Jan 17 2018

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Jan. 17, 2018 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 82 No. 15

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN MARQUART AND RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

The basses and tenors practice with the direction of Dale Heidebrecht, assistant music professor, in the Bea Wood black box theater on Jan. 16.

The Post

Shannon Howerton, theater senior, practices the song “This is Urine Town” as a member of the tenors, during a rehearsal for the production of Urine Town.

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New Spielburg movie on The Washington Post conflict between rights and security inspires innovation.

Urinetown cast met for first rehearsal DEVIN FIELD REPORTER

New Year’s

pg. 9

Students kick off the 2018 year with personal goes for self success.

Women’s Basketball pg. 12

The Women’s Basketball team beats Eastern New Mexico 73-55.

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he theater department began rehearsals Jan. 16 for the musical “Urinetown”. Consisting of a cast of 26 people, the musical is set as a political satire about a town struggling with it’s water supply. “The whole musical is a satire of every other musical so that makes it really fun and exciting,” Katie Cagle, theater tech and design senior, said. “The background of the play is about a town and they are struggling with their water supply, so the main character is trying to control the water supply by making everyone pay to use the bathroom. There is a whole revolt, the people thinking that they are supposed to be able to pee for free and screw the water supply: ‘We should do whatever we want because it’s a free county.’” Cagle’s says her job as stage manager is to organize the musical from behind the scenes. As soon as the directors step off set, she’s the one to enforce the action. “I make sure to keep everyone organized,”

Cagel said. “I keep everyone on track and once the show actually comes up, I’m the one that’s responsible for putting actors where they need to be, calling sound and light cues.” Christopher Cruz, theater junior, plays Mr. McQueen, the sidekick of the owner of Good Urine company. “It’s fun because it’s comedy and the actors are overly done,” Cruz said. “I love that it’s a political satire. I like pushing peoples buttons and making them shook. It will just make people shook.” Ellanor Collins, theater junior, plays Officer Lockstock originally a male role but changed to female when she was casted. “When I was in high school I auditioned, but they wouldn’t cast me in the female roles and I didn’t understand why,” Collins said. “Then when I auditioned, I auditioned for the female lead and the director said ‘I’m pretty sure she’s a tenor. She’s got a male voice.’ And I was like, ‘What does that even mean.’” Collins discussed how weird it feels to being the only woman and singing with the other male actors.

PERFORMANCES

Feb. 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m. March 1, 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s all really weird because I’m the only girl in there,” Collins said. “I hear the notes and I’m singing the notes right, but its a man’s voice versus my voice and I don’t sound like a man. The director told me not to worry about it but it’s terror and excitement.” Collins explains her character as a goodhearted cop that likes to bend the rules for the purpose of justice and says research is the number one tool to getting into character. “Research. Research. Research. I have watched every version on Youtube you can think of,” Collins said. “I look at so many pictures. I originally hated this musical, I was like, ‘I can’t believe were doing it.’ Then after all the research I did I was like, ‘Yes, I’m so excited.’ Research is the number one thing I do.” Collins expresses her thoughts behind the views of the link between theater and political satire . “Theater moves you and it moves people, it always has,” Collins said. “There are riots, revolutions done through theatre, culture and human society and it changes because of fine arts.”


2 | Jan. 17, 2018 | STAF F E DI T O R I A L

We stand with sexual assault victims OUR VIEW: No matter the circumstances, victims of sexual assault should feel comfortable coming forward and sharing their story.

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arvey Weinstein. Matt Lauer. Kevin Spacey. Donald Trump. Regardless of political party affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, race, etc., there’s no denying that all four of these household names have been accused of sexual misconduct, harassment and/or assault in the last three months. It takes an incredible strength and courage for victims to come forward and report such a traumatic violation of their basic human rights. Administrators can learn from this behavior. In spring 2017, there were five sexual assaults reported on campus, and those are just the ones that victims reported. Some of the reasons behind why victims choose not to report are out of our control; we cannot force someone to report what happened to them. We cannot be there to stop every single assault. But what we can do — and what we should have been doing — is prevent victim-shaming. Let us show victims the kindness, compassion and understanding they deserve, instead of brushing their cries for help off as their assailants did.

wichitan

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Vol. 82 | No. 15

Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@mwsu.edu thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

Raise your standards to accomplish New Year’s resolutions

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round this time, people are in the beginning stages of their New Year’s Resolutions. We all know the usual ones: “I want to go to the gym more, eat healthier and lose weight,” “I want to study more and make better grades,” or, for the freshmen among us, “I want to drink less.” It isn’t hard to understand why resolutions are so popular Markell Braxton-Johnson around this time. The start of a new year brings an opportunity to hit the reset button on whatever area of your life needs it the most. Right now is the perfect time to start making positive personal changes. Making resolutions that yield significant change isn’t easy, but our society has promoted certain attitudes that make them slightly easier. Shared excitement and social support often accompany resolutions. Despite this, however, the outcomes tend to less fruitful than we’d like to believe. According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, by any meaningful criteria, less than 10 percent of Americans “felt they were successful in achieving their resolution.” Moreover, nearly 50 percent of people said they only managed infrequent success, if they

were successful at all. Although the reasons why people fail at New Year resolutions aren’t fully known, there are some obvious pitfalls that constantly trap goal-setting idealists. When people make goals, they tend to make them too general or based on superficial results. Not specifying exactly what you’re hoping to get out of your resolution will increase the likelihood that you’ll lose focus of it. A resolution that is vague or only scratches the surface of a problem is bound to lead to failure. I’ve noticed that the difference between the two is standards. The best way to avoid those pitfalls is to simply raise and maintain your standards – especially in areas that relate directly to your resolutions/goals. Before you get too carried away with your New Year’s resolution, do yourself a service: ask yourself “do my personal standards meet my goal?” If so, you’re on the right track to accomplishing your goal. If not, you ought to be honest with yourself, assess where your standards are, and discover a way to raise them in order to become the person you want to be in the future Markell Braxton-Johnson is a junior in sports and leisure.

Though the struggle, find strength

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ife has its moments and through my adversity, I’ve learned many valuable lessons being a young adult growing up and having to figure out how to pay the “big bills” in order to sustain a living. My mother warned me that once I turned eighteen I was going to be financially cut off, and from that point on, I mentally prepared myself for the challenges Latoya ahead. Some people would say that’s unfair, Fondren but my mother was raised to believe for one to know how to survive in this world, you must be cut off from the nest. She did the best she could to teach me, even if it seemed to be tough love. At a young age, I felt as if I had to grow up faster than others. I made decisions that the average eighteen year old didn’t, and I utilized the tools that my mother gave me to execute my plans. I struggled during those times where I had to choose between studying for a very important test or going to bed early enough to make it to my six hour work shift the next day. I was a part-time barista at Starbucks in downtown Chicago. It was challenging to start my 4:30 a.m Monday — Friday shift while maintaining a full-time student status. My daily routine consisted of serving 50 to 100 customers of specially made drinks while trying to recite my study notes in my head for that major test after my work shift.

