The Cameron University Collegian: September 8, 2008.

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

Monday, September 8, 2008

A&E

Collegian Staff

SEE PAGE 6

Sports

Volume 83 Issue 2

ROTC earns national rank

By John Robertson

PAC to screen “Iron Man.”

Informing the Cameron Family Since 1926

Cameron University’s ROTC program claimed honors this summer, placing within the top 15 percent of national ROTC programs.

The ROTC rankings are determined by a slew of factors. Academic performance, leadership qualities and physical fitness are all factored into into a cadet’s Order of Merit Score (OMS).

Extracurricular activities on campus are highly regarded; Uncle Sam wants well-versed and experienced cadets, said Lt. Col. Bill Pitts, a professor of Military Sciences at CU. “Essentially the last portion of their score revolves around how active they were in school rather than just

attending class,” he said. “The Army is looking for wellrounded officers.”

At the beginning of their senior year, ROTC cadets are given their OMS assessments, and their scores are averaged to determine the final score for the overall program. High initial scores aren’t enough to break the top 15 percent.

The Army has assigned yearly missions to every school to commission a certain amount of officers, Pitts said.

“Schools ranked in the top 15 percent must make this commission every year,” Pitts said.

See ROTC Page 2

Photo by David R. Bublitz

Oklahoma welcomes NBA team.

CU welcomes Fulbright Scholar

By Bira Vidal Collegian Staff

SEE PAGE 7

Variety

A history of the two major parties.

SEE PAGE 8

Voices

Photo by Bira Vidal

Cameron University students can now learn how to greet each other in the hallways of Nance Boyer by simply saying “an-nyeong.”

The reason for the new expression is related to the recent addition to the English and Foreign Languages department. The department is opening its doors and expanding its multiple international contributors list with the arrival of Hyejin Ko. The new Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant is originally from South Korea and comes to Cameron to teach Beginning Korean for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Ko has previously taught English for high school students in South Korea. Her four years of teaching experience gave her the desire to move to the United States to improve her English skills.

“I just applied for the Fulbright program through the [Bureau of Educational and Culture Affairs which is a division of the] United States Department of State,” Ko said.

“Even though I didn’t choose the city, I like it.”

This is the first year the English and Foreign Languages department made the Beginning Korean class available. In the past, students could take the course as an independent study, but now they have the opportunity for classroom interaction with the instructor.

“I’m teaching two classes. The day class has six students and the night class has five students,” Ko said. “Teaching Korean is very interesting [and] most students somehow have a connection to Koreans, [either] family, parents, [or] friends.”

But teaching Beginning Korean is not the only task for Ko this semester; she is also taking selected courses to help her expand her knowledge in English and education.

“I’m taking English Comp. I, Beginning Spanish and The Exceptional Child. I never learned Spanish before, but I really like it. It’s a top language, [so] I should learn that,” Ko said.

English and Foreign Languages professor Dr. George Stanley, who has worked closely with past Fulbright Scholars, will supervise Ko during her stay with the department. He says her contribution will not only be related to the language but also with her traditions.

Give and take: Visiting Fulbright scholar Hyejin Ko is teachng Introduction to Korean courses and taking college courses of her own.

See Fulbright Page 2

IZW brings in ring action to Lawton

By Joshua Rouse Collegian Staff

College presents challenges for freshmen.

SEE PAGE 4

Impact Zone Wrestling might not be a big name like the WWE or TNA, but promoter John Zorthos promises hard-hitting high-flying family fun.

“A lot of people don’t give independent wrestling the credit they do the big guys,” he said. “People should come to our shows and just give it a chance.

They don’t think anything of us. But almost all of them are entertained and leave happy.”

Zorthos and Impact Zone Wrestling are no strangers to Lawton. A monthly show was held at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club before the promotion was forced to change venues.

Zorthos had a vision of weekly shows, but could

not find a facility in the Lawton area to house the event.

“We were forced to leave and went to Oklahoma City where we held three monthly shows before changing over to weekly shows,” he said. “It went over well and we thought it was a great idea.”

