March 25, 2015 by The Wichitan and Wai Kun

PHOTO BY MARK CAMPBELL

NEW VOLLEYBALL COACH PG. 7

March 25, 2015 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 79 No. 23

April 10 Bus route will begin its trial run

Number of stops on the route, including Sikes Senter Mall and Stage West

PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

Habib Hadeed, finance junior, leaves the campus shuttle and Niha Patel, exercise physiology student, enters the campus shuttle near the Killingsworth stop on Tuesday.

Student government approves weekend shuttle service SERAH WELBORN REPORTER

ith a unanimous vote, the Student Government Association approved the Mustangs Entertainment Shopping & Attractions route, or MESA, at its March 3 meeting. The bus route will serve as a weekend extension of the traditional Mustangs Shuttle with a trial run starting April 10. “I was really excited when [the bill] got passed because it’s going to help students,” Jaylon Williams, nursing freshman and freshman senator, said. “This is something that will be in effect for probably a long time until somebody else comes along and improves it even further, because there’s always room for improvement.” According to Marco Torres, psychology senior and Campus Culture Committee chairman, MESA is the result of Williams’ hard work and best reflects the interests of the students who will use it. The extended route is, however, up for improvement or termination depending upon their response in the coming weeks. “This is just a trial run. If we need to stay out later [or] if we need to extend it earlier on, we can make that happen,” Torres said. “It all depends on what the stu-

dents want and how they want to utilize this route, and if they are actually going to utilize it. This trial run is everything right now.” Throughout the 26 stops, students will have access to more than 30 establishments previously unavailable, such as the French Quarter Apartments, Stage West Dance Club, Chik-fil-A and Target. The shuttle will complete the 7.4-mile route in 30-minute intervals between 4 p.m. and midnight Fridays, and from 5 p.m. to midnight Saturdays. The schedule and route were determined according to the desires expressed by students and what was negotiated with the city of Wichita Falls. Williams said she hopes her constituents will now follow through with their requests. “We have the records of everyone’s comments that this is ‘really needed,’ ‘fantastic.’ That’s nice to say, but now that it’s really here, what are you going to do about it?” she asked. “I’m hoping to see frequent use and gratitude. It doesn’t have to be verbal, just the physical gratitude of them using the bus is good enough for me. Just knowing that they’re using it and that they’re getting to where they need to be, getting groceries, having fun—it’s a fun bus route.”

Though MESA benefits students in ways as never before, Torres said its strict evening schedule limits shopping and entertainment excursions—possibly to the point of discontent. He emphasized that changes could be made in the future based upon research his committee will conduct at the end of the semester. “We’ll ask what is lacking, what needs improvement, and who actually utilized it,” Torres said. “One of the things that I will not advocate is having this thing run and nobody utilizing it. That funding could go somewhere else...Right now it’s up to the students.” Participation will be documented by the MESA drivers through the scanning of university identification cards. This information will be used to determine the success of the program, and for this reason Torres encourages students to experiment with it whenever possible. “My committee put in the hard work for the students. Now, once this starts running and we advertise it, it’s up to the students to do this because we tried to get what they want,” he said. “If it doesn’t get utilized, then we’re going to stop it or cut back on it, because that’s money that’s being wasted.”

RUNS FRIDAY, 4 P.M.-MIDNIGHT AND SATURDAY, 5 P.M.-MIDNIGHT

Petroleum Program

pg. 3

New geoscience graduate program will focus on oil industry careers.

Mobile Meat

pg. 5

Barbecue food truck offers some of the finest smoked brisket and creative sides in town.

Road Race

pg. 7

Cycling team heads to College Station competition this weekend expecting a win.

