Phillip Ro’lon Miller, senior graphic design major, puts the finishing touches on his work for the Graphic Design Senior Show Wednesday in King Hall. Miller is one of six seniors who will exhibit their work May 8-12 in the Eppink and Gilson Galleries in King Hall.

The Graphic Design Senior Show, on display from 5-7 p.m. May 8-12 in King Hall, will display a combination of textual, packaging and other types of design art from ESU.

The show, which is free to the public, is meant to be a chance for senior graphic design majors to showcase the fruits of their ESU education and to provide the rest of the campus with a taste of modern graphic design.

Senior graphic design majors Corey Adkins, Eric Sonnakolb, Krista Schraer, Landon Merrill, Phillip Miller and Zach Janice are the featured artists of the show and will display art ranging from border and poster designs to text manipulation, 3-D design and Photoshop-inspired themes.

“This will not be your typical art show by any means,” Janice said. “Pretty much all of it will be digital artwork and that will range from computer design tools like Photoshop and such to displays of borders, posters, even business card designs.”

The seniors began work on the show at the beginning of the semester, but really began to concentrate on piece arrangements and display setup during the last two semesters, Janice said.

Each artist will have several displays or individual art pieces up for display, Janice said and while some of the displays will be themed, many will be abstract.

“We’ll have some displays that have digital themes, or a virtual motif, but a lot of what we’re doing can’t really be defined by a set art theme,” Janice said. “In a way that’s the point, we’re trying to break free of your standard themes with the variety in our pieces.”

In addition to creating pieces solely to be displayed in the show, Janice has also worked on a magazine promoting the arts and music in Emporia, as well as what he termed a “branding project.”

“For a branding project, we’ll go in and take over a business graphically,” Janice said. “And we’ll redesign everything from the ground up: displays, advertisements and business cards, you name it.”

A graphic design show does not imply that the art exhibits will be completely devoid of more traditional art styles, Schraer said, but rather that the styles will be incorporated into each design artist’s own vision and thematic interpretation.

“Someone coming to this show can expect to see both fine arts and graphic design styles blended together,” Schraer said. “The entire presentation will be set up like a fine art gallery, with each of our pieces arranged with each other, so no one artist has their own little section.”

Schraer, whose graphic design interests lean toward typography (graphic manipulation of text) and packaging designs, also said that this final exhibition at ESU is not without a bittersweet feeling.

“It’s sad that this is the last show we’re doing as ESU graphic design majors,” Schraer said, “but there’s also that great feeling of knowing you’re done.”

While most of the graduating seniors will go on to work or graduate school, Miller said his love for design and art will keep him at ESU for a little longer.

“My area of interest in graphic design is more toward Photoshop and posterized designs,” Miller said. “So I decided to continue at ESU with the photography program and earn a major in that as well.”

This year’s Senior Show format has been set up in a different style from years past, a decision made by the current graphic design seniors, Miller said.

“This year we’re doing something unique that we haven’t done before to my knowledge,” Miller said. “Usually it’s set up more like a traditional art gallery, with each artist having their own section, but this year we had a hand in actually setting up the displays for our displays, and we put our touch into that.”

Zachary Hughes/The Bulletin

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After a weekend of delays, former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Obama was confirmed Tuesday.

But last Thursday, in one of her final acts as governor of Kansas, Sebelius vetoed House Substitute for Senate Bill 389, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act.

Originally passed through the Kansas Senate with fewer votes than would be required to override a governor’s veto, the bill would have created tighter restrictions on late-term abortions and provided legal avenues for patients and relatives of patients to bring civil suits against doctors who provided late-term abortions in violation of Kansas law.

The text of the bill requires that women who are about to receive a late-term receive documentation stating the reasons for the abortion and the physician’s approval, and states among other things that “such documentation… shall be provided to the pregnant woman no less than 30 minutes before the abortion is initiated.”

The bill also states that “a cause of action for injunctive relief may be maintained against anyone… who is about to perform an act in violation of this section.”

In a statement last Thursday, Sebelius cited concerns that this portion of the bill could be used to intimidate women who are about to receive an abortion, or to create situations where a woman could be kept from receiving an abortion by a relative or spouse.

But for some Emporia State students, abortion is less about legislation and more about personal morality.

