Full Issue, March 11, 2021

Bulletin the

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Volume 120 - No. 2

The voice of the students since 1901

Update: Suspect still at large in attempted sexual assault Margaret Mellott Editor-in-Chief

An attempted sexual assault of a student at a campus residence hall was reported early Saturday, Feb. 27 by Emporia State authorities. An emergency alert was issued via text and email at 7:03 a.m. that said the assault was being investigated by ESU police and urging students to “Pay close attention to surroundings.”

Tuesday, March 10, the suspect was still at large, according to Gwen Larson, director of Media Relations. The location of the reported assault was Schallenkamp Hall, a residence hall just east of campus that opened in August 2019.

No other details of the crime were released.

Campus police is leading the investigation with the help of the Emporia Police Department and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department on the investigation, according to an email sent out by Lynn Hobson, dean of students.

Hobson encouraged anyone that had any information that might help the investigation to contact the Lyon County Crime Stoppers at 620 3412273 or on their website, www.

P3tips.com. All tips can be sent in anonymously, according to the site.

“If (students) are having any sort of situation, for instance hearing about this triggered

something and they would like to talk to a counselor or something,” Larson said. “They can go online to ESU counseling services and use the patient portal tile in Hornet365 to schedule an appointment for next week. If they need something sooner, we’re suggesting they reach out to the SOS hotline, which is an 800 number and it’s staffed 24/7.”

Students can find the counseling services website here, or they can call 620 341-5222 to schedule an appointment Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The SOS hotline, a community resource for victims, is also available to everyone. SOS can be reached 24 hours a day at 800 625-1295.

An attempted sexual assault of a student at Schallenkamp Hall was reported early Saturday, Feb. 27, by Emporia State authorities. The suspect is still at large according to Gwen Larson, director of media relations. Margaret Mellott | The Bulletin

Recipe for disappointment:

Meal plan rates increase without meeting student needs

A Sodexo employee prepares for the lunch rush by restocking the fruit and sanitizing equipment on Thursday, March 4. Of the 18 schools interviewed by the group, seven use Sodexo as their food provider including Emporia State. Margaret Mellott

Editor’s Note: Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, is a national nonprofit that places reporters in local newsrooms throughout the country and requires their corps members to complete a service project, where they work as journalism students. This series was done as an internship with corps member Sarah Spicer, who covers climate change at The Wichita Eagle. Spicer served as editor and provided guidance to the project, but the work is that of the students.

Katie Donnelly, intern Isabella Eppens, intern Margaret Mellott, intern

Over the last decade, tuition across the nation has risen by more than 25%, and Emporia State is no different, increasing by 24% over the last eight years.

But, an often overlooked part of the rising cost of college are meal plans. Mandatory campus dining for most schools adds to existing concerns for prospective students who already face the burden of rising tuition rates.

In Kansas, the average dining bill at a four-year university is $4,616 a year, or $2,308 per semester. This comes out to about $19.23 a day, and about $300 more a month than the average Midwest home, of

three or more people, spends on food.

And the cost is growing.

In the last eight years, ESU’s meal prices have risen an average of 15%, and each year across the U.S., students shell out an average of $9,212, or nearly one-quarter of their total tuition rate on campus dining, or “board,” according to the most recently available statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Education.

At ESU, students who choose the All-Access Plan, which includes unlimited meals, pay more than half the price of a semester’s tuition, according to a data analysis conducted by the group. Al-

Managing Editor

School was canceled for both February 16 and 17, by no choice of Emporia State. Due to the dangerous windchill and overuse of heat and other utilities by ESU students and other Emporians, Emporia experienced a series of unpredicted, rolling blackouts.

Although Evergy predicted

the blackouts to last no longer than 30-60 minutes, some students went nights without electricity.

“Customers are subject to further blackouts tonight and tomorrow,” said the administration in an email on Tuesday, Feb. 16. “They anticipate these will be longer than the 30- to 60-minute time frames.”

Although ESU is prepared with several generators, Gwen

Larson, head of marketing and media at ESU, said the generator ESU relies on incases where electricity is lost failed to work, forcing the school to shut down.

“One of the things that the power outage showed us is that the process that we have in place, which is a backup generator for the data center and a switch that moved pow-

Kyra Jumper Staff Writer

er over to the generator apparently is flawed and that switch did not switch on like it was supposed to,” said Larson. “So what happened was we lost the data center so no internet, no wireless, no network could be working on, the shared files, none of that.”

The backup switches are vital to ESU not only because they control the data center, but also because they control

The ongoing novel coronavirus has affected colleges throughout the world. To adapt to the loss of money, ESU is implementing temporary measures to use $1.8 million in savings from FY 2021 to carry over to FY 2022.

In an email sent out by President Allison Garrett, she explained that $1 million will be saved by not filling any current open positions across campus until after June 13.

“As I shared in the Town Hall on Feb. 12, we have instituted a hiring freeze until further notice,” said Garrett.

“This means we will generally not be hiring new employees, and open searches are on hold.

Exceptions for essential positions will require the approval of the president or vice president. Chairs, Deans and Directors with open positions may contact their vice president for further discussion. We will complete our search for the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.”

Diana Kuhlamnn, Vice President for Administration and Finance CFO, stated that she does not have all the specifics yet, but every department is subjected to the hiring freeze.

Any vacant position must be approved by a vice president before filling in that position. For departments across campus that are already understaffed, it will be up to them on what to do with vacant positions, according to Kuhlamnn.

“And how to move forward and that decision would be made by the chair in tandem with the dean and even the provost,”Kuhlamnn said.

As the current Provost David Cordle plans his retirement, the search for a new Provost continues. Students are encouraged to attend the public forum for the final four candidates interviews, beginning on March 15.

Another way ESU plans to save money is by not releasing equipment funds in FY 21, which will save approximately $600,000.

“There is a central equipment pool for instructional and technological equipment for academic programs and those funds are available annually for departments through

see UTILITIES page 7

see BUDGET page 3

though the All-Access plan costs nearly $2,000 a semester, it is the least expensive of the 12 universities who offer an unlimited meal plan out of the 18 total schools.

These findings are the result of a five months long investigation into the structure of 18 Midwest universities, located in Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas by five ESU journalism students as an internship as part of a Report for America service project.

Open records were filed in all five states for the 18 universities’ food service contracts and all but two, Oklahoma State University and Colorado School of Mines, responded in a timely manner.

An inescapable cost For students who live on campus, buying a meal plan is mandatory. All of the 18 universities surveyed for this project require all freshmen and students who live on campus to buy meal plans.

At ESU, the cost of a meal plan for one semester ranges from $1,555, which is 100 meal swipes per semester and includes 450 dining dollars, and $1,926, which provides unlimited meal swipes and 125 dining dollars. Dining dollars can be used at campus restaurants owned by the food service provider.

