JEN RAINEYCollegio Reporter

Students scheduled to graduate in May

were given a one-stop shop opportunity Wednesday, March 28, when the Degree Checking Offi ce hosted Grad Finale.

“This event occurs twice a year, once during the spring semester and once during the fall/winter semester,” said Danielle Walsh, sophomore in accounting, who works for Degree Checking Offi ce. “It’s for students who are graduating to get every-thing they need in one location.”

The event took place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and had several on-campus depart-ments and off-campus businesses available for graduating students to meet with.

Chris Fite, senior in history, says he enjoyed attending the event and offered simplicity to his life.

“Having all of the information given at one time before it gets too close to gradu-ation allows you not to worry about it as much as you would right before gradua-tion,” said Fite.

Students at the event were able to check their degree to make sure they are on track to graduate. The cashier’s offi ce was on hand to accept graduation fees from students who haven’t yet paid their fees. A representative of the Financial Assistance offi ce was on hand to discuss any issues students may have regarding paying back their fi nancial aid. There were also forms with valuable information that students could pick up regarding any fi nancial aid issues that may occur upon graduation.

The Alumni and Constituent Relations Offi ce and Commerce Bank both had tables at the event. Josten’s was selling PSU class rings and handing out information on graduation announcements. They were also passing out caps, gowns and tassels to students who are planning to walk at their graduation.

“My favorite part of the event was get-ting my cap and gown,” said Fite. “It means I’m fi nally ready to graduate.”

A representative from career services

was on hand during the event, as well. The state requires the university to keep track of students who are continuing their education in graduate school, or who are employed full time.

Lara Ismert, junior in math and English, who works for career services, met with students planning to graduate. She had students who have already been hired to full-time jobs they plan to work in upon graduation, or students planning to go into graduate programs, fi ll out paper work on where they will be.

“It was great talking to students and fi nding out their future plans,” said Ismert.

For those students who do plan to attend graduate school, or students who are graduating from the Pittsburg State Graduate School, a member of Continuing and Graduate Studies was on hand. That provided a way for students to ask ques-tions on things like what to expect if they are planning to enter graduate school and

allowed them a way to make sure all of their paperwork was fi lled out if they are graduating with a master’s degree. It also allowed more face-to-face contact with a member of the graduate program.

“I think it’s awareness that we have a graduate program,” said Jaime Vanderbeck, assistant director of graduate and continu-ing studies. “Some students know we are here, but some don’t. With the economy the way it is, I think it’s important for students to know this is an option.”

Students could also sign the Class of 2012 banner and fi ll out a questionnaire of their experience at the event. For some students, especially those transferring from other colleges, this experience is a new and simpler one than they have been used to.

“I went to a different school before where they didn’t do anything like this and it was a headache at the end of the semes-ter,” said Kayla Marti, graduate student in human resources.

P I T T S B U R G S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

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PAIDPITT STATE

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MARCH 29, 2012

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

VOLUME 95, NO. 23

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theCOLLEGIO

Interactive art Rewriting the record book

Artist brings unique exhibit to campus(pg. 3)

Recapping PSU’s best women’s basketball season in history(pg. 9)

THREEDAYOUTLOOK

Sneakpeek

Hi: 77°Lo: 53°

Fri.

Hi: 82°Lo: 57°

Sat.

Hi: 83°Lo: 55°

Sun.

Turn it upPSU is home to several student bands

(pg. 10)

IFY OSSAICollegio Writer

Saurabh Soni is trying to fi gure out why different proteins react differently to changes in temperatures. That may sound esoteric, but the answer may bring in-sight to the behavior of oncogenes, the genes that cause cancer.

“We have certain questions which are still unanswer-able to us,” said Soni, senior in biochemistry. “How are they are stable? How they are different from other proteins that are going to stay stable in an extremely high temperature? These are a few questions that are still unanswerable to some scientists.”

Soni is one of many Pittsburg State University students taking advantage of research opportunities on campus that most people don’t know about. After all, PSU is not known as a research institution. Nonethe-less, pure and basic research is taking place, whether it’s at the nationally known Polymer Research Center, the Kansas College of Technology or even the many aca-demic papers in psychology, social sciences or the arts.

For his part, Soni says that research gives individuals a different perspective on things and there is a lot of fun in being actively involved in what you are doing.

Caleb Nickel agrees that research opportunities at PSU are great. Nickel says students have unique oppor-tunities to experience in person what they will do in the industry after their school years.

“My project is concerned with how stuff moves from one plant cell to another, most specifi cally on viruses,” said Nickel, senior in biology.

Nickel says his research focues on plant-virus inter-action.

“The space between two channels are solid and I’m studying to know how the virus works on moss,” Nickel said.

Khamis Siam, chairman of the chemistry depart-ment, says every professor in the chemistry department is conducting research, and those professors present students with opportunities to do research fi rsthand. In the chemistry department, specifi cally, Siam says there are research opportunities in biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, surface science, and theoretical and inorganic research.

“I’m personally involved on a research project with

solar-energy conversion and making different com-pounds that can be used in desensitized solar cells,” Siam said. “We started studying the characteristics of these compounds and how they behave and do calcula-tions on the compounds.”

Siam says he is currently working with two under-graduate students and Arvin Cruz, professor in chemis-try, on the solar energy project.

Siam says one obstacle he faces is limited funding.“Although we have the infrastructure in place, a little

more funding is needed because chemicals are expen-sive,” Siam said. “And disposal is no easy task, either.”

David Gordon, associate professor of entomology, says a number of professors in the biology department are also conducting research projects and they often

invite students to participate in these projects. Some of those projects include work on viruses such

as H1N1, research on lupus, an inherited autoimmune disease, and other projects researching beetles, itch mites and other bugs.

“I will be advertising very soon for four or six students who are willing to work on the bug projects toward the end of the semester through the summer,” Gordon said.

Gordon says research in the sciences typically involves working on an area one has a passion for. He says his project involves setting traps for insects around dusk and picking them up before sundown. Then the

Students apply skills to real-world research

Saurabh Soni, graduate student in chemistry, expands his research on the cloning of four genes in one polycistronic vector by working in the lab in Heckert-Wells on Monday, March 26.

Kenzi Jordan/Collegio

Early enrollment for the 2012 fall and summer semes-ters will begin on Monday, April 9, for students currently enrolled at PSU. According to Debbie Greve, university reg-istrar, students can continue to enroll through the fi rst day of class. Greve says that students should schedule an appoint-ment with their advisers and be prepared with a list of classes that fi t their schedule based on their degree plan.

The Schedule of Classes is available on the PSU homepage at www.pittstate.edu. Click on “Current Stu-dents” and then “Schedule of Classes.”

Following is the enroll-ment schedule:

Monday, April 9: Gradu ate students and seniors with 90 hours of credit.

Tuesday, April 10: Juniors (60 hours)

Wednesday, April 11: Sophomores (30 hours)

Thursday, April 12: Freshmen A-M

Friday, April 13: Fresh men N-Z

Monday and Tuesday, April 16, 17: new transfer students.

Online enrollment opens at 5 a.m. on students’ enrollment dates. Questions? Call the Registrar’s Offi ce in 103 Russ Hall, at 235-4200.

Earlyenrollmentto start

CARL J. BACHUSCollegio Reporter

The debate over the possible legalization of marijuana seems like the parable of an unstoppable force and an immovable object. However, many recent events have tipped the scales in favor of those who support legalization.

Kansas has two bills in circula-tion in the House and the Senate, HB 2330 and SB 354, that call for “the legal use of cannabis for certain debilitating medical conditions;” “providing for the registration and functions of compassion centers;” and “authorizing the issuance of identifi cation cards.”

Many students like Michael Piori are strong supporters of the bills because of the benefi ts they would provide.

“The benefi ts are overwhelming. When you look at the statistics in the states that have already legalized the plant for medicinal or recreational use,” said Piori, senior in communi-cation. “It fi ghts and kills cancerous cells in the body. It was also proven to help treat glaucoma.”

Piori says he also believes that the legalization of recreational marijuana could benefi t some of Pitt State’s more “party-oriented” students.

“I think that in Pittsburg, students and young people are pressured to drink and to drink heavily and it seems to be encouraged, but can-nabis on the other hand, is looked down upon,” Piori said. “Millions of Americans smoke it responsibly. Our policies should refl ect this reality, not deny it.”

Other states, like Arkansas and, more successfully, Colorado, have attempted to get marijuana legaliza-tion, medicinal or otherwise, on their respective state ballots in November. Several notable fi gures have come out in support of national legaliza-tion, including controversial televan-gelist Pat Robertson.

“I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up,” Robertson said in a Febru-ary episode of “The 700 Club.” “It’s completely out of control. Prisons are being overcrowded with juvenile offenders having to do with drugs. And the penalties, the maximums, some of them could get 10 years for possession of a joint of marijuana. It makes no sense at all.”

Even with an almost overwhelm-ing number of supporters, legal-ization campaigns still have their detractors, like Leann Verhoff.

“Using marijuana for recre-ational purposes is irresponsible,” said Verhoff, freshman in English. “I have smoked it, found it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I feel like the health benefi ts are very narrow and can be achieved with other, legal drugs.”

Verhoff says she believes that the thrill of smoking marijuana will wear off after its legalization and that, if legalized, the drug should undergo regulation akin to that of alcoholic beverages.

“I feel that it should be regu-lated in a fashion more similar to alcohol than to tobacco,” Verhoff said. “Marijuana does impair your judgment and reactions, especially in cases like driving.”

More information on both sides of the debate as well as PDF versions of the House and Senate bills proposing legalization in Kansas are available at http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org.

For students’ opinions on this is-sue, see page 5.

Students split on marijuana debate

Event offers convenient commencement

From right, Megan Stani, senior in nursing, and Ashley Mance, senior in political science, complete the degree requirements for Grad Finale on Wednesday, March 28, in Overman Student Center.

Srikanth Korlapati/Collegio

see RESEARCH page 4

Justices ask how far gov’t can go

WASHINGTON — It boiled down to a debate over broccoli. And bread. And burial plots. If government can tell people to buy health insurance, Supreme Court justices wanted to know, what else could it make them buy?

Throughout Tuesday’s hearing on the health care law, the justices and lawyers argued about the perfect product to illustrate the limits of the federal government’s power over interstate markets.

“Everybody has to buy food sooner or later, so you defi ne the market as food, therefore, everybody is in the market; therefore, you can make people buy broccoli,” offered Justice Antonin Scalia, obviously resis-tant to expanding government’s reach.

