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Theatre students produce own plays Page 5
Graduates now, Islanders forever by JONATHAN FORNEY • Page 6
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May 18, 2017 Volume 28, Issue 14
Opinions Page 2 Entertainment Page 8 Sports Page 11
2 Opinion
STI
STUDENT PUBLICATION OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYCORPUS CHRISTI
ISLAND WAVES | ISLANDWAVESNEWS.COM IslandWavesNews.com
05.18.2017
NO MORE WIRED HEADPHONES? JONATHAN
FORNEY
| VOLUME 26 ISSUE 20 | 08.27.15
Editor-in-chief JONATHAN FORNEY Web GERI LEMMONS, editor MIKAYLA OELSCHELGEL, editor
Copy Editor KATIE MEZA
Visuals ZACH ALDRIDGE, photographer
Layout KARA HERRERA, editor VINCENT VERDUZCO, assistant
Reporters SARAH REEVES, news AMERICA SEGURA, sports
Graduate Assistant BRADY BURNS, advertising
Faculty Adviser WENDY MOORE
ABOUT ISLAND WAVES Island Waves is a studentproduced publication at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The newspaper is printed weekly, except during summer sessions. Any student or University employee may submit material and opinions for publication consideration. To become a contributor, e-mail or call the Island Waves editor. CONTACT US 6300 Ocean Drive Unit 5783 Corpus Christi, TX 78412 (361) 825-5862 editor@tamucc.edu ads@tamucc.edu
iPhone's headphone jack removal a mistake Jonathan Forney @jb4nay
A
pple has a storied history of setting tech trends that the industry follows, but removing the headphone jack on their most recent iPhones seems to have been a misstep. Since the iPhone 7 launched in September 2016, the primary drawback was the removal of the headphone jack for what Apple senior vice president, Phil Schiller described as “courage.” The only problem is, that decision seems to be more change for the sake of change rather than an improvement. The lone port at the bottom of the iPhone 7 is just a lighting port. Granted, the company pushed its AirPods (Bluetooth cordless EarPods) and EarPods that connect via the lightning
port as opposed to an audio jack. The removal of the headphone jack not only added headaches to consumers, it strongly encouraged them to have to buy more accessories after already purchasing their new iPhone (iPhone 7 retails at $700+). I don’t believe removing the headphone jack was the right way to go. There’s myriad of situations where mobile users would be disadvantaged by this “courageous” design decision. For instance, people who listen to music in their cars. Not all cars have Bluetooth sound systems, so the only way people could have their music in their cars is by using one of Apple’s dongles (currently $9). Do these customers buy one dongle and leave it permanently in their car and buy another in case they have a pair of 3.5
mm headphones they want to keep using? Again, the solution shouldn’t be buying more stuff because Apple didn’t want to include what has become a standard of smart phones. The audio jack omission has become a sort of running joke in the tech industry as other manufacturers have begun listing a headphone jack as a feature in their advertisements to troll the absurdity of Apple’s decision. The signs seem to point that the next iPhone whether it be the iPhone 8 or 7s, will continue the trend of omitting a headphone jack. Some companies like Motorola have followed in Apple’s footsteps and left the headphone jack out of their phones and received appropriate backlash because of it. That being said, most Android phone manufac-
turers hold firm to the belief that headphone jacks are necessary and continue to include them in their phones. Furthermore, Bluetooth technology has come a long way, but it isn’t ready to become the default way people consume audio content. For one thing, wireless headphones are just another thing people need to remember to charge. Personally, I’d much rather untangle a headphone cable than pull out some earbuds only to see I forgot to charge them and I’m without music. I hope Apple will follow the rest of industry’s lead to include headphone jacks going forward. They can easily rebound from this mistake and keep making products that improve the daily routines of their users.
Opinion 3
05.18.2017
Moving back isn’t such a bad idea KACI ALVAREZ contributing writer
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fter finally earning a college diploma, the last thing any student would want to do is move back in with their parents, but it’s not all bad once put in perspective. Recent graduates have had the opportunity to live on their own for four years while in college. Most don’t want to lose that freedom they have acquired so the thought of moving back home with their parents is scary. However, when they haven’t landed a job yet, it’s a great option. Here are some reasons why moving back in with your parents isn’t as bad as you think it is. You can save money. The number one reason recent graduates need to move in with their parents is because of money issues. Without securing a job right out of college it’s hard for them to be able to pay all their bills. By living with
their parents, many students are able to focus on searching for a job while not living with the stress of financial burden. Parents are there for support. When students live on their own, it’s hard to find a proper support system that wants what is best for you no matter the cost and with the stress of real world living after college, parents are able to provide that. That is what parents or guardians are there for. They will always want you to have the world and will support you in everything you do. It’s nice at times to know everything will be alright, even if it just your mom repeating the same things you’ve heard while growing up. Home cooked meals beat ramen. Living on a college budget is hard. While recent graduates have conquered it throughout their time in college, it’s always nice to have something other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ramen
@GeriLemmons
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elebrities like Chris Rock, Adel and Jack White are all putting their foot down when it comes to technology being used at their shows. Performers like these are choosing to not allow excessive phone use while they perform live. These artists are wanting audiences to focus more on the show and less on watching the show through a tiny screen. Alicia Keys, Chris Rock, Guns N’ Roses and Hannibal Buress are some of the few performers that are now using a new device made to fix this problem. According to thesource.com they have now started to make their fans put their phones in a special pouch. This pouch does not allow the individual to use their phone until they go outside and
use a special device to open the pouch. Their concerts are considered a cell phone-free zone. I understand why certain performers are now opting to go to the extremes of making audiences put away their phones. I imagine they are tired of looking out into the crowd and seeing a sea full of cell phones instead of faces. It can be hard to look out and feel like they are performing to an iPhone. Those are more extreme cases of performers wanting to take control of their live performances. Others have just posted signs outside of their shows asking audiences to not use their phones and just enjoy the show. According to Grammy.com, artist such as Jack White are asking for audiences to not film him while he is performing. This is the case with many
Island Waves News .com
A change in command
photo courtesy of FLICKR
noodles. That’s why they tend to go home on the weekends as often as they can. When living with their parents after graduating, students are blessed with home cooked meals on a daily basis, which seems like heaven after what they have been through. It relieves real world stress. Instead of having to deal with the stress and deadlines of figuring everything out right out of college, students who move back in with their families are given the luxury of spending time with loved ones, while moving at their own pace. This point ties everything together.
Since the graduate can save money by not paying rent or other bills, they don’t have to rush to find a job within their respected fields and they have their families their cheering them on every step of the way. Living on your own and experiencing the freedoms college provides is great. Finding a job right out of college and moving into your own place is awesome also, but don’t be ashamed if it doesn’t work out quite like that. Moving back in with your parents isn’t the end of the world. If anything, it’s just a stepping stone for a bright and rewarding future.
Performers ask audiences to put phones away GERI LEMMONS
O N L I N E
other performers as well. They are fine with people using their phone to text or call someone but, they are not okay with people using their phones as a recording device. They think it is disrespectful to the artists and their shows. They think it is disruptive to the people around them and they also think it ruins the experience for the individual recording because they are more focused on recording the show than enjoying what they came for, a live performance. When going to a concert it is common to find people who will have their phone up most, if not the whole show. As a person who is short, I find it very annoying because the person is usually holding their hand up high and all I can really see is the concert through their cell phone screen. It can be annoying and often ruins my experi-
ence. Don’t get me wrong, it is fine when someone wants to just record their favorite band doing their favorite song. Just one song is okay, not the whole concert. Most of the time the videos they’re taking is fuzzy anyway, and the only music they can hear is their own voice and others around them. The videos are used for is to show their friends they were there, and most don’t watch it again. The pouch is a good idea in my opinion. Yes, it can be annoying to have to go outside in order to use your phone. But, with people having to do all of that just to use the phone, it makes them less likely to use it. Going to a concert is about watching a show live and having a one-of-a kind experience, not about how great ones filming skills are.
Hello Islanders, Jonathan here, the new editor-in-chief for Island Waves. Our staff is going to be changing quite a bit going forward. While we’re excited for the members of our staff to have graduated, we know there’s still work to be done. We’ll be bringing in a lot of new faces but our mission is still the same: bringing the news and telling stories to the TAMU-CC community. A little about me, I’m a senior biology major, so I’m a little atypical than the type of student one would expect for this position. That being said, this will be my third year on staff here and, like my backstory, I would like to focus on telling those stories our readers may not have heard otherwise. I believe the role of student media such as Island Waves is to show the identity of a university, whether that be a student who beat improbable odds to get to this point or a little-known event our readers may want to know about. We’re going to do our best to cover the diversity and variation that makes this university such a great place. As students and faculty get ready for their much-anticipated summer plans, I would like to announce that we’ll still be putting out issues of Island Waves all summer long. Have a great summer, Jonathan Forney, editor-inchief
ON THE COVER:
PHOTO BY JONATHAN FORNEY
4 News
05.18.2017
University helps students destress with events MIKAYLA OELSCHLEGEL @mikaylaMOG
T
he last two weeks of school amount to some of the most stressful times for college students as exam week starts and final grades start to be tallied. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi offered several free activities to students to help combat the stress of finals week. Activities such as Paw on the Island, manicures, massages, henna tattoos and late night breakfast have been offered for the past couple of years. Each of these specific sessions are designed to help the students take a break from studying and homework. “I feel like finals week is very stressful and nothing can take that away but [the activities] do take our mind off it a little bit so that was great,” said Sami Ortega, sophomore communication major. The activities kicked off on May 2 with Paw on the Island and Walk the Labyrinth. The dogs were brought in with the association of Pet Partners and were trained therapy dogs. This year event coordinators also brought in kittens for students to play with. Another recent addition this year was a May the 4th Be With You painting class as the first day of finals landed on the fourth of May, which is a long running Star Wars day. Ortega took part in the Paws on the Island session and said her favorite part was getting to pet the dogs and seeing every-
one’s happy faces. “I feel like these activities were great stress relievers,” Ortega said. “Everyone loves dogs and I feel that dogs bring us happiness so it’s great to feel happy during that stressful week.” Not all Islander students participated in the activities during finals week however. Some because they were too worried about passing classes to take time away from studying and some because they were working in their free time. Tere were a few who just did not want to take part in any of the activities. “I did not participate in any of the activities. I watched others participate through Snapchat though,” said Felicia DeMartino, junior EC-6 education major. “I just had a lot on my plate this semester. I had taken on more responsibility at work so doing that full time as well as keeping up with my grades, I just wanted to focus and get through the week.” By creating a week full of fun activities, like getting to pet therapy dogs and cats or getting a free massage, the university is showing that while studying and being able to pass classes are good, getting to take a break between all that is essential. “I definitely think it helps with stress. It allows everyone to come together and just forget about school for a little bit and relax,” DeMartino said. The finals week events began on the last days of classes and are posted on Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s social media sites.
News 5
05.18.2017
Students produce 40-minute plays ZACH ALDRIDGE Contributing Writer
T
he Texas A&M Corpus Christi theatre department hosted their annual 40-minute play festival from May 3-7. The festival, which showcases work done by Acting II and Directing II students, was put on in the Warren theatre. Anyone was welcome to watch the plays for $5 a night, and the money collected helps pay off the rights to show the plays. Not only is this a way for the theater department to get students and the public more involved with the program, but it is also the final grades for the Acting II and Directing II students. Alison Frost, associate professor for theatre, has been with the Island University for eight years. She said the 40-minute festival has been going on for more than 10 years, and this year’s 20play showcase had the best attendance ever. “It teaches the students how to collaborate and allows them to take an idea and transform it to the implementation of a production,” she said. Ty Aldridge junior theatre major, said the festival is a great way for theatre students to express themselves. “It gives students the opportunity to present their work on productions and shows that the faculty might not normally choose them for,” Aldridge said.“It really gives students the ability to prove themselves.” It’s also not unusual for students to participate in multiple shows during the festival. Aldridge was in three shows this year: “Women in Jeopardy,” “Good
Promotional material for Apocalyptic Butterflies by Wendy MacLeod, directed by Katia Mendizabal.
People” and “Shakespeare in Hollywood.” “The benefit of being in multiple shows is you can show your versatility
on the other hand it takes a lot of time to be in multiple shows and it is hard to put your full focus on three shows at once,” Aldridge said.
Photo courtesy of KATIA MENDIZABAL
For more information about the festival and to keep updated on next year’s dates go to http://cla.tamucc.edu/theatre/.
Nobel Prize winners set to speak at Island University SARAH REEVES @SreevesR
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n May 23, TAMU-CC will host two free public forums in the University Center’s Anchor Ballroom. These forums are part of this year’s 11th International Conference on Interconnections between Particle Physics and Cosmology (PPC). The forums will run from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will feature Adam Riess and David J. Gross, who are both Nobel Prize winners. During the morning student forum, local high school and middle school students are encouraged to attend to hear Riess and Gross talk about their chal-
lenges and the road to winning their Nobel prizes. Afterwards, a Q&A will follow. In the evening, Riess will lead a talk called “Supernovae Reveal An Accelerating Universe” that is open to the Coastal Bend Community. Riess’ aim in his talk will cover the notion of black matter in the expanding universe and how it has caused disputes in contemporary studies for astrophysics and cosmology. Dr. Barbara Szczerbinska, Physics Professor in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and the PPC Steering Committee Chair, is coordinating this upcoming event. Dr. Szczerbinska said she and other
faculty look forward to TAMU-CC hosting an educational environment for students to meet and interact with successful and renowned scientists due to their academic achievements. Salma Ortiz, junior mechanical engineering student, said this event will most likely interest students of various majors. “I honestly don’t know a whole lot about astrophysics or cosmology,” Ortiz said. “But there’s something so interesting about learning more about the universe...it’s literally out of this world!” Ortiz said students who are trying to discover what majors they want to be in should take full advantage and attend such as this one.
“You never quite know what you’re going to like until you’re exposed to it,” Ortiz said. “So, for those high school students interested in coming to our university, I say they outta come check it out and see for themselves whether they’d be interested in science as a major. That’s how I decided to change mine.” PPC itself will go on after these two public forums hosted at TAMU-CC. Having begun in 2007, PPC has been hosted internationally, in places such as South Korea, Switzerland and Italy. Dr. Szczerbinska said PPC 2017 will focus on things such as subatomic particles, gravitational waves, dark matter detection, and dark energy.
6 Campus
Campus 7
Class of 2017 walks stage, take bigger steps toward next part of their lives 2)
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1) The culmination of their hard work and dedication, graduates hug their instructors who helped get them to this point.
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2-4) In a sea of black caps and gowns, some students spruce up their caps for a more personal and unique look as they walk across the stage. These decorations ranged from humorous to heartfelt thank you’s. There were depictions of superheroes that propelled the students to do more than they thought possible. While others had references and jokes about all the cups of coffee it took to get to this point or how unlikely it was for them to be graduating given their circumstances. But most featured inspirations that helped get them across the stage. 5) A brand new Islander alumni flaunts her new hardware as she completes her walk. Degrees are accessories that look good on everyone. 6) Sometimes the magnitude of the moment compels people through a range of emotions. All of the hours and devotion to their studies can manifest themselves in more than a few watery eyes. This graduate certainly wasn’t the only one teary-eyed at the American Bank Center for this occasion.
