CMYK

Thursday, April 14, 2011

TODAYH 80 L 67

The

FRIDAYH 78 L 43

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Volume 90Issue 17

Next Publication:Monday, April 18, 2011

Visit us online atwww.thepinelog.com

The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University

Page 4

.

Trump’s campaign

means losing more than hair

Page 6

PINE LOG The

The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University

PINE LOG Thomas throws four-hit shutout

in win over Texas

MS. CAY MCANINCHLecturer of Elementary

EducationCollege of Education

DR. LINDA BOND

Assistant Professor of Global Media

College of Liberal & Applied Arts

DR. GARY WURTZAssociate Professor

of MusicCollege of Fine Arts

DR. CHRIS COMERAssistant Professor

of ForestryCollege of Forestry &

Agriculture

DR. LESA BEVERLYAssociate Professor of

MathematicsCollege of Sciences &

Mathematics

DR. ELTON SCIFRESProfessor of Marketing,

Management & International Business

College of Business

THOMAS MOTYKA/THE PINE LOG

(Above) Dr. Erin Brown, assistant professor of agriculture, received the first ever Teaching Excellence Award for Service Learning from Dr. Adam Peck, dean of student affairs, at the University’s annual Teaching Excellence Convocation Wednesday. (Right) In addition to this award, one faculty member from each college was honored for their contribution to SFA through excellence as teachers.

Seven honored for 2011 teaching excellence“Teaching is the very heart of what this University is about.”

— DR. BAKER PATTILLO, SFA PRESIDENT

Trump’s campaign

means losing more than hair PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG PINE LOG

By Liza Mac Donald CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In a world where slavery is accepted as a thing of the past, it is easy to forget that slavery still exists.

“Till all of us are free, none of us are free,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, while being interviewed about the organization Finding Refuge.

Emotions were running high at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Kennedy Auditorium. In an effort to help the organization Finding Refuge, SFA sororities and fraternities cre-ated a competition out of raising money and creating awareness for child slavery in Ghana, Africa.

As part of its annual Derby Days events, Sigma Chi hosted Mike Penn and Becca Piland as they presented information about the outreach Finding Refuge. As soon as the

opening video began, the entire auditorium fell silent.

Penn and Piland spent a summer work-ing in Ghana last year at the orphanage City of Refuge. That summer has greatly im-pacted their lives, and in return they have expressed the desire to share their passion for freeing the enslaved children of Lake Volta, Ghana.

“I was so ignorant,” Piland said. “I didn’t know what was going on,” but since her encounter with these children she wants to see slavery abolished.

Tutu described City of Refuge as “striking a blow for human dignity.” The idea behind Finding Refuge is that it “only takes one, to make a difference.”

Child slavery is one of the fastest grow-ing problems in Ghana. John Omorefe is a man from Nigeria, and Stacy Omorefe is a woman from the U.S. This couple formed

the outreach City of Refuge, which is an orphanage for children that have been sold into slavery by their parents and need a place to escape.

“We go to City of Refuge and meet all of these kids,” Penn said, “and you can’t help but notice the scars on these boys. They aren’t the scars of a 10-year-old, they’re the scars of a 40-year-old. So you’re thinking where did these children get these scars? That’s when we learned these scars were from their slave masters.”

Often families have around six children, and single mothers’ are not able to provide for their kids so they sell them to slave mas-ters. Penn and Piland described the slave masters as seemingly well-intentioned. They promise these mothers that their chil-dren will be taken care of.

Yet in reality, the boys will paddle a canoe as young as 3 years old and work between

14- and 18-hour work days. When these boys’ do not meet their quota

for the day, they are beaten and sent back out to the lake, while young girls complete all domestic tasks and are often sexually abused by their owners.

According to the facts presented, 200,000,000 children suffer under slavery today. Finding Refuge wants these children to be known.

Penn and Piland travel and speak to uni-versities in order to create “hype” about the situation. They believe that one person can do so much and awareness is half the battle.

Penn and Piland encouraged anyone in-terested to visit the website www.findin-grefuge.com. Volunteers are always wel-come, they said.

pinelog@thepinelog.com

By Allison PercivalSTAFF WRITER

The American Medical Student Association is camping out on the plaza today from 1 to 4:30 p.m. for hair donations.

They have a professional hair stylist cutting hair, which will be donated to Locks of Love. The stylist is offering a $10 discount for students who donate to have their hair styled.

“Locks of Love is an oppor-tunity help children who are going through chemotherapy or have Alopecia, to have their hair again,” Nicole Lejeune, com-mittee chair and pre-veterinary major of AMSA, said.

