“It gets in your blood and when you start playing, you like it,” Najem said. “It has so many different skills that you need to acquire. It has so many different rotations that you can do on the ball. You can do a whole lot with a basketball but with a table tennis ball and a paddle you can do a million different things.” Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Some things come naturally to people. For Alfred Najem, graduate student in business administration and Instructional Design and Technology, table tennis is one of those things.

“It gets in your blood and when you start playing, you like it,” Najem said. “It has so many different skills that you need to acquire. It has so many different rotations that you can do on the ball. You can do a whole lot with a basketball but with a table tennis ball and a paddle you can do a million different things.”

Najem is the 2008 U.S. National College champion and three time Lebanese National Men’s champion. Najem also won the Cyprus Open in 2000 and the Missouri Winter Games Open last weekend.

“He’s a world class athlete,” said Omar Román, 1976 ESU alumni and Emporia resident. “Before he came to Emporia he was the number one player in Lebanon. He is probably the best thing to happen to Emporia State University, having a world class athlete. He just keeps winning and winning.”

Currently, Najem is ranked number one in Kansas and is in the top 40 in the nation. He has also competed in the World Championships in China.

“Since he’s been in Kansas and Emporia, he’s taken over the number one spot,” Román said.

His love of the game began with his mother when he was about 7 years old.

“My mother helped me start,” he said. “She used to play and I would watch. I just like the game. Instead of going swimming or something else, I enjoyed watching them play.”

Being a champion runs in Najem’s family.

“She didn’t play professionally but she used to be the champion of the north region of (Lebanon),” Najem said. “She was very good. Because of her I was able to win some championships.”

At age 10, Najem won the National Junior Championship in Lebanon and joined the national Lebanese team when he was 12 years old. Throughout his competitions, Najem has traveled to over 30 countries.

“I started traveling and gained a lot of knowledge about the game,” Najem said.

Najem emphasized the need to be in shape to play table tennis.

“People think you don’t need to run, you don’t need to be physically in shape,” he said, “but it’s totally different. It’s so important. You can’t play in jeans if you want to play at a high level. You need to run and do abs, pushups. You need to build up muscle to play games.”

Najem will compete for the 2010 U.S. National Table Tennis college title on April 8.

“I’m going to do my best and hopefully I will win again,” Najem said.

Román, a former champion himself, trains with Najem.

“When we do drills, we look like Forest Gump and people say ‘wow, these guys are good,’” Román said. “But it helps in the real game.”

Formerly from Venezuela, Román was the 1985 Venezuelan National men’s champion.

“He’s elevated my game,” Román said. “I’m 57 years old and because of him I have elevated my game just by playing him. He likes working with me because I have competed in many national events and I can keep up with me. Originally when we first started I could hard get my racket on the ball. I could barely return his serves. Now, I don’t even think about it.”

In training for the college nationals, Najem practices five times per week for 2-3 hours per day at the Emporia State Recreation Center and the City of Emporia Recreation Center.

“As I get closer to the tournament, I start getting more into the technical part of the game,” he said. “When it’s two or three months away, I prepare more physically. When it gets closer, I get easier on the physical part, the running, because you don’t want to be tired, you want to be in shape.”

There are a lot of drills Najem uses to prepare for a tournament.

“You do a lot of drills on feet movement,” he said. “It’s very important to practice feet movement and serving, returns.”

The Memorial Union has sponsored Najem in each of the U.S. College National competitions that he has competed in.

“It costs around $1,500, so special thanks to them,” Najem said.

Although table tennis is much more popular in Lebanon than it is in the U.S., Najem said there are a surprising number of players.

“Back home it is much more popular, in Europe it is popular, in China it is the number one game,” Najem said. “There is a huge number of players and there are a lot of people who are opening business for supplies for these players. It’s not close to football or basketball.”

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Karen Hough, founder and CEO of Improv Edge, encouraged students to use networking and the concepts of improvisation in their professional and personal environments in a presentation in the Memorial Union Colonial Ballroom, Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Karen Hough, founder and CEO of Improv Edge, encouraged students to use networking and the concepts of improvisation in their professional and personal environments in a presentation in the Memorial Union ballroom last night. Hough was hosted by LEAD.

