Feb. 21, 2019 by The East Texan

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february 21, 2019

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Op-Ed: Homework Ban | Page 2 Unity March Photos | Page 4 Oscar Picks Page 6

Track and field claims third Page 8

Campus food pantry sees increased interest, donations after one semester Todd Kleiboer Co-Editor

After being open for a full semester, the Lion Food Pantry has seen success in providing resources to students during their scheduled openings, but there are a few areas that Nikki Barnett, student case manager who oversees the pantry, could see improvement. “We started to see more students need emergency food services in between openings,” Barnett said. According to her, 15 emergency visits were scheduled between April and December 2018 during which the pantry opened 12 times. Two were unscheduled. Barnett plans to open the pantry once a week in the future to help those students who need emergency resources, but she acknowledged that the pantry’s current times, every other Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., may not work for many students. “Students, based on their schedule, are not always available to come during the hours on Wednesdays every other week,” Barnett said. “The need is really starting to become more apparent because more students found out and came to take advantage of this resource.” To ensure that the pantry

can transition to opening once a week, Barnett has hired a student worker and is looking for another one, and she said that student volunteers are also important during openings. “We hope to get a place where we [food pantry staff] can advise, oversee, and work on growing the pantry, and then we have students doing the operation the day we’re open,” Barnett said. “If we could have volunteers help with that or have student workers in place, that could help us make sure we can open every Wednesday.” Another obstacle that the pantry faces is the need for efficient transportation across campus to pick up donations from offices. Right now, student volunteers or pantry staff drive close to the office and then pull a dolly to the office. “If it’s a student volunteer, sometimes they don’t have cars, so trying to pull a dolly across this campus with limited sidewalks, construction, and so on, that’s near to impossible,” Barnett said. “I would never ask a student to do something I would never do myself.” The pantry is considering obtaining a golf cart to solve SEE FOOD PANTRY, PAGE 4

| todd kleiboer Student Case Manager Nikki Barnett who oversees the pantry looks into the fully stocked freezer unit donated by Sodexo. east texan photo

Theatre readies for performance Former Lions QB shines in AAF Tyler McDonough Sports Editor

Story on Page 5

Luis Perez is back once again on the football field, this time he’s at the helm for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football League. The former Harlon Hill Winner shined in his debut, as he threw for 256 yards on 19 of 33 passing in a 26-0 stomping of the Memphis Express. Although he didn’t throw for any touchdowns, Perez was still the talk of the internet, as many writers acclaimed Perez should be an NFL quarterback and was deemed by many as the top quarterback of week one in the AAF. The AAF has many notable names including former Division One quarterbacks such as Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, Texas’ Garrett Gilbert, and Georgia’s Aaron Murray. Perez is also teammates with former Alabama star running back Trent Richardson. Perez faced off in week one against Memphis Express

quarterback and former Penn State standout Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg was a 2nd round pick of the New York Jets back in 2016. Perez outplayed the former 2nd rounder from start to finish as Hackenberg only threw for 63 yards on 10-23 passing and an interception. “I thought Luis did a great job, he was on-point,” Head Coach Tim Lewis said. “He threw the ball very well, he hit the guys that were open and picked the right people. When we did have him calling the game on his own, he did a fantastic job of directing the team and his composure and poise was very good. He’s a very positive leader and an accurate passer.” Perez chimed in after the game. “I’ll tell you what, we’re going to get better from here, there’s a lot of things I can clean up offensively. All of us can clean up a lot of things. We’re just going to get better and I don’t think I really SEE PEREZ, PAGE 8

OPINION

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FEB. 21, 2019

It’s more complicated than that

Don’t touch my hair: The problem with cultural appropriation Brianna Patt Web Editor

On the surface, cultural appropriation and the entire argument around it can seem incredibly trivial. A hairstyle is just a hairstyle; a trend is just a trend, right? Well, it isn’t that simple. If it were there wouldn’t be any outrage over it. The reality is that there is a long and exhausting history of double standards, where one is deemed inappropriate and the other is seen as a trend. A prime example of this double standard is the controversial “Bo Derek” braids. In the 70s, actress Bo Derek filmed a slow-motion beach scene and, in the process, wore a memorable hairstyle that would later be identified as Fulani Braids. Not long after, American Airlines stewardess Renee Rogers was fired due to a similar hairstyle. When she brought the case to court [Rogers v. American Airlines (1981)] and argued that there was racial discrimination involved, citing that the hairstyle was a part of her culture, she lost. But why? They became a popular trend when Bo Derek wore them, but when an African American woman (whose culture that hairstyle comes from) wears the hairstyle, it presents a problem. Why? Well, one is that African American hair in its natural and braided state has been seen as messy, dirty, ugly, unkempt, ghetto, etc. Even with society becoming a bit more understanding, stereotypes don’t just disappear, and people still get away with looking at a culture through a narrow view.