2 | March 25, 2015 |

Fox drama, ‘Empire,’ reinforces black stereotypes

Over Spring Break I decided to watch “Empire,” Fox’s new drama highlighting a black family’s struggle in the limelight and entertainment industry. The storyline addresses issues the black community almost alAdaobi Ezeodum ways seems to ignore, like homosexuality and mental disorders. While the show seems entertaining to watch, I have my reservations about the character Cookie, played by Taraji Henson. She is undoubtedly the crowd favorite, and I love her, too. While she is interesting to watch, she unfortunately perpetuates the stereotype that black women are loud, aggressive and quick tempered. I’m not saying that women who are like this have a problem, but Cookie reinforces the idea that black women fit must fit into this sassy, aggressive cookie-cutter mold. That must be the inspiration for her name. The show is entertaining, but most people, young teenage girls of color in particular, will not be able to differentiate television from reality, and would think that this is the way they are expected to behave. Whenever two or more girls get into a fight in “Empire,” more than half the time they are black girls. Women have, perhaps, subconsciously come of the opinion that one of the ways you can prove your superiority over another women is how fast or how hard you can pull the weave out of her head while punching her in the face. Women have forgotten that there should be so much more to being a woman than how fast you can swing your fist at another woman. I’m hoping that young black women stop growing up with this view of femininity. Black women have a responsibility to dispel these stereotypes by not giving in to societal interpretations of the black woman. In my opinion, there shouldn’t even be an ideal. Every woman should exercise the right to be her own person without color and race being a determining factor. “Empire” does provide something more

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB

Promotional poster for Fox’s ‘Empire’.

than entertainment value when it addresses issues like homosexuality, bisexuality and mental disorders. The show highlights the struggles that gay black men face in the United States, and that also could be extended to black men around the world. We might still have a long way to go in respect to eliminating homophobia in the United States, but this shows lays a good foundation for such happenings in the future. Also, one of the main characters happens to suffer from bi-polar disorder, another “unpopular” sickness amongst black people. I say unpopular not because it affects black people in minute ways, but unpopular in the context that it faces constant rejection from black folks. All in all, the show is pretty entertaining and I look forward to watching more episodes, but a lot can be learned from the show’s representations of black culture. Adaobi Ezeodum is a management information systems junior.

the

wichitan Vo. 79 | No. 23

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

Make every day Earth Day Last Sunday I went for my usual jog around Sikes Lake, and toward the halfway mark I was absolutely speechless. Not because I was out of breath, but because of what I saw. I paused my music and stopped dead in my tracks because the view was truly Jasmine Jones vile. I saw plastic foam cups, Doritos bags, soda cans and other assortments of garbage scattered along the lake. And while I can excuse a piece or two as the product of a windy or rainy day, enough to fill several, well, garbage bags is inexcusable. Littering is not only unfortunate and cruel to this planet and those who inhabit, but it’s also lazy. There is no excuse to throw your garbage on the ground or in the lake. Matt McKenna, former CEO of Keep America Beautiful said, “About 15 percent of America admits to littering.” That is startling, considering those are just the surveyed Americans admitted to littering, but the trend can still be reversed. It can be reversed pretty quickly if we clean up areas like the lake or just around cam-

EDITOR: Ethan Metcalf PHOTO EDITOR: Rachel Johnson PHOTOGRAPHER: Francisco Martinez BUSINESS MANAGER: Courtney Gilder DESIGNER: Brianna Sheen ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

pus, because the presence of litter tells passerby, “It’s OK to litter here. Everyone else is doing it.” Littering leaves me perplexed because the Earth is our home and if you think about it, you and I are the environment. By protecting our environment, we are protecting ourselves. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that more than 1 million mammals are killed as the result of pollution annually. By littering, not only are we killing ourselves, we are also killing the innocent animals on land and in the sea. Sikes Lake is one of the things that makes Wichita Falls beautiful, and it would be a shame to see it fill up with garbage and to smell foul because we cannot clean up after ourselves. Although Earth Day is less than a month away, I encourage everyone to do our part and take initiative to make every day Earth Day. We only get one Earth and we should do our best to sustain it as long as possible and keep it beautiful. Recycle, organize trash cleanup days or carpool. Jasmine Jones is a political science graduate student.

Copyright © 2015. 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 telephone number and address. The editor retains the right to edit letters.

| March 25, 2015 | 3 “It’s been shown that students who do engage with school activities stay more often than not.” BETTY STEWART, PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Committee formed to discuss seminar for first-year students MATT JOBE REPORTER

T PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Scott Meddaugh, geoscience professor, talks about the new graduate program during the reception of the founding of the Robert L. Bolin Graduate School of Petroleum Geology, March 11.

