BOLIN RENOVATIONS UNDERWAY
Bolin renovations on track for fall 2025
RYAN LEMOND REPORTER
Students are not the only ones being tested this fall. Students may have noticed construction workers on campus working hard to meet their December deadline for phase one of the renovations at Bolin Science Hall.
The $43 million renovation includes a two-story expansion to the northwest side of the building, which will contain five new classrooms. Although smaller than other classrooms in the building, each new classroom should hold around 40-60 students.
Another aspect of phase one is a walkway connecting each half of the building which will overlook the new collaboration area, a space that was previously used as lecture halls. According to associate vice president of facilities services Kyle Owen nearly half of the funds for the project are being used to update the structural integrity of the nearly 60-yearold building.
“All of the perimeter walls will have sheetrock added to them because they currently don’t meet energy code.” Owen said, adding, “Temperature control and indoor quality should be a lot better than what it was.”
These improvements will ensure Bolin meets modern indoor air quality standards.
Additionally, a new air duct system is being installed throughout the entire building, along with updates to the plumbing and electrical system.
“These are infrastructure improvements that are not things that most people notice, but they will all make the building much safer and more comfortable,” Owen said.
Once phase one is complete, construction will move to the eastern half of the building, and classes will shift over to the western half, allowing more convenient entrances to be utilized by students coming from classes in other buildings.
“There should be a north, south, and west entrance when we finish this phase, and only the east side will be blocked off,” Owen said.
However, he added that most of the parking lot will remain fenced off, deeming it a necessary space for construction materials.
This is the first major renovation at Midwestern State University that is being managed by the Texas Tech University System (TTUS), allowing Owen to focus more on smaller facets of the project.
“In past projects like this, I would’ve organized everything to find budgets and organized meetings,” Owen said, continuing “The Texas Tech System does that for us, and for me, that has worked very well.”
Whiting-Turner, the general contractor for the project, is based in Fort Worth, but local companies, such as James Lane Air Conditioning, have been subcontracted to provide much of the mechanical and electrical work. Whiting-Turner has the labor and resources available to help subcontractors if they happen to fall behind.
Owen is confident that the WhitingTurner will have no trouble sticking to schedule.
“The next couple of months will be very telling, and there’s going to be a lot more progress from the outside,” Owen said.
Editor-in-Chief: George Svoboda
Design Editor: Tiffany Haggard
Managing Editor: Abby Turner
Photography Editor: Sam DiFiore
Social Media Manager: Aaron Burrows
Multimedia Manager: Sam DiFiore
Entertainment Editor: Sabrina Harrison
Sports Editor: Jessica Binzari
Advisor: Professor Jonathon Quam
Issue Staff: Ryan Lemond, Logan Deatherage, Joey Arthur
Students and faculty should begin to see the steel structure of the expansion going up within the next week, followed by walls made from the iconic brick used across campus.
Construction may damper students with classes in Bolin and the faculty teaching those classes, some of which have been displaced since the renovation began in February.
Dr. Robert Brennan, who recently became the new Dean of McCoy College of Science, is adamant that while the challenges students are facing are bothersome, the noisy construction taking place during classes is necessary to keep the project on schedule.
“The faculty has done an amazing job adapting and still engaging the students, even in a time of displacement and disruption. But once the construction model is complete, then they’ll have state-of-the-art facilities going forward,” Brennan said.
Brennan also emphasized the importance of the project in terms of the continued growth of Midwestern State University’s new student enrollment.
“That first five minutes determines if they’re going to write you off or at least keep you on the list. We need something that’s going to keep us on their list so that then we can tell them why we have such a great place to come for their education,” Brennan said, continuing, “Because if you’re taking them around and you’ve got dreary, outdated, dark, dilapidated spaces, it’s not going to matter what story you have to tell.”
Phase two is set to begin in mid-January. The project is on track to be finished by fall 2025.
