Sept. 28, 2016 by The Wichitan and Wai Kun

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Sept. 28, 2016 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News. | Vol. 81 No. 5

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2016 2015 2007

TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY

2012

CAMERON UNIVERSITY

EASTERN NEW MEXICO

TEXAS A&M COMMERCE

MIDWESTERN STATE

up 420 students/ year over nine years

down 63 students/ up 128 students/ up 554 students/ down 18 students/ year over nine year over 10 years year over 10 years year over 10 years years down 22.75 up 2.66 percent in up 5.88 percent in down 0.80 percent percent in fall of fall of 2016 up 0.35 percent in fall of 2016 in fall of 2016 2016 fall of 2016

2014 2013

Enrollment increases by 21 Still 36 students below expected enrolllment KARA MCINTYRE EDITOR

verall enrollment increased by 21 students from last fall to this fall. However, based on specifically freshmen and transfer students, numbers are down by 18 students according to Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management. But head count is not the only factor in determining university revenue — students pay tuition based on semester credit hours, which fell 284 hours short of the predicted budget set at 70,028. “We have to anticipate early in the spring what our enrollment will look like for the following year, and then we build a budget. Our budget is driven more by semester credit hour production than it is by head count,” Lamb

said. “A lot of the fees you pay are per credit hour, so that’s more important to our budget. Head count is just easier to explain, but semester credit hours are the more important numbers in determining if we’re meeting budget.” Since enrollment or semester credit hour predictions were not met, which raises the concern of budget cuts for the following fiscal year. Marilyn Fowle, vice president of administration and finance, said they are not worried about this problem for the spring. “We’re going to wait until spring to discuss possible budget cuts,” Fowle said. “We have a model that shows correlation between fall enrollment and spring enrollment through a formula. Last year we came into the spring with a higher enrollment budget than we had

predicted, which I’m thinking will happen again this spring. This would offset any revenue shortfall that we may have.” Even if the predicted budget for spring enrollment is not met either, Fowle said there are other possible solutions, such as reserve balances, before budget cuts have to be made. “We have reserve balances in most of our accounts, so if we are a little bit short on enrollment, it doesn’t necessarily mean we have to cut budgets anywhere. We just don’t want to keep taking money out [of those accounts] overall.” Lamb agreed with Fowle, saying that he doesn’t think that budget cuts will be a real problem. “On this small of a deviation, savings are found organically through the year from dif-

ferent places and there probably won’t need to be large budget cuts. When you’re building a budget and making an educated guess on what enrollment is going to be for the next year, there is a certain amount of variance to be expected — 284 isn’t a big miss,” Lamb said. “If the gap becomes bigger in the spring, we’d have to look at cuts, but it depends when in the year that that problem becomes evident.” While our enrollment numbers haven’t been increasing significantly each year, Dean of Students Matthew Park said that is not necessarily a bad thing. “We consider things such as class sizes, and we consider things such as the expectations and needs of students concerning the availability of campus programs, involvement

6064 6426 2010 .35% enrollment for Fall 2016

highest enrollment in the last 10 years

year with the highest enrollment in the last 10 years

2016 MWSU Political Poll important issu What are the most

es of this election?

Are you satisfied with

Can Hillary Clinton manage the government effectively?

the presidential candid

up for fall 2016

ates?

see Enrollment pg. 4

students down per year for 10 years

TRUMP VS. CLINTON

Does Donald Trump have the experience it takes to be president?

Take the poll at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mwsu_election16

Who would

you vote fo

2 | Sept. 28, 2016 | STAF F E D I T O R I A L

Construction workers should buy parking permits OUR VIEW: In order to park on campus, construction worker or not, parking permits should be required.