            “If it weren’t for ‘yes,’ improv wouldn’t work,” Hough said. “’Yes’ is just as important in the business world as well. We are critical people at our core, and our first instinct is to say no a lot of the time.”

            Hough began her presentation with the concept of the “Yes! Deck,” a four step method that can be applied to the business and improvisational comedy world. She used interactive games to illustrate the steps.

            “The idea of involving the audience on a very personal level helped to get the points across better,” said Matthew Crome, freshman management and information systems major. “I think it speaks to your audience a lot more if you get them involved, and the involvement helps get the ideas better stuck in the audience’s mind.”

            Audience participation was essential, and Hough made sure the audience participated when she said she was perfectly comfortable with silence.

            “The improv games were a great opportunity,” said Adam Wright, junior business administration major. “Everyday people are put in those situations and don’t know how to deal with those situations, so her presentation made it accessible to people.”

            Hough also claimed that people only listen to 50 percent of every sentence before they begin to think about what they are going to say next, or are otherwise distracted by something else.

            “People want to be heard, want ideas, collaboration and give and take,” Hough said. “If you figure out how to connect with people at an elemental level at this age, your success in your relationships and business ventures will be phenomenal.”

            The emphasis on connecting was demonstrated through the elevator pitch demonstration and improvisation game.

            “The ones who get promotions, or the jobs they want, are the ones with good people skills,” Hough said. “The elevator pitch should tell someone what you do, your name and why they should care within the time it takes an elevator to go seven floors.”

            Students were reminded at the end of the presentation of the importance of the elevator pitch.

            “The elevator pitch was a very nice touch,” Crome said. “I am a business major, so I’ve had similar lessons. I liked how she said it should be natural.”

            Networking’s importance as making legitimate connections, and not just handing out business cards was reiterated through Hough’s stories.

            “I made my first major business deal on a kid’s soccer field while it was pouring down rain with a woman I thought was just another soccer mom,” Hough said. “You never know when a relationship you build will mean something down the road. This room is your first powerful network, and I have friends I made in college and we have stayed connected for many years.”

            Even some individuals who were not going into the business field considered the presentation’s lessons helpful for their future careers.

            “I thought the presentation was informative and insightful,” said Kaitlyn Jarvis, freshman history major. “My dream is to one day work in museums, and a good part of that is being able to walk up to people you don’t know and introduce yourself. That’s something I am not comfortable with yet, and I think this presentation helped move that direction.”

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Potential tuition increases due to state funding cuts and increased university spending were discussed by administration, student leadership and faculty members at yesterday’s Budget Development and Tuition Committee meeting. An increase has not been finalized, but debates over the issue will continue after spring break. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Potential tuition increases due to state funding cuts and increased university spending were discussed by administration, student leadership and faculty members at yesterday’s Budget Development and Tuition Committee meeting. An increase has not been finalized, but debates over the issue will continue after spring break.

The university’s expenditures have increased due to mandatory rises in employee health insurance, retirement, promotions and possible state mandated increases to classified employee wages. Michael Lane, president of Emporia State, said that the university is doing whatever is possible to minimize the impact of budget cuts on students.

“We are advocating with the legislature to leave our money flat this year,” said Lane in an interview. “Not to decrease it more because we know the state budget is going to be lower for fiscal year 2011 than it is in 2010. So our position with them is whatever it takes, no more cuts and then we will work through what we need to to continue to offer the most quality education that we can to our students.”

But he said that the mandatory expenditures will likely be made up by a rise in tuition costs because he is “reasonably sure (the university) is going to get no more money out of the state.”

According to information provided by Ray Hauke, vice president for Administration and Fiscal Affairs, the cost increase for faculty promotions will be about $3,000 and the retirement increase will be around $700,000. Information for the other two major expenditures was unavailable.

In addition to these rising costs, health services and the athletic department are requesting increases in their budget from the university, which would affect the campus privilege fees that students pay in their tuition.

Due to many factors including a relocation to Southeast Morse, newer equipment and furniture and an increased cost of flu vaccines, Health Services is requesting a $1.50 increase to a total fee of $64.85 per full time student which will give them a total increase in their budget of about $12,000.