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Written by George Svaboda
Designed by Tiffany Haggard
Copyright ©
PHOTO COURTESY OF MSU
Part of the renovation is to bring a focus on communal gathering areas for students, Sept. 3
PHOTO BY SAM DIFIORE| THE WICHITAN
The Bolin renovations broke ground in April 2024, Sept. 19.
Mustangs Motorsports unveils F1 car
ABBY TURNER MANAGING EDITOR
Mustangs Motorsports is a nonprofit organization at MSU that allows students from any major to join and work on building a Formula-1 race car that will be taken to competition. The organization was established in 2021 and was named Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE).
Mechanical engineering senior Nathaniel Joseph, spoke on the rebranding of the organization from the FSAE name to Mustangs Motorsports.
“The older guys, I have been talking to, we just didn't like how the name was just sounding, it was just sounding Mustangs FSAE, it just sounded boring. We wanted to sound more cool. Mustangs Motorsports, we decided on that, and when we re-registered as Mustangs Motorsports,” Joseph said.
Mustangs Motorsports is student led and relies heavily on sponsorships, donations from external organizations and out-ofpocket expenses that the members usually have to pay themselves. A
way the organization gets donations and sponsorships is by reaching out to businesses and allowing them to put their business logo on the car to advertise.
“The first major donation that we got was from our Dean [Dr. Robert Brennan] over at McCoy, and Dr. Pokharel, who is our advisor, who was the ambassador who spoke on our behalf while the team was pushing for FSAE, and that’s how they got the funds… At the last unveiling of the car…I feel like just from the exposure we got… through that people were able to donate and sponsor,” Joseph said.
In spring 2024, Mustangs Motorsports unveiled the car they had been working on to anybody who wanted to come. Typically projects, like the car, take an average of about two years, before the organization was ready to unveil it to the public.
“Given how the whole club is student-led, and all the money that we receive is from sponsorships and donations, or sometimes out of our own pocket, sometimes that can be an issue too. The time doesn’t necessarily mean that it is
In the first year the SAE team competed in the Formula SAE comptetion in Michigan showcasing the design on the car, May 18, 2022.
a long time, it just means that we are working with what we have,” marketing junior Edron Norde said.
Now that the team has unveiled the car, they are looking forward to the Michigan International Speedway competition for the spring of 2025.
While Joseph has yet to attend one of these competitions, he said he has learned all about what they entail and how to better prepare the car to succeed through the series of tests.
“From my knowledge, what it is set up, like, is they basically grill you, and what I mean by that is they ask you a bunch of questions based on your financial decision, in no particular order, your engineering decisions that you make, executive decisions, ‘Why you did what you did with design’ and ‘Why did you buy this, why did you do this that way.’ It consists of a static and dynamic event, where they test the car,” Joseph said.
For the static event, they test the car when it is not moving. There is a bed where they put the car on and lean it to check the sense of gravity.
In the series of dynamic events, they test how the car corners, how it breaks and its acceleration.
For these types of stages in the competition, the Mustangs Motorsports team is broken up into different categories, based on the area of expertise. For example, the business team would take on the business questions. While the team would prefer to stay in these groups, that is not always the case. Joseph says every one has to be prepared just in case.
The team is open to anybody
who has an interest in what they are trying to accomplish.
“Other people who are interested can join. The only limitation is the space that we have at the garage, but anybody who is interested can come,” Joseph said, adding, “It doesn't matter what your major is, because you never know you might fall in love with what you find, so we are very open to different people, especially right now. We are looking for people from marketing, business, finance, engineering, electrical engineering, math, just to diversify.”
The goal of the team is to create an environment to prepare their members for careers after MSU, while also making a car that can win competitions.
“Essentially the goal we are trying to achieve at MSU, is to create an environment where you
have a very large collaborative effect, among the different disciplines, because that's how the real world is,” Joseph said, continuing, “I feel like a lot sometimes college students don't get to experience that type of collaboration, they are just isolated.”