Students often don’t use all of their meal swipes, and see SODEXO page 4

Cost of utilities skyrocket at ESU after winter storm Katie Donnelly

Emporia State slashes budget

2

FROM THE WIRE

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

Haskell journalist challenges school’s First Amendment restrictions

Gov. Laura Kelly says during a briefing Wednesday at the Statehouse that federal regulators need to figure out why companies charged such high prices for natural gas. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) Miranda Davis

Kansas Reflector

LAWRENCE — Haskell Indian Nations University is facing a First Amendment lawsuit from its student newspaper after the school allegedly cut the paper’s funding and sought to prevent the newspaper’s editor from conducting newsgathering after critical coverage of the university.

The Indian Leader, Haskell’s student newspaper, filed suit earlier this week against Haskell president Ronald Graham, the university, the Bureau of Indian Education and its director.

The lawsuit stems from a directive that was issued by

the school’s president in October 2020, giving student editor Jared Nally a list of rules outlining what he could and could not do while newsgathering, after the publication of articles that were critical of the school and its administration.

“You may NOT: Attack any student, faculty or staff member with letters or in public, or any public forum, thus bringing unjustified liability to this campus or anyone on this campus,” the directive said, in part.

The directive also said Nally was not allowed to make demands of governmental agencies while representing the Indian Leader or record anyone at Haskell for interviews

unless they grant permission, despite Kansas’ one-party recording consent laws.

“Haskell is a learning institution,” Nally said. “It’s a place where we’re supposed to be able, as a student newspaper, we’re supposed to learn how to have a voice. And this is not the way to learn the value of free speech, by having to fight for it through a lawsuit.”

The student paper is also seeking the restoration of about $10,000 in annual student group funds that were not allocated for the paper after the coverage in question.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, known as FIRE, filed the suit on Nally’s behalf against the

school, which is a public tribal university owned by the federal government and funded through the Bureau of Indian Education, a subset of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The lawsuit was filed in conjunction with Kansas attorney Doug Bonney.

Klarissa Jensen, a Communications official for the Bureau of Indian Education, said the department would not comment on active litigation.

Katlyn Patton, a staff attorney at FIRE, said in talking to Nally, the organization became extremely alarmed by the directive and the school’s disregard for the student’s right to ask questions and conduct newsgathering. FIRE

had previously been in contact with Nally regarding prior reporting.

“This was such an egregious example of violating a student journalist’s First Amendment rights and Haskell and president Graham need to be held to account for that,” she said.

Patton said that beyond the directive, the funding portion is key, given that while schools are not required to fund student newspapers, revoking funding in certain situations can be considered a First Amendment violation.

She said FIRE and the newspaper are hoping the court will determine the directive was in violation of the First Amendment and the funding cut will be restored. She said they are also seeking damages for Nally, after being unable to report during the directive.

The lawsuit said the school’s administrators ignored Nally’s requests that the administration recognize the student newspaper as an official student organization.

Without this recognition, the paper cannot receive funding.

Haskell withheld more than $10,000 in funds from the paper without any notice or explanation, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also takes issue with the university’s “CIRCLE” values, which, it says, limits the freedom of speech for all Haskell students, not just the newspaper.

Ron Keefover, former president of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government, noted that prior restraint, or a governmental body preventing a news organization from publishing materials, was at the heart of the case.

Mulberry files lawsuit accusing BP Energy of price gouging during extreme cold Sherman Smith

Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — A small Kansas town is fighting natural gas prices charged by BP Energy during last month’s extreme cold, accusing the multinational oil and gas giant of “unconscionable profiteering” under state statute.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the city of Mulberry says BP inflated prices for natural gas from $2.98 per mmbtu on Feb. 9 to $329.615 from Feb. 13-16.

The city is asking for bills to be recalculated at a reasonable rate.

Jim Zakoura, an attorney representing the city in the lawsuit, said BP took advantage of Mulberry and other Kansas towns that operate their own utilities at a moment when residents needed natural gas to heat their homes and stay alive.

“This is pure and simple price gouging and profiteering in the sale of a critical life product, in a life and death situation,” Zakoura said. “It is not only unlawful conduct under Kansas law but also shows a complete disregard for the people of Kansas.”

A spokeswoman for BP said the company was aware of

the lawsuit filed in Crawford County District Court and declined to answer questions.

Mulberry is a southeast Kansas town along the Missouri border with a population of about 500 people. Like dozens of other small Kansas towns, the city distributes natural gas for heating to residents, businesses, schools, nursing homes and medical care facilities. Monthly gas bills for February would be 10 times higher than usual because of the higher prices.

The city pays a monthly service fee to Utility Gas Management to procure contracts to acquire natural gas, but the prices are dictated by producers like BP, which has headquarters in Houston.

Between Feb. 1 and Feb. 9, when weather forecasts began predicting record chills from Canada to Texas, the price BP charged for natural gas increased from $2.54 to $2.98.

Over the next four days, BP’s prices for Mulberry, according to the lawsuit, increased to $4.05, $9.64, $44.80 and $329.615.

As temperatures warmed, prices rapidly fell from their peak rate to $8.75, and then continued to decline. By the end of February, the cost was

Gov. Laura Kelly says during a briefing Wednesday at the Statehouse that federal regulators need to figure out why companies charged such high prices for natural gas. | Photo Courtesy of Sherman Smith

back down to $2.485.

Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of emergency on Feb. 14, triggering provisions of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act that restrict prices from rising more than 25% above the usual rate.

Court documents contend the residents of Mulberry “have been subjected to profiteering during an extreme

weather disaster, in the form of exorbitant natural gas pricing.” The lawsuit asks for the city to be repaid $40,459.48, and that rates be set no higher than $3.725, a 25% increase from the $2.98 price on Feb. 9.

Rep. Ken Collins, R-Mulberry, said he wasn’t familiar with the lawsuit but that it was important to find out why natural gas prices spiked.

“If there was actual price gouging involved, the proper authorities need to know about it,” Collins said. “It really has been a big burden on Mulberry and other cities with municipal utilities. And I generally think it’s good for cities have municipal utilities, but when things like this happen, it kind of makes me wonder.”

NEWS

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

3

Westboro Baptist Church’s visit to Americus brings pro-LGBTQ+ counter-protesters

LEFT: Members of Parasol Patrol, “Sky Knight” and “Hunter Geist”, travel wherever the group puts out a call to action in a community that has called upon them.

“We are both members of the LGBTQ+ community so anytime we can come out and make sure people are knowing just how loved they are, and to let them know they aren’t alone, we are all for that,” said Geist.

“Parasol Patrol is really a group dedicated to stopping hate whereever it may fester,” Sky Knight said.

Lucas Lord | The Bulletin

ABOVE: While the road to the Americus Elementary School was packed with members of various organizations, people from the community also showed up to show their support or to simply watch the demonstrations.

