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April 8, 2015 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 79 No. 25

Hitting the campaign trail Three candidates run for Student Government Association President

Jesse Brown QUICK STATS

Julia Brady

Marco Torres

QUICK STATS

• POLITICAL SCIENCE JUNIOR • PANHELLENIC VICE PRESIDENT • CAMPUS ACTIVITIES CO-CHAIR FOR CHI OMEGA

• CRIMINAL JUSTICE JUNIOR • STUDENT REGENT ON THE BOARD OF REGENTS • FORMER PRESIDENT OF KAPPA ALPHA

“I have served the student body being student regent and have more than enough experience to lead the student body.” JESSE BROWN CANDIDATE FOR SGA PRESIDENT

“My experience comes from my position as Panhellenic vice president and my knowledge of law and government.” JULIA BRADY CANDIDATE FOR SGA PRESIDENT

• PSYCHOLOGY SENIOR • CHAIR OF THE CAMPUS CULTURE COMMITTEE • SENIOR CLASS SENATOR

“I see my non-greek status as an advantage over my competitors since I will have more time to devote toward SGA.” MARCO TORRES CANDIDATE FOR SGA PRESIDENT

ELEC T I ON GUI DE CONT I NUE D ON PG . 3

Petroluem Prospects

pg. 4

New graduate program allows students to continue their studies in the oil and gas industry.

Rocky’s Road

pg. 5

A 535-million-year-old rock, affectionately named Rocky, joins the geology department’s collection.

Record Wrecking

pg. 6

Ashley Flores, sociology senior, is on track to be on the best athletes MSU has seen.

2 | April 8, 2015 |

Changing college experience is detrimental for students

ith tuition and fees rising, and online courses becoming more and more available, the college experience is undoubtedly going through a transitional phase. Matt Jobe Undergraduate degrees are becoming less of an advantage and more of a requirement, and in the minds of students, physically attending schools or universities, where they will have to either commute or pay parking, housing and meal plan fees, is looking less and less necessary. Students around the country are starting to opt for online courses over traditional ones. These changing concepts, and more online courses being added over time, will inevitably lead to students asking, “Is attending a college or university for an undergraduate degree even worth it?” A college degree is practically a necessity these days, as the job market is so contested that having an undergraduate degree is typically the first step to narrowing down the number of possible employees to hire. But the method of attaining a degree is more up in the air than it has ever been. Students can decide which universities to apply to, or to start at a community college, or to stay at home and take some classes online. The traditional 4-year degree plan is on its way out the door, being replaced by a much more relaxed and individual style, where students can opt to take summer courses, spread out their degree plan, and shuffle around majors. As a result, schools are taking advantage of the laws of supply and demand, raising tuition and fees every year. Students need to be financially responsible with their study plans, and if they live on campus, they will probably feel rushed to finish school as fast as possible to avoid piling on more debt between student loans and housing costs.

Online courses with a supplement of on-campus classes offer students a chance to stay at home or find a cheaper place to live, wile commuting maybe two or three times a week. This also allows students to work their way through college at a more flexible pace, only taking courses they feel they can afford to at that moment. While things are transitioning in the school environment, students have a chance of being robbed of the truly maturing experience gained from living on campus. Students make new, often stronger—and stranger—friends in college. The people they meet aren’t all from the same background or area, as was the case in high school. You get a taste of how being independent feels, and housing and student programs ease young adults into living on their own. Schools and universities should be responsible for trying to nurture this idea, and take steps towards helping these young adults grow into maturity, but patterns of rising tuition costs and college fees discourage this. Students who refrain from living on campus will be thrown into the real world after earning their degree, and will be immediately responsible for learning how to be independent, living on their own, finding and keeping a real job, and paying their own bills. Thrusting this kind of responsibility without any preparation or experience would be absolutely terrible for any young adult, but on a college campus, students get prepared for this. Students get much more out of living on campus as opposed to staying at home, and compared to the arbitrary piece of paper that says you have been a good student (the degree), the experience you get from meeting close friends and growing real relationships, as well as learning to live away from home, is the most important part of being a student. Matt Jobe is a freshman in mass communication.

