Full Issue, November 10, 2022

B u ll e ti n

VETERANS DAY SECTION INSIDE

Nursing

department will soon move off ‘island,’ into new building

hall for those who were enrolled in Newman’s nursing program. Eventually, the space was offered to ESU to use “rent free” due to a Medicare grant that was received. This Medicare grant will run out by summer 2024, according to Falldine.

“Newman Regional Health has some plans for its own campus,” said director of media relations, Gwen Larson. “And so, they started talking to us about, could we move out of it and set up a time frame with us which is what opened the discussion to ‘What do we do? Where do we put this department?’ And we decided it was the best option to bring them onto campus.”

classroom space,” Larson said. “Or are we going to tear down a residential residence hall and build exactly what they need for their programs and their equipment?”

The estimated cost of the facility before deciding to demolish Central Morse was $8.5 million. Because of the change in plans to construct the building, that number will be increased by 15-20%, according to Falldine.

By fall 2025, nursing students at Emporia State will attend

classes on campus instead of Newman Regional Health about a mile away.

“They’re kind of off on an island over there on the other side

of town,” said vice president of infrastructure Cory Falldine. Before Cora Miller Hall, adjacent to Newman, was used to educate students, it was a residence

The idea for an updated classroom space for the nursing department was originally planned to be a renovated Central Morse Hall but, after some deliberation, the university decided to tear down Central Morse completely and rebuild from scratch, according to Larson.

“The difference is, are we renovating an old residence hall in the

$5 million has been funded by the Federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA). More funding is planned to come from a corporation called the ESU Foundation through donations and the additional money comes from funds that ESU already has, according to Falldine.

“We also have other university operating funds that we can use for projects like this, that are coming from things like our educational building funds and other types of university specific funds,” Falldine said. “We have

ASG expresses concern about new textbook program

Barnes & Noble College presented a proposal for a program called First Day Complete to the Associated Student Government (ASG) at last Thursday’s meeting. However, ASG members showed signs of concern over how the program is built.

“We know textbook affordability is a big challenge for all students,” Lauren Martin, regional manager of Barnes & Noble College said. “This is a program that we have worked with a lot of our campus partners to develop to provide equitable access and affordability in course materials for all

students.”

ASG members, including Bella Price, ASG president and senior history and education major, had questions and concerns over the program.

“Why is this a student fee,” said Price. “Why can’t this be something that students choose to participate in and not choose to opt out of?”

First Day Complete was first launched in 2019 and now over 240 schools participate in the program, according to Barnes and Noble’s website. Multiple course materials would be made available such as digital textbooks, software and hard copies of books, according to Martin.

“More so than ever, we are starting to see students forgoing getting their course material, it’s really having a negative impact,” Martin said. Avoiding purchasing textbooks can occur for many different reasons. For some students, it could be financial issues or accessibility issues. Barnes and Noble is seeing that many students are trying to go without their course materials, according to Martin.

The program would have a fee built into ESU student’s tuition for approximately $22 per credit hour and students would have the option to opt out and not participate, according to Martin. This would allow for

your financial aid to automatically pay for your books instead of the current process of having to wait until your refund has been processed, according to Mike McRell, ESU bookstore manager.

Another member of ASG also raised concerns about how the company polled students on campus. In this poll, 386 students responded and 90 percent of them said they’d be interested in a program like First Day Complete, according to Martin.

“So my concern with that we have roughly 2800 students enrolled at ESU right now and so 386 students isn’t even a third of the total population on campus and I don’t know if that’s

very reflective of our campus as a whole at the moment,” said Adia Witherspoon, senior earth science major.

Martin explained that a successful poll from their marketing team requires 10 percent of the campus to respond to the survey and that we surpassed that needed amount.

Due to time constraints, ASG agreed to table the discussion for a later meeting.

Price and ASG vice president Hailey Kisner are working on gathering student input, according to Price.

“It is important that all students are considered in the decision,” Price said in a statement.

Stacey Olson

Staff Writer

Allison Funk Staff Writer

Cora Miller Hall, adjacent to Newman Regional Health, pictured this week. Cora Miller has been used to educate students for 3 decades.

The voice of the students since 1901

Allison Funk| The Bulle tin

Campus reaction varies after midterm elections

Stacey Olson Staff Writer

Campus reactions to Tuesday’s midterm election ranged from a political science professor’s forecast of a “bomb throwing culture warrior” to politically unaware students.

Kris Kobach was elected as Kansas’ next attorney general by about a margin of two percent, according to the secretary of state’s office. However, campaign spokesperson said Chris Mann has yet to concede because ‘the race isn’t over yet,’ according to the Kansas Reflector.

“It brings to mind the days when Kathleen Sebelius was Govenor and Phil Kline was attorney general and it has this very moderate democratic Govenor serving with a bomb throwing culture warrior on the right,” said Michael Smith, professor and department chair of social sciences, sociology and criminology. “That’s what’s going to happen again and I imagine the lawsuits against the federal government and so forth. Lots and lots of Fox News appearances are coming from the attorney general’s office.”

Another close race was for Kansas governor. Laura Kelly retained her position by approximately a one percent margin, according to the secretary of state’s office. Her retaining the position could be a positive for future primary educators but could be negative for higher education, according to Smith.

“The other issue of course would be education policy and so here in Kansas, Governor Kelly is committed to fully funding the state school funding formula for K-12 teachers,” Smith said.

