April 28, 2023

can be stressful, but with the right approach and time management they are

Add some method to your madness

THE WICHITAN STAFF

It’s finals season again, and somehow  things are just as stressful as they’ve ever been. There may come a day when college students collectively feel prepared for the frenzied rush that is finals, but that day isn’t here yet. In the meantime, here’s a few ways to add some method to your madness:

Say no to things you don’t have to do: People you know will always be moving apartments. It’s a fact of life. And they’ll always need your help. Unfortunately for them, your studies need you too. It can be harder to say no to things like going out with friends, but if

you budget your time wisely you can still have a bit of fun during finals. More on that to come. Say yes to taking reasonable breaks: Maybe you know someone who can work for eight hours straight, writing two papers, learning a vocabulary set and solving half a dozen advanced mathematical proofs. Maybe you are that person. But if you aren’t, remember that a good break in the middle of a study session is a great idea. It’s more valuable to spend two hours at full capacity with half an hour relaxing in between than it is to spend one hour at full capacity, one hour at half capacity and half an hour won-

dering why you always do this to yourself.

Plan ahead: Know your schedule, know what days your finals are and try to block out time in advance for studying. Make it a priority to complete certain projects certain days, but know that you may have to be a little flexible; things have a tendency not to work out perfectly at this time of the semester. If you have a good idea of what needs to be done when though, you can weather that storm. And if you stay optimistic and (more or less) on track, you may still be able to carve out some time to get out with friends and decompress a little.

Editor-in-Chief: Cecil Witherspoon

Managing Editor: Anne Akpabio

Design Editor: Abigail Jones

Photography Editor: Colin Stevenson

Spanish Editor: Lizbeth Jaimes

Business Manager: Tiffany Haggard

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Section Editor: Joey Arthur

May 3

Therapy Dogs at Moffett Library

Moffett Library will be hosting the Therapy Dogs again just in time for finals. Our furry friends will be visiting Wednesday, May 3 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

May 4

Finals Frenzy

Thursday, May 4 the Office of Student Leadership and Involvment will host a Field Day themed Final Frenzy complete with a kickball game, Dunk Tank, Esports Gaming Competition, pool tournament, and a late-night breakfast in Mesquite Hall. Main events will begin at 4 p.m.

May 6

Unidos Commencement Ceremony

Ask for help: Office hours are a resource many students drastically underutilize. It’s free access to the people that have all the answers for a course; you probably won’t get a list of answers for the final, but you can make sure you’re at least heading in the right direction. Remember that your classmates are an excellent resource too. Your weak areas in a subject may be one of your classmates’ strengths, and vice versa. Help each other out by studying together, and maybe you can find the right balance to not only survive finals week, but achieve that highest of goals: not failing any classes.

Copyright ©2022.

Mosaic and the Organization of Hispanic Students will be hosting a commencement ceremony for students from LatinX backgrounds. It will take place Saturday, May 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

May 6 Black Graduation

Mosaic will be hosting a precommencement celebration in honor of African, African American, and Black students who are graduating. It will be at the Sikes Lake Center on Friday, May 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University.

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The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include an email address, telephone number and address.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN

Finals

survivable.

OPINION : THE UNNECESSARY STRESS OF TAXES

ax day was on April 18 this year, and for many adults it was a very frantic and stressful Tuesday. On that strenuous day, I was on the phone with the Internal Revenue Service’s helpline in response to a letter I received refusing to process my taxes due to “fraudulent activities” caught by the office of the IRS. During the two and a half hours that I was on the phone, I came to the realization that the way taxes are done in the United States is a perfect representation the fact that the IRS has become more of a policing agency than a collecting agency. This isn’t helped by the failure of the U.S. education system to teach its citizens how to file taxes.

