P I T T S B U R G S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

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PAIDPITT STATE

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MARCH 1, 2012

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

VOLUME 95, NO. 20

PAIDPITT STATE

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theCOLLEGIO

Team Effort Premiering Tonight

Five Pitt State women’s basketball players earn MIAA honors (pg. 10)

Review of PSU Theater’s “Betty the Yeti”(pg. 12)

THREEDAYOUTLOOK

Sneakpeek

Hi: 53°Lo: 33°

Fri.

Hi: 54°Lo: 36°

Sat.

Hi: 54°Lo: 34°

Sun.

ZACH WAGNERJESSICA SEWINGCollegio Reporters

A severe storm tore through PSU’s campus and neighboring areas Tuesday night, leaving behind downed power lines, tree limbs, and signifi cant roof dam-age to campus buildings.

According to police offi cials, the Crimson Villas apartment complex sustained the most signifi cant damage for any hous-ing complex. Roof shingles lay scattered about, collapsed trees littered the ground and two grills that had been cemented around

the pool were uprooted. Andrew Hill says he had a

rougher ride through the storm than most residents.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, I’ve never been in a storm that bad,” said Hill, sophomore in psychology. “Everyone was told to go to the fi rst fl oor when the sirens went off, so everyone pretty much ended up in my apartment as a result.”

Hill says the 70 mph winds also fl ung a 24-inch wide tire rim,

from the bed of a neighboring pick up truck, into the passenger side of his 1989 soft-top Cadillac. Hill says the tire rim made a sig-nifi cant dent and tore some of the upholstery. Hill says the damage will cost around $2,000 to fi x.

“I’m pretty mad about the whole thing. Whoever it was had a tire rim illegally placed in their truck,” Hill said. “I’m planning on going off for spring break, and I don’t have insurance to cover this.

Damage hits students

JESSICA SEWINGCollegio Writer

Once a year, Gorillas all over campus go crazy over … apples? Yes, the fi rst week in March is a celebration of Apple Day and this year marks the 105th Apple Day celebration. The Student Activities Council hosts an assortment of events to celebrate the university’s oldest tradition.

The history of Apple Day started in 1907, four years after Pittsburg State was founded as the State Manual Training School Auxiliary. Apple Day comes from an obscure practice in the legislature,

designed to discourage visitors and lob-byists from trying to infl uence legislators during debates.

That year numerous senators, in a good natured way, fi ned Clarence Price, Pittsburg’s mayor, and Russ S. Russ. They were fi ned a barrel of apples be-cause they were on the legislative fl oor during the debates when they weren’t supposed to be there.

When they returned to Pittsburg, there was a large celebration that involved both the students, and the surrounding com-munity. It was decided that they would celebrate it again the next year.

Ever since that day, PSU holds a com-memoration day widely known as Apple Day. This day is always held on the fi rst Thursday in March. According to Randy Roberts, PSU archivist, it is important to share this story with new students each year as a reminder of some of the people who helped to build and shape the univer-sity into what it is now.

The week began with a three-day Apple Scavenger Hunt. SAC posted clues for where students could fi nd hidden apples around campus on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Students who discovered one of the fi ve apples received

$20. Apple Week concludes with a recep-

tion for the Distinguished Service Award winners, Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Wilkinson Alumni Center, and an all-school convocation at 3 p.m. in McCray Hall. This year’s Outstanding Faculty Award winners will be announced during convocation.

After convocation, all students who were in attendance will be entered in a drawing. The students have a chance of winning one of the two Centennial Scholarships worth either $1,000 or $500. The scholarships will be presented by the

homecoming king Hal Rivard, senior in psychology, and queen Callie Wheeler, senior in psychology.

Following the convocation, as per tradition, members of the PSU Faculty Association will hand out apples to ev-eryone attending as they leave.

“Retelling the Apple Day story is a reminder for each new generation of the efforts of many people to found and nurture an institution of higher learning in our corner of the state,” Roberts said. “We are here today because of what they, and generations of others who came after them, did.”

All about Apple Day:

‘the whole street went dark’

Power company bucket trucks lined up on Broadway to get to the south end of town early Wednesday, Feb. 29. As of Wednesday morning, about 4,000 Pittsburg residents were still without power after the dangerous storms ripped through that half of the city.

Julie Huston/Collegio

Hunter Peterson/Collegio

Will Ravenstein/Collegio

The Pitt State banner still shows Pittsburg’s pride in the Gorillias even after a strong wind storm blew through on Feb. 28.

Light beams through a hole in the roof of John Lance Arena, opened up by strong winds from storms on Tues-day, Feb. 28.

see DAMAGE page 7

Storm strikes campus

A Pitt State tradition

JAY BENEDICTEditor-in-Chief

A powerful storm ripped through the southern edge of Pittsburg late Tuesday night, packing straight-line winds in excess of 110 mph. As a result, the PSU Crisis Response Team sprang into action.

Steve Erwin, associate vice president of campus life and auxilary services, says the team was called into action by PSU Presi-dent Steve Scott, and assembled about 15 minutes after the storm passed. Utilizing the campus police offi ce as a headquarters, the team began assessing the damage to campus and began developing a plan to deal with the effects. They made the decision to close campus around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

“We consulted with the city and decided that with the extent of damage on Joplin, Broadway and Rouse streets, it would be ill-advised to have the students come to cam-pus,” Erwin said.

Erwin says Westar Energy workers made progress on the power outage, but the large scale of the power outage kept pushing back the campus’ reconnection target time.

“I’m glad we decided to cancel because, even without students, the streets were con-gested this morning,” Erwin said.

Tom Amershek, director of building trades and landscape maintenance, says university electricians were called in around 1 a.m. and stayed most of the night to monitor the cam-pus’s generators and essential operations.

“I’m really happy with our response,” Amershek said. “Our employees know what it takes to keep the place running and did it well, considering the circumstances.”

The eastern side of campus was hit harder than main campus as the Weede and Student Rec Center suffered the most damage. Amer-shek says the storm opened a large hole in the Weede’s roof and fi xing it is the top priority. The rec center’s roof was also damaged by the storm.

“We’re just lucky the storm didn’t produce more rainfall,” Amershek said. “Custodial staff members were working at the time and prevented any signifi cant water damage from occurring to the fl oors of either building.”

When daylight fi nally came, a full assess-ment of campus was made. Dennis Bounds, PSU police offi cer, reported for duty at 6 a.m. and says the storm’s aftermath on campus was the worst he’s seen during his 18 years.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Bounds said. “We had reports of pieces of roof that had fl own off of the buildings around the area, taking out air conditioning units, and half the campus was without power due to the downed power lines.”

Amershek says he deployed his team from the PSU Physical Plant this morning and they started at the main part of campus and worked east. The workers took an inven-tory of damage to buildings and repaired or

see STORM page 7

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Romney, Santorum sparfor Michigan delegates

WASHINGTON — Despite winning the popular vote in Michi-gan’s primary, Mitt Romney was in a tight race with Rick Santorum to win a majority of the state’s delegates to the Republican National Convention.

With 26 of the state’s 30 delegates decided, Romney and Santorum each have 13. Michigan awards most of its delegates based on results in each of its 14 congressional districts — handing out two for win-ning each district.

Results were incomplete in the fi nal two congressional districts as of midday Wednesday. But with 98 percent of the precincts reporting, Santorum had a slight edge in both. If his lead holds in both districts, Santorum would win a majority of the state’s delegates, or 17 to Romney’s 13.

N. Korea to suspend nuclear activities

WASHINGTON — North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests in a breakthrough in negotiations with the United States.

The joint announcement Wednesday by the two nations comes little more than two months after the death of longtime ruler Kim Jong Il, and suggests North Korea has met the key U.S. preconditions for restarting multi-nation disarmament-for-aid talks that the North withdrew from in 2009.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called North Korea sus-pension of nuclear activities a “modest fi rst step” but also “a reminder that the world is transforming around us.”

She told a Senate hearing that the North has agreed to a morato-rium on nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities, and will allow International Atomic Energy inspectors to verify and monitor it, and to confi rm disablement of its nuclear reac-tor and associate facilities.

Maine’s Sen. Snowewon’t seek re-election

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe says she’s not running for re-election.

The three-term senator said in a statement that she was confi dent she would’ve won re-election but said she was frustrated by “an atmo-sphere of polarization and my-way-or-the-highway ideologies.”

Snowe has served 33 years in Congress.Snowe, who’s viewed as a moderate, said she sees a “vital need for

the political center in order for our democracy to fl ourish and to fi nd solutions that unite rather than divide us.”

Gingrich targeting‘Super Tuesday’ states

DALTON, Ga. — Plotting a comeback, Newt Gingrich looked beyond Tuesday’s Republican presidential primaries in Michigan and Arizona to the Southern voters he hopes will revive his struggling campaign once more, including in his home state.

Gingrich is pinning his hopes on winning Georgia and showing strength in Tennessee, Oklahoma and other Super Tuesday states vot-ing March 6. The former House speaker opened a three-day bus tour in Georgia, which he represented in Congress for 20 years, to fend off rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum on the path to claiming the GOP presidential nomination at the party’s convention next summer in the swing state of Florida.

“Winning next Tuesday moves us toward Tampa in a big way,” Gingrich said. “Georgia is the biggest group of delegates out there on Super Tuesday so this is a big deal and it really, really matters.”

50 years later, JFK speechpart of culture war

When Rick Santorum rebuked John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religion, he was repeating a common conservative view that the ad-dress did more harm than good.

In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Santorum, a Roman Catholic Republican, said he “almost threw up” when he read the remarks by Kennedy, who told the Greater Houston Ministerial As-sociation: “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”

Santorum, competing for conservative votes in a close GOP presidential contest with Mitt Romney, argued that more religion was needed in American public life.

“The idea that the church can have no infl uence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country,” Santorum said.

7 accused of bilking $375Mfrom Medicare

DALLAS — The owner of a Texas medical service provider was among seven people indicted in a massive health care fraud scheme that allegedly bilked Medicare and Medicaid of nearly $375 million, authorities announced.

The federal indictment accused Jacques Roy, a doctor who owned Medistat Group Associates in DeSoto, Texas, of leading a scheme that billed Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary or were not done. Also indicted were Roy’s offi ce manager as well as the owners of three home health agencies.

The indictment alleged that from January 2006 through November 2011, Roy or others certifi ed 11,000 Medicare benefi ciaries for more than 500 home health services — more patients than any other medi-cal practice in the U.S.

Obama hails auto bailout WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama proudly embraced his

auto industry bailout Tuesday, telling a raucous labor audience that as-sertions by his Republican presidential challengers that union members profi ted from taxpayer-paid rescue are a “load of you know what.”

Obama delivered a politically sizzling and staunchly pro-union speech to the United Auto Workers just as voters in Michigan, a center of auto manufacturing, went to the polls to cast their ballots in the state’s Republican nominating contest.

In a campaign style setting, union president Bob King praised Obama as “the champion of all workers” who “saved our jobs and saved our industry,” an introduction that elicited chants of “Four more years!” from a crowd estimated at about 1,700 UAW members.

Victim of Wichita fi re identifi ed

WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita fi re offi cials say a house fi re that killed a 52-year-old woman was an accident probably caused by smoking in bed.

The fi re on Monday killed Deborah Bacon at her home.KAKE-TV reports that investigators determined the fi re started on

a mattress, likely by a cigarette. A smoke detector in the home was so damaged that investigators can’t tell whether it was working.

