Dec. 3, 2008 by The Wichitan and Wai Kun

The student voice of Midwestern State University

The Wichitan page 5 Animal anniversary Thirty years later, ‘Animal House’ still holds some truth when it comes to fraternities.

page 7 ‘Stepp’ing up

Katie Stepp become’s cross country program’s first ever All American at national meet.

WEDNESDAY, December 3, 2008

MSU history remembered, for better or worse Chris Collins Managing Editor

When it comes to racial diversity, MSU has come a long way. But most students don’t realize how much progress the university has made in assimilating different cultures since the era of segregation. In fact, it would be very difficult for them to find out, since information on the topic is almost non-existent. Seniors Robert Stewart and Michael Thornton, both Student Government Association Senators, are trying to fix that problem. They’ve provided Moffett Library with transcripts of the landmark civil case that challenged segregation at MSU in 1951, Battle, et al v. Wichita

Falls Junior College District, et al. They’ve also given copies to county archives and the African American Museum in Dallas. Their goal: to make sure no one forgets the legal battle between MSU and prospective black students. “We’re going to make sure this information is out there and people have access to it,” Stewart said. The mission began as an assignment for Dr. Ernest Dover’s Black Politics class. Stewart initially wanted to find out how the local press handled desegregation in the early 1950s. After some digging, however, he switched gears and began researching the history of MSU’s

desegregation and assimilation. Thornton, a political science major, came on board to help research and interpret legal documents. The two began laying the groundwork for the project in April. Stewart gained valuable information from articles in the Wichita Daily Times and the Record News. Beyond that, there wasn’t much to be had. His findings were troubling, not because of what he found, but what he didn’t. “I went around to see what I could find on the subject,” Stewart said. “I went to the [MSU] administration and said, ‘Have you heard of this case?’ I just got funny looks.” Even county officials had no

information about the case. “There was nothing at the county,” Stewart said. “I even went to the district court and they didn’t have anything on file because it was so long ago.” The two had their work cut out for them. With so little information available in Wichita Falls, they traveled to the National Archives in Fort Worth to scrape up what they could. “This is the history of Midwestern State University,” Stewart said. “It may be viewed as a black mark, a part of history we don’t want to remember. But without knowing what happened here, we can’t understand where we are today.” In 1951, inequality was prevalent in the United States. Whites

had the privilege of attend- applied to MU for the fall seing college, while the majority mester of 1951. They were sent of blacks were forced to work six letters of rejection the same in maintenance or vocational day. trades. The civil case that followed MSU, then known as Mid- was unprecedented. western University, was segreCivil rights leaders and the logated. Six local blacks, Mary- cal NAACP filed suit against the land Menefee, Helen Davis, school district after it refused the Willie Battle, G.E. White, Carl students. It was the first case to McBride and Wilma Norris, challenge the constitutionality of would try to change that. segregation on the college level. They, along with NAACP and All previous decisions, such as church leaders, formed a council Murray v Maryland and Sweatt to plead that MU allow black v Painter, had regarded one instudents to attend. The school’s dividual, but this case pertained Board of Trustees unanimously to all African-Americans. rejected this idea. Their decision In November, the blacks won was guided by a Texas state law the suit. It would still be some that would later be declared un- time before they could actually constitutional. attend the university, though. Undiscouraged, the six blacks See DESEGREGATION page 4

Diplomas await winter grads Russ Lawrenz For the Wichitan

Sign language interpreter acts as ears for deaf students

for the Deaf. At the age of 15, Shirah taught sign lan Lori Shirah is the ears for guage at a community coldeaf students at MSU. She lege in Phoenix. When she married and attends classes, registration, moved to Alaska, she signed advising sessions, and extrathere as well. She has been curricular activities with her an interpreter for the deaf for charges. She is an interpreter almost 20 years and working for the deaf. with MSU students for six Shirah began to learn years. to sign when she was five According to the Disability because she has a friend Support Services web site, who was deaf. She has not six deaf or hard of hearing stopped since. students attend MSU. Shirah began taking forShirah does both signing mal classes in sign language and oral interpretation (lip when she was ten. A native Denise Miller For the Wichitan

of Arizona, she became active in the Phoenix Theater

See SIGN LANGUAGE page 4

Mid-year graduates get to strut across the stage, snap up their diploma and toss their caps high into the air come Dec. 13. Four hundred and ninety-one students are scheduled to receive their degrees. The commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in D.L. Ligon Coliseum. It is expected to last about two hours. MSU President Dr. Jesse Rogers will be the keynote speaker. Four hundred and eighty-one prospective graduates are current

students. Sixty-two are August graduates. Fifty-two graduate candidates will get their diplomas in absentia, meaning they cannot attend. Following the commencement, a graduation celebration will be held inside the Clark Student Center Atrium. Here the graduates can pick up their free alumni membership card and certificate, purchase a Wai-Kun yearbook and learn more about job-finding through the Career Management Center. For further questions contact the Office of the Registrar at (940)-397-4116.

Spring speakers offer hard-earned words of wisdom Russ Lawrenz For the Wichitan

Two former MSU graduates, one a Hollywood producer, and the other a physicist who specializes in satellite imaging, shed some wisdom with May graduates. Glen Veteto and F. Lynwood Givens delivered separate speeches to the Spring 2008 class. Veteto has acted in, written, directed and produced many films in Hollywood but it is the ocean that is his passion. Veteto, an avid scuba diver, said he spends his spare time looking for underwater treasure. “I have never found an emerald necklace yet my soul is filled with treasure,” he said. “You are one step away from magic if you will take that step,” he told the graduates. “Make this life yours. I am grateful for what you will do to improve my life and the ones I love.”

Veteto, an actor in “Who’s Happy Now?”, said that students choose their future careers from a list. “But have you chosen from the right list?” he asked them. “You belong to yourself. Create yourself.” He told students that if they have become the person they do not wish to be then they should change. “Change your name. Color your hair. Bond your teeth. Have something tucked or enlarged or reduced. Get lipo, implants, lips. Speak with a different accent or in a different language. Wear an eyepatch. Walk with a limp.” The audience laughed. “Do anything you want to do. If you’re an engineer and want to run a guided bus tour, do so. If you’re a musician and want to be an accountant, do so. Let there be no fence surrounding your possibilities.” See SPEAKERS page 4

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The Wichitan

Staff Editorial

Finals Freak-out

This week is unbelievably stressful. Between five-page essays, speeches, research papers and, of course, the ever-so-lovely cumulative two-and-ahalf hour tests, the atmosphere around campus seems like it should be more stressed than it is. However with events like “Finals Frenzy” and RA-sponsored study groups, the school has managed to help everyone transition into finals-mode. Finals week may become more bearable with help from the school, but the schedule for the actual exams seems like it still has some kinks. If a student doesn’t have any exams until the 12th, are they just supposed to sit in their apartment or dorm for a full week? If the schedule was shorter and included more tests scheduled each day it seems like students would receive

