February 22, 2017

Feb. 22, 2017 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 81 No. 20

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY JONES | THE WICHITAN

Historical marker placed outside the Ferguson Building.

Historical marker to be dedicated Feb. 25 LEAH BRYCE MANAGING EDITOR

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nxiety and excitement flooded through her as she picked up the envelope with the MSU insignia stamp. After years of homework and hard work, Wichita Falls’ Booker T. Washington High School valedictorian Willie Faye Battle was grasping her acceptance letter. However, in 1950, MSU would not only redact Battle’s acceptance, but five other applicants all for the same reason — their race.

Many years later, MSU and the Texas Historical Commission will hold an unveiling ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. outside of Ferguson Hall, to commemorate the students that suffered this discrimination and their victory of attendance at MSU. “My understanding is that two alumni, Robert Stewart and Chase Thorton, began doing research in 2008 for class and found this history that we weren’t aware of,” Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, said. “They applied for the historical marker, and the university administrator that was involved in this has since retired Dr. Howard Farrell.”

After bringing this history to light, the

see MARKER pg. 4

PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY JONES | THE WICHITAN

SGA vice presidential candidates Manny Hoffmann, Jacob Warren and Damian DeSilva at the candidate debate on Feb. 20.

SGA debate focuses on ideals CORTNEY WOOD REPORTER

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he first of two Student Government Association election debates introduced the candidates to the student body on Feb. 21. As the presiding members prepare to leave office, the candidates took the opportunity to outline their goals for the next school year.

The first debate focused on the stances and positions they will take in the upcoming school year. Around 40 people attended the debate and heard from each candidate.

Presidential candidate Maria Peña, political science junior, said the first debate allows people to “feel out” each candidate and see if they can provide the best fit for the students.

“We are actually reaching a lot of students, but Bolin doesn’t really get filled the first time, but that doesn’t discourage me,” Peña said. “We have the Twitter Periscope option and Facebook live where people can watch it and re-watch it, but I think the cool thing about the people that came is that they wanted to be there. They came all the way from whatever they were doing, and they asked questions. That gives

Maria Peña at the Student Government Association candidate debate on Feb. 20 in Bolin Hall.

Kendall Nelms at the Student Government Association candidate debate.

them a better opportunity to interact with me. If they were watching at home, they wouldn’t have been able to see me and they can’t tell if we are being sincere or not. The thing about being here is that we can be face-to-face, and people can read people and tell if they are being genuine or not.”

Peña’s opponent, psychology sopho-

more Kendall Nelms also has her eyes set on the presidential position. With “new and fresh ideas,” Nelms said she will give the voice back to the students through organizing the committees SGA helps with and make them more visible to the incoming students and encourage involvement

NEXT DEBATE: FEB. 27, 7 P. M . , B O L I N 1 0 2

see DEBATE pg. 4

2 | Feb. 22, 2017|

S TAF F E DI T O R I A L

MSU celebrates desegregation OUR VIEW: Though MSU may not have been on the right side of history, we are now.

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ast week, a postmaster was sent out to announce the unveiling of a historical marker celebrating MSU’s desegregation. Formerly known as Midwestern University, our campus did not allow black students to enroll until Brown vs.

Board of Education, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the desegregation of schools.

Willie Faye Battle graduated from Wichita Falls’ Booker T. Washington High School in 1950. She applied and was accepted to Midwestern University, but was turned away when she came to the campus – her application revoked. During the next year, five additional black students were denied acceptance. A complaint was filed in 1951 on behalf of those six students, but it wasn’t until 1954 that black students were accepted.

The wording on the actual sign is poorly-drafted. Though the sign itself sheds light on a more discriminatory time in MSU’s history, it brings even more attention to the message of diversity and inclusion that MSU celebrates today.

It’s important to acknowledge our history, both negative and positive, so that we never again refuse education to a willing and capable student.

CORRECTION • Feb. 15 issue, “For colored girls” story, meant to say never been performed at MSU.

Liberal arts education has value

I

attended the Faculty Forum last week, and I found it interesting. The panelists and audience discussed the importance of attending a liberal arts university, how to incorporate liberal arts into the world and other studies, cultural literacy, what can be done at the moment to incorporate more liberal arts, and how it affects the professors’ lives.

Victoria Many of the faculty members communiEstrada cated that the importance of it is that it shows social value, leadership, effective communication, and moral decisions. The members also stressed the importance of liberal arts and sciences by saying it is important to know what everyone else does around the world. It builds a foundation, teaches students critical thinking skills, and teaches critical literacy.

There were many ways of how to incorporate liberal arts into the world and other studies around the university by having professors question the students, adopting teamwork into curriculum, and helping others.

