Stanek

“The Last Exorcism” (PG-13) –

In the name of the father, the son and the HOLY SMOKES!

“The Last Exorcism,” directed by Daniel Stamm, is a horror film that questions the state of faith and has been crafted to look and feel like a documentary film, following the roots of past documentary horror films, such as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity.” Like these two, the movie is capable of delivering unapologetic thrills that may or may not be as bone chilling as expected, but is a pretty enjoyable movie for the most part.

The setting takes place in Ivanwood, La., which is a rundown old place that looks forgotten. Strolling into town is Rev. Cotton Marcus (played by Patrick Fabian) with a documentary crew tagging along. Cotton is hired by two members of a highly religious family, Nell Sweetzer(played by Ashley Bell) and Louis Sweetzer(played by Louis Herthum), to perform an exorcism on Nell because they believe there is a demon inside of her.

Rev. Cotton states early in the film that he doesn’t truly believe in ghosts, leading to the fact that he is a hoax just trying to make money to support his family. But after entering the home of the Sweetzer family, Cotton doesn’t realize what kind of trouble he is going to face.

As said, the movie is shot in a documentary style, which makes the movie a little more convincing with its characters and believability. What also made the movie enjoyable is that the characters’ dialogue seemed unscripted, which I really enjoyed because it was like watching real people and not just actors reciting lines – not to mention Ashley Bell’s performance as the sweet and possessed Nell, which creeped me out a lot.

One of the few cons I found in the film is that there is music in the background. I don’t mean to be a stickler, but the movie’s thrills would’ve been much more thrilling if there was silence in the background, enhancing the tension of the scene.

The main flaw with the film is around the last 10 or 15 minutes of the movie. The story structure towards the end of it all is creative but falls apart completely by throwing in a ridiculous twist.

What I really liked about this movie is that it tries to actually scare the audience by not being an ultra-violent gore fest with nude teenagers running around acting dumb as rocks and getting their heads chopped off.

Despite the unnecessary ending of the movie, “The Last Exorcism” is one of the few better horror movies I’ve seen since “Drag Me to Hell.” I wouldn’t call this a great movie, but it provides enough fun and scares to bake a loaf of banana bread at home and make it a WORTHY RENTAL.

Steven Stanek

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Many people who live in Kansas are familiar with the alcohol-axing exploits of Carrie Nation, the woman who mercilessly attacked the booze of pre-prohibition bars with a hatchet. But this weekend, a new Carrie Nation will be visiting a Kansas bar.

Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy will be playing at 10:30 p.m. on this Friday at Beer:30.

“We always try to make the show as entertaining as possible,” said Jarrod Starling, lead singer and guitarist. “It isn’t music that is best played quietly, sit-down music. We try to bring something to the stage every time we play that is going to make you remember the music through your visual and aural memories of the night.”

The Wichita-based band has been around for about three years, but the latest incarnation has only been around for a year. The members are Zach Starling, washboard and snare; Tyler Grubb, mandolin and trombone; Matt Dreher, banjo; Brody Wellman, stand-up bass and Jarrod Starling.

“We all love what we’re doing and we’re obviously not getting rich off of it,” Starling said. “It’s just something that we love doing, we love bringing it to different people. It’s great to be able to bring a little bit of Wichita to the rest of Kansas and a little bit of Kansas to the rest of the country.”

Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy has been across the nation and, in October alone, they have tour dates set from Santa Cruz, Calif. to Osage, Ark., and several places inbetween. Although their instruments may make them seem like they are a bluegrass band, Starling referred to their music as “punk rock-circus-Americana.”

“We try to stay away from being too pigeonholed,” said Dreher, who is also an adjunct instructor of social anthropology at Wichita State. “Whether it’s the kind of music that we play or the themes or content of the music or individually, how we express ourselves, we try not to be boxed in to anything specific. We try to stay relevant to anyone, a little bit of something for people to latch on to.”

This is not their first time playing in Emporia, or even at Beer:30. They were introduced to the venue by bands they were opening for like The Deedles and Granny Tweed, but this is their first time headlining a show there.

“They put on a really good show,” said Josh Olsen, owner of Beer:30. “They get the crowd moving, they’re really energetic and they have upbeat music. It’s just a good show in general… what really caught my eye was when they covered a Wu Tang song in bluegrass.”

Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy will also be bringing a friend of theirs to open for them named Ryan Windham. Windham is a solo artist who plays several different instruments, including guitars, spoons and slide whistles, and records them onto a loop machine, creating layers upon layers of music live and by him.

