2012-02-02

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

XCVI, No. 13, 8 pages

www.theeasttexan.com

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

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campus Page 4 and 5

Read about the owner of Commerce’s new hotspot, the College Corner Cafe. Also, a student will be representing the university in a singing competition.

entertainment Page 6

We review the latest Liam Neeson film ‘The Grey.’ Now instead of his daughter, Neeson has to go find all the colors and return them to the universe...we assume.

sports Page 7 and 8

Read up on the latest basketball action to see if the men’s team finally grab a win after a five-game slide. Also, the football program has brought in a new coach.

University decides against naming free speech zone Editor Adam Troxtell A committee organized to review Texas A&M University-Commerce’s free speech policy has decided it is not in the school’s current interest to designate a free speech zone on campus.

This makes the entire campus a public forum on which students can rally or protest; however, it does leave any gatherings with a chance of being shut down if they are deemed to be disrupting the academic environment.

“They would be able to go anywhere on campus,”

Director for Diversity, Cultural and Judicial Affairs Robert Dotson said. “It comes down to not being a disruption to the academic environment, and that is framed in the code of conduct. It does have some elements of breaking laws, so it’s relative to what that protest, demonstration or gathering looks like.”

Dotson chaired the ad-hoc committee, which was formed at the end of last year in response to the university’s central hub switching from

the East Circle to the area between the Rayburn Student Center (RSC) and the Science Building. The committee was also composed of members from Facilities, Risk Management, UPD, RSC, Marketing and Publicity, and Student Government Association.

While The East Circle was never officially designated as a free speech zone, it was a common place to find student rallies in the past. Since The RSC

has been built and the old student center was torn down, Dotson formed a committee to see if designating a free speech zone would be helpful to the new campus environment.

Dotson said the committee considered how other universities had treated the free speech zone issue, which has caused some controversy. By designating one, the university would be tasked with finding the most suitable area, leaving them open for potential court action if the location or parameters surrounding the free speech zone are deemed unconstitutional.

“There is a great divide amongst schools that have designated speaking areas,” Dotson said. “In looking at that and consulting with attorneys and individuals at other institutions and individuals here, that just seems to be the best course of action here and now.

That doesn’t mean it’s in stone forever. For where we are now, this move serves our purpose.”

While there are regulations at A&MCommerce regarding student behavior, there is no statute specifically dedicated to free speech on campus.

“Within the academic community in terms of classroom, there is a rule that the compliance committee will be looking at, but it does not speak to free speech zone,” Dotson said.

Currently, a protest or rally can take place anywhere on campus; however, the moment someone complains that the gathering is a disruption to the university’s academic environment, it can be shut down by UPD. Lt. Jason Bone said this is when the laws regarding any student gathering enter a gray area.

•See Campus Page 3

Online school ranked fifth in nation Staff Writer Joseph Hamrick In this year’s college ranking by U.S. News and World Report, the Texas A&M University-Commerce online School of Business and Entrepreneurship was ranked fifth in the nation in student engagement and accreditation.

“I’m just real pleased; I’m excited for our faculty and staff being recognized for the hard work that they do,” said Dr. Hal Langford, dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

According to Langford, the U.S. News and World Report rankings are looked upon across the country as

having authority.

“Only five percent of business programs are AACSBaccredited worldwide,” he said. “To produce both quality and rigor, and at the same time, doing a great job at engagement, it makes you feel good.”

Langford attributes the high ranking to an engaging faculty and staff, saying they are the key to their ranking.

“We take our responsibility of nurturing our students to help them get started,” he said. “Our faculty does the same thing. [The graduate staff] are fully engaged with our students.”

This is the first time that this college has been ranked this high in the World Report,

but Langford said that this was not a surprise to him.

“This is more of a thing that we have been expecting,” he said. “[Engaging our students] is built into our DNA.” The online college has chat programs and chat hours to meet with faculty and staff, and students can also set up appointments to meet face to face with their instructors online. There is also detailed information at their website about the different degree programs.

Langford said they have been working on making the online program more interactive on a personal basis and that this ranking shows their hard work is paying off.

Remedial classes to count on GPA Assistant News Editor Leah Allen Developmental courses will soon count toward a student’s GPA. The new system, beginning Fall 2012, will be applicable to all students in developmental classes at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce.

Dean of University College, Dr. Ricky Dobbs, promotes the idea as a method to “toughen up the system.”

“As of now, there are three possibilities for a person to be placed on suspension in such a way that they will have to leave school,” he said.

The one soon to be discarded by the new policy is developmental suspension.

Academic and financial aid suspension still remain.

“By eliminating one of those tracks of appeal, what you’ve done is made the process more efficient,” Dobbs said. “But, you’ve also got to ensure that students understand that moving quickly through developmental work is our expectation and the state’s expectation.”

A person who has a 2.0 GPA and has failed the developmental courses currently has no adjustment to their GPA with the flunked

courses. By changing the regulations, students in this position should have a greater motivation to pass.

“By including that in the GPA,” Dobbs said, “I have pulled that person below a 2.0. It lights a fire under people who are messing around, not getting their stuff done, by making that count as a part of their GPA.” With the current method, a student can take a developmental course one semester, retake it the next semester, and still have no alteration done to their GPA, positive or negative.

•See Policy Page 3

Adam troxtell / the east texan Part-time coordinator for the Commerce Community Plaza Maria Garza cuts the ribbon during the grand opening on Monday, Jan. 24. A&M-Commerce President Dr. Dan Jones (far left) spoke at the ceremony.

Plaza offers educational opportunity Editor Adam Troxtell The Commerce Community Plaza – a designated site designed to educate Latino American youths and adults in the area with English as a Second Language classes and other programs – was officially opened in a ceremony on Monday, Jan. 24, at the A.C. Williams Elementary School cafeteria.

Commerce ISD has been leading the charge to bring a Community Plaza to the region for almost two years.

The initial plan was to host ESL classes, and this turned into an official designation by the Mexican Consulate

in Dallas to create the first Community Plaza for Northeast Texas.

A&M-Commerce President Dr. Dan Jones was in attendance. Coordinator for the university’s Hispanic Outreach and Student Programs Gilbert Hernandez was the master of ceremonies, and other A&M-Commerce students also came to support the program.

“A lot of things have changed since 1889 when our founder came to the state and started East Texas Normal College,” Jones said.

“But, one very important thing has not changed, and that is the reason why we are here. We are still here to

make a difference in the life of the region.”

Volunteers for the Plaza will include A&M-Commerce students. Commerce ISD Superintendant Blake Cooper said this project shows what is possible when parts of a community join forces.

“This is a great example of the positive different communities and organizations can have when their efforts can come together for the benefit of others,” Cooper said while addressing the crowd. “The idea of the plaza is now becoming a reality through the efforts of many people. Commerce ISD is proud to host the plaza

•See CISD Page 3

OPINION

Page 2

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

www.theeasttexan.com

Proper use of crosswalks imperative to campus safety

Opinion Editor Savannah Christian The importance of correctly using the crosswalks on and around campus is more imperative than ever before. As the university enrollment grows every semester, more and more students are crossing the streets from all angles,

causing chaos and stress for drivers. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that almost hitting several students last week who were too busy texting to look at where they were going didn’t really top off my day.

First of all, it should be noted that stop signs and crosswalks are put in designated spots for a reason.

If you are so lazy that you cannot walk 20 feet to the crosswalk before jumping out into the road then maybe you should just stay home and be less of a hazard.

Not only is it vital to use the crosswalks as they were meant to be used, but people seem to think that crosswalks are some magical safe zone that have invisible walls around them

and that every driver realizes that vehicles must yeild to pedestrians in crosswalks. First of all, not all drivers were actually alert in drivers ed and actually have no idea what the rules of the road are. Second of all, cars do not stop on a dime. If I am approaching the crosswalk and practically through it, you probably shouldn’t step out in it. It is honorable that you are using the crosswalk, but pedestrians need to realize that they can still be hit in a crosswalk. Walkers must give cars time to see the flashing lights, register their purpose and come to a complete stop. Your professor would rather you be late to class than never able to come to class again.

THIS WEEK’S ‘PLAN B ’

I am not going to pretend like I always use the crosswalks when walking around campus because there are some spots where crosswalks don’t exist; however, when crossing a random part of the street, it takes a short five seconds to look left then right then left again and go. The tiny amount of time you take to look before crossing the road could be life changing.

