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

Informing the Cameron Family Since 1926

Monday October 6, 2008

A&E

Volume 83 Issue 6

Professor finds long l st ring By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff

The ups and downs of Christian Bale. SEE PAGE 8

Sports

What goes around comes around: Physical Science professor Keith Vitense lost his high school class ring in 1976 and found it in 2008.

It truly is a small world after all. When Dr. Keith Vitense lost his high school ring in 1976, he had given up on ever finding it again. But thanks to the diligent work of a good samaritan in California, Dr. Vitense’s ring was returned to him after more than three decades. “I just couldn’t stop smiling when I found out someone had found it,”the Physical Science professor said. “I was thinking about all of the things that had happened to me since I had lost it and how much my life had changed.” The ring disappeared while Dr. Vitense was on leave from the Air Force and was visiting family in California. His uncle was a member of an Elk’s Lodge, which was holding a pancake breakfast one day. Dr. Vitense said that during the breakfast, he was showing his cousin a trick and the ring kept getting in the way. He took it off and set it on the table beside him to finish the trick. When he turned around to pick it up, the ring was gone. “I kept hitting it on everything and it was just getting in my way,” Dr. Vitense said. “When it was gone, I began searching everywhere. And I went through an entire dumpster’s worth of trash, at a pancake breakfast, trying to find that ring and I never found it.” Dr. Vitense assumed he would never see it again. Over the years, he heard stories about people discovering long lost class rings and wedding rings. He thought those stories were “neat,” but he knew it would never happen to him. “I knew I would never have my ring returned to me because it was in a landfill somewhere,” Dr. Vitense said. During the beginning of the semester, Dr. Vitense was teaching a class when he received a phone call from his mother. After his class, he called his mom back. Dr. Vitense said she was on her way to a meeting, but told him that she thought his class ring had been located. It was in the principal’s office of his old high school in Groton, S.D. “Apparently, they had been trying to get hold of me for a year,” Dr. Vitense said.

Aggie cheerleaders bring spirit for the black and gold. Photos courtesy of Michael D. Pope/The Lawton-Constitution

SEE PAGE 7

Voices

Convocation honors students, professors By Kyle Luetters Collegian Staff

It is time for party lines to be broken. SEE PAGE 5

Variety

A warm, fall morning and dozens of colorful fl ags were the backdrop as Cameron University’s Centennial convocation took place in the courtyard of the fi ne arts complex on Sept. 26. Faculty donned their traditional academic regalia as they joined distinguished guests, parents and friends in celebrating the academic achievements of students. The event began at 10 a.m. with members of Cameron’s ROTC program presenting the colors for the ceremony. Sophomore Sabrina Harrell led everyone in singing the national anthem. Dr. Cindy Ross opened the ceremony with

SEE PAGE 10

a speech about the past, present and future of Cameron. President Ross spoke of how Cameron started out as a high school with only 60 students and five faculty members. Today, Cameron has over 5,500 students with 169 faculty members. Classes in mechanical engineering and agriculture used to be some of the only offerings at Cameron. Today, over 50 degree programs at three different levels are offered Once President Ross had fi nished with the opening address, she turned the podium over to Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. John McArthur, who gave a call to convocation to officially begin the ceremony. Student Government President Jessica Daoang then proceeded to recognize the student body’s

academic achievements. Daoang called for the members of each of the university’s honor societies and scholarship winners to stand and be recognized. Sanjit Bhattacharya, a 2000 graduate, was then introduced. Bhattacharya used his Bachelors degree in Business Administration to start his own companies in the construction and natural gas exploration sectors. Bhattacharya talked of the importance of taking “calculated risks” and seizing opportunities when they present themselves.

See CONVOCATION Page 4

Cameron offers student counseling services By Alexis Del Ciello Collegian Staff

Game Review: Hell’s Highway truly is the Band of Brothers of video games.

See RING Page 2

The 2008-2009 academic calendar at Cameron is a year of many firsts and new beginnings. CU is beginning its next century, adding new buildings to the campus and welcoming new faculty and staff — but success does not stop at the curb of a remodeled campus. CU began a new student service on Sept. 29 known as student counseling. The program aims to help CU students deal with the stress of college life. “It is a new initiative this year,” Dean of Student Services Jennifer Holland said. “We know that tudents have needs and that life happens while they’re trying to be college students. We want to make sure we are meeting all of our

students’ needs and counseling is one of the areas that we think is important.” As part of the student counseling services, students will have the opportunity to receive individual and group counseling from CU counselor and adjunct professor Deanice Shegog. “Individual and group counseling is offered for any diagnosable disorder,” Shegog said. “It will be short-term services for mental health conditions. The outcome of services may consist of resolution of the problem, stabilization, or referral to long-term care for severe disorders. Photo by Jim Horinek

See COUNSELING Page 4

Here to help: Deanice Shegog (left) is a new addition to Cameron as part of the free counseling service offered by Student Services. Students who qualify can receive free counseling due to issues such as stress or relationship issues.

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News

October 6, 2008

RING continued from page 1 Jeff Denny, the good samaritan, said his grandfather was the person who had initially discovered the ring. Denny doesn’t know how his grandfather came into possession of it. He could only guess, thinking his father was at the same pancake dinner and thought someone had left the ring while they were washing their hands. “I’ve wondered how my grandfather could somehow get the ring and that’s the only thing I’ve ever been able to come up with,” Denny said. After his grandfather died, Denny inherited the ring. His grandfather was from South Dakota, so he thought the ring had something to do with him. But Dr. Vitense’s initials, KRV, were etched into the inside of the band. Denny began searching

See page 4 for solutions.

“This small world stuff amazes me. It truly is a small world after all.” — Dr. Keith Vitense Physical Science Professor

on the Internet and discovered Groton High School. “I looked for a year trying to find the place,” he said. “I called the high school and they had a real tough time getting in touch with anyone related to the doctor.” Dr. Vitense was finally notified after a friend of his parents, who worked in the Groton High School principal’s office, heard about the missing ring. She called Dr. Vitense’s mother, who then called him. “With my initials on there, I was the only one with those three letters in that area,” Dr. Vitense said. “But the office didn’t have my contact information. After I joined the Air Force, I hadn’t been back.” Dr. Vitense called Groton High School and was able to get in touch with Denny, thus completing the chain of events that brought his ring back home. But, as Paul Harvey said, there was more to the story. “There was a 12-hour period of frustration there when I couldn’t get hold of the gentleman who had my ring,” Dr. Vitense said. “When we finally connected, I believed him immediately, and unreasonably so.” Denny said he and Dr. Vitense talked on the phone for around 45 minutes the first time. They worked out the arrangements to mail the ring to Oklahoma and the plan was set. But Denny said Dr. Vitense called back shortly after, because he had forgotten one important piece of information. “He was so excited that someone had found the ring that he forgot to give me his address to send it to him,” Denny said. “And he called back a third time saying that when he was in the Bay Area, he was going to treat me and my wife to a steak dinner.” A lot of things have changed in Dr. Vitense’s life since he lost his ring. In the 32 years since that pancake breakfast, he was discharged from the Air Force, he met and married his wife, graduated college, earned his Ph.D. and came to work as a professor at Cameron University, where he has worked for more

