The Cameron Collegian - September 5th, 2023

Changes Cameron

New semester, new faculty

Brittney Payette Managing Editor

Cameron’s fall 2023 semester started with a multitude of changes, particularly with faculty in several departments across campus.

What does this mean for the students?

One of the departments that has experienced some significant changes recently is the Psychology department. After the previous department chair, Dr. Shaun Calix, left, Dr. Mary Dzindolet took over this year as interim chair.

She previously served as the department chair for Psychology for around ten years before Calix expressed an interest in being chair, and Dzindolet decided to step down.

“He was so mature and responsible,” she said. “He was an awesome leader.”

Dr. Joanni Sailor retired, Dr. Shaun Calix, and Drs. Stephanie and William Stern moved. Dr. Stephanie White, Dr. Joe Williams, and Dr. Paul James were the new hires for the Psychology department.

Dzindolet said that although she is sad to see the four professors leave, she is really excited to work with the new professors Cameron hired.

“There’s always something lost, and something gained,” Dzindolet said. “We really miss the people that are gone.

“I guess the other thing I would want students to know is that they’re still going to be well cared for,” she said. “The advising has changed.”

Dzindolet said that during the hiring process, the department asked interviewees to come in and do what she called a “job talk,” wherein the department asked prospective hires to teach a short class.

Dr. Joe Williams is a Cameron alumni who

received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cameron. He was hired as a fulltime Assistant Professor this semester. He said he loves that his job allows him to help develop the next generation of counselors.

“We have a shortage of clinicians right now,” Williams said. “There is a growing need for mental health.”

Williams one of his favorite things about Cameron is its culture.

“There is a closeness that exists upon the Cameron University campus that you don’t often find at larger universities,” he said. “On the flip side of that, the quality and the rigor of our courses are second to none. We have superior professors, and we have amazing students here.”

Williams said his foremost concern as a professor is to provide a quality education in order to help develop competent and efficient mental health providers.

“I enjoy interactions with students,” Williams said. “When you see those aha moments, those are amazing… You see that development, you see them grow into no longer just learners but they are experts in their field- that feeling… it makes you speechless. There are no words to describe it.

Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies and the acting dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dr. Jennifer Dennis said that the hiring process at Cameron begins with a vacancy opening up because of a professor

retiring or leaving.

“When someone resigns or retires, the department chair will put in a personal request if they think they need to fill the vacancy,” she said. “Then, I review the numbers. We look at the credit hour production in the department, the enrollment, we look at the percentage of courses that are being taught by adjuncts, so we look at all of those things.”

She said Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ronna Vanderslice makes a recommendation to the president, and he approves or disapproves it. If McArthur authorizes the department to start looking to fill the positio, Dennis contacts human resources, and they advertise the job position online. “The department chairs actually manage the faculty searches,” Dennis said. “They typically have a screening committee of faculty members who look at all the applicants, and then they do Zoom interviews as a first round.”

The next step is in-person interviews. The interviewee is brought in and meets faculty members within the department. They also teach a mock lesson to students, which allows students to be involved in the hiring process and give feedback for potential new professors. Then, the prospective faculty member meets with the department chair, Dean Dennis, and Vice President Vanderslice.

Photo by Brittney Payette

“The quality and rigor of our courses are second to none. We have superior professors, and we have amazing students”

- Dr. Joe Williams Assistant Professor

Give blood, save lives CU Blood Drive

Jeramie McMichael Staff Writer

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Aug. 21, the Oklahoma Blood Institute accepted blood donations from Cameron University students, faculty, and staff at the McMahon Centennial Complex in the McCasland Foundation Ballroom.

Participants donated blood to help those in need.

They begin by either walking in for the donation or signing in online. Then, participants have to fill out a questionnaire about their health and see what blood type they have.

Before they get their blood drawn, participants get a free T-shirt and a free ticket voucher for Frontier City or the OKC Zoo.

Finally, participants move to a blue chair to prepare

CHANGES continued from page 1

for the process of drawing blood.

Healthy individuals at least 16 years old and 110 pounds can donate about a pint of blood every two months. Donating blood can help someone who’s injured in an accident, undergoing cancer treatment, or battling blood diseases. Unfortunately, current blood shortages are leading to delays in critical blood

transfusions for people in need. Just one donation can save up to three lives. The simple, generous act of giving blood helps patients to get the blood transfusions they need.

The process of drawing out a pint of blood can take less than five minutes.

Cameron student Cody Huber donated blood for the first time.

“It’s a good thing to do

monthly meeting for new professors during their first year at Cameron, and the specific departments that the new faculty is a part of also provide new professors with training.

