Sept. 18, 2013 | Midwestern State University | thewichitan.com | Your Campus. Your News.
Caribfest pageant celebrates Caribbean culture enaway, senior in biology, recruited and selected this year’s contestants over the summer. “Balancing college responsibilities [while] learning routines, working on their talent and outfit fittings was not easy,” Sandiford said. The inclusion of non-Caribbean participants allows CSO to spread the Caribbean cultural experience on campus. “CSO is not only for Caribbean students. It’s an organization which welcomes persons from different backgrounds, and that’s why two of our contestants are not from the Caribbean,” Sandiford said. Ms. Caribfest 2013 will receive a scholarship from Student Development and Orientation, a gift basket and a photo shoot with L. Bass Photography. The winner will also take part in the parade and culture show this Saturday. There was a change in the schedule as university officials designated new dates for the event. Organizers said participants should prefer September’s warm weather rather than the potentially chilly October. Caribbean Students Organization leaders said this also gave them a reason to transform the cultural event that begins Sept. 13-21. “People were tired of the same line-up, and we [the organization] were ready for a change,” Anthony said. “Caribfest is an annual event that brings Wichita Falls, Texas alive,” Quinneth Anthony, sophomore in biology and co-chair of Caribfest, said. “Expect no less than the best,” Anthony said. The proceeds benefit The Kitchen, Patsy’s House and Wichita Falls ISD.
CLANEISHA GOMES REPORTER
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he Caribfest festivities continue Sept. 19 as five contestants vie for the title of Ms. Caribfest 2013 in the Akin Auditorium at 7 p.m. to express their talent and culture through pageantry. Danielle Jarvis, Cecil Francis, Iscanyi Ramirez-Dill. Photo illustration by Sam Croft “MSU students and the Wichita Falls community are collaborating to make this show even better than last year’s,” Collette Lewis, senior in mathematics and theatre and co-chair of the Caribfest pageant, said. The contestants for the pageant, “Experience Nirvana,” are Heather Hayes, sophomore in theater performance, Jennell Willette, senior in marketing, Micayla Brown, junior in art, Suprena Poleon, sophomore in biology and Donna-Lisa Nelson, junior in biology. “The winner should embody talent, grace and intelligence,” Lewis said, and with these qualities, Ms. Caribfest Adrie Letang, senior in marketing, was crowned last year. The contestants have been preparing for the pageant for the last two months under the tutelage of the their chaperones. The contestants remain focused on their academics but are still going all out for the pageant. Sandiford identified finance as the committee’s major challenge. “The sponsors of the event really helped out the girls in paying their expenses,” Sandiford said. The sponsors are the University Programming Board, Yuma (Trinidad), Dynamics (Antigua), L. Bass Photography and the ITS Academy. “Last year’s pageant was a success because of Fatisha Imo,” said Leona Sandiford, senior in theater arts and co-chair of the Caribfest pageant. Imo and her team introduced the pageant to the Caribfest line-up in 2012. Sandiford said Imo and Damali Gre-
The Guardians
Sophomore Kendell Penington published a suspense thriller now available on Amazon.
pg. 3
DANIELLE JARVIS, CECIL FRANCIS, ISCANYI RAMIREZ-DILL. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAM CROFT
Season Opener
pg. 6-7
At AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the football team lost to Tarleton State 24-27.
Portal Revamped
pg. 8
Online portal meant to help students frustrates some users.
2 | Sept.18, 2013 |
Caribfest 2013 Pageant contestants
Heather Hayes
Jennell Willette
Micayla Browne
Suprena Poleon
Donna-Lisa Nelson
I am 19, I am majoring in theater performance with an emphasis on acting and directing with a teacher certification. My favorite color is purple. I enjoy creating new things out of old stuff such as: re-crafting clothes and furniture I also like to be with my close friends and be in good company. I chose to enter the pageant because I thought it would be a fun and new experience. And I love being culturally diverse, and I love to try new things.
I am 21 years old from St John’s, Antigua, a senior majoring in marketing. Enjoys dancing, reading, meeting new people, and sleeping. My favorite color is yellow. I chose to enter Miss Caribfest because I wanted to have a taste of pageantry in the event that I decide to enter upcoming pageants. Also, after witnessing the first Miss Caribfest and the impact it left on students and residents, I thought that I could assist in making an impact this year.