Zorthos never wanted to take IZW outside of Lawton. Even before they left, Zorthos was hoping a venue would become available.

After two years of performing in Oklahoma City, a building went up for auction in June at 1009 SW F Ave. Zorthos jumped at the opportunity.

See IZW Page 2

Photo courtesy of IZW

Home Again: IZW has come back to Lawton. Shows can be seen every Saturday.

News

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September 8, 2008

IZW continued from page 1

Photos courtesy of IZW

Mic time: IZW wrestler Mr. Saturday Night makes his enemies aware of his presence while cutting a promo at one of the promotion’s shows in Oklahoma City. IZW returns to Lawton this Saturday.

“We’ve taken it and turned it into the Impact Arena,” he said. “This is our building and we can call the shots on it. No one can come in and remove us or tell us to go somewhere else.”

It’s been more than two years since the stars of IZW wrestled in the squared-circle in Lawton. A lot about the promotion has changed in those two years. New faces have come and gone and the overall product has evolved.

“When we first started, we always thought we were one of the better promotions,” Zorthos said.

“We’ve taken that to the next level and improved on it greatly.”

Each IZW show will be held weekly on Saturday evening and they run for around two hours. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the first bell rings at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and are only sold at the door.

Zorthos hopes Lawton residents will come to the shows for what he says is less than the price of a movie ticket.

“We’re going to run promotions with Cameron and hopefully

get some students and people involved with the college to come out for a discount,” he said. “We have really good storylines and we are professional wrestlers. This isn’t a hobby for these guys.”

Parents should not worry about bringing their children and grandchildren. While professional wrestling is violent, he prides himself on maintaining a PG-13 environment.

“Our guys are instructed no matter how bad it gets out there or how short tempers get, you can’t do or say certain things,” he said. “We try to teach morals and right and wrong. Usually the faces [good people] win. Because you have that kid that comes and watches and he’ll see the heels [bad people], but he always has that favorite face that he cheers for.”

As long as fans come to IZW shows, Zorthos does not see the promotion leaving Lawton again.

He said if people give his show a chance, they will not be disappointed.

“People can expect their expectations to be exceeded,” he said. “As long as the people come, we’ll always be here.”

Present this coupon at the door of the September 13th IZW show, and receive one dollar off admission.

ROTC continued from page 1 Currently, Cameron’s mission is to commission 14 lieutenants a year, but the CU ROTC program is commissioning far more officers than the mission requires, and future graduating classes are looking just as impressive, Pitts said.

“This past year, we commissioned 24, exceeding our mission by 10,” Pitts said. “We currently have 32 seniors so we will exceed our mission again by 18 lieutenants in May of 2009, and are postured to exceed our mission in 2010 by over 20 as well.”

Cameron’s average OMS score, an 81, beat out all but 17 schools in the nation and was unrivaled throughout Texas and Oklahoma, and the CU ROTC program currently serves a total of 120 cadets.

Pitts chalks the program’s success up to multiple factors.

One, close proximity to Fort Sill, helps the cadets as well as the program.

“Most colleges don’t have the luxury of being located next to a major military installation.” Pitts said. “Our students are able to do things many cadets never get to do until they enter the Army as an

officer.”

“We also get a lot of quality students from Fort Sill as soldiers who leave the Army to go back to school and then re-enter the Army as an officer,” Pitts added.

However, Pitts also said that a lot of the credit for the program’s success was due to factors on school grounds. Atmosphere, teachers and attitude all helped to make CU’s ROTC a cohesive unit.

“We have a lot of experienced cadets who have previous military service who really help coach, teach and mentor the younger cadets,” Pitt said. “ We also have outstanding military trainers in our faculty who truly care about building and training the Army’s future officers.”

Finally, Pitts praised the cadets as ideal candidates for the next generation of the Army’s best and credited them a lot of the success of the program.

