Oct. 21, 2015

Oct. 21, 2015 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 80 No. 9

2014 FILE PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS | THE WICHITAN

Clynt George, graduate, wades in the water after his boat sank at the 2014 cardboard boat race in Sikes Lake.

Boat race carries on tradition JAKE LANOUX REPORTER

G

et ready to make a splash during the annual cardboard boat race across Sikes Lake, slotted for Oct 30, at 6 p.m.

“It brings the organization’s together in the spirit of friendly comparison and gives everyone on campus a spectacle to enjoy,” said Charlie Zamastil, cycling coach In what is a tradition among organizations across campus, the cardboard boat race adds an exclamation mark to the start of homecoming weekend.

“It’s a pretty cool tradition,” said Ricky Randall, 2014 graduate in finance, and part of last year’s winning team. “Because of the fish fry and all of the alumni that show up to hang out, it’s a good start to the weekend.”

Besides dreams and aspirations, boats are constructed out of only duct tape and cardboard, each team must plan and build their own boat, leading to a vast array of designs and engineering.

“It cost about $50 and took every bit of a week to build,” said Randall of last year’s winning boat.

Each boat must survive an out and back effort across the notorious cardboard graveyard nicknamed “Sikes Lake.” Hit the shore first, and claim everlasting fame.

Yet just completing the race is crowned as an achievement.

“The boat designs generally lack buoyancy,” Zamastil said. “But the real flaw is the lack of cardio fitness the rowers possess, can’t skip cardio, even on chest day.”

PHOTOS BY BRADLEY WILSON, RACHEL JOHNSON AND LAUREN ROBERTS | THE WICHITAN

Logan Holliman, Hunter Robertson, Tristen Cunningham, Taylor Kelly and Triegh Blotzer at the homecoming torchlight parade and bonfire, Oct. 23, 2014. | The Residant Hall Assoctiation’s float in the 2014 Homecoming Parade which went around the whole campus and started from the parking lot by the football practice field and ended by the quad.

Homecoming to cost $29,000

KARA MCINTYRE REPORTER

L

ip sync. Torchlight parade. Bonfire. Cardboard boat race. Bubble soccer. These are just a few of the events of our most highly anticipated week of the year: homecoming.

“We start planning months beforehand. We’ve already had four meetings with the student organizations that are registered,” Mario Ramirez, activities coordinator for Student Development and Orientation, said. “It takes a lot of commitment from our staff and our office in general. We’re coming in early and staying late. I would average about double the amount of hours.”

This year, there is more focus on the decorations and advertising for homecoming than there has been in past years, according to Ramirez.

He says the homecoming student committee plans on wrapping the campus trees in maroon and gold and placing big street stickers around campus - the first in front of the Wellness Center, the second in Sunwatcher Plaza, the third in the stadium, and the fourth somewhere near Clark Student Center.

“Every year after homecoming, there’s a committee review on how the week went,” Ramirez said. “After we met last year, people said we needed to be able to see homecoming in more places and have more decorations, which is something we’re trying to work on this year.”

One week of homecoming costs about $29,000, according to assistant director of Student Development and Orientation Kevin Bazner.

This money is allocated to T-shirts, decorations, entertainment (i.e. hypnotist Chris Jones, bubble soccer equipment, etc.), and especially the bonfire.

“It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work with the facilities and ground crew to make sure that we have the base, the pallets, and things of that

nature, but also to reserve any equipment, having plans in place for parking lot closures, announcements, etc., and especially taking risk management into consideration,” Bazner said. “It’s one of our late night events, but if you ask any of the students, it’s one of the events they look forward to the most and one of the ones they remember after they graduate.”

Jacob Warren, homecoming student committee member and economics sophomore, agreed with Bazner about the bonfire.

“The bonfire is the iconic thing that I remember from last year,” Warren said. “Walking around with all the students, even people I’d never seen before, brought a sense of community.”

Biology sophomore and homecoming student committee member Thomas Mammen said that the committee plays the role of an “umbrella organization” during homecoming week.

“All the competitions, decorations, designs, rules, regulations, etc. are done by the homecoming committee,” Mammen said. “They basically run the whole thing as a collective unit.”

With a confident smirk, Mammen folded his arms behind his head and discussed his favorite homecoming event.

“The bonfire, torchlight parade, and lip sync are all tied together in one night, so it gets the most student turnout,” Mammen said. “Even some Wichita Falls natives come out for those events, and that’s why those three together are my favorites.”

Ramirez leaned back in his chair and gave a wide smile as he discussed his prediction of this year’s homecoming turnout.

“There’s a lot more excitement already building up for homecoming this year, so I think we’ll have a bigger turnout at all of the events.

It’s really up to the organizations to get spirited and how much they excite not just their members, but other students as well.”

