Volume 28 Issue 5

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

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EN GARDE!

Sports

Kleberg Classic returns to Whataburger field Page 11

TAMUCC hosts fencing tournament

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by GERI LEMMONS• Page 10

February 23, 2017 Volume 28, Issue 5

Opinions Page 2 Entertainment Page 7 Sports Page 10

2 Opinion

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STUDENT PUBLICATION OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYCORPUS CHRISTI

ISLAND WAVES | ISLANDWAVESNEWS.COM IslandWavesNews.com

02.23.2017

IZZY

WORD on the STREET

HE HAS A RIGHT, BUT IS IT RIGHT?

What are your thoughts on the Christian Extremist at TAMUCC?

SNEED

| VOLUME 26 ISSUE 20 | 08.27.15

HANNAH REININGER

Editor-in-chief KACI ALVAREZ

senior, communication

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For someone else to come [to campus] and tell other people how not to use their body or what to put on it, is not something I think is useful.

MIKAYLA OELSCHLEGEL, editor JEFFREY THOMAS, on-air talent MITCHELL JACKSON, vid. editor

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freshmen, psychology

IZZY SNEED, editor ZACH ALDRIDGE, photographer

Everyone has a right to their own religion. I do think he is going about it the wrong way though... putting people down.

Layout KARA HERRERA, editor VINCENT VERDUZCO, assistant

Reporters GERI LEMMONS, features JONATHAN FORNEY, sports MELISSA RODRIGUEZ, news SARAH REEVES, news AMERICA SEGURA, sports

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ABOUT ISLAND WAVES Island Waves is a studentproduced publication at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

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Free speech turns hate speech Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi is a pretty open campus. People share different views, religions and backgrounds. We may disagree on some things, but when it comes to the Christian extremist who comes to our campus every semester, we are pretty sure we all have the same thoughts.

Stationed in the Hector P. Garcia Plaza, the unnamed preacher stands around a crowd of Islander students reciting scripture from the Bible. While that would normally be acceptable, he resorts to condemning any student who walks by to hell for the slightest of reasons.

For example, he told a staff member of ours that she was going to hell for wearing “too short of shorts.” This man preaches for a religion that is about peace and love and yet he turns it into hate.

While the Island Waves staff thinks it’s best to ignore him when he comes to our

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STAFF

EDITORIAL

campus, that can be difficult when someone is insulting others for being true to themselves.

Students have been notorious for retaliating. One semester, two females played AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” on a loud speaker and danced provocatively in front of the preacher, taunting him. Another semester, students began throwing things at him while yelling in his face.

This semester, a group of LGBTQ+ advocates ran around the plaza with a rainbow gay pride flag, while a trombone musician played "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" as the student body chimed in and sang along.

While most of the time it turns into a shouting and insulting fest between him and the student body, there have been other times when

the students have been more peaceful.

Christian Islanders took the road less traveled by and began praying and preaching the word of God to the student body. They demonstrated the peaceful and lovingness of the religion. This semester, the recent additions of Christian Islanders even began offering their support to those the preacher verbally attacked.

The unnamed preacher has the right of free speech.

While it is legal for him to express himself to the best of his abilities and can create conversation between different people on whether or not they agree with him or have a different opinion, what he is saying is not that ethical in our opinion.

When someone is putting someone else down, it is bullying. He constantly picks on those he disagrees with, then puts up a front when confronted. That pretty much

sums up a bully if you ask us.

For the preacher to come to a college campus where there is a wide diversity people and attempt to preach what he thinks is correct is absurd. Seeing a person who proclaims to be a man of God professing how he believes those of a different gender, sexuality and religion will definitely be going to hell proves he is not one.

The preacher is significantly lost in his own ways and should know about the changes in today’s society and accept that. He is full of contradiction and judgement, which is a good notion by the school to have an officer present. Otherwise, things would have ended roughly between him and the students’ discussion.

For future reference, we suggest ignoring him while he is preaching because without an audience, he’s just a creepy guy yelling at nobody.

News 3

02.23.2017

TAMUCC searches for new president MELISSA RODRIGUEZ @__melisssaaaa

A

fter the former president of Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi, Dr. Flavius Killebrew, announced his retirement in Fall 2016, the university began the hunt to find someone fitting enough to become the Island University’s 11th president.

