The Prairie, Vol 94, No. 10

the

Prairie

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011

The sTudenT newspaper of wesT Texas a&M universiTy

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Gateway Enhancement project begins in Canyon

Alternative routes are suggested to go in and out of the city The WTAMU Police Department suggests the following alternative routes to avoid congestion:

* Use the 15th Street overpass to 2nd or 4th Avenue. * Stay on US60 until it goes over US87 and then exit at Hunsley Road, travel east to WTAMU Drive. * If traveling from Amarillo, either stay on I-27 until Hunsley Road and then proceed west to WTAMU Drive or continue southbound on I-27 until SH217 (Exit 106) and come into Canyon on 4th Ave by the First United Bank Center. * Traffic departing Canyon may be reduced to one lane so you may want to leave campus via your alternate route as well.

Graphic by Maria Molina The map shows aternative routes the community can take to get in and out of campus.

Gateway Enhancement story on p. 3

Veterans at WT adjust to school life after service ashLey hendriCk sTaff wriTer

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cold dead limb lay on the ground outside of the gates of the demolished 249th general hospital in Afghanistan. The limb belonged to an Afghani man who had been shot in the crook of his arm in the middle of a firefight. He bent down, picked up his arm, and began walking away from the hospital gates. Medical personnel then tackled the man and dragged him into the hospital for immediate treatment. They were

InsIde sporTs:

not going to allow this man to bleed to death.

“I saw things that most people in the United States would not have survived,” Fred Williams said, senior Pre-Law student at WT and former Communication Sergeant for the 249th general hospital.

According to the president of WT’s Veterans Club and Air Force veteran Gary Bingman, there are roughly 400 veterans who roam the halls at WT. From California to Afghanistan and Taiwan, veterans from WT have experience military life all over the world. Now, they return

enTerTainMenT:

news:

Lady Buffs soccer finished season with a 9-10-1 record.

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home to insert themselves back into civilian life by going back to school.

“It’s like freshmen year all over again,” Williams said. “You don’t really know anybody.”

The adjustment to life after the service can be a daunting transition for veterans and one that is not always easy to accomplish.

“It’s harder for me because in the military you’re told each regiment of your day,” Williams said. “So when you get out and you have all this freedom, you’re like ‘I don’t know what to do.’”

Cornette Library displays Vietnam exhibit.

Rebekah Purl is the winner of the last $10 iTunes gift card.

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Even though a newfound National Guard, became a small business owner after his time in freedom outside the military service. But the decision to run can seem overwhelming, some a small business was soon chalveterans choose to start job searching immediately. lenged by limited opportunities.

“A year after the military, I was working at a shipping company and I wasn’t happy,” Williams said. “I was just throwing around boxes all day and I was like, ‘wait a minute? I have my G.I. bill. I have the focus now to go through college. I might as well go back to school.”

Mark Stapleton, a sophomore Photo by Ashley Hendrick Gary Bingman (r) discusses majoring in Computer Informa- President fundrasing for the veterans club. tion Systems and veteran of Veterans story continued the Marine Core and the Army

on p. 2

CaMpus Life:

feaTure:

Student Disability Services hosts Ability Awareness Week.

IT department answers questions about WT’s devices and system.

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Feature Prairie IT answers to common problems on WT’s system 2

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Jes Roskens staff WRiteR

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any programs, devices and systems keep WTAMU running. However, most students only notice them when they stop working.

The IT department decided to shed light on some of the most common issues students face.

Why does the Internet slow down?

Geography is the enemy for the buffer-phobic student, Chief Information Officer Jim Webb said. WT is a part of a statewide network called the Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN).

Veterans story from p. 1

“I went out on the workforce for years and there were lots of opportunities presented,” Stapleton said. “But they had to pass on me because I didn’t have a college degree.”

The missed opportunities were a wakeup call, according to Stapleton.

“So I went home, looked at my wife and said ‘we’re shutting the business down and I’m going back to school.’”

Other veterans decided to dip their feet into both pools of possibilities including junior Byron Hoover, veteran of the United States Air Force. the

Prairie

Due to LEARN not having a strong presence in the Panhandle area, WT gets a much smaller bandwidth as opposed to another TAMUS (Texas A&M University System) universities, such as Galveston.