Take the case of Faith, a young African American girl who was kicked out of her Roman Catholic school for having hair extensions which are prohibited. The thing is that extensions in African American hair doesn’t always serve as a trend. Weave and braids are far less timeconsuming than maintaining natural hair on a regular basis. Afro-textured hair like mines is extremely thick, dries easily, and takes two hours on average to wash. It’s easier to braid it up and put it away. This was not understood by the school however. Take the case of Andrew Johnson, who was forced to cut off his dreadlocks to compete in the wrestling competition, or the judgment of Zendaya Coleman’s dreadlocks. Hair just being hair is like someone saying that the only race is humans. It’s a wonderful concept, but the fact of the matter is that thanks to a long and disturbing history of Western society embedding the idea that people of color are stereotypes and that our culture is something to make fun, the phrases will likely never be fully true. The only thing that may result in a change is if European Americans speak up when someone is mistreated as a result of their physical appearance and give credit where it’s due: cultural appreciation rather than appropriation. Cultural appreciation is more of a Bruno Mars than a Kylie Jenner. Despite being called out at one point for appropriating, Bruno Mars’ history shows that he gives credit to the African American

photo courtesy| pexels

artists who inspired him rather than taking it for himself. Credit was given where it was due; nothing was taken. The same goes with cornrows, dreadlocks, Fulani braids, and box braids. Wearing these styles isn’t what I find issue with but rather putting them under the label of “boxer braids (cornrows),” “mini buns (bantu knots)”; it’s disassociating the culture with the race it comes from. Take as an example Elvis’ “You Ain’t Nothin But a Hound Dog,” which comes from African American artist Big Momma Thorton, a woman who was given very little credit and profit for the song. Her blues songs were renamed as rock’n’roll under Elvis, and he made money and gained popularity from a race whose music and culture were demonized. I’m not saying stop wearing something; rather, I’m saying that people should acknowledge where it comes from and speak up when the race it comes from is mistreated. Don’t love the culture but then ignore the struggles of that culture’s people.

photo courtesy| pexels

Homework should not be banned A move to ban homework has started in at least three states: New York, Connecticut, and Florida. The reason is that homework is too stressful for students and unnecessary to their overall learning process. I disagree. Homework is fundamental to the retention of information learned in a classroom and helps to prepare students for life outside of their parents’ walls. In college, there is twice as much homework that a student is required to do. Without the background and experience attained through primary schools to complete these tasks, students will become easily overwhelmed with the work and drop out because they can’t handle it. Homework is also essential in retaining information

Meetings are every Thursday at 1 p.m. in JOUR 113

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The East Texan, official student newspaper of Texas A&M University-Commerce, is published 4 times per semester during the Fall and Spring by students in reporting and editing classes. Content is solely the responsibility of the student editors and writers. The comments and views expressed in The East Texan do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of other students, staff, faculty, administration, or the Board of Trustees. The East Texan is located inside the Journalism building on the east side of campus in room 113. Single copies are available in Journalism 113 for an additional 25 cents.

because it allows for a student to sit down and process what they have learned. Afterwards, they can figure out what they still need to improve on so and ask their teachers later for clarity on that subject. I do admit, there is a lot of pressure put on high school students to perform well in order to get into a good college which isn’t helped by the amount of homework they are given. On average, students are given an hour’s worth of homework per class. If they are taking eight classes, then that means eight hours of homework a night, which is ridiculous. However, homework should not be completely cut out. Instead, the amount of homework should be reduced from one hour per class to about 30 minutes. That way, students can have a healthy life style while

Jennifer Bussey News Editor

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attaining the necessary time management and study skills needed for life after high school. Also, parents who complain that they can’t help their children with homework because of how they don’t understand how the teachers are teaching, just need to find a better method to show their children the exact same information. That, or make an effort to understand the teacher’s methods. As times change, teaching evolves. There will always be new ways to teach the same material. If that new way doesn’t work for someone, then just go back to the old way. This is not an excuse to ban homework. In order to better prepare students for the stress and workload that awaits them outside of college, students need homework in order to better develop their skills.

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The East Tex an Established 1915

TODD KLEIBOER | CHRISTIAN ALEMAN

CO-EDITORS JOSEPH MILLER OPINION EDITOR

JENNIFER BUSSEY NEWS EDITOR

TYLER MCDONOUGH SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER

BRIANNA PATT WEB EDITOR

FRED STEWART FACULTY ADVISER

fred_stewart@tamu-commerce.edu

theeasttexan@gmail.com

NEWS

FEB. 21, 2019

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Cold and flu season arrives Cydnee Drake Todd Kleiboer Reporters

photo courtesy

| pexels

SGA passes period product legislation Brianna Patt Web Editor The Student Government Association (SGA) has passed legislation for free menstrual products on the A&MCommerce campus to remedy the situation of a lack of available products at A&MCommerce. The concept for this legislation came about when Vice President and Senate Chair Grace Slayter observed that pad/tampon machines either disappeared or were empty. According to Slayter, she let the situation go until she noticed the period packs offered by Associate Professor of History, Dr. Mylynka Cardona. To her, this was a sign that the situation was becoming serious. “The professors should not be the ones offering this stuff for us,” Slayter said. “It should be the school doing this.”

While the legislation has been passed, Slayter stated that it could take a while to implement it. It was written by SGA senator Matthew Wintz who also presented it. Slayter hopes that students will see this act shows that the university is concerned with their needs. “The significance for the students is that they just feel like the university is going the extra step that they don’t necessarily have to go by social or cultural standards,” she said. “But that they should be going.” She pointed out that, in light of some students struggling with where they will get their next meal, period products are also a basic need for the student population. “This is like toilet paper.” Slayter said. “It’s not something that is a luxury item, this is a necessity.”