Bacon’s death was the fi rst fi re fatality in Wichita this year. Last year, eight people died in Wichita fi res. Four of those deaths were caused by careless smoking.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced that she will not run for re-election, issuing a statement that cited frustration over the current “atmosphere of polarization and ‘my way or the highway’ ideologies.”

Photos and stories courtesy AP

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, meet Tyler Cape, 3, center, and his sister Kaylan Cape, 5, from Tunnel Hill, Ga.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum recently rebuked John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religion.

3March 1, 2012

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ALI CLARKCollegio Writer

Most students remember the tragic incident of Tyler Clementi, in September 2010, who commit-ted suicide after being bullied. Three other students, ranging from ages 13-15, also committed suicide around that time after being bullied. Many students from Pittsburg State University attended an event on campus that fall called “Pitt State Gives a Damn,” which included a candlelight vigil for the students who had been bullied and committed suicide.

Last Thursday, Larry Rute, mediator at Associ-ates in Dispute Resolution LLC, spoke to students about bullying, hazing and other disruptive behav-iors and things they should know about addressing that behavior. The presentation was sponsored by the equal opportunity offi ce and the human resourc-es offi ce.

Rute served for a number of years as a litiga-tion attorney for Kansas Legal Services, but for the last decade he says he has been working for the Associates in Dispute Resolution fi rm. He says the fi rm is full of mediators and arbitrators. Rute says he mediates federal court cases in Kansas and Mis-souri that deal with high confl ict cases that involve gender, age or racial discrimination, as well as other harassment cases.

Rute emphasized the point that uncivil behavior wasn’t just pushing someone down in the cafeteria or locking someone in their locker.

“He had a lot of good examples of hazing and bullying in general that you don’t always think about,” said Meghan McBride, sophomore in nurs-ing.

Disruptive behavior can range from just being rude or intimidating, to badgering, bullying, hazing, or harassment. Usually these activities do not start

off as big scenes but instead they slowly build up af-ter weeks and weeks. Rute says, until most recently, incidents were poorly documented and people did not realize certain behavior was uncivil.

“There were a lot of things that were considered bullying or hazing, that I wasn’t aware of,” said Kadyn Miller, sophomore in history. “Like ignor-ing someone’s phone calls or text messages can be considered bullying.”

Rute says a newer problem, especially in col-leges, is cyber-bullying. He says the rise of social media has created a new outlet for uncivil behav-iors, such as rude comments or messages, gossip and bullying. At colleges, students may be less likely to beat someone up outside the cafeteria, but they may be more likely to say something bad about someone on Facebook.

“At Pitt State, it’s defi nitely more of the cyber-bullying,” said Ashton Willis, junior in biology.

“Nobody will confront you about it, but they’ll say it over Twitter or over Facebook.”

Rute gave students suggestions for things they could do if they were targeted by this behavior, or if they witness it. Rute says the fi rst thing a witness or a target has to do is identify the problem.

“What you need to do is identify, is it really bullying or is it a random comment?” Rute said. “Is it going on a lot or is it just here today and gone tomorrow?”

Rute says it is important to document what is going on. He says he is a big supporter of writing down exactly what happened. Next, the witness must decide whether to confront the person who is bullying about the problem. In some situations this is not wise if it will make the problem worse. Students may always report the problem to the uni-versity directly by going to the offi ce of equal op-portunity and affi rmative action, in 218 Russ Hall.

CAITLIN TAYLORThe Collegio Reporter

The Pittsburg State University automotive program gives fi rst- and second-year students the chance to learn through their own experience, by working on cars brought in by students and residents.

Perry Cummins, professor of automotive service technology, is the coordinator for the maintenance diagnostic and repair program. Trent Lindbloom, professor of automotive service, helps the students learn how to fi x cars on a fi rsthand basis.

“We pretty much do anything that we deem a good training process for the students,” Cum-mins said. “One of the few things we do not do is restoring cars.”

Cummins says that the service repair they do is actually copying a large-scale dealership though they only run 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday-Friday.

“We charge a fl at rate that depends on how many hours it will take to fi x the vehicle,” Cum-mins said. “We have manuals that show us how long it should take to fi x a certain problem and we only charge for that many hours. Although it usually takes longer so we can stop and explain to students, we don’t charge more if it takes longer.”

Cummins says the only students who work on the vehicles are technology students and it progresses from their fi rst semester.

“We structure it this way so no one is thrown in the middle of the stream,” Cummins said. “It’s a two-year program, so after those two years, they will graduate with their associate’s degree and then move on to the four-year automotive technol-ogy program to get their bachelor’s.”

Cummins says students have specifi c service tasks they have to perform to earn credit to-ward their grades. Cummins says there are fi ve

parts that the automotive students have to work through.

“We grade on their skills support, how they perform, a training exercise they work on online, worksheet assignments in the lab, and the ethics of working on cars,” Cummins said. “They should never have nothing to do.”

Cummins says this automotive service is based on NATEF (National Automotives Technicians Education Foundation). According to NATEF.org, NATEF is an independent, non-profi t organization with a single mission: “To evaluate technician training programs against standards developed by the automotive industry and recommend qualify-ing programs for NATEF accreditation.”

Cummins says that the program at PSU is a refl ection of this program and its standards. How-ever, he says every now and then, they do make mistakes.

Bradley Muleski says he took his previous car, a 1996 Chrysler, to the automotive service center to fi x a leaky radiator.

“I don’t like saying anything bad about our service center because I’ve seen them do good work on other cars,” said Muleski, undeclared sophomore. “But when I got my car after four days, and paid $200, I still had a leaky radiator. I wasn’t too happy.”

Like Muleski, Spencer Ratzloff says he has had one negative incident. However, he says they fi xed their mistake and he hasn’t had a problem since.

“Since it’s students working on cars that are just learning, I’m not expecting perfection, just good quality work and I usually get that,” said Ratzloff, sophomore in business marketing. “Even my girlfriend took her beat up old car in and they fi xed her car’s strut like it was brand new. It’s just learning and it takes time.”

VAL VITACollegio Writer

The events celebrating Black History Month at PSU were brought to a close Tuesday when Kevin Powell, motivational speaker, spoke about what students can do to become successful.

Powell focused his speech on the importance of reading, studying and traveling as steps to becoming more successful.

“The whole world has to be your classroom,” Powell said.

He told the students he was born and raised in a poor environment, but his mother still told him, “You are going to college.”

“The students who are here to-day have an opportunity that many young people in America would like to have: being in college,” Powell said.

According to Powell, this gen-eration is one of the most amazing generations in many years.

“We are exposed to things we have never imagined,” Powell said. “Young people are exposed to a lot of information these days, but they have to know how to use this technology.”

Powell says one of the problems

is that people don’t know much about themselves, about their histo-ries or even their communities.

“No matter what your roots are,” Powell said. “You’ve got to know who you are.”

Powell says that the students’ community is their own college, and that’s why it is so important to get involved.

“You need to be part of student organizations,” Powell said. “Being part of a fraternity and being proud of it is not enough.”

Peyour Guguai says he never considered joining an organization before attending Powell’s speech.

“I am not part of any organiza-tion, I just focus on classes,” said Guguai, sophomore in political science and international studies. “Before tonight, I’ve never thought about joining an organization in college.”

Dione Holden says she is deeply interested in other cultures and that is why she appreciated Powell’s speech.

“He said we should cross over to different cultures,” said Holden, freshman in international studies. “And our country is made of differ-

Program benefi ts students, community

William Ravenstein/Collegio

Ryan Landry, sophomore in automotive technology, crawls in to replace a head gasket dur-ing his three-hour lab session.

PSU combats collegiate bullying behaviors

Speaker inspires PSU student involvement

Sam Clausen/Collegio

Kevin Powel delivers a speech for Black History Month Tuesday, Feb 28th in McCray Hall.

Kenzi Jordan/Collegio

Melissa Henderson, senior in art education, assists the University Art Association in painting a mural on the side of Wheat State Pizza on Thursday, Feb. 23.

Outside the lines

see SPEAKER page 7

March 1, 20124

There’s No Place Like Home! Live on campus!~Don’t know where you are going to live next year?

How about returning to the residence halls.

University Housing has a lot to offer returning students –

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-Crimson Commons – New apartment style residence halls. Each unit includes 4 private bedrooms, common living area,

kitchenette and shared bathroom. Each of the fi ve buildings have their own laundry room with open breezeways.

-Tanner Hall will be totally renovated for August 2012. Renovated bathrooms, student rooms and lobbies.

-Bowen Hall, Tanner Hall and Trout Hall are newly renovated.

-Willard Hall is available with suite style rooms and private and shared bathrooms.

-No need to worry about utility bills, utility deposits, or meals- all this is included when living on campus.

If you presently live in the halls you can sign up for any

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Go online at www.pittstate.edu/house and apply.

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VAL VITACollegio Writer

When Donald Smith was a boy, he says he took a bike apart just to put it back together. Today, Smith is a 64-year-old Pittsburg resident who dedicates most of his time to helping international students.

Smith was born May 1, 1947, in La-mar, Mo. He says he was very quiet and shy, and even simple things, like buying ice cream, were diffi cult for him.

“I didn’t want to do that,” Smith said. “My parents usually did it for me. Some-times, they made me do it.”

Smith says he went to a one-room elementary school.

“I was a good student, but I didn’t like to study,” Smith said. “Let’s just say I made great grades because I liked to learn. But I always found diffi culty in read-ing and concentrating. I like to do things instead of thinking about it. I like action. That’s why I never watch TV. I’m too busy to do these kinds of things.”

In high school, he found a passion for math. And he says he found a passion for Fran Walker, to whom he has been mar-ried for 44 years.

In 1965 Smith became a Pittsburg State University math student, a time when he made good friends.

“You might not live near them,” Smith said. “But your college friends are for your whole life.”

He says he only studied for one year.“I found out I had to do other, more

important things. Things related to God,” said Smith.

He went to Ozark Christian College, in Joplin, Mo. where he studied to be a Christian worker. After this, he went to a Christian seminary.

Smith says he came to Pittsburg to work with college students in 1978. He became the campus minister for Campus Christians, an organization designed to help students and provide Christian activi-ties.

He says his work always focused on in-ternational students, helping them with all kinds of problems, and organizing dinners and trips. During these years, Smith says he met students from all around the world. Yet, he says he never got out of North America, and has traveled only to Mexico and Canada.

Smith says his interest in international students stems from the people he has met, who have speech problems, people who thought that English was diffi cult to understand.

“I like to listen to people who don’t speak very clearly,” Smith said. “Because I am able to help them.”

In 1998, Smith started providing bikes to the international students. He says this is the best way for them to move from one place to another. Today he has about 200 bikes, most of them donated by mem-bers of the community, churches or the university.

The students who rent a bike have to pay a $30 fee, but when they return the bike they are refunded the money. Smith says he also fi xes any problems that the bikes might have, free of charge.

Angel Sanchez says he rented a bike

from Smith in January and he uses it to get to his classes. Sanchez says he has had one problem with the bike so far and Smith fi xed it for him.

“But Don said, ‘Don’t worry, I will fi x for you’,” said Sanchez, exchange student in international business. “What would we do without Don Smith, without the bikes? He is really important to us international students.”

Brenda Hawkins, administrative specialist in the international offi ce, says that Smith is a precious person for the international offi ce, even though he is not offi cially part of the faculty.