2 | Oct. 21, 2015 |

Colorism still exists “

W

adzy get out of the sun, before you get any darker!” my aunt yelled, as I played in the sun. From a young age I was made to believe that being dark skinned was not desirable, Wadzanai then I watched my fellow Dzvurumi lighter skinned black classmates tease my other dark skinned black classmates because of their skin hue. It became evident to me, at the age of twelve, that lighter skinned black people did not experience the same level of oppression as other dark skinned black people. Then I heard of the brown paper bag test, which completely threw me off. I could not believe that such a sickening ideology existed. The paper bag test was used to mark the cutoff of attractive black folks. Anyone darker than a brown paper bag would not make the cut, but if one was lighter than a brown paper bag, they were considered attractive, or beautiful. Till this day, I never cease to ponder the question of why such a practice was enforced. If you think about it, skin hue is the most superficial thing on someone- it does not reflect someone’s heart, kindness or personality.

We live in a society where the higher the color spectrum you are, the more value you are seen to have. Internalized colorism within the black community largely exists till today, especially, with black men towards black, dark skinned women. Just last week, a fellow black, dark skinned brother told a friend of mine she was pretty for a dark skinned girl. When he said this, I felt like a dagger had been placed in my heart.

Are dark skinned girls not supposed to be pretty? I have never heard anyone tell a light skinned girl the same thing. Most black men view proximity to whiteness as a status symbol, dating a black lighter skinned, or white woman is an upgrade from dark-skinned girls. Often, I hear my fellow black brothers say they will never date dark skinned woman because they do not want to have dark babies. When black men say such statements, they fail to real-

ize that a black woman conceived most of them, if they are to have a girl child, whether with a black, light skinned, or dark skinned woman– she is going to be a woman of color. Black men need to analyze their statements thoroughly because such perceptions are the essence of slave mentality and are purely close-minded. I am not advocating that black males should only date black, dark skinned females, but it’s a problem when one person says they will never date a particular group because of skin color, shade and hue.

With liberation of black, dark skinned beauty unforthcoming from the society, dark skinned women need to liberate themselves. It saddens me when black people who have extensive platforms to advocate on racism fail to utilize their platform to speak on the issue. For instance, I find it hypocritical when celebrities, mostly, musicians claim to appreciate all spectrums of beauty, but their music videos never show any dark skinned beauty. It is always black light skinned, biracial, or white girls.

Despite the internalized colorism that continues to be perpetuated in the black community, no words can describe how happy I am to see women like Michelle Obama, Lupita Nyong’o, Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett, Janelle Monae and many others. These women have changed my world. Before them there were no pretty girls who were darker than a paper bag, everything beautiful, as far as black, was girls like Beyoncé- toned and lighter. I am happy that young little girls will have examples of dark skinned women to look up to. They will have such a different experience from us; they will not have to wait until they are grown into their late teens and twenties, and years of fighting against colorism to finally love themselves, like most dark skinned girls had to. They will look into history books and see Michelle Obama, watch movies and see Lupita, watch sports and see Serena Williams. No matter the viewer’s interests, they will see dark skinned women and know they are not ugly.

Wadzanai Dzvurumi is a marketing junior.

wichitan

the

Vo. 80 | No. 9

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

Night at Lake Arrowhead full of bugs, adventures

A

s we approached the entrance to Lake Arrowhead State Park, I looked around at the laughing and smiling faces of my three friends. My stomach drops and I begin to feel uneasy. I tried not to show how nervous Kharmyn I was, this was my first campLewis ing trip. I try reassuring myself by thinking, “we’re only here for one night, we’re sleeping in the car, I brought my knife just in case.” I wasn’t afraid of the outdoors growing up, most likely because I didn’t have to sleep in it.

There is a fee to camp overnight at Lake Arrowhead, a simple campsite with a picnic table and parking spot is $10 and a campsite with water and electric hook-ups are $20.

We drove around the park looking at the different types of campsites and activities.

Even though I was afraid of sleeping outdoors only for one night, I was disappointed that we weren’t staying longer. The park had so much to offer. I imagine it would take at least a week to do them all, the options include: swimming in the lake, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, boating and water skiing to name a few.

As we surveyed the park I also noticed other campers, families in RVs, truck campers, pop up campers, travel trailers, and traditional tents. We drove through twice trying to find a spot for ourselves, the crowds refraining since the lake filled with water this past spring.

Keith Gauthiek, park superintendent, said, “It has been night and day as opposed to during the drought and post-drought, we’ve had a dramatic increase in visitation.”

We brought a few supplies with us, including: a folding table, a canopy, four chairs, a ton of food and snacks, and a cooler with drinks.

My first concern was what would we be eating for dinner. Before I left my apartment I stashed a sandwich and a couple Pop-Tarts in my bag. I didn’t notice the three boxes of firewood, lighter fluid, matches and the firepit/grill. I asked the group what the plan was

PHOTO EDITOR: Rachel Johnson PHOTOGRAPHER: Kayla White, Gabriella Solis, Taylor Courtney, Melissa Laussman DESIGN EDITOR: Brianna Sheen DESIGNER: Justin Marquart ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

and they said we would be roasting sausages, making s’mores, chips, salsa, and cinnamon toast crunch for breakfast in the morning. To make matters worse I saw no foil to put on the grill. Apparently we would be acting like “real campers” and using sticks to roast our sausages and marshmallows over the fire.

