March 15, 2021 by The Wichitan and Wai Kun

March 15, 2021 | thewichitan.com |Real Students. Real Stories. | Vol. 85 No. 13

NEWS: Pg 4

University approved to aid with vaccinations.

SPORTS: Pg 10-11

University athletics is back in full effect after a lost year due to COVID-19. The Wichitan gives updates on how the various teams are faring so far.

COLUMN: Pg 2

MSU WOMEN: Pg 6-7

COLLEGIATE HEALTH: Pg 12

TEXTBOOK INITIATIVE: Pg 3

Highlighting phenomenal women at the university. SGA plans to launch textbook initiative.

@WichitanOnline

An open letter to today’s Christians.

Five ways to improve your mental health.

@wichitanonline

@TheWichitan

The Wichitan’s column policy

or as early as The Wichitan has existed, the newspaper has included columns. A column is a reflection of the author’s opinion on a specific topic and can be written by The Wichitan staff, MSU Texas students or anyone who sends one to wichitan@msutexas.edu. The Wichitan will publish any column submitted as long as it does not promote hate, violence or baseless conspiracy. The Wichitan as an organization possesses no political agenda that influences the decision on which columns to post. The Wichitan prioritizes free speech, whether members of the staff agree with the content of the column or not. Columns over topics ranging from “breaking up the US” to “teaching the real history of Thanksgiving” to “you should take late-night drives to Walmart” have been published. Columns are not required to include citations, multiple sources, quotes or any area of expertise over their topic, which is why each column comes with a warning that the article the reader is about to read is the opinion of solely the author. Columns are not the same as feature articles, which still require the appropriate sources and fact-checking even if they contain more of the author’s voices. Readers should always fact-check everything they read, but they can rest assure that any non-column article posted by The Wichitan has been properly researched. While many recently posted columns have been written by members of The Wichitan staff, the newspaper is always looking to hear from members of the MSU community and beyond.

Vol. 85 | No. 13 Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. | Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@msutexas.edu | thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

CAMPUS VOICES

AN OPEN LETTER

to today’s Christians

GRAPHIC BY OMAR COMBIE | THE WICHITAN

“Christianity in US Politics,” Mar 10. Columns in Campus Voices are the opinions of only the authors and do not necesssarily reflect the views of The Wichitan as an organization.

ear Christians, Ask any knowledgeable Christian what the Ten Commandments are and they’ll never leave out “Thou shall not commit idolatry (to hold something Amos or someone in higher esPerkins teem than God),” and if you ask them which of these commandments are the two greatest, surely they will agree with Jesus Christ that they are “Love the Lord with all your heart” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Yet, there are a large number of Christian people who seem to put former President Donald Trump’s words and opinions above those of The Lord, and still, there are even more Christians who look at their neighbors with disdain simply because they voted for someone different from them. Now, before every 40 year-old on Facebook with nothing to do starts yammering away on their keyboards, let me clarify two things. The first is that I am a lifelong Christian, raised primarily at Denton Bible Church, and I absolutely think our religious

views should influence our political views. The second is I don’t think there’s anything wrong with anyone voting Republican, whether Christian or not, and I’m certainly not trying to convince anyone to vote Democrat. However, some Christians have intertwined Republican and Christian views and values so much now that some can’t tell the difference. I spend a significant amount of time in primarily Christian homes, and some of the behavior I have observed at some of them is concerning. I’ve heard children tell me how coronavirus is fake, how if they could have voted they would’ve voted for Trump and how their next door neighbors are bad people because they voted for Biden. None of the children in question were older than twelve, and none of them could explain to me why what they were saying is true, because it was fed to them by their parents. This is to be expected I guess, when parents are more interested in teaching Again, there’s nothing wrong with a Christian voting for Trump or any other Republican candidate if that’s what they feel

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Bridget Reilly MANAGING EDITOR: Amos Perkins NEWS EDITOR: Stephanie Robledo DESIGN EDITOR: Omar Combie BUSINESS MANAGER: Alexis Martin ISSUE STAFF: Emily Beaman, Ryan Clayton, Thalia Doe, Bailey Graham, Abigail Jones, Brian Lang, Elizabeth Mahan, Joseph Nelson, Niko McWilliams ADVISOR: Jonathon Quam

they’re being called to do, but there is when they are emphasizing Republican figures and values over Christian ones in their homes. How can we as Christians send our kids to Sunday school to learn about the Good Samaritan, and then talk bad about people with differing views in our own home? How can we tell them “God’s kingdom is for everyone” and then hold up signs saying certain people are going to Hell? How can we say “Love your neighbor” and then ignore or condemn our black/gay/muslim/immigrant/[insert minority here] neighbor? Children learn a lot more from their parents than they do from a few hours one day out of the week. Politics should not play such a pivotal role in churches and homes, and we shouldn’t be watching the news more than we are reading God’s word. We as Christians have a chance to raise a generation who embraces love and kindness; let’s not spoil that by emphasizing man, who is by nature sinful, over a perfect and loving God. With love, A very concerned brother in Christ

Copyright ©2021. First copy free. Additional copies $1.00 each. 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.

