Collegian T he Cameron University
www.aggiecentral.com
Monday, September 28, 2015
Volume 93 Issue 4
Jacob Jardel
different honors societies,” McArthur said, “[people] see how engaged our students are Sports Editor with their academic work. @JJardel_Writing “It’s very interesting to see the breadth of With the sounds of the Cameron Concert interest of our students, what they do and have done with the talents they’ve been given Band reverberating through the rafters, the and the hard work that they’ve committed,” Cameron community heeded the call to he said. Convocation at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18 in the From the opening processional, the Aggie Gym. students played a large part in the ceremony. Students, faculty and staff came together As Assistant Professor of Music Dr. Matthew once more for the annual recognition of Mireles led the concert band, the platform academic excellence throughout campus. party made its way to the stage before Cameron President Dr. John McArthur said students filed into the gym. Student gonfalon that Convocation celebrates not only the carriers entered after, literally carrying the start of the school year but also outstanding banners of their academic disciplines to line student achievement. the sides of the stage. “We want to be able to celebrate the Sophomore music major Lorenzo Butler successes of all of our students,” he said, “and opened the ceremony with the singing of the this is a great way to do that.” national anthem before McArthur provided This year, however, the event moved from opening remarks about the ceremony. the Fine Arts Courtyard indoors to the gym. Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. According to McArthur, the move comes as a response to feedback from previous years that Ronna Vanderslice then made the call to cited excessive heat and the potential for rain. convocation, speaking to the audience about He said that the move is experimental at this the importance of the Millennial generation. Citing the generation’s collective traits, point. Vanderslice urged the students to strive for “When we do the After Action Review the best future they could attain. after the event, [moving indoors] would “Take advantage of the special and be part of the consideration by our Public Exercises Task Force,” McArthur said. “That individual qualities you bring to the table,” she said. “Set your sights high and start working is going to be one of the key questions.” now.” Until that report manifests, though, Following Vanderslice’s remarks, senior McArthur emphasized the importance of psychology major and Student Government student involvement in the event. From the Association President Nikki Kirk led performance of the Cameron Concert Band to the presentations from student speakers, he the recognition of the honors students throughout the crowd. As she read off the said students make the event special. names, scholarships and “When you call out the
honors societies, affiliated students stood for acknowledgment. Afterward, senior English major Nicholas Brush led the round of student reflections. He said that his path to creating a unique learning experience was through the recreation of one’s self. Master of Business Administration student Laura Espinosa followed Brush, imploring students not to give up on their dreams just because it will take time. She cited her efforts before showing gratitude to the members of the Cameron community who helped her. She also had a piece of advice for the students in attendance. “Get ready for the experience of a lifetime,” Espinosa said. After Dr. Patrick Callaghan and the concert band performed “America, the Beautiful,” senior organizational leadership major Johnna Newby concluded the student reflections. She spoke of her ups and downs in the pursuit of academic perfection. She said that with the help of her professors and others around her, she was able to make it through hard times both in the classroom and outside of the walls of academia. “Perfection is not always possible,” Newby said. “This is a hard lesson to learn, and I still struggle … but I still strive for excellence.” Following Newby’s presentation, McArthur gave his closing remarks for the event. Senior music major Jessica Fernandez led the Alma Mater before the Cameron Concert Band played the recessional.
CONVOCATION
Photo by Jacob Jardel
A celebration at Convocation: Cameron President Dr. John McArthur provided opening remarks at the ceremony. He said the purpose of Convocation is to celebrate the start of a new school year, as well as outstanding student achievement.
Jabbar: Rain comes at perfect time Vicky Smith
safety and welfare” due to Assistant Managing Editor a water emergency, evident by the low percentage of @pinkwritinglady combined usable storage of On May 11, 2015, City Lakes Lawtonka, Ellsworth of Lawton Mayor Fred and Waurika. Fitch signed a proclamation Prior to the summer’s declaring that Stage 1 – rainfall, according to The Voluntary Restriction of Washington Post on June 8, Outside Water Usage shall “In fall 2011, nearly 80 no longer be in effect until percent of Oklahoma and further notice. Texas were in exceptional The proclamation states drought — the most severe the water restriction existed category on the drought to “protect public health, scale.”
City of Lawton Director of Water and Water Waste Afsaneh Jabbar said the rainfall came to Lawton at the perfect time because the city was just days away from taking drastic restriction measures. “If we had taken the additional measures,” Jabbar said, “businesses would have been affected. We would have gone to one day per week watering and eventually to no watering
at all, which would have affected the statics of the community… A society that cannot bring in more businesses because it cannot rely on the water will suffer.” According to Jabbar, further water restrictions would have specifically affected the physical landscapes of businesses, as well nurseries and car washes, which depend heavily on water. “I’m sure businesses are
What’s inside Lansana recites his poetry Page 3
resilient,” she said, “and they come up with different strategies. If you cannot have lawn, then you go to a different kind of landscaping methods… But lifestyle would have had to change.” She said even though the city did not have to implement a restriction of no outside water usage, the lack of rain still affected people within the community. “Whenever we don’t have
any rain,” she said, “then that affects our budget, and when budget is affected, the whole area of things get affected. There won’t be funding to do streets [or] parks, so we will have to lay off employees or not hire employees.” Jabbar said the drought also affected the treatment of water.
See RAIN Page 2
Medicine Parks holds festival
The winning streak continues
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