“Which ESU is known as the teacher’s college so for a lot of our future teachers we’re educating, that’s going to affect them. Probably in a positive way. At the same time though, Governor Kelly’s appointees to the (Kansas) Board of Regents have advocated for cuts to higher ed. Including the cuts we saw here at Emporia State in September.”

Another vote on Tuesday’s ballot that will have an effect on ESU’s students was the legislative veto.

“On that constitutional amendment, legislative veto would allow the legislature to cancel or modify executive agency decisions and decisions by the governor herself with a simple majority vote,” Smith said. “So it’s really a deep thing. The shift in the balance of power; empowering the legislature and weakening the executive branch.”

Only a few thousand votes

separated the results and was too close to call as of yesterday, according to the secretary of state’s office.

“There are plenty of other issues where the legislature may use this,” Smith said. “I could see them using this with diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum in schools. Which is often relabeled as critical race theory by the political right in trying to cancel those or claw back money or modify them. Maybe cancel contracts with diversity educators or diversity trainers because that is a political hot button issue.”

Some students on campus voted in this election and one felt as if it was something they must do.

“I felt like I had to,” said Myles Lockerage, junior secondary social science education major.

“That I owed it to my parents, my family and my community to at least let my voice be heard.”

But not all students felt the

Police Reports

Logs from ESU Police and Safety

OCT. 27

Officer assisted EMS with a female who had fallen at 603 E 12th Ave. EMS transported female subject.

Officer responded to Trusler Rm 208 for a smoke detector alarm. Human error burnt popcorn.

OCT. 28

Officer checked on an employee who didn’t show up to work on time. Individual over slept.

iPhone was found at William Allen White Library and turned into officer at the football game. Phone returned to owner. No report.

same way. More than half of the ten students interviewed yesterday did not vote.

“Typically since I’m Hispanic we don’t really vote,” Evelyn Espino, freshman psychology major, said. “Like no one in my family has voted ever. Since my parents are immigrants, I’m not an immigrant but that’s mainly why.”

While election reactions varied, Associated Student Government (ASG) President Bella Price was pleased with some of the election results.

“Sharice Davids and Laura Kelly won so, living life,” Price said. “I feel like it was unexpected. I keep seeing results that this election was the most young people have voted in the election than in many, many years. Which is incredible to see, I’m so proud of young people for coming out and voting.”

Victim from U22-139 reported debit card was used at Dollar General in Lebo, Kansas. Officer contacted Coffey County Sheriff’s Office with information. Report taken.

Student reported damage to her vehicle in Towers parking lot. Report taken.

Three alumni reported their windows had been broken out and items were taken from their vehicles in the south parking lot at Trusler Sports Complex. This occurred between 1850 and 1900 hours on 10/28/2022. Report taken.

OCT. 29

Officers responded to Abigail for students stuck in an elevator between the 3rd and 4th floor. Got students out no injuries.

OCT. 30

Employee requested King Hall to be locked at 2230 hours. Officer advised information will be passed to next shift.

OCT. 31

Officer responded to Abigail Morse for report of a student not returning from fall break. Marysville Police Dept. made contact with student and advised student was ok.

Officer took a call by public service from student who had lost their wallet. Officer provided lockout assistance at 1301 Chestnut Dr. for a gold Ford Explorer KS 178BVU.

NOV. 1

Officers responded to Beach Hall for students stuck in the elevator. Officers got individual out. No injuries.

Nursing

continued from page 1

to be thoughtful when we do projects like this.”

The demolition process of Central Morse will begin this summer and construction is planned to begin spring of 2024. The reason for the long demolition time is an abatement process that must be done to remove a type of insulation known as asbestos which, when exposed to it, can cause lung cancer, according to Larson and Falldine.

Once the building is constructed, nursing students will

be able to avoid traveling to get to their classes which allows them to be in closer proximity to resources.

“There’s so many more resources,” said senior nursing major Gracie Rausch. “I used to always go study at the library right there or the union… and also counseling is right there, and I get really stressed out.”

Architects working on the building have been in contact with educators in the nursing program and are asking for their feedback, according to Falldine.

“They (architects) went through the entire Cora Miller Hall facility and said they

asked people what they like, but they’re just as interested in what they don’t like, and what doesn’t work for them,” Falldine said.

The building is planned to be finished by summer 2025 and for students to attend classes in the building by fall 2025.

“I’m excited to walk in there and think, ‘Wow, this is a nursing school,’” Falldine said. “As opposed to a residence hall that we turned into a nursing school.”

Correction:

In the previous print issue of The Bulletin, the names of three people in the article “A problematic ‘princess:’ Homecoming play features racially insensitive Native American stereotype,” were misspelled. The correct names are: Pete Rydberg, director; Denise Low, Haskell Indian Nations University professor; and Rupert Holmes, author.

NOV. 2

Student reported a cat being outside near Schallenkamp.

Officer responded to a bat in Plumb Hall Rm 360. Bat removed.

NOV. 3

Officers responded to King Hall for a 911 open line. Upon call back made a fax tone. Officers did a building check and found nothing out of the normal.

Officer assisted a student working on his vehicle in the Student Rec Parking Lot.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly votes in advance Oct. 25, 2022, at the Shawnee County Election Office in Topeka.

Sherman Smith | Kansas Reflector

Infographic by Sam Bailey

First provost candidate visits campus

FIRE accuses ESU of violating first amendment right

Cameron Burnett Managing Editor

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a letter asking ESU administration for evidence that the Sept. 15 termination of Max McCoy, ESU’s director of journalism, Bulletin advisor and opinion columnist at The Kansas Reflector, had nothing to do with a Reflector opinion article he wrote days before his termination.