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7) Few phrases are more representative of the feelings a graduate experiences other than “I did it. We did it.” The monumental achievement is enough to make some just throw their hands up in astonishment of the moment. 8) All smiles as a doctoral candidate receives her hood along with the new certification it entails. The candidate’s peers and instructors help place the hood over them as they are welcomed into one of the highest educational statuses possible. 9) In a pretty unique series of events, former music major, Janell Stallard, sang the national anthem as a graduating senior during the morning commencement ceremony and then later performed it as an Islander alumni during the afternoon commencement. Photos by JONATHAN FORNEY
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8 Entertainment
05.18.2017
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ sequel tops box office FILM REVIEW
JONATHAN FORNEY @jb4nay
The long-awaited sequel to 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy doesn’t fall victim to the typical shortcomings of a sequel and shines on its own merits. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 brings back the loveable heroes from the first film: Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Glamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel). The crew is out on a routine mission when a mysterious being appears and takes them on a journey to discover Quill’s family origin. The plot of the movie, without getting into spoilers, is a lot more linear than the first movie, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That being said, the film still unfolds across various locales and settings. Humor is still at the forefront of the writing. There are plenty of moments to get a laugh out of audiences. The film also gets uncharacteristically dark and emotional at certain scenes. To director/
writer James Gunn’s credit, this helps balance the film and keep audiences on their toes. A movie that includes a talking raccoon shooting lasers needs great CGI to keep things relatively believable in the scope of its fictional universe and Guardians does not disappoint. The star of the CGI show is Baby Groot. The spunky sapling is as cute as he is naïve and is great for both comic relief and “aww factor.” Another pillar of the Guardians franchise is music. The first film’s mixtape was filled with old-school jams that could stick in the heads of moviegoers long after they left the theater. The sequel also has its own mixtape and while it works thematically in the film, I personally wouldn’t save many of its songs. Being a sequel, it’s easy to only see the
film as compared to its predecessor, but I believe this movie can be enjoyed independently. There’s plenty of nods to the original film, but I don’t feel it’s required viewing to enjoy the sequel. All in all, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 holds its own when compared to
the first movie. It did enough to differentiate itself while still maintaining the identity of its core cast of characters. The balance of humor and drama keeps audiences guessing and makes for an easy to recommend moviegoing experience.
Photo courtesy of WIKIMEDIA.ORG
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10 Entertainment
05.18.2017
Guide to best spots for a perfect Saturday
VINCENT VERDUZCO/Island Waves
Sports 11
05.18.2017
Tough loss doesn’t diminish seniors’ legacies JONATHAN FORNEY Islanders softball went to extra innings in their final game of the season against the University of Incarnate Word on May 6. The 3-1 loss gave the team a 12-36 record for the year. Prior to the game, the Cardinal seniors were honored as well as both Islander seniors: Liz Carter and Mackinzee Griebel. The home team seniors and their families were given hugs and flowered by their coaches and teammates. “The seniors were the character of this team,” head coach Blake Miller said. “Liz kept us in every game, as much as things were tough. Mackinzee Griebel, she’s a silent leader.” Right out of the gate, the Cardinals got up to an early 1-0 lead in the first, but the Islanders tied things up after Savannah Sandoval scored when Griebel advanced to second. The next six innings were a stalemate where few batters were left on base by the end of each inning. Carter led the way with eight strikeouts and no earned runs, while giving up seven hits. The four different Islanders tallied a hit, for five total. With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh Megan Mitchell tried to make something happen but was
caught stealing second. The game headed to an extra inning. The Cardinals were the first to bat in the eight and had runners on second and third. Two strikes on the current batter and two outs, the Islanders just needed one out before switching sides. An error led to two Cardinal runs and the Islanders found themselves down 3-1 in a must score situation. After Sandoval singled, Griebel stepped to the plate and hit a pop-up that turned to a double play and ended the game. The hard-fought game came to an unfortunate end, but the theme of the day was the seniors and what they meant to the program. “Overall, I think it was a pretty good game,” Carter said. “We made plays when we needed to, unfortunately, when it came to the last play, we weren’t able to make it and it happens.” As their careers come to a close, the seniors leave a legacy of broken records and forged friendships. The program is optimistic about its future. “[The seniors] made it enjoyable to be here and battle through the first year,” Miller said. “As far as the program itself, they’ve put us in a position to be successful.” The seniors wanted to win their final game, of course, but they were able to think about the moment in terms of their entire careers.
Senior pitcher Liz Carter embraces her head coach, Blake Miller prior to her final game.
Described as a silent leader by her coach, Mackinzee Griebel embraces her teammate before her last game at the Island university. .
@jb4nay
“I don’t think this game reflects our careers here,” Carter said. “Zee [Griebel] and I are very grateful for our experiences here. The people we’ve met, the coaches we’ve had and the memories we’ve made. Going through this experience together, it’s a pretty big deal for us.”
Seniors are the heart and soul of most teams. They’ve been through the rigors that come with being a part of a collegiate program. Carter and Griebel left their mark on their teammates, coaches, and the Islander softball program that will help shape the direction of program for years to come.
photos by JONATHAN FORNEY
Candace Hadd looks to break an early 1-1 tie as she steps to the plate.
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