For Rosie Sauls, a student assistant in the Multicultural Affairs department, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is more than just a day of remembrance.

“Our main (goal) is to reiterate what Martin Luther King’s message was more than the “I Have a Dream” speech, that’s why I added the jail cell activity,” Sauls said.

Sauls has been orchestrating the children’s morning portion of the day’s event, which will be held in the Memorial Union, and has tried to deepen the knowledge of Martin Luther King Jr.’s works by creating a station for the children to write letters like King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to try and put the children in his shoes and see how he felt.

Sheryl Lidzy, faculty adviser for the Black Student Union and professor of Communications, has been helping to spread the word about the event.

“ESU and the community sponsor many activities available on Monday, including an art activity in the Memorial Union and a free dinner,” Lidzy said.

This celebration marks the 25^th year the holiday has been observed, despite being signed into law in 1983, according to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service website.

There is a day of activities planned for this coming Monday including a children’s art program with a project the children can take home, a candlelight walk from William Allen White Library to First Presbyterian Church where a free dinner is being held.

There are also numerous guest speakers talking on the subject of Martin Luther King Day and Pastor Leo Barbee will have a presentation on “Taking a Stand for Things that Matter.” The event has many pastors and speakers from the community to reach every demographic.

“Martin Luther King was a pastor, so that plays an important role in the day – but the event is for everybody, it’s not just ESU or First Presbyterian or the community, everyone plays a part in the event,” Lidzy said.

There will also be a station for writing about things they dream of and how those could come to pass, with more of an essay for the older children. Also the Textiles and Toymakers Club will be creating a bubble art project for the children to take home.

Charlie Heptas

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Pedersen

On Monday, I have a photojournalism class in the evening. The first Monday back is always a tiring one, so I decided to buy a Mountain Dew during our break to wake myself up. So I went to the vending machine, pulled out my $1.25 and prepared my mouth for some limey refreshment.

But alas, there was no Dew to be had. In fact, there were no Pepsi products at all, and the drinks cost $1.50. And it was then I remembered that Emporia State had signed a deal with Coca Cola to sell their products exclusively.

Now I am not a man who has to have a soda every day, nor do I really prefer Pepsi over Coke. I will enjoy a soft drink from time to time, but not very often. But when I do enjoy a bottle of the bubbly, I do not want to pay as much for 16 ounces as I would for an immense 44 ounces at the Kwik Shop across the street.

And, of course, it is not just soda that has risen in price, but also juice and bottled water. A few years ago, bottles of soda were only $1 and they haven’t risen by that much anywhere else.

When the school signed the deal with Coca Cola, it seems that they were cutting out competition in exchange for, perhaps, a larger cut of the profits. The prices of Coca Cola products have not risen anywhere else. It is only on campus that we are forced to pay extra, if we choose to drink things from a vending machine.

This bothers me.

It may not be a big deal. It is only a quarter. But it shows to me the trends that ESU has been following and it shows what they could do in the future. Perhaps they will require art supplies and books to be purchased exclusively from the campus bookstore and enforce it by threat of fines.

Hopefully that will never happen, but if they continue to reduce competition, we could eventually find ourselves in a situation like that. Our entire economic structure is based on choice and preference, and they are rocking the boat.

We are a capitalistic society and competition is the backbone of our economy. The cola wars have been going on for as long as I can remember, back to the days of Pepsi Blue and Coke’s failed new recipe.

Now the school has cut out that competition in exchange for a deal. I can understand that the school always has a need to be greedy, we are renovating the Memorial Union and, let’s face it, much of the rest of the campus could use a renovation as well.

But I still don’t see that as an excuse to charge us more for soda. Student fees have already been raised and they will probably continue to be, so why not add in some extra money for what we can maybe assume the school can make from soda and call it even?

Personally, I will not buy into this game. I have not purchased anything from a vending machine yet this year, and I don’t plan on doing it in the future. I will gladly bring a bottle of water from home which I can reuse before I will pay an exorbitant amount for a bottle of water from a vending machine, and I urge you to do the same.

¡Viva la Revolución!

