November 29, 2017 by The Wichitan and Wai Kun

Mark Robinson and Jessica Hulett, mass communication and theater secratery, look at the attractions at the MSU Burns Fantasy of Lights. Destiny Herd, special needs education freshman, and Rachael Stagner, radiology freshman, get their picture taken infront of of the Hardin Building On Monday on Nov. 20.

Fantasy of Lights heats up TYLER MANNING REPORTER

icking off the MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights, the Redwine Carillon Bell performed Christmas songs on Nov. 21 at 5:30 p.m. to a crowd of about 500 members from the Wichita Falls and MSU communities. Suzanne Shipley, university president, welcomed those in attendance and turned on the lights, making campus glow with holiday cheer. Christmas festivities were in the air as students, children, parents and food trucks all gathered at the front of the Hardin Administration Building. “[I enjoy] the festive community spirit. This is an attraction that is fairly unique; you don’t see stuff like this on a lot of campuses. Just look at the community out here on our campus. You’ve got people of all ages, all backgrounds that enjoying themselves. You’ve got the ambiance of the music. You’ve got food trucks for crying out loud. That’s what I like about it,” Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, said.

Fantasy of Lights is a tradition that started ask them to bring Santa out and to see their more than 90 years ago when the Burns excitement. It’s wonderful that we can make family originally decorated the front yard of an impact on the community in this way their home. They now donate their displays because it is all about all ages,” Shipley said. to MSU to continue the tradition. After the outdoor Dirk Welch, director of the career festivities locals, students management center, was put in and staffs hid from Jack charge of the event in late 2016. Frost, by taking shelter in “From beginning to end, we Akin Auditorium where the estimate over 2,000 hours go band members filled the air into bringing this all to life. It with festive music. starts Jan. 1 up into the new year Matthew Luttrell, associate through refurbishment, painting, professor of music, officially work days so some of those 2,000 started the concert slightly hours are certainly due to the past 7 p.m. Addressing the volunteers that come out on work crowd of around 300, Luttrell PROSPER KASEKE day and help throughout,” Welch said junior high schools EDUCATION SENIOR said. joined the Wind Ensemble The estimated number of lights on “White Christmas.” on the campus buildings comes to around “We love to do it [concerts],” Luttrell said. 30,000, according to Welch. “The more we can, do the better. Performing Shipley said her favorite part is seeing how is the life blood of musicians; performing is the children react to the event. what we live for.” “I just love it when get to have them The Wind Ensmble played well-known [children]. I like the belief. You know that songs like “Let it Snow,” “Rudolph the Red they still believe in Christmas and to get to Nose Reindeer,” “Silver Bells” and many more.

“It’s an amazing experience, and how the crowd responded was just amazing.”

“When we play it brings joy to people and that helps me play,” Bryan Pham, violinist and nursing sophomore said. Luttrell said the tradition of Fantasy of Lights concert has been around for 15 to 20 years and has been changed over time to include more of the band. The concert gives the band a more professional look at what it would be like as a professional musician. Prosper Kaseke, saxophone player and music education senior, said this concert has a casual festive feel to it, but still has a professional feel in how they played. “It’s an amazing experience. We get to express ourselves,” Kaseke said. “And how the crowd responded was just amazing.” The concert ended with Luttrell inviting the crowd to join in on the last song which involved a clap that the audience and band would do together. The auditorium was filled with music, clapping and the small whispers of singers singing along. Additional reporting by Kara McIntyre, Chloe Phillips, Stephen Gomez, Alex Rios and Makayla Scheck.

2 | Nov. 29, 2017 | STAF F E DI T O R I A L

Take advantage, study abroad OUR VIEW: Travelling abroad is opportunity students should take advantage of.

esides traveling with your college friends and making unique memories, the cultural experience will help in future job situations. The world around us is blurring borders more and more, understanding different cultures allows for employees to more open. Any occupation dealing with international business, travel, immigrants, public communications deals with other cultures and study abroad broadens the chances to be hired. Many concerns about studying abroad is the cost, but financial aid and the international education department are willing to work with students. Many people are too scared to ask for any kind of financial support, but our campus offers tons of aid because we are a liberal arts college and value the rich exposure study abroad offers students. More information can be found by contacting Michael Mills, international education director. Students should take advantage of the opportunity to experience the world beyond their culture and study abroad while in college.

wichitan

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Vol. 82 | No. 13

Midwestern State University Fain Fine Arts Bldg., Room D201 3410 Taft Blvd. Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 (940) 397-4704 wichitan@mwsu.edu thewichitan.com @wichitanonline

