The Special: Campus Life Edition Feb. 1 2019
Table of Contents : Magazine Page 1: A Glass Half Full by Lauryn Harris Page 1: Challenge... not accepted? Page 2: Commerce Ten Year Challenge by Courtney Reed Page 3: Student Workers by Lauryn Harris Page 4: Campus Carry by Ian Lucas Page 4: The Hispanic Perspective on Trump by Brianna Patt
The Special Movie Corner
A Glass Half Full Review by Lauryn Harris
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Photo courtesy of|Lauryn Harris
M. Night Shyamalan Glass is a sequel to his superhero film Unbreakable (2000) and sci-fi psychological thriller
Split (2016). With Bruce Willis back as David Dunn, along with Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Prince (aka Mr. Glass) and James McAvoy as the multi faceted Kevin Wendall Crumbs. In the sequel, Dunn is locked in a mental hospital with Prince, and Crumbs. American Horror story actress Sarah Paulson plays Dr. Ellie Staple, a psychiatrist working to prove that these three men do not have the powers they claim to. Glass is packed with supsense and tension, but something is missing. This film relied to heavily upon the potential nostalgia and loyalty attached to the series, and the powerful performnace of James McAvoy.
“To me the movie was everywhere, and I didn’t fully understand the plot,” A&M-Commerce Junior Bre’Anna Perry says. Although the film had some action-packed sequences, it wasn’t enough to fill the missing holes in the plot. Overall the film seems weaker in comparison to the previous but still somewhat enjoyable. “Personally, I found the story hard to follow but overall it was ok,” A&M Commerce Senior Kayla Johnson said. “but I wouldn’t watch it again.” Rating: 2.5/5
Features Challenge...not accepted? by Courtney Reed
Challenge videos have been going viral for years. Many of these viral challenges have been dangerous and potentially detrimental to the health of those that do them, and YouTube is finally making a change. YouTube’s new policy bans users from sharing videos of themselves performing any pranks or challenges that may be deemed harmful, “We recently announced updates to our policies regarding dangerous challenges and pranks. Challenges that present an apparent risk of death are not allowed on YouTube. Content that features a child participating in dangerous challenges that pose an imminent risk of injury or bodily harm are also not allowed on YouTube. We also don’t allow pranks that lead victims to believe they are in physical danger or that can cause real physical harm. Dangerous or abusive pranks that may cause emotional distress to children are not allowed”. While this new policy update doesn’t affect a large majority of the content
creators on YouTube, many still consider it a form of unnecessary censorship and have spoken out since the update. YouTuber Styxhexenhammer666 says that although he agrees to a certain extent, he believes that the situation is in a bit of a gray area, “It’s like [YouTube] saying it’s not against our rules but we simply deem it to fit in with content that’s a little bit too edgy for us to want it to be presented to the public”. At the moment, those policy does not grandfather well. YouTubers who posted a dangerous prank video or challenge years ago will not have their videos removed from their channels. However, the policy does apply to every video that is posted after its policy went into effect earlier this month. Texas A&M University-Commerce student Zachary Graves, who spends a quite a bit of his time on YouTube says that he’s 50/50 on the ban, “I can understand why they banned the dangerous challenges like the Tide Pod challenge and drinking bleach. However, much like a lot of algorithms being implemented today, it leaves a lot of room for error”. From late 2017 to early 2018, the Tide pod challenge was very popular, where a person would attempt to eat a Tide
pod. This challenge originally created by Tide itself as a part of its marketing campaign, but quickly became something else entirely. This challenge was especially dangerous for the participant’s health because the detergent within the pods can cause one to aspirate or become sick. Some of the more memorable challenges over the past few years includes the gallon challenge in which the participant attempted to drink a gallon of milk without throwing up. There was also the cinnamon challenge, where on would eat a spoonful of cinnamon. Most recently, after the success of the Netflix original movie Bird Box, the Bird Box challenge called for it’s participants to blindfold themselves and go about their daily lives, regardless of where it might’ve taken them.
Photo courtesy of|Knowyourmemes
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Commerce Ten Year Challenge by Courtney Reed
Entertainment
a modern building on campus and I think the Nursing and Science program development will be good for this region and the university”.
Photo Courtesy of|Courtney Reed
From East Texas Normal College to East Texas State University to Texas A&M University-Commerce, the TAMUC campus made many changes over the course of its century as lions. Some of the biggest changes come from the growing number of students, as well as physical changes. The #10YearChallenge is a trend that started on Instagram and has since made its way through other social media. It requires users to compare a picture of them from 2009 to a current day picture of themselves. Looking at the campus today, the biggest changes occurred near the student dormitories. The Phase III dorms are where the REC center’s tennis courts used to be. The old family housing building, Leberman Hall, was torn down to make room for more parking for Phase II and III residents. Most notably is the new nursing building that removed the back half of the McFarland Science Building. Professor and director of the Radio and Television program, Dr. Tony DeMars, says that the growth is a positive, “I think it’s exciting to have
Morris Recreation Center Tennis Court ten years ago and now: Top right corner Leberman Hall ten years ago and now: Middle right The back of McFarland Science bulding ten years ago and now: Lower right Page 2
Editorial Student Workers by Lauryn Harris
Photo courtesy of|tamuc/rll.com
According to ashford.edu, more than 70 percent of students work during their time of study. College is a big financial investment for many students and for most, working is not an option. CNBC reported in 2015 that a study from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce says that over the past 25 years, more than 70 percent of college students have worked while attending school and the number of working students has grown as college enrollment and tuition increases. American Association of University Professors stated ten to fifteen hours per week, on campus was the typical response from faculty members and administrators on how much undergraduate students should work while attending college. “I feel like students should just focus on school, but some people are not fortunate and have to work and others just want money for themselves, so it depends on the person,” A&M-Commerce Junior and Boys and Girls Club worker, Bre’Anna Perry said. Some students find it difficult to handle a full course load and work part- or full-time jobs. Ashford Univer-
sity suggest that students seek financial assistance or scholarships and grants before making the decision seek additional employment.
is the most challenging,” A&M-Commerce Junior, Resident Assistant, and First Year Trak assistant, Bryant Jackson said.
