Rachael Gleason newspaper designs

BY KRISTIN [email protected]

The Walker County Officeof Emergency Managementwill lead the county in coor-dinated drill activities thisweek as part of the NationalWeather Service SevereWeather Awareness Week.

According to Butch Davis,Walker County emergencymanagement coordinator, theactivities will include a mocktornado warning drill, duringwhich local schools andother organizations will eval-uate their emergency pre-paredness.

“The purpose of SevereWeather Awareness Week isto make people aware thatwe’re heading into the timeof the year when we starthaving severe weatherincluding straight-line winds,tornadoes, major rains andflooding,” Davis said. “Wewant to make people awarefirst that this is coming andthey need to be prepared, andsecondly, how to preparethemselves for these eventswhich may hit at any time.”

Beginning today untilSaturday, the Office ofEmergency Management willbe distributing informationon severe weather threats forTexas residents, tips onemergency preparedness andmanagement and specificitems to have available inthe event of an emergency.

As well, the emergencymanagement team will workdirectly with the NationalOceanic and AtmosphericAdministration to conduct amock tornado drill with localschools, businesses andhomeowners.

The drill will begin onWednesday at 10 a.m. andwill last approximately 15minutes.

“One of the more impor-tant topics that will be high-lighted during SWA week istornadoes and their associat-

ed dangers,” said Dan Reilly,a NOAA warning and coordi-nation meteorologist. “Atapproximately 10 a.m.Wednesday, theHouston/Galveston NWSwill facilitate a tornado drillfor all 23 counties it serves insoutheast Texas. The warning

BY MATTHEW [email protected]

The Huntsville Public Library will beclosed next week, March 2-6, whilenumerous changes are made to thelibrary’s interior.

“We’re not completely rearranging,but we’re going to be making some

changes,” said City Librarian LindaDodson. “You’ll definitely notice thedifference when you come in.”

Two major sections of the library willbe shifted to new locations to improveprivacy and reduce noise disruption.

“The two biggest problems we haveare the noise level and lack of seating,”Dodson said. “So we’re going to try towork on both of those.”

The children’s area, presently locatednear the rear entrance to the library, willbe shifted to an opposite corner. Severalshelves of juvenile books will be movedto accommodate the change, which willplace the children’s area in a more pri-vate, less noisy part of the library.

“Hopefully with the shelves beingsituated closer to the children’s area, itwill provide a little more sound protec-

tion,” Dodson said. “It will be closed ina little bit, but the area will still be openenough that it won’t feel completelyclosed off.

The juvenile book shelves removedto accommodate the children’s area willbe relocated near the rest of the juvenilebooks.

In addition, the two rows of publicuse computers currently in the centerentryway of the library will be movedslightly nearer to the adult books sec-tion, and will be incorporated into a sin-gle row. Several shelves of nonfictionbooks will be moved closer to the centerof the room to accommodate the com-puters.

“The way the computers are now,

www.itemonline.com

SPORTS: Hornets begin playoffs tonight — B

THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2009 50 CENTS

LIBRARY UPDATES

BY MATTHEW JACKSON/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMThe Huntsville Public Library will be closed from March 2-6 while the facility is rearranged to better accomodate new seating andreduce noise disruptions. Library staff will spend the week relocating the children’s area and the computer area, pictured above, aswell as moving shelves and creating a new seating area. The library will reopen on March 7.

New seatingarea in storefor library

AP PHOTO/RON EDMONDSPresident Barack Obama delivers remarks to open the Fiscal Responsibility Summit yesterday in theEast Room of the White House in Washington.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON —Urging strict future restrainteven as current spendingsoars, President BarackObama pledged on Mondayto dramatically slash the sky-rocketing annual budgetdeficit as he started to doleout the record $787 billioneconomic stimulus packagehe signed last week.

“If we confront this crisiswithout also confronting thedeficits that helped cause it,we risk sinking into anothercrisis down the road,” the

president warned, promisingto cut the yearly deficit inhalf by the end of his four-year term. “We cannot sim-ply spend as we please anddefer the consequences.”

He said he would reinsti-tute a pay-as-you-go rule thatcalls for spending reductionsto match increases and wouldshun what he said were thepast few years’ “casual dis-honesty of hiding irresponsi-ble spending with cleveraccounting tricks.” He calledthe long-term solvency ofSocial Security “the singlemost pressing fiscal chal-

lenge we face by far” andsaid reforming health care,including burgeoning entitle-ment programs, was a hugepriority.