“Everyone here appreciates and loves him,” Hawkins said. “He has a trailer and a van, so if some of the students are mov-ing we always call Don. It is great to have a community member full time.”

Alheli Aranda says that Smith was one of the fi rst people she met when she ar-rived from Paraguay over a year ago.

“Don is one of the fi rst people in Pitts-burg that invites the international students to activities that are not academics,” said Aranda, sophomore in music. “And he is right there if you need him.”

Smith says helping the students is one of the most important things in his life.

“I would like to be active with students until I can’t make it anymore,” Smith said.

Pittsburg State University and the PSU Alumni Association are going to honor Smith with a Distinguished Service Award. The ceremony, open to the public, is on Thursday, March 1, at 3 p.m. in Mc-Cray Hall.

GRETCHEN BURNSCollegio Writer

University Housing recently sent an e-mail to the students of PSU, asking them how they use the refrigerator provided by the university.

The e-mail stated that the housing department is considering removing the provided refrigerators from residence hall rooms for the 2012-2013 year.

Students like Thomas Myers and Stephan Con-ner say they use their refrigerators often.

“I store my drinks in it and it saves room in my other refrigerator,” said Myers, junior in biology. “The one provided holds seven Powerade Zeros and mine holds food and more drinks.”

Conner, sophomore in art, says he uses it to

store food to supplement his meals.However, not all students use the provided

refrigerators.“I don’t use it,” said Cate Dunn, freshman in

biology and Spanish. “My roommate brought a nicer one, and the old one given by the school made a lot of noise.”

Cassandra Murphy says she uses the one that she brought from home because it holds more.

“The smaller one had mold, and I refuse to put my food in there,” said Murphy, junior in biology and physical therapy.

For some students, the refrigerator serves other purposes.

“It’s not plugged in,” said Garrett Appier, fresh-man in history. “I use it for a desk.”

One of the survey questions was, “If refrigera-tors were removed from the rooms, would you be interested in a rental program?”

“If I didn’t have my own fridge, I’d defi nitely rent my own,” Myers said. “If the rental plan was like $5, sure, I’d rent. But if it was $30, then no.”

Some students don’t really care whether the refrigerators are taken away.

“I’m getting an apartment next year, so what happens with them won’t really affect me,” Dunn said.

Brink says that if the refrigerators were re-moved, then she might buy her own and sell it to an incoming freshman the following year.

Some students are adamantly against renting the refrigerators.

“Renting what was a free service from the school because they want an extra buck would make me get my own,” Conner said.

Kelsey Van Buren says she would be frustrated if the refrigerators were removed.

“I would only consider renting if either the rent was $20 or less for the year, or we got our deposit back at the end of the year and if the rent is a one-time payment,” said Van Buren, junior in justice studies.

When asked about the refrigerator survey, Con-nie Malle, director of University Housing, said in an e-mail that no decision has been made yet.

The international student’s best friend

Proposal to remove refrigerators gets frigid response

Sam Clausen/Collegio

Don Smith stands with one of his loaner bikes outside of the Cam-pus Christian houses on Friday, Feb. 24.

Dorm residents divided on fridge removal/rental idea

I will keep this simple: Religious beliefs should not have any infl uence on political decisions in a democracy. There are two things to know about me before I continue. One, I am agnostic and lack any religious beliefs. This is not to be confused with atheism, which is the denial of any re-ligious beliefs. Two, I am perfectly fi ne with people practic-ing whatever religion they choose.

Religious beliefs have been ingrained in our democratic system for so long it seems unlikely that they will ever be two separate entities. This has become an ever-increasing way of life in Washington, and I feel this is a sad com-mentary on our current leaders. People are free to choose their own religion and adhere to those religious beliefs as they see fi t. However, the duly elected representatives of our country have a higher duty to the will of their citizens, one that should be considered above their own personal religious beliefs. To ignore the will of the people in favor of one’s personal beliefs is contrary to the en-tire system and represents a serious fl aw in the governing of our country. I’m not saying that all religious beliefs do not represent the will of the people; I’m only saying that re-ligious beliefs should not be the underlying reason a congressman votes a certain way.

An example is gay marriage. Most of the opposition to gay marriage stems from religious arguments, something that I fi nd appalling. To deny a good minority of Americans a right others enjoy because of a religious belief is stubborn, infl exible and undemocratic.

Another reason that religion should not be mixed with politics is the judgment, sometimes negative, that Americans hold toward certain religions. For example, I never understood why some people were angry because they thought President Barack Obama was a Muslim. What difference does that make in his leadership abilities? Does being a Muslim mean you are not capable of running a country? Does it mean you are a bad person? Does it mean you shouldn’t be given equal rights? The answer to all of these questions is none/no. Candidates’ re-ligion should not be used when determining whom to vote for. Representatives should be chosen based on their views on different po-litical laws, issues and policies, not because they are a certain religion. The problem is not entirely the fault of the citizens nor is it entirely the fault of the politicians. The fault

lies with those people of each group who feel religious beliefs have a place in a governmental system other than a theocracy or a dictatorship.

To allow a group of people to use their religious beliefs to infl uence laws and political decisions is akin to allowing a corporate dictator to rule a country. The religious views of the majority are the dictator and the citizens who do not share those views are the ones who suffer. Yes, this is a country where the majority rules, but

should that really be extended to the point where they can essentially give themselves more rights than those who are not in the majority? This is an abuse of the system and while there is a solution, it will not come easy.

We must, as a country, decide to bar candidates and offi ce holders from sharing personal religious views with anyone but their own house of worship. We must ban any citizen from using religious texts as a basis for implementing a law, amendment or bill because we must save the political system and make it stronger.

This may seem extreme, but I believe this will benefi t Americans. First, it will force Americans to think about why they be-lieve something and allow them to critically think about what they believe. Critical think-ing has been stressed throughout my years in college as necessary for the real world, yet I fi nd the current system undermines the need for it. Second, it will allow for greater equal-ity of citizens, because we will not have one religious group denying rights to another based on their own beliefs. Third, this will force citizens to learn about candidates’ political views, which would allow for more accurate representation in Congress. And last, this will remove any bias against certain candidates who have religious beliefs that most people don’t hold.

Freedom of religion is important, but it applies to individuals. When you allow a group of individuals to use their religious beliefs to deny rights to other citizens, or you elect a politician based on his or her re-ligious views, you are also undermining the very system you enjoy and benefi t from.

To continue as we are will only prolong the sham of a democracy we currently see. To change our ways for the better will allow the country to move forward, with a more educated population and better representa-tion of the views of the American people.

Ever since our country was formed, we have been in a constant struggle over how much religion is too much re-ligion. It has been a point of conten-tion since President Jefferson, who pushed for the separation of church and state, all the way to presidential nominee Mitt Romney who has been criti-cized for being a Mormon.

I do not agree with this contention at all. I feel that we should “open” our political doors to the ideas of different beliefs and faiths. I understand that we don’t want to offend people who have different beliefs or people who have none at all, but there is so much more to religion than believing in the god or gods of your choice. It is about the morals and principles that they can instill in a person. If we have leaders who have the conviction to follow their own faith, then we have leaders who possess a strong set of beliefs. These beliefs could allow them to make the best decisions possible for the country. Leaders who have a strong belief system are able to look past most of their selfi sh desires, and look at the bigger picture of what would benefi t the country the most.

However, our current politi-cal system is based on pleasing the person with the most money. Instead of doing what is best for the country, the leaders do what is best for the highest bidder. I believe this is

why our faith in Congress and the other branches of the gov-ernment is at an all-time low. Corruption within our political

system has spiraled out of control, and one un-popular, and unnecessary, decision after another is made, to

the point of insanity. The only way that we will get past the corruption is by bringing in someone who has the beliefs and morals to say “no” to the money.

Our country was founded on the principle of freedom of religion, and that means we need to allow people to practice their religion, even in government offi ces, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. If our politi-cal system allows the Phelps family to do what they do, then our political system can allow a man or woman of faith to say and do what they feel is right. I know that some people are concerned with the possibility of radicals coming to power and destroying everything that our country stands for, but the system of checks and balances would prevent such an occur-rence.

That is why I believe we should bring religion back into politics. I am not asking for a theocracy because it would not help anything and it is the very thing we sought to escape all those years ago. What I am asking for, is an end to corrup-tion and allowing people to use their faith to help run the country, as best as they can.

March 1, 2012 5

JEFFREYTANGNEY

StaffWriter

AARON HEIDEBRECHT

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DIGAMBER ESLAMPUREGuest Columnist

The revolutionary wave of change in the Arab nations is spreading. The revolt against the regimes is not only just out of po-litical and economic grievances, but also out of a deeply rooted sense of humiliation, contempt and injustice.

The emerging situations from this region raise several hard questions: What are the factors causing these revolts? Who is be-hind these movements? How will it impact the outside world? What are the possible reactions from the outside world?

Because of the huge diversity in history, politics and culture of these nations it’s diffi cult to answer these questions. Before we try, though, let’s take a quick glance at what was going on in the Arab world.

These revolts refl ect the longstanding desire for freedom and democracy. The youth of this region are protesting against the regimes for their rights. Social networking sites are playing a key role. The world is closely watch-ing major political, economic and social developments.

As of now there have been three governments overthrown. The Tunisian president, Ben Ali, was forced to fl ee to Saudi Arabia in January 2011. The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, re-signed in February 2011 because of mass protests, putting an end to his 30-year presidency. The Lib-yan dictator Muammar Qaddafi ’s government was removed from power in August 2011 and he was killed in October 2011, ending his 41 years of autocratic rule.

The Arab uprising started in Tunisia and spread to Egypt. From there, it spread to all Arab nations.

The situation in Syria is mov-

ing from bad to worse. The coun-try is facing full-scale civil war. The Syrian regime seems unable to stop the opposition. Yemen and Qatar are in the same boat.

At this point, Syria became the battleground for the open cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi king already openly told the Russian president that they want to bring down the current Syrian regime.

On the other hand, Iran is warning the outside world against intervening in Syria. Iran is simply backing the current Syrian regime. These developments are a great concern for Israel.

Moreover, Iran’s nuclear

threat is the biggest concern to the outside world. The United States, the European Union and the Arab league are enforcing sanctions against Iran and Syria. But the rest of the world seems to be silent. The remaining countries are not in a position to take a clear stand against Iran and Syria.

The reasons are their top leaders are changing their goal posts. For example, the Russian leaders initially supported Syria, now they are not supporting it. The Iraqis are in the same line of thinking. The Chinese leaders are not taking any clear stand.

These countries have a com-

mon set of concerns: the supply of oil from the region, the safety of their nationals and larger interests in the region.

However, there was an online call for a “Jasmine revolution in China” in February 2011. China’s leaders are worried that if they support these movements, there’s a good chance that same kind of revolt may erupt in China.

It seems to be highly unlikely that the Iranian president will continue in offi ce two years from now because of the huge protests against him. In addition, the rest of the world is tightening sanc-tions against Iran.

The political landscape is swiftly changing across the countries. The Russians are run-ning for elections in March.The American presidential elections are in November. Results of these elections may lead to changes in polices and strategic interests in the Arab region.

The Arab people are demand-ing a wide range of political and economic reforms. When they are struggling for freedom and democracy, supporting their inter-ests is not going to be easy, but if any of the nations wants to be on the right side of history, they have to support.

