Jan. 30, 2019

Jan. 30, 2019 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 83 No. 16

Campus Recycling

pg. 6

Find out where all the orange recycling bins on campus have gone.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

Special Events Coordinator Cynthia Cummings checks inventory at the Mustangs Food Pantry. Jan. 29.

Megan Phelps

pg. 7

Former member of Westboro Church speaks on new mind-set and changing values.

Food pantry to offer fresh produce, more items ANDREW MURRAY REPORTER

T

Men’s Tennis

pg. 8

The men’s tennis team talks on continuing success.

he food pantry reopened for students who are food insecure on Jan. 23 and, according to Special Events Coordinator Cynthia Cummings, there will be more fresh food this semester.

Students said if the food pantry had started to get the fresh produce it would help.

“We do get fresh produce, but we are working with United [Supermarkets] right now and United has to get approval on it but I am really hopeful,” Cummings said.

With a gleam in her eye, she added that they should be getting fresh salads in with ham, eggs and cheese. She was not sure if they would have fruit for salads but they do get fruit, milk, eggs and butter every Wednesday.

“I am really hopeful by next Wednesday [Jan. 30], we will get fresh salads and these salads will have ham, eggs, and cheese and all kinds of stuff for them every Wednesday,” Cummings said.

Part of the challenge, Cummings said, was donations to keep the pantry funded.

“We have gotten a few [donations]. It has slowed down now that Christmas is over, so we are hoping that [donations] will build up a little bit. But we have some fund-raising ideas for the future and hope-

fully that will help us carry over until summer,” Cummings said.

Looking at donations and how the students could help, Cummings said they can put contributions of non-perishable food in bins around campus.

“Last time we picked them up on Tuesday. We probably got about five or six cans [of food] which is not a whole lot.”

However, she said these bins also posed a problem — they are not trash cans. Cummings said they did have some problem with students putting trash in the collection bins and said she hopes students are more mindful of where they are putting their trash.

After she collects the donations and other items, she takes them to the pantry in Clark Student Center Room 173.

“It is a grand room. It’s not a closet. We have made it into something spectacular. It is a little bit small, but, yes, it is in the SGA office.

We got it really organized … . We do the best we can, but we have a wide variety of stuff. We are pretty proud of it,” Cummings said.

She also said that space is hard to come by in the student center.

Around campus, students also thought the pantry was a good service for those in need of food.

Seth Smith, a business sophomore, said, “It’s cool and useful, and I hope it does end campus hunger.”

2 | Jan. 30, 2019| S TAF F E DI T O R I A L

Change your perspective OUR VIEW: The Wichitan staff believes that interactions on social media can impact your world view and can reshape a person’s ideology.

By approaching someone with a different view point than you with kindness instead of anger you can make more of an impact in that person’s life.

M

egan Phelps-Roper, former member of Westboro Baptist Church, has experienced this first hand through her interactions with David Abitbol, founder of the blog Jewlicious. They began their interactions via twitter, firing scriptures back and forth, but later on Abitbol embraced Phelps-Roper and showed her kindness instead of throwing hate her way.

Abitbol even came to places where her family would protest to have conversations with her. They began to show courtesy to one another and Megan’s views started to change.

She realized that picketing funerals and camping outside with hate-filled signs such as “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Katrina” was not the correct way to convert people. She stood up to her family who had instilled in her the hate filled ideology and left the church in 2012. The Wichitan staff thinks that instead of using social media to scare people into having the same ideas you should approach people with conversation.

Media is used to connect the world not to divide and as we become more connected through technology our communication skills start to lack. We need to use tools like social media to peacefully converse with people we disagree with and maybe sometimes change their minds for the better.

wichitan Vol. 83 | No. 16

Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. | Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@mwsu.edu | thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

RESTAURANT R E V I E W

Big surprise with even bigger chicken-fried chicken O

n a whim, I decided to drive to Sikes Senter Mall to do a little shopping and I worked up an appetite. I had tried my luck with Red Robin once before —which was an epic fail— and I wasn’t in the mood for On the Border. So, I decided to try Bricktown Tap House. Initially, I figured it was a laid-back, casual type of restaurant since it was in the mall.

Aquilla Boy was I sadly mistaken I walked in and imFreeney mediately felt underdressed. I was wearing something casual for a Saturday evening in Wichita Falls: a Columbia jacket, jeans, boots, and a baseball cap. I just knew I was out of place.

