May 6, 2015

May 6, 2015 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 79 No. 29

Gender studies minor available this fall

KRISTINA ABEYTA REPORTER

H

istory is in the making at MSU with its first female president, Suzanne Shipley, waiting to take the helm Aug. 8, and starting in the fall, students will be able declare a minor in women’s and gender studies.

Of the 29 member institutions on the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, 24 have programs on women’s and gender studies. Now there will be 25.

Linda Veazey, assistant professor of political science and program coordinator for the new minor said she is excited to be part of bringing it to the university.

“It’s something we’ve seen an interest in from our students, and I know that several members of the faculty teach classes on gender across campus,” Veazey said. “So it seemed like the right thing to do, for us to try and put them together so that students could take a variety of classes that are gender focused, but take them in a variety of disciplines.”

Veazey said the minor is unique because it offers classes from many of the colleges on campus, ranging from criminal justice, history, nursing, philosophy, sociology and English.

“There are political scientists, like me, who study gender, just as there are people who work on women’s literature, or gender and sexuality in literature, history, mass communication and even healthcare,” Veazey said. “We find gender studies in multiple disciplines. It makes sense to put this together, so that people who have an interest here can really explore their interests in learning about gender through different classes, which is one thing that makes a liberal arts college great.”

Veazey said studying gender could be beneficial to any student, man or woman.

Presidential Signoff

pg. 4

QUICK FACTS • 25 COPLAC member institutions have programs on women’s and gender studies.

• The minor offers classes from many colleges such as criminal justice, history, nursing, philosophy, sociology and English.

• The only required course is Introduction Women’s and Gender Studies, taught by Linda Veazey, assistant professor of political science and program coordinator for the new minor.

• The new minor is modeled on the minor at the University of Houston, which also started as a single class.

“Our lives are organized around gender, and we don’t even notice it most of the time. It seems invisible,” Veazey said. “So part of what gender studies does is to try to make that visible, and think about how society is different, and what kind of effects does it have when the thing we are focusing on is gender.”

MSU offers a feminist philosophy class co-taught by Nathan Jun, associate professor of philosophy, and Lucy Schultz, assistant professor of philosophy.

“It helps that the course is being teamtaught by both a man and a woman. It challenges the idea that feminism is an exclusively female discourse,” Jun said. “It makes clear that men can be feminists as well.

Feminism is a way of looking at the world.

Although it pertains chiefly to the experiences of women, it also deals with how men relate to women. To that extent, it’s a discourse that always and already includes men, whether they know it or not.”

Jesse Rogers reflects on his tenure as he prepares to give commencement speech at final graduation as president.

Culture Shock

Of the 18 hours required for the minor, the only required course is Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, taught by Veazey, an honors course first offered last spring. There are 22 students in the class this semester, and starting next spring, it will be offered as part of the core curriculum.

“After the one core class, students would need five more classes to fulfill the minor.

Out of the five remaining classes, four of those courses have to be upper division classes, 3000 or 4000 level.”

Veazey said this will also give students another opportunity to take upper-level classes, because they are required a certain number in the advanced category to graduate.

“Sometimes students get near the end and realize they need a few more classes, so I made sure to construct the minor to be helpful,” Veazey said.

The remaining classes in the minor are going to be drawn from a variety of subjects, and they’re courses already on the books that can count, Veazey said.

“And now, there might be more classes created in the future to count for students wanting the women’s and gender studies minor,” Veazey said. “The goal is to have classes in gender taught every semester for students, to be able to count, but also so that they can be taken within a variety of fields. We all work in different disciplines, but we are also a part of this larger discipline of women’s and gender studies. That’s really the legacy of these programs, they allow students to explore this topic of gender in all kinds of different fields, because it’s everywhere, and that’s where it should be.”

Veazey said this new program is modeled on the minor at the University of Houston, which started as a core class. Veazey was a

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Jesse Brown, criminal justice junior and student government president, talks at an SGA meeting April 7.

New SGA president looks to update bylaws, procedures SERAH WELBORN REPORTER

A

ll successful politics require communication, preparation and respect on the part of its members. This applies to all levels of participation, especially in models like the Student Government Association where constituents and candidates are not only fellow students, but also friends. The desire to win an election should never hinder one’s ability to maintain good relationships across the board. For SGA president Jesse Brown, criminal justice junior and Student Regent, the mission is now to improve the SGA so that it might fully represent those standards to current and future students.

In retrospect, what should have happened is very clear. Brown said preparation for the election process was inadequate, leading to poor time management and, hence, poor execution. He said he plans to amend the bylaws so that the election process begins

see SGA pg. 3

see MINOR pg. 10

pg. 6

Homeschooled till he was 15, Andrew Latour shares his experience adjusting to life in college.

Going Pro

pg. 11

A former student puts school on hold to pursue his dream of playing soccer professionally.

2 | May 6, 2015 |

Learning from mistakes

I

am writing this letter today to address last week’s Wichitan article, SGA failed the student bodyagain. I, personally, enjoyed what the article said regardMarco Torres ing my conduct.

The words mentioned about me rang so true and that is why I am reaching out.

First and foremost, I do not regret anything I have posted on my personal Facebook in the past. I am a person with a strange sense of humor, and I also tend to stereotype a lot. I would take outrageous photos to rile up emotions and to push buttons. I like to have fun just like every other student on this campus, but what I did not realize was my role as a member of student government and a leader at MSU. It was a stupid mistake to not remove such photos and comments from my page before the election began, but I honestly never imagined that supporters of my opponents would take my posts out of context in an attempt to taint my image. Those responsible have shown their true character and are in no position to pass judgement on me. I take pride in not sinking so low to hurt the reputation of others, and for that I am the better person.

Secondly, to all the students that were offended by my posts and photos released on Twitter, I truly and sincerely apologize to you. Though I may not regret my past posts, I am the type of person to apologize if I offend anyone or if I realize I am wrong.

Had I won the election, I would not have taken office on the grounds of my questionable character. I will also gladly take the time to meet with any student that wants a further explanation or a personal apology.

Please, understand that only those posts and photos deemed embarrassing or offensive were posted. Why, you ask? Nothing more than to show

CORRECTIONS • In the April 29 issue, the numbers at the bottom of page one were attached to the wrong story.

• The Wichitan regrets the errors.

me in a negative manner. I believe they were only partly successful.

What they did not factor was people’s ability to change. I have changed.

When I was elected as senior class senator last April, I knew that change for myself and for MSU was a priority.

I have worked tirelessly to build bonds with student leaders and students on my mission to change this university.

In that attempt, I succeeded and am glad I did. So, to all those offended, please, judge me by the content of my character now instead of then and forgive me. My goal is to leave Midwestern State a better place before I graduate. I am still on that mission.

Thirdly, I will personally involve myself in drafting and passing new bylaws and Election Codes. What happened this year was a complete embarrassment. SGA is the voice of the student body and now that voice has been compromised. The whole matter must not be taken lightly.

Opinions aside, my fellow Mustangs, SGA functions under our current bylaws and therefore, under our president.

I support Jesse Brown. Those are probably words you would never expect to hear from me, but I do. We can stay stuck in the past and use this election to hinder our goals or we can move on. I say let’s move on.

