Volume 28 Issue 8

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

IslandWavesNews.com

GIRL POWER

News Space X attempts to commercialize space travel Page 4

Women take action, celebrate Women’s History Month

Also

by SARAH REEVES • Page 5

March 23, 2017 Volume 28, Issue 8

Opinions Page 2 Entertainment Page 6 Sports Page 10

2 Opinion STUDENT PUBLICATION OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYCORPUS CHRISTI

03.23.2017

University budget cuts have negative effect MELISSA RODRIGUEZ @__melisssaaaa

This year’s Day at the Capitol event was held on Feb. 17, ISLAND WAVES STI | ISLANDWAVESNEWS.COM | where VOLUMETexas 26 ISSUE 20 | 08.27.15 A&M UniversityIslandWavesNews.com Corpus Christi students, faculty and staff and community Editor-in-chief members traveled to Austin, KACI ALVAREZ Texas to meet with legislators in regards to funding of the Web university.

MIKAYLA OELSCHLEGEL, editor The importance of this JEFFREY THOMAS, on-air talent event is significant given the MITCHELL JACKSON, vid. editor fact that the Island UniverERIN NASH, podcast host sity is nearing an emerging research institution status.

Copy Editor With that in mind, any budget KATIE MEZA cuts could potentially regress the university’s progress in Visuals obtaining such a momentous IZZY SNEED, editor status.

ZACH ALDRIDGE, photographer To put it in perspective, here are a couple reasons Layout why TAMUCC community KARA HERRERA, editor members should be worried VINCENT VERDUZCO, assistant if legislature chooses to substantially defund many of the Reporters university’s programs.

GERI LEMMONS, features 1. University Facts- Texas JONATHAN FORNEY, sports A&M University-Corpus ChrisMELISSA RODRIGUEZ, news ti dates back to 1947. It wasn’t SARAH REEVES, news until 1993 when it was ofAMERICA SEGURA, sports ficially given the name it has today. Since then the number Graduate Assistant of enrollment has increased BRADY BURNS, advertising each year, with an enrollment of 12,202 students in Fall 2016, 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

which marks a 38 percent increase since Fall 2008. As this university continues to grow it will need more funding to be able to provide an effective administration to all those who attend. Any budget cuts at this point, with the highest rate of enrollment, could be detrimental to the university causing for a lower retention rate.

2. University Costs and Expenditures- For the Island University, the 2016 fiscal year, meaning the year-long period of financial reports for the university, was estimated to be $23,976,00 in research expenditures, a 58 percent increase since fiscal year 2012.

The university also had the 11th lowest administrative cost ratio among all the doctoral institutions in the state.

Keeping the university’s best interest, budget cuts would not be ideal, and if they must be made, they should be made as far as possible from the institution’s teaching and research.

3. Legislative Priorities and Information- Some important legislative priorities for that would benefit and be preferable for TAMUCC include maintaining base funding. There is a fund marked as an “exceptional item” advocating for Lone Star Unmanned

Vincent Verduzco/Island Waves Dr. Kelly Quintanilla, Interim President, talks with Islander Students during the Day at the Capitol where students discussed university budget cuts.

Aircraft Systems which would total to $9.5 million per biennium. Another exceptional item is that of an engineering program to be able to continue developing a particular branch of electrical engineering and add other branches such as civil and industrial engineering totaling out to $2 million per biennium. Pushing for this agenda would mean more funding, which in turn will help this university grow as a research institution.

4. Funding Info- Considering making no budget cuts is

highly unlikely, the university should be aware of what would be the most favorable financial option. There are two options, SB1 and HB1, of which the latter is preferable.

This funding plan would only reduce the costs for specials items like the ones previously mentioned by $1.5 million or 5.9 percent. In terms of all departments, this would be a budget of $4 billion less in total funding across the board.

Stay tuned for more TAMUCC fiscal updates by following @IslandWavesToGo.

WKU sues student newspaper, cuts off free press KACI ALVAREZ @earthtokace

Following the University of Kentucky, Western Kentucky University (WKU) has sued its student newspaper, the College Heights, over an open records request.

For those who do not know exactly what happened, a WKU student reporter asked for investigative records into all sexual misconduct allegations over a five year period.