Wall Street seemed unim-pressed by all the talk. TheDow Jones industrialsdropped 251 points for theday.

Obama goes beforeCongress and the nationTuesday night to make thecase for his agenda and hisbudget plans, which theWhite House is to release in

Obama pledges to slashdeficit — after increase

Drills to primecounty for

bad weather

Court approves purchase of radios


The Walker CountyCommissioners Courtapproved a $280,000 pur-chase of mobile and portableradios for the WalkerCounty Sheriff’s Office dur-ing a regular meetingMonday.

The five-member court— County Judge DannyPierce and commissionersB.J. Gaines Jr., RobertArtery, Bobby Warren andTim Paulsel — alsoapproved the completion ofa three-piece mural to beused in the Walker CountyStorm Shelter.

According to ButchDavis, Walker CountySheriff’s office chief deputy,the purchase of the newmobile and portable radiosis part of a five-year processto improve communicationscapabilities among firstresponse agencies in thecounty.

“The equipment, to bepurchased from Motorola,Inc. for $280,337.02, will bepaid for through homelandsecurity grants,” Davis said.“This is something we’vebeen working on for a longtime, and I think having thisequipment will really help

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

“The purpose of SevereWeather Awareness Week isto make people aware thatwe’re heading into the timeof the year when we starthaving severe weather.”

BUTCH DAVIS,

WALKER COUNTY EMERGENCYCOORDINATOR

HHS students qualifyfor state competition


The Walker CountySheriff’s Department com-pleted a set of five arrestsMonday following a resi-dential burglary which tookplace Friday in the WalnutCreek subdivision.

According to Lt. CharliePerkins with the sheriff’soffice, five black males —one adult and four juveniles— were connected to theburglary and subsequentlyarrested.

While one semi-auto-matic rifle stolen during theburglary was found, theinvestigation is ongoing.

“On Friday at approxi-mately 2:51 p.m., DeputyTim Watson was dispatchedto a burglary in process callat a residence located onMorris Lane in the WalnutCreek subdivision,” Perkinssaid Monday. “When hearrived on the scene withseveral other officers, hewas advised that a friend ofthe family who owned theresidence had seen a groupof young, black male sub-jects in the backyard of theresidence.”

According to Perkins,the witness who placed the

Fivearrested inburglary

case


A group of 31 HuntsvilleHigh School students in theHuntsville Hornet MilitaryMarching Band qualified toparticipate in the Texas StateSolo and EnsembleCompetition Friday during aregional solo and ensemblecompetition.

According to NickLuggerio, HHS director ofbands, all 103 students whoparticipated in Friday’scompetition did an outstand-ing job, bringing home 136

first-division medals.“The band students did

an excellent job at Friday’sRegion IX UIL Solo andEnsemble competition,”Luggerio said Monday. “Wetook 103 kids with us, andthose students earned a totalof 136 first-division medalsin solo performances, smallensembles or mediumensembles.

“We also had 31 students,which included five soloistsand eight small ensembles,

See AREA page 8A See DRILLS page 2A

See COURT, page 3A

See HHS, page 2A See OBAMA, page 3A See CASE, page 3A

2-24 EDITORIAL PGS 2/24/09 5:24 PM Page 1

BY MATTHEW [email protected]

The Texas Department ofTransportation will institutenew changes in the Interstate45 frontage system onTuesday as crews continuework on a multi-million dollarproject to refurbish thefrontage roads.

Effective Tuesday, the eastfrontage road entrance rampnorth of FM 1374, orMontgomery Road, will beclosed permanently in order to

make way for a new exit rampto be built near the same loca-tion. The ramp is locatedbetween FM 1374 and AvenueS.

Access to the northboundlanes of I-45 will still be avail-able through the exit ramp justnorth of State Highway 30, or11th Street.

“The closure is necessarybecause we will be building anew exit ramp in that area,”said Bob Colwell, TxDOTpublic information officer.“We will be putting in another

entrance ramp to replace thisone, but it will be located southof 1374.”

In January, large sections ofboth frontage roads were con-verted by TxDOT to perma-nent one way operation.Currently, crews are at work onthe west frontage road betweenSH 30 and Veterans MemorialParkway and on the eastfrontage road between AvenueS and SH 19.

