April 4, 2007

THE WICHITAN The Student Voice of Midwestern State University

Wednesday April 4, 2007

SGA president injured in two-vehicle accident CARRIE SULLIVAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

COURTESY David Stockton’s Jeep was crushed from behind by a drunken driver on Kell West.

SGA President Will Morefield is on his way to recovery after being in a car accident involving a drunken drive Saturday, March 24.

Morefield, 23, along with designated driver David Stockton, 24, and Ryanne Taylor, 23, had attended a concert at the Iron Horse Pub that Friday night and were stopped at the intersection of Kell West and Brook Street when an intoxicated 57-yearold man hit the back of Stockton’s 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee with his 2006 Chevy Trailblazer at approximately 45 mph.

“He literally just slammed into us,” Morefield said.

Morefield, in the back seat on the right side, became confused and disoriented and noticed he couldn’t move his legs. He said he tried to sit up and saw blood all over the place.

Then he passed out.

“I didn’t know where the blood was coming from,” he said.

He later learned it had come from a large gash in his chin.

Morefield had to be extricated from the vehicle with the Jaws of Life. EMTs placed him on a stretcher, put a support brace around his neck and took him to United Regional Hospital. Stockton and Taylor suffered no severe injuries. Everyone had been wearing a seat belt.

Police said if they hadn’t, their injuries could have been a lot worse.

“They said we were very lucky,” Morefield said.

In addition, police told him that if he’d been sitting on the left side of the back seat, he would have been killed.

“The thing that really scared me is earlier I was riding on the left side of the car,” he said.

A policeman had been following

Campus donkeys kicking up heels in reorganization AMAR SPENCER FOR THE WICHITAN The MSU Democrats are currently in the process of starting a new political newspaper on campus, along with MSU’s first Web site blog.

“We would like to be a political publication,” Winston Bonnheim, president of the organization, said.

Bonnheim, a 26-year-old junior majoring in political science, has been president from the second meeting of the semester. This is his first

semester in the organization.

MSU Democrats has been at the university since the 2004 presidential election.

However, after the elections ended, the group became dormant. This dormancy occurred because students did not necessarily see the need to spend more time in the organization since the election was over, according to Bonnheim.

Elections are fast approaching, so the organization has been reborn.

Bonnheim said the organization would like to create the paper on campus to give

students a political voice. The paper would include the members’ views on various political issues, as well as other students’ views. The organization wants to start publishing the paper next semester with publication being every three weeks. However, the group does not intend for the paper to be a rival to The Wichitan.

Their Web site is expected to have a blog to enable students to voice their political views online, Bonnheim said.

ADRIAN MCCANDLESS | THE WICHITAN This site is currently under President Winston Bonnheim of the MSU Democrats shows his construction.

See Group page 3 devotion to his political party.

The presidency of George W. Bush has been punctuated with tragedy, war and dramatic rat-

ings fluctuations.

Bush’s term began in controversy in 200, with hanging chads in Florida and a country split down the middle.

As terrorists struck on 9/11,

the American people rallied behind their president, only to turn their back on the man when he got the country entrenched in Iraq.

“No other modern president

has ascended so high in public approval then sank so low in public confidence and support in such a short period of time,” said history professor Michael Collins.

See Morefield page 3

Tuition to go up this fall

CARRIE SULLIVAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MSU will be seeing a tuition hike between $12 and $18 per credit hour effective this fall semester.

President Dr. Jesse Rogers said right now we are in a deficit budget we created. To pay full-time faculty and ever-increasing utility bills, we borrowed $2.2 million this year.

MSU has to have money to pay back the reserves, give faculty and staff a raise and to fill staff openings.

“We have some (staff openings) that have been open three years,” Rogers said.

He said the money universities receive comes from three sources: General revenue, student fees and gifts.

“Of course the gifts go into onetime expenditures - buildings, that sort of thing,” he said.

He said MSU could theoretically take a gift of $1 million and put it into faculty salary for the year, but if no additional $1 million is available for the following year, the college

George W. Bush’s legacy: Failure or success?

HEATHER KUMOR FOR THE WICHITAN

the drunken driver, Wayne James Morrow, and witnessed the accident. Morrow, who suffered no serious injuries, was taken into custody on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Morefield said police told him Morrow was so intoxicated he couldn’t even stand up.

“I don’t care who you are. You do not drive when you are trash drunk,” Morefield said.

At the hospital, Morefield spent five hours in the ER in what he described as “severe, severe pain.”

Doctors treated him for a severe chin laceration and bulging discs in his back.

“I was really worried for the first couple of days,” he said. “I could not feel my legs.”

He regained movement after those initial two days. Following some rehabilitation therapy, doctors

According to CBS news, a recent poll shows the president’s approval rating at 31 percent. A year ago, Bush’s approval rate was 42 percent.

See Bush page 3

See Tuition page 3

MSU student pursues higher education despite lack of hearing ADRIAN MCCANDLESS PHOTO EDITOR

INSIDE

As students are scurrying from one class to another, the campus halls are flooded with sounds. Students chat about their weekend plans, cell phones are ringing and doors are creaking open and slamming shut.

Yet for one MSU student, it is all silence.

Travis Cohely, a 23-year-old sophomore, is deaf.

Cohely is one out of 10 students at MSU who are deaf.

Cohely was born being able to hear but at two days old, he contracted spinal meningitis.

“My parents didn’t find out I was deaf until I was about eight months old,” Cohely said.

Cohely’s father initially thought his son lost his hearing and told his wife.

“My mom didn’t believe him at first. My dad honked the horn, whistled, played the radio really loud and I was still sleeping,” Cohely said. “My mom thought I was just tired from a long day at the doctor.”

The next day Cohely’s mother took him

to see an audiologist and his father’s suspicions were confirmed.

“I was put in a sound-proof booth with headphones on my ears and they played a lot of different sounds,” Cohely said. “I didn’t react to any of the sounds and that’s how my parents found out I was deaf.”

By the time Cohely was three years old he had endured three surgeries.

“I had hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside of the head,” Cohely said.

Cohely said the spinal meningitis caused a blockage in his head and didn’t allow the fluid to return to the blood stream.

When Cohely was 17, he went in for his fourth surgery.

“I needed surgery to reroute the fluid where it could be absorbed back into my body,” he said.