Angela Cartwright, assistant professor of curriculum and learning, mentioned that 60 to 70 percent of the West College of Education students learn inside another college. For example, I am studying education, and I can attest that the strategies are true. This semester, I have three out of five classes that are not in the West College of Education. The members expressed that cultural literacy is within art and music, by introducing different perspectives, and learning new languages

such as literature or ethics. I loved that the board members mentioned the benefits of being in a liberal arts college by stating that students will view the world differently, have the ability to look outside of society, and be willing to go outside of comfort zones.

An audience member asked what could be done right now to incorporate more liberal arts, and the response was for professors to have conversations amongst one another to learn about different information and integrate collaborative learning. Another member from the audience asked the members how does liberal arts affects their lives outside of professors’ careers. The members explained that it created the person they are, changed the way they see the world, changed interactions amongst others, changed the way of conversation, and overall changed the way they consume the world.

I am so grateful to be able to attend a liberal arts university.

This semester has shown me that it not is just about learning mathematics, but about expanding myself as a person in the subject of history and literature. Being in a liberal arts university will help me not only know information about my jobs in the future, but also to know additional resources. I have to look at the bigger picture — having knowledge beyond just my major so I will be successful in society and others around me.

Being at Midwestern State University gives me opportunity to become a well-rounded person and not limit myself to just education.

Victoria Estrada is an education junior.

Lessons from living abroad

I

’m from Guam, a tiny island in the Pacific.

Having lived in Asia and Europe, I wanted to share things I’ve learned about people and myself.

Racism.

I was 10-years-old when I had Melissa my first experience with Laussman it. Old enough to remember what occurred. My white classmate had a birthday party, and some friends asked me to go. My friend Anicia, who was from Taiwan, also came along.

I remember my classmate’s house being filled with people, laughter and food.

We were having a good time playing games, while the adults were elsewhere.

When her mother came to check on her, she became aware of our presence. After a private talk with the birthday girl, she

wichitan

the

Vol. 81 | No. 20

Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room B103 3410 Taft Blvd. Box 14 Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 • wichitan@mwsu.edu thewichitan.com • @wichitanonline

asked only us to leave. I remember the stares and the silence. I felt so embarrassed. I was very confused. It wasn’t until I was much older that I understood what happened that day. Although I was only 10-years-old, I have carried that feeling of confusion within me.

No one can escape those who have preconceived ideas about others that make them fearful or hateful of them.

If it’s not my skin color, then there’s a problem with my nationality, or my economic status, or my educational background, or my religious and political views. For whatever reason, people build barriers in their minds about others, knowing full well they are doing so with little knowledge.

I found a way to turn my embarrassing day into a lesson, albeit, much later in life. Instead of being bitter, I decided

I would be a little bit kinder, a little bit friendlier, and a lot more knowledgeable about other cultures. We cannot change how other people think, but we can fight ignorance. You can teach kids to embrace cultural differences, and use art to display different perspectives of beauty from around the world.

The key is education. Books can only teach so much. Make the world your observatory and discover something new.

Self-reflect. Anything truly positive to change, must start within.

One of the nicest people I’ve met was a Muslim woman living in Germany who told me, “We are all the same. We pray differently, but we want the same things in life. We want peace and happiness.”

Melissa Laussmann is a graduate student.

EDITOR: Kara McIntyre

Copyright ©2017.

DESIGN EDITOR: Justin Marquart

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.

FEATURES EDITOR: Brendan Wynne PHOTOGRAPHERS: Timothy Jones, Arianna ISSUE STAFF: Noah Fazekas, Leah Bryce, Victoria

Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University.

ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

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.

Davis

Estrada, Lane Riggs, Cortney Wood, Joanne Ortega, Melissa Laussman, Herbert McCullough, Ryane Hatten, Tyler Manning, Greta Lazzarotto, Leo Gonzalez

| Feb. 22, 2017 | 3

U P C O M I N G E V E NT S Soccer Sign-up Deadline Feb. 22 at Noon |

UGROW Project Fairs

Feb. 22 and 28 at Noon | CSC Atrium | If you are interested in participating in theUGROW program this summer beginning May 20 through July 6, please attend at least one of the UGROW Project Fairs.

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY JONES | THE WICHITAN

Pablo Garcia-Fuentes, assistant professor of economics, speaks at the 2017 Striech Family Lecture Series in Dillard 101 on Feb. 16.

Streich lecture Transitioning to democracy LANE RIGGS REPORTER

T

he lights dimmed and an entire room fell silent, pens poised as the speakers moved to the front of the room, but the lecture had nothing to do with a textbook — instead, the hour-long talk brought two experiences on the transitioning economy.

The 35th Annual Streich Family Lecture featured Nicaraguan Pablo Garcia-Fuentes, assistant professor of economics, and Albanian Agim Kukeli, director of business and government research, over the economic transition from socialism to capitalism.

Garcia-Fuentes took the floor first, and spoke of his country’s transition from a dictatorship to a democratic system. Garcia-Fuentes said Nicaragua was ninth in the markets of bananas, coffee and sugar. Though there has been improvement, GarciaFuentes said there are still problems.

