Students swarmed into the first floor lounge of the Memorial Union for music, refreshments and a prize giveaway to celebrate the grand opening of the new Center for Student Involvement yesterday afternoon. There was a raffle for prizes such as an iPad and a 32-inch flatscreen LCD TV, plus gift baskets donated by eight Registered Student Organizations.

“This is basically a grand opening celebration for CSI,” said Union Activities Council President Eden Tullis. “The new Center for Student Involvement opened one week after spring break. We set the date for the event when we moved into our new location.”

The new area was opened up to students for tours. Tullis said that CSI started planning for the event in November and that UAC was “very excited” to host the event.

“The grand opening is just very exciting,” said Ashley Vogts, ASG president. “Students usually don’t get to know much about what CSI does. This gives them a better look at who they are and what they do.”

CSI member Enilisse Ortiz said they were not the only group participating in the event on Wednesday afternoon. The Office of International Education, Greek Life, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Associated Student Government, L.E.A.D., Community Hornets, P.R.I.D.E. and the Earth Science Club also participated, setting up booths or donating prize baskets for the raffle.

“ASG also has a booth there with fliers that have information about what ASG does,” Vogts said.

Ortiz said CSI wants to encourage students to come by and check out the new facility.

“It’s also an opportunity for students to find out information about groups relevant to their interests,” Ortiz said.

Tullis said that with the union renovations, she has noticed more people in the lounge area by the CSI.

CSI has also started planning another event for students next year. Tullis said CSI is getting ready to put together a time capsule in the fall and hide it within a recess in a wall in the newly finished Memorial Union, close to where the new CSI is located.

“We recently dug up a time capsule when the renovations to the Memorial Union started,” Tullis said. “We are really looking forward to doing the time capsule in the fall.”

Steve Edwards

Send article as PDF to

Matt Brown, the owner of High Gear bike shop, wins the 20 kilometer advanced bike race at the 2nd Annual Camp Alexander Trail Racing Series last Saturday. The ESU Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Club hosted this event. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin

Asher Delmott, senior psychology major, took first place in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Club’s second annual Trail Racing Series 5 kilometer walk/run over the weekend.

“I’m a runner so I just wanted to get out here and get a hard workout in and race some people around here,” Delmott said.

Delmott said that this was his first trail race, but he enjoyed running in it and would like to do it again next year.

The event was held at Camp Alexander and featured two bike races in addition to the walk/run. The walk/run started at 8:30 a.m. and was followed by the bike races. The first beginner race featured a 10 kilometer ride and the second advanced race was 20 kilometers. Registration for the walk/run was $20 and $25 for the bike race.

Trey Brokaw, senior psychology major, said the money raised at the event would be split between Camp Alexander and the HPER Club.

Brokaw also said Camp Alexander will use the money for the youth programs held during the summer, and HPER club will use the funds they raised to send members to both state and national conventions.

Biker and owner of High Gear Bike Shop in Emporia, Matt Brown, participated in the advanced bike race with his team. Brown said that his team decided to participate in order to help out Camp Alexander and the HPER club.

“Just to support two good groups,” Brown said.

Brown said that he and his group plan to participate in the trail race next year. The group takes part in many bike races around Kansas as well as other states such as Texas and Arkansas.

“It was great,” Brown said. “I’m glad they put it on.”

Brokaw said that last year’s trail race only had the 5K walk/run and that this year they decided to expand the event with the bike races. Brokaw said that the club plans to continue this event in the future.

They had about 50 runners signed up and between 15 and 20 bikers.

“That’s a pretty good turnout. We’re hoping to have a better turnout next year,” Brokaw said.

Brooke Schultz

Send article as PDF to

Megan K Nelson, lecturer at Harvard University, lectures for Kansas Civil War enthusiasts Tuesday evening in Webb Hall. Megan obtained a PhD in American studies and is an environmental historian. Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin

Megan Kate Nelson, a Harvard professor and Civil War historian, gave a lecture on Tuesday from her latest book “A Man Among Ruins: Charles F. Morse Encounters Wartime Destruction 1861-1865.”

The lecture, held in Webb Hall, was part of the Boertman lectures, in honor of long-time Emporia State professor C. Stewart Boertman, who taught for 41 years. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Social Science department and the Lyon County Historical Society.

