Triple Shooting Leaves One in Critcal Condition At least three people were shot and another was stabbed at a large, late-night party being held inside the 428 Club on Martin Luther King Drive in Commerce this past Sunday just before 4 a.m. When officers of the Commerce Police Department arrived, they found that numerous rounds of ammunition had been fired, striking at least three people—one of which suffered a gunshot wound to the head. That individual was airlifted to a Dallas hospital in critical condition. Another one of the gunshot victims was taken to Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville by ambulance. A third shooting victim was driven to Hunt Regional Emergency Medical Center in Commerce in a private vehicle, and an additional person arrived there with a stab wound in his arm. Commerce police detectives, with the help of the Texas Rangers, are investigating the incident, but do not yet have a good description of the suspect. They ask that anyone with any information that might help in identifying the suspect(s) contact the Commerce Police Department at 903-886-1139, University Police Department at 903-886-5868, or Crime Stoppers at 903-457-2929.
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What’s your fave? Staff Reporters Kimmie Thompson and Kyle Hall give their opposing opinions of their favorite comedies, Parks and Rec and The Office. PAGE 2
Saudi King visits China ‘Tale as Old as Time’ A visit to China by the Saudi Arabian King sparked worry among political experts over China making moves in the Middle East. PAGE 3
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Movie Critic Manuel Ramirez gives his opinion over a cartoon classic turned live action. PAGE 4
March 30, 2017
Lions Thump Dustdevils After losing a doubleheader against A&MK, the Lions righted their losses with dominating games over A&M-International. PAGE 8
Fee Increase Faces ‘Vote No’ Campaign Todd Kleiboer Web Editor
A movement by some members of the College Democrats has sprung forward against the increase in the athletic fee that a referendum will decide on April 12, and graduate student Chris Lindsey, the leader of the movement, mainly cites the imbalance in cultural focus between athletics and academics among other reasons. “You have this duality in Texas between athletics and academics, and you would figure that at a educational institution that academics would be prioritized and it hasn’t been,” Lindsey said. “This whole issue revolves around ‘we have to fund athletics more so we can give more money back to academics’, but to me, that doesn’t make any sense. If academics should be our main focus, we should have always funded academics properly.” According to Lindsey, if students vote to increase the athletic fee, it may only serve as a stopgap for a number of years, and because the athletic program is exploding in terms of growth, more referendums to increase the athletic fee may appear in the future, which will raise the cost of tuition for incoming students. “They might give the money to academics,” Lindsey conceded, “but as we’ve seen how our athletics program is now is that it’s growing exponentially. What keeps this from being an issue five years down the road, five years after that, and five years after that? I’m not saying that we totally gut athletics, but I’m a big fan of moderation when you can get it. You have to make trade-offs and balances.” Because of statewide hiring freeze passed down from Governor Greg Abbott that will last until the end of August, universities are squeezed for state funds to hire new faculty, and to collect the necessary funds, the students have to agree to a local fee increase. However, Lindsey proposes another, student-led solution. “Instead of raising fees, you have thousands of students here, have thousands upon thousands of students across the state of Texas, and if they were mobilized politically [by the university administration or the Student Government Association to stop the freeze], I would see that as a more viable option,” he said, “because it takes care of the short-term concerns and takes care of the long-term issue of making sure that we have adequate funding for our university.”
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The only agencies not affected are agencies without any state funding or that have an impact on public safety. Waivers to have this hiring freeze lifted are available through the Governor’s Office of Budget and Policy, but they are given out on a case-by-case basis. “When you’re here [at this university], decisions being made at the state and even the national level do affect you, and this would be a prime example,” Lindsey pointed out. “The university is saying that state is cutting their funding and not allowing us to hire people using state money, and so they need to find a different way. The different way for me is to tell the state government ‘No, this
is not acceptable’.” The movement is pushing its ideas through word of mouth and social media, and while not highly structured, the movement is still being moderately successful in voicing its opinion on the referendum. When students vote on the referendum, Lindsey wants them to remember the possible far-reaching effects of it. “When you’re deciding on this issue, it can’t be based on purely self-interest,” he said. “You have to look out for the people who are coming after you and the people who come after them. That’s just part of leaving a legacy.”
Proposed athletic fee hike on incoming freshmen aims to benefit both students and university
Todd Kleiboer Web Editor
Slated for April 12 and voted on through myLeo, a student referendum will decide how the university will go forward in hiring faculty by choosing to increase the athletic fee to $32 or to keep at the same rate of $10.99 per credit hour, and while confusion still might reign in some students’ minds, the administration stresses the need to vote knowledgeably. “Understand the facts,” Dr. Tomás A. Aguirre urged. “Vote on this referendum because it’s a right that is guaranteed. Make an informed decision.” The history on the raising of the athletic fee begins in 2008. Prior to 2008, there was no athletic fee, and thus the athletics program pulled money from the student services fee that usually goes toward funding organizations such as
S.E.E.D.S. or L.E.A.D. This was frowned upon because it forced the university to underfund vital student services, and in 2008, an athletic fee was introduced at $10.99. However, as the university and the athletics program have grown, this has become too small a fee. “They made a mistake in 2008,” Dr. Aguirre said bluntly. “They should have either made the athletic fee higher or put in a clause that would have raised the athletic incrementally to match the university’s growth.” Because of a statewide ban on fee referendums due to the belief of keeping higher education costs low, the university had to obtain special permission from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to hold this referendum with the condition that the money that would be freed by raising the fee would solely be used for hiring new faculty members, and this would be checked in the form of an audit. This is dif-
ferent than in 2008 when only vague promises were made to avoid using student service fees for athletics which still pulls from those funds. “Voting on referendums are part of the student body’s rights,” Dr. Aguirre pointed out. “What is motivating this referendum in purely academic in nature.” Though the fee increase is almost a 200% jump, final cost difference between graduates before the fee increase and after may only differ by about $2,000, a total cost change of under 10%. “The university doesn’t want to the price to go up. It prides itself on that,” Dr. Aguirre said. “Look at the diverse body of students. If we price ourselves out of that, we won’t have that body of students anymore.” Currently, this university has the lowest athletic fee in the A&M System, and if this referendum passes, the fee will increase to $32 per credit
hour, resulting in a relatively low $252 increase in tuition for a 12-hour semester or $2,016 increase across eight semesters of the same hour amount. It is reasoned that the new 16 tenuretrack faculty members, placed in the most critically short-staffed departments over three years, will quicken a student’s degree completion, and therefore students would be able to graduate on-time or early, saving them roughly between $9,000 to $18,000. “The whole of purpose of this referendum is that any student who comes to Commerce should finish in four years,” Dr. Aguirre said. “A student staying for a fifth or sixth year spends their money and our money as well because we have to use resources that we could using to serve first- or second-year students.”
