May 24, 2021

SUMMER EDITION May 24, 2020 | thewichitan.com | Real Students. Real Stories. | Vol. 85 No. 16

THE TOP STORIES

SPORTS: Pg 10

Women’s soccer team looks ahead to Fall 2021.

OF THE YEAR THE WICHITAN’S TOP STORIES: Pg 6-7

With the 2020-2021 academic year officially in the books, let's take a look back at some of the biggest news stories covered by The Wichitan over the year.

Top movies to look forward to this summer.

NEWS: Pg 4

FALL 2021: Pg 3

SUMMER: Pg 11

Meet the new 2021-2022 Black Student Union.

Returning to normalcy in the fall semester.

Places in Wichita Falls you should check out!

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

@WichitanOnline

REVIEW: Pg 8

@wichitanonline

@TheWichitan

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Our view: Take this summer to recharge

With a reported 60% of adults in the US have received at least one vaccine shot, the media has been quick to remind the nation that this isn’t time to let up. While that is certainly true and CDC guidelines should still be followed, students should also use this summer to rest and recover from an academic year filled with heightened anxiety and uncertainty.

Over the past year, students have had to adjust to a new hybrid way of going to class, an increase in fully online classes, a lack of a spring break, COVID-19 restrictions on campus, an ever polarizing sociopolitical climate and fewer opportunities for social interaction both on and off-campus.

All of this goes along with a college environment that national research shows already causes depression or anxiety in one out of five students. Due to there being no vaccine last summer, most students weren’t able to recuperate as they typically would between the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters either.

The CDC recently advised that those who are vaccinated no longer need to wear masks or practice social distancing in most indoor or outdoor settings. With vaccines largely available in North and West Texas and several venues and businesses reopening both in Wichita Falls and beyond, there’s little stopping Mustangs from taking these months to relax and recharge in a fun and safe way before Fall 2021.

In the spirit of recuperation, The Wichitan will be taking its summer break after the release of this summer issue until the beginning of the upcoming fall semester.

The staff will take this time to improve and discuss changes to make The Wichitan an even better source of news and entertainment for MSU students next semester.

Our first school year in the pandemic: now what?

Columns in Campus Voices are the opinions of only the authors and do not necesssarily reflect the views of The Wichitan as an organization.

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ince the pandemic began in March 2020, students and their families across the country were Dallas left wondering Wabbington how life was going to be like for the upcoming school year. With all of the protests against hate crimes and the number of COVID-19 cases increasing every day, many Americans were at a loss.

From behind computer screens, faculty and staff banded together to decide how they could keep students safe while also ensuring an effective education. Like many other people in the world, I have never experienced an event like this, so I was trying to figure

out what to do along with billions of other individuals.

Even though the pandemic was at its all time high at the start of the school year, I was so excited to see my college friends and the staff as well. However, I also recognized that because we were (and still are) in a pandemic, life at school had to be adjusted if we wanted to live a somewhat “normal” school year.

But this school year wasn’t normal for a variety of reasons: the mask mandate, the economic decline, the number of students attending in-person and the evergrowing problem of systematic racism. I showed up to school not knowing what to expect but sure that I needed to adjust and change to get through the year.

Throughout this school year, I at-

PHOTO BY DALLAS WABBINGTON | THE WICHITAN

Dallas Wabbington, English education senior on a Zoom call, April 20.

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Amos Perkins MANAGING EDITOR: Stephanie Robledo DESIGN EDITOR: Omar Combie

Vol. 85 | No. 16 Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. | Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@msutexas.edu | thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Colin Stevenson ASSISTANT EDITOR: Abigail Jones BUSINESS MANAGER: Alexis Martin ISSUE STAFF: Emily Beaman, Ryan Clayton, Thalia Doe, Bailey Graham, Shunde Hooks, Niko McWilliams, Joseph Nelson, Bridget Reilly, Godwin Ukaa, Dallas Wabbington ADVISOR: Jonathon Quam

PHOTO BY DALLAS WABBINGTON | THE WICHITAN

For many students, their only college experience has been during the pandemic, April 20. tended a combination of online, hybrid and in-person classes. I can definitely speak on behalf of a lot of students when I say juggling all of these classes was very difficult and it was hard to keep up with and stay motivated.

I want to say that I was always on top of my school work and always took part in my organizations, but I didn’t because this past year was a lot harder to deal with. Everyone was struggling to find a balance: students, teachers, staff. However, we made it through, and that alone is an accomplishment.

This has been a year of discovery. I realized how focused I was on the rest of the world and paid little attention to myself.

I worked on hobbies, learned more about my culture and educated myself on world issues. I’m sure many of us are constantly

thinking about when life will return to how it was, but in reality, life will never be the same.

Because we were not allowed to do nearly as many activities and events as we’re used to, we were left to what was available in our homes. Because businesses were not allowed to have as many employees and customers, they had to accommodate to stay afloat.

As students, we had to do what we could to learn just as well as before. We are experiencing perhaps the biggest disruption of our lifetime; there’s no doubt about that. Who knows what next year is going to be like?

But because of all the trials and tribulations, we learned from this year so we will be better prepared for the next. We got this, Mustangs.

Copyright ©2021.

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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 email address, telephone number and address.

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FALL 2021: A RETURN TO NORMALCY

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

Crowd cheering at an MSU football game (pre-COVID19), Oct 27, 2018.

AMOS PERKINS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SU Texas will be returning to Phase IV for the Fall 2020 semester, which means the campus will largely operate as it did before the COVID-19 outbreak starting Monday, Aug. 9.