Graduate program in petroleum geology begins in fall ETHAN METCALF EDITOR

t a reception in front of a crowd made up of donors, administrators, board members, faculty and even ex-Regents, University President Jesse Rogers introduced the formation of the Robert L. Bolin Graduate School of Petroleum Geology, March 11. “Students may complete this program in a five-year format, receiving both their bachelor of science and master of science degrees simultaneously. I think that’s innovative,” Rogers said in a short speech. “Of course, they also may take the traditional route and finish their bachelor’s degree before moving on to a twoyear program.” Rebecca Dodge, associate geology professor and graduate coordinator for the geoscience program, said demand for a graduate petroleum geology program already existed within the college and the community. “There are students here in our program already who want to go on to graduate school here,” Dodge said. “We have also in the community many students who have graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in geosciences who now are already asking how they can come back and get their master’s degree.” Dodge said the program will attract new students, and will even help the faculty complete more research. “We’ve got a good, strong enrollment, but

see PETROLEUM pg. 5

o bolster first-year retention, student affairs and academic affairs came together to form a committee charged with creating a three-hour-credit seminar for first-year students. Robert Clark, vice president of administration and institutional effectiveness, will chair the committee of individuals in different positions including professors, counselors, staff members and students. Betty Stewart, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said she hopes the diverse group will be able to create a mandatory course to help incoming students acclimate to the college environment. "We wanted people from all around who have helped first-year students and know what could be improved," Stewart said. "We also wanted the voice of the students in the committee, to know how better to serve them while they transition from high school to college." One goal of the committee is to design a course that will encourage students to engage in on-campus activities, both in and out of class. "It's been shown that students who do engage with school activities stay more often than not," Stewart said Although the committee has only met once, Stewart said there is already a rudimentary idea in place, revived from a plan administrators made nine years ago. "A goal right now is to cover all of the many resources we have across the camps, from the Wellness Center to the library, subject labs and tutoring," she said. "There is a lot for first-year students to take advantage of if they are informed. Information is powerful. It helps you to become more confident and comfortable early in your college career." The committee's planning period was

FEB. 16 FILE PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

John Gardner, consultant, has dinner with members of the first-year task force after his First Year Experience Plenary Address workshops Feb. 16 in the Kiowa Ex-Students Room. put on hold after their first meeting in February, as the interviews of candidates for the next university president took precedence. Now Stewart said the committee can get back into action. "We were all focused on the campaigns," Stewart said. "With that out of the way we can turn our attention to this committee and take steps forward. The thing to focus on moving forward is student success." Angie Reay, associate director of housing and dining services, helps represent student affairs' part in planning the seminar. Reay said there is a planned focus group at which members will brainstorm ways for the organization to influence the program, and that their main focus will be helping solve problems that arise when students transition from home life to life on a college campus. "Some [struggles] for incoming students are transitional situations," Reay said. "The freedom of being on your own for the first time, getting ready for class, going to class, making friends, adjusting to new classes, and getting connected and engaged to the campus community. They don't have someone to tell them, 'Hey, you have to get up.' " Reay said housing staff and resident as-

sistants will play a sizable role in helping new students get engaged with campus activities given the rise in resident students. "Our staff and RAs are focused on making sure that the residents are committed to the campus in at least one way," Reay said. "That could be through the programming we do in the resident halls, student organizations, academic groups, athletics, or any other part of campus that would make them feel connected and at home to the university." Rachel Smith, a business sophomore, also serves on the committee. "They wanted input from people from different areas from the college, especially us students," Smith said. With experience in tutoring fellow students, Smith has her own ideas she plans to pitch to the committee, such as certain study habits, or planning a small research paper to ease students into the college experience. "I know from tutoring other students that there are skills that need to be retaught," Smith said. "They don't realize how much time college takes. It takes so much more time to study for a test or do homework. It is much more rigorous."

Members of the first-year seminar committee: • • • • • • • •

Cammie Dean, director of student development and orientation Deidre Frazier, academic counselor coordinator Tyler Garcia, political science sophomore Todd Giles, assistant professor of english Jennifer Anderson, assistant professor of respiratory care Suzanne Lindt, assistant professor of education and reading Michael Mills, director of housing and dining services Ruth Morrow, music professor

• • • • • • • •

Pam Moss, assistant professor at academic success center Angie Reay, associate director of housing and dining services Rachel Smith, business sophomore Chris Stovall, business office controller Tim Torres, chemistry freshman Linda Veazey, assistant professor of political science Charles Watson, assistant professor of biology Newman Wong, institutional research analyst