Prior to this year, my mother normally paid a tax preparer to file our family’s taxes. I wanted to take on a more responsible role in my life so I decided to file my taxes myself this year. I didn’t want to pay for a tax preparer and I didn’t want to pay for an online tax service, so I used H&R Block’s tax services because it is free if you are filing a simple Income Tax return (Unemployment income, retirement income, W-2

Tincome and interest and dividend income). Before I even began to file my taxes, I had to allocate a day from my week to doing my taxes. I had to gather the right documents and forms and even after using H&R’s praised tax service, I still got a letter in the mail saying there was an error with my tax return and that my return process had been placed on pause. I needed to contact their office to get it resolved. In light of this, I started thinking of all the stress and problems that come with filing taxes. For starters, In America, there are numerous tax codes and a multitude of tax forms like the Federal Income Tax Code, the Estate Tax Code, the Gift Tax Code, the Property Tax Code, Form 1099, Form 1098-T, W-2 Form and so on. Another big stressor for Americans when it comes to taxes is the fear of making a mistake. The United States processes taxes a lot differently than other countries. In America, you are expected to guess how much you owe the government based on how much you make. If you go over, you get a tax refund but if you go under, you can be penalized for either tax evasion or fraud. Another big stressor is the sheer amount of paperwork involved and how time consuming it can be. Many Americans can attest to how long it takes to gather the

proper information to file a single tax return. As I stated earlier, I had to take a day out of my week to file my taxes. Normally when an American files their taxes, they have to gather their receipts, previous year tax returns, W-2 form (if applicable), Form 1099, Form 1040, Form 1098-T (if they are a four-year college student) and so on. The whole process takes hours to gather and can be very taxing on full-time college students, single working parents, middle-class workers and other working demographics.

In addition to the stresses listed above, the IRS itself serves as another stressor for Americans when doing their taxes. The IRS is a branch of the United States’ Department of the Treasury. The role of the IRS is to enforce tax laws and regulations in the U.S. They are also responsible for collecting taxes, processing tax returns, providing information and assistance to taxpayers to help them file their tax correctly and investigating and prosecuting cases of tax evasion and fraud. In recent years, the IRS hasn’t done a good enough job when it comes to collecting taxes but has excelled when it comes policing tax laws. The IRS was founded on the ideal of being a collecting agency but over the years, they have neglected that

ideal and they act like a branch of the U.S Department of Justice rather than the Treasury. Back in high school, my sophomore year English teacher told our class that there are three government agencies and that we should avoid being on their radar. These are the CIA, the FBI and the IRS. As I progressed through life, I realized that many Americans shared the same sentiment as my English teacher. A collection agency should never be listed amongst two

of the nation’s highest defense and intelligence agencies. As I stated above, Tax day and filing taxes are a very stressful and chaotic time for all Americans. Most of the stress comes from factors that can be easily remedied by proper education in our K-12 level or even in higher education. I am in support of taxes as a concept but not in support of the poor execution of it by the United States.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY

According to AARP, nine states do not have an income tax.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEXELS

The IRS claims that most tax refunds come in 21 days or less.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEXELS

According to taxfoundation.org, the US tax code is extremely long, easily surpassing the King James Bible and the Harry Potter series in word count.

Joey Arthur

DENIM DAY

BRINGING AWARENESS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT TO CAMPUS

The residence life & housing staff, and Title IX department, held the “Denim Day” event which aimed to support sexual assault victims by wearing dewnim.

The idea of the event was not born at MSU. In fact it arose from a case that outraged the public in 1999. The event occurred in the city of Rome where an 18-year-old girl was sexually abused by her driving teacher. When the young woman filed the complaint with her parents, the Supreme Court favored the aggressor, justifying that the victim was wearing very tight jeans, so it erroneously assumed that this girl must have helped him remove her pants and therefore consented to the act. After the Supreme Court verdict, many Italian women parliamentarians were uncomfortable with the decision. The next day, the women appeared in Congress wearing jeans. The California legislature adopted the act of protest and then created Denim Day (Jean Day). The Los Angeles Peace over Violence organization promoted

the event as a symbol of the fight against sexual abuse. Since then, worldwide, wearing a denim garment is a conscious protest, where wearing jeans shows someone is on the side of the victims.

MSU decided April 26 would be the date for the event since organizations use this date worldwide for this type of peaceful protest. Additionally, the month of April is a time for advocates, survivors, their loved ones and the community to come together to talk openly about sexual violence to support survivors, increase knowledge and awareness and identify strategies and resources to prevent sexual violence.

