Betsey Shimmerson, sophomore biology major, has new reason to believe her longtime crush Luke Campbell wants to father her children.

“We are so getting married. I mean, he’s totally perfect for me,” Shimmerson said.

After the pair received a B+ on a sociology paper they co-wrote about communication skills, Campbell acknowledged the success by holding up his hand for a high-five outside Rotunda C last Friday.

“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Campbell said.

A difference in height caused technical difficulties, since Campbell is 6’1″ while Shimmerson barely hits 5′ in her platform shoes.

“I had to jump up to hit his hand,” she said. “But I missed and got his ear instead. That’s got me kind of worried. I mean, we don’t have compatible heights or anything, but couples overcome difficulties all the time. It could be worse-we could be distant cousins or something.”

Campbell, who has not chosen a major yet, said the pink mark on his ear had faded by the end of his chemistry lab later that afternoon.

“Yeah, it was a little weird, but it was worth it to get a B+. I’m tough,” he said. “That girl packs a punch though.”

After the incident Shimmerson apologized, but Campbell told her “not to worry about it.”

“He is such a nice guy, really patient. He’ll make a great dad,” Shimmerson said.

She initially decided Campbell was a dreamboat on the first day of sociology last January.

“She couldn’t stop talking about how his belt matched his shoes,” Patricia Moore, Shimmerson’s roommate, said. “She really gets into details like that. I thought she was going for the hottie on fourth-floor Binnewies because he has nice fingernails, but I was wrong.”

Shimmerson said Campbell has not asked her to the movies yet, but she thinks he will soon.

“We’ve come a long way since February. Back then, it was a simple ‘Hey, what’s up?’ if I tried to talk to him after class, but I have a feeling things are looking up,” Shimmerson said.

Friends say Campbell enjoys bachelorhood, but they admit he is sometimes unpredictable.

“One time he had a random girl sit on his lap at Chevy’s. Usually he gets her name first,” Tom Free, childhood friend and frat mate, said. “Sure, maybe he’ll ask her out. Is she hot?”

SDSU’s NCC championship crochet team are resting up for next Wednesday’s Final Four match in the crochet capitol of the world, Yarntown, Miss., against UCLA.

SDSU’s team caught a snag during last Saturday’s Elite Eight match against the University of California at Santa Barbara when teammate Lucy Jacobsen ran out of blue yarn during the afghan competition.

Luckily, her teammate Susie Cutchen had brought an extra ball of yarn in each color.

“I never leave home without them,” Cutchen said. “You just never know how much one ball will crochet.”

The three members of SDSU’s team crocheted individual strips and then sewed them together to create a blue and yellow “Back the Jacks” afghan in a record seven-hours and 14-minutes. They beat UCSB by ten minutes.

“You win some, you lose some,” Melinda Zink of UCSB said. “You can bet I’ll be doing extra finger exercises for next year.”

SDSU’s crochet team coach Dr. Laticia Flamingo was pleased with the team’s performance.

“The extra hours the team put in watching classic crocheting instructional videos like ‘Hooking for Success’ really paid off,” she said. “Their dedication to making this one of SDSU’s most successful crochet seasons ever was a privilege to observe. I’m proud to be their coach.”

In the open competition, team members brought pre-crocheted items for individual judging. Entries are judged for creativity, practicality and craftsmanship.

Thanks to the impracticality of the UCSB’s crocheted bikinis, SDSU snuck through another loophole to win the match.

Jacobsen’s purple and turquoise scarf took top honors.

“My grandma is going to love wearing this during our cold South Dakota winters. It’ll really bring out her eyes,” Jacobsen said.

Cutchen’s crocheted handbags fared well until judges asked a mother of four in the audience to transfer the contents of her purse into the handbag.

“I should have put a cloth lining inside for durability,” Cutchen said. “But it won’t help to be all tied up in knots. I’m just glad Lucy’s scarf did so well.”

Johnnie Rice, the token male of the team, rounded out SDSU’s entries in the open competition with his unique, though also impractical, pop can warmer.

Judges were impressed by Rice’s creativity, since the can warmer contained a hodge-podge of yarn knobs, and even a random piece of red yarn.

However, when Judge Ryan Schroeder playfully tugged on the red yarn, the can warmer unraveled before the astonished crowd.

“Whatev. I don’t even care,” Rice said. “It’s not like I actually know how to crochet. I just joined to meet chicks.”

Judging by the glares Rice received from his teammates during the competition, his plan has not worked.

Flamingo, a fiber arts professor, said this isn’t the first time she’s dealt with a pathetic attempt to meet women disguised as a genuine interest in crocheting.

