EST. 1936
ASURamPage.com
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
VOL. 86 ISSUE 04
Ram Rugby starts season with sentimental win With new faces in the conference, a young team begins another championship run By: Mbulelo Maqungo The ASU Ram Rugby team on Sept. 21 secured their first home victory of the season against the University of Houston. On Saturday evening, the Rams finished the game with a score of 71-27. The game provided an opportunity for the Rams to test out their new starters and plays in a live game setting. Before the game, both teams interlocked as graduate student and scrum-half Kevin Reid lead a prayer for the city of Houston. “A lot of us here are from the Houston area, so it only felt right to keep those affected by
the flooding in our hearts since rugby brought us all together here tonight,” Reid said. The entire ASU rugby team has rallied behind two principles this year: family and discipline. “In the years before, we had a lot of players who were in for highs and out for the lows, but now I’m positive when I say we’re all 100 percent in.” said Brian Signorelli III, ASU rugby alumnus and current head coach. “We have a lot of returners who can set the example of what this brotherhood is supposed to mean to the rookies.” J.D. Raggio, Dakota Hatcher and team captain Cesar Escajeda lead try scores for the
Photos contributed by: ASU Rugby Football Club
What’s in store! -Job fair
game. “In my opinion, we were actually blessed with adversity and a chip on our shoulders,” Escajeda said. “We were handed a legacy of success and, personally, I feel like we can take it farther than we have before.” This season marks Escajeda’s second year as team captain. He said he sees it as a chance to try new strategies with a new squad. “The team took this summer offseason seriously,” he said. “It’s super exciting to watch new players learn about the sport and culture. With new platforms like Major League Rugby growing, I can't wait to see what opportunities open up to the guys.” One new face is senior Garrett Sawyer, the starting tighthead prop for the game. Sawyer transitioned from football to rugby during his last year at ASU. “To come from one group of brothers to another has been really welcoming,” Sawyer said. “There’s a lot of similarities between the two sports. With a smaller group of guys, you find a lot more personal bonds, and with ev-
Page 2
-Sexual Health Awareness Page 2
-Away game updates Page 2
-Sidewalk Survey Page 3
-Axel’s column Page 3
-Jeremiah’s column Page 3
-Philosophy Club Page 4
eryone getting a chance to run the ball, it gives us bigger guys a chance to shine.” The cloud coverage and low temperatures of the evening game helped the Rams focus on their competition for the entire 90-minute match. “As exhausting as the game was, I couldn’t have asked for better weather,” sophomore Colt Bradford said after their win. The Ram Rugby team hopes to carry this momentum into their next match against St. Edward’s University, a team the Rams have a long history with. ASU will face off against SEU Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Intramural Fields.
EMBRACING HISPANIC HERITAG E Leaders in the Hispanic community gather for cultural celebration
Ashley Rodriguez, staff writer The Multicultural Advisory Council and Multicultural Affairs on Sept. 17 hosted the Hispanic Heritage Month Academic Presentation, which featured speakers from various departments. Students and guests from the surrounding community gathered in the C.J. Davidson Conference Center for lectures and a Q&A session. They also enjoyed Hispanic-inspired cuisine, a Mexican lottery, a photo booth and a performance from a local Mariachi group. “The event was [held] to find a way for students to engage and be educated about Hispanic Heritage Month, which started on Sept. 15,” said student activities manager Cody Vasquez. “The presentation provided a way for the community to become aware of health disparities, STEM and professional development regarding the Hispanic com-
munity.” The event included presentations from: –Erika A. Baeza, director of Multicultural and Student Activities Program –Dr. Matthew Gritter, political science and philosophy department chair –Paige Trubenstein, instructor in the department of psychology and sociology –Dr. Aldo Pino-Villarreal, assistant professor in the department of engineering –Eryck Rodriguez, president of the Association of Mexican-American Students Baeza discussed her Hispanic heritage and the pride she has in it. During her lecture, she called the border a “symbol of unity rather than separation.” Baeza also talked about the low percentages of women in the workplace. Gritter highlighted the historic background of Hispanics, ranging from citizenship to civil rights. “When we look at the civil rights m ov e m e nt , we don’t look at people from Mexican origin,” Gritter said. “People of Mexican origin are often left out from their history.”
Gritter also told stories of issues faced by Hispanics during World War II. Trubenstein’s lecture consisted of psychological research she conducted on cognitive aging. She also sugested ways to better serve minorities in San Angelo and the surrounding areas. Pino-Villarreal shared the efforts being made for new engineering programs at ASU and the community. He also spoke of the large Hispanic population in the ASU student body, but lamented the lack of diversity among faculty. Rodriguez spoke on behalf of AMAS and recounted his personal experience of joining the organization at ASU. “We are one of the few student organizations that focuses on embracing cultures,” Rodriguez said. “A group of kind, welcoming people greeted me at the door, treated me as if I was one of them already. I found people who I could always relate with. I found people who cared about me in the most genuine way and who I consider family.” Sophomore Gus Montalvo said he felt grateful that ASU held this event. “I enjoyed Dr. Pino-Villarreal’s speech on getting first-generation students more involved in college,” Montalvo said. “As a first-generation Mexican-American student, it’s very nice to hear that people are interested and passionate about the Mexican-American culture.”
Photo by Cora Bishoppetty: Mariachi band accompanies students at the entrance of the C.J. Davidson Conference Center. Multicultural Advisory Council and Multicultural Affairs collaborated in bringing awareness towards Hispanic Heritage Month with a diverse group of speakers.
Business majors prepare for upcoming career fair
9.27.2019
Center for Student Success sharpens interviewee skills Sophia Gravatt, staff writer
Students of the Norris-Vincent College of Business on Sept. 16 gathered in the Rassman Building to learn how to prepare for the upcoming career fair in October. Farrah Lokey, academic adviser, said approximately 18 students attended the event. “This event teaches our students how to be prepared for a career fair,” Lokey said. “They learn everything from what to do before the event, how to dress for it and what to do during.” The Center for Student Success hosted the event and Julie Ruthenbeck, director of career development, gave the lecture. “In my experience, students often don’t come to things like this because they think ‘I’ve got this, how hard can it be?’” Ruthenbeck said. “Then they show up to the career fair and they’ve got that deer in the headlights look.” She said the first thing students should do is get their resumes critiqued.
ASU dominates away games The Belles on Sept. 20 took all four sets against West Texas A&M.
The Belles on Sept. 21 defeated the Eastern New Mexico Grey Hounds 3-0.
“If you don’t get it critiqued beforehand, do it afterwards,” Ruthenbeck said. “If you’ve been to the job fair already and you got their business cards, now you can update your resume and send them your revised version.” She showed the students videos explaining how to properly dress, how to prepare an elevator pitch and how to have a proper handshake. Senior Maddie Faust said she attended the event to be more prepared for the career fair in October. She said she thought it was very informative and that she feels more confident. “I definitely benefited from going and would advise any student to take advantage of these services that ASU offers,” Faust said. The career fair will take place on Oct. 14 for the Norris-Vincent College of Business students. “They must be dressed professionally with resumes in hand,” Lokey said. Photo by Cora Bishoppetty: ASU business students jot down notes on the proper way to dress when attending the upcoming career fair in October. Job Fair 101 gives business students the opportunity to prepare their “elevator pitch” before getting interviewed.
All file photos by: Ian Saint and Axel Marcenaro
The Rams on Sept. 21 defeated Texas A&M Kingsville 44-7. They are now 3-0 in the season and 1-0 in conference.
The Belles on Sept. 21 record fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 game against St. Edward’s University.
Panel leaves no question unanswered Experts discuss sexual health in Q&A format
Jeremiah Devereaux, staff writer
Counseling services on Sept. 18 held a seminar titled Sex in the Spotlight in the C.J. Davidson Conference Center. The seminar featured a five-person panel, which included obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Jenny Wiggins-Smith, Samuel Guerrero, clinical instructor Lenore Cortez, counselor Pat Pastors and director of Title IX compliance Michelle Boone. Nearly 200 students attended the event to learn and ask questions of the panelists regarding the nuances of sexual health. Attendees asked questions on a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to, healthy sexual relationships, domestic violence, sexual identity, asexuality, body positivity, self-esteem and controlling sexual desires. The panelists then took turns answering each student’s question with informative and appropriate responses. “This is important so that students become more aware of their sexual health, how to create and maintain healthy relationships and to fulfill all questions students may be curious or unaware of,” said Mark Rehm, director
of counseling services. Refreshments were provided for the guests in attendance. Photo by Ian Saint: Dead set to change the taboo of sex, a panel assembled and took questions from the audience. From birth control to BDSM, all topics were addressed.
