April 14, 2023

Editorial: Becoming apathetic to disaster

THE WICHITAN STAFF

Monday morning at Wichita Falls High School, a bomb threat brought an abrupt halt to the day and forced an evacuation of the school. Shortly thereafter, the Wichita Falls Fire Department swept and cleared the building and WFHS announced the threat was not credible. Such threats have become all-toocommon on campuses and at schools across the country. What was once a shocking occurrence regardless of locale has become commonplace enough that it rarely elicits the same reactions as it once did. Instead of widespread fear, community unrest and demands for action or change, these false alarms are moving closer to an inconvenience for some.

There’s a silver lining to this new pattern, which is that people are less afraid. With less fear comes decreased reaction, which hope-

fully will deter anyone considering calling in a false threat for the sake of attention or to elicit a reaction. But this growing attitude of acceptance also has the potential to lead to a far worse effect; if people don’t continue to react swiftly and vigilantly to false alarms, there’s a chance they won’t react appropriately in the event of a real threat.

Eric Queller, management senior and emergency management specialist for the Wichita Falls Office of Emergency Management, was a responder at the Wichita Falls High School incident. Queller said campuses like MSU can become sign-blind and fall into a pattern of apathy.

“I think as a society, we’ve kind of collectively said 'This is a factor of life and we have to, there’s nothing we can do about it.' That’s just a personal level of, 'I still have to go to

class and I still do my actions and motions.' That’s a reality of life is we’re going to have to deal with something,” Queller said. He added that there’s a balance between living in fear and living in reality.

“My goal is never to scare the public. I’m not sitting there, you know, waving the flag and alarm bells going. 'You need to prepare, you need to do this, you need to be a doomsday prepper.' It needs to be, you need to integrate those preparedness items into your normal daily lives. You know, be vigilant,” Queller said.

For students, faculty and staff, it’s difficult to maintain a focused mindset when false threats arise. It can be easy to assume that the next threat will be a false one, but instead it could be a deadly one.

Interim President Keith Lamb said that

Editor-in-Chief: Cecil Witherspoon

Managing Editor: Anne Akpabio

Design Editor: Abigail Jones

Photography Editor: Colin Stevenson

Spanish Editor: Lizbeth Jaimes

Business Manager: Tiffany Haggard

Social Media Manager: Rebekah Gardner

Section Editor: Joey Arthur

wichitan@msutexas.edu | thewichitan.com

@wichitanonline

Issue Staff: Julianna Abril, Emily Copeland, Juan Manosalva

Advisor: Jonathon Quam

Copyright ©2022.

while there is a danger to the populace becoming more apathetic, those tasked with leading in times of crisis are anything but disinterested.

“I think there are two ways to look at it. Is there apathy amongst people? Yeah, there probably is in just about everything. I think the key is, is there apathy amongst our first responders, our emergency preparedness folks? And I think the answer to that is no, there’s not,” Lamb said.

Ultimately, it’s up to MSU students, faculty and staff to remain vigilant. There isn’t any way to know when the next threat may come, but with the proper precautions and taking the right actions when threats are called in, MSU can combat disaster apathy and be properly prepared.

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 an email address, telephone number and address.

The college experience is the first time that many people have some form of autonomy over their lives, which leads to heavy development, 2023.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN

Active vigilance can allow proper responses to legitimate threats in our lives, April 11.

FENTANYL, THE MODERN LETHAL DRUG

JUAN MANOSALVA REPORTER

The MSU Counseling Center partnered with the Greenbelt Counseling Association and Texas Counseling Association to host a Fentanyl Crisis Continuing Education Training Thursday, April 6, in the MSU Legacy Multipurpose Room.

Wendy Helmcamp, Greenbelt Counseling Association vice president, said fentanyl is a new popular drug that is extremely dangerous.

“When you take it there is a 50/50 chance to live or die and just a tiny bit is enough to kill you,” Helmcamp said.

Fentanyl is used mostly by people between ages 12 to 44, meaning it poses a risk to college students. To make people aware of fentanyl and its risks, there were three speakers invited to the event: Lisa Williams, Cooper McClung and Sarah Lucas. All of them are licensed professional counselors, which is one of the groups the event targeted.

Helmcamp said the event was for any mental health workers.

