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Greenhouse blooms VOLUME 89 | ISSUE 3

By RANGER STAFF Opportunities are growing at Amarillo College thanks to the new STEM Research Center on the Washington Street Campus.

The college hosted an open house and dedication ceremony for the facility Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, AC president, welcomed the large crowd gathered to tour the building.

“I’ll be brief,” Lowery-Hart said, “as the star of the show is across the street.” Pointing out that the Center features cutting-edge equipment, such as a photosynthesis analyzer, root imaging systems and a full greenhouse, Lowery-Hart said, “The magic isn’t just in the technology. It’s in the opportunity it presents.”

The Center will improve workforce outcomes and help every student going into STEM related programs, Lowery-Hart said.

Greeted by Palace coffee and cookies, visitors toured the nearly 12,000 square foot building’s classrooms and labs. In one of the labs, the guests saw a photosynthesis analyzer, which scans plant leaves to determine what nutrients and oxygen they contain.

“It helps monitor carbon dioxide exchange within the leaves and the soil,” Gina Talley, a horticulture major, said. If the students determine that the plant needs more or less of a nutrient, they can add it right from the machine with a few touch-screen presses. They also can use the

AUSTIN ASHBY | The Ranger

Penelope Davies, math department chair, tours the new greenhouse during the open house. The new facility houses new programs, like horticulture and environmental science.

machine to determine what to plant in a certain climate to get the best results, Talley explained.

Another way students are using the analyzer is to study soil obtained by NASA from a Hawaiian island with soil similar in consistency to that of Mars. “Right now we’re studying Earth’s soil and Mars’ soil so that

hopefully one day people can grow plants on Mars,” Talley said.

The visitors then moved on to the greenhouses, where students are experimenting with how specialized colored lights affect plant growth.

“Specific colors help with the growth of a plant and they have different colors for different things,” Lexy Elizalde,

a biology major, said. Officials say this will help students learn how to produce the best fruit and vegetables possible.

“The greenhouse will allow us to grow food, which we could give away to students,” Lowery-Hart said.

The open house attendees had many positive comments about the new facility. “This is exactly what this town needs.

This brings new classes and opportunities to this college and I’m excited to see what it brings,” Drake Janis, a community member, said.

Horticulture students can also take advantage of an articulation agreement between AC and Texas Tech that allows AC students to move directly into a Tech bachelor’s program in plant and soil science. “I wish we had programs for this when I was in school,” Frank Young, a Texas Tech alumni and Amarillo native, said.

The facility also offers opportunities for students in all science-related fields. “I hope that everyone who plans on taking the STEM classes takes advantage of this,” Jordan Bates, an education major, said.

The Stem Research Center grew from a $4.9 million Hispanic-Serving Institution-STEM grant that AC received in 2016 from the U.S. department of education. Along with the Center, AC started a new horticulture this fall and the college is developing programs in biotechnology, environmental science and sustainable resources.

Visiting artist offers inspiration, advice

By CARLY STEWART Staff Reporter

From Sept. 24 through 26, Michael Mattesi, a figure drawing artist and author,

visited Amarillo College.

Mattesi is responsible for a nationally published series of figure drawing books on his FORCE drawing approach.

Mattesi led several drawing workshops on his drawing

SIR GAREN GRAYSON | The Ranger

Michael Mattesi shares pieces of artisic advice, such as, “You can’t learn and be safe. They don’t go together.” www.facebook.com/acrangerpaper

method. His visit culminated with a public talk Sept. 26 in Russell Hall.

“The foundation of what I’m sharing with you today has come from years of teaching this theory,” Mattesi said. “This drawing approach, it’s about seeing this energy - this vitality in the body and how it relates to gravity.”

Mattesi is well versed in the entertainment arts industry, having worked with companies such as Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks studios. Born in 1970 in Brooklyn, New York, Mattesi said he was inspired as a child by various television series. He began drawing his own superheroes at the age of eight. His mother never accepted the word ‘can’t’ as an excuse for anything, which had a powerful influence on him as a child.

“So there’s no such thing as can’t,” he said. “I love these two quotes I use frequently in my books, ‘If you imagine it then you can achieve it. If you can dream it you can become it.’”

Mattesi, said.

Although Mattesi admitted that pursuing a career in the entertainment arts industry www.acranger.com

is challenging, he noted that people have a choice about how they let things affect them.

“The ultimate thing that is going to stop you from moving forward is fear. The fear of losing money, the fear of losing relationships, the fear of not being good enough.If you can understand that, recognize it and confront it, then there is so much more that you can be capable of,” he said.

Mattesi concluded by reminding students that anyone is capable of achieving important goals when dreams are kept alive. When his speech came to a close and the lights come back on, a wave of applause filled the room.

Students described the speech as heartfelt and authentic.

“It made me tear up a couple of times,” Salvador Casanova, a graphic design major, said.

