Feb 25, 2016

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Feb. 25, 2016

King’s Gambit

Delusional international group calls for legalization of rape

Our Only Hope?

women, cancelled their international meet up day in 43 different countries.

The group’s ideas and beliefs are based on “neoReturn of Kings, a U.S. based male group that masculinity,” a term that Daryush “Roosh V” Valadvocates that men need to take back control of izadeh, face and spokesman for Return of Kings, coined.

“Neomasculinity is an ideological system,” Valizadeh said, “that combines traditional beliefs, masculinity, and animal biology together.”

Valizadeh founded Return of Kings in October 2012. The group contains men of all races and backgrounds.

“Before he started Return of Kings, Valizadeh wrote about how to attract women,” Rod Berne, general writer for the Return of Kings website, said.

“It aims to aid men living where there is a lack of masculinity in males, femininity in females, and objectivity, particularly dealing with beauty ideals and human behavior,” he said.

“Return of Kings is a safe place where heterosexual, masculine men can express how they don’t agree with the direction that Western culture is headed,” Valizadeh said, “feminists, homosexuals, and women are strongly discouraged from contributing to this community.”

The meet up day, scheduled for Feb. 6, would have held 165 events in the different countries at 8pm. Each meeting would be hosted by different members. The meeting hosted by Daryush Valizadeh (otherwise known as Roosh V) is the leader Valizadeh would be in Washington, of the Return of Kings, an international group with a foothold in DC. over 40 countries. Their mission: the legalization of rape.

Valizadeh instructed the men to Imogene Wofford Managing Editor

Despite the misconception spun by pundits in the mainstream media in addition to Democratic party higher-ups, recent polls suggest that Hillary Clinton would either outright lose or fall within the margin of error if she were to go up against any of the remaining Republicans up for nomination while Bernie Sanders would be victorious against all of them.

Editor Andrew Burnes presents the case that the #BernieOrBust movement may be a reality and that a Clinton nomination could result in a Trump presidency.

PAGE 2

A&MCommerce professors prepare to take students to Sweden Drs. Villanueva-Russell and Tabetha Adkins will lead an expedition with to Sweden to give A&M-Commerce students the opportunity to compare Healthcare systems between countries.

PAGE 5

As new ways of listening to music (for free and otherwise) continue to emerge in the current musical landscape of the world, legacy media like CDs and even iTunes continue to whittle away in versatility and widespread use. Even so, vinyl sales have continued to increase and are becoming a staple in collge dorm rooms across the nation. What could possibly be accountable for the rise of one of the oldest form of music listening still available? Editor Andrew Burnes, a newfound vinyl owner, gives his take on the matter.

PAGE 6

“Neomasculinity is an ideological system that combines traditional beliefs, masculinity, and animal biology together.”

- Daryush Valizadeh The leader of The Return of Kings ceed to the final location, where the actual meet up was to take place.

To ensure the secrecy of the meet ups, Valizadeh changed more than twelve of the designated meeting areas, and sent out a list of all the meeting locations, as well as the meeting protocol and directions, to the members through their membership accounts.

“If accosted during the meet up, move to the final venue in pairs or triplets,” Valizadeh said, “using an indirect route so that the final meeting CONT. ON PAGE 5

Flashing Lights As crime around the A&M-Commerce campus increases, students/cops claim there’s nothing to fear Joseph Alderman News Editor

The return of Vinyl

locate a fellow member by using the phrases, “Do you know where I can find a pet shop?” and “yes, it’s right here.”

The members then would have to wait from 8:00-8:20p.m. at the meeting location. After the members were acquainted they were able to pro-

A gunshot. A text message. A phone call. An email. An eventual all clear. For students of Texas A&M University – Commerce, this is becoming an increasingly familiar pattern of events indicative of violence in the area surrounding the campus, but is this perception accurate?

Concerns about the safety of Commerce have spread in recent months, as multiple incidents of drive-by shootings, armed robberies, assaults, and most recently the discovery of a methamphetamines lab, have occurred since the beginning of this school year. The majority of these crimes have occurred within mere blocks of the Texas A&M – Commerce campus, and while some students may feel uneasy about this, sophomore KaiCierra Edwards lives nearby to many of these incidents and does not feel that panic is justified.

“When I worked the night shift and had to walk home on occasion I felt completely comfortable,” Edwards said. “I am aware of the crime that has taken place, but crime happens everywhere and I feel the police have it under control.”

While Commerce police were unable to provide confirmed crime statistics for the city, www.citydata.com provides crime statistics through 2013 for

the city of Commerce. According to their reports, since 2006, Commerce has an average violent crime rate of 263.2 compared to the US average of 233.3. Despite a spike in 2012, assaults in the city of Commerce have seen a fair decline in the last decade, with 12 in 2013 compared to 46 in 2007.

Burglaries have also been in decline since that time, although property crimes in Commerce are still well above the US average. However, incidents of rape, despite a 2008 low of 3, have been increasing in this same time, to 9 in 2013.

“Commerce is no more crime ridden than any other city anywhere in the United States,” Alex Suarez, public information officer for the Commerce Police Department, said. “We don’t have a major ‘crime’ problem. […] I’d have to say that reality is that Commerce is normal.”

While there is no fail-safe way to keep from being the victim of a crime, there are some ways that one can help reduce the likelihood.

“I’d have to pin it down to a few things, I CONT. ON PAGE 3

EDITORIAL C ARTOON COURTESY/JOSEPH A LDERMAN

Page 2

You are not a half!

Hannah Clark Staff Writer Last Sunday morning I woke up feeling alone, I caught myself wanting someone there I could spend my morning with. I could have sat there pouting and wishing I had a significant other to spend that time with, but then I had a realization.

I realized I didn’t need someone next to me. I did the exact same thing I would have done with or without some one. I got up, made myself a great breakfast, put on workout clothes and started my day.

I know when you are in college you think you know everything. You want to have that perfect relationship with your perfect person. If you are in a relationship I am so happy for you. Unfortunately, for myself, I have not found that person among other millions of people.

I think that is what people are missing; you are not alone in being alone.

This is the problem with thinking you need someone else to complete you. If you always want to be with someone else, when do you want to be by yourself? You have to learn who you are, your goals and what you want before you can focus your energy on another.

Many people have told me this “but why can’t it be me?” Maybe, just maybe, you aren’t ready.

I know this is cliché, but I have found it to be true, once you stop looking, your person finds you. What they forget to tell you is that you also find yourself.

College is that perfect experimenting time. Every experience offers a new challenge, you can choose to grow as a person or stay stagnant.

So instead of worrying about who you are going to wake up next to, worry about yourself. You are allowed to be selfish.

You are only in college. These are the years where you are learning about life and how the world operates. Absorb that knowledge and put it to good use.

Take some time to make yourself better, study for that exam, go workout or maybe just say no every once in awhile. We all have something we want to accomplish so just do it. Do not search for your other half because you are not half.

Campus Comment

Opinion Our nation’s only hope?

Feb. 25, 2016

Andrew Burnes Editor From plans to track Muslims like Jews in Nazi Germany to wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on walls “with a big door in the middle,” to calling the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage the “darkest day in our country’s history” to claiming that the Egyptian pyramids are secretly stores of grain, the current lineup of Republican candidates are, without a doubt, the worst in American history. And that, my friends, is saying something. Countries around the world are looking on in bewilderment, horror, and fear that Americans might actually be stupid enough to elect Donald Trump as president (The British Parliament actually debated on their floor whether they should ban him from their country). But judging from some of the issues highlighted above, who can be sure that he’s even the worse the GOP has to offer? A candidacy from any one of those men (save perhaps Ohio governor John Kasich who at least seems to have retained some sense of sanity, but is also one of the longest shots to win this thing) would not only give us the worst president in the history of our nation, with nuclear weapons at the ready and an incredibly dangerous, blindfolded stance on climate change, it could potentially spell doom for the world that we are preparing to take over as the next generation.