I asked to be pointed in the direction of the restroom and on my way, I was admiring the photos along the wall when I spotted a customer get up from his seat wearing a three-piece suit. “Shooketh” (the feeling when you are extremely shocked or surprised) was the best word to describe how I felt. The restroom was tad bit fancier than I expected as well, but I digress.

I made it back to my table and started looking at the menu.

I saw a few things like wings and common appetizers, but I decided to play it safe and order the chicken fried chicken (that came with mashed potatoes and green beans), while my friend ordered the fish and chips.

We sat, talked and admired the ambiance of the restaurant.

It had a minimalistic feel with a common millennial favorite: the romanticized industrial look, with visible pipes as decoration and raw bulb lighting. I even saw a few beer bottles as decoration. Very pleasing to say the least. I took a look at the beer menu (after all, it IS a tap house) and I saw the much-expected variety of ales and lagers. There wasn’t a lot of commotion either. It was almost like a scene from a nice rom-com: soft lighting, relaxing popular music (not anything instrumental, but common songs that are widely known), and the small chatter of guests.

After about 20 minutes our food arrived. When the waitress placed my plate down, I couldn’t even see my mashed potatoes because the chicken fried chicken was so big that it covered them. I looked at my friend’s plate and snagged a piece of his fish. He seemed to enjoy it, but I must have gotten the wrong end of it because all I tasted was hot, fishy grease.

Now for my plate. I wasn’t expecting anything, but my mind was blown and my palate was in the most heavenly place it’s ever been. The chicken was seasoned perfectly and the gra-

PHOTO BY AQUILA FREENEY | THE WICHITAN

Chicken fried chicken meal and fish and chips meal at Bricktown tap house vy was a nice flavor boost to go along with it. The mashed potatoes were “ehh” but the chicken was so good I didn’t even care about the lack luster potatoes. Now I’m not sure how gourmet green beans can get, but my pre-school taste buds could’ve done without the bell peppers in them.

As far as the bill was concerned, it wasn’t too bad. I actually expected to have our total be more than what it was. My meal was no more than $13, while my friend’s was no more than $14.

All-in-all, I really want a do-over at this restaurant. The food was great and the atmosphere was magnificent. I just want to go back all jazzed up and indulge in some craft beer and a lovely, classy evening with some friends. It’s a great spot if you’re looking for good food and class rolled up into one.

EDITORS: Alyssa Mitchell, Chloe Phillips

Copyright ©2018.

COPY EDITOR: Bridget Reilly

First copy free. Additional copies 25¢ each.

DESIGNER: Brittni Vilandre ISSUE STAFF: Sharome Burton, Peyton Alonzo, Alana Earle, Yerasly Duran, Monique Fields, Elizabeth Mahan, Clara Ukwitegyetse, Brian Lang, Taylor Anderson, Aquila Freeney, Andrew Murray

ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. 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.

The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks.

Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a email address, telephone number and address.

| Jan. 30, 2019 | 3 MOVIE REVIEW

PHOTO BY TAYLOR ANDERSON | THE WICHITAN

Viewers take a deeper look at the pieces at the faculty art exhibit at The Juanita and Ralph Harvey Art Gallery.

Art faculty bring diversity to exhibit Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in ‘Green Book’ (2018).

PHOTO COURTESY BY IMBD

‘Green Book’ a simplistic, but enjoyable ride D

uring the Jim Crow era, African-American travelers in the South were unwelcome in many hotels, restaurants and even some towns after sunset. They were aided by a small pamphlet called “The Green Book,” which published places where they could find friendly places to rest and eat.

Director Peter Farrelly (Step Brothers) uses Brian this history as he steps into the drama world of Lang film with his new movie “Green Book.” With a Golden Globe for Best Drama, “Green Book” is an enjoyable and moving comedy about race and unexpected friendships that’s based on a powerful true story.

Tony Lipp (Viggo Mortensen) is a bouncer looking for work so he can provide for his Italian-American family in the Bronx.

Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a black, wealthy, virtuoso pianist has an interesting job for him. Shirley is giving a concert tour in the Deep South and needs a driver and potential bodyguard to help him navigate the turgid waters of segregation.

The two leads create a hilarious buddy-comedy act in “Green Book.” Tony is loud, foul-mouthed and quietly racist, probably from his Italian upbringing (his family comes to keep an eye on Tony’s wife Dolores when two black plumbers come to the house for repairs.) Shirley is reserved and proper, he uses a lap blanket in the car and, much to Tony’s annoyance, has never eaten fried chicken. This unlikely duo has a lot to unpack as their polished green Cadillac putters further and further past the Mason-Dixon line.