A shunt (tube) was inserted into his brain and drained into the abdominal cavity.

When asked if he would every consider having surgery for cochlear implants, a device that allows the deaf to hear, Cohely said he would not want it.

“It was too painful when I went through my fourth shunt surgery, and it was a long

LAUREN MILLER | THE WICHITAN Travis Cohely takes on the task of learning as a deaf student.

recovery,” Cohely said. “I don’t want to go through that again because I just want to

live my life the way I want it to be.”

In the beginning, school was challenging for Cohely.

“It was difficult for me to make new friends because of the lack of communication and I was shy,” Cohely said. “As I got older I started to blend into the hearing world a lot better.”

Cohely took his struggle in stride and said most of his classmates were kind to him growing up.

“I made jokes about myself,” Cohely said. “I wanted people to know that being deaf doesn’t bother me at all.”

Jessica Coody, 24, a mass communication major, met Cohely at a fraternity party two years ago and has been friends with him ever since.

“I had learned some basic sign language when I was in elementary school, but I was extremely rusty and at first we used his note pad to talk,” she said.

Coody said she still hasn’t mastered the art of sign language and is still working on it.

“These days we rarely need to pull out the pen and paper. We actually communicate really well with each other,” Coody

said. “The communication factor has never been an issue in our friendship.”

Cohely spends a lot of his time outside of school at Fast Eddie’s, a local pool hall.

“It is interesting to see how others who have no background with sign language interact with him,” Coody said. “Many people will talk to him through me or some of his other friends.”

Coody said it is funny how people talk louder to Cohely, as if it would make him hear them.

“He is always patient with me when I mess up letters and words,” Coody said.

“Somehow both of us always know what the other is trying to say.”

Both Cohely and Coody agree their communication is not perfect and both are working on improving it.

Cohely went to speech therapy between the ages of four and 19.

“Because I became deaf as an infant, I have very little sound knowledge to draw from when trying to speak,” he said.

Cohely said he learned to make his tongue hit certain places in his mouth and

See Student page 3

Summer preview

NCAA Champions

MSU softball

Movie fans can look forward to many sequels coming soon.

Florida Gators defeat challengers, Ohio State, to win National Championship for their second year.

The Lady Mustangs take both games in a double header with West Texas A&M.

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Sweepstakes Winner 2006 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association

THE WICHITAN

VIEWPOINTS

Finalist 2004 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award

April 4, 2007

Staff Editorial

Pointless GRE? Any undergraduate student applying to graduate school knows about the Graduate Record Examination.

More importantly, any undergraduate student with a liberal education knows the GRE is a joke.

All public Texas colleges and universities require students to complete the Core Curriculum, a set of 45 or more hours of classes all undergraduate students must take before they graduate. The purpose of the Core Curriculum is to give all students a well-rounded, liberal education.

So what do prospective graduate students have to look forward to after four years of liberal education?

A standardized test.

A liberal education is designed to provide students with an above-standard education, so why are prospective graduate students forced to have their intelligence measured by a standard?

The GRE is comparable to the SAT, a test high school students must take in order to apply to colleges.

Like the SAT, the GRE has three parts: A verbal reasoning section, a quantitative reasoning section and an analytical reasoning section. Basically, it tests math, vocabulary and reading skills.

Itʼs unreasonable that prospective graduate students are taking a test similar to that which prospective undergraduate students must take.

After all, arenʼt college graduates supposed to learn something in the four years they spend at a university?

The GRE makes admission into graduate programs too easy, and at a time when the value of a bachelorʼs degree is steadily decreasing, it is important to implement higher standards for graduate school applicants.

Most graduate programs in Texas require an application, GRE test scores and two or three letters of recommendation for admission. These requirements simply arenʼt good enough.

The selection process for graduate school applicants should include at least one interview with the head of the graduate school that person is applying to, as well as a portfolio of that studentʼs undergraduate work.

Interviews and portfolios would make it more difficult for students to get into graduate programs, but graduate studies are not meant for everyone. And harder application requirements would rid graduate programs of students who are not truly committed to their studies.

Also, if harder application requirements were implemented, faculty of the graduate program a student applies for would be able to judge that studentʼs intelligence without looking at test scores.

As for a graduate-level education, it should be above the standard.

ʻHouselessʼ Americans sadly overlooked This p a s t week, I tr av el ed to the city of Pittsb u rg h where I presented two of my CHRISTIAN MCPHATE w o r k s , STAFF REPORTER “ T h e Church” (a creative non-fiction piece) and “Insanity” (a poem that covers the chaotic spiral of mental illness), at Sigma Tau Deltaʼs International Convention (STD is an English honor society).

I arrived at the Pittsburgh airport Wednesday afternoon and after an hour of searching for my bags, hostile looks from airport security and a harsh ass chewing from an irritated professor, I jumped into a cab and headed toward the Doubletree Hotel.

On the way to the hotel, the cabbie broke down the ins and outs of the city once known for its steel mills. Father Technology seemed to radiate off the skyscrapers, enticing the inquisitive adventurer buried within the confines of my mind.

But alas, my moment of introspection with the underlying connection was severed when the cabbie announced an astonishing rip off for the 8-mile ride that immediately ate away at my drama-free mind.

The painful reminder of greed did

not last long, however, for I soon became lost in the euphoria of vacation.

I wandered through the city, gazing in admiration at the Gothic ebony spires of the churches exploding out of the embrace of progression.

As I traveled through the mindset of creativity, a homeless man appeared in my path. His dirty, plaid jacket fit tight against his chest. The light of the sun shone through the slim cracks between the towers of man. He was scratching his coarse brown hair while licking his lips like a lizard on crack. He looked at me with wild eyes moving side to side and pursed his cracked lips. I nodded, acknowledging humanityʼs forgotten with a “Whatʼs up?” and continued on my path, dreading to hear the words of begging that were sure to follow.

“Hey, mister, you from around here?”

I stopped, waited for a second or two and then turned around and entered his world. After a 30-minute explanation of a sick mom laid up in the hospital, a lost ride, unclaimed medication from the local pharmacy and the lack of nutrition, the nomad finally got to the point and asked to borrow $12.