Alopecia is an auto-immune disorder which essentially causes hair follicles to shut down. This could range from complete hair-loss to bald patches and affects about 4.7 million people in the United States.

Lejeune said they received nu-merous donations already and are hoping for more.

To make a donation, Locks of Love requires a minimum of at least 10 inches of hair for a hair-piece. However, at least six inches is required to go toward other hair-related products such as eye-lashes.

“Everyone should participate by coming out and donating their hair,” Lejeune said. “After all, our hair will always grow back.”

apercival@thepinelog.com

Finding Refuge brings focus to enslaved children of Ghana

For cancer victims, Locks of Love gives more than just hair

SUE CORTEZ/THE PINE LOGHayley Saville, Fort Worth freshman, gets her hair cut on the plaza Wednesday afternoon as part of the Locks of Love charity, which donates hairpieces to children who have lost their hair due to illnesses. The non-profit group has recipients in over 50 states, according to its website, and is continually working to help financially disadvantaged children in the U.S. and Canada who have become victims of long-term hair loss.

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“Zany,” “visually interesting,” and “way out of the ordinary” are some of the descriptive phras-es SFA Associate Professor Rick Jones uses to describe the School of Theatre’s upcoming produc-tion of Guillame Apollinaire’s “The Breasts of Tiresias.”

The play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, through Saturday, April 30, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

The play centers on the fe-male protagonist, Thérèse, who is tired of society’s expectations of women and so lets her breasts float away, grows a beard, be-comes a general and takes the name Tiresias. Meanwhile, her husband takes on the role of childbearing.

“If you know that Apollinaire introduced the term ‘surrealism’ in his preface to the play, you are prepared for the bizarre chain of events that follow,” explained Jones, the play’s director. “The play becomes an extended game of ‘What would happen if . . . .’”

First produced in 1917, the play was written in French. While there are two English translations, Jones was not

satisfied with either, so he translat-ed it himself, with the assistance of Texarkana senior Marissa Harding.

“We made some adaptations, but it’s a pretty straight forward translation,” Jones said. “It’s about an hour long and really quite funny, in a Monty Python sort of way, complete with exaggerat-

ed movement, silly voices and cross-dressing.”

To compliment the action, SFA Assistant Professor of Theatre Dana Gloege has de-signed a set that “looks like something out of a surrealist painting,” Jones continued.

Additionally, SFA Associate Professor of Theatre Angela Bacarisse, Costume Shop Supervisor Barbara Blackwell and Fort Worth senior Tiffany Craig have employed non- tra-ditional materials such as yoga mats and garden fencing to cre-ate costumes with an abstract, two-dimensional effect.

“I think our audience will enjoy this farcical treatment of seemingly serious subjects,” Jones said.

“The Breasts of Tiresias” is recommended for mature au-diences.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for seniors and students. For tickets or more information, go to www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

pinelog@thepinelog.com

By Sean-Karl NegronCONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Thursday SFA hosted the Undergraduate Research Conference in Regent’s Suite A and the Twilight Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

The conference began with a quick in-troduction by Dr. Eric Jones before being turned over to the six winners from each college within the University. Jones empha-sized the importance of research in an edu-cational setting and the need to encourage research to better understand the power of research to figure out answers to questions.

The Undergraduate Research Conference celebrates the students that provide research that is thorough, thought-provoking, cre-ative, innovative, methodologically sound, and promotes inquiry-based learning.

After Jones’ introduction the winners were tasked with presenting their paper much as they would at a professional re-search conference. They presented their argument, backed it up with credible data and gave a practical use or solution to their argument.

Afterwards, the guests were able to walk through a gallery of poster presentations made by those who made the final round in the competition. Guests walked around and looked at the posters as well as asked ques-tions about the nature of their study.

Among those who attended were parents, faculty and fellow students. While they were all there for different reasons, the inter-est in the research was palpable and the excitement that each finalist had for their

research was tantalizing. The guests were eager to learn about the studies, and the students were more than willing to answer any questions.

Undergraduate research is often over-looked, especially at large research uni-versities. At SFA, however, the smaller stu-dent body and emphasis on undergraduate studies allows for undergrads to have their research appreciated, a privilege they most likely would not benefit from at a larger university. Undergraduates at SFA are able to find faculty more accepting of their inter-est in research and the access to resources much more open. Any person who has an in-terest in research has the ability to conduct a study so long as they are willing to work hard and be persistent. The Undergraduate Research Conference gives students a plat-form to talk about their topic of study.