“Counselors, psychologists, social workers and anybody with their mental health license can come and get their continuing education credits for their license renewal, considering they need 24 credits hours every two years and this event is offering 1.5 credits,” Helmcamp said, later adding, “This is a real serious issue that is killing people, so everyone in MSU campus was invited to attend this event.”

This was the first collaboration between Greenbelt and the counseling center this year.

Tara Fox, Greenbelt Counseling Association president, said the association has a goal to make three to four presentations of continuing education hours. The first event brought in top speakers and snacks for all the audience to feel comfortable and involved in the presentation. Speaker Cooper McClung prepared a presentation called “Killing the Pain of Fentanyl.” In the presentation, he shared facts of how lethal fentanyl is, how it affects human body, some techniques of how to fight against the drug and real testimonies

from people who have experienced fentanyl dangers.

McClung said the presentation went well and he felt it had an impact on the audience.

“The presentation goes very well, we had really good questions from the audience, they were taking notes and pictures, showing everyone is very involved with us, which make us feel that all the effort really worth it,” McClung said.

Hayley Turnquist, clinical mental health student, said she felt the event was helpful as she gains knowledge in the field.

“I think MSU did a really great job

organizing this event, I get multiple emails from several sources promoting the event, it was easy to sign in, the speakers did a really good job providing clarity of the crisis and because it is a hard topic to talk about having things like this helps to bring awareness of a topic everyone should be informed about,” Turnquist said.

MSU counseling center assistant director Zachary Zoet said the event was what MSU expected.

“It was a good event with good information about the topic, which allowed us to serve all our students and keep them safe,” Zoet said.

PHOTO BY JUAN MANOSALVA | THE WICHITAN Wichita Falls High School student support counselor Cooper McClung speaks to attendees on his presentation "Killing the Pain of Fentanyl," April 6.

PHOTO BY JUAN MANOSALVA | THE WICHITAN

Students and faculty attend the fentanyl training event, April 6. Attendees learned about the dangers of fentanyl and how to fight it in a school setting.

SGA CANDIDATES SHARE

Vincent Peter Mechanical engineering sophomore

Running for: vice president of external affairs

Interview edited for length with the consent of the candidate:

I’m from the island of Dominica. I am currently a RA. I am also a senator for the Caribbean Student Organization. One of the clubs that I’m involved with in the community is Cafe Con Leche, better known as the road to college. Yeah, but I'm a very outgoing, very involved student.My biggest goal If I'm elected is inclusion. I really think that it's important to make sure that everyone is not just being heard, but everyone is participating, you know. And I think it is so important that when we come here, that we can be a part of what's going on and not feel left out. There are conditions and there are things that international students face that the rest of the student body may not know about, or don't know. So I just want to help liaise that information, those problems from the students who may feel left or may not necessarily have a voice and just let them know that, hey, we're in a position now where we can make something happen.

Samantha Wilson Accounting and management information systems sophomore

Running for: vice president of external affairs

Iam a non-traditional student with a lot of life experience that can be beneficial to students looking to get into the job market and survive in the real world. Communication and community between non-traditional students, that can teach a lot, like I said, to the traditional students and in between the different colleges. So it's not so much a team base as it is an MSU base, okay? Mostly communication and making sure that the representation for the student government association is actually indicative of the student body population. There's so many different students on campus and the student government senate should mirror the community.

Joseph Arthur

Biology and chemistry junior

Running for: vice president of internal affairs

Well, I  think foremost, people should know I love MSU. I was only meant to stay for my freshman year, but I fell in love with the campus. I fell in love with the people, the friends I made, the family I made, it's a great campus. We have a great campus here, and all I want to do is help the students and be a resource for them.

The biggest thing I want to accomplish is I want to make MSU a campus truly for the students. I believe that in the past it hasn't really been student focused. Administration, upper admin hasn't really done stuff. They aren’t very student focused, it's been very unilateral. Little students are involved in the decision making and I think that's wrong. I think decisions for students should be made by students.And that's the biggest thing I want to accomplish for this position, I want to help students. I want to help student organizations. I want to be able to elevate the student body so they can have a better experience and MSU.

SHARE THEIR PLATFORMS

Brylee Grubb Erwin Psychology senior Running for: president

Three words to describe her campaign: Inclusion, Uplifting, Impactful

Why are you running?

