the houstonian

6
“El Movimiento” Huntsville, Texas Vol 114 — Issue 17 Tuesday, October 20, 2009 INDEX Opinions................page 2 Campus................page 3 Entertainment........page 5 Sports....................page 6 WHAT’S ON THE WEB FEATURE PRESENTATION Entertainment editor Kevin Jukkola reviews the movie Where the Wild Things Are. SEE page 5 Visit our website to participate in our latest poll or post your comments on the stories in this issue at houstonianonline.com! Nation & World...page 4 UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT Filling a new position anks to the tremendous growth of SHSU, the University Police Department has created a brand new position to enforce, instruct parking David Kapalko has been appointed the new assis- tant director for parking and transportation for SHSU’s department of Public Safety. This position is new and was created because of the re- cent growth of the Universi- ty; Kapalko is the first officer to take on the responsibility. “This position was created to better manage the park- ing resources available on campus and to help develop and maintain a transportation system to be implemented in the very near future,” Chief Kevin Morris said. “This position will oversee all aspects of the Parking & Transportation Office (Park- ing Permits, Administrative Parking Citations, Parking Rules & Regulations, and Transportation).” Kapalko has a B.S. in Law Enforcement and Correc- tions from Penn State. He went from being a Univer- sity Police Officer to a Uni- versity Parking Manager, which was fairly common at the time. He has since served as a Manager or Director of Parking and Transportation at several universities, in- cluding UT-Austin. He also worked as a parking consul- tant for a Parking Planning and Engineering firm for three years. “Mr. Kapalko was chosen due to his prior experience in Parking & Transportation Systems on university cam- puses. In addition, he brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts from throughout the country,” Chief Morris said. In his new position, Ka- palko plans to improve com- munication with students and begin developing a new transportation system. “I hope to solicit more feed- back from our customers, and implement new tech- nology where appropriate to improve customer service,” Kapalko said. By Kristin Meyer Senior Reporter Building a reputation. Working hard at his desk, new assistant director for parking, David Kapalko, takes control. UPD created the position because of the recent growth of SHSU. e new position will oversee park- ing permits, administrative parking citations, parking rules and regulations, and transportation. Krystal Jackson | The Houstonian e Sam Houston State University Alumni Association will sponsor a charter bus to the Stephen F. Austin football game in Nacogdo- ches on Oct. 24. e bus will depart Bowers Stadium parking lot at 10 a.m. Tailgating will begin at noon. e trip package includes bus transporta- tion, game ticket, and tailgate food and drinks. e cost of the package is $40 per person. Reservations are requested by Oct. 21 and can be made by calling the Office of Alumni Relations at 936.294.1841 or going online at alumni.shsu.edu. For more information, contact Brigitte Peres, Alumni Association alumni/events coordina- tor, at [email protected] or 936.294.4123. Attention Bearkats -SHSU Public Relations They’re educated, they’re motivated, and they want you. The College of Educa- tion Ambassadors are nine of Sam Houston’s own Ed- ucation majors and minors seeking potential individu- als with the passion of pur- suing a career in education. Brandi Kelly, coordinator for the College of Education Ambassadors, has dedicat- ed the remainder of the Fall 2009 semester to bringing in new members as well as gaining exposure for the or- ganization and the College of Education . The Ambas- sadors are currently reach- ing out to local schools in the Huntsville area as well as other schools around the state of Texas. “Within the next few weeks we’re going to be visiting Huntsville High School, Willis High School, and Aldine High School,” Kelly said. The Ambassa- dors have even reached out to students just beginning the road to education. “We’ve given tours to fourth graders around the College of Education,” Kelly said. In order for students to be considered as an Ambassa- dor, they must be at least a sophomore with a SHSU’s Education Ambassadors seeking out new applicants Courtesy photo from Today at Sam Spreading their knowledge. It is all smiles for the College of Educa- tions new ambassadors selected in January. In recognition of Hispanic Heritage month, the SHSU LULAC Young Adults Council will spotlight “El Movimiento” and the impact of Mexican American civil rights advocates on Tuesday (Oct. 20). Assistant professor of Eng- lish Lee Bebout will show the film “Walk Out” and lead a discussion on the Chicano Civil Rights Movement be- ginning at 6 p.m. in College of Humanities and Social Sciences Room 110. “Walk Out,” an HBO film, is based on true events that happened in the 1960s to a group of Chicano (Mexican American) students who fought for justice and equal- ity. “Importantly, leaders of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement fought along side other leaders at the time such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, but have yet to reach the recognition that these other individuals now have in history,” said Sujey Vega, assistant profes- sor of sociology. “Dr. Bebout’s research and recent book, to be released fall of 2010, deal specifically with ‘El Movimiento,’ as it has come to be known, and the impact of these Mexican American civil rights advo- cates generations after their involvement in this crucial moment in U.S. history.” LULAC stands for League of United Latin American Citizens. For more information on LULAC or the event, contact Vega at [email protected] or Aurora Gomez at avg005@ shsu.edu. By Jennifer Gauntt SHSU Public Relations COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Shanay Lemon Contributing Writer — See COLLEGE, page 4 Event to highlight Hispanic role in movement (AP) — The White House is waiting for Congress to settle on a final health care bill, even though President Barack Obama has a clear preference in favor of at least one specific — the much-de- bated public option, advisers said. Obama, however, will not demand that legislation include a government-run insurance plan intended to drive down costs through competition with private in- surers, they said. Instead, the White House will let Congress work out the details required to get something passed. “There will be compro- mise. There will be legisla- tion, and it will achieve our goals: helping people who have insurance get more se- curity, more accountability for the insurance industry, helping people who don’t have insurance get insurance they can afford, and lower- ing the overall cost of the system,” presidential adviser David Axelrod said. The White House and law- makers are trying to blend five House and Senate com- mittee versions of health care reform legislation into a bill that will pass both houses. Near unanimous Republican opposition is expected. The bill approved last week by the Senate Finance Committee drew the only Republican vote yet cast with Democrats on the health care overhaul. Even then, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, did not commit to supporting the final version of the legis- lation. House Democrats are in- sisting on the government- run plan, or public option. In the Senate, Republicans and some Democrats oppose the measure, meaning inclusion of the public option would fail to gain the 60 votes need- ed to overcome a Republican filibuster. Some in the Senate strongly support inclusion of the public option. Obama “will obviously weigh in when it’s important to weigh in” on the possibil- ity of a public option, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said. Added Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett: “He’s not de- manding that it’s in there. He think it’s the best possible choice.” The president promoted his health care initiative Sat- urday in his weekly radio and online address and chal- lenged policy makers to HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL Adviser: Obama waits on finished health care bill Uphill battle. President Obama keeps pushing for a health care bill. — See HEALTH, page 4

Upload: the-houstonian

Post on 10-Mar-2016

216 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

DESCRIPTION

The Houstonian 10-20-09

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The Houstonian

“El Movimiento”

Huntsville, TexasVol 114 — Issue 17 Tuesday, October 20, 2009

INDEX

Opinions................page 2

Campus................page 3

Entertainment........page 5

Sports....................page 6

WHAT’S ON THE WEB FEATURE PRESENTATIONEntertainment editor Kevin Jukkola reviews the movie Where the Wild Things Are.

