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Bill Villmos, comedian, performs his standup routine at Natasha’s Bar and Grill Friday evening. Villmos, host of the comedy podcast “The Green Room,” was one of two who performed that evening. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin

On Friday, Natasha’s Bar and Grill, 627 Commercial St., hosted the first of what it hopes will be many upcoming comedy shows.

“It was a really great stand up comedy show,” said Chad Schmidt, attendee and local resident. “Both comedians tonight were hilarious. I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile.”

Bill Vilmos is a nationally touring stand up comedian, radio personality and blogger. Vilmos has been a comedian since 1992, and has been touring nationally since 1995. Critics have described Vilmos’ comedic style as similar to “‘Steven Wright on steroids,’ in which he delivers his satirical view of life to audiences, leaving them gasping for air.”

“I really enjoyed performing here tonight,” Vilmos said. “We had a great audience tonight. There were a few loud mouths up front, but still, a great audience.”

The Friday night comedy show was Vilmos’ first performance at Natasha’s, as well as in Emporia. But on stage, Dan Rock, the other performer for the evening, said he was no stranger to Emporia or Natasha’s. Rock took note of the new remodeling done to the bar and said last time he had performed at Natasha’s, there was a buffet bar right by the stage.

“I feel like tonight’s show went really well,” Rock said. “Natasha’s is probably one of my favorite venues for a comedy show.”

Rock said despite a group of loud audience members directly in front of the stage, the show was a hit. Rock was able to successfully use his comedy to diffuse the situation and quiet the loud patrons during his act.

Vilmos is the creator and host of the popular online radio show The Green Room, also known as Green Room Radio. Vilmos said Green Room Radio gives the listener an inside look at the world and business of stand up comedy and how comedians view the world. The online radio show premiered its first episode on April 22, 2008, and has since produced 388 episodes with 214 different comedians.

Before creating Green Room Radio, Vilmos briefly hosted the show The Hungarian Help Line on the Todd & Tyler show on Z-92 FM in Omaha, Neb. The show featured Vilmos finding humorous solutions to tough problems that people face in every day life.

Vilmos said the content of the episodes’ topics ranged from dealing with children with behavior problems and husbands that watch too much football, to the awkward process of going from “just friends” to a relationship and what to do when a female boss shows interest in her recently-hired male employee.

Both Vilmos and Rock said on stage they were also from the Midwest. Vilmos grew up in Illinois and lived in Chicago until he moved to Colorado in 1986. Vilmos owned a comedy club in Denver from 2004 to 2009. Rock now lives in the Seattle area.

Vilmos and Rock are currently on separate national tours. Natasha’s plans to have more stand up comedy shows in the near future.

Steven Edwards

Mark your calendar.(Calendar)

New Hampshire Business Review March 13, 2009 [SEMINAR] 3/16 Payroll Practices course When: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, March 16-17 Where: DoubleTree Guest Suites, Boston, Mass.

Contact: Erika Hurst at 210-226-4600 x 2230, ehurst@americanpayroll.org [SEMINAR] 3/16 Legal Update: Key Employment Law Issues When: 8 a.m. to noon, Monday, March 16 Where: Chunky’s Cinema and Pub, Haverhill, Mass.

