Presorted StandardUS Postage

PAIDLiberal, KS

Permit NO.114

Year 41, No. 5 www.crusadernews.com Liberal, Kansas

2009

CrusaderSEWARD COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE/ AREA TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Student art exhibitopen for viewing

Fareeha Amber AnsariGuest columnist

“You are transferred to Liberal, Kansas”, mymanager said to me. It was Duncan, Okla.,and I was working as engineer for an oilfield company. I walked out of his office think-ing it was just like any other transfers that I had taken in the past. However, this thoughttook a 180 when I announced my new station to my colleagues. I was swarmed with amultitude of tell-all tales about Liberal and none of them sounded encouraging.September 1, 2004, was a frosty evening and I was driving to Liberal with a heavy

heart. It got heavier as the terrain got flatter. Was everything I had heard true? I askedmy new boss the first day of my assignment, “In how much time can you transfer me outof here?” Little did I know that the place I wanted so much to get away from would oneday become my home away from home. How? Only time was going to tell.My mom always says that things happen for reason, and for the first time in 33 years,

I believe her. I have been in Liberal for five years now. In these five years, every day Ihave learned something new and good about the small town Liberal and life in general.Some of the best teachings of life don’t come from the book. That is the first thing I havelearned.I am originally from Pakistan. My husband is from India. Both of us have travelled

across the oceans pursuing our dreams and two very different careers. He is an orthope-dic surgeon, and I am a civil engineer. Of all the places in the world, I met my husbandin this little town tucked away in High Plains. I have learned the grace of destiny. Thetwo sisters who introduced us were complete strangers to me. Yet they made the effort tointroduce me to someone in town. I have learned you can meet angels anywhere, andthey don’t have to be from your country or religion. I have seen the spontaneity of good-ness in this small town.My husband has worked in many places around the world and within the US. He often

exclaims with joy that the doctor-patient bond that can develop in a small town is notpossible in big city. “It makes your job worthwhile when you receive thanks or a grate-ful smile from the patient,” he says.For many people, big cities are synonymous with success. And for the most part, it is

true. Big cities have jobs, the glamour, and “everything else lifestyle.” But not everyonecan live in big cities. We are taught from a very young age about making choices, andwhich ones are good or bad. What we are not told a lot about is how to manage whenwe are not given a choice. For me coming to Liberal was not a choice. But being here Ihave learned that being thankful is also a choice. Trying to look beyond the obvious andfinding beauty in little things is also a choice. The flat lands of Liberal which I did notlike before are now prairies with rabbits running around. They are still flat but now theylook beautiful. Most of us think of life as a mold which shapes us. But I think that lifeis a like jelly and we are the molds ourselves. It is up to us to how we want to mold thejelly-–our life.Currently I am taking classes at SCCC. Obviously it is a step back for me and hence

most of the students here are younger than I am. They remind me of the times when Iwas their age, and under a lot of pressure to get good grades, a good job, and then jointhe rat race of being the best at your job. The problem with the rat race is that even if youwin, you are still a rat who is constantly pushed to race again. In the end we are all un-happy rats confined to our dreams. Solution: Open Up. Most of the students reading thisarticle will soon graduate and pursue careers in Kansas or elsewhere. I would like to saythat wherever you go and whatever you do, remember it is entirely up to you to make aschool, a university, a career choice, a city good or bad. My husband and I are both veryfar from our homeland but we have come to love the small town Liberal so much that itis the only place in the US we proudly call our home away from home. Be open to theprospects life is going to walk you through and embrace with an open heart the placeslife takes you to. Across the oceans– if we can do it, maybe you too can someday call anoffbeat career your passion and an unusual place your home away from home. You meetthe best people and build castles of memories in places you least expect to.

Life, home whatpeople make of it

Courtesy photo

Amber Ansari of Liberal, who is currently enrolled in classes at Seward, poses with herhusband on their wedding day.

The college’s biannual stu-dent art exhibit will be hung inthe Shank Humanities buildingthis week.The exhibit will display the

art created in the college’s artclasses this semester, and dis-plays media from photographyto jewelry.

Dacee KentnerCrusader staff

Everyday is a risk for the cur-rent United States military.With a war overseas and theconstant threat of terrorism, nosoldier is immune to the effectsof war.Recently, however, Fort

Hood, Texas, the largest mili-tary base in the United States,came under attack from withinwhen army psychiatrist Maj.Nidal Malik Hasan shot andkilled 13 people and wounded30.Former Seward County

Community College bookstoreemployee and assistant softballcoach Michelle (Armstrong)Palma and her family wereamong the 40,000 military resi-

dents who lived on base at thetime. She first heard of the at-tack from her son, who wasleaving school when the teach-ers called the kids back inside.“My 13-year-old, actually,

called me from school,”Michelle explained. “It was anearly dismissal school day andthe elementary school where Iworked had already been dis-missed. I couldn’t believe it!”Both the elementary school

and Smith Middle School,where Michelle’s children at-tended school, are within a mileof the building where the attacktook place. Michelle’s 12-year-old son had been sent homesick from school that day andwas home alone when the lock-down took place. As she wastrying to get in touch with her

family, Michelle realized thatthe cell phone towers weredown and getting through onthe landlines was becoming dif-ficult.“He had been home about a

half hour by himself. The firstthing I did was call him andmake sure he was OK,”Michelle said. “Then I calledmy husband.”Michelle’s husband Sgt. 1st

Class Johnny Palma was atwork when the lockdown oc-curred.“The building he works in is

10 blocks from the buildingwhere the shooting took place,”Michelle explained.Initially, Palma was not made

aware of why the lockdownwas occurring. Instead he wasgiven orders to communicate

with his crew to make sureeveryone was safe. Next theywere directed to the company,the administrative headquarters

on base, to be locked down.They remained there until thepremises were cleared.

Former SC coach and resident of Fort Hood deals with attack

Jose RodriguezEntertainment editor

Edward Kentner won thirdplace in the humor division ofthe Columbia Scholastic PressAssociation awards for hisstory “Edward” in the studentart and literature magazine the“Telolith.”“This is a big deal,” said

English instructor Bill Mc-Glothing. “It placed amongother entries from four yearschools where they have de-partments dedicated to creativewriting.”Kentner was pleased with

his win.“It’s great, a bit embarrass-

ing getting recognition, but it’svery humbling,” Kentner said.The CSPA awards are

through an association thathonors student journalists whoproduce newspapers, year-books and magazines. It wasfounded in 1925 and is operat-ed by the Columbia School ofJournalism in NewYork.Another winner was Bill

Asumussen who won a certifi-cate of merit for his story“Workweek Lexicococryptog-raphy.”Something both men have in

common is that they were bothin the creative writing classtaught by English instructorBill McGlothing every fall.“I had both in the creative

writing class, not that I want totake any credit at all. Boththose students worked hardand it’s paid off,” McGlothingsaid.However, both Kentner and

Ausmussen agree that the classwas a major part in their suc-cess.“Immensely, the benefit is

the feedback you get havingother people read stories andcomment on them,”Ausmesssen said.Kentner agrees that the class

was a big help.“Absolutely, in fact I would

call him (McGlothing) my in-spiration,” Kentner said. “I’vealways done and enjoyed writ-ing but he’s challenged me andI’m grateful for that.”This is the first time the

magazine has been recognizedfor writing. Overall, the maga-zine ranked as silver medal fi-nalists. They were gold medalfinalists last year.“We would certainly have

liked to have a gold, but thatwas the judge’s choice,” saidart instructor Susan Copas.

Telolith entriesreceive awards

•See Telolith Page 7

The theater appreciationclass will be performing areading of The Laramie Pro-ject at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15 in theShowcase Theater.The Laramie project is based

on the true story of the murderof Matthew Shepard inLaramie, Wyo.Admission is free, but the

reading is not suitable for chil-dren under 13 years of age.

The Laramie Projectperformance Dec. 15

The Moonlight FinalsBreakfast will be served 9-10:30 p.m. Dec. 14 in the cafe-teria.The Moonlight Finals

Breakfast is a tradition at thecollege where students are en-couraged to take a break fromstudying for finals and eatbreakfast served by the admin-istrators of the college.Breakfast will be free to all

students.

Administrators toserve free breakfast

Library books dueAll library books are due

back by Thursday, Dec. 10.Students who have not

turned in their library bookswill have a hold put on theirtranscripts.

The Saints Bookstore will bebuying back and collectingtext books Dec. 14-16.The store hours will be from

8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to5:30 p.m.Students wishing to sell back

their used text books mustbring their student ID.Students who are on book

scholarship must return allbooks or else they will becharged for the books.

Bookstore buysback books

Zach CarpenterCrusader Staff

Rumors have been circulat-ing for quite some time nowabout the “merge” of the GasCompression Institute and theMeasurement and Pipeline In-stitute, but according to Petro-leum Industry Education com-mittee member Don Ukens,that is certainly not the case.“That is just a rumor,” Ukens

confirmed. “We’ve talkedabout that possibly happeningfor as long as I can remember,because the number of employ-ees in the gas market continuesto decline as companies cutback on operating jobs, so weget fewer people in the imme-diate area to attract to the gasinstitute.”PIE is the umbrella over the

two institutes, and according toSCCC Dean of EducationalServices Dale Reed, PIE is as-sessing and evaluating the fu-ture of the two institutes be-cause of declining attendance.PIE has hosted the two com-

mittees, the Gas CompressionInstitute in the spring and theMeasurement and Pipeline In-stitute in the fall.Last year PIE advertised the

two institutes by radio inTrinidad, Colo., Chanute, andAmarillo, Texas.People from these areas at-

tended, but now in additionPIE is looking in SewardCounty for new faces.PIE has enlisted the help of

students from SCCC’s journal-ism department for advice onhow to market the two insti-tutes in a highly appealing way.The days of sending out in-

vitations to the people who at-tended these events previouslywith the urging “Come onback!” are over and done with,according to PIE memberDave Miller.The attendance of these two

institutes is not just declininglocally.Attendance has dropped in

Denver, Colorado, and Okla-homa University’s attendanceis down to mere handfuls ofpotential employees.With dwindling numbers like

this, PIE continues to trudgeforward to create awareness ofhow important these institutesare.“This has been one of my

beefs for a long time,” Ukenssaid. “I don’t think anybody inLiberal in the business commu-nity understands what this gasinstitute does for Liberal, be-cause we bring in more peoplethan pheasant season.”He supported his point with

the fact that when people trav-el to these events they buy fuel,check into motels, buys meals,and some buy clothing.Each event lasts three days

and, “It’s millions of dollars forthe local economy,” added PIEmember Tom Kitts.