SEE page 5

Visit our website to participate in our latest poll or post your comments on the stories in this issue at houstonianonline.com!

Nation & World...page 4

UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Filling a new positionThanks to the tremendous growth of SHSU, the University Police

Department has created a brand new position to enforce, instruct parking

David Kapalko has been appointed the new assis-tant director for parking and transportation for SHSU’s department of Public Safety.

This position is new and was created because of the re-cent growth of the Universi-ty; Kapalko is the first officer to take on the responsibility. “This position was created to better manage the park-ing resources available on campus and to help develop and maintain a transportation system to be implemented in the very near future,” Chief Kevin Morris said.

“This position will oversee all aspects of the Parking & Transportation Office (Park-ing Permits, Administrative Parking Citations, Parking Rules & Regulations, and Transportation).”

Kapalko has a B.S. in Law Enforcement and Correc-tions from Penn State. He went from being a Univer-sity Police Officer to a Uni-versity Parking Manager, which was fairly common at the time. He has since served

as a Manager or Director of Parking and Transportation at several universities, in-cluding UT-Austin. He also worked as a parking consul-tant for a Parking Planning and Engineering firm for three years.

“Mr. Kapalko was chosen

due to his prior experience in Parking & Transportation Systems on university cam-puses. In addition, he brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts from throughout the country,” Chief Morris said.

In his new position, Ka-palko plans to improve com-

munication with students and begin developing a new transportation system. “I hope to solicit more feed-back from our customers, and implement new tech-nology where appropriate to improve customer service,” Kapalko said.

By Kristin MeyerSenior Reporter

Building a reputation. Working hard at his desk, new assistant director for parking, David Kapalko, takes control. UPD created the position because of the recent growth of SHSU. The new position will oversee park-ing permits, administrative parking citations, parking rules and regulations, and transportation.

Krystal Jackson | The Houstonian

The Sam Houston State University Alumni Association will sponsor a charter bus to the Stephen F. Austin football game in Nacogdo-ches on Oct. 24.

The bus will depart Bowers Stadium parking lot at 10 a.m. Tailgating will begin at noon.

The trip package includes bus transporta-tion, game ticket, and tailgate food and drinks. The cost of the package is $40 per person.

Reservations are requested by Oct. 21 and can be made by calling the Office of Alumni Relations at 936.294.1841 or going online at alumni.shsu.edu.

For more information, contact Brigitte Peres, Alumni Association alumni/events coordina-tor, at [email protected] or 936.294.4123.

Attention Bearkats

-SHSU Public Relations

They’re educated, they’re motivated, and they want you. The College of Educa-tion Ambassadors are nine of Sam Houston’s own Ed-ucation majors and minors seeking potential individu-als with the passion of pur-suing a career in education.

Brandi Kelly, coordinator for the College of Education Ambassadors, has dedicat-ed the remainder of the Fall 2009 semester to bringing in new members as well as gaining exposure for the or-ganization and the College of Education . The Ambas-sadors are currently reach-ing out to local schools in

the Huntsville area as well as other schools around the state of Texas.

“Within the next few weeks we’re going to be visiting Huntsville High School, Willis High School, and Aldine High School,” Kelly said. The Ambassa-dors have even reached out to students just beginning the road to education.

“We’ve given tours to fourth graders around the College of Education,” Kelly said.

In order for students to be considered as an Ambassa-dor, they must be at least a sophomore with a

SHSU’s Education Ambassadors seeking out new applicants

Courtesy photo from Today at Sam

Spreading their knowledge. It is all smiles for the College of Educa-tions new ambassadors selected in January.

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage month, the SHSU LULAC Young Adults Council will spotlight “El Movimiento” and the impact of Mexican American civil rights advocates on Tuesday (Oct. 20).

Assistant professor of Eng-lish Lee Bebout will show the film “Walk Out” and lead

a discussion on the Chicano Civil Rights Movement be-ginning at 6 p.m. in College of Humanities and Social Sciences Room 110.

“Walk Out,” an HBO film, is based on true events that happened in the 1960s to a group of Chicano (Mexican American) students who fought for justice and equal-ity.

“Importantly, leaders of the Chicano Civil Rights

Movement fought along side other leaders at the time such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, but have yet to reach the recognition that these other individuals now have in history,” said Sujey Vega, assistant profes-sor of sociology.

“Dr. Bebout’s research and recent book, to be released fall of 2010, deal specifically with ‘El Movimiento,’ as it has come to be known, and

the impact of these Mexican American civil rights advo-cates generations after their involvement in this crucial moment in U.S. history.”

LULAC stands for League of United Latin American Citizens.

For more information on LULAC or the event, contact Vega at [email protected] or Aurora Gomez at [email protected].

By Jennifer GaunttSHSU Public Relations

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Shanay LemonContributing Writer

— See COLLEGE, page 4 Event to highlight Hispanic role in movement

(AP) — The White House is waiting for Congress to settle on a final health care bill, even though President Barack Obama has a clear preference in favor of at least one specific — the much-de-bated public option, advisers said.

Obama, however, will not demand that legislation include a government-run insurance plan intended to drive down costs through competition with private in-surers, they said.

Instead, the White House will let Congress work out the details required to get something passed.

“There will be compro-mise. There will be legisla-tion, and it will achieve our goals: helping people who have insurance get more se-curity, more accountability for the insurance industry, helping people who don’t have insurance get insurance they can afford, and lower-ing the overall cost of the system,” presidential adviser David Axelrod said.

The White House and law-makers are trying to blend five House and Senate com-mittee versions of health care reform legislation into a bill that will pass both houses. Near unanimous Republican

opposition is expected.The bill approved last

week by the Senate Finance Committee drew the only Republican vote yet cast with Democrats on the health care overhaul. Even then, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, did not commit to supporting the final version of the legis-lation.

House Democrats are in-sisting on the government-run plan, or public option. In the Senate, Republicans and some Democrats oppose the measure, meaning inclusion of the public option would fail to gain the 60 votes need-ed to overcome a Republican

filibuster. Some in the Senate strongly support inclusion of the public option.

Obama “will obviously weigh in when it’s important to weigh in” on the possibil-ity of a public option, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said. Added Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett: “He’s not de-manding that it’s in there. He think it’s the best possible choice.”

The president promoted his health care initiative Sat-urday in his weekly radio and online address and chal-lenged policy makers to

HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL

Adviser: Obama waits on finished health care bill

Uphill battle. President Obama keeps pushing for a health care bill. — See HEALTH, page 4

Page 2: The Houstonian

OPINIONSPage 2 The Houstonian Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Dear Sam Houston Students, Staff and Faculty and Alum-ni:

The Houstonian would not survive were it not for the con-tinued involvement and dedication of the SHSU student body. We welcome all column submissions and letters to the editor. If at any time you feel the need to express an opinion, please do not hesitate to email your thoughts or drop by our office in the Dan Rather communications building. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you as always for your continued support of the Houstonian.