Teresa Lopez, the project specialist at the residence life and housing office, said it is not common for the faculty and staff team to wear jeans at work, so wearing them during working hours represents that they as a university community are united against sexual harassment.

“It's not something that we get to wear on everyday basis being in a professional field, so it's a way of showing we still being professional while also showing we are a united university,” Lopez said.

For students, psychology senior and

peer educator Samantha Garcia said she was pleased to see that every year more students are aware of the sensitive issues the peer educators try to spread. She said seeing so many students wearing jeans on April 26 reflects that the message is being not only received, but also understood.

“It's definitely getting better over the years. I remember last year only seeing the housing department wearing it, but this year I definitely saw an improvement. I feel like it further proves that we're doing our job right and that we're actually spreading awareness,” Garcia said.

Teresa Lopez said emphasizing the physical and mental health of MSU students is a priority for all the faculty and staff. She said the goal is for students to always have someone willing to help and talk about any concern that students may have.

“We want to be able to have an open door policy where people, especially students can come in and have a talk and discuss things and know that they can come to this university and feel safe, since there are people here to support them no matter what's going on,” Lopez said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMY KEAFFER Environmental science junior Jamy Keaffer, math junior Chance Thompson, art freshman Sam Mhando and general studies freshmanAnthony Raaijmakers pose together for a photo on 2023's denim day, April 26.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MCADA GRADUATE SCHOOL McAda Graduate School staff participate in denim day by wearing jeans, April 26.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHOTO COURTESY OF MOSAIC

MSU's MOSAIC program dresses for denim day, April 26.

Juliana Abril

DÍA DEL EAN

TRAYENDO CONOCIMIENTO SOBRE ABUSO SEXUAL EN EL CAMPUS

El personal de ‘Housing and resident life’ y el departamento de Tittle XI celebraron el “Día de la mezclilla”, cuyo objetivo era apoyar a las víctimas de agresiones sexuales portando una prenda de mezclilla.

La idea del evento no nació en MSU, de hecho surgió de un caso que indignó al orden público en 1999. Dicho evento ocurrió en la ciudad de Roma (Italia) donde una joven de 18 años de edad fue abusada sexualmente por su profesor de manejo. Cuando la joven hizo la denuncia junto a sus padres, la corte suprema falló a favor del agresor justificando que la víctima llevaba jeans muy ajustados, por lo que -erróneamente- asumieron que está chica tuvo que haber ayudado a remover sus pantalones y por ende consintió la relación. Después del falló de la Corte Suprema, este dictamen

enfureció a las parlamentarias italianas, quienes al día siguiente se presentaron en el Congreso usando jeans. Ese acto de protesta más tarde fue adoptado por el parlamento de California y ese fue el origen del “Denim Day” (el Día del Jean), impulsado por la organización “Peace over Violence” de Los Ángeles como símbolo de la lucha en contra del abuso sexual. Desde entonces mundialmente se utiliza una prenda de mezclilla es una manera consiente, donde el “Jean” está del lado de las víctimas. En MSU el día 26 de Abril se decidió como fecha para el evento, ya que, mundialmente esta fecha es utilizada para este tipo de protesta pacífica pero impactante. Además, este mes de abril es un momento para que los defensores, los sobrevivientes, sus seres queridos y la comunidad se reúnan para hablar abiertamente sobre la violencia sexual, para apoyar a los sobrevivientes, aumentar el conocimiento y la conciencia, e identificar estrategias y recursos para prevenir la

violencia sexual.

Como bien exclamó la especialista en creación de proyectos de “Housing y resident life”, Teresa López, para el equipo de facultad y personal no es común utilizar una prenda de mezclilla en el trabajo, por lo que usarla en horario laboral representa que como comunidad universitaria estamos unidos contra el acoso sexual. “No es algo que nos pongamos todos los días estando en un campo profesional, entonces es una forma de mostrar que seguimos siendo profesionales y al mismo tiempo mostrar que somos una universidad unida”.