Cost: $50 GMVHRA members, $75 non-members Contact: Walt Prior, 978-66683-1414 x126 [WORKSHOP] 3/17 Build Your Business Plan in a Day When: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 17 Where: Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester Cost: $120 workshop, $49 online plan Contact: Heidi Edwards Dunn, 603-227-0417, h.edwardsdunn@unh.edu [SEMINAR] 3/17 Develop your Business Plan With Sheila Kabat When: 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesdays, March 17-April 21 Where: Bruce Mast & Associates, Exeter Cost: $145 Woman Business Center members, $190 non-members Contact: Woman Business Center, 603-430-2892 x1 [SEMINAR] 3/17 Tips for Making Your Business Writing More Effective When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 17 Where: Pease Tradeport, Portsmouth Cost: $235 Contact: UNH, 603-862-4234, learn.unh.edu [SEMINAR] 3/17 Business Basics–The Do’s and Don’ts of Starting your Own Business When: 5:30 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, March 17 Where: Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester Cost; $49, first person, $30 for each additional person Contact: New Hampshire Small Business Devel. Ctr., 603-227-0417, nhsbdc.org [OTHER] 3/19 Free SBA Consultations Offered at New Hampshire Corporate Division When: 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays, March 19-26 Where: N.H. Secretary of State Corporate Division, Concord Cost: Free Contact: Alice Zachos, 603-225-1607, alice.zachos@sba.gov [CONFERENCE] 3/19 Women of the Workplace Conference When: 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursday, March 19 Where: Murphy’s Taproom, Manchester Contact: Leslie Sherman, lsherman@dred.state.nh.us [SEMINAR] 3/19 EAR Licensing Issues When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, March 19 Where: International Trade Resource Center, Portsmouth Cost: $95 Contact: Katy, 603-334-6074, ckokko@dred.state.nh.us [SEMINAR] 3/19 Exceptional Customer Service and Support When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, March 19 Where: Pease Tradeport, Portsmouth Cost: $235 Contact: UNH, 603-862-4234, learn.unh.edu [SEMINAR] 3/19 New Employment Law–From Soups to Nuts When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, March 19 Where: 286 Commercial St., Manchester Cost: $230 Contact: UNH, 603-862-4234, learn.unh.edu [SEMINAR] 3/19 Business Entity Selection Workshop When: noon, Thursday, March 19 Where: Amoskeag Business Center, Manchester Cost: Free Contact: Devine Millimet, 603-695-8717, kmendard@devinemillimet.com [OTHER] 3/21 Trade Mission to Brazil When: Saturday, March 21-28 Contact: Karen Wyman, 603-334-6074, kwyrnan@dred.state.nh.us, exportnh.org [SEMINAR] 3/21 U.S. Small Business Administration Veteran Representative Available for Business Development Assistance When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 21, Tuesday, April 28 Where: Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester Contact: Miguel Moralez, 603-225-1601, miguel.maralez@sbaogov [OTHER] 3/21 New England Products 25th Annual Trade Show When: March 21-23 Where: Portland Sports Complex, Portland, ME Contact: Giraffe Events, 207-781-5756, nepts.com [OTHER] 3/21 Naval Aviation–Then and Now When: 2 p.m., Saturday, March 21 Where: Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, Londonderry Cost: Free Contact: Vincent Devino, 603-669-4820 [SEMINAR] 3/24 Granite State Ambassadors Hospitality Training Classes When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., March 23-24 Where: Concentra Urgent Care, Londonderry Cost: $35 Contact: Stephanie Seacord, 603-772-1835, sseacord@lemd.com [SEMINAR] 3/24 Vaccinate for Life: Immunization Conference When: 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Tuesday, March 24 Where: Grappone Conference Center, Concord Contact: Malone Cloitre, 603-895-1514 x3 or mcloitre@snhahec.org [SEMINAR] 3/24 Using Smart Impactful Targeted Marketing Initiatives to Reduce Cost and Generate Business When: 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 24 Where: wedu Office, Manchester Cost: Free Contact: wedu, registration@wedo.com [SEMINAR] 3/24 N.H. Automotive Dealers Association (NHADA) Education Foundation When: 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, March 24 Where: Daniel B. McLeod Center, Bow Contact: Devine Millimet, devinemillimet.com [SEMINAR] 3/24 Business Process Improvement for All Managers When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays, March 24-April 7 Where: 286 Commercial St., Manchester Cost: $395 Contact: UNH, 603-862-4234, learn.unh.edu [SEMINAR] 3/24 Constructive Conversations When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 24 Where: Pease Tradeport, Portsmouth Cost: $235 Contact: UNH, 603-862-4234, learn.unh.edu [SEMINAR] 3/24 Mobile Applications Platforms When: 6-9 p.m., Tuesday, March 24 Where: Chordiant Software Auditorium, Bedford Contact: SWANH, 603-868-5477, info@swanh.org, swannh.org [SEMINAR] 3/25 Application Writing Workshops for Nonprofits, Cooperatives, and Municipalities When: 8:30 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, March 25 Where: Littleton Area Learning Center, Littleton Contact: CDFA, 603-226-2170, nhcdfa.org [SEMINAR] 3/25 Key Elements of Project Management in Engineering Surveying When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 25 Where: Pease Tradeport, Portsmouth Cost: $275 Contact: UNH, 603-862-4234, learn.unh.edu [WORKSHOP] 3/25 Social Media Marketing Workshop When: noon to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 25 Where: Hannah Grimes Center, Keene Cost: Free Contact: Jen, 603-352-5063, jen@hannahgrimes.com [NETWORKING] 3/25 ABC “Meet the Generals” Night When: 4 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 25 Where: Holiday Ion, Concord Cost: $50 Contact: Associated Builders and Contractors, 603-226-4789, info@abcnhvt.org [WORKSHOP] 3/25 Labor Laws and Work Experience When: 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, March 26 Where: Rivier College, Nashua Cost: $35 Contact: Institute on Disability, 603-228-2084, iod.unh.edu/events [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [OTHER] N.H. 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An Unlikely Hero: Veterans Day founded on an uncle’s love

Private First Class John Eugene Cooper in his military uniform. Photo courtesy of Loren Pennington.