For months, I was under the impression that a Democratic victory in November is not only a necessity, it’s a given. Considering what’s at stake, I couldn’t imagine that there would be enough stupidity in the country to elect one of these mad doctors of insanity and Christianity. But I had underestimated one thing, something that could create one of the biggest problems in the history of America: the amount of hatred that so many around the country share for Hillary Clinton.

Is Clinton really the worst person to ever run for the position for president? Judging from the opposing field, the answer is obviously no.

Backed by the media, a rigged DNC election process, and countless millionaires, billionaires and corporations, up until a couple of months ago, it seemed like her coronation atop the Democratic Party was all but a certainty. Even today, as the DNC rolls back regulations on contributions from lobbyists to help give her the edge in addition to granting her an automatic near-15 percent of the vote that she needs to become the party nominee through the ungodly superdelegate process, her victory is more than likely on track to become a reality. The reasoning behind this groundswell of establishment support? The common thinking is she has the best chance of beating the potentially planet-ending GOP nominee.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of controversy, frustration, hatred,

her own condescending personality, and an opponent that is simply better than her in nearly every conceivable way, this thinking that she is the inevitable 46th president of The United States of America is no longer backed up by the numbers and facts, and it could mean the end of the world as we know it.

In the latest Quinnipiac poll, Hillary Clinton is within the margin of error or losing to every single Republican left in the GOP field. That means from Donald Trump on down to Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and even Jeb Bush, at this point in the electorate according to this nationwide poll, Hillary would lose to every single one of them.

Considering the talking points that the mainstream media, pundits, and party establishment have been shoving down our throats for the past year, this is not only shocking, it’s disturbing as hell.

But there is a silver lining; a glimmer of hope peeking through the clouds of fear and disdain that could be the savior for all of us: a Democratic Socialist POLL COURTESY OF THE QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY

74-year-old former Jew from the state of Vermont that has fought against the establishment for the benefit of the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, and the underdogs across the country for the past half a century. And like most things in our world, it’s been our generation, the one that’s almost universally hated by the out-of-touch baby boomers that have nothing left to lose in the Hell-in-a-handbasket world that we now have to inherit, that has been the one that figured it out before everyone else.

We need Bernie Sanders to become the Democratic nominee not only because of what he stands for, not only because he could be the man to end the morally reprehensible and corrupt campaign finance system that people like Justice Scalia created, not only because he’s the only candidate that is working for all of us just as he has his entire life, but because he may be our last, best hope for the future of our country. Because here’s the reality: in that same poll that showed Hillary Clinton losing or tying radicals like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders beats all of them. And in many cases, it’s by a landslide. He’s the only candidate in the 2016 race with a positive approval rating. He’s the only candidate that has a track record of bipartisanship. He’s the only candidate willing to sit down with a man like Killer Mike in a barber shop to talk about the issues of the day. And if the numbers stay like they are, he may be our

What does Black Lives Matter mean to you?

“I see it as a movement just to get more awareness across the United States. There is still racial profiling here. I think it’s something that needs to be talked about and the more it is talked about, the more we can fix it.”

-Chandler Hollowell

“It’s just for equality. I try to stay out of everything as much as possible, so I just like to watch and observe and learn from it as much as I can.”

-Brenna Travis

The East Texan Staff

Editor Managing Editor News/Social Media Editor Sports Writer Opinion Editor Student Life Editor Lead Reporter Photographer Photographer Copy Editor Distribution Manager Distribution Assistant Faculty Adviser Phone E-mail East Texan Website East Texan Print Issue Online

Andrew Burnes Travis Hairgrove Joseph Alderman Carter Lacy Hunter Kimble Alissa Silva Todd Kristen Taylor Aaron Hwang Kyria Aho Sean Bates Michelle Whitehead Fred Stewart 903-886-5985 theeasttexan@gmail.com tamuceasttexan.com issuu.com/tamuc.easttexan

“I’m actually more of an “All Lives Matter Person” not just Black lives. Why just focus on Black? I care about everybody not just my own ethnicity.”

- Ean Vinson

The East Texan, official student newspaper of Texas A&M University-Commerce, is published 11 times per semester during the Fall and Spring by students including journalism students in reporting classes. Content is solely the responsibility of the student staff and writers. The comments and views expressed in The East Texan, in print or online, do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of other students, staff, faculty, administration, or the Board of Trustees. The East Texan is located in Room 113 of the Journalism Building. Single copies of The East Texan are free, additional copies are available in The East Texan offices for an additional 25 cents each.

“It’s changing people’s perception, so it’s changing all lives in general. I think that it’s touching more people than which it was originally anticipated. Right now, it’s a national movement. It touches more than the people we think that is impacted. I mean it touches me and I follow it every night with pride.”

-Tina Livingston

Letters to the Texan Letters to the Texan are welcomed and should be limited to 350 words. They may be edited for spelling, grammar and libelous and malicious statements. The East Texan reserves the right to refuse publication. Letters should be typed or emailed, must include a valid signature and contact information, and can be sent to theeasttexan@gmail.com or PO Box 4104, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX 75428.

Feb. 25, 2016

News

Commerce ‘not crime-ridden’ says cops

Page 3

Counseling Corner

Fostering Awareness in a Shattered World

Tameca Minter Special Contributor

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/A NDREW BURNES

PHOTO COURTESY/SIIES.TAMUC .EDU

Open season?

Last

 
 semester,

 
 as

 
 students

 
 received

 
 text

 
 and

 
 e-­�mail

 
 alerts

 
 from

 
 the

 
 campus

 
 P.A.W.S.

 
 system

 
 on

 
 an

 
 alarmingly

 
 regular

 
 basis

 
 due

 
 to

 
 o

 
  campus

 
 shoo ngs

 
 within

 
 walking

 
 distance

 
 of

 
 the

 
 A&M-­�Commerce

 
 campus

 
 ques ons

 
 arose

 
 about

 
 whether

 
 Commerce

 
 was

 
 becoming

 
 a

 
 more

 
 dangerous

 
 place

 
 to

 
 live.

 
 The

 
 impending

 
 campus

 
 carry

 
 implementa on

 
 and

 
 arrival

 
 of

 
 open

 
 carry

 
 across

 
 the

 
 state

 
 this

 
 past

 
  January

 
 did

 
 li le

 
 to

 
 ease

 
 worrying

 
 minds.

