03/31/14 Issue

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014

HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 107, ISSUE 24

MBSF students do work in Costa Rica

In The Fold Sports

Megan Fowler Staff Writer

On March 21, MBSF took a group of 14 students to Costa Rica on a mission trip. The students and their leaders started their day at 2:30 a.m. to board a plane in Little Rock flying out at 5:55.

The students landed in Costa Rica around 11:45 their time.

MBSF is a collegiate ministry in Arkadelphia as well as multiple other cities around Arkansas. Kelvin Richardson, the director of MBSF Arkadelphia, lead the trip along with his wife Brenda.

“We are going to Costa Rica and will be involved in a variety of things—children’s ministry events, leading worship, outreach, physical work projects and whatever else the Lord may have in mind for us,” Richardson said.

The first day of the trip the students spent in the air and then resting up preparing for the week they had ahead of them. The second day of the trip the student teams went to Paraiso, Costa Rica.

“We did Bible school for the kids of the church we were staying at,” Katelynn Poteet, a freshman middle school language arts/social studies major, said.

This vacation bible school hosted 40 children. They played games and had crafts that went along with the bible story that they learned that day.

“All of the kids seemed to have a great time,” said Poteet. “We got really attached to them so quickly.”

The second day they had a group of 30 kids, and they did a repeat of the first day.

“These kids also have a special place in our hearts,” Poteet said.

Later that day the students hosted an English service where Richardson preached a sermon, some students lead

*Courtesy of Megan Fowler

DO WORK, SON! Spring break brings to mind sand, sun and parties, but the MBSF students had a different focus in beautiful Costa Rica. A group of MBSF students went on a mission trip during the first half of the week. worship, they had a few that prayed and one read a poem.

“At the end of the service there was an invitation. It was sung in Spanish, but we all knew the song and sang it in English,” Poteet said.

The third day of the trip the team drove two and a half hours to a poverty-stricken town to help out with a mission.

The team made tables and benches for the Sunday school classrooms.

There were about 15 tables and benches total.

“The preacher and his wife were so thankful for all of the help we were able to provide. There was a point they actually got really emotional.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday the team took a break and drove about four hours to the beach.

“We swam, some went parasailing, shopping, and the best part was seeing God’s beautiful creation,” Poteet said.

Wednesday the team went hiking in the rainforest. They saw sloths, monkeys, frogs, butterflies, iguanas, and a variety of species of birds.

After the hike was over the team went to eat at a place called El Avion, which translates to The Plane.

This was an open-air restaurant that had an open plane right in the middle of it.

The team made it back to Arkansas at about 10:45 on March 27.

“My favorite parts of the trip were getting to know the missionaries, seeing more of God’s beautiful creation, getting closer to the MBSF students that went, helping the churches and kids, and praying on the beach,” Poteet said.

The Pulse radio switched from 99.9 to 102.5 Kenison Holmes Staff Writer

The pulse of Henderson has recently risen, but no need to call the doctor.

Henderson’s own radio station KSWH “The Pulse” has moved up the dial from 99.9 FM to 102.5 FM. The change was made after the sports, talk radio station, and ESPN affiliate KWPS 99.7 FM contacted The Pulse to notify them that the two frequencies were conflicting.

KSWH The Pulse, a nonprofit/ noncommercial station must move to make way for any commercial station.

According to Federal Communications Commission rules, a licensed commercial station has precedence over any non-commercial station and can give as little as a 30-day notice to the noncommercial station to make the move.

KSWH was established in 1971, when it operated a little under the FCC’s radar at 10 watts on 91.1 FM. For over a decade it has been operating on 99.9 FM as a 100 watt, FCC licensed, nonprofit radio station. It provides music of different genera for its listeners.

“We have a lot of diversity, which is my favorite part of the station,” Ashley Bles, program director, said. “The music changes on the hour. If you don’t like what is playing at the moment, hang on because it will change soon.”

The Pulse invites members of the campus community to introduce some

of their original work, which is accepted by the staff on CD, MP3, or flash drive to upload. The station provides an outlook to activities on campus.

“We cater to the students by reporting on HSU sports and events,” Zach Burnett, news director, said.

Being forced to move frequencies sounds like the Big Bad Wolf blowing down the doors of Henderson’s radio station, but it didn’t happen that way.