•See PIE Page 7

PIE dismissesmerge rumors

Miss Liberal Pageantcontestants needed

Full-time Seward County fe-male students between theages of 17 and 24 have the op-portunity for a scholarshipthrough the Miss LiberalPageant.To enter, students must pre-

sent good moral character; besingle; never married, di-vorced or pregnant; be a resi-dent of Seward County for atleast six months; and be a U.S.citizen.The Miss Liberal Pageant

will be Feb. 14, 2010, in theLiberal High School Auditori-um.For more information con-

tact Lu Haynes at 620-624-9153 or haynes@swko.net

Art by Daylyn Young

•See Fort Hood Page 7

The Palma family

Mighty MegadethCrusader reporterRustin Wattinterviewsbass playerJames Lamenzoof Megadeth.

—Page 8

December 9

NEWS2 Wednesday, December 9, 2009CRUSADER

Enroll online at www.edukan.org

Online courses & degreesA partnership of:

Seward County Community College Area Technical School

Barton County, Colby, Dodge City, Garden City and Pratt community colleges

$125 per credit hourSession IV—Dec. 14-Jan. 8Enroll by Dec. 11AN177 - Cultural AnthropologyAR175 - Art AppreciationBU177 - Human RelationsCO176 - Intro to Computer Concepts and

Applications

GE176 - World Reg. GeographyMU176 - Introduction to MusicPO176 - American GovernmentPS176 - General Psychology

Need a last-minute class?

Farm Credit of Southwest Kansas, ACA

2451 North Kansas, P.O. Box 1294

Liberal, Kansas 67905

Tel: 620 624-0171 Fax: 620 624-7578email: jim.nelson@fcbw.com

Jim NelsonBranch Manager

FirstWhen YouFollow The

See It

FirstWhen YouFollow The

See It

LeaderLeaderPlease Call The

High Plains Daily Leader At 620-626-0840 Or Stop By At218 S. Kansas ¥ Liberal, KS

Daily LEADERHIGH PLAINS

Antigoné LoweryCrusader staff

President Barack Obama presented theAmerican GraduationInitiative, a new proposal to benefit community colleges by pro-viding federal support, on July 14.The proposal is based on a 10-year plan to help step up the

focus of America’s community colleges and its percentage ofgraduates.Because theAGI is a new proposal, there are currently no par-

ticular strategies on how to implement it for the benefit of stu-dents.“It is still a discussion…a lot of questions about it go unan-

swered. It is a concept as of now,” said Seward president Dr.Duane Dunn.The AGI has the potential to benefit students not only with

federal support, but with understanding the advantages of com-pleting a community college with an associate degree.Some universities may not accept a student’s credit hours

from a class if they have not completed their community col-lege associate’s degree, but with the degree, it will be transfer-able.Because the AGI is based on community college’s measure-

ments of students who graduate with a two-year degree, it is im-portant to educate students and teachers about this concept.“There will have to be adjustments,” said Dr. Dunn, who be-

lieves theAGI can be a beneficial concept.Because losing federal money can hurt a community college,

the AGI plan is a constructive concept formed to help continuethe education of community college students.

Dunn talks about AmericanGraduation Initiative

SCCC provides online classesfor students through EduKanAntigoné LoweryCrusader staff

In its 11th year, EduKan continues to be an effective and help-ful online alternative for students who may not have be able totake offered courses otherwise.If a student chooses to enhance or complete their community

college requirements through EduKan, they are able to obtainan associate’s degree, which will transfer on to a four-year uni-versity.While EduKan students are taught from teachers from Liber-

al, Barton, Dodge City, Garden City, Colby, and Pratt Countycommunity colleges, their two-year degree will come from thecommunity college they are enrolled through.The collection of teachers from the six counties that offer

courses through EduKan are a helpful advantage to studentswho might not be able to take a necessary course otherwise.“It works out really well with sharing sources,” said Seward

president Dr. Duane Dunn about EduKan.With an EduKan associate’s degree, it is possible for a student

to transfer to a four-year university, just as if they had takencourses in a classroom.

Dana LoewenCrusader staff

Little Women will be presented by the Rain-bow Players at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, 11 and12.The Rainbow Players compose Liberal’s

community theatre, comprised of board of di-rectors and other theatrelovers throughout Liberal.“We chose ‘Little Women’

because it is a classic, its uni-versal and it has Christmasthemes. It’s a love letter tosimpler, gentler times,” Ali-son Chambers, Sewarddrama director, said. “It’s anice way to forget the trou-bles of 2009 and rememberthe humanity in all of us.”Tickets can be bought

through cast members, boardmembers, or at First Nation-al Bank. Tickets cost $7 for

adults and $5 for children age 4-12.“Little Women” is the story of four young

sisters and follows each of their lives as they

grow older. It’s loosely based on author LouisaMayAlcott’s own childhood and experienceswith her three sisters. The story is full of lifelessons and interesting characters.Jo is the main character, based on Louisa

May Alcott. She’s the tomboy of the bunch,outspoken and bold, with a passion for writ-ing.Meg is the oldest and most responsible sis-

ter.Beth is the quiet, soft-tempered one, with a

love for playing the piano.Amy is the youngest and is a talented artist.

She tends to be more spoiled and selfish.Other characters are Marmee - the girls’

mother, Father, Laurie - the girls’ neighbor andgood friend, Mr. Brooke - Laurie’s tutor whofalls in love with Meg, Mr. Bhaer - Jo’s writ-ing mentor, and Aunt March - the girls’ richaunt.Cast members include Julie Bunnell as Jo,

Jessica Bickerstaff as Meg, Elizabeth Denoy-er as Beth, Cassie Anderson as Amy, CandyWitt as Marmee, Jim Karlan as Father, ChrisRamirez as Laurie, Derek Fuller as Mr.Brooke, Chris Tibbets as Mr. Bhaer and Jen-nifer Knox asAunt March.

Crusader photo/Alfredo Anaya

“Little Women” characters rehearse a scene in which the four sisters, their friend Laurie and his tutor Mr. Brooke surround Marmee, thegirls’ mother. Marmee has just read a telegram from Father who is sick. Pictured are Chris Ramirez, Elizabeth Denoyer, Cassandra An-derson, Julie Bunnell, Candy Witt, Jessica Bickerstaff and Derek Fuller.

‘Little Women’ set for stage The Woman BehindLittle Women

TV Premier at 9 p.m.Dec. 28 on PBS.Find more information athttp://www.alcottfilm.com/

“Louisa May Al-cott: TheWoman BehindLittle Women” isa recently re-leased bookavailable inbookstores na-tionwide andonline.

RainbowPlayers“Little

Women”�7:30p.m.�Dec.

10-11-12�Showcase

Theatre

The official student newspaper of Seward County Community College/AreaTechnical School is published bi-monthly by journalism students during the reg-ular college year, except on school holidays and during examination periods.One copy of each issue is distributed free to each student, faculty and staff mem-ber, with subsequent copies available for purchase in the Crusader office at 50cents each.Letters to the editor will be considered for publication if they are signed and theauthenticity of the writer’s signature is verified. The staff reserves the right toedit for length. Opinions voiced in letters and editorials are not necessarily thoseof Seward County Community College/Area Technical School or the Crusader.Staff editorials are decided on and written by members of the editorial board:MorganAllaman, Will Rector, Rustin Watt, Jose Rodriguez, Dacee Kentner andJames McElvania.Advertising is accepted. Rates are $4 per column inch or $4.80 pci for colorads. Insert rates are $50 per thousand. Classified ads are free to SCCC students,faculty and staff; classified rates for all others are $4 per ad, limit of 20 words.The Crusader staff reserves the right to refuse advertising.

Kansas Associated Collegiate PressCRUSADER2008 - CMABest of Show, Newspaper, 1st/ Special Section, 3rd

2003-2004 - Newspaper Pacemaker Finalist - ACP2008 First Place Certificate - ASPA

Phone:620.417.1459

editor in chiefMorgan Allamannews editorWill RectorentertainmentJose Rodriguezonline editorJames McElvania

Alfredo AnayaDeisi BarbozaDevon BoxZach CarpenterChris FlowersLogan GreenTaylor HuggDacee KentnerDana LoewenAntigoné LoweryLandry Mastellarrep

orters/photographers

sports editorRustin Watt

Fax:620.417.1169

2003, 2004 - National Online PacemakerAward2008 - National Online Pacemaker Finalist - ACP

CrusaderNews.com

internationalinternational student organization

participates in diversity fair, flag ceremony

Two events recognized inter-national students and their homecountries in November.The annual international fair

was sponsored by Liberal HighSchool, the Diversity Council,and Seward County on Nov 6,followed by a campus flag cere-mony recognizing internationalstudents Nov. 16.The international fair featured

fifty booths and several per-formers, including musiciansfrom Hong Kong, and Bolivia.Seward’s International Stu-

dent Organization also had 12members at the fair to tell abouttheir different cultures and passout information about the col-lege.“The International Student Or-

ganization participated in the in-ternational fair because it wasgood exposure for the club, andRussian students Kate andLevan (Gabashvili) were invitedby a teacher who wanted them totalk about their country andshare about their culture,” PatsyFischer, club sponsor, said.The international student or-

ganization is a fairly new club,as this is only the second yearthat the club has been active.The year the club started, it

was sponsored by Frank Challisand Fischer.For this year, the club held its

first meeting of on the first Sun-day of October and has metmonthly since.ISO is a way for international

students to get to meet other in-ternational students like them-selves, and learn about other cul-tures while helping the commu-nity.“I get to meet new people, I

get to learn about other countriesand all of the people in the clubget to make new friends,” KelenRicardo, International StudentOrganization member said.The elected officers for this

year’s international club arePresident Alexander Sturanovic,Vice President Alksandar“Sasha” Doroshkov, SecretaryMateus Cabizuca, who is alsothe SGA representative, and Re-porter Gustavo Ruiz-Abad.“Coming from the other side

of the world, and leaving theircountries so young, they form abond because they can relatewith one another. They want tobelong and they want to be a partof the campus,” Fischer said.On Nov. 16 the 34 internation-

al students representing 19 dif-ferent countries were honored atthe fifth annual SCCC/ATS flagceremony. The flags in the stu-dent union are there to representthe countries of the internationalstudents.“Seward County students are

really good at embracing the in-ternational students,” Fischersaid.Currently the international

student organization is dis-cussing fundrasiers and eventsthat they would like to be a partof. Some of the events discussedinclude selling food from theirhome countries, helping to cleanup garbage and recycle, and col-lecting canned goods to donateto the Stepping Stone Shelter.“I think the club is doing very

well,” Sturanovic said. “Wehave a lot of plans going.”

FLAGGED Thirty-four students representing 19 different countries from Brazil to Serbia were honored at this years 5th annual flag ceremony. The flags in the student union are there to represent the coun-tries of the international students.