Amanda Mountain, a business management major, said the presentation reminded her about the importance of staying focused. “I spread myself out a little too much sometimes and I need to cut out more of those distractions in my life,” she said.

October 4, 2018

Planning process underway

By SALVADOR GUTIERREZ Staff Reporter

A set of strategies called the master plan is expected to bring change and improvement to facilities at Amarillo College.

The team behind the plan is conducting interviews with students, faculty, staff and community members to determine what AC needs to achieve its mission.

“AC is undergoing a master-planning process with architects to figure out space utilization and facility use,” Wesley Condray-Wright, director of communications and marketing, said.

The plan looks at the college’s programs, buildings and use of space and equipment. “We look at our infrastructure, like air conditioning, to make sure it’s current, so we can plan replacement of equipment so that we always have a comfortable environment” Steven Smith, vice president of business affairs, said.

Part of the planning process includes reviewing all physical communication components, such as directional signage and space use, according to Kevin Ball, vice president of communications and marketing.

The architecture firm Parkhill, Smith and Cooper will evaluate facilities to determine what buildings and spaces will meet future needs.

Another aspect of the plan is making sure that buildings are compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. Characteristics such as seat height, door opening buttons and light switches will be reviewed. The master plan will also look into other possible changes. “The board of regents had asked us to look at student housing and to look at athletics as a possibility, and so we will also do feasibility studies to see if that is something that students would support,” Smith said.

Smith said the plan will address the addition of oncampus food options, although this is not a priority. “We are looking at some opportunities where we might have something like a small convenience store where students can get things like sandwiches, salads, and drinks so they don’t have to leave campus.” Parking issues will be considered as well.

Funding for the master plan comes from AC’s reserves, which are the college’s savings from previous years.

Most of the objectives set forth in the master plan are long-term goals. “We are really looking at five or 10 years out in the future,” Smith said.

Condray-Wright noted that the master plan just makes recommendations, “It does not mean that is actually going to happen,” he said.

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Opinion

2 | The Ranger October 4, 2018

Student Speak What’s on your mind?

"How do you stay up-to-date on current events?"

“Just social media, pretty much like what everyone does. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram pretty much everything, even Snapchat” JARED GUERRERO Criminal Justice

Fight fake news

Editorial Cartoon by CLAIRE EKAS | The Ranger

EDITORIAL

“I just check AC Connect and Blackboard”

LOGAN KOCH Business

“Mostly, I look it up.

I’m not going to trust Facebook or anything, so I just kinda look it up” DANIELA CHICA Biology

Political options don't add up OPINION

By JEREMY STITSWORTH Staff Reporter

Imagine you’re getting a burger and the cashier asks if you want ketchup or mustard. If you don’t like either of them, you decide to go with mayonnaise.

Unfortunately, when it comes to our political system, it’s not that simple. You only have two choices. In this case, it’s Republican or Democrat, but what if you don’t like the candidates they’ve selected to represent them?

America is stuck in a duopoly with these two political parties in winner-takes-all elections. What’s worse is that these supposed leaders of the country can never agree on simple answers to

simple situations. In fact, it’s as if they create policies to undermine the other and make their opponents look foolish or exclude their input. You know, kind of how when you were a kid in your treehouse and put up a sign that said, “NO GIRLS ALLOWED,” to keep out your little sister.

In the United States, we actually have many different political parties such as the Libertarian Party, the Independent Party, the Green Party and the Peace and Freedom Party just to name a few of them.

The problem with this is that they never have enough votes to make a real impact on elections.

They don’t even get a spot in the national debates. Each candidate from a third party is required to get 15 percent of the electorate to even appear on the ballot and participate in debates.

Now Donald Trump took the presidency with only 27 percent of the voting population and third-party candidates only need about half of that to get on the ballot. To me, more parties means more options, which in turn leads to more voters and ultimately more democracy, and that is what will make our country great again.

The term “fake news” is something that is tossed around rather frequently these days, and it isn’t a good indicator of the public’s relationship with the media.

But what exactly is fake news?

Most everyone has probably formed their own definition of “fake news.” For your great aunt Carol, it’s probably something along the lines of, “that darn leftist CNN.” For that guy you went to high school with that spends all day sharing conspiracy theories on Facebook, all news is probably fake news. At its core, though, fake news is a story that is published that either contains incorrect information, or is entirely

they can trust. With the help of the internet, news spreads extremely quickly — even fake news. Because of this, readers can’t take anything at face value.

Just because someone says something is true doesn’t mean it is, and the same works for saying something is false.

We, The Ranger Staff, urge readers and journalists alike to do their research and devote themselves to the truth. If we continue to spread misinformation, whether purposefully or not, we do a huge disservice to ourselves and those around us. The truth is a valuable tool and one that should always be used.