RIGHT: Jacob Collins, current CEO and co-founder of Humiliating Hate, a group dedicated to protesting hate groups and documenting their protests, stands in front of the Westboro Baptist Church members. Collins was eventually asked to move by the police.

“It started when they were protesting my graduation (in Independence, Missouri),” said Collins. “I think (the costume) helps deliver the message but I also think it gives a bit of comedic effect so its not just scary.” Lucas Lord | The Bulletin

New courses on Dyslexia seek to expand resources, reduce stigma Lucas Lord

Web Editor

Emporia State recently approved two new programs around dyslexia, a certificate and a concentration as part of the Instructional Specialist master’s degree.

“The reading specialist is a masters level program, and the dyslexia courses are also offered at the graduate level,” said Teddy Roop, assistant professor of Elementary Education, Early Childhood, and Special Education. “With the reading specialist, when someone gets a master’s degree they go through what we call concentration. So they are taking core concentration courses as well as courses that are geared towards reading in pre-k through twelfth grade.”

Though the courses are geared towards graduate students, seniors preparing to enter Block 2 with 90 hours can take the courses as they work towards their licensure, according to Roop.

“Every teacher is a teacher of reading,” Roop said. “Understanding the struggles some students may have with reading should always be something you think about when planning instructions no matter what subject you teach because read-

ing, and ELA in general is in just about everything we do we are surrounded by print. So I want my students to think of themselves as teachers of reading.”

After piloting the program in the Fall with a six-week course on dyslexia, an additional 15 credit hours of courses will be available in the Fall.

“The biggest thing that is happening is all of the different areas (of the university) coming together to focus on things,” said Lori Mann, associate professor of Elementary Education, Early Childhood, and Special Education. “I think that is really what’s different about this movement that is happening. Our degrees are aligning with each other so that sped and elementary, and even places like Early Childhood are looking at how we can work together.”

As prospective teachers begin Block 2, Kelly O’NealHixson, associate professor of Elementary Education, Early Childhood, and Special Education, said it is important that the transition goes smoothly.

“I definitely think these courses start that process of preparing teachers to meet the needs of students in the classroom (earlier than they would have before, but) I do believe that it is an ongoing process,”

O’Neal-Hixson said. “This program does a fantastic job of really making sure our students are applying what they are learning in their classroom... The ins and outs of applying it is important because it’s not always that perfect application (of theory), there are lots of shades of gray and teachers have to make a lot of decisions.”

According to O’Neal-Hixson, students in special education often miss out on the language building skills that happen naturally in the classroom by being pulled out for individual interventions and instruction.

“I feel that special education teachers definitely need more training in the area of reading to really hone in on their teaching skills and to think about that explicit, multisensory instruction,” O’Neal-Hixson said. “But also that piece of making sure that students who are identified as special ed. still have an opportunity to really be engaged in the classroom and experience those language rich experiences that happen.”

For questions about applying or courses, contact Erin Tuttle at etuttle@emporia.edu or Teddy Roop at troop@emporia. edu.

budget

continued from page 1 their chairs and dean’s to submit their priority list for funding needs,” Kuhlmann said. “Then, that is reviewed by the provost counseling chair and this year with the budget deficit that we are facing - there will not be such a process - those funds will be held to help create some savings into next year.

So, next year, possibly, that annual evaluation will move forward, but that decision will be made until next fall.”

Lastly, with the travel restrictions that have been set in place due to COVID-19, Garrett said that they will also have savings in travel expenses. Departmental other operating expenditures will be reduced by $280,500.

Kuhlamnn explained that OOE means everything except salaries and fringe benefits, so everything beyond personnel costs fall into

the OE. “Office supplies and printing and equipment leases, utility, professional development, travel - anything else basically that the department’s need to operate falls under the category OE,” Kuhlamnn said. “Overall, you know, we have had to go through these kinds of adjustments before and the university always pulls together.

I think it feels more difficult this time just being on the heels of cutting $2 million out of the budget year that we are currently in and then having to turn around and do it again, but I know we will come through the other side of this actively.”

Kuhlmann will be providing more information about the budget at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 11 at town hall. If you are an employee and feel like you could use additional support, reach out to the Employee Assistance Program.

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Be part of a team that changes our campus Contact us for more information or to ask for an application: esubulletineditor@gmail.com

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SPECIAL SECTION

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

COVID Complications:

Campus food pantries and the

Sayler Peplinski, junior communications major and volunteer at Corky’s Cupboard, records the food items, school supplies, and toiletries students are the most in need of on March 4. A new fridge and access to free school supplies donated by ACES are only a few of the several additions made to Corky’s Cupboard. “My favorite moments are when people realize how many items they can take because you can really see on their faces they really need what’s here,” said Peplinski. Margaret Mellott

Editor’s Note: Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, is a national nonprofit that places reporters in local newsrooms throughout the country and requires their corps members to complete a service project, where they work as journalism students. This series was done as an internship with corps member Sarah Spicer, who covers climate change at The Wichita Eagle. Spicer served as editor and provided guidance to the project, but the work is that of the students.

Lucas Lord, intern Ana Valdez Saravia, intern

More than one-third of students in the U.S. experience food insecurity each year, and for many students and members of the community in college towns throughout Kansas, campus food banks may offer the only reliable source of food assistance.

sodexo

continued from page 1 there are no opportunities for refunds or roll overs for unused money into the following academic year.

Paying $1,926 for the All Access Meal Plan her first semester at ESU, Elise Biays, senior elementary education major, said going into her freshman year she selected the unlimited plan because she was worried she wouldn’t get enough to eat with the other plans, but was unable to change it until the following semester.

“Coming to college, you don’t really know what your schedule is gonna be like,” said Biays. “But then, after being there and seeing the quality of the food, and also establishing a schedule, I realized that just wasn’t the best (choice),” Biyas said.

Junior nursing major Aubrey Powell, also opted for the All-Access Meal plan her first semester and said she rarely found herself using it. Despite the convenience and the cost, she was disappointed by the options and quality of food.

“The fact that when I went, I would not get full because the food wasn’t what I wanted or it wasn’t as good as I thought it

The Still Hungry and Homeless in College study found that “36% of university students experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days,” and in a late 2017 study indicated that 30,000 college students in the U.S. struggled with food insecurity.

As the world passes the one year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, these food pantries are struggling to feed record numbers, with fewer resources and donations.

These findings are part of a five months long investigation into the structure of 18 Midwest universities, located in Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas, by five ESU journalism students as an internship as part of a Report for America service project. Open records were filed in all five states for the 18 universities’ food service contracts and all but one university, Oklahoma State Uni-

versity, fulfilled those requests, although Colorado School of Mines did not respond soon enough for this report.

Each of the seven Kansas schools focused on faces food insecurity on their campuses, and within their broader communities as well, with at least 12% of each of the counties dealing with food insecurity, according to the 2018 Feeding America report.