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Demolition contractors began removal of the ramp at the east end of the east/west Union concourse. At the end of the day, about 40 percent had been removed, creating a view into the basement of the Memorial Union. Courtesy of Roger Heineken.

The major renovation project for the Memorial Union has continued over the summer since its groundbreaking ceremony on April 16.

“Since students left in May, most of work has been demolition,” said Dave Hendricks, director of the Memorial Union. “So far, I think it has gone extremely well.”

However, the change of locations for some offices within the Memorial Union has proven to be a challenge for some students, especially for new international students.

“I went to bookstore the other day, but got lost on my way back,” said Xinhui Tan, freshman communication major.

Seven offices and stores have moved to temporary locations for the current stage of the renovation, with the Office of International Education now on the first floor of South Morse Hall and the bookstore where the old OIE offices used to be. The Library for the Blind and Conference/ Scheduling Offices have been relocated to Lower Level West, the space that was previously the Hornets Nest. The Information Service Center is now located in the West Lobby. ID Office and Hornet Express are on the Main Street of MU.

“We spent a lot of time talking about the project schedule,” Hendricks said. “When to do certain part of the project, we are keeping in mind that we are still here to support the campus and how can we minimize the inconvenience for the campus. We are trying to keep it open as open as we can.”

Students who were on campus during the summer have been watching the renovation project’s progress.

“I’m pretty excited,” said Kyle Granzow, sophomore information systems major. “(From) all the drawings I’ve seen, it looks like it’s going to be good. I’ve been here all summer. I’ve seen the progress moving along in a good pace. I guess I am happy to be more centralized.”

Roger Heineken who works at Information Service Center in Memorial Union has been at Emporia State since 1969 when he was a student. Heineken said he is excited about the renovation.

“As the first student union west of the Mississippi, this building is undergoing the largest and major renovation by far that it has ever seen,” Heineken said. “I think it will transform student’s social life on campus. Students will interact differently in a positive way.”

Some students were still hesitant about whether student fees should go towards the renovation.

“I keep hearing we have a lot of problems in our budget,” said Carisa Smith, a psychology major student. “It seems like a waste of money since I thought it worked before.”

Hendricks hopes that this renovation will create and build a facility that students will be proud of.

“Hopefully that will be a place students would like to come and hang out,” Hendricks said. “We want it to be their home away from home. When walking through with their friends and family, they will say ‘this is my school and this is Emporia State.’”

Hendricks writes updates about the renovation project once a month. In his most recent update, which is to be published today, he introduced the project’s effort on protecting environment and saving energy, especially through new lighting and windows.

Up to 378.7 tons of debris have been removed from the building and 72.5 percent (274.9 tons) has been recycled or preserved for reuse in the project so far.

Han Yan/Staff Writer

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According to a recent sampling done by Associated Insulated Inc., a contracting company based in Manhattan, the walls in Webb Lecture Hall, the adhesive on the tiles in the Webb lobby and the Ballroom bays, the steam lines and ceiling in the lower level have all tested positive for asbestos. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

Asbestos is banned in about 50 countries, but still lingers in some buildings constructed before 1980 in the U.S., including the Memorial Union.

According to a recent sampling done by Associated Insulated Inc., a contracting company based in Manhattan, the walls in Webb Lecture Hall, the adhesive on the tiles in the Webb lobby and the Ballroom bays, the steam lines and ceiling in the lower level have all tested positive for asbestos.

“Most of the asbestos is on the far east side of the building which was built in 1971, and it was applied during construction because in that time frame it was a very popular method for insulating,” said Dave Hendricks, director of the Memorial Union.

Preliminary to the construction for the renovations in the union, the university contracted with Associated Insulated Inc. to get the asbestos abated, a bid which fell in around $380,000. This left $120,000 in the “environmental concerns” portion of the renovation budget to cover any additional fees of new findings once construction is underway.

“We had done a couple of asbestos abating projects in the 1970s additions so we suspected that we had it,” Hendricks said. “We would have been surprised if we wouldn’t have had any. I think we’re going to be more surprised in what we find when we start tearing down walls and ripping out ceilings.”

According to “Ban Asbestos Now,” a campaign advocating awareness about the dangers of asbestos, 2,000 to 3,000 people each year are diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Director of Facility Planning Bobbi Pearson said that despite concerns, the university was advised to leave the asbestos undisturbed.

