CMYK

PINE LOG Thursday, February 25, 2010

TODAYH 59 L 40

The

FRIDAYH 54 L 36

SATURDAYH 59 L 36

Volume 88Issue 9

Next Publication:Monday, March 1, 2010

Visit us online atwww.thepinelog.com

The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University

Page 4

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Lumberjacks set to take on A&M

Corpus Christi Saturday.

New credit card laws

make it harder to sign up.

Page 6

Renovations to president’s house will reflect size of UniversityBy Marie Leonard

Editor In Chief

The SFA community has grown from fewer than 2,000 students in 1957, when the current president’s house was built, to more than 12,000 today.

In order to make more room in the home for entertaining students, faculty and alum-ni, a new catering kitchen and a dining/ living hall is currently being built in the president’s home on Starr Avenue.

The construction started at the beginning of January, and it is hoped the project will be completed by this summer. The expansion of the home is costing $650,000 and has been paid for primarily by private dona-tions. There is also an institutional mainte-nance phase included in the construction in order to replace a roof, which will cost $150,000.

Although the construction began just last month, the plans to renovate the president’s house have been in the works for more than a decade. Shortly after the presidency of Dr. Dan Angel ended in 2000, the president’s house became vacant for a short time, which allowed the Board of Regents to establish

the President’s House Committee. “We had a good opportunity when one

president left to see what renovations and updates needed to be done to the house,” Danny Gallant, vice president of finance and administration, said.

SFA alumna Peggy Wright, a former mem-ber of the Board of Regents, was named committee chair of the committee in 2000, and she has since been one of the main sup-porters of the expansion.

“The Pattillos entertain hundreds of stu-dents, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, com-munity members and others, and they also realize the importance of opening the house to the public versus simply utilizing it as a private residence,” Wright said.

Although updates and renovations to the home have been initiated and paid for mostly by private donations, Pattillo is a key fundraiser for the University in general.

“The Pattillos don’t just live in the house,” Sid Walker, vice president for development, explained. “They also host students, have small private dinners to say thank you to current donors and meet with prospective donors.” HOUSE continued on page 2

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOG

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOG

COURTESY PHOTO/EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

The photo on the bottom left was taken in the mid 1950s and is the original president’s house which was replaced in 1957 with the house we all see today. The photos at the top and bottom were taken of the current construction in the back of the house and the front of the house.

Sigma Tau Gamma suspended one year for hazing incident

PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG Lumberjacks set to take on A&M

Corpus Christi Saturday.

Page 6

Sigma Tau Gamma suspended one year for hazing incidentBy Rafael Fields

Staff Writer

Sigma Tau Gamma has received a one-year suspen-sion as a result of a University investigation into a hazing incident.

The one-year suspension was finalized Feb. 17 by the SFA administration follow-ing several weeks of an ap-peals process.

Sig Tau once faced a pos-sible three-year suspension, but Steve Westbrook, vice president for University af-fairs, reduced the decision to a one-year suspension.

The dean of student af-fairs, Dr. Adam Peck, said there was an initial decision and then the appeal, further explaining the suspension was backdated to Sept. 25, 2009, and will end Sept. 25, 2010.

“Sig Tau can then apply for reinstatement at that time, which the University can choose to exercise,” Peck said, Even if Sig Tau is reinstated they will still be on probation until Dec. 31, 2012,” he added.

Dr. Peggy Scott, the direc-tor of the student rights and responsibilities office, chose not to comment on the deci-sion.

Sig Tau’s latest known hazing incident was in 2007 when six Sig Tau members were accused and arrested by SFA police for hazing a student at an off-campus lo-cation.

Gamma Pi chapter presi-dent Andy Teel said the orga-nization is under new leader-ship and is still committed to being a positive influence.

(Because of the suspen-sion,) “Sig Tau has none of the privileges (accorded to University student organi-zatios) like reserving space

in the Student Center, or participating in Greek Week or anything IFC related,” Peck said.

Although Sig Tau is cur-

rently restricted from hold-ing chartered events at the University, Teel said under new leadership, the orga-nization looks forward to

being a positive and spirited part of the SFA community.