The University of Kentucky's student newspaper, The Ken-

tucky Kernel, is also named in the lawsuit and filed a similar records request with WKU. In January, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear found WKU didn't adequately explain why it was denying the requests and the university must allow immediate access to the records with the exception that the names and personal identifiers of complainants and witnesses would be redacted.

Being the editor of a student newspaper, I believe the university was in the wrong to sue its student ran paper.

While I understand wanting to protect the identities of those involved, the information was

public record, meaning anyone can obtain it, if requested.

In fact, madie outlets use these open records the majority of time to get information for a story.

Silencing a news entity can be dangerous for many reasons. First off, it is a part of the First Amendment. Freedom of the press is what makes the United States so unique, so suing a newspaper for doing their job to find facts is simply absurd.

Secondly, it gives the students a great opportunity to see the real struggles of being a journalist, so silencing them not only hurts their learning

process but also their career in some ways.

They're going to have to cover topics they may not want to, but letting the readers know what happened is the right thing to do.

Lastly, suing a student newspaper can negatively effect the university. With the era of "fake news" upon us, press advocates are using their voices more than ever to defend the press.

If these Kentucky universities knew anything about student as well as professional media then they would know how ridiculous it was to sue college students for doing their job as journalists.

News 3

03.23.2017

Women’s History Month kicks off with panel

BY SARAH REEVES @SreevesR

O

n Friday, March 3, Sandrine Sanos, associate professor of Modern European History, hosted the Kickoff Panel on Women’s Bodies, Women’s Rights and Gender Identity for this year’s Women’s History Month.

Sanos said the panel would reflect on women’s equality, rights and recognition in Corpus Christi as a pressing issue of our time and how the panelists have persistently asked the question of what it means to be a woman.

“The category of a woman, how it is embodied [and] experienced, always needs to be questioned. French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir famously reminded us that one is not born a woman, one becomes a woman,” Sanos said during her presentation. “So, to ask that question about being a woman is to think about who is speaking, and to ask how the structures of power defines the meaning of that word.”

A local activist of transgender rights and marriage inequality

and vice president of Corpus Christi LGBT, Kitana Sanchez, said institutions like Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi serve as safe spaces for those working to transition.

“The professors I had were always understanding for my transition. For instance, they all knew the correct pronouns,” Sanchez said. “My experience was a very positive one.”

Sanchez said she became part of the Middle Eastern Dance Club and found herself in a close-knit community of dancers. She said, culturally, belly dancing is seen and danced by women.

“I didn’t know they would accept me, but they did with open arms,” Sanchez said. “That’s also when people started assuming I was gay because I was trans, even though your sexual orientation and gender identity are different. This is what sparked my interest in transgender advocacy.”

Sanchez started advocating with the equality marches in Corpus Christi. She thought it was a great way to have a voice. Because there is not a lot of transgender services at

@__melisssaaaa

O

n March 3, Del Mar College and Region 11 Epi Workgroup were hosts of a symposium on prescription drug abuse in efforts to bring awareness on the misuse of such drugs.

The Regional Stakeholder Symposium on Prescription Drug Abuse was held in the Retama Room inside the Harvin Student Center at Del Mar College. The symposium was made possible through the Region 11 Epi Workgroup who is led by the Prevention Resource Center 11 (PCR11).

“The purpose/goal of the symposium was to raise awareness on a very serious topic: prescription drug abuse,” said Irwin Mendoza, regional evaluator for PCR11. “More people

die from prescription drugs than from heroin and cocaine combined.”

PCR11 is a branch of the Behavioral Health Solutions of South Texas. They have become a source of support to communities and organizations in 19 counties of South Texas through their research and analyses regarding alcohol and drug misuse.

The efforts of this prevention center are to provide information and training resources to the counties it serves. A contributing branch, that is the Epi Workgroup 11, is focused primarily on data collection and prevention related activities.

The symposium had a panel of speakers which included several different figures in society whose jobs play a role in prevention of prescription drug abuse. Those who served

Island Waves News .com

Letter from the Editor Hi Islanders!

SARAH REEVES/Island Waves

Kitana Sanchez speaks about transgender concerns in Corpus Christi.

TAMUCC, she is working with others to bring those to people who are working to transition.