HINO NACIONAL BRASILEIRO Kelen Ricardo, Paula Verdasca, Carlos Sousa, Ramon Stedile, SheinaFernandez, Mateus Garcia, Fernando Soni, Christian Romanzini and Eduardo Muñoz sing the Braziliananthem during the fifth annual flag ceremony.

DIVERSITY FAIR Mateus Garcia, Christian Romanzini, Fanny Benicasa, Gustavo Ruiz-Abad, and PatsyFischer talk to people at the international fair. Twelve International Student Organization members sharedabout their cultures with members of the community.

Story and photosby Alfredo Anaya

International Student Organizationgets involved in its second year

CLUBS CRUSADER 3Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tiger Scout News/ Alfredo Anaya

Editor Morgan Allaman shows Tiger Scouts how to do a cutout during the group’s tour of the Cru-sader student newspaper office at Seward County Community College/Area Technical School Nov.30.

Dacee KentnerCrusader staff

Liberal Cub Scouts Pack 43Tiger Cub Den 2 visited theSeward County CommunityCollege/ Area TechnicalSchool Crusader office Mon-day, Nov. 30, in hopes of earn-ing their Tiger Cub Badgethrough a Go See It communi-cation and newspaper adven-ture.The SCCC/ATS Crusader

staff welcomed eight TigerScouts to the newspaper of-fice to learn the steps that ittakes to produce an award-winning newspaper. Scouts

includeAlberto Ramirez, An-drew Portillo, Ashton Long,Draven Skinner, NicholasBond, Chandler Hinton,Brandon Fuchs, CameronFuchs and Den LeaderChristina Mauldin.Crusader editor MorganAl-

laman took the scouts througha computer tour, teaching thestudents the fundamentals ofworking up pictures and pho-toshop cutouts.Next, the scouts listened to

online editor James McElva-nia explain the advantages ofan online newspaper. McEl-vania answered questions re-garding the internet and how

it is evolving the news indus-try.Last, Crusader staff mem-

ber Deisi Barboza showed thescouts how to upload a photogallery for the Crusader Website, www.crusadernews.com.The scouts were pho-tographed throughout theCrusader tour and then helpedBarboza in putting up the pic-ture gallery.After an evening of journal-

ism and fun, the scouts en-joyed homemade cookies and“puppy chow” prepared forthem by Allaman and a newknowledge of the newspaperindustry.

Tigers scouts visit Crusader class

Phi Theta Kappa members participated in a scavengerhunt in order to collect food to donated to people in need.The club usually donates to members of the community,

but this year they voted to help out students, and accordingto Phi Theta Kappa advisor Debbie Stafford this worked outvery well. The club was able to provide 12 baskets and oneperson donated 12 turkeys.The event lasted one hour on Nov. 22. A prize was given

to the members that finished first, Kristiana Brisendine andLiz Ginther, but since the prize was eight movie tickets andin total eight members helped out they decided to share withthe other members.“So everybody was a winner” Stafford stated. Tickets

were donated by Mitchell Theatres. “Its a service projectthat we will continue to be because we help our communi-ty and our students. We are really appreciative of the dona-tions, without the donations this project would have notbeen successful.” Stafford said.

PTK provides food basketsfor students in need

Saints ESP will be offering three $100 scholarships forthe spring semester. Requirements for the scholarship in-clude a completed application with signature, a letter of rec-ommendation, to be enrolled in at least six credit hours, anda cumulative GPA of 2.5.The scholarship is geared towards non traditional busi-

ness majors but not limited.According Saints ESP president Pam Perkins the main

question is “Does the student need help financially?”The deadline for the scholarship is Feb. 5, 2010.Saints ESP is also preparing to host the Association of

Kansas Community College Office Professionals confer-ence. Saints ESP secretary Teri Barnes is hoping the atten-dance for this event will be around 125 as people from 19community colleges and other technical schools from allover the state are expected to attend.Barnes also serves as the AKCCOP president and the

conference will be onApril 14, 15 and 16.

Saints ESP offers scholarshipfor business majors

Crusader photo/ Morgan Allaman

Kylix members Omar Rios, Jon Vanwinkle, and Steffy Thottasserilentertain themselves at the Liberal craft fair. The Kylix memberspainted children’s hands and assisted children in Christmas craftsfor $1 donations.

Kylix gets crafty

What has SIFE done toprepare for this project?

We recently wrapped boxes and putflyers on these boxes to collect the

cannedfood and seeds, which will be distrib-

utedto others in need. We took these boxesto local businesses, such as:

• Southgate Cinema 6 Movie Theatre• First Christian Church• First Southern Baptist Church• First Baptist Church• Fellowship Baptist Church• Emmanuel Southern Baptist• First United Methodist• All Nations• Church forAll Nations

We also put boxes aroundcampus at the following sites:

• Main lobby by the InformationDesk

• Student Union• Main entrance to Vo Tech• Main entrance to Epworth• Main entrance to ColvinAdultLearning Center

Are SCCC studentsencouraged to help out? If so,how?

“SCCC students are definitely encour-aged to help out. It would be verybeneficial if students donated as much

aspossible, even if it’s a minimal amountof cans or seeds. It would be great to seestudents getting involved for such agreat cause.” -Shaley Thomas, SIFEPresident.

What are the benefits of thisproject?

“This project hits very close to home.All of the cans collected go to localindividuals and organizations in need.Around holiday time such items areneeded by those that aren’t as fortunateas others.” -Tasha Newton SIFE VicePresident

What does the project do forthe community?

“This project provides food for theneedy, local families in our community.For this reason, it’s been a greatexperience that we have all enjoyed. Itshows that there is still good in theworld.” -Poe Castillo SIFE member

Who do the benefits go to?

• MexicanAmerican Ministries• Stepping Stone• The Food Cupboard• Lambert, Haiti

Does this tie into any long-termcampaign/ projects you havegoing on?

Yes, this ties into our MarketEconomics project that we will bepresenting at Regional Competition inMarch. In the past, we have beenconnected with Haiti and have donenumerous projects to help out this lessfortunate country. Through this project,we will be sending the seeds collected

tohelp them start crops.

Are there any other projectsyou have going on during themonth of December?

During December, we are in the processof introducing our campus to recycling.It is well underway and we should beseeing fast progress in the comingmonths. We are also communicatingwith Sam’s Club out of Garden City,KS in which we will help businessesGo Green. Both of these projects will bea part of our EnvironmentalSustainability projects.

Final thoughts on the project:

“This project has been going great andwe look forward to seeing the impactthat it will have upon our community,as well as Haiti. We encourage every-

oneto do as much as possible to getinvolved with such a great project.”-Layne Greeson, SIFE member

Q&A| SIFESIFE organizes acanned food drive

and seed collection tobenefit communitiesof Liberal and Haiti.

Crusader photo/ Antigoné Lowery

Sophomores Liz Ginther and Jon Tassin play musical chairs at the Big Brother’s/Big Sister’s Phi Theta Kappa Christmas party. The party had over 30 people participate,and played games such as duck duck goose, musical chairs and pin the nose on frosty. During the party the Phi Theta Kappa members gave away the 487 books they col-lected through a children’s book fundraiser.

Artby G

abriel Palma

Art by Nicci Young

Art by Omar Rios

Kylix sells art FridayMorgan AllamanEditor-in-chief

Friday, the campus art club Kylix will be sell-ing works of art in the Shank Humanities build-ing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Art will be prepriced with prices starting at $5,

but additional donations may be made. Bakedgoods and $10 scarves will also be sold.Art sold will be of all medias, and money made

will go toward the Kylix spring trip.Kylix president Jon Vanwinkle believes this art

sale shows art students the business aspect of art.“It helps people understand that a career in art

can go places,” Vanwinkle said. “It can go places,and this show should help them realize that. Artcan take you places– not just to the art studio.”Vanwinkle believes people should donate art to

be sold.“Get your name out there,” Vanwinkle said. “If

you think you have talent, I think you shouldshow it.”Kylix advisor Susan Copas says Kylix has not

yet decided where they will go, but their trip willconsist of a visit to an art museum.

Skills USA hosts blood mobiletoday by appointment onlySkills USAwill be hosting the Blood Mobile 9 a.m. to 1

p.m. Dec. 9. Employees and students who signed up to giveblood need to make it to their appointment on time.If you have forgot your appointment check the Technical

School bookstore window for a list of appointments.Those who give blood will receive a free t-shirt.

CLUBS4 Wednesday, December 9, 2009CRUSADER

OPINION 5Wednesday, December 9, 2009 CRUSADER

Editor’s note: This letter wassubmitted for publication to theCrusader by Dr. John Loucks,retired chair of the humanities de-partment of Seward CountyCommunity College. Dr.Loucks now lives in Washing-ton state, and this letter wasoriginally written to Congress-woman Cathy McMorrisRodgers (R-Wash.) who repre-sents eastern Washington’s fifthdistrict.Dear Congresswoman Mc-

Morris:I must admit to you that I have

never written a letter to any con-gressperson in my life. My ap-athy was grounded in cynicism,which could best be summed upby the statement “They reallydon’t give a damn what theirconstituents think.” However,my apathetic slumbers have beenawakened by the current rancorover health care and the duplici-ty of Senators and Representa-tives, who wail at huge federaldeficits at present and evengreater deficits in the future if thePresident’s Health Initiatives arepassed and yet voted in the pastto fight two costly wars in theMiddle East, one of which wastotally unnecessary, and to granttax relief for the wealthiest citi-zens in America.I come to this discussion as a

member of the privileged class.I am very well educated, and Ihave never been without healthinsurance. I am an ordained cler-gyman with the ChristianChurch (Disciples of Christ),and I have served churches in thewest andmid-west. The last 18years of my professional career,I was a college professor of his-tory and philosophy and servedas a college administrator. I amcurrently retired, and I’m onMedicare, with the HumanaSupplement program. My wifeand I own our own home, andwe live in a posh suburbanneighborhood. We are also reg-isteredDemocrats.Although we are members of

that elite class, we are profound-ly concerned about the over45,000,000 Americans who are

not insured; about the 18,000Americans who die every yearbecause they lack health insur-ance; about the 1,000,000 Amer-icans who face medical bankrupt-cy every year.As I sit in front of my com-

puter keyboard this morning, theword “why” keeps coming tomind. Why is it that drug com-panies in America are allowed toadvertise prescription drugs?Most of these drugs are eitherrecreational drugs, like Viagra, orwhat Ralph Nadar calls “me toodrugs,” such as Embrel, a drugused to treat moderate to severerheumatoid arthritis. Many ofthese drugs are dangerous andhave serious side effects, and thedecision about using thosedrugs should originate withdoctors, rather than their pa-tients. I don’t believe countriesin Europe or elsewhere allowdrug companies to advertise, sowhy do we? Would not stop-ping drug companies from en-gaging in that often dangerousand misleading advertising cuthealth costs? Why is it thatwe allow drug companies toproduce medications with overlylong patent restrictions, whichmitigates against the develop-ment of generic drugs in a rea-sonable period of time? Chang-

ing the drug patent laws toallow for the development ofcheaper generic drugs morequickly would be another wayof reducing costs.But there are other whys that

come to mind. Why are insur-ance companies allowed to droppeople with pre-existing condi-tions or to price those between50 and 64 out of quality, afford-able health insurance? Why isthere “a doughnut hole” inMedicare Part D, which oftenplaces financially strapped se-niors into even more of an eco-nomic bind? Why has it takencongress over sixty years andfive major attempts to overhaulour nation’s health care system?I think I have harped enough!