This will change soon with the installation of fiber-optic cable from Canyon to Lubbock, allowing WT’s total bandwidth to increase almost tenfold by April 2012.

Why doesn’t “WT Class” work as well on Google Chrome or Firefox, and why does it get taken down so often?

The reason WT Class does not work as well on Chrome or Firefox is because Angel Learning, the company that

“I kind of went both routes,” Hoover said. “When I didn’t land a good job, I came here to school and started using my G.I. bill.”

Though going back to school can mean more opportunities for career advancement, sometimes life inside college walls can be much more different than anticipated.

“I can almost not relate to the kids in my class,” Stapleton said. “Venus and Mars, millions of miles apart and that’s just a generational thing. I let them do their thing and I keep my mouth shut and I do my thing.”

Despite the generation gap

made and supports the service, has not made their product with these other browsers in mind.

“A company is always behind the browsers,” Laura Haasl, manager of instructional technology, said.

Haasle also said that the upgrade for WT Class will come next year. As for why WT Class and Buff Advisor have to be taken down on a regular basis, Webb said it is a matter of security. Every month, Microsoft sends out a report of updates and patches needed to keep Microsoft’s products secure and safe from unwanted users.

“The network would be insecure and with so much student information at risk, we have to keep up with these veterans often face when going back to school, some are able to use their military experience to help them accomplish new feats.

“The fact that I was security forces…(I) help with disaster preparedness for our students,” said Nune Perez, Political Science major and veteran of the United States Navy.

For Williams, serving in the military sometimes meant staying awake for 72 hours straight.

As vice president of Sigma Nu and P.U.L.S.E (Peer, Understanding, Leadership, Speaking, Education), this habit was quickly taken advantage of.

updates,” Webb said.

Why can’t I download this program or use this device?

Manager of IT Service Center Michael Reagan said he understands students’ and faculties’ frustrations over having to contact the IT department to download programs, even seemingly innocent and free software like Skype or Audacity. He assures people, though, there is a good reason for it.

“It is a balance between usability and security,” Reagan said.

In order to guarantee that no viruses, malware or licensing issues occur on school computers, the best solution found was for every

“Sergeants used to say, ‘you can sleep when you’re dead,’” Williams recalled. “There’s only 24 hours in a day and if you only need to sleep three or four of them, you get a lot accomplished.”

Rather than insomnia, Stapleton took with him a competitive nature developed while in the service and a need to accomplish the mission.

“Every military school I ever went to, the goal was to try and be number one in the class,” Stapleton said. “When I get home I don’t get distracted. I do my studying.”

Despite some obstacles, the

Staff 2011-2012

Editor- Maria Molina Assistant Editor- Krystina Martinez Web Editor - Georgia Romig Layout- Kati Watson Ad Manager- Bryan Samuel Faculty Adviser- Butler Cain

Reporter- Jes Roskens Reporter- Melissa Bauer-Herzog Reporter- Ryan Schaap Reporter- Matt Watkins Reporter- Lisa Hellier Reporter- Jordan Fry

Reporter- Daniela Fierro Reporter - Brittany Castillo Public Relations- Aurora Ortiz Photographer- Alex Montoya

download to go through the IT department.

Do you have Hastings Electronic Learning Center problems?

Students face several problems at the HELC when using the computers. The biggest problem that hurried students get frustrated about is that the computers can take a while to load and open programs. Reagan said this problem has been noticed, and a solution is coming.

“All open-access computers in the HELC will be replaced with new computers over the next few years,” Reagan said.

Reagan said the computers will be replaced section by section starting next semester.

experience veterans get from serving the country creates a new outlook on life.

“We all deal with life a little better then kids who come out of high school,” Bingman said.

“It forces us to grow up a little bit, even if we don’t want to.”

For some veterans, school is no longer a synonym for parties and graduation. At the end of the day, it means more than just a diploma.

“There’s a completely different attitude there,” Stapleton said. “We came here to learn something, not just get a piece of paper.”

