The Prairie vol. 95 No. 8

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WT comes together for World Poverty Day.

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October 23, 2012 • Vol. 95, No. 8

The politics of WTAMU politics Hunter FitHen reporter

W

ith the Presidential election swiftly approaching, citizens among every political party across the nation are considering which candidate to vote for. At WTAMU, though the search for a political party may not be too hard to come by, the quest for a student political organization is.

“I’m not sure why there are no student political organizations on campus at this time,” Dr. Dave Rausch, Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science, said. “Students may be served by similar organizations that exist out in the larger community of Canyon and Amarillo. It is also possible that with classes, work, and other social organizations, students do not have time for a College Republicans group, for example.

Some social organizations may be providing that political outlet.”

For some students, political organizations would not be

SPoRtS

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worth the time or effort put into creating and being a part of them.

“I think most students are disinterested in politics because they are very busy and don’t have time to spend with an organization focused on those types of issues,” Aaron Davidson, a junior Secondary Science

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major, said. “They also may feel that their voice will not be heard and their opinion doesn’t matter much anyway. I’m sure there is a mixed perspective of views on campus, but I think many students see such a group as just one more thing that they will have to deal with.”

Aside from lack of time, lack

fEAtuRE

of knowledge also plays a role in the disinterest of starting political organizations on campus.

POLITICS on PaGe 3

Balloon Glow brings out the community’s “inner child.”

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NEWS

October 23, 2012 | theprairienews.com

Delta Zeta sorority to host Color Run Megan Moore reporter

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he Delta Zeta sorority of WTAMU will be holding their first color run at the Buffalo Sports Park on Oct. 27.

The 1.6-mile race will begin at 9 a.m.

The entry fee for the race is $10 and participants can register up until Saturday morning before the race. Registration forms can be found in residence halls, the JBK Student Center or from any Delta Zeta member.

Forms will also be posted on Facebook so participants can print it off and turn it in to one of the members. Once racers are registered, they will need to wear all-white clothes for the

paint splashing.

“There will be markers where three sections will be set up: mild, moderate, and heavy. It depends on the person’s preference and how much paint they want on them to which line they will choose to go through,” Logan Strownmat, Delta Zeta President said.

All campus organizations have the chance to sponsor a color for 75 dollars. This means they will be able to name the color and bring any of their advertisements to the race. The organization will be assigned a checkpoint. They will be responsible for throwing their particular color at the participants.

All proceeds for the event will

go to The Painted Turtle Camp.

The camp is a summer camp for chronically ill children and their families.

Briana Harvell, Delta Zeta philanthropy chair, said the camp is designed for the children to foster personal growth as well as build relationships with other children and families who are in the same situation.

The Delta Zetas adopted The Painted Turtle camp as their national philanthropy in 2006.

They have 58 active women who will all be helping at the Color Run. “The Painted Turtle Camp was a perfect fit for us because number one we like helping people and secondly their turtle

mascot matches our mascot, so they are definitely a perfect fit for us,” Delta Zeta College Chapter Director Farrah Shah said.

The camp is funded strictly from donations and volunteers.

It is one of the many camps sponsored by Paul Newman and his Hole in the Wall camps. Tuition for the families attending the camp is paid for in full and there is a full-time staff of doctors and nurses available for the children.

“The kids get to experience a whole week of feeling as normal as they can and be surrounded by others that are just like them,” Shah said. “It’s one thing that they can experience all together as a family unit with

Upward Bound helps underprivileged students get excited about college opportunities.

The organization targets surrounding schools such as Caprock High school and high schools in Dimmit, Hereford and Tulia. Recently, the program was awarded a 1.6 million renewal grant from the Unites States Department of Education.

“Upward Bound started as one of the [Federal] TRIO Programs in which include Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services,” Director of Upward Bound Martin Lopez said. The TRIO programs provide services for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Lopez also said Talent Search and Student Support Services lost its grants two years ago.

“This is why we’re so excited about this renewal,” said Lopez.

It was very competitive and around 18 percent of existing Upward Bound programs lost their funding, according to Upward Bound Coordinator Pyxa Sovilay.

