the northeastern - january 17, 2012
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To err is human. To x it is TNE Policy. Corrections can be found on Page 4.To report a correction call 918.444.2890. TNE Web site: www.nsunews.com
Volume 103, Issue 18 | Tuesday, January 1 7, 2012 | Tahlequah, Okla. 74464
Centurion honors
Ten honored each yearwith Centurion awardpresentation.
See page 5
Athletes juggle
Students athletes balanceclassroom, practice andgame responsibilities
See page 7
Turner settles to take reins as NSUs 19th presidentAmy HoweTNewriTer
Dr. Steve Turner assumed the
position of president on Jan. 12,
2012. Since then many have been
complimenting him on his abilityto quickly take the reins of the
university.
Dr. Turner has already dem-
onstrated strong leadership char-
acteristics, said Laura Boren,
vice president for student affairs.
I believe he will be seen as a role
model for servant leadership.
Students are hoping President
Turner will listen to their needs
and take their opinions into ac-
count when making decisions to
better the school. David Koehn,
vice president for business and
nance, feels Turner will have
no problem connecting with stu-
dents.
I believe the students will nd
him to be very open and respon-
sive to their needs, said Koehn.
I believe Dr. Turner is a man of
integrity who has a passion for
the students and employees of theuniversity.
The new president has spent
almost 30 years in higher educa-
tion, which many believe is an
advantage during this transition.
The presidents role is very
external with alumni, boards,
city councils, you name it, said
Dr. Martin Tadlock, Provost and
Vice President for academic af-
fairs. He knows a lot of people
in Oklahoma, which is a real ad-
vantage for a new president com-ing in.
All members of faculty and
staff seem eager to assist Dr.
Turner in this massive change-
over and, in the coming months,
to achieve his goals for NSU.
I feel my role in the transition
is to help Dr. Turner be aware
of those people that he needs to
contact to answer questions that
he has, said Robin Hutchins, ex-
ecutive assistant to the President.
My ultimate goal is to make the
transition for him and his wife
Penny as seamless as possible.
Tadlock, who served as Interim
President after Dr. Don Betz left
the university, has some practical
advice for the new president.
Being a president of a univer-
sity is a lifestyle, not just a job,
said Tadlock. You have to love
that and you have to enjoy thatlifestyle. If he does, then that
makes it fun. He should enjoy
what he is doing.
Boren, who is already con-
vinced that this university will see
some of its best days under Presi-
dent Turner, is ready and willing
to partner with him in his plans
for NSU.
We share the common goal of
fostering a student centered envi-
ronment, said Boren. I plan on
working with President Turner toadvance the quality of our pro-
grams and services to help stu-
dents grow and succeed.
Koehn serves as chief nancial
ofcer for NSU and he is already
joining forces with the Turner to
begin new projects.
I partner with the president
and other leadership to support
their initiatives with sound nan-
cial plans and resources, said
Koehn. Some current examples
of this are nancing plans for the
new events center and student
housing.
With the start of this new era
for the university, everyone seems
to agree Turners inviting and
kind nature will lead to a success-
ful tenure at NSU.
He seems very easy to work
with, said Tadlock. He is col-
laborative and I think everyonereally likes him.
Dr. Turners ofce is located in
the administration building and
all are encouraged to stop by.
For more information, email
Pete Henshaw/University PhotographerDr. Steve Turner, NSU president, joins NSU from Eastern
Central University in Ada. Turner brings 30 years of highereducation experience to oce.
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The Northeastern
Page 2
January 17, 2012NEWS
Aman a f nal lnmisTy GrAdyTNe wriTer
Every four years, Americans
are faced with the duty of their
citizenship.
On one day, every adult
American has the opportunity to
choose the leader of our nation.
This year, that day falls on Nov.
