John Rudolph | The Houstonian

Huntsville, TexasVol 116— Issue 29 Thursday, December 9, 2010

INDEX

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

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

Entertainment........page 5

Sports....................page 6

SPORTS LAST ISSUEThis is the last issue of The Houstonian for the fall semester until the spring semester. Have a safe and happy winter break.

SEE page 5

Special.................page 4

By Kolby FlowersSenior Reporter

SEE page 6

The Houstonian sports staff grades Bearkat athletics

Wikileaks loses support

FDA bans controversial drinkStudents, manufacturers still crazy about Four Loko

By George MattinglyContributing Writer

Students should switch it up this finals week, according to a number of new studies conducted by psychologists around the country.

Robert A. Bjork, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of California, says alternating study locations can make all the difference. Students who change their studying environment will retain information more effectively than those who study in one place, he said.

“What we think is happening here is that, when the outside context is varied, the

information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting,” Bjork said.

Also, other studies conducted by researchers at University of South Florida have found that mixing the subjects studied in one sitting can be beneficial. Because variation is being added to the study session, the brain recognizes them again later on, the study stated.

Not all professionals agree with this new theory. The SHSU Counseling Center offers its own solutions, stressing traditional study habits. According to the Counseling Center students should find a location where they are most comfortable to study and use the same location to improve concentration.

Typically, students at Sam Houston State University take about four finals a semester in a variety of subjects and forms, ranging from performing dance routines to looking under microscopes.

To prepare for finals, many students traditionally flock to the library, the LSC and the CHSS building in order to cram for finals week. Still, these popular areas do not prove favorable for everyone.

“My favorite place to study is the study room in my dorm because I feel less restricted,” sophomore Tobias Steen said. “The library is too quiet for me to concentrate.”

Psychologists suggest exam study solutions

Hackers have targeted the corporate website’s of credit card companies Mastercard and Visa, making them unavailable at times, after the companies tried to deny services to the controversial website WikiLeaks.com.

A network of hackers, known as “Operation Payback, have claimed responsibility of the cyber-attacks and have also targeted Visa, PayPal, Amazon, and PostFinace, a Swiss bank, all which have tried to deny services to the site.

Mastercard announced on Monday that it would no longer handle donations to WikiLeaks.com as the website is engaged in “illegal activity.” Visa Europe, a division of Visa, said it would stop accepting payments for WikiLeaks

PayPal was the subject of an “attempted DDoS, (distributed denial-of-service) attack” after it denied services to WikiLeaks. PostFinance was also attacked after it closed out WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s account.

“We will fire at anyone or anything that tries to censor WikiLeaks,” says the group’s website. “Incuding multi-Billion dollar companies such as PayPal.”

The group also said one of its next targets is Twitter for “censoring #Wikileaks discussion” on its site.

According to the group’s Twitter page, @Anon_Operation, their method is to send out tweets announcing their next target and telling hackers to “load their weapons,” and then to “fire.”

At around 2 p.m. Wednesday, the group posted tweets announcing its next target as Visa.com and for hackers to “Get your weapons ready” and began a one hour countdown to the attack.

Visa.com was taken down almost instantaneously after a tweet posted by the group read “FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!”

The same happened to MasterCard.com’s website earlier Wednesday.

Both Mastercard and Visa have said in statements released to the media that no personal accounts were compromised and that all payment services remain active.

WikiLeaks, which publishes leaked government and corporate documents with the goal of transparency, has been under siege in recent weeks for leaking diplomatic cables on its websites.

The site claims to have a total of 251,287 cables but has published fewer than 1,000 documents, less than 1 percent.

Assange was arrested and sent to jail in London on a Swedish warrant and will remain in custody until December 14, while a London court decides whether to order his extradition to Sweden.

A warrant for his arrest was issued for sex-crime allegations unrelated to the WikiLeaks disclosures.