Desde el punto de vista estudiantil, Samantha Garcia, peer educator, compartió lo satisfecha que se encontró al ver que cada año más estudiantes son conscientes acerca de los delicados temas que los “peer educators” tratan de difundir, por lo que al ver tantos estudiantes usando los pantalones de mezclilla el 26 de abril refleja que su mensaje no está

Jsiendo sólo recibido, sino también integrado. “Definitivamente está mejorando con los años. Recuerdo que el año pasado solo vi que el departamento de vivienda estudiantil lo usaba, pero este año definitivamente vi una mejora. Siento que esto prueba aún más que estamos haciendo bien nuestro trabajo y que en realidad estamos creando conciencia”.

Teresa Lopez, concluyó recalcando que la salud física y mental de sus estudiantes es prioridad para todo el cuerpo docente y administrativo, por lo que siempre tendrán una persona dispuesta a ayudar y conversar sobre cualquier inquietud que cualquier estudiante pueda tener. “Queremos poder tener una política de puertas abiertas donde la gente, especialmente los estudiantes, puedan entrar y tener una charla y discutir cosas y saber que pueden venir a esta universidad y sentirse seguros, ya que hay gente aquí para apoyarlos sin importar qué está sucediendo".

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELI JOHN

Computer science freshman Eli John wears denim in support of those who have faced sexual assault, April 26.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

The American Chemical Society joins in on denim day dress, April 26.

Juan Manosalva

CHATGPT PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES TO EDUCATORS

Academic papers with no true author; projects turned in by students who did little or no work; code written by other, more complex code. AI models like ChatGPT have taken the academic world by storm, providing students with ways to quickly turn in work without putting in much - if any - effort. Higher learning institutions are working to combat a type of plagiarism that doesn’t have a true victim - at least not a human one. But beyond academic dishonesty, there is a concern among some professors that tools like ChatGPT may not impact the quality of the work students turn in, but could divert students from the whole purpose behind higher education: learning itself.

Eduardo Colmenares, associate professor of computer science, has ties to two fields that ChatGPT is heavily impacting; university learning and technology.

In the broader field of computer science, Colmenares said he doesn’t believe AI will fully supplant human workers. He said in its current form, AI like ChatGPT still produces flawed information that requires human perspective to check and fix.

But at the university level, Colmenares has different concerns. Students may use AI tools to circumvent actually learning material, leaving students unequipped to solve problems on their own.

Colmenares said despite the fact that some students are failing to grasp concepts because they can simply ask ChatGPT to do their work, ChatGPT isn’t all bad. But Colmenares said some students take advantage of the software too much.

“Do I consider ChatGPT to be bad? No. I think ChatGPT is a great learning tool. It can be used as a great learning tool. The way I look at it is, some books for example, especially these days - back in my generation it was different - but especially these days, some books have proposed problems, especially for example math, they have proposed problems. And on the back you might have the full solution for that problem. And so the temptation is totally up to the student, and that is the control. It’s exactly the same,” Colmenares said.

“You can take the decision and put in effort and try to develop your skills by solving the problem and failing and then looking at where the mistake is, or you can escape this completely and look at the solution. One is going to give you more than the other, but the control is on the final user,” Colmenares said, adding later “If they don’t have the skills, that is going to impact them in a negative way.”

Terry Griffin, associate professor of computer science, said people need to be careful because answers generated by AI can still be wrong. He said as much as 70% of code he has had ChatGPT generate has needed correction. But Griffin said that can provide opportunities for good students, and that he feels faculty need to take the good with the bad.

“You’re not gonna stop somebody from using it, and so you might as well embrace it and encourage it,” Griffin said, later adding “Students, they’re gonna cheat. It’s just expected. Not all of them, but some. I think the same idea, if you can just embrace it and not try to fight it.”

Griffin said the benefits come from students using the AI to generate work, but then going through and making connections. He said it allows students to actually learn the ins and outs of what they do rather than relying on ChatGPT to do the work entirely.

“You have to have a general understanding. If you’re going to use it for coding, I don’t know about the creative side of writing an English paper or some kind of a, I don’t know, any other assignment in any other department. For us at least, you can’t just blindly use it. So if they try to run something and it doesn’t work, just fixing it will help them understand a little better, so that’s okay,” Griffin said.

Colmenares echoed Griffin’s sentiment and said students need to learn to be critical of the tools they use.