“With the funding renewal, it guarantees that this program will be [around] for the next five years and will serve around 80

Zivorad Filipovic

Matt Watkins

October 23, 2012 | theprairienews.com find around here. Political issues can be POLITICS from PAGE 1 todiscussed outside of formal organizations.

“I probably wouldn’t join a political organization because I don’t feel like I have doctors and nurses who are all researched political parties enough to despecialized in their fields.” cide which one I want to be a part of,” Cara In addition to the race, the Acciaioli, a junior Advertising and Public Delta Zetas will be holding a Relations major, said.

“I call myself conschool supply donation drive. servative because that’s what my parents All supplies will be sent to The are, but honestly I don’t really know what Painted Turtle Camp. Delta Zeta all being a conservative entails.” members will be in the JBK Oct. 23 handing out flyers for the Though students may not be extremely event and registration forms forinterested in politics, they are interested the Color Run. They will be col-in political issues according to Rausch. lecting supplies in JBK on Oct. “Politics as an activity seems like a for24 and 25. Necessary supplieseign activity to many students,” Rausch include six-packs of crayons,said. “Students would like to participate Ziploc bags of all sizes, multiplein campaigns, but real campaigns are hard colors of duct tape, washable markers, masking tape, glue, multiple colors of permanent markers, non-latex gloves, sun-Rebekah St. ClaiR screen, clear tape, hand sani-RepoRteR tizer, and gift cards to Wal-Mart. bility Awareness Week is starting up on Oct. 23 and 24 to allow students to understand what it is like students,” Sovilay said. to have a disability. Activity booths will “[Upward Bound] allowed be held in the JBK Student Center demonme to make new friends and to strating learning comprehension, hearing be more social,” pre-vet major and visual disabilities.

Kourtney Hancock said, who “We basically want to make students participated in Upward Bound more aware of our disability students,” Difrom 2008 to 2010. “It gave me rector of Student Disability Services Kerri the opportunity to have more Allen said. knowledge of what professors The activities demonstrate how diffiexpected to me.” cult it can be to do well in classes when a person has disabilities, whether they are physical or mental.

One booth is dedicated to learning Preston Thomas disabilities, such as dyslexia. One of the Rubi Valencia activities shows students how a dyslexic

Ability Awareness Week

Upward Bound program gets $1.6 million from grantA alex gonzalez reporter

U

pward Bound is a federally-funded college preparatory program that is aimed for lower income, first generation students that generates skills and motivates qualifiers to pursue a higher education. Starting off in sixth grade through college preparation,

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Where two or more are gathered, they probably are talking about something political, even if they don’t admit it.”

If students would like to become more involved with politics, Rausch said to simply get involved.

“The easiest way to become more involved in politics is to become involved in politics,” Rausch said. “I’ve always wondered what would happen if a student ran for one of the seats on the Canyon City Commission. Such an action would cause some controversy because we haven’t had an election for the Canyon City Commission in a number of years.”

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The Prairie is a student-operated newspaper at West Texas A&M University. It functions to inform, educate and entertain readers accurately and responsibly. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the administration, faculty or staff.

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

student may actually see a text with a clear translation after the student has tried to decipher what the text is suppose to say. Another booth is dedicated to visual impairment with goggles provided by the Division of Blind Services to create difficulty seeing while playing the children’s game Perfection. One more booth is dedicated to hearing impairment where students have to lip read and put on headphones and attempt to take notes.

All of the booths will have informational handouts along with the activities to let students know more about disabilities and how to approach those who need accommodations.

“I have never helped with Ability Week before, but I will help man the booths this year” Administrative Secretary Paige Farley said. “It is going to be a lot of fun.”

NEWS

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NEWS

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty Laci McGee RepoRteR

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ct. 17 was the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly and has been observed every year since 1993. Dr. Donald Lee is the head of the World Poverty Day committee for this year.

“Throughout the world, the poorest are forced to live in shame,” Lee said.

“The World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty should enable them to show their dignity and to free themselves from dependence on handouts.”

The WTAMU Department of Communication has been actively involved in bringing awareness of poverty to the campus community. Department of Communication Head Dr. Trudy Hanson allowed her freshman IDS class decide how they were going to help.

