CMYK

Green is the New Black

CHARLES CLACKA/THE PINE LOGSFA’s chapter of International Interior Design Association hosted its recycled fashion show titled Green is the New Black on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Twilight Ballroom. Contestants had to create dresses out of recyclable materials. The first place winner was Kali Benbrooks, who won $300 and the runner-up was awarded $150.

Monday, February 14, 2011

TODAYH 62 L 49

The

TUESDAYH 64 L 50

WEDNESDAYH 68 L 54

Volume 90Issue 5

Next Publication:Thursday, February 17, 2011

Visit us online atwww.thepinelog.com

The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University

Page 4

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PINE LOG The

The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University

Lumberjacks tie for second

in SLC West Division

For Egypt, Mubarak is

history PINE LOG

By Traneka R. Southwell CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SFA will welcome ESPN sports anchor Jay Harris, New Jersey sports anchor Tony Cornish Jr. and NBA legends Robert Reid and Kevin Loder to campus for several upcoming appearances.

The SFA Office of Multicultural Affairs is teaming up with the athletics and campus recreation departments to produce an event titled “A Conversation on Sports and Media” at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center. The public is invited to attend.

Cornish, who works for WZBN TV-25 in New Jersey, will facilitate the event, while Harris, SFA marketing instructor Marc Williams, Reid and Loder will participate in the discussion. The event is designed to make students aware of career op-portunities in sports and media.

“It is a tremendous honor to have such an inspiring group of individuals come speak to our students at SFA,” Williams said. “They are all men of integrity and honor and are posi-

tive role models for the students.” Dr. Terrence Frazier, SFA director of multi-

cultural affairs, said the idea of having Harris, Cornish and the NBA legends speak on cam-pus, stemmed from collaboration between his office and Williams, a sports marketing professional.

In addition to the discussion, campus rec-reation will host the guests from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the SFA Recreation Center where they will speak to several SFA classes. A meet-and-greet scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at the Recreation Center will be open to the entire campus community.

“I’m excited about meeting the students at Stephen F. Austin State University,” Harris said. “I’ve heard lots about SFA, and I’m look-ing forward to lots of fun and a great day.”

Reid, who played in the NBA for 13 sea-sons, also expressed his excitement at com-ing to SFA and said he is honored to speak to SFA students.

“I am looking forward to meeting our fu-ture leaders, and I hope that our message will give the SFA students more direction on the path that they have chosen,” Reid said.

The athletic department will host a dinner for the guests and SFA student athletes. In addition, the men will participate in a pep rally at 6 p.m. at Lumberjack Alley in the SFA commuter lot, and students are asked to at-tend and show their school spirit. The pep rally will precede the 7 p.m. Lumberjack bas-ketball game against Lamar University.

Frazier said he wants to continue bringing speakers to campus who students wouldn’t ordi-narily get the chance to meet.

“If you don’t see someone who is success-ful, how do you know what success looks like? I emphasize to students everyday how important an education is. You can take my house and everything away, but I will always have my education. That’s what I want to in-still in students,” he said.

The appearances also will support the upcom-ing Nacogdoches County Relay for Life benefit-ing the American Cancer Society. Auntie Pastas, Barnes & Noble, Hotel Fredonia, SFA’s American Marketing Association and Clear Springs are sponsoring this week’s events. Additional spon-sorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact Elizabeth Ross, promotions and sponsorship coordinator at the Recreation Center, at (936)468-5844 or ejross@sfasu.edu.

pinelog@thepinelog.com

By Stephanie SlabaughSPORTS EDITOR

Wednesday at noon in the BPSC third floor commons, sports marketing profes-sor, Marc Williams is sharing his wisdom in a must-see presentation for students.

In the three weeks he has been in Nacogdoches, Williams has made things possible for students that they could have never imagined in their wildest dreams.

After pursuing two master’s degrees, Williams set out for greatness and never looked back.

Williams’ resume includes being Global Vice President and Global Brand Director for companies such as Reebok, Champs Sports and Footaction.

He has had the opportunity to work with an amazing array of celebrities in-cluding Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Michael Bublé, Michael Jordan, Bon Jovi, Magic Johnson and Beyoncé Knowles, to name a few.

Currently, Williams owns and operates Williams Communications, a company that manages professionals in the enter-tainment and sports industries and pro-vides marketing consulting.

His most recently signed client is Pooch Hall, aka Derwin Davis on BET’s hit show, “The Game.”