than 20 years. “When I received the ring, I showed my wife because she had never seen it before,” Dr. Vitense said. “But my priorities have changed now. She would rather have me wear my wedding ring than wear my class ring.” The ring is too small for him to wear without having to force it on his ring finger. Dr. Vitense said he plans on sending it off to get resized so he can wear it occasionally. Even though it is too small now, he said he keeps it close, but he does not plan on losing it again. “I keep it in my drawer here in my office and I’ve become a lot better at keeping track of stuff,” Dr. Vitense said. Denny was glad when he heard Dr. Vitense received his ring. He understood the frustration of losing something important. He lost his class ring in 1981. The funny thing about the whole situation, Denny said, is the similarities between the two class rings. “It’s crazy because the stone color and the style of the ring are exactly the same as the one that I had and lost,” he said. “When I first saw that ring, I thought someone had finally found mine.” It would be easy for Denny to keep the ring and pretend that it was his own, even with the initials etched on the inside. But he said he was raised to never lie, cheat or steal and he knew there was someone out there that wanted it back. “It never crossed my mind to keep it,” he said. “I just thought it was the right thing to do and it was another man’s possession.” While Dr. Vitense never thought he would find his ring, Denny still holds onto a thin hope that his own class ring will be returned to him in a similar fashion. “I thought ‘maybe for the slightest chance, I could take care of this and the nice guy series will come back and help me,’” he said. “You pay it forward and reap what you sow. Somewhere out there, my ring is waiting to come back to me. But this wasn’t mine.” Dr. Vitense said he is still in amazement of the whole series of events. There were so many things that could go wrong or change and he would never have seen the ring again. But it now rests comfortably inside his desk in his office. “I remember dreading the phone call because I thought he was going to tell me that he had taken it to some jeweler and had it melted down,” he said. “But he didn’t. This small world stuff amazes me. It truly is a small world after all.”

October 6, 2008

News

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October 6, 2008

CONVOCATION continued from page 1

It begins: Dr. John McArthur, Vice President for Academic Affairs, gave the call to convocation and officially began the ceremony.

The Cameron Band and Centennial Choir performed ‘The Last Words of David.” Miranda Josey, a senior chemistry major, introduced Kay Morris as the next alumni speaker. Morris graduated in 2004 with a Bachelors degree in Chemistry. She began her research career at Cameron and has since taken to Texas A & M University where she is currently working on a doctorate. Morris talked about all of the positive experiences she had while at Cameron The third and final alumni speaker was Representative T.W. Shannon. Rep. Shannon graduated in the fall of 2000 with a Bachelors degree in Communication, and spoke about how college is about building relationships. He provided a humorous example. Upon seeing the woman he knew he would marry, he interrupted Dr. Matt Jenkins class the next day just to find out the young woman’s name. Once Rep. Shannon had finished his speech, President Ross took the podium for the last time. She thanked those who attended and the speakers. The Centennial Choir then sang the schools alma mater, “Cameron Pride.” Once the alma mater was finished, the call was given to the ROTC to retire the colors. The students and faculty then recessed as the band played, “With Trumpets and Drums.” Many students commented on how enjoyable the event was. “I really liked it. It was one of the best one’s I’ve been to,” junior Daniel Brown said. “The speakers were great and one even threw some humor into his speech.”

Photos by Jim Horinek

Honored guest: President Ross speaks with Rep. T.W. Shannon. Rep. Shannon was one of the guest speakers at Convocation.

COUNSELING continued from page 1 Holland said that while the new service is open to all CU students that need help, students must meet guidelines and make appointments. “If students are not sure they meet the requirements, please call. Each appointment will be about an hour. They will need to fill out some paperwork, but the counseling is totally free,” Holland said. “We have tried to make it flexible to meet everyone’s needs. If it is an emergency or after hours we will make sure they get the help they need. In an emergency a student would always need to call the Office of Public Safety at 581.2911.” Though long-term care is not the intention of CU’s student counseling services, immediate attention will be given to students needing assistance through difficult times and daily stress. Shegog said the intent is to help students through smaller adjustments. Before the Student Services

provide.” counseling program began, CU initiated “We did some training over the summer an Early Alert system to increase student on how to recognize symptoms of distress safety. Early Alert requests concerning with each of the faculty members at their a student’s noticeable stressors and departmental requests for students meetings in August,” that would benefit Holland said. or are in need of CU is not the counseling services “Our intent is so that first university to will be forwarded to students can be successful implement student Shegog. while they’re Cameron counseling, but the Holland said, benefits of offering “A component of University students.” the service will Early Alert is the provide an invaluable care request. Faculty student resource. and staff can go into — Jennifer Holland “I think this MyCU and submit a Dean of Student Services is going to move request if they have a Cameron forward concern for a student’s because most mental health or universities already emotional well-being. have this program The care request in place,” Shegog said. “I think it could basically means ‘hey this student may cut down on a lot of problems that the need some intervention,’ or may need university may have with students.” some services that Student Services can

Holland also believes that the program offers a great resource for Cameron. “We encounter students all of the time who are experiencing life issues. It is things that are happening in their family, maybe with their marriage; maybe it is involving money, or other stressors,” Holland said. “After the Virginia Tech incident a lot of universities spent time evaluating ‘how prepared are we to help students who are dealing with mental illness? How prepared are we to help students that are going through these issues?’.” “Our intent is so that students can be successful while they’re Cameron University students,” Holland said. Student counseling is offered from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in North Shepler room 324. Students are urged to call 581.2244 or visit to make an appointment. Students need to be enrolled in at least six graduate or undergraduate hours to qualify.

Upward Bound Program offers helping hand to vets By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff Area military veterans are getting a second chance in the fight for a college education. The Veterans Upward Bound Program was created to help vets who forsook their education for military service. After serving for at least 180 consecutive days, they can apply to their local Upward Bound program for tutoring and other assistance. “When a veteran first comes into our office, we sit them down and explain our program in detail to them,” said Rochelle Kamont,

an academic counselor with the local program. “We can help them through the admissions process by paying their admission fees, helping to fill out their paperwork and helping them choose a school that fits best with their degree plan and what they want to do with their career.” The biggest aspect of the Upward Bound Program is the remediation offered Kamont and other counselors. Returning to school after serving in the military can be a daunting task, Kamont acknowledged, and she wants to help them transition from military life back into civilian life as easily as possible. “There’s not a lot of civilian practical applications for things like field artillery training and closequarters combat,” she said. “A lot of

our veterans haven’t been to school in 35 years. Their math skills are down, language has changed subtly and there are a host of other things that they have a hard time grasping.” William Shane served in the Army for 16 years before being medically discharged. He worked for the City of Lawton for a number of years before his disabilities posed a hindrance. Looking ahead at his life, Shane decided to go back to school. “I decided I wanted to go back, and I looked at my veterans benefits. I applied through the Department of Veterans Affairs for vocational rehabilitation, and I was accepted and approved for training,” he said. Shane originally heard about the Veterans Upward Bound Program through his vocational and rehabilitation counselor, Deborah