“All of these things add up over time,” said Jaque Schmidt, director of Student Wellness. “We want to be conservative because we know the budget situation. We kept it as modest as we felt we could, maybe even a little too modest.”

One thing brought to question was that the university issues free flu shots to students. The price of the shot will increase in cost from $6.00 to $11.60 next year and are a factor in the Health Services request. Some suggested the university not pay for these, but Schmidt said the benefits outweigh the costs.

“One of the things we’ve given the students as part of their privilege fee is free office visits and free flu shots because we feel that those things are beneficial to the health of the campus,” Schmidt said. “If we can keep the students from getting the flu, keep them in classes, keep them from spreading it, then that a service to the campus that we want to be sure to come in and get.”

The athletic department did not receive an increase last year but its requested increase of $7.40 will brings the total fee to $130.28 for full time students. The requested increase for part time students is 85 cents to a total fee of $14.86. The increase will help cover athlete medical costs, payment for game officials and travel to competitions.

“Our teams get around on a pretty thrifty budget and don’t have a lot of frills that go with it,” said Kent Weiser, athletic director. “But there are just certain things that if we are going to have a quality program we need to be able to provide.”

Carol Russell, President of Faculty Senate, said that it is important to remember that cuts are happening university-wide.

“I’m sure you do understand that in academics we do the same thing,” said Russell as a response to Weiser’s statement. “And also how it looks to cut our academics and cut positions and then increase athletics.”

The Budget Development and Tuition Committee will continue to debate this issue, but Lane said that their decisions are only a recommendation and that the Kansas Board of Regents makes the final decision.

“We don’t know what the other institutions are going to be doing,” Lane said. “But I expect that the committee will do a good job of discussing a lot of options and ultimately come down with a recommendation which is best for our institution which would ultimately be best for our students as well.”

The next meeting will be held on March 24 in the PKP room, upstairs in the union. The time has not been confirmed but has been set for 12 p.m. An open forum will be held sometime in May where students can voice their opinion.

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The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 was put into effect on Feb. 22, and while it will enforce many new stipulations, its main focuses are to protect young consumers and make credit card use and payments easier and better understood by the general public. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 was put into effect on Feb. 22, and while it will enforce many new stipulations, its main focuses are to protect young consumers and make credit card use and payments easier and better understood by the general public.

“For too long, credit card companies have had free rein to employ deceptive, unfair tactics that hit responsible consumers with unreasonable costs,” President Barak Obama wrote in a formal statement following the enactment of the bill. “But today, we are shifting the balance of power back to the consumer and we are holding the credit card companies accountable.”

One major provision of the act requires persons under the age of 21 to have a cosigner who is responsible for the cardholder’s debt, should they accumulate any. That cosigner must also agree to any increase in spending limits.

“No increase may be made in the amount of credit authorized to be extended under a credit card account for which a parent, legal guardian, or spouse of the consumer, or any other individual has assumed joint liability for debts incurred by the consumer in connection with the account before the consumer attains the age of 21, unless that parent, guardian, or spouse approves in writing, and assumes joint liability for, such increase,” the act reads.

The Act also prohibits credit card companies from offering enticements such as free giveaways for signing up for a credit card on college campuses or at college-sponsored events.

Rob Catlett, economics professor at Emporia State, said that while he agrees with some stipulations of the act, the age restriction is not one of them. The age provision affects most traditional college students, and Catlett said that 18 years of age rather than 21 would be a better age restriction.

“Restricting the flow of credit to college student is treating them in kind of a childish way,” Catlett said. “If I were a student I’d feel uncomfortable with that.”

The Act is aimed at protecting students from accumulating bad credit through their college years, which Catlett said is a problem for some students, but not the majority.

“I’ve had enough students who have visited with me because they’ve gotten way in over their heads and it makes it challenging to focus on their academic work when they’re in serious financial trouble because they’ve overspent,” Catlett said. That’s a problem, but it’s not a problem with the general student population. I think most students handle their credit wisely.”

In fact, the average balance is $452 for the 35 percent of college students who did not pay their credit card balance in full each month in 2008, an amount that is down from 2007 by 19 percent. It is approximately one-third the amount of the average balance of non-students, according to the Student Monitor annual financial services study.

Catlett said that this particular provision “protects consumers a little too much.”

