Sam Houston State Uni-versity was granted approval by the Texas State University System Board of Regents to begin the renovation of the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center during the group’s regular meeting in San Marcos Feb. 18-19.

The facility is located on the grounds of the Sam

Houston Memorial Muse-um. University officials an-ticipate that the renovation will begin in June and be completed by the end of the summer.

“The Walker Education Center is the portal to the Sam Houston Memorial Mu-seum and is visited by thou-sands of citizens each year,” SHSU President Jim Gaert-ner told the regents.

Huntsville, TexasVol 115— Issue 13 Thursday, February 25, 2010

INDEXViewpoints................page 2

Campus................page 3 Entertainment........page 7Sports....................page 4

SPORTS FEATURE PRESENTATIONEntertainment contributor James Ashworth observes “Death and Taxidermy” in the Gaddis Geeslin Art Gallery

SEE page 5

Nation & World...page 6

SEE page 4

Find out what individual became the 21st Bearkat to break 1000 points

SHSU regents approve renovation of Walker EducationC enter

* Increase room rates by 3 percent beginning in the Fall 2010 semes-ter.

* Change the Distance Learn-ing Fee from $303 per course to $101 per credit hour effective im-mediately.

By Julia MaySHSU Public Relations

By Lotis ButchkoSenior Editor

In other business the university was authorized to:

Joe Buvid | The Houstonian

— See CENTER, page 3

SHSU SNOW DAYSee page 8

Sam Houston State students can expect to dish out bigger bucks in the next two years as the university will introduce a “convenience fee” to help pay for the five percent general revenue reduction from the state of Texas.

The five percent cut will cost Sam Houston State $2.55 million a year over a two-year period, taking a total of $5.1 million from the Sam Houston’s state funded budget.

“When students pay with a credit card that costs the university money,” said Dana Gibson, vice president of finance and operations at Sam Houston State. “The convenience fee is going to be the students absorbing that cost.”

That cost could save the university up to $850,000 a year, according to Gibson.

When students, or parents use credit cards for tuition, meal plans, or any type of credit card used on campus, the con-

venience fee will be added so that they will be paying the additional cost that the credit card company tacks on.

Online Checks, written checks and cash will be excluded from the conve-nience fee.

The reduction has left many students asking why, but a quick glance at the state comptroller’s website shows that the sales tax from the first quarter was down, and the second quarter was flat. While that is becoming more steady, auto sales tax is down 20 percent.

Saving Money In order to save money, Sam Houston

State is bringing in Schneider Electric to do an Energy Audit. An energy audit assesses how much energy a building or home uses, and evaluates what measures can be taken to improve efficiency.

Other forms of saving money will in-clude reducing the number of graduate as-sistants jobs.

“Unfortunately for next fall we typi-cally fund four assistantships in our MBA Program, which we will not be doing in

the fall,” said Mitchell Muehsam, dean of the College of Business Affairs. “But we are not firing any student assistants. All but one is graduating and we are just not going to fill those positions.”

Cutting those positions will save the department $36,000 a year, according to Muehsam.

Other forms of saving money will come in the form of increasing the number of adjunct teachers.

As of Fall 2010 the College of Business Affairs has 21 non-tenured/tenure-track faculty members. That number can be ex-pected to grow as the school will look to adjuncts to help keep cost down without paying benefits or tenure expenses.

“We are cancelling some searches,” said Gibson. “That will mean that we might have more part-time faculty, some searches won’t be completed and some staff positions might not be filled.

“We are not trying to eliminate posi-tions, but we won’t be filling them.”

Photo Courtesy of Amanda Bexley

“Cowbrrr and baby”

Bearkats are now 12-1 in conference making them the number one seed in the Southland Conference Tournament.See SPORTS for more on this game plus results from the Women’s Basketball and Softball.

Joe Buvid | The Houstonian

University to charge credit card use in effort to save money following cuts.

Facing fiscal fees

* Offer the Master of Business Administration program and the Master of Education in Special Education program via distance learning.

* Increase meal plan rates by zero to 6 percent, depending on individual meal plans, beginning in the Fall 2010 semester. — See FEE, page 3

“Sam Houston State is currently the second lowest funded school in per student funding. Cur-rently Sam Houston is receiving $4,476 per student enrolled. That number is considerably lower than the highest funded school – Texas A&M Galveston, which receives $16, 291 per student. Sam Houston is not far behind Lamar, who is the lowest and receives $4,173 a student.”

Sports....................page 5

Snow Day..............page 8

VIEWPOINTSPage 2 The Houstonian Thursday, February 25, 2010

Dear Sam Houston Students, Staff and Faculty and Alumni:

The Houstonian would not survive were it not for the continued involvement and dedication of the SHSU student body. We welcome all column submissions and letters to the editor. If at any time you feel the need to express an opinion, please do not hesitate to email your thoughts or drop by our office in the Dan Rather, room 210 in the communications building. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you as always for your continued support of the Houstonian.

Heath WierckViewpoints Editorhaw002@shsu.edu

Letter to the Student Body

The individual opinions on the Viewpoints page are not necessarily affiliated with the view of The Housto-nian or SHSU. The Houstonian is published semi-week-ly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a news publication of Sam Houston State University, a member of the Texas State University system, and is produced by students. It is self-supporting and welcomes all advertisers. Those interested in placing ads or classifieds should call (936) 294-4864. The Houstonian is a member of the Associ-ated Press.

