Pam Kurzen and Darcy Stevens of dining services prepare a cardboard cutout by pasting a printed sheet onto large cardboard on Tuesday afternoon outside of the Memorial Union. This cutout will be used for an upcoming Oktoberfest event, which will be held during lunch on Oct. 19 in the cafeteria area. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin

Pam Kurzen and Darcy Stevens of dining services prepare a cardboard cutout by pasting a printed sheet onto large cardboard on Tuesday afternoon outside of the Memorial Union. This cutout will be used for an upcoming Oktoberfest event, which will be held during lunch on Oct. 19 in the cafeteria area. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin

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Senior defender Jessica Decker kicks the ball away from Washburn players during the Turnpike Tussel. The Hornets beat Washburn, 1-0, last Thursday at the pitch. Jon Coffey/The Bulletin

Coming off their win against Washburn in the Turnpike Tussel last Thursday, the women’s soccer team tied with the Lions of Lindenwood on Sunday at the Pitch.

After regulation and two overtimes, neither team was able to put one in the goal.

In defensive and physical contest, both teams racked up a combined 23 saves and 25 fouls. The Hornet record now stands at 1-3-4.

“It was definitely a tough one to tie, since we won the other day against such a good team,” senior defender Jessica Decker said. “Our balls just didn’t fall in the net today.”

The game began with ESU controlling possession. Both teams managed four shots on the goal.

In the 45th minute, Decker took things into her own hands with a deep shot on goal. The shot was directed towards the upper left hand corner of the goal. Despite the good placement, Lion goalie Whitney Calvin deflected the ball. Sophomore forward Nikki Sanders was unable to capitalize off the rebound and her shot was blocked.

Minutes later the same scene was repeated. Freshman midfielder Morgan Wheeler placed her shot in the upper right hand corner of the goal, but Calvin denied the shot. Sanders had an open goal opportunity, but she was again denied by the Lion defenders.

“It’s ball watching,” said Bryan Sailer, head coach. “It’s not just one person… it’s everybody, and I did it too as a player. But it’s hard to get beyond that sometimes. It’s so close. It’s a game of inches. (If) that one (shot) was underneath the bar and came straight down another inch, it’s probably in the goal.”

The second half saw more even action as the physical battle escalated. ESU failed to make good use of foul shot opportunities and the game went into overtime without a goal from either team.

The overtime saw both defenses clamp down as neither team registered a serious threat for a goal. Hornet goalie Nikki Schmitz recorded her 11th save of the game in the second overtime, one block shy of her career high of 12.

“Our back four (defenders) helped a lot. They were amazing,” Schmitz said. “My goal is just get nothing in, and that’s what I did.”

Sailer seconded the stout defense of the afternoon.

“Nikki’s (Schmitz) been outstanding,” Sailer said. “Our defense is pretty tight. They came at us a couple times in the second half with I thought a different speed on the outside which caught us off guard a little bit, but our center backs did a good job of keeping them away from our goal and not letting them in on the keeper one-v-one.”

The next game is at 2 p.m. against Missouri Southern on Oct. 2 at the ESU Pitch.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Sophomore outside hitter Paige Vanderpool takes a shot against Missouri Western on Friday. The Hornets won, 3-0, at White Auditorium in Emporia. Bri McGuire/The Bulletin

The Hornets took to the court against the Griffons of Missouri Western last Friday at White Auditorium. The rival teams have met 74 times, each team winning 37 games.

In their most recent face off, the Hornets came out with no fear and attacked the Griffons from the start to the final winning match in three straight sets.

“I think we came out and took it,” said freshman setter Katie Deutschmann. “We got what we were supposed to do done, and our coach was really happy with how we played.”

Early in the first set, with a score of 15-11, freshman middle hitter Courtney Haring spiked the ball to give ESU the lead.

His team down 17-12, frustrated Missouri Western head coach Cory Frederick called a timeout, but it did not stop the Hornets.  They came out strong and scored three consecutive points en route to take the first set 25-17.