“It will help to have some people who are not in a position to repay that, to keep them out of trouble,” Catlett said. “But it also is problematic in terms of establishing credit and showing one can use it responsibly.”

Laura Bosiljevac, freshman biology major, agrees with the age provision because of personal experience. Multiple times, she said she has overdrawn on her debit card without realizing it, for which she has been charged a $35 fee. While she acknowledged that she should have been more careful, she said it is still a problem that she thinks could be partially alleviated by the age provision.

“I’m already afraid to get a credit card, but you have to build up credit somehow,” Bosiljevac said. “But a lot of college students, having the low income jobs that they do, I don’t think they need to go out and be spending senseless money because our economy is already in trouble the way it is.”

In addition to young consumer protection, the act also prohibits credit card companies from increasing rates retroactively or within the first year an account is opened, or to use over-limit fee traps. Also, it is now required that they send consumers ample notifications of any changes to the terms of the card and have clear payment dates and times.

“There are many things that got tightened up that really were long overdue because the information that was coming from credit card companies was so detailed that few people could really understand it,” Catlett said. “And this effectively reigned in some of those practices that were I think deceptive, predatory, and enriching of credit card companies at peoples’ expense that wouldn’t realistically be able to understand without that guidance.”

Obama said that while the new rules are a step in the right direction, the consumers remain responsible for payments.

“These new rules don’t absolve consumers of their obligation to pay their bills, but they finally level the playing field so that every family and small business using a credit card has the information they need to make responsible financial decisions,” Obama said.

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: As a part of women’s history month, ESU assistant professor of history, Joyce Thierer held a performance named “This Land Can Not Be Sold” last Tuesday night at Bruder Theatre in King Hall in the form of a personal narrative. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

As a part of women’s history month, ESU assistant professor of history, Joyce Thierer held a performance named “This Land Can Not Be Sold” last Tuesday night at Bruder Theatre in King Hall in the form of a personal narrative.

Thierer portrayed a woman named Grower, who lived in a plains Earth Lodge village before white settlers came. As a composite character, Grower told teaching stories that are stories that have been told by native peoples, and talked about change, trade and farming.

“Some people call it oral biography,” Thierer said. “I chose the name Grower because to grow is what women did, to be a grower, someone to grow things need to be women. I grow thing but there will be more complex name that one will not share with the culture because you have your personal name and public name. ”

The people created by Thierer with the background of American and Western history are concerned about loss not so much of control of the land, but of use of land.

“They know very well what has happened to the peoples to the East, how they have lost the land because the women, not the men, were farming it. For all of these peoples, to farm, to be a producer of food means to be a woman. This is one of the basic clashes of cultures, that of production – what it is and who does it,” Thierer said.

At the end of the performance, the issue for Grower is that of how many of the white ways the people will need to adopt to survive.

“I have never seen this kind of historic performance before. Dr. Joyce left me strong impression and impact with her unique performance,” said Alison Li, junior business major. “I was not familiar with the history that was told tonight before, but now I know it. It’s about hope, about survival, about adjusting to the change. It makes me think about it again and again.”

“With performance, we have one time to connect, and the level of excitement is what I learn from the performance. I am working very hard on my teaching delivery and my teaching style,”
Thierer said.

Thierer held her first performance of Calamity Jane in 1988 while she was working on her doctorate degree in history from Kansas State University and teaching history for Emporia State University.

“History is the story of the choices we have made over time, and the story of how we have explained those choices,” Thierer said.

Some of Thierer’s creative performance teaching styles were inspired by her earlier experience. Thierer has been performing with “Ride into History” since she founded the historic performance touring troupe in 1990.

“The more I think, the much better the students like it,” Thierer said. “Because when I am out on the road, and I drive around campus, and talk to Kansa, I get excited about the topics, so it keeps me always thinking. The performances keep me learning and interested in it,”

Thierer recently published, “Telling History: A Manual for Performers and Presenters of First-Person Narratives,” and also won the Philadelphia Award.