SECTION EDITORS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The HoustonianEditorial

Lotis Butchko....................................................................Senior EditorJoe Buvid.............................................................................Photo EditorJessica Priest..................................................................Associate EditorHeath Wierck..............................................................Viewpoints EditorMike Silva...........................................................................Sports EditorKevin Jukkola........................................................Entertainment EditorThomas Merka...................................................................Web Editor

Meagan Ellsworth...............................................................936-294-1505

FACULTY ADVISORPatsy Ziegler.....................................................................936-294-1499

STAFFKristin Meyer.................................................................Senior ReporterBrandon Scott.................................................................Sports ReporterJohn Rudolph.......................................................................Photographer

AdvertisingBUSINESS MANAGERTammie Nokes.................................................................936-294-1500

STAFFBrad Basker.........................................................Advertising Relations Brittany Hampton...............................................Advertising Manager Brittany Pires.......................................................Production Manager Kyle Thomas.............................................................Account Executive Gupreet Singh...........................................................Account Executive

Tuesday’s Issue............... Friday at 2:00 p.m.Thursday’s Issue........... Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.Advertising

Deadlines

Mad Brad: At the ball gameBrad Basker shares about his recent ex-periences at a SHSU men’s basketball game.

Last night, I found myself in the stands as the Bearkat men’s basketball team played the McNeese Cowboys. It was a pivotal game, as a Bearkat victory would ensure them as the No. 1 seed in the Southland Conference.

Orange pride oozed in the atmosphere, and the smell of citrus filled the coliseum. There was so much orange that almost everyone got a helping of Vitamin C.

The lights were bright and the fans yelled in boisterous fashion. But, as hundreds of fans yelled, “Defense! Defense!”, I sat in my chair with my netbook in my lap, seemingly void of emotion and showing no school spirit.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to join in the spirited festivities. I love SHSU, athletic prowess, the Orange Pride dancers and loud noises. I was able to find all of these wonderful things at Johnson Coliseum. However, I had yet to find a topic for my column by the time the game was

supposed to start. Destiny had left me few

options, and I had no choice but to merge them all with the hopes of a positive outcome for everyone.

-A finished column-A Bearkat victory-A Sprite and a hot dog

with mustard…maybe some chili as well

My journalistic duties

coupled with procrastination crippled my school spirit, thus restricting my attention to 13 inches of technologic diversion. I tried to sit as far up as possible so I could finish my column without seeming out of place, but there were just too many people to do so.

A cheerleader gave me a quizzical look as I tried to type while standing.

Though I was a lone journalist in a sea of

rowdiness, I was able to find fish out what I needed.

I felt a strange sense of community at which every aspect of SHSU was represented. There were the elderly Bearkats that purchased their season tickets, and next to their section were the freshmen, who recklessly proclaimed “Eat Em Up Kats!”.

Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha blazoned their “Pike Pride” with fraternity letters, while their feminine Alpha Delta Pi counterparts dawned the spirited simplicity of orange shirts.

And while students from Huntsville High gleaned at the dazzling delight of the Orange Pride dancers, a group of Japanese exchange students got their first taste of Division II NCAA Men’s

Basketball. It seemed like there

was something for every spectator, no matter what stereotype they fell into. I was certain we all would scatter to our destinations once the final whistle blew, but for a few hours we all had something in common.

Orange Pride.As the ballers battled on

the court, I raged on my lap top in literary labor. A part of me likes to think that the entire coliseum was cheering for the successful competition of my column.

“Eat em up Brad!”But the honest parts

of me know that didn’t happen. All self-gratitude aside, I would say it was a favorable night for everyone involved.

Bearkats Won. Column done.

Brad Basker is a reccuring columnist for The Houstonian. He is a Senior Public Relations major, Spanish minor.

“There was so much orange that almost everyone got a helping of Vitamin C.”

The education conundrumHeath Wierck reflects on his schooling and talks about how life lessons are left out.

I came to the realization a few days ago that in rough-ly eighty days I will gradu-ate from college. And, in that moment, I came to an-other realization; what in the hell am I going to do with my life now? Maybe I should Google it; they seem to have the answers for everything else.

Since I was a wee lad of 4, I’ve spent almost ev-ery waking day of my life at school, and that’s now about to end. The ever per-sistent reality of no more school, and the idea of having to endure the “real world” is a daunting actu-ality to me. Really, I feel unprepared.

It doesn’t necessarily help that my degree, which happens to be in English, isn’t the best degree to have when trying to secure a career in our unstable job market. That fact alone has me shivering in my meta-phorical boots.

But as I gear up for my tread into the beyond, I can’t help but find myself reflecting on my life as a student—especially since

the majority of it was spent in school.

Author Neil Gaiman stated when talking about school that we re-ally don’t learn the most important life lessons by sitting in a classroom; “They don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how

to be famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any longer. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying. They don’t teach you anything worth know-ing.”

It really is a true state-ment. We don’t learn the basic necessities of life through school. The day I sit in a small room, job interviewer at my front, I

will have learned nothing to successfully compose myself for an awe-inspir-ing interview.

Now if, by happenstance, the interviewer were to ask me to write a short es-say about Charles Dick-ens, maybe dissect a few lines of Shakespeare, or grab a scantron for a mul-

tiple choice quiz on why I should be hired, then con-sider me hired. But, alas, that most definitely won’t happen.

Had I no schooling whatsoever, merely going through life learning by experience, and acquired a diploma through osmosis, then I’d be in great shape. Because experience is what everyone is looking for.

I think that schools—whether high school or college—should offer a class that helps us in those

neglected areas. It’s hard to learn life lessons with an overly extreme focus on math, science and literature (not that math, science and literature aren’t important, because they really are).

Experience 101; teach-ing all the know how to be somewhat successful in life.

Sounds appeasing enough.

