The Prairie Vol. 95 No. 10 by The Prairie WTAMU

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Today’s WeaTher

nEws

WT Horse Judging Team wins Congress.

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November 6, 2012 • Vol. 95, No. 10

WT offensive lineman awarded John Lee RepoRteR

TAMU senior offensive lineman Aaron Mullane was named as a recipient of the prestigious National Football Foundation National ScholarAthlete last week. He is also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is also awarded by the NFF. “It’s just a blessing and an honor that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Mullane said. “As soon as I was notified about it, I kind of realized the magnitude. I just realized how big a blessing of a scholarship it is. $18,000 dollars worth of medical school is huge, it puts a large dent in my expenses for medical school.” Mullane now holds an honor that has been held by other football greats such as Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Among those being named for the award this year are University of Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley, Northwestern offensive tackle Patrick Ward and

sPorts

Buffs Football loses to MSU Mustangs.

PAGE 6

oPinion

Are Star Wars and Disney a match made in heaven?

PAGE 11 CourtEsy of GobuffsGo.Com

University of Alabama center Barrett Jones. “Going and reading up on the National Football Foundation and the different athletes that they have helped throughout their lives such as Peyton Manning and Eli Manning and Tim Tebow, all those guys, and now I am sitting in the same

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spot that they were not too long ago,” Mullane said. “It means a lot. Just the fact, you know, I am [at] the end of my football career and those guys are still playing and this is an academic award as well as athletic. To get an award and get recognized athletically and academically is an honor.” Mullane is double majoring in

both Biology and Chemistry, and plans to go to medical school after graduating from WT in December.

Lineman on PaGe 3

fEAturE

Austin music festival draws an eccentric crowd.

PAGE 10 @The_Prairie

NEWS

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

Reddit controversy leaves lasting effects Lineman from PaGe 1 Preston thomas rePorter

here is the line drawn on privacy on the Internet, and should journalists be hunting down and outing the personal information of previously anonymous users? Reddit, a popular news and content aggregator, has recently come into conflict with blog network Gawker after they hunted out the personal details of a user for an exposé on the seedier side of the website. Reddit is divided into various communities called subreddits that can focus on any interest, hobby, or theme. One such less reputable group was the now defunct r/creepshots, where users shared candid and voyeuristic pictures of unsuspecting women. While creepy in its nature, the subreddit was not strictly illegal. As long as no child pornography was posted, it fit within legal limits. Still, many people found the content disturbing and called for the site to be taken down. An anonymous Internet user set up a Tumblr blog, which is no longer available to the general public, and began posting details on the lives of

the posters, moderators, and administrators of r/creepshots. Eventually, the creator of the subreddit was blackmailed into taking down the group, but other users created similar communities and despite arguments within Reddit, r/ creepyshots was born. Things took a turn into touchy territory when Gawker journalist Adrian Chen began to investigate r/creepyshots. The piece focused on creepyshots moderator Michael Brutsch, who went by the username Violentacrez until the exposure of his private details and connection to his Internet activities forced him to delete his account. In fulfilling his hobby of “riling people up,” Brutsch created and participated in several ill-reputed subreddits with the intent of making people angry, disgusted, or offended. He now fears for his livelihood, as connection to such actions caused him to be fired from his job. The fallout of the Gawker article has produced considerable drama and controversy amongst the users of Reddit, with several

prominent users and many involved in the outing of Brutsch deleting their accounts. On one side, users argue that Gawker violated Brutsch’s right to privacy and while not all support the content of r/creepyshots, some argue that its removal was a violation of free speech. “Whether it’s Tom Hanks’s son, LucidEnding, the Daily Show’s supposed sexism, or Violentacrez, they’re always going to do takedown pieces,” a user who has deleted his account at the time of this writing commented. “The difference with the last one is that they’ve finally transitioned from picking out notable people or pulling pranks that just waste people’s time into singling people out and writing one of their for-profit takedowns.” On the opposing side, many find the content disturbing and disgusting and call for its removal. “Why shouldn’t someone online be subject to the same social pressures that shape and guide behavior in the real word?” Reddit user frolicofmyown asked. Even the creator of Tumblr

stumbled into the controversy. “They can get away with it scot-free, which is one of the reasons why sexual violence is so prevalent around the world,” he said. While Reddit strives to maintain their users right to free speech and privacy, the site administrators must handle situations of media controversy carefully. The backlash has caused many users to leave the site, and several subreddits have

