Surprisingly few students came to see Gov. Sam Brownback Friday in Cremer Hall – probably because only a handful were invited. It’s just as well because he didn’t say anything new.

But for every ill-conceived policy Brownback has recently been associated with, it seems like his approach to universities in Kansas deserves some praise and some suspicion as well.

Brownback toured a few colleges and universities over the last week promoting his stable funding proposal for higher education. He made a point to mention the proposed cuts in higher education from the legislature. The term “momentum killer” was used several times.

On face, it seems like Brownback is standing up against his party. Republicans tend to disagree with Brownback on state funding for public universities. Brownback wants stable funding, and leading Republicans want cuts.

But Brownback’s “Roadmap For Kansas,” the document detailing his platform for higher education, further distances Kansas from the humanities and liberal arts. It focuses primarily on economically productive disciplines, like engineering, science and technology.

In response to The Bulletin’s question regarding his office’s stance toward humanities and liberal arts, Brownback said, “It supports all of it.”

Why, then, aren’t those disciplines mentioned in the “Roadmap For Kansas?” It seems clear that Brownback’s history of indifference toward the arts is being put on display.

His proposed funding calls for augmented allocations toward needed programs. Don’t be surprised if glass blowing, communication, history or English are not considered worthy for those allocations.

Brownback wants to create a self-sufficient and economically viable higher education atmosphere in Kansas, and he apparently does not feel arts fall into that purview.

But there is more to education than what we can financially squeeze out of it. When we consider English and communication expendable, we sacrifice the building blocks of our social and political lives.

The Bulletin hopes that Brownback is successful in stemming the tide against higher education in general. We ask students who find value in programs ignored by Brownback’s “Roadmap For Kansas” to speak up and make a case for their inclusion in his crusade.

Kansans will find a way to be economically competitive. It’s in our nature. The threat, then, is not on our pocket books, but in our freedom to explore the full breadth of higher education.

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

Emporia is open for business. Let’s just hope that the business we welcome is one we really want and need.

The Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau will host a Chick-fil-A leadercast May 10. But to add another fast food chain to our community is a step in the wrong direction.

It makes sense that the city is pursuing such a marketable business. Chick-fil-A produces some of the most sought-after food in the United States. But there’s nothing special about it. It might taste good, but so what? The reasons against establishing a Chic-fil-A in Emporia are numerous.

Emporia is a city of duplication. Two McDonald’s, three Subways, two Braums, two Taco Bells, and, though this would be the only Chick-fil-A in town, it is essentially more of the same.

Emporia doesn’t need another fast food restaurant. There are already plenty of places to get our calorie fix.

There’s something to be said for uniqueness. The proverbial radio jingle, “Shop Emporia first,” underpins a glaring need for Emporia businesses with staying power. The economic necessity for businesses that provide cheap, high-quality services is complicated by the risk in starting a small business. Chick-fil-A is attractive because it has a corporate structure and a name that everyone recognizes and associates with delicious food.

But every chain that opens in Emporia makes it more difficult for locally owned and operated businesses to stay competitive. How much longer could J’s Carryout exist if we were to saturate the market with a Five Guys and Smashburger?

We could resort to fallbacks like, “That’s the nature of the market,” but that’s defeatist and short-sighted. We are not separate from – or at the mercy of – the Emporia market. We are the market.

We must also question the natures of the businesses we consider. No, we are not referring to the Chick-fil-A same-sex marriage controversy. The company revised its policy in that regard, and we applaud their willingness to do so.

But the fact of the matter is that fast food is one of many culprits in the deteriorating health of our nation. Chick-fil-A is cheap and calorie-laden, only adding to the growing waistline of America.

The Bulletin respects that each individual controls what they eat. To each their own. But enough is enough. Each of us should take the time to express our reservations about Chick-fil-A –or any other fast food chain – sinking their greasy claws into Emporian’s pockets.

The problem is not that Chick-fil-A is a villain but that our city has chosen to champion yet another fast food establishment in lieu of other, healthier options. If we are intent on integrating business and government, intent on managing the Emporia market, then why not invest in something local?