“We came up with something simple so we could all have an impact,” said freshman Broadcast Journalism major Aaron Alcozer.

He and his classmates gathered in the Pedestrian Mall on Oct. 17, holding signs in a silent demonstration to inform people about poverty around the world and in the panhandle community.

“[I feel] more aware about poverty, particularly here in the panhandle,” said freshman Mass Communication major Jenna Harrison.

The students kept the silent demonstration a secret. The students in the IDS class hoped to attract the curiosity of other people on campus.

“If people had known, they might have ignored it,” Isaac Gallegos, a freshman Sports and Exercise Science major, said.

Instructor of Communication Mona Gregory has been selling Patience Bracelets made by a woman in Niger named Oumou as another way to raise awareness about poverty. With the help of students, WT organizations and other professors, Gregory has managed to raise $461.10 in sales and donations to send to Oumou.

There was also a food drive over the past month within the Communication department to collect food for the High Plains Food Bank. It was a contest between various major and organizations within the Communication department.

The High Plains Food banks serves 29 counties in the panhandle and distributes food to 165 agencies.

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All letters must have the writer’s name, department or major, and classification. Letters will be edited for length, grammar, clarity and content.

Letters may be delivered to: FAC 268 or e-mailed to: theprairiewt@gmail.com

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ormer New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke at the Amarillo Civic Center on Oct. 16. The Underwood Law Firm presented him in honor of their 100-year anniversary.

Topics of his speech included six qualities of being a leader.

The evening started off with Alan Rhodes, a lawyer at the Underwood Law Firm, introducing Rudy Giuliani. He wanted the audience to know that the work they do is about the public.

“It’s not about us, it’s about our town. It’s about Laura, Susan, Bobby and Jack. We want you to know it’s not about us, or me it’s about you; the community,” Rhodes said.

Many members in the community joined the Underwood Law Firm to hear Giuliani speak.

Giuliani began his speech by pointing out his appearances in various television shows and his recent encounter on NBC.

“I have to get out of New York City, because I appear a lot on Fox, CNN and NBC; which no one has the courage to go on, except me because I like to fight,” said Giuliani.

He then went on to talk about the six qualities of being a leader.

“I’m going to talk to you about leadership. I wrote a book about leadership and I realized I took what other people knew about it and applied it to my own life,” said Giuliani.

Giuliani said the first quality of being a leader was to have a strong set of beliefs.

“You can’t lead unless you have a goal,” he said. “People can’t follow you if you don’t know where you’re going.

Figure out where you want to take your business, life, etc. and spend time thinking about what your goal is.”

According to Giuliani, the second quality of being a leader was that you have to be an optimist.

“The real leaders are people who become problem solver,”

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he said. “You want to be a leader, come with a solution. I can always spot the young people who are going to succeed by their attitude.”

The third leadership quality was having courage.

“You have to be able to take a risk, because every successful person in history has had failures,” said Giuliani. “You’re going to fall over and over, but you can use your failures to learn from them. It takes courage to be willing to risk failure.”

Giuliani’s fourth quality of being a leader is being prepared.

“You don’t win a case in court; you win a case in the office preparing,” he said. “If you’re going for a job have someone play the interviewer and ask you questions.

Relentlessly prepare. If you’ve prepared enough, you’ve probably anticipated

the unexpected.”

His fifth leadership quality was teamwork.

“You can’t do anything without really good people around you,” said Giuliani. “When I was governor of New York City, I had strengths and weaknesses.

I didn’t know very much about the economy so I had to go and find people that did. A team is a combination of strengths and weaknesses but a leader has to realize that in order for it to work.”

Communication was the sixth leadership quality Giuliani talked about.

Giuliani mentioned a situation that occurred when he was the mayor Of New York City. He said that crime was happening

in the subways of New York, so they placed police officers on the subways to prevent the crimes. This however did not work, because the crimes weren’t happening on the subways themselves, but on the platforms.

“Crime went down 70 percent because police were now on the platforms where the crimes were really being committed,” said Giuliani.

Giuliani ended the evening by saying that loving people is essential to having a great organization.