The team has meetings that are mainly for the team, but are open for everyone who is interested, and wants to learn about the organization and what they do.
“When you join a club, and on our discord, we say the garage is open, if you just want to head down there and learn something, or see something you can just pop on in,” Norde said.
Mustangs Motorsports is hosting MSU’s first ever car show on Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. in the parking lot of Akin Auditorium. This event is open to those who have an interest in cars.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MUSTANGS MOTORSPORTS
PHOTO BY AARON BURROWS | THE WICHITAN Formula SAE hosts it unveiling event of the Model MR-2 on May 3.
Setting the record straight: fact checking
Trump said there will be a "bloodbath" if he is not elected:
Taken out of context
Although president Trump said there will be a “bloodbath” if he loses the election, he was specifically referring to the auto industry. Before using the word bloodbath, Trump spoke about growing international competition in the auto industry - specifically from Chinese and Mexican manufacturers.
“We’re gonna put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not gonna be able to sell those cars. If I get elected- now if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the wholethat’s gonna be the least of it,” Trump said.
Source: Politico https://www.politico.com/ news/2024/03/16/trump-bloodbath-bidennovember-00147453
Trump invited the Taliban to Camp David:
True
Trump invited Taliban leaders to Camp David in Sept. 2019 for peace negotiations, although later canceled the meeting after a Taliban bombing killed 12 people, including a U.S. soldier.
“We had a meeting scheduled. It was my idea, and it was my idea to terminate it. I didn’t even, I didn’t discuss it with anybody else. When I heard, very simply, that they killed one of our soldiers and 12 other innocent people, I said, ‘There’s no way I’m meeting on that basis. There’s no way I’m meeting.’ They did a mistake,” Trump said.
Source: trumpwhitehousearchives.gov https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/ briefings-statements/remarks-presidenttrump-marine-one-departure-63/
Trump left the Biden administration with the worst unemployment since the Great Depression: False
Vice president Kamala Harris claimed Donald Trump’s administration left the Biden administration with the worst levels of unemployment since the Great Depression. Although unemployment reached its highest rate (14.7%) since the Great Depression in April 2020, it was down to 6.3% in January 2021, when Biden took office.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/ unemployment-rate-rises-to-record-high-14-point-7-percent-in-april-2020.htm
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_02052021.pdf
Trump intends to implement Project 2025:
Unclear
The 2025 Presidential Transitional Project is a plan authored by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation. Project 2025 seeks to limit civil and voting rights and strip away reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. Although Trump is not an author of the bill and said he has not read it, he and his campaign have connections to The Heritage Foundation. Trump has spoken at Heritage Foundation events and several of his policies align with the plan.
Source: The Guardian https://www.theguardian. com/us-news/article/2024/sep/10/harris-trumpdebate-fact-check-updates
PHOTO COURTESY OF KAMALA HARRIS Kamala Harris is the 2024 democratic nominee for president, Aug 22.
checking the presidential debate
Harris changed her position on fracking: True
During her presidential bid in the 2020 election, Harris said she was in favor of banning fracking. However, Harris has since fallen in line with the Biden administration’s policies regarding the practice. The Biden administration has not, and is not planning on banning fracking.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/fracking-pennsylvania-president-campaigndonald-trump-kamala-harris-104f3f051df4d28e4645f05051eb6cff#
Donald Trump is the 2024 republican nominee for president. Nov. 30, 2020.
Immigrants are eating pets:
False
“They’re eating the dogs, the people who came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets,” Trump said during the debate. This is outright false. There are no credible reports of pets being stolen and eaten. Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, admitted he fabricated the story for mainstream attention during a Sept. 15 CNN interview with Dana Bash.
“The American media totally ignored this stuff, until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to, if I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m gonna do, Dana,” Vance said.