Williams has been named Network Journal’s Top 40 Businessman in America Under 40, CNN’s top 10 College Motivational Speakers in the United States and Sports Illustrated’s Top 101 Minorities in Sports.

The title of a top college motivational speaker came last fall when Williams went on the road visiting 40 colleges encourag-ing students to follow their dreams.

“I get really passionate about helping students. You can be in a bad space and redeem yourself. I don’t want you guys to wait. There’s no reason for anyone to think they can’t be anything they want to be,” Williams said.

Williams points out that SFA’s College

of Business is among 63 business schools around the world that have accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the highest accreditation a university can have.

“Our business school is on the same playing field with Harvard,” Williams said.

In fact, Williams’ sports marketing class is working on a project with the NBA Hall of Fame that is exclusive to his undergrad class and graduate programs at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.

Another portion of his class is working on a project with Under Armour’s new partner, Bite Tech, that hasn’t even been released yet.

Pending on results of work done this semester, some of these students will receive internships with the NBA Hall of Fame, Under Armour, the Boston Redsox and BET.

Williams is also responsible for bring-ing ESPN’s Jay Harris and NBA legends Robert Reid and Tony Cornish Jr. to SFA on February 23 for a meet and greet and panel discussion with students.

“I feel like I’m in the zone. It’s like Michael Jordan when he hit those three pointers against Portland. That’s how I feel at SFA. Every day I wake up excited. Motivated. This is a whole other level for me and that’s how I know this is where I’m supposed to be,” Williams said.

His next move is to receive a doctorate in education at SFA while he is teach-ing and continuing to run his company, so he can one day become a university president.

Although it may seem too good to be true, Williams’ stint at SFA is not tempo-rary.

“ I plan on being here as long as SFA is interested in letting me help to enhance their brand and the students are inter-ested letting me motivate them,” Williams said.

PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG

Sports anchors, NBA legends to lend expertise to SFA students

Marc Williams to share sports marketing knowledge at SFA

SFA PUBLIC AFFAIRS

SFA PUBLIC AFFAIRSJay Harris, ESPN sports anchor, will be one of four people speaking at several upcoming appearances on SFA Campus.

By Wendi KunkelCONTRIBUTING WRITER

SFA Ad Hoc is hosting a casting call for people between the ages of 25 and 34 or those who look that age. The audition is for a spot in the organization’s advertising cam-paign for JCPenny.

For several years the SFA Ad Hoc team has par-ticipated in the American Advertising Federation’s yearly competition. Each year, the team, consist-ing of journalism, advertising, marketing and art students, creates a complete campaign for the featured company.

The casting call is scheduled for Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Student Center, Room 2.303. Those auditioning will be required to realistically read a script while being video-taped; they will also have their photo taken.

SFA’s Ad Hoc president, Naeem Munaf, en-courages those with good improv skills to try out adding, “Confidence is a must.”

SFA competes in district 10, with schools including Sam Houston State University, Texas Tech, University of Texas at Austin and 16 others.

The national competition will take place June 2 and 3 in San Diego, Calif., with the winners of each district attending.

Dr. Linda Bond encouraged all who are interested to try out for a spot in the com-mercial.

“We’re pleased when people come out,” Bond said. “Don’t be afraid, it’s just another college experience worth trying, and a great opportu-nity to work with students who love this kind of advertisement.”

wkunkel@thepinelog.com

Ad Hoc hosting casting call for ad competition

Marc Williams, a sports marketing professional who has worked for companies such as Reebok and Champs Sports, will be sharing his marketing wisdom with SFA students Wednesday.

Lumberjacks tie for second

in SLC West PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG

Appearances combined effort of MCC, athletics, the Recreation Center

CMYK

Page Two Monday, February 14, 2011PINE LOGTHE

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• Today is my birthday.• My favorite sport is synchronized swimming.• I LOVE my pink bikini (see photo above.)• I love long strolls on the beach in my pink bikini.• Once I was lost and went to Sam Houston.• Then I was found and graduated from SFA.

• I love the Cowboys even though they don’t win     anymore.• I love Jeff Gordon even if he does not win anymore.

• I rather watch E true Hollywood Pamela Anderson than    the Playoffs.• Quail scare me to death.

• I should never hunt with the master hunter, because    he shoots my deer.• I am considered by most a serial castrator.• “And what not” is my favorite saying.• I like getting my belly rubbed at night.

