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Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012
The sTudenT newspaper of wesT Texas a&M universiTy
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Volume 94, Issue XVII theprairiewt
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WTAMU students share motherhood experiences Jordan fry
sTaff wriTer
Part two of a three part series Carolina Galloway
Masters in Interdisciplinary Sciences Alumna, Graduated May 2011
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T alumna Carolina Galloway always knew she wanted to be a mother, but she was not anticipating it would happen while she was still a student. “It was a big surprise,” Galloway said. “I was very scared at first. I always knew I wanted to have kids, but now it was real and indeed scary.” Galloway was a graduate student when she became pregnant in 2010. She was pregnant during summer sessions I and II, the fall semester of 2010 and the beginning of the spring semester of 2011.
“I had a part-time job on campus as a graduate assistant in Personnel Services and during both summer sessions I had another job in the library,” Galloway said. “I didn’t take any summer classes, but I had to work all day.” When Galloway began classes again that fall, her pregnancy impacted her schoolwork. “Those semesters were not my best,” Galloway said. “I made a B in two classes and I found it difficult to pay attention in class.” Galloway recalls sitting in her Assessment class when she was about five or six months pregnant, and her baby was kicking. She found the baby’s kicking to be a distraction and was unable to focus. “At the end of the semester, instead of class notes, I had letters to my baby,” she said. In the spring semester, Galloway had only one class left. She said that did not mean it was easy, but her professor understood her circumstances.
decision I have ever made,” she said. “I missed a couple of classes after the Galloway knew Jonathan was going to baby was born and had to catch up with some schoolwork,” Galloway said. “But it change her life before she ever met him. “But thanks to God, I had all the worked out just fine in the end.” support I needed. From my husband, Galloway said the hardest part was our families and even friends and balancing being a mother and a student coworkers,” Galloway said. “Knowing at the same time. they were there for us and willing to “Being in class or working when you help us in some way was amazing…and I really want to be home and take care of have enjoyed every moment since then.” your baby is difficult,” Galloway said. “I found myself just thinking about my son a lot while I was supposed to be doing something else.” Galloway also found it difficult to go home and study or do her homework. She was tired after class or work and felt like she was not doing a good job as a student nor a mom. This led to a decision between Galloway and her husband for her to take some time off after she graduated, so she could stay home phoTo CourTesy of CaroLina GaLLoway with her son Jonathan until he Carolina Galloway kisses her son Jonathan. gets older. Mothers continued on p. 3 “Today, I think that was the best
Communication Week presents “WT’s Got Talent” JessiCa BarTeL sTaff wriTer
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TAMU’s Communication Department will be holding Communication Week 2012 from Feb. 20-23. The theme chosen for this year is “WTAMU’s Got Talent”. The annual series of events will run Monday through Thursday with each day having different activities, including a guest speaker. “The week showcases the fantastic work in our depart-
ments and contributions by our graduates locally, nationally and internationally,” Dr. Hannah Oliha, associate professor of Communication, said. This year’s honored speaker is Liz Murray. Murray is a New York Times best seller for her memoir “Breaking Night,” which tells of her experience of homelessness and journey to Harvard University. She is also the founder and director of Manifest Living. The presentation by Murray will be on Feb. 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Mary Moody Northern Recital Hall.
In addition to the guest speaker, Communication Week will include “How Much Do You Know?” a game show featuring Communication faculty. It will be held on Feb. 20 at noon in the Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall. On Feb. 22, six teams of Mass Communication and Communication majors will participate in Project Runway in which teams will design outfits for faculty to model. The event will take place at noon in the FAC foyer. To conclude Communication Week 2012, a joint Table Talk and Communication Showcase
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will take place on Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the AT&T High Definition Studio. Six Communication and Mass Communication alumni will eat dinner and have open conversation with students. Following the dinner, the showcase will put the talents of Mass Communication and Communication students in the spotlight. The showcase will be available to the public by WTTV telecast. “[Communication Week] allows unity between the two departments, Mass Communications and Communication, by
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Lady Buffs softball sweep invitational.
WT students share pregnancy and motherhood experience.