Irritation roared across my thoughts as I began to turn away and ignore his desperate plea, but the grumbles of his stomach erupted within my ears and stopped my journey toward the conventionʼs regis-

tration table … yet again.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) states that “homelessness” is an individual who lacks a fixed, regular nighttime residence, or someone whose primary nighttime residence is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (welfare hotels, congregate shelters, transitional housing, etc.).

A houseless person (as they liked to be called) has a variety of “homes” available to them: The outdoors, vehicles, public places (parks, bus stations, airports, college campuses, etc.), shelters, boarding houses, hobo jungles, hotels and last but certainly not least, cardboard boxes.

Poverty, drug or alcohol addictions, mental illness and disability, foster care background, prison discharge, domestic violence (mental, physical and sexual), lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs, unemployment, poverty, change and cuts in public assistance, natural disaster and personal choices are just a few reasons why a person or family becomes one of the houseless.

The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 was one of the pre-disposing factors in creating homelessness in the United States, according to “Origins of the Third Psychiatric Revolution: the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963,” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and

Law, 1984.

The act released long-term psychiatric patients from state hospitals to community health centers for treatment, but it did not work, and the mentally challenged population soon found themselves underneath castles of cardboard boxes in the trash-strewn alleyways of cities across the states.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness stated between 847,000 and 3,470,000 houseless live on the streets of America (and we are more worried about the economically challenged country of Iraq).

In 2002, the National Coalition for the Homeless showed that children and families were the largest growing segment of the homeless in the United States.

A cough from the nomad in front of me snapped me out of my contemplations. I looked at him, and he at me.

“What did you say again?” I asked, trying to remember his longwinded story.

“I need to borrow $12,” he snapped.

“Iʼm sorry, man, but I am a poor writer who just spent the last of his extra money on cab fare.” His eyes narrowed. “But I will take you to get some food if you — ” He roared in frustration and stomped off to an adjacent alleyway.

“Bums,” I mumbled and disappeared into the jaws of the city.

I was having the worst week of my life last week.

Nothing was going right.

Well, to KONNIE SEWELL be honest, COPY EDITOR most of the problems were coming from school. It was not a “We can do anything we want — weʼre college students!” kind of week. It was a “My advice to you is to start drinking heavily” kind of week. I was stressed and frustrated beyond belief.

Ever since the spring semester started, Iʼve never felt more like saying SCREW IT ALL and dropping out.

I was reading an article in the newspaper Sunday morning. It talked about how tweens are becoming the big new demographic to cater to. This upsets me on several levels.

First of all, when I was that age, you know what we were called? Ten

or eleven or twelve. None of that “tween” shullbit.

You know what we played with?

We were trying to outgrow our Barbies and our Polly Pockets while at the same time trying to sneak in peaks of MTV late at night. No iPods or cell phones; we still rocked the cassette tape players and waited hours for our VHS tapes to rewind.

I SWEAR, why donʼt you all go buy a frigginʼ iHouse already and go live in it with your iPets and eat your iScream?

Iʼm a firm believer in the simple life and that it should not literally fit in the palm of your hand. Weʼre connected to everything and everyone, but weʼre losing our culture on a daily basis.

I was going bananas. My brain was ready to explode and everything I said was coming out in caps: JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. I HATE YOU, WORLD. WAY TO MAKE ME FEEL OLDER THAN I REALLY AM. IʼM GOING IN MY ROOM TO EMO AND YOUʼRE SO NOT MY BFF ANYMORE. But thank God for my cousin Caleb. He came over to visit Sunday.

Heʼs 13. Heʼs a boy. He likes to

watch TV. He tries to act cool and watch Fuse and MTV2, but this afternoon he put it on one of the Nickelodeon stations (why are there so many? I only had one growing up) to watch the Kidʼs Choice Awards.

And I swear, that show saved my life. Yeah, it was a bad week.

Justin Timberlake was the host, and while I generally donʼt see his appeal beyond a few good songs, Iʼll admit heʼs a funny guy. Apparently heʼs won the Burp Award (or whatever they call it) before, but this time he lost to the entire crowd.

Throughout the show he kept talking about the biggest and best slime of all time, and I thought, What? They still slime people? I actually remember that!

Several stars (like Ciara, Adam Sandler, Orlando Bloom and an awkward Nicole Kidman) where on hand to receive their orange blimps.

And then the piece de resistance: Gwen Stefani and Akon performing “The Sweet Escape” (the first summer jam of 2007, son) on a candycolored, sparkly, loud, neon-riffic stage. Signs would light up behind them with the songʼs refrain — lots of “whoo-hoos” and “yeah-hoos.”

If I could escape, I would, but first of all let me say I must apologize for acting, stinking, treating you this way … ʼCause Iʼve been acting like sour milk fell on the floor … Iʼm at my lowest boiling point … come help me out, I need to get me out of this joint … come on, letʼs bounce … counting on you to turn me around … instead of clowning around, letʼs look for some common ground …

It was so much fun. I wanted to be there so bad because it looked like the worldʼs most perfect, funfilled party. Everyone, the young and the famous, looked like they were having a blast, and so were me and Caleb.

I had to go to work later that afternoon and I was pumped. I hadnʼt felt that good in ages, it felt like. It was like the past week never happened. I was ready to dance again, and to be honest, thatʼs what my dumb ass feels like most of the time.

I wanna get away to our sweet escape. I guess all it takes to turn things around is some good, oldfashioned, silly fun. Because kids — tweens and the young at heart, too — will always be kids.

3410 Taft Blvd. Box 14 • Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 News Desk (940) 397-4704 • Advertising Desk (940) 397-4705 Fax (940) 397-4025 • E-mail WICHITAN@mwsu.edu Web site: http://www.mwsu.edu/~wichitan Copyright © 2007. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication.

Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. First copy of the paper is free of charge; additional copies are $1. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a telephone number and address for verification purposes. The editor retains the right to edit letters.

Key to happy existence is simply living simply

THE WICHITAN Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Carrie Sullivan Managing Editor Krystle Carey Entertainment Editor Jason Kimbro Sports Editor Josh Mujica Photo Editor Adrian McCandless

Reporters Richard Carter Christian McPhate Melissa dos-Prazeres Silva Rachel Tompkins

Advertising Manager Christian McPhate

Photographers Hershel Self Lauren Miller

Cartoonist Abdul Pathan

Graphic Artist SunKyu Yoo-Norris

Copy Editor Konnie Sewell

Adviser Randy Pruitt

News

Morefield_from page 1

THE WICHITAN April 4, 2007

Group____from page 1

are optimistic he will recover completely.