“One track will be seven minutes long, but you won’t even notice that it started out with a little guitar part. Then there’s this big sound coming out at you at the end of it with 12 different tracks he’s recorded on stage live,” Starling said.

The band is releasing their first album, which is self-titled. They also have a MySpace page that can be found at www.myspace.com/carrienationband. The band also said that they are looking forward to the show and are excited to play at Beer:30 again because of all of the energetic people in the audience.

“We try to keep the energy high so there are always people having a good time, knocking things over, breaking stuff and spilling stuff, every time is its own slightly creepy affair,”Dreher said.

Alex Pedersen

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Art by Roy Johnson

Nude images of men in the Gilson Memorial Gallery in King Hall have a greater purpose than just being works of art. Senior Art Major Roy Michael Johnson said that the message is to take male physique, which is usually ripped, and put it in what is traditionally thought of as feminine poses.

“Tracing back to Greek mythology, male statures through artists’ work emphasize masculinity and this kind of dominance,” Johnson said.

Johnson is one of the artists participating in the Mass Senior Art Exhibit, with his work on display until Sept. 3. Every senior is required to sign up for a time slot during the year to display their work and the art is judged or critiqued by professors of the Art Department.

“Usually before the show, an instructor will go through the show to give feedback before the show opens,” Johnson said.

The exhibit is a way to show off the work that Johnson said took about a year and a half of dedication. He created his works by a mix of oil on canvas paintings and intimate photography.

Johnson said he started painting in high school, but it wasn’t until he was a freshman that he decided for sure that he wanted to be a painter. When not busy with schoolwork, Johnson said he works at Applebee’s as a server. Among the spectators, he said, were some of his regular guests at Applebee’s that were used to seeing him at work. He said that serving was a great marketing tool to get the word out about the show.

“For anybody that has waited tables before, my artwork is a great tool to fall back on after dealing with the stress of work,” Johnson said.

Junior art major Daniel Swendson saw the show for the first time on Tuesday afternoon. In one section, Johnson uses a single color for an entire pose which Swendson said reminded him of looking through a colored lens.

“It was interesting to see the male form portrayed in such a way,” Swendson said.

Freshman art major Devin Parkman viewed the show this past week as well. Parkman said that he has known Johnson for about a year and a half now and believes that Johnson is much more defined as an artist.

“He projects his messages much more clearly and it’s easy to see how he has grown from where he used to be,” Parkman said.

Parkman said he wasn’t surprised at all by what he saw in Johnson’s display.

“Once you get past the nudity, it seemed to fit his personality and expressed originality. Roy is comfortable with who is. What you see is what you get,” Parkman said

Information on this artist’s and upcoming artists’ work can be obtained at the Art Department Office. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Some of the work on display is also for sale.

Chris Hopkins/The Bulletin

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Stanek

Vampires Suck (PG-13). It’s a shame that the title of the movie already has the word you’re looking for.

“Vampires Suck” is another unbearably stupid spoof movie that just doesn’t know when to give up on its failed attempt to make fun of its inspiration, the popular “Twilight Saga.” I’m not a fan of the series myself, so I don’t have any comment on that, but I will say that after watching this movie, it makes the series watchable to me.

I’ll start off with the simple reasons of why this movie is terrible: The movie seems to focus more on making fun of pop culture more than having an actual plot structure. The acting is obviously not top-notch, but it could at least attempt to get some character development into these characters.

Apart from those flaws, I’d say the main problem is that no one in the movie seemed to care what was happening or going on. If these people don’t care, why should we?

The movie doesn’t exactly have a story structure, apart from just having the movie play like the “Twilight” movies. The cast members share similar name as the “Twilight” characters, like Edward, Jacob and Becca (in order, played by Matt Lanter, Chris Riggi and JennProske) and just mock the source material the movie is based off of, along with other movies that have been currently released.

I don’t know about some people, but I find it rather irritating that movies like these are just failed attempts to make fun of others while it remains to be a movie that just laughs at itself.

The parody movie genre has been one that became much more popular after the “Scary Movie” series was released. Throughout the years, writers and directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have released many other parody movies, such as “Date Movie,” “Epic Movie,” “Meet the Spartans” and “Disaster Movie.” Unfortunately, all of those movies share the same flaws as “Vampires Suck.”