I know my last statement seems a bit dramatic. You could never be hit by a car, right? That only happens to other people who carelessly walk out in front of moving vehicles. Well, at least two times last week I had to slam on my brakes in order to not slam into people who were texting and stepped

by Arielle McMahon

right out in front of my car.

And, of course, they were not in a crosswalk zone.

I am an alert driver and was paying attention to what was going on around me and was, therefore, able to prevent a couple of terrible accidents from occurring. But, only a few days later I was driving down the treacherous Prairie Crossing parking garage when another car came around the corner. We were headed straight at each other, so I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting the car just as I did with the pedestrians.

Unfortunately, this incident was different because when I pressed my brakes, nothing happened. I heard a terrible grinding noise and continued to move forward,

Selfishness actually an act of selflessness

Graphics Editor Jessica Martin

Editorial: Current policy on protests too broad As a newspaper, we at The East Texan value every part of the First Amendment. Free speech is a big part of what we do, and it serves the same major role in an environment where learning is the main goal.

As adults, we are all entitled to the freedoms given to us by the Bill of Rights. Over the break, our university had an opportunity to preserve one of those rights, but did not take it. The decision to not designate a free speech zone on campus could very easily come back to restrict students’ right to assemble freely. This is because under the current policies at A&M-Commerce, the only potential restriction on free speech is entirely too broad.

We understand that A&M-Commerce needs to hold students to certain academic standards and preserve a safe environment. But, to simply leave protests to be scrutinized for “disrupting the academic environment” has to leave students with a fear of assembling for any cause.

The point of gatherings, protests or rallies is to do exactly what the university is warning against: to disrupt. It is not possible for a voice to be heard if it is too quiet to grab attention.

The reasoning behind this decision also seems shortsighted. Just because we have not had issues with free speech in the past does not mean we never will. No one has ever reasoned that becaues they have not suffered a robbery at their house, they do not have to lock it. We must be prepared for any potential conflict, such as the one created by not designating a free speech zone.

ARIELLE MCMAHON / THE EAST TEXAN

We feel A&M-Commerce and its students would be better off to set aside a place central to campus in which rallies or protests can take place without potentially disrupting the day-to-day function of the university. This would be a momentous task and take time; but, that should not scare us from taking the steps necessary to preserve one of our most important fundamental rights.

not stopping at all. My brakes did not work whatsoever. It was a scary event that could have been much worse had I not navigated my way out of it. If there were people in the way instead of a car, who knows what could have happened.

You never know when mechanics will fail and the unexpected will occur.

Take the time to stop texting and look both ways before you leap into oncoming traffic, then start your message back up when you get over to the sidewalk. Give the cars that are coming at you a chance to stop before you bound before them. I don’t want you to be a fatality of walking into a moving car. It just isn’t worth it.

I overheard a person very close to me on the phone the other day tell his friend, “I’m only a jerk to you when you need me to be,” and I don’t know what it was, but a switch flipped inside my brain.

Sometimes, people just need learn how to say no, and I am one of those people.

Growing up, I was one of those people who was everyone’s friend. I liked making people smile, even more so when I could make them laugh.

While I loved having so many friends and making people smile every day, the only person I couldn’t make smile was myself. I didn’t know how to tell people no.

I was willing to do whatever it took to make someone happy, even if that meant risking my own happiness. I’d play the mediator between friends when they were fighting, pay for them when they didn’t have money

and did everything to help them but give them the shirt right off my back - but only because they never asked.

I hit the point where I was stretching myself so thin that I was having nervous breakdowns, but continued to ignore it for the sake of pleasing other people. I wasn’t happy, but continued to make myself believe that if my friends were happy I could deal with a little bit of unhappiness.

Screw that. I’ve finally hit that point in my life that I have to start thinking of myself. I’ve got to start looking out for myself and doing what is best for me and what makes ME happy, even if it makes some of my friends unhappy with me.

You need to ask yourself if you are one of those people. And if you are, you have to make that transition. I’m not telling you to start being a jerk to your friends all the time, but you have to start doing what is best for your happiness, your career and your future.

Stop letting people take advantage of you and walk all over you. Stop being nice to people just because you think it will make them happy. You have to start thinking about your own wants and needs and let everyone else take care of themselves. We’re adults now, and our relationships should reflect that.

Attendance should be viewed as more important part of learning experience Opinion Editor Savannah Christian I am noticing more and more every semester that people aren’t showing up to class. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go to every single session of every single class either, but walking in 30 minutes late or coming in at the end of class as everyone is walking out just to see what you missed is on the verge of ridiculousness.

Between you and me, my ideal day doesn’t include

sitting in a room trying to fervently write down everything someone says either. But, I will admit that I do see the importance in being present and at least trying to pay attention to what is being said, even if the class is three hours long.

As a journalism major, all of my classes contain the same people, for the most part.

There are roughly five faces that I can expect to consistently see in every class I go to. Then there are about three more faces that

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.

I should see in every class I go to, but I never do. I suppose my question is, are you so lazy that you can’t crawl out of bed and walk across the street to your class and sit there for 50 minutes? You don’t even have to bother fixing your hair or layering on makeup because, trust me, no one is concerned with what you look like.

Being able to skip class is one of the most popular luxuries of college. We don’t typically have massive quantities of people in classes

here at Texas A&M University-Commerce, but there will be the occasional class in which there are enough students that the professor doesn’t take role (as it would be a waste of time) or he/she would never know if you were there or not. I get it, why not do it if you can get away with it? Isn’t sleeping and drinking mass quantities of natty light more fun than learning about America’s history? Probably. But, let me know how much fun that is 15 years down the road

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

Jordan Wright Entertainment Editor

cliff gibson Sports Editor

nick bailey CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

leah allen assistant news editor

ARIELLE MCMAHON STAFF CARTOONIST

when you can’t keep a job because you aren’t used to having to show up to something daily or when you are STILL in college because you can’t pass your classes because, believe it or not, some tests aren’t easy to ace without something to study for them.

Face it kids, college is about more than parties and “the experience.” I am an openly declared nerd which could be why I feel extreme amounts of guilt when Î (rarely) skip class, but is that such a bad thing? At least I

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Jessica Martin Graphics editor

know how to consistently work at something. At least I realize the importance in actually putting effort toward my education. It isn’t (entirely) because I love the feeling of receiving a good grade or because I prefer for my professors to like me; it is because I see the reward that is waiting for me at the end. With every class I attend I know I am a little bit closer to crossing that stage and a little bit closer to never sitting in that class again.

903-436-9307

Fred Stewart Faculty Adviser fred_stewart@tamu-commerce.edu

www.theeasttexan.com

news

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

Page 3

jessica martin / the east texan

The East Circle was considered central to campus before the Rayburn Student Center opened in 2009. It was frequently used for student gatherings, rallies, and some protests before the old student center was torn down.

Campus considered public forum after committee review Continued from Page 1...

“Someone still has to complain about that and say it’s disrupting to them,” Bone said. “Somebody has to say ‘we are not able to have our lecture because of this.’ What we would do would be any applicable laws, and it would be a very gray area. It depends on what it is that is being disruptive as to whether or not we can do anything about it. And it depends on whether that, in fact, breaks law” Bone said having a designated free speech zone would make UPD’s job easier if they had to contain crowds that could get out of hand.

“It certainly is logistically easier to

deal with a protest that is confined to one place as opposed to being just anywhere and everywhere,” he said. “Sometimes you want them contained for their own saftety, too, depending on the topic or who it is.

[If] people are going to be trying to hurt them, it’s my job as a police officer to protect them.

The issue has been discussed within SGA, but Vice President Adam Haney said the organization has not taken an official stance. While Senator Caleb Culver was on the ad-hoc committee, Haney has dealt with SGA’s campus security committee about the free speech policy on campus.

“I think what it came down to

was courts in the past have ruled against Free Speech Zones and we have not had incidents in the past dealing with the issue,” Haney said.

“Personally, I feel that the less regulation we have, the better.”

Haney said having the entire campus as a public forum makes more sense at the moment.

“I would ask has it been a problem in the past,” he said. “Trying to solve problems before they are problems can then create more problems. This way, you always have that right to free speech that is protected by the First Amendment across campus.”