Student leaders accomplished so much this year and I want to see that continue. As students we can fuel that change, a change where we progress forward and not backwards. I want to see our success continue and I believe our incoming executives and student body will continue to have our voices be heard. Mustangs, moving forward, we must stand with a sense of unity and not dwell on the past. I have personally told Jesse Brown that I will gladly serve under his presidency in any capacity. I ask that you do the same because bettering Midwestern State will be a priority next year.

Marco Torres is a senior in psychology.

wichitan

the

Vo. 79 | No. 29

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

Our goal: Make this a better place

I

always thought The Wichitan’s slogan was a little cliché.

“Your campus. Your news.” Of course it’s news, it’s a newspaper, I always thought. But here, on Jasmine Jones the last production night of my last issue as editor and student, I finally realize the importance of that cheesy, four-word slogan.

Ethan Metcalf It’s your campus. We do this for you, the student, the professor, the president, the custodian—the reader.

Yes, this publication exists to train tomorrow’s journalists and editors—even the evil yet life-giving ad salesmen and saleswomen—but more importantly than that, we exist to keep you informed, to hold administrators and decision-makers accountable, to facilitate needed discussion, and to chronicle all the great and not-so-great things that happen in between.

As I list these things, an example of each flashes through my head: keeping students informed during the bomb threat, reporting on the proposed outsourcing of nearly 100 maintenance jobs, and

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

fostering healthy debate on things like a poorly executed poster and what that says about gender relations on campus.

Certainly, we have been far from perfect in those duties, (we’re students, after all) but I can leave this experience knowing we made a difference. We did good, and I know the staff I leave behind will continue on that path.

I am happy to be done, but I wish the end of this leg of my journey didn’t come at such a momentous and exciting time for this university. As I move on, MSU’s first female president will take the helm, new buildings will go up, and once-bitter enemies in student government will put their differences aside for the good of the students.

But with all of that change comes an even greater need for an independent newspaper. As editor, I am made painfully aware of those who wish to shut us down—those who wish to hide the truth—but know this: Unlike those people, we have no agenda other than to make this university a better place.

So stay informed. Read The Wichitan. Speak up if you see injustice and we will find out why and how to stop it. After all, it’s “Your campus.”

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.

Café worker raises money for surgery AVERY WHAITE REPORTER

T

he halls of Clark Student Center are filled with the incessant stimuli posters, recruiting events, and bake sales.

Almost every day there is a new bake sale raising money for any number of student clubs, but the bake sale outside Shawnee Theatre since April 22 is different. Son Tran, a line cook in the Mesquite Café, set up this bake sale to save his life.

“The idea came to me personally through my cooking,” said Tran. “It’s something I’m confident about.”

Tran said cooking is his specialty, and he feels confident in knowing he is good at it.

“I have to raise a total of $10,000 for all of the procedures,” Tran said.

“To raise the money I’m working two jobs. Here during the week, and Jersey Mikes on the weekend.”

Tran said he has raised about $1,000 at the moment, and knows it is slowly rising to $10,000, but hopes that all this hard work will help him reach it.

“It must be hard for him, but he seems like a strong person,” said Mason Winter, criminal justice freshman.

Winter said even though he doesn’t know the guy, he thinks Tran is a strong individual with a

good heart, and hopes that he is able to raise the money. He even said he has seen him riding his bike to school.

“Of what I know so far is, I have Lymphangioma Hematosis on the inside of my cheek and also I have extra bone growing in my bottom left jaw and it will continue to grow even after it encompasses my whole mouth. At one point it even grew past my gums, in turn cutting my tongue preventing me to eat or even talk without extreme pain,” Tran said. “I’ve had Lymphangioma Hemostasis my entire life.”

Tran said his biggest daily challenge is eating, but growing up he said the hardest part was being teased for the condition.

“Kids would ask me what’s wrong all the time, and I would tell them I was bit by a dragon because it got old answering the same question over and over again, and joking about it helps,” Tran said.

But students often recognize Tran working in the cafeteria, whether for his condition or his friendly attitude.

“I’ve seen him in the cafeteria before handing out the pizzas, and I’ve always wanted to know what was wrong, but I wasn’t about to ask him,” said Skylar Franks, education freshman.

She said living on campus she

SGA pg. 3 earlier, giving candidates a better opportunity to prepare campaigns, and students more time to make an informed vote.

“We kinda ran into a time-crunch window with how they had it planned out on the calendar, and that affected the bylaws,” Brown said.

“The bylaws do need an overhaul.”

To do this, Brown said he will enlist the help of new vice president Mark Brown for his knowledge of parliamentary procedure. The changes will focus on the clarification of officer/committee roles, election procedure, and meeting formalities. Additionally, Brown said his administration plans to expand the SGA’s stamp of influence through a new Twitter and Facebook page, reaching out to as many students as possible.

“We have not been treating [the SGA] with the respect it deserves,” Brown said.

Brown said he wants the senators to understand parliamentary procedure not only for the sake of the meetings, but for their own business skills.

But it would be difficult for Brown and the rest of the executive leadership to plan for their

| May 6, 2015 | 3 C R I M E LO G April 25

Drugs: possession of drug paraphernalia | 11:14 p.m. | Sundance Court Apartments | Subject was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia.

April 28 Theft: misdemeanor | 12 p.m. | Wellness Center | Subject stated that his MSU ID was taken from the south end of the bleachers while he was playing basketball.

April 28 PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Wickie Mundt, Java City worker, is handed her egg rolls by Gloria Villarreal, biology senior, at a fundraiser to raise money for Son Tran’s surgery. has noticed Tran in the café all the time, but didn’t want to ask him what kind of condition he was suffering because she said she didn’t want to seem rude, and because he probably got asked that question all the time.

The emotional part has been the worst for him. People constantly ask him what’s wrong with his lip, and he said sometimes he just doesn’t feel like talking about it.

“It cost about $50 to make everything on this table, however I make that much minimal every time I do

first run as SGA leaders because they were not elected until the end of the spring semester. To offset this, Brown said he and the senators will hold phone conferences over the summer to discuss future plans.

“By the Fall, everything will be in place and we’ll be ready to move forward,” Brown said.

Brown said all committees will be required to give a report to prove they are meeting prior to their expected duties. No one should be caught off guard or be associated with projects in name alone, and the chairman of each committee will be held responsible for any lack of preparation on that point.

Brown said he holds Marco Torres, psychology junior and chairman for the Campus Culture Committee who lead the introduction of the weekend bus route, as the standard for future chairmen.

“Marco did do a fantastic job chairing his committee. They did very well, they are actually the ideal initiative,” Brown said. “They had their work outside, they brought in their report to vote on and be discussed—that’s how meetings work. That’s how we’re going to try to get it to work across the board.”

this,” Tran said.

He said he had great success with the bake sale, selling cookies, pies, and brownies all ranging from $1 to $20, and said he will continue doing the bake sale as many days as he can.

“The surgery is dangerous and the chances of something bad happening are there, and I will have to continue receiving surgeries my entire life because the tumors will continue to grow,” Tran said. “I’m risking my life to save my life.”

