The Emporia State men’s basketball team won their second straight home game to move their record to 2-2 on the year after defeating the Bethany Swedes 81-71 Monday night. ESU had four players with at least 14 points and were led by senior center Adam Holthaus who finished the night with 21 points and six rebounds. During the two game winning streak, the Hornets have scored over 80 points in both contests and won both by double digits.

The Hornets took the lead early and never really gave it up. Bethany’s only lead came less than four minutes into the game. ESU senior Michael Tyler then would score eight of ESU’s next ten points to take an early 14-12 lead that Emporia State would hold up throughout the game. ESU’s largest lead of the game reached 11, but the Swedes battled back on numerous occasions to cut it to within a basket.

“We just couldn’t finish them off,” said nine year Head Coach David Moe. “It wasn’t because of a lack of effort that we let them back in the game several times, but we just didn’t have some things bounce our way. I was pleased with the way our kids still battled though.”

Emporia State would lead 35-28 at the half despite shooting 1-16  from behind the three point line. Senior Xavier Burnette scored 13 out of his 18 points in the second as he helped keep the Hornets on top for good. Burnette was 6-8 shooting in the second half as 32 out of the 46 points scored in the second half for ESU were by Burnette, Holthaus, and senior Matt Boswell. Bethany would climb within two points and were still only down 70-65 with just under two minutes to play. ESU would go on a 9-3 run to seal the game for the Hornets.

“We really picked it up in the second half as we had to play with a short memory after missing some shots,” Burnette said. “This game is just another stepping stone on the season. We can’t lose confidence as it is early in the season, and hopefully this gives us some momentum going into conference play.”

Next up for the Hornets is opponent Southwestern on Wednesday night at White Auditorium. The game closes out a three game home stand as they travel to Division I opponent #4 Kansas State before coming back home for another three game stretch. Tip-off for Wednesday is set for 7 p.m.

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The #17 Emporia State Volleyball team earned the fourth spot in the NCAA South Central Region that took place last week. The Hornets opened against West Texas A&M on Nov. 18. In a four set match, the Hornets pulled away with the win, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 26-24. Ting Liu had an outstanding performance setting the MIAA assists record and getting her first triple double with 11 kills, 39 assists and 14 digs. Other top performers were Brianne Boner with a .429 hit percentage and a career high 22 kills as well as earning herself her first career double-double with 10 digs. Katelyn Kaiser had seven blocks for the hornets.

The Hornets went on to play #9 Central Missouri the following night. They lost in four sets in a very competitive match 22-25, 25-20, 22-25 and 15-25. Top performances were from Paige Vanderpool who had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Ting Liu also had a double-double with 40 assists and 15 digs. Meg Schwartz had 22 digs for the match, and Brianne Boner had 12 kills and eight digs.

The Hornets finished the season 23-10 and reached the regional semi-final for only the third time in ESU history.

Chris Dvorak

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The 2010 National Champions returned home to White Auditorium this Saturday in their home opener against the Golden Bears of Concordia St. Paul. The Hornets were able to control the paint and won the game 70-52.

“It was a tale of two halves,” said Head Coach Jory Collins. “I think the big tale was we missed a lot of layups in the first half. We had some gimmes that we normally are going to make, and that any college athlete ought to make that we just didn’t tonight.”

Emporia State was met with a challenge in the first half as Concordia St. Paul hung close throughout. The Hornets held the lead for the majority of the half until the Golden Bears tied the game at 18 with 6:32 remaining. Two layups by Freshman Guard Rheanna Egli sparked the Hornets as they closed the half on an 11-3 run.

Sophomore Guard Jocelyn Cummings led all scorers in the first half with eight points, three of them coming in the late first half run.

“I think definitely our defense really helped create us some offensive fast break points, just (getting the ball) down the floor to Rachel (Hanf) or just whoever getting us going, making some layups,” Cummings said.

The Hornets carried that late first half momentum into the second behind Senior Forward Alli Volkens and Cummings. The Hornets were able to push the lead to 20 at the 14:10 mark as Volkens added eight points in the run.