“As a Catholic, I really don’t believe abortion is right,” said Melissa Beck, graduate student in library science. “I really think there probably should be restrictions on late-term abortions, because you’re really ending a life there.”

In cases where the mother’s life is at risk, or when the pregnancy results from a rape, the lines of morality become more blurred, Beck said.

“Usually a woman’s body is pretty good at knowing when a baby is a life-threatening danger, and that’s when a miscarriage will take care of it,” Beck said. “But I guess it would be acceptable to have an abortion if the mother’s life is in danger, and if you get raped, well, who wants that reminder for nine months?”

Other students said they see even fewer circumstances in which an abortion is acceptable.

“My pro-life feelings are really strict, actually,” said Sergio Segura, freshman pre-optometry major. “I just don’t think there’s any excuse for taking the life of innocent kids who have no say in the decision like that, there’s really no circumstances in which a person should be allowed to end an innocent life.”

Segura also said that legislation on abortion should be a state- or locally-decided issue and that the federal government should have no say in the matter.

“I really don’t like the idea of the federal government having a say in the issue,” Segura said. “Each state should be allowed to voice its own decision.”

Other students said they see abortion as an issue of privacy and believe that no government prerogative can match the right of a woman to choose whether or not to keep a pregnancy.

“I hate when people try to force their beliefs on others with regards to abortion,” said Ashley Gillett, freshman secondary English education major. “It is and should be a matter of choice, and no person should hold that power over another one.”

Gillett also said that part of that right to choose includes the right of each state to decide for itself what legislation should exist regarding abortion laws.

Sebelius’ nomination to the cabinet position had been delayed from last Thursday in part because of concerns over campaign contributions she had received from Kansas abortion clinic director George Tiller.

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William Smith, guitarist for Roman Numerals, sings Saturday night in the Red Room at Beer:30 in downtown Emporia. Roman Numerals were one of three bands to play on Saturday. Kellen Jenkins /The Bulletin

With a blend of old familiar faces, a brand new musical act and one band that falls in between, Saturday night’s live music jam at Beer:30 included genres ranging from indie and classic rock to new-age pop. Rock bands Radio City and Roman Numerals, in addition to newcomers Mammoth Life played sets in The Red Room.

“I love it in the Beer Garden, but the Red Room is a cool venue in Emporia,” said Kyle Thompson, junior political science major. “Radio City was my favorite act, but all the bands were just great, and the whole lineup was astonishingly good.”

Utilizing a wide variety of musical sounds in order to attract a larger attendance was a successful strategy, Thompson said.

“I really think they’re doing the right thing at Beer:30, bringing in a wide variety of acts like that,” Thompson said. “Nothing ever got old or stale.”

The concert, which began at roughly 10 p.m., opened with Mammoth Life, a Lawrence pop band making their debut appearance in Emporia.

Mammoth Life’s Myspace Web site describes their music as “kaleidoscopic art pop,” a genre of music that relies on layering multiple instrument sounds with vocal backing and ambience sounds, said band leader and producer Nicholas Goss.

“The overall genre is pop, but we’re in between sounds right now,” Goss said. “The first sound we have is kaleidoscopic art pop, which is also the name of our debut album, and the second is more of an American Movement sound, influenced by spaghetti westerns and that sort of thing.”

Invited to the Emporia concert by local band Radio City, Mammoth Life’s members are KU music students, graduates, or former students, and believe that their sound is especially relevant for college students, Goss said.

Second on the night’s program was the return to Emporia of indie rock band Roman Numerals.

Band vocalist, bassist and guitarist Steve Tulipana described Roman Numerals’ music as a blend of traditional indie rock and high-energy underground tempo.

“We’re trying to strike a balance between math-rock and dance-heavy pop music,” Tulipana said. “We really try to make our influences our own, rather than just sound like a mish-mash of other bands.”

As unique as their sound is, the story of how their band came together is even stranger, Tulipana said.

“We were originally going to be a one-off thing for a special performance act, and we had no original intentions to form a band,” Tulipana said. “But then we realized we had something, and decided to go for being our own band with our own sound.”

The last band for the evening was Emporia regulars Radio City, who described finding a venue in Emporia as an adventure all its own.

“The music scene in Emporia is always interesting because here it’s a matter of finding a place for a band to rest its head,” said band freeman Matt Kosinski. “I mean for a while we were at Josie’s, and now we’ve sort of found a new home here at Beer:30… It’s sort of like being the musical equivalent of a refugee, we have a home and then it gets uprooted or things change, and we have to go in search for a new one.”