EDITOR: Tyler Manning MANAGING EDITOR: Cortney Wood VISUALS EDITOR: Justin Marquart PHOTO EDITOR: Francisco Martinez ISSUE STAFF: Devin Field, Markell Braxton-Johnson, Latoya Fondren, Bridget Reilly, Chloe Phillips, Brittni Vilandri, Makayla Scheck

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Rachel Johnson ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

I knew what my priorities were, but sometimes I felt overwhelmed and anguished while running in the dark of the early morning hours for the bus. I also struggled to sit in class and concentrate after a long shift, but I was determined to overcome and persevere. Once I changed my mindset, I began to see things differently and my focus shifted towards working hard and staying above waters. I can’t help but think about the struggle and how it has shaped me into the strong human being that I am today. We all have struggles, but what makes us stronger is how we deal with our struggles and carry on knowing that everything will be okay. Love makes the struggle beautiful because no matter what happens in life there will never be a limitation of loving and being loved. Persistence enables you to keep pushing no matter how tough the other side of the wall is. Your experiences will teach you more about yourself and the beauty of the struggle than anything else. Challenges tend to make your skin crawl and it makes you uncomfortable but your circumstances will begin to shift once you begin executing the challenge. We must be willing to accept the beauty of the struggle the same as we accept the beauty of nature and all of its creation. You can fall a million times but the greatest asset about the struggle in life is that you are destined to get right back up. Latoya Fondren is a junior in mass communication. Copyright ©2018. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a email address, telephone number and address.


| Jan. 17, 2018 | 3 MOV IE REVIEW

PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

RA’s work on decorations for their halls before students return from winter break at Legacy hall on Jan. 12.

PHOTO BY NIKO TAVERNISE

Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Philip Casnoff, David Cross, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Jessie Mueller and Carrie Coon in The Post (2017)

‘The Post’ engages, inspires audiences

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he Academy Awards are approaching and that signals the release of movies slated to be nominated, including the film “The Post.” “The Post” tells the story of The Washington Post publishing top secret government information given to them by a third party regarding the government’s involveTyler ment in the Vietnam War. Manning With the controversy of Edward Snowden leaking of government information to major news outlets, “The Post” answers the challenging question of whether government information should be public record or should the establishment be allowed certain privacies in order to govern more effectively. The film echoes what The Washington Post argued when it was faced with the question: For there to be a republic that promotes freedom, there needs be freedom of the press to call out the government for their wrongdoings. This message is portrayed beautifully as there is a tension to the film that carries all throughout as the staff of the paper argue whether or not to publish the information given to them. One of the most striking attributes of the film is its beautiful cinematography, particularly when looking at the framing and blocking. It is no secret that Stephen Spielberg is a master at his craft, and it truly shows here. The direction is strong and his style is apparent throughout. I love the length of his shots, usually holding the same shot for 45 seconds to a minute before cutting to the next shot. Another major aspect of the film is the talent on screen. The film stars a plethora of amazing actors and actresses.

It is a marvel seeing Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep work together. Their on screen chemistry is kinetic. Seeing such great talent flow so well together on screen was a treat. Streep does exceptionally well playing a leader. She is strong willed, smart and inspiring. Her character is a strong woman faced with the adversity that comes from a capitalistic, patriarchal society. Despite her leadership being doubted because of her gender, she commands respect and Streep portrays this exceptionally. With the recent #metoo movement and the demand for Hollywood to showcase more powerful women, it is nice to see movies like “The Post” contribute to the cause. Tom Hanks plays a stubborn, strong-willed man. He truly takes charge and brings another great performance. He is charismatic despite having a sometimes overbearing personality. His on-screen presence demands attention and is incredibly hard not to watch. This is not a new feat for Tom Hanks, though, considering his amazing body of work. Not only were the two leads great to watch, but so was the supporting cast. I am huge fan of Bob Odenkirk after watching his work as Saul Goodman in “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad” and he shines here as well. Though his role may not be as major as the others, he holds his own well. Overall, I was incredibly impressed with “The Post.” It was a smart effective retelling of a famous event that made the source material interesting and captivating. The cinematography, great performances and clever writing make the film stand out in a great and competitive year for film. I am looking forward to the Academy Awards and seeing how this film holds up against the competition. Do yourself a favor and watch this.

RATING: 9/10

Faculty focus RA training on community, safety TYLER MANNING EDITOR

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o regroup and refresh on community and standards, the Office of Residence Life and Housing hosted training sessions for the resident assistants from Jan. 8-12. in the Legacy Hall Multipurpose Room. Norma Ramirez, assistant director of residence life, was in charge of coordinating the training sessions for the RA staff. She said the core themes that she wanted to highlight were community development and safety. “If we had to pick the two most important topics or areas for our RAs to be trained and developed, those [community development and safety] are definitely the two that we would chose.” Ramirez said, “A lot of their job is slowly building relationships with residents, getting them connected at MSU, getting to know them and making them feel welcome.” According to Ramirez, building a better community is dependent on the safety of the residence halls, and staff in the housing office are continuously looking at ways to improve community development. “If students don’t feel safe where they live and we don’t attend to those areas, then we can’t begin to develop community because their worried about is this area safe,” she said. Spring training offers a great opportunity to reflect back on the past semester and Kristi Schulte, director of residence life, said spring training is always a good time to “bring the team back together, refocus our goals and priorities and to take a look at areas that we might want to have additional attention given to.” Tera Humphrey, associate director of residence life, said despite only being her second RA training she liked it. According to her, the RAs also covered the topic of mental health in their training. “We focused a lot on mental health because there have been so many mental health concerns that we have seen in the halls,” Humphrey said.

READ MORE ONLINE


4 | Jan. 17, 2018 |

Increase in reported sexual assault, harassment BRIDGET REILY REPORTER

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ith recent global efforts to support those victimized by sexual harassment and/or assault, the #metoo campaign has given victims the motivation to tell their story. The latest Golden Globes awards saw a sea of black attire amongst those who attended the show to represent the epidemic of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond. As the #metoo campaign took flight in October of 2017, so did the reporting of such cases on campus. In the fall semester of 2017, ten students made a report of having experienced some form of sexual harassment and/or assault. This is an increase from 1 reported sexual assault case in the year of 2016.