Religious right is religious wrong Religion gives

a solid base in politics

A new Arab world is in the making

Anti-government protesters wave a Bahraini fl ag and call for democracy on Feb. 24 in the Gulf island kingdom of Bahrain.

AP Photo

Separation anxiety

GRETCHEN BURNSCollegio Writer

Like many PSU students, Rachael Osborn says she is giving up something she enjoys in observation of Lenten season, which started last week.

“I choose to give up desserts because it will defi nitely be a big sacrifi ce,” said Osborn, sophomore in mathematics education. “It will be diffi cult to resist brownies.”

Lent is the Christian season of preparation before Easter. In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the fi rst day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days before Easter. It’s a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for refl ection on Jesus.

“It reminds me that God is the most important one in my life,” Osborn said. “Lent refers to when Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness.”

The Rev. Adam Keiter, chaplain of the St. Pius Newman Center, says that the Christian observance has been prac-ticed since ancient times. According to Keiter, people who belonged to the early church and Christianity, would devote their entire lives to prayer and penance

to remind themselves to be humble and think of God.

Sean O’Neill says that he is giving up sweets and fast food.

“I try to give up stuff that I really enjoy, not to be healthier, but that’s a good side effect,” said O’Neill, graduate student in history. “Lent means taking your life away from the material world, like Jesus did, and focus more on the spiritual life.”

Keiter says Lent was often con-sidered a getaway from the world and work to focus on Christ. He says people converting to the Christian faith would participate in Lent by going to a retreat to prepare themselves and their soul to be baptized on Easter, the holiest day of the year for Christians.

According to Keiter, some cultures would take only a few days to observe Lent while others took a full moon cycle. However, the different versions were unifi ed, and 40 days to observe Lent was approved for the 40 years that the Israelites wandered the desert and the 40 days that Christ was tempted by Satan.

Keiter says that Catholic students are seen with ash crosses on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22. He says the ashes are burnt palms from the previous Easter and represent a visible reminder

for interior purifi cation or penance.According to Keiter, fasting and

abstinence are another common practice during Lent. Fasting is limiting the amount of food that is eaten during the day while abstinence is the practice of not eating meat.

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Newman Club president Alex Rausch, junior, displays her ash cross she donned during Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22 at the Newman Center.

Julie Huston/Collegio

Matson Murray, senior in accounting, refi lls his water bottle at one of the new refi ll stations attached to various water fountains in the Student Recreation Center on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Kaitlyn Doherty/Collegio

ALI CLARKCollegio Reporter

The PSU Student Recreation Center has recently gotten fi ve bottle-refi lling stations that dispense fi ltered water.

Vince Daino, director of campus recreation, says he started receiving feedback asking for such stations about two years ago. He says they considered buying fi ltered-water stations, but at $1,200 each, the price was too high at the time.

However, Daino says he took a couple of students on a fi eld trip to look at other campus recreation centers at nearby colleges. When they visited the University of Kansas, they saw that their recreation center had the fi ltered bottle-refi lling stations.

“When we got back from that trip, I asked the KU guys up there to send me the contact information for the vendor,” Daino said. “I did some price checking and found them for about $500.”

The stations were fi nally installed at the beginning of February and the staff has gotten many positive comments from students on the change.

Daino says he hopes the stations do more than dispense fi ltered water. He says they should help save plastic water bottles because students can now refi ll them. Daino says that this way, students don’t need to buy new bottles of water every time they fi n-ish one, reducing the number of plastic bottles going into the trash.

“If you have a water fountain that doesn’t have good tasting water, you might get 50 bottles refi lled,” Daino said. “But if you have good-tasting water, you

might get 70, 80 or 100 bottles a day.” There is a counter on every station that tells how

many water bottles have been refi lled since the sta-tions were installed. One station has refi lled more than 2,500 bottles.

Though refi lling the same water bottle for a work-out does save resources, Carrie Farrington, nurse practitioner at the Bryant Student Health Center, says students still have to be smart when using water bottles.

“If you’re there for a couple of hours and you fi ll it up four or fi ve times, I see zero health risk with that part,” Farrington said. “The health risk only comes in if you have the same water bottle that you aren’t washing, and you’re using it day after day after day.”

Farrington says students need to make sure to wash their water bottles with soap and warm water after every day they use it, and make sure it dries between uses.

“I actually have a water bottle I use every day,” Farrington said. “I fi ll it up all day long, and I have zero concern with having any bacterial growth.”

However, if you drink your bottle of water halfway and leave it in the car for three days in hot weather, Farrington says there is probably going to be some bacteria growth from that.

“I really like the idea of having it,” Farrington said. “If people have a water bottle with them, and they know they can fi ll it up fi ltered at the fountain, then they’re going to be drinking a lot more water while they’re exercising, and they’re going to be a lot healthier overall.”

Filter stations save plastic

40 days, 40 nightsROSS SCHARTELCollegio Writer

The Pittsburg State University Jazz Festival has been part of the university’s music program for the last 38 years. This year, the event will be held on Friday, March 2.

Robert Kehle, professor in music, says he has organized the festival for the last 34 years and he is excited to lead the daylong event again.

“It’s a great way of reaching out to prospective students,” Kehle said. “Even if they aren’t going to become music majors, they still might come to the uni-versity and participate in the band or the orchestra.”

Peter Kipp says he is one of those stu-dents, and he decided to play for the PSU Jazz Ensemble as a result of the festival.

“My fi rst exposure to Pittsburg State University was through the music pro-gram here,” said Kipp, senior in account-ing. “I declared a major in accounting, but I still wanted to pursue my musical inter-ests. I auditioned for the Jazz 1 Ensemble and Chamber Winds, and I enjoy playing with some fantastic musicians.”

The event begins at 8 a.m., with performances from more than 64 local

middle and high school jazz ensembles throughout the day.

“My high school is performing this year,” said Haley Wolf, freshman in busi-ness “And I want to see them play.”

The events will culminate at 7:30 p.m., when the Pittsburg State University Jazz One ensemble, directed by Kehle, will open for the Grammy-winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. The orchestra was formed by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis in 1966 and is now led by director John Mosca. In 2004, the orchestra won the Grammy for “best arrangement for jazz orchestra,” for its recording titled “The Way - The Music of Slide Hampton.” The band comprises many award-winning musicians, some of whom have been with the orchestra since before the death of leader Mel Lewis in 1990. The orchestra as a whole, and many as solo performers, has appeared in com-mercial and theatrical soundtracks.

“If you’ve heard a band playing in a movie or a commercial, probably one of the members of Vanguard Orchestra was playing,” said Rachael Osborn, sopho-more in math education. “And that’s why I’m going. That, and I play trumpet for Jazz 1.”

Performances will be held at four

Grammy-winning orchestra headlines PSU Jazz Fest

see JAZZ page 7 see LENT page 7

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Bafa Bafa program scheduled

Chuck Olcese and Harriet Bachner will conduct Bafa Bafa, a cross-cultural simulation 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in the Gov-ernors Room of Overman Student Center. The program, sponsored by the Tilford Group, is open to faculty, students and staff. Faculty and staff are encouraged to bring a class or student leaders, as the program would be more effective with at least 40 participants. RSVP to

Harriet Bachner, hbachner@pittstate.edu or to Chuck Olcese, colcese@pittstate.edu

Copyright webinar Friday

The Center for Teaching, Leaning and Technology is holding a two-part webinar for deans, directors and chairs titled “Copyright and Faculty Rights” at noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, and Friday, March 9, in 332A Hartman Hall. For more information on the presen-tation go to http://www.academicimpressions.com/webcast/copyright-and-faulty-rights-2012. If planning to attend, RSVP to Treva Sherman at tsherman@pittstate.edu or 235-4840 by Thursday, March 1.

Senior voice recital Tuesday

Kimberly Arzoian will perform her senior voice recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in McCray Hall. She will be assisted by Alheli Aranda.

PSU theater play starts ThursdayThe Pittsburg State University Theater will perform the play “Betty

the Yeti: An Eco Fable” by Jon Klein at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sat-urday, March 1-3, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 4, in the Grubbs Studio Theater. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $6 for those under 17 and over 65 and free to PSU students with an ID. For reservations or group rates, call the PSU ticket offi ce at 235-4796. The play is for mature audiences.

Jazz Festival SaturdayThe PSU Jazz Festival featuring The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will

be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, at Memorial Auditorium. Pittsburg State University Jazz One, directed by Robert Kehle, will open the con-cert. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for PSU faculty, staff, and persons 65 and older and 17 and younger. Free balcony tickets are available for full-time PSU students with a Pitt State ID.

Fulbright info session Friday

An information session for graduate students, seniors and recent graduates on the Fulbright Grant is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, March 2, in 203 Grubbs Hall. For more information, go to http://us.fulbrightonline.org or 118 Whitesitt Hall.

iPad student project presentations

The Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology will present a seminar titled “iPad Student Projects” on a pilot project in which three professors distributed iPads to their student throughout the se-mester. Chris Huitt will present at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in 332A Hartman Hall. If planning to attend, RSVP to tsherman@pittstate.edu or 235-4840.

International gathering FridayA Vietnam international gathering is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday,

March 2, in the basement of Grubbs Hall. There will be a cultural pre-sentation and snacks. For more information, contact Cathy Lee Arcuino at 235-4607 or carcunio@pittstate.edu.

pittstatebriefs

venues: McCray Hall, the Crimson and Gold Ballroom in the Overman Student Center, and at the Pittsburg Memorial Audito-rium, both on the main stage and downstairs.

Kehle says students work the event, either by performing with the jazz ensemble, setting up or guiding the guest ensembles to their performance space.

Kehle says the daytime events will be free to both students and the public, while the evening performance by the PSU Jazz 1 band and the Vanguard Orchestra

will be $15 for adults, $13 for PSU faculty and staff, seniors, and children under the age of 17, and free for PSU students.

Kehle says the Vanguard Orchestra is also playing at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, Mo., the following night.

“I keep telling students that the prices for comparable seats to see the same performance are in the $50 range,” Kehle said. “They are getting to see a quality performance for free, and that’s one of the great things about the college experience.”

■ JAZZ from page 6

“People deny themselves of bodily goods to remind their self that there is more than the nurtur-ing of the stomach,” Keiter said. “It’s a nurturing of the soul.”

He says Catholics are taught to abstain from meat on Fridays dur-ing Lent and eat fi sh or seafood instead. During biblical times, fi sh was the most common food and was known as a poor man’s food because poor people could go out and catch fi sh for them-selves and their families. Meat was a luxury; only the rich could afford it.

People would abstain from meat to cleanse themselves of their sins.

“I’m giving up not snacking in between meals and second helpings,” Keiter said. “To me, it’s a cleansing of the palate and

a direct relationship between the soul and the body.”

Keiter says he uses the Lenten period to evaluate his commit-ment to his faith.

“Lent for me is like a spiritual gut check,” Keiter said. “It is a time when I’m encouraged by the Church, the readings, the people, the prayers, to see where my rela-tionship to Christ is defi cient, and where work needs to be done.”

But some students, like Mer-cedes Brink, participate in Lent for other reasons.

“I don’t really practice reli-gion. I mainly did it to support my roommate,” said Brink, soph-omore in art education. “I’m giv-ing up smoothies from Jazzman’s. It was the biggest thing I do. I’d get at least three a week.”