“Industry practices recommend that existing asbestos-containing materials be maintained in their original state,” Pearson said. “When materials are removed for renovation work, a licensed contractor will safely contain areas to protect against health risk then collect and legally dispose of products.”

Hendricks said that because asbestos clean-up is an expensive process and the building has not been under construction, there has not been an opportunity to abate the asbestos before now.

“It’s a very costly method and it is my understanding that as long as it is not being disturbed or you’re not doing construction in those areas, then you don’t have to worry about it,” Hendricks said.

The asbestos evasion will begin March 1 and will extend to Webb Lecture Hall around April 19. Hendricks said the process should not disrupt student travel through the union, instead, rerouting is a product of the construction.

“Your biggest thing is that Webb Lecture Hall and lobby will be offline, not because we’re abating asbestos but because we’re under construction and our path of travel is going to be changed,” Hendricks said.

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The Memorial Union renovations are set to begin on April 19 and as students wander through the union, they may have noticed that some remodeling is already underway.

“Right now everything is on schedule,” said Dave Hendricks, director of the Memorial Union.

The final plans will be discussed with the architects on Feb. 24 and from there, the Board of Regents will have to sign off before the project can begin.

“They have to approve the bond resolution,” said Raymond Hauke, vice president of administration and fiscal affairs. “They could reject it, but they typically don’t.”

The student fee that was approved last spring by a student vote will go toward payments to the bonds every semester for about 20 years.

“It would be up to them whether they wanted to roll back the fees or go into some other renovation,” Hauke said.

With the state of the economy, the actual amounts for construction are projected to be under budget, meaning there could be money left over.

“The bidding climate continues to be positive in our favor in that things are coming in low,” Hendricks said. “We fully expect that the project will be less than the budget.”

Extra money would go towards renovating the third floor of the union and possibly new furniture for areas like the cafeteria, where new furniture wasn’t originally budgeted.

“New lounge furniture is the highest priority in my mind,” Hendricks said. “Then we can move to the cafeteria, in my opinion.”

The east side of the union will be shut down in April, with the Information Desk moving to the west entrance across from the cafeteria and Conference and Scheduling moving downstairs.

“We’ve relocated the ID office,” Hendricks said. “And we are in the process of finishing up work in the old ID office, which will become the Hornet Express.”

Many students may be wondering why the Hornet Express was remodeled less than two years ago if it would be torn down now.

“What we did in there was market research,” Hendricks said. “One of our goals was to get food on two levels. We didn’t have any data to prove that that was a good move. We put almost $20,000 into that space knowing that it was going to be torn down in a few years. The first year, the Hx outsold the (Hornet’s Nest and the convenience store) by $158,000. We learned several things: location and we didn’t have enough. We need to have at least one other food retail area. We’ve created a pizza/pasta place that will be in the west lobby. It seems silly but going in we knew that was the plan.”

Most of the relocations will be done over Spring Break.

“Either during or right after Spring Break we are going to start some demolition on the east side of the building to tear out the current Hornet Express to get a jump start on the project,” Hendricks said.

In the beginning of July, the bookstore will move downstairs to the Heritage Room.

“At that point the east side will be completely closed down,” Hendricks said. “One of the very first thing that we will see is the building of the (east) addition. That will be online, hopefully, by Christmas break.”

Students who use the east entrance frequently will be instructed to use the South entrance of the Union.

“We will reroute them to the south side of the union, down the steps to the doors that are right across from the Hx,” Hendricks said.

The north entrance will also be closed.

“Ultimately, we will have a new entrance down into the Hornet’s Nest space,” Hendricks said. “We’ll reroute (them) down to the Hornet’s nest patio and up into the West side.”

The Student Health Center will no longer be in the union and will be relocated to the second floor of South East Morse over Christmas break.

“That allows us to create a wellness center,” Hendricks said. “The hallway that goes east towards the union will be the health center. We wanted both of (the counseling center and the health center) to be in the same area.”

With the addition of the health center in the resident halls, there will be less space for student occupants.