“I receive some financial aid assistance, but I don’t get any help from my parents,” A&M-Commerce Sophomore, Resident Assistant, and Hall Operations worker Larissa Rubio said.
Some students also feel as though students shouldn’t have to work their way through school and focus more of their time on education purposes. Due to some students working multiple jobs, time management can be a big difficulty.
CNBC reported students working full time at federal minimum wage could earn $15,080 annually before taxes but due to college tuition increases students are having to earn more. With working while in school, some students are fortunate to find on campus jobs who work well with student’s schedule and others have to do more coordinating with their jobs to balance out both education and work life. “Working on campus is nice because it allows student the convenience that most others don’t. It’s a little unfortunate that students only get paid minimum wage, but factoring in the convenience, it’s fair,” A&M-Commerce Senior and Mass Media Journalism Production Assistant Courtney Reed.
“Most of the people I do know work on campus or have some outside job,” Rubio said. Taking advantage of scholarship opportunities and grants like Asher University suggest for their students can help alleviate some stress of students seeking employment. Essentially though students should focus more on their education and remember even though they are working students, school comes first.
Students are also having hard time balancing their work life and education. “Trying to find the balance between work, education, and outside activities
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Campus Carry by Ian Lucas
Photo courtesy|kolotv.com
Gov. Gregg Abbott signed into law the Campus Concealed Carry Law back in 2015. The law was put into effect on August 1, 2016. This law allows students on Texas universities to conceal their licensed firearm on university property. Formally known as a Concealed Handgun License or CHL, The state of Texas changed the license to a License to Carry a Firearm. To obtain
The Hispanic Perspective on Trump by Brianna Patt
Photo courtesy of|NY Daily News
Of the articles written, we have yet to cover the impact of President Trump on A&M-Commerce’s Hispanic community. I spoke with a member of A&M-Commerce’s faculty to answer this question. To Associate professor of Spanish Inma Civico-Lyons, the Trump administration has had a negative impact on the community, pointing to DACA (Deffered Action for Childhood Arrivals) members and their struggles as an example. “These people have become unsure of their status as potential citizens of this country,” Lyons
News
this license, a person 21 years or older must attend a sanctioned course and complete both a written exam as well as a shooting proficiency course. Most shooting ranges offer these courses at a reasonable price. Lt. Jason Bone is a twenty-fiveyear veteran of the A&M-Commerce police department and supports the campus carry law. “From a law enforcement perspective, our job is to enforce the law, no matter what the law might be” Bone said. Bone has been in law enforcement since before the law was put into place. He says law enforcement has not had any issues so far. “Empirically, I can’t say whether or not its had an impact on campus crime, the campus carry law has really been a non-issue for us so far” Bone said. Lt. Bome said that University Police Department has had one call
regarding a firearm on campus and says the individual did not know they were in violation. There are limitations as to where students and visitors can carry a firearm on campus. The university webpage outlines areas where firearms are not permitted. The restricted areas include faculty offices, The Campus Counseling Center in the Halladay building, the Children’s Learning center, areas heavily attended by minors at the university’s discretion, and the Nuclear Storage and Laboratory in the McFarland science building. The Campus Carry law is officially labeled Rule 34.06.02.R1 and can be under the Office of the President in the Administration section of the campus website. Included in the guidelines is a short video by Officer Kyle Low of the University Police Department. Officer Low goes through the specifics step by step using visuals in this informative
Politics said “unsure of their future, which creates a lot of psychological and physical turmoil.” Lyons also stated that the comments made by President Trump regarding the Hispanic community are insults, and can result in a sense of insignificance for that community. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems,” President Doanld Trump stated in regards to immigration, “and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” “The President has insulted the members of the Hispanic community by calling them criminals, thieves, drug traffickers, etc.” Lyons said. “This name calling creates a sense of unworthiness and marginalizes the community.” Lyons agrees that strong border security is needed, but feels that the Border wall is ineffective. She states that there have been reports of drugs being trafficked into America mainly through tunnels and points of entry. Take the case in 2018 when a tunnel was found under a former KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken)
“This tunnel was very well constructed,” court documents in the discovery of the tunnel on the US-Mexico border stated, “and would have taken this Drug Trafficking Organization a long time to dig.” She feels that the possible viewpoint of citizens outside the Hispanic community has been effected by the current administrations view of them, who look at the Hispanic community as criminals, which causes them to be demonized. She also notes that there are people who understand what the focus on the Hispanic community is really about. “Other people understand” she said “that this community has been targeted for political purposes.” “If the recent midterm elections are any guide,” New Yorker journalist Hector Tobar said. “ Trump will continue to resort to humiliating Latin American immigrants as his political fortunes wane and his legal problems mount.”
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