Dennis said there are some great benefits to working at Cameron, including living close to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge, health insurance, retirement benefits and the time off available to those working in higher education.

“I love bringing candidates on campus because they usually don’t know a lot about us,” she said. “I find that they’re pleasantly surprised when they get here at how nice our campus is, how nice our facilities are, all of the support that we provide new faculty.”

Managing Editor

Dennis said that teaching is Cameron’s number one priority.

“Their teaching demonstration is very important,” she said. “We also look to see that they have the credentials that are required by the higher learning commission.”

Dennis said that Cameron has a new faculty orientation the Thursday and Friday before faculty offices open, which helps new professors acclimate to the university.

“They get two full days,” she said. “A boot camp, if you will, of everything Cameron – and Vice President Vanderslice and Dr. (Margery) Kingsley kind of manage that training for those two days.”

Dennis said that Vanderslice also runs a

Dennis said several departments have experienced changes in faculty, including the Department of Agriculture, Biology, and Health Sciences; Psychology; Art, Music, and Theatre Arts; Business; and Social Sciences.

Assistant Professor Dr. Justin Nash is one of the new faculty members at Cameron who was recently hired for Agriculture, Biology and Health Sciences.

“Everybody was really nice,” Nash said. “I enjoyed my interactions with the students and Cameron kind of felt like home, you know?”

Nash said everyone has been great about helping new professors get used to Cameron.

“They do the new faculty orientation,” he said. “That is kind of a crash course in most of the vital things that you need to know.”

Nash said that many faculty members have made themselves available to answer questions

when helping someone out,” Huber said. “Though, I thought the process would take longer.”

After donating, participants must wait for approximately five to 10 minutes with a snack or drink to balance their blood sugar. For more information, contact Our Blood Institute (OBI) at obi.org or call (580) 350-6100.

and to navigate him through some of the online programs such as Blackboard.

“Everybody’s just been really, really helpful,” Nash said. “So far, I like everything about Cameron. Everyone seems really friendly (and) willing to help.”

He is currently teaching Microbiology and Principles of Biology. Nash said interacting with students is his favorite part of being a professor, especially when he has students who ask him questions. He said he enjoys conveying knowledge to his students.

Nash also said he admires how Cameron faculty and staff members endeavor to be available to students, such as when the University hosts the ice cream social and Ask an Aggie events.

“I feel like Cameron does a lot to make sure that the students are well taken care of,” he said. “I do see and appreciate that about Cameron. I think that’s something that they do very well.”

For more information about the hiring process, contact Dennis at jdennis@cameron.edu or contact the Human Resources department at hr@ cameron.edu.

Brittney Payette

Photo by Brittney Payette

Courtesy

Photo

Photo by Jeramie McMichael

Dr. Justin Nash, Assistant Professor

PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Skylar Teddington Staff Writer

Throughout the decades we have all seen many examples of parasocial relationships. These relationships can vary in intensity, from seeking out content about a beloved fictional character to intensely following a celebrity around.

Parasocial relationships tend to get a bad reputation for being toxic and eerie, but are they truly as bad as people think they are?

The answer is quite complicated.

By definition, a parasocial relationship is simply a one-sided relationship (Scherer et al., 2023), typically with a celebrity or a fictional character. This is a very broad definition, so a parasocial relationship could really be defined by anything that matches that description.

Fantasizing about a celebrity crush, going out of your way to buy an album for your favorite artist to sign, or even following a celebrity online and consistently engaging with their posts could be considered parasocial.

With this in mind, developing a parasocial relationship is actually quite normal since nearly everyone has become attached to a celebrity or fictional character at some point.

This is especially true of people who form attachments easily.

In “‘Leave Britney Alone!’: Parasocial Relationships and Empathy,” Hailey Scherer illustrates the link between empathy and parasocial relationships: “… higher levels of perceived empathy, or feeling understood by your partner, led to higher levels of relationship satisfaction… Thus, we expect that the effects of trait empathy seen in personal relationships will also be seen in [parasocial relationships].”

Empathetic individuals are more prone to parasocial relationships since they can easily maintain close relationships.

This is why videos like the iconic “Leave Britney Alone!” exist, though this is an example of an unhealthy parasocial relationship.

Celebrity worship is an epidemic in the modern world.

Celebrities use social media for publicity and fan interaction, but this is a double edged sword.

In the article “Celebrity Abuse on Twitter: The Impact of Tweet Valence, Volume of Abuse, and Dark Triad Personality Factors on Victim Blaming and Perceptions of Severity,” Graham Scott said social media is a great way for celebrities to connect with fans, but it also opens the gate for people to publicly spew hate toward celebrities.