“This happens too often to the transgender community -- we are never thought about,” Sanchez said. “But people like myself have been around for years, and we’re not going to go away, and we’re certainly not going to stay silent.”

Stacey Barrera, Islander alumna, served as an educator at the Women’s Shelter for domestic violence highlighting the importance of political participation among college students.

“When it comes to women violence, or gender based violence, it does affect a majority,” Barrera said. “I had sought to

urge those to vote so that they can voice their concerns because when it boils down, politics govern us all. If you don’t have protection, you are basically not at the table, you are the menu.”

Barrera said it is so important for any university not only to recognize Women’s History Month, but to celebrate and demonstrate it. She was excited to hear that women, gender and sexuality is being offered as a minor at the Island University.

“It was fantastic to be able to participate in the panel,” Barrera said. “It was such an honor to speak alongside the other strong and courageous participants.”

on the panel included the Commander of Narcotics, a DPS trooper, a pharmacist, a doctor and the PCR11 regional evaluator.

“One of the things that was brought up during the symposium was the lack of readily available local data when it comes to issues like substance abuse in our communities,” Mendoza said.

The panel focused on seven main ideas: 1) prevalence and trends for the misuse of prescription drugs, 2) product composition and their identification, 3) how to safely store and dispose of such drugs, 4) existing laws and law enforcement regarding prescription meds misuse, 5) physiological effects of such drugs, 6) recognition of problem and how to address it and 7) Lock Your Meds Media Campaign.

The symposium was open to anyone who wanted to register. Mendoza said there were all types of individuals in the audience, from all over South Texas.

“Everyone is different,” said Sydney Rasbury, junior general business major. “Therefore everyone’s prescription is different and it should be. So you shouldn’t use someone else’s because in the end it could hurt you more than help.”

“We hope that the symposium helped participants learn more about prescription drug use/misuse and in turn that they can share that information with their respective communities,” Mendoza said.

For more information or assistance, check out pcr11.org.

And don’t forget to follow @ IslandWavesToGo for more updates and stories.

Del Mar hosts drug abuse symposium for community

MELISSA RODRIGUEZ

O N L I N E

Welcome back! The Island Waves staff membert hope you all had a fun and safe Spring Break. Now it’s time to get back into the groove of things.

Senior students graduate soon, finals will be here before you know it and then it’s another semester down for the count. Just remember, you can get through this semester!

Since the semester is almost over and we will be losing several senior staff members, Island Waves will be hiring soon. We are currently looking for photographers, copy editor, reporters and more!.

If you are interested in a postion and want to dive into the journalism world, email editor@tamucc.edu.

We would also like to announce that there will no longer be an Island Waves April Fools issue. Due to the professionalism we would like to portray, we decided it is best to retire the fake issue and continue reporting real news.

Thanks for understanding!

Have a great rest of the semester.

Sincerely, Kaci Alvarez Editor-in-Chief

ON THE COVER: Photo courtesy of GOOGLE.COM

4 News

03.23.2017

Space X attempts to commercialize space travel

JONATHAN FORNEY @jb4nay

P

rivate spaceflight company, Space X, made the announcement that it has planned to launch two paying customers on a flight around the moon by the end of 2018.

According to Space.com, the two private citizens have not released their names to the public, but this information will be released following health tests closer to the launch date. The individuals paid, what is being called a “significant deposit.”

“This would be a long loop around the moon,” said Elon Musk, founder of Space X, in an article on spacex.com. “It would skim the surface of the moon, go quite a bit further out into deep space and then loop back to Earth.”

The trip will take place aboard one of Space X’s Dragon spacecraft. The voyage is expected to take travelers around the moon and back on a leisurely journey.

Space X representatives released the following statement, “Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes

photo courtesy of SPACE X

Photo of Space X rocket launch.

and dreams of humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration.”

The trip is scheduled following Space X’s delivery of NASA astronauts to the international space station. As it stands, NASA has a higher priority in space ex-

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ploration than the private company of Space X. “NASA always has first priority,” Musk said. “If the agency wanted its own astronauts to be the first people to fly on a ‘mission of this nature’ then NASA would take priority.”

The passengers will primarily be trained for emergency scenarios as the craft will be operated mostly autonomously.