“Our cadets are focused,” Pitts said, “and understand that their performance affects their success after college as career officers or just someone who wants to serve for only three years and then enter the civilian work force with invaluable leadership skills and training.”

FULBRIGHT continued from page 1

See page 5 for solutions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hyejin Ko to Cameron,” Dr. Stanley said. “Not only will she be teaching her native language to our students, she’ll be sharing the culture of her home country with them.

Our students will benefit greatly from having a native speaker of an Asian language on campus.”

When it comes to the Korean traditions, Ko says food and personal interactions are expressed uniquely, showing some particular characteristics that differ from the ones in the United States.

“Usually Korean food is spicy [and] we eat rice everyday. I think food is a part of culture,” Ko said. “We also have a hierarchy [system], we show a lot of respect for others and [especially] for older ones, [even] the definition of friends is different.”

Through the exchange in cultures, Ko wants to encourage students at Cameron to be interested in Korean. And with the Korean inf luence at Cameron and Lawton, she thinks students can greatly learn from the community.

“I’m looking forward to sharing the Korean culture and language with the students at Cameron University and learning about American culture,” Ko said. “It’s going to be a win-win situation, since my English language skills will improve each day I’m in America.”

The Fulbright Scholar position lasts nine months, and during this period the scholar directly interacts with university life and American culture.

September 8, 2008

News

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Voices 4 National media drops ball on unobjective political coverage September 8, 2008

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n a democratic society such as ours, the news media is the primary source for information that the general public uses to make decisions.

We learned that when we were in grade school. But what happens when the media drops the ball?

Two weeks ago, during the Democratic National Convention, I couldn’t turn on any news channel without seeing something about Barack Obama or the convention. CNN’s Web site was covered with Obama headlines ranging from a preview of his speech to his whereabouts when everyone else was speaking. It was like I was watching “Edtv,” but instead of a horrible Matthew McConaughey movie, this was covering my news outlets.

I didn’t think that much of it at the time. I could turn the television off or go to another Web site online. I had prepared myself for this week when John McCain and the Republicans would take the stage at their convention.

I thought to myself, “great, another week of political coverage saturating the airwaves.” But I was wrong.

This week, I have seen a grand total of four stories on Headline

News talking about the Republican National Convention.

One story was about protestors getting arrested, another story was about Joe Lieberman speaking, the third was talking about the Democrats calling him a liar and the fourth story was about Sarah Palin’s daughter being pregnant.

Is it not sad that I’ve seen more RNC coverage on WWE Monday Night Raw this past week than I have on Headline News?

I know how f laky the media is. After all, I work for it and I’m part of the problem. We’re like locusts. Our entire industry moves from story to story, and after we’ve beaten the story into the ground until no one cares anymore, we move on. And it appears Gustav was this week’s target.

It seems this weekend that the only thing people could talk about was how Hurricane Gustav was the next Katrina. The media sure knows how to make people feel good.

But then again, a headline like “Gustav destroys New Orleans” would

probably get more hits than “McCain promises change at Republican convention.”

And who’s to say which one would be important?

I’m sure people in New Orleans and Louisiana would care more about the large storm heading their way rather than a 72 year-old presidential candidate, but what happened to fair and balanced reporting?

Fair and balanced is some naïve term that most people don’t believe in these days. But it seems as if something as important as the political scene for our country for the next four years would be something that would need to be covered.

Hurricane Gustav turned out to be a dud compared to Katrina, so why not switch the coverage back to the convention?

Charles Gibson and Katie Couric both left the St. Paul, Minn., site of the convention and went

down to the Gulf Coast to cover Gustav. Throughout last Sunday and Monday, even when there was any kind of coverage of the convention, a looping radar image of Gustav was in the bottom corner.

On Fox News, the Gustav radar image took up the majority of the screen while the reporter was relegated to a ¼ of the screen. It was ridiculous.

It seems that finally, after the storm blows over, the big thing people can talk about is Palin’s daughter being pregnant. CNN reporter Kyra Phillips was “sent to Anchorange to investigate” Palin’s background based off rumors in the blogosphere. Are we taking blog rumors seriously now? Anyone can have a blog and anyone can make

Joshua Rouse

their own news, but a respected news organization like CNN should not take rumors seriously like that.