Addison ReedOpinions [email protected]

SECTION EDITORS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

AdvertisingDeadlines

The HoustonianEditorial

Meagan Ellsworth........................................................Associate EditorAddison Reed................................................................Opinions EditorLotis Butchko....................................................................Sports EditorKevin Jukkola........................................................Entertainment EditorThomas Merka.....................................................................Web Editor

Kristina Salazar...............................................................936-294-1505

FACULTY ADVISORPatsy Ziegler.....................................................................936-294-1499

STAFFKristin Meyer.................................................................Senior ReporterMike Silva......................................................................Sports ReporterJoe Buvid..............................................................................Photo EditorKrystal Jackson.................................................................PhotographerHeath Wierck.......................................................................Copy Editor

AdvertisingBUSINESS MANAGER

Tammie Nokes..................................................................936-294-1500

STAFF

Brittaney Pires.....................................................Advertising Manager Samantha Berezowsky............................................Account Executive

Tuesday’s Issue............... Friday at 2:00 p.m.Thursday’s Issue........... Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.

The individual opinions on the Viewpoints page are not necessarily affiliated with the view of The Housto-nian or SHSU. The Houstonian is published semi-week-ly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a news publication of Sam Houston State University, a member of the Texas State University system, and is produced by students. It is self-supporting and welcomes all advertisers. Those interested in placing ads or classifieds should call (936) 294-4864. The Houstonian is a member of the Associ-ated Press.

One of the most important things that I’ve learned about journalism, aside from the basic things like the proverbial “Five Ws,” is that everyone, no matter who they are or where they’ve come from, has a story to tell.

From crime scene witnesses to the homeless man who lives under any given bridge, each person on this earth brings a unique perspective to the great story that is life. The story of every person is much like a thread in a great fabric or tapestry.

One of my favorite places here in Huntsville is the Stardust Room, a local watering hole that I’ve made myself a regular at over the last few months.

One of the things that I like so much about it is that you can go in by yourself, have a seat at the bar, and instantly strike up a conversation with one or more people that lasts for hours.

I’ve met and talked to

lawyers, truck drivers, janitors, correctional officers, social workers, and many others, and each of them has what I was talking about earlier; each of them has a story to tell.

There’s the local lawyer who has told me stories about his time as a soldier

in Vietnam, the retired truck driver who has told me about his travels along America’s highways, and the workforce counselor who I talked to about monetary and fiscal policy until the bar closed a few Saturdays ago.

My point is that perhaps nothing more has confirmed for me that everyone has a story than my time at the bar, and I’ve taken that as a confirmation of that early and all important lesson that I’ve spoken of.

I’m writing about this not to share my drinking stories or about what I learned in MCM 132.

I’m writing about this because I feel that this is an incredibly important lesson that extends far beyond the classroom or the bar.

I feel that it’s important to always remember that everyone we meet in life always has a unique perspective and story that has shaped them into who they are.

It’s very easy to apply our own worldview as a blanket definition of why the world is the way it is, or what is right and wrong.

But what I think we ought to remember is that our world isn’t just that one thread that I talked about earlier.

Our world is that big tapestry in which every person’s story is important.

I’ve been fortunate because I’ve seen this confirmed in the classroom and in life. Hopefully, many of you have as well.

But for those of you that haven’t, do yourself a favor and strike up a conversation with the janitor in the hallway, or maybe even your waitress the next time you go out to eat.

You’ll be amazed at what you might learn about other people. You’ll be equally amazed at what you might learn about yourself.

And who knows, maybe, if you follow my example, you might just run into me at the bar one of these days.

Addison Reed is the Opinions Editor for The Houstonian. He is a senior History major with a Mass Communication minor.

Addison Reed talks about the impor-tance of looking at the perspectives of others.

Everyone has a story.

The last time I checked, I was still a girl. There haven’t been any questions about the validity of that statement lately, but life for me would be much different if that did change before I checked again.

By most standards, I’m considered “blessed” based on my physical appearance: my small stature, breasts that don’t need to be pushed up, pearly whites, and ability to truly fill out Apple Bottoms have been envied by countless teen girls and full grown women for years now.

One set of eyes’ envy is another’s pleasure, so teenage boys and full grown men have ogled in awe, no matter how uncomfortable, disgusting, or disturbed it may have made me feel.

I believe every accomplishment I’ve had to date was a result from my brains, wit, and appealing charm. Those close to me believe my blonde moments are overshadowed by my outward, or physical,

appearance. Now I’ll admit that

sometimes, the fabric around my neckline is a tad bit revealing. And yes, at times my slacks fit a little too snugly. Do these facts about me mean that my mental capabilities and morals should be compromised as well?

We could all sit down over a cup of cocoa for

hours and debate the answer to this question. No matter what formula or version of yes/no anyone chooses, its basis will always boil down to one word: stereotypes.

Merriam Webster defines it as “a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment”.

For example, Caucasians that live in rural areas are all rednecks, every African American loves fried chicken and watermelon, and all Hispanics… I’m sure you get the gist.

While many sociologists believe that mental categorizing is necessary and inescapable in our society, I feel it is just an excuse to cast judgment, or

label people without truly knowing their character.

Think about it: is it right to assume that a student of Asian descent will be the smartest person in Calculus? Or every person from Jamaica practices the Rastafarian ritual involving ganja?

Although many may claim that these stereotypes have generally been true, each of us know at least

one individual that breaks the mold. Think of me as a hammer.

The next time you see an African American listening to their iPod, or a person of heavy stature consuming a diet beverage, remember that they may not be trying to lose weight, or jamming to rap.

Don’t assume the table with four Jews at Denny’s won’t tip, or every high-heeled, semi-attractive woman with curvy features would gladly give up her goodies to every willing suitor.

These ideals only hurt our progression to a utopian society, something I’d love to see in my lifetime.

Need a direct example of broken stereotypes? Hi, my name is Adesuwa Omoruyi, I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and watermelon is utterly disgusting.

Adesuwa Omoruyi discusses the impact

of stereotypes on people and society.

One step closer...

Adesuwa Omoruyi is a regular contributor to The Houstonian. She is a senior Mass Communication ma-jor.

THE ROSTRUM“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and wom-en. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.”

Ronald Reagan40th President of the United States1911-2004

Letter to the Student Body

Paws Up, Paws DownIn this section of the opinions page, we take a look at some various news stories around campus and give the parties in-volved either a “paws up” for a good job, or a “paws down” for a not so good job.

“Paws UP” to the fantastic weather that has graced the Huntsville area throughout the last few days. Looks like it’s finally here to stay!

“Paws DOWN” to the the saddest story surrounding college football this year. UConn cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death in an apparent homi-cide on Saturday night.

The article “Products for prizes: Program Council spreads tobacco awareness” by Kaima Akarue had some informa-tion that should have been attributed to the Centers of Disease Control.

“Paws UP” to Java City, the new coffee joint in the Newton Gresham Library, which will celebrate its grand opening tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.

