COLLEGIAN THE CA M ERON U N I V ER SIT Y

Informing the Cameron Family Since 1926

Monday, February 22, 2010

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Volume 84 Issue 15

Homecoming 2010

News

Cruise On Home By Rachel Engel Collegian Staff

PRIDE offers friendship and acceptance. SEE PAGE 4

A&E

Photo by Bennett Dewan

After a week full of activities, the 2010 “Cruise on Home” homecoming events were capped off by the crowning of the homecoming king and queen during halftime of the men’s basketball game against the East Central Tigers. As the homecoming court filed onto the floor, Programming Activities Council co-chairs Amanda Finch and Ryan Faucett introduced each of the nominees, as well as the outgoing 2009 homecoming king and queen, Brett Carden and Stephanie Johnson. The second runner up for homecoming king this year was senior Criminal Justice major Daniel Brown, who represented the Student Government Association. Brown was also nominated last year and came in first runner up. “It was nice to be nominated again,” Brown said. “It was cool that the Student Government Association felt we were good enough to go for it again.” With graduation coming soon, this was Brown’s last nomination to the homecoming court.

Royalty: Seniors Miracle Akinwale and Amina Fix are the 2010 CU Homecoming King and Queen. Akinwale and Fix were chosen by the student body from amongst the many different candidates.

See HOMECOMING Page 10

Homecoming games bring big crowds By Bennett Dewan Collegian Staff

Renowned author Anis Shivani visits campus. SEE PAGE 8

Sports

The 2010 Cameron University homecoming basketball games were a tale of two half ’s for both teams, unfortunately for the Aggies, only one of the teams was able to come out with a victory against Lone Star Conference rival East Central University Tigers. The first game to tip-off was the women’s contest. The Aggies entered the contest with a record of 7-17 and 3-8 in the LSC; the Tigers were 12-12 and 4-7 in LSC play. Cameron Point Guard Luv Rattler was truly the story of the game, commanding the ball much of the game. Rattler led all players in scoring with 30 points on the night going 7-14 from the floor and a perfect 13-13 from the free-throw line. Although Rattler fi lled up the stat sheet by hitting big shots down the stretch, second-year Head Coach Tom Webb was more excited by Rattler’s focus on the fundamentals than her offensive output. “I’m more proud of her for her rebounds and her assists,” Webb said. “She had nine rebounds and seven assists, and those things should not be forgotten. She also controlled the tempo and controlled the game the way a good Point Guard should.” The Aggies controlled the game from early on and led at halftime 42-29. When play resumed the Aggies continued their run of dominance in the second half as Coach Webb pushed his team to not let up and lose control of the game. Up 22 points with eight minutes to go, Webb, upset with a missed defensive assignment, called timeout to re-energize his team.

Photos by Bennett Dewan

The dish and the deuce: No. 33 Milton Garner (above) lays the ball in for two against ECU. Point Guard Luv Rattler (below) dishes the ball off to a cutting teammate during the first half of the Aggies 14-point victory over the Tigers.

See GAME Page 6

Cheerleading team qualifies for nationals.

Group of students prepare for trip to Italy By Tatiana Isis Collegian Staff Spring break is only weeks away and 19 Cameron students are spending the holiday in Italy this year. The trip is the second school trip in the past two years that the Law and Politics and History clubs have organized. Last year, 15 students and family members went to the cradle of western civilization, Greece, after a senior History major proposed the idea.

SEE PAGE 6

Voices

See ITALY Page 2

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Students targeted in financial aid scams By Amanda Finch Collegian Staff

Obama leaves something to be desired. SEE PAGE 5

The university has been notified of a fi nancial aid scam targeted at Cameron students. Students received officiallooking letters addressed from the “College Financial Advisory” asking for personal information and urging them to pay to apply for fi nancial aid. The mailings

are actually from a private business that charges money for information that is otherwise available online for free. The letter requests that enrolled students send in a student aid profi le form and a specified fee in the envelope provided in order to evaluate the student and determine their fi nancial need. The university does not have any relationship

with the “College Financial Advisory” and strongly recommends that students not send personal information. When CU Financial Aid Assistant Director Chris Crandon was informed of the scam, she met with Dean of Student Services Jennifer Holland to decide the appropriate course of action. “When the university

becomes aware of issues that might negatively impact students, we have a responsibility to make students aware of the issue and offer helpful information,” Dean Holland said.

See SCAM Page 2

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News

February 22, 2010

ITALY continued from page 1 The trip began as an idea that former student Kyle Lewis had when he decided to take a trip to Greece his senior year. He ultimately decided that to explore taking it as an educational school trip. He got together with Dr. Huckaby, and they made it happen.

This year, Dr. Huckaby and her students decided to make the trip to Italy. “I spent some time in Italy,” Dr. Huckaby said, who has been to Italy three times and feels comfortable taking her students there now. There are a myriad of reasons for students to want to visit Italy, but

Dr. Huckaby can narrow it down to one. “To look at the David, everyone has to look at the David,” she said. The group will leave on March 11 and fly to Paris, where they will then begin their journey to Italy; returning on March 21. The 11-day trip is longer than the

six-day trip to Greece last year, not to mention $400 cheaper. The trip, including air fare, hotels, breakfast, transfers and metro passes and six tours will cost travelers $1,700. Included are trips on the TGV, France’s high-speed rail service, which will take the group to Milan. There, they will spend a night at the Regency Hotel and leave the next morning on a double-decker bus tour of Milan. They will tour the city and visit cathedrals and later board a train to Venice, where they will spend the night at a hostel. “Hostels are very low-rate rooming houses,” Dr. Huckaby said, who highly encourages people to keep an open mind about using hostels while traveling. Next on their trip, they will leave for the train station to tour Tuscany, where they will visit the Sienna and the Pisa among other sites, and then be off to Florence where they will

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spend the night at the Grand Hotel Adriatico. In Florence they will enjoy an art tour, politics tour and religion tour and spend free time visiting the city. After spending three days in Florence they will head to Rome. “You can’t go to Rome and not see the Vatican,” Dr. Huckaby said, who will be taking the group on a tour of the Vatican and the Colosseum. After two days in Rome, they will board a train for a day trip to Naples and Pompeii to return back to Rome that night. The next day the group will board their return flight to the U.S. Dr. Huckaby hopes that her group will become “more comfortable” traveling overseas and will learn to “not be scared and improvise” in their travels. “One person has never been on a plane,” Dr. Huckaby said. “I want students to know how easy it is to see the world.” On whether there will be a trip next year, Dr. Huckaby isn’t sure, but says her next destination will be to South America because it is her field of expertise. Dr. Huckaby also hopes to make next year’s trip part of a workshop class that will allow students to receive college credits for the trip.