Dec. 31 marked the official retirement of Killebrew, who up until then had been serving as university president for the past 12 years. Dr. Kelly Quintanilla is currently serving as the interim president, while the Board of Regents and Texas A&M system Chancellor decide who will fill the position permanently. “[I] would look for someone with good communication skills,” said Garrett Ransom, Student Government Associa-

tion (SGA) president. “Someone who communicates well with not only faculty, staff and students, but with the community as well.”

A search committee has recently been devised in order to find candidates for the position.

The committee is composed of faculty, staff and student representatives, including Ransom, all of who are to keep the university’s interest in mind while selecting presidential nominees.

“We should look for somebody who is aware of the nature of the school and of the population it serves,” said Dr. Gregory Buck, associate professor of biology and biomedical sciences.

The committee will select a minimum of three potential candidates who will then be submitted to the Board of Regents.

“[Contact] me and tell me what you’re looking for in the next president and I’ll make sure that’s heard whenever [the committee] meets,” Ransom said.

The first search meeting was held Feb. 3, at TAMU-CC. All committee members in attendance were briefed about the process that will unfold over the next couple of months. “[We’re] conducting open forums to get community, staff, faculty and student input on what they’re looking for in the next president,” Ransom said.

The open forums will be held at the university on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the University Center. Ransom said they wanted to have forums at different hours in order to accommodate for a larger audience turnout.

“Readers should really feel

encouraged to come out and give feedback,” Buck said regarding the forums.

There is no specific date set for the appointment of the next president. The process of selection will continue for the next several months. Submissions of the final potential candidates to the Board of Regents will be made between June and July, Ransom said.

“My goal is to, along with the other committee members, help the Board of Regents to best choose the [ideal] candidate,” Buck said.

Between now and the selection of the final candidates, the search firm in charge will post a job listing for the position on several websites and work on conducting the open forums in order to find the most the Island university’s next president.

Island Spring Clean kicks off Homecoming week ILLI-ANNA SKY MARTINEZ Contributing Writer

I

slanders met bright and early on Feb. 12 in front of the Performing Arts Center to participate in the annual Islander Spring Clean held by Student Volunteer Connection (SVC).

Organizations from the Island University registered as volunteers to help clean up the campus in order to prepare for Homecoming Week. Students were offered tacos and coffee just before the cleanup to reward them for coming in early to help. This was the first spirit competition event of the week.

“Our main goal is to try and connect students with service, but also connect them to the community,” said junior environmental science major, Sydney Moreno. “We really just want to try and form relationships with community partners and learn more about the people in Corpus and what Corpus is.”

Moreno said she always enjoyed volunteering and cares deeply about the environment.

She said she spent time volunteering before attending the Is-

land University, but SVC helped her see the variety of ways to give back to the community that is worth so much more than just one single day spent volunteering.

She said it is nice when the community takes notice of when they hold events like the Islander Spring Clean because she wants them to know that SVC, along with the rest of the Islander community, care about the university.

“There’s an incentive to be a part of this event because organizations want to win and get spirit points,” said senior environmental science major Ana Salamanca.

SVC typically holds beach cleanups for the university during the fall semester, but they also use the Spring Clean event to gain more volunteers to help maintain the image of the island.

“Marine debris gets washed up every single day,” Salamanca said. “Without beach cleanups, or just cleanups in general, the island would look pretty nasty.”

“SVC has helped me find who I want to be in my future,” said

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fourth-year nursing major Alex Puentes, another member of SVC who enjoys being a part of both the organization and the event. “It kind of helped me find my path just directly in the healthcare field.”

Puentes said she feels it is important the university looks its best before Homecoming Week begins because so many people are attending the events. Alumni and their families are visiting the island and she said it is important that the university is still well maintained. Aside from this, Puentes said the island is also frequently used by researchers.

Moreno, Puentes and Salamanca, along with the rest of SVC, said they are excited for the rest of this year’s Homecoming events. They said they wish to continue beautifying the island and hope it will influence more people to volunteer.

“If you want to learn more about how to be green, just google the TAMUCC Islander Green Team,” Moreno said.

“Please take care of the environment that you are utilizing for at least four years.”

For more information about the Islander Green Team, visit their website at islandergreen. tamucc.edu.

O N L I N E

Island Waves News .com

Islanders celebrate Homecoming

Island Waves is providing full Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi 2017 Homecoming coverage, which includes a photo spread of the events happening throughout the week, a story on the new block party that debuted this year and Homecoming basketball game coverage. See it all at islandwavesnews. com.

TAMUCC has day at capitol With the annual Day at the Capitol fast approaching on Feb. 21, students and alumni are getting ready to travel to Austin in hopes of tackling some big ticket issues potentially facing Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Students and former students will convene on the capitol building on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in a citizen lobbying attempt, speak with congress men and women as well as lobbyists on behalf of the university. With the Texas Legislators considering a $28 million cut in funding to the Island University, fellow students wish to combat that and fight for state funding.

Continue reading at islandwavesnews.com.

ON THE COVER: Photo by ZACH ALDRIDGE

4 News

02.23.2017

Pence breaks senate tie, DeVos appointed

SARAH REEVES @SreevesR

V

ice President Mike Pence casted a tie-breaking vote for the recent addition to President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Besty DeVos was appointed as United States Secretary of Education on Feb. 7, 2017.

Since 2013, during an interview with The Chronical of Philanthropy, a magazine for nonprofits based in Washington D.C., DeVos has expressed her support for parent’s having the choice of where they can send their children to school.

These options include private schooling, homeschooling and online education.

“I am strongly against any form of choice program that gives public tax monies to private schools,” said Doug Cross, a 28-year educator and current principal of the Student Support Center with Corpus Christi ISD. “There is a finite amount of tax revenue for public schools.”

DeVos’ adversaries claim that her efforts of privatizing education and installing school voucher programs may

deflect public funding, mainly to private schools.

Cross said private schools have the opportunity to pick and choose their students and challenging students are often left to the public education system when private schools do not want to educate them.

“Public schools have to teach every student that come through their doors,” Cross said.

For parents living in urban areas, DeVos’ efforts for educational choice may offer them more opportunities of where their children can attend school. However, for parents living in rural areas, there may not be a lot of options to begin with.

“To the best of my recollection, in states where a choice/voucher system has been implemented, geographic proximity is the biggest determinant of what schools parents choose,” Cross said. “In other words, they pick the school closest to where they live.”

Some disagree with DeVos’ advocacy of educational school choice, claiming that parents already have choices of

where to enroll their children.

“School choice is already an option,” said Chanel Kern, senior English major.

“The idea of taking tax payer dollars to help additionally fund private schools is, in my opinion, criminal.”

Kern, also working on a teaching certificate, said private schools already charge tuition for students to attend their schools and those with religious affiliations receive significant tax breaks.

“If you start diverting funds from public schools to give it to private schools, you are now creating three sources of benefit at the private school level and cutting funding even further for public schools that are already struggling for funding,” Kern said.

According to nytimes.com, some citizens have expressed their concern online because of DeVos’ lack of experience in public schooling and her support for minimalizing the government’s impact on public schools.

“Without federally established curriculum mandates, states are free to teach whatever they want,” Kern said. “I fear the long-term effects.”

photo courtesy of GOOGLE.COM

Newly appointed Secretary of Education Betsy Devos.

Annual heart ball honors achievers BIG SCREEN TV’S • FREE WI-FI DAILY BEER SPECIALS

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JOSLYN DOIRON Contributing writer

T

he American Heart Association held their 22nd Hearts In Havana Heart Ball on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The gala event took place at the Solomon P. Ortiz Center and included a silent and live auction, Cuban jazz and dinner for all guests. While visitors enjoyed an evening in Havana, this event supported a mission by honoring local achievers for their contributions to the Coastal Bend community.

“Hearts in Havana celebrates all of our supporters, local volunteers and the many accomplishments that we have attained together in fighting against stroke and heart disease,” said Rosalyn Mandola, the regional communication director for the American Heart Association, who directed and organized the event.

The annual Heart Ball invites more than 500 of Corpus Christi and the state community leaders in the industry of medicine and commerce. It is also The American Heart Association’s opening fundraising event to initiate ongoing cardiovascular and stroke research.

“The Heart Ball is happening just in time for Valentine’s Day, with an excel-

lent Mojito Bar for cocktails, entertainment and dancing,” said Patricia Jones, a guest at the Heart Gala. “But most importantly, we as a community are joined together tonight for a great mission.”

This year’s event, just as every other, represented The American Heart Association’s research, improvement and support to continue to benefit families, children and community with hearthealthy lives.

“My heart is full to be here tonight, as the American Heart Association’s mission is to build healthier lives – free of stroke and cardiovascular diseases,” Jones said. “I am truly honored to have participated in such a heartwarming event.”

photo courtesy of the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

Community raises funds at annual heart ball.

News 5

02.23.2017

Stop the Bleed offers emergency training SARAH REEVES @SreevesR

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n Oct. 6, 2015, the White House launched the Stop the Bleed campaign to raise public awareness of how to respond to an emergency injury and turn bystanders into “bydoers.”

The campaign stresses that in an emergency, professional medical’s time of arrival may be the deciding factor in a life-or-death situation and has recently become very active for the Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council (RAC). By empowering the public with information relayed from first-response teams and military personnel, Stop the Bleed intends on saving lives.

“The Stop the Bleed campaign started as a White House initiative to educate [people] of tourniquets and packing/ pressure techniques that can save a life from a gunshot, blast injury, or other injury to an extremity,” said Hillary Watt, executive director of the RAC. The RAC is offering all kinds of training sessions throughout the month of February as well as March. On Feb. 16,

they are featured at TSA-U Regional Mass Fatality Work Group at the Corpus Christi Fire Department.

“Given that someone can bleed to death in three minutes, just from bleeding from an injury that otherwise would not be life threatening is tragic,” Watt said.

With a total student enrollment of 12,202 as of Fall 2016, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has a large student population that could benefit from learning how to respond in an emergency.

When asked how confident she would be in aiding someone dangerously injured before professional help arrives, senior English major, Katie Sisk, said, “I am not confident at all.”

Sisk said the first thing she would do in an emergency is call the police, then help the injured person remain calm until help arrives.

“With Stop the Bleed Campaign, I definitely think that there would be a change in how I would respond,” Sisk said. “I think that the public would benefit from learning the basics of how to help someone during an emergency, as would those

who [could be] injured.”

According to stopthebleedingcoalition. org, in 2013 alone, there were 72 people shot in active shootings, 39 killed and 15 overall horrific shooting events. More than half of these events have required police to use deadly force to stop the casualties. The number of shootings and deaths are projected to increase over the

years.

“The skills gained through this free education is invaluable given the times we live in,” Watt said.

For those interested in getting involved with the RAC, visit http://www.cbrac.org/.

For more information on Stop the Bleed Campaign, visit their official website at http://www.stopthebleedtx.org/.

photo courtesy of HILLARY WATT

A nurse takes blood from a patient at the Regional Advisory Council.

Counseling center offers mental health screening AMERICA SEGURA @America58110

T

he Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Counseling Center has an online screening test that can determine students’ moods.

The screening helps students gain an understanding in case they feel they have symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. The service is anonymous and can be taken on a mobile device or computer. Thus, making it easier and more comfortable for students to access.

“I liked taking it because it made me feel reassured of how I feel and helped me cope with it,” said Madison Hall, freshman psychology major.

Hall said she recently decided to take the screening mood check test after feeling a little overwhelmed with the new semester. After trying to settle in for her second semester at the Island University, Hall noticed she was not feeling like herself.

“I’m just trying to find myself and I wasn’t feeling it,” Hall said.

After the screening, Hall said she was more knowledgeable and the results seemed accurate, which helped reassure

her of her then emotions.

“We’ve offered the anonymous mental health screenings on our website [for] about three years now, however, we are being more proactive about marketing it this semester,” said Teresa Sharp, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi counselor.

The Island University Counseling Center staff hopes the screening will be of aid to many more students and eventually help them feel comfortable with themselves. The mood check is suppose to persuade students to reach out in any case that students feel too overwhelmed or even depressed.

The Counseling Center is a series of offices located in the Driftwood building in which psychiatric help and counseling is provided to students who may be in need of it.

According to the University Counseling Center website, there are a variety of options for help such as personal and group counseling and drug and abuse services.

The counseling center staff also provides opportunities to destress in relaxation rooms and a massage chair that can be used upon reservations.

The counseling center is not only available on weekdays from 8:00 am to 5:00

pm, but also have an emergency counselor students can call if they need to do so in a state of emergency.

“I think its pretty normal for students in general to be stressed,” Sharp said. “A lot of pressure is academic and personal, but if the symptoms are starting to affect their functioning and have lasted for a while that’s when it is preferable to seek

help.”

Sharp said it’s important to be aware of your surroundings, and find things that make you feel at ease.

“In other words, don’t let those emotions and feelings get the best of you,” Sharp said.

For more information, isit the University Counseling Center.

6 News

02.23.2017

Media production hosts how-to workshop O

n Feb. 9 the Media Production department at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi hosted a workshop for students where they learned what it takes to shoot a scene for a movie, includ-

ing everything from lighting, blocking and staging the scene.

The workshop, which took place in the Think Tank in Bay Hall, started at 7 p.m. and had 26 students in attendance. The students at the workshop got a hands-on experience on what it is like to be on a film set. They operated cameras, ran the

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Participants of the workshop watch the monitor as their movie scene plays out

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slate, directed and some even did a little acting.

“Really anybody can just come and learn kind of the basics of film and digital video,” said Ryan Chipman, junior media production major. “It’s not required that you have to be a production major to come do this. You can be a major in biology and come in here and just hang out and learn basic cinematography. It’s a blast.”

Students at the workshop first started by coming up with an idea for their own movie. The idea resulted in a scene about two evil business men who pollute the world just to increase their profits, when all of a sudden the heroes walk in talking trash about the bad guys and discuss ways to stop them.

After the idea was set, students then worked on blocking and staging the scene. They decided where the actors should be, how they should walk in, where all the chairs would go and what could be seen.

Once that was done, participants worked on the technical aspect of a film set such as getting the perfect dolly movement, choosing the right lens for the camera, getting the lighting perfect, and making sure the scene as a whole

had the look they wanted.

Once everything was ready to go, the director yelled “action” and they shot the scene.

“I think it’s important that everybody gets a chance to learn what we do here, it’s not just fun and games there’s skills to learn and also to obtain,” said Mike Montero, junior media production major.

“Not everybody has them at first but you can get them along the way. That’s what we do here we all learn. We all grow together.”

Dante Williams, senior media production major, agreed with the importance of the production workshops.

“These workshops are very helpful because they prepare us for going out and working on our own student films, for a grade and outside of class,” he said.

The next production workshop will be from 6-8 p.m. on Apr. 6 in Bay Hall room 227. For more information about the upcoming production workshop and other upcoming events in the media production department visit www.facebook. com/tamucc.mediaproduction.

Check out our YouTube channel for an Island Waves original video on the production workshop.

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Entertainment 7

02.23.2017

Music fans gather to celebrate Grammys ERIN NASH Contributing Writer

T

he Grammy Awards ceremony was shown live on Feb. 11 on CBS, which provided theatrical performances, unique attire and many celebrities.

For its 59th annual celebration, the Grammys were held in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center. There were 84 categories with more than 60 nominees. which suited all genres of music, technology and dance. Several artists attended in hopes of winning the golden gramophone trophy, hence the name “Grammy.”

“I personally thought they shined very good light around the music industry around this time, more than just the pop scene,” said Hector Rene Ariano, junior music major. “They brought more heavy metal and rock ‘n roll. They even gave awards to one of my favorite bands.”

The show opened with Adele singing “Hello.” Shortly afterward, host James Corden took over, making a slight joke about President Donald Trump. Almost every performance centered around the social and economic issues that were driven by politics.

A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes

and Anderson Paak proclaimed their views chanting “Resist, resist, resist” after their performance. Q-Tip came out in the beginning of the performance holding a young woman’s hand who was wearing a hijab, while people brought to life the “No Wall, No Ban” protest written on their signs. Katy Perry and Skip Marley wore all white on stage and projected the constitution onto the background and across their bodies as they held hands, saying “No Hate.”

“I thought ‘wow’,” said Alicia Crawford, sophomore marketing major.

“That’s more political than what everyone thought about it, so yeah I think that was really cool that [Katy Perry] did that.”

“I really enjoyed Chance the Rapper’s performance,” said Adrian Nicholson, senior biomedical science major. “I loved how he mixed Christian music with rap, I thought that was pretty cool.”

Beyoncé showcased her pregnancy and motherhood during her performance. Her mother Tina Lawson and daughter Blue Ivy, both wearing gold, sat in a staggering form, symbolizing the transcendence of beauty and love. Beyoncé’s gold bikini costume showed off her growing figure.

According to time.com, her costume and dress, were inspired by the African goddess Oshun, goddess of beauty, love, prosperity and sweet waters.

“I loved it, especially Beyoncé’s part.

Beyoncé and Adele brought it,” Crawford said.

Not only did musicians use their platform to voice themselves on issues, actors, actresses and even those not

present at the awards show also voiced themselves. Some took to social media to stand with what their associates and friends were saying about gender, religious and racial issues.

“I don’t really talk about politics, but I think that there should be some stances,” Nicholson said. “They did pretty good, they didn’t take it too far. I think that was pretty good, isolating stances.”

courtesy of GOOGLE.COM

Boozerz Bar showcases Crowd Control Media AMBER CASTILLO Contributing writer

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oozerz Bar is introducing a new music scene to Corpus Christi that invites local and out-of-town bands to show off their talents on the weekends.

On Feb. 11, Boozerz presented a free showcase that included out-of-town band Smart Boyz and local band Drastic Actions. Both bands are part of a record label called Crowd Control Media.

“We have been at this new location for about two months now and I have been really trying to change things up a bit,” bar owner Tommy Boy said. “I have been really into the punk/rock genre since I was a kid, so I like to bring these kinds of bands in to show off what they got. But I have also been trying to expand the music scene here with incorporating different genres in order to draw in different crowds.”

The showcase brought out all different ages throughout the bar for a night of music and entertainment.

“I heard about this event actually through friends and seeing fliers posted

around the community,” said 22-year-old Anthony Villarreal. “It’s such a huge stress reliever being able to come out and listen to good music and being with friends.

Corpus really doesn’t offer these kinds of punk rock shows so it’s cool that this bar is able to offer this to the community.”

The Smart Boyz consider themselves a rock ’n roll and heavily infused punk rock band. They usually perform three times a month and have been a band for a little more than a year. They are currently signed with Crowd Control Media and will head out to tour the East Coast in March.

“This was actually our first time per-

Valid through 12/31/17.

photo by AMBER CASTILLO

forming here in Corpus Christi,” said singer/guitar player Jay Boi. “The energy was awesome and I definitely look forward to coming back very soon.”

Boozerz Bar will host shows all throughout February and March, which will include different genres such as reggae, rock and punk shows. You can find all of the upcoming events on their Facebook page, Boozerz Rock Bar. Their new location is 3854 S.P.I.D. The bar allows 18 and up with a valid ID.

8 Entertainment

02.23.2017

Christian Grey? More like Christian HEYYY

MIKAYLA OELSHLEGEL @mikaylaMOG

T

he world just got “50 Shades Darker” with the release of the second movie in the 50 Shades trilogy on Feb. 10.

This sequel opens with a flashback to Grey’s childhood. This scene causes a small wave of confusion to the audience as the grey hue of the sequence is the only factor to cue the audience of the context. From then, the movie picks up slightly from where the first movie left off.

The audience finds Anastasia Steele, portrayed by Dakota Johnson, at her new job as a publisher’s assistant and Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan days after their “break-up” from the first movie.

The movie picks up a pace of “Let’s see how many book scenes we can fit into one movie scene.”

As someone who had read the book about two weeks before the movie release, I was looking forward to seeing the undeniable heartache that Anastasia and Christian go through in the beginning of the book. As well as the juicy

FILM REVIEW emails that are exchanged by Ana and Christian. I got neither and, instead, was immediately thrown into a scene where the couple is reunited without context nor explanation.

It was just the beginning of the movie, so I gave the cast and crew the benefit of the doubt. I know sometimes it’s physically impossible to get everything you wish into a movie from the book, especially with time constraints.

I knew they could not completely ruin the movie. I held on to that hope.

Continuing on, my hope for a rescue of the movie started to wane. Yes, Dornan, in his portrayal, was delicious and you could hear a hint of his real life Irish accent. I could also relate to Johnson’s character of being slightly awkward and wanting to be her own woman. However, I was left asking many questions about missing characters and important book scenes.

Even if you do not watch the movie, the soundtrack is worth a listen. The

scores embedded throughout the film perked up the emotions the actors were portraying allowing the audience feel what was happening. The scenes themselves were shot brilliantly.

Do not get me wrong, I loved the movie. In fact, if I had not read the book, I would have thought it was great. However, there are some basic

transitions I wish the directors and editing team would have included in the final product. For a two-hour movie, it went incredibly fast.

I do not stand with the other critics calling it a “flop” or an “idiotic” movie, but I do stand and agree with the fact that there were other ways the movie could have gone.

courtesy of YOUTUBE.COM

Open mic night hosted for Black History Month DARA CHAPA Contributing writer

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exas A&M University-Corpus Christi hosted it’s third Black History Month Open Mic Night on Feb. 9 in which several students and professors read poems from different black authors.

Andrea Montalvo-Hamid, professional assistant professor of English, hosted the Open Mic Night to try and add more literature events to Black History Month.

The event was held on the second floor of the Mary and Jeff Bell Library. More than 45 people attended and of those 45, 12 people read poetry. “[There were] so many black authors who wrote great poems about black experiences in different times in American history,” Montalvo-Hamid said.

The Open Mic Night consisted of readings about Jazz and music. Different poems by Maya Angelou were read as well as poems in response to Michael Brown’s death and several poets read their own original poetry.

Chris Noonsab, freshman linguistics major, read poems he wrote himself.

He is part of a poetry program in Aus-

tin that will come to Corpus Christi. He said that was the reason for becoming a student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

One poem Noonsab read was inspired by a friend who is interracial that he met through the program.

Although Noonsab writes more than he reads, he felt he needed to read his poems regarding his life experiences at the open mic.

The event brought more people than expected making it more successful than the previous Open Mic Nights for Black History Month.

Upon arrival, there was a sign in sheet where nine people originally signed up.

However, throughout the event other readers asked to read. A couple of readers read more than once.

After the last reading many people congregated around the refreshment tables sharing laughs and ideas regarding the readings.

For more information on future Open Mic Nights hosted by the Creative Writing Department, contact the director, Dr. Robin Carstensen, at 361-825-3627 or robin.carstensen@tamucc.edu.

10 Sports

02.23.2017

Strongest Islander to be determined

GERI LEMMONS @GeriLemmons

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n March 8, Recreational Sports staff will host their annual Strongest Islander Competition.

This event, which is open to the public, will take place in the Dugan Wellness Center on the Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi campus at 6 p.m.

“We are kind of doing it a little different this year,” said Brianne Wilburn, assistant director for Recreational Sports.

“In the past it has been like three events, but this year we are adding a cardio aspect to it.”

For the Strongest Islander Competition there will be several categories that participants will have to compete in during the event including bench press, squat and deadlift... Each person will have three attempts during lifting in order to gather their best score.

“We are giving out prizes for the first place lift for male and female for all three of the lifts,” Wilburn said. “As well as whoever comes in first place for the cardio aspect.”

Wilburn said whoever scores the highest in all four of the categories will be the overall strongest Islander. Event organizers will use formulas in order to determine body weight during the com-

petition. They do this in order to level the playing field so that men can compete against women equally.

“That way your 95-pound females can be lifting against the 178 pound male,” Wilburn said. “It makes it fun and it creates a friendly competition.”

Wilburn said this is an event that is supposed to celebrate bodies of all shapes and sizes. It is also a time for people to showoff what their own bodies can do.

“We are very excited here at Rec Sports that it is coming up soon,” said Alyssa Moncrief, student worker and participant. “I am really looking forward to seeing my training hopefully pay off.”

This event is open to anybody that wants to participate. Registration for all four events will be open until an hour before the competition begins.

“I think it is fun to celebrate, for males and females, that your muscles are able to do things,” Wilburn said. “How cool is it that our bodies can go in and squat 100 pounds or 300 pounds. It is going to be fun to celebrate what bodies can do.”

For more information about this event, visit Rec Sports in the Dugan Wellness Center or scroll down on their homepage at https://recsports.tamucc. edu/.