“My lecture uses the experiences of Charles F. Morse as a window into Civil War destruction because he fought during the entire course of the war. He was in multiple theaters and encountered the ruin of cities, houses and forests and the bodies of man,” Nelson said. “So instead of giving you an overview or talking about ruins generally, I wanted to bring it down to that one individual’s experience because I think those kinds of stories are more compelling to tell and listen to.”

Brian Miller, assistant professor of social sciences, said Nelson’s work, in many ways, brings fresh insights into thinking differently about the Civil War.

“I think that the history of Civil War environments and the history also of the body in the Civil War are really new fields and the people who are working in them are on the cutting edge of Civil War history, sort of pushing the boundaries of what we actually know and can know,” Nelson said.

There were several reasons why she chose Charles F. Morse as her window. Nelson had a complete set of his letters. He had really good penmanship, and his sketches and views of the environment, both natural and manmade, interested her. She was also interested in the fact that he was a soldier.

“She definitely put a new view on the Civil War,” said Jessica Goertzan, sophomore psychology major. “I think her idea of the different types of ruin were very insightful and made me think about the war in a new light, not just as a series of battles, but about everything, that war destroys homes, cities, the environment and, of course, the people involved.”

Ashley Washington, junior communication major, said that Nelson was a great speaker and she liked how Nelson zoomed in on the life of a particular soldier.

Nelson’s book is available in the Memorial Union Bookstore. There are a limited amount of signed copies.

Khaili Scarbrough

Send article as PDF to

Senior graphic design major Alyson Baggett gathered with fellow students to prepare and present artwork to gather feedback Tuesday afternoon. The show has been set to open May 3rd from 6 to 8 pm in Gilson. Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin

This is the first year for design professor Emily Rice to teach at Emporia State, and the senior showcase is her final class project. It will feature senior graphic design students Strap Nkoba, Yeji Hong, Amanda Collins, Matt Hoelscher, Kimber Mitchell, Brock Thornburgh and Alyson Baggett.

“These displays really push the students to do large branding work, which is the combination of everything they’ve done in graphic design.” Rice said. “It applies things they’ve learned from logos to icons to advertisement, just creating the full identity for their companies.”

The show is on display April 30-May 4 in the Norman R. Eppink Gallery in King Hall. A reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 3 in the lobby of King Hall.

 “This is really good for any job they are looking for,” Rice said. “So they are able to handle tight deadlines, a lot of work and lack of sleep.”

Students have been working on the project for seven weeks. Nkoba spent nearly $100 on his project. He said cutting foam core was difficult for him, but Collins thought printing was the biggest challenge for her.

The students came up with a full package from the names, logos, posters, T-shirts, books and even coffee cups for companies like bakeries, coffee shops, beer brands, sports arenas and multimedia platforms.

Rice said she placed more emphasis on conceptual thinking and problem solving than how aesthetically pleasing the project is.

“When you have a project like this, it shows a concept and idea that most companies look for over just how good it looks, or the style of something,” Rice said. “So just the content and ideas behind it are almost as important as how well they did make it.”

Baggett did her project for a coffee company called The Press Café & Gallery. Its mark was coffee stains looking like the globe, and she applied the mark to the concept, “Leave your mark on the world.”

Baggett said she had slept only four hours for two days in preparation for the mini preview.

“It helps push us to try to be creative, and gives us really good work to show possible employers,” she said. “Also, it helps us work with deadlines, size perimeters and having to deal with printing things. So it’s basically just a lot of stuff we would deal with when we’re working. Since we are seniors, it’s good to get this experience.”

Tianhai Jiang

Send article as PDF to

After meeting with President Barack Obama’s administration and other student body presidents in Washington, senior occupational therapy major and Associated Student Government president Ashley Vogts discussed the doubling of Federal Stafford loan interest rates at Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting. Vogts’ presentation was followed by the 6.5 percent tuition increase proposed by Emporia State’s tuition and budget committee.

“I don’t think students know about it,” Vogts said. “At this conference we just all kind of came to the consensus that we all want to take a stand. Maybe start doing some lobbying or writing to legislation and just saying as students we don’t think we can handle this double increase in student loans.”