“I graduate in December and then I have six or seven months until medical been closed down in the wake school starts,” Mullane said. “Between of r/creepyshot’s demise. Many that time I am going to be getting more users who had their identities experience in the medical field, watching revealed fear for their personal some primary care physicians, still safety, and some claim to have observing more surgeries, hopefully get been physically assaulted more surgical experience. Just enjoying or harassed. Several other this time before medical school starts.” subreddits such as r/politics Mullane said the most enjoyable thing have begun boycotting links to about this football season, where the Gawker and its affiliates and Buffs have a chance of winning the Lone other groups with questionable content, fearing they may beStar Conference championship, has been the next targets of unwantedthe relationship with the other players. “The group of guys that we have right attention. now on our team is the best group of

The Prairie would like to congratulate

Aaron Mullane

on receiving this prestigious honor!

WT Student Senate acts

Phoebe Sinclair rePorter

he WTAMU Student Senate held its weekly meeting on Oct. 29 regarding multiple affairs around campus. According to Caleb Hubbard, representative of Agriculture, Science and Engineering, they started off with a resolution to the recently passed Senate Bill 10112 which stated that “Colton Risniger is to be recognized for his internship and accomCoUrtESY Photo/rEddit plishments being made in Washington The Reddit alien. D.C.” They proceeded to talk about Senate John Lee Keltin Wiens Ad MAnAGEr SPortS Editor Resolution 10212. Laci McGee Zivorad Filipovic Connor Woods Matt Watkins “The resolution stated that this fall Editor-in-ChiEf Megan Moore dESiGn Editor WEB ASSiStAntS semester’s performance of The Elephant Photo Editor Krystina Martinez Robin Mosier Man has earned several Respondent Kati Watson Ernesto Arizpe Alex Montoya Phoebe Sinclair ASSiStAnt Editor Awards as an associate production early Georgia Romig CoPY EditorS rEPortErS in the 2012 American College Theater Haley Sprague Ashley Hendrick Elizabeth Humphrey LAYoUt ASSiStAnt Festival,” Funmilola Adesina, member of Tyler Anderson Rebekah St. Clair WEB Editor Brooke Self Katie Nichols the Student Affairs Committee, said. “We Addie Davis Preston Thomas Daniela Fierro congratulate the WTAMU theater departAudrey Aguayo Hunter Fithen AdViSEr Rubi Valencia ment on producing great productions for Alex Gonzalez Dr. Butler Cain our student body as well as the commuThe 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. nity.” The Prairie verifies the legitimacy of the advertising appearing in The Prairie, but cannot be held liable for any advertising claim made in this publication. The Prairie has a circulation of 1,500 and is printed by the Amarillo Globe-News. The next item on their agenda was 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 to congratulate Allison Ashby for being the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. crowned Homecoming Queen with a Sen-

STAFF

guys I have ever been around,” Mullane said. “Just the camaraderie that we have is amazing. They make it fun to come out to practice everyday. Practice isn’t always the funnest [sic] thing in the world, but they make it more fun to get down and dirty with everybody.” Mullane may be looking forward to his future after WT, but his mind is still focused on the present season. “As far as Saturday goes, we had a goal set in mind at the beginning of the season, now its time to go and make that goal a reality,” Mullane said. “We’re ready for Saturday and its time to bring another championship to WT.”

ate Resolution 10312. “Allison exemplifies the West Texas A&M University student body through her involvement, leadership, integrity and school spirit; therefore be it resolved by the West Texas A&M University Student Senate that Allison Ashby be commended for her crowning achievement,” Whitley Gammill, member of the Student Affairs Committee, said. They concluded the meeting with Concurrent Resolution 10112, which declared war against Midwestern State University. “WT Head Football Coach, Don Carthel, has said ‘it’s going to be war,’ therefore, be it resolved by the West Texas A&M University Student Senate that: West Texas A&M’s student body fully supports WT’s Football team in its endeavors this weekend to secure its 5th conference championship,” Keltin Wiens, junior Broadcast Journalism and Electronic Media major, said. “Be it further resolved that war has been declared.” Student Body Vice-President, Jose Lopez, added to the Concurrent Resolution by stating, “Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, we have declared war, so go out and support the Buffs.”