After we set up our campsite, we walked to the lake. There were at least 12 boats and 30 fisherman, people riding jet ski’s, and paddling canoes. The park appeared to be filling up for the weekend.

Gauthiek said, “Before the drought we had only a few sites open as compared to now, where we are just about full every weekend.”

As the sun began to go down we walked back to our campsite. We spent the rest of the night becoming grill masters at roasting sausages and s’mores, dancing around the fire, and occasionally running and hiding in the car from strange noises we heard coming from the bushes.

And I can’t forget to mention the restrooms that were home to 2-inch brown spiders. After being scared by just the sight of one as I left the bathroom stall, I quickly washed my hands in the scolding hot water and decided to dry my hands on my jeans as I ran back to the group.

I was the first to wake up the next morning, as I lay there in the front seat watching the sunrise. I breathed in the crisp morning air coming in from the windows and the sunroof. I glanced around at my friends all still asleep in the car. I thought about all the laughs we shared throughout the night over what could be hiding in the bushes, how to keep the firing going, and if we would be attacked while we slept by coyotes. After everyone else woke up we lazily cleaned up our campsite and packed the car before saying goodbye to Lake Arrowhead.

I hope to do it all again soon and for longer than just one night.

Kharmyn Lewis is a mass communication sophomore.

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.

| Oct. 21, 2015 | 3

PHOTOS BY GABRIELLA SOLIS | THE WICHITAN

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson greets customers in Hastings Entertainment for a book signing to promote his book, A More Perfect Union, Oct. 20. Carson signed about 2,000 copies of his book and met with about 20 MSU students. The next stop on his tour for his book signing tour will be Edmond, Oklahoma tomorrow, Oct. 21.

1,400 attend book signing

Presidential candidate Ben Carson meets about 20 MSU students JACOB SMITH REPORTER

T

o promote his new book A More Perfect Union, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson signed books for about 2,000 people at Hastings Oct. 20.

By 1 p.m. the display for Carson’s new book was up and in front of the store’s entrance and three people were already in line waiting to get an autograph after Carson suspended his presidential campaign to take the book-signing tour.

“We are making preparations for our store by doing the best we can to create as much space as possible.” Chris Bales, the manager of Hastings said. “Our main priorities are to ensure line control and make sure our security is ready for the event.”

By 4 p.m. the line, including one student, was beginning to grow and was spreading throughout the store snaking around the aisles.

“I waited in line for two and a half hours,” Lee Ginnings, guitar performance senior, said. “I wanted to be at the front of the line. Dr. Carson has been a hero of mine since I was a little kid. Even before he started his political campaign. When I saw that he was coming here I couldn’t miss out on it.”

Carson’s tour bus parked in front of the entrance at Hastings at 7 p.m. By that time there were more than 600 people crowed inside Hastings. The line began in the movie rental section of the store and wrapped around every individual aisle all the way to the other end of the book section side of the store were Carson would be signing. As the doors were opened Carson stepped inside and the crowd cheered and applauded.

Addison Thompson, finance junior said “I wasn’t surprised to see that most of the crowd were older adults, but seeing younger adults my age both surprised and encouraged me.”

Lee said, “It was surreal getting to meet him. When I got to actually see him and he extended his hand to me, the way he looked me in the eye, I could tell he cared about me. You could tell he cared about those people there.”

Carson was signing about 1,000 books per hour according to staff members traveling with him and advance directions indicated he would not personalize the books and would not sign anything but his book. As the moment of getting his booked signed went by in seconds, Ginnings stared at Carson’s signature in his book and thumbed through the pages

with excitement obviously displayed in his eyes.

“From what I have read his views are solid. He believes in a strong constitution oriented nation. I want to see what his plan is to get the nation out of the state that it is in right now,” Ginnings said.

In his new book, the presidential candidate and former MSU graduation speaker, proposes an admonition to the people of our country reminding them of their freedoms that are expressed in the Constitution. He also urges readers to come to the realization of how fragile these freedoms are and that our liberty must be “clearly defined.”

While answering questions from reporters during the media press conference Carson said there were a lot of reasons why students should support him.

“Were trying to save their future,” Carson said. “One of our biggest things we are worried about is our fiscal responsibility.”

Thompson who has read A More Perfect Union and Carson’s previous publication America the Beautiful said she supports Carson and has gained a lot of knowledge both politically and morally through his words.

“Because of his Christian views and the fact that his morals align with mine stand out to me. It’s important to have a leader that has morals.” Thompson said. “I believe he is a strong candidate. He is a well educated man and I admire his faith in his beliefs and our country.”

However not all students and staff are as supportive of Carson’s beliefs as those in attendance at his book signing. Carson’s second experience in Wichita Falls comes as a stark contrast to his previous visit for the MSU May graduation of 2013.