 
 However,

 
 local

 
 police

 
 maintain

 
 that

 
 ci zens

 
 and

 
 students

 
 have

 
 nothing

 
 to

 
 fear

 
 regarding

 
  these

 
 situa ons.

seconds for someone to walk away from them. Likewise, I’ve seen people get out of would say that they should always be aware their cars and walk into a store leaving the PG UIFJS TVSSPVOEJOHT w 4VBSF[ TBJE iɨFZ car running or unlocked with valuables should try to not place themselves in situ- in plain view. Valuables should never be ations where they can make themselves an left out in the open where they FBTZ UBSHFU PG PQQPSUVOJTUJD DSJNJOBMT w could be seen by someone walkMore information regarding crime pre- ing by. A car should never be vention and safety tips, as well as how to left running unattended. Always report a crime, can be found at the city of try to walk in pairs especially at Commerce’s website, www.commercetx. night. Common sense things go org. a long way in not leaving the door Much like the city itself, the campus of PQFO GPS DSJNJOBMT w Texas A&M – Commerce, which is poAggravated assaults have also liced by the University Police Department, declined on campus, to two in 2014 a separate entity from the Commerce Po- from eight in 2013. As is typical of lice Department, experiences considerably most college campuses, drug and more property crime than violent crime. alcohol related violations are by far Three rapes were reported on campus in the most common criminal activ2014, while the UPD reported 20 on-cam- ity at Texas A&M – Commerce. pus burglaries for the year of 2014, down However, some feel that there are from 25 in 2013 after a low of only nine in certain aspects of Commerce that 2012. According to Suarez, though, there make it particularly susceptible to are steps one can take to avoid being the these issues. victim of burglary. i*U T B DPMMFHF DBNQVT w &EXBSET i* WF HPOF UP MPDBM SFTUBVSBOUT XIFSF * said. have seen students or citizens in general Another issue that has sparked conwalk away from their purses, backpacks or cern in Commerce students is the recently MBQUPQT w 4VBSF[ TBJE i*U POMZ UBLFT B GFX passed Campus Carry, allowing licensed CONT. FROM PAGE 1

gun owners to carry concealed handguns on campus and in buildings. However, guns have rarely been an issue at Texas A&M – Commerce, with only one weapons-related arrest having occurred in the

“As

 
 a

 
 whole,

 
 I

 
 don’t

 
 think

 
  that

 
 Commerce

 
 has

 
 a

 
  big

 
 issue

 
 with

 
 handguns

 
  and guns in general. We don’t

 
 o en

 
 have

 
 issues.�

- Alex Suarez Commerce

 
 Police

 
 oďŹƒcer

last three years. i"T B XIPMF * EPO U UIJOL UIBU $PNmerce has a big issue with handguns and HVOT JO HFOFSBM w 4VBSF[ TBJE i8F EPO U PGUFO IBWF JTTVFT w While Commerce may have a reasonable rate of crime for a city its size, the nearby cities of Greenville and Quinlan are ranked considerably worse by city-data. com, although Quinlan is affected by its low overall population.

A number of students commute from these areas, such as senior Rachel Rodriguez. i.Z QMBDF JT OPU TP TBGF CVU JO HFOFSBM JU T ÍOF w 3PESJHVF[ TBJE i/P DBS CSFBL JOT PS IPNF CSFBL ins, but there are always cops hanging around my place. In general, it is pretty seedy‌ and I am sure there are drug users that use more than weed, but so far I have IBE OP JTTVFT w While statistics may say one story, the perception of ComPHOTO COURTESY/POLICEARCHIVES.COM merce and the surrounding area is an issue that university and city Crime on the rise? leaders may have to confront in Althought

 
 sta s cs

 
 through

 
 2013

 
 seem

 
 to

 
 suggest

 
 that

 
 crime

 
 in

 
 Commerce

 
 is

 
 on

 
 the

 
 rise,

 
 

 
 the

 
  the near future if their goal is to Commerce

 
 Police

 
 department

 
 suggest

 
 that

 
 the

 
 depth

 
 of

 
 the

 
 issue

 
 is

 
 widely

 
 exaggerated.

 
 “We

 
  establish an increase in students don’t

 
 have

 
 a

 
 major

 
 crime

 
 problem,�

 
 Commerce

 
 Police

 
 oďŹƒcer

 
 Alex

 
 Suarez

 
 said.

 
 “I’d

 
 have

 
 to

 
 say

 
  living in Commerce year-round. that

 
 reality

 
 is

 
 that

 
 Commerce

 
 is

 
 normal.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we often tend to spread love to others and delineate ourselves from the equation of full acceptance. I am often amazed at the amount of attention that one might deflect upon others needs and desires, yet s/he is willing to forgo their own basic needs according Maslow’s hierarchy. Suffering in silence from an eating disorder or disordered eating is more common than you may think or imagine.

Adding the complexity of college life to the equation of an eating disorder can evoke an emotional overload and become debilitating for individuals predisposed to ED. Thoughts of abandonment, lack of understanding and a diabolical desire for perfection or acceptance is a treacherous cycle that one faces in a world of body-shaming and social norms of idealized beauty. A nip here and a tuck there are all that is needed in the fantastical world of achieving an unrealistic standard that never equates to enough.

How magical would our lives be, if in fact, we were enough? In a world were advertising thigh-gaps, slender noses, bleached skin and hair down to one’s waist, and most importantly for our males—a six pack with muscles for miles—do we forget that there is more to a person than an exterior façade emblazoned by a super-imposed fantasy for sale to the highest bidder. We are not chiseled like Ken or Barbie, yet we desire to enhance ourselves beyond the realm of an idealized standard of beauty, earmarked by media and a celebrity status quo.

The National Eating Disorder Association reports more than 11 million American men and women struggle with eating disorders, but many fail to seek treatment out of shame and/or a lack of support. The universal adage known to many within the vicious cycle of ED is that eating disorders do not discriminate. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is estimated that 10-15 percent of people diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia are male. Additionally, as many as 10 percent of college women suffer from an eating disorder.

Regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, anyone is susceptible to an eating disorder; in fact, individuals are biologically predisposed to an eating disorder based upon genetics and previous behaviors. Some previous behaviors include 35% of individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder also experienced dependence on alcohol or abuse of other drugs.

In an effort to advocate for a positive body image and provide support for those suffering with ED, recognize the warning signs that may indicate that your friend or loved one has an eating disorder. Remember, the impact of an Eating Disorder affects the entire support system which includes: roommates, family members, friends, and educators. Should you have a concern for a friend, roommate, or family member suffering in silence with an eating disorder, consider intervening by: t 0êFSJOH UP XBML XJUI UIFN UP UIF VOJWFSTJUZ $PVOseling Center to seek help. t 4FU BTJEF UJNF UP UBML BOE HFOVJOFMZ MJTUFO XJUIPVU judgment or any form of condemnation. t "WPJE iZPVw TUBUFNFOUT XIFO FYQSFTTJOH ZPVS DPODFSO GPS UIFN 'PS FYBNQMF BWPJE TBZJOH i:PV KVTU OFFE UP FBU w 3FQMBDF ZPVS SFTQPOTFT XJUI i*w UP DPOWFZ XPSSZ Intervention and a positive support system are integral to the overall well-being and quality of life for your loved one, friend or family member. Be aware, avoid self-loathing behaviors and provide a strong system of support. If you are interested in an upcoming screening, then please join the Counseling Center on February 24, 2016, from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the RSC, Atrium.

Intervene when you recognize the following behaviors: t $POTJTUFOUMZ MFBWJOH UIF UBCMF XJUIJO UFO NJOVUFT after eating a meal t 4UJSSJOH PS QMBZJOH XJUI GPPE SBUIFS UIBO FBUJOH t 4LJQQJOH NFBMT DPOTJTUFOUMZ t &YFSDJTJOH NPSF UIBO IPVST B EBZ NPSF UIBO 4-5 days a week t *OPSEJOBUF BNPVOUT PG DPOWFSTBUJPO BCPVU GPPE weight, the body, and calorie intake t $POTJTUFOUMZ UJSFE PS GBUJHVFE Additional Resources: National Eating Disorder Awareness: https://www.neda. org Binge Eating Disorders Awareness: https://www.beda. org

PAGE 4

Campus

Local restaurant in the heart of campus offers study breaks a Mediterranian flavor

E AST TEXAN PHOTO/BARTON BOLLFRASS

Alissa Silva Student Life Editor Gyro Express recently opened its second location where former Pride Coffee was located near the university’s library on 1706 Lee St. The Mediterranean restaurant serves food such as lamb platters, chicken gyros, hot wings, vegetarian falafel gyros, and samosas.