There have even been cases of celebrities being harmed in person because of hate they received online – such as the multiple celebrities who had dangerous objects like phones, books and even babies thrown at them.

Can a parasocial relationship ever be healthy? It absolutely can be. In fact, some celebrities have parasocial relationships with their fans! Giving fans a fandom name or making “point of view” videos for fans to enjoy are prime examples of a parasocial relationship that goes both ways.

In addition to that, some fans even have a positive reputation for their parasocial tendencies, such as Girl’s Generation’s “pterodactyl fangirl” who received positive attention for enthusiastically screaming like a pterodactyl every time Sooyoung took the center stage.

Parasocial interactions are normal and can be healthy as long as obsession does not consume the relationship.

Life after Graduation

Scott Smith Voices Editor

Most everyone can remember their high school years and how they seemed to go on forever. For me, there were exciting times like getting my learner’s permit, getting a job, being able to drive on my own, but there were also times that were less than stellar. High school was an obligation, day that I would graduate and leave I was like many students, and at the time, did not know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I thought about college at one point but chose to go to work instead. It wasn’t until much later in my life that the opportunity for a college education presented itself.

Thirty-two years after graduating from high school, I made the decision to further my education.

I began my journey at Cameron in fall 2019.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I knew it was something that I needed and wanted to do.

Working full-time and being a fulltime student is difficult, to say the least.

Now, with just 19 hours left to go, I am looking at graduation in May 2024.

With college, time definitely hasn’t stood still.

The past four years have been a whirlwind of work combined with classes and new experiences.

The old feeling of what happens after has come back to me, and I am reminded of the similarity between graduating from high school and graduating from college.

I wonder how it will feel to walk across that stage for the last time and if I will miss college once it’s over.

For perspective, I called on a recent graduate to see how life has been since

graduation.

Tori White is a librarian for the Elgin Public Library and graduated with her Bachelor’s of Journalism and Media Production on May 5, 2023, from Cameron University.

I wondered what life after graduation has felt like for her so far.

White said that she is proud of her accomplishment but also reflected on the friendships that she made while at Cameron as well as the emotions of leaving.

“Having them (friends) by my side the whole way through the journalism program and being able to finish together was really cool,” White said. “I’m the kind of person who hates endings, so that last week of the semester was really sad.”

White said that college friends differ from those in high school.

“In college, you have total autonomy of who you choose to spend your time around and it (graduating) was rough,” White said. “Obviously, we’re able to see each other from time to time, but not in that regimented environment. That was something to get used to, for sure.”

When it comes to what is next, White said with the time that has gone by she is getting the itch to learn something again.

“I’ve been looking into grad school.

I would like to stay away for at least 16 weeks and take care of myself mentally,” White said, “that way I can be prepared to go full swing into a new academic program.”

White said she is looking to continue her education in spring or fall 2024 and hopes to study Library and Information Science.

As far as advice for outgoing graduates, White said, it may seem like everything is moving so slowly, but when you are on the other side of graduation, it can feel like the good old days were in college.

“Definitely enjoy it and soak up everything that you can learn, even if it’s not information in your field of study,” White said.

“Take any kind of practical advice from someone who has been in your shoes, because the more you know, the better, more well-rounded person you will be. That’s my solid advice!”

For me, graduation will be an accomplishment to be proud of. I will not miss homework and deadlines, but I will surely miss the people who I have become connected with and the friendships that I have made. Cameron is part of my history.

The only question is, what’s next?

Tribune Content Agency

“XQC” signs for $100 million

Twitch streamer in non-exclusive deal with Kick

Kemar Noel A&E Editor

Over the summer in mid-June famous Twitch streamer, Felix Lengyel, also known as “XQC,” signed a $100 million non-exclusive streaming contract with the controversial streaming service Kick.

Lengyel is a Canadian streamer, content creator and former professional Overwatch esports player. He started his streaming career eight years ago and has continued to climb the ladder on Twitch since then.

Lengyel has nearly 12 million followers on Twitch and is now one of the top 0.1% percent of Twitch earners.

Lengyel has been a part of the top echelon of Twitch streamers for years and has amassed a massive online presence in not only the Twitch space but also YouTube.

Kick is a newer live-streaming service backed by the gambling company Stake. This has led Kick to have a somewhat rocky start, and it was failing to see the growth the company needed. The conclusion they came to was to sign over influencers to stream on their site whether it be exclusive or non-exclusive deals.

In a livestream, Lengyel spoke about why a nonexclusive deal was a big positive for him when considering signing.