“That’s quite different,” responded Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, arguing for the health insurance mandate. Unlike grocery shopping, medical care is a market “in which your participation is often unpredict-able and often involuntary.” And the care of patients who don’t pay gets passed on to everyone else as higher taxes and insurance premiums.

Verrilli preferred his own examples: the law is like regulation of telephone rates or price supports for milk.

And so it went.— How about mandatory burial insurance, ventured conservative

Justice Samuel Alito. “Everybody is going to be buried or cremated at some point. What’s the difference?”

— Chief Justice John Roberts wanted to know if people could be forced to buy cellphones for 911 calls.

— Attorney Paul Clement, representing 26 states challenging the law, tried wheat. When Congress wants to help farmers, he said, it doesn’t “just make everybody in America buy 10 loaves of bread.”

But Roberts, seeming to tire of the parade of products, cut him off by saying that doesn’t address the government’s argument — that everybody needs health care “and all they’re regulating is how you pay for it.”

Pope prays for freedom, ‘renewal’ in Cuba

HAVANA — Pope Benedict XVI prayed for freedom and renewal “for the greater good of all Cubans” before the nation’s patron saint Tuesday, but the island’s communist leaders quickly rejected the Ro-man Catholic leader’s appeal for political change after fi ve decades of one-party rule.

The exchange came hours before Benedict was to meet President Raul Castro, and possibly his brother and predecessor Fidel, behind closed doors in Havana on the pontiff’s second day on the island.

Days after dismissing the Marxist ideology on which the Cuban system is based, Benedict continued to gently press themes highly sensitive to Cuban government in his prayer and short speech at the sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre near the eastern city of Santiago.

Dems, GOP woo single women voters

STERLING, Va. — As a married woman, Marisa Hannum had her family’s conservatism in mind when she backed Republicans in the 2008 and 2004 presidential elections. Now divorced, she is putting her own interests fi rst as she weighs whether to vote for Democratic President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger this fall.

She’s an abortion opponent, worried about her fi nances and concerned for friends who can’t fi nd jobs. She’s dumbfounded that anyone is questioning birth control access in 2012. And she has only a glimmer of an idea of how she’ll vote in November.

“Now I am a little bit better informed. But I am really on the fence,” says Hannum, 30, an assistant restaurant manager, as she stops by the post offi ce in this Washington suburb — a region fi lled with single women that Democrats and Republicans alike are targeting.

In an election year heavily focused on social issues and the economy, Democrats are trying to energize unmarried females who overwhelmingly vote for their candidates while Republicans work to peel them away.

Political math tells the story of the so-called marriage gap: Exit polls show that women are a majority of voters in presidential elec-tion years and about four in 10 female voters don’t have a spouse. They lean more heavily Democratic than their married counterparts. But the U.S. census says about 22 percent of them are unregistered, a rich pool of potential new voters for both parties competing for the presidency and the majorities in Congress.

Egypt group confl icted over presidential run

CAIRO — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has postponed an open confrontation with the country’s military rulers and other political players Tuesday when it delayed a decision about whether to fi eld a candidate for the fi rst presidential elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

An eight-hour meeting of the Brotherhood’s highest leadership body failed to come up with a fi nal decision on whether to reverse an earlier pledge not to contest the presidency. Further meetings of the Brotherhood’s Shura Council were to continue next week and a senior member of the group described the discussions as “comprehensive” and “exhausting.”

The lack of a decision Tuesday highlights growing divisions within the group over the thorny presidency question but also the group’s

hesitancy over a confrontation with the ruling military council and other national forces over the issue.

DA expects no charges over abortion fi les

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas district attorney says he doesn’t expect to fi le criminal charges against a former abortion provider who discarded patients’ private medical records in a recycling bin outside a school in the Kansas City area.

But Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said Tuesday his offi ce will examine whether Krishna Rajanna’s actions violated state consumer protection laws, which are enforced through civil lawsuits.

Howe also said he may contact federal offi cials about potential violations of patient privacy laws.

Rajanna confi rmed that he discarded hundreds of patients’ records in a recycling bin outside an elementary school blocks from his home in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, believing the bin would be emptied quickly. He did not immediately return a telephone mes-sage Tuesday afternoon, seeking a response to Howe’s comments.

Syria accepts peace plan; clashes continue

QAA, Lebanon — Syria accepted a cease-fi re drawn up by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan on Tuesday, but the diplomatic breakthrough was swiftly overshadowed by intense clashes between government sol-diers and rebels that sent bullets fl ying into Lebanon.

Opposition members accuse President Bashar Assad of agreeing to the plan to stall for time as his troops make a renewed push to kill off bastions of dissent. And the confl ict just keeps getting deadlier: The U.N. said the death toll has grown to more than 9,000, a sobering assessment of a devastating year-old crackdown on the uprising that shows no sign of ending.

Annan’s announcement that Syria had accepted his peace plan was met with deep skepticism.

“We are not sure if it’s political maneuvering or a sincere act,” said Louay Safi , a member of the opposition Syrian National Council. “We have no trust in the current regime. ... We have to see that they have stopped killing civilians.”

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Supporters and opponents of health-care reform rally in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 27, as the court continued arguments on the health care law signed by President Barack Obama.

Pope Benedict XVI waves after praying before the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on Tuesday, March 27.

Photos and stories courtesy of AP

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JEN RAINEYCollegio Reporter

Students gathered around the Oval on Thursday, March 15, to eat dinner and listen to the local student band Dead Eye and na-tional touring artist Jay Nash.

James Smith was in charge of the show, which was hosted by the Student Activities Council. He says club members decided to book Nash for this event after seeing him play last February in St. Louis, Mo.

“We saw Jay Nash at NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) and liked him,” said Smith, senior in commercial graphics. “We fi gured it’d be good to have a chill event, have him play and grill some hot dogs before spring break.”

Smith says 150 to 200 students attended. Alejandra Aveaio says she attended the show because it was something new to do.

“This university has a lot going on and it’s always great to

listen to live music,” said Aveaio, graduate student in English. “I liked that it was outside instead of being in the U-Club like events usually are. I liked it when he told how he wrote the songs. He was very funny and sincere.”

Nash connected with the audi-ence by telling stories, like the fi rst time he toured Europe or lost love. He explained what inspired him to write his music.

“You have to learn and experi-ence things like relationships, art and your surroundings,” Nash said. “You soak it up and, hope-fully regurgitate it.”

Nash has played more than 1,000 shows and sold more than 25,000 albums. He has toured from California to Europe and shared the stage with Katy Perry, Counting Crows, Maroon 5, Keb Mo and many others. He says his infl uences include The Grateful Dead, The Band, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan and Charley Parker, and he started playing music in middle school.

However, he began playing professionally part time while living in Los Angeles in 2003. He was running a club there where he could play his music and book other artists who wanted to do the same thing.

“I did that until my record, ‘Things You Think You Need,’ came out in 2008,” Nash said. “That got me out of the trenches a bit.”

Although he has played to large crowds all over the country, Nash also frequents the college scene, playing shows at a variety of campuses. He says he enjoyed performing for the students at Pittsburg State.

“It was delightful,” Nash said. “The weather was totally beauti-ful and Dead Eye was ferocious.”

Dead Eye, an all-female folk band, opened for Nash. The band consists of Pittsburg State Univer-sity students Meg McCoy (cello), sophomore in music performance; Jenna McCarty (banjo), senior in nursing; Sam Mahon (gui-tar), senior in music; Taylor Rea

JESSICA SEWINGCollegio Reporter

Cell phones have become in-creasingly complex and the func-tions they perform are no longer restricted to calling and texting. Smartphones and the increasing availability of mobile Internet connections have led to a rising popularity of games on phones.

Heather Laurent says she plays them several times a day.

“I play when I get bored, or get sleepy in class,” said Laurent, sophomore in biology. “Before I do homework I usually check Fa-cebook, Twitter, play the games; then I start my homework.”

The “with friends” games are among those that are gain-ing popularity with students. These games include “Words With Friends,” “Scramble With Friends,” “Hanging With Friends” and more recently,

“Draw Something.” “Words With Friends” is an electronic version of Scrabble; “Scramble With Friends” is a faster version of Boggle; “Hanging With Friends” is a form of hangman and “Draw Something” is digital Pictionary.

Alli Wendorff says these games are excellent time-fi llers.

“They are a fun way to pass the time in my dorm room when I have nothing to do,” said Wen-dorff, freshman in nursing.

“Draw Something” is cur-rently the top free app and top-selling app in the app store. It is also the second-highest grossing app from iTunes.

Like Laurent, Brittney Ham-mond says she plays constantly, usually every hour.

“Games on my phone give me something to do in boring classes,” said Hammond, junior in elementary education. “It’s also a way to play with friends back home.”

Wendorff says it’s hard to draw precisely what you want in the game, and some of the op-tions are too complex to even at-tempt. She says that one example from the game was Rihanna.

“I didn’t do it because, hon-estly, I didn’t know how I would draw that,” Wendorff said.

Hammond agrees that some things are too hard to draw and hard to guess, too. She says she was playing with her sister and she drew her a Furby. Hammond says her sister had a hard time de-ciphering what the drawing was.

“My sister called me and said it didn’t look like a Furby,” Ham-mond said. “She said it looked like a blob on a stick.”

They all agree, though, that playing games on their phones is a way to pass the time, whether in class or in their room.

“I like them because they keep me entertained easily,” Laurent said.

Bands rock the Oval Social gaming distracts students

GRETCHEN BURNSCollegio Writer

Several students, faculty and residents gathered in Grubbs Hall on March 15 to hear about the unique artwork of sculptor Jessica Gardner.

Sarah Stonecipher says she enjoyed listening to Gardner talk about her artwork.

“I really liked it,” said Stonecipher, senior in art. “I thought it was really exciting.”

Portico Bowman, university gallery director, says Gardner was chosen to ex-hibit at Pitt State by a committee made up of members of the Art Department. She says about 300 schools, artists and groups were contacted and invited to exhibit and Gardner’s portfolio was chosen based on the merit and quality of her work.

Bowman says she was glad so many people came to the lecture.

“We had so many art students helping all day to install the show,” Bowman said. “It was an intimate body of people who had interacted to complete one show.”

Bowman says Gardner brought a new technique for clay sculpture to Pittsburg State University with her exhibit and lecture. Gardner worked out her own form of slip-dipping, which is dipping cloth in wet clay and fi ring it so that the clay looks like the outfi t of cloth that was originally used.

She says she got the idea to work with cloth when she was applying for gradu-ate school and wanted to turn back to her knowledge of sewing and textiles for new ideas.