hether you are a resident or commuter, students are required to purchase a parking permit in order to park on campus. This should mean that we are allowed the parking spots according to our sticker. With the ongoing construction of Legacy Hall and recently added work to the mass communication building, spots are filling up, but not with MSU drivers. Ever since the construction began, the construction workers have obviously needed a place to park. Unfortunately, the parking spots on campus decreased with construction workers, their cars and their equipment. This leaves little room for students and faculty who actually have a permit. The construction workers’ cars are even being parked in handicapped and reserved spots. The issue that stems from this is parking tickets. The construction workers may not have many other places to park, but the students and faculty are the ones who have paid the $70 to be able to park in these spots. However, the workers have not been issued parking tickets or forced to buy parking passes. A commuter student may park in a reserved, handicapped or resident spot, just as a resident may park in the same areas — but only temporarily — and be given a ticket. The construction workers seem to park wherever they please, free of consequence. This situation is unfair to students and faculty who pay for permits and fight for their designated spots over construction car owners who have allotted themselves the right of way.

wichitan

the

Vol. 81 | No. 5

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

Advice versus opinions I

once was given the advice to smile and nod. It was meant so that when someone stubborn was talking to me they wouldn’t know how I was truly feeling. However, I took it as a different meaning. I took it as not letting people see how I truly feel, since some see that as a weakness. Justin Because of how I took this advice, Marquart I have let people walk over me, I have not said my true opinion out in public. For example, when someone complained that they deserved more, even when they showed no evidence of actually deserving more, got something more when actually they deserved less. I know that there will always be people like this in my life, but I always ask myself, why they think they deserve more. Is their ego so arrogantly high that they can’t see the truth, or are they praised by people who

know nothing about what they are praising, in turn giving into that person’s belief that they could do more, even if they can’t? People baffle me because they know what an opinion is, but they base their whole life off of a handful of people’s opinions. To make it worse they only listen to people they know and love, people who can’t be objective in their own opinions. So why do people, essentially, ruin their lives because their mom told them ‘good job’? People are strange. They listen to others that they love but not those that know what they are talking about. People listen to those that would praise them for breathing. If you want a true opinion get one from someone who doesn’t know you, someone who can be objective. College is a place to find who you are, so why are you, basically, still ‘holding hands’ with mommy? Justin Marquart is a graphic design sophomore.

The art of listening

It’s a perfect autumn day. The silence is refreshing as I sit on a bench at Sikes Lake after a brief run through the museum. Reflections everywhere; in the exhibits and on the water. As much as I like museums, nature’s art is full of wisdom, if only we’d stop awhile and listen. Melissa Laussmann We are bombarded with information and well-meaning people telling us how to live, eat, work and play. As paradoxical as it may seem, the university is a place where we must begin to trust our inner voice and fade out the endless advice of others. Advice is necessary, but it’s not meant to be the rule. And you’ll know when that nagging voice inside you starts to act out. You’ll start losing sleep, having selfdoubts and neglecting your responsibilities. That’s your conscience rebelling. So how do you know if you’re making the decisions that are right for you? Spend some time alone.

I’m not saying you should become a loner. But our western culture is so wrapped up in equating activity with success. If you’re busy, then you’re important. When we actually take some time out, we say “it’s time to go back to reality.” This phrase has such a negative connotation. Since when was relaxation and time for self-reflection or solitude not a part of reality? We connect to each other through tech devices but are disconnected from ourselves. Some time alone outdoors will help clear your mind and allow you to hear your own thoughts. It’s so easy to forget ourselves when schedules are so packed. You owe it to yourself to treat your body, mind and spirit with the utmost respect. Sometimes I come here to just watch the animals around and the way the water moves. But today I’m here to listen. The sounds around me make me feel content, as if everything is as it should be. Everything is interconnected. Thanks for listening to me. Melissa Laussmann is a grad student.

EDITOR: Kara McIntyre

DESIGN EDITOR: Justin Marquart

The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication.

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Cooper Miller, Jeanette Perry, Izziel Latour, Rachel Johnson

ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a email address, telephone number and address.

| Sept. 28, 2016 | 3

Scott Parazynski, astronaut and medical doctor, gives a lecture as part of the Artist-Lecture series on Sept. 27.

