The Cameron University Collegian: October 13, 2008.

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

Informing the Cameron Family Since 1926

Monday, October 13, 2008

News

Flags author to speak of heroism

Where do they stand?

SEE PAGE 3

A&E

Volume 83 Issue 7

Photo courtesy of the CU Community Relations

The author: James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers, will be on campus on Oct. 21.

By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff John Bradley had a story to tell about his life.

But he never told a single person.

Today, James Bradley, the son of the Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class in World War II, is using the memory of his father and men like him to help people.

“I’m doing lectures on ‘doing the impossible,’”

Bradley said. “I’m giving examples of people throughout history who found themselves in tight boxes, but somehow managed to find their way out.”

Bradley will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 at the Cameron University Theatre on doing the impossible. Janet Williams, the Director of Media Relations at Cameron University, said Bradley’s speeches are testaments to men and women every day who do the impossible in ordinary life.

“Whether it is in time of war or in achieving goals at work and at home, he salutes those who believe in making a MCT Campus difference and creating success,” she said. “Motivating people The heroes: James Bradley’s father was one of the soldiers to do their best and seek out that raised the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima. challenges, Bradley uses stories and examples to help audiences understand what within grasp. In the Pacific Theater, American they can do to overcome the impossible.” forces were continuing a bloody island hopping Bradley’s father was one of the five men who strategy against Japan. In the Pacific Theater, raised the flag at Iwo Jima in Joe Rosenthal’s the fate of both sides hinged on control of the famous photograph. The picture became iconic island. and was used on the home front to help boost moral and support for the war in the Pacific.

During the spring of 1945, Nazi Germany See Bradley was being pushed back by Allied forces in the Page 2 European Theater and it looked as if peace was

Oral History Project records CU’s rich story

By Bira Vidal Collegian Staff

Gamer gets in depth tour of Halo 3.

SEE PAGE 5

Sports

CU tennis has high hopes for season.

SEE PAGE 6

Voices

He will be missed.

SEE PAGE 4

At Cameron University’s KCCU station, faculty, staff, students, and alumni will be sharing their life experiences throughout the academic year. These stories are already an incorporated part of the Centennial Celebration.

The Oral History Project, which is being put together by both Cameron and KCCU, will chronicle the stories of many different individuals. The stories, which will be called “Cameron Centennial Moments,” will help KCCU tell CU’s history through the eyes and lives of people that have impacted or were impacted by Cameron.

These people will record their narration of Cameron’s inf luence on their lives and KCCU will broadcast the recordings every Friday at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the Centennial Celebration.

One of the participants of the Oral History Project is graphic design senior Ann Morris. Morris believes that the project will help preserve the history of Cameron for future

generations.

“I think that history is a vital part of life. I would love to be able to ask the classes from the 1920s and 1930s what life was like here in Oklahoma and if they ever imagined that Lawton would grow to be like it is,” Morris said. “I wonder if they even thought about Cameron being here 100 years later.”

According to Morris, the projects main purpose is to enable CU students and faculty to identify with the different points of view and life stories of, current and past, students and faculty.

“The Cameron Centennial Moment is a chance for the community to get a glimpse into what Cameron is like […] a chance to hear the true stories that people can identify with,” Morris said.

“The purpose is to orally record the experiences of people and their relationship to Cameron in order that others may too share their same experience.”

CU Archives

Snapshots of history: Thousands of historical photos can be found in the CU archives. Much like the Oral History Project, the photos offer a great insight into CU’s rich history.

See HISTORY Page 5

CU International Club offers wordly experiences

By Valerie Pennington Collegian Staff Lawton has, for many decades, been a place that embraces the celebration of cultural diversity.

On Sept. 26 through the 29, the International Festival celebrated its 29 anniversary.

The festival was full of food, art and entertainment from many different cultures around the world.

Cameron University, like Lawton, has a diversified student culture including a multitude of different nationalities. The university provides support to international students through many different programs including student led organizations and a representative that each student can go to for assistance.

Marcella Gustafson, the International Student Administration Coordinator, has been employed with Cameron University since 2004. She started out as the secretary and the following summer

Graphic by Jim Horinek

applied for the coordinator position.

“In June 2005 I applied for the International Student Administration Coordinator position,” Gustafson said. “I act as an advisor on some levels, giving the students advice on anything from obtaining a work authorization to gaining a social security card.”

Gustafson said that this semester there are 262

international students on Cameron’s campus who originate from 45 different countries, and that it is important to provide students with an environment of acceptance and a sense of belonging. Making sure to build a good relationship with the student population is the goal of any administrator.

“The most important part of my job is building relationships and providing a safe environment for these students since they are so far away from home,” Gustafson said.