Proceeds from the speaking event went to the Center City of Amarillo and Amarillo City College.

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SportS

Finally, sweet justice

Keltin Wiens KWts sports Director

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inally, it looks like there might be a little sense in the National Football League after all. On Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that his predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, would take over the hearings on the appeals by suspended New Orleans Saints players.

This is the next chapter in the Saints’ bounty program.

In May, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove were all suspended by the NFL for their participation in the Saints’ alleged bounty program. The NFL alleges that the program was to reward players for big, crippling hits on offensive players. Vilma was suspended for the entire season for his role, Smith was suspended for four games, Fujita, who now plays for the Cleveland Browns, was canned for three games and Hargrove, now a free agent, for eight games.

WT defeats ENMU

7 Men’s soccer holds steady with a 2-1 weekend

T

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Matt WatKins were This is small step in the right sports eDitor

The suspensions briefly lifted when the players appealed. Those stood until Goodell, who was given exclusive power to hear and rule on appeals in August 2011, rejected the players’ appeals in July. Citing a lack of reasoning for suspension, a three-member committee recommended to Goodell that he start from the beginning.

After going through the whole process again, Goodell still came to the same basic result: suspensions.

The four players, and the players union, have asked U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan to throw out Goodell’s suspension because it violated the players’ right to have due process. They argued that Goodell could not be a fair and balanced arbitrator.

In a move made to appease the union, Goodell appointed Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner from 19892006, to help arbitrate and come to the final decision.

direction and it serves as a small victory for the players.

The NFL always tries to make itself look good. Some of their attempts do look good, such as the League’s philanthropy.

But the NFL didn’t get to a $9 billion machine just by helping and encouraging kids to play outside. Instead, the NFL got where it is today on the backs of the players.

Roger Goodell, with his exclusive power to rule on appeals, has made a name for himself on taking advantage of the players. Finally, the commissioner has listened to cries that he is not fair in the appeals process. If Goodell wants to suspend players, he will regardless of how many appeals they file. It is great for the players now that Goodell has removed himself from this high-profile case. With all the work the players put in to making the NFL entertaining, the players deserve some sweet justice.

he No. 17 WTAMU Buffalo football team ventured to Portales, New Mexico to take on the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds in the annual Wagon Wheel Game on Oct. 20. The Buffs defeated ENMU 44-21 to win their seventh-straight game in the Wagon Wheel series with the help of a career-high four rushing touchdowns by senior back Khiry Robinson.

Robinson carried the ball 16 times for 137 yards and had three catches for 30 yards. Robinson has a total of 675 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the season.

“We got the win and that’s all that matters to me,” Robinson said.

“I give all the credit to our o-line.”

WT scored first on a one-yard run by Robinson to take a 7-0 lead with 13:27 remaining in the first quarter. The Buffs scored again when junior Dustin Vaughn hit fellow junior Nathan Slaughter for a 27-yard touchdown that gave WT a 14-0 lead that lasted until the second quarter.

The Greyhounds cut the lead to

14-7 when Wesley Wood threw a Tyler Anderson 19-yard touchdown pass to Chase sporTs reporTer Kyser with 9:38 left in the half. The he WTAMU Men’s Soccer Buffs answered with a 58-yard squad posted a 2-1 rescoring pass from Vaughn to redcord over the past week, shirt freshman Jarrian Rhone tostarting with a victory over UTput WT back on top by 14 at 21-7.Permian Basin 3-1 on Oct. 16 in ENMU found the end zone again onOdessa before dropping a 3-2 a 34-yard run by Wood to make thedecision to Incarnate Word on score 21-14 in favor of WT goingFriday and scoring an emotional into the locker room.

2-1 win over Midwestern State The Buffs would score twice inon Sunday at The Pitch. the third quarter on runs of eight “It’s hard to be down on the and 12-yards, respectively, by Rob-players and hard to be down on inson giving WT a 35-14 lead en-the way we played because we tering the fourth. The Greyhoundsplayed so well and sometimes made a last stand when Woodsoccer just goes against you,” found Kyser for a 32-yard score toHead Coach Butch Lauffer said. make the score 35-21. After junior“It’s a crazy game, like life. You Eric Finefeuiaki blocked a punt through the end zone for a safety, Robinson completed the scoring with another one-yard TD run.