Carson was invited to be the graduation speaker for MSU’s summer graduation ceremony of that year. This was met with quite a controversy, sparking a protest as 11 faculty and two students staged a walk out during his speech.

“There were a number of people on campus that were upset that he was invited,” said Elizabeth Lewandowski, theater professor. “He was very clear about his political views about people who were gay and elderly, people who weren’t essentially young and white. Everything he had gone on record as saying and believing struck a number of us that he was more close minded then someone should be that was going to be our graduation speaker.”

A special meeting of the faculty senate was held where people were allowed to get up and speak about how they felt about him coming. The president of the university at the time Dr. Rogers was there.

Lewandowski said “The verdict was that it was too close to graduation for us to uninvite him. However Dr. Rogers made it clear that anyone who wanted to respectfully get up and leave should absolutely have the right to do that free of any repercussions.”

A group was formed of both students and faculty that desired to protest Dr. Carson’s speech. In preparation for the protest they crafted multi-colored ribbons and passed them out at graduation for everyone who was willing to stand with them in this statement of unity.

“We waited until Dr. Rogers had given his introduction for Ben Carson and then we very quietly stood up and walked out.

When he was done speaking we came back in and respectfully took our seats.”

Two main factors contribute in the difference between Ben Carson’s first visit to Wichita Falls and his second visit last night. The first of which would be the fact that this event is not campus or college student specific. It was simply a book signing in a public venue. Therefore as far as protest or any negative reactions from the public the likelihood of in event that occurred on his first visit happening again seems slim.

“I mentioned it in passing to a few students and faculty that participated in the walk out and we agree that that is his right.

I have no problem with it now because I am not being asked to sit and listen to what I viewed at that time as hate speech.”

Second would be the fact that he is now running for president and was not during the 2013 graduation walk out. Being a better known public figure he has a higher volume of supporters, especially voting Republicans, who are willing to attend his events.

“He is really just testing the waters for his presidential campaign. This is Texas in while we have more registered democrats than Republicans, more Republicans turn out to vote.”

Lewandowski said. “I think this is a opportune time for him to do a book signing because it draws attention to his campaign.

So I’m sure there was some strategizing to having these things occur at the same time.”

4 | Oct. 21, 2015 |

PHOTO BY GABRIELLA SOLIS | THE WICHITAN

Tiara Campbell, chemistry freshman, and Hannah Foret, exercise physiology freshman, eat lunch in the Mesquite Dining Hall on Oct 19.

Foret says, “I think the styrofoam stuff is harmful to the environment and a waste of money.

We should go back to the real stuff.”

Scarce silverware upsets students

PHOTOS BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Shannon Howerton, theater sophomore, lays on the floor as he does the breathing exercises during a creative exercise meant to have the cast members channel their characters and specific emotions during a rehearsal for Summer and Smoke, Oct. 19. | Christie Maturo, assistant theater professor, leads the cast through a creative exercise Oct. 19.

It takes a village to put on a production

SAMUEL SUTTON REPORTER

C

hick-fil-A, Burrito Bowl, Grill Nations and Freshens. The variety of food brought in by the dining contract with Chartwells has gained popularity from the students. Unfortunately, this much popularity has presented a problem-lack of condiments and silverware.

“It does get frustrating sometimes. I like to get the bowls at Burrito Bowl, but sometimes I have to take them back to my apartment because there isn’t any utensils to eat my food with,” Jared Sharp, a junior in engineering, said.

The dining services don’t spend much on eating utensils due to the new “save water” idea. Le Thurman, director of dining services, said that the managers spend 4 percent of their money on eating utensils and condiments.

“Now that we have to use plastic and styrofoam, we don’t feel the need to spend too much on it,” Thurman said.

Thurman said the lack of utensils and condiments is partially the students’ fault as well.

“I often see students take multiple ‘deals’ of silverware for their dorms. We try to do our part to keep them filled up, but the students need to help out and not take too many for themselves,” Thurman said.

Other students have noticed as well, and want them to do something to try to limit it.

“If I was in charge, I would make sure everything is always filled up, and someone is monitoring it. There are a lot of us here, and so there should be enough silverware for us to use,” Emmy Geive, a freshman in biology, said.

Thurman said, “we do the best we can to monitor it. We don’t have enough employees to put a guy out there to monitor it all day.”

MEKALA CONWAY REPORTER

P

“

laces!” the stage manager calls. All the actors and actresses in the show rush backstage, their hearts pounding from nerves, their hands shaking slightly. The show begins in five minutes, and they’ve been working for weeks to ensure its perfection. The costumes, the sets, the scenes are all as they should be, and not a single thing can go wrong. The auditorium goes black, and the curtain rises, and the show begins. This is what they’ve all been waiting for.

However, the majority of the work that goes into a production happens before the show even starts.

The theater faculty chooses the shows, but first, the students provide input as to what shows they want to perform. To decide on what scripts to perform, the faculty takes into consideration its known acting pool, the physical demands of the show, the size of the set, the number of costumes it will require, and whether undergraduates can handle the show.

