As my last general education course winds down, I’m definitely starting to feel like a grumpy, old curmudgeon. All of these youngsters either don’t seem to give a crap, or have no idea how to listen, study or read/write English.

I watch while they text during lecture. I fume while they zip up their backpacks with 10 minutes of class to spare. I listen while they complain about assignments that are so simple I can’t believe they aren’t thanking the teacher.

But wait – the teacher! How do these educated adults put up with such abuse? How do they have the willpower to wake up every other day and try to fill our resistant heads with knowledge? How do they suffer the slings and arrows of the same excuses, the same attitudes, the same bullshit year after year?

There is only one answer – gen ed teachers have to be the most patient people on the face of Earth.

I’m not saying that every student hates gen eds, or even that every gen ed teacher is a saintly, inspiring education machine. No student, however, can deny the overwhelming “Well, I have to do this so let’s get it over with” feeling that hangs in the classroom.

Some may think that when they go in with such an attitude, it’s ok because it won’t affect anyone else. This is all too false. When you drag your feet at every step, you’re not only bringing yourself down, but also those poor teachers who have to put up with you multiplied by at least 20 others.

I challenge you, my fellow students, to ask questions, visit them during office hours, pay attention in class and really try to engage yourself. Give them a look of interest. Give them the chance to be the best teacher they can be. Or, at the very least, try not to do things that make their job a chore, rather than an honor.

Ellen Weiss

Your cell phone has recently reduced you to a small blip on a screen or a small tack on a canvas board.

According to a report by the ACLU of over 200 police departments across the nation, a majority are paying cell phone carriers for data to assist them in tracking our movement. The major problem is that almost all of the departments are doing so without a warrant of any kind.

If we combine this with the recent ruling in the Supreme Court that these same departments are allowed to strip search any detainee for even the smallest of charges, then we are left with one result – our privacy is effectively destroyed.

While the information gained by tracking a cell phone is helpful in the most extreme of cases such as locating missing persons, this tactic has been misused to a large extent. Almost every police department investigated simply has to state on a court order that they would use the data to investigate a crime, regardless of the level of emergency. The only obstacle from observing you every day is a bureaucratic fib.

Moreover, if this is pushed to the Supreme Court, it too will pass and not even a court order would be necessary. The proponents’ claim that protecting law enforcement exceeds the need for privacy may seem like a far cry away from following our mobile phones, but with a conservative-led Supreme Court anything seems possible. They’ve already overstepped their boundaries and destroyed one aspect of our constitutional rights, so the thought of taking one, or even several, more steps in that direction seems rational.

With the accessibility of cell phones permeating every level of America, from business executives functioning on Wall Street to students here at Emporia State, the risk of running into this problem explodes to new levels. Do not be loose with your privacy.

Finding missing people and tracking criminals is an important issue, but at what cost should society bear for this strategy? Big brother is indeed watching.

Andrew Potter

The Associated Student Government may have violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act during the allocations and line item hearing last week for student organizations, thanks to some poor advice they got from their faculty adviser, Lynn Hobson, associate vice president of Student Life.
Transparency laws like KOMA are in place for a reason. They are a cornerstone of open government, and without them we can’t really know what our government is doing or how our tuition and tax dollars are spent. The Bulletin asked President Ashley Vogts via email on Monday if ASG is subject to KOMA but did not receive a response by press time on Wednesday.
In 1977, a Kansas Attorney General opinion ruled that university student senates were not subject to Kansas law because they played an advisory role within the university and had no real power, according to Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate for the Student Press Law Center.
But Goldstein said that since student senates now have the power to distribute public funds, they should be subject to state law, which means that ASG, a public body with the power to allocate student fees as they see fit, should be subject to transparency laws, including KOMA and the Open Records Act.
But ASG may have committed an illegal act by violating KOMA.
It all stemmed from unclear voting procedure on a bill for a line item increase for The Bulletin. A vote for those in favor and one for those opposed was taken, but there was no vote for abstentions, and the bill was declared failed. Several moments later, it was found that the vote had not been finished, so a revote was taken.
But once the meeting had officially ended and the room had cleared, Hobson called for an executive session with the members of ASG. Vogts told a Bulletin reporter that this was “procedure,” and when asked to cite which exemption under KOMA would allow for the secret meeting, Hobson said it was “consultation with the adviser.”
This, however, is not a legitimate exemption under KOMA, and ASG’s failure to cite a proper exemption is seemingly illegal.
In addition to citing an exemption, ASG also had to state the subjects to be discussed during the closed meeting and designate the time and place at which the open meeting would resume. ASG did none of these.
Such ignorance to the proper procedure is understandable to a certain extent, especially given the current state of politics and how even the entire Republican side of the state legislature is being investigated for a KOMA violation at Cedar Crest, but ignorance is no excuse. As an administrator, Hobson should have known better than to give such poor advice to ASG.
To make matters worse, at one point Hobson stood up and congratulated ASG for doing such a wonderful job in debating the allocation of student fees. She said how proud she was because “this is what it’s all about.” If throwing state law out of the window is “what it’s all about,” then what kind of institution are we?
Regardless of the bad procedure and advice they got, as representatives of the student body with the power to disburse public funds, in this case student fees, ASG must be held accountable for their actions. If we can’t expect our student reps to uphold the law, what can we expect from them?