4 | March 25, 2015 |

Money on the table

Some schools have no trouble giving away scholarships MATTHEW SWIGER REPORTER

cholarships at Midwestern State University are lucrative as well as a great benefit to the students that need them. Still, it sometimes appears that few students apply for them, and the question of several funds being left over has been brought to the attention of some colleges on campus. The university has six colleges on campus that the majors on campus fall under. Each department offers scholarships to their students, and are given a set amount of funding they must give out. At least two colleges say they have no problem using up all the funding that they are given, and leave little left over. “I can’t imagine why the other colleges would have significant funds left over,” said Charles Bultena, associate professor of management and marketing in the Dillard College of Business Administration. Scholarships are awarded each year and divided by semester—$500 per semester. “The only reason we have anything left

over is because a student fails to show up for that second semester,” Bultena said. “Either they transferred to another school or left for whatever reason.” Those who do not show to get their scholarship do not receive their check and, according to Bultena, that check will go to the next student in line. Other colleges don’t appear to have an issue awarding the entire amount of scholarship funding they are granted. “We’ve awarded about $120,000 in scholarship funding,” said James Johnston, Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services, “and we spend every penny of it.” Each college is unique in the scholarships that they have, but the trend appears to suggest that most of the funding on campus is used up. Similarly to Dillard College of Business and Administration, Johnston reports that the College of Health Sciences and Human Services rarely has funds left over, and any leftovers are usually a result to a student either not using their money. “We have a lot of students in the military or militar y s p o u s e s ,” Johnston said, “A lot of

times they may have to transfer and won’t ship is created through an agreement to a be able to use their funding.” What hap- donor, and the colleges are bound to the pens as a result is the leftover money goes agreement. These agreements can be deto a runner-up on the list, or goes to a stu- cades old, but are still iron clad and diffident who needs it. cult to change. The second issue addressed in schol“You don’t want to upset the donor or arships was the need for you may lose their doapplicants. Bultena and nation,” Bultena said. Johnston both agree there But Bultena added is no shortage of students that some of the restricwho apply. tions set by donors can “We have a fair, comlimit the amount of elipetitive and well-developed gible students. application process and do “Say I want to donate our best to promote these money to mass comm. scholarships in our classes, majors with brown hair college events and publicathat like to wear hats,” tions, on TV screens and Bultena said, “In 50 years on the website” Bultena we have less of these peoCHARLES BULTENA said, “We usually have two ple around and funding ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF to three times as many apwe can’t give with that plicants as we have scholar- MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING scholarship.” ships.” Some agreements In the College of Health Sciences and have become outdated or need revision, Human Services, scholarships are a com- but in order to do so the college would petitive process in most departments as have to discuss with donors in order to rewell. Students are encouraged by their pro- view what points need revision. However, fessors to apply and to take advantage of some do not wish to touch the agreement scholarship opportunities. in any way, so it becomes harder to serve “A lot of times I’ll have faculty come to the students they were meant to help. me and ask if any funds are available for a “We would have to partner with Universtudent who needs it,” Johnston said. sity Development for Donor Services and Scholarships,” Bultena said, “We all need to look for opportunities to work with DONOR RESTRICTIONS There are limiting factors in scholar- them to build existing funds and create ships that each college is bound to. Every new scholarship funds.”

“We have a fair, competitive and well-developed application process and do our best to promote these scholarships.”

scholar-

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL JOHNSON AND LAUREN ROBERTS WITH MONEY PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW MAGILL

APPLYING FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

In some instances, students aren’t aware of scholarships or may not feel they can qualify. This is not always the case, as there are ample scholarships that almost any student with a good GPA can qualify for. Scholarships are awarded on both GPA and the financial need of a student. Applying is generally easy to do, and most departments go out of their way to make sure students are aware of the scholarships that are available. At that point, it becomes the responsibility of the student to apply. “Scholarships are a blessing,” Bultena said, “We need to do all we can to administer them fairly and efficiently, and get every penny we can into the hands of students who need help.” Each college has the scholarship applications in the Dean’s office, and on the website for the college in question. “All it takes is five minutes,” Bultena said. “Go down and fill out an application.”