“I really, really enjoy that it is not exclusive overall so that I can go around and do whatever I want and diversify, just kind of wing it. I think it’s a massive deal at the same time. There’s this other thing that I want to do also and that’s just kind-of how it goes.” Lengyel said. Kick was able to catapult itself into

the spotlight with the deal; overnight Kick became the main talk of many news outlets like “The New York Times” and “Forbes.”

Many of the top 0.1 percenters can earn millions on Twitch and can cement themselves on the top with loyal viewers by broadcasting their content. Even with this solid influx of money and financial stability for top earners, there have still been a number of them to have left Twitch in the past few years for other sites like Facebook, YouTube, and now, Kick.

This is not the first multi-million-dollar contract made in the streaming space, but it is one of the only paid contracts to publicly surpass the $20 million contract Tyler Blevins “ninja” had a couple of years ago. This is one of the highest-paid contracts in the entertainment industry and is no doubt a deal most people would not pass on.

“Kick is allowing me to try and do things I haven’t been able to before,” Lengyel said in a statement.

Even if the streamer is planning to make new events and content on this site, there are still some daunting factors to consider. The matters were made worse when it was brought to light back in October 2021 how much Twitch streamers were really making, which led people to call Lengyel greedy.

Lengyel now faces backlash for being a sellout and signing to a platform that promotes gambling, and other unethical behavior.

Path of Exile streamer “Mathil” said it is a major deal when someone signs a contract initially.

“If someone has no money and they get 100 mil, yeah, sure, that’s big …” Mathil said. “But if someone’s got probably 100 mil already, gets another 100 mil, what have you done? Nothing. You’ve sold your audience out for another few zeroes, and it is absolutely selling your audience out. The whole gambling sponsorship here, the whole gambling slots thing, it’s disgusting.”

Kick has some issues regarding site security, moderation, and hate speech. Until they attempt to fix these issues any future streamers who sign to this site will face some sort of pushback from their respective communities.

Cameron Pickaxes: A gateway to a world of esports

Austin Childers Staff Writer

Cameron Pickaxes Esports Team is currently hosting tryouts for the games Valorant, Overwatch, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

The various teams will be hosting tryouts over the next few days for players of any skill level.

Collegiate esports is a rapidly evolving and growing scene, with many colleges offering scholarships and tuition waivers to play for their teams it’s no wonder many new players are coming into the scene right now.

Junior Journalism and Media Production major Sarah Monk is the current captain of the Overwatch team and ranked top 500 support player. She said competing can be a lot of fun – but also very challenging.

“Some of the collegiate teams are really good right now,” Monk said.

Overwatch is a teambased first-person shooter that is emblematic of the essence of esports, teamwork. Collaboration and understanding how your team thinks and plays are paramount to success in the game.

“We have had a lot of games where the room gets super loud and busy with everyone making different callouts,” Monk said. “Aim and skill are important, but communication with your teammates is the biggest one.”

Much like Overwatch, Valorant thrives on the synergy of fast-paced teamplay. Being a classbased first-person shooter, the game relies on teamplay, precision playmaking and map knowledge. It’s the perfect platform where one can exhibit their prowess in both strategic teamwork and pinpoint execution.

For players looking for something a little different, the Rocket League team might be more their style. Focusing on speed, accuracy and the fusion of soccer and racing allows Rocket League to turn its virtual arena into a highoctane battleground. These factors make Rocket League the perfect game for any racing game enthusiast.

Players more interested in showcasing their fighting skills might find Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the perfect game. Ultimate is the

culmination of years of Nintendo perfecting their flagship fighting game. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a platform fighter where the player’s main goal is to knock their opponent off the stage. The game is less reliant on teamplay and allows players to showcase their personal skills using game knowledge and matchup. While the esports scene is still relatively new, it’s a far cry from the clubs and fan-made tournaments of just a few years ago. Newer games with

an emphasis on competitive play are catering more and more to the esports crowd. Games like Overwatch and Valorant even have full-time salaried players playing for teams in leagues similar to the NFL or NBA. Many of these players found their way into their careers from their small collegiate teams.

For more information, contact Cunningham at jocunnin@cameron.edu or stop by the Esports Lounge located in the Academic Commons, room 131.

Photo courtesy of Felix Lengyel

Photo by Austin Childers

The Writer’s Studio

Communication, English, and Foreign Languages Department Update

Kaley Muse

Student Life Editor

One of Cameron University’s newest clubs, The Writer’s Studio, offers students the opportunity to workshop creative writing and present it to faculty and peers.

Hosted by the Department of Communication, English, and Foreign Languages (CEFL), the Writer’s Studio allows students from all majors to have their work looked over by peers and English professors if needed. This could include poems, essays, short stories, research papers and more.