Private First Class John Eugene Cooper, an Emporian whose death led to the founding of Veterans Day, was an unlikely hero.

“He had not been in some heroic action – he was just one of the casualties of the battle,” said Loren Pennington, ESU emeritus professor of history who runs the Veterans Roundtable each year.

Pennington said Cooper was a happy and easygoing guy. Because he looked like Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, Cooper was commonly known as “Bull” Cooper.

Cooper was born in Emporia in 1916, according Aaron Bura, a military order of the Purple Heart chaplain. When he was 2 years old, Cooper’s mother died, and he went to live with his grandmother and worked at the shoe repair shop of his uncle Alvin King.

In the 1930s, according to Bura, Cooper volunteered for Emporia’s National Guard Company B of the 137th Infantry, 35th Infantry Division, as the oldest member. He and the other 121 members of Company B were called to active duty on Dec. 23, 1940.

They took part in several maneuvers in central Tenn., and went to West Virginia for three weeks of mountain training. The training seemed to indicate that they were headed for the Italian front, but they were not.

By July 1944, they landed in France and were almost immediately involved in the hedgerow fighting, Normandy breakout and the advance across France, according to Bura. Soon after their landing, Cooper was wounded, and for this he received his first Purple Heart.

When Company B was near the German border, the German forces started to fight back, leading to the Battle of the Bulge. On Dec. 20, the 1st Battalion was repeatedly attacked, and Company B had two German S.S. companies infiltrate its positions. The attack was held off by one squad of Company B until a friendly tank was brought up and the combined fire of the infantry and tank drove the enemy from the position.

“During the fighting, Private Cooper (was in a foxhole),” Bura said. “A German artillery shell came over, struck a tree branch directly over Private Cooper’s head, exploded, and Private Cooper was killed by the shrapnel.”

But it was not until mid-March the next year that his family learned of his death, Bura said. His uncle, Alvin King, was particularly devastated by the news.

“Some people think Alvin King was a shoe repairman, so he was a humble citizen,” Pennington said. “No, he was more than that. He was kind of a leader in the community, and he did all kinds of things.”

King took a special interest in Company B and its reunions, and in the early 1950s he conceived the idea of changing Armistice Day, Nov. 11, which honored America’s veterans of World War I, to Veterans Day, to honor the veterans of all America’s wars.

On Nov. 11, 1953, while the rest of America observed Armistice Day, Emporia held the first Veterans Day.

In 1954, Congressman Reece of Emporia introduced a bill into the House of Representatives to change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. On Nov. 11, 1954, America observed its first national Veterans Day, and Emporia has since been recognized by Congress as the Founding City of Veterans Day in the United States.

King died in 1960.

At the roundtable in 2008, Cooper was posthumously awarded his second Purple Heart. The medal was given to Cooper’s surviving nephews.

“John Eugene Cooper was a single American serviceman,” said Vice Commander Edward L. Van Vickle during the presentation, “but let him stand for all American servicemen and servicewomen who have served the nation in America’s wars and who are honored each year on Veterans Day.”

Tianhai Jiang

Flentje invites faculty to open brown bag

Interim President H. Edward Flentje prepares for the open lunch that will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday in the Flint Hills Room. Flentje said faculty will have the opportunity to ask questions of himself and the vice presidents. Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin

On a request by the Faculty Senate, interim President H. Edward Flentje will hold an open forum brown bag luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on next Monday in the Flint Hills Room in the Memorial Union.

“I am just going to walk in and wing it,” Flentje said. “I am going to bring three vice presidents with me so if the questions get hard we can just make adjustments.”

During the lunch, faculty members will be able to direct questions to Flentje, along with Ray Hauke. vice president of administration and fiscal affairs; Jim Williams, associate provost for enrollment and vice president of strategic partnerships; and Tes Mehring, provost and vice president of academic affairs.

“It was a suggestion of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee last spring,” Flentje said. “It is simply an opportunity to connect with faculty, (and) it is an open session and a way to communicate with the faculty.”

Dwight Moore, associate professor of biology and chair of the academic affairs committee for Faculty Senate, said he would expect most of the questions to be aimed at the vice presidents because Flentje is still new on campus and he may not be familiar with all the details of ongoing programs.

“Generally, budget and how it is being handled is always an issue,” Moore said. “I expect there will be some questions on how the search for a president is going. We also have an interim dean in the college of liberal arts and sciences and I expect to hear some questions on how the search for a new dean is going.”

“I have regularly scheduled meetings with the president and vice president of the senate,” Flentje said. “This is more of a direct contact with general faculty as opposed to filtering through the hierarchy.”