To start off the second set, Deutschmann spiked the ball and earned the Hornets the first point. The Hornets then continued to attack the net and tore down the Griffon defense point by point. After an ace from junior libero Meg Schwartz, the Hornets took the lead 14-11. The Hornets won the second set 25-20.

“We wanted to make sure we played with our best potential because we did not feel like we had been before,” said freshman outside hitter Carly Spicer.

Up two sets to zero, the Hornets came out fired up to start the third set. Deutschmann continued to attack the net and helped the Hornets score. The Hornets grabbed the momentum early on as they raced out to a lead of 9-2, forcing the Griffons to take a timeout. Spike after spike, freshman Courtney Haring effortlessly broke down the Griffon defense. Scoring the final point off of a serve from the Griffons, the Hornets won the third set, 25-17. ESU won the match with a score of 3-0.

“We played very well,” said Bing Xu, head coach. “We are a new team and this is a new year for us.”

Emporia will be on the road Sept. 30 through Oct. 1 for the Lady Blues Fall Classic Tournament in Topeka. The Hornets will face Central Oklahoma, Angelo State, Abilene Christian and Dallas Baptist.

“It is a really important tournament,” Xu said. “From now on everything counts, we just have to go there and do our job.”

Chelsie Slaughter

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Ellen Hansen, associate professor of social sciences, holds Papa, or “Mr. T” at the Happy Life Children’s Home in Nairobi, Kenya. Hansen was part of a group of students, faculty and Emporia community members who traveled to Kenya over the summer to volunteer at the abandoned children’s home. Photo Courtesy of Ellen Hansen

Over the summer Emporia State students and faculty traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to volunteer at the Happy Life Children’s Home, a Christian-based organization that aims to provide resources to abandoned children in Africa and to ultimately find homes for these children.

“It gave me a new appreciation for my own wealth,” said Ellen Hansen, chair of social sciences. “It also gave me a renewed sense of my own responsibility of being a person from the United States, being a person from a country that has wealth and power that seems unlimited. We have a responsibility to do something about problems in the world.”

Hansen said that the group focused on feeding the children, playing with them and helping to build their home, which is currently under construction.

“We mostly made ourselves as useful as possible in the home,” said Hansen. “Everybody kind of found their comfort zone.”

Currently, the 14 members of the group are continuing to raise funds for the Happy Life Children’s Home so that they can afford to buy commercial washers and dryers, something they have been without since its opening in 2002.

“In times past children who became abandoned in the African society were taken in by the extended family or tribal community. Since this is increasingly no longer the case, the Church is being called to proclaim the message of adoption and to promote adoption among its members and friends. It is the desire of Happy Life to work closely with the local churches in Kenya and around the world to this end,” Happy Life’s website stated.

Alyssa Salisbury, junior psychology major and volunteer, said that the group of volunteers consisted of Emporia State students and faculty, as well as members of the Emporia community and a local church.

“What I learned was when there’s a job that you have to do, you have to own that job,” said Daniel Page, senior communications major and volunteer. “You have to do it as hard as you can because that’s really the only way anything gets done.”

As for their future plans, members of the volunteer group agree they would like to return to Africa.

“I do definitely want to go back to Africa,” Hansen said. “It’s an amazing place. This was my first trip to Africa and I don’t want it to be my last…I would love to go back to Happy Life and see those kids.”

Hansen also said that she has been able to keep in touch by regularly checking the group’s Facebook page, as well as their blog, which provides updates on the children who have been adopted.

“We all hope and pray that they all get adopted someday, so I just try to get my word out as much as possible,” Salisbury said. “Just get out there and adopt and go volunteer because they all need love.”

A return trip has not yet been planned but anybody can be involved. Go to Happylifechildrenshome.com for more information.

Brooke Schultz

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Stephanie Mott, the executive director of Kansas Statewide Transgender Project, speaks on transgender education at the Emporia Public Library last Saturday. Stephanie Mott said it was common for transgender people to be homeless. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin

Transgender education was the topic of discussion last Saturday at the Emporia Public Library.

Students and local residents gathered to hear Stephanie Mott speak on the stereotypes and struggles associated with being transgendered.