According to Keith Lamb, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, the existence of rules always invites their violation. Therefore, the prospect of writing bylaws that thoroughly prevent further conflict from occurring “just isn’t really realistic.” Instead, the new administration should address gaps in the code by eliminating ambiguity and taking into account the impact of technology in student conduct.

“They need to look at outlining the process a little more. The gap in the bylaws isn’t in what people campaigning can and can’t do, it’s [in] how you run a hearing of the elections board if an election is protested,” Lamb said.

To compensate for what is not outlined in the bylaws, the elections committee adopted a student-conduct hearing process identical to what the university already employs in other cases. Lamb said it was a good model because, “it affords each to make their case.” What is left for the SGA to accomplish is a formal adoption of that process, so that it might become the standard for future hearings.

Drugs: possession of marijuana | 1:36 a.m. | Sunwatcher Village Apartments | A resident student was found to be in possession of marijuana.

April 29

Burglary: habitation | 3:20 p.m. | Sunwatcher Village Apartments | A student reported that a laptop had been stolen from his apartment.

April 30

Fraud | 3:14 p.m. | D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Police were called in regards to possible fraud.

May 1

Alcohol: minor in possession | 11:51 p.m. | Pierce Hall | Police responded to a housing call in reference to alcohol.

May 1

Alcohol: purchase/furnishing alcohol to minor | 11:51 p.m. | Pierce Hall | Police responded to a housing call in reference to alcohol.

May 1

Drugs: possession of marijuana | 2:51 p.m. | McCullough-Trigg Hall | Housing officials smelled the odor of marijuana coming from a dorm room. They found marijuana inside the room.

May 1

Drugs: possession of drug paraphernalia | 1:52 p.m. | Sunwatcher Village Apartments | A student was found in possession of drug paraphernalia.

SOURCE: http://www.mwsu.edu/police/crimelogs/

4 | May 6, 2015 |

‘I’m bound to have learned something’ Rogers to impart life lessons, say goodbye in graduation speech

BRI SHEEN REPORTER

W

hile seniors are scrambling to order their cap and gown, apply for jobs and study for the last final exams they may ever take, there is another person working behind the scenes to make their graduation memorable. It just so happens to be his last year at MSU, too.

Jesse Rogers, university president, will retire in August after 48 years at MSU. He will deliver the commencement address at graduation May 16 as one of his final university engagements, Rogers meets with a committee every year to pick the commencement speaker, but this year he made the request to do the speech himself.

“I sort of invited myself,” Rogers said. “This year they couldn’t turn me down because I said ‘I wanted to do it, this is my last one.’”

Rogers said he will use this as an opportunity to say farewell to MSU but didn’t want that to be the only theme of his speech.

“I wanted one opportunity to, in a way, say goodbye, except that’s not exactly what I’m going to do,” Rogers said. “What struck me is I’m bound to have learned something. It may be something other people have learned already but I’m

bound to have learned something about life and I’m bound to have learned something about myself. I think maybe if I don’t speak too long and I talk about some of those things that I have learned about the important things in life, people will listen and maybe they will think about it at times.”

Students can expect to hear that life isn’t perfect, and neither are people.

“When I was a really young person, I thought there were going to be some times in my life that were going to be absolutely wonderful, that I would have everything in order, that I would be absolutely happy,” Rogers said. “I’ve lived to be 74 years old and that’s never happened. There’s never been a time that I haven’t been facing something that I didn’t want to deal with or that I had to do or something that wasn’t going right and you finally just learn that that is life. The things that really I enjoy most are the simplest things in my life.”

Rogers added that he might even mention some of the mistakes he’s made in effort to show nobody is perfect.

“I don’t know anyone who would tell you they made all good, controlled, wise, non-frivolous decisions in their life,” Rogers said.

“There’s not perfect people.

What I’m going to talk about is what I ’ v e lear ned that I

think is important for students to remember who are graduating as they walk away from here. Have some pride in Midwestern State University.”

Rogers said he’ll try and keep his speech concise to not interfere with the flow of graduation.

“I will promise you one thing, that this speech will be about five minutes long because I believe the students and the families that are there want to get on with commencement and see their sons and daughters and granddaughters graduate,” Rogers said.

If there’s one thing students can rule out from their expectations, it’s a few jokes.

“When I speak, I don’t do well at humor.

It’s not going to be terribly serious because that’s just not me but I’m not going to tell a joke.”

Although this will be Rogers’ final graduation as university president, it’s definitely not his first. Once he finds out the official number of graduations he’s been to, Rogers said he may include it in his speech.

“I have the registrar checking to see how many I’ve been to,” Rogers said. “It’s not just 48 because the first few years I was here the Coliseum was large enough to hold everybody.

Then we decided we couldn’t seat everyone so we went to two commencements on the same day. Then we went to two a year. So I have been to many more than 48 commencements.”

Rogers said even though he’s not nervous about speaking at graduation, he hasn’t always been so confident.

“When I had to give my first seminar at graduate school, I was so nervous I had to walk around the block 20 times just to calm myself dow,” Rogers said. “One thing that I’ve really gotten to accustomed to is speaking.

That just takes practice and time.”

Rogers added the only part he is really nervous about is finally getting all his thoughts down on paper. Rogers said he’ll have his wife, a former English professor, edit it when he’s done, since he’s not very computer savvy.

SPRING 2015 COMMENCEMENT Saturday, May 16 at 10 a.m.

Kay Yeager Coliseum 1000 5th Street

16,000 graduates who will have walked across the stage during Rogers’ time at MSU, representing more than half of MSU’s total graduates

$90

millions of dollars Rogers has raised

658

candidates for graduation

75

graduations Rogers will have attended including the ceremony this year

48

years Rogers has worked at MSU, starting as a chemistry professor

RECENT GRADUATION SPEAKERS Spring 2012: Greg Abbott, Texas attorney general Fall 2012: MacGregor Stephenson, Texas Higher Ed. Coordinating Board Spring 2013: Ben Carson, neurosurgeon Fall 2013: Stacia L. Haynie, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge Spring 2014: Kel Seliger, Texas state senator Fall 2014: Beck Weathers, author

REVIEW

CELEBRATION OF SCHOLARSHIP

| May 6, 2015 | 5

One-acts plays wrap up T REVIEW BY FAITH MUNOZ

he 2015 Festival of Student-Produced One-Act Plays came to an end this past Saturday with the plays “Oedi,” “The Moon Please,” and “Thread Count.”

OEDI

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Bridget Alaniz, biology senior, listens to Jeff Snowden’s, geology senior, presentation about sea level changes through comparing mineral fossil composition from samples at the poster presentations at Celebration of Scholarships April 30. “I presented last year, so I was already interested to come out, plus my biology teacher offered extra credit for it, so I had multiple reasons to come out here,” Alaniz said.

T

he research and creativity of students and professors were in the spotlight during the fourth annual Celebration of Scholarship in the Clark Student Center April 28-30.

AWARD RECIPIENTS 1ST BEST ORAL PRESENTATION | Elliot Gibson, Brandon Helms, Emily Herzog and James Wood for "A Dual Rotor Wind Turbine Design."

2ND BEST ORAL PRESENTATION | Johnny Blevins, Makenzie Johnson, Clark O’Connor and Tyler Thomas for “Telemetry Data Collection from a Wind Turbine and a Photovoltaic Solar Panel.