“The economy grew 4.7 percent in 2014, but the economy will suffer a lot if there is a hurricane,” he said.

Kukeli then spoke of his country’s economic transition.

“There’s discomfort in moving from one regime to another,” Kukeli said. “In a communist system, everything is owned by the government.

Really, your life is run by the government. There’s no free speech, no private enterprise, rationing. Everyone had to work.”

The system change brought small and large scale privatization.

Kukeli ended his speech by saying communism is “the most painful

route from socialism to capitalism.”

“You can believe what you want,” he said. “I believe it’s true.”

James Owen, director of the Center for Economic Education, asked what benefits were given up during the transition of socialism to capitalism.

“It can be positive for other people, you can argue there is a positive correlation with economic change,” Fuentes said. “But without communism, people can get access to things that weren’t readily available.”

Kukeli’s response was not as positive.

“It’s like comparing apples to orange. Like I said, everything is owned by the government,” he said. “You might get free schooling and health care, but it’s bad. It’s the bare minimum.”

As questioning opened up to others, students like Landin Meyer, organismal biology freshman, were able to ask questions.

“I liked that we could talk with them about the economic transitions, but I didn’t really understand a lot of it,” Meyer said. “I was there because I thought it was mandatory.”

He said he had not seen anything on the event posted around campus and would not attend another unless he was required.

“I didn’t know it was posted anywhere. A lot of my class didn’t know why we were there,” he said.

Psychology junior Brittany Cusson, however, said that she enjoyed the discussion.

“I enjoyed hearing personal experience applied to aspects of business.

This is my first business class, everything I’ve learned has been really generalized, so it was interesting to hear personal stories and learn about the economies of other countries and how they have changed,” she said.

She said she liked the discussion because it was different than her mandatory class.

“I liked the lectures because it took my experience of business from a textbook definition to a personal example,” she said.

Both Kukeli and Garcia-Fuentes said it was difficult to lecture to a broad community, as not all attendees were business majors.

“It’s a struggle to speak to such a broad audience,” Kukeli said. “There was a large audience, so I tried not to use business jargon. And it was good that questions could be asked, because that helped the crowd to understand the topic even better.”

Garcia-Fuentes agreed, saying questions help any discussion.

“Every time somebody asked a question, it helped someone else understand. It’s also a way to help the speaker explain the topic better,” he said. “Questions make the discussion more interesting.”

The speakers did not have long to prepare for their presentations.

“I was told two weeks ago about what topic to present on,” Kukeli said.

“I’ve presented the topic on a minor version, but not at this forum before.”

Garcia-Fuentes had to come up with new material.

“I only had a few weeks to come up with the material. This was my first time presenting this,” he said.

Bridging the Generations

Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 23 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.| Moffett Library | Is there a generational explanation on why people behave the way they do?

Toolbox Thursday

Feb. 23 from Noon to 1 p.m. | Caddo | A lunchtime event where students can build on their leadership skills to help improve their organization.

Arts for All

Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. | Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU | A public reception to meet Anne and her husband Geoff and key organizers of the Arts for All Mural Project.

Kickball Tournament

Feb. 23 from 4 to 10 p.m. | Mustangs Park | There will be a Kickball Tournament at the Mustangs Park aka the Softball Complex.

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Feb. 23, 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m. | Fain Fine Arts Theatre | Theater production of Love’s Labour’s Last by William Shakespeare.

Dedication of the Texas Historical Marker

Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. | Ferguson Hall | The Dedication of the Texas Historical Marker Commemorating Desegregation of Midwestern University in 1954 will be in the Ferguson Building with a reception to follow.

Black Excellence Gala

Feb. 25 from 8 to 11 p.m. | CSC Comanche Suites | The Black Excellence Gala is a place to come and network, enjoy great food, and listen to a good message.

A Night in New Orleans

Feb. 28 from 9 to 11:45 p.m. | Legacy Hall | Spend a night in New Orleans with UPB this Mardi Gras! Join us for Beignets, King Cake, Mocktails and more on this night of festivities.

Take some beads and put on a mask as we take a walk through the french quarters.

CRIME LOG Feb. 13

Theft: Misdemeanor | 4:14 p.m. | Legacy Hall | Victim reported that her bicycle was stolen

Feb. 14

Drugs: Possession or Delivery of Drug Paraphernalia | 7:59 p.m. | Legacy Hall | A student was issued a citation after drug paraphernalia was found in his dorm room.

Feb. 19

Theft: Misdemeanor | 7 p.m. | Wellness Center | A male student had his billfold stolen from his bag at the Wellness Center.

Feb. 20

Accident: Non-traffic | 11 a.m. | Parking Lot #1S | A student backed into another student in Lot 1S, there were no injuries.