The Buffs now stand at 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the Lone Star Conference. WT is 14-11 all-time in the Wagon Wheel Game and 15-11 versus ENMU. The Buffs will take a break from LSC action, as they play West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

T

he Lady Buffs won both of their Lone Star Conferences games this weekend against Texas Woman’s University and TAMU Commerce in The Box. The first match had the Lady Buffs taking on a 15-5 Texas Woman’s squad. The match would go to four sets as the Lady Buffs would outlast the Pioneers 3-1. Junior Hallie Harton and sophomore Kameryn Hayes combined for 31 kills at 17 and 14 respectively.

The Lady Buffs carried the success over into the next day as they returned to The Box on Saturday

to take on the 16-6 TAMUC Lions, who had won four straight matches before visiting. The Lady Buffs would sweep the Lions in three sets making short work of them in the first set 25-13. The Lions would test the Lady Buffs in the next two sets, but the Lady Buffs were too much for them as they won both, 25-17 and 25-19.

“Commerce did some good things, credit to them. But what’s upsetting is we did not have the right aggressive kind of mindset,” Head Coach Jason Skoch said. “We won and I don’t want to diffuse that.”

Blocking was a key component

Saturday, as the team would combine for eight total team blocks.

“Actually it’s lot better than it has been,” Senior Lauren Beville said. “That’s one thing that we have been focusing on in practice a lot is spending a lot of time on our blocking. I think our blockers are showing lots of improvement especially on our outside blocking.”

The Lady Buffs had four players with eight or more kills on Saturday. Hayes led the team with 11 kills; senior Stormi Lancaster had 10 kills, with Harton and senior Erin Dougherty each having eight kills.

“Finishing games is another thing we have been working on in practice, and I think slowly we are getting better at trying to just putting them away as soon as we can” Beville said. “But every team we play, they play so hard against us that we have to make our stand against them and not let them even have hope, and sometimes we just let them have hope of getting back in there and having a chance to beat us.”

The Lady Buffs will return to The Box today to take on the Cameron Aggies. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season and Skoch does not

do everything right and it bites you in the butt. We still have two regular season games to play and we’re going to try to stay healthy and keep the players as fresh as possible.”

Senior midfielder Dominic Furness had a big day on Oct. 16, scoring two goals for the Buffs while sophomore striker Martin Fuentes knocked a goal off of a low cross to handily defeat the Falcons. Sophomore midfielder Conrod Goulbourne provided two assists, as fellow sophomore midfielder George Beasley had one assist. UTPB’s lone score came in the first half with an Oscar Reyes goal and Giovanni Gomez’s assist. With the ini-

tial victory, Lauffer achieved his 450th career win as coach of both the women’s and men’s soccer programs.

Returning home to The Pitch on Friday, the Buffaloes found themselves in for a rude awakening against Lone Star archrival Incarnate Word. Despite running ahead early with a Fuentes goal and senior midfielder Abel Olivas’ assist, the Cardinals equalized with a James Nero score and a Tenny Adebowale corner kick assist. Before the half, the home side retook the lead with sophomore striker Wayne Bruton knocked in a header off senior midfielder Lukas Garcia’s near-midfield free

kick. While the Buffs dominated the first half, Incarnate Word stormed back and captured a season sweep of the Buffs behind a Dylan Kelly score and a goal and assist by Abraham Campos and Leon Taylor respectively.

Moving forward from their second loss in the 2012 campaign, the Buffs took to the field on Sunday in the first of two games against no. 21-ranked Midwestern State. While the Mustangs struck first blood with a Ben Clarvis goal and Fernando Garza assist in the first half, the second half would provide a Buffalo equalizer in the form of Bruton’s fifth goal of the year and an

Olivas assist in the 64th minute.

The two sides would hold together defensively until the second overtime, when senior defender Colin Bjostad tapped his sixth goal of the season as Furness gave his sixth assist overall to give the Buffaloes their 11th victory of the campaign.

“It was a tough weekend.

