Music lovers rejoice!

The Pima Music Society at West Campus is now active and inviting students from all fields who enjoy music to join them at their meetings.

The club started in earnest this semester, but has been a project in the mind of member Jonny Mullins for more than a year.

The idea for the Pima Music Society came about when Mullins, a non-traditional student looking to further his training in music, took music production classes at West Campus last year.

“I was taking a recording class, finished it and got an A,” Mullins said. “I wanted to take the next level class, but it didn’t exist because the college doesn’t have the kind of recording equipment necessary for higher level classes.”

He initially came up with the idea for the club as a way to raise money for new recording equipment, and then expanded upon the idea, he said.

Club members have discussed raising money for music student scholarships, along with putting on performances for diners in the West Campus cafeteria.

Music instructor Carol Christofferson is serving as the club’s faculty sponsor.

“We’ve considered doing world music performances, without using traditional western instruments,” Christofferson said. She also said that the club has an interest in traveling to Native American reservations to teach western music styles.

Still, members don’t have a firm direction. In the meantime, the club has decided to become service-oriented.

“At our last meeting, at the request of the librarians, we went to the library and organized the music section,” Christofferson said.

In the library, students found surprising amounts of sheet music, instrument studies books and music history books that most of the students weren’t aware even existed.

In addition to community projects, club members hope the group can help foster a connection between campus communities.

“We want to make the whole school realize that they can help each other,” member Vanessa Lesley said.

The arts should be interconnected, helping each other out, Mullins added.

“I’d love for clubs to be able to call down here, asking for a band to play at a fundraiser, and have a band go out there to help them out,” he said. “It’d be cool if photo (students) could show up at plays and recitals, to have musicians playing at art openings, to have graphic arts designing T-shirts for music fundraisers.”

Unfortunately, the Pima Music Society faces the same problem as most campus clubs–turnover.

“We lost a lot of members between the fall and spring semesters–a lot of people who were here last semester just couldn’t fit it into their schedule this semester,” Mullins said.

Currently, the club has about 11 members. They invite students of all tastes and musical experiences to join them.

“The club isn’t set up to discriminate,” Mullins said.

Meetings, open to everyone wishing to attend, are held every Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the office of Carol Christofferson, CFA-20 in the music building.

Brett Wessel plays guitar during a meeting of the Pima Music Society.

Brooke Davanzati, left, and Vanessa Lesley share a laugh as they work on a song.

Members of the East Campus gaming club, Gamers Unite, plan to turn off their consoles and put down their gamepads for Tucson’s March 27 NAMI Walk.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. The NAMI Walk is a 5-kilometer fund-raising walk designed to raise awareness of mental illness.

Aaron Holley, president of Gamers Unite, said the group is always looking for service opportunities.

“Whenever we find opportunities to go to things like that, we always try to,” Holley said. “They’re really a lot of fun and as long as we go as a group, everything’s fun for us.”

Last year, Gamers Unite members joined more than 3,000 others in the NAMI Walk, and helped raise more than $178,000.

This year, Holley is reaching out for more walkers and donors, by requesting that clubs from each Pima Community College campus help promote the event and form their own NAMI Walk team.

Holley said his group enjoyed Eegee’s snacks and other tasty treats last year during the walk. Hang out with friends, get a little exercise, eat free food and all for a good cause: who would say no to that?

“It’s a day in the park,” Holley said. “Walk for 15 minutes and get free food nonstop, why not?”

Gamers Unite will sign up people interested in the NAMI Walk in East Campus’s mall area, in front of the cafeteria.

The NAMI Walk will be held at Sam Lena Park, 2805 E. Ajo Way, on March 27. Check-in time is 7:30 a.m., with a start time of 9 a.m. Although donations are encouraged, they are not mandatory. Arrive early to find available parking.

For more information on how to sign up for or donate to the NAMI Walk, visit your campus Student Life Office or go to namisa.org.