2011-09-22

The East Texan STUDENT NE WSPAPER OF TE X AS A& M UNIVERSIT Y- COMMERCE SINCE 1915

XCVI, No. 3, 8 pages

www.theeasttexan.com

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

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news Page 3

entertainment Page 6

sports Page 7 and 8

A memorial dedicated to former student Rachel Rollings is nearing completion. Read about its location and its design.

While “Staw Dogs” may look like an action packed thriller, our entertainment editor says otherwise in this week’s movie review.

This week, sports is all about the HMC at Cowboys Stadium. Also there were home games for volleyball and women’s soccer.

LuLu’s tells student ‘don’t ever come back’ Editor Adam Troxtell Local restaurant LuLu’s Burgers told a student not to return to their establishment after he posted a negative comment about the restaurant’s food on their Facebook page.

Music major Kraig Reeves posted the comment about his experience with the new buffalo chicken sandwich. Reeves said he went through the drive through to order his meal, and when he got home he pulled out, what he called, “a frozen chicken puck…with a small squirt of buffalo sauce on it.”

The next day, Reeves returned to the res-

taurant and was waiting in the drive through for an order of fried pickles, when he decided to comment on LuLu’s Facebook wall via his mobile phone. While he was still waiting, the comment was removed from the Facebook page and LuLu’s sent him a Facebook message.

The message, which was provided in full to The East Texan by Reeves, read: “that’s probably something you shouldn’t write on some businesses(sic) Facebook page. I’m sorry your sandwich was not good or up to your standards. $6 meal what do you expect, a hooters buffalo sandwich ? lol. Anyways please don’t ever come back.”

Reeves responded by saying: “So you’re upset with me because the food I bought from your establishment was terrible. Lol.” LuLu’s then replied by saying the anger was about the “very negative” comment on the Facebook page, and “this is not yelp, or yahoo reviews.”

LuLu’s owner Sarj Agha said he does not know who was sending the messages to Reeves and that he along with other employees have access to it. Agha said since the restaurant’s Facebook is used for promotions and advertising, negative comments have no place and should be brought up to restaurant staff only.

“If there is a problem with the food, something should be said to the manager or the owner, instead of going on our page and posting that,” Agha said. “Our Facebook is used for us to tell people about specials and promotions. Using words like ‘disgusting’ is very negative.”

Reeves said his comment was intended to share information with other customers.

“I thought ‘I’ll just comment on their wall, maybe warn some other people about getting the buffalo chicken sandwich,’” he said.

“I wouldn’t recommend it, and it’s not fair to have other people spend $6 on something

•See Student’s Page 3

Mustangs stampede to win Story on Page 8

faith wenbourne / the east texan Performer Matt Corey plays the saxofone on stage during the campus Block party last Friday evening. Eli Young Band headlined the event.

Lions Roar ends with campus block party Nick Bailey Savannah Christian The second annual Block Party was held Friday, Sept.

16 on the walkway between the Rayburn Student Center and the Science building.

The event, organized by The Club, featured four artists including Pleasure P and headliner Eli Young Band.

Students lined up outside of the RSC, waiting to gain entrance to the party where they would enjoy hotdogs, drinks and entertainment such as inflatable games and a mechanical bull in addition to the live music. The event’s artists were chosen by a university committee in charge of selecting entertainment that would be fun and appropriate for students and community members alike.

“The artists were chosen by a board of A&M-Commerce employees,” junior marketing major and marketing and promotions coordinator for The Club Shiloh Burney said. “”Once the artists were chosen, we then went on to decide what other activities would be provided. This year, there was a mechanical bull, a bungee run, a henna

artist and a magician.”

Junior Naomi RuizMedellin was in attendance Friday night and tried her hand at a little southern fun.

“I really like the event,” she said. “It is cool to come out and get to see Commerce bring in performers and stuff for us to do. I am going to try the mechanical bull. I think I can handle it.”

Amidst the hoopla, the rain the community has been seeking for months made an appearance, but the party didn’t stop. Despite the inclement weather, the audience enjoyed the festivities and carried on having fun.

“The rain made it more fun for us,” junior Christine Presti said. “I was really excited to see Pleasure P and Eli Young.”

Amongst the few complaints from patrons regarding the event was a comment from senior Casey Beck concerning ticket availability.

“It was really frustrating that they ran out of nonstudent tickets,” she said. “I was pretty upset because my sister drove four hours to come see me and I wanted

•See Block Page 3

grayson graves / the east texan Sophomore Brandon Turner wraps up freshman Jimmy Pipkin during last Saturday’s Harvey Martin Classic at Cowboys stadium. The game, which the Lions lost 63-17, was a part of the Lone Star Conference Festival.

Renowned scientist Jemison to visit campus Staff Writer Keyania Campbell Dr. Mae Jemison, globally recognized scientist and the first black woman in space, will be visiting the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce on Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. to speak at a symposium tentatively titled The Jemison Event in Ferguson Auditorium.

It is a collaboration between the theatre and chemistry department in an effort to not only recruit high school students for the chemistry program, but to also show students how famous scientists were able to overcome many challenges to earn the respect of their colleagues.

“She is pretty much chemistry in this world,” A&M-Commerce sophomore and Vice President of the American

Chemistry Society Kym Baxter said.

“Normally, to get a speaker like her to come for a symposium, it would cost around $25,000, but we were able to get her here for free.”

Baxter gives much of the credit for planning this event to Alexandra Von Ausdall, a graduate assistant in the chemistry department.

“Alexandra has put this whole thing together,” she said. “We would never have been able to even think about doing this without her.”

The event will feature a living museum, using students from the theatre department. In four acts, they will be portraying different scientists with disabilities and others that overcame adversity throughout their careers.

Over 500 high school seniors will be attending from all over North Texas,

along with the entire Commerce High School student body. The event is open to university students and Commerce community.

“We’re hoping to get this on convocation so that our entire student body will have the opportunity to come,” Baxter said. “Some speech classes have already talked about letting class out and having students report on it.”

Planning on The Jemison Event started in August last year, with the intended date in March 2011; but Dr. Jemison had a prior obligation with NASA and would not have been able to attend.

Both departments used the summer break to send more invitations and iron out more details for the symposium.

“We’re kind of nervous, but I think it will go well.” Baxter said. “This is really big.”

OPINION

Page 2

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

www.theeasttexan.com

Story inspires writer to remember to be thankful Opinion Editor Savannah Christian In an effort to relax myself, I took a break from life and all of its “trials” and sat in a chair for two hours while my hands and feet were massaged and beautified. Everyone has something that he or she does to relieve some stress and just generally feel better and going to the nail salon is my outlet.

Normally, I do not like to be bugged while sitting in my big massage chair being pampered. That is my time to just be with myself and not worry about the things I have to get done upon leaving my big massage chair. However, my most recent trip to the nail salon presented a change, a change not only in the way I spent my time but in the way I looked at the world outside of the salon.

