recordon thethe student voice of k-state salinavolume seven-issue two

urban ex

ON THE COVERUrban EX. The art of discovering the forgotten. Photo by Brittney Talkington.

keeps getting better on the record.

our staffAshley Flowers Publication Editor

Eddie DeHerrera IVManagerial Editor

Marty FitzgeraldSubmissions Editor

Dr. Jennifer MolidorFaculty Advisor

Contributors

Heidi BlackburnPaul CainJordan CranstonBob HolmolkaJohn JohnsonBen MartinMorgan MilesBarry O’ConnorDixie ShierlmanBrittney TalkingtonRob WillingJacqueline Wood

Finally Fall. Cooler weather and warmer colors are welcomed

signs of the changing seasons.

Photo by Ashley Flowers

blurb boxJOKE:A duck walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “Got any grapes?” The bartender says, “No.” The duck walks out. The next day the duck comes in again, “You got any grapes?” The bartender replies again, “No.” The duck turns and walks out. The next day the duck comes right back and asks again, “Got any grapes?” The bartender says, “No, and we will never have any. Ask me again and I’ll nail your beak to the bar!” The duck turns and leaves. The next day comes. The duck walks in, looks at the bartender and says, “Got any nails?” The bartender says, “NO!” The duck replies, “Got any grapes?”

Why is there a giant demon guarding the entrance to the Library? I used to feel welcome there, but now I can’t go in. Don’t tell me it’s just for Halloween and it’s harmless. Did nobody think about how it might turn off people who don’t share that religion? And how it excludes people who don’t participate in occult or satanic activities? This happened last year, too. For too weeks some of us had to stay away, even though its supposed to be a public library for everyone. Guess its good that I don’t need have any papers due soon.

*Blurb Box submissions are printed unedited.

this issue5 Academic Advising Free student services on campus

7 Flight Team Celebrates The K-State Salina Flight Team earns 2nd place finish at regional competition

8 Campus News

9 The Hunger Games K-State Salina responds to the University Common Reading Program

13 Terror Exploring why horror movies scare us

16 Zombie Voters! Beware of the brainless masses voting on important decisions

17 Urban Exploration Looking for a new way to spend time in Salina?

18 Which is Manlier? Swords vs. Guns

19 Problem Solved! Advice on how to manage those important issues.

20 Campus Culture Lady Gaga and exploring new fashion trends, women’s issues and this months pull from Otter’s Recipe Box

november eventsOtafestMonday-Friday, November 8-12

Club Basketball at Colby ClassicFriday, November 12

Thanksgiving Break-No ClassesMonday-Friday, November 22-26

The Academic Advising

Center provides all kinds of services to students on

the K-State at Salina campus. Free tutoring, advising services,

disability assistance and placement testing are all offered at the

AAC. We are committed to helping K-State students succeed!

Visit our new website today.

AcademicAdvising

We are committed to excellence in advising for our

students, whether your major is on the Salina campus or in

Manhattan. Students who are still searching can also come to the

center to explore major and career options, and discuss plans with

an advisor. Here are a few more reasons why a student may schedule

an advising appointment at the Academic Advising Center:

Discuss academic issues or concernsFind out who your advisor is or request a new

oneReceive help developing study skills

Laptop and Calculator

CheckoutK-State at Salina students may check out a

laptop or calculator to use for their classes.

The best part is… it is free!

6 on the record

Special Assistance

Students with disabilities are offered a broad

range of services and accommodations tailored to each

individual’s needs. These services may include extended

time limits for examinations and/or assignments, note-

takers, recorded/transcribed lectures, books on tape

and adaptive devices. A complete list of

services can be found at the K-State at

Salina website under “Academic

Advising Center.”

FreeTutoring

Peer tutoring provides assistance for the courses

where students typically experience difficulty. Our peer tutors

have successfully mastered the course material and come

highly recommended by faculty members. Peer tutoring is free

to all K-State students and available for several courses offered on

campus. To take advantage of this free service, simply fill out a

tutor request card online (http://www.salina.k-state.edu/student

services/aac) or in our office.

Math tutoring is also available without appointment on

Tuesdays (10:30 am to 11:30 am) and Thursdays (9:30

am to 11:30 am) in the Library Community Room.

Math instructors Bob Homolka and John

Heublein facilitate these sessions.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Flight Team for their second place finish at the NIFA Region VI Safecon competition hosted by K-State Salina October, 18-22.

8 on the record

Author lectures at K-StateRob WillingOn September 30, 2010, Sir Ken Robinson entertained a packed Kansas State auditorium with a message titled, “Finding your passion changes everything.” A message not only meant for the students, but the faculty. For our society to continue to sustain itself we need to quit forcing ourselves to work with windows, but to break through those windows and start working out in the world.

For most, college is where we try to find what our passions are. But by then, it may be too late. My father always told me to work on the spares and let the strikes take care of themselves. For all the non-bowlers out there; we have to work for what we need to find what we want. I agree that to live what you do, you need to love what you are. Just sometimes it takes a little longer than we hope. Plans never work because life follows no script, but that’s what makes it worthwhile.

What do Batman, Indiana Jones, Frankenstein, vampires and Wonder Woman have in common? They’re all characters that can be found in the K-State at Salina Library’s graphic novel collection!