Despite the staggering costs of consumer space exploration, there is a desire by consumers to have their time among the stars, even if they’re still within the planet’s atmosphere.

“The signs for suborbital traffic are very encouraging,” said Jeff Greason, co-founder of private spaceflight company, XCOR Aerospace in an interview with space.com. “There’s [a] continued strong demand, even though nobody’s flying yet.”

However, Greason knows the importance of getting the off the ground, figuratively and literally.

“If the transportation’s not there, then all of the other great things we can do, which make up much more of the business [of commercial space travel] can’t happen. So transportation is key,” Greason said.

The voyage is another step closer to Space X’s primary goal of establishing a permanent colony on Mars that it established.

Science Olympiad held at TAMUCC GERI LEMMONS @GeriLemmons

O

n March 4, Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi hosted the Science Olympiad in the University Center.

The Science Olympiad is an all-day event for middle school and high school students. The students are sent from all over Texas to compete against each other in different science categories. Students from the Island University helped run the event throughout the day.

“We had nine middle school teams and 10 high school teams participate in science and engineering events all across campus,” said Jim Silliman, chemistry professor. “Each one of the middle schoolers and high schoolers participated in 15 events.”

Students participated in different categories and at the end of the day they were graded upon the work they presented. Each school could participate in as many categories as they wanted to due to the fact that there was no limit.

“Sometimes they would take an exam or in other events they would construct a robot that would perform a certain task,” Silliman said. “They would be graded on how well the robot performed

those tasks.”

Students were awarded by their competing divisions and as overall competitors.

“The awards we try to give them throughout the years have been random in general science and they can’t study for it,” said Adrian Buemao, senior biomedical science major.

Silliman said this is an event that will hopefully encourage students to want to pursue STEM fields. They also hope it will draw in future students to the university.

“If we can start kids in middle through high school in science, engineering and math then they could fill the need in those areas that is really needed in the United States,” Silliman said.

Silliman said the best part is seeing the students during the award ceremony. He said watching them get so excited about getting awards for the work they have done is nice to watch.

“They may only win a third-place medal in the electric vehicles and that means the world to them,” Silliman said. “The parents are so excited, and the team is cheering them on and it is a fun process to see kids get so excited about science and engineering.”

News 5

03.23.2017

Women take action, celebrate Women’s Month SARAH REEVES @SreevesR

S

ince 1987, Women’s History Month has recognized women’s events and contributions to society.

In March 2017, for the first time ever and due to the efforts of faculty and staff, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will host several events throughout the month to highlight the works and values of women in present-day society.

“The events that we have chosen for this month represent a wide range of women and feminists finding ways to act in support of and advocate for other women and for women’s rights,” Kathryn Santos, associate professor of English, said in an email.

The co-coordinators of this Women’s History Month are Santos, Dr. Lisa Comparini, associate professor of psychology, Dr. Sandrine Sanos, associate professor of history, and Dr. Jennifer Sorensen, assistant professor of English.

“We want to show students that their voices matter and that they too can learn to act and to resist,” the co-

ordinators said in a collective email.

“Action can happen in our local communities as well as in global contexts.”

All four professors said an urgent theme for 2017’s Women’s History Month is “women taking action.” They said women’s history and the contributions of women in this country are indispensable to a complete understanding of U.S. heritage.

They said emphasizing the significant roles that women have had in defining U.S. communities and meeting together to talk about these roles can be a rich source of pride, courage, inspiration and a platform for developing long-range plans for the future.

“Celebrating Women’s History Month is therefore an opportunity to create visibility, initiate discussions, and raise awareness on campus,” coordinators said in a collective email.

“Many of the challenges that women continue to face today have a long history, and to develop real solutions for the future, we have to understand that history from multiple perspectives.”

They also wanted to emphasize that Women’s History Month is not for a particular demographic of women.

Photo courtesy of CNN.COM

According to CNN: “The first Women’s Day took place on Feb. 28, 1909, in New York City, as a national observance organized by the Socialist Party. It honored the one-year anniversary of the garment worker’s strikes in New York that had taken place a year earlier, when thousands of women marched for economic rights through lower Manhattan to Union Square.

They have included the voices of women of color and a transgender advocate to draw attention to voices that often get left out of discussions of women’s histories and to make the conversations as intersectional as possible.

