March 28, 2024

Mustangs wrap up season

Artist of the Week, page 5

Graduation return saves thousands of dollars

CECIL WITHERSPOON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Last December’s commencement ceremony was back on campus for the first time in over 15 years. Students crossed the stage in D.L. Ligon Coliseum, just a few minutes’ walk from the classes, dorm halls and student areas that made up such a large part of their lives for years. The previous decadeand-a-half before fall 2023 commencement saw students commuting to the Multipurpose Events Center in downtown Wichita Falls for a university-wide commencement extravaganza.

Now, commencement is split into three separate ceremonies; one for the colleges of Dillard, Fain and West, one for Gunn, McCoy and Prothro-Yeager and a separate ceremony for graduate students.

Bolin distinguished chair of piano Ruth Morrow is a mace-bearer, an honor granted to long-tenured faculty. Mace-bearers get to lead students out into the graduation assembly.

After starting nearly 35 years ago in 1989, Morrow said she remembers the days before graduation split, then moved off-campus.

“At first we just had one, and it was long,” Morrow said, dragging out the word “long,” before continuing, “So then we broke it in two.

And President Rodriguez would actually have a lunch for the faculty in-between. Because every faculty member was supposed, and expected to go to both graduations. Yeah, so it didn’t matter if you had people graduating in that graduation or not.”

Now, faculty are only required to attend graduation for their respective college. The change in format allows both students and faculty to get in and out quicker while returning to MSU’s roots.

President Stacia Haynie walked the stage at D.L. Ligon in her time as a student, and said she’s glad to see the event back at MSU.

“I’ve only ever graduated from MSU in the Coliseum, so it was especially exciting for me to be here when it was returning to campus,” Haynie said.

While part of Haynie’s job is leading the university in areas like culture and heritage, another part is balancing the school’s budget. The school entered the fiscal year with a budget deficit of over seven million dollars, and has since cleared up around half of that deficit.

Moving back to campus from the MPEC allows MSU to save nearly $20,000 annually.

Per information obtained via an open records request to the Texas Tech University System, MSU paid over $9,500 to rent the facility for last spring’s commencement.

Registrar Amanda Raines said the cost savings are important to the school.

“In regards to the cost savings, of course bringing it back to campus meant that we were able to use our own facility. So I’m not being charged a rental fee for the Coliseum, whereas downtown using the MPEC, being involved with the city of Wichita Falls, quite a gigantic cost savings as far as renting out the MPEC,” Raines said.

One initial concern students had with the move back to campus was that the university required tickets for admission since the venue was smaller. After testing out the format last December, Raines said those limitations have been removed.

“But because the Coliseum is small, we thought, this very first go around, yes, we are going to have to limit the number of family and friends that are going to be able to participate just because we didn’t know what we were looking at,” Raines said, continuing, “Turns out that that is not necessary. So moving forward, tickets are not going to be allowed and until enrollment grows, that’s not going to be a concern.”

Raines added that the university will continue to look for ways to fine-tune the event and improve the experience for students and their families.

“We’ll be having meetings coming up, you know, the wrongs, the rights, what do we need to change. And there’s just a few things that we’re going to tweak. Not anything in particular that’s going to drastically change anything, but it’s just the growing pains of what we experienced,” Raines said.

Morrow said an added benefit of the move is that it showcases the campus to more community members and families.

“For a lot of people I think it, it gives that opportunity for students to show off where

Editor-in-Chief: Cecil Witherspoon

Design Editor: Emily Copeland

Managing Editor: George Svoboda

Photography Editor: Stephanie Garcia

Business Manager: Tiffany Haggard

Vol. 88 | No. 11

Midwestern State University

Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201

3410 Taft Blvd. | Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704

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they’ve been to family and friends who come. And hopefully, for us to show off our campus, especially to younger siblings who may want to come here. It’s like they see more, they actually get to see us as a university in a way that they wouldn’t,” Morrow said.

Spring commencement is scheduled for May 10-11, with the graduate ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, May 10, followed by the Dillard, Fain and West ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11 and Gunn, McCoy and Prothro-Yeager right after at 2 p.m.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN Graduation will be on May 10 and 11.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN Graduation will be held at the D. L. Ligon Coliseum, March 7.

Human trafficking across Texas

GEORGE SVABODA MANAGING EDITOR

Human trafficking is an egregious crime many people know about, but the realities of this dark world go deeper than many assume. Experts in the field divide the crime into two primary categories: sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

The Texas Attorney General’s office defines sex trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.