Source: CNN interview with Vance https://www. cnn.com/2024/09/15/politics/video/sotu-bashvance-haitian-immigrants-full-interview
Springfield News-Sun https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-police-say-noreports-of-pets-stolen-after-viral-social-mediapost/3WSIZQNHQVE4NP4TS5BVHBB2PY/
Harris supports transgender operations on undocumented immigrants:
False
“Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison,” Trump claimed.
In 2019, Harris answered yes on an American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire asking whether or not she would support gender affirming treatment for transgender and nonbinary people relying on state funding for medical care, including those in immigration and prison detention.
While showing support for gender affirming care, this answer does not mean that Harris supports medical procedures on unknowing and unwilling undocumented immigrants.
Source: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/08/Harris-ACLU-Candidate-Questionnaire.pdf
The Harris Campaign supports post-birth and late-term abortions: False
Trump claimed democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz supports abortion in the ninth month and post-birth executions of newborn babies. Tim Walz has never endorsed either of these. Trump also said a former West Virginia governor endorsed the execution of babies.
Infanticide is illegal across the nation.
As ABC News’s debate moderator Linsey Davis said, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”
Source: Federal Law https://uscode.house. gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/ part1/chapter51&edition=prelim
PHOTO COURTESY OF DONALD TRUMP
Live at the Lake supports the arts
LOGAN DEATHERAGE REPORTER
The WFMA hosted Live at the Lake on Sept. 5 to fundraise for their student workers On the Wall Workshops and other free programs.
“We started planning around April of last year and we reached out to local bands, organizations, local painters and local vendors. We have been planning this event for a while and it is nice to watch this
event finally fall through and to welcome back our students with a MSU Jazz concert,” curator of education at the WFMA, Sarah Griego, said.
Most of the museum's programs and events are funded through fundraisers and donations.
“A common misconception is that MSU gives us the money to be able to buy supplies but that's not true, we do it through donations and fundraising,” Griego said.
The event had a live performance by the MSU Music Department.
“This event brings all these people here today who can sit around and watch seven people hit stuff and do funny things with their fingers. That is the beauty of music to me,” music freshman attendee, John Craig said.
During the concert, local artist Natalia Hernádez Pagan live-painted a Canadian goose.
“There is definitely a head space I have to get into before I paint live because it is a little socially exhausting for me. I feel like I am performing because there are people watching me. I have been painting for about 10 years and the only real challenge is getting over that hurdle of being seen while painting but once you are past that it isn't really hard at all,” Pagan said.
“It is always nice seeing the community come together and that we are not only reaching our MSU students but local members of our community and MSU staff and faculty,” Griego said.
The WFMA is hosting an On the Wall workshop where they will make felted birds on Saturday, Sept.21 at 2 p.m.
The Wichita Falls Museum of Art will be hosting several events throughout the fall semester. For more information go to wfma.msutexas.edu or call at 940-397-8904.
"Speak No Evil" discomforts horror audiences
LOGAN DEATHERAGE REPORTER
James Watkins’ "Speak No Evil" is a psychological horror film released on Sept. 13, 2024. The film is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name. The story follows the Dalton family who are invited to stay at the remote farmhouse of a British family they met on vacation. The hosts soon begin to act strangely and test their guests' discomfort as this horror unfolds.
The unsettling nature of this film is brought by its incredible cast. James McAvoy plays Paddy Feld, a retired doctor who lives in a remote farmhouse with his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough), who has a disability that makes it hard for him to communicate.
Paddy is disturbing from the start of the film. He has a confident charm to him that becomes brash and overbearing when the Daltons, played by Mackenzie
Davis, Scoot McNairy and Alix West Lefler, arrive at his family's farm.
Throughout the film the Daltons are put in various uncomfortable situations by Paddy and Ciara, who slowly show their true evil nature.
McAvoy was the standout actor in this film. Its allstar cast adds to the story's impact and the integrity of the film through their captivating acting.
While the Daltons are home in London they receive a postcard from Paddy and Ciara, inviting them to spend the weekend at their farmhouse. At a low point in the Dalton’s relationship, they decide a change of scenery would be good for them and their anxious daughter.