Introducing the new Secretary of State I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t feel so comfortable with the fact that our Even though I do consider future top diplomat has made myself a republican, I will al- rash statements like this. ways support the decisions Obviously, Obama had reamade by our president elect, no son to hand a very authoritamatter what political party he tive position to his once-enmay be with. However, Barack emy. With this title, Clinton Obama’s most recent decision will continue her career path in politics by leading U.S. forhas me a bit skeptical. Hilary Clinton as Secretary eign policy. But, how well will Hilary of State? be able to abide by another’s Really? I’m not so sure. I mean, this ruling? Even with the powermay just be me, but I don’t ful position, Clinton will have think I would choose some- to stand for Obama’s rule; not one to be Secretary of State hers or her husband’s. if while on campaign trail for According to the job depresidency they threatened to scription, Hilary will have to “totally obliterate” Iran if the project Obama’s policies rather Islamic Republic launched a than her own; an idea I’m not seeing going very far on either nuclear attack on them. side. Just a few months ago the

a more ideal schedule that wouldn’t leave then sitting mindlessly bored for days on end. Finals week is never going to be the

Alyssa Edson Op-Ed Editor

attempt to ease the stress, which is very comforting.

tries that would be affected by these biases have said that even though they are aware the ideas exist, Hilary has not been assertive towards anyone. I guess for now I’ll just need to follow in Hilary’s footsteps and keep my own pre-conceived ideas about her out of my head as she joins Obama’s cabinet. Maybe her experience will end up helping her, and will lead her to do great things for our country under her new job title. We will witness the outcome of Obama’s choice of Secretary of State as Hilary begins her term. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on not judging her performance until she actually has the time to prove herself.

Something to say? The Wichitan is seeking guest columnists. If you have something you’d like to write about, e-mail an opinion piece to wichitan@ mwsu.edu. We welcome opinions from students, faculty and staff.

Use your voice!

best week of the year for any student, but the school is obviously making an

two politicians were battling it out big time via campaign ads and snarky remarks made in interviews and debates. Now they’re supposed to work together? Now add foreign countries to that mix. Hmm. Ever since the announcement was made, a lot of the pessimistic viewers have been saying that Obama just gave this position to Hilary as a consolation prize. The title of Secretary of State seems a bit big to be considered a consolation prize. Hilary does have past experience in dealing with foreign affairs due to her years as first lady, but I’m afraid she won’t be able to keep her personal biases out of her work. So far, however, the coun-

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The Wichitan

3410 Taft Blvd. Box 14 • Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 News Desk (940) 397-4704 • Advertising Desk (940) 397-4705 Fax (940) 397-4025 • E-mail WICHITAN@mwsu.edu Web site: http://wichitan.mwsu.edu Copyright © 2008. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. 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. First copy of the paper is free of charge; additional copies are $1. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a telephone number and address for verification purposes. The editor retains the right to edit letters.

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Brittany Norman

Managing Editor Chris Collins

Entertainment Editor Courtney Foreman

Reporters Richard Carter Josh Mujica Lauren Wood

Op-Ed Editor Alyssa Edson

Photographers Loren Eggenschwiler

Photo Editor Patrick Johnston

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Sports Editor Bobby Morris

Copy Editor Patrick Johnston Adviser Randy Pruitt

Feature

“I grew up judging people. In my opinion, a good person went to church and followed all the rules, and a bad person went to the bar and smoked. It was as simple as that. Because I went to church, prayed every night and at least thought about telling my unsaved friends about Jesus, I was a good person. This paradigm produced a ‘me versus them’ mentality. Through my warped perspective people who did not act righteously did not love Jesus, and people who did not love Jesus were God’s enemies and therefore my enemies, too. I was shocked when I discovered that Jesus truly loved people even if they didn’t act the right way. Based on this discovery, my work is a humorous look at how Christianity has become about judgment instead of love. In my acrylic paintings and kinetic sculptures, I highlight this dichotomy by portraying Jesus as a stereotypical American Christian.”

Taking a walk for parking Photos by Patrick Johnston Students gathered in the Quad on Nov. 20 to protest the lack of student parking on campus. Students assembled between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., carrying signs and wearing their ‘Puck Farking’ T-shirts despite the cold weather.

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

Juicy crimson lips, satiny porcelain skin and sensual curves are all associated with the sex appeal of a 1950s pin up model. From Bettie Page to Betty Boop, sassy, voluptuous women have dominated my perception of the ideal woman. Her silky hair has the aroma of fresh honeysuckle and flows to the curves of her plump bosoms and hips. She has the ability to silence even the most boisterous of crowds and her presence is felt immediately as her spicy scent wanders through the room and finally swirls up the nostrils and causes a shiver up the spine. A mere laugh from her is like casting a spell over each unsuspecting being that causes all eyes to fixate directly on her sparkling white smile and buxom body. The acrylic paintings in this exhibition are playful, vividly colored, sexual and reminiscent of the pin up genre. Each model was chosen because of their individual style and presence. An open mouthed uninhibited posture of one woman is equally as seductive as the reserved kittenish come-hither gaze of another. The pure animal attraction that each woman exudes is captured through life size scale and detail in each painting.

Students hold protest despite chilly weather

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

News

Fiscal woes inflate student loan interest Alysson Dickman MCT

Already-high student loan rates are going to go up even more because of the bad economy, according to the Project on Student Debt, a group focused on cost-effective education. “Student debt was a big burden even before this economic downturn,” said Edie Irons, communications director for The Project on Student Debt. “With unemployment on the rise ... and wages not keeping up with the costs, it’s certainly going to be that much harder for students graduating now to stay afloat.” In total dollars, student loans were up 17 percent over last year. Nationally, almost 1.3 million more FASFA’s were submitted, according to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals Library, a government organization. The nation’s credit crunch will likely cause another increase. One-third of parents are slowing college savings because of declining home values and rising unemployment, leaving students with less money, according to a survey by TD Ameritrade Hold-

ing Corp., an investment firm. The United States is losing 200,000 jobs per month, according to Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. Graduates of all degree levels will be eight percent less likely to be hired this year compared to last year, according to a study by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan University. With money tight, students are relying on private and federal loans to get them through school, but fear graduation and paying off their debt. Yael Hartmann, 31, from Bethesda, Md., took out a $60,000 loan for Columbia University’s School of International Public Affairs, a master’s program. “I’m worried I’m not going to be able to take a loan out next year because of the financial situation,” she said. “Even if I do, my interest rates will go up.” But getting a second loan is just the start of her worries. After graduation, she hopes to get a job at the World Bank. “It’s competitive, especially in my market ... there have been a lot of layoffs,” Hartmann said. “I