• I am famous for falling off horses, and I don’t get back    on them• My cowboy hat is my signature statement.

• I am the only person in the world who can go fishing    in fresh and saltwater and only catch catfish.• My last name is not a stream or a bayou..• I’m often seen swaggering around campus.• I don’t need a Concealed Handgun license.

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Fourth man on the moon to speak at SFAAlan Bean will be second guest in McDonald Speaker Series

Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon and an award-winning artist, will be the fea-tured guest at the 2011 installment of the Archie McDonald Speaker Series at SFA.

The event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus. Reserve tickets will go on sale early next year.

“Alan Bean is a member of a most exclusive group – one of 12 people who have walked on the moon and captured the focus and imagination of the nation and the world during the apex of manned space explora-tion,” Dr. Archie McDonald said. “Our speaker series is delighted to feature a fellow Texan who has viewed our world from a perspective few others have experienced.”

Bean graduated from Paschal High School in Fort Worth in 1950 and received a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. He was trained as a test pilot and, in 1963, was selected as a NASA astronaut.

He was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, man’s second lunar land-ing. In 1973, Bean again flew in space as commander of Skylab Mission II, a 59-day mission in which he trav-eled more than 24 million miles. He later served as backup spacecraft commander for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and as chief of operations and training and acting chief astronaut until the first flight of the space shuttle.

Bean began pursuing his interest in painting while still a test pilot in the Navy. Throughout his NASA career, he took art classes and honed his artistic skills at night and on weekends when he wasn’t training for a mission. For the past 29 years, the former astronaut has worked full time as a professional artist. His work has evolved into a mixture of painting and sculpture, textured with lunar tools, sprinkled with bits of his Apollo 12 spacecraft and the emblems and flag from the spacesuit he wore on the moon.

When he retired from NASA, Bean vowed, “I will not be an astronaut that paints, but will become an artist that used to be an astronaut.”

He explains, “I want to record, in

fine art, paintings that will tell future generations of humankind’s first ex-ploration of another world.”

SFA’s speaker series, which debuted last spring, was created to honor and preserve McDonald’s legacy as a distinguished scholar, educator and community commentator. A promi-nent national figure will be hosted annually at SFA to discuss contem-porary cultural issues – from politics to art – in the tradition of McDonald’s writings and oral presentations. The annual event is sponsored by SFA’s Student Government Association and College of Liberal and Applied Arts.

McDonald has taught history at SFA for 46 years and served as director of the East Texas Historical Association and editor of the association’s journal for 37 years. He is a past president of the Texas State Historical Association, past vice chair of the Texas Historical Commission and author/editor of more than 20 books on historical top-ics. Along with teaching, McDonald currently serves as the SFA university community liaison and is a weekly commentator on Red River Radio in Shreveport.

w

Alan Bean poses in his space suit in this photo from 1969.

Bean at his easel in 2008. For the last 29 years Bean has been working as “an artist that used to be an astronaut.”

Downstage enjoyable, except for distracting audience members

By Audrey SpencerMANAGING EDITOR

The action of the play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad begins with four bellhops bringing a cu-rious collection of luggage into a hotel suite in Cuba for Madame Rosepettle and her son, Jonathan. The col-lection includes two Venus flytraps, a pirhana, a dicta-phone and a coffin.

Madame Rosepettle, played by Richardson senior Margaret Lewis, is a brash widow with means and no problem telling people what she thinks. She looks for lovers on the beach and kicks sand in their faces as a hobby; she keeps her son, Jonathan, whom she re-fers to by several other names throughout the production, locked away wherever they’re staying. I understand that her character is intended to be ob-noxious and, frankly, strange, I feel the Downstage is an en-vironment that demands less in the area of projection than what Lewis offered. Three weeks of rehearsing might also have been better spent polish-

ing acting skills, as sometimes it seemed Madame Rosepettle was reciting lines rather than reacting to other characters.

Jonathan, played by Kory Pullam, Corpus Christi junior, is a frail character with a stut-ter, a “fantastic” collections of coins, stamps and books, and a telescope, which he uses to look at planes flying by and at Rosalie, an attractive babysitter working near the hotel played by Rosie Kolbo, Dallas junior. By the start of the second act, the combined stress of his at-traction to Rosalie and inability to act on it due to repression by his mother causes a break in his mental state. Swirling, colorful lighting and sound effects of laughter mixed with laughter of extras in the audience defi-nitely made for a surreal and uncomfortable stretch. Pullam did well in this role. The stutter was believeable, and I felt gen-uinely sorry for the character.