He also said by creating a free speech zone, students would still have to abide by laws in the community.

“If you had a free speech zone, you still have community ordinances, whether it’s noise violations or disturbing the peace of the community.

You still could have problems.”

In 2003, a federal judge deemed the free speech zone designated by Texas Tech Univerisity to be unconstitutional. A third-year law student brought the lawsuit against the policy, which created a free speech gazebo. There is no law or A&M-System policy that requires universities to name a free speech zone.

Dotson said that if issues involving free speech on campus come up in the future., it would be possible to reconvene the committee to determine the next best step for the university.

Quick Fact: Texas A&M University- College Station and Tarleton State Univerisyt in Stephenville both have free speech zones on campus. Tarleton State once hosted a rally by the Ku Klux Klan in their free speech zone in the wake of a controversy surrounding student actions during an MLK, Jr. Day party. College Station has received criticism from the FIRE organization that monitors student rights across the country.

jessica martin / the east texan

Computers in the library computer lab have recently been upgraded to help prevent them from shutting down.

Library PCs get upgrade after closing Staff Writer Josh Stoltenberg For the first three days of this semester, several of the computers in the library’s computer lab were “out of order” according to signs placed on them.

On more than one occasion, there was not an available computer to sit and do work on because all of the limited number of computers had already been taken.

Many students rely on these

computers as their sole access to typing out assignments, using the Internet, and communication with their families.

“The computers were locked in a reboot cycle,” Information Technology Library Webmaster Sean Anderson said. “They were not allowing for system updates to be downloaded to them, so we had to shut them off. But they are working now.”

Also last Friday from 2

to 4 p.m. the computer lab in the library closed down so that all of the computers could receive crucial updates.

Among other essential updates received, the computers had Google Earth installed on them for students to use.

“Some professors are assigning work to students that require them to use Google Earth,” Anderson said.

All computers in the library are currently working and available for students to use.

Policy designed to motivate students Continued from Page 1...

This new system makes those classes count toward a GPA just as any other course.

However, it should not be misinterpreted that developmental courses will count as credit toward degrees.

Dobbs said that developmental courses will count towards GPA only; credits are not affected.

“Failure to do what you’re supposed to do is going to catch up with you a lot quicker in this system than the current system,” Dobbs

said. “It is making your grade in a developmental course count in such a way that if you’re not cutting it in developmental work, you’re going to flunk out.”

Dobbs hopes to see a positive outcome in student drive.

“Your GPA will be adversely affected,” he said. “You will now have an incentive to get things done in your developmental work.”

About one-third of freshmen students are in developmental classes along with a significant number of trans-

fer students, according to Dobbs.

The primary reason behind this transition has a lot to do with graduation rates, Dobbs said.

“The university is going to be evaluated increasingly by the rate at which it graduates students,” he said. “We cannot allow a person who wants to be lazy, be lazy.”

The higher the graduation rate, the more the university is benefited financially.

“The state is going to be tying funding to the graduation rate,” Dobbs said.

Photo courtesy of the university police department

The evidence from the scene at Whitley Hall included pipes, scales, and other tools used for dealing marijuana.

UPD busts potential marijuana ring Editor Adam Troxtell Two students were arrested and one issued a citation when the University Police Department found marijuana, pipes and scales in a Whitley Hall drug bust last Friday.

Alexander Slagle and Jeremy Peterson were placed under arrest for possession of marijuana, and Jacob Castro was given a citation after UPD officers found the drug, along with other items that suggest the pair might have been selling it out of their home. Three other men were also questioned at the scene.

According to a UPD report, Hall Director Alejandro Gonzales said he smelled what he believed to be marijuana coming from Whitley apartment 928. Gonzales said that when he knocked on the door and informed the occupants of the apartment he was “keying in” they slammed the door on him before he could enter.

Upon entering the room, Officer Davis said he observed a box fan in the ceiling tiles, leading him to believe it was a “makeshift ventilation.” UPD Officer Hatfield then found a marijuana seed inside a small container along with a metal

tin that had numerous marijuana stems inside.

The officers also found a note inside a clear plastic cookie jar reading: “Wes: took 1.5 bag for personal use.

I can pay off all debt when I hit the bank in Greenville Thx Jeremy +- 20” Officers found Ziploc baggies with a green leafy substance inside and miniature digital scales. The six occupants were then searched, and officers found a fourinch long glass marijuana pipe and residue in Castro’s left-rear pocket.

Evidence taken from the scene remains in UPD possession.

CISD Plaza to serve Northeast Texas Continued from Page 1... expect great things to come from this opportunity.”

Mexican Consul General Juan Carlos Cue Vega said he was excited to see educational opportunities for Latino Americans come to the region, especially for adults.

“Many [adults], when they

left Mexico, they didn’t get the opportunity to finish their elementary education,” he said. “So, for them, it is a good opportunity to have a place with resources, with volunteer people and with materials for the Mexican government to prepare themselves and obtain that education.”

The university’s Fusion

Dance Group performed a traditional Mexican dance at the event. There was also a salsa and enchilada cooking contest.

Programs for the first cohort of families will begin on Feb. 6. These will include tutoring in basic literacy, ESL instruction, and citizenship classes.

Ca mpus Life A&M-Commerce vocalist prepares to represent university, instructor www.theeasttexan.com

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

Page 4

Campus Life Editor Nick Bailey Texas A&M UniversityCommerce freshman Music Major Lauren Hernandez is one of only a few students selected to represent the university this year in competition. While many other music majors will be traveling to New York to perform in Carnegie Hall, Hernandez finds her stage here in Texas.

This semester, Hernandez will be representing A&MCommerce and her private voice instructor Dallas Opera Chorus Soprano Stephanie McCranie at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) North Texas District Auditions, where she will have the chance to win a cash prize, but to her that’s only a small part of the experience.

“Its really intimidating,” Hernandez said. “Knowing that I’m only a freshman and that there are going to be other singers there at higher levels, just because any music competition is pretty intimidating because there’s always somebody better than you. Keeping that in mind can make you kind of nervous.”

Hernandez came to A&MCommerce after first meeting Dr. Hooper when he went to give a guest lesson for her high school’s choir.

“I worked with Dr. Hooper before when we had allregion,” Hernandez said.

WWW.THECOLLEGECORNERCAFE.COM Grammy award winner Brad Davis, Larry “Smitty” Smith, and Rick Parent of Stearin Distributors made connections through the College Corner Cafe. Smith, pictured middle, has been managing restaurants for 45 years.

Smith brings Austin to Commerce Staff Writer Rachel Bailey

NICK BAILEY/THE EAST TEXAN Lauren Hernandez hopes to do well for the university and her private instructor a she competes at the NATS convention later this year.

“I really like him, so when I heard that he was teaching over here I went ahead a tried out and they offered me a scholarship.”

After the competition is finished, Hernandez plans to focus on her academics to maintain a grade point average high enough to join the

professional music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon.

“A lot of the really good singers [at A&M-Commerce] are in it,” Hernandez said.

“There are quite a few good singers in the organization, so I figured since they all kind of grouped to that there must be some reason. “

Athletes and fraternity sponsor dodgeball tournament for Make-A-Wish Foundation Staff Writer Mitzi Y’Barbo

Texas A&M UniversityCommerce chapter of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), in association with the Sigma Chi fraternity, is sponsoring a Dodgeballwish Tournament on Feb. 3 and 4.

According to Ross Hicks, vice president of the SAAC, prizes will be given for first, second and third place winners of the tournament. Local businesses, such as Lone Star and some nail salons have donated prizes to be given out during the tournament.

Pizza and bottled water will be offered for sale throughout the event.

SAAC competes in the Lone Star Conference for the SAAC Cup by earning points throughout the year

for Make-A-Wish Foundation projects. They conducted a “pass the bucket” campaign at football games this year, collecting donations for the organization, but this tournament is scheduled to be their largest fundraiser for the year.

“Last year we finished in the middle of the pack,” Hicks said. “We are hoping to finish nearer the top this year.”

Esteban Arriola, Sigma Chi president, is also a member of SAAC. His association with both organizations led to the decision to partner for the event. It’s hoped that Sigma Chi’s involvement will be helpful to draw participation of other fraternities and sororities on campus into the event.

