RP am
Volume 80 Issue 8 October 18, 2013
age
Visit us at www.asurampage.com
New software to help with advising Program helps students build schedules before registration Kelly O’Dowd Staff Writer
Photo by Marsalis Mahome
2013 Homecoming See pull-out on pages 3 and 4
Graduate Studies rank high Online classes draw in several students Allison Price Managing Editor The College of Graduate Studies is ranked No. 18 out of 50 programs nationwide as Top Student Ranked Online Graduate Schools by graduateprograms.com. “I feel that the quality of education within the graduate program here at ASU has been absolutely topnotch,” biology graduate student Thomas Horsley said. College of Graduate Studies Dean June Smith said it is nice to have graduate students feel strongly enough about the program to recognize it.
“I am not surprised students have that response to our program,” Smith said. “There are over 1,800 graduate programs in the United States, and not all of them have online [classes], but the vast majority of [U.S. programs] have something that is online. It is very gratifying to be No. 18.” President Brian J. May, Ph.D., who was dean of Graduate Studies in 2010, said the graduate school has grown significantly due to its availability of online classes. “Offering online programs has made ASU attract more non-traditional students because they can have a full-time job and family while being able to take classes on their own time,” education graduate student Katie Ede said. “It has made getting a master’s degree or certification more appealing to many adults.” Having online options allows
graduate students to successfully graduate, May said. “Without having an online program, it would be extremely difficult to obtain a master’s degree while working, especially if courses were not offered at night,” Ede said. Education, Nursing and Security Studies are some of the largest programs in graduate school, May said. “My studies within the biology graduate program have pushed and stretched me over the course of my first year, and continue to do so going into my second,” Horsley said. Ede said many students might be skeptical about entering an online program because they wouldn’t get face-to-face interaction with the professors.
See GRADUATE pg. 2
The Registrar’s Office Tuesday made software available that lets students choose classes that work best for their schedules before advising and registration dates begin. Registrar Services Specialist Debra Blair said the ASU Scheduler Planner software program gives students the opportunity to build multiple schedules around specific class times and compare them before registering for the next semester. The program is located under the registration tab in RamPort. “It will come in handy because a lot of transfer students like me have a hard time [getting] around to see what classes we have to take,” sophomore Maureen Sulema said. Students can lock their desired class times as they make other changes and save the schedules to a Schedule Planner Registration Cart before they are advised, Blair said, but will not be able to officially register because of an advisement hold on their accounts. “I think that this is a great idea,” sophomore Jonathan Anderson said. “It lets you look at the schedule and see how you want everything to work out. You can also get with some of your friends to see if you have the same schedule and have study breaks between classes and wait for them. I would definitely use this.” Sulema said she found the idea of having the power to select classes before she talked to her advisor appealing. Students can compare four schedules at one time, but Blair said she has generated 40 schedules because the program can lock desire times and allow for changes. “Not many people can just sit down and come up with 15 or 16 schedules,” Blair said. “Normally you get one or two, and that’s all you come up with because you’re doing it on an Excel sheet or in your notebook. It can give you a lot of different options.” If class details change, or if the classes are cancelled, changes are shown on the saved schedule and students can make adjustments, Blair said. However, one thing it does not do is alert students about prerequisite classes they may need. “It’s just a tool to help you build a schedule, basically,” Blair said. “It’s best to do it after you’re advised.
Academic Advising for Spring 2014 begins Oct. 21 and ends Nov. 1.
Rams suffer 1-point Homecoming loss to Eastern New Mexico Team pushes for a win against West Texas A&M Mariah Powell Editor The Rams, Saturday Oct. 12, lost the annual Homecoming game against Eastern New Mexico by one point. The final score was 29-28, with the Rams scoring zero points in the second half of the game. “We started off fast and were playing well, but we became a totally different team in the second half,” Head Coach Will Wagner said. “We gave up 23 points and did not score at all, which was a huge disappointment for us.” Wagner said their penalties and defensive breakdowns cost
them the game. “We have been performing below average in the second halves of our games ,and we want to put an emphasis on that and correct our penalty problems,” he said. “We can’t be a great team and beat these top teams with that many penalties.” Senior offensive linemen Anthony Lewis said the Rams had the talent but grew too comfortable and lazy. “We lost focus and we paid for it,” he said. “We had more talent than the other team, and we thought we had the game in the bag, but they came back and proved us wrong.” Sophomore defensive end Clayton Callicutt said it seemed like everything was falling into place until the team started giving up points. “It bothered me that we did not do well finishing our plays
in the second half, and we can’t do that for the rest of the year,” he said. “If we are going to be a good defense team in this conference, or a good team in general, we cannot give up points to any given team.” Callicutt said his goal is for the team to earn back titles. “We have to bounce back and we can finish this year with a 7-4 record,” he said. “It’s time to show that we are the same defensive that earned No. 1 defense in the conference last year and hopefully make a playoff run.” The Rams will take on West Texas A&M University Saturday, Oct. 19, in Canyon. “We have to play four quarters of football this next game and if we can pressure these guys and make them do things they are not comfortable with we should have success on all cylinders,” Callicutt said.