By Jared Wolf and Meagan EllsworthGraphic Designer and Editor-in-chief

TEST TIME. Sophomore, Tony Carmona, prepares himself for an upcoming test as the university prepares for upcoming finals weeks.

By Erin PetersonCopy Editor

Despite an FDA ban, students are still crazy about Four Loko and the drink manufacturers couldn’t agree more.

There have been several incidents in which students have had to seek medical attention due to the over-consumption of the controversial drink that combines caffeine and alcohol.

In October, nine Central Washington University students blacked out at party and had to be taken to the hospital.

Then, nearly 30 people were treated for alcohol-related illness or injury at a recent music concert at the University of Rhode Island’s Ryan Center, which also resulted in 11 people who had to be rushed to a hospital, the Providence Journal reported.

There have also been reports of deadly car accidents in which Four Loko is believed to have been involved.

In response to these types of incidents combined with a study conducted , the FDA sent warning letters in November to four manufacturing companies that produce the mixed beverage.

Among the drinks, Four Loko, takes malt alcoholic beverages and adds caffeine to the mix. According to an article on the Opposing Views website, the drink is equivalent to four beers and an 8oz coffee.

According to health officials, the drink is dangerous because the caffeine masks the intoxication levels, which makes it difficult for consumers to accurately determine their limit.

Some scientific reviews have even concluded that caffeine is an “unsafe food additive.”

Four Loko disagrees in spite of what experts say:

Though the evidence is starting to mount up, Phusion Projects, the maker

of Four Loko still believe that their products are no more of a concern than drinking Vodka and Red Bull.

Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, who are Phusion’s three co-founders and current managing partners, released a statement on their web site that said “they still believe the

combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe.”

“If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced,” the statement said.

The FDA website reported “Of the combined use of caffeine and alcohol among U.S. college students in the few studies on this topic, the prevalence was as high as 26 percent.”

University receives education accreditation, social studies standards undergo changes

Sam Houston State has received its NCATE accreditation renewal, in spite of growing concerns amongst the education community about the future of Texas schools.

NCATE, or the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, is highly acclaimed nationally as an accrediting body for institutions that

prepare educators for professional roles in schools, according to the announcement on Dec. 2 released by the College of Education. Sam Houston has been recognized by the NCATE since its inception in 1954.

THE TEXAS TEXTBOOK WARSThe Texas State Board of Education,

or SBOE, has undergone several reforms since 2009, many of which, including the removal of health education as a requirement, are raising some serious concerns throughout the

nation.In May, the SBOE released the latest

standards for social studies, which are causing many Democrats to accuse the SBOE of “whitewashing history,” according to a May 28 article on FOXNews.com.

“We are adding balance,” said Dr. Don McLeroy, dentist and a Republican on the board.

The SBOE consists of 15 elected members, of which 10 are Republican and five are Democrat. Of these 10

Republicans, seven members are said to be part of a conservative Christian voting bloc.

This bloc may be the catalyst behind the approval of greater emphasis on the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation’s Founding Fathers as well as the inclusion that “separation of church and state” is not directly pulled from the Constitution.

— See LOKO, page 3

— See CHANGES, page 3

Nation and World

Paws Up, Paws Down

“Paws UP” to the holiday spirit and decorations. Doesn’t it feel like Christmas?

“Paws DOWN” to this being the last issue of The Houstonian until January. We will miss you, too.

“Paws UP” to the SHSU basketball team for whooping North Texas on Wednesday.

One more “Paws UP” to YOU, the reader, for giving our newspaper the time of day. As we’ve said before, our staff greatly appreciates your support of The Houstonian

- Stephen Green is a senior reporter for The Houstonian

Page 2Thursday, December 9, 2010Viewpoints

houstonianonline.com/viewpoints

Comedy Center

Stephen Green on the necessity of public

officials, as well as the need for criticism.

Death, taxes, politicians

All of our lives we have been told to expect two things for sure: death and taxes. I’m going to add another to that list: complaints about politicians.