You see, there was a lady who also likes to get her nails done sitting beside me. She told me that she had been getting solar (fake) nails put on for many, many years but that she had recently fallen on hard financial times and “was going to have to do something different.” I knew exactly what she meant because I also used to wear solar nails and that, my friends, is one expensive accessory.

She went on to tell me about how her friends would be so disappointed to see her nails not adorned with interesting patterns and colors, but she had to give up something in order to go on. Now, it might sound silly to some to think of someone being so upset about not being able to have a certain type of fingernail, and I will admit that, at first, I didn’t understand either. I kept think-

ing to myself, “They aren’t THAT awesome.”

But, what I learned next quickly cleared that thought.

The woman told me that her husband had recently passed after being terminally ill for over nine years.

I couldn’t really believe that she was telling me all of these personal stories, but it was clear that she needed someone to talk to, so I listened. She told me over and over that when her husband was alive she would go get her nails done and when she would come home he would be so excited to see what interesting design she had selected to paint on them. She would then show him her nails and her husband would tell her how beautiful they looked, but I think he might have been telling her how beautiful SHE looked.

I kept listening to her stories and it became crys-

JESSICA MARTIN / THE EAST TEXAN

Hearing a story from a grieving stranger reminds columnist Savannah Christian of the good things life has to offer.

tal clear to me that she was beginning to deal with the reality that when she went home after her trip to the nail salon that day her beloved husband would not be there to greet her. I could see the moisture in her eyes, and I could hear the agony in her voice when she said to me, “Gosh, I just miss him so much.”

She finished her nails and went back to her home,

More generosity makes world less ugly Sports Editor Justin Cheatham The concept of karma – do good things and good things will happen to you – is an utterly optimistic way of looking at the world. But when you really stop and think about the reason the world turned ugly, unrelenting and evil is because we have forgotten what it means to be mutually kind.

Big businesses and banks have stopped taking into account the effects of their actions on the everyday person for hope of higher profit margins, the government

almost shuts down because the people we have put in office to protect our best interests use their powers to push ulterior motives. This “I’m just in this world to look out for me” mentality has caused the regular person to forget what it means to do something good for someone else for no reason and without any recognition.

Facebook has spurred a new low for our generation, in regards to apathy, by making support of causes a click away, no real commitment or sacrifice needed. For example, last year the university had a guest speaker

talk about the female orgasm and it caused a controversy.

There was talk on Facebook that students both opposed the school’s involvement in sexual issues and supported the decision of an institution of higher learning to encourage sexual knowledge. The pro-sex education students decided to have a rally showing their support and had many students confirm attendance on a Facebook event. Not a single person attended the rally, not even the group’s originator.

Real life is not online, nor is it something you can “like” to show your support.

Real life demands real actions that affect real people daily. Actions as small as holding a door an extra few seconds for someone or stopping to help someone change their tire can let people know that kindness is not reserved for starving kids in Africa.

Not only do random acts of kindness improve the recipients’ outlook but also the person doing good things.

Doing a good deed for somebody makes you feel good, and if you make it a habit to do one small thing a day then you can count on having a better week. I have been trying this on my own dur-

and I was left there in my big massage chair to think.

Every day I complain about something whether it be my endless flow of assignments, my lack of time to do something other than go to school and work or how exhausted I am because I can’t seem to catch up with life. But, after speaking to that woman I realized that everything I have to complain about isn’t worth the

time it takes to complain about it after all. I realized I am healthy, I am on the right track in life, I am fulfilling my dreams, I am loved by plenty of people and, above all, I am alive.

I have more to be thankful for than I have to complain about at the end of every day, but it took me seeing the real trials of life that someone else was living to really, truly understand.

ing the summer; changing a tire for someone in 100+ degree heat, helping someone struggling with their groceries, all sorts of small things.

I’m doing this because I feel

like the world is a sad place where everyone is only out for themselves, and now I feel that no matter how dark the world seems, at least I can be somebody’s ray of light.

Editorial: LuLu’s actions bad for business As a newspaper, we value free speech.

In fact, it’s one of the reasons we exist and are able to do our job. That’s why we, the editorial staff, find the actions of LuLu’s Burgers, in the face of one negative comment, a bit perplexing.

We get our fair share of negative comments about The East Texan, and we admit we probably deserve them sometimes. But, we also make a habit of never going after those that disagree with us, especially in any public manner. Our readers have a

right to speak their mind on our Facebook, Twitter and website (within the parameters of decency, of course).

The fact that LuLu’s deleted a negative comment from their Facebook page is mildly alarming. If the whole ordeal they had with A&M-Commerce student Kraig Reeves had ended there, we probably would not be writing this editorial. It’s their actions, which involve going after Reeves and having a stab at his music major status, that we find the most troubling.

As a business that deals with a judgmental public every day, it is important to at least give the impression of valuing each customer and what they have to say, regardless of whether the business personnel agree with their complaints. We feel LuLu’s actions, in messaging Reeves in the repeated fashion they did, were in bad taste, and could only serve to alienate the establishment from what has been a loyal group of students and paying customers.

THIS WEEK’S ‘PLAN B’

The East Texan, official student newspaper of Texas A&M University-Commerce, is published 12 times per semester during the Fall and Spring by students in reporting and editing classes. Content is solely the responsibility of the student editors and writers. The comments and views expressed in The East Texan do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of other students, staff, faculty, administration, or the Board of Trustees. The East Texan is located inside the Journalism building on the east side of campus in room 113.

Single copies are available in Journalism 113 for an additional 25 cents.

Letters to the editor are welcome and should be limited to 250 words. They will not be edited for spelling, grammar and libelous or malicious statements. We reserve the right to refuse publication. Letters should be typed or e-mailed and must include a signature, legal name, classification (grade level) and telephone number. Mailing address is The East Texan, P.O. Box 4104 Commerce, Texas 75428.

by Arielle McMahon

The East East Tex Texan an The Established 1915 Adam troxtell Editor Savannah christian opinion editor

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTIN CHEATHAM

Small acts such as opening a door for someone demonstrate the kindness our world used to know, Justin Cheatham writes.

Chancellor mills Entertainment Editor

Justin Cheatham Sports Editor

nick bailey CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

Cliff Gibson assistant sports editor

ARIELLE MCMAHON STAFF CARTOONIST

CONTACT

903-886-5985

theeasttexan@gmail.com facebook.com/pages/The-East-Texan-Online twitter.com/TheEastTexan ADVERTISING:

Jessica Martin Graphics editor

www.theeasttexan.com

903-436-9307

Fred Stewart Faculty Adviser fred_stewart@tamu-commerce.edu

www.theeasttexan.com

news

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

Page 3

Student’s Facebook comment sparks row Continued from Page 1... that they may not be able to eat.”

After Reeves was told a second time he was “not welcome to LuLu’s” via Facebook, he responded by saying, “I hope you guys succeed with the ‘business strategy’ you are currently following.”

LuLu’s then said, “my new business strategy will be taking advice from a music major lol.”

Some students involved with the marching band would frequent LuLu’s on football game days or after rehearsals, according to Reeves.