In Lyon County, which is home to Emporia State, nearly 13% of the county population have dealt with food insecurity. The highest rate of food insecurity goes to Pittsburg State University in Crawford County in southeast Kansas, which is at 16%.

Even before the pandemic swept the nation, some Midwest universities were the only places for those in need to get food. Seven of the 18 surveyed universities were in officially designated food deserts, ac-

was gonna be, so I would just quit going because I was like, ‘I’m not gonna eat anything if I go there,” said Powell. “So I just started eating on my own.”

One topic mentioned by students and administration is the importance of options for students with allergies, or dietary restrictions for religious or health reasons.

But of the 18 universities surveyed for the project, ESU was in the lower tier when it came to the number of programs or accommodations made for specialty diets.

Tyler O’Dell, junior secondary education major and transfer from Wichita State University, said while WSU was more expensive, it was worth it because of the quality of food and ability of students with dietary needs to use the dining hall. “(WSU’s) cafeteria definitely had a wider variety of options,” O’Dell said. “Every day there is always an international food option, and it was usually the more plant based options.”

At Missouri Western State University, which like ESU’s food program is run by Sodexo, vegan and vegetarian options make up nearly 30% of their regular menu.

“You can always request something if you have certain needs... If they don’t have what you need, you can ask them, and they’ll try to accommodate you,” said Sean Peters, senior marketing and finance major.

Self operated universities like the University of Colorado Boulder have a bit more freedom in making decisions about the food they serve, where it comes from and the ability to offer Kosher and vegetarian

Dietary restrictions When talking to administrators from different universities about their food plans, they said one of the challenges to providing food for large groups of people is catering towards those who have certain dietary restrictions, such as vegetarian or vegan, or religious restrictions, like Kosher or Halal.

In a 2019 study of U.S. adults, 4% said they always ate vegetarian and 2% said they always ate vegan.

On many of Sodexo’s individual university sites, they list different information about nutrition based on the specific university’s needs. For ESU, they include basic information about what gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian diets are, and say they work, “diligently to address students’ specific needs, especially those with food allergies, Celiac disease, or special diet needs.”

cording to the USDA. A majority of the universities rely heavily on the help of a handful of undergraduate college students to address these issues, such as providing food access to those in need and supplying healthy, alternative foods for those students whose diets require it.

But the gap in experiences is huge, as larger, more affluent universities surveyed, like Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, are able to employ registered dieticians.

Northwest Missouri State University and the University of Central Missouri have dietetic organizations run by students that also offer advice to address these needs.

An Unbalanced Problem One of the key ways colleges provide food for students and their communities is through maintaining food pantries.

Of the 18 schools surveyed throughout Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, the campus food banks reported at the main populations they served tended to be women, international students and students of color.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture in 2019, 13% of men and women, 19% of Black people and 16% of the Hispanic population experienced food insecurity.

At ESU, students have full access to the on-campus pantry, Corky’s Cupboard. Since opening in the Fall 2014, Corky’s Cupboard has provided students with over 65,000 services and served over 1,000 meals, according to the ESU website.

Of the 17 other schools researched, nearly all of them maintain a food pantry with

resources for students battling food insecurity. The lone exception is the Colorado School of Mines, where their food pantry is operated by the students who are seeking to establish it as a university facility according to Estelle Cronmiler, president of “Fighting Hunger at Mines.”

This can be seen more clearly at the Colorado School of Mines, which of all the schools surveyed, kept the most meticulous records on who utilized their services.

According to a survey the club conducted two years ago, nearly eleven percent of the population on campus used their services, and a majority of them were Native Americans from Colorado and international students.

“There are certain barriers that international students face that aren’t necessarily as predominant in native Colorado populations that go to the school,” said Estelle Cronmiller, a student and president of the club “Fighting Hunger at Mines.” “We’ve been told by multiple people that we are the organization on campus that affects their personal life the most.”

Struggles of Campus Food Pantries Even in smaller areas, schools are serving a substantially larger number of students than larger schools. For example, Hays has a reported population of nearly 21,000 and the student population reaches nearly 13,000. In this small rural community, students account for over half the people.

“Since last semester, we have served at least 3,000 people,” said Peter Tramel, co-chair of the Tiger Food Exchange Program at Fort Hays.

“We have seen maybe a 50%

Eduardo Argueta sophomore marketing and business administration major (right) and Sandra Koskela, junior communications major (left), sit in the Hornet’s Nest after finishing lunch on March 4.

Margaret Mellott

stations, something Rebecca Jacobs, a senior engineering major at CU Boulder, said she really appreciated. “(The dining hall) is one of the reasons I actually chose CU (Boulder),” said Rebecca Jacobs, senior engineering major. “I visited, and I fell in love with the fact that they try to do a lot of locally sourced meats...

Very rarely do freshmen live in apartments or places where they have their own kitchen, so I think having really nutritious, sustainable and healthier food available is super important.”

Kansas State University is also self-operated, which allows them to offer students in

need of dietary accommodations a wider range of food options and a separate dining space.

“When it comes to gluten free or dietary or allergies they (students) had their own separate dining,” said Chris White, a 2020 Kansas State graduate.

“It was still in the dining hall, but they had their own kitchen.

So if they wanted to they could select out pre-made meals to get, or there was also a stove and freezer. It was kind of set up like a nice apartment kitchen. So they didn’t have to worry about cross contamination.”

When students aren’t able to get the food they want or

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

SPECIAL SECTION

5

battle against food insecurity increase in usage of our services this year...In a way, it’s too bad that people are in need of our services, but it is certainly no sign fewer people will need it in the long run. As far as those who work for us, those kinds of people go on to do helpful things elsewhere.”

All of the larger universities surveyed said they have generally seen an increase of donations and available funding.

However, the small universities are the ones that experienced challenges providing food.

Three of the 18 universities we surveyed were small size and the battle for both social and financial help in breaking down the barriers to food access.

For example, Missouri Western State University began requiring their Greek Life students to donate supplies or volunteer time to help the food banks.

“We have a fair amount of items that we usually run out of,” said Abigail Rush, assistant dean of students at Missouri Western. “We will put it out in the Griffin Post, which is an email we send out at the beginning of the week, and we will have a call for donations.”

At ESU, food and housing insecurity throughout Emporia was already a growing concern, according to the Basic Needs Coalition. The organization is chaired by Blythe Eddy who is the Director-Student Activities and Community Service and Jasmine Linabary an Assistant Professor of the Communication and Theatre Department.

“Having so many different departments and offices involved and made aware of resources helps us spread the word to all corners of campus,” said Linabary.

Eddy and Linabary stated in ESU insider from the presidents office that, “Defining the problem space can be a point

of contention as we navigate questions from different people around what ‘counts’ as being basic needs insecure and what needs are ‘legitimate.’”