Former astronaut speaks to crowd of 325 JACKLYN YORK REPORTER

ew seats were empty Tuesday night in Akin Auditorium as former astronaut Scott Parazynski spoke as part of the Artist-Lecture series. “When we go to extraordinary, extreme places on an off the planet, it forces us to think in new ways and [think about] those new technologies that benefit us here on planet earth,” Parazynski said. Parazynski spends his time now as a professor at Arizona State University and said his bucket list has never been more full. After five shuttle missions and seven EVAs — extra-vehicular activities — Parazynski spent a 57 days, 15 hours and 34 in space; 47 of those hours were spent outside on spacewalks. He’s traveled 17 million miles in space, but said his attention now has turned to the unexplored ocean floor. “Well, I wanted to transport people to places they’ve never been before. I want to take them to space. I want to take them to the top of Mount Everest. I want to show them what an extraordinary time that we’re living in and opportunities,actually for me as an innovator and private developer, the things that I’m most passionate about,” Parazynski said. Having spent nearly three months total in space, flying tortillas around like

PHOTOS BY IZZIEL LATOUR | THE WICHITAN

Scott Parazynski, astronaut and medical doctor is interviewed by a Wichitan reporter before his lecture on Sept. 27. Frisbees and playing tennis with duct tape balls, Parazynski was open-minded about other life forms in the universe. “There’s the Hubble Space Telescope, which I’m sure you’ve heard of but there’s another one called the Kepler planet finding space telescope that’s actually finding these exoplanets . Planets around distant stars including some that look like they could be very earth-like. The right dis-

tance from the parent star. The right energy and maybe even signatures of oxygen and water,” Parazynski said. Parazynski is the only person to have both flown in space and summited Mount Everest. He first attempted the climb in May of 2008, but was forced to retreat after a ruptured disc in his back. He underwent surgery and returned the following year to complete his adventure.

“One of the cool things that I learned from that is, the things that come to us the hardest are things we really have to work for the most and end up meaning the most to us as well,”Parazynski said. Parazynski said some medical equipment, for example the Holter monitor, was first invented to test on astronomers in space. “The medical monitoring technologies that were invented for the space program are things we take for granted and our intensive care units. If you get sick, it’s probably something that was invented to support people in space,” Parazynski said. Parazynski has many scholarly contributions, one of which covers the condition of the ozone layer. Parazynski said the condition has improved with the help of world efforts to understand chlorofluorocarbons. Climate control, on the other hand, he said, is not even argued in the scientific field because “it is a scientific fact,” Matthew Park, associate vice president and dean of students, said it cost $17,000 to host Parazynski, including one night in a local hotel. Violinist Jennifer Koh and Pianist Shai Wosner will perform in the music series on Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Akin Auditorium.

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from Enrolment pg. 1

opportunities and support services,” Park said. “If we were to experience a significant bubble of growth, it’s likely that as a campus we may not be prepared to fully support that growth.” Park said the university’s goals align with his personal ones, with the focus on liberal arts education. “We can maintain our mission and our identity while at the same time supporting our state, providing the education to our region, and making sure we back it up with the quality of the experience,” Park said. “An intentional, managed growth that we can sustain the quality that our students expect and deserve is what we aspire for.” Lamb agreed with Park, expanding on the selling points of MSU that make the university what it is. “We do really well when students tour campus, and especially when students interact with faculty,” Lamb said. “The relationships, the size of the institution and the ability to interact with faculty are very important and are big selling points for us.” Fall 2016 enrollment hit 6,064 students, barely topping last year’s enrollment of 6,043. This includes 702 first-time freshmen and 537 transfers, which is an increase from last year’s transfer numbers of 470. Lamb said he believes that part of the reason we did not have a higher increase of freshmen was due to low staffing in the admissions office. “Peak recruiting time for high school students is in the fall, and due to a number of transitions and turnovers in admissions, there were significantly less individuals serving in admissions counselor roles last fall than we have had in the past,” Lamb said. “That surely had an effect, but we can’t quantify it right now.” Leah Hickman, associate director of admissions, agreed with Lamb’s point. “We tried to do the best we could with the staff we had. We weren’t able to do as much follow-up and it was hard to make that oneon-one connection when we only had one inhouse admissions counselor trying to go over five or six thousand applicants,” Hickman said. “I definitely think that contributed to the lower freshman numbers.” Lamb credited the high transfer increase to the admissions staff turnaround for spring 2016. “We would like to see larger first-time, fulltime students, but we are pleased with the increase in transfer students as well. We don’t know all of the why’s at this point, which is the next logical question to investigate,” Lamb said. “Transfers are typically making their decisions in the spring and the summer, and our admissions staffing levels were very good during that time, which is why I think we saw a larger transfer class.”

