Volume 93
the Prairie
Issue XII
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Pearl Harbor Day’s 69th anniversary Te x a n s re m e m b e r a t t a c k i n D e c . 1 9 4 1 JES ROSKENS Staff Writer
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n Dec. 7, 1941, the radio, the communication tool of the time, blasted away to the enjoyment of a group of girls driving down the main street of their Panhandle hometown. Juanita Brown, a high school freshman in Groom, Texas, loved it when her grandmother let her borrow the car. Then, the news alert broke the radio waves. “We didn’t understand what it meant when it was announced that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, but almost instantly everything changed,” Brown said. Most people know what happened on Dec. 7, 1941. Their history teachers have taught them that Japanese forces bombed the U.S. naval
base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Yet, for people like former WT student, Brown and Ed Musser of Canyon, this moment could never mark just another day.
“I remember hearing about the attack while playing in the backyard, and it was just a shock,” Musser said. “We’d heard rumblings about Germany, but not Japan.” While Musser was only 10
at the time and never fully absorbed what this day meant until he was older, he knew from the way his parents acted that things were different. “After that day, anytime the radio was on, everyone had to be quiet and listen,” Musser said of his family who at that time lived in Bacon Switch, Texas, near Wichita Falls. Musser and Brown were not alone, many Americans felt surprised, outraged, saddened and confused. The United States had been free of major con�licts since World War I. Combat had become a foreign affair. No one expected America to go to battle and few wanted to �ight in the �irst place. This attitude changed quickly. “It felt like everything we did, we had to think about how it helped the war effort.” Brown said.
consumption in the United States is zero. Meanwhile, tobacco causes around half a million, and alcohol, 100,000. Still, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is committed to reduce the use of the herb, highlighting the negative impacts of its cultivation, trafficking and use on public health, national security, transportation,
the environment and educational attainments. Certainly, it would not be very productive to have a bunch of students smiling after every multiplication in the classroom. But how is it that marijuana is more noxious than alcohol and tobacco to the eyes of the government? From the statistical and scientific points of view, the answer is not very clear.
Juanita Brown
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The men left quickly after passing physicals, some without even being able to say good-bye to their families. The women, some for the �irst time, worked jobs outside of the home, Brown remembered.
Ed Musser
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Rationing became a prominent concept: gas, sugar, and shoes became precious commodities. “My grandpa made his own leather boots, and he would give me his shoe stamps.” Brown said, explaining how she got past the shoe rationing.
Restrictions even dictated how citizens could use these materials. One such limitation was the 35-miles-per-hour highway speed limit. Musser also went through hard times as older friends and relations left for the draft. Even his father took a civilian assignment in Hawaii, cleaning up the Pearl Harbor wreckage. His mother, brother and sisters’ only contact with him existed in letters that took weeks to arrive. Now, Brown and Musser, like the friends and family they remember, share in a victory, hard fought and long remembered. Pearl Harbor in 1941 represented an attack against the American way of life. Today, Pearl Harbor is a reminder of the hard fought victory of World War II and the lives lost in the pursuit of peace.
Marijuana: The battle of legality Effects of drug are still being researched, discussed ANDRES DIAZ Staff Writer
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he state of California rejected the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. The debate is far from over not only in California, but nationwide. The yearly amount of deaths due to marijuana
Drugwarfacts.com asserts that researchers have failed to find marijuana’s LD-50, which is a measure of the dosage needed to cause the death of fifty percent of tested animals. It means they have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to kill them. Wikipedia offers LD-50 values for rats of around 1 billion ng/kg in the case of tetrahydrocannibinol
(THC) in contrast to only 50 thousands ng/kg in the case of nicotine.
Marijuana Continued p. 6
Some people smoke marijuana recreationally.