Stafford loan interest rates will double July 1, raising them to around 6.8 percent, which will be an increased burden to the average undergrad who owes about $25,000 after graduation.

“Even with scholarships, college has become too expensive,” said Jake Snyder, freshman chemistry major. “If they keep increasing the cost of tuition and student loans, it won’t be long before kids won’t be able to afford to go to college, and the ones that do are going to spend their entire life paying off that debt.”

Kevin Johnson, faculty president, also discussed tuition increases for next year. Students can expect to pay about 6.5 percent more in tuition if the tuition and budget committee’s recommendation goes through. Before it can be approved, it must go through President Michael Shonrock and the Kansas Board of Regents.

“According to the information we were presented with at the meeting, it is a smaller dollar increase than the other regents universities will likely be recommending,” Johnson said. “We are still going to be about half the cost of KU and K-State and comparable to Pittsburg and Fort Hays.”

Half of the increase will go to paying utility bills, health plan costs and other mandatory expenses. The other half will go to a tuition assistance plan and a 1 percent pay raise for all ESU employees, depending on enrollment for next year.

“Nobody wants to pay more, but I don’t think the preliminary figures for enrollment next fall are much better than a year ago. Of course, we won’t know until the fall,” Johnson said. “I think based on that, I don’t think it is going to hurt enrollment and we are still one of the best buys in the state.”

The next Faculty Senate meeting on May 1 will be the last meeting of the term. Directly after the meeting, current and new members are invited to a reception at the Shonrock home.

Rocky Robinson

Send article as PDF to

Brook Schmidt and Stuart Sneath pose with corky in front of Plumb Hall. Photo Courtesy of Facebook

The votes are in and Brooke Schmidt, junior Spanish major, and Stuart Sneath, junior sociology major, won the election for student body president and vice president respectively.

“I just believe we’re at a pivotal moment here with our new president (Michael Shonrock), and he’s all about creating a paradigm shift and I’m just really ready to jump on board and help Emporia State become even better than it already is,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt and Sneath said that they plan to help Associated Student Government and its senators have more presence on campus.

“(With) most governing bodies, you get the idea of being boring and staunch and…kind of the old boys’ club, which is not something we are, so one thing we want is a more fun campus and to let people know that ASG is here to help people. We are the voice for you guys,” Sneath said.

Sneath also said that he wants ASG to be more involved in students’ experiences from the beginning by being at orientation events and other such activities to help introduce themselves to new students and hopefully help retention.

Sneath has served on the student senate as a senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for a year, as well as having been the activities chairman for the Interfraternity Council, a coordinator for Community Hornets and a facilitator for Mosaic of ESU, among other leadership positions. While she does not have experience as a senator, Schmidt has held various leadership positions on campus. Schmidt is the current president of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and Alternate Spring Break, as well as having been secretary for the Panhellenic Society for two years.

Schmidt and Sneath were up against Luke Chiddix, junior political science major, and Luke Drury, junior political science major, and won by 111 votes, according to the election results posted on the official ASG page on ESU’s website, with another 18 votes going to write-in candidates. Over 600 total students voted in the presidential elections.

“My hat’s off to Brooke and Stuart for running a successful campaign,” Drury said. “I wish them the best of luck next year.”

Drury said that he felt the election process went very well and that students’ voices were heard.

Thirteen senators were also voted in during the elections. Mathkar Alamani is the senator for the School of Business. Billy Garner, Julie Ma, Carley Swanson, Marcus Hix, Brandon Allen, Paul Knackendoffel and Manny Requenes are the representatives for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Josiah D’Albini, Michael Stauffer and Luke Farnsworth represent the Teachers College. And Alisha Lyon and Samantha Beye are the senators for the graduate school.

Sneath said that there are four more positions open in the senate should other students wish to run for those positions.

Luke Bohannon

Send article as PDF to

Melissa Tastove and Elexa Dawson from The Skirts play at Flintstock on Saturday night in Albert Taylor Hall. Country music star Travis Marvin also played at the event. This year’s theme was country music. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin

After a year hiatus due to lack of funding, Flintstock, the “Woodstock of the Flint Hills” rocked back onto campus Saturday.