From the synopsis alone it’s easy to guess what happens over the ensuing two hours. The elite Shirley lowers his guard and enjoys himself for once, and the irreverent Tony straightens up and fights for the rights of others. It doesn’t count as spoilers when it’s that predictable.

This approach is “Green Book’s” specialty. It doesn’t weigh itself down with too much depth and chooses to skim the sur-

face of racism and Jim Crow with classic good versus evil, upstanding activist versus vile racist. The southern characters are mostly stereotypes, but their racism is still very accurate.

There are some moments where Ali and Mortenson bring the story to a higher caliber, giving their characters depth or showing some of the more complex aspects of life during this time. It’s these moments that give the film it’s sparkle and have launched it to critical acclaim.

Mortenson is virtually unrecognizable from his popular turn as Aragorn in “Lord of the Rings.” His loud, brash portrayal of Tony is nearly as unexpected as the dramatic physical change he underwent for the part. Ali gives a reliably stellar performance, regal and poised, but giving his character enough depth to grow.

The two together crackle, snapping quick retorts and oneliners, veering from hysterical to serious on a dime. Their dialogue is this film’s strength, giving even a shallow, perhaps at times misguided story a beating heart.

“Green Book” does have some issues, but none are more glaring than the obvious issue of the “white person fixing racism.” The media loves and praises these types of stories and “The Help” and “The Blind Side” are prime examples of their commercial and critical success.

In a year where there are more complex stories about race like “Blackkklansman,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” or even “Black Panther,” it seems like this type of story should be left in the past. It’s a simplistic take on an issue that can be examined and presented in better and more truthful ways.

Nevertheless, “Green Book” sets itself up as a cinematic classic with its hilarious, character driven plot. It’s a definite crowd pleaser and is getting buzz from the awards shows. At the end of the day, “Green Book” is nearly impossible to dislike, so sit back, relax, and enjoy a fascinating road trip with two brilliant travel partners.

TAYLOR ANDERSON REPORTER

The faculty and staff of the art department have their own work on display as part of a Faculty Exhibition in The Juanita and Ralph Harvey Art Gallery Jan.25 - Mar.1.

Each member created his or her work based on personal beliefs and background. The artist gave over three months of their time to diligently craft together a series of art to help the community see the world through their eyes. “[I want to show] the present through the lens of the past,” Jason Bly, assistant professor, said.

He wanted his art to show the fear and tales of war through symbols, comic book styled color and his childhood.

Bly’s piece, “Too Ambitious” displays the atomic bomb symbol representing World War II and school children with eyes of fear hiding under desks during the nuclear bomb drills. With traditional and digital collage, he was able to create three pieces over the period of three months. With these pieces, Bly said he aims to encourage conversation and strike questions about how the effects of post-war impact us, today.

Gary Goldberg, professor and gallery director, describes the gallery as “diverse” by including a variety of ideas through politics, cultural background, ancestry, nature and technology.

In Goldberg’s piece, he tells the story of ancient city walls in Oaxaca, Mexico through a visual abstract landscape. Both of his textiles took more than four years to complete with a team of full-time helpers. He started his piece with 400 photographs taken in multiple trips to Mexico ranging from a week to a month. The wool felted textiles were then put through a dry felting process by hand at Taller Afelpado, San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca and Mexico. There is a hidden picture sewn on the back of both textiles. Included in this picture is the team who fabricated the wool and Goldberg’s signature.

Goldberg was not the only person who loved the gallery. Over 30 people attended the opening reception, students and parents were filled with curiosity and laughter.

Samantha Manio, nursing freshman, said, “The pieces were really inspiring and I really loved how they drew from their personal lives and brought it through art.”

4 | Jan. 30, 2019| A DAY IN THE LIFE

PRESTON BUSBY

‘I didn’t really want to do it because I never started anything before’ CLARA UKWITEGYETSE REPORTER

P

reston Busby, criminal justice senior and music minor, is in his final semester.