Greek culture more toxic than we admit

reek life and the activities of sororities and fraternities are prevalent on most university campuses in the United States. Many universities, including MSU, will start organizing “Greek Week” in a few months, where Greeks engage in celebratory competitions to show off school and organizational spirit. Greek affairs, including Greek Week, commonly revolve around traditions, Markell Braxton-Johnson social gatherings and professional and alumni networking. As any member of these organizations will tell you, philanthropy is a prominent part of their activities. If this were the complete picture of Greek culture, then it would only be fair to conclude that fraternities and sororities were simply clubs of benign socializing. However, the underlying reputation of Greek organizations is, in general, far more insidious. People are realizing that Greek culture is more toxic than we’d like to admit. All too often Greek culture glorifies elitism, alcohol/drug abuse and insolent behavior. They are nonetheless as real as the wholesome activities I mentioned before. These organizations masquerade under the guise of philanthropy and piety to ingratiate themselves with the university, knowing that if they become disorderly, they can justify their unique status with appeals to tradition. This was the case for 20-year-old Texas State University

sophomore Matthew Ellis. Ellis, just like so many other unsuspecting college students, pledged a fraternity – in this case, it was Phi Kappa Psi. As per the unwritten rules of far too many fraternities and sororities, Ellis went to a Greek event and began drinking heavily. The following morning, on Nov. 12, 2017, Ellis was found dead. Though local police have yet to confirm all details surrounding his terribly premature death, The University Star, Texas State’s campus newspaper, reported Ellis died at an initiation event. So much for “brothers” having each other’s backs. The story of Matthew Ellis is not an isolated tragedy, and to pretend so would be feckless. Just this year, three other pledges – not including Ellis – met grim, premature deaths in the company of their respective fraternities. In each case, excessive alcohol consumption and hazing was foisted on younger members; and at the end of the night, these young men literally pledged their lives away. I’m not saying that fraternities and sororities don’t do admirable charitable work. But what I am advocating for is that the university community turn a more critical eye to the Greek organizations we have. We shouldn’t accept two standards for Greeks and non-Greeks, and we certainly can’t accept the fate of Ellis to happen to a member of one of our fraternities or sororities. The onus is on us to make sure that never happens at our university. To do that we have to be honest about the totality of Greek culture. Markell Braxton-Johnson is a sports and leisure studies junior.

Girl squads offer support, guidance

’ve never really cared much about having girl friends. I was always around my older brothers and their friends or my three boy cousins. I never really got along with girls, and I was never interested in all the drama that came with it. All of my best friends were guys. However, in the world we live in, it is more and more important that we have a group of girls around us that support and help us grow: our own girl squad. Kylie Austin In a way, I had my own girl squad my entire life through my soccer teammates, but not in a totally healthy way. I’ve played competitive sports since I was 7-years-old, and girls aren’t exactly the best at separating the difference between on and off the pitch. College ball was no different. It’s a family, but a highly dysfunctional one at that. This was a quick realization that I needed a healthier support system outside of my team where support outweighed competition. All the pieces came together and clicked well initially. The group text was always popping off, and I always had someone to go with me to eat, shop or go out. There’s a saying I’ve always heard about college friendships that goes something like this, “You have real, genuine friends who you can depend on, and you have occasional friends who you only call up to go out with.” These girls were the latter. I genuinely hope that they are growing into the women that

EDITOR: Kara McIntyre VISUALS EDITOR: Justin Marquart FEATURES EDITOR: Cortney Wood OPINIONS EDITOR: Tyler Manning COPY EDITOR: Leah Bryce BUSINESS MANAGER: Brendan Wynne ISSUE STAFF: Craig Tidmore, Sierra Hodges, Shari Smith, Britnni Vilandre, Tré Jones, Makayla Scheck

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Sara Keeling, Harlie David, Arianna Davis, Francisco Martinez, Elias Maki, Tiffanie Gonzales

ADVISER: Bradley Wilson

they want to be; however, we are growing separately, and that is okay. There are friendships I wouldn’t support. The biggest of them was putting down other women viciously and then expecting the rest of us to write them off and do the same. First of all, it is her problem with this person, not mine. Secondly, she needs to let go of that hurt. People are only as relevant in your life as you let them be. Let go of that hurt and let yourself grow. Your girl squad needs to have a like-mindedness of bettering themselves and holding themselves accountable in life. Fast forward a couple years to early 2017. I have an amazing job with the Dallas Stars that I love with my whole heart and soul. Through this job, I met my girl squad. I can fully trust and be real with them about anything and everything. We can talk about faith, family and the future while supporting each other through it all. We’re all focused on growing, graduating school, finding jobs, moving cities and exploring the world — and we’re doing it together. In a world where society constantly pits women against women, diminishes our abilities and tells us our dreams aren’t feasible, the girl squad has never been more important. When the world works against us, we can stand together in solidarity. Kylie Austin is a history senior. Copyright ©2017. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a email address, telephone number and address.

| Nov. 29, 2017 | 3

Critical Conversation Series discusses sexual assault on campus PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY IMDB

Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher in Justice League (2017)