While the event originated in the ’70s and was traditionally held in Wilson Park, it was supposed to take place in Kellogg Circle this year but was relocated to Albert Taylor Hall in light of severe weather alerts.

This year’s theme was country music. Carlos Urgiles, junior biochemistry and molecular biology major and UAC member, said the last Flintstock in 2010 had a hippie theme.

“In the past, UAC has usually had local rock bands perform, but this year we wanted to do something different,” Urgiles said.

Urgiles said this was the last free music event planned by UAC for the semester, but there will be other UAC-sponsored events for students such as Night at the Movies at Flinthills 8 Cinemas on April 25, iPod Idol on April 26 and Aqua Massage on May 3.

Flintstock included food and activities such as a photo booth and a performance by Kansas-based bluegrass band The Skirts and country musician Travis Martin. Martin will perform at this year’s Country Stampede on June 22.

Martin hails from Ottawa and has been playing country music for over 15 years. He said his biggest influences are Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks. Martin and his band played songs from his self-titled EP and upcoming full-length album.

Members of Chase County based bluegrass band The Skirts include Elexa Dawson, Melissa Tastove, upright bass player Sarah Bays and banjo player Brandi Emley. There is a fifth member – mandolinist Emily Wilson – who was not able to make it to Emporia to perform with the other four on Saturday night. The quintet is currently recording for a future album.

“We play bluegrass, but there’s an influence from classic rock and ’90s pop,” Dawson said.

The Skirts formed in 2009 out of defunct progressive folk band Elexa and The Hitchhikers, of which Dawson and Tastove were members. Dawson said the members of The Skirts have known each other “a long time.”

“Since we formed three years ago, we have toured with White Ghost Shivers and Truck Stop Honey Man,” Tastove said. “We’re inspired by them and a lot of our peers.”

Bays is an ESU graduate student and teaches choir at Emporia High School. Bays said she will perform with musician Bob Haselhuhn at The Taste of Emporia at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at the W. L. White Civic Auditorium. Tickets are $35, and attendees must be at least 21.

Dawson said The Skirts enjoyed playing for ESU.

“We love playing in Emporia,” said Dawson. “It was awesome to be able to play a free show for students.”

Steve Edwards

Send article as PDF to

Erika Nelson discusses folk art in Kansas last Friday night at the Friends of the Plains Dinner at the Granada Theater. Jim Hoy, director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and English professor, gave the opening speech. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin

When artist Erika Nelson first came to Kansas, she was fascinated by the folk art. On Friday at the annual Friends of the Plains Dinner at the Granada Theater, she gave a presentation which consisted of an explanation and exploration of Kansas’ notable folk artists.

“Folk art is about untrained artists that are doing something really spectacular and amazing with, a lot of times, ordinary materials used in extraordinary ways,” Nelson said. “They are some of my favorite stories of eccentrics from Kansas.”

Nelson is a working artist credited with the World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things. She said that she also does a lot of public art projects, such as large scale installation art, murals and workshops with kids like spam carving or art book trash.

“People bring me in when they want something that pushes the boundaries of normal art making,” Nelson said. “(Friends of the Prairie) hired me to come and speak to the group as a reflection of the history and heritage of Kansas, and it is also such a fun visual talk they thought it would be a good fit. It has always been a hit with people who are interested in the history of their area.”

Jim Hoy, director of Great Plains Studies and professor of English, said that Nelson’s talk fit in with the dinner because Friends of the Plains are people from the surrounding areas that have an interest in the history and culture in the grassland region.

“We have a speaker every year. We have had a lot of great speakers, and I think Erika’s cultural talk was really interesting,” Hoy said.

Nelson started off her presentation by explaining what folk art is and then continued with what that means in Kansas. She presented the audience with a plethora of Kansas folk art wonders, such as S.P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden in Lucas.

This site is a massive sculpture garden made by a Civil War veteran. It was started in 1904 when Dinsmoor was 64 years old. The garden tells stories from the Bible as well as political events.

Another such wonder that Nelson presented was the totem fence line of M.T. Liggett. This piece uses junked farm machinery, car parts, road signs and railroad equipment to make his sculptures. Nelson said that his inspiration for his sculptures comes from anything that has or is making him mad. The totems cover a large stretch of fence line along Highway 54.