Kosinski described Radio City’s music as a combination of classic and modern rock influences, with a sound that has evolved over time to reflect the band’s internal changes.

“We’re working on our third release right now, our sound has changed a little bit since we switched drummers and tightened up our vocals,” Kosinski said. “We’re really excited about this album, it’s a lot higher-energy than our usual, and we think it’ll really carry our style.”

In addition to playing at the concert, Radio City also had a large hand in bringing Mammoth Life to Beer:30 and in recommending the setup for the concert in general, Kosinski said.

‘We actually found out about Mammoth Life through Terry Schmidt, the sound guy for tonight’s concert,” Kosinski said. “So we extended the invite through him to come out to Emporia and show everyone what they’ve got.”

Schmidt, a freelance sound technician who works most closely with nu-grass band The DeWayn Brothers, said he enjoyed Emporia’s atmosphere.

“I normally travel with the Dewayn Brothers, but Emporia is a terrific place to stop by,” Schmidt said. “I mean, I get to work with Mammoth Life, which is just a truly unique band, and my job is to listen to music and make it sound even better, and who wouldn’t want that?”

The concert, which ran for nearly four hours, is part of a series of local artist venues promoted by Beer:30 and drew a crowd of over 400 individuals.

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“4 1/2 stars out of 5″

Grab some big headphones or crank up the stereo volume for Mastodon’s triumphant return to progressive metal, “Crack The Skye.” This album, on which no track is less than five minutes and two tracks clock in over the big 10:00 mark, is about immersing the listener in the roaring guitars and textural keyboard sounds.

Melodic, ambient metal sounds start you up on this album, which tells a story of a quadriplegic who projects his spirit into the universe and ends up as a trip through Czarist Russia and a fateful encounter with the dreaded Rasputin.

While surprisingly for a concept album, no single track serves as filler for the story, the two riff-laden masterpieces “Divinations” and the appropriately complex “The Czar: I. Usurper – II. Escape – III. Martyr – IV. Spiral” stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the album and quite possibly above all the rest of Mastodon’s works, with guitar play and background melodies more complex than anything the band has ever produced before.

Other, more subtle tracks like “The Last Baron” serve as bridges both for the story and the high-pitched, exploratory tone of the album, while managing to utilize keyboard and wild variations in tempo to project you into the middle of the band’s vision.

Wormholes, time travel, astral projection and Stephen Hawking are all visited and each track sets you in the middle of a different yet always complex world.

Several of the songs are so intricate and complex, sounds laden on sounds, that it’s difficult to get it all in a pass or two. Expect to want to re-listen to each track, looking for something different each time.

This is helped along by a seemingly dueling background theme to each track, providing both ambience and counterplay with the main metal and drum play. For those who want to immerse themselves even further in the prog metal ambience, the deluxe edition of the album contains instrumental versions of each track.

Overall, “Crack The Skye” emerges as Mastodon’s finest album thus far, bringing together their love for complex, intricate metal scores with the ambience and flow that made Mastodon famous.

-Zachary Hughes

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Aristocrats, commoners, and more than one case of mistaken identity highlight Emporia State Theatre Department’s upcoming play “She Stoops To Conquer, Or Mistakes of The Night.” The play will show four consecutive nights starting at 7:30 Wednesday in King Hall’s Bruder Theatre.

The play, a period piece set in Britain just prior to the American Revolution, is a romantic comedy originally designed to poke subtle fun at the rituals and roles of the upper class at the time.

“This play was written in 1773 by Oliver Gold Smith, and is his attempt to fly in the face of a popular style of comedy in which the goal was to instill pathos and noble sentiment and the virtues of the upper class, rather than to amuse you or try and make you laugh,” said Jim Ryan, professor of theater and director of “She Stoops.” “Some writers like Smith believed that comedy should make you laugh and give you a spirit of sentimentality.”

“She Stoops” primarily utilizes the vehicle of mistaken identity to drive the plot and comedy forward, while simultaneously providing a background moral about judging people by their appearances, Ryan said.

The play also utilizes a comparative look into various aspects of British life in the 1770s, including family and cultural differences, Ryan said, and satirizes both the attitude differences found in differing regions of Britain and the undiscussed similarities between them.

