12/09/2010

Director’s cut

The colors of culture

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID PITT STATE

ISA showcases traditional dance (pg. 6b)

Students put on self-produced plays (pg. 6)

Change Service Requested

DECEMBER 9, 2010

Volume 95, No. 13

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Scott says smoke-free campus is inevitable WHITNEY SAPORITO Managing Editor

Cigarette butts fill an ash tray outside of Nation Hall.

President Steve Scott says the question is not if Pittsburg State University will become a smoke-free campus, but how long it will take to get there.

Scott expressed support for the work the Student Government Association is doing to move the campus in a smoke free direction.

“Wouldn’t we be a better campus if we were smoke-free? I think the answer is yes,” Scott said. “Does everybody agree with that? Clearly,

the answer is no.”

The proposed ban, which would prohibit smoking anywhere on campus, was first introduced by SGA Vice President Thomas Gregory at the Sept. 15 SGA meeting. If SGA members find student opinion to be in favor of a smoke-free campus, the proposed ban could be on the ballot as early as April.

Scott says that while SGA is only now addressing the issue, smokingbans have already been established on other campuses. He cites Oklahoma State and several medical schools as just a few of the hundreds of institu-

Sneak peek

tions that have made the decision to go smoke-free.

“For us to think that nobody else is doing that is just not right,” Scott said. “There are institutions all over the country that are doing it.”

He says when he was a college student it was common to see students and faculty smoking in hallways, football stadiums, classrooms and offices; all places smoking is no longer allowed.

“As common as that was, we don’t do that at all now. That’s totally

see SMOKE page 3

Half-priced holidays

Finals stress professors out, too

Students search for bargain gifts (pg. 4)

CAITLIN TAYLOR Collegio Reporter Finals are always a stressful time for students, but the professors who give them stress out about the last tests of the semester as well.

Kelly Woestman, professor of history, says the last three or four weeks of school tend to be the most stressful for her.

“The end of the semester is stressful in different ways for us than it is for the students,” Woestman said. “I look at grades being your whole semester’s performance, not just at the very end.

And there is a lot of time taken to look back at the whole semester worth of work.”

Woestman teaches an online course called Modern America 1941-1968, along with a section for graduate students titled “A Seminar in American History on Truman and Eisenhower.”

She also teaches History 579, which is supervision of student-teachers out in the field.

For the graduate course’s final, the students are required to write a 25-page research paper, or to create a PowerPoint presentation. In History 579 course, they have to write bloglike articles called “reflective practice,” and have to meet with Woestman on Monday to determine if their studentteaching was on par.

Woestman says that in the Modern America class, they are required to do a final paper on 1968 and why it was a pivotal year.

It takes Woestman days to obtain and grade all of the finals and projects.

“Some professors, at times, end up with most of their finals on Thursday and Friday, and sometimes they have four courses to grade,” Woestman said.

“When students walk away from finals on Friday, we’re the ones that don’t get much sleep over the weekend, trying to make sure we have everything done to post so that it is ready for students.”

Woestman says another stressor is that students will get worried about their final grade or try to make up whatever work that they need to finish by the end of the semester.

“We want all the students to do well, and it disappoints us when students go around all the assignments (rather) than just doing what we ask,” said Woestman.

Woestman says the stressors for a professor are different, but that they tend to involve trying to help students out.

Woestman says that cheating is always a concern to professors.

“I’m under no illusion that we catch everybody cheating,” Woestman said.

“With the new technologies, it has made it harder to explain to people that it’s not how much information you can gather and throw together, but how you process it. It’s more disappointing than anything when students cheat.”

Mike Gullett, associate professor of communication, has a different perspective on the stresses of finals.

“When I was a college student, I remember the stress, and sometimes it was more of the looming concept of finals that was stressful.”

Gullett is currently teaching Photojournalism I, Professional Photojournalism / Picture Editing, Integrated Electronic Communication, and Online Publishing, an online course.

The kind of finals Gullett gives

see FINALS page 3

Photos by Aaron Anders

The Pittsburg State football team enters into Tiger Stadium in Excelsior Springs, Mo., at the Mineral Water Bowl.

Stonewalled

Three and out

See page 2B for coverage of the Mineral Water Bowl game.

Women’s team falls to 0-3 in MIAA (pg. 1B)

Defensive end Joe Uzzel bandages up his fingers before starting the second half of the game.

Tight end junior Bristan KelPitt State fans brave the cold weather to watch the Gorillas play against ley raises the Mineral Water Concordia-St. Paul University at the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Bowl trophy after beating Concordia-St. Paul University. Springs, Mo.

Cold carburetors

Won’t be home for Christmas

How to keep cars running in the cold (pg. 5B)

JEN RAINEY Collegio Reporter The holiday season is often thought of as a time to celebrate with family.

However, there are some students who are unable to do so because of location.

“Spending holidays far from family is bad, but I’m glad people in the Midwest are always so nice to invite international students to their house,” said Ivan Hunnicutt, senior in information systems.

“Many of my friends invite me whenever a holiday is coming to spend it with their families.”

Hunnicutt is an international student from Brazil and says he hasn’t seen his family in a year. He says it’s been very difficult on him and his family to spend holidays apart.

“We are apart because I came to study in the United States hoping for a better education and opportunities,” said Hunnicutt. “We don’t like it at all, but can’t help it, because it’s necessary.”

He says that without his family around, the holidays feel like just another day.

They mail gifts to each other and he says shipping costs are cheaper from the United States. They also use online tools such as Skype to stay in touch.

Last week’s question Do you have money problems during the holidays?

File Photo

A group of Chinese students eat dinner together to celebrate a Chinese holiday. Students with family overseas spend time with friends to celebrate the holidays.

Ashley Barney, junior in early childhood development, says she uses Skype, as well as Facebook to keep in touch with family.

“Skype is neat because I’m able to actu-

ally see and talk to my family through the Internet,” said Barney. “I mail cards to let them know I’m thinking about them, too.”

see HOME page 3

Remember to check out this week’s question on page 5

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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Gorillas rip Bulldogs, Bearcats at home; move to 6-1 JAKE FABER Sports Editor

Shalin Patel/Collegio

Alexa Bordewick, freshman guard, dribbles inside against Northwest Missouri State University last night in John Lance Arena.

Letdown

Ten-point lead not enough for Gorillas to kennel the Bulldogs MICHAEL ADMIRE Sports Writer The Pittsburg State University women’s basketball team took a 10-point lead into halftime Saturday, when the Truman State Bulldogs came to town. Confidence was high and Gorillas’ defense was almost impenetrable, holding the Bulldogs to 19 points.

After the half, however, the teams seemed to switch roles.

“We were doing good in the first half,” junior guard Courtney Tate said. “The second half, like our coach said, was the complete opposite.”

Truman State went on a 12-point run and didn’t lose the lead once they had captured it.

The Bulldogs stole a 55-46 road win at John Lance Arena over the Gorillas. This loss brought the Gorillas’ record against MIAA opponents to 0-2, as they dropped their second straight conference

loss and their fourth overall loss this season.

Tate and sophomore Drew Roberts took care of the scoring for the Gorillas, with each player reaching 17 points. Roberts had a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line, but unfortunately for the Gorillas, Roberts was the only one who had a good day from the line. Head coach Lane Lord referred to their sub .500 free throw shooting as “unacceptable.”

After scoring 29-points in the first half, the Gorillas’ shooting went cold. At the post-game conference, Lord seemed unhappy with the teams’ performance.