“Masks will not be required [next semester]. Certainly, anyone who’s more comfortable wearing a mask, we support, we want them to do that.... Distancing won’t be required; some classes will still do that, clearly, because the class schedule has already been published and people have already registered and all that,” Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs, said.

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Moving to Phase IV

MSU looked at the number of students tested for COVID-19 whose tests came back positive, the number of available hospital beds in Wichita Falls, the total number of cases locally and statewide and the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccines before making the decision to revert to Phase IV. These same factors will be monitored to see if the university needs to return to Phase III. “We’re still watching everything, we’re still watching the data and we’re still seeing what CDC recommendations are, local state and national conditions and you know, our goal is to keep the campus safe.... The other thing we’ll be looking at really closely are the number of people that have immunity, either naturally or through vaccination.

That’s going to be important,” Lamb said.

Vaccination effort

To reach their goal of having 75-80% of the student population immunized, MSU hosted vaccine clinics with the National Guard on

campus. Their distribution hit a significant hurdle when all Johnson and Johnson vaccines were temporarily recalled. When the vaccine was released again, students were less eager to get vaccinated.

“Of course, I had [the Johnson and Johnson vaccines] for four days and we gave 300+ shots.... They halted it for 10 or 12 days, right in the middle of our prime time. They released it just in time for finals weeks. [Students] weren’t like, ‘Yeah I wanna take my calculus final, while I’m feeling sick from the COVID shot.’

We moved maybe a dozen, two dozen shots in the full 10 days after they released the Johnson and Johnson vaccine,” Keith Williamson, Vinson Health Center medical director, said.

Making the decision

While the decision to return to normalcy was made by President Shipley and the president’s cabinet, advisement and planning were provided from the Return to Campus Task Force.

The task force was instructed with thinking of ways to prepare the campus for reopening and to ensure that it is flexible enough to return to lower phases in case of emergency.

“We made the announcement [earlier in the semester] that we’ll stay in Phase III through the summer with the goal of going to Phase IV without a date attached to it. At that point, the Return to Campus Task Force began working on what the runway needed to look like to get up to Phase IV because we’ve been operating at less than Phase IV... for over a year now, and so it’s not as easy as just saying we’re going to Phase IV one day and the next day we’re at Phase IV. [The task force looked at] what processes need to be put in place, how long will those take, etc.... We want them to keep the flexibility in case there’s a surge [in cases] after we go to Phase IV in

case we need to go back to Phase III, so that is not burdensome on the students,” Lamb said.

Changes to campus

MSU’s campus will look different next semester. Along with much of the preventative signage coming down, Lamb also thinks there’s a possibility the campus makes other changes, such as investing more in water bottle refill stations rather than water fountains. As for Mustangs athletics events, Lamb says restrictions such as maximum capacity and having to preorder tickets are largely out of the university’s control.

“A lot of [athletics restrictions] will depend on what the NCAA and Lone Star Conference require in the fall.... Most of [the signs] will come down. There may be some that stay. We won’t necessarily have the directional signage that say ‘exit this door,’ ‘enter this door.’ We won’t have the signs that say mask required... but I would think we’d still have signs reminding people how to stay healthy,” Lamb said.

going into the beginning of the semester with low levels of activity... and then they’re going to get together and around October 15 to November 15, we’re gonna have a sudden surge, and it’s just going to build, because if you’re not immunized you’re dry timber for the forest fire,” Williamson said.

Risks of returning

Despite the university continuing to offer vaccines, Williamson thinks returning to campus could still be risky. He thinks a spike in cases could appear later into the semester due to student interaction with each other. Such an occurrence happened on a small scale when the number of cases on campus jumped from between zero and two to 13 due to graduation parties. “[Going to Phase IV] is a gambler’s choice right now, because if I had evidence that 7580% of the students were immunized, I would say ‘Heck yeah, it’s going to be fine,’ but we don’t have that evidence.... I think we’ll be fine

PHOTO BY A.J. RUBIO | THE WICHITAN

Masks are no longer mandatory, but students can still wear masks if they wish. Sept. 1, 2020.

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MEET THE NEW 2021-2022 BLACK STUDENT UNION

PHOTO TAKEN FROM BLACK STUDENT UNION INSTAGRAM PAGE

The 2021-2022 Black Student Union executive board members (left to right) Keara Sanders, president; Aretha Fontaine, historian; Kristen Carraway, secretary; Mia Hill, treasurer; Destiny Walker, vice president; Keza Muvunyi, social media chair and Jerry Gibson, senator.

EMILY BEAMAN NEWS EDITOR s summer begins and students gather up for their break, the Black Student Union gathers new plans, new ideas and new faces. Their executive board for 2021-2022 is eager for what the school year has in store.

BSU’s incoming President Keara Sanders, pre-nursing sophomore, joined the BSU because she wanted to be part of an organization that impacted students and the surrounding community. She decided to run for the executive board to challenge herself and offer more help in an organization that allows Black students and allies to connect and form friendships.

“They allow a safe place to discuss controversial topics going on in the world. They serve as a voice on campus for the Black community to promote our best interests, values and any concerns we may have,” Sanders said.

As the president, she is responsible for making sure the BSU follows its mission and leads the organization. With new students entering this upcoming school year, Sanders looks forward to what the new opportunities could mean for the BSU. “Some plans I hope to accomplish [are] recruiting and reaching more people and accomplishing everything that we decide to do as a team,” Sanders said.