It’s the education co-nundrum. And really there isn’t much we can do to fix it. It’d be like trying to get the TAKS test taken out of Texas schools; consider it non-negotiable. But indi-viduals can better them-selves, instead of relying on schools, by just going out and getting the experi-ence.

It’s the “bear-necessi-ties,” and we need the most we can get out of it.

Heath Wierck is the Viewpoints Editor for The Houstonian. He is a Senior English major, History mi-nor.

“It’s hard to learn life lessons with an overly extreme focus on math, science and literature.”

Comic courtesy of comics.com

Comic courtesy of comics.com

Comics for thought

After attending Sat-urday night’s brilliant Mainstage production of Ondine, I am left with two pressing questions. Why have I not previ-ously attended a play at Sam? And why was the house half empty for a performance whose quality would rival that of most university pro-grams in the country?

For a year now, I have watched harried, made-up and exhausted aspir-ing actors and dancers from the Department of Theatre and Dance come into English class-es cursing and praising what I gleaned to be a rigorous and demand-ing theatre and dance program, but as a com-muter, attending a play required effort, so I had not seen a performance. On Saturday evening, my wife and I made the two and a half hour round trip for Ondine. What a treat. We’ll not miss another.

We have held season

tickets and attended performances at some marvelous profes-sional venues through-out the years—I am a thirty-fifth year senior, so I’ve been around awhile—and I believe Hilary Bryant and Dan-iel Nepveux could have dazzled on any stage with their Saturday night performance. And Chris Rock, watch out, Reggie Talley just might take your next stand-up gig. He stole the show. Careful Reggie, it’s dangerous to make old people laugh so hard. The cast was too large to mention everyone, but the entire cast and crew deserves kudos for an exceptional show.

William Kerr writes in to discuss his impression with

SHSU’s Theatre department and their recent play Ondine.

Letter to the Editor

In the Tuesday, February 23 issue of The Houstonian, the byline of the story “Spending the night away” should have also been accredited to Alyssa Dupree. The byline should have read “By Jessica Priest and Alyssa Dupree”.

Correction

William Kerr is a guest columnist for The Houstonian. He is contributing with a Letter to the Editor.

CAMPUSThursday, February 25, 2010 The Houstonian, Page 3

Financial aid 101Financial literacy week continues with a lecture about financial aid

Jessica Simpson

Michael Antonio

Yellowbox

Fergie

BEBE

Shoe Repair Available

Noticias en español

Por Jennifer Gauntt Traducido por Michael Wolfskill

‘Charlas Autenticas’

Bar List

(6-9 pm)Monday............................. $1.50 Wells/ $1.50 Drafts

Tuesday......................... $1.50 Marg/ $2 Longnecks

Wednesday................ $4.50 Pitchers (NO LANDSHARK)

Thursday........................... $1.50 Wells/ $1.50 Drafts

Friday..... $4.50 Pitchers (NO LANDSHARK)/ $2 Dr. Shockers

Saturday........................ $3 Jager/ $1.75 Longnecks

Sunday......................... $3 Jager/ $4 Ziegen Pitcher

SHSU Financial Aid Counselor Bran-di Jones educated nearly 40 students yesterday on the ins and outs of financial aid as part of the Second Annual Finan-cial Literacy Week hosted by the Student Money Management Center.

The event, which took place in the Lowman Student Center Room 320 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., attempted to de-mistify the sometimes confusing and cumbersome process that is applying for financial aid.

First and foremost, Jones said, students must complete a FAFSA form for SHSU financial aid counselors to be able to de-termine their financial need. Student can fill out a FAFSA form at fafsa.ed.gov or call 1-800-4-FEDAID for help.

“Don’t go to fafsa.com,” Jones said. “If you go to this website you actually have to pay (to use its services).”

According to Jones, Fafsa.com costs students seeking financial aid around $80 to use and students should never have to pay money to apply for financial aid.

“All students who apply for financial aid have a role to play and certain re-sponsibilities,” Jones said.

Students must meet the required dead-lines of submission, be enrolled in at least 6 hours, and maintain satisfactory educational improvement throughout their academic career.

“You can’t just go along in school, get bad grades, and drop classes and expect to get financial aid,” Jones said.

According to Jones, hard work pays off in “free” money as undergrad stu-dents are expected to maintain a 2.0

grade point average. Graduate students however, must maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Jones also recommends that all stu-dents who apply for financial aid keep in touch with the financial aid office and regularly monitor their financial aid sta-tus.

“Make sure you know what’s going on and let us know if we can help you,” Jones said.

There are several ways to monitor your financial aid status, Jones said.

First, students are asked to check their SAM e-mail account on a regular basis. Second, students may check to see if they are missing paper work, accept and deny financial awards via a new program called “Banner Self-Service.”

“Banner Self-Service” is a new ad-dition to SamWeb and is located under the Financial Aid tab. It is also a good idea to check your SHSU Fee Statement, Jones said. The Fee Statement may also be found on SamWeb and any fee state-ment questions may be directed to the Student Financial Services Office in the Estill Building.

Jones also reminded students to up-date their refund preference every aca-demic semester in order to receive their financial aid refund in a timely manner. She warns that updating your refund preference late can result in a delay in receiving your refunds up until the 12th class day.

“Our role (at the Financial Aid Office) is to provide the best customer service,” Jones said, and she is hoping to continue on her mission by providing students with important information on how to receive financial aid.

Jones graduated from University of Texas at Austin in 2002. She began her

career at Sam Houston State University in 2003 as a financial aid counselor and continues to educate students about their financial eligibility today.

The priority deadline to apply for fi-nancial aid for the Fall 2010 semester is March 31st. The priority deadline for Summer 2010 is Feb. 28.