Though the exposition of this movie is lengthy, the long build up works because of the awkward tension it creates. These events give the audience these subtle teases of Paddy and Ciara’s true nature and what they want to do with the Daltons.
This film explores a deeper meaning of manners. The title itself, “Speak No Evil,” is ironic because of the Daltons reluctance to speak up about their discomfort caused Paddy and Ciara’s inappropriate behavior. This behavior results in the Daltons’ downfall and traps them in Paddy and Ciara’s manipulation. This movie is a metaphor for how failing to stand up for yourself can lead to a disastrous outcome.
The ending takes an unexpected twist. While the audience senses something unusual about Paddy and Ciara, it's still surprising when their true intentions for the Daltons are finally revealed.
“Speak No Evil” is an excellent standalone watch for the horror fans out there. The film’s focus on awkward suspense rather than horror sets it apart from its peers.
I give this film 3.5 out of 5 Mustangs.
PHOTO BY LOGAN DEATHERAGE | THE WICHITAN Natalia Hernáadez paints a Canadian goose, Sept. 5.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES
"Speak No Evil" earned $11.5 million during its opening weekend, Sept. 13.
PHOTO BY LOGAN DEATHERAGE | THE WICHITAN
The MSU music department performs for the community, Sept. 5.
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," Betelguese's return
SABRINA HARRISON ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The long awaited sequel to "Beetlejuice," "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" did not disappoint me in the way that I thought it would.
It still disappointed me, but only after I analyzed it.
Tim Burton’s "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" was released in theaters on Sept. 6, 2024 to great reviews. Since publishing, the movie sits at a 62 on Metacritic, a 77% on the Tomatometer and an 81% on the Popcommeter.
The story follows an adult Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) who is now the host of a paranormal TV show as she tries to mend her relationship with her teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). The movie follows the two as Astrid finds herself stuck in the afterlife, forcing Lydia to ask for help from everyone’s favorite bio-exorcist, Betelguese (Michael Keaton) to get Astrid back.
This movie had a lot going on, and not in the same way the original movie did.
For one thing, the movie introduces a lot of new characters, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it took away a lot of time from the main plot line.
When you have big name actors like Willem Dafoe, Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton you want to give them a sufficient amount of screen time. However, neither Dafoe nor DeVito are main characters and do not really add much to the film.
Sure, it was fun to see DeVito make a guest appearance in the film, but his character only helped move one of the five plot lines along. The same goes for Dafoe, though his character plays a bigger role in the movie, I found the character itself lack luster and boring.
The two play a role in Betelgeuse’s main conflict. In the movie, Betelgeuse is now the CEO of his own bio-exorcist firm, but there’s trouble in paradise when his ex-wife, Delores, (Monica Bellucci) decides to hunt him down for revenge.
I would argue that this is by far the weakest plot line. I was not scared of Delores because she didn’t feel like a threat to
Betelgeuse. Throughout every iteration of Betelgeuse, he is shown to be a powerful demon whose only Achilles' heel is his name. I always had a feeling that, deep down, he was going to find a way to get out of it.
If Delores was actively trying to murder Lydia in a fit of jealousy, I would probably have been more scared of her. She would have been an active threat to our protagonists (Lydia and Astrid) instead of a passive threat.
Not only that but that plot-line introduces too many new characters. Fans of the original movie are not watching a sequel because they want to know what the new characters are doing, they’re watching a sequel because they already have an attachment to the original characters.
Speaking of original characters, it is a crime and shame that they didn’t put Barbara (Greena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) in this movie.
The main plot line of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" surrounds Lydia’s relationship with her daughter. It would have been interesting to explore how she sees motherhood and how the mother figures in her life influenced her. Yes, Delia (Catherine O'Hara) is Lydia’s step mother, but Barbara played a motherly role in Lydia’s life in the original movie.