Kristen Carraway, an athletic training sophomore, is the secretary. She keeps records of the organization’s events and reports and also handles administrative tasks. After being previously involved with the organization, she

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knew she wanted to take the opportunity to be in a leadership role.

“I wanted to be a part of the BSU office because they are one of the groups that offered a space that was very welcoming of me and other students,” Carraway said.

Carraway hopes to get more students involved and connected with the campus community next year and to spread the importance of the BSU. She is eager for the events to come over the next year and to meet new students.

“BSU to me is an important organization that has allowed me to grow since becoming a member, and it is an organization I want to continue growing and doing great things,” Carraway said.

The historian is Aretha Fontaine, psychology senior. She is responsible for recording events and using her knowledge of the history of Black culture to help make decisions.

“Knowing the history will help with decision making within the [BSU]. We’ll be able to reference important moments when speaking, or recreate events that hold particular meanings,” Fontaine said.

She decided to run for the BSU executive board to grow, make long-term friendships and learn new skills from others.

“I want to take my time to really absorb the Black culture. As an international student, it’s difficult for me to relate to a lot of things within the Black community, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t attempt to understand what’s going on. So my curiosity about the Black culture also fueled my interest in the position,” Fontaine said.

Fontaine’s main objective for the next year is to dispel some of the stereotypes around Black students. She wants this to be pushed by the creation of a safe space for some of the students. “[The safe space], would provide counseling, advice [and] friends that help to support you in that moment, a lot of things that I think aren’t available,” Fontaine said.

Mia Hill, exercise physiology sophomore, is the incoming treasurer. She creates an annual budget for the BSU programs, maintains financial records and communicates where the funds are going. She decided to run for executive board because of what the BSU wanted to accomplish.

“I have always been an advocate for creating safe spaces for minorities and BSU was a community that I was always interested in when I entered college,” Hill said.

For the next year, she wants to increase involvement and membership with the BSU for a larger community and family-feel. “[Part of the goal is] getting the word out that the BSU discusses serious topics and relevant issues going on with the community, but we also like to have fun and plan events that all students can enjoy together,” Hill explained.

The BSU’s Senator is Jerry Gibson, criminal justice junior. He attends the meetings of other organizations to lobby for the BSU and see how the BSU can improve. He ran for a position on the executive board because he wanted to help people of color by creating a safe space to express their thoughts. “[I hope] to unite other Black and people of

color student organizations under a common interest, which is to provide a safe space for every person of color and to be that hub of uplifting everybody,” Gibson said.

To Gibson, the BSU fosters a safe and educational environment not only for him but for other students of color as well.

“BSU [has helped] me understand that discourse can’t transpire in healthy ways if people are not given the space to share their opinion, learn or be supported,” Gibson said.

The social media chair is Keza Muvunyi, mass communication senior. She became more active with the BSU her sophomore year, which led to her running for the executive board.

“BSU really did some amazing things within the past couple years and I wanted to officially be a part of the process,” Muvunyi said.

For her, the BSU is a place where Black students can express themselves in all types of ways.

“Whether it’s expressing our frustration, anger, grief, emotions or if we’re celebrating and honoring, BSU has a time and a safe place to do so, and I love that,” Muvunyi said.

Muvunyi plans to use the BSU’s social media accounts to engage with students. She also looks forward to being a part of the BSU team and the events they will hold.

“We started brainstorming some ideas for the fall. You’ll just have to wait and see what we officiate and release,” Muvunyi said.

DWELLINGS EXPERIENCES OF SHELTER M ay 2 4 , 2 0 2 1 C a m p u s Vo i c e s | F a l l 2 0 2 1 | N e w s | To p W i ch i t a n S t o r i e s | R ev i e w | S p o r t s | S u m m e r

STEPHANIE ROBLEDO MANAGING EDITOR uring the beginning of the pandemic, a shelter in place was set and many stayed at home for weeks. The “Dwellings: Experiences of Shelter” exhibit, which will be displayed at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art until Sept. 4, explores that time spent at home and the concepts of help, grief, violence, stigma and gratefulness that came with it.

“This exhibition reveals depictions of houses, architecture and rooms created well before the COVID-19 coronavirus spread throughout the world. As such, we see these artworks in both past and new contexts, allowing them to recall another time and to speak anew of our time. Viewing these works through the lens of time invites us to consider the past, present and future, and to imagine new ways to cope, help and renew,” Danny Bills, Wichita Falls Museum of Art curator, said.

Jessica Calderwood is the guest artist for the exhibit. Calderwood is a sculptor whose artwork makes statements about contemporary life. The sculptures that are being showcased were created during the shelter in place. Calderwood describes her works as a negation that

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censors or denies what lies beneath to suggest a personal and internal struggle.

“Earlier this year [Calderwood] exhibited in the art gallery Juanita and Ralph Harvey School of Visual Arts, directed by Professor Steve Hilton. Based on her work, we felt she would be a great artist to include in our ‘Dwelling: Experiences of Shelter’ exhibit, and this would also give students an extension of seeing her work within a theme,” Bills said. “She created a new system of displaying the work by having the pieces float on metal discs. The work is intentionally installed lower than normal to give the viewer a position similar to her view when she creates the pieces.”

In addition to Calderwood’s artwork, the WFMA also collaborated with MSU professors. Throughout the exhibit, like in the “Color in Art, Color in Life: Prisms, Pigments and Purpose” exhibit, there are excerpts about the concept of dwellings written by different professors.