STEPHEN INGLE
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Wo r l d A I D S D ay i s D e c . 1 Perspectives on AIDS change through decades ORE OSIKOYA Staff Writer
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here is much to celebrate on World AIDS Day coming up on Dec. 1. AIDS research has made milestones in rencent years. Since the 1980s, when AIDS began getting more attention in the U.S., a lot of changes have occurred that have challenged scientists to research ways to cure this deadly disease. One of the changes that AIDS has seen over the years is the attribution to both homosexual and heterosexual people. When AIDS first came around, anyone infected with this deadly disease was thought to be gay. But now, through counseling and awareness, people now know that it’s not only gay people who can contract AIDS, but also bisexual and heterosexual people. People no longer see AIDS as a “gay disease.” Although homosexuals or heterosexuals who have anal sex are at an increased risk of contracting AIDS, the disease can also be contracted through vaginal sex. In the United States, gay and bisexual men account for almost half of the 1million plus people living with AIDS. In the world, more than 7,000 cases of AIDS are reported each day and only 5-10 percent of these cases involve homosexual men. AIDS means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. People who contract this viral disease usually don’t develop full blown AIDS until years later. The first sign of AIDS is the presence of HIV [Human Immuno-deficiency
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Virus] in the body. People with HIV can live for many years as long as they live healthy by eating right and using the anti-retroviral drugs to suppress the growth of HIV. When it becomes full blown AIDS, is when people don’t survive. Viral diseases are one of the deadliest and hardest to cure. This explains why researchers still haven’t come up with a total cure for AIDS although they have made headway in recent years. Since viruses cannot survive on their own, they live off the body cells of humans and attack their immune system. Therefore, attacking the viral cells means attacking the human cells. HIV suppresses the immune system to a point where it can’t defend the body again. The virus invades the body and then it becomes full blown AIDS at which point the body has no defense mechanisms against the virus. United Nations officials revealed that AIDS cases worldwide are dropping dramatically. In the past year, AIDS has seen three big developments. In September 2009, researchers came up with a vaccine that can protect 1 in 3 people from getting AIDS. In July 2010, research in South Africa showed that a vaginal gel rubbed with an AIDS drug can reduce the risk of women getting AIDS from infected partners by half. Very recently, researchers came up with a drug that can reduce the chances of infection by 73 percent or more if used daily coupled with the use of condoms and other preventive measures. In the study, if men used this drug half of the time, it reduced their chances by 50 percent. More research is
still going on the drug as the CDC [Center for Disease Control] is coming up with guidelines for doctors to prescribe it. The studies showed that contrary to the researchers’ beliefs that a prevention drug will create a false sense of security in people and reduce the use of condoms, the opposite happened. The next milestone for this drug after setting guidelines for prescription is whether insurance companies and government health care programs will be willing to pay for this drug. In the U.S, this drug costs $5,000-$14,000 per year, whereas in other countries, it costs about $140 a year as it is sold in generic form. In order to reduce the AIDS epidemic plaguing the human race, one person can make a difference by first being aware of AIDS and how it is contracted. They can then get tested, use condoms and stick to only one sex partner. It is important for every person to equip themselves with this information because AIDS does not show on anybody’s face.
Student Medical Services offers free condoms.
COURTNEY INMAN
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News
“The best tales are those that come with no planning” WTAMU faculty publishes Christmas tale: “The Christmas Potato”
KRYSTINA MARTINEZ Staff Writer
Paula Schlegel.
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COURTESY PHOTO
TAMU communications instrustor Paula Schlegel will be the second faculty member
this year to publish a book. Dr. Emily Hunt, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, co-authored a children’s book called Engineering Elephants. Schlegel’s book is a children’s title called The Christmas Potato. The inspiration for the story came during a storytelling event for the Christmas open house at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum. “My oldest son was in fifth grade at the time and commented that the stories were too young for him,” Schlegel said. “He wondered why there were no suspenseful Christmas stories. Within moments, the
COURTESY PHOTO
Cover of Sclegel’s book.
story came into my brain and out of my mouth.” Although Schlegel is an avid reader and says that she is a storyteller first, she had
no initial plans to publish The Christmas Potato. “Every time I performed the story, people asked where they could find it,” she said. “I realized there was a need for this type of story.” Once she had written the book, Schlegel went to work searching for a publisher and spent the late summer and fall working with editing, illustration and layout. “It has been overwhelming and I felt very out of my element,” she said. However, Schlegel credits her students for helping her push through the process. “Working at WT contributed to this book becoming a reality,” she said.
“Watching students stretch their comfort zones in my classes gave me the courage to do something new. [It] reminded me that stretching my comfort zone is important in reaching my full potential.” The Christmas Potato will be marketed to national chains in the spring of 2011. It is currently available through its Facebook page, a few local stores and Schlegel’s concerts. Schlegel will also have a signing party and a storytelling concert on Dec. 2 in the JBK Commons. She will also be performing at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum Christmas open house on Dec. 3-4.