When the bottom line is revenue, anything goes. But we have a voice in this matter. Why did the chicken cross the road? Apparently, we asked it to.

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

No material theft is without intangible consequences. Whether it’s glass blowing equipment, desktop computers or cameras, the recent wave of missing items from across campus brings hardship for those who rely on those items to pursue what they love.

Obviously, the thief/thieves don’t care. We care. They’ve taken more than just objects. They’ve robbed students of the tools of their passions.

The thefts of various high-dollar items across campus come as many are winding down the semester, with annual stress at its peak. Students and faculty now have to deal with safety and security issues on top of their already frantic daily lives. Plumb Hall has instituted mandatory door lock policies as evidenced by the pool of students who stand outside their classroom, waiting to be let in by an instructor. It’s a small change, but everyone has noticed.

When someone mentions campus security and safety, we often revert to images of physical violence. But, sometimes, it’s not our physical well-being that is at risk. These thefts threaten our institutional livelihood and create a paranoia that seeps into our everyday interactions. It’s perched in the backs of our minds every time we leave for a bathroom break or when we’re finished for the day. We hope that our locks are stronger than the thieves are smart.

To the thief/thieves – you can’t take everything. You may have hocked a few items for some cash, and you may be proud about that. You may feel like you got away with something daring. But your bravado and arrogance can never sustain itself. And while you’re out there creating heartache for those you take from, our passions will endure.

Our students are not victims, but your crime is not victimless. Maybe you’ll take comfort in that, but, like your string of luck, your relief won’t last. You are no Robin Hood. There is no nobility in your cause.

Return the items now. You didn’t rob a faceless, morally ambivalent investment bank or store chain. You robbed a school, a place of learning. Your first step in reconciliation is to give back what you’ve taken. Absent that, it is only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down for you, with only regret to accompany your time.

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

Former Sen. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) learned the hard way how temperamental privacy settings are. In May 2011, his very private, sexually explicit messages were publically broadcasted over his Twitter account, which lead to his resignation.

With the advent of Banjo, an Smartphone app that broadcasts public Tweets and Facebook activity based on location, Weiner’s fumble may have become our own.

Students want to feel comfortable online. The pervasive and unfounded belief that the Internet is a place of security goes unquestioned, especially when students post potentially illicit content. But the hard truth is that it’s not. Employers know it, identity thieves know it and now Banjo lets your professors and classmates in on the snooping, too.

With Banjo, anything you post publically can be read by anyone within a given geographical designation. One could stroll through Memorial Union on any given Monday and collect hundreds Tweets regarding last Saturday’s kegger on Merchant Street. The photos you just posted of you drinking from a beer funnel can now be seen by anyone near you, not just your designated friends and followers. Even before Banjo, posting, tagging and tweeting was a risky game to play. It’s not difficult to find who you’re looking for.

There are ways around Banjo’s prying eye, of course. Privacy settings can be adjusted to limit Tweets and updates to a particular viewing audience.

So, Hornets, consider this fair warning. The Bulletin will be exploring Banjo’s newsworthy attributes. All following issues this semester will feature a special section devoted to content derived from Twitter and Facebook activity around ESU. We won’t be hacking, mind you. Everything we will publish is already public.

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for each of us to rethink our online personas. A person’s publicized words and thoughts matter. They affect people in dramatic and real ways.

As always, we will be mindful of the individual in our utilization of Banjo. We hope that our publication of Tweets and updates from around campus will remind students to do likewise. Frankly, no one wants to end up a Weiner.

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

A small group of neon-clad political science students made as much noise as university regulations would allow Tuesday morning in Union Square. Time will tell if it was enough to save the political science department from closure.

But as the students wait with bated breath, we should all join the fight to preserve liberal arts education at Emporia State.

Protest isn’t common on campus, so when the students most educated in the ways of political dissidence decided to make a statement, they were met with looks of bewilderment. They held signs and chanted as students walked by. A few curious students joined the ranks or inquired about the cause, but it appeared as if indifference won the day. We cannot allow apathy to dictate our academic future.