“People would, after rehearsals on Thursdays and sometimes Fridays before they would go to games, and even Saturday’s

between our break between morning rehearsal to the game, they would go there,” he said. “I’ve been invited several times, I’ve gone up there and had a root beer float; that was my favorite thing to get there.”

Reeves said he will never go back to LuLu’s.

He also said people have approached him about his conflict with LuLu’s.

“People keep coming up to me in the music building and different social events telling me how they are going to support me and not go to Lu Lu’s,” he said. “I don’t have a stance that anyone should not go there anymore, I’m just appalled and offended by all the things he had to say.”

Agha said the messages between Lu Lu’s and Reeves were “not said for everyone to read.”

PHOTOS BY DANICA EASTERLING, ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA MARTIN

LuLu’s Burgers, located on Culver Street, removed music major Kraig Reeves’s negative comment from their Facebook page before telling the student to never return to their restaurant. Reeves said some people affiliated with the music department have told him they will not go to LuLu’s in the future.

Rachel Rollings memorial to be finished, dedicated later this fall Editor Adam Troxtell

Jessica martin / the east texan

The memorial site’s name is still pending approval, but it is expected to be completed and officially dedicated to former student Rachel Rollings in a ceremony later this semester.

With all of the construction and additions being made to the campus, the new site for a memorial dedicated to former student Rachel Erin Rollings is perhaps one of the more original changes.

Rachel’s Garden, located between the Halladay Student Services Building and the Field House, was built over the summer. Rollings was an A&M-Commerce student in August of 2006 when she was killed in an automobile accident. The memorial is also dedicated to Britney Lipsey, another student killed in the same accident.

“The memorial is a gathering garden containing a seating area, beautiful landscaping, and water effects,” Vice

President of Advancement Randy VanDeven said. “The memorial will include a bronze sculpture of a mother lion leading and teaching her cubs, in honor or Rachel’s goal to become a teacher.”

Vice President for Student Access and Success Dr. Mary Hendrix said the memorial is a fitting tribute to Rollings.

“From the moment Rachel stepped foot on our campus, she became a beloved member of our university family,” Hendrix said. “She was a leader on campus with a huge smile and a caring spirit. The Rollings Memorial represents all that was Rachel: it is beautiful, welcoming, and comforting.”

Construction on the site began in the middle of last summer, and is set to be complete sometime this fall.

The lioness sculpture, titled “The Teacher,” is the only part of the memorial yet to be placed.

It is the second part of a gift from the Rollings family to A&M-Commerce. The first is the Rachel Rollings Scholarsip Endowment, which gives $10,000 to a sophomore, junior or senior studying education with at least one year complete at the university. The garden was also made with students in mind.

“Their desire was to create a place where students could pause and reflect,” VanDeven said.

There will be a dedication ceremony once the memorial is complete, which VanDeven anticipates will occur later this semester.

Block Party ‘a huge success’ Continued from Page 1... to bring her to the concert to see Eli Young Band perform, but they said that she could not come in because they had run out of tickets for non-students.”

After some negotiation, Beck’s sister was given a ticket and admitted to the event; but the event was indeed sold out of tickets, a symbol of its success, according to Burney.

“The party was a huge success,” she said. “The students seemed to really enjoy the artists that were performing. We did run out of community (non-student) tickets because we only had a select amount to be sold. This event is paid for by part of the fees that students pay and is [essentially] put on for them.”

The second annual campus Block Party featured attractions and entertainment for students, such as a mechanical bull and henna tattoos.

Food and drink were also provided by The Club, which organized and planned the event.

To the right, a roaming magician fascinates students at the Block Party last Friday night. The magician was only one aspect of the evening’s entertainment. Many local bands, including university staple Back Road Bandits, performed live on two stages, with Eli Young Band headlining the event.

faith wenbourne / the east texan

Mike Eli from Eli Young band performs at the Block Party. The country stars headlined the second annual event.

The band, which originated in Denton, is compose of Eli (lead vocals) and James Young (guitar).

faith wenbourne / the east texan

Page 4

Ca mpus Life

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

www.theeasttexan.com

SGA to address issues, Homecoming Staff Writer Aaron Leonard

AMANDA LUKE / THE EAST TEXAN Students participating in the watersports compete to try to sink each other’s canoe, or battleship, with items like buckets bowls and lids at the MRC pool on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Battleships sunk, no casualties Staff Writer Keyania Campbell Outdoor Adventure hosted their fourth annual live Battleship program on Sept.

15 at the Morris Recreation Center pool.

About ten participants came to play on three teams representing their respective fraternities, along with another ten spectators. The Outdoor Adventure staff provided all materials for the game, mostly basic household materials such as large container lids, buckets, and bowls, and canoes for each team. The object of the game was to use the tools to fill the opposing teams’ canoes up with water so that they would sink. The last canoe floating was declared the

winner at the end.

Four Sigma Chi team members, Alex Gardner, Keegan Stalcup, Scott Miracle, and Joseph Thornhill, were sank early on in the game.

“We heard about the event by looking at flyers and through intramurals,” Stalcup said. “We thought it would be fun, so we organized a team.”

The staff also had free pizza and drinks at the pool for all the participants and spectators. Free t-shirts in support of the football team for the Harvey Martin Classic were also given out.

“It was fun and very tiring,” Gardner said. “Definitely nothing like the board game. We didn’t win, but we still had fun.”

Stalcup expressed interest

in seeing more people at the next Battleship game.

“If you don’t look at any flyers or get involved with intramurals or anything, you won’t know what’s going on,” Stalcup said. “People could come out and have fun if they knew about the event.

It just takes interest and a little time to find out what’s going on around here.”

Jerome Osborne, A&MCommerce Associate Director of Intramurals shared the same sentiment.

“We plan on doing it again in the spring,” Osborne said. “With all the other events going on and the weather, we didn’t have too many people show, but as you can see, we had a good time.”

Parking price rises, violations fall Staff Writer Nikki Schmidlen Currently, one of the popular complaints from students on campus concerns how difficult it has become to locate a vacant parking spot and the tickets that are issued for either parking in the wrong zone or without a sticker.

“The number of tickets is a lot less compared to last year,” said Lieutenant Jason Bone of the Texas A&M University-Commerce University Police Department.

“Rough numbers from Sept.1 to Sept. 14 last year we wrote 659 tickets, and this year we have written 364. A lot less.”

Some would think that there would be an increase in tickets given out this year compared to last year due to the increase of students this semester and the increase in permit cost. The decrease could be because most of the new students are freshmen and are fresh out of orientation, where they were told to get a parking ticket. Bone believes that because a majority of the freshmen live in the freshmen residence halls, there is no need for them to park on campus given that they can just walk.

“The top two main violations are not having a permit, followed by parking in the wrong zone,” said Bone.

Parking in the wrong zone often happens when students are running late and park in the closest lot. They think they can get away with it but the officers patrol the lots regularly.

“Finding a spot is the most absurd thing on this campus because you either have too

much blue parking or purple parking and not enough green for normal students to park,” Sophomore Janelle Morgan said. “I typically park in front of the student center or by the library. Last semester I was over by Binnion for only 15 minutes and I came out and had a ticket for parking in the blue lot.”