“We hope that our events during the month of March will help to radically change dominant narratives through the inclusion of feminist voices and critiques,” they said in the email.

Alongside the events taking place this March, there is also a new minor arising at the Island University, Wom-

en’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, that is aimed to foster continuing conversations and events about women, gender and sexuality.

“There are real ways that we can advocate for women’s rights and contribute to that project at TAMUCC and in our local community,” coordinators said in an email.

The coordinators said they hope to make this month-long celebration into an annual event at TAMUCC and to continue these important conversations in future years.

6 Entertainment

03.23.2017

Brewster Street hosts Texas Independence Fest Erin Nash @ErinJohnnae

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rewster Street Icehouse of Corpus Christi celebrated its first annual Texas Independence Day Fest on March 2.

The event included Texas performers, some of which were from the Coastal Bend. Vendors from local department stores were able to showcase new products while the venue served food and drinks. Performers included Jake Ward, Mark McKinney, Bri Bagwell and Nathan Bonnes.

“This is our first time to throw an actual Texas Independence Day celebration [and] we will be doing it

every year because of the turnout,” said Helen Vela, event coordinator for Brewster Street Icehouse. “Texas music, rustic feel [and] great atmosphere makes this the best place to come out for Texas Independence Fest.”

Brewster Street is a full-functioning bar and grill with a live music menu.

On weekends, it transitions into a live music venue accommodating more than 1,000 attendees with a variety of music. It’s a family-friendly atmosphere so all ages are welcome to play and have fun.

“Texas pride shows through culture here,” Vela said. “Food, music and of course the people, are very southern, warm and loving.”

Attendees were able to take part in the Texas culture through various games held by the vendors in attendance. Afterwards, they chowed down on seasonal seafood, chicken fried steak and award-winning rustic cuisines.

“There’s live Texas music with some locals playing, it’s just amazing, I love it,” said Jorden Klaevemann, attendee.

“It brings everyone together, getting all of the Texas locals and having a good time since everyone is super friendly.”

One vendor, Boot Barn, created a game similar to Wheel of Fortune where contestants answered various questions regarding Texas Culture. Ev-

Jake Ward performs an acoustic set on stage at Brewster’s Street’s Texas Independence Day Festivcal on March 2.

ery contestant was a winner. They also had a free hat contest, participants would enter a raffle for one of Boot Barns most exclusive hats.

“This is our first run with it and it’s going super well. We are already discussing plans for next year,” said Kimberly Cabrera, general manager at Boot Barn. “We reached out to Brewster Street and were kind of wanting to get in the stream of things with them and this is only our foot in the door.”

The goal in the near future is to bring more people out than the previous year. The more support equals more in return, Vela said.

ERIN NASH/Island Waves

Entertainment 7

03.23.2017

TAMUCC theatre performs ‘Heathers’ MIKAYLA OELSCHLEGEL @mikaylaMOG

W

hen one of the first things you see as you get ready to walk into a theatre is a sign informing the audience that there will be gunshot sounds, fake guns, mature scenes and strobe lights, you have to wonder what play you are about to walk in and see. For Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Department of Theatre and Dance, that play was their first production of the Spring 2017 Semester, “Heathers The Musical.”

The play ran March 7 until March 11.

For anyone who has the seen the cult classic ‘80s movie, the production followed closely along the same lines of it, with little changes here and there. The song and dance filling the university production was the main difference.

This two-and-a-half-hour production kept audiences on the edge of their seats as they watched the normal high school drama unfold with some mind boggling twists and turns.

The cast kept the audience entertained with mature content, includ-

photo courtesy of TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-CORPUS CHRISTI

Poster for Heathers: The musical performed in the Warren Theatre at TAMUCC

ing cuss words, partial nudity and a realistic sex scene between two of the main characters. While the ‘80s lingo was difficult to follow at times and the

cast’s mics would occasionally flutter in and out and screech, the audience was left in amazement of the cast and crew when taking out the technical difficul-

ties.