“The play is first a romantic comedy, boy seeks girl, girl seeks boy, with obstacles and comedy helping things along,” Ryan said. “One male character is open-minded about pursuing women of a lower social and economic class than his own, which was an issue back then.”

The main story revolves around two characters engaged in simultaneous romantic pursuits, played by senior theater majors Ben Fleer and Kelsey Fredricks.

“The scene is largely set in the home of a Mr. Newcastle, a country gentleman, and I play Marlow, a suitor to one of his daughters,” Fleer said. “I end up running into his trickster stepson, who confuses me into thinking the master of the house is an innkeeper, and that sets up the first of a few mistaken identities in the play.”

This performance is also Fleer’s final one at ESU, something he said is met with mixed feelings.

“I think that you get so into doing theater that I haven’t really thought about it until recently,” Fleer said. “But I’ve given this character everything I’ve got, and I’m really looking forward to portraying him.”

On the other side of the play, Fredricks plays a woman enamored with a lower-class boy, who ultimately resorts to disguise to win his affection, Fredricks said.

“Kate is the daddy’s little girl who falls in love with a bashful boy who’s uncomfortable around her, so she pretends to be a barmaid,” Fredricks said. “She ultimately tricks him into declaring his love for me, and that plays into the whole theme of the story, about how that kind of thing really doesn’t matter.”

Also starring in the play is senior theatre major Bob Hart, who portrays Mr. Newcastle, a man obsessed with marrying off his daughters to proper gentlemen.

“Mr. Newcastle is kind of a blustery old guy who’s trying to marry off his two daughters, and his inability to get out of his past mindset is a source of comedy for the play,” Hart said. ‘The style is real particular for the piece and time period, and we’re trying to capture that and recreate it through each character.”

Even though the comedy was written in 1773, much of the humor and lessons are still very relevant to audiences today, Hart said.

In addition to bringing humor styles and lessons from the period, the ESU production of the play also involved the creation of elaborate set pieces and costumes to recreate the flavor of the time, Ryan said.

“We as faculty have a sort of grid every four years and touch upon Shakespeare, some costume drama, some period pieces, as well as more modern drama, and this year our thing was to get something from the 18th century,” Ryan said. “Someone coming to this play should expect lovely costumes and set pieces, as well as many different dialects like high British, Cockney, and north country English.”

Ryan said “She Stoops” is expected to run around a full two hours, including a fifteen-minute intermission.

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Students and community members dance to music during the 2009 Relay For Life at the EHS Track. Several Emporia committees hosted the event as away to raise support and funds for finding a cure for cancer. Kellen Jenkins /The Bulletin

High winds and the threat of rain did little to deter the nearly 600 people who showed up at Emporia High School’s track last Friday night to cheer on over 300 cancer survivors and caretakers participating in the 2009 Relay For Life.

Survivors, caretakers and supporters walked and sang as Emporia’s community turned out to support an annual show of survival against cancer. The relay kicked off with a ceremonial first lap by survivors and caretakers, who started off in opposite directions and met tearfully on the opposite side.

“It’s always just so heartwarming to see how many people turn out,” said Barb Roark, Emporia Recreational Committee Wellness chair. “The goal of this evening each year is to celebrate those who have beaten cancer back, and to honor and remember those no longer here.”

In addition to a theme of celebration and remembrance, the perpetual hope for development of a cure for cancer was a central theme of the evening’s activities, with the selected theme of “Tune Out Cancer,” Roark said.

Almost 40 teams of survivors and caretakers signed up to participate, with as many as 15 individuals per team, Roark said. In addition to this, more than 600 supporters showed up to cheer on those taking part in the relay, including one student who decided to put her professional talents to use.

“I’m volunteering my time here as Blossom the Clown, which is just my way of showing my support for the Relay,” said Michelle Cunningham, senior psychology and Spanish major. “I love events like this that get out there and put a face on a cause for the community.”

Cunningham, whose grandfather is a cancer survivor, was in full clown makeup for the event and handed out stickers to attendees and participants.

Relay For Life, which runs each year around April, is sponsored by several Emporia committees. This year saw one of the bigger turnouts in its history despite the possibility of inclement weather, Roark said.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. The funds raised at Relay save lives by funding cancer research, early detection and prevention education, advocacy efforts and life-affirming patient services.

The first Relay for Life, which raised $33,000, was in 1986.