“They said no surgery is needed,” he said. “Every day is a tremendous improvement.”

Morefield said he was surprised at the number of people who expressed their concern for him, many of whom were worried about a rumor that he had been paralyzed for life.

“You wouldnʼt believe how many people have called me,” he said.

Morefield will be graduating in May and recently applied to law school. He said he would eventually like to get a degree in jurisprudence, though continuing in politics is also a possibility because he enjoys working with people.

“In the future I could see myself involved in the political mainstream,” he said.

Morefield is currently at the Health South Rehabilitation Center.

Student__from page 1 made his lips form certain shapes in speech therapy.

“Iʼm 23 and Iʼm still working on improving my speech, lip reading and sign language,” Cohely said.

Like any typical sophomore, Cohely attends all of his classes. However, he brings a translator along with him.

“I have to pay attention and focus harder in classes because I wouldnʼt want to miss important information since I canʼt hear what the teacher is saying,” he said. “My interpreter, Lori, goes to classes with me. She has been interpreting for me for about four years.”

Cohely is majoring in kinesiology and hopes to work with deaf children one day.

“I would like to coach football or basketball at a deaf school,” Cohely said.

Tuition___from page 1

would be in trouble. So the main source of steady money for the college comes from the students and from the state. With state money lowered due to a decrease in state property tax, Texas will make up the difference by cutting its spending on universities.

“It was very clear the state was not going to have any money,” he said. “We could not continue to draw down our reserves $2.2 million a year.”

He said the administration has committed to cut $750,000 out of the normal budget.

“Weʼre practically there,” he said.

He said MSU could cut even more, but that would lower the universityʼs quality.

“I just think lower quality is unacceptable to our students and certainly to our faculty and staff,” he said.

He noted that on average MSU students can get their bachelorʼs degree in four years for $20,000.

“Thatʼs amazing,” he said, considering students who attend Notre Dame pay on average $42,000 their freshman year.

Rogers said he understands that even though MSU is an affordable college, people still must plan and budget to attend.

“The fact that weʼve raised (tuition) as much as we have in the last four years is problematic for students,” he said.

He said he is considering taking a proposal to the Board of Regents, suggesting that tuition not be raised more than five percent raise per year.

“That will let people plan,” he said.

Making History Bush_______________________________________________________continued from page 1 “Since Bush has nearly ruined the economy he will probably not be remembered as effective,” history professor Kenneth Hendrickson said. “His tax and spending policies are questionable. His current budget proposal calls for spending nearly one-third of the entire budget on the military while cutting spending on social services and refusing to raise taxes.”

But history professor Harry Hewitt thinks the economy is Bushʼs strongest asset.

“I donʼt think he destroyed the economy. I was surprised that the Republicans didnʼt use the economy to their benefit in the last election,” Hewitt said.

Each professor points to the war in Iraq as the main determinant of Bushʼs future approval.

History professor Everett Kindig said fortunately or unfortunately, history will judge Bushʼs foreign policy based on what happens in Iraq.

Hewitt agrees with Kindig.

“Whether Bushʼs approval ratings get better or worse depends on Iraq,” he said.

Hendrickson thinks there is “not a chance” for Bushʼs ratings to approve.

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“President Bush is unique. He is the most incompetent president in our nationʼs history,” he said. “He (Bush) has taken the nation into an unnecessary and unwinable war and refuses to even negotiate with political adversaries.

Presidents like Bush and Lyndon Baines Johnson, who take the nation into costly, unwinable wars, are never remembered kindly.”

Hewitt was more diplomatic in his judgment of Bush.

“Heʼs not the worst, but heʼs not the best president, either,” Hewitt said.

Collins pointed out that this chapter in history remains unfinished. But he is not positive about the outcome of Bushʼs foreign policy.

“In fact, it seems that following 9/11 the United States had most of the worldʼs support. Now unfortunately, we appear to be the ones who have become increasingly isolated, at least diplomatically,” Collins said.

Kindig insists Bush will be favorably compared to other wartime presidents as time goes by.

“His willingness to stand firm against the forces of terror compares favorably with FDR and Truman,” he said.

3

Collin admits that Truman was vindicated in hindsight, but the consequences of diverting troops from the search for Bin Laden to go to war in Iraq for weapons of mass destruction that never existed, may not be undone.

Collins said Bushʼs words “Iʼm a uniter, not a divider” from the 2000 presidential election may come back to haunt him.

Given the facts of Bushʼs presidency, it is ironic that he began his career claiming unification and may end his presidency with the most divided United States seen in this modern era.

Kindig is positive in his opinion of how history will remember Bush.

“I think his commitment to growth, capitalism and self-reliance on energy will be his long-lasting legacy. His commitment to the protection of life, including the unborn, will be a stand against which future presidents will be remembered,” Kindig said.

Collins said so much about our time defies precedent.

“For example,” he said, “no previous president would have considered waging a preemptive war, such as Iraq. Where we go from here, no one knows.”

Happy Easter!

The organization is also going to have voter registration and mock elections sometime later this semester, Bonnheim said. The goal of the voter registration is to get more students to register. The mock elections will be a fun way for the organization to see who MSU students believe will be the Democratic nominee.

The MSU Democrats are not only politically aware, but they are also environmentally conscious.

They are planning to place recycle bins by the newsstands on campus. This would keep students from throwing the newspapers in the garbage bins, Bonnheim said.

He said the purpose of the organization is to give the Democrats, in a relatively conservative Wichita Falls, a chance to voice their opinions. He said most Conservatives formed their opinion about Democrats from the media. For this reason, the organization wants Conservatives to realize that Democrats are not just extreme Liberals. The final purpose of the group is to get new ideas and develop future Democratic leaders in Wichita Falls and surrounding areas.

He sees this organization as being necessary on campus.

“The students at MSU do not really know what the Democratic Party stands for,” he said.

He believes this because many students learn about the party through their conservative parents and media.

He does not believe these two sources give a fair representation of Democrats. Thus, the organization is aiming at educating the students. The organization hopes students will identify with Democrats through this education.