Pandemic Complications The current pandemic has resulted in a growing number of students and faculty in need of help and providing food for them has become a challenge.

For example, Washburn University said the pandemic severely limited their ability to raise donations, while simultaneously increasing need.

Both the Colorado School of Mines and ESU reported that the problem was worse when trying to supply students with specialty diets, and staff at the University of Central Missouri said they need to hire more help as the pressure on their staff increased.

At a time that social distancing and schooling from home has limited the ability of campus food banks to accept and drive donation numbers, economic problems have driven demand through the roof.

Most recently, Corky’s Cupboard was unable to run it’s annual ‘Can the Bods’ food drive, a Homecoming event with Washburn University that usually accounts for a majority of the pantry’s donations each year. Instead, ESU organized ‘Can COVID,’ which was sponsored by Associated Student Government. The event ended up raising $3,895, which will be used to support Corky’s Cupboard.

In 2018, the drive raised 50,891 cans for ESU’s food bank, while Washburn’s drive raised 34,214 cans.

At Colorado School of Mines, the students only recently formed their official food pantry in the Fall of 2020.

In the midst of the pandemic, their program has been hit hard. They have had to limit

hours to one day a week because they can’t keep food on the shelves.

“We only stock the fridge every Thursday, and usually the food will be gone by Monday or Tuesday,” Cronmiller said.

“Normally we would stock the fridge Monday, Wednesday and Friday but we just have less food coming in because of the pandemic, because there is such great need.”

At ESU, Corky’s Cupboard decided to provide free meals during the Spring 2021 semester to international students who did not purchase a meal plan and are experiencing food insecurity, but there is a limited number of free meals.

Last semester, Corky’s Cupboard also offered students who used the pantry a declining dollar balance to be used in all food stations at ESU, like Starbucks, The Nest which is ESU cafeteria and Hornet Express that is a fast food station.

Supplying food to everyone While some food banks have the ability to provide a variety of food, 10 university pantries surveyed said they’ve struggled to maintain adequate options for those with dietary needs.

“While we do have some options, we haven’t yet fully implemented a section just for vegetarian food or gluten free food, however, they are kind of in the mix,” said Matthew Smoker, junior at Washburn University and manager of their food pantry.

Fort Hays is trying to offer fresh food by having students engage in growing it themselves. Fort Hays is continuing to develop its community garden where students can work to maintain small crops that they can use in a therapeutic exercise that combines gardening with mental welfare.

“We grow a pretty good va-

riety,” said Tramel, co-chair of the Victor E. Garden at Fort Hays State. “We just ordered seeds for this year and we ordered tomatoes, pears, geens, lettuce, kale, snow peas, green beans and in the summer we do other things like corn, things like that, but we especially focus on the Spring and the Fall crops because that is when we have more clients.”

Without a dietary specialist, ESU’s campus community must rely on assistance from programs like the EAT initiative or Corky’s Cupboard to supplement their university meal plans when adequate alternatives are not available.

For other schools like Oklahoma State University where dining programs have long been self-operated and student oriented, dieterty accommodations have been an area of constant focus.

“To be a self-op school, (it offers) a lot of flexibility to participate in those pilot programs,” said Vedda Hsu, dining director at Oklahoma State University. “We started the sustainability committee on campus...

We also have the Farm Fresh program and we are one of the 15 universities in the United

need in the cafeteria, it means they have to turn elsewhere on campus for food. Sometimes, it means an even greater expense for students.

here if there’s not certain parameters met. It has nothing to do with Sodexo. If Chick-Fil-A’s like ‘Nope,’ (then) either you’re not big enough (or) there’s not enough people who are going to come through.”

At the University of Kansas, their self-operation allows them to address both of these problems and offer declining balance dining plans, which is a dollar amount students can spend at any of the 20 restaurants or campus grocery stores.

use Sodexo like ESU, five use Chartwells, one uses Aramark and one uses Fresh Ideas.

Of the seven schools that use Sodexo, administrators emphasize the importance of the combination of local people and successful economies in order to be efficient.

Former ESU Sodexo general manager, Myron Bridges, has been with Sodexo for 16 years and said that each university works differently with the company. Bridges is now the operations manager at St. Louis University in Missouri.

“We have a global program but then we customize it to be unit specific,” Bridges said.

“We do surveys a couple times a year and one of the exciting things about ESU was that I was able to connect with students on a day to day basis— able to have conversations on what we were doing well and what we could improve on.”

Starting this semester, Ned Price is the new Sodexo General Manager at ESU. According to Paula Minten, former dishwasher for Sodexo and Junior psychology major, Price has already made an active effort to improve the food based on students’ reviews.

Earlier this semester, Price talked with her and her friends about their thoughts and made improvements the very next

day.

“He’s very, very attentive about our experience and was writing things down actually, of what he could improve,” Minten said. “I suggested less cheese on the pizza because it was a mountain of cheese and really greasy. I can’t eat that much cheese, I’m lactose intolerant. I noticed that there was less cheese the next day.”

Kansas State always has been self-operated. By making their own decisions, it is easier to focus on the student’s satisfaction, according to Mary Molt, Assistant Director of Housing and Dining Services.

“We believe we can operate our own facility more efficiently,” said Molt. “We believe we can serve great food, we can be of service only to the students that we serve, and we don’t have a contract company with the need to pay stockholders and need to pay somewhere else funds in order to run their food service.”

Kansas State uses their dining facilities to teach students in their dietetics and hospitality management programs, and are able to employ many more students than if they used a food service company, according to Molt.

“We pay our entry level about $10.50 an hour,” Molt said. “In addition, there’s about

Turning for food elsewhere ESU students have access to three restaurants on campus, which are also run by Sodexo, offering hamburgers, sandwiches and Mexican food.

More recently, ESU added a full Starbucks to the union.

Several ESU students said they increased their meals plans, not to get more access to the cafeteria, but to gain more dining dollars, which they can use at these restaurants, like the Hornet Express.

“It was just my second semester, so we still had to have the meal plan, but I just went down to the lowest level,” said Powell. “So it was only so many swipes...and it gave more money to eat at the other places.”

Although students enjoy these on campus restaurants, adding chain restaurants aren’t an option because of the size of ESU, according to Carmen Leeds, Director of the Memorial Union.

“Licensees aren’t going to come in if they don’t feel like there’s enough people to purchase from them, for them to make money,” Leeds said.

“Chick-Fil-A is not gonna come

The ability to self operate Unlike ESU, larger universities have the luxury of being able to provide food service themselves, which allows them more control.

For smaller universities, operating their own food service is not always a viable option.

“The larger the school is, the more likely it’s going to be self operated, just because the financial resources will be there, just because of the larger volume of students who are buying into the dining plan, and spending money and non dining plan sales on campus,” said Jim Schilling, Director of Dining at the University of Kansas.