Students don’t often realize how many other students are busy doing scholarly re-search. Whether they are in the lab or the library, many students are finding the time to conduct their own research.

The process of researching a topic of interest and creating a study out of it is a unique and rewarding experience for fac-ulty and students alike. A student must first choose a topic that is thought-provoking and creative. They then must find a faculty member interested in that subject that is willing to sponsor and advise them. Most importantly, however, a student must find the time on their own outside of class to conduct research. This requires a lot of hard work and persistence.

It may seem like a lot of work but the

time and effort put aside to do the work is gratifying.

English major Luke Landtroop, who was a College of Liberal and Applied Arts final-ist for his “What is This Life?”: Responses to Contingency in Chaucer’s Pagan Romances, said he put his “heart and soul” into his study, working with his research adviser multiple times a week to make sure his argument was sound and that he had cred-ible data to back up his claim. He felt that just doing the work was gratifying, but to be rewarded at the conference made it feel appreciated.

Jones, whose enthusiasm for the entire conference is contagious, finds that the pro-cess of guiding a student who is interested in going above and beyond to become more familiar with their study is something that makes him excited not just for the confer-ence, but just as a teacher. He feels that being able to watch his students succeed is the most rewarding experience in teaching.

The work also pays off out-side of SFA. Luke used his study as a writing sample in his application for the gradu-ate English program at the University of Texas – Austin, where he will start next se-mester. Furthermore, outside of the academic spectrum, research sets a student ahead of the pack in trying to start a career. Other than the fact that a student who has done

research will know more about the topic, having invested extra time and effort in it, doing research and especially getting re-warded for it will show an employer that an applicant is willing to do more than just “get the job done” but will go above and beyond to do the job well.

There are many topics that can be stud-ied and expounded upon and there are many faculty members at SFA willing to guide a student through the process. To be able to fabricate a study that is completely your own is a gratifying experience and has its own material rewards as well. It is well-worth the effort and worth taking the risk.

(For the full list of winners and finalists, visit www.sfasu.edu/honors/urc)

snegron@thepinelog.com

Undergraduate research valuable for college students

League City senior Rebecca Mersinger models a headdress fashioned from garden fencing, pinwheels and cupcake papers while costume designers Tiffany Craig, Fort Worth senior, and SFA costume professor Angela Bacarisse make adjustments. The headdress is one of the innovative costume pieces to be used in the upcoming production.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Breasts of Tiresias offers extended ‘what if...?’ game

CMYK

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The Crime Log

The rules of Sudoku are simple. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain

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On 4-11-2011 an officer was dispatched to the Student Recreation Center in reference to disorderly conduct. Upon arrival the officer made contact with the complainant, who advised on 4-11-2011 a subject used offensive language to-wards her while she was working at the Student Recreation Center. There is one suspect.

On 4-13-2011 an officer was dispatched to Griffith Hall in reference to assault. Upon arrival the officer made contact with the complainant, who advised on 4-13-2011 she was pushed by an unknown subject at Griffith Hall.

On 4-12-2011 an officer was dispatched to the lobby of UPD in reference to harassment. Upon arrival the officer made contact with the complainant, who advised on 4-12-2011 she received numerous unwanted phone calls from a known per-son.

On 4-12-2011 an officer was dispatched to the lobby of UPD in reference to identity theft. Upon arrival the officer made contact with the complainant, who advised that an unknown person used his personal information to file a fraudulent tax return. There are no suspects.

On 4-12-2011 an officer was dispatched to the lobby of UPD in reference to theft. Upon arrival the officer made contact with the complainant, who advised between 4-7-2011 and 4-11-2011 her secure bicycle was stolen from the bicycle rack at Lumberjack Village. There are no suspects.

By Jamie LivingstonSTAFF WRITER

Looking for a course to satisfy a fine arts core? For the first time ever, History of Film Music will be offered during Maymester.

The course is from Monday through Friday, 9 a.m to 12:15 p.m. Dr. Charles Gavin, will teach the course and will ex-plore how music from the concert stage, jazz and other popular genres has been

incorporated into film scoring.“A majority of the class will be dedi-

cated to watching to great films, listen-ing to the music and analyzing how the music impacts or even manipulates the emotions of the viewer,” he said.

The course will trace the use of music to support and enhance the drama of movies from the earliest si-lent movies through movies of the 21st century.

Students can take the course with-out having any previous musical back-ground.

“We will cover some basic funda-mentals of musical language as it per-tains to listening and understanding soundtracks,” Gavin said.

The course is listed as MUS 140 and for more information about the Maymester class, call Dr. Gavin at 936) 468-1061.