Since graphic novels are a rarity in an academic library, you may be wondering why the library has these resources available for the campus community. The library started its collection of graphic novels in 2008. As part of the Lending Fiction collection, the titles are ordered three months before publication and only certain reviewed titles are available through the vendor. The greatest benefit of using this lease program instead of purchasing is the library sends them back after a year or so to make room for new titles. This keeps the collection fresh and updated as new characters or authors become popular and additionally saves the library shelf space and money. Each month, one or two new titles show up on the shelves located in the library’s lounge area next to the magazines.

Libraries purchase materials, such as graphic novels, because they have a mission statement that requires them to serve a broad range of community needs and wants. The librarians, who are taught as part of their professional education to

determine the needs of their communities and to select materials based on library policies, selected the graphic novels found in the collection as alternatives to the recreational fiction and non-fiction titles that make up the bulk of the Lending Fiction collection.

Graphic novels are widely praised for encouraging reading, especially among adult readers. In fact, the average age of American graphic novel readers is 25, close to that of an average K-State at Salina student! Graphic novels also connect with visual learners, develop strong language arts skills, convey educational messages, stimulate readers to explore other literature and encourage unmotivated or “dormant” readers to develop better reading skills. The titles in the K-State at Salina library’s collection are a mix of familiar characters (Batman, Superman, Fantastic Four, Thor, Wonder Woman and other Marvel/DC icons) as well as stories such as Frankenstein, the X-Files, Ender’s Game and others.

For more information on the library’s graphic novel collection, contact Heidi Blackburn at hblackbu@ksu.edu or stop by the library.

Kappa Sigma Alpha ‘Making Strides’ Morgan Miles

Kappa Sigma Alpha joined over 1,200 other participants in Topeka on Sunday October 17 to raise over $68,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Every dollar raised is help save lives. Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is more than just a walk; it signifies the progress we’re making together to save lives by helping people get well, stay well, find cure and fight back. Ultimately we are working to create a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays.

Graphic Novels in the Library Heidi Blackburn

10 on the record

Response by Dixie ShierlmanAssociate Dean of Student Life

THE HUNGER GAMES MET ALL the necessary elements for a campus reading, in that it has adventure, action, mystery, romance, drama, intrigue, hope, sadness, and love in a life or death setting. There are elements from the book that could be discussed in a variety of majors/classes ranging from food sources, clothing, living conditions, poverty, wealth, and family dynamics to moral and ethical values, psychological warfare, psychological and sociological behaviors and humane treatment of people. I do not know how the book was utilized in the classroom by the K-State at Salina faculty, as it was certainly not required to be used, only suggested. I would be interested to know from faculty how or if they utilized the book.

Although the book was written on a young reader level, there is a multitude of complex discussion items that could be explored in and out of a classroom. Being a history major, I thought about how I could have used this in a class to discuss the comparisons throughout history of psychological warfare or comparison and contrast papers that could have been written about the life and death issues of children in the book to life and death issues for children currently in third world countries.

Since there will never be a book selection that everyone will agree on, that in itself could lead to a great conversation on why or why not someone would like the story line and

what kind of story would the students have selected if the decision had been left to them.

The story has a great heroine that doesn’t wear a cape and mask or fly though the air. A heroine that made the best choice for herself, her family, and friends in the worst circumstances imaginable. When I thought about how brave and determined she was and how she had to be thinking ahead all the time to survive her circumstances, I felt empathy, pride, heartache, and love for the person she was forced to be by her captors. I was enamored by the story and read the other books in the trilogy to see if Katniss would survive. I look forward to the movie, as I want to meet Katniss and have a face to put with the name.

With all that being said, I believe the common reading experience, itself, missed the mark on some levels. I do not believe it was communicated enough that there was an expectation that everyone would read the book, not only first-year students. Since the common reading program was listed as a first-year student experience, there was possibly some confusion on the expectation of who would read the book. Although there was a list of suggestions for classroom incorporation sent by email to faculty and there was a website to go to for information about the common reading, in hindsight, I believe it would have been beneficial to schedule time at department meetings to discuss how the book could be incorporated into a classroom setting. As with the first year of anything, it was a learning experience for many.

I am on the book selection committee for next year, as is Heidi Blackburn. We have visited with numerous faculty/staff members about suggestions for books and have been reading non-stop for about 4 months (what a great committee!) and have visited with our Manhattan committee members about numerous books. Selecting a book is difficult, to say the least. For the first K-State reading experience, in my opinion, I do not believe we could have had a better story. I still think about the horrific society that Katniss had to survive and am thankful that I live where I am in the world today. As a learning community, we have learned from hindsight to make next year an even better common reading experience for students, staff, and faculty. I only hope we can select a book that will be as provocative as The Hunger Games.

Response byRobert HolmolkaK-State Salina Professor

I am a person who does not support mass reading “projects” unless it is an assignment requirement for a specific course. In my opinion, asking students to read a book based on the likes or dislikes of a university committee is not appropriate. The committee is obviously not representative of the entire campus community. Since the friendly staff at the Kansas State Salina Resource Center reserved a copy of The Hunger Games for me,

I decided to, at a very minimum, read the jacket information. While having a cobb salad at a popular spot in Wichita, I pulled the book from my backpack and read the first three chapters. I immediately placed the book back in its resting place. I was not interested! After checking a few emails, I discovered that most people on the Salina campus might actually be asked to read the book. I retreated to my resting place and struggled, but finished the book that evening. I wasted the better part of a day reading something written by Suzanne Collins that was not college level reading. It was unethical and not appropriate reading for youngsters in their late teens in a world filled with deaths and violence on a daily basis. It happens daily at a global, national, state, and local level.

After further review of my emails, it was suggested I involve students in discussions andand ‘waste’ valuable class time to discuss a book that very few had read.