Try your hand at Sudoku, Try Squares, or Crossword!
LEAD WT gives students additional opportunities.
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working and creating together,” Dr. Trudy Hanson, head of the Department of Communication, said. Julia Greif, Advertising and Public Relations major, said she thinks of Communication Week as a nice break in the semester. “It’s a good way to network with the department, professors, alumni and get extra credit all at once while having a great experience,” said Grief. T-shirts for Communication Week are being sold in the FAC 103 for $10.
For more reporting on Dr. Deotte’s feaTure: research, the Music Fraternity Recital Facebook IPO reveals weaknesses. and sexual assault training, check theprairienews.com. Page 2
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Feature Prairie Facebook IPO brings changes, shows weaknesses 2
February 14, 2012
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GeorGia romiG Web editor
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n Feb. 1, Facebook went public, providing a long-awaited look into one of the tech industry’s most closely-watched companies. In eight years the site has become the Main Street of social media, where people meet friends and find businesses. At the moment, no one knows how much the stocks will be worth, but most estimate the price will be high. More importantly, perhaps, is what the filing says about the company. For all its strengths, the IPO has revealed that Facebook still has a lot of weaknesses. One of its major weaknesses is advertising. Despite being a major source of Facebook’s income, the IPO reveals that its ads have a low “click-through” rate. In other words, users ignore them. “I think people get good at ignoring banner ads,” Dr. Kristina Drumheller, assistant professor of Communication and one of the principal researchers of the MediaBuffs research group at WTAMU, said. “Sometimes those ads the
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are on target, they’re related to a company name you’ve mentioned or who you hang out with. They can be spot-on,” said Drumheller. “They’ll continue to refine that, I think.” The most direct effect this announcement may have on users is in how Facebook advertises. “The monetization model of Facebook is what will change. Advertising will drive this change,” said Dr. Leigh Browning, associate professor of Broadcasting. “Indications are that Facebook will look very different in the future and be leveraged as a real advertising portal complete with rate cards and rich ROI [return on investment] for advertisers.” The other problem is that many users do not find the banner ads relevant to their needs or desires. For Dr. Nick Gerlich, department head and professor of Marketing, as well as the other principal researcher of MediaBuffs, this problem is epitomized by the Beardo, a product whose inexplicable appearance in his ad sidebar has often been blogged about. “I’m not looking for the Beardo or whatever goofy product happens to show up on the right-hand side,” he said. “It looks like a crochet stocking
Staff 2011-2012
Editor- Maria Molina Assistant Editor- Krystina Martinez Web Editor - Georgia Romig Layout- Kati Watson Faculty Adviser- Butler Cain
mask for bank robbers, but it’s a beard. It’s gross. It’s like a fashion statement for bank robbers everywhere.” One of the other ways the company might remedy their advertising troubles is by going mobile. Currently, Facebook displays no mobile ads despite mobile users being a large and ever-growing part of their userbase, but that will soon change. “Zuckerberg’s figuring out how to get more advertising on the mobile app,” said Drumheller in a joint interview with Gerlich. “That could be coming out of the IPO decision.” Gerlich speculated these changes could come within a month. However, users may find the ads more irritating than the banner ads found on Facebook’s website. “I have a hunch the annoyance factor will be much higher,” said Gerlich. “When you’re looking a screen, it’s a lot easier to ignore a sidebar, but when you’re on your phone it’s a lot harder.” Drumheller points out this could be averted with careful sizing and placement. “You know, those game apps... the ads are usually at the bottom, and they’re so small, you can easily ignore them. That’s the unknown, we still don’t know how intrusive these ads are
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going to be.” Either way, both felt this was a move the company would inevitably have to make. “Half of them [the users] are using mobile devices to access Facebook and missing all the ads. They’re not getting a single one,” said Gerlich. “This is the missing link for Facebook’s revenue stream because they’ve totally missed it for all these years. They haven’t gotten a nickel of all these mobile eyeballs.” Another major weakness is that Facebook fears it could go the way of MySpace, Friendster and other social networks that have fizzled out. “We anticipate that our active user growth rate will decline over time as the size of our active user base increases, and as we achieve higher market penetration rates...” said Facebook in its prospectus. “A number of other social networking companies that achieved early popularity have since seen their active user bases or levels of engagement decline, in some cases precipitously.” What might be Facebook’s biggest challenge is overcoming its rival, Google. In its IPO, Facebook lists Google as a “significant competitor” and part of its “peer group”. Google
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makes about ten times the amount of Facebook, however most of it from advertising. With the launch of Google+ they have positioned themselves as Facebook’s major social networking rival, but it’s undetermined whether Google will win this battle. Following Google Wave and Google Buzz, Plus is the third attempt by the search media giant to create a social media alternative. When it comes to winning the war for more users, however, Google may have the advantage. “Compared to Google, Facebook only has one aspect,” Dr. Jeffry Babb, assistant professor of Computer Information and Decision Management and associate of MediaBuffs, said. “Google has their fingers in everything. You use it to search, for Google Docs...” In other words, the two are in the same business, but are aiming for a very different audience. “When you go to Google you are actively searching for something, but on Facebook you’re looking for people,” said Gerlich. “When you’re on Facebook, it’s not like ‘I’ve been looking for that Beardo!’, I’m looking for people.”