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SCAM continued from page 1

See page 6 for solutions.

Upon further investigation, Crandon discovered that other colleges and universities had experienced the same scam. Crandon sent an email to all students informing them of the scam and warning them to be careful with all personal information. The email recommended that students never send confidential information to anyone until it is confirmed that it is a legitimate request. Students should also be aware of a message’s source and identify if the financial aid offer is coming from a college or university, a national organization or a business. Crandon says it is easy to spot financial aid scams such as this one. “Students can recognize a false scholarship or financial aid organization if it asks for money to apply because you should never have to pay money to get a scholarship,” Crandon said. “Always look for a .gov or .edu to verify a legitimate organization.” If in doubt about a scholarship or financial aid source, students should check first by contacting the Financial Aid office to inquire further. “There are many free reputable scholarship searches students can look to such as fastweb.com and finaide.org,” Crandon said. The Financial Aid office also helps with scholarship searches and all internal Cameron University and Foundation scholarships can be found at www.cameron.edu/ financial_aid.

February 22, 2010

News

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4 News PRIDE offers place for friendship, acceptance February 22, 2010

By Rashmi Thapaliya Collegian Staff People Respecting Individuality, Diversity and Equality (PRIDE) is an active student organization at Cameron University. PRIDE has been active on campus for 11 years. The president of the club, Taylor Brunwald, a junior Journalism major, said that it is his second year as president of the club. According to Brunwald, the club was originally established as an alliance for gay and lesbian students on campus, but now the club has changed its mission statement to represent all walks of life on campus. Brunwald said the club is a safe place for individuals who are looking for friendship and acceptance. He

added that the club is also for those who may feel left behind or be in need of support. “People must be proud of who they are regardless of their walks of life,” Brunwald said. “PRIDE is here to promote diversity on campus.” The club is involved in various activities throughout the semester. Recently, PRIDE held a “Double Feature Picture Show” movie night. At the event they screened two pageant comedies, “Drop Dead Gorgeous” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” It also held a “minipageant” between the two films. The club also organized a candlelight vigil on World Aids Day in honor of Matthew Shepard.

Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming and was beaten to death on Oct. 12, 1998 by individuals who disagreed with his homosexual lifestyle. “Cameron University is a very gay-friendly campus. I have never had a problem with my professors, friends or co-workers,” Brunwald said. “People of the Lawton community may have a problem if I walk hand in hand with my boyfriend, but I feel safe on the campus.” The club members meet at 6 p.m., every Friday in the McMahon

Center. There are currently 15 members in the club, the largest number of members the club has ever had. According to Brunwald, the club is for everyone at Cameron, and there is no need for a person to be gay or lesbian to be a member of the club. He said that on the first Friday of every month, the club has what they call the “padded room,” a meeting where members focus on supporting each other with things like homework, classes, projects and other personal problems. “We want to emphasize that PRIDE is a social club where we help each other, laugh together and cry together,” Brunwald said. “We still focus on the issues of gays and lesbians because no one else on campus does.”

Brunwald talked about PRIDE’s upcoming activities in which they are planning to organize an interfaith dialogue and panel discussion in which speakers from various religions will share their beliefs. The club is planning on inviting people from the Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish faiths, as well as atheists. Brunwald said that the speakers can be either faith community leaders or just normal people with different beliefs. The executive board members of the club are: Ryan Foutz, the vice-president; Melissa Delgado, secretary; Phuc Nguyen, treasurer; Ashley Cernak, SGA representative and Jared Beverley, public relations officer. The adviser of the club is Jim Joplin.

Voices

February 22, 2010

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Where will it end? Mounting deficit, Middle East crises holding current president back Think back to grade school for just a moment, remember when you were sent home with a report card? Most of the time, the card was sealed neatly in a manila envelope and placed in your bag. A good report card resulted in candy or some other form of positive reinforcement. A bad report card usually resulted in something far less pleasant. In college, we don’t get those occasional status reports. Out in the real world, some get them; some don’t. One sector that rarely seems to get a serious report card is the government. Sure, we see cable channels such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News tear into members from both political parties, but honestly, does that ever really do any good? Or do we get the same government, re-hashed over and over? A year ago, President Obama was in the midst of his first 100 days in office. Hopes were high, along with approval ratings (59 percent is doing pretty well, just ask George W. Bush.) The country was facing huge economic problems but the optimism outweighed the fear. “Yes We Can” almost became the country’s mantra. Flash-forward a year. Hopes and optimism are waning (his approval ratings have fallen to 46 percent.) The country is showing some signs of turnaround. The stock market is doing better, and credit is starting to thaw. However, more problems loom on the horizon. A great deal

of commercial properties are still on the market and are rapidly falling in value. Once great shopping malls, the very epitome of American consumer might, sit empty. I recently was in a mall in Oklahoma City that looked more like the set of a horror film than a bright symbol of consumerism. Healthcare reform has stalled out and appears to be a hindrance more than a benefit. The situations in Afghanistan and Iraq look pretty much the same as last year, save for a proposed troop increase in Afghanistan. Does anyone know what our strategy is in Afghanistan? Can it be defined in one sentence? I know I’ve never planned a war, but I have been a part of some large operations. In each instance, there was clear and executable plan that could be defined in one sentence or less. While we debate this, the President presented a budget that will see us operate at a federal deficit of $1.6 trillion. This is a record deficit for this country, yet we are told that it will go down over the next 10 years. This supposedly will happen by ending the Bushera tax cuts for the rich and the freezing of some federal spending for three years. I don’t claim to be a math whiz (far from it actually), but it seems to me that somewhere, the numbers don’t add up. How can we shrink the deficit if we continue to practice this administration’s fiscal policy, which is to throw money at the problem until the situation

Kyle Luetters

fixes itself? We spent almost $1 trillion in economic stimulus money to fix the economy. Some of the programs were not too bad (T.A.R.P and Cash for Clunkers). Overall though, the government just sent out the cash, and we are seeing little return on our investment. Meanwhile, we continue to toss money into the Middle East black hole (a.k.a. the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) with little end in sight. The War on Terrorism is this generation’s Vietnam; we are stuck with it until we just throw up our hands, cut our losses and realize we were in over our heads. If you take away the war and the large stimulus spending, the country wouldn’t be in as bad of shape. However, the argument can also be made that we could possibly be in another depression. I will go along with that. My whole argument is that the funds we are spending aren’t netting us enough improvement on our investment. Think of the stimulus money. If the government really wanted to turn the economy around quickly, they would have used the money themselves and started massive public works programs like President Franklin Roosevelt did during the depression. Instead, they choose to set up the funds in a confusing way, but with a promise that the private sector would be able to claim the money. According to government documents, the

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application process and wait period is at least six months. It is unfair to solely blame the president for the mess that we are in. Most of the blame can be placed with Congress, but that is another article for another time. However, President Obama has made numerous promises to us, such as keeping health care debates open to the public and to fix the economy in a timely fashion. So far, the debates have taken place behind closed doors, and the economy is still on life support. Not to mention our government seems to be pulling money out of thin air when it comes to their spending habits. Overall, I would have to give the President a C in history (he has paid attention to some of what history tells us); an A for communication (you have to admit, the guy can give a speech) and an F when it comes to Math (I would love to see the rationale and balance sheet for this fiscal policy.) With two of those grades not looking so good, maybe it is time for something my dad calls, “tough love.”

