TODAY’S FORECAST
HI: 81o LOW: 47o
Alex Broussard| The Hosutonian
The SHSU baseball team lost series to Oral Roberts University in three games.
Chance of Rain:
10%
Sodomy laws still on books in some states shows they’re behind the times
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www.HoustonianOnline.com
Volume 123 / Issue 26
“Pirates of Penzance” to open in SHSU Theatre department
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Kats rally to help victims of explosion CHEYENNE SIMPSON Multimedia Reporter In the midst of homework, exams and presentations, Sam Houston State University students took time out of their busy lives to raise more than $2,000 to help a town in need. Bearkats rallied together last weekend to help the town of West, Texas, recover from an industrial explosion that killed 14 residents, injured 200 and destroyed more than 50 homes and business buildings. Metrisa Wagner, president of KHRASH (Kinesiology, Health, Recreation Association for Sam Houston) said she wanted to join forces with other organizations so that a bigger impact could be made in helping the citizens of West recover. “We are really grateful for all of the donations,” Wagner said, “We are really grateful that the student body, the staff and faculty stepped up and the corporation we had with the administration… they have shown so much support to make this student initiative happen.” While KHRASH organized the fundraiser, 14 other organizations joined the cause, taking their respective buckets around campus collecting as much money as they
could. Even though the purpose of the fundraiser is to raise money for the residence of West, students still took the opportunity to have a friendly competition to see who could raise the most money in one day. Block & Bridle, an animal science organization, placed first, collecting more than $400. Psi Chi came in second by raising more than $200, and Raven Films were third, collecting more than $100. Other participating organizations were Student Nurse Association, APICS, SGA, Zeta Phi Beta, Lambda Chi Alpha, Omega Phi Chi, Lambda Theta Alpha, With A Grain of Salt and an individual participant, Alex Cuevas. Robert Ferguson, a sophomore biology student and SGA senator at SHSU, said he is proud of his fellow Bearkats and their efforts to help families like his. Ferguson said he has family in West who’s home was destroyed in the explosion. After raising money on campus, students traveled to West to handdeliver the aid Donations to the town of West can be made through KHRASH or the Department of Student Activities.
Photo by Metrisa Wagner
SMALL DONATION, BIG ISSUE. Members of KRASH hand deliver the money the organization and 14 others to victims of the explosion that rocked the town of West, Texas. A fertilizer plant caught fire and eventually exploded killing an unknown number of citizens and firefighters and leveling buildings in the vacinity.
North Korean threat becoming ‘more serious’ for South
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
PERCHED AND WAITING. A South Korean army soldier rests on an armored vehicle during an annual military exercise in Paju near the border with North Korea, South Korea on Monday, Apr. 22 due to increased nuclear tensions.
JAY R. JORDAN Senior Reporter The threat of nuclear war with North Korea may not be a likely worry for many students at SHSU, but for South Korean students and other students on campus with family and friends in the Asian nation, the threat is getting more
serious every day. North Korea’s latest threats have put the nation on the United States’ radar. After North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un came to power in 2011, nuclear threats have grown. Jong-Un claims to have nuclear warheads ready to strike against South Korea, and many missile
tests attest to these claims. Although, many military experts say that it is highly unlikely that North Korea possesses the nuclear warheads, according to Fox News. International student Seogyeong Park is from South Korea and said that while there is a threat from North Korea, life in South Korea is still relaxed.
“Korean people tend to forget easily, especially for North Korea’s threat,” Park said. Actually, many Koreans think ‘that’s just nothing, maybe they need rice, money, or something’. Especially, men think this way more than women do, since they trained a lot in army and they believe war will not happen that easily.” Before Park came to SHSU, North Korea bombarded the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing two soldiers, two residents and injuring about 20 people. “After that bombardment, it was tense, but soon the tension was decreased,” Park said. “I think until both countries communicate it won’t be changed, but as I said [earlier] a lot of Korean people live normally already.” Park said she decided to attend SHSU because she wanted to experience different cultures that she couldn’t experience in South Korea. She is a double major in international trade and English. Junior accounting major Brittany Cook also has ties to South Korea. Her childhood friend is stationed with the U.S.
Army in South Korea. She said that he has been in South Korea for a little over a year. “He’s coming home for a week in May, but then he’s going back until September,” Cook said. “He was going to stay, but when all of this started happening with North Korea, he asked to be transferred somewhere else.” Cook said since tensions with North Korea escalated, communication with her friend has become scarce. “He’s limited on what he can say,” Cook said. “It hasn’t gotten bad enough to where they’ve been put on lockdown, but we also used to talk on a daily basis and I haven’t talked to him in two weeks.” Though President Barack Obama doesn’t believe North Korea has the capabilities to possess a nuclear warhead, he said that Jong-Un should stop threatening nuclear war. “Now is the time for North Korea to end the belligerent approach that they’ve been taking,” Obama said. “Nobody wants to see a conflict on the Korean peninsula.”
Bill orders increased transparency to help educate students on cost SAMANTHA DAVIS Staff Reporter Texas Senate Bill 1531 was proposed to increase education students on these costs and what they can do to combat them, according to the Texas legislator who authored the bill. The bill requires “general academic teaching institutions to provide first-time entering undergraduate students, including transfer students, a statement that compares the average total academic costs of graduating in four, five and six years,” according to Texas Sen. Kel Seliger’s (R-District 31) higher education bill analysis. Senior mass communication major Stephanie Bray said knowing costs earlier can stave
off potential financial pitfalls later in educational careers. “Money is a big reason why people don’t get to go to college,” Bray said. “I had to take a year off between my freshman and sophomore year because I underestimated the costs. It’s definitely useful information that students need to know. It makes you think about not changing your major, wasting time as an undecided, and more.” The average tuition cost per academic year for students at Texas universities is $7,625 for 15 hours. The bill also requires schools to supply an estimate of the average pay lost by recent graduates due to late graduation. In addition, SB-1531 requires schools to include informational tools detailing steps that students can take to graduate on time, as
well as offices they can contact for assistance. “As the youngest of three and the first to go to university right after high school almost completely blind, I think it’s a pretty decent idea so new students can get an idea of what they are dealing with,” freshman forensic chemistry major James Ross said. Some upperclassmen say they go their entire academic career and not find out crucial information until too late. “If students exceed 120 hours, they will be charged out-of-state tuition, which students usually don’t know,” junior English major Regan Joswiak said. “If they can have access to the costs of graduating in four, five, or six years, they will be able to see just how expensive it will become.” If passed the bill will take effect
George Mattingly | The Houstonian
EL GATO OPENING. SHSU President Dana Gibson, and mass communication chair Jean Bodon cut the ribbon for the new SHSU Spanish language radio station, KSHU 90.5 HD 2 El Gato.