6. Citizens all across the country
tune into the news and are hit
with a barrage of informationabout candidates vying for sup-
port. Not only the president is
decided on Nov. 6, but also mem-
bers of the United States Con-
gress, state representatives and
other governmental positions. In
many cases these can be more
important decisions than picking
a president.
But there are a lot of important
steps to take before that day. Ev-ery state has primary elections,
elections held before the Nov. 6
date that can decide who main
political parties, The Republican
Party and the Democratic Party,
support on Election Day.
Laws and dates for primaries
differ from state to state, which
can easily be found online. Okla-
homas primary is March 6. The
deadline registration date for vot-
ing in Oklahoma is 24 days be-
fore the election.
Registering to vote in Oklaho-
ma is easy. One can go to www.
ok.gov to request a voter registra-
tion form, ll it out and mail it
back in.Students can also receive voter
registration forms at post ofces,
tag agencies, and libraries.
Which party a voter registers
for will determine which primary,
Republican or Democratic, they
are eligible to vote in. This has no
bearing on which way a voter can
vote in the general election.
I feel like people who talk
down to our generation insteadof talking with us, they do not
communicate with us, but if they
just took time to listen to what we
are saying, they could learn from
us, said Tierney Edwards, Mem-
phis, Tenn. sophomore. People
lose sight of the personal respon-
sibility that comes with electing
someone to ofce as you trust
them with your life, nance and
future.
Students can often be dissuad-
ed from voting for several reasons.
Classes, organizations, trans-
portation issues, work or simply
apathy can prevent the future of
America from getting involved.
Many see no point to voting orbelieve their vote will not matter.
The media itself can be biased
and may disenfranchise young
voters. However, young adults
remain an important voting bloc.
I feel like Fox and CNN are
some of the biggest problems in
elections, they are completely bi-
ased, said Edwards. Fox is so
biased that it comes across as un-
biased, and CNN is more subtleabout bias but just as inaccurate
as Fox and they have too much in-
uence when it comes to politics.
NSU is located in Congressio-
nal District Two and Senate Dis-
trict Three. However, many uni-
versity students are not registered
for or eligible to register for the
county or even in the state where
they attend university. For those
students who may put off voting
because they cannot vote in per-
son, it is generally easy to receive
an absentee ballot and vote be-
fore Election Day.
Laws differ from state to state,
but to receive absentee ballots in
Oklahoma a written request to
your County Election Board is re-
quired, and it must be received by
the county election board before
7 p.m. on Nov. 6 to be counted.
President Barack Obama is
running for re-election on a Dem-
ocratic Party platform. Currently
on the Republican side are Gov.
Mitt Romney of Mass., Rep. Ron
Paul of Texas, Gov. Jon Hunts-
man of Utah, Rep. Newt Gin-
grich Miss., Sen. Rick Santorum
of Penn., and Gov. Rick Perry ofTexas.
The most important part of
the election process is gathering
information about candidates
and making an informed deci-
sion. For more information email
Courtesy photoAmericans must sift through all of the political jargon to de-
termine the best course of direction for the country. Political
candidates are vie for crucial votes during this election year.
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Page 3
January 17, 2012F E A T U R E
The Northeastern
Homemade freworks start new year with a bangJAmes BAGwellTNe wriTer
Homemade Fireworks improv
comedy team is preparing to blow
audiences away with laughter at
their rst show of the semester
Jan. 20.
Im expecting the team to
wow the crowd with their com-
edy, said Alyssa Buckley, Home-
made Fireworks advisor. You
dont nd live comedy in Tahle-quah except for when this team is
performing .I expect our fans to
be back for more and new faces to
be surprised that this team actu-
ally is hilarious.
Along with the new year and
new semester, a new cast member
added to the group.
I joined the group to help de-
velop myself as an actress actual-
ly, said Juliette Lloyd Tahlequah,
freshman. I am really looking
forward to my rst improv expe-
rience.
This will be Llyods debut show
with the improv team.
