Cougars and Mustangs 

Yeah, you can play. You can play better than anybody. When you lay your fingers on the strings of that guitar, you move people to tears.

So what are you going to do with that talent? And you over there, with the voice? Same question.

Cuesta college is offering a class, “Musicians as Entrepreneurs, The Business Side of Music,” for $40 on Oct. 14. Except, if you’re a student, you can get in for free.

The meeting starts at 1 p.m., will run for four hours, and will cover songwriting, music publishing, recording and touring, and marketing using social media. Come to the Associated Students Auditorium, building 5400, on the SLO campus.

Preregistration is required at musicbiz.eventbrite.com.

Feel more at home designing a home than rocking out on a piano? Check out some courses designed to give architecture students and building professionals “an edge in sustainable, green building design.”

Nine-week classes that build on a foundation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) start the week of Oct. 17. Enrollees will learn more about the national standard for high-performance, sustainable buildings.

Check out “Architecture 245: Intro to Green Building & LEED Green Associate Credential Prep (CRN 71981)” meeting Tuesdays from 5 to 6:50 p.m. and “Architecture 246: Green Building & LEED AP BD+C Experience (CRN 72876)” meeting Thursdays from 5 to 7:50 p.m.

The courses cost $54, and are aimed at contractors, construction managers, architects, lawyers, builders, engineers, product representatives, and facility managers. To register, visit cccapply.org/applications/CCCApply/apply/Cuesta_College.html.

Turning back the clock a bit, late August marked SLO Fest, which invited Cal Poly alumni back to San Luis Obispo for a good cause. The school recently reported that the event, also a kidney-cancer-kicking benefit for Autumn Cannon, raised $10,446.

Cannon was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March, and her family has been dealing with the subsequent chemotherapy and radiation treatments, travel for medical reasons, and the stress of the whole situation.

Itchy McGuirk band members reunited in 2010 for a concert to memorialize a former founding member, kicking off the inaugural SLO Fest, an alumni-based private foundation that helps local charities in memory of the late Mark Kafoury. For the 2011 version, organizers decided to set their sights on raising funds for the nonprofit Jack’s Helping Hand in support of Cannon and her family.

For more information, visit slofest.org.

Executive Editor Ryan Miller compiled this week’s Cougars and Mustangs. Send your collegiate information to [email protected].