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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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Mothers continued from p. 1 Stephanie James
Mass Communication – Broadcasting
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efore Stephanie James found out she was pregnant as a sophomore in April 2010, pregnancy was not at the forefront of her mind. “Initially I was shocked,” James said. “Having a baby was probably the furthest thing from my mind at that point.” James remembers taking the pregnancy test on a Saturday and stuffing it into her purse. The following morning, the first thing she did was check it again to see if it was actually positive because it still felt like a dream. “I was very fortunate in my pregnancy because I wasn’t sick and I really didn’t experience much discomfort until the very end,” James said. James was due the week after finals in the fall of 2010, and her professors allowed her to take her finals early so she could focus her attention on preparing for her daughter’s arrival. The following semester after her daughter Lila was born, James only took one class. “I took a light load immediately after Lila was born because I didn’t really know what to expect from motherhood and I’m kind of a perfectionist,” she said. “I wanted to be a great mom and a great student and I felt like I had better be on the safe side and take it easy.” Last fall and this spring, James has taken full loads and will still graduate
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within four years of starting her bachelor’s degree. She said because of the way her classes worked out, it’s hard to say if she would have graduated last December even if her daughter was not here. James has found it more challenging to study with a baby around, but her family helps her out when she needs it. “I am fortunate to have a lot of family close by and an understanding husband, so usually if I need to write a paper or read something, I call someone to help with Lila or do homework while she is sleeping,” she said. James said balancing being a mother and a student is “tricky.” “It is not only difficult because of the time and attention each one takes, it is also difficult because I often find myself torn between two things,” she said. “I want to be fully engaged and apply myself at school, but when I am gone all day, it is difficult not to think about Lila and be sad that I’m not there with her.” Likewise, when she is with her daughter, she sometimes finds it hard not to think about her schoolwork. “I try to give all my effort and attention to whatever I’m doing at the moment, ask for help if I need it and I try to take a little time for myself a few times a week [to keep my head on straight],” James said. “Being a parent is absolutely one of the best things in the world, but it can sometimes seem more challenging than all of my classes combined.” Although James finds parenthood to be difficult at times, she said she would never give it up or give Lila back.
Photo courtesy of stePhanie James Stephanie James with her husband Grant and daughter Lila.
Cher Graham
Mass Communication – Advertising and Public Relations Alumna, Graduated December 2011
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www.theprairienews.com However, she balanced being a single mom and a student by using her time wisely. “I received lots of support from my mother and that helped,” Graham said. “I just reminded myself that I’m a mom and I want to be the best person possible for the well-being of my child.” Graham stayed awake day and night, but still had a hard time finding the time to study because her baby was number one. Yet she pressed on and graduated with her bachelor’s degree last December. “I still managed to make almost straight A’s because I pushed myself beyond natural limits,” she said.