The office defines labor trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for forced labor or services. Sex trafficking can be a form of labor trafficking.

While trafficking of an adult must involve force, coercion or fraud, these three aspects do not have to be involved in the case of a minor.

Human smuggling is another side of the same coin. Human smuggling is the act of illegally bringing a person across a border. While smuggling can lead to trafficking, that is not always the case.

Smugglers at the Southern Border of the U.S. often charge exorbitant fees, requiring migrants to work off their debt. To get the migrants to work, smugglers usually turn them over to traffickers, who take part of the migrants’ salaries for themselves and the smugglers.

MSU Chair of social work Catherine Earley works with several organizations, including Traffic911 and Polaris, that help sex trafficking victims and survivors. Those actively being trafficked are considered victims, while survivors are those who are no longer in that life.

Human trafficking is often associated with larger cities such as Dallas and Houston, but Earley says the problem is widespread. Texas has the second-highest rate of human trafficking of any state, behind only California.

“If you see something suspicious, say something. You say, there’s a non-emergency line you can call, 7205000, and just say, here’s some information that look suspicious to me, just letting someone know. "

TYE DAVIS

“We somehow feel safer as a society to think, ‘Oh, that happens in Houston, that happens in Dallas,’” Earley said, continuing, “It’s happening all over the country, in small cities, you know, even very rural areas it’s happening. But, it’s really happening in small communities around here.”

According to Earley, the Texas triangle, the area connecting several significant cities between interstates 10, 35 and 45, has the highest concentration of human trafficking in the state.

Wichita Falls Chief Investigator Tye Davis has a long history in law enforcement, having worked with an FBI joint task force for 12 years, going as far as to be deputized by the FBI. Davis took an interest in human trafficking after working in the narcotics unit.

According to Davis, some trafficking organizations span several states.

“The one we investigated here had ties to Georgia, Oklahoma, Nevada, and then many cities here in Texas,” Davis said.

The advent of social media has raised concerns for parents, with traffickers utilizing platforms to find potential victims.

“It’s a lot easier for a trafficker to approach a kiddo who just maybe, just talks about, you know, "FML" or "KMS" or some of these things that kids post that sort of flag them as being especially vulnerable,” Earley said.

Traffickers, according to Davis, often refer to themselves as “street psychologists,” and search for people who may not defend themselves. Many victims come from backgrounds of addiction, poverty and broken families; traffickers often target children who have run away from home.

violence upon them to keep them within the trafficker’s control. Another responsibility of the bottom is to teach other victims how to do their work. In exchange, the bottom is usually treated better by the trafficker, receiving better sleeping conditions and food than the other victims.

Many sex traffickers also build a toxic patriarchal bond with their victims, forcing the victims to use terms like “daddy” and being the only source of housing and food in their lives.

Generally, traffickers brand their victims with tattoos, marking them as the traffickers' property to prevent the victims from going to other trafficking organizations.

Because the industry is illegal, it is nearly impossible to find statistics regarding the number and demographics of trafficking victims and the industry’s value. Davis stresses that human trafficking exists due to greed. If there were not a demand for sex and labor trafficking, the industry would not exist.

Due to the lack of opportunity, human trafficking predominately affects impoverished communities. Traffickers are rarely part of other criminal organizations; however, they frequently work with human smugglers, cartels and gangs. Many cartels use labor and sex traffic as an aspect of their business.

Sex traffickers use psychologically and physically abusive tactics to keep victims under their control. Many give victims drugs, creating addiction and a dependency on the trafficker for a source of drugs.

Sex traffickers commonly create a hierarchy within their victims. The first victim, referred to as a “bottom,” is given power over the other victims and perpetrates

“There’s a need, for these Johns. Say the men create the ecosystem, and these people out there to fulfill a need that the men are seeking. And so what you end up having is the Johns are seeking and willing to pay for sex. The people that promote prostitution are willing to take their money for the sex, and then, but you need somebody to fulfill that need and the people stuck in the middle. Maybe like your runaways, your young teens that grow up and get into that business, and get almost trapped, if you will,” Davis said.

People can keep themselves and others safe by recognizing the signs of trafficking. If a child suddenly has new items generally out of their means, such as expensive clothing or phones that they keep hidden, they may be a victim of trafficking. Earley and Davis emphasized that you can prevent trafficking by reporting signs to the authorities.