“The food we make is exactly like something we’d cook for ourselves,” owner Omar said. “We cook our food as if we are cooking it for our loved ones. The first question I ask is how they like the food.”

Purchasing their produce from Dallas, everything on their menu is made from scratch in the morning by Omar’s cousin, Ray. Even though the food is

considered mild, it can be requested to be spicy.

“All of our food is from family recipes. We marinate everything ourselves and make all our sauces ourselves,” Omar said. “Our food is also all halal.”

Not only do they have fruit smoothies and coffee, they have hookahs that can be enjoyed on the outside patio throughout the day. Among the many flavors are watermelon, strawberry, and pineapple.

In order to keep the hookah going, a natural coconut coal is used.

“Commerce is a small town and people are extremely nice,” Omar said.

“Everyone knows everyone and calls each other by their first name.”

After receiving a business proposition from previous owner Hans, Omar

moved from New Jersey and opened the Mediterranean restaurant due to his brother’s restaurant’s success.

“I wanted to move to Texas to slow life down. Things move much faster in the northeast,” Omar said. “If it wasn’t for my brother, we wouldn’t be here.”

With a different clientele than in New Jersey, Gyro Express has been popular with members of faculty as well as residents of the neighboring Sigma Chi house. Out of 28 reviews on Facebook, all of them are positive and have given the restaurant five out of five stars.

“Things have been going beautifully. Word of mouth is spreading.”

Gyro Express can deliver past 2pm and is open Monday through Friday 9am to 10 pm, Saturday 11am to 10pm, and Sunday 11am to 8pm.

FEB. 25, 2015

Counseling Corner

Three Powerful Gifts to Yourself for a More Balanced Life

Tina Yang, Ph.D. Special Contributer

Celebrate this New Year and new semester by giving yourself something special; something that doesn’t cost a penny yet is priceless. Oftentimes, people come to counseling to regain happiness with the realization that in the process of making others happy, we sometimes lose ourselves and push aside our own needs. If you find yourself in this situation, know that you can reclaim your inner balance by practicing these three powerful tips.

1.

Get a good night sleep.

“Sleeping is not time wasting.” Mike Wilson Research shows that not having enough sleep can affect your emotions and memory. People who are sleep deprived may be more forgetful, easily irritable, depressed, or have a “short fuse.” Notice how your living environment, daily routine, or thoughts and emotions interact with your amount and quality of sleep. Examine your sleep hygiene and create one that works for you. Whether it be taking a hot shower or enjoying a glass of warm milk before going to bed, a rule of thumb is to put away all your electronic devices 30 minutes before bed. To further enhance your sleep quality, you can practice repeating positive or grateful thoughts.

2.

Appreciate and accept yourself.

“Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are.” Dr. Brené Brown Self-acceptance, a major key to happiness, is to embrace all aspects of yourself—the positives and the parts you see as imperfect. In a fastpaced society, it is easy for us to quickly conclude our experience as either “good” or “bad,” “a success” or “failure,” whereas a wider spectrum and deeper sense of understanding is left uncaptured. Free yourself from the dichotomous world by becoming more mindful and aware of your own thoughts and feelings as they arise without judgment. If negativity appears (or reappears), gently notice it without suppressing the thought or forcing yourself to turn it into something positive. Find a quiet place and devote at least 3 minutes of your time daily to begin this practice. You deserve taking time for yourself and to be appreciated.

3.

Make meaningful connections with others.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” An African Proverb Having meaningful connections with others benefits our emotional stability. A key to a long lasting friendship is to invest time getting to know someone and to keep in touch even after college. Research findings suggest that you can maintain a quality relationship by sharing important news and updates about yourself from time to time. This can also help reconnect a lapsed friendship. Try to build a new connection as you take opportunities to sit with someone you don’t know in a class or in the cafeteria, and have a light-hearted conversation.

If you would like to learn more about how to live a balanced life, join us in a series of “Balanced Living Workshops” offered in the Counseling Center this semester with rotating topics on Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Self-Compassion, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. It’s going on now on Tuesdays from 12-1pm in the Halladay Student Services Building #204. No registration required.

Sights on Campus: flags at halfmast during a gray, cloudy weekend

PHOTO COURTESY/JON Z ANANIRI

The flags in front of the McDowell Administration Building flew at half-mast last week and over the weekend per the orders of President Barack Obama and Governor Greg Abbott, in remembrance of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was found dead at a ranch resort in West Texas the morning of Saturday, Feb. 13.

E AST TEXAN PHOTO/TRAVIS H AIRGROVE

Cade Lake, a member of the A&M-Commerce Climbing Society competing at a climbing competition held at Southern Methodist University Saturday, Feb. 20. Lake and the rest of his teammates are in the midst of preparing for Gravity Check, an A&M-Commerce hosted climbing competition being held on March 5, a part of the 2016 Collegiate Climbing Series.

PAGE 5

Features

FEB. 25, 2016

Commerce Students get Swede Deal Todd Kleiboer East Texan With its rich culture, history, and beauty, Sweden has always been a center for tourism and scholarly interest alike, and through a study-abroad course, Texas A&M University-Commerce students now have the opportunity to experience Sweden first-hand for the first time.

“To my knowledge, I don’t think any program affiliated with our university has traveled to Sweden before,” Dr. Yvonne Villanueva-Russell, who along with Dr. Tabetha Adkins will lead the trip, said. “It made sense to visit Sweden because I had some background in that.”

The ten-day course, Sociology 497/597: Comparative Health Care Systems, will study, as the name implies, the healthcare system of Sweden through guest lecturers whose topics will span across birth, death, hospitals, and alternative medicine. This course is not partnered with a foreign university and is worth three hours of credit.

“It is officially offered as a sociology course,” Villanueva-Russell said. “But one that is also sponsored by the International Studies.”

Villanueva-Russell’s interest in Sweden is long-lived, and when she had the opportunity to plan a course taken abroad, she knew exactly where to go.

“My dissertation advisor, Andrew Twaddle, was sort of an expert in the Swedish healthcare system. Twenty years ago, he talked about how great the Swedish healthcare system was, so I was always interested in that. I wanted to combine my interest in medical sociology,” VillanuevaRussell said.

The course, however, will be just that, a course, but in the heart of Stockholm and Gothenburg, the two largest cities in Sweden. There are three assignments to be completed: one research paper, one personal essay, and one cultural activity. The cultural activity is actually in the form of a bingo card with students trying to make filled different activities such as visiting a museum or talking to a native Swede written within them.

“I’m hoping they’ll gain some kind of academic sense of different healthcare systems, different philosophies of health, different lifestyles,” Vi l la nue va-Ru s sel l said. “And I’m hoping that they gain an appreciation for different cultures, different countries, particularly for people who haven’t traveled abroad before.”

Even though Villanueva-Russell has traveled with other students before as part of the Regents’ Scholar program, this is first time she has actually been fully responsible for the students.

“My general thoughts are a mixture of excitement and terror. It’s exciting because it’s a new country and we haven’t been

there before, but it is also terrifying because it’s a great unknown and you don’t know what might happen,” Villanueva-Russell said. “Mostly I’m excited.”