Violation fines include $30 for not having a valid parking permit, and $20 for parking in the wrong zone. If a student has five outstanding tickets their car will get booted.

“A couple of violations are $75 for parking in handicap or fire lane,” Bone said. “Most of the time our guys will tow the car and give a citation which will have the person go to court rather than give a ticket. Those things are taken seriously. You do not take spots from people who need them, and fire lanes obviously are a safety thing.”

For some students, having to struggle to find parking is a change they were not expecting when they came to the A&M-Commerce campus.

“At my old high school, I got my own spot but at A&M I have to fight for a spot just

to make it in time for class,” Freshman Kody Miles said.

“Being a gentleman is out the window when I am searching for a parking spot.”

Some students go to the extent of creating their own spot, often because the parking lot closest to their destination is full.

“If you look at University of Texas or A&M, they don’t let you even park your first year; you walk or ride a bus,” Bone said. “At UNT, all the parking is on the exterior and you pay $75 a semester for the ‘bad’ spaces. Overall, our parking is probably not as good as their high school but, as for university parking, we are up there as far as the better in regards to parking. If you live in the new dorm, you will probably disagree with that.”

The college is well aware of the parking issues and plans to fix it by adding new parking lots when the new nursing building is built, according to Bone. The college also plans in the near future to expand the parking lots near the Morris Recreation Center.

The Student Government Association held a meeting Sept. 14 in the Alumni center, confirming candidates for positions and addressing issues and concerns facing students this term.

The student-lead organization comprised of 30 senate seats; however, only 14 of the positions are filled and many of the members vocalized their stress regarding minimal membership in senate committees. This is an apparent issue because many of the committees are admittedly staffed by a single senator prompting some to enlist help from the other members.

Senator Tim Houston addressed the issue regarding the 16 senate-seat vacancies.

“All you have to do is attend two meetings, apply for the position, and then have an interview with us,” he said.

Houston also said he would like to see more students apply for the position and get involved with student government.

“We serve as an intermediary between the students and the administration,” he said. “We need students to show up to the meetings so

Dont forget to check out Word on the Street each week at:

www.theeasttexan.com/campus-life

on-campus resident, Robert Cox, aired his grievance concerning the poor internet connections plaguing student housing. Cox, a PrairieCrossing resident, expressed his agitation to the room.

“Fifteen-hundred plus students have been added to the enrollment over the past couple years, but for some reason the school has not increased the bandwidth,” he said. “This issue keeps me from doing the work I am expected to do as a student.

How can I watch a video for class if it takes so long to load?”

He complained that students should not have to come to the library every time they need to use the internet, when quality internet should already be provided to residents. When asked why he attends the SGA meeting he replied, “There is a lack of participation in student government and this is a place for students to truly impact their environment.”

The budget for this year is $47,000, which pays for SGA events and activities.

One senator mentioned that budget cuts this year have affected the organization and some events have had to be cancelled.

Super Bowl Champion, alumnus attempts to motivate, inspire Lions Campus Life Editor Nick Bailey In preparation for the Harvey Martin Classic, this year Texas A&M UniversityCommerce was pleased to host Super Bowl champion and A&M-Commerce alumni Alan Veingrad in the Rayburn Student Center on Thursday Sept. 15. During his college career, Veingrad became a two-time first team All-Lone Star Conference offensive lineman for the Lions and was a first team Eastman Kodak Coaches’ College Division All-American in 1984.

“I feel great about [Veingrad] coming in,” Director of Athletics Carlton Cooper said.

“We have an amazing tradition here and we have some amazing people, some that we don’t even know yet.”

Many students and faculty members came out to see Veingrad and show support for the Lions as they prepared to faceoff against the Midwestern State University Mustangs.

Veingrad regaled the audience with stories of his career and shared his wisdom with those in attendance, with his overall message being ‘change.’

“I’ve changed a lot in my life,” Veingrad said. “I don’t look like a football player anymore, I know…but you have to want to make the change. You have to ask yourself ‘what am I changing to? What am I running from?

What am I running to?’”

Veingrad received a standing ovation from students and faculty members after his speech, and stayed to answer questions

DAVID GROTE / THE EAST TEXAN Alan Veingrad holding the volleyball that he served at the Lions Volleyball game Thursday night.

“It brought back a lot of emotions for me, to go out and walk back on the football field...”

and meet with audience members and even stopped to help offensive lineman Jesus Fajardo with his technique.

“I’ve seen a tremendously positive change here,” Veingrad said. “It brought back a lot of emotions for me, to go out and walk back on the football field, and to experience that, and to see that, and to talk to the players and have some of the players come up to me and get pretty personal.”

The reception was the first of a handful of events for the fourth annual Harvey Martin Classic, in which the A&M-Commerce Lions played against Midwestern State at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17 at noon. The game was the first of three games that are a part of the Lone Star Football Festival.

Résumé still important tool in tech-advanced job market Staff Writer Susan Dagenais

JESSICA MARTIN / THE EAST TEXAN Parking tickets issued from Sept. 1 to 14 have decreased since 2009.

we can get more done and improve things. Look for us in the blue polo shirts and see if we can help you.”

Walmart was also an issue addressed at the meeting.

SGA is currently in the process of contacting the Texas Department of Transportation with efforts of creating a four way cross-walk at the intersection leading to the department store. Students that walk to the store are technically crossing the street illegally to get to their shopping destination.

Although the police department is not enforcing the jaywalking infraction, SGA feels that students should be provided a legally marked avenue for them to safely cross the intersection.

With Homecoming arriving shortly, the meeting also adopted the Homecoming Election Board and approved the three selected nominees.

These candidates were introduced by SGA President Adria Green based on their merit and involvement on campus, and will be involved in the planning of this year’s homecoming celebrations.

General student input is a designated forum for students outside of the senate to address any issues or concerns in front of the members. Undergrad and

The Career Development center offers resume assistance to current Texas A&M University–Commerce students and alumni.

In today’s economy, most people cannot afford to throw a job away before getting hired. With most prospective employers meeting the paper version of an applicant before even seeing their face or hearing their voice, it is important that a resume highlight a person’s skills and achievements to make a good first impression. Gregory Shirley, assistant director of career development inside

The Access and Success Center, said a resume is an important tool for anyone looking to start his or her career.

“A resume is your own personal constitution,” Shirley said. “It’s your own living breathing document.”

Shirley said students should get started working on gaining the experience needed toward their sought after career as soon as possible, to feel more confident with their resume. A job in retail sales would not necessarily be a key piece of information on a resume.

Resumes are designed and redesigned to fit the company and job being applied for and sell the applicant as best

as possible.

“A chemical engineer is not going to be concerned about how many blouses and tops they sold at a 20 percent mark up,” Shirley said. “The resume gets you the interview.”

Career Developmentcan also assist by helping to construct a portfolio, which takes students from looking at the entry-level position and prepping them for a higher-level position. Portfolios don’t just tell about achievements, they show them. A portfolio is a collection of achievements, certificates, skills and often, work samples.