DC’s lastest injustice in theaters now I

t is apparent that Warner Bros. does not have a solid plan for its DC film universe. Every bit of news regarding the latest endeavor, “Justice League,” has been about last-minute changes to the film, including the reshoots that took up an estimated 25-50 Tyler percent of the project. News about Manning future movies in the franchise has also been directionless and scary for the few fans of the franchise. Upon the release of the “Justice League,” multiple media outlets are reporting how Ben Affleck is looking for a ‘cool’ way to leave his role as Batman. News of a Joker film without Jared Leto playing the Joker have also surfaced. This lack of direction and vision shows in DC’s latest cinematic failure, “Justice League,” a boring, cheesy mess that is plagued by poor writing, jarring reshoots and awful editing. Wonder Woman is a strong presence in the movie and greatly bolsters it. Since having her own outstanding movie, the audience has a good sense of who Wonder Woman is as a character. However, Zack Snyder, director of “Justice League” even had to muddle with the mythos in her backstory. There had been outrage surrounding the sexist costume changes of the Amazonians in the “Wonder Woman,” a film directed by a woman by the way, and “Justice League.” The backlashed is well-supported. In “Justice League,” costume designers changed the armor to be more revealing, adding mid-drifts and shorter skirts to a majority of the extras on screen. Wonder Woman herself even has a noticeably shorter skirt than she had in her own film. You would think that a race of warriors would not remove sections of their armor revealing their skin making them more vulnerable to attack, but that’s the beauty of the “male gaze.” The Flash has a nice, although abrupt, arc about

him gaining the courage to fight against evil. Ezra Miller is a charming choice as the character and I thought scenes with him were fun. I actually wish there were more scenes with him using his powers because I found them visually appealing. Aquaman is one of the worst characters in the film. He is given no definitive characteristics. In the first half of the film, he is set up as a toxically masculine guy with no sense of humor or unity telling Batman that he wants to be left alone. However, toward the end of the film he is cracking jokes and smiling with the team of people he did not want to be with in the first place. Ray Fisher was a good choice in Cyborg, although his character was boring. I would like to see more of him in future films. Superman is significantly better-represented in this film as opposed to the grim character he was in “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” He is a good guy who seems like he wants to help people. My biggest problem is that the film overpowers him, making any scene with him fighting the antagonist — Steppenwolf — completely void of any tension. Ben Affleck did an okay job as Batman in this movie. I thought his portrayal in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” was significantly better. The dark tone of his previous film served his character better and it’s weird to see Batman in a lighthearted movie cracking jokes. The villain of the film was horribly uninspired and looked like every bland video game villain whose name you can’t seem to remember. He was completely computer generated and had no clear motivation other than to take over the world. In a sea of boring comic book movies, this one fits right in with the rest. Overall, I found this film to be a chore. For now, Warner Bros. best alternative is to stick to making great Wonder Woman movies.

on healthy sexual activity and how to respond to sexual advances. “This program was beneficial to the o discuss the results of the campus climate survey that was dis- series of steps this university has been tributed last spring, the Office taking,” Greene said. “Recognizing the of Equity, Inclusion and Multicultural data was key to understanding what Affairs members hosted the last topic the issue and prevalence was. By going for the critical conversation series on through the analysis process, we now sexual assault Nov. 27 in the Legacy have the data to begin the conversation about it in the community.” Multipurpose Room at 4 p.m. According to Button, this is the In addition, students report high perceptions of consent, moderate per- first time the data was released, so ceptions of campus safety and overall the campus has began to address the satisfaction with the institution’s re- issue of sexual assault on campus. Without concrete evidence and data, sponse to campus sexual Button said “you canviolence. not do anything about A faculty panel comthe campus climate prised of Andrea Butuntil you start a conton, assistant professor versation,” so the first of sociology, Syreeta steps for a safer campus Greene, director of eqcomes from asking the uity, inclusion and mulstudents. ticultural affairs, Keith “We waited until this Lamb, vice president for particular event to do student affairs and ena public disclosure of rollment management, what the survey had Linda Veazey, associate said, so that is the frontprofessor of political sciline of it,” Button said. ence and Debra Dyason, “Until we hear from stuexecutive director of dents, we can’t say what First Step, discussed the is going on. We needed research and focused to have a public forum on the key points from where we actually say the survey. According ‘this is the result of the to the survey, 17 perinitial survey.’ We startcent of those on camed the conversation, pus have been a victim SYREETA GREENE and we need to move of sexual violence and DIRECTOR OF EQUITY, forward. It’s the first INCLUSION AND with 21.5 percent on the steps in many.” MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS survey, more than twice According to Button, as many women experithe series and survey ence sexual violence on campus comwill continue for three more years, but pared to men at 9.3 percent. “The results seem to be in line with in the meantime, Button said she recwhat the program was about which is ognizes that sexual assault occurs on discussing topics that impact the cam- every level on a campus and will conpus community,” Greene said. “For this tinue to drive the discussions on sexual particular program, critical conversa- assault in whatever way she said. “I feel as if I have a critical role to play tion series, we have addressed or talked about a number of different topics, all not just as an educator, but someone topics that impact the students, faculty who is willing to provide that space and staff within the community of the and promote training,” Button said. university. It has been a two year pro- “As a faculty member, I have a responsibility to my colleagues as well. We cess to get the survey going. After receiving the results from the know this is not just about students survey, Greene said it was “a great op- being victimized — faculty members portunity to discuss the results” at face this. We have to be brave enough this series, so the series not only han- to challenge sexual assault on campus dled sexual misconduct, but touched at every level.” SHARI SMITH REPORTER

“This program was beneficial to the series of steps this university has been taking. Recognizing the data was key to understanding what the issue and prevalence was.”