Since the holidays are quickly approaching, we should expect the latter to be a large topic around the dinner table.

It’s inevitable that Uncle Joe will go off on one of his rants that everyone has heard a thousand times.

This will lead to a heated debate with the entire family and possibly some casserole flying across the room.

Politicians will never be true wards of the people; that should be understood first and foremost. However, politicians are a lot like janitors. They are always in the background doing what the average American couldn’t or wouldn’t want to do. Then we only see them

when we want to know who stole the boss’ stapler.

Some jobs of a representative include filing legislative paperwork, preparing arguments for a debate, sifting through the national budget, meeting with physical and social scientists to discuss an issue, sitting through hours of appointment hearings, hours of meetings with other lawmakers and reading through thousands of pages worth of tedious legislation.

I would like to meet any average American, any at all, that would love to do that every day.

We should be thankful for those small jobs we don’t want to take care of and at the same time criticize them for their mistakes.

A majority of the time, politicians are there to do what is best for their voters, but not always. For example,

say a politician takes free trips, money or gifts from interest groups. That is not representing their people; it is participating in corrupt government.

According to the Citizens Against Government Waste, in the 2010 fiscal year, politicians had more than $16 billion dollars in pork barrel spending, or spending that is added to a bill that could be deemed unnecessary to support a politicians home state or interest group.

Some of these, like a grant giving money to SHSU’s Criminal Justice program, may not be a waste but definitely shouldn’t be included in legislation.

Even the Tea Party has already spent millions for the same kind of spending.

However, what I’m saying here is that Americans should be more wary of their representatives all

of the time if they want to complain, not just when it’s election time or when some funds are misappropriated.

We should be grateful to them for taking these jobs that most of us aren’t qualified to do to better our country.

Our representatives will always be taking kickbacks. They will always be somewhat removed from their constituents.

But, they will always be there to take care of the tedious parts of government the same way a janitor makes a classroom clean and usable.

And, as always, they will be aggravating us every year and giving Uncle Joe another rant to fly off the handle about.

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

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Jessica Priest..................................................................Associate EditorBrandon Scott..............................................................Viewpoints EditorMike Silva...........................................................................Sports EditorThomas Merka........................................................Entertainment EditorJared Wolf.......................................................................Graphic Designer

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STAFFLotis Butchko.................................................................Sports ReporterStephen Green....................................................................Senior ReporterKolby Flowers................................................................. Senior ReporterJohn Rudolph.......................................................................PhotographerJessica Gomez......................................................................PhotographerErin Peterson.......................................................................Copy Editor

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

I’m writing this column not to waste space with my normal ramblings of craziness and coincidences that occur quite often in my life, but rather to express my concern about the Residence Life Department here on campus.

I want to make it very clear that I am not trying to bad-mouth or trash talk anyone. I simply want to express my concern and feelings regarding how Residence Life treats the students of SHSU.

To make a long story short, my best friend and I decided to move out of our dorm at the end of the semester.

We consulted a Residence Life employee and were told that all we had to do was notify the department of our decision before December 1.

Then, my friend and I

proceeded to find our dream apartment. I kid you not when I say I fell head over heels in love with this place.

Eagerly we went to the realtor’s office and signed the lease, celebrating how we were finally going to have a place of our own.

Next day rolls around and I called Residence Life to inform them I would not be living on campus in the spring, only to be told I was not eligible to move out of the dorm until the END of the Spring Semester.

Here’s the problem, the contract we signed for the apartment started on December 1.

After filing paper work to terminate our on-campus housing contracts, getting the termination denied, appealing the decision, being denied again, and

meeting with Enrollment Management as a last resort, I’m back to where I started… living on campus.

Now, you may be thinking “Well, you did have a lease with the university, so your current predicament is your own fault for not realizing your lease was for the full academic year,” and I would understand your view on the situation.