hen Cher Graham became pregnant in 2009 as a sophomore at Amarillo College, her initial reaction was “Oh no!” She found herself scared, confused, sad and happy all at the same time. During her pregnancy, Graham was faced with health complications, which had an effect on the completion of her associate’s degree. “Being pregnant had an effect on my schoolwork due to the fact that I was hospitalized several times,” Graham said. “I had major kidney problems and almost died.” Most of her teachers understood, however she remember receiving an 88 in a class because she had missed too much work and the teacher wouldn’t let her make it up. Graham graduated from Amarillo College that December and had her daughter Sommer shortly thereafter on Dec. 27. Graham’s baby was two weeks old when she began her bachelor’s degree at WTAMU. “After my baby was born, I learned real fast how to manage time wisely,” she said. “I took 15 to 18 hours of classes so that I could finish faster.” Graham had to put her daughter in daycare from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on the days she has classes for twelve hours, she had to find a babysitter. “It wasn’t easy and I felt like I didn’t spend as much time as I Photo courtesy of cher Graham should have with my baby,” GraCher Graham with her daughter Sommer. ham said.
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SportS Eli Manning: a Lady Buffs sweep WT tournament 4
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February 14, 2012
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QB for all time
Melissa Bauer-Herzog
KWts sports Director
eather may have cut the Lady Buff Invitational short this weekend, but the WTAMU softball team made a big impression on the Lone Star Conference during its three games on Feb. 10. The Lady Buffs started out the weekend and their season by taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State in the first of a triple-header. WT rolled over the team, scoring five runs in the first inning. The fourth inning would be the biggest inning for the Lady Buffs as they scored six runs, with four of those coming from Allie Cranfill’s
Keltin Wiens
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he forty-sixth installment of the NFL Super Bowl was no disappointment. The Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots on Feb. 5 was the epitome of how a championship game should be played, which took the full 60 minutes for the game to be decided. The season and the championship hinged on the dramatic final play: a Hail Mary pass from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to the end zone as time ran out. The spectacle was the perfect way for the championship game to play out. When the pass fell incomplete, the Giants beat the Patriots 21-17. Giants Quarterback Eli Manning snagged his second Lombardi Trophy in five years and denied Brady his unprecedented fourth trophy. With the win, Manning joins an elite fraternity of quarterbacks who have won two Super Bowls. Manning is now the 11th quarterback in history to win at least two championships. But what do all of the Super Bowl championships and wins against one of the game’s greatest coach-quarterback combinations (Brady and Patriot head coach Bill Belicheck) mean for Eli Manning? Manning seems destined for the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. As the younger brother of Peyton Manning, a four-time NFL MVP, Eli emerged out of Peyton’s shadow and has now won more Super Bowls than his brother. Manning has also become the undeniable leader of the Giants since his amazing upset of the undefeated Tom Brady and the Patriots four years ago in the Arizona desert during Super Bowl XLII. No, Eli Manning has never been the NFL’s MVP. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has never been the Coach of the Year. Yet, what the two have done together is nothing short of greatness, and we are only seeing the beginning. The player that Manning has become over the years is one that fans of the Giants should like to see. Seven fourth-quarter comebacks for Manning this season is an NFL record. He has now become the “Comeback King,” standing resolute in the pocket and firing perfectly accurate passes to his receivers in the tightest of coverages. Manning’s most recent magic, including an “immaculate” catch by Giants wide out Mario Manningham along the sideline in the Super Bowl, will live on with his legacy, right up to the Hall of Fame.