NEWS

Student assault raises safety concerns, efforts

Brooke Self reporter

TAMU is seen as a relatively safe campus, where students can walk around without fear of being attacked. This is why many WT students, especially females, were surprised when they received an email through their WT accounts about an alleged sexual assault. On Oct. 19, at approximately 1:45 a.m., the University Police Department received a report of an alleged sexual assault in Guenther Hall. According to the crime report sent out to all WT students, the alleged offense occurred between 9:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18 and 1 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19 and involved one adult male suspect who is a WT student and was known to the victim. “It surprised me that this happened at WT because I have always felt so safe here,” Belynn Sharp, a junior Advertising and Public Relations major, said. One student said she is often nervous when she has to walk to her car in the dark after her night class. “I do think WT is mostly a safe place, but I just know of too many things that happen and have friends who have been mugged, so I am always kind of nervous and looking around when I walk to my car at night,” Keegan King, a junior Advertising

The Station For Your Generation

and Public Relations major, said. Another student said although she has never before felt threatened at WT, this incident makes her nervous. “Ever since I have been in college, WT has been known as a pretty safe campus,” Brittny Herbert, sophomore Advertising and Public Relations major, said. “It’s hard to believe someone would want to hurt a classmate in this way.” The University Police Department has sent out some tips on safety when it comes to these types of situations. According to an attachment in the crime report that was sent out, students should be aware of their surroundings at all times, trust their instincts, walk with friends in lighted areas, park in well-lighted areas, have their keys ready when they approach their car and check the vehicle before entering, be alert for strangers and if they are followed, cross the street, change direction and go to a well-lighted public area. “At night, I feel very nervous walking around campus by myself because I have seen too many Lifetime movies,” Herbert said. Sharp said she often carries a form of protection. “Sometimes I will carry my pepper spray if I’m walking a long way on campus at night,” Sharp said.

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November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

NEWS

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

WT Horse Judging Team wins Congress Addie dAvis RepoRteR

he WTAMU horse judging team recently returned from their trip to Columbus, Ohio, where they competed in the All-American Quarter Horse Congress Judging contest. The horse judging team brought home another National Championship for WT, marking the 74th National and World championship or reserve championship the University has won. “Any time a team wins any type of National Championship, it is a fantastic achievement,” John Pipkin, WT’s Horse Judging team coach, said. “This is a great accomplishment that brings national recognition to WT and the students.” The WT horse judging team beat out 22 other senior collegiate teams including Kansas State University by 26 points while competing at the AllAmerican Quarter Horse Congress. “This group has worked very hard […] to continually get better and have stayed focused on improving and working towards their goals,” Pipkin said. “They have a fantastic attitude, an outstanding work ethic and great team chemistry.” Not only did the team bring home the National Championship title, but there were also two individual successes as Felicia Kimmel won the High Individual Overall award and Kayla Wells was Reserve High Individual Overall. “This was my last time competing in the Congress judging contest; I have competed in both the youth and junior college divisions and now in the senior college,” Kayla Wells, junior

Agriculture Media and Communications major, said. “I was thrilled with how our team did and I was incredibly honored to be reserve overall.” In collegiate horse judging, each person is only allowed to go through each contest one time, unless one judges in both junior and senior college. Initially, each student only gets one semester to compete in horse judging. “The last several years of my life have been dedicated to working on judging and ending my congress contest career with a team championship and individual title made everything come full circle,” Wells said. At WT, the horse judging team is made up of several individuals who either come from a judging background, competing in horse judging their whole life or they have never even judged before. “The Congress was an unforgettable experience,” Julia Roberts, junior Equine Industry and Business major, said. “I have always dreamed of being a Congress Champion by actually riding in the show pen, but never expected to win by judging.” The WT horse judging team won the All-American Quarter Horse Congress by earning 3,168 points in the contest. “To be a part of such a hard working team is truly an honor and I’m thankful for my coaches and teammates who continue to push me to be a better judge,” Roberts said. “Winning Congress was a great reward for all the tough work we put in.” There were many successes for the horse judging team while at Congress. Felicia Kimmel, junior Animal Science major, placed first in performance, fourth in reasons and ninth in

halter. Wells placed second in there to start practicing for the performance, second in reasons contest. The actual contest howand fourth in halter. Lindsey Mc- ever, will begin on November 15. Neil, junior Equine Industry and “While I am extremely proud Business major, placed eighth in of what this group has done so performance out of 96 competi- far, I am really excited about tors. how much potential they have “Congress was a great experience,” Wells said. “Our team was very successful and having your name called at a contest of that 1516 5th Ave. Canyon Texas 79015 caliber is such an honor.” (806) 655-1504 The WT horse judging team has returned home from Columbus, Ohio where the All-Amer- Call Rick to set up your next hair appointment!! ican Quarter Horse Congress ( Carries Paul Mitchell Products) was held and is now preparing for their next contest. Special Prices offered for “With the World coming up, WTAMU Students!! we’re continuing to work just as hard and want to repeat our Congress performance,” Wells said. The next contest for the team will be the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship in Oklahoma City. “We have been working just as hard if not harder for World,” Roberts said. “We are a confident team and ready to go take names.” The AQHA World Championship show starts this weekend and the team will be traveling

to develop,” Pipkin said. The WT horse judging team has won one of the three National or World Championship titles in order to take the trifecta of collegiate horse judging.