CU also strives to achieve that goal by not only having an advocate present on campus but also encouraging the students to take part in the International Club.

Vinetta Stanton, an International Languages major, is the current president of the International Club. She was born in Guyana and moved to Grenada at the age of 10 and is fluent in Spanish and French. Stanton said she came to Lawton because Cameron fulfilled her needs as a college student.

See INTERNATIONAL Page 2

News

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October 13, 2008

BRADLEY continued from page 1 “That island smelled of death for years after the battle ended,” Bradley said. “The largest Marine cemetery in the world is located on that island because so many lives were lost trying to take it.”

Out of the horror and death came a symbol that Bradley said America rallied behind. Five Marines hoisted the American flag on a hill on the fifth day of the 35-day battle. While it was a famous symbol and Bradley’s father was a part of history, he remained silent.

“He never talked to me about what happened on that island or his entire experience in the war,” Bradley said. “After he died, I asked my mom to tell me everything he told her.

They had a conversation on their first

date and that was all he said about it for 47 years.”

His father’s silence about the war inspired Bradley to research the battle and learn about the men who raised the flag. He spent many years doing research and calling the families of the other soldiers.

Bradley said it was an enlightening experience for him. Not only did he learn about his dad, but the other soldiers who fought side-by-side with him and helped win the war.

“I called these people and just tried to talk to them as best as I could,” he said. “I would hear things like ‘well my leg was blown off and he came over and helped save my life.’ And I went from there.”

Bradley has had people who have

asked him how he did research and how he tried to discover his father’s past. He said there is no secret to the research he did. Everything he wrote about in his book, Flags of our Fathers, was based off testimonials from survivors and their families.

“I didn’t do any studying,” Bradley said. “I had to find out what my dad was doing. And I found out what he was doing the day the flag raised. I found out what he was doing the day after that and the day after that.”

After he had completed his research, Bradley had finally discovered why his father was so apprehensive about his past. He said that island was hell on Earth and some things are best left unsaid.

“He was a medical officer and he ran from foxhole to foxhole treating people,” Bradley said.

“These foxholes were filled with blood, guts, body parts and dead bodies.”

Bradley, who was now in his 40s, had toyed with the idea of writing a book, but had never thought about it seriously. He looked over his material and said he began writing what would become Flags of our Fathers.

“I didn’t start out with aspirations of writing a book,” Bradley said. “I started out wanting to learn the truth behind what really happened over there.

I just was accidentally shoved into the process of writing.”

Flags of our Fathers was published in 2000 to rave reviews.

Bradley never fathomed how successful the book would eventually become. In 2006, Clint Eastwood directed a film based off the book with Steven Spielberg producing.

“Steven Spielberg bought the rights to the book through Dreamworks and wanted to adapt it into a movie,” Bradley said. “He mulled it for a couple of years, but couldn’t get the vision that he wanted. He approached Eastwood, who immediately took on directing duties.”

The film eventually grossed $65 million at the box office, but to Bradley the true importance of the movie was that it showed an authentic view of what his father and his fellow soldiers went through.

“This was the fourth movie that Hollywood had made about the flag raising,” Bradley said. “But I don’t look at the movie as an adaptation

Photo courtesy of Community Relations

Best-seller: James Bradley’s first book, Flags of Our Fathers, was a best-seller. Bradley is being featured on campus as part of CU’s Centennial Celebration. of my book. I look at it as a movie about what happened.”

Bradley said what the Marines did on Iwo Jima was considered impossible by many. His father was a changed man from the experience, and he wants people to know that while things may be hard at times, they are never impossible.

Something good can always be brought out of the impossible.

“I found a letter in my father’s belongings after he died,” Bradley said. “In the letter, he said that the day he helped raise the flag was the happiest day of his life.”

Bradley’s seminar is free to attend.

A reception and book signing will take place after the presentation.

Tickets are available on a limited basis in the Office of Community Relations in Room 150 of the Administration Building.

INTERNATIONAL continued from page 1 “I chose to study at Cameron University because the price was reasonable and I was also interested in the many languages offered,” Stanton said.

The International Club has been a bridge between international and American students, spreading diversity and encouraging students to share their experiences with one another.

“Students usually give presentations on their native countries,” Stanton said. “I joined the International Club because I wanted to meet people from different countries and learn about their cultures.”

The club is involved in many activities that will benefit Cameron and the Lawton community. They have recently started a book and clothing drive and lent support to

the Lawton Reads reading program.

Students also participated in the Parade of Nations, which kicked off the International Festival at Elmer Thomas Park.

“My main goal as president of the International Club is to create more awareness of the contributions that international students make to the Cameron University and Lawton communities by getting more involved in community service,” Stanton said.