Friedberg and Seltzer are trying to provide the audience with humor that makes fun of the pop-culture of our society. The problem with their movies is that they try too hard to make fun of other movies and that they just turn out to be other pieces of junk.

I think I’ve made my point clear that “Vampires Suck” is a very horrible movie and is not a theater worthy film. If you’re really bored sometime and you’re in the mood to make fun of something, I still wouldn’t recommend watching this movie or seeing it. You have been warned and informed, this movie is a NO-GO.

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Radio City. Photo Courtesy of Casey Austen.

Bands Bright Giant from Des Moines, Iowa, and Radio City from Emporia are coming together for a second time at 10:30 p.m. tomorrow night at Beer:30. Guitarist for Bright Giant Josh Davis said this summer the two bands tried to play a show together, but stomach sickness kept the band’s drummer Will Locker off the stage. Davis and guitarist Noah Mass did an acoustic show instead.

“My drummer got some sort of food poisoning or the flu or something and couldn’t even sit for sound check, he’d just puke and puke and puke, and so our trip got cut short that time,” Davis said.

Bright Giant is opening and Davis said the band is bringing some new songs. He said they are excited to play for a college town.

“I think younger folks and that college age, somewhere in that area like our music best and those are the kind of people we want to play in front of,” Davis said.

Radio City guitarist and Emporia State graduate student Eric Murphy said Bright Giant is like a “band girlfriend” in that the bands are willing to help each other out and play together.

“They help us and we try to help them when we can, but they’re further along than we are, so it’s huge. It’s awesome that they do what they do for us,” Murphy said.

Guitarist for Radio City Matt Kosinski said the two groups met at a Record Bar show in Kansas City about six months ago. Bright Giant went on before the Emporia-based band and Murphy and Kosinski were both impressed. He said the bands have played together various times since that first show.

“We had just a mutual enjoyment of each other’s sets and then finding out that they were awesome guys too, everybody in that band is just good people and they play great music and it’s just a blast hanging out with them,’” Kosinski said.

Davis said the appreciation is mutual and both bands are scheduled to play together more in the future, including all this weekend and Labor Day weekend.

“It’s good to have bands like Radio City to trade with because we always know we’ll have solid performers with us right away,” Davis said.

Kosinski said the crowd in Emporia is usually really receptive if a band gives their all, whereas in other places the band has played, the audience doesn’t get as into it. He said unknown bands show up at Beer:30 and if they “play their hearts out” they get a response.

“We’ve played places outside of Emporia where you play balls to the wall, hard as you can, put every ounce of energy into the song and you look out there and nobody’s even paying attention at all,” Kosinski said.

Murphy said other bands from out of town have come in and noticed how much fun the crowd has and passed the word along.

“There’s just really not a lot of crowds like there are at Beer:30. Every band we’ve brought has loved it and told other bands about it,” Murphy said.

Murphy said Radio City recently finished recording their first full-length CD in St. Louis that should be released sometime in November. He said the band plans to have a CD release parties in Emporia and other cities where they play.

Kosinksi said there’s a difference between seeing a local band and a touring band play. He said he hopes people come out and see that Radio City is serious about the music and is actually becoming a band.

“There’s supposed to be a difference – local bands are just rag tag kids that just put a bunch of stuff together, and that’s the beginning of the evolution of a band. You’ll see it once you get out and about and on the road,” Kosinski said.

Lauren Walbridge

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Berch

The Granada Theatre is encouraging students to “Rock into College” with bands Between the Lines and Berch on Saturday, August 21 at 8 p.m. Granada director Jessica Buchholz said the show is a back to school celebration, but anyone in the community is welcome. The show is all ages and the cover charge is $5.

“Last year we had a movie the night of the Block Party and we thought we’d try a little something different this year,” Buchholz said, “Live music always seems to be a pretty big hit with students and the general population.”

Between the Lines is from Emporia and percussionist Victor Rodriguez said playing at the Granada was a dream for him since it was renovated. The show will be the band’s fourth performance at the theater.

“We really enjoy playing there, it’s a good venue. We’re very glad Emporia’s got that,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the band has been playing together for five years and covers a variety of music from classic rock and party songs to country and rhythm and blues. The drummer said he’s excited to showcase some of their original music on Saturday.

“We have a big repertoire of original songs considered alternative rock, but we are contemporary rock I guess,” Rodriguez said.
Berch’s lead singer Colin Elmore said his band is from Springfield, Missouri and has been playing together about a year and a half.