Bonnheim thinks more MSU students are becoming Democrats because of the anti-Bush and antiwar beliefs that pervade the country.

Republicans went wrong in many different ways, according to Bonnheim.

“Theyʼre unaccountable to the American people,” he said.

He does not think conservatives listen to the American people.

Also, he believes they are corrupt, and made reference to the Foley sex scandal, which was covered up by Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Bonnheim believes Republicans have done very little for the country.

“They have not improved the health care and education. On an international level, they have misled us into a war that was mismanaged from the beginning and is currently heading in the wrong direction,” he said.

He thinks Republicans have too much big-business influence in the formation of their party and only represent the extremely wealthy and the extremely religious.

“The Republicans have moved more towards extreme and stop representing Middle America, and that will cause Democrats to pick up more people in the next election,” he said.

Bonnheim does not believe college students have a great influence on elections. He said most students attend rallies (like MTVʼs Rock the Vote), but they never bother to show up at the polls. He thinks unless students begin to take control of politics sooner, they will not be able to fix major problems in years to come.

The organization has 16 paid members, but about 22 students attend the meetings.

For students interested in joining, there is a $10 membership fee per semester. However, a student will not be turned down if he or she cannot afford the fee.

The group meets every Thursday at various locations on campus.

Their last meeting was Thursday, March 28, and it mainly focused on the development of the newspaper.

Executive members include: Vice President Meghan Hull, Secretary Chandler Leonard, Treasurer Alan McStravick and Student Senate Representative Latoya Jackson.

The MSU Democrats are planning to have a debate with the MSU Republicans. The exact date and time are still being worked out.

The organization plans to help out during an upcoming rally held by the Democrats in Wichita Falls.

Helping to raise funds for the Relay For Life, a cancer fund-raising event, is also on the groupʼs agenda.

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Entertainment

THE WICHITAN April 4, 2007

Summer sequels roundup JASON KIMBRO ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

The land of movies usually saves all of its box-office hopefuls for the summer and holiday seasons.

Lately a trend seems to be occurring which may mark the end of such trends.

In the past few weeks, off-season box-office smashes have graced the screen and oddly enough, most of them have been both financial and critical successes.

With films such as “300,” “Wild Hogs” and the latest success story, “Blades of Glory,” with an impressive March/April opening weekend of over $30 million smackeroos, film execs may want to shift their financial focus from specific times of the year to year-round extravaganzas.

But for now, the trend remains the same, so I thought I would give you an early, yet tentative, head start with some big movie release dates and a few bits of my two cents on what to see and what to avoid for the upcoming summer movie blowout.

Starting off with May and ending with August, the summer movie season is almost always filled with record-breaking financial success stories, a sleeper hit that seems to come out of nowhere with a little budget but big payoff (i.e., “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) and the notorious bombs that seem to help contribute to the movie reviewer’s world of laughter and/or pain (“The Adventures of Pluto Nash”).

May 4 starts the season off with a bang with the third installment of the extremely successful and entertaining “Spider-Man” series.

This time Peter Parker must face off against Sandman, his best friend as the Green Goblin reborn and even himself (as Venom).

Other films opening this weekend include “Lucky You,” a gambling drama starring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, and “September Dawn” from schlockmeister Christopher Cain, who hasn’t done anything halfway decent since “Young Guns.” As you may have guessed, my pick for the week would have to be “Spider-Man 3.”

May 11 brings us “28 Weeks Later,” “The Ex” and “Delta Farce.” “28 Weeks Later” is the unlikely sequel to the sleeper zombie hit “28 Days Later.” This time it is believed that the virus has been eradicated but someone is holding a dark and terrible secret over in the States.

“The Ex” stars Zach Braff as a man with a newfound love. Now if he can somehow get rid of his lady’s paraplegic ex-boyfriend, played by Jason Bateman.

“Delta Farce” is another one of those asinine movie spoofs that seem to keep destroying young minds the world ’round.

My pick for the week is “The Ex.” Just check out the trailer and you’ll be laughing, too.

My 18 holds another sequel, “Shrek the Third,” and a fantasy

“Shrek the Third”

drama directed by Alec Baldwin called “Shortcut to Happiness.”

“Shrek” really needs no explanation and “Shortcut” is about a writer who sells his soul to the devil for fame and fortune, a story as old as the star of the film himself, Anthony Hopkins.

I look forward to viewing both

“The Simpsons Movie”

“Transformers”

films.

May 25 now has its turn at the summer of sequels with the third installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, and a creepycrawly horror entry from “Exorcist” director William Friedkin called

“Spider-Man 3”

“Bug.” Bet you can’t guess what that flick is about!

The second “Pirates” flick impressed this critic and thus am I highly looking forward to the third.

Onto June. Since dates become much more tentative I will only refer to films in their expected release months, with an exception to the big Fourth of July weekend.

Junio brings us more sequels (“Hostel II”), more gore (“Hostel II”) and more sex (“Hostel II”), but it also brings along something else as well: Kevin Costner as a psychotic killer (“Mr. Brooks”)!

One film in particular that seems to be oozing with originality would be “Fido.” This film is set in the ’50s after zombies have attempted to take over the world. Now they have been domesticated and are used as mailmen, maids, butlers and even pets. This is a dark comedy/horror flick where things are bound to go a bit awry.

Other June mentionables include “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” “Evan Almighty” and the number one film on my list for June, “Live Free or Die Hard,” the long overdue fourth installment of the “Die Hard” series.

The weekend of July Fourth is always a hot one. This is the weekend some movie studios put out their hopefuls for Biggest Flick of the Year.

This year will be no different.

Dreamworks and Paramount will put up the big bucks for the Michael Bay directed and Steven Spielberg produced movie adaptation of the popular toy line “Transformers.”

After seeing the trailer with actual footage from the film, my blood began to boil. There have been reports Spielberg had to use some of his mighty pull to get the MPAA to lower the film from an “R” rating to the ever-so-popular PG-13 rating.

This film has all the ingredients for box-office gold and with Michael Bay’s ability to make explosions look awesome and Spielberg’s never-ending trough of creativity, this is sure to be an epic crowd pleaser on every possible level, far surpassing the meager attempts of one Roland Emmerich.