Meetings are usually held twice a month on Friday afternoons at 5 p.m. in the Student Activities Building or the Baptist Student Union. Anyone is welcome to join the club and the dues are set at a reasonable $5.00 per semester. For more information, students can contact Marcella Gustafson via e-mail at mgustafson@ cameron.edu or call 580.581.2838.

Correction As a result of incorrect information in the Sept. 15 issue of the Collegian, Dallas Morgandale was attributed as the artist of a piece of work which appeared on page 1. The piece was actually done by Ginger Hansen. The Collegian apologizes for this error.

See page 6 for solutions.

October 13, 2008

News

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Voices

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October 13, 2008

Thank you, Randy

By Jim Horinek Collegian Staff

F

ew things can capture the essence of the human experience in the way that photos can.

Photography is often associated with the media or modeling. Other people think of their album that contains the pictures of the family trip to Disney World. Regardless of how you view photos or what you think of them, it is almost impossible to deny their power.

It is the talent of the photographer that gives great photos that power. Great photos can tell a story, but the photographer is the one who allows the story to be told.

With the recent passing of Randy Stotler, the art of photography lost one of its great talents. Randy’s photos could be seen almost daily in the LawtonConstitution, where he worked for 18 years. Randy also spent a lot of time behind the camera doing freelance work.

As a photographer, Randy made an impact on all those who viewed his work. My life can definitely be included in the list of lives that Randy touched.

I have been a journalist for over six years, and during that time I have focused primarily on writing, page layout and graphic design. I never considered myself much of a photographer and certainly never dreamed of actually pursuing it.

Photo by Jim Horinek

This all changed shortly after I met Randy.

My first meeting with Randy was less of a meeting and more of a noticing. I was at a Cameron volleyball game and while cheering on the team I noticed a lone photographer standing under the basketball goal. He and I did not speak during this interaction, but his actions spoke much louder than his words could have. I had never really considered this type of photography because it seemed out of reach. You have to understand that I am a somewhat introverted person, and as a result, the thought of being a lone photographer in front of a large group of people was a very disconcerting idea.

When taking pictures Randy had a confidence about him and that confidence helped me to overcome my fear of getting behind the camera.

Shortly after seeing Randy take photos for the first time I went out and bought my first camera.

Because Randy and I had a common thread in photography, we spent much of our time talking about the art. I went to him when I had questions about cameras or what lenses to use in certain situations. Randy is most definitely one of the reasons that I have pursued the art of photography.

Often times creative people are somewhat guarded with the knowledge of their particular art, but this was not the case with Randy. Randy was more than happy

EDITOR’S NOTE: For the staff of the Collegian, Randy Stotler was a friend and a mentor. We have each heard him speak in our journalism classes and his words carried a profound meaning.

While the loss of Randy was tragic, he will never be forgotten.

The sky is falling, public ignores true problems The entire nation has stopped to pay attention to two things lately as the crisis taking over the financial market as Wall Street reaches its low and the bloody election debates between Republicans and Democrats reach their heights.

I know I am not fully able to discuss about American politics because I am from another country, but once you watch too many newscasts talking about the elections and economy you have to stop and think about how far society has come.

First fact from the news: the financial world is upside-down. I did not want to believe that because the economy has been firmly stable for

the past years, but lately Wall Street has faced a new kind of threat that does not come from foreign countries, but rather from within its own system, the slow deterioration of the economy.

I am not an expert to talk about the economy and about the different strategies at Wall Street, but I do know when something becomes a major financial issue to the whole country, and possibly to the world’s economy.

Since the drop in the value of stocks and bonds in New York started hitting the market, a variety of countries started seeing a rise in the inflation. Brazil, for an instance, has seen a fluctuation in its local money currency compared to the dollar.

Because almost everything world

Bira Vidal

wide is based on the dollar, many international markets are struggling to come up with good enough ideas to suppress the madness that is taking over the stock market. High gas prices, rising goods prices and the bankruptcy of America’s most reliable companies are certainly not good signs at all.

But the 2008 presidential election came to take some of the economy crisis attention off the news headlines.

It surely did not work as expected.

We have been seeing two different parties talking about same issues with two distinct points of view, but with no tenable solution. It is easy to sit and discuss the problems the nation is currently facing, but the tough part is to come up with reasonable plans to eradicate the problem from its prime source.

With all the debate coverage, I seriously doubt that those issues will even become a serious talk in the next

weeks until the fateful Election Day. I do not care if some candidate has personal problems and the opposition is trying to uncover them. Those types of behaviors frustrate me in the political world.

And the political sphere will always follow the same equation. A party chooses a Vice-presidential candidate that is a woman to win more votes (or not), and the other one decides retaliate by saying that this is not an easy move because the support still falls under the previous candidate that was not chosen.

All I am trying to say is that the economy is probably going to the dumpster, and the candidates are not even seriously tackling that matter.