Potts. She sent Shane to the third floor of South Shepler at Cameron University where he filled out the paperwork and was accepted into the program. “After I was accepted, they’ve trained and helped me prepare,” he said. “I had never turned on a computer before in my life until Jan. 3. They keep telling me ‘welcome to the 21st century.’” Shane has used the program to help him enroll as a full-time student at Cameron University. He began taking classes during the second eight weeks period during the spring semester. He also took a class during the summer, but this is the first time he has ever been a full time student. Going back to school has been a lot of hard work, but Shane credits Kamont and the counselors with

helping him through it. “Right now, I’m taking basic studies. Due to being out of school for so long, I had to take the remedial classes because I had forgotten so much,” he said. Shane hasn’t declared a major yet, but he plans on majoring in sociology. He said he wanted to use what he’s learned to help other veterans like him find their place in society. “I’ve talked to other veterans I know, and I’ve told them they should look into this program because it can help them get their education if they want it,” he said. “The area veterans need to know this service is available to them.” Kamont said potential candidates must meet criteria before they can be considered for the Veterans Upward Bound Program. The candidate must have served in active duty for at least 180 consecutive days. They must be classified as low income and as firstgeneration students. “Veterans don’t have to meet all the requirements to be accepted,” she said. “But they need to have served at least the six-month period and they need to either be low income or be a first-generation student. Even if their parents went to school after they moved out, the veterans can still be considered first-generation.”

Voices

October 6, 2008

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Republican vs. Democrat = American vs. American

Time has come for public to think beyond party lines With the presidential election looming on the horizon and the Republicans and Democrats scrambling to gather as much support as possible, I can’t help but feel that American voters are increasingly being left behind in their own political system. For the last few election cycles, the American voter has been repeatedly attacked and ridiculed. Both parties have taken part in a scorched-earth campaign that has left voters unhappy and the two political platforms further apart than ever before. First, those in power attacked the voters with a rallying call for patriotism. Those in disagreement with current policy regarding the War on Terror suddenly found their worth as an American called into question. Doubting the truth behind the motivation for the push for war in Iraq or the veracity of our honorable intentions in the Middle East meant that you didn’t support the troops. No, it was even darker than that. Faltering faith

in the righteous crusade to bring vengeance upon those who would harm us meant that you weren’t only guilty of not supporting the troops; you were aligned against them. You didn’t respect their sacrifice and you belittled their morals. Not wearing a flag pin became a moral outrage, and Americans tripped over each other attempting to be the loudest voice in a tidal wave of jingoistic fanaticism. The true outrage, of course, was that our own leaders were passing the buck. It wasn’t our soldiers we

John Robertson

lost faith in; it was our leaders and their intentions, and instead of recognizing that Americans were unhappy with the direction the country was going, a sea of fist-pumping war hawks successfully placed the blame on a lack of support from the American people and in the process victimized the men and women they had sent overseas to begin with by using them as political pawns. With voters dazed, our elected officials followed up with an attack on higher learning. Don’t be mistaken; when the term “ivory tower liberal” is thrown around, the jab isn’t aimed solely at the Ivy League. College students are taught to think for themselves and to make logical conclusions, and apparently this is a liability that politicians can’t afford.

They’re looking for single-issue voters. They’re looking for voters who will vote just as their mom and dad did out of a sense of loyalty, voters who want to be on the winning side and voters who can be riled up easily by hyperbole. When this particularly vile charge is levied, it’s the college crowd that shoulders the indictment. Informed and conscientious voters are an order of magnitude more difficult to sway than the loyalist bases of either political party, and the last thing either side wants is the possibility of a massive swing vote population capable of defying even their most powerful pandering techniques. I suppose that the question then becomes a matter of how we let it get this far. When did we become Democrats and Republicans rather than Americans? I certainly don’t identify myself as a Democrat in everyday conversation, nor do I sign it next to my name on envelopes. I don’t vote for the candidate I agree with; I vote for the candidate who agrees with me. When I think of patriotism, I don’t immediately think of the physical bureaucratic implementation of our government but rather the ideals that it was founded upon. Democrat or Republican, it’s

Gamers can be good citizens too Forget Gallup. Forget TIME/CNN. Forget Nielson. If you want a truthful, accurate prediction of this year’s general election (which is in one month, so get out and register to vote) look no further than Xbox Live. Microsoft partnered with Rock the Vote in August to help get the word out about the general election in November. Seeing as most young people are too lazy or too uninformed to go vote, Microsoft and Rock the Vote wanted to lend a helping hand. Advertisements were placed on the Xbox LIVE dashboard that promoted the Rock the Vote initiative and advised people to download new gamerpics for either Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin. The gamerpics, which are free and appear on the user’s gamercard, show their support for their favored candidate. Out of the 86 friends I have on my friends list, I would say more than 20 actually downloaded them, including myself. A month after the gamerpics went live, Microsoft tallied the number of players who downloaded the individual pictures and participated in online polls through the service. As of Sept. 22, 43 percent of participating Xbox LIVE gamers plan to vote for Obama/ Biden, while 31 percent plan to vote for McCain/Palin. This is great. Gamers, who are traditionally between the ages of 18 and 35, are actually participating in political discussion. It doesn’t matter who chose Obama/Biden or who chose McCain/Palin; the one thing that matters is that people actually voted even if it was an online unscientific poll. Our age group always has the lowest amount of voters turn out on Election Day. When I turned 18, I thought it was an honor to vote. Though, after voting for Bush/Cheney, I

sometimes wonder if that was the right decision or not. But hey, at least I can complain about that instead of feeling like I didn’t do enough. Gamers seem to get an even worse rap from the modern public. We are seen as violent kids who do nothing but sit for hours in front of televisions and stare at a screen until our eyes start to bleed. All of this while shouting every kind of obscene vulgarity and cuss word that you could conceive of. Well, judging from my experience on Halo 3 as early as last night, that last part is mostly true. But I give credit to Microsoft and the Rock the Vote initiative for trying to get more gamers to actively think about politics. We can only be sucked into our virtual worlds for so long before we’re pulled back out into

the real world. And let’s face it, going to work or going to class isn’t as glamorous as saving the galaxy from the Flood, finding a terrorist possessed by his arm or even jumping on defenseless talking mushrooms. And judging by the news right now, things aren’t going to get any better any time soon. So instead of sitting around the house complaining about how President Bush ruined the country and how we’re in the next Great Depression because of him, go out and actively change the country. Sure, we all know Oklahoma is going to go McCain/Palin this year, but that doesn’t mean your vote won’t count for something if you vote

Joshua Rouse

Obama/Biden. What’s your alternative? You put your headset back on, go back to playing your game and beating up on defenseless mushrooms or shooting aliens in the head while talking trash. It’s not like you’d really miss that much time from playing your game either. It takes like five minutes to vote and then you’re done, and they give you this cool sticker to put on your lapel. Or here’s one way to look at it. If you’re an Obama/Biden supporter and you saw the Xbox LIVE poll results, go vote to try to make that margin of defeat even larger. And if you’re a McCain/Palin supporter, go vote to try to overtake the Obama/ Biden totals. There’s always some excuse not to vote. After all, in one month, the next commander-in-chief of our country will be chosen. Do you really want to be stuck with another President Bush just because you didn’t vote?

high time that American voters demanded the respect that they deserve. With the two parties becoming increasingly separated by core beliefs, it’s important that we start thinking critically about the damage that an “us versus them” mentality can do and remember that our politicians are to serve our interests and not their own. Otherwise, we’ll increasingly fi nd ourselves removed from a political system that supposedly hinges upon our own needs and instead fi nd ourselves slaves to the desires of a select few acting in their own interest.

THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGIAN Founded in 1926 veritas sempiterna

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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, 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.

Sports

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October 6, 2008

CU athletics bring in slew of new faces By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff The future looks bright for Cameron athletics. Jim Jackson, the Cameron Athletic Director, has worked since the spring to hire new coaches for four Aggie sports programs. In his four-year tenure, Jackson said this is the best coaching staff he’s seen. “I believe we have assembled the best coaching staff that we’ve had in my tenure here, but maybe of all time at Cameron,” he said. “We are so far ahead of last year in all of our programs.” For the Aggie Volleyball program, a new coach is nothing new. In the past four years, the team has had four different coaches and four different coaching philosophies. Success hasn’t been a program for the volleyball team, but consistency has. “We hired a guy named Dominic Yoder from Michigan and we went 25 and 4 that year,” Jackson said. “We won the North with the same team as the previous year with a couple of added players. But after that year, another team offered him an extra $15,000 in Michigan in the same conference he was in before. So he went there and I can’t fault him for that.” Jackson’s next coaching acquisition, John Haroun, took the Aggies to the semi-finals of the Lone Star North Conference tournament the following year, but personal problems forced him to leave. “We qualified for the playoffs and upset the number three team in the conference,” Jackson said. “We thought that was pretty good. But after that, John came in and had a family medical emergency in California.” The one thing the Aggie

Volleyball program needed was consistency. Jackson believes he has found a coach that can offer that combined with a winning formula. “I thought we had two pretty good coaches there, but I am delighted that we have found Brianne Smedley,” he said. “Brianne has everything we were looking for and is the right person for our volleyball program.” For Smedley, a Texas native, the chance to return to her home region influenced her decision to come to Cameron. She has adjusted well to the change of scenery and has goals set for not only this year, but for the future of the volleyball program. “As a team, we set goals and the girls obviously want to break the .500 barrier,” Smedley said. “Last year, they fell just short under it. So you know, in the back of my mind, I have an idea where I want to finish.” Ultimately, Smedley said she wants to bring consistency to a team with winning potential. “Really, with this team, I’m their fourth coach in as many years, and I’m trying to create some stability in the program.” The team has come together well since Smedley was brought on as head coach. Smedley said there has been little conflict and the team has taken to her new coaching philosophy. But with a team that has gone through so many changes in recent years, she plans to take some changes slowly. “Coming in like this, a few things you look to change quickly,” Smedley said. “Obviously, I come in with an offensive system and a defensive system and the way I want the girls to follow rules. You have to jump on those things quickly. But you don’t want to change every single thing that every person is doing in the first week because it’s

mass chaos.” The team has started off the season with a 9-7 record and has won their last three games. While the volleyball team is off to a winning start, Jackson said all eyes are looking at this year’s men’s and women’s basketball programs. Last season, the basketball was the only program not to make it to the post-season. Jackson hired former East Central University assistant basketball coach Wade Alexander as the new head coach for the men’s basketball team. Tom Webb, the former associate head women’s basketball coach at Eastern Washington University, was hired as the women’s basketball head coach. Making it to the playoffs this season would be a great improvement for either team, but Jackson said he wouldn’t be disappointed if that didn’t happen. “We need a foundation in our programs so that we can sustain that success year after year,” he said. “We’re looking at them to put in a program and build a foundation. Our expectations are high, but they’re realistic. And whether they qualify for the post-season or not, we can tell whether they’re doing things right. If they’re putting the pieces in place that will ensure our success year after year, that’s all you can ask for.” Neither basketball team has held a practice this season yet, but Jackson sees good things coming from the program in the near future. He said he was impressed by the way the coaches are handling the student athletes and preparing for the new season. “You can sense the success there with those programs and I’m delighted about it,” he said. Jackson addressed the last coaching vacancy in June when

he hired Beth Watson as the new softball team manager. Watson came to Cameron from the University of Central Florida where she was the assistant coach for that university’s softball program. In a statement on June 26, Jackson said Watson was a good fit for Cameron softball. “She is someone who sees the vision that CU and our department has, and she will be an excellent fit,” he said. “Beth is a team player and I am ecstatic at what she is bringing to our program.” The softball team made it to the playoffs last year, so Jackson is counting on Watson to build off the previous year’s success. “The foundation is already there and she just needs to put her touch on it and put her arms around the program and take it further,” Jackson said. “She’s taking over a team on the upswing.” With the addition of the four new coaches, Jackson said this is an exciting period for Cameron athletics. “Cameron is a good place to be right now,” he said. “We are on the upswing of athletics and we can go so much further.”

New kids on the block: CU’s four new faces in the athletic department: (pictured from the top) Volleyball coach Brianne Smedley, Softball coach Beth Watson, Men’s Basketball coach Wade Alexander and Women’s Basketball coach Tom Webb. With the new coaches bringing their own style of play, the Aggie faithful are hoping for significant athletic success this season. Photos courtesy of CU Online

Australian sport rumbles into CU universities, not teams amongst the university itself.” Buschman said the roster is open to all CU students and Collegian Staff both males and females. “There are male teams and there are female teams, but A tradition dating before the 11th century is making its there is not a coed team,” Buschman said. “Currently, we way to Cameron University. do not have any females playing. It can A game where rules weren’t be any CU student, part-time, full-time, written and widely accepted until “One thing it gives night student or graduate student.” the late 19th century and standing Though CU rugby has not seen students is camaraderie, still until a pig’s bladder encased in match time yet, the club provides an leather went airborne was normal. the ability to travel and opportunity to take advantage of the Though some rules and game compete against other college experience. day equipment have changed, schools such as OU, “One thing it gives students is the game is not yet popular in camaraderie, the ability to travel and southwest Oklahoma, but may OSU and SMU...” compete against other schools such be on the rise. The CU Rugby as OU, OSU and SMU [Southern Club needs more participation to — Dr. Jason Buschman Methodist University] in Dallas, and the become an official university rugby fitness side of things,” Buschman said. “It team in the Texas Rugby Union. just adds a dimension. All the Ivy League The CU Rugby has less than half schools and major universities all play rugby. It adds a the participation needed. dimension of collegiate experience.” “Currently we do not have a collegiate schedule,” Dr. Once CU Rugby gains interest, CU rugby will play in Jason Buschman, local surgeon, CU rugby club sponsor the same union as Midwestern State in Wichita Falls and and former six-team rugby player said. “You have to have SMU in Dallas. enough people to do that. You need 15 to play and we have Buschman said, “It is an exciting sport that adds an six.” exciting experience to the university, easy to learn, safe and Even though the roster has room to grow, CU Rugby fun to play.” takes the field twice each week to gear up for matches. “We practice Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. in the open field next to Cameron Village,” Buschman said. “You would be playing teams from other

By Alexis Del Ciello

Photos Courtesy MCT Campus

Look ma, no pads: Members of the Rugby Union play in a decisive match in Sydney, Australia. There are currently Cameron students participating in pickup rugby games at 5 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday outside the Cameron Village.