Photos by Adam Sauceda Sophomore Brett Rasberry jumps into the end zone and scores a touchdown for the Rams during the first quarter.
Page 2
Events Calendar Get involved on campus! Here’s what’s going on this week. Friday October 18 Art: Second Annual Richard and Pam Salmon Sculpture Symposium. The free symposium will feature different presenters. The event is from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Eldon Black Recital Hall, Carr Education-Fine Arts Building. Soccer: ASU vs. Texas Woman’s University starting at 4 p.m. in the ASU Soccer field.
NEWS
Friday, October 18, 2013
Graduate enrollment continues to increase cont. from pg. 1
“The diverse pool of high-caliber professors here makes for a rich learning experience, not to mention the networking opportunities which give students a very qualified ‘leg up’ in transitioning to the working world,” psychology graduate student Traci Eichin said. May said that graduate enrollment is up by 12 percent for the fall and the graduate studies department hopes to continue to increase these numbers. “We are going to continue to recruit, not only off campus but right here on campus,” May said. “We want to let people know this is an option. We want to make sure people know these programs are available
and affordable.” While looking to continue its enrollment, the College of Graduate Studies wants to integrate new programs as well, May said. May hopes that Business and Liberal Arts graduate programs will be available to students in the future. “We are always looking at new programs,” Smith said. “When we get a significant number of people say they are interested in a particular program, we very seriously look into seeing if we can offer that program. We are always interested in what our undergraduates have to say and certainly what our graduates have to say as they go through the process.”
Volleyball: ASU vs. Texas A&M University-Commerce starting at 7 p.m. in the Junell Center. Arts at ASU: “The Lion in Winter” continues through Oct. 19.
Saturday October 19 ASU Brass Festival: Master Class featuring Tromba Mundi. Get to know the artist of Tromba Mundi on a personal level in this educational forum. The event is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Eldon Black Recital Hall.
MTV’s Christopher “Big Black” Boykin made his way to San Angelo, Oct. 11, for the grand opening of Undefeated, a new urban clothing and music store on Sherwood Way. A line was wrapped around the building as fans eagerly waited to meet the celebrity. Big Black took pictures and signed autographs for fans.
Volleyball: ASU vs. Texas Woman’s University at 2 p.m. in the Junell Center. Football: ASU vs. West Texas A&M University at 6 p.m. in Canton.
Sunday October 20 Soccer: ASU vs. Texas A&M University- Commerce at 1 p.m. in the ASU Soccer field.
Monday October 21 ALL DAY: Golf at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla.
SMART Workshop: Writing Papers: The Art of APA Formatting at 3 p.m. in the Library Information Literacy Corner.
Tuesday October 22 UREC: The Running Dead 5K. Don’t miss ASU’s first Zombie race at 8 p.m. on the Intramural Fields.
Wednesday October 23 Norris-ASU International Research Symposium featuring scholars from all over. The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the C.J. Davidson Center. LGBT ASU Pride. To recognize LGBT History Month, the Multicultural Center will celebrate its first “ASU Pride” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Green Pit between the Academic building and the UC. SMART Workshop: Learning Styles at 6 p.m. in MCS 111A. Despicable Me 2 Showing in UC 110-111. The first showing is at 6 p.m. and a second showing at 9 p.m.
Thursday October 24 SMART Workshop: New Age Networking: From Conferences to Twitter at 6 p.m. in Academic 119.
Weekly Planetarium showings beginning at 7 p.m. will continue until Oct. 31. Submit event requests by 5 p.m. Tuesday for Friday publication to rampage@angelo.edu
Photos Courtesy of Sidney Walker
Academic advising for Spring 2014 will run through Nov. 1. Students should contact the department of their academic major for advising information.
Grad program allows transfer credits from GAFB Degree program aimed to give opportunities Kelly O’Dowd Staff Writer ASU’s College of Graduate Studies announced Sept. 27 that it will award transfer credits to U.S. Air Force intelligence officers at Goodfellow Air Force Base who wish to pursue a Master of Security Studies (M.S.S.) degree. Professor of Security Studies Dr. Robert Ehlers said the new credittransfer program gives Air Force intelligence professionals ready
access to, two of the country’s best intelligence degrees-master’s and bachelor’s programs in intelligence, security studies and analysis. “This is directly in line with our department’s responsibility to give students degree opportunities that will help them to keep our country safe and prosperous,” Ehlers said. Intelligence officers who have completed the USAF 14N Intelligence Course at Goodfellow AFB must have earned a grade of at least 80 in each portion of the course they wish to transfer to ASU and completed all 14N coursework prior to starting an ASU master’s degree program. Eligible students earn 12 semester hours of transfer credit
when they enroll in the M.S.S. program and must complete one semester with an overall 3.0 GPA before the 14N transfer credit will be posted to their ASU transcript. Ehlers said the degree program gives intelligence officers an educational opportunity to immerse themselves in every major intelligence-related topic, so they can maximize their operational effectiveness and prepare for more senior positions of responsibility. According to the M.S.S. website, the degree addresses national security issues such as policy-making, military strategy, planning and operations, Constitutional issues, and the rule of law in a democracy.
Attention ASU students:
Students interested in gaining experience writing news, features and/ or sports articles should stop by and grab an application at the Ram Page office, B324, Library 3rd Floor.
...The perfect cure 2100 W. Beauregard 3 2 5 - 9 4 2 - 1 6 4 7
3
OPINIONS
Friday, October 18, 2013
Page 5
What's classy about twerking? ... I'll wait
Mariah Powell Editor A plague has come over our generation. A plague that gained Miley Cyrus some negative media reviews and spotlight in rap songs and videos. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome twerking to the stage … floor …
wall, or anything that seems sturdy enough to support your weight. To fill you in, twerking, according to Urban Dictionary, is the act of moving one’s bottom in a circular, up-anddown and side-to-side motion, or a slutty dance derived from strip clubs. Although we are not celebrities or a Division I school, we still have an image to uphold. I feel that twerking is something that should not take place at a school event. We are representing a public university—not a personal YouTube channel or Juicy J video, but a place of higher education. My objective is not to target anyone, and I am aware that everyone has his or her own opinion, but in no way, shape or form is twerking tasteful at a university function. That’s like twerking at your family reunion in front of your grandparents. Would you do it? Regardless of how many family members cheer you on, would you consider the fact that your grandparents are watching? I feel that if you would not
do it in front of your grandparents, you should not do it in front of honorable alumni, university sponsors and the university president. It’s shameful. Women’s rights activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony did not break their backs to see young women twerking. They worked hard to gain rights for us ‘women,’ yet we lower ourselves to seem like “we ‘bout that life,” in Miley Cyrus’ words. There are so many twerking videos online, but what does it say about the individual? Using the term “individual,” to say that some guys twerk to imitate girls and some guys do it to please themselves, but that’s another issue I refuse to discuss. It doesn’t reveal his or her intelligence, whether or not the individual graduated from high school, or if he or she still is in high school. Is that the field you are looking to go into? Is there some kind of stripper internship we are after? There is a time and place for every-
thing. If you are in your bathroom mirror, feel more than welcome to twerk, or even at the club—be my guest—but I do not feel that it is acceptable in front of children, elders, university fans and community members. We represent the student body at ASU. Do we really want our university to have a bad name or be posted on WorldStarHipHop? All I am saying is consider the dance moves you display to the public. It’s no big deal if you get caught doing the locomotion, electric slide, or even the wobble. Regardless of your primary target audience, at university events there will be other viewers present besides your fellow classmates, and you have to respect their eyes and especially the eyes of their young children. Also consider respecting yourself enough to know your limit. Like I stated before, everyone has an opinion. Feel free to share your opinion online or send us a letter to the Editor at rampage@angelo.edu.
Last week to submit your spooky tales to us for possible publication. rampage@angelo.edu
If you were in a zombie apocalypse, what item would you use to protect yourself?