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“I didn’t actually plan for the night shift,” Grizzard said. “When they called me, they were like, ‘we have a position open for a night shift stocker,’ and I was so excited because I needed a job that I took it. I didn’t really think about it at first.” Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

While scanning over her zoology notes, Jennette Grizzard, freshman biology and pre-veterinary major, is interrupted by a text message from her mother. Grizzard is on her lunch break at 2 a.m. at Walmart, where she has worked the night shift stocking shelves in the grocery section for seven months.

“I didn’t actually plan for the night shift,” Grizzard said. “When they called me, they were like, ‘we have a position open for a night shift stocker,’ and I was so excited because I needed a job that I took it. I didn’t really think about it at first.”
Grizzard’s mother, Karla, has worked the night shift for 12 years and currently works as a nurse at Burlington Community Hospital. She said getting used to the night shift took her a couple of years.

“Night shift is a different lifestyle,” Karla Grizzard said. “You’re not awake when everyone else is, that’s your sleep time, so just doing normal things like calling up the electric company or whatever, you have to stay up late to do that. You lose sleep to do your everyday business.”

In addition to texting her daughter while they are both on break, the Grizzard family plans meals at times when everyone, including her father and aunt who are on a daytime schedule, will be awake.
“We try to plan dinner times so that we all can eat and it’s usually later, like around seven because that’s when I’m getting up and getting ready to go to work and she’s getting ready to go to work, so we try to do that so at least we see each other,” Jennette Grizzard said.

Grizzard said that their matching schedules allowed them to form a stronger relationship.

“Working the night shift has made me and my mom closer because we can relate to each other,” Grizzard said. “When we’re both tired and crabby at the same time, that’s kind of nice because we’re like ‘oh, we’re tired, it’s okay.’”
The night shift pays a dollar more an hour, and Grizzard thought rearranging her schedule might allow more time for school work.

“I guess I figured with my school schedule it’d be hard to go to school and then still have time to do homework after work, so I figured the night shift would be easier,” Grizzard said. “I was wrong. It’s just as hard if not harder.”
Along with taking time from her school work, Grizzard’s new schedule deeply cut into her social life.

“I have no social life,” Grizzard said. “I really don’t. The only friends that I have now work the night shift with me because the friends that I had before I started working the night shift, they all work either during the day or they go to school or they don’t work, and I try to match up their schedules with mine and we’re all too busy so I don’t really have time for anybody.”

Tanner Monroe, senior crime and delinquency studies major, who has worked the night shift at Chase County Detention Center for three months, has also noticed a drawback in his social life.

“A lot of times I don’t get weekends off,” Monroe said. “I get weekends off about every three to four weeks and so I don’t get to go out with my friends or anything.”
However, he still holds the position of vice president of Sigma Phi Epsilon and is able to continue to spend time with his girlfriend.

“I get to see my girlfriend still, and I try to keep doing those things that I like to do but I don’t get to go home as much,” Monroe said. “I like to go home and see my family but I usually see them about every two months now.”

Monroe said that while at work he “pretty much baby-sits inmates” and is able to find a couple hours where he can work on homework. He will continue working nights until he is finished with school.

“The other two shifts conflicted with my class schedule, so I choose the night shift so that I could go to all of my classes during the day,” Monroe said. “I’ll keep working nights as long as I have afternoon classes, which will probably be until I graduate, hopefully next December. I was hoping I’d graduate in May, but this job cut down the number of classes I could take this semester.”

But both Grizzard and Monroe said one thing is certain – that since they’ve started working the night shift, they don’t sleep as much.

“Sleeping is a good hobby,” Grizzard said. “I try to catch every little wink of sleep I can get.”

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Senior guard Lamar Wilbern races against a Washburn defender Wednesday night at White Auditorium. Wilbern scored 21 points helping the Hornets beat the Ichabods 71-62.

It was do or die time for the Hornets of Emporia State – thanks to senior guard Lamar Wilbern’s 21 points, the Hornets outlasted the Washburn Ichabods in overtime, 71-62

ESU Coach David Moe was pleased with his team’s performance.

“In the end I thought it was a great win for us,” Moe said.

The Ichabods lit up the scoreboard first with a traditional three point play, which was quickly followed by a three-pointer from senior guard Jeremiah Box. A timeout on the floor stopped the action with the Hornets leading WU 9-5 with 14:55 left to play in the first half.