Feb. 17

Feb. 20

Feb. 18

Feb. 20

Check Welfare | 3 p.m. | 2517 Hampstead | Sgt. received an email from Dr. Matt Park to conduct a welfare check on a MSU student

Non-Criminal : Disturbance | 1:04 p.m. | 5005 Lake Park Drive | A student was involved in an altercation with a nonstudent.

Assault: Misdemeanor | 11:50 a.m. | Prothro Yeager Liberal Arts Building| A female student came to the PD to report an assault.

Accident: Duty on striking unattended vehicle | 3 p.m. | Parking Lot #6 | Victim’s vehicle was hit while parked, the vehicle that hit it did not exchange information and left.

4 | Feb. 22, 2017|

from MARKER pg. 1

Wichita Falls Historical Society began the process to memorialize these alumni. Since the initial research began in 2008, MSU has since planted a tree in dedication of desegregation between Bridwell Hall and McCoy Engineering Hall.

“For me it is a clear example of our university values in diversity and social justice,” Cammie Dean, director of student development and orientation, said. “Remembering our past is critical in doing the work that needs to happen now in those two areas.”

According to Lamb, the historical marker is placed in front of Ferguson Hall in honor of the first black alumni that graduated with a degree in education. At Saturday’s unveiling, the last survivor from the original six will be in attendance, along with many of the alumni’ descendants.

“Saturday’s event should be about honoring the memory of the deceased individuals, the time period of the civil rights movement and how brave these individuals were,” Whitney Snow, assistant professor of history, said. “These people fought and I have to admire that.”

Although these individuals weren’t the first blacks to be denied admittance to MSU, they were the first to fight the racial dispute in the court of law. After a three year war in the court system, Battle and her peers were granted admission to MSU. “The best way that we celebrate them is being a campus that has true diversity,” Dean said. “Not about counting heads, but making every head count. Teach about the living out of diversification and social justice is the absolute best way to repay, acknowledge and celebrate them for what they sacrificed for the rest of us.”

The historical marker was made and delivered to the university in 2015; however, it was misplaced until now. According to Lamb, although some believe the wording on the historical marker sheds a negative light on MSU, he believes it shows the university’s growth.

“By whitewashing the past we a disservice to its victims,” Snow said.

According to Lamb, Snow and Dean’s one wish for the ceremony is to have a high student attendance.

Along with the honorees, many community members and alumni will be attending and speaking at the event.

“I think this historical marker

teaches people to have faith in process, to stand up for their rights and never give up. It’s very inspirational,” Snow said. “I think it will definitely spark a lot of interest from students that might not have known about it. I hope it leads students to research the event, the individuals, the Civil War era, or the Civil War in Wichita Falls.”

According to Stewart’s research paper, the Battle et.al. vs. Wichita Falls Junior College District influenced many court cases for desegregation throughout the United States. In the first year after the court case, the university had 12 black students enrolled.

“I don’t know what impact it will have. I hope that it increases awareness of where this institution has been, where it has come and hopefully clarity on where it is going as well,” Lamb said. “I think there is a lot of power in the story and we need to understand our past. That is what I hope we get from this as an institution.”

According to Dean, the historical marker could create an increase of campus visitors from historians, genealogists and people that follow historical markers. She hopes that the admissions office will include it in the campus tour.

“I think it is definitely something that will be in our leadership training with peer counselors, orientation leaders and student ambassadors scavenger hunt for learning about the campus history. So I think it will have more visibility with older students,” Dean said.

Since the forced admittance of those students, MSU now has 14 percent black student population and a total of 48 percent minority student population.

At the time of the ruling, the university’s officials said those 12 students “have complete freedom to any campus building, activity or organization.” This was at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, with Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination still 14 years after the Supreme Court ruling.

“For me, and what I hope is the case for students, it’s the reminder that it is ordinary people with extraordinary dreams that moves us forward in this case as an institution or as the state of Texas or as the U.S.,” Dean said. “The work has not stopped, and there is still progress to be made. It is on us to do it.”

see DEBATE pg. 1 early on.

Following the presidential candidates, Manny Hoffmann, political science junior, Jacob Warren, economics junior, and Damian DeSilva, economic senior, are campaigning for vice president.

While the president will certainly have responsibilities, Warren said the vice president will not only be the “right hand man” for either Nelms or Peña, but will be an extension of the organization to students and committees alike.

“We need to be out with the organization and ask if we can help in any way,” Warren said. “We want to engage the student body and figure out what they like, what they don’t like, and how can we better serve them.”

Alongside visibility, however, DeSilva said SGA is “supposed to be the intermediate between faculty and students” as well as the “catalyst for change” on campus. With that, DeSilva said student government should be servant-oriented, which is something he will focus.

The debate primarily focused on each individuals plans for the coming school year, but at its core, Hoffmann said SGA is for the students and the students urge action from the organization.

“We are leading the charge not only as a voice of the students, but really the forum on change on our campus,” Hoffmann said. “We want to make Midwestern our university and make sure it reflects our interests.”

The final position up for election is secretary.

The secretary candidates are Yenifer Valenzuela, finance junior, Ricinda Turner, mass communication junior, Jaylon Williams sociology senior, and Patrick German, political science junior. While German was absent from the first debate, Valenzuela, Turner and Williams their hopes as secretary.

Following the debate, Kyle Keel, moderator and government professor, opened the floor to questions. Tyler Garcia, political science senior, asked Peña and Nelms what service leadership meant to each candidate and how they plan to impact students on campus and said he was pleased with the responses from both of them.

“I think it went very smoothly, and I’m proud of where we are as a university,” Garcia said. “I’m optimistic about where the student government is. It was a good turnout for this debate and I was glad to see the student on campus getting involved with government and curious about who their representatives are going to be.”

Movie shows difficulties in homosexuality HERBERT MCCULLOUGH REPORTER

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RIDE hosted its first movie night on Feb. 16 in the Legacy Hall Multipurpose Room. The movie, Pariah, is about an African-American lesbian teenager in Brooklyn, named Alike, and her struggle with her sexual identity as well as with her friends and family.

“We’re a diversity group, and we are here to represent the LGBTQ+ community at MSU,” Eliza Cameron, bilingual education freshmen, said.

“However, we welcome to all members, regardless of sexual orientation or identity.”

This film also portrays the difficulties many homosexual children face when coming out to their families, primarily in low-income, minority households.

“Many low-income, minority households are primarily more socially and religiously conservative,” Christopher Cruz, theater sophomore, said.

The movie shows the difficulties teenagers have when coming out to their families. Many teenagers are in constant fear that they will not be accepted by their family.

“A lot of kids have trouble coming out to their families because families who aren’t supportive will use religion to reject their child’s identity,” Lia Wiley, radiology freshmen, said. “They will say ‘it’s just a phase’ or ‘you’re too young to know’ or any of that.”

After telling her parents she is a lesbian, Alike is subjected to physical abuse by her mother. Much like Alike, many LGBTQ+ children experience hatred and violence from their parents after coming out.

“I do not relate to Alike because my parents were very open about my sexual orientation,” Jessie Tidwell, science education freshmen, said.

“Meanwhile, I know a lot of my friends who are afraid to come out in fear of physical and emo-

tional abuse as well as neglect from their friends and family.”

Overall, the movie has a powerful message that resonates with the PRIDE members — for people to accept themselves for who they are.

“Just know that the people who truly love you will accept you no matter who you are,” Wiley said. “And if someone rejects you for your identity, they shouldn’t matter.”

Zarya Maiato, mass communication freshman, informed the audience about the upcoming events PRIDE members will host. They also have plans on hosting more inclusive events, like movie night, in order to open discussions about what many LGBTQ+ members experience.

“It’s a way to allow people to enjoy something and be able to learn from it,”Maiato said. “We are also open to new members of PRIDE and the goal of these events are to give students more information about us.”

The importance of PRIDE is to give LGBTQ+ students a chance to speak and have a safe space in order to express themselves. PRIDE is also one of the many diversity organizations on campus.

“We might not be as large as the Black Student Union or the Organization of Hispanic Students but we are here,” Maiato said. “We are raising awareness and changing the campus for the better.”

Cameron also informed the audience about the next movie night PRIDE will host next month.

The next movie night will be on Thursday, March 2, and it is called Paris is Burning.

“It is a documentary about the diversity among the LGBTQ+ community in Harlem in the 1980s,” Cameron said. “And how they kind of came into their own and developed their own culture as gay people of color. So it also ties into this movie, which represents how multicultural the LGBTQ+ community is.”

| Feb. 22, 2017 | 5

Pierce temporarily closed for renovations LANE RIGGS REPORTER

T

he halls are silent, devoid of laughter drifting from rooms, where belongings lining the shelves used to remind residents that this is home. Home is still on campus — it’s just several feet away.

Although Killingsworth Hall used to be an all-girls dorm; however, boys from Pierce Hall, have moved into the fifth and sixth floors of Killingsworth.

Pierce can house up to 227 boys, but due to a drop in admissions for the spring, there were 124 residents living in the dorm. Similarly, Killingsworth can house 301 residents, but only saw 166 in the fall.

“We sent out a letter to all residents in Killingsworth and Pierce during the Christmas break,” Coulter said. “They had a warning and lots of time to move. We started moving the boys to Killingsworth on Jan. 16.”

Because there was a warning, Coulter said the transition was seamless.

“The housing department has an excellent staff, and the resident assistants and residents have taken it very well,” he said. “We have a great student body here. I know it wouldn’t go over as smoothly as it did at any other institution.”

Lindsey Lebowisky, psychology freshman, said it also went smoothly.

“There haven’t really been any problems, I’m on the second floor so I didn’t run into the boys,” she said. “But I do stay on my floor. It’s awkward to go up there.”