think it’s almost better to be in school right now, you can at least stay out of the job market and hope it will get better when you get out. I’m banking on that.” Nina Wu, a third-year student at the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore, estimates she will have $84,000 of debt by graduation. She wants to work in public juvenile law. “It will require a lot of sacrifices,” she said. “The extreme of it is I might have to move in with my parents.” Wu said her classmates are giving up dream jobs in public service for jobs that pay more. For example, her roommate turned down a family law job because the $37,000 salary wouldn’t cover her debt and cost of living. “Student debt is a deterrent to people taking important, but low-paying, jobs,” said Irons. “College is supposed to open doors and expand opportunities for young people to follow their dreams.” In 2007, Maryland had 55 percent of graduates facing an average debt of $17,243, according to a study by The Project on Student Debt, a group looking at

cost-effective education. Nationally, in 2007, 60 percent of graduates had debt averaging $22,700, according to the College Board. While six percent more students were in debt in 2007, starting salaries rose only three percent, according to the Project on Student Debt. Its report also said debt is rising faster than tuition. The biggest problem is private loans, which have uncapped interest rates and rigid repayment plans. “Private loans are a terrible tool for promoting college access,” said Stephen Burd, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a group dedicated to fixing challenges for the next generation. Federal loans are capped so “borrowers can only get into so much debt,” Burd said. But private loans aren’t guaranteed by the government and have fewer protections. Universities often add private loans automatically to aid plans to cover unmet need, Irons said. Meanwhile, crushed by debt, graduates may face a harsh reality of bad credit reports and lower wages.

SPEAKERS.................................................................................................continued from page 1 Veteto said everyone should ask himself or herself if the road you’re on is your road. “There are seminal moments in the “Y” on the road to life that determines everything,” he said. “With the best of intentions you can make the worst choices. Now is your most important time to find

silence, to contemplate what’s next to make this life yours.” Givens became the vice president of product and applications for a company that launched the first high-resolution commercial imaging satellite. Givens reminded students of the kind of education one

can receive at MSU. “I have worked closely with colleagues whose degrees come from Harvard, Stanford and Berkley and have never found the education of Midwestern State needing to take a back seat to any of these universities,” Givens said. Givens encouraged students

who are from Texas to stay here. “The opportunities are great here. Texas offers low taxes, affordable land, and an educated workforce. We are in the sweet spot of the U.S.,” he said, noting that Texas is home to many Fortune 500 companies, including Exxon Mobil,

Campus •

Dec. 4

briefs

Finals Frenzy; CSC;

Thurs. 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. • Fine Line - Mental Health/Mental Illness; Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU; Thurs. 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. •

Dec. 5 Mass Communication

student-produced documentaries; Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Media Room; Fri. 3:30 p.m. • Fantasy of Lights Opening Ceremony; Hardin Building, front lawn; Fri. 6 p.m. • Opening reception: student exhibition-studio; Fain Fine Arts Foyer Gallery; 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. • Fantasy of Lights Christmas Concert; Akin Auditorium; Fri. 7 p.m. •

Dec. 7

Combined choir con-

cert; University United Methodist Church; Sun. 3 p.m. J.C. Penney and American Airlines. The current generation is the first to be fully educated about modern technology, he said. He challenged graduates

to use this technology to leave their mark on the world. “You can’t bury this uniqueness that has just come about in your generation,” Givens said.

SIGN LANGUAGE....................................................................................................................................................................continued from page 1 usually forget she is there. “What happens in class, stays in class.” American Sign Language (ASL) is a language with its own grammar rules and syntax. Not every word translates. Just like some foreign words or phrases, there is not always a literal translation. For example, the German word shoddenfreud does not translate in ASL. It does not have a precise English translation either. The closest word in English would be gloating, but that does not completely capture the whole spirit of the word. In the case of a deaf student, the word would have to be spelled out by the interpreter. If the professor goes on to explain the meaning, Shirah would translate to explanation. If the professor does not explain the word, the student would be responsible for researching the word on his or her own. Every language has its own sign language. A deaf person in Mexico would not understand sign language from France, for example. Shirah interprets everything

that goes on in the classroom. She explains, “If the air conditioner clicks on, I explain that the AC just turned on.” The most difficult thing for Shirah to interpret is a film shown in class with no closed captions. She said movies are hard to sign because of all the characters involved. Surprisingly, math courses are not difficult to interpret because most professors write problems and examples on the board, an accommodation for deaf students. “The verbage is the most difficult thing about interpreting in a math class,” she said. Group work is not an obstacle for the hearing impaired, thanks to Shirah. With the aid of an interpreter, a deaf student is fully able to participate in group discussions and activities, though there are times when Shirah does have to intervene and ask everyone to speak one at a time. Shirah attends class on test days as well. Her main function on those days is to interpret the instructions. Because of the difference in sentence structure

DESEGREGATION................................................continued from page 1 MU would appeal the decision of a Wichita Falls judge who ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. It was three years later, after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, that black students would finally be allowed to receive higher education The university has become a bastion of cultural assimilation in the last half-century, Stewart said. Twelve percent of MSU students are African-American. Students represent 43 countries. “We’re talking 54 years since this came through the court system,” Stewart said. “That’s a lot of change. A lot of progress has been made.” MSU Immigration Specialist Gidget Pettibon thinks the school’s diversity is a great thing. She relates the situation – a hodgepodge of various cul-

tures, ideologies and beliefs – to a two-way street. “Diversity gives everybody a chance to learn about other cultures,” she said. “They have to submerge themselves in our culture and adapt. When you step off the plane in another country, you have to do the same thing.” Assistant Director of Housing Wayne Schields said he thinks Stewart and Thornton’s project is a great idea. “It’s phenomenal,” he said. “My first instinct was, ‘why are two white guys doing this?’ But the fact that two white, conservative guys did the work says a lot.” Schields said the project is important because it examines history. “Tragic as it is, it should be celebrated because it shows how far we’ve come as a people and as a university,” he said. “We’ve just selected the first black pres-

ident. That’s a very important symbolic gesture of the country. Our university should follow suit with that gesture.” Stewart said he was surprised no one has tackled the topic in previous years, but is glad he did the hard work. “I found it very rewarding,” he said. “We’ve taken a piece of history that was missing – fallen off the face of the earth – and we’ve brought it back. Now it’s home where it belongs.” Stewart would like to include something about the case at Moffett Library during February, Black History Month. He also plans to put a resolution to the SGA to have a tree planted in commemoration of the event. Stewart doesn’t know where or when the tree will be planted. “We honor people who are important in the community or at the school, and these people are no less important,” he said.