Woods ‘scandal’ a product of sensational journalism As a reporter, I understand this constant need to break the next big story. Both major Lawton news agencies are constantly trying to one-up each other, or jump the gun on a story before the other catches wind of it. It’s a brutal line of work. When the story broke of Tiger Woods crashing his SUV on Thanksgiving weekend, it instantly became a media feeding frenzy. What happened? Was his wife mad at him? Was he on drugs at the time? There were so many questions. And eventually, questions turned into rumors and rumors turned into reported facts, until no one knew what the truth really was. We now live in a world where anyone and everyone can be a journalist, which somewhat disturbs me. I’ve gone to college for a long time to do what I do. I’m

not perfect, but I feel more qualified to report on a story than some monkey sitting in front of a computer with a bag of Cheetos and posting on a blog about how the world is coming to an end. Yet, there’s a good chance that that Cheeto-loving monkey will get more views than a story published in the morning paper. This competition for an evershrinking market of “professional” journalism institutions is creating an unhealthy competition not unlike that of the 1920s. There was a movie released several years back called “15 Minutes” that focused on two terrorists’ attempts to become famous in America. Kelsey Grammar’s character, a television “journalist,” uttered one of the best lines in recent memory: “if it bleeds, it leads.” That ultimately

Joshua Rouse

sums up what has happened to our field. Sensation sells. And what better sensation is there than the world’s best golfer, a squeaky clean stand-up guy who is a role model for millions, turning out to be just another man. There are so many rumors out about Woods, that no one knows the truth other than Tiger himself. Who knows how many women he actually slept with, and how many came out just to get their 15 minutes. For a while, it was like a race to see which news agency could find the next woman he had an affair with. And to what end? I’m flabbergasted by the prospect of people being surprised that a grown man had an affair with another woman. How many times has this happened in the history of the human race? Betrayal is a common thread. The world’s most prominent religion is built upon betrayal. So we should be surprised that Woods, a person who has never tried to say he was an upstanding man, betrayed his wife? The man plays golf, and he plays it well. When it’s all said and done, he will probably beat Jack

Nicklaus’ Major record. And I say good for Tiger. I’m not a fan of the man because he’s a model citizen, or he looks good on the side of a Wheatie’s box, or he does a mean Gillette commercial. I’m a fan of the man because he’s the best golfer that has played the game in generations. It’s ironic that I write this, and just below this story, the weekly editorial cartoon is poking fun at Woods. But it would be the same situation for any other “celebrity” in the public eye. A.J. Hammer once said on “Showbiz Tonight” that when people become celebrities, they relinquish any rights they have to privacy. I don’t necessarily agree, but it’s hard to argue against that notion. Woods was in the public eye, and he messed up. But whereas this was a family matter, that should be settled internally with him and his wife, it was blown into a national controversy that often garnered more coverage than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. The economy took a backseat to “Tiger Watch” or “Tigergate,” the latter of which I just find purely ridiculous. He’s not even the first sports figure to cheat on his wife. Granted, he’s the most popular to ever get caught in the act, but let’s not act like this is something that’s completely uncommon. But it all goes back to that insatiable desire for the media to break that next big story. Then from there, everyone copies the next agency because no one wants to be left in the dust. One station might have a panel debating the merits of the affair, so another station brings on one of the alleged mistresses. A third agency trumps them both by bringing on two mistresses. It’s insulting. Meanwhile, Joe Blogger Monkey pecks at his keyboard and millions tune in. It’s days like these that make me embarrassed for some members in my field.

THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGIAN Founded in 1926 veritas sempiterna

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief - Joshua Rouse News Editor - Jim Horinek A&E Editor - Rachel Engel Sports Editor - Bennett Dewan Copy Editor - Justin Cliburn Back Page Editor - Monica Garner Digital Editors - Kyle Luetters and Michael Faggett

Newsroom Staff Financial Officer - Susan Hill Staff Writers - Rashmi Thapaliya, Amanda Finch, Alyssa Knerr, Tori Strecker, Tatiana Isis and Amanda Phillips. Circulation Manager - Matthew Penick

Faculty Adviser Dr. Christopher Keller

About Us The official student newspaper of Cameron University, The Cameron Collegian is available each Monday during the year. It is printed by the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Letters Policy Letters to the editor will be printed in the order in which they are received and on a space available basis. The Collegian reserves the right to edit all letters for content and length. Letters should be no more than 250 words. Letters from individual authors will be published only once every four weeks. All letters from students should include first and last names, classification and major. No nicknames will be used. Letters from people outside the Cameron community should include name, address and phone number for verification. Letters can be sent by regular mail or e-mail to collegian@cameron.edu, or they may be dropped off at our office - Nance Boyer 2060.

Our Views The opinions expressed in The Collegian pages or personal columns are those of the signed author. The unsigned editorial under the heading “Our Voice” represents the opinion of the majority of the editorial board. The opinions expressed in The Collegian do not necessarily represent those of Cameron University or the state of Oklahoma. Our student media are designated public forums, and free from censorship and advance approval of content. Because content and funding are unrelated, and because the role of adviser does not include advance review of content, student media are free to develop editorial policies and news coverage with the understanding that students and student organizations speak only for themselves. Administrators, faculty, staff or other agents shall not consider the student media’s content when making decisions regarding the media’s funding or faculty adviser.

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Sports

February 22, 2010

Cheer squad qualifies for Nationals By Tatiana Isis Collegian Staff

Photos by Bennett Dewan

Spirit is not for the faint of heart: Freshman Amber Spurlin (above) leads the Aggie fans in a cheer with the help of her spotters at a home basketball game this season. Taylor Cudd (right) performs a straddle from a basket-toss for the hometown spectators in the Aggie Gym. Spurlin and Cudd are two of 10 freshmen to join the revamped squad that is headed to Nationals.