I took thirty seconds and polled each class and found that less than 10% of my students had read any part of the book. That was my extent of classroom discussion! Enough said!

A colleague asked; “If I would be interested in the movie.” “No, I would rather go to Dillons and watch them unload produce!” “Would you like to read the sequels?” “No, I would rather read a manual on how to repair an electric egg beater!” “Would you recommend the book to your children?” “I do not make it a common practice to mold or shape the minds of my children and/or grandchildren, but I did give them a biased opinion and a synopsis of the book and left the decision to them. Chances are none of them will be reading the book in the near future.”

There are many obvious political overtones a reader can relate to while “getting through” this book, but it is done at a high risk of permanently scarring young minds. It is not worth it. I read a few reviews and noticed many responses by teenagers stating: “They would volunteer for an Arena and the killings, even at the high risk of death.” I associate the content of the book with that of many video games on the market and I also detest them. “Medal of Honor” allows players to assume the role of Taliban fighters killing U.S. troops. “It’s fun killing people,” the 13-year-old said while standing outside a game store. “I get to roam around and feel like soldiers feel. You don’t want to hurt other Americans, but you’ve got to win the game.”

I am from the old school, a pacifist at heart, a flower child, a hippie if you like, and we sought out adventure in other ways and I submit to you that violence and killing never crossed our minds.

“Mountains and Hillsides enough to climb, what the world needs now is love, sweet love.” There are nine homicide cases presently on the docket in Saline County. From the words of Bob Dylan; “when will it ever end?”

In the fall, 2010, the Introduction to University Honors Program entry-level course, students were asked to read Mountains Beyond Mountains. To the selection committee’s credit they passed on The Hunger Games!

When finishing The Hunger Games my first inclination was to burn the book. However, I did not think the Resource Center would have appreciated that action. Others were on the wait list. In hindsight, I am thinking I should have bit the bullet, paid the price, and lit the match.

In closing, we have been asked to submit campus projects for the coming year. I see they are tearing down a number of buildings on the west side of campus. I am sure some zealous colleagues will submit a proposal to use the space for the construction of an arena. If it is approved, I would suggest we bypass the lottery system performed in The Hunger Games as I would be happy to assist in the selections of participants.

At some point we have to reach a conclusion that killing is not a game!

continued next page

12 on the record

From: Haymitch AbernathyTo: OTRDate: 10-19-10RE: Hunger Games

Certain individuals have protested the reading of this book, these books. This protestation only serves to exemplify how out of touch these individuals are in regards to their students. Students of this generation have grown up under the dark shadow of 9-11...they know life can be snuffed out here in the homeland. These students have also seen the downfall of elected leaders because they abused the “system” by claiming to serve the electorate. The list goes on and on....

Some people will claim the “Hunger Games” only serves to pervert or distort young minds. Apparently these people have no clue as to what these young minds consume...these people are genuinely disconnected from the students they pretend to teach about life. This is both a shame and an embarrassment!!

This world is filled with terror and uncertainty, and our students have grown up under this shadow! The old school institution knew only the threat of nuclear bombs. The new school institution knows things are VASTLY more complicated. Even greeting someone can....well....

The Hunger Games is a story to help one appreciate modern times. This story is a complex metaphor for understanding the NOW, not the past (though some would have you believe if your head were filled with wool). Every living thing kills to survive, just ask your hamburger.

It’s too bad some people can’t handle the stark reality of truth--yet that reveals their true colors. As for the rest of us, we know what it means to survive, the cost this entails, and what treasures we reap for doing so.

Response byAshley FlowersK-State Salina Student

I picked up ‘The Hunger Games’ with the same amount of enthusiasm I’ve ever taken to assigned reading-perhaps even less so because the idea of an ‘all-university-common-reading-program’ seemed incredibly juvenile to me. I’d never been so happy to have an ego check in my life. I finished the book less than 24 hours later and purchased and read the second in the series ‘Catching Fire’ before that week was over.

‘The Hunger Games” has all of the allure required by a modern audience- gore, romance, power struggles, amazing technology, and action scenes that pull you through the book with such ferocity it’s easy to understand that the incredibly quick read of the book is not just due to it’s lower reading level but also to the incredibly engaging story it tells through out the entire series.

It’s easy to get caught up in the gore of the book-the horrors that Katniss survives- on just a surface level. However, if you’re like me and you have that little switch that gets flipped when you stumble upon particularly awesome nuggets of perspective, a young adult novel can easily contain important themes that are relevant to all, especially us pseudo-grown-up-undergrads.

It’s not only the body that bleeds and breaks. The story Suzanne Collins tells is that of extreme suffering in both physically exhausting and emotionally destructive scenarios. Although it is my desperate hope that society never finds it necessary to destroy its children the way Panem did, most of us who have experienced just the slightest bit of life know that it does not come without suffering. We’ve fought through arenas that we have been thrown into by forces outside of our control. Being able to survive our own personal ‘Hunger Games’ is a great testament to the enduring spirit of human kind. If for a second you can believe that the students on this campus aren’t fighting for their lives through their own arena and this series doesn’t work as an allegory for that-I’d love to live in your world.

Having a novel that so vividly captures those struggles is not one to be burned. The very thought of destroying any story, especially such an effective and captivating story is disgusting to me. However, it’s certainly not one you can effectively celebrate either. The thing I think I gravitate to in the trilogy is not the gore or technology or romance, it’s not so tangible as those topics. It’s that even after everything Katniss losses she still survives.