“Paws DOWN” to the burnt popcorn that apparently was responsible for a string of fire alarms on campus last week.

“I’ll admit that sometimes, the fabric around my neckline is a tad bit revealing.”

“The story of ever person is much like a thread in a great fab-ric or tapestry”

Page 3: The Houstonian

CAMPUSTuesday, October 20, 2009 The Houstonian, Page 3

Contributing WriterBy Victoria Craven

SHALLOW

POCKETS FURNITURE

GRAND OPENING!

Located in Commercial-Storage business park 7130 Hwy 75 S. Building A-4

(936) 291-9600

Futons -- Desks -- All size matress sets -- Dinettes --

and MUCH MOREMost items are $299 or less

Open Fri. 11-6 & Sat. 10-6

www.shallowpocketsfurniture.com

Make Great Money While Still in College!

Bring Your ApplicAtion in todAY!

Now Hiring Part-Time Account Executives

Houstonian Account Executive Application

Experience working with people as an account executive or

Please complete this application and turn in to Rm 210 in the Dan Rather Communications Building. You will be contacted by phone for

possible interview.

Date:Name: Address:Phone #:

Expected Graduation:

Start Date Available:

Qualifications/Skills:

THE HOUSTONIAN

Many students are apprehensive about asking for help when working on essays and term papers. Some feel embarrased, while others just will not admit that his or her work could use a little something extra.

This is where the Sam Houston Writing Center comes in.

The Writing Center is a service used by classes across the campus to help students better themselves as writers. Students who visit the Writing Center will receive one-on-one help with one of the trained staff

members, who will help with brainstorming, organization, research, proofreading and overall fine-tuning.

“This is not a remedial process,” said Writing Center Director Ann Theodori, said.

The diverse staff is made of 25 undergraduate and graduate students from varying majors such as English, Criminal Justice, and Biology. In addition to hands-on help from the staff, the Writing Center also features a resource library, handouts, style manuals, and a small computer lab.

Students also tend to have a common misconception that the Writing Center is only available for assistance with English papers. Theodori

emphasized that this program will help students with writing assignments from any class campus-wide.

“We will help any writer with any assignment from any department at any stage of the writing process,” Theodori said.

Since the Writing Center typically holds more than 4,000 sessions per semester, and the demand for help has increased recently, an appointment is required. the Writing Center is open everyday and each session is completely free.

For more information or to set up an appointment, visit the Writing Center in Farrington 111 or call 936-294-3680.

Wr i t i n g C e n t e r o f f e r s c o n s t r u c t i v e c r i t i c i s m f o r a n y w r i t e r

Contributing WriterBy Brittany McClure

Getting it ‘write’ for students campus-wide

HUNTSVILLE, Texas---The Sam Houston State Univer-sity rodeo team began the new season with winning per-formances at the Northeast Texas Community College Rodeo in Mt. Pleasant, Oct. 1-3, and at the Southwest Texas Junior College Rodeo in Uvalde, Oct. 8-10.

The men’s team won sec-ond place in the team race at both Mt. Pleasant and Uvalde. This exceptional start can be credited to the new team, in-cluding All-Around Cowboy Cade Rice. In Mt. Pleasant, Rice won the steer wrestling, and won second place in team roping with his partner, Chase Taylor.

At Uvalde, the Rice-Taylor team placed fourth, moving them to second place in the Southern Region of the Na-tional Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA).

Montana-born cowboy, B.J. Brown, also had a win-ning season opener in the steer wrestling events, win-ning second place in Mt. Pleasant and first place at Uvalde. With these two events, Brown now stands in first place in the Southern Re-gion in steer wrestling. Rice ranks second in the region in

steer wrestling. Huntsville native Matthew

Love had a winning season opener in roping events, plac-ing second at Uvalde with a 9.90 second run in the tie-

down roping event. This score ranks him in second place in the Southern Region.

Other SHSU rodeo team members who placed at the Uvalde rodeo were Derek

Robinson, who scored 73 and won second place in saddle bronc riding, and Cory Bau-doin, who scored a 78 and won third place in bareback riding.

The women’s team also began this year with winning performances from former Southern Region Breakaway Roping Champion Ashley Moreau and Southern Region

Reserve All-Around Cowgirl Kaki Herring.

At Mt. Pleasant, Herring won the goat tying event with a time of 6.7 seconds. She also placed second in goat tying and third place in the breakaway roping at Uvalde. Herring currently leads the standings in goat tying and is in fifth place in the break-away roping for the Southern Region.

Senior Ashley Moreau won second place in break-away roping at Mt. Pleas-ant and continued a win-ning performance at Uvalde, where she placed second in breakaway roping and third in barrel racing. With the scores on those two events, she won All-Around Cowgirl for the Uvalde rodeo. In the Southern Region, Moreau is currently ranked second in breakaway roping and fifth in barrel racing.

The SHSU Rodeo team is preparing for an upcoming rodeo at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 13-14 at the Montgomery Coun-ty Fairgrounds off FM 1484 in Conroe.

The SHSU rodeo team is coached by Edward “Bubba” Miller.

S H SU r o d e o ri d e s i n t o n ew s e a s o n Team lassos in winning performances, saddling up for another go-round

CONTACT: Lorri Jones, (936) 294-2402, [email protected]

The Spook Spectacular Fashion Show will be held Wednesday, Oct. 21, in Austin Hall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

“The purpose of this show is to showcase the hottest Halloween costumes from this season, while also allowing self-confidence to spread among the viewers,” Asia Singer said. The costumes will vary from funny to scary which will surely bring both laughter and chills to the audience.

The fashion show was put together by Beautiful Alliance. Beautiful Alliance is a Sam Houston State University organization that promotes self-confidence and self esteem among the student body. They are a fashion/community based organization that goes against the stereotype of what a “perfect” sized model is in today’s society.

The models in the show are SHSU students who have a passion for relaying Beautiful Alliance’s motto of “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Beautiful Alliance would like to give a big thanks to Fade to Black, BA’s E-Board, the extraordinary models, Faralyn Metoyer (BA’s event coordinator), Asia Singer (BA’s Publicity Chair) and a special thanks to Wally’s Party Factory for sponsoring all of the costumes and decorations for the fashion show.

The Spook Spectacular Fashion Show is free and open to the public.

Come out and have a good time. There is a surprise performance at the end!

Ha u nt i n g t h e r u n w ayAustin hall to transform into a spook spectacular fashion show for students ready to model

2009 SHSU rodeo team is preparing for an upcoming rodeo on Nov. 13-14 in Conroe Photo courtesy of Shannon McQueen

SHSU RodeoBy Brittany Grant

Page 4: The Houstonian

NATION & WORLDPage 4 The Houstonian Tuesday, October 20, 2009

(AP) — A nurses’ union is threatening a one-day strike at 34 hos-pitals across California, accusing them of poor swine flu preparedness.

California Nurses As-sociation spokesman Chuck Idelson says up to 16,000 registered nurses will strike on Oct. 30 if federal swine flu recom-mendations aren’t writ-ten into their contracts.