I’m not going to be a tin hatwearing conspiracy theorist and say the media is biased against the Republicans. I don’t think it’s necessarily intentional, per se.

But I must say, it is disheartening.

If I’m going to have minute-byminute coverage of Obama and his campaign during the DNC, I at least want to have the option to turn off the same coverage of McCain’s campaign and the RNC. In such a tight election as this, any factor including television time could factor in to who wins the election.

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

Newsroom Staff

Beginning college can be daunting task

Ads Manager - Kerry Myers Financial Officer - Susan Hill Staff Writers - Alexis Del Ciello, Taylor Brunwald

all major events on campus are advertised through Facebook well My freshman year of college was in advance, with photos of the events surfacing days later. Social my most life-changing experience. I underwent all new highs and lows, both networking sites are also a great way to keep in touch with friends and family both near and far. Many students I have met who lack some academic and personal, and learned sort of online profile do so out of laziness or fear. A friend of mine more about life than I ever thought I once deleted his Facebook account out of the blue because his ex was needed to know. Looking back, I did stalking him. Yikes. It’s helpful to know that online you only have make some mistakes, and I wish I had to give as much information as you feel comfortable with giving, and followed my own advice. blocking unwanted users is always an option.

First, I completely underestimated College can be one of the best experiences you have in life, but you the positive atmosphere at Cameron. will encounter bumps in the road, and many Visions of giant lecture halls and that aren’t covered in Gold Rush. As the surly professors loomed in my old adage goes, “hope for the best and nightmares. Admission prepare for the worst.” You will have anxiety was only disappointments. You will face breakfueled by images of ups. And you just might fail a test or heavy workloads, two. Don’t let these ordeals dampen social isolation and general disorientation. your spirits for too long. I dealt with Upon stepping foot into my first class, I all three of these problems during my found my fears to be exaggerated, if not freshman year, yet the sun still rises. unfounded. For the most part, Cameron’s Reach out for help when you need it, professors proved to be helpful and academically or personally. Believe it or approachable. Most check their e-mail not, there are probably other students on regularly. There are numerous labs that campus dealing with the same issues that make homework less daunting. I realized you are. each semester brings new challenges and Just to clear up some misconceptions: opportunities.

Not everyone is having sex, not everyone Another unexpected benefit is drinking and not everyone is partying of Cameron was the impact the every weekend. I will not deny that these international community had on my activities occur, but I will tell you that these view of college life. According to the activities are not occurring en masse. Whatever International Department’s Web site, there your buddies may be doing on the weekend, be are over 250 students who represent nearly responsible should you decide to join them.

50 different nations from around the And finally, never go to Wal-Mart alone after 11 p.m. world. During my first week at CU, I met Just trust me on this one. students from Albania, Brazil, the Caribbean MCT Campus Islands, China and Nepal.

After befriending several of these students, I have found that their unique perspectives on life have only expanded my own.

One major lesson I learned was how to manage my newfound independence.

Living away from home and free from my family’s inf luence, I found that I suddenly had massive amounts of free time with nobody to tell me how to fill it. Foolishly, that free time was not spent responsibly, and I am not proud to admit that my transcript ref lects that. Properly balancing my academic and personal lives certainly would have made my freshman year smoother.

I also found online networking to be essential to modern college life. Nearly

Dr. Christopher Keller

Faculty Adviser

Taylor Brunwald

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.

A&E

September 8, 2008

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CUTV brings old, new shows this semester

By Raven Weiss Newswriting Student If you’ve ever wanted to learn how television shows are made, how to direct, edit or light a stage, then Cameron may have just the class for you.

Dr. Matt Jenkins, a CU Radio/ Televison Professor, has taught courses on the subject for 12 years.

One of his courses, Basic Television Production, seeks to give students a powerful grasp on the basic tools needed to produce a quality on-camera product, while encouraging students to cut their teeth on the numerous sets of CU shows already in production.