Instead, they often rely on two main providers, Sodexo and Chartwells. Of the 18 surveyed universities, seven

States that participates.”

As a self-operated university, this allows Oklahoma State to spend money they normally would on maintaining contracts with vendors on providing more meal options on campus, according to Hsu. “You provide money to those outsourced entities, Aramark, Chartwells, whatever, you know you’re funding them,” said Tracie Brown, senior director of student union operations at Oklahoma State.

“You’re funding their corporate world...They’re making money off of you.”

By being the largest employer of student employees on campus, Brown said they are able to get a lot of direct feedback from those who eat on campus as they help direct the dining advisory groups on campus.

“We have a registered dietician, she’s a nutritionist that will meet with any student one on one to help them,” Brown said. “It is very, very hands on and I just can’t see that happening in an outsourced environment.”

Contributing to this report were interns Katie Donnelly, Isabella Eppens, Margaret Mellott

Peplinski, who has volunteered at Corky’s Cupboard for two years, says although there are guidelines for how many items students can take, they are typically pleasantly surprised when told all they have access to. “Now that we have a fridge and a freezer we can have stuff like milk and eggs and butter which we didn’t really have before,” said Peplinksi. Margaret Mellott

30% more in benefits, because our employees get annual sick leave (and) all the benefits that go with state jobs.”

With operations in all seven continents, Sodexo food services employees 420,000 people, according to their website.

Molt said the goal is not to make money, but rather to use student’s money as a means to provide them with the best experience possible—a goal shared with Schilling.

“Our ability to serve only this campus... enables us to just exist as an affiliate to the university and have our only function be here,” Schilling said.

Oklahoma State University is also self-operating, which allows them to be more flexible in responding to student complaints, according to Tracie Brown, senior director of Student Union Operations. In addition, the money that is made through dining services stays with OSU and doesn’t go to a food service vendor.

“Every dollar you spend here, as a student, as faculty, staff, stays right here at Oklahoma State,” Brown said. “(It) goes right back into supporting students through programming, through facilities that we have, and just making a better experience for our students.”

Contributing to this report were interns Lucas Lord, Ana Valdez Saravia

OPINION

6

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

Staff Ed

Bending over backwards to catch a break Around the middle of the Fall semester, Emporia State made the decision like other universities across the country to cancel spring break amid the ongoing novel coronavirus. However, in return, the spring semester was pushed back a few days in return for two “mental health days.”

But, how much does this actually help?

Yes, mental health days are extremely important, especially during a pandemic.

However, there could have been better alternatives rather than pushing the week back and sprinkling in two mental health days for students.

First of all, thank you to Brayden Soper, Associated Student Government President, for being one of the first

students to speak up and give feedback to the importance of mental health to the Fall Planning Group, now known as the Future Planning Group.

Two mental health days are better than none, right?

classes on certain days. Many students even still had deadlines on last Friday, March 5, or even just that weekend.

Students did not really get much of a break when they still had group meetings for classes, deadlines, or other class requirements. The decision to cancel spring break to protect students was a good choice, but more support needs to be provided to students especially at a time when so many of our normal coping mechanisms are not available to us.

Taking care of your mental health is an ongoing process and while a handful of days off can help ease the immense stress of college life in the pandemic, if we are going to succeed this semester, we have to do more than just survive it.

Two mental health days are better than none, right?

The point still stands: Two mental health days are not enough.

The point still stands: Two mental health days are not enough.

With many classes being online or hybrid, some students regularly do not have

Straying from the path

Kyra Jumper Opinions Editor

On Thursday March 4, I got off work around 5 p.m. and walked to my apartment to be greeted by a small, female kitten. She had to have been at least a year or two old, she was so cute and tiny.

Confused, I looked around for a possible owner outside.

No one was in sight. I asked my neighbors as they walked in and out of their apartments if the kitten belonged to anybody, but nobody claimed her. My neighbors informed me that they had seen her around the complex for a couple of weeks.

So, I took to social media to try and find the owner. I posted videos on my Snapchat asking if anyone is missing their pet. To my luck, everyone who slid up informed me that the kitten had been around the area since last summer. As more information was given to me by my friends, I came to the conclusion that the kitten was a stray and in heat bassed off of her behavior.

I called animal control and a nice Emporia Police Officer met me at the Emporia Animal Shelter at 1216 Hatcher St. to put the stray in an emer-

gency kennel. I would rather have her somewhere safe where she can receive current vaccinations, be spayed, have food, water and shelter rather than risk living outside with malnutrition, infection, be impregnated by male cats and contribute further to the stray problem in Emporia, be eaten by another animal or be hit by a car.

By the time I left the animal shelter, I got a notificationsaying I was accepted into the Facebook group for missing and found animals of Lyon County. I posted one video of her onto the page with information of where I found her and that she is safe at the shelter.

Almost immediately, I was harassed online for taking the cat to the shelter.

One person called me names and said I was part of the problem. The person furthered this harassment by bothering other people who had also done the same thing -- take an animal with no collar or prevalent owner to the shelter. I was annoyed, to say the least, because I firmly believe that I did the right thing by saving this kitten’s life rath-

er than just letting it be.

This person’s responses made one misconception very clear to me that I feel needs to be addressed -- Emporia’s stray cat problem.

While the person said they were feeding stray cats in their neighborhood, I thanked them for that. However, they chastised me and called me names for taking the stray cat away from its natural environment and living in the wild. I understand that to an extent, but cats that are not neutered or spayed will continue to reproduce until they die.

Therefore, the stray problem will never go away -- in fact, it could only get worse.

That is where multiple programs have stepped in.

The Street Cats Club is just one program out of a handful of others in Emporia that are dedicated to helping the stray population. The Club is just another program based out of the Humane Society of the Flint Hills.

SCC will trap, neuter or spay, then return or foster stray cats. Cats can continue to live in the wild, like the person arguing with me pointed out, but they can also be fostered and find a loving home.

The main point to take away is neutering or spaying will help reduce the population.

The person also pointed out that HSFH is underfunded, which is true, but there is one simple solution -- donate. We are fortunate to have multiple programs dedicated to helping the problem and rescue animals. Do your research and if you can -- donate to these organizations.

CONTACT US

1 Kellogg Circle, Emporia, KS 66801 Campus Box 4068 Emporia State University 3rd floor Memorial Union, Room 312 Phone: 620-341-5201

Allison Garrett

Letter to the Editor

Dear Bulletin Editor, Recently two editorials appeared in the local paper addressing competition in sports by transgender athletes. This is an important topic that is being debated at both the national and state levels. Because this is a complex and developing issue, I’d like to briefly explain where ESU stands on this matter. Emporia State University holds to several principles when it comes to athletic competitions and the environment we strive to create on campus.