Flentje was unsure about what topics would be brought up during the forum, but said some may be related to topics discussed when his office conducted a listening tour with academic departments. Flentje discussed issues dealing with politics, policy and the Kansas Board of Regents.

“The questions could go from soup to nuts,” Flentje said. “It could go from really practical, down to earth topics that affect a particular unit to more global or future campus issues.”

Gwen Larson, assistant director of marketing and media relations, said Faculty Senate President Kevin Johnson will likely be a moderator for the event. Faculty members are encouraged to send questions to Johnson ahead of time to eliminate the stigma of who is actually asking the question.

“There is no sort of RSVP for it,” Larson said. “I suspect most of the faculty will stay the entire time, but of course we have some faculty who teach during that time so they may send a question in and ask a buddy to listen to the answer for them or something like that.”

The lunch is not catered, but free cookies will be provided.

Rocky Robinson

Omaha takes over Elkhorn lock, stock and snow crew.

Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) March 2, 2007 Byline: Rick Ruggles Mar. 2–Omaha’s first act in taking over Elkhorn was to change the locks on what had been the Elkhorn Police Department. The annexation, which took place Thursday afternoon, generally occurred without ceremony or drama. But the fact that Omaha maintenance employees immediately went to work on the Police Department locks spoke to the two-year court battle that preceded the takeover. Omaha leaders plan to bring in an auditor soon to pore over Elkhorn’s financial records. No ceremony accompanied the handover, which occurred on a day when Elkhorn was virtually shut down by a morning snowstorm that pounded the area.

The storm, bolstered by powerful winds, provided a stiff test to the Elkhorn snowplow crews that town residents have said give the kind of excellent service that the big city will be unable to match. Omaha does not plan to change the town’s snow removal program in the near future. Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, who was not in Elkhorn, expressed relief that the annexation battle was over. “It’s been a long journey,” Fahey said in a phone interview. He said he wants Elkhorn residents to know Omaha is committed to providing good services and making them feel part of the city. “We are trying to reach out to the citizens.” Former Elkhorn City Administrator Don Eikmeier, who did not join the City of Omaha staff, was in his office Thursday morning but used vacation time to leave about 11 a.m., said Sheri Larsen. Larsen was the assistant city administrator in Elkhorn and will work for Omaha, handling operations in the Elkhorn City Hall building. Fahey aide Don Thorson trudged up the snowy steps of Elkhorn City Hall about 1:40 p.m. He said he was there to say hello to the employees and make sure Omaha city services were being carried out. The priorities, he said, were snow removal and police and fire protection. “It’s gone just fine,” Thorson said at midafternoon. He said snow removal had gone as well as possible considering the magnitude of the storm. Annexation officially began about 2 p.m. when Douglas County District Judge Gerald Moran signed and filed an order sent to him by the Nebraska Supreme Court. Joe Gudenrath, a City of Omaha spokesman, said the city eventually will change the locks on all Elkhorn city buildings. It will do so today, for instance, at Elkhorn City Hall, Gudenrath said. He said he did not know whether tensions in the Police Department led to the immediate change in locks there. The City of Omaha declined to hire seven of Elkhorn’s 13 police officers, saying they failed to pass background checks. “It’s been a tough two years for everybody, and now it’s over,” Elkhorn Police Chief Tim Dempsey said before going home early Thursday afternoon. “And I think it’s a relief.” Dempsey himself was not hired by the Omaha Police Department, but he might be offered a job in some other Omaha city department. The six Elkhorn officers who joined Omaha’s force will attend a shortened police academy in Omaha. For the near term, they will assist Omaha officers who patrol Elkhorn. On Thursday, officers cruised the town in squad cars still labeled “Elkhorn Police.” The cars will eventually receive Omaha lettering. this web site city of omaha web site city of omaha

The officers who were not hired began turning in their equipment, including guns and vests. Omaha Capt. Bill Rock said they handled it professionally. “They’re certainly disappointed,” Rock said, “but they’re not causing any ripples in the pond, so to speak.” Eighteen of Elkhorn’s 20 firefighters were hired by Omaha. Two declined to join the Omaha force. Paul Landow, Fahey’s chief of staff, said that in each of Omaha’s three 24-hour shifts, three Omaha firefighters and three former Elkhorn firefighters will staff a firetruck and an ambulance at the Elkhorn Fire Station near 204th Street and West Maple Road. Backup will come from west Omaha stations, Landow said. Elkhorn firefighters will attend a short fire academy program in the next few months. No influx of citizens visited the City Hall building Thursday afternoon. It was too snowy. In fact, Thorson and Larsen closed the building about 3:30 p.m. and went home early on the first day of Omaha’s takeover.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

Football coach has long history as Hornet

Courtesy photo from ESU athletic department.