“Part of the learning experience is, that tool is out there. You can use it, but still you need to use your own criteria to verify that things are correct,” Colmenares said.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN ChatGPT generates impressive results, but can still sometimes output flaws, 2023.

PHOTO BY COLIN STEVENSON | THE WICHITAN ChatGPT has a wide array of uses, including generating code, 2023.

"THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE" IS STRICTLY FOR NINTENDO FANS

Following the success of the People’s Choice’ Award-nominated 2019 movie “Pokémon: Detective Pikachu,” Nintendo and Illumination in collaboration with Universal Pictures released their version of a cinematic adaptation of a video game titled “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a story about two Italian-American brothers, Mario and Luigi, and their journey from the familiar streets of Brooklyn, New York to the new and mysterious lands of the Mushroom Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Koopas. At the same time the ruler of the Koopas, Bowser, is on a mission to conquer the entire multiverse with the help of the super star. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are best known for their production work on “Teen Titans Go!”

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” serves as an origin story for the beloved Brooklyn plumber brother courtesy of Nintendo. The movie begins a few weeks after the launch of Mario and Luigi’s new plumbing business. The duo struggles to keep their new business afloat while combating negative criticisms from family and community members, but all that changes after they are transported via a mysterious pipe to a new and different world. After being separated, Mario embarks on a journey to find his brother Luigi while simultaneously having to stop Bowser from destroying all worlds. The movie features a

lot of thematic choices that were great for an animated movie, like the importance of friendship and family, independence, the value of self-reliance and heroism, but it was immensely specific to fans of the original Nintendo video game. Throughout the movie, Nintendo emphasizes the importance of friendship and family, as illustrated through the familiar bond between Mario and Luigi and through Mario and Princess Peach’s relationship as new friends. The movie also emphasizes the value of heroism as Mario learns throughout the movie the importance of fighting evil regardless of where it is. The movie featured a lot of great themes, on-screen character interactions and comedic references but it was all catered to a niche demographic which is uncharacteristic for a cinematic movie.

In addition to the thematic choices used in the movie, Nintendo tried to utilize on-screen character interactions and characterization to convey the theme of the movie but, due to the lack of origin stories or even subtle origin references, the majority of the on-screen characters were most likely confusing to those who aren’t Nintendo fans. Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, is the movie’s titular protagonist. He is a protective, cheerful, loyal, impulsive and courageous plumber. He is defined by his red hat, blue overalls and signature mustache. Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day, is the brother and business partner of our protagonist and is the movie’s deuteragonist. Similar to his brother, he is a plumber defined by his green hat and blue overalls. He is a smart, timid, extremely cautious, good-natured and

neurotic person that ultimately just wants to support his brother. Princess Peach, voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy, is the movie’s tritagonist and a friend to our protagonist and deuteragonist and a potential love interest for Mario. She is an adventurous, clever, sociable and optimistic ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Her profound love for her subjects and respect for others becomes the driving force that leads our protagonist towards heroism. Bowser, voiced by Jack Black, is the movie’s main antagonist. He is an extremely powerful, sinister, angry and immature individual who tries to conquer the entire multiverse in an effort to win over Princess Peach. The movie also features other characters that were inserted for the sole purpose of appeasing the fans like Donkey Kong, voiced by Seth Rogen, Toad, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, and so on.

Lastly, Nintendo heavily utilizes comedic references to capture the audience and keep them interested in the movie but fails to do so for the most part. Most of the references made throughout the movie were either extremely humorous or were not. The movie originated from the popular 1985 video game “The Super Mario Bros” and this is very evident if you grew up playing the game and all its iterations. As stated above, Nintendo discovered that there is a high demand for cinematic adaptations of popular video games and decided to bring their most popular game to the big screens. Although “The Super Mario Bros.” is a pretty popular video game, not everyone has played or even heard of it and Nintendo failed to remember this when creating the movie.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a movie

strictly for Nintendo fans. Released April 5, the movie features a lot of themes and references that are great if you are a longtime fan of the video games. The movie is a great watch but I strongly suggest that you get well versed in the Mario universe before watching it. The movie is currently in theaters but will be available for streaming on Peacock on August 5.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES Luigi is voiced by Charlie Day in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," 2023.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.