Washburn battled back to tie the game at 9-all until a fade away jumper from Wilbern separated the teams by two points, 11-9. Another media timeout saw the Hornets trailing the Ichabods 11-13 with 9:38 to play in the half.

With the Hornets trailing WU by five, Wilbern stepped up and hit a big time three-pointer to bring Emporia State within two, 16-18 with just under four minutes to play in the half.

A Washburn timeout stopped the game with 17.2 seconds remaining in the half. The Hornets trailed the Ichabods by four, 21-25, heading into the locker room at halftime.

Box scored first for the Hornets to start the second half on a layup down the middle of the lane.

After a small run by Washburn, Emporia State started hitting shots that cut the lead to one at 28-29 – Washburn Coach Bob Chipman called timeout with 16:12 left to play in the contest.

The Hornets took the lead, 35-34, at the 11:21 mark courtesy of a trey from Wilbern. A media timeout stopped the game with Emporia State trailing WU 35-36 with 9:57 remaining in the contest.

With the game tied at 37-all, senior guard Dustin Andrews took a pivotal charge with just under nine minutes to play, giving the Hornets the opportunity to take possession. Senior guard Tim Niles hit a three-pointer to give the Hornets a three point lead, 40-37, before Moe called a timeout. The final media timeout saw the Hornets with a 46-44 edge over the Ichabods with 3:22 left to play in the second half.

A charging violation against Washburn led to a WU timeout by a frustrated Chipman, with the Hornets leading 48-46 with 1:44 remaining. After the timeout, junior forward Adam Holthaus hit a shot in the paint, which was followed by a Washburn three-pointer, setting the score at 50-49 in favor of ESU with under one minute to play.

With the game tied at 52, Washburn took possession with 15.6 seconds left in the game, which led to a missed shot by forward De’Andre Washington. The missed shot sent the game to overtime with the score tied at 52.

After winning the possession on the jump ball, Wilbern stepped up immediately and hit a three-pointer, giving the Hornets a three point advantage, 55-52. Wilbern followed his trey with two made free throws, padding the Hornets lead to five. Following one made free throw from Washburn,

Wilbern struck yet again, this time on a slashing move to the basket. Moe took a 30 second timeout with 3:03 remaining in the extra period with Hornets leading 61-55.

With under one minute remaining, the Hornets led the Ichabods 65-60. In the end, Emporia State walked away with a decisive victory over the Ichabods, 71-62.

Wilbern made a concerted effort to step up his game for the extra period.

“I just wanted to be aggressive in overtime,” Wilbern said. “It worked out for me.”

For Andrews, the game was a special experience.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Andrews said. “It’s always going to come down to the wire. It was a great game. It was fun to play in. It was just a great thing to be apart of.”

Holthaus scored 15 points for the Hornets, and Niles and junior guard Matt Boswell scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Hornets finish out the regular season on the road against Ft. Hays State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Feb. 28 in Hays.

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The more than 6,000 miles that separate them means nothing to Dong-Joon Lee, junior vocal performance major, and Sun Suk Lee, 2009 Emporia State graduate. They plan to get married and live in the U.S.

“We got engaged so we are going to get married soon,” Dong-Joon said. “It’s a lot. But it’s OK. Sometimes I really miss her. Distance does not matter. It can’t be an excuse.”

But until then, Dong-Joon will not make the nearly 20 hour flight to see Sun Suk in their home country of South Korea. He said that it’s hard, but it’s only for this semester.

“We cannot see each other,” Dong-Joon said. “That’s the only part (that’s hard). Everything else is fine.”

While Andrew Thomas, senior economics major, is only a little over an hour away from his girlfriend, Megan Litchkowski, senior elementary education major, it is still hard. But not as difficult as when he studied abroad last semester in The Netherlands.

“Obviously (the biggest change) was not being able to see each other or talk to each other,” Thomas said. “Before I left, we lived together and we saw each other all day, every day.”

Dong-Joon and Sun Suk have been dating for over a year and they met here at ESU. With this being their first semester apart, Dong-Joon and Sun Suk utilize modern technologies to keep in touch.

“We have phone and email and an internet phone,” Dong-Joon said. “(It’s like Skype) but it’s a system only for Koreans. It works anywhere in the world and it’s totally free. We communicate a lot.”

