Full Issue, November 18, 2021

Bulletin

The Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021

Science Saturday Volleyball Pg. 6

Pg. 8

Volume 121 - No. 6

The voice of the students since 1901

Back at home,

Hush named interim president Margaret Mellott Editor-in-Chief

An Emporia State alumnus was named interim president by the Kansas Board of Regents yesterday afternoon. Ken Hush will replace the current acting president, George Arasimowicz, while KBOR launches their search for ESU’s 18th president.

“We looked for someone who has passion for the university,” said Cheryl Harrison-Lee, KBOR Chair. “It’s always fantastic when you have an alumn of the university, someone who’s also shown a commitment to the university and someone who also has strong leadership skills, who’s visionary and has a proven track record of being an executive, and we found all those things in Mr. Hush.”

Hush graduated from ESU in 1982, with a dual degree in business administration and marketing. While at ESU, Hush led the tennis team to four Central States Intercollegiate Conference titles, one NAIA District 10 Title and three NAIA National Tournament appearances, according to ESU Athletics. “(Finding out) was goosebumps, it was excitement,” Hush said. “I just want to do well on behalf of all the alumni and current students, which are first and foremost, and the community.”

After being named interim

Mason Hart | The Bulletin

During the Kossover Family Tennis Complex ribbon cutting, Ken Hush, alumnus, gives a speech to celebrate the opening on Oct. 2. Yesterday afternoon, Hush was named Emporia State’s interim president by the Kansas Board of Regents. As a student here, Hush played tennis and led the team to multiple championships.

president, Hush turned around to start immediately, with today being his first official day.

“I am honored and humbled to be the interim president of the university from which I graduated in the community in which I grew up,” said Hush in the press

EXPLAINER: What happens when a program is discontinued?

Bella Eppens Managing Editor

The physics program at Emporia State has been given a second chance, but there is still a possibility that it could be discontinued if they don’t come up with an acceptable plan to increase enrollment and become more costeffective by Dec. 22.

The dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Brent Thomas, and one of the full-time professors in the physical sciences department, Jorge Ballester, are confident that the department’s plan will be viable.

However, discontinuances do happen. In fact, ESU’s Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, or TESOL, graduate program was discontinued as of this fall, according to chair of the academic affairs committee Cynthia Kane.

So, here are some important things to understand about what

would happen if the physics major was discontinued.

While the program would not be able to accept any new students once it is discontinued, those who have declared a physics major would be able to finish out their degrees.

“Universities are not going to abandon the students that are already here,” Thomas said. “If that should happen, they’re going to get grandfathered through. We’re going to make sure that they’re taken care of and that they’re going to graduate with what they came here to do.”

This would include not only seniors who only have a semester left, but also first year students who are still taking general education courses. Any student who has officially declared their major as physics before the discontinuance would be grandfathered SEE EXPLAINER PAGE 2

Hornets end season with win

Mason Hart | The Bulletin

Emporia State volleyball players celebrate during their game on senior night against Missouri Western on Nov. 13th at W. L. White Auditorium. Two seniors were recognized before the gane.

release from KBOR. “I am excited for the opportunity to work with students, faculty and staff to make ESU better, stronger and a place where excellence is a constant goal.”

Previously, Hush served as chairman of the ESU Founda-

tion Board of Trustees and on the Wichita State University Board of Trustees, according to the press release from KBOR. Most recently, he worked as CEO for an Emporia-based company, BLI Rentals.

“I am excited about President

Hush leading Emporia State University,” Arasimowicz said.

“President Hush will advance ESU as a great university with great people.”

Harrison-Lee said she’s excited to see what Hush will do during SEE HUSH PAGE 2

Physics program given more time to prevent discontinuance Bella Eppens Managing Editor

The discontinuation of the physics program at Emporia State has been temporarily put on hold and the program has been granted until Dec. 22 to create a plan to prevent the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science in physics from being discontinued.

“I appreciate the dean’s and the provost’s willingness to slow the process down a little bit and proceed forward cautiously,” said Jorge Ballester, a professor of physical sciences at ESU since 1990.

Physics is an important discipline to teach at a university, according to Ballester. “(Physics) is a discipline that deals with a very fundamental approach to understanding what’s going on in the universe around us,” Ballester said. “Of course, it’s distinguished from earth science and chemistry and the biological sciences, in general, but I think the physicist’s approach to understanding the universe is a valuable perspective.”

However, the most important gauge on the value of the program is the success stories that come from graduates, according to Ballester.

“We provide students with some really great opportunities to fulfill their dreams in the discipline,” Ballester said.

Recently, Ballester was in touch with one ESU physics aluma, Lizeth Magana, who was in the process of defending her dissertation at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Additionally, she was offered a research position at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Her husband, Rhyan Sawyer, is also an ESU alumnus and just

finished his PhD, as well. Sawyer is currently a postdoctoral researcher for the University of Iowa.

“They graduated ESU, they’re now married and they both just finished their PhDs working on NASA projects that they wanted to do, they both dreamt of doing,” Ballester said. “So I think we provide a path for students that might not have that opportunity. We have a very special path.”

Additionally, Ballester cited that twice in the last five years, the Shepherd Scholar has been a physics major. The Shepherd Scholars program gifts a $2,000 scholarship and a plaque to 12 of ESU’s “most outstanding students,” according to emporia.edu.

“When I look at the individual stories of the students that came through our physics program and moved on to doing what they’re doing,” Ballester said. “They’re really doing great things and I’m hoping that the university wants to continue to be able to tell those kinds of stories.”

Brent Thomas, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, temporarily rescinded his original recommendation to discontinue the physics program on Oct. 21.

“The retraction of my recommendation at this time is to provide the department with some time to develop a viable plan for increasing headcount majors, number of completions per year, and overall SCH (student credit hours) within the physics course offerings,” Thomas stated in his letter to vice president of academic affairs and acting president, George Arasimowicz, and president of the faculty senate, Brenda Koerner.

Thomas cited conversations with the chair of the physical

sciences department, Richard Sleezer, as one of the reasons he decided to give the department more time.

“I guess I saw value in giving the department a little time to try to figure out a plan,” Thomas said. “I felt that the department had an interest in doing that and I felt like we could justify giving them the time to do so. I didn’t see a reason not to.”

Additionally, the money that would be saved by discontinuing the physics program would not be available immediately, according to Thomas. This is because ESU would allow the students who are already in the program to finish their degrees.

“So, given that reality, why not give the department a little bit more time to do this,” Thomas said. “If we legitimately can’t come up with something that we believe could turn it around and make it viable, well then I turn my recommendation back in and faculty senate goes to work again. But that doesn’t change the timeline of our budget situation.”

Thomas is confident that the faculty of the physics department will be able to come up with a viable plan to keep the program going.