3RD BEST ORAL PRESENTATION | Mo Alkassar and Caleb Born for "Student Retention at DCOBA." Faculty mentor: Thuy Nguyen, Department of Marketing, Dillard College of Business Administration.

1ST BEST POSTER PRESENTATION | Andrew Skinner for "A Survey of Aquatic Insect Diversity along the Wichita River."

2ND BEST POSTER PRESENTATION | Michael Arthur Olaya for "Project Airship: Near Difference Vegetation Index Aerial Imaging."

3RD BEST POSTER PRESENTATION | Tie: Xitong Li and Huiuo Chen for "Recognition of Shapes in a Prototype Robot Vision System." and Christian Esquivel for "Comparison of caloric content between tropical milkweed (Asclepias currassavicae) and native temperature milkweed (Asclepias sp.): Implication for Monarch Butterfly conservation."

MOST ORIGINAL AND CREATIVE PROJECT | Michael Arthur Olaya for "Project Airship: Near Difference Vegetation Index Aerial Imaging."

MOST INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT | Meaghan Rose for "Alien Extremophiles: The Possibilities of Extraterrestrial Life."

QUOTATIONS MO ALKASSAR, marketing and finance junior, presenter: “Student Retention at DCOBA” | “The main goal of our project was to use exploratory and descriptive research to find the underlying factors behind the decrease in retention rates in the Dillard College of Business.

I personally choose to do this project because it will differentiate us among the various students at Dillard.

Our ultimate goal is to get students to graduate from Midwestern State University with more confidence in their careers and in their respective fields of study. We believe in the value behind the research.”

JOHN TUCKER, history senior, presenter: “Notes from Underground” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky | “This was a nice conclusion to this project alone and it leaves me with the ambition and a desire to pursue further projects. It’s a nice affirmation—I’ve come to the end of it, I’ve done it, people have asked me questions about and I feel like I really understand it.”

CAMILLE SHEPHERD, assessment specialist and evaluator | “So far the celebration has been great because it’s about twice the size as usual. We’ve involved students or faculty from more colleges than ever before. This is also the first time where students and faculty from every single college are involved and have something to present.”

MICHAEL WINTERS, sociology senior, presenter: “Ultracoordinated Motherfuckery” | “There are a lot of hackers, and this gives more understanding of why this is an issue, and it’s hard to get accurate data.

Pure social interaction, action and consequence.

Sociological Inquiry. I want people to learn first of all, the way we frame things, but we need to see the larger consequence of their actions. Motherfuckery is a key phrase they use and how they present themselves, and scare off these kind of people. That’s why it’s to be called that.”

WATCH CAMPUS WATCH SPECIAL EDITION http://thewichitan.com/celebration-of-scholarship-a-good-learning-experience/

This Rich Orloff play, directed by Disa Hairell, theater senior, had the audience laughing from the start. The Town Crier, played by Hope Harvick, theater sophomore, consistently updated the people about the gossip involving King Oedipus, played by Drewry Davison, theater senior, and his parentage.

Oedipus’ aides Creon and the blind Tiresias, played by Ronny Medina, theater sophomore, and Houston Pokorny, theater junior, respectively, tried their best to help the king connect the dots concerning Tiresias’ prophecy that Jocasta’s husband would be murdered by his son.

When Jocasta reveals she already knows she married her son, Oedipus is taken aback.

Kaitie Huitt, theater sophomore, did an excellent job of playing the double role of mother and wife. She humorously rationalizes that men prefer women like their moms, so when Oedipus proposed, she decided it would be better for him to have the real thing.

Set in Thebes, Ancient Greece, Medina, Pokorny, and Huitt made quips referencing Greek culture, such as Homer’s The Iliad, the gods, democracy, and the original Athenian tragedy by Sophocles, “Oedipus the King,” from which this play was based. Pokorny and Medina satirized their role as aides by professing their loyalty to the king while simultaneously eavesdropping and gossiping about the issue to the Town Crier.

This witty work lightly poses the question of whether incest is wrong if it occurs accidentally. Oedipus struggles to decide which punishment suits his crimes: to pluck his eyes out or to maim one of his limbs. He almost carries out each of these before concluding, like any politician, that it would be a disservice to the people to hurt himself.

THE MOON PLEASE

This touching one act play by Diana Son starred Cassie Toft, theater senior, and Benjamin Ashton, history sophomore, as Ciel and Jay, a husband and wife arguing over who is going to be the bread winner. Director Maxwell Norris, theater senior, nicely arranged the set with evidence of a baby’s presence such as diapers and toys stacked in shelves.

Both individuals are trying to climb the ladder of success. Ciel, who recently gave birth, is reentering the work force. Jay, who

is struggling to find a job, is preparing for a job interview. On Ciel’s first day back to work, she is frustrated that the babysitter is late.

Jay notices how Ciel looks happy to return to work and comments on it, unleashing her underlying conflict. Toft excellently portrayal the struggle working women experience trying to balance the needs of their children with that of their home. Ashton did a good job of portraying the uneasiness some fathers feel when taking care of a needy baby. He experiences something life changing when he realizes the baby is starting to recognize him.

The play offers a glimpse of the important things in life, especially with the looming knowledge that Toft’s character avoids death by deciding to stay with her baby on the morning her office, located in one of the Twin Towers, collapses later that afternoon.

THREAD COUNT

The final play of the festival was “Thread Count” written by Lisa Soland and directed by theater senior Rachel Bullard starring Kaylor Winter-Roach, theater sophomore, as Dot, and Jonathon Stone, theater freshman, as Fergus Magilous.

Set in New York City, Dot is a simple country woman who wanders into the linens department at a Macy’s while searching for the Empire State Building. While she is there, she relaxes on a display bed only to be chided by the uptight clerk named Fergus. Dot pretends to be interested in the linen products in order to remain in the cool building.

As Fergus explains the meaning of thread count, the number of threads woven together in a square inch, Dot becomes interested in counting the threads in a 1000 thread count comforter. She claims she has good eyes and sends Fergus to search for a magnifying lens and flashlight even after the store has already closed. They soon develop a relationship while sharing their hardships from previous marriages and mutual appreciation for luxury linen.

The two make out before they are interrupted by the janitor, Tiny, played by Shannon Howerton, who knowingly gives Fergus a pep talk about carpe diem.

Winter-Roach portrayed a country girl without making the story seem like the typical country-girl-meets-city-boy romance.

Stone’s perfectly timed reactions to the uncomfortable positions he finds himself in caused the audience to laugh consistently.

The couple leave the store together so that Fergus can show Dot the New York City nightlife.

6 | May 6, 2015 |

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Andrew Latour, sociology sophomore, plays Everlong by Foo Fighters on his bass guitar on the steps of the apartment building he lives in on May 2.

Culture shock: From home school to college ‘In home schooling you could never fall behind, you could only move forward’ MANDY SAAL REPORTER

F

rom kindergarten all the way to the bitter end of high school, Andrew Latour woke up, for the most part, whenever he felt like it. He was an all-star in gym class and valedictorian when he graduated high school at 15.

Andrew was home schooled.

