Collegian T he Cameron University
www.aggiecentral.com
Monday, October 4, 2021
Volume 105 Issue 2
KEN HADA Cameron Visiting Writer
By Brittney Payette At 7 p.m., on Sept. 17, in the Buddy Green Room in the MCC, the first writer of the Visiting Writers Series of Fall 2021 took place with award-winning author Ken Hada. Hada is a poet and a professor at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He has received the Glenda Carlile Distinguished Service Award, the 2017 South Central Modern Language Association (SCMLA) Poetry Prize, and the Western Heritage Award. Hada said that he spent a lot of his time during the pandemic writing poetry. “I was fortunate because I have some acreage, and I basically stayed out in the middle of nowhere,” Hada said. “I wrote a lot more than I thought I was writing actually.” Hada read several poems including “Testimony,” “Sliver of Moon,” “Chicory in the Ditches,” “The Uneven Landscape of Love,” “Streaking in Bible Camp,” and “Genesis 1 and 2.” Hada recently signed a contract allowing his poem "Chicory in the Ditches" to be set to music. The poem “Chicory in the Ditches” is from his book “Sunlight & Cedar (2020)”: “When first light calms blue-swept night / and cool dawn erases / yesterday’s heat. // Morning reminds us that night / is a fragment, and summer / swelter is brief.” Hada writes poetry about a multitude of topics including his family, nature and his experiences in life. Hada said that he is very sensitive to nature because he grew up in rural Oklahoma. “I write a lot of nature works,” Hada said. “Nature is beautiful, but it’s vicious as well.” before reading from his poem “Skeleton.” Hada said that he tries to get an idea of what his audience likes when he goes to events like the one at CU. “Whenever I see a new audience, I’ve got to figure out you guys,” Hada said. “are you pessimists, or are you optimists?” Hada attests to his writing experience, citing writer’s block as a main issue. “Writer’s block is a psychological thing,” Hada said. “It can really start to mess with
your head after a while if you let it.” Additionally, Hada said he revises and changes parts of his poems when he performs them at events. “Everything I put in a book I wish I had performed it first,” Hada said. “I try to edit and compose orally to hear. I think that’s very important, not just to put it on paper — but to hear it.” Hada said that after the poems are written, they become a “photo album” and take on a life of their own. “Once it’s published or something,” Hada said, “it’s not yours anymore. You have no control of what happens to it. It’s kind of cool when people give you feedback, usually.” Hada said that the text must come first, since, if the words on the page are not well written, then it does not matter how well it is performed or read, it will all fall through. “The audience knows when you’re honest,” Hada said. “If it’s true to what you think it ought to be, the audience gets that. They respect that.” CU Freshman Lisa Lee said she liked how Hada illustrated his poems in a vivid way. “The way that he described some of his poems,” Lee said. “It’s almost like you can see, like he’s trying to paint a picture. I liked
it. I love poetry.” Attendee Robert Chisholm said that he also enjoyed the event, and that he wishes more people would show up to events. “It’s really nice,” Chisholm said. “I love nerdy things. Besides, there’s not much else better to do on a Friday night in Lawton.” Hada’s newest poetry book “Contour Feathers” is set to be released in October 2021. To learn more or to purchase any of Hada’s books, go to his website at https://kenhada.org/.