The Financial Aid Office is located on the 2nd Floor of the Estill Building.

Associate News EditorBy Jessica Priest

Jessica Priest | The HoustonianFinancial Aid 101: The Student Money Management Center hosted Financial Aid 101 yesterday as part of the Second An-nual Financial Literacy Week.

For more information about the Fi-nancial Aid Office, please visit their Web site at http://www.shsu.edu/~fao_www/ or call 936-294-1774. For more infor-mation about the Student Money Man-agement Center and a full calendar of events for the Second Annual Financial Literacy Week, please visit http://www.shsu.edu/~smmc/.

In another effort to save money, the university is cutting down the mileage reimbursement rate. Currently Sam Hous-ton State reimburses teachers 50 cents per mile, they are going reduce that to 40 cents per mile. According to Gibson over the course of the year it could save as much as one full time position.

Where’s the money?Sam Houston State is currently the second lowest funded

school in per student funding. Currently Sam Houston is re-ceiving $4,476 per student enrolled. That number is consid-erably lower than the highest funded school – Texas A&M Galveston, which receives $16, 291 per student. Sam Houston is not far behind Lamar, who is the lowest and receives $4,173 a student.

Money distributed to the universities can be based on past formulas, as well as supplements that are made for small schools.

“It’s tough, because we are second to the lowest funding already,” Gibson added. “ We are already pretty efficient in

teaching our students with our money though.” In November, the Board of Regents passed an $8 per credit

hour increase in tuition. For a full time student, that is $120 increase per semester.

“We did not look at any additional increases,” Gibson said. “We didn’t go up on many fees.”

Student GovernmentStudent Government Association will be working closely

with the budget being changed. According to SGA President Ryan Bridges, no money will be taken from their budget.

“As far as the five percent cut goes, that’s not affecting [SGA],” Bridges said. “We have some internal money to shift around but, other than that, we are doing fine.”

SGA is comprised of four different committees, each deal-ing with a different aspect of the university.

Treasurer David Barnes has met with his group to discuss funding allocations. The committees are broke up into four groups: External Affairs, Internal Affairs, Student Affairs and University Affairs. They deal with areas around Huntsville, student government, students and university functions respec-tively.

The four committees split $65,000 during the year, and will

be looking at more efficient ways to spend the money. “We aren’t going to touch university affairs,” said Barnes.

“They have a lot of big plans upcoming in the next year.” Effect on studentsFor students, the biggest impact will come in the form of

bigger classes. Efficiency in the classroom will be a large part of saving money. Cutting class numbers and cutting sections of a class can help save even more money.

“The impact on that could be larger classes,” said Mueh-sam. “One thing you try to avoid at all possible, is cutting the number of sections, if you have to do that, you try to cut multi section courses and let the class sizes get a little larger.

“Now something we do pride ourselves on, at this univer-sity, is the accessibility of our faculty and the interaction our faculty has with our students so you want to be very careful with that.”

While the cuts are trying to be handled without hurting stu-dent, it can only leave some students wondering if a quality education can still be provided.

From FEE page 1

Boris E. Mason, supervi-sor for the Henry Wade Ju-venile Justice Center, will discuss his career path on Tuesday (Feb. 23), as part of the College of Criminal Justice’s “Real Talk with CJ” lecture series.

The lecture, sponsored by the National Associa-tion of Blacks in Criminal Justice, will be held at 2 p.m. in CJava, located in the Criminal Justice Cen-ter.

Mason attended both Texas College in Tyler and Texas Southern University in Houston before earn-ing his bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Franklin University.

While in college, he be-gan working for AT&T and was assigned as a member of the AT&T federal sys-tems specialty division, where he worked for the government security in the AT&T fraud protection and surveillance department.

He spent four years at Dawson State Jail as a corrections officer, be-fore transferring to Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center as a supervisor.

Currently at the Henry Wade

‘Real Talk’ To Fea-ture Dallas Juve-nile Supervisor

SHSU Public RelationsBy Jennifer Gauntt

Boris E. Mason, supervisor del Centro de Criminología Henry Wade, dará una charla sobre su carrera en la escuela de criminología este martes ( 23 de febrero del 2010). La charla forma parte del Escuela de Criminología “Charlas Autenticas en CJ”.

La charla, patrocinada por la Asociación de Afroamericanos en Criminología, será a las 2 de la tarde en CJava, ubicado en el Centro de Criminología.

Mason asistió a la Universidad de Texas en Tyler y Texas Southern University en Houston, antes de graduarse con un título negocios y mercadeo de la Universidad de Franklin.

Cuando era estudiante, trabajó en AT&T y fue asignado a la división especial de AT&T de sistemas federales, donde trabajó en la seguridad del gobierno estadounidense como miembro del departamento de anti-fraude y vigilancia.

Mason trabajó por cuatro años en la Cárcel Estatal en

— See REAL,page 6

— MIRA AUTENTICAS, page 6

SPORTSPage 4 The Houstonian Thursday, February 25, 2010

ConferenCe Champs!The SHSU men’s basketball team crushed McNeese State, 74-56, to claim the Southland Conference title

John Rudolph | The Houstonian

Joe Buvid | The Houstonian1000 POINTS CLUB. Ashton Mitchell entered Wednesday night’s game with 999 career points. After a 12 point effort in the win over McNeese, Mitchell became just the 21st Bearkat to eclipse 1000 points.

Brandon ScottSports Reporter

If you were at the basketball game Wednesday night, wondering how Sam Houston was able to maintain its intensity in such a wide open game, the answer is simple: the Bearkats look to improve each time they hit the floor and it is that type of hunger and vigor that has led them to the top of the Southland Conference.