“We’ve got to score the basketball,” Lord said. “Obviously we’re not doing that. When you hold a team to 55 points, you should win the game. No doubt about that.”

see LETDOWN page 4B

One minute and 56 seconds. That’s all it took for the Pitt State men’s basketball team to take the lead over Truman State last Saturday. And although it started with a deep three-pointer by redshirt freshman Jordan Embers to put them up by one, the Gorillas led the Bulldogs for over 95 percent of the game.

In a weekend packed full of Pitt State sports, with the women’s cross country team at nationals and the football team playing the Mineral Water Bowl, the Gorillas were playing in front of a relatively small crowd of 1,054. But for those fans who filed into John Lance Arena, the show was well worth the price of admission as the Gorillas blew out the Bulldogs by a score of 91-68.

“They’re a good team,” head coach Kevin Muff said after the game. “I think it’s a quality win. They’re a team that’s going to go in and beat some people.”

Along with being able to post big numbers on the scoreboard, Muff was impressed with his players being able to hold off the Bulldogs in the late going.

“As well as they shoot, they’re always in the game,” Muff said. “I mean we were up 20 and with five minutes to go I’m still thinking that things could change in a hurry.”

The matchup marked the second time this season that the Gorillas had returned to John Lance, with each contest coming with the Gorillas scoring in the 90-point range.

Although Chris Ware was sidelined early in the first half with foul trouble, Courtney Ingram and Eric Ray led the pack for the Gorillas with 17 and 16 points, respectively, shooting a combined 12-15 from the floor. But, with a whole new squad this season, Ray says that being able to see production off of the bench is what will be key down the stretch.

“We can go deeper than other teams as far as bench-wise and other players,” Ray said during the post-game conference.

“Any given night, anybody can play. It just depends on who is doing well that night.”

And coming off of the bench once again in the absence of Ware, JaVon McGee contributed 14 points and showed head coach Kevin Muff that he can be a starter, playing 23 minutes and grabbing nine rebounds.

“The only advantage that I saw was

Shalin Patel/Collegio

Kevin Muff coaches the Gorillas during a timeout against Northwest Missouri Wednesday night in John Lance Arena. The Gorillas won the game 75-66. just speed,” McGee said after the game.

“I knew I could wear down some of their players, but rebounding-wise I knew it would be a battle inside.”

The battle proved to be one that McGee would win, but after getting another start on the young season, Embers solidified himself as an integral part of the Gorillas’ offense by dropping 10 points, three of which came in a buzzer-beater to end the first half.

Bench production was also key for the opposing Bulldogs as Isaac Gardener scored a team-high 13 points and was nearly automatic from three-point land, going 3-4 and shooting 5-6 from the floor.

A good portion of Gardener’s points came in a flurry of threes during the second half, when Truman was forced to start shooting from outside.

The Gorillas went into the locker room at halftime holding a solid nine-point edge, but came out of the break rejuvenated.

After a mid-range jump shot by Tru-

man’s Pat Sodemann and a pair of free throws from Alex Henderson, the Bulldogs pulled it within eight. But, the Gorillas weren’t about to slip to 0-2 in the conference.

Following a lay-in off of the backboard by the Gorillas’ inside man Chris Ware, Pitt State went on an 11-2 run to reach the halfway mark of the second half, putting them up 73-46.

And there really was no looking back from there, as the home team led by as much as 27 points in the blowout win.

Along with a blowout win against the Bulldogs, the Gorillas were able to keep the momentum going last night against Northwest Missouri, winning 75-66, and never allowing the Bearcats to hold more than a three-point advantage.

The Gorillas started out the first half on a quick run as both teams traded baskets until the 13-minute mark, when JaVon Mc-

see HOUSE page 4B

There’s something in the water Gorillas capture bowl victory GARETT MCCULLOUGH Sports Writer The Pitt State football team outlasted the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears last Saturday to claim a close 13-9 victory at the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo. And although the Gorillas’ regular season ended with another hard-fought loss to the third-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats at the Fall Classic, they received the bowl bid, along with the confidence to come away with the win.

In his first year as the Gorillas’ head coach, Beck had a season that was never short on thrills.

Wide receiver Jon Thomas closely misses a long pass on third down.

His team was able to finish in electrifying fashion with a prolific running game and a stout defense. And although the Goril-

las posted a .500 record, Beck’s players couldn’t have been more supportive “We just wanted what was best for him,” junior J.R. Jones said. “We played our hearts out for him.”

After giving up nine points in the second quarter on a Concordia field goal and a touchdown, things were looking tough for the Gorillas. But after the Bears failed to convert on the ensu-

Photos by Aaron Anders

ing two point conversion, the Gorilla defense stonewalled the Bears for the rest of the game.

This included a forced fumble by redshirt freshman linebacker Nate Dreiling late in the game.

Along with superb defense, the three-headed rushing attack of Zac Dickey, Briceton Wilson, and Terrance Isaac lit up the Bears’ defense combining for 272

see WATER page 4B

Quarterback Zac Dickey hands the ball off to running back Cardell Clemons in the first quarter of the Mineral Water Bowl.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

2

December 9, 2010

Obama seeks support for tax deal WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says economists predict higher job growth in 2011 and 2012 if Congress passes the tax deal he negotiated with Republicans.

He’s urging lawmakers to examine the details of the deal and “get this done.”

The agreement would extend expiring Bush-era tax rates to all taxpayers for two years, and extend jobless benefits and cut payroll taxes.

Democrats have objected to the deal.

Republicans have praised it.

Obama says: “The American people are watching.” He says it’s inaccurate to depict Democrats as “betrayed” by the deal, contending that the more they look at it, the more they’ll support it.

Hackers strike back to support WikiLeaks LONDON — WikiLeaks supporters struck back Wednesday at perceived enemies of the site and its jailed founder Julian Assange, launching hacker attacks against MasterCard, Swedish prosecutors, a Swedish lawyer and a Swiss group that froze Assange’s bank account.

So-called “hacktivists” operating under the label “Operation Payback” claimed responsibility in a Twitter message for causing technological problems at MasterCard, which pulled the plug on its relationship with WikiLeaks on Tuesday.

MasterCard said it was “experiencing heavy traffic,” but spokesman James Issokson told The Associated Press the company would not confirm whether WikiLeaks was involved. Issokson said MasterCard was trying to restore service Wednesday but was not sure how long that would take. The website’s technical problems have no impact on consumers using credit cards, he added.

MasterCard is the latest in a string of U.S.-based Internet companies — including Visa, Amazon.com, PayPal Inc. and EveryDNS — to cut ties to WikiLeaks in recent days amid intense U.S. government pressure.

Photos and stories courtesy of AP

Elizabeth Edwards, then wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, gestures during a speech at the Planned Parenthood Annual Public Affairs Conference in Washington. Elizabeth Edwards died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 61.

Lennon fans remember shooting

career unfold as it happened to those who know only his music.

NEW YORK — John Lennon’s fans celebrated his life Wednesday by visiting Strawberry Fields, the Central Park garden dedicated in his honor, while a newly released interview he gave shortly before his death showed he was optimistic about his future.

On the 30th anniversary of Lennon’s murder outside his Manhattan apartment building, admirers played his music nearby at Strawberry Fields and placed flowers on a mosaic named for his song “Imagine.”

The steady stream of visitors represented the range of people who love Lennon, from those who watched his

ET evidence mounts but not proven … yet WASHINGTON — Lately, a handful of new discoveries make it seem more likely that we are not alone — that there is life somewhere else in the universe.

In the past several days, scientists have reported there are three times as many stars as they previously thought.

Another group of researchers discovered a microbe that can live on arsenic, expanding our understanding of how life can thrive under the harshest environments. And earlier this year, astrono-

mers for the first time said they’d found a potentially habitable planet.