What’s Inside Jam PAC’d with tunes: Karaoke Page 2
Spreading the Health Page 3
Behind the scenes of CUTV Page 4
2
News
October 4, 2021
www.aggiecentral.com
PAC Karaoke Night By Ian Snyder-Sohl Staff Writer
On Sept. 14, in the McCasland Ballroom located in the McMahon Centennial Complex (MCC) Journalism and Media Production Senior and first year Programming Activities Council (PAC) Event Coordinator Amaya Stevenson hosted her first event as an Event Coordinator with PAC -- Karaoke Night In. “This is my very first event that I’ve ever planned and executed,” Stevenson said. “I picked karaoke just because the whole time that I’ve been a student here, they haven’t done a karaoke night and I really think
that karaoke is fun.” During the event, there were a total of twenty different songs performed by multiple students – some even choosing to karaoke together in large groups. Among the performers were students Steven Page, Janiya Williams, Kemp Kinder, and Grace McMullen. Steventson said that there was a bigger turn out than she intitially anticipated. “I kind of estimated like twenty to thirty so, I think there’s 20 or so in there now, which is more than I did expect because it’s an evening event and a lot of people don’t come back on campus for things.” Stevenson chalks up the successful turnout to the fun factor of karaoke, an event which allows students to take the stage and show their skills, or lack thereof, and having a good time singing together. “You don’t have to be able to sing,” Stevenson said. “We had people that were singing and they were really good at it and then you’ve had me, and Jadance and we sound horrible, but it’s okay. We’re up there having fun and laughing and like seeing
everybody else laughing and clapping and having fun like it was really cool.” PAC has many other events in their plans as well. Their next activity will take place in the coming weeks and consists of students creating their own personal moss ball aquariums. “The next event that we’re hosting is actually Jadance’s event,” Stevenson said. “We’re making moss ball aquariums… it’s gonna be down in the MCC, I believe, and you just come to the table and make your little moss ball aquarium, and I think that’s happening in a couple weeks.” Cameron University’s PAC is lookinag to supplement the laughter by accepting new members to create new events for the coming semesters and support the rest of the team with ideas and hosting assistance. “If you want to join PAC, you can,” Stevenson said. “Our meetings are Mondays at 6:15 p.m. We have a zoom option, or you can come. They’re in the Buddy Green Room and anybody’s welcome to join. There’s no dues, and your student activity fees pay for all the events we host on campus.” Visit the PAC meetings to become a part of the next event and to have the opportunity to share your ideas with the rest of the council. For more information, email PAC at pac@cameron. edu.
Photos by Ian Snyder-Sohl
Faculty in Residence
Managing the Pull of Present and Future By Brittney Payette
Assistant Managing Editor At 5 p.m. on Sept. 20 in the Shepler Ballroom, the first Faculty in Residence event, which was called Managing the Pull of the Present and Future Fall 2021 took place. People could join both in person and over Zoom. CU Professor Chris Sauer hosted the event. Students signed in and received a ticket upon arrival to be used in the raffle for one of three 25-dollar Amazon gift cards. Catered food such as quesadillas and drinks were available. Sauer set up an anonymous online poll so that attendees could answer a few questions throughout Sauer’s PowerPoint presentation about managing the present and future. One of the questions asked how the semester is going, and the most popular answer was good but could be better. Sauer first talked about graduation rates (within six years) for OU and OSU, which were 67 percent and 63 percent respectfully, versus the graduation rates for CU which was 22 percent. Sauer found that around 27 percent of students work 20 plus hours a week at OSU; however, 70.6 percent of students at CU work 20 plus hours a week. “If you’re here at Cameron University, well, we’re working a lot,” Sauer said. “In fact, most of us are
working many, many more times than our friends and colleagues at OSU or OU. Aggies are hard workers.” On average, college students that work 15 hours a week tend to have a higher GPA. College students who work full time are 10 percent less likely than their peers that work part time to get a degree. “Every hour you’re spending on something that is not related to
Boyer. The Student Enrichment Center recently received a 2.1-million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions program. “We are kind of like the mom of, let’s say, your life here at Cameron,” Medina said. “Your advisor is kind of like dad, they set you up with your courses, tell you where you gotta go…
obtaining your future is another hour Photo by Brittney on Payette you’re spending the present.” Sauer said. Daniel Medina is a student success coach at the Student Success Center. The Student Success Center at CU is located on the second floor of Nance
We do everything else.” This includes things such as questions about your studying habits, computer questions, anything on or off-campus, financial aid questions, and more. “We want to make sure that you
are successful as an Aggie,” Medina said. “If you need any kind of help while you’re here at campus as far as food, health, shelter, walking your dog, giving your parrot CPR, making it come back to life, contact us.” Medina said that at the center, they want CU students to be in class and focus on nothing else but being successful at college. He asks that if any student is having any issue, that they come to the Student Enrichment Center for help because they do it all. Next, Sauer continued talking about finances and college, including student loans. “At some points in time, we have to take a little bit out of the future in order to keep your present working,” Sauer said. Sauer then talked about internal struggles that create obstacles to success, including procrastination. “Procrastination is a form of avoidance,” Sauer said. “It’s a behavior that magnifies your stress. Avoidance behaviors don’t solve problems.” Sophomore Information Technology major Richard Routon attended the event and was one of three winners of an Amazon gift card. This was the first Faculty in Residence event that he has attended. “I wanted to check out this new student enrichment center,” Routon said. “I was glad to learn about it.”