Looking much more like a member of the squad than the cheer coach, Coach Robin Martin encouraged her team to get up and cheer, or at least practice, at early morning cheer practice in the Fitness Center. The young coach, who has only been at Cameron for three cheer seasons, has managed to lead the team all the way to Nationals this year. “They haven’t been to Nationals since 93,” Martin said. In order to qualify, the Cameron Aggie Cheerleaders spent two months putting together an audition tape of their basic stunts. A week later they had been accepted and are now going to the NCA/ NDA Collegiate Cheer & Dance Championship. The Nationals are being held in Daytona, Florida, from April 7 - 11 at the Band Shell/ Ocean

Aggie sports have accompaniment By Michael Faggett Collegian Staff A consistent fan of Aggie sports typically sees three things at a home game: two teams playing for a win; Ole Kim attempting to pump up the crowd and the Pick Axe Band performing during the games. The history of Cameron University’s athletics and Ole Kim are well known and easily researchable, but that is not the case with the Pick Axe Band. Music Assistant Professor Dr. Roy Couch, the band’s director, said the band embodies a group of students who share a love for music. “The band derives from the concert band here on campus,” Dr. Couch said. “The band consists of both [music] majors and non-majors who show an interest in music.” Dr. Couch has directed the band for the last two years, which is the same amount of time he has taught on campus. According to Couch, prior to him joining the Music Department, the band included members of the community who wanted to play. Couch changed the band to exclusively involve Cameron students. “[The Pick Axe Band] is a good way to interact with students,” Dr. Couch said. That interaction includes members enrolling in a class specifically for the band. Couch said the class meets for eight weeks during both spring

and fall semesters. Couch also said that the class is scheduled simultaneously during the basketball and volleyball seasons. “It is the closest thing we have to a marching band here, so we try to schedule the class during the same time as basketball and volleyball,” Couch said. In addition to home games, the Pick Axe Band plays at pep rallies, student orientations and other university-related functions. Similar to a marching band, the Pick Axe Band plays band tunes: tunes fans can recognize throughout the game, according to Couch. Couch said he selects the music and uses the library, catalogs, online sources, fellow band directors and other venues to pick the music for the band. “We try to play new music as the seasons progress,” Couch said. Freshman music major Dermonte Adams plays saxophone in the Pick Axe Band. He said he has enjoyed his experience as a band member. “As a freshman, I am both privileged and excited to be on a college pep band,” Adams said. “It has always been one of my dreams to play sax for a college team, and here I am getting paid for something I

would pay to do.” Adams also said he feels a bond with the band as they continually play at home games. “It feels great to be in the band; it is like a mini family to me,” Adams said. The band, according to Couch, receives great support from the Athletic Department. “The Athletic Department is very supportive, which is unusual for some bands,” Couch said. That support includes paying for the band’s t-shirts, the music the band renders during home games and a small stipend for band members. “We really appreciate Jim Jackson and the Athletic Department,” Couch said. “There probably would not be a Pick Axe Band without them.” Adams said the band gets support from the athletic department as well as the players. “Both players and staff compliment and thank us for playing at the game,” Adams said. Students who are interested in joining the Pick Axe Band can contact Dr. Couch either in his office or online at rcouch@ cameron.edu.

Photo by Bennett Dewan

Bringing the brass hardware: The Cameron Pick Axe Band plays the ‘Theme from Rocky,’ during a timeout in a game against the University of Central Oklahoma.

Center, a big change of scenery for the Lawton squad. “The stage will be on the beach, with the ocean as a backdrop,” Martin said. With thousands of people in attendance last year, the girls seem ready to perform in front of a big crowd. “We’re not going just to go; we are only going because we know we can win,” said Martin, confident that her squad can take home the trophy. “We came a really long way,” said Sociology major and cheer squad co-captain Jamie Bayne. She and Jordan Jones, Public Relations major and co-captain as well, are the only two who made it from last year’s cheer squad. All other members are freshmen, all of them from Oklahoma and most of them high school cheerleaders before coming to Cameron. The squad practices three times a week and cheers at least two games a week. They cheer for every

sports team at Cameron and are even set to show support at the March 30 tennis match on campus. Their trademark move? The fist pump, of course. Long before it was made popular by MTV’s Jersey Shore, Martin brought it to life during last summer’s Cheer Camp. “It was 106 degree weather in San Marcos,” and the solution to cheering her squad up, Martin said. This isn’t the new squad’s only claim to fame. Last fall one of the cheerleaders, Melissa Solis, was named Cheerleader of the Week in Sports Illustrated. Solis had a pictorial taken on campus and was featured on the SI Web site. Since then, Martin has received dozens of inquiries for next season. “I sent out over 40 cheerleading packets,” said Martin, who plans on having a team of at least 20 next season. Unfortunately, the publicity that the SI feature brought was not able to bring translate into more fundraising success. The squad has set about on a new effort for financial assistance. To help the team in its fundraising effort, supporters can purchase a two-year ESPN Magazine subscription from any one of the 13 members of the squad or from Martin herself. The subscription only costs $40 with $30 going directly to the cheer squad.

GAMES continued from page 1 “We just want to keep getting better and we pride ourselves on playing every possession. Sometimes when you get up big, and you haven’t experienced that a ton, you lose focus. We just didn’t want to lose focus,” Webb said. Coach Webb’s team never faltered down the stretch, due to their aggressive play, great shooting and dominant performance on both the offensive and defensive glass. Senior Tera Tremayne, playing in her last homecoming game at Aggie Gymnasium, led the team with 14 rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end. As the horn sounded, and the near-capacity crowd cheered on the victorious Aggies, the scoreboard read Cameron 80, East Central 66. With the win the Aggies took sole possession of fifth place in the LSC North and kept their playoff hopes alive. With the largest attendance of the season Coach Webb was thrilled to give the “Aggie Faithful” a victory and hopes that continued success for his team will translate into a full cheering section in future games as well. “This crowd was awesome, this campus is amazing. If we get this team going like we want to,” Web said, “we could have this Gym like this every night.” The men’s game tipped off just 20 minutes after the women’s team walked out of Aggie Gym with a 14-point victory. The Aggies, playing with a shortened seven-man bench, were outsized throughout the game by a much taller and longer ECU team. Head Coach Wade Alexander new that his team would be at an athletic disadvantage from the very beginning. “They are just a lot bigger than us and a lot quicker than us. They shot threes really well, it made it tough for us to stay in our zone as they just killed us from behind the line.” The game was mainly decided from behind the three-point line, as both teams combined for 78