for deaf students, she is there to assist with interpreting questions. “I can’t give then the answers,” she said with a laugh. Shirah admits that she does get attached to her students and she has never had one that she did not like. Sign interpreters work under a strict code of ethics, and confidentiality is most important. Shirah explains that that rule is the one that gets the most people in trouble and causes them to lose their licenses. Another problem for some interpreters is taking on assignments they are not equipped to handle. “For example, a medical situation. If you make a mistake, it could cost a life. I know of incidents where this has happened.” Dealing with Child Protective Services can be another landmine for an interpreter. A situation dealing with abuse, especially a child, can cause an interpreter to

become too emotional. “The most important thing is to know when to say no. You must know your own limits,” she said. Shirah recalls that for her it was being asked to attend an abortion. Because it goes against her beliefs, she had to say no. It is important to understand that the deaf community is a community with its own social rules and etiquette, she said. When approaching two deaf people having a conversation, it is extremely rude to not walk through the middle of them. To walk around is an insult. Another insult is to wave your arms wildly around in order to get a deaf person’s attention. You should tap them on the shoulder or stomp your feet. They will feel the vibrations. A huge faux pas is to ask an interpreter to, “Tell him I said….” The correct way is to simply tell the interpreter whatever it is you want to say. Shirah explained that when a person speaks that

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reading.) Deafness, she explained, has many degrees, and every individual is different with different needs. “Some students can speak, depending on the severity of their deafness and, in many cases, the cause of their deafness,” she explains. Shirah attends all classes with her students, and her job covers all aspects of student life. If a student attends a play, she will go and interpret. “My services are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I am contracted out of the Disability Support Services at MSU.” Almost all of the professors Shirah has encountered have been open to having an interpreter in their classes. Those who have not eventually warm up to the idea once they understand that Shirah is a professional and she conducts herself as one. Because of very strict confidentiality rules, she cannot talk about professors or students. When instructors realize that she does not discuss their classes, they become comfortable and

way through her, she translates every word exactly. “Talk in the first person,” she said. Don’t assume all deaf people read lips. They don’t. In fact, few do. She said it is rude to move your mouth in an exaggerated way assuming the deaf can understand you. Word order and syntax is different in sign language. Words are merely codes to be translated. Because of this, the average deaf person reads at a fourth grade level. Some hearing persons make the mistake of assuming that deaf people are not as intelligent because of the way they read or write. This is false. “They are just like everyone else. They just can’t hear,” she said.

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Entertainment

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

‘Animal House’ hits home 30 years later, movie continues to mirror college life

Matt Ledesma For the Wichitan

It’s been exactly 30 years since the Delta Tau Chi’s of Animal House fame were placed on double-secret probation at the fictional Faber University. Thirty years later, the animals are still on the loose. “Hey he can’t do that to our pledges.” “Yeah, only we can do that to our pledges.” – Animal House In early November, the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity at MSU was officially placed on a threeyear chapter suspension. The sentence was in response to an Oct. 4 incident that involved two KA pledges being hospitalized for alcohol poisoning during a fraternity event in Nocona. The ruling means that for at least the next three years no organized chapter events can be held, no new pledges allowed membership and current members can no longer wear fraternity letters. “For all intents and purposes, Kappa Alpha doesn’t exist on campus,” said Keith Lamb, vice president for university advancement and student affairs. “But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the

behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America.” – Animal House Unfortunately for Greeks at MSU, the school has and will continue to come down on the entire system instead of just punishing individual members. After a few less than favorable events in their pasts, some MSU fraternities have had a rough time being recognized as a productive part of campus life. What might have been considered innocent fun 30 years ago by a rag-tag group of young men fighting the establishment, is now looked upon as a black mark on the history of fraternities rather than a badge of honor. In 2004, four MSU Greek organizations were placed on probation following a drunken brawl at the former Tau Kappa Epsilon house. In 2007, Sigma Nu was placed on temporary suspension when an MSU student claimed

John Belushi

she was raped after attending an unregistered house party. The fraternity was believed to have sponsored the party, but after an investigation by the school and their national headquarters, they

were cleared of all charges. Such incidents are hard to downplay. “Every Greek has become a stereotype thanks to Animal House,” said Iggy Cruz, a senior

mass communications major and member of Omega Delta Phi fraternity. “Whenever people think of that movie and fraternities in general they automatically think about beers, kegs and hazing. I don’t like that at all. My fraternity is a service first, social organization second. We try to give back to the community, not set a bad example for it.” Cruz acknowledges the OD Phi’s were among the fraternities placed on probation following the brawl. However, he said the group has since tried to promote a better image. Cruz pointed out that his fraternity’s Young Knights program, a mentorship initiative with local schools, is just one of the ways the Omegas try to give back. His fraternity is not alone in leading the charge for change. In November, members of Phi Sigma Kappa took a trip to the hurricane-battered area of Galveston to help with clean up and rebuilding efforts. “From what I can remember about the movie, it pretty much portrayed fraternities as mindless guys just wanting to get messed up every night,” said Patrick Lyne, a junior business major and president of Sigma Nu fraternity. “We are trying to get away from that image and more toward one that greatly

benefits the students and the community.” In order to promote their new shift in focus, Lyne said the Sigma Nu’s participate in philanthropic activities such as helping out with Habitat for Humanity, the Association for Retarded Citizens and the Wichita Falls Humane Society. “The movie puts Greeks into such a negative light and I just don’t think things are really like that anymore,” said Chance Gibbs, president of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Still, the recent violations by Kappa Alpha gave a black eye to the Greek way of life. But members of other Greek organizations remain confident that the time for change is now. “Obviously it is unfortunate what happened with the KA’s, but incidents like that only show the rest of us that it is important to abide by our risk reduction policies,” said Lyne. “I don’t think things like that will ever be completely gone from Greek life, but when situations like that do arise, it’s important to stop and think about the reason you wanted to join the fraternity in the first place and what you hope to get out of it.” Thirty years later, it’s more evident than ever that most Greeks wish the animals would all just die out.

Kick-start the Christmas season with the classics Lauren Wood The wichitan

for

It’s that time of year again. It is the season of giving, as well as being with friends and family. The lights go up on the roof, the inflatable Santa takes its place in the front yard and the tree and all of its pine needles are consume the living room. This year, however, it doesn’t really seem like Christmas is less than a month away. Sure the stores are decorated and the Salvation Army has its bell ringer outside of Wal-mart, but it just doesn’t feel like the holidays. To help it feel more like Christmas, sit down with family or friends and watch a couple of holiday movies. Whether it be in theaters, or in the comfort of your own (decorated) home, classics like these are sure to get any person in the holiday spirit. In theaters this season is “Four Christmases,” which was released Nov. 26, and “Nothing Like the Holidays,” which comes to theaters Dec. 12. “Four

Christmases” is a holiday comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as a married couple who has to attend four relative-choked festivities. In “Nothing Like the Holidays” a Puerto Rican family living in west Chicago face what may be their last Christmas together. The film features stars including John Leguizamo, Debra Messing and Jay Hernandez. “The Holiday” and “The Family Stone” are recent holiday films that have hit the shelves. “The Holiday” stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, two unhappy women in two different continents that switch houses for the holidays to escape from their troubles back home. “The Family Stone” is full of drama and humor that expresses the joys of bringing your girlfriend home to meet the family during the busy Christmas time. If you are looking for a laugh, “Bad Santa” is the movie to watch. Billy Bob Thorton stars in a film containing vulgarity, promiscuity and armed burglary.