“We have been seeking input from collaborative partners for the last few exhibits. Dr. Todd Giles, associate professor of English, has served as a faculty liaison for the museum reaching out to professors to see if they are interested in contributing to certain exhibits.

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

Sculptures by students of Burkburnett Middle School, April 15.

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PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

The Lost Habitat, 2010 in pastel by Katherine Liontas-Warren, April 15.

This brings many more viewpoints into the experience,” Bills said.

Each professor touches on a different topic from well-being to an economic perspective.

Tara Fox, assistant professor of counseling, writes about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Fox redefines home as not a physical building but a space in the heart that radiates peace. She connects this to how the shelter in place has also redefined home among other things.

“Shelter in place has drastically impacted how we interact with our world and the people in it. Video chatting has become the new way to hang out with friends or catch up with family.

Birthdays, special occasions and holidays seem too lackluster. Throughout the year, the lack of physical connection has decreased our ability to show empathy to others. Our feeling of home as a place of peace has been compromised. To rebuild, we need to embrace a positive mental attitude and take back ownership of our peaceful dwellings,” Fox said.

The participating professors were from different colleges on campus bringing together different ideas to the meaning of dwellings.

However, the exhibit didn’t stop at a campuswide collaboration. Within the museum, there are artworks created by students of Burkbur-

nett Middle School as well.

“Stefanie Rhoads, the Burkburnett Middle School art teacher approached us about how she could get her students involved. We took this opportunity to set her students up with a Zoom discussion with our guest artist Jessica Calderwood from her studio in Indiana. The students learned a lot about how artists work, what they think about and how to work on theme,” Bills said.

The exhibit brought together different people from college professors to middle school students. It also aims to include WFMA visitors in this collaboration by having a “Story Wall: Sense of Place.” This wall allows museum-goers to share their experience during the shelter in place.

“Museums use interactive parts of exhibits from time to time as way to further engage their visitors. This type of hands-on activity has been difficult to execute during the ongoing pandemic,” Bills said. “We came up with a safe way for people to share a story if they want to.

There is a wall where they can pin their handwritten story after using our paper, clean pencils, and a clean pin. They can also share the story with us through online means if they feel more comfortable.”

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ICHITAN’S TOP ST WICHITAN STAFF

With the 2020-2021 academic year officially in the books, let’s take

Professor clashes Black Student Union

with

Original story by Bridget Reilly.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

Director of MOSAIC and First 2 Go Cammie Dean approaches professor philosophy Nathan Jun as he nears the end of his speech at the MSU Texas Amnesty International rally for Breonna Taylor, Sept. 24.

MSU Texas professor of philosophy Nathan Jun, who made national headlines with a controversial Facebook comment, clashed with the Black Student Union Sept. 29. After speaking at Amnesty International’s rally for Breonna Taylor, Jun took to facebook to voice his displeasure with the BSU, saying they should be ashamed of themself. The BSU responded by taking offense to Jun’s comments and the implication that they were antisemitic.

“We want it to be clear that we do not condone or promote hate speech and/or hate crimes. We believe that comments and acts such as these create a hostile learning environment – one that we as Black students are all too familiar with,” the statement from BSU said. “We recognize and accept those who have different beliefs and would not shun anyone for holding their entitled beliefs, but we will not allow people to slander our organization’s name when we as Black students have spoken the most about inequities and unfair treatment of Black people, People of Color and marginalized groups at our university.”

MSU Texas protests on social and racial injustice

Spring break 2021 is cancelled due to COVID-19

MSU moves closer to joining the Tech system

Original stories by Dallas Wabbington, Emily Beaman, Elizabeth Mahan and Stephanie Robledo.

Original story by Bridget Reilly and Elizabeth Mahan.

Original stories by Amos Perkins, Bridget Reilly and Colin Stevenson.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

Students

attend

MSU

Texas

Amnesty

Throughout the year, Mustangs came together to protest the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others who sensibly lost their lives to injustice. In October alone, the Black Student Union started the 21day Racial Equity Challenge, MOSAIC Peer Educators hosted the March for Peace and Amnesty International hosted the Justice for Breonna Taylor Rally. Students, faculty and staff from different walks of life found a wide variety of ways to speak out against hate, whether it be through poems, speeches or marching with signs.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re Black, you’re white, you’re Asian… whatever race you are, it’s caring about humanity, and it’s caring about the person right next to you. It’s caring about everyone in this little area. That’s what it is, and that’s what we’re fighting for, so today you’re choosing to fight. You’re choosing to march for innocent Black lives lost. Tonight you’re going to educate yourself. Tomorrow and the next day after that, we ask that you continue to fight the good fight of a life that’s anti-racist,” Keza Muvunyi, mass communication junior, said.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

MSU Texas announced the cancellation of Spring Break on Oct 21.

Throughout the year, legislation to integrate MSU Texas into the Tech system progressed further through the state Senate.

MSU officials announced through a Postmaster on Oct. 21 that there would be no spring break in 2021. Officials say the decision was made to lessen the likelihood of students going off campus and contracting COVID-19 during the break. The university assured students and faculty that it was a necesarry measure to prevent a possible campus-wide outbreak. To make up for the lack of a break, the university also announced that the semester would end one week earlier than unusal. The decision sparked mixed to negative reactions from both students and faculty, many of whom felt left in the dark by the university.

“That’s very unfortunate,” Ginelle Fontinelle, exercise physiology senior, said. “With COVID and stuff, it’s not that much that we could really do with spring break, but some of us actually look forward to spring break as a break from school and from classes and everything. It’s just like a way to relax and take a relaxing thing from the past semester, especially with everything going on and stuff, so it’s kind of rough.”