“The evidence is just getting stronger and stronger,” said Carl Pilcher, director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, which studies the origins, evolution and possibilities of life in the universe. “I think anybody looking at this evidence is going to say, ‘There’s got to be life out there.’”

A caveat: Since much of this research is new, scientists are still debating how solid the conclusions are.

Another reason to not get too excited is that the search for life starts small — microscopically small — and then looks to evolution for more. The first signs of life elsewhere are more likely to be closer to slime mold than to ET. It can evolve from there.

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CORRECTIONS It is Collegio policy to print corrections.

To submit a correction, call 235-4901.

Information recently provided to The Collegio indicates that Gorillas in Your Midst, and not the Student Government Association, offered $100 to campus groups that brought in the most signatures in a campus smoking-ban petition. An announcement made during the Nov. 10 SGA meeting implied that it was SGA that provided the funds.

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2B

December 9, 2010

pittstatebriefs Chemistry potluck to be held on Tuesday The chemistry department is planning a Christmas party potluck from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, in 119 Heckert Wells.

Poetry reading and reception scheduled The Strip Pitts Press and the Pittsburg State University poetry grad students will have a poetry reading and publication reception for “Disclaimer in Red Paint” at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, in the special collections room of the Axe Library.

Class develops idea to help Wesley House Students in Lynn Murray’s advanced marketing class have developed plans to help Wesley House. Murray’s class divided into five groups and chose their focuses and marketing plans. One group developed a fundraising competition. Another worked with area churches to raise money. A third group solicited donations from businesses.

Two other groups developed plans for a food drive to take place during next year’s Corporate Olympics, and for a monthly meal to be provided by the PSU community and Greek organizations.

For more information on the Wesley House projects, call Murray at 235-4588.

Study abroad trip set for Costa Rica The Health, Human Performance and Recreation department plans to offer a summer study abroad trip to Costa Rica from May 15 through June 1. The program will provide three recreation credits and will focus on working with children.

Spanish is helpful but not required. Cost estimate is $3,200, including tuition, and

partial stipends are available. For more information, attend an information session at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, in the Sunflower Room of Overman Student Center or E-mail Dan Ferguson at ferguson@ pittstate.edu.

a Spanish translation. Students involved in the project include Kelli VonCannon, Bethany Duty, Andrea Gordon, and Jamie Fenoglio.

Greek Pizza party scheduled for Friday

The Student Activities Council is planning Treat Night at the U-Club for 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 10. For more information, call the SAC at 235-4801 or sac@pittstate.edu.

A pizza party is planned for 5 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 10, in the Crimson Villas Clubhouse. Any student who belongs to a Greek organization is welcome to attend.

Crimson Villas plan video game day A PS3 Madden tournament is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11, in the Crimson Villas Clubhouse. Entry is $10. Sign up at the Crimson Villas Clubhouse during its normal operating hours.

RA applications available online Resident assistants are being selected for the 2011-2012 school year. To apply, you must attend an information session.

Sessions are at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25, and at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1 in the Dellinger Underground. Applications are available at www.pittstate.edu/house. For more information, call Jennifer Beneke at 235-6577 or Jbeneke@pittstate.ede.

English class improves PACT bus system map Students in Ann Meats’ Document Design class in the English Department designed a route map for the SEK-CAP PACT bus system. The students took the agency’s route map, and simplified its language, eliminated duplication, and added

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U-Club Treat night

Toy donations needed for Toys for Tots box The campus community is asked to donate to the Toys for Tots box inside the Student Rec Center. Donations of unopened toys will go to underprivileged children who otherwise may not receive Christmas gifts this year.

University names new development director Kathleen Flannery has been named PSU’s director of university development. Flannery will replace Scott Roberts.

Flannery’s appointment follows a national search. She currently is the executive director of the Mt. Carmel Foundation at Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg. Flannery will begin work at PSU on Jan. 3.

Construction students assist church garden Alex Robbins, Clint Hodges and Bryan McMurty, seniors in construction management, have spent the last few weeks making improvements to the Community Garden behind the First Christian Church on Centennial Drive. Rev. Kevin Arensman, pastor of First Christian Church, says that about 6,000 pounds of produce was grown at the Community Garden last year, which was distributed by the Wesley House.

AUTO JJREPAIR &

30-hour Tumblr failure: not sign of things to come If you’re not into the social networking/blogging scene, Tumblr is a microblogging platform that has gotten a lot of attention from important people in the publishing industry.

Tumblr founder David Karp sat on a technology-oriented panel at New York University called “Optimism in Publishing” in October, and he was invited on the Bart basis that major Klick media networks Copy Editor were using the platform as a backchannel for author-reader relationships, and in places, even giving readers a spot to critique and help with research. In short, the media convergence between Tumblr and what we already had is changing everything we know about how publishing works.

Until the platform went down on Dec. 5, and stayed down for 30 hours, I was going to suggest to the powers that be here at Student Publications that we start our own Tumblr page.

Tumblr has the potential to turn a single feature about an interesting event on campus into a month-long, or even year-long discussion over every single media you can image, all on one page, all easy enough to use that even technophobes can do it.

In fact, if Tumblr manages to stay up for a while, I’m still going to push for Student Publications to get involved — because the platform is a damn good idea. I’m fairly new to Tumblr, but I’ve already encountered worlds of important meta-discussion about my industry. This is stuff that could help get me a job after I graduate. Mass media don’t change every day, so a working knowledge of platforms like Tumblr can make someone who ought to be yet another face in the crowd into a serious company

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Tumblr might go away, but it even if it does, it really won’t. If another critical data cluster fails and puts Tumblr down for good, another (probably improved) concept will pop up within a few weeks. The idea is too good for it to not.

But a good idea, and even a good execution, isn’t enough. Can you imagine if Google or Yahoo! went down for more than 24 hours?

Or, God forbid, if Facebook had a database issue that erased everyone’s profile? The result would be a panic on par, if not worse, than the Y2K ridiculousness. And the actual problem would be a thousand times worse than Y2K could ever have been.

The big dogs in social networking are big dogs because the users trust them. Twenty-four hours without service is more than enough to irrevocably shatter this. I started my own Tumblr page a few hours before the site went down, and I’m completely justified in thinking that they’re not capable of helping me get my name out on the big, wide Internet. At the moment, I can’t trust the Tumblr platform.

Despite the downtime, though, I think Tumblr is going to be just fine.

Everyone I’m connected to on Twitter (and this is a lot of tweets) spent two solid days complaining about Tumblr being gone. People were griping in old-fashioned forums, and even on other blogging platforms! This means that the user base is safely addicted.

If Tumblr can get over the challenges posed by being an upstart company with heavy traffic, it will eventually be one of the kings of blogging.

Tumblr is dead. Long live Tumblr.

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December 9, 2010

■ FINALS from page 1

varies; the majority of his finals are projects that apply the students’ knowledge of the entire course. He also gives one comprehensive final for Photojournalism I, but allows the students to use their notes.

“Finals week is stressful because there is a lot of grading when you have to sit down and watch 12 students with four to eight-minute narratives that I have to watch in class during the final week,” Gullett said. “I have to relook and sit down and grade them all subjectively. It usually takes about a combined 15 hours of grading for all the classes.”

Gullett says that he sees the finals more as a last assignment for the course than an actual final, except for his Professional Photojournalism / Picture Editing, the final for which is a semester-long project.

“I try to make it what’s most beneficial for me and the students to look at the outcome of the semester and if I taught them anything,” Gullett said.

Gullett says that he never really has to worry about his students cheating because their finals are projects that they have to create themselves. And on his comprehensive final, they already get to use their notes, so they really can’t cheat.

“Finals are an exciting time and a sad time, because the semester is about to be over, but there are some students I may never see again,” Gullett said.