Potential fines for crosswalk violations Andrea Aranda Staff Reporter If students just cross without pushing the button and disobeying the signs without paying attention, UPD will start fining them if they need to in order to keep them safe. “We’ve tried to do it more educational, but if it starts becoming more and more of a problem, we’re going to start writing tickets if we need to,” Lt. Jason Bone said. In the fall of 2016, two students were hit when they were trying to cross Culver Street and Highway 24. After the incidents happened, the university decided to install the Hawk Beacon system to alert the vehicles driving by that pedestrians where going to cross. “Before we put in the Hawk system, we had another system that was put in.” Bone said. “We found out that the students weren’t pushing the button, so we put a sensor

that was supposed to detected if they were coming in.” According to Bone, President Jones was instrumental into putting the Hawk system after he saw a major accident that happened in front of him. There are currently two Hawk systems; one in the crosswalk in front of Whitley Hall on Culver St. and the other in State Highway 24, which connects Smith and Barry Hall to the main campus. Bone said after they installed the Hawk system, the amount of accidents has decreased slightly than before. Students who live in either Whitley or Smith and Berry Hall don’t feel safe at night when they have to cross to the main building. Some feel that the lights aren’t too bright. “I live in Smith and when I would try to cross the street, half the time people wouldn’t stop. It’s not a lot of light if I’m walking at night. I almost got hit twice,” student Daunè Carter said.

With cold and flu season here, knowing steps to prevent it is very important, and TAMUC food services, maintenance, and other areas close to the school share their ways on preventing colds and flu. Within the arrival of cold and flu season, some symptoms include coughing, sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat, body aches and less energy. Food services and Custodial Services also have ways to prevent cold and flu from reaching TAMUC students and faculty. Custodial, for example, has daily cleaning routines with powerful disinfectant products. “We use paper towels and hospital-disinfectant spray and washable rags. The bathroom

is cleaned once a day, the offices are dusted weekly and the classes are wiped nightly,” Laura Davidson, custodial director, said. “Our department values our clients and students well being and committed to cleaning in order to prevent cold and flu.” Food services has policies in place such as not using the same plate or prohibiting outside cups and bottles to prevent illnesses from spreading, and hand sanitizer dispensers are available to Cafe patrons. “We have the top of the line dishwasher; our dishwasher has an extreme heater and sanitizer to clean the plates. If any of our employees are sick we send them home to prevent spreading illness,” Dining Services General Manager Charles Lear said. “Something that is very important to us would be hygiene measures and the use of washing your hands,

and wearing gloves. There will be a sign very soon to notify others on preventing the spread of cold and flu on washing your hands on reducing it which are some tips to give.” CVS Pharmacist Brian Jones advised that people vaccinate against the flu in early September or October, and for those unlucky people who still become ill, he recommended Nyquil and Dayquil. “Some symptoms of the cold and flu would be having a fever and muscle ache pain; with a cold temperature is involved and an ache with pain comes along with having a cold,” Jones said. “Ways to prevent the cold from yourself and others is to wash your hands, stay away from people and take some medicine and Vitamin C.” To avoid spreading a cold or the flu, Director of Health Services Maxine Mendoza-

Welch said that people should wash their hands, use sanitizer, not touch their eyes or nose before cleaning their hands, and keep a certain distance from people. “One flu shot a year is recommended by the CDC. The risks of flu shots would be that if you are allergic to eggs you can’t have the shot; mild flu-like symptoms are common and mild soreness where the shot is given. The risks if you don’t get the flu shot is that they can get really sick to where they could miss a week of school/ work,” Mendoza-Welch said. “Older people and people with underlying medical problems can get a pneumonia and die. Flu shots are not guarantee 100% to where it could reduce the severity of your illness if you should get ill. There are several strains of the flu virus and flu shot doesn’t have all the strains in the community.”

photo courtesy

| pexels

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FEB. 21, 2019

CAMPUS

Unity Walk kicks off Black History Month

E ast Texan photos | John Parsons

Students walk from Whitley to the Student Center to start the Unity Walk. Three skits were performed during the event: Stigma against Black Beauty by Sista-to-Sista, Microgressions in a Professional Setting by My Hair Is, and a mock protest to hire more Black staff by the Black Student Union. Some students signed a petition for more diversity in Commerce staff.

Alumnus donation makes Makerspace a reality for students Jennifer Bussey News Editor A donation of $25,000 to the College of Science and Engineering has made the creation of Makerspace possible. “Makerspace is a collaborative work space

designed for students, faculty and staff of the university to come and explore their ideas, learn to use tools and materials, and develop creative projects,” Dr. Andrea Graham, Department Head of Engineering and Technology, said. “The Makerspace is designed in three functional

areas: Robotics which has programmable robots to perform tasks as well as Raspberry Pi; Rapid Prototyping which has 3D printers; and Manufacturing which has band saw, table saw, drill presses, 3 in 1 mill/ lathe/drill press, grinders and various hand tools.”

The donation was given to the school by Jimmy Shirley, alumni of the math and physics department at East Texas State University, and his wife Sherroll. “When I was growing up in the cotton field, I never thought this was possible. To be able to do something like

this is a miracle,” Shirley said. “The donation is being used to purchase equipment, tools, and other items needed to properly make the space ready for use. Equipment items purchased include 3D Printers and Robots,” Dr. Graham said. The Makerspace can be

found in the Charles J. Austin Engineering & Technology/ Agricultural Sciences Building (AG) in room 125. For more information or to donate to Makerspace, contact Abbie Harper, director of development at Abbie. Harper@tamuc.edu.