9.27.2019
Most important meal of the day Jeremiah Devereaux, staff writer Every morning, I wake up and eat breakfast. This usually ranges from something small like a bagel from Einstein Bros. Bagels or something more filling like the pancake platter from Roscoe’s. I have to eat breakfast in order to survive because if I don’t, I just might go crazy! They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and, no, not because it jumpstarts your metabolism and helps you burn calories. It’s much deeper than that, and I alone have the secret formula to why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now, let me tell you why. Yesterday morning, it was ingrained in my mind to eat a few bowls of Reese's Puffs whenever I woke up from my deep slumber. So, I slept, and the morning finally arrived. But it came quickly. Too quickly, which caused me to oversleep. As soon as I awoke, it was already 1:10 p.m.! I missed breakfast! “Oh, where did the time go?” I wondered. I eventually tried to start my day by brushing my teeth, but what was odd was that I couldn't find my tooth-
Ax on ‘Flix
paste. This forced me to leave the situation as it was, and I didn’t brush them. Then I decided to put my shoes on to go for a walk, but the unusual thing was that I couldn't find any left shoes to any of my pairs, so I unfortunately had to step out with two rights! I noticed this recurring trend throughout my day of everything going wrong, like it was some kind of divine message. I tried making a PB&J, but had no jelly. I tried making Kool-Aid to quench my thirst, but had no sugar! “Could this day get any worse?” I thought. And that's when it finally hit me. I didn’t eat breakfast this morning. The moral of the story is to eat breakfast or else you just might end up walking to class with a pair of two right shoes, too.
In this week’s Netflix pick, Axel reviews “Swiss Army Man”
Axel Marcenaro, editor-in-chief
“Swiss Army Man,” directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Sheinert, is a 2016 film about a hopeless man stranded on an island who discovers a beached corpse capable of extraordinary abilities...such as farting, storing water, launching projectiles, sparking fire and teaching how to love. This insane film was brought to my attention by a friend whose review of it was limited to the sentence, “Don’t eat while you watch it, I gagged in a few scenes.” That caution considered, I had to watch. The plot to this film is just plain crazy, and it continuously spirals into further and further madness. However, it is not the movie you may think it is. It is full of ridiculous toilet humor, but it’s also a very deep story of a man learning to love himself. I was surprised to find this strange story to be completely enchanting in a way that most movies wouldn’t dare. The performances in this film are dazzling as well. Paul Dano (Hank) and Daniel Radcliffe (Manny) take this awkward and silly subject matter and somehow pull the audience in deep enough to forget just how bizarre the film is. This crazy, stranded kid and a
Sidewalk Survey If you could have dinner with anyone in history who would it be and why?
“I would have dinner with Napoleon Bonaparte. That fool got kicked out of seven countries and France was like, ‘Bro, you suck,’ and 100 days later, he was like, ‘Nah, I want to come back.’ He came back and took over France again. That’s freaking cool.”
“Probably Queen Victoria because it would be interesting to talk to a queen.” -Caitlin Spence, sophomore
-Carlos de la Cerda, senior
“I would say John F. Kennedy, because he’s a veteran and U.S. President. He was going to do great things for the presidency and he showed a lot of courage.”
“Honestly, if it was anyone in history I actually might pick one of my grandparents. You know, one of my great ancestors. I had lots of family members who came over during the Irish Potato Famine to the United States.” –Shannon Dennis, sophomore
–Jeramy Souder, freshman multipurpose corpse really form the friendship of a lifetime, which feels so odd to say. Visually, this film is full of beautiful imagery. From the natural sets of the forest to the trash constructed theater-like scenes in their camps, the film never bored me aesthetically. It also never ceased to surprise me. There are a multitude of special effects in this film that I found, after laughing hysterically at, to be very bravely executed. I would give more details, but I am afraid it would spoil the humor of the film. My only criticisms come from the end of the film. The resolution was satisfactory, but it didn’t quite tie the knot on the bow the way I wished it had. There are a lot of lessons taught throughout the film that are basically scaled down to one joke. I felt the movie had done something very impressive, which was emotionally draw me into a ridiculous and unrealistic scenario, but then only satisfied me from the humor standpoint by the end. Overall, this is one of the weirdest, yet most enchanting films I have seen in a long time. I am always delighted when a film does what films were meant to do, which is make the impossible possible. It was a brave undertaking that somehow just worked. If you are willing to drop your expectations for a realistic ride, and just enjoy the absurd journey that “Swiss Army Man” can take you on, I highly recommend this film.