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

The Prairie is a student-operated publication 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 students. The editorials that appear on these pages represent the opinion of the Prairie editorial board. The views expressed by other columinsts are the writers’ opinions and do not necessarily reflect the board’s views. Advertising rates are available upon request at (806) 3372090 or at theprairiewt@gmail.com. WTAMU Box 60754, Canyon, Texas 79016. The Prairie is distributed on Tuesdays during the semester and has a circulation of 1,500. It is printed by The Amarillo Globe-News.

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News Prairie New Cornette Library exhibit honors Vietnam vets 3

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Display memorializes students and graduates killed in war AmAndA ShAver mCOm 3309 newS editing & repOrting

“The second part is pictures that soldiers in the field took, collected by Larry Witthar,” Mary Jarvis, assistant director he Cornette Library of information and has recently introduced a new library resources, exhibit honoring those who said. “We look at fought in the Vietnam War. The them and it gets us to exhibit was kicked off with a thinking.” ceremony honoring Sargent There are many Keith Rowell, who was killed pictures posted in Vietnam on Aug. 25, 1968.

Photo by Alex Montoya throughout the The ceremony took place on Cornette Library displays snapshots taken by soldiers in memorial, some Vietnam.

Oct. 22, 2011 in front of the of soldiers at their Cornette Library and continued WTAMU students or graduates, campsites, pictures of the to Silverton where a special has a sign posted that states, people of Vietnam they military grave marker was “Twenty-three students and interacted with, landscapes placed on Sargent Rowell’s graduates lost their lives in and even some of actual battle. grave.

Vietnam. This exhibit attempts Many of these pictures were The exhibit currently on to portray the fallen in human taken by soldiers who are display at the library is divided terms- as young men with relatives of people who work into two categories, one hopes and dreams cut short by at WTAMU. Also on display is entitled “In Memory,” and the tragic war.” There are pictures money from Vietnam that a other “Snapshots of Vietnam.” displayed of each of the twenty- soldier brought home with him The “In Memory” section, three men who lost their lives and a memorial poem written which specifically honors the in the war. by the brother of a local author, fallen men who were either

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Gateway Enhancement story from p.1 mAriA mOlinA editOr

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n Nov. 8, the Amarillo District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will begin the US 87 Gateway Enhancement project in Canyon.

City Manager Randy Criswell said Canyon has been trying to do something about the Gateway for a long time.

“It is so ugly when you come from the north to town,” he said. “There is dirt and weed. It is horrible looking.”

The city of Canyon applied for funding through the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Enhancement Program. TxDOT Public Information Officer Paul Braun said the project is expected to cost over $900,000.

“The city of Canyon applied to the fund and were approved through the Transportation Enhancement Project,” he said. “We realized there were some other issues.”

For this reason, two projects were combined to get all aspects needed to change in one construction.

“Eight hundred thirty eight thousand was

given by the TxDOT enhancement fund,” Braun said. “ One hundred nineteen thousand came from district construction funding.”

Criswell said the area coming to town from the north will be more beautiful once the project is concluded. The project includes landscaping, sidewalks, colored concrete pavers, LED lighting, and retaining wall.

“There will also be two permanent left lanes to improve traffic,” Criswell said. “The intersection wide to the north should improve drainage.”

Even though the project does not involve WTAMU’s property, the construction will affect traffic flow to and from campus.

“Once the project starts, it is advisable to avoid traffic and expedite people leaving and going from and to campus,” Patrick Coggans, director of police operations, said. “There are alternative routes you can take coming from Amarillo.”

The ramp from US 60 eastbound to US 87 southbound will be closed until the project concludes. The construction will involve the area north of Russell Long Boulevard under the Railway Bridge as well as the off ramp coming off the Hereford Highway.The project is expected finish by mid-spring.

Jodi Thomas.

“This is such a great way to honor those who lost their lives in Vietnam,” Robert King, a former WTAMU student who visited the exhibit, said.

“There are so many streets around campus named after the people who lost their lives in Vietnam and it really puts everything into perspective to see their faces and see pictures

of what they experienced,” former WTAMU student, Keri Wood, said.

The exhibit is located on the first floor of the Cornette Library, close to the main entrance. The exhibit will be on display at least until November 11, 2011, and may possibly be displayed the rest of the fall semester.

BUSTED BUDGET EDITION!

Due to budget constraints we will not be having a printed edition of The Prairie next week. Check our digital version online or scan the QR code in our flyers.