Latour, now a junior in sociology, is part of a growing population of more than 300,000 home schooled students in Texas alone, according to the Texas Home School Coalition Association.

“In home schooling you could never fall behind, you could only move forward. This is why I was able to graduate high school when I was 15 years old in 2011,” Latour said.

Latour’s family joined Home Educators Around Texoma, an TOMMYE HUTSON organization giving home schooled EDUCATION ASSISTANT students a way to meet each other and PROFESSOR for parents to network by exchanging teaching techniques.

“My mom was our main teacher because she was a stay at home mom. In most areas she was incredible at teaching,” Latour said. “Her best subject was English, which encouraged me to become an English major my first semester of college.”

Outside of the comfy household classroom and family time, home schooled students must find other ways to make friends and develop their social

“From my experience, most kids that are homeschooled were usually due to religious reasons.”

skills. Some families encourage this by attending church, clubs, sports, and home schooling conventions held each year.

“I didn’t really get out and meet people my age until I was 14. I made friends through other home schooling programs like HEAT, and was a part of a church youth group when I was younger,” Latour said.

Tommye Hutson, assistant professor of education, said her grandkids attended Clifton ISD outside of Waco, Texas, until they were in third grade and became home schooled.

“My grandkids were taken out of public school because they were threatened by teachers telling them that if they didn’t do well on their TAKS, that they would fail and the school would be shut down for good,” Hutson said.

The school was so small, Hutson explained, that enough students failing the state-mandated test could also lead to teachers losing their jobs. Hutson said the pressure put onto her grandkids led to her granddaughter developing stress ulcers.

“From my experience, most kids that are home schooled were usually due to religious reasons. But sometimes you find families that home school for reasons of purely wanting to give their child the best education they can,” Hutson said.

Home schooled students in Texas are still excluded from University Interscholastic League activities such as sports and theater, but Stephen Howsley, public relations manager for the Texas Home School Coalition Association, said his organization is working to pass the “Tim Tebow Bill” that would allow home schooled students to

participate in UIL activities.

“We are going to try and have the bill passed through the House of Representatives April 23.

This bill had already been filed in Nov. 20, 2014, and now we are pushing as hard as we can to get it through the house,” Howsley said.

According to the Department of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning, 19 MSU students graduated high school from home.

“The current numbers only include the students that graduated high school as a home schooling student,” said Mark McClendon, director of institutional research.

“There might be students on campus that only went to public school their senior of high school, so we do not have a completely accurate number.”

Adjusting from school days spent mostly alone or with his four ANDREW LATOUR SOCIOLOGY JUNIOR other siblings, to stepping foot on a campus of more than 30,000 students, Latour found it difficult to cope with life at the bustling, and really, just populated, Texas Tech University where he spent one semester.

“It was overwhelming and exhausting to be on-campus at Tech. I underestimated how much walking I would have to do every day. I even had to take a bus to a class every other day,” Latour said.

Graduating high school at home in Vernon and being put on a university campus surrounded by

“I didn’t really get out and meet people my age until I was 14.

I made friends through other homeschooling programs.”

see HOMESCHOOL pg. 7

Mustang Movie Club to start this fall

CONNER WOLF REPORTER

E

nter a room full of students talking in hushed excited whispers as the lights are turned out. A projector illuminates the wall with a well-known movie—'The Hangover.' The whispers turn to silence as the movie begins. This is the vision that the Mustang Movie Club has for next semester, to offer members a chance to have fun watching movies and then to discuss them in depth.

Alex Van Allen, history junior and club secretary treasurer, said, “Students watch a ton of movies, especially during the summer when the blockbusters all come out. We want to help people see that movies can be more than just mindless fun, and that they can get a deeper enjoyment out of them.”

The members' of the movie club aim is to show films that are widely known or familiar to students so they won’t get caught up in watching them for fun like they might if they were watching something for the first time. Watching something familiar also lets students think with a different perspective while they watch, encouraging thought-provoking analysis, said Ashley Lomeli, nursing junior and club president.

The members said they plan to screen movies from their own DVD collections as well as Moffett Library's media collection such as 'Gone Girl,' 'American Sniper,' and 'Goodfellas' in the fall to help keep the screenings free, and helps add a variety of movies that the club can show.

Club members had their second meeting April 22 where they chose movies to screen next semester and decided how often to meet.

“We will be meeting to show a movie once a month next fall and spring,” Lomeli said. "We want to find movies that fit the themes of certain months, like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ for October because it is a horror parody, and ‘Men in Black’ for February for human rights.”

The officers said even though they are intended for members of the club, all students are welcome to attend screenings and discussions.

“We don’t want to restrict screenings to just our members," Allen said. "We would like all students to be able to attend so that more people will go and find out about the club and hopefully join.”

Students like Sean Swarthout, kinesiology sophomore, and Samantha Strange, athletic training junior, are excited about the movie club in the fall, and both have a few movies to suggest.

“This sounds like a great opportunity

PHOTO BY CONNER WOLF | THE WICHITAN

Mustang Movie Club founding members Ashley Lomeli, nursing junior, and Alex Van Allen, history junior, meet April 22 with adviser Brinton Coxe, associate English professor. for students to think outside of the box We don’t have a set long-term meeting and see some great movies like 'Ameri- schedule or set locations this semester so can Sniper' and discuss things like how the Facebook page is a great way to stay it isn’t just about war, its an internal in touch.” struggle. It sounds like fun and I wish History of the mustang movie club them the best starting the club up in the Student organizations such as the fall," Swarthout said.

Mustang Movie Club don’t simply start Strange, said, “It would be fun if the themselves overnight. It takes planning club showed some of the Marvel com- and work. The newly formed Mustang ics movies like 'The Avengers,' 'Captain Movie Club has been in the planning America,' and 'Iron Man' to talk about stages for nearly a semester and its memall the ways they interconnect with bers hope to officially get started in the each other. Even coming fall semester, though I’m sure according to Lomeli most people aland Brinton Tench ready know about Coxe, associate Engthat, it’s somelish professor and thing that I’m sure club adviser. people watching “I suggested the only for fun might idea of a student run not really think film club to a couple about and appreciof my students who ate.” took my World Film While recognizclass who seemed ALEX VAN ALLEN able movies will particularly interestHISTORY JUNIOR, CLUB SECRETARY likely draw a bigger ed in a movie club on audience, Lomeli campus. I have also said she is pursuing other ways to fill the this semester been promoting the club seats. in my classes this semester, especially “I’m going to talk to professors soon my film class encouraging students to about them making movie club screen- come to meetings and join the club ings extra credit so we can have higher since more members are still needed” attendance," Lomeli said. said Coxe.

Members invite others interested in Lomeli worked on recruiting and joining the Mustang Movie Club to join picking movies that the club will show. the club’s Facebook page and to get inLomeli said the club has to have eight volved on their blog to discuss movies members to form. Lomeli also said she anytime between meetings, which at had trouble at first finding people interthis time are not regularly scheduled yet. ested in joining, and finding people who Lomeli said, “We want our first meet- took the club seriously. Most people ings to be a fun, in a relaxed environ- looked at it as just hanging out watching ment that would feel inviting; our first movies. she said the club has about five one was at Fuzzy’s Tacos but we plan members. to have them on campus in the future.