Student prepares to lift at the Dugan Wellness Center.

ARCHIVE/Island Waves

TAMUCC hosts first fencing tournament, takes a gold GERI LEMMONS @GeriLemmons

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n Feb. 11 Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi Fencing Club hosted a tournament in the Dugan Wellness Center.

The Southwestern Intercollegiate Fencing Association holds four tournaments a year, two per semester. This was the first tournament hosted by Islanders and the first to take place in Corpus Christi.

“It has been hard for TAMUCC to ever host one due to the facility cost being too high,” said Richard Schreiber, president and coach of the Islander Fencing Club.

The University of Texas, Texas A&M University at College Station, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Houston participated in the tournament.

The tournament had competitions for three different sword categories, including epee, saber, and foil. Each category has different targets and its own set of rules.

During the tournament judges were there to monitor each round, award the points to the winner and watch the blade work. Each winner of the round would advance and face another school.

The University of Houston won gold in the epee bouts, the University of Texas won gold in the saber competition and the Islanders won foil divison.

Schreiber said the process to bring the tournament to campus has been challenging.

“Honestly I feel relief, it was a lot of work. I have done a lot of calling and emailing and trying to keep the school updated,” Schreiber said. “This is what everyone has been waiting for and it is what I have been waiting for. I have been trying to get it here for three years, so this was a personal goal for me.”

Renee Pearl, junior environmental science major and member of the fencing club, said the tournament at the Island University has been a huge opportunity.

“It is very exciting and we hope this

brings more advertising for the club,” Pearl said. “Hopefully more people will become interested” Pearl has been a member of the fencing club for three years and competed in

the tournament.

“It was something different, something unique,” Pearl said. “I always wanted to try it and I just thought I would give it a shot and now here I am.”

Sports 11

02.23.2017

Islander baseball hosts Kleberg Classic MELISSA RODRIGUEZ @__melisssaaaa

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his year’s Kleberg Bank College Classic will be held on Feb. 24-26, featuring University of Houston Cougars, University of Illinois Illini, University of Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders Baseball.

The 12th annual round-robin tournament will take place in Corpus Christi.

All games will be played at Whataburger Field.

“Corpus is a baseball city,” said Scott Malone, head coach of Islanders Baseball. “So it’s a no brainer for this city to bring in some of the best [Division 1] baseball programs around.”

The Classic began in 2006, when the Islanders played against Rice, Arizona State and Texas Christian University.

Every year since then, the Islanders and Corpus Christi Hooks partner up to organize this collegiate baseball tournament inviting different universities each year.

“The University of Houston makes its first-ever Whataburger Field appearance at this year’s Classic,” said Matt Rogers, senior director of communications for the Corpus Christi Hooks. “Illinois, from the Big Ten, is also a firsttime entry and SEC member Missouri is back after a one-year hiatus where the Tigers won three games at the Classic in 2015.”

Malone, currently on his 10th season

as head coach for Islanders baseball, has been a factor in the organization of the Classic for the past several years.

When asked what has made the Classic successful throughout the years, Rogers said, “Coach Malone has done a great job of scheduling teams over the last seven years, intersectional play is always exciting for fans and many [participating] teams have enjoyed success in the NCAA Tournament.”

As Islander Baseball begins the new season, the Kleberg Classic will be an opportunity for them to practice and showcase their skills. Although the tournament game swill not count towards their conference record, the outcomes will affect their overall season record.

“We’ve had some of our best nights as a program [due to] this tournament because we’ve had the chance to play against some big schools,” Malone said.

Islanders are set to play Feb. 24 at 6:00 p.m. vs Illinois, Feb.25 at 6:00 p.m. vs Missouri, and Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. vs Houston.

Tickets may be purchased by day or in bundle. Prices for daily tickets range from $5.41 to $10.83 for day passes.

Classic packages range from $12.99 to $25.98 and includes one ticket to all three days of games.

Don’t forget to check out @IslandWavesToGo for more updates on Islander Baseball and other Islander Athletics.

Islander baseball player swings at the 2016 Kleberg classic.

ARCHIVE/Island Waves

Islander baseball player pitches during 2016 classic.

ARCHIVE/Island Waves

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