Currently, there are five shows that CU produces, including two that have been running for as long as Jenkins can remember.

“Top of the Hour and the Student Government Show have been around for as long as I have, perhaps even longer,” Jenkins said. “I would love for the students to tune in as often as they can. It

is produced and directed by the students for the students, and the content pertains to all CU students one way or another.”

The newest edition to the CU family, “Film Geek,” hosted by Kyle Leutters, is running strong on its second season and discusses various new and upcoming movie releases.

CU shows air on campus and are also uploaded to YouTube. With a well-established internet reputation and a combined total of 3,706 views on YouTube as of Sept. 1st, 2008, Jenkins plans on getting the audience to grow throughout the school year.

“I think the hardest thing about getting a show going is finding a crew to help us out,” Jenkins said.

“Last year there was practically no one interested, but this year we had plenty of people.

After getting a crew together and teaching them to use the equipment properly, it’s all fairly simple.

Students are rotated through a variety of positions, including running a Teleprompter, cameras, lights,

floor directing, writing, directing and producing. Jenkins added that before anyone becomes an anchor or a host on the shows that they must have at least one semester’s experience as a crew member.

Of course, where there is film making there is a need for high quality equipment. The CU studio, located in the basement of the administration building, just received a new $15,000 set.

Jenkins noted that the set, which can be divided into two parts when needed, will make production far more versatile. This isn’t the first time the studio has been upgraded, and high definition cameras are already in the works.

Setting up times for the shows to be filmed is no simple task either. On top of the anchors and crew members having various busy schedules, the CU studio is booked almost all days of the week. “Film Geek” starts filming at 1:30 p.m. on Mondays, “CU Spots” at 8:00 a.m., “Student Government” at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, “Top of the Hour” on Thursdays at 8 a.m. and “CU TV” Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Jenkins said that the shows do receive funding through scholarships as well as donations, These funds go toward maintaining the set and all the equipment as

pulled out all the stops and the Centennial Committee has planned an array of exciting events for students this semester.

If the Programming Activities Council (PAC) Foam Party is an indication of what is in store for students, it is going to be an incredible year. Students and

guests gathered together to bust out dance moves and enjoy the cool August evening air.

Freshman Brandon Atkins found himself having a wonderful time among the foamy crowd.

Atkins has enjoyed the creative activities and events the University has hosted.

“College is five steps above high school,” Atkins said.

“I am curious and excited to see what else is going to happen this year.”

The foam party was a huge success as the line of eager dancers began moving in to the courtyard at 9 p.m. and raved on until midnight.

Each student was allowed to bring two guests to the bubbly extravaganza.

Throughout the night there were two

Photos by Raven Weiss

Quiet on the set: Students get ready for the taping of “Top of the Hour.” The show gives R/TV students hands-on experience. well as providing for repairs, but noted that much of the equipment is out of date and needs to be replaced.

If you are interested in joining the CU TV family, Jenkins

suggested enrolling in one of his classes to gain experience with the equipment. Jenkins also encouraged students who are interested in seeing CU produced material to search YouTube for “cuinternettv”.

Cameron PAC hosts annual Foam Dance

By Katie Batule Newswriting Student Foam was f lowing Thursday night as Cameron students danced the night away at the Fine Arts Courtyard.

Cameron University, celebrating 100 years, has

Photo by Jim Horinek

Getting down and foamy: Students enjoy the foam at PAC’s foam party. The party opened PAC’s fall schedule. machines that sprayed foam from above. Student Activities also had a DJ who worked the crowd and kept the energy high throughout the night with fresh, upbeat tunes.

Jennyann Roig, a junior majoring in Radio/TV, recalled attending the foam party three years ago. “It is just as much fun as I remembered,” Roig said. “The music is great this year.”

Cody Mellott, of Student Activities, was proud to say that

this was Cameron’s 6th year hosting the Foam Party.