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Tennis: Season closer

The Emporia State men’s and women’s tennis seasons came to a close last Saturday, falling to Truman at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City, Mo. in the MIAA Tournament. The men lost 5-3 in their second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and the women fell 5-1 in their fourth straight appearance.

The men’s team went 8-8 overall, 1-4 in the MIAA, 1-3 in the region and 3-1 at home.

The women’s team went 9-8 overall, 3-5 in the MIAA, 1-4 in the region and 4-1 at home.

Head Coach John Cayton and his current ESU players will host their fourth annual tennis camp presented by Wilson Racket Sports where players ages 8-18 will participate in a five day camp from June 22-26. Players will be staying in the ESU residence halls overnight and full-day campers will dine in the Lakeview Cafeteria.

Baseball on the road

The Emporia State baseball team went one and three on the road against Missouri Southern, winning the first game 5-2 and losing the last two games 11-12 and 7-11.

In game one, ESU was tied with MSSU 2-2 until the top of the eighth inning when catcher Mike Sharp hit a single to right center field to score two runners. Outfielder Caleb Williamson scored one more run with a fly ball out to right field.

In game two, the Hornets were ahead 11-3 in the seven inning game, until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Lions hit nine runs to take the lead.

Pitcher Diego Soto earned the loss in game two and is now 5-2 on the season.

In game three, ESU was down 11-2 until the top of the ninth inning where they made scored five runs but were unable to complete the comeback.

Pitcher Ben Graham lost his third game of the season, throwing 3.2 innings in game three.

The Hornets are now 39-9 overall and 25-6 in the MIAA and are looking to take the league title.

ESU will host their last regular season match up at home against Southwest Baptist.

Game one of the doubleheader will start at 4 p.m. May 1-2 at Trusler Complex.

Provisional Track Qualifiers

The Emporia State track team had five provisionally qualifying marks at the Sooner Invitational in Norman, Okla.

Connie Philips placed second and provisionally qualified with a 140-7 mark in the women’s javelin. Jaclyn Sill ranked fourth in this season’s Division II charts in the women’s 400m with a time of 55.77.

Sam Williams provisionally qualified individually in the 100m with a time of 10.59 and qualified in the 200m with a time of 21.23. William, Derwin Hall, Josh Schuler and Kenton Lonberger are all qualifiers in the 400m relay.

The Hornets competed yesterday and continue competition today in the MIAA Championships in Maryville, Mo. Brooke Kent, Justine Davenport and Kaylea Goff are performing for the women while Tony Granillo and Cole Davis are performing for the men.

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As part of an ongoing week of events, People Respecting Individuality in Education (P.R.I.D.E.) hosted a panel Tuesday night in the Flint Hills Room of Memorial Union. The panel members answered questions about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered community.

“I was invited to come to this event by a friend, and I support P.R.I.D.E., so I decided to come and show that support,” said Jonathan Heath, sophomore psychology major. “I’m interested to hear what kinds of questions were asked.”

Questions were selected from a box which was available in the Memorial Union Monday afternoon for students to submit questions to be answered by a P.R.I.D.E. member. Questions answered included issues related to discrimination, identity expression and “coming out.”

Answering questions related to GLBT issues was part of a larger goal of education over P.R.I.D.E. week, said Derrek Zietz, junior communication major and education chair for P.R.I.D.E.

“What we are there for is to educate, not only the group but the public as well, as to discrimination issues that affect students, particularly the GLBTQA community, which stands for Gay Lesbian Bisexual Trans-gendered Questioning and Ally community,” Zietz said. “We are there to educate on political issues that affect us in Emporia and around the world.”

The overall idea behind P.R.I.D.E. week is one of information and awareness, including spreading knowledge about what it means to be a member of P.R.I.D.E. and what it means to be an ally, Zietz said.

Allies, a term for any individual who supports raising awareness and support for GLBT issues, were represented during an Ally Appreciation Day on Wednesday, Zietz said.

“Ally Day is to raise awareness in the general public that just because you are a member of P.R.I.D.E. doesn’t mean you’re gay… you can be an Ally and be heterosexual,” Zietz said. “Just because you see someone supporting P.R.I.D.E. doesn’t mean you are gay and people shouldn’t assume that.”

Educating people over trans-issues was also a major goal during the week.