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Opinion
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vs. Kyle Hall Staff Reporter
Kimmie Thompson Staff Reporter
“My whole life is a giant mess and I love it.” -Leslie Knope If that isn’t the understatement of the decade. There has been quite a debate on if “Parks and Recreation” is better than “The Office”, and I have sided with “Parks and Recreation”. It is true that both follow a mockumentary style, however there are things that make “Parks and Rec” more amusing than the dry, non-humorous “The Office”. To start, “Parks and Rec” has a very diverse cast as well as strong female leads. Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, is the deputy director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department and is the protagonist of “Parks and Recreation”. There are also small female roles that flourished into becoming part of the main cast. Ann Perkins, who ended up taking a part-time position with Pawnee’s Department of Public Health. April Ludgate, who took an internship and ends up taking a position for the Animal Control division. And finally, Donna Meagle, who is known for being the parks ‘diva’. Donna was in the first season because the producers liked her and they decided they would establish her character as the series progressed. Since Parks and Rec has such a diverse cast, it makes it more relatable to everyone who watches it. Whereas “The Office”, whose main focus is on Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Pam Beesly and Dwight Schrute the audience may have a hard time relating to a character. Sorry to the token minority guy of the show. In “Parks and Rec”, the audience is given more room to pick whom they relate to more. If you love your hometown and are ambitious and maybe one day runs for city council, you’re probably a Leslie Knope. If you have use your government job to promote your new business, well then you’re probably a Tom Haverford. If you are extremely sarcastic, you are an April Ludgate. And if you’re a goofy, dim-witted but lovable slacker, you’re an Andy Dwyer. The show also covers some major social issues like inequality in the work place, gay marriage, gender roles, and digital privacy. Not only do these show how humorous and ridiculous these issues are, they can be great learning tools for a younger audience. They set up the situation simple enough so everyone can understand it. Lastly, “Parks and Recreation” has better jokes than “that’s what she said.” I mean really, how immature can we get? “Parks and Rec” has on-going jokes throughout the entire series. For instance, for seasons one to six Jerry Gergich is referred to as Jerry. However, in season six, they start to refer to him as Larry. Towards the end of season six throughout much of season seven, he is called Terry. Finally, towards the end of the series his true name is restored, which is Garry. There are also the Pawnee City Hall’s offensive murals, raccoon problems, Pawnee vs. Eagleton, Duke Silver, the triangle of Tammy’s, Leslie’s love of waffles and much more. You have to admire the way these jokes are set up because it makes the audience start at the beginning of the series in order to get the jokes. You can’t just get them from a simple meme. So go and watch shamelessly my beautiful, poetic land mermaids! We know “Parks and Rec” has better antics, jokes and quotes so share it to the world. And always remember to treat yo’self.
The U.S. version of “The Office” on NBC has to be one of the most prolific and groundbreaking shows of our time. Still popular past its original end date in 2013, “The Office,” with its awkward humor, continues to strive forward gracefully. Unfortunately, this magnificent show has had its fair share of competition especially with its counterpart “Parks and Recreation”. Now let me get this straight, these shows have similar aspects as they’re both mockumentaries but their differences far overcome their similarities. To give you some information regarding this cinematic masterpiece, the sitcom revolves around a Pennsylvania paper company, Dunder-Mifflin. The premise is a documentary crew following the daily lives of average blue-collar workers. At this point in the description you are probably thinking wow, this sounds like a seriously boring show. But alas, there is an upside; the show is pure gold for the relationships and archetypes made throughout the story line. Spoiler alert! Let’s start with the most obvious of character types, Michael Scott. He is a narcissist and craves the attention from his superiors and coworkers. In the sixth season of show in an episode Michael spreads rumors about one of his coworkers affairs just to be included in the office gossip, he eventually realizes what he is doing can seriously harm one of his coworkers life. He then proceeds to make up more rumors about other employees of his, to cover his tracks. Throughout his seven seasons on the show he goes through countless predicaments to earn the love and affection from others which ultimately just make him look like an “idiot,” which in retrospect is one of his famous lines towards his Assistant to the Regional Manager, Dwight Schrute, the protagonist and antagonist of the series. I possibly couldn’t do the show justice in describing the transcending qualities of Dwight Schrute. So here is a quote of him describing himself, “How would I describe myself? Three words. Hard-working. Alpha male. Jackhammer. Merciless. Insatiable.” -Dwight Schrute He is a paper salesman by day and a beet farmer in his personal life. He is a master of all trades and is a lover of all things Battlestar Galactica, he seeks the approval of his oblivious boss. Ben and Leslie in “Parks and Recreation” are no comparison to Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly. You truly get to see the couple’s love blossom into a real romance. Pam and Jim have a love that can test the tales of time. In the beginning seasons the two clearly belonged together but had countless obstacles in their way, but it seems that everything was meant to be because they do finally come together in a spectacular spectacle of love. I think so many adore their relationship is because they’re relatable. Unlike in so many other shows, they have a relationship that could actually play out in the real world. Finally, “Parks and Recreation” is just a spin-off of “The Office”, with Rashida Jones already having been one of Jim’s early love interests on “The Office”; they are clearly reaching to be just like them. However, on paper you would think that “Parks and Recreation” would be a great show with Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari both being hilarious people unfortunately, like the shows plot, they seem to just stumble around trying to get an actual story line going. Amy Poehler is trying too hard to be like the Steve Carrell’s character. Carrell who played his character to a T, Poehler could have sure used some lessons when the show first aired. In conclusion, “The Office” will always be better than “Parks and Recreation”.
Campus Comment: PARKS AND REC or THE OFFICE? “Parks and Rec”: I like the characters and actors. I don’t really keep up with “The Office”. I don’t dig that type of comedy. -Tyrone Carroll, sophomore
“Parks and Rec”: Because of Chris Pratt, he’s my dad. - Mitchell Morrow, sophomore
“The Office”: It’s actually funny and has more personality. -Ahlexis Cooper, sophomore
“The Office”: I watched it first and heard Parks & Rec copied off but I liked both -Leanna Brown, sophomore
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M ARCH 30, 2017
special contributions
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Saudi Arabia’s Strides Counseling Corner Toward China LINTAU ZHANG/GETTY IMAGES
David Oualaalou Special Contributor Editor’s Note: This column is by special contributor Dr. David Oualaalou, a professor of political science at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce, and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and the Waco Tribune-Herald 8IBU JT POF UP NBLF PVU PG ,JOH Salman of Saudi Arabia recent trip to Asia? The answer is the kingdom’s worries about the economic and se curity impact of the inevitable shift in geopolitics. Though, I am not surprised at this visit given the fact the kingdom is reorganizing its eco nomic and security priorities to se cure its interests, I found it unusual that the Saudi king visits China be GPSF UIF 6OJUFE 4UBUFT UIPVHI JU IBT CFFO DVTUPNBSZ GPS UIF 4BVEJ ,JOH to officially visit the newly elected 64 QSFTJEFOU BU UIF 8IJUF )PVTF Whether by design or random co JODJEFODF ,JOH 4BMBN T WJTJU UP "TJB came on the hills of his son, Prince .PIBNFE #JO 4BMNBO UIJSE JO MJOF UP UIF UISPOF BOE EFGFOTF NJOJTUFS T visit to Washington recently and how the Prince made it clear during his press statement that the desert kingdom is keeping all its options open; whatever that means! 8IJMF ,JOH 4BMNBO T WJTJU UP 5P kyo, Japan resulted in a $25 billion technology venture with Japanese telecom giant Softbank, his visit to $IJOB TFFNT UP IJHIMJHIU UIF ,JOH T strategic thinking that is economi cally driven and security oriented as the desert kingdom and China signed economic ventures worth $65 billion. My analysis suggests that Saudi Arabia is convinced that oil prices are not going back to their high lev FM PWFS #BSSFM BOZUJNF TPPO thus, the time is now to diversify its economic assets. At the same time, this move will benefit China given its HSPXJOH EFNBOE GPS 4BVEJ PJM XIJMF
