Feb. 1, 2021

Feb. 1, 2021 | thewichitan.com |Real Students. Real Stories. | Vol. 85 No. 10

MSU-Tech-xas?

VACCINE: Pg 4

COVID-19 vaccines coming soon to the university.

AN UPDATE ON MSU JOINING THE TEXAS TECH SYSTEM

NEWS: Pg 3

On Jan. 14, Midwestern State University President Suzanne Shipley provided an update on the university's efforts to join the Texas Tech system.

MEDIA: Pg 10

REVIEW: Pg 8

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Pg 6-7

FEATURE: Pg 12

Taking a look at Crumbl Cookies.

Deeper look at the issue of human trafficking.

Garrett Leek is a passionate golf veteran.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

@WichitanOnline

‘Bridgerton’ is the silly show we need right now.

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

E DI TO R I A L

Student accountability When the university police department released their Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, they reported a significant drop in crime around the board. However, while most of the 88 crimes reported were drug and liquor violations, there were still three reported cases of fondling, four cases of rape, four cases of domestic violence and seven cases of stalking. Anything above zero in any of those categories is too much, and MSU students must be held to a higher standard.

There are 6,102 students enrolled at MSU according to their website, meaning there is a one in 339 chance a student could have been a victim of one of the aforementioned crimes in the past year. However, if that number is narrowed down to the number of students on campus, the chances increase. This isn’t reason for panic, but it is important to look at these matters with the perspective that these crimes happen, even on a campus MSU’s size.

The university and police department have both taken steps to educate and inform students on how to avoid situations and people that could put them at risks of being a victim of sex crimes or domestic abuse. However great and effective these steps may be, ultimately the responsibility to keep the campus safe falls on the shoulders of its students. Students must make the commitment to analyze their own actions and the actions of their friends and decide if anyone is being harmed by their actions. If a student sees one of their peers put in a situation where they are clearly uncomfortable, it is up to that student to find a way to intervene.

CAMPUS VOICES

“A slow suicide” I

remember the first time I began to lose weight without trying.

I was eighteen years old with a yellow rose tucked into my hair, wearing a cotWhitney ton tube top above low-rise O’Brien Miss Me jeans. Brad, my boyfriend, told me to strike a pose and I hesitated.

“I don’t like when other people take pictures of me,” I protested, meaning instead, I hate the way my body looks.

After a little coaxing, I posed. He took the picture and there I was: slim, no love handles, the lines of my spine stood out.

Just two years prior, anorexia had taken hold of my life for six months after my first experience with heartbreak. My life was counting: calories, minutes until I could go to sleep, times I had been caught hiding food.

I lost over 30 pounds. My arms were slender.

My wrists were fragile. My hip bones stood out like twin hills over the concave stretch of my stomach.

And I was euphoric.

This attempt at slow suicide was thwarted equally by my close friends and my love for melty cheese. I gained the weight back and yo-yo-ed here and there with fad diets and continued to exercise as much as possible, even utilizing the treadmill for 45 minutes before work. I couldn’t seem to achieve the same weight loss with healthy means as I did starving myself. My friends were sated, and I was safe, but I avoided tight clothing, two piece swimsuits and mirrors.

That glittering feeling of rightness came over me again when I saw the picture of me with the yellow rose in my hair. I had not

done anything special. I had not attempted to lose weight. It was just happening, I thought.

What I didn’t seem to correlate with my body’s attempt at a disappearing act was my recent increase in illicit drugs such as, LSD, ecstasy and Xanax.

I eluded this factor in my brain and began to expedite what I thought to be some happy biological boost in my metabolism. I started to exercise again. I counted calories again.

Before I knew it, I weighed 120lbs on my 5’9 frame.

Weight loss has been a constant goal throughout my life, one it seems I am never able to reach.

“9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.”

- The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, (ANAD) I always want more. I am never satisfied with the results. I have starved myself. I have skipped meals or eaten ridiculously small portions. I have over-exercised. I have taken narcotics knowing it would poison my body into eating itself. When the healthy methods show a modicum of effectiveness, my eating disorder always whispers how much faster it would go if I skipped ameal, or took this drug.

Body images issues and eating disorders are common. According to anad.org, about “9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.” Eating disorders are consid-

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Bridget Reilly MANAGING EDITOR: Amos Perkins Vol. 85 | No. 10 Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. | Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@msutexas.edu | thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

NEW EDITOR: Stephanie Robledo DESIGN EDITOR: Omar Combie

ISSUE STAFF: Emily Beaman, Shunde Hooks, Abby Jones, Brian Lang, Elizabeth Mahan, Whitney O’Brien, Khirstia Sheffield, Dallas Wabbington

ADVISOR: Jonathon Quam

ered mental illnesses and account for “10,200 deaths each year” a fatality rate “second only to opioid overdose.” In a poll I took on Facebook among thirty-three of my female friends, eleven women between the ages of 18 and 32 responded in the form of a comment to confirm they had used one of the following methods to lose weight: drugs, over-exercise or fasting. Seven other women contacted me on a private medium to tell me their stories, presumably to preserve their privacy.

