Shooting for Success Saints and Lady Saints basketball teams continue seasons as the Saints ready for the Conestoga Classic at home and the Lady Saints travel to Lamar, Colo. –Page 5
Year 42, No. 5
Kylix paints
International student recognition
Kylix members help children paint during Children’s Art Day. –Page 3
Crusader www.crusadernews.com
News notes
• SCHOLARSHIP applications for head-of-household women seeking financial assistance to return to school are available. The Women’s Opportunity Award, a service project of Soroptimist International of Liberal, will donate a $500 cash grant. Applications can be obtained from Linda Miller at (620) 624-8420, Amber Harris at (620) 624-1994, or Misty Bohl at (620) 655-1360. Applications must be turned in by Dec. 15. • WELLNESS CENTER is free to all current students, faculty and staff. One must show a valid SC ID to use the Wellness Center.
2010
Underoath delivers Underoath performs as part of a fall tour to promote their new album. –Page 6
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Liberal, KS Permit NO.114
Liberal, Kansas
Li zul y Monarrez Crusader staff
• DONATE BLOOD from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Technical School campus cafeteria. Students interested in donating may schedule an appointment by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767.)
• MISS LIBERAL pageant is seeking contestants between the ages of 17-24. Contestants must have high moral character; be single, never married, divorced or pregnant; be a resident of Seward county for at least six months; and be a U.S. citizen. The Miss Liberal Pageant will be March 6, 2011, in the Liberal High School Auditorium. Those interested may contact Lu Haynes at (620)624-9153, cell 629-5450, or e-mail at haynes@swko.net or Patsy Fischer at 417-1604.
December 1
DREAM Act bill may be reintroduced
• GRADUATION applications for students intending to finish degrees in fall 2010 or spring, summer or fall 2011 are due Dec. 3. Applications, at www.sccc.edu, must be signed by a faculty adviser and the student. A diploma fee of $15 is required when the application is submitted to the registrar.
• KYLIX ARTS & CRAFTS will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 10 in the Shank Humanities lobby. Any Seward students or staff interested in placing a piece in the sale can do so for a 15 percent commission. Proceeds go towards funding the Kylix spring trip.
International students are recognized during a ceremony at the student union. –Page 2
Crusader photo/ Alfredo Anaya
Carlos Ruiz stands at the Liberal High School field next to the Redskin logo. Ruiz was a team captain for the soccer team during his senior year and is now coaching the Junior Varsity team.
Former soccer player sets career goal for coaching Seward student Carlos Ruiz has been aiming for goals in his life— from playing soccer at Liberal High School, to later coaching the Junior Varsity team at LHS, to showcasing leadership by becoming president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization at Seward. Ruiz is currently majoring in secondary education with an emphasis on physical education at Seward and hopes to coach and become a physical education teacher or a health teacher. Ruiz started playing soccer as a child when he was 6 years old and continued all the way through high school, where he played as center midfielder and was team captain his senior year. “I’ve played soccer my whole life, since I was little. My dad was my first coach,” Ruiz said. During his time in high school, Ruiz was glad to be doing something he loved while being part of a successful team that got state runner-up during their season. “It’s just something I’ve been doing my whole life, and at the time
it was my first love,” Ruiz said. “The program was very successful already, and I’m glad that we were able to make it even more successful while I was there.” Although Ruiz was not able to continue playing soccer after high school, he still found a way to be involved with the sport through coaching. “Even though I had a few offers from colleges to play soccer, I had to stay in Liberal due to personal reasons,” Ruiz said. “I don’t regret it all though, because Seward is a great place to go. Even though I’m not playing soccer, I’m coaching, and I’m still around soccer all the time. I think it’s a little better for me to be coaching now, so I don’t think I would take anything back.” Ruiz was inspired to become a coach by one of his high school coaches who showed him about character and how coaches can play a big role in students’ lives. “One coach I really looked up to that showed me a lot about character was coach Cano. I had him for weights class and regular PE class, and he was just an inspiration for me as a coach,” Ruiz said. “He is one of the people that inspired me to go into coaching because he had good discipline and was always willing to talk
to students if they had any problems. I trusted him not only as a coach, but also as a friend.” So far, Ruiz has helped coach the JV soccer team at Liberal High School and was also head coach of the South Middle School soccer team. He was contacted for the jobs by Liberal High School head soccer coach Lori Navarro, who had seen his leadership skills first hand. “As a senior, he was a great leader for the team. I wanted to give him —Carlos that opportunity to see if Ruiz coaching was really what he wanted to do,” Navarro said. • See Ruiz, Page 3
“I’ve played soccer my whole life, since I was little. My dad was my first coach.”