the fridge or something like that.” Toiletries and personal hygiene products have also been donated to the pantry, and these are not counted toward a student’s food amount. Instead, they fill out a separate checklist, and staff or volunteers retrieve them while the students pick their food. “We’re in a good relationship with the Samaritan Inn, a homeless shelter in McKinney. Their shelter can’t use small toiletry items from hotels,” Barnett said. “Rather than turning those items away, they call me and say, if you want

them, come and get them. I’ll then make a trip and go pick up 200 pounds of tiny toiletries.” In raw totals, 5,258 pounds of food and toiletries were donated to the food pantry between March and December 2018, and 1,738 pounds of food were given out in 272 visits between April and December 2018. Because toiletries are not counted toward a food total, they are not weighed before they are given away. “We started measuring toiletries coming but didn’t measure toiletries going out,” Barnett said. “That’s why there’s such a big difference in

number because there’s no way we only gave out one-fifth of our food.” The pantry has been open once this year, and 20 students visited during that time and picked up a total of 138 pounds of food. According to Barnett, the low number was partially because a lack of marketing, and she notes that the pantry scheduled 10 emergency visits in January alone. “We’ll probably see an increase at the end of the semester when people are financially maybe having a harder time,” Barnett said. Besides giving food to

students, Barnett stresses that the food pantry can direct students to other on- or offcampus resources that would help their situation. “My theory was, when I started this, that these students coming in wouldn’t just need food services, but they would need other services, too,” Barnett said. “That part has played out to be true, and they [students] do take the opportunity to learn more about those services.” To contact the food pantry, people can email lionpantry@ tamuc.edu, and the Lion Food Pantry is located in Craddock Hall Unit 1A.

Food Pantry Continued from Page 1

this. Since opening, the Lion Food Pantry has seen donation intake increase significantly because of campus partners such as student organizations or academic departments giving either large donations once or twice or smaller ones consistently throughout the semester. “The President’s Office donated a refrigerator to us a couple of months ago which was awesome,” Barnett added. “Sodexo donated a freezer unit, and they also filled it with frozen soup, probably a couple hundred pounds of frozen

soup. It was really exciting.” With those recent additions, the food pantry can give out perishable items, but it cannot accept perishable items unless they are either bought by Barnett or the other staff or donated directly from a certified food handling entity like a grocery store or Sodexo. “We (pantry staff) are food handler certified now, so I know that the groceries are going from the grocery store straight to the refrigerator,” Barnett said. “Whereas, no offense to anyone, we don’t know when someone donates them how long has the food been out of

FEATURES

FEB. 21, 2019

A prop Battleaxe used in the play.

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Aaron Gibson- Orcus/Ronnie and Courtney Bailey - Assistant Stage Manager

Play looks to tackle sensitive topics

Lauryn Harris Staff Reporter Set in the 1990s, “She Kills Monsters” opens the door to a fantasy world of “Dungeons & Dragons,” supermodel elves and dominatrix warrior women. The campus production of “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen tells the story of Agnes Evans as she is packing up to leave her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her parents and younger sister, Tilly. While cleaning, Agnes stumbles across Tilly’s “Dungeons and Dragons” notebook with a game scenario Tilly created were she learns she may have not known her sister as well as she thought. “She finds this homemade

‘D&D’ module and decides to play, and as she’s playing, she learns more about her sister, like who were her bullies and that she was gay and all these other things she never knew,” Elena Holt, who plays dark elf Kaliope, said. The play battles back and forth between real world and fantasy world, after Agnes decides to play Tilly’s’ homemade module and enlists the help of a character named Chuck to be her dungeon master. Throughout the quest, Agnes is reunited with her sister as a character and meets Tilly’s group of adventurers who are on a quest to save the lost soul which happens to be Tilly’s. In the realm of the game, Agnes also learns her

sister was a closeted lesbian and gets to meet her in-game girlfriend Lilith. “As we go along this quest, we then start to meet the real-world counterparts of the characters, and learn that Lilith, Tilly’s in game girlfriend, was based on a real person named Lilly and we see, sort of the struggles with that,” director Rebecca Worley said. Starting rehearsals on Jan. 14 and practicing 24-36 hours a week, the TAMUC theatre department spent time learning choreography, technique, as well as going over lines for the production. With the play featuring many action pact scenes that some of the actors felt were the most challenging part of the production, a fight

choreographer was enlisted to helps actors prepare for the production. “We hired a special fight choreographer to come in and do this fight choreography in a safe way but in a super epic way,” Worley said. As well as delivering action-packed scenes and comedic drama, “She Kills Monsters” also tackles the issues of sexuality, queerness, and accepting others for who they are. “It’s a piece that shows how much we have progressed since 1995 and now but also how much we need to progress,” Trinity Ellison, playing Farrah the Fairy, said. The TAMUC theatre department also partnered up Gender Studies book club,

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TAMUC Pride Alliance, The Counseling Center, Safe Space Allies, and expert D&D/Fantasy/Role-Playing Gamers to put on a post-show talk back forum after their opening night. The discussion will include topics about queer culture, gender representation, mental health, and geek culture. “Another thing I wanted to do with play was use this as an avenue to continue the conversation, yes we have come along way, but we are not there yet,” Worley said. The theatre department also encourages audience to come in cosplay and enter into their social media contest were a winner will be picked each night then an overall winner will be picked at the end of the

| lauryn harris

run for a grand prize. One thing Worley used as a vision statement to help actors as well as herself see the production through and something she hopes the audience can take home is a quote from the play that Tilly says to her sister Agnes. “I hope it gave you a glimpse into me the way I wanted you to see me, strong, powerful, and magical.” “Come ready to laugh and come ready to cry,” Worley said. “She Kills Monster” will be presented in the Performing Arts Center Main Stage from Feb. 19 -23 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit Marketplace. tamuc.edu/boxoffice or call 903-886-5900.