Emporia State continued to control the game as well as the paint as they went on to win easily 70-52. The Hornets outscored the Golden Bears 52 to 28 inside as well as outrebounding them 45 to 32.

“(Controlling the paint) was going to be our goal,” Collins said. “Concordia St. Paul lost I think three or four of their front court players, and they had some young ones playing tonight. For the most part, you control the paint with rebounding, shot blocking, and I thought we were really good in there.”

Erica Gress of Concordia St. Paul led all scorers in the game with 18 points and five rebounds.

For Emporia State, Jocelyn Cummings had 15 points along with seven rebounds, four of which were offensive. Volkens, Egli and Kelsey Balcom all ended the night scoring in double figures. Volkens led the team in rebounds with nine and added five blocks on the night.

Emporia State travels to Colorado Springs, Col. next week to play at the UCCS Invitational. Their first game will be at 2 p.m. Nov. 26.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

The Kansas Board of Regents has passed two initiatives aimed at bringing the Kansas education system up to or above the national educational averages.

Foresight 2020 is a plan to achieve significant strides in secondary and post-secondary education by the year 2020.

Included in the plan is the expansion of state funding available for those seeking financial aid, the increase in retention and graduation rates of both traditional and non-traditional students and the promotion of degree paths that focus on the acquisition of skill-sets that are currently lacking in the Kansas workforce.

The KBOR also approved a $50 million Kansas Commitment plan aimed at boosting the state’s economy. The plan includes a 2.73 percent increase from all state institutions in order to keep up with the inflation of the state. For more information on the specifics of each plan, see the Sept. 23 issue of The Bulletin.

These new initiatives are very important for ESU students. ESU is primarily a teacher’s college, and as the KBOR begins to implement Foresight 2020 and Kansas Commitment there will be some changes to both the secondary and post-secondary education systems in the state.

Students who graduate with teaching degrees within the next decade will have to adhere to the standards set by Foresight 2020. Preparing elementary and high school students for the next rung in the educational ladder is a primary focus of Foresight 2020.

ESU graduates who will eventually teach these students will have the primary responsibility of preparing their students for the world they will eventually enter. The teaching of skills that will prove helpful for these students in college and post-graduate life is a top priority in the Foresight 2020 plan. It is up to future ESU teaching college graduates to disseminate these skills.

There are many pros and cons in these plans. The main con is a higher cost of tuition for ESU students to keep up with the state inflation costs. But, with the implementation of the portions of Foresight 2020 aimed at providing financial aid to low or middle income families, the KBOR hopes to curb the increase in costs.

Overall, the KBOR’s plans are optimistic. They seem to be clear and precise actions from the KBOR to maintain and increase the standards of the Kansas higher education system through this tough economic time.

The main issue, however, if whether or not the plans will pane out the way they are intended to. If one or more of the sections of these initiatives fails or becomes unattainable, it could potentially throw both initiatives off track. It is going to take all of that Kansas universities working together to ensure that this does not happen.

As students and citizens it is our duty to understand and help to implement these plans in order to move forward from the economic downturn that has engulfed us all. These plans are ambitious, but, with a little determination and some patience, they could eventually help us to all come out on top.

The Bulletin

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Weiss

I was walking around Wal-Mart the other day, and, of course, there were screaming children running around. As I passed by one particularly fussy little girl, I heard her mother say to her father, “Just smack her!” Now, if I misheard her, and she actually said something like “just take her outside,” then I should preemptively apologize. If, however, I heard correctly, then I do believe it’s time for another article about raising children.

We college students are getting to the age where having children isn’t as big a deal as it used to be. We see our female friends getting pregnant or someone casually brings up their child in conversation. It’s just becoming standard. We can have kids whenever we want, and raise them however we please. Everyone wants to be a good parent, and yet smacking and spanking a child are considered to be typical methods of discipline.

For you elementary education majors, I’m sure when you’re taking care of a group of kids you don’t let them hit each other because that’s not a nice thing to do. But wait, mommy and daddy are allowed to hit. We’re teaching children that only adults are allowed to hit, because they are bigger, and can dominate smaller people. “I’m bigger than you, I’m smarter than you, and I control you.”