Looking at these statistics, I have always wondered why I felt so alone in this struggle. Trying to explain my feelings to anyone seems to be met with the same response, “You’re not even fat!” And they are right, of course! There does not seem to be a lot of sympathy for this mental illness despite the fact I cannot help it.

Like any mental illness, eating disorders should be taken seriously. I have often tried to minimize anorexia by calling it a shallow insecurity or telling myself I was not eating because I was “just stressed”. In reality, my desire to be skinny, to look different is linked to powerful feelings of happiness and reward centers in my brain. It is engrained into me and only by careful and rigorous self-care, have I been able to wrestle it into restless submission.

Today, I do not utilize unhealthy methods of weight loss. My thoughts still turn to my old ways of thinking multiple times a day. The only thing that seems to have any banishing effect on the problem is to talk to someone else who struggles with an eating disorder of any kind and realizing I am not alone.

Whitney O’Brein is a former student of MSU Texas.

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

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“OUR CHANCES OF BEING APPROVED ARE 99%” An update on joining the Texas Tech University System

Texas Tech campus in Lubbock, Texas.

AMOS PERKINS MANAGING EDITOR t has been a little under a year since Midwestern State University President Suzanne Shipley announced MSU Texas had been invited to join the Texas Tech University System, and on Jan. 14, Shipley provided an update on the university’s efforts to join the system.

“Where we’re at is that we are in the legislative process, so the legislation has been written; it has been submitted. We hope it will go forward with a group of bills that they take and do a group vote on it in the early, early days of the legislation.

We’re hoping by mid-March that vote will be through the [Texas state] house and senate, maybe late March, maybe early April... So, once the legislative piece is approved we do not anticipate any negative voices,” Shipley said.

Whether or not MSU joins the Tech System is now entirely up to the Texas state government.

“Once that legislation is positive, then it just sits there and awaits the governor’s final approval of the whole session. That doesn’t happen until late August, because what he is really approving is not just the legis-

I

lation but the budget that goes with it...as the classes start, we would be a member of the Tech system...If this doesn’t go through Sept. 1, it means they don’t approve our shift of board from MSU to Texas Tech,” Shipley said.

While there is always a chance the university could not be approved, Shipley says those odds are very low. “[While] anything could go wrong with anything anytime, our chances of being approved are 99%,” Shipley said.

Christopher Huckabee, chairman of the TTU Board of Regents, said that other universities had approached to join the Tech system before, but they didn’t see the same kind of fit that caused TTU to approach MSU. Accepting MSU into their system expands TTU’s political reach and influence in Austin, but Huckabee says that wasn’t the leading factor in Tech’s decision.

“The driving factor really was a student pipeline. It creates opportunity for students who are at MSU to come to Texas Tech for things like law and medicine, and those are the things to us that are really more important. We are very focused on having a diverse student population.

to come from the Wichita Falls region or for those who happen to be at MSU getting their undergrad,” Huckabee said.

When the news first broke that MSU was attempting to join the TTU System, there was minor but significant resistance from past students.

“Alumni are generally the most resistant to change anything.

There were alumni who had problems with joining the system. We were surprised there wasn’t a larger group and a larger voice, but I’d say 10-15% of responses we got from alumni were negative, and some of them were very thoughtful and very convincing in how they felt it could hurt us,” Shipley said.

There was, Huckabee noted, no such resistance on the Texas Tech side.

“Everyone that we’ve ever talked to has said, ‘Gosh, that makes PHOTO COURTESY OF TEXASTECH.EDU tons of sense.’ I’ve never had anyone that said, ‘What are y’all doing? That’s crazy.’ Everyone has Creating the pipeline for grad school, said, ‘Wow, that’s a great idea. Wonmed school, law school [and] things der why you didn’t do it years ago,’” like that - kind of that next step in Huckabee said. the educational system - we feel it One of the concerns most raised creates a nice pipeline for students by both alumni and current students

about the change is the potential for the university to lose its identity. Shipley was adamant that this would not happen.

“I’ve been in offices with people and they have diplomas on their walls behind their desk, and the name on the diploma is defunct. They’ve got the name of a university that no longer has that name, on their diploma don’t you think that would make you mad? Even if it’s not the name that you like that much... it just pulls too much out from under our alumni to change our name,” Shipley said.

At the first meeting between Texas Tech and the MSU Board of Regents, Tech representatives assured MSU they would not change their name or identity. Huckabee says MSU’s identity was one of the factors that drew Tech to MSU, and as such, they never considered changing it.

“One of the first questions [the MSU Board] asked was, ‘Would you change our name?’ We laughed and said, ‘No, I mean look at Angelo State (a TTU System member) as an example. Of course not, that’s your identity. That’s not even on our radar,’” Huckabee said.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

Midwestern State University President Suzanne Shipley announced MSU had been invited to join the Texas Tech University System in Spring 2020.

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

MSU Texas in final steps of being approved for COVID-19 vaccine

PHOTO COURTESY OF PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS KYLE STECKLER

charge,” she said.