McCoy did not advise The Bulletin on this article; The Bulletin received outside advisement from alumna Sarah Spicer.

McCoy’s opinion piece, published Sept. 13, began with the line “I may be fired for writing this” and discussed the university’s plan to restructure the school and suspend tenure. Two days later, McCoy was fired alongside the 32 other faculty members in a move that the university said would help the university’s finances in the face of declining enrollments and the COVID-19 pandemic.

FIRE is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending freedom of speech and has a yearly ranking of the worst colleges in America for free speech.

Allison Funk Staff Writer

In the search for Emporia State’s next provost, the university held a forum for students, faculty and community members Wednesday to meet candidate Sean Lane.

Lane is currently the dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is one of four candidates being considered for the position of provost and vice president of academic affairs.

The job of the provost and vice president for academic affairs is to be the chief academic officer for ESU and its recognized academic programs, according to the university website.

“I believe my unique background is an excellent fit for the job description provided in the leadership profile,” Lane said in his letter of intent.

Lane earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University and both

his master’s degree and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Kent State University.

Lane is a “second generation college professor.” His father taught for 30 years at California State University, Fresno. He began the forum by giving more personal background on how he moved into the administrative positions.

“I grew up on campus,” Lane said. “One of my vivid experiences was being 7-years-old, taking a night class with my dad on film appreciation. And so I’m sitting there with all the students, my feet dangling over the chair.”

Lane’s main points during his presentation were focused on enrollment rates, college affordability and working with diverse teams both on and off campus.

“If we’re going to tackle the challenges that lay before you, we’re going to have to do this together, “ Lane said.

The first question in the forum came from a student. Sandy Nguyen, junior business major asked what Lane’s involvement

was with first generation students.

“One of the ways that we try to work with first gen… is by breaking down some of those kinds of things which are confusing the students,” Lane said. “And to start to kind of talk through kind of ‘What does the terminology mean?’”

Nguyen plans to attend future forums for other candidates.

“I think a provost is also a person who makes a lot of major decisions for university,” Nguyen said. “So I believe that this person should be willing to ask feedback and not just working with a committee and answering questions by oneself.”

Those who attended the forum were asked to grab a card with a QR code on it that would take them to a survey to give feedback on the candidate.

The company compiling that feedback, AGB Search, provides executive search and interim search services for higher education institutions, according to their website. The firm will ar-

range the feedback into a summary for each of the candidates, interim provost and dean of The Teachers College, Joan Brewer, explained in a previous interview with The Bulletin.

This feedback will then be shared with both the search committee and President Ken Hush, according to Brewer. In a separate interview with The Bulletin, Brewer said that the new provost will hopefully be announced by Dec. 1.

“I’m glad that we had a strong turnout,” Brewer said. “We have a faculty forum next. I hope we have a strong turnout there as well.”

Three more forums for the next finalists will be held from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, 14 and 17 in Webb Hall. Candidate Gregg Haddock will be coming to campus for Thursday’s forum.

“Professor McCoy’s column is clearly protected speech and may not form the basis for termination or other punishment. ESU’s problematic policy all but guarantees he will not be the last faculty member dismissed under the specter of viewpoint discrimination,” the letter, dated October 31, said.

The university provided McCoy with a list of nine points as to why an employee may be fired under the emergency policy but did not specify which of the nine points led to McCoy’s termination.

Anne Marie Tamburro, FIRE’s program officer for campus rights advocacy, said in the letter that these reasons were too vague to provide faculty with sufficient reasoning for termination.

“Instead, ESU may now terminate a tenured faculty member for any number of reasons, such as being too outspoken, rigorous, or simply inconvenient to administrators and students, with such a dismissal justified by one of the policy’s vague reasons such as ‘realignment of resources’ or ‘restructuring,’” the letter said.

Gwen Larson, director of media relations at ESU, said in a statement to The Bulletin that ESU does not agree with the allegations made by FIRE.

Sam Bailey Staff Writer

Mary and Deborah Zimmerman sent a letter to Emporia State president, Ken Hush, on Oct. 19 urging him to reconsider the dismissal of 33 faculty members in September and the discontinuance of academic programs across campus.

“You have tarnished the reputation of the university nationally and in the eyes of future students and faculty members whom you may want to recruit,” the sisters wrote.

Gwen Larson, director of media relations, said she does not know if Hush has received the letter or will be responding to it.

The letter was in response to the Kansas Board of Regents passing a framework that allowed for the layoffs of 33 faculty members and the suspension of several university programs including the nationally renowned

debate team.

Along with the letter, the Zimmermans sent a copy of their mother’s book about the early years of ESU in order to show Hush their deep roots in Emporia and their genuine concern for the university, according to the letter.

Mary Zimmerman moved to Emporia when she was nine and attended Butcher School on campus before graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1963. She is a professor emerita in sociology and health at the University of Kansas and lives in Overland Park.

Zimmerman, a once tenured faculty member of KU, said in an interview she was “in total shock” when she heard of the dismissal of 33 faculty regardless of their tenured status.

“The idea of firing tenured faculty when there was not clear financial exigency was hard to put

into words,” Zimmerman said. “It broke fundamental rules of academia that, as far as I know, are obeyed by institutions all over the United States.”

“Ghosts in the Sunken Garden” by Gwendolyn Zimmerman, the book accompanying the letter to Hush, was compiled by the sisters after they found 400 pages of research their mother did before she died, according to Mary Zimmerman.

