09/03/14 Issue

COLD AS ICE

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UNDER PRESSURE

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Henderson State University - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - Volume 108, Issue 2

THE BIG CHEESE

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NEW KIDS IN TOWN P.12

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU Hypnotist visits capmus for another round of shenanigans P.2

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COVER PHOTO: Cody Jones, senior sports management major, stares off stage deep under the hypnotist’s spell.

Photo by Jeffery P. Gilmore

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU Hypnotist visits campus for another round of shenanigans

BY MOE SKINNER After facing the battles of having to return to the classroom this past week, students were in a mood for some much needed fun. Time was still a little more than an hour’s wait away when students stood wall to wall in the Arkansas Hall lobby anticipating this year’s performance by hypnotist, Jim Wand.

“He’s always so funny and you never know what’s going to happen next,” Sydney Hancock, senior pre-dental hygiene major, said while waiting among the growing crowd.

No doubt, you may have seen Wand on Jay Leno or David Letterman. Wand is no stranger here. Thursday night’s performance marked Wand’s 25th appearance at Henderson. Wand credits Paul Hankins, interim alumni coordinator, for his start at Henderson and Chad Fielding, assistant vice president for student affairs, for his many repeat appearances at Henderson.

Wand spoke briefly before the show about his prior challenges with being over-weight, how hypnosis helped him overcome that battle. It further more changed his life and he

changed his major to psychology, and graduated with his PhD from University of Southern California. Wand also explained his control he has over people.

“It’s not really a power,” Wand said. “It’s a talent.”

Wand explained that people have to be willing participants, and Henderson had a surplus.

“I put them in situations they are comfortable in,” Wand said.

Throughout Wand’s show, students looked awful comfy. During the show, Wand made the hypnotized students believe they were in several different situations. A kissing contest with a possible audition for the adult video industry, drinking from glasses that weren’t really there, dialing pretend cell phones and a fictitious contest against rival, OBU, in which Daniel Moore, freshman, psychology major, displayed his respect for the phantom OBU players by extending his middle finger towards them.

Wand took their minds to even deeper lev-

els as he swapped genders with the males and females and the males were now six months pregnant.

When Wand asked some of the guys about their current situations he got answers like, “it’s an alien’s baby,” “it was a one night stand,” and “Jesus told me to have it.” As Wand carried them through full term, the guys all held their imaginary fat bellies and talked about their future plans with the baby.

Their answers kept the crowd laughing and holding their own gut in sympathy. As they approached birth, one student made a plea, saying he wasn’t ready yet. It was quite a grotesque scene to watch as 15 grown men tried to give birth to make-believe babies.

Next, Wand escorted their minds to feeding the baby where one new male mom helped his baby find his nipple.

Wand made a quick stop with them at the strip club to get lap dances. Before it was over, John McGehee, freshman aviation major, was sweating, unbuttoning his shirt, and fanning himself. In another similar segment of the show, Wand got students to reveal their best pick-up lines. Some students tried to be sweet and others were total cheddar.

“I know you just got off of work, but would you like to get off again?” One female student said while under hypnotic supervision.

“Your dress is so becoming, and if you take your dress off, I’d so be coming,” spouted another student.

The premier game Wand played with the group was a key word game. With students still under hypnosis, Wand presented several students with individual key words that when said would trigger specific responses from them. For instance, Wand took two male students and he gave one male student the key word “hypnosis” and his response assigned to him was to stand up, smack his own ass, and yell, “Who’s your daddy?”

When this happened, the other male student’s response was to stand up and angrily say, “I’m your daddy.”

Another student on the panel also received the key word, “Chicago,” with an automatic response of a blood-curdling scream when Wand spoke the word. Wand instructed all the students on board that if he spoke the word “microphone,” they were to be stuck to the chair with magic fingers on it. Then Wand began to speak, hitting the carefully planted key words while he did.

As Wand continued his dialog, his voice gained tempo, and the responses occurring had the audience cheering for more. By the time, Wand said the key word hypnosis for the third time; big Daniel Moore stood up and responded, “I’m your f****n’ daddy!” as if he was a proud but angry daddy, and the auditorium exploded in laughter.

Wand assured that his show would continue to be fresh and next year he would have all brand new material. We can only wait patiently for his return, some with a slight bit more shame to bear.

BRIEFS Wednesday evening the Garrison lecture hall will play a double feature starting at 6:30 p.m.

Million Dollar Arm followed by The Purge Anarchy at 8:30p.m.

Sept. 4, coffee and conversation with the president will be located in Garrison betweenStarbucks and Chick-fil-a starting at 7:30 a.m.

Thursday evening ASBTDC is offering training for Quick Books. The session will be offered at the Hot Sprimgs Chamber of Commerce, in Hot Springs from 5:15 p.m. til 7:45 p.m.

The SAB is hosting Sex Signals event on Thursday night from 7:00 p.m. til 8:00 p.m. in the Garrison Banquet Room.

Friday night the double feature will be playing encore of the movies Million Dollar Arm and the Purge Anarchy starting at 6:30 p.m.

September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Exercises and programs involving safety issues will be offered across campus throughout September.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

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ALL BUILDING, NO PARKING Henderson building more structures leaving students concerned over space

BY MADISON MACNEW Throughout the past several months, Henderson has begun constructing new housing for its students. The plan is to build two separate residence buildings – one apartment style complex and one traditional dormitory.

The apartments are supposed to house up to 240 students and will be built on the property at 10th St. and M.H. Russell Drive.

Although new housing was needed on campus for quite a while, the location of the construction has caused uproar among students.

The buildings will be constructed on what were the university’s intramural fields.

“I was a part of a few meetings with the architect Henderson hired to survey differ-

ent areas around our campus – areas that we owned.