A famous Swedish festival called the Midsummer’s will also be celebrated during the days that the students are staying in Gothenburg. It marks the summer solstice, the beginning of summer.

“It’s sort of a national holiday, and it would be equivalent of our 4th of July. It’s time for them to have this community celebration, and we will experience that,” Villanueva-Russell said.

The cost might be off-putting for some people as it runs from around $4,660 for undergraduates to $4, 850 for graduates, but there is a $1,000 scholarship

available through the International Studies Office to help relieve some of the financial pain.

For more information, email Dr. Yvonne Villanueva-Russell at Yvonne.VRussell@tamuc. edu.

PHOTOS COURTESY /WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Group Uses Mens’ Right to Mask Misogyny CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 place isn’t compromised and make sure you aren’t being followed.”

The group was receiving violent threats from people who disagreed with their idea that rape should be legalized.

“The media didn’t close down the meet ups…they did something far more terrifying, they used fabrications to mobilize the masses,” Berne said. “[They] took one article written by [Valizadeh] in which he proposed a thought experiment to increase the safety of women by ‘legalizing rape on private property.’ The elites took a gamble that taking that article out of context and exaggerating it to the fullest extent would cause a firestorm,” he said.

“The media twisted the followers of [Return of Kings] and [Valizadeh] into ‘rape supporters’ simply because of one article that was obvious satire,” Berne said.

“I propose that we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law where done off public grounds,” Valizadeh said.

On Feb. 2, people worldwide began their attempt to shut down the event by opposing the meetings, and sending out violent threats to anyone who supports the group, through social media outlets and direct messages to Valizadeh.

“The mainstream media had been reporting on [the men’s only group] as a ‘rape legalization group’ for several days, stirring up social justice warriors, inciting violent groups in several cities,

and even receiving public condemnation from mayors, governors, and legal organizations,” Davis M.J. Aurini, a writer for the Return of Kings website, said.

“The risk had become unacceptable…a tactical retreat was the only sane option,” Aurini said.

Texas A&M University-Commerce is designated as a free speech zone, therefore, “if the group showed up to campus, and aren’t sponsored by a university group, they can legally do what they want as long as they aren’t violating any other laws,” Lieutenant Jason Bone, of the A&M-Commerce University Police Department, said. “[However], if they were to be sponsored by a university group, the rule is to have a risk assessment done for security purposes,” Bone said.

“Students would be able to participate with the group on their own terms and make that choice, however my role is to inform students and educate them on the sexual misconduct policy,” Patience Bryant, associate director of judicial affairs for Campus Life and Student Development, said.

“Statistics show that not many college students know about rape and situations like this happen on campuses, and they don’t really know that groups like this exist; which is why we will be showing a documentary called The Hunting Ground,” Danielle Davis, director of Serving Engaged Empowered and Diverse Students, also known as S.E.E.D.S., said.

“So that we can inform the students about this particular issue and help educate them so that they can make better decisions,” she said.

PAGE 6

Entertainment

Back to Black

FEB. 25, 2016

Soundtrack

Burnes’ Turns

Spotify and Apple Music may be destroying the industry, 1. Guns n’ Roses but they also paved the way for vinyl’s epic comeback “Dust N’ Bones”

Andrew Burnes Editor It started with an impulse. Not unheard of for a senior-level college student on Christmas break. Especially in a store like Hastings. After all, there’s a lot of love to go around in there.

Going to Hastings in Greenville is a Christmas break tradition in my family.

Maybe not the most exciting, exquisite tradition ever, but something that we always look forward to. In years past, I always ended up with a mountanous stack of cheap used CDs that may or may not have ever had a chance of being opened again after being ripped on my over-sized laptop, but listening to the CDs themselves wasn’t particularly the point. Sure, the format isn’t completely dead; I still use them in my car pretty regularly since I haven’t migrated into the current decade with Auxillary cord technology. But with the advent of Spotify, CDs have become more and more obsolete.

A small stack of old Bob Dylan CDs already forming, I migrated around to where the normal CD collection is and instead found something that would shape my the future of my musical life much more directly than a few battered old discs: shelves of record players. I’ve always been interested in vinyl, of course, ever since I saw Roots drummer ?uestlove’s impressive collection in the pages of an old issue of Rolling Stone. I even figured that I’d buy a record player of my own someday, but walking into that store on that day, buying one on the spot didn’t even cross my mind. But that’s exactly what I did.

And so began a world of disappointment, triumph, excitement, and a whole new level of music collection. It took me three different record players to find the one that I wanted

PHOTO COURTESY/YOUTUBE .COM

PHOTO COURTESY/M ETALSUCKS.NET

Spin again While all-you-can-listen music streaming services like Spotify have greatly diminished artist returns and potentially irrevocably hurt the music industry as a whole, there’s an argument to be made that they also paved the way for the return of vinyl.

(Crosleys suck, by the way), but my smallbut-growing record collection now finds a semi-permanent home on my chest of drawers in my apartment room. I absolutely adore every single one.

But what created this possibility? Years ago, I wouldn’t have even considered the possibility of buying such an outdated piece of technology? After all, how was I going to get the music from the record’s grooves onto my iPod Classic?

But the world of music is different now.

Sure, I still can’t rip the music directly from my records onto my portable device of choice, no I can’t listen to my records in my Toyota

Corolla, but through music streaming services, I can still listen to my favorite songs that I find through LPs on the go without having to pay for them a second time. And I think that mentality, that change in the dynamic of music listening, is responsibile for the rejuvination of the classic music-listening medium.

Is vinyl really back for the long haul? In a market as unpredictable as the one we find ourselves in now, it’s really impossible to predict. But as long as music streaming keeps extra money in our pockets, it gives us the opportunity to try new things, even if they come from the past.

Guns n’ Roses’ reinvention created new definition Andrew Burnes Editor After Guns N’ Roses released the hastily compiled (yet still awesome) GN’R Lies in 1988 as they toured for Appetite for Destruction, the band entered into a lengthy, three-year hiatus. Rumors began to circle as the band kicked out drummer Steven Adler for his addiction to meth. Axl Rose, a noted recluse, was not the most media friendly individual, and for years nothing came from the hottest band in the world.

Until finally, something did. Over the course of the time after the Appetite for Destruction tour, Guns n’ Roses was not resting on its laurels, they were busy creating a piece of music with proportions so epic, it would need to be split into two. Thus, on Sept. 17, 1991, Use Your Illusion I and II were born simultaneously, in one of the ballsiest marketing stunts ever devised.

Album sales for the Use Your Illusion duo were supposed to be off the charts and while they didn’t reach Thriller or Born in the U.S.A. levels as originally predicted, they did debut at the No. 1 and 2 spot, the first and only band to ever pull off such a feat. With no lead single, Use Your Illusion I took the No. 2 spot, but those willing to take a chance on the brighter half of the siblings were treated to the slightly more perfect album.

Initial listeners of the record were probably surprised; as they had done with the second half of Lies, Guns N’ Roses reinvented themselves with the Use Your Illusion LPs. But where Lies, with its acoustic departure from Appetite for Destruction, offered a different look at the band, Use Your Illusion completely recreated them in a new image. Axl’s increasingly ambitious designs were in full effect here, and while there’s an argument to be made that the Illusion twins are not quite as strong as their forebear as a whole, they’re pretty damn close.

Impressively, with tracks spanning nearly every genre imaginable from Blues to Punk to Hard Rock to impressive compositions that passed the 10-minute mark, Use Your Illusion I still works as a cohesive effort. There’s a solid balance between the rockers that made the band famous (“Right Next Door to Hell,” “Perfect Crime”) and the new avenues of approach (“Don’t Cry,” “The Garden”).