■ LENT from page 6

ent cultures.” Cierra Bailey says that the part

on minorities caught her attention during Powell’s speech.

“He brought new light to the knowledge we already have, like the minorities and diversities, subjects that we have simple knowledge,” said Bailey, sopho-more in business management.

Marquita Gant says Powell’s speech opened her eyes to some new ideas.

“We need to expand our

knowledge about different cultures,” said Gant, freshman in nursing. “I really learned a lot tonight.”

Powell was a cast member on MTV’s “The Real World” and is an award-winning documentary fi lmmaker, activist, writer and public speaker. He has published 10 books, among them the best-selling “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight: Manhood, Race, and Power in America.”

■ SPEAKER from page 3

ZACH WAGNERCollegio Reporter

PSU’s Ultimate Frisbee Club, headed by Jacob Rudolph, was one of roughly 90 stu-dent organizations that applied for allocations from SGA this past week.

Rudolph put a particular emphasis on the “style” criteria in his presentation, playing the “Rocky” theme song while he outlined all that his club does, including its importance to PSU and how it promotes itself.

“Really, our club is just all about going out and having fun, and I wanted my presen-tation to refl ect that,” said Rudolph, freshman in mechanical engineering. “I just tried to put the most important parts of our club in and give it a more lively feel.”

At the end of his presentation, Rudolph says he asked for $486, for the money they have spent on jerseys, light up Frisbees, and snacks.

For the allocations process, each organiza-tion aims to outline every element to achieve the highest score possible during a short 10-minute presentation. Five SGA senators, in-cluding the treasurer, score on how benefi cial they are to PSU, philanthropic activity and presentation style. The fi nal score is based on a 100-point rubric.

Peter Kipp, SGA treasurer, says the usual amount of $25,000 in student fees has been set aside for this semester’s allocations, with a cap of $1,000 for each organization.

“We really like to see any organization that shows PSU in a good light,” said Kipp, senior in accounting. “Any organization that shows they’ve done a considerable amount of fundraising is something we like to see as well.”

Kipp says he also led a workshop for cam-pus organizations before the presentations, where he walked each organization through the criteria they would be scored on.

“I thought overall the sessions were pretty helpful with putting it all together,” said Jer-emy Donahue, junior in plastics engineering. “If anything, though, it made me a bit more nervous for presenting it. There was a lot that we had to cover.”

Donahue and David Setter, junior in plastics engineering, asked for the maximum amount of $1,000 for the Society of Plastics Engineering. Their layout focused mainly on every contribution the organization has done for campus, highlighting each of their expenses. According to Donahue, the club plans to send eight students on a trip to Orlando, Fla., on April 2-6, as part of an SPE convention. Donahue says the total cost will be $3,525. The SPE also showed its funding

contributions to PSU, referencing different cookouts that have been held in their name.

“Overall, more fundraising will always contribute to a better score,” said Eric Jones, SGA president. “It’s a great way to show that they’re bettering the image of Pitt State.”

Jessica Wade says she displayed the signifi cance that the Honors College Associa-tion has to PSU, showing that the association has helped out with at least one event every month. According to Wade, most of the mon-ey the HCA is requesting would go toward an end-of-the-year banquet, costing $989.

“This is the second semester in a row that I’ve applied for our allocations,” said Wade, sophomore in nursing. “This time around was defi nitely easier for me to get through the whole process. Peter helped a lot with ensur-ing we knew everything we needed.”

Jones says that the allotted amount could increase for student organizations next year. He says he plans to push for increased student fees to raise the offered allocations amount to $35,000 a semester, due to higher enrollment.

Kipp says that funds will be dispersed to the organizations based on how high their presentation score was, and they will be noti-fi ed in the coming weeks how much they will receive.

Campus clubs make pitch for allocations

I’m going have to fi nd some way to take care of it.”

Kelly Bolin says the storm was comparable to an intense set of strobe lights.

“When it started hailing and the whole street went dark, I got pretty scared,” said Bolin, fresh-man in nursing.

Around midnight, students in Nation Hall were informed that nearly an entire row of cars had blown-out windows. There were roughly two dozen cars that had to be covered with plastic bags.

AJ Thurman says he hastily made his way out to his car with a cell phone fl ashlight in hand, to check if his car was one of the damaged.

He says his car was parked in nearly seven inches of water and he realized that two of his car windows were completely shattered. In addition, he says he discovered that one of his doors was scratched and dented from

fl ying debris and hail.“It was pretty shocking,” said

Thurman, undeclared freshman. “I wasn’t expecting one of the cars to be mine, and, after seeing the damage, I really couldn’t be-lieve it. It literally looked like my window was just rolled down.”

At 5:30 a.m., students received a Pitt alert stating that classes and the campus would be closed Wednesday due to the debris and damage on campus.

Some students, like Elizabeth Straley, made their way into the community to do what they could to help clean up after the storm. Straley says she went around the neighborhood with a few friends to see if they could lend a hand.

“We wanted to help out people who suffered major damage,” said Straley, freshman in nursing. “We picked up tree limbs and did anything we could to help. When we fi nished it was clean and nice.”

■ DAMAGE from page 1cleaned up most minor issues

Wednesday.“We lost a few trees and were

concerned about broken glass and sharp pieces of metal,” Am-ershek said. “But again, most of the damage was at the Weede and east of it.”

Aside from structural dam-age, Amershek says debris from the Crimson Villa Apartments and Chatter’s Bar and Grill ended up on university property.

“The cleanup effort around the rec center and the Gene Bicknell Sports Complex will take place during the next two or three days,” Amershek said.

Amershek says power has been restored to the Weede, but it will likely remain closed through the weekend.

“The Weede will remain closed because we have contrac-tors coming tomorrow to begin repairing the roof,” Amershek

said. “We deemed it a safety concern to have students and staff there while the roof is still open and work is being done.”

Erwin says Wednesday was more of an assessment day. Tomorrow, Amershek, the contractors, and Cate Breneman, grounds maintenance supervi-sor, will begin submitting their reports on the extent of the damage. Until those reports are in, no estimate on the cost or timeline for repairs can be made.

“Power will be back to the rec center and Kansas Technol-ogy Center in the next few days, but the full recovery effort will take longer,” Erwin said. “We don’t know how long it will take or what it will cost. We’re just fortunate no students or com-munity members were injured, and that we had a great coopera-tive response to an emergency situation.”

■ STORM from page 1

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The Student Activities Council is hosting a “Share Your World” postcard contest. The theme was chosen to be broad enough so students could take it in many directions.

SAC wants student-artists to create postcards featuring an original photo, with a caption that represents their lives and interests.

Postcards can be made on nearly

anything. They just need to contain an original photo and a caption that is either original or a cited quote. The postcards can be no bigger than 1 foot long by 1 foot wide and 1 inch think, and can be no smaller than a 3-by-5 notecard.

Each student may enter only one postcard, and the photographer may not be featured in the entry. After the contest, students may pick up their postcards. Those not claimed by March 31 will be discarded.

Students can pick up entry forms and

contest rules from the Campus Activities Center. Entries can be turned in until 4 p.m. Friday, March 9, and they will be displayed in the student center March 12-16.

SAC will choose certain PSU faculty and administrators to judge the contest. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity and adherence to the theme of “Share Your World.”

First place will receive $150, second place will receive $100, and third place will receive $50.

SAC asks students to ‘Share Your World’

Chris Medved/Collegio

Lacey Roe makes a postcard for the “Share Your World” contest that expresses her life through a photograph. Contest winner gets $150.

Pittsburg industry leaders offer advice

Student, national acts garner laughsROSS SCHARTELCollegio Reporter

Every section of Memorial Auditorium was packed with people Friday night. A trip to L.A. appeared to be incentive enough to draw some, but not all to the SAC sponsored Comedy Night.

“I didn’t know about the L.A. thing before I got here,” said Amanda Crutcher, sophomore in commercial graphics. “Was that part on the posters?”

Andrew Conley said SAC could have done a better job of promoting the prize.

“If it was advertised on the posters, I didn’t really notice,” said Conley, senior in chemistry.

Even if the trip wasn’t the rea-son students, faculty and residents came to the event on Friday, Feb. 24.

“I came tonight because of the performers,” said Jaime Bern-hardt, sophomore in international business. “If the guy (Jost) writes for ‘Saturday Night Live’, he must be pretty good.”

Before Josh Wolf and Colin Jost performed, Megan Day, se-nior in Spanish, took the stage.

“The fi rst girl, (Day), was amazing in a really rude and crude way,” said Brett Schurlle, undeclared sophomore. “I mean all three were crude, but crude humor is what appeals to college students.”

Before Jost, a writer for “Sat-

urday Night Live” since 2005, and Wolf, a feature on “Chelsea Lately,” performed their shtick, they did what comedians usually do: they talked about their life, their family and their work. They kept it pretty light-hearted, but a cloud of expletives fi lled the air.

“It was cool seeing better known performers in Pittsburg,” said Austin Gossett, sophomore in graphic design.

Jost’s performance refl ected mostly on his work in New York as a writer for SNL, and the show’s notoriously untraditional approach to writing.

“My fi rst month there, I wrote a sketch about a guy who married a hotdog, and the prop direc-tor asked me if I wanted to go through with the hotdog-human hybrid suit, because it was going to cost some $50,000,” Jost said. “And my gut reaction is, ‘Yeah. Do it!’”

After all the light-hearted jokes aimed at past SNL hosts and actors, Jost left the stage to thunderous applause, before Josh Wolf came out from behind the curtain.

Those who have watched “Chelsea Lately” know Wolf for his crude, pop culture related hu-mor. But that isn’t the comedy he shared Friday night. Wolf spent a majority of his time on stage spin-ning stories about his relationship with his teenage son.

“It’s not very often I get to talk

about myself,” Wolf said. “So this should be fun.”

All three comedians recited their skewed view of reality, and while they tell different tales, their stories boil down to the embarrassing and hilarious, often

overlapping in both.“I laughed my face off,” said

Rachel Jordan, senior in commer-cial art. “All three also kept their shtick tame. They brought their stories full circle, and they kept the audience laughing. Fantastic!”

Comedian Josh Wolf of “Chelsea Lately” answers audience questions during Comedy Night at Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 24.

Julie Huston/Collegio

DIGAMBER ESLAMPUREGuest Columnist

Last Tuesday, two business leaders from the Pittsburg com-munity, Blake Benson, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and Jeff Poe, CEO of Pitt Plastics, shared their experiences and gave advice to students about the current business environment in the community.

Benson opened with a message about the potential of the students.

“You are the young and vibrant future leaders, and you bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the PSU community,” Benson said. “Without the university, there won’t be any community. We are looking forward to ‘Imagine 2030.’”

Benson continued with a focus on companies that started in the region and expanded globally such as Pitt Plastics, Via Christi, Millers Profes-sional Imaging, Pitsco Education, and Names and Numbers.

Poe addressed the gathering with a focus on attracting employees from the local area.

“We are looking to hire students from our state,” Poe said. “It is dif-fi cult to move others here.”

Poe urged students to refl ect on how they fi t into the company and how they contribute to the company.

“Learn how you contribute to the mission of the organization you work for, set your goals, and make sure that they are right goals, then maxi-mize your contribution,” Poe said. “Get to work, accept responsibility

to work. Initiate, keep learning and change necessarily.”

Michael Muoghalu, MBA pro-gram director, says that the students and the businesses need a way to interact.