Each team must consist of six players and include at least one male and one

female player. Teams must all have a name, a captain with contact information, and wear some type of uniform to identify them as a whole unit. In addition, all players must wear closed toe shoes.

The tournament will take place at the A&M-Commerce Field House. Checkin will begin on Friday, Feb. 3 at 4:30 p.m. All teams must be present for a pretournament meeting to review rules and bracket.

Sign-up sheets are available at the Morris Recreation Center. Sheets and registration fee of $30 must be submitted

by Friday, Jan. 27. Fees must be paid in full before the start of the tournament.

Donations are non-refundable, and all proceeds will benefit the Make-AWish Foundation.

Annual Career Development forum to be held Campus Life Editor Nick Bailey Career Development along with the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships will be hosting their annual financial forum, Life After College: Money Matters Feb. 9 in the Alumni Center at 5:30 p.m.

“We prepare students for life after college,” Assistant Director of Career Develop-

ment Gregory Shirley said. “Getting those student loans paid off, or consolidating them – a lot of people don’t know that they can do that – or getting the payments down to reasonable amount.”

Members of the Commerce community, both on and off campus, are encouraged to attend this free event. For more information contact Career Development at 903.468.3223.

Many people that enter the College Corner Cafe immediately notice the many photographs, autographs and music memorabilia adorning the walls. These are all the product of owner Larry “Smitty” Smith’s life journey, putting him face-to-face with some of the music industry’s biggest names.

Smith’s story begins as a soda jerk for Six Flags Over Texas. After attending high school in the Dallas area, Six Flags is where he made contact with a Sanford and Son cast member who offered some valuable advice.

“They wanted me to cut my hair, and he said I should become a cowboy for the show so that I wouldn’t have to,” Smith said. “So, I was that guy that got shot every two hours and fell.”

This would not be Smith’s last encounter with the rich and famous. Originally from Boulder, Colo., Smith returned to the area to attend school, majoring in commercial art and graphic design.

“After I graduated, I was offered a job with an agency in San Francisco to work regular hours in an office from nine to five,” Smith said.

“They only had one stipulation: that I cut my hair. I

didn’t want to cut my hair so I decided to try something else and became a bar manager across the bay.”

Smith’s decision to eventually leave his locks led him to meeting the Doobie Brothers and beginning a career of bartending and restaurant management.

“A girl I was dating at the time invited me to a party, and it turned out to be at the Doobie Brothers’ house,” Smith said. “I started bartending for parties and got the chance to meet some great people like Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter.”

After a phone call from a friend, Smith opened the San Francisco Rose located in Dallas in 1977.

“We did simple and different things with the San Francisco Rose, like using California wines and purse hooks,” Smith said.

Smith continued his restaurant career being a part of the McArthur Park in San Francisco and Huts in Austin, home of the best burger in Austin for 26 years. It was in Austin that Smith met Clifford Antone.

“Through Clifford Antone I met a lot of different people like Stevie Ray Vaughan who played at our club and hung out,” Smith said.

Smith also founded Smitty’s, a restaurant in Austin where the five best artists in

Texas frequented.

“People like Jim Franklin and Michael Priest would show up there and just hang out,” Smith said.

Smith soon found himself meeting the likes of people like Etta James, Dolly Parton, and Burt Reynolds through his restaurants. Even though he isn’t partial “to the whole celebrity and glorifying thing,” Smith is “thankful for the great friends he has met in life.”

While in Austin, Smith began to design theatre sets.

After an accident with moving set pieces, he was given a recommendation for a foot doctor in Greenville.

“I moved to a ranch in Greenville and my friends encouraged me to open a place around here,” Smith said.

It was through Commerce’s own Oglesby family that Smith found a connection to Commerce and opened the College Corner Cafe.

“We wanted a place for everyone to go and have fun,” Smith said.

Smith soon found music connections with local Grammy award winner Brad Davis and Stearin Distributors Rick Parent. The three plan to work closely with the College Corner Cafe and are currently putting together a songwriters festival to be held in April in downtown Commerce.

New organization seeks future entrepreneurs Staff Writer Gizem Baydar A new organization is preparing to introduce themselves to t he Texas A&M Univerisity-Commerce community.

The Organization of Future Entrepreneurs (OFE) started unofficially about three years ago as a organization for both students and staff. It is mainly focused on helping students who are hoping to own their own companies in the future to achieve that now and in the future.

“It was hard to prove the longevity of this organization,” Instructor of College of Business & Entrepreneurs Omar Brown said. “We had to a n swer t he quest ion s like: will it last, do we have enough people? We had to do a lot of behind the scene research.”

One hope of the group is to ensure students understand what it takes to own a business.

“What we do here is to ensure that members understand the rudiment and intricacies involved in starting small organization as well as growing them into multimillion dollar corporations,”

President/CEO of OFE Joel Okama Yakubu said.

The organization is open to the entire university community: faculty, staff and students.

“Anybody can be involved with it, but the only thing we do require is that they come in with an overall entrepreneurial perspective,” Brown said.

The main goal of the organization is to get more individuals to become entrepreneurs.

Some of the students look at this organization as a class.

“Some people come and say that ‘all I want to know is how to run my business. In a month; I should be able to learn.’ But our goal is to learn it as we move along, this is not a class,” Brown said.

The OFE has planned entrepreneurial visits to Dallas companies and hopes to invite local business owners and entrepreneurs as guest speakers for the semester.

“Our i ntensions are to expand OFE of Commerce to all schools within the A&M family, and possibly spread our format across the United States to other university systems,” Vice President/ COO Roy Bold said.

The OFE is currently try-

ing to brand their organization to open it to public with a logo competition.

“We a re ma k i ng t hem think critically and help us with different ideas. A logo and a slogan for the OFE is what we are looking for,” Brown said.

The deadline for the logo compet it ion Ja n. 27. The competition winner will be awarded with Lion cash.

There will be a seminar/ conference in April as an official introduction of the organization and unveil the logo.

“We also have some fundraising and entertainment planned out for the year,” Roy Bold added.

Yakubu said the group would like to be able to claim their own multi-million dollar entrepeneur some day.

“Our target is to have our own Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Henry Ford, etc.,” Yakubu said.

Anyone prepared to put in the effort it takes to try and make their business dream a reality is welcome to the club.

“As long as you have a passion and willing to put in some work, you are more than welcomed to join our organization,” Brown said.

Check out this week’s episode of Word on The Street at

TheEastTexan.com Got a suggestion for WoTS?

Tweet @TAMU_CampusLife #WoTS

www.theeasttexan.com

Ca mpus Life

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

New name, logo revealed at 3rd annual RSC celebration Campus Life Editor Nick Bailey Students and faculty alike came together on Jan. 25 to celebrate the 3rd birthday of the Rayburn Student Center. The festivities started at roughly 11:00 a.m., and students quickly got in line for various activities and giveaways, including free Tshirts among other things.

This year’s celebration brought change to the A&MCommerce campus with the revelation of the building’s new name, the Rayburn Student Center. Along with this name change from “Sam Rayburn Student Center” came a new logo that many individuals, including Assistant Director of Greek Life Zach Shirley, were excited to unveil.

“We had anticipated it, and we were leading up to it, “ Shirley said. “We came in and put our shirts on early this morning and had jackets zipped up to conceal it and keep it secret, and then that big revealing came when we got to show off the new logo.”

Celebrations continued throughout the day despite rainy weather conditions, which some individuals were worried might deter students from participating.

“I think it’s extremely successful,” Shirley said. “I think, especially given the weather, a lot of students are coming out to fellowship with their peers and participate in Lions Leap events.”

Many students were excited to take part in the events

held during the day, and see the chainsaw juggler later that evening. Members of the A&M-Commerce community could be seen all over campus enjoying free cupcakes when they were available in The Club. Some A&M-Commerce students were excited to see their peers coming together for the celebration despite the weather.

“It’s a good way to get out of they rain,” Junior Keyania Campbell said. “It seems like they went all out. They got a chainsaw juggler – never seen one of those – and everybody loves a free T-shirt.

I feel like a lot of people missed the point. It’s the student center’s birthday, but they don’t think about that, they just think of the events, but…it’s got a lot of students actually getting out and being social for a moment. I’m glad that [A&M-Commerce] decided to do this for us.”

Student Government Association President Adria Green explained that the level of student participation in this year’s festivities did not surprise her, and she is proud to see so many students interacting on campus.

