The student voice of Midwestern State University
The Wichitan page 4 Historical flop
Epic retelling of ancient times focuses too much on romance, not enough on action.
page 5 Mustangs on fire Softball squad led by Katie Peterson takes advantage of first home stand of year
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Campus police provide students safe escort home MSU’s escort service has nothing to do with romantic companionship. Here on campus, the escorts are campus police officers and the only favor on their menu is ensuring the safety of the student body. Campus police offer vehicle and walking escorts for students going to and from destinations at MSU. “This is not a taxi cab service,” police chief Michael Hagy said. Students must voice some sense of vulnerability or apprehension if they want their call to be taken seriously, Hagy said. While the service runs 24 hours a day, most requests come after 9:30 p.m. from students who have just finished labs or late-night study sessions, Hagy said. He estimated that the department gets about one call a night. Hagy also said that bad break-ups or relationships gone awry have been motivating factors for a portion of escort requests, mostly coming from females. Publicity for the escort service was relatively low until 1999 when Hagy was hired as police chief. Resident assistants also take a proactive approach in informing students who live on campus of the escort ser-
vice. Whether it is brought up in residence hall or floor meetings or posted on bulletin boards, students living on campus should be aware of the services available to them. In a meeting last September with the Student Government Association, Hagy briefed SGA senators on the escort service. The senators then relayed the information to their respective jurisdictions of the student body. SGA has no plans to advertise the escort service in any other manner. “It’s not a student-led initiative,” SGA president Dominique Calhoun said. Calhoun believes that the escort service is “case-sensitive” to residents, and that it is primarily the responsibility of residence halls and resident assistants to inform students of the service. As the semester continues and new students get situated and gradually more comfortable in their environment, Hagy said requests for police escorts gradually decrease. Students can use one of the 13 yellow emergency call boxes located around campus, which directly connect to the police station, or call (940) 397-4239 to request a police escort. Calhoun said he would consider any request for more student emergency call boxes, but so far it has been a nonissue.
other type of account that was better suited for her. Fortunately, she was refunded $37.50, which amounted to three months of charges. Randall Mobley, a senior mass communications major, found himself in a more serious financial predicament. Mobley opened a joint bank account with a friend in March 2007. “This was the first of many mistakes,” he said. His friend later took Mobley’s social security number and applied for a credit card in his name. The credit card charges amounted to $5000 by the time Mobley was aware of it. He filed a police report in
order to close the account, but still had to repay the charges. “I dropped the identity theft charges because my friend started repaying the loan,” he said. Another mistake. Mobley’s friend stopped paying almost immediately after. Mobley is a full time student who works two jobs, totaling over 50 hours per week to repay his debt. He had perfect credit before the incident, and now he is fighting to get his credit back on track. “I’ve learned my lesson,” Mobley said. “Never let a friend have access to your personal information. Always keep it private.”
Jordan J amison F or T he W ichitan
WHAM! KAPOW! Comics connoisseurs help keep tradition alive Chris Collins Managing Editor
Dan Winslow and Ryan Samuelson are kids at heart. The two Moffett librarians have an interesting hobby: they love to read comic books. Winslow and Samuelson, self-proclaimed comic book buffs, presented a history of comics this February in Moffett Library to students, faculty and the larger community. “Comics pretty much dominated my life dur-
ing my teenage years,” said Samuelson, government publications librarian. “It was a huge part of my life from age 7 to 20.” Winslow, collection development and systems librarian, on the other hand, started reading comics seriously at age 25. Though the two are avid comics fans, they don’t pretend to be avid collectors. Both admit they currently have about 20 trade paperbacks on hand. “I had more when I was a teenager. They’re
See “Comics” page 3
Unexpected trouble with credit card fees, bank account rules lands unknowing students in sticky financial predicaments Correlle Ferlance Advertising Manager
Credit cards, online banking, ATM and automatic bill payment systems have made some people’s lives easier. But this trouble-free life comes with responsibility. ATM fees and bank charges are just a few of them. Unfortunately, some MSU students have found themselves in financial dilemmas because of these service fees. Senior Porscha Moore, a criminal justice major, found that she owed American National Bank $240 after being charged with numerous overdraft protection fees in a single day.
“I was shopping one day and made quite a few purchases with my bank card, but did not realize the money was coming from my savings account,” Moore said. Moore’s savings and checking accounts are linked. Each time Moore made a purchase, a $10 fee was charged to her account. “I understood what happened later on, but what really got me upset was the fact that the bank took all the money as soon as my direct deposit was sent to my account.” Moore contacted the bank, but their representative told her that only the first $10 fee would be forgiven. Most banks charge between
$10 and $50 for insufficient funds. A solution to being charged with insufficient funds fees is getting an overdraft protection plan. This is still not a perfect solution because the overdraft protection fees can add up. Moore said since her incident, she has been extra careful with her bank account. She said the most important thing is to be aware of your bank policies and what fees will apply in certain instances. Zanela Claxton, a sophomore psychology student, realized that she was being charged with $12.50 fees seemingly out of nowhere. “I started banking with Wells
Fargo about a year and a half ago when I opened my college checking account,” Claxton said. “Unlike some of my friends, I do not check my bank accounts regularly.” One day when she checked her statements, Claxton said she realized she had charges she had been unaware of. She contacted her bank and the representative told her that her balance fell under $5000, which was the minimum she could have in her account. “Charges for not having enough money?” she asked. “That just didn’t make much sense to me.” Claxton’s personal banker transferred her funds to an-