“This play was extremely technically and creatively de-manding,” Kelsey McMillan, Austin senior and director of Oh Dad…, said. “A lot of what

the play calls for we don’t have the means to accomplish, so we had to think outside the box with things like doors opening on their own, chairs not mov-ing or being pushed in by no one.”

To accomplish these de-mands of the script, McMillan used extras, who, in fact, were the bellhops in the first scene, in black unitards to open doors and control plants and pirhana puppets. This was quite a risk in the downstage environment, where the audience is so close to the action on stage that the fourth wall is remarkably fragile to begin with.

While I enjoyed the play, in particular the breakdown scene, I was brought out of it by some nearby audience members. Comments and uncontrolled laughter at mo-ments that really shouldn’t be humorous were distract-ing and made it hard to focus on the play. However, the di-rector reacted differently.

“On paper, it’s not that funny. It’s morbid,” McMillan said. “But I like that they (the audience)

were laughing. It sounded uncomfortable, which means they were thinking about the characters, and it showed they were engaged, which is all you want as a director.”

Also, I personally am not fond of works — plays, stories and otherwise — with open endings which, unfortunately for me, Oh Dad… was. In the final scene, Madame Rosepettle returns to the suite to find her plants and pirhana dead on the floor, killed with the axe from the wall, her stuffed dead hus-band fallen out of the closet and Rosalie dead on her bed covered in Jonathan’s coins, stamps and books. She asks her trembling son, “What is the meaning of all this?” Before Jonathan can begin stuttering an answer, the stage blacks out.

“My interpretation is the rea-son it cuts off is the writer’s way of asking the audience to ask that question themselves,” McMillan said. “You’re sup-posed to fill in the gaps… As a director, you want the audi-ence walking away wondering what happens next. There’s al-

ways a next scene, it’s just not written yet.”

aspencer@thepinelog.

com

REVIEW

CMYK

A team of SFA horti-culture majors traveled to Corpus Christi earli-er this month to attend the annual conference of the Southern Region American Society for Horticultural Science. The judging team of Katie Conley, Lauren Deibert, Felicia English and Craig Wright com-peted in the J. Benton Storey Undergraduate Student Horticulture Judging Contest.

Besides taking the first place team award, they took first place team for woody or-namentals, first place team for greenhouse, floral and foliage plants, second place team for fruit and nut crops, and third place team for veg-etable crops. In addition, Lauren Deibert earned high scoring individual in the entire contest along with first place indi-vidual in greenhouse floral and foliage plants and first place individual in fruit and nut crops.

Horticulture assistant professor and Horticulture Club adviser Jeff Adkins said “While it’s great to beat the likes of Texas A&M and others, events like this are more important because they allow our students to interact with peers from similar institutions and to be recognized by horticultural pro-fessionals outside of SFA. Participation also serves to broaden the student’s prospects for employment or graduate school opportunities in addition to bringing prestige to the SFA hor-ticulture program”.

Chris Capps, graduate research assistant in the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture Club president, said, “This was a great team, and it was great to get our name in front of a crowd of scientists and students from bigger institutions. The grumbling sounded like music to our ears.”

Monday, February 14, 2011 Pine LogThe Page Three

The Crime Log

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Valentine’s Day Special: Word Ladder

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Level of difficulty: Easy

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On 2-10-2011 an officer was dispatched to Hall 16 in refer-ence to a drug compliant. Upon arrival the officer located two subjects in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

On 2-11-2011 an officer was dispatched to Hall 16 in refer-ence to a drug compliant. Upon arrival the Officer located a subject in possession of marijuana. There is one suspect.

The City of Nacogdoches and Mayor Roger Van Horn are proud to announce an up-coming Non-Profit Summit scheduled for Monday, February 21st, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located at 202 E. Pilar Street. The summit is the starting point to gather

information so that the City of Nacogdoches can create a high impact service plan as part of its Cities of Service initiative.

American cities face se-rious challenges and many mayors want to take advan-tage of every resource avail-able to them - including the time and energy of public-spirited residents - to ad-dress those challenges. But in cities across America today, citizen service is often an underutilized or inefficiently utilized strategy by munici-pal governments. Founded in September 2009, Cities of Service supports mayors to leverage citizen service strat-egies, addressing local needs and making government more effective.