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SportS

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

Football loses heartbreaker to MSU

Matt WatKins sports eDitor

he No. 12 WTAMU Buffalo football hosted the No. 10 Midwestern State Mustangs on Nov. 3 for the final home game of the season and Senior Night. The Mustangs pulled out a 52-48 victory in the last minute of the game to end the Buffs’ undefeated streak in Lone Star Conference play. WT got on the board first with a field goal on the first drive of the game. MSU would answer with back-to-back rushing touchdowns by quarterback Brandon Kelsey and running back Keidrick Jack-

son, who leads the LSC in rushing, with runs of 16 and four yards, respectively. The Buffs would get back on the board when junior Dustin Vaughn connected with fellow junior Lance Ratliff for a 21-yard scoring strike that cut WT’s deficit down to 14-10 after the first quarter. The Mustangs found the end zone again when Kelsey ran it in from six yards out to give MSU a 21-10 lead with 12:11 remaining in the half. Senior Khiry Robinson ran in an 11-yard touchdown to get the Buffs back within four, at 21-17. Jackson would extend the Mustang’s lead once again by punching the ball in from one

“...I am sure for these players, it is the hardest loss they’ve had.”

Livestrong Foundation have benefitted countless people and families. Ever since being diagnosed with and beating cancer in the 1990s, Armstrong has dedicated thousands of hours to make sure nobody else has to go through cancer. Armstrong’s battle with the disease is the one bright spot on his now-tarnished career and it is the only reason why I am still inspired by him. But this entire ordeal with Armstrong is a not a one-way street. The UCI said that Armstrong never failed a test when he was racing. But the USADA said in August that he cheated during those seven years. So where did these magical drug tests come from? The UCI. To be honest, the sport of cycling is not popular here in the States and, quite frankly, it’s boring. Thanks to Lance Armstrong, the United States and others around the world found someone to watch and root for in the Tour De France, the premier race in the sport.

But according to Irish journalist Paul Kimmage, in his defamation lawsuit against the UCI, the Union’s leaders, president Pat McQuaid and former president Hein Verbruggen, covered up the Armstrong tests to let the sport remain popular and relevant. The lawsuit stems from testimony from former Tour winner and disgraced cheater Floyd Landis saying the UCI protected star riders. If a teacher helps a student cheat on a test, isn’t the teacher just as guilty? So a big congratulations to you, cycling. Thanks to UCI’s leadership that was only concerned about the popularity and television ratings and a subsequent cover-up scandal of the greatest champion in your history and humanitarian, your sport will forever be lost in an ignominious black hole of irrelevance. I, like many other sports fans, will always remember the debacle of Lance Armstrong and the desperate cover-up to make cycling matter.

yard out with 5:19 left in the half, giving MSU a 28-17 lead. Two more touchdown runs by Robinson of seven and 20-yards would the Buffs a 31-28 that WT would take to halftime after the Mustangs missed a last-second field goal. After MSU kicked a field goal to start the third quarter, Vaughn connected with junior Trevor Hammargren for a seven yard touchdown pass that put the Buffs

in front 38-31. WT would end the third quarter with a 10-point lead at 41-31. The Mustangs cut it back down to a three-point deficit after Kelsey found Mark Strange for a 20-yard touchdown pass that made the score 41-38. The Buffs would respond with a sixyard scoring pass from Vaughn to Robinson to go back up 48-38 with 2:55 left in the game. Midwestern started a rally when Kelsey found the end zone less than minute later on a one-yard run. The Mustangs would cap off the comeback after a bad snap on a WT punt was recovered and returned for a score by Marqui

o I was wrong about Lance Armstrong. It was announced recently that the International Cycling Union (UCI) was going to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour De France titles from 1999-2005 and ban him for life from cycling because of doping charges. The Union agreed with the claims made by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in August that suggested Armstrong was involved in an elaborate attempt to circumvent positive drug tests while he was racing. Let’s get something clear: I don’t approve of cheating or doping on any level of the sport. Cheaters disgust me and I hate the lot of them. Doping strips athletes of their humanity. But Lance Armstrong is one of those rare cheaters whom I can’t learn to hate. Armstrong’s work to battle cancer and the over $500 billion he has raised through his