Mott, founder and spokesperson for the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project, said the project is dedicated to providing education on transgender issues across Kansas.

The term “transgender” is an umbrella term that encompasses anyone whose identity falls outside of the binary and stereotypical gender dichotomy, Mott said.

But for Mott, transgender education has a special meaning.

Born a boy in a town just outside of Lawrence, and at the time named Stephen, Mott said she felt like she was placed in the wrong body and was not sure how to express her feelings.

“Any moment I got to myself, I would use it to express myself as a girl,” Mott said, recounting her childhood struggles.

Mott’s story impressed some of the attendees.

“I thought it was very inspiring hearing about Stephanie’s story, even more so that even though she had been through so much and seen so much hardship, she was able to find happiness and wanted to share her happiness with others and see that their road was not so long,” said Beth King, senior art education major.

Many questions were asked at the end of the presentation but the audience seemed moved by Mott’s story and her mission to educate people about the trials and tribulations of being transgender.

“I was moved by Stephanie’s story and wowed by her strength,” said Carl Dillman, freshman at Flint Hills Technical College. “I also found it extraordinary that she maintained her Christian faith through it all, until she described the church to which she belongs. She’s an excellent example of the kind of tolerance and acceptance that Topeka isn’t exactly known for, but by rights ought to be.”

Mott gave insight on just how misunderstood the transgendered community is, but she also said that some of the same struggles transgender individuals face are shared by all people.

“We all figuratively wear masks and are not always our true selves, so this isn’t something that affects transgendered people, but something that affects all people,” said Mott.

To learn more about transgender education, go to K-step.org.

Whitney Coleman

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Luke Bohannon

I’m not a huge fan of baseball – I’ll admit that – but I’m definitely a fan of “Moneyball.”

This new drama from director Bennett Miller, who also directed Capote in 2005, shows the gritty reality of the baseball industry from the perspective of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland Athletics.

“Moneyball,” based on a book of the same name by Michael Lewis, dramatizes the real life struggle of the Athletics in the early 2000s. It begins with the team’s loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series.

We immediately join Beane as he begins to try to rebuild the Athletics after the loss of three key players to a free agency. The team also faces an additional financial handicap in comparison with other professional teams. Beane meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who challenges the traditional notions of scouting by picking players based solely on statistics with no regard to personal lives, appearance or age.

The two team up to bring together a misfit team of throw-away players that other teams won’t touch. This leads to conflict with the Athletics’ manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the entire scouting crew, until the strategy surprisingly begins to work.

Brad Pitt does a great job playing Billy Beane. He hits the mark in his depiction of a concerned father, an ambitious team manager, a scrupulous businessman and failed player past his prime. Pitt manages to portray the weariness of his character as if he himself lived through Beane’s disappointing major league career. Beane’s relationship with his daughter is a central tenant of his character, and every scene with the two of them is pure gold.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is spot on with his portrayal of Art Howe, and truly immerses himself in the role. His performance elicits both sympathy and frustration as he tries to do what he feels is best for his team.

While “Moneyball” seems like just another movie about baseball on the surface, it’s truly something else entirely. For one thing, there’s actually very little baseball played. The focus of the film is on Beane and Brand as they work to create and maintain an all-star team.

However, the baseball that we do see is shot beautifully. It romanticizes the game and still manages to keep it grounded in a starkly realistic style that defines the film.

Miller meshes scenes of the movie with real life footage from games and television shows seamlessly, which really adds to the film. “Moneyball” attempts to portray baseball realistically, and it truly delivers.

While I’m not saying that “Moneyball” will make it to the Oscars this year, I certainly think it’s a great film that’s worth seeing as soon as possible, whether you’re a hardcore baseball fan or just someone looking for a great movie.

Luke Bohannon

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Catherine Bergman plays her flute during the faculty recital in Heath Recital Hall Saturday night. Bergman has been the flute instructor at ESU since 2002. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin

Catherine Bergman, instructor of music, opened this semester’s season of faculty recitals with a flute concert last Saturday night. The performance was held in Heath Recital Hall and had 24 attendees.