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Lady Buffs soccer battled an injury-plagued season Melissa Bauer-Herzog staff Writer

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he Women’s Soccer team had to climb some high hurdles this year to make it to playoffs, including fighting their own bodies. While the team had an overall regular season record of 9-10-1, better than five of the other Lone Star Conference teams, and an a LSC record of 9-10-1, only a few of those victories came with a mostly full team available to play.

Throughout the year, the Lady Buffs had six players with season-ending injuries with everything from torn ACLs to fractured ankles. At one point,

over a third of the team was on the bench, sidelined with injuries that forced them to miss multiple games.

“It seems like some years, you have a lot of injuries and some years you have very few injuries,” WTAMU Head Trainer Ron Hulsey said. “I just think we are in one of those cycles where the last couple of years we’ve been hit pretty hard, but hopefully we’ll get through this one then have a few years to kind of average it out.”

The injuries that have forced players to miss multiple games, or even a whole season, have been random enough that no one can pinpoint exactly what is causing the problem in order to

prevent it.

“What’s so confusing is that none of the injuries are the same. If everybody had a hurt knee then maybe we could figure something out. But all the injuries are so different that we can’t put a finger on it,” Head coach Chad Webb said.

But even without knowing what the problem may be, the team has had to make some adjustments to their training in order to keep the girls fresh and give them time to recover.

“It forces us to change our training because we’ve had a few days off here in the middle of the season to give people rest and time to recover,” said Webb. “But since we don’t know

exactly what is causing the problem, except for maybe bad luck, then what we’re going to do is keep on fighting,” However, player Kelsey Wright says that the injuryplagued season may actually help them next season. The injuries have forced the team to come closer together as they cycle through putting healthy players on the field in lines they may not play on regularly.

“I think that some of the freshmen didn’t realize how hard we play and how different of a step up it is from playing high school or club ball to playing college soccer,” Wright said.

“We had a lot of people maybe not take summer workouts as

serious and I think some injuries did come from not being prepared and strong enough to be prepared for our daily being. I think that will help in the future.”

Women’s soccer ended last weekend when they were eliminated from the conference playoffs in the second round after coming in as the lowest seed. However, the team will use the offseason to rest and prepare themselves for a fresh soccer season with no gamerelated injuries.

The mystery of this season’s outbreak of injuries may never be known but one thing is for certain, it won’t keep the team down for long.

WTAMU Volleyball Team Soccer team falls in Lone Clinches Sixth LSC Title Star Conference semifinals MattHeW Watkins staff Writer

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he No. 13 WTAMU Lady Buffs volleyball team traveled to Denton to battle the Texas Women’s University Pioneers on Nov. 5. WT rallied to win the match 23-25, 21-25, 27-25, 2522, and 15-9; the win gives the Lady Buffs their sixth consecutive regular season Lone Star Conference title, and seventeenth overall.

The Pioneers opened game one with an 8-4 lead. Trailing 13-16, WT scored three straight to tie. The Lady Buffs were able to tie TWU two more times, but were never able to get a lead in the set.

WT had a 9-7 lead early in game two when the Pioneers scored three straight to take a 9-10 lead into a Lady Buff timeout. With the score tied at 15, a 5-1 TWU run gave them a 20-16 advantage they would not lose.

“We seemed uninspired and barely lost two sets to a team who is very talented,” Head Coach Jason Skoch said.

Tied at 10 in set three, TWU scored four straight to go up 14-10

into a WT timeout. After another Lady Buff timeout with a 14-20 Pioneers lead, WT went on a 10-4 run to tie the game at 24 all. The Lady Buffs outscored TWU 3-1 at that point to extend the match.

Down 12-13 in the fourth game, WT scored four going into a Pioneers timeout to take a 16-13 lead. At 1917, the Lady Buffs outscored TWU 7-5 to tie the match at two games apiece.

WT grabbed a quick 5-2 lead in the fifth set and never looked back.

The Lady Buffs scored four straight with an 11-9 lead to complete the rally. The win marks the third time WT has come back from a twogames-to-none deficit this season.

“We played great. My only concern is you can only play with fire so much,” said Skoch.