PHOTOS BY IZZIEL LATOUR | THE WICHITAN

Bryce Martinez, business management freshman, scoring his first college touchdown at the Family Weekend game against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Sept. 24.

Family Weekend game postponed MALLORY EVANGELISTA REPORTER

eading 2-0 into the first home game of the season, the Mustangs left the field on Sunday night with a victory of 42-24 against Oklahoma Panhandle State. Due to lightning warnings on Saturday night, the game was called at 7:22 p.m. on Saturday and postponed until Sunday at 5 p.m. Safety Daniel Tejeda had family fly in from California on Thursday to spend Family Weekend with him. Despite the game being postponed, the family said they understood the reasons why and were not upset. “If the Texans are going, it’s time to leave,” Tejeda’s dad said. “It’s football. [They postponed the game] to keep everyone safe. That’s what’s most important.” Following their win, defensive end Cameron McEnturff said he was glad they pulled together as a team. “We played a little sloppy at first but then we played together as a team,” McEnturff said. His comments were echoed by offensive lineman Austan Davis. “I’m proud of our guys. We had to improvise and adjust a little bit with the rain delay and coming back here today on Sunday,” Davis said. “We started out a little slow today but I’m really proud of the guys

Jasmine Richardson, exercise physiology junior, cheers at the Family Weekend game against Oklahoma Panhandle State. the way they fought back and never gave up. Big win for us.” He also said the team rallied together at the end after a slow start. “We’re really good at just sticking together when times get tough and always finding a way to make the best out of every situation and making plays when we need to,” Davis said. Davis’s family came to watch him play,

and he said it’s different when family gets to come see him play versus just the students. “My father, my mother, and my little brothers all came out to watch me play. They stuck it out. Having the family here is always good,” Davis said. “It’s always good to know that your people up in the stands are cheering for you, and it’s not just the fanbase.”

| Sept. 28, 2016 | 5

Family day visitors Triston Oliphant and Emilio Ramirez throw around the football in the tailgate area as tailgaters start to arrive around 3 p.m. Photo by Cooper Miller

Tailgating policy tested at first home game JEROMY STACY REPORTER

ain or shine, student tailgaters and their families were out early Saturday at the first of four home games. With the Mustangs taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State, the party started with the first of the tailgaters arriving around 3 p.m. However, the new tailgating policy didn’t stop all questionable behavior. One part of the policy being interpreted differently dealt with alcohol consumption. Although one version of the policy stated, “Wichita Falls ISD does not allow the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages on its property.” However, according to Thurman Jones, university police officer, while last year drinking was prohibited, this year it wasn’t. University police officer, Julie Elliot, said, “I know on Wichita Falls ISD properties there is no drinking, but since these are college age, I believe if you are over the age of 21, and you drink responsibly, I think it’s ok.”

Glass containers are still prohibited, however as are open containers inside of vehicles. In addition, officials cut tailgating short, closing all tailgating activities after the end of first quarter, not halftime like last year. Carolyn Sims, junior in education, said, “Freshman year was really lenient. Now it’s my fourth year. Last year you had to be in the game by halftime, and now it’s in by the end of first quarter.” Senior in business, former football team member, and member of Sigma Nu, Chase Bowman, supports the new policy. “The thing that I like the most is the fact that you actually have to actually go in and watch the game,” said Bowman. “It got annoying to me when there would be people out here all the way until the end of the game. Whenever you are in the fourth quarter, you’ve still got a couple of minutes left, and it’s literally neck and neck, having your school there to support you makes a big difference,” added Bowman. Not all of the rules were supported, though.