“Sometimes, their whole life experience just isn’t great enough to pull off some plays,” Elizabeth Lewandowski, theater department chair and associate professor, said.

It takes months of planning to bring a theatrical production from the script to the stage. Lewandowski uses a week-by-week schedule to keep her students on track.

Planning for the most recent show, “She Kills Monsters,” began in July, Lewandowski said. The actors rehearse for five to six weeks while others work on building the set.

“A great deal of work is done before that,” said Lewandowski, “The faculty and designers have been involved in discussions for a number of weeks.”

Eric Koger, associate theater professor, designs the sets for productions, and creates the lighting and sound sequences. He said his most elaborate set was for August Osage, and it was on a real time crunch.

“I basically had to build a three-story house in three and a half weeks,” Koger said.

During the production of a show, the crew heads meet weekly to report on their progress over the past week and ask for help or additional assistance. Then, the stage manager of the show generates a report to keep track of everyone’s progress.

“If somebody gets behind, we can all see that and we can help them,” Lewandowski said. “It helps keep us all on our toes.”

In addition to overseeing the production of show, Lewandowski designs and creates the costumes used in the performances.

For some of her more elaborate costumes, she’s created a Ghost of Christmas Future from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” that was 13 feet tall, and in a production of Sondheim’s “Follies,” she had an actress wear an 18-inch tall bird cage as a hat, with two lovebirds swinging on a swing inside.

“I’ve done all kinds of things,” Lewandowski said, “Costume design is my art form.”

The design period for Lewandowski’s costumes can range from one week to two months, and construction can take four to six weeks. Of course, it varies depending on the complexity of the show.

“If it’s a show that requires special patterns, I could be up here patterning at six in the morning, or on Sunday mornings,” Lewandowski said.

Koger designs all his own sets for the productions, never repeating designs, even if he builds a set for a show more than once.

“I am a true designer,” he said.

Although Lewandowski envisions her costumes a certain way before she makes them, things do change. She has to keep in mind certain factors that will affect the way her costumes turn out, such as the director’s vision, the actor’s colors in the skin, and what the actor is doing onstage. Lewandowski sometimes has to cut out costumes due to budget or time.

“It’s frustrating when I want to do something, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day.” she said, “But if the change makes the show better, then I have no problem with it. It’s all about serving the script.”

| Oct. 21, 2015 | 5

Events Schedule

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30

8 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

5 p.m.

8 p.m.

Bonfire T-shirt Exchange Begins* Office of Student Development and Orientation (CSC 194) Men's Soccer vs. Rogers State • MSU Soccer Field Lip Sync Competition • Akin Auditorium

12:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27 12-6 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

Bubble Soccer • MSU Quadrangle Volleyball vs. Eastern New Mexico D.L. Ligon Coliseum Hypnotist Chris Jones • CSC Comanche

9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

5-7 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

8 p.m.

All-School Picnic & Maverick's 9th Birthday Party Sunwatcher Plaza • $4 unless on meal plan Homecoming Dance • Jesse Rogers Promenade

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 10 a.m.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

12 p.m.

5 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

9 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

10 p.m.

Bonfire T-shirt Exchange Closes Office of Student Development and Orientation (CSC 194) Fuzzy Ray Classic Basketball Tip-off Dinner & Auction • Sikes Lake Center Torchlight Parade Begins on Comanche Trail (Daniel Building) Homecoming Pep Rally & Bonfire Nocona Trail South Parking Lot Mustangs Madness • D.L. Ligon Coliseum

Tickets • For tickets to athletic events, call 940-397-4779.

#MSUTHRILLER mwsu.edu/homecoming

Golden Grads Alumni Brunch Honoring the Class of 1965 CSC Kiowa Ex-Students Dining Room Fuzzy Ray Classic Golf Tournament The Champions Course at Weeks Park.

Shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. Four-person scramble, $100 per person/$75 Alumni Assoc. member.

Includes green fee, cart, and food.

Fish Fry • Sikes Lake Center • $9 unless on meal plan Volleyball vs. Cameron • D.L. Ligon Coliseum MSU Cardboard Boat Race • Sikes Lake Women's Soccer vs. Texas A&M-Commerce MSU Soccer Field Friday Night Live Rave • Don Flatt Gym

7 p.m.

Homecoming Brunch & Alumni Award Ceremony • $10 • CSC Comanche Suites Homecoming Parade • MSU Campus Judging in Quadrangle Tailgate Party & Competition Memorial Stadium West Parking Lot Football vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville • Memorial Stadium

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 1 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

Women's Soccer vs. Texas Woman's MSU Soccer Field Men’s Basketball vs. LSU-Shreveport (Exhibition) D.L. Ligon Coliseum

Homecoming Shirts • Purchase your 2015 MSU Homecoming long-sleeve shirt for $10 from the Office of Student Development & Orientation. Supplies are limited.

Cash or check only.

*T-shirt Exchange • Bring a T-shirt from another university to the Office of Student Development & Orientation and exchange it for a new 2015 MSU Bonfire T-shirt. Other university T-shirts collected will be appropriately disposed of during the bonfire.

