Download the PDF here!

Send article as PDF to

For Jane Doe, whose name has been changed, smoking marijuana is a favorable alternative to drinking alcohol since, for her, liquor is usually associated with negative side effects like nausea.

For Jane Doe, whose name has been changed, smoking marijuana is a favorable alternative to drinking alcohol since, for her, liquor is usually associated with negative side effects like nausea.

“It’s great to not wake up with a hangover, plus alcohol makes you depressed, but pot puts a smile on your face, and it’s also a way to relieve stress,” Doe said.

But according to Melissa Bailey, assistant professor of biology, marijuana affects different individuals in a variety of ways. Some users may feel nothing at all, others will feel relaxed or “high” and some can suffer negative reactions like sudden feelings of paranoia.

“The high caused by marijuana comes from the euphoric agent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which bonds with cannabinoid receptors in the brain,” Bailey said.

These receptors are associated with memory, motor coordination, and cognitive functions. Those under the influence of pot may experience altered thought patterns, lose track of time or lack motor coordination and stumble.

“The chemical THC is a mild hallucinogen, which can distort reality, but small amounts probably won’t cause a hallucination,” Bailey said.

Jack Brown, an ex-marijuana cultivator whose name has been changed, said the plant is fairly easy to grow and doesn’t require a significant amount of care.

“The main part of the plant (that most users smoke) is the bud – you’re basically smoking flowers,” Brown said.

However, the leaves of the plants can also be smoked, but Bailey said the sinsemilla, the flowering portion of the plant, has the highest THC content. She said growers of marijuana are learning how to breed the plant to produce stronger contents of THC because the pot of today is much more potent than that of the 1960s.

“One drop of hashish oil (generated from repeated extractions of THC from marijuana plants) on a cigarette is like smoking an entire joint,” Bailey said.

Some users find smoking pot to be helpful for homework. Doe said that it can enable people to think in new ways, so academic concepts may make more sense, but there is no scientific basis to reinforce this claim, and Bailey said marijuana has actually been proven to impair one’s memory.

“It’s not a stimulant like Adderall (a study aid), so I don’t really see how using marijuana to study could be a benefit,” Bailey said.

However, Doe said that pot can sometimes be a preference over attention deficit drugs like adderall because it is natural.

“Pot is 100 percent better than prescription drugs – you’re smoking something that comes from the earth and not putting a bunch of foreign chemicals in your body,” Doe said.

Unfortunately, there are many gray areas in regards to the health effects of pot due to a lack of research. Bailey said marijuana studies are not as conclusive as with other drugs.

“You can die from a cocaine or heroin overdose, but I have never come across a study or report of a fatal overdose of marijuana,” Bailey.

Kenzie Templeton

Send article as PDF to

On Monday, two candidates running for a seat in Congress for the First District of Kansas attended a forum held at Emporia State University. Tim Huelskamp (R-Fowler) and Alan Jilka (D-Salina), addressed issues ranging from health care, the economy, schools and immigration. Libertarian candidate Jack Warner was invited to the forum, but couldn’t attend due to a scheduling conflict.

Candidates were not given prior notice to exactly what questions were going to be asked at the debate. Questions were selected from students and residents across Kansas. Jilka wasted little time going after Huelskamp and his policies. On several occasions, Jilka would touch on the previous issues that he felt Huelskamp had mistaken.

“(Helskamp) is a man that has been in office for years, and has never had anything pass in terms of legislation,” Jilka said after the debate. “I think there is something to be said for someone that won’t do a debate style forum, which is what we would have liked.”

Jilka also called his opponent a representative on the extremist fringe.

“At some point in time, and I think it’s quite a while ago for him, you cross the line from conservative into extreme and radical,” Jilka said during the debate.
Huelskamp said after the debate that it was an attempt to distract voters from his policies on health care and immigration.

Huelskamp was reserved for much of the evening in his responses and towards the comments made by Jilka. Throughout the contest, Jilka remained aggressive, but wasn‘t always as clear with his words. Huelskamp on the other hand decided to use more of a populist, “We the People” approach to the debate.

“(Jilka) wants to raise taxes in a time where the debt is already $1.8 trillion which is going to fall on the next generation to pay off,”Huelskampsaid during the debate. “This should be very concerning to college students especially.”

According to recent polls, Huelskamp is the favorite to win the election in November.