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Cheerleaders leap into another season By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff The rejuvenated Cameron University cheerleading squad is ready to give a dose of black and gold school spirit at an Aggie sporting event near you. Robin Martin, head cheerleading coach, said the program has grown leaps and bounds since she was hired as a head coach more than a yearand-a-half ago. After a year of inexperience and getting adjusted to the job, Martin has helped improve the cheerleading program, and she’s not done yet. “The program is a lot better than when I first visited here and took the job of head coach,” Martin said. “We want cheerleading to be the numberone sport on campus and I think we’re well on our way to doing

that,” Martin said. This year’s squad, which is comprised of 10 girls, has helped put excitement back in school spirit. Go to any home Aggie Volleyball game and you’ll see them courtside cheering on their team. Martin said this year’s squad fills the gymnasium with excitement better than the previous year’s squad could do. “We have a small gym, so 10 girls really fill it nicely,” she said. “That’s something we couldn’t do last year when we only had five girls.” For the first time in many years, the cheerleading squad was able to attend cheerleading camp over the off-season. And while their primary duties are keeping up the school spirit at the athletic events, Martin said there is more to being an Aggie cheerleader than attending the games. The

squad volunteered for the LawtonFort Sill Youth Day of Caring in September. “They wanted us to volunteer, but really they wanted us to perform,” she said. “And we did a cheer and tried to wake the people up. But the girls did a great job that day.” The squad has also been requested for numerous festivities across Southwest Oklahoma. This year, Martin said they are going to perform at homecoming ceremonies in Temple and Rush Springs. Since Cameron University doesn’t have a football team, Martin said this will give the team a chance to perform at a football game. “Last year we went to Temple and that was our first event that we had gone to like that,” she said. “They called us out there and it was the greatest team bonding

experience we’ve had.” The squad has undergone a lot of changes since Martin came on as head coach. She said things were slow moving during her first year, because she wasn’t sure of herself. “The first year wasn’t as successful as I wanted it to be,” she said. “It was my first year out of college and so I had to transition from being an adult in college to being an adult in the real world.” All of that is behind her now. Martin has taken a proactive stance in building school spirit around campus. She has begun hanging banners across campus on gamedays for all Aggie sporting events. Since she started hanging the banners, Martin said more people are coming to the games. “It gets an additional 30 or 40 people to the games each time,”

she said. “The chief complaint I’ve heard from people is they don’t know when the games are. I’m trying to change that.” Martin is happy with the changes the cheerleading squad has gone through this year. She wanted to let people know they were on campus. Last year, Martin said many people didn’t know about her or the cheerleaders, but that has changed. While she has future aspirations, she said things are great the way they are now. “I would love for the team to compete, but that would be a huge challenge and take a lot of work organizing,” Martin said. “I just want the girls to enjoy their year, enjoy being a cheerleader and take pride in what they do. They shouldn’t do it because they have to, they should do it because they want to. And that’s where we’re at right now.

Photos by Bennett Dewan

Senior cheerleader brings the noise Kicking it into gear: Senior CU cheerleader, Miranda Josey (pictured center), leads the squad in drills during practice. Josey, a chemistry major, hopes to be off to medical school next spring.

Photo by Bennett Dewan

By Jim Horinek Collegian Staff “C-A-M-E-R-O-N AGGIES.” This chant can be heard resounding off the walls of the Aggie Gym during every sporting event as the CU Cheerleaders bring on the spirit with their performances. Though the cheerleading team is under the direction of a new coach, there is one member who has been with the team for much longer. Miranda Josey, a chemistry senior, is

in her fourth year as a CU cheerleader. However, Josey’s career in cheerleading began well before she donned the black and gold. “I was a cheerleader for seven years before I came to Cameron. I began cheering in eighth grade and also did five years of All-Star,” Josey said. According to Josey, All-Star is a form of cheerleading in which many different cheerleading teams come together and compete. Hailing from Elgin, Josey was first attracted to Cameron because of its

location. “I liked that Cameron was close to my home,” Josey said. “I love my family and I wanted to be near them.” Unlike many entering freshman, Josey came to Cameron with a plan for her career. She plans to enter medical school after completing her degree. “I want to be a doctor and I actually just applied for medical school. Although I know that I want to be a doctor I am not sure what I want my specialty to be,” Josey said. “I am leaving my options open because a lot

body,” Josey said. “Cheerleading is kind of people who enter residency and of an outlet for my enthusiasm. The have a closed mind will miss out on program also allows me to give back to something that they really like to do.” the community through service.” According to Josey, the As part of giving back, the team cheerleaders play a very important role recently spent a at Cameron. Saturday doing “I think that we “I think that we bring school volunteer work as part of the bring school spirit and enthusiasm to the Lawton-Fort spirit and games. We try to recruit Sill United Way enthusiasm the people to come to the Youth Day of to the games,” Caring. she said. “We games and support athletics. According try to recruit We try to get them excited to the head the people about sports.” cheerleading to come to coach Robin the games — Miranda Josey Martin, Josey and support CU Cheerleader is an integral athletics. We part of the CU try to get cheerleading them excited team. about sports.” “Miranda is one of my strongest Josey credits the cheerleading leaders and she is probably the most program as a great benefit to her spirited out of a group of 10 girls,” college experience. Martin said. “On top of that, she is “I really think that the friendships and the teamwork are a very beneficial also one of the most dedicated. I can always count on her.” part of cheerleading. I am a part of a Josey will be graduating in the team and you have to learn to sacrifice spring and hopes to move on to and give and take. Those things are medical school. important life lessons,” Josey said. According to Martin, as the For Josey, cheerleading offers a only graduating senior, Josey will be creative outlet and a way to make a missed. However, Martin and the rest difference. “I think my favorite thing is the fact of the squad are looking forward to welcoming new faces to the team. that I am a leader among the student

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October 6, 2008

Bale’s ascension to fame does not equal success By Bennett Dewan Collegian Staff One hit movie can create fame, but it doesn’t make a career. Christian Bale is the newest of the second tier Hollywood stars to be praised by movie critics as “the next big thing.” The problem is that the critics generally have no more knowledge than anyone else when they select the next “it” person. Most of the anointed next stars quickly fade into self-imposed mediocrity. After the release of the hit biopic Ray, Jamie Foxx was touted as the future of the movie industry. The hype became even bigger when Foxx won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He then followed up all of his success with the movie Stealth, which I’m sure made the academy want to take his Oscar back. Then there’s Halle Berry who, after winning an Academy Award for a heart-wrenching role, starred in Catwoman which was voted worst film of the year. The champion of high expectations and lame results is Colin Farrell. After a rather surprising supporting role in the blockbuster Minority Report