All coalition members have signed a “Declaration of Service,” committing to lead a multi-year effort to expand community service and vol-unteerism by developing a comprehensive service plan and a coordinated strategy focused on matching volun-teers and established com-munity partners to the areas of greatest local need, work-ing with other mayors and

elected officials to advance strategies and best practic-es that accelerate the ser-vice movement and produce measurable goals, encourag-ing other mayors to join this national effort to engage our citizens and ensuring that the voice of cities is heard in policy and program dis-cussions related to service, which will help the country achieve the ambitious goals of the Serve America Act. For more details you can visit www.citiesofservice.org

“We are excited to launch the Cities of Service program in Nacogdoches, we are only one of 110 communities in the nation to begin this process,” O’Brien said. “We will begin by assessing our agency’s needs at the Non-Profit Summit so we can es-tablish a service plan that will accomplish our goals.” Nacogdoches Mayor Roger Van Horn signed the decla-ration of service during the fall of 2010. You can view the declaration at http://www.citiesofservice.org/about/declaration-of-service/.

The Non-Profit Summit is open to all organizations, agencies and individuals who

are interested in utilizing ser-vice to achieve their mission and goals. Information gath-ered at the summit through open discussions and sur-veys will be utilized to cre-ate Nacogdoches’ high im-pact service plan. The City of Nacogdoches has partnered with the One Star Foundation, SFASU, and the United Way to work together to create the plan.”The Summit is the starting point for our Cities of Service Initiative, we will gather much needed infor-mation from our local non-profits and agencies about what their needs are, wheth-er it be financial, volunteers, time, etc. so that we can suc-cessfully address those needs in our service plan,” O’Brien said.

Interested citizens need not make reservations to at-tend the summit. For more information or questions about the upcoming Non Profit Summit or the Cities of Service initiative please con-tact the Nacogdoches Main Street Office at 936-559-2573 or via email at obriens@ci.nacogdoches.tx.us.

pinelog@thepinelog.com

nacogdoches hosting cities of service summit next week

PURCHASEPHOTOS IN COLOR, TOO!

JACK CAMPSPORTS GAMESHOMECOMINGCAMPUS EVENTSLUMBERJACK ALLEY

GRADUATION& M U C H M O R E !

Go to sfasu.edu/pubaffairs

Click on “Order SFA Photos”

Judging team takes 1st at horticulture contest

courtesY Photo

these sfa horticulture majors comprised the first place team at a recent regional competition in florida. lauren Diebert was high-scoring individual.

look sharp, lumberjacksShowcase Saturday

Saturday, Feb 26

CMYK

Page Four Monday, February 14, 2011PINE LOGTHE

opinionsthe pine log

✓ Write a letter to Grinding the Ax. Follow the guidelines on the right. Sign your name, and your letter will likely appear on this very page.

✓ Or use our Web site to submit a letter to Grinding the Ax. It’ll save you a trip to the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

✓ Post feedback to our stories online. Hit the “Feedback” button at the end of a story, and let us have it. We can take it.

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FEEDBACKOpinions expressed in this sec-

tion of The Pine Log are those of the individual writer or car-toonist and do not necessarily reflect those of the University, its administrative officers or Board of Regents.

Letters should be typed and should include the student’s hometown, classification, cam-pus identification number and phone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit letters for space, spelling, grammar and potentially libelous material. Letters should not be longer than 300 words. Any letter that does not follow this criteria will not be published.

OpinionsPolicy

FEATURES EDITORANDREYA STEPHENSON

PHOTO EDITORTHOMAS MOTYKA

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORGARRETT COOK

JESSICA GILLIGANCOPY EDITOR

Spring 2011 Editorial Board EDITOR JONATHAN GARRIS

MANAGING EDITORAUDREY SPENCER

OPINION EDITORGARRETT COOK

SPORTS EDITORSTEPHANIE SLABAUGH

ADVERTISING MANAGER JERRET SWIERC

Recently, banners and yard signs went up around campus advertising a program called “Make an Impact at SFA.” You may have won-dered what all the fuss was about, so as one of the people involved in the planning of this program, I thought I’d explain the program and how it will “impact” students at SFA.