Before the appeals process was complete, University officials declined to release

information about the case to allow the organization due process.

rfields@thepinelog.com

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOGSigma Tau Gamma members and friends at Fall 2009 Steps. The fraternity is suspended until Sept. 25, 2010, when they can then apply for reinstatement.

CMYK

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By Holley GaskillContributing Writer

Ironic may be the best way to describe the incidents that occurred Saturday night, Feb. 15 involving two Driving Jacks vehicles. In a strange turn of events, two separate accidents occurred where an intoxicated young driver struck a Driving Jack van waiting to pick up in-dividuals. The facts surrounding these accidents were quickly circulated and distorted, and the Driving Jacks organization is seeking to sort out the truth of the situation and to use the incidents as a reminder to stu-dents how important a role Driving Jacks can play in the se-rious context of drunk driving.

The first accident occurred around 12:15 a.m. out by Martinsville Road, where a Driving Jacks van was heavily rear-ended by an intoxicated young woman leaving a party. She is said to have struck the back of the van at a estimated speed of 40 or 50mph, sending the van skidding about three houses down the road. Though Driving Jack members Bry Robie and Amanda Okereke were both in the van at the time, nei-ther were seriously injured by the impact, though both were understandably startled and shocked. The young woman re-portedly attempted to flee the scene, but the proper authori-ties were contacted and she was apprehended. The van had to be towed due to damage caused by the impact.

The second accident oc-curred less than two hours later, at an undisclosed location off Mound Street. This time, the Driving Jacks van was backed into by another intoxicated driver. Driving Jacks volun-

teers Amanda Schwab and Nick Keown were the ones waiting in the van, and again, while neither driver was injured, they also reported being shaken by the impact. “We were waiting outside to pick up a caller, and we saw this guy walk across the street,” says Arlington ju-nior and Driving Jacks naviga-tor at the scene, Nick Keown. “We could tell he was drunk because he tripped on the curb before getting into his truck. Then he was backing up really fast. It was one of those where you knew it was going to hap-pen but you didn’t know what to do.” Keown said, though the intoxicated driver initially sped off from the scene, he was later contacted by another individ-ual at the party, and returned so that appropriate insurance information could be given and the proper authorities called.

“Driving Jacks would like to express their relief that all mem-bers involved are unharmed, and hope that these accidents will serve as a reminder of the possible consequences of drinking and driving,” read the

statement released afterwards by Driving Jacks.

These incidents have helped bring to light the seriousness of drunk driving and its implica-tions for college students, as well as the whole reason why Driving Jacks was originally founded. In 2005, according to findings by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) 52 per-cent of all fatal car crashes that occurred during the weekend were alcohol related. Alcohol-related accidents took the lives of 1400 college students in 2009. Many students who drink and drive fail to consider that a significant percentage of those killed were not the ones drink-ing; many were simply victims struck by an intoxicated per-son’s vehicle. Amy Shields was one of those victims. She firmly believed in starting a safe ride program for the SFA commu-nity. It was her tragic death in October of 2004, when she was struck and killed by a drunk driver on US 59, that would finally inspire the campus to found Driving Jacks. Driving Jacks quickly grew to “an army

of lime green.” To date, they have given more than 8,000 people safe rides home, saving not only their lives, but those of anyone else who may have been out on the road.

Here at SFA, there is no reason why anyone should have to get behind the wheel when drunk, and Driving Jacks is an integral part of an individual’s options to avoid doing so. Driving Jacks operates Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night from 10pm to 3am. They can be reached at (936)652-6600 for a free, safe, and nonjudgmental ride home. More information is avail-able at their website: www.DrivingJacks.com.

hgaskill@thepinelog.com

By Andreya StephensonContributing Writer

Sigma Chi fraternity is selling the house the fraternity built on Highway 59 five years ago for a total of $ 1.5 million, including the land.

One of the main reasons Sigma Chi is selling the house is because it would take another 10 to 15 years to pay it off. Also, the house is about five miles from campus. The distance is an inconvenience to not only those who live there, but also to their guests, according to Torrey Pinkerton, Spring senior and president of Sigma Chi.