Farrell’s stock was on the rise a good movie. In fact, it was a Cast Away? It would be two hours due to his performance and over great movie, but little of that has of nothing but awkward dialogue the top personality. Just two where Bale would be trying to anything to do with the effort of years later he became the proud Bale directly. The movie was driven intimidate a beach volleyball. owner of one of the most listless, by the incredible portrayal of the The biggest successes of disorganized and boring Joker by former Academy Award Bale’s career have always been performances in movie Nominee Heath Ledger in his collaborative efforts with much history in Alexander. It bigger stars that final completed was actually painful to draw crowds work. The movie watch an actor fall so far also features at theaters. so fast. Academy Award In The Mediocre actors stalwarts Michael Prestige, Hugh MCT Campus Jackman received the receiving stellar reviews Caine (six nominations, two for one movie is nothing wins) and Morgan Freeman (four majority of the prenew, but none of these nominations, one win) who give release hype and billing, while actors have been able to mammoth performances in their musician David Bowie garnered sustain any sort of long the accolades for his supporting brief screen time. Aaron Eckhart, term career momentum. Golden Globe Nominee for Thank role after the premiere. In 3:10 to Bale creates a very You For Smoking, rounded out the Yuma Bale is again overshadowed good adaptation of all star cast that shielded attention by fellow headliner Russell Crowe. Batman, but that doesn’t I am beginning to sense a theme away from the weak performance mean he’s talented. He is a cog put here. All of the big movies Bale has of Bale. into a hit movie-making machine. To be a true superstar an appeared in star someone else. That machine could have made actor needs to be able to make With the Batman movies, Bale country music star Willie Nelson their character interesting to the has carved out his own little niche, look like a competent Batman. but someday soon he will look to audience without any gimmicks or Take away all of the CGI, all of venture into his own big budget special effects to distract from the the explosions and all of the stunt acting. Can you imagine Bale in movies that don’t allow him to hide double laden behind the action scenes mask. When and you are this happens, left with a few his career will poorly acted mirror one of clips of an two paths: the uncomfortably Mark Hamill awkward Bruce approach Wayne, and a or that of Batman who Macauley sounds like a Culkin. cross between a Hamill, chainsaw and a better known MCT Campus to the rest grizzly bear. Psyched up: Christian Bale presents his dark side as the serial killer The Dark of the world Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Knight was as Luke

Skywalker, became so recognized as his character from the original Star Wars franchise that he couldn’t transition into other films. People kept wondering why Luke Skywalker was playing a cop and not patrolling space a long time ago in a galaxy far away. Macauley Culkin, on the other hand, starred in the wildly successful Home Alone franchise but was given so much promotional propaganda that public opinion quickly soured and no one could stand to see him in another film for nearly a decade. Bale seems to be walking the line between committing a Culkin and being the next Hamill. He could easily become overexposed now that The Dark Knight has been so successful, but it looks like Bale has already cemented his fate as the guy who plays Batman. Ultimately, it looks as though Bale will end up making a slew of new Batman movies until he has surpassed Sylvester Stallone in the pure number of unnecessary sequels he has produced. Though some of them may be tolerable, I hope the series does not continue until Batman has a pacemaker on his tool belt. The role of Batman did not make Michael Keaton or Val Kilmer mega stars either, and if anything it tarnished the career of George Clooney. The Batman franchise is fun and I am glad to see it revitalized, but as for its star, if his goal is to be mentioned with the likes of the elite actors and the super famous then you can call him Christian Fail.

Bale much more than just one hit wonder By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff Christian Bale could be considered one of the most enigmatic actors in Hollywood at the moment. The man has starred in just about every genre one could think of and has been popular in just about every movie he’s made. Bale reminds me of Tom Hanks when he first started off his career with atrocities like Splash and Big. They put him on the map, but they didn’t make him a star. That didn’t come until later in his career with The Bonfire of the Vanities and A League of their Own. Except, unlike Hanks, Bale

started his career off with a bang with the criminally-underrated Empire of the Sun. Bale could be considered the only child actor that actually matured beyond his young age and became a successful actor. Don’t even try to mention Kirsten Dunst who’s only claim to fame is three overrated Spider-Man films. The great thing about Bale’s acting is how he blends into the film. When you watch a lot of actors, you see the larger-than-life personality. When you see Bale, you see the character that he’s portraying and nothing more. The first time I actually recognized Bale in a movie was when I saw Equilibrium. If you haven’t seen this movie, you need to. Bale plays Cleric John Preston, the right-hand of the government in a future society where emotion has been outlawed and suppressed with chemicals. The role required

Bale to be cold and emotionless and he nailed it perfectly. Now, you could say any actor can play a stoic-faced killer and I would probably agree. But the great thing about the movie and Bale’s performance is how he experiences emotion for the first time later in the film. Preston, through Bale’s great performance, matures from the emotional level of a child to a full-grown man. If Bale is only a one-hit wonder, then I would hate to imagine what some people think about other actors in Hollywood. Jack Nicholson is considered to be one of the best actors alive right now. He’s made a career out of playing himself in all of his roles. Even his portrayal of The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman was Nicholson in makeup. Though, he did do a better job than Heath Ledger. Sure, Bale might have that hard-edged look and persona of Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins

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I’ll admit that Hugh Jackman did a great job in The Prestige, but Bale’s character, Alfred Borden, was the one with the depth and the conflicted emotions. Jackman’s character, Angier, was more obsessed with revenge and power, which is a role that has been done ever since film first became popular. Bale commanded every scene he was in and it shows in the movie. Without him, The Prestige wouldn’t have been nearly as good. No one is going to argue that Bale’s most notable performance was in the Batman franchise. In MCT Campus fact, it’s been suggested that he could go the way of Mark Hamill and just be known as Bruce Wayne and The Dark Knight, but he’s for the rest of his career. But done so many other roles that it’s considering he’s starred in around criminal to say that’s all he can 40 roles in his career and only two do. Did anyone see The Machinist of them were as Bruce Wayne/ or American Psycho? Both were Batman, I don’t think there’s any Oscar-worthy performances from Bale and were about as far from the danger of that happening. Hamill was a relative unknown Bruce Wayne persona as he could before Star Wars. And let’s be get. honest, as decent as the NolanSure, in American Psycho he played a rich playboy yuppie, much verse Batman movies were, they will never command the pop like the Bruce Wayne character, but it was so much deeper than the culture following that Star Wars does. two-dimensional “my I like to think that Bale will parents were killed so I follow Harrison Ford more than want revenge” character Hammill. Ford went from Han of the Nolan-verse. Solo to playing Indiana Jones, He was a killer, which became one of the but the level greatest film franchises of comedy of all time. and depth to Bale is already the character lined up to star was portrayed in a trilogy of through Terminator Bale’s acting films as John perfectly. I’ve MCT Campus Connor. That gone back and series has the potential to be read the novel since seeing the another break-out performance and movie and all I can hear in my will be something different for Bale head when reading the character’s to tackle. narration is Bale’s voice. I’m not going to say Bale is going I find it laughable to think to be the greatest actor to ever grace someone doesn’t think Bale can the silver screen. And it’s true, one command a movie on his own. He hit movie does not make a career, stole the show in American Psycho, but Bale has an impressive resume he stole the show in Equilibrium and I would say he stole the show in of movies already completed and many more on the horizon. The Prestige.