Story by Alfredo Anaya
The DREAM Act, killed in the U.S. Senate in September, seems to be gaining steam for a reintroduction in the House of Representatives in the end of year lame-duck session now through Jan. 3, 2011. The DREAM Act, which would offer undocumented students citizenship granted they fulfill the requirements of having been brought to the U.S. before the age of 16, receiving a high school diploma or have attended the military for at least two years, has been experiencing a deja vu in Congress since 2001. DREAM Act Series: But it has recently been Part 2 getting another effort to push it forward. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has vowed to bring the DREAM Act to the Senate floor during the lame-duck session. “I will move the DREAM Act as a standalone bill in the lame duck. It’s good for the economy and Pentagon says good for national security,” Sen. Reid tweeted Wednesday evening, according to The Huffington Post. This suggests that the DREAM Act could have activity a lot sooner than imagined. Reid also stated his need for support in Congress in his call for a bipartisan effort. “Last time we sought to bring up this bill, all Republicans blocked our efforts, even though many have been supporters of the DREAM Act in the past. I hope that our Republican colleagues will join me, Sen. (Dick) Durbin, and Democrats in passing this important piece of legislation, now that we have a standalone version and that political season is over,” Reid was quoted at barackobama.com. But until the DREAM Act does pass, its promises of providing the right to citizenship will evade many undocumented students continuing to struggle in maintaining a low-key profile in order to further their educations. Pedro Ramirez, student body president of Fresno State University, admitted to being an illegal immigrant after an anonymous tip was sent to the university’s newspaper. Ramirez, who came to the United States at the age of 3, told the Los Angeles Times he didn’t know he was not a citizen until his senior year at high school. Following his discovery, Ramirez found himself having to forcefully do what many young adults do; he had to protect his family and himself. “I just kept it within,” Ramirez told the LA Times. “One of those things you don’t tell anyone. But now I’m almost relieved to have to be open. Congress is about to vote on the DREAM Act, which gives college students a path to citizenship. So, you know, here I am. It’s me. I’m one of the thousands whose fate is in their hands.” Hoping for an upcoming decision on the DREAM Act passage, president of SCCC Dr. Duane Dunn addressed some of the complications of this act. “The challenges are it becomes attached to several other bills. This last time around, it was attached to the Defense Bill. So, when legislators started voting on it, they may not have voted for the entire bill, so the DREAM Act fell out because they were opposed to another component, which had nothing to do with the education part of it.”
Freshman looks toward career in music industry Octavi o Rodri guez Crusader staff Cameron Eatmon is like many other freshman at Seward. He’s young, full of hopes and ambition and looking forward to the future. The thing that sets him apart from most is that he is also a music artist and producer with hopes of making it big in the music industry. Eatmon has been interested in music since he was a young boy. He started out by being in various bands since he was a child and listened to a wide variety of music. He plays the trumpet, bass, guitar and drums. “He started showing it around the time he was in the fourth or fifth grade, also around the time when the Backstreet Boys and N*Sync were big,” said Angie Allen Eatmon, Cameron’s mother. Cameron owns his own studio in the basement of his home, which is quite impressive, considering that he is only a freshman in college. He’s produced music for “El Chapo Chingon” and “Mas Chingon”, with whom, over a three-year period, he has recorded roughly more than 40 tracks with. Aside from that, he also has his own
music recorded. “The lyrics I write are usually about life. I don’t want to become a false idol by rapping about things I don’t have,” Cameron said. The music he has written varies from sounding like rock music, techno, and rap music, to huge, theatrical and majestic orchestral music fit for the soundtrack of a film. His inspirations include DJ TON, who is a local music artist. “He showed me some beats and he’s been really helpful throughout this whole thing.” He also likes Lil Wayne and Kid Cudi. “Kid Cudi really inspires me because he’s really strange and people seem to think that he’s from another planet.” Besides his inspirations and drive to succeed, he also has the full support of his family and friends. “I support Cameron and I know he’s going to be able to make it because he puts the time and effort required into it and he does really good at it.” his mother said. He also has the full support of his father in his endeavors. “I’ll support whatever he decides to do with it. If it pans out in his favor, then good. I think it will if he puts his mind to
it,” Isaac Eatmon said. “I’m really thankful that I have a family that supports me with my music. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to be doing this right now,” Cameron said. His cousin, who actually owns his own record label named “Livetrack Records”, based in San Antonio, Texas, gave him his first recording mic as a gift. Cameron hopes to make it in the music industry, although it is in a tough spot with record sales declining due to the rise of illegal downloading. He plans on going to “Recording Connection” in Wichita where he will be learning the business and producing side of the music industry and eventually move on to open his own record label. Before he leaves, he wants to record a full album with a collaboration team, whose name is still unknown. “People always tell me that I’m going to move on in life and forget about Liberal,” Eatmon said. “But that’s not going to happen. No matter how small Liberal is, if I make it big I still won’t forget it.”
Crusader photo/Octavio Rodriguez
Cameron Eatmon raps into his microphone at his home studio. Eatmon released an album earlier this year.