Gwendolyn Zimmerman researched and documented the history of ESU from 1855-1877, which includes the story of how Lyman Kellogg, the first president of Kansas State Normal School, traveled to the school over a frozen lake and roomed with a gun-handling stranger, the 1865 start of the debate program and more.

Gwendolyn and John Zimmerman met at ESU and graduated in 1939, according to the letter,

and they both worked on campus while Mary grew up.

After showing the deep roots they have with ESU, the Zimmermans close the letter asking Hush to reconsider the recent administration announcements.

“Please remedy your actions,” the Zimmermans said in the letter. “Clarify your support for the liberal arts, restore tenured faculty and salvage what you can before more time passes.”

Sarah Spicer advises The Bulletin on stories about Emporia State’s framework to dismiss employees.

Sam Bailey is writing stories from the faculty perspective. Advocacy journalism upholds all other ethics and standards of journalism, including accuracy, fairness and independence, while accommodating dissenting views and creating an inclusive platform for debate.

“Because ESU equally respects and supports its employees’ lawful rights to privacy and constitutional rights to due process, ESU does not, and will not, comment on any specific personnel matter,” said Larson

McCoy told The Bulletin he is grateful for FIRE’s support and advocacy.

“Tamburro’s letter is an impressive summary of concerns sparked by the termination of the Hornet 33 under an overly broad and ill-conceived policy by the Kansas Board of Regents and executed by an underqualified ideologue. Our firings represent a betrayal of the promise made to tenured and tenure-track professors under long established university policy,” said McCoy in a statement to The Bulletin.

“When faculty can be fired without being given a specific reason, academic freedom is in jeopardy. Without academic freedom, no institution can legitimately claim to be a university.”

Note: This was originally published online Nov. 4

Sean Lane opens up the question portion of the forum after presenting more about himself and his aspirations if chosen as ESU’s next provost. Sean is currently the dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Allison Funk | The Bulletin

Their mother wrote the history book on ESU. Now they’re asking Hush to save it.

Staff Editorial: Follow the path Emporia started and honor our vets

Emporia’s veterans are our neighbors, friends and community leaders and, as the founding city of Veterans Day, Emporia has done several things right when it comes to honoring those who have served.

Not only did we create a holiday to honor their service, we advocate and care for veterans year round. For example, this summer Beacon for Hope helped host an event to raise awareness for veteran mental health.

Emporia also offers scholarships for veterans. We host multiple forms of veteran celebrations through art exhibits, Freedom Fest, a beautiful veteran’s memorial and memorial service. Our Veterans Day celebrations are filled with an over week long tribute.

While it is easier to achieve this in a smaller town like ours, if other cities prioritize helping our veterans medical, housing and mental health needs, they can achieve what Emporia has

done successfully. Even so, we could always be doing more.

Unfortunately, veterans still struggle once they return home. Homelessness is a major issue Americans combat and

1.4 million veterans are at risk of homelessness, according to Policy Advice. Along with this,

cides-- according to the Military Times.

This is heartbreaking and unacceptable. We cannot allow those who have sacrificed their lives for our country to be treated this way. They sacrifice every aspect of their lives; time with their families, a permanent home, their mental wellbeing and their bodies. We must do better. Not just for those who have served and given their lives to that service, but for their families and loved ones.

about 17 veterans die by suicide a day-- 44 veterans a day, if you include drug related sui-

A reflection on grief

you of them will. When we came together as a family, John loved making pancakes and biscuits with gravy. Because of this, I couldn’t stop crying while eating pancakes one morning last week.

He comes to mind when I least expect it and sometimes it hurts. A lot. But that is okay. It is okay to hurt and miss them. It means you love them, that tightness in your chest and that instinct to scream or cry is your body’s way of processing the loss of someone you cared for. With love comes pain and with pain comes change.

Emporia has taken action to honor veterans in several ways and you can, too. Volunteer at a nearby VA or advocate for veterans’ need for affordable housing, proper medical care and mental health services. There are so many ways you can support and help veterans, all it takes is action. You most likely know at least one veteran or military member, show them you care. Ask them what you can do for them.

Veterans, thank you will never be enough

my Papa John. Find ways to carry and love the people in your life. While we never know how much time we have with someone, they will never be gone if we loved them. Because those we love will live on in the memories of those who cherished them and one day, that’s how we’ll live on too.

While I tend to keep many of my opinions lighthearted and filled with quippy pop culture references, I wanted to write something a little different because something has been weighing on my heart. As I write this it is Dia de Finados, which is Brazil’s version of Day of the Dead.

Grief presents itself in strange ways and it is a deeply personal experience. Recently my grandfather, Papa John, died. This has weighed on my heart, today especially. I had asked myself what the best way to honor him on this day would be and I have come to the conclusion that it is to write this. While grief is a personal experience we all will, unfortunately, live through, it can also be overwhelming. It comes in waves and things you never thought would remind

While these last few weeks have been brutal, I know that everything will be okay. Even if they aren’t now, they will be one day and not because I won’t think of him again. But because he is with me in a different way. We carry those we love in our minds and heart. We carry them in our souls. Sometimes in ways we wouldn’t even second guess. Each person that comes into our lives teaches us things; changes who we are. Whether they are gone from our lives from death or something else, we grieve them. We carry them within us.