Higher education is changing. At one point, colleges and universities were the pri-mary owners of information. If you wanted to know what educated people knew, you

would need to go to college. But today, a wealth of information is now available to anyone who wants it. In fact, according to Karl Fisch, in a month of reading The New York Times, you will likely acquire more information than a person in the eighteen hundreds was likely to encounter in their lifetime. At the same time, new knowledge is growing at an exponential rate. All of these factors have signaled a shift in the purpose of higher education. Universities like SFA are no longer as interested in telling students what to learn as they are in teaching students how to learn. Providing students with infor-mation isn’t nearly as important as teaching them to critically evaluate information.

That’s what “Make an Impact at SFA” is all about. The program will focus on en-couraging faculty to incorporate innovative practices into their courses that have been demonstrated by decades of research to im-

prove students higher order thinking skills like critical thinking and creativity and help them to evaluate, analyze and synthesize what they are learning. Students won’t have to sign up for special courses; our plan is to provide specialized training to faculty so that more and more courses will use these prac-tices that have proven so effective in improv-ing student learning.

The “impact” referred to in the program’s name goes beyond just the effect on students themselves, these kinds of practices make an impact on SFA as well. Studies have shown that when students participate in the kinds of activities included in this program, they tend to get better grades and graduate at higher rates. Since nearly half of the students at SFA who graduate are the first person in their family to do so, and since these “first-generation” college students tend to be more at-risk of leaving college earlier than their

peers, we believe this program will help us dramatically improve the number of stu-dents who are able to graduate from SFA.

So, that is the program in a nutshell. Anyone who wants to learn more about the program can visit the Web site we’ve estab-lished: www.sfasu.edu/HIP.

I would also like to welcome the chance to answer any questions that students may have. Feel free to email me at peckae@sfasu.edu. Myself and the team behind the “Make an Impact” program are excited about the role this program can play in helping our students meet their educational goals and reach their full potential. After all, striving for excellence is The SFA way.

Adam Peck is dean of student affairs at SFA.

Let’s start with a few reasons why America sucks.

Exhibit A: The idiot box, popu-larly known as the television. In particular, I’m talking about MTV. Such an easy target, but come on. Is this what we’re teaching America’s youth? That if you act like a jackass or get pregnant when you’re 16 you can get your own TV show? Mind you, this isn’t a moral judgment on a chick who’s 16 and preggers; it is just not very practical to have a kid when you’re a teenager, is it?

And it’s not just MTV. Flip around during prime time and you’re likely to see by-the-numbers crime pro-cedurals, a “reality” show or Kim Kardashian living it up on Planet Spoiled. If you want good scripted television, get thyself over to FX, HBO or Showtime. As for the net-works, every now and then a Lost or

24 will come out, but quality shows like that are few and far between.

Exhibit B: Our attitude toward art and culture, which seems to be that if you have anything to do with it, you’re “gay,” “pretentious,” or “elitist.” When did it become a bad thing to be part of something elite? Isn’t that what we all strive for? Check out the New York Times bestseller list. Names like Vonnegut, Irving, Pynchon, and Updike used to be on there. Now Snooki is a bestselling “novelist.” In 1972, when The Godfather was re-leased, it was a smash hit. These days, I’m not so sure The Godfather would even get greenlit. A three-hour movie with only one real movie star who was washed up at the time and a decapi-tated horse head waiting in a man’s bed for him when he wakes up? Nah, give me the three-hour movie with giant blue aliens where everything is

three-dimensional except the charac-ters, and I bet they turn out in droves.

Exhibit C: Our attitude toward our most brilliant minds. Tell me three things about Stephen Hawking. Yes, he sounds like a robot. Yes, he is an atheist. And…I can’t think of a third thing. But he did write one of the most seminal science books of this time or any other called, A Brief History of Time and sold over 10 million copies of the book. Tell me three things about Mark Zuckerberg. He invented Facebook, screwed over some people in the process and is fabulously wealthy. But did you know he also donat-ed $100 million (million!) to the Newark, N.J., public school system? A school he didn’t even attend, no less.

Exhibit D: Our nonstop consump-tion. When is enough enough? Why

don’t we conserve? And why do the people who try to conserve get made fun of? A person who’s trying to do the country a favor and save money by driving a Prius is, in the words of a friend of mine, a “tree-hugging homo.” Nice. Meanwhile this jackass, who I love, drives what is in essence a le-galized monster truck up and down the highway getting 8 miles per gal-lon. And McDonald’s putting salads on their menu? Don’t get me started.