“We would like all students to be ble to attend so that more people will go and find out about the club and hopefully join.”

| May 6, 2015 | 7 HOMESCHOOL pg. 6 students and teachers can be shocking. After deciding that Texas Tech wasn’t for him, Latour made the decision to attend a college that is smaller in size and closer to his home—Midwestern State University.

Mallory Roberson, undeclared freshman, said, “I have a few friends from church that graduated high school from being home schooled their entire life.

They usually end up hating college campuses because of the culture shock.”

Roberson said she had noticed her home schooled friends that went on to attend universities usually ended up not liking the campus, found it difficult to adjust to their newfound independence, and had trouble being social. She said there were a few though that enjoyed the complete freedom and had an easier time making friends.

“It had a lot to do with how their parents raised them. That goes with any kid, public school or home schooled. But when parents home school their kids and then keep them isolated from the outside world, they can’t throw them towards a university and expect them to blend in. They will experience the ultimate culture shock, which is college,” Roberson said.

Coming from a classroom filled with family members and having your parents not only be your teacher, principal and school board, Roberson said her home schooled friends were surprised how different college professors taught their classes.

“There were families that took their children’s education seriously, and then there were families that didn’t. I knew of kids that their parents would leave them alone during testing and learning exercises. This would lead to the child cheating, or speeding through the lesson plans,” Roberson said.

Being held accountable for schoolwork by professors you hardly know, and

being graded by someone that only knows you can be a huge shock in a student learns.

Bethany Ahles, business management senior, was home schooled her entire life until she decided to attend TCC after she finished high school.

“I decided to go to MSU because of how strong the Dillard College of Business is in educating and preparing their students for the business world. The small class sizes also attracted me especially since I was used to being alone in a classroom,” Ahles said.

But Ahles sees things differently than some other home schooled students.

She said her home schooling experience aided her in coming to college.

“Home schooling helped me learn how to manage my time as well as motivate myself to do my work and learn everything I could,” Ahles said.

College freshman are given a new freedom when moving onto campus and being away from their parents for an entire year.

Home schooled kids have spent their entire lives at home and spent more than enough quality time with their parents. Being away at school for the first time, and considerably being “on their own” could be a bigger deal to a home schooled student.

“Being away from my parents for the first time did not cause me to do anything crazy. I was lucky enough to find a strong group of friends. I was hired as a RA my second semester at MSU and have enjoyed helping other freshman girls transition into an independent college student,” Ahles said.

Home schooled students are attracted to MSU not only for the smaller class size, but due to the professors being more personable than most universities. As the home schooled population continues to grow, MSU expects the enrollment of home schooled students to gradually increase.

8 | May 6, 2015 |

CONGRATULATIONS to the 2014-2015 Honors Recognition Banquet Winners and Nominees

OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN MAN Hezekiah Onmeje Agbo Luke Gregory Allen ** Cavaughn Xavier Browne Joshua T. Burris * Austin Allen Glenn Jordan Hall Andrew Todd McKissick Bobby Joe Nielsen Kenneth North Jacob Richard Warren * OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN WOMAN Alyssa Marie Bell * Nahye Byun Alexis B. Carrizales Sierra Rae Gonzalez Peckaina Leng Emily Beth McDonald * Danica Carley McMahon Faith Abigail Munoz ** Jaylon Jennell Williams OUTSTANDING SOPHOMORE MAN Ismael Francisco Cruz Mason Scott Ellis * Charles James Frazier Daniel Leo Gauvin John Mitchell Henton Desmond K. Takudzwa Jombe Edgar Ricardo Martinez Austin Thomas Monson Jacob Thomas Partida * James D. Poe Colby Manley Work Brian James Zug ** OUTSTANDING SOPHOMORE WOMAN Paige Ryann Boykin * Rephael Esther Edwards Whitney Michelle Hogue Baily Elizabeth Kaufman Andrea Mendoza Lespron ** Yanru Li Ashlen Ann Loskot Alexus Charmaine Moore Briana Lizette Rojas Serah Joy Welborn * MIkayla Koreen Williams

OUTSTANDING JUNIOR MAN Abdullah Bassam Albakhurji Bradley Dwayne Groves Sam William Kocher Xitong Li * Kaleb Price Lukert ** Ngonidzashe Philemon Maruta Alfredo Alexander Moreno Jacob Ivan Northcutt Brandon James Poirot Daniel Budd Richison Alexander Joseph Van Allen * Carpenter Bear Wyatt Erick Javier Zambrano OUTSTANDING JUNIOR WOMAN Brittany Kay Fernholz Laura Elise Galbraith Alexis Skija Gay Jessica Lynn Geis Amy L. Hanley Sierra LaVonne Harper * Sharon Rose Mucker Heather Michelle Owens Megan Carol Piehler ** Kristin Michelle Russell Hannah Kelsey Selzer Rebecca Caroline Stogner * Jylann Rae Trammell Raquel Trejo Alicia Michelle Ward * Careisha K’Niche Whyte Destiny Alexandria Zynda OUTSTANDING SENIOR MAN Sanan Aamir Jacob Allen Blackmon Johnny Ellis Blevins Clayton Dale Brown ** Recardo Christopher Benjamin Caine Dipprey Tam Cong Doan Romando Garcia Jonathan Mark Henderson * James Deverson Ivey David Adrian Joseph Ethan Tyler Metcalf Jeffrey Steven Mullen Alejandro Jaaziel Ochoa Ramirez* Darien John-Michael Roach Sai Sharan Hieu Duc Tran Mason Alan Wheeler Michael Keith Winters

OUTSTANDING SENIOR WOMAN Sarita Shirley Adhikary Emily Claire Baudot Rachel Elizabeth-Marie Bullard Melanie Rae Byars Kelly Nicole Calame Ashley Nicole Flores Meredith Elaine Garrison Tiernan Alexandra Harris Erin Michelle Ham Emily Naomi Herzog Emily Ann Holub Alissa M. Jarvis * Julia John Anne Vu Phuc Lam Sabina Marie Marroquin ** Lindsey Marie Moseley Sherma Ashma Proctor Roylyka N. S. Roache Danielle Elizabeth Schwertner * Annmarie Brook Shoemaker Aliya Sabrina Siddiqi Lauren Alexis Nicole Statham Shelby Paige Swenson Kinsey Kathryn Walker Ashley Nikole Weaver OUTSTANDING GRADUATE MAN Dinesh Babu Amarneni LJose Luis Bejil Jonathan Crooker Zachary Michael Gillen * Antonio Herran Joshua Eugene Ibarra ** Samuel Oluwatosin Jegede John Edgar Shockley * OUTSTANDING GRADUATE WOMAN Alisha Lynne Anderson ** Meridith Ann Boucher Alisson Caitlin Douglass * Julia Rose Johnson Gopi Sai Surekha Kotiyala Sudha Mallavarapu Necia Leigh Marin Rachael Elizabeth Maxon * Ramya Mohanan Citlaly Rivas Raquel Rivas MAN OF THE YEAR Sanan Aamir Dinesh Babu Amarneni Matthew Forrest Andreolli