4 | Nov. 29, 2017 |

FALL 2017 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY FORUM RESULTS

DILLARD COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Best Oral Presentation | Courtney Waldron, Ashley Baird, Chappell Whyms, Utility of Religious Goods 2nd Best Oral Presentation | Matthew D. Matlock, Crystal Williams, Hotter ‘N Hell Study: Quantitative Phase Final Results Best Poster Presentation | Jacqueline D’Ingianni, Glass Ceiling for Women: A Review of Legal Cases Most Interdisciplinary Oral | Courtney Waldron, Ashley Baird, Chappell Whyms, Utility of Religious Goods Most Creative Oral | Courtney Waldron, Ashley Baird, Chappell Whyms, Utility of Religious Goods Most Interdisciplinary Poster | Jacqueline D’Ingianni, Glass Ceiling for Women: A Review of Legal Cases Most Creative Poster | Jacqueline D’Ingianni, Glass Ceiling for Women: A Review of Legal Cases COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS Best Oral Presentation | Duli De Alwis, Brett Scheffe, Jocelyn Brown, Improving Plate Heat Exchanger Design to Increase the Pressure Tolerance Limit Second Best Oral Presentation | Bethany Russell, Combatting Antibiotic Resistance Through the Reversion of Chromosomal Erythromycin Resistance in Escherichia coli Most Interdisciplinary Oral Presentation | Kenneth Griffin, Mpathi Nzima, Intelligent Robotics Using Computer Vision Most Creative Oral Presentations (a 3-way tie) | Kenneth Griffin, Mpathi Nzima, Intelligent Robotics Using Computer Vision; Aaron Stewart, Colton Kowalick, Victor Juarez, Jason Hill, Automated Pneumatic Stamping Cycle; Colton Dorion, William Hendrickson, Kennan Marino, Kevin Tracy, Development of a Lizard PBT Data Collection Apparatus Best Poster Presentation | Rojitha Goonesekere, Abigail Reyes, Control of Asymmetric Periodic motions in a Duffing Oscillatory Circuit Second Best Poster Presentation | Alexandria Weiskircher, Continued Mineral and Textural Assessment of the Quanah Margin Granites in the Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma Most Interdisciplinary Poster | Anthony Enem, Ali Khalid, High Performance DNA Sequencing Most Creative Poster | Rojitha Goonesekere, Don Wijesinghe, Search and Rescue Drone Network Using Neural Networking Methods

see RESULTS pg. 5

Students, faculty show o

tudents, there for extra credit or for a presentation, filled the Clark Student Atrium in the early hours of the day, milling around at the EURECA forum on Nov. 16. Students presented their research projects they worked on all semester to their peers, faculty and staff.

WICHITAN STAFF

Alexandria Weiskircher, geoscience senior | “I choose to participate because I feel like research is actually fun for me. I did it for one semester and I just wanted to keep going. Also with my major it is really nice to have this research for going to graduate school, it is not required but it is looked at and preferred.” Luke Bryant, nursing freshman | “We came as extra credit but it is actually pretty interesting. There are some cool research projects so it was definitely worth attending and as far as coming back next year, I would for sure but I would like to see some more interactive projects.” Rebekah Bratton, social work senior | “I had an international friend that I lived with last year and she mentioned that she felt a lot of stress and pressure from her parents back home. Stressed about having to get high grades and a good job here in the US, so we decided to conduct research to compare the perceived stress levels of international and US students. Our results were actually opposite than what we thought, using a perceived stress scale, US students rated higher in perceived stress levels in education, finances and work avenues than international students.” Anika Proctor, political science junior | “I attended this forum because it was offered as extra credit for my geology class. It was worth attending because it’s an easy 10 points for a quiz grade in the class.” Alexis Martinez, dental hygiene sophomore | “I like to go every time to see what different studies the students are doing and it’s pretty interesting because each year they’re always different. It’s worth attending because it’s nice to see new stuff.” Abigail Reyes, mechanical engineering junior | “I chose to participate because I was first introduced to this project by my professor who I was having at the time and then he was needing somebody to do this project and I decided ‘why not?’ It’s definitely fun, you meet new people, you get to learn about different majors that probably didn’t know that much about.” Rita Salomon, social work senior | “I’m going to school for social work so this projects resonated with me. I learned how to research as far as the random sampling method goes. It pushed me to get out there and ask questions.” Madison Hooper, nursing sophomore | “Some of the projects are interesting and I found one study that relates to me.” Alexandria Weiskircher, geoscience senior | “I participated because I actually did this for three semesters. I started in fall 2016, and I really like doing research, so I wanted to continue with it. What I got out of the research was how you can start with one thing, but completely move in a different way. It was actually fun to do, and I just really enjoyed doing it.” Kevin Oney, geoscience freshman | “I attended this

