Greek Races pg. 7 The students’ voice since 1901 • Vol. 111 No. 23 • Thursday, April 19, 2012 • Check us out online.
ON THE
WEB
esubulletin.com
Schmidt-Sneath sail to victory l uke B ohaNNoN bohannon@esubulletin.com
Brook Schmidt and Stuart Sneath pose with Corky in front of Plumb Hall. Photo Courtesy of Facebook.
The votes are in and Brooke Schmidt, junior Spanish major, and Stuart Sneath, junior sociology major, won the election for student body president and vice president respectively. “I just believe we’re at a pivotal moment here with our new president (Michael Shonrock), and he’s all about creating a paradigm shift and I’m just really ready to jump on board and help Emporia State become even better than it already is,” Schmidt said. Schmidt and Sneath said that they plan to help Associated Student Government and its senators have more presence on campus. “(With) most governing bodies,
you get the idea of being boring and staunch and…kind of the old boys’ club, which is not something we are, so one thing we want is a more fun campus and to let people know that ASG is here to help people. We are the voice for you guys,” Sneath said. Sneath also said that he wants ASG to be more involved in students’ experiences from the beginning by being at orientation events and other such activities to help introduce themselves to new students and hopefully help retention. Sneath has served on the student senate as a senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for a year, as well as having been the activities chairman for the Interfraternity Council, a coordinator for Community Hornets and a facilitator for Mosaic of ESU,
among other leadership positions. While she does not have experience as a senator, Schmidt has held various leadership positions on campus. Schmidt is the current president of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and Alternate Spring Break, as well as having been secretary for the Panhellenic Society for two years. Schmidt and Sneath were up against Luke Chiddix, junior political science major, and Luke Drury, junior political science major, and won by 111 votes, according to the election results posted on the official ASG page on ESU’s website, with another 18 votes going to write-in candidates. Over 600 total students voted in the presidential elections. “My hat’s off to Brooke and Stuart for running a successful campaign,” Drury said. “I wish them
the best of luck next year.” Drury said that he felt the election process went very well and that students’ voices were heard. Thirteen senators were also voted in during the elections. Mathkar Alamani is the senator for the School of Business. Billy Garner, Julie Ma, Carley Swanson, Marcus Hix, Brandon Allen, Paul Knackendoffel, and Manny Requenes are the representatives for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Josiah D’Albini, Michael Stauffer and Luke Farnsworth represent the Teachers College. And Alisha Lyon and Samantha Beye are the senators for the graduate school. Sneath said that there are four more positions open in the senate should other students wish to run for those positions.
Webb receives highest honor for faculty “I wanted a strong woman and someone I looked up to. She’s just so involved and does everything, but she’s still so calm and classy and sophisticated.” – Rachel Marshall, sophomore communications major
S uSaN w elte welte@esubulletin.com “Wonder Woman” is how Rachel Marshall, sophomore communications major, described Amy Sage Webb, associate professor English, co-director of the creative writing program, and Emporia State’s 2012 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor. Marshall praised Webb in a letter, reinforcing her opinion on Webb’s eligibility for the honor. “She does it all,” Marshall said. “I don’t know how she reads everyone’s work and knows exactly what happened and what goes on in each story.” Last Tuesday, Webb said she was shocked when the award was presented to her during her advanced fiction writing class. “I never quite got it back together after that,” Webb said. The Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professorship was established in 1979. The
SEE HONOR ...PAGE 2
Taylor Mayers, sophomore nursing major, and graduate student Sarah Richardson, listen as Amy Webb, associate professor of English and co-director of Creative Writing, instructs them on critiquing fellow students’ stories for the next class period Tuesday morning. Webb was named the 2012 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor. Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin
Sen. Roberts visits ESU, discusses student loans, healthcare r ocky r oBiNSoN robinson@esubulletin.com United States Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) was greeted at the doors of the Sauder Alumni Center by children from the Center for Early Childhood Education last Friday afternoon. The kids made sure Roberts did not leave empty handed, sending him home with a poster they made. “I don’t know if they knew how important of a person he was, but they always enjoy meeting new people,” said Keely Persinger, director of the CECE. “We talked about how he is an important person that their moms and dads go to for help. I think Roberts was really excited as well, and I think he would have rather sat down with kids than go to the meeting. They are good ambassadors.” Roberts took the podium for about an hour at the town hall meeting. He covered a range of issues from higher education to national security, saying over-regulation is the biggest problem facing Washington. Compromise is what Roberts said Washington needs to focus on most. “People do not want to give up their convictions, but they also want to reach across the aisle and see if they get at least some compromise
to show they are working together,” Roberts said. “Kansas I am not really worried about in regards to having town hall meetings, to talk and to boast because we are going to agree 90, 95 percent of the time.” In an interview after the meeting, Roberts weighed in on the cost of higher education. He said he was not happy with the President Barack Obama’s takeover of the student loan program. “The cost to the student is now about 6.2 (percent),” Roberts said. “The difference goes to pay for the stimulus and Obamacare…. I really objected to that and that was my executive order, but Congress didn’t Sen. Pat Robert answers questions from Emporia High School student Talia Smith. Yohan Kim/The Bulletin have anything to do with it.” Roberts said lack of discipline to the student loan program is making it harder for students get and pay off their loans. “Once again, you are paying 6.8 percent for that student loan when a community banker might have given it to you for 3.8,” Roberts said. “It is too expensive. These things should be paid off in five or 10 years. They shouldn’t be strung out over a 40-year period. That just isn’t right.” President Michael Shonrock met with Roberts before the meeting. “I appreciate when someone says, ‘What can we do to help Emporia State University’,”
SEE LOANS ...PAGE 2
Children from the CECE greet Sen. Roberts with a welcome card in Sauder Alumni Center on Friday. Yohan Kim/The Bulletin
Campus launches programs to increase retention S uSaN w elte welte@esubulletin.com On average, 68 to 71 percent of first year students return for a second year of school at Emporia State, and for the past 10 years, this rate has been steady. Jim Williams, associate provost for Enrollment Management and vice president for Strategic Partnerships, said this is approximately the standard retention rate for the type of institution that ESU is. “Every student is so individual and different,” said Shelley Gehrke, director of Student Advising. “Sometimes they have financial obligations or they’re just really homesick and decide to take time off and work. It’s their first independence, trying to learn how to do life and college. (College) is a big step.” Some of the most common factors for students not returning to universities include the inability to pay, alcohol misuse and indecision on schooling, said Lynn Hobson, associate vice-president for Student Life. “No matter how well you’ve prepared, there’s something that’s
SEE RETENTION ...PAGE 3