“I like the idea that you think my work is textiles,” Gardner said. “And you walk up and you fi nd it’s clay.”

Gardner’s work is displayed in the

Harry Krug Gallery, which is fi lled with interactive toys and ceramic fi gures Gardner hopes will trigger the childhood memories of her audience.

“I want to give people a more interac-tive and emotional experience,” Gardner said.

Many of the pieces on display are interactive, such as a “Plinko” game, a rocking horse and a chair created to look like a giraffe. Gardner says she chose to create interactive pieces because she wanted the viewer to stay and explore the art.

“I like to give the view a couple of dif-ferent levels,” Gardner said. “It puts you in a really important frame of mind.”

Gardner laughed as she stressed the interactions between artwork and viewer.

“I had a football player on the rocking horse for a really long time and he didn’t hurt it,” Gardner said.

Gardner studied psychology in school and she says she tries to incorporate it into her artworks. She says most of her artworks are directed at childhood memories.

“I found it really interesting that the fi rst key steps could set someone up to take the next really big steps,” Gardner said.

Gardner says she designed the piece titled “Puppeteer” to show how older siblings have a lot of responsibilities. The piece has a wooden hand crank that raises the younger sibling up. When the crank is let go, the child is dropped to hover inches above the ground.

“People would gasp and freak out,” Gardner said. “It was great. My art made people actually feel something!”

Steve Ford, professor of biology, says he attended the lecture to learn more.

“I fi nd it interesting to come over and immerse myself in a totally new topic,”

Ford said.Gardner says she was glad to have

the opportunity to share her experiences during her lecture. She says the gallery was set up fast enough that she was able to demonstrate her sculpture technique in a ceramics class on campus.

“I got to contribute to the excitement and energy of new techniques in clay sculpture,” Gardner said.

Dalton Gainer says he enjoyed the lecture and demonstration, viewing it as a new form for sculpture.

“It was very interesting,” said Gainer,

freshman in art. “Seeing the work and then hearing about the inspirations behind it.”

Gardner is an artist from Portland, Ore., and her work is on display in the Harry Krug Gallery in Porter Hall through May 4.

Please touch the art

Courtney Dietz, freshman, plays a game on her phone while relaxing in the U Club.

Students admire Jessica Gardner's art exhibit on opening day March 15 in the Harry Krug Gallery.Chris Medved/Collegio

Sam Clausen/Collegio

Julie Huston/Collegio

Jay Nash performs in the Oval on Thursday, March 15. Nash has opened for performers such as Katy Perry and Maroon 5.

ALI CLARKCollegio Reporter

Irene Zegar says she jumped at the opportu-nity when Lynette Olson, provost and vice president for academic affairs, ap-proached her with a new project that would use iPads in the classroom.

“I’m always inter-ested in technology,” said Zegar, professor in chemistry. “I’ll always be the fi rst one to jump in and use it.”

Zegar was chosen for the iPad Pilot Project last fall. Chris Huitt, professor in commercial graphics, and Ann George, profes-sor in teaching and leader-ship, also took part. The provost’s funded 58 iPads for the project.

Each professor used

the iPads in a specifi c classroom and in dif-ferent ways. Zegar says she used 25 iPads in her general chemistry II class. She says she encouraged her students to use the iPads for note taking. She also asked students to download applications and see how useful they were. They used fl ashcard and notetaking apps and one called iClicker, which she used for in-class questions. She showed questions and they answer ed on their iPads.

“It’s a really great tool to assess their learning comprehension in the classroom,” Zegar said. “That was very success-ful, and the students really enjoyed using that.”

Zegar also had her students listen to lectures

before they came to class. Students used iTunesU, an application that fi nds lectures on different top-ics from professors all over the world, including universities such as MIT and Duke. Zegar says the best way to learn some-thing diffi cult is to learn it over and over again.

“Let’s say someone doesn’t understand my lecture or doesn’t like the way I teach,” Zegar said. “So I let them hear it from someone else and let them hear it repeatedly.”

The project allowed students to use the iPads in all of their classes.

“In the program, most of my students are currently teachers, and obtaining their master’s will certify them as school principals,” Brenda

Roberts, professor in the teaching and leadership department said.

Roberts’ graduate level principalship class is online. The students are using the iPads to FaceTime and Skype with each other about projects and coursework. She says they are also implement-ing the iPads in their own classrooms as teachers.

“Every one of them has found a way for it to support what they do professionally,” Roberts said. “And that’s what I wanted.”

One of Roberts’ students uses the iPad to take attendance while she walks around the class-room, instead of using the laptop at her desk.

James Oliver, profes-sor in art, is also using

iPads in his class this semester. Oliver says he uses two apps on the iPad for his life drawing class, “Brushes” and “Art Rage,” which are both digital drawing applica-tions.

“Normally in the class, they are required to keep a sketchbook,” Oliver said. “It’s kind of like a journal of drawings that they’re working through during the semester. They’re just doing that digitally instead of on paper.”

Roberts believes that iPads could be incorporat-ed into any type of class and that’s what the iPad Pilot Project is proving.

“I don’t know if there’s really a discipline that you can’t incorporate it in,” Roberts said.

iClassroom: PSU implements new technology

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ROSS SCHARTELCollegio Reporter

The Pittsburg State Public Relation and Advert-ing club is taking steps to help future students of the Communication Department because the state has cut funding for the department.

“The Communication Departments has seen a 30 percent increase in student enrollment in the past few years,” said Alicia Mason, communication pro-fessor and faculty adviser for the PR/Ad club. “But the state has cut back on funding for the department, which would be used for the funding of department scholarships. We needed to help our students out; this is how we chose to do it.”

Mason says the Future Horizons Scholarship is front-running a new group of scholarships for students in the department. The scholarship will be open to all incoming freshmen who wish to major in any area of the Communication Department, starting in the 2012-2013 school year.

Mason says the PSU PR/Ad club has organized a dinner and an auction that will help secure the funds needed for the scholarship.

“It’s a fundraiser for both the Communica-tion Department and PR/Ad,” said Kelly Bayler, graduate student in communication. “To create and support scholarships for prospective communication majors and for the benefi t of future members of PR/Ad.”

Mason says she hopes the auction will raise enough to fi nance the fi rst fi ve years of the $500 scholarship.

Scholarship winners will be chosen by a panel of communication students from all areas of the department. Mason says that the expansion of in-state tuition benefi ts to Northwest Arkansas last year increased the number of applicants and the fi rst scholarship recipient will be announced at the dinner.

Bayler says the PR/Ad club has worked in the past to promote local businesses and charity events, like last fall’s “Novembeard” which benefi ted Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pittsburg. She says the group has had minor setbacks with the general aim of the club.

“Last year was bad for PR/Ad,” said Jamie Bowman, sophomore in advertising. “Pr/Ad is an organization that works for students and residential companies and groups, but we weren’t raising any money for the expansion of the group. We were spending our own money to produce media for our clients, but were receiving little in return. We wanted to change that.”

Alex Reed says the setbacks have not prevented the group from achieving its goals.

“It’s a great thing to be gaining working experi-ence with public relations and advertising while still in school,” said Reed, senior in communication. “But we weren’t really aiding our own department, and that’s part of what every organization strives for.”

The Communication Department has seven areas of study and six of them have departmental scholar-ships for incoming freshmen. Rather than create a

focused scholarship for public relations and adver-tising majors, Mason says the PR/Ad club chose to extend the Future Horizons Scholarship to all areas of communication.

“Every other track of the Communication Department has an endowed scholarship for its prospective students,” Mason said. “We just wanted to give future students the same opportunities past students had. “

Mason says the club hopes the auction will also fund expenses for attending conferences, register-ing the group with the Public Relations Society of America and fund the group’s continuing involve-ment with the Joplin Area Advertising Federation.

The dinner and auction will be held from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, April 14, in Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are priced at $25 per person, which includes dinner and drinks. There are 250 seats available for the event.

ZACH WAGNER Collegio Reporter

Some PSU adventure seekers have found a novel way to get their discovery fi x through a new GPS trend called Geocaching.

Joe Strong says Geocaching has been a hobby of his for more than two years now. He says he has located over 600 caches and hidden around 50.

“It really is just like a high-tech game of hide and seek,” said Strong, junior in nursing. “Sometimes it can be easy to locate one; other times it may be very diffi cult. It usually depends on the size of the canister.”

In Geocaching, GPS owners start by searching for caches in proximity to their coordinated loca-tion. The caches are different capsules, placed by previous players, that vary in size from jars to fi lm canisters. Whoever successfully locates these caches logs them in a small book with their codename and

date when they made their discovery. They then place their cache back where they found it, and the cycle goes on.

Strong says that at any point in time there could be a cache within just a few feet of you. Strong says he has placed many caches around PSU’s campus, including one around the Oval.

“The fact that thousands of people everyday are walking by one thing is a neat reward in itself,” Strong said. “It’s very subtle like that. Only those who are actually into Geocaching are the ones who can enjoy discovering the unknown caches.”

Caches can be found on every continent in over 100 countries. Strong says that he couldn’t pick one unique place he has found a cache, because it’s a different journey every time.

“You really would be surprised where all you can fi nd caches. The point is to place them where no one would care to look,” Strong said. “I’ve even found one at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado.

You never know where you’re going to fi nd one till you pursue it.”

Amanda Ravenstein says she has found 14 caches and the addictive nature of Geocaching comes from the differing placements.

“The great part about it is that there’s a different location every time,” said Ravenstein, sophomore in pre-physical therapy. “You never know. The cache could be magnetic, big or small container. I’ve even found one in the veterans memorial in front of PSU’s rec center.”

One of the big rules of Geocaching is that a geo-cache may never be buried underground. According to Strong, the same can be said about the trend of Geocaching as a whole.

“Anyone can do it and that’s why more and more people look out for geocaches,” Strong said. “People can do this with everyday things from phone apps to GPS systems. I think its popularity is going to grow.”

Students fi nd unique use for GPS

Students create new scholarshipCache hidden on Pitt State campus with log form and trinkets to exchange.

Photo Illustration by William Ravenstein

PR/Ad members, from left, Kirsten Burke-Fontaine, senior, Ella Lewis, sophomore, and graduate student Kelley Bugler, discuss the Scholarship Auction for Excellence on Monday, March 5, in the Communication Department conference room.

Julie Huston/Collegio

specimens are taken to the lab to be sorted and processed.

Gordon says some of the research funds come from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, which is a research cooperative through the Uni-versity of Kansas Medical school.