So you see, I love America. Honest to God, I would rather live here than anywhere else in the world. I’m only critical out of love. We’ve got to do something, folks. We have to start acting like grown-ups. Because while it’s cool to zone out to an Adam Sandler movie now and then, there’s a time for play, and there’s a time for business. And it is time to get down to business.

EDITORIAL

Why do we celebrate stupidity in America?

Axes Down to Justin Bieber. Must we see this little twerp every time we turn around? He’s spreading faster than a filthy soul-sucking virus.

Axes Up to Mark Williams speaking in the BPSC this coming Wednesday. He’s trying to do big things here at SFA, and you should go listen to him.

Axes Down to Commercial Bank of Texas. Deposit a check there and hopefully by the next Olympics, it will credit to your account.

Axes Down to coming up with fun, witty comments for the Chopping Block. we can only deliver so often, people. Even Superman needs a day off here and there.

Axes Up to Einstein Bros. Heck of a lot faster service than Starbuck’s, and the coffee is just as good. And you can get real food there, too.

DEAN OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

Adam Peck

Aepeck@gmail.com

‘Make an Impact’ aims to change how students learn

Axes Up to FX. Between the re-turning seasons of Justified and Archer and the new series Lights Out, they’ve become cable’s must-watch network.

CMYK

Monday, February 14, 2011 PINE LOGTHE Page Five

By Andreya StephensonFEATURES EDITOR

Have you ever been interested in some-thing, and wanted to meet others who shared you interest? So, you thought about joining a club, but it turns out there was no such club to join. At that point, many of us would shrug our shoulders and move on, but not Julianna Calkins.

Calkins, a freshman at SFA, is an undecid-ed major. She has been fencing the last eight years in her hometown, Richardson, near Dallas. Calkins originally wanted to attend a university that already had a fencing club but chose SFA for many other reasons.

She was disappointed when she came to SFA and found there was no fencing club to join. So, she has taken matters into her own hands and decided to create one. Initially, Calkins was just looking for someone to practice with in order to keep her in shape and sharpen her skills, but the weapon re-strictions on campus will not allow her to practice if it is not part of an official club. So, she has decided to start one.

“I wanted to start it just because I enjoy the sport and I want to keep practicing,” Calkins said.

Calkins is in the process of getting the fencing club off the ground for SFA students. The fencing club will not be a sports club. Meaning, its members will not be compet-ing in any tournaments. The club will be a

student organization through the Student Activities Association with the purpose of offering its members a place to learn from each other, practice, and perfect their tech-niques in the sport of fencing, as well as, to allow those who have any level of experience or an interest in fencing to meet and hang out. She hopes one day that the club will be big enough and talented enough to become a sports club that can compete with other universities, but right now she is just trying to get people interested. You may have seen the flyers she has posted around campus urging you to join the interest group on fa-cebook.

“I’m trying to attract people who have fenc-ing in their past, they’ve done it in high school, they want to continue it, or do it again, but also bring in people who just want to try it for fun,” Calkins said.

The prospective fencing club is trying to get established, but it has hit a few obstacles. Calkins is taking it all one step at a time. She has already managed to find members, a sponsor, and get the paperwork ball roll-ing. She is now looking for one more officer before the paperwork is complete. Then, Calkins can find a practice space and find ways to fund raise for equipment.

Calkins started fencing when her mom signed her up for a class when she was young. She re-ally enjoyed the class. So, she decided to join the fencing club at her local recreation center. For a while, it was just a hobby to have fun with

every Saturday. Eventually, she started fencing competitively her junior and senior years of high school. She also, helped to teach a basic level fencing class for four years at her hometown rec center.

“I know how to teach the basics to people,” said Calkins. She has plenty of teaching expe-rience, which is good because Calkins plans on teaching students who join that have no fencing experience herself. She plans on having a footwork session at the beginning of each meeting. “I’ll teach anyone who is interested in learning the basic footwork and the basic stance,” Calkins said.

She understands that many students may not have their own fencing equipment al-ready. “To start off a lot of people don’t even use equipment,” Calkins said. When she taught children, she started them out with learning the basic footwork and teaching the rest with pool noodles, but understands that college aged students will be less interested in this method. She hopes that a lot of the members can get a hold of their equipment, even though it is a little expensive. Calkins says that you can get a good fencing starter kit for around one-hundred dollars, but it is not an on-going expense. “Once you buy the stuff then you have it,” Calkins said. She also hopes to do some fund raising to help get equipment and whatever else the club may need.