Jude Law and Cameron Deaz

An all ages movie is none other than “Elf,” starring the comicgenius, Will Ferrell. He plays an oversized elf that tries to find his place in the real world. Films great for the smaller children include “Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas, “

starring a very green Jim Carrey, and “Polar Express,” an adaptation of the beloved children’s book featuring an ensemble of Tom Hanks. Two holiday films from the 1990s include “Home Alone,” the film that made Macaulay

Culkin the ultimate child star, and the Tim Burton classic, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Culkin plays an eight-yearold kid that tosses burglars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern a good old-fashioned Christmas beating. In the Burton film, a skeleton tries to take over Christmas. A bit of an odd concept, but it became a hit during the holiday season. If you are in the mood for an old classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is a tale of depression and almost suicide that serves as a beloved testament to everything Christmas embodies: family, friends and joy of life. “A Christmas Story” is the 1983 classic that tells the story

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of a young boy’s epic quest to get his hands on a Red Ryder BB gun. It provides the hilarious backdrop for a timeless tale full of family incidents, frozen tongues and sex-oozing lamp legs. These are just a few of the many holiday films that are sure to get you in the Christmas mood. So this season, curl up with hot chocolate and a blanket and enjoy.

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Number of December graduate candidates, the largest fall graduating class in school history. Members of the women’s cross country team who competed at the NCAA championship in Slippery Rock, Penn., November 22.

Wichitan needs writers: wichitan@ mwsu.edu

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

Entertainment

Christmas gifts for everyone on your list Courtney Foreman Entertainment Editor

When it comes to holiday shopping, it always seems that the common shopper is at a loss when thinking of exactly what to get that special someone. It doesn’t have to be a gift for a boyfriend or girlfriend, but finding the perfect gift for anyone on your list can be quite challenging. You could always go for gift cards to their favorite restaurant or clothing store, but that always seems a bit impersonal. There is the option of trying to buy someone articles of their favorite clothing that they might pick out themselves, but that seems next to impossible, too. One other alternative includes buying their favorite DVDs or CDs. However, in this generation, with almost everything accessible for download or available on iTunes it’s almost not worth the money you’ll spend at the store for something they can later get for free. With all these options failing at the get-go, it almost seems impossible to find the perfectly original gift without looking impersonal, tasteless, or cheap. But don’t get discouraged. Luckily, this list below will help you find that ideal gift that wont leave anyone wondering, ‘why?’ or ‘where is the receipt so I can exchange this ASAP?’

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Say It In Yiddish Book

Your Friend’s Face on Mona Lisa There is nothing more beautiful than art and all the history that it has to offer. With that in mind, why not take one of the most famous paintings known to man and compose your loved one’s photo to be transformed onto Mono Lisa? Talk about an original gift, I guarantee no one else will have this kind of creativity under the tree this year. Also great for art history buffs! This, or 27 other styles of transferring photos to paintings is available online and will set you back about $45.00.

Have you ever been around someone you can’t stand but didn’t have the nerve to tell them off? Well now you can with this book entirely filled with Yiddish curses and insults that will allow you to get your point across with no hurt feelings. This book is recommended for anyone wanting to branch out and extend his or her vocabulary (that is to someone who preferably isn’t fluent in Yiddish). At only $13.00, this unique gift is affordable, comical, and can be proved useful if in the right situation.

Golfer’s Designated Driver Beverage Dispenser If you have a golfer in the family, it gets old just buying new clubs or golf balls every year. This time, try the Designated Driver Beverage Dispenser and give the gift of refreshment while they spend tireless hours on the course. This gift can save your special golfer friend a ton of money from buying drinks from the caddies on the course and can allow them to be the only one drinking in style. This gift can be found online and costs around $50.00.

Dog Toilet Water Bowl

Boyfriend Arm Pillow

Everyone knows at least one person in their family that is a diehard dog lover, right? Well, this one-of-a-kind Dog Toilet Water Bowl allows you to offer the proud owner of any dog the opportunity to provide their beloved pooch to drink straight from the toilet, without getting in trouble! Instead of setting out bowls of water that topple over and cause messes, this visually appealing water bowl is perfect for any size dog and is a hilarious gift that is only $25.00.

You can’t beat snuggling up on the couch with a loved one in the wintertime, that is if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend. For the rest of us that happen to be single, this luxury can’t be a reality…until now. This unique Boyfriend Arm Pillow allows anyone the option of curling up to the closest thing to a real man without actually getting in a relationship. This wacky gift is available for just $19.95 and can be found online for purchase.

Romantic adventure travels overseas to ‘Australia’ Robert W. Butler MCT

Apparently Baz Luhrmann couldn’t decide which movie he wanted to make. So he made them all and called it “Australia.” Like the country that is its namesake, this movie is big: 2 hours of romance, action and history, a Down Under “Gone With the Wind.” It’s also a big mess: emotionally incoherent, laughably simplistic and narratively graceless. It wastes Nicole Kidman, who looks silly through most of it, and reduces Hugh Jackman to a macho sex object, which at least should appease female viewers. On the eve of World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) travels from England to Australia to check up on her husband, who years earlier retreated into the Outback to operate a cattle ranch. Sarah’s arrival in Darwin and her trek into the interior with the rugged horse wrangler Drover (Jackman) are depicted in a style Luhrmann loyalists would call “operatic,” like his “Moulin Rouge,” but in fact is shamelessly cartoonish. You half expect to see Tom & Jerry running around underfoot. Sarah is absurdly prim (she

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in motion picture “Australia”

marches around like Margaret Hamilton as the nasty Miss Gulchin “The Wizard of Oz”), and the locals are braying, drunken boors. At the cattle station Sarah discovers she’s a widow, her husband having just died mysteriously and violently. The

foreman, Fletcher (David Wenham), encourages her to sell everything to her late husband’s biggest competitor, the ruthless cattle baron King Carney (Bryan Brown). Sarah has other ideas, particularly after she discovers Fletcher has been working secretly for

