Museum that’s a little stuffy
Pg. 4 Amarillo College's News Source Since 1930 acranger.com
Volume 92, Issue 8
February 17, 2022
This job is lit KIPPER SINCLAIR | The Ranger
Prospective AC fire academy graduates practice fire extinguishing techniques that they’ve learned in a mock car fire drill. Firefighters in the Amarillo area can expect a starting salary of $45,000 a year.
AC fire academy cadets blaze ahead By KIM BLACK Student Reporter
Amarillo College fire academy’s 50th class will take their final exam April 9, 2022, with 16 cadets expected to graduate. On May 16, 2022, the 51st class will graduate 13 more cadets. “Fifty classes is a milestone, but we try to make every graduation special,” Chief Stephen Malley, director of public safety professions, said. Beyond this year’s graduation, AC’s fire academy has big plans for the future. It will be moving to a new facility at the old Sunset Center location on Plains Boulevard
in the fall of 2023. The new venue will consolidate EMT and paramedic training with the fire academy and police academy. “It will be a one-stop-shop for anyone wanting to go into public service,” Malley said. The new academy will be outfitted with all new gear, including SCBA (air packs), rescue tools, hoses and other essential equipment, Malley said. He hopes the upcoming expansion will bring attention to the fire academy and educate the public about the training program. “With a minimal investment of time and money, a cadet can graduate from the
Government breaks pinky promise AC’s state-funded budget slashed By RYAN HERSHEY Student Reporter
Amarillo College, along with every community college in Texas, is dealing with budget cuts from the Texas Legislature despite many assurances made previously by lawmakers. Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, AC’s president, said he isn’t pleased with the decreased funding. “I think what disappointed me about this particular session is that the state had a huge surplus,” Lowery-Hart said. “And when they divvied up that surplus, they gave a significant increase to universities, but cut
community colleges. And in the legislative process, they voted for us to have increases in funding. But then the House and the Senate went to conference, which those meetings are private. What came out of that conference that got codified into law, removed all of the increases that had been voted for us,” Lowery-Hart said. Lowery-Hart said that fortunately AC administrators have anticipated and prepared for these kinds of cuts as they have become a pattern with state legislators, who meet every two years to See BUDGET, page 3
fire academy today and have a job waiting for them tomorrow,” Malley said. There are few requirements to apply to the academy. “Mainly a clean background,” Malley said. The academy does require some physical ability, but there are no prerequisite courses. “This can be your first college class,” he said. According to Malley, firefighters in the Amarillo area can expect a $45,000 a year starting salary. “In other places, they can make even more,” Malley said. EMT training is also required for firefighters, but Texas certification transfers anywhere in the country. “As well as other
countries,” Malley said. The training includes instruction from active-duty firefighters to help cadets gain insight from the field. “They bring their perspectives from different departments,” Malley said. Representatives from several area fire departments also speak to the classes, showing cadets how mobile the career is. Mobility and potential earnings were just a few reasons the cadets in class 51 joined the academy. “Family played a big role in my decision,” Evan Pearson said. Several cadets have family members in public service
who inspired them to join the fire academy. “My family is very supportive. My wife is in health care,” Jeremy Wilson said. “My uncle is a captain in Lubbock at the Attorney General’s office, and my mom is a nurse,” Marshall White said. “I wanted a career, not just a regular job,” Andrea Perez said. “I want to be something that I can wake up every day and be proud of. Like I’ve never worked a single day,” Noah Nelson said. “We all have a willingness to help people,” Tori Rivera said. “We signed up to be superheroes.”
Student Life, Black Student Union recognize influential African American individuals By KATIE SPARLING Student Reporter
Amarillo College is recognizing Black History Month throughout February. “Student Life is organizing a couple of events throughout the month for Black History,” Miranda McHugh, the administrative assistant for Student Life, said. “We have a trivia game and a spoken word poet that is coming later in February.” The spoken word poet, Ed Mabrey, is coming Feb. 24. McHugh said the Student Life staff is creating and hanging posters around campus, “each highlighting one specific person, for example,
Barack Obama, and having key points on what he has done for African American people.” The goal behind these events is ‘inclusion,’ McHugh said. The Black Student Union is celebrating Black History Month along with Student Life, hosting events of their own. “The Black Student Union is going to be providing bios of all of the African American employees so that people can get to know them better and where they came from,” Melodie Graves, the associate director of academic advising, said. “There will also be a big Black History Month celebration the whole last week of February for the students and staff.”