“Usually when we have free incentives and shirts and things of that nature there’s always long lines, so it’s good to see a lot of traffic,” Green said. “Whenever we have free stuff the students will come. The students’ fees pay for it, so might as well put it to good use with the students.”

NICK BAILEY - THE EAST TEXAN Students formed lines stretching throughout the student center to wait their turn for various activities, such as making leather bracelets (above).

Off-campus lodging offers Lions a den to call their own Campus Life Editor Nick Bailey

Students at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce now have a new option in off campus living as the Lion’s Den has officially opened for business, after buying out the University Inn. The Lion’s Den, located on Highway 50, offers lodging to A&M-Commerce students and has a café that is open to the public.

The city of Commerce—including the university campus—has seen an increase in population and business recently, with multiple small businesses opening in the area and student enrollment reaching 11,000. Director of Operations, Bart Jetton, believes that The Lion’s Den will be something that students will enjoy.

“We’re going to base our decisions on what is requested of us,” Jetton said.

“We have our concept, but that doesn’t mean we can’t tweak it to make it fit the area. It’s all about being comfortable and having a good time.”

The new student lodging offers 60 fully furnished rooms each capable of accommodating two students, but guests are able to redecorate if they prefer their own furniture.

“If they want to put up their own pictures and take down ours that’s fine,” the Lion’s Den property manager Donald Thornton said. “If they decide that they like their bed they have somewhere else better than the ones we have here, then we can move theirs in and take ours out.”

Students and members of the community are also welcome to the Lion’s Den Coffee House, which offers patrons various food and drink options as well as a hookah lounge. Coffee House Supervisor Matthew Key explained that

the menu is still growing, but patrons are welcome to a number of items already available.

“We have a different soup everyday, and we also have different sandwiches available,” Key said. “We serve all the basic espresso beverages…and we sell Starbucks brewed coffee and hot teas available. We’re starting out small [with the hookahs]. We just have single, one hose hookahs. We have nicotinefree herbal hookah, and then we have regular tobacco hookah. We have five different flavors right now, so people can come in and hang out and use the free wifi while they smoke hookah or grab something to eat.”

The Lion’s Den is moving forward with operations, and hopes to have ever room filled by the end of the Fall 2012 semester.

Page 5

Counseling Corner Study smarter, not harder Special Contributor Rick McCraw Last week’s article addressed scheduling your time wisely and offered a few study tips. This week will build upon that and continue to look at ways to increase the efficiency of your study time. The goals are to get class work done during the week so that weekends can remain as free of schoolwork as possible, create a means to improve comprehension and retention, and follow a plan that relieves the anxiety associated with playing academic catch-up.

Consolidate your planning time. Take a half-hour to plan a day or week at a time, specifically prioritizing which assignments to do when. Then stick to your plan! This way, when you have a chunk of good study time, you don’t take up the first 20 minutes deciding what to work on.

Set weekly goals then break the list down into what can be accomplished each day. Don’t set yourself up for failure; set accomplishable goals. List 3-5 things you know you can accomplish each day and prioritize the list. If something doesn’t get done, move it to top priority the next day.

Structure your out-ofclass study time. Write down a specific assignment into a specific time slot, as if it were a class you were planning to attend. Be there on time and turn off your cell phone and Facebook.

Use small bits of time between classes and meetings effectively. In 15 minutes you can review, edit, and expand on your notes from a recent lecture. A half-hour is good for beginning a problem set.

Handle each piece of paper once. Stop shuffling paper from one pile to the next. Make a decision about what to do with the paper and do it.

Don’t totally rewrite class notes; take them well the first time.

Diagnose your procrastination. Is it really the whole paper you’re having trouble starting, or just deciding on a topic? Is it the whole problem set, or just one that has a section you can’t understand? Rome wasn’t built in a day; college takes 4 years. Difficult tasks are meant to be subdivided.

Build rewards into your schedule. Four hours of solid studying, with a 10 minute break every 4550 minutes, followed by a half-hour phone call to your best friend is more productive than four mediocre hours of study inter-

spersed with phone calls, texts, and Facebook posts.

Take time for yourself. Exercise, have fun, have relationships, eat healthy, and sleep.

College is reading intensive. There’s no way around it. But there may be a better way to go about it where you will comprehend and retain more of what you read.

Briefly survey the chapter, noting the divisions, headings, tables, and figures. Read the chapter summary. This provides an overview of the chapter content and a framework for organizing the material.

Turn each section heading into a question that you want answered. Also, try to guess questions that might appear on the exam.

Read the chapter, section by section, trying to answer your questions.

Answer the questions and state the main points verbally. You may also write down the answers and key points for later reference.

First, write the question and then write the answer to the question using only key words, lists, etc.

Briefly look back over the material to assure that you have included all the main points. Reflect on the meaning and application of the major points.

Having difficulties with some of your studies? This is often used as an excuse to put off doing homework or writing papers. Seek help as soon as you recognize that you have a problem. Professors are usually willing to help you or to refer you to other sources of help.

Ask questions in class when you don’t understand something, or make an appointment to see your professor outside of class. Chances are there are other students in your class having the same difficulty as you and will appreciate someone speaking up. Don’t be shy! You’re paying for the class so be proactive in your learning.

Attend help sessions.

Department advisors are available to help you. If you don’t know who your advisor is, ask in your departmental office.

Find a tutor. Services of the Writing Center located in the Hall of Languages are free and can assist you with all of your writing needs, not just English papers. Make use of the math lab in Binnion Hall. Many department offices have lists of graduate students who tutor for pay.

Remember your goals and study smarter not harder.

Ideas or questions for the Counseling Corner? Drop us an email at: counselingcornertamuc@gmail.com. Previous articles can be found on the Counseling Center web site.

We’re online!

PHOTOS BY NICK BAILEY AND JESSICA MARTIN - THE EAST TEXAN The Lion’s Den Coffee House (top right) is open to the public and offers a variety of amenities. The rooms available for student lodging (bottom right) accommodate 2 students and open to either the parking lot or the pool.

Page 6

Entertainment Entertainment

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

www.theeasttexan.com

Fromage du Jour A weekly look at film cheese

FORCESOFGEEK.COM

According to Jordan Wright, “In the Name of the King 2” manages to be Uwe Boll’s best film.

THEATERHOPPER.COM

According to Jordan Wright, “The Grey” keeps up an intense atmosphere while provoking interesting philosophical thought despite a few minor flaws.

‘The Grey’ offers intensity and intelligence Entertainment Editor Jordan Wright Liam Neeson has been building quite a name for himself in the past few years. It says a lot about your vocation when the roles of a Jedi, the mentor of Batman, and the King of the Greek gods are not among the highlights of your acting career.

Neeson has managed to brave every threat that man can throw at him and with the release of “The Grey,” he’s now out to prove he can use his particular set of skills to punch out mother nature in Alaska.

Neeson plays oil company worker, John Ottway, who hunts the local wolves that threaten his drilling team.

With the job complete, Ottway and the team board a plane to take them home which fails to hold up against a fierce blizzard and ultimately crashes somewhere in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness.

Being the only expert on the conditions that the men now find themselves in, Ottway must now use his knowledge of the territory and local wolf behavior in order to guide his men to

survival against both the harsh weather and climate conditions, as well as a pack of wolves that see the survivors of the crash as a threat to thei territory.

The film focuses on the trials of the survivors to hike to safety as they are continually chased by the wolves, as well as work through the psychological toll that the crash has taken on them and the rising tensions that they have with one another. The camaraderie between the survivors as they get to know one another is genuinely touching and can be attributed to the solid acting of the cast, including Neeson himself, despite not being able to hold an American sounding accent to save his life.

The direction of these dialogue heavy scenes is solid enough to cover the fact that a lot of the actual dialogue spoken is kind of lame. It’s the typical band of survivors’ cliché stuff about what they’re going to do with their loved ones when they get back home interlaced with various swear words.

It’s not quite a black mark, but it does distract from scenes that are otherwise very tense and entertaining to watch.

Fortunately, the rest of the film is up

to snuff with the premise. The movie establishes right from the get go that wolf attacks can happen at any given time. The film is under two hours long, and I found myself on the edge of my seat throughout nearly its entire running time from the crash to the end.