“In terms of impact on students, it’s a loss of about 30 spaces,” said Cass Coughlin, director of residential life. But we are going to take all of South East Morse offline next year and begin renovation work in there. So the whole building would have been shut down any way. We are only about 80 occupancy this year. We have more space than students who are interested in living in the dorms.”

Even SWARM activities to enroll new students will have to be changed.

“There is a complex SWARM plan,” Hendricks said. “The folks that plan SWARM got very creative. It’s going to be a little bit different from previous years.”

However the summer camps that are held annually at ESU will still occur, even with the construction.

“All of the major camps that use Emporia State in the summer time will be back this summer,” Hendricks said. “We felt really good that we have long standing relationships with those camps and they choose to come back.”

With all of the construction, Hendricks asked the university be patient.

“Bear with us,” he said. “There are going to be some challenges for us. The prize at the end of this thing is far greater than inconveniences that we will have to live through to get there.”

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School has started again and much to the dismay of students, that means buying new text books. There are few college expenses more frustrating than purchasing books.

Ranging anywhere from $100 to hundreds of dollars, books quickly eat up students’ hard-earned tuition money.

So why are books so expensive? What is behind the high prices? A few factors actually. For one, students have no control over what books they buy – textbook lists are set by professors. Because of this, students have little power as consumers and are forced to pay whatever price book sellers set.

Another big obstacle when buying books is dealing with the constant updating and issuing of new editions. While the difference in price between the current edition and its predecessor can be shocking – sometimes more than twice the amount – the differences in content are typically small. The rearranging of chapters or the addition of a few select paragraphs are all it takes to necessitate a new edition.

New editions also create problems at the end of the semester when students are ready to sell books back. Few stores are interested in buying outdated or soon to be outdated material. The same goes for books containing web-codes, CDROMS, or any electronic components. These added features make it difficult to return once it has been used.

With all these problems, it is no surprise that students and faculty are getting fed up with the current text book system. Student activist groups have sprouted up across the country, aimed at curbing the out of control book fees and practices. Organizations such as The Affordable Textbook Campaign are helping universities nation-wide change the way they buy their books.

Here are just a few of the things we could start doing to make a difference:

1. Work with teachers to use older editions – most teachers do not see major differences in the new versions of their books. Working with the school and faculty to find the best material at the most affordable cost could save students hundreds of dollars a year.
2. Emphasize rental and online sources for books- sites like half.com and chegg.com offer the same books at a cheaper price. Our campus could do more to get the word out about these choices.
3. Create a campus book-swap program – Develop a system of exchanging books among ESU students. This would allow students to buy books at a reasonable price, sell them to fellow students for a decent amount and it would reduce the amount of shipping and traveling needed for other orders.

Of the ideas, the book swap program is the most practical. It could start small within one or two departments. This would make sense since most of the books would be dept-orientated. If that works, it could expand to the campus as a whole, growing to include basic and general education classes as well.

Whatever path is picked, it is important for this campus to start considering alternatives to the overpriced textbooks we are currently forced to buy. We urge professors to highly consider the costs of new textbook editions and evaluate the necessity of updating their class material every year or semester.

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Tuition can no longer be paid with Visa branded credit cards because Emporia State switched to a new online payment system, TouchNet. Discover, Mastercard and American Express credit cards are still accepted, but the processing of these cards adds a fee of 2.75 percent of the tuition amount.

Mary Mingenback, university controller, said the new system is more secure and complies with the credit card companies online payment requirements for institutions that accept credit cards.

“If you’re not within a secure site the credit card companies can take away your right to accept credit card payment and we didn’t want to that to happen,” Mingenback said. “TouchNet has been audited and approved by credit card companies.”

Mingenback said Visa company does not allow their cards to be processed on systems that charge a percent convenience fee, only those that charge a flat rate, which she thought unfair considering the broad range of payments that students make. Visa representatives were unavailable for a comment.

“We wanted to go with what seemed to be the fairest way,” Mingenback said. “And that was not accepting visa.”

Students can avoid the convenience fee by paying via check or webcheck. For freshman Enilisse Ortiz, undecided major, the new payment method was a minor inconvenience.