What are my solutions? Iwould really prefer a “singlepayer” program similar to Cana-da. Although it has been lam-pooned by many pundits on theright and left, I really do thinkthat it could be adapted to ourcountry. The Canadian HealthPlan has been in place since1964, costs about $5,000 a per-son (as opposed to over $7,000in America), and covers everycitizen in Canada with quality,affordable care. However, I un-derstand this is not even beingconsidered as a workable solu-

tion, so I would opt for someform of public option or at thevery least, some kind of co-opsystem, which would be inter-state and would have the powerto leverage insurance companiesto offer lower rates and insurethe un-insured. I think we needto take action because the cost ofhealth insurance, according tomany experts in the field coulddouble for the average Americanfamily to over $24,000.In whatever form the health

plan takes, I do hope that it willincorporate the four key aspectsof health care reform as present-ed by A. Barry Rand, CEO, andJennie Chin Hansen, Presidentof ARRP, in their recent editori-al “Health Reform: The Time toAct is Now,” in the September,2009 issue of the AARP Bul-letin:“Lower drug costs and

strengthen Medicare. Close theMedicare Part D “doughnuthole,” ensure patients’ access totheir doctors, not increase co-pays, and crack down on fraudandwasteful spending.“Protect. . . health care choic-

es. Make sure (citizens) canchoose (a) doctor, . . . health in-surance plan andwhere to receivecare.“End discrimination by insur-

ance companies. Prevent insur-ance companies from denying .. . coverage because of a preex-isting condition or using age toprice Americans ages 50 to 64out of affordable, quality healthinsurance.“Guarantee stable, affordable

coverage. Ensure (people) havethe security of knowing that if(they) lose or change jobs, (they)will be able to get affordable,quality health insurance” (8).Congresswoman, the time is

now! Don’t let the myths per-petrated by the “fright-mongers”block you from fixing the ailingAmerican Health Care System.Let’s pass substantive legisla-

tion that will provide all Amer-icans with quality, affordablehealth care!

—Dr. John C. Loucks

Letters to the editor will be considered forpublication if they are signed and authenticityis verified. We reserve the right to edit forlength. Submit letters at editor@cru-

sadernews.com, mail to Box 1137, Liberal, KS 67901, or bring bythe Crusader office inAA131.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Rock Chalk Jayhawk trumpeter attendingevery KU football game for free sounds ap-pealing to the average Jayhawk fan. Sadlyenough, being weird is the one thing I’m re-ally good at. My first semester of college, Iattended the University of Kansas. WhyKU? I really had no idea. Not only was I aKU student, but I was a member of theMarching Jayhawks. Sounded good to me!Making friends seemed inevitable and mysister lived in the area.But I was wrong. Instead, I made very

few friends at KU, and being in the bandonly kept me from visiting home and myclose sister. I didn’t get along with the girlson my floor, and I basically was just lonely

and depressed. At the end of the semester, Iwas still undecided on a major, and I felt thatI was wasting money by taking general ed-ucation courses at the most expensiveschool in Kansas, so I decided to comehome. Although I feel I made the right de-cision by coming home, I can’t help but tofeel like a loser when people ask me that oh-so-common question, “Why did you comeback?”After a semester at Seward County Com-

munity College, my best friend and her fi-ancé decided to work together to get me togo to Oklahoma State University, wherethey both attend college. I have to admitthat they were pretty convincing. OklahomaState not only accepted me, but they evenoffered me a pretty hefty scholarship. I wasso set on attending OSU that I even had myliving arrangements planned out, but thenthe college visit came.I felt nothing during the visit: no excite-

ment, no joy, and no nerves, just pure noth-ing. So instead of jumping the gun andmoving to OSU, I stayed home to do someresearch on different things I might want todo and different schools that would suit me

best. My boyfriend helped me discover thatKU has a really great film program, or sosaid their website and reviews. So I decid-ed to check it out with a visit in that specificprogram. Standing there on KU’s sound-stage, I felt nerves, excitement, and joy. Iknew that although I already left KU once, Iwould be going back.I realized that picking a college isn’t all

about where your friends or boyfriend aregoing, or where the college is in relation toyour family. It shouldn’t even be aboutmoney, although we all know that collegecharges you out the butt for everything. Ofcourse, that’s what scholarships and loansare for. It’s about where YOU want to go.It’s about which college offersYOU the bestfor your interests. Pick the college thatgives you excitement, joy, and that lovelytickle of butterflies in your tummy. I haveto say that I feel really silly for going backto a college that I once left, but I know it’sthe right decision and I’m so excited andready to go. As a friend told me, “we allgain different things from experiences we gothrough.”

Facebook and Twitter logos have been making appearances allover campus. With Internet networking sites, students can keepup with everything happening on and around campus. The col-lege library, bookstore, Saints and Crusader newspaper all haveaccounts.With the evolution of internet networking, clubs can inform

students of the happenings on campus. This can prove beneficialto students so they will have a good way to know when the li-brary is hosting a special performance or the bookstore is havingone of their fun contests.It is good to see that the campus is opening up to all the new

technology available to everyone for free and of course the freeadvertising. Who doesn’t love the “FAIL” pictures posted on thebookstore’s Facebook?The Crusader staff would like to encourage any campus clubs

or organizations to join the rest of the world on the social net-working sites. Some of the benefits may include an increase inmembership and a working relationship with the rest of the clubson campus.Free advertising is great and can be a lot more effective than

flyers on the wall. It isn’t hard to start a fan page on Facebook ora Twitter account, it may be time consuming but assigning some-one to update the networking sites will be a big help.We would like to thank the current clubs on networking sites

and encourage them to keep doing a great job. And if your clubis not on any site put down the paper (or wait until you read allthe great columns and reviews) and start one now.

Retired chair addresses health careLoucks voices opinions to Congresswoman

Student questions life, music

I can’t really say that I’m ‘shocked,’ butmaybe I’m a bit speechless over the fact thatI’ve almost made it through one whole se-mester of college. Some people might think,“One semester, psssshhh, big deal.” But tome, it means something. It means that obvi-ously I’m on the right track.The right track. I’ve come to many differ-

ent places in my life where I questionedwhether or not I really was on the right track.College was one of them.I’m one of the fewmusic majors in SCCC/

ATS. I’m a drummer, (yes, we ARE musi-cians too for those guitar and keyboard play-ers who think you’re better than us,) sorry,

complex is talking back. Like I said, I’m adrummer, and a music major. As a musicmajor, the main class I need to be enrolled into have an associate’s degree is Music Theo-ry, which has absolutely nothing to do withdrums. So then why have I stuck with it forso long? Because I’ve come tomy fork in theroad several different times.I’ve questioned whether or not music was

what I was supposed to do with my life. I’vedoubted my ability, and there have beensomedays where I didn’t have any passion topursue those things. I didn’t just plow onthrough those days as if the next one wouldbe better and hope for the best.No, I stopped and looked around at my

surroundings. I looked up at the scorchinghot sun that threatened to whither my dreamsfrom the root up. If there has ever been acivil war within me, it was in those times. Ilook at the fork in the road once more and Isee a life filled with promise and fulfillmenton one side, and, on the other, I see a roadthat looks somewhat more ‘peaceful,’ andmore ‘tame.’ I weigh the alternatives in myhead for days and sometimes I begin to thinkthe tame road is really my destiny. I look atthe other road and wonder if what I’m see-

ing is a mirage. Who wants to chase a mi-rage? The domesticated road seems to be myfate, so I end up taking a few weary steps inthat direction. But I can’t DO IT.In Jeremiah 29:11, God says “I know the

plans I have for you. They are plans to pros-per you and not to harm you. Plans to giveyou a future and a hope!”It’s when I read verses like that that I get

my passion back. Because I am remindedthat I am made in the image of God, and hehas put his desires and feelings in me. Peo-ple in my family support me and my choiceto pursue music, maybe not as a living, butdefinitely as an active part of my life.At some point people start asking in their

lives, “why in the HECK am I even here?!”Many people commit suicide because theoverwhelming pain of life, and they see noother way out. Others do it because they feelworthless, like they don’t have a purpose.But really our purpose is to know God.He says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and

I will answer you. I will show you great andmighty things that you don’t know.”My purpose in life is to know the one who

gave me my purpose.

Carpenter@crusadernews.com

Zach CarpenterCrusader staff

Kentner@crusadernews.com

Dacee KentnerCrusader staff

Devon BoxCrusader staff

Box@crusadernews.com

Conservativism must die. The word conservative itself sends anasty chill up my spine. Looking at conservative’s dictionary mean-ing and its synonyms, traditional and old-fashioned, I find myselfcontent that these ideas should disappear within a few decades.Tradition has been losing a battle with Liberalism for sometime.

Liberalism is the opposite of tradition, its progression and open-mindedness.The losing fight for tradition started in the 1950s when television

entered the home. Many types of media had been around for hun-dreds of years before, but now it was in your living room, staringyou in the face. No longer did evenings have to be filled with fami-ly time around a radio or reading books or chores. Now you couldrelax and let the television entertain your mind, no longer thinkingfor yourself at all.Another loss in the battle of tradition came as women found the

courage to leave their men for feminine independence. No morewould they have to be cared for or mistreated by a man. And menenjoyed this change, too. They now had the freedom to walk out ofthe home for whatever reason, as long as they paid their child sup-port.Many more battles have been lost throughout the years. The idea

that college and career should come before a family. The introduc-tion of openly gay communities. The internet. The evolution of ahip-hop and drug society that stems from racial controversies of the1960s. The idea that America is no longer a Christian-based coun-try that speaks only English. Get over it!American society has evolved into an ugly, materialistic and nar-

cissistic society of spoiled children and spoiled adults. That is thesolid truth behind everyAmerican door. But the hands of time onlytick one way and change has become inevitable.Politicians have enough money to run the country with little to

no say by the people. We can try to hold each other to traditionalstandards in our small communities, but beyond the local societywe have no actual control.The morality and ethics taught in school are rarely practiced or

publicized by society. The media runs households, telling us thatwe cannot live without iPods and smart phones and laptops. Thatwe cannot be mad at Tiger Woods or any other celebrity for demor-alizing the fabric of our once hard-earnedAmerican soil.Because no longer is American soil hard-earned.Most of us have been born into middle-classAmerica, where par-

ents have promised to give us everything we want, regardless of ourlagging grades or lazy attitudes. For the children of today, a home-made stocking would not be enough to satisfy their needs on Christ-mas morning. They want lights and videos and lots of action. Andso parents give it to them, just to see their smiling faces.Our world has changed from yesterday, and it makes me wonder

how other people can hold so tightly onto traditional ideas. Insteadof wasting time trying to get the past back, I believe it is now thepeople’s turn to embrace progression, move forward and find waysto help the lost souls of tomorrow find peace beyond materialisticaddictions. Besides, in the long run, how could we live withoutGoogle?