I will always put mustard in my boxed mac and cheese because of my uncle Jarrod, I will always say ‘makin’ biscuits’ when doing little pats because of an ex and I will always have cheese balls every Christmas season because of

I also believe it is important to remember we are not alone. Sometimes, if you’re like me, you have trouble letting people in to see you hurt. It’s okay to be hurting and ugly cry. It’s okay to be vulnerable with those in your life. Allow your friends and family to share space with you in your times of grief. Even if you aren’t talking, just existing in the same space as someone you matters.

Processing grief is never an easy thing but I promise you can get through it; we can get through it. We are built to love and sometimes that brings grief and pain but that is okay. Don’t shy away from love because of a fear of losing it. That love is still there. I can full-heartedly say that knowing what I know now, I would’ve still chosen to have John in my life and to still go through this heartache and most likely so would you.

My family consists of multiple veterans. This means that growing up, it was drilled into my head to see them as heroes and have nothing but respect for these men and women. I watched my dad walk up to veterans and shake their hand while thanking them for their service. My dad would tell me about how he always wanted to enlist, but his dad, an army veteran, fought him on it. Grandpa wanted to protect my dad from everything that he survived during his enlistment.

My uncle Jack Selbe was a marine, as were all of his brothers, and my biggest hero. I remember him talking about veterans being disrespected and how hard it was because they sacrificed so much for these

people and they weren’t even grateful.

By no means do I think veterans are ignored or never get the thanks they deserve. I have seen a lot of really amazing ways of saying thank you. In October of 2019, my hometown hosted a traveling tribute of fallen soldiers. This tribute is called Remembering our Fallen and I volunteered at it.

I wanted to take the opportunity of a Veterans Day edition paper and my position to thank veterans.

Veterans, we recognize this holiday, you, and what it means. It doesn’t have to just be this day either. We will never understand the weight or capacity of your sacrifice and service, but we do understand that you have made it. I will always try my best to shake your hand if I see you and thank you for giving up everything, so that I can have anything. I also want to thank your families and acknowledge them for what they lose too. I can’t imagine wishing my partner could be home for the holidays or watching our baby take their first steps or say their first words while their partner is overseas.

Thank you, veterans, for making the ultimate sacrifice.

Jami Morain Staff Writer

Jami Morain and her cousin Isaiah Russell celebrate Veterans Day with their uncle Jack Selbein 2016.

Not only did we create a holiday to honor their service, we advocate and care for veterans year round.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly wins reelection

Sherman Smith Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has won a second fouryear term, defeating Republican Derek Schmidt in a campaign that pitted her economic accomplishments against his transphobic appeals and attacks on pandemic policies.

Schmidt congratulated Kelly on her “apparent reelection,” pending a tally of remaining ballots, and said “absent any unexpected development, it appears this race is over.”

Kelly led by 14,000 votes with about 3,000 ballots remaining to be hand counted from three rural Kansas counties. There were up to 29,000 mail-in ballots that still could be returned, and an unknown number of provisional ballots to be considered.

Kelly declared victory Wednesday morning, and the Associated Press called the race for Kelly shortly after noon Wednesday.

The governor’s win comes three months after Kansans overwhelmingly rejected an antiabortion constitutional amendment that Schmidt supported. Kelly positioned herself as a fierce supporter of reproductive health rights, but she didn’t make it a focal point of her campaign.

Instead, Kelly emphasized her support for public schools and attention to the state budget, private business investments and record low unemployment rate. Schmidt attacked Kelly’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic and vetoes of legislation banning trans-

gender athletes from participating in school sports.

Kelly said Wednesday that Kansans voted “for civility, for cooperation, for listening to one another, and for a spirit of bipartisan problem-solving that’s become all too rare in our politics today.”

Kelly led Schmidt by 1.5 percentage points, with a total of 479,875 votes to Schmidt’s 465,620. Independent state Sen. Dennis Pyle, a conservative candidate who challenged Schmidt’s Republican bonafides, appeared to be a decisive factor in the race by claiming 19,753 votes. Libertarian Seth Cordell received 10,659 votes.

Schmidt — who joined a lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election results, labeled Kelly a socialist, promoted lies about a drag show, and complained relentlessly about inflation and crime — said Wednesday he was disappointed by “the concerning tendency of modern political discourse to veer away from discussing the great public issues we must solve together.”

He referenced the outmigration of the Kansas population, management of “our previous water resource” and the need to repair “archaic structures” — none of which were prominent talking points for his campaign.

“I will continue to be among those who want to make our state better, despite the gravitational pull of modern politics and mass communication having largely obscured so much of that discussion,” Schmidt said.

Kansas Supreme Court justices hang onto seats in retention vote

Rachel Mipro Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Kansans voted to keep all six state Supreme Court justices up for retention on the November ballot. The justices were returned with more than 60% voter support, including two who voted in favor of abortion rights.

Kansas Supreme Court justices on the ballot were Daniel Biles, Marla Luckert, Evelyn Wilson, Caleb Stegall, K.J. Wall and Melissa Standridge, six out of the seven total justices.

Luckert and Biles voted to protect abortion rights in a 2019 ruling that said the Kansas Constitution’s right to bodily autonomy includes the decision to terminate a pregnancy. Stegall, who was appointed by former Gov. Sam Brownback, dissented in the abortion ruling. Standridge, Wall and Wilson were appointed by Gov. Laura Kelly after the 2019 decision. Kansas Supreme Court justice Eric Rosen won’t face a retention vote until 2026.