MSU has continued to make strides toward becoming the fifth member of the Texas Tech University System since signing a memorandum of understanding in early August. As of Spring 2021, University president Suzanne Shipley has stated that the odds are at 99% that the university request to join the system is approved. The Wichitan was also able to speak with Christopher Huckabee, TTU Board of Regents Chairman, to learn about what Texas Tech gets out of MSU joining its system.

“The driving factor really was a student pipeline. It creates opportunity for students who are at MSU to come to Texas Tech for things like law and medicine, and those are the things to us that are really more important. We are very focused on having a diverse student population. Creating the pipeline for grad school, med school, law school [and] things like that – kind of that next step in the educational system – we feel it creates a nice pipeline for students to come from the Wichita Falls region or for those who happen to be at MSU,” Huckabee said.

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STORIES OF THE YEAR

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e a look back at some of the biggest news stories covered by The Wichitan over the year.

Wichita Falls doesn’t escape human sex trafficking Original Story by Elizabeth Mahan and Bridget Reilly.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

The National Human Trafficking hotline 1-888373-7888 is a 24-hour hotline. First step also has their own 24 hour crisis line 1-800-658-2683.

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

The Wichitan met with local experts on human trafficking and abuse who spoke about how nowhere, including Wichita Falls, was safe from human trafficking. Soon after this story was published, Anthony Patterson, president of Patterson Auto Group in Wichita Falls, was arrested for human trafficking, bringing revived attention to the issue in Wichita Falls.

“This is going on in our community. We’ve got sexual assault, we’ve got domestic violence and we’ve got human trafficking going on with our neighbors, our people, right here. We have to step up as a whole community to bring ourselves the awareness, the education and the training we need to recognize the signs to change that in our community because 14 people can’t do it alone,” Michelle Turnbow, executive director of First Step, said.

Winter storm causes extensive damage on campus

MOSAIC hosts Name Vigil”

“Say

Her

Original Story by Thalia Doe.

Vaccines campus

arrive

on

Original story by Abigail Jones.

Original story by Abigail Jones.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TWITTER USER @KEY_OKAY

6th floor of McCullough-Trigg, Feb. 15 Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc over much of the Untied States, including Texas between Feb. 13 and 17, causing damage and extensive power loss. Midwestern State was not exempt from the harm. Burst pipes caused extensive flooding and damages in Sunwatcher Village Apartments, McCullough-Trigg dorms and the University Police Department. The flooding caused the elevators in McCullough-Trigg to temporarily stop working. Some students were forced to evacuate their dorms and temporarily move into a different room, and some reported damaged items as well. Despite the inconveniences, university authority figures said the damage could have been much worse.

“While I would’ve preferred that the pipe didn’t rupture…we’re getting out pretty easily on this. It could’ve been a lot worse in terms of damage and monetary loss,” UPD Chief of Police Patrick Coggins said. “It worked out, really, the best it could under the circumstances.”

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON| THE WICHITAN

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN

MSU Student speaks at the “Say Her Name” vigil, March 29.

Keith Williamson, medical director of Vinson Health Center, holds the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, April 8.

The MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center hosted a “Say Her Name Vigil” March 29 to honor Black women and women of color who were victims of hate crimes and/or police brutality. The event included a two minute moment of silence, an activity where attendees had to match a photo of a victim to their story and a gallery of the women who died and their age. Despite many of the protests dying down compared to those in the fall, MOSAIC leadership refused to be quiet about social justice and brought revived interest to racial injustice to the MSU campus community.

“I want the people that attended today to walk away thinking about the Black women in their life. Think about the women in your life and what you can do to help them about and protect them. If I had the opportunity to talk to these women that have lost their lives due to police brutality and hate crimes, it would be that I am sorry. I am sorry this happened to you and you didn’t deserve this, even the women that were not mentioned tonight,” Amani Augustine, nursing freshman and assistant coordinator for WISE.

Vinson Health Center, Texas Department of Emergency Management and Texas Military Department partnered together in the latter half of April to vaccinate the campus community. MSU offered the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, but four days in, distribution was halted due to extremely rare cases of blood clots. Fortunately, they were able to acquire and distribute the Moderna vaccine. Vaccines will continue to be offered throughout the summer, including orientation events, and into the Fall 2021 semester.

The university’s goal is to have 75 to 80% of the campus community vaccinated for when the campus returns to Phase IV. “I would like to see every student on campus vaccinated. My reasonable goal, I thought, is 90%, but I think at this stage we’re lucky to get 70%,” Dr. Keith Williamson, Vinson Health Center medical director, said. “It’s getting down to the people who are more hesitant and afraid of the vaccine and don’t know what to make of it.”

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TAKING A LOOK AT THE SUMMER’S MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES

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hether they’re going back home or staying in Wichita Falls, MSU Texas students will hopefully spend some free time frequenting their local movie theaters this summer. Not only has the film industry taken major hits due to the pandemic, but stay-at-home streaming also seems to overshadow the communal experience of theater-going nowadays. Many movies in 2020 claimed to be the blockbuster to bring back movie audiences, but sales never lived up to the grandiose expectations. However, with 2021 sporting a declinJoseph ing COVID-19 presence and a slightly normal summer, many movies between Nelson May and August hold realistic chances of boosting sales closer to pre-pandemic numbers. Not only that, a changing Hollywood industry means more unique perspectives joining the silver screen, not just sequels, reboots, and superheroes punching people (or shooting lasers if Marvel gets really creative). With a relatively unique summer movie collection, here’s my list of movies to watch out for over the summer ranked from the ones I’m least to most excited to see.