Youth should vote OPINION

By ELY SANCHEZ Staff Reporter

Young adults, teens, or however you refer to yourself these days, I just want to take a minute to tell you that I agree with you about something. You know how you complain to your parents or other adults that they don’t “understand” you?

You’re right, we don’t. At least, I don’t. Especially when it comes to making a change to the very communities you have grown up in. Whether you believe it or not, many adults do listen, and are actually very scared of the power you have.

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made up. It’s hard to blame a whole news organization for contributing to the fake news epidemic, when in reality, it’s a journalist’s responsibility to produce accurate and unbiased information.

A journalist’s job is to report the news and tell stories in the most truthful and objective way possible. You must talk to multiple sources, check your facts and then check your fact-checking. Make sure that everything you write or say is the whole truth, and not what best serves you, your organization or political leaders.

On that same note, it’s up to readers to decide who

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It may not look like you young adults can make much of a difference, but look around the world where young adults have driven the social change by being the spark that started many social movements.

Something as simple as voting can make a difference. But what does voting have to do with this?

Here’s why it’s important: the term “young voters” is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as 18-29 year olds, but guess how many of these eligible to vote actually voted? In the 1996 and 2000 elections, just 30 percent of young adults voted. A more recent report from CIRCLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), which conducts research on the civic and political engagement of young Americans, states that, “approximately 50 percent of eligible young people—about 24 million youth, ages 18-29—voted in the 2016 general election.”

The Census Bureau notes that, “People of ages 18 through 24 have consistently voted at lower rates than all other age groups.”

If young adults ever wonder why no politicians or candidates talk about the things they care about, well, it's pretty simple: these politicians know which people do vote and which don’t. If young adults actually voted, many elected officials would be more inclined to address issues that are important to young adults.

According to CIRCLE, right now in America there are 46 million young people, ages 18-29, who are eligible to vote and only 39 million seniors who are currently eligible to vote.

This young voter group is currently larger than any other age group; however, most candidates continue to ignore these young voters since they currently only vote at half the rate as older generations do.

Politicians will continue to ignore young voters who are not participating in the system they believe does not work for them. What if I told you that it isn’t that the system is not working for you, but instead, it’s a system working for the ones participating in it? Again, for most of you, it isn’t you.

Student Media exists to serve you — the students. The Ranger is an open forum where you can learn and talk about the things that matter to you. The Ranger staff urges you to get involved by submitting ideas, photos, writing, videos and telling us what you want covered. A public critique and meeting is open to the campus community on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. in PH 214 or you can reach us via email at therangereditor@gmail.com.

The Ranger is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Association, Panhandle Press Association, Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and Texas Community College Journalism Association. For a complete staff listing, visit us at acranger.com.

The Ranger is an independent student publication. Material published in The Ranger does not necessarily reflect the views of Amarillo College administrators or employees.

News

The Ranger | 3 October 4, 2018

SIR GAREN GRAYSON | The Ranger

How to avoid getting the flu Dr. Bernard Abriero gives Angie Alvarez, an academic adviser, her annual flu shot.

By JULIE RAMBIN Staff Reporter

It’s October, and for most of us, that means jack o’lanterns, costumes and trick-or-treating. For those who work in healthcare, however, it’s the beginning of a less-festive event, flu season.

Far more frightening than any haunted house, influenza typically kills anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 Americans each year, depending on the severity of the year’s predominant strains. According

to the Centers for Disease Control, during the 20172018 flu season, 180 children in the U.S. died from flu.

Myth: You can catch flu from the flu vaccine.

Fact: The flu vaccine cannot give you the flu.

“Sometimes people may have been exposed to a virus before they got the vaccine, and then afterwards they get sick and think they got it from the flu shot,” Kerrie Young, AC nursing instructor, said.

“In the shot, you don’t actually get the flu virus. It’s an inactive particle or piece of the virus that just causes your own

immune system to react and create antibodies to protect you from flu, from the disease.”

Myth: Only people in highrisk groups need a flu shot.

Fact: The CDC recommends routine annual vaccination for people older than 6 months.

“It’s important to get the flu shot,” Young said. “You help protect people who can’t get it.” Pregnant women are recommended to get a flu shot, since their immunity will help protect their infant.

Children, as well as people with chronic heart, lung and other conditions are more susceptible to the

flu and more likely to suffer from complications, including pneumonia and sepsis.

Myth: You don’t need to get a flu shot, since you might get flu anyway.

Fact: While it is possible to contract flu after immunization, it’s much less likely, and symptoms will likely be less severe than without the vaccine. According to the CDC, flu vaccination reduces deaths, ICU admissions and duration of hospitalization among hospitalized flu patients.