“Personal digging” does not serve much unless the candidate has done something terribly wrong, or stated something utterly bad just like a sarcastic joke.

Also, news programs have their share of the blame. Society is starting to become fatigued about the election coverage and financial crisis. It is certainly fine to report from time to time about the situation we are living in, but it is completely cruel to incite fear into the heads of Americans when it comes to money problems.

There are some bright sides for the new era we will be entering though.

The economy will supposedly find its center once the presidential candidate takes his place in the White House and the election process of accusing parties is over. In the end, as a part of the solution for the present insanity taking over the country, people need to see that it does not matter who has more money than who or what political party they belong to.

What society has to understand is that it all comes down to being a solid, united country working together for better times for its people, and for “people,” I mean everybody. I guess we lived long enough since Abraham Lincoln’s period to shamefully forget that together we stand, divided we fall.

to pass on his expertise in the art of photography. As a result, I have grown not only in my knowledge about the photo taking process but also as a person. Photography has helped me to come out of my shell and to be more confident about who I am. I owe a great debt to Randy for the impact that he had on my life.

It is my hope that the knowledge and courage imparted to me by Randy will help me to honor him as the artist that he was. I will continue to take photos throughout my life and do so as a tribute to Randy in hope that his legacy will live on through my shutter.

THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGIAN Founded in 1926 veritas sempiterna

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief - Joshua Rouse News Editor - Jim Horinek A&E Editor - Bira Vidal Sports Editor - Bennett Dewan Copy Editor - John Robertson Video Editor - Kyle Luetters

Newsroom Staff Ads Manager - Kerry Myers Financial Officer - Susan Hill Staff Writers - Alexis Del Ciello, Raven Weiss, Lauren Bennett, Valerie Pennington

Faculty Adviser Dr. Christopher Keller

Newswriting Students Brooke Adams, Aduke Adesida, Kathryn Batule, Brandy Belew, Lauren Bennett, Greg Boxell, Taylor Brunwald, Justin Cliburn, Jeramy Eidson, Monica Garner, Anna Hataway, Jennifer Knapp, Kyle Luetters, Diana Lujan, Megan Mefford, Solitaire Merrill, Mary Oliver, Kyndle Palmer, Nicole Roames, Chelsea Robertson, Melissa Rodgers, Saman Samii, Meagan Searcy, Rashmi Thapaliya, Raven Weiss, Brooke Whiteley, Nikki Yowell

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.

October 13, 2008

A&E

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Halo 3 mission designer battles aliens with guest trio

By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff Seven years ago, when Halo: Combat Evolved came onto the scene, it was met with excellent reviews and huge sales.

The one complaint a lot of people had with the campaign portion of the game was the lackluster level design. Many of the levels were copy-and-pasted designs from earlier in the game, which some reviewers said “reeked of laziness.”

Much has changed in the seven years since the original Halo was released. Two more games in the series have come out, and both have been met with excellent reviews and even more impressive sales. While there were still some critical complaints against the level design, the subsequent games have remedied that problem.

I stood in line until midnight on Sept. 25, 2007, to get my hands on a copy of Halo 3. I was so excited that my whole body was shaking when I got home and loaded the game into my Xbox 360’s disc tray. Three buddies and I blew through the campaign over Xbox LIVE that morning, finishing up around 7 a.m.

Since then, I’ve played more than 2,400 matches and have had a lot of complaints about the game. I’ve sparred with Bungie Studios public relations guru Luke Smith many times and have fought side-by-side with former Bungie “Content Monkey” Frankie. The Halo 3 experience has been bittersweet in the year since the game came out.

So, it was to my surprise when I received an e-mail in my inbox nearly three weeks ago from Bungie Mission Designer Dan Miller who was interested in playing co-op with me.

Miller lurks on a message board I frequent daily called “NeoGAF” and apparently read my conversations (and fights) with Bungie members and fans. I was thinking it was rather odd that he would want to play with me of all people.

So, I accepted his invitation and we coordinated a co-op session on Oct. 3 with two other players. Miller officially designed the final mission of Halo 3 called “Halo.” The Master Chief, and any Elites who decide to tag along through co-op, have to fight through the Flood and activate the Halo ring inside the Arc so that it will destroy the Flood.

“This was one of the most intense levels of the game,” Miller said. “The Flood have always been one of my favorite things to fight in the Halo series, and the entire mission is designed around it.”

Miller, myself and the other players were also playing for an achievement called “Vidmaster: Annual,” which was activated as part of a new title update Bungie released last month. A group of four players had to beat the game with an activated skull while driving Ghosts. When the skull was activated, any time a player died the whole group was reverted back to the last checkpoint. So dying carried a heavy price. We were lucky to have Miller alongside us.