“I’m taking 15 hours this semester but two of those are online,” Busby said. “I have my alarm set for five o’clock in the morning to wake up. I do not usually wake up until six [or] seven. I would then get ready to come to the office usually about ten o’clock. On Mondays, I have a meeting with Dr. [Keith] Lamb, [vice president for student affairs], and then I would head to math which is 12 p.m. -1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Then I have an hour break before choir which is at 2 p.m. On Tuesdays, I wake up roughly around the same time, I do the same thing, and although my first class is at 9:30 a.m. I am done by 10:50 a.m. I would then spend the rest of the day either in the office or visiting with Ruby [Arriaga, student involvement activities coordinator], or Dr. [Syreeta] Greene, [director of Office of Equity, Inclusion and Multicultural Affairs].”

The office Busby refers to is the Student Government Association office, in the Clark Student Center. Although the office is officially open Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Busby said it is an easy place to be and he tends to spend a lot of time there.

This seems understandable given that, as Vice President of the SGA, he has a number of responsibilities to attend to throughout the week.

“I am in charge of running the meetings so I am in charge of putting the agenda together.

If a meeting requires one, then I would organize for guest speakers. My meetings with Dr. Lamb on Mondays are concerning school topics such as budgeting, SGA plans, what the school has going on and how we feel the students would benefit or feel about it.”

As part of his SGA position, Busby sits on two committees: the traffic appeals committee and academic council. The traffic appeals committee meets weekly to review student tickets and parking violations to determine who qualifies for an appeal. The academic council is which meets almost monthly to discuss issues such as the academic calendar, admissions requirements, and different course catalogs.

Although Busby is enjoying a lighter-thanusual course load this spring, he keeps busy the with a number of other activities. He has been an active member of the University Programming Board and Omega Delta Phi, a multicultural and service fraternity, since his freshman year and took on a new challenge as a sophomore- singing in the Echoes

of Gospel Choir.

“At first, I didn’t really want to do it because I never started anything before. But as I started asking people... I saw that more people would be interested in joining it or at least having one on campus,” Busby said. “I had always wanted to be in a gospel choir outside of the church so I was like, ‘yeah let’s do it!’”

Busby says, “Everyone is welcome if you want to praise God or play an instrument, we take anybody.”

The footwork involved in starting a new organization seemed to only serve as a stepping stool for Busby and gave him more room to discover how else he could be immersed in student life.

“That really got me involved.. recruiting members and talking to new people,” Busby said. “Within that same year, I also became more active in SGA and I joined the service committee, just doing community service around Wichita Falls and stuff. I became vice president and that [was] just a whole other thing... Now I feel I know more of and understand the inner workings of the campus and why things seem different, why things change. And now when students come and [ask] ‘why did this happen’ I can explain and be like well this is the reason why.”

As hectic as his schedule can get, Busby

knows that order is key to having a successful day. He said he cherishes his mornings the most. “[On] the days that I wake up late, usually that’s a sign that I will have a rougher day...if I wake up on time and I’m energized and eat before then I’m pretty decent. I’d say it’s the most important part because it sets my pace.”

Unreserved as Busby may seem he, like many students, prefers to do his schoolwork solo.

“I have to study alone,” Busby said. “It’s hard for me to study with other people because I end up talking or not focusing. I need a little bit of sound to be able to study so I usually have music or like a TV show playing in the background.”

Busby said he finds it helpful to set a goal and remain intent on accomplishing it. What drives his efforts most is wanting to attend law school. Others who have worked with him convey the impression that this is reflected in his work ethic. Syreeta Greene, director of the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Multicultural Affairs said Preston is enthusiastic and is a proactive leader.

After graduation Busby said he is, “looking forward to getting another foothold in the real world and slowly becoming [more of] an adult.”

| Jan. 30, 2019 | 5 Residence hall group hosts canvas painting MONIQUE FIELDS REPORTER

Sara Henning

PHOTO COURTESY BY KATIE HOERTH

Award-winning poet to perform Jan. 31 ELIZABETH MAHAN REPORTER

Sara Henning, award winning poet, will read a selection of her poems at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.

John Schulze, assistant professor of English, coordinated the free event. He said that anybody should give poetry readings a try.

“College is an opportunity to experience new things.

This is one of those opportunities that will avail themselves in college that you might not ever do again,” Schulze said.

He used a nurse’s busy schedule with long shifts to make his point.

“You’re off for three days, and you’re just trying to catch up on your sleep, are you going to be tempted to go to a poetry reading? Well maybe, but you’re probably not going to go because you need to catch up on your sleep. There’s a lot more latitude and opportunity to experience it in college, whereas you might not get it later,” Schulze said.

Henning, the visiting poet and assistant professor of English at Stephen F. Austin State University, agreed that poetry is something everyone should experience, not just English majors.

“Poetry is important for all of us to study. In some ways, it can speak some of our largest truths,” Henning said. “For a long time, poetry was an oral tradition. People would pass down stories by speaking them rhythmically, and I think that poetry was the way people reacted to things.

Now, people are turning to poetry more to answer things.”

Lauren Ordner, English junior, is amazed at how beautifully poets can express themselves.

“Poetry has a way of expressing emotion in a way that no other form of literature can,” Ordner said. “I have great admiration for people who can do that.”

Ordner also said she enjoys the overall experience of poetry readings.

“It’s really cool getting to know the creative side of these people that I know and see all the time. It’s always cool seeing what they come up with,” Ordner said.

Schulze also appreciates the atmosphere of poetry readings.

“Personally I enjoy the experience. It reminds me of be-

ing a kid, when my parents would read to me at bed-time.

In some sense it’s kind of fun like that, but it can also be a performance in a way,” Schulze said.

Henning’s love for poetry began with her middle school journals, but even with this early passion for poetry she felt pressured into majoring in genetics instead of focussing on writing.

“In many ways I think I was being pushed to ‘do something that makes money Sara’ or ‘go be a doctor,’” Henning said. “I just ended up finding myself one summer taking a creative writing class.”

Ordner has experienced negative reactions when people discover she’s an English major. She thinks that activities like poetry readings can go under-appreciated because they are associated with majors that don’t have a guaranteed job waiting for them after college.

“Money is not everything. I’m an English major because I love English, and I feel like that’s important. I feel like I’d rather make no money doing something I love than a lot of money doing something I hate,” Ordner said.

Students can experience more of Henning’s relatable topics by attending her poetry reading and listening to her poetry which she is very excited to share.

“I want to visit campuses to further that goal of being excited about sharing art and conversations. It’s important to be an active intellectual and artistic member of where you live,” said Henning.

One piece of advice Henning said she would give to college students was that you don’t have to have it all figured out now.

“You want it all figured out. You want to know who you are going to be. The people we are at 25 or 30 or 35 or 40 are very different people, and so many things change. There’s so little that we can control. I think that being able to embrace change is important. Embrace when things don’t make sense or feel messy, and see that as something challenging or exciting rather than scary. I would love to teach 18-year-old Sara that.”

Henning is the winner of the 2017 Crab Orchard Poetry Open. She will be reading as a part of the James Hoggard Reading Series from her award-winning manuscript, View From True North.

Students piled into Legacy Multipurpose room to attend a canvas painting event hosted by Residence Hall Association Jan. 26.

Brenda Morales, RHA president and history junior said, “We wanted to do this for a while now. We were thinking of something that everybody can do and everybody would feel welcomed.”

This event was held for students to unwind, mingle and release their inner creativity, all while getting to know what RHA is all about.

“We were looking forward to meeting new people and involving them in RHA and let them know we’re here for them,” said Morales.

The students were able to enjoy this event despite their artistic abilities.

“It’s a good relaxer, and getting out and doing stuff with friends is always good. I don’t think I have ever seen this kind of event before,” said Robert King, criminal justice and psychology senior. “I am not very artistic, so I’ll probably be painting a tree.”

The attendance of this event exceeded their expectations.

“It was very successful. We were not expecting this many people to come,” said Keona Rollerson, vice president of RHA and computer science senior.

Morales said they expected about 20 students to come, but more than 60 showed up. Throughout the night, RHA executives had to go purchase more canvases to compensate for the overwhelming turnout.

With success of this this event in mind, RHA executives are already planning to host a similar event in the future.

“We were just talking about having a part two later in the semester with a little twist,” said Morales. “We really want to make a since of community here at MSU. We saw a lot of friends being made while they were sitting with each other so I thought that was really cool.”

6 | Jan. 30, 2019|

CAMPUS RECYCLING SERVICES DISCONTINUED

PEYTON ALONZO REPORTER

T

he orange bins are gone.

All in an attempt to save $4,596, a measly $0.75 per student.

Back in 2014, campus officials began their efforts to increase the amount of recycling being done by putting orange recycling bins around campus including near Clark Student Center to McCullough-Trigg and Dillard College of Business.