Getting a flu shot “doesn’t guarantee that you’re not going to get an illness,” Young

that what they do at AC will transfer to WT. “We just wanted to clean things up and make sure it was clear that these two programs really complement each other,” Nies said. “This helps music students who want to take additional ensemble credits compare those courses to what they will be needing at WT.” This agreement could also encourage AC students to continue their music careers at West Texas A&M, Nies said.

“We want to place our students with whatever institution they feel will be best. But of course WT has such a strong

department in so many ways that we love to encourage people to attend there.”

During the transfer process, the wording and numbering systems of different universities can make it difficult for a transferring student to figure out what classes to take. The music transfer agreement has better matched the systems of the AC and WT to make it easier for students to transfer school.

“We want to make sure we are providing our students with the tools they need to be AC music students rehearse. successful,” Nies said

said. “But it does decrease the severity of the illness.” Anyone can get flu. Symptoms vary by age, but can include: fever/ chills, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, headache and runny or stuffy nose.

Flu can also lead to pneumonia and blood infections, and cause seizures in children. If you have a medical condition, flu can make it worse.

The Amarillo Health Department offers low- or nocost vaccines for adults and children on a walk-in basis from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at their location on 1000 Martin Rd, Amarillo, TX 79107.

Transfer agreement is music to their ears

By JD TUCKER

Staff Reporter

Recently Amarillo College signed a music transfer agreement with West Texas A&M that will strengthen the, bond between the two schools music programs.

“The articulation we just completed with WT ensures that students feel very secure about where their credits go into their bachelor’s degree program,” Camille Nies, AC music dept. chair, said.

The articulation agreement gives AC students confidence

KIM REID | The Ranger

Merit pay is the new way

By KYLER KUYKENDALL Staff Reporter

In the 2017-2018 school year, Amarillo College rolled out the merit pay system that uses three categories of performance to decide the amount of pay an instructor receives.

Faculty members’ selfevaluations and their supervisors’ evaluations are run through a rubric that looks at areas of teaching, service and professional development performance. This merit is then added to their normal work payment.

“We teach classes, we serve on committees and we help with various things around campus, but anything that we do above and beyond our job description falls under the merit category,” Nancy

Forrest, a reading instructor, said. Forrest, who was part of the faculty merit pay proposal team, said that the launch year of the new system has had some issues.

“I think it has been a bit cumbersome and laborious.

We did the very best job that we could possibly do, but we knew it was going to require some tweaking. We are in the process of revising it with input from the faculty. The goal is to make it a more streamlined process,” Forrest said.

Students said they support the idea of giving faculty extra incentives to achieve. “I think pushing teachers to go above their job description and get involved is good for the teachers and Amarillo College as a whole,” Hannah Flores, a physical therapy major, said.

News

4 | The Ranger October 4, 2018

“Trump effect” affects students, majors Trump presidency has caused an increase in applications to journalism schools across the country OPINION

By LAUREN EBBEN Staff Reporter

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump was known for repeatedly attacking the media and press, claiming “fake news,’ whenever coverage of him was unfavorable, or news outlets reported on something he didn’t agree with. It was a belief that continued after he was elected into office. In early 2017, President Trump tweeted “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”

The increasing number of insults and tirades against the press is exhausting to listen to, and I’m not the only one who’s getting tired of it.

According to an article by the “Washington Post,” colleges across the country have seen an increase in applications to journalism schools and programs, “a Trump effect,” the article called it.

I think there is some kind of innate stubbornness in people that’s causing this. The most important job of a journalist is to inform his or her audience about current events, to produce a piece of news as unbiased as possible that allows the audience to come to their own conclusions.

Yet, how can journalists do their job if there are people like Trump constantly bashing on their work?

What do you do when people say you aren’t good enough? As evident by the increased enrollment, you prove those people wrong.

But it isn’t just colleges, news outlets themselves have started fighting back.

In response to the backlash journalists are facing, “The Boston Globe” asked editorial boards around the country to write articles supporting free press.

More than 400 news outlets submitted articles, from Maryland to Arizona, all writing about the importance of journalism. These articles were published online in August, with updates to the

site as more articles are submitted. “New York Times” publisher A.G. Sulzberger even met with President Trump himself over the president’s insistence that journalists were the “enemy.”

Sulzberger was concerned Trump’s attacks on journalism were “contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence,” according to a statement about the meeting.

I imagine it was an unstoppable force meets an immovable object kind of situation in that meeting room. It didn’t do much good. Trump continues to preach about the “enemy of the American people.”

But it’s this increased interest in journalism among college students that could change it all.

Freedom of press is a fundamental part of our democracy. But it cannot reach its fullest potential if no one is there willing to support it.

S o l et ’ s m a ke t h e “ Trum p ef fect ” m ea n som et h i n g . G i ve t h e f i el d o f j o ur n a l i s m mo re, a ccura te voi ces. G i ve i t a b etter ch a n ce to m a ke a d i f feren ce.