Economics Professor Rob Catlett helped run the event, and students since the debate have expressed a concern for the aggressive-style attacks by both sides.
“For many students, Monday was the first experience of a political debate at such a high level,” Catlett said. “I think they were surprised by it, but by them being there in person, they could really see some of the issues that come with the seat.”
The First Congressional District is the largest district in the state of Kansas in terms of size. 69 out of the 105 counties in Kansas are included from the Western Kansas border to Lyon County, including Junction City, but not Manhattan or Wichita. All three candidates all won their respective primaries for their parties.
Jilka said that he would have voted for the health care bill, and his plan was to repair the bill, not repeal it. Huelskamp says he would have voted against it saying that the people in Washington didn’t read the bill before it passed.
ASG Senator Luke Chiddix believed after the debate that neither side really took advantage of the forum.
“Because of the style of the forum, it kind of dictated how the candidates spent their time addressing issues,” Chiddix said. “Neither side really brought their ‘A’ game.”
The election is to be held on Tuesday Nov. 2. Advanced balloting can be done before Oct. 15. Anyone interested in watching the debate can watch the taping set to air on KTWU on Oct. 31at 2 p.m.

Chris Hopkins

Send article as PDF to

Matt Cook, senior English major, and Ryan Wash, junior communications major, practice during a debate meeting Tuesday afternoon in the Memorial Union. Alissa Miller/ The Bulletin

The Emporia State Debate Team’s room has an entire wall lined with trophies.Last season, two teams went to the National Debate Tournament, an achievement that hasn’t happened for the last seven years.

Last weekend, at a tournament in Wichita, Ryan Wash, junior communications major, won top speaker in varsity, LaToya Williams-Green, senior communication major, won fourth speaker in varsity and Donnie Hanson, sophomore political science major, won third speaker in junior varsity.

“The week before it was time for us to go, there was a lot of, ‘do we have enough i’s dotted and t’s crossed to really have affective plans of action for when we go into these rounds?’” Williams-Green said. “And I feel like, after being tested, and after we see the fruits of our labor, I think we can honestly say that our confusion, hard work and doing and re-doing and re-structuring actually paid off and now we have some stability to start off the season on a real good foot.”

The squad will be leaving again around 4 a.m. tomorrow to attend a tournament in Chicago at Northwestern University, where they could be going up against some of the top squads in the nation. Luckily, the last tournament bolstered their confidence.

“It was a smooth ride,” Wash said. “It was a different type of feeling for me at the tournament because I didn’t feel the pressure of competition. It was just, ‘these are my arguments, and I know what your arguments are. Now the question just becomes ‘how does my argument answer yours and why are my positions better than yours?’”

The resolution for this season is whether or not the U.S. government should increase and/or expand eligibility for different types of visas.

“I feel very good about the team so far this year,” said Sam Maurer, director of debate. “We have two varsity teams, Paul Mose and Matt Cook, and Ryan Wash and LaToyaWilliams-Green. LaToya and Ryan are our returning varsity team who qualified for the NDT last year. We’ve got high hopes that they can at least make it back this year, if not do better at that tournament.”

In addition to three new debaters, the squad has two new assistant debate coaches who are former debaters themselves. Kurt Fifelski, senior political science and geography major, and Chris Loghry, senior communications major, are giving more personal time and attention to each team than having only one coach can. The squad plans to match their achievements of last year by having two teams attend the national tournament.

“It’s by no means set, but we’re on pace for it right now and I’d like to continue that,” Maurer said. “I think this semester will go well. Everybody’s been working very hard, putting in a lot of time on weekends, sacrificing a lot in terms of hours that they can work, hours that they can go home, hours that they can hang out with friends. They’ve been dedicating a lot of time to this and I think our work is paying off.”

Alex Pedersen

Send article as PDF to

The Board of Regents Chair Gary Sherrer discusses subjects that uniquely affect Emporia State University Monday morning inside the administrative press conference room. Megan Gartner/ The Bulletin

After approving Foresight 2020 and Kansas Commitment on Sept. 15, the Kansas Board of Regents visited Emporia State Monday morning.

“It’s very important for the Board of Regents to hear and see firsthand. The more we know, the more we understand. Each university has different mission. Each university is special in its own way,” said Gary Sherrer, Chair of Kansas Board of Regents in the news conference on Monday.

For the first time in 2009, students had to pay for the tuition more than the state of Kansas paid. The state’s higher education budget this year is the same as fiscal year 2006, which means the budget has not increased for half a decade.

The 2010 fall semester enrollment figures released on Sept. 23 showed that there is a 3.3 percent enrollment increase at the 19 community colleges, 5.7 percent increase at the six technical colleges but only an increase of 0.4 percent at the seven public universities. Sherrer said some low income families cannot support the tuition due to the economy.