Lion Cousins kicks off for spring Campus Brianna Patt Web Editor

Having kicked off February 7th, the Lion Cousins mentor program serves to pair up international and American students to allow them to learn about each other’s culture. “I have always loved seeing different cultures,” member of Lion Cousins Program Kaetlin Stigall said, “and customs rich in history from all over the world.” The Lion Cousins program pairs American students with a Lion Cousin whom they must contact within the first week and encourages students to meet twice a month. The program includes students from Nepal, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China,

and Taiwan being the most represented at our university. According to Stigall, what made her participate in this program was the chance to examine how people communicate in their respective languages. “I am intrigued by languages and how people communicate,” she said, “and what it truly means to convey messages using a language.” According to a forum about the Lion Cousins program, students are encouraged to keep an open mind in terms of differing religious and cultural differences. Members are encouraged to attend a variety of activities together such as joining a student program, attending a religious service, go out for a movie, etc. Stigall stated that

international students will get the chance to learn about the other persons culture and their new environment. “International students will be impacted by this program because they also get to learn about a new culture and actively participate in their new cultural surroundings.” Stigall said. “I hope than any international student that is participating will be able to gain new insights about the many cultures here in America.” This event was headed by the Office of International Programs, which has hosted other events like the Global Cultural Festival and the International Coffee Hour. The latter of which served the similar purpose of connecting international and local

students. For Stigall, that exchange of culture can lead to better comprehension and ultimately, unity. With this event, Stigall found another benefit to be the opportunity to exchange culture, as well as the chance to make friends from all over the world and gaining another’s perspective on cultural ideologies. Dr. Adewale, who is the director of the International Program, found the event to be a success, stating that there were about 30 students in attendance. For her, the interactions could result in friendships. “By pairing new international students with continuing students,” she said, “such interactions many times blossom into friendships that endure the years.”

photos courtesy |matthew serrano

Sodexo employee honored for work Jennifer Bussey News Editor

Rhenda Hines was awarded the TAMUC President’s Mertiorious Service Award at the President’s Gala for her 43 years of service to the university. In the late 70s, Hines was hired to work for dining services at the university when it was named East Texas State

University and the company in charge of the food on campus was different. “I’ve been here since it was ARA (Aramark), before Sodexo,” Hines said. “I remember when Sodexo bought out their contract and I’ve been here ever since.” Her initial reason for applying for the job was to “I applied here because it was a job. I had three girls and was

on welfare. I needed a job to provide for my family,” she said. Hines’ journey to become a cook has been a long one. “I started out in the dish room and eventually worked my way up to cook where I’ve been ever since,” she said. She has stayed in Commerce and worked with Sodexo in order to be closer to her family.

“What keeps me here is my family. I was born and raised here. My family stays here. I stay here for my family,” she said. When asked how long she planned on staying at Sodexo, Hines replied, “That’s a good question. Everyday I say I’m gonna quit. I guess I’ll be here until the good Lord says it’s time to move on. Until, I’ll stay here.”

organizations hold All Words Matter event Ian Lucas Staff Reporter S.E.E.D.S and the Counseling Center at A&MCommerce helped to shine light on a controversial issue in the event ‘All Words Matter’ that provided students the opportunity to seek help and resources as well as tell their stories about abuse and victimization. The program for Serving Engaged, Empowered, & Diverse Students, or SEEDS, along with members of the counseling centered gathered in the atrium of the Rayburn Student Center. February 6 marked the second annual ‘All Words Matter’ event. Elisabet Martinez is the Victim Outreach Coordinator. She says that her goal is to make sure all voices on campus are heard. “I make sure I advocate for [victims], reach out to them, and make sure they feel supported on our campus,” Martinez said. “Today my focus is on gender micro aggressions and bringing attention to them, whether they be men or women.” One of the focal points of ‘All Words Matter’ was language. The event wanted to bring attention to the language used towards other individuals of all genders and races. Martinez said she wants to fight against the “boys will be boys mentality” and take a stand against “cat-calling”. She said this is an example of a micro aggression is used

to excuse poor male behavior and justify verbal assault. Support for domestic abuse victims was another topic at ‘All Words Matter’. Martinez said that both sexes should feel represented. “I want to make sure people know that this is a human issue, it is not just a gender issue.” Martinez said. Members of the counseling center were also on hand to talk to students about micro-aggression and answer questions on how it may affect them. Adam Metts and Wendy Shelton were the two staff counselors attending the event. “We’re here to help students process the effect that [micro-aggression] has on them.” Shelton said. “If a student should be ‘activated’ or triggered, we can take them to the counseling center and help them deal with that.” Sally Smith-Vaughn is a graduate assistant with S.E.E.D.S and in charge of organizing the events on campus that aim towards diversity and inclusion. The next interactive event hosted by S.E.E.D.S will be the ‘Tunnel of Oppression’ and focuses on “raising awareness on contemporary social issues. The event will take place April 24 on the second floor of the Rayburn Student Center. For a full list of events, stop by the S.E.E.D.S office on the first floor of the Rayburn Student Center.

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ENTERTAINMENT

FEB. 21, 2019

Despite anticipation, Kingdom Hearts 3 delivers mediocrity

photo courtesy

| matt kennedy of annapurna pictures

Christian Bale stars as Vice President Dick Cheney in “Vice” and was nominated for his role.

East Texan Photo | Todd Kleiboer A screenshot of Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay on the Xbox One.