“Spotlight” shines light on the power of journalism

2015 movie takes a look at the journalists behind the 2001 investigative report at “The Boston Globe” REVIEW

By MACKENZIE FARMER Staff Reporter

I recently watched the movie “Spotlight” and I believe this is one movie everyone needs to watch. The movie is based on a true story about a team of investigative journalists in 2001 from “The Boston Globe” who cover the story of child sex abuse cases by priests in the Catholic Church.

When they first start investigating the story, the team thinks they are only covering one priest who abused more than 80 boys, while three archbishops of Boston who knew about it did nothing to stop him.

As the team continues to investigate, they start uncovering more and more priests in the Boston area who had been sexually abusing children.

The archbishop knew about it and did nothing except move these priests to a new church or send

COURTESY PHOTO

them to one of their treatment centers.

After months of investigating and uncovering, the team finally releases the story. After that, they start to receive hundreds of tips and information about more priests who had been abusing children. Because of this, the team is able to write

many more stories about the abuse that had taken place.

This movie is so important to watch for a few of reasons.

The first reason is that this movie shows the importance of journalism. Without the editor of “The Boston Globe” and the Spotlight team, this story probably would have

never been covered and the public might have not been made aware of the abuse in the Catholic Church.

In the movie you can see how hard the team works to get accurate information. For every priest they find who might have been abusing children, they work to find

sources to confirm it. They talk to as many people as they can find including lawyers who defended victims and the Catholic Church.

Even though the events of “Spotlight” took place over 15 years ago, this story is still extremely relevant.

If you didn’t know, recently a report came out about Catholic priests in Pennsylvania that had abused at least 1,000 children. This shows that the cases in Boston were not alone, but that it is happening all over.

The different outlets of journalism have helped people all over America come out and tell their stories. Journalists have helped give people a voice when others might not have believed them.

Like I said before, I firmly believe everyone should watch “Spotlight” to at least see how important journalists are.

The movie is available to watch on Netflix and you can read all the stories that cover the different cases at https:// www.bostonglobe.com/arts/ movies/spotlight-movie.

News

The Ranger | 5 October 4, 2018

Responsible journalism starts with you OPINION

By CLAIRE EKAS, CARTER HALL and BLASS GUERRERO Staff Reporters

We are writing to you as student journalists who value the role journalism plays in our society and are grateful for the opportunity AC Student Media provides. As staff members for “The Ranger,” we are learning to gather information, interview sources and write news stories. We are learning how to share our voices and we are gaining skills that will help us not just in journalism, but in any career.

Many of us are not pursuing journalism careers or majoring in mass media, but we recognize the importance of having reliable news sources both in college and beyond.

Working on “The Ranger” staff has given us an understanding of the

importance of reliable journalism.

That’s why we’re worried. As a society, we have become lazy. We want to be informed about current events, but we don’t want to spend the time researching all sides of an issue to develop our own individual opinions.

We would rather have someone else tell us what we should think.

This is unacceptable. We have to stop whole-heartedly believing everything we hear or read. When you hear about a tragic event that has happened, look the event up and read a few different stories from a few different sources. Don’t just find the most inflammatory headline and believe what is stated in the story.

The entire purpose of an inflammatory headline is to get more people to read the story. Just because you read something provocative and jaw dropping, doesn’t mean it’s true.

No matter how people receive news,

they have their favorite sources that they consider reliable. Trying to find a reliable online source can be risky business because there is a lot of online news. The prevalence of online news has created a sense of distrust among many readers.

The most reliable news sources tend to be the most unbiased. The key word there being “most,” because human beings run news outlets and by nature we all have our own biases. Nevertheless, there are responsible journalists who give readers the facts, and leave out onesided analysis and interpretation.

Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, are not appropriate news sources. In fact, they ARE NOT news sources. They are really just outlets for us to share funny videos and interesting things with our friends and family.

We urge you to spare us all the

trouble and spend a little more time fact-checking stories before you proceed to write a lengthy and angrily worded Facebook rant about the most recent topic in the news.

As student journalists, we are grateful for the opportunities AC Student Media gives us. We are gaining firsthand exposure to the value of responsible journalism and the danger of irresponsible journalism.

We also realize that as readers and viewers of diverse news media outlets, we too have a responsibility-a responsibility to use our critical thinking skills when evaluating sources and refrain from spreading biased, exaggerated or false reports.

Responsible journalism is the cornerstone of an effective democracy, but, as citizens, it is our civic duty to seek unbiased sources and remember to use our own logic and reasoning.

Journalism defends First Amendment then, now Despite technological advances, journalism still has a place as the voice of the people

By STEVI BRESHEARS Editor-in-Chief

For centuries, journalists have taken on the responsibility of telling the stories of their communities.

While the concept of journalism is not at all a new one, over the years it has evolved to meet the needs and wants of its audience.