attempts from behind-the-arc. Cameron, spurred on by a loud hometown crowd, jumped out to a lead early in the game off of their stellar outside shooting. The team shot almost 47 percent from the three-point line and 42.9 percent from the field in the first half. The Aggies went into the locker room down by eight, not because of losing the battles in the post, but because the Tigers’ outside shooting heated up in the latter part of the first stanza. The main reason for Cameron’s defensive lock-down inside was post presence Jamaar Burke. The Toronto native led the game with two blocks and altered many others. Burke also had arguably the highlight of the game when he took a lobpass from Freshman Paul Jewell and threw down a one-handed alley-oop. Burke was not the only player to make a big impact for the Aggies. Nikola Vukadinovic led the Aggies in both scoring and three pointers made. Vukadinovic had 29 points for the game, with only five of his points not coming from behind the threepoint line. Coach Alexander has been working with Vukadinovic, who is starting as a true-Freshman, on making the Guard a solid all-around player. “Niko is figuring things out slowly. Offensively he’s just about got it, defensively he still needs to catch up a little bit to really get there,” Alexander said. Despite Vukadinovic’s offensive explosion and 22 points from Jacquez Williams, the Aggies were never able to close the gap. In the second half, the Aggies were unable to repeat their prior shooting success and were playing catch-up for the remainder of regulation. Despite a few comeback attempts by CU, the team fell to the Tigers by a final score of 91-81. The last buzzer brought about, not only the culmination of the game, but also signaled the end of homecoming festivities for another year.

Sports

February 22, 2010

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Delayed season start does not hamper Aggies

Photo by Bennett Dewan

So fresh, but not clean: Senior Left Fielder Alex “the Lion” Lyons slides safely into third-base last season at McCord Field.

By Amanda Phillips Collegian Staff For many, the start of baseball season marks the beginning of spring and warmer weather. Th is year, though, the sport has not been an accurate indicator of the weather to come, as the Cameron Aggie baseball team’s schedule has been marred by cancellations, with the first five games being rescheduled due to winter weather conditions. However, the team fi nally kicked off their season on Feb. 12 and 13 with

a pair of double headers against Angelo State in San Angelo, TX. The no. 28 ranked Aggies won three of the four games they played against the no. 18 Rams. The team won the first game of the weekend 8-4 and took the second game 8-7 after two extra innings. Angelo State came back to capture the first game on the second day of the series 19-9, but Cameron dominated the second game, winning 20-6. Baseball coach Todd Holland said he was very pleased with the way his team performed

against the Rams. “We played really well for our first weekend. We played with good intensity and just kept chipping away and got the job done,” Holland said. Holland said the team’s eagerness to play was a contributing factor to the team’s victories. “The guys hadn’t even seen grass at our field before they played, so they were just excited to see a field and play,” Holland said. Pitching was a huge aspect of Cameron’s success in their first games of the season. Senior Keith Powell and Sophomore Justin Watley pitched impressive games in the first two match ups, and both earned a perfect 0.00 ERA. Powell also threw a respectable three strikeouts. Holland said he was really happy with Powell’s performance. “Keith just shut Angelo down. It was amazing,” Holland said. “He just dominated.” Sophomore Logan Grimes pitched the fi nal winning game and earned an 8.10 ERA, though Holland said the ERA is not an accurate reflection of how well Grimes pitched in the fourth game. “Logan gave up some fl iers

and some bleeders, but he really had a dominating performance,” Holland said. “His ERA is deceiving.” Considering that the weather has forced the team to practice under poor conditions, Holland said he was very impressed with the entire pitching staff. “I didn’t really know what to expect from the pitching staff. Because of the weather, they had just been pitching on carpet and hadn’t been on a mound in two weeks before we played, but they came out and took care of business,” Holland said. Pitching was not the only stellar aspect of the Aggies’ performance against Angelo State. The team showed off its’ hitting talent as well. Senior outfielder Alex Lyons had a big weekend at the plate, scoring nine runs, driving in 10 and earning a .526 batting average. Holland was very happy with Lyons’ level of play. “Alex really stepped up,” Holland said. “He squared everything up and really just picked up where he fi nished last year.” Senior Codi Harshman, also an outfielder, equaled Lyons’ batting average of .526 and had seven RBI’s, the second highest of the team. Harshman put up

numbers with which Holland was more than pleased. “Codi was huge over the weekend. Not only was he one of our best defensive outfielders, but he had quality at bats,” Holland said. “He stepped up in big-time situations.” Holland said that he was really impressed with the team’s hitting as a whole. “We squared up well, and we were barreling balls. I kept seeing Angelo running to the fence to pick up balls,” Holland said. “We always came up with that big hit when we needed it.” Overall, Holland said he was pleased with the men’s performance as a team. “They all played well together as a team. There were no I-guys. They all gelled together well,” Holland said. Though Cameron played well in the season’s first match up, Holland said that because the team missed out on the first few scheduled games, and with weather threatening to push back more games, he still is not sure what to expect for the year. “It’s hard to say this early what the season is going to be like,” Holland said. “We’re just going to try to play as many games and win as many games as we can.”

Women’s basketball picking up momentum By Tatiana Isis Collegian Staff With a big win on Feb. 10 against the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers, the Cameron Womens Basketball team appeared destined to make the playoffs. “It was a good game,” said head coach Tom Webb, who says his team was at the free-throw line more than the Texas team. Senior post Amber Schroer played a great game, with 10 of her 14 points coming during the second half alone. Leading the Aggies in scoring was Junior Guard Josie Stewart, who put up 16 on 6-14 shooting. Luv Rattler and Alexis Williams also scored double-digit points with 14 and 10 points respectively. While Rattler led the team in assists with seven total, Senior Guard Tera Tremayne posted yet another double-digit rebounding performance with a game-high 11 boards. The Aggies had won three out of four games in the Lone Star Conference North Division with the 69-62 defeat of Texas

Woman’s and were ready for their Feb. 13 game against the Central Oklahoma Bronchos, who won the season’s earlier matchup 89-69. Webb had previously stated that the team needed to be more physical in their game against UCO because “they killed us inside last time,” but the game ended in a disappointing loss, which put CU back at three games out of playoff contention with four games to go. “They were more physical. We were a step behind, a step slow,” said Webb, who recalls that the opposing team players were “older, Juniors and Seniors,” and had more experience. The Aggies were down 40-30 at halftime, with Junior Guard Josie Stewart leading the team in scoring with a game-high 23 points on 6-15 shooting. Alexis Williams and Luv Rattler were also double-digit scorers, with 12 and 11 points respectively. But the 87-66 loss to UCO isn’t discouraging. Webb says his team is ready for the next four games and, potentially, the playoffs.