“I feel like visa is a card that is widely used and not being able to pay with it is inconvenient because we had to find other ways to pay,” Ortiz said. “Before, we could pay over the phone, but this semester I had to sit down with my mom and figure it out online.”

While it has it’s disadvantages, Vice President of Administration and Fiscal Affairs Ray Hauke said TouchNet allows students more options.

“Previously, if you wanted a direct deposit of financial aid into your student account you had to have a Lyon County State Bank,” Hauke said. “Subsequently, this year we had another option to do that and that is through TouchNet. Now we can direct deposit to any bank account.”

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This semester, Emporia State became the only state regent university without a bank branch located on campus. The five other state regent universities all have a Commerce Bank branch.

In preparation for the end of Lyon County State Bank’s contract with ESU in late December, the university issued a proposal last summer to area banks to have a branch location on the ESU campus. Marion National Bank outbid LCSB, which had occupied space in the Memorial Union for almost ten years.

“Lyon County State bank had done an excellent job,” said Ray Hauke, vice president of Administration and Fiscal Affairs. “We liked the bank, students liked the bank, it’s just that the offer that was made by MNB was better from a financial perspective.”

LCSB protested MNB’s contract with ESU for what Hauke said were “technical reasons,” possibly with the motive to maintain business.

“We concluded in about August that there really wasn’t time to resolve the dispute and ensure that we would have services for students this semester,” Hauke said. “For that reason we decided it seemed appropriate that both MNB’s offer and LCSB’s offer be declared null and void and was best to let the current contract expire, which it did on Dec. 31.”

However, LCSB will continue to have an ATM in the Union, and any other bank willing to match LCSB’s ATM contract of $500 monthly can add an ATM as well. Memorial Union Director Dave Hendricks said that after renovations, there will be space for four.

While there is a possibility of a bank returning to campus, Hauke said it would not be practical until the east wing renovations in Memorial Union are completed. However, without a bank to fill the space, the area allotted for one, across from the current information desk, will now be renovated as a multipurpose meeting room.

“Really, it makes no sense for (ESU to contract a bank) until about a year from now because there’s no point in having a bank move into the area where LCSB was and then immediately disrupt that and have them move in order to renovate the Union,” Hauke said.

Hauke hopes to survey students before any decisions are made. The results of a student survey will influence the addition of a new bank in the future.

“It depends on how the students of the future bank,” Hauke said. “More and more people bank almost exclusively electronically, they hardly ever go to the bank. On the other end, some people still go to the bank. If you still go to the bank, it would be nice to have one on campus, if you don’t, it doesn’t make a lot of difference.”

Jocelyn Cummings, freshman secondary education math major, said she started banking with LCSB upon moving to campus and has been to their location in the Memorial Union as well as their off campus location.

“I just went with the Lyon County because it was on campus and convenient because I could just stop by the bank on the way to class,” Cummings said. “But I don’t really have a preference if we were to get another bank.”

Resulting from the removal of LCSB, Hendricks said there have been fewer students in the Union.

“We have noticed this semester the lack of traffic in the union due to not having a bank,” Hendricks said. “Our bookstore has experienced some of the same. I personally would love to see some kind of a bank in the union. I think it’s something that students might appreciate.”

But with the bank out of the way, its space has been transformed into a temporary location for the I.D. Office, and the Hornet Express will fill the I.D. Office space so that the east wing renovation can begin. Ultimately, the area that was once the bank will be a lounge.

“We’re just trying to get all of that kind of stuff out of that center that we call Main Street and really turn that into the student life part of the building,” Hendricks said. “There will be lounge furniture and probably tables and chairs to support our food venues.”

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Alex Pedersen

Picture yourself on your way to class in a few years, strolling through the newly renovated Memorial Union. You pass the Veteran’s Hall of Honor and you notice that something is off. Above the sign, there is a very familiar blue and red circular symbol.

That’s when you remember that you’re walking in the new marketing-friendly, corporately-sponsored Memorial Union.

No, Pepsi Cola hasn’t made any bids yet, but this future is a possibility. That’s right, the naming rights to the soon-to-be renovated Memorial Union are now for sale for $10 million, not to mention several areas within it which vary in price from $5,000 to $1 million.