The first newspaper in the United States is widely considered to be “Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick.” According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, it was published only once by British bookseller Benjamin Harris before it was suppressed.

After that, there were technological advancements that helped foster the growth

of print journalism. In 1791, the First Amendment was ratified, which granted freedom of speech and press.

The steam-driven printing press was invented in 1823, which made it easier and quicker to print newspapers.

All of these events lead up to the first edition of America’s first “penny press”, “The New York Sun,” published by Benjamin Day. The Sun was followed by “The New York Herald” in 1835 and “The New York Tribune” in 1841.

However, as technology has evolved, print has become less relevant. “Sadly, people get their news from other sources. Online news is faster, more up-to-date and can be updated in a moments notice,” said Amy Stahl, a journalism instructor at

Tascosa High School. The first radio signal was sent in 1895 by Guglielmo Marconi, who successfully sent a wireless signal from England to Newfoundland. However, the first radio news program wasn’t broadcast until 25 years later in 1920, by Detroit radio station 8MK. “Radio became a good medium for news because it could address the masses, and it was immediate. It’s still one of the best ways to get out information quickly to a large number of listeners,” said Amy Presley, FM90 program director.

“September 11 was a great example. People were running to their televisions and radios for the latest information.

I was working in a retail store that didn’t have a TV,

so I turned on the radio and heard the latest updates.

Now, radio competes with Twitter and social media, but it’s still a great way to get accurate news out.”

Television emerged onto the scene not too long after this. In 1941, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) licensed television stations. CBS began airing two 15 minute news broadcasts every weekday.

It wasn’t until 1945, however, that the networks were actually formed, and in 1948 regular news broadcasting began.

Through time, technology has advanced to allow networks to air the multiple, lengthy newscasts audiences are familiar with today.

In the early 1990s,

online news started gaining popularity, and thus began the 24 hour newscycle.

Early contributors included “Computer Gaming World” and “The News & Observer.”

With the rise of digital journalism and the growth of the internet, information was spreading quicker.

Now, news can be accessed with the swipe of a finger.

Smartphones allow consumers to constantly be plugged in to things happening across the world. With the rise in social media, users can read and share stories in a matter of seconds. While the face of journalism can change quickly, the true purpose will always be the same: to report the information and tell the stories of communities and their members, all across the world.

1941

Commercial broadcasting begins.

Infographic by STEVI BRESHEARS | The Ranger

News

6 | The Ranger October 4, 2018

Change of majors sparks success

By JD TUCKER

Staff Reporter

Maverick Evans is a psychology major at Amarillo College. But he hasn’t always been on the psychology path, nor did he start his college career at AC. Evans started college at West Texas A&M as a theater major, as that was his passion throughout high school.

“At first I was just following a girl I liked into theater. But it helped me find a good outlet for my creative brain,” Evans said.

He got involved in theater and studied it for four years under Dave Eurich, helping mainly with the outdoor play “Texas.” Evans worked in the scene shop doing metal work and carpentry.

“I really enjoyed my time working on the play. I learned a lot and I liked working at the amphitheater,” Evans said.

It was around this time however that Evans realized theater was not

for him. “I loved theater, but I got more involved with my faith and realized it was going to take me in a direction I didn’t want to go in.”

That is when Evans decided to go into mass communication. He said he chose mass communication because of the “wide range of opportunity in that field.”

But, as he continued, he learned that his real passion was going to be in the psychology field.

Evans’ family has many first responder friends. They told him that many people in that field have mental issues like PTSD and anxiety that they need help with, and the ones who seek psychiatric help do much better. So Evans decided that he would like to spend his energy helping people with those types of problems. Evans said he has his own struggles with anxiety and says that the biggest reason he is in psychology is to help himself.

“I am attracted to psychology first and foremost, to heal myself. In a way psychology has chosen me, nearly out of necessity,” he said.

Center has free counseling

By SAVANNAH LINDVAY Staff Reporter

RAFAEL FLORES | The Ranger

Sarine serves from heart

By AUSTIN ASHBY Staff Reporter

Dennis Sarine has been committed to serving the community and its students since his mind was changed in high school.

“I was not on a college readiness track. I was actually on a vocational program and had the opportunity but made some poor choices,” Sarine, the chair of education and early child development, said.

Sarine said that thanks to good mentors, he found out that school was more than school. “It was connection and relationship and that teachers give mentorship and advocacy and put a student under their wing when they need it.”

“There's book learning then there's street learning so, I'd say I am well rounded. A lot of the things I learned I learned the hard way,” he said.

Sarine said many teachers know they will end up working in education from a very young age. “The fact that I work in education is a shocker to me,” he said.

“I was not on a track to be a teacher but I had two high school teachers that bonded

with me and cared about me,” Sarine said. “They cared about me showing up to class and cared about me being a part of everything.”