So, I am running to basically advocate for everyone here on campus. I have experience with being a first generation student with learning disabilities on the underrepresentation and also kind of like not knowing where or who to ask for help in certain situations. So, being that person to kind of push forward. And like, here are the actual resources, you know, here's where you find the resources and kind of support and make sure that not only students in those populations, but all of our like diverse students, we have a really big culturally diverse population and make sure all of them are represented. Because I feel like a lot of times, we get in this small circle of people and not able to branch out and actually understand all of the students’ struggles, everything and find the commonalities that we really lack in like, at the university. So we can fix it for, you know, everyone, not just a small population here on campus.

Top three goals: safety and security, infrastructure and resources and school spirit

So safety, every student should feel safe here on campus. We lack, and I don't want to step on too many toes here, but we lack the resources here to keep students safe in classrooms. Making sure students know all the also resources with campus police and Title IX are seen and students actually know how to reach out and know that if students ever do feel unsafe, they can call campus place and it's never a hassle for them. Because I know myself personally, I've had experience where I've been unsafe and I had to call the campus police and they are very friendly and they're willing to help out. We just have to let them know and kind of make it more accessible in a way for students to make those reports. I know we had the safety app and making sure students know that they can click on the app to make Title IX reports, or call the campus police because I think that's kind of unknown for some students because we have so many apps. So, in a way, with a lot of my ideas and stuff, it goes back to creating an accessible website where it takes information from all into one. So it makes it easy and accessible. And so they don't have to go a roundabout ways to, “Oh, no, you're calling the wrong place, call this person, call this person, call that person.” I'm making sure that that is accessible to everyone and they're not passed around in a way.

And resources goes back to the website. Also, there's resources to be successful and with that working with the first seminar. And I think they're calling it the first adventure seminar now, as the new name of it, if you want to be exact. So, making sure all those resources are available and easily accessible for students.

So to go back to resources and school spirit, I plan on getting information from students. And the best way for that is to collect data from them. Going in classes, going to the first adventure seminar, not only them, but going to multiple colleges here on campus, every single one of them and talking to students and areas like this and getting their actual feedback on. You know, “What will get you all to come out to events. What will get you all to come out to football games? What will get you all kind of involved here on campus?” Because a lot of people come to school, go back home, and they don't interact. And in the long run, I think that they're going to look back and kind of regret it. But making sure they know that there are groups to join, you can join them this way, that way and kind of getting their feedback on how can we improve school spirit. Because it's not just one person's opinion, it's all the students. And I think that actually going out and talking to them will help a lot.

Zetta Cannedy Political science and global studies junior Running for: president

Three words to describe her campaign: transparency, advocacy, empowerment

Why are you running?

So, I am running because I wasn't really sure when I first joined SGA as a junior class senator, which was, dang, two years ago now. It seems not that long ago. I was like, you know, I'll just give it a try and then I fell in love with it. I joined the cabinet and then I got elected as the vice president of external affairs, which was previously the secretary. And that really inspired me, getting to work with Gabbie and Eric, it just really inspired me to continue all the work we've done because, we've rewritten the constitution, we've written in the bylaws and we've created a student bill of rights, that it's going to have to continue into next year if we are going to put it in the handbook. And so, I really realized that if I want this reputation to continue for student government, then I need to step up and take on this role. And I am running like truly for the students. I love MSU, I consider it my second home and I want to do good.

Top three goals: long-term goals, reproductive health care and transparency

First off, creating sustainable goals for the student body. So like I said this year, we created a constitution, a bylaw, a student bill of rights. We really did a lot of reformatting of SGA because honestly, our foundational documents for student government weren't great. But coming into the next year, it's going to be about reforming and transforming the reputation SGA has with the student body. So the first thing we need to do is create sustainable goals that are long-term. Every executive team comes in every year with goals, just for that academic year. And so when they leave it all gets reset again and it really limits the things that you can try to solve. Because like I said, we keep hearing from students that parking is a problem, but it's not going to be solved in a year. And so first, I do want to create long-term goals that students can look at and the next executive team can come in and say, “Okay this is what they were doing. Let's continue it.”