“It’s important that young women are putting their foot down against injustice,” Angela Dees, kinesiology senior, said. “Sexual assault is a crime that unfortunately has many silent victims. For every man or woman who comes forward, more light is shown on a serious issue that is far too often pushed aside in the shadows.” Blaine Anderson, kinesiology junior, was unaware of the increase, however he thinks “it is good for people to come forward and tell about instances where they were actually assaulted. If the problem is never brought forward, then it is never addressed.” According to Morgan Sinclair, sociology junior, both sides of the coin should be considered the rise in reported cases with situations that are so “concerning.” “I hope enough is being done

11.2%

Both graduate and undergraduate students in the US experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation.

to help the victims in these cases, this, to let it get any worse.” Sinclair which should always be a top pri- said. “When I made the report, I ority,” Sinclair said. “I am glad that had to write out what happened, students are feeling and leave my contact safe enough to be details in case they able to report sexual had further quesassault and harasstions for me.” ment cases.” Within less than Sinclair is one of a week, a ‘no conthe ten students who tact’ order was ashas come forward to signed and Sinclair make a report against began feeling more an assailant. In early comfortable walking October, a student around campus. began harassing and Amongst victim stalking Sinclair. admiration, students Having knowledge still call for a change that this student in college rape culwas committing the ture. MORGAN SINCLAIR same offense against “I am honestly SOCIOLOGY JUNIOR other students, she disappointed in the knew it wasn’t a possibility to keep drop of morals and respect for womquiet. en that has driven these acts of self“I knew I could not wait to report ishness,” Jhalen Sheffield, criminal

“I am glad that students are feeling safe enough to be able to report sexual assault and harassment cases.”

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Sexual assault case reported in 2016.

UPB Craft Craze

FACULTY FORUM Bringing High Performance Computing Awareness to the MSU Community Presented by

Dr. Eduardo Colmenares Assistant Professor of Computer Science

7 P.M. JANUARY 23 Legacy Hall Multipurpose Room Admission is free and open to all. mwsu.edu/faculty-forum

Jan. 17 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. | CSC Atrium | UPB will have DYI Sharpie mugs, piggy banks, DIY scarves, stuffed animals and more.

UPB Grocery Bingo

Jan. 17 from 9 to 11 p.m. | CSC Comanche Suites | Have a chance to win detergent, toilet paper, snacks and more for your dorm room.

Ultimate Popcorn Bar

Jan. 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | CSC Food Court | Celebrate National Popcorn Day with free popcorn with snacks to make the ultimate popcorn bar.

Women’s Basketball

Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. | D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Come watch the Lady Mustangs play basketball against Texas Woman’s.

Frank Warren (PostSecret)

Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. | Akin Auditorium | Come see this multimedia event, based on Frank Warren’s PostSecret Project, shares the shocking, surprising and soulful stories behind the 1 million plus secrets mailed to him on postcards.

Nacho Average Karaoke Night

Jan. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. | CSC Mavericks Corner | Enjoy karaoke with friends and eat free nachos.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Jan. 20 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. | Market Street Learning Commons | Relax and enjoy a blast from the past with Saturday Morning Cartoons and eat some breakfast at their free cereal bar.

3D Printing and Design

Jan. 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | McCoy Engineering Hall 136 | Learn 3D printing and computer aided design with a hands-on workshop. There are three sessions, Jan. 20, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. Cost $200.

Mosaic Glass

Jan. 20 from 3 to 6 p.m. | Sikes Lake Center | First session of three, other dates are Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, to create a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork and learn techniques to complete many more. Cost $100.

Critical Conversations Series

Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. | Legacy Hall Multipurpose Room | Special opportunity for educators and professionals, teaching the student, not the material.

Lasana O. Hotep

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Out of 1,000 sexual assault cases are reported.

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justice junior, said. “In reality, this has almost become a norm on college campuses, nation wide.” The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reports that 11.2% of both graduate and undergraduate students in the United States experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation. Acknowledging this is an epidemic, Sheffield wants better for the school because “students should not come to college scared of this likely possibility.” “They should come to college feeling safe and secure in where they are,” Sheffield said. “It is not only the responsibility of the school to make their students feel this way, but their duty. I feel personally, that we have failed at that and I hope in 2018, we give this the proper attention it deserves for our students.”

Jan. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. | Akin Auditorium | Artist Lecture Series, progress is a process: Dr. King’s Legacy 50 Years Later.

CRIME LOG Credit or Debit Card Abuse

Jan. 10 at 3:01 p.m. | Wellness Center | A Midwestern State University P-Card was compromised and unauthorized charges were made on it.

Possession of Marijuana

Jan. 9 at 6:01 p.m. | Parking Lot #6N | Suspicious vehicle check turns up drug paraphernalia.

Drugs: Possession or Delivery of Drug Paraphernalia

Jan. 8 at 3:01 p.m. | Sunwatcher Village | Drug paraphernalia was found in the common area of the dorm room.

Possession of Marijuana

Jan. 6 at 9:01 a.m. | Sundance Court Apartments | Dispatched to a room in reference and found Marijuana.

Online impersonation

Jan. 4 at 10:01 a.m. | Memorial building | It was discovered that there were several fake MSU websites seeking personal identifying information.


How to read Jan. 17, 2018 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 82 No. 15 TEASERS This tells the reader what else is in the paper and where to find it in the paper with a one to two sentence summary of the story.

NAMEPLATE This gives the reader not only the name of the publication but the location it serves, the date and volume information. The issue shown is the 82nd consecutive year of publication and the 15th issue this year.

Oct. 4, 2017 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 82 No. 6

BYLINE AND TITLE This tells the reader who wrote the article and what their position is on staff. If this was an opinions piece, there would be a headshot of the person who wrote the article.

Social Media Day

pg. 5-8

Mass communication students and faculty hold a conference for college and high school students to learn about the affects of communications.

Rocksen Jean-Louis, computer science sophomore, at Mr. and Miss. Caribfest Pageant.

PHOTOS BY MARISSA DALEY | THE WICHITAN

Edward Collins, psychology freshman, bends over backwards in the talent portion of the the 2017 Mr. and Miss. Caribfest in Akin Auditorium on Sept. 28.

Beyandra Blanchard, radiology sophomore, at Mr. and Miss Caribfest Pageant

Island traditions come alive PULL QUOTE This is a direct quote said in the story that brings a graphic element to brake up the long gray block of text to make it more appealing to the readers.

Family Weekend

CHLOE PHILLIPS REPORTER

pg. 10

The CSC held many events for MSU students to enjoy with visiting family members.

Football Game

pg. 12

Players honor the memory of falen teammate.