History of Film Music course to be offered in Maymester

Music by Louisiana composers will be featured during “Home Boys,” a concert by the SFA Wind Symphony at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The concert will open with “Chansons Cadiennes” by Louisiana native David W. Campo, SFA associate director of bands and the Wind Symphony’s conductor. The piece was commissioned by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette for its 1996 tour of France.

Also included in the first half of the program will be Keith Gates’ “Introduction and Allegro,” a piece Campo describes as a “moving tone portrait.” Gates lived in Lake Charles, La., for a number of years while teaching at McNeese State University.

The second half of the concert will open with the world premiere of “Jubilee” by Campo’s older brother, Robert Campo, who teaches at Baton Rouge Magnet High School and is a freelance trumpet player in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. Robert will guest conduct his piece.

“To close the concert, the Wind Symphony will perform the monumental ‘Symphony No. 2’ by Shreveport native Frank Ticheli,” said David Campo.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, please go to www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Wind Symphony to showcase Louisiana composers Tuesday

SFA Board of Regentswill meet in regular session9 a. m. Monday and Tuesday

3rd Floor Conference Room, Austin Building

CMYK

Page Four Thursday, April 14, 2011PINE LOGTHE

Commentarythe pine log

✓ Write a letter to Grinding the Ax. Follow the guidelines on at left. Bring the letter to Room 2.308 BPSC.

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FEEDBACKOpinions expressed in this section of The Pine

Log are those of the individual writer or cartoon-ist and do not necessarily reflect those of the University, its administrative officers or Board of Regents.

Letters to the Editor should include the student’s hometown, classification and phone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit letters for space, spelling, grammar and potential-ly libelous material. Letters should not be longer than 300 words. Any letter that does not follow this criteria will not be published.

Opinions PolicySpring 2011 Editorial BoardEDITOR • Jonathan Garris

MANAGING EDITORAudrey SpencerCOMMENTARY EDITORGarrett CookSPORTS EDITORStephanie SlabaughFEATURES EDITORAndreya Stephenson

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORGarrett CookPHOTO EDITORThomas MotykaCOPY EDITORJessica GilliganADVERTISING MANAGERJerret Swierc

Christianity more than religion and church attendance

Axes Up to the Wellness Fair. It’s great to have a forum where students can ex-plore ways to bet-ter themselves in mind, body and spirit.

Axes Down to the semes-ter dragging out. Everyone is tested and homeworked out. Dear May: please get here soon. Love, stu-dents.

When most people hear the word Christian they’re immediately uninterested and would rather not discuss the subject. People think that Christians are these people who are only here to judge others. We’re seen as hypo-crites, and you know what? Some of us are. There are those people who have lost sight of what it means to be a Christian, and they end up making people mad.

It’s not an easy thing being a Christian on a college campus. As soon as people know who I am and what I stand for, they put me in this category and walk on, not wanting anything to do with me. Or they think I’m here to judge them so they get very defensive and don’t want to touch that category. Not everyone does this, but a lot do.

On most of today’s campuses the percent-age of Christians in the student body is low, unless it’s a Christian university, and even then the number of Christians is surprisingly low. I’m sure if I walked around campus and asked people, “Are you a Christian?” or “Do you believe in God?”, they would more than likely say yes. A lot of people were brought up in church and were taught nothing else, so students take what they’ve learned from their parents as truth and don’t question it. They don’t make the effort to find out for themselves. That’s not the case for everyone of course. Am I saying that people who have believed in God all their lives are wrong and ignorant for not going off and discovering Christianity for themselves? Of course not, but in today’s world, a lot of people have lost sight of what being a Christian means. When most people are asked how they would de-fine a Christian, their answers are almost all the same. They think being a Christian is about going to church and having church friends, not drinking, not cursing and being religious.

Since when did following Christ become all about church or religion? If you were to ask me today what religion I belong to, I

would say, “I don’t belong to any religion, I belong to Christ and Him alone.” Most people think Christianity is about going to church and being a “good” person, but what exactly is a good person? Furthermore, who decides the standard on which they are con-sidered good?

When I do a favor for someone or help someone walking across campus with a heavy box, they always say you’re such a good person, and all I can think is, no I’m not. I’m a sinner just like everyone else, and I always will be. The only difference is I have accepted grace and salvation.

I don’t know how many people have looked down on me because I believe in something that they can’t see or touch. I’ve been called ignorant, my belief in God. People think that I’m crazy for giving my life over to something that has no visual proof of existence.