Cookie creations

Photos by Yuyang Xiao

Libin Duan, a Chinese visiting scholar, decorates cookies during the Christmas cookie decorating party at United Methodist Campus Ministries on Friday, Dec. 3.

PSU student Wei Jing decorates cookies during the Christmas cookie decorating party at United Methodist Campus Ministries.

Huizhu Chen (right), an Intensive English Program student, makes a tower of Jenga fall during the Christmas cookie decorating party.

Zhe Wu, sophomore in English, uses a rolling pin to roll out cookie dough.

■ HOME from page 1

■ SMOKE from page 1

Barney’s family on her dad’s side, including her grandmother and aunt, reside in Oxford and Sheffield, England. She hasn’t seen her grandmother in more than a year, and her aunt in more than two years. She says she sees her cousins the most because they come to the United States quite a bit for vacation. On the rare occasion that she does see her family during the holidays, their word choice and customs are a bit different.

“There is always a good argument going on about Britain and America,” said Barney. “I still get confused by all the British slang and the different terms that my

unacceptable,” Scott said.

“It’s kind of amazing how that transition has taken place. If you hadn’t seen that, it might even be hard to comprehend.”

Scott related that experience to the transition that is taking place now. He says when trying to change the smoking policy on campus, the focus should not be who is for or against the ban, but on the process.

“In my mind, it’s not about punishing anybody or ostracizing anybody,” Scott said. “It’s about ‘how do we create the healthiest campus?’”

Scott says he believes the

family uses.”

She says one thing that is different about Christmas in England compared to Christmas in the United States is Boxing Day, when people in England continue to celebrate and eat leftovers from Christmas.

Barney is the second oldest of five girls and says her family can’t typically afford to fly to England for the holiday season. However, she says that although she prefers to be able to see her family, she’s grown accustomed to being apart.

“It does make me really appreciate the time when I do get to see them though,” said Barney.

current state law regarding smoking, which says smokers must be 10 feet from building entrances, is not effective.

“There are times you can sit in this office and you can smell smoke,” Scott said, referring to his office in Russ Hall. “We have a conference room next door, we have meetings in that conference room where if the wind is just right, the air handlers are doing a certain thing and there are enough smokers, that room smells like a bar. I don’t think it’s fair to say that somebody has the right to put smoke in that room where I’m

working.”

For Scott, the main objective of a smoking ban is to create a healthier campus. He says he practices a healthy lifestyle: Exercising frequently, watching what he eats and managing stress. For him, this lifestyle carries over to campus.

“It’s also of interest to me to have our students, staff and faculty be healthy,” Scott said.

He says that to create a healthier campus, the process would need to address smokers who are seeking help kicking the habit.

“This is why process is so

important, because one of the things you’d want to put in play is you’d want to help people who want to stop smoking,” Scott said, using smoking cessation programs as an example.

“I think you’d find the Student Health Center very much wanting to help in that regard.”

What would the ban mean for those smokers who don’t plan to quit? Scott did not specify, but did give the example of Pittsburg’s Via Christi Hospital, which has a ban and requires smokers to leave the property to smoke.

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December 9, 2010

Driving in a winter wonderland JEN RAINEY Collegio Reporter Winter weather often brings ice and snow, thus leading to wrecked vehicles. Michelle Hucke, senior in psychology, has been in three such wrecks.

One happened while she was riding with her mom.

“We were driving about 30 miles-per-hour and hit a slick spot,” Hucke said. “We were then thrown into an embankment.”

Another wreck occurred while her father was taking her and her sister to school. Hucke says the car hit ice and slid down the shoulder of the highway into a tree. The wreck caused the back end of their Explorer to be crushed, thus breaking the glass window.

“None of us were seriously injured, but we were shaken up and my sister was pretty sore afterward,” Hucke said.

Her third wreck occurred while she was driving alone. She hit black ice, and says she knew instantly she had made a mistake.

Her car was totaled, and turned

upside down on the side of the road. She was forced to crawl out of her sunroof in order to remove herself from the vehicle.

“I was very lucky I didn’t get hurt,” Hucke said.

She says it’s important to take extra time and to drive slower through ice and snow. She also advises other drivers to know their vehicle’s ability to handle certain weather conditions.

“I learned those lessons the hard way, by thinking getting to school on time was more important than safety,” Hucke said. “I knew it was slick and took my chances.”

Hucke says it’s helpful to not drive in winter weather at all if possible. She also discourages people from driving small cars in the winter, because they sit lower to the ground and are more difficult to maneuver over piles of snow and ice. Andrew Orpin, senior in communication, says it’s important to have good tread on the vehicle’s tires. He says it’s important to know road conditions before driving and not to drive too fast.

“If it’s getting slick out, drive a little slower for safety’s sake,” Orpin said. “If you feel like you’re going to slide, tap your brakes and try to regain control.”

Orpin says that although he’s never been in a damaging wreck, he has spun out before.

“I wasn’t speeding, but I was driving a little too fast for as slick as it was,” Orpin said. “I was going around a curve and trying to slow down. I started swerving a little bit and by then it was so slick there wasn’t anything I could do.”

Orpin says because there were no vehicles around him he attempted to make a controlled slide and driving toward the median.

When his vehicle stopped he had landed in the snow and grass. He says this could’ve been prevented by driving slower.

“Don’t drive too fast and try to accelerate and decelerate as gradually as you can,” said Orpin.

“That helps keeps traction. Tap your breaks, but don’t just slam on them because that causes you to lose traction and then you just slide.”

File Photo

In the winter of 2009, cars remained parked in the winter weather by Nation Hall.

Students receive foundry scholarship WHITNEY SAPORITO Managing Editor Semesters of hard work and good grades paid off for Tyler Farmer, Brett Currier, Garrett Sass and Jeremy Faulkender, seniors in engineering technology, who each received Foundry Educational Foundation scholarships.

The scholarships, which varied in amount, totaled $8,000 among the four students and were awarded at the Foundry Educational Foundation College Industry Career Conference in Chicago on Nov. 18 and 19.

The conference, made up of companies from the metal casting field, is not an easy event to attend.

“You have to be selected to go,” Faulkender said. “Professors submit the names of students they think are qualified.”

This year there were 93 student delegates at the event, seven of whom were PSU students.

Faulkender says once selected by the professors, students had to write a 500word essay explaining their experience and career goals, and were also judged based on their grade point averages, references, and experiences in the field.

Russ Rosmait, university professor of engineering technology, selected the seven PSU students who attended. Of the seven, four were awarded scholarships.

Faulkender says that for him, just attending the conference was an honor.

While at the conference, students had the opportunity to network with big names from corporations in the metal casting industry, such as GM and John Deere.

The conference consisted of a formal career fair, speakers, and informal interviews over dinner with different companies.

“Between the Foundry Educational Foundation and the companies it’s just awesome to see their interest in us and their support for us,” Sass said. “To get among 100 of your peers and win, it’s

PSU employees work over break to improve campus SARAH POLAND Collegio Reporter

Courtesy Photo

Manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology students at Pittsburg State University brought home $8,000 in scholarships from the Foundry Educational Foundation College Industry Career Conference held in Chicago on Nov. 18. awesome.”

The Foundry Educational Foundation works with the metal casting industry to support partnerships between students, professors and those in the metal casting industry. The conference is held annually and Rosmait says that PSU nominates students every year.

Rosmait says that he selected the seven students because they all have an interest in metal casting, and that one of the things that stood out about the four scholarship recipients is that they all had experience in the metal casting field through internships.

Currier, who had an internship in a ductile iron foundry, received a different kind of scholarship than the others.

“My scholarship was the Keith Millis Scholarship,” Currier said. “Only four students got that one at the conference.”