But, the only reason my friend and I signed the lease off-campus was because we were misinformed by a Residence Life employee. Had we been told from the beginning that our contract would not allow us to leave at the semester everything would be fine and dandy.

What appalls me about the whole situation is Residence Life’s refusal to rectify a situation that was caused by

their own fault. If an employee is giving

false information, then the department should realize that the consequences of that false information are their fault.

While going through this ordeal with Residence Life, I kept feeling like I was being treated like a dollar sign rather than an actual human being.

Instead of doing the right thing and correcting a problem caused by their own department and terminating our contracts, they chose to force us to stay on-campus so they could glean another $2,000 from us next semester.

Thomas Merka expresses his frustration with Residence Life.

Skinny Boy: People over money

- Thomas Merka is the Arts and Entertainment editor for The Houstonian.

Dear Sam Houston Students, Staff and Faculty and Alumni:

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

Brandon ScottViewpoints Editorbscott@houstonianonline.com

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Page 3Thursday, December 9, 2010Campus

houstonianonline.com/campus-news

One Sam Houston State

University student who finds the mixture of Jaeger and Energy drinks to be “yummy” said he doesn’t see the problem.

“It’s no worse than the amount of Jaeger bombs people drown themselves in,” Junior Environmental Science major, Brad Heath, said.

Though Four Loko CEO’s statement may be considered a valid argument by some, others could also see the science combined with social influences of their product as a greater potential risk than any other mixed beverage.

In 2009, the FDA issued an investigation based upon the increasing popularity of consumption among young adults.

“The increasing popularity of consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages by college students and reports of potential health and safety issues necessitates that we look seriously at the scientific evidence as soon as possible,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy

commissioner of food and drugs on the FDA website in 2009.

SHSU Sigma Chi member, Erich Stolz, offered his insight.

“I think drinking four loco’s is fun when you drink in moderation,” he said. “Drink two or more in one night bad things happen. Trust me.”

Dr. Mary Clair O’Brien, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist medical Center in North Carolina, recently spoke with MyHealthNewsDaily, an online medical news site, to shed light the Four Loko’s scientific breakdown.

She says Four Loko is worse than mixed drinks because they have a higher level of alcohol and caffeine.

“Caffeine in the beverage is at high-enough levels that it interferes with [people’s] ability to tell that they’re drunk, so they keep drinking,” O’Brien said. “Drinks with less caffeine make it easier for people to tell when they’ve had too much alcohol.”

According to FDA the companies have 15 days to respond on the subject of their intentions to remove the

caffeine additives from their drinks.

In compliance, the manufacturers of the Four Loko beverage said in a statement released by FDA, that “we hoped that clear, consistent, industry-

wide standards regulating pre-packaged caffeinated alcoholic beverages would be the outcome of these conversations. We also hoped others would share our commitment to transparency and fairness.”

Those companies, who received the requirements to meet new safety standards include Charge Beverages Corp.: Core High Gravity HG, Core High Gravity HG Orange, and Lemon Lime Core Spiked; New

Century Brewing Co., LLC: Moonshot; Phusion Projects, LLC (doing business as Drink Four Brewing Co.): Four Loko; and United Brands Company Inc.: Joose and Max.

The “separation of church and state” issue is a particularly heated debate point, with the blogosphere erupting in anger at the highly conservative side of the SBOE back in March when this issue first surfaced. While their statement is true, as the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” rather than the popular, modern “separation of church and state” teaching, many wonder if this new emphasis has a more religious- and/or politically-driven motive.

“I guess I’m more for a formal reading of [that particular right],” Brennan Berry, sophomore English major, secondary education minor, said in regards to the concept of separation of church and state. “I don’t think that schools should force students to pray, [which is sort of how this seems].”

However, many other education students in the state are not as lax in their opinion.