presentation because my friend wanted to bring me here. I thought it was worth attending because I was able to see some of the studies of my major and what I may be doing one day for my career.” Matthew Matlock, accounting senior | “It is a wonderful opportunity to be apart of research and allows you to work cross platforms.” Joe Randall, mechanical engineer | “I’m thinking about participating in EURECA and wanted to get an idea of what others have done.” Shadai John, geoscience senior | “I got experience and I feel like I know what to expect when researching and I’ve learned about how hard the methodology is.” Giselle Crooke, accounting freshman | “The information was informative, topics were very interesting and I am currently in macro economics, so the information was relatable.” Mireya Gonzalez, social work sophomore | “I participated because I felt this was a subject that affects many people and we can be a voice for people who can’t speak out for themselves.” Kimberley Telenacque, mechanical engineering senior | “I attended because I was receiving extra credit, however when I came here it was more than that because I was actually interested in the presentations. It was worth attending because the presentations added a lot to my knowledge.” Alexandria Weiskircher, geoscience senior | “I participated because I’ve been doing this since fall 2016 and i feel like research is actually fun for me after doing it one semester. in my major it was actually something they love at applying for grad school.” Rojitha Goonesekere, mechanical engineering senior | “I chose to participate because research is a great extension off the classroom. It really helps you go beyond the classroom and others could make use of what has been learned. I learned a lot about circuits and electronics. I got to learn at a deeper level.” Mercy Yermo, exercise physiology sophomore | “In all honesty, I came because it counts as extra credit for one of my classes. It was worth it because it was very educational, eye opening, and I get to see what other students on campus are researching.” Carlyse Wallace, mechanical engineering junior | “I chose to participate because I want to do an internship this summer. I’m a junior in college and I want to get more background in the practical work in my field and so I chose to join Eureca to learn how to research incase I have to research for the summer as a program and certainly I did it because I want to have something to put on my resume and improve my job prospects. I got t learn more about petroleum engineering because I am not taking the petroleum certificate even though it’s offered here at MSU, but I’m learning more about the oil industry and the different ways you can improve and extract oil.”

off research at EURECA

PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Mireya Gonzalez, social work sophomore, presents with her group about Perceptions of Sexual Assault amount on college students during the EURECA Forum on Nov. 16. Mi’Kyle Percentie, mechanical engineering junior | “I attended because I wanted to see what engineers were going to present and also for the extra credit. It was worth attending because I got to learn some interesting stuff.” Connie Jennings, special education senior | “It’s an awesome opportunity to get my name out there and learn more about research. I want to get my masters and doctorates and so learning those strategies early on is good.” Julia Orozco, exercise physiology freshman | “I enjoyed coming because there is a lot of information I didn’t know about before. They are very detailed and had information on things I would have never thought about.” Aaron Devaul, Psychology senior | “This was a perfect opportunity to learn and grown and how to thoroughly research.” Alyson Beard, exercise physiology freshman | “I attended this event because I noticed that there were a lot of people in here reading the posters. It was worth attending because I learned a lot and there were interesting topics to read about. I looked mostly at the science-related ones because I like science. It was cool to see research about bacteria because that’s what were talking about in my biology class.” Connie Ginnings, special education senior | “This was a good way for me to get my foot in the door to understand how research really works, and I got to help little kids learn how to read better. It was definitely a win-win situation. I learned that research is hills and valleys, meaning that you have really productive days but other days you want to pull your hair.” Emilie Harris, education senior | “I came to support a classmate, and it was worth attending because her presenta-

tion was about how karaoke affects reading comprehension. I found this useful because I can use this method in my own classroom.” Luke Saunders, psychology and sociology senior | “I chose to participate because it’s part of a senior requirement for the honors program, and I’m applying to graduate school so it will look good on my resume. It was stressful because I did it all by myself, but it’s rewarding to see everything complete and how it all came together.” Meaghan Rose, biology senior | “I love bacteria i’ve always been interested in bacteria and I know they have a lot of potential roles. Just by getting into the research I wanted to get my hands dirty learning how to grow them, learning how to identify them. I really think it’s gonna help me in my future career.” Venus Sherazey, sophomore at Hirschi High School | “It was definitely one of the coolest things i’ve ever done. Just the experience to work in a high-tech lab and learning from the undergrad students. Being able to work with them and connect even though there is a large age gap between us that was super sweet.” Zeltzin Reyes, mechanical engineering senior | “My presentation has been ongoing research and I thought it was very interesting. Not a lot of people know about it and I think that the topic is really cool. I can quantify the things that I got out of this project including new circuits and printing them out and working with new software.” Lexi Malone, early childhood education senior | “I attended it to see my friend’s presentation and to learn more. I think this event is really interesting because its actually students teaching the material rather than superior.”

| Nov. 29, 2017 | 5 from RESULTS pg. 4 GUNN COLLEGE OF HUMAN SERVICES AND HEALTH SCIENCES Best Poster Presentation | Breanna Dial, Kristi Bustamante, Sandra Contreras, Aspyn Derebery, Parents’ Divorce and Fear of Intimacy Among College Students Second Best Poster Presentation | Linda Drake, Mireya Gonzalez, Brittney Huff, Glendonna Johnson, Perceptions of Sexual Assault Among College Students Most Interdisciplinary Poster (2-way Tie) | Alishia Johnson-Early, Mallory LeDoux, Jennifer Joss Kalyn Johnson, Stress Among Student Athletes; Linda Drake, Mireya Gonzalez, Brittney Huff, Glendonna Johnson, Perceptions of Sexual Assault Among College Students Most Creative Poster | Alishia JohnsonEarly, Mallory LeDoux, Jennifer Joss, Kalyn Johnson, Stress Among Student Athletes PROTHRO-YEAGER COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Best Oral Presentation | Nicole Longo, Unnecessary Aggression Second best Oral Presentation | Luke J. Saunders, Protest and Survive: The Sociology of British Hardcore Punk Most Interdisciplinary Oral Presentation | Herbert McCullough, Natalia Zamora Garcia, Gender Violence and Displacement: Assessing the Transit State Security Gaps for Women and Girls in the Northern Triangle and Syrian Refugee Crises. Most Creative Oral Presentation | Luke J. Saunders, Protest and Survive: The Sociology of British Hardcore Punk Best Poster Presentation | Luke J. Saunders, Outcomes of Internet Mindfulness Training Second Best Poster Presentation | Aaron D. DeVaul, Disparate Conditions & Perceptions in British Prisons Along Racial & Ethnic Lines Most Interdisciplinary Poster | Aaron D. DeVaul, Disparate Conditions & Perceptions in British Prisons Along Racial & Ethnic Lines Most Creative Poster | Luke J. Saunders, Outcomes of Internet Mindfulness Training WEST COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Best Oral Presentation | Nikki Bussue, CoTeaching Model: Making a Difference for Teaching and Learning Second best Oral Presentation | Hailey Morris, Educational Reach Gone Wrong Most Interdisciplinary Oral Presentation | Hailey Morris, Educational Reach Gone Wrong Most Creative Oral Presentation | Hailey Morris, Educational Reach Gone Wrong Best Poster Presentation | Connie Ginnings, Karaoke and Its Effect on Reading Comprehension 2nd Best Poster Presentation | Montserrath Garay, Frida Arredondo, From Margin to Center: Multicultural Picture Books for Math, Science, and Social Studies Most Interdisciplinary Poster | Connie Ginnings, Karaoke and Its Effect on Reading Comprehension Most Creative Poster | Connie Ginnings, Karaoke and Its Effect on Reading Comprehension

6 | Nov. 15, 2017 | PHOTO BY TRE JONES | THE WICHITAN

Construction workers build tables for the new Flower Mound campus which should be ready to open for the spring semester. The Board of Regents are expecting a slew of nontraditional students to enroll.

PHOTO BY TRE JONES | THE WICHITAN

Working on the outside of a building, construction workers prepare the campus for students’ arrival.

New campus to open in January Flower Mound campus focus’ on nontraditional students, health majors, online courses TRE JONES REPORTER

brand-new MSU campus, located in Flower Mound, Texas, is set to be opened to the public on Jan. 16, 2018 — just in time for the spring semester. Randy Canivel, who has been with the university for a little more than 10 years, was hired in August 2017 to be the director of the new facility. He said he is looking forward to this new building being finished for students to attend. “One of the most important things about this new campus is branding and expanding MSU’s mission and power beyond Wichita Falls, and that will result in more students,” Canivel said. This campus was first proposed to the Board of Regents about two and a half years ago, but as far as groundbreaking goes, that all began in December 2016. Canivel said they were hoping to have the facility opened in the fall of 2017, but because of weather and other things going on, they weren’t able to open it. This did not affect programs since most of them are online. MSU Flower Mound will be partnering with North Central Texas College, meaning students that go to NCTC will be able to take courses at MSU as well. On campus, there are different rooms that will be specifically for NCTC students. Canivel said financial aid will be a smooth process for those that choose to attend both MSU and NCTC at the same time. “All of the services will go through

Midwestern, but we have an employee that broadcasting to different campuses along will help students with that, so they will not with the NCTC classes that will be going on as have to bounce,” Canivel said. well,” Canivel said. At the May Board of Regents meeting, the He also said this sort of thing will symbolize regents decided the university will offer the the partnership between the two schools by health science degree completion programs, having this shared facility, which he enjoys. such as nursing, respiratory With the budget being care and radiologic sciences, based on an estimated in an accelerated parts-ofenrollment of 6,150 students term format. This model for fall 2017, the overall allows a student to complete budget for the Flower Mound nine semester credit hours campus totaled to about per term while only being $1.14 million. Keith Lamb, enrolled in six semester credit vice president of student hours at any given time. affairs and enrollment RANDY CANIVEL The Flower Mound facility DIRECTOR OF FLOWER MOUND management, said will mainly have a larger enrollment was important number of non-traditional students who fall for this facility to be successful and it will help over the age of 25, which is different than the overall enrollment numbers for the university Wichita Falls campus. together. “We are focusing on adult learners here. “We don’t want to shift our population MSU in Wichita [Falls] is more traditional, so from Wichita Falls to Flower Mound. The here we are focusing on adult learners that are purpose of this new campus is to grow our between the ages of 25 and maybe 34. We are population,” Lamb said. offering the three health science completion Lamb said the education program starting in courses and the radiology program. We have Flower Mound will hopefully be an attraction education one as well, and we are hopefully to people who live in the Dallas/Fort Worth looking to expanding more as enrollment area. grows,” Canivel said. “This spring looks like we will offer our first The majority of these classes will be online education EC [early childhood] through six with instructors present. There will also be [6th grade] cohort, and we believe that will be internet television classes that are broadcasted attractive to a number of school districts that from different places. Canivel said they will we are visiting with that are interested,” Lamb have the capability to be able to do things said. such as the ITV classes. With enrollment playing a big part in the “We have the ability to do simulcasting or making of this campus, Canivel said location