I am a 21-year-old energetic, motivated, talented and determined individual. I was born on Feb. 8, 1992, in the city of Galveston. My hobbies are playing soccer, spending time with family and friends, listening to music and drawing. I treasure every moment of life and believe that no matter what you can achieve.
I am 22 years old, majoring in biology. My favorite colors are black and pink. My hobbies are dancing and reading. I chose to participate in this pageant mainly to get out of my comfort zone. Pageantry is definitely out of character for me; however, participating in this pageant will help me explore aspects of my being that have not yet been explored. It will also serve as a platform to sharpen my communication skills and portray my talents and passions.
I am a 20-year-old flower that blossomed in fragrant bliss on the island of St Lucia. My favorite color is purple. My hobbies include dancing, playing steel pan, singing and social interaction. I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. My participation in Miss Caribfest 2013 was fueled by my passion to contribute actively to CSO and by so doing assist the forward movement of the organization at MSU. So far it has been a fun and learning experience.
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| Sept. 18, 2013 | 3
‘The Guardians’
Sophomore publishes suspense novel COURTNEY BETTS REPORTER
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he life of a college student typically does not include mysterious archways, paranormal races and menacing creatures from another world. However, for Kendell Penington, sophomore in English, her days are spent at Hardback Café, creating complex characters and suspenseful plots for her young adult fiction series. Penington’s first book, The Guardians (The Lost Realm), captured the eye of a publishing company and became available for digital download via Amazon.com on Aug. 30. Twelve days later, the book became available in printed form. “If I could use one word to describe my book I would use suspenseful,” Penington said. “I’m one of those annoying authors that doesn’t give readers all of the information at the beginning of the book.” Much like one of her role models, J.K. Rowling, Penington uses K.L. Penington as her pen name. “Studies in the literary industry prove that men are more likely to read male writers,” Penington said. “I also prefer it because it has a ring to it.” It took seven months throughout her senior year of high school to write the book and four months to complete edits. “It’s pretty easy to write beginning, middle and end, but it’s the filler part that is difficult,” Penington said. “To get past writer’s block just keep writing, even if it’s crap, because eventually it will turn into something.” After Penington completed manuscript, she had to submit her work to publishing companies around the nation. “It is hard because first you have to query agents to represent you,” Penington said. “Then you have to get a lot of nos from publishers.” Penington’s family have been her biggest fans since the beginning, especially her mother, Shylo Seaman. “When she got several rejections, it was so hard to see the disappointed look in
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her eyes,” Seaman said. “All my husband and I could do was keep encouraging her to keep submitting it.” Finally, a family-owned publishing company based in Hawaii approached Penington about her work. “The CEO of Limitless Publishing started following me on Twitter one day so I checked her out and it led to my book becoming available on Amazon,” Penington said. After her initial contact with Limitless Publishing, Penington submitted her book for editing. “I worked with one editor for my first book and a proofreader,” Penington said. “I was able to banter back and forth with my editor about my work and sometimes I would receive compliments such as ‘this was Star Wars-tastic.’” Although she got her first book published at 19, Penington had a passion for literature at a very early age. “By third grade, Kendell was reading well above her grade level,” Seaman said. “She absolutely loved books. One of her favorite things on Friday nights was to go to the bookstore for hot chocolate and a new book.” Seaman encouraged reading by setting a rule that required Kendell to read for 30 minutes before bed every night. “She always looked forward to bedtime not to sleep but to read,” Seaman said. As a child, Kendell wrote some stories but she mostly read until the end of middle school. She became a serious writer at 15 years old. “We found some notebooks at Barnes and Noble that she preferred to use,” Seaman said. “Over a two-year period I probably bought about 20 of them. She has a special pen that I bought her and she nicknamed it Parker.” With these special notebooks and Parker the Pen, Kendell began writing The Guardians. “Maybe I’m biased, but I really do think she is incredibly talented,” Seaman said. “I honestly have no words to describe how proud I am of her.” Penington is working on her edits for the second book in The Lost Realm series, The Secret Society, and is in the writing stage of the third and final book.