“We have the intelligent students and big business industries as well, but they do not know each other,” Muoghalu said. “Therefore, it’s our responsibility to connect them close-ly. Our MBA program is not only the top one in Kansas, but also one of the top 15 programs in the nation.”

Paul Grimes, dean of the business school, says the event was benefi cial to the students.

“It’s a great platform to associate with the industry,” Grimes said. “Our students are valuable assets, and we love to keep them around here.”

Rakesh Easwaran, president of the MBA association, says the event helped him evaluate how to interact better with the community.

“It’s a great learning curve for me; it’s also a good stage for me to link with the industry, thanks to all the participants and my team members,” Easwaran said. “We are looking forward to conducting more events.”

Soniya Bhakta, vice president of the MBA association, says she was pleased with the turnout.

“I would like to express thanks to two outstanding community lead-ers who contributed to the event,” Bhakta said. “Thanks to all my team. Without them, we couldn’t have done this.”

Julie Huston/Collegio

Pittsburg State senior Megan Day opened up Comedy Night with roars of laughter on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium. Day says that after she graduates in May she plans to pursue her educa-tion in psychology and her comedy career.

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CARL J. BACHUSCollegio Reporter

Sunday night’s 84th annual Acad-emy Awards broadcast was relatively safe. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences brought back fan-favorite Billy Crystal to host and pep-pered the show with interesting treats like parody songs, comedic presenters and a Cirque du Soleil performance. But the show still seemed too hefty for its own good. Last year, in an attempt to obtain a wider audience, pop-ular stars James Franco and Anne Hathaway were selected to host the show, bringing in mixed results. Each year, the Academy tries harder and harder to reach out to an uninterested audi-ence, usually with lackluster results because it is out of touch with the general populace.

The celebra-tions that are part of the Academy Awards are also accompanied by a certain level of snobbiness. The same types of fi lms get nominated every year, and there isn’t much room for originality; especially when it comes to Best Picture nominations. The large majority of awards contenders are rarely heavily promoted, and even if they are, they aren’t given wide releases in theaters. The Academy also has a tendency to purposefully shun com-mercially successful fi lms in categories where they would surely do well.

Not to say that “Twilight” and Tyler Perry movies deserve a seat anywhere near the Oscars, but other fi lms like 2008’s “The Dark Knight” and 2011’s “The Help” and “Bridesmaids” are often denied well-deserved recognition at the ceremony. On Sunday, the French silent fi lm “The Artist” and the golden-age fi lm retrospective “Hugo” took

home most of the awards, both good fi lms in their own right that took home awards that could have been given to worthier candidates. For ex-ample, best original score could have gone to “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” instead of “The Art-ist,” and best sound mixing could have gone to

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” instead of “Hugo.”

It isn’t a matter of the fi lms being better;

it’s about giv-ing recognition where recogni-tion is due. The truth is that no matter how good your fi lm is, if the plot is more outlandish, there

is less of a chance that you will be recognized at the Oscars. This is espe-cially true in terms of comedy, seeing as only one comedy (1998’s “Shakespeare

in Love”) has managed to win Best Picture in

the past 30 years. For the past few months, there has

been a major push to nominate surprise hit “Bridesmaids” for best picture. Producer Judd Apatow even went so far as to criticize the Academy’s pref-erence for tears over laugh-ter, but comedy still didn’t make the cut. It’s because the Kristen Wiig-penned comedy doesn’t fi t in, and if you have to do anything at the Oscars, you have to fi t in.

It’s a slippery slope because to ask the Academy to change this is to ask the members to be lenient. The more lenient they become, the more susceptible they become to fringe audiences who want every “Beastly” and “Tower Heist” to win best picture. The quality should still be there, but so should the variety. There are some good movies out there, and it seems that the Academy misses just as many of them as the rest of us.

‘Oscar’out of touchVAL VITACollegio Reporter

Jeremy Lin is the fi rst Ameri-can-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, and Lin is catching the attention of the entire world, including several PSU stu-dents from Asian countries.

The phrase “Linsanity” was created after the New York Knicks’ 24-year-old emerged as a dynamic player after being given a chance to start for the Knicks last month.

“There’s no other player that can play like Lin as a guard,” said Marv Kuo, exchange student from Taiwan in the MBA program.

Xinuo Zhao, transfer student from China, says he became aware of Linsanity a couple of weeks ago during a Knicks game against the New Jersey Nets.

“He got over 20 points and lots of assists and then all the Asian people started to watch his big show,” said Zhao, junior in electronics engineering. “I could not imagine his show is still going on until now.”

Zhao says that Lin’s sudden success has occurred because he got the chance and he took advan-tage of it.

“He proved that Asians can play great basketball,” Zhao said. “If they have more opportunities.”

Jeffrey Chen, an exchange student in biology from Taiwan, says that he doesn’t agree with the discussion about Lin’s nationality, since he was born in America but has his roots in Asia.

“I think people should focus on how he plays instead of his nation-ality,” Chen said. “But honestly, it feels really good when people ask me about Jeremy, and I can tell them that we are from the same country.”

Sandy Gu, exchange student from Taiwan, says Lin is Taiwan-ese because his parents are from Taiwan.

“But this is not the point. If he can play, he can play,” said Gu, student in English education. “It doesn’t matter where he is from.”

She says that people became crazy about Lin in Taiwan.

“Everyone’s talking about him these days and everything on Fa-cebook is about ‘Linsanity’,” Gu

said. “The news in Taiwan focuses on the fact that he’s from Taiwan more than anything else. I’ve read the news about Lin asking the Tai-wanese media to stay away from his family.”

Leo Wang says he used to be a Los Angeles Lakers fan, but now, just because of Lin, he started cheering for the Knicks. He says he expects Lin’s success will con-tinue for a long time.

“I don’t want him to disap-pear,” said Wang, an exchange student in technology from Tai-

wan. “That happened with some other famous players, like the New York Yankees baseball player from Taiwan, Chien-Ming Wang.”

Wang says he is proud to have an NBA player representing his country even though, Wang says, Lin grew up in United States, which could be an important rea-son for his success.

“He had an American educa-tion, andAmerican food,” Wang said. “I wonder if he had lived in Taiwan if he could have played in the NBA.”

Proud of ‘Linsanity’

AP

Fans of NBA Knicks' Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin watch him play on TV at a sports bar in Taipei, Taiwan.

Opinion

SHELBI HUSSONGCollegio Writer

Emily Smalley says she is thrilled to have won an ADDY award.

“It’s really good experience to enter your work into something,” Smalley, senior in commercial graphics. “I never thought I would win an award for any-thing I did so, it gives you a little extra confi dence in your designs that you do,”

Smalley won a silver award at the event for her “Frontenac Raider Invite,” which took place in Joplin on Satur-day, Feb. 18. Smalley says this was the

second year she had entered the competi-tion, and her fi rst time winning an award.

The ADDY Awards is an annual competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), which has chapters located across the country. The event provides awards for large businesses as well as students. At the event, ten PSU students took home 18 awards, in categories such as typography, brochures, t-shirt design, and many other forms of marketing.

Eva Schenk, senior in commercial graphics, says she thinks the event is like the Grammys of advertising. Schenk says

one of the biggest perks of the event was being able to network with employers and designers. Schenk says that she will be sure to save all of the work that she does throughout the year, and compete again in the 2013 ADDYs.

Rose Thornhill says she took home a silver award for her piece, “Brandon Boyd Typography.”

“It was a very good experience,” said Thornhill, junior in commercial graphics. “You get to meet a lot of big companies there, and make a lot of connections with potential job opportunities. It’s a really good way of getting noticed for

your work, and it looks really good on a resumé.” Shawn Brandt, senior in commercial graphics, says he is interested in compet-ing next year as well, but he would like to branch out and enter advertisements in different categories.

Brandt says he won a gold award this year for his “Brandt Aerospace Business Card,” a business card that folded out into an overview of the program in the shape of an airplane.PSU’s department of marketing and communication won fi ve silver ADDY awards. One of those was for “Tornado!

Photographer’s images touch hearts around the world,” a four-page spread in the Fall 2011 edition of Pitt State Magazine.

Christel Benson and Chris Huitt, assistant professors in the department of graphics and imaging technologies, say they oversaw many of the competing students’ work, in addition to winning awards themselves. Benson won a gold for “Syllabus,” and a silver award for “Get Graphic at PSU.” Huitt won a silver for his “Baja T-shirt design.” They say they were pleased with their students and the overall outcome of the event.

Gold, silver and best overall: Pitt State students sweep ADDY Awards

P I T T S B U R G S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

theCOLLEGIO

SPORTSAll-MIAA honors:

GARETT MCCULLOUGHSports Editor

The Pittsburg State women’s basketball team heads into the MIAA Tournament with fi ve All-MIAA selections and the All-MIAA Coach of the Year, Lane Lord.

Lizzy Jeronimus led the way all season for the Gorillas and was chosen as the MIAA Freshman of the Year and made the All-MIAA fi rst-team. Jeron-imus led the team in minutes, points and defensive rebounds. Although she is listed as a forward for the Gorillas, Jeronimus did not shy from perimeter play. She tied Courtney Tate for the team lead of 85 assists and knocked down 13 of her 35 3-point attempts. She also handcuffed opposing teams with her ability at the free-throw line, where she shot 78.7 percent.

“We knew out of high school Lizzy was going

to be a difference maker,” Lord said. “The way she carries herself at practice, by always working hard, has made everyone on our team better.”

Senior Brook Conley was second on the team in points and earned an All-MIAA second-team selec-tion. Conley shot nearly 41 percent from the fl oor and was fourth on the team with 133 rebounds. She also shot 78.7 percent from the free-throw line and averaged 13.5 points per game. Conley scored a career-high 27 points against Central Missouri.

“The best part of her game is driving the ball,” Lord said. “She creates opportunities for others with her ability to get to the bucket. Her defensive effort was great all year as well.”

Senior Larissa Richards beat her own single-sea-son team record of 58 blocks, with 65 this season. In addition she had a team-leading 202 rebounds, earning her All-MIAA defensive team honors and a spot on the All-MIAA third team. Richards ended

her senior season with 154 career blocks. “I think if she hadn’t gotten the concussion, she

was on pace for fi rst team,” Lord said. “She was a fi rst-teamer for us and she had an all-around great season.”

Two other Gorillas made the All-MIAA Hon-orable Mention team: junior Drew Roberts and sophomore point guard Alexa Bordewick.

Roberts led the team in 3-pointers with 52, and in 3-point percentage at 43.7 percent. She also contributed 47 assists and was the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 9.8 points per game. She only shot 32 free throws, but she made 90.6 percent of them.

Bordewick ran the team’s offense and dished out 62 assists. She also was fi fth on the team in scoring, with 7.6 points per game on 31.5 percent shooting.

“We set the record for most wins in a season in school history this year,” Lord said. “You can’t do

that without somebody to push the ball, and that’s what Bordewick did for us.”

Three of these players have at least one more year on the team and that will prove helpful when coach Lord attempts to capture MIAA Coach of the Year in the upcoming years. Lord is in his fourth season as the Pitt State women’s head coach and he now has two MIAA Coach of the Year awards to his credit with the program. Although Lord is the one credited with this award, he made it clear that without his staff, this kind of season would not be possible. He made it a point that the award is a staff award to be shared with his assistant Amanda Davied.