It pays to be a resident assistant pplications for resident assistants, the students who help maintain a safe and friendly environment in the residence halls, are due Friday by 5 p.m. “Their room and meal plan will be provided as well as stipends for working,” said Angie Reay, associate director of housing and dining. Reay also said another benefit for them is working with their peers. Resident assistants work for the housing office and save anywhere from $2,400 to $3,375 depending on where they live on campus. The jobs that the resident assistants have are the same in every building. “I work in the office, help residents out, and I’m on call once a week to provide assistance,” said Mark Davis, assistant hall director for Sunwatcher Village. “Both school and work take a long time but

they each have a lot of benefits that reward you.” With students graduating, leaving, or being fired from the position, the housing office must constantly find new students to fill the positions every semester. Needing to fill this position on a frequent basis, it can be hard to see why they keep hiring students instead of a full-time employee that they could keep in that position. Reay said they are a mentor for new students, and they help with the transition from high school to college. “It is a resource for new students to relate to and they are really good role models and they often have other leader roles,” Reay said. Students that make it through the application process will then go on to the selection process. “One Saturday morning applicants participate in ice breaker, team building and critical thinking activities, and after that the hall directors hold interviews to choose the new resident’s assistants,” Davis said.

Housing rates per semester

Rates for RAs

DAYTON CHAMBERS REPORTER

All residence halls and apartments | $0

from PETROLEUM pg. 3

The Bolin Graduate School marks the third pethis will help improve that, and it will draw more troleum-centric program to be introduced in recent students to university, and it will just be great to years with the creation of petroleum engineering have more graduate students to work with. It will program and the Dillard Center for Energy Manexpand the faculty’s ability to get involved with re- agement set to open this August. “We hope that this will be a synergistic relationsearch because we’ll be working directly with the ship that will cross students from graduate students,” Dodge said. all the areas, so if our students University President Jesse Rogers don’t want to get a master’s in pewelcomes and introduces people at troleum geology, maybe they want the beginning of the reception recogto get an MBA,” Stewart said. nizing the founding of the Robert L. Stewart said the five-year proBolin Graduate School of Petroleum gram in which students would esGeology, Wednesday, March 11. Phosentially earn their bachelor’s and to by Rachel Johnson master’s degrees simultaneously University Provost Betty Stewart would be rigorous, but it would put welcomes and introduces people at graduates of the program ahead of the beginning of the reception recogtheir peers. nizing the founding of the Robert L. “If a student comes to the uniBolin Graduate School of Petroleum versity and knows what they want Geology, March 11. Photo by Rachel BETTY STEWART to do when they get here, it’s easy PROVOST Johnson to work through the program. Dodge said the new courses for the program have already been prepared, but Provost They’re going to have to work hard, they’re goBetty Stewart said a new faculty member will need ing to have to take a full class load every semester, to be hired using funds from the gift provided by but they’ll have a master’s degree in five years and the Bolin family. Stewart also said the program will they’re ready to go to work,” Stewart said. “But you’re going to have to be really focused when you begin fall 2015 pending final accreditation. “Now we just have to send it to our regional ac- come in the door. There will be a prescribed curriccrediting body, and then they will review it and ulum that they will have to follow, but they’ll have let us know,” Stewart said. “Usually it’s three to six to know when they come in the door that that’s months, and we submitted in January, so we should what they want to do. If they want to explore, they’re not going to finish in five [years].” be hearing back pretty soon.”

“We hope that this will be a synergistic relationship that will cross students from all areas.”

REVIEW

| March 25, 2015 | 5

PHOTO BY BRI SHEEN | THE WICHITAN

The brisket plate with baked potato salad and bread from Daddy Bob’s SmokeWagon.

Food truck offers quality barbecue on the go REVIEW BY BRI SHEEN

addy Bob’s SmokeWagon, a traveling food truck serving the area in and around Wichita Falls, has delicious barbecue favorites and creative side dishes. The food truck, usually found in Graham on Mondays and Wednesdays, or Wichita Falls on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is hard to miss with its bright red exterior and canopy. I stopped by for lunch when the truck was parked in its usual spot by the Eskimo Hut on Southwest Parkway and Kemp. Although there were a few people in line in front of my group, we were served promptly and our food came out so soon that I didn’t even have time to get back to our car to wait for my order. The man who took my order was friendly, funny and answered all my questions with ease. Honestly, the men behind the counter are half the reason to give this place a try. I had the brisket plate with a side of baked potato salad, and it came with a slice of bread. I have yet to be disappointed by any barbecue I’ve had in Wichita Falls, but Daddy Bob’s brisket tops my list so far. It was very flavorful and moist, but didn’t have excess fat on it. The baked potato salad was delicious. True to its name, it tasted similar to a normal baked potato and wasn’t sweet like normal potato salad, which I liked. The bread was the only