“It’s been a great experience because it’s MSU and I love MSU.”

is key in all of this. With the facility built in a largely populated area, it will be easier to gain more students and he said he and Lamb are excited to get everything started. Lamb said, “Right now, enrollment is looking pretty good. We are hoping to have around 2,000 students hopefully by the time everything gets started.” With MSU and NCTC classes being taught, there will not be really any instructors leaving this campus to go to Flower Mound. “Right now, we have two full-time instructors down there. We have a nursing faculty member and a respiratory faculty member. There may be some instructors that teach at both places, but we are not shifting a faculty member that lives in Wichita Falls to Flower Mound. There may be some that do both, but we hired two people that do strictly Dallas/Fort Worth,” Lamb said. Canivel said the building of this campus has been good for him, but it was certainly a heavy workload. “It has been a lot of marketing and a lot of networking along with construction. It’s been great experience because it’s MSU and I love MSU. It’s great just meeting all these people in Denton County, and it’s going to be a great partnership with the city,” Canivel said. “Getting to know the people at North Central Texas College has been great as well. Construction has been its own animal, but that has been a great learning experience. We also have a great person in charge of the architect process, and I have enjoyed that.”

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PHOTO BY RACHEL JOHNSON | THE WICHITAN

Students put in the orders at the registers at the on campus Chick-fil-A Nov. 28.

Unconnected credit card machines cause inconvenience SHARI SMITH REPORTER

or three months, Chartwells, the company that manages dining services across campus has not been able to use the credit card machines. Mueen Patankar, director of dining services, said infrastructure is creating a problem. “Previously when we had the credit card system, it worked on cell towers. It was a system similar to a phone where you would call in, it dials in and accepts the credit card then it hangs up,” Patankar said. “Because the university does not have the infrastructure of credit card machines and fiber optics, when we first got the contract, we figured that would be the best route to go to accommodate people with credit cards.” Jim Hall, chief information security officer of information technology, said the credit card machines operate on a separate cellular network. “They use a separate card processing system that operates on a cellular network. We have reached out to help them to obtain new equipment and fiber optics. The network needs to be PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant and includes broad issues that would be difficult to add to our network,” Hall said. Patankar said they first had problems with the coffee shop in Moffett Library. “The main reason it happened at Starbucks was that the library is in such a confined space, it is hard to get cell connection over there,” Patankar said. “Secondly, being that it is so hard to get the cell connection, it is more difficult to get the cell tower for the credit card machines. Because of one of those variables, other machines were having the same issues.” After the machine in the coffee shop went down, it trickled down to the other machines. “It started with Starbucks two and a half months ago, then Chick-fil-A. Not all of the machines were down at Chick-fil-A,

it went down gradually. There were four machines initially, one went down the first week, another the second week then the third week two went down. Afterwards, it was burrito bowl then grill nation,” Patankar said. The problem was out of their means even though dining services took measures to resolve the issue immediately. “We have changed our service provider from AT&T to Sprint, but even with that change it did not help us. We did everything we could on our end to help resolve the issue. So that’s when we reached out to the committee here at the university and then they collaborated with us to bring in fiber optics,” Patankar said. “The machines in dining hall and grill nation are working now which is strange. We have changed providers and bought new machines to aid with the problem but that didn’t work.” Students said the credit card machines being down have been an inconvenience. Dave Hughes, accounting senior said, “I have not gone grocery shopping in a while and there have been some mornings that I could not focus in class because I am unable to use my card to get a quick bite.” Patankar said when the credit card machines were down and the ATM was also down it was a double discouragement but tried to help students who reached out. “We have traveled within our means to please them at times when someone had a credit card and they were hungry and we saw them outside we would give them free meals,” Patankar said. “We did it to help them and make them understand that we are here for you.” Marla Buffong, accounting senior and student worker at Burrito Bowl expressed her concern for students. “The card machine has not been working for weeks and it detours customers,” Buffong said. “I know first hand that