CEFL Assistant Professor Leah Chaffins is the faculty advisor for The Writer’s Studio.

“The Writer’s Studio is where students gather to work on creative writings for open mics and upcoming festivals and competitions and also, just to better their work,” Chaffins said.

Along with peer editing, The Writer’s Studio holds monthly open mic nights. Open mic nights give students a chance to read their own work out loud to an audience. It could be original poetry, a short story, or other forms of creative writing.

Junior English major Ryn Swinson is a founding member of The Writer’s Studio, the social media manager, and the managing MC for the Writer’s Studio open mics.

“Open mic nights are an open mic for creative writers that allows students, local writers, alums, really anyone who is interested, to come and share their work in a welcoming environment,” Swinson said.

The open mics are held at 6 p.m. on the first Friday of every month in Nance Boyer 2005 lab.

Students who are not comfortable do not have to get up and read.

Students can instead come to support peers, local writers, alums, professors and the Cameron University CEFL department.

Swinson said attendees are welcome to just listen and show support.

“I think it’s great to have support like that because it might make them (attendees) more willing to jump up there sometime,” Swinson said.

The open mic nights also allows students to host.

Hosting requires students to introduce every poet and writer who has signed up to

read for the night.

While the September open mic just took place on Sept. 1, the next open mic is at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 in Nance Boyer 2005 lab.

The Writer’s Studio is always accepting new members. If students are interested, there is a GroupMe that students can join as well as a Facebook page. Fall 2023 meetings take place from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Nance Boyer 2005 lab.

For more information about The Writer’s Studio or events happening in the English department this semester, email Chaffins at lellis@cameron. edu or Swinson at ryn. swinson@cameron.edu.

In addition to the Writer’s Studio open mic, students can hear work from featured and local writers at the Third Saturday reading hosted by CEFL Professor Dr. John Morris at 6:30 p.m., every month, at the Universalist Church in Lawton located at 618 West Gore Boulevard.

This off-campus event allows students to showcase their work outside of a university setting.

For more information, please contact Morris at johnmor@cameron.edu.

Testing 1! 2! Ryn Swinson practices presenting before the upcoming open mic. The Writer’s Studio provides a podium for students to rehearse.

Photos by Kaley Muse

Bad Hombres read too! Dr. William Carney admires the hard work his students put into “The Gold Mine.” Members of The Writer’s Studio put together issue 13.

ZARAMCCAULEY

Home and Away: McCauley’s Transition from Australia to America

By Haylee Key Sports Editor

Cameron student Zara McCauley is a volleyball player from South Australia who has learned how to adapt to American lifestyle by following the rules of volleyball.

McCauley finds the lack of a language barrier helps ease the transition but she still experiences cultural difference’s in her day to day.

“Things just small that you wouldn’t think of that kind of like end up making a pretty big difference,” McCauley said.

McCauley moved to America when she was 18 years old. She has lived in several different states and now resides in Lawton, Okla. where she attends Cameron University. McCauley is majoring in Sports and Exercise Science and is looking forward to graduating in 2025.

McCauley decided to make her big move to America when realizing she wants to continue playing volleyball in college.

Australia doesn’t offer volleyball at

levels beyond high school. McCauley knew she wanted to continue her education, but she wanted to continue following her passion for volleyball as well.

“I don’t wanna just be studying. I want to keep playing so I came over here and I’ve been here since.” McCauley said.

Leaving her family and friends, McCauley set out across the world.-

McCauley quickly learns to be on her own and becomes independent for the first time.

Unlike most college students who still have their parents in the same state or country, McCauley’s parents are in another country, so she must learn to take care of herself.

Her adaptive personality makes for a smooth transition but she still misses some things back home.

“I miss my friends, my family, the food, just the environment too,” McCauley said. McCauley has had to learn to adapt to the changes in volleyball rules as well.

“It’s really fast-paced over here,” McCauley said.

However, McCauley puts her best foot forward. She not only brings her skills as a player to the team but also her energy. McCauley feels she is calm and level-headed but energized at the same time; she lifts people up. “Maybe I’m not a huge point scorer, but I know everyone plays better when I’m there,” McCauley said.

McCauley celebrates the little things. She is happy to be somewhere where she can do what she loves and play volleyball. McCauley looks forward to making the most of the next two years. Although McCauley wants to live in the moment while here on the volleyball team, she has big plans for her future.

McCauley wants to be an athletic trainer after college. She plans to work locally for a few years to gain experience then move back home and work for the Australian Football League (AFL).

Until then, McCauley plans to enjoy her time at Cameron and make the most of her American experience.

Photos by Haylee Key