Even if the vaccine is free, Shipley heard from authorities out at Sheppherd Air Force Base that the younger people on base weren’t forthcoming in getting the vaccine.

“Their general in charge said he’s having trouble having younger people being willing to take the vaccine because they don’t see any gain in it for them,” Shipley said. “He asked, ‘why won’t you take it?’ They said, ‘there’s nothing in it for me, if I get COVID, it’s not going to hurt me.’”

Williamson said he rebukes this misconception.

“One of the things I’ve known since medical school that people don’t necessarily realize is that viral illnesses have variable expression,” Williamson said. “Some people get mild cases; some people get severe [ones] and you cannot count on hav-

ing a mild case.”

Even outside of personal risk, students owe it to their community to become immunized, according to Shipley. “[The general on base] tried to help them understand that the more people take it, just like the more people who have had it and recovered, the less danger there is to everybody else. While you might be in much less danger than anyone else, you can endanger others,” Shipley said.

Williamson agrees with this sentiment.

“If you care about anybody in the world besides yourself, get immunized,” Williamson said. “While it seems like there’s no reduced personal risk for young people, and that’s true, we have no idea about the long-term risks of the infections.

They are guaranteed to be worse

than the vaccine.”

Williamson said getting the vaccine is better than counting on the immunity one might get from getting over the virus.

“Having a case and getting over it does not confer immunity. Immunity from the shot or the vaccine is better,” Williamson said.

Once this immunity is received, the community will be that much closer to living in a COVID-free world.

“This is a societal thing. This is a population thing,” Williamson said.

“It’s like the Three Musketeers, right?

All for one and one for all. A shot that goes in anybody protects everybody.

And when everybody’s protected the individual can count on good health and return to normal activity.”

Initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout held at NMRTC Bremerton. Dec. 23, 2020.

ABBY JONES REPORTER he MSU Texas Vinson Health center is in the final steps of being approved for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. University President Suzanne Shipley said she attributes this to MSU’s safety.

“We felt for a while that we were the safest place in the area, and I think it’s just because people are adhering to the best guidelines possible,” Shipley said.

Vinson Health is working on meeting the Texas government’s guidelines for vaccine equipment so they can be prepared to store either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine.

“We are tentatively approved and waiting on equipment and upgrades as required. I’m relatively sure within the next week or two we’ll be approved fully. That doesn’t mean [that’s when] we’ll get [the] vaccine,” MSU Medical Director Keith Williamson said.

The state will decide when MSU can receive and distribute the vaccine.

“We work with the Texas department of emergency management, so

T

they’re coordinating all this,” Shipley said. They’ll decide when our order of vaccines come in and once that happens, they’ll be free for faculty, staff and students.”

Williamson said he is determined to take care of the campus community entirely.

“If you qualify, you’re getting a shot if I can get to you,” Williamson said.

Shipley addressed what getting a shot will look like for students.

“There will probably be something like a vaccine clinic where we will be in a space where people are encouraged to sign up for their place in line to get vaccinated,” Shipley said.

Being that there are lists for who gets priority at each COVID-19 vaccine clinics, MSU will not be prioritizing anyone who wants to get the vaccine through MSU. “I don’t think that once it hits campus there will be a further prioritization list, because by us getting the vaccine, the higher priority has already been covered. It won’t be that you’re going to be behind people that are 50-65. Everybody on campus will have access to it and it will be free of

PHOTO COURTESY OF PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The first day of British Columbia’s provincewide COVID-19 immunizations. Dec. 15, 2020.

Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

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COLOR IN ART, COLOR IN LIFE: P risms, P i g m e nt s a nd P u r p o s e

PHOTO COURTESY OF WICHITA FALLS MUSEUM OF ART

The “Color in Art, Color in Life: Prisms, Pigments and Purpose” exhibition was opened from Oct. 24, 2020 to Jan. 30, 2021.

STEPHANIE ROBLEDO NEWS EDITOR olor is in anything and everything; it is a visual element that creates different meanings, which is what the “Color in Art, Color in Life: Prisms, Pigments and Purpose” exhibit highlights. At the Wichita Falls Museum of Art from Oct. 24, 2020, to Jan. 30, 2021, students experienced the colors in various art pieces, viewed the different perspectives and questioned what color means to them.

“The overall theme if you will, of color is part of [the exhibit], so the artwork is gonna have a lot of color in it. We have permanent collection pieces along with commentary and contributions by outside people on that subject of color,” Danny Bills, museum curator of collections and exhibitions, said. “We have four partners: River Bend Nature Center, the Museum of North Texas History, the Kell House Museum and the Moffett Library. Those four organizations contributed education[al] material about color and then 22 MSU faculty and staff contributed writings about what color means in their areas of study or vocation.”