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Lead.er.ship Mind.ful.ness: 2 Steps to Starting Small Business
Sheriff Osni Special Contributor
i#VJME ZPVS PXO ESFBNT PS TPNFPOF FMTF XJMM IJSF ZPV UP CVJME UIFJST w _ 'BSSBI (SBZ www.dallas.score.org is a FREE resource partner XJUI UIF GFEFSBM 4NBMM #VTJOFTT "ENJOJTUSBUJPO 4#" with the purpose of empowering all people to become TNBMM CVTJOFTT PXOFST UISPVHI JO QFSTPO TUFQ CZ TUFQ mentoring. And, there is a caveat: i:PV IBWF UP EP JU CZ ZPVSTFMG BOE ZPV DBO U EP JU BMPOF w _ .BSUJO 3VUUF As a certified SCORE mentor I can tell you that the only thing that would prevent you from starting and successfully finishing is...your mental attitude. The pro cess is easy but you must do the hard work, and it’s not impossible. “Nothing is impossible the word itself says ‘I’m pos TJCMF w _ "VESFZ )FQCVSO :PVS NFOUBM BUUJUVEF XJMM FJUIFS JHOJUFT ZPVS TQJSJU with all the possibilities or it will extinguish your spirit with all the impossibilities. i7PVMPJS D FTU QPVWPJS w 5P XJMM JT UP CF BCMF _ French saying What separates successful people from the rest is their unequivocal believe in themselves, perseverance, persistence, tenacity, higher aspirations, clearer vision, positive attitude, growth mindset, discipline, clear sense of purpose, a written detailed plan that shows the path to success, and the courage to fail and try again and again and as many again as necessary until they suc ceed; never giving up. i8IFSF UIFSF T B XJMM UIFSF T B XBZ w _ .JDIBFM 4DPUU ɨF $SVJTF PG UIF .JEHF DI *
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Don’t Let the Party Backfire on You Marty Marsh Jacobs, LPC-S The signs of spring are all around us. The grass is green, flowers are blooming, and there is an air of anticipation. The semester is on the downhill slide and summer is not far away. It seems as if a celebration is in order. Time to party! Everybody loves a good party, right? The mood is set, the alcohol is flowing, and the party is in full swing. What most of us forget is that the party can easily get out of hand. Think before you drink. Think about the consequences. Nobody really pays attention to statistics unless they are on an exam, but keep the following in mind. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, college age drinking can be dangerous. For example, students between the ages of 18 and 24 are subject to several negative consequences. Almost 2,000 college students die each year from alcohol related injuries and an even greater number receive unintentional injuries. More than 600,000 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. Alcohol related sexual assault or date rape affects more than 97,000 students each year. Testing limits is common among college students. The problem is that many inexperienced drinkers don’t know what their limit is. Without realizing how much has been consumed, it is painfully easy to become intoxicated to the point of having a blackout, or worse, alcohol poisoning. A person in a blackout has no memory of what happened while intoxicated. If you try to see how drunk you can get every time you drink, you aren’t a social drinker. More importantly, you may be developing an alcohol problem. Signs of possible alcohol abuse include the following:
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Campus
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Honors College, Regents’ Scholars & Leo Scholars Reorganize Christian Aleman News Editor Many changes have taken place during the current semester with program restructuring at the university. One of these developments is the integration of the Honors College, Regents’ and the Leo Scholars programs all under the same administration. Additionally, the Quality Enhancement Plan has been reassigned to the office of the Honors College and is now under new management with Jennifer Hudson. Her previous experience as the Director of the Regents’ Scholars Program will be helpful in advancing both programs and her addition to the staff will allow for stronger organization. Vice President for Student Access and Success, Mary Hendrix, was a senior administrator who played a major role in advancing the university recently left her position last semester. She had been overseeing a very large grouping, so following her retirement, President Ray M. Keck decided that it would be more efficient to take what had been the Division of Student Access and Success and incorporate it back into the Division of Academic Affairs. The Honors College, the Regents’ Scholars Program and the Leo Scholar Program had all previously been housed
in the Division of Student Access and Success. When the Regents’ Scholars Program was created three years after the Honors College, the coordinators worked hard to create a unique culture and leadership for the two institutions, and they have seen a positive outcome over the years. “Honors College is seen as a prestigious academic group of scholars,” the Dean of the Honors College Dr. Raymond Green said “and although the Regents’ Scholars are also prestigious and academic, their unique identity is focused on global awareness and so they’re curriculum is a little different. They take more courses focused on growing student’s international awareness and understanding the interconnectedness of the world, which is why a major part of their experience involves them traveling to Europe eventually.” Now that they have established their own identity, it is safe and appropriate to bring them back together under the same administration. As for the Leo Scholars, a decision was made early last fall to discontinue the program and not bring in any new members. There are two current companies associated with the Leo Scholars and they will carry on with their planned schedule until the students have graduated which will be the end of this specific program.
The university hopes that they can still create a distinction between the programs and prevent them from losing their particular reputations that they have built for themselves. “We’ve always wanted to do more to bring the two communities together because they share so much, but also allow their unique identities to continue growing and so that will be one of the challenges I think we face as an office,” Dr. Green said. “We’ll continue to do independent orientations for the two groups, separate their curriculum, and because they do live in different resident halls, geography helps create identity, but at the same time we hope to do more events together.” The main office for supervision and information on each of these programs has been relocated and can all be found in Prairie Crossing. In terms of organizational efficiency, it was easier to have everything in close proximity and in one building instead of scattered among the different residence halls. Along with these modifications, Jennifer Hudson’s has also moved her office into Prairie Crossing from its previous location in the One Stop Shop. Jennifer Hudson has been relocated from her previous position in the University College and has joined the staff in the Honors College.
She was already the coordinator of the Regents’ Scholars Program, but now her title also includes the new supervisor of the Quality Enhancement Plan. The QEP introduces intentional structures and courses to reinforce and refine students’ global abilities through two programs: the Global Scholar Program and the Global Fellow Program. Although the assimilation of the different programs was only recently instated, the main concern for Dr. Green and faculty was that the change would create a problem for the students. The university has witnessed the positive results generated by each group and hopes that this change does not affect them in their course to advance further. “When the organizational change happened, when the bureaucracy changed, our goal was for the students to not really notice,” Dr. Green said. “Overall, we didn’t want the student experience to change, it’s more of an organizational efficiency thing so the programs are still moving forward the way they always have been and they’re doing well. The results for each program continues to grow and it keeps getting better. The change itself shouldn’t create any challenges for the student.”