“Johnnie’s not-so-carefully hatched plan ended up biting him in the butt. It’s just a shame he had to embarrass the rest of the team in the process,” Flamingo said. “I wish him good luck in courting any of the young ladies after this farce.”

Disinterested teammates aren’t the only challenges the team regularly faces. They’re constantly confronted with ignorance of their artistic discipline.

“Some people just don’t understand the craft of crochet. You know, like those people who mistake it for knitting. We use one hook, people! Knitters use two needles,” Cutchen said. “I mean, come on, get a clue. And Johnnie, well, let’s not go there.”

Rice’s entry was disqualified, but his teammates vow he will learn how to make a basic potholder before next week.

UCLA, an obvious powerhouse in the yarning arts, will be a tough match for SDSU on Wednesday in the afghan competition, though the Jacks crocheters are upbeat.

“Even if we lose, you hear some great yarns when everyone’s working away. Oops,” Jacobson said with a giggle. “No pun intended.”

The winner will go on to face the University of Wisconsin or New York University.

The National Crochet Championship match is Saturday afternoon. The live broadcast begins at 10 a.m. Eastern time on the Home and Garden channel.

Voter turnout in the Students’ Association elections last month was akin to one in five students, but some say that isn’t as bad as it sounds.

“I think 20 percent is a remarkably high turnout. Student government elections in most parts of the country typically get three to five percent of the students to turnout. SDSU students should be proud of their higher participation than most,” said Gary Aguiar, political science professor.

Eric Erickson, new SA president, is also pleased with the voter turnout.

“It was actually pretty good,” he said.

Yet does SA’s authority go down when so few students turn up to vote?

“Low turnout means that the SA voice may not be legitimate, may not actually represent the views of the student body,” Del Lonowski, political science professor, said.

If SA candidates were organized by campus political parties with platforms based on campus issues, student voters would have a clear choice between alternatives, Lonowski said.

Right now, students may not vote if they don’t know the candidate, he said.

Erickson said he and other SA officials get student input in other ways. For example, they visit busy campus spots on daily “people’s walks.”

“We try to get everyone’s input on the issues, not just on election day,” Erickson said.

Dan Hansen, outgoing SA president, said the low turnout may be due to voter apathy, especially because many of the important issues SA faces – such as moving to Division I athletics, a student union expansion, and Residence Hall space – are futuristic.

“Since it doesn’t really affect them, a lot of people may see it as not really important,” Hansen said.

Bob Burns, political science department head, said that local elections typically garner less attention, and that the 18 to 24 age group has the lowest level of voter turnout nationwide.

“It has much do with cultivating a sense of civic obligation as we mature and doing that which matters most to you at the time,” Burns said.

Country stars Phil Vassar and Carolyn Dawn Johnson used to spend their nights in Phil’s Nashville club — Hard Day’s Night – where he performed and she tended bar and waited tables.

Not so today.

Last Friday, the two friends brought their traveling Club Paradise tour, which was originally scheduled for Oct. 19 of last year, to the newly re-christened Swiftel Center.

The two singer/songwriters played to a not-so-full arena in the former Brookings Area Multiplex, following regional country band White Creek, whose members hail from White, South Dakota.

About 2,000 people attended the first event to be held under the Swiftel moniker, falling well short of the Center’s 5,000 capacity.

Nevertheless, those present were glad for an excuse to drink and dance, and they enjoyed the show.

By the time family man Phil bounded onto stage, sporting trendy faded jeans and matching jacket, an energetic buzz filled the air. Over-priced alcohol and Vassar’s heavy radio play certainly contributed to the excitement. Cowboy hats and baseball caps dotted the crowd in equal numbers, and ages ranged from six to sixty.

In a concert that included cover songs from AC/DC, Billy Joel and Queen, Phil Vassar and his band jammed to a cheering audience who stood, swayed and waved back. A few saluted Phil with a beer bottle or American flag.

Surprisingly, the cover songs excited the crowd as much as Phil’s popular self-penned tunes, “This is God,” “American Child,” “Just Another Day in Paradise,” and “That’s When I Love You.”

Accompanied by a rock guitarist and a fiddle player who’d satisfy any Dixie Chicks fan, Phil darted around the stage, stopping occasionally to jump onto his piano.

The crowd loved it.

“It’s like aerobics for me,” said a casually-clad Phil in an pre-concert interview.

Last year he won Top New Male Vocalist at the 37th annual Academy of Country Music Awards after a string of top ten hits.

Success followed 13 years of Nashville living and watching other artists turn his songs into hits.

When it comes to songwriting and music in general, he doesn’t worry about sounding like his contemporaries or appealing to all country music fans.