I hear many people using the excuse “Well my parents did it to me, and I turned out fine.” In no way is this an excuse to hit a child. The way Americans parent is constantly changing, especially with developments in the fields of psychology and sociology. All it takes is an introductory course in intimate relationships or something similar to learn that striking a child does affect the development of a child’s psyche in a negative way.

This is not to say that all children who are spanked will turn out to be emotionally damaged, but it can’t be denied that we first begin learn the basics of social interaction and “correct” behaviors at a very young age. The sooner we teach children that physical control is not the way to get what you want, the sooner we’ll live in a world where violence and physical domination aren’t considered to be acceptable methods of acquiring what we desire.

It’s easy to spank a child and get instant results, but it’s harder to find a way to discipline a child effectively and in a non-aggressive way. Present and future parents, please, educate yourselves in alternative methods of discipline.

Ellen Weiss

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Pederson

Throughout my years here at ESU, there has been one thing that has always impressed me about this campus and town – we have an extremely talented artistic community.

I’m not just talking about our school’s visual arts department, I’m talking about everything. From a Japanese Taiko drum band playing at the luxurious Granada to a poetry reading in a friend’s backyard, I have always loved the art that I have experienced here.

Or, even if I didn’t particularly enjoy it, I loved the fact that it happens here. I love that we have groups like the Emporia Arts Council, UAC and bar owners who strive to better the town by bringing outside art into the community and by encouraging local artists.

But what I am not fond of is the level of apathy from those who are not involved in an art. It seems that most students will only go to an orchestral concert or play if they are required to do so for a class.

We are a fine arts university, yet the only ones concerned with art are those involved in it.

Though there also seems to be a schism between the different mediums of art in town. Of course, it makes sense that if one were interested in theatre, one would go to more plays.

However, I argue that all of the arts compliment each other and, like all knowledge, learning about many fields can help you in a single field. Art inspires more art.

I get the feeling that students are scared of arts. Perhaps you’re scared that you will get bored and, hell, who could honestly go an hour without texting?

Art is the expression of the human soul and, as such, it is always a beautiful thing to witness. If you get bored when you hear beautiful poetry that sings the song of life, love and loss, then maybe you need to actually listen, not just hear.

It is surprisingly not very difficult or expensive to experience excellent art in Emporia because it really is so ubiquitous. The music department is always putting on recitals, the theatre department puts on a great deal of main stage plays and one-acts alike and the Norman R. Eppink art gallery in King Hall is open all day.

So please better yourself and support the local art community. If you do, I guarantee that you will gain more fulfillment in your life than you would watching another episode of “My Super Sweet 16.”

Alex Pederson

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Downtown Emporia can expect a parking regulation revamp in the near future. On Monday, the Traffic and Safety Committee met to discuss possible options for new parking restrictions after the City Commission voted to remove all parking meters in the downtown district.

“We’re having trouble finding parts for the parking meters because they’re so old, so we have some spots where the meters simply aren’t working – its not really fair if you park in one spot and have to feed the meter, but someone parking in another spot doesn’t have to,” said Matt Zimmerman, City Manager and Chairman of the TSC.

Zimmerman said that more people were getting tickets because the meters appeared to be expired, but parking enforcement doesn’t always know about broken meters. There was also the question of whether people should have to pay to park downtown.

“We asked ourselves, what kind of message do we want to send? You can park for free in front of Wal-Mart but you can’t park for free downtown?” Zimmerman said.

According to Chief of Police, Gary Smith, the current regulation for time restricted areas is enforced from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but permit parking areas are always enforced.

Zimmerman said that the TSC’s main goals were to determine the appropriate level of parking once the meters are removed, to make sure the new regulations are reasonable and enforceable and to keep customers parking on the street and employees in the parking lots.

“There’s a perception that city parking spots are a lot cheaper than those provided by the campus, (so) what I’ve been told by the businesses is that there has been a longstanding problem with over-parked vehicles, primarily from students on the 1100 block of Commercial and Mechanic,” Chief Smith said.

Because of this, businesses have had a detriment to the turn around and were somewhat reluctant to have the meters removed since they felt the meters often self-police, Smith said, but parking enforcement in that area close to campus is a little more aggressive.