The east frontage road proj-ect, which includes the newramp closures, is contracted toAngle Brothers EnterprisesLtd. of Baytown. The complet-ed project will consist of newexit and entrance ramps as wellas completely refurbished oneway frontage roads. The $10.1million effort is expected to becomplete in Fall 2010.

www.itemonline.com

SPORTS: Bearkats finish off Bluejays — Page 7A

THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMMONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2009 50 CENTS

COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY

GADDIS GEESLIN GALLERYWork continues on I-45 frontage roads

Financial counselors from SamHouston State University help highschool students and their parents withthe college financial aid process dur-ing College Goal Sunday at HuntsvilleHigh School. The program, which washeld in locations across Texas, servedto give help families fill out the FreeApplication for Federal Student Aid, orFAFSA, and provide information aboutscholarships and loans. The financialaid staff at SHSU assisted in the eventat HHS. According to Kim Nettles,SHSU financial aid counselor, therewere approximately 85 participants inthe first hour of the program. SHSUwill hold a financial aid literacy week tohelp students apply for aid and man-age their money with events startingMonday.

RACHAEL GLEASON/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM

JENNIFER BARRETT/THE HUNTSVILLE ITEMStudents and guests enjoy the opening of a new art exhibition in the 3G Gaddis Geeslin Gallery onthe campus of Sam Houston State University Thursday night. The show features artists Curtis Miller,Richard Smith, Michele Smythe, Mike Stephens, Jesus De La Rosa, Richardo Ruiz and Paul Valadez.The pieces include woodblock prints, paintings, drawings and mixed media. The exhibitions will beopen for viewing until March 20.

East entrance ramp to close Tuesday


Entry forms are nowbeing accepted for the sec-ond annual Walker CountyFair Country Music StarContest, and this year, bothsolo and duet acts will beaccepted into the competi-tion.

The Country Music StarContest, a music competi-tion much like AmericanIdol and Nashville Star, willallow Walker County resi-dents to perform live coun-try music songs and bejudged by both an audience

and panel of judges. According to Steve Fox,

competition organizer, entryforms will be acceptedthrough March 7, and audi-tions for the production willbe held on March 7 andMarch 14.

“This year’s contest willbe bigger and better thanlast year’s contest, and itwill include two nights ofgreat entertainment,” Foxsaid. “Auditions will beheld on two Saturdays —March 7 and March 14 —and the winners will per-

Country MusicStar entry forms

due March 7

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON —President Barack Obama plansto announce today a formerSecret Service agent whohelped expose lobbyists’ cor-ruption at theI n t e r i o rDepartmentas his pick tooversee the$787 billione c o n o m i cs t i m u l u splan.

Obama isset to nameE a r lDevaney as chairman of thenew Recovery ActTransparency andAccountability Board, anadministration official saidSunday. Vice President JoeBiden also will be given a rolecoordinating oversight ofstimulus spending.

The official spoke on thecondition of anonymitybecause the White House had

not made public the announce-ment.

Devaney, the inspectorgeneral of the InteriorDepartment, helped turn updisgraced lobbyist JackAbramoff’s dealings at thedepartment. The department’sNo. 2 official, Steven Griles,pleaded guilty to charges helied during congressional testi-mony based in part onDevaney’s investigation.

Italia Federici, co-founderof the Council of Republicansfor Environmental Advocacy,and former InteriorDepartment official RogerStillwell also pleaded guilty tocharges stemming from theInterior investigation.

Obama has pledged theRecovery Act Transparencyand Accountability Board tobe an at-large body to overseehow the government spendsbillions allocated to help theflailing U.S. economy. But

Investigator tolead stimulus

oversight

OBAMA

See STAR, page 2A

See LEAD, page 2A

2-23 EDITORIAL PGS 2/24/09 5:22 PM Page 1

The HoustonianThe Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Houston State University Vol 111 — Issue 9 Thursday, February 14, 2008

Viewpoints...........page 2

Campus............... page 3

Advertisement......page 6

SPECIAL REPORT

Passion over cashin’. Management professor Dr. Vic

Sower addressed SHSU students and staff Wednesday

about his choice to leave his high-paying job at a chemi-

cal company to persue what he loves.

Thomas Boydston The Houstonian

Head of Bearkat Athletics Bobby Jordan steps down

Professor Sower gets up close and personal

ADP probes students, community on ‘Burning Issues’

The American Democracy

Project is offering its second se-

mester of “Burning Issues” films

to promote student interests in

important civic issues.