S GA I N I T I AT I V E P ROV I D E S

F R E E AC C E S S TO T E X T B O O KS JOSEPH NELSON REPORTER he Student Government Association book drive for the MSU Texas campus, where students may donate old textbooks to the library for other students to check out, instead of purchasing on their own. The SGA office is taking textbooks donations throughout the remainder of the Spring 2021 semester. “The textbook initiative is basically a drive for students and faculty to donate used textbooks or instructor copies of books to the library,” Brian Lang, secretary of the SGA, frequent creative contributor to The Wichitan and biology and psychology senior, said. “These donated books will be placed on course reserve, which means that students can use them at any time, but they can’t leave the

library.” Brian Lang sees textbooks as a significant cost in attending college. Despite options like Chegg.com and rental books, which provide cheaper alternatives, textbook access from the library has been unavailable to MSU students until the initiative. “Really, my goal has always been to provide a cheaper option for students who need books, especially in their core classes,” Lang said. “It’s silly to buy or rent a book that’s not in your degree plan, and I felt like this was an easy alternative to that system.” Lang made contact with Moffett Library last semester and has delivered several textbooks to MSU librarian, Cortny Bates. The library is already in the process of adding those textbooks to its system.

“Brian has done most of the work by gathering the textbooks and the cataloger is now responsible for getting them in our system and available for students,” Bates said. “Students can check out the available textbooks for four hours at the Circulation Desk with their MSU ID.” Lang brainstormed the initiative a year ago when he was chair of the SGA’s Public Policy Committee. However, the pandemic put the project on hold. This year, with most students back on campus, Lang felt he could take the initiative into the spotlight. “When I was elected Secretary for this school year, I really wanted to finish this project,” Lang said. “It’s kind of been my baby over the past year, but I’ve definitely gotten lots of help from the administration, and I’m working with the library to make

it work.” The initiative won’t need approval from the SGA, but it depends on MSU’s students and instructors providing a collection of textbooks for the library. However, Lang is pushing for a provision that he thinks will give the initiative an extra boost in awareness each semester. “The SGA won’t vote on this initiative per se since the project itself won’t require a bill, but I’m working on a bill that would require professors to mention the initiative in their syllabi,” Lang said. “That way, it will get free advertising every semester.” Lang foresees other positives to the initiative beyond reducing costs. Studies show anxiety negatively impacts college achievement, and Lang views alleviating college expenses as a way of reducing student stress and

increasing student grades. “My goal is that this will help boost academic performance at MSU simply by eliminating a financial obstacle that many students face in their courses each semester,” Lang said. “My long-term goal with this is that it’s something that a lot of students use and continue to donate over the next few years.” The initiative depends on textbook donations from MSU students, and some students are already taking the SGA up on its offer. 70 books have been donated to the drive, and Lang plans to deliver the books to the library soon. Located in the Clark Student Center Atrium, the SGA Office is still taking textbooks to further the goal of a more affordable college education.

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

Textbooks donated by students and faculty located in Moffett Library, March 10.

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

Vinson Health Center located in the Bruce and Graciela Redwine Student Wellness Center, March 9.

VACCINATIONSITE MASKS STAY ON

EMILY BEAMAN REPORTER idwestern State University has been approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to aid with vaccination efforts. MSU joins other vaccine providers in Wichita County in starting a waitlist for persons who qualify for phase 1A and 1B of the vaccine, along with those who are eligible under the expanded qualifications that began on March 3. Keith Williamson, the medical director at the Vinson Health Center submitted an application for MSU to become a vaccination site on October 8, 2020. Five months later, the Texas government officialized the campus. However, MSU is still waiting to receive doses of the vaccine. “[The delay] could be a combination of things…. We’re still restricted in our [vaccination] supply to Texas. The North Texas zone has a Super-Vaccination center

at the Texas Motor Speedway, and they get 2030,000 vaccines every week. Because that’s in our region, it could be sucking up some of the vaccine supply,” Williamson said. He also theorizes that because vaccine doses are given out by the state, the government may associate “Student Health Center” with the student body, who are not yet considered in any of the phases, although many staff, faculty and students do meet the criteria. Williamson has ordered 1,000 vaccines that are yet to be approved, but only has 200 people on the waiting list. “If I end up with vaccines in my freezer and not enough names, I’m going to start contacting teachers and other people in the community. I will work my fingers to the bone to get vaccines into people, with a priority towards the campus community,” Williamson said. Once the vaccines arrive at MSU, the Health Center will begin to distribute 50-100 around the clinic every day. Towards the end of the vaccine’s shelf life, they plan to set up a drivethru on campus to distribute more, and they hope to offer them throughout the summer as well. While COVID-19 infection numbers are dropping, Williamson is hopeful MSU’s community will reach 70% vaccination by late summer to reign in a “normal” fall semester. “It is getting better. It’s a characteristically seasonal virus, so I think we’ll drop to a seasonal low through the summer and may see another wave in the late fall,” Williamson said.