the

wichitan Vo. 79 | No. 25

Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room B103 3410 Taft Blvd. Box 14 Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 - wichitan@mwsu.edu

S TA FF EDITORIAL

Vote for Marco Torres Our view: In elections, results speak louder than words, and the only results we have seen came from senior class senator Marco Torres. We need an active president who has the best interests of the entire student body, not select groups, at heart. Torres is the candidate for that job.

lections are always a hotbed for drama, embellished truths and empty promises, all the way down to the student government level. So, as one of the constant observers of this year’s election—and the Student Government Association as a whole—we are confident that Marco Torres would best serve the entire student body as its SGA president. In just one semester we have seen Torres lead the charge in making the toothless tobacco-free policy enforceable and bringing an expanded weekend bus route to students. Torres demonstrated an ability to listen to students and identify their needs and get results: The updated tobacco policy is slated to go into effect this fall and the weekend route begins its trial run April 10. Above all else, results speak much louder than words, and in the last few years the only tangible results we have seen come from SGA occurred this semester, and all under the leadership of Torres.

EDITOR: Ethan Metcalf PHOTO EDITOR: Rachel Johnson PHOTOGRAPHER: Francisco Martinez BUSINESS MANAGER: Courtney Gilder DESIGNER: Brianna Sheen ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

Copyright © 2015. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a telephone number and address. The editor retains the right to edit letters.

| April 8, 2015 | 3

S TUDE NT GOVE RNM E NT E L E CT I ON GU I D E

SGA Presidential Candidates Repor ting b y Conne r Wolf and S e rah Welbor n

Jesse Brown

Julia Brady

Marco Torres

“To get what we want, we will have to assert ourselves against the administration. They will walk all over us and push their agenda on the SGA if we let them. I don’t want that to happen. I want students to have a say in how things are run around here.”

“I want all of our students to display pride in our university year round. School spirit and pride help with retention rates because students want a school they can be proud of. We need a solid foundation of spirit.”

“I want to hold administration accountable to the student body. This means SGA needs to be stronger and not let our voice be lost in what administration wants from us, we should instead be listening to what the students want to meet their needs.”

“I don’t have an agenda to push. Being in a fraternity will not come before student government. I want to listen to any problem or issue that is brought forward to me by senators and other students. I want to make this university a better place for everyone.”

“Student government holds a lot more power that is rarely used. We need a better voice on campus, student government is weak now and this will help. We should also be more approachable to students so they can bring their issues to us.”

“I want to meet with the largest organizations on campus bi-monthly. That includes CSO, ASO, IFC, Panhellenic, and Multicutrual Greek, to break down the barriers of these organizations so they can better work together and communicate more effectively with SGA.”

“It may seem like a small step in revolutionizing SGA, but I believe that changing the meeting structure will help get things done and making things run more smoothly.”

“I want diversity in student government. I want diversity in the form of new students who haven’t held an SGA office before, and diversity of students from all backgrounds.”

“I want to get SGA up to constitution standards. I want the committees to each only have one senator on them, this leaves more spots open for regular students to join in and have a voice.”

Candidates for other executive officers and class senators VICE PRESIDENT Dareem Antoine | Economics junior | “A vote for me is a vote for commitment, a vote for capability, and a vote for communication.” Mark Brown | Exercise physiology senior | “I feel like my experience with parliamentary procedure will be very beneficial for the vice president position.”

SOPHOMORE CLASS SENATOR Manny Hoffman | Political science freshman Mathew Howard | Radiology freshman Austin Snyder | Business administration sophomore | “I have a lot of friends in different areas... I’m hoping I can be an effective liaison between the administrators, staff and the student body.” Jaylon Williams | Nursing freshman | “In SGA, it’s not just a title. We actually want to do things that benefit the community and benefit the students.”

SECRETARY Laura Flores | Biology senior | “I’ve seen so many organizations grow and it just takes commitment and time to do this... I do hope to fulfill my responsibilities stated by the by-laws.” Suprena Poleon | Chemistry senior | “I want to be instrumental in bringing in the unity of the senate and the campus organizations. This senate... is a place for us to communicate and to integrate our organizations.