The boys’ floors, Lebowisky said, are less monitored. The boys can have girls over — but they still have to check in. And there are some restrictions, as neither the boys or girls can go into each other’s halls.

“We can’t go into their halls and they can’t go into ours, but we can go to the lounges. There’s no problem, not yet at least,” she said, “but there is more traffic now.”

The boys are on the fifth and sixth floors, which doesn’t disrupt the still all-girls’ floors, Lebowisky said, as those two floors were completely empty.

“The first through fourth floors are full, and those were empty. Nothing has really changed. It’s still quiet, which is one thing I liked,” she said. “It’s gone really smoothly.”

English freshman Alex Rios said that she also thought there have been no problems.

PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY JONES | THE WICHITAN

Front view of the now empty dorm Pierce Hall.

“At first, I was a little skeptical, but now I have no issues with it,” Rios said. “The boys are okay and watched as much as they can be.”

She said although the boys are watched, it has disturbed the girls floors in Killingsworth.

“It has disturbed all-girl floors a bit simply because of some boys staying over,” she said.

Though Rios said boys have been staying over, there have been no reported problems. Both girls and boys have rules within Killingsworth, same as the other residence halls: a visitor has to be checked in, and they have to be escorted by their host at all times.

“It’s all a part of the regular guest-policy, but the housing department is making sure that it is reemphasized,” Angie Reay, associate director of residence life and housing, said.

“The boys are being monitored as much as anyone else, and they’re being held to a higher standard because they are in a girls dorm.”

However, because problems of boys and girls staying over within the dorms have arisen, Whitney Atkinson, English sophomore, said she didn’t like the thought of boys in Killingsworth.

“I was frustrated when I found out, particularly because the dorm is all girls. I picked it because it was safe and comfortable,” Atkinson said. “It’s disingenuous to promise an all-girls dorm and then switch it up on the girls living there.”

The girls were told beforehand, but Atkinson believed that they should have been given the option to move into Legacy.

“I wish there would have been a chance to opt out, because that was the fairest thing to do,” she said. “It’s like I applied for something I didn’t get.”

Atkinson lives in Legacy now, but was originally drawn to Killingsworth because it was all girls.

“It was a safety thing when I first moved in. I feel so bad for the girls that live there now,” she said.

Atkinson said the girls should have been given the option to move, but the housing department had already taken this into consideration. Reay said the girls were able to change rooms between semesters as per usual, but they can still ask to be moved to either McCullough-Trigg or Legacy Hall.

“We sent out the email letting the girls know about Pierce boys moving in during the 2016 fall semester,” Reay said. “If girls moved because of it, we didn’t log it. Both girls and boys had through the first week of class to move. There weren’t many complaints, but parents did call in because they needed more clarification.”

Other than that, Reay said there haven’t been any problems.

“The transition has been as seamless as possible,” she said.

“Everything has gone really well.”

As for Pierce, which stands empty, renovations are being made.

“We are painting the rooms, fixing things in the building,” Coulter said. “The building is running but we have lowered the temperatures to save money.”

An estimate of how much is being saved could not be made.

Reay said repairs were also made to Killingsworth when the fifth and sixth floors were empty.

“We’re doing the same thing with Pierce now, getting it ready for summer camps. There’s athletic camps that come to campus, and the athletes all stay in the four residence halls,” Reay said. “During the summer, residents staying for summer classes will live in the apartments.”

Coulter reaffirmed that camps will be hosted in the renewed Pierce.

“We’ll host camps in Pierce during the summer, so it will be online again,” he said. “In a perfect world, we’ll also have enough boys to fill it in the fall.”

6 | Feb. 22, 2017| DAVID SANCHEZ, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

New CIO brings leadership skills to campus RYANE HATTEN REPORTER

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ith Randy Kirkpatrick’s retirement, the university welcomed a new executive position. David Sanchez, new chief information officer, joined university faculty after serving more than 25 years in various information technology positions at the University of New Mexico. He will be accompanied by his wife, Karen, after his youngest son, Joshua, graduates from high school this May. According to Vice President of Administration and Finance Marilyn Fowlé, there is a standard process in selecting a candidate to fulfill an executive-level position.

“The chief information officer is one of our highest level positions. We normally do a national search and post it on our website. Once it’s posted, we have a committee appointed made up of people from around the campus including faculty and staff,” Fowlé said. “But once they narrow the pool down, phone interviews and ratings on each candidate begin. From that, they discuss and choose to bring the three top scoring candidates to campus.

The candidates then go through a series of meetings with the president, the committee and myself. This process is pretty standard for all of our executive-level positions.”

Fowlé said she prefers to stay out of the hiring process, from the standpoint that she wants the committee to come up with a list of recommendations themselves.

“Based on feedback, I know what both the president and cabinet think about the candidates, and from that information, I make my decision about who I want to give the position,” Fowlé said.

Although various things interested Sanchez about this position, the energy on campus is what intrigued him in making the decision to join the Mustangs.