Farm and Ranch Club raises money for greenhouse
Students sell poinsettias to help offset cost of renovations
MATT LARA Staff Writer
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embers of The Farm and Ranch Club at WTAMU have begun selling poinsettias for the Christmas holidays in an effort to raise money for expenses and travel. “Every year we have two fund raisers” Jim Belt president of Farm and Ranch Club said, “In the spring we sell �lowers and right now we
are selling poinsettias.” A large amount of funds received from this event will be applied toward designing and installing a new irrigation system for WT’s greenhouse. “We do community service events, and this year we are designing and building a new irrigation system.” Jim Belt said. This renovation is not only a great addition to the campus, but is an investment by the Farm and Ranch Club seeing how the �lowers for the spring fundraiser will be
grown in the greenhouse under the new irrigation system. The Farm and Ranch Club also uses funds raised to ease the cost of travel to their yearly trip to the Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Sciences Convention. This convention provides students with network opportunities as well as a chance to show off their skills by participating in a quiz bowl. The Farm and Ranch club is a campus organization that is open to any and all individuals attending
KWIK
Open 7 days a week
WT. The organization is advised by Dr. Brock Blaser and consists of an of�icer team that is elected and serves yearly terms. Poinsettias can be purchased from now until the end of the semester for ten dollars. For purchasing information, or information on enrollement in the Farm and Ranch Club, contact Jim Belt at 1-432-788-8387 or at jcbelt1@buffs.wtamu.edu or contact Dr. Brock Blaser at 806651-2555.
FRANKIE SANCHEZ
Plants in the WT greenhouse.
the Prairie
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News
Tu i t i o n i n c r e a s e o ve r s e a s Students angered by sudden price change
COLE YOUNG Guest Writer
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he recent proposal of tuition increase and cutting of government funding in the UK has helped fuel riots and protests over the past few weeks. Although this started with a peaceful march by students and faculty, more than 50,000 were in attendance producing a violent series of riots and fires. Currently, the average tuition cost in the UK is around £3,000 (pounds), which is just over $5,000 for domestic students and £10,000 ($17,798) for international students. James Daniel Dickerson, an international student from London, recently graduated from Texas State University and is currently working back in the UK.
“I wouldn’t trade my US experience and education for anything,” Dickerson said. “I was planning on continuing my education here in the UK within the next few years, but if Parliament goes through with these proposals, I might be better off working and saving money.” Dickerson said he is not the only one who finds himself in this predicament. “My brother and best friend are in a similar situation as well,” Dickerson said. “My brother is requiring further education in order to accelerate in his career, but it’s hard enough as it is, even with relatively low tuition.” The tuition cost in the US varies from $5,000 to $30,000 per year. On average about $9000 for resident students and $20,000 for international students. Jordan Black, a former student at Amarillo College, said that tuition is just too high
at the moment and that her current job is working fine for now. “I eventually want to go back and get my degree,” Black said. “But between tuition, housing and books, it is just too much for me right now.” On a quite opposite spectrum, France has 82 universities and teaches 1.5 million students. All of these universities are public and do not charge enrollment fees. Undergrad charges are as little as €165 (Euros), which is around $200. The catch is that civil servants teach classes and students can only enroll in universities near them. This format speaks for itself being that not a single French university breaks into the top 40 universities Numbers show that there is availability of higher education all over the world, all which requires some sort of price.
Faith City Ministries hosts benefit KRISTEN BLACKSTOCK Guest Writer
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aith City Ministries hosted its annual benefit at Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo on Thursday, Nov. 18. The “With Open Arms” benefit featured guest speaker, Texas Rangers all-star outfielder Josh Hamilton and musical talent by American Idol finalist Lacey Brown. “Faith City Ministries is an organization that has been a great asset to the Amarillo area,” Camille Bingham, part owner of Proffitts Lawn and Leisure in Amarillo, said. “I think that their annual benefit is a great way to spread the word about how much this organization needs help from our community.” The benefit raised money to help Faith City Ministries end addiction and homelessness in Amarillo and to ensure that these problems are only temporary and not long-lasting. “The first thing we do is we want to teach people about the salvation of Jesus Christ,” Jena Taylor, Faith City Ministries executive director, said. “Because frankly, if you don’t have him, recovery is not looking too good.” The benefit brought in over 3,800 people, almost packing the Trinity Fellowship Church sanctuary. Hors d’oeuvres were served at 6:30 p.m. to guests who had purchased either a specific ticket or sponsorship table.
