Vol 119 | Issue 16
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Publishing since 1913
Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Houston State University
The English language is dead, pg. 2
INDEX
KAT Links For more information about the Lone Survivor Foundation, visit LoneSurvivorFoundation.org/
Perfect home volleyball season ends, pg. 8
Viewpoints ...... pg. 2 Special .............. pg. 6 Homecoming .. pg. 3 Special .............. pg. 7 News ................ pg. 4 Sports ............... pg. 8 A&E ................. pg. 5
First 6-0 season since ‘64
By Zach Birdsong Sports Editor
From beginning to end, the Bearkats could not be stopped on Saturday. The defense continually harassed Nicholls State (1-6, 0-3) and forced five turnovers. That would tell it all as the Kats won in a rout, 47-7. With the victory, the team improved to 6-0 on the season, the third time in program history and the first since 1964. The win also puts the Kats in sole possession of first place in the Southland Conference. Coming out onto the field in special camouflage jerseys, the defense set the tone early. And, on the first series, forced Nicholls into a turnover as defensive end Eddie Decambre intercepted a pass that was tipped at the line. But the offense struggled to get points on the board and the game remained scoreless until defensive back Robert Shaw intercepted Nicholls and returned it for a 61 yard touchdown late in the first
Jessica Gomez | The Houstonian
FLIPPING FOR IT. SHSU running back Tim Flanders, sophomore, flips over defensive back Caleb Nelson, sophomore, of the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks, bringing the score to 24.-3, Kats.
quarter. “It gave us a little spark and boosted the confidence of the offense,” Shaw said. “They felt since the defense
was out there giving it all we had, they felt like they had to pick it up. It just helped our whole team.” With the offense still
struggling to get points on the board, the defense once again made it easy for them by creating turnovers on two straight drives, the first
of which came as linebacker Darius Taylor forced a fumble that was recovered by lineman Gary Lorance, and the offense took over at
Nicholls’ 22 yard line. Quarterback Brian Bell tossed up his only score of the day as wide receiver Torrance Williams caught an eight yard touchdown pass. Bell finished the game, completing 70 percent of his throws (14-20) for 128 yards. 55 seconds later, defensive end Andrew Weaver intercepted Nicholls and gave the offense the ball at the three yard line. Running back Tim Flanders, who finished the game with two touchdowns, scored his first one of the day on a one yard scamper. Adding a 41 yard field goal from Miguel Antonio, the Kats took a 24-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, the defense continued its relentless pressure and forced the last turnover of the day as Decambre recovered a fumble. The offense capitalized and Flanders scored on a four yard run. “I thought we played
— See FOOTBALL, page 8
Free flu vaccines for faculty, staff By Stephen Green Associate News Editor
Free flu vaccines will be administered for faculty and staff on Oct. 18 and 19 in the Lowman Student Center in anticipation of the peak flu months. The Student Health Center gives them out every year to faculty, staff and students to keep cases of the flu relatively low throughout the university. Sarah Hanel, health director, said it’s part of the health center’s annual campaign to give back to the university. “It’s one of the ways we contribute to faculty, staff and students and it keeps them healthy,” Hanel said. “We want to try and keep faculty and staff from missing weeks at a time.” The vaccine has been given out for at least the past decade. Last year, Hanel FLIPPING FOR IT. SHSU running back Tim Flanders, sophomore, flips over defensive back Caleb Nelson, sophomore, of the Step
Christian Pratt | The Houstonian
— See FLU, page 4
Social media committee Campus crime drops ‘close’ to being official 4.4 percent from 2009 By Stephen Green Associate News Editor The Social Media Committee is closer to becoming official after the final nominations for members were submitted, according to university officials. The committee that is tasked with looking at the issue of all social media will consist of 10 members throughout several campus representative organizations, according to Assistant VicePresident of Marketing and Communications Kris Ruiz. Ruiz said the committee now has the necessary qualifications for becoming an official committee that has representatives from the Student Government Association, the Faculty Senate and each college.
She said this committee will be a group of people that will be able to “handle the issues as they come up and return to their respective groups to talk about it.” “I think it’ll be great to have different concerns and points-of-views together,” Ruiz said. “We can look not only from the academic perspective, but the student side as well.” The idea for the committee was created after the SHSU Social Media Policy and Procedures Manual was scrutinized for “restricting free speech” by several student groups and university officials. Faculty senator Paul Loeffler called sections of the policy “propaganda.” Ruiz said one of the committee’s first tasks will be to review the social media policy and make sure that all the proper procedures
By Ashley Tullos Contributing Reporter
Photo courtesy SHSU
IN PROGRESS. Kris Ruiz, assistant vicepresident of Marketing and Communications, spoke on behalf of the almost official Social Media Committee, stating that the committee now has the the necessary qualifications to make it official.
are being followed. She hopes the committee will become official “soon.”
Campus crime at Sam Houston State University dipped slightly in 2010 compared to 2009, according to statistics recently released by the University Police Department. There were 171 reported cases of crime on campus in 2010, down from 179 in 2009. Stephen F. Austin State University, which has a similar student population size, reported a total of 145 cases of crime on its campus in 2010. Theft and larceny continued to be the most prevalent types of crime committed at SHSU. There were 95 reported cases of robbery, theft or larceny in 2010, compared with 127 cases in 2009.
SFA reported 103 cases of robbery, theft or larceny in 2010. University Police Department Chief James Fitch said that students should protect their possessions to avoid being a victim of theft on campus. Thefts typically occur when students leave items unattended at the library or leave their car doors unlocked. Fitch said he was pleased that violent crimes such as murder and sexual assault on campus were almost non-existent over the last two years. “My goal is to keep students, teachers, faculty, everyone safe at all times,” Fitch said. There were only 27 instances of assault on campus; however one was a sexual assault, which occurred in a residence hall.
The sexual assault, which Fitch classified as a “date rape situation,” occurred September 2010, according to a story published by the Houstonian. The victim did not press charges, and no one was charged. There were 32 reported cases of sexual assault in Huntsville in 2010, up from 21 in 2009. Less than half of the 2010 cases were cleared, according to statistics compiled by the Huntsville Police Department. Dr. Courtney Franklin, assistant professor in the College of Criminal Justice, said there are several factors for a low clearance rate on cases involving sexual assault. There are different types of rape, and a lack of evidence either gathered or available can contribute of — See CRIME, page 4