Our View...

Conservativism athing of the past

All library booksdue Dec. 10

Holiday openhouse at thebookstore!

Social networking sitesbeneficial to campus clubs

““LLeett’’ss ppaassss ssuubbssttaannttiivveelleeggiissllaattiioonn tthhaatt wwiillll pprroovviiddee aallll AAmmeerriiccaannsswwiitthh qquuaalliittyy,, aaffffoorrddaabblleehheeaalltthh ccaarree..””

— Dr. John C. Loucks

Coming home proves beneficial

Dacee KentnerCrusader staff

This year’s Seward County Com-munity College/ Area TechnicalSchool Celebrity Livestock judgingcontest consisted of 14 teams andraised more than $8,000, the thirdhighest total in contest history. Thisis the 12th year that the contest hastaken place.Proceeds from the event are used

for student scholarships in the agri-culture department. Results from theevent are as follows:

High Team Overall:Farm Credit of Southwest Kansas-John Lynch, Chris Charmasson,Vernon Baehler, Celebrity JudgeAshley HarrisonHigh Team Feedlot Division:Winger Feedyard/EisenhauerHarvestingAgriculture Division:1st-Farm Credit of SouthwestKansas; John Lynch, ChrisCharmasson, Vernon Baehler,Celebrity JudgeAshley Harrison2nd- KSCB; Francis Brown, TrentWinchester, Craig Rucker,Celebrity Judge Zach McCracken3rd- Mortgages Unlimited; Dr.Duane Dunn, LanceWaugh, CarlieSpiker, Celebrity Judge SamRucker4th- First National Bank; BarryAngell, Gary Gold, RobinLouderback, Celebrity Judge BrettRooney5th- Light Angus Ranch;AlisonBridget Chambers, Matt Kenetter,Kolt Hayes, Celebrity JudgeTrevorWinchester

Agriculture Affilliate Division:1st- Byron Bird andAssociates;DarinWorkman, JudyWilliams,and Celebrity Judge KentWilliams2nd- N&N Farms; Missy Imler,Alissa Imler, Jessica Swan,Celebrity Judge BlakeWilliamsTie 3rd-Winger Feedyard/Eisenhauer Harvesting; KayLonniWilliams, Mike Myers andCelebrity Judge Ernie HeitschmidtTie 3rd- Great Western Dining/Texhoma Livestock; Jerry Odle,Sara Morey, Quay Grant,Celebrity Judge Erin Russell5th- Hatcher Land & Cattle/Western State Bank; MaddiePlunk, Gary Hoffner, CelebrityJudge J.R. SpragueIndividuals:Darin and Tommy Award (worstsheep score): TommyWilliamsHigh SCCC/ATS Faculty Member-DarinWorkmanOverall Individuals1st Zach McCracken2nd Sam Rucker3rd Mel King4th Craig Rucker5th Kent Williams Tie5th Alan Imler Tie7th Erin Russell8th Brett Rooney9th Ashley Harrison10th Jessica Swan11th Chris Charmasson12th BlakeWilliams13th TrevorWinchester14th merle Nickelson15th JudyWilliams Tie15th Ernie Heitschmidt TieAgriculture Coordinator- EvanWinchester

Upper: Tasha Duvall helps move the pigs around so judgescould mark for posture. Left: SCCC/ ATS alumni Erin Rus-sel writes down scores on the judging sheet. Russel isnow judging at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.RIght: The llama class was used as a tie breaker.

Ryan Nelson moves sheep around. Nelson did this so that the judges can get a betterlook at them.

Livestock judging contestearns for ag scholarships

Crusader photosby Alfredo Anaya

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NEWS6 Wednesday, December 9, 2009CRUSADER

Since last year’s fourth quarteruntil now, we have heard a lot aboutfinancial crisis, bank failures, reces-sions and unemployment. But howdid we really get to this point andwhat is going to happen with our fu-ture?The term Financial Crisis is uti-

lized to describe a moment in theeconomy where the market does notwork how it is supposed to workand when it is in a recession period(employment, inflation, and indus-trial production is going down).Since September of 2008, we ex-

perienced the worst financial crisissince the Great Depression. Gener-ally there are four types of financialcrisis: Banking Crisis, SpeculativeBubbles and Crashes, InternationalFinancial Crisis, and Wider Eco-nomic Crisis. Several economistsagree that the financial crisis whichwe are living now is so rude becauseit was a mix of all of these types.The crisis can be attributed to a

number of factors pervasive in bothhousing and credit markets. But be-fore we talk about the causes of thefinancial crisis, it is important to un-derstand a couple of concepts.Today houses are not only a place tolive, they are also investments dueits trend of constantly growingprices, so several people usually buyit to resell it later for higher prices.If it occurs in excess, it can create aneconomic bubble, which occurswhen trade products or assets withinflated values, prices much higherthan its real value, often caused byconsumer expectations and/or spec-ulations. These factors occurred inthe U.S. economy when a bubblewas raised in the houses market,making the housing prices becomeabove their real (equilibrium) pricecaused mainly by subprime loans.Both the demand and price for

homes increased, such as between1997 and 2006 when the percent ofa typical American house increasedby 124 percent. But every bubbleburst and prices go back to their realprices, and this one was not differ-ent. In 2007, the housing pricesstarted to decrease caused by excessin housing inventory, resulting in adisequilibrium in this market affect-ing the banks which made high riskloans to finance these homes. Be-cause most of those loans, approxi-mately 80 percent, made for sub-prime borrowers were adjustablerate mortgages, so when the housingprices start to decline, refinancingbecame more difficult and as ad-justable-rate mortgages began toreset at higher rates, mortgage delin-quencies soared.As a result of these factors, banks

start to bankruptcy. When theLehman Brother Bank, a large fi-nancial institution, became bankruptin September of 2008, it officiallymarked the start of the crisis. Theseaspects together affected the confi-dence of the consumers, makingpeople spend less money and dereg-ulating the economy affecting fami-lies and firms around the world.What does it cost for the United

States? Between June 2007 and No-

vember 2008, Americans lost morethan a quarter of their net worth. Byearly November 2008, a broad U.S.stock index, the S&P500, was down45 percent from its 2007 high.Housing prices had dropped 20 per-cent from their 2006 peak, with fu-tures markets signaling a 30-35 per-cent potential drop. The unemploy-ment rate raised from 4.4 percent to9.5 percent.But I guess that the real worries

that mostof us havenow isabout ourf u t u r e s .There aretwo issuesthat wes h o u l dt h i n ka b o u t ,when is itover andwhat hap-pens afterthat?Several

e c o n o -mists in-c l u d i n gthe Inter-na t iona lMonetaryFund andB e nBernanke, fed’s chairman, agreethat the global financial systemshows sign of recovery, but we stillneed to be aware to avoid a newslump. The trend with the new reg-ulations imposed by World Bankand IMF is that for the next yearmost parts of the world will be in aperiod of expansion again. Also, itis important to remember that it isthe worst slump in the world econo-my since the Great Depression in1930, so it is expected that con-sumers will spend less and savemore, which is not good for theeconomy as a whole.We can conclude that the growth

will not be so large as it was in ear-lier times, we can also expect theunemployment rate to be higherthan it was, increasing the impor-tance to be ready for future chal-lenges.But what exactly we should do

after crisis?•As a Student: It is important to

focus on the challenges that you canface in your career, knowing that themarket will be more restricted, willincreasing competition becausethere are less job opportunities.

•As a Business Student: This isthe best moment for us to under-stand what happens in recession pe-riods, because certainly we will facemore recessions in our business life.

•As a Investor: Now is the bestmoment to invest, mainly in stocks,because the prices are lower thanthey really are and the trend is thatthey will raise.

•As an Employee: Now is thetime to work hard and as efficientlyas possible because unemploymentrates will probably remains high forat least couple of more months.

NEWS CRUSADER 7Wednesday, December 9, 2009

past present

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the college,which opened for classes in 1969, and the start of theCrusader the same year, the 2009 Crusader editors andstaff are re-creating photos to compare those from thepast 40 years to today. This 1974 Trumpeteer photo pic-tures a musician from the group LAFF which performedat the 1974 spring formal.

Crusader photo/Logan Green

In a 2009 re-creation of the photo at left, current foreign exchange Se-ward student Ramone Stedile plays guitar in the Student Living Center.Playing guitar is a common activity for some of the international students.

SIFE Clever Cash

“Everyone is in shock and disbelief. We feel it was our own fam-ily shooting at our own family,” Palma said, just days after theshooting.The day after the attack, school and work continued for the resi-

dents on base. According to Michelle, many children were kept outof school by parents wanting to keep them safe in case any other at-tacks took place.“My 12-year-old didn’t want to go, but I knew he would be safe

at school,” Michelle said. “My husband and I sat down and talkedto him that morning so he would not be afraid to go to school.”Soldiers stood guard in front of the schools on base.Resources also became readily available to the families affected

by this attack. Michelle was a member of the family readiness groupon base designed as a wives helping wives cope organization. Theycollected food donations for the families that have been directly ef-fected.“Everyone on the base is trying to keep things as normal as pos-

sible,” Michelle said. “We are grateful for all the prayers and sup-port.”The Palmas weathered the Fort Hood attack, even in the face of

an upcoming move for the family.The Palmas will relocate this Friday from Fort Hood to Virginia.

As technology and services are improved, companies need toknow in order to maintain efficient ways of doing business. PIE’smission is to keep companies informed, and to educate and trainpotential employees about the field, how to do the job right, andhow to stay safe on the job. There is not going to be any marriageof the Gas Compressor and Measurement and Pipeline Institutes.Activity has been to come up with effective ways to market thecompany and make the perception of the value of what they aredoing increase so people in management will be eager to send re-cruits to the events hosted in the Spring and Fall.Their angle is to ensure everyone gets a piece of the PIE.

The spring of 2009 graphic design students designed the maga-zines, they included Jessica Maneth, Larissa Arnold, Jacob Riggs,Alma Hidalgo and Raegan Broadie.“We’re pretty much going to do the same process all over again,”

Copas said, as they prepare for the spring 2010 “Telolith.”Submissions for the “Telolith” are taken during the spring, by

Susan Copas for art and photography and Bill McGlothing for writ-ing.