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4 | Sept.18, 2013 |
Student pays tuition in $1 bills BRENT DEEB REPORTER
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n 2012, a Canadian student at Mount Royal University literally nickel-and-dimed his school’s business office by paying his tuition completely in rolled up coins. To prove it could be done, junior business management major Anthony Sequera decided to pay his tuition of $6,475.80 — entirely with $1 bills. “It’s something that I’ve been curious about for a while,” Sequera said. “Everyone pays electronically or with checks. I’ve just always wondered what $6,500 looks like in ones.” Sequera said getting that many $1 bills was not easy. He and his roommate visited three different banks to come up with the correct change, which he boxed up and presented to the business office on Sept. 5. “I ended up blaming it on my mom,” Sequera said. “They asked if I was paying in cash or with a check. I told them my mom sent my
payment in this box and that I needed to borrow some scissors to open it.” Sequera said it came as a shock to the employees of the business office. One member even asked him if he had a career in exotic dancing, which he denied with a smirk. “It was a first for me,” Perry Griner, university cashier, said. “I have worked here for 16 years, and I have never had someone pay me that much money in that way before.” Sequera said the department accepted the bills after he declined their request to exchange the money. The workers told him it would take a few days to count it. He even returned later to deliver the final 80 cents, which he left in his pocket. “I finally got to see all that money laid out in ones,” Sequera said. “It really gives you a good perspective about how much we’re actually paying - even if our school is one of the cheapest.”
PHOTO BY JACQUELINE GOBER / WICHITAN
Sarah Adams, a junior in kinesioloy, Collin Darland, a senior in art education, and Kelby Doughty, a senior in sports mangement. “The art is very interesting, I enjoy the way he uses print making in the music field,” Collin Darland said.
Dirk Fowler exposition opens in Juanita Harvey Art Gallery CADEN BURROSS REPORTER
Mens group created to encourage leadership T CAMISHA JOHNSON REPORTER
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o meet the needs of male students who are seeking to expand their leadership skills and find a sense of community, Flip Mundine, mass communication senior, and Matthew Steiml, social media coordinator for student affairs, founded Midwestern Stallions : Men of Danger. “I was interested in the idea,” Steiml said, “and took the initiative to start getting everything together and organizing the club.” The purpose of the group is to bring together men of all types to provide them with a foundation for becoming leaders within the community and give them a place where they can just be themselves without the pressure of society bearing down on them. “We want to plug them into different organizations - just making them step up as a man,” Mundine said. Steiml said with female students making up almost 60 percent of the campus population, some of the guys feel left out. “I feel like we are comfortable at Midwestern in kind of letting the ladies take the lead and you can see that within the other orga-
nizations that women have the majority of leadership positions and most of the membership in the other organizations are women,” Steiml said. “That is great for them but I feel like that all over the nation there is a kind of epidemic of men not claiming leadership roles and this club will allow us to practice these leadership skills.” The club, advised by Wayne Schields, has 20 members but they hope to grow as big as some of the other organizations on campus. “Right now I have a list of 20 but it is growing. We are hoping to be one of the bigger organizations aside from SGA,” Mundine said. To join, you must have a 2.5 cumulative grade point average and be male. The Midwestern Stallions hope to have many activities starting with November being National Men’s Month to celebrate what it means to be a man. “We are going to do everything from different type of seminars and workshops along with having guest speakers,” Mundine said. “And November is going to be our National Men’s Month.”