But even the balls-to-the-wall Rockers were harder, rawer, and heavier than what had come before. The relatively lighthearted lyrics of “Nightrain” and “Rocket Queen” were replaced with aggresive themes of violence and paranoia. “Perfect Crime” in particular is the most aggressive Guns n’ Roses’ track on record, letting loose all of Axl’s pent up frustrations in less than three supercharged minutes (I dare you to check out the band’s performance of the song in Axl’s soaked home state of Virginia), while “Don’t Damn Me” presents Rock’s greatest madman at his most paranoid and unhinged.

Though Matt Sorum, Adler’s replacement on the skins, was the new man in the group, he fit in like a velvet glove and in many ways even improved upon the hard-hitting formula

that Adler had devised (how any drum head survived a night with Sorum is beyond me).

He keeps ragers like “Back off Bitch” and “Double Talking Jive” moving at breakneck pace while still managing to keep the train on the rails. Meanwhile, Slash was as virtuostic as ever; his ability to shift styles song-for-song throughout the album continued to provide evidence as to how far ahead of the competition he really was.

The departures from typical Guns form are just as masterful as what brought the band had previously perfected. “Don’t Cry” (which, according to Rose, is actually the first song the band ever wrote together) features ambiguous lyrics with an unambiguous musical story from Slash, Duff and Izzy, while the grandiose “November Rain” was by far the most ambitious production attempt the band ever made featuring a full orchestra, piano work from both Axl and newcomer Dizzy Reed and a coda driven by one of Slash’s career standout moments that rivals “Layla” for the best of all time. Speaking of the top-hatted guitar man, he reportedly loved the 10-minute plus closer “Coma” (which features 5 guitar solos and no chorus), but it sounds a lot more like one of Axl’s rampantly imaginative fantasies. The band was expanding fast, and there was no going back.

Through all of the LP’s impressive 75 minutes, though, it wasn’t the epic ballads or paint-peeling Rockers that created the best moment on record for Guns N’ Roses, it was playing to the band’s strengths, that gang mentality that pervades “Dust N Bones” that stands out as the best Guns song ever. There’s a moment in the second track where the entire band breaks out into a singalong about leaving yesterday’s girl behind while moving down the war torn road of tomorrow before the Slash rips one of his best into the dusty wasteland of Rock and Roll. Guns N’ Roses were united, on fire, and for this moment in time, they were the best in the world.

The most badass Guns N’ Roses song of all time (and THAT is a highly contested position) flies in the face of their biggest hits but plays to everything that makes the band the greatest Rock band of all time not named The Rolling Stones. The song starts with a piano chord rather than a guitar chord, and the next five minutes are an aural assault comparable to gang warfare. Every member of the band is at their highest form here, each retaining his own voice as the Rock n’ Roll locomotive rolls along, but they all play and sing as a single entity resulting in the best climax in the band’s history as they all singalong in unison at the 2:30 mark before Slash lets rip one of his greatest recorded solos into the annals of Rock history.

2. Bruce Springsteen “New York Serenade”

The everyman master hit his cinematic storytelling peak with Born to Run in 1975, but his genius began to really take form with his 1973 epic named after the greatest side band in music history, his own. Each track on the album was its own and each is a classic in its own right, but the closer manages to stand out from the rest with its David L. Sancious’ simultaneously classically trained and jazzy piano work and string arrangements. A closing statement so perfect, you can almost see the credits rolling as it spins.

3. Skeeter Davis “The End of the World”

This tearjerker stems from the same position that made The Ink Spots so great in the ‘40s, but amplified to a new stratosphere of fallen love. The harmonies are on point, the simple, arpeggiatic piano progession keeps the track moving, and the gorgeous orchestral strings soar above like a white dove above a heartbroken disaster area.

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FEB. 25, 2016

PAGE 7

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The margin of victory Texas A&M- Commerce had over second place A&M- Kingsville at the LSC

indoor

track

and

field

champtionships.

The overall win percentage of Midwestern State and Angelo State men’s basketball teams.

MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Four tabbed for top performances Midwestern State and West Texas A&M head into the last week of play with a one-game advantage in the Lone Star Conference men’s and women’s standings, respectively.

MSU has clinched a share of its ninth LSC title as the Mustangs have won seven LSC titles over the last 10 seasons.

WT has earned a share of its third straight and 13th overall LSC crown.

This week’s games will determine a majority of the postseason seeding with only Texas A&M-Commerce set as the No. 6 seed on the men’s side at this point.

The MSU at Cameron doubleheader will be broadcast on ESPN3 as the NCAA Division II Basketball Games of the Week.

The LSC champion will be the regular season winner determined by league games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC Tournament Champion and earns the conference’s automatic qualification.

The LSC men have a 128-77 overall record so far this season. In the NCAA South Central Region, the men’s teams are currently 13-9 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 12-8 against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The LSC women are 125-103 overall. The women’s squads are currently 20-14 combined against the Heartland, and 8-6 versus RMAC teams, which are the other conferences in the NCAA South Central Region.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Men’s offensive- Khapri Alston, Midwestern State University, SR, Forward, Chicago, Ill., Thornwood HS (Northeast CC (Neb.)) Alston averaged 18 points and nine rebounds a game to lead No. 22 Midwestern State to wins over Texas A&MKingsville and No. 16 Angelo State last week to clinch at least a share of its ninth Lone Star Conference championship. The 6-4, 240-pound senior notched his 10th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes in Saturday’s 76-71 win over Angelo State. The perfor-

mance came on the heels of an historic 27-point, 25-rebound effort earlier this season against the Rams in San Angelo.

Alston paced the Mustangs to an 81-63 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville earlier in the week scoring 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting while pulling in seven boards in 25 minutes. Alston continues to lead the LSC in rebounding at 9.4 boards per game and is 11th in scoring at 13.6 points per game.

Men’s defensive- Trevor Fuller, Midwestern State University, JR, Forward, Dallas, Texas, Episcopal School (San Diego) Fuller set Lone Star Conference and school records with 11 blocked shots while leading 22nd-ranked Midwestern State to a win over No. 16-ranked Angelo State Saturday to clinch at least a share of MSU’s ninth league title.

The 6-8, 235-pound senior from Dallas needed just 20 minutes to match former All-America Eric Dawson’s school record of eight blocked shots set on Dec., 2, 2006 against Southeastern Oklahoma State. Fuller swatted three more shots in the second half to eclipse the former LSC mark of 10 originally authored by East Central’s Ian Adams (vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, 2005) and West Texas A&M’s Carlos Silva (vs.

Southwestern Oklahoma, 2004). The 11 blocked shots are the third most in NCAA Division II this season behind the 14 set by West Alabama’s Dakari Mayo and 12 by Florida Southern’s Jarel Spellman. Fuller raised his season block total to 83 and needs 13 more to match the school single season record of 96 set by Eric Dawson during the 2006-07 season. He is averaging 3.92 blocked shots per game (51 blocks in 13 games) during league play.

Women’s offensive- Kenesha Saygo, Texas Woman’s University, JR, Guard, Killeen, Texas, Killeen Ellison HS Saygo averaged a team-best 22.5 points while shooting 62.1 percent from the floor including 52.9 percent from the three-point range and helped the Pioneers to a 2-0 record last week.

She scored a game-high 14 points in a road win against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday and then singlehandedly knocked off Angelo State

with a career-high 31 points on Sunday.