“If you stick together and watch each other’s backs, you’ll do fine,” Miller said. “Don’t do anything stupid. If you do, you’ll die and ruin the game for everyone.”

We all died a total of five times during the first half of the level. I had to turn my microphone off because I was laughing so hard after Miller died the first time. The two additional players and myself had moved ahead, trying

to clear the Flood out from one of three levels we had to ascend to the top of the structure. Miller was holding a flamethrower and was bringing up the rear, trying to cover us. After a line of profane words, we continued onward.

After fighting through the Flood and finishing a cinematic, it was time for our group to make the great Ghost run of the game. We had to fight our way back out to the area where the Ghosts, a Covenant scout vehicle, were at.

The Flood came at us in swarms. At one point, Miller’s shields were down and he was about to die, which would send us back to just after the cinematic. Miller said it would be nice if someone had a bubble shield, which is a defensiveoriented equipment in the game. Somehow, I had grabbed one earlier in the level and threw it down for him.

“Oh, my prayers were answered,” Miller said. “I love you Fox.” He loved me so much that he broad-sided me later in the run and knocked me off a cliff. By accident, of course.

Fans of Halo: Combat Evolved no doubt recognized the similarities between the final run of Halo 3 and the final run of “The Maw” in the first game. The clock is ticking and everyone needs to make it to the last remaining ship to escape the blast. The problem is that the ground is literally falling from underneath you as you use a vehicle to escape.

Granted, if one person dies in this run, everyone reverts back to the beginning. Miller had some insightful advice for us and for any other Halo 3 players.

“The first player always triggers the events,” he said. “If one person gets too far out in front of everyone else, he’ll be fine, but everyone else will end up dying.”

Luckily, we had the designer with us who knew when and where the ground would collapse. We traversed the final run with relative ease. Miller lead the final jump with everyone behind him in a flying-V formation to end the game.

After the credits rolled, we all received our achievements for completing the playthrough and Miller stuck around to chat a little about Bungie’s upcoming project(s). The studio recently released a teaser video for their “Keep it Clean” Superintendent viral campaign.

Bungie followed it up at the Tokyo Game Show on Oct. 8 by showing a full trailer for Halo 3: Recon. According to Microsoft Games Studios, the game is a campaign expansion to Halo 3, but it will be released on a physical disc instead of as a downloadable expansion through Xbox Live. Miller wouldn’t comment much more than the game’s existence.

“Microsoft has been keeping us hush-hush for the moment,” he said. “But I can’t wait to show it off to people.

It’s really exciting.”

The Tokyo Game Show trailer showed an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper crash landing in an unknown city. The trailer hints at a more tactical approach to the Halo formula compared to previous games.

However, Miller could confirm he was working on the game and people should keep checking in with Bungie Studios.

“My official title is technically ‘Mission Designer,’ so it is safe to assume that I am working on at least a mission in the game,” he said. “More will be known soon.”

In-game photos by Joshua Rouse

Let’s do this: (Above) Dan Miller, playing as the Master Chief, scouts ahead for enemies on the final level, “Halo.” (Below) An Elite lays the smackdown on a Flood combat form with the gravity hammer.

Miller advised everyone to “keep it clean” in the coming weeks.

In-game photo by Joshua Rouse

And here we go: Halo 3 mission designer Dan Miller leads a trio of Elites through a haphazard final run to safety on ghosts toward the end of the game.

HISTORY continued from page 1 to undergo many different experiences.

While some participants have been “I came here with the expectation that I approached directly, Morris received a letter soliciting her contribution into the Oral would enjoy it. I never thought that I would History Project. According to Morris, her have spoken at Convocation, chaired an experiences at CU have only helped her to organization, or anything else that I have done,” Morris said. “College is a huge turning increase her awareness of making the right point in people’s lives and I know that mine life choices.

“We only has definitely been get four years changed for the here. Within better.”

The personal those four years, we make many legacy coming life decisions,” from Morris will Morris said. be recorded, but “Within taking she states that her advantage of the CU Archives memories made at time here, one Cameron will never must realize that 1960s: President Burch assists in an ROTC fade away even ceremony. The Oral History Project gives a when life goes on the “experience” voice to Cameron’s rich history. after college. isn’t just in the classroom. It is also in the library after class, “I think that sometimes we get so caught and the union at lunch, and the games and up in the cycle of get in college, get through the free food. It’s taking the opportunity to college, get out of college that people forget that each and every one of us are lovers of savor each moment and realize that this is an knowledge,” Morris said. “If there is any thing institution of learning.”

Morris has made CU history both I want to leave behind it is to love the learning academically and socially. Her extensive and cherish the friendships in and out of the involvement at CU has given her the chance classroom.”