PIE: Institutes will notcombine next semester

Telolith: Art publicationreceives honors

Fort Hood: Shock sets in• continued from page 1

• continued from page 1

• continued from page 1

Financial Crisis:Understanding and Restarting

SC donates to ’09

Deisi BarbozaCrusader staff

This year, the Seward County Community College/AreaTechnical School employess joined to donate $4,234.50to United Way, a $1,721.37 decrease of last year’s contri-bution, however, they still made 70 percent of their goalof $6,000.The college has three co-chairs, Patsy Fisher, Steve

Wiens and Justin Morales, responsible for organizingfundraisers on campus for UnitedWay. Donations to Unit-ed Way were made by payroll deductions or check and itwould also come off taxes as a donation. “It makes youfeel good when you’re helping the community but it’s apersonal choice.” Fisher said.Although the exact year the college began getting in-

volved with UnitedWay is unsure, UnitedWay ExecutiveDirector Kay Burtzloff thinks “probably since the collegestarted, its been a long time.” One thing Burtzloff noticedwas the increase of help from the college in recent years.“It’s doubled in recent years, when Dr. (Duane) Dunnstepped in, he gave a lot more focus and support to us.We’ve gone to a $3,000 campaign to a $6,000 campaign.”Despite the gained interest, the recession has been on the

minds of the co-chairs. “It’s been tough with current eco-nomical problems. It’s kept it from being as high as pastyears but most employees want to see the communitythrive,” Wiens said.One of United Way’s main goals is to raise money for

26 different agencies service the Southwest area and Ok-lahoma Panhandle a couple of those agencies are: Ameri-can Red Cross, Big Brother/Big Sister, KIDS Inc., andStepping Stone Shelter. “A lot of my agencies are one per-son employed with a lot volunteers. They don’t have timeto have full time fund raisers. My agencies depend on meto raise money.” said Burtzloff. With economic problems,Burtzloff stated that means a lot more demand for servicesbut non for profit organizations always get hit hard.However, the co-chairs are still optimistic. “Times are

tough, people are getting laid off, I have a steady job andI’m doing my part, as my passion is to help people,” saidMorales.

“We can expect theunemployment

rate to be higherthan it was,

increasing theimportance to beready for future

challenges.”—Carlos

Souza

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8 Wednesday, December 9, 2009CRUSADER

Rustin WattCrusader staff

Fog and smoke filled the air as spot-lights shone down on bassist JamesLamenzo, drummer Shawn Drover, andnew six-string shredder Chris Broderickas they one-by-one took the stage. Thecrowd’s screams and chants of “Mega-deth” were drowned out to piercingscreams from all directions when front-man Dave Mustaine shredded his way tocenter stage.Mustaine and Broderick traded solos

back and forth in their intro—which hap-pened to be “Dialectic Chaos,” the introoff of “Endgame.”I was in the presence of the mighty

Megadeth at the capacity packed Beau-mont Club in Kansas City Dec. 5, for a legof the Endgame Tour.The classicMarshall stack off both sides

of the elevated drummer, Drover, blasted

through the crowd that was sweating withanticipation.A near-90-minute setlist of what I con-

sider a greatest hits compilation tookheadbanging classics from Megadeth’smetal masterpieces like “Peace Sells...ButWho’s Buying?,” “Countdown to Extinc-tion,” “Rust In Peace,” and also fourtracks off the new highly touted“Endgame.”Smoke crawled overhead, and beer

quenched many a thirst as Mega-fansfrom all generations put their devil hornsup and banged their heads to Megadeth’sarsenal.Mustaine, with his signature Dean fly-

ing V, black long sleeve button up, withMegadeth wristbands, banged his headwith his curly strawberry locks swaying ashis fingers moved with fury throughtracks like “Tornado of Souls,” “Wake upDead,”“Skin Of My Teeth,” and manyother ’deth classics along with

“Endgame” single “Headcrusher,” whichwas nominated for a Grammy for bestmetal performance last Wednesday. Thatmakes the band’s eighth consecutive nom-ination.Moshpits widened during face melting

tracks like “Symphony of Destruction”and “Holy Wars” and lighters fanned theair as voices echoed Mustaine’s in classicMegadeth ballads “In My Darkest Hour,”and “ATout Le Monde.”Despite being recorded in 1986, the po-

litical track “Peace Sells” found itself ap-plicable today as Mustaine made his viewon what he’s going to do in the ballot boxin 2012 very clear. In a cleaned up contextof Mustaine’s typical in-your-face politi-cal statement, he said that come 2012when he steps into the voting booth, heguarantees he won’t vote for who’s in of-fice right now. The crowd went crazy andevery fist in my line of sight pumped inthe air and not one boo was heard as the

crowd cheered. Mustaine went on to sayhe won’t support a “freedom stealer” andthat he’d put his name on the ballot beforethat ever happened, and the crowd roaredin approval even louder than before, Mus-taine made himself at home in the Mid-west red for sure.Mustaine also dredged up old battles

and called Metallica “fags,” but who candisagree? While Megadeth is up for bestmetal performance, Metallica is up forbest hard rock performance along withNickelback and Linkin Park, I think Davehad it right.When the night came to a close, the four

made a classic bow at the front of thestage before tossing out picks, drumsticksand wristbands. Mustaine left the crowdwith a “Thank you, and God Bless.”Megadeth will round out its Endgame

Tour Dec. 13, and prepare for the Ameri-can Carnage Tour with Slayer and Testa-ment which will begin in Seattle Jan. 18.

Crusader photo/Rustin Watt

New addition to Megadeth leadguitarist Chris Broderick hits a riff.Broderick joined Megadeth for theproduction of the ’09 release“Endgame.”

Q : Metal brings to mind a misconception that allmetal is “satan worship”, anarchy loving hate music.Megadeth is not so much that case, How do you see themetal community today?LAM ENZO : Alot of it is transfixed with the dark-

er side of life as we know and the darker side of reli-gious intent. That kind of goes hand-in-hand withmetal. I mean, we grew up on Ozzy Osbourne andBlack Sabbath, and they kind of started it because theythought the movies were cool. ... We’re older guysnow. We’re not kids anymore, so when Dave startswriting about what’s going on with the future ofmankind based on governmental jurisdiction and howthings are moving politically, that’s a very legitimatepoint of view from his side, and I think the thing aboutMegadeth that people really grab on to is most of ustend to feel disenfranchised. It’s such a hard world outthere these days just to even make a living, so a lot ofpeople, when they start hearing Dave spew out whathe’s noticed and comes in as a reporter, I think peoplelatch on to that. ... They tend to find themselves in itand that’s what great music is all about. I remember lis-tening to a lot of Pink Floyd stuff and a lot of that hadthat kind of feeling of disenfranchisement, and I re-sponded to that great as a 19 year-old. I thought thatwas killer I was there hook, line and sinker.

Q: Christmas is coming, if you could give your band-mates the perfect gift from James, what would that be?LAM ENZO : Probably the absence of my presence

for 10 minutes. (Laughs)

Q : Where is your favorite place to play or your fa-vorite type of venue?LAM ENZO : I love touring everywhere, I really do.

I get to meet lovely people like yourselves, and I’m notblowing smoke up your ass, but honestly, my favorite

thing to do is to walk amongst the populace,go to bars, just kinda see where people’s headsare at. ... I’ll get up early in the morning now,cause I can, and I’ll hit the bricks and seewhat’s going on in town. I have more adven-tures that way, and I meet cooler people and Iget more inspired to come back and play ashow for those people when I’m in a town andI get to know them a little bit. I like the bigplaces; I like the small places. It all has to dowith who comes out and how much fun we’rehaving.

Q : Metal has grown greatly through theyears and has spanned off into different gen-res of metal, who are some of your favoritebands today?LAM ENZO : I go in and out. Mostly the

bands I tour with because I get really familiarwith their music. I love Machinehead. Ithought they were great. I actually liked Stat-ic-X when we were with them and it’s surpris-ing because it’s basically dance music, butthey had a good vibe to them. I love In Flames.I would never have thought I’d say that until Istarted hanging with the guys and found outwhat they’re about and their music is great.

Q: Like you said, you’ve been touring forover 25 years now, do you ever get the“pregame jitters” before a show after all thoseyears?

LA M E NZO:Not me, no. The guys getpissed off at me constantly but, you knowwhat, I feel more at home on stage than I do athome. To me, I’ve been doing this for so longthat fear is a silly thing, ’cause I can’t wait toget up there and do what I do. So to be afraidof it would be, ya know...why fear what youlove to do.? ... I used to take naps when I firstjoined the band just before we’d go on, andDave (Mustaine) would go, “What are youdoing? Wake up.” I was like, “Ya know, I’mfine,” and I’d just get up, put on my super herocostume and go.

M ETAL M ASTERSTEAR IT UP INKANSAS CITYCLUB VENUE

M ETAL LEGENDDAVE M USTAINECrusader photo/Rustin Watt

I’d j ust get up, pu t on my super h e r oc os t u m e a nd g o.

— J a m e s L a m e n zo

For full interview in audio,check crusadernews.com

J a m es La m en zo join edM eg a det h in ’0 6 a nd ha spla y ed w it h m u s icia n s

su ch a s Ace Fr ehley , DavidLee Rot h, Oz zy , Za kk

W y lde , Sla sh, Aerosm it h,a nd of cou r se ,Da v e M u st a in e .

Roadrunn er Records g a v eCr u sa der Repor t er Ru st inW a t t t he oppor t u n it y t oin t er v iew J a m es La m en zopr ior t o t he Dec. 5 show in

Ka n sa s Cit y .

ENTERTAINMENT

Megadeth Endgame Tour hits Kansas City on the Killing Road

At left, James Lamenzo grooves on his bassduring the Endgame Tour in Kansas City.Crusader photo/Rustin Watt

Shakira is the music industry’s hermit, she locks up for a couple ofyears then once she is ready she crawls out of her shell and displaysto the her daring and innovating music to the world.“SheWolf” and its Spanish counterpart “Loba” were the first sin-

gle of the album. It was the typical hip shaking song audiences areused to yet she gives us touches ofdisco that make this song getstuck on repeat.However, one memorable thing

about this single wasn’t just thesong but the viral video campaignwhere videos of SheWolf attackswere uploaded to YouTube andfans followed with their own SheWolf sighting videos.“Did ItAgain” is one of the best

songs on the album. The militarymarch beat, the catchy lyrics andthe goat like yowling are the ele-ments to make this a signature

Shakira tune.“Did It Again” is the second single off the album in LatinAmerica

and Europe and hopefully it will get released in the US.Low points in the album include the rent-a-rapper fest “Give It to

Me” featuring Timbaland and Lil’ Wayne, and the dire “Gypsy.”Sorry but bandwagon jumping is not something I tend to associatewith Shakira, and even though she does work with the Neptunes forthe majority of the album she does manage to keep her identity. Yetin “Give It to Me” she fails to do this. “Gypsy” is different, the blandbeat doesn’t make it a stand out track and its certainly not charminglike most of Shakira’s songs.Overall, the album is another classic from Shakira, her one of a

kind style and feel but still a breathe of fresh air. One can really tellshe wanted to have fun with this album and does so successfully. Itmight not inspire everyone to get up and dance but it does let one for-get about the stresses of everyday life and just relax.