The groups goal is to reach
out to more people and to have
higher attendance at shows. To
do this, the group has employed
new tactics to involve the audi-
ence members.
This years cast, is differentthan last years in that most of
them are freshmen or sopho-
mores, said Buckley. Theyre
spunky and risk-taking, which
lends to aggressive comedy. The
group has scheduled more shows
than last years cast, and I expect
the team to break more records
with larger audiences and more
buzz on campus. I am beyond ex-
cited for this year. Im so pleased
with the cast; I think its even bet-
ter than last years cast. Look out
for this team. I dont know how
they spent the holidays, but some-
thing in that egg-nog made them
even funnier than when they left
in December.
What sets improv comedy
apart from other forms of com-
edy is that everything is made up
on the spot. What the audience
sees in any particular show willnever be seen again.
This shows theme is Face-
book, which means if youre
friends with someone on the
team, your Facebook prole
could inspire comedy on Friday
night. At the end of the show,
well choose three audience vol-
unteers and look at their Face-
book on the big screen and then
create an improvised sketch show
based on those three random au-
dience members, said Buckley.
Another thing that sets this
show apart from any other is the
Facebook theme.
Finally Facebook gets the rec-
ognition it deserves on this cam-
pus, said Ryan Combs, Inola
sophomore and president of the
group. I am ready to showcase
my skills and the teams skills be-
cause I know we are going to doawesome.
Most of the cast are just glad
to be back and refreshed from the
winter break.
Nothing says comedy ex-
plosion like a Facebook improv
show said Randall Skidmore
Tulsa, junior and the groups ad-
vertising manager..
The group has set show dates
for this semester including a trip
to perform in Oklahoma City at
the Ghostlight Theatre. For more
information
Im really excited to be back,
said Skidmore. Performing im-
prov is the only thing that keeps
me sane. If it werent for improv
I would constantly be getting into
trouble in my classes, this is what
keeps me grounded.
The family-friendly main show
will be in the Webb Auditoriumat 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20. With
a more risky encore performance
at 9 p.m.
Tickets for the 7:30 show are
$5 and there are coupons around
campus for $1 off. The 9 p.m.
show tickets are $2 or $1 if the
previous show is attended.
For more information email
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Page 5
January 17, 2012F E A T U R E
The Northeastern
cnun n bw n a asTAcie GuTHrieTNe wriTer
The Centurion honor is award-
ed to individuals who are or have
been a part of the Northeastern
State University family who have
impacted the life of the nomina-
tor or even the community. The
Centurion honor goes out to an
individual who has put forth the
effort to help others and who have
made a strong and lasting legacyin the universitys history.
Being a Centurion means to
me that I had an opportunity to
be an important part to North-
eastern State University and the
things I did there counted because
it helped people and students,
said Fount Holland, president of
Questt Inc.
The Centurion honor can be
awarded to individuals living ordeceased that have made a signi-
cant difference in NSUs history.
It was quite an honor to be
inducted into the rst true 100
Centurions, said Dr. Dana Ever-
sole, professor of mass commu-
nication. I had several students
who nominated me and I was for-
tunate enough to get to read the
nominations after I was deemed a
Centurion. Im glad to know that
I have touched some students
lives.
Many of the Centurions did
different types of activities that
gave them recognition to be in-
ducted into the group. Vickie
Shefer, university archivist, has a
lot to do with the historic photos
that are posted around the cam-
pus.
Shefer also helped with the
Centennial and primarily workswith the administration to help
search the archives and bring to-
gether different types of NSUs
history together for everyone to
see.
Ive been here for almost 30
years and I have served as a li-
aison between the community
and authors, said Shefer. I
was busy for ve years before the
centennial working with Dr. Brad
Agnew on his book over the his-
tory of NSU and the community.