PHOTO BY GEORGE SVABODA | THE WICHITAN According to Tye Davis, Wichita Falls Chief Investigator, the Wichita County District Attorney takes human trafficking cases exceptionally seriously, March 22.

PHOTO BY CECIL WITHERSPOON | THE WICHITAN Centennial Hall houses MSU's social work program, which focuses on helping victims and the less fortunate, March 28.

SAE pies for philanthropy

MADISYN BUTLER REPORTER

Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosted Pie-an-SAE during its annual Paddy’s Week, raising money and awareness for the local nonprofit Patsy’s House.

Luke Roy, management information systems junior and SAE philanthropy chair, shared more about Patsy’s House.

“Their speciality is instead of a cop interviewing a kid who’s been sexually assaulted or domestically abused, these people are specifically trained to talk to these kids and help them. And they’ll go to courts and talk to these kids. Pretty much just interview them and help them out. And that’s where all of our funds go to,” Roy said.

Paddy’s Week is a national event where SAE chapters raise money for a local philanthropy through different events. The chapter raised around $4,100.

This year, SAE raised $3,600, $210 coming from Pie-an-SAE.

This year’s event included a McAlister’s fundraiser. Members sold grilled cheese and took street donations. The fraternity also encouraged other Greek Life organizaions to get involved through competition.

“There’s like a whole point system and whoever wins gets $200 to their own charities. That’s how we get the sororities involved,” Roy explained. “We make it a whole competition. And then, they make coffins for us because Paddy Murphy died. It’s really cool coffins.”

Paddy Murphy was a member of SAE and is the namesake of the philanthropy week.

“There’s a story of Paddy Murphy who was a mob gangster back during the prohibition days. And he was

shot and killed by an FBI agent, who was also a member in SAE, and he did not know until he shot and killed them," Roy said, adding, "And he stayed there until he died because the whole moral of the story is we are gonna be brothers no matter where we end up in life.”

Nationally, SAE also participates in Movember, which happens in November and raises awareness for men’s health issues, including mental health.

“Whenever you look at a man, they shouldn’t show emotions, but that’s what Movember does. It’s like, no you’re allowed to show your emotions and get help,” Roy said, continuing, “You can be a man, but showing emotions is a part of being a man. Not showing emotion is not being a part of a man.”

Damsel entertains, but doesn't wow

PHOTO COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Following its release on March 8, "Damsel" has remained in Netflix's Top 10 list, March 26.

EMILY COPELAND REPORTER

Deception, dragons and a damsel in distress make for a delightfully dark twist on classic fairy tales in Damsel, a story the Brothers Grimm would be proud of.

Millie Bobby Brown’s portrayal of Elodie is spot on, following her roles of the titular Enola Holmes and Eleven in "Stranger Things." She is fierce and dedicated, willing to do whatever is necessary for her family and her people.

The movie begins with the standard trope of a young woman being dutiful and agreeing to marry a prince in order to provide her kingdom enough gold and food to survive an unbearable winter.

What Elodie does not know is she is signing on to be sacrificed to a dragon to protect the kingdom of her new husband.

Although this movie is not devoid of cliches and typical fairy tale tropes, it offers a fresh perspective

with strong, female characters that persevere in spite of the men in their lives.

My favorite stray from typical fairy tale lore is the relationship between Elodie and her stepmother, Lady Bayford, played by Angela Bassett. Even though it is painfully obvious that Elodie misses her mother, she is loved by Lady Bayford, who spends much of the movie trying to protect her stepdaughters.

The second atypical element is the happy ending, which has nothing to do with a man. There is no knight in shining armor or grand gesture of romantic love. It is simply a band of women rebuilding their lives after a traumatic experience.

While I do not see this movie going on to win any major awards or becoming a classic, it was an enjoyable watch. I thought it was shot beautifully and the special effects, especially the dragon, were very well done.

It held my attention, which says

a lot considering I typically end up scrolling on my phone less than 30 minutes into a movie.

RATING: 4/5

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN Leslie Cortes, pre dental hygiene sophomore, pies Isaiah Corrales, computer science sophomore, March 19.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN WILSON Elodie, played by Millie Bobby Brown, takes care of her sister, Floria, played by Brooke Carter, after the loss of their mother, March 26.