Sam Houston (record) clinched the number one seed in next month’s conference tournament with a 74-56 blowout victory over McNeese (record). In a game full of distractions and interruptions, the Bearkats trailed briefly in the early part of the first half. After senior point guard Ashton Mitchell sank his 1,002 career point with a picture perfect three in the corner, Sam Houston pressed the gas and never let up.

Corey Allmond followed with a pair of three-pointers and a basket in transition converted into three the old-fashioned way. The Bearkats went through a six minute stretch that included an 18-0 run to give Sam Houston a commanding 43-16 lead.

Towards the end of the first half, Mitchell suffered with leg cramps which forced him into limited minutes. The Bearkats were fine without him and dominated the interior offensively and defensively.

“We preach defense,” Allmond said. “That’s where it starts and that’s how we’re going to win the championship. We’re going to score;

we’ve been doing that all year. We’ve got to stop people.”

The Bearkats lost their rhythm in the second half, with a number of stoppages in playing time

due to scoreboard and statistic mix-ups. Gilberto Clavell, who appeared frustrated all night, shared a double technical foul following an exchange with McNeese forward Will Morning. But the Kats kept a level head, even with the frustration of the physicality and stat sheet confusion.

McNeese made a decent run and cut what was once a 31 point lead down to 17. Coach Marlin was able to play his entire rotation in the slightly competitive matchup.

Allmond led the Bearkats with 22 points. Mitchell put up 12 points and seven assists in only 20 minutes of action. Preston Brown added 11 points and eight boards. Josten Crow snagged a game-high 11 boards, Clavell right behind him with 10. Marco Cooper also gave the Bearkats energy off the bench with eight rebounds, four on the offensive glass.

Sam Houston goes into Saturday’s game against UTA with all the momentum and excitement from hoisting the trophy on

Wednesday. Mitchell, the only three-year letter winner on the Bearkat team, spoke about his feelings on the team accomplishment.

“It’s a great feeling,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been

here four years and each year that’s been one of our goals. This year we finally got it. It’s the first

of many though.” For the Bearkats, the conference title is the

third regular season SLC championship in school history, all of which have been coached by Bob Marlin. Even with the accolades that have already come this season (see records set in loss at Rupp Arena), its business as usual for Marlin and his squad.

“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work by our coaching staff and our players,” Marlin said. “We’ve gone over a long process. It’s a lot of time and effort put in. This was one of our goals and we’ve got a couple more that we would like to accomplish. Every game counts.”

The Bearkats will host UTA on Saturday at 7 p.m. in their final home game of the season.

“We preach defense. That’s where it starts and that’s how we’re going to win the championship.”

Guard Corey Allmond

SPORTSPage 5 The Houstonian Thursday, February 25, 2010

Kats win in back-to-back shutoutsAfter crushing Texas Southern by scores of 15-0 and 8-0, the SHSU softball team has extended their winning streak to four games

Joe Buvid | The HoustonianTHE BATS COME ALIVE. The SHSU softball team totaled 23 runs on 24 hits in back-to-back run-rule routs over Texas Southern.

The Sam Houston State softball team shut out Texas Southern twice in Wednesday night’s doubleheader, winning by scores of 15-0 and 8-0.

The pair of victories extends the Bearkats’ winning streak to three games following last weekend’s win over Missouri State at the University of North Texas Mean Green Classic. The wins put SHSU at 4-8 for the season.

The Bearkats found their bats in the doubleheader and run-ruled Texas Southern in both games after just five innings of play. After being outscored 45-4 in their eight-game losing streak, SHSU has outscored opponents 32-2 in its recent winning streak. Head Coach Bob Brock talked about how the team has improved its offense in the past couple of games.

“What we’ve done today should really show how good of a team we are,” Brock said. “We’ve just been getting up there and swinging. We’re being less selective with pitches and going for it a little earlier in the count.”

Seven of SHSU’s starters in the first game produced at least one run each, totaling 14 runs in two innings.

First baseman Amy Brown recorded two hits, two runs, and three RBI in her two plate

appearances. Right fielder Mandy Gegen added two more hits, two runs, and three RBI in her two at-bats, as well. Shortstop Hailey Wiginton went three for three for two RBI and three runs batting leadoff.

The second unit came out in the top of the third inning and kept the bats alive. The Bearkats totaled 13 hits in the game and closed the game out with both good hitting and solid defense.

The pitching for SHSU was

lights out and also played a big part in Wednesday night’s wins. Pitcher Morgan Mikulin allowed just one hit in five innings of work and struck out seven batters in the 15-0, game-one win.

“We’re going to keep our

attitude good right now and make sure we continue to come out and swing the bats,” Mikulin said. “We start conference next week, so we want to keep our winning streak going. We’re glad to come away with wins tonight.”

Game two of the doubleheader went in favor of SHSU almost immediately, as the Kats got out to a quick 2-0 lead after the second inning. After a six-run fourth inning, SHSU took the game’s deciding 8-0 lead.

Leftfielder Amanda Lindsey led the way with two hits, an RBI, and a run in three plate appearances. Pitcher Tomi Garrison hit in an RBI on two hits and added run in three at-bats. Altogether, the Bearkats accumulated 11 hits in the win.

Garrison was also dominant on the mound against the Tigers. She allowed just one hit and threw eight strikeouts in the 8-0 shutout.

“Everyone contributed to tonight’s wins,” Garrison said. “We had good defense tonight coming away with these wins. Confidence is up right now and that’s a good thing.”

The Bearkats will take the field again on Tuesday, Mar. 2, in Nacogdoches for a three-game

series with Stephen F. Austin to begin Southland Conference play.