LAMP to be moved under S.E.E.D.S. office Imogene Wofford Entertainment Editor The Latino American Mentorship Program (LAMP) is being moved from the Office of Hispanic Outreach to Serving Engaged Empowered and Diverse Students Office (S.E.E.D.S.) because their grant is expiring. This is coming from a decision that was made last summer by former Vice President for Student Access and Success Dr. Mary Hendrix. “The grant was expiring and this was a better way to support them both financially and administratively,” Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Tomás Aguirre said. LAMP and the three other living learning communities were previously reporting to three
different areas which made it harder for to support them and their students. “All four of our living learning communities will now be under one umbrella which should better allow them to grow and flourish, hopefully this [shift] has affected [the current students of LAMP] in a positive way and also in the future,” he said. The program will report to the multicultural office, S.E.E.D.S., who will support the program both financially and programmatically, which is also under the Office of Student Affairs. LAMP will also have a “dotted line” relationship with to housing which will support their living expenses Aguirre stated. “The grant is not controlled by me or Texas A&M University-Commerce, so once it expires they might not have the budget to do everything
Mane Event
they are currently doing because their funding will now come from the student service fee,” he said. “I hope that LAMP will continue to do the great things that they are currently doing and have done in the past. This realignment had nothing to do with performance or output; this had everything to do with their budget and their ability to work more effectively with our multi-cultural center and housing. Once the grant expired someone else was going to have to pick up the financial slack, now this can be LAMP students dining at the etiquette luncheon. TAMUC Photo done,” Aguirre said. For more information, concerns or questions or Interim Vice President for Student Access and regarding this restructure reach out to Aguirre Success Dr. Shonda Gibson.
offers prospective students a taste of TAMUC Acacia Muñoz Staff Reporter
“I really enjoyed the food, it was amazing,” Haley said. “What I also liked is the interaction and involvement the students have here.” From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., on the second floor of the RSC, they held a showcase where representatives from student organizations, academic departments, and student support services informed Mane Event attendees about the many things they have to offer. Volunteers stood outside the RSC holding a sign reading, “Housing Shuttle,” to attract students towards the shuttle buses that would transport them to the residence halls for a tour. Anyone who wanted a tour of the campus or Morris Recreation Center just had to meet with a Lion Ambassador at the Lion Statue located by the Campus Crossroads. At the end, students had the chance of receiving a free tshirt after completing an evaluation of the event outside the Rayburn student center where D.J. Angel Jasso played some of today’s biggest hits.
Mane Event Preview day took place on Saturday, March 25 where prospective students, along with their families, walked throughout the Texas A&M University-Commerce campus. Mane Event is an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors as well as transfer students to get a glimpse of what A&M-Commerce has to offer. The event showcased student resources and campus activities. The day started with check-in and donuts outside the Ferguson Social Science building from 8:00-8:30 a.m. Visitors were then led towards Ferguson Auditorium, where they were officially welcomed by the university leaders. Afterwards, a freshman and transfer session was held at the Rayburn Student Center (RSC). Students had the chance to learn about the admission requirements, the application process, and the financial aid and scholarship opportunities the university has to offer. Academic sessions were from 10-11:50 a.m where students were able to meet professors and learn about the courses they could be taking in the near future. Illiana Davidson and Sierra Jones, juniors at Cooper high school, attended one of the sessions and were able to receive more information about the school of social work. “I learned that there are a lot of jobs out there and I now really want to go into the social work field,” Davidson said. Daisy Delgadillo, a high school senior, also had a full experience at the academic session, Discovering the Universe, at the Science Building. “I was so amazed while they showed us the stars in the Planetarium display,” Delgadillo said. At lunch time, students along with their family dined in the Mane Cafeteria. Cameron Haley, a senior at Liberty-Eylau High School, did not have the opportunity to attend an academic session but Prospective students being led on a campus tour for Mane Event had a strong opinion about the campus.
TAMUC Photo
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Features
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SOARING CLOSER TO THE HEAVENS A&M-Commerce Professor’s Hobby Takes Flight
Christian Aleman News Editor When he’s not running the planetarium or teaching courses in physics and astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Dr. Kent Montgomery takes to the skies in his own handmade, star-covered plane. “It was always kind of a dream since I was a little kid, it’s just that I didn’t get to fulfill it until I was 30-something years old, but it was still really fun,” Montgomery said. “Once I got my first job as a professor I finally had a little bit of time and money. And so I finally said ‘Hey, I’m going to do what I want to do.’ And that’s when I started taking lessons and I really enjoyed it and I just kept going until I got my license.” Since he finished building his own plane around 2010, Montgomery has logged about 300 hours of flying time in the kit plane. “I flew over the edge of The Grand Canyon which was cool,” he said. “I’ve flown all the way to Montana and I California. I’ve flown up to Wisconsin, so I’ve flown around cities and clouds and all kinds of stuff. Flying is always exciting. Every time you fly it’s something unique.” Montgomery decided to purchase and build his own plane after deciding it would be the most cost effective option. “When I started flying, I had to pay to rent the plane and that’s kind of expensive, so I realized that if I wanted to keep flying, I really needed to have my own plane,” he said. “And, then I’ve
“Up there, there are no roads, there are no cars, you can go in any direction you want, any altitude, and the view is just spectacular” -Dr. Kent Montgomery always liked to build things, so the idea of it kind of got into my head and I started looking around and then I found a guy who had done it and that was the motivation that made me think, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’” The process to complete the kit plane took eight years and began in his home garage. “It was what we call a kit plane, where you buy all the parts; the crates show up and you have all the metal parts and you would have to put them all together and rivet them all together,” he said. “And there are some like 20,000 rivets in it because it’s an aluminum plane.” Montgomery also painted the plane and did so to reflect his career choice and interests. “Yeah, because I’m an astronomer, if you look close, I painted stars on it. There are all kinds of stars, a comet, constellations like Orion and Taurus.” He enjoys being in the air because it provides a feeling of “total freedom” that is different from “worry[ing] about all the cars” when compared
Astronomy professor, Dr. Kent Montgomery’s kit plane
to driving. “It’s more of a feeling that you get flying, than something you describe. It’s like trying to describe [being] happy, but when you’re up there flying you just know that you like it,” Montgomery said. “Because when you get up there you’re kind of separate from the world, you forget everything else: all the cares of the world, all the problems, stresses...they’re just gone. Up there, there are no roads, there are no cars, you can go in any direction you want, any altitude, and the view is just spectacular.” After traveling all around the United States,
PHOTO COURTESY/K ENT MONTGOMERY
Montgomery sets his sight to travel internationally in his own plane. “My goal is still to go flying in the Caribbean and go what they call ‘island hopping’,” he said. “You go flying to an island, stay there one day, then the next day you fly to another island. You just kind of go through the Caribbean... By boat it’d take like an hour to go between islands, but by plane you can do it in about an hour so. You get up, fly an hour and you have the whole day there, hang out on the island and the next day you go to another one.”
Unearthing the Past and Breaking New Ground on the Future Gwiwon Jason Nam Staff Reporter
East Texan Photo/Gwiwon Nam Attendees of the Century as Lions celebration didn’t let the weather get in the way of their plans. [left to right] Frank Jackson, Alicia Currin, Dr. John Humphreys, Phillip Ray, State Rep. Gary VanDeaver, State Rep. Dan Flyn, Dr. Ray M. Keck and John Sharp “break ground” for the new Nursing & Health Sciences Building.