The Wichitan’s Artist of the Week: WILL NORSTROM

SABRINA HARRISON ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Will Norstrom is a junior art major who is still exploring all of his creative possibilities.  Norstrom has been creating art since he was a child. Art comes as naturally as breathing to him.

“I have always, like, done art. It’s just kind of one of those things like, ‘Why do you walk?’” Norstrom said.

This makes sense considering that Norstrom’s creative process is free-form. He doesn’t often have intricate plans or designs before he starts creating- he just starts.

“With a lot of the things I make, I don’t have a plan. So, it just kind of, like, leads me, almost,” Norstrom said, adding, “Kind of like when you’re cloud watching and you see the shape. I feel like I do that with the stuff that I make.”

Despite his process being free-form, Norstrom has had

difficulties bringing exactly what is in his head to life.

“Sometimes I can see, and it’s getting better now that I’m learning more, but I can see the thing in my head but it doesn’t come out right. So then, I’ve just kind of adapted to like a good middle ground,” Norstrom said.

This did not deter him; in fact, it helped influence the subjects in his art pieces.

“If I’m trying to draw a person that actually looks like a person, and then I mess it up, I’m gonna turn it into a monster,” Norstrom explained, adding, “So, that’s kind of where a lot of my things start. Like I’ll draw, like, a dog and I’m like, ‘This dog has a lot of lumps. Now it’s a squid.’”

Two of his pieces that make use of these monsters are “Help” and “Thanks For The Help.”

“Help” was created in Fall 2023 and depicts monsters and six fingered hands surrounding a man who is curled up and sad. “Thanks For The Help” was created as a final project and depicts the same man being lifted up into the light with four monsters surrounding him once more.

"So, I see it as kind of like, you have like four elements like, air, water, earth, fire, and you have this guy in the middle that’s being brought up into the light,” Norstrom said.

Though Norstrom uses a wide variety of mediums, his favorite medium to work with is polymer clay.

“I love making weird things and drawing weird things,” Norstrom explained.

After college, Norstrom plans on either selling his art or teaching others how

to make art.

“I would love to make a living off of selling my art or even like, teaching people how to do stuff that I do. But not, like, a ‘teacher’ teacher.”

As for right now, Norstrom is content with selling some of his polymer pieces at the art walk happening on April 4th.

For Norstrom, art has been a way to experiment and express

himself. Art is about making mistakes and creating.

"A lot of people are afraid to make stuff because they’re worried it’s gonna be bad, but I think it’s so important to just like, not judge yourself too much when it comes to art. But to just like, make it anyways. Even if it’s bad, ‘cause you still made it," Norstrom said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL NORSTROM

Will Norstrom, art junior, describes art as being as natural as breathing or blinking for him, March 24.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL NORSTROM

Norstrom's piece called "Help" depicting monsters, 2023.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL NORSTROM

"Thanks For The Help," represents the four elements, water, air, fire and earth, 2023.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL NORSTROM "Acknowledgements," Norstrom used an anatomy and physiology book to create the piece, 2023.

The Wichitan’s Song of the Week: "THICC AS THIEVES"

JOSEPH ARTHUR REPORTER

Welcome back to the Wichitan’s Song of the Week. In celebration of Women's History Month, this edition's pick is “Thicc as Thieves” by singer-songwriter, Lauren Alaina featuring Tennessean-born singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson.

Released Sept. 18, 2023, as the sixth track to her fourth studio album “Unlocked,” “Thicc as Thieves” is a song about southern culture and the southern feminist movement. In the song, Alaina and Wilson sing about the joys of being a southern woman and the camaraderie that comes with being in that community. They lay emphasis on unity, self-confidence and the unbreakable bond that southern women share.

In the song, the duo celebrates the empowerment of southern women and southern style and charm. They highlight the importance of unapologetically being yourself, southern confidence, self-expression and love of life.

Born in 1994 in Rossville, Georgia, Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth is an American country singer-songwriter. She is best known for being a runner-up for the tenth season of American Idol, her amazing songwriting

abilities and her membership at the Grand Ole Opry, where she is its youngest member ever.

Alaina grew up surrounded by music. Her father, who was employed as a process technician in Chattanooga, Tennessee, instilled a love for singing from an early age in her.

At the young age of three, Alaina began her musical journey, singing wherever she could, from church gatherings to family events, and even local restaurants. Her talent grew, leading her to join her town’s kids' choir and frequent karaoke spots during family vacations.