John lee sports reporter

he WTAMU Lady Buffs swept both opponents over the weekend as they went on the road to face Cameron and Midwestern State. The scores were WT over Cameron 3-0 (2518, 25-11, 25-16) and WT over Midwestern State 3-0 (30-28, 2519, 25-19). “Both opponents played very well. That made it more rewarding. Last night we played much better.” Lady Buffs Head Coach Jason Skoch said. “We moved well on offense and defense and we wanted to impress. Today we came in flat. Defense effort picked up mightily, but offense was not good.” The leading scorer for both nights was senior Stormi Lancaster who had 11 kills each night. Junior Halie Harton had ten against Cameron and 11 against Midwestern State. “Halie continues to get better on all areas. Stormi is stepping up offensively but she has got to make

Tyler Anderson

Christian with 0:55 to go in the sporTs reporTer game. he Lady Buffs Soccer “It’s really a hard loss, one of team took care of busithe hardest losses I’ve had as a ness when it came to coach and I am sure for these hosting the LSC Tournament players, it is the hardest loss this past weekend at The Pitch. they’ve had,” Head Coach Don After handling Midwestern Carthel said. State in a 3-1 decision on Nov. The Buffs now stand with an 2, the Lady Buffs won an epic overall record of 8-2 and 6-1 in double overtime victory against the LSC. A win for WT would have Incarnate Word 3-2 on Nov. 4. clinched the LSC Championship, “We had a fantastic effort but the Buffs have a chance to earn and performance on Friday a share of the title as they take on with the 3-1 win against Midthe Texas A&M-Commerce Lions western,” Coach Chad Webb in the final regular season game said. “Everyone played well, and on Nov. 10. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. we had great senior leadership from Commerce, Texas. with Leslie scoring two goals

More Lance Armstrong, please Volleyball now 24-4 Keltin Wiens KWts sports Director

7 Lady Buffs soccer capture Lone Star Conference

decision to step up defensively in the sets.” Skoch said. “Today we were able to pull away because of her blocking.” The team as a whole played well on defense, with 59 digs against Cameron and 67 digs against Midwestern State. Lancaster had 15 digs in the match against Midwestern, while senior Lauren Beville had 11 digs. Beville led in digs against Cameron with 19 digs, while Harton had 15 digs. “We have worked hard on defense. It was nice to see the transfer.” Skoch said. The next stop for the Lady Buffs is to go on the road to face Eastern New Mexico University today. The Lady Buffs return to The Box on Nov. 9 to host Texas A&M Kingsville and wrap up the regular season against Incarnate Word at The Box on Saturday, Nov. 10. “We are going to do exactly what we did this past week. [Play] pure defense and then team offense.” Skoch said. “[We] need to work on blocking a little more and aggressive serving.”

SPORTS

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

and assisted one with Lindsay,

another senior, scoring a goal. That’s what you need out of those older players. On Friday, WT powered ahead of the Mustangs behind a pair of two scores by senior striker Leslie Briggs in the first half, with junior midfielder Berklee Watson and freshman midfielder Emily Krenek providing assists to the first goal and senior midfielder Kelsey Wright giving the assist for the second score. The Mustangs would come close with a 25yard shot by Berklee Dressler with twenty remaining in the first half, but senior midfielder Lindsay McHorse would finish off Midwestern State with the

game-winning goal. “The team showed a lot of heart, strength, and desire this weekend as we avenged a 4-1 loss earlier in the season to Midwestern State,” Leslie Briggs said. “We showed a lot of fire as we lead at the only time, which seemed to be the most important time – the end of the game.” Sunday would mark the rubber match between the Lady Buffs and archrival Incarnate Word for the LSC Championship. Despite falling behind early to an Amber Guenther goal and Sydney Solomon assist with a little under 33 minutes left in the first half, Lindsay McHorse struck back with an equalizer

off of a Lady Buff corner kick shortly into the second half. However, the Cardinals would strike back with a breakaway score by Sarah Johnson until Schultz knocked in a put-back goal shortly after to push the game into extra time. The first overtime was a stalemate by both sides. In the second overtime, LSC Tournament MVP Briggs knocked in the game winner to help the Lady Buffs clinch the Lone Star tournament title and give the white-clad side an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. This championship marks the sixth Lone Star Conference Championship.