Smith said law enforcement has held back in collections over the past year, but the policy will change soon. Those who have unpaid parking tickets can expect their fines to double or find boots on their tires or having their vehicles towed.

According to an ordinance amending sections 25-44 of Emporia’s City Code, “If a violator of a parking restriction does not pay the fine or appear at the traffic desk in the Municipal Building to contest citation within a period of 10 days, the parking fine shall be doubled… further, that the vehicle may be rendered inoperable, and/or towed if there is an accumulation of parking fines on the vehicle in excess of $100, and no other warning shall be necessary.”

Zimmerman said that the meters currently bring in about $10,000 a year in revenue, but cost about $6000 to maintain and repair when parts are available.

“(Once the meters are removed) we will have a net loss of about four thousand dollars, but it’s not that substantial of a loss since the general budget consists of about 18 million dollars… it’s a small portion,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman said that the changes should be implemented sometime around January.

Kenzie Templeton

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Junior Joe Standard videos a Hornet’s football practice Nov. 3 from the top of the HPER Building. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Emporia State football recently finished their season with an improved record, and while coaches and players of the team have been recognized for their work this season as 10 Hornets were awarded MIAA honors last week, it is the hard work by the people behind the scenes, who spend countless hours working, that can be equally as important in becoming a successful team.

Junior Joe Standard and Freshman T.J. Andrade were the filmmakers for the team this season.

“We typically spend about 15 hours a week doing whatever the coach asks of us,” Standard said. “They really depend on us for a lot of other things than just setting up and filming games and practices.”

This season was the first season filming for the ESU football team for both Standard and Andrade. Standard is a transfer student from Independence after he graduated from Field-Kindley in Coffeyville in 2008. He started off playing football for Independence in the fall of ‘08, but after suffering a knee injury, decided to turn to helping his team out by filming.

“Although I would rather be playing obviously, this was a way to keep me involved with the sport that I love the most,” Standard said. “After graduating from Independence, Coach Saia gave me the opportunity to keep doing it here.”

For Andrade, a freshmen majoring in physical education and health, this season was his first experience filming for a football team. Both were in charge of setting up and tearing down the camera equipment, showing up for meetings, loading and unloading not only their equipment, but equipment for the team, making sure everything was put away and traveled with the team even for away games.

Senior biology major and defensive lineman Casey Finlayson isn’t a big fan of heights, and respects what these people have to do for their jobs.

“After what happened at Notre Dame, I would be terrified to get up in the stands,” Finlayson said. “There’s no way that I would get up there after what happened on that campus.”

However, both Standard and Andrade said that even after they learned about the events, it never really changed their outlook on their jobs. Both said that it was at their discretion to get up there, and realized it was part of their jobs when they signed up.

“I knew that the coaches would take great care of Joe and me,” Andrade said. “I also knew that judgments vary from person to person and that accidents can happen. But my thoughts and prayers are with the young man and his family.”

Although both enjoyed the time working with the players and coaches this season, they said they were relieved to have more time for studies before football starts back up in the spring.

“The break is nice, but short-lived,” Standard said. “Spring ball is just around the corner, so it’s right back to work.”

Chris Hopkins

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Seniors Ting Liu and Brianne Boner block a spike sent by FHSU’s Camille Hubert Saturday afternoon at White Auditorium. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

The Emporia State Volleyball team swept unranked Fort Hays State University Saturday to finish regular season play 28-26, 25-15 and 25-17.

“We finished off the regular season strong, ready for post season,” said Head Coach Bing Xu. “It was a good environment for the seniors with all the family being here. It is not easy after last night with the intensity level being so high, but you have to treat (all opponents) the same, every ball the same. After the first set, we realized we need to play our own game.”

The Hornets also honored seniors Brianne Boner, Katelyn Kaiser, Brittney Miller and Ting Liu on Saturday.

“It is hard to see them go, but they have to move on,” Xu said. “It will be a new team next year with the four of them gone.”

After a rough start, the Hornets won the first set. Working to overcome an early deficit, the Hornets eventually regrouped and won the set in extra points 28-26.