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aughter, chatter and loud, upbeat music filled Akin Auditorium on the evening of Sept. 28. About 250 attendees came to support eight students who participated in the 2017 Mr. and Miss Caribfest pageant, the first of four events spanning from Sept. 28 to Sept. 30. Hosted by Caribbean Students Organization, this is the first year the pageant chose a Mr. Caribfest. There were four segments each contestant had to go through: talent, swimsuit, evening wear/GQ and an interview. The pageant opened with a moment of silence for those affected by Hurricane Irma. While all eight contestants — four male, four female — were great candidates, there could only be one Mr. and Miss Caribfest. After what was a tough deliberation, Sophomores Rocksen Jean-Louis and Beyandra Blanchard took home the titles. Despite the decisions the judges had to make, Students Donté Benn and Jamilia Frank were satisfied with the results. “I thought the results were fair,” Jamilia Frank, pre-nursing freshman, said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the event.” Frank attended Caribfest to support her friends, including first Runner Up for

“You know a new experience. I am always Mr. Caribfest Edward Collins. Her favorite part of the pageant was the talent portion. open to new experiences,” Jean-Louis said. “The contestants really did their best job. My favorite performer was Edward Collins,” As the first Mr. Caribfest, Rocksen has alFrank said. ready planned a few decisions. Accounting sophomore “I plan on first, attending all Donté Benn thought the the other Caribfest activities and decision “was close, and was using my power --whatever power great at the end.” I have-- to do better in terms of Benn helped plan Caribwhatever they need me to do, be fest and attended to see the more available for them.” talent the contestants had Beyandra Blanchard, radiologto offer for the campus. ic technology sophomore, heard Benn’s favorite segment was about the pageant from a chair the swimsuit because of the member. modeling. He plans to at“One of the chair members tend the final three events actually reached out to me and of Caribfest: Soca Show, Paasked me to participate. I was rade Day and Culture Show, JAMILLA FRANK there last year but I didn’t really and Glow Fete. PRE-NURSING FRESHMAN participate that much, that’s why Both Frank and Benn are members of Caribbean Students Organiza- this year, I wanted to make up for my shortcomings of last year.” tion. In her opinion, Miss Caribfest is a great Mr. and Miss Caribfest are also members of CSO. While both knew about Caribfest, they platform to speak out on issues, especially had their own reasons to run for Mr. and Miss ethnocentrism, the belief in the inherent Caribfest. Rocksen Jean-Louis, computer sci- superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culence sophomore, made the decision to run for ture. “That’s a good platform, to go ahead and share my thoughts,” Blanchard said. Mr. Caribfest was to try something new.

“The contestants really did their best job. My favorite performer was Edward Collins”

STORY This could be either a news story, an objective article that tells you what you need to know over an event that occurred which relates to campus, a feature story, an objective article that brings a you were there intimacy or an opinion piece. An article tells the readers what the author thinks, for example a movie review. In stories there are two kinds of quotes: direct and indirect. Direct quotes are in quotation marks and is exactly what the person said. Indirect quotes, without quotation marks, rephrases what the person said.

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tudent volunteers at Midwestern State produce The Wichitan, thewichitan.com and on Twitter @wichitanonline as the voice of students. In these four pages learn about the pieces of the publication, online and in print, and how you can best use them to inform your education and activity here at MSU — Texas. Join the staff. Take pictures. Write stories. Design pages. Sell ads. Or write a guest column. http://thewichitan.com/work-with-us/

commitment | time management | teamwork | camaraderie | reliability


6 | Jan. 17, 2018 | STAFF EDITORIAL This is the majority opinion of the staff on a particular issue that someone has written an objective article about previously. The editorial starts of with “OUR VIEW” to indicate a summary of what we think on the issue the editorial is about to the reader, and presents examples and research in support for our stance.

2 | Nov. 8, 2017 | STAFF EDITORIAL

Mental health fights for priority OUR VIEW: To more effectively serve students and dismantle the stigma that surround mental illness, the counseling center needs a larger budget.

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CORRECTIONS Should we pubish something facutally incorrect, we identify the error, indicate our mistake and mark the correct information in this section.

ust this week, this nation saw the devastating affects of mental health issues left untreated: the Sutherland Spring, Texas. The gunman with an extensive background with mental illness murdered 26 people and put 20 more in the hospital. While nothing that extensive has happened here thankfully, those on campus deserve a facility that caters to effective mental health and they cannot do that with a small budget. Students and faculty members visit the center all year around, and to think mental health can be reduced to mere dollar signs risks the wellbeing of our faculty, administration and students. Funding for the campus is strict, and considering the budget cuts, careful consideration is necessary before money is spent, however having a state of the art facility well equipped for situations like this should not be a consideration, it’s a necessity. We have a wellness center to maintain physical wellbeing for our campus, but can’t see students for mental health. The administration needs to take steps to ensure the mental wellbeing of students is a priority, not left on the back burner.

CORRECTIONS • In the article titled “OcTubaFest adds new spin to Oktoberfest,” music education junior Ana Leach’s name was misspelled and her grade and major were incorrectly identified. The Wichitan regrets the error. • In the article titled “OcTubaFest adds new spin to Oktoberfest,” the opening piece titled “Music Festiva” was played by a trombone trio, not the tuba section. The Wichitan regrets the error. • In the page one story titled “Website’s new look, feel targets prospective students,” the infographic had years 2012-2016 in the wrong order. The Wichitan regrets the error.

STAFF BOX To identify the members that worked on each issue of The Wichian, we list the reporters, photographers and editorial board members, as well as name our adviser whom oversees our work, but does not make decisions for the Wichitan staff. In addition, we site copyright and other standards The Wichitan is governed by.

From SOCIETY FOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS Code of Ethics Seek truth and report it |Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information. Minimize harm | Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. Act independently | Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know. Be accountable | Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.

Refuse to stay down, stand up to succeed

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he famous actress Mary Pickford once said, “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” This past semester I had to come to terms with that since I was placed on academic suspension. Failure is hard to deal with for anyone, but Eric in my case, I was devastated. A series of unforArumugam tunate events led me to screw up big time, and I felt helpless for awhile. All I ever wanted was to work hard and succeed, but I didn’t do enough when I felt like I put in my all. I felt a heavy amount of stress worrying about what I should do next, what my friends and family thought and if I’d be able to come back to school. There were a lot of thoughts and emotions I had to deal with that I was not prepared for at all. Thoughts such as, “do I take the whole year off in attempts to recuperate, work and save up, but potentially never go back to school?” and “do I push myself to come back full force as soon as possible and ready to get my degree?” entered my mind, but I knew what I had to do. I obviously chose the latter. Being a first-generation col-

lege student, I had a lot placed on my shoulders to succeed after all the sacrifices my parents made to raise me in the U.S. After an all-to-real conversation with my parents about my situation, I told myself I was done being passive and decided to take charge of my life. I was ready to push myself to succeed when I realized that pitying myself would never get me to the places I wanted to go. I readied myself to make sacrifices and develop habits that will ensure that I don’t land in the same situation again. I know what I want in life, and I know that my education is the answer. My girlfriend, my best friends and my family all supported me in my personal struggle to get back into school and fight for a better future for myself. As the spring semester creeps closer, I look back at the past few months to what I believe to be a crucible. I had gone through one of the toughest events of my life and came out okay. I’ve learned the necessary lessons for me to get (and also keep) my act together. Of course things aren’t going to get easier from here on out, but I stand prepared for anything that comes next. Ultimately, my message to anyone who fails is this: whether it be a test, class or even anything outside of school, it will only be a failure if you don’t try to pick yourself up again.” Eric Arumugam is a former student.