Todd Kleiboer Co-Editor Summary: Despite lackluster voice-acting and drawn-out, repetitive worlds and segments, Kingdom Hearts 3 manages to be a decent and, to its credit, beautiful RPG with solid enough basics to not break the franchise completely. Kingdom Hearts 3 had big shoes to fill. Kingdom Hearts 2 was a magical, global success that made its North American debut in 2006, and by the end of March 2007, it had sold over 4 million units, according to a 2007 Square Enix report. It also helps that the game was rereleased in 2014 as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (what a mouthful). After multiple spinoffs, fans were looking for the next big installment, and Kingdom Hearts 3 was that. So, yeah, big shoes to fill. Did KH3 manage to fill them? Well, yes and no, at least for me. I’ll start with the aspects I didn’t like. First, the way that the Disney worlds were handled really irked me. They were long, drawn-out, and usually very boring to explore afterward. Protagonist Sora would only stop at each world once to complete its plot, and each world could take three or four hours to clear. To be fair, I’m a fairly slow and methodical player to explores everywhere, and in possible future playthroughs, I could likely knock out a world in an hour and a half. However, I like how KH2 handled its worlds in that there would be two, shorter visits. The clear time would be similar, but it didn’t feel so slow because you were moving from one world to another quickly. Repetition of certain segments also happened more times that it should have. One glaring example was at the end of the game where Sora battles the same boss-type about six times. Each fight is thankfully short, but the boss doesn’t change up its attack pattern between each fight. It’s annoying, to put it plainly, and doesn’t belong at the end of the game when you’re supposed to racing to the final battle headfirst. Speaking of repeating bosses, there was a particular boss that the player fights at least three times throughout the course of the game, and I have the same complaint: nothing about the fight changes. While the final fight gives it a few new moves, it’s not enough to warrant another fight. Third, the English voiceacting was mediocre at times.

Even though many voice actors reprised their roles (over half of the Disney voices were the real deal according to Kotaku), I mainly had problems with the original characters of Kingdom Hearts. Some conversations just seemed stilted at times, and it really showed at the end. However, this is the smallest of my complaints, and to be fair, some parts of KH2 are pretty rough in its voice acting. As for the aspects of the game that I liked, the combat system was fun if a little complex. Having played some of the spinoff games, I noticed that KH3 incorporated parts of their combat systems while leaving in place the fast-paced combat from KH2. I usually just rely on the method of whacking enemies with a Keyblade or blasting them with magic, but the combat, with its different Keyblade forms and action commands, was entertaining. The attraction commands, in which Sora attacks with a well-known Disney ride such as a pirate ship, are over-the-top and quite powerful as well, but I had to quickly turn off the animations of Sora and friends climbing onto the ride because it would slow down the fight. The visuals are also beautiful as each world recaptures the Disney feel, and Disney even allowed some original songs such as Frozen’s “Let It Go” to be sung in cutscenes. Each world is vibrant, and the combat effects are amazing even if they choke my Xbox One a little. Interactions between the Disney and the KH villains were especially memorable to me. In the past, the Disney characters would usually just cower until Sora showed up, and he was hailed as their savior. It’s not the same in Kingdom Hearts 3 as the villains are sometimes upstaged by the Disney character instead of Sora or another KH protagonist. There’s nothing like watching Sulley from Monsters, Inc. grab one of the main villains and launch them through a door. In all, I really hope that Square Enix and Disney agree to make another installment of the series to close up the loose ends left in the ending of KH3, and even though I was a little disappointed by this one, it doesn’t ruin the franchise for me. I do plan to play on the hardest difficulty at some point, and if there is story-driven DLC in future, I would consider buying it. Another installment should be manageable, seeing that KH3, as a Feb. 5 GameSpot article, has shipped over 5 million copies.

Phil’s Feelings on the Oscars Phil Boulware Staff Reporter This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) will host their 91st Academy Award ceremony in Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 24. There is certainly a great deal of films that stood out last year, but there were only a select few that are chosen. The competition for the Best Picture category finds eight of the most critically and/or commercially successful films of the 2018 against each other for several groundbreaking, historic moments. Nominees include comedy-dramas such as “BlacKkKlansman” follows the real-life Ku Klux Klan infiltration of Colorado’s first black detective, while “Green Book” is about the true friendship of pianist Don Shirley and his bouncer, Tony Vallelonga. While those films both dive into the reality of social injustice and racial tension amid the 1960’s and 70’s, some biopics take a different approach like “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which is the highest-grossing biopic ever, and “Vice” which follows a dark, comedic interpretation of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Other interesting films in this category are: “Roma”, a foreign-language Netflix film; Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, “A Star is Born” , period comedy “The Favourite”, and 2018’s highest-grossing U.S. film and the first superhero film to receive the honor, “Black Panther.” As far as the acting is concerned, there were several great leading and supporting performances recognized from these featured films, but there are still more

movies to consider. Films “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” both received acting nominations, accompanied by Best Adapted Screenplay nominations as well. Leading the pact in solo nominations, is Oscar-winning actress Glenn Close for “The Wife” and Willem Dafoe in the Vincent van Gogh biography, “At Eternity’s Gate.” Lastly, there is the best animated feature which has both sequels of “The Incredibles” and “Wreck-It Ralph” respectively competing against “SpiderMan: Into the Spider-Verse.” There is always talk about who’s snubbed and who should walk away with the trophy on the big night, Feb. 24. While I admire the Academy wanting to honor several outstanding bodies of work, they only create a more wide and complex voting process. This is where we give you our picks on what will win. I can see “Roma” walking away with trophies for the categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Screenplay. Typically, the Academy recognizes the film that will win Best Picture by gifting the directing trophy to that same film. While there have been exceptions in the past, I don’t see it panning out well going against director Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity’’, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), who looks to win his second directing trophy. Marvel superhero films will also shine this year. “Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse’’ will walk away with the win for the animated features. While I don’t think “Black Panther” will win anything massive, I definitely feel it will walk away