Austin, Texas is known for showcasing forward-thinking ideas, but sometimes even the best of towns and the best of ideas create major problems, even if they are trying to do the “best” for the population.
While most of the projects presented at the interactive portion of the South by Southwest Conference/Festival received positive reviews, the people at the Bartle Bogle Hegarty Advertising Agency went too far. Their crime – giving out 13 4G devices to homeless people wandering the streets, effectively creating roaming wi-fi hotspots.
They claim that they were trying to bring attention to a homeless epidemic, and that most towns are indeed having one as the current economic situation has not reversed itself. While it is true they gave some of the fees from wi-fi usage to the homeless people that participated, is that what they really wanted? Were they honestly trying to create awareness, or were they simply trying to gain publicity?
An old adage goes, “there is no such thing as bad publicity,” and for the people at BBH it seems they are learning this first-hand. Some claim this to be a perfect way of bringing attention to the homeless problem, but to me it is horrendous. Exploitation with the added bonus of giving money to those being exploited is still exploitation. No matter how much money one throws at a problem, it is still devaluing the people you want to “help.”
But do these “human hot-spots” honestly understand what they are doing for the rest of the population? They won’t understand when a person suddenly loses access to the 4G network when the “manager” has wandered off. Anger hits most of us quickly, and many people hate it when their access to fast Internet is taken away.
We need to understand that creating advertisements by utilizing a people is inherently wrong. Students at Emporia State need to call out exploitative practices like this. We are pandering to this nonsense by utilizing it. If BBH were to come to Emporia and use the homeless here in such a grotesque manner, the outcry should be deafening.

Andrew Potter

Upon witnessing KU’s devastating loss to Kentucky Monday night, I was reminded of the first time I saw someone wearing a KU t-shirt.
I was sort of surprised. It was my freshman year, and my school spirit was just high enough that it also made me sort of sad. If someone is attending ESU, why would they feel the need to advertise another university? I judged them silently, and went on my way.
Since then, I have seen many more treasonous t-shirts, as well as all kinds of other KU and K-State paraphernalia. Even my next door neighbors have a big Jayhawk right on their front door.
To me, these were indicators that the people wearing them were not at all satisfied with Emporia, and they wished they were somewhere else. It has always sort of bummed me out – until earlier this week.
No matter where they live or what university they attend, almost everyone I know has been incredibly excited for KU’s recent men’s basketball victories. It is, after all, a pretty big deal for them to get to the national championship.
And you know what? I was excited too. Why not cheer on a local victory? While this may sound like a “duh” statement to many of you, I realized that just because I love going to ESU doesn’t mean it’s rude to support a neighboring school. And it’s not as if we compete against KU anyway. We are a Division II school. They are Division I.
I thought I might share this realization just in case someone reads this that doesn’t care about sports or school spirit. If Kansas is going to insist upon being hateful, bigoted, inefficient, misogynist, anti-art, anti-sciences and overall embarrassing, it’s ok to take pride in something in which we are succeeding.
And who knows, maybe one day KU students will be wearing t-shirts with power Es on them. Maybe K-State students will have Corky banners on their front door. We, however, will never get there if we forget to support and encourage our own teams.

Ellen Weiss

Donating to charitable organizations requires little more than a checking account and a conscience. But recent controversy has begged the question – do you know where your money is going?

The “Kony 2012” video published by Invisible Children Inc. has sparked a flurry of Internet activism over the last week. On social networks like Facebook to Twitter, people across the world were outraged by the 30 minute film depicting the use of children as soldiers in Uganda. Donations to fight against the barbaric practice were solicited from every conceivable angle.

In the wake of this video, many questioned where their donations were going. The jury is still out on that one. In fact, the validity of “Kony 2012” is still up for debate. The Bulletin does not have the investigative resources necessary to crack the case, but regardless, it is incumbent that everyone know to whom their donations are going.

We would like to live in a world where the motives of charities are unquestionable, but that’s simply not the case. Men have posed as war veterans, telemarketers disguised as African aid organizations and everything in between have been exploiting American guilt for decades.