In a genre that is all about selling stories that end with rainbows and unicorns and sparkly vampires we have a book that shows a remarkably brave and passionate young woman who has had to sacrifice EVERYTHING only to lose it all and then still live. Katniss survives. How can you not want the generation that I live in to want to believe in survival? To believe that all the things we fight for everyday, all the sacrifices we are asked to make are for a cause that is worthwhile in the end?

The views expressed here do not represent the views of On the Record but have been culled

from students, faculty, and staff. We encourage and welcome a

broad range of opinions. If you are interested in contributing to On the Record please email

otrsalina@gmail.com.

Terror

Take your mind back to the scene in Hannibal (2001) in which Hannibal

saws open a man’s skull and Clarice stands, horrified, witnessing him feed

the delirious man pieces of his own brain. The man eagerly consumes the

fatty meat, making remarks about its taste whilst suffering from the cognitive

inability to deduce the source of the food. This is a standard for horror: the

ideas associated with, not the ending of life, but the continuation of life now

severely burdened by self-inflicted trauma.

The scene was vivid. The eerie lighting of the room, the unsettling ambient

music playing, the slow, drawn out sound of Hannibal’s monotonous voice,

Clarice’s uneasy breathing and facial expressions, all laced with the suspense

of waiting for Hannibal to lift off the skull to reveal the brain. This is fear

analytically approached into a polished masterpiece.

NothingIS SO TERRIFYING

AS WHAT’S

BEHIND THE CLOSED DOOR.

Ben Martin

14 on the record

Suspense can be the single most powerful weapon in a horror movie director’s arsenal. The almost unbearable emotion people feel when they are anticipating something horrific yet have no idea when or where it might happen is more significant than the actual occurrence of the event. Contemporary directors are failing to employ one of their most effective tools because as of late, their plots have become too predictable to deliver the magnitude of fear a good horror film evokes. As one watches a movie like Friday the 13th (2009), they experience suspense. Yes, Jason incessantly pursues the characters and kills quite a few in a visceral and disturbing way, but the suspense is underwhelming. It was not underwhelming when the first Friday the 13th came out in 1980 because no one had any idea whether the characters were going to survive or not. Since then, the plot of Friday the 13th has become an archetype for horror films and subsequently its plot has become predictable. The reason Friday the 13th (2009) was not

particularly frightening was because it did not diverge from its archetypal reliance on visceral terror and neglected to delve into the psyches of its audience.

Because the audiences of horror films are evolving in respect to what scares them, so does the way our directors employ these core facets of fear. Nancy Werlin is the author of six novels, including the Edgar-award winning The Killer’s Cousin and her most recent book, The Rules of Survival. Nancy said when asked how to employ suspense effectively: “The creation of suspense is not simple, I realized. And it is not really about ‘what happens at the end.’ You cannot rely on making the reader afraid by keeping the eventual safety of the main character in doubt, for example. Frankly, the modern reader knows it’s unlikely the hero will die, or even suffer much damage.” This is similar to the phenomenon now occurring more frequently in horror films. The viewer becomes unsettled by the employed suspense for what it is, but is comforted by the notion

that more frequently than not the protagonist emerges from the conflict unscathed. It is important to know, as a director, that the human mind will do everything in its power to predict what is going to happen in order to extinguish the fear of the unknown generated by suspense. When the plot becomes predictable, the suspense becomes ineffective. When the suspense becomes ineffective, the audience might as well be watching another sequel to Scary Movie. Directors must find new ways to throw their audiences off course and preserve the precious white-knuckle, jittery, hair rising suspense that has become the real blood and guts of true terror.

“Architects and antiquarians loved to examine this strange relic of forgotten centuries, but the country folk hated it. They had hated it hundreds of years before when my ancestors lived there, and they hated it now, with the moss and mould of abandonment on it. I had not been a day in Anchester before I knew I came of an accursed house (Lovecraft 4).”

Unfortunately, not all contemporary horror directors have the attention to detail Ridley Scott displayed when he directed this traumatic scene. In fact, most directors do not, which comes as a disappointment to those of us who enjoy losing a bit of sleep. Modern horror movie directors should diversify their focus on scare tactics because they currently fail to utilize the pivotal tools: suspense, atmosphere, and harnessing of the audience’s imagination.

Contemporarily, directors have begun using simple, uncharacterized settings: a house, the woods, or a cave. These settings are merely “creepy” without characterization. Directors need to be able to harness the power of their setting and use it to heighten the fear of their audience. They need to develop synergy between atmosphere, suspense, and imagination. Ideally, the setting should be a partial root for the suspense. The house that composes the vast majority of the setting in the movie The Haunting (1963) petrifies its audience. The relationship between the setting and the plot is intricately intertwined and the house actually becomes its own character. “An evil old house, the kind some people call haunted, is like an undiscovered country waiting to be explored. Hill House had stood for ninety years and might stand for ninety more. Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there... walked alone (The Haunting).” Any director that would take their setting for granted based upon the idea that fear is generated by a general connotation of it (i.e. the woods at night) would be neglecting to utilize their setting to employ a whole new level of fear, yet many made this mistake and will continue to do so.

The idea of being able to use the imagination of an audience against them is the final tool modern directors are overlooking. If the art of horror is an explosive, imagination is the blasting cap. In this quote by Stephen King from his book Danse Macabre he identifies this phenomenon.