“I would use a flame thrower.”
Ram Page Staff
2013-2014 Angelo State University
Vincent Hau
Sophomore
“A chain saw.”
“I would just try to shoot them all.”
Alex Holt
Freshman
Published every Friday and available to students, one copy per student, the student newspaper of Angelo State University is a public forum, with its student editorial board making all decisions concerning its contents. Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board. Ram Page welcomes all letters. Please include your name, classification/position and a phone number and/or e-mail address for verification purposes. Letters must be signed and be no more than 350 words. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscenity, libel and privacy. Deadline is 5 p.m., Monday. Submission does not guarantee publication. Letters may be mailed, e-mailed or submitted at the newspaper’s office, Room 324 on the third floor of the Porter Henderson Library. Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff, nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as the opinion or policy of the administration, unless so attributed.
Xavier Garcia
Freshman
Monster Magnet – “Last Patrol” Their last album “Mastermind” was killer, and the Space Lords decided, in order to follow up, they would go beyond basics. Instead of metal anthems, Monster Magnet crafted spacey psychedelic jams. Each track on “Last Patrol” is trip designed to take you to a different dimension. Key Track: End of Time
Editor: rampage@angelo.edu Advertising: rampageads@angelo.edu
PUBLISHING POLICY
Catie Freed Senior
Good Albums and Key Tracks
Ram Page ASU Station #10895 San Angelo, Texas 76909-0895
Member of The Texas Tech University System Associated Collegiate Press Texas Intercollegiate Press Association
Sophomore
“Probably a baseball bat.”
MUSIC REVIEW:
Editor: Mariah Powell Managing Editor: Allison Price Copy Editor: Dana Choi Online Editor: Riley Mashburn Staff Writer: Kelly O’Dowd Circulation Manager: Dana Choi Photo Editor: Adam Sauceda Photographer: Marsalis Mahome Advertising Manager: Larissa Tonder Adviser: Dr. Cathy Johnson
Newsroom: (325) 942-2323 Advertising: (325) 942-2040 Fax: (325) 942-2551
Shannon Hinez
“Go in a shelter and use a gun. You can’t kill zombies without a gun.”
Patrick McKeown Contributor
Trivium – “Vengeance Falls” “Vengeance Falls” was produced by Disturbed singer David Draiman, and oddly enough the album sounds similar to Disturbed. Lead guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy screams less and sounds more like James Hetfield. So, in conclusion, the new Trivium album sounds like Disturbed playing Metallica. The heaviness is there and these guys shred, but unfortunately nothing is overimpressive. Key Track: To Believe Red Fang – “Whales and Leeches” Booze, metal riffs, animals, beards and more booze is the basic recipe for a Red Fang album. Listening to “Whales and Leeches” will make the average human uproot trees, slice mountains in half, pick a fight with the gods and eat a pack of wolves. Key Track: Dawn Rising
SPORTS
Friday, October 18, 2013
‘Belles tussle for two home wins
Page 6
Photo by Marsalis Mahome
The ‘Belles go into overtime in both their weekend home games. They defeated West Texas-A&M 2-1 on Oct. 11, and Eastern New Mexico 1-0 in double overtime. The team will host Texas Women’s University Oct. 18 at 4 p.m., and Texas A&MCommerce Oct. 20 at 1 p.m.
Rambelles Volleyball Update: The ‘Belles have added a 3-0 Lone Star
Conference win against Tarleton State University to their record. The team traveled to Odessa where they lost to Wayland Baptist University 3-2 and pulled out a 3-1 win over University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The ladies will serve Texas A&M-Commerce Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., and Texas Women’s University Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. in the Junell Center.
Midnight Madness
Both cross country teams make Top 5 at Blue and Gold Classic Junior Jamin Goecker and freshmen Jaylen Rodgers led their teams into the Top 5 at the home meet. Goecker finished second place overall with a time of 25:54.11 on the 8K course. Rodgers finished the women’s 6K course in 22:31.68 and placed fourth overall. The Rams and Rambelles will rest up and then participate in the Lone Star Conference Championships Oct. 26 in Portales, New Mexico.
Photo by Riley Mashburn To officially kick off their season, the Rams and Rambelles basketball teams were presented at the annual Midnight Madness event. Among many other activities to keep the night roaring, players showed off their skills in a team dunk contest. Both teams will begin their playing season in November.