NOT ABOUT THE PIZZA: New restaurant Marsala’s menu is full of upscale Italian dishes npage 7
Wednesday n April 28, 2010
WINNINGEST: Softball sets record for most wins in a single season npage 10
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“I’ll never get that image out of my head” Student witnesses shooting rampage while waiting to pay for movie rentals Brittany Norman Editor in Chief
When MSU student David Thompson got in line to check out at Hastings on April 20th, he thought his evening would consist of sitting on the couch eating Little Caesar’s pizza while watching Sherlock Holmes on DVD. He didn’t even have a chance to pay for his rentals before the first gunshot rang out. “I didn’t know he was there until he shot off the first round,” Thompson said. Thompson found himself in the middle of an active shooter situation, in which suspected gunman Ross William Muehlberger shot and wounded four women at Hastings, killed 23-year-old doorman Tim Donley at Toby’s, a local nightclub, and then led police on a pursuit across town before fatally shooting himself. Even when that first shot rang out, the weight of the situation didn’t register immediately. “At first I thought someone tossed an artillery shell inside the store or something, just goofing around,” he said. “Everyone in the store just kind
of froze.” Thompson said he looked over from the checkout line to the café area and saw the shooter, Muehlberger, shooting a woman at close range. “He was just shooting and yelling,” he said, though the words were unintelligible over the sound of the gunshots. Thompson said the sound of shooting practice at the firing range during his Army Basic Training was nothing compared to the sound of the shotgun blast indoors. “If you’ve ever heard a gunshot outside, it’s loud and there’s an echo. Inside it was like ten times louder and there was no echo. Like a firework blowing up right next to you, it was that loud.” His initial reaction was “shock.” “I couldn’t believe what was happening,” he said. “It was just surreal.” Instinct kicked in quickly, and Thompson grabbed his girlfriend, Katie Adams, and made for the door. “After he shot off the second round we ducked down,” he said. “I Police officers stand outside Hastings the night of April 20th after a grabbed her sweater and started to shooting that left four inside the store wounded. (Photo by Brittany
See HASTINGS on page 3 Norman)
Local bar becomes homicide scene after gunman opens fire, killing one Trevor Hunter For the Wichitan
MSU student Brandon Pieratt was sitting in a bar enjoying a Bud Light while he watched a basketball game when his life changed forever. A man was shot to death 20 feet away from the MSU junior. It happened at Toby’s, a popular bar within walking distance of campus. Tim Donley, the doorman, was shot to death by Ross Muehlberger, a former MSU student. “He always worked when I was there,” said Pieratt. “I was probably one of the last people he talked to.” Pieratt was with a friend at the time. “We hear a loud pop. It sounded like a balloon but magnified. So we kinda jumped and looked right and the bouncer is falling backwards,”
Pieratt said. “And then there is a skinny white guy with a shotgun. I saw the shotgun and didn’t try and pay attention to the details of his face. And he fired off that second shot. I guess he was pumping again, I didn’t stick around to watch.” Pieratt didn’t see the actual shooting, nor did he hear Donley make any sounds when he was shot. In the chaos some girls sitting at a table near the entrance started screaming. After Muehlberger’s second shot, Pieratt said he ducked down and ran to the back patio. He heard more shots. “He just kept firing until he was empty I imagine,” said Pieratt, who said others soon joined him on the patio.
Students in Dr. Peter Fields’ Young Adult Fantasy course gave presentations on Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in Moffett Library Thursday. (Photo by Julia Raymond)
Surreality Forum finds meaning in fantastical literature Chris Collins Managing Editor
Dr. Peter Fields isn’t concerned with ‘What is.’ Rather, he’s interested in ‘What if.’ The associate professor of English kicked off his Young Adult Fantasy course in Spring 2008. The course, which studies the correlation between popular series like Harry Potter, Twilight and Alice in Wonderland, blurs the boundary between reality and imagination. “It posits the possibility of a remarkable world,” Fields said. This was the focus of the Fantasy Forum held on Thursday in Moffett Library. Students in Fields’ class gave presentations on Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass during the forum. Their presentations, which they gave to packed audiences in the library, mainly focused on how Alice finds a way to participate in a surreal dream world. “It teaches students to experience the world in
See FANTASY on page 5
Is Moffett Library the new Netflix? Derek Baker For the Wichitan
Officers gather around Toby’s after doorman Tim Donley was shot to
See TOBY’S on page 3 death. (Photo by Brittany Norman)
You’ve had a tough week and now the weekend is here. You want to get a few movies to tide you over between homework and whatever else you have going on, but you don’t want to spend any money at Blockbuster and you don’t have a Netflix subscription. In this situation, people on campus head to the Moffett Library’s 2nd floor Media Center, where as long as you have your Student ID card, students can check up to five movies for free at any time. For those who haven’t up there since last semester though, you might be surprised at the changes you’ll find. On Jan. 19, an entirely new system of organiza-
See MEDIA on page 5
Fair forgoes corn dogs, serves up healthy advice instead Chris Collins Managing Editor
Flexibility tests were offered at the Community Health Fair Friday. (Photo by Dr. Betty Bowles)
Another presentations ranged from injury prevention to Zumba dance training to smoking cessation. Students from many academic backgrounds MSU students worked alongside the Wichita participated alongside nursing majors, including Falls Fire Department, the Texas Blood Institute respiratory care, dental hygiene, kinesiology and and others to inform Wichita Falls residents the Wellness Center, Bowles said. about how to stay healthy. The grounds department set up the tents and The ninth annual Community Health Fair, housing helped haul and set up tables. held Friday afternoon, was the culmination of “We’re really proud of the interdisciplinary asa semester of work for graduating nursing stupect,” Bowles said. dents. Each presenting group was made up of about Most of the students who participated in he three students. Each group had to maintain one fair were from the nursing department, though community sponsor, such as United Regional others helped out, said Dr. Betty Bowles, an Health care and the Food Bank. assistant professor of nursing in charge of the In all, the fair collected 20 community sponhealth fair. sors. Nursing seniors Tabitha Yannetti, Kristine “This was the way to make it more communiFurlong and Amy Smith set up a booth to meaty-oriented,” she said. sure Body mass index and flexibility. The fair in a food drive, 30 pairs of glasses for “Obesity has become a really big problem,” the needy and 26 units of blood. said Yannetti. They collected 118 signatures of people who were pledging to exercise three times a week. See FAIR on page 4