When you think about today’s college stu-dent, you think alcohol and parties, and I’m not saying that every single college student that doesn’t believe in God goes out to parties and gets drunk. When people find out that I don’t go to parties and I don’t drink, they look at me like I’m from a different planet. They can’t believe that I’ve never wanted to go to

parties or drink; they think it’s all because of my faith. Some part of that may be true, but it’s not the only reason. I just don’t see any joy in getting drunk and going out every weekend. While some students may enjoy doing that because that’s how they unwind, I don’t; to others, that’s a crazy concept. It has nothing to do with how I was raised, because I wasn’t raised in the church; my family had nothing to do with my belief in God. It’s just something that has never nor will ever ap-peal to me like it does to others.

I do understand that it’s also not an easy thing being someone who doesn’t believe in God. I’ve talked to many atheists and col-lege students who feel judged especially by Christians because they don’t believe in God. There are also many people who will judge you whether you’re a Christian or not. But a true believer does not judge or at least tries not to because that is not our job, nor is it our place to judge anyone.

Veronica is a junior majoring in Child Development and Family Living from Olten, TX.

It was Monday afternoon when I had my epiphany. I was late to my weekly yoga class, as usual, and when I pulled into the parking I noticed ev-eryone was outside in the “downward dog” position.

For the record, this pose actually does feel amazing on the body but it’s not exactly the most attractive.

Once I joined the class and was set-tled in, my teacher decided it was time for us to meditate and basically take time for ourselves to relax. This was the moment when I noticed the clear sky, the soft, cool breeze and watched the trees sway in the wind.

It was right then I realized how I loved being outside and not having to worry about projects, tests or dead-lines. This was my time to enjoy nature and not be stuck behind a computer in a cubicle.

The very next day, I was assigned to go watch the movie Gasland at the Rec Center as part of Earth Day celebra-tions for the week.

For the record, I’m not a hippie; the only thing I like about hippies are the clothes and music. Otherwise, I have never been a part of protests, been veg-etarian or thrown paint on a fur coat.

However, after having my epiphany on Monday, I decided I would take the hour out of my day to watch an envi-ronmental movie.

The movie is centered on filmmaker Josh Fox traveling across country inter-viewing people who are affected by the drilling of natural gas. Fox has come to the conclusion that the drilling of gas is contaminating the water wells.

There are various scenes through-out the movie that show animals los-ing their fur, people lighting the water from faucets on fire and various mys-terious pits of leftover crap from the drilling.

I never truly realized what all is involved in the process of drilling. In hydraulic fracturing, one to eight mil-lion gallons of water is used to frack a well, and only 30 to 50 percent of water affected by fracking is recovered from a well.

Hydraulic fracturing is a means of natural gas extraction employed in deep natural gas well drilling. Once a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and various chemicals are injected into the well at a very high pressure. The pressure fractures the shale and will cause cracks to enable the gas to flow out.

And then to make things worse, in 2005 the Bush/Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Fox goes into great detail to explain how this exempts companies from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing.

Another interesting fact that is stuck in my brain is how it requires 1 to 8 million gallons of water to free up natural gas. They infuse the water with 596 chemicals including carcinogens and biocides and several others with no name or something you can’t even pronounce. That’s not disturbing at all. And imagine all of the gasoline these 18-wheelers need to use to travel from point A to B and how many trucks it has to take to carry this much water.

And here’s where I get on my soap-box—I think it’s just fascinating how we’re slowly killing ourselves for oil and gas. This movie just proves once again how the little man is getting the shaft while major corporations are pocketing millions.

Anyway, even if you’re not into the whole “environmental awareness thing,” Fox still entertains you with smartass remarks, various jokes and even a little random bluegrass banjo playing.

I found the idea that there are not a lot of rules about drilling in this coun-try entertaining and very disturbing. It is a little odd how health regulations are exempt for the sake of natural gas and oil.

In the end, all I’m asking is this— the next time you have a glass of water from the faucet, maybe you should take a glance at it.

Allison is a senior majoring in Radio/TV and Journalism from Lake Jackson, TX.

Citizens getting bad gas from companies

STAFF WRITER

Allison Percival

apercival@thepinelog.com

The members of the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee recently heard testimony in favor of a bill that would re-duce the possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults from a Class B mis-demeanor now punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $2,000 fine to a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine only. This proposed “decriminaliza-tion” is a common sense, fiscally responsible alter-native that will cut costs, improve public safety and have a positive impact on the quality of life of thou-sands of Texas citizens. Our legislators are trying to find areas to save the state money. They want to cut essential services. Yet they ignore HB 548 (Marijuana Decriminalization), which is rotting away in the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. HB 548 could save Texas the millions of dollars that we are currently wasting every year by prosecuting non-vi-olent marijuana offenses.