The debate around judicial retention intensified after rejection of the August abortion amendment, which would have declared that women don’t have a state constitutional right to abortion. Following the vote, anti-abortion activists have been campaigning to oust Supreme Court justices that didn’t align with their views. Kansas uses a merit-based screening process for Supreme Court justices. A nine-member commission reviews applicants and sends three nominees to the governor, who makes the final pick. After serving for a year,

new justices are placed on the ballot for a retention vote and then subject to retention votes every six years. The merit-based system has been in place since the 1950s.

Two Lawrence voters said they had decided to vote out the judges, though the decision wasn’t made in regard to abortion rights.

Ken Farrar said he voted “no” on retaining all the judges on principle, saying he wanted to make sure judges were in touch with the Kansas public.

“It’s the easy thing to do to just keep them in play,” Farrar said. “Go back to practicing law, be a commoner again.”

Troy Squire said he voted out all but one justices, saying he wanted to make sure there was accountability in the system.

“I’ll always vote them out if I don’t know what they’re doing especially,” Squire said.

Advocacy group Keep Kansas Courts Impartial released a statement in support of retention, saying Kansans had chosen to prevent governmental overreach.

“We applaud the voters of Kansas for their wisdom in voting to retain the six Supreme Court Justices on the ballot Tuesday,” the statement read. “Kansans have sent a clear message that they want the Judicial Branch of government to remain impartial and free from political pressure and interest groups. The election results mean that Kansans want their Justices to do their jobs and hold politicians accountable to the people and to the Kansas Constitution.”

Pyle said his campaign sent a message to the Republican Party that Kansans needed a strong conservative candidate. He said the assumption that his votes would have gone to Schmidt is false.

“The GOP could have done better,” Pyle said. “All said, Schmidt got the anti-Kelly vote, period. The left-wing endorsements for Kelly gave her the win. Or, there was an issue with the voting machines?”

Bryan Caskey, the state elections director, said there were 29,000 mail-in ballots that hadn’t yet been returned, but “not all of those are going to come in.”

Kansas law requires mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Tuesday and received within three business days. Because Friday is a holiday, ballots will be accepted through

Monday.

Caskey said there were about 1,000 ballots remaining to be hand-counted in each of Ford, Montgomery and Saline counties. He cited mechanical problems, such as a machine unable to scan mail-in ballots with a creased fold, for the need to count by hand.

If the margin between Kelly and Schmidt were to tighten within a half a percentage point, either candidate could request a state-funded recount. Any of the four candidates on the ballot also could pay for a recount and dictate which areas would be recounted and whether the recount would be done by hand.

In a speech to supporters late Tuesday, Kelly said Kansans value character and hard work over political party or ideology.

“Kansans want to know who

you’ll work with, not who you’ll work against,” Kelly said. “Kansans embrace a proud tradition of neighbor helping neighbor in their own lives, and they expect their elected officials to carry that same spirit in their service to the state. I believe we have done that.”

In her victory statement Wednesday, Kelly thanked Schmidt for his service to the state. Schmidt was a state senator for 10 years and attorney general for the past 12 years.

“We had strong, healthy disagreements on the issues, but I do believe he cares about this state, and that we stand united in our commitment to Kansas and its future success,” Kelly said. This developing story will be updated.

Kobach wins Kansas AG race, vows to fight Biden administration

TOPEKA — Kris Kobach is set to take the Kansas attorney general seat, becoming the state’s top law enforcement officer and chief legal advisor after a series of political failures. Kobach said he will use the position to sue President Joe Biden’s administration.

At midnight on Election Day, Kobach had carried the vote by a slim margin, earning 493,775 votes to Democratic opponent Chris Mann’s 471,076, putting the two at 51% and 49% respectively.

The AP called the race Wednesday morning, hours after Kobach declared his win and delivered his victory speech. Mann has yet to concede, saying not all the votes have been counted.

Kelli Kee, Mann campaign spokeswoman, said they were waiting on the rest of mail-in ballots.

“As we stated last night, the race for the Kansas Attorney General is very close. There are tens of thousands of Kansas voters who mailed their ballots in before election day. They deserve for their votes to be counted as the law allows,” Kee said in a statement to Kansas Reflector.

Mann would need more than 22,000 mail-in ballots to make up the difference.

A former police officer and prosecutor, Mann has emphasized his public service record

during the campaign. Mann said he believed Kansans wanted a moderate candidate focused on public safety.

“We’ve been about public safety over politics, and that’s resonated across the state,” Mann said Tuesday morning, before election results were in. “People are tired of career politicians who just want to pursue their own agenda.”

Kobach touched on former losses in his victory speech. Kobach lost the 2018 Kansas governor’s race to Gov. Laura Kelly in 2018. In 2020, he lost the Kansas GOP U.S. Senate primary, with some voters alienated by his extremist views.

“I don’t care who you are, or where you come from, you gotta love a comeback story,” Kobach said. “Know that my victory is not about me. It’s about a desire to save our state and save our country. I’m so honored that so many Kansans put their trust in me.”

Kobach said he would protect women’s sports, keep fentanyl out of Kansas, and go after the Biden administration, protecting the state from federal overreach.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas said it would be watching Kobach’s actions. Micah Kubic, Kansas ACLU executive director, said the ACLU would challenge the attorney general’s policies if necessary.