Saygo made 9 of 14 three pointers (one shy of single game school record) against Rambelles. After ASU took a 39-38 halftime lead, TWU opened the third quarter with a 16-0 run with Saygo scoring 12 of the 16 points. In the third and fourth quarters she shot 7-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-6 from three including 5-for-5 (4-for-4 from the three) in the key third quarter. On the season, Saygo is the team leader in scoring (11.7 ppg) and 3FG (.381).

Women’s defensive- Bailey Wipff, Tarleton State University, JR, Guard,

took the responsibility of guarding the LSC Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason All-American Sasha Watson with eight seconds left on the clock and Tarleton leading by one at 53-52 in Wisdom Gym. She forced Watson into a miss as the buzzer expired to give Tarleton the win. Wipff shared the defensive responsibility of WT’s guards, who entered the game averaging a combined 23.4 points per game on a combined .499 shooting percentage from the floor, and helped hold the duo below their season average for scoring and shooting percentage from

Team LSC Overall Midwestern State 9-4 20-5 Angelo State 8-5 20-5 Tarleton State 8-5 19-7 West Texas A&M 8-5 20-9 Cameron 8-5 15-10 A&M- Commerce 6-7 17-9 A&M- Kingsville 3-10 11-13 Eastern New Mexico2-11 6-19

Individual Leaders Points Player

Avg./G

Rebounds Player

Avg./G

Assists Player

Avg./G

Steals Player

Avg./G

David Chavlovich, WT .................... 20.4 EJ Reed, TSU ................................ 18.2 Tre Bennett, ASU ........................... 17.0 Stedman Allen, ASU ...................... 16.3 Bryant Crowder, A&M-C ................ 16.0

Khapri Alston, MSU ..........................9.4 Troy Jones, A&M- K ..........................8.0 Lawrence Domingo, ENMU ..............7.9 Omari Gudul, ASU ............................7.7 EJ Reed, TSU ...................................7.6

Michael Hardge, TSU........................4.8 Tre Bennett, ASU ..............................4.7 Jeremy Jones, A&M-C .....................4.2 JV Long, CAM ..................................4.1 Anthony Adams, A&M- C..................3.7

Bretson McNeal MSU ...................... 1.8 JV Long, CAM ................................. 1.6 Michael Hardge, CAM...................... 1.6 Anthony Adams, A&M-C.................. 1.6 Malcolm Hamilton, TSU .................. 1.4

Schedule February 27 Midwestern State vs. Cameron Angelo state vs. A&M- Kingsville Tarleton State vs. A&M- Commerce West Texas A&M vs. Eastern New Mexico

March 2-5 Lone Star Conference Championship

women’shoops PHOTO COURTESY/ L ONESTARCONFERENCE .ORG

Junior guard Bailey Tipff earned women’s defensive player of the week for Tarelton State University.

Lubbock, Texas, Coronado HS Wipff’s defensive presence went way beyond the numbers for Tarleton last weekend as the junior from Lubbock keyed Tarleton’s resurgence in the second half to erase a 16-point, secondhalf deficit Saturday night to defeat No. 9 West Texas A&M and deliver Tarleton’s seventh consecutive victory.

She may have only had four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, but Wipff

the field for the game. She anchored the Tarleton defense that held opponents to 56.0 points per game. In the West Texas A&M game, Wipff and the Tarleton defense held the Lady Buffs to single-digit scoring in the first and fourth quarters, including a .333 shooting clip in the second half of Tarleton’s comeback win.

SOFTBALL

WT’S Cruz, TWU’s Bice earn weekly honors West Texas A&M leads the Lone Star Conference with a perfect 10-0 record. Teams are set for another week of non-conference contests.

LSC teams are playing a single round-robin schedule with a four games against each league opponent. The four-game series shall consist of a doubleheader Friday and a doubleheader Saturday.

The overall LSC Champion will be the team(s) 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. The single-elimination championship will be played April 29-30, at the No. 1 seed.

LSC softball teams are 69-32 overall this season.

In the NCAA South Central Region, the group is currently 25-12 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 29-10 against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter- Brittany Cruz, West Texas A&M University, FR, Outfielder, New Braunfels, Texas, New Braunfels HS Cruz had a monster weekend for the No. 22 Lady Buffs during the WT Invitational at Schaeffer Park in Canyon as WT moved to 10-0 on the season with wins over Fort Lewis, Chadron State, No. 12 St. Mary’s, Metro State and Adams State. The freshman outfielder hit .643 with nine hits in her 14 at-bats while scoring seven runs as the New Braunfels native tallied three doubles, one triple and one homer to drive in a team leading 10 RBI for a slugging percentage of 1.214 while walking two times for an

men’shoops

on-base clip of .647. Cruz also had a great weekend in right field as she registered a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with two putouts and one assist. Cruz came thru at the plate when it mattered the most as the freshman went 3-for-7 against the two 2015 NCAA Regional participants in Metro State and No. 12 St. Mary’s to drive in eight RBI in those two contests including four RBI on two doubles against the defending Regional Champion Rattlers on Saturday night in a run-rule win.

Pitcher- Tori Bice, Texas Woman’s University, JR,

P, Mesquite, Texas, Mesquite HS Bice posted a 3-0 record with a 0.93 ERA last week. She won all three games she started and struck out 13 batters while allowing just two earned runs. Bice tossed a complete-game against Adams State and struck out a career-high eight batters. She also pitched three hitless innings in a five-inning run-rule win versus CSU-Pueblo. On the season, Bice has a team-best six wins and 31 strike outs in 44.0 innings.

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

LSC Overall 12-3 23-3 11-4 18-7 10-5 20-7 10-5 16-9 8-7 15-12 7-7 13-10 5-10 10-15 4-11 5-20 0-15 5-20

Individual Leaders Points Player

Avg./G

Rebounds Player

Avg./G

Assists Player

Avg./G

Steals Player

Avg./G

Taylor Dorsey, ASU ........................ 16.9 Dayla Threatt, CAM ....................... 13.9 Bailey Wipff, TSU ........................... 13.7 Jasmine Prophet, ASU .................. 13.2 Michaela Neuhaus, WT .................. 12.5

Erin Maxwell, TWU............................8.1 Amari Jones, A&M-C ........................7.7 Ikpeaku Iwobi, TSU...........................7.6 Maddison Wild, WT ..........................6.6 Taylor Dorsey, ASU ...........................6.4

Sasha Watson, WT ...........................5.0 Taylor Dorsey, ASU ...........................4.1 Shomari Harris, A&M- C ...................3.6 Morgan Ashmore, TSU .....................3.4 Michaela Neuhaus, WT .....................3.4

Madison McLain, WT ....................... 2.1 Sasha Watson, WT .......................... 2.0 Sarah Stinnett, ENMU...................... 2.0 Michaela Neuhaus, WT .................... 1.8 Allie Decker, WT .............................. 1.6

Schedule February 27 Midwestern State vs. Cameron Tarleton State vs. A&M- Commerce Angelo State vs. A&M- Kingsville West Texas A&M vs. East. New Mexico

March 2-5 Lone Star Conference Championship

2016softball Team CONF Overall West Texas A&M 0-0 16-0 A&M- Commerce 0-0 11-2 Cameron 0-0 14-5 Angelo State 0-0 11-4 Tarleton State 0-0 12-5 Midwestern State 0-0 12-8 Texas Woman’s 0-0 9-7 A&M0 Kingsville 0-0 6-5 East. New Mexico 0-0 7-7

Schedule

PHOTO COURTESY/L ONESTARCONFERENCE .ORG

Freshman outfielder Brittany Cruz earned hitter of the week during a game against New Braunfels after hitting .643 with nine hits in her 14 at-bats.