Most adult marijuana users act responsibly and consume marijuana solely within the privacy of their homes. They are not part of the crime problem and they should not be treat-ed like serious criminals. Decriminalization would maintain the monetary sanctions for marijuana possession violations, but would spare offenders from being saddled with life-long criminal records. This change would continue to discourage marijuana abuse, while halting the practice of permanently criminalizing

thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens.

This legislative change would also promote pub-lic safety. Law enforcement resource allocation is a ze-ro-sum gain. The time that police officers spend arrest-ing and processing minor marijuana offenders is time when they are not out on the streets protecting the public from more significant criminal activity. Passage of this legislation will allow law enforcement officials, prosecutors and the courts to reallocate their resources toward activities that will more effectively target seri-ous criminal behavior and keep the public safe.

Contrary to the concerns of some, making adult mari-juana possession offenses a civil matter would not negatively affect marijuana use patterns or attitudes. Passage of similar legislation in other states has not led to increased marijuana use or altered adolescents’ percep-tions regarding the potential harms of drug use.

In short, HB 548 seeks to find effective ways to re-duce government expendi-tures and promote public safety. These are goals that lawmakers should support. Reducing marijuana posses-sion from a Class B misde-meanor to a Class C misde-meanor is a common-sense, fiscally responsible proposal that will cut costs without al-tering the public’s attitudes or use of marijuana. Texas lawmakers should endorse this effort.

Sincerely, Matt Sims

Junior

GUEST COLUMNIST

VeronicaGuerrero

vguererro@thepinelog.com

Letter to the Editor

CMYK

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What’s Happening

5:30 p.m.- “Art, History and Everyday Life: A Dialogue about Gender” in Liberal Arts North Room 142.

5:30 p.m.- Women of Virtue Love Lesson in the Village Conference Room.

6 p.m.- ALO Bible Study in the Multi-Media room of BPSC next to Starbucks.

7:30 p.m.- “Leaving an Impression One Step at a Time” with Alan Bean. Archie McDonald Speaker Series in the BPSC Grand Ballroom.

7:30 p.m.- SFA Precussion Ensemble Annual Spring Concert in Cole Concert Hall.

5 p.m.- SGA’s Big Idea Deadline in the BPSC.

6 p.m.- Project Unity Step Show in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.

7 p.m.- “Oceans in Space” in the SFA Planetarium Building.

9 a.m.- 2 p.m.- SFA Garden’s Spring Plant Sale at the Piney Woods Native Plant Center located at 2900 Raguet Street.

10 a.m.- 2 p.m.- The Fourth Annual Earth Day Celebrations at the Piney Woods Native Plant Center.

7:30 p.m.- SFA Orchestra of the Pines’ Concert at Cole Concert Hall.

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Want to get the word out about your event?

Listings for What’s Happening may be submitted by email to pinelog@sfasu.

edu. Just send us the date, time, and a detailed description in advance.

By Andreya StephensonFEATURES EDITOR

Christmas with the Dead is being filmed in Nacogdoches partially on campus this summer. This film is filled with local and Lumberjack talent.

It started out as a short-story written by professional writer, Joe R. Lansdale, who currently teaches a class at SFA. Lansdale has been a professional writer for 40 years.

“I’ve had films of mine made, like Bubba Ho-Tep was based on my story and Incident On and Off Mountain Road, which was made for Showtime. I’ve written 35 novels, 400 short stories, comic books. I have comic books coming out now from IDW,” said Lansdale.

Lansdale currently teaches Writing Horror Fiction. In the past he has taught Writing Screenplays, Writing Fiction, and even Writing Comic Books.

His son, Keith Lansdale, who runs the website, www.EverythingNac.com, adapted the story into a screenplay.

“I’m the one who took the original story and expanded it into 90 minutes worth of film,” Keith Lansdale said.

Christmas with the Dead is a zombie film that takes place in a small East Texas town.

“Its about a guy who decides that even though the zombie apocalypse has hap-pened that he’s had enough of it and he wants to put his Christmas lights up,” said Keith Lansdale.

Joe Lansdale’s short story came about because he always wanted to write about Christmastime, but from a different angle.

just thought what happens to Christmas after the end of the world so to speak,” said Joe Lansdale.

The original short story was just that— short. According to Keith Lansdale, the short story was about eight to 12 minutes of film time.

“The original story that he wrote, it was more an idea than it was a story,” said Keith Lansdale. A lot of characters and plot came from his expansion and adaptation.