KWPS 99.7 FM contacted The Pulse to notify their requirement to move frequencies and offered help with resources and contacts to ease the transition. The effort given by KWPS 99.7 FM to help The Pulse move to another frequency could be compared to your neighbor helping you move.

The whole experience has created a kind of a partnership between the two.

“They looked out for us. The owner of the station called us up to offer assistance,” Paul Glover, associate professor of communication and student advisor said. “He even talked about taking on some interns.”

Moving up the dial can be helpful to some radio stations. The lower frequencies are often passed over by listeners scanning for a radio station.

“It was really a blessing. We now sit between many big radio stations such as 100.3 FM and 107.7 FM,” Chris Ingram, station manager, said.

The move itself took about two months while KWPS 99.7 FM patiently allowed the time. It required planning

and an engineer to make inspections, and the station had to shop around for an available frequency. To make the change, the engineer basically needed to go up to the eighth floor of Smith Hall where the stations exciters are housed and flip some switches. Around March 7, The Pulse changed frequencies from 99.9 FM to 102.5 FM. With the new frequency and license, Glover found out that they were able to increase the station’s wattage. Also with the new spot on the dial, there is a less possible chance of interference. With these two new developments in the station’s configuration, it is possible that the reach is further out.

“Call me crazy but I swear I could pick up the station for another three miles when going home,” Glover said.

Now more people who were unaware of Henderson’s radio station can pick it up and experience the diversity, talents and sports coverage of the Henderson community.

Reddie baseball aims to turn its season around with another GAC Conference win. The Reddies have won four of their last six conference games. The team has hope that the 14-21 standing will be improved when the Reddies take on OBU later this week. >Page 6

News A new strategy could bring textbook costs down to zero.

University of Maryland students will be testing an “open source” program.

>Page 2

Opinions Former HSU student and young mother sends in a letter to thank someone she can’t remember the name of for helping her to maintain her strength while she waited in the HeartStart lines.

>Page 4

Diversions Sometimes the newspaper can be boring or depressing, so catch a breath with a few comics before reading on.

>Page 5

Find more news and information online at WWW.HSUORACLE.COM Monday

Tuesday

73

76

45

62

Wednesday

74

64

Thursday

78

58

Friday

74

46

INDEX Features: 2 | Features: 3 | Opinions: 4 | Diversions: 5 | Sports: 6

Saturday

Sunday

68

68

46

46

FEATURES

PAGE 2 MARCH 31, 2014

FAMU band member sentenced to a year in jail in hazing case Jeff Weiner MCT National News

ORLANDO, Fla. _ A young musician who has been described by prosecutors as the “most enthusiastic” hazing participant in a Florida A&M University drum major’s beating death was sentenced Friday to a year in jail and five years’ probation for manslaughter.

Jessie Baskin, 22, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in November. He is one of several FAMU band members who have pleaded to charges in connection with the hazing death of Robert Champion.

The 26-year-old drum major was bludgeoned to death Nov. 19, 2011, during a hazing ritual known as

“Crossing Bus C,” in which he ran from the front to the back of the percussion bus while being beaten.

State Attorney Jeff Ashton described Baskin as “the one person who is most consistently identified as the most enthusiastic participant” in the hazing _ landing “blows with hands and feet.”

The ritual was carried out after the 2011 Florida Classic football game on a band bus that was parked at the Rosen Plaza hotel in Orlando, where the band was staying during the Classic weekend.

Champion’s death rocked FAMU and the university’s Marching 100 band.

Five other former band members, including Dante Martin, who was regarded as the “Bus C president,” are awaiting trial.

Georgia Baskin, left, bows her head as her son, Jeffrey Baskin, reaches over to comfort her, after her other son, Jesse, was was sentenced to a year in jail for the beating death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion, in a courtroom in Orange County, Florida Friday, March 28, 2014. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)

New ‘open-source’ strategy would drop college textbook costs to zero Carrie Wells The Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE _ Holding a whiteboard, the University of MarylandCollege Park students scrawled their complaints and posed for a picture.

“My name is Justin and I spent $114 on ONE textbook,” a student wrote. “My name is Jeff and I spent $736 on textbooks,” wrote another.