Although this year marks Garin Higgins’ fifth season as head football coach, he has been a Hornet for more than 20 years, and he was even a four-year letterman under former Emporia State football coach Larry Kramer.

“(Kramer) taught me about being tough and how to handle adversity,” Higgins said. “I always thought that if you could play for Coach Kramer and make it through four years, I could handle any obstacle in life.”

In his first four seasons as the Hornet’s head coach, Higgins compiled a record of 14-30. He is confident that the team is in the process of reversing the trend.

“It’s truly a blessing to come back home,” Higgins said. “It is a big challenge because expectations are high. We are doing everything in our power, the things we can control, to get the program headed in the right direction.”

When Higgins played football for ESU, he helped lead the 1989 Hornets to a national runner-up finish. He has been a part of four teams that have played for or won national championships as a player, head coach or as a coordinator.

“He is a player’s coach,” said junior quarterback Tyler Eckenrode. “He cares about us as more than just players and helps us to succeed in not only football but life as well.”

His first head coaching position was at Northwestern Oklahoma State University where he amassed a record of 51-9 over five seasons. All five of those seasons, he coached his team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoffs, with two national runner-up finishes.

“I have known all of my life that I wanted to coach football,” Higgins said. “Some people grow up wanting to be firemen or police officers, but I always knew I wanted to coach football.”

Higgins said he grew up in what he calls a “coaching family.”

“My dad coached for 30 years and I was a field rat,” Higgins said. “I followed him around everywhere just trying to be around football.”

The rest of the coaching staff said they are confident in Higgins’ ability to bring back the “winning tradition” of ESU football.

“Coach brings composure,” said defensive line assistant coach and former MIAA all-conference linebacker Nathan Linsey. “He gets the most out of his players (and) he is a hard worker… the players know that if they listen to Coach Higgins that the desired results will come.”

The Hornets will face the Fort Hays State Tigers in the first game of the season at 7 p.m. tonight in Hays.

Marcus Hix

Theater auditions kick off fall performance season

Senior music major Jeremy Devine leads the warm-up exercises for auditions Wednesday evening in King Hall. The tryouts were for the musical “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” and the play “Eurydice.” Jon Coffey/The Bulletin

Over 50 students gathered in King Hall throughout this week to audition for the fall theater season. The fall homecoming musical is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which will be followed by a production Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice.”

“We wanted to give everybody as good a chance as they can get to shine,” said Jim Bartruff, professor of communications and director of theater, “give a few more combinations a try.”

Students were not asked to prepare any material for the audition. Instead they were given the opportunity on Monday to learn a song from Jeremy Devine, music director and senior music major, and a dance from choreographer Lindy Bartruff. They also gave a cold reading for “Eurydice,” which is being directed by John Henningsen, an ESU alum. Callbacks for “Joseph” were held last night in King Hall.

Bartruff said it was an interesting callback process because everyone who auditioned the first night was called back for “Joseph” the next night.

Adam Helmer, junior vocal music education major, said he was very excited for his first chance at taking part in an ESU production.

“(The audition process) is very thorough, because you get to see everyone at once and you have the time to pick out the cream of the crop,” Helmer said.

Amanda Devine, senior theater major and ESU theater veteran, said that the audition process brings out the best in students since it puts them on the spot without any preparation.

“My first time, I was really intimidated because you get all these people up there on the stage and you get to sing just a little bit and you hope they liked enough of what they hear to call you back,” Devine said.

Bartruff said “Joseph” has been performed on stages across the world since the 1970s and has had multiple revivals.

Bartruff said the musical’s popularity stems from its simplicity and its incorporation of a wide variety of music styles. There is a country song, a calypso song and a traditional ballad, among others. Bartruff said this accessibility made it a good fit for the homecoming musical.

“It’s really important for students who have come through a theater program to have had the experience to work on a musical production,” Bartruff said.

Once the production costs are covered, the remaining proceeds help fund theater scholarships.

“Joseph” will run from Oct. 13-Oct. 15 in Albert Taylor Hall. Tickets can be purchased at the University Box office ranging from $8-15. “Eurydice” will run from Nov. 30-Dec 3 in Bruder Theatre.

Charlie Heptas

Breaking a lease can prove difficult for renters

Breaking a lease can be a difficult process.

Breaking a lease can be a difficult process. But if you are living in poor circumstances, Patty Gilligan, the Human Relations director for Emporia, has advice.

“Know your options for breaking your lease, and come talk to me, or use the legal services offered by ESU, you won’t find a cheaper way to talk to lawyers,” Gilligan said.