VOTE AT MY.MW SU.EDU APRIL 8-12 AND CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL COVERAGE AT THEWICHITAN.COM

4 | April 8, 2015 |

NEW PROSPECTS New petroleum center to provide potential for cross-discipline work

SERAH WELBORN REPORTER

s part of a new graduate program in geology, students will be able to continue their studies in the oil and gas industry, the industry on which the entire town was founded. For Jeff Snowden, a geology senior interested in sedimentary petrology, the Dillard Center for Energy Management and the Bolin Graduate School of Petroleum Geology offer more than a new degree program and a new thing to study. It will provide him the opportunity to continue his graduate work here. “I will be able to continue with the research I've already been doing as an undergraduate," Snowden said. "I'm familiar with the professors. That's a big thing when you're looking at graduate work." Though his plan for the future is uncertain, Snowden knows his degree will enable him to apply his skills to the development of oil, gas and water reservoirs— all of which speak volumes to areas like Wichita Falls. According to Scott Meddaugh, professor of geosciences, a master’s degree in petroleum geology will make a difference of up to $60,000 for a student's starting salary. Additionally, he said the Dillard Center for Energy Management will provide a potential for cross-discipline work between science and business students, a core principle of liberal arts universities, according to Meddaugh. "There are people who see sciences and humanities in some sort of conflict for administrative attention or funding or building space, and, to me, that's kind of a false battle," Meddaugh said. "Both groups coexist, both groups leverage off of each other, and I think that's best for the students." He referred to the liberal arts as a "style of college education" rather than a list of

courses which favor music, theater, visual arts, or literature. Through the core, undergraduate students of every major are exposed to a variety of fields which expand their worldview. "There's a balance that is achieved by having the wide diversity of studies," Meddaugh said. "Somebody who's studying geology, chemistry, physics, or any of the so-called 'hard sciences,' benefits from time spent outside of the sciences." Rebecca Dodge, an associate geology professor who will coordinate the new graduate program for petroleum geology, said she is confident the university and its students will benefit from added attention on the sciences. “[Midwestern] is not just a trade school. No new or expanded emphasis on any department is going to detract from the education that you’re going to get here as a liberal arts institution,” Dodge said. “When you go to college, a lot of times you're interested in a specific career, so if you choose to go to a liberal arts institution, the advantage of being in that institution is [that it] tries to give students a more holistic viewpoint... that’s what Midwestern is trying to do for people in every major.” Lucy Schultz, assistant professor of philosophy and an environmentalist, shared her view of the university'’s investment in its new energy programs. “Any new program at MSU is exciting

because it signals growth and people coming together to promote a shared vision and new opportunities for our students," Schultz said. "I hope that students pursuing careers in energy management will utilize the tremendous resources that MSU offers as a liberal arts institution... The decisions we make about how we use the Earth’s resources will affect the futures of families throughout the world. I think it is imperative for anyone pursuing a career in the energy field to have this in the forefront of his or her mind." As such, Snowden demonstrated that understanding as he explained that the use of coal is most harmful to the environment. “Everybody likes the idea of wind farms and solar [energy], but what do you do when the sun is not shining and when the wind is not blowing? What do you burn? Where do you get energy? The best idea right now is that we use natural gas. It’s much cleaner than coal,” Snowden said. “Nationally right now we're getting 40 percent of our energy from coal— it’s closer to 70 percent, I think, in Tex-

as—so, an electric car is great, but it’s not if you’re then basically driving a coalpowered car because you’re plugging it in and getting electricity.” Additionally, Snowden said, for now, it is best to minimize damages by implementing the only economically-viable resource available: natural gas. "There is no perfect solution. There's what's least harmful," he said. "The reason I would be more willing to go into the industry is that I'm more likely to change how things are done working for Exxon than I am sitting outside the front door with a picket sign." Regarding the oil and gas industry, Dodge said "nobody's hands are clean," but that the companies of the worst reputation are actually contributing most to the search for renewable energy alternatives. “They realize that we're going to have to make a transition at some point from fossil fuel to renewables, because we will eventually run out of coal and oil and natural gas,” Dodge said, “but that’s not going to happen for decades. Your children and, potentially, your grandchildren are going to be driving cars fueled by gasoline because gasoline is the most efficient transportation fuel in the world and it’s cheap. Just do the economics.” Likewise, Meddaugh said it wasn't appropriate for students to point fingers at the university for inadvertently contributing to pollution and bad energy. Society as a whole must solve the problem addressed in university classrooms. “I don't feel like we are producing people whose goal is to continue polluting the environment,” Dodge said. "The students who are graduating in petroleum geology now are going to facilitate the transition during their lifetimes... You may not forget your impact on the environment, and our students don’t.”