“I understand that our country’s foundation was built on Christian beliefs, but

it’s not fair to students to push those beliefs on them if that’s not they way they believe,” Krista Ferreyra,

senior history major, secondary education minor at the University of Houston, another NCATE accredited university, said.

Of the changes made to the social studies standards, here are the ones that have critics raising their eyebrows:

• 8th grade students will analyze “Abraham Lincoln’s ideas about liberty, equality, union, and government as contained in his first and second inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg Address,” and contrast them with the ideas contained in confederate leader Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address;

• The word “capitalism” has been struck for its negative connotation. [“You know, ‘capitalist pig!’” said Republican board member Terri Leo] It has been replaced with “free enterprise”;

• Causes of the Civil War will be presented in this order: sectionalism, states’ rights and slavery;

• Students are asked to “examine, compare and contrast” the phrase “separation of church and state” to the original wording of the Constitution;

• In high school history, a

standard promotes discussion on the “solvency of long term entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare” and;

• “Laws of nature and nature’s God” will be referenced when discussing major political ideas.

For local school district officials that disagree with the board’s decisions, the SBOE has permitted them to choose textbooks that they deem “nonconforming,” so long as those books contain at least 50 percent of the adopted curriculum.

However, this decision goes beyond simply the state of Texas. Washington has plenty to say as well, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan calling the process “a case of politicians deciding curriculum.”

“I don’t understand how this is okay,” Ferreyra said. “These people aren’t even teachers or historians, so what business do they have restructuring our standards of teaching?”

As for the textbooks themselves, Jay Diskey, an executive director of the schools divisions of the Association of American Publishers, stated that textbook publishers won’t “gamble on incorporating one state’s controversial curriculum into a one-size-fits-all product for other markets,” in a May 31 article with the Associated Press, meaning that there will still be other options available to those who disagree with Texas’s new standards.

THE THOMAS JEFFERSON ISSUE

The SBOE released a statement in response to the “Thomas Jefferson Issue” on March 19, in which several

media outlets erroneously reported that the board was dropping Thomas Jefferson from the social studies framework.

While Jefferson will remain a historical standard at the elementary, middle and high school levels, his name has been removed from a list of European Enlightenment philosophers, which includes the likes of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

“This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name,” Gail Lowe, District 14 chair, said. “Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment

philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. [To say] the State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible.

“Jefferson not only penned the words of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and was father of the University of Virginia, but his promotion of the ideals of a limited federal government and states’ rights also permeated our nation for generations. No study of American history would be complete without his inclusion.”

While these standards will not take effect until the 2011-2012 school year, many continue to worry over the affect that these new policies will have on the face of education in the state of Texas.

“It’s awful, because they’re essentially removing history from high schools,” Ferreyra said. “How are we supposed to teach these kids this version of history? You can’t change the facts.”

Jessica Gomez | The HoustonianTOP OF THEIR CLASS. SHSU’s School of Education received their accredidation renewal, which will be valid until 2015.

From LOKO page 1

From CHANGES page 1

Page 4Thursday, December 9, 2010Arts & Entertainment

houstonianonline.com/entertainment

Photos courtesy of www.boxofficemojo.com© Images copyright their respective owners; usually the distributor of the

above titled movie unless otherwise noted.

1.

2.

3.

Box Office HitsRankings from weekend of Dec. 3-5

The sun’s fingertips gently fell up her arm to caress her cheek. The array of white sheets tangled in her legs as she laid on her side. The sunlight kissed her lips and she pushed deeper into the pillow, lost in her delicate dreams and the sun’s intrepid fingers.

Eden couldn’t help but gaze upon her face. He sat at the edge of her untidy bed and looked through his translucent hands. The sun’s scintillation passed through him and stole Emily for it’s own. Eden stood up and swallowed the lump of jealousy in his tight throat. He walked to the top of the bed and sat beside the sleeping girl. His hands hovered over her brown curls twisting and coiling against the light blue pillowcase. His green eyes grew electric as they fell on a single red spot on the pillow.