Graves added that there is always more work to be done as an anti-racist institution. “Black History Month shouldn’t just be an annual event in February. It should be all year-round because of the contributions that African Americans have made to society,” Graves said. “Celebrating culture and differences leads to education,” Graves said. Kya Warnsley, a sociology major, said she hopes the college will extend the focus beyond February and do more to eliminate racism. “Black history as a whole is important,” Warnsley said. “There are so many things that would not exist without Black people’s contributions.”
February 17, 2022
WHAT DIDN'T YOU LEARN IN SCHOOL ABOUT BLACK HISTORY THAT YOU KNOW NOW? PEYTON MILES Psychology
“I didn’t learn much in school besides slavery, which is important, but there’s much more than that. That's just the main focus. I knew important figures like Obama, but I didn’t know why it was so important. Everything else I learned through the internet or talking to other people.”
GRACE PULLIAM Engineering
“They never talk about Marsha P. Johnson, the Black trans woman at Stonewall. That’s primitive knowledge in 2022. I didn’t learn about her until I was 18 and it was from other gay creators.”
EVELYN VALVERDE Nursing
“Something that I learned about Black history that wasn’t in school is how long it has actually taken for us to get where we are right now, and how it’s still going to take at least 50 more years to get to equality completely. And how this movement has influenced other movements for equality.”
My struggle with society aaap
OPINION
By D Hill Columnist
As a young Black woman growing up in America, a country where 75% of the population is white, has not been the easiest. Black children are told how they act isn’t going to cut it. Growing up Black, you’re looked down on by that 75%, so you work hard to prove yourself. Unfortunately, it rarely works. Growing up Black means hiding a part of who you are to fit in. Society has set standards regarding how Black people need to act. We can’t dye our hair certain colors, talk in slang or be too loud. Also, make sure you don’t wear pajamas out in public. My personal favorite: “Oh my gosh, is that your real hair? Can I touch it?” Not to mention messages like, “Can you change the color of your skin for me because my family doesn’t like it,” or the
Editor-in-Chief Raygan Lopez
Design Manager Shawn McCrea
Online Editor Jo Early
Page Editors
John King, Anthony Kiser, Rylee Moore, Jordan Nuner
fact that if you’re a young Black man, police officers may think you’re dangerous and a threat to society. Let me clarify, I’m not a racist. I’m just a young Black woman learning how to live in a country that has never accepted me or people who look like me. I have learned to mold myself into what society wants me to be, but this has made my community look at me differently. Now, I'm considered "whitewashed” because I was trying to follow society's standards. I have two options: go back to my roots to be accepted by my community, or mold myself into the perfect little Black girl society wants. It’s crazy how our ancestors fought so we could be free to do whatever we wanted but 156 years later, we are still fighting for our right to be accepted. We are no longer in shackles, but we are still fighting for the respect we should have had years ago.
Staff Reporters Arine Garin, D Hill, Andrew Terry
Columnists
Nick Bandy, Raygan Lopez
Graphic Designers
Anthony Kiser, Shawn McCrea
Photographers
Shawn McCrea, Andrew Terry
For a complete staff listing, visit The Ranger online at www.acranger.com Student Media exists to serve you — the students. The Ranger staff urges you to get involved by submitting ideas, photos, videos at therangereditor@gmail.com. The Ranger is an independent student publication. Material published in the Ranger does not necessarily reflect the views of Amarillo College administrators or employees.
Illustration by ANTHONY KISER | The Ranger
Black History Month is time to learn
Use celebration as starting point to recognize Black Americans EDITORIAL
February is Black History Month in the United States. It is a time for celebration of African American individuals and their accomplishments, and at the very core of the holiday, education for everyone. While the history of African Americans and their culture in this country is important every month of the year, we should use the spotlight that Black History Month has to continue to better educate ourselves. According to W. Marvin Dulaney, Carter G. Woodson was the originator of the holiday, originally creating what was known as Negro History Week in 1926 to help eduacate people about African American history and culture in the US. His goal was to coordinate these teachings and have them taught at public schools across the country. This took place in the second
week of February. Over time the idea was accepted and practiced regularly. What was only a week of teaching shifted into a month long period of teaching and celebration, changing from Negro History Week to Black History month, running throughout all of February. Black History Month became an official celebration in the United States in 1976 by the acknowledgement of President Gerald R. Ford. The timing of Black History Month originated from the birthdays of both President Abraham Licoln and Fredrick Douglass. Both of their birthdays were the second week of February, resulting in Carter G. Woodson choosing the week for the original Negro History week, before evolving into Black History Month. With so much attention
turned to African American history for the next few weeks, now is the perfect time to utilize that spotlight to learn and fill in the gaps of history that you may not have been taught before. Many events are not taught in public schools and may be unknown to many, such as the Philidelphia Poice Department detonating a bomb in a city neighborhood killing 11 people and destroying 64 homes, or the assasination of activist Fred Hampton by the FBI. Now is the time to continue learning and to listen to those around you. There are plenty of books, movies and other media to help highlight new conversations that you may have never had and that is how to keep moving forward. Use this month of celebration and education to do so.
Letter to the editor We want to thank you for bringing to light issues that Amarillo College students are expressing about their experience in the advising department in the recent editorial “Problematic advising needs reform.” While their concerns are valid, we feel that further information and clarification will address these issues. The advising department’s main objective is to build positive and supportive relationships with our students. We strive to be continually available, helpful and knowledgeable. We want to collaborate with our students to help develop their career and academic plan and provide resources to aid in their success. We want to be a part of their support system as they achieve their academic and career goals. The editorial indicates that students have difficulty contacting their advisers and that appointments are not always available. It is true that advisers
get busy with appointments, but we always have walk-in opportunities. Advising hours are Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Although most advisers require appointments Monday – Thursday, we also have walk-in advisers ready to help. No appointment is needed to visit with any of our advisers Friday and Saturday. When a student’s program adviser is out of the office, the advising team makes sure that students are still served and that immediate needs are met. We encourage students to make a follow-up appointment to speak with their program adviser, if needed. To meet students’ needs during our peak registration times, no appointment is required in August, December and January. We also provide special holiday hours during the winter break when most of the campus is closed. We understand that those busy registration periods can
be frustrating. We encourage students to come in early in the semester to meet with their adviser to start planning and approving future courses via Student Planning. With Student Planning, advisers can plan courses for each semester until program completion. The course approval or “greenlight” process allows students to register themselves for their courses when priority registration opens. This allows students to take control of when they choose to register and not have to depend on their adviser’s appointment availability. Summer and Fall registration opens April 4, 2022, at 6 a.m. Come in now to meet with your adviser to create your success plan. For more information on advising services or to book an appointment with you adviser, please visit the AC advising department webpage: www.actx. edu/advising. -- Ernesto Olmos, director of advising
February 17, 2022
Free produce provided on Tuedays By CASEY NICCOLI
Student Reporter
Five years ago, Dr. Claudie Biggers, an anatomy and physiology professor, had a dream that would help feed the students at Amarillo College. At that time, Biggers was the department chair, and she wanted to start an edible garden program around campus where the landscaping consisted of edible plants that students could pick and eat. “I was working along with High Plains Food Bank gardeners and that was the vision that we had,” said Biggers. Then came the mobile harvest food truck, “The Garden,” owned and operated by the High Plains Food Bank, which through Biggers’s outreach, became the perfect solution for feeding students, staff and the surrounding community. The truck distributes an array of fresh fruits and vegetables to AC every Tuesday between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The truck is located on the east side of the Washington Street Campus
near the STEM building. Students can either walk up or drive through. “We don’t require an ID or any financial information other than your name and how many people are in your household,” said Ileana Padilla, an employee of HPFB. “Anybody can pick up a bag of produce, even a single person,” Padilla said. Students say they enjoy the opportunity to get fresh produce. “The bag was great. It had fresh spinach, oranges, potatoes and lettuce,” said Dione Briones, a psychology major. “I needed these things for my house. It’s hard to support myself as a single woman working and going to class daily. This helps a lot.” Padilla said giving out fresh produce is an important addition to the non-perishable foods they distribute. “Most food donated to the food bank are canned goods or things that can store for longer. I think our mobile harvest truck is really important because a lot of people that are struggling getting food can get help but they’re not getting those nutritious foods that they
ANDREW TERRY | The Ranger
Students Ryleigh Cady, a general studies major; Autumn Schiller, a computer science major; and Ileana Padilla, a WT student, come together to help serve their community.
need,” said Padilla. The mobile harvest program is a great resource for students who would otherwise not ask for help, according to Padilla, “We pull for about 150 students a week.” Kameron Quick, a criminal justice and psychology major,
said, “I use the produce truck often. I’m not exactly struggling, so I take what I want from the bag and share the rest with my neighbors.” Biggers said her vision of a garden landscape changed when the administration asked her to focus on a grant
for a greenhouse instead, “We ended up writing the grant and building a greenhouse,” she said. Someday the future of the AC greenhouse might include an edible garden if the interest is there, according to Biggers. “It just takes manpower,” she said.
BUDGET: Colleges prepares for cuts Continued from page 1
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To order a free pack of four at-home COVID tests, go to covidtests.gov.
More COVID test options available By CORBIN ROYE
Student Reporter
College students get their COVID tests from multiple sources. “I’ve been exposed to COVID multiple times throughout the last couple years,” Spencer Coffee, a bsiness major said. “Usually I’ve just gone to CVS and gotten my test done through the drive-thru. They have a compartment on the side of their wall where you can place your used COVID test after they hand it to you through the window. It’s pretty convenient.” Some students are also ordering free ones from the
government. “Yeah, so I went ahead and just ordered some free tests online from the government, it was really easy to do.” Nino Nayola, a psychology major, said. “I’ve never tested before but I figured they would be good to have just in case I get exposed.” Other students say they’ve never tested before. “I really haven’t ever even gotten tested for COVID.” Abbie Coffee, a nursing major, said. “I think absolutely everyone should be getting tested and not going out in public if they know they’ve been exposed to COVID,” Logan Jones, an English major, said.
“I think if you haven’t had your vaccination it should be required that you get a COVID test at least once a month or so. It would make me feel a lot safer,” One location to go to receive COVID testing is Quest diagnostics. Appointments can be scheduled online. They provide same day appointments that are free of charge, and the test results will take one to two days. There are multiple ways to obtain a COVID-19 test if you think you have been exposed to COVID. Visit CDC.gov for any questions regarding getting tested or vaccinated.
Scholars’ Poland trip looks possible By CAMERON PLUMLEY Student Reporter
The Amarillo College Presidential Scholars will take a long-awaited trip to Poland in March 2022. With the past two scheduled Scholars’ trips postponed due to COVID-19, Lesley Ingham, the honors program coordinator, said they have big plans for their trip overseas. “We are going to have a lot
of sessions that are just learning about the Jewish culture, as well as the genocide and events leading up to the Holocaust,” Ingham said. She said she’s still worried about the possibility of COVID canceling the trip again, but she said she feels hopeful. “Of course, because it’s been put off the last two times, but it’s looking promising right now because our tour consultant has been in Europe and
everything is looking great,” Ingham said. The March 2022 excursion will include all of the past students who were scheduled to attend canceled trips. . Brianna Ortega, one of the scholars, said she is excited. “I think that it is something very different that a lot of students don’t get to experience in college, which is to go overseas and try something new,” Ortega said.
decide on funding appropriations. “We got cut $2 million,” Lowery-Hart said. “It’s over a biennium, so it’s a million dollars for each academic year, for the next two years. So a total of $2 million that we have to make up for and there’s no changing it. There’s just changing what we do in preparation for the next legislative session.” “We’re prepared,” Chris Sharp, vice president of business affairs, said. “Like this last budget cycle, we asked departments to cut 5% of their non-personnel budget. So for this upcoming budget, we’ll probably do the same thing.” In terms of where these cuts will be applied, the college faculty and staff are adamant that student welfare will remain the No. 1 priority and therefore will not be affected. “Whatever shortfall we do have within our institutional funds, there are other departments who will aggressively go out for grants and write some sort of grant proposal expressing our needs and then we just use that money in place of institutional funds to pay for those needs so that
we still can provide what the students need,” Jeanette Nelson, budget manager, said. Despite these efforts, faculty and staff may be forced to endure certain limitations due to the budgetary concerns. “With AC’s budget, 75% of it is made up of personnel benefits,” Sharp said. “So we don’t really want to touch that. That leaves a small window of things that you can cut. Supplies, equipment, travel and training. That’s all on the table for being cut.” To help improve the current state of affairs for AC and community colleges statewide, Lowery-Hart said he encourages students and staff to actively participate in the democratic process and communicate with Texas lawmakers. “People need to register and vote,” Lowery-Hart said. “That’s the most actionable political power that we possess. The other is to ask, in political campaigns, what a candidate’s stance is on expanding workforce development, expanding support for community colleges and then once we get their support on the record, holding them accountable to it.”
February 17, 2022
ANDREW TERRY | The Ranger
The hours for Spring 2022 are Mon.-Fri. 10 A.M.- 12 P.M., Tues. and Thurs. 3:30 P.M.-5:30 P.M. and Fri. 10A.M.- 4 P.M. Closed on weekends.
AC has a natural history museum, where? By ANDREW TERRY Staff Reporter
At the end of a long dark corridor in Amarillo College’s Ordway Hall is a natural history museum with butterflies hanging from the walls, insects and small animals filling up tables and taxidermied scenes of animals all-around. The museum was founded in 1976 by Richard Howard, a biology instructor at the time. Howard was a member of the lepidopterists’ society, an organization “that promotes the study and appreciation of butterflies and moths,” according to their website. The museum began as Howard’s personal collection of butterflies displayed in his lab that “he wanted to show to his students,” said Dan Porter, the current curator of the museum, and biology instructor. As the museum’s collection expanded it moved into its own room. The Texas Panhandle branch of the Safa-
ri Club International donated most of the mammals from North America and Africa as well as about $10,000 worth of the ocean life on display, according to Porter. Some students said they don’t understand why the museum is located in Ordway. “I think it’s in the wrong building. It should be linked with the biology department,” Cadence Lowery-Hart, a music major, said. The museum was not always located in Ordway. Originally both the museum and biology program were located in Dutton Hall, but due to an expansion to allow elevator access to the second floor of Ordway, the museum had to move. It was located in Durrett Hall until the police station moved in, and once again the museum had to relocate, this time to Ordway. The museum’s location has caused some confusion for prospective visitors. “I’ve had people coming in saying ‘I’ve been looking
for this for 30 minutes, why are you just in this little corner?’” Emily Clayton, a student worker for the museum and biology major, said. “I think I’ve seen it before, but I didn’t know it was a natural history museum,” Sebastian Urena, a biology major, said. The museum doesn’t see very many visitors, but people find it when they really want to according to Clayton. Porter has purchased additional specimens to add to the museum’s collection using grant funds for education.“Our museum is primarily for education. We bring in school groups who get to tour through the museum,” said Porter. Clayton said that in the year she’s been working, there haven’t been any school tours. The museum is free to all visitors and located in Ordway 116. The hours change each eight weeks due to its reliance on student workers, but are located on the museum’s website.
ANDREW TERRY | The Ranger
Downtown studio makes Hollywood accessible By SILAS MIRANDA Student Reporter
Sharpened Iron Studios in downtown Amarillo is offering a new program known as the Film Foundry, which will provide opportunities to get hands-on with various aspects of filmmaking. Sharpened Iron Studios is Amarillo’s first big budget film studio. The company operates from a building leased from Amarillo College and, at the request of the studio’s owners, worked with AC to create new cinematic arts degrees and certificates to prepare students to work there. While the studio provides space for shooting commercials, holding events and filming of big budget movies, it also provides the space for two different educational programs. The first is several classes through Amarillo College’s media,
arts and communication department and the second is the Film Foundry. Devenie Graham, the Sharpened Iron Studios’ chief creative officer, said that the Film Foundry is not a traditional type of school. “The Film Foundry is focused for each and every department specifically,” Graham said. “It allows people to have set time and it’s very different from what you would think of as a school. You know, school has class time where people go for a couple of hours and they have that goal of graduating with a degree and a higher ed. At the Film Foundry you don’t have class time, you have call time,” Graham said. “You have a call sheet, you know, every day before it starts you come in and whether you are going in as a grip, wardrobe or as a camera guy or something
and you go in and have your call time. You actually get to see what it is like working on set,” she added. The Film Foundry’s goal, Graham said, is meant to be a training grounds to give people experience and job opportunities. “What this could mean for AC students is they get the same access to professionals as other industry people just looking to hone their skills,” Graham said. “They get more one-on-one time to come in and get to be a part of the industry. Even if students are only able to come in on days where they don’t have class, the Film Foundry helps apply what you learn in your classes at AC immediately to working on a real-life film set,” Graham said. The first sessions will be starting in March, according to Graham. “The courses are opened to people of pretty much every experience
level but to get the most out of them, it’d be best if you had at least a decent understanding of the film industry,” she said. “The cost of the sessions will vary based on the quality of necessary equipment and things like that,” she added. Sharpened Iron studios, while still maintaining their cinematic operations, is working to get ready for the Film Foundry’s opening. “I don’t know much about the Film Foundry but from what I can tell it’s going to be a huge thing for Amarillo,” Dene Coble, Sharpened Iron’s facilities manager, said. “Just the opportunities alone sound like big things are about to happen for everyone involved,” Coble said. The news about the Film Foundry is just starting to spread but its potential has piqued the interest of AC students.“The sheer amount
of opportunity that’s going to be developed for folks to get excited about this industry is going to wild, man,” David Lavender, an AC motion picture production major, said. “It’s going to be exciting times for everyone,” Lavender said. There will be a limited number of spots for the program. Each class will have room for between 6-15 students to allow for more personal training. “The classes should last about three weeks or so apiece but a feature of the program is most of the classes take place on the weekend,” Graham said. Signups will be available on the Film Foundry’s website when it releases in mid to late February but until then, reaching out to Sharpened Iron Studios on their website www.sharpenedironstudios.com, is the best way to begin the process, Graham said.
February 17, 2022
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Pokémon revives stale formula REVIEW
By JORDAN NUNER Page Editor
Pokémon Legends Arceus is the newest Pokémon game for Nintendo Switch. The game starts with the player character being thrown into the past by the legendary Pokémon, Arceus, who is known in the Pokémon world as the creator of the universe and controls all of space and time. The game is set in the Hisui region, the long-forgotten past of the current day Sinnoh region. If you know anything about previous mainline games, then you would know that they consist of linear stories and random encoun-
ters with Pokémon in areas known as tall grass. In this game, however, there is a main hub village where you can unlock different large open areas where the Pokémon are just wandering around in the open. Usually, the player would have to battle these Pokémon to catch them, excluding the spin-off games such as the Let’s Go games and Pokémon Go, but now you can just aim a poke ball and throw it to catch a Pokémon. Battling is still an option; however, it is no longer a requirement to catch Pokémon. Now, some Pokémon are more aggressive than others and will be harder to catch
without battling them, but it is still possible with the right combination of poke balls, berries and aim. Some Pokémon may even run away if they spot the player character so stealth is also important. Games prior to this one had attempted something similar but failed to make it work the way it does in Legends Arceus. It took previous mechanics and blended them with the worldbuilding, which the previous games failed to do. In this game, it feels lived in by the Pokémon who can be seen and the catching feels more natural since the player isn’t being thrown into a battle or a catching screen.