The exhibit was created when the museum was temporarily closed due

C

to COVID-19. Bills said that the pan- Considering that ‘color’ can describe in humanities. Other collaborators, demic caused him to look at things a whole range of things (it is not just such as history assistant professor differently and go beyond the mu- limited to language of pigments, Tiffany Ziegler, had the same difseum walls and interact with people. paints, inks and crayons – we also ficulty in finding one focus. Ziegler One way he did this was by posting use color to describe personalities, could have written about Vikings or online the process of creating the ex- histories, races, genders, identities, royalty but decided to go for a differhibit. Another way was with the help flags, political leanings, debt, profit, ent approach and write about mediof English associate professor Todd health, etc.), I can’t imagine a single eval health care.

“After agreeing to be part of the Giles, who brought together the 22 field on campus that can’t say something interesting about color!” Tyler project I spent some time in contemMSU faculty and staff.

“A long time advocate for the mu- M. Williams, English and humanities plation. The first color that came to mind was black, as we often associate seum is Dr. Todd Giles, [who] took on assistant professor, said.

In his contribution, he briefly the Middle Ages with a ‘dark’ period the role of faculty liaison.... His role touched on the different areas withand hospitals in the pre-modto help us out is to be that ern period with death. The interface with the faculty, more I considered the topic ask them to put out that the more I had to check my request, talk to them about own biases. The medieval it and also look at what world was colorful and vithey are contributing. Todd brant. It was bright, espeGiles is what brought [this cially in a religious setting collaboration] about,” Bills where images (icons, mosasaid. ics, paintings, illuminated The collaboration manuscripts, etc.) and the spread throughout the uni‘colors’ of the liturgy played versity by bringing togetha role,” Ziegler said. er all the different fields of For other collaborators, study. it was easier to connect “What’s so interesting color. Theatre assistant about the WFMA’s exhibit professor Sally Story fois how expansive a role cused her contribution on ‘color’ plays in our lives the collaborative art form PHOTO BY STEPHANIE ROBLEDO | THE WICHITAN and how elemental ‘color’ that is theatre. Margaret is to the human experience. “Chicano 15, 2008” by Quintin Gonzalez.

Brown Marsden, dean of the college of science and mathematics and biology associate professor, focused on the color blue within biology. There were also other contributors that easily connected color to their fields that are not normally associated with art.

“Geology and color are very closely linked.... For example, rocks and minerals, when cut very thin and polished, show many beautiful colors under the microscope. We can study the Earth from space by studying wavelengths of light (or color) that human eyes can’t see, which correspond to different types of plants or plankton. A friend of mine studies well-preserved fossils of feathers to figure out what color dinosaurs might have been. So color is a huge part of my field,” Anna Weiss, geosciences assistant professor, said.

Bills referred to the exhibit as well-received as it brought in groups of students from different majors, from English to nursing. “[The exhibit is] a nice way to appreciate all the majors and how they can all be connected by something as simple as color,” Brittaney Rivera-Orsini, radiology sophomore, said.

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

HUMAN SEX TRAFFICKING: “WICH comfortable [and] moving them into areas of bad behavior. The more they know about bad behaviors, the more likely they are to recognize those red flags of when something is not right,” Mallow said.

Mallow said one location for a human sex trafficking ring was a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood, and this location was discovered when neighbors grew suspicious because of the high volume of cars parked at the house at night.

“It’s being aware of what’s going on, and if something just doesn’t seem right, act on it. I think that’s the biggest thing people need to do is to trust your intuition. If something seems not right, maybe just report it,” Mallow said.

Extensive training on sex trafficking about what a scenario may look like in the medical and social work field is paying attention to a victim-chaperone relationship.

“We see it when somebody is not speaking for themselves, when it seems that someone is handling them or speaking on their behalf,

someone who won’t leave the room, someone who is close by and watching them but not necessarily interacting,” Early said.

HOW IT HAPPENS

According to Earley, in sex trafficking, pimps are often called street psychologists, because they excel at recognizing and exploiting vulnerabilities. “[They’re] looking for vulnerabilities. Children, by nature, are very vulnerable. Children who have endured trauma are, by nature, especially vulnerable,” Earley said. “If someone is trying to exploit you, they would offer whatever you need, and once you’ve established that trust, because they’ve given you things that you need, they expect more and more in return, and this develops quickly.”

In films and television, sex trafficking is often portrayed as a victim being abducted off the street. Facebook and Twitter posts often have information circulating about how a trafficker might grab a victim in a parking lot.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INSTITUTE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

“We’d like to say, ‘It’s only at the bus station,’ but in all honesty, it is everywhere at this point,” Catherine Earley, assistant professor of social work and Texoma Child Abuse Prevention member, said.

ELIZABETH MAHAN | BRIDGET REILLY REPORTER | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Human trafficking does not discriminate against age, race, gender, wealth or nationality.

In every corner of the globe, women, men and children are being trafficked, right now. According to the State Department, the 2018 Trafficking in Persons report found that the US was in the top three nations of origin for victims of human trafficking alongside Mexico and the Philippines.

WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

There are three types of human trafficking: sex, forced labor and domestic servitude.