5. "SUICIDE SQUAD"

3. CRUELLA Another wild card movie, “Cruella” is the origin story of the titular Disney villain.

While Emma Stone is a talented actress, the film’s apparent grungy and dark tone seems to be on slippery ice. The whole idea of a villain origin story also gives off commercialized vibes, after the success of “The Joker.” I also wasn’t excited about “The Joker” before it came out, and I was surprised by how good the film turned out to be. While I’m not expecting Emma Stone to shoot a talk show host or smother someone with a pillow, I can see this movie surprising audiences and offering a unique take on the Disney villain.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

Emma Stone, Joel Fry, and Paul Walter Hauser in Cruella (2021)

RELEASE DATE: MAY 28

2 . "A QUIET PLACE PART II "

DC movies are always hit or miss, as the company is notorious for hiring creative directors with great track records and reducing their visions to rubble. However, with the positive reception of the Snyder Cut, a re-released version of “Justice League” restored to the director’s vision, DC might have learned its lesson and may leave its creators alone. Suicide Squad definitely isn’t a typical superhero movie, but maybe James Gunn can pull off the same medley of action, comedy and character that he achieved in “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

While the first installment was written by a collaboration of screenwriters, John Krasinski is the sole writer/director of this prequel/ sequel. Set in the post-apocalyptic world, “A Quiet Place Part II” hopes to expand on elements introduced in the 2018 film, offering an explanation for how the deadly monsters infiltrated the family’s lives. Movies based on original ideas are hard to come by, hard to advertise and hard to achieve success with.

However, this next installment offers a continuation of the original story and one I think is worth seeing in theaters.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

Idris Elba, John Cena, David Dastmalchian, and Daniela Melchior in The Suicide Squad (2021)

Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds in A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

RELEASE DATE: AUG 6

4. "OLD"

1. "IN THE HEIGHTS"

M. Night Shyamalan has one of the most interesting careers in Hollywood. His breakout film was “The Sixth Sense,” a movie, to this day, ingrained in our culture for its shock ending. After a few other movies, however, Shyamalan would go on to write and direct some bizarrely terrible movies, such as “The Happening”. “Old” is Shyamalan’s upcoming movie about an island that rapidly ages its inhabitants. Regardless of the movie’s eventual quality, Shyamalan will release either a great thriller or an unintentional comedy, and I look forward to both direction he might take.

By this point, Lin Manuel-Miranda is a household name, but at the time of “In The Heights” debuting on broadway, Miranda was just young, scrappy and hungry for a career on stage. The musical adaptation follows a mom-and-pop owner in a Manhattan neighborhood, interacting with the residents and seeing their hopes and dreams manifested through hip-hop, rap and salsa dance numbers. While I’ve listened to the soundtrack many times, I’ve only read the script for In The Heights and look forward to watching the incredible story play out on the big screen.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

Keomi Key, Melissa Barrera, and Anthony Ramos in In the Heights (2021)

RELEASE DATE: MAY 28

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

Alex Wolff and Thomasin McKenzie in Old (2021)

RELEASE DATE: JULY 23

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 11

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Collective Coffee....too simple?

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ollective Coffee & Community, the brainchild of three young and vibrant entrepreneurs, opened its first store location last month on the corner of Midwestern Parkway and Taft Godwin Ukaa Boulevard.

The newcomer to the coffee scene in Wichita Falls started as a mobile cart after Mason Wilson, an MSU alumni, Ryan Roberts and Patrick Kemp decided to serve the North Texas community with specialty coffee.

With the new location, the company will have the opportunity to serve in a different capacity and continue its growth to become a staple coffee house. I visited the new store for the first time, and I had a good experience.

The location is convenient, especially for a college student like me. It is within walking distance from the MSU campus. For students living on campus, you could walk to get a cup of coffee and make it back in reasonable time. On the other hand, for those who live off-campus, it is right on the way to school.

immediately when you walk in, the aroma is breathtaking. I can still smell what Collective Coffee was cooking (said in my best Dwayne ‘The Rock” Johnson impression).

The store was organized and clean. The employees were friendly and greeted me as I walked in. I looked around the room and saw at least 10 people on their computers, sipping their cups of coffee and getting work done, while others laughed and engaged in conversation. The sight of people enjoying their stay, made me realize I was not alone. I was not the only person who felt welcomed.

The view provided by the glass window, facing Taft Boulevard and Midwestern Parkway, was beautiful. The window lit the room well.

I could feel the rays of sun giving me a warm embrace as I enjoyed the view of the tree groves ahead.

On the other hand, the interior design was simple, maybe too simple. I am still not sure what to make of it. If the owners intended to make it a simple space, it could be interpreted as a work of creative genius. However, if it was not intentional, then the interior design is bare

and un-inspiring.

Before you throw your coffee mugs at me, ye lovers of simplicity (of which I am one), let me explain.

The interior furniture was excellent. I loved the wood finish on the shelves, tables and counters. However, what I did not understand was how bare the walls were. From the front of the store where I stood, there were only two guitars and a hanging banner with the company name written on it. The entire wall was one solid color and there was nothing visually stimulating about the space.

Also, when it was time to order, there was no menu board on the wall or above the ordering counter. Instead, I was offered a paper menu, which was a little odd for a coffee shop.

However, the background music stood out to me. The song choices were great for the environment. The music enhanced the experience instead of being a bother.