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Entertainment Entertainment

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

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‘Straw Dogs’ confuses, horrifies writer Fromage du Jour Entertainment Editor Chancellor Mills

D

One thing any seasoned moviegoer will tell you is never trust a trailer to tell you how a movie is going to unfold. Trailers for movies constantly misrepresent what actually happens in the film. However, even going into the theater to see “Straw Dogs” with this knowledge in the back of my head, I was still rather shocked to discover just how horribly the trailer misled me.

The first trailer would have you believe that, after moving to a town in the deep-south called Blackwater, David Sumner (James Marsden) and his wife Amy (Kate Bosworth) become the victims of disgruntled contractor Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård) as a result of firing him from fixing their barn.

The only thing accurate about that synopsis is the names; the movie itself isn’t nearly that exciting. David and Amy are moving to Blackwater as a vacation of sorts. Blackwater is Amy’s hometown, and they are staying there for a few weeks so David can finish his screenplay about a battle that took place in Stalingrad in 1943. (Exciting, I know.) Almost immediately after arriving in Blackwater, the Sumners go to a local bar called “Blackies” and David starts to discover just how southern this town is. This is also where David meets Amy’s high school boyfriend Charlie, who has apparently also put a bid in to repair the roof of their barn.

This is where David begins to turn to Hell.

Another way that the trailer misled me was that I thought “Straw Dogs” would be this exciting thriller with some shocking sequences that would have me constantly jumping in horror from my seat. (Or that it would at least be good…)

There is little to no excitement until about half way through the film, and it’s at this point that if Amy would have just told David what happened, he probably would have hulked out much sooner and killed Skarsgård and his band of hillbillies. Instead the movie drags on for another 45 minutes or so before “s**t gets REAL.” If you really want to see the good stuff, you might as well not even go into the theater until the least 20 minutes or so. That’s when Marsden finally does man up and – rather irrationally

A weekly look at film cheese

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In a movie set in the “deep south,” Alexander Skarsgård seems a bit out of place against of backdrop of fat, ugly, stereotypical rednecks, Chancellor Mills writes.

– barricades Amy and himself in their house, refusing to open the door – even when the sheriff shows up to save the day. It’s really very strange. For this whole movie, Marsden has been this gigantic pansy who is basically trusting of just about everyone in town and then, all of a sudden, he just goes berserk, becoming this paranoid vigilante who doesn’t even trust the sheriff NOT to kill him.

“...a new phobia of being raped and killed by a bunch of rednecks in some hillbilly shack somewhere.”

I don’t think the acting in this movie was bad at all. Marsden and Bosworth are great actors and they had some good chemistry, which was good since they were playing a married couple.

However, that chemistry starts to deteriorate about 10 minutes in. It’s like being in this town turns her into a psycho who finds her husband’s every word and action outrageously irksome. My only other comment about the actors

is that I feel that the casting of Alexander Skarsgård was a strange decision. I love the man, and I know that he can play the bad guy pretty well, but he sticks out like a sore thumb in this movie. Here you have this group of fat, ugly, bearded rednecks who are all taking their cues from a chiseled, smoldering, handsome Skarsgård. It just doesn’t fit.

I know that I’ve been dogging it (See what I did there?) a bit, but “Straw Dogs” was not ALL bad. There were some really good scenes in there. It was just the film as a whole that was strange and weird for me to watch. For instance, after all of the ruckus is over at their house, the film ends rather abruptly and left me with a few unanswered questions. Like, is David ever going to finish his super-boring screenplay, or is killing hillbillies just…his life now?

In the end, I feel like it was worth seeing just to see the gory deaths in the climax – and a braless Kate Bosworth throughout. However, I would recommend that you steer clear of “Straw Dogs.”

(If only to avoid ending up – like me – with a new phobia of being raped and killed by a bunch of rednecks in some hillbilly shack somewhere.)

‘Deus Ex’ blends great story, gameplay to woo gamers reachable. Do you save time by breaking in through the front entrance and gun down everything in your path The mark of a great story in video way or do you take your time with the games is when you’re more interested stealthy approach, moving your way in the plot, dialogue and characters through completely undetected, savthan the actual gameplay itself. The ing ammo? Both methods are different mark of great storytelling in video yet rewarding. games is when the Unfortunately, there gameplay actually enare also several instanchances the experience of es in which the game the story. “Deus Ex: Huforces the player’s man Revolution,” – dehand. The noticeable spite a few issues here lack of easily accessiand there – not only has ble ammo in the game both of these marks but can be a nuisance for wears them proudly on anybody that wishes its sleeve. to play the game with Set in the year 2027, a combat heavy focus. the third entry in the This flaw is even furDeus Ex series tells the ther exacerbated by the story of Adam Jensen, lack of melee weaponry chief of security at Sarif in the game. Jensen can Industries. Being at the perform stealth knockhead of cybernetic huouts and kills but can’t man augmentation, freely punch or attack Sarif Industries’ controanything. The stealth versy has earned them kills also deplete an many enemies. Cripenergy bar needed to pled by an attack on maintain certain cybera Sarif lab, Jensen has netic abilities, which been a cyborg for six means that should the months and must deal player ever run out of with the company’s ammo and energy, the threats while coming to game is essentially terms with the alteraover. The mandatory tions made to his body boss battles can also be that he never asked for. frustrating, derailing The story of “Human an experience that was Revolution” takes on a otherwise delivering neo-noir feel not unlike on almost everything I films such as “Blade could possibly ask for Runner” and “Minority out of an RPG. Report.” The dialogue Flaws aside, “Deus and plot are gripping Ex: Human RevoluSTOCK PHOTO: GAMESPLANET.CO.ZA and top notch, intrigu- “Deus Ex” centers around a man named Adam Jensen who finds himself turned into a cyborg, tion” is simply a fun ing the player to see and must then come to terms with the unwanted alterations that have been made to his body. ride from start to finhow the story will unish. It may have its fair fold. Their compelling nature is a defi- terms of how they wish to play the share of flaws and can get frustrating nite plus, as it helps to distract from game. One can achieve the exact same at several points due to a lack of opthe terrible character animations and goal through several, entirely different tions in handling certain scenarios but voice acting. Had the writing been of means. For example, one mission re- when it’s good, it’s incredible. The lesser quality, the stiff acting and emo- quires the player to break into a police amazing sense of freedom and atmotionless expressions of character mod- office to steal inaccessible intelligence, sphere combined with the top-notch els above the mid-jaw would have as well as to get into a section of fu- writing make for a fantastic experience been downright laughable. turistic Detroit that is otherwise un- and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Staff Writer

Jordan Wright

A-

Fortunately, the drive to unfold the story is also compounded by just how much fun the game is to play. Like previous games of the series, “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” unfolds in first person as a shooter with RPG elements mixed in. The game allows the player an exhilarating freedom of choice in

According to Jordan Wright, “Tekken” represents the latest attempt to make a watchable video game based movie.