“I know the petroleum and oil market is a big market so if it helps the programs and industry then do it.”

“The programs are more benefits for the students, so I think it’s OK because that means that our school is growing.”

JOSHUA McLAUGHLIN, MASS COMMUNICATION SOPHOMORE

POOJA PATEL, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT

| April 8, 2015 | 5

News briefs Research forum to showcase student, faculty work BRI SHEEN REPORTER

PHOTO BY YOLANDA TORRES | THE WICHITAN

Jonathan Price, assistant professor of geosciences, and geology club members stand outside Bolin April 1 with the newest rock added to the geology department’s collection.

Geology department gets 535-million-year-old rock YOLANDA TORRES REPORTER

he geology department has recently added a new rock to its collection. A big, old rock. “Rocky,” a rock believed to be from southern Oklahoma, is approximately 535 million years old. “I can only imagine what that rock has seen. If only it had eyes,” said Bill McGregor, geology senior. It has moved around from place to place and while the exact timeline isn’t known, Jonathan Price, assistant geology professor, said the rock is believed to have started its move sometime around the 1950’s when it was brought to sit at the White’s Auto Supply Warehouse. Once the business was gone, the rock and others surrounding it came to the forefront. Since then, the geology department has had a rough time getting the rock on campus. Combating weather and paperwork was only half the battle. Apparently over one night, the rock was accidently removed from the parking lot and taken to the dump where it was later found after lots of digging and rain to wash away everything on top of it. “It was gone,” McGregor said. “I almost had a heart attack.” The geology department faculty didn’t lose hope. They really wanted that rock. “I thought it would be neat to have one of those on campus because they’re stunning and I work on those rocks for my research,” Price said Price goes on to explain that it is very special for this rock to be on campus because, if all of the suspicions are correct, the rock comes from a part of the Wichita mountains that is now owned partly by Fort Sill and the rest owned by the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. What’s so great about having a rock of this magnitude on campus now is not only because it’s rare but also because of the sheer

he Celebration of Scholarship will kick off April 28 with graduate student and faculty presentations, and continue until April 30 with more presentations from undergraduates, and a panel, as well as an award ceremony and a wind ensemble concert. Applications were due April 6, and applicants should find out if their presentations were approved by April 13. The presentations can range from posters, oral presentations, or creative activities. “We will have oral and poster presentations by students who have done research at EURECA or in class or in independent study, anything that they have done,” said Magaly Rincon-Zachary, director of undergraduate research and biology professor. Although the research and activity forum takes place every semester, the Celebration of Scholarship is special to the spring semester, according to RinconZachary. The Celebration of Scholarship is dedicated to showcasing the research work of students and faculty. “The goal is to highlight the students accomplishments and celebrate what they have done,” RinconZachary said. Faculty and graduate student presentations will be April 28 from 2-6 p.m., panel presentations will be

April 29 from 12-4 p.m., and undergraduate presentations will be April 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All presentations will take place in the Clark Student Center. The Celebration of Scholarship will conclude with an awards ceremony and a concert from the Wind Ensemble, both in Akin Auditorium at 7:30 p.m, April 30. The Celebration of Scholarship is free and open to the entire MSU community.

Caribbean students to present cultural showcase MORGAN HAIRE REPORTER

he Caribbean Students Organization will present it’s annual cultural showcase, “Expressions – A Soca Mass Rhythm,” April 10 at 7 p.m. in Akin Auditorium. “Expressions is a great cultural event which showcases the Caribbean culture,” said David Joseph, marketing senior and member of the Caribbean Students organization. Joseph said that people are still talking about last year’s Expressions. “Last year Expressions was awesome,” Joseph said. “But we intend to make Expressions 2015 even better.” On Friday attendees will get the opportunity to listen to the sounds of steel pan music, watch Caribbean folk plays, and enjoy talents of the Caribbean students. Joseph said Soca’s unique sound is a mixture of calypso music and soul that originated in Trinidad and Tobago. Calypso is smoother and Soca is where the high tempo beat comes from.