Sigma Chi headquarters did not make the decision to sell, but rather, Sigma Chi members and the Housing Corporation. The Housing Corps had its an-nual meeting in January of 2010 when the members of Sigma Chi brought up the idea of sell-ing the house. They have dis-cussed building or purchasing a house on Sorority Row, where five national sororities and one national fraternity maintain houses now. The current Sigma

Chi house holds 16 men when full. However, there are only 14 men living there now.

The house has been on the market since Jan. 15. They have had three or four people inter-ested, but only one has made an offer, which they turned down because it was too low. Sigma Chi is hoping for an offer around $750,000. Pinkerton said he heard a rumor that another fraternity was looking into buy-ing their house.

If the house sells, the Housing Corporation will place the 14 men who live there now in a smaller house or apartments while the new house is being built. Construction will prob-ably take about a year.

Pinkerton said the members have mixed emotions about selling the house.

“We like the house,” Pinkerton said. “It’s a nice house.” However, the guys are excited about the move.

“We like the idea of mov-ing on Sorority Row,” Pinkerton said.

Two drunk drivers hit Driving Jacks vehicles

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOGThe Sigma Chi house, located on Highway 59 south of Nacogdoches, is for sale so the fraternity can move to a new location on Sorority Row. Also, the new location would be more convenient for the residents and guests.

Sigma Chi fraternity has mixed emotions about selling housePresident says they like the residence on Highway 59 but also like the idea of moving to Sorority Row

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By Holley GaskillContributing Writer

Nothing gets a crowd worked up quite like com-petition, especially when it’s between the sexes.

Monday night saw SAA’s “Battle of the Sexes,” which took place in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center (BPSC). The event was hosted by former contenders of MTV’s The Real World: Robin Hibbard (San Diego) and Jose Tapia (Key West). Both hosts did their best to get the crowds worked up in the gender battle, and the furor was evi-dent.

As soon as students en-tered the Grand Ballroom, they were separated into women and men and seated poised against each other. First, Robin and Jose were given a chance to talk about their experiences on the Real World and how it had been a

great impact on their lives. “I liked that we were able

to have reality TV fame come to the campus,“ said Crandall junior Jason Grigsby, a stu-dent in attendance at the event. “I also liked how much the hosts stressed the impor-tance of returning back to school now that the show is over.”

The event continued with a series of goofy competitions between males and females,

which Dallas senior and one of the SAA coordinators of the event, Johnnie Beavers, described as “interactive games to help break people out of their shells.” Teams of women battled against the men to compete tasks such as passing an orange between members without using their hands. Other challenges in-cluded blowing up balloons and seeing who could run a lap around the room then sit

on their balloon and pop it the fastest, as well as an ice cream eating competition, hula-hooping trials, and sev-eral trivia questions.

Students got loud and proud for their respective genders, and the atmo-sphere between them was heavy with fierce competi-tion. Excited participants were climbing on chairs, jumping up and down, and screaming encouragements for their gender representa-tives. There were even some accusing the other team of cheating.

It was truly a “battle” of the sexes. In the end, SFA la-dies won the overall compe-tition with 20 points earned to the men’s 17 points.

The idea, Beavers said, was to put on an event that was “simple, but that also gave students perspective.”

Participants were able to get a better view of the com-petitive skills and styles of men and women, and have a great time doing so. Even though there were no prizes, Beavers noted, “Everybody loved it. It was just some-thing different, where ev-eryone could get up and get involved.”

After the competition ended, students had the op-portunity to go up and meet hosts Robin and Jose and were able to ask them ques-tions about their experiences on The Real World television series.

The house currently has room for only one typical dining room table that seats 14 people, but the new accommoda-tions allow for several tables that will seat 30 plus people, according to Jill Still, director of development. Also, when ARAMARK catered events at the home, they had to set up in the driveway outside the home in the past. The new catering kitchen will allow ARAMARK to set up inside.

“The house is historical to SFA in a sense, since it was designed by the Boyntons,” Still said. “The Boytons felt strongly that the president’s house was a gateway to build-ing relationships for a more successful SFA.”

By Destiny WallaceContributing Writer

Purple Out will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in SFA’s William R. Johnson Coliseum.