“Our overall economy is still weak, but universities should be there to let people who have ability to go in them, not just people who have wealth,”Sherrer said.

According to The Kansas Commitment, Kansas ranks number 36 out of 50 states with $63.12 per capita state need-based financial aid contributions per student in 2008-2009, while the highest, New York, is $412.20. The national average is $203.00.

“Every legislature has the power to get the money they need if they have the will to do it. It’s just a matter of whether they will they have the courage to say ‘we get to invest in future,’” Sherrer said.

If the legislature does not fund universities, they pass the burden to students. Sherrer said the universities have no choice but either raise tuition, or start deeper cuts.

Jonathan Rivers, senior secondary education major and President of Associated Student Government, introduced The Kansas Commitment to the presidents of student associations in ASG’s open forum on Tuesday.

“I think they are in support of a lot of issues, particularly the scholarships and opportunities that being generated, hopefully,” Rivers said.

Han Yan

Send article as PDF to

Schneeberger

Sports, much like academics, begin to feel the strain of October. Believe it or not as this article goes to press, the ESU athletic schedule for the fall is almost at the midway point.

Emporia athletics are bearing down for the homerun stretch this October, and as a student of this college, it’s time to dig in and support your teams. Saying you don’t care about athletics at this school won’t fly. The amount of ESU t-shirts and sweatshirts seen on the campus suggests otherwise.

Reasons still may be needed to get many of you to support the Hornets. As I write this, our football team is currently 4-1.That matches the best start since 2002. With six games on the way and the way our defense has been playing, a winning season seems more than possible – perhaps even a playoff birth looms on the horizon?

Meanwhile our volleyball team is not only owning on the court but are currently ranked 11th in the nation. Need I say more? I will though. Through the first three weeks of the season, senior setter Ting Liu managed to earn three consecutive MIAA player of the week awards. Volleyball can also be incredibly exciting sport – especially when there is a lively crowd.

Let’s not forget our soccer team in the excitement. The record may not persuade many of my readers to care to get out to a game, but the passion and intensity are just as evident on the soccer field as with any other sport.

Compare it to the bigger stage. Being an avid Royals fan, I have yet to attend a relevant Royals baseball game in my lifetime. Does that keep me from attending? Of course not. Add to this the excitement a soccer game brings, and the fact that October weather is great stuff, the reasons for attending a game begin to stack up.

Last and certainly not least, we come to cross country. This Friday will be their final home meet at Jones Park at 5 p.m. In their last meet, Katie Mona opened up her season with a first place finish, and for the men Asher Delmott has been the top runner. Attending a cross country meet doesn’t take up too much time either, not giving way to any excuses to miss out.

The challenge is not to make it to every game, but to make it a priority to attend at least one game a week. That’s two to three hours of your week. Go with a friend, paint your face and forget about academics for a few hours while you enjoy our school’s great athletic teams.

Brandon Schneeberger

Send article as PDF to

Defensive Lineman Harold Ayodele takes a Fort Hays State University runner Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium. Ashley Wells/ The Bulletin

The Emporia State football team is 4-1 for the first time since 2002 after defeating conference opponent Fort Hays State last Saturday 19-6. With a 9-6 game, the Hornets used 10 unanswered points and a 1:20 rain delay to get the win.

“No doubt we had many things that worked out in our favor,” defensive end Daniel Webb said. “Our offense controlled the clock which gave us time to breathe. When the defense was out there, the defensive backs did a nice job with coverage that allowed us extra time to apply pressure.”

The Tigers came into the game second in the conference in total yardage, and averaging over 40 points per game. However, the defense of the Hornets held the Tigers to 200 yards of total offense and a mere six points.

Perhaps the biggest group contributor on defense for the Hornets was the ESU offense. Controlling the line of scrimmage on Saturday helped the offense keep possession for well over half the game. Quarterback Tyler Eckenrode was 15-24 for 184 yards and had one touchdown for the game. ESU had three scoring drives over 70 yards the contest.

Late in the first quarter, Emporia State put together a 12 play, 80-yard drive with Kevin Smart scoring a touchdown. On the next drive, ESU ate up more clock with another long drive, but would have to settle for a field goal to take the lead 9-0.

After two field goals by Fort Hays and a 1:20 rain delay, the Hornets added a field goal right before the half to take a 12-6 lead at the break.

“It was very difficult for them to gain momentum, especially after having such a long, weather delay,” Webb said.