“It was kind of like a joking around thing at first, but we started taking it seriously,” Elmore said.

Elmore described his band’s music as “all over the place” with a sound that ties it all together. He said some of it has a country music structure, but some of it is more overdriven rock.
“I guess the best way to describe it is Coldplay with a saxophone,” Elmore said.

Elmore said Berch is touring for a few days, starting in Bentonville, Arkansas, going to Kansas City and ending in Emporia. The band is set to release their first c.d. September 17.

“I’ve heard really cool things about the area and that live music is kind of an active thing in Emporia,” Elmore said.

Unlike Between the Lines, Berch has never played in Emporia, and Elmore said they’re excited to meet new people here. He said the band cares about people and they love to make friends wherever they play.

“It’s kind of like we want to come and serve people by playing music, which sounds kind of overboard maybe, but really it’s a joy to get to go to places even if people really don’t come,” Elmore said. “We just want to meet whoever does come,”

Rodriguez said he listened to Berch on Myspace and is looking forward to opening for them.

“They sound very good,” Rodriguez said. “I know they travel quite a bit. They’re a very polished band,”

Buchholz said the Granada tries to get at least one local band to play once a month, as well as other bands from outside of the Emporia area.

“We did a lot of different shows last year for like local bands and I think it’s really important to support local music here in town,” Buccholz said.

Lauren Walbridge

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The Deedles

For the first time since May, Emporia’s The Deedles are playing at Beer30 on Friday at 10:30 p.m. Bassist Adam Smith said the band has some new material that they’re excited to play and that he never knows what to expect at the local bar.

“Usually the next morning you find random articles of clothing, flip flops, stuff like that all over the bar, which is definitely proof that people had a good time,” Smith said.

Bar owner Josh Olsen said he’s known most of the band’s members for about nine years and they frequently play at Beer30.

“They just bring a professional side of music to whatever bar they play, just from being on the road,” Olsen said.

Guitarist and vocalist Garret Briggeman said the band has gone through various changes over the years as far as members, style and name. Originally, it was called Locamachine, then the Dewayn Brothers and as of last August, they became the Deedles. Briggeman said it started out as an experimental rock band, and then moved into more bluegrass.

“It’s all just kind of been an evolution from one project into the next,” Briggeman said.

Smith said he had been involved with a band called Oakhurst in Colorado, and after touring together in 2007, he made friends with the members of the DeWayn Brothers. In April 2008, Briggeman called him to see if he could play bass for the Deedles.
“I played mandolin and electric guitar in Oakhurst, but Garret called me up and asked if I could play the bass and I said ‘No, not yet’, and he’s like, ‘Well you want to play bass in the rock band? I said sure,” Smith said.

Smith said the band’s sound hits everything from modern rock to classic rock. He said its blues, country, and the band’s bluegrass roots are still visible.

“It absolutely is different than anything we’ve ever done, I mean it’s basically just rock. It’s everything that the word rock which is also a pretty broad word, encompasses,” Smith said.

Jamie Briggeman, guitarist and vocalist, said a lot of the band’s songs are ones that she and Garret would perform acoustically because they didn’t quite fit in with the bluegrass feel of the DeWayn Brothers.

“We’ve had these songs for a long time, it was just kind of like they were on the shelf, you know, so once the bluegrass band dispersed we finally had a chance to really focus on it and make it our goal to do the songs full time,” Jamie said.

Smith said it’s difficult having the experience that the members of the Deedles do and having to start with a new band that nobody’s heard about. Despite having to start from the beginning, Smith said he thinks with all of the touring and experience they all know what to do this time.

“We have to take what we know about it and just start from the ground up, but we’ve learned so many lessons about what to do what not to do that we feel really good about this being the one,” Smith said.

Lauren Walbridge

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This week, I’m feeling funny… Alright, maybe not so much, but I did decide a long while ago that I eventually wanted to feature ZOIKS! in this column.

Improvisational comedy has always mesmerized me. From an early age, I would stay awake after I was told to go to bed and watch episodes of “Who’s Line is it Anyway” in secret. It always fascinated me that these guys and gals had the talents to think so quickly on their feet, and the incredible talent to entertain, which is an extremely valuable skill to have.

So, four years ago, when I arrived on Emporia State’s campus to start my college career, I was amazed to find there was a group on campus similar to the show I had watched for so long. I’d never thought about the fact that guys like Colin Quinn and Wayne Brady had to start somewhere.