Who is to blame? We stay up late and watch infomercials about starving children and feel compelled to do something about it. We seek to quell suffering wherever it exists. We feel culpable when we are happy and others are miserable. We are the perfect mark for the ambitious con.

Do not be misled – there are worthwhile charities out there. But it is ultimately our own responsibility to know exactly what our money is supporting. This principle is as old as taxes and representative government. We need not sacrifice our moral standing by tempering our donations with vicious scrutiny. It is not selfish to withhold donation due to skepticism, just as it is not selfless to donate to a scam.

If Invisible Children Inc. passes your professional integrity test and you feel compelled to donate, then do so. But the first step is investigation. Your money is not disposable. It is as valuable to you as it would be to anyone else.

Bounding into theaters on a wave of hype, Andrew Stanton’s “John Carter” is a rousing adventure tale the likes of which can only come from old-school, sci-fi pulps.

John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is a post-Civil War era confederate cavalryman from Virginia who’s grown tired of war. But when he manages to accidentally transport to Mars – or “barsoom,” as the natives call it – he becomes caught up in an entirely new war.

Almost immediately after arriving on Mars, Carter is taken in by the nomadic green aliens known as the Tharks, led by Tars Tarkus (Willem Dafoe). While hiding out with the Tharks, he finds out about the two warring human cities on Mars, Helium and Zodanga.

He becomes caught up in their war after he saves princess Dejah Thoris of Helium (Lynn Collins). The war weary soldier must face down Tharks, Zodangan warriors, giant white apes and ancient aliens known as the Thern in order to save Mars and return home.

For anyone who thinks that this sounds eerily similar to “Avatar” or other such movies, there’s a reason for that. The original stories that “John Carter” is based on were written almost 100 years ago by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and they’ve helped inspire science fiction ever since.

In true blockbuster fashion, “John Carter” doesn’t offer up a great deal when it comes to truly good dramatic acting, but with all the explosions and fights and special effects, do you really need Oscar-winning performances? That’s not to say that none of the actors do a good job, in fact, most of them do quite well.

Kitsch plays the hero role well, managing to bring some depth to Carter. Mark Strong is perfect as the villainous shape-shifting Thern Matai Shang. Collins brings the fiery princess to life in every scene, whether she’s fighting alongside Carter or getting excited about ancient technology.

The special effects also deserve a little attention. This isn’t the Mars we know it to be – it’s Barsoom, a living planet with vibrant scenery and very real inhabitants. Most of the inhabitants of Barsoom look human enough, but the Tharks help remind us that we aren’t on Earth anymore. Standing 10 feet tall with four arms, green skin and tusks, the Tharks are an imposing presence on the screen. The combat scenes are thrilling and brutal, especially in scenes where Carter gets to show off the extreme strength and jumping ability that Barsoom’s low gravity grants him.

Despite its poor box office showing, “John Carter” is worth a view. If you’re looking for a great adventure flick to watch over spring break, look no further.

 

4 out of 5

Luke Bohannon

For the past two years, I have relied on the Hornet Scholarship to help fund my education. But apparently, that gravy train has run dry. Students are ineligible, according to the financial aid office, for the scholarship past their second year at Emporia State.

The ESU Foundation announced last semester that they allocated more than $7 million in funds toward scholarships for freshmen and transfer students. Depending on one’s GPA and ACT score, freshmen can receive up to $3,600 – which is also renewable for four years – and transfers can get $3,000.

And while all of this is in an effort to boost our consistently dropping enrollment rate, I have to wonder – just what exactly is ESU doing to keep me enrolled? What about the juniors and seniors who have remained loyal to ESU? Where’s our stimulus package?

There are a number of campus-wide scholarships available for students at all levels, but it seems the further we progress in our studies, the less money is available to help us reach our goals.

This is not to say I am ungrateful for the assistance I do receive, it just seems like somewhat of a slap in the face for those of us who have “paid our dues” to this institution, have worked to maintain our GPAs and have made ESU our home.

Many students, myself included, find themselves turning to their respective departments for assistance, but departmental funds tend to fluctuate from year to year. What funds are available are, as they should be, distributed evenly among eligible and deserving students, but often, this is not enough to cover the full cost of tuition, fees and books.

While ESU has been long overdue for a recruitment overhaul, isn’t there any room to create a new scholarship program for those of us who are already here? In speaking with the administration and marketing department, I’ve been told, on several occasions, that the students are the university’s best recruitment tool, and I think that’s true.

But what sort of message does it send to a prospective student if by the time they reach their junior year a substantial portion of their financial aid is going to magically disappear?