Bergman played six songs during the recital, assisted by her husband, trumpet player Gregory Bergman, and pianist Tara Laudie.

“Today is our anniversary of when we first started dating,” Bergman said. “When I was a freshman in college and he was a sophomore, we came to Emporia State on a trip. That was our first date.”

Virginia Davidson, resident of Emporia, was among those in the audience.

“I think it’s wonderful and charming when a couple plays together,” Davidson said. “You could tell they really like each other.”

Davidson said she has lived in Emporia since 2009 and has been coming to almost every concert at ESU since then.

“These students and these teachers here are really good,” Davidson said. “We hardly ever miss anything.”

Bergman said that she had prepared for the concert since last January and rehearsed with Laudie over the summer, but it only took her a few weeks to rehearse with her husband.

“The performance was really inspiring, actually,” said Jonnie Stahl, freshman music education major and Bergman’s student. “When I was listening to it, it made me really want to work harder.”

Stahl said that someday she hoped she would be like Bergman, teaching class and showcasing her accomplishments.

“(Bergman) is very, very talented, a wonderful player,” Stahl said. “She knows what she’s doing, and she’s really into helping her students.”

Bergman has been an instructor at ESU since 2002, teaching flute lessons, flute choir, ear training and sight singing classes and music appreciation.

“(Bergman) is a very accomplished performer,” said Allan Comstock, chair of the music department. “I have worked with her for 10 years, and she just keeps getting better and better all the time.”

The music department hosts several faculty events throughout the year.

“We will generally have two to four faculty recitals each semester,” Comstock said. “It’s part of our creativity that we do every year. We also have faculty chamber groups which present a recital once a semester.”

The next music performance will be a jazz concert featuring Gary Ziek at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 29 in Albert Taylor Hall. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $4 for students and senior citizens.

Tianhai Jiang

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Matt Cook

Work sucks the life straight out of you.

Anyone who works in customer service knows this. Not every customer is completely satisfied with your service and their disapproval deposits itself in bags under your eyes, acne on your jaw and a weight in your chest that can only be likened to the mildest of heart attacks. What keeps me going at work is music.

Luckily, college radio in Kansas is not hard to find – unless you go to school at Emporia State.

KU has KJHK. K-state has the Wildcat 91.9. Pittsburg State has KRPS. Wichita State hosts and makes contributions to its local NPR station, KMUW. Even Fort Hays State has KFHS radio. Each station provides a unique voice to the world, something that the students can call their own. So why doesn’t ESU have a radio station?

The shallow selection of stations in Emporia includes “Top 40” garbage and the same 20 country songs looped all day long.

Emporia needs to put some rhythm in its step. ESU needs its own radio station, if only to make the mundane tasks of day-to-day existence bearable.

Some might say that broadcast radio in Emporia is sufficient and reflects a broader consensus on the taste of music.

Trust me – there is nothing I detest more than a music snob, someone whose sole existence it is to lambast someone else’s subjective opinion or to posit their own as the gospel truth. It is a fact that some music falls just short of sonic harassment, but it shouldn’t follow that you are wrong for liking it. No, a radio station is not about cashing in on a defunct counter culture of suburban bourgeoisie.

The need for our own radio station goes beyond simple pretentiousness. It provides a medium, through which the student body can stay informed of on-campus activities, and it provides a literal voice for the student body and it plays music – wonderful music – that students can personally request.

I’m not an expert in radio broadcast. I’m barely literate. But I can’t imagine it would require anything more than a microphone, some basic audio equipment and, most of all, gumption.

It could be run with minimal staff. The station doesn’t even need to be over the radio waves. The advent of podcasts and internet radio facilitate a cheap and easy way to reach the student body.

The next time you’re at work and you find yourself inadvertently singing along to Justin Bieber, remember – there is still hope.

Support a movement on campus to institute a long neglected aspect of college life in Emporia. Talk to your friends, get support. Move forward. Turn on, tune in and so forth.

Matt Cook

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Andrew Potter

Two weeks ago I was walking around town with a friend. After retrieving a delicious and perfectly-priced $5 slice of pizza from Little Caesar’s, we had the difficult decision of deciding what we should drink to bring out the true flavor of our delicious dinner.