“Normally a grant proposal is written for your intended research,” Gordon said. “And if it is accepted, the students are funded and a stipend is provided so that they are not doing it for free. And they get two or three hours of college credit for their research work.”

Gordon says working with students on research is not like teaching a regular class. A lot of time is spent with the individual students involved in the research and they are trained to do the job well.

“Research has shown that students who are involved with research tend to go on into the sciences and get a science degree,” Gordon said. “Essentially, they are hooked because it is not like taking general biology or environmental life science.”

Gordon says students in research are actively involved in the day-to-day management of what they are doing, and they have a greater opportu-nity to learn.

“Our students have the opportunity to present their research and make posters for their work,” Gordon said. “And some of them have gone on to win awards in the research works they’ve done.”

Virginia Rider, professor of biology, was the fi rst winner of the Sidney A. McNairy Jr. Men-toring Award because of her training of research students. She says that the research students do has benefi ts long beyond their careers at PSU.

“Most of the students who have worked on the various research opportunities that we offer have gone on to professional school or the industry,” Rider said. “And they are doing well because they had a fi rsthand experience of what they are doing.”

■ RESEARCH from page 1

March 29, 2012 5

thisweek’squestionDo you support the legalization of marijuana in Kansas?

No, I just don’t agree with its use.

Ashley WarnerJuniorSecondary Art Education

No, it could be easily abused.

Brennan TilleyFreshmanMarketing

Yes, I don’t think it causes as much harm as people think. It is less dangerous than alcohol.

Vince DennisFreshmanMechanical Engineering

I would never do it myself, but it probably should be legal because there would be less trouble and crime.

Dillon ShouseSeniorElementary Education

Sure, if it is used only for medical purposes and not abused.

Lakota McCuneJuniorManagement and Finance

No, because people make excuses to use it and are able to get around the system. Rebekah RowlandFreshmanBiology

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JEFFREYTANGNEY

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Forests around the world are rapidly disappearing. The Latin American and Caribbean regions collectively account for more than half of the forests in the world. Deforestation in South America has recently increased drastically. There are several reasons for this plight.

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 130,000 square kilometers of world forests are lost every year.

According to the World Bank, deforesta-tion accounts for up to 20 percent of global green house gas emissions that contribute to global warming. In addition, forests provide habitats to about two-thirds of all species on Earth, and deforestation of closed tropical rainforests could account for biodiversity loss of as many as 100 species a day.

The major causes for deforestation are conversion to agriculture land, unsound land management practices, unsustainable harvesting of timber and construction of reservoirs and dams. Most forest land is replaced by ranches.

Last year, the U.N. General Assembly designated 2011 as the international year of forest, to raise awareness of sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. “Forest

for the People” was the main theme of the year.

According to the Brazilian Space Re-search Institute, the latest satellite images show a sharp increase in deforestation across the Amazon forest.

Does this matter to us and if so, why? Yes, it’s important to us because the Ama-zon is the largest surviving rainforest on the planet. Moreover, it provides roughly 20 percent of the world’s oxygen. For that reason it is also called the “Lungs of the Earth.”

It matters not only because it provides oxygen, but it is also home to more than 10 million species of plants, animals and insects. It is also home to indigenous tribal people who are still not connected to the rest of the world. The Amazon is characterized by great biodiversity and it is a source for a variety of medicinal ingre-dients.

Rainforests now cover only 6 percent of the Earth’s surface, but they used to make up 14 percent of the Earth’s surface. Ex-perts estimate that the remaining rainforest could be destroyed in less than 40 years if we continue deforestation at the same pace.

On the other hand, the Chaco forest in South America is one of the most rapidly disappearing forests in the world. The Chaco forest is different in the sense that it has hostile temperatures, which have led some to call it “Green Hell.”

About 10 percent of the Chaco forest has been destroyed in the past fi ve years in

Paraguay. According to Guyra –a Para-guayan non-profi t organization that protects biodiver-sity of the country – about 1.2 million acres of the Chaco have been destroyed in just the last two

years. Foreigners are buying land in the Chaco

forest for ranches and cattle farms. Land prices across this region have gone up 300 percent because multinational companies are buying vast tracts they will use to raise cattle, which will be exported worldwide.

Deforestation of the Chaco forest in Par-aguay poses a great threat to the survival of the Ayoreo Indians, the last un-contacted tribe outside the Amazon.

Allowing continued deforestation and degradation of the forests in this region af-

fects more than the countries in that region: it affects the rest of the world, too. In addi-tion, we are putting our lives at risk. We are losing the greatest biological treasures of the Earth before we completely know their real value.

Yet most South American countries don’t have strict environmental poli-cies. Their laws are either ineffective or improperly implemented, which results in huge deforestation. Most of these countries simply arrest the people and collect very little in fi nes. They rarely, if ever, initiate a lawsuit against the accused.

There have been many international conventions held in the last two decades, such as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2006 International Tropical Timber Agree-ment. Yet the deforestation and degradation of forests remains at alarming levels.

Simply attending environmental con-ventions and framing rules is not enough. We need to implement rules and regula-tions effectively. Furthermore, we must create awareness among communities and individuals.

If we want to preserve these vast, richly diverse forests for future generations, we must immediately start protecting the Ama-zon and Chaco from further degradation.

Disappearing rainforests require global action

DigamberEslampure

StaffColumnist

If the state of Kansas were to legalize marijuana, as some other states have already done, then it would bring about some negative consequences and would set a dangerous precedent by allowing for partial le-galization of certain things. It is in the best interest of Kansas, and every other state, to ignore the support for legaliza-tion and continue as it has for years.

Legalizing marijuana, even for medical purposes, would almost certainly lead to abuses of the sys-tem. How does the state decide which medical cases warrant the use of mari-juana? Have they tested every disease to fi gure out which disease is alleviated by marijuana? A bigger question I have is why any researcher would decide to see whether marijuana helps with a disease in the fi rst place. It doesn’t make sense that they would test an illegal sub-stance in the fi rst place, considering that it wouldn’t be allowed for public use even if it helped. Even it did make sense to test it, there are surely other means of obtaining the same benefi ts without resorting to illegal substances. Am I really expected to believe that marijuana is the only substance in the world that will bring relief to certain medical conditions?

Even if we accept that marijuana helps with certain conditions, there still remains the fact that it is illegal. Medical benefi ts are not a good enough reason to legalize marijuana. The fact that it helps doesn’t mean it should be allowed. If it was found that cocaine eliminated clogged arteries, would it be OK to legalize it for obese people? No, and I doubt you would fi nd many people who would argue that it should. The main push for medical marijuana legalization is that it may lead to legaliza-tion of marijuana for all people, regardless of medical condition. While I feel it would be a mistake to do so, I also believe that legalizing it entirely is a better choice than legalizing it for medical uses. This may seem surprising, but I can’t think of any other substance that is illegal except in certain situations.

This may seem trivial, but I fear that medi-cal marijuana opens a Pandora’s box of sorts. Partial legalization of an illegal substance would set a precedent that could allow

other illegal substances to be allowed, if they are proven to have benefi ts. It could also allow other illegal acts to be allowed, if it is proven that they were benefi cial to those affected. The legal system should not

allow such a confl ict to exist. I think it’s much simpler to say this is ille-gal or this is legal rather than saying this is illegal, except under the following conditions and in the following states assuming you

took the following steps in do-ing said illegal activity.

Medical marijuana is an unnecessary

complication of an al-

ready complicated legal system and it would be far better to say ei- ther it’s illegal or it’s legal.

I would say it is best to keep it illegal entirely. There are no benefi ts from legalization that can’t be found through other methods. The fact that it helps with certain medical conditions is something that could be duplicated through other means. The precedent it sets could prove to be a major headache in the current legal system and should be avoided at all costs.

Marijuana ignites debateLegalization causes more headaches than it cures

Kansas should cash in on the cropMICHAEL PIORISenior in Communication

Humanity’s long, often dysfunc-

tional relationship with cannabis sativa (Marijuana) dates back to at least 6000 B.C. when the Chinese fi rst discovered hemp seeds as a food source. The marijuana seed, which contains no THC (Tetra-hydro-Cannabinol), is the second highest in protein next

to the soybean. The Chinese, who caught on to the benefi ts of cannabis early, provide the

fi rst evidence of medical marijuana.

Cannabis medicinal properties owe their discovery to Emperor She-nong, also known as “The Devine Farmer,” revered for teaching both agricul-ture and medicine in

ancient China. Emperor

Shenong took it upon himself to personally taste hun-dreds of wild herbs

to test for their healing proper- ties. The results were published in The Divine Farmers Herb-root classic, which included a fl owery passage recommending cannabis as a “superior treatment for constipation, ‘female weakness,’ gout, malaria, rheumatism and absentmind-

edness.”Now, nearly 5000 years later, we

live in a culture that breathlessly ad-vertises beer and erection-pills during Sunday afternoon baseball games, but denies the sick and dying access to a healing herb!

When the issue of medical mari-juana reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 in Gonzalez V Raich, the majority ruled that a chronically ill woman, living in a state that had le-galized medical use of Cannabis, who was growing her own plant on her own property for her own personal consumption on doctor’s orders to help save her own life, was somehow engaged in “interstate commerce.” And so a supposedly conservative court allegedly inter- ested in upholding the idea of

“state’s rights,”

justifi ed invok-ing the Interstate Commerce Clause

of the Constitution to defend the federal

government’s policy of entering California

and enforcing the Con-trolled Substance Act – i.e.

arresting Angel Raich, who suffered from an inoperable brain

tumor at the time of the trial.Sixteen states and the District of

Columbia have approved legaliza-tion of medicinal marijuana use, but America still has the shameful distinc-tion of watching its family farmers go

broke in a country suffering from an obesity crisis.

Don’t be fooled, Marijuana although ille-gal, is the na-

tion’s No. 1 cash crop, creating an estimated $40

billion black market of untaxed and unregulated income for farmers of a more illicit disposition. Sixteen states have already approved medical mari-juana laws so far, despite occasional meddling from the federal govern-ment. More states will certainly join the list as voters increasingly express their preference for common sense and compassion over a heartless, inef-fective and never-ending war on some drugs and the people who use them!

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JESSICA SEWINGCollegio Writer

Nearly 150 sophomores from Pittsburg High School

ventured into the surrounding community to shadow differ-ent residents who had different professions. Many of the students made their way to Pitt State’s campus.

The severe storm on Feb. 28 caused the event to be postponed until March 17. Koeta Bryant, organizer of the event, says that there have previously been ice storms and snowstorms before the job shadow day, but never a windstorm on the day of the shadowing.