Texas A&M University–Commerce celebrated 100 years as a state institution with the “Century as Lions” Ceremony and a ground breaking for the Nursing & Health Science Building the Friday before Spring Break. It has been just over 100 years since a telegram arrived in Commerce on March 14, 1917, indicating that the state of Texas had decided to purchase the town’s college from its founder, William L. Mayo. The President of A&M–Commerce, Dr. Ray Keck gave “two lessons” in his speech. “A lesson about how this dream survived,” he said. “Despite the many challenges, we continually keep follow our dream as Professor Mayo had done. The second lesson is there is glory enough for us all…not for any one of us. We are, all of us together, beneficiaries and participants…students and heirs of William Leonidas Mayo,” he said. Chancellor of Texas A&M University System, John Sharp, gave a celebration speech. “The growth that’s happening here is a true testament to what the A&M System is about,” Sharp said. “We take ordinary kids like you and me and turn them into extraordinary human beings and citizens of the State of Texas. I just wanted to come here and congratulate you on a 100 years of being a public institution, over 125 years as an institution of education, and 20 years as a member of Texas A&M University System.” Right after the celebration speech, a special groundbreaking ceremony for the new Nursing and Health Sciences Building (which will house the Departments of Health & Human Performance, Nursing and Biological Research) took place, accompanied by thoughts and perspectives from university faculty and alumni.
Literary Launch Showcases Student Storytelling Evangelina Morales Staff Reporter The Mayo Review commemorated their 52nd annual issue this semester. Students, who’d had their work published attended the event and had the opportunity to read their poems to the audience. This launch event for the issue took place at the Hall of Languages and was open to students, staff, faculty, and anyone who wanted to learn and listen to the student’s poems. One of the students, freshman Quy-Image Miller said, read her poem titled “Flightless,” in which she explained that her parents were very protective of her. “My parents love in such a way that they want to keep me away from the outside world. It’s kind of like feeling trapped,” she said. “So, when I wrote that poem what I was really thinking of was that I wanted to get away but there was something that held me back. For me, as a little girl, I didn’t want to be the princess. I wanted to be a superhero.” The journal is published every Spring semes-
ter. By creating poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama, and visual artwork, students are able to express their feelings, dreams, creativity, and fears. They let people know a little more about their life. Each individual has a story to tell that expresses who they are or where they come from. The event featured special guest Dr. Courtney Craggett, a recipient of the Sherwood Anderson Editor Choice Award whose work has appeared on Ploughshare’s blog. She has also been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, and she teaches creative writing classes at the University of North Texas. During the event, Craggett read three of her short story. Before she started reading, she introduced the work and the creative history behind it. The first one she started reading was “Statues,” a fictional what-if scenario about living statues. “The day the statues came to life, we hid inside and watched through windows,” she read. “In Texas, herds of mustangs stampeded into buildings. Down in Mexico, monks swept through the streets, and their footsteps split the sidewalks
and sent spider web cracks up the buildings.” In addition, Christopher Wydler, the Editorin-Chief of the Mayo Review, explained details about the cover picture for this Spring 2017 issue. “The cover of this year’s Mayo Review volume is an original drawing by tattoo artist Cesar Falcon,” he said. “He lives in Killeen, TX where he works and lives with his wife and son. The medium of the piece is charcoal on paper. The title of the art is ‘Chac.’ The piece reflects the Maya rain deity often referred to as Chac or Chaahk.” “Falcon was inspired to create this piece following a trip to Mexico,” Wydler went on to explain. “As he describes it, he stepped off the plane and instantly had a feeling he could not articulate with words. He could only describe it as a primal awakening that gave birth to spiritual connections felt long ago. Using the craft he knows, Falcon immediately sat down and began drawing with charcoal.” Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of The Mayo Review can contact the editorial board at mayoreview@gmail.com. Each copy costs $10.
The cover of the 2017 edition of the Mayo Review, featuring art by Cesar Falcon.
Entertainment
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beauty and the beast comes to life East Texan Movie Critic Manuel Ramirez gives his response to the 2017 live-action remake of the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. Manuel Ramirez Staff Reporter A tale as old as time and considered one of Disney’s crowning achievements of a young maiden who tames the heart of a beast, Beauty and the Beast is beloved by audiences of all ages and made history of being the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. When it was announced that this would be the next film to get the live-action treatment, the response was understandably less than pleased. Interestingly, I didn’t watch the original as a kid; I was familiar with the songs but had never seen the film in its entirety. I was in my preteens when I viewed it for the first time, however it was in Spanish. Regardless, I enjoyed it very much. The week the remake was set to premiere I finally watched it in its original dub. While not among my favorite of the classic Disney collection, I can see why it’s considered one of Disney’s best; from the musical numbers, intense drama, memorable characters including the brave and independent Belle, and the romance that blossoms between her and the Beast. So how does the 2017 live-action remake hold up? When it came to the cast, I had my doubts and the trailers didn’t improve my spirits, but the moment Belle began to sing the opening song, my worries were quickly diminished and began to enjoy the movie. From the production design, costumes and special effects especially the Beast, it all looks really well. There’s just something magical that only Disney can achieve of seeing your favorite animated characters come to life. Emma Watson (Hermione from the Harry Potter series) shines remarkably as Belle, Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley from Downtown Abbey) is amazing as the Beast and the romance between them is just as adorable and developed like in the original. Kevin Kline (Phoebus from Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame) as Maurice, Belle’s father, is still the inventive tinkerer; in
one of the many changes he plays the role in a sad and serious direction compared to his animated bumbling counterpart but still retains the same charm. Even Luke Evans (Bard from The Hobbit Trilogy) and Josh Gad (Olaf from Disney’s Frozen) are well casted in the roles of the self-conceited Gaston and his loyal lackey LeFou. The familiar denizens of the castle also have some good actors in these familiar roles from Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan from the Star Wars prequels) as the debonair candelabra Lumière, Ian McKellen
PHOTO COURTESY/WALT DISNEY
(Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings & Hobbit Trilogy) as the pompous clock Cogsworth, Emma Thompson (Captain Amelia from Disney’s Treasure Planet) as the charming teapot Mrs. Potts, and newcomer Nathan Mack as her teacup son Chip. Among the few updates in the household cast are Gugu MbathaRaw (Superstar singer Noni in Beyond the Lights) as Featherduster, Theater Actress and Opera Singer Audra McDonald as Madame Cadenza who were the unnamed feather duster and wardrobe in the original and Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman from The Hun-
ger Games) as Maestro Cadenza a harpsichord piano who is a new character in this movie. (I can only guess that the idea inspired by the villainous pipe organ voiced by Tim Curry in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, but I digress.) This movie was alright, it may not be as good as the Cinderella and The Jungle Book live-action remakes but it’s not bad to the level of say Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent. The problem it does suffer is that with the exception of some minor tweaks to the story it’s an almost shot-for-shot copy of the original. What made Cinderella and The Jungle Book work was that while they drew inspiration from both the original source material and Disney counterpart, they were their own story and not an exact replica of the animated versions. Director Bill Condon is no stranger when it comes to musicals having worked on Dreamgirls and Chicago; the Broadway touch gives the movie a nice setting and works to its advantage with the musical numbers. With the exception of a couple of tracks, the songs don’t pack the same energy as in the animated version but are still performed decently; many of the new songs are a nice addition that I found myself tearing up a couple of times. Among the few promising updates include why the villagers weren’t aware of the castle prior to Maurice, a look into why the Beast became a selfish prince that lead to his curse, the fate of Belle’s mother, and Belle being told why the castle is enchanted. It’s not in full detail but she has an idea of the Beast’s pain and the situation they are in. Whether you were for or against the idea of LeFou being gay, it’s a subject that is barely mentioned in the movie and while there are some implications and risqué moments it never goes into full detail and when it does it’s for mostly comedic purposes. Regardless, it doesn’t have an effect on the story other than to make LeFou a more redeemable character. Beauty and the Beast manages to be okay, landing in the middle among the live-action remakes where it at least honors its source material preventing it from being a complete disaster.