Along with Briggs earning the Tournament MVP award, the LSC All-Tournament team includes Jasmine Schultz, senior defender Becky Peth, Lindsay McHorse, and junior goalkeeper Yvette Bedoy. While the Lady Buffs continue their 2012 campaign with a 13-6-1 record, Midwestern State concludes their season with a 7-10-3 overall record while Incarnate Word falls to 9-8-1 to end its season. As of print time, WT will wait and see where they will go for the South Central Region Tournament when the NCAA announces its Division II Women’s Soccer Selection Show.

ENTERTAINMENT

GAMES

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

Game Review: Assassin’s Creed III John Lee RepoRteR

housands of fans waited in lines at Gamestop and other gaming retailers around the United States in anticipation for perhaps the most anticipated Assassin’s Creed game in the series. Based on the story of Assassin’s Creed III and the preorder sales of the game, Ubisoft Montreal is confident that this will be the biggest installment to the series. “Assassin’s Creed 3 is one of the most anticipated games of the year and this impressive pre-order mark is just a hint of the game’s potential,” Tony Key, senior vice president of sales & marketing at Ubisoft said. “When players discover the new features, historical period, characters and gaming experience that the development team has worked so hard to create, we’re confident that they will agree that this is the biggest, best Assassin’s Creed game yet.” Based on the attendance of fans at the various Gamestop locations in Amarillo, Key is likely correct in this statement. “There were a lot of people there, there were a ton.” Beau Bellatty, a fan of Assassin’s Creed since the first installment, said. “A lot of people were getting the special editions too, the one with the big statue.” The game sticks to the tradition of the Assassin’s Creed series by paying close attention to detail in the environment and providing a historical timeline with a fictional conspiracy tiein. But it adds a new frontier that includes weather changes that go from spring to winter and back again and includes

board games, hunting, and new obstacles to climb. “Assassin’s Creed’s greatest allure has always been melding real history with a conspiracy-laden fiction, and colonial America is rife with moments, personalities and events worth exploring,” Matt Miller, writer for Game Informer, said in the publication’s review. “Colonialera Boston and New York are the liveliest and most authentic open cities I’ve encountered in a game, from the squealing pigs to the newsboys hawking papers. The wilderness that separates the two is vast, and filled with plenty to do. Many missions are set in the frontier, and in between those missions you can hunt animals, bring down enemy forts, climb cliffs and trees, and explore hidden caves, just to name a few of many diversions. As an open wilderness zone, the frontier shines, though long runs to mission objectives can get tedious. Everywhere you go exhibits dynamic weather effects, and the world feels more varied and alive as you witness its passage from summer to winter and back again.” The game has several brand new features. Connor, the assassin featured in Assassin’s Creed III, uses different weapons. While the hidden blades are still there, he uses a bow-and-arrow and a tomahawk, which reflects on his Native American background. There are also board games as mini-games, courier missions and almanac pages that you collect for legendary Revolutionary War figure Benjamin Franklin. The game also in general flows more smoothly, dismissing the dramatic pause after a stealth assassination and

replacing with a quick kill. “The rope dart is my favorite all-time weapon.” Bellatty said. “The rope dart is fantastic.” Assassin’s Creed III also introduces a new engine called AnvilNext. “The AnvilNext engine is a marvel and is responsible for the stoic winter scenes and impressive AI that I mentioned earlier.” John Stewart of Gaming Examiner said in his review of the game. With all the highs there are in the game there are a handful of lows that, depending on the person, may not be a big deal or it could be a deal breaker. There is a new combat system. The new combat system takes a little bit to get used to, but if a fan has played Assassin’s Creed since the beginning, there should be very little adjusting. For impatient gamers, the game takes some time to get into the story for when Connor is introduced, but it is key to the plot, which makes the wait pay off.

“Assassin’s Creed III’s pacing is a source of frustration for the first third or so of the story – it takes too long to open up and show its hand,” Keza McDonald, a writer for IGN, said. “Right at the beginning of Connor’s story, you’re kept on a short leash; your movements are wholly dictated by the plot for a good three hours or so, which is disappointing when you’ve had a taste of how open the world can be. It’s a definite low point that lasts too long and the game only really recovers when it sets you free again to explore at your own pace.” There are a handful of technical glitches. For example, a player may want the character to run straight; instead, he will climb a ladder or run up a wall if the character is running alongside a building, which can be infuriating if you are trying to escape detection. “They have a couple glitchy parts when you’re trying to synchronize with viewpoints.”