For all of its positives however, “The Grey” is not without some chunkiness.

The film tries to explore the philosophical question of how one knows whether or not they have lived life to the fullest and to what extent it is worth fighting for. On occasion, the characters will reflect on how fortunate they are to have survived the crash but the focus doesn’t quite come up enough to warrant it’s ultimate conclusion. I appreciated its attempts to address such issues, unfortunately it doesn’t quite dedicate the time needed for it to fully develop, resulting in an ending that is supposed to be covered with symbolism but comes off as abrupt.

These flaws don’t sink the film as a whole, however. It’s not perfect or great but “The Grey” is nonetheless enjoyable, has good food for thought, and I highly recommend it as a way to pass two hours.

PUREAWK.COM

According to Jessica Martin, with the release of their newest album, Foxy Shazam may have proven themselves to be the “Queen” of the next generation.

‘Church of Rock and Roll’ converts writer into believer Graphics Editor Jessica Martin

If you’ve never heard the band Foxy Shazam before, I urge you to take a listen. I may get a little ahead of myself when I say this, but I honestly believe that they are the Queen of our generation. If Queen ever decided to get back together for a reunion tour, I truly believe that Eric Sean Nally, lead singer of Foxy Shazam, would be a perfect fit.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Eric Sean Nally is by any means Freddie Mercury; after all, those are enormous shoes to fill. But just take a listen to some of their music and tell me you don’t agree.

“Church of Rock and Roll” is the fourth album that Foxy Shazam has released, beginning with “Flamingo

Trigger” in 2005. It seems that with each album, they completely change their sound. While some people don’t like this, I’m intrigued by it because I can appreciate that they have such diversity in their music.

The first single of Church of Rock and Roll, “I Like It,” was released in October 2011. I’ve been listening to Foxy Shazam for a little over a year now and was so excited to hear that they were making new music. So when I began listening to this song, I kept an open mind about it. Which was a good thing, seeing as the chorus was a repetition of, “that’s the biggest black ass I’ve ever seen, and I like it.”

While I found this a bit humorous, simply because that is Nally’s style, I was a bit worried about how the rest of the album may turn out.

Open mouth, insert foot.

This album is quickly becoming one of my favorites of theirs, because it’s so personal. Many times throughout the album, Nally mentions his wife and kids, and the majority of the album evokes a sense of emotion that I haven’t experienced in much of their other music.

It’s hard to describe Foxy Shazam’s sound, really. It’s almost like a mixture of Queen, 80s rock, and Arctic Monkeys. It’s constantly changing throughout the album, a cavalcade of guitars, drums, pianos, trumpets, and Nally’s unique voice.

This album has easily helped to maintain their spot among my favorite bands today, and I can’t wait to see what else this band comes up with in the future.

‘In the Name of the King 2’ offers competent boredom Entertainment Editor Jordan Wright Picking out films to watch and write up every week is not always an easy task. Whenever I pick out a new target for this column, I have to keep in mind several criteria that make it eligible for such status.

Who’s directing it, who’s producing it, who’s starring in it, and what’s the premise are just a few of the questions that I ask myself when organizing new movies for the lineup.

Rarely do movies meet all of the necessary qualifications but every once in a while, I reach a movie that exceeds every qualification I could have ever laid out for it.

A film with any of this week’s subject’s attributes would have warranted a feature but a direct to video sequel to an Uwe Boll movie, starring the monster Russian boxer from “Rocky IV” is the Fromage Du Jour equivalent of the big red button marked do not press.

For those of you that missed the “treat” that was “BloodRayne: The Third Reich,” Uwe Boll is a German filmmaker responsible for some of the worst films to ever see the light of day, many of which are based on video games.

One of those films is the 2008 abomination “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale,” a film so bad, that it isn’t even worth viewing for Jason Statham pulling off medieval action.

One would naturally think that its sequel, “In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds,” being marketed as a medieval fantasy movie about a time travelling Dolph Lundgren, would have the same problems applied here.

Yet, somehow, “In the Name of the King 2” defies a premise that should sink it from the very start and manages to become a surprisingly improved sequel and one of the best movies that Uwe Boll has ever made. It may not be saying much but this may be

Boll’s most tolerable film.

Lundgren plays Granger, a former Special Forces operative acclimating to civilian life when he’s attacked by medieval ninjas and dragged through a portal that takes him back to medieval times where he finds himself drawn into a conflict between a king’s forces and a religious coven vying for control over the land.

In order to fulfill the prophecy that brought him there, Granger fights to restore order to the land and return to his own time, simultaneously making the audience wonder exactly what movie they just turned on.

The film bears practically no resemblance to its prequel, and the use of the time travel aspect comes from out of left field. Why they felt the need to include it, I have no idea.

Thankfully, Dolph Lundgren manages to express the audience reactions of “you’ve got to be kidding me” effortlessly. The daze and confusion on his face that carries throughout nearly the entire film pricelessly captures just how dumbfounded I felt throughout the first 20 minutes of the film.

Unfortunately, in trying to laugh at the film for its faults, I had to face the ultimate shock by the time I reached the end of it, which is that it is actually competently made.

It’s not exactly an Oscar winner, but “In the Name of the King 2” does coherently adhere to a three-act structure and runs at a perfect length for the story that it tells. It isn’t simply a movie that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

It’s a film that barely qualifies as bad, period.

The double-edged sword of this rise in quality is that the best thing about Boll’s films, is that they are laughably bad. Being a far more competently made film than anything he has ever done, it’s still not good and thus it is inherently less enjoyable than some of his more infamous abominations.

Verdict: Two Shatners

Bottom line: For better or worse, the man that I had once heralded as the worst working director to date is getting better at his craft.

Page 7

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

numbersgame 16, 13

hotshot 1,400

Current winning and losing streaks by Tarleton men, A&M-C women, respectively

Tarleton’s Shelby Adamson became the 6th in school history to amass 1,400 career points

Lone Star Football Festival gets upgrade

GRAYSON GRAVES / THE EAST TEXAN

Texas A&M University-Commerce and Midwestern State will meet again in the 2012 Lone star Football Festival at Cowboys stadium in Arlington, as part of a two-day, six-game event.

After a successful inaugural event, the Lone Star Football Festival will return to Cowboys Stadium in 2012 as a two-day, sixgame event that includes all nine Lone Star Conference football teams.

The games will be held as tripleheaders on Friday, September 14, and Saturday, the 15th, with four conference contests, a non-conference matchup and high school game. Game times are set for Noon, 4 and 8 p.m. each day.

Friday’s lineup includes two conference games and a high school contest, with Incarnate Word versus Eastern New Mexico at Noon, followed by Texas A&M-Commerce against Midwestern State and the high school matchup between teams to be announced at a later date.

On Saturday, the action starts with Angelo State

in opposition to two-time NCAA Division II national champion Valdosta State from the Gulf South Conference, followed by a pair of LSC clashes with Tarleton State against Abilene Christian at 4 p.m. and Texas A&MKingsville versus West Texas A&M at 8 p.m.

Admission to the event will be offered in daily tickets for Friday or Saturday’s games along with an option for two-day festival passes, with tickets to go on sale later this spring.

The 2011 Lone Star Football Festival drew an LSC attendance record 24,837 fans to a tripleheader of games, which included Midwestern State defeating Texas A&M-Commerce 63-17 in the Harvey Martin Classic, North Alabama stopping Abilene Christian 23-17, and West Texas A&M topping Texas A&M-Kingsville 42-21.

UIW claims top spot in 2012 LSC preseason baseball poll Defending regular season champion Incarnate Word was selected to win the 2012 Lone Star Conference baseball title as the preseason polls were announced by league officials last week.

UIW received 13 of the 21 first-place votes on the ballots cast by LSC coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives for 157 total points.

The Cardinals finished 37-18 last season and fell to Central Missouri in the NCAA Division II South Central Region championship game.

The Cardinals’ Kirk Jewasko was named LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. The senior from San Antonio led the league with a 12-1 overall record and 103 strikeouts last

season. Jewasko threw 91.1 innings with five complete games and a 3.31 ERA. West Texas A&M’s Jess Cooper was tabbed LSC Preseason Player of the Year. The senior infielder from Belle Fourche, SD, topped NCAA Division II in batting average and on-base percentage en route to first team All-LSC in 2011.