Then my second thing that I want to do is I do want to create a fund for affordable and accessible birth control. One thing I keep hearing is that women on campus don't feel that they can go to the Vinson Health Center for reproductive health care. And birth control is important. It's important not just for safety but also it's required for a lot of people's health. And so I've heard students say that they can get it prescribed here but it is in no way affordable whatsoever. So I do think that there needs to be some kind of fund created so that students are able to access it and afford it. The United Nations considers access to affordable birth control a human right. And it sucks we don't even have that human right here at MSU which is kind of ridiculous.

And then lastly, the third thing I want to do is I also think that is important is, and I talked about this in the debate, is student morale is very low and that's because  we are talking to students today, and they actually feel like they are at a failing university, which was actually pretty shocking to hear. I mean, in student government, I obviously know I serve on the budget oversight committee. I know that there are financial issues,  that we are in a budget deficit. I know that there are student retention problems, that we cannot keep students here on campus. And at the moment, it seems like we cannot keep a president in office. I didn't actually see until talking to students how that is affecting student morale and how many students are seriously considering leaving and that is because they feel the university is failing. And so one of the things in our values is transparency. It's not just from SGA but we want transparency from higher-ups in the university because we see these problems. Whether they mean for these problems to be known by students or not, students know about them. But the students don't know how they're solving them. And even in my position as VP of external affairs, I don't know how they're solving them. And as my university and the students' university, we deserve to know those solutions.

"LANGUAGES HAVE NO BORDERS"

INCLUSION NOW ON LANGUAGES AND CULTURE

anguage and culture are often things that separate people from others, but Inclusion Now’s Pursuing Knowledge at the Intersection of Language and Culture was an intimate look into how educating others can establish connection. Wichita Falls Museum of Art, where the event was hosted, was originally not tied to the event, but when approached about their space being rented, they wanted to be more involved. Kaitlin Hancock, event and marketing coordinator for the WFMA, said it was just perfect timing that the event took place during their Supporting Indigenous Sisters: An International Print Exchange. The night began with Thomas Wininger directing MSU Choirs in a multilingual performance showcasing songs in Korean, medieval Latin, medieval German, and Bangla. Bengali singer Sheikh Dina led the choir in a song speaking of love for the motherland and all it had to offer which tied into Dr. Claudia Montoya’s talk perfectly.

“Languages have no borders,” Montoya said.

Montoya, a firstgeneration Mexican living in

LAmerica, spoke of the everchanging borders within language in culture. Her talk, part of a larger publication in the works by the University of Virginia, spoke of the indigenous languages of the Americas and how most of them are not even considered dead languages, but extinct languages for various reasons such as eradication of native speakers and no written form of the language.

Montoya also spoke about how people use language as a form of separation and the negative repercussions of that, referencing the struggle the African people had with the language after being enslaved and brought to the Americas against their will. This happened not only because of the lack of education available to them, but also because of their understood defiance against the very ones that enslaved them.

Though English is the most common language spoken in the United States, the US has no official language. It is a polyglot nation with over 350 languages being spoken in homes around the country.

Many countries over the years have made an attempt to eradicate languages other than their own with settlers in new lands creating laws in their native tongue rather than the language spoken by

the indigenous people already settled there.

Montoya likened native culture and language to being a part of the body.

“Nobody likes the idea of losing their hand,” Montoya said.

Following Montoya’s presentation on language and culture in America, Sarah Griego, education coordinator for the WFMA, led a workshop on the Art of Seeing Art focusing on the museum’s Supporting Indigenous Sisters: An International Print Exchange. The exhibit features 16 artists, eight of whom are from indigenous backgrounds.

The piece in focus was Turkish American Dilara Miller’s Senin Acin Benim Acimdir (Your Pain is my Pain). The print featured two women during a Turkish cleansing ritual before daily prayer. The act of working through the art is a technique developed by The Toledo Museum of Art that the WFMA tries to promote.

To conclude the evening, Sarah Butler, Spanish professor, introduced two artists who sing in indigenous languages.

Renata Flores is a Peruvian singer who sings in a combination of Spanish and Quechua. While Flores did not grow up speaking Quechua, she began learning during her

teenage years with help from her grandmother.

Guatemalan Sara Curruchich sings in Spanish and Maya Kaqchikel, the languages she was raised speaking. Both women are activists in addition to artists, highlighting the social injustices indigenous people, specifically indigenous women, face in their home countries.