It hit us 10 steps down the street – we needed red wine.

Our pilgrimage led us to a liquor store. With high expectations, and high “spirits,” we tried the door. Sadly, no bells went off, and no fluorescent lights shone down on rows of rainbow colored bottles. There was nothing. The door was locked.

The liquor store, like all of the others in Emporia, was closed.

Coming from a much larger town in Texas, where liquor stores were always open past 11 p.m., it was quite a shock to find that all Emporia liquor stores close after 9 p.m. When I looked into Kansas law, however, I found that the sale of alcohol and liquor are legal until 11 p.m.

Why has Emporia decided to cut liquor store closing times shorter than the law deems it necessary? It is ridiculous that shops should close so early, especially since we live in a college town – the demand for alcoholic beverages is so high.

Think about it. Many students probably feel the need to purchase alcohol after 8:30 or 9:00 p.m., as most of the time prior to this is spent studying or working in order to earn a small amount of cash. The idea of buying alcohol is hardly ever a thought before 9 p.m.

We should not have to force our minds to change and start purchasing alcohol prior to our first cravings. We should not be forced to take our business to Olpe if we develop a late night desire for a glass of wine. This money should be kept in Emporia, helping local businesses as well as our economy.

As students, we have the power to change this. We need to explain our plight to the local government. Write legislators, send emails, and get disgruntled! We aren’t asking for a dramatic change, just enough to prevent the inconveniences of countless people.

We must show them that it would be worth their time, and that we are willing to part with our meager amount of spending money to acquire bottles of this sweet nocturnal ambrosia.

Compared to places where booze is sold seven days a week, and campuses that serve alcohol, it should not be an outrageous request to be able to acquire some spirits late in the evening. The local government should reconsider the laws, if not for the sake of the businesses, then for the sake of those students consuming $5, 9 p.m. pizzas.

Andrew Potter

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Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

In 1999 the Emporia Amtrak train station burned down. No efforts were made to rebuild.

But now the city is considering rebuilding the station and restoring Amtrak services. The Bulletin believes this is a step in the right direction – the benefits are numerous.

The first and probably most important benefit is the price. It currently costs about $80 for a one-way Amtrak ticket from Kansas City to Chicago. To fly it costs about $200.

Add in the cost of checking your luggage at the airport, and you could potentially be flying for close to $300. Want to know how much it costs to bring your luggage aboard an Amtrak train? Nothing – it’s free.

While gas may be about the same price as a train ticket, drive time compared to train travel time is close to 11 hours, whereas on Amtrak, you can get to Chicago within seven and a half hours. Not to mention, on a train you have more space to stretch and even lay down. You don’t have to stop every 100 miles or so to use the restroom or eat, and you can enjoy the scenery from the comfort of your train car.

Oh, and did we mention that students can get a discount on train tickets? All you have to do is sign up for a student discount card and pay a yearly fee of $20 to save 15 percent on tickets. That’s a deal worth cashing in on.

On planes, you can only use portable electronics like cells phones, laptops and iPods at designated times, but Amtrak trains not only allow electronics with no restrictions, they even provide electrical outlets.

On top of the luxury afforded to travelers, trains are also better for the environment. Trains emit less carbon dioxide than driving and much less than flying. An opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint is always a bonus.

Safety is another reason for train travel. It is about as safe to fly as it is to ride the train, which is much less dangerous than riding in an automobile.

Perhaps even ESU could benefit from this method of transportation. If the rail service ran to areas where groups on campus travel to conferences, a train ticket in place of a van or bus could be a cheaper alternative for RSOs.

If nothing else, Emporia would benefit from having an Amtrak station, as the train would generate more business for the city. People traveling would spend money in local stores and restaurants.

So what can students do? Simply speak up. Let city officials know that ESU is on board for Amtrak. Heck, write the governor and tell him that our town deserves to be back on the rails.

This project will no doubt take time and money from the people of Emporia, but in the long run it could provide great benefits for the town.

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