he work of a leading voice in the creation of posters for prominent musicians including Willie Nelson, the Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons and Wilco — Dirk Fowler — opened as part of a display in the Juanita Harvey Art Gallery on Sept. 13. Gallery Director Catherine Prose said, “He’s done work for some very prominent bands and you only saw a select handful.” Prose, also an associate professor in the visual arts department, has know Fowler for 13 years, since her days working in Lubbock where Fowler is now a professor at Texas Tech. While discussing possible artists for one of the four shows this year, gallery committee member and Visual Arts Professor Gary Goldberg suggested Fowler. Prose took the opportunity to contact her longtime acquaintance, and luckily, he was able to exhibit during the first show of the year. “Dirk is an easy guy to work with, and a pleasure to work with,” Prose said. “We were really lucky to bring him here, that he wasn’t spread too thin.” Fowler’s work as an associate professor at Texas Tech’s School of Art was also appreciated. He was able to speak during a class and hold a workshop in the Visual Arts Print Studio. Audra Lambert, fine arts senior, was able to participate during Fowler’s lecture. “He’s really great, he actually came into our printmaking class and we printed off some of his
plates,” Lambert said. “Nobody really does letter type printing anymore, so that’s what sets him apart, even in the graphic world,” Lambert said. “Someone could say that his work is really simple, but I think that’s probably part of why it’s so popular.” Fowler has been working in graphic arts for 20 years and said clients seek him out because they are familiar with his style. He creates concert posters using a mix of letterpress and screen-printing; this unique style, often only using a few colors, is what makes him the right fit for many of the bands. “They put a lot of trust in us,” Fowler said. “They have faith that we’re going to do, we I’m talking about poster artist in general, that we’re going to listen to the music and interpret something and give a visual interpretation that is honest and works for the band.” That interpretation is not always what a band is looking for, “Occasionally it might be the case were they say we’re not really into these, you want to do some more? Or you know, we’ll find somebody else,” Fowler said. “Luckily for me that doesn’t happen too often.” Laura Hernandez, freshman in studio arts, said Fowler’s work was very inspiring. “It’s very clean,” Hernandez said. “It’s more the concept than what you see, it’s the concept within the shapes.” Fowler’s exhibition will be on display in the Juanita Harvey Art Gallery until Oct. 18.
| Sept. 18, 2013 | 5
Hoss Barnes, junior in music education, said, “It’s just furniture, it’s not a big deal. We do appreciate it since the old stuff was uncomfortable.”
PHOTO BY HANWOOL LEE / WICHITAN
Follett contract funds student center upgrades SAMANTHA FORESTER CAMPUS WATCH REPORTER
D
uring the second week of school the atrium had some new additions. Matthew Park, assistant vice president of student affairs, said there have been two things students have seen so far. Specifically the new couches, chairs and end tables located in the center of the atrium. The money to fund these improvements is coming from the new campus bookstore. “Those are being funded through that bookstore revenue as part of going up for the new contract of the new bid. So this in particular there’s nothing that you’re looking at in terms
of student tuition or special fees or things like that,” Park said. Park said the store used to be affiliated with Barnes and Noble. Over the summer, he said the university changed to Follett Higher Education and through that contract negotiation process received $250,000. “I like the tables for the reason I can actually put my stuff on the table and actually do my work. Whereas before I was only able to sit, and it was really difficult on trying to write assignments and papers,” Lucy Ramirez, sophomore radiological science student said. The remainder of the furniture in the atrium will also be replaced next week. The reason for the delay stems from the
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items being on backorder. Park said these recent changes are only the beginning. “All of the upholstery in the dining areas is going to be replaced, so the booths in the food court, those are going to be reupholstered, same thing for the dining hall, same thing for the chairs,” Matthew Park, assistant vice president of student affairs said. The new couches are not the only interior improvement being made over this academic year. There is also going to be new carpet put into the Wichita and Cheyenne meeting rooms.
6 | Sept.18, 2013 |
“I thought we battled hard. We just came up short.” JAKE GLOVER JUNIOR ACCOUNTING
“All they needed was a spark of hope.” BILL MASKILL HEAD COACH
PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS / WICHITAN
Students play cornhole brought by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity prior to kickoff at AT&T Stadium. Dalton Lee, senior in managment information systems, said, “It’s going to be a good game at cowboy stadium. It’s a good atmosphere and we’re going to win.
PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS / WICHITAN
Jazmine Potts, freshman in exercise physiology, throws her hands out during what she said was the most intense game she’s ever been to. “I feel like I’m having a panic attack. There’s so many unnecessary flags,” Potts said during the fourth quarter as the team was making a comeback.
| Sept. 18, 2013 | 7
PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS / WICHITAN
FAR LEFT Quarterback Shavodrick Beaver tries to break a tackle during a pass rush. PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS / WICHITAN
Ricardo Riascos, junior in marketing, and Taiyon Jackson, go up for the interception in the endzone during the season opener at AT&T stadium. Riascos makes his first interception of the season in the Mustangs second season opening loss to the Texans 2427.
PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS / WICHITAN
Seth Lyons, junior in marketing yells after a play while at the season opener Sept. 14 at AT&T stadium.