Other July flicks include the next “Harry Potter” flick, a suspense thriller starring Liv Tyler called “The Strangers,” a re-vamped and updated musical version of “Hairspray” starring John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Another comedic entry stirring up the over-used and overly-long controversy of same-sex marriage starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James is titled “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” and my non-July Fourth pick of the month, of course, “The Simpsons Movie.”

It was once said a “Simpsons” film would not be made until the series was finished on Fox. Now that it seems like the longrunning show will last forever they have decided to release a film before all their fuel runs out.

August has been infamous for holding the Johnny-come-latelies of the summer film fest that never seem to have enough juice or joy to bring in as many bucks.

Will this summer be any different?

Only time will tell.

With two anticipated sequels, this could be a turnaround for August, the two being “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Rush Hour 3.”

The lack of originality and joy from the first two “Rush Hour” flicks really give me no sense of anticipation for the third. “The Bourne Ultimatum” on the other hand will definitely be on my mustsee list for August.

Other flicks include a big screen adaptation of “Underdog,” the fantasy film “Stardust,” King of Crap Uwe Boll’s “In the Name of the King” and Rob Zombie’s destinedto-be-a-cult-classic remake of “Halloween,” with John Carpenter himself overseeing the project.

Of course, let’s not forget such films as “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” with Rowan Atkinson returning to play the loveable character, or Eddie Murphy yearning to hang on to a career with his sequel to “Daddy Day Care,” “Daddy Day Camp.”

This time the walls of the bathroom won’t be the only things covered with crap.

And for the kiddies, the eternal struggle to make all children vain continues with a movie version of the toy line “Bratz.”

CARLY BURRES STAFF REPORTER The crowd roared as confetti fell from the rafters after the Florida Gators defeated Ohio State in the championships Monday night.

The goal for the rest of the night could only have been to celebrate away.

Burres But the next day Gator coach Billy Donovan had to start thinking about his future.

Now that Donovan has been one of the key ingredients to Floridaʼs back-to-back championship success, he is going to have other schools knocking his door down just to make an offer for a new job.

The rumors were flying before the game had even ended about what school Donovan would move to if a move was what he decided to do.

The University of Kentucky is rumored to be Donovanʼs first pick, although he has not made any agreements with anyone just yet.

As if it were up to everyone else, people are discussing whether or not Donovan should make a move at all.

He has spent 11 years working hard and sacrificing time with his wife and family in order to make that team into what it has proven itself to be the past two years.

So why move and give up everything that he has worked hard for?

I realize along with many, many other people who know me, that I am no sports guru who should be giving advice.

But if it were up to me, I would tell Donovan to take the best offer he gets and make his move.

Donovan probably does have a certain amount of sentiment for his Gators because he has spent so

much time at the school and put in so much hard work.

But the man has exceeded his goals and maybe itʼs time for him to move on.

Just because you love something doesnʼt mean you canʼt drop it for something better that comes along.

To clarify, I loved my old car but I didnʼt hesitate to trade it in and buy a new one last week.

Who wants a 1996 Oldsmobile when they can have a 2003 Pontiac Vibe or something better?

Florida was good to Donovan but he has made the team what it needs to be, they have proven that they can make it and now itʼs time for Donovan to move to another school and turn them into champions.

Now that he has put himself at the top of the chain as far as basketball coaches in 2007 are concerned and has managed to spread his name all over the news, he should expect many offers that financially surpass what he is currently receiving.

If he leaves, he can have the chance to say that he turned another team around and possibly make incredibly good money.

But who am I to completely disregard the sentimental value that he might have attached to Florida.

It would be hard to leave something that one has put so much time and energy into.

The possibility always remains that if Donovan were to stay at Florida that he would win a third championship, which would be an incredible feat to accomplish.

Perhaps my college student mind frame is so stuck on credit card bills and gas prices that I canʼt see any other way to choose except by who offers the highest salary.

Money makes the world turn and can cause the person with the greatest amount of love for something to throw that love away and take the offer.

But whether Donovan chooses to join Kentucky in their quest for the championship or another school, I do believe that his time with Florida has come to an end.

Golf team places fourth JOSH MUJICA SPORTS EDITOR The MSU golf team posted a 309 in the final round of the West Texas A&M Menʼs Invitational at the LaPaloma Country in Amarillo Tuesday to place fourth overall with a score of 924.

Junior Hunter Linscomb shot the best score of the final round with a one-over-par 72 to herd the Mustangs to five strokes behind Southeastern Oklahoma State, who was in third.

All teams had to battle through rough weather as temperatures dropped in the low 60s with winds gusting over 30 miles per hour.

Western New Mexico won the team event with an overall score of 888 and host West Texas A&M posted a 896 to earn second place.

Brady Jones worked his way from 17th to 14th in a day as he shot a seven-over 78 to finish at 231 while Linscomb finished second amongst the Mustangs with a 233.

Freshman Logan Scarlett earned a 233 and Eric Thompson fired in a score of 237 in the two day tournament.

Junior Gordon Quebodeaux led MSU after two rounds but got an 86 in the final 18 holes to finish at 238.

West Texas A&Mʼs Kent Neal won the individual event with a five-over-par 218 and Western New Mexicoʼs Eric Chavez second at seven-over 220.

The Mustangs golf team are off until April 16-17 when they will compete for the Lone Star Conference Championship at Bear Creek Golf Club at the DFW Airport.

This is MSUʼs first time to play for the LSC title.

April 4, 2007

COURTESY

OF

5

THE MCCLACHY TRIBUNE

Florida Gators players stand behind their national championship trophy Monday night after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes for their second title in a row. Ohio State gave the Gators all they had but Florida had more experience and came out with a 84-75 win.

Gators chomp Buckeyes to defend throne MCCLACHY TRIBUNE

Itʼs an ordinary stepladder, the kind Home Depot might sell for $50. But on this court, on this night, one team climbed it to the mountaintop.

Itʼs an ordinary basketball net, what a sporting goods store might sell for $10.

But on this court, on this night, the small pieces of nylon these players would snip from it were spun gold - treasure worth the millions they had forsaken in NBA riches for the chance to make this climb just one more time.

The flag planted on the mountaintop said Florida Gators.

Again.

The final score burned into history Monday night was 84-75, although you could barely see the scoreboard after the final horn sounded here in a sold-out Georgia Dome, as a blizzard of confetti and streamers dropped among the fireworks and the Gators celebrated becoming the first repeat champion in NCAA major-college menʼs basketball since Duke in 1992.