“The Foam Party has consistently been one of our schools biggest turnouts,” Mellott said. “The party fit right in with our schools’ Centennial Celebration, following closely after the August 22nd Oak Ridge Boys concert.”

Business major Natasha Ruff, a freshman at Cameron, noted that the DJ took the night from fun to fabulous. Ruff has also paid special attention to the upcoming Centennial Calendar.

“I am totally thrilled about the events to come this year,” Ruff said. “The music is much better than DJ’s I’ve heard before.”

The party wrapped up at midnight and a trail of foamcovered students were heard laughing and talking about what a great party PAC had put on.

A&E

6

September 8, 2008

Sound of music echoes across campus

Cameron Centennial celebration to be serenaded with various performances

Photo courtesy of Music Department

Going in the right direction: Dr. James Lambert hones his directing skills in preparation in the upcoming concert season.

By Bira Vidal Collegian Staff Through its asymmetrical architectural building and inspiring rhythms, the Music Department has printed its mark on Cameron’s history along the years, daring to create and fuse new music styles in southwest Oklahoma.

This year will not differ in any aspect. The Cameron Music Department is looking to embody the spirit of the Centennial

Celebration with performances scheduled for the fall semester.

According to Dr. James Lambert, chair of the Music Department, the various performances will highlight the interconnection among each other, and Music students and faculty will concede their talents throughout the year.

“Our core umbrella is the Centennial, all events are linked to the Celebration,” Dr. Lambert said. “It’s difficult to do so [because the events are] so diverse

and unrelated to each other.”

As the Centennial Celebration takes place in different departments with different schedules, the Music department reserved some time to plan its own schedule with performances that follow the annual cycle and new ones that complement that calendar.

The first performance of the fall season will bring a recital from pianist Dr. Hyunsoon Whang, a Music professor here at CU, to the University Theatre on

Oct. 2.

A second event on Oct. will see the Cameron University Choir in Concert on Oct. 9 and the Cameron/Lawton Community Band Concert on Oct. 12. Both events will be featured at the University Theatre.

Some performances from the Music department in the fall will find common ground with other Liberal Arts departments, but Dr. Lambert stated that his department will contribute to other performances yet remain autonomous.

“Our events are independent,” Dr. Lambert said. “They do interrelate, but not directly.”

The Country Jazz Fusion will end October’s schedule and at the same time open Liberal Arts Week. Liberal Arts Week will feature the Country Jazz Fusion, The Opera Scenes and the Cameron University Percussion Ensemble Concert.

“The Opera Scenes is somehow an indirect collaboration [of the Theatre Department],” Dr. Lambert said. “There is going to be an opera workshop class [and] students will be studying different opera pieces.”

The Percussion Ensemble Concert will bring a special theme to the audience as an Election Evening Escape. The Opera Scenes will feature different Opera pieces that are

inter-connected. Following the performance, the Art department will host an art exhibition.

The Lectures and Concerts Committee sponsors most of the Music performances in the fall semester. The committee made it possible with the momentum of the campus wide Centennial Celebration.

“Cameron University’s Department of Music possesses a very talented, highly-skilled faculty, an energetic, enthusiastic student body, and a supportive, loyal set of alumni and constituents {ERROR} : Need attribution or something “What I’m stressing is my vision of openness, collective ownership, opportunity, and outreach,” Dr. Lambert said. “All the events are ref lections of this [vision], [our desire is to] give the opportunity to our students to participate [and] outreach our audience in Lawton, Fort. Sill, as well as Duncan.”

The last concert of the fall semester will take place Dec. 13 with a special reunion between Cameron University’s choir and the Lawton Civic Chorale performing Handel’s Messiah at the McMahon Auditorium.

All events are free for students with a valid Cameron ID card.

For more information about tickets or the Music department fall schedule please call (580) 5812440.

‘Iron Man’ charges year’s first PAC movie night

By Alexis Del Ciello Collegian Staff Cameron University’s Programming Activities Council (PAC), who brought us Welcome Week and the Foam Dance Party, have fun events planned for CU students throughout the school year.