“In some spots he has two or three rows of totems,” Nelson said. “There is a lot that makes this guy mad.”

Among Dinsmoor and Liggett, Nelson also mentioned several other folk artists that make art with cardboard, wheat, and left over wood and metal. She closed her talk with a woman that used a modified blind contour method, which is drawing something without looking, to create drawings and paintings expressing her moods and everyday life.

The audience clapped and laughed at nearly every slide. Among the audience were ESU faculty and staff such as President Michael Shonrock and his wife Karen, Larry Schwarm, photography professor, Jim Ryan, communication and theater professor, amd Ellen Hansen, associate professor of social sciences.

“(The presentation) was great,” Shonrock said. “Watching and learning about the folk art and the treasures of Kansas was just really fun. I want to meet the angry guy.”

Laura Eddy, director of Admissions, said that she has lived in Kansas all her life, but she learned a lot about Kansas and that she wants to see some of the folk art Nelson presented.

Khaili Scarbrough

Send article as PDF to

Taylor Mayers, sophomore nursing major, and graduate student Sarah Richardson, listen as Amy Webb, associate professor of English and co-director of Creative Writing, instructs them on critiquing fellow students’ stories for the next class period Tuesday morning. Webb was named the 2012 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor. Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin

“Wonder Woman” is how Rachel Marshall, sophomore communications major, described Amy Sage Webb, associate professor English, co-director of the creative writing program, and Emporia State’s 2012 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor. Marshall praised Webb in a letter, reinforcing her opinion on Webb’s eligibility for the honor.

“She does it all,” Marshall said. “I don’t know how she reads everyone’s work and knows exactly what happened and what goes on in each story.”

            Last Tuesday, Webb said she was shocked when the award was presented to her during her advanced fiction writing class.

            “I never quite got it back together after that,” Webb said.

            The Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professorship was established in 1979. The Distinguished Professor is accomplished in a multitude of areas, including success in teaching, encouragement of academic success in students and editorial work for professional journals. The Distinguished Professor will also speak at the winter and spring commencement ceremonies.

            “It’s an honor,” Webb said. “I’m going to take it seriously. I’m going to bring the best words that I can. (Teaching has) been the best experience of my life here – it’s a great gift to get to do it.”

Webb has taught at ESU since 1996. She said the university gives her the chance to focus on the community factor of a classroom. She may have one student from freshman seminar through graduate school. In her classes, she has one day at the end of the semester where an “award” is given to each student.

“It’s a way of acknowledging that we played this role in each other’s lives,” Webb said. “It’s important for me to say something good about every student at the end of the semester.”

No one student is the same, and no one class is the same, Webb said. One student even inspired her to work toward teaching a Women and Wilderness class next semester.

“I want to keep teaching because every semester the students do something interesting and inspiring,” Webb said.

Marshall also regarded Webb as a role model. When she started the RSO B.U.I.L.D. Beauty last spring semester, Marshall needed a faculty adviser. She immediately thought of Webb.

“I wanted a strong woman and someone I looked up to,” Marshall said. “She’s just so involved and does everything, but she’s still so calm and classy and sophisticated. She carries herself well even with all the things that she has to do.”

Michelle Thompson, senior secondary English education major, used words like “fun, motivational and energetic” to describe Webb.

“I like how she’s really dynamic,” Thompson said. “I think she does a really good job of emphasizing the creative part and letting us go free reign.”

Marshall said she was not surprised when Webb was announced as the recipient.

“I think she totally deserves it,” Marshall said. “She’s amazing.”

Susan Welte

Send article as PDF to

Sen. Pat Robert answers questions from Emporia High School student Talia Smith. Yo Han Kim/The Bulletin

United States Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) was greeted at the doors of the Sauder Alumni Center by children from the Center for Early Childhood Education last Friday afternoon. The kids made sure Roberts did not leave empty handed, sending him home with a poster they made.

“I don’t know if they knew how important of a person he was, but they always enjoy meeting new people,” said Keely Persinger, director of the CECE. “We talked about how he is an important person that their moms and dads go to for help. I think Roberts was really excited as well, and I think he would have rather sat down with kids than go to the meeting. They are good ambassadors.”