6 | Oct. 21, 2015 |

Computer lab gets much needed upgrade

Career Management Center helps students get a job

MELISSA LAUSSMANN REPORTER

NATALIE BURKHART REPORTER

ithin the last few weeks, computer technicians changed and upgraded the computer lab in Protho-Yeager’s Bea Wood Hall.

Technicians have re-imaged the computers and have addressed technical problems that plagued users in the past.

However, the computer lab is no longer considered open-access to students.

Susan Henson, assistant professor of English, teaches technical writing classes in the computer lab.

“One of the problems students have had was staying connected to the internet, and the disruptions make instruction and learning difficult to do,” Henson said.

Problems such as internet connection, saving documents to Microsoft Word and opening up certain web pages were common while students worked on assignments. Students would have to move around the lab to find a computer that was functioning properly.

Melissa Nivens, lecturer, said the few times she has had to work in the lab with her class, students were unable to log on and connect to the internet.

“It’s frustrating for students who have to hop from one PC to the next, in order to get work done,” Nivens said. Valuable class time is lost whenever this occurs, she added.

Jim Hall, networking services manager, said the company that runs the security product underneath Windows, rewrote the driver which did not function properly with the Windows operating system.

“It was very frustrating for students, faculty and staff, because we have been building labs for 20-something years and we’ve never seen anything like this,” Hall said.

But improvements have been made by the company making the security product and the information technology’s office to address these issues.

“We’ve doubled the RAM in the machines to give them more room to work internally,” Hall said. “We’ve replaced the switching gear that they connect to, which aggregates them into the internet and we’re putting new fiber optic cable into the building, not just for the lab, but for the entire building, which will be about a 400 percent increase in capacity for that entire facility.”

Other changes include the absence of a computer lab assistant. The Bea Wood computer lab is no longer open-access to

t is easy for students to get caught up in all the festivities associated with graduation and to forget the next step: finding a job to begin their career.

Students can start their job search at the Career Management Center on campus, where staff members help with networking, resume formatting, interviewing, etc. Dirk Welch, director of the Career Management Center, said 85 percent of graduates last year found jobs within three months of graduation.

“We really work hard towards helping MSU graduates separate themselves or highlight their qualities, skills, and experiences in such a way that it will help them when they are competing with other job seekers,” said Welch.

The Career Management Center website has a salary survey given to employers so that graduates of different disciplines can see estimates of their starting salary in each field. Starting salary can be found by bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, discipline, and region. Welch said that MSU graduates are in line with this nationwide survey. Students can see whether job offers line up with those typical of their field.

Welch said, “All MSU students can do well, and one of the things that we work with in the Career Management Center is helping students regardless of their discipline.”

The Career Management Center also helps students to find locations where there are a lot of job opportunities for their particular industry.

Staff experienced in the student’s chosen field can also help with this.

Brandi Reid, marketing senior, said she has already used the Career Management Center in some of her business classes. The students had to take in their resume, and Reid has also used them before for interviewing techniques.

Although the Career Management Center is located on campus, the job searches staff members assist with are not limited to the local area.

“The mustangshire.org job search engine actually has millions of opportunities,” Welch said. He added that the search engine pulls from various websites so that students can see job availability in specific zones. Welch explained that there are other search engines which are specific to different industries.

Welch said that in general, it is taking students on average six months to find a job postgraduation. However, the process may be shorter depending on the demand in each field.

Reid said she is hoping it will take her no more than three months to find a job, but that realistically she estimates it to take about three to six months.

“The Dallas/Fort Worth area is an area in

I

W

PHOTO BY MELISSA LAUSSMAN | THE WICHITAN

Students in a technical writing class use the Prothro-Yeager computer lab located in Beawood Hall, Oct. 15. students.

“That computer lab used to be an open computer lab where any student could go in and use it. We manage lab assistants for all the open computer labs,” Hall said.

The Bea Wood lab is not considered open because it is in use for classes the majority of the day. Therefore, a decision was made by the information technology office to remove the lab assistants and place them into public computer labs, such as the one in Moffett, where students may go in at anytime during operating hours.

“We are not staffing depar tmentspecific labs on campus, that is typically handled by the departMELISSA NIVENS ment,” Hall LECTURER said.

Shane Perry, computer lab manager, said labs such as the one in Bolin’s computer science department and West College’s third floor, are staffed with lab assistants hired by their departments.

Funds for consumables such as paper and toner are no longer the responsibility of the information technology department, though they have continued to utilize a part of their budget to help with the transition. Funding now falls under the departments utilizing the Bea Wood lab.

“We will continue to support that lab from a technical standpoint, and if there are any issues to resolve, we are here to help,” Perry said.

“It’s frustrating for students who have to hop from one PC to the next in order to get work done.”

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Tiffany Ramsey, career management center secretary, works at her desk in the Career Management Center office in Clark Student Center, Oct. 20. which a lot of our graduates are going to work,” Welch said.