Bellatty said. “You can have a couple issues because they have trees with some of the viewpoints and they can be a hassle to get to.” While the story does lend itself to the first four installments in the video game series, it gives the usual “previously on Assassin’s Creed” recap which allows for entry players to make this their first-played game in the series. Graphics and playability of the game has been upgraded from the first four. “I think it’s better by a lot,” Bellatty said. “It’s a lot more realistic and fluid with the fight movements.” What are the ratings from the experts? Stewart gives it an 8.5, while Miller gives it a 9.5. “8.5.” Mcdonald said. “Huge but inconsistent, Assassin’s Creed III is an impressive adventure that succeeds in most of what it attempts.” The game is rated M for mature.

Can YOU finish first? We are giving away $10 iTunes gift cards. Finish the three puzzles with the correct answers and turn it in at FAC room 103.

Last Week’s ansWers John Lee/The Prairie Assassin’s Creed III is available on Xbox 360 and PS3.

10 FEATURE

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

opinion 11

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

Festival attracts music lovers to Austin Look out Buzz Lightyear, Jedis are here Robin MosieR RepoRteR

ith the blast of a $100,000 taco cannon, Auditorium Shores in downtown Austin kicked off seventh annual Fun Fun Fun Fest Nov. 2-4. A now integral, anticipated segment of the “international rock nerd festival circuit” according to the official Fun Fun program and weekend guide, 142 musicians and comedians were separated by genre onto four stages labeled by color, filling a solid three days with music and laughter. Ranging from death metal to rap to indie folk rock, the diverse scope of entertainment drew individuals from every walk of life, “I saw a guy walking around dressed up like a devil wearing butt-less chaps with a girl only wearing paint and a

feather headdress,” festival attendee Will Jarvis said. “It was crazy.” Scores of similar stories of bizarre sightings were excitedly shared amongst festival goers as they milled about the grounds. In addition to live music and stand up comedy, attendees had virtually endless opportunities for entertainment from Anarchy Championship Wrestling, a PlayStation gaming trailer and a massive half-pipe in the middle of the grounds. “[Fun Fun] has a lot of different things other festivals don’t have that make it interesting,” Jarvis said. “Like the half pipe, people wrestling and the graffiti wall, there’s a lot of stuff that give it a little extra.” Keeping with the trendy, offcolor and quirky people and theme of the weekend, Fun Fun kept festival attendees up to

speed with changes in festival lineups and announcements about Fun Fun happenings with their downloadable iPhone and Android app, shooting out push notifications written in textmessage lingo. “I loved the way Fun Fun utilized social media,” attendee Austin Karber said. “Their tweets were hilarious, and the way they sent out the text messages through the app was brilliant, it was really different.” In addition to quirky attractions, rows of vendors set up miniature shops along the outer edges of the grounds selling concert posters, festival merchandise, first aid supplies and merchandise from their personal businesses, such as Guadeloupe street’s Buffalo Exchange. “This is our first year out here [at Fun Fun], and I’m

audiences about occurrences in the community including their health, children, government, law enforcement, education, economy, and agriculture that directly affect the Latino community. “Hispanics want to see something that relates to them, that affects them and not their neighbor really,” Vanessa Abuchaibe, forecaster for Telemundo Amarillo and reporter for news channel 10, said. “Therefore we have to act by being involved with the community or simply reading other articles.” Hispanic television is a large industry in the U.S. and the largest Spanish-language network by far, reaching audience sizes that compete with the three ma-

jor English-language broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC. “Covering news in Spanish is really no different than in a big market. The stories come in and need to be turned around for news,” Gabriel Martinez, news anchor for Telemundo and FOX 34, said. “The only challenge is really having to turn copy from English to Spanish which is an extra step in the whole process.” The Latino community in the U.S. has been growing consistently, and it is important for everyone to be aware of what is happening around them. If a group of people does not have access to credible information just because it is not available in its native language, its success will be limited.

The value of Latino TV News Rubi Valencia RepoRteR

here is more access to receiving news from around the world but people really care about what is happening around the corner too. Local television news cover stories that has a larger effect on the lives of people in a small community. “Many of the Latin American immigrants only understand Spanish, and it is our responsibility as reporters to keep these people informed,” Alfredo Carrera, forecaster for Telemundo Lubbock, said. “That is how we play the role we claim as a watchdog for our societies.” Spanish programs in the Texas Panhandle inform their

really excited about it,” Buffalo Exchange manager Christina Carhart said. “We’ve been selling a lot of sunglasses and jewelry. It’s been really good. We’ve been surrounded by friendly booth neighbors that have made it a lot of fun.” While business owners manned personal spaces, paid workers and volunteers kept the rest of the festival details in check, manning bag check stations at the front, passing out event program guides and security guards. In exchange for free admission to the festival, volunteer Siyllo Indika said she negotiated working six hours on day three with the volunteer coordinator to get in the gate day two, a move Indika said allowed