All in all, it was a good experience. The only things I would suggest adding are some form of drive-thru ordering and injecting some life into the interior walls and space. Apart from that,

the employees were friendly, helpful and intentional with their service.

I enjoyed my small cup of coffee and will be back to get another one. There is a high chance that I will be writing my next article while sipping a cup of coffee at Collective Coffee & Community.

OVERALL RATING: 3.9/5.0 BREAKDOWN: QUALITY OF FOOD - 4 P R E SE N T A T I O N - 4 SE R V I C E - 5 I N T E R I O R A N D E X T . D E SI G N - 2 AMBIANCE - 3.5 C L E A N L I N E SS - 4 . 5 VALUE FOR MONEY - 4

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

Collective Coffee is located on 4001 Taft Blvd, May 20.

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WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM LOOKS AHEAD TO FALL 2021 super important,” Baley said.

Olivia Okoye (No.10), forward and biology junior, suffered a knee injury this past season.

From sitting on the sidelines and observing the team play, Okoye said that the team needs to work on creating more opportunities to score and taking more shots.

“Once my knee is strong enough, I plan on getting my fitness level up by running and doing several sprints and also weightlifting. I also am going to work on my technical skills and practice the runs I would make as a forward,” Okoye said.

Spence said that recruitment has already taken place and the team will be expecting six or seven freshmen for the fall season.

“We have six or seven freshmen coming in and I think all of them will be able to lift our level up, we have some good technical players coming in, a couple of speed players. We are never done recruiting, so we could possibly add one more during the summer. One of the players that I think will come in and immediately make an impact is Isabella Cruz, from Pflugerville, Texas, down in Austin. She is more of a

central midfielder, technical, pretty creative but good size, her physical presence has always been something I’ve really liked,” Spence said.

When recruiting, Spence said that he looks for three to four categories to determine whether the athlete will be a good asset to the team.

“Someone who is durable, in a college game you have to be durable, the physicality has to be somewhere. Speed is another aspect, the soccer IQ, whether or not the player is coachable, can they play a few positions, and then lastly is the technical aspect. Technical, physical, speed and speed of thought are kind of the four things I look for. If you have two of them, you can survive, if you have three, you will do a really good job here…so if you have two you have a chance and three is the number where I know that you will be a really good Division II player,” Spence said.

Spence said that the biggest thing we should expect to see from the women’s team this fall 2021, will be better physicality, better speed of play and a leap of leadership from previous years.

PHOTO BY BAILEY GRAHAM | THE WICHITAN

Marissa Resendez (4), forward and undecided freshman, fights for control of the ball against a Dallas Baptist University defender, March 3.

THALIA DOE SPORTS EDITOR This past spring season, Midwestern State’s women’s soccer team had two wins, seven losses and one tie. The team managed to score eleven goals and average an attempt of 12.7 shots per game. In preparation for the fall season, Head Coach of Midwestern State’s women’s soccer team, Ryan Spence, said that this season the program has improved in defense.

“The improvements we’ve made defendingwise has been a little bit better even though number wise, of course with this being the spring season involving COVID, our numbers weren’t great defensively with regards to how many numbers we had, but I do think this year we had a couple of better tackles on the ball.

Our team was younger this year, so they were going in a little bit quicker than some of our older ones that have been around and learned from the previous coach,” Spence said.

Despite previous years, Spence said that this year the weightlifting sessions were year round. Although it helped, Spence said there are still other areas where the team needs to

continue growing.

“It’s a little less than a low but it’s all year round. Before, we would be heavy in the spring and then not much in the fall, so we’ve taken a little bit back but have kept it more consistent through the year and I think that’s helped.

But I think the big improvements on what we are needing to keep working on is speed and of course, physicality is going to have to keep getting more and more in order to compete in this conference,” Spence said.

Emma Baley (No.31), forward and kinesiology junior, said that this past season taught her that she needs to improve.

“What I think I need to improve on the most is finishing or connecting with my teammates to finish the ball. This summer I plan on going out with a few girls that will be in town to get extra touches on the ball and focusing on the things we need to improve on. I think our team struggled the most with scoring this past season; sometimes we are missing the last puzzle piece. Summer is a time to really improve yourself. Getting as much work in as possible and coming into the next season as fit as possible is

PHOTO BY NIKO MCWILLIAMS | THE WICHITAN

Sydney Van Noy (24), midfielder and mechanical engineering freshman, throws an inball for a teammate, Sept. 29, 2020

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SUMMER OPTIONS IN WICHITA FALLS ABIGAIL JONES ASSISTANT EDITOR ichita Falls has been labeled a city with not much to do, as noted by last year’s mayoral debate, but it still has its unique attractions. Whether you’re a local or are visiting Wichita Falls during the summer, here are four businesses that provide experiences unique to the area.

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River Bend Nature Center

Located at 2200 3rd St. is River Bend Nature Center, an environmental educational facility that anyone can visit for $6. Students get in for $5 if they show their ID. “We’re a non-profit and our mission is to connect people to the natural environment of Texas,” Jennica Lambert, RBNC exhibits curator said. “You’ll learn more about Texas ecology than you ever wanted to know, basically.”

RBNC houses over 100 live animals in their facility. All of them are rescued, so each has their own story from a “funky little snapping turtle” to a chicken named Cupcake. Lambert said it is important for people to be exposed to these animals.

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

Alley Cat has all things vintage, antique and handmade, May 20.

“Some people really love Thai food. They start eating it and they have to come back and eat it like every week,” Suthisripok said.