The administrators are doubtful that anyone will honestly take up the bid. Dave Hendricks, director of the Memorial Union, said to The Bulletin in a story published Aug. 20, “We’re always going to be the Memorial Union. I don’t imagine there is anyone out there who has the money it would take to change the name. It takes a lot of money to do that.”

Although $10 million is indeed a lot of money and, odds are, no one will take us up on it, why do we need to take the chance? Hendricks said the goal was around $2.5 million which was supposed to come from selling the names of said offices and go completely towards renovating those offices. So why do we need so much more?

To sell of naming rights of both the Memorial Union and its offices seems ridiculous and is a disgrace to those it honors.

Now most likely, the words, “Memorial Union” will still be in the name and students will still refer to it in their every day vernacular as “the Union,” but why do we need to sell out so much?

To me, this is a question of pride and respect. The Memorial Union is named to be a monument to those who have fought and died for this country and, by tagging a sponsor to it, we are defacing and disrespecting the memory of those heroes.

As for the offices, many were named for individuals who contributed to Emporia State University and, now that we need some cash, we toss aside their name plaques and portraits and put up a corporate logo.

It seems that money is a more important factor than honor when it comes to the renovation. But even so, say we sell the names of offices in order to make them nicer, then why do we need the $10 million? The Center for International Education alone is going for $1 million and, when combined with only three of the most expensive areas, we would have our $2.5 million.

If we don’t sell any office names, then the naming rights to the union itself would easily pay for the remaining goal, but then what is the plan for the excess $7.5 million?

If we absolutely must sell out, then we should not sell out superfluously. We should choose to deface either the offices or the entire union with marketing propaganda, but to rename both is just unnecessary.

I don’t know about you, but I would feel uncomfortable having to walk through the Axe Body Spray Memorial Union every day to get to the Verizon Wireless Cafeteria and for the student body to not even have a choice in the matter is depressing. If you agree or disagree, then make your disdain or support heard. That’s what we have an Associated Student Government for.

But, if you don’t, there are boons too. In just a few years, we could be the proud owners of the Trojan Brand Condoms Main Street Lounge Space.

M.U. stands for Memorial Union, not Marketing Us.

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An ESU student stops by the Lyon County State Bank branch in the Memorial Union last week. The branch will no longer be part of the union after this semester. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin.

With the possibility that there may not be a bank in the Memorial Union, the administration has found an alternative to a physical banking branch.

“There would not be sufficient time to issue a new Request For Proposal, a new banking agreement and properly service students,” said Raymond Hauke, vice president of administration and fiscal affairs. “We have the opportunity for students to decide which bank they would like their money to go to.”

Emporia State has signed a contract with Touch Net, a payment card industry data security standard compliant company. This company provides a secure environment in which the university can process credit card transactions, said Mary Mingenback, ESU controller.

“They have additional capabilities that allow us to make deposits to any bank in the country,” said Michael Lane, ESU president, in an interview last week. “That’s one of the primary things we used Lyon County State Bank for.”

The program is supposed to be operational by January so that students have the opportunity to have their excess financial aid for next semester deposited in any bank they choose. The old software that the university used did not allow them to deposit money into more than one account, Hauke said.

“Hopefully, starting in January and if not January certainly August, we’ll be able to give students a choice on whether they’d rather receive a check or have it deposited in the bank of your choice,” Lane said. “If that’s not up and running by December, we will do everything by check. It needs to be up and running by mid-October for us to be comfortable.”

University officials said they feel that there would not be enough time to set up new bids for the banking contract.

However, Lane wants to extend the decision to the students as to whether or not a bank in the MU would be the best option.

“One of the things that we want to find out from students is ‘Do you really care if there is a bank on campus?’,” Lane said. “If getting your check faster means getting that deposited (into the bank on campus) made that a no-brainer yes in the past, if I can deposit it in (your home bank) do you care if there is a bank on campus?”

Even if students decide that a bank on campus is desirable, there will not be a contract limiting the options.

“We won’t bid for a contract because we don’t have the need for an exclusive contract anymore,” Lane said. “What we are looking at is the possibility of putting off some short term bids for ATMs. That will not be exclusive, there could be multiple ATMs.”