Power Rangers Reboot Bates Motel Manuel Ramirez breaks down why he thought the reboot was the extended version of a 22-minute episode with a big screen budget. its campy feel and remembered mostly by its fan base.) With this movie, it trades in that campy element for a dark and serious tone resulting in a clunky and unfocused picture. Like any kid, I grew up watching one or two episodes of The lead actors are great in their roles but I got more of a kick Power Rangers before my parents banned me from watching from Cranston, Hader, even Banks who despite being both a anymore, of course that didn’t stop me. While not a die-hard terrifying and over-the-top villain somehow makes her role fan, I’ve seen enough episodes from various if-not-all incar- stand out. Scenes with the Rangers discovering the spaceship and nations of the Power Rangers to be familiar with the set-up from Mighty Morphin, Lightspeed Rescue, S.P.D. and Dino training for the big battle pump up the adrenaline but once the Morphine element kicks in the third act it’s hard to take Thunder (the series I was most familiar with). Five individuals (usually teenagers) are chosen by a mystic something like Power Rangers seriously with its somber tone force to protect the world from powerful evildoers. They are even with its epic fight from buildings being destroyed and equipped with their own costume/armor each with its own a giant robot (who bears a striking resemblance to Optimus color (Red signifying the leader) and pilot their own Zords, Prime) clashing with another giant monster it makes Pacific Rim a more mature picture with its similar which are basically giant animal rogiant robot and alien fight story. bots. It was campy and over-the-top It doesn’t help when the iconic theme but harmless and a lot of fun. song plays as the zords are unleashed Saban’s Power Rangers from direcwhich just seemed out of place; imagine tor Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) if the Adam West Batman theme song follows the formula in this reboot of played during the climax of The Dark the Might Morphin saga. Five teenKnight. Among other issues including age delinquents Jason (Dacre Montthat I felt the team dynamic wasn’t wellgomery), Billy (RJ Cyler), Kimberly PHOTO COURTESY/LIONSGATE executed within the rangers who are most(Naomi Scott), Trini (Becky G.), and ly bickering with each other and come to Zack (Ludi Lin) come across an ancient spaceship run by Zordon (Bryan Cranston) an alien and an agreement only when it’s convenient to the plot, and with former Power Ranger whose conscious is projected through the exception of the Billy (the Blue Ranger), the other rangers a what I can only describe as a holographic wall made out of had generic personalities. If it’s any consolation, it does a better job handling its rubric cubes and assisted by a funny robot named Alpha 5 source material than the likes of Transformers, Teenage Mu(voiced by Bill Hader). Chosen to be the new rangers the team does’t exactly meet tant Ninja Turtles, and Jem and the Holograms, though there eye preventing them from morphing into their Ranger armor, were moments that it started to feel like a Michael Bay probut time is of the essence as the evil Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth duction (minus the explosions) with a few off-color jokes, one Banks) emerges from the earth with her monster army and involving a cow udder which thankfully doesn’t plague the plotting to take over the world. Basically, a twenty-two min- entire runtime and incorporating product place by making ute TV episode with a longer runtime and bigger budget; this Krispy Kreme Doughnuts pivotal to its story. Fans will probably have a better time than I did, nothing isn’t the first time that the Power Rangers have appeared on the big screen with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers the Mov- wrong with that but if you’re not familiar or give a hoot about ie (1995) and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997, retaining the Power Rangers franchise then go give this movie a view. Manuel Ramirez Staff Reporter
Moge’s
o v i e s
Imogené Wofford Entertainment Editor
If you’re looking for something new to watch on Netflix, I have just the thing for you…Bates Motel! I started watching this series over spring break and it literally only took me four days to watch the entire thing, really only four days because I watched a season a day. I mean, honestly, there’s no other way to watch it, it’s like Lay’s potato chips where you just can’t have one. The series is based off of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho. It follows a mother, Norma Bates, and her teenage son, Norman Bates, as they move to White Pine Bay following the death of her husband Sam. She buys an old motel and home that sits on a hill behind the motel and hopes to start a new life for them. During the beginning of the series I noticed that the mother and son have such a close relationship that it sometimes looks like they are in a romantic relationship with each other, that weirded me out a little…not to mention the fact that it comes out in one of the seasons that when she was a young teenager she was in a romantic relationship with her brother and ended up having a son with him, Norman’s half-brother Dylan…but not enough to make me stop watching, haha! But anyways…Norman walks around with undiagnosed split personality syndrome and the second personality is his mom! Anytime he is put in a compromising situation he hides within his own mind while his mother handles the problem, and when I say handle I mean she kills whoever she feels is harming Norman. On one episode his teacher turns up dead and he has to take a lie detector test to prove that he didn’t kill her and he actually gets found innocent of committing the murder because he was absent minded when it happened; so he killed her because it was his body, but he didn’t because his mother’s personality within his brain actually did it. Norma knows that there is something mentally wrong with him because she starts to notice him get extremely interested in death that he starts doing taxidermy in the basement of their home, and she starts finding trinkets from the people who have ended up dead. However, she feels, like any other mother, that she is doing what’s right by protecting him and keeping him busy around the house. It works for a short time, then something happens and she wants him to go and get some professional help. He does for a while but then it wouldn’t be interesting anymore, right? He gets out and sees that everyone has moved on with their lives and he decides to take matters into his own hands by killing his mother and himself, but he ends up living, and he keeps her dead body at the house with him! Seriously, go watch this series if you haven’t or don’t already.
Entertanment editor’s choice movies to see this weekend.
Boss Baby
Ghost in the Shell
Animation
Action/Adventure
Drama
Alec Baldwin, Lisa Kudrow
Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt
Jessica Chastain, Iddo Goldberg
A 7-year-old boy tells his side of having a baby brother.
A human-cyborg hybrid who leads the elite task force Section 9.
A working wife/ mother turns into a hero during World War II.
The Zookeeper’s Wife
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PAGE 7
finalscore
hotshot
25-1
1.32
Tarleton State destroys Western New Mexico in this offensively dominating game filled with WNMU errors.
West Texas A&M’s Joshua Payne’s Earned Run Average (ERA) which leads the Lone Star Conference.