Music | Deisi Barboza

Shakira lets outher inner ‘she wolf’Shakira

Book | Jose Rodriguez

Novel pushes limits inspires hopePush

Okay, I’m not going to lie Ididn’t know about the novel“Push” until I saw the trailerfor the movie “Precious.” Themovie looked moving, sadand possibly Oscar worthy soI thought I would check outthe book since in my experi-ences the books are alwaysbetter than the movie.The novel is set in Harlem,

the neighborhood in NewYork City, in the late ‘80s.Claireece Precious Jones is a16 year old Jr. high studentwho is pregnant with her sec-ond child.She lives with her abusive

mother Mary and is raped byher father Carl who gave herboth children. She gets kickedout of her school for beingpregnant so she starts attend-

ing an alternative school whereshe meets Blu Rain, the teacherwho helps Precious overcomethe odds and learn how to readand write so her dream ofgoing to college and being ableto care for her children willcome true.This book was one of the

most intense books I have everread. It’s a rollercoaster ofemotions. Firstly, it is writtenin pidgin English so words aresounded out which really putsyou in Precious’ shoes. Aftergetting past that you have toget past the abuse and it is noteasy.It was a life changing book

honestly, I’ve never read any-thing so gritty and raw.Sadly, the movie did not live

up to the amazing novel.

From Afghanistan with theU.SArmy up to Siberia as a se-cret agent of the CIA, passingfor Rio de Janeiro Fighting inthe favelas, Call Of Duty: Mod-ern Warfare 2 is possibly thebest FPS right now on the mar-ket of video games; With im-ages in high definition and mis-sions that challenge the skill ofany player, this game is project-ed as one of the best in his type.The game has 3 ways to play

it, which are single player, mul-tiplayer and special ops, in anyof them the quality is amazing,and to the persons who have notplayed yet this amazing game, Isay to them that sincerely, theywill not be disappointed.

Right now, versions exist forthe Xbox360, PS3 and PC,though especially I recommendthe versions for PC andXbox360, due to the realism ofthe graphs, besides which possi-bly they will be the first plat-forms in receive an expansion tocomplement the original ver-sion.The only thing that I can say

to you without breaking themagic of the mystery about thisvideo game, is that if you likeautomatic guns and cannons,military operations and theadrenaline to the maximum inthe most incredible actions, thisgame is for you. So, create aGamertag and let’s play buddy

Video Game | Miguel Campano

Movie | Jose Rodriguez

Indie movie charming,better than expected(500) Days of SummerHipsters, dance numbers and The Smiths are all things found in

one of the best movies of the year, “(500) Days of Summer.”Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) doesn’t believe in love. Her par-

ents divorced when she was young so she finds the concept of loveto be fake. TomHansen (JosephGordon Levvitt) is a greetingcard writer who has spent hiswhole life thinking he wasmeant to find his one true love.Their ideals collide when Sum-mer is hired to work as theirbosses assistant Tom instantlyfalls in love with her but it is onan office outing that he findsout she does not believe in love.Even then the couple starts to

get to know each other better bygoing shopping at Ikea togetherand watching old movies.Every day they get more com-fortable with each other andSummer starts to open up toTom. It all starts going downhilland Tom is thrown .The movie is told in non-

chronological format with anumber appearing on the screen to inform you what day it is. It keepsyou on your toes because you want to find out what went wrong andwhen.I was set off by the movie because how many more “boy meets

girl” movies are going to be forced down our throats? And general-ly indie movies that get a lot of hype and media attention are usual-ly a let down to me the most recent one being “Nick and Norah’s In-finite Playlist.” The movie really delivered on originality and humor.The movie is scheduled to come out on DVD Dec. 22. It is a great

addition to a movie collection and will make you want to start danc-ing

The Showcase Theatre housed a full au-dience Dec. 4 for the college's music de-partment winter concert featuring theWindEnsemble, the Singing Saint Concert Choirand the Sound Express Show Choir.The Wind Ensemble started the show off

strongly with three festive songs known asthe “Three moods of Hanukkah” they con-tinued with other performances of other tra-ditional Christmas songs including “Carolof the Bells” and “Dona Nobis Pacem.” TheWind Ensemble ended their set stronglywith 3 very fast paced songs known as theRussian Triptych.It was a very good show and conductor

Darin Workman introduced every pieceperformed very well, and even made a fewjokes in between. The audience applaudedtheir performance loudly, and The WindEnsemble set the mood for the show.The next group to perform was the

Singing Saints Concert Choir, Directed bythis year’s new choir director Magda Silva.They started off their show with the ‘60s

song “California Dreamin” by JohnPhillips. The ‘60s song selection was to goback to 60s when the college was firstopened, since this is the 40th anniversary ofthe college. Silva began the song by show-ing the audience a picture of what every-

body thought would be sheet music, butshe threw the audience off and got quite afew laughs when it was a picture of asquirrel. Monotone Angel was anothersong that stood out, the special angel partwas sang by Isaac Fuentes who sang in amonotone, loud voice throughout the songand got quite a few laughs from the audi-ence.The show was ended with a perfor-

mance by the Sound Express show choir.They started with a very funny Tetris-in-spired version of Theme A. It was fol-lowed by another funny performance ofDance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, with allthe singers wearing some very attentiondrawing tutus. They ended the concertwith a very well done version of another60s song, Aquarius.Overall, you could tell that all of these

performers and both of their directors hadput lot of work into their songs for this per-formance.

Winter

Concert

Concert brings frills, festivity to fans

Game takes player around the worldCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Music department features WindEnsemble, Singing Saints Choirand Sound Express Show Choir

Singing Saints Concert Choir perform winter concert pieces directed by vocal music instructor MagdaSilva. Choir members include: Trina Fosdick, Isaac Fuentes, Heather Grant, Bailey Graves, Logan Green,Tessie Huelskamp, Kayla Knudsen, David Linares, Kiara Lowery, Gina Mangold, Luis Pauyac, TiffanyPrater, Victor Rodriguez, Ashlee Sauer, Christian Torres, Lilia Torres, Thuy Truong, Tuyet Truong andAngela Wesley.

Angela Wesley gets ready toperform “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy.”

Logan Green, David Linares and Isaac Fuenteswear tutu’s as they perform “Dance of theSugar-Plum Fairy.”

The show choir performs “Let the Sunshine In.” From left, Logan Green, Ashlee Sauer, Isaac Fuentes, Trina Fosdick, Heather Grant, DavidLinares and Angela Wesley. Top photo, music instructor Darren Workman leads the band.

ENTERTAINMENT 9Wednesday, December 9, 2009 CRUSADER

10 Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Zune HD features a stunning 3.3-inch High Definition OLEDtouch screen that supports both MP4 andWMV video formats.TheUser can play Microsoft created games on the Z HD and can hookthe Zune up to any tv’s video and audio via it’s HD Port. Over all,the Zune HD is one of the most innovative Music Players on themarket today and allows listeners not only to hear their music, butto touch it... in HD.

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Apple iTouch

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For the Netflixuser who does notwant to wait for themail, movies streamdirectly from Netflixto your television. Allat the affordableprice of $100.

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The e-bookallows you to down-load books online andread them on yourportable screen. Theyallow readers to carrymany books around withthem along on trips juston the compact screen.

eBook

’Tis the seasonINFOPAGECRUSADER

The Garmin GPS is a great gift for the travelerin your family. It is a very efficient travel tool.Whether you are driving across the country orjust across town the Garmin GPS gives you stepby step directions to get you where you need togo. The Garmin GPS can be found in stores forapproximately $200. This is the new way to trav-el.

Garmin GPS

Zune HD

Mattel Mindflex

For college age students, the focus for Christmas gifts has shifted from toys such asaction figures and remote control cars to the latest in technology. As technology

advances more and more rapidly. there is always a new and improved electronicdevices out there. With many of these advances showing themselves around theholidays , young adults are more prone to feel the need for these items or under

the Christmas tree. These are just a few of the hottest electronic devicesready for the Christmas gifting season.

One of the most interesting electronic games to come out around this holidayseason is Mattel's Mindflex. The person playing the game wears a headband thatreads their brainwaves which causes the ball to rise on a small stream of air. Theharder you concentrate the higher the ball rises, but when you relax yourthoughts the ball begins to go down. Using your thoughts and concentration theplayer guides the ball through a miniature obstacle course. The obstacle coursecan be customized in many different ways to fully challenge your mind. Mat-tel's Mindflex can be found in stores for around $90. It is a great gift for kidsand a great way to get their minds running and thinking. If you are looking for aunique gift then look into the Mindflex.

Droid - $3

00

Ebooks

- $300

FlipVide

o - $200

Apple iT

ouch- $3

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HPDreamScre

en - $200

Roku Netf

licks Pla

yer- $1

00

SPORTSSection B • Page 1

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Rustin WattSports editor

The No. 22 Lady Saints move to 10-0 on the season following a 70-56 win overBarton County in Great Bend Friday night. The win was Seward’s first win inBarton since 06-07.The Lady Saints held the conference’s leading rebounder and No.2 leading scorerin Annie Kassango to just six points and seven rebounds, well below her seasonaverages.The Saints forced 34 turnovers en route to a 70-56 win over the Lady Cougarsto move to 10-0.The Lady Saints did have to battle Dec. 2, when they took on the Lady BlueDragons at the Green House.Hutch came into the night ranked No. 11 in the country. Hutch ended theLady Saints season last year in the Regional Championship game, somethingthe Lady Saints have not let slip their minds. The Lady Saints came in theunderdog but left the night the top dog with a 53-43 win over their JayhawkWestern Division rival Lady Blue Dragons.The Lady Saints takedown of ranked opponentsbegan with an exciting bout with WesternNebraska in Garden City Nov. 28.The Lady Saints came in seeking togain some national recognition andthey did, reaching the national top 25after the bout."We knew we had to step ourgame up," Lady Saints guard LizGinther said. "We knew it was a biggame coming in, we were pumped,we were ready to go. We wanted toknock them off and show everyonewhat we’re capable of doing.”Seward went into half with a 40-31 leadbefore a down to the wire finish. The Lady Saintsstretched their lead to as much as 11 before WesternNebraska started to chip away.With a little over four minutes to play Sewardwas up 56-49. A three point-

er in the corner by Western Nebraska quickly tightened things up making it afour-point game, 56 -52.Seward answered by getting it to the woman with the hot hand in KendraSpresser for a three of her own, she had four on the night and led Sewardwith19 points and gave the Lady Saints a 59-52 lead late.Western Nebraska fast broke for a layup to make it 59-54 before a RachelBarnes free throw made it 60-54.Western Nebraska nailed another three andgot a steal and a fast break layupto make it a one-point game, 60-59.Spresser was fouleddriving the baseline with the Lady Saints in the bonusand capitalized on the 1-1 opportunity to put Seward up three, 62-59, with aminute twenty to play.Seward got the ball back and tried to milk the clock before WesternNebraska regained possession and got a putback on their end to get withinone, 62-61.With 16 seconds to play Vaneza Junior was fouled and went to the linefor a 1-1 but her shot rimmed out and was rebounded near the sideline byRachel Barnes. Barnes attempted to throw the ball off a Western Nebraskadefender and it skirted away. It was passed ahead to the block where it rolledaround until a Western Nebraska post picked it up out of the scrum and put in forwhat appeared to be the lead stealer or possible game winner. A whistle chimed inand said, "No, she walked with it" and Seward regained possession with nine sec-onds to play.Western Nebraska put Spresser at the line for a 1-1 with a foul on the floor priorto the ball being passed in.Spresser's free throw rimmed off and Western Nebraska kicked it ahead to thewing for a three. Nadia Rosario came from the post and got a piece of it as anoth-er Western Nebraska post kicked it back outside for a wide open shot from behindthe arc. It was long and the Lady Saints escaped to move to 8-0 on the season.