Purple Out is an event where the fans are supposed to “purple out” the Coliseum while the Men’s Lumberjack Basketball team faces Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The night is not only about filling the Coliseum with purple but about “cram-

ming the Coliseum” as well. The overall goal of the event is “to

support the SFA Lumberjack Basketball team, boost Lumberjack spirit in the stands and around campus, as well as show the rest of the world how spir-ited SFA Lumberjack fans truly are,” said Kelly Doyle and Travis Shera of the Student Activities Association.

As fans enter the coliseum, the Student Activities Association will be passing out the Purple Out t-shirts and

rally towels. They will have body paint stations set up for the fans to paint their body purple.

“The Purple Out shirts were a huge success last year and reached over 1,500. This year, we are happy to say that we beat that amount from last year. We could not have accomplished this without the help from our wonderful sponsors,” Doyle and Shera said.

To add to this event, the game will be televised.

MTV reality stars participate in Battle of the Sexes

HOUSE continued from page 1 SAA hosting Purple Out basketball game, Cram the Coliseum

By Paige BeasleyContributing Writer

Residence Life is looking for students who want to be role models within their residence hall community to apply to be a community as-sistant.

Community assistants, or CAs, are students who live within the residence halls and act as role models, peer counselors and mediators to their fellow students.

Any SFA student is encouraged to apply for the position, although a 2.3 GPA is required, and two semesters of residence hall living and leadership experience is preferred. As well as being in good

standing with the University, the Residence Life Department is looking for students who want to grow.

Applications can be obtained from any resi-dence hall or online and are due by 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26. Potential CAs will then go through an interview process that includes group and individual interviews designed to show how a candidate will respond in certain situations.

After the interview process, CAs are put through training that involves seven to 10 days when they learn how to deal with all kinds of situ-ations they may come in contact with.

Terrance Bradford, area coordinator for resi-dence life, said they are looking for someone who

can grow in the stressful environment.“I like to say that the CA position is one of the

hardest jobs a student can ever have,” Bradford said. “CAs endure many difficult situations, and our department is looking for people that are willing to work and willing to be challenged to grow.”

CAs are placed on a floor in a residence hall with 25 to 55 students in buildings with up to 100 students. CAs are also expected to be available to their residents during certain hours of the week, depending on the size of their hall. They are also responsible for creating one educational or social program a month as well as three community builders a week.

Although CAs are not paid, they are provided a room and meal plan free of charge. However, Bradford said CAs are not in it for the pay, they are in it for the experience.

“The experience is priceless,” Bradford said. “You leave the job with friends from diverse back-grounds, and experiences that once you have time to reflect you will ask yourself, ‘Damn, did I really do all that?”

Bradford recommends that students do not look at the position as a job.

“What they are applying for to many is not simply a job but a way of life,” Bradford said. “Residence life is a world within itself.”

Residence life looking for students to become community assistants, ‘experience is priceless’

CMYK

opinionsthe pine log

Page Four Pine LogThe Thursday, February 25, 2010

OpinionsPolicy

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FEEDBACKOpinions expressed in this sec-

tion of The Pine Log are those of the individual writer or cartoonist and do not necessarily reflect those of the University, its administrative officers or Board of Regents.

Letters should be typed and should include the student’s home-town, classification, campus identi-fication number and phone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit letters for space, spelling, grammar and potentially libelous material. Letters should not be longer than 300 words. Any let-ter that does not follow this criteria will not be published.

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EDITOR MARIE LEONARD

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COPY EDITORMONICA GORDON

Life demands confidence to tackle challenges

In Georgia, a billboard that reads, “Black Children Are An Endangered Species,” is offending many black women. Some feel this billboard is shaming black women and want the billboard taken down. The message was placed there by The Radiance Foundation and Georgia Right To Life. The Radiance Foundation is an organi-zation meant to “inspire people to live a life of meaning,” as their Web site puts it. Georgia Right To Life is an anti-abortion organization in Georgia.

The message they are trying to convey is that black children are being aborted at a much higher rate than white children, that the black race is dying out. Those be-hind the campaign are black them-selves and do not mean to offend anyone but aim only to draw atten-tion to a problem. If the problem continues to be swept under the rug, things will only get worse.