The conclusion of those meetings was that the current space, the intramural field, provided the best location for a residence hall that would be the size, the style and the type that Henderson students deserve,” said Allan Ford, assistant director of residence life.

While Ford expresses his and the University’s concern and compassion for the students’ quality of life here at Henderson, the question still remains: Where will Henderson students enjoy their year-round intramural sports?

Greek Olympics? What about the long-lived and cherished traditions of the Phi Lambda Chi Drum Beat Ceremony and bonfire during

COLD AS ICE We are willing to sacrifice for ALS

BY BRETT RUCKS Tragedy has the chance to strike the heart of anyone, whether it is a friend, family member or significant other.

One such tragedy is in the form of a never ending disease that has been haunting generations for years, but now it is getting recognition for the lives it destroys. This is the destruction of ALS, but this is also the rebirth of awareness.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) is a neurodegenerative disease which affects the patient’s spine and brain which begins to kill the nerves which control motor function. Over the course of time, this progressive disease will degenerate enough of the victim’s nerves to cause the patient to be permanently paralyzed.

ALS can affect anyone and the latest reports show that around 5,600 Americans are diagnosed with ALS every year. Over the past month, many Americans have taken part in the “ALS Icebucket Challenge.”

This challenge is for people to pour ice

water on their heads and call out others to do the same while donating to ALS research.

This challenge has spread nationwide like a wildfire and it has found its way to Henderson.

Henderson officially recognized the ALS challenge when President Glen Jones participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge in order to make students curious about ALS and to research it for themselves. Jones wants the students to treat the challenge as a noble cause and to actually raise awareness for ALS. “The dumping of ice water on our heads is only a tool, and we hope our students are willing to raise awareness and start raising funds to donate to research,” Jones said.

Jones wants this action to be focused on the benefit of ALS research and the benefit of all who suffer from this disease.

“If you have inspired one person to do what is right, you have done a great thing,” Jones also said.

The university president is not however

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Homecoming week?

Almost most importantly, where does the Showband of Arkansas practice their drills now that the intramural field is uprooted and turned into a dirt-piled construction zone?

“This year is a little different. It’s a bit frustrating because we don’t have a permanent place to practice. Despite this year’s challenges we are making the best of it and it’s going to be a great season,” David Veazey, senior physics major and band member, said.

On top of the loss of the existing intramural field, many questions were raised about who will live “down the hill,” or even who would want to make that walk up the hill to classes every day, considering the current parking situation, or lack thereof, on campus.

If the new apartments are gated like the Whispering Oaks community is, will residents have separate parking passes like the current Whispering Oaks residents?

“Personally, I would not like to endure that much physical labor every day on the walk to class. I think it’s unfair that some of the

students will be centrally located and others will have to walk or drive and find a parking spot,”Adrianne Hancock, junior business management major, said.

Unless parking renovations are to be made and universal parking passes are permitted to all residence halls and facilities, many parking tickets could be a concern. Some students are also deeply concerned with being a true part of campus. Being located down the hill is not going to give students access to the heart of campus. Such a dilemma raises issue for not only the class activities, but also the social activities for students.

Despite the rising curiosities and concerns with the construction of new housing on the once intramural fields, Henderson students can rest assured that their university is making this decision for their benefit and for the good of the Henderson campus and city of Arkadelphia.

The school with a heart will do all that it can to ensure students receive a quality education and college experience.

the only faculty member to participate in the challenge.

Assistant director of residence life, Allan Ford, has also participated in this awareness campaign to not only raise awareness but also to donate to the cause. Ford, much like Jones, expressed his hope for the students to not treat this as a social media popularity contest but to stay true to its cause.

“My hope for every student is to participate for the benefit of mankind,” Ford said.

Obviously the contestants of the challenge do not stop there. Our own faculty and staff have participated in this event such as associate professor of communications, Paul Glover.

Glover has taken interest and noticed how many students are participating and he wishes to make our awareness project of ALS as public as he can with HTV and the rest of the communications department.

“When our organizations participate and rival each other, it’s fun to see students raise funds for such a good cause,” Glover said.

While research still has a long way to go in finding a cure, it is inspiring to see that many young adults here at Henderson are willing to put such effort into raising money and awareness for a disease that has impacted millions.

And it brings pride to know that the stu-

dent body proves that Henderson is indeed the school with a heart.

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JUST PLAYING AROUND Therapy — From the couch to the playground

BY TIFFANY SAMUEL The time is finally here.

Henderson is now accepting play in classes as a requirement for passing certain graduate classes.

Play Therapy was established in 1982 as a form of communication and treatment of clients.

Therapists use toys as a means of nonverbal communication between the client and therapist.

“When dealing with play therapy, children naturally act out their life through their play and they communicate symbolically with the toys they use,” Garrett Eller, Licensed Professional Counselor, said.

Play Therapy has been adapted for all ages.

Although most commonly used for children under the age of 10, play therapy is also used for Alzheimer and autistic patients.

“In my experience, 85 percent of my adult clients’ issues stem from their childhood. I suggest for them to go home and play and almost every time it works and they reconnect.”

Maurie Maestes, LPC said.

Play Therapy can be blended into many different therapeutic means such as art, music and animals.

“In my opinion, the most profound type of play therapy is sand tray. Sand tray allows people to build something from their past subconsciously. They are basically drawing their life in the sand. It is nonthreatening, noninvasive and the emotions are healthy.

It works when all other types of therapy are exhausted and the therapist cannot get to the patient,” Maestes, LPC said.

“Play Therapy allows me to see the clients’ world through their eyes while understanding the problems and conflicts they’re dealing with,” Eller said.

Henderson was the first Approved Play Therapy Education Center in Arkansas and only one other center has been opened since.

“It’s [the play therapy center] well researched. Over the last three or four years there have been over eight randomized clinical

HOME AWAY FROM HOME Get off your mama’s couch

BY ADRIANNE WILLIAMS They are coming! Here they come! They are here!