Curruchich focuses on challenging the misconceptions of indigenous women and their place in society. Born just a short time after Guatemala’s “Violencia” where 200,000 people, mostly those of indigenous backgrounds, were killed or disappeared, Curruchich wants to do all she can to ensure the language does not become extinct.

Butler, as a teacher, finds educating about multiculturalism important to make sure her students know that even in Spanish speaking countries, Spanish is not the only language. Indigenous languages and cultures are vast throughout them.

Co-director of Inclusion

Now Jonathon Quam said the goal of the evening was to put on a series of workshops and lectures that take the concept of languages and reapply them in different ways. The event will continue on Saturday, April 15 with more lectures and workshops.

Emily Copeland

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN Spanish professor Claudia Montoya speaks on language and its transcension of national borders, April 13.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN Bengali singer Sheikh Dina performs alongside the University choir, April 13.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN Bengali singer Sheikh Dina leads the University Choir in a Bangla song speaking of love for the motherland and all it has to offer, April 13.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN Music assistant professor Thomas Wininger directs the University Choir through "O Fortuna," the first movement of "Carmina Burana," April 13.

ROCK SALE VENTA DE ROCAS

JULIANA ABRIL REPORTER

The Geoscience Club held a rock sale where it offered a variety of minerals, rocks and fossil specimens at the Bolin Science Hall. Geoscience club president James Mora led and coordinated the event. Mora said he was satisfied with the sale,since it is one of the best this year.

"So far it's being one of the most successful rock sales we've had in this spring semester," Mora said.

The general objective of the rock sales is to generate a financial income to finance the club and maintain a stable budget for their outings, field investigations and various other club events.The oldest samples for sale have been collected over several years by multiple students on their field trips. The club has acquired other materials through donations and purchased some at rock and mineral conventions.

Within the material available for sale, large ammonite fossils were available and the club president expressed his fascination with these.

“These are an extinct cephalopod species, hence they are related to squids and octopus. I find them really fascinating because their fossils are found here, in Texas, where there's no longer an ocean, so it's very nice to look to the past of the marine life without even having this water form” Mora said.

Turnout and proceeds from the event enable

ZETTA CANNEDY

the club's members to have more field trips near the Wichita mountains in Oklahoma, where club members will continue studying the region's geology.

ESPAÑOL

El club de geociencias realizó una venta de piedras donde ofrecieron una variedad de especímenes de minerales, rocas y fósiles en el Bolin Science Hall. Dicho evento fue liderado por su presidente James Mora, quien se encontraba bastante satisfecho con la venta, ya que es de las mejores este año. “Hasta ahora está siendo una de las ventas de rocas más exitosas que hemos tenido en este semestre de primavera.” Mora añadió.

El objetivo general de estos eventos es generar un ingreso económico para financiar el club y mantener un presupuesto estable para sus salidas, investigaciones de campo y otros varios eventos del club. Adicionalmente, las muestras más antiguas han sido recolectadas durante varios años y múltiples estudiantes en sus salidas de campo. Mientras que el nuevo material ha sido adquirido por medio de donaciones y otros han sido compradas en convenciones de rocas y minerales.

Dentro del material disponible en la venta, grandes fósiles de ammonites estuvieron disponibles y el presidente del club expresó su fascinación por estos. “Se trata de una especie de cefalópodo extinta, por lo que están emparentados con los calamares y los pulpos. Los encuentro realmente fascinantes porque sus fósiles se encuentran aquí, en Texas, donde ya no hay un océano, por lo que es muy agradable mirar al pasado de la vida marina sin siquiera tener esta forma de agua.”

mencionó Mora.

Finalmente, el evento fue bien acogido por los estudiantes y un gran apoyo hacia el club fue presenciado, gracias a esto sus miembros tendrán más salidas de campo cerca a las montañas de Wichita en Oklahoma, donde seguirán estudiando la geología del lugar.

FOTO POR COLIN STEVENSON THE WICHITAN

El club de geociencias ofrece múltiples rocas, variando sus tamaños, apariencias y precios, Abril 12.

FOTO POR COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN Estudiantes examinan detenidamente las múltiples rocas en la venta, Abril 12.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON THE WICHITAN Geosciences associate professor Andrew Katumwehe checks out what the Geoscience Club has for sale, April 12.