This was why Floridaʼs championship team had astonished the basketball world and returned intact, four starters putting off professional riches.

For this night. For this moment For that short climb up a regularold ladder, right up into the clouds.

“This is what we came back to school for,” Corey Brewer said.

“Cutting down nets,” Joakim Noah said, saying it all.

Vanquished Ohio State had ended the regular season ranked No. 1 (to Floridaʼs No. 3) and entered the game on a 22-game winning streak, best by far of any Final Four team.

Yet the champ Gators were favored.

“I donʼt understand it, personally,” Buckeyes 7-foot center Greg Oden said. “I donʼt know how you can finish the season No. 1 but not be considered the best team.”

Now he knows.

Ohio State guard Ron Lewis had tweaked the Gators Sunday by saying they were a “good team,” declining repeated invitation to call them great.

If he isnʼt changing his opinion now, he isnʼt stubborn. Heʼs a fool.

These Gators will almost surely disintegrate now, like magic dust.

Noah, Al Horford, Brewer and likely Taurean Green will enter the NBA Draft.

Fifth starter Lee Humphrey is a senior.

Even coach Billy Donovan is being wooed by Kentucky.

What they accomplished, though - that wonʼt disintegrate.

Itʼll be there for all time. Only five times previously in 69 years of the NCAA Tournament had a team repeated, and since 1973 only that Duke team had.

Now these Gators are the new name for greatness. Now the question isnʼt can they repeat.

The question is, Where do they rank among the greatest teams ever?

Donovan answered: “One of the best teams to ever play.”

Ohio State, gunning for its first basketball title since 1960, had arrived bent on revenge, after losing in the regular season 86-60 to Florida, and after its football team had been embarrassed by UF for the football national championship, 4114. No matter.

UCLA had revenge on its mind, too, in Saturdayʼs semifinal, after losing last yearʼs title game to Florida. No matter, again.

“Revenge is overrated in sports,” Noah said. “Look at UCLA. Then Ohio State. Does revenge at this point make you play harder? If it does youʼre playing for the wrong reasons. We were playing to make history.”

They made it like maestros make music, like Michelangelo made art.

Every time Ohio State made a run, Florida found brakes.

This is how fast the Gators can flash their knives and find your jugular.

Ohio State had cut its deficit to 24-22 early, the fans in red roaring.

Then: A Humphrey three. A Brewer three. A Taurean Green three.

A Buckeyes timeout, to stop the bleeding.

Ohio State got 45 combined points from its super freshmen, Oden and Mike Conley Jr., but not enough from elsewhere.

Florida, the consummate TEAM,

got very little from Noah (four points, three rebounds) but consistency (and 10 three-pointers) from the other four starters.

A U.S. Marine Corps precision drill team performed at halftime.

A college precision drill team performed in the surrounding halves. The team wore blue.

Florida had lost three of four late in the regular season and doubts seeped in like toxic sludge.

Pertinently, the doubters werenʼt wearing Gator uniforms.

Florida blitzed through the SEC Tournament, then through the NCAA Tournament, finishing off March (into April) Madness Monday night like a champion finishes a fight with a staggering right hook.

“If we win, everybody gonna eat,” Noah said, repeating a pet phrase.

Nobody is dining more sumptuously now than the University of Florida, with consecutive basketball championships sandwiching a football title.

Gator fans kept erupting in that signature chant: “Itʼs great to be a Florida Gator!”

And they werenʼt lying.

Going into last season, lightly regarded, the Gators coined for themselves the catchphrase, “PHD: Poor, Hungry and Driven.”

Now, these same players are soon to be rich, they are fed and they have driven into history. In style.

As for the PHD? Theyʼve added a new degree now.

Masters.

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER

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Donovan should weigh options

Sports

THE WICHITAN

6

THE WICHITAN April 4, 2007

Sports

Senior wonʼt forget softball memories JOSH MUJICA SPORTS EDITOR As the rays from the bright sun hit her face, Midwestern State University shortstop Kelli Shaw uses her right hand to wipe sweat from her cheeks.

She squints her eyes and bends her knees into position.

With her glove steady on her left hand, she is prepared to stop any ball that comes her way.

Itʼs evident. Number 10 was born to play softball.

The 22-year-old senior from Red Oak, Texas, has trained for 19 years to do what she does best.

As one of only two seniors on the team, she knows her role as a leader and is enjoying every second of her final softball season.

“Iʼm going to miss it all,” Shaw said.

The things Shaw and the team do before games are forever embedded in her heart. Before each game, the team prays, and it is tradition that Shaw takes the last ground ball in warm up.

“Iʼm going to miss the relationships Iʼve built with the girls most of all because they are my best friends,” she said with a smile.

Shaw said the teamʼs success this season stems from hard work in practice and the teamʼs great chemistry on and off the field.

She said they depend on each other to come through with big plays.

Shaw is a roommate with pitcher Ashl e y Kuchenski and third basewoman Kristin Stonecipher.

“We are like sisters and would do anything for each other,” Shaw said. “My teammates all are my family here, and if we have something to talk about besides softball we are always there for each other.”

Family is the main reason Shaw decided to play softball. She credits

her two older sisters for her interest in the sport.

“I saw them play, so I wanted to play too,” Shaw said. “They were like role models to me.”

Shawʼs first ever softball game was on a team called the Lancaster Red Sox at the tender age of three.

She wasnʼt the best, but she held

ADRIAN MCCANDLESS | THE WICHITAN

her own.

“For my first ever game I was nervous and excited at the same time,” Shaw said. “I played second base back then because it was a co-ed team, and I guess they just didnʼt trust me to play shortstop. I was the only girl to make the all-star team though.”

After graduating high school in 2003, Shaw had a two-year stint playing softball for McLennan Community College but made a transfer to MSU in 2005, after Coach Brady Tigert asked her to take a visit to the campus.

“I thought MSU was a great opportunity for me to play softball

and to get a great education at the same time,” Shaw said.

Shaw majors in exercise physiology but originally wanted to go into radiology. However, she did not have the extra time necessary because of softball. Shaw has made many sacrifices over the years to satisfy her softball career.

“We miss a lot of school because of traveling to games out of town,” Shaw said.