part of my meal that wasn’t impressive. It would’ve been better if it was toasted or buttered. We also got an order of smoked jalapeño poppers that were quite tasty. The flavor of the smoke could be tasted throughout, and my only complaint is that they were filled only with cream cheese. I like my poppers filled with cheddar cheese or just something that compliments and carries the smokiness better. My friend got a similar meal and our order together cost right at $20. For two full plates of barbecue, I don’t think it was overpriced, especially because of how good it was. It’s obvious that Daddy Bob’s SmokeWagon caters to people who want good lunch fast, and they delivered. However, I would choose this food truck over the brick-and-mortar barbecue restaurants I’ve visited in town any day. Although I usually don’t seek out barbecue for lunch, I would make an exception for this food truck, and I’d recommend Daddy Bob’s to anyone and everyone.

DADDY BOB’S SMOKEWAGON WICHITA FALLS LOCATION IS ON THE CORNER OF SOUTWEST PARKWAY AND KEMP BOULEVARD (940) 550-8455 HHHHH

6 |Â March 25, 2015 |

Upcoming Events

March 25 Texan Poetry and Jazz with Dave Oliphant | 6-8 p.m. in Leisure Reading at Moffett Library | Free March 26 Teaching and Learning Resource Center Wine and Cheese Colloquium | 4:30-6 p.m. in Dillard 189 | Free March 26 Naming Reception: Carroll and Mary Eda Laing Classroom | 4 p.m. in Dillard 129 | Free March 27 MSU History Department and Museum of North Texas History: Quanah Parker | 7 p.m. at the Museum of North Texas History | Free

March 30 Media Monday | 6:30-8:30 p.m. Fain Fine Arts C111 | Free March 30 Counseling Center Academic Workshop: Choosing a Career and Major | 7-8 p.m. in the Sundance Court Apartments third floor meeting room | Free March 31 Dr. Norman Horner: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wildlife Conservation - We Must be Successfulâ&#x20AC;? | 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU | Free

CRI M E L OG

March 9

Failure to ID to police officer | 9:35 p.m. | Wellness Center | MSU officer asked an individual for identification and the individual gave another name.

March 9

Criminal trespass | 9:35 p.m. | Wellness Center | An individual was asked for identification, did not present any and proceeded on.

March 10

Theft | 5:20 p.m. | Clark Student Center | A student had her laptop stolen from kitchen/study area.

March 20

Burglary: habitation | 4:16 p.m. | Sunwatcher Village | MSU Police responded to a report of a burglary of a habitation that occurred between March 13-20 while the resident was away for spring break. SOURCE: http://www.mwsu.edu/police/crimelogs/

Lounge changed into office CONNER WOLF REPORTER

o make more office space in the student center, the multicultural lounge has been closed and repurposed by student development. The room now is just another office. Cynthia Cummings, special events coordinator, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody ever really used the multicultural lounge, so it was turned into office space for student development.â&#x20AC;? Another reason for repurposing the lounge, according to Cummings, is the entire Clark Student Center functions as a multicultural area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole student center is a multicultural area if you think about it. The university planning board, the Black Student Union, and the Caribbean Students Organization all hold events in the student center,â&#x20AC;? Cummings said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also a place for students of all cultures to mingle, so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really need the lounge.â&#x20AC;? Phillip Mundine, mass communication senior, has been aware of the lounge for years but never used it. He said he had never heard of it being used by anyone and that it might as well be office space to prevent it from being

PHOTO BY ETHAN METCALF | THE WICHITAN

The multicultural lounge has been repurposed into a student development office. just an empty room. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had no idea we had a multicultural lounge,â&#x20AC;? said Francisco Martinez, criminal justice sophomore. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even though the whole student center serves the same purpose, I like the idea of having a designated area for students of different backgrounds to get together, and I wish I knew about it.â&#x20AC;? Cummings said there is no plan to open a new multicultural lounge in the student center or elsewhere.

Texan Poetry d jazz Free Checking* ď&#x201A;¨ Free Debit Card Auto Debit ď&#x201A;¨ Direct Deposit Mobile Banking ď&#x201A;¨ Mobile Deposit Online Banking ď&#x201A;¨ Bill Pay

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MOFFETT LIBRARY and MSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arts & Literature Society

IMarch 25th, 2015 J 6 : 00-8 : 00 PM

in leisure reading at moffett library

| March 25, 2015 | 7

PHOTO BY MARK CAMPBELL | CAMPUS WATCH

Natalie Rawson, head volleyball coach, speaks at a press conference Tuesday after meeting with the team for the first time.