There are many options to break a lease but most are under bad circumstances. If you are simply having a problem with your roommate or just need more space, the best option is to ask for allowance to sublease. Subleasing is a transfer of your current lease to another individual.

The most common reason people need to break lease is a lack of maintenance by landlords. Gilligan said that if repairs don’t get completed to inform the landlord they have 14 days to repair them. If the repairs are not completed you can give 30 day notice and legally void the lease.

Another option if you are not having issues is to buy out your lease. This method involves paying out what you still owe to the landlord. It is the most expensive option but can allow for recouping the money because if the property is rented by someone else the landlord cannot take your rent as well as the new tenants.

“If you got an apartment that was in good repair when you got it you’re probably looking at a good landlord, if you’re looking at a property that needs repairs and they say they’ll get it done don’t sign that lease,” said Gilligan.

Gilligan said it was important for renters to know their rights so they can defend themselves from inefficient landlords. Carlos Pringle, graduate student in history, has lived under multiple landlords here in Emporia and has generally had good experiences.

“I did have a slum lord but a change in management kept me from needing to break my lease,” Pringle said.

The dorms are not covered by the city but rather Residential Life on campus. Cass Coughlin, director of Residential Life, provided some options for breaking the dorm leases. There are six methods to leave the dorms without incurring penalties. In order to break the housing agreement you must submit your reason to Residential Life.

The options include marriage, leaving the college by method of transfer, graduation or withdrawal, or with written approval by the director of Residential Life. Being called into military service as well as sponsored learning activities off campus and significant medical problems are also options.

If the housing agreement is broken for any other reason multiple penalties are incurred. They include the forfeiture of the $145 payment and you must pay 40 percent of your remaining total for the semester.

All of this information is available on ESU’s website under Residential Life.

Charlie Heptas

Housing Edition: Finding the right roommate

Senior accounting major Nicole Skala and her roommate Meghan Clark, senior elementary education major, do their homework Wednesday afternoon in their apartment. The two girls have been roommates since their freshman year living in the dorms. Alissa Miller/ The Bulletin

Toward the end of spring semester, freshmen living on campus or students whose roommates graduate this summer might consider looking for a new roommate.

But students who are in need of new roommates have to consider who will make a good roommate for them and how to maintain a good relationship with their roommate.

“(Before looking for a roommate), you need to have a list of things that are important to you and ask the other person about those things…but people have to agree or disagree…sometimes you should look for compromise,” said Susan Zuber-Chall, instructor in sociology, anthropology, and crime and delinquency studies.

Megan Clark, senior elementary education major, and Nicole Skala, senior accounting major, have been roommates since their freshmen year. When they were looking for a roommate, they both had specific requirements that had to be met by a potential cotenant.

“I just wanted somebody who wouldn’t go out and party all the time, wouldn’t keep me up really late – someone who is quiet like me,” Clark said.

Skala had her own expectations and requirements.

“I just wanted to get a roommate I didn’t know, so I could make a new friend in college,” Skala said.

Clark said the ideal roommate is someone who she feels comfortable around.

“A good roommate is someone you can trust and get along with and you’re not worried about offending them,” Clark said.

Zuber-Chall said that communication is key to maintaining a good roommate relationship.

“It’s little things that get you upset and if you don’t say something about the little things, they will build up and become bigger and bigger, until one more thing happens and it will just explode, so it’s important to ask about the little things as soon as you have a problem with it,” Zuber-Chall said.

Remaining calm during arguments also makes the roommate relationship easier to maintain.

“If you get mad at that person, don’t attack them, but instead approach it like you are asking for help to understand why they did something,” Zuber-Chall said.

Skala said if she something bothered her, she tended to bring it up and not dance around it very much, while Clark said she was more subtle in her approach of roommate problems.

Two people arguing makes it very difficult to solve problems because the two are just yelling at each other and not hearing each other, Zuber-Chall said,

“Arguments should be productive and should be a way to learn about the other person,” she said.

Having different extracurricular activities and hobbies allows roommates to spend some time away from each other, said Skala.

“Don’t room with someone that your life is so intertwined, because differences make it easier to live with each other and maintain a relationship…and don’t think that moving off-campus is going to make everything better. If you have problems when you lived with them on-campus there will be more stresses off-campus and more trust issues,” Skala said.

Living off-campus can also cause different problems for roommates than living on-campus does.

“I think people need to realize their responsibility while living off-campus, because so much is done for you in the dorm, not having to make your own food, not worry about paying rent or bills…all of a sudden, all these things pile up,” Clark said.

Zuber-Chall said to maintain a good roommate relationship, we should be polite and honest to each other and ask them what they like and don’t like.

Developing a friendship between roommates has also been helpful in maintaining a healthy roommate relationship between Clark and Skala.