The scholarship was for students who had experience with ductile iron, the kind

Currier says is used to make church bells.

Farmer says he believes his internship with Superior Aluminum Castings in Independence, Mo., helped him get the scholarship.

Farmer explained that metal casting is used in making several everyday products, such as different parts of a car.

“Metal casting is basically when you pour metal into a mold and the mold can be sand, metal, ceramic,” Farmer said.

“There are a lot of processes.”

Farmer says one of the best parts of the conference for him was networking with people from the industry.

“It’s pretty cool to go to a conference like that and see what people have to say about the industry,” Farmer said.

Rosmait said that the other three students who attended the conference were seniors Tanner Dickerson, David Deters and Nick Parnell.

As Pittsburg State University students leave campus for winter break, some employees’ work is just getting started.

Tom Amershek, director of building trades and landscape maintenance, says winter break is a good time for the maintenance staff to work in the dorms and classrooms on routine repairs and other projects. Amershek says that work that is disruptive in the campus buildings is usually postponed until break so it does not inconvenience students and faculty.

“Some classrooms have classes scheduled all day,” Amershek said. “Because of this, we don’t have time to do things such as repair damaged ceiling tiles and hang projectors.”

While there are projects to be done over break, Amershek says that most maintenance staff is not required to come to work over the vacation. He says they do use those who choose to work to get projects done.

“The painters know that they need to work over break because there is a lot for them to do,” Amershek said. “All of the other workers know that they have the option to take vacation time and they are more than welcome to do that. Some want to work [over winter break].”

Other than routine maintenance, Amershek said the Physical Plant has some bigger projects that they will be working on over the winter. Included in these plans are offices that are being remodeled in Heckert-Wells Hall and Yates Hall. Amershek says they are also going to be doing major remodeling in the career services office to make it more office friendly. He

says that while they will not be able to finish the office over break, they will be able to get most of the major demolition done while the students are gone.

“There are always interruptions when there is construction going on but we try to minimize them while completing the department’s goals and needs,” Amershek said.

Amershek also says that the Physical Plant is planning to put a new finish on the floors in the Student Recreation Center. He says they are doing this over break so they are able to close the SRC to keep students away from the dust. Amershek says they will be working on the floors Dec. 27 through 29.

Lindell Haverstic, project architect in the facilities planning office, says some construction will be going on in Bowen and Trout Halls and Crimson Commons over winter break. He says this work will mainly be in the restrooms for Bowen and Trout Halls so it was important that they waited to do it over break so they did not intrude on the students’ private space.

Haverstic says that the Bowen construction is work that is covered under the contractor’s oneyear warranty. Haverstic says the Crimson Commons maintenance also needed to be done over break so they could turn off the electricity or water without inconveniencing the students.

Amershek says it is important for students to remember that there are employees working on the campus over break to make their college experience as pleasant as possible. “[Over winter break] there are still people working [at PSU] to make it a better place for faculty to teach students,” Amershek said.

Students search for bargains during the holiday season ALEX MOTT Collegio Reporter With the holidays getting closer and closer and bank balances getting lower and lower, college students will have to keep their budgets in mind when they shop.

“To get my family members anything they want, it takes money,” said Charissa Wall, freshman in social work. “As a college student who has to keep up on academics and involvement in sports and clubs, it is hard to find time to get a job. I don’t have time to earn enough money to get people nice gifts.”

Wall is not alone with her concern.

“I am worried about having enough money,” John Sandage, freshman, said. “I don’t know

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what I am going to do about it yet.”

The holidays are fast approaching, and students need to decide how they are going to tackle money problems. Some have decided to take a logical approach.

“I could work extra hours over Christmas break to try to earn money,” said Brandi Johnson, freshman in biology.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, but at least I could buy nice presents.”

Trying to work throughout a break that college students look forward to all year, though, could end up putting a damper on the holidays.

“You could work and save up throughout the year, not just try to work a lot of hours over break,” said Kayleigh Cook, junior in

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For some students, smart shopping is key.

“I try to make sure I peruse all of the deals I can find and use coupons,” said Dryden Bowley, sophomore. “I try to make sure I use my employee discount to save as much as possible.”

For others, holiday shopping is a question of how to get presents that family members will love.

“Arts and crafts are great during the holidays,” said senior Alyssa Zimmerman.

“Picture frames with family portraits are always a good idea,” Cook said. “Homemade cards and baked goods are also sure to

please.”

Other students take advantage of post-holiday shopping sales, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“Even though it is a hassle to get up and fight the crowds, shopping on the day after Thanksgiving can save you a lot of money,” Johnson said. “It can definitely be worth the trouble.”

Different families also have ideas on how to help their members avoid money trouble.

“My family is really big,” said freshman Jeanna Lewis. “Instead of getting everybody gifts, we all just buy one ornament and do an ornament exchange.”

For other students, however, gifts are not necessary.

“My family just gives each other love,” said freshman Anthony Haley.

Aaron Anders/Collegio

Thomas Cuppett, sophomore in construction engineering, stocks the shelves for JCPenny’s shoe department at the Meadowbrook Mall on Friday, Dec.3.

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4B

December 9, 2010

Some great things must come to an end TYLER SMITH Sports Writer

File Photo

Pittsburg State women’s cross country team places 12th at the NCAA Division II National Championships during a past season.

The Pitt State women’s cross country team finished the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships strong with a 12th place finish out of 24 teams.

Sophomore Melissa Peden was the Gorillas’ leading runner, earning a 41st place finish. Peden finished with a time of 22 minutes, 38 seconds.

Seniors Jennifer Butler finished 50th with a time of 22 minutes, 49 seconds while team captain Brittney Graff placed 68th with a total time of 23 minutes, 12 seconds. Fellow senior Caitlin Laskowski also came through for the Gorillas, earning a 74th place spot with a time of 23 minutes, 24 seconds.

PSU earned a total score of 312 for the race.

Pitt State qualified to nationals by winning the South Central Regionals in Warrensburg, Mo. The Gorillas had four runners earn all-regional honors for their efforts in finishing inside the top 20. The cross country team also dominated the competition at the conference championships to take the MIAA title.

Missouri Southern came out with a 16th place finish while Central Missouri took 16th in the men’s competition, to complete the race for all the MIAA

■ LETDOWN from page 1B

■ WATER from page 1B

“Effort,” was what Tate credited to the Gorillas’ second half letdown. And during the postgame media conference she didn’t shy away from shouldering some of the blame as a teammate.

“That’s on the players,” Tate said. “We’ve got to come out with passion, even when we have the lead.”

Roberts, who was also present at the conference, agreed with Tate.

“I think, as a team, we thought we had it at half time,” Roberts said. “But we’ve just got to keep playing.”

Both Roberts and Tate tried to stay positive after a disappointing second half let down, but they made sure one message was clear.

“I think for us, me and Courtney are the leaders, but we need other people to step up as, well… not just us,” Roberts said, “I think that’s the key to this year. We need leadership. We’re lacking that a lot.”

Lord agreed with the players, saying that “they hit it on the head.” He also believes they need better play from the post players.

The centers and forwards were a combined 3-16 from the field and a disappointing 0-7 from the free throw line.

Roberts and Tate, however, carried the team on their back scoring 34 of the teams 49 points

rushing yards of the 286 total rushing yards the Gorillas ran for this past Saturday.

On the strength of a Wilson touchdown in the third quarter and two clutch fourth quarter field goals by freshman kicker Jake Craig, the Gorillas took the lead and held it for the rest of the game.

With the Gorillas’ defense stepping up during the final game of the season, Jones said it all comes down to blocking.

“The d-line went out there

on 12 of 22 field goal shooting.