At the age of eight, Alaina won the talent competition of the Southern Stars Pageant. Her success continued as she graced the kids talent stage at Chattanooga's Riverbend Festival, becoming a regular performer there.

At ten, she ventured to Orlando, Florida, emerging victorious in the competitive American Model and Talent Competition.

Alaina's dedication to music allowed her to sing with the Georgia Country Gospel Music Association's children's group and make her mark in Nashville's music scene by performing in local bars on Broadway. Her talent was recognized further when she gained the top spot in the WinniSTAR youth talent contest at Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park in 2009. However, Alaina's journey to success was not without its challenges.

Before her breakthrough on American Idol, she faced rejection twice on America's Got Talent. Despite setbacks, her determination remained unwavering.

Inspired by her cousin Holly Witherow, who battled a brain tumor, Alaina's passion for music became a source of strength and purpose. Through perseverance and talent, she would soon carve her path to fame.

“Thicc as Thieves” is my favorite song from the album and Alaina’s entire discography.

The song beautifully portrays the unbreakable bond between two southern girls. Alaina

and Wilson use metaphors like "Thelma and Louise" and "faded blue denim," to vividly paint a picture of their friendship.

They exude confidence and charm as they flaunt their style, expressing themselves freely without apology. Their lyrics, such as "Flauntin' what we got like we do it for a livin'," symbolize their strong self-expression and love for life.

Alaina and Wilson emphasize their unwavering support for each other, encapsulated in the line, "I got her back, and she got mine." This declaration underscores their trust and reliance on one another, reinforcing the depth of their friendship.

The song celebrates the essence of strong female bonds, highlighting loyalty and support. It serves as a reminder of the joy and laughter shared with friends, emphasizing the profound connections formed. Ultimately, this song embodies the resilient spirit of southern girls, their love for life and their ability to spread happiness to those around them.

As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any song and Alaina and Wilson understood that when writing “Thicc as Thieves.” In the song, they utilize metaphor and pathos to narrate the love for southern women and southern culture. My favorite lyric in the entire song is:

“We're thicker than our accents, thicker than our hair.

Thicker than the Georgia and Louisiana air

Thicker than molasses from the patches to the seams

Stealin' hearts is in our jeans.

Us southern girls, we're thick as thieves, we're thick as thieves.

We're thick as thieves, we're thick as thieves.”

“Thicc As Thieves” is an exhilarating and joyous song that celebrates the enduring bond between Southern women. Its lyrics vividly depict carefree attitudes, boldly embracing their individuality while remaining steadfast allies.

RATING: 4/5

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIG LOUD RECORDS

Lauren Alaina's EP entitled "Unlocked" released on June 9, 2023. "Thicc As Thieves," was included on the album featuring a collaboration with Lainey Wilson.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW WENDOWSKI

Lauren wrote the song alonside a collection of other country artists such as Rocky Block, Luke Bryan, and Parker Welling, March 26.

"You're capable of great things" TRACK COACH AIMS FOR EMPOWERMENT

DONOVAN JACKSON REPORTER

As head cross country and track coach Kelsey Bruce and her athletes begin their outdoor season in track, they hope to improve on their indoor season. Bruce and her runners discussed their success at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships in February.

The Mustangs entered the Mosier Indoor Facility in Norman, Oklahoma with eight runners and looked to finish the indoor season on a high point and claim the conference title.

“It’s fun to see the girls rise to the competition” Bruce said.

The Mustangs scored a total of 24 points in the competition to finish in seventh place.

The Mustangs reached personal bests and ran some of the fastest times for the program in nearly a decade.

“I think that’s the cool thing about track is like you can see your progress.  I think that’s the cool thing about our sport that maybe not other sports have the luxury of. This group that we have this year. It’s been a group that just really wants to be better and they work well together to be better," Bruce said.

The Mustangs displayed their cohesiveness at the indoor championships as their distance medley relay team won bronze. The team turned in a time of 12:20.28, the third fastest

time in program history.

Nursing freshman Jaycee Lyons, one of the four runners in the distance medley relay team, led the Mustangs in scoring for the event. She scored 6.5 points of the 24 points and ran a couple of her personal best, in her conference indoor championship debut.

“Starting off was a little rocky and then I worked my way through the training and practices and meets," Lyons said, when discussing her performance at the event.