People can eat at Thai Orchid from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day but Saturday. When they do, they’ll be eating food made fresh that day by a family, for a family.

“It’s what I cook for my family. We make everything all by [ourselves]…. It’s just me, my sister and my wife,” Suthisripok said. “We want to make sure all of the food is exactly the way we eat.”

Take-out is available by calling them at (940) 696-8846. Their low prices are also a very intentional part of their business, despite pressure to raise prices.

“Nowadays [other places] increase price a lot, because the cost of everything has jumped up more than 100%... but we still keep the prices low for our customer because we have been here for so long, like 17 years,” Suthisripok said. “The customer, we feel like they are our family, so we keep the same price.”

The Deep End

Sobczak, owner of Alley Cat said. “I have vendors and they rent the space from me, then I ring up all the sales, essentially. That means that I get a lot of variety.”

Vintage malls like Alley Cat have been gaining popularity, and Sobczak attributes that to a couple of different things.

“You can’t say it’s just nostalgia because young people are discovering it. I think there’s the sustainability aspect, which makes it’s a green business. It tends to be better quality. It’s made in the USA for the most part, and a lot of these things are timeless,” Sobczak said. “We get so many young people I think because of vinyl records, vintage clothing. Those two things are the big draw. [We have] 10s of 1,000s of vinyl records.”

Alley Cat is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except for Wednesday when it’s closed. Look them up at alleycatvintagemercantile.com to learn more.

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN

Thai Orchid

Thai Orchid is a family-owned authentic Thai restaurant lo-

River Bend Nature Center’s three story tall glass cated at 1912 Elmwood Ave N Ave. Kit Suthisripok, a co-owner of conservatory contains everything from arachnids to Thai Orchid, said he does his best to cook good food and represent Thai food well. prairie dogs, May 12.

“I think everyone, including students, should know more about the world around them,” Lambert said. “A lot of people have fears like fear of spiders [or] fear of snakes, and the biggest way to get over that is exposure and to learn about it. Then you learn that not every rattlesnake wants to take your face off.”

RBNC has a three-story glass conservatory, a butterfly house, a trail that goes into the nearby forest and a children’s garden.

They host parties and weddings and are currently holding yoga classes and kid summer camps. They’re open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. To learn more about them, visit their website at riverbendnaturecenter.org.

Alley Cat

If you’re looking to discover some new old things, Alley Cat Vintage Mercantile, located on 1505 Lamar St., has antiques and handmade goods of all varieties. “[It’s] 27,000 square feet of everything from the lowest, most humble bucket with a hole in it to a $5,000 music box,” Julie

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN

Thai Orchid’s menu has pad Thai, sweet and sour chicken, and many authentic Thai dishes, May 14

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN

Deep End has a variety of games including Mortal Kombat, DigDug, Walking Dead and Skee-Ball, May 22.

The Deep End is an arcade bar located at 5117 Old Jacksboro Highway that houses virtual reality games, online games, classic arcade games like Skee-Ball or Mortal Kombat and console games. Their owner, Jason Hester, an MSU Texas alumni, said he started the business because he wanted more to do in Wichita Falls and didn’t enjoy bars by themselves.

“We want to do more stuff for the community. I don’t drink and when I was in the Air Force I would go to bars and I would just sit there with my friends… I never got the draw to go to a bar,” Hester said. “When I go to bars, I don’t have a reason to talk to people, but now with an arcade bar, you can enjoy the bar and you can enjoy the arcade.”

For $5, you can play all of the games they have available from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday.

“Here we allow everybody. We give everybody a chance to play. We’re doing hip-hop this weekend. There’s not a lot of hiphop venues [in Wichita Falls],” Hester said. “We have a good crowd; it’s a way of getting people who don’t have a place to play.”

To find out more, visit their website at thedeependwf.com.

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Students' Plans for Summer Break “This summer I am mostly going to focus on saving money and finding a job I actually enjoy. I also hope that as soon as my friends and I are fully vaccinated, we can plan some fun trips we haven’t been able to do for the past year.”

Haylee Gowen psychology sophomore

“After my summer class is over, I’m going to spend the rest of my break just vibing. This last semester was busy, and it’ll be nice to just hang and travel.”

Andres Revis political science and global studies sophomore

“This summer, I will be taking 12 hours. Six in Summer I and the other six in Summer II. I plan to focus on my classes, while still continuing to work at Texas Roadhouse; and balance those two things while making time to spend with family and friends.”

Alicia Phinney social work junior

“I will be living in New York for my entire break. I was offered a couple positions at a summer camp in Roscoe NY called Timber Lake West Camp, and I chose to be a part of the media staff... I will enjoy exploring NYC and more of Roscoe with other staff at the camp.”

Bailey Dold art junior

“I will be using this summer to take the last class I have to take and graduate, in addition to networking and taking a trip with my girlfriend to Virginia and DC,” Ron Harle theatre tech senior

“I will be taking summer 1 classes. I will also be celebrating my 22nd birthday in June. I also plan on taking a fun trip to Florida with a group of friends.”

Kayleigh Stone EC-6 education senior

“I will be working as a scenic artist with Texas Shakespeare Festival this summer. This is a really fun and incredible networking opportunity to be able to work on having not graduated college yet.”

Shelby Ochs theatre junior

“This summer I have the opportunity to go to El Salvador for the first time in my life. I get to experience where both of my parents grew up; my dad’s side is from Sensuntepeque and my mom’s side is from La Union!

Nancy Calles early childhood education junior

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE!