The Sp eci al
Fall 2014
THE SPECIAL is an online magazine produced by journalism students at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Content and production are the responsibilities of the students. THE SPECIAL is produced during the fall, spring and summer terms. CONTACT: The Special, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Box 4104, Commerce, Texas 75428. STAFF: Breanna Creech, Alissa Silva, Cristina Loera, Dakota Brewer, Ray Dorsey, Rickey Moser FACULTY ADVISER: Fred Stewart (Fred.Stewart@tamuc.edu)
The Special Fall 2014 Fifth Longest Continuous Operating University in Texas
page 4
The Many Faces of Mayo Hall 1936-2008
page 5
Haunted Hall
page 7
Greeks Not Geeks
page 8
From a Woman’s Dorm to Radio Station in 29 years
page 9
James Gee Library
page 10
Sam H. Whitley
page 12
A&M-Commerce has its Own Planetarium
page 15
Fifth Longest, Continuous Operating University in Texas By Breanna Creech Texas A&M University-Commerce celebrates 125 years this year and is the fifth longest continuous operating university in Texas. The university did not always have the name it has today – changing names five times before becoming part of the Texas A&M University system. William Leonidas Mayo established the college in 1889, having always had a passion to teach and a dream to have his own college. In the town of Cooper, the position of school superintendent became available, and Mayo saw this as an opportunity. He proposed to the school board that he would purchase the school building and not only provide the usual elementary and secondary training, he also promised to build “a first-class private college.” Having accepted his offer, East Texas Normal College opened its doors on Sept. 2, 1889, with Mayo as its president. The building that was the first home of the college, was a small two-story structure, built in the shape of a “T.” Five-years later, a fire destroyed the college on Sunday, July 29, 1894 which had library books, lab equipment and student records inside. This forced Mayo to rebuild, but not in Cooper; 15 miles southwest was a city with railroad connections. This city was Commerce and would be the final destination of the college. Not only was Mayo able to rebuild the college, the city donated land and $5,000 toward reconstruction, and East Texas Normal College was able to reopen its doors on Sept. 3, 1894. Classes were held in a rented store on Main
Street while construction took place. In April, rebuilding was completed and the campus included a library, auditorium, six classrooms, two offices and a bell tower. The University continued to grow throughout the years, and Mayo realized that he would not be around forever. Before his death, he made efforts to turn the college over to the state of Texas. Mayo died on March 14, 1917, the same day the House of Representatives passed the bill that allowed the state to purchase the school. The bill was signed on April 4 and the name changed to East Texas State Normal College. In 1923, the school was renamed East Texas State Teachers College. Graduate courses were offered in 1935 for the first time, and in 1957 the legislature recognized the university had expanded from teacher education changing the name to East Texas State College. When the doctoral program was initiated in 1962 the name was changed to East Texas State University, and remained that way for the next 34 years. The university was accredited by the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities in 1990. Finally, in 1996, the school became part of the Texas A&M University system and renamed Texas A&M University-Commerce, the name is still has today.
PHOTO COURTESY/ GOOGLE.COM
The Many Faces of Mayo Hall 1936 - 2008 By Breanna Creech To honor William Leonidas Mayo, the college built the first boys’ dormitory containing a cafeteria and recreation center in 1936. Mayo Hall was located on the east end of campus next to the Hall of Languages. Mayo Hall was a three-level, concrete structure with a brick exterior that first served as a residence hall. The building later became an office and was also the home of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Command (AFROTC) program. The building was vacated and remained unused for several years while university officials discussed what to do with the structure. Renovation was not an option due to hazardous materials inside, almost complete deterioration of the building and the significant structural and cosmetic repair needed for such a venture. The structure was torn down in 2008. Following demolition, a concrete sidewalk was poured in front of Mayo Hall with an original piece of the building set in the concrete featuring a plaque honoring the site.
THE SPECIAL PHOTO/ BREANNA CREECH
“This statue of William L. Mayo was sculpted by artist Gordon R. Thomas, class of ‘59 and ‘73, and presented to Texas A&M University-Commerce. Dr. Jerry D. Morris, ninth president, commissioned Alumni Association provided funds for the bronze casting in honor of the inauguration of the tenth president, Dr. Keith D. McFarland. Dedicated at Homecoming, October 30, 1999.” THE SPECIAL PHOTO/BREANNA CREECH
William Leondias Mayo’s Tombstone on campus.