staff Writer
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pHoto By Melissa Bauer-Herzog Marci Womack winds up for a pitch
grand slam in her first career hit on the team. The team ended the game in the fifth inning, winning 11-1 against the
Aggies. Marci Womack struck out nine OPSU players while allowing only four hits and walking one batter during the game. While the win was big, even bigger may have been Meghan Brown becoming the LSC’s all-time career walks leader with 125. “[Brown] forces pitchers to throw strikes and for her to achieve that honor is testament to her discipline at the plate and I’m really proud of her,” Head Coach Kevin Blaskowski said. After a short break, the Lady Buffs stepped onto the field again to take on UT-Permian Basin. Shortstop Alyssa Lemos put a run on the board for WT in the bottom of the first, the first tally of an 8-6 game. Allie Cranfill proved that she is a strong addition to the Lady Buffs, hitting her second homerun of the day in the second inning. The Falcons would make a late surge in the game, but WT’s Amber Spencer would stop the team in their tracks, striking out two batters and ending the game by getting a ground ball to third base. The Lady Buffs win would go to Adriana Garcia, only giving up two runs on five hits. The pitcher would record no walks and one strikeout in her five innings in the circle. WT’s undefeated weekend would be highlighted by their final game of the night as Marci Womack recorded her first career no-hitter against St. Edwards. The Lady Buffs took ahold of the game in the second inning, scoring
four runs before recording three runs in the third and one in the fourth to end the game in five innings.
pHoto By Melissa Bauer-Herzog Alyssa Lemos rounds the bases.
Womack was credited for two of WT’s three wins on Friday, with 18 strikeouts in 10 innings for an ERA of 0.00. Her no-hitter is only the fourth in school history. “I thought Marci Womack was outstanding in the circle. She did a great job and really gave us a chance to win the two games she threw,” Blaskowski said. The rest of our pitchers still have some work to do, but it’s early so we’ll see what we get done this week.” The Lady Buffs’ undefeated tournament allows them to start the season with a record of 3-0. They return to the field next weekend for the WT Lady Buff Classic at Buffalo Sports Park starting at 2 p.m. on Feb. 17 and going through Feb. 19.
WT Basketball pulls a win at ASU Matt WatKins staff Writer
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he WTAMU Buffalo basketball team travelled to San Angelo, Texas on Feb. 11 to take on the Angelo State Rams in Lone Star Conference action. The Buffs made a late comeback to claim a 61-56 victory over the Rams. ASU opened with an early 14-13 lead over WT with 10:58 to play in the first half. The Buffs would follow up with an 11-3 that would give them a 24-17 advantage with 3:31 remaining in the half. WT would find themselves ahead going into the locker room, 29-24. The Buffs shot well in the first half going 12 of 23 from the field, two of three from long range and three
of eight from the line. The Rams did not shoot as well shooting nine of 24 from the floor, five for 12 from threepoint land and one of three at the free throw line. ASU came out in the second half and built a 51-47 lead with 8:15 to go in the game. The Rams would continue to lead 56-51 with about three minutes left but WT went on a 10-0 run to close out the game and pick up the win. “Our defense down the stretch, especially in the last couple minutes was very good,” Head Coach Rick Cooper said. “It was a very hardfought game.” The Buffs were led offensively by junior Donald Sims with 17 points. Senior Courtney Carr finished with 16 points on the night and senior
Lionel Foster had 7 points and 13 assists. The Buffs are now 15-6 overall with a 9-5 record in the LSC. WT’s next game will be at Texas A&MCommerce on Feb. 15. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
For the story on Lady Buffs basketball and more softball pictures, visit our website at www. theprairienews.com.
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Campus Life Prairie LEAD WT program offering student opportunities 5
Sarah Floyd StaFF Writer
“L
EAD WT: Leadership, Education, And Development” is the newest addition among WTAMU’s Student Affair programs. The program is designed to prepare students for real world situations in which they will have to step up as leaders, as well as receive college credits for participating. It requires 60 hours of participation, breaking down into 15 hours a semester, one hour a week. Applications are being accepted through March 9, and students must fit a specific criteria. “We’re really targeting juniors and seniors with a 2.75 or higher GPA, that are not on scholastic or disciplinary probation, and also have at least four long semesters ahead of them,”
February 14, 2012
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Amber Black, coordinator of LEAD WT and Student Success Center manager, said. “We’re accepting 25 students this semester and 25 next, so when the program is up and going, we will have 50 students participating.” The students are expected to complete approved coursework hours that correspond with their major. “Even if your major does not provide the hours, you’re still qualified,” said Black. “For example, if you were a Music major and they didn’t have leadership courses, you could do your hours with maybe the business program.” The course itself is brand new, thanks to a grant from the Texas Pioneer Foundation. It also involves an approved internship and a project on campus. The expectation of the
project is to solve the problem, meet the need, and use your knowledge on the subject matter to tackle real world issues. “It’s really neat; the programs walks students through three main areas: academic, student service, and real world application,” said Black. “I really love that we are pushing students to do things they’d do anyway in a work place after they graduate college. We’re getting them ready so they can feel confident.” Dr. Albrecht, Vice President of Student Affairs, is currently supervising the program. “I’m excited,” he said. “This will give students amazing training and amazing credentials when looking for a job. If I were hiring someone and saw someone coming out of this program apply, I would prefer them over someone that wasn’t,
because students are gaining lots of important skills.” According to Dr. Albrecht, students should consider applying to LEAD WT. “I think students should be thinking about it,” he said. “It’s a terrific program, especially with Amber and Dr. Kieth running itit’ll be top notch.” So far, the program has some
students intrigued. “I’m just a stinkin’ Pre-Med cowboy. If this helps me get further in the right direction, I’m in,” Pre-Med major Ryan Zink said. “I’m really looking into applying,” Freshman Tyler Renteria said. “It sounds like an awesome experience and could provide a lot of connections for the future.