Sports

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October 13, 2008

Aggie tennis team set to slam opponents

By Jeremy Eidson Newswriting Student Last season, the men’s tennis team participated in all nine of the Lone Star Conference Championship games.

Six of CU’s tennis players walked away with a championship

while the other three left the courts as the runner-up.

Cameron had a strong showing last season while holding a #8 national ranking, and expectations are just as high this season.

According to Tennis Coach James Helvey, this season’s team has the makings of champions.

“This year’s team has the potential to be just as good, if not better, than last year’s team,” Helvey said.

Currently the Aggies hold a #7 national ranking amongst NCAA Division II schools.

With returning players such as Daniel Pazos, Cristian Easton, Jeff Sasser and Saman Samii, Helvey hopes it not be too hard to

bring in a few championships for the Aggies.

The men’s tennis team was anxious to begin the new season as they traveled to Oklahoma City to participate in the Heart of America Tournament.

On the second day of the tournament, Cameron was in the semi-finals in most of the f lights when the tournament was called off due to weather.

However, the remaining matches were not rescheduled, leaving many Cameron players hungry for a championship after having one ripped away by Mother Nature.

On Sept. 28, the Aggies participated in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)

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Regional Championships, where they hoped for redemption.

Unfortunately, an injury plagued the team preventing them from claiming two championships in both the singles and doubles f lights.

Heavily-favored Daniel Pazos was cruising his way to a singles championship, up 4-1 in the second set after taking the first 64, when his legs began to cramp.

The pain was so severe that he could not compete as well as he would have liked, Pazo said. He took an injury time-out but when he returned to the court, he found it difficult to run. He eventually lost that set 14-6 and could not come back in the third set, which decided the match.

In addition, Pazos and his doubles partner, Diego Trojano, were heavily favored to win the Regional Doubles Championship.

Instead, they were forced to forfeit the championship to Abilene Christian’s Ryan Hudson and Juan Nunez due to Pazos’ injury.

The doubles and singles champions of the ITA Regional Tournament will be sent to Mobile, Ala. to represent the region in the national tournament in mid-October.

None of the men will be participating in the national tournaments in Mobile, but will be participating in the Lone Star Conference Individual

Championships in Wichita Falls on Oct. 10 and 11.

Coach Helvey said his players should be prepared for the conference championships; he’s been to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament the last 14 years as the head coach for the men’s tennis team.

Coach Helvey came to Cameron in 1993 and he has posted winning seasons each year as the Aggie men’s coach.

In 1999 he was chosen for the head-coaching job of the women after Joe Jones resigned. His women’s teams have appeared in the NCAA Division II National Tournament in eight of his nine seasons at the helm.

He began coaching at Texas Wesleyan University where the Heart of Texas Conference named him coach of the year twice in his three seasons.

Helvey also played tennis at Texas Wesleyan University for two seasons after transferring from Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas, where he also played for two seasons.

With his experience as both a player and coach, Helvey should have his players well prepared to cruise their way to many championships this coming tournament, as well as the remainder of their scheduled season.

MCT Campus

Basketball returns to the Aggie Gym November 15th

Voices

4

October 13, 2008

Thank you, Randy

By Jim Horinek Collegian Staff

F

ew things can capture the essence of the human experience in the way that photos can.

Photography is often associated with the media or modeling. Other people think of their album that contains the pictures of the family trip to Disney World. Regardless of how you view photos or what you think of them, it is almost impossible to deny their power.

It is the talent of the photographer that gives great photos that power. Great photos can tell a story, but the photographer is the one who allows the story to be told.

With the recent passing of Randy Stotler, the art of photography lost one of its great talents. Randy’s photos could be seen almost daily in the LawtonConstitution, where he worked for 18 years. Randy also spent a lot of time behind the camera doing freelance work.

As a photographer, Randy made an impact on all those who viewed his work. My life can definitely be included in the list of lives that Randy touched.

I have been a journalist for over six years, and during that time I have focused primarily on writing, page layout and graphic design. I never considered myself much of a photographer and certainly never dreamed of actually pursuing it.

Photo by Jim Horinek

This all changed shortly after I met Randy.

My first meeting with Randy was less of a meeting and more of a noticing. I was at a Cameron volleyball game and while cheering on the team I noticed a lone photographer standing under the basketball goal. He and I did not speak during this interaction, but his actions spoke much louder than his words could have. I had never really considered this type of photography because it seemed out of reach. You have to understand that I am a somewhat introverted person, and as a result, the thought of being a lone photographer in front of a large group of people was a very disconcerting idea.

When taking pictures Randy had a confidence about him and that confidence helped me to overcome my fear of getting behind the camera.

Shortly after seeing Randy take photos for the first time I went out and bought my first camera.