Idelson said Monday that nurses have com-plained about poor ac-

cess to protective masks since a Sacramento nurse died in July after contracting swine flu.

Catholic Healthcare West runs 28 of the hos-pitals expected to be af-fected by the strike.

Hospital chain spokes-woman Jill Dryer says contract negotiations have been under way since March and include a commitment to pro-vide safe working envi-ronments for nurses.

Nurses’ union threatens strike over swine flu

Balloon boy charges may not come until next week (AP) — Investigators

pored over e-mails, phone records and financial docu-ments from the home of Richard Heene on Mon-day as they weighed felony charges and sought to deter-mine who else might have helped the alleged balloon-boy hoax get off the ground.

The sheriff’s office said its findings will be for-warded to prosecutors next week to decide if Richard and Mayumi Heene should be charged with falsely re-porting that their 6-year-old child had drifted away in a large home-built helium bal-loon to drum up publicity for a reality TV show.

But the investigation could reach beyond the Heenes, possibly into the world of reality-show promotions.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said docu-ments show that a media outlet had agreed to pay the Heenes. Alderden did not name the organization but said it was in an industry that blurs “the line between entertainment and news.”

It was not clear whether the deal was signed before or after the alleged hoax, or whether the media outlet was a possible conspirator. If so, the organization could face charges as well.

The Heenes are amateur storm chasers who apparent-

ly wanted to star in a reality show that focused on a range of absurd experiments, such as attracting UFOs with a weather balloon, launching a model rocket into space and conducting an electro-magnetic analysis of a ter-minally ill patient’s spirit before death.

Robert Thomas, a collabo-rator who worked with Rich-ard Heene on the idea, pro-vided an e-mail to the Web site Gawker.com outlining his plan for the show. The sheriff’s department ques-tioned Thomas on Sunday night after he revealed that Heene was planning a media stunt to promote the show, according to the researcher’s lawyer, Linda Lee.

Lee said investigators told her Thomas does not face charges and is not a person of interest in the case. Thomas has said he had no idea that a possible hoax would involve the Heene children.

With television cameras and reporters set up outside the Heene home, defense lawyer David Lane stressed that the Heenes are will-ing to turn themselves in to avoid the spectacle of a pub-lic arrest.

Lane declined to say di-rectly whether he believes the incident was a hoax but said the Heenes are innocent unless convicted. The Heen-

es remained holed up in their home until midafternoon, when they left in a pickup truck without commenting.

If prosecutors “can prove their case beyond a reason-able doubt, that’s one thing. If they can’t prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, that’s another,” Lane told The Associated Press.

Alderden said he is seeking charges against the Heenes that include conspiracy, con-tributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities and at-tempting to influence a pub-lic servant.

The most serious charges are felonies and carry a max-

imum sentence of six years in prison. Alderden said authorities would be seek-ing restitution for the costs, though he did not have an estimate. Alderden said the children were still with the parents and that child pro-tective services had been contacted to investigate their well-being.

It’s also possible that Heene could face federal charges because he called the Federal Aviation Ad-ministration to report his son missing in the balloon. Those charges could include lying to the federal govern-ment, a count similar to the one that sent Martha Stewart

to prison in her stock-fraud case.

The balloon spectacle was not the first time Richard Heene has run afoul of the law.

He was arrested in April 1997 and charged with three misdemeanors — vandal-ism, vehicle tampering and disturbing the peace, accord-ing to court documents. He pleaded no contest to van-dalism and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years probation and ordered to pay $100 restitution, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokes-man for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

The other two charges

were dropped. Mateljan said he did not know who the victim was, and no details on the case were available.

It’s still not known who else was working with Heene to launch the reality show. The sheriff’s department refused to answer questions Monday.

Heene has a profile list-ed on a Web site that helps people get cast in reality shows, and the site said he last logged on in late Sep-tember — around the time investigators said the hoax was taking root.

The site lists his occupa-tion as a research scientist and general contractor with a high school education.

The Heenes twice ap-peared on ABC’s “Wife Swap,” including an epi-sode in March in which they talk about their belief that they are the descendants of aliens and discuss their ap-proach to parenting. At one point, Richard Heene is seen screaming and throwing a drink in a participant’s face.

The producer of “Wife Swap” had a show in devel-opment with the Heenes but said the deal is now off. The TLC cable network also said Heene had pitched a real-ity show months ago, but it passed on the offer.

Big trouble. The world appeared captivated on teh scene of a foating flying saucer that was reported to have 6-year-old Falcon Heene (pictured above) inside. However, it was later found out that the entire story was a hoax, and now the Heenes face legal implications.

BALLOON BOY CONTROVERSY

(AP) — First-degree mur-der charges were dropped Monday against one of four teens accused in the brutal beating of a Chicago honor student that was recorded in a cell phone camera video.

Eugene Bailey, 18, of Chi-cago, was arrested Sept. 26, two days after 16-year-old Derrion Albert was killed during a fight after classes let out at Christian Fenger Academy High School on the city’s South Side.

Prosecutors dropped the charge Monday with little explanation.

“While the charge against Bailey was brought in good faith based on witness ac-counts and identifications, additional information has developed during the ongo-ing investigation that war-ranted dismissal of the mur-der charge against Bailey at this time,” the state’s attor-ney’s office in Cook County said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the office declined to elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Three other teens are fac-ing charges in the melee: Sil-vonus Shannon, 19; Eugene Riley, 18; and Eric Carson, 16. All are being held with-out bail. Their next court date is Friday.

A cell phone video shows a group of people strik-ing Albert with boards and kicking him as he lay on a sidewalk. Albert, who was a sophomore at Fenger, has

been described by police as an innocent bystander caught up in the fight.

Albert’s death and the dis-turbing footage of the beat-ing quickly attracted the at-tention of President Barack Obama, who sent Attorney General Eric Holder and Ed-ucation Secretary Arne Dun-can to the city to meet with Fenger students, parents and administrators. Duncan, the former chief of Chicago Public Schools, said Fenger would receive an emergency grant of about $500,000 for counselors or other pro-grams.

Federal officials also promised support for efforts nationwide to fight youth violence.

In Chicago, Mayor Rich-ard Daley has introduced plans to add more police of-ficers at schools and funding for after-school programs.

A woman who answered the phone at Bailey’s home number hung up when con-tacted Monday for com-ment.

Bailey’s family has main-tained his innocence, saying he and Albert were friends. They claimed Bailey, a se-nior at Fenger, wasn’t at the fatal fight and police had misidentified him in the video.

“They need to stop the crime, but when they do it, they need to get the right person,” said Bailey’s aunt, Desiyan Bacon.

Charges dropped against Ill. teen in beating death

BRUTAL CHICAGO CRIME

NEWS BRIEFS

(AP) — A Northern California man accused of sending threaten-ing e-mails to President Barack Obama and other officials has pleaded not guilty to federal charg-es.

Federal authorities say 59-year-old John Gimbel of Crescent City sent a new batch of mes-sages on Sept. 28 after previously being warned to stop. Authorities say the e-mails contained racist, profane language and included threats to the first lady.