“I was fortunate to have an awesome group of committee members who placed calls to all of the businesses that they had contacted earlier to set up the new date,” Bryant said. “The only large participant who was unable to reschedule was Via Christi, so we placed those students at other

health job sites, such as Guest Home Estates, SEK Community Health and individual doctors.”

This is the 13th year that PHS sophomores have had the oppor-tunity to take a class called Focus. Focus is a life-skills class, where students research careers, work on job skills and budgeting. Bry-ant says the high school students visited 40 businesses. She says job shadowing began as a part of the Business Education Alliance, a committee of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, to help prepare students for the work place. Other events the group sponsors include mock interviews in the fall for juniors and seniors, and a Career Opportunities Day in January for all Crawford County schools.

“Job shadowing is important for high school students,” Bry-ant said. “It is a way for them to explore careers early so that they may enroll for classes that might be helpful to them for post-sec-ondary training.”

Nineteen members of the PSU campus hosted the sophomores. They ranged from Carrie Far-rington, nurse practitioner at the Student Health Center, to Jamie Brooksher, PSU general counsel. The admissions offi ce assisted the students in fi nding their shadow sites and providing lunch at Gib-son Dining Hall. Bryant says the Pittsburg community is encourag-ing and supportive of Job Shad-owing Day and many businesses like PSU, Via Christi, Pitsco, USD 250, the City of Pittsburg and others, have participated in the program for 10 or more years.

“We even send a few students to Frontenac and Girard business-es,” Bryant said. “The BEA has a committee of volunteers from the community who call and ask for hosts and they seldom get a ‘no.’ Through the participation of the community business, industry and professional community, we have been able to give our students an authentic workplace experience.”

PSU helps students prep for work place

Campus photographer Malcolm Turner instructs visiting Pittsburg High School sopho-more Merna Montelongo on how to set up studio shots. Montelongo was a participant of Job Shadow Day, which took place on Thursday, March 15.

Kenzi Jordan/Collegio

VAL VITACollegio Writer

A four-letter name has rapidly spread worldwide: Kony. Joseph Kony is a

Ugandan dictator, and his actions in his country have become a viral topic on social media sites for the last few weeks.

Tracey Fienen says she felt a strong sense of compassion after seeing a similar video in 2009. That video was made by the

Invisible Chil-dren group and was called “The Rescue,” which basical-ly exposed the same problem that has been occurring in Uganda for the last 20 years.

“My heart just felt for those kids and

I knew I had to do something,” said Fienen, senior in marketing. “I felt that I’m privi-leged being in the U.S. and having so much and those kids have nothing.”

She says she started to get involved with the Invisible Children events after seeing “The Rescue,” and when “Kony 2012” was released, Fienen says she decided to organize an event in Pittsburg. She hopes the event will spread awareness of Kony’s actions, and it will be called “Make Kony Famous in Pittsburg.” The event will take place on April 20.

“It’s an awareness event that will hap-pen in every city across the country to alert about the existence of Kony,” Fienen said. “This is taking what’s on the Internet into the real world.”

Knowledge of Kony and his actions in Uganda began spreading in the United States after Invisible Children pro-duced a short fi lm titled “Kony 2012.” As of Monday, March 26, the video had 86 million views.

The 28-minute documentary tells the drama of Ugandan kids, kidnapped by Kony who is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and the kids become sex slaves or soldiers.

Kony was practically unknown to most of the world before the video, and the goal of Invisible Children is to make Kony famous.

Shawnee Viets says she found out about the video through Facebook.

“When I fi rst saw the 30-minute video, I thought, ‘There is no way I am going to watch all of this,’” said Viets, junior in mar-keting. “But I was glad I did.”

She says that Invisible Children had a goal of reaching 500,000 views on You-Tube, but the subject caught a lot more attention than the group anticipated.

“Through this video, millions of people have been compelled to change by one of the rarest and valuable qualities in our hu-man spirit: compassion,” Viets said.

Amelia Rangel, another organizer of the event in Pittsburg, says she believes it will make a difference.

“I believe that an event like this can have an impact,” said Rangel, freshman in com-munication and graphic communications

management. “Pittsburg is small, but word-of-mouth is a huge thing, and PSU networks are all over the U.S.”

Rangel says she defi nitely isn’t taking this situation lightly.

“I took a Holocaust literature class in high school, and I made a trip to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C., an experience that made me want to stop any and all genocide from ever happening again,” Rangel said. “If Kony isn’t stopped, then I truly believe this situation in Uganda could be the next genocide.”

She says she knows that catching Kony will not end the problem in Uganda.

“He is not the only leader of the L.R.A., so to stop the L.R.A. requires stopping all of the leaders,” Rangel said. “I do believe if enough awareness is spread then Kony will be caught and punished.”

Curtis Thom, who plans to participate in the event, says that in today’s world of social media, people seem to be saturated with stories of various importance, scope and size.

“When someone watches a call-to-action documentary like this,” said Thom, gradu-ate student in communication, “they either choose to get involved right away or seem to let it go by the wayside, and some just don’t care.”

Thom says there seems to be a long-standing perception that young people in general are apathetic to world events.

“But, personally, I took a stake in this cause,” Thom said. “Because if even one person can put their efforts towards stopping these types of atrocities, then that is one step in the direction towards a world we are hop-ing to create.”

Genocide generates student involvement

Joseph Kony

SGA passes more fee increasesZACH WAGNERCollegio Reporter

Members of SGA intensely debated four proposed student fee bills before approving all of them. The increased fees will help in areas such as athletics and facility fees.

Most of the controversy centered on Resolution 11-38, a proposed $2 increase in the student activities fee.

Sen. Brandon Mills, a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, strongly opposed the bill. Mills cited the Fraternal Leadership Conference as a com-plete misuse of time and money for the student body.

“I think this is the biggest waste of student fees,” Mills said. “I think overall, the increase has good intentions. However, it is going to an event where I cannot see any benefi ts coming from.”

The FLC, which will occur at Pittsburg State next fall, is a weekend-long leadership training conference for Greek organizations at PSU. The event has been required for Greeks to attend since 2008, and costs $40,000, including $18,000 in student fees.

“It really is a PR stunt, and I think it’s actually raised more controversy for Greek organizations than there was before,” said Sen. Thomas Gregory. “It’s supposed to take away from this negative stigma, but I think in a way, it’s just adding problems.

Even after the debate, Resolution 11-38 was passed.

Resolution 11-36 proposed a $2 increase in Student Health Cen-ter fees, which would bring the total to $93 a semester. Eric Jones, SGA president, explained that the increase is due to increasing enroll-ment and overall student population creating more demand for Health Center services.

There was more opposition to resolution 11-37, which proposed a $5 increase for Athletic Fees, which would bring the total to $135 per semester.

“Increases in housing and tuition are what is driving this,” Jones said. “Increases in the amount of scholar-ship money is one of the big effects we’d see from this.”

Sen. Jeanine Kunshek raised op-position toward the resolution.

“I just think that we have enough money coming in from how well our sports teams have done in the past year,” Kunshek said. “With the fact that our football team won the national championship, and our girls basketball team did so well, we’re getting a lot of publicity.”

The resolution was eventually approved.

SGA will not be holding a meet-ing next week because President Steve Scott will communicate with members of the student body during a Presidential Q & A in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom next Wednesday.

March 29, 20127

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Journalist to speak on wrongful convictions

Rob Warden, an award-winning legal affairs journalist and executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern Univer-sity School of Law, will deliver a public lecture at Pittsburg State University at 11 a.m. Friday, March 30, in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom of the Over-man Student Center.

Warden’s appearance is sponsored by PSU social work students, who scheduled the event to coincide with the appearance of Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States” Friday evening and with the “Dead Man Walking” Theater production April 26-29.

Warden, originally from Carthage, Mo., was an investigative reporter, foreign correspondent and editor at the Chicago Daily News before founding the Chicago Lawyer magazine in 1978. As editor and publisher of the magazine during the 1980s, Warden exposed many wrongful convictions in Illinois, including cases in which six innocent men had been sentenced to death.

Warden has won more than 50 journalism awards, including the Medill School of Journal-ism’s John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism, two American Civil Liberties Union James McGuire Awards, fi ve Peter Lisagor Awards from the Society of Professional Journal-ists, and the Norval Morris Award from the Illinois Academy of Criminology. In 2003, he was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.

He is co-author, with Steven A. Drizin, of “True Stories of False Confessions,” and with David Prot-ess, of “A Promise of Justice” on the pardons of the Ford Heights Four, and “Gone in the Night,” on the reversal of David Dowaliby’s conviction.

Warden will meet students and the public at 9 a.m. in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom before the Phi Alpha social work award ceremony at 10 a.m.

He will autograph copies of his books following his 11 a.m. presentation. Warden’s books are available at the PSU Bookstore and at the lecture.

‘Dead Man’ author to speak

The PSU Performing Arts and Lecture Series will conclude its season at 7 p.m. Friday, March 30, at Memorial Auditorium with a lecture by Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States.” Admission to the lecture is free but tickets are required. Tickets are available at the PSU Ticket Offi ce in the Overman Student Center or at the door the evening of the event. Seating is general admission. For more information, call Campus Activities at 235-4795.

Spring Fling registration

Two informational meetings for the Spring Fling end-of-the-year celebration are scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday, April 2, and Tuesday, April 3, in the Prairie Room in the Overman Student Center. Organiza-tions interested in participating in Spring Fling must attend one of these meetings to register. If unable to attend one of the meetings, e-mail jamessmithgraph-ics@gmail.com or williamrhodes@gus.pittstate.edu.

Easter egg hunt SundayThe Student Activities Council is planning an

Easter egg hunt from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 1, in the Oval. In addition to hunting eggs, children may play games and have their photos taken with the Easter bunny. The event is free and open to children under 12. For more information, call 235-4791.

Poetry reading todayThe PSU English Department is holding a poetry

reading by Elizabeth Bradfi eld at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the Governors Room of the Overman Student Center. A reception will follow the reading.

Graduation regalia All deans, directors and chairs who are planning

to participate in the May commencement ceremony and need to order rental regalia are asked to contact Fawn Chesnutt at fchesnut@pittstate.edu or 235-4875. Orders need to specify the items needed, like cap, gown, tassel and hood. If ordering for the fi rst time, degree, fi eld of study or major, institution name, institution city and state, and approximate height and weight need to be included. Orders need to be placed by Friday, April 6.