The book is totally online and free
and searchable word for word on
the librarys web page under digi-
tal library,
Helping students is a big part
of why most Centurions are in
the elite group. Delores Sumner,
special collections librarian, is an
example of someone who has
went the extra mile for students
that wanted to learn information
on Native American tribes. Sum-
ner was hired with NSU in 1982
and almost 30 years later, con-
tinues to help students work with
Native American organizations.For 20 years I was coach for the
symposium American Indian,
said Sumner. We did a weeklong
program where we brought in
Native American artists, authors
and dignitaries. We had a group
of Native American students that
we would take on trips to differ-
ent organizations and museums.
We would take them to universi-
ties that had Native American
organizations. There were inter-
actions where students would be
aware of other Native America
organizations. Its called AISES,
American Indian Science Engi-
neering Society.
Throughout NSUs history,
there was not an exact way in-
dividuals were awarded for their
work with the university. They
had awards for the current pro-
fessors not really for those who
participated with NSUs historyin other ways.
The Centurion award is
something that was initiated by
President Betz, said Dr. David
K. Scott, professor of commu-
nication studies. He was trying
to establish a broader range of
honorees that have made contri-
butions to NSUs history. When
President Betz introduced the
Centurion award it was for any-one who had made a contribution
to NSU in the rst 100 years. We
had all sorts of historical gures
that had never formally been rec-
ognized that had nally been rec-
ognized, may have which for the
rst time.
The award helps many learn
about NSUs rich history like in-
dividuals that attend NSU, those
who are part of the community
and even those who just want to
know more about the university.
Historically, the Centurion
award has had an impact for
those professors that havent been
here for very long, said Dr. Dan-
iel Fuller. Its a good way to lookback and see who was here and
what we did.
Centurions are inducted annu-
ally at NSUs Founders Day. Any
one is able to submit a nomina-
tion for an individual they would
like to see inducted into the now
current group of Centurions.
The university adds ten names
each year to NSUs list of Centu-
rions. The deadline to submit isFeb. 1 at midnight. The applica-
tion form is at www.nsuok.edu/
CenturionNomination.
For more information, email
Eric Davis/Contributing PhotographerThe rst 100 Centurions were named during the Founders
Day celebration on NSUs Tahlequah campus. Ten more Centu-rions are added to the list each year.
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Page 6
January 17, 2012A & E
The Northeastern
NSU Theatre Company line up begins FebruaryJordyN JorGeNsoNTNe wriTer
The spring semester has ar-
rived, and the NSU Theatre
Company is ready for a season
full of entertainment. They have
put on popular productions in the
past, such as Hansel and Gretel
and The Cripple of Inishmaan
this last fall.
There will be two productions
this spring, said Robyn Pursley,theatre coordinator since 2005.
One show is Bird and Fish,
written and directed by NSU pro-
fessor Christopher Miller, and the
other is You Cant Take It WithYou, which is a classic comedy
written in the 1930s.
Both of these plays are based
on different situations, but the
cast is excited about them.
The rst play is about a couple
that lives in a Spanish country,
said Knickel Sloan, Pawhuska
junior. They are two people of
different races and have trouble
with their relationship because ofthis.
The other play is based on a
dysfunctional family during the
Great Depression.
All of the characters are reallyweird, and the most normal in
the family is a daughter who will
marry a well-off character from a
snooty family, said Lindsey Mor-
row, Okmulgee senior.
The shows will also showcase
various students.
Bird and Fish only showcases
Charlotte Figgins, Juliet Lloyd,
and Stanley Swain, while You
Cant Take It With You has overtwenty actors cast.
Some cast members like Sarah
Elizabeth, Tulsa freshman, are
looking forward to the second
play.I play the part of Olga the
Duchess, said Elizabeth. Well
actually, she is a waitress that be-
lieves she is a duchess. I am really
excited about this part because I
am only a freshman and am cast
in this play.
However students are not the
only ones making an appearance
in You Cant Take It With You.