“We are both seniors and we are busy with our classes and something that we are involved in, but we still have time spending together…watch TV shows together or just sit and talk for a while,” Clark said.

Huibing Lu

Housing horror stories: When Nature Invades

Around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, the fourth floor of Abigail Morse Hall found itself with one extra resident. A bat had somehow found a way into the dormitory and was flying up and down the hallway. A resident noticed the animal around 11:15 p.m. and informed a resident assistant, who then contacted Police and Safety.

“There was a bat in the hall…I heard panic and ruckus then lots of swatting like they were beating the little guy,” said Miriam Gray, sophomore political science major.

Two officers responded to the bat by capturing it and releasing it back outside without harming it. Donald Shafer, university police sergeant, was one of the two officers who responded.

“Basically, they get scared if they can’t get out, and he was in a closed hallway in Abigail, so he had no way out,” Shafer said.

Shafer went on to explain how animal related incidents in the dorms were nothing new or uncommon, citing an incident in the past where a deer had jumped through the windows of the Bamboo Room on the ground floor of Morse Hall. He’s also dealt with snakes on previous occasions.

“It won’t be the first one and it won’t be the last,” Shafer said.

It is still unclear as to how the bat managed to get into the hallway.

“I don’t know how he got in here. He may have been here first or maybe he thought this ancient heap of a building was a cave,” Gray said.

Shafer was also unsure as to how the animal had managed to gain access to the building.

“We don’t know. They’re like mice, they can get in through an itty-bitty hole anywhere,” Shafer said.

The Towers complex has also had incidents with critters this year. Residents in North Tower have reported encounters with cockroaches. Mallory Waln, a freshman elementary education major detailed her encounter with one of the insects.

“I went in to take a shower…and just as I was shutting off the water to the shower I looked down and saw this giant cockroach,” Waln said. When asked to define “giant” she said that it was “half of a Twinkie-sized” in reference to earlier stories she’d heard from other residents about “Twinkie-sized” cockroaches.

Waln continued on to explain how she’d enlisted her roommate to help her move her belongings out of the restroom and away from the cockroach.

“It makes you wonder about how little the people clean there for cockroaches to be there,” Waln said.

Luke Bohannon

Yoga Mama gets bendy: ‘You’re as young as your spine is supple’

Patty Jo "Yoga Mama" Thompson. Photo by Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

At age 70, Patty Jo Thompson, or ‘Yoga Mama,’ no longer has a heart murmur, a condition that runs in her family which she has suffered from her whole life.

“When you do yoga, you just kind of have a healing wisdom that goes on inside of you, and you don’t know what it’s going to do for you – I didn’t do yoga to heal my heart murmur,” Thompson said.

Although Thompson began doing yoga for different reasons, after practicing the discipline for 11 years, becoming the director of the Ancient Yoga Institute and giving up sugar, she is healthier now than she has ever been.

“I haven’t had any sugar in my body (since 2000)… I don’t miss it, and I actually used to be a gourmet dessert maker,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that today she is doing everything that she can to “feel good,” which includes practicing yoga and drinking plenty of water.

“When you do yoga you detoxify and purify all your nerves, so when you have all that happen, you don’t want those (toxins) to stay in your body, you want to get it out, so you want to drink water,” Thompson said.

As the director of the Ancient Yoga Institute, Thompson is able to certify others to teach yoga. Thompson was certified in Texas to teach ancient yoga.

Thompson said there are many different forms of yoga, but all styles are essentially ancient yoga, the very first form, with specific additions like props and aerobics. Ancient yoga is the most basic.

“I really like this (ancient yoga) because it’s just really gentle stretched just like the animals do – it’s pure,” Thompson said.

Thompson has been teaching ancient yoga in Emporia for about seven and a half years. She began teaching at the Emporia Recreation Center in 2003, and then K-4 grade school students along with ESU. Her grade school students dubbed her “Yoga Mama” about four years ago.

“Age doesn’t matter,” Thompson said. “You’re as young as your spine is supple.”

Thompson said the benefits of yoga include an increase in flexibility and strength, lubrication of one’s joints, ligaments and tendons, an increase in coordination and ability to balance and yoga massages the internal organs and strengthens the immune system.

The overall aim of yoga is “to be bendy and flexible and have a flexible spine, so that when you’re spine is flexible… you don’t get old and stiff,” Thompson said.

Joshua East, senior music education major, plays the piano, violin and sings. He said that yoga has both toned his muscles to aid in his playing and improved his breathing techniques.

“The class itself helps me relax after a long day… it’s nice to unwind and let go for an hour,” East said.