Because Randy and I had a common thread in photography, we spent much of our time talking about the art. I went to him when I had questions about cameras or what lenses to use in certain situations. Randy is most definitely one of the reasons that I have pursued the art of photography.

Often times creative people are somewhat guarded with the knowledge of their particular art, but this was not the case with Randy. Randy was more than happy

EDITOR’S NOTE: For the staff of the Collegian, Randy Stotler was a friend and a mentor. We have each heard him speak in our journalism classes and his words carried a profound meaning.

While the loss of Randy was tragic, he will never be forgotten.

The sky is falling, public ignores true problems The entire nation has stopped to pay attention to two things lately as the crisis taking over the financial market as Wall Street reaches its low and the bloody election debates between Republicans and Democrats reach their heights.

I know I am not fully able to discuss about American politics because I am from another country, but once you watch too many newscasts talking about the elections and economy you have to stop and think about how far society has come.

First fact from the news: the financial world is upside-down. I did not want to believe that because the economy has been firmly stable for

the past years, but lately Wall Street has faced a new kind of threat that does not come from foreign countries, but rather from within its own system, the slow deterioration of the economy.

I am not an expert to talk about the economy and about the different strategies at Wall Street, but I do know when something becomes a major financial issue to the whole country, and possibly to the world’s economy.

Since the drop in the value of stocks and bonds in New York started hitting the market, a variety of countries started seeing a rise in the inflation. Brazil, for an instance, has seen a fluctuation in its local money currency compared to the dollar.

Because almost everything world

Bira Vidal

wide is based on the dollar, many international markets are struggling to come up with good enough ideas to suppress the madness that is taking over the stock market. High gas prices, rising goods prices and the bankruptcy of America’s most reliable companies are certainly not good signs at all.

But the 2008 presidential election came to take some of the economy crisis attention off the news headlines.

It surely did not work as expected.

We have been seeing two different parties talking about same issues with two distinct points of view, but with no tenable solution. It is easy to sit and discuss the problems the nation is currently facing, but the tough part is to come up with reasonable plans to eradicate the problem from its prime source.

With all the debate coverage, I seriously doubt that those issues will even become a serious talk in the next

weeks until the fateful Election Day. I do not care if some candidate has personal problems and the opposition is trying to uncover them. Those types of behaviors frustrate me in the political world.

And the political sphere will always follow the same equation. A party chooses a Vice-presidential candidate that is a woman to win more votes (or not), and the other one decides retaliate by saying that this is not an easy move because the support still falls under the previous candidate that was not chosen.

All I am trying to say is that the economy is probably going to the dumpster, and the candidates are not even seriously tackling that matter.

“Personal digging” does not serve much unless the candidate has done something terribly wrong, or stated something utterly bad just like a sarcastic joke.

Also, news programs have their share of the blame. Society is starting to become fatigued about the election coverage and financial crisis. It is certainly fine to report from time to time about the situation we are living in, but it is completely cruel to incite fear into the heads of Americans when it comes to money problems.

There are some bright sides for the new era we will be entering though.

The economy will supposedly find its center once the presidential candidate takes his place in the White House and the election process of accusing parties is over. In the end, as a part of the solution for the present insanity taking over the country, people need to see that it does not matter who has more money than who or what political party they belong to.

What society has to understand is that it all comes down to being a solid, united country working together for better times for its people, and for “people,” I mean everybody. I guess we lived long enough since Abraham Lincoln’s period to shamefully forget that together we stand, divided we fall.

to pass on his expertise in the art of photography. As a result, I have grown not only in my knowledge about the photo taking process but also as a person. Photography has helped me to come out of my shell and to be more confident about who I am. I owe a great debt to Randy for the impact that he had on my life.

It is my hope that the knowledge and courage imparted to me by Randy will help me to honor him as the artist that he was. I will continue to take photos throughout my life and do so as a tribute to Randy in hope that his legacy will live on through my shutter.

THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGIAN Founded in 1926 veritas sempiterna

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief - Joshua Rouse News Editor - Jim Horinek A&E Editor - Bira Vidal Sports Editor - Bennett Dewan Copy Editor - John Robertson Video Editor - Kyle Luetters

Newsroom Staff Ads Manager - Kerry Myers Financial Officer - Susan Hill Staff Writers - Alexis Del Ciello, Raven Weiss, Lauren Bennett, Valerie Pennington

Faculty Adviser Dr. Christopher Keller

Newswriting Students Brooke Adams, Aduke Adesida, Kathryn Batule, Brandy Belew, Lauren Bennett, Greg Boxell, Taylor Brunwald, Justin Cliburn, Jeramy Eidson, Monica Garner, Anna Hataway, Jennifer Knapp, Kyle Luetters, Diana Lujan, Megan Mefford, Solitaire Merrill, Mary Oliver, Kyndle Palmer, Nicole Roames, Chelsea Robertson, Melissa Rodgers, Saman Samii, Meagan Searcy, Rashmi Thapaliya, Raven Weiss, Brooke Whiteley, Nikki Yowell

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.