The images, posted online by the Student Government Association in recent months, are designed to highlight the rapid rise in the price of college textbooks over the past decade. This semester, the University System of Maryland is exploring ways to bring that cost to zero with “open-source” electronic textbooks _ the latest experiment in changing the way students in Maryland and across the nation are taught.

Unlike electronic versions of textbooks sold by publishers, opensource textbooks are made up of materials gathered from various sources and are not protected by copyright. They are often designed to be interactive, with links to source material and multimedia elements.

The materials are licensed openly, so anyone with an Internet connection can access them. A pilot program, which the university system estimates is saving 1,100 students a combined $130,000, is the latest in a shift on the nation’s campuses toward digital learning. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California State University system and the Washington State college system are among those that have built libraries of free online course materials in recent years.

Still, open-source textbooks, which have been around for several years, face challenges and have not caught on broadly.

“I don’t know if it’s transforming higher ed yet,” said Craig R. Vasey, a member of the American Association of University Professors who uses open-source materials in his logic class at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. “I think the textbook publishing business is still doing very, very well.”

In fact, the textbook industry is also working to offer cheaper alternatives to hardcover textbooks and even partnering with open-source textbook providers. Educators at all levels are still figuring out how to best use technology in the classroom.

For example, Baltimore County, Md., Superintendent Dallas Dance announced recently that the district would aim to place a tablet or laptop

in the hand of every student within five years.

The pilot program is part the University System of Maryland’s recent strategy to emphasize online learning. The system is also expanding its online-only course offerings.

And this spring, the University of Baltimore launched its first online course open to anyone outside the state. The university system is also experimenting with “course redesign,” in which more course material is presented online and class time is restructured to focus more on discussion.

Although the open-source textbook concept has been embraced by student groups such as the Student Government Association in College Park, university officials say the challenges include connecting professors with the materials they need for the textbooks and creating a system to assess the quality of the books.

Another complication: Many universities are bound to contracts with private companies to run campus bookstores, where many students purchase their textbooks. University System of Maryland financial records show that the bookstore contracts are not always lucrative, however _ last year the system lost about $1 million.

Some students and a growing number of professors and university administrators say the cost of printed textbooks outweighs their usefulness. Textbook prices have risen an average of 82 percent between 2002 and 2012, about three times faster than the rate of inflation, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. High textbook prices are “quite ridiculous,” said Jesse Fox, president of the University System of Maryland Student Council, which lobbied system officials to study open-source textbooks. Fox, a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, added, “The only reason this is the case is textbook companies can do this. There’s no check and balance.”

The College Board estimates that the average college student spends $1,200 a year on textbooks, and the costs are often higher in fields like science or mathematics. The costs strain budgets as families struggle to pay for higher education, and sometimes students opt not to buy textbooks or put off purchases until late in the semester, which can jeopardize their grades, according to student groups, advocates and administrators.

“The traditional model of textbook is like a game of ‘Survivor,’”

said Meenu Singh, a College Park student coordinating the textbook cost awareness campaign for the Student Government Association.

“It becomes a game of outwit and outlast: Let’s see how long we can last the semester without having to buy the textbook, or outwit by trying to buy cheaper editions.”

The University System of Maryland’s textbook pilot program stems from a partnership with Lumen Learning, a Portland, Ore.-based company that helps professors access open-source content, tests, graphics and other course materials that they can pull together into an electronic “book.”

Lumen Learning is providing the service for free to the Maryland system and 19 other universities nationwide through grants, said M.J. Bishop, director of the system’s Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning and Teaching, who is overseeing the pilot program.

Eleven professors at the College Park campus, the University of Baltimore, Bowie State University and Coppin State University are participating, in addition to two institutions not in the state university system: Chesapeake College on the Eastern Shore and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Scott Roberts, a University of Maryland-College Park professor who teaches an introductory psychology course, started writing his own open-source textbook for the class in 2010 and is participating in the pilot program.

Faculty members are concerned about the burdensome cost of printed textbooks, he said, but the alternatives can be complicated and timeconsuming.

Roberts estimated that he spent 80 hours pulling together opensource materials for his textbook, working late into the night to write some sections himself when he could not find good material. Before the pilot, he said, he found no centralized place where faculty members could gather open-source materials and relied heavily on Google searches. He was motivated, he said, by frustration over textbook editions that were “constantly updated with little justification” and by the desire to save students money.

Roberts said traditional textbooks provide some value, but added, “The question is: Is it worth the cost that students are paying for it? If we can get the job done without it, I think we have an obligation to our students to do that.”

Bishop, who said she believes open-source textbooks will become

more common, said the Maryland system could develop its own library of quality open-source materials.

Still, she noted that quality control remains an issue.

“Anybody at this point can write a textbook and put it out there for consumption,” she said. “It’s still sort of a crapshoot, frankly, if the textbook you just downloaded is going to have the kind of quality that you want for your course.”

Advocates for open-source textbooks complain that publishing companies drive up costs by “bundling” textbooks with CD-ROMs containing software that adds little value. Publishers also often release new editions of textbooks, making it difficult or impossible for students to resell their books after a course ends.

The textbook publishing industry is “not opposed” to open-source textbooks and is even partnering with some providers, said David Anderson, executive director of higher education at the Association of American Publishers. But he said traditional textbooks can cost up to a few million dollars to produce, and he is skeptical that such an effort can be re-created on a large scale for a product distributed for free.

Anderson said traditional textbooks are usually written by several academics and are peer-reviewed to ensure they are accurate, free of typos and well-sourced. “When you’re looking at open-source textbooks, that may or may not be the case,” he said.

Anderson said the industry has already developed cheaper alternatives to the hardcover, full-color textbook: three-ring-binder editions, black-and-white editions or options for students to buy individual chapters electronically. He pointed to CourseSmart, a company offering a $200 package deal that enables students to rent electronic versions of six textbooks.

Though the concern over textbook costs is a perennial one, efforts by state and university officials to reform the system have been largely unsuccessful. In 2005, state lawmakers directed the university system to evaluate a “textbook consortium” that would coordinate purchases with an eye toward reducing prices.

But the university system ultimately said the consortium would be unworkable. Among the reasons: Universities had an obligation to honor their contracts with bookstores, creating such a system was too expensive, and the measure could run afoul of federal anti-trust laws.

FEATURES

PAGE 3 MARCH 31, 2014

‘Words’ is funny and touching JD Roberts Contributing Editor

Do you ever go into something expecting one thing and then get something totally different?

Now whether it was a good different or a bad different is another story, but being surprised is something that doesn’t happen a lot anymore.

These days even the most simple-minded moviegoers can predict where a movie will go within the first 15 minutes.

Luckily there are a few movies that come out that genuinely surprise audiences, and the dark comedy “Bad Words” is one of them.

Jason Bateman of “Horrible Bosses,” “Arrested Development” and my personal favorite “Teen Wolf Too” stars in his directorial debut as a 40 year-old man who enters the spelling bee circuit.

After finding a loophole in the rules, Guy Trilby sets out on a personal mission to humiliate children, annoy parents and bring the National Spelling Bee to its knees.

At first it seems as if Guy is doing this for fun and financial gain, but as he gets closer and closer to the final round things begin to become clear.

On his way to the final round, he meets Chaitanya Chopra, a young contestant who has a strict father and only one friend—his binder full of words named Todd.

Guy is quickly annoyed by Chaitanya and continually harasses him, but he eventually warms up to him and shows him a good time.

When everyone at the Bee makes it clear that they hate what he is doing and want him out, Guy must play dirty and turn the competition on its

Megan Fowler Staff Writer

*Photo courtesy of Focus Features

SPELLING IT OUT A still of Jason Bateman and Rohan Chand in “Bad Words.” The movie follows a man who competes in spelling bees under false pretenses and befriends one of his fellow competitors. head in order to accomplish his ultimate goal.

R-rated comedies are everywhere nowadays, so when something like “Bad Words” comes out, it can get overshadowed by things like “Divergent” and “Noah.”

The problem with this is that “Bad Words” is such a great movie.

The directing is great, the writing is spectacular and the story is heartwarming, which is insanely rare for an R-rated comedy.

Bateman is really the driving force in the movie. He could not have picked a better movie for his directorial debut.

I know some have a problem with him starring in his own movie, but he fits so perfectly in the role. It’s fun to see him as a quick-witted jerk.

Rohan Chand does a phenomenal job as Chaitanya. It’s crazy to see a 10 year-old hold his own against somebody like Bateman. He delivers his lines and punch lines perfectly

and really stands out. The rest of the cast is fun as well with people like Kathryn Hahn and Allison Janney really shining.

The writing is what really makes this movie awesome. It blends dark comedy and drama so well. The story never loses sight of what the movie is, and that’s a comedy.

There are moments that will have you dying with laughter and moments that will have you cringing at how uncomfortable it is.

The surprising thing is that there are also parts that will move you.

This is where Bateman truly succeeds as a director. He takes an outrageous story with vulgarity and goofiness and makes the audience connect and feel something for these characters.

I went into “Bad Words” expecting a funny, R-rated movie. What I got was a hilarious, well-written story with characters that I found myself really invested in.

‘Dark Souls 2,’ still challenging gamers Dax Guilliams Staff Writer

“Dark Souls 2” gives fans of the original “Dark Souls” and “Demon’s Souls” what they’ve been waiting for—a challenging and rewarding RPG that does not hold your hand or give you a moment to spare as you fight for your life against punishing enemies.

Developer From Software is known for their ever challenging and all around respected series known as the “Souls” franchise. On March 11th, From Software released their long awaited third entry to the series, titled “Dark Souls 2.”

“Demon’s Souls” and “Dark Souls” acquired a large fan base for rewarding the player’s patience and practice with an RPG experience like no other. “Dark Souls 2” is sure to do the same as the first two games.

Fans of the previous games will find familiarity with the new title.

The game looks, controls and feels like “Dark Souls” but with a new story.

A major factor in the “Souls” series is death, which is one way to describe just how challenging it is. In “Dark Souls 2,” your character begins the game already dead.

Starting the game dead may sound strange, but in the “Souls” series, the dead can still continue to walk the earth as beings called hollows.

Within just a few minutes of game play, your character will receive a human effigy, an item that allows hollow’s to return to their human form.

After returning to your human form, you are able to truly create your character the way you want him or her to be. This is the time you choose your starting class be it warrior, swordsman, sorcerer, or any of the other options. Each of these classes starts with different items and stats, but you can change them later in the game.

Covenants are still in the game, and each one offers interesting

HTV staff member wins Apple award in New York

*Photo courtesy of Gamespot

changes to the players who join them.

One particularly interesting covenant is the covenant of the Rat King, which upon joining it allows you to receive special items and also allows you to pull other players online from their world into yours so you can fight them.

Following the difficulty of the previous games, “Dark Souls 2” has plenty of places that are incredibly more challenging.

The first instance of this happens mere seconds after starting the game where if you venture down a path to the left of the starting area, you will encounter an enemy that is near impossible to defeat with your current equipment.

The ever-increasing difficulty should not deter one from playing the game. The true challenge of the game isn’t the powerful enemies, death traps, or giant boss battles but instead discovering interesting and strategic ways to survive them and continue on.

“Dark Souls 2” implements many new changes that might seem minor to some but are actually severe game changers.

In the original “Dark Souls,” a character that was a hollow could not be attacked by invaders from other games, but in “Dark Souls 2,” your game can be invaded at any time as long as you are connected to the Internet.

In human form, characters have access to all of their health, but after

a death not only do they become hollowed but they also lose a portion of their maximum health.

Simply using a human effigy to return to a human will reclaim any lost health.

Another major change is that there are less moments of invincibility. In previous games, while you were performing a back stab or dodge roll, you were invincible during the entire animation.

Now, however, backstabbing has no invincibility frames, and dodge rolling only has them at the beginning of the animation.

“Dark Souls 2” has also included a new magic type called hexes and the adaptability stat.

Hexes are essentially dark magic, and the adaptability stat determines movement speed, dodge roll speed and how the armor you wear affects you.

The main two downsides to the game are that the graphics were downgraded a bit, so it looks a little worse than “Dark Souls,” and that its just not as challenging as the two previous titles even with the removal of invincibility frames.

“Dark Souls 2” not only proves that modern games can still be challenging, but it also proves that modern games can still be a rewarding experience. It’s never too late to get into the “Souls” series, and “Dark Souls 2” is a great title to pick up for newcomers and veterans of the series alike.

An Apple Award in the Big Apple. Most students would probably not expect to win an award while on a trip to the College Media Convention, or C.M.A., in New York. But one of our own Henderson students did.

J.D. Roberts won third place for Best Student Media Leader for the 2014 Apple Awards at the convention.

The student media staff from Henderson attended the convention about two weeks before spring break along with four Henderson communication and mass media professors.

“I actually didn’t expect to win the award,” Roberts, senior mass media major, said. “I really was hoping that our show ‘Love in an Elevator’ would win one, but that wasn’t the case. I’m glad I got the award and I’m pumped that Henderson got some kind of recognition.”

Roberts is the station manager for Henderson’s television station on campus.

“I’m a huge movie person, and when I was a kid my dad took me to see the Star Wars movies before the bad ones came out. There was something so cool and magical, and I’ve always been into it,” Roberts said when asked what inspired him to get into television. “Plus, I like bossing people around.”

Roberts was nominated for the award because of the actions of his staff. Katie Blair, a senior mass media major, had the staff make a video to nominate him.

The video “made fun of me a little bit, but the judges liked it,” Roberts said.

An Apple Award is given to a student or university that has excelled in media. Winners receive a trophy in the shape of an apple with the award name on it.

After graduating from Henderson, Roberts has an internship at THV in Little Rock. Following that, he hopes to have a job involving television and eventually go on to film school.

The convention, held in New York City, offers a lot of activities for students to attend. It is a national conference with other large schools competing and attending. Many professionals in mass media give presentations. Students may also take tours of networks such as Viacom.

“My favorite part has become presenting sessions, and we attended a taping of The Colbert Report,” Paul Glover, associate professor of communications, said. “It was very entertaining and special and an honor to watch him do it.”

The spring College Media conventions are always held in New York while the fall conventions are in a different location each year.

“Staff members who have earned the right to go can attend,” Glover said.

Roberts certainly earned the right to attend the convention with his work at the television studio, and earned his award.

“J.D.’s leadership, whether writing, directing in the studio or editing the programs for traditional broadcast or the web, is always recognized by his advisers and peers. I am proud to have him on staff,” Glover wrote in an email to some of Henderson’s staff, acknowledging his award.

Roberts offered some advice for students who might be interested in pursuing television.

“Be creative and try to tell a story, because if you’re just here to be on TV, you’ll probably just end up not doing something that you love.”

That’s probably some advice we can all use in our day-to-day lives, right from our own award-winning Henderson student.

PAGE 4 MARCH 31, 2014

OPINIONS

Non-traditional graduate reaches out to say, ‘Thanks’ Wendy Fountain Henderson Alumni

fees paid, get everything set up for the semester, etc.) I had dropped my son off at kindergarten, commuted from Hot Springs to Arkadelphia, put my daughter in the stroller and Dear Officer, I don’t remember your name. threw my bag over my shoulder with my proposed class schedule stuffed What a blasphemy that seems to me inside. So here I was in line. considering that you played such an I don’t remember exactly what it important role in my life. was that started me thinking that I Some 14 or so years ago, I was a had no business being there. I don’t young, married mother of two going know if it was the fact that I had a back to college after having taken a small child with me and no one else few years off to get my oldest into did. I do remember looking around kindergarten and my youngest into the Henderson preschool program. me at the perky, smiling, carefree 18-year-olds and comparing them I had always planned to go back, and to myself – immediately followed by now I finally could. the thoughts “what in the world am I It was the first day of Henderdoing?” and “I don’t belong here like son’s registration. (You remember, they do.” I was working myself into this was back when students took a massive inner panic. the list of classes they wanted to take What was I thinking? I had a into the Garrison center and stood kid that would need to be picked in line after line in each “station” to up from school in a few hours and get registered for classes, get all their

L E T T E R S TO THE EDITOR

Have an opinion on a controversial issue or response to this week’s column? Write the Oracle at oracle@hsu.edu to have your voice heard. Opinions should be between 400 and 600 words and emailed as a word document. Include your preferred name. No anonymous submissions, please.

The Oracle Staff Co-editor-in-chief

Morgan Acuff newantiquity@gmail.com

Faculty adviser Mike Taylor taylorm@hsu.edu

Co-editor-in-chief

Stephanie Hartman stephwithahart@gmail.com

Sports editor

Kaitlyn Kitchens kk175413@reddies.hsu.edu

Photo editor

Ryan Klare rk167403@reddies.hsu.edu

Editorial cartoonist

Houston Fryer hf179598@reddies.hsu.edu

Graphic designer

Brett Little cblittle2010@yahoo.com

Web designer

Izhar Buendia izharbuen@gmail.com

Business manager

James T. Allen ja165078@reddies.hsu.edu

Distribution manager

Moe Skinner moeskinner954@gmail.com

another one in front of me. How did I plan to try to finish school with a young family? I didn’t have the time or energy that those young girls around me had.

What kind of audacity had led me to believe that I could do that?

How could I possibly look around me and think that I belonged here with them?

And the thoughts kept snowballing until I was gripping the hands of the stroller preparing to pull it back to turn it around to leave the line, push it to the car, load it and my daughter up, drive back home and try to pretend I had never been so foolhardy.

And in that moment, that second I gripped those handles, as I looked up, you happened to be walking by.

I saw that you recognized me, and I recognized you. You smiled and said hello. I said hello back. You kept

walking, and I kept waiting in line.

That “hello” kept me rooted to that spot where I had been panicked to the point of fleeing the very second before.

It made me think that if you recognized me, then maybe I hadn’t really changed all that much from the girl I had been when I arrived as an 18-year-old myself.

And if I hadn’t really changed that much, then maybe I could do this after all. And if the Henderson police smile and greet me, then I must “belong” here.

So even though you didn’t know it, you saved me that day. You saved me from myself – from my own fear and insecurity.

And even though it is going on 14 years, I am emailing this open letter to the Oracle in an attempt to send you my most heartfelt thank-you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

DIVERSIONS

PAGE 5 MARCH 31, 2014

SPORTS

PAGE 6 MARCH 31, 2014

Lady Reddies shut out OBU in doubleheader Tyler Lennon Staff writer

The Lady Reddies won both games of a doubleheader against Ouachita Baptist, 8-1 and 5-4, on Tuesday, March 25.

The first game got off to a bit of a slow start.

Both teams were scoreless until Ouachita Baptist got on the board with an RBI single in the top of the third.

The Lady Reddies answered back with a big fourth inning scoring four runs on back-to-back bunts and then a single up the middle from Tricia Hock scoring two more.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ashlyn White added to the lead with a solo homerun making the score 5-1.

The Lady Reddies kept putting runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a double steal scoring Amy Halter and a Kayla Williams single down the right field line scoring Hock and Alicia Zack.

Cagen Medlock got the win going all seven innings allowing five hits, one run, two walks and five strikeouts.

The win brings Medlock’s record on the season to 7-3.

The Lady Reddies outhit their opponents 11-5 with two hit games from Williams, White, and Halter.

The second game also got off to a

slow start with Ouachita Baptist getting on the board first with a threerun fourth inning.

An error in the bottom of the fourth would bring in Amber Klug to make it a two-run deficit.

Ouachita Baptist scored again in the top of the fifth to score their fourth and final run of the game.

Sarah Gipson got the bottom of the sixth going with a two-run homer to left field.

Halter followed up nicely tying the game with a double in the right center gap bringing in Hannah Bender.

The Lady Reddies were able to win in walk-off fashion with a Williams bunt scoring Halter in the bottom of the ninth.

Williams started the game throwing fourth and two-thirds innings pitched allowing six hits and four runs, only three of them earned.

White got the win throwing fourth and a third innings pitched allowing just two hits, no runs, one walk, and two strikeouts.

The win brings White’s record to 5-3 on the year.

Klug swung the big bat in the second game going 3-for-4 with two runs.

Also playing big roles in the of*Photo by Kristine Moore fense were Gipson, going 1-for-4 with PLAY HARD Keirsten Seahorn gets the ball to make a play in the a homerun and two RBIs. Halter also contributed by going game against the University of Monticello. The Lady Reddies went 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI. on to win both games of the doubleheader.

Reddie baseball fights for GAC tournament spot Hunter Lively Staff Writer

It has been a season of ups and downs for Reddie baseball thus far.

With a 14-21 record, the Reddies are hoping for a late season surge to make it to postseason play. The team would have to finish in the top half of the conference standings in order to reach the GAC Tournament in Enid, Okla. in May. The squad sports 20 newcomers after graduating 13 seniors from last year’s team.

This season’s pitching rotation has seen many freshmen thrown into the mix early, like Dylan Howell, Jay Hawley, and Luke Tebbetts.

“It’s been a blessing to get the opportunity to get so much time on the mound this season,” Howell said. “I love going out there and competing.”

Howell has appeared in 10 games this season and holds a 2.82 ERA. Starting out the season playing in an invitational held at Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros play, the Reddies immediately had a chance to prove themselves on the big stage.

Winona State, Central Missouri, Arkansas Tech, and Arkansas Monticello took on the Reddies in the weekend invitational.

The Reddies lost all four games, however, as they struggled to put enough hits together to come away with any victories.

On Feb. 15, Henderson picked up its first two victories, sweeping a twin bill over Southeastern Oklahoma in a GAC showdown.

Tadarious Hawkins’ sacrifice fly in

*Photo by Ryan Klare

COMING TOGETHER The Henderson State Reddie baseball team meets at home plate to celebrate their win against Northwestern Oklahoma State University. The Reddies won two games against the team on Friday and won the third game on Saturday. the bottom of the 11th inning lifted Henderson State to a 5-4 win in the first game, and the Reddies followed up with an impressive 8-1 victory in the second game.

“It’s been a tough year, especially with all of the injuries we’ve had to key players,” Hawkins said. “There’s still a lot left to play for, though. We’re ready to make a run to end the season.”

The Reddies had another strong day on Feb. 28, as they had a seasonhigh 15 hits and took down 13thranked Arkansas-Monticello 8-4 in the first of a three-game series.

This victory moved HSU to 5-11 overall and a 4-3 conference record.

Monticello took the next two games from the Reddies, however, on the following Saturday.

Over the next two weeks, the Reddies struggled against powerhouse Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma.

Heading into spring break, Henderson held a 9-19 overall record.

On March 21, the Reddies hosted Northwestern Oklahoma.

Solid pitching performances by Colton Lorance and Howell led Henderson State to a double-header sweep as both picked up wins on the mound.

Lorance was awarded GAC Pitcher of the Week for his performance against NWOSU. The junior left-hander gave up just one run on three hits and struck out a season-best six batters while limiting the Rangers to a .120 batting average.

He retired 11 straight batters in the *Photo by Ryan Klare PASSING FIRST Henderson State baseball player, Andrew Reyn- middle innings and pitched six shutout innings before allowing a run in olds, strides past first base. The junior plays as starting catcher for the the seventh.

Reddies.

Hawley and Tebbetts also closed

out the weekend with strong pitching performances to secure the sweep.

On Tuesday the Reddies travelled to Magnolia to face Southern Arkansas again, who was ranked fourth in the nation.

Henderson’s late inning rally fell short as the Muleriders took the victory 8-6.

The Reddies did outhit the Muleriders, however, 10 to 6, with Matt Evans leading the way going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

On Friday, the team travelled to Bethany, Ok. to face Southern Nazarene in a three-game series, with two games on Friday and one on Saturday.

In Friday’s games, Henderson cranked out 27 hits as the Reddies swept a double-header from the Crimson Storm 10-2 and 8-7.

Carlos Rodriguez led the way in the opener, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Joseph Gary, AJ Kruzel, Conner Brackhahn and Will Powell all had two hits each in the game. Gary and Kruzel both had doubles and an RBI while Powell was 2-for-2 with a double.

Lorance improved to 4-2 on the year, pitching six complete innings while striking out four batters.

The Reddies scored six runs in the first inning of game two with Powell and Hawkins both having two-run singles in the inning.

SNU tied the game in the sixth inning at 7, but Henderson’s Evans scored on a Gary sacrifice fly to rightfield for the game-winning run.

Hunter Mayall was 3-for-3 in the game with a triple, two runs scored and a run batted in.

In Saturday’s game, the Reddies fell to the Crimson Storm 13-11.

Hawkins led the way with six RBIs, four hits, and three runs on six at bats.

Hayden Lessenberry leads all batters this season with a .333 BA. Gary and Hawkins lead the team in RBIs with 18 each.

“We knew the beginning of the season would be a little rocky with all of the freshmen and transfers still getting a feel,” Cody Hooten, head coach, said. “I’m proud of how far we’ve come since then, and I think if we can find a way to get into the tournament at the end of the season we’ll be one of the most dangerous teams.”

The Reddies currently hold a 9-12 conference record.

They have won four of their last six games and look to continue their success at Ouachita Baptist on Tuesday afternoon with the game time set for 3 p.m.