with something for sound mixing, sound editing, original score, or production design. When it comes to the acting categories, I see Christian Bale winning for his performance as Dick Cheney over Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury. With the criticism of “Bohemian Rhapsody” over its historical inaccuracies and lack of direction due to the abrupt departure of its initial director Bryan Singer amid past sexual assault charges, the film is too misleading and misguided to be taken seriously. Best Actress should certainly go to Lady Gaga in her first leading motion picture role. She carried the film every time she graced the screen. Her performance allows you to see a versatile approach to her many talents in “A Star is Born” in this musical drama that tackles some pretty difficult personal turmoil. If all else fails, she is a shoo-in for Best Original Song for “Shallow.” For the supporting nominations, I predict a repeat from 2017’s ceremony where the show saw two black actors receive awards for both respective categories for the first time ever. This year is no different with 2017 Best Supporting Actor, Marshala Ali, who looks to go two for two with his role in “Green Book.” For the women comes what I feel will be an inaugural win for veteran actress Regina King (“Friday”, “Seven Seconds”, “American Crime”). As she has already received the Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe for this same category, one would only be wise to bet on her walking away with her first trophy.

photo courtesy

Rami Malek stars in his Academy Award-nominated role of Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

| alex bailey via press kit

PAGE 7

FEB. 21, 2019

finalscore

hotshot

West Texas A&M’s softball team scored 21 runs against Western New Mexico on Feb. 16, 2019.

Tarleton State softball pitcher Jordan Withrow struck out 12 batters against Regis on Feb. 9, 2019.

21-4

T&F All-Academic Team Announced

Schedules Womens BB

From LSC Reports Eastern New Mexico’s Ezra Bagwell and West Texas A&M’s Valda Kabia named the Lone Star Conference Academic Athletes of the Year on Friday when league officials announced the LSC’s annual academic awards for men’s and women’s indoor track and field. Bagwell highlighted the 11 standouts on the LSC Men’s All-Academic team, while Kabia led a group of 11 on the LSC Women’s All-Academic

team.

A senior electronic engineering major from Clayton, New Mexico, Bagwell was named to the LSC academic team for the third straight year. He is ranked in the top 20 in the LSC in the 60m hurdles and long jump. Kabia, a senior sport and exercise science major from Richmond, British Columbia, currently ranks first in the LSC in 60-meter and 200-meter dash. The reigning 200m

LSC Indoor Champion holds the school record in the event. To be eligible for LSC academic honors, studentathletes must carry at least a 3.30 grade point average and have reached sophomore status both athletically and academically. The Academic Athlete of Year award and AllAcademic Team are selected from the list of academically qualified players, with the league’s sports information directors voting on the basis of both academic and athletic

Photo Courtesy / lonestarconference.org

achievement. Joining Bagwell on the men’s all-academic team was Angelo State’s Maxime Lapeyrie, Dragan Pesic, and Cameron Cross; DBU’s Stetson Rayas; Tarleton State’s Lorenzo Jones; Texas A&MCommerce’s Steven Sanchez; Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Dean Wallace and Lane Michna; and West Texas A&M’s Giovanni Pieters and Briggs Wittlake. On the women’s team with Kabia were teammates

Aubrey Watson and Madison Thetford; ASU’s Mia Van Oudsthoorn, Taylor Hall, and Ophelie De Oliveira; DBU’s Leah Lewis; ENMU’s Kiana Covington; Midwestern State’s Mercy Yermo; TSU’s Gretzel Jimenez; and TAMUK’s Racheal Somoye. Overall, 22 men and women were selected to the All-Academic teams including a three-time selection in Bagwell and two repeat selections (Yermo and Jimenez).

West Texas A&M Sweeps T&F Titles

February 21 Texas Woman’s @ Cameron ENMU @ TAMUC WNMU @ Angelo State West Texas A&M @ Tarleton State UT Permian Basin @ TAMUK February 23 West Texas A&M @ TAMUC ENMU @ Tarleton State Texas Woman’s @ Midwestern State WNMU @ TAMUK UT Permian Basin @ Angelo State February 26 ENMU @ West Texas A&M February 28 TAMUC @ UT Permian Basin TAMUK @ Cameron Angelo State @ Midwestern State Tarleton State @ WNMU West Texas A&M @ Texas Woman’s March 2 Tarleton State @ UT Permian Basin Angelo State @ Cameron ENMU @ Texas Woman’s TAMUK @ Midwestern State TAMUC @ WNMU March 8-10 LSC Championship

Mens BB

February 21 West Texas A&M @ Tarleton State WNMU @ Angelo State UT Permian Basin @ TAMUK ENMU @ TAMUC February 23 West Texas A&M @ TAMUC ENMU @ Tarleton State UT Permian Basin @ Angelo State WNMU @ TAMUK February 26 ENMU @ West Texas A&M February 28 Angelo State @ Midwestern State TAMUC @ UT Permian Basin TAMUK @ Cameron Tarleton State @ WNMU March 2 Tarleton State @ UT Permian Basin TAMUK @ Midwestern State Angelo State @ Cameron TAMUC @ WNMU March 7,9,10 LSC Championship

Softball

Photo Courtesy / lonestarconference.org

From LSC Reports West Texas A&M claimed its sixth straight women’s crown and second men’s title at the 2019 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, held in Lubbock, Texas. WT took the women’s title with 169.5 points. Angelo State finished second with 135 points in front of Texas A&MCommerce (126.5) in third place. The Lady Buffs prevailed in six events on Sunday. Fatim Affessi claimed her second

Softball

title of the championships in the triple jump, while Valda Kabia was a double-winner in the 60- and 200-meters. Erman Jepleting won the mile, Zada Swoopes finished first in the shot put with a LSC championship mark (50-8, 15.44m), and WT’s quartet of Tianna McKinney, Kayla Wilson, Kabia, and Nele Heinrich claimed gold in the 4x400 relay with a LSC meet best time of 3:45.38. ASU’s Jordan Nash picked her second individual title in the 60-meter hurdles, while