The Lady Buffs finished the regular season 30-2 overall and 19-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Lone Star Conference Championships will be played Nov. 10-12 at The Box in Canyon. WT’s first match will be on Nov. 10 against the eighth-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas at 7:30 p.m.

MattHeW Watkins staff Writer

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he WTAMU Lady Buff soccer team traveled to Abilene to participate in the Lone Star Conference championship tournament on Nov. 3 as the sixth seed. The Lady Buffs defeated Eastern New Mexico 1-0 in the first round but fell to Midwestern State 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals.

The first round game against the ENMU Zias was a knock-down drag-out fight.

Neither team was able to score in the first half, and each team’s goalie made four saves in the half. WT outshot the Zias 10-5 during the half.

The Lady Buffs finally broke through at 77:26 into the game. Senior Leslie Briggs’ corner kick tipped off the Zias goalie’s hands and into the net. The 1-0 victory made the Lady Buffs the first six seed to make it out of the first round since WT did it in 2007.

“It was great, but it wasn’t a surprise for us,” junior Kelsey Wright said. “We had previously beaten Eastern last Friday at home so we knew it was our game to take.”

The Lady Buffs semifinal match was against the second-seeded Midwestern State Mustangs on Nov. 4. The Mustangs took

advantage of a late goal to force overtime, and scored five minutes into overtime to get the 2-1 win.

WT quickly found the net against MSU. A corner kick by senior Becky McMullen that went directly into the lower right corner of the net gave the Lady Buffs a 1-0 lead 12:03 in. WT’s defense stood strong throughout the remainder of the first half, led by sophomore goalie Yvette Bedoy who had four saves in the half.

The Mustangs came out of halftime on the attack. MSU outshot the Lady Buffs 10-2 across the second half. The Mustangs first goal came 84:43 into the game off the foot of Payton Fookes. Fookes caught Bedoy napping and snuck it past her to tie the game 1-1 and force overtime.

“It was an easy goal that we handed them,” said Wright. “I think we took a break at the wrong moment.”

MSU ended the game five minutes into the sudden death overtime. Kelsey Hill picked up the goal on a header from Maddie Fraser’s corner kick for the 2-1 win.

The Lady Buffs finished the season with a 9-10-1 record. WT will look to revamp this offseason, as they will only graduate four seniors.

Check online for men soccer story.

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Campus Life Prairie Mobile App in production stage 5

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new mobile application for WT students is currently in production stages. The app will allow students to perform the same functions as on Buff Advisor.

A free app called CIDM Department App is already in existence for the use of WT students.

The current app allows students to view newsfeeds and updates on WT sports, look up the distance in feet between buildings, gain directions on campus and directly email their professors.

“Students use the CIDM app especially to look up final exam times, and to email faculty,” Dr. Amjad Abdullat, head of

the Computer Information and Decision Management Department said.

The new app will be an expansion on the idea of the existing app, created by Dr. Abdullat and the CIDM team.

“Dr. Amjad Abdullat and his department are the driving force behind this [mobile application] initiative and have provided significant direction for the project,” James Webb, chief information officer of WTAMU, said. “They have truly established a bridge between academics and IT to stay connected with our students and keep the university on the cutting edge.”

This new app will allow students to check grades, register for classes, pay tuition, and view class schedules, among other things.

“I would probably use the app on my iPhone a lot especially when I’m not around a computer,” said Adela Solis, Junior Marketing Major.

Dustin Hume, a newly hired application developer, along with the CIDM team are currently in the production phases for the new app.

When it comes to the area of technology, WT is certainly not behind in the times.

“I think WT is in the forefront in technological advances for universities because of the Webex program, digital signage and the apps that we offer,” said Abdullat.

A new course will be open in the fall of 2012 in mobile apps, instructed by Jeffry Babb.

“After we launch the updated mobile application, the next step is to port WT Class to the mobile device,” said James Webb.

Student Disability Services hosts awareness events Brittany Castillo staff Writer

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rom Nov. 7-11, WTAMU Student Disability Services is hosting Ability Awareness Week.

Director of Student Disability Services Montana Hisel-Cochran will be reaching out to students in classrooms to participate in activities and challenges, as well as open discussions.

“This is the third year of Ability Awareness and truly it is the idea that we’re looking at disabilities with a twist,” said Cochran. “We have a series of activities to give students a feel of what it might be like to perform daily tasks in college with a disability.”