“Nothing is so frightening as what’s behind the closed door,” Nolan said. You approach the door in the old, deserted house, and you hear something scratching at it. The audience holds its breath along with the protagonist as

she/he (more often she) approaches that door. The protagonist throws it open, and there is a ten foot-tall bug. The audience screams, but this particular scream has an oddly relieved sound to it. “A bug ten feet tall is pretty horrible,” the audience thinks, “but I can deal with a ten-foot-tall bug. I was afraid it might be a hundred feet tall.”

Stephen goes on to talk about how there is a paradox between writing horror and the human mind because the human mind can handle an infinite amount of fictional trauma through various defense mechanisms. He says a writer cannot win this fight, but he attempts to bring the score to a tie by never opening the door at all, because opening that door results in utter disappointment, always. This idea begs to be considered more influentially by modern film directors. An image created by an audience member’s mind that is personal to him/her will always be infinitely more frightening than actually defining what is behind the door.

Some will argue that even though recent horror films have employed rudimentary tactics used for scaring their audience, this type of horror generates high amounts of revenue. For example, the previously mentioned movie Friday the 13th (2009) received relatively low scores when reviewed by critics. Despite the low scores, it grossed a profit of $65,002,019. What motivation do directors have to create new, unique, and sophisticated works of horror if they can simply reboot old titles and still net in the millions? The answer is simple:

more millions. Hopefully with the success of original and ground breaking films that were released recently like Paranormal Activity which grossed about $196,681,656, and did employ most of the facets described in this essay extremely effectively, the world might see a change in the trend of contemporary horror films. Paranormal Activity has become a beacon of hope for the horror genre and hopefully, the argument that bad films still make money is refuted by this movie. While unoriginal films

still make money, relatively they do not make much. Why make 65 million when you could make close to 200 million by furnishing an original idea?

The current state of the horror films genre has been at an all time low. There is a desperate need for directors to take a nostalgic look back at their roots

and analyze the ideas that defined the genre in history, adapt them, and utilize them to strike a fear in those who watch them unlike any they’ve experienced before. If directors can achieve this and provide several new titles with the groundbreaking affect that Paranormal Activity had, horror films will once again be something that causes people to look away from the screen while watching. They will refrain from being something we watch solely to ridicule the horrible judgment of the characters and wager on who will die first.

An image created by an audience member’s mind that is personal to him/her will always be infinitely more frightening than actually defining what is behind the door.

Origins of

the First

VampireBrittney TalkingtonIf you ask most people who the first vampire was, the reflex answer is Dracula. But there is actually another theory on the subject. It is possible that Caine became the first vampire. Yes, that is right, Caine, as in Caine and Abel, the son of Adam and Eve. Contrary to popular belief, he was not an evil, cold-blooded killer. His story is one of tragedy and sacrifice.

One day, Adam came to Caine and Abel to tell them that they must make a sacrifice of “the first part of all that you have” to God. Abel, who tended animals, led his most prized animal to the altar and sacrificed it. It is said that it, “smelled sweet to the One Above,” and Abel was blessed. Then Caine, who was a farmer, laid out his sacrifice of the sweetest grass and brightest fruits. God found this to be unworthy and he cursed Caine. The next time the sacrifices were to be made, Caine, out of love, offered his most precious thing, his brother. Because of this, his Father cast him out of Eden into the Land of Nod. In Hebrew, this translates to, “the wandering lands” or “exiled lands.” Here, Caine met Adam’s first wife, Lilith, who was cast from the Garden of Eden for her unwillingness to be dominated by Adam. Here she taught him magic and he went through a transformation from drinking her blood. God said that he forgave Caine, but Caine refused this saying, “Not by God’s mercy, but my own will I live.” Because of this, God cursed Caine and all of his children after him with immortality, the ability to only drink blood and the fear of the sun.

So there you have it: the tale of the first vampire, which was the first-born son of Man.

16 on the record

ZombieVotersBE AWARE there are still people running around in costumes, except this time they really are scary. They are Zombie Voters! You know these people they are the 56% percent of people that actually vote. They blindly go to the polls and vote for someone or something that they probably don’t really even understand. Although they like to pretend that they know it all. There are a couple types of Zombies out there. The most frequent is the Party Line Zombie. These are the ones that vote strictly based upon their party affiliation. “I’m Republican, so I vote Republican!” Then there are the Clueless Zombies, those that probably vote based upon some misguided approach such as by name, random pattern or some other crazy way. They are both scary for many reasons, but the most important reason is the fact that they believe that their uneducated vote actually benefits our society. I will give them one thing, at least they voted.

You can put on your own costume if you want, but be careful it is not a costume that you can take off. Once put on it shall stay with you forever. It is the costume of an educated voter. It isn’t just as simple as showing up to the polls and voting. It will take a bit of effort. Don’t be scared, it will be painless and might actually be fulfilling and certainly will be valuable. How, do you ask can I become

an educated voter? First you must study each party and their respective platforms. Doing this will give you a basis point for the candidates and their beliefs. Second, you must study what the candidates say about themselves and what they can do to help society. Third, you must decide whether or not you believe that they will follow through with what they say. And lastly you must take all this new found knowledge and decide what you as an individual believe in. Because that is what one person one vote is all about, voting for what you believe, not what someone else tells you to believe.

It is never too late to start putting that costume on. College aged people are the least represented and the most discriminated against. This is not a coincidence. It is up to you as an individual to stand up and speak your voice. I am not telling you what to vote for, just encouraging you to vote for something you believe in. There are a variety of parties to choose from, so don’t get caught up in just the two major parties. To get started I would suggest visiting the websites for each party and make sure you give every party a chance because you never really know what they are about until you hear it directly from them. And most importantly, don’t watch tv to gain knowledge on the parties, this will only confuse you! Let’s keep our world from being run by a bunch of Zombies!