They also knocked down seven of 12 free throws (Tate 3-8). Lord was impressed with Tate’s play, besides her free throw shooting, and stressed the need for Roberts to drive the lane more in attempt to put her at the free throw line.

However, the women’s team wasn’t able to rebound from the loss last night whenthey hosted the Northwest Missouri Bearcats in another conference matchup. Thewomen dropped their third straight MIAA contest 84-72. Although the Gorillas lost,they showed some streaks of promise throughout the game coming back from a 25-point deficit in the first half to make it a competitive game. Laura Glenn led the way for the Gorillas, knocking down 16 points, with six of her baskets coming from the floor.

Larissa Richards was a big presence on both sides of the ball by recording a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

After getting her first start of the year last week, Alexa Bordewick proved that she is a starting-caliber player by dropping 12 points and grabbing three rebounds.

The Gorillas continue their home stand this Saturday, when the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist travel to John Lance Arena, with tip-off set for 1:30 p.m., before the start of the men’s contest.

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yards to prove that he is much more than just a powerful third-down back. Isaac, the only senior of the trio, finished the game with a solid 70 yards, which was enough to allow him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for this season. Isaac also led the team overall in rushing for the season totaling 1,030 yards.

With the defense limiting the Bears to only 216 yards of total offense the Gorillas controlled the ball as well as the clock.

Pittsburg won the Mineral Water Bowl by a score of 13-9, giving coach Beck his first bowl win in his first season as head coach.

The 2010 season had its ups and downs; ranging from a two-game win streak to start the season along with a two-game losing streak to end it with a pair of heartbreaking losses in rivalry match ups. But Beck’s first season did end with a bowl victory and a .500 (6-6) record.

■ HOUSE from page 1B Gee snatched a rebound, laid it in and was fouled to get an opportunity for the three-point play. And after a Chris Ware basket, the Gorillas took a solid 19-11 lead approaching the midway mark of the first half. Tough defense and the opposing team’s fouls were key for the Gorillas early in the game as they were sent to the line after making baskets three times, with the Bearcats racking up seven team fouls 11 minutes into the game. With 8.8 seconds left in the first half, Eric Marshall was fouled in the paint and nailed the free throw to put the Gorillas up 39-33 and send them into the locker room with a sixpoint edge.

However, Northwest wouldn’t be able to forge a comeback in the second half, ending the game and desperately trying to foul the

Gorillas, who were a sensational 21-26 from the line.

Eric Ray continued to stand out for the Gorillas offensively as he scorched the nets for a game-high 22 points, going a perfect 4-4 from behind the arch. Along with showing impressive ability to drive the lane, Ray was a team-best 8-9 from the free throw line. Courtney Ingram was close behind Ray with 19 points and easily had his most impressive night, statistically, of the season.

Ingram seemed to be perfect from wherever he shot the ball, going 6-6 and 3-3 from long range.

Standing at 5 feet, 7 inches, the Bearcats’ sophomore guard DeShaun Cooper proved to be a lot for the Gorillas to handle early in the game as he was able to drive his way into the lane multiple times early in the

contest. But the Gorillas’ big presences on defense of McGee and Ware effectively controlled Cooper’s speed, limiting him in the first half. Cooper found his rhythm in the second half, rattling off 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Ware got the start again for the Gorillas, but only managed to account for six of the Gorillas’ total points, and although he came off the bench, McGee continued to prove that he can contribute when he is on the floor. McGee came close to another doubledouble with a matching eight points and eight rebounds, and showed discipline with no fouls throughout the contest.

The Gorillas stay at home this weekend to host the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist, with tip-off being set for 3:30 p.m. immediately following the women’s contest.

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and did work,” Jones said. “We covered our assignments well.”

Dickey, in the final game of his junior season, posted another 100-yard game, rushing for a total of 107 yards on the ground, pushing him over the 10,00-yard mark on the season.

And although Dickey passed for only 36 yards in the Gorillas’ bowl appearance, he only attempted only 10 passes throughout the course of the game.

Wilson, in his first season as a Gorilla, finished with 95

teams participating at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. “Our team does a really good job about working on individual goals along with the team goals we set at the beginning of every season,” sophomore runner Casey Epps said.

Shippensburg’s Nelly Spence won the 6-kilometer race with a time of 20 minutes, 24 seconds.

Grand Valley snagged the team title with a low score of 66. Western State Colorado finished second with 95 points.

After this season’s success, the Gorillas will take a bit of a blow when they lose many important runners such as team captain Brittney Graff and other senior runners such as Caitlin Laskowski and Jennifer Butler.

“This year’s season was most definitely a very successful one,” Epps said. “There was a lot of hard work starting in the summer that was put in for this season.”

Whatever the case may be after a successful season, the Gorillas will be going into next year’s season confident after nationals.

“The expectations we have for next season are to simply keep working hard and stay healthy,” Epps said. “We have high expectations of everyone pulling their own weight next year.”

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SGA responds to smoking ban confusion A few weeks ago, I saw a young man walking through campus. It was ten minutes to the top of the hour and as usual, the oval was a freeway of students heading to their next class. This young man was juggling with sticks as he walked through campus. Like everyone else who stared at him, I wondered just why he chose to juggle while walking to class. When asked, he responded with, “I am trying to quit smoking.”

If you haven’t already heard, the Thomas Student Government Association Gregory has established SGA vice an exploratory president committee to look into the idea of a smoke-free campus. This has come in response to growing concerns of secondhand smoke and the lack of enforcement on the current rule against smoking with in ten feet of an entrance. In light of one inaccurate letter-to-the-editor, I would like to take this opportunity to spell out our plan that may or may not make Pittsburg State a smoke-free campus.

Currently, the committee is working on its polling efforts so that each and every student will have a voice on the issue. In the first few weeks of the spring semester, polling stations will be set up in the dorms and around other high traffic areas of campus and every student is encouraged to stop at one, and let us know how you feel regarding this issue. In the months following, we would like to collaborate with the Student Health Center to put on cessation programs for those who do smoke and want to quit. The committee has already collaborated with other health and wellness organizations on this issue, including Gorillas in Your Midst. There are necessary steps one must take to change a policy like this and I intend to take those steps. I would like to see designated areas set up initially, to get students used to the idea of a smoke free campus.

The idea here is to improve the overall health of students across campus, not to infringe on civil liberties. We do not have the power to take away your right to smoke and we do not intend to. But we do have the power to make our campus a better place. Preliminary polling of students coming in and out of the SGA office for scantrons has shown that 715 out of 1282 students are in favor of a campus-wide smoke-free policy. Student input on this issue is important and students are always welcome and encouraged to come to SGA meetings and speak out during Student Opinion Time.

The idea of a smoke-free campus is not a new concept. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, there are over 500 smoke free campuses across the nation. The number of colleges that have made this move has quadrupled over the past two

letters

Ad & Business Manager Amy Spigarelli Bowyer 235-4816 Editor in Chief Madison Dennis 235-4901 Managing Editor Whitney Saporito 235-4815 Adviser Gerard Attoun 235-4809 Copy Editor Bartholomew Klick 235-4900 Design Manager Lauren White 235-4843 Photo Editor Aaron Anders 235-4900 Sports Editor Jake Faber 235-4821

Jodi Heflin/Collegio

Chantelle Childs, construction management major, smokes on campus. years. Some of the colleges include Butler County Community College, Kansas Wesleyan University, University of Central Oklahoma, every college in Arkansas, and the infamous Northwest Missouri State. All of these institutions made this move for the same reason: the health and well being of their students. Promoting healthy choices to students on campus should go beyond alcohol, sex and diet awareness.

Cigarette smoke, primary and secondhand, is one of the biggest killers annually in the United States. Even smokers will acknowledge that it isn’t a healthy lifestyle and wouldn’t encourage anyone to take up the habit.