The main character Veronica Sawyer, played by Paige Walker, touches a little bit of everyone who wanted to be a part of the popular crowd in high school while her opposite J.D., played by Eli Berke, makes your heart ache with his family problems, but you want to punch him for being the one who leads young Veronica on. The rest of the cast consisted of the infamous Heathers portrayed

by Cynthia Perry, Tori Micaletti and Madison Mapes, Veronica’s best friend from childhood played by Kaylynn Coral and more. The entire cast brings out their best and leaves the audience wanting more after the final bow.

This play was not just an interesting piece of art to watch. It also brought awareness to some of the present problems society faces like teen suicide, bullying, homophobia and gun violence.

By mixing what high school might have been like in the ‘80s and tossing in present day problems, director Alison Frost brought a production for everyone to the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Warren Theatre.

Islander Tribute APRIL 4TH AT 6:00 P.M. UC ANCHOR BALLROOM

In Memory

As a member of the Islander family you are invited to come show your support as we honor the Islanders who have passed away in the 2016-2017 school year Monica Rose Perez

James Odom

Neil Mukoro

For disability related accommodations please contact the Student Government Association at 361-825-5745 or email sga.vp@tamucc.edu

Natalie Kucera

8 Entertainment

03.23.2017

International student defends trophy hunting

ILLI-ANNA SKY MARTINEZ Contributing writer

I

f you were to walk around campus and see John Lister, you’d assume that he is just a typical college student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

However, if you stopped and spoke with him, you would learn that he is actually from South Africa. Lister has lived in Corpus Christi since he started at the Island university and periodically goes back to South Africa due to his visa. From August to May he is allowed to stay to work on his education. Once he completes his fall and spring semesters, Lister said the government forces him to return to South Africa. However, this has not prevented him from becoming a successful college student.

“As a student, I think he’s going to represent the university and the program well when he graduates,” said science and engineering assistant professor Richard Smith.

Smith said he has been able watch Lister flourish at the university. He has had Lister both as a student and an intern and just recently hired him as a research assistant and Geographic In-

formation Science programmer, better known as GIS. “It’s fantastic,” Lister said. “I love it. I didn’t know what it was, or what I was gonna do with it, but somehow miraculously within the last year I became good at it.”

Smith said Lister’s work ethic is excellent and that he gets along well with everyone he works with. He is very confident in Lister and knows he will succeed in attaining his goals because he has “a good head on his shoulders.”

Lister’s fiancé, Kaci Alvarez, has known Lister for nearly four years.

They met during their first week of college. Alvarez believes Lister can do anything he sets his mind to.

“I admire that he was able to come here without his family and just succeed so much in college,” Alvarez said.

Aside from his determination and strong work ethic, Alvarez and Smith both believe Lister has a great sense of humor, which Alvarez said Lister does not want people to know. However, one thing that Lister didn’t mind sharing was that he is a “master dancer.”

Before coming to the university, Lister said he was inspired to go into the military, but his father wanted him to

focus on his education instead. Lister then became interested in trophy hunting after meeting a few people who were involved with it. He soon took part in spreading awareness of the negativity of animal poaching and became involved with trophy farms.

Despite the negative media coverage about trophy hunting, Lister said the practice is actually much better than animal poaching. In trophy hunting, a person must pay to kill the animal of their choosing, which typically costs them thousands of dollars. Animal poaching, in contrast, is an illegal practice that has been causing the great decline in animal population.

Lister said he can see why some people still see the immorality of trophy hunting, but the trophy hunting industry is what helps preserve the animal wildlife in his country.

“A lot of the money goes to the conservation of the animals,” said Alvarez, who has visited South Africa with Lister before. “If the hunter doesn’t take the meat home, they give the meat to local villages.”

Lister argues that with trophy hunting, only a few animals are killed and in doing so it helps protect the rest of the

animals. Whereas with animal poaching, any person who is paid a large amount of money will come and kill as many animals as they wish, typically only killing them for their tusks and horns.

Although some people are aware of animal poaching on social media, like Facebook, Lister said it seems people are not entirely concerned for the animals.

“There’s no real expressed interest by governments to actually help,” Lister said. “There’s no action.”

Lister said he is not as involved with the cause as he used to be because he wants to focus on completing his education. However, he said one day he would like to go back to help once he is established with citizenship and is established financially. .

Once Lister graduates, he said he wishes to establish citizenship for the United States. He said he has enjoyed attending TAMU-CC and living in America “It’s the only thriving place in the world,” Lister said. “America right now is just so powerful, that if you can make it in America, you’re gonna set yourself up to be very strong. It’s nice here, especially in the southern states.”

GERI LEMMONS

from the movie and tables that helped students feel as if they were a part of it.

“We had probably a week of preparation because someone made the dementor, I made to quidditch pillars and we had to go on shopping trips,” Gomez said. “We have been trying to decorate everything and make stuff happen.”

Gomez said the response to the event was very well received and most of the students were “geeking out” about the things they saw.

Greek Week had many different events going on throughout the week including Disney Trivia, Mario Kart Races and Human Pac Man. At each one of the events students would use a punch card when they came to events, keeping track of how many they attended. After four punches they would get a free T-Shirt and then at the end of the week they would turn their card in for a chance to win an Amazon gift card.

“I was a nice super geeky event,” Gomez said. “It has been nice that everyone has responded to this event, especially because I spent so much time into making it.”

Honors hosts Potter Party @GeriLemmons

T

he Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Honors program hosted a Harry Potter themed party on March 2 in honor of Geek Week.

This party included different foods related to the film including Butter Beer, Licorice wands and goblins blood. There were also Harry Potter activities including quidditch pong and wand making. It has been a tradition for Geek Week to have this event for students who want to come by and check it out.

“It’s been a part of the Honors Student Association, which is connected to the honors program,” said Jillian Gomez, vice president of public relations for Honors Student Association. “Its been basically a tradition of us to have Geek Week for the spring [semester].”

The event was held in Corpus Christi Hall 262. The room itself was transformed into the wizarding world with many different decorations. There were drawings of different characters

10 Sports

03.23.2017

Islander baseball player recognized AMERICA SEGURA @americabatel

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n Feb. 24, the Kleberg Bank College Classic kicked off and ended with one Islander on the Alternative team.

Nick Anderson, sophomore business and marketing major and center fielder for the Islanders Baseball team, was recently listed for the Kleberg series alternative team. This recognition was received by Anderson due to his performance in the series as an individual.

Anderson grew up in Sugar Land, Texas where he played varsity baseball for head coach Marc Jones at Kempner High School. During his high school career, Anderson was named to the First Team All-District in 2013, Team All-Houston 2013 and the 2014 Second Team All-District. He also made the USA National team in 2012.

“As an individual, I just want to be a leader to the young guys and to help us bring this team towards our team goal,” Anderson said.

During his freshman year with the Islanders Baseball team, Anderson played 48 games and started in 44. In addition, he was named as a “Top Prospect” in the Texas Collegiate team and played for the Victoria Generals in the

Texas Collegiate League in the summer of 2016.

Anderson has earned recognition as a leader.

“He has to set the example every day,” said Scott Malone, head coach of Islanders Baseball.“he has to play the game hard everyone watches him and looks to him for leadership.”

As for this season, Anderson has high hopes and wishes to accomplish many great things throughout the season.

“As a team I want to see us win a conference championship,” Anderson said. “I think that’s everyone’s goal on the team, to see us do as well as possible and to make this program successful.”

Anderson’s favorite memory thus far is this season’s opening game where the team made a miraculous recovery after being down by 6 runs and consequently ending in triumph.

“I think hard work above anything else is what can take [you] the farthest in sports or any aspect of life,” Anderson said. “That’s something no one can take away from you, how hard you work in something, and there’s no ceiling on that.”

Anderson has a couple of years left in his collegiate baseball career and

Photo courtesy of GOISLANDERS.COM

Islander baseball player, Nick Anderson listed for Kleberg Classic Alternative Team recognition.

will strive for greatness in the process.

“Nick is a good baseball player. He is as talented of a player – as we have on our roster,” Malone said. “Nick has

some good pressure on him this year he will hit in the middle of our order and he will need to drive in runs for us.”

Sports 11

03.23.2017

Women’s basketball defeats UIW 1

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1. Number 12, Dae Dae Evans takes a twopoint shot over two UIW players.

2. Kassie Jones, senior guard, pauses betweeen shots and looks around for an open teammate.

3.Camesha Davis helps up her teammate after a shot was made.

4. Jones goes for a lay up as number 10, Brianna Jackson prepares for a rebound.

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