Myles Louderback, graduate student in psychology, has been in Thompson’s class since the spring semester of his freshman year. For five years, he has stayed behind after his evening classes to help Thompson gather up her equipment and escort her to her car. Louderback said that he and Thompson have developed a good friendship.

“Out of all of the wonderful professors that I have, she has been the one that will go above and beyond to do anything she possibly can to help you with any problem. If you are sick or you have problems at home, she will listen to you or give you advice, and she will always be there for you if you want her,” Louderback said.

Charlie Heptas/Kenzie Templeton

Video by Kellen Jenkins

Welcome, Freshmen (Part 3 in a series)

Freshmen biology majors Caroline Murray and Meghan Murray stand in the dorm room they have shared for the past five months. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

The spring semester is well under way and the fresh beginnings of fall are nothing but a distant memory now. Some students are preparing to graduate, but for freshmen, it is a time of settling into what is now the more familiar experience of going to college.

There are many things running through the minds of freshmen at this time. They wonder if this is the school for them, what they are going to do after graduation and some are praying that they will make it through the semester. Whatever the case may be, it is a certainty that much has changed since they first came to ESU.

Yet again, we take a look at the lives of four freshmen, Meghan Murray, Caroline Murray, Will Smith and Lei Zhang, as they trudge forward toward the end of their freshman year.

…

Caroline and Meghan Murray, twin sisters from Olpe, are still working hard to pursue biology degrees. Caroline seems confident in this semester, but Meghan is nervous because she is taking difficult classes.

“It will be harder than last semester,” Meghan said. “I’ve got (chemistry), biology and zoology. It’s awesome, but I just have to study, study, study.”

For winter break, they spent time with family and friends they hadn’t seen in a while and visited Grandby Ranch at Sol Vista Basin, Colo., where they went snowboarding. It was Caroline’s first time.

“It was fun,” Caroline said. “By the second day, I was fine. The first day, I was trying to figure it out, but then it was fun. It was a blast… we actually drove back on the 24th, Christmas Eve. I didn’t want to do that, but we celebrated Christmas the next day.”

The sisters are still a part of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority and plan to move into the house next year. This semester, they have also taken up the responsibility of being ESU Ambassadors.

“I think the more involved you are, the more fun you have,” Meghan said. “It can be stressful sometimes, but overall it’s fun because you can meet a lot of new people.”

The sisters also said that they are excited for spring break, when they may go to Florida, and for summer, when they will travel to Arizona with their best friend and Meghan will get her Certified Nurse’s Assistant license.

…

Although Will Smith, criminology major from Wylie, Texas, had a good time last semester, it was more difficult than he expected.

“It was a lot tougher school-wise and with time management,” Smith said. “I’ve enjoyed living in the dorms. I can’t wait to have my own apartment though, more privacy. But I get along with pretty much everyone in the dorms.”

Smith has continued to practice middle-distance with the cross country team, even throughout the cold of winter. He practices every day, except for the weekends, and has been going to morning practices on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. For winter break, he went back home to Texas.

“My break was really good,” Smith said. “I hung out with family a lot, hung out with some friends I haven’t seen in a while, of course hung out with my girlfriend and I worked a little bit, trying to get a little money before I came back,” Smith said.

Smith’s classes are divided fairly equally between general education courses and major courses. Some classes he is taking are Psychology, Intimate relationships, Community Corrections and Anthropology.

“I feel great about this semester,” Smith said. “I’ve got good classes and I feel like I can do a lot better this semester, grade-wise and practicing, you know… I enjoy all of my classes, it’s a lot better than last semester. They seem pretty interesting. I would say Community Corrections is probably my favorite one overall,” Smith said.

…

Although Smith may be from Texas, Lei Zhang, accounting major, has him beat when it comes to distance away from home. Zhang is a Chinese student who is planning to go to school here for four years before graduation.

“At summer, I will go back to China for three months, then come back to ESU,” Zhang said. “Just like the American students, I will stay until we graduate, then I will go back to China.”

Zhang explained that she wishes to live in China because there is more job availability there. For winter break, Zhang stayed at a friend’s apartment and she visited Chicago for Thanksgiving.

“Someone told me that Chicago was the second biggest city in America, so I wanted to go there,” Zhang said. “When I went there, it rained and was very cold, so the first and second day weren’t that good, but the last day was good. It was very big and the buildings were tall, it’s just like Shanghai in China – it’s very lovely.”

Last semester, she only took three Intensive English Program courses and Composition I, and she is feeling anxious about this semester because she is taking a larger variety of classes – 17 hours total. On top of that, Zhang still feels the difficulties of living so far from home.

“I think it’s very hard because it’s a different life,” Zhang said. “The biggest difficulty is language and customs…I think the biggest difficulty is that I’m homesick. I miss my pare

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