So, when I first attended ZOIKS!, I was taken back to those nights I’d spend in my room, keeping the volume down so my parents wouldn’t hear, and stifling laughter with a fist in my mouth at nearly every joke.

Since that point, I have always found ZOIKS! to be one of the most interesting and almost enigmatic groups on campus. I was, and still am, amazed that these people have the frame of mind and frame of reference to crack jokes to a crowd of college kids whose views and senses of humor vary about as widely as humanly possible. But somehow, they pull it off, night in and night out.

With that in mind I decided to try to get into the collective head and funny bone of some members of ZOIKS!. I attended a ZOIKS! rehearsal, and was quite figuratively blown away.

When I arrived at King Hall, at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, I found a few ZOIKS! members, met the ones I didn’t know, and sat in on discussion of different types of “long-form” improv that the group wanted to try. It took me about as long as I would last in a ring with Pacquiao to become confused. “Short-form,” “long-form,” “the gauntlet,” “freeze tag”… What the hell was going on?

Eventually, I think they kind of realized how lost I was, and attempted to explain some of the terminology to me. I was completely taken aback. Me, in my ignorance, figured they just got up on stage and made shit up. I had no idea that there were volumes upon volumes of books written about different improv techniques and theories. I had no idea that my improv idols, the guys from “Whose Line” practiced a type of imrov called “theatersports.”

All at once, my respect for improv actors and actresses everywhere shot through the roof, and particularly, my respect for ZOIKS! members increased tenfold.

So maybe I could never be an improv actor. Perhaps I’m not cut out for the “think on your feet” atmosphere, or the self-inflicted pressure of participating in a group like ZOIKS!, but I’ll tell you one thing: I just became a damn good audience member.

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Sophomore theater major, Elise Blann, rehearses her dance Wednesday afternoon in Roosevelt Hall. Blann will perform with others May 7 at 7:30 p.m. for the Spring Theater Dance Show. Erica Cassella/The Bulletin.

“That ‘70s Dance Show” is the theme of the spring theatre dance show this year, which will be held at 7:30p.m. on May 7, in the Bruder Theatre in King Hall.

“To dance is to soar. So, who shouldn’t try flying?” said Lindy Bartruff, dance teacher and choreographer at Emporia State.“This semester I wanted to pursue the ‘70s in light of the fall homecoming musical, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’. So, I listened to many great ‘70s hits and imagined various scenarios for dance pieces. Then I began to create and see the dancers in my head. They came up with 20 pieces, which includes an encore with any ‘disco divas’ in the audience.”

This spring, Bartruff conceived, directed and choreographed “That ‘70s Dance Show” for the spring season dance show.

“It is set in the ‘70s and we get to be groovy,” said Joshua Taylor, sophomore theater major. “I really just get to dance my socks off.”

There are 15 dancers in total, which is composed of Dance I and III students, students from private classes and two students who were cast in an open audition in March.

“There are 70 different colors of lights, and it will be awesome to have the lights with the songs and dances.” said Frankie Rizo, senior theater major. “It is a pretty decent dance show.”

This is the first time that the production will be held in Bruder Theatre.

“It is exciting that the dancers will be in a real space on a real dance floor,”Bartruff said.

Six of the 15 dancers are international, from Korea and Japan. Bartruff said that they add depth and sensibility.

“I wanted to make dancing accessible to any ‘body,’ which is why I always incorporate the audience. And it is also to invite professional experiences for the cast,” he said.

From love to war to rock and roll, the show will have dancers, lovers, fighters, rockers boogying with high bars, rolling scaffolds, mini trampolines and smashing guitars. Rizo is looking forward to seeing the final product of the dance show, while Taylor is looking forwards to the reaction of audience.

“We have wild bell bottoms and tie-dye tees the cast made themselves. We have a very special tap solo to ‘Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone’ that will bring down the house,” Bartruff said. “I’m looking forward to the dancers surprising themselves with saying ‘I didn’t know I could do that’ moments.”

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MG Gaskin performs as part of The Country Comedy Tour last Saturday night at the Granada Theatre. Erica Cassella/The Bulletin

A mixed bag of laughs and awkward silences was provided by Emporians at the Country Comedy Tour which was brought to Emporia’s Granada theatre last Saturday night by local radio stations and Marion National Bank.

“I think the show would have been different if the Granada had advertised at the university better,” said Kelsey Bailey, junior elementary education major. “I am sure students would have responded differently to the jokes.”