A couple of roles have been givento special guests such as Charlie
Seat, retired head director of the
program, and Danna Agagee
from Student Affairs. Both have
even had years of professional
theater experience.
We think its exciting that we
can give the students the opportu-
nity to work with more seasoned
and experienced actors in our
productions whenever possible,said Pursley.
According to Morrow, there
is a lot of preparation when it
comes to an NSU Theatre Com-
pany production.
The set crews take at least a
month and a half to two monthspreparation along with the cos-
tume and lighting for a show,
said Morrow. A lot of times the
actors have about a month to
memorize their part, but it just
depends on the size of the cast.
It takes a dedicated individual
to be a part of an NSU Theatre
production. While most students
spent their Christmas break re-
laxing and spending time withtheir families, the members of
these productions were memoriz-
ing their parts to make these pro-
ductions a success.
The cast has been very dedi-
cated to their parts, said Purs-
ley. They have been working on
their parts for each of these plays
even during their free time over
the break.
Bird and Fish will show Feb.22 through 25, and You Cant
Take it With You will show April
18 through 21.
For more information, email
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Page 7
January 17, 2012S P O R T S
The Northeastern
cllg al v n lam, n gamKirA coKerTNe wriTer
Practice makes perfect for
some student athletes at NSU.
Over half of the student athletes
received a 3.0 GPA or higher dur-
ing the fall 2011 semester.
There were 24 student ath-
letes on the Presidents Honor
Roll, said Bill Nowlin, assistant
athletic director. And 48 on the
Deans Honor Roll.Some athletes were stressed
about the fall semester, having to
balance athletics and school.
I think its going to help me
when I go to graduate school,
said Ashley Dolezel, Heiden-
heimer, Texas senior. I will be
able to manage both school and
work.
Athletes are still accountable
for making up missed work whenthey are at away games.
We were gone every other
class at the beginning of the se-
mester, said Dolezel. It was aw-
ful and making up the work was
the hardest part.
Jasmine Wright, Dallas senior,
said she helped manage her time
by doing homework on the road.
I was involved in Basketball,
the Northeastern, a sports anchor
for Northeastern News Network,and an internship, said Wright,
who made the deans honor roll.
Socializing was not a big part
of their lives over the fall semes-
ter, but learning to keep things in
order really helped for future jobs
or semesters.
I was taking 17 hours and it
taught me how to keep my priori-
ties straight, said Dolezel. All I
could do was school and soccer,there was really no social life.
Beau Beathard, Houston se-
nior, knew what he was signing up
for when he was signing in high
school.
Playing a sport in college is a
big competent, said Beathard.
Youre worn out when you get
home, but you have to do your
homework.
Student athletes also have to
base their schedule off what the
practice times are for that team
sport.
Its difcult making a school
schedule, said Beathard. Be-
cause I could not have classes be-
tween 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Balancing activities not only
helps with time management but
can also help with real life job ex-
periences.
We have to work as a team
to win, said Beathard. Thats
what you will have to do with
your job.
Being on time and being able
to take orders is a big part of be-
ing a student athlete.
You cannot be late for a gameor there is consequences, said
Beathard. How hard you work
is going to reect the outcome of
your job.
Even though times got hard
and athletes were stressing out
it was worth it in the end to be
able to make the grade and play
a sport they love.Advice for future student ath-
letes is keep working at it, said
Dolezel. I wish I would have
know that it was all going to level
out.
Pete Henshaw/Contributing photographerZach Jones, Memphis junior, drives for two in an exhibition
game against University of Oklahoma. College athletes mustfocus in the classroom to compete on the court.
Pete Henshaw/Contributing photographerJasmine Wright, Dallas senior, is erce on and of the court.
The responsibilities of a student athlete take dedication aswell as determination.
Beathard said it is hard work to
juggle sports and school but tons
of athletes have done it.
There have been a lot of peo-
ple before me that have done it,
and will be a lot of people after
me will do it, said Beathard.
For more information email
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