“Everyone had that emotional high last night (Friday). Today everyone was a little tired,” Boner said. “That took a toll on us, but we’re a good enough team to bring it back.”

The Hornets had to work a new offense with the loss of key hitter Brittney Miller to injury in their previous match against Washburn.

“We were still mentally adjusting (to the loss of Miller), it was a big blow,” Kaiser said. “We have to get team chemistry going and coming together as a team for the win.”

The second set started off with a much more unified Hornet offense which quickly gained a large lead. After the rough first set start, the Hornets were able to cruise to a second set win.

Continuing the rhythm started in the second set, the Hornets gained another large lead and finished off the match with another solid set win.

“We came out in the second and third sets and showed them,” Kaiser said. “It’s all about chemistry on the court… everyone has to work together.”

Finishing regular season play, the Hornets move onto regional play. Emporia State will face West Texas A&M at 5 p.m. on Nov. 18. The Hornets finished the regular season 22-9, and 13-7 in the MIAA.

“Everybody is beatable and everybody has a shot, we’re going to take ours,” Xu said. “It won’t be easy, but we’ll take it one game at a time.”

Chris Dvorak

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Senior political science major Armando Pinon speaks about his experiences in the U.S. Army that eventually led to his Citizenship in the United States Tuesday afternoon in the Memorial Union. Alissa Miller/ The Bulletin

After the Twin Towers in New York City fell on Sept. 11, 2001, senior political science major Armando Pinon decided to enlist in the U.S. Army.

“I got my green card in 2003 so that I could enlist… before I that, I wasn’t able to join the army,” Pinon said.

Pinon, then 22, had been living in the U.S. for most of his life after his parents emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico shortly after he was born. He began attending ESU in 2001 but left his schooling after signing a three-year active duty contract as an infantryman in Iraq.

“I didn’t know much about the war when I went in – all I knew was that we were attacked,” Pinon said.

But it wasn’t until a sergeant approached him in 2005 while still on tour in Iraq that Pinon began to consider the possibility of being a permanent U.S. citizen.

“I actually had no idea (that I could gain my citizenship) and at the time, I was fresh in the army so I was just excited to be overseas… the whole citizenship thing was sort of in the back seat, it didn’t really register with me at the time,” Pinon said.

According to the website FindLaw.com, citizenship in the U.S. is based on two fundamental principles – jus soli (right of birthplace), in which a person is granted citizenship by actually being born within the U.S., and jus sanguinis (right of blood), which is given to someone with at least one parent who is already an American, regardless of his or her birthplace. One who does not fit into one of these categories can apply for citizenship through the process of naturalization.

Pinon said that the naturalization process usually takes a very long time, but former President Bush made it possible for non-citizens serving in the armed forces to gain their citizenship at an accelerated pace.

Although it took him approximately a year to gain his citizenship, Pinon had to complete the same process that everyone undergoes. This included getting an I.D., having his fingerprints taken and traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, to complete the interview and testing portion before finally being sworn in as a legal citizen of the U.S. along with other military members.

In 2006, Pinon’s tour ended and when he returned the states, he joined the army reserves where he currently serves a noncombatant military fire fighter and resumed his attendance at ESU.

“I decided to come to ESU because it just seemed to make sense to start here, I feel like I found the right area of study and I’ve met a lot of great teachers – it’s been really great,” Pinon said.

Pinon said that the army pays for all of his tuition and about half of his books. He recently got involved with ESU’s yearbook, The Sunflower, where he works as a staff photographer.

Although he has had no formal training, Pinon picked up photography while completing a project for a political science class. He ran across pictures by war photographers like James Natchwey.

Alaina Young, sophomore elementary education major and Editor-In-Chief of the Sunflower, said that Pinon does all of the photo editing and that he is dependable and easy-going.

“Armando is very passionate about his photography. He’s constantly looking up new ways to do things and new techniques – he’s just really interested in learning to do all that he can,” Young said.

Pinon said he has been buying a lot of photography gear in hopes of starting his own business of doing some freelance work in the future and has a particular interest in war photography.

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