“We also wanted to educate people on what it means to be trans-gendered, transvestite, and so on, and let people know what that means,” Zietz said, “which is why we’re holding Thursday’s event.”

Thursday’s events include a speech by Sylvia Guerrero, the mother of a murdered trans-individual, which will take place at 7 p.m. in the Kanza Room of the Memorial Union.

P.R.I.D.E. week was the result of a collaboration of efforts between P.R.I.D.E. and supportive groups and individuals at and around ESU.

“The ESU groups have been awesome in helping us get this together, Amnesty International in particular,” Zietz said. “Several organizations donated money to us, including some groups off campus, and we’re really thankful for that.”

For those who attended, P.R.I.D.E. represented the ability of GLBT people to stand in the open without fear. For psychology graduate student Joshua Smith, that also means respecting individuals for who they are.

That respect includes an awareness that GLBT issues are not simply hot-topic or trendy issues and that organizations like P.R.I.D.E. are created in the spirit of fostering unity rather than antagonism, Smith said.

“We want to send a message that we as the GLBTQA community are here, and we’re not going away or sitting silently,” Smith said. “It’s time to accept us for who we are – we’re not anyone’s enemies, we’re just people like everyone else.”

Gerish speaks on Ally Appreciation

As part of Ally Appreciation Day for People Respecting Individuality and Diversity in Education (P.R.I.D.E.) week, Deborah Gerish, associate professor of social sciences, spoke Wednesday night in the Kanza Room of Memorial Union about what it means for her to be an ally.

“I’ve been affiliated with P.R.I.D.E. for a couple of years now as a straight ally and it’s always been my goal to help P.R.I.D.E. recruit straight allies,” Gerish said. “I want to help them let people know that we’re not just whining about issues that only affect GLBT people, we’re talking about issues that affect every human being on some level, whether they know it or not.”

Gerish’s speech started with her personal story of how she became an ally to P.R.I.D.E. Simply passively supporting the GLBT community is not enough, Gerish said. She also shared her perspective on the development of GLBT issues in America over the last 30 years.

“I think that in the last three decades in America, we’ve seen things moving towards an acceptance of civil rights,” Gerish said. “It’s a slow process, and there are bumps along the way, but it’s occurring.”

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As each generation of movie-goers ages, producers and directors keen on maintaining their audience will produce movies aimed at various ages which reflect that generation’s tastes. For example, previous generations might prefer moralistic movies with lessons learned and characters changed, while more recent generations respond more favorably to escapist, magical fantasies and wondrous worlds beyond. But one element of movies has existed which appeals to old and young, college students and college professors alike – car chases.

From early 70’s hits like “The Italian Job” or “The French Connection” to more modern movies like “The Transporter” or the various James Bond movies, car chases are something that can potentially interest anyone who has ever driven or existed around cars. So it may come as little surprise that more and more directors are creating entire movies that are best summed up as extended car-chase sequences with a plot thrown on for show.

“Fast and Furious,” the so-called “re-imagined version” of 2001’s “The Fast and the Furious,” is exactly what the first movie should have been. This movie creates no failed attempt at a deeper hedonistic philosophy like the failed “Tokyo Drift,” no pathetic attempt at a defense of macho-culture like in the 2001 original; just fast cars, furious people driving those cars, and the obligatory fight scenes and explosions that should accompany your basic action movie.

The acting is pitch-perfect in this movie, which, for a basic action movie, means the lines are kept short and simple, the plot is spoken of just often enough to keep suspension of belief alive, and most attempts at movie romance or other development is quickly shot down by the actors’ lines in favor of driving around really fast and causing mayhem.

Vin Diesel returns front and center as illegal street racer Dominic Toretto, on the lam for six years in a hand-waved attempt to connect this movie to the plot of its predecessor. His girlfriend Letty, played in the previous movie by Michelle Rodriguez, has been murdered, and former racing partner and FBI agent Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker, in the movie’s best role) is tasked with tracking him down, along with a local drug cartel leader.

That sums up the entirety of the plot, and if that seems a bit insubstantial, it’s because “Fast and Furious” is the kind of movie that doesn’t really seem to care if viewers like the plot or not; they’d probably rather see some explosions and fast cars anyway. Even the periodic romance, primarily women throwing themselves at Toretto, is seemingly laughed at by the movie, with the singularly-focused Man-on-a-Mission Toretto ignoring every advance.