That was actually one of the main plot points in the original film. The Maitlands wanted, but could not have, children, so Lydia became the closest they ever got. Lydia, who was treated awfully by her step mother and all but ignored by her father, saw Adam and Barbra as pseudoparental figures.
In fact, in the original movie, Lydia plans to jump off the same bridge where the Maitlands died , and it is only after Barbara and Adam talk her down that she decides to live her life.
It is really disappointing to me that the Maitlands, main characters in the original movie, are reduced to nothing but a few mentions in this film.
Another thing that annoyed me about this film was the lack of attention to detail.
For instance, Betelgeuse is summoned every time someone says his name three times. Delores could have called his name three times and get it over with. That is literally his only weakness, why was it not exploited?
Though Delores was a literal soul-sucking demon, she was not nearly as good of an antagonist as Lydia’s boyfriend, Roy (Justin Theroux).
I hated Roy from the moment I saw him, and that’s a good thing. He was an antagonist I wanted to hate and he was a lot scarier than Delores because his actions had real world implications. He honestly should have been the main villain instead of splitting the antagonist role between three different characters.
However, what I found really interesting about this movie was the changes they made to Beetlejuice’s character.
In the original movie, Beetlejuice is the main antagonist. He’s slimy, perverted and a pedophile. He tried to marry Lydia when she was only sixteen.
Not only that, but he was genuinely scary. We as an audience knew so little about him that it heightened his actions on screen.
In this movie, he no longer takes on the antagonist role. Instead, he transforms into one of the protagonists which
on Sept. 6, 2024.
shows how he evolved through the different medias Beetlejuice was released in.
Soon after the original movie, a cartoon show came out. This show retconned the actions of the movie and made Lydia and Betelguese besties. Betelgeuse still had his same sense of humor, but he also became more charming in this adaptation.
In 2018, Beetlejuice took the stage in the form of a Broadway show. This Beetlejuice paid more of an homage to the original while still having his own quirks. In the Broadway show, Betelguese has more fourth-wall breaks and hits on Adam instead of Barbara.
With the rise in popularity of these two Betelgeuses, it’s no surprise that Betelguese became a protagonist in the sequel film.
Despite my critiques of the plot and characters, I actually walked out of the movie theater genuinely enjoying it.
The soundtrack was phenomenal, and the few call-backs they had to the original were done well, especially the opening shot, where they open with the credits rolling over drone shots of Winter River.
The movie definitely had its highlights, including the “soul train” bit, as well as the singular F-bomb. Unlike in the original film, Delia steals every single scene she’s in.
Plus, I absolutely adored the subtle character interactions between Astrid and Delia, showing that the two have a somewhat decent relationship despite Astrid’s relationship with her mother.
Though this movie has its flaws, I would definitely watch it again. It is a good film to shut your brain off to. I give this movie four out of five mustangs.
PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" has earned over $264 million since opening
PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROTHERS
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" premiered on Sept. 6, 2024.
The Wichitan’s Song of the Week: "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"
JOSEPH ARTHUR REPORTER
Welcome back to the Wichitan’s Song of the Week. This week’s pick is “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by California-born singer-songwriter Billie Eilish.
Released May 17, 2024 as the fourth track on her third studio album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is Eilish's most powerful love song to date.
The song is a love story between Eilish and a special someone where she is falling in love and wishing for that feeling to never end. She ties the feeling of being in love with the happiest moment of her life and just as the title suggests, she hopes her special someone sticks with her like birds of a feather.
Eilish narrates the ups and downs of a relationship through the eleven tracks of “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.” She often narrates all the times in her life a relationship has been bad but in “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” she explains that falling in love and being in a relationship can and should be happy, fun and good.
Born in Los Angeles, Eilish is an awardwinning singer-songwriter best known for her debut single, “Ocean Eyes.” With the help of her award-winning songwriter and producer brother, FINNEAS, Eilish’s musical career has been filled with praise and recognition.