There were a lot of tired bodies out there and it was a grind - a very epic battle,” Furness said.

The Buffs improve to .500 in the LSC with a steady 2-2 and 11-2-2 overall. They will defend The Pitch once more when they host Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.

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want his team to get comfortable.

“We haven’t seen film yet because we’re trying to not get ahead of ourselves, you know, but we have been watching scores and their record doesn’t show that, [they are] sort of like Commerce, I mean Commerce cleans up a few things, they could scare some people in the playoffs.” Skoch said.

“And then that’s actually how Cameron looks because [they have] taken a set [every match].

I don’t think Cameron has been swept. [They have] taken at least a set off of every top team and other sets in there have been pretty close...so we better be careful.”

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ENTERTAINMENT

GAMES

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Game Review: Dark Souls is a thriller Preston thomas rePorter

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fter a furious fight, you round the corner only to be launched off the edge into a chasm by a rolling boulder. You find yourself surrounded by skeletons that reform and rise again every time you strike them down and eventually, they overwhelm you. You are face to face with a black knight, whose sword alone is longer than your whole body. A massive dragon bears down upon you spewing fire.

Welcome to Dark Souls, prepare to die. Recently ported from consoles to PC, Dark Souls is the incredibly difficult successor to the 2009 title Demon’s Souls and it doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to punishing mistakes and weakness.

The story of the game is sparse, and apart from the introductory cut scene, little is

directly explained. Much of the tale is told by interacting with other characters and exploring the grim fantasy world of Lordran and the areas surrounding it.

Players take on the role of an undead, chosen by fate to alter the course of history. Players begin weak, underequipped and locked in an asylum for the undead, who have an unfortunate tendency to turn into hollow berserkers. Your chosen class determines starting equipment and attributes, but beyond that, you are free to upgrade any stats and use whatever armor, weapons or spells take your fancy.

From the moment you step out of the asylum, you are free to go to any area you can access, but your fresh hero will be unprepared to meet the challenges of some paths.

Scattered around the world are bonfires that serve as checkpoints and upgrade stations

where you can level up and improve your equipment. Both of these actions require souls, the main currency of the game, which can be gathered by killing enemies or found around the world on bodies and in chests.

Though players begin as an undead, they can restore themselves to a human form by using humanity at bonfires, which increases your resistance to damage and raises the chances of enemies dropping an item. While in human form, players can also access the multiplayer component of the game; summoning players into their world to help in a fight or jumping into someone else’s game to assist them.

Players with a malicious mindset can also invade another’s world as a black phantom to hunt down and kill others for fun and profit, but be wary as you can also be invaded. Outside of the active multiplayer, heroes can leave behind helpful or de-

ceiving messages, and occasionally players will see the ghostly image of another player’s death.

When a hero inevitably meets an untimely demise, they lose all their souls and humanity they were holding and leave behind a bloodstain where they died.

Touching the bloodstain can reclaim these but if the player dies once more before reaching it, they will be lost forever.

The gameplay on the whole is solid, the controls don’t feel too clunky and nothing beats the feeling of parrying an attack then following up with a devastating counter. Boss fights feel appropriately epic and are punishing to a fault; one mistimed dodge or greedy attack and you quickly become a red smear on the floor.

Aesthetically, the design of the world is wonderful. Each area has a unique feel to it, the enemies look frightening, and the wonderful orchestral score

completes the mood. Unfortunately, the physics engine will sometimes fall flat and you will find yourself sliding off of an edge or stuck on a wall, though these instances are few and far between.

It isn’t always apparent where you are supposed to be going or what your next objective is, and the logic behind some solutions to progressing can be confusing. Players have to be mindful of avoiding tunnel vision. If one strategy isn’t working against a particular enemy, you can try different weapons and tactics, or even find an alternate path that allows you to avoid the fight altogether.

While the game isn’t for everyone, Dark Souls is a welldesigned game with great depth and complexity that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys a challenge.

fun events,” AGN Special Event Coordinator Susie Self said.

“People really like it. Every vendor who’s in there is a winner, so they’re happy to be here. Its’ a good opportunity for them to thank all of their loyal customers who voted for them.”