PHOTO BY LAUREN ROBERTS / WICHITAN
Austin Monson, a sophomore in sociology, plays the bass guitar during the football opener this past Sept. 14. Monson said, “Anytime the marching band gets to leave town is a fun experience.”
Tarleton wins season opener ETHAN METCALF REPORTER
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ith the season opener on the line, head football coach Bill Maskill and his squad took to the AT&T Stadium field in Arlington with high hopes of bringing home a win against their in-state rival, the Tarleton State University Texans, but ultimately fell short with a 27-24 loss. The players appeared optimistic with their 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but their spirits were quickly dashed when the Texans turned up their defense, shutting down quarterback Shavodrick Beaver and his offense from scoring any points until Maskill took Beaver out and replaced him with junior Jake Glover. “We were a little bewildered in the fourth quarter when the score was 21-10,” Maskill said. “They looked like they had seen a ghost.” Maskill said there was a moment in the fourth quarter when he looked his team in the eyes and challenged them, attempting to rally their spirits. The team heard Maskill’s call to arms and charged back with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Glover to freshman Jalen Moore, putting the score at 27-17. “All they needed was a spark of hope, and we got that with Jake’s long scramble touchdown pass,” Maskill said. “From that point on, we were okay until we ran out of time at the end of the game and didn’t convert fourth down.” The team put up another fourth-quarter touchdown with a 12-yard pass from Glover to junior Joe Sanders, putting them in position to tie the game with a last-minute field goal, but the team failed to enter field goal range after an incomplete pass on third down was followed by a sack on Glover, turning the ball over to Tarleton with less than a minute left on the game clock. “Our kids fought hard,” Maskill said, “but you got to give [Tarleton] credit. They did a good job stopping our run.” Maskill said the team simply wasn’t able to run the ball on the inside or outside thanks to Tarleton’s ground coverage. “We probably should have started throwing the ball a bit earlier,” Maskill said. “We were just too little, too late.” In addition to switching to passing sooner, Maskill said he also could have put Glover in sooner. “We were struggling with Beaver. We needed a jump start,” Maskill said. “Shavodrick was, in my opinion, trying to do too much.” Glover said he needed to step up in the pocket more, rather than trying to make plays on his feet. “I was a little antsy back there,” Glover said, who passed for 174 yards. “I thought we battled hard. We just came up short.” Maskill said he has no idea which quarterback will be starting this week in the game against West Georgia. “We’ll have to look at tape and decide from there,” Maskill said. The team is already keen to move forward from its close loss last Saturday in AT&T Stadium. “To come back next week we just gotta chew this up, swallow it and move on,” Glover said. Maskill said the team matured despite the loss. “We learned that we’re capable of coming back,” Maskill said. “We’ve got to learn how to finish.”
8 | Sept.18, 2013 |
Online portal debuts to mixed review ETHAN METCALF REPORTER
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he online portal system that launched last May has met with mixed reviews as a larger number of students began using it this fall, putting the new system through an unofficial stress test. Criminal justice senior Cynthia Ramirez said her main concern with the portal is adjusting to the constant changes to the service. “I get frustrated anytime I use it,” Ramirez said. “They’re constantly changing it and by the time they get it back up, you have to relearn it.” Ramirez said it was especially frustrating for her because all of her classes this semester are online, but she said she does like being able to access Desire2Learn from the portal. “It’s a little bit convenient, but the inconvenience is learning it,” Ramirez said. Technology Analyst Robert Steflik said he was put in charge of imCYNTHIA RAMIREZ SENIOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE plementing and maintaining the portal system at the beginning of last year. “They started approaching me saying, hey, we’ve decided that we’ve got this grant money that’s going to be used to get this portal off the ground and we’d like to have you oversee it,” Steflik said. In a Wichitan article published last spring, Launch date confirmed for new, effective portal system, Robert Clark, vice president of administration and institutional effectiveness, said university officials signed a five-year contract with CampusEAI,
“They’re constantly changing it and by the time they get it back up, you have to relearn it.”