Thomas said that the use of Skype also made things a lot easier to deal with for him.

“I used Skype for everything,” Thomas said. “Every once in a while I used an international cell phone, but it’s just so expensive.”

And as the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

“We miss each other a lot,” Dong-Joon said. “That makes us keep up communication. I don’t usually express (my feelings) to her. Now I express (myself) more than before due to the distance.”

Relationships between international students usually break up when one person involved leaves, Dong-Joon said.

“Most (international relationships) break up,” Dong-Joon said. “There are barriers between students from other countries. They like hanging out with students from their own country. After finishing their degree, they go back to their country and it’s easy to break up.”

Back in Korea, Dong-Joon’s family lives in Seoul. Sun Suk is currently about an hour to the south in Uiwang.

“It’s not that far, not that close,” Dong-Joon said. “I’ve been there once last summer to meet her parents.”

Now that Thomas is back in the U.S., Litchkowski has moved to Olathe to student teach.

“Now we see each other every weekend,” Thomas said. “It’s a lot easier than it was.”

Thomas said that with two and a half years already under their belt, the decision to continue the relationship, through the distance, was an easy one.

“The only reason that it really worked in our situation was because we had already been dating so long,” Thomas said. “We had enough trust in each other that we were able to make it work.”

Dong-Joon advised persons considering a long distance relationship to think about the decision.

“They should think about it,” Dong-Joon said, “because (they need to know) one thing for sure – if they really love each other. You hear it a lot ‘out of sight out of mind.’ But if you really love each other, it should be ‘out of sight into the mind.’”

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Art from the “Stranger Company” show was on display in the Gilson Gallery in King Hall.

You will find yourself in “Stranger Company” if you venture over to the Gilson Gallery in King Hall before tomorrow.

Elizabeth Shenk, graduate in painting, held the opening reception for her senior exhibition last Friday. All the paintings in the show are available for purchase.

The exhibition’s theme, “Stranger Company,” reflects a conglomeration of sorts inspired by the strangeness of the company in which she said she finds herself surrounded most evenings.

“Most of the work was drawn from the memory of short interactions with total strangers,” Shenk said in her artist statement.

As to the word strangeness, Shenk said, “I appreciate it, and I want to show other people how I think about it and what I see.”

Her inspiration comes from the people she meets.

“I get to meet a lot of people, I get to meet people in a way that is not a lasting thing, but it gives me an opportunity to get in inside a person’s personality within 30-minute camaraderie,” she said.

Shenk has consistently created her paintings in a wide range of captivating visual styles.

In the opening reception, viewers’ attentions were attracted immediately by one of her selected works – a memory series, comprised of portraits of more than 20 different people with multifarious expressions.

One attendee said she was inspired by the fertile imagination.

“People enjoy most of my ideas behind why I was doing this, and the fact is that a lot of people state that they could look again and again and again and they would never get boring,” Shenk said.

Another painting in the collection is named “Zack.”

“I like this a lot, and I think it is gritty, layered, raw,” said a viewer.

Shenk said that her favorite piece was “The Bar.”

“You never know what to expect,” Shenk said. “When I look at it, it is exactly how I feel when I am working back in the bar. It describes the annoyed and excited feeling.”

Shenk has an interest in the early childhood arts and building a strong interest in comics. Shenk mentioned that she liked to draw things that are half cute and half creepy, especially into comics.

Shenk said she aims to be a gallery coordinator in the future. All of the work on display at the exhibition, from site decoration, light control to designed propagating posters, have been organized by Shenk.

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For junior rehabilitation education major Deja Jackson, throwing is a passion unmatched by few others. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

For junior rehabilitation education major Deja Jackson, throwing is a passion unmatched by few others. The Topeka native participates in the hammer and weight throw, javelin and shot put for the ESU track and field team and has already provisionalled for nationals. A graduate of Topeka West High School, Jackson surrounds herself with good company in her throwing companions and uses the strength and inspiration from her grandmother to push her self to her goals.

Q: Since you’re from Topeka, why did you choose to come to Emporia State when you could have attended Washburn?
A: I chose to come to ESU because I wanted to get away from home and Washburn did not have a track program, and my grandmother attended ESU.

Q: What has been the most memorable meet you have participated in?