The high school graduating class of 2014 has now become the new freshmen class of 2018. Aug. 19, was move in day for the new freshmen at Henderson.

Smith and Newberry halls were filled with the newest faces of Henderson and tearful, yet proud faces of family and friends.

Many of the new faces were happy and excited, while others were filled with nervousness of what was before them.

It seems to become more of a tradition that Smith elevators have at least one break down every move in and move out.

Don’t worry, they will only stop working on the days that you are really tired and dread walking up the steps.

“The fraternities and sororities attacked our car and helped me move my things in, so it was easier,” freshman Kylan Mcafee said.

When asked about the oh so “eh” Caddo Café, responses varied.

“It is pretty good I guess , sometimes,” freshman Kristina Robertson said.

“I like it, I guess,” Mcafee cutoff.

“I love the Caddo food. I don’t know why people say they hate it so much,” freshman Tavarius Lane said.

Caddo has been a much talked about subject around campus since opening last year.

Some students are content with the food, while many students have complained that the food is bland and unoriginal.

How do you like your dorms? The responses were familiar and unsurprising.

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assessments,” Franc Hudspeth, assistant professor of counselor education at Henderson said.

Play Therapy classes are offered as electives at a graduate level and for supervisor training courses.

It was launched shortly after the arrival of its director, Franc Hudspeth.

Hudspeth is widely known in the Play Therapy community.

He serves as the president of the Arkansas Association for Play Therapy and as the editor of the 2014 International Journal of Play Therapy.

Since the program’s launch, 34 students have been trained in play therapy.

“Many students begin to take Play Therapy classes as an easy and fun elective, but soon find themselves hooked. That’s what I did when I first started and I haven’t done anything since,” Hudspeth said.

Play Therapy can be used in many different practices such as mental health, schools and universities, hospitals, court systems and families.

It attracts students from many different areas of interest including journalism and law enforcement.

“We want not only those in psychology to

know about Play Therapy, but also the public” Hudspeth said.

“I recommend further studies and training in this area of anyone who is wanting to work with children or adults…” Eller says.

In order to become a registered play therapist, students are required to take a series of play therapy instruction courses, followed by a number of supervision hours by a registered play therapist, and passing a play therapy certification test.

Those interested in becoming a registered play therapist can contact Hudspeth at hudspee@hsu.edu.

“While focusing on play therapy and applying play therapy techniques and skills to my practice of counseling throughout my studies at Henderson State University, I have learned and obtained valuable strategies and information which I use frequently with the children I work with as well as ways to effectively meet the needs of both children and adults…. I owe credit to Dr. Franc Hudspeth and the mental health counseling professors at Henderson State University for my experience in their program” Eller said.

Hudspeth anticipates much growth in the Play Therapy program at Henderson and soon hopes for a playroom center of their own.

“I hate my dorm. Smith hall is a nightmare,” Robertson said, with sadness in her voice.

“My dorm? Ugh. It [Newberry Hall] is nasty,” Mcafee said with disgust.

“My dorm… feels like home? Ugh,” Lane hesitates. “I have seen roaches.”

Smith and Newberry halls have not always been the most loved, or even liked dorms. But no fear, new dorms are in the works.

As usual in this young generation, tensions rise and people clash.

“Ugh, I see groups just clashing with other groups. No!” Robertson said “I got to watch almost a fight,” Mcafee said.

Granted, Arkadelphia is not the most exciting place on earth, but it does the job right?

“It is wack,” Lane laughed.

“I’m use to small towns, so it is not that bad,” Robertson said.

“Of course its no Little Rock,” Mcafee said.

Although the city of Arkadelphia is not the most beloved, students really enjoy the

beautiful campus scenery of Henderson.

“It is not too big and not too small,” Lane, Robertson and Mcafee said.

Lastly, but certainly the most important, Henderson academics. How are the classes and are the professors helpful to our newest learners?

“I like my professors. They are really helpful. I don’t like that we have to buy so many books though,” Lane frowned.

There was a bright side though.

“My professors are really helpful to me.

They are really understanding,” Robertson said.

Students are learning just how prepared they are for the upcoming classes.

“I took mostly Pre-AP classes in high school, so that really helped me to understand what was going on in my classes. But I really do like my professors. They are helpful,” Mcafee said.

Between the dorms, the food and the people, all in all, the new freshmen seem to be enjoying their first two weeks their freshman year.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

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POWERED DOWN Foster loses midnight access due to lack of late night use

BY ASHLEY BLES

If you have visited Foster Hall this semester, you might have noticed something’s missing.

The student technology center is no longer on the first floor of Foster where it has been for several semesters.

The move has some students asking questions.

Where in Garrison? What about the televisions, the game systems? How late will it be open? Most importantly, why?

The computer lab has been moved to the Hayes room of Garrison and the televisions and game systems will be on the west side of Garrison where academic advising used to be. Academic advising and career services are now in Foster Hall.

Disability Services have also been moved from the third to first floor of Foster Hall.

“We wanted to make Garrison a truly student-driven center,” said Vice President of Student and External Affairs Lewis Shepard.

“In Foster Hall, the entertainment side with the televisions was put there for entertainment and the side for academics and actual research was put there for that reason but they kind of just flowed together,” Shepard continued.

“We decided to put the ‘fun’ side — the TV’s, movies and games — where academic advising used to be. That way it’s closer to the Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks and not disrupting people using the computers for academics.”

The computer lab was originally in Garrison but was moved a few years back due

UNDER PRESSURE Henderson’s new hiring policy

BY JOSEPH SNAPP Here at Henderson, hiring a new employee isn’t quite like it used to be.

Over a year ago, Henderson used to hire faculty members with a process as simple as filling out an application and getting called to come in for an interview.