This announcement also comes shortly after Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order to fully reopen the state and lift the mask mandate on March 10. However, a Postmaster sent out on March 8 announced face coverings will still be required along with social distancing and reduced occupancy on MSU campus. “We knew from our campus community that it was important to keep these measures, and we knew [along with] our own experiences that our community is doing the right thing,” Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management said. Lamb, who also co-chairs the Return-toCampus task force and sits on the Incidence Management Team, said that both groups were working alongside faculty, staff and students to reach decisions for campus safety. “All three bodies... their majorities said to keep the current measures in place. They feel safe and feel like they’re working,” Lamb said. However, MSU doesn’t intend to keep the mask mandate indefinitely. Since fall of 2020, MSU has been in operation Phase III, a modified campus where operations return to mainly in-person, with restrictions. The Return-toCampus task force was reactivated to review the necessary criteria to move to Phase IV, a normal campus where all operations return to normal with no restrictions. Even when the decision is made to move towards Phase IV, it will take time.

“It’s not like we can hit a switch and go back to normal. The other part [of the task force] is to lay out what it looks like when we decide to scale back up to Phase IV.... We’re gonna have to do some things sequentially,” Lamb said. President Biden’s call for states to open up vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1 may speed up the process if enough students, faculty and staff get vaccinated. One of the major factors in assisting that would be herd immunity. The World Health Organization says varying diseases need anywhere from 70-95% of people vaccinated to reach herd immunity. Currently, Wichita County has 15.9%. “Herd immunity is a moving target. If [it] magically happens at 70%, we’re still a long ways from that,” Lamb said. While acknowledging many on campus are eager to return to “normal”, Dr. Lamb expects a new “normal” to be reached where some students and faculty continue to wear masks and even utilize the digital world differently.

FLOOD IN G IN FAIN STEPHANIE ROBLEDO | THALIA DOE NEWS EDITOR | REPORTER n March 8, students and faculty were asked to evacuate the Fain College of Fine Arts building. A corroded water pipe had burst causing a flood and a small electrical fire. “There was an air handler on the second floor above the tool crew area in the scene shop area and there it’s filled with chilled water. One of the lines, the controller lines, had a drain on it that rusted out and broke,” Kyle Owen, associate vice president of facilities, said. “It started dumping the chilled water on the floor. There are a couple of drains in that mechanical room but as we learned they drained some water but not the volume waters we had going down it because of the break, so it starts spilling over.” The water caused a flood in the B building and extended to areas of the C building. While handling the water, smoke started coming out of room B124, because a small electrical fire had begun. The uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a device that provides battery backup when the electrical power fails, in the IT closet was still charged when it got wet causing it to start smoking. The fire was short-lived as recruiting coordinator Andrew Brinkman put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. “Ninety percent of the area that was flooded was on concrete floors which [was] clean[ed] with custodian equipment pretty easily. In the carpet area we’ll dry those out but there’s one room, the drawing stu-

dio. It has some tiles that are damaged, but that should be replaced [March 10] and cleaned up. However, the piano lab is of concern; the discharge of the power extinguisher created a pretty good cloud of material throughout the room,” Owen said. The damage to the piano lab is still to be determined. The room is not in clean conditions due to stopping the fire, but it will be professionally cleaned. Once clean, all the equipment will be connected and tested. “The piano lab area has a backroom which is not part of the lab, it’s part of a room where IT stores network equipment. Most of the damage actually happened in that room, in the network equipment room, and that equipment was gone,” Martin Camacho, dean of Fain College of Fine Arts, said. “It became unserviceable immediately during the flood, luckily IT reacted very fast. My understanding is that they used spare parts and we are up in running already 24 hours after this incident happened which is great.” A room in the art department, usually used for independent study, was affected by the flood as well. The damage was very minimal since they managed to save the artwork in the room. No art classes were canceled that day. “We were really fortunate that we did not sustain a lot of major damage, luckily, it was in a studio space that we didn’t have a lot of electronics or high tech equipment so that was really fortunate,” Leah Gose, chair of Juanita and Ralph Harvey School

of Visual Arts, said. “There are a few things that we might need to take a look at like some lockers that were on the floor just to see if that was damaged, but most of the damage that we sustained was ceiling tiles you know just from getting wet and waterlogged and some insulation that could not be repaired so we were really fortunate.” The incident was early in the morning and some faculty had yet to arrive on campus. Nonetheless, the response was immediate and the situation was quickly controlled. “I’d probably say that I was alerted by this very early in the morning, and I communicated to facilities the situation immediately. I was still off-campus cause I was alerted by this before work time. By the time that I got here a few minutes late, the response was unbelievable. Facilities were here responding immediately, IT was already here responding immediately,” Camacho said. Police and firefighters had also arrived at the scene. Camacho said he was impressed by the response time the incident received as it was quick. “My overall impression is that number one we were very lucky because the potential damage could have been very large and the actual damage appears as of today very minimal. That’s number one and number two as I just mentioned, [I am] really, extremely happy with the way in which all units, all relevant units, responded to the incident and that really made a difference,” Camacho said.

PHOTO BY LISA THAMES | THE WICHITAN

Soaked insulation padding coming out of the ceiling of the old MNG studio in the B-wing of the Fain College of Fine Arts, March 8.

PHOTO BY LISA THAMES | THE WICHITAN

All hands on deck in the piano lab, March 8.

PHOTO BY LISA THAMES | THE WICHITAN

Fain Fine Arts classroom C102, March 8.