Physically she suffers from inflamed muscles and micro tears in her rotator cuff. It is not a serious injury, but she has to get treatment on her shoulder before practice and every game so it does not bother her when she throws the ball.

She misses her family back home, so she plans on transferring to a school closer to her niece and nephew in Arlington, Texas.

“I can just worry about finding a job and being a regular college student now,” Shaw said with a glowing smile as big as her heart on the field.

As her playing days dwindle down and her path takes a new venture, Shaw has hopes to one day coach softball or become a personal trainer.

No matter where life takes her, Shaw will be a hit in whatever she does. Softball has helped her with life, and she will take her knowledge into the future. The 5-foot-2-inch Shaw stands tall, ready to take on the world.

“Softball has not only helped my family pay for my school, it has given me friends,” Shaw said.

“It has taught me to stick with stuff and to be more of a determined person in life.”

DID YOU KNOW? 1.) NBA All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998 but was traded on Draft Night to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Bucks got Robert “Tractorʼʼ Traylor in exchange for Nowitzki.

2.) Center Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins was the youngest player to score a hat trick in NHL history. He was 18 years and 153 days old when he scored three goals on Feb. 10, 2007, during a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

3.) Ohio State was the first major college football team to defeat two No. 2-ranked teams in the same season.

In 2006, the Buckeyes defeated No. 2 Texas, 24-7, in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 9, and edged No. 2 Michigan, 42-39, on Nov. 18 in Columbus, Ohio.

4.) Three NFL head coaches who played at the University of Southern California are Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren, Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher and Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. 5.) Former Los Angeles Lakers great Jerry West was selected to the NBA All-Star Game 14 times, each season from 1960-61 to 1973-74. He was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1972.

ADRIAN MCCANDLESS | THE WICHITAN MSU’s Kristin Stonecipher fields a ball at the Sunrise Optimist Fields earlier this season. The Lady Mustangs beat West Texas A&M twice Tuesday as they faced off in a doubleheader.

Ladies keep winning ways JOSH MUJICA SPORTS EDITOR The MSU Lady Mustangs softball team traveled to Canyon Tuesday to take on West Texas A&M in a doubleheader.

Midwestern emerged victorious as they took both games from the home team. Due to a late posting of scores The Wichitan was unable to report on the game as of press time.

MSU improves its record to 3011.

The Lady Mustangs were scheduled to battle in the Lonestar Conference Crossover tournament last Saturday but the competition was cancelled due to flooding in the DFW area.

On Friday the Lady Mustangs beat Texas Womenʼs University 10 in their first game of the tournament.

Freshman sensation Katie Peterson pitched a complete game onehitter to help MSU win its sixth straight game.

She improved her overall record

to 16-9 as she retired 21 out of 22 batters striking out 10.

MSUʼs lone score came in the third inning when Tabitha Yanetti crossed the plate on a Maranda Bishop RBI. Lauren Craig was cited for her great hitting as she went 2 for 2.

The Lady Mustangs will now go to Goodwell, Okla., tomorrow to take on Oklahoma Panhandle State in a doubleheader slated to begin at 1 p.m.

MSU returns home Tuesday to battle Tarleton State at 2 p.m.

ber three pair of Charles van Swelm and Or Barnea defeated their Aggie opponents, 8-6.

CUʼs Jordi Mullor and Tin Hinst overcame MSUʼs 11th ranked doubles pair, Brett Emerson and Zac Dillard, at number one.

MSUʼs team of Stefan McKinney and Fernando Villarreal lost 8-4 at number two.

The only singles victories came from the two seniors.

At number one, 18th ranked Emerson number one, defeated Jordi Mullor 6-4, 6-7(9-7), 6-0. Van Swelm picked up a win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, at number three.

The men will be in action today against Oklahoma Christian University.

Men fall to 16th-ranked Cameron MELISSA DOS PRAZERES-SILVA STAFF REPORTER

Midwestern State menʼs tennis team fell to 16th ranked Cameron University in a Lone Star Conference match yesterday at the CU courts, in Lawton, Okla.

The 23rd ranked Mustangs went down 2-1 after the doubles. Num-

Womenʼs tennis team beats Oklahoma MELISSA DOS PRAZERES-SILVA STAFF REPORTER MSUʼs womenʼs tennis team picked up another victory yesterday afternoon, defeating the 15th ranked team in NCAA Division II, Cameron University.

The number 31 Lady Mustangs upset their Aggie opponents in a very close duel, resulting in a 5-4 victory.

The number three doubles team of Faye dʼHamecourt and Michelle Watson made quick work of CUʼs Sandra Leigh King and Carolina Mullor, winning 8-3.

Brynne Chappell and Collean Kinser were forced to work much harder at number two doubles, but were able to secure an 8-6 victory.

Missing a couple break point advantages at 6-6 cost the number one

team, Cilia Muller and Ann-Sophie Indeherberge, their match.

The ladies went into the singles, leading 2-1.

Three of the six singles matches were forced into final sets, the Lady Mustangs coming out on top in all three.

MSUʼs dʼHamecourt, at number three, defeated Megan DeBlonk 75, 2-6, 6-2.

Senior Muller pulled it together after dropping the first set 7-5 to overpower her opponent 6-1, 6-0 in the second and final set. Junior Melissa dos Prazeres-Silvaʼs 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win over Sandra Leigh King decided the 5-4 victory for the Mustangs.

The Lady Mustangs came into this match confident after defeating the 28th ranked Tarleton State University at home Saturday morning.

The lone doubles win for the Mustangs came from the number three pair of Indeherberge and dos Prazeres-Silva, who defeated the Tarleton TexAnns, 8-5.

Despite being down 2-1 after the doubles, MSU ladies pulled off the 5-4 victory after a great comeback from Kinser at number three, who won 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Other singles victories came at numbers four, five and six.

Watson pulled off an easy win at four, 6-2, 6-3.

Dos Prazeres-Silva comfortably picked up her win, 6-2, 6-1 over Evgeniva Prokofeva.

Muller won 6-2, 7-5.

The Lady Mustangs now travel to Tahlequah, Okla., to compete in the Northeastern State Quadrangular Friday and Saturday.

Sports help wanted Need motivated individuals to step up to the plate, attend games write articles.

Contact Josh @ (940) 867-1809