Cooper finished the year with a school-record .494 average with 19 doubles, three triples, six homers, 50 RBI and 122 total bases for a slugging percentage of .763.

Tarleton State tallied 126 points with one first-place nod to finish second in the voting, while Cameron was third with 105 points and two top votes.

Angelo State and Abilene Christian tied for fourth place

Easy Bucket

with 91 points, followed by WTAMU sixth (83), Texas A&M-Kingsville seventh (78) and Eastern New Mexico (25) rounded out the poll.

The 2012 season starts in early February with LSC teams playing a 7-week, single round-robin schedule with a four-game series against every other team. Each series shall consist of a 9-inning game Friday, a 7x7 doubleheader Saturday and 9-inning contest Sunday.

The overall LSC Champion will be the team with the best winning percentage in regular-season conference games, while the winner of the postseason championship will be recognized as LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league’s automatic qualification into NCAA postseason.

Individual Leaders Points Player

Avg./G

Rebounds Player

Avg./G

Assists Player

Avg./G

Steals Player

Avg./G

Milton Garner, CAM........................ 20.1 Keenan Coleman, ASU................... 15.8 Desmond King, A&M-C.................. 15.4 Reggie Nelson, ENMU.................... 15.2 Ashton Brown, A&M-K................... 15.2

Donald Sims, WT...............................9.7 Chris Johnson, UIW...........................8.3 Fabian Wilson, TSU...........................6.7 Robert Williams, A&M-K....................6.6 David Terrell, MSU.............................6.5

Lionel Foster, WT...............................7.1 LaBree Sledge, A&M-C.....................4.7 Michael Lloyd, MSU...........................3.7 Gilchrist King, ASU............................3.6 Devone Davis, ENMU........................3.5

Shawn Umeh, UIW........................... 2.2 Lionel Foster, WT.............................. 2.1 Devone Davis, ENMU....................... 2.0 David Terrell, MSU............................ 1.9 Keonte’ Logan, MSU........................ 1.8

Midwestern State at Abilene Christian*

February 1 Cameron at Angelo State* Incarnate Word at A&M-Commerce* A&M-Kingsville at Tarleton State*

February 4 A&M-Commerce at A&M-Kingsville* Abilene Christian at Cameron* Tarleton State at Incarnate Word* Angelo State at Midwestern State*

February 6 A&M-Kingsville at A&M-Commerce*

February 8 Eastern New Mexico at Angelo State* Abilene Christian at West Texas A&M* Incarnate Word at Midwestern State*

women’shoops

WEST TEXAS A&M SPORTS INFORMATION

West Texas A&M’s Jess Cooper was named LSC Preseason Player of the Year after leading NCAA Division II in batting average during the 2011 season.

campaign pushing the league’s 2012 Lone Star Football Festival, a two-day, six-game event Sept. 14-15.

The LSC and Fox Southwest will partner to produce four 30-minute magazine-style television shows highlighting the league, with original programming scheduled to air during the weeks of Feb. 20, May 21, Aug. 27 and Dec. 10.

The shows also will re-air twice during the time period. An online presence will round out the partnership, with FoxSportsSouthwest. com becoming the exclusive web streaming home of 16 dates of live LSC competition.

The events include six basketball doubleheaders, the LSC basketball championship semifinals, and LSC Softball and Baseball championships this spring.

In the fall, five football games along with the LSC Volleyball Championship match will be streamed.

MSU earns 3 of 4 weekly conference honors

KRISTIE CARD / THE EAST TEXAN

LSC Overall 11-0 19-1 9-2 16-2 7-5 13-6 7-5 11-7 7-5 11-8 6-6 13-8 3-8 8-12 2-8 10-10 2-8 9-11 2-9 7-12

Schedule

The Lone Star Conference has signed a partnership with Fox Sports Southwest, which will put the league on the regional sports network’s television and web streaming platforms throughout the 2012 calendar year.

As part of the one-year agreement, the LSC will receive television advertising, a quarterly television show and live web streaming. The three-part approach aims to raise awareness of the LSC and its signature events while strategically enhancing the league’s visibility.

Viewers who tune in to upcoming Mavericks and Stars broadcasts can expect to see an advertising campaign promoting the 2012 LSC Basketball Championship, set for Feb. 29 - March 4 in Allen, as the partnership rolls out.

Additional spots will be aired this summer during Texas Rangers games with a second

Freshman La’Tisha Hearne scores two of her 12 points during a 63-51 loss to Cameron on Saturday.

Team Tarleton State Midwestern State West Texas A&M Cameron Incarnate Word East. New Mexico A&M-Kingsville Abilene Christian Angelo State A&M-Commerce

January 31

LSC, Fox Sports Southwest agree to deal for 2012 games

Midwestern State has maintained its spot among the LSC leaders throughout the 2011-12 basketball season, and proved again this past week it has some special players on campus.

MSU earned three of the four Player of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 23, voted on by the Lone Star

men’shoops

Conference coaches and officials each week.

Savannah Carter, a senior guard from Amarillo, was named Women’s offensive Player of the Week after scoring a career-best 27 points in a win over Cameron.

Carter is currently second in the LSC in scoring.

Jazman Patterson, a senior

forward from Southlake, was picked as Defensive Player of the Week on the strength of 11 rebounds and three blocks against Cameron.

Michael Loyd, a senior guard from Las Vegas, averaged 17.5 points in two wins over Cameron, including a pair of triples in the final minute of an 82-80 win.

Team Tarleton State Midwestern State Cameron West Texas A&M Angelo State Texas Woman’s Incarnate Word East. New Mexico Abilene Christian A&M-Kingsville A&M-Commerce

LSC Overall 12-0 15-5 10-2 14-4 9-4 13-5 9-4 11-8 8-4 10-8 5-7 10-8 5-8 10-9 4-9 6-13 3-9 8-10 3-9 4-14 0-12 1-17

Individual Leaders Points Player

Avg./G

Rebounds Player

Avg./G

Assists Player

Avg./G

Steals Player

Avg./G

Precious Herrin, ENMU................... 16.3 Savannah Carver, MSU................... 15.3 Jessica Hanna, TWU...................... 15.1 Kelsey Smith, ACU......................... 14.8 Julie Paunovic, CAM....................... 14.3

Sabelle Diata, CAM............................9.3 Breanna Harris, A&M-C.....................8.6 Jessica Hanna, TWU.........................7.8 Inekka Stevenson, A&M-K.................7.7 Kelsey Smith, ACU............................7.7

Cambria Smith, TWU.........................7.6 Nicole Pendarvis, CAM......................5.2 Shelby Adamson, TSU......................4.8 Joni Unruh, WT.................................3.6 Jocelyn Jarmon, UIW........................3.6

Joni Unruh, WT................................ 3.1 Ashlyn Green, UIW........................... 2.7 Cambria Smith, TWU........................ 2.3 Casey Land, WT............................... 2.0 Andrea Carter, MSU......................... 1.9

Schedule January 31 Midwestern State at Abilene Christian*

February 1 Cameron at Angelo State* Incarnate Word at A&M-Commerce* A&M-Kingsville at Tarleton State* Texas Woman’s at Eastern New Mexico*

February 4 A&M-Commerce at A&M-Kingsville* West Texas A&M at Texas Woman’s* Abilene Christian at Cameron* Tarleton State at Incarnate Word* Angelo State at Midwestern State*

February 6 A&M-Kingsville at A&M-Commerce*

sports

Page 8

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012

www.theeasttexan.com

Hambrick, Lions shoot down Aggies A&M-Commerce 76 • Cameron 69 Sports Editor Cliff Gibson With five straight losses looming over their heads, the Texas A&M Un iversit y-Commerce Lions cast t he demons out and resurrected their season Saturday with a 76-69 win over Cameron at The Field House.

Senior guard Brad Hambrick, who had been spotty at best for the past few weeks, picked the right time to come alive, scoring a team-high 20 points, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc.

Sophomore guard Devondrick Walker added a career-best 17 points while senior Desmond King tossed in 14 points to go with eight rebounds in the win for the Lions.

A&M-Commerce improved to 7-12 overall, but more importa ntly, to 2-9 i n Lone Star Conference play, moving within a half game of both Abilene Christian and Angelo State, who are tied for the eighth spot in the LSC standings.