According to Self, the planning process for Best of Amarillo began in July with construction of the voting ballot, followed by hours of tallying the over 8,000 votes and determining winners, who Self said are all encouraged by AGN sales representatives to participate in the festivities.

“For the vendors, it’s great recognition,” Self said. “For people who come out, $15 gets them everything they want to

eat, they get to listen to great and then voted her best.” music, win giveaways, it’s just Veteran Best of Amarillo a really affordable, fun thing business owner, president of for them. Plus, it’s their favorPack-a-Sak Terry McKee, whose ite restaurants, their favorite business has claimed Best music, it’s truly the best of Convenience Store eight years Amarillo.” running, says he accredits their For business owners and em- continued success with their ployees such as Mevanee Dixon, “excellent employees, clean Business Manager of Cosmetic stores, and great customer Dermatologist Dr. Elaine Cook service.” who won best dermatologist “From the top down, you for the first year, gratitude was treat people the way you would abundant and evident in both want to be treated,” McKee said. energy and elaborate booth “It’s an easy model that we have, decorations. go above and beyond to treat “It’s very exciting [winning] everyone good.” because people have a choice,” Joining the ranks of longDixon said. “There are several time winners was Belmar Bakother dermatologists in town, ery, who has swept Best Bakery it’s just an honor that people for the eleventh year in a row, nominated [Dr. Cook’s practice] according to Head Cake Decora-

tor Ali Willbur, who says Belmar Bakery “bakes with love.” “[Belmar Bakery] definitely has the heart of the town,” Willbur said. “We’ve been here forever, we’re a staple. We consistently put out great product and do a lot of it with love.”

Wilbur said this was her first year to personally attend the Best Of party, because she is usually working at the bakery, but said she fully enjoyed the event.

“It’s really cool getting to see all the different businesses and companies out here,” Willbur said. “Serving at the booth and mingling with everybody, hearing their experiences at Belmar, has been an awesome experience.”

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‘Best of Amarillo’ celebrates community businesses robin mosier rePorter

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eathers, dice and faux card dealers greeted hundreds of Amarillo residents on Oct. 18 for the 11th Amarillo Globe News Best of Amarillo party, the finale to an AGN reader’s choice annual contest that gives the community an opportunity to nominate and vote for their favorite local businesses. More than 70 vendors dressed up and glitzed out the Civic Center Heritage Ballroom with poker chips, slot machines, samples of food, giveaways and live music, transforming the space into a miniature Las Vegas in accordance with the night’s theme.

“This is one of [AGN’s] most

Last Week’s ansWers

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10 FEATURE

October 23, 2012 | theprairienews.com

opinion 11

October 23, 2012 | theprairienews.com

Balloon Glow lights up faces of locals Long-running publication goes digital Connor Woods reporter

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oth young and old enjoyed two days of balloon festivities over the weekend at the annual Hot Air Balloon Rally put on by the Black Sheep Squadron and the Family Care Foundation in Amarillo Oct. 18 and 19.

“This event is a weekendlong hot air balloon rally put on by the Texas Black Sheep Squadron, a ballooning organization that supports the sport of ballooning,” David Jones, chairman of The Family Care Foundation, said. “Friday night, we had Balloon Glow where locals could come out to the Discovery Center and enjoy the many activities and of course the balloons. On Saturday morning, we had the mass ascension for High Plains Children’s Homes and the fundraising banquet Saturday night. So it was a weekend full

of events.”

The proceeds for the balloon festivities went to The Family Care Foundation, an organization that gives medical aid to people in need in the Amarillo community.

“Specifically, we have worked with Amarillo [Independent School District] and we step in for one time gap needs for children in need of medical attention,” Jones said. “We also have an eyeglass program and we do medical equipment,” Jones said.

When it comes to inspiring kids to reach their goals, perhaps not many pilots can do it quite like hot air balloon pilot Michael Glen, who has talked to several schools.

“We talk to them about achieving your dreams and reaching your goals,” Glen said.

“I was brought here for the Family Care Foundation three years ago and over the past three

years, we have spoken to twenty different schools, and we have talked to over 5,000 kids.”

Part of inspiring kids is through telling his story.