After high school, Sarine dug ditches for a summer and realized that was hard work.

He then had the opportunity to move from North Dallas to Canyon, Texas, where he attended West Texas A&M University.

“Through relationships at WT, having great mentors showed me there was a lot of opportunity that I had no clue existed,” Sarine said. “I didn't want to go back to what I thought was the norm.”

After graduating, Sarine went on to lead the Amarillo Head Start program, which helps at risk children and their families.

“The Head Start Program works with the most at risk children within the community so, I would say your lowest 10 percent socioeconomically plus other factors,” Sarine said.

“Not only are we working with that child, we are working with that family.

Sarine said that when a family would hit an obstacle, he would challenge them to bring that problem to the program

to find a solution. This is how he became familiar with AC “They will say, I want to get my certificate in welding.

I was able to work with AC and get them into that,” Sarine said. This relationship with AC ultimately led Sarine to apply for a job at the college.

Sarine also has a degree in assisted technology applications, which led to him getting a national certificate in playground inspection.

Sarine said being a nationally certified playground inspector makes him look at playgrounds in a different way.

He said that when his children are playing, he will find things not up to code and let the school know.

“They'll say who are you?

I’ll reply, ‘I'm Dennis, nationally certified playground safety inspector. Here's my badge,’” Sarine said.

Sarine’s co-workers have glowing praise for him.

“He serves all the time,” Pam Jackson, an advising associate, said. “He always puts others before himself.”

Danette White, an administrative assistant in the disAbility program added that Sarine goes above and beyond for his students.

At the Amarillo College’s Washington Street Campus, on the second floor of the student resource center lies the Amarillo College Counseling Center. Enrolled Amarillo College students can obtain mental health counseling free of charge.

The focus of the Center is the mental and emotional health of the AC students. “It’s OK to have bad days, but tomorrow is another day. I’m not saying it’s a better day, but at least it could be better than today,” Kristen Barrick, a licensed professional counselor intern, said.

The assistance provided is flexible to fit the specific needs of students as individuals.

Students choose what they want to discuss with the counselor, based on the areas of their life that they believe need help.

Jaida Nunez, an undeclared major, has not been to the Center, but thinks it is a beneficial resource for the student body.

“People fight things in their head that you would never even know about. It’s good for them to have a place they can go to, to talk about stuff like that,” Nunez said.

Jenny Vanderford, a recent graduate, said that the Center could have helped her better manage the stress she endured while she was attending school.

“There were a lot of times when the stress of school would build up and I would just kind of have a break down and it would have probably helped to have someone to talk to,” Vanderford said.

The Center advertises its services on campus, but still struggles with getting the attention of the student body.

Barrick said that she thinks it’s something that students don’t pay much attention until they find themselves in need of the services offered.

The Center is open on weekdays and closed on weekends, holidays and school breaks. Students must make an appointment to see a counselor.

Counseling appointments can be made by calling the center at 806-371-5900.

Culture

The Ranger | 7 October 4, 2018

Courtesy Photo

Characters added to horror video game

By MARISSA RIVERA Staff Reporter

Still going strong in the Fall of 2018, “Dead by Daylight” is a strategic horror game, available on PC, PS4 and Xbox.

I would highly recommend this growing game.

This September, the developers released a new killer and a survivor to name a few in a growing list. It allows her to sneak up on unsuspecting survivors without them hearing her terror radius, which I love for the horror aspect of this game. The Spirit, the new killer, is a high skill cap killer who I’ve been waiting for.

The killer’s perks are great and assist with the chase, but there are a couple of problems with her playstyle that I personally do not like.

This killer’s playstyle encourages leaving the obsession alone until the end of the trial. I don’t care to leave anyone alive for any perks. If I find someone, I will begin the chase and try to sacrifice them.

I could see this perk pairing well with Play Your Food, a Michael

Myers perk. It would also work with No One Escapes Death to apply the exposed effect on all survivors. But it is still an endgame build that I don’t personally play.

I’m still excited for the release of the new killer, just because of her ability to jump scare the survivors. So, on both sides, it will be fun. I absolutely love the new survivor perks. His perks encourage a safe altruistic play style. Because of problems with people farming points off of people who have been hooked, it kind of ensures the person wanting to Kobe off of the hook.

Since trying to Kobe off of the hook is extremely difficult, it encourages people to safely unhook other survivors, so they can get the bragging rights of the Kobe.

All in all, the new survivors perks alone all make a great build. Adding Self-Care or Urban Evasion would really make this a nice sneaky build.

Plus, the animation is funny to watch. He throws a pebble for a distraction and I feel like any survivor with this perk, will look funny just throwing a rock as far as they can.

Faculty express their pet peeves about students

By DANI BARRAZA Staff Reporter

Amarillo College faculty members say they frequently face frustrations related to teaching.