The night began with comedian Matt Mitchell, who has appeared on MTV, Jay Leno and the reality TV show “Hole in the Wall.” Mitchell’s routine turned into a slightly confrontational one when he made a joke about shopping at the local Wal-Mart store. A local woman seated in the balcony promptly stood up and began to shout at Mitchell.

“Shop Emporia,” said the unidentified resident. “We don’t like those big chain stores in our town.”

Whether the interruption threw off Mitchell’s routine or not, the audience had mixed reactions to the remainder of his routine. Some portions were met with few laughs, or none at all.

“He was an OK comedian,” said Amber Doyle, senior elementary education major. “Things got weird when that lady started yelling ‘Shop Emporia.’ He was kind of just responding to people in the audience, and he didn’t really have a point. It was like he told one joke the whole show.”

The show was touted as “family friendly,” and Mitchell’s comedy was received well by many of the younger members of the audience.

“His joke about the dinosaur was pretty good,” Doyle said. “The show was family friendly and clean enough for the kids.”

CMT veteran comedian MG Gaskin followed Mitchell to similar mixed reactions. Gaskin told several jokes about Olpe, which was portrayed as less cultured than Emporia in his comedy. At one point, an Olpe resident pointed out that their town was the only Olpe in the United States.

“If you want to learn something at this show, that’s fine,” Gaskin said. “I’m here to do comedy. I am a comedian, and I make people laugh.”

Gaskin’s attitude towards what Bailey described as an “unresponsive audience” was amiable to her.

“I thought he was funny,” Bailey said. “I thought he responded well when the audience didn’t respond very well to his jokes.”

Gaskin made it a point during his show to point out to the audience that it was, in fact, a comedy show they were attending.

“We’re taking life too seriously here in America now,” Gaskin said. “We need to learn to laugh again. That’s all I’m saying y’all.”

Following some political jokes, including one that called former President Clinton “the president between the Bushes,” Gaskin asked the audience members who had served in the military to raise their hands and be recognized for their service.

“I felt like the [recognition of the veterans] was a fairly common thing for a comedian to do,” Bailey said. “I didn’t see anything wrong with it.”

Following the show, Bailey expressed interest in the Granada hosting more events.

“It’d be cool for them to have concerts here or something like that,” Bailey said. “I think it’s a good idea for them to try.”

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As I hope most of you know, this week is Green Week. In the name of doing what is surely a small percentage of what would be considered “my part” in helping promote this week and be environmentally conscious, I thought I would do something environmentallypositive.

So, on Tuesday, I pulled my work gloves on, grabbed a trash bag, and headed to the intersection of 12^th Street and Commercial Street to participate in the community clean-up project, sponsored by the ESU Environmental Club.

I first heard about the event through Facebook, and thought it would be an interesting installment for this column.

I think I need to say right off the bat that I personally do not do all I can to help the environment. I mean, I don’t pour vats of industrial waste into bodies of water or anything like that, but I don’t do everything I could be doing. I recycle, when it’s convenient, but I don’t go out of my way to throw away every Snicker’s wrapper I see on the sidewalk.

This is another reason I thought this would be a good subject for this week’s column – as a person who is only semi-environmentally aware, I thought I could try a little more when it came to the environment and what we can do to keep it healthy.

The clean-up started in front of the Emporia State sign on the South side of campus. When I got there, I met with some of the Environmental Club members and off we went. The 15 or so students who participated in the event broke off in groups of two or three and worked their way down Commercial Street, picking up any loose trash we saw.

Other than a few particularly filthy items, the trash we picked up was pretty standard as far as trash goes—wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic cups, paper bags, you know, normal stuff people toss on the ground when the nearest trash can is just a few steps too far away to basketball toss it into.

Overall, I liked the experience a lot. It was easy, and yet, I feel like it was a pretty beneficial thing. Sure it was just a little bit of trash (and I got to see the surprisingly large amount of trash that is thrown on the street in the six blocks between campus and 6^th Street), but it felt good.

The entire time I couldn’t help thinking how awesome it would be it this kind of thing happened every week, or better yet, how awesome it would be if everyone would just put their own trash in a trash can. Sure, maybe I wasn’t saving the planet, but it did make Emporia’s busiest street look just a little bit nicer.

It made me feel good. It made me feel like I was doing something, and I could see the results instantly. So, if for no other reason than quieting my own selfish conscience, the community clean-up was a success. Nothing quite like a bit of trash to brighten your day.

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