“If someone else is profiting and it’s forced, fraud or coercion, it is human trafficking,” Catherine Earley, assistant professor of social work and Texoma Child Abuse Prevention member, said. “When we talk about human trafficking, a lot of times... your first assumption is going to be sex trafficking, but if you look at trafficking by the numbers in the state

of Texas, it’s really much bigger than that.”

A study from the Statewide Human Trafficking Mapping Project of Texas found that there are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including almost 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex trafficking.

However, according to Earley, these numbers are an estimate.

“When we’re talking about trafficking, any numbers that we talk about, are guesstimates, at best. If you’re going to engage in something illegal, are you going to report it? No,” Earley said.

“TRUST YOUR INTUITION”

In order for the community to be able to report human sex trafficking, they must be aware of the warning signs to look for. First Step holds training presentations on healthy relationships to help educate the public.

“Human [sex] trafficking often starts out as somebody, a predator type of person, grooming a child, making them more familiar and

A study from the Statewide Human Trafficking Mapping Project of Texas found that the minors and youth of sex trafficking.

Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

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HITA FALLS DOES NOT ESCAPE IT” “We’d like to say, ‘It’s only at the bus station,’ but in all honesty, it is everywhere at this point,” Earley said. “We have to consider what makes the most sense. [If I was a trafficker] why would I take a chance and grab a random person. When I put a zip tie on a car [for example], I don’t know anything about that person,” Earley said. “It is much easier for me to find the kid who is unsupervised and who needs some love and attention.... It’s a much bigger risk to snag someone in a parking lot, because they’re going to kick and scream, and you’re in a public place. It’s really the path of least resistance for a pimp.”

Earley had a personal example to give when it comes to grooming online.

“My kid once brought me his computer and said ‘Hey Mom, every time I play this game, this same character comes into the room and they keep dropping money in front of me or they gave me an epic weapon, and the only way to get it is to pay for it. Is this one of those weird guys you were talking about?” Earley said.

“Even though my kid had parental controls locks down, the person had followed my kid’s profile. Even though my kid was set to private and couldn’t see anything that that person was doing, that person could still follow any player in that particular gaming platform. They couldn’t communicate with my kid because I had it locked down, but they could do things to earn my kid’s trust.”

GETTING HELP

One counseling option for trafficking survivors is to speak with a hotline advocate at the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

First Step also has their own 24 hour crisis line, which allows its team members to work with callers to create safety plans.

Sometimes, survivors aren’t aware they had been trafficked themselves, because they thought they had a choice. “[They blame themselves and say] ‘I chose to send him that picture; I chose to have sex

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

The National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888 is a 24-hour hotline. First Step also has their own 24 hour crisis line 1-800-658-2683.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

ere are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including almost 79,000

when he wanted to; I chose to have sex with his friend.’ Sometimes people don’t even recognize that, that’s what was going on,” Earley said.

When those in crisis call, it may not be evident during the initial call that they are victims of human trafficking, because they classify the abuse as domestic violence.

“A lot of the human trafficking victims, for them it was a relationship,” Turnbow said. “It’s easier for them to identify as domestic violence victims than it is for them to actually identify with the human trafficking, because we’re just now really starting to scratch the surface on that.”

When a victim calls the hotlines or crisis lines, sometimes it is unsafe to pick them up them at the time they call.

“Not everyone is safe to leave at that moment when they call. We’ve had phone calls where we’ve had to talk to this person for months to help them navigate their safety plan so we’re there when they can leave,” Turnbow said. “Sometimes it takes a while, but we want to work on what’s best for them because they know the situation better than we do, and they know the perpetrator better than we do. We

want to get them out of there, but we want to get them out of there safely.”

Human sex trafficking is a million-dollar industry. Getting to the bottom of where this money is coming from could be a matter of life or death for those involved.

“If somebody self identifies that they’ve been trafficked, we can try to provide services that can help them, but who is identifying the person that’s doing the trafficking, and who is identifying the people who are paying for that service?” Mallow said.

Turnbow and Mallow said helping people escape situations they have no control over is rewarding work, but the 14 people on staff at First Step can’t prevent crimes like human trafficking in Wichita Falls without help.

“This is going on in our community. We’ve got sexual assault, we’ve got domestic violence and we’ve got human trafficking going on with our neighbors, our people, right here.

We have to step up as a whole community to bring ourselves the awareness, the education and the training we need to recognize the signs to change that in our community because 14 people can’t do it alone,” Turnbow said.

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBL'S W

ichita Falls welcomed a new member to its already vibrant food business catalog, Crumbl Cookies, on Jan. 21. Established Godwin Ukaa in 2017, the first Crumbl location opened its doors to the public in Logan, Utah. Wichita Falls has now joined the franchise list, and the

city welcomed the gourmet chocolate chip cookie, snickerdoodle cupcake, biscoff lava and frozen hot chocolate-serving company with open arms.

When I walked in, the sweet aroma of cookies reminded me of stepping into Grandma’s kitchen. It was a pleasant smell that could be bottled up and sold at Bath and Body Works for $100, and I would be first in line. I took a deep breath and soaked

it all in as I imagined how much better the smell would be without a mask on.