Anya Taylor-Joy voices Princess Peach, a possible love interest for Mario, 2023.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES Bowser, voiced by Jack Black, seeks more power by conquering various worlds, 2023.

" The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a great movie but is extremely catered to the fans.

JOEY ARTHUR

RATING: 2/5

Joey Arthur

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

After seeing Shira through three parts of turmoil, exile and love, the fourth and final part of Suzanne Shipley’s “To Go With the One I Love” cleaned up the loose ends readers were aching to leave behind in the dust. A long anticipated confession of love between Shira and Gray placed a fine point on part three and led swiftly into an immediate confrontation of Achim and Francesca. After the two of them practically sold Shira into an internment camp so they could run away together, it was satisfying to see them narratively smacked around a bit. Agent Bauer, an obnoxious Nazi, officer shows his face again. Though Bauer wasn’t relevant enough to mention in prior reviews, it’s worth mentioning that his character functioned largely as a plot motivator by way of traumatizing Shira. Though not exactly a confrontation, Bauer is conveniently a terrible person and was caught attempting to rape Shira’s sister. This is then used as leverage to fire

FOUR: THE FINALE

him.

There is an argument to be made about what the purpose of this book is. If the purpose of this book is to give an accurate account of a young Jewish woman finding life and love during the Holocaust, the convenient happy ending reads as an overly optimistic and, perhaps, naive way to end Shira’s story. If the purpose of the book is to give a perfect, positive story to a fictional Jewish girl in the Holocaust, the ending completes that goal but still comes off as a bit shallow. Either interpretation leaves room for improvement. There are too many details about the Shira’s trauma and the abuse of the Nazis for the reader to buy into such a sun-dazed ending. Perhaps it’s naive for a reader to expect a sobered, realistic ending for a quick romance across Europe, but if Shipley were to write a cute, fluffy romance, it calls into question why she would choose Nazi Europe as its backdrop at all. This extreme contrast puts the reader in the awkward position of deciding whether they should take “To Go With the One I Love” seriously. This could be remedied by reassessing the tone throughout the book

through characters’ reactions. This wavering tone is seen most clearly in this part when Shira finds out in a letter from Gray that her Bubbe has died. After spending weeks in Nazi jail plagued with dreams and worries of Bubbe, it takes multiple chapters before Shira even reacts to this part of the letter. Her first reaction is that she needs to get herself ready for her lover to be home. Perhaps she was pushing off those feelings but readers are left to guess what Shira feels about it.  Part four of this novel wasn’t necessarily worse than the other parts; it simply underscored some hard-to-ignore issues that permeated the length of the novel. Despite these critiques, I enjoyed reading the story overall. Enjoyment and critical analysis are two separate things. While the novel needs to be in the hands of an editor or professional publisher before it’s truly polished, it was fun to read. For those looking for a quick escape and can ignore a few character development issues, “To Go With the One I Love” scratches the historical romance

ABIGAIL JONES

RATING: 3/5

itch in its brief 301 pages.

PHOTO BY BRIDGET RILEY | THE WICHITAN

President Suzanne Shipley addresses attendees at the beginning of the Board of Regents meeting, Nov. 7, 2019. Previously president of MSU Texas, Shipley has taken up writing.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUZANNE SHIPLEY

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

" While the novel needs to be in the hands of an editor or professional

publisher

before it's truly polished, it was fun to read."

Abigail Jones

The Wichitan’s Song of the Week: "I

JOEY ARTHUR ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Welcome back to this week’s edition of the Wichitan’s Song of the Week. In celebration of the Eras Tour, this week’s pick is “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]'' by Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. Released Nov. 15, 2021, as a part of her 12th studio album but her second rerecorded “Red (Taylor’s Version),” “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the