First, every student who wishes to compete should have the right to do so. Athletics competition is an important part of socialization, just like theatre, band, debate or the science club. Participation in athletics can create a sense of belonging.

Second, competition should be fair and equitable.

The Sport Science Institute of the NCAA, which has studied this issue for many years, has developed criteria to allow for fair competition based on current scientific evidence.

The SSI continues to monitor the developing science. As an NCAA institution, ESU is fully committed to following the NCAA guidelines on this issue.

Third, ESU supports all students, faculty and staff regardless of their gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, race, age, faith, political ideology, beliefs or any other characteristic that makes you uniquely you. We take seriously our Strategic Plan goal to be a model of diversity, equity and inclusion. ESU is here to support everyone in our community.

Fourth, ESU is committed to, and legally bound to, by the First Amendment of the Unit-

Submit your letter to the Editor today

Letters to the editor should be no more than 450 words and can address issues, concerns, ideas or events important to you. Letters may be edited for content and length. email letters to esubulletineditor@gmail.com. Please include your name and student email so we can verify authorship

EDITORIAL STAFF Margaret Mellott Editor-in-Chief

ed States Constitution. As a university, we are committed to being a place where issues can be explored and discussed. We are fortunate to have the benefit of the many lived experiences and academic disciplines on our campus to inform broader understanding.

Some issues and discussions will bring up strong feelings, therefore it is important to engage respectfully and with care. Acceptance and inclusion are powerful bonds in any community; likewise lack of acceptance and inclusion drive a wedge between people. ESU is committed to creating an environment where different viewpoints and robust discussion can occur so learning and growth may take place.

A few inches of text in a newspaper can be helpful in teeing up an issue, but it is not the ideal venue for discussion. Important topics deserve respectful study, exploration and conversation on our campus. To that end, I have asked Dr. Aswad Allen, ESU’s Chief Diversity Officer, to convene conversations around these issues as we continue to work toward becoming a campus that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion.

Students who need additional support and counseling should contact the Student Wellness Center at 620-3415222. Support groups for members of the LGBTQ+ community and Allies are available - details are available on Hornet Life. Employees who need counseling services should contact the Employee Assistance Program at 888-275-1205.

Sincerely, Allison Garrett President Emporia State University

Katie Donnelly Managing Editor Kyra Jumper Opinions Editor

Lucas Lord Web Editor

ADVISER Max McCoy Professor of Journalism

esubulletineditor@gmail.com

www.esubulletin.com

One free copy per ESU student. Additional copies are $2.00 per issue or $35 for a yearly subscription.

NEWS

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

7

Community continues to get vaccines

LEFT: COVID vaccine supplies sit on the counter behind one of the chairs where community members are getting their vaccines. ABOVE RIGHT: Mairyln Buchele, Emporia resident since the 60s, got her second COVID vaccine on Thursday, Feb. 25 at the Clint Bowyer Building, Lyon County Fairgrounds, Industrial Rd. Lucas Lord | The Bulletin

Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin speaks with ESU Young Democrats, encourages focus on local politics Lucas Lord

Web Editor

Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin, from Kansas House District 20, spoke with members of the ESU Young Dems via Zoom last Friday as part of an ongoing effort to promote local politics prior to the 2022 elections.

“Because we did not break the supermajority in the 2020 state house elections, which I really, really thought that we would, I explained to (the Young Democrats) that they have to work on messaging when talking with legislators,” said Poskin.

While weather advisories and concerns over Covid-19 continue, Poskin said virtual events like these offer more opportunities to do outreaching events, which is important because events like these are increasingly important as Kansas approaches the next election cycle after failing to break the republican supermajority in the

House.

“We talked about the importance of the politics that happen in your backyard,” Poskin said.

“We discussed how many of the issues that spur their interests in politics can and are being addressed at the local level. For instance, (Non-Discrimination Ordinances) have passed at the municipal levels here in Johnson County, as has the banning of single use plastic bags. It is interesting to note the state legislature’s majority party, long a champion of ‘local control’, is trying to pass legislation to essentially squash these efforts.

(So) I encouraged them to become engaged in every level of government.”

Five people joined the virtual presentation, which anonymized the pre-approved viewers and prevented them from interacting with the stream.

“We did not have very many people at the meeting on a Friday night. I think college kids have other priorities (than to

come to events like these),” said Raiden Gonzales, freshman political science major and president of the ESU Young Dems.

“We really focused on ways to get involved in Emporia and statewide through both the local democratic party and the plenty of other opportunities statewide.”

Gonzales said that it has been hard during the pandemic to go out and recruit members, especially when they have had to change how they go about recruitment.

“We have just established a high school transition program to help gain new members,” Gonzales said. “(So that should help us prepare) for the next elections in 2022.”

For more information about the Emporia State University Young Democrats and their upcoming events visit emporia. campuslabs.com/engage/organization/esuyoungdems.

utilities

continued from page 1 the Sodexo and the IT departments, said Carmen Leeds, director of the Memorial Union.

“The first priority for us (the Memorial Union) is we have to provide food. And what does that look like?

Whatever the situation may be...If there’s a glitch in the power, does everything fire back up like it should? Does the dish machine fire back up like it should do? The ovens come back on...But you’re double checking and making sure we don’t have to go to plan B, whatever that might be if something didn’t work because we are required to make sure that we get everybody said they have a meal plan. We’re gonna feed them.”

Another main concern for ESU as a whole is the security of the school seeing as the majority of the locks are controlled by the internet and electricity.

“You don’t realize how many things are connected to the Internet. The doors opening and closing can be all automatic,” said Leeds.

“So what does the power outage do to those? So you had to do a lot of thinking and troubleshooting and just making sure that buildings were secure if they needed to be or your heating and air conditioning units are all maintained...Our maintenance person had to be available to check and make sure that when we did flip to a generator that the air conditioning or heating or whatever still worked Um, that type stuff. So a lot of it just had to have a lot of people on call ready to troubleshoot if needed, because you just didn’t know the full impact of what a power outage is gonna do.”

The power Outage was actually an opportunity for ESU to see what they were doing correctly, and what they could be doing better, according to Leeds.

Students, faculty respond to Kansas Senate passing carry and conceal for under-21 persons Katie Donnelly Web Editor

Sitting in class, trying to stay awake during the seemingly endless monologue students are suddenly jolted by the loud pop of a gunshot. The professor shouts to close the door as an alarm sounds and the sound of police sirens blare from a distance. After hours of waiting under desks with hands over their ears, students are told they are finally safe.

Eighty one mass shootings similar to this have occured in the United States in 2021 alone.

Whether or not students carrying and concealing would cause or decrease mass shootings on college campuses is a common debate among students attending college, and ESU is no different.

Now, a whole new argument is added to the mix-- whether or not students between the ages of 18 and 21 should be allowed to conceal and carry, which the The Kansas Legislature recently amended.