Passion, happiness drive work, creativity

“I

own Double H Design, a business that specializes in digital and social media creation and management. My job is to take a business owner’s passion and present it to the world in a way that will positively impact their community. I am engaged in every step of the brand creating process. From deciding on and designing a logo to designing Haley the website, and even managing social media Hampton accounts, I do a little bit of everything. Starting a small business is no easy task, and I’m certainly no expert. Starting something that is yours requires a passion like no other. A passion for your craft, for people and for bringing what you do to your community. I wouldn’t have even taken the death-defying leap if it wasn’t for the group of amazingly talented boss-ladies I am honoured to be around each and every day. I currently work as an executive assistant for Brooke Willis of B Cocoa Artisan Chocolates. Being able to be around someone who has really made her small business work has been a real inspiration. Without her, I would have never had the courage to branch out and do what I love full time. My most favorite thing in the world is to see the smile on someone’s face when I finish a project for them, and I can see

he twichitan Vol. 82 | No. 11

Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@mwsu.edu thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

just how excited they are about it. When I can see their passion reflected throughout the designs and brand I help them build. Completely self-taught, I’ve been coding since I was thirteen, and out of that came a love for designing things, from logos to websites and just about everything in between. I believe that life experience is the best learning curve you can have. Our passions are what make us human. The things that make our hearts flutter. That make us want to get up in the mornings. The things that push us to want to make the world a better place to live. Starting a small business isn’t really about having a game plan. It’s about having this passion burning inside of you that’s so overwhelming you have to share it with the people around you. It’s about having this thing that sets your soul on fire every single morning. It’s not about your grades or whether you were the top of your class. It’s about being willing to take every spare moment of your life, roll up your sleeves and get to work. When you have that passion, that fire, people will come. They will be drawn to you not because you are successful, but because your love for your craft shines brighter than the sun. Haley Hampton is a marketing sophomore.

EDITOR: Kara McIntyre VISUALS EDITOR: Justin Marquart OPINIONS EDITOR: Tyler Manning FEATURES EDITOR: Cortney Wood BUSINESS MANAGER: Brendan

Wynne ISSUE STAFF: Eric Arumugam, Haley Hampton, Paige Inman, Yareli Lora, Chloe Phillips, Herbert McCullough, Tré Jones, Judelle Tyson, Makayla Scheck PHOTOGRAPHERS: Laurn Roberts, Harlie David, Francisco Martinez, Timothy Jones, Sara Keeling ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

Copyright ©2017. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a email address, telephone number and address.

GUEST COLUMN This is an opinion piece written by someone on campus about any issue they wish to discuss. Because this is an opinions piece, we include a headshot of the writer and at the bottom of columns has their name, grade and major so the reader knows who is writing the column.

From NATIONAL PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION Code of Ethics Visual journalists operate as trustees of the public. Their primary role is to report visually on the significant events and varied viewpoints in our common world and the faithful and comprehensive depiction of the subject at hand. Visual journalists have the responsibility to document society and to preserve its history through images. • Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects • Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.


| Jan. 18, 2017 | 7 commitment time management teamwork camaraderie reliability

It’s policy The staff has written policies and guidelines on everything from how employees are hired — whether paid or volunteer — to how and when to publish corrections. Staff members make great strides to be fair and accurate particularly abiding by the Society for Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. However, most staff members are new to the world of mass media and only have one or two semesters experience. As do the professional media, sometimes we make mistakes. When someone is concerned that they have been misquoted, for example, we first visit with the reporter and ask him or her to substantiate the content of the article in question. Then we make a determination about any mistakes that might have been published. If necessary, we publish corrections (online and in print), edit stories and rewrite stories.

CORRECTIONS As repeated studies of media consumers have shown, factual errors corrode the credibility of media publishing the mistakes. All student media are obligated to correct any error they make as soon as possible, no matter the level of consequence for the error. The corrections should be in a fixed, consistent location in the publication. The following procedure will be used when determining the need for a correction or clarification and how it should be implemented. Responsibility The editor will be finally and solely responsible for the publication of The Wichitan, but all members of the staff and editorial board shall take responsibility for the following actions in conjunction with the editor. Form Although the specifics may vary depending on the circumstances, in general, a correction will take the form: “In ‘<headline>’ (p. <#>, <date>), the <name of publication> <correction without restating error when possible>. <name of publication> regrets the error.” When a source believes he or she has been misquoted or otherwise attributed to mis-statements, but the editor/managing editor, after consultation with the reporter, believes the published statements were correct, a clarification may take the general form: “In ‘’ (p. <#>, ), In subsequent interviews with , they state . The stands behind the original publication.” When a correction or clarification is made online to a story that appeared in print, the publication will note that in an editor’s note to appear at the top of the online version of the article. “Information in this article, originally published has been corrected. ” Anyone can write a letter to the editor. Letters are normally about 250 words long. They must be signed. We do not publish anonymous letters. Letters can be submitted via email to wichitan@mwsu.edu.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The newspaper staff encourages letters as they constitute a constructive avenue for student opinion, but the writer must sign the letter to be considered for publication. Due to space limitations, not all letters can be published, and the editorial staff reserves the right to edit all letters for appropriate placement in the paper as long as the meaning and intention of the letter remains clear and unchanged. No material, opinionated or otherwise, will be printed which is libelous, irresponsible, advocates an illegal activity or which the editor, editorial staff and/or the adviser deem in poor taste.

Join the staff every Monday at 5 p.m. in Fain D201 or fill out an interest form online at http://thewichitan.com/workwith-us/.

JOIN US! The Wichitan is home to a welcoming staff that is always looking to expand. All who have a passion for photography, writing, design or advertising are greatly encouraged to be a part of our team. Even if you have no prior experience, you will be taught the necessary tools by an excellent team. Join our staff and become engaged in a number of student activities that many are unaware of. Being on staff opens up the door for you to learn all that Wichita Falls has to offer to its residents and college students. Being a part of a newspaper staff looks great on a resume. The writing, investigative and interpersonal skills learned from being a part of The Wichitan are all valuable assets that any future employer is looking for. Those who are interested in design and business also have a place here and would get great experience from being a part of our team.


8 |Â Jan. 17, 2018 | FEATURED ARTICLES This is where you will find a series of stories which are some of the more important stories: stories we feel you need or want to know.

ONLINE ADS This is an example of an online ad, like other ads in print people bought them. Online ads will usually be in this format throughout the entire site unless they bought a banner ad which will be on the home page.

TWITTER We use our twitter, @wichitanonline, as our main source of getting information to the public. It is where we put our breaking news first, we tweet links to most stories published online, at thewichitan.com, and we will also live tweet on some events happening around campus. In our tweets we like to include a hashtag, a mention and a photo. SECTIONS All stories are put into sections or categories. You can find them on the home page or at the top banner. If you are looking for a particular story then it is easier to find it by looking into the section it corresponds with.

From last semester, Fall 2017, we tweeted 1,796 times. Also from last semester we have a total of 1.4 million impressions, the tweet with the most impressions is above with 177 thousand impressions.