Writer likens ‘Tekken’ to nail through brain Staff Writer Jordan Wright If it weren’t for the theatrical release that most video game based movies earn, I can only imagine that they would be featured more prominently in this column. From “Mortal Kombat” to “Dead or Alive” to “Street Fighter,” the unfortunate reality is that, to date, the only thing that the watchable video game movies have in common is that they’re so bad, they’re spectacularly entertaining.

Oddly enough, they’re all based on fighting games as well. Using this logic, I saw “Tekken” as a prime candidate for this column. We’re talking about a fighting game with a roster that consists of a man who transforms into the devil, an alien swordsman, a robot whose special moves include the ability to spank people to death and a corporate executive’s pet bear. Unfortunately, where the live action adaptation of the Tekken series excels in being bad, it fails miserably at being entertaining.

This movie is like watching the result of a story cliché-themed Mad-Libs game. A teenager raised by a single mother enters a battle tournament in the dystopian future in order to avenge her death. The orphan in question is Jin Kazama, played by Jon Foo, a scruffy young street fighter living in the slums of post-apocalyptic and tyrannical Tekken City.

Tekken City is run by the evil Mishima Corporation, as opposed to all of those nice corporations that run dystopian cities of the future. After blowing up his home and indirectly killing his mother due to his breaking of the citywide curfew, Jin seeks to seize control of Tekken City to ensure that its tyranny never harms its lower class again.

How does he accomplish this? By competing

in a fighting tournament that conveniently offers control of the city to the winner. Why would you want to give control of government to somebody whose only qualifications are the ability to beat the pulp out of somebody his own size?

Who cares? It provides the only thing you’d actually care for in a movie this poorly written: the action.

Yes, the action, the true star of the show, which is pretty sad. It’s not that the action is particularly bad, but it’s far from memorable. All of the fights not featuring Jin look like decently shot UFC matches, which is interesting to look at, but not worthy of a film.

By comparison, Jin’s fights boil down to onesided matches that result in him losing until he remembers dear old dead mommy, after which he makes a comeback and beats down his opponent.

The formula gets boring very quickly.

Even the acting is as bland as can be. Every performance just seems to be phoned in. The corporate executives, the other fighter, Jin’s love interests, hell, even Jon Foo himself didn’t seem to perform with an ounce of care.

Special note to his love interest in the movie, Christie, whose sole purpose seemed to be to have a girl in low riding tight leather jeans dance with a camera behind her.

Writing this a mere day after viewing it, I honestly can remember nothing of Tekken. It wasn’t horrible or anything but it was so bland that I kind of wish it was just to evoke some sort of reaction out of me.

The best way I can describe my experience is that it was a lot like getting a nail hammered into your brain. It hurts at first, but after the first minute or so, you grow kind of numb to it. It’s not exactly comfortable, but at least it’s not excruciating.

Verdict: One Shatner

Editor Picks “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”

“X-Men: First Class”

“My Booky Wook”

By Russell Brand

www.theeasttexan.com

sports sports

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

Page 7

Opposing coach calls Lions ‘dirty’ during match Editor Adam Troxtell Eastern New Mexico State women’s soccer Head Coach Todd Padgett yelled “they’re dirty” from the touchline during last Sunday’s match with A&M-Commerce, referring to the Lions players.

Padgett, who had already been spoken to by referee Leszek Stalmach about his persistent complaining during the match, made the claim after A&M-Commerce senior Devon Herrman collided with a Zias defender.

He also later confirmed he was talking about the Lions players.

“They, in this sense, would be the opposing team,” he said. “In my opin-

ion, some of the calls that were going, that were left, I guess, not being called, were across the line. To me, they were shots at the hip; they were chops at the knee, and to me that’s dirty. They, in this sense, would be the opposing team.”

Multiple times throughout the match, Padgett and his assistant, Joe Olmi, were yelling out for fouls against his team to be called. After the Herrman call, Olmi, who was screaming out for a yellow card, received a caution himself. Stalmach refused to shake the hands of the Eastern New Mexico coaches after the match.

“For me, the referee wasn’t good enough,” Padgett said.

“They’re in charge to keep

control of the game, and they didn’t do that. For me, you’re never going to win or lose matches because of a referee, but they have to do a better job of controlling the match that’s a physical match.”

Padgett’s insult also elicited a response from A&MCommerce head coach Neil Piper. The two exchanged words after the match, and as Piper was walking away, Padgett yelled out “I’m winning that battle.”

The first year Zias coach also refused to take halftime stats provided by the A&M-Commerce Sports Information because they showed the Lions with a 13-2 advantage in shots at the interval.

DANAE BLESSING / THE EAST TEXAN

The A&M-Commerce Lions tied the Zias from New Mexico State University 1-1 in a Sunday afternoon game.

Lions face tough opponent in pysical match Editor Adam Troxtell The women’s soccer team suffered a frustrating afternoon in a 1-1 draw with Eastern New Mexico State on Sunday.

The Zias came from a goal down to ensure the spoils were shared on the afternoon, despite A&M-Commerce taking the lead through freshman Stephanie Neeley’s first ever collegiate goal early in the second half.

In the 89th minute, Angela Sandoval caught up with a through ball behind the Lions defense and fired low to the left-side of the net for a dramatic equalizer.

“We responded,” Eastern New Mexico Head Coach Todd Padgett said. “Very very physical side in Commerce; they took it to us in the first half, they took it to us in the first 70 minutes, and to be fair we didn’t respond until late. We got a grip on the game eventually. We started to do what we like to do as far as keeping the ball; but [A&MCommerce] are a very physical team, they are a very good team and they are a well coached team. To be perfectly honest, were very fortunate to get out of this game with a one-one draw.”

Neeley was a halftime substitution making her first appearance in a collegiate match.

Her goal in the 57th minute came from a free kick by fellow freshman Samantha Houston.

Houston drove the ball low into the box, getting it past the defensive line and leaving Neeley with a difficult finish past the diving goalkeeper Sierra Cardenas.

“It feels awesome,” Neeley said about scoring on her debut. “I was very out of shape, so I don’t think I did my team justice, but I’m going to work on that this week.”

As the match went on, tiredness was a visible hindrance to the Lions’ performance.

Head Coach Neil Piper said fatigue had a

definite effect on his team, which currently has a short bench due to injuries.

“It had a major impact, they were dead out there,” Piper said about his team. “But, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve just got to play through it right now, until we get some more players back. I think that had an impact, but just lack of discipline at the end of the game cost us two points.”

The first half was almost completely one sided, with the Lions leading in shots 13-2 at halftime. The best chances of the half went to sophomore Brionna Minde and freshman Cadie Annet. After scoring from a wide angle against West Texas A&M in the previous match, Minde nearly did it again as her cross from the left required Eastern New Mexico goalkeeper Sierra Cardenas to make a flying save.

Annet’s effort went even closer. The freshman found herself with the ball in space at the top of the penalty box and sent in a curling shot that cannoned off the cross-bar. The follow-up shot from freshman Brittni Ong went high and wide.

