The Huge Activities Fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Wednesday in the Union Square and Pedestrian Mall between Plumb Hall and Morse Complex.

“Basically, it is an opportunity for all the organizations on campus to promote themselves to students,” said Whitney McGinnis, graduate adviser for ASG and RSOs.

The Huge Activities Fair is an annual tradition held at the beginning of the fall semester and is designed to welcome all Emporia State students. It provides opportunities for students to know and participate in various student organizations.

“This year we’ve added another component in it in that we have some community service organizations from the community who will actually be here to promote themselves as well, and to talk to students about how they can help and can do community services for those groups,” McGinnis said.

There are about 14 different community service groups and non-profit organizations from towncoming to campus on both Wednesday and Thursday.

“Community service is being talked about a lot more, so we’re going to do what we can to give students more information, so instead of the students go to the groups, we can bring the groups to students,” McGinnis said.

Ellie Rivera, junior Elementary Education major, just transferred to ESU this semester.

“We don’t have that Activities Fair in my previous school. I am trying to join in UAC. So I can meet new people,” Rivera said.

To date, there are 45 student organizations that have already submitted the registration form for the Fair.

“Totally we have 130 student organizations on campus,” McGinnis said. “We are hoping we can get 75 or 80 organizations who will be there at the Fair.”

Luke Chiddix, President of Sigma Alpha Lambda-Society of Leadership and Honors, went to the Activities Fair last year and the year before.

“I will be hosting a table for Sigma Alpha Lambda-Society of Leadership and Honors,” Chiddix said. “My team is actually going meet tonight and we are going to discuss plans for that on our first meeting. We should have a pretty good time.”

Chiddix believes that the Activities Fair is a good opportunity for students to involve in the campus life.

“If a student really goes out and looks for organizations to join in and he is proactive, I think it’s a great time to find things to get involved with,” Chiddix said.

Han Yan/The Bulletin

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Junior Elementary Education major, Liana Farnen makes decorations while at the speed mixer table Wednesday afternoon in the Memorial Union. The mixer, hosted by UAC, is one of several events planned for the holiday. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Love is in the air at Emporia State as students celebrate Valentine’s Day across campus.

The art department is showing their Valentine spirit with their 6^th annual Valentine’s Day Art Show at the Emporia Arts Council. The show opened Feb. 2 and ends with a reception on Sunday. Works from ESU faculty, former students and current students are featured. All artwork is for sale and proceeds go to the art department’s general scholarships. Admission to the show is free.

“We’ll have refreshments and some food and it’s before all of the really big stuff starts, so it’s kind of a prelude to Valentine’s Day events,” said Roberta Eichenberg, assistant professor of sculpture.

Students who live in the Towers Complex can send each other V-Grams. There will be a table in the Towers lobby from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow. Hearts are 50 fifty cents and cans of crush soda are $1. Profits from the V-Grams go to Shiloh House, a local women’s shelter. Complex coordinator Carol Blade said she’s done this at other schools and called it “a crush for a crush.”

“It’s only for Towers this year. We’re kind of just starting it, so we want to see how it goes before we start working on making it any larger,” Blade said.

V-Grams will be delivered in students’ mailboxes or to their rooms, depending on how many are sold.

“It’s just kind of a program to help people spread a little bit of Valentine’s joy to each other,” Blade said.

The Towers Complex will also host a stoplight party on Feb. 15 where those who are single wear green, those who are dating wear yellow and those who are taken wear red. Blades said there will be food and games at the party.

“The Towers is all first year students so we just want to have a lot of activities to build up that first year class and help people to get to know each other and also just to build a community between the first years,” Blade said.

The Union Activities Council is holding a two minute Valentine mixer tonight at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. It is free for all ESU students, but donations will be taken for Hearts for Haiti, sponsored by the American Red Cross.

“It’s a freewill monetary donation so you don’t have to donate right when you come in, but we will accept them,” said Christina Holt, sophomore elementary education major who planned the event.

Holt said there will be cookie decorating and Valentine making.

“It kind of is like the high school dance set up,” Holt said. “It’s just a night for fun and to relax and be with everybody. It’s kind of cheesy so everyone likes that.”

The A Capella choir is doing Valentine-O-Grams on Friday and Saturday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. around Emporia. Valentine-O-Grams are singing telegrams that come with a hand-made Valentine. Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities Terry Barham said they have been doing these valentines for 10-12 years and people seem to love them.

“People call and say ‘they made me cry,’” Barham said. “We’re talking really good singers, you know.”

Orders for the valentines had to be made by Feb. 7. People got to choose two of four songs: “Baby Face.” “I Love You Truly,” “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and “I Love You a Bushel and a Peck.” They were $10 for ESU students and the proceeds are helping students make payments on the choir’s tour of England, which will be from May 27 – June 4.

“We think it’s a public service and the students they love doing it, they really do,” Barham said.

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Ever had a question about sex that you were nervous to ask? How about the embarrassment involved with some condom confusion or whether you should get that rash checked out? The answers to these and other sex oriented questions are on the way.

Comedienne and educator Maria Falzone will speak at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the Memorial Union Kanza Room to educate and entertain students with her “Sex Rules!” presentation.

            “We hope to have a lot of people turn out for this event,” said Karie Nicholson, freshman business administration major. “We feel that it’s an important topic that people don’t have a lot of knowledge about and with her comedic style she can hopefully bring more people to educate.”

            Union Activities Council encountered Falzone while at a convention in Texas that presents speakers and comedians for college audiences. The attention getting comedic nature of the presentation, combined with the frankness of Falzone warranted an invitation for the speaker.