SHSU looks to extend their winning streak to four games and beyond in the road series with the rival SFA next week.

Mike SilvaSports Editor

SHSU vs. UT-Arlington Feb. 27SHSU vs. Northwestern St. Mar. 3SHSU vs. Texas State Mar. 6

SHSU Women’s BasketballRemaining ScheduleKats clinch playoff spot

SHSU Sports Information

LAKE CHARLES, LA - Sophomore Bre Agnew scored a career high 21 points including a jumper with 1:32 to play for the go-ahead basket as Sam Houston defeated McNeese State 87-84 to clinch the Bearkats’ first berth in the Southland Conference post-season

women’s tournament since 2004.

Sam Houston (9-16 6-7 Southland) had five players score in double figures as seniors Whitney Smith and Brittany Brooks each scored 15, another senior Ray Alexander added 14 points and freshman Chanice Smith totaled 14.

McNeese (6-20 2-11 Southland) was led by Kendra

Wells with 31 points.The contest was tied five

times with six lead changes. McNeese led by as many as 10 points in the first half and held a 43-36 lead at intermission.

The Cowboys were up by five points, 73-68, with 3:16 to play when Sam Houston roared back with a 12-4 run. Agnew’s jumper with 1:32 to play put Sam Houston up

by two and Brittany Brooks scored on a 3-pointer to give the Kats a five-point lead.

The Bearkat women hit 31-of-70 for 41 percent shooting.

Sam Houston State now has won four of its last five games. The Bearkats continue a two-game road swing with a Southland Conference contest Saturday at Texas Hall in Arlington against UTA.

NATION & WORLDPage 6 The Houstonian Thursday,February 25, 2010

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A moment on the lips, forever on the hips? A bad figure is hardly the worst of it. Eating a lot of fat, especially the kind that’s in cookies and pastries, can significantly raise the risk of stroke for women over 50, a large new study finds.

We already know that diets rich in fat, particularly artery-clogging trans fat, are bad for the heart and the waistline.

The new study is the larg-est to look at stroke risk in women and across all types of fat. It showed a clear trend: Those who ate the most fat had a 44 percent higher risk of the most common type of stroke compared to those who ate the least.

“It’s a tremendous increase that is potentially avoidable,” said Dr. Emil Matarese, stroke chief at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Penn.

“What’s bad for the heart is bad for the brain.”

He reviewed but did not help conduct the research, which was presented Wednes-day at an American Stroke Association conference. It involved 87,230 participants in the Women’s Health Ini-tiative, a federally funded study best known for reveal-ing health risks from taking hormone pills for menopause symptoms.

Before menopause, women traditionally have had less risk of stroke than similarly aged men, although this is changing as women increas-ingly battle obesity and other health problems.

After menopause, the risk rises and the gender advan-tage disappears, said Dr. Ka He, a nutrition specialist and senior author of the study from the University of North

Carolina, Chapel Hill.He and another researcher,

Sirin Yaemsiri, wanted to see whether dietary fat affected the odds.

Participants in the study

had filled out detailed sur-veys on their diets when they enrolled, at ages 50 to 79. Re-searchers put them into four groups based on how much fat they ate, and looked about seven years later to see how many had suffered a stroke

caused by clogged blood ves-sels supplying the brain — the most common kind.

There were 288 strokes in the group of women who con-sumed the most fat each day

(95 grams) versus 249 strokes in the group eating the least fat (25 grams), Yaemsiri told the conference.

After taking into account other factors that affect stroke risk — weight, race, smok-ing, exercise and use of alco-

hol, aspirin or hormone pills — researchers concluded that women who ate the most fat had a 44 percent greater risk of stroke.

They also found a 30 per-cent greater risk of stroke among women eating the most trans fat, which is com-mon in stick margarine, fried foods, crackers and cookies.

“We need to look at the labels on the foods we buy,” because many of these fats are hidden in baked goods and people are not aware of how much they’re consum-ing, Matarese said. “This is a simple way that any woman, especially postmenopausal women, can improve their health. Simply avoiding fried foods is a big one.”

On average, American women in their 50s and 60s eat 63 to 68 grams of fat a day, federal health statis-

tics show. A little context: A 2-ounce Snickers bar contains 14 grams of fat; a 2-ounce bag of Crunchy Cheetos has 20 grams, as does a Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar.

The American Heart As-sociation recommends limit-ing fat to less than 25 to 35 percent of total calories, and trans fat to less than 1 per-cent. The healthiest fats come from nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils.

“We don’t do a good enough job of emphasizing the impor-tance of a good diet,” said Dr. Lee Schwamm, a stroke spe-cialist at Massachusetts Gen-eral Hospital. Pediatricians in particular need to address the risk for chubby kids.

“If you don’t change their patterns and problems in childhood, you’re really look-ing at a lifetime of obesity,” he said.

Study: High-fat diets raise stroke risk in women

On the Net:Stroke information: www.strokeassociation.org

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) — A spokesman for SeaWorld in San Diego says its killer whale show has been suspended after a trainer was killed in Orlando, Fla.

Spokesman David Koontz says he doesn’t know when the show will resume. It is not clear if the killer whale show has been suspended at its San Antonio location, which is closed until the weekend.

On Wednesday a killer whale attacked a SeaWorld Orlando trainer who slipped or fell in its tank. The trainer drowned in front of a horrified audience.

SeaWorld suspends killer whale show in San Diego

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House lawmaker is pointing to documents showing Toyota celebrating $100 million in savings by avoiding a broad safety recall, saying they make this a “very embarrassing day” for the company.