“The benefit was amazing and I am so lucky to have been able to attend,” Meagan Bruce, general admission attendee, said. “Hamilton gave a very touching testimony and Lacey Brown sang wonderfully.” Josh Hamilton spoke about struggling with drugs and alcohol in his past and how it affected his baseball career and his family. His wife, Katie Hamilton, also joined Josh on stage and discussed how his past had affected her and their marriage. “As all the things Josh has gone through, struggling and fighting with addiction, and then emerging to take a team to the American League Championship this year is amazing,” Taylor said. “But not just that, that he was able to be named most valuable player of the year.” According to Faith City Ministries’ web site, they are passionate about transforming the lives of those in need. Every day they strive to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction and poverty. Their hope is to bring physical and spiritual restoration to those they serve. “I have a mission now,” Josh Hamilton said. He now makes his mission to be a ray of hope for others who are going through the same hardships and addictions that he went through. “I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger,” Hamilton said. “Addiction is a humbling experience. Getting it under control is even more humbling.”
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Students try to cope with end of semester
Universtiy offers ways for students to de-stress COURTNEY INMAN Staff Writer
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t’s that time in the semester again. Final tests, papers and projects are keeping students busy. Students are stressing out. “I honestly can’t remember being as stressed out as I am right now,” junior Mass Communications student, Maddisun Fowler said. Her semester is filled with presentations and projects that keep her busy. Every student has a different way of relieving stress. “I usually just ride around
town with my music up loud to relieve stress,” Krystallyne Robinson, a junior Criminal Justice major said. “It’s nice to just forget about school, even if it is just for ten or fifteen minutes.” Sometimes the best thing that students can do is to just take care of themselves. “It’s better that you get adequate sleep than stay up all night, you will do better if you get a full night’s sleep,” Dr. Alan Thomalla, clinical director at student counseling services said. If the problem lies in how a student study’s Dr. Thomalla suggests taking a reading and
study skills class. “It can help you avoid test related stress and anxiety.” He also suggests that students give “bio-feedback” a try. Biofeedback is “a physiological trace that tests skin response to indicate stress, and then teaches people to control the stress,” Dr. Thomalla said. Bio-feedback is used by FBI agents to help control their stress for anxiety ridden situations. Students already pay for this service, so it would be completely free. Students can visit Student Counseling Services in the Classroom Center suite 116 to learn more about managing
Local band records video
Fo c u s e s o n h av i n g f u n
KEELY SHAYE Staff Writer
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everblu, a local band, is composed of WTAMU’s students Don Stalling, Carlos Mireles and Eric Brown. Brian Dodson, another bandmate, is still a student in high school. The lead singer/songwriter, Don Stalling, has been playing music with Brian Dodson for three years. A year ago, Carlos Mireles joined the band after meeting Stalling at WT. Two months ago Eric Brown became a part of the band after meeting Mireles through 91.1 F.M, WT’s radio station. Mireles said a friend inspired him to join a band. “My friend won a talent show, and I wanted to be cool like that,” Mireles said. In early summer 2010, Neverblu released their newest album, Joshua. “This is a concept record, I wrote songs
that created a character, and then we named the character,” Stalling said. The band has been �ilming a music video for Wolf, more commonly known as track 05. They are planning on submitting the video to the National Broadcasting Society Contest on Dec. 10. The video was recorded here on campus in the AT&T HD Studio. The band’s biggest focus is on their music and having fun.
Members of Neverblu
KEELY SHAYE
Answer on page 6
stress and bio-feedback. Students should just remember that the semester is almost over and they only have to make it a little while longer. “I’m definitely ready for this semester to be over,” Robinson said.
COURTNEY INMAN Criminal Justice major, Krystallyne Robinson, works on end of the semester homework.