Celebrating MSU Tex

IN H O N O R O F W O M E N’S H I S T OR Y M ONT H, T HE WI C HI T A

JAMILAH KANGUDJA

Community engagement and leadership development graduate assistant Kangudja has worn many hats at MSU Texas. From founding the choir group Echos of Gospel to being Black Student Union President, Kangudja took every opportunity given to her. “I held all these different leadership positions I think mainly because people believed in me, even when I didn’t necessarily believe in myself,” Kangudja said, As a leader, Kangudja prefers to work behind the scenes and takes a collaborative approach when working with others. Being organized is also a necessity for her to stay on track. “I just go with the flow. I’m very organized, I like notes, I like having an agenda because I can talk and we will go everywhere around the world in 2.5 seconds if we don’t have an agenda....” Kangudja said. “I like to take a collaborative approach

because I like to seek out the best in people just like people sought out the best in me.” Kangudja has made statements that not everyone liked, but that didn’t stop her from sticking to her instincts. Her advice to young women is to stand their ground. “Standing my ground, no matter what. My gut, my instinct, I have it for a reason. If I felt like things weren’t right, even if I felt like it was going to be just me, the only person who had my back, I had to make sure I was firm in that,” Kangduja said. “You have to reaffirm yourself, you have to let yourself know that ‘I wouldn’t be here if people didn’t like me.’ Just because one person or 10,000 people say [hateful things] people put you in that position. You ended up in that position for a reason.”

CLAUDIA MONTOYA Professor of Spanish

Montoya grew up in Puebla, Mexico, and moved to the United States when she was 26-years-old to get her Ph.D. in Spanish and Spanish American literature with a second concentration in Portuguese at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Growing up in a traditional male-oriented culture gave Montoya the grit to have her voice heard. “I was taught men make the important decisions and take care of the important things, so, it was always a battle to have my voice heard and counted. That gave me a lot of resilience and determination....” Montoya said. The women in Montoya’s life have shown her the strength women can hold in groups. She is proud to be a woman and said that women’s culture is valuable to society. “Women [have the ability]

to organize as a group, to form strong bonds and help each other out. I come from a family of loud strong women, and it was very self-assuring to see them act as a group, not only in the gatherings cooking food for the entire extended family but for when there was, for example, a family emergency....” Montoya said. “I also think what makes women special is that they experience pain in more depth, the simple fact that they can give birth and endure the pains of labor tells you that they are designed to deal with pain, probably better than men.” Montoya says valuing yourself is of upmost importance. “The value you give to yourself is how other people will treat you. Be confident in your decisions, but willing to change course if you have to,” Montoya said

ELIZABE

Associate director adjunct faculty

Ysasi received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and film studies. Upon entering the workforce, Ysasi got her foot in the door with admissions at MSU Texas as an evaluator. “When the next opportunity that arose on campus opened up, it was in an immigration advising role, and so I applied for that, thinking I could utilize my philosophy skills in terms of the critical thinking that went into that degree,” Ysasi said. From the assistant director of the Global Education Office, Ysasi has now moved back to the admissions office to grow further in her career. “This is more of the role that has been working with the welcome center, campus tours, mustangs rally and some of those signature events for students. I’m really excited to bring that skillset and excitement of

xas Women: Part One

A N FEATU R ES SO ME OU T S T A N D I NG W OM E N O N C AM P US

ETH YSASI

r of admissions and of political science

d e t t

y d r y e o

r , o w

e e , f g f

serving students and giving information to prospective students and trying to get them to enroll here at MSU,” Ysasi said. Ysasi’s advice for women in the workforce is to notice if their hard work is being taken advantage of. “Being aware of a toxic work environment and learning the resources to speak up for that.... We may not always be aware of the signs that we’re being taken advantage of or that we’re being harassed because it might not be blatant. It’s not always in a sexual manner. It’s in workloads,” Ysasi said. “If you’re willing to take more things on because you want to shine as a star worker, sometimes people will see that and see what else they can push your limit on because maybe you just don’t know how to say no to things.”

SOON-MI CHOI

Associate professor and graduate coordinator for exercise physiology program Choi grew up in South Korea and received her bachelor’s in education and a master’s in exercise biomechanics at Yonsei University. She then went on to secure her Ph.D. in exercise physiology at Kyung Hee University while raising her 6-month-old baby. Yearning for more education in her field, Choi packed herself up and moved to the United States. “My life path was a little bit different from others. My whole education was from Korea. I came to the United States to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Texas A&M International University, Laredo and then spent a year at UT Austin,” Choi said. Planning on only spending two years in the US, Choi began applying for faculty positions at universities just to see what she could get. Choi eventually landed the tenor track assistant pro-

fessor position at MSU in 2014. “I tried 16 applications and only MSU contacted me. I got a phone interview first and then a campus visit. The faculty here impressed me so I got the job!” Now tenured and promoted to associate professor, Choi is also the graduate coordinator of the exercise physiology program. She attributes much of her success to never giving up and urges everyone to keep going. “I encourage my friends, students, colleagues not to give up! Society is not going to give you many chances, but don’t give up because I strongly believe how I became a professor was because I try really hard. I never give up. I’m not the really smart one, some have higher potential, but they give up because it’s too hard,” Choi said.