February 26 A&M- Commerce vs. Cameron Midwestern State vs. East. New Mexico A&M- Commerce vs. Cameron Angelo State vs. A&M- Kingsville

Sports

PAGE 8

FEB. 25, 2016

Fill the Field attracts sizable crowd to victory over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds

The Lion Dance Team cheers the A&M-Commerce Women’s Basketball team as they dig in toward their 69-59 point victory over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds at Lion Athletics’ Fill the Field House event.

Diva Simon Staff writer The A&M-Commerce women’s basketball team had a 50-50 week. Starting the week off with a tough lost against the number one team in the country in Division II, The West Texas Lady Buffs (58-63). The Lions started off low going 0 for 3, while the Lady Buffs started the game off on a 7-of-0 run. Once the Lions got their feet up under them they had their own 7-of-0 run in the first quarter and shot 4 of 4 to cut the lead down. The ladies shot 50% from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe at the half where they were tied 25-25 with West Texas A&M. To start the second half the lions showed their dominance in the paint by getting six quick points from sophomore Artaejah Gay, and four from junior Brittany Adams. Lions ended the third down one (42-41).

Gabby Scott starts the four quarter with a beautiful threepointer to give the Lions the lead (44-42), but after that shot they went 1-of-6 from the field until Scott breaks the dry spell with

another three-pointer to cut the lead to three with 1:33 left on the clock. Lions made a crucial game changing turn-over that sent the Lady Buffs to the line and could pull out the win.

When asked about his team’s performance Head Coach Jason Burton said, “Our girls played well and the game came down to the last few possessions. We cleaned up in the second half as far as taking care of the ball in the second half. We have two more games at home that we need to take care of and then hope to see WT again this season.”

The lions leaders of this game was Gay with 13pts, Davis with 13, and Scott with 10; also Harris lead the lions with 7rbs and 6 assist. A&M-Commerce are 5-54 against West Texas A&M. The next game was Sat. afternoon against Eastern New Mexico, where the lions played a pretty solid game overall. Starting the first quarter on a 9-0 run; shooting 4-4 from the field; ending the quarter leading 23-8. Gabby Scott popped the second quarter off with a tre ball and cashed another 2 minutes later extending the lead to 19. Going on a 6-0 run to end the first half shooting 45.5% from

Lions track and field return to LSC competition Evan Luecke Staff writer The Lions returned to the Lone Star Conference Indoor Track Championships to hopefully bring the trophy back to Commerce, Texas.

The first scoring event to take place Friday night was the 5k. Turner Pool started off scoring 1 point on the men’s side and for the Ladies, Terra Truitt and Mary Hammonds both scored. The next event really kicked off the meet with the Distance Medley Relay. The men racked up some points placing third. The ladies placed 6th scoring.

Field events had a very successful first day. Abby Estes set a score record in the long jump, jumping 5.44 meters. Kati Cullpepper and Maggie Waites scored in women’s pole vault. Joe Brown and Tyler Rambo lead 6 of the 8 throwers went second and third to score in the weight throw.

Johnathan Cole set a school record and a NCAA provisional mark with 6’10.75”.

Gage Bowels and Devontae Steele went two, three in the long jump, leading 6 scorers in the long jump. Alexandra VanSickle

and Robin Anitil’a scored in the women’s weight throw. Matthew Rich took second in the men’s pole vault with 16’2.75 that’s number 14 in d2.

On day two, the Lions took care of business. Mackenzie Tyra broke the school record in the 60-meter dash with 7.75. Joe Brown won the shot put and Tyler Rambo came in second as the Lions racked up 19 points. Devontae Steele and Gage Bowles went one, two in the triple jump setting the 2nd and 3rd best marks in the nation, making Steele a two-time winner. Hailey Nelson finished fourth in the high jump hitting a NCAA provisional mark with a 5.66m. Luis Romero finished second in the 800. Luis Romero, Andrew Cobos, and Steeven Martinez all score in the 800.

Ashley Basett finished 3rd in the 60 meter hurdles dash with 8.93. The Lions 4x4 women’s place 2nd hitting a NCAA provisional mark.

The Lions on the women’s set a school record with 79.5 points and placed 5th in the conference. The Men went Back- ToBack. Scoring 210 points, winning by 45 points which is a Lonestar Conference Record.

THE E AST TEXAN PHOTO/ TRAVIS H AIRGROVE

the field and 42.9% from behind the arc; Commerce went into the second half very confident.

The ladies were outscored by one in the third quarter, but played explosive on the defensive end and force the Greyhounds into four early turnovers and extended their lead to 24. The lions struggled with finding their rhythm going into the fourth which cut their 24 point lead down to 6. Despite the Greyhounds hard fight to rally back the lions still came out with the win 69-59.

Head Coach Jason Burton said, “Tonight was a tough game to coach. It was unclear on how the game was going to be called.

But everyone contributed and was really engaged tonight. Eastern New Mexico made their run like we knew they would, but we stayed poised and finished the job.’

This has also been the first winning season for the A&M- Commerce Women since the 2008-09 season.

Burton said, “It is really good to do this, but I have to give a shout out to my coaching staff. We came in and worked hard to accomplish this goal; hats off to them because it is not just me.”

The next game is the last home game and regular conference

Lions bite dogs A&M-Commerce Athletics set a modern attendance record with 2,153 in attendance in The Field House, while the Lions took care of business on the court with an 81-73 win over Eastern New Mexico Saturday in a Lone Star Conference showdown.

The turning point in a one-possession game – a 74-73 Lion lead – Jeremy Jones stepped into a wing triple from with 1:14 remaining to give A&M-Commerce a 77-73 lead. On a night when the A&M-Commerce worked to pack the home venue, Jones’ three got a home-court bounce after hitting the front of the rim, the backboard and the rim again before falling through the net.

Leading highlights Ronnie White led the Lions with 17 points marking the second straight he scored 17 points. He went 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. White also hauled in six rebounds. White led the Lions in scoring for only the third time this season and first time since the second game of the year back on November 14 against Newman.

Anthony Adams followed with 15 points highlighted by an 8-of-10 performance from the free throw line. Adams also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out four assists.

Jones notched 12 points with none bigger than the three he hit from the right wing with 1:14 left to play for his 12th and final points.

JR Owens provided 11 points after going 5-of-7

from the field.

The Lion bench came up with 19 points thanks to eight points each from Craig Fofang and Everrett Pleasant. Fofang was an efficient 4-of-6, while Pleasant cleaned up the glass with 10 rebounds.

A&M-Commerce outshot Eastern New Mexico to a tune of 46 percent to 38 percent from the field. ENMU held a narrow percentage advantage from 3-point range, 38 percent to 33 percent, but the Greyhounds had more makes from long-range, 12 to six.

ENMU forced the Lions into 17 turnovers that resulted in 22 points, while the Lions forced only 10 Greyhound turnovers that led to 10 points.

With the win, the Lions improve to 17-7 on the season and 6-7 in the Lone Star Conference. Head coach Sam Walker picks up his 148th career LSC win.

The Lions recorded their 60th win in the last three seasons after recording 19 wins in 2013-14, 24 wins in 2014-15 and currently sitting on 17 wins in 2015-16.

A&M-Commerce will stay at home and close out the regular season with Tarleton State on Saturday, February 27 in The Field House. The Texans topped then league-leading West Texas 87-82 Saturday in Stephenville. The Lions are locked into the sixth seed for the looming LSC Tournament in Allen that starts March 3.