According to chairman Joyce

McCauley, the ADP is part of a

larger organization — the Ameri-

can Association of State Colleges

and Universities (AASCU). Mc-

Cauley said over 400 public col-

leges in the nation are part of the

organization. This semester, the

ADP teamed up with Program

Council.

“[It’s] a movement to create a

democratic movement on campus

to create civic engagement,” she

said. “To get people involved in

civic affairs and civic needs.”

The most recent film was

“Away from Her,” shown in the

Walker Education Center last

Saturday and in the LSC Theater

on Tuesday and Wednesday at

3:30 p.m.

“Away from Her” is the first

movie directed by Sarah Pol-

ley, and shows the ravages of

Alzheimer’s disease on an old

couple. The character of Fiona,

played by Julie Christie, is an

Alzheimer’s patient in a nursing

home, and the film shows her ill-

ness and how it affects her hus-

band, Grant.

“The film does a very good job

of showing the whole progres-

sion and the emotional upset that

goes with Alzheimer’s disease.

This really does a great job of

showing the effects Alzheimer’s

disease, not only on the patient,

but how difficult it is on the loved

ones,” John Newbold, assistant

professor of marketing and orga-

nizer for the film series, said.

The whole idea is to try to pro-

mote a culture on campus along

with PC — a culture of being

more involved trying to avoid

being too passive with things,”

he said.

There are six films total in the

series — three last fall and three

this spring. This semester, along

with “Away from Her”, “Dirty

Pretty Things”, about illegal

aliens in London, will be shown

in March. Maxed Out, a docu-

mentary about credit card debt,

will be shown in April.

The movies all feature perti-

nent issues that increase issue

awareness among participants.

After each film, the floor is

By Jenny SwensonSenior Reporter

— See DEMOCRACY, page 3

Facebook turningSamMail into Snail Mail

By Jessica Hamilton News Editor

— See SAM SERIES, page 3

By Dorothy ShoemateSta! Reporter

At the SAM Center’s latest

Up Close and Personal event,

junior Edgard Sanchez intro-

duced Dr. Vic Sower to an audi-

ence of nine SHSU students and

staff members Wednesday.

Sower is a management pro-

fessor whose teaching aids in-

clude items like Lego blocks

and jelly beans.

“When people plan, God

laughs,” Sower said, starting

his speech on career paths with

a quote he enjoys.

He advised students to be

flexible when planning a ca-

reer. Sower’s first degree was

a Bachelor’s of Science degree

in chemistry from Virginia

Tech. When he was promoted

to a managerial position at the

chemical company he worked

for, Sower went back to school

and earned an MBA in manage-

ment at Auburn University. His

professors at Auburn encour-

aged him to get a doctorate and

become a teacher, and while

Sower decided to be a manager,

he kept their advice on the back

burner.

At the time, Sower and his

family could live more comfort-

ably on a manager’s salary than

on a teacher’s. However, after

the kids were grown and Sower

had experienced the world of

computer electronics, where to-

day’s new hot-ticket item is to-

morrow’s obsolete junk, Sower

took his professors’ advice.

“Money can’t be the love of

your life,” he said of his deci-

sion.

He earned his Ph.D. in pro-

duction and operations manage-

ment from the University of

North Texas. He quit his high-

paying business position and

became a teacher.

“The interaction with stu-


From Bearkat to Buckeye. Bobby

Jordan is moving his Sam Houston

State shirts to the back of the closet

and making room for his new Ohio

State University gear. After two years

at SHSU, Jordan will make the transi-

tion to the Buckeye state at the end of

the month. Sports Editor Christi Laney

interviewed Jordan to get the inside

scoop on why he’s making the move

and where he sees the athletic program

headed in the future.

With Facebook noti!cations clogging up the school’s mail system, o!cials are ask-ing students to change their preferences or put up with the delays

— See FACEBOOK, page 3

Although it has not developed

a 12-step program, many stu-

dents would consider themselves

addicted to Facebook. However,

the favorite past time could be

the reason for problems or delays

with campus e-mail accounts.

According to Computer Ser-

vices of Sam Houston State Uni-

versity, the school server is work-

ing in overdrive to process the

mass amounts of Facebook ‘noti-

fications’ received every day.

“Some people can have over

400 friends,” said Mark Adams,

computer services associate vice

president for information re-

sources. “If they set it up so their

friends are notified every time

they update their profile, 400

notification e-mails are sent out

when they change one little bit of

information on their profile.”