MITZI LEWIS

Associate professor of communication Lewis worked in the corporate world and spent some time in the institutional research office at MSU Texas before becoming a professor. “I always thought it would be really cool if I could teach. I just didn’t know that I would have the chance to,” Lewis said. “I really love Wichita Falls and I have family here so it’s not like I was willing to get up and go somewhere else. Then this perfect position came up. It ended up being perfect [and] I didn’t know it at the time.” Lewis attributes her success to the mentors and advocates she has had along the way. “Really the people we spend the most time with have an extraordinary impact on our lives. It can impact our mood, how we see the world [and] what we think of ourselves or expect of ourselves,” Lewis said. If she could tell her younger

mass

self anything, Lewis would tell her not to be afraid to ask questions. “It’s okay not to have all the answers. I used to feel like I needed to always have the answer and that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself. Nobody has all the answers,” Lewis said. “I think I used to be nervous about asking questions because I thought I might look dumb or something… “Asking questions is a very smart thing to do, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.” Grateful to be in her position, Lewis stressed that successes shouldn’t define someone’s worth. “Remember that career is only a part of who we are....” Lewis said. “Always remember it’s only a part of who we are and it’s important to take care of ourselves.”

D OW N T OW N AR T WA LK

R E L AU NC H E D FO R 2021 area, but everybody kind of looks out for each other,” Raeke said. “It really provides an opportunity for people to come in after hours.” When Raeke and her team first rebranded the artwalk to AHA! a big part of their job was contacting businesses directly about getting involved. “Now that we’ve done a lot of work and the hand-holding, they’re starting to do it themselves and realize the benefit that it brings to their business and downtown as a whole,” Raeke said. Citizens attending the artwalk said they could feel this benefit, building a sense of community through events celebrating the work of others within it. “It’s really nice to have a sense of community. Wichita Falls is not known for having a lot to do, but this is one of the nice things that you could do here,” Cody Parish, Redwine Honors coordinator and artwalk attendee, said. “I’m really happy that they brought it back.” This community includes local artists, students and non-students alike. Showcasing their art, not just paintings but ceramics, metals and other mediums. “It’s good access for all artists in Wichita Falls, especially young artists, to just go set up a booth, sell some art and feel good about their art. That’s such a good thing to have in

our community, especially downtown,” Skylar Thomson, psychology junior and artwalk attendee, said. “It adds something to downtown. It gives downtown more purpose.” The AHA! Team is constantly looking for new ways to support young artists of any medium. Building support systems for students such as engineering freshman, Elizabeth Horn who wished for a similar event on campus and plans to attend future AHA! events. “We’re always racking our brains on ways that we can build bridges for students to the downtown area, not just because we want them to stay in Wichita Falls but because, as a gallery owner, we want to provide a support system in the real world [and help them with] that transition,” Raeke said. Raeke said her team decided to extend the artwalk from seven monthly recurring events to nine so to provide more opportunities for the town’s artists. “We’re always up for new ideas and crazy out-of-the-box things. You’ll be seeing some performance art throughout the season. It is a longer season this year,” Raeke said. “It’s really exciting for me to dream up new ideas and ways that we can creatively use the talent that we have here in Wichita Falls [to] show people what we are.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA BRITT

After Hours Artwalk live music, March 4. ABIGAIL JONES REPORTER owntown Wichita Falls Development’s After Hours Artwalk (AHA!) is back as of March 4. This was the first official AHA! since COVID-19 shut down large-group events. “Due to COVID restrictions [the artwalk is] obviously a little bit different right now,” Becky Raeke, chair of AHA! and co-owner of 9th Street Studios, said. “I know that [the artwalk] benefits other businesses and businesses have been really hurting this last year, so it’s a labor of love.” The artwalk brought foot traffic back to these hurting businesses. Businesses near and far from the hub of the artwalk, around 8th and Indiana streets, experienced this, such as Sandi Gant, an artist at Seventh Street Studio, who was delighted to see people going to the studio. “We’ve had a lot of people coming through. Everyone has been so respectful, wearing masks and social distancing. We’re looking

forward to a great year,” Sherri Lane, director of social media and marketing at the Wichita Falls Art Association said. “Everybody is ready to get out, even with a mask, and walk around.” AHA! brought together the community despite COVID-19 and has its attendees following COIVD-19 guidelines. According to Raeke, the Farmer’s Market was at full COVID-restricted capacity. “People are glad to be out… So many people have been vaccinated that they’re feeling a little safer to get out in places… Maybe we’re getting back to normal, some form of normalcy,” Sharon Norton, artist at Seventh Street Studio, said. This normalcy is dependent entirely on the community, according to Raeke. The artwalk being held during after-hours has also attracted many members of the community that are usually busy during the day. “I like to build community… I feel that we have a family community downtown. It’s a huge

PHOTO COUTRESY OF JEANETTE CHAROS

Wichita Falls Brewing Company participates in the After Hours Artwalk, March 4.

STUDIES LOVE AND SPINS MYSTERIES

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM

Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen in WandaVision (2021)

arvel’s stab at creating Disney+ TV shows is off to a strong start with their new hit “WandaVision,” proving that although their classic characters haven’t been on the big screens in over Brian Lang a year, they’ve still got what it takes to make a hit. “WandaVision’’ quickly drew widespread attention with its weekly installments of short, cliff-hanger-filled episodes, quirky themes and mysteries for fans to pick apart and speculate about. In a mere eight weeks, the show has snowballed into something even the biggest Marvel fans and experts couldn’t predict.