Track and Field
Softball
Four athletes take LSC Athlete of the Year awards
Team Angelo State West Texas A&M Cameron Tarleton State A&M-Commerce Texas Woman’s East. New Mexico A&M-Kingsville Midwestern State UT-Permian Basin West. New Mexico
Conf. Overall 14-1 35-2 11-4 26-6 11-4 23-11 11-7 25-13 9-6 24-11 9-8 20-14 9-9 16-24 8-9 16-16 5-13 14-20 2-13 5-28 0-15 1-31
Individual Leaders Batting Average
Player
AVG
Meagon Gordon (ASU)
.571
Nicole Nordie (TWU)
.486
Shea Ibrahim (WT)
.463
Nyka Wood (TSU)
.451
Allie Smith (WT)
.438
Earned Run Average Player
ERA
Kenedy Urbany (ASU)
0.90
Kilee Halbert (WT)
1.26
Brandy Marlett (ASU)
1.29
Alexis Alfonso (WT)
1.78
Kinsie Hebler (AM-C)
1.91
Double Plays Player
PHOTO COURTESY/JAVELINE ATHLETICS
Four Lone Star Conference standouts were recognized with the 2017 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Year awards. The honors were announced Friday following a vote of the league’s head coaches. Texas A&M-Commerce’s Luis Romero earned top male track honors for the second consecutive year, while Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Charles Greaves was the male field
honoree. On the women’s side, the Javelinas Kaina Martinez claimed top track acclaim for the second straight year, while West Texas A&M’s Rellie Kaputin was the field honoree. Romero was the national runner-up in the 800-meters, finishing the race with a time of 1:50.12 – just 0.16 seconds away from defending his national title in the event. He was on the distance-medley relay team that finished in fifth place in a
PL AY ER S
OF T H E
Golf
tight race at 9:45.66. Romero also finished 16th in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:25.49. Greaves placed third in the men’s triple jump (15.65m, 514.25) and fifth in the men’s long jump (7.42m, 24-4.25) at the indoor championships for a total of 10 points. He also was eighth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.82. Martinez qualified for four events at the indoor championship placing sixth in
at an indoor championship. Kaputin dominated the triple jump on her way to become the first Lady Buff in program history to win an individual title. She broke her own school and national record with the 10th best mark in Division II history, 13.09 meters (4211.5). She is now one of six DII athletes of to have jumped over 13 meters indoors.
Shot 150
4 birdies
Top 10 finish
Top 10 finish
at
at
Lion
Otter
Invitational
Invitational
at Commerce
at Seaside, CA
Baseball
DEFENSIVE: Marshall Kasowski, WT 17 strikeouts
4 doubles
held batters .083
against
against
Cameron
EMMU
Softball
HITTER: Baylea Higgs, A&M-C
Baseball
4-2
Team Conf. Overall Angelo State 4-0 22-4 A&M-Kingsville 4-0 16-7 West Texas A&M 3-1 21-5 East. New Mexico 1-3 22-8 Cameron 0-4 18-11 Tarleton State 0-4 16-12 UT-Permian Basin 0-0 7-17
March 25th Tarleton State AT West. New Mexico (2-0)
6-0, 10-2
A&M-Commerce AT A&M-Kingsville (2-0)
11-9, 5-4
Texas Woman’s AT Angelo State (2-0)
4-2, 7-1
UT-Permian Basin AT East. New Mexico
13-4
Midwestern State AT West Texas A&M (2-0)
3-1, 8-0
March 26th
9-8
Baseball: Italics denote winner of series/game
&
A&M-Internat.
OK Christian
March 31st-April 1st Texas State Bobcat Inv. Lubb. Christian Texas Relays Angelo State Don Kirby Tailwind East. New Mexico San Fran. Distance Carnival West Texas A&M
Women’s Track & Field Schedule
March 31st-April 2nd Texas State Bobcat Inv. Lubb. Christian Texas Relays Angelo State Don Kirby Tailwind East. New Mexico San Fran. Distance Carnival West Texas A&M
Newman AT UT-Permian Basin (2-0)
4-2, 3-2
Tarleton State AT A&M-Kingsville
5-4
Cameron AT Angelo State
10-1
West Texas A&M AT East. New Mexico
3-1
Tarleton State AT A&M-Kingsville (2-0)
5-1, 3-0 7-1, 3-1 10-4, 12-0
.444 .418
Levi Zents (A&M-K)
.418 .416
Player
ERA
Joshua Payne (WT)
1.32
Keenan Dodd (ENMU)
1.74
Marshall Kawowski (WT)
1.91
Joe Hauser (ASU)
2.05
Seth Hubert (A&M-K)
2.43
Double Plays DPs
Jay Gonzales (ASU)
16
Jonathan Soberanes (ASU)
14
Aaron Vallance (WT)
14
Micah Kaaukai (CU)
13
Jimmy Roche (A&M-K)
11
Schedule
March 26th Cameron AT Angelo State
13-11
Colorado Mines AT UT-Permian Basin (1-1)
8-6, 7-6
Tarleton State AT A&M-Kingsville
12-10
West Texas A&M AT East. New Mexico
6-4
Schedule
.445
Nck Novak (ASU)
Player
March 25th
Men’s Golf
AVG
Matt Walker (ASU)
Nick Canas (WT)
March 24th
Cameron AT Angelo State (2-0)
West Texas
Batting Average Alex DeLaCruz (ENMU)
ERA
0.00 ERA
&
5-1, 13-0
Midwestern State AT West Texas A&M
2 shutouts
A&M-K
Individual Leaders Player
.632 average
in
10
Schedule
6-2
Tarleton State AT West. New Mexico (2-0)
West Texas A&M AT East. New Mexico (1-1)
at
10
Hazel Puempel (TWU)
Texas Woman’s AT Angelo State
March 24th
31 bases stolen
Men’s Track & Field Schedule
PITCHER: Kenedy Urbany, ASU
83
Chealsea Slider (A&M-C)
A&M-Commerce AT A&M-Kingsville
S COR E R EC A P
A&M-Commerce AT A&M-International (2-0)
.688 average
12
Erikka Burke (EMNU)
UT-Permian Basin AT East. New Mexico (2-0)
WE E K
WOMEN’S: Sarah Gee, TSU
13
Kylee Moore (WT)
March 31st A&M-Kingsville AT Cameron (DH) East. New Mexico AT A&M-Commerce (DH) West. New Mexico AT Midwestern (DH) Angelo State AT Tarleton State April 1st West Texas A&M AT UT-PB (DH) West. New Mexico AT Midwestern A&M-Kingsville AT Cameron Angelo State AT Tarleton State East. New Mexico AT A&M-Commerce April 4th Cameron AT Central O.K. (DH) East. New Mexico AT O.K. Christian (DH) St. Mary’s AT A&M-Kingsville (DH) Lubb. Christian AT West Texas A&M 11-2, 25-1 April 5th Angelo State AT A&M-Internat. (DH) 8-0, 10-5 St. Edward’s AT A&M-Kingsville (DH)
Softball: Italics denote winner of series/game
MEN’S: Grayson Benavides, A&M-C
OFFENSIVE: Matt Walker, ASU
the 200-meters with a time of 24.11. She finished 10th in the 400-meters (55.64) and long jump (5.70m) and was 11th in the 60m (7.61). Kaputin scored a schoolrecord 21 points at the Division II Championships. The junior won the triple jump, finished second in the long jump (6.05m) and ended up sixth in the high jump (1.73m) as she became the first student-athlete in program history to score in three events
DPs
December Rivers (A&M-C)
Women’s Golf Schedule
April 3rd-4th Mustang Intercollegiate West. New Mexico Dallas Baptist Classic West. Texas A&M Midwestern State
April 3rd-4th WT Desert Inviational West. New Mexico West Texas A&M Angelo State Midwestern State
Cameron A&M-Commerce
Southern Bancorp Inv. A&M-Kingsville
March 31st East. New Mexico AT Cameron Angelo State AT Tarleton State UT-PB AT West Texas A&M April 1st East. New Mexico AT Cameron (DH) A&M-Kingsville AT St. Mary’s (DH) Angelo State AT Tarleton State (DH) UT-PB AT West. Texas A&M (DH) April 2nd UT-PB AT West Texas A&M East. New Mexico AT Cameron Angelo State AT Tarleton State April 4th West Texas A&M AT Lubb. Christian
Page 8
Sports
March 30, 2017
Game schedule M a rc h 3 0 -A p ril 1 : M e n an d Wo m e n’s Tr ac k 90t h C l y de L i t tl e f i e l d Te x as Rel ay s @ A u s ti n
Mar ch 3 1 - A p ri l1 : So f tb a ll v s E as te rn N ew M e x ic o
A p r i l 3- 4 : M en ’s G o l f DBU P a t r i o t Cl a s s i c @ Ir v i n g
Lion Softball Goes 3-2 in South Texas Swing Thomas Kent Staff Reporter
E AST TEXAN PHOTO/ EVAN LUECKE
Sophomore Katie Dean(#3) pitched the first game with one ERA, 7.0 innings pitched, seven strike outs, and two walks. Dean pitched the second game with two strikeouts, 5.0 innings pitched, two strike outs, and one walk.