“They’re smart people,” Thomas said. “And they’re good people. And they’re people that I have confidence in.

So, if they’re given an opportunity to do some thinking and work on this, I have confidence that they’ll put their best foot forward for it.”

Ballester is also confident that the department can come up with an acceptable plan.

“There’s some real options that we haven’t been able to act on previously and so maybe it’s an extra opportunity to get supSEE PHYSICS PAGE 2

NEWS

2

The Bulletin | NOV. 18, 2021

Police Fighting Climate Change with Diet Change Reports Allison Funk Staff Writer

Like many other college students, Holly Barney lives a pretty routine life going to classes, soccer practices, and navigating her freshman year. However, in between her busy schedule you can also find her advocating for climate change and encouraging others to do the same by considering a vegan lifestyle.

On Nov. 5, Barney stood outside the science hall on campus with other environmentalists who handed out pamphlets that explained the effects of cutting meat out of people’s diets. She was first inspired by her sister who convinced her at a young age to make a change.

“At first I had not really cared about the ethics or anything,” Barney said. “And eventually I was so tired of her being like, ‘Watch this, watch this,’ that I watched it.”

When Barney was shown the ways that people’s decisions have been affecting the environment, she was inspired to help do more by first becoming vegetarian.

EXPLAINER

continued from page 1

through, according to Thomas.

Generally, a university would give students at least three years to complete their degrees but would grant them more time if needed, according to Thomas.

The most prominent areas of the department to be affected once these students have graduated would be the professors who teach physics and the classes that the university would be able offer.

Since physics would no longer be offered as a major, certain classes would not be offered anymore.

Not all of the physics classes would be canceled, though.

Some courses, such as Space Science, would need to be kept to fulfill general education requirements across the majors, according to Ballester. Additionally, some physics courses are required for non-physics majors, such as education majors, and those would need to be kept.

“Once I went vegetarian, it went more from ethics to other reasons,” Barney said. “It turned into health, it turned into environment, it turned into climate change prevention...I eventually found myself being passionate about the environment.”

Not only was Barney’s sister a huge influence on her, the Olathe West High School she attended also made a large impact. They offered a 21st Century Academy program that gave their students the opportunity to take a green technology class over the course of four years. In this class, Barney was taught about all the different ways she could help and began by advocating with her sister at places that educated others.

“When she lived in KC, I would go with her and there is one called ‘The Cube of Truth,’ and they show what happens in the industries,” Barney said.

“People would come and if they were standing there watching we would start a conversation with them.”

Although their efforts have made positive impacts on people, there are still many who

“It’s always going to be the upper-division, major-specific classes that are in danger, that you can’t teach them on a regular basis,” Ballester said.

If those upper-division classes are cancelled, less staff will be needed to teach the few courses that are left. Thomas explained that the discontinuance of the program could lead to the termination of current faculty members in his recommending the discontinuance.

However, this doesn’t mean that the entire department would be terminated.

“We would not be in a situation where everyone who teaches physics has to leave,” Thomas said.

The number of faculty members who would be terminated would depend on the number of staff retiring and the number of staff taking positions elsewhere, according to Thomas.

Ultimately, the decision on which classes to stop offering and how many faculty members to terminate would be made by the department of physical sciences.

PHYSICS

continued from page 1

port to try other things, now,” Ballester said.

Ballester is working on the plan with the two other full-time faculty members, Robert Jones and Christopher Pettit, from the physical science department, which houses the physics program. The three are working alongside Sleezer.

“The thing is to come up with things that are real,” Ballester said. “Not to just have fanciful, grandiose ideas that are not realistic. We want to put together real things that can actually be done.”

Some of the ideas that will be presented, had already been discussed before the discontinuance was recommended, according to Ballester. These ideas include how to continue the existing parts of the program and some new initiatives.

“Of course, there’s always been new ideas floating around,” Ballester said. “Sometimes informal conversation generates new ideas, but sometimes they just kind of stay there because it’s not the right time for them or there’s just no personnel to do it with.”

There have been several discussions over the years about discontinuing the physics program, according to Ballester. However, the program was always able to make the necessary changes to keep it going.

“It’s not that big a surprise to be scrutinized,” Ballester said.

“The fact that it actually went to the point of an actual recommendation (of discontinuance) from the dean, that was the most extreme thing that has happened during my time here.”

The recommendation to discontinue the physics program came from Thomas on May 3.

Thomas cited low headcount and high cost as the reasons behind his recommendation.

“This recommendation is motivated by budgetary concerns and is not a reflection of the quality of our physics program,” Thomas stated in his letter to the previous vice president of academic affairs, David Cordle.

The Kansas Board of Regents, or KBOR, sets minimum thresholds for programs that universities are supposed to meet, according to Thomas. Unfortunately, the physics program does not meet those requirements.

The total number of physics

have shared negative opinions about the activism that Holly and Brooke Barney are doing.

Barney’s sister, Brooke Barney, is currently working in Egypt visiting slaughterhouses to take documented footage that she can share to others in order to reveal the ways animals are treated. Her Instagram posts have gotten lots of attention, however not all of it has been positive.

“I think that’s why you get this really negative reaction from people,” Brooke Barney said.

“Because even just hearing you say that you’re vegan makes them defensive. Because deep down I think they feel like ‘I’m doing something wrong.’”

Holly Barney has received very similar reactions from people on and off campus. One reason is due to the fact that she is an athlete which causes her choice of food options to be questioned frequently in relation to energy she may need for games or practices. One may ask her if she is lacking the protein that she needs but Holly says this is not the case.

“If I should be worried about anything, it’s not the protein,”

Ken Hush

HUSH

continued from page 1

his time as interim president.

“Ken Hush possesses a passion for Emporia State and brings extensive leadership experience to the role of interim president,” said Harrison-Lee in yesterday’s press release from KBOR. “I am thankful that he is willing to take on the responsibility and steward the university during this transitional period.”

KBOR plans on conducting a closed search for the next president in the hopes of drawing in more candidates.

“When we do a closed search,

majors, not including those seeking an education degree, had fallen 44.4% over the past five years, according to the most recent departmental program indicators.

Demand for undergraduate physics courses for any major had also fallen 29.4% in the last five years.

Additionally, the costs of running the physics program had exceeded the money being made.

This resulted in a net loss of almost $89,000, according to recent financial analyses.

The data that was used to make the recommendation to discontinue the program was taken from 2015 to 2019, according to Thomas’s recommendation letter.

Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic was not a factor in the decrease of students in the program.

“This is more of a chronic issue,” Thomas said. “But, just like anything else, COVID has not been kind to enrollment pretty much anywhere on campus, but I don’t think that really impacted those numbers I was looking at, at that time.”