“I thought she traveled,” Lady Saints head coach Toby Wynn said on the finalseconds. “I called travel from the sideline, I thought she shuffled her feet and theofficial made a good call. Then the first three I knew Nadia was out there to chal-lenge it, so I wasn't really concerned. Where you get concerned is with offensiverebounds and they battled it out for one more three and that's normally where yougive up game winners. Luckily on our side she shot it a tad long and we wereable to win the game.”Seward is now10-0 and will play Northeastern Junior College LabetteCommunity College at the Pepsi Classic in the Green House Dec. 11-12.Wednesday’s contest with Colby has been cancelled due to weather and isrescheduled for Monday.

CrusaderSEWARD COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE/ AREA TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Lady Saints shoot out tospectacular 10-0 start

Rustin WattSports editor

Lady Saints stellar sophomore out of Windsor,Conn., Rachel Barnes, was namedNJCAADivision IPlayer of the Week after averaging nearly a double-double after the Saints picked up wins over Clarendonand Frank Phillips.At the Billy’s/Days Inn Classic Nov. 20-21 theLady Saints took on Clarendon and Frank Phillips.In Seward’s win over Clarendon, Barnes scored acareer high 30 points, raked seven boards and dishedout two assists in the Lady Saints 119-70 win. Barnesonly played 23 minutes in the contest.The following night Seward took on an undefeatedFrank Phillips team.Barnes tallied 23 points along with 12 rebounds sixassists and two steals in the Lady Saints 80-56 win.In those two games Barnes averaged 21.5 points and

9.5 boards.Definitely the kind of numbers deserving ofNational Player of the Week honors.Since being named National Player of the WeekBarnes has not slowed down a bit.The Saints traveled to Garden City Nov. 27-28 andplayed New Mexico Junior College and No. 10Western Nebraska.Barnes recorded a double-double on New MexicoJunior College with 11 points and 10 boards inSeward’s 73-60 win to move to 7-0 on the season.The next day the Lady Saints took on a very talent-edWestern Nebraska team that walked into the contestranked No. 10 in the country.Barnes only recorded eight points, but she was a bigfactor down low and got 11 rebounds in the Saintsone-point upset over Western Nebraska 62-61.The Lady Saints win moved Seward into the top 25

at the No. 22 spot.Wednesday night at the Green House the No. 22Lady Saints took on the No. 11 ranked Lady BlueDragons from Hutch.Hutch knocked Seward out of the RegionalTournament last season.The Lady Saints first conference game proved to bea classic clash between Jayhawk Western Divisionrivals.With the stakes up, Barnes kept her game up withanother double-double.Barnes dropped 22 points on the Lady Blue Dragonsand battled down low for 12 rebounds. Barnes alsorecorded two blocks and two steals on the night.Barnes also put up 10 points and eight rebounds onBarton Friday in Great Bend to help move Seward to10-0 thus far on the season.

Barnes named national player of the week

Megan Lassley

Rachel Barnes

2BCRUSADER CRUSADER 3BWednesday, December 9, 2009

Saints top defending Jayhawk champion Cougars 83-73

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Crusader photo/Rustin Watt

The Saints bench celebrates during the final seconds of Seward's contest vs. the Blue Dragons Dec. 2, at the Green House. Hutchinson came into the Green House ranked No. 8 before the Saints topped them and they were run out of the building in a 73-52 route and upset to move Seward to 7-3 and 1-0 in conference.Crusader photo/Rustin Watt

Marky Nolen looks to find an opening baseline during the Saints contest with the Blue Dragons Dec. 2, at the Green House.Nolen helped the Saints to a 73-52 win over the No. 8 ranked Blue Dragons.

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The Saints moved to 8-3 and 2-0 in the conference after defeating lastyear’s Jayhawk Western Division Champions in Barton County. SixSaints scored in double figures in the 10-point 83-73 win.Seward jumped on top quick spanning a seven-point lead four minutes

into the contest.The Saints drove to the basket and fed the ball down low for high-per-

centage shots in the first half.“I think coach emphasizes that at practice a lot,” Saints post LatiqAgard

said. “He tells us we’ve got to get the ball down low more, because wedraw a lot of attention and the guards get a lot more open opportunitiesoutside after feeding it to us down low.”The Saints shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half and cruised to

a 20-point, 47-27, lead to go into the break. Tony Smith had already neara double-double in the first half with 10 points and seven assists as LatiqAgard and Marky Nolen combined for another 23 points by the break.“Marky Nolen has been doing a great job for us,” Agard said. “I didn’t

think he’d be this much of a presence, but he’s doing really well and hasbeen picking up a lot of the slack.”The Saints came out hot in the second half and stretched their lead to

as high as 24 points with nearly 16 minutes to play in the contest.Momentum shifted sides to the Cougars as the Saints went on a

drought. The Cougars scratched and clawed and cut Sewards lead inaround 10 minutes from 24 to 4.From there, Seward would trade baskets but were able to nail their free

throws down the stretch pull out the 83-73 win.The Saints were 16-19 from the free-throw line in the second half and

were 23-28 on the night.The Saints shot 50 percent from the field on the night with six Saints in

double figures.LatiqAgard led the Saints with 20 points and was 8 of12 from the field.“The points are getting me the ball more and getting me a lot of oppor-

tunities rather than in other games,”Agard said. “They got it to me downlow early and that got me in a rhythm early and from there I just fed offof my teammates’ energy.”Marky Nolen added 14 points and seven boards as Donte McCarter fin-

ished with 13 points.Marcus James ended with 11 points and six rebounds and Tony Smith

nearly reached a double-double with 10 points and nine assists. Jon Tassinreached 10 points for the first time in five games as the Saints moved to8-3 on the season.The Saints have struggled at some points but also have shown some

glimpses of what they’re capable of.“I think we’re doing good,”Agard said.“We’re getting better everyday and I think when its all said and done

we’ll be a lot better and be making a run to round things out if we contin-

ue to grow and get better and keep progressing.”The Saints bout with Colby Wednesday has been cancelled due to

weather and is rescheduled to be playedMonday, Jan., 18. The Pepsi Clas-sic is scheduled to take place this Friday and Saturday at the GreenHouse.Friday the Saints will take on Colorado Christian University’s ju-

nior varsity and Saturday the Saints will match up with Labette Commu-nity College.“I feel we’re probably more talented then them,”Agard said.“But we have to go out there and handle our business and get the job

done. We have to continue working hard and getting better everyday sowe’ll be better in the long run.”After the Saints two-game skid in Snyder, Texas, with a 75-61 loss to

Odessa and a 77-73 close call with Western Texas, the Saints have re-bounded with two straight wins, including a huge 73-52 upset over No.8 and JayhawkWestern Division Rival Hutch.The Saints win over Barton County also may show where the team is

now headed.Those two wins have Seward atop the division in the Jayhawk West.

Despite being early and only two-games into conference play, there areno undefeated teams in the conference and the Saints have been pickingit up as of late.Seward sits at 8-3 and 2-0 in conference awaiting Friday’s action.

Jayhawk West StandingsTeams Overall ConferenceSeward County

PrattHutchinson

Barton CountyButler

Dodge CityCloud CountyGarden City

Colby

8-310-210-110-310-39-36-68-56-6

2-01-01-11-11-11-11-10-10-2

Nolen named KJCCCPlayer of the WeekRoy AllenSports information

Seward County freshman forward Marky Nolen has been named the KJCCC Player of the Week for his perfor-mances last week in a pair of crucial early season conference wins for the Saints.In Seward’s conference opener against #8 Hutchinson, Nolen went 7 for 11 from the field scoring 14 points and grab-

bing a game high 11 rebounds in the Saints 21 point win.Against Barton County on the road Saturday night the Wichita native again scored 14 points while pulling down a

team high 7 rebounds in a 10 point win to send the Saints to 2-0 in JayhawkWest Conference play.Despite being just 6-2, Nolen is currently leading the Saints in rebounding at 7 boards per game which also ranks him

in the top 10 in the conference in that category.Nolen’s teammate Saints post LatiqAgard had this to say on Nolen’s play thus far on the season.““Marky Nolen has been doing a great job for us,” Agard said. “I didn’t think he’d be this much of a presence, but

he’s doing really well and has been picking up a lot of the slack.”Nolen comes to Seward County after playing three years at Wichita South High School for coach DeonAllen. Nolen

was also a standout football player in high school earning a football scholarship to National Champion Butler CC. Hehas three sisters, Shadda (23), Courtney (14), and Shaoyah (13) and one brother, Tim (22).

SPORTS

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FEATURE

Merry Christmasfrom the staff of the Crusader

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www.juryfarrar.com

DR. JIM JURY AND DR. RYAN FARRARDOCTORS OF OPTOMETRY

Crusader photo/ Morgan Allaman

The college’s Multimedia Director Doug Browne has made it a tradition to have the most technical Christmas show in town. Browne started histechnical show 10 years ago and has added new decorations every year. He now has a 10-minute show with 146 computer controlled dimmerchannels and a low power radio station playing Christmas music. The show can be seen at 1660 N. Cain in Liberal.

Browne’s Christmas show consists of:Browne’s Christmas show consists of:

ADoug Browne Christmas

ADoug Browne Christmas