Sabbatical Showcase Thursday

Paul Morris will be giving a presentation titled “Learning How to Facilitate an Effective Veterans Writing Workshop and How to Become a Man in America” at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in 332A Hartman Hall as a part of the Spring Sabbatical Showcase. Those planning to attend the presen-tation are asked to RSVP to Treva Sherman at tsherman@pittstate.edu or 235-4840 by Wednesday, April 4.

Canvas workshops available

Registration is now open for twice-daily work-shops about Canvas to be held April 2 through May 4. The entire training agenda and signup for the workshops is available at www.pittstate.edu/offi ce/tltcenter/canvas/workshops.dot. Seating is limited to 20 for each session.

Nurse Career Day today Senior students from high schools in Kansas and

Missouri will learn more about careers in nursing when the Department of Nursing holds Nursing Career Day from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the McPherson Nursing Education Building. In the morning, students rotate among six

stations that focus on vital signs and blood pres-sure, IV insertions, giving injections, wound care, sterile gowning and gloving and realistic medical simulations in the department’s simulation lab.

After lunch, students participate in a panel discussion and they conclude the day’s activities with a trivia game based on questions related to the information they received during the day.

Organizers say one of their goals is to give students with an interest in nursing a peek at some of the tasks nurses perform.

For more information, call the Department of Nursing at 235-4431.

Indian color festival Saturday

The Indian Student Association (ISA) will mark Holi, the spring Festival of Colors, with a free public celebration from noon until 3 p.m. Saturday, March 31, in Gorilla Village.

Holi is a Hindu festival observed at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month and is a celebration of the victory of good over evil.

One feature of the celebration is that participants throw colored powder and colored water at each other. For that reason, organizers urge participants to wear old clothes.

For information about the Pittsburg event, call Vedant Dhruv at 386-847-6019 or Hruturaj Vartak at 620-719-8190.

Ensemble performance Friday

The PSU 2011-2012 Solo and Chamber Music Series will conclude with a performance by PRIZM Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, in Mc-Cray Recital Hall. Tickets are available at the PSU Ticket Offi ce and are free to PSU students, $12 for the general public and $8 for persons over 65 or under 18. For more information, call the Depart-ment of Music at 235-4466.

Organization Name Allocated AmountAccounting Association 82.21Alpha Sigma Alpha 431.23American Foundry Society 393.31American Society of Safety Engineers 413.86Anime Club 67.63Apex Percussion 363.09Associated General Contractors 373.97Beta Alpha Psi 362.31Biology Club 395.73Black Student Association 365.50Campus Christians 432.00Chemistry Club 417.93Chinese Culture Club 327.57Circle K 373.31College Republicans 412.27Fellowship of Christian Athletes 382.43Finance Club 417.93Formula SAE 396.94French Club 90.98Future Educators Association 192.23Gorilla Moonbuggy Team 315.55Gorilla Radio 362.34Gorilla Street Kings 216.11Gorillahead Rugby 416.28Gorillas For Concealed Carry on Campus 383.64Gorillas Out of Bounds 198.47Graphic Arts Club 99.30HHPR 421.55Hispanics of Today 379.24Honors College Association 386.49IEEE 257.55Indian Student Association 390.89Inst. of Internal Auditors Student Chapter 186.60

Interfraternal Council 424.75International Interior Design Association 388.09International Society of Automation 206.97International Student Association 255.82Justice Studies Student Association 356.57Kan. Assoc. of Family and Consumer Sc. 412.03Kansas Association of Nursing Students 409.46Kappa Delta Pi 70.12Korean Student Association 374.65Lambda Chi Alpha 212.54Lambda Sigma 360.90MBA Association 276.73Mechanical Contractors Association 386.88Mini Baja 405.40National Association of Homebuilders 371.99Omicron Delta Kappa 202.10Panhellenic Council 422.76Phi Mu Alpha 344.95Phi Sigma Kappa 282.91Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Chapter 380.84Phi Upsilon Omicron 452.17Pi Kappa Alpha 405.84Paintball Club 403.42Pitt State Rock Climbing Club 399.79Pitt State Tennis Club 355.45Pitt State Gay-Straight Alliance 255.78Pitt State TOMS Campus Club 318.52Pre-Dental Club 154.50Pre-Health Volunteers 390.89Pre-Med Club 413.86Pre-Physical Therapy Club 245.56PSU Dance Club 376.39PSU Film Club 390.12PSU Marketing Association 228.73

PSU Robotics Club 216.89Residence Hall Assembly 318.79Saudi Student Association 450.57Sigma Phi Epsilon 386.06Sigma Tau Delta 263.18Sigma Tau Gamma 219.36Skills USA 342.53Social Work Plus 215.20Society of Architectural Woodworkers 413.09Society of Automotive Engineers 194.84Society of Physics Students 354.24Society of Plastics Engineers 384.85Society of Women in Engineering Tech. 402.21Student Association of Broadcasters 414.30Student Association of Photographers 391.72Students in Free Enterprise 438.87Technology Education Collegiate Assoc. 411.88To Write Love on Her Arms 385.28Ultimate Freesbie 135.25University Art Association 375.55 TOTAL: $28,758.58 Amount to be Allocated Original Amount Allocated $25,000.00+ Amount Carried over from Fall Semester

$3,760.13Total to be Allocated this Semester $28,760.13

SGA dispursment of spring allocations

P I T T S B U R G S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

theCOLLEGIO

SPORTS

Fondfarewell“Being a part of the Pitt State women’s basketball team was a great experience. My coaches and teammates are amazing. They have helped to shape me into a better individual on and off the basketball court. I am highly blessed to be a part of the Pitt State family.”

Brook ConleySenior Forward

“Coming to Pitt was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I got the opportunity to meet new people, a great community and was able to create and share memories with my teammates.”

Larissa RichardsSenior Forward

“What we have accomplished was not easy. It takes a strong and hard work ethic, and the 2011-2012 women’s Pitt State team did just that. I’m glad to say I was part of this legacy. We have come a long way and at the end we broke countless records, and did something no other Pitt State women’s basketball team has ever done.”

Britnee FosterSenior Guard

“Pitt State has been an amazing experience that I will remember forever, both on and off the court. I couldn’t ask for better teachers, fans, coaches and teammates. Reaching the Elite Eight this year topped it all off right. Once a Gorilla, always a Gorilla.”

Amanda OrloskeSenior Guard

“I had a good experience with my team this year, and we established a brotherhood bond. I met some guys that I will know and have a good relationship for the rest of my life. That’s a great advantage of being a part of an organization; you can build relationships.”

Drake GreenSenior Guard

“Upon graduating as a fi fth-year senior in this program, I can honestly say that I have experienced fi rsthand the true meaning of progress, both on and off the court. With that being said, graduating with a Master’s degree speaks just as loud as ending my basketball career as a Regional Champion.”

Courtney TateSenior Guard

Riding high on 8-game winning streak

TYLER SMITHSports Writer

The Pittsburg State University men’s golf team was busy over Spring Break, tying for 11th out of 18 schools competing at the Midwestern State invitational on March 20. The Gorillas shared the spot with MIAA rival Missouri Western State University and Dallas Baptist University.

Sophomore Brett Dowell led the Goril-las. The Shawnee native shot a round of 73 (38-35) to tie for third, while Tyler Gast led Missouri Western with scores of 38 and 36 to fi nish the round with 74.

The sophomore was pleased by his performance, but he believes they still have much to work on as a team.

“We all need to work on our short game because that is where most of our strokes come from,” Dowell said.

Dowell says he thinks the team needs to fi nd a way to win, even when it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

“We also need to learn how to grind out some rounds,” Dowell said. “Because even

if you are playing bad, your score could still contribute.”

Also shooting well for the Gorillas was freshman Justice Valdivia, who fi nished with a score of 79 (39-40). The freshman was pretty critical of his performance, although he said they played hard.

“I didn’t play as well as I would have liked,” Valdivia said. “It was a real grind-it-out type of day, and we all hung in there as best as we could.”

Valdivia says that their main focus is on the conference play later this year, and they are working hard to make sure they reach their goal.

“We have progressed slowly,” Valdivia said. “Our goal is just to get our games tuned by the time conference gets here. That is what’s most important to us.”

Senior Garret Fowler also carded a 79 (38-41) to tie with Valdivia for 55th place.

Other players chipping in for the Gorillas were junior Cole Murrin, who fi nished with a score of 80 (41-39), and senior Bren Fisher had a round of 87 (43-44).

Valdivia credits his team’s success with

their coach’s ability to keep things fresh and interesting for the team.

“He has really just helped us to stay posi-tive and always encourages us to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Valdivia said about coach Matt Brock. “From the morning workouts to the practices, he has been a really good motivator for all of us.”

Pitt State, along with Missouri Western, Dallas Baptist and Newman University, had a team score of 311 strokes in the shared spot just behind Northeastern State Univer-sity who had a team score of 308, to snag seventh place. Three other teams also tied for seventh, as Nebraska-Omaha, Arkansas-Fort Smith and Rogers State University all shot 308.

Next up for the Gorillas is the Arkan-sas Tech Classic, which will be held at the Chamberlyne Country Club in Danville, Ark. Other notable matchups ahead are the MIAA championships at Paradise Pointe Golf Club in Smithville, Mo., as well as the NCAA Super-Regionals and NCAA championship, which will be held in Louisville, Ky.

Shortstop Amanda Decastro rolls through second base after hitting a solo homerun Saturday, March 24, against Missouri Southern.

Photos by /William Ravenstein

AMELIA MALLATTSports Writer

The Pittsburg State University softball team won all four of its games over the weekend against Emporia State and two more on Wednesday, March 28, pushing its winning streak to eight games.

PSU started the MIAA portion of its season strong by defeating the North-west Missouri Bearcats at home on Saturday, March 24, in a doubleheader. The Gorillas defeated the Bearcats 8-2 and 15-7 in six innings.

Northwest Missouri batted fi rst and took a 2-0 lead on a home run hit by Kristen Uthe. Pitt didn’t fl inch, closing the gap with a solo homer by Mannie DeCastro. DeCastro’s homer was the fi rst of 10 for the Gorillas on the day.

PSU scored again in the bottom of the third. Tiffany Brown and Kreslee Ketcham each grabbed a perfect pitch and knocked out home runs, making the score 5-2.

PSU grabbed its last three runs in the bottom of the fourth, and the Bearcats never scored again in the fi rst game. Northwest committed multiple errors, and DeCastro came to bat with the bases loaded when she cranked her sec-ond double of the day, this one to right fi eld, that knocked in all three runners. Neither team scored again and the game ended in an 8-2 Gorilla victory.