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Campus Life
February 14, 2012
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WTAMU’s Code of Student Life will undergo revisions
Krystina Martinez assistant editor
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he Code of Student Life Committee, which consists of WTAMU students, faculty and staff, will be accepting proposals for changes to the Code of Student Life. “The Code of Student Life is the rules and procedures for students, such as expectations for academic integrity,” Dr. Don Albrecht, vice president for Student Affairs, said. “The University takes suggestions for changes every year.” According to Dr. Albrecht, any WT student can make a proposal. Most suggestions go through after approval by the committee and President Dr. Patrick O’Brien. “It’s shared government,” Dr. Albrecht said. “[Students] all have a say in how this campus operates. If something needs to change, the Code of Student Life needs to
reflect it.” Although the Office of Student Affairs makes revisions to the Code of Student Life frequently, WT students may not be aware that it happens. “I don’t think people know we can change it,” Student Body Vice President Nick Goettsche said. “[However], students can always talk to anyone in Student Government about what they want.” Mortar Board President Amanda Kraemer believes that students should take advantage of this opportunity. “It is important that students at least have the chance to have their voice heard and opinions considered instead of being dictated a code and expected to follow it without any input,” she said. Students, faculty and staff can send their proposals to t he Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs by Feb. 29. The Code of Student Life is available on the WT website.
Snow storm hits campus
Photo by alex Montoya Buffalo fountain covered in snow after hours of flurries.
Photo by alex Montoya The view from Old Main, after a dusting of light snow.
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Last week’s answers
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WT researches air quality WTAMU houses state’s only at Colorado swine farms entirely online EMA program R S yan
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esearch will begin during June at the Panhandle Department Research Facility (PDRF) at WTAMU. The research will determine air quality for swine farms in Colorado. The swine facilities send air samples in bags that are analyzed by Photo by Ryan SchaaP panelists to determine the quality of Eddie Caraway with the Triangular Forced Olfactometer. that air from the lagoons located on the swine farms.The project is funded that they can meet their regulatory goals,” said Dr. Don Topliff, dean of the as part of the Core Lab Facility. “We are providing odor analysis for College of Agriculture. “By doing this, we raise the visibility of our campus the swine facilities in Colorado using so as to integrate new students to join the Triangular Forced Olfactometer,” WT.” said Research Assistant Eddie Colorado sends samples to WT, Caraway. “Data is entered on the which is one of two places located computer by panelists which gives in North America that provides such information called odor units that testing. With the other lab facility determines the air quality.” located in Canada, WT’s lab is a more “It’s our job to provide them convenient place for such farms in [Colorado Farms] with a number that Colorado to get unbiased information they can use,” said Caraway. “With and test quality to meet their this information, if a problem ever regulations. arises on a local level, the farms can “As an independent third party, prove that they are within regulation they send us the samples and because of PDRF’s research.” whatever the number is, that’s what Rules and regulations for swine it is,” said Topliff. “It has to be an facilities vary from state to state. unbiased source and that’s what we For example, Colorado’s regulations provide.” require air samples to be tested at Students that study environmental certain distances and on different science also help out the project. parts of the farms. When there “It depends on the day, but I put are compliance issues, PDRF the samples in the list and run the measures the samples and sends the analysis and give the results to Eddie,” information back to Colorado. said Student Assistant Tyler Brown. “Our goal here at WT is to provide “[The project] gets our name out there services, in this case lab services, for WT and it shows how diverse we as an independent third party to are as a university.” the industries that we work with so