A&E

October 6, 2008

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CU Library celebrates Oklahoman women By Bira Vidal Collegian Staff

Graphic by Bira Vidal

Honorees: “Celebrating Women” shows statewide heritage through the perspective of different Oklahoman women.

As part of the Centennial Celebration, the Cameron University Library hosted Celebrating Women, an Oklahoman author’s presentation narrating the lives and times of great Oklahoma women. The event, funded with the assistance of the Lecture and Concerts Event, gave Cameron students the opportunity to attend a presentation that featured Glenda Carlile on Oct. 2. Carlile is an author and director of the Oklahoma Center for the Book. The presentation highlighted the art of storytelling from Carlile’s perspective. As she progressed throughout the narration, she fully interacted with the audience. Some of her work pieces are Buckskin, Calico, and Lace; Astronauts, Athletes and Ambassadors: Oklahoma Women from 1950 to 2007; and Petticoats, Politics, and Pirouettes. “As the director of the Oklahoma Center for the Book and as an author on books about Oklahoma Women, I am delighted to see a program on Oklahoma women,” Carlile said. “Women have been very important in our state as pioneers, ambassadors, writers [and even] civil rights advocates.” The presentation collected Carlile’s experiences in the literary world, her knowledge on Oklahoma writers and their legacy in the state. “In Oklahoma we have had marvelous writers who have influenced the character of the state from Angie Debo to current writers Rilla Askew and Billie Letts who still write about Oklahoma only in fictional works such as Rilla’s books Fire in Beulah and Harpsong,” Carlile said. According to Dr. Sherry Young, director for CU’s Library, the presentation was made possible with the aid of Dr. Judy Neale and the sponsorship of the CU Library. “In the spring semester, Dr. Judy Neale conceived

the idea. She then prepared and fi led a proposal to the Lectures and Concert Committee,” Dr. Young said. “The Committee provided funds for the event.” Carlile’s literary contribution to CU students served as prime example of support for Oklahoman history and heritage. It also gave students insight into the significance of women in all aspects of society as Cameron walks to its next 100 years, “Mrs. Glenda Carlile [shared] stories of various individuals – from a pioneer to an astronaut,” Dr. Neale said. “These stories [provided] inspiration for our students.” The second part of the celebration came as a panel discussion. The discussion featured Cameron former faculty members that shared their previous experiences at CU. Some members were Dr. Mary Allen, Dr. Karen McKellips, Dr. Margie McMahan and Dr. Josephine Rayburn. “The panel revealed the contributions women have made to our institution,” Dr. Neale said. According to Carlile, Oklahoma has seen a great deal of extraordinary women who not only helped to write the state history but also defy societal preconceptions. “We have been so fortunate to have wonderful women role models. Oklahoma has many inspirational women,” Carlile said. “Some of the women are Kate Barnard, Elva Ferguson, Perle Mesta, Jean Kirkpatrick, Augusta Metcalf, Angie Debo, Clara Luper, Mazola McKerson, Shannon Miller, Bertha Teague, Shannon Lucid, Jerri Cobb and Wilma Mankiller.” The Celebrating Women event is part of the CU Library academic calendar, which will bring two future exhibits, Indian Education in Southwest Oklahoma: Yesterday and Today and All Black Towns of Oklahoma. The All Black Towns of Oklahoma exhibit will take place during the spring semester and will feature CU Assistant Professor Dr. Russell Graves with a public lecture about the subject.

P.R.I.D.E. respects, encourages diversity on campus By Solitaire Merrill Newswriting Student There are students attending classes at Cameron University that simply feel like they do not fit in. There are people on campus that may have been discriminated against for their religious beliefs or the color of their skin. There are scholars here that have been called names because they are different. There is also a place for these students and all who support them to go. Cameron P.R.I.D.E. P.R.I.D.E stands for People Respecting Individuality, Diversity and Equality. Taylor Brunwald, President of P.R.I.D.E., maintains that it is important for any student who has encountered racism, prejudice, or discrimination to feel welcome at P.R.I.D.E. Traditionally, P.R.I.D.E is a support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (G.L.B.T.) issues. However, the members of P.R.I.D.E at Cameron hope to include a broad range of students in their club. This new shift of focus has been brought about by a desire for a cohesive, inclusive support

network for all students on campus. “We do not want people to be offended or intimidated by our group so we are moving from a strictly G.L.B.T focus to a mission that is more about social advocacy,” Brunwald said. “This includes all people who have faced discrimination and prejudice.” Anyone can come and support P.R.I.D.E. Students do not have to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. Members just have to be willing to fight the prevailing paradigms of discrimination and prejudice that so many students face for a variety of reasons. Evidence of this inclusivity can be seen at the P.R.I.D.E. meetings. You will find that most of the students at the meetings are straight. However, they feel P.R.I.D.E. is important because they have faced discrimination themselves or supported friends or family members that have. Brunwald defined the goals for Cameron P.R.I.D.E this year. P.R.I.D.E has been somewhat

should be proud of who and what they are. Secondly, qualities like individuality, diversity and equality are important. They hope to foster these values by offering safe, harassmentGraphic by Bira Vidal free zones to dormant in years past, but this socialize in. They also believe year Brunwald hopes to keep the that it is important to increase club current and active. awareness about the vastly diverse The group members also Cameron campus. want to build some momentum It is important that all students for fund raising and community have a voice and a place where outreach. A successful year for they can be with their friends them would include supporting and feel accepted, a special any students that need help with place where there is no tension, P.R.I.D.E issues and becoming no name-calling and no need better known and accepted as a to explain their relationships. useful support service. P.R.I.D.E. can offer that. According to the mission “We are trying to be sensitive statement posted on their Web to the needs of the community site (myspace. com/cameron_ pride), the P.R.I.D.E. campaign has two major premises. The first is that people

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and its members,” Brunwald said. “Having a forum for these experiences is what P.R.I.D.E. is about.” Consequently, these members hope to make a tangible difference around Cameron. Students who want to involved in P.R.I.D.E. can attend the meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of every month. These meetings are held in the Student Activities Building at 4:30 p.m. P.R.I.D.E. officers are President Taylor Brunwald, Vice President Rachel Dyer, Secretary Cody Fisher, Treasurer Katharina Wakefield, Treasurer and SGA representative Jacki Fore. The faculty advisor for Cameron P.R.I.D.E. is Jim Joplin. Meeting and P.R.I.D.E. information can also be found on their myspace.com Web page. Take comfort in your differences. Take P.R.I.D.E. in yourself. Join today.