DeCastro fi nished the game three-for-three with two doubles, a home run, fi ve RBI and two runs scored.

The second game against the

Bearcats was just like the fi rst. The game started off with Northwest taking the lead on a homer by Hailee Hen-dricks, and Pitt battled back with a homer from Cheslyn Mitchell. Mitch-ell’s homer landed in the right-fi eld bleachers.

The teams battled back and forth with strong hits and home runs.

PSU added fi ve runs on six hits including four homers in the second inning. Three rapid fi re home runs from DeCastro, Brown and Ketcham made the score 7-2. The Bearcats didn’t stand down, though, as catcher Kayli Schur-man hit a three-run home run in the top of the third that closed the gap to 7-5.

PSU continued to have success at the plate in the fourth and sixth in-nings. In the fourth, DeCastro smacked another homer with two runners on, and Pitt added its fi nal fi ve runs in the sixth, thanks to another home run from Brown. The Gorillas took the second game 15-7.

The Gorillas added two more wins in conference play against Truman on Sunday, March 25. The Gorillas won the fi rst game 3-2 and took the second by a score of 10-2. The team tallied 19 hits in the two games.

PSU started the fi rst game with a 2-0 lead by the end of the second. Truman closed the gap in the next two innings by moving runners around with some extra base hits and tied the game at 2-2.

The score stayed at 2-2 until the bottom of the seventh inning when PSU pounced on two Truman errors. Brenna George reached on an error and

she advanced to second after a sacrifi ce bunt by Mitchell. DeCastro popped out to the fi rst baseman, but George’s speed helped her beat an errant throw to third and she took off for home, scoring the winning run for PSU. The Gorillas won 3-2.

Truman started the second game with a 1-0 lead over the Gorillas. PSU tied the score, but Truman quickly retook the lead at 2-1.

The Gorillas battled back in the bot-tom of the third, scoring nine runs on nine hits, including three doubles, one each from Brown, George and Kayla Sears. The other Gorillas hit a few singles to bring in the base runners for PSU’s fourth win of the weekend.

The Gorilla women were able to rattle off two more victories during their short road trip to Joplin on March 28 against perennial rival, Missouri South-ern State University.

PSU won the fi rst with an equally dominating attack from the defense and offense. Hilary Erbert picked up the win for the Gorillas, allowing one run in seven innings while striking out fi ve. Breanna George and Manny Decastro hit home runs to spark the offense to a 7-1 victory.

The Gorillas scored seven runs in the second game as well, allowed two runs to come across as Jessica Barnes picked up her third win of the season. Tiffany Brown and Devon McCreath homered to bring the team’s home run total on the day to four and kept the win-streak alive.

Sophomore Tiffany Brown is congratulated as she approaches home after hitting a three-run homer-un, giving the Gorillas a 4-2 lead Saturday, March 23.

Short game keeping the Gorillas in the rough

Daniel Marsh chips a shot during the Pitt State Invitational held at Crestwood Country Club in Chicopee on Monday, Sept. 12.

File Photo

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TYLER SMITHSports Writer

The Gorilla baseball team had a tough two-game series against the Missouri Southern Lions as PSU was swept by MSSU at Joe Becker Stadium on Tuesday, March 27.

“MSSU pitched us tough, and we were unable to capi-talize in some RBI situations that could have swung either game in our favor,” said Adam Reed. “We just need to work on executing better and driving in runs in two-out situations.”

Austin Lastimado says he thinks they have the abil-ity to win these games, but they just need to be sure to get something positive out of it, such as appreciating the pitching performance of Matt Stalcup.

“I felt like we didn’t play to our potential,” Lastimado said. “We had many opportu-nities to take the lead in the fi rst game, and Matt Stalcup pitched a gem. He deserved to get the win.”

Lastimado was one for two with the only Gorilla RBI in the fi rst game of the doubleheader. Stalcup al-lowed only two earned runs while walking two batters and striking out two.

Missouri Southern’s Cody Greibling gave up four hits and an unearned run en route to the Lions’ 2-1 victory over the Gorillas. Although Pitt State fought hard and tried to get itself back into the game, it just wasn’t enough to over-come the conference rival.

Despite the mid-season slump, Lastimado says the team is positive about what lies ahead of them.

“The team feels pretty confi dent,” Lastimado said. “The standings are really close this season, so we have faith that we could still make the conference tournament.”

The outcome was the same in the second game, but the fi nal score was much different. Pitt State had

more offense but it still lost 15-10. A late rally wasn’t enough for the Gorillas. PSU had two successful innings, scoring three in the fi fth and two in the sixth but it wasn’t enough.

The team is making the adjustments, though, and they will have plenty of time to get things going before the MIAA tournament.

“Although the score doesn’t refl ect it, I was proud of how our team played in the second game,” Reed said. “It’s tough to lose such a close fi rst game in a double-header, and then have the opposing team jump out to an early lead.”

Reed says they never con-sidered quitting even though most teams would have given up when trailing by 10.

“Trailing by 10 runs at one point, it would have been real easy to just roll over and go home,” Reed said. “But our guys hung in there, had good at-bats and brought us back within fi ve.”

Next up for the Gorillas is Southwest Baptist Univer-sity.

“We feel that they’re like any other team we play,” Lastimado said. “Every team in our conference is good, but beatable.”

The Gorillas are just below .500 and stand 8-6 in the MIAA. There is still a lot of baseball to be played, though, and PSU has plenty of time to get things going before the MIAA and the NCAA championships.

“We feel good about the second half of the season,” Reed said. “At this point in the conference anything can happen, and these losses will serve as motivation to get us back on track this weekend.”

PSU plays Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., on March 30-31. The Bearcats are 1-7 in the MIAA and 1-9 overall.

Lions swipe two from Gorillas GARETT MCCULLOUGH

Sports Editor

The 2011-12 Women’s bas-ketball season began with high expectations for the Gorillas, from both within the program and from the community. The Gorillas had established themselves as contend-ers in the MIAA over the last two seasons under head coach Lane Lord. Now it’s safe to say that those expectations were met.

“We have been hanging around third or fourth in the conference, which is the best conference in the country, these past two years,” Lord said. “We had high expecta-tions, but to get to the Elite Eight exceeded them all.”

The players knew the season could be special from the begin-ning, thanks to a few variables and a record-setting start to the season.

“Our coaches prepared us well and we had great team chemistry,” said MIAA Freshman of the Year Lizzy Jeronimus.

The Gorillas broke two team records with a win over rival Mis-souri Southern State. The win broke the 11-game win streak, set by the 1991-92 team, and it was the best start to a season in school history. During that span the women broke three other records in a 111-45 victory over Harris-Stowe State on Nov. 26. The 66-point margin of victory set a record, as did the 111 points scored by the Gorillas. They also set the record for most fi eld goals made (47) in the same game.

Heartache into courage

Tragedy also struck during their season-opening winning streak, when junior shooting guard Dew Roberts’ father lost his fi ght with cancer on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Roberts was given time off to deal with her loss, but she still found time to help propel the Gorillas to victory against Central Missouri State the following Sunday.

“I think our kids really rallied around Drew,” Lord said. “I thought they really came together when that happened back in December. She sees the players as her sisters and she really relied on the team and coaches. She handled it unbeliev-ably.”

Cooling down

The wimen won two more games after setting the record for most consecutive wins to continue the best start in the program history before No. 17 Washburn stopped the streak at 14 games on Jan. 11.

“I knew we were gonna be special, but not the extent of it,” said sophomore point guard Alexa Bordewick.

The Gorillas lost their second game of the season a week after falling to Washburn against North-eastern State of Oklahoma.

Heating back upThe team was able to right the

ship, however, and strung together an eight-game win streak. Pitt State set another record during that streak on Feb. 15 by winning its 23rd game of the season, eclipsing the 22-game mark set by the 1981-82, the 1991-92 and the 1994-95 teams. Success had arrived, but that didn’t mean it was easy.

“It’s amazing,” Lord said. “I don’t think we had the most tal-ented team ever, but we had the best team ever. Everyone bought into their roles and we had great team chemistry.”

The Gorillas were already in the discussion as the best team in the program’s history by this point, but stumbled a bit before the NCAA Tournament. They suffered a second loss to Washburn, followed

by a surprise defeat at the hands of Fort Hays State University. It was the only losing streak on the Goril-las’ season. The fi nal game was against the No. 8 Northeastern State Riverhawks, who had beaten the Gorillas earlier in the season. PSU was able to pull the win out, thanks to some last-minutes heroics from Roberts and senior Brooke Conley.

The Gorillas went into the MIAA Tournament with confi dence, but were knocked out by the No. 7 seeded Lincoln University Blue Tigers.

“We went into the game a little too cocky and it cost us,” Jeronimus said.

After the game coach Lord said that there were “no tears in the locker room,” and the women were instead ready to use the loss in preparation for the NCAA Tourna-ment. The eight-team regional bracket consisted of fi ve MIAA teams. As fate would have it, the Gorillas’ path to the Elite Eight would be through MIAA foes.

The NCAA Tournament

In the fi rst game, against the University of Central Missouri Mules, the Gorillas pulled out a 74-70 victory after blowing a 19-point halftime lead. The Gorillas started slow in the following game against Northeastern State, but they

gained the lead with eight minutes left in the game and never looked back. PSU won the game 68-54 and would face the winner of the game between Washburn and the Emporia State Hornets. Coach Lord knew the fi nal obstacle to the Elite Eight wasn’t going to be handed to his team no matter the opponent.

“They are both just unbelievably coached,” Lord said. “They both are just really solid and have good post players.”

The Hornets where victorious over Washburn, which meant the Gorillas were to play a team it had swept in the regular season, instead of a team that had swept PSU. The game was a tale of two halves. The Gorillas didn’t lead once in the fi rst half, which ended with the Hornets on top 32-31. Jeronimus had 19 of the Gorillas’ fi rst half points, but the rest of the team woke up for the second half of the game. Bordewick gave PSU the lead 15 seconds into the second half and the women led the entire second half, coming away with a 79-67 victory.

The Gorillas’ run ended the next week when they fell to the eventual champions, the Shaw University Bears 61-58. The Gorillas surpassed all expectations for the 2011-12 season, but one Gorilla knows that won’t be enough next season.

“I think being there and seeing what the Elite Eight teams were like has made us even hungrier,” Bordewick said.

Moving forwardFive seniors were on the squad

for the 2011-12. Conley and Lar-issa Richards started most games throughout the season, but Courtney Tate, Britnee Foster and Amanda Orloske all had the admiration of their coach.