3
Voices
October 4, 2021
www.aggiecentral.com
Photo courtesy of Tribune News Service
Healthy habits:
Everything starts at the beginning
Alison Malawey Voices Editor
Change is hard. When it comes to bettering yourself, getting started can be intimidating. The sheer amount of resources out there to help you become a better version of yourself can be enough to dishearten someone into giving up before even getting started. I just wanted to let you know that getting started is not as scary as it may seem. Whatever the journey you’re looking to take, it can’t start unless you take the first step. There are all sorts of resources out there suggesting what you should do to be healthier and how should do it, but the truth is, “healthier” is different from one person to the next. It’s important to remind ourselves that our journey isn’t, and can’t be, the same as someone else’s. The Shape Your Future
Program is a resource provided by the state of Oklahoma to encourage people to live healthier lifestyles. The program promotes a “Power of One” campaign to highlight how incorporating small, healthy habits into your daily routine adds up to a healthier lifestyle over time. If you’re like me, you have a lot about yourself that you want to fix. Nothing happens overnight. Pick a few things you can add to your daily routine that don’t change it all too much. Instead of soda, drink some water. Add more vegetables to just one of your meals. Park farther away from the building when running errands. Your new habits don’t all have to be about physical improvement. Try carrying a reusable water bottle or snacks from home to keep yourself from spending money on vending machines. Instead of scrolling through Tik Tok or Instagram for
hours, set aside 30 minutes of that time to read a book. Try to avoid watching TV in bed. Turn off your devices at least 30 minutes before bed. I have a limit set on my phone for Instagram, and when I’ve reached the allotted amount of time, my phone lets me know and closes the app. After graduating, I would like to travel internationally. Recently, I’ve started practicing French for 15 minutes a day. Language apps make it easy to practice languages. I’ve only been doing this for a few weeks, but I find myself starting to think in French as well as English. Have you ever heard the rule, “it takes 21 days to form a habit?” Well, that’s a load of bull. In a study performed by Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at University College London, and published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, Lally and her team found that it takes on average 66 days to form a habit.
Don’t be discouraged if your habit doesn’t become automatic right away. It can take anywhere from two to eight months for your new habit to really stick. The study also found that “missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit
formation process.” In other words, it’s okay to fall of the wagon every now and then. If you forget one day, all your hard work is not lost. The most important aspect is to not quit. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Photo by Alison Malawey
The easy way is not always the best way: Society has made life easy for us to make bad choices. When vending machines or fast food are the only options, try making it a habit to pick the healthier choices.
A message from the editor...