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Variety

October 6, 2008

the largest Airborne operation in entirely up to you. You can the military’s history. The allies were order them to suppress a to liberate Holland and push their squad of Germans while way into Germany to bring a swift you flank around behind conclusion to the war. History shows them, or you can have your Market Garden was one of the worst teams lob grenades into an blunders in American military history. emplacement or you can For the purposes of this game, order them to flank while you’re a beat-down sergeant trying to you draw the enemy fire. keep himself and his men alive, and The options are endless, while the story of Hell’s Highway is its but you do need to use greatest strength, it’s also the game’s them, otherwise you will greatest weakness. die quickly. And there’s A lot of the story-telling is heavynothing like the feeling handed. Yes, war is Hell. Everyone of flanking a squad of MCT Campus knows that. But the game continues Germans and taking them Duck and cover: With the latest installment of the Brothers in Arms series, to beat you over the head with how out with your Thompson Gearbox added a cover system similar to Rainbow 6: Vegas. Vegas. With the push of a badly the soldiers have taken the battle machine gun. button, you’ll stick to any solid cover near you and go into third-person mode to and how badly they want to go home. As with most squadkeep your head out of the line of fire. Sometimes it pulls on your heartbased shooters, your strings a little too much, like when squad-mates are a bunch of crosshairs or any other identifying only over the course of 25 to 30 you have to rescue a kid from what morons. You tell them to take cover markers that helped you out during times in a playthrough. It almost seems like half of the German army. behind a wall in the middle of a large your previous playthrough. It gives becomes too grotesque after a while, It’s definitely darker than the standard fire-fight and, instead of taking the fans an added challenge to an already but there is an option to turn off the WWII game affair but it could be too safest route , the character will go fun game. kill cams as well as the gore and the dark for many people. through the line of fire to get to their The health system isn’t as language. Just because the game’s story is newly assigned position. It becomes punishing as the previous games. There is also a multiplayer its greatest so annoying, component to the game developed drawing that you will Instead of hunting for medpacks to heal, there is a Halo Halo-style -style health by a team from Rockstar Studios. card doesn’t want to put BROTHERS IN ARMS: system. If you get shot, the screen will While it supports up to 20 players mean the a bullet in HELL’S HIGHWAY turn red and you need to fi nd cover. in a similar style to the campaign, gameplay their heads You will heal quickly, but during the graphics are downgraded and ESRB rating: M for Mature isn’t up just because this time you can be killed by two or there are a lot of bugs. The game to par. they are so PLAY TIME: 8 to 10 hours three bullets. Just because your health constantly lags no matter how Gearbox stupid. At NO. OF PLAYERS: 1 to 20 recharges doesn’t mean you can turn great your connection is. The has had two least the SYSTEMS: Xbox 360 ($59.99), into the WWII equivalent of Rambo. hit detection is worse than Halo previous Germans Playstation 3 ($59.99), P.C. ($49.99) Graphically, the game is impressive, 3, and that’s bad. For all intents games to will flank but it isn’t mind-blowing. It runs on and purposes, Hell’s Highway is a polish up you or turn FINAL THOUGHTS: This game the Unreal 3 engine, and like other single-player game. If you want a the Brothers tail and run is not for the squeamish. It’s the most games on the engine, there is some multiplayer WWII game, look up in Arms if you get realistic WWII game yet, complete with very bad texture pop-in. Beautiful Call of Duty 2. 2. formula, the jump on gore and language. If you can make it cinematics are sometimes ruined by Like the previous entries in and it them. Your past that, you’re sure to enjoy a great the Brothers in Arms series, Hell’s shows. The squad-mates areas that look horribly blurry before experience with refined gameplay, solid the textures load. Furthermore, even Highway is not for everyone. The shooting will stand visuals and a surprisingly touching with the install on the Playstation 3, gameplay is slow and methodically mechanics there and story. the textures don’t load any faster. paced. There’s no running and are smooth ask, “why Th e character models look gunning. You have a sprint button, and aren’t we impressive, as would be expected from but it’s only there to move from intuitive. moving?” cover to cover. Unlike other shooters, Hell’s Highway There’s a new cover system in Hell’s a UE3 game. But the lip -synching during cutscenes leaves a lot to be There are no John Wayne relies more on squad mechanics. It’s Highway that will keep your head out desired and can even pull you out of moments in Hell’s Highway Highway.. It’s not as tactical as games like Ghost of the line of fire if used properly. If the moment. a dark, gritty game that’s almost Recon or Rainbow 6, 6, but you have to you get near any solid, flat object, you Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway depressing. Hell’s Highway is the keep your squads alive if you really can press the left bumper button and is probably the most authentic Band of Brothers of video games, and want to have a smooth time during the go into a third-person view, kind of WWII experience you can get on with high production values and campaign. like Rainbow 6: Vegas. Vegas. When fighting some of the most refined gameplay Each mission gives you a different three or four squads of Germans in an a video game console. The game carries a Mature rating from the of squad-based shooters, it’s a game set of teams to command. You have open area, you’ll wonder how you ever Entertainment Software Ratings you should really look into if you’re the assault team, which is your survived without a cover system. Board. Not only is there a lot of bad a WWII shooter fan. standard group of soldiers with The controls can be overwhelming language, as you would infantry weapons; the MG team, in the beginning. You’ll send your which carries an MG-42 machine soldiers off to get killed and you’ll find expect from a group of soldiers during WWII, gun to lay down suppressing fire; the yourself flanked and killed numerous there is an insane amount of bazooka team, times, but you will soon get the hang blood and gore. which carries of it. Also, Gearbox has added a The game also has a powerful “Training” option that will help you bazooka hit the ground running with different “kill cam” moments that emphasize the brutal nature to destroy popup boxes that walk you through of the war. Land a headshot emplacements the basics of the gameplay. properly, throw a grenade and the Sooner, rather than later, you will in the right spot or shoot base of fire be popping headshots and placing a group of the enemy with team, which grenades perfectly. In fact, after a a tank shell and the game uses heavier while, the game becomes a cakewalk. will zoom in on their bodies infantry That is why Gearbox added the and slow down so you can weapons. “Authentic” game mode. After you MCT Campus see the resulting carnage. How you complete the game on one of the Heads up: Hell’s Highway offers the most realistic Think the infamous head use these two starting diffi culties, you can go WWII experience in video games with visceral action exploding scene in Scanners Scanners,, teams is through the game again without and visuals. s General William Tecumseh Sherman once said, “War is Hell.” Nearly 150 years after the Union destroyed Atlanta in the Civil War, war has become a game. Adults and children alike sit down in front of televisions with controllers in-hand and wage war across different time periods, both past and future, with little or no consequence. World War II has become the favorite time period for the setting of first-person shooters. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stormed the beaches of Normandy. I’ve killed so many Nazis that they should pin the Congressional Medal of Honor on me, and while many of the famous WWII games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty were fun, they were tame, watered-down and dare I say neutered visions of what the second World War was really like. In contrast, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway doesn’t pull any punches. It shows the true nature of WWII as best as can be done through a video game, even if it is disturbing. Hell’s Highway is the third chapter in Gearbox’s Brothers in Arms series and it puts you right back in the shoes of Sgt. Matt Baker and his ragtag group of soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division. Unlike most WWII shooters or even video games in general, Hell’s Highway is storydriven with numerous cutscenes that dig deeper into the story beyond “Look! Germans! Shoot!” For those who have never played a Brothers in Arms game before, there’s an opening cinematic that sounds more like a daytime soap opera that begins with “previously on Brothers in Arms.” Arms.” While the attempt at familiarizing new players with the story of the previous two games is noble, without any kind of context the random cutscenes have no real continuity. The cinematic isn’t needed. There’s enough character development to keep the story interesting throughout the game. Hell’s Highway takes place during Operation Market Garden, the Allied attempt to have the war ended by Christmas. It was