“I thought all fi ve of our seniors were amazing,” Lord said.

Roberts and Lauren Brown will be returning as seniors to lead the Gorillas’ charge next season, along with the underclassmen Jeronimus and Bordewick. After setting the most wins in a season with 27 as well as the fewest losses in a season with six, the Gorillas will have high expectations going into the 2012-13 season.

“I think with the success of the 2011-12 season, it sets us up for more success,” Lord said. “We have a great nucleus.”

Above and beyond greatness

Photo courtesy of Carla Wehmeyer

JEN RAINEYCollegio Reporter

Many students spend their free time listening to music but some, like Kyle Brown, have taken to playing it out-side of the classroom.

“Playing onstage is the most visceral feeling I’ve ever experienced,” said Brown, senior in communication. “When there are thousands of eyes watching your every movement, thousands of watts worth of lighting illumi-nating your face, in that moment, you feel like a true rock star.”

Brown is the rhythm guitarist for the southern-rock band, Burning Tide. There are three other Pittsburg State students in the band: Roxi Quinn (bass/vocals), junior in graphic design; Wayne King (drums), freshman in com-munication and Connor Askren (lead guitar), freshman in engineering. Though they consider themselves to be from Kansas City, they say they have temporarily relocated to Pittsburg.

“Fortunately the entire band moved to Pittsburg last semester to avoid the complication that created separa-tion,” Brown said. “It’s still diffi cult to fi gure out logistics such as where the equipment will be stored, where we will practice, who is going to drive, etc.”

Brown says that Burning Tide plays shows nearly ev-ery weekend in Kansas City. However, the band has also played at Bubba’s 311 Club in Pittsburg and they spent Spring Break in Los Angeles, where they performed at the legendary “Whiskey A-Go-Go.” Brown says they are scheduled to play at “Rocklahoma,” the rock music festi-val that occurs every summer in Pryor, Okla., and features artists like Rob Zombie. Brown says he wants to focus on music and school, but juggling both can be diffi cult.

“In Kansas City, we sit on top of the music scene,” Brown said. “Everyone knows our names and wants to be around us, drink with us, get autographs from us, etc. One of the most frustrating feelings in the world is com-ing home to Pittsburg and realizing that few people even know my name, let alone my accomplishments. I simply

try to do the best I can to put aside events of the previous weekend and continue learning.”

Sam Bruch, singer for R.O.R., also believes that it is diffi cult fi nding a balance between music and school.

“Time and getting everyone together to practice is the most dif-fi cult part about being in school and a band,” said Bruch, sophomore in creative writing. “Not to mention fi nd-ing a place in town to practice without getting the cops called on us.”

Bruch says R.O.R. is a garage-punk band originally from La Cygne, and relocated to Pittsburg because most of the members are students at PSU. The band also features Chuck Breedlove (lead guitar), sophomore in electron-ics, John Anson (bass), undeclared freshman, Matt Olson (drums), fresh-man in chemistry, and Dalton Gainer (rhythm guitar), freshman in art. Bruch says the band members have played together since their freshman year of high school and write most of their own music.

“Our inspirations come from the teenage angst and girl problems any guy in their early-20s, with four basic chords, would draw their inspiration from,” Burch said.

Dead Eye, an all-female band that mixes rock, blue-grass and folk, formed after some students heard about the annual Pitt State’s Got Talent. The band features Megan McCoy (cello, lead vocals and bass), sophomore in music performance; Jenna McCarty (banjo and vocals), senior in nursing; Jennifer Murphy (saxophone), senior in music performance and Samantha Mahon (electric/acoustic guitar), junior in music education. Their music is mostly comprised of originals written by McCoy and Mc-Carty. However, they do have a few covers thrown in. For

most of the band members, music is a constant. “For me and the girls (minus Jenna), music is school,”

Rea said. “We keep our practices late at night and assign days in advance for when we want to practice. We’re very organized.”

The band plays Pittsburg frequently, often appearing at Fat Daddy’s open mic nights on Thursdays. They’ve also performed at Chatters, Student Activities Council gigs and have an upcoming performance at a fraternity house in Pittsburg. They’ve played in Kansas City at the Aftershock, as well.

“I love playing music and sharing it with people,” Mahon said. “I also love that a lot of my friends are either musicians, or big time into music. So, it’s always a good time.”

TODD MILLERCollegio Reporter

Book Rating:

Movie Rating:

To the excitement of its fans, “The Hunger Games” was released last week in theaters. The movie fares comparably to the book as each is centered on Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). Katniss is a teenage girl who lives in a future world where North America has been replaced with a new capital, Panem, and 12 sur-rounding districts. The rulers initiated an annual competition called The Hunger Games after a failed rebellion by the districts. Each district sends one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete in The Hunger Games, but only one will be living when it is fi nished.

Katniss’ younger sister Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) was chosen as the female representative for District 12, but Katniss volunteers to take her place alongside the male tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson.)

Overall, the book was entertaining, though I feel it was made longer than it needed to be. There were times when the narrator (Katniss), would become deeply introspective over the condition of the world. At times this was important for the plot, but there were other times where it added little to the story, and I wanted to shout at her to get on with it.

In the book, it often felt like bad things happened for the sake of having a bad thing happen. I knew the “Game Mak-ers” were out to make the competition entertaining, but some of the challenges Katniss faced felt contrived. Bad things are going to happen, but the reader needs a little breathing room from one event to the next.

This makes the climax of the book feel no more important than any other part. Almost every event felt like it could’ve been the fi nal event and it would’ve had the same effect. This causes a lack of

resolution in the book. The ending is rushed and simply fi nishes with “End of Book One,” which I feel makes the author seem lazy and conceited. There’s no real benefi t in reading the book since most of the tension isn’t relieved so the author can sell the sequels.

I still think the book was a decent read, despite its issues

The movie was also entertaining even though it wasn’t the greatest thing I’d ever seen. The movie has the same problem as the book; everything after the climax is rushed, and the ending comes before I

realized what had happened. However, the movie handled the sequel hook better than the book. There is clear, falling action and it has some resolution to the story that gives a clear indication of more being afoot, without making the audience feel cheated out of a proper resolution.

The movie also rushed through the fi rst act far too quickly. The book spent equal time on the pre-Games and the Games themselves, but the movie is dispropor-tionate. The movie shows so little of Katniss around her home that it’s almost un-noteworthy, other than being the char-acter’s entire backstory.

The movie also seemed to rely on the audience having knowledge of the book. There were several points where things were mentioned and not explained. I would’ve had no idea what they were talking about if I hadn’t read the book fi rst. There were also many more subtle things that were completely overlooked without knowledge of the book.

I gave the book and the movie equal ratings, although the book is superior. The movie is a classic case of “the book was better.” Although the movie was entertaining to watch and done well, there’s just more in the book that makes it better. While the book has a fi rst-person narrative from Katniss’ point-of-view, the movie completely drops this narrative voice and suffers for it. Without looking at things from Katniss’ perspective, every-thing loses its importance or clear expla-nation. The scriptwriters tried to explain things from outside Katniss’ perspective, to allow some room to hook in the sequel, but I think the movie would’ve been better without it. Without getting into Kat-niss’ head like the book does, many things lose their importance. For example, when someone dies it just doesn’t have the same impact as it did in the book. This causes the climax of the fi lm to suffer greatly when we feel there isn’t a threat from the only tribute left opposing Katniss.

Yes the book is better, but don’t let that keep you from seeing the movie, especial-ly if you are a fan of the book. The fi lm is done well and defi nitely worth seeing.

The only other complaint I have with the movie is that Panem could’ve been designed with more grandeur and beauty.

TODD MILLERCollegio Reporter

Rating:

It’s a wonderful surprise when a movie looks like it will be terrible but ends up better than expected. That doesn’t mean “21 Jump Street” was good; it just wasn’t horrible.

The movie is a loose sequel to the late ‘80s/early ‘90s show of the same name. Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) hated each other in high school, but they become close friends in police training when they recognize the other’s skills. After they gradu-ate, though, they fi nd their job is less exciting than they expected. When an arrest goes wrong, they get transferred to 21 Jump Street, which is a special police squad of youthful cops who go undercover in high schools and colleges. They are sent to their old high school to fi nd the supplier of a new synthetic drug before it spreads to other campuses.

The best thing about this mov-ie is that the writers didn’t try too hard to be funny. The jokes and gags came across naturally and didn’t feel forced. I was able to laugh at the comedy instead of thinking about how poor it was, something that has become commonplace in recent comedy fi lms. The writers weren’t afraid to mix different forms of com-edy, either. In addition to spoken and visual jokes, there was some good physical comedy and a little meta-humor throughout the plot from Schmidt and Jenko’s pre-transfer captain.

The plot (stopping drug use in high school) isn’t entirely original. However, the fi lm isn’t heavy-handed on the issue, and manages to keep the story fresh enough that it remained entertaining. This was also a drawback as the movie was too constant on that front. It didn’t become gradually more interest-ing as it approached the climax and felt more like a TV show than a movie. A TV show can pull that off because it only has to fi ll 30 minutes to an hour, but “21 Jump Street” is a feature-length movie and this makes the fi lm feel like it drags on too much. The creators had the right idea but the wrong medium.

I also feel like there wasn’t enough development of the two main characters. There were plenty of opportunities for both of them to grow as people and learn from their past mistakes, especially when they gain a role reversal while undercover in the high school. The movie hints at this, but I don’t feel like they reached that point. This plot point just dies out because the characters are too shallow to let it happen.

The movie had trouble with pacing as well. The beginning was rushed to the point that it felt worthless. They would’ve done better to disperse it throughout the fi lm. The movie then goes through points of moving too quickly or too slowly. It felt like the scenes were there for the sake of a set of jokes and the fi lm then rushed to the next scene and set of jokes. While many fi lms do this sparingly, “21 Jump Street” has a bit too much of it and becomes tiresome quickly. This is probably why the fi lm feels too consistent, with no rising invest-ment in the plot.

Overall, I’d say give “21 Jump Street” a chance. It pulls off the comedy aspect somewhat well, even if the movie starts to feel rather bland somewhere through the middle.

10 March 29, 2012

Jumping expectations

‘Games’ leave fans hungry for more

The Hunger Games

21 Jump Street

Pittsburg State’s Deadeye performs on Thursday, March 15, in the Oval.

Pittsburg State’s own local band Deadeye performs on Thurs-day, March 15, in the Oval. Deadeye won an Open Mic Night for the chance to open for Jay Nash.

Julie Huston/Collegio

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Bands balance school, passion