Lyons ran her personal best time of 5:07.03 in the 1-mile, which is the fastest time for the Mustangs at the event since 2016. She capped off another personal best with a time of 10:29.27, the fastest time for a Mustang since 2014. Lyons said that her personal best times are progress toward what she wants to see results in May.

“I’m trying to build a base. I’m trying to build my endurance, my speed and practices do get hard but you grow from those," Lyons said.

Another highlight for the Mustangs at the conference indoor championships was kinesiology junior Daiza Jones becoming the first runner in Midwestern State history to qualify for the 400-meter dash finals. Jones credits her success at the event to letting go of her  “fear and anxiety” when running.

“I’m a very anxious runner and a very doubtful runner and I think finally everything just came together. I was able to approach my race and just let go like whatever you run, that’s what God is calling you to run. I think just being able to let go and not allow that fear and anxiety to control me so much. I think that’s why I was able to run my fastest time."

Both Lyons and Jones expressed their appreciation for their teammates with their success.

“We win as a team. We’re the Mustang Track. It’s not Daiza Track, this person track. We all win together. Being able to celebrate each other's accomplishments and just being able to push each other so that as a program we can grow," Jones said.

As the transition to the outdoor season gets started for Bruce and her runners, the Mustangs look to build on their success from

the conference indoor championships.

“We took a little bit of a break. A couple of days, which is a break for us," Bruce said, adding, "We kinda transition our type of training for a little while and then we just are starting to race for outdoors. Indoors gives us a mark of where we at and what we need to do to peak in May."

With the transition for spring, Lyons and Jones already have goals in their mind.

"I want to accomplish hopefully another personal best or school record," said Lyons, continuing, “Just scoring points at conference and hopefully getting us closer to Nationals.”

Jones mentioned that she wants to approach the outdoor season with “a lot more confidence.”

“You’re capable of great things. You’re capable of running fast so don’t let the fear consume you no more," Jones said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KELSEY BRUCE

Lyons participates in the LSC Indoor Championships, Feb. 24.

Women's basketball looks toward

ABBY TURNER SPORTS EDITOR

The women's basketball team didn't have the successful season it was hoping for, but the team is looking forward to the next season.

The Lady Mustangs finished the season with a conference record of 7-15 and an overall record of 7-21. Like any team, the Mustangs had hoped to continue the season and make it into the playoffs. However, the Mustangs fell two wins short of making it to the Lone Star Conference playoffs.

This season, the Lady Mustangs hired a new coach from Texas Wesleyan. Head coach Brenita Jackson had her first season as the coach for the Mustangs. When Jackson accepted the job with the Mustangs, she brought a few of her players from Texas Wesleyan with her as well as her assistant coach and husband, Kevin Jackson.

“There was a learning curve. But,  I think the biggest thing was adjusting to a new place, a new school, a new way of doing things, a new conference. There were a lot of new things here. It took us some time to kind of adapt to it and understand the new rules,” Jackson said.

One player that made the trip with the Jacksons was Zarria Carter, criminal justice junior. Carter led the team in points per game. This is the third year that Carter has played for the Jacksons.

“I played for her at our previous school. So I transferred.  This is my third year playing for them,” Carter said.

Jackson said she thought the season went well - for a first season. Having brought a few players with them, and the returning players, Jackson thought that her players played well for this first season.

“I thought overall it was good. I thought it was a good first season if you will. I mean not just with the players we bought over, or the ones that were retained, and then we brought in some new ones, like Catalina, who were new to MSU as well. So, bringing in ten new players, it was a huge adjustment for everybody, but I thought overall it went well,” Jackson said.

At the end of the 2022-2023 season, the place in the conference. Under the leadership rose to an 11th place finish.

Not only did the Jacksons have to adapt to a new way of coaching and

“Absolutely. Yeah there is always a learning curve, even if you are here ten years, you better still be

While many people wouldn’t see that said she sees it as a season

“We went from up to 11th. So that our goals for. But be proud of that,”

Carter had team stands Jacksons.

“We that and took we are more know to come

There the Lady point that She said the outcome when there court.