“WandaVison’’ drops viewers into the idyllic, suburban bliss of Westbrook, New Jersey circa 1950-something. The square aspect ratio, black-and-white visuals, and jaunty theme all mirror the wholesome antics of the classic “Dick Van Dyke Show” as Wanda and Vision (Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany) settle into married life in a new town, hiding their powers from their neighbors and friends. The plots of the first few episodes are simple, involving miscommunication between the couple that leads to silliness or the couple using their secret powers for a talent show performance. There are a few hints of what’s to come, but it’s mostly just fun. Each episode advances this super duo into

a new decade of television with its own sitcom trends and standards to spoof. A stand-out moment is when color washes over the screen, ringing in the 1970s and there’s a fun gag as Elizabeth Olsen, the sister of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, parodies “Full House.” But as time passes, cracks begin to form in Wanda’s perfect world and the viewers at home aren’t the only ones with questions. It’s hard to discuss the later episodes without spoiling anything, so I won’t even try, but it’s safe to say that Wanda’s perfect life starts catching the eye of the outside world, and not in a good way. I enjoyed how “WandaVision” veers off course from the normal style and themes of Marvel, as it chooses to pause and explore the

psyche of one of its most interesting, but underdeveloped, heroes. There’s hardly any of the usual fights and the Thanos-inspired plot of the first two dozen films feels like a million miles away. The creators still manage to wrangle in some minor characters from the films and comics (Kat Dennings, Kathryn Hahn and Teyonah Parris are outstanding), but this is definitely new territory for both the creators and fans. I only have minor quibbles with “WandaVision” and they mostly come when looking at the show as a whole. I felt like the first few episodes promised a lot that went undelivered and I was hoping that the less than super plotlines like the dinner party and magic show in the first episodes would tie into the bigger picture in a more interesting way. I felt like the ending was rushed, as the writers chose to dump exposition into fight scenes and leave key characters underdeveloped as the final credits rolled. All in all, though, I’m a huge fan and enjoyed the ups and downs of a good, but not life-changing show. One of my favorite parts about “WandaVision” though is its weekly episodes that generate shock waves across social media. It’s fun to see the die-hard fans and casual viewers speculate and react to each new episode, churning out lofty theories that rarely pan out. This year has been off to a slow start in the pop culture sphere, so it’s nice to have something that everyone can enjoy collectively and come back to every week, and I’m excited that Disney is continuing this trend of releasing new episodes on Fridays for their upcoming Marvel projects. So if you haven’t logged onto Disney+ once this year, this is your sign to go give “WandaVision” a shot. Its cheesiness and shockingly short episodes quickly grow on you, delivering a satisfying mystery and fascinating character study all in a brief six hours.

Brian’s Film Rating: 4.5/5

THALIA DOE REPORTER SU Texas athletics is back long stalling year due to summary of wins, losses a Texas sports. All statistics in this article are as of

MSU FOOTBALL RETURNS STADIUM

It’s been a year since the Musta field. The MSU football team is 1-0 only scrimmage 28-14 against So on Saturday, Feb. 27 at home. Mic running back and sports and leis rushing touchdowns and 48 yards Four quarterbacks threw the ball Yelverton (No. 18), business fina man, Triston Williams (No. 19), ag junior, Zachary Bohannon (No. 13 man, and Derrick Ponder (No. 12 sciences senior. In total, the Mus 291 yards and 18 first downs. On March 6, to officially ope son, the Mustangs faced Texas 1 p.m. at home, crushing them 4 for three touchdowns and 349 ya son (No. 1), running back and k scored two touchdowns and Jova 20), cornerback and Masters of S tion senior scored in the fourth q pick-six.

MEN’S SOCCER DOMINATI

In the early season, the men’s so The men’s team has outscored t season 15-2, including a 7-0 shutou mons University on Feb. 24 Overall 77 shots, 39 corner kicks and has sc alty kick of the short season. Trevor Amann (No. 9), forwar senior, is the team’s leading goal s on 12 shots. Eight other Mustangs back of the net this season. Marc29), goalkeeper and business junior the Mustangs’ four games and has r two saves and three clean sheets.

WOMEN’S SOCCER LOO THINGS AROUND

The women’s soccer team was able

PORTS UPDATE

k in full effect after a COVID-19. Here is a and suprises in MSU

f March 11, 2021.

TO MEMORIAL

angs have taken the 0 and also won their outhern Oklahoma chael Ajayi (No. 33), sure junior, had two s in the scrimmage. l for MSU: Matthew ance redshirt freshgricultural business 3), undecided fresh2), applied arts and stangs accumulated

en the spring seaA&M-Kingsville at 45-34. Ponder threw ards. K’Vonte Jackkinesiology junior, ane Parkinson (No. Sports Administraquarter on a 55-yard

NG EARLY

occer team is 3-1. their opponents this ut over Hardin-Siml the team has taken cored on its only pen-

rd and mathematics scorer with six goals have also found the -Antoine Huzen (No. r, has started three of recorded three wins,

OKS TO TURN

e to dribble past UT

Tyler at the 1st Bank-Perkins Soccer Complex on March 10, winning their first game of the season 1-0, and improving their record to 1-3. The women’s team has allowed seven goals and 66 shots compared to their own three goals and 31 shots. The team has struggled with penalties, acquiring five yellow cards and 32 fouls, compared to their opponent’s cumulative one such penalty and 16 fouls. The team has, however, outsized their opponents with 23 saves to their opponents 12. Valentina Carvajal (No. 13), forward and business senior, leads the team with two goals, including a game-winner against UT Tyler. Nicole Marsolek (No. 2), defender and general business sophomore, is the only other member of the team to score this season with her fourth career goal. Taylor Camp (No. 33), goalkeeper and general business junior, has started every game and has recorded 23 saves on a .767 save percentage.

