The College of Idaho Chamber Singers, led by Professor Brent Wells, are performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City this spring as part of the prestigious Distinguished Concerts International New York series. The student group is spending six days in New York, highlighted by a March 24 concert featuring the music of Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre.

The newly reinstated College of Idaho football team has its first signee. Head coach Mike Moroski introduced the first member of his initial recruiting class Feb. 11 as Eagle High School senior Marcus Lenhardt signed a Frontier Conference Letter of Intent.

Lenhardt, a 6-foot-4 tight end, was an All-Southern Idaho Conference performer at Eagle during the 2012 season. He made 27 catches for 343 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Mustangs reach their fifth consecutive 5A state tournament.

Can practicing mindfulness and meditation lead to reduced stress levels? Will watching political satire shape a person’s political views? Do our personalities influence the types of video games we play, or vice versa? College of Idaho students are looking for answers to these questions as undergraduate researchers in psychology professor Dr. Meredith Minear’s Cognitive Plasticity Lab.

The College of Idaho will host a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 in Covell Hall on the C of I campus in Caldwell. Financial aid and admission staff from the College will be on hand to answer questions and assist students and their families in filling out their FAFSA paperwork. All students are welcome to attend the event, free of charge, regardless of where they plan to attend college. Returning C of I students also are welcome to receive assistance with the filing process.

The College of Idaho speech and debate team recently completed its regular season, racking up numerous team and individual honors at the Northwest Forensic Conference Championship Tournament in Bellingham, Wash. The Howlin’ Yotes received a Division II Conference Gold for season-long competition while placing third in the speech competition and second in debate.

The College of Idaho Music Department is pleased to announce its 2013 opera production, an adapted performance of G.F. Handel’s "Semele." The opera will show at 7:30 p.m. nightly from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, with a special 2 p.m. matinee performance on Feb. 2. All shows will take place inside Langroise Recital Hall. Tickets cost $10 for adults or $5 for seniors and students. For more information or to reserve seats, please contact the Langroise box office at 459-5249.

The College of Idaho congratulates the 205 students who made the Fall 2012 Dean’s List. To receive Dean's List recognition, a student must complete at least nine graded credits and achieve a GPA of 3.75 or higher for the semester. Nearly 20 percent of the College’s total enrollment made the Dean’s List. Students honored include:

Three of the most important cases currently before the United States Supreme Court – dealing with gay marriage, obtaining blood samples from suspected drunk drivers and legal suits against the government – will be argued by Treasure Valley attorneys before a mock court of College of Idaho students next week.

The entire world is a classroom for College of Idaho students, and in January 2013, they’ll participate in month-long, faculty-led study courses in Australia, London and Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains.

During the off-campus courses, students of all majors will explore first-hand Australia’s coastal ecosystems, England’s art, history and culture, and environmental policy and literature while skiing through Idaho’s mountains.

The fall 2012 issue of The College of Idaho’s official magazine, Quest, is in mailboxes this week. The issue has a theme of “Entrepreneurship,” celebrating many of the C of I alumni who have gone on to interesting and successful careers in a wide variety of businesses.