Milton Garner entered the game as the LSC’s leading scorer and didn’t disappoint, scoring a game-high 34 points to lead the Aggies.

In the opening minutes, the Lions made a pair of triples, one from Preston Whitely and another from Hambrick, who answered a 3-point shot from Garner to tie the game at 7-7.

Midway through the half, Whitely threw down a dunk to cap off an 11-4 run to help the

Lions go ahead 18-11, but the Aggies stormed back to tie it on a pair of big shots by Garner.

Andrew Davis gave the Lions their last lead of the half with four minutes left, sinking a long ball to make it 25-24, but Cameron led the rest of the way before halftime.

Walker helped t he Lions regain control, putting A&MCom merce i n f ront w it h a 3-pointer with 7:20 to play.

Junior 7-footer Mouhamadou N’Doye provided the play of the night just over a minute later, going high down the baseline to catch a lob from LaBree Sledge and throw down a nasty twohand dunk, lifting the decibel level in The Field House to its highest point of the season and giving the Lions a nine-point lead at 60-51.

Cameron, trailing by double digits with under two minutes to play, was forced to put the Lions on the free throw line down the stretch. The Lions made 10-of-12 shots from the stripe in the final 1:46, including six from Walker.

Several Lions pitched in on the winning effort, including Sledge, who finished 0-for-4 from the floor but dished out seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Whitely scored nine points, Davis added five points and six rebounds and Esteban Arriola had six points. N’Doye scored three points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked four shots in only nine minutes.

MSU sweeps Lions during LSC contests Sports Editor Cliff Gibson

COLLIER WHITEFIELD / THE EAST TEXAN

Senior guard Brad Hambrick (5) hit 6-of-9 shots, including 4-of-5 from long range during Saturday’s 76-69 win over Cameron. Hambrick led the Lions with 20 points.

Slow starts haunted the Texa s A&M Un iversit yCommerce basketball teams, resulting in another pair of conference losses, this time to Midwestern State in Wichita Falls on Jan. 25.

The A&M-Commerce men dropped a 69-50 decision to the tenth-ranked Mustangs, while the women suffered a 74-58 loss to MSU. Desmond King and Esteban Arriola each scored 10 points for the Lions, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 20-point halftime deficit.

Midwestern State held the Lions to just five field goals in the first half (5-of-24) and took a 36-16 lead into the break.

In the early game, the Lion women fell i nto a 17-point hole at halftime.

The Lion s wer e outrebounded by a slim margin (45-41) and shot 32.4 percent from the floor, compared to just 36.4 percent for the Mustangs. However, the big difference came at the free throw line, where the Mustangs connected on 30-of-42 attempts.

Sophomore Brea n na Harris led the Lions with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Danielle Dixon added 12. MSU’s Savannah Carver led a l l scorers w it h 20 points.

Cameron 63 • A&M-Commerce 51

Losing streak reaches 14 Farmer steps in as Lions first-ever strength coach following loss to Cameron Staff Writer Ridges Munnerlyn

Sports Editor Cliff Gibson A nightmare first half led to yet another loss for the women of Texas A&M University-Commerce on Saturday, scoring just 10 points before halftime and falling to Cameron, 63-51, the Lions’ 14th-consecutive loss of the season.

The Lions (1-17, 0-12 LSC) shot a putrid 7.9 percent in the first half, connecting on just 3-of-38 shots in the first 20 minutes, and fell behind by 18 at halftime. A&MCommerce shot 53 percent in the second half, but couldn’t overcome the disastrous start in this game.

For Cameron, it was a much-needed win to keep the Aggies in third place in the LSC. Cameron improved to 13-5 overall and 9-4 in conference play.

Sophomore Brea n na Harris was a bright spot for the Lions once again, notching her eighth doubledouble of the season with 19 points and 17 rebounds (12 offensive), while Bianca Stevenson added 14 points and seven rebounds.

However, Lions’ leading scorer Danielle Dixon made just three of her 20 attempts a nd f i n ished w it h n i ne points and the Lions ended the night with 49 missed field goals.

Four Aggies finished the night in double figures, led

by Alexis Williams with 17 points. Julie Paunovic chipped in 16 points to go with seven rebounds, Nicole Pendarvis added 13 points and Sabelle Diata had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Harris scored the Lions’ first points just 30 seconds into the game, but A&MCom me r c e we nt s c or e -

KRISTIE CARD / THE EAST TEXAN

Sophomore Breanna Harris posted her eighth double-double Saturday against Cameron with 19 points and 17 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Lions from losing for the 14th consecutive outing.

less for the next 10 minutes before making a pair of free throws. The Lions would miss 22 consecutive shots from the floor before finally getting a field goal from Harris at the 8:48 mark, a shooting freeze lasting 10 minutes, 36 seconds.

Cameron didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard, shooting just 34.6 percent in the opening half, but took an 18-point advantage into halftime, the Aggies’ largest of the game.

The Lions actually battled back in the second half, cutting the lead to just six points with 11:43 to play.

Paunovic put an end to the threat shortly after, nailing back-to-back 3-pointers and stretching the lead to 44-32.

From t h at poi nt, t he Lions would get no closer than eight points, as the Aggies maintained their distance with clutch shooting and solid defense before eventually putting A&MCommerce away for good.

The Lions will aim to end their long losing streak Wednesday, when they host Incarnate Word at 6 p.m. at The Field House.

Incarnate Word defeated the Lions in San Antonio last month, by a score of 79-49.

On Jan. 26, Texas A&M UniversityCommerce athletic director Carlton Cooper announced the hiring of Lance Farmer as the Lions’ new strength and conditioning coach.

Farmer will work with all 11 athletic programs, supervising weight lifting, conditioning, fitness and nutritional programs for all student-athletes.

Prior to his arrival at A&M-Commerce, Farmer held several positions at different universities. He started his career as a student assistant at Eastern Washington University, where he first learned about strength and conditioning, and received his bachelor’s degree in exercise sciences from Eastern Washington University in 2006. He attended Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach.

At Appalachian State, he was directly responsible for strength programs for men’s and women’s tennis, wrestling, field hockey, and assisted with physical MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS development of the Mountaineers’ 2006 and 2007 Division 1-AA national championship football teams. Farmer received his master’s degree in exercise sciences and strength and conditioning from Appalachian State in 2008.

“Being a strength and conditioning coach has been a goal since my undergrad years,” Farmer said. “I’ve always been open-minded about it and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I have to be willing to move around and wherever it takes me is where it takes me.”

Farmer has already set numerous goals here at A&M-Commerce, and wants the program to be able to compete with the best. He wants to teach and motivate athletes to have a proper mindset, getting stronger, attitude, and a mind of purpose on and off the field.

Farmer wishes to heavily enhance and provide proper training techniques and

ways for athletes to take proper care of their bodies.

“I discovered that our weight room is just approximately over 6,500 square feet, which is a decent size for a Division II campus,” Farmer said. “I’d like to develop the weight room to one of the best in Division II. I want to make sure all the equipment is being used properly and athletes are spending that extra time in the weight room, to where we have to kick them out. Having a strong weight room facility along with the program is a strong asset to recruits and I want to make sure it measures as a strong recruiting tool when different coaches and recruits come to our weight room.”

Farmer plans to implement a yearround training program, a process that requires focus as well as high expectations, all year long. In training comes adversity, and Farmer plans to build mental toughness along with physical toughness, in order to maintain accountability.

“I’m trying to give them direction and hold them to a high standard, to make them do the right things at the right times every time they’re with me,” Farmer said.

“I also want to see how they respond when social life interferes with their workout, class assignments cram up on them, and if they can keep focus on athletic commitment as well as school.”

The A&M-Commerce athletic director and coaching staff has quickly brought in Farmer as strength and conditioning coach beginning this semester.

“All the coaches have been receptive and they realized if I need assistance I can count on them. So far it has been a good working relationship with the other coaches. Cooper seems very supportive of everything that I do and he wants exactly what I want so that we can build a foundation in being the best in Division II and having a stronger recruiting program.”

After the official announcement of Farmer as strength and conditioning coach, athletes seem eager to learn and ready to get their offseason programs underway.

“My overall goal as strength and conditioning coach is building athletes to do things the right way, keeping athletes focused, and most important assist them to get better every day no matter what they do and work hard in having a championship mindset,” Farmer said.