E-mails are sent to Facebook

users when network friends write

on their wall, comment on a note,

photo or video, are added as a

friend or updates any profile in-

formation.

“I’ll have two full pages in my

inbox of just Facebook notifica-

tions,” SHSU student Eric Pay-

ton said. “It’s full of stuff like

‘hey, someone wants to make

you a vampire’ and things like

that. I’m not on Facebook to be

a vampire.”

The flood of notifications

through the SHSU server is cre-

ating a delayed delivery for Sam-

Mail users.

“It will be really slow opening

up some of my e-mails,” Payton

said. “Sometimes, I won’t get

some of my e-mails for two or

three days. A lot of the e-mails I

get are from my work in the ath-

letic department and I need them

ASAP. Not being able to access

NEWS

SPORTS

INDEX

Bearkats get a healthy dose of sex ed.

Sports...................page 4

Entertainment.......page 5

VIEWPOINTS

COLUMNS

“MAD BRAD: It’s just Valentine’s Day”— Brad Basker

WEB EXCLUSIVE houstonianonline.com

SEE page 2

Do you think Roger Clemons took steroids?


"e Houstonian wishes you aHAPPY VALENTINE’S

DAY

"is week in Entertainment: SHSU Dance, Battle of BandsSamantha Angus and Kyla Olson team up to present “SHE,” a dance performance

focusing on women’s strength. "e next installment of TV 78’s Battle of the Bands will rock out on Saturday. SEE page 5

Kats lose to Northwestern State, 78-69SEE page 4

BREAKING NEWS

SEE page 4

www.houstonianonline.com

The HoustonianThe Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Houston State University Vol 111 — Issue 25 Thursday, April 17, 2008

www.houstonianonline.com

ENTERTAINMENTWEATHER

High79

Low59

Friday: Scattered T-Storms, Hi-74 Lo-51

Take the ‘Sam Houston Challenge’Competition o!ers free food, music and fun witha chance for a team to win a grand prize of $750.

CORRECTION

!e Sam Houston Scholar

— Bryan Honeycutt

Our Two Cents

SPORTS

COLUMNS

SEE page 2

VIEWPOINTS

What are you doing here?

Viewpoints...........page 2

Nation & World...page 5

INDEX

Campus................page 3

Sports...................page 4

Entertainment.......page 6

SEE page 4

Backing the ‘beautiful

game’

SEE page 6

SEE page 3

B.A.S.E. gives students ‘the talk’

SEE page 2

WEB SITE

VA Tech remembers, mourns

By Associated Press

NATION & WORLD

One-year anniversary. !e family of slain Virginia Tech student Reema Joseph Samaha, hold each other as they look over the memorial prior to a memorial ceremony for the victims of the April 16, 2007 shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday, April 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

SEE page 5 for more NATION & WORLD news

Sammy Bearkat beats out top schools at NCA NationalsBy Jessica HamiltonNews Editor

Photo courtesy of Sammy Bearkat

Winner. Sammy Bearkat placed third out of sixteen schools when he compet-ed in the National Cheerleading Association Nationals last weekend. Sammy competed against shools such as NYU, West Point and Purdue.

A night at the Sammys

By Jenny SwensonSta! Reporter

Daniel Flores The Houstonian

And the winner is... Sophomore Daniel Pawlowski and Program Coordnator for the O"ce of Multicultural and International Student Services Ashley McDonough hosted the 14th annual ‘Sammys’ last night in the LSC Ballroom.

IN & AROUND CAMPUS

Outstanding students, facultyhonored at annual award ceremony

14th Annual SammysSTUDENT RECREATION

Can you dig it?

Chris Pry The Houstonian

A student hits the sand for some rec-reational volleyball. Over the past

week, the sunny skies and cold breeze has allowed students to partake in sum-mer activities without the heat.

IN & AROUND CAMPUS

By Today@Sam

Mathematicians divide day for mini-conference

Show ‘em what you got, share writing

IN & AROUND CAMPUS

By Dorothy ShoemateSenior Reporter

— See WRITING, page 3

The Sam Houston Writing

Center isn’t just a place to get

advice on academic papers or

homework anymore. Starting

on Sunday, April 20, the Writ-

ing Center will host an after-

hours open reading program

called Writing @ the Center.

“We started this because we

really think there’s a desire out

there for writers to have their

work heard,” Dana Allen, a

writing consultant at the Writ-

ing Center, said. “We know that

there are a lot of people who

like to write and enjoy writ-

ing, and so we opened this up

so that people could put their

words out there in an informal

setting.”