Following Thomas’s letter rescinding his recommendation to discontinue the program, the faculty senate canceled their discontinuance hearing that was scheduled for Oct. 26.

Holly Barney said. “It’s more like B12 and certain vitamins that maybe the agriculture and factory farms put into these animals so we get those through eating them but there’s different ways to do that. So, one of the biggest things vegans need to watch is their B12 so I take supplements for that.”

According to an article written by Rachel Nuwer, if everyone decided to become vegetarian by 2050, it would have a tremendous impact. Research done by Marco Springman from the Oxford Martin School’s Future of Food program, says that “food-related emissions would drop by about 60%. If the world went vegan instead, emissions declines would be around 70%.”

Barney continues to work towards spreading awareness about this and says that she is currently considering ways to get students on campus more involved. While she knows the struggle of adapting to food options on campus, she claims it is far from impossible.

“If I can adapt in Emporia, Kansas,” Holly Barney said. “I can adapt anywhere.”

we tend to attract a larger pool of candidates,” Harrison-Lee said.

“A lot of current employees don’t want to show their hand that they are seeking a new opportunity.

(Doing a closed search) creates a comfort level for either sitting presidents or sitting provosts— that they can apply and that it will be held confidential in case they don’t get the position.”

As KBOR prepares to launch the search committee for the next president, they’re looking at a six-month timeline with hopes to fill the position permanently by Fall 2022. They’ll start by naming a committee chair in December, and then assembling the full committee.

“In January, we’re bringing the committee together,” said Blake Flanders, KBOR president. “(We’ll) develop the leadership profile for the position—That’s a little bit like a job description.

Then we’ll do some listening sessions for the entire campus and the entire community. So even if you’re not on the committee, we want you to participate there as we develop this job description or profile so that you can have input into that.”

The senate would have heard from faculty and students in the program as well as alumni of the program. After evidence was gathered, the senate would have written and submitted a recommendation on whether or not to discontinue the program to the president of the university.

The president makes the final decision on a program’s discontinuance, according to the University Policy Manual. That decision could be the opposite of what the faculty senate recommends, according to Thomas.

ESU is currently between presidents since the previous president, Allison Garrett, took a new position in Oklahoma last month.

However, this did not play a role in Thomas’s decision to rescind his recommendation.

“It doesn’t matter who happens to be the president that moment, (they) will ultimately be the decision maker,” Thomas said. “So that wouldn’t have mattered if it was the previous president, our current acting president or presumably the interim president should be coming next, I assume.

Whoever’s in that role at the moment, when faculty senate does conclude their work, it’ll be up to them to make that decision.”

Logs from ESU Police and Safety Nov. 9 Schallenkamp staff wanted to speak with officer about a student being removed from Schallenkamp to another dorm for inappropriate comments.

Officer did case follow up at Schallenkamp to photograph area theft occurred.

Officer responded to area between 1 Kellogg Circle and Dillons to look for a subject that was called in to check on their well being. Officer did not find subject.

Officer responded to Schallenkamp to retrieve THC edible packaging found.

Nov. 10 Officer checked on a male subject onthe northside of Lyon County Detention Facility. Subject was requesting a ride home to report a crime and was referred to the Emporia Police Department.

CECE for a report of a parking problem. The vehicle was removed from this location, prior to officers arrival.

Nov. 11 Community contact at the One Room School House.

Responded to North Towers for a student trapped in an elevator.

Nov. 12 Officer recovered found property from King Hall.

Nov. 13 An individual was requesting maps of the campus. Maps were provided.

Officer checked on a suspicious vehicle at the Trusler Sports Complex. Everything was ok with the vehicle.

Checked on the welfare of an occupant of a car at 1500 Morse DR. The female was passed out and the car door was opened. She stated that she was fine and didn’t need any further assistance.

Nov. 14 Officer responded to Schallenkamp Hall, 3rd floor, for the odor of marijuana.

Nov. 15 Received a report of theft and criminal damage to property at Schallenkamp Hall.

Between 11/14/2021, 2215 and 11/15/2021, a painting was removed from a wall on 4th Floor North, it also caused damage to the wall.

Report Taken.

Report of a bearded dragon in Wilson Park by the park sign.

Vehicle accident, 1700 Morse DR. A car rolled into the fence of the Soccer field.

Officer responded to South Morse Hall for a report of a theft. A cash box along with approximately $320 cash was stolen from the Student Veteran Center, room 434.

Nov. 16 An individual reported that they had an accidental overdose of medication. Individual had forgotten they had already taken a dose and took another one. The individual was transported to Newman’s by ambulance.

The Bulletin | NOV. 18, 2021

HORNET LIFE

3

The building of a community Mason Hart | The Bulletin

Students give presentations that reflect their experiences on Nov. 15.

From Nov. 15 to 19, Emporia State is celebrating international education week with a varitey events like an international tea tasting and Polynesian show. While most of the events have passed, the International Culture is to be held at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Albert Taylor Hall.

OPINION

4

The Bulletin | NOV. 18, 2021

Staff Editorial:

To Hush, welcome to ESU

President Hush, we’re excited to have you take over as interim president. It will be great to have an alumnus join our campus until the position is filled permanently.

However, you are taking on a lot during this transitional period, tackling the pandemic and the budget crisis Emporia State’s been experiencing.

So, from us to you, here is some advice from the students whose job it is to know what’s happening at our university.

You are joining us during a pandemic that has lasted almost two years now. While we all want to go back to normal as soon as possible, it’s important that you lead us in a safe direction.

This includes keeping the mask mandate until the coast is clear and maybe even move to pass a vaccine mandate to keep our campus and community safe going forward.

In addition to keeping students safe and in classes, athletics are at the mercy of the COVID19 procautions you take now. As

Ken Hush

‘Tis the season to be safe

Hanna Murphy Opinion Editor

Since March 2020, COVID19 has spread across our world, taking away things that we loved the most: Concerts, hanging out with others, especially family and friends.

One thing that got a strain put on it the most is the holidays. How could we hold family dinners around the holidays if everyone was too scared to be around anyone else, unless they lived under the same roof?

I know that my family, despite all the protocols and mandates we’re supposed to meet, still found a way to celebrate the holidays. Even though we spend weekends together, we are often outside to help us have more of a distance from one another, even when we are inside, we are well spaced out.

Once we found out that our grandpa had cancer, my sister and I were extra careful, taking additional precautions, especially since we’re both college students.

We want to always make sure we are being safe.

Everyone that is on a college campus should take precautions when going home to families for the holidays. You don’t know what you’re going to be bringing home, especially to the ones in your family more at risk.

You may not be sick yourself, or have any symptoms, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take your own precautions. If you’re going to be around elderly or younger children, be sure to selfquarantine or take extra safety steps when being around them or even before you are around them.