ISSUU This is where you can view a PDF of the most recent paper. The print edition usually comes out on the stands on Wednesday before noon, but the PDF will be put up at the end of production.


| Jan. 17, 2018 | 9

New Year, new student resolutions CHLOE PHILLIPS REPORTER

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ith the beginning of a new year, Americans participate in creating personal goals aimed at bettering their physical health, character or both. These goals are referred to as “resolutions.” This tradition is even carried on in college campuses. Flocks of students run to their respective school gyms during the months of January and February only to leave the wellness centers a ghost town in the following months. Because Courtney Gore, education junior, can never maintain her resolutions, she has decided to not participate in this tradition. “I have no New Year’s resolutions. I never do them because I fail at them. I don’t try very hard,” Gore said. Other students have said they had specific inciting incidents urging them to create their resolutions. Sarah Wood, business management junior, said, “I want to lose 10 pounds. My mirror was talking to me saying ‘Damn, Sarah.’ It was ‘JT-ing’ me. RA training has put a dampener on that though.”

More student resolutions for 2018:

Amy Arceneaux, biology and chemistry junior | “I have two resolutions. I want to be more financially responsible, and I want to have gains. I want to be able to

PHOTO BY CHLOE PHILLIPS | THE WICHITAN

Kendall Jones, vocal and biology freshman, lifts weights in the RedWine Wellness center on Jan. 16. carry a 32 pack of water to the register. I can currently carry an eight pack.” Esteban Rios, biology junior | “I want to travel more and see more, but I also think it is the new

year to connected with my family. I need to get connected with my grandparents and my dad.” Morgan Sinclair, sociology junior | “I don’t have a New Years resolution because for me, it doesn’t

make a difference if you start a change in your life in the new year or on a Thursday” Matthew Mannering, political science junior | “I want to loose a bit of weight, I’d like to do

that and also try to make at least a 3.0. I need to raise my gpa, and I’ve gained 30 pounds in a year.” Shannon Myart, sport administration graduate | “I want to maintain a 4.0 because that is the highest achievement, have a great semester, and travel some more for spring break. I want to go see my dad in Las Vegas, go to California, and --- if there’s enough time, have a chance to go to Atlanta.” Shannon Myart, sport administration graduate | “I want to maintain a 4.0 because that is the highest achievement, have a great semester, and travel some more for spring break. I want to go see my dad in Las Vegas, go to California, and --- if there’s enough time, have a chance to go to Atlanta.” Lindsey Sarabia, education sophomore | “It’s pretty simple, one is to eat healthy and to grow closer to God. Often times I fail in both of them because they say, “Hey, do want a salad or fries?” and I always say fries and I know I shouldn’t and it’s also the same with God it’s really easy to be like “I’m really busy” so, I just need time aside for God and to start choosing salad.” Jamiliah Kangudja, exercise physiology sophomore | “I don’t have a new years resolution because I typically don’t stick to them but, I make small goals for myself to accomplish each month.”

Admissions office waived application fees for Black Friday TYLER MANNING EDITOR

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o get more prospective students to submit applications, the Office of Admissions waived the student application fee on Nov. 24, 2017 for a Black Friday special. AJ Lopez, social media coordinator and the person who came up with the idea for the sale, said other Black Friday deals are presented to the school’s social media accounts around the time of Black Friday by students annually. “Every year around that time, we get tons of students asking us online on our social [media]: ‘Hey, can we have a Black Friday deal for parking?’ They also ask about a deal for tuition. But of course, we can’t do that,” Lopez said. While the option to waive parking pass prices and tuition are off the table, Lopez said since the admissions fee has been waived in the past, when he asked to do it for Black Fri-

day the Office of Admissions try to help with their costs, we approved. will.” Gayonne Beavers, director After they got the approval of the Office of Admissions, to waive the admissions fee, said due to the large number Office of Admissions staff sent of students who wish to apply emails to those who had disbut cannot due to financial played interest in the school. reasons, those in the office try Lopez said, “They [the to find ways to get students to Office of Admissions staff] apply. emailed students that were “We are always looking for interested that week, starting creative ways to where we can at the beginning of that week GAYONNE BEAVERS draw attention to MSU and DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF before break. We were putting draw interest in students apout a couple things on social ADMISSIONS plying. Also [we are] providing [media] that Thursday in the an opportunity for those that afternoon. We had already cremay be interested in applying, but just may ated and we just threw that out so we could not have that application fee readily avail- read it on Twitter and Snapchat.” able,” Beavers said. “We do have a relatively The admissions office staff sent emails to a large number of low socio-economic students list of people that fit the demographic of stuthat are interested in MSU, so anyway we can dents who would apply. According to Beavers,

“We are always looking for creative ways to where we can draw attention to MSU.”

the admissions office staff purchases a list of names of students that fit the demographic of those who apply to make aware of the school. “We made sure that all of the, what we call, ‘suspects,’ [those] are names that we purchase, are aware of it. This might just be that little nudge needed to apply,” said Beavers. Beavers said 70 students indicated interest in applying on Black Friday to get the deal. 25 people submitted applications and of those applicants 12 were freshmen, 10 were transfer students and 3 fit into other categories. Beavers said this Black Friday deal is something that her and Lopez would like to do in the again in the future. “It is a great idea. AJ and I discussed it once we saw the results of it. We thought this is something for the spring semester. Typically in the fall semester that is heavily freshmen applications just with the typical “ebb and flow” of the year,” Beavers said.


10 | Jan. 17, 2018 |

SGA meeting presents benefits of raising student tuition BRITTNI VILANDRE REPORTER

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uzanne Shipley, university president, and Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs, attended the staff senate meeting on Jan. 16 in the CSC in representation for the Board as they presented new ideas to the students and organizations on the benefits of increasing future students tuition. “Today, specifically, we were discussing what the students’ proposed tuition and fee increase is for next year,” Lamb said. “Every year, we come to student government and discuss with the senators our thoughts on tuition fee increases and certainly, you know, inflation goes up every year. And so, in order to keep up with the cost, we generally have to adjust tuition and fee rates we want to get with them as early as possible to make sure we have feedback from them and understand their questions and their concerns before moving forward.” Shipley said, out of all the benefits, she hopes raising salaries for the faculty will be achieved even if it means going up 1%. “We’ve been staying really closer to 2% and this year’s gonna be slightly higher,” Shipley said. “Because I really wanna give our faculty and staff a salary increase as it’s been three years and the faculty haven’t had a salary increase. And at some point they need to have the money to take home to their families and have a good life too.” With the students in mind, Shipley said she hopes to focus on the percentage at which the tuition is increased based upon how long each student has been attending. “I think the harder thing is to decided what the percentage increase is,” Shipley said. “And the way we determine the percentage increase is we try to minimize the impact on students who have been here a long time.” Preston Busby, criminal justice junior, said he believes the rise in tuition fees are unnecessary, although it will benefit the future students in the end. “I feel like it’s an unnecessary raise in tuition to better our campus,” Busby said. “Unfortunately, people paying it won’t actually benefit from it, but the campus as a whole will, so thats good. Ultimately, I do not like it personally, but i think it’d be good for the campus.” Shipley said she hopes to focus on what was promised tuition wise when each individual student applied to attend and be true to their word. “For me, I would rather have a student