In 2018, university administrators allocated $384,889 for facility management, including recycling. In 2019, that budget line was cut to $200,802; a decrease of about 50

percent.

Kyle Owen, associate vice president of facilities services, said, “I was going to ask the city for help, but their offer was twice the price than the amount we were paying before.”

After stopping business with the company Waste Connections, there was no one to pick up the recycle.

“We just don’t have enough in the budget in the department to continue the recycling services,’’ Owen said.

Waste Connections has canceled its commercial recycling procedures not just at the university, but in the Texoma region. University officials worked with Waste Connections,

a premier provider of solid waste collection, transfer, recycling and disposal service.

“When it came down to the budget, discontinuing recycling on campus was the only thing that made the most economical sense,” Owen said.

The last time the university had paid for recycling and waste removal was Oct. 1. The total value of the contract with Waste Connections of Texas was $4,596.

Lupe DeLeon, custodian, said, “The university wanted to cut out things to save as much money. That’s why I think that they [Midwestern State] had gotten rid of the orange recycling bins because it was too expen-

sive for the recycling services.”

Now there is no convenient way to recycle materials such as plastic, paper, glass, and metal for students or faculty on campus.

Not only were the students are affected by the changes, staff members are as well.

Christie Maturo, an assistant professor of theater, said, “I went out to throw out my recycling and noticed that the orange bins weren’t in the spots around campus. I can’t see as a college student living in a dorm, it would be hard to recycle all their trash on their own. I would think that as a college we should be establishing good responsibilities for students.”

QUESTION OF TH E W E E K

FACULTY FORUM Gender and Politics in Bruce Springsteen’s "Darkness on the Edge of Town" PRESENTED BY

DR. GREG GIDDINGS Assistant Professor of English

AND

DR. MELISSA NIVENS Writing Program Administrator

7 P.M. FEBRUARY 4 Legacy Hall Multipurpose Room

What is your passion and why?

THE WORD PASSION IS DEFINED AS AN INTENSE DESIRE OR ENTHUSIASM FOR SOMETHING. WHETHER IT BE HELPING THE COMMUNITY, LEARNING LANGUAGES OR EXPLORING THEIR MAJOR STUDENTS SHARE WHAT THEIR PASSIONS ARE. REPORTERS| ALANA EARLE | YERASLY DURAN MONTSERRATH GARAY, BILINGUAL EDUCATION SENIOR | “I am passion-

ate about education, most importantly, about English language learners and that they have an advocate for them to learn. [For them] to be proficient in the English language rather than not giving them the education that they need.”

VINCENT RODRIGUEZ, MATHEMATICS SENIOR | “I believe I’m passionate

about helping the community because whenever I was younger I was always involved in community service and I always wanted to be a role model for the next generation of kids.”

ASHMA HENRY, COMPUTER SCIENCE SENIOR | “Motivating people

through my actions because I have a little sister so I always strive to do the best I can. So I can show her if I can do it, you can do it. That’s what I became a [resident assistant] so I can motivate other people. You know?

To show that if I can do it, others can do it too.”

KARRINGTON BRADLEY, MASS COMMUNICATION FRESHMAN | “I’m

Admission is free and open to all. msutexas.edu/faculty-forum

very passionate about women learning to love themselves despite social obstacles that may make them think their natural beauty isn’t up to par with societal standards. I feel like I live in a world where I and other females are constantly degraded because of our looks, social status or what someone else has said about us.”

DEI-ANA MCCULLOUGH, SPECIAL EDUCATION SOPHOMORE | “I’m pas-

sionate about children, I love kids. That’s why I’m a special education major. Special needs kids have a big place in my heart. My best friend’s

brother was special needs and we took care of him growing up, from [kindergarten and now] he’s 24.”

DALIA CHAVES, NURSING FRESHMAN | “I love babies, I love taking care

of them. My major is actually nursing, I want to be a NICU nurse, so they have to deal with all the babies. I grew up with a bunch of babies, I come from a big family.”

FRIDA ARREDONDO, SPANISH SENIOR |“I’m really passionate about

languages and learning different cultures and also about writing. Languages, I know I will be able to talk to different people that know different languages but also I like to learn about cultures. The way they live, the way they think. Writing is [also] something that I have always liked, especially when I feel sad or very happy, I just write everything.”

JOSELIN FLORES, GENERAL BUSINESS FRESHMAN | “I am passionate

about hard and smart working individuals that strive for success and financial stability. Also, about those people who faced many obstacles and still managed to rise to the top.”