What is at stake is an education that prioritizes political participation in our community. At a time when partisanship has hamstringed genuine discussion, the fostering of a democratically-minded and educated population warrants our full support in every way possible.

The lack of faculty participation in Tuesday’s demonstration was discouraging and is indicative of the culture of submission that exists at ESU. The struggle to preserve political science requires a unity across disciplines, ages, genders, races and ethnicities.

The restrictions on our collective voice, the rules that determine appropriate forms of protest, should be met with scrutiny. If the university seeks a greater educational experience, then it is up to students to call out intrusive policies that are contrary to that experience.

Union Square cannot be the extent of our activism. Our reaction to the political science department’s potential closing will be a testament to the resolution of our students.

The students brave enough to protest Tuesday were not the only ones with something to lose. If we permit the disintegration of political science, then all humanities are at risk. The recent trend against the arts and soft sciences has been met with fierce resistance within the United States.

The battle is no longer somewhere else. It is at our doorstep. There is no greater time to voice your opposition than right now.

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

An undocumented Emporia man aided law enforcement, and now he faces deportation. His family waits in Emporia for word that their husband and father will be sent back to his native El Salvador. After 10 years, four children (a fifth on the way), a completed GED and words of praise from many that know him, Julio Berti still found it difficult to gain citizenship in the United States.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Berti into custody about eight months ago, and he is currently detained at the Caldwell County Detention Center in Kingston, Mo., where he awaits deportation.

The reason behind his incarceration is still unclear. But the community outreach toward the Berti family, the testimonials to that end and Berti’s marriage to Lorena Zamora-Berti, a legal U.S. resident, begs the question of accessibility. How can we promote our country as open and welcoming – “the land of the free” – when it is so clearly entangled in bureaucratic roadblocks?

Some believe Berti had it coming, that he was in the country without proper authority and that deportation is a logical reaction to his presence. But his citizenship is not the issue here.

What matters more is that he cooperated with the government, evident by his interactions with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and was still at a loss for legalization.

Perhaps the rhetoric around illegal immigration doesn’t reflect the reality. Attaining a green card or work visa might not be as cut-and-dry as previously thought.

It’s imperative that Berti’s story take center stage in discussions of immigration in America because it speaks to not only the individual character of the deportees, but the law enforcement we entrust to regulate our borders. People are not disposable.

State and Federal agencies need to work toward the same end, which should be the legalization of workers in the U.S. Emporians are rallying behind the Berti family, but it might already be too late. They recognize an injustice when they see it, but instances like this make us wonder how much goes unseen. How many families are separated under similar circumstances? It might be more than we think.

Take Action: Urge Senator Durbin to Help Stop Julio’s Deportation

Washington D.C. office: 202-224-2152

Chicago office: 312-353-4952

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

Water. We use it every day. We cook and clean with it. It is essential to all life on this planet. And, according to water connoisseurs, Emporia’s water is some of the best in the world.

At the 23rd annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting in West Virginia, the city of Emporia’s water won the Best Tap Water prize. So why, given the massive importance of clean water, are Emporians so uninterested?

Water doesn’t spark the imagination like football does. Americans are fortunate enough to have had better than average sanitation systems for generations. We take that for granted more than we should. A title like “Best Tap Water” doesn’t attract visitors and students. No one stays for the water.

But we shouldn’t dismiss this achievement so quickly. We see infomercials on developing nations’ clean water scarcity and its implication to health and wellness. Water is crucial to the control of spreading diseases. Its sanitary function prevents instances of dysentery, among other things, which can be fatal. But that’s not something we see every day in Emporia, precisely because our city cares enough to provide us with superior, clean water.

Still, having clean water does not necessarily mean we have enough water. The snow may have eased the drought, but we are still facing prolonged periods of waterlessness. Emporia takes precautions against shortages with restricted lawn watering measures, but we must still be vigilant in preserving what we have.

It is appropriate, then, to boast about water. That we manage our reserve and utilize a state-of-the-art filtration system should be the envy of other communities. Anyone who grew up in a town with less-than-desirable water should have no problem touting this achievement back home.