I have been a fan of Eilish and FINNEAS since the start of both of their musical careers so it was a no brainer to present this song
for Song of the Week. I chose this song for a multitude of reasons.
Firstly, ever since the release of “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” I have been obsessed with the song. It is a song that not just I but many people can easily relate to.
Secondly, I believe this song to be Eilish’s best song to date. It is her best song vocally, lyrically and musical composition-wise.
Vocally, this has been her most challenging song ever.
Eilish’s singing style and vocal range has primarily been breathy, soft and low enough to be categorized as a mezzo-soprano or a contralto. This does not mean she has not gone outside of this before, evident in “No time to Die” and “Happier Than Ever."
In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” she sings with a brighter tone than she is used to. The song also features the hardest and highest belt she has ever done in her career. Eilish and FINNEAS are the songwriters for the song to no surprise as he has co-written most of her hits.
After being raised by two musicians and taking songwriting lessons for most of his life, FINNEAS is no stranger to how important songwriting is. Utilizing different songwriting styles to portray Eilish’s feelings, FINNEAS co-wrote an amazing love song for the ages.
Just as he is a songwriter for his sister, FINNEAS is also Eilish's primary musical producer and he produced every song on the album.
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is in D major and has a tempo of 105 RPM, which helps its theme centered around love, energy and mortality. It also utilizes drums and a simple synth in the beginning and then adds strings in the background all to create a soundscape that not only complements Eilish's vocals, but also explains the emotional message of the song. Lastly, this lo-fi mix of pop and indie music is a testament to Eilish's’ commitment to authenticity and emotional depth.
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is my favorite song from the album and one of my favorites from Eilish’s entire discography. In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” Eilish sings about how it feels to be in love.
She begins the song by saying that she wants her ‘person’ to stay
and be with her. She describes how she wants to be with this person until either they have passed away or she has. In the refrain and prechorus of the song, she describes this feeling by relating it with the classic English saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together.”
She says that she knows she can be alone, but she does not want to and that she would love to be with her person even if it is not forever.
In the chorus, she finally professes her love. She uses the phrase, “‘Til the day that I die” three times in the chorus to emphasize that nothing can break her love but death.
In the second verse, she tries to reassure her person that she is serious and her love is real. She acknowledges that she can see that her declaration of love can be seen as a joke but she explains that her constant compliments and admiration is not a bit.
In the post-chorus, she ends the song by saying that if her love seems familiar it is because she “knew them in another life” and that she remembers everything about her person from that past life. She does this to emphasize that her love is eternal, a juxtaposition of her original comment of death being the only thing that could end her love.
As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any song and FINNEAS and Eilish understood that when writing “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.”
With their background and growing up in their mother’s songwriting classes and their many awards, nominations and recognition
in songwriting, FINNEAS and Eilish are no strangers to expressing emotions through lyricism. In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” the songwriters utilize storytelling and pathos to tell Eilish’s feelings and to give a powerful love ballad. My favorite lyric in the entire song are:
“And I don't know what I'm cryin' for I don't think I could love you more It might not be long, but baby, I I'll love you 'til the day that I die 'Til the day that I die 'Til the light leaves my eyes 'Til the day that I die”
At its core, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is a love song that captures the universal longing for an unbreakable and lasting connection. It highlights love's ability to triumph over challenges and celebrates the profound emotional bonds that can form between two individuals.
With its poignant lyrics and haunting melody, the song delivers a powerful and unforgettable listening experience.
PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERSCOPE RECORDS
"BIRDS OF A FEATHER" reached number one globally on Spotify. It released May 17.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BILLIE EILISH
Billie Ellish is a 9-time GRAMMY award winner, Aug. 10.
Womens soccer: Starting goalkeeper has high hopes for the season
JESSICA BINZARI SPORTS EDITOR
Engineering sophomore Allison Dellis has big plans for this year’s women’s soccer team, taking on the 2024 season as the Mustangs’ starting goalkeeper.