Joe Lansdale agreed with this, saying “I actually think Keith did a better job on the screenplay than I did on the story, but what he kept was the main character and his di-lemmas and emotions and the stuff about Christmas.”

Joe and Keith Lansdale claim that Christmas with the Dead isn’t the typical zombie movie. The film is more focused on what happens to the main character and how he deals with the changes in his life.

“Going in, we really were kind of tired of the generic zombie movie over and over and though this is a zombie movie, its not in some other ways,” said Keith Lansdale.

The movie has some excitement, eating scenes, and frightening moments, but that isn’t all.

“The zombies are caused somewhat in a different way than you usually see in films. I don’t want to say what that is. I want people to discover that,” said Joe Lansdale.

The idea of Christmas is the main char-acter’s connection to the past. “The whole idea of him wanting to have the Christmas has to do with the fact that he’s trying to connect with the old life he had and his wife was a big fan of Christmas and he wanted to not really let go of that old life,” Joe Lansdale said.

Keith Lansdale worked about four weeks on the screenplay. He bounced ideas off of Joe Lansdale. This is not the first time the two have worked together. They recent-ly published an anthology of short stories called Son of Retro-Pulp Tales.

Joe Lansdale will be executive producer of the film. Bil Arscott, Regents Professor of Art, will be the producer. Arscott has been involved with Christmas with the Dead film project since the beginning. He has helped to organize a lot of the process, and that is not all he has put together.

“I just feel like a lot of the credit should go to Bil Arscott. I think he is practically a legend as far I’m concerned because he took a small room in the art department and turned it into this wonderful film center,” said Joe Lansdale.

Joe Lansdale approached Arscott about the project because he wanted to showcase the talent he sees at SFA. Ira Shiflet and Scott Strickland, graduate students at SFA are the associate producers for the film.

“We’re going to be using some outside sources, but ninety-five percent of it is SFA related,” said Joe Lansdale. SFA film students will be using the cameras, editing, applying the music, doing the lighting and sound.

Lee Lankford is directing the film. Lankford is choosing the cast. Minor roles that have lines are being cast now, but non-speaking parts are still needed for some generic zombie roles and a congregation scene.

If students are interested in playing these roles, they can bring a headshot their ad-dress and information to the film depart-ment.

New York actor, Damian Maffei, will play the main character. Brad Maule will co-star. Maule has a long-list accomplishments, but

is most widely known for his role on General Hospital. He now teaches a class at SFA. Joe Lansdale’s daughter, Kasey Lansdale, who is a professional singer/song-writer, will be doing a few songs for the movie and also has a small role.

Joe Lansdale didn’t just choose his kids to be in it because they were his children. “I got lots of family that I wouldn’t put in the film,” said Lansdale. He chose his children because of their talent. “What I did was I got professionals in my family, not just my fam-ily,” said Lansdale.

Joe Lansdale is not the only one with family involved in the film. Arscott has two children that will be involved as Director of Photography and working in the art.

“We knew we could depend on family be-cause, A) they knew what they were doing, and B) we could fuss at them,” Lansdale said jokingly.

Christmas with the Dead, though largely SFA centered is bigger than that. “This is going to be a feature. This isn’t just for SFA. This is actually going to be ‘out in the world’ as we say,” said Joe Lansdale.

According to Joe Lansdale, the film will probably finished by the middle of next year, and they will entering it in film festi-vals right before Christmas of 2012.

“I’m excited to start seeing it show up on marquees and things like that,” said Keith Lansdale.

Zombie flick to be filmed at SFA this summer

COURTESY PHOTO

Promotional poster for Christmas with the Dead, zombie movie that is to be filmed at SFA

Courtesy of SFA Weekly.

CMYK

sportsPage Six Thursday, April 14, 2011PINE LOGTHE

Please join us at noon on Friday, May 6 for the

presentation ceremony.

Invitations will be mailed to students eligible to participate in the Big Dip.

Please RSVP by May 4 onlineat www.sfaalumni.com or by calling

the Alumni office at 468-3407.

By Mandy BowlingASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The SFA Men and Women’s Track team traveled to Austin recently to compete in one of the biggest meets in the country.

The 2011 84th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, hosted by the University of Texas, is one of the bigger more nationally prominent meets where athletes from some of the top teams across from the nation compete. Not only are there collegiate athletes, there are also high school athletes, unattached ath-letes and some Olympic-quality runners who are given the opportunity to compete.

Although SFA has athletes who are nation-ally ranked, a trip to nationals is not a guar-anteed ticket.