Upcoming Events

PHOTO BY YOLANDA TORRES | THE WICHITAN

Jonathan Price, assistant professor of geosciences, stands on top of “Rocky”, a 535 million year old rock, outside of Bolin on April 1.

size of it. “We have lots of nice, fist-sized rocks in our collection but you lose some of the sense of scale. You lose some sense of its surroundings, the environment it comes from. A bigger piece like that gives you a better sense of how you might encounter it in the Wichita Mountains,” Price said. It helps in identification and a lot of students forget that we aren’t just looking at the specimens here. “The rock helps shows people that you can look at it both bigger and smaller. We can go smaller like in mineralogy and just look at it in thin sections and we can also see

see ROCKY pg. 7

April 8 Tenure and Promotion Panel | 7-8:30 p.m. in Dillard 133 | Free, open to all faculty members

April 10 Juanita Harvey Art Gallery Opening Reception: Andrew Gilliatt | 6 p.m. at the Juanita Harvey Art Gallery | Free

April 9 QuickBooks Online Training | 5:307:30 p.m. at the BISD Gateway Center, 200 East Third Street, Burkburnett | $45

April 13 Media Monday | 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Fain Fine Arts C111 | Free

April 9 Faculty Forum Series: Dr. Nathan J. Jun | 7 p.m. in Clark Student Center Shawnee Theater | Free April 9 Department of Music: Drs. Andrew Allen and Christopher Beaty, Saxophonists | 7:30 p.m. in Akin Auditorium | Free

April 14 Continuing Education Film Series: “Pulp Fiction” | 7 p.m. at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU | Free April 14 Department of Music: Jazz Ensemble | 7:30 p.m. in Akin Auditorium | Free April 15 Moffett Library: Nolan A. Moore III Birthday Party | 3 p.m. in Moffett Library Special Collections Room 215 | Free

C R I M E LO G April 3

Drugs: possession of marijuana | 2:02 a.m. | Parking lot #19 by Church of Christ Student Center | A student was in possession of Marijuana.

April 4

Criminal mischief: misdemeanor | 9:29 p.m. | Sunwatcher Village Apartments | A student reported that his tire was slashed. SOURCE: http://www.mwsu.edu/police/crimelogs/

6 | April 8, 2015 |

Quick on her feet

PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

Ashley Flores, sociology senior, warms up at a track and cross ountry practice March 31.

Ashley Flores on track to be one of the best athletes in MSU history JESSALYN CASTRO REPORTER

shley Flores has a knack for running as she competes in cross country and track, both indoor and outdoor, all while keeping a handle on her education. Flores, sociology senior, has qualified for five national championships over the five years that she has ran for MSU including cross country nationals in 2010, 2011 and 2012, outdoor track in 2014 and making history as MSU’s first indoor track national qualifier in 2015. She holds the second fastest times in school history in the 800 and 5K races, and holds the school record in the mile, 1,500 and 1,000 meter races. “She has the fastest times in school history in all those races,” head coach Koby Styles said. “To be able to accomplish all of that and have a 3.75 grade point average and never miss a practice in five years, that’s pretty special.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association rules give athletes 10 semesters of eligibility to compete in a sport for four seasons. Styles said the late addition of track Flores’ sophomore year allowed her to compete in each sport as she ran cross country starting her freshman year and ending last year. Already competing in cross country for four years Flores wasn’t able to this past season, only running track her last year at MSU. Flores’ time at the indoor mile preliminaries of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships sat at a 5:00.56, her personal best but just barely shy of her goal to break five minutes. Moving to outdoor competition, Flores will run in races slightly different than what she ran for indoor. “The difference is in indoor, they don’t have the 1,500, it’s just the mile. And then outdoor, they don’t have the mile, it’s converted into the metric system so that’s where you go to the 1,500,” Styles said. “And so you’re looking at the time comparisons; Ashley has ran a sub-five-minute mile based off her 1,500 time. That’s kind of one of the barriers that we were trying to break in indoor, was to have something with a four in front of it. She’s ran below 4:30 and then you add 100 meters to that, yeah she’s well under five minutes in outdoor.” The immediate transition from indoor to outdoor Flores said is a nicer one unlike going from running cross country in the fall to track in the spring. “Right now since we’re going into outdoor we’re focusing more on the 1,500 which is just 100 meters less than the mile so the times are a little bit different for that but the goal still applies,” Flores said.