There is a problem. According to statistics by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, black women are one and a half times more likely to become pregnant, and are three times more likely to get an abortion than white women. In Georgia, where the billboards are located, 30 percent of the pop-ulation is black, yet black women are responsible for 59 percent of all abortions. Forty percent of black pregnancies end in induced abor-tion. We need to determine why so many black women are aborting their pregnancies, and figure out how to keep this from happen-ing. Something has to be done. The heart of the issue may lie in Georgia, but this is an issue across the United States.

What needs to be done? Of course, women need to be educat-ed about preventative measures like birth control and other post-birth options like adoption, and programs about those have grown tremendously within the last few years. However, women also need to know that their decision does not just affect them. It affects their community, race, state, and na-tion.

This is not an issue specifically for black women, though the bill-board’s message was targeted to-wards them. This is an issue for women of all races. As young col-lege students, this is the time we lay the framework of our lives. We need to discover issues like this one and take a stance on it. SFA has organizations who are rais-ing awareness for issues like this. There is the pro-life organiza-tion, Lumberjacks For Life, that educates the student body about human life and offers assistance to women who become pregnant.

I am not speaking as a pro-life or pro-choice advocate here. I just want young women to look at the issues and make a choice. Many college students are ignorant to issues. Therefore, have no opinion on major topics. Young women need to think about this and de-cide how they feel before they get pregnant and their emotions are reeling. So many other decisions have to be made at that point.

Tearing down the billboard will only appease those that feel they are being shamed. Leaving it up raises awareness; it gets people talking. Sometimes shocking people really makes them think. It makes them evaluate the deci-sions they may in their own lives and where they stand on certain issues. The outraged women may be offended, but the issue is on the forefront of their minds. These organizations have the right to dis-play their feelings in order to get people talking, whether they are offended or not.

Andreya is a social work fresh-man from Silsbee.

It has come to my attention multiple times in the last month or so how anxious human beings get at a challenge. Not everyone shies away from difficulty. Many people thrive on facing up to obstacles and taking dares. On the flip side, there are others who do all they can to take the easier, safer, more comfort-able routes of life. Neither approach is nec-essarily all-around bad or good, but always taking the easy course can build you up a big problem later in life. Learning to appreciate challenges, step up to, and overcome them will lead to confidence and a better sense of well-being.

Of course nobody has a problem taking on a challenge they know they can handle; but they invariably freeze up when said chal-lenge lives up to its name. There’s a birthday party Friday night, but you have a midterm Monday morning you know will take three nights to adequately prepare for. No prob-lem. Go to the party, then study even longer Saturday and Sunday nights (not a recom-

mendation). But what about when the party is on

Thursday night and the midterm is on Friday morning? A challenge of self-restraint.

You don’t have much money in your bank account, and you have no choice but to ask Mom and Dad for a few bucks for gas or to pay a bill. Simple if you have a good relation-ship with your parents.

Not so simple if you left home on a sour note or promise to be independent from then on. It’s the challenge of swallowing pride and demonstrating maturity.

Perhaps you know your best friend is hav-ing a tough time right now. Hard time with classes, not enough sleep, the usual college fare. Easy enough: spend a night watching movies, playing video games and chatting. They leave feeling refreshed, ready to focus, and all is well.

What, then, if the friend is struggling with deeper emotional problems? Can you handle it the same way? Is your advice good? Should you get involved if you don’t know what to say? A challenge of judgment.

People, generally, don’t like challenge. Challenges are hard. Challenges are annoying. A challenge ruins my whole day/week/life. Some are more adept to certain challenges than to others. One person may be great at dealing with people, emotions and feelings, while someone else is your go-to guy or gal for when your computer is on the fritz. These people have an advantage in at least knowing

if a situation will be their “kind” of challenge or not. Somebody accustomed to the rigidness of computer right-and-wrong is bound to be irritated by the unpredictability of human reaction, where a “people person” will be frus-trated that computers can’t be coaxed into getting rid of a virus on their own.