Pokémon can even attack the player character and if you get hit too many times or are hit by a powerful move, then the player character will pass out and be returned to camp having some of the items from their satchel having fallen out. Although this game is a mostly open world, there are still limits as to where the player character can go, but this can be remedied by unlocking various ride Pokémon by progressing through the story. With every great game, there are always flaws. While on any rideable Pokémon, other than Basculegion, you can’t throw any items or throw out
a Pokémon, which adds the extra step of dismounting the ride Pokémon before you can do anything else. While it’s understandable, it’s also a hassle to players who want to move faster and still be able to catch Pokémon. As a whole, the game is great and is worth playing for both fans and newcomers. With various new forms for existing Pokémon, a great story with plenty of side quests, new controls that may be difficult to get used to but work well with the game and new environments to explore along with great music, I’ll say that this game deserves all the praise and give it a solid 7 out of 10.
Anime theme songs gain 100,000 watts of power REVIEW By IZZY GOMEZ Student Reporter
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Mitski makes music in the gray area REVIEW By ANDREW TERRY Staff Reporter
Mitski is back after her four-year-long hiatus with her sixth album titled “Laurel Hell.” She describes the album as a “a map to the place where vulnerability and resilience, sorrow and delight, error and transcendence can all sit within our humanity” and she doesn’t disappoint. The album doesn’t sound like typical indie rock. It embraces electronic synth and industrial percussion. It also takes influences from disco and dance music of the 80s, but with modern twists. Despite the new glossy pop sound, Mitski still manages to hold on to her signature vocal style and her signature brevity with a runtime of only 32 minutes. Mitski has said that she “needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost,” and she absolutely succeeds. The Elton John-
like “Should’ve Been Me” describes the complex mix of jealousy, regret and leftover longing that comes when a relationship ends. In “The Only Heartbreaker,” she sings about how it feels to be falling out of love with someone despite them doing absolutely nothing wrong. All the songs about love on “Laurel Hell” are refreshingly complex and don’t leave you with a clean and happy ending that mimics how it feels to lose someone and still love them. The album is also partially self-reflection. In “Working for the Knife,” a track filled with industrial percussion blended with guitar and horns, she describes her feelings of being trapped in a music industry where she has to make music that sells instead of the music she wants to make. She ends the song resigned to her fate “I start the day lying and end with the truth that I’m dying for the knife.” In “Everyone,” a slow
ABBA inspired song, Mitski sings about the pressures to conform, “Sometimes, I think I am free until I find I’m back in line again.” Mitski does not wallow in what she finds, but she doesn’t revel in herself either. She finds who she is and chooses to simply exist as herself. The album refuses to settle on one type of sound, instead it inhabits the space all-around synth pop, disco and indie rock. Mitski takes cues from ABBA and Elton John, but she refuses to commit to any one influence, and I love it. The differences aren’t drastic enough to shock the audience, but it gives a sense of an uncomfortable existence that changes between sounds to try and find something that ‘fits,’ but can never find it. Mitski wanted to “sit in the gray area” in this album and she makes us sit with her and forces us to confront the uncomfortable middle areas of life.
FM90 has a new show for anime lovers called the Weebo Show. The show, which started this semester, airs every Wednesday night from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The creator and host of the Weebo Show is Mason Dugat, also known as QC. He came up with the idea during the 2021 fall semester. QC said his original idea was to have a radio show that played music from video games or songs from different countries. “The thing with anime is that it’s always been popular, just never in the spotlight,’’ he said. QC said that in the mid 2000s it became more acceptable to watch anime and to be into other nerdy stuff. He also said that he plans to do a theme for the show every other week. Amy Presely, the FM90
program director, said that since the first show, which aired Jan. 26, the station has received positive feedback. “This is the first show we’ve had that has played music from anime and leaned on Japanese culture,” she said. Presley said that she thinks this show could be for anyone who likes anime, Japanese culture or fun music and that it’s kind of its own genre. She also said it might appeal to people who are into new music and hearing something different that they have never heard before. “There’s an opportunity that even people in Radio One have, if they have their own idea or if they’re comfortable enough to have their own show, they’re more than welcome to submit a proposal,” Jaclyn Harris, FM90 student music director, said. FM90 can be heard on 89.9 FM or at kacvfm.org.