SOFTBALL OFF TO A STRONG START

Softball had gotten off to a good start with an 11-5 record, including winning streaks of four and six, and a perfect 4-0 conference record. The team has seven games of five or more runs and four games of 10+ runs, including a 12 point outing against Hardin-Simmons on Feb. 23. The defense has held their opponents to under five runs on nine occasions. Jacey Henry (No. 22), pitcher and elementary education junior, has dominated on both sides of the field, with a team-best 3.37 ERA and team best17 RBI’s and six home runs. Kaitlyn Turner (No. 10), pitcher and radiology freshman, has recorded 37 strikeouts in just over 39 innings with a 100% fielding percentage. Mattye Tyler (No. 21), and psychology sophomore, leads the team with 25 hits and 10 doubles.

MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON COMES TO VOLLEYBALL LOOKS FORWARD TO AN END CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT Midwestern State’s men basketball team played in the LSC Conference quarterfinals on March 2 against Dallas Baptist University. Unfortunately, the Mustangs were not able to surpass DBU and suffered a strong defeat losing 76-55, ending their season 11-8. Pierre Sanders (No. 23), guard and undecided freshman, scored 17 points and made six rebounds while Jermane Carter (No. 15), forward and psychology junior, made 13 points with five rebounds and five assists. Derrick Ogechi (No. 21), guard and undecided junior, and Luke Hamilton (No. 30), forward and mass communication junior, collectively scored eight points each.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CLOSES OUT SUCCESSFUL YEAR

The Mustangs took on Cameron University in the Lone Star Conference quarterfinal, causing the women’s season to come to an end after a successful 11-7 season. The game was held on March 2 at Cameron. Throughout the game, Cameron led the scoreboard with MSU unable to catch up. Morgan Lenahan (No. 24), guard and criminal justice senior, led the team for most scored points with 32 in total. Hannah Reynolds, (No. 11), forward and health sciences senior, contributed 15 points, making the second most shots. Haevyn Risley (No. 15), guard and business finance junior, and Frances King (No. 10) guard and kinesiology sophomore, each scored 12 points. Though the season is over, Lenahan and King were named to All-Conference Teams, and Risley and Reynolds received honorable mentions.

Volleyball had won three straight Lone Star Conference games before losing against Arkansas-Fort Smith on March 10. Volleyball went up against Arkansas-Fort Smith on March 9 and won with a final score of 3-2. The women had 56 kills, 53 assists and ten aces. The women attempted to attack Ark.-Fort Smith again the next day but lost 3-1. ending their regular season and finishing second in the LSC North Division conference. They now look toward the conference tournament. Lisette Lefforge (No. 14), middle-blocker and pre-law senior, lead the team with 151 kills to go along with her team-leading 45 total blocks. Lauryn Bourne (No. 2), outside hitter and chemistry freshman, Raven Presley (No. 21), right-side hitter and mechanical engineering senior, Kaitlynn Stoker (No. 6), outside hitter and psychology redshirt sophomore, and Taylor Anderson (No. 3), outside hitter and mass communication junior, also each has over 100 kills. Autumn Roach (No. 7), setter and exercise physiology freshman, has assisted 338 times and has 28 service aces.

MEN’S TENNIS IS LOOKING UNBEATABLE

The Men’s tennis team is 4-3 and has won their last four outings, after losing all three contests at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The team didn’t lose a single match against Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Baptist University or Metropolitan State University in Denver, and the team collectively overcame Southern Arkansas University 4-3. Alex Martinez Roca, mechanical engineering junior,

and Alexandre Crepy, general business freshman, each have 4 singles wins, and Angel Palacios, management information systems senior, has five. Crepy and Roca as a team are 4-3 in doubles matches, and the duo of Palacios and Ben Westwick, mechanical engineering sophomore, is undefeated with three doubles victories.

WOMEN’S TENNIS IS ON A HOT STREAK IN MARCH The women’s tennis team is 4-4, and has won each of their four consecutive matches in March. The team shutout Southeastern Oklahoma and Oklahoma Baptist before beating Southern Arkansas 4-3 and Metropolitan 6-1. During this winning streak, the women haven’t lost a single doubles match. Casie Curry, exercise physiology sophomore, and Anda Ghinga, psychology freshman, each have a singles record of 4-3. The doubles teams of Curry and Tiffany Hollebeck, sports administration senior, and Ghinga and Emilija Visic, exercise physiology freshman, each have 6 doubles wins respectively on the season.