Florida Republican John Mica waved copies of the July 2009 internal Toyota document that listed the issue as a “win” for Toyota. The document says Toyota was able to save $100 million by

negotiating a more limited recall with the government in 2007 over floor mats.

Floor mats later became the source of a huge recall last fall over fears they could trap gas pedals.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda replied that the document don’t reflect the entire company. He was testifying Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee about Toyota’s troubled safety record.

Lawmaker says “embarassing day” for Toyota chief

Photo courtesy of Christopher Allison | Flickr

FILE--SEA WORLD BELIEVE SHOW“ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Whale that killed Fla. Sea-World trainer involved in 2 other deaths, including Canada trainer’s.”

From CENTER page 1

“The museum is a major attraction for groups of area school children that come to the Center in multiple bus loads,” he said. “The Center needs to be upgraded and expanded to better accom-modate group visits. The improvements will greatly enhance the appearance of the Center and make accom-modations more welcoming and comfortable.”

SHSU received $560,000 from the Cultural Activities Foundation of Huntsville/

Walker County to renovate, expand and improve the meeting space on the lower level of the center for events, receptions and conferences for both the campus and the community.

The project was submitted by SHSU for inclusion in the Texas State University Sys-tem Capital Improvements Program, which will allow the renovation to take place before the end of the fiscal year on Aug. 31.

The expansion and im-provement project will ap-proximately double the size of the downstairs activity

area, allowing as many as 250 people to attend a seated meal function. The kitchen will also be upgraded and catering ability improved.

Plans also call for the flex-ibility to partition the room into several meeting spaces, and other amenities within the room will be enhanced. Wireless access and the ca-pability to use the latest in technology for meetings and events will be available.

In addition, there will be improvements to the way that visitors arrive and depart the downstairs area.

Dawson como un oficial de correcciones, antes de transferirse al Centro de Justicia Juvenil en Dallas donde tuvo la posición de supervisor.

Actualmente Mason está en el Centro de Criminología Juvenil Henry Wade, donde trabaja como gerente de programas de pre-adjudicación y post–adjudicación para los jóvenes en programas como el programa para el tratamiento a Corto Plazo de Adolecentes, un programa de 60 días para el tratamiento residencial de jóvenes que fueron obligados a participar en el programa por las cortes estatales.

Este programa enseña a la juventud lo necesario para cumplir las condiciones de su libertad condicional y les enseña cómo desarrollar las habilidades necesarias para enfrentar los problemas, presiones y desafíos diarios de la vida.

Mason dijo que sus metas incluyen el establecimiento de un sistema de intervención para la juventud y sus familias en Dallas, ensenar disciplina y, sobre todo, darles un sistema de apoyo fiable. Para más información, póngase en contacto con Candice Williams<mailto: cdw019@SHSU.EDU>, Colegio de Criminología<http://www.cjcenter.org/> consejero y coordinador de estudiantes, al 936.294.1702.

Juvenile Justice Cen-ter, he manages both pre-adjudication and post-adjudication pro-grams for the youth, such as the Short Term Adolescent Residential Treatment program, a 60-day residential treat-ment program for youth who are court-ordered to participate that de-velops the desire and skill set to more effec-tively comply with the conditions of probation and in the long term, to develop the life skills necessary to more ef-fectively deal with their daily problems, pres-sures and challenges.

Mason said his goals are to deliver a system of intervention to young persons and families in Dallas County, teach discipline and, above all, provide them with a reliable support sys-tem.

For more informa-tion, contact Candice Williams, College of Criminal Justice undergraduate co-ordinator/adviser, at 936.294.1702.

De AUTENTICAS page 3

See Real page 3

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Opening this WeekTheaters

1. Winter Olympics (Wednesday), NBC, 29.4 million.2. Winter Olympics (Saturday), NBC, 26.7 million.3. Winter Olympics (Monday), NBC, 25.2 million.4. Winter Olympics (Thursday), NBC, 24.8 million.5. "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 23.9 million.6. Winter Olympics (Friday), NBC, 23.30 million.7. Winter Olympics (Sunday), NBC, 23.29 million.8. Winter Olympics (Tuesday), NBC, 20.3 million.9. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 18.6 million.10. "Undercover Boss," CBS, 13.8 million.11. "Survivor: Heroes-Villains," CBS, 12.0 million.12. "NCIS," CBS, 11.7 million.13. "The Bachelor," ABC, 11.5 million.14. "60 Minutes," CBS, 11.4 million.15. "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 10.9 million.16. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 10.6 million.17. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 10.3 million.18. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 10.1 million.19. "Lost," ABC, 9.8 million.20. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 9.1 million.

Primetime Nielson Ratings

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James AshworthContributing Writer

Kevin JukkolaEntertainment Editor

The Gaddis Geeslin Art Gallery is proudly presenting “Death and Taxidermy”, an exhibit of four acclaimed photographers: Vaughn Wascovich, Cara Brewer Thompson, Kimberly Witham, and Dick Lane. The four artists are conceptually varied, concentrating on different aspects of decay in nature. Their art documents the deterioration of polluted landscapes, insect corpses, dead animals, and skeletal structures. One could conclude that this is a statement about the impermanence of life. As morbid as the presentation is, the artists capture a sense of beauty in death, bringing light to the darkest of subjects.