Clayton Dale Brown * Jesse Clyde Brown ** Michael Robert Callahan Jonathan Mark Henderson * James Deverson Ivey Alejandro J. Ochoa Ramirez Jaures Jamahl Elliot Thomas Hieu Duc Tran Michael Keith Winters Brian James Zug WOMAN OF THE YEAR Mikayla Paige Berend Ashley Nicole Flores Ann Vu Phuc Lam * Paden Laine Lemons Iman Melany Maria Mendes * Sharon Rose Mucker Roylyka N. S. Roache Yesha Lalitchandra Shah Rebecca Caroline Stogner ** Charlene C. Wetherill VIOLA GRADY LEADERSHIP AWARD Joseph Andrew Hadwal * Tiernan Alexandra Harris Jonathan Mark Henderson * Megan Carol Piehler Dalton Alexander Smith Rebecca Caroline Stogner ** James Allen Troup JAMES L. STEWART SERVICE AWARD Catholic Campus Ministry Sigma Lambda Alpha Sorority, Inc. ** GREEK MAN OF THE YEAR Jesse Clyde Brown GREEK WOMAN OF THE YEAR Ashley Benavides ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARD Shayla Eaklor Joseph Hadwal ** Jonathan Henderson Anne Lam Megan Piehler Danielle Schwertner Clinton Wagoner

* FINALIST ** WINNER

| May 6, 2015 | 9 ACADEMIC AWARDS

OUTSTANDING MUSIC STUDENT Alejandro Jaaziel Ochoa Ramirez

OUTSTANDING SOCIOLOGY STUDENT Ashley N. Flores

DILLARD COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

OUTSTANDING THEATRE STUDENT Lauren Kayleigh Holt

VINSON AWARD IN CREATIVE WRITING Melissa Jean Laussmann

VINSON AWARD FOR JOURNALISM Kelly Nicole Calame

OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES John E. Shockley

OUTSTANDING ACCOUNTING STUDENT Daria Evlyn Deniece Allison Roach OUTSTANDING ECONOMICS STUDENT Robert David Press OUTSTANDING FINANCE STUDENT Kacper Mateusz Boborykin OUTSTANDING GENERAL BUSINESS STUDENT Katelyn King Crouch OUTSTANDING MANAGEMENT STUDENT Julio Andres Gonzalez Galvan OUTSTANDING MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS STUDENT Charlene Charlie-Ann Wetherill OUTSTANDING MARKETING STUDENT Jonathan Gregory Weeks OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Cynthia Kaye Yerby

GORDON T. & ELLEN WEST COLLEGE OF EDUCATION OUTSTANDING BAAS STUDENT David Scott Gill OUTSTANDING ELEMENTARY EDUCATION STUDENT Heather Leanne Wagner OUTSTANDING KINESIOLOGY STUDENT Sarah Katherine Adams OUTSTANDING MIDDLE EDUCATION STUDENT Mary Martha Brady OUTSTANDING SECONDARY EDUCATION STUDENT Christopher Lee Freeman OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT Jessica Haley Reid OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT IN EDUCATION Candice Lauren Cannon

LAMAR D. FAIN COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS OUTSTANDING ART STUDENT Michael Steven Ivie OUTSTANDING MASS COMMUNICATION STUDENT Kelly Nicole Calame

ROBERT D. & CAROL GUNN COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND HUMAN SERVICES

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

OUTSTANDING ATHLETIC TRAINING STUDENT Sarita Shirley Adhikary

OUTSTANDING BIOLOGY STUDENT Collin Seth Buerger

OUTSTANDING CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDENT David Roy Salazar

OUTSTANDING CHEMISTRY STUDENT Heather Noel Baker

OUTSTANDING DENTAL HYGIENE STUDENT Devon Michelle Jones

OUTSTANDING CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE STUDENT Angelica Torres

OUTSTANDING EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY STUDENT Ashley Nikole Weaver OUTSTANDING NURSING STUDENT Stephanie Jay Zant OUTSTANDING RADIOLOGIC SCIENCE STUDENT Kaleb Price Lukert OUTSTANDING RESPIRATORY CARE STUDENT Jacob Allen Blackmon OUTSTANDING SOCIAL WORK STUDENT Erica Jon Mendoza OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT IN HEALTH SCIENCES AND HUMAN SERVICES Zachary Michael Gillen

OUTSTANDING COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT Anne Vu Phuc Lam OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDENT Chadrick Ronald Desir OUTSTANDING GEOSCIENCES STUDENT Benjamin Charles Scribner OUTSTANDING MATHEMATICS STUDENT Cara Anne Mack OUTSTANDING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT Eurydice Kanimba OUTSTANDING PETROLEUM ENGINEERING STUDENT Brandon James Poirot

PROTHRO-YEAGER COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS Matthew Ryan Fox

OUTSTANDING ENGLISH STUDENT Alicia Michelle Ward

CLARK SCHOLAR

OUTSTANDING HISTORY STUDENT Alexander Joseph Van Allen

Sarah Beth Bond Andrea Mendoza Lespron Emily Anne O’Neal Megan Carol Piehler ** Sydnee Janaye Pottorf Caleb Eason Pylant

OUTSTANDING STUDENT IN HUMANITIES Jonathan Mark Henderson

HARDIN SCHOLAR

OUTSTANDING STUDENT IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE Gilda Sandra Garcia

OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL STUDIES STUDENT Samyah K. Marcellin

Mary Martha Brady ** Clayton Dale Brown Jonathan Mark Henderson

OUTSTANDING POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT Emily Ann Holub OUTSTANDING PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT Madeline Roxanne Schorlemmer ** WINNER

10 | May 6, 2015 | MINOR pg. 1

postdoctoral fellow in their women’s and gender studies program before she came to MSU. “They are a much bigger school, but they now have a major in gender studies,” Veazey said. “So I am really excited that MSU is working on this. We have had a lot of interest from students, and I’m hoping that in a couple of years, we’ll have our first minor to graduate.”

And that student just might be Andrea Mendoza, English sophomore, who said she is considering declaring the minor in the fall and is enrolled in Veazey’s honors course.

“I really want to work with children and women,” Mendoza said. “I had a political science class last semester and my project was about maternity leave and that made me really involved in wanting to have better working policies for women.”

Mendoza is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. This is only her second year living in the United States since she got her letter in the mail from MSU. “There are some good things and bad things,” Mendoza said. “For example, Mexico has paid maternity leave, and they don’t have it here. I was really surprised by that.”

Along with the students, members of the faculty are looking foreword to the prospect of the new minor.

“Considering our liberal arts mission, the fact we now have a women’s and gender studies minor is awesome,” said Todd Giles, assistant professor of English. “It’s 20 years behind the times, but thank goodness we finally have one. I’m really excited about it.”

Giles teaches Postfeminist Theory and Contemporary Experimental American Women’s Literature that will fit within the minor.

“I make a real effort to stray away from the dead white guy cannon of American Literature,” Giles said. “All of my classes, whether it is freshman comp, an American survey, or an upper level class, I am always very conscientious to include female writers, African-American writers, Native-American writers, gay and lesbian writers. I make a real effort to do that.

It’s important that this stuff be taught, for me it’s a no-brainer.”

Giles said MSU is experiencing a sort of intellectual renaissance.