Eastern New Mexico State’s best chance of the half came from Paola Loya’s trip into the Lions’ box. Loya connected on a through ball and got behind the defense, but senior goalkeeper Randi Hafele closed down the attacker quickly and took the ball right off Loya’s feet.

While Piper said it was painful to see his team give up a goal so late, he did give credit to the opposition for their effort throughout the entire match.

“They played well,” he said. “It’s always hard to throw away two points at the end.

I just couldn’t see them scoring against us today, and we pretty much gifted them a goal. It’s disheartening that we gave away two points, but to be fair to them they worked hard the whole game, and they kept at it.”

DANAE BLESSING / THE EAST TEXAN

Senior midfielder Devon Herrman makes a defensive play on the ball, slide-tackling the player from Dallas Baptist.

A&M-Commerce beats West Texas A&M Editor Adam Troxtell A&M-Commerce overcame West Texas A&M in a shoot-out last Friday night, winning their first Lone Star Conference match of the 2011 season 3-2 in a rain-soaked affair.

West Texas A&M got the scoring started in the 21st minute. Rachel Roth blasted a free kick on goal, requiring Hafele to make a flying save. The ball was crossed back in front of goal, where Becky McMullen had a shot from point blank range saved by an alert Hafele.

The rebound was just too much for the senior goalkeeper, as McMullen rolled it into the left corner of the net.

Soon after, the Lions had their equalizer.

Minde got the ball on the left wing and sent in a left-footed cross that had just enough spin on it to tuck inside the far post. The goal seemed a bit of a fluke, but it still pulled the Lions level at 1-1 just five minutes after they went behind.

Four minutes later West Texas A&M was back on top. Leading scorer Leslie Brigs chased a bouncing ball that no A&MCommerce defender seemed to want to touch. Brigs applied a sliding finish to the left side of the net to put the visitors back on top going into halftime.

It only took three minutes in the second frame for the Lions to pull level once again.

This time, freshman Jade Bell pounced on a through ball and raced toward the goal before collecting herself and providing the calm and collected finish to make the score 2-2.

Minde then came close by picking up the ball off a whiff by a West Texas defender and

Volleyball team still working out kinks in another defeat Sports Editor Justin Cheatham The Lions volleyball team lost their Sept. 15 match against the Wildcats from Abilene Christian University 3-1.

Though the Lions rallied to defeat the Wildcats in the second of the four matches, and almost bested them in the fourth, it was not enough to walk away with a victory.

“Abilene played really good and they turned it up in the end,” Junior Rachel Robertson said. “I think tonight we kind of crumbled under pressure when we shouldn’t have.”

Robertson led the team offensively with 17 kills and 25 overall points.

Freshmen Breanne Snyder followed closely behind Robertson’s lead, scoring 12 points herself and earning the pair over half of the teams total offen-

sive points.

“One, we stopped being disciplined and playing our game; and two we just stopped adjusting to what they were doing,” Head Coach Craig Case said.

“Really, when we went into the second set we knew what we needed to do and we did it. Going into the third set, we knew what they were going to change and we didn’t change with them. When it comes down to it I don’t think we got beaten by a better team, but a more disciplined team.”

The Wildcats took an early lead and beat the Lions 25-19 in the first match, but they fell to the Lions 25-17 in the second. The third match was closer for ACU, winning 25-19. They carried that momentum into the fourth match when they put the Lions away for good with a 27-25 victory.

“We were so close but we just made

mental errors and got behind,” Snyder said. “And we were not really energized.”

Sophomore Dakota Crockett led the team defensively with 18 digs, Robertson also had a notable night defensively with 4 blocks.

“We have really been impressed with every conference opponent we have faced and I think Commerce is one of the better teams we have faced up to this point,” ACU Head Coach Kellen Mock. “They have got tremendous athletes so I have been really impressed with the program and the things the previous coach, Mark Pryor, and Coach Case are doing here.”

The loss dropped the Lions to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the Lone Star Conference. They had little time to rest or practice, as they played Angelo State the next day

surging toward the goal. Goalkeeper Yvette Bedoy stayed strong to come out and deny the sophomore’s effort, keeping the scores level.

Minde would get another goal, and it turned out to be the most important of the night. Bell went from scorer to provider, as it was her lofted cross that found Minde at the back post for a strong header into the back of the net.

Though it was Minde who scored the winner, Bell was also a constant thorn in the side of the West Texas defense throughout the night.

“We just never give up,” Bell said about the Lions’ effort on the night. “From the minute we start until the end of the game, we just never stop. We’re going to get a goal whatever the situation, there’s no stopping us.”

In the face of a drought, the rain provided a different atmosphere to the game for both teams. Bell, who is from Ramsey, England, said she felt right at home.

“I loved it, I love playing in the rain,” she said. “I suppose it’s a shock to them in, obviously, that the ball skims a lot quicker, but we adapted well. I think we played really well with it.”

The Lions’ second half performance was the difference, according to Head Coach Neil Piper. He said while it was not perfect, he did see signs of his team improving as they go into more LSC play.

“We’re getting there,” Piper said. “I said at halftime there are moments we look great, there are moments we look like we just came out of the circus. We’ve just got to make sure we’re playing great more than we’re not. I’m proud of them, they worked hard and I thought we played really well in the second half.”

Page 8

sports

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

www.theeasttexan.com

Box Score Team Statstics: Texas A&M UniversityCommerce Rushing yards 87 Passing yards 334 First downs 22 Fumbles-Lost 3-1 Penalties-Yards 5-149 Time of Possession 30:49 Midwestern State University Rushing yards 369 Passing yards 223 First downs 25 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 Penalties-Yards 4-32 Time of Possession 29:11 Individual Statistics: A&M-Commerce Passing J.J Harp 12-20, 127 yards, TD, INT Yogi Gallegos 18-33, 183 yards, TD

JESSICA MARTIN / THE EAST TEXAN

The Lions lost to the Midwestern State Mustangs 63-17 in the third annual Harvey Martin Classic. This year the game moved from the Cottonbowl at Fair Park to Cowboys Stadium.

Mustangs trample Lions in Harvey Martin blowout Assistant Sports Editor Cliff Gibson Momentum was the flavor of the day during the Harvey Martin Classic at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday. When the A&M-Commerce Lions had it, they could not do enough, but when Midwestern State took it away, the Mustangs kept it for good, reeling off 42 straight points on their way to a 63-17 rout in the LSC opener for both teams.

The Lions (0-2 overall, 0-1 in LSC) used a bit of trickery on the first play from scrimmage to set up an early touchdown, but let a couple of other big opportunities slip away, and momentum left with them. Head Coach Guy Morriss said it all came down to execution.

“We took advantage of some of their mistakes early in the game and scored early,” Morriss said. “As the game went on, I think they started executing and we didn’t and things started snowballing and got out of control.”

Senior quarterback Yogi Gallegos put the Lions on the board early, finding senior Adorian Arthur in the corner of the end zone for a 1-yard score.

Jacob O’Neil added the PAT to give the Lions a 7-0 lead just five minutes into the game. The Mustangs (2-0 overall, 1-0 in LSC) answered right back to tie the game, moving the ball 71 yards in 12 plays and scoring on Keidrick Jackson’s 6-yard plunge, one of four rushing touchdowns

by Jackson in the contest.