Burrito Bowl has lost a lot of student revenue because of this. It is never a good feeling to turn away a hungry customer because of a situation that should have been fixed as soon as possible. I am not sure what management is doing about it but I hope they fix it soon.” The issue is still being dealt with, but may still take a while before the machines are up and running again. “We are still working on it, all the equipment are here. It is a matter of the local spectrum company coming and determining where to put the equipment,” Patankar said. “Everything has to do with compliance of regular systems for the credit card machines and we have to work with that. If there is no compliance then a lot of people’s personal information are at risk.” Retail supervisor of Chick-fil-A, Solana Paul, social work senior said it is costly for students especially individuals who live off campus. “The credit card being down is an inconvenience and costly for students,” Paul said. “There are a lot of students without meal plans and who live off campus and use the bus for transporting and can’t go back and forth as they please for meals and relay on the outlets for food between classes.” Patankar stated the cost of repair is very expensive. He said once they have the system in place, they would not have any further issues. Also, he suggests an alternative for students to make it easier. He said students can purchase meal memberships. “Any student can purchase small meal plans such as the commuter meal plan for $205 for 25 meals which allows you to save more than paying at the door every time. The meal plans encourage students to save 20% and can be used at any food outlet on campus. It can be purchased via the Dine On Campus - Midwestern State website,” Patankar said.

8 | Nov. 29, 2017 |

dreams Turning

into reality

HASKELL HOLLIER REPORTER

ccording to Forbes, crime in Atlanta, Georgia is 6 percent above the national median and has been a major problem for the city since the mid-20th century. Atlanta was the murder capital of the world for several years, but the crime rate has declined since 2001. This is where Justin Beasley, computer science junior, grew up. “Besides all the crime and stuff, it was fun. Only certain parts of Atlanta are bad. I grew up in Zone 6, which is the most famous area of [crime in] Atlanta,” Beasley said. After ranking in the top five highest violent crime cities for the past three decades, Atlanta ranked 31st in 2009 — but in 2015, 24/7 Wall Street ranked it 129th. To Beasley, those statistics are not accurate. “There is no way we are ranked that low. I know it sounds bad to be, in a way, competing for the ‘murder capital of the world,’ but during my adolescent years, Atlanta’s crime had to have spiked even more,” Beasley said. Along with many other cities such as, Chicago and Detroit, Atlanta was hit by the crack drug epidemic. From the 80s to the late 90s, Atlanta was ranked the most dangerous city in the country by the Morgan Quitno Press. Knowing how tough the streets of Atlanta were, Beasley’s parents did their best to keep their son on the “better side” of town. Beasley would not be another statistic. “Some people I grew up with and still know to this day are still on the corner, still in the streets, but I can’t judge them for it. They’re family. Doing those things are their only way out,” Beasley said. “My true friends kept me out of that life. They saw I was interested in school and soccer, so they did their best to keep me away from [crime]. I never judged my friends for what they did or where they’re at, but for what they did for me.” According to Beasley, one reason Atlanta has so many homicides is because of the drug dealing.

Soccer star rises from unlikely statistical odds

“My best friend back home sells drugs because his family wasn’t fortunate enough to have the money or funds to help send him to college,” Beasley said. Beasley first fell in love with soccer when he was 17. It wasn’t his first love. His first love was basketball and football. Once Beasley started playing soccer, he didn’t want to stop. “I was playing soccer 24/7 - I breathed, slept, ate soccer. It’s all I enjoyed,” Beasley said. With just three or four years under his belt, Beasley earned D1 and D2 offers. Beasley ended up going to play for Alcorn State, but he was released from the team for being a unfit team captain. “I was cursing out my teammates and I did a lot of things I was not proud of, but I don’t regret it. My actions taught me how to be a leader and how not to be a leader,” Beasley said. Being from Zone 6 always had Beasley under a microscope. “People just assumed I was a gangbanger. I am not a Atlanta statistic and the generations coming behind me do not have to be either,” Beasley said. Beasley could have returned home and became involved with some of the people he knew and made some poor decisions, but instead he chose MSU. “I called the coach and emailed him. Basically I was just asking for a chance. I put myself out there,” Beasley said. Beasley is ecstatic about his upcoming tryout this spring for the soccer team. “It’s funny. This is a D2 school, but the facilities here are better than my old school. Compared to my last school, it’s a step up, even though I stepped down as far as divisions are concerned,” Beasley said. His dream is to play for the new Major League Soccer team in Atlanta, where he can develop his game and

PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | THE WICHITAN

Justin Beasley, computer science junior, practice soccer in the MSU practice fields on Nov. 17.

get better. After that, he plans to one day play for a team in Spain. Beasley’s close friends, Gerardo Tenorio, business senior, believes Beasley will fulfill his dreams. “Justin likes to have a positive mindset all the time no matter if other people say it’s not possible to do something. Justin thinks it is if you just trust yourself to do it,” Tenorio said. Zone 6 is known for its drugs, rap and trap music, but hopefully it will be known for ´the m a n who plays soccer to keep himself focused and dedicated to his school work. Beasley said, “Find your dream and work at your craft. No one will get you out, but you. I promise you your hardwork will pay off.”

JUSTIN BEASLEY COMPUTER SCIENCE, JUNIOR - From Atlanta, Georgia - Started playing soccer at 17 - Dreams to play for the new Major League Soccer team in Atlanta