he world of Star Wars is her to see some of her favorite unfathomably huge. Ever live acts such as rapper A$AP since George Lucas introRocky and soak up the festival duced us to stars of death, obese atmosphere. alien mobsters, self-pitying ro“I love coming to festivals bots and evil father figures, the because the people are always movie franchise has racked up so interesting,” Indika said. “You $20 billion in box office tickets, see all different kinds of people, DVD sales and an enormous they’re dressed different, and then it’s like foreign people as amount of merchandise. Not well mixed in with Texans from to mention, hundreds of books all over the state. The people and video game spin-offs, inseriously make the festival, but cluding an arguably successful the lineups all weekend were cartoon. The story, both and off the screen, is epic. And it just got also sick.” Daily lineups ending with bigger. George Lucas recently anheadliners such as Girl Talk, nounced that Disney will buy hip-hop legends RUN DMC and Lucasfilm for $4 billion, adding up-and-coming indie folk-rock Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker bands such as Head and the alongside Buzz Lightyear and Heart, attendees across the Jack Sparrow on the long list board said they were beyond of Disney heros. But what does pleased. this mean for the film franchise?

Disney has announced that Star Wars Episode VII is already in the early development stages, but can Disney pull off a successful transition with such an obsessively beloved classic or will they butcher the storyline? Will they try to continue the journey of Luke, Leia, and Solo, or will they branch off to some other far reaches of the galaxy? These questions are racking the brain of anyone who has ever heard of Star Wars and is aware of the effects the major motion picture has had on society since Luke Skywalker made his Jedi debut in 1977. Since its premiere, the franchise has catapulted the closet nerd into full-blown stardom, creating a whole new breed of science fiction fans. However, the relationship

between Lucas and his fans became stilted after the premier of Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace in 1999. This is where some fans turned their backs and others turned psychotic. The final three installments to the franchise were a disappointment for some, to say the least. Besides angry letters to Lucas and even death threats (psychotic), the final three films were successful in the box office, but not successful among diehard fans. Lucas’s reputation preceded him and, for some, did not deliver the nicely wrapped Star Wars continuity package they were expecting, but instead got Jar Jar Binks. The transition to Disney now has half of Star Wars fans cringing and the other half cheering, but all very curious. Disney is

one of the most beloved film companies in the industry, so it only makes sense for them to own one of the most beloved films of all time. Sure, Disney isn’t perfect as evident by box office failures John Carter and Treasure Planet, but it’s Disney. Their list of failures is not worth comparing to their list of successes; Pirates of the Caribbean, Chronicles of Narnia, Toy Story. The list goes on and on. Furthermore, this is not Disney’s first major purchase. We all know what happened with Marvel Entertainment when Disney became its legal guardian back in 2009. We were introduced to the successful The Avengers live action epic, which grossed over $200 million opening weekend. There is no reason to believe Disney can’t pull

the same successful stunt with Star Wars. In fact, because of the wide range of possible storylines the world of Star Wars offers, it would be easy and down-right fun to create new characters and tales from that galactic realm. Luke Skywalker could make an appearance. We could find out what happened between Leia and Hans. Jar Jar Binks might even come back. Or Disney could go further than Lucas has ever gone before. Die-hard Star Wars fans need not worry. Lucas is staying on in a supervisory role with the next Star Wars installment. The classic film franchise is in good hands and even if Disney finds a way to butcher the story beyond repair, there is no need to fret. It’s only a movie.

QuesTion of The Week [elecTion ediTion] Are you tired of the election yet? Don’t worry, it will be over in 12 hours! For this special QOTW, we want to know if the election turned out how you expected, was it a big let down, etc. Once the votes are tallied, voice your opinion on our Facebook page or on Twitter (@The_Prairie). Happy Election Day!

“What do you think of the results of this year’s election?” 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.

PHOTOS

November 6, 2012 | theprairienews.com

This Week in Photos: Hanging of Lights

Students decorate the campus for the holidays during Hanging of the Lights on Nov. 2.

Maci Davis (junior) uses a pole to hang lights on a tree.

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CAMPOS students help hang lights up around campus for Hanging of the Lights.

Gabriel Miranda (junior) and Vanessa Guzman (freshman) hang lights high in the trees.

Heather Morgan (freshman) helps drape the lights around the branches.

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