Ways you could be more sanitary would-be self-quarantining, making sure everything is clean from your car to yourself, taking time to wash clothes and bedding, and wipe or spray down any other objects to free them from harmful germs.

I know that when I go home for the holidays, I will be taking plenty precautions in making sure that everything is clean and germ free so that I don’t have the slightest chance of endangering the health of the ones I care most about.

Submit your letter to the Editor today Letters to the editor should be no more than 450 words and can address issues, concerns, ideas or events important to you. Letters may be edited for content and length.

Email letters to esubulletineditor@gmail.com.

Include your name and ESU email so we can verify authorship.

CONTACT US

alive and thriving. So please take the time to listen to our thoughts and ideas as you take on this new position.

Every student, faculty and staff member at ESU count and play a role in making ESU what it is. Take the time to value the unique and diverse people that make up our community. Help us to make ESU more inclusive and accepting by supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.

You are not only making decisions for the students of today, but setting a precedent for the students of tomorrow.

The decisions you make during your time as president will have an impact on decisions made by presidents and administration in the future and will shape ESU for years to come.

Try to enjoy your time as interim president, but know that you really can make a difference for our university.

Even though your time as president will be short, we are excited to see the impact you can make on our experience here at your alma mater. Good luck and stingers up.

Letter from the editor:

Dear Bella, here’s to one last go initely called the previous EIC, Sarah Spicer, for advice about every week my first semester.

As my time here comes to end, it feels like I’ve just now figured things out.

Margaret Mellott Editor-in-Chief

I’ve barely started writing this and I’m already ready to cry. This is my last print edition as Editor-in-Chief.

If you know me, you know I’ve been excited to no longer hold this position.

Not out of any hate or dislike of the job, but out of excitement to train the next EIC, and to really focus on my classes next semester.

Being EIC through the pandemic has definitely been the hardest challenge I’ve faced at any job I’ve ever worked. But, I hope that the things I’ve learned during my two and a half years in this position prove useful to future generation of Bulletin leaders.

Each EIC has a different style of leadership, and most of the time, our styles change over time. When I first started as EIC, I was honestly very lost.

There were a lot of things I wasn’t sure how to do, and I def-

Margaret Mellott

Phone: 620-341-5201

Managing Editor

Editor-in-Chief

Bella Eppens

Hanna Murphy Opinion Editor

Bella, I would imagine you’ll feel the same when the time comes for you, but I would encourage you to reflect on the lessons you’ve learned to pass them on to the next EIC. Those before me have built on each other to give you the best leadership toolkit possible, though some lessons you’ll have to learn on your own.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to trust your

for yourself. Newspapers are constantly changing environments, and you always have to ready for breaking news. Much like yesterday, when the interim president was announced an hour and a half before the staff meeting.

On top of being a journalist, you’re still a college student and have other obligations.

Remember to take that time for yourself. Honestly, sometimes I’ll put my phone in another room to open up a good book, or watch a new movie. Just having my phone way helps so much.

Lastly, I want you to know how proud I am of you. You’ve only been on staff for a single semester, and you’ve grown so much. Not only are you a fantastic writer, but you’re a great leader. You got this, and if you ever feel like you don’t, give me a call. I’m also a resource you can use.

On top of being a journalist, you’re still a college student and have other obligations.

Remember to take that time for yourself.

EDITORIAL STAFF

1 Kellogg Circle, Emporia, KS 66801 Campus Box 4068 Emporia State University 3rd floor Memorial Union, Room 312

esubulletineditor@gmail.com www.esubulletin.com

a former tennis player here at ESU, you can imagine how devastating it would be to have your season cancelled because of precautions that were not taken that could have been.

As an alumnus, you should understand how important our college experience is, and keeping us healthy and safe is a crucial aspect to helping us have the best experience possible.

The pandemic aside, ESU has also been struggling in other areas with budget cuts and terminations.

We may have some small programs, but don’t let them fall through the cracks. They are just as important to what ESU is trying to accomplish as our big programs. If we want to provide a quality and diverse education to students now and in the future, we need to hold on to our small programs as long as we can.

Don’t forget us students, and don’t forget the faculty and staff.

Having been a student at ESU yourself, you should understand how important our voices are.

After all, the students, faculty and staff are what keep the university

Sam Bailey

Design Editor

Makayla Gray Web Editor

staff, it can be hard to let them do things on their own, but as you support them, they also support you. Take advantage of your resources, and never be afraid to ask for help.

Don’t forgot to take time

To campus, These last four years on staff have been great, and this is a bittersweet goodbye, though the real one will come when I graduate in May. I have learned so much in my time as EIC, and I’ve made so many connections and experienced so many cool oportunities because of this job.

I’m forever grateful, and I will greatly miss working as Editor-in-Chief.

ADVISER

DISTRIBUTION

Max McCoy

One free copy of The Bulletin is available to every ESU student.

Additional copies are $2.00 per issue or $35 for a yearly subscription.

Professor of Journalism

The Bulletin | NOV. 18, 2021

FROM THE WIRE

5

Violence against Indigenous women is a crisis, federal report says

Delia Johnson | Cronkite News

Indigenous women lead the 2019 Phoenix Women’s March, where they advocated for their missing and murdered Native sisters.

Shondiin Silversmith Arizona Mirror

Violence against Indigenous women in the United States is a crisis, but the extent of the problem remains unknown, according to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

“There’s no one single database that has all this information,” said Gretta Goodwin, director of the GAO’s Homeland Security and Justice team. “So, the full scope of the problem is we don’t know.”

Gathering data needed to figure out just how big the problem is is complicated by a history of police racism and prejudice that has left Indigenous people feeling that there is no reason to seek help from law enforcement agencies, leaving untold numbers of cases unreported — and uninvestigated.

The report, which was published Nov. 1, comes two years after more than a dozen members of Congress, including Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, wrote a letter to the GAO requesting an investigation on missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) in the United States.

With no centralized database among the thousands of federal, state and tribal entities, there is limited data on missing and murdered Indigenous people.

The GAO report identified four major federal databases that included some data on missing and murdered Indigenous people. The missing person data was pulled from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) and the National Crime Information Center.

The data for murdered individuals came from the National Violent Death Reporting System and the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

For instance, NamUS published a report in August stating there are

734 unresolved missing Indigenous people’s cases from 36 states, including three from kansas.

The NCIC publishes a roundup every year that highlights the total number of missing persons and unidentified person cases reported.

In 2020, more than 9,500 cases involving Indigenous people were reported, and nearly 1,500 were still active cases at the end of 2020.

The lack of overall data is only one of the issues that local MMIW advocate groups and tribes have been talking about for years, and now that the MMIW crisis has more of a national spotlight, federal and state entities are starting to pay attention.