the company that offers the myCampus portal service to universities. “In the first and second year the cost is $29,500 and in the third through fifth year the cost is going to be $20,000,” Clark said. Steflik said the portal will offer many services to students and faculty, but he is preoccupied with making sure students can access the new portal. “Right now our pressing issues have been getting all the students logged in successfully,” Steflik said, “and just a couple of days ago we finally got the ability to change and reset their passwords because initially it was their mustangs ID.” Steflik said some students who were concerned that their Mustang ID password was not secure enough contacted him, but Steflik and his department were cautious in implementing the password change feature. “We were hesitant to turn it on because we were having so many issues with people just trying to figure out their usernames,” Steflik said. “Now everybody’s changing their passwords and the instructions were kind of cumbersome.” Steflik said he is unable to make the password-changing process any easier because it is a service provided by Microsoft, not by his own department located in the Memorial building. “We’re kind of limited in how much we can customize it and how we can make it work, but I’m pretty happy because we turned it on two days ago and I’ve only had one student that has called me,” Steflik said. “Their issue was with the security questions.” For students to create their own password, they must answer three security questions which are set by Microsoft. “One of the questions was my favorite color and they tried to put in red, but it’s got to be four letters
or longer,” Steflik said. “So they wanted to know if we could have different [questions], but that’s a Microsoft thing. That’s their three questions that they ask.” Steflik said instead of actually answering those questions, pick the same word for each security question, such as butterscotch. This will make it easier for students to remember, and harder for any would-be hackers to access an account belonging to someone else. “No matter what the question is, the answer is butterscotch,” Steflik said. “So any hacker won’t be able to get to it because it’s just going to be some crazy answer.” Biology graduate student Sahithya Gollanapalli said her previous university in India had a similar system to the myCampus service, but it offered an SMS alert system that she feels is missing from Midwestern’s portal. “It would be nice if there were some text alerts,” GollanaROBERT STEFLIK palli said. “More students would TECHNOLOGY ANALYST go to events because everybody checks their phone.” Steflik said students will see solutions to their problems sooner if they fill out a support ticket, which immediately appears in Steflik’s inbox. “Nine times out of 10 when something breaks, people usually don’t even say anything about it,” Steflik said. “As soon as we hear that there’s anything broke, we immediately jump in there and start trying to fix it. We need to encourage the students to communicate back to us.”
“As soon as we hear that there’s anything broke, we immediately jump in there and start trying to fix it.”
P O R TA L F E AT U R E S Message Boards — Accompanying Wikis as myCampus provided tools for group collaboration, message boards allow for conversations within departments and teams that rely on shared ideas and real-time feedback. Targeted Alerts — Broadcast messages to individual user groups or an entire institution using the myCampus Targeted Alert system. Individual courses can be notified of an instructor’s upcoming absence, and an entire campus can be kept safe through emergency alerts during inclimate weather or other hazardous conditions.
Mobile Phone — MyCampus extends the reach of education by providing direct access from any mobile smartphone device. This power of mobility allows users such as students and faculty members to provide and receive learning and presentation content anytime and anywhere. Instant Messenger — Social media allows people to stay connected. While social networking with classmates, faculty, and the student body of a university are already provided within the portal, myCampus takes users’ online social lives one step further by allowing them to integrate chats and contacts from their non-university communication devices.
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Web Content Management — The myCampus portal system enables and supports authorizing, publishing, approving, and organizing content for the web. Users can utilize the portal’s powerful template system to define and present their materials, including photos, documents and blogs. Through this template system, content can be individually marked for searches, categories, tags, and filters to organize information for users, search engines and website designers. SOURCE: MSU Portal News, http://www.mwsu.edu/portal/features.htm
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Kemp Center offers more than art community.” THE FIRST OF A SERIES Although the center holds weddings and he Kemp Center for the Arts is a local museum where students and the com- other events from time to time, the art galmunity can view professional art, par- leries change every six to eight weeks, giving multiple perspectives of art. ticipate in events or take classes. “The best thing about the Kemp Center The art of Steve Grey now hangs in the for the Arts is that it’s not just an art gallery,” main gallery, called the NorthLight gallery Nancy Scott, assistant director of the center, because it is the room with the purest light. said. “We offer art lessons for children and For contemporary artist Grey, it’s his second adults, weddings, rentals of our ball room and exhibit in NorthLight. have different events throughout the year.” “We never let people display their art After walking in the front door, two stair- more than once,” Scott said, “but since Grey cases to the left and right lead has done so much for our comto the Great Hall, which has a munity and gallery we made display of both art and archian exception.” tecture, and a room used for Since its official opening in weddings, receptions, events, 2002, the center has been able recitals and anything that to stay afloat by two main fistays within the center’s regnancial resources. ulations. “We are so blessed to stay One of the biggest events open,” Scott said, “our center held in the room is the Oct. only runs on donations and 25 Karneval, where local artgrants by the people and the BY AUSTIN QUINTERO ists put their work on display city.” REPORTER and sign the back to hide Grants and donations are their identities. Potential buythe reason students and families can visit the ers then bid on the art, which raises money center throughout the year. Without them, for the center. local professional artists like Grey wouldn’t “The center rents, teaches and holds art be able to display their art. events like the Karneval for two main rea“One of the things we stress most is that sons,” Scott said. “One is that all the art- the center is whatever you make of it,” Carol work displayed is local so we want to show Sales, director of the center, said. “Art is differoff all the unseen talent in our area. Two is ent for each person so whatever you want it to because we really want to give back to the be is what it is.”