New forum will allow students to show their cre-ative work: #ction and non-#ction

The idea came from a con-

ference that several Writing

Center consultants attended in

March.

“We came back and felt very

inspired to try and bring some-

thing like that to Sam,” Allen

said.

“There are so many facets to

writing,” said Kris Gottlieb, a

writing consultant. “You have

the academic writing that is

most concentrated on at the

writing center, but then you

have this whole other side, this

creative side, and people feel

like they don’t have an outlet

for that.”

Writers are welcome to bring

any work to share, whether it is

fiction or nonfiction. There will

be a time limit on longer pieces,

but any writing is welcome.

“People can bring in part of

a poem they’ve written, they

can bring in part of a personal

memoir, something nonfic-

tion,” Allen said. “They can

read parts of it and see what

people’s reactions are to it.”

Six professors from across the

country will discuss various mathe-

matical-related topics, including logic

and computer science, during an “Al-

gebra Mini-Conference” on Friday

(April 18).

Texas A&M University’s Zoran

Sunik is scheduled to begin the one-

hour, “higher-level scientific” lectures

at 9 a.m., according to associate pro-

fessor of mathematics John Snow.

Other lectures will include Univer-

sity of Dallas’ Jeremy Alm at 10 a.m.,

New Mexico State University’s Elbert

Walker at 11 a.m., Rice’s Moshe Vardi

at 2 p.m., Cal Tech’s Jonathan Farley

at 3:30 p.m. and Vanderbilt’s Ralph

McKenzie at 4:30 p.m.

While the majority of the talks

“will be more advanced and directed

toward a graduate student and faculty

level,” the 2 p.m. discussion, “And

logic begat computer science” is “de-

signed specifically for an undergradu-

ate audience,” Snow said.

All are open to the public and will

be held in Lee Drain Building Room

402.

For more information, contact Snow

at [email protected] or call the math-

ematics department at 936.294.1564.

Statue edition

Last night, the red carpet was

rolled, the paparazzi flashed away

and the Sam Houston marching band

was in attendance for the 14th annual

Sammys award ceremony.

The Sammys were held in the LSC

Ballroom at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April

16. It was hosted by SHSU and the

Department of Student Activities.

The event was emceed by sopho-

more Daniel Pawlowski and Ashley

McDonough, program coordinator

for the office of Multicultural and In-

ternational Student Services.

“We use it as a tool to honor the

students, faculty and staff that have

worked so hard to serve Sam Hous-

ton,” Angie Burns, assistant director

for the Student Activities depart-

ment, said. “It’s an exciting night for

them to dress up and come out and be

rewarded for their work.”

— See SAMMYS, page 3

Sammy Bearkat had the

room roaring with spirit Friday

and this time, he wasn’t even in

Sam Houston State University

territory. Sammy and members

of Spirit Programs made their

way to Daytona Beach, Florida

last weekend to participate in

the National Cheerleading As-

sociation national competition,

placing third overall among

sixteen universities.

For the competition, all mas-

cots were asked to submit a

video of their performances at

games and crowd interaction.

Five universities advanced to

the finals in the video contest

with Sammy taking third place.

“I put in a video bid and I

was really excited I was able to

do that,” Sammy Bearkat said.

“It was made around ‘Everyone

Loves Tom Cruise.’ It started

off with Sammy and ‘Everyone

Loves Raymond’ and then we

added Tom Cruise. I guess the

judges really liked it.”

Each university mascot also

performed a live skit for the

judges. Sammy incorporated

Guitar Hero and streamers into

his performance, wowing the

audience.

“My skit was about Sammy

coming down from 2052 and

letting us know what to expect

in the future,” he said. “We

showed how Lindsay Lohan

will look in 44 years and cut

to a picture of a lunch lady.

Everyone thought it was pretty

funny.”

The energetic display earned

Sammy third-place overall,

beating out universities such as

Purdue University, New York

University and West Point.

“I thought it was judged

fairly,” he said. “I could have

gone to the United Cheerlead-

ers Association competition but

I felt there were more mascots

to compete against at NCA. We

worked really hard on this.”

Defending champions — Christi Laney

COLUMNS

HOUSTONIANONLINE.comCheck out the online version of ‘The Houstonian’ and take

part in our poll!

Rachael Gleason newspaper designs

Documents

Transcript of Rachael Gleason newspaper designs