As this trend spreads to campuses across the nation, it is likely PSU will have to change with the times. Let us not look at a smoke-free campus as oppressive, but as progressive.

Civic responsibility comes with just that, a responsibility. A responsibility to get your facts straight is Civics

Gorillas In Your Midst acted alone

As members of Gorillas In Your Midst, we are writing to assert that the decision to give away free hot dogs, gather petition signatures to support a tobacco free campus, and offer an incentive to student groups to participate, was ours and ours alone.

We did request that SGA provide us with written petition requirements, which they did. Otherwise, they were not involved in the decision, planning, or implementation in any way.

As a peer health education group, we are supporting the effort to establish a smoke-free campus (as numerous other campuses around the nation have already) for health reasons.

That being said, we’d also like to say that we

realize that nicotine addiction is very difficult to overcome and, as we do every year at The Great American Smokeout, we provided “Quit Kits” with information on phone support, cessation classes, nicotine replacement medication and aids in coping with withdrawal as well as a variety of other information about tobacco cessation. This information is available, not only during the Smokeout, but year round in information racks in Overman Student Center.

Kylie Miller Student Coordinator Gorillas In Your Midst

thisweek’squestion What did you think of your first semester of college classes?

“My classes were easier than I had expected them to be, honestly.

I thought I would be more overwhelmed.”

“I was surprised because my classes were pretty easy and I didn’t have to do as much homework as I was expecting.”

Robin Jenkins, freshman in criminal justice

Bekah Orendac, freshman in psychology

“I thought they were kind of easy.

I didn’t really have any problems keeping up.”

Sam Nicholson, freshman in auto technology

“I thought they were pretty easy, because you have breaks, so I was more likely to do better.”

Ashlie Shimmins, freshman in nursing

Editorials and columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Collegio as a whole.

“My classes were kinda hard. I felt like I had a lot of homework.”

Max Mancuso, freshman in auto technology

“They were okay.

My economics class was pretty hard.”

Erica Testa, freshman in English

101 and these notions that SGA organized and sponsored the Great American Smokeout are completely inaccurate.

That event was put on by the premier health and wellness organization on campus, Gorillas in Your Midst. The event was meant to promote healthy lifestyles because that’s what Gorillas in Your Midst are here for. SGA does plan to put this issue on the ballot in the SGA elections coming up in April and I will be the first to tell you that if students really do not want this change, I will vacate my efforts and move on to another way to make this place better.

But this change in policy will make Pitt State a much better place. Cleaner air, a cleaner campus, and healthier students are some of the many advantages that come with a smoke-free campus. So I encourage everyone to pick up their juggling sticks, join the cause, and see what can really happen when we all band together for one common goal.

Collegio Online readers write back In response to “Harry Potter and the mostly good review” 12/2/10 You know what the latest Harry Potter installment was?

Two and a half hours of wizards camping. The movie sucked.

Harry Potter’s adaptation to film as a whole, sucks. I’m sick and tired of people overrating the movies because they liked the books. I get that brooding and self-important whining sessions are “in” when it comes to the more popular films with the younger audience (i.e. Twilight); but just because Harry throws a fit or two does not make him deep. posted 12/03/10 @ 4:06 AM CST That was a good review. This time, I too was largely satisfied with the movie version. I had not found the last one appealing as I felt many important parts of the book had been chopped off without any valid justification.

After watching the half-blood prince, had been seriously debating whether to watch this movie when it came out. But after re-watching the “Order of the Phoenix,” which I had enjoyed, decided to give the director another chance. Also, I felt that he might do a better job at what I felt was a dragging part of the final book. Glad I did because I enjoyed the movie. The Deathly Hallows story was brought out visually in a totally captivating manner and perhaps because this movie was more character-driven, I enjoyed the interactions between the characters with all the

underlying guilt, jealousy, love and loneliness. I found your review very balanced and agree with almost all of what you said. posted 12/04/10 @ 7:38 AM CST In response to “SGA continues smoking ban push” 11/18/10 At what point does it become “okay” for governing bodies to make choices for people?

Where do we draw the line from expecting people to be responsible adults who must make responsible decisions for themselves all the way to adult-sized children who can’t be trusted to do the right thing?

Why stop with the group that’s politically correct to infantilize?

Why not move on to other groups? Fat people are icky, they are unhealthy, unappealing, and a burden on society. Why not make laws that make it difficult to make bad choices and become obese? Take away the use of elevators, unless you have a disability registered with campus.

Make it against the rules to park a car on campus unless you live farther away than a brisk, lengthy walk. Kick Pepsi off of campus and make it against the rules to have food on campus that isn’t a healthy snack. No chocolate, only celery! We’ll get rid of waste.

But we can’t do that. People have the right to choose what they do with their bodies. People have a right to expect to be treated like responsible adults when that’s what they are posted 12/08/10 @ 2:11 PM CST

Reporters Ashley Bailey Sarah Poland Brenna Christian Tyler Smith Alex Mott Michael Admire Caitlin Taylor Jen Rainey 235-4821 Photographers Andrew Dodson Yuyang Xiao Shalin Patel Jodi Heflin Hunter Peterson 235-4843 Designers Brittany Frazier Rachel Murdock Zach Waggoner 235-4843 Ad Representatives Hilary Erbert Suzy Jecha Leah Mackey Mollie Thompson 235-4937 Web Editor Amber Youngers 235-4843 Circulation Manager Jeremy Elsworth 235-4843

To submit a guest column, letter or story idea, contact the Collegio: e-mail psucollegio@gmail.com phone 235-4901 address 210 Whitesitt Hall Letters and guest column submissions must be typed, double spaced and include the writer’s name, signature, address and phone number. Please limit letters to 300 words or less. Please limit guest columns to 600 words or less. Letters become the property of the Collegio and may be published in the newspaper’s online edition.

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5B

December 9, 2010

Winterize your wheels JEN RAINEY Collegio Reporter Winter weather is here and with it brings the need for extra precautions with vehicles.

Those who don’t prepare could find themselves with a car that doesn’t work. Kenny Price, junior in communication, can testify to this.

“I failed to check the spark plugs. They were old and had to be replaced,” Price said.

Price says he also makes sure to check the anti-freeze levels and tire pressure.

“I always check my antifreeze levels and I start my car early,” Price said. “I make sure that my tires are properly inflated and I use a light fluid all year round, also.”

Price says many people overlook checking their tire pressure, but it is important because cold air makes tire pressure go down.

He also recommends tuning up the car, using lighter engine oil when possible and starting the car early to heat it up. The battery can add problems to a vehicle in the winter if not properly cared for, as well.

“The engine oil takes longer to circulate through the engine,” Price said. “The engine takes longer to reach the correct temperature from driving and your car battery will lose charge faster in cold weather. So, any of these problems can cause your car not to start or degrade faster.”

Price says there are items one should always have with them

One hairy raffle

File Photo

In this December 2009 file photo, Stephanie Peterson scrapes the ice off her windshield at the Nation Hall parking lot. while traveling in the winter.

“Always have extra blankets, and if you have a rear-wheel drive car you should put sand bags and a small shovel in the trunk,” Price said. “You can use the sand to help with traction if you get stuck in snow or ice.”

Ryan Hizey, junior in elementary education, says it’s important to bring a jacket when traveling in the winter.

“Never travel anywhere in the winter, especially when it’s severely cold without some sort of a jacket,” Hizey said.

He also says it’s a good idea to bring water and a food kit in case the vehicle breaks down and the passenger and driver become stranded. He says to bring along de-icer, as well.