Carney. She and Drover will drive her cattle across the continent with a mixed-race crew of cowpokes. Their goal is to reach Darwin with the beef before Carney can, thus landing a fat contract to feed Australia’s fighting men. Along the way they face not

only natural hardships but also attacks by Fletcher. Sarah and Drover, who have nothing in common but good looks and increasingly grimy wardrobes, fall in love, though there’s never much heat between the two. And they take a parental interest in the youngest member of their party, a half-breed Aborigine boy named Nullah (the astonishingly beautiful Brandon Walters), who narrates the film. Hovering at the film’s edges is Nullah’s grandfather (David Gulpilil, who played the Aborigine boy in 1971’s “Walkabout”), a white-bearded shaman who trails the trekkers, casting protective spells. This cattle drive is by far the best part of “Australia,” filled with Western tropes and spectacular scenery. Our protagonists and their herd finally arrive in Darwin, and that should be the triumphant end of the movie. If only. “Australia” still has another hour to go. The screenplay by Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie, Ronald Harwood and Richard Flanagan (way too many cooks) now pits Sarah against nouveau riche Darwin society. There’s even a charity auction in which the local men vie for the right to dance with her (yeah, like in “Gone With

the Wind”). And then the Japanese flatten Darwin with a Pearl Harbor-style bombing raid. At times “Australia” is a lighthearted romantic adventure, sort of an “African Queen” in the Outback. At other times it’s an historic epic that views WWII as the forge in which the country’s national identity was shaped. It’s an examination of the class system that develops even in a rough-and-tumble town like Darwin. And it’s an outraged expose of the racism that until quite recently was one of the pillars of Australian society. “Australia” feels as if it were conceived as a four-night TV miniseries, then pared down to one feature film. It has a big cast of tangential characters. Just about every actor you ever saw in an Australian movie shows up, but they’re fragmentary, as if most of their footage was left on the cutting room floor. Perhaps in an extended DVD presentation Luhrmann’s tale will make more sense and find the emotional resonances that now elude it. As it stands, “Australia” is often gorgeous to look at and grueling to sit through. Would the real movie please stand up?

Sports

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

College football match-ups shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be decided by computers Bobby Morris Sports Editor

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only one sport in the known, modernized world that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not even a sport, because even the smaller, less-marketable divisions of the sport have come to their senses. A sport, the most common display of teamwork and competition, has one singular division of play not determined on the field. Not only is it not determined on the field, but when some of the sports most powerful conferences get into their fifth and sixth tiebreakers the best team is determined by a bunch of pollsters and a computer. No playoffs. Just a game, numbers being typed into a

computer and then voila! Yeah. A computer. The same piece of equipment that constantly freezes, gets infected with viruses, and sometimes even gets thrown up against a wall is the determining tiebreaker to the Big 12 football conference champion this season. So, as you can tell by now, the NCAA Division I football championship and bowl-eligible teams are selected by a DELL somewhere. So, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been in a cave for a couple of months, or donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care, why does this matter? The fact of the matter is that college football is slowly creeping further and further into Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s living rooms. Games are being scheduled every day of the week nowa-

days, not just Saturdays, and more games are getting primetime time spots as even television executives are realizing that wherever and whenever college football is on the tube, people will watch. So millions of dollars in advertising and endorsements all ride on some computer formula? I wonder if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s some sort of Excel formula that some genius came up with, or if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a wacky series of numbers. Whatever it is doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add up. At least not in normal math and logic. Oklahoma is ranked number two in the country, while poor Texas is ranked third and is firmly implanted into the back seat of the national championship picture.

Oklahoma has one loss, but so does Texas. Then, the great equalizer: Texas defeats Oklahoma 45-35 on a neutral field. So, as math would have it UT > OU. Right? Nope. Because UT lost by five, three weeks later to No. 7 Texas Tech and obviously that erases the computerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memory. So, UT loses by five at TTU at night when they were undefeated. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that bad, is it? Well obviously the motherboard inside that DELL had other plans, because when the Sooners beat the Red Raiders at their own home field it sealed Texasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fate. Wow! So, Oklahoma will be enjoying the cold Kansas City weather this weekend at the Big

12 Championship, while Texas sits back and watches two teams they have already beaten this season compete for their conference championship. Oklahoma beat the seventh best team in the nation, Texas Tech, but lost to the third-ranked Longhorns. Yet the Longhorns beat the second-best team while barely losing to the seventhranked Red Raiders. The math just doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add up. Piling on the points at the end of obvious wins shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t factor into things. Oh wait, Sooners would have you think those are â&#x20AC;&#x153;style pointsâ&#x20AC;?, right? Whatever it is that is in the computer system or tiebreaker system, needs to be fixed, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blatantly obvious that this â&#x20AC;&#x153;systemâ&#x20AC;? has a virus.

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Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Soccer W-L-T #3 MSU (19-3) 7-1-0 WTAMU (12-5) 6-2 Eastern NM (6-10-2) 3-4-1 NE State (3-14-1) 2-6 MO Southern (1-14-1) 1-6-1

On Deck for the holidays Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hoops Monday Dec. 15 @ Northeastern State

Saturday Dec. 17 Texas A&MCommerce at 6 p.m. Thursday Dec. 18 Univ. Texas Permain-Basin at 7 p.m. Saturday Dec. 20 Texas Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at 2 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 30 @ St. Edwardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hoops Monday Dec. 15 @ Northeastern State

Wednesday Dec. 17 Texas A&MComm. at 8 p.m. Saturday Dec. 20 @ River City Classic

Tuesday Dec. 30 Univ. Texas Permian-Basin at 7 p.m. Home Events are Bolded

Sports

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

Mustangs ready for extended break after pair of losses Bobby Morris Sports Editor

The Midwestern State men’s basketball team is about to take a two-week break along with the rest of the campus. And the break couldn’t have come at a better time. MSU is currently on a twogame skid after double-digit defeats to No. 6 University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Most recently, the Mustangs traveled to Odessa Monday night to take on the Falcons. Despite Craig Green’s 19-point outburst, a rash of injuries was too much to overcome as UTPB took the 83-72 victory. “We’re a wounded team right now,” MSU head coach Jeff Ray said. “We are trying hard, but it’s tough to get any time or chemistry with the situation we have right now.”

The Mustangs were without leading scorer Trajinski Grigsby for the contest, while he stayed home to heal from a leg injury sustained against UCO. Then, in Michael Godwin’s first game of the season coming back from injury, he tweaked his ankle again, forcing him to leave midway through the second half after scoring eight points in 19 minutes of action. A bright spot on the team’s injury report came from Earl Rabb’s first-half performance. In his first action of the young season Rabb played 14 minutes in the opening half and scored six points. But even Rabb couldn’t avoid injury long enough to compete in the second half, as his foot hurt too much to reappear in the latter half. It was the second-straight loss for MSU after the Mustangs were

unable to pull the upset victory on the road against No. 6 UCO. Senior Nolan Richardson led the Mustangs with 17 points, all of which came in the second half. But an early second-half push wasn’t enough to overcome the 46-30 halftime deficit, as the Bronchos eventually won 92-78. “Early in the second half, we showed just what type of basketball team we can be,” Ray said. “This team can be really good, but we’re not there right now.” The two-game skid evened the Mustangs regular season record at 3-3, coming immediately after a three-game winning streak which included wins over Wayland Baptist and the University of the Southwest. The Mustangs return to action Dec. 15 when they will travel to take on Northeastern State.

Patrick Johnston | The Wichitan Phillip Homere (4) and Quincy Sarpy (1) lead the MSU fast-break against the Dallas Baptist Patriots earlier in November. MSU reeled off three-straight wins following the 83-88 loss to DBU before losing two-straight this week. The Mustangs now are scheduled for two weeks without competition with hopes of healing and gaining chemistry as a cohesive unit.