For a movie that has so effectively put all of its eggs into one 180-miles-per-hour basket, it could reasonably be expected that the car chases are where most of the budget has gone. In this, “Furious” exceeds expectations with a pre-title car chase that sets a pulse-pounding pace for the movie to come, and several fifteen-minute chase sequences that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats.

A few flaws do become evident shortly into the movie. For a film that promoted itself in previews as “a constant high-speed thrill ride,” the sequences filling the gaps between car chases are long, devoid of any real excitement, and almost enough to cause a loss of interest, especially one particularly egregious why-won’t-he-shut-up-and-drive sequence between Diesel and Walker. In addition, the constant slew of women losing control of themselves at Toretto’s mere mention does come across as a bit misogynistic.

Overall, “Furious” views as a movie that isn’t trying to be anything more than an action movie, and while this lack of ambition keeps it from being truly great, the focus and dedication it provides lands it easily among the best action movies of 2009.

Zachary Hughes/The Bulletin

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Kazumi Hamine, sophomore business administration major, shows local school children how to fold origami at the Japanese table Tuesday during Multicultural Days in the Memorial Union. Multicultural Days is hosted by ESU international students to show children different customs from around the world. Kathi Walker/The Bulletin

The Office of International Education hosted Multicultural Days earlier this week, with 1,011 elementary students from six area schools visiting ESU to experience over 15 cultures from around the world. The event was presented by ESU international students.

“For several years now with Multicultural Days, we’ve given this opportunity for the international students to present their culture and interact with the local community,” said Harry Imbeau, director of international education. “I think it’s important that these students get a chance to meet not only other ESU students who are interested in their culture, but also the entire Emporia community as well.”

Imbeau also described the different presentation styles utilized by each group. Some groups chose to represent their culture through its artefacts, like food and clothing, while other groups chose more abstract illustrations of music, religion, and art.

One group chose to throw a mixture of the tangible and intangible into their presentation.

“We prepared a handbok, which is a traditional Korean costume and prepared some pictures and information about Korean Buddhist temples and scenery, and a table to display various things about our culture,” said Dongmin Shin, senior psychology major and president of the Korean Association Club. “I can feel the excitement the kids show, and it’s a lot of fun to educate them about our culture.”

Various cultures from the Middle East were represented under a larger banner of Saudi Arabian culture.

“We are going to perform a brief play about Saudi Arabian culture, and show them what our classroom is like back home, and how we learn as schoolchildren,” said Qassim Al-Mukhtar, sophomore computer information systems major. “We will perform some traditional music and a dance, and show off traditional clothes for everyone.”

The events, which ran on both Tuesday and Wednesday, were not open to ESU students.

While the International Office hosts other multicultural events that are open to ESU students, this event was intended primarily for the benefit of elementary students, Imbeau said.

“We don’t open this to ESU students because this is something that the elementary schools asked us to do,” Imbeau said. “They have an entire multicultural week, and this field trip to here is part of that week, and they asked that the International Office organize the international students here at ESU to give this presentation.”

Students who participated in creating displays or putting on shows did so purely on a volunteer basis, or as part of their own international organizations, Imbeau said.

“All the involvement here is volunteer, which makes me really proud,” Imbeau said. “The students here are all volunteering their time to put on this display for the elementary schools and for the benefit of the community.”

The opportunity to teach was the greatest reward in participating, Al-Mukhtar said.

“The first thing that is important to me is to educate people, it is a good thing to learn about another culture, and to educate them about my culture is an honor,” Al-Mukhtar said. “We wanted to volunteer our time and effort to help educate people, and this is a great chance to do that.”

The younger audience created differences for how some people presented their culture. Some presenters loaded their sessions with music, dancing and other interactive forms of presentation in order to get the children involved, Al-Mukhtar said.

For others, the choice of audience for the presentations made less of a difference.

“We prepared things that I felt could educate anyone about our culture, regardless of age,” Shin said. “So this being for elementary kids didn’t really change much in how we presented it, except that there’s a lot of excitement in the air from the children, you can feel it.”

Bringing elementary students to ESU is a relatively new endeavor that came about as a result of many more local schools signing up for the event.