He said since such a large portion of the student body is from this area, it is not surprising that this is where a lot of students want to pursue their careers. This area is also home to a lot of job opportunities, due to its size and continued growth.

Reid said she would like to begin her career in an area such as DFW or Austin. She knows that both of these places hold a lot of opportunity.

No matter where students choose to pursue their career, Welch said that it is important to prepare for the job search process ahead of time.

“I’m going to start looking before I graduate, that way it won’t be as stressful,” Reid said.

She said she is even considering getting her master’s degree after graduating with her bachelor’s. This can increase pay and further experience for some careers.

Welch said, “The Career Management Center would encourage students to get involved in networking and the job search process early on in their senior year if they haven’t already begun to make connections with professionals in their field.”

Car eer M anagement Ce n te r : h ttp : //www. m ws u . e d u /c a r e e r /

| Oct. 21, 2015 | 7

FOOTBALL REMAINS UNDEFEATED

PHOTO BY TAYLOR COURTNEY | THE WICHITAN

The Prairie Moon Band plays at the “Walk to end Alzheimer’s” put on by Sigma Kappa, Sept. 28.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s raises more than $50,000 TAYLOR COURTNEY REPORTER

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Vincent Johnson, mechanical engineer freshman, is given a hand-off from quarterback, Quade Coward, exercise physiology junior, and runs the ball during the game against Humboldt State University in Memorial Stadium, Oct. 17.

MSU beat HSU 35-10 in the annual “pink-out” game. The next game will be Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. at A&M-C Memorial Stadium against Texas A&M Commerce.

E

arly last Saturday morning Sikes Lake was full of color. Blue, yellow, orange, and purple flowers everywhere, each signifying a different mean-

ing.

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s has been held at the lake for years now. This year a total of $54,000 was raised, and money is still coming in. There were 350 in attendance. The top three teams were Sigma Kappa Gamma Tau, That Gross Team, and Presbyterian Manor/House of Hope. The top fundraiser, an alumni of MSU and Gamma Tau, raised a grand total of $5,100. “I want to support the sorority’s main philanthropy, but also it’s such a growing disease in the United States, it effects so many people,” said Connie Cannedy.

Patty Taylor, who was been putting on this event for over 8 years now said, “You are more likely to win the lottery than to not be affected by Alzheimer’s disease.” Alzheimer’s is the only cause of death in the top 10 diseases in America that cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed. It’s the 6th leading cause of death in the US, and every 67 seconds someone in the US develops it.

Along side her owner, Claire, a care dog was also in attendance Saturday. Her owner said she visits all types

CRIME LOG Oct. 11

Oct. 12

Oct. 12

Oct. 13

Criminal mischief | 6:48 p.m. | 2400 10th | A student noticed a window was broken at a fraternity house.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR COURTNEY | THE WICHITAN

Before heading to “Walk to End Alzheimer’s”, everyone holds up flags during the promise ceremony on Sept. 28. of homes every week like Brookdale, Texoma Christian Care, and even visits MSU on finals week. Care dogs have been used for years as a way of comfort to people at a turning point in their lives, or just a de-stressor.

Aggravated robbery | 7:03 a.m. | Taft Blvd. | Police responded to an aggravated robbery call.

Oct. 12

Theft: Misdemeanor | 2:20 p.m. | Clark Student Center | A student reported to that he had lost his backpack. When it was located his wallet was missing.

Accident: Duty on striking unattended vehicle | 2:30 p.m. | Parking lot #10 | A commuter student reported a hit and run accident

Duty on striking unattended vehicle | 11:50 a.m. | Parking lot #10 | A student reported that while her vehicle was in a parking lot an unknown vehicle hit it in the lower back left quarter panel, causing very minor damage.

UPCOMING EVENTS Surviving an Active Shooter Situation

5 Essentials for Entrepreneurs

Volleyball v.

Texas A&M Kingsville

Oct. 21 at 9:30 a.m. and Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m. | CSC Shawnee Theatre | Free

Oct. 21 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Dillard 189 | $10 for provided lunch. RSVP by 8 a.m. on Oct. 21

Artist-Lecture Series: Dr. Neil Suneson

Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. | D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Free with MSU ID

Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. | Bolin 100 | Free

Men’s Soccer v. Rogers State Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. | MSU Soccer Field | Free with MSU ID

Safe Zone Training

Oct. 21 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Dillard 189 | Free. RSVP to Chris D’Amico or Jonathon Quam

Volleyball v.

Eastern New Mexico

Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. | D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Free with MSU ID

Moffett Movie Madness

Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. | Moffett Library first floor reading area | Free

8 | Oct. 21, 2015 |

PHOTO BY GABRIELLA SOLIS | THE WICHITAN

Mason Wilson, management junior, and Brandon Allen, engineering junior, share their love for man buns outside the CSC on Oct. 19. Allen said, “I grew it out just to see if I could grow it out for a year. The bun just sort of happened.” Wilson admitted, “I originally did it as a joke, but then I was like whatever. The hardest part is that I have to clean up the sides a lot.”