In some tribal communities, Indigenous women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average, according to the Department of Justice.

In 2017, homicide was reported as the fourth-leading cause of death among Indigenous women between the ages of 1 and 19 years and the sixth-leading cause of death for ages 20 to 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a report from the National Institute of Justice, 84% of Indigenous women experience violence in their lifetime, compared to 71% of white women.

Findings and recommendations The GAO’s inquiry into MMIW started in January 2020 and concluded in October 2021. The report examines to what extent the number of MMIW is known in the United States, as well as what steps the Department of Justice and Department of Interior, have taken to address the issue.

“When we started this work, we knew that a number of groups had already been attempting to highlight this issue,” Goodwin said. “This is the first time we’ve done this work.”

Outside of the databases, the

GAO was able to identify other data collection efforts, including regional efforts from researchers, tribes, and states.

The GAO worked with locations in seven states to see how they collected MMIW data: Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington.

Within these locations, the GAO interviewed law enforcement agencies, collected tribal perspectives on the MMIW related issues from 23 tribes, and reviewed reports from local advocacy groups.

“Our seven cases certainly don’t speak to the experience of all 574 federally recognized tribes,” said Anna Maria Ortiz, the director of GAO’s Natural Resources and Environment team. “They do give us glimpses on some of the factors that we think might play into this crisis.”

Goodwin said they did not name the locations they worked within the report out of respect because the GAO intends on continuing their work in this field.

“We determined that while the data have limitations for estimating the absolute magnitude of missing or murdered (Indigenous) women, they were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of identifying potential locations with relatively high numbers and missing or murdered (Indigenous) women per capita,” the report says.

The GAO report pointed out several reasons for the lack of data, including how federal databases do not contain national data on all Indigenous women reported missing, but also that officials are prone to underreporting cases, misclassification of race and misclassifications of the manner of death to the federal databases.

The findings in the report were not surprising to Ortiz, but she was struck by how haunting some of the stories were that tribal community members shared with them during their research.

“The legacy of historical racism and prejudice made families feel like they could not even go to law enforcement because law enforcement was going to be dismissive or ignore their concerns,” she said.

“So, it was not a surprise per se, but it was devastating and speaks to how important it is that the federal government do what it can to improve its response to this crisis.”

The GAO report also looked into how the Justice and Interior Department has addressed the MMIW issue. The report found that some of the requirements listed in two laws from 2020, the Not Invisible Act

and Savanna’s Act, could help address part of the MMIW crisis, but it’s up to both departments to implement them.

National attention on the crisis involving missing and murdered Indigenous people has been increasing over the years.

In 2019, the Justice Department announced the agency’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative and President Donald Trump launched a task force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives known as Operation Lady Justice.

In April, another national push came from Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland when she launched the Missing and Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services. This unit will provide leadership and direction for cross-departmental and interagency work involving missing and murdered Indigenous people.

“Whether it’s a missing family member or a homicide investigation, these efforts will be all hands on deck,” Haaland said at the time.

“We are fully committed to assisting Tribal communities with these investigations, and the MMU will leverage every resource available to be a force multiplier in preventing these cases from becoming cold case investigations.”

The Interior Department reported that 2,700 cases of murder and non-negligent homicide offenses have been reported to the federal government’s Uniform Crime Reporting program.

Even though the Justice and Interior departments increased their efforts to address the MMIW crisis, the GAO report found that the departments have not implemented certain requirements to increase intergovernmental coordination and data collection as part of the Not Invisible Act and Savanna’s Act. The agencies have even missed some of their statutory deadlines.

As part of the Not Invisible Act, one requirement is that the secretary of the interior, in coordination with the attorney general, is supposed to appoint members to a Joint Commission on Reducing Violence Against Indians. Those appointments were supposed to be made by February 2021, 120 days after the act passed.

None have been appointed. In August, nearly nine months after the deadline, the Justice and Interior departments announced they wanted to start finding members for the commission.

Savanna’s Act directs the Justice Department to review, revise and

develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing or murdered Indigenous people.

Some of the requirements from Savanna’s Act include having the attorney general, in cooperation with the secretary of interior, consult with tribes on how to improve tribal data relevance and access to databases.

The Justice Department also needs to provide training to law enforcement agencies on how to record tribal enrollment or victims in federal databases as well as develop and implement a strategy to educate the public on NamUs. GAO reported that, as of June, the Justice Department is in the planning stage for meeting this data collection and reporting requirements and is considering using data from two federal databases to satisfy it.

The GAO reported that the Justice Department had until April to conduct a strategy to educate the public about NamUs, but as of June, there was still no plan or time frame for its implementation.

The GAO stated that the Justice and Interior departments developing plans to meet the joint commission and other unfulfilled statutory requirements would provide more confidence that they are working to meet their legal responsibilities, as well as support tribal partners in reducing violent crime.

“Implementation of data-related requirements in new laws and ongoing data analysis present opportunities to increase understanding of the scope of the MMIW crisis,” the GAO report states.

The GAO report made four recommendations on addressing the MMIW crisis in the US, three for the Justice Department and one for the Interior Department.

Ortiz said ​​GAO’s recommendations are more about making sure that there are plans for followthrough for work that has already been started by the Justice and Interior Department under the Not Invisible Act and Savanna’s act.

“When GAO issues recommendations, we have a very robust follow-up process. We will be periodically checking in with those agencies,” Goodwin said, and both departments did agree to follow through with the recommendations the GAO produced.

“They agreed to the recommendation and we know that they are starting efforts to implement these recs,” Goodwin added.

This story was produced by Arizona Mirror, an affiliate of of States Newsroom.

Cutting food sales tax shouldn’t lead to cuts in services for low-income families, advocate says Noah Taborda Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Working for a food bank, Karen Siebert has seen how many Kansans face difficult choices between putting food on the table and paying for utilities, rent or medical care.

Siebert is the advocacy and public policy adviser for Harvesters, a food bank that serves 16 counties in northeast Kansas. She works to address gaps or barriers in Kansas policy leading to a food insecurity rate above the national average.

Bipartisan legislative proposals to cut or reduce the state sales tax on groceries will help Kansans who are forced to choose between food and other basic needs, Siebert said in a recording for the Kansas Reflector podcast.

“When you are spending 10% of your food budget on taxes that means you’ve got to stretch the other 90% that you have available for food even farther,” she said.

“I think what that does, unfortunately, is it makes people make really difficult choices of do I get this fresh fruit or do I get the ramen that’s calorie dense and is going to last my family longer.”

Last week, Gov. Laura Kelly announced she would file legislation to exempt food from the state sales tax, joining Attorney General Derek Schmidt in urging GOP leaders to act on the issue. Kelly estimated Kansas families would save $500 or more a year on their grocery bills.