The score held until wide receiver Shjuan Richardson scored a touchdown on a 67-yard pass play from Eckenrode in the fourth quarter. The Hornets would hold up the 19-6 lead thanks to an interception by safety Derek Lohmann with five minutes left in the ballgame. His five interceptions on the year (three in the last two games) lead all MIAA players.

“For the first time all year, we put a complete game together against a very good Fort Hays team,” said Head Coach Garrin Higgins. “I am really proud of the way our kids played today.”

The Hornets travel to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for a tough, conference showdown this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Caniglia Field.

Chris Hopkins

Send article as PDF to

Delmott

The name Delmott is no stranger to successful running at ESU. Dennis Delmott is a hall of famer that still holds several records at the school. SkylerDelmott, his son, was a standout runner for four years for the cross-country team and track teams and was national qualifier in the Steeple Chase for Outdoor Track.

Now the time has come for Skyler’s brother, Asher Delmott, to take over.

Asher, a junior psychology major from Emporia has grown up with cross-country in the family. His father Dennis and brother Skyler were both standouts, and now Asher is trying to do the same for himself. So far this year, Delmott has had the best time in both meets for the team while posting some of his best times.

“I feel like the work is starting to pay off right now,” Delmott said. “So far I have felt good about my times because I felt I ran a good race, but there is still a lot of work to do.”

Delmott says that he usually runs anywhere between five to 15 miles a day, depending on the day and about five or six days a week.

“I usually like to take just one day off to rest my body, and prepare for the next week,” Delmott said.

Though it would come down to a choice between soccer and cross country during his freshman year in high school, Delmott felt he had more potential running and stuck with that.

Biology graduate assistant and older brother SkylerDelmott knows what it takes to have success at the collegiate level, and says the sky is the limit for Asher this season.

“Asher has really put in the work this season, really improved his times, and if he can pull all of his strengths together, he could really do some damage at the national level,” Skyler said.

Delmott wants to be a sports psychologist after college and maybe go into the coaching field. It is also one of his goals in the future to try running a marathon. As far as this season goes, he would like to qualify for nationals and do well at league meets.

Fellow runner and roommate Trey Bokaw credits Delmott’s success to the off-season training that he put in.

“He really pushed himself this off-season, didn’t take many days off and has really worked hard on it,” Bokaw said. “That kind of drive helped him, helped me, and has really helped the team so far this year.”

Chris Hopkins

Send article as PDF to

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

A dangerous disease called “senioritis” is in the air.

But before graduation, some students must take the CAAP test. The primary evaluation that students are required to pass in order to graduate is the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) test.

There are numerous problems The Bulletin staff sees with this test. Foremost among them is the very idea of requiring this test. If a student has passed the required courses for a degree program, why are they still required to take this test?

According to an USA Today article, Emporia State’s acceptance rate as of Fall 2009 was 88 percent. Every person who passes the required courses for his/her degree program is then required to take the CAAP test if he/she has not opted out of the test in some way.

So, for the “almost graduate” the university is some kind of academic purgatory. Getting in is the easiest part, but if you don’t jump through some ridiculous set of not necessarily applicable hoops, you can’t get out.

The very fact that students are required to pay for this test is evidence of its flawed nature. Is the CAAP test really a measurement of what a student has learned, or is it simply a way to suck more money out of a student who has already paid the tuition costs and student fees required to attend ESU?

The examination material for the CAAP test should also be reconsidered. Is the testing of reading, writing and mathematics really the three best categories to determine if a person is ready to graduate? Obviously these areas of academia are important, but to narrow what a student has learned in his or her time at ESU to these three categories is not only reductive, it’s misleading.

Students should be tested on the intangible parts of his or her degree program. Intangible details of what a person learns in college: organization of thoughts and ideas, being able to develop ideas and apply them on a local, national or global scale and understanding how to use knowledge acquired in college in life would all be good areas to test potential graduates.

Why not have each department or college create a test for potential graduates of that degree program? A test that would focus on knowledge the student should have acquired through his or her degree program, which could also include important questions dealing with the general education curriculum at ESU.

Another alternative is to require an “Exit Portfolio and Interview” for each student, where they must present a tangible portfolio to a group of three professors from their department, which could include a resume, work samples and a college reflection essay. The process would five students an edge in the work force, allowing them to show what they’ve accomplished and giving them a chance to practice their interviewing skills.

We at The Bulletin recognize the oddity that is the CAAP test. There are far too many flaws and oversights attached to this test that the entire process of graduation is convoluted.