The sound of students chatting, leaves blowing in the wind and the smell of popcorn will fill the air at 9 p.m. Thursday on the CU Fitness Center lawn.

Zeak Naifeh, the Director of Student Activities, said PAC has put together a movie night for all students to enjoy, and like all PAC events, it is free.

“We are showing ‘Iron Man,’” Naifeh said. “The newest version.”

For students that were not able to watch “Iron Man” on the big screen in May, PAC guaranteed students would not miss the fun and excitement of a comic book character coming to life.

“We have an agreement with Swank Motion Pictures to show movies that are no longer in the theater but are not in home release yet,” Naifeh said.

An excerpt from ironmanmovie.marvel.com said, “Oscar® nominee Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the story of a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon.

Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he

MCT Campus

Talk to the hand: Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., experiments with his super hero gear. ‘Iron Man’ was the surprise hit of the summer, grossing the second highest box office total. uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man. The film also stars Oscar® winner Gwyneth Paltrow and Oscar® nominees Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges and will be directed

by Jon Favreau.”

Naifeh said that the showing will be a full-f ledged event, and urged students to make themselves comfortable.

“We will have food and drinks,” Naifeh said. “We encourage students to bring lawn chairs and blankets. It is going to be a lot of people hanging out having a good time watching a movie.”

More PAC events following Movie Night are planned to pump up CU spirit, Naifeh revealed.

“After the movie night is a CU

At the Game Series. The series is a brand new school spirit series to promote home athletic events and to get students to the games,” Naifeh said. “That is going to be on Saturday, Sept. 20. It is a volleyball game versus UCO. Then, the next Thursday (Sept. 25) is a T-shirt swap, which is always popular to get a new Cameron shirt in exchange for another college T-shirt.”

Sports

September 8, 2008

7

Super maybe, but they are no longer Sonics

By Bira Vidal Collegian Staff One question has kept Oklahoma basketball fans busy for most of the summer.

What will be the new name of the NBA Seattle Sonics team that transferred its players and coaches to Oklahoma City?

Most people got puzzled by this inquiry back in Seattle when Seattle Sonics owner Clay Bennett decided to negotiate the team’s fate with Oklahoma City Council members in an agreement that started in the spring and carried itself into the summer.

The team that brought 41 years of NBA history to the Emerald City is now certainly taking a piece of the green glory days from the northwestern metropolis and getting down in the mid-west for a settlement equivalent to $26.5 million.

But the question still remains.

If the Seattle Sonics leaves its name, colors and history behind, what is the name of the new NBA basketball team invading the Oklahoma City Ford Center?

Basketball fans and common online commuters fi lled the blogsphere with answers for the probable name for the team. Some of the answers showed originality and inner creativity while others just crashed and burned.

It seemed that most Oklahoma basketball fans spend part of the summer watching the weather forecast on TV. The majority of names had a direct relation to inclement weather.

Common suggestions included The Oklahoma MCT Campus City Tornadoes, The Oklahoma City Twisters or The F5’s.

Some people decided to forgo deadly weather, opting instead to go with the less threatening Oklahoma City Storm and Lighting, but it sounded like a federal relief agency. Some even dared to say Oklahoma City Cyclones or Hurricanes until they realized that Oklahoma City is not by the ocean.

The “best” picks came from High School graduates. Two jewels out of the physical education class were the Oklahoma City Wildcats and the Oklahoma City Bulldogs, but they did not make the cut for the upcoming NBA team.

But with all this guesswork, contribution became confusion.

Some have asked why the team should not keep the old Sonics, logo, color and Star Wars inspired Chewbacca-Squatch, the Sonics mascot.

The answer came from the team’s ownership group. The group said to ESPN online that they “understand the city’s desire to reserve the Sonics name for a future franchise and support the city’s effort with the NBA.” Enough said. Seattle still wishes to be the homeland to a NBA team.

Another option came from obscure and morbid minds with a twisted sense of humor. The Oklahoma City Bombers ranked high online on the list of names.