“On the communicated, game, about

PHOTO BY SAM DIFIORE | THE WICHITAN Eternity Jackson (1) scans the court for an open teammate, Jan. 18.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN Zarria Carter (0), practices her shooting, Nov. 16, 2023.

toward rebuilding, recruitment

the Lady Mustangs were sitting in 16th leadership of the Jacksons, the Mustang

that placing as a great finish, Jackson season where the team had improved.  16th place in the conference, dead last that is progress. It is not as high as we set But progress is progress and you have to that,” Jackson said.

had similar sentiments about where the stands after this inaugural season for the Jacksons.

“We beat two top teams in the conference went to the conference tournament, then we were close to beating LCU, we them into overtime. Just knowing that are right there and that we have even fire power coming in next year. We we need to do our part, as individuals come back even better,” Carter said.

There were many factors that went into Lady Mustangs' success, but one main that Carter hit on was communication. that when the team communicated, outcome of the game was better than there was no communication on the

the court, I would say when we communicated, consistently, in the about the game, that was

really the difference in those closer games, and the games we won,” Carter said.

Carter vowed that during her senior year, there would be even more communication, whether from her or from other leaders on the team.

“This upcoming season it will definitely be a lot more vocality from myself and also from our point guard. We have a lot of younger girls coming in, and so bringing them in and making sure that they know what the standard is,” Carter said.

Moving forward, the Lady Mustangs are looking to expand on this season's success and learn from their weaknesses. Carter emphasized first on communicating, but also on dominating in the game in rebounds.

“Rebounding. If you are rebounding well, you're going to control the game nine times out of ten. I mean sometimes, yeah, you will still lose, but nine times out of ten if you out rebound the other team, you're going to win,” Carter said.

One area Jackson wants to focus on is recruiting.

Coming in when she did, there wasn’t much time to recruit the players to build her team.

Carter said the team is in a rebuild and the new players realize that and

“We are recruiting players that fit that style and believe in that style, and want to carry the vision, and want to meet the expectations. I think the key to it is recruiting the players that believe in what you believe in,” Carter said.

Jackson said she puts value in the player she coaches, trying to build them up not only as an athlete but as a student involved in the community as well.

The Lady Mustangs have a group of supporters, the Three-Point Club. Jackson and her players value the time and money that their supporters have put into them and love to be able to give back in any way they can.

“Off the court, we really got into the community, with the community service hours. We did more with our donors. We kinda had some lunches and like meet and greets. Just kinda keeping them in the loop of what was going on in the season. Bringing in some supporters and making them feel like they are part of the whole season,” Carter said, adding, “Our coach set it up but we were interested, like we wanted to."

Jackson has her sights set on winning the Lone Star Conference. She doesn’t know when that will come to fruition, but she still continues to build

“Our plan and our goal is still to win the Lone Star Conference, and we believe every year is an opportunity to recruit, get better, and do that. That doesn’t mean that we are going to do it, but if you set a goal to finish tenth, then you know. Or even if you don't set a goal at all, then that's terrible. Every year we believe it's important to set goals  that make you stretch, that make you feel uncomfortable, and challenge you. That's how you see progress,”

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN Kertisa Amos (22) attempts to score against UTPB, Jan. 20.

PHOTO BY SAM DIFIORE THE WICHITAN Makayla Coy (10) drives to the basket, Feb. 24.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN

The MSU women's basketball team prepare for their game against Southeastern Oklahoma, Nov. 16, 2023.

Men's basketball improves

ABBY TURNER

hile the men’s basketball team was not able to capitalize on what they were hoping would be a winning season that took them to the postseason, the team has not lost hope that they

strength of ours. Like the teams a lot of times couldn't figure out how to beat our zone. And whenever we actually played hard, and flew around, and talked, our zone was really hard to play against,” Sheppard said.

The Mustangs finished with an overall record of 16-12 and a conference record of 10-12. The Mustangs finished 11th place in the Lone Star Conference, which was only one place higher than the previous season placing. Ironically, the overall record from last season and the overall record for this season was

At the beginning of the season, head coach Justin Leslie switched up his offense as well as his defense. Will Shepherd, business finance junior, said that the defense they played was one of the team's

“Our zone. That was a

Playing as a team was a big factor in the outcome of the season. At the beginning, the Mustangs took a trip to Taiwan, where they took part in a tournament. This tournament allowed for the team bond to strengthen. Mason Gibson, business management junior, said when the team played together, and for each other, they saw success on the court.

“I think when we just started playing together,” Gibson said. Shepherd echoed those thoughts.

“It made us trust each other more. We built that relationship that allows you to put it all out there for everyone, on the court,” Shepherd said.