Photo: http://famousmonstersoffilmland.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/zombies.jpg

Barry O’Conner

urban exurban exploration AND infIltration

Brittney TalkingtonThe law will tell you that it is a crime to enter any property that you do not own, even if it is abandoned; I’ll tell you it is a crime to keep these structures locked up so that their magnif-icence can’t be appreciated. You see, I am apart of a move-ment know as Urban Exploration and Infiltration. This entails the “examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities.” (Wikipedia) The most popular targets for this include abandoned buildings such as: factories, hospitals, asylums, silos and schools; transit tun-nels; utility tunnels; sewers and storm drains. Pictures and stories are shared on forums online, under pseudonyms, of course. Up until a few months ago, I didn’t even realize that such a community existed. Coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere, everyone that I knew got into the old abandoned school at one point in time or another. It was just something we did to the pass time, but these adventures gave me a taste for older architecture. What they say is true: things aren’t made the way they used to be. In our current state of mind, a building is just that, a building. But around the turn of the century, buildings were works of art. I started walking around downtown Salina to take pictures of just the outside of the structures. Then the opportunity was present-ed to me to go “urban exploring”. I had no idea what that was, and when it was explained I actually laughed. “Really? I just thought we were breaking into old buildings to get cool pictures. Guess I never thought of it as anything but that.” Afterward, I did some research online and, to my surprise, there are people all over the world who do the same thing!

My friends and I are against causing any harm to the structure itself, including breaking windows, doors or locks for entry, so you have to do a little planning find a way in. Once you are, the difficult part is over. Then you make your way through the obstacle course all old buildings are (because of years of being ripped up and remodeled), documenting everything as you go. Once your curiosity is satisfied, you leave the way that you came. Sounds pretty simple, but finding a way in and out, being cautious as you roam around, and finding beautiful things to photograph are challenges that can sometimes be quite difficult.

Of course, there are obvious risks involved with this hobby too. Most abandoned buildings are not well taken care of and you run the risk of being injured if you are not careful. Unsafe floors, decaying stair cases, broken windows and glass are all very real threats to us Infiltrators, as well as asbestos and possible carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, if you are caught inside a structure, legal measures can, and probably will, be taken against you. You will most likely be arrested on the spot and charges could include criminal trespassing or breaking and entering.

To me, the risk is worth the reward though. It’s a rush to do what it is that we do. The chance of getting caught, the plan-ing that goes into it, the discovery of interesting elements, the awesome pictures, the bragging rights that come from a successful adventure, it’s all apart of it. The feeling of ac-complishment after an adventure compares to nothing. It’s so awesome and I live for it!

18 on the record

Marty FitzgeraldThe media, comics, movies, books and even cartoons have all given us some sort of depiction of what a real man looks like. Typically, this involves a taller man with a short hair cut, a strong jaw line, bulging muscles and serious eyes that never tear up or falter. He is most likely wearing a shirt or no shirt at all to show off his bulging muscles or he is wearing a skin tight outfit that not only accentuates his muscles, but often times his “package.” In many cases, this manly man tends to fight the bad guys with their favorite weapon of choice. Sometimes they use their bare hands. However, you will commonly see them employ one of two different weapon types. Do they use a gun? Or do they use a sword? And which do you think is the more manly choice?

Before I go any further, I do want to make a quick clarification. When I say the word gun, the term can be used rather loosely. It may be a gun as we know it and com-monly think about. Or it may be a laser gun, a ray gun, potato cannon or many other numerous types of guns. When I bring up the term of sword, it can equally apply to many various handheld weap-

ons. Swords, hammers, maces, axes, baseball bats, golf clubs…all of these items are used in close quarters combat. There are many weapons of combat that can fit in to these general terms. For the rest of this article, please consider that I am referring to a modern day gun that a person can buy and take home as well as your typical long sword or katana. Now back to the topic at hand, which is the manlier weapon? Let’s take a quick look at how each is used in combat to quickly dispatch your foe.

A gun may seem like a pretty simple choice at first. You point, aim, squeeze the trigger and watch your enemy fall. That sounds easy! In reality, it is not quite as easy as it seems. In fact, in the heat of the moment, your hands may shake, your adrenaline is pumping and your enemy is moving. You may even be moving as well. All of this adds up to a lot of missed shots. That is why people train with their weapon. Those that train a lot can become quite good and then they can use a gun to its upmost potential. Although, the interesting part of a mod-ern weapon fight is that you commonly never even really see the face of your enemy. You can hide behind an object and fire at will. You can shoot at your foe that is 100 yards away and then keep

running. In some ways, a gun makes it easier to kill your opponent, but you may never even see your enemy.

Now take a look at a sword. It fits in your hand and extends your reach. With a sword, you can slash at a person or stab the person. You have to come in close with your enemy and look them in the eye. Your muscles will flex and your weight will shift to give you the power to block an enemy thrust or move in clos-er to ram your blade through their gut and pop out of their back. It is a very personal weapon and when you kill the other combatant; you will see the look of death upon their face.

Which of these weapons do you pre-fer? Which weapon proves that you are a stronger man? Which weapon shows your allies that you are a fierce and pow-erful man on the field of combat and others should fear you? In my opinion, the gun may be more effective, but the sword is a weapon of honor. It is a weap-on that sets you aside and covers your body in blood. The courage that one has to summon from the deepest parts of your bowels to charge at your foe and close in is phenomenal. Quite simply, the sword is the weapon of a man.