“If you assess your whole life on one day, then you’re in big trouble,” Webb said. “We’re all fighting for fi fth right now. “We have to play hard, take care of ourselves.” Webb said his team is excited about the Homecoming game but, with a new team of ladies, it feels like the program has been “reborn.” “None of them have experienced it before,” Webb said. “It’s more learning than it is anything else; we’re very excited. Everything as a whole is working, progressing.” “A lot of people are tapering down, but we have to be more aggressive,” said Webb, who jokingly told his team “if you don’t bring excitement to practice, I will run the excitement out of you.” The Aggies have four more games to qualify for the playoffs and will be playing Southeastern Oklahoma State, East Central University, Northeastern State and Texas A&M-Commerce within the next two weeks to make it to the Lone Star Conference Championships in Bartlesville.

Photo by Bennett Dewan

Just like Kareem, the skyhook: Freshman Guard Alexis Williams shoots a one-handed hook-shot inside the key.

After delay, Softball season underway By Tori Strecker Collegian Staff

Photo by Bennett Dewan

Pumped up: Sophomore Carrie Harvey reacts to a strikeout during a home game last season.

The 2010 Cameron University softball team kicked off their season at the St. Mary’s Invitational in San Antonio, Texas. The Aggies ended the weekend with a 2-3 record, defeating Texas A&MKingsville 8-1 and TexasPermian Basin 4-1, while falling to Tarleton State 4-1, no. 22 West Texas A&M 13-0 and Eastern New Mexico 8-4. The team has seen several weather delays thus far, and head coach Beth Watson said she is glad to finally get the season underway. “It was good to finally get on the field and play some other competition besides ourselves,” Watson said. “It gave us a good indicator of where we are and what we need to be focusing on.” According to Watson, the tournament exposed a number of things, both good and bad.

“Overall, I was fairly pleased with our play,” Watson said. “There were several bright spots but there were also some not-so-good spots as well. We made some mistakes that were surprising, but hopefully we will get those ironed out and be ready to get back out there and play.” While the Aggies didn’t quite begin their season as they had hoped, Watson said there are a number of factors to take into consideration. “I think the rough start can be blamed, in part, to first game jitters,” Watson said. “We have several new faces and it may take some time for everybody to get a feel for each other’s game face. The plus side is that we have those games under our belt now, and we can move on.” This season’s roster does in fact contain six freshmen and, according to Watson, this proved to be beneficial at the team’s first showing. “Our freshman did a really

great job at this tournament,” Watson said. “It may not show in their statistics but just their poise and approach to the game were both really positive things for us.” Freshman outfielder Amanda Karth put up big numbers and dominated at the plate. She led Watson’s offensive attack, ending the tournament with a .429 batting average and landing her first collegiate home run. Despite a rocky start for the Aggies, Watson isn’t wasting any time. She, along with her coaching staff, is working to motivate and prepare the team for future games. “After the tournament at St. Mary’s, the team’s overall goal shifted,” Watson said. “We began to focus on the details of the game such as throwing to targets, hitting cutoffs, moving runners and putting pressure on the opponent’s defense. These are all intangible qualities that have the potential to change the complexion of the

game, so it is important that we do them correctly.” As an athlete, losing is never easy, especially at the collegiate level. However, the Aggies seem to do a good job at pushing through and refocusing in the midst of bad games, Watson said. “The team does a pretty good job at bouncing back after a bad performance,” Watson said. “The athletes do spend some time ref lecting, but overall we have proven to be pretty resilient.” Watson believes she has a talented group of athletes and, because the season is still young, fighting back should not be a problem. “We have had a couple of good talks and done a few team building exercises, and I feel like we are ready to get back out on the field. When you are on a rollercoaster, as we have been, all you really want to do is get back out there, play some more games and be consistent, which is exactly what we will do.”

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A&E

February 22, 2010

‘Anatolia’ author visits Cameron

“At Harvard I studied and got my degree in Economics,” Collegian Staff Shivani said. Coming into a field based in It takes years of study, the liberal arts from a mathresearch and dutiful publication based system may seem like an to be considered an expert in a oddity, but Shivani recommends field. It is rare to be so labeled a similar path for young writers. by one’s peers in one area of “Don’t get a degree in study; it is even more rare to be literature,” Shivani said. “I say deemed an expert in multiple that half-jokingly. Many of disciplines. the great writers of the past, Anis Shivani is one of the and even today if you look at latter few that has been able to their backgrounds, they were garner respect and acclaim in many academic avenues. Shivani carpenters, lawyers, engineers and physicians. is a published It almost helps poet, short to have done “My book tells story writer, something else, book critic and stories in a very to have some life media scholar, straight forward, experience to as well as a draw upon.” old-fashioned, burgeoning Shivani has narrative way. I don’t novelist. drawn on his When do any postmodern vast experience Shivani came as a researcher tricks. I don’t do to Cameron for the National any pyrotechnics or University Bureau of as a part of metafiction.” Economic the “Visiting Research, Writers — Anis Shivani and his work Series,” he covering the read from Author World Trade his published Organization, compilation terrorism and of short globalization to construct stories “Anatolia,” and shared believable stories that are not extensively from his vast literary like many of the derivative and worldly knowledge. Not following the traditional mainstream works being produced. route to literary success, In “Anatolia,” which was Shivani received his Ivy League published last November, education in a discipline far Shivani harkened back to an from English studies. older style to tell the stories of relatable characters in various cultures and settings. “My book tells stories in a very straight forward, old-fashioned, narrative way. I don’t do any postmodern tricks,” Shivani said. “I don’t do any pyrotechnics or metafiction.” Within the stories, Shivani seeks to break from fashionable trends in American fiction. In most popular stories, he feels the author is presenting a morbid Courtesy Photo sense of everyday life.