Editor: RamPage@angelo.edu Newsroom: (325) 942-2323
Ram Page ASU Station #10895 San Angelo, Texas 76909
Member of The Texas Tech University System Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Editor-in-Chief Axel Marcenaro
Photographer
Cora Bishoppetty
Copy Editor Travis Hunter
Staff Writers
Sophia Gravatt Ashley Rodriguez Jeremiah Devereaux
Photo Editor Ian Saint
Circulation Manager Jeremiah Devereaux
PUBLISHING POLICY
Designer
Dominic Rodriguez Faculty Adviser Dr. Ellada Gamreklidze
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 content. Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board. The Ram Page welcomes all letters. Please include your name, classification/position, phone number and/or e-mail address for verification. Letters must be signed and be no more than 350 words. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity. 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 Ram Page office, Room 324 in Porter Henderson Library third floor. Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff. Opinion expressed in a public forum should not be construed as the opinion or policy of the administration, unless so attributed.
9.27.2019
A place for deeper thought Philosophy club encourages students to join
The club meets once a week at Starbucks to discuss a weekly topic. “You don’t have to know anything about the topic,” she said. “You can just show up and listen and have an interesting conversation.” She said the club also goes to a philosophy conference once a year, usually in the spring. “That is another opportunity for students to see how philosophy is done and to be with other people who share the same passion,” she said. In addition to their weekly meetings and the philosophy conference, the club takes part in other activities, such as watching and discussing movies or going to an escape room. “In the past, we’ve done a lot of different things,” Badiola said. “It really just depends on the ideas the students have when
they’re engaged.” To get involved with the ASU Philosophy Club, contact the club’s president at Lkilpatrick@angelo.edu.
Graphic by: Dominic Rodriguez
Sophia Gravatt, staff writer The ASU Philosophy Club is currently looking for more students to join their organization. Dr. Susana Badiola, faculty adviser for the club, has been involved with the student organization since its inception in 2006. “The club has always been up and down throughout the semesters,” Badiola said. “Sometimes, we would have meetings and probably 20 people would show up. Then we’d have times when students would graduate and only about four students would show up.” She said many members graduated in May and the remaining members are currently trying to bring the club back to life. Badiola said the club is a space for students to think out loud and discuss different topics with each other.
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Events Calender Friday 9/27
Angelo State University Mission Statement
Mission Statement Angelo State University, a member of the Texas Tech University System, delivers undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional disciplines. In a learning-centered environment distinguished by its integration of teaching, research, creative endeavor, service, and cocurricular experiences, ASU prepares students to be responsible citizens and to have productive careers.
Vision Statement ASU strives for excellence by fostering an innovative, collaborative, and supportive learning environment that enables a diverse student body to achieve success as citizens and professionals. Values Opportunity - Innovation - Engagement
-ASU Women’s Tennis vs. ITA Regional *Arlington, TX -ASU Volleyball vs Texas – Permian Basin 7:00pm - 9:00pm *Junell Center Last day to drop a class or withdraw from the 1st 8-week Session of Fall 2019
Saturday 9/28
-Family Day Ram Jam ALL DAY *LeGrand Alumni and Visitors Center -Greek and Registered Student Organization Fair 10:00am - 12:00pm *University Center -Biology Department Open House 10:00am - 12:00pm *Cavness, 1st Floor -ASU Soccer vs. Texas A&M International University 1:00pm - 3:00pm *ASU Soccer Field -ASU Volleyball vs. Western New Mexico 2:00pm - 4:00pm *Junell Center -ASU Football vs. Midwestern State 6:00pm - 9:00pm -FIREWORKS AFTER THE GAME!
Monday 9/30
-Angelo State University Golf at West Texas A&M University All Day Canyon, TX, La Paloma Country Club
Tuesday 10/1
-Official ASU Ring Sales 12:00pm Oct. 1 & 6:00pm Oct. 2 *Houston Harte University Center -Concho Valley College Night 6:00pm - 7:30pm *C.J. Davidson