As soon as everyone sounds alike, you have problems, he said.

“For me, it’s all about the song,” he said. “You sort of write songs, and you hope for the best.”

Warming the stage for Phil Friday night, the Canadian-born Carolyn sang her heart out, her clear voice ranging from emotional ballads to soprano feel-good melodies.

While appreciative, the crowd was not attentive.

For an hour, the arena turned into a coffee shop.

When Carolyn launched into her better known tunes, “Complicated” and “I Don’t Want You to Go,” at the end of her set, the distracted audience got to its feet, as if to say,

“Hey, I’ve heard this before.”

To her credit, she remained upbeat and genuine.

“Phil Vassar was definitely a favorite, but I think the crowd liked both of them,” Lucas Radke, 21, of Slayton, Minn., said.

“I would go to just see her, too.”

SDSU student Kristen Pederson, 19, said both singers were excellent, but she, too, noticed more excitement for Phil Vassar.

“He really worked the crowd,” she said.

“I think they responded more to him just because it was his performance.”

#1.887483:4216755027.jpg:phil.jpg:Phil Vassar brought his family-friendly act to the Swiftel Center (formerly the Brookings Multiplex) last Friday.:

An unusually high number of mono cases at USD has prompted education from SDSU health officials.

While SDSU Student Health has seen nine cases of mononucleosis this fall, the Sioux Valley Vermillion Medical Clinic has seen 160. Last year, three cases were reported at SDSU.

“We have had an increase, but obviously, it’s nothing as significant as USD,” Carla Dieter, EdE, a family nurse practitioner at Student Health and Counseling Services, said.

SDSU health officials have posted facts about mono in the residence halls. Dieter said any student who suspects he or she has mono should visit Student Health immediately. Office visits are free for students, and bloodwork, if needed, costs an average of $25. Mono symptoms include a sore throat, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, headache and fatigue.

Because the disease is spread by saliva, it is often called the “kissing disease,” Dieter said. Other ways to spread the disease are sharing water bottles or silverware. It makes good sense not to share drinking or eating utensils anyway, Dieter said.

“It’s just being very careful about your personal hygiene,” she said of mono prevention. That includes washing your hands, using tissues, and taking care of your body with adequate rest, diet and liquids.

College students are more susceptible, particularly because of their stressful lifestyles, which may include school, extra-curricular activities, and a job, she said. Members of groups, such as choir, band or athletic teams, may be more at risk because they end up sharing things they might not share otherwise.

Anyone with mono should avoid contact sports, heavy lifting, and other strenuous activity, she said. No specific treatment for mono exists, but patients need plenty of rest and fluids. On average, patients feel less than par for three or four weeks, she said.

Isolation is unnecessary, though patients should practice careful hygiene, she said.

To learn more about mono, visit http://www3.sdstate.edu/StudentLife/HealthServices/Index.cfm or call 688-5588.

Only three of the 13 performances of “Picnic” have yet to sell out, and the director expects about 1,000 more people will see the play this fall when compared to past fall plays.

Dr. James L. Johnson is directing “Picnic,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by William Inge and the first play peformed in the new Performing Arts Center Studio Theater.

The new building and Tony Award- winning actor Jarrod Emick in the lead role are two big factors in the play’s success, Johnson said.

“The combination of these two things has probably made the difference in having more people than we usually have for that first show [of the year],” he said.

Including 1,200 people who saw the play in last weekend’s six performances, Johnson said he estimates 2,500 to 2,600 people will see it before this weekend’s seven performances are over. The normal run for a fall play at is 1,300 to 1,500 people, he said.

In fact, a matinee was added for this Saturday so more people could go. Besides the matinee, the Thursday and Sunday night performances this weekend are the only ones with tickets available, Johnson said Monday night.

Despite the overwhelming increase in theater-goers this fall, attendance by one group is down. Johnson said 500 of last weekend’s 1,200 audience members were students. That’s just about 42 percent, but Johnson said students usually make up 60 to 65 percent of the audience.

Cayla Larson, a junior theater major, is the business manager for State University Theater. She said fewer students have attended because the play is less recognizable.

“If they see a ‘Grease’ or a ‘Footloose,’ they’re going to go,” she said.

However, the story line in “Picnic” may sound familiar.

Set in a small Kansas town during the 1950′s, “Picnic” centers on the beautiful daughter of a widow. The widow expects her daughter to marry the rich boy in town. Then the “bad boy” (Emick) shows up, and the girl falls in love with him.

Part serious and part comedic, the play has been well-received.

“I think they’ve received a standing ovation about every night,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he hopes students can come because their support made the building possible.

For tickets, call 688-6425.