A cooler full of glass bottles was left in the open. People were pouring drinks inside their car. Tres Leal, kinesiology freshman, said, “It’s one of those things that’s like, as long as no one acts stupid, it’s not that big of a deal.” Although some students were clearly violating the policies, Jones said, for example, he asked students with glass bottles to put their drinks away and out of sight. He also said they were trying to be tolerable, while discouraging underage drinking. He also emphasized their most important goal: to ensure the safety of all the tailgaters. Jones said, “So far it’s going well. It’s kind of a test run. We are trying to see what’s going to work and what’s not going to work.” No one tried tailgating past first quarter due to the storms. With 9 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first quarter, the game was postponed at 7:29. Remaining tailgaters quickly left. University officer George Ohmstede said,”It was lightening that caused the game to be cancelled.”

On Saturday, two different guides were in circulation, creating confusion regarding the policy changes.

Open containers during tailgating at Wichita Falls ISD Memorial Stadium, Sept. 24. Photos by Cooper Miller

6 | Sept. 28, 2016 |

MEN’S TENNIS

2015 FILE PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON

Nia White, political science junior, Barbara McGuire, criminal justice junior, and Kim Gundu, respiratory care junior, dance and sing behind a big truck blasting festive Caribbean music down Council Drive, turning onto Comanche Trail, Sept. 25.

PHOTOS BY IZZIEL LATOUR | THE WICHITAN

Ramon Toyos, math and psychology senior, playing at the MSU invitational tennis tournament. | Dylan Hall, mass communications senior, playing the MSU invitational tennis tournament on Sept. 17.

Live at the Lake Caribbean style GARRETT HUTCHINSON REPORTER

he Wichita Falls Museum of Art hosted its last Live at the Lake event with a performance from the Caribbean steel drum band. The Museum of Art hosted these events throughout the summer. The museum has hosted the Live at the Lake events for the past seven years, and the last four years have been under the direction of Museum Director Francine Carraro. “The mission of the museum is to serve the community,” Carraro said. Carraro went on to say that they started the events back in May. “We continued to have the free concerts all summer long,” Carraro said. The Live at the Lake events are simply to promote community outreach and to offer free, fun events for everyone to enjoy. “We want to bring the community together. It’s a fun family event,” Carraro said. The event had over 50 people in attendance enjoying the live music, food provided by Gypsy Kit and beverages provided by the Falls Beverage Company. The main event that captivated the crowd was the steel drum band. Many students were in attendance, saying that they came to show their support for their fellow Caribbean students and to hear the distinct sound of the

steel drums. “We came for the band, and we are Caribbean students, so we came out to support them,” Clivonne Jno-Baptiste, accounting senior, said. The steel drum band played many songs including the songs of the Caribbean. They gave the audience a taste of what a party in the Caribbean would be like. “The music reminds us of back home, because they play a lot of music from there,” Alix Matthew, biology senior, said. Caribbean Students Organization was a big part of the live at the lake show. CSO, in addition to providing the music entertainment for the event, was also selling t-shirts and promoting the upcoming Caribfest. “We have been in existence for 23 years as a part of MSU, and Caribfest has been going on for 19 years,” Timon Thomas, sports and leisure junior, said. The CSO hosts several events throughout the year and has the biggest footprints on campus. “We are the largest student organization on campus with over 200 students,” Thomas said. Caribfest, which is hosted each year by the CSO, will begin on Sept. 29 with the Soca Show and end with a massive party called the Glow Fete on Oct. 1.

Caribfest set to launch Thursday

DYLAN HALL REPORTER

aribfest 2016, one of the biggest events on campus, is set to begin this Thursday with a series of events. The annual event, arranged by the Caribbean Student Organization, is entering its 16th anniversary on this campus. Head organizer and economics senior Andre Tyrell said he believes this year will be the best yet. “The difference this year is the massive outreach we have done both in the community and neighboring universities and how much more excited the community is this year about Caribfest. I’m most looking forward to parade day and the culture show that follows,” Tyrell said. The three- day event is a mixture of music, bright costumes and Caribbean cuisine, ending with a parade and glow fete. Although the event primarily consists of people from the Caribbean, participation from those not of Caribbean descent is highly encouraged. “We expect a big turn out. This year we have nine different nations taking part so far and we always encourage those not from the Caribbean to join in and learn about our culture,” Tyrell said. The event is the largest fundraising event coordinated by the CSO. It is funded by selling official Caribfest T-shirts, Caribbean food sales and donations from

businesses in the area. The funds gained will be donated to the Disabled American Veterans and the Wichita Falls Independent School District. Member of CSO and mechanical engineering junior Calvert Aaron said he believes Caribfest not only provides an opportunity for students to get a taste of the Caribbean, but it also provides an opportunity for Caribbean students who never took part in a parade before. “The parade is an opportunity for Caribbean students to enjoy carnival festivities in situations where some of us missed the festivities at home due to school. There will be some awesome food!” The main message of the event is about “giving back,” according to co-organizer and sports and leisure junior Timon Thomas. He also said he believes there is much more to it than meets the eye. “Caribfest is truly the largest fundraising event we do for the entire year and it’s primarily for charity’s sake; however, it is also carried out as a means of sharing our culture with the wider community. What we hope to do as Caribbean students is not just keep our culture, food, language and music to ourselves - but instead to really share it with other people that are in the community and other students in the university of different ethnicity. All these are things that Caribfest hopes to do when we establish these events.”

| Sept. 28, 2016 | 7

Student pretends to be gay for ‘social experiment’ KELSEY PURCELL REPORTER

Christopher “Topher” McGehee, mass communication sophomore, conducted a social experiment to get reactions for an essay he wrote for his academic research and writing class. McGehee posted a video on Facebook on Sept. 15 making claims that he was “coming out of the closet,” stating that he was gay. The video has received 1,500 views on Facebook, along with 107 likes and 31 comments that primarily showed support for McGehee’s decision to come out. However, five days later on Sept. 20, McGehee posted a second video retracting his previous claims, and said that he was straight and it had all been for an essay he had to write over reactions. The second video has received 1,600 views on Facebook, along with 41 likes and 29 comments that were primarily negative. “I’m a big person over controversy and awareness,” McGehee said. “I’m not homosexual, but I thought if I made this video I could see, one, what it’s like to be in [the LGBTQ community’s] shoes, and two, it gave me a higher awareness of what they have to go through. Plus I got to see people’s true selves.” McGehee said he realizes the stereotypes that surround being a male cheerleader, and him joining the squad this year led to his decision for this essay. “When I first joined cheerleading, [people stereotyping me] was a thought I had because one of the janitors at my church overheard me talking about cheerleading with one of my friends, and he asked, ‘So, you’re a fruit-loop?’” McGehee said. “That was wrong.”

MIXED REACTIONS

However, soon after posting the first video, McGehee said he received mixed reactions from people; people who he didn’t expect to support him supported him, while people he thought would support

him did not. “There were few negatives that I actually one-on-one had, but there was so much positive from people I didn’t expect to get any positive from,” McGehee said. McGehee explained that he did not inform his parents of his experiment, nor did he tell them in a different way than he told everyone else (via Facebook), because he wanted to get accurate reactions. “With the video, I had to put it up the way I did to get true reactions,” McGehee said. “My dad wouldn’t talk to me for that week. Every time I called, he hung up on me. He was going to block me from his life even though he once told me that he’d always love me. It baffles me.” The video went on to collect thousands of views on Facebook, something McGehee said he did not anticipate. “I did not expect to have that many views on Facebook,” McGehee said. “For it to blow up so fast, I thought that was a good thing because so many people saw it.”