During her freshman year, Dellis was named Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Week on Nov. 7 and made it to the LSC Postseason All-Tournament Team. Dellis appeared in nine games, finishing the season with a 4-1-3 record. However, this year Dellis is looking for a turnaround for herself and her team.
Dellis says she has changed significantly this year as a player and leader.
“I would say I am just a little bit more understanding, a little bit more composed. And I think I want to play a more leadership role than I did when I first came in. I think I kind of did it out of responsibility to do so when I first came in here, and then now it's actually a role that I want to play in order to help the incoming freshmen and to just help us,” Dellis said.
The sophomore added that her team helped a lot to establish herself as an example for the incoming players. She mentioned nursing senior Allessandra Romano and psychology senior Cassidy Savoy are two leaders on the team that helped Dellis grow.
"When you're when it's when it's a two one game, and the other team gains momentum, typically they're able to come back inside the game. And the PK save was a big one. And I think after that moment, I'm kind of shifted back in our direction, and then we were able to go on and score another goal."
The Mustangs are off to a great start so far, recording a clean winning record two games into the new season. The team’s motivation is strong as it are looks to improve its results from last year, after its loss to Dallas Baptist University in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament.
“I would love to win the conference championship. I think that's the number one on the forefront of my mind. Obviously, I want to take it game by game. I would like to have a minimum of eight shutouts, but if that doesn't happen, then I'm okay with that, because I'm happy with how we're playing as a team, and I think if we can continue to play this way as a team I do think we have a legitimate shot at winning the conference tournament, and I think that that's the main thing that we're striving for, is working up and building up to win,” Dellis said.
MSU will be back at Stang Park Sept. 28 to take on UT Tyler at 11 a.m.
Dellis says she would like to do the same for the new players on the team.
“When I was younger, I kind of lost my love for [soccer] a little bit, and I was just kind of playing, because I've been doing it my whole life, and I know somewhere on the team there's probably a player or two like that. So I hope I can try and kind of show them that honestly, the more effort you put into it, the more drive and the more you want to win, the better it becomes, at least for me. So I think, I hope at least my passion and my drive kind of inspires other people to be the same,” Dellis said.
Overall, Dellis says the team dynamic feels stronger compared to last season, as Dellis explains that they are more confident and more motivated to win together.
“Last year, I think we kind of went into a lot of games being like, like, against like, DBU, being
like, 'we're gonna get crushed,' because they're a good team. And I think this year we've had a big mindset shift where we all trust each other. We all want to win. We're all putting in extra hours in the weight room and lift and treatment and all getting what we need to get done,” Dellis said.
A major win for the Mustangs this season came Sept.8 when MSU defeated University of Central Oklahoma 3-1. This result is especially significant as the Mustangs have not won a match against the Bronchos since 2013.
A crucial moment in the game was marked in the second half when freshman defender Evelyn Sydnes scored for UCO, helping her team near 1-2 behind the Mustangs. Another close call followed 10 minutes later when Dellis saved a penalty kick from UCO’s graduate Rebekah George.
“I’m very proud of how my team handled the goal being scored. It was a very unlucky goal. Obviously, there's things we can improve on from that circumstance, but overall, it was pretty unlucky, so I'm proud of how we fought back. And obviously they had chances to score other than that. But typically, when you go down," Dellis said, adding,
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLISON DELLIS Allison Dellis jumps to prevent her opponents from scoring a goal. Dellis was named Lonestar Conference Goalkeeper of the Week on Nov. 7, 2023. Sept. 19, 2024.
PHOTO BY SAM DIFIORE | THE WICHITAN MSU women's soccer team huddle together before starting the second half of its game against Western Colorado, Sept. 5.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLISON DELLIS
Allison Dellis (20) takes a leap to block a goal. Dellis is the new MSU women's soccer team starting goalkeeper, Sept. 19