Shania Ford triumphed in the 800-meters. A&M-C’s Minna Sveard was a double-winner setting LSC Championship records en route to winning the pole vault title for the second straight year (12-4.75, 3.78m) and 400-meters (54.88). Texas A&M-Kingsville’s LaGae Brigance won the high jump, while Eastern New Mexico’s Mercy Rotich topped the field in the 3,000-meters. On the men’s side, WT finished with 164 points to top ASU (158.5) and A&M-C

Standings

Women’s Basketball

(121), who finished second and third, respectively. The Buffs took home a pair of individual titles as Abraham Seaneke won his second LSC title in the triple jump, and Lorenzo Johnson claimed gold in the 60-meter hurdles. ASU’s Edward Simmons crossed the finish line first in the 60-meters. The Lions won four events on Sunday led by a double-gold performance by Rashard Clark in the 200- and 400-meters. Josh Boateng claimed the shot put title, and the 1,600-meter

Men’s Basketball

relay of Gabriel Peterson, D’Lance Sharp, Stadrian Taylor, and Clark took home gold for the second straight year. TAMUK prevailed in two events with LSC championship marks as Valentin Charles won the Heptathlon with 5,493 points, and Ayman Zahafi finished first in the 800-meters (1:49.96). DBU’s Stetson Rayas placed first for the second event in the mile, while Lubbock Christian’s Keynan Abdi prevailed in the 3000-meters

Baseball

February 22 TAMUC @ UT Permian Basin (DH) ENMU @ Texas Woman’s TAMUK @ Tarleton State West Texas A&M @ Angelo State Cameron @ Midwestern State February 23 TAMUK @ Tarleton State Cameron @ Midwestern State West Texas A&M @Angelo State TAMUC @ UT Permian Basin ENMU @ Texas Woman’s (DH) TAMUK @ Tarleton State West Texas A&M @ Angelo State Cameron @ Midwestern State February 26 Angelo State @ Central Oklahoma (DH) Cameron @ Southwestern Oklahoma State (DH) West Texas A&M @ Lubbock Christian February 27 St. Edward’s @ TAMUC (DH)

For all sports sechedules visit lonestarconference.org

SPORTS

PAGE 8 Track and Field

Men, women claim third at LSC championships

FEB. 21, 2019

Men’s Basketball

photo courtesy | lion athletics Rashard Clark won three golds at the LSC championships.

From Lion Athletics The Texas A&M University-Commerce track and field teams each finished in third place at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships at Texas Tech University on Sunday. Rashard Clark (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Minna Svaerd (Karlstad, Sweden) each set meet records during the event. This marks the Lions’ final indoor meet before the field is set for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships on Tuesday, February 26. The National Championship meet will be held at Pittsburg State University on March 8 and 9. “Winning the Lone Star Conference is no small task. This is an amazing conference, full of national-level competition. Finishing third on both sides wasn’t that we wanted. The goal was to win the fifth straight LSC title for the men, and to win the first for the women,” Head Coach George Pincock said. “We fell short, but we had some amazing efforts along the way. I am incredibly proud of every effort we had. The studentathletes came to compete. We are leaving Lubbock in good spirits, looking forward to the National Championship, and what I believe will be a special

Perez

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outdoor season.” Clark won three gold medals for the Lions, taking top honors in every event he competed in. His 200 meter dash time of 21.09 seconds established a school record and is the fastest time in the nation, even with an altitudeconverted time of 21.16 seconds. He won the 400 meter dash at 47.12 seconds and was the anchor leg on the champion 4x400 meter relay team that crossed the line in 3:11.40. Svaerd set the meet and school record in the 400 meter dash at 54.88 seconds, which ranks in the top five nationally this season. She won the pole vault competition with a meet record of 3.78 meters (12-4 ¾), and was also on the runner-up 4x400 meter relay team, which crossed the line in 3:47.11 Josh Boateng (St. George’s, Grenada) won the gold medal in the men’s shot put with a long toss of 17.69 meters (580 ½).

Srdan Budimir (4) blocks a Tarleton player from shooting.

photo courtesy

| ryan cox via lion athletics

Women’s Basketball

showed anything. I’ve got to improve with what I did; a few throws I wish I had back and a few decisions like that.” In game two of the season, Perez and the Iron defeated the Salt Lake Stallions 12-9 at home in Birmingham. Perez and co. fell behind early to former University of Arkansas standout quarterback Austin Allen and the Stallions 9-0. Perez and the Iron picked up things in the second half as Birmingham scored a special team’s touchdown to get within three. With time running out in the game, Perez marched the Iron down to field, and on first and goal he handed the ball to Richardson who punched it in to give the Iron the lead 12-9. That was the final score of the game, as the Iron improved to

2-0. Perez once again had a solid game as he threw for 184 yards on 24/38 passing. Bleacher Report released an article after the weekend, noting Perez as the most likely player to be seen in the NFL. Everyone at A&MCommerce knows what Perez is capable of. The former TAMUC Lion and Los Angeles Ram knows his strengths and plays to them. It’s only a matter of time before he puts the AAF on high alert, and there’s a very good chance we will see Perez back in an NFL jersey. Perez and co. will be back in action this Sunday as the Iron travel to take on the Atlanta Legends. People can check out the game at 3 P.M. Central on the CBS Sports Network.

Princess Davis (12) keeps watch on a MSU-Texas player.

photo courtesy

| ashley tuppen via lion athletics