“Schools like Midwestern State are now, because of the economy, able to hire people like Lucy Schultz, Nathan Jun, Kirsten Lodge,” Giles said. “It’s a real renaissance because we are bringing things to this campus that have never existed here before. It’s exciting for us, and I think it’s exciting for students too.”

Read the full story at thewichitan.com

Pavilion a success for Priddy, arts SERAH WELBORN REPORTER

T

he Wichita Falls Museum of Art will host “Arts at the Pavilion" on May 1516, a grand opening event for the new pavilion at Sikes Lake.

Jesse Rogers, university president, said the project was part of its "significant corpus," funded by the Priddy Foundation to improve Wichita Falls through education, social services, city development and the arts.

With the shaded pavilion, Rogers hopes the adjoining museum will become a "center of culture" for the university.

The Pavilion project, which included the improvement of the nearby parking lot, cost $850,000. The Priddy Foundation donated $665,000 and the Fain Foundation contributed $50,000.

Rogers said he hopes the pavilion will stand in honor of the recently deceased founder of the Priddy Foundation, Robert Priddy, his friend since the 1970's. Despite having contributed to many university projects, Rogers said Priddy never once allowed his name to be recognized. The pavilion is now the only exception.

PHOTO BY ETHAN METCALF

The pavilion still under construction April 7.

"Robert steadfastly refused to let us put his name on anything," Rogers said. "He did not like the idea that he would ever be associated with giving money to get his name put on something."

Rogers said adding contributors' names to buildings gave students an understanding of what the university means to Wichita Falls.

The Wichita Falls Museum of Art will host performances at the pavilion beginning Saturday, May 16, at 11 a.m. and close on Sunday, May 17, at 7 p.m. Free admission.

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| May 6, 2015 | 11

Former student signs to play in MLS JESSALYN CASTRO REPORTER

K

alen Ryden was just a mass communication senior and a defender on the soccer team last semester when his life took threw him a surprise. Ryden was drafted to play in the Major League Soccer on January 20.

“I didn’t really know what to think,” Ryden said.

Ryden was selected in the fourth round, 69th overall, of the 2015 MLS Super Draft by Columbus Crew SC. After finishing his last season playing for MSU, Ryden had high hopes to play professionally, but he had no idea just how quickly that would become a reality.

“I didn’t know going into it that I was going to be selected. It was kind of one of those things where you expect the worst but hope for the best,” Ryden said. “I went into it with a simple mentality.”

Players in the MLS Super Draft have to be invited to attend the draft, and Ryden was not invited but was able to compete in the supplemental third and fourth rounds by getting on a secondary recommendation list.

“I got on that list from a recommendation by a coach that I knew that was trying to help me out and get my career started professionally. He made a phone call for me and recommended me and they accepted me and put me on the list and that’s how I ultimately got drafted,” Ryden said.

Ryden was with MSU’s mens soccer assistant coach Michael Meachum in the coach’s office watching the draft when he first found out he had been selected by a major league soccer team.

“They were updating it on the MLS website name by name, so I’m just clicking refresh every 10 seconds just trying to see if my name is going to pop up, and sure enough, it did when Columbus had one of their picks,” Ryden said. “I hit refresh and it said ‘Columbus Crew select defender Kalen Ryden from MSU,’ and I saw it and kind of froze for a bit and I turned to Meach, and we just started jumping for joy. It was a pretty cool moment to experience with Meachum.”

Ryden said arriving in Columbus, Ohio, with his new team was a surreal experience.

“Even though I was in Columbus it really hadn’t sat in yet, even meeting all the players, but it was quite a humbling experience just seeing all these players,” he said.

“I’ve watched the MLS in the past and I knew who some of these players were. I knew who a majority of the players were on the Crew team, some who have very decorated careers so far, so I was a little starstruck as well.”

Ryden said he felt excited and blessed to have the opportunity to be on the same team as some of the players he looked up to.

“For example, Michael Parker is a defender on the team and he’s been with the national team for a very long time and it was just very surreal to be in the same

PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS | THE WICHITAN

Kalen Ryden, former student, heads the ball towards the Midwestern State University goalie at a match against West Texas A&M University Oct. 11, 2014 at the soccer field.

league as those players and on the same team. It was really incredible,” Ryden said.

Two weeks into Columbus Crew SC’s season, after traveling to Florida and Texas for a six-week preseason, the coaches of the team decided to loan Ryden to its affiliate team, the Austin Aztex, to get more game time and experience as a professional.

Austin Aztex is a soccer team based out of Austin which plays in the United Soccer League. However, Ryden is familiar with the Aztex because he played for them when the team competed in the Premier Development League. He also played for Des Moines Menace and Midland/Odessa Sockers in the PDL. “I’m happy to be down in Austin playing and developing and getting experience,” Ryden said. “I’m sure I will be here for a decent amount of time just so that I can get games and experience and develop over a long period of time.”

Ryden said MSU prepared him well for where he is now, from head coach Doug Elder and Meachum’s guidance and support from teammates.

“Couch Elder was always hard on us,” Ryden said. “He gave me a thicker skin. He was always pushing us to the limits.”

Meachum recruited Ryden to play soccer for MSU when he was in high school. Ryden said Meachum worked with him more on the tactical side of soccer.

“I learned a lot from Meachum,” Ryden said. “Both of them together really brought the best out of me and that helped me to get where I am today.”

For now, Ryden said he thinks it is important that he knows he hasn’t done anything at the next level yet. And still having a lot to prove, he said he can’t grow complacent.

“I need to do more than just be here at this level. I need to make a name for myself and improve everyday and keep working hard and never be accepting of what’s in front of you, always strive for better,” he said. “I think that will keep me motivated and keep me striving to be the best that I can be.”

With high hopes for the future, Ryden said he sees himself playing and starting in the MLS and having a successful career as a major league soccer player.

“I think right now that’s an attainable goal for me, but like I said, it’s just my first year as a professional so I have to somewhat sit back and learn from these older players and hopefully develop enough to where I’ll be able to play at the major league soccer level and have a great career,” Ryden said.

Having just been a senior with about 18-21 credit hours left to go in his college career, Ryden has put his studies on pause to take the opportunity of a lifetime. He said after talking it over with his parents he decided he wasn’t going to turn it down.

“It’s something I’ve worked for, ever since I started playing soccer it was always a dream to play as a professional, and I was lucky enough to get drafted into the MLS and I wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity,” Ryden said. “I will finish school. It’s just a matter of time of when I’ll be able to do that. I don’t have much left, so when I come back it shouldn’t take me too long to finish.”

For now, all of Ryden’s time is being spent on the field.

“It’s kind of crazy when people ask me because they forget that this is a profession, it’s a career,” Ryden said.

“You put all your time and effort into it.”

Ryden said a day in his cleats consists of waking up and meeting the team for team meetings, practice, or to hit the weight room.

“Majority of the time it’s just soccer and relaxation and that’s pretty much my day,” he said. “I’m definitely living my dream here, so I’m happy.”

“It’s just my first year as a professional so I have to somewhat sit back and learn from these older players and hopefully develop enough to where I’ll be able to play at the major league soccer level and have a great career.”

KALEN RYDEN FORMER STUDENT

12 |Â May 6, 2015 |