that’s making a decision know that this is their price and a student that made a decision awhile back and expected us to say stay low, I tried to stay low,” Shipley said. “So what I tell the board is try to stay between 2 and 3% a year for existing students. But I’ll go up more for new students if I have to.” Although Shipley hopes to focus on the faculty salary, she said she believes the increase will go more towards other matters like technology. “My top priority is for the salary increase,” Shipley said, “but probably the tuition increase will go more for the inflationary issues like benefits and technology. We spend a lot of money on technology, because all of the student operations like registration and advising and financial aid they go through the banner system and other systems and every year those cost go up.” With the increase in technology, the faculty will begin to rise. “Every year we have to hire more I.T. people,” Shipley said, “and we have social media and we have all the things you want to have your phone do and your iPad do.” Busby said he hopes the raises will be put towards more contributions affecting the student life. “Honestly I’d say the student center and library,” Busby said. “which they’ve already begun working on. Parking could come last in my book, they could just have more restricted parking for people who live in apartments, so that the parking around apartments are just for those people in apartments and not for other students who do not live there.” Lamb believes that the top priority should be focused around space for student activities. “For a school our size, we have trouble fitting everything in here,” Lamb said. “In fact, in here, we’ve removed student space from the student center believe it or not, in order to have many of our administrative functions in here.” Shipley assures that as each student pays more in tuition, their student aids have followed and have increased with it. “I think the good news is they have a lot of time to plan for it,” Shipley said, “and as Dr. Lamb said there’s a lot of aid money that we included in the budget that wasn’t there four and five years ago. So although you’re seeing your tuition going up about 300 dollars a year, your aid has been going up almost 200 dollars a year. Only about one third of that increase for the average student applies, so you’re really netting about 100 dollars a year having school be more expensive.”

PHOTO BY CHLOE PHILLIPS | THE WICHITAN

At the Late Night Scramble, Benjamin Rizzuti, psychology sophomore, Dominique Pequeno, radiologic technology freshman, Robert King, criminal justice and psychology junior, Samantha Rizzuti, nursing junior, play Connect 4 on Jan. 14.

Late Night Scramble kicks off spring Stampede Week CHLOE PHILLIPS REPORTER

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ree food, games and a chance to meet old friends and make new ones. To kick off the semester with Stampede Week, university programming board, student involvement and various other sponsor members hosted a Late Night Scramble on Jan. 14 in the Legacy Multipurpose Room. “It’s really good for being the first event in the semester,” Ruby Arriaga, activities coordinator and educational leadership graduate, said. “We had really good food, good turnout. They seem to be enjoying it too and they’re playing games.” As part of activities coordinator, Arriaga coordinates with student run organizations to generate campus involvement. From block parties with free food to helping with the homecoming bonfire, Arriaga said student organizations drive involvement on campus. After Rogelio Nuñez, psychology sophomore, heard there was going to be free food, he decided to attend the event. According to Nuñez, free food “always gets people out” and involved on campus, but more importantly the relationships built by attending these events starts off the semester on a good note. According to Nuñez, “getting a community gathering together” offers the students an opportunity to see their friends they haven’t seen over the break.

“The importance of Stampede Week is to have something for the students. After being a month or a summer away from here, they’re kind of homesick, so having activities like this is makes it, so they won’t be bored,” Arriaga said. Kenadi Campbell, computer science senior and cinema chair of UPB, agrees with Arriaga, since a lot of students had not moved back on campus. “Stampede Week is important because it gives students an opportunity for something to do and if they’re new on campus,” Campbell said. “It gives them a chance to meet some people as well as people who’ve already been here, they get a chance to ease back into school, so you’re not just dropped in the center of it.” “It gets everybody from all over the campus versus everybody who lives in Legacy or everybody who lives in Sundance, so you get the people who live off campus as well who come so you may meet someone who you never went who went to this school,” Campbell said. According to Zayda Wilson, english freshman, events like this allow students to meet new people. “For me, it’s really about getting to know new people and making new friends because I don’t want to be alone here,” Wilson. “I only know my brother and my roommate, so I’m trying to get out of my bubble and meet other people.”


| Jan. 17, 2018 | 11

The social tolls of moving from dorms to apartments BRITTNI VILANDRE REPORTER

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new semester brings a new lifestyle to students who make their first move from dorm rooms to apartments. Some students find the transition to be just what they needed while others feel as if they “jumped the gun.” Dental Hygiene sophomore, Courtney Hoover enjoyed the transition into her new apartment in Sunwatcher with her roommate since freshman year, Marissa Lopez, exercise physiology sophomore. “The transitions been good,” Hoover said. “It’s been really nice to have your own space and having the kitchen is really nice too.” Lopez, however found that the switch made it hard to keep everything, but eventually discovered how to work through it. “I threw away a lot of stuff because we had too much stuff in the dorm room, and it was like right at Christmas, so I asked for it all at Christmas,” Lopez said. “We moved in everything pretty well.” After living in Killingsworth and Legacy, Hoover admits she will miss the Legacy study rooms, but will learn to adapt if it means she has more space and her own bathroom. “Now that I have like the living room I can study there,” Hoover said, “Besides that, I really don’t lose a whole lot besides the study

rooms. I like having my own bathroom — that’s been pretty nice and that’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to move out of the dorms.” Making the move to Sunwatcher is exactly what Hoover and Lopez wanted when they applied for both apartments last fall. Hoover finds that having an outside apartment compared to the hotel style that Sundance brings, is less of hassle when it comes to getting through the front door. “We wanted Sunwatcher anyway because we really don’t like the hotel style apartments,” Hoover said. “I like being able to walk into my apartment door and not having to go through like keying people in and all that kind of stuff. We can just invite people over. We don’t have to swipe into our building. It’s safer, but it’s just annoying sometimes.” Lopez feels the transition to apartments isn’t for every classification, and it’s best to go through the dorm room experience before deciding to move to an apartment. “I definitely agree with keeping freshman in dorms first,” Lopez said. “It helps you get involved with people and like other things and organizations and stuff like that.” Once students experience living in the dorms Hoover encourages anyone who is wanting to move to the apartments, to go for it “especially if they’ve already had dorm ex-

perience.” According to Hoover, the freedom is “worth it.” Athletic training junior, Jaclyn Carranza made the transition from Legacy to Sunwatcher last fall semester hoping to get a taste of what real life would be like after she graduates. “I decided to go to an apartment, so I could get a feel for real life,” Carranza said. “Like what it’s gonna be when I actually have an apartment for myself rather than being kind of dependent upon other people to help me out and other people to be there for me. I figured if I was in an apartment, I would get use to how it is whenever I do graduate college and get out of here.” After making the move, Carranza actually prefers the dorms over the apartments. While apartments offer more freedom for students, dorm life left an impact on her that she never expected. “My social life has changed drastically,” Carranza said. “Because you stick with who you know rather than trying to go out and meet new people, I prefer dorms over apartments. There’s a lot more to do and interaction with other people rather than in an apartment.” Although Carranza believes the transition has helped her grow as a person, the changes between dorm and apartment changed how