Amaechi Chukwu, business marketing senior, said one big factor in the success the team saw was being able to play at home. While at home, the Mustangs had the support and the motivation to play harder and win.

“Something that worked well for us, really just playing at home, being able to play here, brought a different energy to us playing here. Just trying to protect the home court. I feel like that helped, how we were always able to like come together at home. We always found a way to kind of have a fight, so I feel like that was really good,” Chukwu said.

On the road, the Mustangs record was 4-8 while their home record was 12-4. Chukwu had thoughts about how the Mustangs could take the energy and fight they played with at home and transfer it to their away games.

“I feel like at away games we have to have more fight. It's an away game, so really the odds are going to be stacked against you, you are at someone else's home court, their hometown, your traveling, you know you have all the excuses, just to kind of play off on a road game, but you just kind of have

to fight through that, and continue to

While the team had many more played a part in the outcome of the season.

Similar to the women’s team, communication on the court needed communicated with one another, they Shepherd was a bit more specific in more vocal.

“Not talking on ball screens, so like the screen is coming, or where it is leaders next year we have to be better vocal,” Shepherd said.

While communication is a big weakness there was also an issue

One big thing the team missed this postseason. The way the team navigates more on building the team up so they

“One big thing we missed this postseason. You know coming off of turnover, we had a lot of new guys. finding guys who are just going to representatives of the community, were in the games with all of the good lost in close ones, we had a bit of adversity,"

Going into the postseason the Mustangs

“Just to get better, have a better

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN

Pierre Sanders (23) lines up for a free throw during MSU's military appreciation game, Feb. 24.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN

Reggie Hill (1) shoots the ball while Pierre

improves from previous season

to just fight,” Chukwu said.  strengths, there were weaknesses that season. a few of the guys mentioned the needed to improve. When the team they saw results on the court. Although in where exactly the team needed to be like you don’t know what to do or when is coming from. So me and the other better about communicating and being weakness the team would like to improve, this season was not making it into the navigates the off season is going to focus they can make it into the postseason. season was not making it into the last year, we didn't have a lot of roster guys. So bringing them into the fold. Just fit in at Midwestern and just be good our campus, we succeeded there, we good teams, we just had a few where we adversity," Leslie said. Mustangs are looking to better themselves season next year, we didn't finish the

going forward into the offseason and into next season.

“I feel like the main motivator we have is just the desire to get better. The way this season this year ended we kind of saw what we needed to get better at as a team and as a player. Just try and build off of that,” Chukwu said.

Looking back at how the 2023-2024 season ended the Mustangs are taking with them the weaknesses and strengths they had and using them to grow and become a better team for the 2024-2025 season.

Going into the next season Leslie is focused on having an upper-class heavy team and continues to build off this last season.

“I am really encouraged that we are going to have a very upper-class heavy tea, and I think that is going to serve us well. So we can continue building off the things that we learned, the areas where we fell short this year. We aren't going to hide from it or make excuses, but rather learn from it,” Leslie said.

From a recruiting standpoint, Leslie has a set plan in the type of player he is looking to recruit.

“We will have a couple of holes we will need to fill. Not to say that it is minor, we need to get two impact players. Specifically we need to get someone at the wing that can defend. One of the places that we were deficient this year was a lot of the top teams had those 6 '4", 6' 5" athletic wings and we didn't have a great match up for them. We need to address that in the transfer portal,” Leslie said.

Throughout the season injuries put the team in a bind at times. At the beginning of the season Chukwu was injured. With injuries in mind as well as the transfer portal Leslie is looking for a player who can score down low.

“There was a glaring deficiency there. So we need to recruit someone else who can score in the interior, in the post. Just to have a little bit of redundancy in the roster to protect ourselves, whether it is injuries, foul trouble. Those two things is what we are focusing on in this transfer cycle,”

The team has already begun preparing for the next season.

Having started workouts and getting in that extra practice during the off season, the team is looking to improve and focus on what can be done to better the team for next season.

“Making it more about process. You know just daily and being present, and being engaged, and doing what they can to improve and grow. That is the focus. It's a long offseason and there is a lot to be done,” Leslie said.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN

Men's head basketball coach, Justin Leslie, addresses the team, Nov. 9.

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN Antwan Taylor (4) evades the opposing

PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA | THE WICHITAN John Gaines (0) drives to the basket, Feb. 24.