ProblemBeing alone is never a fun thing. You have no one to confide in, no one to hold your hand, no one to experience all the joys and pains of life. Once you get past a certain age, people get fat and droopy. Even though you are a model, you too will eventually get fat and droopy. It is good to find a lifelong partner while you are both young and supple, so that you may experience life together while it is at its fullest.

SolutionMy solution to your problem is to ask Tina to marry you. It would solve your problem by providing you someone who will always be there when you feel like having the company of a woman. What other alternatives do you have? Keep waiting and hope for a better woman to come along? Stay single and just keep womanizing until you are an old man, like Bill Clinton? I understand that you can pick up any young hotty off the street for a little fun, but how many of those women have the potential to actu-ally go anywhere in a relationship?

JustificationAs her roommate, I get to experience her awesomeness first-hand on a daily basis. Tina is perfect for marriage. She is at the perfect age for marriage. Young and nubile, she has just enough experience with men that she knows what she is doing, yet not enough experience that she is used up. At 23, she is still very firm and supple, and will be so for many years to come. If you start losing interest in her when she starts getting wrinkly, divorce is always an option, just be sure to have a good pre-nuptial agreement. She is looking for a stable long-term relationship, and has all the qualities that you need in a wife. You live in Paris. She can speak and cook French. She loves to travel. Wouldn’t it be great to have a companion while you travel around doing your modeling? I bet it can get lonely not having anyone to share your successes and failures with. In fact, she is skilled with a camera. You two could possibly even form a model/photographer duo, or maybe just have her save the photography for the more intimate moments between you two. Because she comes from a family of old world value, I highly doubt that her family would have any trouble getting along with your family. I understand that you are a waiter, and that you do it not for the money, but because you are quite the social butterfly. Tina is very outgoing and sociable; she loves the nightlife. She is the kind of girl you could take to all sorts of formal or informal events, such as operas, plays, or even dance clubs.

[Problem: Convince Jon-Luc, a French

model and social butterfly who is good

with the ladies, that he should marry my

roommate Tina. I am trying to convince

him to marry her because I’m sick and

tired of being her roommate and want

her to move out.]

Problem SolvedSimple Solutions to Complicated Problems

Paul Cain

20 on the record

Brittney Talkington

AS I FLIPPED THROUGH the latest issue of Vogue magazine, an ad caught my eye and I had to stop. There, gracing the page with his magnificence for Hudson Jeans was Josh Beech: rail thin and sporting only a pair of dark jeans. This may not seem out of the ordinary for a fashion ad, but it was. I will tell you why. This boy has a sleeve tattoo, a faux-hawk and gaged ears. The fashion industry may have done the “punk” thing before, but it always seemed to be messy, with bright colors and a thrown together feel. This is more polished and simple. Jeans, a studded belt, maybe a white t-shirt, but that is it. The tattoos and bone structure do the talking. “Metro Punk Chic” is what we will call it, and it is becoming the new trend in fashion. You can see it all over and I am saying my thanks to the fashion gods for this one. Beech himself has done ad campaigns for Burbery, Valentino, Vivienne Westwood, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger and a record three consecutive ads for Levi’s. Add to that, Tyler Riggs and Rob Devita, the list of fresh faces that have this “look” goes on and on. Hopefully, this is signaling a real change in the high fashion category that underground Fashionistas have known for years. Interesting is better. No more cookie-cutter, generic, prep school boys. They are not for us. These models are memorable. You want to know their names and you can pick them out when you see them again. Having models that you connect with and commit to memory enhances the clothing that they are showing. It becomes more than a picture of a person in an outfit. It is a story. That, my darlings, is what true fashion is all about: telling a story.

Jordan CranstonTypically, I do not like to introduce myself by going off on something. However, this is something that has needed to be said for quite a while. I had to ask myself, “Why not?” Music speaks to all of us in many different ways and to different extremes. But folks, in the past number of years, music, especially what we call popular music, has sucked so bad that an ice pick to the ears seems more pleasant. There is one “artist” in particular that sums up everything that I can’t stand about today’s music: Lady Gaga.

She is not the only one that makes me want strangle myself, but she is at the top of the list. I understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that there are different strokes for different folks and all of that stuff, but come on. Really? Lady Gaga is nothing more than shock and awe. Her music (and I use that term loosely) is nothing but catchy, computer generated sound. Have you ever wondered why the vast majority of pop stars do not last? Yet we still listen and talk about bands that our parents grew up listening too? Music was something that used to be written from the soul. Art is something that makes you see life a little different and that is a better different. I see life differently every time I hear Lady Gaga, but it sure is not a good thing. What I am trying to say is that popular culture has ruined the music industry and it is

more than time that MUSICIANS regain center stage.

I do not mean to sound like a stick in the mud and my goal in writing this is not to be offensive. Try to keep in mind that I am writing this from the point of view of a musician and music lover. I grew up listening to Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Jethro Tull, The Doors and Eric Clapton. The younger generation has been almost completely deprived of music of this standard. Now I hear high

school kids blaring T-Pain and that ridiculous Auto-tune of

his and I start feeling sad. This is not music. The only way that it relates to music is the simple fact that it is audible and has a beat. I do not want computers writing music or improving the sound of it. Computers are not musical instruments, never have been and I pray never will be. Computers only interpret sound. They cannot create it. Catchy seems to be the name of the game these days and substance takes a seat way in the back.