DANIEL ANTILLON | The Ranger
Mason Dugat showing his passion for anime through his show and apparel.
February 17, 2022
Blackboard gets
new look By MARCOS RUBIO Student Reporter
Instructional designers
SAVE THE DAY By JORDAN NUNER Page Editor
Out of all the employees at Amarillo College, instructional designers are some of the most important. They “help faculty to design courses or redesign as they need to and they take classes geared toward lots of different things,” Kristin Barker, an instructional designer and technologist, said. Barker said, without help from AC’s instructional designers, professors would have a harder time creating courses that the students can follow, especially with advancing technology and the changing user interface. “We also work a lot with course design, especially while we’re switching over to Blackboard Ultra,” Michaela Dodson, an instructional designer and faculty development coordinator, said. “We’re helping instructors get their courses designed correctly so that it transfers over and we make sure that the courses are good and solid.” Another goal is to help faculty members learn to use new technology and teaching techniques, according to Dr. Lori Petty, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. As technology grows, the school adapts so that the students, who have higher exposure to technology, can follow along. “We can help them with their professional learning by bringing them up to date with research-based and evidence-based technology or professional learning,” Petty said.
Instructional designers work alongside instructors to create a better experience for students “by bringing both of us together, we can hopefully create a better experience for the students,” Petty said. “We have faculty that will come up here and say, ‘You know what, I’m struggling with this assignment or test or this area of my class, can you help me?’ and we brainstorm on ways to fix it.” Dodson pointed out that this wouldn’t work if instructors weren’t serious about their jobs. They have to ask for help and work together with the designers to create the best experience. “A well-designed curriculum leads to good student engagement and learning in the classroom,” Dodson said. The instructional designers also pull data such as age range and other demographics to better understand the needs of the students, “By understanding who the typical students are in our classrooms, we can then hopefully mold our instruction to meet the needs of that student,” Barker said. The designers also help design workshops and classes for instructors to take. “We design curriculum or workshops for instructors to help them with their professional learning,” Dodson said. “We’re lifelong learners; we’re not content experts by any means, but we are really good at pulling resources so we help with that,” Barker said. “We are here to assist and help through the process of creating.”
Amarillo College’s Blackboard learning management system has started spring semester with a new look. Even more changes are expected soon. Blackboard is the software that students use to access their classes and work on assignments. Instructors use Blackboard to deliver course material, interact with their students and post grades. This semester, AC has rolled out an updated and remodeled version of Blackboard. “We made the first switch to Blackboard Ultra at the beginning of January 2022 starting with the Ultra Base Navigation,” Ariana Tiroff, the Blackboard support and services manager, said. “The layout has changed, the way content is displayed.” More changes are still in the works and Tiroff said the system should be fully updated by spring of 2023. Currently, the upgrade is not finished, which does pose some issues, according to Tiroff. “With this new transition, especially since we lack the oth-
er half of the transition of Ultra course view, Blackboard currently has serval limitations and is limited to customization on the base navigation,” she said. Despite the challenges of the transition, AC officials say the changes are an improvement. “This version of Blackboard has become more intuitive and it has become easier to navigate,” Dr. Lori Petty, the director of center for teaching and learning, said. Petty has been working at AC for four and a half years and is responsible for overseeing Blackboard operations. “Blackboard Ultra is much more responsive on mobile phones, tablets and laptops. That’s one of the reasons why we made the change because it becomes much more accessible for students. It’s much more mobile responsive,” she said. Petty said that students appear to be pleased with the changes. “This is my first semester in college and so far I haven’t had any issues with my Blackboard. I like the layout. It is easy to find what I am looking for,” Jacob Hunt, a general studies major, said.
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