Haunted Hall
Built in the 1930s, the Hall of Languages is now presumed to be haunted after a student accidently fell to his death from the roof.
By Cristina Loera “The Hall of Languages was the epitome of all that is evil,” Paranormal Research and Investigations of North Texas (PRINT) co-founder Chad Miller said. On Saturday, April 24, 2010, nine PRINT members, two University Police Department officers, and two press members investigated alleged stories of paranormal activity on the third floor of the Hall of Languages. This 13-member group stayed
overnight to discover once and for all if the ghost stories were true. The investigation centralized on the third floor, where the most paranormal activity was believed to be. Little activity was reported on the second and first floor. During the investigation, the research team claimed there were shadows, voices, the silhouette of a woman, and chairs that moved. After a while of no addtional activity, the researchers decided to pack up and leave. Upon reaching the first floor, a piercing scream came from the third floor, so the team rushed upstairs. The electronic device used to measure spirit activity lit up for a few seconds, but then stopped. These accounts were validated by the University Police Department officers and the two press members. According to legend, strange things started
STAFF PHOTO/CRISTINA LOERA
happening on the university campus after a Saturday morning incident half a century ago. A youngster exploring the rooftop of the Hall of Languages stepped on a dirty skylight that he had mistaken for solid material, falling to his death at the bottom of the stairwell below. Although this story may or may not be true, what is known is that the Hall of Languages was built in the 1930s. Formerly the campus library, the building now serves as headquarters to programs in English, linguistics, foreign languages, and philosophy. The building also houses the Writing Center, located on the first floor. Miller, local Greenville author of several ghost-hunting books in North Texas, determined that the Hall of Languages is indeed haunted.
Greeks Not Geeks By Dakota Brewer
Sorority Hall; F-Halls: Texas A&M University-Commerce has four Panhellenic sororities, Chi Omega, Alpha Phi, Kappa Delta, and Gamma Phi Beta. All four sororities are housed on campus in what is known as the F-Halls or Sorority Row. In 1959 sororiPhoto by Dakota Brewer ties were permitted on campus, and then resided in Binnion Hall, as it used to be a dorm for women. When 1960 came about construction of the F-halls were commenced. However, it is 2013, and not many people are certain about what the F-Halls were built for exclusively. However, it is implied that they were for the sororities simply because the building and construction of the halls were granted right after the sororities were permitted on campus. I spoke to Kalle Riner a member of Chi Omega who lives in sorority row. Ms. Riner said “It is a great bonding experience to live with all of your sisters, not to mention the greek unity between each sorority. I enjoy and find it a privilege to live on campus with my sisters.”
Fraternity Row; Gee Halls
Photo by Stan Brewer
The Future of Greek Row Texas A&M University-Commerce has a master plan to continue to build and improve on the campus. By the year 2032 Commerce will have completed its entire master plan. Within the master plan between the years of 2028 and 2032, the university plans on adding a Greek Row (circled in black on picture to the left) to the campus. Thus allowing greeks, both fraternity and sorority, to each have their own place on campus. Photo by tamuc.edu
Fraternities have come and gone through Texas A&M University-Commerce; and currently we have five International fraternities on campus; Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Chi, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, and Kappa Alpha. The Sigma Chi’s, Delts, and Kappa Alpha’s all have a house, while Pi Kappa Alpha has land, and Kappa Sigma is empty-handed. In 1968 a dorm known as Gee Hall was built on campus where the tennis courts are now. This was known as fraternity. An active Pike member, Matthew Rosenbalm, who once stayed in Gee Hall, was asked what it was like living there. He said, “It was awesome with the brotherhood and really getting to know them. You could always go there and someone would be there to talk.” He also mentioned the countless football games Pike and Sigs would play throughout the semester. Fraternities were forced to move out in 2002, and the hall was demolished in 2005. The reason behind the demolishing was to create more parking and add the addition of tennis courts.