The Lions caught a break later in the quarter when MSU fumbled a punt deep in its own territory, and sophomore Corvellas Cage pounced on it for the Lions at the 16. A&M-C couldn’t

take advantage, instead missing on a 36-yard field goal attempt and giving possession back to the Mustangs. The Lions received another great chance on the next series, as the MSU punter fumbled the snap and covered it up at Mustangs 26, where the Lions took over and took a 10-7 lead on a 19-yard field goal by O’Neil early in the second period.

Jackson put the Mustangs in front for good on the next Midwestern drive, diving in from a yard out to make it 14-10 after one of nine PAT’s converted by Greg Saladino. The Lions made their first big mistake of the game on their next series, when punter Cameron Frosch fumbled a snap and ended up giving the ball to MSU on the Lions 16. The Mustangs needed just four plays to turn it into points, as Jackson scored from a yard out to make it 21-10.

Lester Bush added another MSU touchdown late in the second quarter to make it 28-10, and A&M-C missed out on a scoring chance to end the half when O’Neil’s field goal attempt from 38 yards hit off the right upright. Morriss said the Lions never gave themselves a chance but hurt themselves in many ways.

“We keep on doing things to kill ourselves.

We didn’t tackle well today, throw and catch the ball well, or run the ball like we wanted to,” Morriss said. “When we fumbled the punt and gave them the touchdown, heads started to droop and we couldn’t get out momentum back. I credit Midwestern, they put us in that situation.”

While the Mustangs added five more touchdowns in the second half, the Lions continued to sputter on offense. Senior receiver Taylor Fore,

who pulled in a game-high seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, said the lack of execution killed their momentum. “We’re just not executing well enough on offense to continue drives,” Fore said. “Third downs in the first half really kicked our butts and we just weren’t picking them up.”

The A&M-C defense had a tough day as well, allowing 592 total yards, including 369 on the ground. Senior linebacker Cory Whitfield led all tacklers with 10, but said the defense had no excuse for its performance.

“No real excuse, we just have to execute better, we didn’t execute as a whole defense,” Whitfield said. “The no huddle was challenging for us because we hadn’t seen it yet. We gave them a lot of first downs, it was our fault.”

The Lions managed to gain 421 total yards, with 334 coming through the air. Gallegos hit on 18-of-33 passes for 183 yards and the early score, and redshirt junior J.J. Harp took over in the second half and shook off an early interception to pass for 127 yards and a score on 12-of-20 passing. Harp hooked up with Fore on a 29-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Midwestern State quarterback Brandon Kelsey sparked the Mustang offense, passing for 163 yards and rushing for 70 more. The Mustangs had five rushers gain at least 60 yards. Marcus Graham led the Lions rushing effort with 50 yards on 11 carries, while Tyler Rawlings and Kenzee Jackson hauled in five catches each. Matt Claggett and Danny Mason each had seven tackles for the Lions.

The Lions will have a short week to prepare for their next contest, as they play host to Ouachita Baptist on Sept. 22.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Junior quarterback J.J. Harp featured in the game.

Recieving Taylor Fore 7-85 yards,TD Tyler Rawlings 5-69 yards Kenzee Jackson 5-58 yards Rushing Marcus Graham 11-44 yards J.J. Harp 5-22 yards Travis Zacharie 3-14 yards MSU Passing Brandon Kelsey 14-20, 163 yards Jake Glover 2-2, 42 yards, TD Recieving Edgard Theliar 4-67 yards Matt Tanner 1-37 yards Kelvin Swanson 3-13 yards Rushing Jimmy Pipkin 6-106 yards, TD Peter Smith 7-70 yards, TD Lester Bush 11-63 yards, 2 TDs

Running back looks to break tackles, records Sports Editor Justin Cheatham

GRAYSON GRAVES / THE EAST TEXAN

After the 44 yards he earned during the Harvey Martin Classic Marcus Graham is only 296 yards away from entering the All-time rushers.

Marcus Graham, senior running back for the Texas A&M UniversityCommerce Lions, is about to break into the All-time rushing leaders for the team with only 296 yards before he reaches the tenth place. However, football is not the only thing he spends long hours working on at the university.

“You have to really understand what you priorities are and what you need to be doing,” Graham said. “This semester all of my classes are online and I have grown to love online classes because you can just go online, find out the due dates, then relax and make sure everything is done on time. Once you have that then fitting in the football schedule is easy because it’s the same every day.”

Marcus began his love affair with football as early as possible, trying to join a team when he was only five years old; but, he was forced to wait another year due to age restrictions. His family moved to Round Rock, Texas, when he was eleven, and that is where he says he spent most of his time growing up before attending A&M-Commerce. His family’s home in south Texas was one of the homes burned by the wildfires earlier this year, but his positive outlook was only momentarily shaken.

“The initial thought when that happened was very hard on me but what helped me out a lot was constantly talking to my mom and dad everyday and

them being so positive about things really helped me out a lot. Calling my mom everyday and her not even worrying about the situation and asking me what is going on in my life, distracting me from what happened made me feel good. She told me not to worry about it because things were taken care of, it makes things a lot easier on me knowing that it’s on the back of their mind. I know it’s a tragedy where lives were lost but my mom and dad are dealing with it really well.”

With a calming demeanor about the devastating wildfires, Graham said he appreciates the support coming from students and staff.

“The biggest comfort is people asking what they can do to help and I tell my mom that, her reply is to tell people to keep sending their prayers because their biggest concern is the people who didn’t have any insurance or anybody to fall back on,” he said. “She is really trying to help them right now because they (his parents) have insurance and church family to support them but it is a lot worse for the people who lost everything.”

Graham’s focus on football started when he first arrived at Commerce without a spot on the football team.

“Coming here I was actually a walk on,” he said. “My first year I red-shirted, the second season I did not play, which is why I actually have an extra year of eligibility. I started off as a receiver the first three games of my first season and then the rest of the season I spent time at

running back.”

Graham has been pushing through adversity and literally running with his opportunities ever since.

“I usually try and work out two to three times a day, depending on my class schedule and things like that,” Graham said. “Basically I’m either in the weight room, watching film, or outside running. My life revolves around football, especially in the summer when I have nothing else to do.”

With his time playing football coming to an end, Graham has been spending his time off the field attaining his undergraduate degree in Construction Science and working on his masters degree in Technology Management. His perseverance and hard work on and off the field has paid off in more ways than one.

“I actually had an internship last year at a contracting company in Austin,” he said. “I started out as an estimator and I moved up to a project manager. I kind of fell in love with being a project manager, and when I left that company they offered my a job when I finish school.

The only bad thing is I do not really want to go back to Austin because it’s my hometown and I don’t want to be around there, but I want to be an estimator/project manager.”

It’s easy to see how the 5’8” 188lbs running back earned his spot on the teams starting line-up. And it’s even easier to see how his continued hard work will earn him a spot on the all-time rushers at the university.