ESU is on the right track with this new scholarship program, but our existing students do not deserve to be left out – show us the money too.

Kenzie Templeton

As a person who grew up in Manhattan, I feel like I have the right to say that I hate Fake Patty’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Day may have started out as a cheerful, religious, ethnic holiday, but our neighbors up North have produced a spin-off that has turned into a dangerous and upsetting 24 hours of debauchery.

A few days ago, when this travesty of a festival rolled around again, my Facebook news feed was riddled with Manhattanites commenting on the stupid and/or scary antics of drunken college students. As a side note, most of the comments were posted pretty early in the morning – not very classy, guys.

Honestly, living in Manhattan made me hate college students. Especially as a kid, the loud angry people scared the crap out of me. Even today, I get nervous around my partying peers.

Inebriated people are fickle, unpredictable and nothing is quite as uncomfortable as watching someone stumble, slur and make a fool of him or herself.  Put a crowd of these people in close quarters on one day, crime skyrockets, people wake up in random places and many serious injuries occur. Why would anyone want to set aside a day for that?

And yet, somehow, people still get really excited about getting wasted. I don’t know if most people may find this cute, or fun, or a fact of college life, but I have to humbly disagree. Getting wildly drunk is not funny, nor cute, and, for people who need to enter the professional world with a clean slate, a risk that is just not worth it.

I’m happy that we Emporians have not taken it to such an extreme, but I still feel the need to make a request of all of you. Be safe. Don’t go overboard on St. Patrick’s Day, and take care of yourself over spring break. Let’s give people our age a good name.

Ellen Weiss

There is a popular proposition in the state legislature that would change the district voting lines based around not only the residents who live in the districts, but also the residents of the prisons nearby.

As of now, they call this practice “prison-based gerrymandering,” and it is a horrific idea.  Currently, prisoners are not counted by their home address, but the prison itself. By basing electoral districts on this information, they essentially strengthen the votes of the people living near the prisons, while at the same time weakening it for everyone else.

The reason this creates furor is because the silent are essentially given a voice by diluting everyone else’s. By having the prisoners included in the population the district will be giving much more power to the people living there while the prisoners merely sit locked up.

Granted, the tactic of redistricting in order to increase the voting prowess of any particular party, be it Republican or Democrat, is nothing new; the action has been practiced for decades. But this crosses the line, no pun intended, especially with important elections on their way to our doorstep.

What will happen to other states that are known to have extremely large prison populations, such as Oklahoma and Mississippi? Getting their cues from the legislature in Kansas, the other states will quickly adopt form.

What is the next step? Redrawing electoral districts based on the dog and cat population of certain areas? Or will we convert to a system of gerrymandering based on the number of coffee-shops or twenty-four hour diners inside of a specific area?

This would inevitably lead our congressmen and congresswomen to the brink of insanity with power, changing almost every other law and act in order to better accommodate whatever party is currently in power. And what would stop them?  If we don’t stop them, they would be able to alter anything they want. We will have given up all power at that point.

We need to follow in the footsteps of Virginia and propose acts to help outlaw the concept of prison-based gerrymandering. We need to stop this before the changes fully occur, especially while we are young. If not, who knows what the next change will be.

Andrew Potter

Skyrocketing gas prices are terrifying. I visit my family and boyfriend in Manhattan almost every two weeks, which already costs a fortune. Now that prices are going up, I have to seriously reconsider how frequently I get to see my loved ones.

This, however, is not a sob story – it’s a realization I had about Emporia State’s future.

One of the great things about Emporia is our convenient location right in the middle of all the goods northeast Kansas has to offer.

We get the benefit of cheap tuition and quality education without having to sacrifice Lawrence’s Mass Street, Vietnamese restaurants in Wichita and the arts in Kansas City. Not only that, but we are independent of our families without completely isolating ourselves from them. Nonetheless, ESU still gets the label of a “commuter school.”

But what will happen to our commuter school when commuting is too expensive? Who among us will refuse to sacrifice seeing our friends and family on a regular basis? Who will give up the weekend escapades in larger communities? Who will decide that paying a little extra tuition in their hometown is worth saving gas?

Only time will tell.

Though this is a scary prospect for our modest school, I believe that this is an excellent opportunity for us to transform the community.

Students are the lifeblood flow of the town – imagine how it could thrive if it didn’t hemorrhage every seven days. It could be a chance for existing businesses to get a pleasant boost in sales. Outside businesses may see our new, populous town and decide to take a chance on it.

Think about it – we could get a restaurant fancier than Applebee’s!

If we decide to save a few bucks and stay, our town could become a cool place. It’s a win-win scenario. Try it out – I know I will.

Ellen Weiss