This semester is the first in nearly two years where in-person classes are open at Cameron, and in my own case, there are hard lessons I have had to learn and decisions I made to grow during these two years. Knowing this, I had to consider what I can do to ensure I am being as safe as I can, while still having time with friends and being involved on campus. My highest priority suggestion is to learn to create and set boundaries for friends and family. For example, I am comfortable enough to hang out with vaccinated friends unmasked, but only if there is
an established level of communication and trust to not endanger each other by meeting up with symptoms, and we also retain social distance. Boundaries are important to learn how to set, because otherwise you push yourself too far and become numb to your own wants and needs. Learn how to set boundaries in your relationships and prioritize checking on yourself prior to agreeing to things, and you will likely see a lot of development within yourself. Next is to make as much of an effort as you can towards planning stuff out — but set up a safety net of grace for yourself when you cannot stick to the plan. Cameron has resources to help with class organization and is very fortunate
Cambron Alsbrook
About Us
to have so many professors that are open to communicating with students about assignments and strategies. This goes together with the other two things mentioned, but I recommend at least trying out counseling. The Student Wellness Center offers counseling that is included in student tuition, so talking with a counselor can help fight loneliness and isolation – and you are already paying for it anyways. Before going further, note that it is a different thing entirely to read advice, and another to do it. I have had many problems surface because of the pandemic, and I also have had to step back several times and evaluate my perspective on what life means to me, and not the “me” I present to other people. I read a bit of a book titled “The Inner Game of Tennis” by Timothy Gallwey, and admittedly I still have to finish it as of now, but there is an idea presented in the book that within everyone there exists two “selves.” You have “Self 1,” the “thinking self,” and “Self 2,” the “performing
self.” Both work together to accomplish things by method of relay and perform. According to Gallwey’s text, the two perform best together when the mind is quiet and nonjudgmental to itself. I recommend reading the text, as even the early concepts introduced give advice and perspective that applies to so many different faucets of life. I have learned to be gracious and try not to criticize my failures. So, my last bit of advice is to see the low grade or late assignment not as a personal failure, but as something that simply needs to be corrected. If you – like I am – are stressed and burnt out, it is completely understandable to be, as we are currently living in an intense political climate amidst a global pandemic. Try your best to seek mental highground and know that there are plenty of people on campus that are willing to help and talk. Here is to a year of self-awareness and self-love. Letters Policy
THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY
The official student newspaper of Cameron University, The Cameron Collegian is available twenty Mondays during the year. It is printed by the Lawton Constitution. The first issue is provided for free. Each subsequent issue is $1.50.
COLLEGIAN Founded in 1926 veritas sempiterna
Letters to the editor will be printed in the order in which they are received and on a space available basis.
Our Views
Editorial Staff
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.
The opinions expressed in The Collegian pages or personal columns are those of the signed author. The unsigned editorial under the heading “Voices” 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.
Managing Editor - Cambron Alsbrook Assistant Managing Editor - Brittney Payette Voices Editor - Alison Malawey A & E Editor - Shianne Taylor Student Life Editor - Ryan Martin Sports Editor - Jimm Alley Copy Editor - Brittney Payette
Newsroom Staff
Staff Writers - Charles Ajjarapu, Jackson Miller, Jashua Orndorff, Ashlin Penn, Cade Taylor Photographers - Joshua Dodge, Ian Snyder Financial Officer - Susan Hill Faculty Adviser - Prof. David Bublitz
All letters from students should include first and last names, classification and major. Letters from people outside the Cameron community should include name, address and phone number for verification. Letters can be sent by mail, by e-mail to aggiecentral@ cameron.edu or they may be dropped off to the Academic Commons 101.
4
A&E
October 4, 2021
www.aggiecentral.com
Photo by Alison Malawey
Our Campus Voices: Students in Media Practicum at the Cameron University television studio practice their roles before recording the broadcast, “CU News.” “CU News” is a student-ran broadcast program that students film every week and upload to AggieCentral.com.