For Tyler junior Nick McCloud, Burleson freshman Clint Harris and Brazoswood ju-nior Jon Arthur, they have to place in the top 48 in the west region and go to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the first round. After that, if they place in the top 12, they head off to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in the national meet.

McCloud was one of the athletes who shone for SFA. As McCloud continues to show why he is one of the top hurdlers in the nation, he clocked a time of 13.61 in the 110-meter hurdles to finish sixth overall.

This particular event is not your aver-age meet, and preparing for it is a big deal. According to McCloud, it’s not like a high school meet where 100 people may show up to watch you. At the relays, there is not an empty seat in the Mike A. Myers Stadium.

“It’s a big step to make it to this race,” McCloud said. “You race with a lot of great athletes who are top in the country.”

“Even though I have gone to the Texas Relays since high school, this time was by far the best I have done,” McCloud said. “Last year I finished seventh, and this time I fin-ished sixth. I am trying to do something big, and I have to stay grounded to meet my time and make it to nationals.”

On top of being ranked number six in the nation, McCloud also beat the school record, running 13.61 and marking it as his personal best.

“The Texas Relays has some great com-petition, and although there is always some

improvement to be done, I felt like I had a great race,” McCloud said.

Harris was another SFA athlete to domi-nate at the Texas Relays.

“I wasn’t worried about the competition itself, because I have been there before,” Harris said. “It didn’t matter if I won. I just wanted to break the school record.”

And he did. Harris threw 184’8” to break the school record and set a personal record for himself.

On top of setting records, Harris set the tone of the meet and left the Texas Relays winning the B section of the men’s discus throw. “(I) didn’t let myself get too excited going into the meet,” Harris said.

As of right now, Harris is ranked 17th in the nation and is looking strong for his opportu-nity to make it to first round in Oregon.

Arthur proved himself and represented SFA, finishing 10th in the nation after throw-ing his personal best of 60’3” in the shot put. Arthur broke the previous school record, held by Kenneth McKinnley.

“My main focus was to get a good start-ing throw and secure my spot in the finals,” Arthur said. “I like to get a good starting mark then increase my intensity and go after it.”

Arthur has appeared in the Texas Relays since his freshman year and prepares himself the same way every time. Not only does he work out hard and train his best, being men-tally prepared is an important factor and a key to what makes him do his best.

He isn’t there only to do well for SFA and himself. According to Arthur, in big meets such as the Texas Relays, he feels it’s impor-tant to do well for the Southland Conference and represent it well.

Arthur gives a lot of credit to his team for helping him get as far as he has, but he re-vealed that his true motivation comes from head track and field coach Phil Olson.

“I would really like to point out that I wouldn’t be in the position I am now if it wasn’t for the great coaching of coach (Phil) Olson,” Arthur said. “He really pushes me and has really molded me into the thrower I am now.”

SFA decathlete, Hawkins senior Chris Jones, showed off his talent when he finished the meet ranked tenth in the nation. This was Jones’s first time to appear at the Texas

Relays. He qualified to run two years ago, but unfortu-nately tore his ACL the meet before.

Jones competes in a series of events over the course of two days. On the first day he started off with the 100-meter dash, the long jump the shot put, the high jump, and finished the day with the 400-meter dash. Jones record-ed his personal best with 37.48 points at the end of the first day.

Going into the second day in eighth place, Jones continued to set personal records. He ran the 110 hur-dles first, then the discus throw, pole vault, the javelin and finished the meet with 1500-meter run.

“I finished the meet scoring 458 points,” Jones said. “My score was the third best in school history. I focused on my personal times and went out there, did what I was capable of and it paid off.”

Jones’s focus from here on out is to work on his speed and the 400-meter dash. Speed endurance and determination is key to what will make him better.

Unlike his teammates, Jones has to place in the top 24 to go straight to Iowa for the na-tional meet. Other than having a goal of mak-ing it to nationals, placing in the top eight in All-Americans is a top goal for Jones.

“I want to finish and go out as an All-American,” Jones said. “It comes down to

who shows up that day to race, and for me, I am going to work on finishing stronger in the 110 hurdles to meet my goal.”

SFA returns to action and attempt to hold this records, when several athletes compete in the Mt. SAC Relays on Thursday. For those who don’t compete in that meet, they will be competing in the NSU Invitational in Natchitoches, La.

abowling@thepinelog.com

Track and Field athletes earn national rankings at Texas Relays

Chris Jones, decathlete, finished ninth in the nation.

Jon Arthur, shot put, finished 10th in the nation

Clint Harris, discus, finished 17th in the nation

Nick McCloud, 110 hurdles, finished sixth in the nation