THE EXPERIMENT

However, others disagreed. The second video McGehee posted brought in even more views and discussion about the ethics of conducting such an experiment. “I’ve done experiments that are similar – not to the extremes of involving unconsenting participants – but I still kind of understand the perspective of all of the others in this situation,” Apryl Webb, secretary of the office of undergraduate research, who has also studied sociology, said. Webb went on to note that social experiments, when they involve people, need to be approved by the Institutional Review Board. Webb said, “I don’t believe Topher followed those guidelines. My personal opinion about the experiment is that it should not have been done. I do not agree with it. I don’t agree with the methods.”

TAFT HAUS A P A R T M E N T S e! A place to call hom

Additionally, some people, including Emily Stewart, radiology senior, took offense to the concept of conducting the social experiment because they said it was degrading to the LGBTQ community. “I feel like he tried to understand a small aspect of what the gay community goes through instead of understanding what they go through in their everyday lives, throughout the course of their entire lives,” Stewart said. “He doesn’t understand what it’s truly like to be gay, and I think what he did is offensive to people who have to go through that experience; the discrimination. Topher’s actions were unintentional, but they were wrong.” Webb also spoke on why she found it offensive. “Gay people who might be offended think that he’s devaluing a genuine part of a gay experience,” Webb said. Frank Cruz, marketing senior, said he felt very passionate about McGehee’s actions. “When it comes to coming out, it’s a very touchy subject,” Cruz said. “Just saying ‘oh, I’m gay,’ doesn’t mean you’re in [the LGBTQ community’s] shoes.” Cruz said he believes McGehee could have gone about conducting the experiment in a different way. “The experiment was more of a slap in the face; that’s the message it’s sending. It belittles coming out,” Cruz said. “People have killed themselves because of it, people have run away from home. He will never truly understand what it’s like to be gay. He has no idea how much he’s hurt the LGBTQ community.” However, not everyone sees McGehee’s actions as offensive. “I don’t think that he meant to be offensive, but I think that he inadvertently shed light on something that is important to a lot of people,” Georgia DuBose, cell biology junior, said. McGehee said he believes people misinterpreted his intentions for doing the experiment.

“I went about [the experiment] to help out the LGBTQ community. I didn’t make a mockery out of it,” McGehee said. “My hope was to get a better understanding of another culture.” McGehee said that he just wants people to respect his decision to conduct the experiment. “I hope they learn from this experiment that they need to respect each other’s differences, and to learn from one another, rather than bash and hate on each other,” McGehee said. “So the people that want to scold me, it won’t change my opinion of who they are. I’m a very likable person in general.”

CLASS ASSIGNMENT

All opinions of the social experiment’s ethical validity aside, there was also some confusion surrounding the experiment. John Schultze, assistant professor of English, assigned the essay to McGehee and his class, yet he said that he was unsure of why McGehee conducted the experiment at all. “The assignment was an advertisement analysis, so I’m not certain how his social experiment ties into the assignment that I gave because he was supposed to pick a magazine advertisement and analyze it, break it down, and explain how it’s a persuasive piece of discourse,” Schultze said. “I’m interested to see how he ties in his experiment to the assignment. I’m not sure which advertisement he has selected, but maybe that will have something to do with it, but at this point I’m fairly uncertain.” After reviewing the assignment, McGehee retracted his original statement about the instructions for the essay, and said he used the video he posted as a video advertisement, just on a broader spectrum.

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BRADLEY WILSON | THE WICHITAN

Topher McGehee

8 | Sept. 28, 2016 |

PHOTO BY JEANETTE PERRY | THE WICHITAN

Zachary Alvarez, education freshman, dribbles the ball around the cones as part of the skills assessment on Sept. 21. | Ronnie Baker, Special Olympics athlete, practices his goalie skills at the skill assessment.