After two minutes, it was my turn to order. The cashier explained that they rotate four different specialty flavors every week.

I purchased the milk chocolate chip and the snickerdoodle cupcake, which totaled $9.53 after taxes plus tips.

As I completed the purchase, the worker told me, I could watch them bake the cookies. I stood at the back corner and watched through the clear glass as an employee cracked eggs into a baking pan. It was great to see that the cookies were freshly made. Out of the entire experience, watchPHOTO BY GODWIN UKAA | THE WICHITAN ing her crack the egg into the pan and mix Crumbl Cookies is located at 3201 Lawrence Rd the dough, as simple as it sounds, was my Suite 530 across from Michaels and near Qdoba. favorite part. I appreciate the art of baking, and I am glad they allowed me to be a part of the process.

My name was called and I grabbed my pink boxes. The presentation was fantastic!

The boxes were beautiful; they looked like something you would wrap a Christmas gift in. Also, the cookies were perfectly placed and mouth-watering good to look at.

It was time to taste my first Crumbl cookie. I took my first bite and was immediately disappointed. The cookies were good, but it was nothing out of this world. I guess it had been hyped up so much I was expecting something made by angels. I returned to reality after a few bites; the cookies tasted great but nothing out of the ordinary.

In the end, it was a good experience. I enjoyed my time at Crumbl and look forward to going back sometime in the future.

3.9 / 5.0

PHOTO BY GODWIN UKAA | THE WICHITAN

Crumbl Cookies’ menu rotates between four different cookie varieties weekly, while their chocolate chip and chilled sugar cookies stick around at all the time.

COMIC BY ABBY JONES

QUALITY OF FOOD: 3.5 PRESENTATION : 5.0 SERVICE : 4.0 CLEANLINESS : 5.0 VALUE OF MONEY : 3.5

Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

‘BRIDGERTON’

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is the silly show we need right now

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

Ruth Gemmell and Phoebe Dynevor in Diamond of the First Water

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he combination of January’s cold weather and social-distancing measures has us glued to our couches more than ever. Some argue that now is the perfect time to catch up on classic movies you’ve missed, but Brian Lang Netflix has other plans for you with its newest hit, the dramatic and steamy period piece “Bridgerton.”

The show, set in 1813 England, focuses on the wealthy but widowed Bridgerton family and its eight children. Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), the oldest daughter, has come of age and is to be presented at the season’s endless parade of balls. She’s given a glowing recommendation by the Queen herself as “the diamond of the first water,” which basically means that she’s the catch of the season. At the same time, a scintillating new gossip column written by the mysterious author Lady Whistledown (narrated perfectly by Julie Andrews) has the elite abuzz as secrets emerge from behind closed doors and the polished appearances of some of the best of society are marred.

Daphne isn’t impressed by most of her options and her protective older brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) is dead-set on scaring off anyone who has the faintest whiff of being unsuitable. Looking for a break from the courtship,

Daphne makes a deal with the most eligible bachelor in town, Simon the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), to fake a romance to make the suitors Daphne wants jealous and keep Simon single, just as he likes it. The two become fast friends and a crackling spark develops between the two that even the stuffy and detailed Regency rules of conduct can’t contain. As the season takes twists and turns, the rest of the Bridgerton clan and their coterie must also wade through the waters of love and loss while trying to avoid becoming a scandal in Lady Whistledown’s latest column.

“Bridgerton” is a hard show to put in a box. It’s deeply grounded in the stratified Regency Period and almost needs a glossary for its historic vocabulary (for example the “ton” is the aristocratic upper-class that rules society which is a new fact I’ll never forget), yet it feels weirdly modern and very silly. Much of its success is due to TV legend and producer Shonda Rhimes’ smart color-blind casting choices that give full agency to characters of all races and allows all characters, no matter their gender, to have some level of control over their lives. This marriage between the almost utopian post-racial society of the show and the clear-cut strata of Bridgerton’s upper-class characters leads to an enticing and frilly season of television.

It takes “Bridgerton’’ a few beats to get roll-

ing, but with the help of a string quartet version of Ariana Grande’s “Thank U Next” playing in the background at the first ball of the season, the dramatics quickly start rolling.

Every character has challenges and problems to sort through, but none more than the independent Daphne and the passionate but mysterious Simon. The two’s bumpy and often steamy relationship is the main attraction of the season with everyone else’s story-lines being a welcome distraction.

“Bridgerton” is the kind of show that you’ll know if you’ll enjoy within the first few minutes. It’s not everyone’s favorite style or timeperiod, but while it might have a stuffy crust, the drama and characters are just as relatable and well-written as any of Rhimes’s other works. Take a dip into the lush and scandalous world of “Bridgerton” and bask in the safety of being out of the all-seeing eye of Lady Whistledown.

Brian’s Series Rating: 4/5 COMIC BY DALLAS WABBINGTON

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

LESS PEOPLE

C A M P U S P O L I C E R E P O RT A D RO P I N T H E

PHOTO BY A.J. RUBIO | THE WICHITAN

Statistics from university police department indicate a notable drop in the number of campus crimes in 2020.