From A Woman’s Dorm to Radio Station in 29 Years By: Dakota Brewer On May 12, 1948; President James G On May 12, 1948; President James Gee proudly announced the opening of Binnion Hall on the campus of East Texas State Teachers college. This building housed approximately 306 coeds, and was strictly a women’s dorm. It was designed by George Dahl, and cost between $800,000 and $1,000,000 to build. The cost of living here, was a down payment of five dollars and four payments totaling up to $200 or $222.50, depending on the type of room one may get. This was the cheapest dorm on campus. The hall was also known as the “East Dorm,” and it always had a social vibe within the building. Whether it be the start to Kappa Alpha’s Old South Week, a fraternity party, or playing bridge, hoping to find a date, Binnion was always “the place Photo by: Dakota Brewer to be.” However within the late 1960’s the demand for on-campus housing began to decline significantly. On June 23, 1972, the hall was closed for the very first time since its opening, due to lack of need in housing. The university began to use to hall as a storage building, and officially removed this building from the university housing system. Within the time of its closing, Binnion began to undergo major renovations. The renovations included reworking of the interior, transforming the rooms into offices and classrooms, new air conditioning units, shingles being replaced on the roof and a modernized heating system. After all these timely renovations, Binnion finally reopened in the fall of 1977. Before this building was made into the homes of the Division of Continuing Education, the Speech and Hearing Clinic offices, as well as the Departments of Counseling, Psychology, and Math, it had intentions in being a university hospital or the universities headquarters for ET security. As mentioned above, that is not what the building was used for however along with those departments Binnion also houses the campus radio station 88.9 along with the studio to produce an everyday radio station. When looking at the TAMUC master plan, Binnion, continues to hold a place on campus.
James Gilliam Gee Library By Ray Dorsey Texas A&M University-Commerce library building, named after James Gilliam Gee, former president of the university, was built in 1959 and before then was the Hall of Languages building. The core of the university’s library originated from the private book collection of William Leonidas Mayo, founder and president of East Texas Normal College. The library has grown from a few volumes inherited from the Mayo private library to a collection of more than a million items valued at $20 mil-
lion, housed in a $5 million structure, and become the single most valuable asset of the school today. The first building on campus to be used as the library was the Hall of Languages, built in 1930. It had a main first floor reading room 168 feet by 40 feet, eight classrooms, seminar rooms, and a museum for the early Texas history collection of the college. When Gee became president of the university, he had a focus to upgrade the university’s faculty and library. By the 1950’s the old library—with more than 120,000 plus volumes—had become too small for the collection of books and plans began to build a new
building. In 1959 a new building was built and the 120,000 volume collection was moved to the new location, built at a cost of just over $1 million. The building was selected as one the 51 best buildings constructed in Texas by Texas architects during the 1950’s. Unlike the old library, the new library building had open stacks where students were free to browse for books. In 1970, space was added to the library at a cost of $750,000 to house the 429,708 volume collection and in 1974 the library joined the OCLC system, taking steps towards the future of computerized libraries.
In 1997, the university had 12 computers added to the library and in 2002, put in 60 computers. Now the library has between 80-100 computers, not including laptops. Construction began in 1984 and was completed in 1986 on three upper floors on the 1970 edition library. The library now has five floors to house its growing collection of books and resources. First floor is used for customer service and information desk for students, second floor is periodicals, third floor has faculty study rooms, fourth floor is special collections area of the library’s history, and fifth floor is study rooms for students. James Gillian Gee Library at first just had a coffee shop for students to stop by while in the library
but in 2003 the Bistro area was built as an extension of the campus cafeteria. Seating was limited, so in 2012 the area was expanded for more seating and added a flatbread sandwich station for an alternative place to eat.
The most recent addition to the library will be the remodeling of the first floor for the Center for Faculty Excellence and Inauguration and classrooms. Classrooms and offices will also be built for professors and student grad assistants.
[Residence Hall]
Sam H Whitley
By Alissa Silva
Known as the tallest building within a 50-mile radius of Dallas and Texarkana, Sam B. Whitley Hall has faced many challenges since
first
opening
in
the
fall
semester
of
1970 on the Texas A&M University- Commerce
campus.
Named after East Texas State’s third president
Sam
B.
Whitley,
the
12-story
male
dormitory dealt with an inherent safety hazard issue involving its height: no ladder within
the
50-mile
radius
could
reach
past
the
fifth
floor.
After
discovering
this
problem,
Whitley
had
made
many
special
arrangements
and
safety
precautions.