“One more strawberry. Please?”“Eden no. I’m so full.”“I’ll just feed it to you then.”“Eden!”Eden smiled softly as the memory of

Emily’s bright laughter drifted into his

ears. He remembered her fighting to get the strawberry from him and instead smashing it into the pillow.

He still remembered her cold hands pressed against his warm forearm. He made a fist and released it. It seemed like a lifetime since that day.

Eden lowered his hands a breath away from Emily’s still shoulder. If he had known those last few days were his last he would have gathered her into his arms and not let go. He would have savored every touch, every kiss, every smile Emily gave him.

Instead...“Please...” He whispered. “Just let me

have this...” Eden lowered his hands. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he tried to feel that soft skin beneath, but when he opened them his hands had fallen through her side and vanished from sight.

Instead he was a ghost, a shade of who he used to be, cursed to be tied to Emily, to watch her live her life without him, to never let her know he was there, that he

hadn’t left her, and to always be without her touch.

But, oh, how the sunlight touched her.It laughed while Eden forced his eyes

to harden as he felt the threat of tears biting the back of them. For a second, he could almost feel her. He could almost feel her turning to face him with those hazel eyes and finally kissing him.

He could almost feel.Something he knew he’d never do

again.He turned to stand and walk out of

the room. He could only take so much torture. When Emily turned on her back and faced him with closed eyes and petal perfect lips. They wrapped themselves around one single word that makes his heart thunder in his ears. “Eden…”

His name.And suddenly Eden didn’t care about

the sunlight or his curse, because she wanted him, she still dreamed of him, and even the sunlight couldn’t take that away.

Houstonian names “Sunlight” winner of creative writing contest

A series of original dance works will be presented by graduating seniors in SHSU’s dance program on Dec. 14 and 15 in the Performing Arts Center Dance Theater.

“The Writing’s on the Wall” senior studio performance will begin at 8 p.m. each night and is produced entirely by the students.

Each evening’s performances will feature nine original works, ranging from edgy and athletic to quirky and fun, according to Andy Noble, assistant

professor of dance. Among the performances

featured is Danielle Gonzaba’s “Harmonic Rift,” a trio developed by two dancers and a live musician.

“This piece shows the interaction between music and dance by amplifying their cohesive bond and exemplifying their playful individualities,” Gonzaba said.

Jessica Cantu’s “Let Me Catch My Breath” uses breath as a sound score as the dancers explore ideas of life and loss.

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” Crystal

Scott’s “Plutonian Shore” is a trio comprised of distorted and macabre movement representing the turmoil of a mind, according to Scott.

Along the same lines of this twisted psychology is Michelle Johnson’s latest work, “Faim Déformée,” in which six dancers showcase dark personalities in their intense and frantic hunt for sustenance.

The concert will close with “Desensitization,” choreographed by Domonique Davon Baxter.

“This piece showcases the struggle of overcoming obstacles, which can consume

us in our daily lives,” Noble said.

The concert, which serves as partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance, also features four additional works by Dana Murray, Sara Murray, Heresia Hayes and Katie McMann.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for senior citizens and students. They can be purchased by calling the PAC Box Office at 936.294.2339.

For more information about “The Writing’s on the Wall,” contact the dance program at 936.294.1875.

By Thomas MerkaEntertainment Editor

Senior dance studio puts the “Writing on the Wall”

This short story is the winning entry of the Houstonian Creative Writing Contest. The piece is titled “Sunlight” and was written by SHSU student Samantha Flores.

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Page 6Thursday, December 9, 2010Sports

houstonianonline.com/sports The Houstonian Sport Show/id402887947twitter.com/HoustonianSport

SemeSter report cardThe men’s basketball team raised its 2009-

10 Southland Conference Championship ban-ner on Wednesday. But there have been key personnel changes since the end of the historic 25-8 season.