Mustangs finish 15th following Stepp’s All-American effort MSUMustangs.com For the Wichitan

The snow kept coming Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division II Championship meet at Cooper’s Lake Campground. But so did the Mustangs, as Katie Stepp became the program’s first All American after covering the demanding 6,000-meter course in 22:21 to lead MSU to a 15th-place national finish. “Running in the muck and slush and all of that, that’s cross country,” MSU coach Koby Styles said. “This is very much

a strength-oriented course and everyone ran so well.” Freshman Kayla Hendrix finished 37th with a time of 22:40, while junior Andrea Borgman and freshman Lindsey Pate finished with close times of 23:51 and 23:53 to earn placements of 106th and 109th. “We started at the back of the pack as we started a climb into what seemed to be a mountain,” Styles said. “Then everyone just kept moving up.” The Mustangs overcame Missouri Southern, who claimed the South Central Region championship two weeks ago in San

Antonio, to finish as the top team in the region and just one spot ahead of the Lions. Freshman Brittany Barrington Hendrix finished out scoring for the Mustangs by finishing 139th with a time of 24:25, while sophomore Hassie Sutton and freshman Kourtney Aylor finished with strong times of 24:59 and 25:56, respectively.

It was an end of an historic season for MSU, which claimed its first regional and national ranking before claiming its first Lone Star Conference title. To put it in proper prospective, the Mustangs had never achieved higher than an eighth-place finish at the LSC meet since the school restarted cross country in 2005. “I’m so proud of the girls,” Styles said. “What a way to finish the season. The nation now knows Midwestern State has a cross country team. We’re here to stay.”

“I’m excited to add another women’s sport to our program,” MSU Athletics Director Charlie Carr said. “This is another excellent opportunity for talented young women in Wichita Falls and the North Texas area.” Midwestern State has flourished since adding men’s golf in 2006 as the Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in its first year of existence.

“The success of our men’s team leads me to believe we’ll add another successful component to our program,” Carr said. “As in all sports, we expect to compete at the highest level and we look forward to competing for championships.” Midwestern has used the same formula to recruit its first women’s golf team, which will be announced in the coming days, and will extend previous agreements with the many outstanding golf facilities in the Wichita Falls area. “Jeff Ray has done a great job of getting us off on the right track,” Carr said. “The outstanding golf facilities in the area combined with great local talent makes women’s golf a natural addition to our local

and regional efforts at MSU.” Carr believes the utilization of The Wichita Falls Country Club, The Champions Course at Weeks Park, Hawk Ridge and the Wind Creek Golf Course at Sheppard Air Force Base gives Midwestern a tremendous competitive and recruiting advantage. Members of the first MSU signing class are Taylor Klutts and Lauren Romines of Callisburg High School, Grapevine High School’s Lindsay Burkhart, Midlothian High’s Megan Richardson and Jordan Hoffman of San Angelo. Midwestern State, which begins competition this fall, becomes the 10th member of the Lone Star Conference to add women’s golf.

MSU adds women’s golf to athletics’ program MSUMustangs.com For the Wichitan

Courtesy of NCAA Division II Katie Stepp became the MSU cross country program’s first ever All American last week as she completed the grueling national championship course in 22:21 to take 23rd-place. The effort led the Mustangs to the 15th overall finish and undoubtedly put the Mustangs on the map in cross country.

The Midwestern State Athletics Department announced the addition of women’s golf last Thursday afternoon as the program’s 12th sport. “I am very pleased our board has approved the addition of another women’s sport,” MSU President Jesse W. Rogers said. “It means a lot to the University and to the Lone Star Conference.” With the addition of golf, Midwestern State now offers seven women’s programs which also include tennis (added in 1927), basketball (1977), volleyball (1985), soccer (1995), softball (2004) and cross country (2005).

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Sports

The Wichitan Dec. 3, 2008

Broken System

Creators of Bowl Championship Series still finding ways to defend flawed system MCT For the Wichitan

The advocates of the Bowl Championship Series' fraudulent way of doing business (and their willing accomplices in the Big 12) are apparently of the mind that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Outrage and indignation are easily interchangeable with praise and pleasure with these folks. It doesn't matter that the BCS and the Big 12 are being ripped from coast to coast over a failed system that relies on weird science, not the simplest math in all of sports (I beat you, therefore I am better than you) to decide their championships. It doesn't matter to these folks that everyone with a sense of fair play knows that Oklahoma has no business in the No. 2 slot in this week's BCS rankings, and by extension has earned an undeserved trip to this weekend's Big 12 championship game.

The BCS advocates are so lost in their well-rehearsed rhetoric of this indefensible "national championship" system that even when faced with the overwhelming evidence that it is greatly flawed, they continue to recite the same tired talking points: A true college postseason playoff will make people stop caring about the regular season. Wrong. It will destroy the bowl system. No, it will enhance the bowl system. Look how much everyone is talking about college football now. That's because of the BCS. OK, they're right about that. People are talking, but they're saying nothing but bad things. But before we get too far down the BCS road, let's deal with the Big 12 and how it wrongly arrived at putting Oklahoma in its championship game. Don't get me wrong, I happen to think that the once-beaten Sooners are scary good.

They're probably the hottest team in America right now after scoring 60 or more points in their last four games and winning by an average margin of 34 points. But there's only one problem with OU being in Arrowhead Stadium this weekend instead of oncebeaten Texas representing the Big 12 South in the conference championship game. Texas beat Oklahoma. But this is what happens when you place your faith in the BCS to deliver the credible goods. How in the world can the so-called best conference in football be comfortable with the outcome of this three-way tiebreaker that decided (wrongly, I might add) its South Division champion by the whims of the BCS rankings? By virtue of the BCS rankings, Oklahoma edged

Sam Bradford (left) and Colt McCoy (right) are the leaders behind center of the two top teams in arguably the toughest division in college football of all-time.