There were some originally funny choices. The Oklahoma City Dokies was suggested because fans said they could cheer, “Go Okie Dokies Go!” Or fans could cheer for the Oklahoma City Avatars, or Oklahoma City Rockets, shooting the other team into outer space.

For fi nal options, some

Photo courtesy of MCT Campus

He’s hairy—where’s Sally: Squatch (middle) the Seattle Sonics mascot poses with Mariner Moose, the mascot for the Seattle Mariners. With a new team name and new city it is unclear whether the team will be looking for a more weather based mascot for the upcoming season. One of the difficulties of a possible new mascot will be finding a visual representation of the team name, Thunder, which only the audible part of a thunderstorm.

Oklahomans voted to steal the name of other teams and call the new team the Oklahoma City Chiefs (Kansas City), the Oklahoma City Sooners (OU) or the Oklahoma City Cowboys (OSU). Again, creativity is a must in the basketball business.

Finally, the new team leaders had trimmed the options to five choices: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Oklahoma City

Wind, the Oklahoma City Energy, the Oklahoma City Barons and the Oklahoma City Bison.

Through a leak in their information system, team officials printed a team schedule with the Oklahoma City Thunder on it. It is official; the Oklahoman capital introduces the recent NBA acquisition, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Aggies even record after first tournament

By Craig Martin Sports Information Director The 2008-2009 athletic season officially began August 29th and 30th with the Cameron volleyball team’s (2-2) participation in the Arkansas Tech University Tournament in Russellville, Arkansas. The Aggies and firstyear head coach Brianne Smedley went 2-2 at the event, with each of their four matches lasting the minimum three sets.

On Friday afternoon the Aggies swept an overmatched Felician College squad 3-0 (25-8, 258, 25-11).

Cameron took care of business in less than an hour and looked dominant throughout. Later on in the evening, CU matched up against host Arkansas Tech and was swept 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 2516). The CU-ATU match was much closer than the final score indicates.

In Saturdays action Cameron got started off with another 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-17, 25-20), this time over the University of Alabama-Huntsville. The Aggies were looking to sweep today’s two matches, but unfortunately lost the nightcap this afternoon to Drury University, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-17). The loss dropped Cameron to 2-2 so far in this young season.

“Over the course of the weekend, we excelled at all of the different aspects of volleyball,” Coach Smedley said. “We could just never put them together at the same time.”

Cameron’s primary setter,

junior Laura Ellerbrock, led the team in assists throughout the tournament with 76 total. She also finished with 9 kills on 13 attacks, and 19 digs.

Senior libero Veronica Reeks had a great tournament defensively for the Aggies, leading the way with 37 defensive digs.

She also had 4 assists and 7 service aces.

CU had a number of girls put up impressive offensive numbers, but the squad’s kill leader was junior rightside hitter Lindsay Paziuk.

Paziuk was a force at the net as she racked up a team-high 46 kills on 95 total attacks. Due to her incredible play, Paziuk was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Overall it was a good weekend of volleyball for the Aggie volleyball team. Cameron entered the season ranked No. 7 in the Lone Star Conference preseason rankings.

“I thought the upper-classmen stepped up and played good volleyball this weekend,” Coach Smedley said. “I think this was a good opportunity for our freshman to get some experience against tough competition, but we will definitely need them to step up as the season progresses.”

The team’s next action comes the weekend of September 5th at the Texas Woman’s University Tournament in Denton, Texas.

The tournament runs September 5-6 and matches CU up against the likes of Ouachita Baptist, Texas Wesleyan, Pittsburg State, and the University of TexasPermian Basin.

Photo by Bennett Dewan

Taking one for the team: Lindsay Carroll dives to save a point during the Alumni Intrasquad scrimmage. The recent road trip to the Arkansas Tech Tournament left the Aggies with a 2-2 record. Junior Lindsay Paziuk was named to the All- Tournament team for her stellar play throughout the weekend.

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Variety

September 8, 2008