I think I am done ranting for the time being. I am normally

a happy, laid back kind of guy that does not get worked up all that much. I enjoy most kinds of music, except country (sorry to all you country lovers out there), and I appreciate new and different forms of music. In the coming months I plan on reviewing and writing about new musical artists and probably new music from veteran artists. All I hope is the next time you hear “Poker Face”, you turn that crap off.

Modern Music gone

‘GAGA‘

Computers

only interpret

sound. They

cannot create it.

The Black SquirrelAshley Flowers

October marks a significant month for women’s issues. It is both breast cancer awareness month and domestic violence awareness month. This is my effort to remind us of all the issues facing women today and the lasting effects of actions or lack of action taken to combat these issues. I dedicate this ‘Black Squirrel’ to those on campus who, like me, are tired of hearing the jokes, and the snide comments, and the lack of sensitivity that women endure on this campus on a daily basis at the hands of our male peers.

As I am the president of K-State Salina’s very first sorority, a female leader on campus, it is a particularly sensitive topic to me; especially given the well out of proportion ratio of men to women on campus. I applaud K-State Salina’s continued efforts at making our campus a better place for women to feel empowered. However, a glance around our classrooms or an ear open in the halls will let you know that there is still plenty to be done when it comes to respecting the women we do have here.

According to the KCSDV (Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence), one in three women worldwide will or has endured some form of abuse from a partner. That abuse is the leading cause of injury in women between the ages 15 to 44. That means thirty percent of the women you know have been or will be in an abusive relationship. These women are your classmates, your friends, your sisters, your mother, your cousins, and your teachers.

Abuse of women is not just a bruise on the face though. It reaches issues as complicated and disturbing as rape or as seemingly simple as laughing at an offhand remark from a classmate that is at the expense of women. Things like this happen in numerous ways and are allowed to continue to exist for all manner of reasons. Silence on the part of the victim or those who could be advocating for those victims who are afraid to cause a raucous by defending themselves is what allows for behaviors like this to exist in our society.

I am tired of hearing the jokes and the snide comments from all areas across campus at the expense of such serious issues. Alternatively, what is worse, being mocked for my defense of these topics? It is this blatant insensitivity and ignorance that silences efforts to help women who have been abused and enough is enough. These problems are not laughing matters and making light of the abuse only furthers the damage to those who have been changed by domestic violence.

There is a quote by Plato, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Your support of victims through something as simple as not laughing when someone tells a stupid joke or calling out someone who mocks such a serious issue to even participation in events such as Strutting for Her Sake can be the subtle mechanisms of support that those impacted by these types of crimes need. We are an educational community of over a thousand different backgrounds. We should be learning from each other’s experiences and not furthering the damage to those who have already been hurt by an ignorant and insensitive society.

22 on the record

1) Wash all vegetables and cut bell peppers, white onion and any other peppers/jalapenos. You can cut them in to long strips or dice them. You can also just slice them. The choice is yours. Set aside.

2) Wash chicken and cut chicken in to strips, small chunks or thin slices. Thinner pieces will cook faster and more evenly. Set aside.

3) Cut a piece of heavy duty foil (approx. 12 to 16 inches long) and lay it flat on a hard, smooth surface. Carefully take a spoon and spoon butter on to your foil and gently spread the butter around the foil. Take care to leave a full 1.5-2 inch border around the edge. You do not want to butter the foil out to the edge.

4) Arrange your chicken and veggies on the foil. Only lay your fajita ingredients on the bottom half of your buttered foil (if you cut a lot of chicken/veggies, you will want to make 2 foil packets). After you have your ingredients laid out, add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and Taco Seasoning to your personal taste. Add any other spices at this time.

5) Carefully fold the foil over. The top half of the foil will come over the top and enclose your food. Smooth out the edges and make sure all of your ingredients are safely inside. We left the border of the foil without any butter because you will now fold the borders. Start on one side and carefully fold it over once, twice and then a third time if you need too. Do this to both sides and then to the front. This makes a seal around your food and encloses the top and bottom of your fajitas with butter. Put your fajita packet in your refrigerator.

6)Start your grill. I am a charcoal man myself and I can’t tell you a specific temperature. But you will want a hot grill.

7)Once the grill is ready to cook, lay your fajita packets directly on the grill rack and directly over the coals/heat. Cover your grill and let it cook for 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is.

8)Carefully turn your fajita packets over and cook for another 5 minutes. Cover the grill.

9)Turn them over once again and close the cover on the grill again. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

10)By this time, your chicken should be done cooking. If you see your foil packet puffed up with steam, then you know you made a good seal. If you see a lot of black on your foil, then you either need to flip it or move it away from directly over the heat.

11)You can take a fork to open up your foil package and check the contents (chicken should be white on the inside with clear juices). When done, carefully place the packet on a cookie sheet and take inside. Unfold your seams and carefully pour out your fajitas on to a plate and serve. Enjoy!

1-1.5 lbs of Boneless, skinless chicken breastBell Peppers (any color)White Onion

Jalapenos (optional)Chili Peppers (optional)SaltPepper

Garlic PowderOld El Paso Taco Seasoning (optional)ButterHeavy Duty Foil

Have a recipe you would like to share?Email us at

otrsalina@gmail.com to submit your home cooked

favorites!

on therecordWe are the student voice of K-State Salina. Our purpose

is to reflect the dynamic nature of our campus community

by providing a diverse forum of entertainment, news, and

expression for students and campus organizations.

To contribute to this publication, email otrsalina@gmail.com or

contact a member of our editorial staff.

Otter says: “You should write an opinion article after you find us on Facebook.”