ATMs will be contracted in the same way as other banking services.

“In all likelihood, what we will do is have more than one ATM,” Hauke said. “We will look at their willingness to pay the Memorial Union a rental fee and what they will charge for transactions fees.”

No matter what is decided, Lane said the ultimate goal is to do what is best for the students.

“If students want a bank, we will lease the space to a bank,” Lane said. “There may never be another bank. If students decide that a bank isn’t the best use for that space then I have no idea what we’ll do with it.”

Ashley Peaches/The Bulletin

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Marion National Bank will open a new branch at the 1448 Industrial Street, formerly the home of a Bank of America branch. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

A payment of $600,000 that would have contributed to the Memorial Union renovations was included in the successful bid of Marion National Bank to provide banking services at Emporia State, according to documents released on Monday by the Kansas Division of Purchases.

The state voided the contract after a competing bidder, Lyon County State Bank – which has been providing banking services exclusively since 2001 – protested the bid, claiming that it was improper and that gratuities are not allowed under state law. A spokesperson from Marion denied that the contribution was a bribe.

“Part of our bid was to donate that money to the (Emporia State) Foundation,” said Daryl Flager, Marion’s community bank president. Then he laughed: “I would not consider that a bribe. It was part of the (Request for Proposal). It was solicited.”

Now that no banking contract is being established for next semester, university officials are uncertain whether there will be a bank branch located in the renovated MU. Lyon County’s contract will expire on Dec. 31.

“There will not be a contract issued for bank beginning after (the ending of Lyon County contract),” said Michael Lane, president of Emporia State, in an interview last week. “We’re not going to bid the bank now because that is not going to be bank space under the renovations.”

Originally, bids were submitted to the Kansas Division of Purchases last semester to win the right to provide services in the space that Lyon County now occupies. In the original Request For Proposal, it was requested that the financial institution provide “direct financial contributions to the ESU Foundation, MU or MU renovations” in “exchange for access and exclusivity” in the union.

In July, it was announced that Marion had won the bid and would take over student banking services in the MU on Jan. 1, 2010.

“We’re disappointed that the university may choose not to have a bank on campus at this time,” said Tom Thompson, president of Lyon County.

The Letter of Intent sent to Flager stated that Marion was to “provide $600,000 cash in support of Emporia State University… paid to the ESU Foundation” with 85 percent of the amount going towards renovations in the MU.

“We were starting to work and develop the contract, but we received a protest to that award before we could get it signed,” said Chris Howe, director of the state purchasing division.

Lyon County’s protest claimed that Marion did not meet the proposal deadline that was set for March 12, did not meet the specifications that the “vendor be an established firm recognized for its capacity to perform” and was violating the Request For Proposal by providing cash in exchange for the contract.

“Marion National Bank did not meet the qualifications of the RFP,” Thompson said. “We are terribly disappointed. There is a bid process and an outline governing what qualifications need to be met. And you meet those qualifications and the competition does not meet those qualifications, and then the award is given to them with no explanation. We’re disappointed.”

Flager would not comment on the issues with the bid submitted by Marion.

“We wanted to be a part of the community,” Flager said. “We’re new in town and we felt like that would give us a pretty instant customer base.”

Flager referred to the $600,000 as a donation.

To obtain information about the letter of intent that Marion received, Lyon County filed an Open Records Request with the Division of Purchases, Thompson said. On Monday, The Bulletin also requested the records from the State.

On Aug. 20, the State voided the agreement with Marion because “the procurement negotiating committee in this matter was improperly constituted,” according to the bid protest response submitted to Thompson.

The $600,000 donation would have benefited the second phase of the renovation process, said Judith Heasley, executive director of the ESU Foundation. The second phase will only be funded by donations given to the foundation by corporations, individuals and foundations.

“I’m not really up to date on the bank’s potential,” Heasley said.

ESU helped develop the bid request for the banking contract.

“We consider Emporia State to be our customer,” Howe said. “We helped facilitate the bid on their behalf, but ESU personnel was involved in the transaction. They set forth some specifications and we put it into the bid document. But we bid it primarily based on Emporia State requirements.”

Ashley Peaches/The Bulletin

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