Number of national championships where Flores ranked in the top 20 nationally

PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

Ashley Flores, sociology senior, warms up at a Track and Cross Country practice March 31. “To qualify for nationals, to do better than I did last year, to knock down my time a lot, and to hopefully be able to achieve those times without a conversion needed.” Running at altitude, Styles said, whether it be in West Texas or Colorado, because the air is a little thinner it’s harder to race in a longer distance than it is to run at sea level, and based off a runners time at altitude in distance events, time is taken off. Flores qualified for nationals last year because of a conversion where she ran a 4:36 mile at altitude which converted to 4:33 at sea level. “You’re running fast enough to get that time anyways, but I’d like to be able to do it without having a conversion, being able to solidly run that time at sea level,” Flores said. In training for the outdoor season Flores said her focus right now is on speed. “The first part of training is to really build up your strength,” she said. “You know your endurance is there, you know you can last an entire 1,500 meter race at a good pace, now we’re just trying to build that speed up a little bit so I can do it faster.” Styles said the main goal is for Flores to be running at a faster pace than the times from last year at this point. “We’re going to know very quickly where we stand,” he said. “As long as she runs faster this time as she did last time then we know we’re in a good spot because we still have seven weeks until conference.” In order to be able to accomplish these goals Flores said she likes to take a relaxed approach to her races.

4:33

Flores’ mile time which qualified her for last year’s nationals

“I’ve had races in the past where I stress too much about those races,” Flores said. “You try to analyze and think and think and think so when you get up to the starting line all you are doing is panicking about your race and it’s not going to do you any good when you are wasting all that time and energy worrying about your race instead of just kind of taking a breath.” Flores said her strategy in a race is to break it down more, making it easier and more manageable. “It’s almost like it happens in stages,” Flores said. “You’re at the starting line and you’re thinking about the first stage of the race. You go, ‘Okay I want to get in good position, I want to focus on not getting caught up in a pack, not getting trapped, you need to put yourself in a good position to run the rest of the race.’ So that’s the first step. You focus your first lap on not going out too slow, not going out too fast, hitting your first mark, and getting in a good position.” Flores said on the second lap she’s hopefully got herself in a good position to where she can start working the race to her advantage, focusing on keeping on track and keeping on pace. “If there’s a group of girls that start to separate themselves from another pack you’ve got to stay with that pack and you work your way around for that race,” she said. The third lap for Flores is pretty much to hang on. “I have a lot of issues with staying with it on on the third lap, for some reason that’s my achilles

see FLORES pg. 7

Number of school records Flores holds, including best time in the mile, 1,500 meter and 1,000 meter races.

L IVI N G UP TO ITS NAM E

PHOTO BY ETHAN METCALF | THE WICHITAN

Christopher and Tagan Couch, owners of The Gypsy Kit restaurant, debuted their food truck Tuesday at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU. Christopher Couch said they plan to bring the truck back to the museum parking lot every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ROCKY pg. 5

MSU FacUlty ForUM preSentS

a philosophical investigation preSented by

nathan jun, ph.d. aSSociate proFeSSor oF philoSophy

Faculty Forum showcases the research and creative endeavors of the MSU faculty. Admission is free. For further details: jonathan.price@mwsu.edu or 940.397.4288.