she communicated the people ad herself. “I think it’s helped me grow as a person because I’ve had a lot more time for myself,” Carranza said. “I do miss that aspect of having my friends around, down the hallway or like up the stairs whenever I needed them.” Carranza sees each housing option as providing a different lifestyle and leaves it up to the students to decide how involved they are trying to become. “The best part of apartment life is there’s a lot more time that you have for yourself,” Carranza said, “There’s a lot more quiet time you can get because you’re not really worrying about people three floors above you yelling or people who are being loud down the hallway. It’s a lot more quieter than dorm life, but there’s a lot more to do and a lot more ways that you can meet new people than you can in apartment life.” After a semester of living in the apartments, Carranza’s advice to students is to wait until they are ready socially, before deciding to move to an apartment. “If they’re set in who their friends are and have a certain group of friends they can rely on, then I think you’re ready for an apartment,” Carranza said. “But if you’re still trying to make new friends and meet new people then I definitely say to stay in the dorms and enjoy it while it last.”

LUNCH WITH MUSTANGS

PHOTOS BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

Toni Shirey, 1980 MSU graduate, Nancy Ashbrook, 1959 MSU graduate, Margartte Walker, attendee, and Noel Johnson, head women’s basketball coach, chat during Lunch with Mustangs to discuss sport teams’ recent games and encourage community involvement. Participants sit down to eat during Lunch with Mustangs at Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU on Jan. 16.


12 | Jan. 17, 2018 | CALENDAR Women’s basketball coach gets 133rd victory DEC. 19 — The women’s basketball players remain atop the Lone Star Conference with a 4-0 record as Noel Johnson, head coach, became the program’s all-time coaching wins leader with her 133rd victory. “To have that is a credit to the staff both current and past. It means a lot but it means so much to the players,” Johnson said. “I am proud to be at MSU and proud to have this honor.”

PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

Leanna James, undecided sophomore, uses Avery Queen, biology senior, to block a defender during the Eastern New Mexico vs MSU game at D.L. Ligion Coliseum Jan. 13.

Men’s soccer to host camp Feb. 18 for prospective college players DEC. 12 — Men’s soccer will hold a one-day ID Camp for high school and junior college players on Sunday, Feb. 18 from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. at the soccer practice field. The camp is designed to give players a training experience that highlights technical and tactical abilities identified with the program.

Women’s soccer to host camp Jan. 21

Women’s basketball beats Eastern New Mexico 73-55 MAKAYLA SCHECK SPORTS REPORTER

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fter three losses and two wins over winter break, the women’s basketball team opened the spring semester with a win against Eastern New Mexico University, 73-55 upping their season record to 9-5. “This game we knew coming in we had to redeem ourselves because we shouldn’t have lost the games over break. We came out, clicked together and stayed on the same page. We had a lot of assists and were working together well,” Whitney Taylor, forward and education senior said. Jasmine Richardson, guard and exercise physiology senior, and Avery Queen, forward/center and biology senior, made two three-point shots in the first two minutes of the first quarter. Followed by a basket by Taylor at the 6:45 mark bringing the score to 8-4. At the 5:00 mark, the scored was tied at 5-5, not long after the score was brought, up to 11-11. That was the last time in the first half that Eastern New Mexico came close to the women. Micheline Mercelita, forward and kinesiology senior, made a basket at the 4:25 mark and broke the tie. Not long after, Taylor rebounded and dribbled down the court to Chelcie Kizart, guard and pre-physical therapy junior, who then made a basket to make the score 15-11. With 32 seconds left to the quarter, Hannah Reynolds, center and health science freshman, brought the score to 24-15. The score at the end of first quarter was 24-17. The second quarter began with Richardson making one out of two foul shots, followed by a three-pointer by Taylor making the score 28-19. At the 7:45 mark, Queen made a basket to bring the team eleven points ahead of Eastern New Mexico. Mercelita was up for

foul shots. After making one out of two, she stole the ball and drove it up for a basket. At the 2:46 mark, the score was 38-26. With 29 seconds left before halftime, Reynolds was given foul shots and made both. The score before halftime was 46-31. “We came together in times of adversity, but we started separating when things got hard. We were able to come together in the fourth quarter to finish it,” Reynolds said. There was only a 9-point increase by the women’s team in the third quarter. At the 8:43 mark, Richardson made the only regular basket of the quarter. The rest of the quarter was dependent on foul shots and defense. The women were able to hold off Eastern New Mexico with the defense. ENMU had a 12 point increase but was still trailing behind the women’s basketball team. The final score of the third quarter was 55-43 with the women still ahead. The fourth quarter picked back up compared after the slow third quarter. Mercelita made added three points to the scoreboard with a basket and a foul shot. At the 4:49 mark Mica Schnieder, guard and mass communications sophomore, made two fouls shots and brought the score to 61-51. Reynolds scored two points at the 3:03 mark. She then made two separate foul shots and at the 2:11 mark the score was 67-53. Taylor finished off the game making three of the foul shots given to her at the 9 seconds mark. “In the past few games we were starting really slow in the first half. So we needed to develop the ability to be a first half team and not just a second half team. Today, we really became more of not just a second half team but a first half team as well,” Kizart said.

N EX T GA ME : J AN . 1 8 , 6 P. M . , T E X A S WO M EN’S U NIV ER S ITY

DEC. 11 — Women’s soccer players will hold a one-day ID Camp for high school-aged players Jan. 21 from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the soccer practice field. The camp is designed to give players a training experience that highlights technical and tactical abilities identified with the program.

Women’s basketball player receives offensive player of the week honor DEC. 11 — Whitney Taylor, marketing sophomore, poured in a season-high 18 points to lead the team to a road win over Angelo State last week to earn Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. The senior guard connected on four of her seven shots from the field —all 3-pointers— and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe to lead the team to the third win all time over the Rambelles at the Junell Center Thursday night to improve to 6-2 on the season and to 3-0 in league play.

Three men’s soccer players make All-American team DEC. 6 — NCAA Division II national quarter-finalist placed three players on the D2 Conference Commissioner’s Association All-America teams released earlier this week by the D2 Sports Information Directors of America. Senior midfielder Pierre Bocquet and junior defender Patrick Fitzgerald earned second-team honors while senior forward Scott Doney earned third-team accolades. SOURCE: MSUMUSTANGS.COM The Wichitan welcomes press releases from student groups for news briefs. Each brief should be about 200 words and should include the name, email address and phone number of a contact person. Briefs should be submitted by the Friday before publication.


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