Between classes, as you pass a water fountain, know that what springs from that spout is a substance so integral to your survival that you wouldn’t last very long without it. Know that this particular fountain provides some of the best water in the nation.

You’ll find yourself more appreciative of your time here and more willing to carry that appreciation wherever you go after graduation, and your drink will be a little sweeter by comparison.

It’s easy to loathe Westboro Baptist Church. But because of their spiteful rhetoric, the otherwise politically and socially divided segments of America are united. Thanks, WBC.

When the Phelps clan picketed at several churches throughout Emporia Sunday morning, it almost seemed like no one cared. A few officers from the Emporia Police Department protected WBC’s coned-off area from harassment that never came.

Sure, a few rubbernecking motorists had some choice words in the comfort of their vehicles, but, mostly, the morning went on as usual. The various Emporia church members greeted one another with smiles and open arms as their morning services proceeded unfazed by the silent plot of sign-wielding picketers across the street. They affected nothing. Is that the game plan for WBC?

Honestly, we don’t care, but clearly WBC is losing. Their fire and brimstone, their fundamentalist interpretation of select Bible scripture and their little refuge in Topeka are but a nuisance – offensive and nothing more. We can deal with offensive. Offensive is just a feeling.

But what they cannot control is the position in which their radicalism leaves the rest of us. The nature of extremism is divisiveness. In a country and time so comparatively temperate – “lukewarm,” according to WBC signs – we are united by default. Even our most contentious battles, like abortion or gun ownership, vanish in the presence of groups like WBC. We are allies, if only for a short time.

While in Emporia, WBC moved in caravans. They stood in the cold and looked as if they had just clocked-in to a part time job. It was business as usual. We don’t have to acknowledge every picket as meaningful, but we should definitely begin our discussions of other political schisms with the understanding that we are not so dissimilar.

If most debates would begin with, “At least neither of us is like Westboro,” then perhaps it would be easier to get something done for once. There is a larger picture to be seen here, and WBC neatly frames it for us.

Cartoon by Ellen Weiss

Picture this scenario – an alleged gunman is only one block from campus, and there’s virtually no immediate media coverage. The only information available is coming from random Facebook statuses of concerned students. It seems like the kind of situation that warrants the use of a text message alert system. Apparently not.

As we all know by now, shots were allegedly fired last Wednesday night, Feb. 6, in the 1100 block of Mechanic Street near campus. No one was injured. The suspect was arrested. All’s well that ends well. The greater concern, in hindsight, is that Emporia State students were left in the dark for so long.

Our phones were eerily silent during the ordeal. Rave, an opt-in emergency alert system provided by the university, was not activated at all. Why?

Bulletin staffers sat in our office speculating, like many students, about what had happened. Was the shooter still at large? Was this the beginning of a mass shooting? Despite our very best efforts, the answers simply weren’t coming. Perhaps that’s why no one was notified through Rave. Everyone was guessing and no one wanted to panic.

Shootings are always confusing and never predictable. We now know that Rave was not activated because the alleged gunfire apparently wasn’t a big enough concern to warrant it. Even so, there should be procedures in place to quell the panic and hysteria associated with events like these, even if Rave isn’t “necessary.” Something as simple as a Buzz-In announcement could have helped worried – even panicked – students sleep a little easier last Wednesday night. It was inconsequential this time, but The Bulletin won’t rest so easy.

It is imperative that Information Technology and campus police review their reaction to this incident. Will they be ready when and if something like this happens again?

Being tight lipped about these types of incidents, regardless how seemingly inconsequential, is not only irresponsible to the students at potential risk, it also makes wild speculation the norm. Even a statement as benign as “no information is known to authorities at this time” would shut down rampant conjecture at its source.

We cannot afford to be caught off guard in emergency situations. We must use the tools we are given to ensure the safety of everyone at ESU.

It is disappointing and disconcerting that our leadership is not addressing this scenario for what it represents, a dangerous situation amplified by the fog of miscommunication. It’s time to speak on it – better late than never.