A: I would have to say the most memorable meet that I participated in was the Texas Arlington Invitational meet last year because I was not expected to make finals, and somehow I ended up throwing a 40-foot personal record in the hammer.

Q: What are the challenges of having a new throwing coach?
A: Trying to build a new coaching relationship was probably the most difficult because as an athlete you get comfortable with what you have, and when you get someone new you kind of want to play the wait and see game.

Q: What are the major differences between high school track and Division II track?

A: The big difference from DII and high school would be that it really does not matter where you place in a meet unless it is conference or another team point meet. Everyone is just trying to get a big mark in DII to hopefully get the chance to go to nationals.

Q: What is your relationship like with your teammates? Are there “cliques” or anything like that between throwers, sprinters, etc.?

A: The throwers are a family, one unit. We naturally surround ourselves with one another, just like the sprinters and jumpers do. When the throwers are in the room you know it. We all react off of each other, and that is a good thing to have in track.

Q: What is your favorite part about throwing?

A: The thing I love about throwing is that it is so unpredictable. There could be someone that comes in with a gigantic mark and does not even come close to it in competition, or someone could have a fairly descent mark and throw a bomb. Another thing I love is that there is a sense of passion in throwing. I can’t explain the feeling when you hit a position, and you just launch it. The true throwers know exactly what I am talking about.

Q: How do you expect to do this year?
A: My expectations for this year would be to personal record in all my events and score points in conference.

Q: How do you expect your team to do this year?

A: I expect everyone to give their best every time they go to compete. That is really all you can ask for. I think both the guys and the girls team will surprise some schools in our conference.

Q: What’s the hardest part about being a thrower?

A: The hardest part about being a thrower is having to be so technical. You can be the strongest thrower out there, but without technique it means nothing. A lot of people do not get that until they attempt a throw.

Q: Who have been your biggest influences in your life?

A: The biggest influence in my life would have to be my grandmother. She is one of those people that have fought the odds of having a significant disability and still being successful at the same time. She knows what it means to push yourself to your full potential, and that is really inspiring. She is the reason I am where I am today, and I will never forget it. I really can’t put into words how much she means to me.

Q: What’s it like being a student-athlete at ESU?

A: Being a student-athlete here at ESU is great. You get to do what you love and get an education. Sometimes it is a struggle balancing academics and your sport, but I make it work.

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The Social Science Department colloquium series featured Kristen K. Epps, doctorate student from the University of Kansas who presented on the topic of “The Social Geography of Slave Labor on the Kansas Missouri Line.”

The Social Science Department colloquium series featured Kristen K. Epps, doctorate student from the University of Kansas who presented on the topic of “The Social Geography of Slave Labor on the Kansas Missouri Line” on Tuesday.

“I have been doing the research for about three years,” Epps said.

The speech contained a great amount of material, evidence, and conclusions of historical facts on slave labor in Kansas and Missouri and several other states in the Midwest U.S.

“She did a terrific job,” said Michael Smith, associate professor of political science. “You can tell that she is very passionate about what she studied.”

When being asked about what area she was interested in studying she said, “Anything about history, slavery, revolution and so on,” Epps said.

Her research project is about Kansas and black history.

“I’m from this part of the country and I didn’t know some of the stuff she talked about,” Smith said. “I didn’t know that it was common for people to rent slaves. I learned a lot.”

Epps was contacted and asked to give a speech at ESU by the Department of Social Sciences. She shared the experience about doing research and she mentioned research in archives.

“That was really interesting. It has various resources. I will search different things, like newspaper, photographs, maps, personal diaries and letters people wrote,” Epps said.

She said that she loves doing this and it is a part of reason why she loves history.

The suggestions she shared with students who are studying in the same area as she does is “ask questions.”

“I think it’s really important to ask questions, because when I talk with someone about my research, they will say maybe you could look up this, maybe you could look at that,” Epps said. “If I just kinda leave them in the bubble, then I can’t have all this. That’s what I am saying, talking with people and asking questions. When she had some difficulties about finding resource of some missing part historical details, she would contact, ask and email people who would know it, such as librarians, the specialists or so.”

After graduating in May, Epps is going to be a professor in college and she will share the research she did with her students in her class.

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