First year head coach Jason Hooten has put in a new offense for the new look Bearkats who stand at 5-2 on the season after Wednes-day night’s victory over North Texas. Senior forward Gilberto Clavell is the team’s scoring and rebounding leader, with 19.6 ppg and 8.7 rpg.

The offense is more focused on keep-ing Clavell active, inside and out, which has shown in his increased production. Senior co-captain Josten Crow has stepped up into a lead-ership role, even though he’s been known as the “glue” for a while now.

Crow scored a season-high 24 points against North Texas. The Bearkats signature wins in-clude a 92-81 road victory over Colorado State over Thanksgiving break, and an even bigger 92-74 home win over North Texas.

Subject: men’S baSketball

bJohn Rudolph | The Houstonian

Subject: volleyball

Led by team captain Carli Kolbe, the Bearkat volleyball team worked hard this season to rebound from last season’s first round loss in the conference tournament. Kolbe again reached 400 kills for the season, and over a thousand for her career.

Kaylee Hawkins, who was named All-Southland libero last year, changed roles this season to play a hybrid libero-outside hitter position. Hawkins helped fuel the team to three consecutive wins before conference tournament.

Other big additions to the team were the return of Kelli Stewart, who broke her hand early last season. Haley Neisler, a freshman from Flower Mound, Texas, also helped at the OH position.

The team finished the season 15-17, 9-7, and had a poor showing at the conference tournament. Another first round exit—this year at home—defines this team’s season.

cJessica Gomez | The Houstonian

Subject: Soccer

After starting the season on a four-game losing streak, SHSU’s women’s soccer team found its first win in the home opener: an overtime thriller over North Texas. The Kats won just one more game over a four game stretch before catching fire.

SHSU went on to win seven of its next nine games, and was within reach of winning the Southland Conference title. Though unable to clinch the top seed, SHSU nabbed the fifth seed.

The Bearkats went into the postseason after losing to the eventual tournament champs, UTSA and rival Texas State. SHSU traveled to San Marcos for the first round, only to lose a second straight game to the Bobcats.

Kirby Zak won first team All-Southland Conference honors and Tricia Mallory, who set a school record for most goals by a freshman with 10, was a second team All-Southland player. SHSU will graduate five seniors, including record-setting goalkeeper Jenny Pence.

b-John Rudolph | The Houstonian

Subject: Football

The Bearkat football team started the season with one of the youngest rosters in NCAA Football. Guided by Timothy Flanders, the transfer from Kansas State University, the Bearkats were within 11 points in three heartbreaking losses of winning the Southland Conference.

Freshman quarterback Brian Bell was able to make positive yards out of ridiculous situations. Bell was a constant in a somewhat inconstant season. Even when Flanders missed games during the season, Bell was able to set personal records in passing yards.

Under the second year of Scott Stoker’s defense, the team became stingy throughout the year, giving teams across the conference nightmares during the games, especially with the Southland’s top run defense. Against Nicholls the Bearkat defense recorded 12 sacks, and allowed just one touchdown.

Next year, the team can look forward to Tyrik Rollison, the transfer quarterback from Auburn, to compete against Bell for a starting position, along with returning a young team with an extra year of experience under its belt.

John Rudolph | The Houstonian

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Subject: women’S baSketball

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One pleasant surprise in the Bearkat community has been the early success of the women’s basketball team.

After making it to the postseason conference tourna-ment with gritty 8-8 league record last season, the Kats have set the bar high for the 2010-11 season. SHSU is 6-4 following Wednesday night’s loss to North Texas, a team the Kats defeated at home in November.

Britni Martin adds a spark to the SHSU team that wasn’t there last season, because of a knee injury. In back-to-back games, Martin scored 34 and 37 points to lead the Kats to victory over American University and Charleston University. The 37-point performance is the second highest in school history.

The Kats suffered big losses to Big 12 competition, Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Still, the women’s team gets a high grade from the sports staff based on pure intrigue.

SHSU Sports Information