EMILY BEAMAN REPORTER very year, the Police Department conducts a Security and Fire Safety Report comprised of data collected from January to October of that year. The newest report, released in Dec. 2020, includes the statistics from the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. Compared to previous years, there was a significant drop in the number of crimes that were committed on campus. The two categories with the highest amount of reports were assaults and burglaries.

“The primary location for offenses are, unfortunately, originating out of our residence

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halls,” MSU Police Chief Patrick Coggins said.

MSU’s campus is able to house up to 1,768 students. According to Kristi Schulte, the Director for Residence Life and Housing, the 2019-2020 academic year had approximately 1,600 students living in campus housing. When campus opened for the fall semester of 2020, the number of students living on campus decreased to around 1,500. The drop in on-campus residents could be due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown Schulte suggested.

“We closed housing in March, and housing was only open to students who had very specific circumstances,” Schulte said.

The only students allowed to remain on

campus during the shutdown were international students, those classified as homeless, those considered independent on financial aid and those who presented a safety concern about leaving campus.

“We went from 1,500 students on campus to fewer than 200,” Schulte said, “and we saw even smaller numbers in the summer semester.”

Laura Hetrick, Title IX director and coordinator, reached the same conclusion as to why crime dropped.

“I think a part of [the decrease in crime] was because so many people went home at spring break and did not return,” Hetrick said.

On the other hand, Coggins believes that an

absence of students on campus could possibly be a reason to see an increase in crime.

“When you begin to reduce the number of people around, there’s less to be seen, less people seeing… People can take advantage of a lesser number of people around,” Coggins said.

Campus organizations, such as the Title IX Department, have also taken steps over the last year to attempt to decrease crime on campus.

Some examples of presentations by the department in 2020 were Bystander Intervention, Consent, What A Healthy Relationship Looks Like, Stalker Awareness and Self Protection.

These would be given to anyone anywhere on campus. Mainly set up in residence halls or the

Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

= LESS CRIME:

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E NUMBER OF CAMPUS CRIMES FOR 2020 campus for crime prevention.

“We’ve been making an effort to present a Crime Prevention Program to hall residents, RAs or anybody who’s interested,” Coggins said.

The program is an hourlong presentation on crime prevention tips to lessen the likelihood of somebody becoming a victim. Some of the tips they give are finding strength in numbers, not hanging out with people you don’t know too well and how to trust your instincts and get out of a situation before it escalates.

The police patrols have also increased over the last year.

Coggins said there are officers on frequent patrols around campus, being highly visible by walking through halls and buildings during the heaviest population times.

“Having that presence is always a deterrence to crime,” Coggins said. “It helps people feel reassured about their safety. They aren’t walking out there to bust students; we want to create a relationship between the police and the community - a positive relationship - and [we] want people to feel safe where they are.”

Because of limited department and campus resources, like the number of officers able to be employed and put out on campus, the MSUPD will not likely increase their PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN presence over the next year Emergency poles are stationed across campus for stu- but are hopeful to see a steady dents to contact the police if they feel in danger. continuance or drop in crime rates.

Student Center, any students were welcome to “I’d like to think a couple attend and gather information over the topics of reasons crime has decreased is because at these presentations. our program may have made a difference in “[The Title IX Department] has a different people’s actions that may have lessened the opprogram every month that we try to correspond portunity for crime to occur,” Coggins said, “as with the awareness topic for that month,” Het- well as our patrol efforts and community policrick said. ing style.”

Residence Life and Housing also increased The reports, in conjunction with the their precautions in 2020 by changing their MSUPD’s deductions, show that a majority of visitation policy. Per resident, only one guest is cases indicated there was no force, which has allowed at a time, and they must sign in at the led campus figures, like Coggins and Schulte, front desk to keep track of who and how many to believe that most campus crimes are crimes people go in and out of the halls. The MSUPD of opportunity. However, they also believe also ramped up their presence and efforts on many of these crimes and offenses can be best

prevented by the student and campus community.

“When we have students that are alert and aware about who is supposed to be there and feel comfortable enough to speak up when something is out of place, we really seem to have a more successful approach to safety and security,” Schulte said.

However, campus administration recognizes that students could struggle with coming forward to report offenses. “[There’s] definitely an element of underreporting, especially where students don’t see them as that big of a deal or there’s an element of embarrassment,” Schulte said. “With those smaller things, students feel they don’t want to bother anyone or know that they can or should report those things.”

Hetrick thinks the solution lies within the programs and presentations being presented around campus by the various departments.

The informational programs the Police Department and Title IX are implementing around campus have an element of destigmatizing the potential embarrassment of coming forward or thinking an offense is too small to speak up about. “[We] want [these programs] to help make students feel comfortable reporting,” Hetrick said.

