In the news February 8, 2012
Despite news headlines of war, threats and protest, the Middle East remains a mystery to most Americans.
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Lady Mustangs dominated the court Saturday against St. Angelo State, winning 83-70.
wichitan
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Overpower
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Three-alarm fire damages French Quarter BRITTNEY COTTINGHAM MANAGING EDITOR
Senior Moody Ihmedian came close to losing everything he owned when a fire broke out at French Quarter Apartments Sunday. “It could have been worse,” Ihmedian said. “The firemen did their job and ensured no one got hurt. It was scary.” Eight other MSU students weren’t so lucky. The fire was reported at 9:13 p.m. Firemen arrived on the scene four minutes later, according to Assistant Fire Marshall Antoinette Hastings. About nine students and two families were driven out by a three-alarm fire, which was extinguished by 11:07 p.m. The fire started in a chimney flue
above Ihmedian’s apartment. “We had just got done watching the Super Bowl when we heard about the fire,” Ihmedian said. “It was an unbelievable experience. What went through my mind was trying to get everything I own out of my apartment.” Hastings said investigators ruled the fire an accident. “The fire was contained in the attic area, but the apartments were damaged by smoke and water,” Hasting said. The Red Cross arranged for displaced students to be put up in motel rooms. The agency also helped to provide clothing and food for the victims.
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THE ULTIMATE SPORT
Illustration by HANNAH HOFMANN
Students give cold shoulder to CMC BRITTNEY COTTINGHAM MANAGING EDITOR
MSU students are missing out when it comes to planning for their future. That’s the consensus of the Career Management Center staff, who host four major career-related events each year. The staff also conducts resume workshops and preps seniors for life after graduation. Students, however, aren’t showing up in droves. Last fall, an average of 184 students came to CMC-sponsored events. The high point was when 340 students attended the Part-Time Job & Volunteer Fair. The low: only 66 students showed
up at the Graduate and Professional School Fair, according to Dirk Welch, CMC Director. The attendees make up about 3 percent of MSU’s 6,182 students. The lack of student participation in events has left Welch puzzled. “During difficult job market times, where competition for available jobs is fierce, it would seem that more involvement in utilizing all available opportunities to network and interface with employers and organizations would be happening,” he said. The drop in attendance is not new,
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Joel Smith passes a Frisbee to Mark Olgvin during Ultimate Frisbee practice Monday. Photo by HANNAH HOFMANN
Students go airborne with new game CORA KUYKENDALL FOR THE WICHITAN
Whizz! With a flick of the wrist, Mark Campbell fires a Frisbee to teammate Rachael Krygsman. She leaps, grabbing it out of the air above her head with one hand. Score. This isn’t just any game they’re playing – this is the ultimate game. Its name: Ultimate Frisbee, a quintessential college phenomenon. Ultimate Frisbee is played on many college campuses and continues to
grow in popularity as people learn more about the new sport. But those who think Ultimate Frisbee is just a silly game haven’t seen how MSU’s Ultimate Frisbee team, Cavalry, plays. A game of Ultimate Frisbee can last up to two hours. It has rules, policies and referees just like any other sport. “People don’t understand how competitive college Ultimate is,” said Mark Campbell, Cavalry’s team manager. “They view it as non-athletic people tossing a Frisbee back and forth. Ultimate is a high-paced game with tons
of intensity.” Former Team President Samantha Hassell and Cavalry Team Captain Joel Smith, with a handful of other students, had the idea to put team together. A year and a half later, that dream has become a reality. The team held tryouts last month. Eighteen players were up to snuff for the newly-formed team. In the fall, students can come to the
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UGROW aids students, faculty in campus-wide research projects CHRIS COLLINS EDITOR IN CHIEF
UGROW program helps students, faculty develop research skills Zach Evett, a mechanical engineering student at MSU, is a changed man. He used to study his major in a vacuum – he had no idea that mechanical engineering could be applied other academic disciplines.
But then he agreed to participate in UGROW. UGROW, or Undergraduate Research Opportunities and Summer Workshops, gives undergraduate students the chance to do research with other students and faculty, according to faculty speakers at a presentation on the program Tuesday night. The program, which was established in 2004, tends to take students out of
their comfort zones. This was certainly the case with Evett, he said. “I am a much more mature and educated person now.” Last summer, Evett began to build mechanical “puppets” for an MSU theatre production, Bandersnatch. These weren’t your grandpa’s puppets, though – they were full of wires and switches. Creating them took a little bit of Calculus-level math, to say the least.
Evett worked with three theatre student on the projects. Students, he noted at the presentation, who had no prior experience in the field of mechanical engineering. His teammates, though unfamiliar with about engineering, were dedicated and vastly creative, he said. “Those people work. Like 14 hours a day work,” Evett said. He said he even learned work ethic from his teammates.
“I worked with them,” he said. “I worked hard with them.” He told the audience in Shawnee Theatre that the university should be implementing UGROW-type programs all over campus. He remarked on all the possibilities that program could create “I feel like this has been one of the
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