Juliana Abril

SUZANNE SHIPLEY'S NOVEL "TO GO WITH THE ONE I LOVE" PART

here the drama and racism of part one and two of “To Go with the One I Love” mounted to a frustrating point, part three began the satisfying peel-back on the curtain of the many personalities Shira trusted and readers hated. For those who have been following these reviews, the flippant, selfish Achim has finally done something so bad that Shira no longer has space left to deal with him. His departure from Shira’s traveling group was frustrating to read in part two, but discovering that he had left to romance a woman named Francesca sealed away any feelings Shira had for the pretentious artist. This was among the most gratifying emotional conclusions of these chapters, but remember, this tale of romance is set during the lead up to WWII. Fans of Gray, who has only treated Shira with the reverence and respect she deserves, will be excited to read that his

Wlove confession is pushed up a few angsty years thanks to the poisonous spread of the Nazis’ reach and Shira’s insistence that she stay close to her Bubbe. Shira is placed in the position of loving two men at the same time: one who never cared for her and one who has always cared for her. Though her need for time to transition is realistic, it’s difficult not to scream at the pages that it's time to leave Achim in the dust. It doesn’t become crystal clear that Shira will do this until the latter half of part three, when Achim does it to her first. After being detained by the gestapo for weeks and dreaming away her worries of Bubbe, Gray saves shira and Shira finds out that Achim abandoned her. Thus far, readers have been wading through 38 chapters of Shira’s internal monologue being akin to “Achim is terrible to me but I love him anyway, and Gray’s love for me is only brotherly love.” During this part it becomes apparent that the wait for this moment was agonizing. A good payoff is important, but the writing of Shira and Achim’s relationship never builds to

THREE

that. It never provides the reader with an opportunity to understand why Shira loves him so much. When he is finally revealed as his true self, there is no surprise. There are superficial qualities that make Achim appealing to Shira, but what the writing truly fails to capture is how enthralled Shira was during their stay in Spain. The reader doesn’t feel the emotions with her, they only feel disgust watching as Shira forgives Achim time and time again for behaving selfishly in their relationship. Were this story for a younger audience, though it absolutely shouldn’t be, the reader may be fooled by Achim’s charm. This almost conclusion of Achim’s part in the story, however, doesn’t shock the adult reader in any sense, but instead makes them question why it took Shira so long to realize his flaws in the first place. Her character is meant to be pragmatic, thoughtful and wise, but we are not shown this in her approach to her relationships. Whether that betrayal of self is intentional, it’s ultimately difficult to read.

Overall, part three was exciting and engaging, but its satisfying end serves to undermine any positive feelings the reader may have has about parts one and two. As the book progresses, it slowly fades from being a pre-WWII book with some romance into a romance book with the tense backdrop of pre-WWII. Whenever the characters don’t have enough to do, sure enough the gestapo finds them and makes things interesting. Though this may be a cold perspective on the purpose of international tension in the book, as focus becomes more and more about which man will sweep Shira off her feet, the historical setting begins to be defined as a vehicle for pushing Shira and Gray together. This is by no means disappointing, and in fact is a very effective part of “To Go With the One I Love.” Shipley’s vast knowledge of France only serves to make it that much more romantic. Where the first two parts of “To Go With the One I Love” had unnatural dialogue and frustrating acceptance of Achim’s actions, part three was a fantastic romp through France and escaping the Reich’s grasp one handsome man at a time.

After

"...As focus becomes more and more about which man will sweep Shira off her feet, the historical setting begins to be defined as a vehicle for pushing Shira and Gray together... a very effective part of 'To Go with the One I Love.'"

ABIGAIL JONES

RATING: 5/5

PHOTO BY BRIDGET RILEY | THE WICHITAN President Suzanne Shipley talks at a Board of Regents meeting, Nov. 7, 2019. Previously president of MSU Texas, Shipley has taken up writing.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUZANNE SHIPLEY

translating numerous memoirs by women fleeing Nazism, Suzanne Shipley decides to write a historical fiction with a similar premise, 2022.

Abigail Jones

The Wichitan’s Song of the Week: "SOMETHING IN THE ORANGE (Z&E) VER."

JOEY ARTHUR ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Welcome back to this week’s edition of the Wichitan’s Song of the Week. This week’s pick is “Something In The Orange (Z&E) Version'' by Japaneseborn singer-songwriter Zach Bryan. Released April 22, 2022 as a studio single and then as the second track on his third studio album “American Heartbreak,” “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version” is a narration of a toxic and doomed relationship that Zach Bryan was in. In the song, Zach Bryan talks about the pain he went through during and after the relationship and how regardless of that, he still misses her. He also sings about how he understands that his former lover left him but he still holds on to the idea that she will eventually come back. Zach Bryan goes back to the traditional style of story-telling typically associated with country music on his album, “American Heartbreak” and “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version” is a perfect example of that.

Born in Okinawa, Japan but raised in Oologah, Oklahoma, Zachary Lane Bryan is an award-winning and nominated country singer-songwriter best known for either his viral song, “Heading South” which he credits as the reason for his success or his award-winning

album, “American Heartbreak” which is the first country album to ever make the top 10 list for Billboard’s Top 100 within a few days of its release. Growing up in a small town in Oklahoma, Zach Bryan didn’t have a strong inclination for music or the arts and it wasn’t well into his teen years that he discovered his love for music. Being born into a military family, Zach Bryan never saw himself having a music career. Right after highschool at the age of 17, he joined the United States Navy and it wasn’t till October 14, 2021 that he was honorably discharged by the Navy so he can pursue his career in music. At the 2023 Grammy Awards during his red carpet interview, he dedicated his entire music career to his family and friends. He also talked about how all of his albums are an opportunity to tell a different part of his life experiences. His entire discography has always been heavily influenced by his life experiences and the stylistic choices of past country music stars and “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version” is a continuation of that.

“Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version'' is my favorite song from the album and my second favorite from Zach Bryan’s discography after “From Austin.” In “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version” Bryan sings about a time in his life when he was in a toxic relationship. He tells us about how badly she treated him during the relationship and he feels like she never truly loved him. He sings of his “deep ha-

tred” for her. Bryan also narrates in detail all of the painful memories he experienced during and after the relationship. He describes it as “poisonous” and “confusing.” Finally, Bryan acknowledges that although the relationship was bad and he feels like she deserted him, he still cares for her and wants her back. He compares his faith in her return with the setting of the sun and the color orange. Bryan released two versions of the song. The normal version and the “Z&E” version. The former is softer and features a piano and low-down strings and is supposed to represent the feeling of hope. It was produced and mixed by Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studio in Washington State; the latter is bold and features percussion, a harmonica and guitar strumming and it is supposed to represent Bryan’s anger. It was produced and mixed by Eddie Spear (hence the “Z&E” which stands for Zach and Eddie) at Electric Lady Studio in New York City.

As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any song and Zach Bryan understood that when writing “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version.” In “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version,” Bryan utilizes storytelling and metaphor to narrate a very difficult time in his life. My favorite lyric in the entire song is:

“If you leave today, I'll just stare at the way

The orange touches all things around

The grass, trees and dew, how I just hate you

Please turn those headlights around.”

Toxic relationships are a topic that doesn’t get talked about alot. In “Something in the Orange (Z&E) Version,” Zach Bryan gives an account of his experience in relation to toxic relationships. He creates a platform to discuss such a complex topic. The song is a great listen with a powerful message.

"Zach Bryan goes back to the traditional style of stroytelling traditionally associated with country music on his album, 'American Heartbreak and [this song] is a perfect example of that"

JOEY

RATING: 5/5

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACH BRYAN

Country artist Zach Bryan uses a Leica film camera to capture photos and posts them to his social media, 2023.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACH BRYAN "American Heartbreak" comes in as Zach Bryan's third studio album, 2022.

ARTHUR

5KOLOR RUN: IN PHOTOS

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN

A student runs through a dust cloud after hitting a checkpoint, April 12. Runners were allowed to customize their shirts before the run to add to the color spots left by the dust.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN Global Education senior associate director Seth Skelton gets covered in dust one final time to commemorate his crossing the finish, April 12.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN

A runner laughs as they pass through a dense dust cloud, April 12. Beyond fun, the color run supported First Step, an organization that supports domestic violence and sexual assault.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN

A student runs through a dust cloud after hitting a checkpoint, April 12. Runners were allowed to customize their shirts before the run to add to the color spots left by the dust.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN A runner passes through multiple dust clouds, April 12. The color run event has been a longstanding event at MSU.