Graduate Robin Seal, majoring in speech communication, has a better understanding of common disabilities.

“I’ve never personally had to deal with anything like that. But after hearing stories, and witnessing problems, I understand their frustration,” said Seal.

Active students with minor or major

disabilities say they appreciate Ability Awareness Week, because it helps inform others about existing conditions.

Sophomore Katie Robertson said being partially deaf does not affect her cheering ability for WT. “It’s hard to hear when a cheer is called sometimes,” said Robertson. “I always appreciate how aware and loud the squad is.”

Director Hisel-Cochran said many of the Ability Awareness Week activities will be the same as in years past, but WT faculty and staff could expect more opportunities for participation.

“We’ll have two trainings for faculty and staff from 2:30-4 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 9,” said Cochran. “We will talk about what it means for a student to have a disability and explore how we can better assist their needs.”

Cochran invites everyone on Nov. 11 to visit the Student Disability Services open house from 2-4p.m. She is also available to speak at any organization or classroom upon request.

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WT celebrates Day of the Dead

Daniel Guadian and Jaqueline Reyes folk dancing.

Hispanic Student Association wins first place in the altar contest.

Photos by Alex Montoya

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Campus Life Prairie Buff Allies program revived but in danger of dying 6

LiSa heLLieR Staff WRiteR

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uff Allies is a program formed

by WTAMU faculty and staff members to provide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students a supportive safe zone to discuss any issues they might have. “[It provides] a safe place for the students to come talk about issues that they might not feel comfortable talking about just anywhere on campus,” Dr. Mo Cuevas, Social Work assistant professor and Buff Ally, said.

One of Buff Allies’ goals is to raise awareness of issues the LGBT community faces and to educate others.

“I think it’s really important because I think on a campus that tends to be

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relatively conservative, students need some places where they know it is okay to express different views and different situations and talk about different lifestyles that might not be the norm,” Cuevas said.

Students can identify faculty and staff members as Buff Allies by a sticker located on the door.

“I do think WT for the most part is a supportive community,” Roxie Pranglin, Continuing Education assistant director and Buff Ally, said.

The students Cuevas have met with typically would go to her so they could get help figuring out what they wanted, how to deal with and how to talk to family members.

“They need an element of safety to express themselves about that because college age is traditionally when

you are going through that identity development, and so you need to be able to experience it and talk about it and think through different ideas about it,” Cuevas said.

The program has gone through a tumultuous couple of years. It started up, lost momentum and was recently picked back up.

“I got involved several years ago and then the program kind of went away for a while and then it came back and I went to the training again,” Pranglin said.

Students in the Social Work program set up the training for participants last year. Members of Buff Allies go through training to better offer LGBT students understanding, support and advice.

“The Social Work program as whole picked it up and did some of the training for different groups that were

interested,” Cuevas said.

Since then, many of the students involved have graduated, and the program is in danger of falling off the radar again.

“I think the momentum would be there if we picked it back up,” Cuevas said. “I don’t think it’s ready to die, but I think it needs somebody who can really get behind it and pull it together.”

There have been a couple of meetings about getting the program revived.

“I felt it was important to say that I support this endeavor,” Pranglin said.

Cuevas hopes to take part in pushing the program forward and motivating more faculty and staff to get involved and make Buff Allies a strong program on campus.

Agricultural Air Quality facility studies local odor Ryan Schaap Staff WRiteR

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he Agriculture Air Quality facility is doing research on poultry, beef and swine farms to measure the air quality. This research has involved a USDA farm near Waco, where Dr. Eddie Caraway, research associate at WTAMU, and his research Photo by Ryan Schaap team are taking samples of Containers with fecal matter samples for examination. the air to determine what “The question that I ask impact the odor has on air and myself is what could the odor soil quality. The study of the impact be for the neighboring sense of smell is called olfactoresidents?” said Caraway. “Since metry. There are about six labs the air has been very dry, there across the U.S.A that have tests has been no run-off of matter. on olfactometry.