Calkins described herself as “passionate” about fencing. This is not the first fencing

club that she has had a hand in starting. She once helped an elementary school teacher start a fencing club for fifth and sixth grade students at her school. Once a week, she helped teach fencing to young students. So, Calkins knows what it takes to fence and start a club. “I went through the process of buying equipment, raising the money with her and the kids,” Calkins said.

Calkins loves fencing. She called it the physical chess, saying that fencing is a work-out for the mind and the body. Fencing embodies traditional values, including a traditional salute. Many people may think that fencing is dangerous, but Calkins will be the first to assure you that the only way you get hurt is if you do it incorrectly and the most serious injuries are usually just bruises. Calkins says that fencing takes skill and finesse, but thinks it is great because it is a unique sport that appeals to all ages and both genders. Fencing is something that is good to try in college. “That’s what college is about, is getting interested in something you’ve never done before,” Calkins said.

If you are interested in joining the fenc-ing club or just want to find more about it, join the interest group on facebook. Just type in “SFA Fencing Interest Group” into your search bar on facebook. The group cur-rently has thirteen members who are able to discuss the progress of the club. You can leave a comment asking any questions you may have.

Student trying to establish new fencing club on campus

The SFA dance teams, The Pom Squad and Jack Attack, hosted their Sixth Annual Dance Contest, Saturday, February 12, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Shelton Gym of the HPE.

Trophies awarded to participants

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOG

By Ellen McCarthyTHE WASHINGTON POST

It’s Valentine’s Day! Cue the jewelry ads, over-priced roses, overcrowded restaurants and treacly poems. Let’s shame the spouses who forgot and ostracize the single people!

Perhaps it’s time Valentine’s Day got an over-haul. The whole affair is cheesy, obligatory and just not that fun. And February could use a decent holiday to counteract the urge to hibernate.

We asked some creative minds how they would save the day:

—Require every single person to post a Missed Connection ad during the seven days leading up to the holiday. It could really help people get into the spirit of things - something to look forward to every day, and a reason to actually iron your clothes or try a new shade of lip-stick. - Svetlana Legetic, founder and editor of BrightestYoungThings.com

—Pay it forward: Start a tradition of random acts of kindness to total strangers. That way it’s about the giving rather than the receiving, and everyone gets to participate. -Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets restaurants/bookstores

- —Host a “Project Party” to make cards (go for silly or ironic), or have a bake-off with heart-shaped cookies. The non-baker in your group should be in charge of picking up the wine and judging the cookies. -Rachel Machacek, author of “The Science of Single”

— Combine the Chinese New Year with Valentine’s Day. It should become custom that we dress up as dragons to express our love and pay tribute to the Chinese New Year that usually takes place in February and has one of the best parades in the city. Oh, and fireworks. We definitely need a way to incorporate fireworks.—Dan Silverman, Prince of Petworth blogger in Washington

pinelog@thepinelog.com

Giving Valentine’s an overhaul

Happy 40th Birthday

Chris RiversAssistant UPD Chief

CMYK

Page Six Monday, February 14, 2011Pine LogThe

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sports • Ladyjack Basketball vs Nicholls State Wednesday at home 7 p.m.

Jacks axe UTSA 70-66 Weekly Recap

Women’s Basketball@ UTSA- LSFA 61, UTSA, 65(5-15, 5-5 SLC)

Men’s Basketball@ SFA—WSFA 70, UTSA, 66(15-7, 6-4 SLC)

Softball@ Hilton Houston Plaza Invitational—LMichigan 8, SFA, 1

Track and Field@ ISU ClassicPenthalon:Megan Harlan—fifth place Jordan Clements—11th placeAlicia Jackson—13th placeHepthalon:Andrew Plentl—top ten finish

TennisPaola Montuenga—SLCPlayer of the Week

“We appreciated the crowd tonight. They played a major role in our victory,” head coach Danny

Kaspar said.

Eddie Williams scored 19 points to lead all players, and a big defensive stop by Antonio Bostic sealed the win as SFA knocked off UTSA, 70-66, Saturday in Johnson Coliseum. Despite three major injuries, the Jacks are now 6-4, keeping them in a tie for second place in the Southland Conference West Division.

ThomAS moTykA/ThEpinElog

SFA tied for second in SLC West Division

• Softball vs A&M Wednesday at home 2 p.m.