“I came from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where I worked in various IT positions for about 26 years.

I started looking for jobs in Texas and it just so happened this position came up.

After visiting the campus, I got a good feel for what the rest of the university thought

New Chief Information Officer David Sanchez. about IT, and everything I heard from the leadership was great,” Sanchez said. “The staff here is very helpful, accommodating, and service-orientated. I wanted to come to a place where it would be challenging and I could be innovative to impact students, teaching, and learning. It’s a great school here and I thought it was a good opportunity to take this job.”

Amongst the other candidates, Fowlé believes Sanchez was the best fit for the job and has potential to make a special impact at the university.

“He’s worked a lot on the instructional technology and service side of the house. Sanchez is just a very warm,

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY JONES | THE WICHITAN

friendly guy that’s extremely dedicated to his job. I also like the fact that he had academic computing skills. He’s bringing this whole new aspect of leadership that I think will really benefit the students and faculty,” Fowlé said.

According to Sanchez, he’s always had a great passion for technology and believes he’s lucky enough to pursue a career that impacts teaching and learning.

“I was going to law school back in the day and it didn’t work out so I decided not to continue. But I think that I’ve always been interested in technology in regards to computing, data, and research,” Sanchez said. “That’s just sort of my mental-

ity to work with gadgets and any other kinds of technology. Luckily, I was fortunate and able to do innovative things in my career. We’re here for the students regardless of the size of the university. So, providing them with that level of skills in classes is important so they’re able to contribute that into their future careers.”

Sanchez says his work is pretty complex. He’s responsible for all things regarding IT at the university, including computer classrooms, labs, faculty/staff machines, IT infrastructure, telephones, wireless access points around campus, and student service tools.

“My department is responsible for supporting and updating those systems.

Regardless of the heavy work load, I try my best to deliver my technical skills, great passion, and ability to partner well with others in my job.”

In the short time Sanchez has been at the university, he said he’s becoming comfortable in his new setting and plans to get up-to-speed sooner to provide value back to the university.

“The people here are really hospitable and friendly so I’ve felt very welcomed,” Sanchez said. “Coming into any new job is a little apprehensive, but I was extremely surprised by how smooth my arrival has been. There’s a lot going on this week because I’m still in the process of getting more information and trying to build. I have a strategy for doing that, but I’m just trying to get settled in now.”

Although the transition from Albuquerque to Wichita Falls is still a work in progress, he said the biggest challenge is that his family hasn’t joined him yet.

“I’ve only been here a week but Albuquerque is a much larger city compared to Wichita Falls,” Sanchez said. “The University of New Mexico has 27,000 students, so it’s a much bigger university than Midwestern. I’m still adjusting to Wichita Falls, but one thing that I enjoy is the greater access to water compared to where I came from. Also, the smaller town has a good feel; I haven’t been as involved in the community, but it is my hope to do so.”

“He’s bringing this whole new aspect of leadership that I think will really benefit the students and faculty.”

MARILYN FOWLÉ VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

‘Fifty Shades Darker’ gives love a bad name TYLER MANNING FILM CRITIC

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want to preface before I go into my thoughts on Fifty Shades Darker that I am a huge sucker for a good love story. I love it when a movie can Tyler Manning convince me that the two leads have a genuine connection with one another, gets me invested in a relationship and plays with my emotions. I went into this movie genuinely hoping that I could feel at least some connection between the two leads.

It could be easy for me to be cynical about how awful this movie was. I could drone on about all its flaws: its horrendous writing, awful editing, poor acting, uncomfortable cinematography and how it ultimately failed for me on every level.

However, I feel that it is more important to talk about a few major problems I had with the film; those being love, conflict and theming.

Fifty Shades Darker tells the story of two lovers: Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. The film stars Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan and Rita Ora and is directed

by James Foley.

There was one question that constantly stuck out to me during the entire run time of the film and its one that should never be thought of during a love story.

Why does she love him?

Take away the beautiful physique and immense affluence and what is Christian as a character? Christian is overbearing and controlling. He invades her work space refusing to allow her to go to out of town business meetings. He never lets her thrive as her own person and would be content with locking her away. The film never once tries to give a non-superficial reason as to why she keeps coming back to him.

I’m not saying that desiring someone who is handsome and well off is a bad thing, but, to me, love is so much more than looks, fancy cars, roses, and pop music. Love is a genuine connection between two people that is unique. Never once did

I get that feeling from this movie.

Rather than showing the audience Anastasia and Christian falling in love, we are told it within the first five to 10 minutes of the movie. This brings me to my next problem concerning conflict.

All the conflict in the film is completely manufactured and never has any consequence on their relationship or on them as individuals. All of it comes from outside sources and is resolved literally within the next scene that it is introduced.

This leaves the movie ultimately failing to engage the audience in its conflict. To me, the main conflict of the film should have been from the characters’ troubles with changing themselves as people.