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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.

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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.

Variety

8

October 13, 2008

And now for something completely different:

— The Swell Season —

By Bennett Dewan Collegian Staff There are moments you feel like you are a part of something special.

Something innovative, something cutting edge; like being in on the blueprints of a soon to be majestic building. This is the nature of experiencing a new sound in music like the band the Swell Season.

Emerging from the fusion of a young Czech piano prodigy and an under-appreciated Irish rock band, the Swell Season sounds like nothing else in the current musical malaise.

The Frames, a full fledged rock band teetering on the brink of stardom after 18 years of record making and touring, was given new life with the introduction of 20 year old pianist Marketa Irglova. The newly formed group recorded an album together in 2006 under the moniker the Swell Season. Although only meant to be a side project, critical success and opportunities abounded as the newly formed group progressed.

Shortly after the completion of the album writer/director John Carney approached Irglova and Frames front man Glen Hansard about starring in a movie where their music would be the driving force behind the plot. The end result of the collaboration was the independent fi lm Once. The fi lm went on to great acclaim including being named to the top ten list of 24 national critics.

The compilation album for the fi lm reached #2 amongst Billboard Music Soundtracks. Later that year Irglova and Hansard were invited to play their breakout song from the fi lm, Falling Slowly at the 2007 Academy Awards ceremony.

Later on in the awards program the group won the Oscar for Best

Original Song for Falling Slowly.

With the success of the fi lm and popularity of the soundtrack, the band the Swell Season set out to bring their music to venues to Europe and throughout the U.S. The 2008 U.S. tour brought the Swell Season to the Sooner State. The historic Brady Theater was the venue for the bands first visit to Oklahoma.

The venue has a feeling of preserved age, like a time capsule for the era of silent movies and Model A’s. It was the perfect setting for a band that features a new spin on an already tried and true sound. Like a clash of two time periods, the Swell Season took the 94-year-old stage one by one. The first to take the stage was Hansard dressed in his typical busker, a European street musician, fashion. Hansard strode towards the center of the stage, away from the microphones and performed the song Say It To Me Now acoustically. Without microphones conventional wisdom would state that a 1,900 person capacity theater would swallow the voice of one man and a guitar, but conventions are made to be broken. Hansard was more than

Who: The Swell Season What they sound like: A more modern Van Morrison with amazing range and better voices.

For an introduction to their music download: The entire Once Soundtrack (Too good to pick out individual songs) Fitzcarraldo by the Frames Pavement Tune by the Frames Star Star by the Frames Cry Me A River by Glen Hansard (What is more rock than a Justin Timberlake cover, nothing, that’s what) To hear snippets from, or to download the entirety of the Brady Theater show the article was written about visit www.playedlastnight.com

capable of fi lling the theater with his powerful and expressive voice without losing any of the musical quality in the song. Most musicians would have been reduced to purely shouting to be heard, but Hansard stood casually singing, appearing to put no more effort in than someone who was whispering.

The amount of emotion that coursed through Hansard as he breathed life into each song throughout the evening was a sight to behold. He seemed to be lifting from the stage while channeling the very feeling of each song.

The music went from slow and melodic to fast paced with a pumping, rhythmic tempo and sharp vocals.

The band played many songs from the Once soundtrack, which were sung along to word for word

by the nearly sold out auditorium crowd. The songs often featured the magnetic piano work of Irglova, who appeared shy and almost embarrassed by the praise from the audience members, but whose voice was both strong and mesmerizing while singing.

The most intriguing songs of the night were the two that Hansard seemed to take personally. The first was the cover of the Van Morrison classic Astral Weeks. Hansard was able to make the song completely his own while still staying true to the meaning of the music.

While citing Morrison as a great influence to Irish music, Hansard also was visibly appreciative of the influences the music on his own songs. The energy put into the cover song created a memorable experience for the entire crowd,

and the applause was deafening at the end of the last note. The other great moment was the story behind the song Fitzcarraldo.

Hansard told the story of a rubber baron who loved so much that he developed his fortune to build an opera house deep in the Peruvian jungles, so that legendary singer Enrique Caruso could be the christening act. The opera house ended up being built but Caruso was unable to perform. The story took on special meaning when Hansard stated that Caruso had played his last show at the Brady Theater and that the janitorial staff claimed that the opera great haunts the venue.

Hansard dedicated the song to Caruso with a simple elegy.

“Maybe if we’re quiet we can hear him sing along.”

Photos by Bennett Dewan