Have you seen the news? By Shianne Taylor A&E Editor
For students interested in Journalism and Media Production and other related fields, Cameron University provides support for student-led broadcasting television programs, such as CU News, Film Geek and Gametime. CU senior Asante Hardin was one of the anchors for the first CU News of Fall 2021. He said that each week, the CU students change roles. “We tend to play different roles during the show so that we can get an overall experience,”
Hardin said. The different roles include: controlling one of the cameras, anchoring, moving the teleprompter, floor director and many other jobs. Hardin said that his prior classes provided him with knowledge on how to do the different roles. Along with various production work in the studio, students also act as reporters for the stories being covered, which also gives them hands-on experience. Journalism and Media Production Senior DaLynna Wood is the producer for CU News.
“So, I stack the show,” Wood said. “I prepare like the director’s script and the anchors’ script and just get everything ready so that when we actually go into the studio everything is prepared and we can just film the show as if it was live.” The show is prerecorded and the stories are put together by the students. For CU News in particular, the talent and crew who runs the program is a part of a class called Media Practicum where they are graded on the stories they put together for the show.
“I just read out story ideas, and reporters are free to pick whatever story fits with their schedule,” Wood said. “If a reporter even has their own story idea they can just let me know. They can basically cover whatever they think is important.” Wood said Students like to cover the stories and issues that affect Cameron students the most. CU News is filmed every Friday so that students can discuss hot topics and events on campus while they are still fresh on their minds. All episodes for shows on CUTV are uploaded to
Aggiecentral.com. One thing many college students hope to gain before they leave school and go on to their professional careers is experience. Currently, when applying for jobs many employers require that their applicants have some kind of relevant experience. Cameron University can help with that. Wood has been apart of the show for several years now. “With how realistic our studio is, the people in the Journalism and Media Production majors can actually graduate and go working straight into
ART THAT TOUCHES HEARTS By Shianne Taylor A&E Editor
Cameron art students Andy Cortez and Camila Ramos are excited about the flexibility of Cameron’s art department. Cortez, a freshman, said Cameron provides a vast art program. “Here at Cameron we get the opportunity to explore all different kinds of mediums as first year students,” Cortez said. The University offers different art classes that not every school offers such as welding arts, which is one of the reasons why Ramos, also a freshman from El Salvador, chose to come to Cameron. Ramos chose art because she wanted to one day create something that evokes emotion in people. “Personally, I feel like what art is for me is not only is it a way for me to catalyze a message or my feelings or something that I want to get through to someone else, I find something beautiful about creating stuff that affects people,” Ramos said. She talked about how being an artist allows her to even
help other people’s visions come to light because they know what they want, but do not know how to necessarily create it. “Let’s say I do a piece for someone else. I enjoy it so much when they see the final product and it’s exactly what they want,” Ramos said. No matter if someone is doing art for themselves or someone else every piece of art has a message within it, art is a powerful tool, that is subjective where everyone can express themselves. “I think it’s more about what others get out of it than what I put into it,” Cortez said. “Art is like escapism for me, it’s a way to just cool down and forget the world around me. It’s like a stability thing for me. There’s something comforting about transforming an idea from real life into art that may or may not last a great deal of time.” Ramos echoed the same message as Cortez by talking about when doing homework for one of her art classes or doing personal projects she has the ability to get lost in her work and can work for
news,” Wood said. “They will barely even need any training because they will be prepared.” Hardin spoke of a similar message to Wood’s. He suggested that getting involved in CU News would add to ones portfolio. “I would highly recommend you take the class [Media Practicum],” Hardin said. Additionally, Hardin said that being a part of the show looks good on portfolios and he expects his experience at CU will help him in the future. Later, he plans to move to Oklahoma City to pursue a career in news.
Art by Camila Ramos
Art by Andy Cortez
hours. Cortez, Ramos and the other students in the art department are taking something they are passionate about and building their foundations. “As art students we all come from a lot of different backgrounds so a lot of us have varying levels of experience,” Cortez said. “We are trying to build our understanding of the tools and the resources we can use in this class because no artist is
just great from the get go. We are learning to build up our experience.” Ramos talked about how one day with her career she plans on going into concept art or work in the media. “I want to create a character or product that
someone loves,” Ramos said. “Like someone had to design the superheroes we love.” Cortez said he was appreciative of the path older artists like Picasso had created. Ramos talked about how she enjoys seeing the art work of small and up and coming artists. Everyone has something to contribute to the spaces around them and through their art Cortez and Ramos hope to one day bring messages through their art.