            “We saw her in Texas and really wanted her to come to ESU,” Nicholson said. “We felt that it was an important topic that a lot people didn’t know much about.”

            According to her Web site, Falzone’s lecture takes a comedic look at the serious sexual issues facing college students. Falzone also illustrates how to properly use condoms, dental dams and properly deal with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s).

            “It’s really about how to have better and safer sex,” Nicholson said. “She talks about sex and alcohol, as well as other areas involving sexual matters.”

            Falzone’s Web site also states that her past experiences with sex, including contracting Herpes from a friend, allow her to talk about sex on a more personal level than many speakers. The lecture also presents facts and figures about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) sex that may go unspoken in other sex lectures.

            Some students believe that the mixing of comedy and lecture could have positive effects on attendance.

            “I don’t know if the sex material specifically will attract more students to the lecture,” said David Ternes, sophomore accounting major. “I do think that the comedy involved may get more people to come than to other UAC events.”

            Students used to uninteresting speakers at sexual education lectures have nothing to fear, according to Falzone’s Web site.

            “I think that the comedy will make people pay a lot more attention to what is said by the speaker,” Ternes said. “We love funny stuff as college kids.”

            Following the University’s tradition of prefacing Spring Break with some sex education activities, UAC hopes that students will take the lessons learned at the lecture with them for Spring Break.

            “Spring Break is coming up, and we want people to be aware,” Nicholson said. “People should be informed about this particular topic.”

            Those in attendance will be encouraged to participate and will get frank and honest answers to whatever questions they have.

“We hope as many people can come out as possible,” Nicholson said. “It’s not your traditional sex education lecture.”

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This Thursday, Career Services will host the annual ESU Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Webb Lecture Hall.

“I hope students use this to get on the job hunt right now,” said June Coleman-Hull, director of Career Services. “Right now the market is very competitive, and they should try to make those job connections early.

There are 51 employers registered, including many accounting firms and businesses from other areas of interest, according to the university Web site. It is the largest Career Fair of the year, with two other career fairs specifically for teachers being held in November and March, Coleman-Hull said.

“It’s a rough job market for everyone,” said Jason Baker, business graduate student and chair of the Career Fair Planning Committee. “I’ve had great success with the Career Fair since the job I’ll be starting here soon was found through the last career fair.”

Some of the employers scheduled for this year’s career fair include the Emporia Police Department, BNSF Railways, The Buckle, Target and Edward Jones.

“This provides face to face connections between employers and students,” Coleman-Hull said. “It also gives employees the chance to learn about quality programs that we have here on campus.”

Career Services advises students in every level of their education to take advantage of the Career Fair.

“Even sophomores and juniors that are not looking for a job right this second should come out,” Baker said. “They can talk to companies about internships, not just jobs.”

Coleman-Hull advises students participating in the career fair to dress professionally, bring extra resumes, not to travel in groups and to send thank you notes after any interviews.

“I encourage students to research the employers before coming to the fair,” Coleman-Hull said. “The better researched you are, the better any interviews will go.”

There will be some companies interviewing the same day as the Career Fair, and students may sign up for interviews the morning of the fair.

“I hope students will take the time to come out and show employers what ESU has to offer,” Baker said. “We are a very educational institution, but if we don’t show the employers that then they will lose interest and just stop coming.”

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John Blaufuss

When John Blaufuss, former controller and interim head of the ESU Foundation, was killed on his morning jog by a drunk driver in December 2005, the Emporia State community took a significant blow.

“Jogging was something that he loved to do – sometimes he was out there at four or five in the morning jogging,” said Blake Davis, associate director of annual programs. “It was really a big loss to the community.”

However, ESU students and staff came together after his death to create a way of remembering Blaufuss and what he believed in.

“We decided to honor John for what he meant to this University,” Davis said. “Student scholarships were one thing that was always important to him and running was his passion.”

The fourth annual John Blaufuss Memorial Run/Walk will be held Saturday, May 2 at the Sauder Alumni Center to raise money for student scholarships with a 5K run and two mile walk.

“My dad was well known for his efforts to get scholarships for students,” said Angela Blaufuss, senior crime and delinquency studies major and ASG president. “He believed everyone should be able to afford to go to school and he would do anything he could to make that happen.”

John Blaufuss was controller of the ESU Foundation for 33 years and was a graduate of ESU.

“This event is a way of keeping John’s legacy alive after so many years with ESU,” said Diana Kuhlmann, associate vice president for fiscal affairs and budget director of ESU. “We’re letting people do something that John loved to give to a cause that he loved.”

The event raises money for the general scholarship fund of ESU through a combination of runner’s fees and corporate sponsorship.

“Last year we raised $10,000 for student scholarships,” Davis said. “We plan on raising as much as $11,000 to $12,000 this year.”

The continuation of the event shows how much ESU cares, Angela Blaufuss said.

“It means a lot to me that this university is doing something that my dad would approve of,” Blaufuss said. “He loved Emporia State and the life that the students brought to campus.”

Davis encourages students and community members to participate.

“The run is family friendly and has a good focus,” Davis said. “This is really for the kids that go to school here, and if students participate they’re only helping themselves. It’s a great chance to do that.”

Registration packets are available at the Sauder Alumni Center and on the university Web site. The registration fee is $25 and is non-refundable if the event is cancelled, according to the ESU Web site.

“This event links everything together,” Kuhlmann said. “We can remember John while serving the students like he would have wanted.”

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