University employees could not date students or other employees under their supervision if the Board of Regents adopts a fraternization policy it is considering.

The policy was made to prevent favoritism and misuse of authority, Jim Shekleton, the BOR’s general counsel, told about 15 people at an open meeting last Wednesday for faculty, staff and students.

Shekleton is visiting state universities to present a draft of the policy.

Under the policy, university employees could not date if one supervises the other.

The BOR’s definition of supervising includes scheduling, disciplining, evaluating, hiring or firing, promoting, assigning duties or setting salaries. University employees would not be allowed to date students whom they teach, employ, discipline or direct in independent studies, thesis or dissertation work.

The university employee could not decide grades, honors or scholarships for the student.

“When there’s no supervision involved, then there’s no restriction on relationships,” Shekleton said.

The person doing the supervising would be responsible for reporting the violation, he said.

The situation could be solved by transferring the student to a different class or removing an employee from his or her partner’s authority.

“We’ll try to make accomodations that are virtually painless,” Shekleton said.

In extreme cases, students may have to change majors if they are dating the only professor who teaches a required class.

One audience member asked whether the policy would apply to members of a couple even after the couple had broken up. Shekleton said the BOR would address that concern.

Shekleton said the government cannot usually intervene in personal relationships. However, limitations on those who hold positions of power can be made to protect the integrity of public services, he said.

No cases of fraternization problems at state universities prompted the policy, he said.

Related BOR policies on sexual harrassment and nepotism are in place to prevent power abuse or favoritism among employees who are family members.

The Collegian: Live and in Color!

Putting together the Collegian&s first back-to- school issue in years has been, to say the least, challenging.

For most of the summer, I worked as an intern at the Rapid City Journal. I made it back to Brookings for two staff meetings, but let me tell you, trying to coordinate this project long distance over E-mail was pretty crazy.

I moved back to Brookings two weeks ago and have been living in Collegian-land ever since. Just ask anyone who&s tried to talk to me about anything else.

The cool thing is that most readers will look at the newspaper and see the result without feeling the hard work, stress and late nights spent agonizing over the amount of spacing between a headline and a story.

Well, maybe that&s just me.

My staff will probably begin calling me the Space Nazi behind my back, you know, like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld.

The best moment in the last week was when I realized we now have a page called &B1.& That&s right folks, the Collegian now has an &A& section and a &B& section.

For some reason, that makes the paper seem more professional and serious to me. Two sections means more to write, more advertising sold and a larger commitment by the staff to cover the university community. And this ultimately means a better newspaper for you, the reader.

Sure, we&ve added color, a State & Local page and a Lifestyles page, but to me, a page called &B1& is truly significant.

It puts us in a higher class of newspapers.

And being in a higher class of newspapers is just what we&re after this year.

We&ve given this paper an overhaul in design, content and structure. Perhaps more importantly, we&ve expanded our focus.

It&s not just about the students. It&s about the faculty, the staff and our host town, Brookings.

Our ad manager, Char Telkamp, told the managing editor and I in her interview that last year&s Collegian had nothing that was relevant to her life as a non-traditional student. This made us realize how important it is to consider the wide variety of readers we serve.

We hope the new &State and Local& page will give you news you can use, whether about Students& Association activities, Brookings City Council meetings or the candidates in hot ticket races, whom we will interview as Election Day approaches.

Our Lifestyles page will be a fun escape from reading your biology textbook or grading essays.

Each week you can check out your horoscope, complete a word search or crossword puzzle and learn about SDSU&s history in tidbits from Collegians published over the last century. The history feature will debut in the Sept. 10 issue.

The feature article on the Lifestyles page will rotate weekly through four topics: food, religion, body & mind and education & employment. We&ll also publish announcements, from engagements to weddings to births to obituaries.

We&re excited to hear what you think about these changes.

We hope you&ll look forward to each issue of the Collegian. We look forward to hearing what you think of the changes we&ve made. Your feedback matters.

Just don&t suggest eliminating page &B1.&

I don&t think I could do it.

Kara Christensen is the Collegian&s editor-in-chief. She can be reached at collegianeditor@yahoo.com.

Brookings City Council could potentially change the town’s nightlife when it decides the fate of two unused liquor licenses. The council is scheduled to decide May 13 whether to award the city’s liquor operating agreements as well as who would receive them.

The applicants come from Skinner’s Pub at 300 Main Ave., Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill at 307 Main Ave. and The Jackalope Lounge at 311 Third St. The fourth candidate is Porter Apple Company, with a proposed Applebee’s restaurant.

The four Democratic candidates for South Dakota’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives may have different experiences, but they shared similar views April 16 at a debate in the South Dakota Art Museum.