The more moisture in the air, “We are doing a three-year the easier it is for odor to dilute study,” Caraway said. “We laid and travel through the air.” down an area of chicken litter A device called a nasal rangwhere we measured nutrients er is used to measure the odor that was absorbed by the soil levels by holding the handheld from the litter produced by the device up to a nosepiece after poultry farm.” selecting the dilution level that Caraway got his bachelor’s you want to test. Based on the degree in biology in 2002. He selection made on the nasal transferred to agricultural air ranger, a value is made on how quality and started his research small or intense the odor is. in 2005 at WT. He has been “It measures the concenworking with USDA and Texas tration of odor,” Dr. Marty A&M University at College StaRhoades, assistant professor tion doing odor research at the of Environmental Science and Waco farm.

Agriculture, said. “There is the

hedonic tone measurement that tells us, if you were to put it at both extremes, does it smell pleasant or does it smell very bad? This is completely determined by the person’s opinion. A good analogy of the way the nasal ranger works is if you take two cups of water that have the same amount of water, and slowly drop 7up in one cup. Once you can taste a difference in the two, this shows the diluted mixture of that 7up in the water.”

Rhoades has helped Caraway by working on beef and swine farms and measuring the quality of the air.

“We want to know where the smell is coming from, how much is coming from it, what causes the smells,” said Rhoades. “There is no health effect to people when it comes to these odors. They are more of a nuisance than harmful.”

“Odor is a mix of a lot of different compounds, somewhat like a stew,” said Caraway.

“Everybody is different on their perception of how intense the odor of a substance is. Some towns that you drive through,

Photo by Ryan Schaap WT Graduate student Tyler Brown does lab work for the AAQ.

such as Hereford, some will say that it stinks while others say it smells like money.”

Another study that is being done is taking samples from the feedlots and putting them in plastic bags. Students have the opportunity to come in and test

the intensity of the samples.

They must not drink coffee, chew gum, chew or smoke tobacco because it can disrupt smell receptors. Student will be rewarded for their time through payment.

“I do a lot of the lab work,” said Tyler Brown, a graduate student at WT. “I do preparations for the experiments.

If we need bags, I’ll make those. I clean up the lab and take care of the equipment and I’ll go out to the field to collect air samples. My biggest interest was the research that was being done. It related to my interests in agriculture of animal science and it all comes down to the chemistry.”

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Last week’s answers

Congratulations to Rebekah Purl for winning a $10 iTunes gift card!

Can YOU finish first?

We are giving away two tickets to Young Frankenstein. (See ad on page 5.)

Finish the three puzzles and turn it in at FAC room 103.

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Ten candidates vie for Republican nomination in 2012 K M rystina

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lection season has kicked off strong with ten Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination against President Barack Obama, who will be running for re-election. Election Day will take place on Nov. 6, 2012. True to American politics, the mud-slinging, name-calling and controversies are already in full swing. Although it may be the more exciting part of the election season for some people, the issues cannot take a backseat. The following are five of the ten candidates. Look at next week’s edition for the other five.

Jon Huntsman - Former Governor of Utah & ambassador to China ECONOMY: Huntsman supports simplifying the current tax code. He wants to eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, reduce the Corporate Tax Rate from 35 to 25 percent, and eliminate deductions in favor of a “zero plan.” Huntsman wants to make the U.S. more energy dependent by promoting drilling at home.

HEALTHCARE: Huntsman wants to repeal Obama’s healthcare plan.

FOREIGN POLICY: According to Huntsman’s campaign site, he supports building up a stronger U.S., taking care of local allies and maintaining a modern defense system before focusing on foreign policy. His foreign policy includes managing strategic power relations such as China.

Buddy RoemeR - Former Governor of Louisiana

ECONOMY: Roemer proposes eliminating all energy subsidies, encouraging American businesses to “buy American,” and modifying the eligibility age of Social Security and Medicare to cut costs. He also wants to eliminate tax loopholes for corporations, the Alternative Minimum Tax, and most deductions in favor of a flat tax.

HEALTHCARE: Roemer wants to repeal Obama’s healthcare plan but keep insurance coverage with pre-existing conditions. He also proposes providing incentives to insurance providers who reduce costs.