“We’ve done Multicultural Day for about five years now, but this is only our third year doing it here at ESU,” said Amy Chapman, student support specialist at Village Elementary School. “In the past we had students from ESU come to the schools and give talks, but then we decided to meet with the International Office and some other people, and we decided to start visiting ESU instead, and they would create displays and such for the kids to learn from.”

The popularity of the event has caused a spike in participation from newer schools, something partially due to the efforts of the Office of International Education, Chapman said.

Whether or not the large attendance at this event will open the doors for future involvement in local elementary schools remains to be seen.

“I’d love to see more events between ESU and the elementary schools and local community,” Chapman said. “It’s wonderful when the various ESU groups get out beyond the campus and affect the whole city.”

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After nearly ten years teaching business law and practice at Emporia State, Kevin Johnson, associate professor of business administration and education, said that his favorite part of teaching hasn’t changed.

“For me, it’s all about the students,” Johnson said. “When I get here in the morning and see my students and hear their questions, that’s what it’s all about.”

In addition to teaching a standard load of 12 course hours, Johnson serves on the Faculty Senate as a representative for the Department of Business and also serves on the General Education Council.

“I’m usually involved in one or two other committees each year,” Johnson said. “With all that I have to do, it takes all week to get it all done, and I usually have to take papers or assignments home to grade.”

For Johnson, “home” is Derby, located in the southeast district of Wichita, where he lives with his son.

“It’s a long drive here every morning, which is why I’m so glad to see my students once I get here,” Johnson said.

In between grading papers, instructing students and serving on committees, Johnson said he manages to find time for several personal hobbies.

“My son and I will go out in the summertime and travel to historic sites, and we like to go out collecting artifacts,” Johnson said. “We started out looking for fossils, cleaning them off and identifying them, then verifying what they are and cataloging them.

“We also collect other things, sometimes bought and sometimes just found, like wooden frames or some coal that we found and traced back to a particular point in time.”

Johnson also collects books, a hobby he related to his love for practicing business law.

“I have a nearly complete law library that someone who practiced law in America right up to about 1830 would have had and used,” Johnson said. “I’m really proud of that one, but I also collect all kinds of old books, and I’ll go to used bookstores or the like looking for any old or unique book I can lay my hands on.”

Johnson said that some of his favorite moments in teaching are when a student transfers lessons from the classroom into the real world.

“Every once in a while I’ll get a few students coming into one of my classes who will learn about business law, and then they’ll come into my office and want to talk about their idea for starting up a business,” Johnson said. “That’s always fun, to help them realize their business idea.”

William Smith, professor of management and chair of the department of business administration and education, said Johnson’s work ethic and ability to communicate with students are his best qualities.

“I work with him on setting schedules, counseling for research purposes, and teaching issues, and he’s always professional,” Smith said. “Right now, he’s working on a business law internship with a foreign exchange student this summer, studying international law, which was a common interest between them.”

Smith also said that the teaching style Johnson brings to the classroom is a unique and challenging one.

“Dr. Johnson has a very amiable style with students and he engages them extensively,” Smith said. “He uses an approach that takes real-world cases, and often has the students actually divide into plaintiffs and defendants, just as if they were in a court, and he really works hard at giving them that experience.”

Johnson said that his teaching style is similar to his courtroom style.

“In court, you’re in front of a jury pitching to them, and I teach classes the same way, pitching concepts to my students,” Johnson said. “And then when I test them it’s in hopes that they’ve remembered most of it.”

Smith said that Johnson’s expertise is often put to work outside the traditional classroom.

“One of his big areas of interest is employment law,” Smith said. “So from time to time we have seminars or workshops here in the Business Department for people across the state and local employees, regarding employment law.”

Many of Johnson’s students enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of his classroom.

“He’s definitely one of the better teachers here,” said Jennifer Spencer, junior business management major. “He teaches using lecture and involving the students, and he’s really easy to ask questions to or get more information.”

Spencer said that Johnson’s style leads to an approachability that puts students at ease.

“I’ve spoken with him outside of classes and he’s so nice and easy to talk to,” Spencer said. “In fact, he’s so easy to study under that I’m taking a summer class with him this year.”

At the end of the day, Johnson said the biggest underlying concept to what he teaches is more personal than academic.

“I think business law is all about relationships,” Johnson said. “The key concept to remember is that, if you can succeed in your personal relationships, be it with friends or family, with clients, with the government, or whomever, then you can succeed in your business practice.”

Zachary Hughes/The Bulletin

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