Whether the university retools the CAAP test to make it a better measure of what a student learns at ESU or completely new tests are generated through each department, the bottom line is something’s got to give.

The Bulletin urges the administration to address the problems the CAAP test presents.

Send article as PDF to

Weiss

I’m sure we’ve all hear about the controversial issue of sex education. There’s the regular, common sense route, which involves the science and statistics of sexuality. Then there’s the abstinence-only route, which preaches that everyone should wait until marriage to engage in any kind of sexual activity.

The abstinence-only argument has a dual-basis that marriage is morally good for society and that monogamous relationships prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Something that these abstinence-only believers seem to have forgotten is the fact that people can get divorced. And they do. Pretty often in fact. So if people get divorced, it completely negates their ability to get STDs without regular contraceptives.

Not only that, but by saying that people should wait until marriage to have sex, it implies that they’ll immediately want to have children right after they get married. What if they don’t? Is it just assumed that they’ll have learned all they need to prevent pregnancy in the meantime? Additionally, if you use common sense, you will see that by racing into marriage for the purpose of having the sex that everyone desperately wants, we’re setting the next generation up to be plagued by unsatisfying marriages. I’d continue on about all the holes in their curriculum, but you get the point.

“Don’t do anything sexual” may sound like a sensible request for today’s preteens, but if we’re all honest with ourselves, we know it’s not going to happen. You can’t just tell children to do something “because I say so.” If kids are going to trust and respect us, we have to trust and respect them. At least enough to teach them healthy habits when they do decide the time is right.

Now you may be thinking, “I’ve heard people debate about this a million times, why reiterate it here and now?” Our school, no matter how innocent it seems, is going to have a huge influence on the rest of Kansas, perhaps even the rest of the United States. ESU’s spectacular education department is currently training the next generation of educators who will be endowing children with the knowledge they’ll need to make it through the rest of their lives. When we teach them, they won’t have to go out and learn from unreliable sources.

We must equip our children the defensive knowledge they’ll need to go out into battle with their sexual futures. Withholding important information is a dangerous strategy. What kind of children do we want? Informed or ignorant? Scared or empowered? Sexually frustrated or sexually confident?

If you’re responsible, sex can be a wonderful, super duper great, extraordinarily awesome thing. Responsibility starts with knowledge. Knowledge starts with our teachers.

Ellen Weiss

Send article as PDF to

McCall

I walk around campus with the sole purpose of people watching in mind.  Letting my feet take me as they please. I realize that I am surrounded by people that I have never met. I am continuously wondering what they are thinking. Trying to avoid the awkward eye contact that seems to be inevitable in the elevators. It’s complicated enough trying not to bump into each other, but really where else am I supposed to look.

Now I know that it is hard for me to meet new people; imagine what it must be like for international students who have trouble understanding English. Being thrust into an unknown environment with no one else you know can be more than a bit overwhelming. At least I have the advantage of being able to blend in with the crowd, which is something that most international students have difficulty with.

There is a program on campus that pairs international students with another ESU student.  The idea of the International Conversation Partners is just that: friendly conversation. Once or twice a week you and an exchange student get together and hang out. It doesn’t matter what you talk about, as long as you talk.

Most of the exchange students involved in the program can read and write in English just fine.  Expressing themselves, however, seems to be the most complicating part for them. That’s where you come in. Offering to take an hour out of your normal everyday schedule, you help an exchange student become better acquainted with American society.

By having conversations with them you help them better understand how the structure of a sentence plays out in everyday chit-chat.  They are more than likely going to ask you how to say certain words and phrases but, other than that, it is just normal everyday conversation with someone new.  Believe it or not, they are not the only ones who benefit from these interactions.  You in turn would learn about other cultures that you might not have had the opportunity to experience without the aid of this program.

When I asked my friend Mariah, freshman psychology major, how she felt about the program she replied:

“My conversation partner, Ning Wang and I talk about how our home lives differ. It is interesting to hear about her Chinese culture. I am excited to continue our talks throughout the rest of the year.”

It has actually been rather amusing watching her prepare to meet Miss Wang.  She has been so excited.

I am in full support of any program that strives to include all parts of the campus community,  whether it is just making students more comfortable with each other, or actually helping them to succeed in their new environment.  Programs like these are highly beneficial to not only the exchange student, but to the native as well. These experiences help define our opinions throughout life. Take a chance, you never know when something amazing will happen.

Amanda McCall

Send article as PDF to