“Make sure you have de-icer in your windshield wipers, because regular windshield wash tends to freeze and can break or crack the container that holds it,” Hizey said.

According to weather.com, other precautions to take include braking gently to avoid skidding and easing off the brake if the wheel starts to lock up.

Also, turn on the headlights to increase visibility, use low gears, don’t use cruise control and be especially careful on bridges.

Don’t pass snowplows and don’t assume the vehicle can handle all weather conditions.

“If you do not know how to do any of the maintenance on the car yourself, take it to a mechanic,” said Price.

Jodi Heflin/Collegio

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Your campus news Online

12-2 Solutions

David Snodgrass, Communication major, takes money for raffle tickets at the door at Fat Daddy’s restaurant during the celebration of “No Shave November” organized by the PR/Ad club on Saturday, Dec. 4.

6B

December 9, 2010

A day for

dance

On Sunday, Dec. 5, the Indian Student Association held a Raas Garba in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom to showcase their traditional dance and garb.

The Raas Garba is an Indian form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. It is more similar to Western folk dance than to the traditional style of Indian classical dances, but still involves Indian traditional clothing and music.

The name garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garbha (“womb�).

Many traditional garbas are per-

formed around a central lit lamp.

The circular and spiral figures of Garba have similarities to other spiritual dances.

Traditionally it is performed during the nine-day Hindu festival Navratri. Either the lamp (the Garba Deep) or an image of the Goddess Durga (also called Amba) is placed in the middle of concentric rings as an object of veneration.

The dance celebrates this festival and mimics its name in dance style and theme.

Indian students dance during Raas Garba in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom.

Photos by Yuyang Xiao

Indian students perform an Indian form of dance, Raas Garba, in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom.

Indian students dance during Raas Garba on Sunday, Dec. 5. Rass Garba is an Indian form of dance similar to Western folk dance.

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6

December 9, 2010

Aaron Anders/Collegio

Lara Ismert, sophomore in math and English, practices her role the one-act play- “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Blood, sweat, and yuks: a night of comedy KASSANDRA BUFFINGTON Collegio Reporter

Aaron Anders/Collegio

Nicholas Born, senior in psychology, practices his role in shooting the wolf, played by Brett Baker, junior in communication, in the one-act play “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Three Pittsburg State University seniors put a month’s worth of work on stage Friday and Saturday nights, drawing a crowd of nearly 100 people to come see the show and to cheer on the actors, actresses, and crew.

Ethan Caldwell and Joel Ybarra, seniors in communication, along with Emily Fogleman, graduate student in education, directed and produced three one-act comedic plays; “The Bear,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Ledge, Ledger, and the Legend.” As part of their senior projects, they had to choose the script, call auditions for a cast, and decide how to promote the productions.

“It was really time consuming,” said Caldwell, who is balancing this project with three jobs, schoolwork, and his social life. Despite the struggle, Caldwell says he has no regrets. He lives and breathes the life on stage.

Fogleman compared the experience to a full-time job, but says it had its own rewards.

“Being a director is by far the best part of being in a show,” Fogleman said. She compares the experience to being the ultimate creator, and says she enjoys watching her choices leap from simple black and white text into full color and dimension on stage.

Ybarra, whose play was a parody of “Little Red Riding Hood” says the scripts were selected in mid-October, giving the directors about a month to prepare.

“Pretty much, the rehearsals started the first week of November,” Ybarra said. ”If your play is an hour and a half you spend roughly 130 hours rehearsing.”

Ybarra said that, besides preparing in such a short

Aaron Anders/Collegio

Brett Baker, junior in communication, plays the wolf and tells a secret to Summer Layden, freshman in communication education, playing the grandma in the one-act play- “Little Red Riding Hood.” amount of time, another challenge was the size of the stage.

“To utilize such a small stage was a challenge but it was a good challenge,” Ybarra said.

He said although stressful, the experience of creating his own play was worth it.

“Overall I felt really good about it,” Ybarra said. “I challenged myself to go above and beyond. This play really challenged me to go outside the box.”

Yuyang Xiao/Collegio

Elena Popova, played by Micah Black, mourns over the death of her husband during the one-act play dress rehearsal “The Bear.” in Grubbs Theater on Thursday, Dec. 2.

Yuyang Xiao/Collegio

Elena Popova, played by Micah Black, and Grigory Smirnov, played by Austin Curtright, perform an “intruding scene” during the one-act play dress rehearsal for “The Bear.”

“WoW: Cataclysm” rocks the Earth BARTHOLOMEW KLICK Copy Editor Blizzard Entertainment’s latest expansion to the hit online role-playing game “World of Warcraft” lives up to the franchise’s reputation for addictive, fun games.

I have some quibbles, though: the storyline of an evil dragon that almost destroys the world (Blizzard’s storybased excuse for revamping all of the low level zones) is an all-out cliché, just like the last expansion, and the expansion before it. The franchise has some interesting characters, but it never even tries to develop a sympathetic villain.

That said, however, the writing has gotten a lot better. The miniature storylines behind the thousands of quests, as well as behind the various dungeons that players can attack, are engaging in their own right, and distract from the fact that, really, the players are doing the same task over and over again, hundreds of times. In older expansions, the writing was bad enough to be distracting — so this is a good change.

The new races are awesome. The Worgen (the game’s term for werewolves) starting zone is genuinely intense, and while the game world

may draw on the same tired fantasy clichés for its stories, Blizzard has a solid understanding of how to make the stuff that goes on within these clichés cinematic and enjoyable.

I’ve never had more fun in “World of Warcraft” than I did defending the city of Gilneas from an unending army of werewolves. The moment when my character was bitten and given the werewolf curse actually made me feel like I was part of the story, and that what I was doing was important. That’s superb writing.

I wasn’t as keen on the Goblin starting zone, but the Horde sucks, so no one cares. (Send hate mail to bartholomew. klick@gmail.com) I’m a bit disappointed in the game’s new player profession (archaeology).

When I play a game like this, I basically want to be Indiana Jones and thought I was finally going to get to do this.

But archaeology in Cataclysm isn’t about finding lost relics within ancient tombs — it’s about triangulating on an item in places I normally wouldn’t go, repeatedly, and then maybe getting something valuable for my time. It’s a decent time-killer waiting for raids to form, but it doesn’t really deserve a cool name like “archaeology.”

“World of Warcraft: Cataclysm,” 2010

Blizzard also fixed the old game world so that players can use their flying mounts there. This is cool and all, but we’ve had these flying mounts for years now and it never made sense that we couldn’t, you know, fly them around.

This feels far more like a patch, and patches are generally free — not $35.

Still, there’s an epic feeling attached to flying over Stormwind city on my Death Knight’s bone dragon. The flight paths (the other way to get around if you don’t have a flying mount) are still kind of bad, but there are a lot more of them, which helps remove the feeling that all travel is long and boring.

Blizzard needs to teach its flight-path gryphons and wyverns how to go in a straight line. Traveling north should never involve traveling south and then

“World of Warcraft: Cataclysm,” 2010

west first — not when I’m flying above anything that could actually stop me.

The new high-level content is the real reason to buy Cataclysm. Every zone feels magical, and my character, who has literally been killing the baddest sons-of-badgers in Azeroth since day one, is finally getting the respect he deserves from NPCs. Before Cataclysm, my character was always treated like a faceless soldier, even though he was usually decked

out, head to toe, in magical artifacts of untold power. Now the NPCs react to characters the way they would a storybook hero, and it works a lot better.

And non-PVP fighting has finally, finally been untrivialized. Big scary monsters are finally big and scary again.

There are things you just can’t kill alone (outside of raids!), and seeing them evokes the old “oh-crap” feeling that seeing a 20-story dragon flying overhead should have always evoked.