ALLISON ATHERTON, MASS COMMUNICATION SOPHOMORE | “I’m pas-

sionate about my beliefs and moral values. That people are equal and treating others with respect, treating men and women the same, all races the same. I’m pretty passionate about equality. Hobby wise, I’m pretty passionate about the entertainment industry like books and movies. The whole production value. I’m [also] pretty passionate about my cats. I would die for them.”

| Jan. 30, 2019 | 7 ARTIST-LECTURE SERIES

PHOTO BY BRIDGET REILLY | THE WICHITAN

Former member of the Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper speaks to the audience in Akin Auditorium about her life before and after leaving the church.

Be willing to have hard conversations CHLOE PHILLIPS REPORTER

B

igotry, picket signs and social media brought a change of mind. Megan Phelps-Roper, former member of Westboro Baptist Church, kicked off the artistlecture series for the spring semester. PhelpsRoper and her sister left the church in 2012.

“What I want people to take away from it is there is amazing value and there is very good reasons to engage people that you disagree with, the importance of being open to dialogue and willing to have hard conversations about values,” Phelps-Roper said.

For Cheslin Maloney, biology freshman, that message was well received.

“It was interesting to see how someone’s ideology could change over a relatively short amount of time. What I liked was the fact that social media helped play a role in mediating between two very different groups and kind of helps the discourse and instead of confrontations that we have on social media that [is seen as] being bad and negative in society; it actually helped her move away from a destructive ideology,” Maloney said.

According to Phelps-Roper, David Abitbol, founder of Jewish website Jewlicious saved her life and considered him a friend before and after leaving the Westboro Baptist Church.

“David has been a wonderful friend. The fact that he spent that time and had the patience to have those conversations with me while I was in the church and to really try to show me the error of my ways in a patient,

gentle way that was huge, I do wonder if I would have left absent him making that first theological point that I realized that I’d believe the church was wrong about something.

I never thought the church was wrong about something,” Phelps-Roper said. “So that was huge, there’s a quite a few people including my husband who I would also put in that category but then after we left, David pretty quickly invited my sister and me to come spend time with this Jewish family and Jewish community in Los Angeles and to talk about our experiences and the importance of that.”

Abitbol also taught her a Jewish concept defined by acts to perfect or repair the world: Tikkun Olam.

“That immediately gave me this sense of hope that there was some [hope] because I was kinda hopeless when we left like ‘what are gonna do with our lives?’ and I was utterly terrified. I had no idea [what it was like in the real world] It’s like being raised with this one world view you are filled with certainty that you knew what your purpose in life was and how to accomplish it and all of that was gone,” Phelps-Roper said. “So, that purpose that idea of Tikkun Olam sort of gave me a sense of purpose again. I think it’s really regardless of your religion it’s a beautiful idea and something that’s absolutely valuable to work towards.”

According to Phelps-Roper, she had a job and money saved up but was mostly supported by her parents and did not have to worry about money when her and her sister left

Westboro. However, their time was not their own.

“When we left, we realized that we would have a lot of freedom and time but we were definitely going to have to figure how to live in the world without this amazing support system we had at the church so that definitely was a concern. I had a car that I had bought a few years earlier and so we were very lucky in a lot of ways and also we relied on a lot of friends, people who showed us wonderful kindness. It made me understand pretty quickly how much we as human beings need one another, and how people were not what I had been taught like I’m sure there are people like that for sure but there are a lot more really good, kind, generous, wonderful people and I felt really, really lucky to have experienced that and it also made me want to get to the place where I can be that for others too,” Phelps-Roper said.

Katie Lister, Kansas native who now lives in Wichita Falls, went to the same university (Washburn University) as Phelps-Roper and lived near-by. Lister shared her first hand experience living in the same area as the Phelps family.

“It colored so many parts of our lives, we would talk among each other that if [we saw] a same-sex couple [we’d tell them] you better be careful the Phelps-Roper would come bother and picket you know, and having to worry about [picketing at funerals] there were even laws and ordinances suggested or passed that you could not picket or protest a funeral

or you had to stay a certain amount of distance away from them or you couldn’t protest during the funeral and so you had to do it before or after.”

Lister said it was good to see a shift in ideology in Roper.