TRACK UP AND RUNNING IN THE SPRING

Katie Till, athletic training senior, has been a standout for the Mustangs this season. Till set personal records with a 4:57.44 time in the 1,500-meter time of to take second at the Hardin-Simmons Invitational and a 2:21.60 time at Gorilla Indoor Classic in the 800 meter. Till also placed third at the Lonestar Conference Indoor Track Championships in the 800 meter with a time of 2:23.71. Two MSU freshman made program history this season. Shakiah Randall, exercise physiology freshman, recorded the third best 100 meter time in university history with a 12.64 at the Hardin-Simmons Invitational. Emily Hurst, dental hygiene freshman, became the first Mustang to compete in the high jump at the Gorilla Classic.

GOLF’S STARS CONTINUE SUCCESS IN THE SPRING

The men’s golf team has participated in one tournament in Spring 2021, the Houston Classic on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9. With scores of 73, 71 and 70 Garrett Leek, management sophomore, finished third. Jake Doggett, management junior, finished fifth and the team as a whole finished fifth. Women’s golf has participated in one tournament so far in the spring season, the St. Mary’s Invitational. Juanita Gomez, marketing junior, was top of the leader board on March 1. at the event. Gomez went on to place second at the Invitational on the second day. The Mustangs finished fifth overall in the tournament.

TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH Find a creative outlet “Art and music and writing, those are all really good outlets. One, because there’s something you can really focus on, so it breaks the ruminations or the worries that we focus on all the time,” Carlston said. “The other thing that’s really nice about them is that all artistic things evoke emotion. A lot of times we become so task focused that we’re not addressing our emotions.” Research suggests writing about difficulties can be beneficial in terms of mental health. “Journaling can be a really nice process to go through. It frees up our cognitive stuff, so we don’t have to keep thinking about it because we’ve already got it written down. It helps us feel a little bit more in control of things as well, so writing is a great way to address things,” Carlston said.

Get a healthy amount of sleep PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYTON | THE WICHITAN

Thalia Doe, spanish and mass communication junior, working out in the Bruce and Graciela Redwine Student Wellness Center, March 9. ELIZABETH MAHAN REPORTER ccording to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in four people between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness, and more than 80% of college students felt overwhelmed by what they were asked to do in the last year. Experts at MSU Texas have offered some solutions and advice to combat stress, depression and anxiety.

Get physically active “Physical activity in and of itself physiologically releases a lot of chemicals that feel good, endorphins. We feel a lot better. We burn off a lot of the adrenaline and a lot of the things that are related to stress. We also know that regular physical activity can reduce things like depression and anxiety,” David Carlston, professor of psychology and one of four faculty supervisors of the MSU Psychology Clinic, said. For Tayler Schott, soccer player and biology senior, working out with her encouraging teammates can boost her energy more than working out in solitude. “Whether it is playing soccer, or just going to the gym… it definitely makes me feel better. I can just go to ‘my happy place’ and just not really have to focus on anything else but getting that grind and just working and getting all my

problems out,” Schott said. Korie Allen, step aerobics instructor at the wellness center, said mastering the complex step combinations she teaches may improve memory and confidence. “Find something that you feel would be fun. There’s a new bungee jumping program called weightless. There’s group fitness classes. There’s Latin salsa. There’s weight lifting within a class, where people show you exactly what to do,” Allen said.

“If you can eliminate time wasters during the day, then those things that have to get done that you end up staying up late to do, you can do those earlier on in the day. I know for me, my day gets filled with five minutes here, or five minutes there of just dumb little things. Then it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh I’ve got to get this grading done,’ and the grading pushes me to stay up late, but if I had organized my day a little bit better, I could’ve gotten the grading done earlier and gone to bed at a normal time,”

Carlston said. Carlston said another way to promote better sleeping habits is to get up at the same time every day, even on weekends. “If you regulate the time that you wake up, then usually the back end of that, in terms of your sleep, will kind of come into line,” Carlston said.

Ask for help “The first thing that’s beneficial about seeking help for mental health is just recognizing that you are struggling. There’s research that says between the time that somebody calls to make an appointment and before they even show up to that first appointment, their symptoms lessen. Even just the act of saying ‘Hey, I need some help and I’m planning to get help,’ there’s some relief that occurs already,” Carlston said. The counseling center and the psychology clinic are both available for free to students. If students don’t form organic relationships with the counselors at one facility, they can try the other free option. “There are a lot of benefits in being able to receive support and being able to look at the way that we’re approaching or thinking about our life. It can really alleviate some of that distress. Sometimes it’s catharsis and just getting that emotion out,” Carlston said.

Have a support system “No one is supposed to go through life and fix all of their problems alone or handle all their crises alone,” Madison Bundy, member of the Baptist Student Ministry and nursing junior, said. “We all need friendships, and if you don’t have that, I think that’s where a lot of our mental health issues stem from, is when we feel lonely.” Schott said spending so much time with her teammates has helped her make friendships that she doesn’t think she would’ve made on her own. “Making those friendships allows me to open up about things going on in my life, or how I’m feeling, and I know that these girls will support me through anything,” Schott said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KETUT SUBIYANTO | THE PEXELS

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven hours of sleep is recommended for adults between 18 and 60 years.

March 15, 2021

Articles inside

MSU WOMEN

SPORTS

COLUMN

NEWS