These days, the process is much more complicated. In the past few years, some of Henderson’s hired help have gone down dark paths ending in a jail cell.

Two years ago, an RA in Newberry hall was arrested and jailed for internet stalking of a child, after he attempted to meet up with a young teenaged girl.

More recently, a janitor in Newberry hall was arrested for attempted murder after he tried to end his girlfriends life.

These events have caused the hiring process to change.

If someone applies for a position now, Henderson will have the new employee come in for an interview.

The university will also pay to run a back-

ground check on them to see if there is any criminal history linked to the applicant. If this policy would have been in place before, it would have been discovered that the janitor had a record.

Drug tests are next in the process.

“The background check has been in effect for about a year now, and Henderson has recently began to drug test possible employees,” Dan Mabery, assistant vice president of student affairs, said.

With this policy in effect, Henderson will now have faculty, and even student faculty, have a background check run on them to ensure that they do not have any prior conflicts with their records.

As well as with the drug testing of them, it will make sure that Henderson upholds its no drug use policy.

This may help Henderson have a great faculty and staff that will be able to teach students, help run the university to its best ability, and ensure the safety of the students.

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to flooding. The summer renovations of the Garrison Center opened that room back up for its original purpose, which enabled the move for academic advising and disability resources.

“Out of this we also hope to get a commuter lounge... with lockers for commuters to put books in so they don’t have to go to their cars... and have a place to rest to make transition from home and school easier,” Shepard added.

In addition to the Garrison being open later this semester to be more accessible to students, the campus Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks will also be open later depending on student use.

The biggest concern seems to be that the tech center will no longer be open 24/7.

“There’s a lot of us that are nontraditional, you know, single mothers and stuff that don’t have money to spend on Internet at home,” Carla Robinson, graduate student of liberal arts said.

“I have been up there, late into the night or all night,” Robinson continued. “My only

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Internet and printing is at Henderson.”

She did say that she was glad disability services had more room. “I like that it’s quieter too. It was hard to get work done with so many people joking around in the lab,” Robinson said.

In addition, the Garrison Center is open until midnight this semester — an hour later than previous semesters. Shepard says if need be it can be opened later to accommodate students using the computers.

“We want it to be driven by needs of students when we set hours,” Shepard said.

“We’re monitoring and if people say they need more hours, we’ll work on that. We’re operating to the needs of students,” Shepard said.

Associate Dean of Academic Services Pam Ligon agrees that the changes are to better help students. “We think that it’s more user-friendly for students,” Ligon said.

“We feel like it’s a good fit because we’re in the middle of most of the residence halls,” she said. “I see this as a really workable solution.”

Henderson’s radio station for over 20 years...

The Heartbeat of Henderson

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Photo by Jeffery P. Gilmore

HIT THE LIGHTS, PARKER!

Theatre student earns a paycheck while holding dream job

BY HOUSTON FRYER For most students, getting a job in their field straight out of college is a dream.

The thought of getting a position during college is even more far fetched. But to think of working a paid professional position in your freshman year is simply unheard of.

One young woman lived the dream this last summer and she’s the subject of the Oracle’s very first installment to a new series of profiles: Parker Milam.

Milam was just like your average freshman during the spring of 2014 with one exception: she was way more successful.

The young fire starter from Fort Smith blazed a path through her theater arts department colleagues to be nominated for the opportunity for the sweet, sweet paid position.

The mild-mannered theater carpenter impressed her faculty so much, Douglas Gilpen, one of her professors here at the beloved

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Henderson, gave her name before sophomores, juniors and even seniors in her trade for the role.

So exclusive was this opportunity that only three lucky individuals in the theater department were nominated to spend eight paid weeks working over the summer at the Jorgensen Theater at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn.

This amazing opportunity came from a Henderson alum who is the current Connecticut Reparatory Theater Production Manager, Professor Robert Copley Jr. Copley, with the recommendations of Gilpen, chose the best of the best that Henderson has to offer.

Milam, along with LaDarius Jamerson, junior, and Jason Moore, senior, were the outstanding individuals to work at UConn.

At the Jorgensen Theater, Milam worked carpentry and ran crew, a position that is basically a back-stage wizard.

All the magic that is the stage is made possible through the tireless efforts of great individuals like her.

The three students spent the weeks working at the Jorgensen Theater on the Nutmeg Summer Series.

The series included the musicals A Chorus Line and Gypsy, along with the play The Sunshine Boys.

Wigs? Check.

Curtains? Check.

Tony award winning colleagues? Check.

That’s right, during her job over the summer, Milam worked with such pillars of the stage as Leslie Uggams, Jerry Adler and Richard Kline. Uggams, a Tony award winner for best actress in a musical, has been in theater since the 1950’s was also in a little thing you may have heard of before – Roots.

Jerry Adler, not to be shown up, has also

been working since the ‘50s and has been on both stage and TV in such items as The Sopranos.

And as far as Richard Kline goes, ever heard of a little show called Threes Company? Bam. These, along with countless other talented individuals, poured through the halls beside three of Henderson’s own.

To get the opportunity to work at such a facility would be mind-boggling, but Milam kept grounded.

After meeting her faculty at the Connecticut Reparatory Theater, she had this to say about Copley between laughter and stories.

“Bob Copley is phenomenal, “ Milam said.

“He was so fantastic the entire time we were there. I adore that man.”

Milam hopes to continue with theater after her time here at Henderson in lighting and theater design.

She was recently named as the stage manager for an upcoming HSU production, Impossible Marriage being performed in November.

If her first year is any indication of her skill and drive, the future is bright for Milam.

HSU Theatre and Dance Fall Season Clybourne Park

by Bruce Norris

October 9, 10, 11, 13, 23, 24, 25, 2014 (7:30p.m.)