“Should Mr. Kobach decide to follow through on his cam-

paign promises of attacking civil liberties, denigrating democracy, and undermining the rule of law, we will relentlessly, persistently, and unflinchingly challenge those policies. And, as Mr. Kobach well knows from his long history of defeats dealt by the ACLU of Kansas, when we have challenged his policies on behalf of the Constitution, the Constitution has won – and will win – every time,” Kubic said Wednesday in a statement. Kobach has long been a polarizing figure in Kansas politics. During his time as secretary of state from 2011-19, he implemented a widely condemned voting law. It required residents to prove their citizenship before registering to vote and prevented 35,000 eligible voters from participating in elections.

After a five-year legal battle about the law’s constitutionality, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office had to pay $1.9 million in fees and expenses to the ACLU and other attorneys when the law was ruled unconstitutional, with no evidence supporting claims of widespread voter fraud. Kobach was ordered by a federal judge to take six hours of remedial law class after the trial.

As the top law enforcement officer in the state, Kobach will be able to provide legal services to state agencies and boards, issue opinions, protect consumers and defend the state in civil proceedings.

Sherman Smith | Kansas Reflector

Gov. Laura Kelly, flanked by family and Lt. Gov. David Toland, left, addresses supporters late Tuesday at her watch party in downtown Topeka.

Rachel Mipro Kansas Reflector

10th annual Freedom Fest held at All Veterans Memorial

101st Airborne Company demonstrated a Cottonwood River Bridge Assault on Nov. 5 at the All Veterans Memorial in Emporia, KS. The day also consisted of numerous events such as a 5K freedom run, spur, and Murph challenges, vehicle displays, military history, and more, all of which were put together by the 19th annual Emporia Freedom Fest.

Photos by Mason hart | The Bulletin

VETERANS DAY 7

Overseas, Justin Meiers continues his education at ESU

Allison Funk

Staff Writer

A little over 7,000 miles from Emporia State, sophomore health and human performance major Justin Meiers works as a heavy vehicle operator for the National Guard in Kuwait, a country in western Asia. During his downtime, he logs into his Canvas page to finish his assignments with support from loved ones back home and from new friends he’s made in the Army.

“All the people I hang out with, they all know I’m in school,” Meiers said. “So, they always ask me, before we go do something that’s probably going to take all day, they’re like ‘Hey, is your schoolwork done?’ The people around me also make sure that I’m doing everything that I need to do to succeed.”

Meiers is currently taking eight credit hours through ESU. He stays in communication with his professors through email and has received support from them during his deployment.

“I told them about the eighthour time difference,” Meiers said. “And they said that, you know, if something pops up where I can’t do something or

something, just let them know. And they’ll work with me on it.”

In between classes and work, Meiers also frees up enough time to call his girlfriend Paige.

“It’s different when you’re halfway across the world,” Meiers said. “But she’s still supportive, and she has my back no matter what. That’s great.”

Sophomore physical education major Paige Kalitta has been in a relationship with Meiers for three years. They have been doing long distance since August when Meiers was deployed.

“I feel like it’s definitely going to make our relationship stronger,” Kalitta said. “And everybody I hear from, my family, his family, they’re like, ‘If you can get through this you guys are for-lifers.’”

Before his deployment, Meiers spent his time in Emporia disc golfing and attending events with his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon (SPE). He was inspired to join the fraternity by junior physics and mechanical engineering major Carlos Gaeta. Meiers and Gaeta met while playing disc golf and

they have since become close friends.

“He’s managing all of this, which I just, I don’t know how, the time difference and everything. It’s really crazy,” Gaeta said. “It’s an inspiration to see him work so hard for something he wants.”

Meiers was the vice president of communications for SPE and managed the fraternities’ social media until the end of the summer. He is still an active member and video chats with his fraternity brothers during meetings.

“I talked to all the new guys that we’ve sought this year, and even people that have been in prior to me being there and they all support me,” Meiers said. “It’s all love right there.”

Meiers motivation to join the National Guard was strongly influenced by his grandpa who served in Vietnam. Meiers was able to join before his grandpa passed away and usually celebrates Veterans Day with his family by attending the annual parade in Wichita. This year he will be celebrating differently.

Emporia honors veterans through art

While Emporia, the founding city of Veterans Day, hosts multiple events to honor veterans, the Emporia Regional Quilters Guild and the Emporia Arts Center are choosing to do so through art.

The Emporia Arts Center is holding an exhibition of veterans’ artwork until Nov. 13. The Center has been doing this for the last 10 years. This year, 441 art pieces from 18 veterans will be displayed at the Arts Center.

“I think art impacts veterans’ lives how it impacts all of our lives,” Sarah Bulinski, Emporia Arts Center manager said. “I mean, it’s an outlet to express what you cannot say. Sometimes it can be an escape. Sometimes it can convey a story. It’s how we express who we are.”

The Emporia Regional Quilters Guild will also be honoring veterans by presenting their quilts for gratitude Sunday.

Quilts of Gratitude was originally started by a mother, Catherine Roberts, who wanted her son to

have a piece of her and home with him while he was stationed in Iraq in 2003. It has now become a national nonprofit organization, according to its website.

“The respect and honor that you get to give and see their appreciation,” said Kathy Hamman, chair of Quilts of Gratitude. “Sometimes you see their tears and that makes us have tears but you realize that they are so grateful for whatever little bit we can, you know, the gratitude we can show to them and aren’t words.”

Emporia, while not being a part of the larger association, still chooses to honor veterans in this way. Between 2013-2021, the guild made and presented 472 quilts, according to Hamman.

“My most memorable presentation was the year that, it was a World War II veteran and he was in a wheelchair,” Hamman said. “When the scouts went to present his quilt to him, he did everything he had to do to stand up from his chair and salute that scout. I had tears. It was a very powerful moment.”

