASE NOTE...

PLATO GENERAL POLICIES UPDATED
During the past six months the PLATO Board has reviewed and updated its General Policies as needed. These updated policies are always available on PLATO's website under About/Organizational Documents. Here's a link to those policies for your review.

THE AGORA
The Agora, PLATO’s literary and arts journal, 
celebrates members’ creativity and diversity of thought.

The submission deadline has been extended 
to Friday, March 17, 2023! 

What is The Agora?
For those new to PLATO, The Agora is PLATO’s literary and arts journal, designed to celebrate members’ creativity and diversity of thought. The liberal arts tradition is a core value of PLATO. The Agora is a unique opportunity for PLATO members to share their talents with the membership in printed form. 

Seeking Submissions
PLATO members are invited to submit original works for the 2023 edition of The Agora, Volume 8 in the following categories: Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction (including essays) and Visual Arts (painting, sculpture, drawing and photography).

Please note: Literary works do not need to be submitted in Word Document format. Some members were finding this to be a barrier to submission. Learn more about the submission process and guidelines on The Agora webpage. 

Questions may be directed to The Agora Managing Editor, Edie Urness-Pondillo at epondillo@aol.com or to PLATO's Office Coordinator, Stephanie Steigerwaldt at info@platomadison.org.

This is a blind juried review. Click here to learn more and submit your work.

To view highlights from this past season, click on The Agora Features button below.

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS

Select from a range of topics and formats 

for your 2023 reading, viewing, or listening, 

curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee.

DID YOU KNOW? for February 21 – March 6, 2023 

Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) is known to many as the “Mother of the Hubble” for her foundational role in the observatory’s planning and program structure, paving the way for missions like the Roman Space Telescope (formerly WFIRST). She received her BA degree in Astronomy in 1946 from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and her PhD from the University of Chicago. As a female in astronomy, Roman faced many challenges throughout her career. From a young age she was discouraged from going into astronomy by those around her, and struggled with its male dominance and the roles perceived as appropriate for women.

Visit the Social Justice page for more about Nancy Grace Roman 
or past DID YOU KNOW? features.

DID YOU KNOW? – spotlighting notable contributions made by non-mainstream individuals you might not have learned or read about. Suggestions for inclusions are welcome (send to Kathy at: ksmichaelis@gmail.com).