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

John Paul Blanton, accounting freshman, goes for a ride around campus on his bike March 24.

Cycling rides to College Station with best rider in country JESSALYN CASTRO REPORTER

he men and women's cycling team will hit the road to College Station to compete in the race hosted by Texas A&M Saturday, March 28, with high hopes of coming out on top. "I expect to win in every category in each race that we're doing," head coach Charlie Zamastil said. The categories are divided into men and women, and then divided up based on skill. The three races being held are 10 mile laps and each race will be from three to seven laps, but Zamastil other obstacles could make the races tricky. "The gravel roads are definitely more difficult to ride on and increase the risk of flat tires," Zamastil said. "There’s an element of chance and an element of skill to go along with just physical fitness." Zamastil said the team wants to be able to use its numbers to create an advantage against the other teams. "We have the biggest team so hopefully we'll do the best," undecided freshman John Paul Blanton said. "We have high hopes of getting at least a couple of guys on the podium." Blanton will be competing in the "men's A" category, the highest level in the mens division. "We have riders in almost every category so over all we should do well," Blanton said. "This will be the first race weekend we have a full team at." Zamastil said with 18 people competing he expects a win in each category, but the ultimate goal will be for the team's best rider, Bill Ash, business freshman, to win. "I think we have the best rider in college right now," Zamastil said. "He's actually one of the best riders in the country." Although working as a team is important in a race, Zamastil

said that teamwork usually is used to give the team's strongest rider the advantage in the race. "It's kind of like a chess match over 70 miles, we'll move pawns, bishops, knights, other minor pieces, and they'll be aggressors, where Bill will just be able to sit back in the field," he said. But ultimately, Blanton said the focus is still to make the team as successful as possible overall. "We have at least one of the strongest riders, if not a few of them," Blanton said. "We always try and focus on racing as a team and not focussing on individual success, we'd rather get the entire team to a successful point." Despite the fact that MSU will have the largest team racing, Zamastil said there will be plenty of strong competition there from Texas A&M, The University of Houston at Texas, and The University of Texas. "The win is not handed to us. We have to fight for it for sure," Blanton said. "The idea is to control the race. It'll be a learning experience." Zamastil said there's a 30 percent difference in the chances a rider has going into the wind versus being behind someone else, and that is how they will be able to get their strongest rider to the end of the race. After traveling to College Station to race, the team will host a race at home on April 11 and 12 where they will race through the campus. "It's a spectator-friendly race," Zamastil said. "It's less than a mile so you'll see the riders come by constantly. Last year the whole community came out and brought their dogs, blankets and lawn chairs just sitting and hanging out having a good time."

Volleyball gets new head coach ETHAN METCALF EDITOR

atalie Rawson, assistant volleyball coach from 2010’13, will return to Midwestern State University’s volleyball program, this time as its head coach. “It’s amazing to be back. I feel like I’m back home even though I’m not originally from Wichita Falls. But I’ve spent some good time here,” Rawson said. “I definitely put down a lot of roots when I was here. So being back is very exciting for me.” Rawson left her job as head coach at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas, where she led the Division II team to their two most successful seasons. Midwestern’s team has experienced trouble of its own lately, and Rawson said her goal for her first year would be to improve. “I want to see improvement. To me, that’s success. Wins are going to come from that,” Rawson said. “Being able to see them improve and to really develop a culture that really stands for what our beliefs are and that our ac-

tions uphold.” The volleyball team is a fairly young squad, but Rawson said that just gives her more freedom to help them grow into successful players. “That’s exciting for me because I like having players like that. Being able to develop them every day in practice and for them to be empowered by what they’re learning so they know what to do in a game and how to fix things,” Rawson said. “As far as taking them from one stage to the next, really just breaking down their fundamentals and having them feel confident in themselves is really where that experience comes from.” Rawson met with the players for the first time Tuesday. “I think we’re on the same page that we’re ready to work hard and do whatever it takes,” Rawson said. “Right now it’s all about making sure we’re all getting on the same page, working together for a common goal.” Additional reporting by Mark Campbell.