it as a piece from an outcrop and actually go to the Wichita mountains and make sense of the structure of it,” said Kari Bickhard, geoscience senior. There are hopes that this new addition will also get more people interested in geoscience classes. “We have a stunning mineral collection and it also helps to have nice pieces of rock to look at, too. I think students see that and maybe think, ‘Well I’d like to learn a little bit more about this, why does this look different from this, and why is this rock so distinct?’ So I think it’s a bit of advertising, but more importantly it will give people something to connect to and start asking questions about. Then they can say ‘I know something about the world around me because I know these rocks in my hand’,” Price said. The future of the rock isn’t definite. While Price said he would like to acquire other specimens and create a rock garden like some other programs have, he’s happy to at least have “Rocky.” “If I had a dream for where the rock was going it should be part of a bigger collection. Time will tell if other people are interested in that direction,” Price said. Until then, the geology department is just happy to have the rock on campus for a few years, if not another 535 million.

| April 8, 2015 | 7 FLORES pg. 6 heel,” she said. “So for me I have to really focus on staying consistent and staying with the pack. I have to make myself fight through it, I have to push myself and motivate myself, ‘Keep going, keep going,’ because I know as soon as I get to that last 400 or that last 300 I can move because I’m stubborn enough to want to race other people on that strong finish, that’s really what the last lap is focusing on, trying to pass as many people as you can, or you really want to hit that under 70 for the last lap.” Styles said going into the race they have a game-plan on breaking it down by each lap trying to beat a certain time so the only thing in a runners head is what time they need to be at for each lap. “If you don’t think of it as a whole, you think of it as little races in between, it’s a little more manageable mentally,” Styles said. “One second in a race like hers separates, at the national level, tenth place to fifteenth place, so hitting those splits is very crucial.” Styles said Flores has potential to leave MSU as one of the best athletes to pass through given her record the five years she has been here. “The consistency you see from Ashley being here over a five year span is remarkable being able to accomplish what she’s accomplished,”

Styles said. “One of her former teammates Brissia Montalvo is still up there that’s pretty high and we both think highly of her and her running ability.” Montalvo was the first one to go to outdoor nationals in steeplechase and make the finals, she was All-American in cross country, conference champion in cross country, runner of the year in conference, and third at regionals. “She’s got some very high accolades, but the one thing that Ashley’s got over her is Brissia was only here for two years,” Styles said. “If I could label it, Brissia is the best JUCO transfer to come in, and Ashley is the best career. She’s been to three national championships, she’s been to indoor national championships and she’s been to outdoor. That’s five national championships where she’s been ranked in the top 20 nationally in five years. Brissia wasn’t able to do that, she went to two cross’ and one outdoor, and that’s where Ashley has got a foot on her, that’s where she starts separating herself.” Flores still has an entire season ahead of her to reach her goals. When the season comes to an end so will her competitive running career which began in middle school even though she had been running for fun with her dad before that.

Student art chosen to market forum BRI SHEEN REPORTER

poster by Krysten Farrier and a postcard design by Aaron Campbell were chosen as marketing tools for the Celebration of Scholarship, honoring the research of students and faculty. The students made their designs as part of a project in their Computers for Artists class, according to Jennifer Yucus, who teaches the class and chaired the committee for the Celebration of Scholarship this year. "My role was to make sure that the students had all the information that they need and then I acted as the creative director [and] guided them along the process," Yucus said. According to Yucus, the committee chose the designs two weeks ago. Yucus said Farrier’s poster design was chosen because the committee members thought it would appeal to students and faculty. "If you were walking down the hallway and looked over, you would be like 'Oh, the colors are bright, the topic is interesting, and it was executed nicely,' " Yucus said. "So we

COURTESY OF JENNIFER YUCUS

Left, the official poster design by Krysten Farrier, art freshman, and bottom, the official postcard design by Aaron Campbell for the Celebration of Scholarship, running April 28-30

thought for students and faculty that was great." Yucus said Campbell’s postcard design was chosen because the community would associate the mustangs on the postcard with MSU. "We thought that the mustangs symbolize MSU and to use those mustangs with the galaxy background would meet more of the community demographic because they think MSU—they think Mustangs," Yucus said. Yucus said 1,000 postcards will be mailed to community members to invite them to the

Celebration of Scholarship. "We are sending out 1,000 postcards to the community so that community members can come to the event, so that they see what our students are doing, so they have feedback for our students, and we have a concert," Yucus said. The Celebration of Scholarship will kick off April 28 with graduate student and faculty presentations, and continue until April 30 with more presentations from undergraduates, and a panel, as well as an award ceremony and a wind ensemble concert.