By Bennett Dewan

Photo by Bennett Dewan

Pen to paper: Author, poet, and media scholar Anis Shivani made an appearance at Cameron University as part of the Visiting Writers Series on Feb. 12. Shivani read from his book, “Anatolia”, a compilation of short stories. He also signed copies of the book for students during the event. “These novels give you a real perverted and twisted sense of what people are all about. They are addicted, dysfunctional and ultimate nihilists. Their Grandma is dying of Alzheimer’s or cancer and they are just grieving and grieving.” With the stagnation of the U.S. literary voice, large publishers have inundated the Photo courtesy of Anis Shivani market with very Family ties: Anis Shivani and his wife pose next to the Cameron seal similar authors presenting similar inside of the CETES expansion. ideas. Although print was itself a the Internet in its current Shivani, as a technological innovation when amalgamation. member of the National Book moveable type was introduced “The internet is not doing Critics Circle (NBCC), keeps in 1440, Shivani does not anywhere near what it needs to a close watch over the trends believe that the digital product be doing. The blogosphere is in the publishing industry. He is superior to the printed word. has watched the literary malaise not really getting it. It is trivial “I do not buy in to the doomand passionate, but there is give birth to a movement and-gloom stuff surrounding not solid work being produced among smaller publishers books and the Kindle,” he said. there. They have to catch up; who are making in-roads into “Nothing can replace the book. someone has to fill the gaps,” the mainstream with new Some publishers may go out of Shivani said. authors from different cultural business, which may be good in As many critics are backgrounds. the end, but what will emerge lamenting the substitution of “There are writers out there will be something stronger, a the physical text for the digital in, other parts of the world, renaissance of the book.” medium, Shivani does not that are pushing the publishing believe that hard copies will industry. I do not think that be a thing of the past. He has the publishers are looking out written extensively for those people; they are just on the death of bubbling up from below. They print-publication, are just so good, they can no longer be ignored,” Shivani said. including a detailed essay for the Technology is often credited NBCC, and is as the genesis for globalization. adamant that The Internet has provided the industry has “a voice for the voiceless,” in declared its own many cases, but Shivani is demise prematurely. quick to point out f laws with

A&E

February 22, 2010

9

‘Almost Maine’ completely perfect By Rachel Engel Collegian Staff The week after Valentine’s Day was the perfect time to premiere the Cameron University Department of Theatre Arts production of John Cariani’s ‘Almost Maine,’ a play composed of nine sketches, each allowing a glimpse into the lives of the people who live in the fictional “almost town” of Almost,

Maine. Directed by Scott Richard Klein, all of the scenes centered on the theme of love, or lost love. In the opening scene titled ‘Pete’s Front Yard’, Pete, played by Josh Fortney, and Ginette, played by Brett Jolly, profess their love for each other on a wooden park bench. However, Pete unknowingly pushes Ginette away by telling her that even though logically they are the closest to each other they could be, technically they are the farthest they could be, claiming that one would have to walk all the way around the world to get back to the other person. Pete is left sitting bewildered on the bench as Ginette walks away. Leah Mazur plays Glory in the next scene titled ‘Her Heart,’ and is discovered standing in the front yard of East, played by Christopher Jefferson. When East questions why she is in his yard, Glory explains that she is paying respects to her husband as he uses the Northern Lights as a torch to find his way to heaven. Clutching a velvet drawstring bag, which she claims holds the pieces

of her broken heart, a direct result tattoo attempt on Jimmy’s arm, of her husband leaving her for depicting a misspelling of the word someone else. Glory is astonished ‘villain’ as ‘villian’. However, Mazur when East kisses her unexpectedly. comes back and introduces herself Mazur plays the part wonderfully, as Villian, to which Jimmy replied, with dramatic facial expressions and “I’m glad I found you.” a sarcastic hint to her voice that sent The following scene entitled giggles throughout the audience. ‘This Hurts,’ featured Stephanie The scene Hesse playing ends Marvalyn, “Mazur plays the part with East a woman literally wonderfully, with dramatic ironing her attempting laundry at facial expressions and to put Ma Dudley’s a sarcastic hint to her Glory’s Boarding broken House. While voice that sent giggles heart back putting up throughout the audience.” together. her ironing In board, she ‘Sad and accidentally Glad’, Gordon Tahquechi plays hits Steve, played by Bryan West Jimmy, a man yearning for his in the head. He asked her if it hurt, ex-girlfriend, Sandrine, played because he can’t feel pain, and if it by Hannah Brock, at the local did hurt, he needed to write ‘ironing bar called The Moose Paddy in board’ down in the list of things that Almost, Maine. After bumping into can hurt him. Finding him sweet, Sandrine at the bar, and realizing Marvalyn kisses him, and suddenly, she is on her honeymoon, Jimmy he’s able to feel pain. tells Sandrine he is “glad she was One of the most memorable found” by someone. The waitress, sketches was a scene titled “Getting played by Mazur, continues to It Back.” Mazur plays Gail, a interrupt the two by letting them woman on the verge of leaving her know that the house special is free long-time boyfriend Lendall, played drinks if you are sad. Sandrine by Tahquechi, because of his silent leaves after discovering a botched refusal to marry her. In the middle

of the night, she shows up at his door, and demands that he return all the love she’s given him. She then proceeds to bring in bag after bag full of his love, in a sense, “giving his love back.” Bewildered, he retrieves a small red pouch, claiming it was all the love she gave him. Confused, and certain she had given him more, she opens the pouch to examine her returned love, and inside is an engagement ring. Gail is speechless, and Lendall explains that she had given him so much love, he had run out of places to put it. The scene ends with the couple embracing and her admiring her ring behind his back. The set design was over the top for the production and an obvious amount of work had gone into it, with a backdrop of painted fir trees in the shape of a semi-circle, mimicking that of a snow globe. The floor and wooden platforms were painted a combination of white and light blue, with purple specks to give the effect of piled snow. With the caliber of acting and the careful planning of turning the set into a winter wonderland, reminiscent of typical New England winters, ‘Almost Maine’ was a successful start to the 2010 production year.

New ‘Alien vs. Predator‘ falls short of predecessors By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff Whoever wins, gamers may be disappointed with Sega’s “Alien vs. Predator.” The 1999 PC classic, of the same name, became a gaming cult classic. It pitted the quick, menacing Alien against the stealthy, deadly Predator with pitiful human Marines trapped in the middle. Much like its predecessor, the 2010 update features three separate campaigns that allow the player to take control of each species. So with three separate campaigns, and the multiplayer suite that made the game famous, what could go wrong? The problem with “Alien vs. Predator” is not that the game is necessarily bad, but it’s just not as good as other first-person shooters. In a world where “Modern Warfare” and “Halo” are household names, with streamlined gameplay, it’s hard to go back to the 2000 standard of shooters. Medpacks, weapon drops and map design all harken back to a simpler day of slaughtering pitiful fools online. However, if playing like it’s 1999 is right up your alley, then “Alien vs.