“I remember driving past Gage Park where her and her family would be protesting. And I’d probably driven past her and she yelled or the family yelled at someone or my car or whatever but we (people who lived in the area) really worked very hard. We were like ‘don’t make eye contact, look you know ‘cause they’re going to write down your car’s license plate and you’ll get stuff in the mail. It happened a lot but it’s so nice to see this shift and this change in heart and understanding. It’s marvelous to see and when she said to counter the hatred, censorship is not really the answer but engagement, that really resonated because it worked for her. This guy engaging with her than just blasting and yelling back likewise is absolutely amazing,” Lister said.

Phelps-Roper also has advice for people who want to leave difficult situations like she did.

“First, the importance of talking to people about it, like of processing it. For me, that meant processing out loud you know. I think that has helped a lot and for some people it’s therapy, for me it’s just been having these really intense conversations about life and belief.”

8 | Jan. 30, 2019| MEN’S TENNIS

PHOTOS BY SHAROME BURTON | THE WICHITAN

Ben Westwick, mechanical engineering freshman practices backhand during pre-season training. Jan 28. | Head tennis coach Scott Linn gives instructions to Alberto Diaz, Business sophomore.

Coach challenges players to become ‘great’ SHAROME BURTON REPORTER

T

he reigning Lone Star Conference Champions in men’s tennis have been challenged to take the game a step further this season which gets underway this weekend.

The call to arms came from head tennis coach Scott Linn who said he expects even greater showings from his roster in the coming weeks, after a strong 22-6 campaign during the fall season.

“We’ve been good for a while but in my opinion we haven’t been great yet,” Linn said.

“We’ve had some great individual performances and some doubles performances at times, but we’ve not had a team that’s consistently great and that takes a lot of maturity, a lot of ownership, determination and recognition.”

The men enter the season as No.14 in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings – their sixth top-25 ranking spot in as many years. Linn said it could take some time before the team realizes its full potential this season.

“Hopefully you figure it out early so you can build momentum as you go through the season. Sometimes you have to figure it out late, where you don’t get to build as much momentum as you would like to,” Linn said.

A pair of names that epitomizes the recent

success of men’s tennis is the doubles team of Alberto Diaz, business sophomore, and Ben Westwick, mechanical engineering freshman.

The duo dominated the South Central region last fall and earned the number eight national doubles ranking after advancing to the ITA Cup. Westwick said he was happy to have built momentum heading into the spring season.

“It gave me a lot [of confidence], and Alberto too. As a freshman, I wasn’t really sure what was Nolan McCaig, criminal happening with colup volley. lege tennis so I was kind of nervous about competing. But once I put that behind me, I was able to play the way I liked to play tennis, and I’m looking forward to continuing that success,” Westwick said.

Diaz echoed the sentiments of his partner

Westwick, adding that the entire team is ready to impress.

“It confirmed to us that we had what it takes to be one of the best at that level and it gives us confidence, but most of our teammates are also really good and it’s going to be a good season,” Diaz said.

Linn said while Diaz and Westwick stood out last fall, there is depth in quality in the entire 10-man roster.

“Now they may have individual expectations but I don’t think my expectations for them are PHOTO BY SHAROME BURTON different than for any justice sophomore lines doubles players that returned,” Linn said.

“Two of them [Angel Palacios, business management junior and Alex Martinez-Roca, mechanical engineering sophomore] had a 20-win seasons in the spring, which doesn’t happen very often, and then [business ju-

nior] Denney Norrie had a really good season at number two doubles. At number one doubles, [criminal justice sophomore] Nolan McCaig and [biology senior] Dillon Pineda were ranked number 11 and 12 in the nation.

We’ve returned those five guys plus [Diaz and Westwick],” Linn said.

He credited the team for their hard work in preparation during the off-season.

“We have several guys who are very talented, but it takes time. The guys put a lot of work in. You could see that over the holiday break and on their own at the end of the fall,” Linn said.

Westwick described the off-season training routine.

“In the off-season we were lifting three times a week at 6 a.m., then often times a lot of the guys would organize an unofficial hitting session in the afternoon to keep our games intact and be able to keep striking the ball well,” Westwick said.

Diaz said physical fitness is a major factor in tennis and believed that would make a difference for the team.

“To be really fit is the most important thing in tennis because you can be the most talented person in the world but, without the hard work it is impossible to play at a high level,” Diaz said. “We are quite fit and ready to fight.”

S E A S O N BEGINS: FEB. 2 AGAINST COLLIN COLLEGE IN PL ANO, T E X AS AT 2 P. M .