When faced with a challenge, or an annoy-ance I decide to treat it as a challenge, I con-sider my dad’s advice before I started college: “Think ‘How can I make this work?’” Nothing is not overcome-able. You may not be able to fix or get past it in a manner you’d like, but there is always a way to rise above.

You can view your life as a personalized obstacle course. There are stretches, some-times long, sometimes short, where you just run or walk unimpeded, but you have to admit going across a flat plane gets boring after some time. Crawling through a small jungle of homework and distraction, jump-ing over a stream of self-doubt and clearing a wall of questions of identity are accomplish-ments you can look back at and say “wow. I got past that. I can kinda do anything.” The confidence of overcoming trial and tribula-tion becomes a springboard in facing the next conquest.

The problem for those who coast through life or avoid challenge comes when one test calls on confidence that was never built. had they taken on similar, smaller challenges earli-er in life, they’d be more prepared. This makes things harder, yes, but like I said before: you

can always rise above. It may not be as beauti-ful or awe-inspiring as the scenes in movies or books. In fact, depending on the situation, it can be downright gritty, painful and emotion-ally wearing. The end result, when you get past the obstacle, may feel just as inspiring as when the sun comes out and “I Will Survive” plays for the protagonist.

Reevaluating how you view events in your life can change how you interpret the word “challenge.” What you need is some way to view challenge to make it seem less daunt-ing. Maybe you can imagine your life as a video game and each conquer wins you an achievement. Perhaps it’s the bully in middle school saying “take this!” and you, as a mature, college-educated individual, gracefully take and overcome what he throws and hardly let it stop you (thus denying him the right to dump you in a trashcan?). Or maybe it’s your preferred heavenly being saying “Here you go,” knowing you have the ability to triumph. It could just be Life daring you to do something. If you’re the type to not back down from a dare, this can be a good approach.

The whole key is to grab the bull by the horns and forcibly tell it “You won’t get the best of me!” Show it—the bull, the challenge, life — who’s boss. It’s cliché to say “Life is hard,” but it is. Life is a challenge. Step up and live it.

Audrey is a journalism junior from Fort Worth.

Billboard exposes greater issues

Audrey SpencerStaff Writer

aspencer@thepinelog.com

This past Monday the Credit CARD Act of 2009 officially went into effect. This comprehensive legislation seeks to impose a number of provisions that limit the ability of credit card companies to charge consumers. It is a bill that has been sorely needed for many years, as was evidenced by its high bipartisan support in the government. However, the bill does present and expose a number of problems concerning the younger generations and credit.

According to the bill, people under 21 years of age will not be unable to obtain a credit card unless they present an independent source of funds or a cosigner who is over 21. The provision is aimed at curbing teenage debt, which has grown exponentially over the past decade. It’s certainly not a terrible idea, but it’s a double-edged sword.

Parents are most likley breathing a sigh of relief. Who can blame them? For years credit companies have been able to abuse interest rates on consumer credit, and teenagers have been a particularly vulnerable crowd.

In this day and age, most teenagers use debit cards. With

this new provision in place, teenagers will be forced to shy away from applying for credit cards and instead use debit. Debit cards will, in turn, be able to teach youngsters some measure of responsibility in paying on overdraft fees and the importance of closely monitoring purchases.

However, it still remains the parents’ responsibility to teach their teenager how to handle credit responsibly. By limiting a young person’s ability to attain credit, it can serverely handicap their ability to make purchases and pay-ments on a new vehicle, an apartment, a contract phone, or even just another credit card.

It’s important that we protect teenagers from harmful and misleading credit traps, but it’s equally important that we give responsible youngsters the chance to have credit in the first place.

Not only do the teenagers lose out on the ability to make those bigger purchases later in life, but businesses can also lose those consumers, and create further potential strain on the economy.

Credit Act is double-edged sword for teenagers in America

AndreyaStephensonContributing Writer

astephenson@thepinelog.com

Editorial

CMYK

Thursday, February 25, 2010 PINE LOGTHE Page Five

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and inspection for brake pad wearing.

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• Good thru April 3, 2010

By Garrett CookEntertainment Editor

For any undergraduate at SFA who is passionate about writing, the creative writing program offers an outlet for their creative talents.