Compared to the crime rate of the town of Wichita Falls, MSU’s reports were proportional

when taking into account population and timeframe in both data sets. As the year progressed and provisions to protect against the Coronavirus eased, the Wichita Falls Police Department continued to see a drop in certain areas of crime, like burglary, and a rise in others, like domestic offenses. MSU saw a similar trend in reports, with a drop in burglary, but a decrease with domestic reports and an increase in stalking, sexual harassment and assault offenses.

“We’ve had an abnormal year with a dip [in crime] across the board that began in March and April,” Wichita Falls Police Department Intel Officer John Cook said.

While MSU’s crime was proportional to Wichita Falls, when compared to other Texas campuses of similar size, they have higher rates. The University of Texas Permian Basin, which has a student population of 7,628, reported 43 total crimes and Texas A&M University at San Antonio, which has a student population of 5,511, reported 47 total crimes. In comparison.

MSU has a student population of 6,102 and had a total of 88 reported crimes. However, until the 2020 data set for crime across these campuses is fully released, a true comparison among them cannot be made.

CAMPUS CRIME RATIOS FOR UNIVERSITY OF PERMIAN TEXAS BASIN, TEXAS A&M UNIVESITY AT SAN ANTONIO AND MSU TEXAS (2020)

GRAPHIC BY ABBY JONES | THE WICHITAN

Infographic showing ratios of number of campus crimes to campus populations for University of Permian Texas Basin, Texas A&M Univesity at San Antonio and MSU Texas (2020).

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Feb. 1, 2021 Campus Voices | News | Sex Trafficking | Review | Media | Crime | Feature

“ I t’s more th an a ga m e. ”

A look at MSU’s top ranked athlete Garrett Leek His years of experience and constant ability to transition his skills from one sport to another makes him no ordinary golfer. Leek’s awards make him a stand-out player as he’s earned the Lone Star Conference golfer of the week twice, in 2019 and 2020, as well as the Lone Star Conference freshman of the year in 2019. His eye is always on the prize, and that dedication to winning continues to pay off as he swept through the Lone Star Conference with the sixth-best season scoring average PHOTO COURTESY OF GARRETT LEEK in program history at Third-grader Garrett Leek golfing with his 72.65.

“I’ve always envifather Wayne Leek. sioned myself as being better than the past,” KHIRSTIA SHEFFIELD Leek said. “I don’t want to settle on FEATURE EDITOR t four-years-old his passion just winning college tournaments, for golf was ignited. After but being recognized for the hard being handed his first golf work that I put in is a bonus to what club and making that first swing I’m trying to work on, which is beinto the endless array of grassy ing as good as I can possibly be. I fields, he fell in love with the free- am not a very satisfactory person; I dom and limitless opportunity golf always think there are ways I can be gave him. Growing up in a small better, but I am beyond thankful for rural area just a few miles outside all the resources I’ve been exposed of the big city, sports were always to and the people I have in my cora prominent part of his life. Follow- ner.”

Leek says golf is more than just ing the footsteps of his dad who was a basketball coach, Garrett Leek, a game. Leek thrives off of the menmanagement sophomore, was never tal challenge that golf presents and afraid of a little competition, so he through those challenges, he has tried his hand in basketball. As a learned some of the hardest lessons two-sport standout in high school, of life.

“Golf has taught me how to be he took pride in being a part of a team, but nothing resonated with patient and how to be happy with myself no matter what’s going on,” him more than golf.

“I’ve been around competition Leek said. “No matter how I feel, I my whole life,” Leek said. “What I still have to find a way to believe in like most about golf is that it’s all on myself despite the challenges I may me. It’s either I win myself or I lose have in front of me.”

Despite his success, getting to myself, and that’s the good and bad of it. That’s what makes it so hard, where he is today hasn’t always you can’t play bad and win. I enjoy been easy. Leek says he’s fallen that the most though, because I can in love with his journey and he’s push myself and see that improve- learned that he loves his weakment.” nesses as much as his strengths,

and that’s what allows him to break barriers.

“It’s a real time-consuming sport,” said Leek. “During the winter I spend three to four hours practicing because sunlight is so important, but during the summer I can spend up to eight hours practicing.

It’s a mental sport to the extreme, and I spend time learning how to react and adjust to everything I’m given.”

Leek said the hardest part has always been balancing school and the

sport he loves. Unlike most sports, Leek can spend up to eight hours playing up to 36 holes. However, Leek carries the same attitude off the field and doesn’t settle for average. In 2020, he was on the Lone Star Conference’s Honor Roll.

“I’ve learned more and more how to use my time to my benefit,” Leek said. “As a college athlete, I still want to go have fun and hang out with friends, but I try to use my 24 hours wisely. It has its ups and downs, when you have tests all

week and you’re gone for tournaments, it gets really hard to balance, but I don’t let that stop me.”

As someone who has dedicated most of his life to one sport, Leek is a true dreamer and the sky won’t limit him. After college, golf won’t stop being the central focus of his life as he plans to be a contender in the Professional Golf Association.

What started as one swing turned into a lifelong career and an unbreakable legacy.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF GARRETT LEEK

Management sophomore Garret Leek at Buterfield golf course, El Paso after first win for Fall 2020.