All that is left is for the Gorillas to prove that the MIAA coaches were right in selecting so many Gorillas to the All-MIAA team, in the MIAA tour-nament and the Division II National Tournament.

Brook ConleyLizzy JeronimusLarissa RichardsDrew RobertsAlexa Bordewick

TYLER SMITHSports Writer

It is MIAA tournament time and this year, the PSU women’s basketball team enters the tournament as one of the favorites.

The Gorillas are 24-4 and they have a fi rst-round matchup against the Lincoln Blue Tigers.

The Gorillas are coming into the tourna-ment with big expectations as they already have the best season in Pitt State history, and they are the fi rst team to record more than 22 wins in a season.

The Gorillas head to Kansas City as a two-seed and ranked No. 12 in the nation.

The Gorillas’ biggest advantage is their bench and the overall play of the entire team. PSU has fi ve players named to the All-MIAA teams, in addition to coach Lane Lord.

The fi ve players are freshman Lizzy Jeronimus, seniors Larissa Richards and Brooke Conley, junior Drew Roberts and sophomore Alexa Bordewick.

Jeronimus was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and made fi rst team, All-MIAA. Jeronimus continually showed up to play at every game, and she fi nished in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, fi eld goal percentage, assists, free throws, blocked shots, assists and minutes played.

It was a phenomenal year for the surging freshman and she will no doubt be one of Pitt State’s main weapons in the game against Lincoln.

The Gorillas went 2-0 against Lincoln during the regular season, but neither win came easily. The Gorillas won the fi rst 81-73; the second was even closer, with PSU win-ning 78-73.

Jeronimus led PSU players in the second game, scoring an outstanding 28 points in the record-tying 22nd win. PSU had reached 22 wins in a season once before this season.

Lincoln had a chance to tie the game with seven seconds left, but Conley blocked Lin-coln’s Freddie Sims jumper and PSU held on.

The Gorillas won their fi nal regular season game 54-53 against Northeastern State on Feb. 25, thanks to a last-second shot from Roberts.

Conley also came up big during senior night, scoring nine points while Richards and Amanda Orloske recorded six points each.

Jeronimus led the Gorillas with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Roberts also had 10 points, including the game winner.

Pitt State continued the trend of trailing early before rallying late, and the game was close the entire way.

The win will boost their confi dence going into the MIAA tournament. The big ques-tion surrounding the tournament is how the Gorillas will respond to conference rival Washburn, which is the only team to defeat Pitt State twice this year.

Pitt State plays Lincoln at 6 p.m. Thurs-day, March 1, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Tickets are still available. Amanda Orloske defends against a Northeastern State player in the last seconds of the game, held in

John Lance Arena. Pitt State defeated Northeastern State 54-53 on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Srikanth Korlapati/Collegio

Gorillas ride high into MIAA TournamentTIM SPEARSSports Writer

The Pittsburg State men’s basketball team will not

receive a friendly welcome at the MIAA tournament Friday, March 2, when it faces second-seeded Cen-tral Missouri State University.

Despite being 0-2 against UCM this season, Pitt State has played the Mules close. The second matchup was a 2-point loss in War-rensburg, Mo., where the Gorillas had a chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds.

“The fi rst round is the big one. Because if you don’t get by the fi rst one, the tournament doesn’t mat-ter,” said Kevin Muff, head coach. “So we’re looking at it as a one-game shot. And if – or when – I’m going to say when we win it, then we’ll worry about the next one.”

After a three-year tournament drought, Pitt State heads to Kansas City ranked in the middle-of-the-pack in every major offensive sta-tistical category in conference. The backbone of the Gorillas’ play has been their much-improved defense. They are led by the strong rebound-

ing of MIAA All-Defensive Team member Andra Bailey and All-MIAA Honorable Mention JaVon McGee, who have combined for 16.1 rebounds per game. Pittsburg State ranks fi rst in rebounding mar-gin in the conference at plus six. The Gorillas also rank fi rst in steals and third in turnover margin.

The Mules will take the court with plenty of confi dence coming off a three-game winning streak, including a 13-point victory over the No. 1 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. UCM, 19-7 (15-5 MIAA), led the league in scoring margin and is second in 3-point fi eld goal percentage. Pitt State has had diffi culty stopping the three this year, allowing teams to shoot 36 percent beyond the arc. Coach Muff is 1-3 against the Mules, and a win would match the Gorillas against the winner of Northwest Missouri and Southwest Baptist.

Pitt State wrapped up its 15-13 regular season with a 78-54 home blowout of Northeastern State on Saturday, Feb. 25. The game had no impact on the Gorillas’ tourna-ment seeding with PSU already fi rmly locked in the bottom of the

bracket as the 7-seed. “The way we fi nished the con-

ference 0-2, and not playing well defensively one night, offensively the next time out. Some inconsis-tencies makes this game a plus for us,” Muff said. “We needed to play tonight, we needed to have a game, and we needed to play well. Which I thought we did at times.”

Northeastern couldn’t stop the Gorillas’ motion offense, never cutting the Pitt lead to single-digits in the second half. McGee led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds and senior Eric Ray had 17 points for the Gorillas.

“At points in the second half, we played probably as good as we’ve been all year,” Muff said. “Imposing our will on them defen-sively, I thought we did a good job of that. Going into Kansas City we need to guard that way. A lot of our offense came from our defense, and that’s the way it needs to be.”

The Northeastern game was Senior Night for Pitt State, with guards Drake Green, Adrien Her-rera, Eric Ray and forward Bailey playing their last home game. All of the seniors were in the starting

lineup, and each one would score for the Gorillas against Northeast-ern.

“Three of them have been with me for four years. I almost broke down out on the court, but afterwards, I just went in the locker room and cried and kind of got that out of my system because it’ll never be like this again. I’ll never be with those guys again,” Muff said. “Did we get as far as we wanted to? Well, that’s yet to be seen. We still have a shot at that. We won some big games, we took some strides, and we’re a better team now than before they got here. So do they have something to look back on with pride? Most defi nitely, and all the seniors com-ing in now have that standard to follow up on.”

Now the seniors and the rest of the Gorilla squad will look to do something no other group before them could do. Win the MIAA tournament. When asked about his chances, coach Muff needed very few words to sum up his expecta-tions.

“I think we can beat anybody,” Muff said.

Javon McGee dunks the ball into the basket during the match against Northeastern State on Saturday, Feb. 25, in John Lance Arena.

Srikanth Korlapati/Collegio

Ladies end skid with MIAA Tournament looming

A team effort

March 1, 2012 11

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thisweek’sathleteDrew RobertsLizzy Jeronimus committed a futile turnover down by one with 34 seconds left in the game last Saturday. But Drew Roberts was there to steal the ball right back and then followed it up with a go-ahead floater with four sec-onds left to seal the game. She finished the game with 10 points, but had the biggest bucket.

AMELIA MALLATTSports Writer

The PSU men’s and women’s indoor track team competed in the three-day MIAA Champi-onships in Joplin, Mo., over the weekend. The men placed fourth and the women fi nished sixth.

The PSU men ended the meet with 99 points, one point behind Lincoln for third. Missouri Southern fi nished in second with 119 points and Central Missouri took fi rst with 149 points.

The PSU women tallied 54 points, land-ing them in sixth place. Ahead of them were Emporia State with 63.5 points, Truman with 65 points, Missouri Southern with 94 points, Central Missouri with 140.5 and the victor Lincoln end-ing with 150 points.

On the fi nal day of action, the PSU men fared well. Colbie Snyder set a PSU record in the pole vault. Snyder’s winning clearance of 16 feet, 10 inches, landed him with a sixth-place fi nish and qualifi ed him for Nationals.

“Colbie is ranked third,” Jewett said. “Pole vaulting is a very volatile event. You can be ranked fi rst going in, but when that bar goes up anybody can win.”

Keenan Soles performed well in the long jump, winning it with a mark of 24 feet, 4-1/4 inches. Soles added a decent performance on top of the long jump, taking seventh place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.94 seconds. Steven Mann took home fourth place in the long jump for the Gorillas, with a mark of 23- 2.

“His jumps keep improving and he hasn’t even hit the take-off board yet,” Jewett said. “He is very competitive, that bodes well for him.”

Adam Volkert took home fourth place in the mile and fi fth place in the 3,000 meters. Volkert fi nished the mile with a time of 4 minutes, 18.88

seconds, and he fi nished the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:38.05.

On the women’s side, Rosalyn Nelson raced to an MIAA, runner-up fi nish in the 60-meters, with a time of 7.62 seconds.

“Rosalyn Nelson is ranked 12th going in, and she is getting faster,” Jewett said.

The reason for her improved times in the latter part of the season is an extended recov-ery from an injury last season. Though she has technically been healthy all season, she is just now getting into the shape she needs to be in to perform her best.

In the shot put Larissa Richards placed third with a heave of 48- 2. Heidi Smith took fi fth in the shot put with a toss of 47 1/4. Both marks were good enough to send them to Nation-als. Unfortunately for Richards, the only way she can compete in Nationals is if the women’s basketball team loses in the National basketball tournament.

“Heidi Smith is ranked 10th going in,” Jewett said. “She has a lot of Nationals experience. We hope that helps her.”

Kaley Temaat participated in the mile run, fi n-ishing in 5:11.16. Her performance was good for fi fth place but not good enough for Nationals.

The PSU women’s 4x400 meter relay team fi nished fourth in their race with a time of 4:05.96. The team consisted of Jessica Reichen-berger, Hillary Dickey, Jacque Timberlake and Whitney Southard.

Now it is up to the fi ve National Qualifi ers: Colbie Synder and Keenan Soles for the men, Larissa Richards, Heidi Smith and Rosalyn Nel-son for the women.

“We had fi ve make Nationals,” Jewett said. “Something that is getting harder and harder to do.”

ZACH WAGNERSports Writer

Drew Roberts has shown that rebounding doesn’t just occur on the court, but is needed for the hardships of life as well.

Roberts recently lost her father, David Roberts, to liver cancer on Dec. 14. The junior guard has managed to overcome the various obstacles throughout her college career while continuing to remain a dominant force for the Gorilla women’s basketball team.

Roberts says that her father was one of the most infl uential people in her life, for embrac-ing basketball, especially as a motivator and a coach.

“Whenever I’d have to travel for my games as a kid, my dad would be right there at every game,” Roberts said. “Having him miss more games as time went by was one of the worst parts overall.”

She received a phone call her freshman year while in her dorm room. It was her sister telling Roberts that their father had fallen ill.

“We had no idea that this could happen, there was no way we could’ve have seen it coming,” Roberts said. “Everything seemed to get tougher from there. I couldn’t make it home from school to see my dad nearly as much as I wanted; that was one of the hardest parts.”

From the start of her freshman year, Rob-erts was faced with the challenge of maintain-ing a close family life yet staying dedicated to basketball as well.

“Basketball, and for any person who plays sports in college really, is just like having a job,” Roberts said.

Despite facing one of the toughest times in her life, the Blue Springs native was quick to show her dominance for the Gorilla women. In the 2009-2010 season, she averaged 10 points per game through the fi rst 11 games of the season, and she started 19 games overall.

“She has helped the team grow as a whole with the amount of effort that she puts into each game,” head coach Lane Lord said. “Without a doubt she has been an essential part for the rebuilding process of this team.”

Roberts says Lord has stood by her throughout the ordeals she’s faced, taking upon the role of not only a coach, but as a father as well.