Vaughn Wascovich selected five works from his series, “The Tar Creek Project”. According to Wascovich’s website, Tar Creek is a heavily polluted area in northeastern Oklahoma. Designated as a toxic Superfund Site by the government in 1983, Tar Creek became contaminated due to 80 years of mining activity. The air and soil are filled with lead, zinc, iron, and arsenic. Incredibly, this area has a population of 30,000. Half of the land is used by Indian reservations, including the Quapaw Nation. Despite the health risks, the indigenous populations still feel a close bond to the land and are reluctant to leave. Wascovich’s photos concentrate on lakes and water in Tar Creek during different seasons. The level of blight is depressing. In the photos, lake water is filled with trash and toxic waste, showing the human

dent on nature. Drawing from Wascovich’s art, Tar Creek appears to be unsalvageable.

Cara Brewer Thompson explores the complexity of insect life in her photos. Her gallery, “Life on Earth and Other Mysteries”, analyzes insects up close, bringing minute subjects to life size. Her selections include a grasshopper, monarch, housefly, cricket, and cicada. Thompson’s photos look less like insects and more like alien beings. The sheer intricacy of her subject is astounding, weaving the observer in an exoskeleton shadow play. Her most proficient works are two eight foot tall prints of a cicada, with one view from top and the other from the underbelly. Thompson’s cicada is truly a miracle of creation, amphibious yet otherworldly.

“ T r a n s c e n d e n c e ” ,

Kimberly Witham’s series, investigates taxidermy with an unconventional approach. Her prints are far from what a hunter would display in his mantle place. Instead, she places parts of the stuffed animals against a black background. Though the animals are obviously dead, Witham’s prints give them new life. Witham’s website explains that “Transcendence” is influenced by Victorian post-mortem photographs. During that era, victims of early death were often posed to appear as if they were sleeping. Witham’s series recreates this method. By setting the animals against a black background, the animals appear to be asleep while floating in space.

Dick Lane’s gallery, “Specimens”, deals primarily in bones and decomposition. His black and white photos show arrangements of

bones in varying positions. Alongside the bones are dead birds of all shapes and size. Due to the small size of the pictures, Lane has the most work on display in the gallery. Some of the pictures include plant life with the birds, such as flower pedals or a berry vine. Lane’s work came about when he was misdiagnosed as having an incurable disease. During his two and a half years of doctor visits, IV’s, and x-rays, the photographer started work on “Specimens” as a sort of therapy. Lane states, “From birth to death, there is beauty in the small thing that we sometimes fail to grasp.”

“Death and Taxidermy” will be on display from now until March 25th. Come and immerse yourself in this experience. The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located in Art Building F at the SHSU art department.

“Death and Taxidermy” brings light to darkness

“Transcendence”. Kimberly Witham’s prints gives animals new life after their untimely death. Joe Buvid | The Houstonian

Joe Buvid | The Houstonian“Specimens”. Dick Lane was inspired to do his gallery about bones and decomposition after he was misdiagnosed with an incurable disease.

The recent reports that the Best Song nominees will not perform at this year’s Academy Awards have left many skeptical about the show’s ultimate intentions. Is it more concerned with viable content that will attract the avid moviegoer or bright stage sets and lighting that will garner bigger ratings? Those whose task it is to put on the show insist that these are not mutually exclusive, and they are doing their best to ensure that it accomplishes both feats.

The producers of the show, Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman, insist this difficult challenge is one they are prepared to tackle. They hope to make every visual image a meaningful one, bringing both an intellectual and visual attraction to the captivated audience.

“We’re trying to have

interconnectivity so that everything makes sense as to why something is happening,” Mechanic said. “It’s like six degrees of separation. The more emotional bonds we can have the better.”

In this vast enterprise, the need for two producers has not been lost on Mechanic and Shankman.

“We have different strengths. Where one starts, the other one ends,” Shankman said. “If you wanted to do an unambitious show, you could do it alone.”

So far, nothing dramatic has occurred that might deteriorate their confidence in the preparedness of the production. Just to be safe, there have been five days of rehearsal added to work out any kinks that might be present. They also are willing to concede that a perfect performance is almost impossible to attain.

“We don’t know if we are going to be completely successful on everything,”

Shankman said.The changes in the structure

of the awards are exciting to Mechanic and Shankman, and they believe the show will be more appealing to a wider audience.

“The differences [in the show] are big, like the ten [Best Picture nominees] and the two hosts,” Mechanic said. “I just think it’s a younger, fresher approach to the Academy Awards.”

Shankman believes that the increase in nominees will be beneficial to all sorts of film lovers and is a tip of the cap to the general public.

“The art film world and the commercial world have never been so represented on this show,” Shankman said. “Good is good. Celebrate the people who are paying our checks, which is the movie-going audience.”

The set is an original and elaborate sensation meant to intertwine colorful graphics with beautiful stars.

“If everything turns and

flies, it will be an incredibly active set.” Shankman said. “The approach to the architectural angle has never been done before.”

There has been much conversation about how the show will flow with two hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, but Shankman believes this twist will be beneficial to the comedic aspect of the Oscar ceremony.

“There hasn’t been a host duo since 1928,” Shankman said. “Using two hosts to land the jokes will be easier than having to rely on the actors.”

Mechanic believes that their preparation will make the show a memorable one, but their work will continue through Oscar night.

“Every single frame of the film and show has been thought about and has never been done in the style we will be doing it in,” Mechanic said. “Right now, we’re full throttle on every front.”

Oscar producers excited about changes to show

SNOW DAYPage 8 The Houstonian Thursday, February 25, 2010

A winter storm caused the university to close

on Feb. 23 at4 p.m. Classes resumed on Feb. 24 at 10 a. m.

Education major AprilWikstrom was working as a student teacher at a

Willis elementaryschool when she heard

the news. The elementa-ry was released early, soApril met up with her fiance, Art major Todd

Jackson, to takeadvantage of the “snow

day”.

All photos by Michaela Keck | The Houstonian