“I am in a wheelchair,” Glen said. “I became paralyzed in a single-car rollover at 21 years old that left me paralyzed from the waist down. One of my goals was to become a hot air balloon pilot. With that goal in mind and hard work I received my license in 2006 which made me the only and first paraplegic balloon pilot in the world.”

Hot air balloon pilot Pauline Baker, who holds high altitude records, said that she gains a lot from these types events.

“I absolutely love to see the look on the kids’ faces and I love to make friends,” Baker said. “I make friends all over the world.”

The packed parking lot of the Discovery Center was full of families having fun, including

Annette Eckels’ and her grandchildren.

“They were so excited about the balloons that we had to come see it in person,” Eckels said. “Unless you go to Albuquerque, this is the closest that we are going to get.”

Michael Glen said the balloon

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glow is about allowing people ewsweek announced in to become the little kid they all a statement Oct. 18 that have inside. it would be transitioning “It’s about making sure kidsto a digital-only product, in early have a smile on their faces and2013. The publication has been the balloon Glow also allowsin print for 80 years and is planadults to turn into the five yearning its last print edition to fall old kid that we are all inside.” on Dec. 31.

Danie Fierro/ The Prairie Junior Andrew Santos volunteers with setting up the ladybug hot air balloon.

The new digital publication will be called Newsweek Global for its consolidation into a single worldwide edition. It will be supported by paid subscription, commonly known as a paywall in the news industry.

Newsweek should be com-

mended for adopting the subscription format from the start.

One of the biggest mistakes the news industry made years ago was allowing online content to be free. Now, news organizations are laying off workers and trying to find ways to produce content and still make money.

Not only that, but the switch to digital makes sense. Increasingly, more publications are reducing or abandoning the print format in favor of tablets and e-readers because of market trends. According to a report by

the Pew Research Center’s Project of Excellence in Journalism, 64 percent of tablet owners and 62 percent of smartphone owners use their devices for news weekly.

Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous in the mobile market.

However, how many people own tablets? The same PEJ study reported 22 percent of adults own a tablet. 64 percent of those users consume news on their devices. 23 percent of the group who did not have a tablet would like to purchase one soon.

Well, that’s good for tablet owners, but what about those who can’t afford a tablet? Does that exclude them from getting news? The digital divide that still exists around the world and in the U.S. must be acknowledged as well. Although the increased tablet purchases are causing news organizations to jump at the opportunity – and they rightfully should – they must be prepared for slow adoption.

Also, the idea of having a single worldwide edition may come with problems. Usually,

large magazines have a variety of editions for each country they publish in, such as Vogue Korea for example. Consolidating into one edition can potentially water down content for readers in other countries. Asian and Latin American subscribers of Newsweek may be getting the publication in their language, but will they be getting the content that is specific to their country and culture?

It remains to be seen how this will pan out. News organizations will be keeping a close eye on Newsweek to see how the transition will work because frankly, the whole industry has been in flux for a while and no one has it figured out yet.

Question of the Week “Are you planning to vote in the Nov. 6 election? Why or why not?”

“You bet your boots I’m going to vote! Every student should cast their vote! Education is a hot topic right now, and students need to make sure their voices are heard! Who knows issues in education better than the student?!” -- Ashley Farren

Danie Fierro/ The Prairie The Ladybug hot air balloon .

The Prairie will be asking a Question of the Week every Tuesday through Facebook and Twitter. Reply to our Question of the Week post on Facebook or use the hashtag #thePrairieAsks on Twitter to respond.

Student responses will be printed in the next edition of The Prairie.

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PHOTOS

October 23, 2012 | theprairienews.com

This Week in Photos: Student Activism Alex MontoyA Photo editor

Senior Amanda Kraemer hands out pamphlets during Alcohol Awareness Week.

Mark Richards speaks on Oct. 18 about the effects of alcohol in the JBK, hosted by PULSE and Delta Zeta.

Mason Wright (junior) and Shelbi Cooper bag up goodies to hand out.

Project leader Betheny Wilcox (center) helps SIFE stuff goodie bags.

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Members of Delta Zeta hand out lemonade during the speaker event held on Oct. 18.

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