Players place in Top 20 and place second
The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team won three of five in their weekend road trip to Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Texas A&M International University. On Friday, the Lions started things on the right foot against A&M-Kingsville winning 6-2. Kinsie Hebler put the weekends first run on the board with a two out solo home run and eventually took over in the circle for starting pitcher Katie Dean. Hebler earned the victory for the Lions in relief bring her record to 6-1. Mariah Jameyson, who had hit five homeruns in her last three games, homered as well in the win. Saturday was not as friendly to the visiting Lions, as they lost both games of the double header to A&MKingsville. Game one began with an A&M-Commerce 4-1 lead before the Javelinas erupted for five runs in the second inning. Unfortunately for the Lions, both teams scored five runs each in the next three frames on the way to the A&M-Kingsville 11-9 victory. Selena Rima took the loss, managing to get just one out while allowing three runs on three hits, dropping her record to 6-3 this season. The Lions hit five doubles in the offensive battle, including a pinch hit double from Johnna Sturm, her fifth of the season. Game two had much less offense and despite the Lions outhitting the Javelinas nine to seven, they lost 5-4. Dean was given her fourth loss of the season and Lion hitters had a hard time figuring out Javelina starter, Carlie Clark. Clark pitched a complete game and only allowed four runs, two of which were unearned. A&M-Commerce trailed 5-2 for nearly half the game before making a comeback bid in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, Hebler
brought Tyler Oppenheim home on a fielders choice to bring the Lions within two. That was followed up by a Jameyson single, scoring LSC hitter of the week Baylea Higgs, but the tying run was stranded at second base as Chelsea Slider flew out to left field. A&M-Kingsville took the rubber game, bringing their record to even at 16-16, 8-9 in the Lone Star Conference. The Lions then took the 120-mile trip west to Laredo to get back on a winning streak Sunday, dominating the double header against A&M-International. In the first game of Sundays matinee, the Lions waited until the fifth inning to wake their bats up, where they scored four runs. After tying the game at 1-1, Hebler and Jameyson hit back to back homers, giving a 4-1 lead to Dean, who started in the circle. Jameyson is second in the LSC in both home runs with ten and RBI with 48. The Lions scored again in the top of the seventh to bring the final score to 5-1. Game one seemed like a warmup for game two, where the Lions smacked the Dust Devils, 13-0 in five innings. Cherie Jackson, who went 4-5 at the plate on Sunday, scored Hebler on a two out double in the first. Surprisingly, the only other extra base hit for A&M-Commerce came from Higgs, who hit a double in the fourth, scoring freshman and Commerce native, Jordyn Sharp. The thirteen run outburst was the product of 12 singles (14 hits total), seven walks and just one stolen base. Dean was responsible for every single Lion pitch on Sunday, allowing just nine hits and one earned run while striking out nine Dust Devils in 12 total innings. Her record now sits at 10-4 and the Lions record has risen to 24-11, 6-6 in LSC play. The Lions will be back in action this weekend as they host Eastern New Mexico (16-24) for a three-game series at the John Cain Family Softball Complex. Fridays double header will begin at 4 p.m. and Saturdays game is slated for 1 p.m.
Lions set eight more provisional marks in second weekend of outdoor season
Dareious Scott Staff Reporter The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team finished second behind Western Texas at the Lion Invitational at Tanglewood on Tuesday. On the first round of the tournament the Lions shot a total of 310 and then shot 305 the second round. Grayson Benavides (T4, 74, 76), Hogan Wood (T10, 79, 75), and Wilfredo Sanchez (T12, 77, 78) all finished in the top 20 of the leaderboard with Benavides earned all-tournament honors. Players Garrett Landers (T22, 80, 78) and Nick Louy (T27, 83, 76) finished outside the top 20, but still had a tremendous impact for the Lions. The Lions also had a “B” squad team that finished 8th in the tournament with a total score of 647, and were able to improve on the second round score by 11 strokes (329-318). Jordan Brown (T12, 78, 77) was the only team member to finish in the top 20 of the leaderboard. Mason Meaker tied for 41st and shot 163. Case Garrison tied for 43rd and shot 164. Alex Hammack tied for 56th and shot 169. Reed Fisher tied for 59th and shot at 172. The Lions are now looking towards their next tournament in Austin as they play in the St. Edward’s Invitational on Mar. 27-28 at the Onion Creek Golf Club.
E AST TEXAN PHOTO/ EVAN LUECKE
Lion Athletics
TAMUC PHOTO/ LION ATHLETICS
The Texas A&M University-Commerce outdoor track and field teams competed in two meets this weekend, establishing eight NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the second weekend of the outdoor season. “This was a fairly good weekend for us, but there is still plenty for everyone to work on,” said Lion head track and field coach George Pincock. “It is still very early in the outdoor season, and I know we will put in the work to keep improving as the year progresses.” The Lions had distance runners competing at Rice’s Victor Lopez Relays, with a larger contingent at UT Arlington’s Bobby Lane Invitational. The women’s team set three provisional marks in Arlington. On the track, Ashley Bassett set a provisional qualifying time in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.31, which is the fastest in the Lone Star Conference at this stage in the season. Anitial’a Robins had the 10th longest discus toss in Division II this season with a heave of 46.29 meters, while Alexandra VanSickle earned a provisional mark in the shot put with a lob of 13.76 meters.
On the men’s side, five provisional qualifying marks were set, while two other Lions won their events at the meet. Malcolm Woods earned the third-fastest Division II time this season in the 200 meters, flying around the bend with a time of 21.30 seconds. There was a familiar sight in the triple jump, as DeVontae Steele and Gage Bowles improved their qualifying marks. Steele now ranks third in Division II at 15.09 meters, with Bowles ranking fifth in the nation at 15.00 meters. Bowles also won the long jump with a leap of 7.18 meters. Joseph Brown earned his provisional mark in the shot put with a toss of 16.90 meters, and Chase Graham earned a provisional mark in the hammer throw with a heave of 56.91 meters. Also earning the win in his event was Dedrian Windham with a time of 47.88 seconds in the 400 meters. The Lions will next compete in the prestigious 90th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin on Thursday, March 29, through Saturday, April 1, with 10 men’s and eight women’s events qualified to participate. A&M-Commerce is also preparing to host the East Texas Invitational on Saturday, April 15.