Emporia All Veterans Tribute Schedule

November 11

Veterans Breakfast On-The-Go Presbyterian Manor, 2300 Industrial Road

7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

RSVP to (620) 343-2613 by Nov 5

Veterans Day Parade Commercial Street, 4th Ave – 12th Ave

9:30 a.m.

Veterans Day Memorial Service

All Veterans Memorial 11:00 a.m.

November 13

Quilts of Gratitude Presentation Ceremony Anderson Building, 2700 W US Hwy 50 1:00 p.m.

November 14-30

Veteran Artists “People’s Choice” on Display

Justin Meiers stands in his official uniform for his senior photos. Meiers is currently stationed in camp Arifjan and plans to return to the United States in late May.

The Emporia Regional Quilters Guild honors veterans in the Emporia Public Library with Quilts of Gratitude on display until Nov. 13.

Photo courtesy of Paige K alitta

sam Bailey | The Bulle tin

Stacey Olson Staff Writer

Men’s basketball prepares

However, they will have nine returners and have added in “key recruits.”

Mason Thiessen, Peyton RogersSchmidt, Gage McGuire and Kaden Evans, said Doty.

Winter sports are about to begin at Emporia State and the men’s basketball team is ready to go after a “productive preseason” and “some awesome scrimmages with good results,” according to head coach Craig Doty.

The Hornets recently lost the team’s top scorers Jumarii Turner and Tray Buchanan (who was the nation’s leading scorer) after they graduated last May. This means the team loses over 45 points per game, according to Doty.

“I think coach said it best when he said that we have a lot to prove. We lost a lot of points, but we also lost some leadership,” said forward and senior business administration major Gage McGuire. “So I think, you know, we have a lot to go, but we also put in a lot of work this summer, so I think that’s gonna result in some positive things this season.”

Some of the Hornets’ key returners are Mayoum Boom,

Losing those high scorers means the team has to find two more players that can put points on the board and coaches have decided that Alijah Comithier and Owen Long are the men for the job. Doty expects them to be “high impact guys” alongside transfer Atavian Butler.

“We got the right guys on the roster,” said Thiessen, center and senior business management major. “I know coach works hard to

recruit the right kind of people, the guys that will mesh well with us and mesh well as a team. Not only on the court but off the court, so we definitely have the guys to do it.”

The team expects Northwestern Missouri, Washburn and Central Oklahoma to be competitive games.

“There’s just a lot of teams that you have to show up every game ready to play absolutely,” Thiessen said. “There is no bye week, there is no easy team to play. It’s you show up to play and if you

don’t you’re probably going to get beat.”

Coach Doty said the league is loaded with new faces and will be looking different than it has in the past. Doty isn’t looking for “one-star” to shut down from a team, he is expecting balanced scoring. Even with the Hornets, he expects four or five guys averaging double figures this year.

The team’s first game of the season will be against Rockhurst University at 6 p.m., Nov. 16 in the William Lindsay White Civic Auditorium.

Home means Emporia State to this athlete

season for both sports so he tries to split the workouts for each sport. Robinson also said his diet doesn’t really change much from going back and forth.

“My first year doing it, like doing both last year, I felt like I had a lot on my plate,” Robinson said. “I definitely did and I didn’t really know how to manage my time as well and what to give and what effort or what time to what sport. Now I feel like I can do that a lot better and I communicate a lot better with my coaches and they understand that.”

Robinson was originally recruited as a basketball player for Emporia State and met coach Higgins on his visit. It was eventually mentioned that Robinson is a good football player and that he wouldn’t mind playing. Last year was his first year doing both sports after he and his coaches sat down and made a plan on how it would work.

In his free time, Robinson prefers to just relax and step away from the sport world for a while. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and not doing physical activity.

Tyreek Robinson, junior health and human performance major, balances being a two sport athlete with being a full time student at Emporia State. Robinson is both a wide receiver for the football team and a forward for the men’s basketball team.

Robinson grew up playing basketball, but didn’t try football until his senior year of high school. His goal was to always be a college athlete, but he didn’t expect to be a dual sport athlete.

It is not uncommon for college athletes to do more than one sport. Football head coach Garin Higgins said he has seen multiple dual sport athletes throughout

the years, but it is usually a track and football duo.

“It’s unique in the fact that it’s a basketball player,” Higgins said. “See track and football is a little easier to do because you have football as a sport in the fall and track as a sport that is in the spring.”

When college athletes play more than one sport, they focus

on one season at a time. During football season, Robinson is a football player until the season ends. He said this usually only gives him a two day break before starting basketball season. Then he is a basketball player for the winter.

Once spring comes along he is back to football for the spring season. Summertime is the off-

He works as needed for the Student Recreation Center and is appreciative of the flexible schedule.

“All I can really say is Emporia State has become a home to me,” Robinson said. “I have been here for four years now and I don’t think I could see myself anywhere else.”

Fall Athletics Season Recap

‘Each year is it’s own story, so we are writing it right now’

for new season without leading scorers

Tyreek Robinson, junior human health and performance major, goes in for a layup against Lincoln University on Feb. 12. The Hornets took a 48-33 lead at half. Robinson scored three total points in the game and helped contribute to an Emporia State win over the Blue Tigers 90-71.

Jami Morain Sports Editor

Jami Morain Sports Editor

Mason Hart | The Bulle tin

Infographics by Mason Hart