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Opinion
Marijuana Continued from p. 1
Moreover, in the war against consumption, the plant seems to be wining with the support of 17 millions Americans who were reported as current users of cannabis during the last month previous to a survey done by the ONDCP in Sept. 2009. THC, the active component of the plant, is by far the most used illegal drug in the United States. Psychotherapeutics with 7 millions and cocaine with 1.6 million follow in the list. Consumption of marijuana is often claimed to be a personal right protected by the constitution. But, it has also been linked to the use of alcohol and other drugs, and therefore to car accidents caused by people under influence of those drugs. Justification of trafficking, on the contrary, is not a big point of disagreement. The violence it carries is self explanatory. Trafficking caused 5,600 deaths in
Mexico in 2008, with the statistics which do not need visas - beginning to cross the border at a faster pace. Marijuana cases account for a big part of the millions of dollars invested in the war against drugs. Half of the convicts for drug cases responded for marijuana related charges. Supporters of the law reform in California insistently claimed savings of up to $1.2 billion per year by legalizing. The government is not totally convinced “Marijuana legalization, for any purpose, remains a non-starter in the Obama administration. It is not something that the president and I discuss; it isn’t even on the agenda,” director of the ONDCP, R. Gil Kerlikowske said in Oct. 26, 2009. The concern is exacerbated because of the costs involved in any direction the legislation takes. If legalized, commercial regulation as well as prevention and treatment programs will demand their respective budgets. If the status quo is kept, in addition to prevention and treatment, more restrictive policies, military expenses and
expansion of the prison system should be expected. All charged to the tax payers. In Texas, for example, possession of 2 oz or less is a class B misdemeanor that implies incarceration of 180 days. The sentence could go up to 99 years for possession of more than 2,000 lb. It is a big punishment… for Texans’ pocketbooks. Even more worrying is the fact that in practical terms the use of the plant is now regulated by the drug traffickers. Had it approved for medical use and recreational consumption, this regulation would be done by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Nevertheless, there are strong differences in how deal with the problem, which, actually, some people do not consider a problem. Some argue that legalization would result in easier access to the drug and, therefore, more addicts. Others claim that today it is so spread out that whoever wants it, can easily find it, “it is easier to find than Coca-cola” an anonymous WT student, said. In addition, with no
intervention of the government, the prices would not be as high as they are now, and the drug dealers would not have incentives to stay in business. Maybe, it is just time to differentiate among consumption, cultivation and trafficking. Instead of legalize, we can start by decriminalize consumers and, instead of speculate, we can make the proper studies to get the real facts out of the measures taken. Or maybe, there is just too much smoke in the air to see the right way to take.
Marijuana used to train drug dogs.
COURTNEY INMAN
Fan no longer ‘Glee’ful for show, still likes music DAVID MERAZ Staff Reporter
IDOLATOR.COM
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promised myself that I would never watch an episode of “Glee”. I remember the nights when many of my friends on Facebook updated their status to “Glee Night” or something that related to “Glee.” I never understood what all the excitement was about until one night I was sitting at home and I heard teenagers singing on the television. To my surprise the group of students were singing a song that almost anyone can recognize, “Bad Romance,” by Lady Gaga. I hurried to the television and saw those teenagers in crazy out�its. I sat
down and kept watching the episode. The drama, the suspense, the action and the mystery kept me wanting more. Later that night I began to watch earlier episodes online. The �irst season of “Glee” began with its Pilot in May 2009, but FOX of�icially air the remaining 21 episodes during the fall lineup. The show circles a group of students who don’t necessarily �it in at school. They decide to join the Glee Club to improve their status in high school and to hopefully avoid being “slushied” every single day. This is not the case however. Season one of the show had a lot of plots and unexpected revelations. I was hooked to the show. The season �inale of the show was good too. One of the main characters had her baby, while two of the other two main characters �inally became a couple. The adviser of the club left his wife for the school’s counselors but at the end she decided she didn’t want a relationship. I was anxious to see what was going
to happen in season two, especially since the show’s villain, Sue Sylvester, played by Jane Lynch, saves the club from being cancelled. I wanted to see what the students at McKinney High were going to do next, besides sing and dance like they did in season one. The �irst episode of season two didn’t leave me too excited, but I knew that I had to keep watching because I had a feeling that the show was only going to get better. The second episode was a little better, it was a Britney Spears theme episode. I continued to watch “Glee” for a couple of more episodes. The last episode I watched on live television was number four, “Duets,” after that I stopped watching. A couple of weeks later my friends informed me that the “Rocky Horror Glee Show” wasn’t as good as they thought it was going to be. I went online and watched, I didn’t watch the entire show, however I did catch the ending and I was disappointed. All the hard work the students did, all for nothing, they never performed the show for the school because
Mr. Schuster didn’t think it was appropriate, even after he was the one to suggest a remake of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Two weeks later I was told to watch the latest episode, I didn’t, I only saw a few clips and stopped. It seems that there is nothing interesting this season. The only thing that I still appreciate are the songs, well, except Teenage Dream, by Katy Perry. Hopefully something will happen that will make me want to watch the episodes I have skipped and catch up soon. Maybe if I’m bored and have nothing better to do, I’ll watch an episode or two to “entertain” me.
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