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fter attending classes all day on campus, the occasional online class can be a welcomed relief. For Emergency Management students at WTAMU however, online classes are a way of life through the Emergency Management Administration program. The Emergency Management Administration program at WT is the only online EMA program in the state of Texas where students can achieve their entire bachelor’s degree in emergency management without having to leave their homes. “For people like me that are working in the work force, it’s a wonderful thing to have the opportunity to get to go back and finish something like this,” Bryan Parker, a firefighter in South Dallas and EMA major at WT, said. About 11 years ago, the program was designed to give emergency professionals the tools to advance their career without having to quit their jobs. “They’ve got their jobs and they’ve got families,” Dr. Reed Welch, department head of Political Science and Criminal Justice, said. “Most of them are middle age and they’re looking to move up into management in their agencies. In order to do that, they can’t quit their job and come to WT.” According to Dr. Dwight Vick, assistant professor of Political Science and Criminal Justice, the Texas State Legislature realized the need for better-trained experts for emergency management and offered to pay the tuition for any firefighter, police officer
or paramedic who majored in emergency management. WT chose to help provide such experts via online courses. “[The program] had to go online so we could provide this to all firefighters, police officers and other EMTs who are in our program,” Vick said. “That way they don’t have to quit and move to Amarillo.” The government’s help with emergency responders’ opportunities to go back to school also means providing communities with well-trained and educated professionals to serve and protect individuals. “People may diss government all the time,” Vick said. “But it’s that same government that guarantees our mail will be delivered on a daily basis. It’s the one that we pay for through our tax dollars, that guarantees that we’re going to be safe and that there’s going to be a trained police force that will protect us.” Though normal online classes at WT are run through WT class, the EMA program takes a different approach to online education. Vick explained the program adopted a state-of-the-art online conferencing program named WebEx which allows students to attend live lectures on campus without being on campus. “It’s like being in class while you sit in your house,” Vick said. Having the only online EMA program in Texas means more than just increasing enrollment numbers for WT. Welch explained the effect the program has by reaching the state level. “It’s good for the state of Texas because we need an educated work force,” Welch said. “We want people to be trained and educated and that’s what universities are all about.
Valentine’s Day: Historical meaning of the holiday chynatinney Staff WRiteR
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oes anyone really know the true meaning behind Valentine’s Day? Some, like WTAMU student Jimbo Gonzales, do not have a Valentine. Ren Chiapetta, an Agricultural Business major, said her dog Blaze was her favorite Valentine’s gift she received from her fiancé. Every holiday has some historical meaning behind it. Is this holiday really
about the ‘L’ word? Or could it really have began from a true love story from the past? The history of Valentine’s Day and the story of its patron saint are a big mystery. Valentine’s contains both Christian and Roman Catholic vestiges. Some of the Valentine’s history comes from St.Valentine. During the third century in Rome, it is said that St. Valentine was the priest of the Catholic church. When Emperor Claudius II decreed that all single men made better soldiers
than those with wives and children, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine was outraged by the emperor and still performed marriages for young couples. When Claudius heard of what the priest was doing he ordered his death. Another story suggests that Valentine may have been killed for helping prisoners escape after they had been brutally beaten and tortured. He was caught and put in jail where he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter. While
there, he sent the first Valentine’s greeting card which said, “From your Valentine.” Eventually, Valentine’s Day came from the day Valentine was sent to death. However, many people think Valentine’s Day is really a day of true romance. “I believe that Valentines is just a special day to show how much you care for your partner,” Kellie Vincent, an Education major, said. “We should show the same care and love all year round.