Gimbel was arrested Oct. 6 by the U.S. Se-cret Service and was indicted before Obama appeared in San Fran-cisco on Thursday for a fundraiser.

Randall Davis, Gim-bel’s former attorney, says Gimbel argues he was exercising his free speech rights.

On Monday, a fed-eral public defender was appointed to the case, which has been trans-ferred to San Francisco.

Man accused of threatening Obama pleads not guilty

AP) — Authorities say an Italian man took reckless driving to new heights in 11 frantic minutes of traffic viola-tions in eastern Switzer-land. They said they first spotted the 47-year-old driver as he sped his jeep past an unmarked police car at 160 kph (100 mph) in a rainstorm Sunday.

Driving dangerously close to other cars on the autobahn, he then alleg-edly ignored police at-tempts to pull him over — first with a stop sign,

and then with flashing lights and sirens.

Police say the man drove through a con-struction zone at 140 kmh (87 mph), nearly twice the speed limit, before being stopped.

They seized the man’s driver’s license, and a judge ordered him tested for medications and ille-gal drugs.

Police said Monday the man racked up 15 traffic violations in 11 minutes.

Police stop driver for 15 violations in 11 minutes

resist special interests. He accused the insurance indus-try of “filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishon-est ads” and paying for stud-ies “designed to mislead the American people.”

A study commissioned by the industry reported that the Democrats’ health care effort would drive up premiums for the insured, a conclusion faulted for tak-ing a decidedly narrow view of legislation. The industry also has been running an ad that could easily be in-terpreted as asserting that basic Medicare coverage is at risk.

Asked if Obama would sign a bill that ended the an-titrust exemption for the in-surance industry and allow

caps on premiums, Axelrod said, “We’ll see what Con-gress does.” A 1945 law lets states regulate insurers with-out federal interference.

Axelrod was also non-committal when pressed about whether Obama would support taxing insur-ance benefits, a proposal that has brought criticism from labor unions and oth-ers. “I think that this thing is going to be adjusted as we go along,” he said, “so let’s see what the final proposal says before we talk about what the president will or won’t sign.”

Axelrod spoke on ABC’s “This Week,” Emanuel spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union” and CBS’ “Face the Nation” and Jarrett ap-peared on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

From HEALTH page 1

minimum 3.0 G.P.A ma-joring or minoring in edu-cation. In addition to the standard requirements and having great references from professors, there are other qualifications must have for consideration.

“You have to be a self-starter, really dedicated to education itself, you have to be out-going; you have to be able to go into a room with 150 students and get your message across,” Kelly said.

It has already been a year since Genevieve Brown, Dean of the College of Education and sponsor Ken Hendrickson established the organization. In that span, they have reached over 400 students through presenting at grade schools to reaching out through campus func-tions such as Bearkat Fam-ily Weekend and presenting to the Sam 136 classes.

The Ambassadors are currently planning to read to kindergarten students at the Huntsville library, and

are looking forward to a Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, CA as well as preparing to present at more schools.

“We’re looking forward to getting our name out and establishing ourselves as a leadership organization,” Kelly said.

The organization provides a vast amount of opportuni-ties in furthering the careers of their members, some ranging from networking to getting practice in speaking in front of a classroom set-ting.

“They get to work real closely with Dean Brown and the College of Edu-cation. We work really closely with professors and networking—they’re get-ting to go to different high schools… it’s a great op-portunity to meet people in their field,” Kelly said.

Whether your passion is in Math, English, or Sci-ence, the College of Educa-tion Ambassadors wants to encourage those who have the drive for gaining knowl-edge as well as sharing and enriching the minds of fu-ture students.

From COLLEGE page 1

(AP) — The Beverly Hills doctor who gave fer-tility treatments to octuplets mom Nadya Suleman has been expelled from a pro-fessional organization.

Dr. Michael Kamrava was kicked out of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine last month, group spokesman Sean Tipton said Monday.

Tipton said Kamrava

has repeatedly violated the group’s standards. He de-clined to provide details but said Kamrava was not ex-pelled because of his work with any single patient.

Suleman has said Kam-rava implanted her with six embryos — far more than national guidelines specify. Suleman gave birth to octu-plets in January.

Octuplets mom’s doc expelled from organization

Page 5: The Houstonian

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 The Houstonian, Page 5ENTERTAINMENT

The TrailorStore Inc.

“Specializing in new and pre-owned horse, cattle, utility and cargo trailors.”

We are the accessory source for work or play.

Located at 660 A I-45 North, Huntsville, Tx 77340*exit 118, north of Hitchin’ Post Truck Stop

(936)295-2212

www.trailorstoreinc.com

Smither Company .com1 & 2 & 3 BEDROOM

LOFTS, HOUSES, APARTMENTSVisit Our Website For All Listings

936-291-14661416 Sam Houston Ave

Where the Wild Things Are

Stars: 1/2 *Grade: D-Running Time: 101 min.MPAA: Rated PG for mild thematic, some ad-venture action, and brief language.Cast: Max Records (Max), Catherine Keener (Mom). With the voices of: James Gandolfini (Carol), Paul Dano (Alexander), Cath-erine O’Hara (Judith), Forest Whitaker (Ira), Mi-chael Berry, Jr. (The Bull), Chris Cooper (Douglas), Lauren Ambrose (KW).Directed by Spike Jonze.Written by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, inspired by the book and illustra-tions by Maurice Sendak

EntertainmentPoll of the Week

An ensemble film is a story that follows vast amounts of char-acters that center around a com-mon theme.

Even though it is not an ensem-ble film, there are many char-acters in “Where the Wild Things Are,” which begs the question of what is the best ensemble film of the decade?

Choices:-Babel-City of God-Closer-Crash-Eastern Promises-Gosford Park-The Kite Runner-No Country for Old Men-Syriana-Traffic

“Where the Wild Things Are” is a complete and utter disaster. It is an awful, incomprehensibly dreadful experience from its depressing beginning to its everlasting end. The film has no discernable redeeming qualities other than the fact that it finally, blessedly ended in less than two hours.

The story begins by showing Max (Max Records), an immature child whose igloo is torn down by his sister’s friends who then

proceeds to pick a fight and bite his mother (Catherine Keener) because he is pure, uninhibited, unchallenged evil. He is not an intriguing type of evil, but rather the boring, loud, mean, and unsympathetic kind. This is such an unlikable child that I wanted him to return to normal life to find that his family had moved, making him an orphan, because then he might be appreciative of all he once possessed.

Following the fight, Max travels to the end of the neighborhood and eventually across a lake to find the wild things at another land,

hoping for a king that could lead them to a better life. The film wants the audience to be happy that he is finally receiving the attention he desperately craved, but visions of Hitler attaining power in early 1930’s Germany kept rushing to my consciousness. I have to admit to being surprised that he did not lead the wild things on a massive killing spree.