“Students working on things for other classes while I’m lecturing,” is the greatest source of aggravation for Brent Cavanaugh, an instructor and photography department chair. “That’s probably one of my bigger pet peeves,” he said.

“Students falling asleep in class,” is what bothers Jamie Carrillo, an art and graphic design instructor. “If you’re going to be sleeping in class, then just leave.”

Another source of irritation for Carrillo is when students fail to read instructions.

“They are not reviewing assignment materials or instructions and then asking minutes later what we’re supposed to do and what were supposed to name it after I even read it and gave you the handout. I don’t like repeating stuff that they can read themselves or that I’ve read to them,” he said.

Maddisun Fowler, an instructor and student media

coordinator, said, “My biggest pet peeve is when students do not read the syllabus. In all of my classes, I have a ‘major assignments’ section where it lists all the major assignments of the semester.

I outline how papers should be written, give examples of how to properly cite sources and even give examples of work from former students.

But a lot of the time, I get papers turned in that look nothing like what I’ve asked for.” According to Fowler, the instructions exist to help students perform well on assignments.

“I think that all professors just want their students to follow instructions. I constantly tell my students that for the next eight weeks, the syllabus for this class is their best friend. I want my students to succeed and I try to give them every tool to make that possible.”

While some instructors were happy to share their pet peeves, other faculty members refused to discuss the issue, saying, “I get asked questions like this by students too many times.” Apparently, getting asked about pet peeves is their pet peeve.

Courtesy Photo

“NCT Dream” releases second album

By SIERRA WILSON Staff Reporter

I’m heavily invested in KPOP and I wait for a lot of different Korean artists’ albums and song announcements. NCT Dream is one of my favorite K-pop groups and my favorite album at the moment is their second mini album “We Go Up.” NCT Dream is a 2-yearold K-pop group that has had consecutive releases since their debut song “Chewing Gum” in 2016. Their title songs include “My First and My Last,” “We Young,” “Go” and now “We Go Up,” released Aug. 30.

This past month I’ve religiously been listening to the title track “We Go Up” every day since it came out. The song is really my style, and I think

it would appeal to those who like pop music and appreciate amazing vocals.

The video is nothing to sneeze at either. The well shot music video captures the youthful and fun atmosphere you think of when you hear NCT Dream.

The visuals are stunning, and the choreography makes me breathless just watching it on screen. Fast-paced and unexpected, the moves go surprisingly well with the everchanging music. The boys of NCT Dream; Mark, Haechan (pronounced hey-chan), Jaemin (pronounced jay-min), Jisung (pronounced g-sung), Jeno, Renjun (pronounced renjune) and Chenle (pronounced chen-luh); have really out done themselves this time.

The EP is well made and changes up NCT Dream’s usual

concepts with a different flavor than the fans are used to. The title is described as old school hip-hop rapping styles with urban pop vocals. They do well delivering upbeat rap verses and contrast those with the electrifying vocals.

The song is in Korean with bits of English mixed in for a trendy flare. The EP is really good as well. There are different styles of music accompanying the title track. There is a hiphop urban song “Drippin’” which is way outside of the box for Dream, and it shocked the fans, including me, when the EP first came out. There are other songs alongside these like “Beautiful Time” and “Dear Dream” that have sweet emotional meanings as well. “1, 2, 3” is also included on the list of great songs on the mini album.

8 | The Ranger October 4, 2018

Feature

FM90’s new look greets College Radio Day

By SAMUEL GAULDING and DANIELLE BARRAZA Staff Reporters

A

marillo College’s FM90 is about to celebrate College Radio Day, an annual event designed to boost awareness of the importance of college radio. This year the day takes place Oct. 5. “The aim of the event is to raise greater national awareness of the many college and radio stations that operate in North America by encouraging people who would not normally listen to college radio to do so on this day,” said Amy Presley, current FM90 program director and audio media coordinator.

“We like to catch up with our past DJs and we like to see how FM90 has shaped their careers and who they are today,” said Presley. The day will also be marked at West Texas A&M University on 91.1 FM. “It’s a day full of great music, great shows and stories,” Randy Ray, WTAMU director of broadcast engineering, said.

Brian Frank, Panhandle PBS content producer and former FM90 program director, will be coordinating the AC event. “College Radio Day is one of the greatest parts of my job here at AC and the music is so exciting,” Frank said. Frank will also be walking around the Washington Street Campus with Presley to take requests during the event.

In addition to marking College Radio Day, FM90 has gotten a makeover. The update includes a new logo, new promotions and station identification spots, rebranding and a new website.

“FM90 is just undergoing some aesthetic changes. No big changes to the music or the specialty programming,” Presley said.

The AC-licensed noncommercial radio station allows people working toward obtaining a mass media degree or certificate to practice and understand the operations of a radio station.

To prepare these students, FM90 runs like a commercial radio station.