FOREIGN POLICY: “America cannot... be the world’s policeman,” according to Roemer’s campaign site. He supports reducing dependency on foreign oil in order to not cloud interests. He also wants to repatriate the production of military equipment Newt GiNGrich - Former Speaker of the House of Representatives ECONOMY: Gingrich promotes cutting taxes, including: eliminating the capital gains tax, reducing the corporate income tax, ending the death tax. He also proposes a move towards an optional flat tax of 15 percent and returning to “Reagan-era monetary policies that stopped runaway inflation.”

HEALTHCARE: In Gingrich’s “Patient Power Plan,” he proposes to create more choices in Medicare, give states more freedom to customize Medicaid plans, and move from a paper-based to an electronic billing system to eliminate healthcare fraud.

FOREIGN POLICY: Gingrich advocates incentivizing math and science

education to ensure that the Armed Forces have the greatest technology.

He also wants to secure borders against terrorists and move away from dependency on foreign oil.

Mitt roMNey - Former Governor of Massachusetts, former 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate ECONOMY: Romney proposes to cut $500 billion a year in government spending, which would involve eliminating nonessential programs such as Amtrak and returning Medicaid to state control.

HEALTHCARE: Romney, much like other Republican candidates, wants to end “Obamacare.” He also wants Medicare to be “competitive and innovative,” according to the New York Times. He plans to offer private options as well as traditional Medicare to older Americans.

FOREIGN POLICY: “When America Is Strong, The World Is Safer” is the main idea behind Romney’s foreign policy plan, which includes building stronger ties with current allies, enforcing a strong military, and using a combination of “hard and soft power” to stop conflicts before they occur. His campaign website lists more specific plans regarding regions around the world, such as North Korea, China and Iran.

HeRman Cain - Former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and National Restaurant Association ECONOMY: Cain proposes to alleviate some government regulation, which his website says “complying with regulation costs $1.75 trillion annually.” He also wants to reduce government spending

and reform the tax code through his “99-9 Plan,” which would charge flat-rate nine percent business, individual, and nation sales taxes . The plan would also add a “Fair Tax,” which would eliminate individual and corporate income taxes, as well as kill the Death Tax. HEALTHCARE: Cain criticizes Obama’s healthcare plan as “health care deform,” according to his campaign website. He proposes so-called “loser pay laws,” which would require those who lose malpractice lawsuits to pay the legal expenses of those found not guilty. Cain also proposes loosening restrictions on Health Savings Accounts and allow taxpayers to deduct health insurance premiums regardless of where they are purchased.

FOREIGN POLICY: Cain supports increasing the infrastructure of the US military. “While diplomacy is a critical tool in solving the complex security issues we face,” his website reads, “it must never compromise military might.”

CAmpAign WebsiTes

Newt Gingrich http://www.newt.org/ Jon Huntsman http://jon2012.com/ Buddy Roemer http://www.buddyroemer.com/ Mitt Romney http://www.mittromney.com/ Herman Cain http://www.hermancain.com/

Active Learning Center demos new ways of learning daniela Fierro staFF Writer

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ntil Nov. 17, the JBK will be test-driving a new, modern way to learn and share things from the computer.

Basically, it is furniture for collaboration when learning, said Chance Haugen, director of student activities.

“Because technology has become more of a requirement for college students it helps them by meeting these needs

that are becoming a necessity instead of a luxury,” he said.

Haugen said there has been no discussion on where the furniture will be placed “It was an opportunity to bring furniture that nobody has on campus and to see the reaction to it,” he said. “But it seems Photo by Alex MontoyA WT student Jennifer Davis tests out the Active Learning Center. the collaboration effect has been important and Management major, Kasey student seem to have enjoy it. It Borchardt, said she has would be a good investment.” heard great things about the

technology.

“I haven’t had the time to check it out but it seems really cool to use,” she said.

Borchardt said if they were to install this equipment, it would be a great idea to place them in the JBK and the HELC. “Placing two of them in the JBK would be great since students don’t use the quiet time around here,” she said. “And one in the HELC would be great too.”

Philosophy professor David Hart said students would feel comfortable with the furniture and equipment.

“It would be a fun place to come with friends and other students,” he said. “I think [WT students] would like it.”

Hart also said the furniture for the center is a nicer place to be in than the dining area.

“It would be a great place to come and share information with your friends when you pull it up on the bigger screen,” said Hart.