October 4, 2021
www.aggiecentral.com
Student Life
Its all in the... By Ryan Martin Student Life Editor
Every semester, Cameron University faculty and staff devotes time to spice up student activities by incorporating ways to include games and hands-on activities at the school. Cameron’s new and improved Disc Golf course comes with 18 fullsized holes, as well as a redesigned path to make for a new game experience and allow students to be more involved on campus. Along with the new course, Cameron has started to offer Disc Golf as a
credited class, with the first ever installment of the new course taking place this fall semester. Dr. Gregory Hoepfner, music professor and disc golf enthusiast, remembers when Cameron first built the old course, and believes his familiarity with the game led him to the title of “Disc Golf instructor.” “I remember the day they built it, and I was all excited,” Hoephner said. Hoepfner is very pleased with the turn-out so far, and plans to make the next few weeks of the class more competitive for the students who want to be involved in a more tournament-based style of play.
“This is a pilot and right now we have a lot of students,” Hophner said. “We’re kinda almost conjested here. They have to go out in squads of 4 to keep it moving along. As the semester goes along, I hope to have some mini tournamnets and the ones that want to, compete against each other.” Sophomore Curtis Myers believes he made the right choice taking this course as he finds more time to go outside of class and play, as opposed to something he would have dreaded for a whole semester. “It would be fun instead of doing a basic P.E. credit. I am obsessed with disc golf now, it’s my new favorite hobby,” Myers said. Senior Jonathan Schraffenberger would always see the various disc golf targets while walking around campus.
5
DISC?
He never knew exactly how to navigate his way around the full course. “I was not aware of any other course besides the one on campus. However, I did not know the actual course until I played for the first time.” Schraffenberger said. He spoke about how his family members have shown him how to play disc golf in the past, and how he lucked out by finding the class while enrolling last spring. After finding out that it was offered as a credited PE course here, he knew that’s what he wanted to take. “My brother in law, while I was younger, played it for a little bit. So that’s how I first learned about it, but I needed a P.E. credit, and then I saw that it was one of the offered courses. I was choosing between that and line dancing,” Schraffenberger said.
Photo by Charles Ajjarapu
Schraffenberger also talked about the class. “I’d say I play two to three times a week. The class is only on Tuesdays but I don’t do much else on campus. It’s also good exercise,” Scraffenburger said. Fundamentally, disc golf is very similar to and derives a number of its own rules from a typical golf game. “It’s just like regular golf. You just want to get the disc into the basket in the least amount of strokes possible.” Schraffenberger said. They begin to differentiate with how someone would typically score in a game. In golf, you generally rely on a good swing and solid contact with the ball. Disc golf, however, relies on the choice of a proper frisbee. “In golf you have different clubs, but in disc golf it translates to different discs. Some are weighed and shaped different depending on your shot,” Schraffenberger said. For more information, contact ogentry@cameron.edu.
6
Sports
October 4, 2021
www.aggiecentral.com
Aggies swept by Lubbock Christian CU volleyball falls 3 - 0 for eleventh straight loss
Photos by Jimm Alley
Jash Orndorff Staff Writer
The Cameron University volleyball team faced off against Lubbock Christian University on Sept. 24. After three sets, the Aggies suffered a loss against LCU with the final score of 3-0. The team played at Aggie Gym where they had hoped to secure their first win in front of a home crowd. The win would have marked an overall second for the Aggies this volleyball season. Each team played neck-and-neck
leading to a close half in the first match. Toward the second half of the game, the Aggies began to falter, allowing LCU to score a 25-17 lead. Early into the second game, Aggie head coach Brandon Stephenson called a timeout as Cameron struggled against Lubbock Christian’s offense. Stephenson’s call allowed for the Aggies to attain a second-wind in the later half. The teams played down-to-the-wire until Lubbock Christian pulled ahead leading with a score of 25-21. In the final set the Aggies lagged behind LCU 6-1.
