April 12 2013
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Liberal, KS Permit NO.114
www.crusadernews.com
Liberal, Kansas
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Year 44, No. 10
Crus ade r illu stra tion /Ton ya L oew en
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News Briefs ‘Assassins’ Musical April 12-13 “Assassins” will be presented in the Showcase Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the center section and $8 for the side sections. Tickets are free for students. Call 620-417-1451 to reserve tickets or stop by the humanities office.
Car Show
Walking with dinosaurs — Page 8 Courtesy photo
While serving for NASA, Col. Williams was a NASA space station science officer and flight engineer, and was in space 3 times.
April 13 The annual car show will take place at the technical school from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. People who would like to enter a car in the car show can call 620-417-1065. The fee is $20 to enter in advance or $25 that day. The event is open to the public and will include a sound competition.
Blood Drive April 16 The Hispanic American Leadership Organization will sponsor a blood drive at 10 a.m. in the Union.
Bugging out with Kylix — Page 6
Courtesy photo
Astronaut lands on campus Matthew Adkins News editor
Presidential role playing — Page 7
Crusader photo/Jose Medrano
Col. Jeffrey Williams taking pictures of the Earth from a window in the Zvezda Service Module of the Inter- Williams’ book, titled “The Work of His Hands,” shows his photos national Space Station. Williams has taken more pictures of the Earth from space than anyone else. of Earth from space.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in space? Perhaps you would like to know what exactly goes on in the International Space Station but don’t have the free time to join the military, spend 10 years applying, undergo astronaut training, learn Russian and spend six months in space. Luckily for all of us, astronaut Jeffrey Williams took the time to do all this is now touring the country to tell audiences about his experiences. Williams visited Liberal April 3 with the goal of informing people about what exactly NASA is with the ISS. Williams presented the story of his mission aboard the ISS to schools in Liberal, including Seward County Community College/ Area Technical School. Williams began his presentation by detailing the United States relationship with Russia, the owner of the ISS, and the other countries involved in the program. Astronauts from the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe work and live aboard the ISS and have been doing so continuously for 10 years. Williams has gone to the ISS twice, each time for six months. Williams was launched to space from a Russian Soyuz in Kazakhstan with two other astronauts. The date of launch was planned many months in advance because it takes a lot of time to prepare for the trip. Conditions must be perfect for the launch and just ready-
ing the Russian Soyuz for launch takes several days. “It really is rocket science,” Williams joked when describing the scenario of the spacecraft docking with the ISS. Once they arrived at the ISS, they met the crew on board and replaced three of the members of the crew. Although this is not the only time during the six month flight that ISS crew members get visitors, the visit is very exciting for them.
“It really is rocket science.” -Col. Jeffrey Williams While aboard the ISS, Williams and his crew members are extremely busy. Workers at mission control in Houston, Texas, are constantly monitoring the systems aboard the ISS and plan the astronauts’ busy workdays. The main activity taking up the astronauts’ schedules is experiments. Scientific experiments aboard the space station come from nearly all the fields of science. Most notable are the experiments involving bone and muscle loss in space. Muscle and bone loss can be a major problem for the crew aboard the ISS, so they have exercise machines that they use often. Improved technology from the knowledge gained from experiments aboard the ISS have decreased the overall bone and muscle loss for crew members and the same experiments may also be used in treating osteoporosis. Every few weeks, supplies were delivered
to the space station and the crew got a chance to socialize with people who brought the supplies. Williams said these meetings were just like family get togethers. “Everyone is excited when they first arrive, and then they’re just as excited when it’s time to leave.” After six months of work and experimenting, three astronauts come to the ISS to replace Williams and his original two companions. The return trip is done in a special container that has a heat shield to protect Williams and the crew from the extreme heat upon reentry to Earth’s atmosphere. After reaching a certain altitude, parachutes are deployed from the container and the crew drift towards the drop zone to await the arrival of the search and rescue team. Although different people on the ISS leave, the work continues non-stop. Although the current state of NASA and the United States space program might seem grim, Williams assures people everywhere he goes that the future of the space program is optimistic and is constantly being decided by the leaders of the country. He claims that the original mission of the space program involved setting up a space station, going to the moon and eventually continuing onwards to Mars. Although the country skipped a step by going to the moon in ’69 for political reasons, William said, the space program is back on track with its current involvement in the ISS.
Left: Col. Jeffrey Williams talks with audience members after his presentation on April 3. Williams visited with all Liberal schools and Seward County Community College/ Area Technical School.
Firing up for grad wall — Page 6
Right: Williams presents on his time as a NASA astronaut on the International Space Station. Crusader photos/ Jose Medrano
Athletic Banquet April 19 The 26th annual athletic banquet will be hosted by the athletic department at 6 p.m. in the Green House. The second class of the Saints Hall of Fame will be inducted. Those who received invitations must have their paid reservations submitted by April 15.
Sunday Brunch April 21 A Sunday Brunch will be hosted in the Union. Entertainment will take place during the brunch. The cost of the brunch is $7.
Spring Fiesta April 21 Spring Fiesta will take place at 1 p.m. in the courtyard on the main campus. The clubs and organizations on campus will be hosting games in which people can win prizes. The event is open to the public and community.
Poetry House April 18 at 7 p.m. the SCCC/ATS Poetry Coffee House will be set up in Room H148 in the humanities building. Poetry contests for college students and faculty were added to the high school poetry contest with entrants vying for cash and prizes. Winning poems will be read at the Poetry Coffee House.
Simulators at Seward show dangers of texting while driving Dawn Shouse Crusader staff
Hitting the record books — Page 5
Seward County Community College / Area Technical School students had an opportunity to see firsthand how difficult it is to control a car and text at the same time. The “Save a Life” tour brought two driving simulators to the student union building for students to safely try their luck texting and driving. Many students found the task to be nearly impossible. “I have friends that have hurt themselves texting and driving. Thankfully, the accident wasn’t fatal. It could have been a lot worse,” said Oscar DonJuan,
SCCC/ATS sophomore. Brianna Fernandez, SCCC/ATS freshman from Perryton, Texas, said that she received her license just one year ago. “We have a big problem texting in Perryton. One of my very close friends died two years ago because of texting and driving,” Fernandez said. In spite of the recent deaths involving texting and driving, the message that texting and driving kills seems slow to sink in with some students. Garret Smith, SCCC/ATS sophomore, Crusader photo/Dawn Shouse said “It’s very frustrating. I see all my Seward student Brianna Fernandez demonstrates texting while using a driving simulator. friends texting and driving and I say, ‘Get The ‘Save a Life’ tour brought two simulators located in the Union on April 3. off the phone and keep driving.’”