Roberts took the podium for about an hour at the town hall meeting. He covered a range of issues from higher education to national security, saying over-regulation is the biggest problem facing Washington.

Compromise is what Roberts said Washington needs to focus on most.

“People do not want to give up their convictions, but they also want to reach across the aisle and see if they get at least some compromise to show they are working together,” Roberts said. “Kansas I am not really worried about in regards to having town hall meetings, to talk and to boast because we are going to agree 90, 95 percent of the time.”

In an interview after the meeting, Roberts weighed in on the cost of higher education. He said he was not happy with President Barack Obama’s takeover of the student loan program.

“The cost to the student is now about 6.2 (percent),” Roberts said. “The difference goes to pay for the stimulus and Obamacare…. I really objected to that and that was my executive order, but Congress didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Roberts said lack of discipline to the student loan program is making it harder for students get and pay off their loans.

“Once again, you are paying 6.8 percent for that student loan when a community banker might have given it to you for 3.8,” Roberts said. “It is too expensive. These things should be paid off in five or 10 years. They shouldn’t be strung out over a 40-year period. That just isn’t right.”

President Michael Shonrock met with Roberts before the meeting.

“I appreciate when someone says, ‘What can we do to help Emporia State University’,” Shonrock said. “It was wonderful to have a U.S. senator come visit Emporia State.”

Children from the CECE greet Sen. Roberts with a welcome card in Sauder Alumni Center on Friday. Yo Han Kim/The Bulletin

Roberts was born in Topeka and graduated with a degree in journalism from Kansas State at Manhattan and still carries a reporter’s notebook with him, which he showed to a student journalist after the town hall meeting. Roberts served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years, beginning in 1981. He was elected to the Senate in 1997 and is now the senior senator from Kansas.

Rocky Robinson

Send article as PDF to

On average, 68 to 71 percent of first year students return for a second year of school at Emporia State, and for the past 10 years, this rate has been steady.

Jim Williams, associate provost for Enrollment Management and vice president for Strategic Partnerships, said this is approximately the standard retention rate for the type of institution that ESU is.

            “Every student is so individual and different,” said Shelley Gehrke, director of Student Advising. “Sometimes they have financial obligations or they’re just really homesick and decide to take time off and work. It’s their first independence, trying to learn how to do life and college. (College) is a big step.”

            Some of the most common factors for students not returning to universities include the inability to pay, alcohol misuse and indecision on schooling, said Lynn Hobson, associate vice-president for Student Life.

“No matter how well you’ve prepared, there’s something that’s going to overwhelm you,” Williams said.

            But to help decrease two of these factors, ESU is teaming up with EverFyi Inc. to implement AlcoholEdu and Buttonwood, new programs which will take effect in the coming fall semester.

AlcoholEdu is a mandatory alcohol prevention program where first-year and transfer students will answer questions about their alcohol use 45 days before coming onto campus and 45 days after coming onto campus, said Donna Drake, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention coordinator and counselor.

            “There’s a lack of rules and regulations (in college),” Drake said. “They’ll definitely learn about themselves (through AlcoholEdu).”

            Buttonwood is an online resource that will help students with personal finances, such as how to build a budget, how to use a budget and how to responsibly use a credit card. Students will also be able to use the resource to make a graph of monthly income and what their expenses are.

            “Often times coming into college, it’s the first time for many people to have full or almost full responsibility for financial life,” Hobson said.

            Several other initiatives have been taken to make changes in keeping students on campus, Gehrke said. Hornet Connections, for example, will now feature Peer Academic Leaders who can give advice and answer questions for future students.

“I think everyone on campus, students alike, are a part of the retention effort,” Gehrke said, “such as sharing how much you enjoy ESU and have appreciated some of the experiences and opportunities. Hearing it from another student is one of the best ways to learn.”

            A new freshman seminar will also be launched in the fall. A one-hour credit for undecided majors, the seminar will give students information on college success, major exploration and building relationships.

            “I hope (students) learn that it’s okay to ask for help,” Gehrke said. “They are not alone in some of their transitional issues for college. You don’t have to make any life-long decisions right away.”

            Students with questions and concerns about being a successful student at ESU may contact Williams at jwilliams@emporia.edu.

Susan Welte

Send article as PDF to