The interaction between Max and the wild things mostly consists of them hitting each other with various objects, while smiling and laughing at inappropriate times. This is too bad, because “Where the Wild Things Are” could have promoted acceptance and the extinction of intolerance, instead of a film that encourages arrogance, selfishness, and remorselessness. The only lesson it teaches children is how to judge people and separate them into groups based on first impressions, such as when Max groups the wild things into Good Guys and Bad Guys during the play war, which is not something any kid should view as a permissible way to act.

Max learns nothing throughout the story and the filmmakers effectively come to a random, abrupt conclusion because they believe that an hour and a half was the longest they could keep the attention of children. Max desperately needs to seek a psychiatric evaluation for serious abandonment and narcissism issues, rather than depending on his reaction with the wild things to solve all of

his problems. The most disturbing part of his persona is the abnormal howling noise he makes whenever he feels it is appropriate.

There is no subtlety or truth in the film, especially by Max Records, possibly because there are no themes it explores deep enough to require such care. This is mainly

because it believes that children are not smart enough to handle complexity, which is simply not true. There have been certain rumors that indicate a possibility for “Where the Wild Things Are” being included in the 10 Best Picture nominees at this year’s Oscars, which would rank as one of the worst and most inexplicable choices in Academy Awards history. While watching this shockingly bad experience, I began looking forward to such pleasantries as a colonoscopy, a root canal, and a spinal tap, which might be less painful and more enlightening.

“Where the Wild Things Are” began to force me to raise certain questions that it did not bother to answer. Why are these wild things on this earth in this form and why do they speak English? I know it is a children’s fantasy, but some forethought into the development and evolution of these creatures would have been nice. What provokes this inappropriate reaction and terrible behavior by Max at the beginning and why does he choose to exhibit no remorse? As the film plodded along, it finally made me ask, where is the power line and how can I cut it to make this endless suffering stop?

The lesson might be not to give directors who have made great films on small budgets the ability to doodle with expensive projects. First, this mistake was made by giving Mark Forster the task to direct the latest Bond movie disaster “Quantum of Solace” after he proved his ability with the great “Monster’s Ball,” which he made on a modest sum of money. Now, Spike Jonze, who directed the inventive and perpetually exciting “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation” on reasonable budgets, receives an opportunity to produce his own catastrophe with “Where the Wild Things Are” and does not disappoint. Both directors forgot the core of what made them appealing, which were the memorable

characters. “Where the Wild Things

Are” is terrible in every aspect, and I hate it even more because it attempts to con the audience with an emotional ending that lacks any resonance or authenticity because of the lack of sympathetic characters. It attempts to illustrate a depiction of the affects of a divorce on a small child, but I have seen a more accurate exploration of this from “Brooke Knows Best.” There is nothing that is interesting, fun, or entrancing in the film, and it would have been better if there were some closure between Max and the wild things. The problem is that would have meant a longer, drawn-out ending that would have simply extended the unbearable, agonizing pain that was being inflicted upon me from the screen. On second thought, the current ending is acceptable if only because it is aids in expediting the escape from this cinematic prison.

Kevin JukkolaEntertainment Editor

At the Movies with Kevin: Where the Wild Things Are

The first annual Rock the Republic was held on October 15-17, 2009 in downtown Bryan, Texas. This event was a three night “Spectacle of Sight and Sound” which presented a variety of musicians, artists and slam poets exclusively from Texas.

RTR featured a variety of performing and fine arts in attempt to relate to everyone’s interests. There was live music, a poetry slam, variety show, dance contest and a free-style

BMX race. Painting and other local original artwork was displayed throughout the different venues. “No one has ever combined the worlds of Texas music and Slam Poetry like we have!” John Wesley, Entertainment Director said.

The turnout was great with lines outside most of the venues as late as 11 p.m.

“The event was amazing! I can’t count how many people came up to me or other organizers to thank us for putting on this event. Quite a few bands told me that this was the most amazing festival

that they have ever played in or attended. I am still in awe of what happened this past weekend! For lack of better words, it was magical,” Wesley said.

Slam poetry is a competition at which poets read or recite original work and are judged by randomly selected audience members. “Slam poetry is big, but it’s still kind of underground,” Stephen Sargent, sponsorship director for the event, said.

Two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, Buddy Wakefield, preformed some of his esteemed

work. Four poets from the HBO television program “Def Poetry” also attended the event.

There were 100 bands that performed 60-90 minute sets. This large time frame gave the bands time to shine to their full potential without being rushed. Some favorite local acts included StrawberryJAM and Flawless Escape. Other bands from surrounding areas were The Black and White Year and Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights.

“[It is] so hard to say what the best performances were. We literally had

the very best bands and poets from across the entire state of Texas! A lot of fans raved about The Black and White Years, Keite Young, Oso Closo, Suzanna Choffel, Odis , and Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights. There are too many ridiculously great acts to isolate what the best show was,” Wesley said.

Downtown Bryan was the chosen location because the RTR staff members believe it has enormous untapped potential.

“This is an amazing place to be with a lot of young people who are craving great music,” Wesley said.

“They don’t always want to have to drive 200 miles to hear it or see it.”

There are currently plans for a Rock the Republic in 2010.

“There was never any intention but to put on a “spectacle” that will last for ages,” Wesley said. “No one had ever done what we just accomplished. We had the best of both worlds. The most amazing spoken word poets (slam poets) and musicians from ever major region in Texas. Not to mention the great artwork from across the state that we displayed at the various venues. It was an unbelievable experience.”

Victoria CravenContributing Writer

Rock the Republic brings worthwhile entertainment to BryanLOCAL EVENTS

Looking for a ray of sunlight in a sea of disaster. Max (Max Record) and the wild things look at the coast, but unexpectedly nobody decided to swim to safety in an attempt to escape this awful project in “Where the Wild Things Are.”

WEEKLY REVIEW

Page 6: The Houstonian

SPORTSPage 6 The Houstonian Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Home field nothing

Column

It was normal, it was ever so normal. The crowd was loud and there were points where I felt like I was at the Cotton Bowl.

Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, Louisiana has something that Bowers Stadium lacks, which is, fans and support.

I have been at Sam for about a year now and the one thing I wish there was more of is support. With the exceptions of the Kat Krazies and the freshmen, the student section at games is empty.

Let me make one thing clear people – you go away to college – that don’t mean that every weekend you run back home to be with mommy and daddy. If you wanted to do that, go to junior college and save your parents some money.

The reason they call it home field advantage is because the crowd is supposed to get rowdy and loud, disrupting the other team’s play calling and communication. The only problem Bowers lacks is that there aren’t enough fans to make the noise. One metal sign and a few hammers can only do so much.

I would love nothing more than to see the football team get a penalty for the crowd throwing stuff on the field, because at least that would mean that fans cared enough to do something about the game. But last time I checked, empty seats don’t throw trash or cause commotion.

There was a point in the game where the Southeastern fans came down to the rails and taunted the Sam Houston players, I mean really badgered them. The Bearkat in me wanted to hit these guys so hard they would be paying their dentists’ college loans back, but the reporter in me couldn’t help but want to see that at our own games.