To bun or not to bun YVETTE ORDONEZ REPORTER PHOTO BY KAYLA WHITE | THE WICHITAN

The presidential portraits displayed in the Hardin Administration Building, on Oct. 20th.

Presidential portraits play musical chairs EMMA LABEDIS REPORTER

W

ithin the Hardin building, former president Moon’s portrait had been taken down for Rogers’ at the end of the spring semester but is currently back up.

“Dr. Rogers’ portrait has been done for a number of years,” Julie Gaynor, director of marketing and public information, said. “He did not want his portrait hanging while he was in office, so the plan was that his would always be in that final spot.”

At the end of his time as the school’s president, Rogers wanted to see his portrait and how it would look when hung, so Moon’s was taken down. During mid-September, the parts for installation arrived and allowed the portraits to be fixed.

“It was just a temporary thing,” Gaynor said.

“He wouldn’t have been able to see it before he left.

There were a few people on staff that wanted to do that for him as a tribute so that he could see his portrait on his last day in office.”

The process of installation takes time because of how the portraits are hung. Special mechanisms have to be placed so that the paintings are secured to the wall and locked into place. From the amount of time it takes to hang up Rogers’ portrait, it was decided that Moon’s would be taken down briefly.

“You can’t just take it down, it’s like an art museum,” Cindy Ashlock, executive assistant to the

president, said. “That’s why it took so long to get Dr. Rogers’ portrait up. We took Dr. Moon’s down and just moved Dr. Rogers’ over in that spot so he could see what it would look like.”

Originally there had only been three portraits of presidents Boren, White and Barker hanging in the reception area for the president. During Rodriguez’s term, a painted portrait of the first president, Clark, was donated by his family.

“Dr. Rodriguez thought it would be important that portraits of all the former presidents be displayed,” Gaynor said. “Under his direction, they gathered a bunch of photographs of those presidents who were missing.”

The pictures were colorized and framed for display and continued to hang within the president’s reception area for many years following this.

“When Dr. Moon became president, he had all the portraits converted into paintings,” Gaynor said. “He started that process, and once they were completed, he had a nice little reception out in the Hardin foyer to put all the paintings up.”

Future portraits of the presidents will not have space to be placed because all the current spots are being used by the pictures that are hanging now.

“We’re running out of spaces,” Gaynor said.

“We now have our 11th president and we have ten slots. That’s something that we’ll see about at a later time, but I don’t think there’s any hurry.”

T

he man bun is the new trend going on in men’s hairstyles. The trend has reached Midwestern students and it has yet to diminish as a popular way to style long men hair.

“I think they’re cute. Depending on how they wear it,” Yajaira Medellin, sophomore in social work, said.

The man bun is a men’s hairstyle that started long before 2014, when hipsters began to wear it and made it popular. The term “man bun” refers to the particular placing of a bun on a male’s head as a trendy hairstyle.

The man bun is also known as the “bro bun” and the “hipster bun.” The semi bun, or “topknot”, is a bun that is made up of only the hair on top of the head, with short sides.

The trend started with men growing their hair out. This has saved money and is easy to maintain, according to man bun wearers.

Alejandro Prieto, sophomore in engineering, said he didn’t start wearing his man bun for the trend. He said he wore it because his hair was long and in his way.

“I wore a man bun because it was simple and it held my hair at work,” Prieto said. “I had it for two years or so. My coworkers said it was a mess and that I should cut it. Then it got to a good length and I did the man bun.”

Perhaps men who tried a bun initially did it for the same reason.

“I actually believe the guys that do have it aren’t trying to do it as a fashion trend, but just cause it is convenient for them to put their long hair up,” Medellin said.

Prieto is an example of a student that did it for the convenience.

“Putting it in a bun is quick and easy compared to, you know, trying to do something with it,” Prieto said.

Whatever the reason, the ladies on campus seem to like it.

“I know this guy. He has long hair and I didn’t think anything of it.

He obviously didn’t care for his hair growth either, but anyways. He had his hair in a high man bun, plus his naturally wavy hair was just, bam. An eye catcher. He had it right with the natural hair falling and not too tight,” Medellin said.

Ashlee Terrell, hairstylist at The Finest Hair and Nail Salon, has also noticed the new trend and said that not everyone can pull it off.

“It looks good on like skater, hippyish guys, not crack-heads that can’t afford a haircut. If he is groomed it can be very attractive,” Terrell said. “They can come in and just edge it up to have it look more groomed for just $6.”

It seems that it does take a certain type of man to pull off this new trend.

Students agree that hair length and the messiness are factors that must be taken to consideration.

“When you see someone for the first time, your first opinion is on looks and personality comes second,” Medellin said. “I’ve seen several. They all rocked it. I don’t think many guys try it. They think they can’t pull it off.”

The man bun is here to stay, but according to Terrell, you don’t need one to be attractive.

“You can be sexy with or without a man bun. It’s all about swag,” Terrell said.