out Texas and Texas Tech for the South title. This is a particularly curious circumstance that has left Texas sitting at home this week while two teams it beat by 10 (OU) and 25 points (the Longhorns smoked North Division champ Missouri 56-31) get to fight for the title Saturday night in Kansas City. The Big 12's tiebreaking procedures need to be changed. A better solution would have been to use the tiebreakers that both the SEC and ACC use, which is to immediately eliminate the weakest link in the three-way tie by the lowest BCS ranking (goodbye Texas Tech). Or you could just use plain old common sense. Any team that gets lit up by 44 points at any point in the season (that would be you again, Red Raiders) should have no earthly business in any national championship or conference championship conversation. Either way, that would leave us with a two-way tie between Texas and OU, and all we have to do once again is refer back to the simplest math in sports. Texas beat Oklahoma by 10 points on a neutral field. 'Nuff said. On Thanksgiving night as the Longhorns were trouncing Texas A&M, many of the clever folks among the record crowd of 98,621 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium carried subtle reminders that they thought would help sway the voters of the Harris and USA Today coaches polls. Everywhere you looked, fans held up "45-35" signs that were shown repeatedly during the nationally televised game. "It's true," said Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller after the game. "We did beat them. I think the important thing the fans were doing was mak-

ing sure that everybody remembered it. I don't know what the voters will do, but I hope they will take that into consideration." Sorry, Roy, the voters and computers either can't read, can't count or don't know anything about the old "I beat you, therefore I am better than you" rule, because the coaches' poll had the Sooners ranked ahead of Texas (including two first-place votes), and three of the six computers used by the BCS had OU ranked first, two second and one fourth. A week ago, Texas was the secondbest team in the country according to the BCS and Oklahoma (did I mention that the Longhorns beat OU by 10 points on a neutral field?), was ranked third in the BCS standings, and at the time that sort of made sense. But by Sunday afternoon, after both had won their final regular-season games, suddenly OU was a superior team to Texas. And if you ask me, based on the simplest sports math, the wrong team got its ticket punched. So once again, we're on the verge of picking a national champion the wrong way. It's computers and pollsters. It's politicking and subjectivity. This is sports, not a political campaign. We shouldn't be testing which way the wind blows in a national championship discussion except after a coin flip. Hate is not too strong a word to describe how much acrimony I feel about this warped system. But if it will make you feel better, let's kick around a few less acrimonious verbs. We can go with abhor, detest, despise or revile. Does "loathe" work for you, or perhaps a pithy phrase like "a strong aversion" will do? Nah, I'm definitely sticking with hate, and right now I suspect that most of the state of Texas is right there with me.

No. 3 Mustangs fall short of national title hopes with 2-1 defeat MSUMustangs.com For the Wichitan

Midwestern State knows a little bit about home-field advantage as it ran through the 2008 with a perfect 10-0 mark at the MSU Soccer Field. The No. 3 Mustangs got a taste of the flip side against No. 9 California State-Dominguez Hills in last Saturday’s NCAA Division II national quarterfinal as the Toros claimed a 2-1 result. Dominguez Hills (19-2-4) claimed its 17th-straight vic-

tory at Toro Stadium and will advance to the NCAA Division II Championships on Dec. 5 and 7 in Tampa. The Toros will face the winner of tomorrow’s quarterfinal between the University of Tampa and Tusculum University. “It’s hard to be on the road and play in front of a good crowd,” MSU coach Doug Elder said. “They went through a 20-minute spurt in the second half where they really took it to us.” The Toros took advantage of a misclear in the third minute of

the second half as Chris Perkins collected the ball near the top of the box and served a pass to Jordan Rover who one-touched the ball to Scott Mariano who beat MSU keeper with a one-timer. “The conditions were really dense and foggy so it was a little slick. Swanny (Robert Swann) slipped and they got to it before Brannon could get to it,” Elder said. “It was definitely a good finish.” Dominguez Hills tacked on a second goal on a counter in the 63rd minute when Rover once again hit Mariano breaking free

on the left. Mariano shot a laser from just outside of the box to give the Toros a 2-0 lead. The Mustangs, who placed seven of their 13 shots on goal, were unable to take advantage of a golden opportunity just 40 seconds before intermission. Junior Nick Auditore took a through ball and beat Dominguez Hills’ goalkeeper Miguel Benitez to the far post, but the shot narrowly missed as the teams went scoreless into intermission. “We did everything we needed to do in the first half,” Elder

said. “We held them without a shot on goal and had the better opportunities. I felt really bad for Nick because he usually buries those.” The Mustangs broke through in the 85th minute when Auditore notched his 12th goal of the season when he collected a long pass from center back Robert Swann. Auditore dribbled into the box and beat Benitez to the near post to cut the margin to 2-1. Midwestern continued to put the pressure on the Toros, but Bentez came through with

his sixth save of the match on a sprawling dive to snarl Craig Sutherland’s drive from the top of the box in the 88th minute. “We just couldn’t miss the keeper and they cleared the ball off the line once. We just couldn’t get it done,” Elder said. “This one hurts, but you can’t take away anything these boys have accomplished all season. It’s frustrating.” The Mustangs close the season with a 19-3 mark after advancing to the NCAA Division II national semifinals last season.

largest defeat in program history. Midwestern surrendered 102 points in a 51-point defeat at Abilene Christian on Jan. 27, 1996. UCO senior forward Lizzie Brenner fell two assists shy of a triple double to lead a group of six players in double figures. Brenner finished with 22 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. “There’s a reason why Lizzie Brenner was the preason player of the year in the north,” Johnson said. “She outworked us tonight and we didn’t compete.” Regiane Araujo added 14 points and eight rebounds for MSU, which fell to 1-4 on the season. Michele Kenney poured all of her team-high 12 points in the second half, but it wasn’t to carry Midwestern State Staturday night at Rhodes Field House as Harding held on for a 71-60 win. Kenney, a junior forward from Wichita Falls, canned a pair of 3-pointers to key a 10-2 run in

the game’s final minute. The Burkburnett High School product hit three of her six treys as the Mustangs recovered from a 15-point first half output to score 45 after intermission. Outside of Kenney, the Mustangs connected on just 1-of-15 shots from beyond the arc, including an 0-7 effort in the opening half as MSU managed just a 6-of-30 showing - 20 percent from the floor. After making to the freethrow line just four times in the first half, the Mustangs got more aggressive in the paint The aggression resulted in 29 trips to the charity stripe, but the Mustangs misfired on 14 of them allowing the Bison to build an 18-point advantage at 57-39 with 6:27 to go. Araujo added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs, who fell to 1-3 on the season. The Mustangs enjoy a 13-day break before traveling to Tahlequah to face Northeastern State on Monday, Dec. 15.

Freshman Sunny Satery (23) attempts to set up the offense earlier in November against Howard Payne. Satery has stepped right into the new offense brought in by rookie head coach Noel Johnson. Satery has scored 11 points during the young season.

Mustangs handed 106-57 blowout defeat before two-week break MSUMustangs.com For the Wichitan

Highlights were hard to come by for Midwestern State Tuesday night at Hamilton Fieldhouse. Andrea Buben hit a 15-foot jumper 28 seconds into the crossover matchup with No. 11 Central Oklahoma to give the Mustangs an early lead. Oh, and junior guard Brittany Bryant recorded her first doubledouble of the season leading MSU with 17 points and 12 rebounds. But the highlights were plentiful for Central Oklahoma as the Bronchos scorched Midwestern 106-57 to improve to a perfect 5-0. “They are a good team,” MSU coach Noel Johnson said. “They make you pay for any mistake you make offensively and defensively.” The point total was the most allowed by an MSU team as the Mustangs needed a runner in the lane by Katiya Jackson with 22 seconds remaining to avert their

Patrick Johnston | The Wichitan