Arkansas Hall Studio Theatre, ($8.00)

Impossible Marriage

by Beth Henley

November 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 2014 (7:30p.m.)

Arkansas Hall Studio Theatre, ($8.00)

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

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Bienvenidos a Henderson New Spanish teacher is one among many new faculty

BY ERIC CONNER With a new semester starting, new faculty members begin their first year alongside Henderson’s finest.

Among our newcomers is Nydia R. Jeffers, who couldn’t be more excited for the new semester, after having taught here this summer for the Department of English, Foreign Languages and Philosophy.

Nydia Jeffers, has spent her life preparing for her career at Henderson. Born and raised in Spain, she has been in school and working at the same time since she arrived in the United States.

While in Spain, she completed her English major and taught at a high school in Madrid, Spain. She has been teaching high school, college and university students since 2004 and has acquired five degrees total: a B.A. in English, an A.D. in Library Science and Documentation, a M.A. in Language Teaching with a concentration in Spanish, a M.A. in Hispanic

Literature, and a Ph.D. in Spanish with a focus on Latin American Literature.

First and foremost, Jeffers has always wanted to reach out to the communities of both Hispanic and non Hispanic cultures. She sees herself as a facilitator of communication in Spanish.

“The ability of a teacher is to get to know the thinking process and study skills of the student,” Jeffers said.

She accomplishes this goal by making sure every student gets daily feedback concerning their Spanish writing and speaking practice.

But Jeffers dedication to her beliefs and to her students does not end there. As an extracurricular activity she supports the Spanish Table, a community driven and discussion based activity designed for Spanish and English speakers alike. Members come together once a week from 11 a.m. Until 12:30 p.m.

Wednesdays to talk and discuss life in general

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in a Spanish speaking environment.

“The Spanish Table will be a safe and fun place for all levels of Spanish students and Spanish speakers to converse and get to know each other in a casual environment,” says the initiator of the group, Maryjane Dunn, assistant professor of Spanish.

Jeffers’s students can expect to obtain a greater understanding of the Spanish speaking community as well as a better Spanish writing ability through the process of making mistakes and increasing the number of words written at every week’s quiz. Students will be able to effectively create their own self-reliant oral skits based on the tools given by the class which will also focus on building Spanish speaking confidence within students.

Though this will be her first official semester teaching four courses at Henderson, Jeffers has already taught the two intensive Spanish courses during the summer with motivating evaluations. To give her students an idea of what her class might be like for them, her final exam for the summer class required students to write an entire essay front to back on one page only using Spanish.

Jeffers hopes her students can find a sense of pride within their Spanish thinking abili-

Graphic by Megan Snoddy

International Love HSU welcomes students as far as Turkey this semester

BY MONICA RODRIGUEZ Henderson welcomes Emre Can Ulker (John), an 18-year-old freshman from Turkey.

He is a Physical Therapy major and has not decided on a minor yet. John came to Henderson to play basketball and of course to get his education.

“The campus is pretty cool, fun and big!”

Ulker said.

Ulker plans on having an outstanding season. He said, “I am very excited for the season to begin and for our semester tests. I am curious about how they are going to be.”

He hopes to get no. 10 this year as he has always been no. 10 for as long as he can re-

member. Basketball is his passion and he is glad that he made the decision of playing for Henderson.

“The coach from HSU called my coach and it took about a month to finalize the process.” Ulker said.

Ulker also plans on joining HISA which is Henderson’s International Student Association and loves being a resident of Henderson’s International House.

Look for Emre Can Ulker on the court for these next few years as he will play basketball as point-guard for the Reddies.

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ty and hopes to post her students’ oral skits as a way to showcase these talents whether it is a beginning or an advanced level class. Cooperative learning is a big part of the picture for Jeffers. Students will be given the chance not only to practice role-plays in Spanish but apply it to their daily lives with other students and in their professions, especially if links can be made between native speakers and non-native speakers of Spanish.

Jeffers would love to serve Henderson by offering new courses like Spanish for Business, Spanish for Health Care, Spanish for Education and Spanish to Travel Abroad. The dedication and strength of this professor provide meaning to her life and has been a source of academic and professional enjoyment for her, always creating interactive material so students can actually ask and answer questions in Spanish.

Teaching Spanish as an assistant professor has been a big dream of hers for a decade. She realized that students only work as hard as she works at improving them, and because of this correlation, she believes that “the student is the center of the class.”

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THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN Theatre professor racks up 25 years at Henderson

BY JEFFERY P. GILMORE A skeleton in the rafters, doorbells on the wall, a 19th century wall phone, daggers, guns and even a mace cover the walls and rafters of this quaint office.

A man rises from his desk. He is tall, strong and powerful in stature.

You hand this intimidating man your latest draft of the set with a shaky hand.

While he makes a few quick marks on your ground plans, you wonder if the “Lorax” is reviewing your work.

After he is done looking at your work and covering the page perfectly in in scale sketches. He tells you to go fix it. As you leave, your blood pressure goes down.

“He liked it,” you mutter to yourself with pure joy and relief.

“It’s slightly better than adequate,” he says, with a smirk. He sits back down at his computer.

Douglas Gilpin is an accomplished scenic designer with over 40 years of professional experience.

Most of those years were also spent working at various colleges shaping young minds while designing in the summer for Summer stock theatre in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas.

For the last 25 years, Gilpin has been designing, directing, teaching and guiding the young minds here at Henderson.

He has been asked on many occasions to design and critique at various theatres.

He was recently invited to design in Memphis, Tenn., at the Playhouse on the Square.

This feat sounds far easier than it truly is.

A scenic designer and director work hand in hand during the production process.

This process starts as much as a year before casting.

This process involves not only the scenic designer, but also all of the designers for the show.

The director provides the vision for the show, but as the different designers work to take the directorial vision and apply it to their design, they draw inspiration from the sketches and models of the other designers.

But, because of the work ethic and excel-

lence instilled in Gilpin from an early age and college life, he is able to make working in another state work.

But all that hard work did pay off.

This past spring, when Gilpin took his students to the United States Institute for Theatre Technologies conference, Gilpin presented his Memphis design work.

Because of the feat he accomplished and the sheer beauty of the design it was published in the post conference magazine and Forge magazine.

When students ask how he got to where he is today Gilpin gladly tells them.

Throughout high school Gilpin was a self-professed “math nerd.” He loved understanding how numbers related and worked with and to each other.

With his passion for math in hand, Gilpin headed off to Junior college.

As he moved up in the math world, the equations began to no longer offer practical and tangible solutions that he fell in love with.

One day in one of his many calculus classes, he asked his professors why the equations were behaving the way they were.

But the only response was that he got was “they just do.”

Unable to fix the problems in math, he changed his major to English. Over the next year, he would change his major multiple times to biology then to math and then go back to english.

Until one day in his elective “Intro to Theatre” class the professor said, “Mr. Gilpin I need to see you after class.”

The professor had him come to his office .He told Gilpin to sit in the small reception area of the office suite.

Over the next hour, theatre majors came to talk with one professor or another. After the students talked to their professor, they sat down on the one of the couchs and struck up a conversation with Gilpin.

This went on for over an hour after Gilpin’s class. Then, the professor, who had called Gilpin there, emerged from his office and asked if he had talked to anyone. When Gilpin said yes, the professor told him he could go.

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Gilpin then changed his major one last time.

This time it was to theatre. He started this new major acting on stage. That is, until one production where he was asked to run the sound board for the show.

“It was an old reel to reel,” Gilpin said.

“You had to set the tape for each sound cue .

There wasn’t a headset and the stage manager was backstage while I was in the balcony so I could hear the sound levels. I just had to know when to go. During one cue as the music began to swell I thought to myself, ‘I like this, I like being able to control the audience through what they see and hear.’”

He then changed from an acting/performance focus to a technical/design focus.

He began with lighting design and then drifted into scenic design.

His time as an actor served him well.

For, he is able to see the stage from a designer, audience and actor standpoint.

Gilpin’s teaching style can be traced back to those last few months of his time as a math major: “What are the solutions that I need to be able to fix the problems presented in the show?”

Each show presents challenges in requirements of set, and those challenges can be solved in different ways, depending on the type of theatre that he or she is designing in.

Since coming to Henderson, Gilpin has made it possible for students to work in a more hands-on way and experiment with all aspects of theatre until they find the one they like.

The theatre faculty sacrifices from the budget for shows 12 work-study positions. Six of those positions work directly under Gilpin.

Sometimes, Gilpin uses his best and brightest students to help him work on his designs, especially when he is doing more than one show at once.

This has two primary purposes. The first is, of course, that he needs the extra hands to be able to design multiple shows, and secondly, it teaches his students how the real world works.

“The first time I saw Gilpin was the spring of 2009,” Britni Dumas, a lighting and dance management student of Gilpin. “There was no formal introduction, I just saw him working during practicum.”

To give students a true, hands-on experience of theatre, the theatre faculty added a course to the theatre core called practicum.

It is a class where all majors and minors of

Photo Courtesy of Professor Gilpen

theatre are divided into groups, based on personal interests, and they build the sets and costumes for the show.

Gilpin is the instructor for the upper level of the class and he oversees the 30 students working in the shop.

“I wasn’t scared, but I was intimidated by this tall, strong man giving orders and direction without yelling or raising his voice but demanding respect and obedience. While he was wearing a old ratty pair of overalls. Getting dirty and sweaty right alongside his students,” Dumas said about the first time she met Gilpin.

“Later as I got to work one on one with him in his personal studio at home, I realized that inside the rough and tough man that was Professor Gilpin was a soft and tender hearted Douglas,” Dumas said.

“I remember so vividly that first Dance Concert that I stage-managed. There I was, stage right, with my little desk, right up against the trees. And I had this ‘ah ha’ moment ‘I’m actually controlling the glow,’ that’s the moment that I knew what I wanted to do with my life. He has no idea the influence he has on the lives that he touches and that is what makes him the best at what he does, for he cares and teaches not for his sake, but for the sake of those who he teaches.”

Gilpin has touched the hearts and skills of many of his students, and will not likely be easily forgotten.

“Risk. Fail. And risk again,” Gilpin said.

“Tenacious attempts at greatness are more beneficial than the actual achievement thereof.”

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THE BIG CHEESE New pizza restaurant offers great food and great service

BY JASMINE THREATT Reddies should all welcome The Big Cheese restaurant to Arkadelphia.

As of June 24, this yummy pizza and frozen dessert shop has been bringing us friendly service, a clean environment and great quality food.

The Big Cheese is owned by Tony Livingston and has provided a quality pledge that his restaurant stands by.

The pledge is “Every Customer. Every Pizza. Every Time.”

Although the style of the restaurant is similar to that of Little Ceasar’s Pizza, owner Tony Livingston guarantees a difference in quality.

The Big Cheese makes their dough fresh daily, as well as their sauce.

There are a variety of menu items from wings and Scottish curry to veggie nachos and cheese sticks.

Andrew Mears, political science senior, is a manager in training at The Big Cheese. “My favorite is the breadsticks,” he said. I guess we need to try the breadsticks, Reddie consumers.

While The Big Cheese is currently accepting applications online at http://www.mybig-

cheese.com, Livingston is looking for hard workers and smiling faces.

Let us not forget about their soft served products: ice cream, custard, gelato and italian ice. The Big Cheese carries 15 flavors with over 30 toppings.

For toppings they have Kit Kats, hot caramel, Fruity Pebbles and even white chocolate chips.

Is that ice cream heaven or what? How would one be able to handle so many delicious decisions?

Personally, I’m impressed. I was like a kid in a candy store when I visited The Big Cheese.

What does this mean for that other ice cream and pizza restaurant across the street?

Although Pizza Hut is convenient, maybe they and Domino’s should be a bit worried about the new pizza on the block.

The Big Cheese is definitely one of my new top pizza stops with their kind of service, affordable prices and great quality finger-licking food.

They are located at 2909 Pine St, right here in Arkadelphia.

A TIMEOUT WITH UNCLE TY Getting inked never felt so good

BY MOE SKINNER Tuesday night, students from campus sought refuge from the continuing heat and humidity.

Several of them found solace a few blocks away at Uncle Ty’s Ink, 1314 W Pine St, and owners, Brian and Shawna Tyson, were more than happy to accomadate the eager crowd.

Tyson and her husband, as well as tattoo artist Dylan Clark and Tom Landwehr, who is in the process of getting his tattoo license, worked through the supper hour in the twobed shop, assisted customers with their choice of desired skin art. Uncle Ty’s special is currently $25 Tuesdays and it brings a crowd.

Among the waiting were Tiana Teague,

freshman business management major, and her friend, Chloe Frierson, freshman dietitian major.

Teague, who came in the door with three tattoos, accompanied her friend and first timer, Frierson. Frierson said her brother-in-law told her about the special.

“Tiana called and said let’s go,” Frierson said. “And here we are.”

Before the night was over, both girls got their wish. Teague accompanied her friend when it was her turn.

Frierson sat in the chair with a great look of anxiety and anticipation clearly expressed on her face. With a buzz from Clark’s gun

Photo by Jeffery P. Gilmore

IT’S GOUDA Big Cheese gets raving reviews after popping up in town over the summer vacation.

singing in the background, Frierson watched and listened as Uncle Ty peeled the equipment out of its sterilized pack and assembled his gun with fresh needles.

Uncle Ty told Frierson, “If your tattoo artist doesn’t open a sterile pack of needles in front of you, get up and walk out.”

Both girls left with a smile and new ink additions on their bodies.

Frierson sported a black and white yingyang fish and Teague’s front shoulders are now home to a pair of circling sparrows on one side and the word Serenity scripted in Chinese lettering on the other.

One great ritual at the parlor after a tattoo is complete is signing the interior walls.

The message board contains many thanks to the guys with the guns. Uncle Ty and Clark produce great body art for their many patrons and the wall has the signatures, tributes and gratitude to prove it.

Tyson explained both Clark and Uncle Ty are licensed and the shop is state inspected and board approved. She went on to say that the state approved them to be able to tattoo minors 17 and older with parental consent and the shop did so that very night.

“How can I not be providing a public service if I am offering a clean and safe environment with sterilized equipment for my customers?” Tyson asked.

Tyson later said that she felt so welcomed and accepted in Arkadelphia and is looking forward to their one-year anniversary in October. “We get all walks of life through the door,” Tyson chuckled. “Even the preacher has been here.”

Tyson is making plans to provide a tattoo school in the near future.

The $25 Tuesday special is scheduled to end soon but other specials for the customers are in the works.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

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SHARING YOUR OPINIONS The Oracle wants to hear the opinions of its readers

BY DAX GUILLIAMS The Oracle wants to hear the opinions of any and all students and faculty members.

Whether it’s over campus events, classes or the school itself, The Oracle wants to know.

This is a great opportunity to get one’s opinion heard by multiple people on campus.

An entire section of The Oracle is devoting itself to publishing the opinions of students and faculty that are willing to submit them for publication.

All it takes is submitting your opinion to The Oracle at ORACLE@hsu.edu. All submissions should preferably be around 600 words.

A good example of an opinion to send would be reviews over newly released movies, video games and other technologies.

Even if someone doesn’t want to submit any reviews, they can always give their opinion on campus activities.

NEXT WAVE OF MULTIPLAYER Three upcoming video games that focus on both single player and multiplayer being released this semester

BY DAX GUILLIAMS Multiplayer games are an increasing part of the video game market. Many modern games will feature both single player and multiplayer modes to satisfy the needs of many gamers.

In the next few months, three games featuring both single and multiplayer modes will be released onto the market.

First on the list is Borderlands: The Pre Sequel.

The game gets its name from it being a sequel to the very first Borderlands and a prequel to Borderlands 2.

Up to four players can choose one of four characters previously seen in the Borderlands franchise.

There’s Athena, the Gladiator, Wilhelm, the Enforcer, Nisha, the Lawbringer and Claptrap, the Fragtrap.

Each character features unique action skills, such as Athena’s damage absorbing shield or Wilhelm’s attack drones.

With these unique action skills also comes unique skills that players can put points into to increase their character’s stats, upgrade their weapons and augment their action skill to perform new techniques.

The game will also feature more weapons to collect, a new status effect called Cryo

which slows enemies down while dealing frost damage and laser weapons. With new features in an already well-designed series, The Pre Sequel is looking great for fans of Borderlands.

The game will be released on Oct. 14 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. If there’s one game coming out this semester that will occupy the time of so many gamers, it’s the next addition to the Super Smash Bros series.

Currently titled, Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, the new addition is taking the video game market by storm.

With new game modes such as Smash Run, the content for Smash is as fresh as ever.

With new content comes new characters such as Punch-Out’s Little Mac, Pac-Man, Mega Man and others.

Recently, Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles has been added to the games roster and he features a unique sword-based move set.

Unfortunately, with recent roster leak rumors, it seems as if certain characters have been removed from the game.

Though these leaks have not been officially confirmed, it’s possible that veterans of the series, Ice Climbers, Wolf, Lucas and Snake have been removed.

Rumors say that they were cut because the

HUMOR

Someone can also talk about how they feel about current events.

Whether they are past, present or future campus activities, it is up to the students and faculty to let the school know what they want to see and what they never want to experience ever again.

Opinions can be positive or they can be negative, as long as they do not involve slandering anyone or anything for the sake of being offensive.

It is important to give an honest opinion, but there’s no need to be uncivilized.

So if a student or even a faculty member wants to showcase their opinions, thoughts or ideas, there’s no place like The Oracle. Submit your ideas and let them be heard.

creators of the game want to release them as downloadable content so that the game can be released on time.

Even with some cuts to the roster, the new additions to the Smash Bros franchise are looking good. Smash will hit store shelves on Oct. 3 for the 3DS and later in the year for the Wii U. Developed by Bungie, the creators of Halo, Destiny is a new take on the first-person shooter genre. Destiny’s core gameplay will be that of a first-person shooter, but many RPG and MMO elements will be incorporated into it as well. Players can pick from three classes, Titan, Hunter and Warlock, to play as.

The Titan class is as close to heavy combat as it could get with it having powerful armor and close range weaponry.

The Hunter class focuses on long range weaponry such as sniper rifles and they are incredibly quick on the battlefield.

The Warlock class is similar to mages in various RPGs with its ability to use various powers to battle with.

A beta version of Destiny was released over the summer and many gamers were able to test and experience the game first hand.

Though the game had its problems, Bungie has listened to the beta testers and they have addressed them. Destiny releases Sept. 9 on PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

This semester is sure to have plenty of games one can play either alone or with their friends.

From fighting games to shooters, gamers will have their hands full with these new releases.

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L E T T E R S TO THE EDITOR

Have an opinion on an issue or response to what we said? Just want to rant about something for a while? Write us at ORACLE@HSU. EDU. We want to hear what you think. Hell, if it doesn’t suck, we’ll publish it in next week’s issue. Try to keep it between 400 and 600 words. Just like your Tumblr, we ignore anonymous submissions.

ORACLE STAFF Editor-in-chief

Stephanie Hartman stephwithahart@gmail.com

Faculty adviser

Mike Taylor taylorm@hsu.edu

News editor

Moe Skinner ms191999@reddies.hsu.edu

Sports editor

Kaitlyn Kitchens kk175413@reddies.hsu.edu

Views editor

Dax Guilliams dg172468@reddies.hsu.edu

Photo editor

Jeff Gilmore findoutwhatitis@soon.com

Page designer

Houston Fryer hf179598@reddies.hsu.edu

Graphic designer

Megan Snoddy megan.snoddy@hotmail.com

Web designer

Scott McKinnon jm146683@reddies.hsu.edu

Business manager

James T. Allen ja165078@reddies.hsu.edu

Distribution manager

Carmin Wills cw195138@reddies.hsu.edu

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

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NEW KIDS IN TOWN Freshmen volleyball players are welcomed with open arms

BY TAYLOR DANIELS Being new to a big campus is tough, but being a new freshman athlete on a campus makes for an even tougher beginning to the long school year.

Even though sports hazing is not allowed, freshmen have a hard time adjusting to their new surroundings, meeting new people, and adapting to their coaches along with the college work load.

Henderson is known for their nursing program which brings many non-athletes and athletes alike while all bearing the miserable wait list.

One of those eager waiters is freshman Alexa Oestmann.

“It was pretty good (being with the team),” Alexa Oestmann, freshman volleyball athlete and future nursing student said. “All of the returners were very welcoming and they talked to us before our four-a-days started to let us know that we will get through them no matter

how hard the practices were going to be and it will soon be satisfying” Knowing that you are not in this alone is an amazing feeling and helps cope with the ideal outcome for the team.

All wanting the desired goal and becoming closer each and every day to complete their mission is what family is all about.

Whether you are thirty minutes away or a whole day’s drive from home, usually the college experience is the first real time away from home a student has.

This creates emotions that most did not know they could shed for missing family.

“I was scared once I got here,” Brianna Reband, freshman volleyball athlete and future business major said. “But I was excited to leave home then I realized there is not family and there were no friends at first but the team slowly has become friends and most importantly, family.”

Most cannot imagine a world without their family and even though they will always be there for you the physical part is the most important feeling.

Like many new people who are attending Henderson. usually freshmen do not know anyone who will also be attending other than their roommate.

The first step is to ‘creep’ on them on social media like Facebook and Instagram to retain a better idea of who they may be living with.

The social media step is a crucial part in learning about the first possible friend an incoming student may have.

“No we did not know each other before coming to Henderson, I just got to know my roommate over texting because we both lived in different states,” Kaylie Pyles, freshman volleyball athlete and future education/coaching major, said. “But I met plenty of people during orientation and during the move-in week, it was like a giant ice breaker!”

The first game of the season is usually the one that may set the tone of the rest of the year and can help prove who will or will not show their nerves.

Perfect for a freshman’s time to shine.

“I am really nervous but excited at the same time about our upcoming scrimmage and I am very pleased to know and feel that the team is feeling the same way while also looking very prepared and confident”, Oestmann.

This upcoming weekend the Lady Reddies volleyball team will be scrimmaging each other and it is being held in their gym in the Duke Wells Center and it will not be opened to the public.

If you are eager to watch the Lady Reddies volleyball team play then September 5 and 6 they will be playing their opener tournament.

They will be facing McMurry at 2:00 pm and Central Oaklahoma at 6:00 pm on Friday September the 5th.

On Saturday September the 6th they will face Fort Hays State at 11:00 am and Union at 3:00 pm.

Everybody who shows their support for the Henderson Athletics program by showing up and showing their Reddie Pride is one of the greatest feelings for athletes.

It gives them a sense of belonging being appreciated and more importantly the support makes them feel at home.