“The House passed the amendment to lower the age to 18. So now it has to go to the state Senate and we’ll see what

they do so that if it changes, it’ll change (from 18 to 21)” said Kevin Johnson, General Council for ESU. “July 1st will be the effective date, and then it will be age 18.

But that’s still to be determined.”

With the Senate still left to vote, ESU students and faculty are picturing what it would look like if 18 year olds had the option to conceal and carry. Based on ESU’s reaction to students and faculty above the age of 21 given the option to carry and conceal in the year 2018, Michael Smith, chair of the social sciences department, believes other than an increased number of people carrying, the biggest change will be the student body’s reaction.

“It’s just a bunch of innocent people going around and carrying guns and that’s what we see at ESU,” said Smith. “There are people carrying and they don’t do anything. They don’t terrorize non-gun owners and they don’t stop crime either…

That’s that cultural divide--kids coming out from Johnson County, a lot of them think it’s insane.

And the kids from Americus are thinking well, of course we carry guns, everybody carries guns.”

Jerry Cook, chief of ESU Police and Safety, agrees with

Smith explaining even the policy changes will not be abrupt, nor does he expect them to be too extensive. The changes made by police and safety will mainly be determined by State Legislators.

“I don’t feel that it will look too different. It’ll just be some upgrading to procedures, really. And it doesn’ change much because it just changes the age and allows access for others. At this time, I don’t I don’t see any (changes),” said Cook, “There’s no negatives (or) positives that will come out of our department. Obviously there’s gonna have to be some training with that, you know, every law change and statue change and such they’re just always need to be additional training for those changes and that’s usually put out by the state.”

Students such as Raiden Gonzalez, president of the Young Dems, disagrees, believing his safety is at greater risk as well as the safety of his peers.

“Honestly, it’s kinda terrifying that our Kansas Legislators want 18 year olds to conceal carry and especially with school shootings,” said Gonzalez. “Lately, we haven’t had any but it’s indefinite at any time. Anything

can happen on a college campus or any school campus.”

Cook says along with making the changes required by the state, the main goal of ESU Police and Safety is ensuring students like Gonzalez feel safe, even if that means having one on one discussions to ease their anxiety.

“If they (students) ever have questions, concerns or need to talk to somebody...It’s (police and safety) 24, 7, 365,. And anybody is more than welcome to come down or call us. And we’re more than welcome to discuss those issues.We don’t want to invalidate feelings and make them feel silly because they feel this way. That’s their right to have their opinion. All we can do is help discuss and maybe ease some of those concerns....

If somebody ever has concerns or questions or just needs somebody to talk to you, we’re always here… We’ve got to do our best to do everything we can to help students.”

Other students like Mckenzie Haddix, president of the Collegiate Republicans feel an added sense of comfort knowing when she is off campus and outside of the protection of

ESU police and safety, she will have the ability to defend herself.

“And so at the end of the day there’s only so much universities and college campuses can do, and I think ESU is doing everything that they can do,” said Haddix. “And you look at the numbers of sexual happening specifically on our campus…. and I think it’s important that we are able to utilize those rights that we should have. And I do feel that I, as a woman, would feel safer on my college campus, especially at night, if I’m walking home from class. If I was able to conceal Carry.”

Cook emphasizes what’s most important is that the guns are concealed and carried at all times on campus, even in the dorms.

“The whole idea of carrying concealed is nobody knows you have that with you,” said Cook.

“And that’s the big deal. Because if you open carry, people are gonna notice this individual carrying or they know you have a firearm on their person...Again, for the 17th time, carrying concealed is the whole idea is nobody knows about it.”

8

ENTERTAINMENT

The Bulletin | MARCH 11, 2021

Murals give local community hope through COVID Katie Donnelly

Managing Editor

In March of 2020 the nation was shaken with an unexpected pandemic resulting in several tragedies. One that hit Emporia especially hard was the closing of several businesses, large and small, to shut down. With people unable to

leave their homes Emporia Main Street found a way to not only encourage shopping at small businesses once they reopened, but to provide people with In March of 2020 the first mural, a butterfly on the side of Troxy Gallery and Gifts at 729 Commercial Street. The butterfly and several other

murals are the culmination of the efforts of several different small businesses in Emporia, Coffelt Signs and Emporia Main Street in particular.

“I think we’re all looking for different things that we can do and socially distance--things that we can do outside,” said Jessica Buhholz, Community Development Coordinator for

Emporia Main Street. “And we really feel like the murals provide that opportunity. So you can take a stroll downtown... And then we also hope that through all of that, the folks that are visiting the murals will also take an opportunity to visit the stores that are around them.”

Kaila Mock, Trox owner,

Aubrey Powell, junior nursing major and intern at Emporia Main Street jumps for joy at the new installation of the postcard Mural in January. Powell assisted in the overall project and especially enjoyed picking out the overall design.“I think the murals are a super cool addition to the downtown area and it’s a cool project Emporia Mainstreet had had with the help of Coffelt,” said Powell. “It promotes businesses and gives people a reason to go downtown.” Photo Submitted By: Stacy Hammond, owner of Coffelt Signs.

confirms the crowd of people the murals bring into small businesses including her own.

“I love the butterfly mural. It definitely brings more people into my business,” said Mock. “They come to get their photos taken with it, and then, you know, they’ll walk by and look at my windows and be like, ‘Oh, let’s stop in here.’”

Each mural displayed is made out of recyclable material. The creators wanted a mural that not only represented Emporia as a whole but also embodied sustainability, something Emporia Mainstreet and Coffelt Signs hold to an important standard.

“The cool thing about these, the material with these is it’s recyclable,” said Stacy Hammond, owner of Coffelt Signs. “And that’s something that’s really important to the Main Street program…. So the products that we’re using have a 12 to 18 month expected lifespan and when we remove them we just wad them up (and) put them in the recycle bin.”

The murals include different parts of the community that highlight Emporia as a whole such as ESU, FlintHills Tech, Emporia First Friday, disc golf, and Veteran’s Day. “I’m glad that they use the paint palette to represent, you know, the vibrant arts culture in Emporia,” said Mock. “But I love that they have all the differences--ESU and the high school. And it seems like they just represented everything.”

First Fridays features local art

TOP: Members of the Emporia State Printing Guild sell handmade prints to raise funds to attend Frogman’s Print Workshop in Nebraska. Using a brayer and travel-size press, prints can go on a variety of items. BOTTOM LEFT: Three generations of the Thomson family attended the debut of Brenda’s, “Sacred Feminine” showcase. Ashley (Middle) said the series has been a lifelong work of her mothers. BOTTOM RIGHT: Delaney Dold, recent Communications Graduate from ESU, displays embroidery work at Twin Rivers Winery. Normally selling online, Dold said she was excited to display her work in a local shop. Lucas Lord | The Bulletin