NO BUTTS ABOUT IT: Campus-wide tobacco NAIL-BITER: Men’s b-ball ban is in full effect and striking up debate pulls off last-minute win npage 7 npage 8
Wednesday n January 27, 2010
thewichitan
your university n your voice
Grant sharks BBB urges students to be wary of shady financial aid service Chris Collins Managing Editor
A phony financial aid service may be out to hurt MSU students who need help the most. College Financial Advisory, based out of Oceanside, Calif., has been attempting to peddle a ‘grant locating service’ to MSU students since the beginning of January. The pitch: that students who need financial help for tuition will be given a list of grants to apply for, but only after a $59 processing fee is paid. The problem is there’s no guarantee any of the financial aid applications will pan out, and the processing fee is never returned, said Monica Horton, president of the Wichita Falls Better Business Bureau.
See BEWARE on page 3
MSU police chief Michael Hagy is retiring at the end of January after 30 years in law enforcement, 10 at MSU. (Photo by: Julia Raymond)
Haitian student prays for his family and country in the wake of devastating earthquake Brittany Norman Editor in Chief
Photographs from earthquake-ravaged Haiti are like nightmarish postcards from home for Thony Durand. For days after the island country was shaken by a 7.0 magnitude quake, he found himself searching the horrific scenes depicted in CNN broadcasts for the faces of the family and friends he left behind. “I was trying to see my family on the screen, see my village,” the sophomore business administration major said. “Trying to see people that I know. I was watch-
ing the country just… going down.” After the initial earthquake struck the island nation on Jan. 12, Thony remembers a feeling of helplessness. Attempts to contact his six brothers and sisters, some of whom reside in Port-au-Prince, were without success. He found out about the deadly quake less than an hour after it happened via text message. He turned on the television to see if it was really as bad as his friend had made it sound. “I was devastated,” he said. “I went to CNN and it was exactly what she said it was. I saw people dying and falling over in the streets. We had a very big flour factory, a national factory with 600 employees there. That thing had been there for decades, and it was gone. “ The landmarks that seem to be part of another world for most MSU students are relics of his home, symbols of his people. And he was watching them crumble. “When I saw the palace was gone, it touched my heart,” Thony said. “I was so sad, and it was hard for me, even up until now. I can’t even look at the pictures any more.” The village he grew up in, Titanyen, is now the site of several mass graves. Though he currently lives in the US, he still felt a painful connection to the suffering country. “It’s home, even though I’m not See HAITI on page 4
(Top) MSU junior Thony Durand has watched Haiti, his home country, crumble during television news broadcasts. His six siblings are still in Haiti, some living in or near Port-au-Prince. (Photo by: Julia Raymond)
Chief to leave badge, MSU after a decade Cassie Bricker For the Wichitan
At age 5, Police Chief Michael Hagy recalls watching black and white television episodes of his cowboy hero Roy Rogers. “He was that guy who wore the white hat and he could always defend the defenseless,” Hagy said. “He would always be there to help the little guy.” Early on, Hagy decided he wanted to help the little guy too. The first time he did, though, it got him in trouble.a Hagy was walking to school when he saw a fifthgrader pounding on a smaller child. He intervened and soon found himself scrapping with the bully. He ended up in the principal’s office.
See HAGY on page 3
Buyback ripoffs rankle students Donace Wilkinson For the Wichitan
“I’ll give you $1.50 for that.” That was the price Shenelle Pemberton, senior education major, was offered for a textbook she tried to sell back to the MSU Bookstore. According to Pemberton, she had paid a little more than $20 for the textbook. She said she thought the offer was ridiculous. This semester, Pemberton has decided to do things differently. “I will look for persons who plan to do the subjects and try to sell to them,” she said. Pemberton is not alone in the cause. At the end of every semester, MSU students have the task of deciding how to make the most out of their used textbooks. Jamela Warner, a sophomore double majoring in economics and business management, said she was offered $5 for a book she had bought for about $90.
See BUYBACK on page 4