At
the
time,
these
included
fire
drills,
doors
located
at
the
end
of each hall for exiting, automatic hinges on the outside doors, and hoses in every room. “We have smaller rooms; there’s a speaker
and
smoke
detector
in
each
so
if
anyone’s smoking, we’ll know,” DuBose said. “Since we have such a close quarters, we want to make sure everyone is aware and can get out safely.” Whitley Hall Committee Director Joseph
DuBose
stated
all
buildings
on
campus
have
to
be
in
line
with
safety
precautions
with National Fire Protection Association. Residents
of
Whitley
have
been
complaining
about the sensors being too sensitive since it
first
opened.
[12th floor view of campus ]
As
another
safety
precaution,
Whitley
installed
a
sprinkler
system
in
1999.
A
few
months after being installed, the system flooded
the
first,
second,
and
third
floors
resulting in $50,000 in damages. Another incident that led to safety precautions
was
when
a
resident
opened
their
window
above
the
fifth
floor
to
retrieve
a stuffed animal and fell onto the ledge after
removing
the
screen.
After
firefighters
pulled
the
resident
to
safety,
the
building’s
windows were screwed shut. Whitley’s biggest renovation was when
it
was
closed
in
spring
of
1987
and
all
men
had
to
move
to
Hubbel
Hall
on
campus.
Renovations
included
new
carpet,
furniture,
and
computerized
elevators.
The
residence
hall
opened
back
fall
1987.
The
fire
department
had
to
face
the
new challenge of elevators getting stuck whenever electricity would turn off. Not only
did
firefighters
face
challenges
with
the
new renovations, residents faced new restrictions. A community director lived in the building along with residential assistants on
each
floor
and
night
security
from
10
p.m.
to
6
a.m.
RA’s
are
currently
present
to
help
build
the
community
and
hold
them
together. The community director is able to provide
additional
resources
and
watch
over
the building occupancy. “Whitley offers a place to live that is safe and where you’re able to learn, we’re going to challenge you to learn social aspects about being in college,” Dubose said. “It’s kind of like a second step after home, except we’re not here to watch your every move, but we’re still here for your questions and concerns.” Before Whitley was a co-ed building, visitation hours for women were limited to the living lounges, kitchens, and study rooms on occupied levels. Once surveyed by the school newspaper, not a single female or male student opposed to having female visitation at the time. At one point, open house in individual’s rooms was allowed three nights a week until Dean of Student Activities Dr. Robert D Butler put a halt to frequent house visits. The visitations were cut to once every two or three weeks and only allowed if the dean
was
notified
a
week
in
advance.
The building was changed to co-ed residents in 1996. Even though Whitley will always have challenges being the oldest and tallest building
on
campus,
it
will
always
be
the
first
building seen coming into Commerce and first
building
shown
on
tour
for
the
Texas
A&M University- Commerce campus. “Whitley’s an older building, so of course people are going to want to live in new halls, but Whitley has a reputation for having a really strong community,” Dubose said. “The facilities might be a little older but they’re still intact and it’s still a safe community, and I think the big thing is Whitley is a really strong community. People get to know each other here and build lasting friendships.”
A&M-Commerce Has its Own Planetarium
Texas A&M University- Commerce has continued to grow over the years as more and more students are enrolling each semester. As time passes, the school is constantly trying to meet the demands of the students and the community. One way they do this is by erecting new buildings on campus. In 2006, A&M-Commerce was proud to announce the opening of its state-of-the-art science building and planetarium. During the building’s naming ceremony, it was officially named the Keith D. McFarland Science Building. Dr. McFarland worked for A&M-Commerce in many capacities over the course of more than 39 years. He served as president of the university for 10 years, was a professor and head of the department of history, and Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. During his time on campus he saw over twenty new bachelor’s and master’s programs created, worked to expand and beautify the campus, and was heavily involved in the community. The science building provides students and professors numerous classrooms and labs, the latest in scientific technology, and chances to explore science on a deeper level. The most well-known feature of the building is its planetarium. The planetarium has a 40-foot dome and a digital projection system which fills the dome with sights and sounds beyond imagination. The planetarium’s 87 reclined seats immerse the audience in a space environment filling their vision and appearing to take them beyond the confines of the Earth. Each show lasts about 45 minutes and begins with a live presentation of the current night sky where constellations, stars, and planets are shown. The mission of the planetarium is to serve as a resource for astronomy education in its use as a teaching facility for astronomy courses and through its shows and events for the general public and local school systems. The planetarium is open to the public on Fridays at 7 and 8 p.m. Visitors can also call them at 903-468-8652 for more information.