Kansas is one of seven states with a full tax on groceries, and the state rate of 6.5% is the secondhighest in the country. At least 37 states levy no sales tax on groceries and six more have reduced grocery taxes.

Grocery prices have been rising across the country with the latest consumer price index showing a 5.4% increase in prices from September 2020 to September 2021.

By exempting groceries from sales tax collections, the state would lose an estimated $450 million in annual revenue. With Kansas fiscal experts projecting a $2.89 billion surplus to the state general fund, Siebert said this is the time to cut the grocery sales tax.

Siebert said advocates have long wanted the state to cut the sales tax on groceries, but worried that doing so would lead to cuts to

essential services for low-income families — the very people the food tax cut is designed to help.

“I think where the rubber hits the road for the legislative session is to figure out how that is covered for the long-term and to make sure that low-income people aren’t the ones that are going to bear the brunt of the reduction of that revenue,” she said.

While 10.9% of Americans are

food insecure, 12.1% of Kansans are food insecure. The rate among Kansas children is 17.1%, much higher than the national average of 14.6%.

Higher sales tax also affects the business of many grocery stores near state borders, Siebert said.

Many people who live in Kansas will cross over to Missouri, Colorado or Nebraska to buy their groceries, she said.

“Then those grocery stores go out of business and if a grocery, if a rural community loses their grocery store, they lose a lot to the health of that community,” Siebert said. “If we would reduce that sales tax, it would help the efforts of the rural grocery initiative and those rural grocers to get a more solid financial footing and help keep those communities alive.”

Bruce Bennett | Getty Images

Cutting the sales tax on groceries would save Kansas families $500 or more a year on their grocery bills and improve food insecurity, according to the governor’s office.

ENTERTAINMENT

6

The Bulletin | NOV. 18, 2021

Kansas Wetlands, an Educational Journey Allison Funk Staff Writer

“Science Saturday,” an interactive book reading, was hosted by the Prophet Aquatic Research and Outreach Center on Nov. 13.

Around 20 families and their children were invited to the PAROC to attend the reading and signing

by Mandy Kern and her illustrator, Onalee Nicklin.

Daphne Mayes, PAROC outreach and engagement coordinator, met Kern over the summer when she visited the Kansas Wetlands Education Center for a workshop. She was excited to work with Kern because of her involvement with Emporia-based resources such as Nicklin and Emporia’s independent publisher Meadowlark.

“We are wanting to teach people about water and natural resources,” Mayes said. “I just thought bringing her here would be a perfect way to share the art, her book, her expertise, and a part of Kansas that people around here may not know much about.”

Kern’s book, “Ava: A year in the Life of an American Avocet,” is based on a shore bird and follows her migration adventure.

This adventure highlights the use of Cheyenne Bottoms which is a

freshwater marsh located in Kansas that many animals rely on for survival.

Mandy Kern was given the inspiration to write a children’s book because of her experience working at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center. Her time there has caused her to develop a love for place-based learning. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and people were no longer able to visit, she had lots of free time which she decided to take advantage of by writing a children’s book about the Kansas wetlands and the importance it holds for wildlife.

“I think if students are growing up in Barton County, where Great Bend is, they should know that Cheyenne Bottoms exists and know that it’s there,” Kern said. “We wanted to be able to make sure that we were still being able to tell the Cheyenne Bottoms story without being in person.”

Nicklen is an artist based in Emporia who worked with Kern to bring this educational book to life. Her artwork is being featured this month at the PAROC building and also being sold during Emporia First Fridays.

Kern gave out free books to all children that attended the event

Allison Funk | The Bulletin

Local children from the community build nests with different supplies in order to understand the work put in by birds visiting Cheyenne Bottoms on Nov. 14 at the Prophet Aquatic Research and Outreach Center.

and read the book out loud to them as they followed along. She asked them many questions and brought with her different examples of the types of wildlife found in Cheyenne Bottoms. Some of these examples included photos of different birds, replicas of the types of eggs they lay, and different types of nests built there.

After the book reading she

ESU incentives for vaccination comes to a close Sam Bailey Design Editor

Throughout the fall semester at Emporia State, students and faculty have been encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 through the #VaxToNormal campaign.

This incentive program was designed to motivate ESU students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated to create an environment where students can learn in classrooms and the university could come closer to “normal.”

One of the incentives to get vaccinated was prizes that were given out in the form of drawings, consisting of gift cards and grand prizes valuing up to a $3,500 scholarship.

“It was exciting,” said RobyLane Kelley, junior theater major and winner of a $500 scholarship. “Free money’s awesome, you hear that drawings happen, but you never actually expect you’re going to be the one to win, so it’s always like a chance thing.

It was exciting.”

The prizes allow for students to get additional funding to help pay for things like tuition and books, along with promoting vaccinations.

“I think it encourages people to get vaccinated and to be proud of their vaccination,” Kelley said.

“At this point in the pandemic, we need all the encouragement to get vaccinated and to encourage our friends and family to get vaccinated and I think that’s exactly what this drawing does.”

With this program coming to a close, all students who submitted their proof of vaccination have received a $250 scholarship and employees received $300

on their paychecks. The scholarships were originally going to be awarded in the spring, however, students came forward and asked if they could receive them in the fall and the request was granted.

“If it’s an incentive program to do something now and we’re going to reward it, let’s reward it now,” said Lynn Hobson, dean of students.

The faculty and staff submitted vaccination rate as of Nov. 1 was roughly 74% and there were 2,000 students who submitted their proof of vaccination, according to Hobson.

With the fall semester coming to a close, all incentives to get vaccinated are also ending with no sign of plans to continue into next semester.

“All the data is telling us that vaccines are effective,” said Gwen Larson, director of media relations. “But I don’t know that there is going to be another push for incentives. What I have seen of the (COVID-19) numbers seems to be steady, I haven’t seen anything that has been huge spikes.”

On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden signed orders that required most federal contractors and federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Universities like the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University began requiring all employees to be vaccinated. However, ESU did not follow their lead.

“That mandate came down from the federal government,” Larson said. “It was tied to anyone who had contracts with the federal government. Emporia State does not have federal con-

Need a job next semester?

tracts, so we did not fall under that mandate.”

A federal contract is a contract between a private business and a federal agency where the business provides the agency with supplies they need in return for payment, according to Kevin Johnson, general counsel.

“Just consider the federal government to be a giant person,” Johnson said. “It needs things, and so it has to buy those things because it doesn’t produce anything, and the agreement between it and the private business to get those things -- that’s a federal contract.”

While ESU does not have federal contracts, it did receive $18 million in federal grants for COVID-19 relief.

This is different from federal contracts in that grants come from whoever will supply them and the supplier doesn’t get a stake in the receiver’s business or endeavors.

“If anyone is concerned about the vaccine mandate applying at ESU,” Johnson said. “Please don’t be concerned because it’s not going to apply here under current conditions.”

Even though vaccines are not required on campus and incentive programs are over, COVID-19 has not been eliminated.

“If you have symptoms, get tested,” Hobson said. “If you have symptoms, just don’t mess around with it. I think people still have a little bit of a feeling of, ‘I’m going to be fine if I get it’ and forget maybe just how easily it’s transmitted to others, and not everybody will be fine. So just remember that it’s about your own health, but it’s also about the health of others.”

We're Hiring!

Positions open:

Opinion Editor Photo Editor Staff Photographers Staff Reporters

For more info. contact: esubulletineditor@gmail.com

gave the children different materials that they could use to create their own nests similar to the ones shown in the book. This gave the children a hands-on experience that showed them the amount of work that birds must do to create a sturdy and safe home for their babies.

Kern encourages more people to come visit the Kansas Wet-

lands Education Center at Fort Hays and take a tour to learn more about the ecosystem we have in our very own state. Admission is free and more programs are available which can be found online at their website.

Small groups leaving big impacts Makayla Gray Staff Writer

The fourth annual Community Impact Challenge announced this year’s winners on Oct. 27. This is a grant competition done by current Emporia State students to make a positive impact on challenges that the Emporia community is facing.

This challenge is sponsored

by Community Hornets, the Honors College and the Department of Communication and Theatre, according to Jasmine R. Linabary, co-founder and coordinator of the Community Impact Challenge.

“The winners this year were the team called Campus Food Access International committee and their focus is connecting international students with food resources on campus,” Linabary said.

“So particularly addressing the concern of food insecurity among college students and especially how that plays out among international students here at ESU.” ESU is home to many international students that travel from at least 33 different countries, such as China, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. International students make up about 6% of the entire student body on ESU’s campus, according to collegefactual.com.

The idea that campus could partner with members of the community to create cooking classes by using ingredients that you could find here locally to make something that tastes like home stood out to the judges, according to Linabary.

“The judges were also moved by the potential of this idea to be carried out long-term. This could continue to make an impact following the years after,” Linabary said.

Four years ago, a group of communication majors won the first annual Community Impact Challenge and came up with the Bag-a-Birthday idea.

This event was created to reach families in the Emporia community and provide them with items to give children birth-

day parties, according to the press release. The first year that it was held, there were enough items collected to give children in over 200 families a birthday party.

The Emporia community is always looking for ways to connect with ESU and raise awareness about pressing issues.

“I hope the Community Impact Challenge continues to bring awareness and resources to important causes in our community,” Delaney Dold, communication alumna said.

Dold was a part of the group that came up with the Bag-aBirthday idea and she wants to see a continuation of awareness about food insecurity in the community.

Lamda Pi Eta decided to continue the event this year for the community because they saw a pressing need in the Emporia community and it is even more prevalent this year because of COVID-19, according to Jaylie Postlewait, senior communication major and CIC Student Coordinator.

“I worked with Tessa Hall, president of Lamda Pi Eta, and we decided that we wanted to do something as a community to reach out to different local organizations to put up a donation box,” Postlewait said.

Students are able to get connected with the community and other students through groups such as the Community Impact Challenge.

“I am impressed with what students have done and identifying pressing needs in the community,” Postlewait said. “I think it’s awesome to see the groups of students come together to identify a problem.”

Postlewait encourages as many people as possible to sign up for the Community Impact Challenge next fall and go out to make a difference.

Currently, there is another donation drive that is collecting food at “The Vault” all through November that is organized by a team in an ESU Group Leadership Class.

The Bulletin | NOV. 18, 2021

FROM THE WIRE

7

Location, other details released for Kansas redistricting town halls Sherman Smith Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Kansas legislative staff released details Wednesday about how to participate in upcoming public meetings on redistricting.

Lawmakers are gathering input before redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries in the upcoming session, and plan to listen by live video feeds to public comments from four virtual town halls.

GOP leaders previously announced they would hold the virtual town halls in response to criticism about the first round of public meetings in August. Those meetings were announced on short notice, and held during working hours at a time when census data had yet to be released.

The information about where to go and how to submit comments for the new round of meetings arrives less than a week before the first town hall, which will coincide with an unrelated special legislative session.

To participate in the upcoming meetings, residents must call or email the Kansas Legislative Research Department at 785-296-3181 or redistricting@klrd.ks.gov at least 24 hours in advance. Written testimony will be accepted at the same email address up until the start of

the 2022 session in January.

The meetings will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with public comment at the following locations.

Nov. 22 Atchison County Emergency Operations Center, 10443 U.S. Highway 59 in Atchison.

Prairie Band Casino and Resort, Council Bluffs and Chicago rooms, 12305 150th Road in Mayetta.

Ottawa City Hall, city commission chambers, 101 S. Hickory in Ottawa.

Memorial Hall Civic Center, 410 N. Pennsylvania Sherman Smith | Kansas Reflector Ave. in IndepenA crowd of about 100 attend the first redistricting town hall Aug. 9, 2021, at the Kansas State University student union in Manhattan. dence.

Nov. 23 Seward County Commission, Meridian Center, SP2 and 3, Broadmoor Lane in Stilwell.

Emporia State University, me- commission chambers, 515 N. 1420 E. Broadway Court in NewBonner Springs City Hall, city morial union veterans hall of honor, Washington Ave. in Liberal. ton. council meeting room, 200 E. 3rd 1331 Market Street in Emporia.

Kansas Municipal Utilities El Dorado Civic Center, 201 E. Street in Bonner Springs.

Great Bend Chamber of Com- Auditorium, 2090 E. Avenue A in Central Ave. in El Dorado. www.kansasreflector.com merce, board room, 1125 Williams McPherson.

Nov. 30 Street in Great Bend.

Nov. 29 First Baptist Church, 19950

Math, reading student test scores tumble in Kansas

Kansas Reflector Randy Watson, commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, said the unprecedented influence of COVID-19 pushed down public school district assessment scores in math and reading when comparing 2021 to 2019. No testing was conducted in 2020.

Tim Carpenter Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Unprecedented disruption of classroom instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a drop in math and reading standardized test scores among 476,000 public school students in Kansas with the steepest assessment damage among children struggling with math.

Information released by the Kansas State Department of Education offered the first statewide evaluation of student performance in these key subject areas since the 2019 report. No testing was conducted in 2020 as the pandemic derailed normal school activities for students and educators in Kansas by pushing instruction online from March until the end of the school year.

“Every data point we have is down,” said Randy Watson, commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education. “So is everyone else’s across the country.”

The 2021 Kansas report on math for all students indicated 7.8% tested at the highest proficiency level, a decline of 1.5 percentage points since 2019, and 20% scored at the next-highest level, a reduction of 3.2 percentage points since 2019. The portion of students at the lowest level of achievement in math surged to 34.3%, a disturbing escalation of 6.1 percentage points.

In reading, the damage to Kansas students was less severe when comparing 2021 and 2019 results.

In 2021, 8% of students tested in English and language arts reached the highest proficiency level, a setback of 0.7 percentage points compared to 2019. In 2021, 30.3% of students were at the lowest level of achievement on math exams, a wrong-way change of 0.9 percentage points from 2019.

Mark Tallman, who works on K-12 education issues for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said slippage in student achievement was widely anticipated. The 2021 report was unusual because 12,000 fewer students participated in testing as public school enrollment suffered and some remotelearner students didn’t have access to supervised settings to take exams, he said.

Kansas public school districts in Kansas were beneficiaries of $1 billion in federal aid designed to address student pandemic needs.

School districts also have been receiving millions of dollars in additional annual state appropriations as a result of the Gannon school funding lawsuit.

The influx of cash and decline in math and reading test scores is likely to drive debate in the 2022 legislative session on expanding a statewide program offering tax credits for support low-income students who enroll in private schools, Tallman said.

“Many education leaders have said it will take time for additional funding to have an impact,” Tallman said. “However, many legislators are impatient to see results from higher funding and some

say what they see as the slow pace means the state should consider expanding aid to students attending alternatives to public schools.”

More than twice the percentage of low-income students scored in the lowest level on both reading and math than wealthier students in 2021.

David Dorsey, senior education policy fellow with the Kansas Policy Institute, said the “unacceptably low test scores” in 2021 ought to prompt the state Department of Education to recommit to upgrading student achievement in fundamental academic skills.

Watson, commissioner of education in Kansas, said consequences of the pandemic continued to unfold for students, parents, teachers and administrators engaged in the public school system.

The coronavirus variant known as Delta is sickening, hospitalizing and killing people more than 18 months after COVID-19 shook the foundation of education in early 2020, he said.

“People are still, unfortunately, passing away,” Watson said.

“What you see is a weariness.”

He said as of October more than 30 school district superintendents had filed a notice of retirement, an unusually high number for that point in the academic year. He said there had been a lack of continuity among classroom teachers as they grappled with online instruction, quarantines and illnesses. Parents have made their displeasure known at school board meetings across Kansas, he said.

Kansas assessment results for the state, districts and schools are available at the state Department of Education’s Data Central website portal.

The Kansas Board of Education set goals for moving more students into the two highest of four levels of achievement on standardized tests. The state board also adopted broader educational outcomes, including graduation rates, postsecondary participation, kindergarten readiness, implementation of individual student plans of study and promotion of social and emotional growth. www.kansasreflector.com

Federal, Kansas health leaders tout potential benefits of new antiviral COVID-19 pill Noah Taborda Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Public health and emergency response leaders say a new antiviral COVID-19 pill awaiting approval would be a welcome addition to the toolbox for fighting the disease.

Pfizer announced Tuesday it had filed for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the experimental pill known as Paxlovid. The pill is meant to work in tandem with another antiviral drug, ritonavir, to treat mild to moderate cases in patients at the first sign of symptoms.

The pill is not meant to replace the vaccine but work in tandem with it to combat the pandemic.

As opposed to monoclonal antibody treatments used to treat COVID-19, these pills would be much easier to administer, said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention for the University of Kansas Health System.

“It will be even better than Tamiflu as far as protecting against progression of disease, but the key there is getting it early on,” Hawkinson said. “I think the other key is making sure you have a definitive diagnosis” of COVID-19.

Hawkinson was joined by members of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services focused on the region, including Kansas, to discuss the new antiviral and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also addressed COVID-19 shifting from a pandemic to an endemic — always present — disease.

At the current pace of treatment, health experts have argued COVID-19 will soon be an endemic disease. As such, the federal public health response team overseeing Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska is hoping to add new measures, like the antiviral pill, to reduce the potential ramifications of a continually prevalent virus.

“We’re going to have to live with it for a while,” said Catherine Satterwhite, the regional administrator for HHS. “The question is at what level? We know that there’s still a lot we can do to get our burden down from case counts to deaths because we’re not fully utilizing those

tools.”

Satterwhite said she was unsure when the FDA may grant emergency use authorization for the pill.

Earlier this month, Pfizer announced results from an analysis of the antiviral trial, which showed an 89% reduction in the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 among those given the drug within the first three days of symptoms.

“The overwhelming efficacy achieved in our recent clinical study of PAXLOVID, and its potential to help save lives and keep people out of the hospital if authorized, underscores the critical role that oral antiviral therapies could play in the battle against COVID-19,” said Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, in a statement.

Another antiviral pill known as molnupiravir is set for review by an FDA advisory committee Nov. 30. The oral antiviral became the first of its kind to be authorized for treatment of COVID-19 when it received approval earlier this month from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

With the fluctuation and uncertainty COVID-19 has brought, Dawn O’Connell, with the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, said new treatments are an encouraging sign. Her office has worked to provide well over three million pieces of PPE to the region and made a considerable number of ventilators available across those states.

She said so far, Kansas and the surrounding states have needed limited emergency assistance beyond this.

Steven Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said Kansas is in position to continue managing the virus without much assistance from the emergency response office if it continues to follow the pillars of infection control.

“Remember the rules of infection prevention and control, travel with you wherever you go. They keep you safe, even into this moment and every day going forward,” Stites said. “Whether you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated, masking still works.” www.kansasreflector.com

SPORTS

8

The Bulletin | NOV. 18 2021

Volleyball closes out season with win and two graduating seniors

Mason Hart | The Bulletin

The Emporia State volleyball team finishes out their season with a win against Missouri Western. ESU faced off against MWSU on Nov. 13th at W. L. White Auditorium and finished with a final score of 3-1 on their senior day.

ESU Athletics Upcoming Competitions (Home games in bold)

Soccer

Cross Country

1 p.m. // Nov. 19 vs Northwest Missouri State (NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament)

TBA // Nov. 20 NCAA National Championships

Women’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball

1:30 p.m. // Nov. 20 vs Drury 5:30 p.m. // Nov. 24 vs Bethel College 5:00 p.m. // Nov. 27 vs Peru State College

3:30 p.m. // Nov. 20 vs William Jewell College 3:30 p.m. // Nov. 24 vs Tabor College 3:30 p.m. // Nov. 28 vs Graceland source: esuhornets.com Infographic by

Sam Bailey | The Bulletin