Towards the beginning of the film, we are told that Anastasia is still apprehensive of opening herself up to Christian because of the events that unfolded in the previous film. She is scared of opening herself up to Christian for fear that she might endure that torment again. The film also tells us that Christian is willing to try and better himself for her.

Christian’s abusive tendencies are rooted in his troubled past with his parents and in order to overcome them he has to accept his past and work to bettering himself as a person. Anastasia could see this effort throughout the film. He’s willing to overcome his demons for her showing that he cares.

However, in the film, giving Christian this broken past is the film’s way of excusing his abusive behavior. After saying he will change for her, she immediately forgives him and he makes no effort at all after that to change himself. Rather than present the theme that you aren’t defined by your past trauma and that you shouldn’t settle for an abusive relationship, the film justifies his abuse.

Many of Fifty Shades Darker‘s shortcomings would have been permitted for if it had done the one thing it sought out to do: make the audience feel genuinely engaged in the relationship of its main characters; however, it ultimately falls on its face.

• SYNOPSIS: While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her.

• DIRECTOR: James Foley • SCREENPLAY: Niall Leonard • BASED ON THE NOVEL BY: E.L. James • STARS: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson

| Feb. 22, 2017 | 7

UGROW project subscriptions are open to students GRETA LAZZAROTTO REPORTER

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n the Clark Student Center atrium on On Feb. 22 at 12 pm and 6 p.m. there will be a Undergraduate Research Opportunities Summer Workshop’s (UGROW) Project Fair, followed by “Posters on the Go,” on Feb. 23 from 5:30-7 p.m.

“I encourage students to do research because it brings a lot of new opportunities,” Simon Ospina, economics and finance sophomore, said. “You’re able to work with faculty mentors that will help you all the way through your research.”

Students working with UGROW have an opportunity to learn outside of the class.

“Students develop critical thinking and study methods, and reading about previous researchers opens their mind,” Magaly Rincón-Zachary, director of undergraduate research, said. “They become better students; they just flourish.”

Ronald Young, accounting professor and UGROW mentor said.

“Anything that makes students think is going to be beneficial to them,” Young said. “Doing a research project makes them think and

use their brain.”

In the list of awarded projects for spring 2017, most are related to science and mathematics studies. However, UGROW also funds fields such as business, social studies humanities, education and fine arts.

“You get rewarded with scholarship money for your research,” Ospina said. “If you do a good project, you have the opportunity to publish your own work in scholarly journals.”

The university invests a total of $250,000 every year to fund Enhancing Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities and UGROW projects. “Those money cover scholarships for students and faculty, materials, and travel expenses that occurs when student participate in conferences,” Rincón-Zachary said. “It’s a lot of money, but we spend every cent of it.”

According to Rincón-Zachary, it’s also important for other students to participate in EURECA/UGROW events and presentations.

“It’s a strategy [students’ presentation] that we use for EURECA students to report the progress on the project they have made so far,” Rincón-Zachary said. “They can report problems they encountered, questions or doubts, or even introduce future plans.”

8 | Feb. 22, 2017|

Men win last home game, lose finale; may advance to LSC tourney LEO GONZALEZ REPORTER

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he men’s basketball team pulled a win during the last home game on Feb. 18 against Western New Mexico after trailing the past six games.

Brandon Neel, applied arts and sciences junior, said, “We needed this win to gain some momentum going into Tuesday at Cameron and finish the season on a strong note.”

This is the last home game the Mustangs have for the season.

Scoring 18 points, Neel helped his team to a win throughout the game.

Neel said it was it was pretty cool to be part of sending the captains out with a win and cheers from the audience.

Pat Smith and Magnus Richards followed the action with 17 and 16 points, respectively, to leave the stance for their last home

91-64 Final score in season finale loss against Cameron

743 people attended last game in Lawton

game as senior captains.

“With that win, we have put ourselves in a position to solidify our spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament,” Andre Shawn, assistant men’s basketball coach, said.

Shawn also said there was adversity in the first half when Western New Mexico was making shots and holding a five-point lead, but the Mustangs continued to fight and dig deeper for into its belief of preparation.

Shawn has been presented with three championships in his four years at MSU. Shawn said, “I feel that this team can be one of the most successful teams we have had here in a long time.”

The Mustangs hold an overall 14-13 record.

Neel said, “We are a very confident group, we’ve lost games but we’ve played every team close. Never gotten blown out, so we know we can beat anyone.”

14-13 overall record

7-11 LSC record

If Angelo State beats Eastern New Mexico or if the Rams lose both games this week, Midwestern State can advance to LSC tournament that begins March 2, in Allen, Texas.

PHOTO BY ARIANNA DAVIS | THE WICHITAN

Brandon Neel looks to pass during the game against Western New Mexico, Feb. 18, their last home game, which the team won 89-72. The players, however, lost their last game against Cameron Feb. 21.