Despite Cameron’s attempts the team failed to pull ahead, ending the match with a 25-14 win for Lubbock Christian. Coach Stephenson said errors made in the game had an impact on the team’s performance. “Right now it’s a lot of errors. Mental errors, hitting errors,” Stephenson said. “You saw times where you get a two-point run and then a hitting error and it would deflate all that energy.” Stephenson further discussed the need for improvement in regard to the mental errors made. “We gotta be able to take the good
and the bad,” Stephenson said. “When we have an error, let it go and refocus and respond rather than react to it.” Stephenson went on to highlight what the team needed to improve upon coming into the next game. “Serve receive is gonna be big. Sets two and three you saw us get down early, a lot of it was due to the serve received.” Stephenson said. “If we can get our serve receive and free ball passing to where we can get our offense run you can see the success we can do.” Aggie Outside Hitter Bergen Campbell commented on the game and the team’s overall performance throughout the season. “I think that we did well and every game we’re getting better working together,” Campbell said “But I think there’s always room for improvement.” Campbell explained the importance of communicating and how the lack of communication can show in the game. “We need to have a better connection with our setters and our passers. We all need to talk,” Campbell said. “Communication is the number one thing and when we don’t communicate we’re not gonna be successful.” She continued to comment on the team’s continuous stride toward improvement, “I feel like we did better this game but it’s just gotta get better every single game” Campbell said. “We need to talk more and work together.” With the loss the Aggies left the gymnasium eager to return. The team continues to strive towards success as they carry on with their season.
Aggie Athletics feature
WITH DANCE TEAM’S MADISON LATIMER Jimm Alley Sports Editor
Senior and strategic communications major Madison Latimer is in her fourth year on the Cameron University dance team. “I never really took any dance classes as a little girl,” Latimer said. “I always did cheerleading for like, little league.” Growing up in Marlow, Ok Latimer did not have the access to traditional dance training that was available in other places, so instead she decided to teach herself. “I taught myself everything I know off of YouTube videos,” Latimer said, “and it got me on the team.” Latimer joined her school’s dance team in the eighth grade and quickly realized this was something that she loves to do. “My freshman year, I discovered that I really liked dancing,” Latimer said. “It’s something I want to continue doing even after college.” Latimer was an all-star dancer her senior year of high school while her team was also pretty successful. “We competed every year,” Latimer said, “we even won state a couple of times.” A friend had suggested Latimer try out for the Cameron dance team, and the rest as they say is history. Latimer decided to become a communication major because of her love of talking. “I’ve just always been naturally good at talking,” Latimer said, “I’m really opinionated, and so I like to debate my opinion.” Even though she was self-trained for the most part, Latimer said that it has taken her several years to get to the point she is at now.
“I’m towards the end of my dance career,” Latimer said, “but I feel like I’m still learning and still taking in new things.” Latimer’s dream is to try out for the Oklahoma City Thunder dance team, also known as “Thunder girls” once she finishes college. Although the Thunder would be her first choice, she would like to dance for a team in the National Basketball Association. “I really want to try out for the Thunder girls,” Latimer said. “I want to try and take a lot of prep classes, and I also have friends that are Thunder girls that would be willing to
help.” Latimer is a massive sports fan, and she is certainly not picky about what she likes. Latimer said that she can watch any sport if it is on. “I love baseball and football,” Latimer said, “I will watch any sport but definitely baseball and football are my favorites.” Elsewhere on campus Latimer can be found working as a lifeguard in the Aggie Rec Center. Latimer is just one of the many bright young athletes who attend Cameron University and, in her four years at Cameron has accomplished many things.
Photos by Jimm Alley