Wouldn’t it be great? Fans taunting the other team so much that members of their traveling group would feel the urge to shove a penalty flag down our fans’ throats in order to shut them up.

What will it take for this to happen? Booze day? Where the first one thousand students to the game get a free beer. Or how about extra credit day? First thousand kids get a letter grade boost. I don’t know what to suggest anymore.

It gets worse than football season though. Volleyball games are pretty empty and I won’t even start on Soccer games.

But if we could do one thing right it would be the Stephen F. Austin game. Students can get on the bus and head to SFA for 40 dollars. Wouldn’t that be a sight? Burst into SFA with a bus load of orange and some war cries?

Please, students, show up to a game. Start with one, if we had as many people at a football game as we do at quarter night, maybe we could make the words, “home field advantage,” mean something.

Lotis ButchkoSports Editor

Sports Editor Lotis Butchko expresses his displeasure with the lack of attendance at Sam Houston State Football games

Bearkats lose control

The Sam Houston State Bearkats suffered a crush-ing loss to conference foe Southeastern Louisiana, 37-21, this Saturday, dropping their record to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Southland Con-ference play.

Whenever the Bearkats made a mistake, the Lions were right there to capital-ize. Dropped balls, penal-ties, and poor decision-mak-ing led the Bearkats to their second consecutive road loss of the season.

Southeastern Louisiana was successful seven of 16 times on third down for a to-tal of 129 yards. The Bear-kats committed 11 penalties for 105 yards. The number that stands out most though is time of possession. The Lions held the ball for 36:43 compared to Sam Houston’s 23:17.

“I thought from an offen-sive standpoint we played as poorly as we could play,” Head Coach Todd Whitten said. “We were nonexistent. We jumped offsides, we had a holding call bring a touchdown back, we had a personal foul, we fumbled the snap, we dropped eight balls, and threw three inter-ceptions. It doesn’t get any worse than that. “

Running back James As-ton was the bright spot of the offense. Aston carried the

ball 14 times for 103 yards and caught a team-high six catches for 54 yards. He also returned two kicks for 111 yards, including an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Blake Joseph completed 16 of 35 passes for 180 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Chris Lucas led the receiving core with four catches for 76 yards. Jason Madkins caught three passes for 32 yards and two touchdowns.

“We really shot ourselves in the foot on offense,” said Aston, who had a game-high 268 all-purpose yards. “We made a lot of mistakes with penalties and dropped balls. I think if we could’ve eliminated these mistakes it would’ve been a different game.”

The Bearkat defense sur-rendered 473 total yards of offense to the Lions. South-eastern Louisiana wide re-ceiver Simmie Yarbrough shredded the Sam Houston defense with eight catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Southeastern Louisiana also ran for a total of 187 yard.

The defense may have been ineffective, but the struggles were mainly be-cause of the ineffectiveness of the offense. The defense was on the field for a total of 83 plays for over 36 min-utes.

“Anytime you give up

37 points its hard to win,” said Defensive Coordinator Scott Stoker. “We’ve got to be able to get off the field. We got worn out late in the fourth quarter. We had our chances, we’re just not very consistent right now defen-sively.”

Sam Houston came out of the gate looking good by making some big plays on defense, including forc-ing an interception and two three-and-outs on South-eastern Louisiana’s first three possessions.

Playing with a short field, the Bearkats drove 57 yards downfield to score the game’s first touchdown on their third drive of the game. Following a 16-yard touch-down pass to Madkins, the Bearkats took an early 7-0 lead.

The Lions answered back immediately following an 80-yard drive, Southeastern Louisiana scored on a two-yard touchdown pass to Yar-brough, tying the score at 7-7. Sam Houston had mo-mentum in the drive up until a costly 15-yard facemask penalty. From that point on, the Lions controlled the game.

On the next Bearkat drive, Joseph was intercepted for the second time in the game. Southeastern Louisiana cap-italized on a 43-yard field goal to give them their first lead of the game at 10-7.

The Lions extended their lead to 17-7 on the next

drive following another Yarbrough touchdown re-ception.

Sam Houston fought to get back in the game on the next drive, but the drive ul-timately resulted in another Joseph interception.

The Lions booted a 46-yard field goal to give them a 20-7 lead going into the half.

The Bearkats showed life coming out of the half with an impressive touchdown drive of 89 yards. They moved the ball easily on a drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown catch for Madkins. Down 20-24, Sam Houston had life.

Following a 20-yard Li-ons field goal, the Bearkats looked to respond. The re-sponse was a dropped pass for a sure touchdown by Darrell Armstead. Then, a drop by Darnell Jones. Then, a drop by Chris Lucas.

One play after a Sam Houston punt, Yarbrough caught a 52-yard touchdown pass, putting the game out of reach at 30-14.

James Aston scored on a kickoff return on the next play, bringing the score to 37-21. But the effort was too little too late

The Bearkats will look to improve next week as they hit the road to take on Stephen F. Austin for “the Battle of the Piney Woods,” Sam Houston looks to im-prove to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Mike SilvaStaff Reporter

Photo courtesy of Jack WilkinsBreaking loose. Southeastern Louisiana Quarterback Brian Babin scrambles lose from the hold of Sam Houston defense.

Sam Houston scored early but could not hold on as the Lions rolled to a conference victory

The Bearkat women’s soccer team faced off Sunday against the Utah Valley University Wolverines, hoping to rectify their crushing 6-0 defeat at the hands of SFA on Friday night. The Bearkats won 3-2.

The game started out evenly, neither team controlling possession, and both teams playing very defensively and taking very few shots.

SHSU forward Shelby Grissett scored off a shot from 19 yards out in the 39 minute.

The Bearkats led 1-0 at halftime. In the second half, the Wolverines came out attacking,

putting more pressure on the Bearkat defense. However, it was the Bearkats who scored first. In the

58 minute, a Utah Valley defender committed a bad foul

inside the penalty box giving Sam Houston a penalty kick. Midfielder Kirby Zak took the shot and beat the goalkeep-er, going high and to the left.

Then in the 80 minute, midfielder Natalie Pantel netted the ball in the upper left corner, putting the Bearkats up 3-0.

With just under two minutes remaining, a Utah Valley forward snuck the ball past keeper Jenny Pence to make it 3-1. Less than a minute later, another Utah Valley de-fender fired a shot past Pence, bringing the game within one point.

Fortunately the Bearkats were able to hold off the Wol-verines for the remaining seconds to pull off the win.

“It was a good improvement from the way we played Friday,” said Head Coach Tom Brown. “But we need to correct some things. [Utah Valley] broke us down.”

The Bearkats look to improve their record to 7-7-2 on Friday Oct. 23 against UTSA.

Amy TurekContributing Writer

Bearkat Soccer wins in dramatic fashion

Joe Buvid | The HoustonianShoot and Score. Sam Houston soccer wins again

FootballVolleyballBasketballBaseballSoccer

Average Attendance at Bearkat Athletics

1,700NANA120NA

Figures are based on last season.

Kats continue to improve as the young team rolls to a .500 record