Humid is an undergraduate literary journal that publishes the original work of students who submit pieces in fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Dr. Daryl Farmer is the professor of the Literary Publishing Internship class, whose students compose the entire journal, from the layout to what stories and poems will be included to the actual publishing itself.

Amanda Gaddis, a Nacogdoches senior English major, is the general editor of Humid. Jen Moody, Houston junior, is the managing editor.

“Undergraduate literary journals are something that Harvard and all the fancy schools have,” Gaddis said. “All the big schools, state schools, they all have one of these, and now SFA does too. That’s showing the area that we can contribute in the same way as the University of Texas. We’re fighting with the big dogs now.”

Humid is published once annually. Volume 1 came out last year, and Volume 2 is scheduled to release this coming May. Last year, the journal sold for $5, and Gaddis expects that Volume 2 will sell for the same price.

Deadline for submissions from undergraduates is March 7. Short stories and nonfiction can be up to 5,000 words. All work is to be typed in Microsoft Word and can be submitted to humid@sfasu.edu in an attachment. Entries may be submitted in all three categories by all individuals.

“I just really want to encourage people to submit,” Gaddis said. “Forestry majors, nursing majors, math majors. If you’ve written poetry about the quadratic formula, send it in.”

Art work will be accepted as well for Humid, as Gaddis said they want to showcase the artistic talents of SFA undergraduates on the cover and in the middle pages of the journal. High-resolution digital photographs are required.

A reading was held this past Thursday in the Liberal Arts Building featuring writers who were published in last year’s Humid, and Gaddis expects there to be more readings throughout this semester. Nationally published authors will also come to the SFA campus to read selected excerpts from their work as well.

gcook@thepinelog.com

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By Garrett CookEntertainment Editor

Note: This is the fourth article in an ongoing series breaking down the races for the Academy Awards in each category. Check back weekly for new articles leading up to the Oscar ceremony on Sunday, March 7.

The race for Best Actress is easily the most in-teresting of the major races this year. While Jeff Bridges, Mo’Nique, and Christoph Waltz seem to have their respective categories locked up, and with The Hurt Locker moving ahead of Avatar for Best Picture, the only uncertainty this year looks to be whether America’s Sweetheart Sandra Bullock will take the trophy for her fiery (and overrated) performance in The Blind Side or if America’s National Acting Treasure Meryl Streep will win her third Oscar for her letter-perfect portrayal of Julia Child in Julie and Julia.

It’s anyone’s call at this point. The Blind Side’s surprise nomination for Best Picture indicates that there is a lot of support for Bullock and her film. The fact that the film caught on like wildfire and topped $200 million at the box office doesn’t hurt her chances of winning either. On the other hand, Meryl Streep is an institution in the film commu-nity, the most respected and fawned over actress

alive. It might only be a two-horse race, but it’s a race nonetheless.

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious. The newcomer story of the year in the little-movie-that-could. Since last year’s Sundance film festival where Precious premiered, critics have responded to Sidibe’s heart-breaking performance as an overweight, illiterate pregnant teenager with the kind of adoration that they usually reserve for seasoned pros. Displaying a wisdom beyond her young years, Sidibe proved to be a natural talent, more than holding her own against some stiff competition that includes heavyweights like Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren.

Carey Mulligan, An Education. It might only be her first lead role, but the 24 year old Brit is already drawing comparisons to Audrey Hepburn for her performance as a precocious, intelligent 1960’s schoolgirl in Lone Scherfig’s An Education. With her slightly off-kilter ingénue looks and self-deprecating charm, Mulligan is the find of the year, a performer so natural and winning that Oliver Stone has already come calling, offering Mulligan a plum role in his upcoming Wall Street 2.

Helen Mirren, The Last Station. The Great Brit earned her fourth Oscar nomination this year playing Leo Tolstoy’s volatile wife, Sofya, in The Last Station. She and Christopher Plummer, play-ing the great author, generate so much electricity

in their scenes together that I expected the screen to catch on fire. Mirren may not be a factor in the race, but she’s a winner everytime she’s onscreen.