Special Olympic athletes ‘inspire’ students with passion JEANETTE PERRY REPORTER

n Rio De Janeiro this past summer, this past summer, the 4’ gymnast Simone Biles, the swimmer with five gold medals and one silver medal, got all the attention. Tomorrow, the action will not be as fast, nor will the competition be as stiff. But it’s highly likely the passion the athletes exhibit will meet — or surpass — that of the Olympic athletes. On the intramural fields at 6 p.m. the Unified Sports League will have its first game of the season. Caleb Hannon, acting director of recreational sports and student wellness center, said this is the the university has participated in anything like this and also talked about the partnership between students and Special Olympic athletes. “To my knowledge this is the first time that MSU has really partnered with the north Texas region Special Olympics,” Hannon said. “It’s going to be recreational sports where our students at MSU participate on the same team as Special Olympic athletes in our regions and they’ll be playing competitive sports such as soccer and basketball together.” Mike Strickland, North Texas Area 9 director, knew this was something he wanted to do because he already has a vested interest in the university and after speaking to other regions he knew this was the time to get this underway. “I knew this was something I wanted to do. I went to school here. I already had a kind of partnership going in some aspects, nothing

like what we are about to see happen,” said Strickland, who has been involved with the Special Olympics program here in north Texas for the last seven years. “ I talked with one of our area directors in area 13 which is down near Austin, and they did something similar on a smaller scale.” After Strickland received feedback he applied for a grant for the Unified Sports program. “I wanted to get this going back in the fall and I submitted a grant to the Junior League of Wichita Falls for this program,” said Strickland. “We received it, we got the grant. I knew this was the time to do it. We had the funds. We had the partnership.” “They are trying to push unified sports which is taking Special Olympic athletes and pairing them with with non-Special Olympic athletes and NIRSA which is obviously through the college, is taking MSU students and partnering them with up with Special Olympic athletes and actually playing sports through the intramural program.” Hannon said the first sport they are planning on focusing on is soccer and after seeing the participation numbers they may add in new sports. “We are very focused on getting soccer going, our outdoor soccer, on our new turf fields that we just had built,” Hannon said. “Until we see how the league goes and the participation rates that we get and really the outcomes we hope to have then we’ll know further if we’re going to do other sports.” Oran Jordan, Special Olympics athlete says that he has played soccer before and he likes it.

“It’s good for me. I like it,” Jordan said. Strickland is focused on having an entire year filled with Unified Sports and his goal is to have a team in all available intramural sports. “We’re starting with soccer and then we’ll move on, hopefully in the December time frame to bowling, and then our goal is when school starts back up we’ll go to basketball and then hopefully later in the spring, tennis,” Strickland said. Participants do not have to have experience as an athlete in order to participate. The first skills assessment practice helps Unified Sports leaders determine how to place new volunteers. “The wonderful thing about our Unified Sports is that we’ll take people who have never touched a soccer ball up to people who might have played semi-professional soccer,” Hannon said. “The reason we can do that is the beginning of every season we will have a skills assessment so we will place every single person that’s going to be playing in two or three drills and we will rank them according to their skills.” Hannon said by doing this is allows himself, and the other people who are forming the teams place all skill levels across the different teams. Hannon said, “That’s going to allow us to allow anybody at any skill level to participate as well as keep the games as can be with people of the same skill level being split up among different teams.” Emily Perez, special education senior, has never participated in a program like this and decided to try it after the regular intramural

program wasn’t as interesting to her. “I wasn’t really feeling the intramurals that we have here on campus,” Perez said. “Doing this, I feel like it gives me a different aspect of competition, I mean, it’s not just about winning, it’s about playing and getting to know people and teamwork.” The benefits of the Unified Sports League is different for both students and Special Olympic athletes. Special Olympic athletes enjoy being able to hang out with their peers and play an organized sport. “The aspect of being able to hang out with their peers [what effect will this have for Special Olympic athletes?],” Strickland said. “ We will have some that are probably a lot older than these college students, but it still gives them an avenue to hang out with their peers and do things that their peers do.” Hannon believes it is a combination of physical fitness that is needed daily and the diverse community and becoming more open minded is the benefit that this program has for students. “I think it’s going to hit their physical fitness needs for being active. Playing an hour game a day would be great for their physical needs,” Hannon said. “It’s going to allow them to see a diverse community around them and the people that they live with that they may not see at their normal classes or activities that they participate in and I hope that it’s going to allow them to have a more open mind about different people and different needs in the area and hopefully round out those stereotypes that we might have of others.”