Vault]” is a song about an ex who broke her heart and now she reflects in anger and disappointment as she has healed from the relationship. In the song, Taylor sings about who she knows her ex isn’t over her and how she hopes he will never get over her. She also sings about how he will never find true love because what they had was the love he has been searching for before and after the relationship. Back in Nov. 2020, Taylor Swift announced on CBS’s This Morning that she will be re-recording her first six albums in an effort to claim ownership of them (as they were previously owned by her former manager, Scooter Braun) and “Red (Taylor’s Version) is the second of the re-recorded albums after “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Taylor Alison Swift is an multi-award-winning and nominated country/pop singer-songwriter best known for either her impeccable songwriting abilities which has earned her multiple awards, honors and nominations like “Songwriter-Artist of the Decade” or her award-winning albums which earned her a Guinness world record and a spot in Grammys history as the first vocalist to have won the most Best Album of the Year award at the Grammys. Growing up in a small village in Pennsylvania, Taylor Swift had a strong inclination for music but not enough resources to pursue it. Growing up, she also had a strong love for country music and always knew she wanted to be a country music artist. In 2003, at the age of 14, Swift moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams of being a country artist and in 2004, she signed a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and in 2005, a recording deal with Big Machine Records. In

THE VAULT]"

2012, Taylor Swift started experimenting with the idea of switching genres from country to pop with the release of her fourth studio album “Red.”  Following the success of hits like "All Too Well," "22," and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," Taylor Swift decided to switch from country to pop with the release of her fifth studio album and her first ever pop album, “1989.” Taylor Swift’s entire discography has always been heavily influenced by her life experiences and the many versions of herself over the years and “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]” is a prime example of her discographic style.

“I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]'' is my third favorite song from the album and my top ten favorite from Taylor Swift’s discography but it has been on my mind this week. In “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]” Swift sings about a time in her life when she was in a “perfect” relationship that ended abruptly. Swift narrates in detail all of the memories she experienced during the relationship and how it wasn’t in fact perfect. She reflects on their time together and she narrates and describes the flaws in the relationship. Finally, Swift comes to terms with the end of the relationship and is happy with how much she has healed from it but she also states that she is absolutely confident that her ex will never get over her. She notes that every relationship after her will always be a poor excuse to reclaim what they had. “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]” is one of the many songs Taylor Swift states are from the Vault. The Vault are songs that were supposed to be released with the original version of the re-recorded album but weren’t.

As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any song and Taylor Swift understood that when writing “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault].” In “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault],” Swift utilizes storytelling, metaphor and pathos to narrate a confusing and disappointing time in her life. My favorite lyric in the entire song is:

“But now that we're done and it's over.

I bet it's hard to believe.

But it turned out I'm harder to forget than I was to leave.

And, yeah, I bet you think about me.”

Toxic exes are a recurring theme in Swift’s discography. In “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) [From The Vault],” Taylor Swift gives an account of her experience with a relationship that should have been perfect but wasn’t. She creates a platform for her fans to relate and filter their feelings through. The song is a great listen with a powerful message.

" Taylor Swift's career has been defined by her impressive songwriting abilities and her talented musical composition skills and 'I Bet You Think About Me' is an example of that."

JOEY ARTHUR

RATING: 5/5

BET YOU THINK ABOUT ME (TAYLOR'S VERSION) [FROM

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAYLOR SWIFT

Swift speaks of an ex-lover in "I Bet You Think About Me," 2021.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAYLOR SWIFT

Taylor Swift stars in a music video for "I Bet You Think About Me," directed by Blake Lively, 2021.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REPUBLIC RECORDS. "I Bet You Think about Me" is from Swift's second re-recorded album, 2021.

THEATER'S MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR: IN PHOTOS

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN Ethan Boone as Sir Hugh Evans and Davis Scobee as Dr. Caius clash rapiers after fencing each other, April 27. Fight choreography for this perfomance was lead by their fellow cast member Sunny Scabora.

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN Angela Webb as Johanna Rugby and Luke Craddock as Abraham Slender blow bubbles, April 27. "Merry Wives of Windsor" is one of Shakespeare's comedies.

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN Gabbi Enriquez as Nym and Nae Nae Hughes as Pistol clink glasses at the bar, April 27. They will perform these roles alongside their co-actors this weekend from Friday to Sunday.

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN Husbands and wives cheers their glasses near the conclusion of the play, April 27.

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL JONES | THE WICHITAN Actors Gabbi Enriquez, Ethan Boone, Luke Craddock, Sunny Scabora and Naenae Hughes perform in Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor," April 27.