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side. Actors often hesitate to take on the role of a real-life person, worried that they won’t capture the essence of what makes that person that person. Therefore, while I’m not wild about her performance, Bullock must be commended for fearlessly taking on the role of real-life Leigh Anne Tuohy who took in a young African-American boy and helped him make it to the NFL. Whatever Bullock lacks in act-ing chops, her star power can’t be denied, as she propelled this true-life sports drama past the $200 million mark.

Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia. Meryl Streep is the female equivalent of Jack Nicholson: everytime she makes a movie, the Academy takes notice, even if it’s in a middling rom-com like Julie and Julia. Like the other great acting talents working today, Streep makes everything she’s in better, whether it’s The Devil Wears Prada or Mamma Mia or crap like Lions for Lambs. In Julie and Julia, Streep plays the world’s most famous chef as though Julia Child were her next-door neighbor. She gets everything right. Long live the king.

gcook@thepinelog.com

Best Actress race generating the most heat

CMYK

sportsSchedule of events:Friday11 a.m.- Baseball Creighton vs ULM3 p.m.- Baseball vs Northwestern StateAll Day- Track @SLC Indoor ChampionshipsAll Day- Bowling @Holiday Classic

Saturday11 a.m.- Baseball Creighton vs NorthwesternNoon- W Tennis vs A&M Corpus Christi 2 p.m.- M Basketball vs A&M-Corpus Christi3 p.m.- Baseball vs Louisiana-Monroe7 p.m.- W Basketball @A&M Corpus Christi All Day- Track @SLC Indoor ChampionshipsAll Day- Bowling @Holiday Classic

Sunday11 a.m.- Baseball vs Creighton 11 a.m.- W Tennis vs UTSA All Day- M Golf @Charleston Shootout All Day- Bowling @Holiday Classic

Page Six Thursday, February 25, 2010PINE LOGTHE

the official class ringis a lasting memory

of your sfa experience.

Order before March 24 at the SFA Alumni Association for The Big Dip* presentation ceremony on May 7.

* Only students who order the official class ring of SFA are eligible to participate in The Big Dip.

Order the Mentor Ring, the official class ring of SFA

Questions? Stop on campus at the Tracie D. Pearman Alumni Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.936-468-3407

The official ring sales event will occur March 23-24 at the Pearman Alumni Center, but you can stop by any time before then and we’ll be glad to help you order

your official SFA class ring!

Come support your Jacks and Ladyjacks this weekendSFA gearing up for game-filled weekend with teams including basketball, baseball, tennis, track, bowling, men’s golf

Schedule of events:

All Day- Track @SLC Indoor ChampionshipsAll Day- Bowling @Holiday Classic

11 a.m.- Baseball Creighton vs NorthwesternNoon- W Tennis vs A&M Corpus Christi 2 p.m.- M Basketball vs A&M-Corpus Christi

All Day- Track @SLC Indoor ChampionshipsAll Day- Bowling @Holiday Classic

11 a.m.- Baseball vs Creighton 11 a.m.- W Tennis vs UTSA All Day- M Golf @Charleston Shootout All Day- Bowling @Holiday Classic

The Ladyjacks find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the conference going into Wednesday’s match-up against Texas State. SFA has solidified a spot in the 2010 SLC Tournament with its record of 14-9 overall and 9-3 in conference play. During the final two weeks before the tournament, the Ladyjacks must out win Lamar, and Lamar must lose at least one of its final three games to earn a share of the conference title. Lamar must lose two of its remaining games and SFA needs to top its winning record in order to pull out as the number one seed in the SLC.THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOG

The undefeated baseball team earned its first ever win over Texas A&M in Wednesday’s match up 7-6. Pitcher Brett Rogers, Wichita Falls sophomore, earned the win and Jason West, Conroe sophomore, earned the save. The Jacks will return home to host the Lumberjack Classic beginning Friday with Creighton vs University of Louisiana-Monroe at 11 a.m. then SFA will take the field against Northwestern State at 3 p.m.

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOGThe Lumberjack basketball team will be hosting its annual Purple Out game on Saturday against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The game is set for a 2 p.m. tip off and will be televised, so come early, be loud and wear purple!