“Whenever I needed to leave town to go see the family, coach always made sure he gave me the time,” Roberts said. “My dad and him were close as well. I thought their relationship was important.”

Things started to look up for Roberts dur-ing her sophomore year. She started nearly every regular-season game and she made the honorable mention All-MIAA team, but doc-tors also informed her family that her father had recovered from cancer. At the 2011 “Pink Zone” basketball game, an announcement was even made for Roberts’ recovery. The relief was short lived. Just before the 2011-2012 season, the family received news that her father’s illness had relapsed.

“When we were told that he had recovered,

everything was great. To have something like that happen in your life, you’re instantly happy and it seems that nothing could make it worse,” Roberts said. “After we found out that it came back, it didn’t seem real. Every-thing went back to the way it was before for him, except it was worse.”

Though Roberts has led the Pitt State women to 15 school records and counting, stemming from most wins on the road, most consecutive wins and attaining fi fth in the nation for three-point fi eld goal average, her father continued to struggle in his battle with cancer and on Dec. 14, her father’s fi ght, was over.

Sophomore point guard Sarah Molz, one of Roberts’ closest friends on the team, says that many of the Pitt State women look up to Roberts for her courage and perseverance in the last three years.

“A lot of our team looks up to her as a role model,” Molz said. “She’s a big time leader, but a silent one as well.”

Shortly after Roberts’ father passed, commemorative wristbands with the initials “D.R.” were made for half the team.

“It’s really cool because whenever he could, he’d be up in the stands watching Drew and cheering the team on,” Molz said. “With the wristbands, it’s like he never misses a game.”

Roberts will continue to carry the team during their next competition, as they take the court against Lincoln, in Kansas City, Mo., for the fi rst round of the MIAA Tournament.

Five Gorillas qualify for nationals

Bouncing back: The Drew Roberts story

Hunter Peterson/Collegio

Colbie Snyder smiles as he to the mat after clearing the pole vault bar and breaking the school record with a vault of 16 feet 10 inches during the MIAA Indoor Track Champion-ships held at MSSU in Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Friendly win

AP Photo

U.S. midfi elder Fabian Johnson, right, and Italy midfi elder Cristian Maggio vie for the ball during a friendly soccer match between Italy and USA, at the Genoa Luigi Ferraris stadium, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 29. USA won 1-0.

CARL BACHUSCollegio Writer

Rating:

Environmental responsibility is a hot topic and few works of fi ction bring it to the forefront quite like Jon Klein’s “Betty the Yeti,” playing Thurs-day through Sunday, March 1-4, in the Grubbs Hall Studio Theater. The production involves Russ Sawyer, a down-on-his-luck logger and his relationships with his estranged wife, her lover, his mother-in-law and Betty, the eponymous yeti.

Sawyer is a logger caught between his mother-in-law, also a logger, and his tree-hugging wife and her environmentalist lover. In the midst of extramarital drama, Sawyer and a sardonic park ranger happen upon Betty, a yeti with a fondness for domestication. Things take a turn for the scan-dalous when Betty develops feelings for Sawyer.

Klein’s work touches on a variety of subjects, including unhappy marriages, postwar depression and the never-ending battle between the environ-ment and industrialization. The script, however poignant, didn’t dig into the issues as much as I would have liked. Everything happened fast and no one topic really went beyond the surface. The dialogue did come across as natural among the major player and the plot never seemed to lose steam.

The cast, led by Duke Walter as Sawyer, did a fi ne job giving the play that extra kick it needed. The delivery of some of the smaller roles, like ranger Iko, played by freshman Shaylynn Yusuf, gave the play a bit of unneeded pause but never got tiresome. Walter and senior Lara Ismert, as Terra the wife, were astounding together and brought a fantastic mix of melodrama and gravity to their portrayals. Sophomore Micah Black also shines as the title character, offering comic relief from the soapy subplots.

Director Cynthia Allan, chair of the Communi-cation Department, molds what could have been a superfi cial look at heavy topics into a satirical character piece that brings environmental issues to the forefront. Allan manages to pull the best performances out of her major players, especially Walter and Ismert. Whenever you think that the dramatics of love become too much, the dialogue snaps back with a spot-on environmentalist com-mentary. The set design is minimal yet effective, using dimensions to practical effect in its use of the trees.

With a lackluster script, it may be easy to write this off, but those who do would be missing out on a

decent play with a couple of electric performances. “Yeti” will be nothing new to those already hip to the cause and it probably won’t do much for the uniniti-ated. But for just plain fun with an unpretentious mes-sage, this may be the ticket.

March 1, 201212

TODD MILLERCollegio Writer

Rating:

There is one thing this movie does well and that’s having some of the best action sequences I’ve seen in a movie in a long time. But don’t get your hopes up. After that, everything else “Act of Valor” does is mediocre at best.

“Valor” got a lot of hype because it features active duty U.S. Navy SEALs performing realistic re-cre-ations of the types of missions they perform. The fi lm is said to have used live ammunition in several scenes.

The plot is pretty simple: A SEALs team is deployed to rescue a kidnapped CIA offi cer, Lisa Morales (Roselyn Sanchez), but the scope of their mission turns global as they catch on to her kidnappers’ terrorist activities.

I’m used to action movies having somewhat thin plots, but this movie barely gets by. While the action sequences are wonderful, they just string along a cliché story line. The fi lm might as well be a creative docu-mentary.

What’s worse are the characters. None of the main characters, the members of the SEALs team we follow, stands out from the others. They’re bland and indistinguish-able and by the end of the movie, I didn’t care about them. I know the movie was vying for realism, but bad characterization will make for a bad movie. The only one of them that really stood out was the SEALs mem-ber billed as Senior Chief, because he had a beard.

The other thing that made Chief stand out was that he was pretty much the only one actually acting. While, again, the rest did a fantastic job during the action sequences, any line readings from the group felt exactly like that: line readings. It felt too much like the “actors” weren’t being pushed for fl uid lines. One minute the movie looks fantastic and engrossing, but then the characters start talking and suddenly I’m just sitting in a the-ater watching a movie again. It really contrasted with the better perfor-mances of the actual actors compared to the SEALs members. But as I said, Senior Chief does impress me with a fantastic all-talking scene between him and antagonist Christo (Alex Veadov).

But on the action scenes, the SEALs members really got to shine doing what they do best. The scenes didn’t feel forced, and everything was pushed for the utmost realism. It was fantastic to see. The fi lmmakers were aware of this contrast, which is why the non-action parts are so down-played.

“Act of Valor” is more interesting than a recruitment video or a military documentary, but that’s about it.

Valor brings action, shallow plot

CARL BACHUSCollegio Reporter

Rating:

It’s been nearly 30 years since Van Halen and original lead singer David Lee Roth, released a new album of original material. The band reunites for a new LP entitled, “A Different Kind of Truth,” showcasing an ar-ray of new songs with the original Van Halen chemistry that the band’s subsequent lead singers just couldn’t imitate.

The album fares extremely well given the band’s rocky history, and the intimidating bar set by their fi rst six, Roth-led, albums. “Truth” is also the fi rst album not to feature original bassist Michael Anthony. Even with

that notable exclusion, it’s still obvious which band is playing from the very fi rst track. The album features new songs in addition to reworked and remixed versions of their cata-logue of unreleased material, like the ripping, sensory overload “She’s The Woman,” and their much acclaimed new single, “Tattoo.”

“Tattoo” is a relatively safe track, given that the rest of the album is about as aggres-sive as a bull on steroids. Other highlights include the catchy and percussion-heavy “You and Your Blues,” where Roth picks a screaming match with the most formidable of screeching guitars, the war-crying career song “Blood and Fire.” “Truth,” though still a fun rock outing, gives us a taste of the more mature side of Van Halen, like bluesy track “Stay Frosty.” The drums still pound and the guitars still wail, but the songs have more to say now.

But for those who don’t want the band getting too “old,” head-bangers like “Hon-

eybabysweetiedoll,” and “The Trouble with Never,” will snap you right back into 1988. Or some 2012-version of 1988. One thing that will surely be missed is bassist An-thony’s trademark, fl ight-like vocals, but the current lineup makes up for it with tremen-dous instrumentals and clean production. It’s nice to have Roth back as lead singer, but it is easy to hear the withering in his normally effortless voice. He’s trying his best, and his rasp gives some of the harder tracks much needed levity.

“A Different Kind of Truth” is a slam dunk of a comeback album, which we all know is no easy feat. New bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son, fi lls in quite nicely and the tracks manage to mix several differ-ent genres to give a new millennium feel to that original Van Halen fl avor. One thing’s for sure, there won’t be any groans on their upcoming tour when they play tracks from the new album.

Thirty years later: Van Halen still rocks

Act of Valor 2012

A Different Kind of Truth 2012

Asura’s Wrath 2012

Photos by Hunter Peterson

Micah Black, playing Betty, sticks a tissue in her mouth during Act Two of “Betty the Yeti” during a rehearsal on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Grubbs Hall.

Trey Hugger, played by Brett Baker, rehears-es for the play “Betty the Yeti” on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Grubbs Hall.

Russ T. Sawyer, played by Duke Walter, argues with his wife, Terra, played by Lara Ismert, during rehearsal for the play “Betty the Yeti” on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Grubbs Hall.

B etty the Yeti

‘Wrath’ offers spectacle, not gameplayNEVIN JONESCollegio Writer

Rating:

Ridiculous. That is the word that comes to my mind as I played Asura’s Wrath. I don’t believe there is a better word to describe a game that opens with a space fi ght between impure beasts and demigods, and ends with Earth sprouting a squid-like monster that gets punched in the face.

The plot takes place over a span of 12,500 years and it follows the exploits of Asura, a demigod who is betrayed by his comrades. His wife and daughter are taken from him before the other demigods kill him, and cast him to the planet below. He resurrects through the sheer force of his intense anger, only to fi nd the world in complete disarray. This story, while completely insane, plays out perfectly for an action game,

and it includes some of the most fantastic scenes of ludicrous violence I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

The story is presented in a fl awless format. Each section is divided into a chapter that contains opening and closing credits, in addition to a preview for the next chapter of the game. The experiences of each chapter vary greatly. One moment you may be riding through space on the hood of a golden speeder, shooting down spaceships while racing against time. In the next, you will be having a brutal duel on the surface of the moon against an old mentor. This variety leads to a panorama of gameplay opportunities. Group brawls, on-the-rail shooting sequences, and epic boss battles are everywhere.

All of the scenes come together to form an incredibly unique experience that plays out more like the upper echelon of Japanese animation than a video game. However, this also causes a problem for the game: there is very little gameplay. The gameplay present in the game

is fantastic, but in each chapter there are only about fi ve minutes of actual interaction. In each chapter you will be in some kind of fi ght that builds a burst gauge, which, when full, trig-gers a quick time event. These quick time events are astound-ingly animated, and a blast to watch, but they are the dominant part of the game so you end up watching more than you play. One of the problems this creates is that the game is not very long. You can fi nish the game on hard mode in six to seven hours. Only about two hours of those are actual gameplay.

Asura’s Wrath is an amaz-ing game that features gorgeous animation and the presentation is second to none. However, it is a full priced game at $60, and features minuscule amounts of playing time. I can’t fully rec-ommend it because of that huge fl aw. If you have money avail-able and a penchant for crazy Japanese animation like I do, then this game is a must own for you. If you are short on money and still love action games then I’d recommend renting it.