Predator” is something to take a look at. Each campaign lasts between two to three hours. They are fairly short, but the three of them together add up to a solid game. Charles Bishop Weyland (voiced by Lance Henrickson) returns in what seems like his third or fourth iteration in this universe. Luckily, the game pretty much ignores the two “Alien vs. Predator” movies, which did more harm than good for the license. There is hardly any story to the campaigns. As a Marine, you’re just trying to survive an onslaught of Aliens and Predators. As the Predator, you’re having fun stalking pathetic humans and the more challenging Alien. And as the famous Xenomorph, you’re crawling all over walls and ceilings so much that you don’t know which way is up. But stabbing people through the chest with your tail, or eviscerating their heads with your second mouth is always satisfying. The multiplayer suite is a little lacking but manages to get the job done with the promise of additional maps in the future. Each map is tailored to a specific species, but each playable race is balanced so well that not one creature has an advantage on any

map. You’ll have to change your play style when you switch from the Marine to either the Predator or Alien. But a talented player should be able to master all three of the races, which offers the most fun. The graphics are sufficient; however, they are not, as a whole, very impressive. The lighting used during the Marine campaign is very impressive, especially on a PC with DirectX11 hardware. The console graphics are average and fairly bland. Both the PC and console versions suffer from an oversaturation of brown and black, but it fits the universe well. The entire game drips with atmosphere and feels like an Alien or Predator experience, more so than either of the two recent movies. From two franchises that spawned two governors and helped jumpstart the career of the most successful director in Hollywood, one would expect tender love and care when developing anything related to the project. “Alien vs. Predator” may not carry the weight that its predecessors did a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less fun. It’s an old-school game with some old-school mechanics that might deter some newer gamers. Don’t join a match in

MCT Campus

Alien invasion: The latest update to “Alien vs. Predator” lacks the gameplay that previous versions boasted, but the special effects have improved dramatically. “Alien vs. Predator” and expect to play like in “Call of Duty.” But to those who remember fragging

each other on the original game, you won’t have time to bleed, and everyone will hear you scream.

Higher campus enrollment extends to Greek life By Alyssa Knerr Collegian Staff For the past two semesters, enrollment at Cameron University has been growing rapidly, which has had a similar effect on CU’s Greek Life. Head Cheerleading Coach and Student Activities Specialist Greek Adviser Robin Martin says the growth on campus has made a huge impact on the Greek system.

“Absolutely the enrollment has been phenomenal,” Martin said. “Just the beautification of campus has helped Greek enrollment also. I mean, it always does. They had a great spring rush recruitment just now, so I definitely believe it has.” Right now on campus, there are three sororities and three fraternities. Martin says the campus has grown considerably in size and students since she started working here. “Since I have been here we have added a few more [Greek societies] to campus and there are a few more in the process of getting recognized on campus,” she said. In the past, some societies chose to remain in the background of but are now starting to become more involved on campus. “The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority has always been here but they are starting to do more within the Greek system,” Martin said. “They used to be very private, so now they are

starting to attend our meetings, which are really fun.” The two other sororities on campus are Alpha Phi and Sigma Alpha Omega. “We have two female groups that are doing really good too,” she said. “Cameron has the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and then the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, who are also trying to establish themselves on campus.” For the fraternities at Cameron, students have the choice to pick Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Lambda Chi or Sigma Tau Gamma. “The ones that we have right now that are applying and doing really great are the Sigma Rhomeos and the Mu Alpha Chis,” Martin said. The numbers within each society are increasing as well. In each group there are about 10 to 20 people, which Martin said is a pretty big group. “When you take away the houses and away all of those traditional things when you think of Greeks, we have a very small space for them, but they

keep a great enrollment,” she said. “Of course, our goal is 30 so we would love to have that come fall, but, like I said, they are building and doing a really good job.” Mu Alpha Chi will be out this semester but the other fraternity is still recruiting and saying they are a member of CU’s campus, she said. Mu Alpha Chi is an example of gaining a chapter on campus. “What they have to do is go through a process,” Martin said. “They have a national office and then we have Cameron’s system. They have to be approved through their national office to see if they are allowed to have a chapter of a sorority or fraternity at Cameron University.” To start an organization there has to be at least 7 members and an adviser. Although, unlike an art club or broadcasting club,

where you can start doing what you wanted in the first place, Cameron has to approve the organization, then they have to get in contact with the national office. “Then it becomes where they say certain parts become extremely private, and it is just a very long process,” Martin said. “There is a lot of tradition and a lot of stuff that they have to make sure goes on.” As CU’s Greek life adds new members and new organizations, the increase in enrollment shows the student population has not only helped Cameron, but has helped more women and men to find a family in the Greek system.

10

Variety

February 22, 2010

Homecoming Memories

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HOMECOMING continued from page 1 “It’s a little sad knowing this is my last time to run for anything like this, with only a few months until the end of school,” he said. Junior Biology and Chemistry major Sadikshya Bhandari was the second runner up for homecoming queen and represented the Chemistry Club. Representing Criminal Justice, the first runners up for homecoming king and queen were seniors Timothy Myers and Alexis Garner. Faucett and Finch then announced senior Miracle Akinwale as the 2010 homecoming king. Akinwale is an international student from Nigeria, and represented Student Housing in the nominations. An Electronics Engineering major, Akinwale plans to go to graduate school upon leaving Cameron, and eventually work for an oil company. When he is not in class, he is working in student housing, working with computers or hanging out with friends. “It was surprising,” he said of his win. “I was very excited.” When Akinwale was announced as the homecoming king, the crowd erupted in cheers, leaving Finch waiting for an opportunity to announce the queen. After a few minutes, the audience died down enough for her to speak, proclaiming Amina Fix as the 2010 homecoming queen. “It was surprising,” Fix said. “There were so many candidates, and we really wanted to win it together.” Fix also represented Student Housing, and is a junior Biology major. After graduating from Cameron, she plans to either go on to medical school or pursue a master’s in forensic science. In her spare time she enjoys paintball, playing piano and spending time with her friends and family. Before the crowning of the king and queen, the Criminal Justice Department was named the No. 1 Aggie Fan competition winner. Throughout the week, departments and organizations participated in a number of different spirit contests, including window painting, creating banners and building decorations. The coronation ceremony ended a week long celebration of school pride. Activities began on Monday, Feb. 15 with comedian Roy Wood Jr., followed by a performance on Tuesday, Feb. 16 by Plastic Musik. Voting for king and queen took place on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and Thursday, Feb. 18. Thursday evening brought the Homecoming Dance to the Shepler Ballroom. On Friday, Feb. 19, a bonfire was held in the South Village Parking Lot, and a Tailgate Party at noon on Saturday, Feb. 20 was the official lead up to both homecoming games against the ECU Tigers.

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