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SOMETHING FUN IN WICHITA FALLS
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Counseling Center offers workshops ASHLEY GIBBS REPORTER
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o provide academic skills that will help students in all of their classes, counselors with the Counseling Center conducted a series of workshops on everything from how to schedule a time for studying to how to successfully structure study sessions. “Not only do students need to use the workshops to benefit their academic skills, but they should also take advantage of the Counseling Center itself. We have so much to offer,” Pam Midgett said. Pam Midgett, counseling center director, conducted the second of the four, one-hour workshops, “Four Steps to a 4.0,” in the Sundance Court Third Floor Meeting Room Sept. 11. Her main points included how to schedule time for studying, how to form a structure of successful study sessions, how to read effectively, how to focus on concentrating while studying, how to listen efficiently and how to picture yourself being successful. “We’ve had these workshops for many years during the fall and spring. However, this is the first time MSU has focused on one topic specifically for weekly one-hour sessions,” Midgett said. After the “Four Steps to a 4.0” workshop, student Kassandra Allonso, sophomore in nursing said, “I’m glad I came, I got extra credit in class and I learned about really good time management skills for studying.”
Another student, Adile Gendusa, sophomore in nursing, said, “I learned how to create a better studying environment, and got extra credit for one of my classes.” According to the MSU website, some professors include this information in their syllabi and offer extra credit to students who attend the study skills workshop. Shalla Kobs, sophomore in nursing, said, “I came for chemistry extra credit and after hearing this, I know that I definitely need better study habits!” Counseling Center staff members said they are concerned with students meeting their goals and graduating. Accumulating these academic skills and performance helps students with their studies and education. “The Counseling Center seeks to be involved with helping with students and building their basic skills,” said Midgett. The Counseling Center helps students with a variety of issues: depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief, substance abuse, relationship problems, and career counseling. The free sessions, paid for by student fee monies, are confidential. The upcoming workshops will cover four topics: Time Management, Four Steps to a 4.0, Test Anxiety, and Choosing a Career and Major. Staff members will hold the weekly one-hour sessions the remainder of September and will repeat them in October and November.
PHOTO BY HANWOOL LEE / WICHITAN
Pam Midgett, director of counseling center, talks about four steps to get 4.0 on your grade. Approximately 60 people attended the counseling center workshop Sept. 11.
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Greeks see record recruitment More than 90 women express interest in sororities, 60 in fraternities and activities throughout the week.” Each fraternity has national advisors, hen students arrive on campus for alumni and guest speakers who aid in the rethe first time, most of them are lost cruitment process. Duval said this year was and confused. They don’t have any much more organized in comparison to preidea what extracurricular groups they want to vious years, with more teamwork displayed be involved with, or even where some of their by each fraternity. “Formal recruitment is a five-day process classes are. But for 92 women and more than 60 men, one thing was certain about this se- that enables the potential new members to meet active members of each fraternity in mester — they wanted to go Greek. “The new members are going to be a great order to facilitate a confident decision by the asset to each chapter and to the community,” chapter and potential new member,” Duval Interfraternity Council President Taylor Du- said. “The final day is Bid Day, and we have val said. “They will eventually be leaders here a rather unique style of going about our bid on campus, and each fraternity has the power presentations.” According to Duval, on Bid Day, potential to help foster their growth in becoming leadnew members arrive at the student center to ers.” Kevin Bazner, assistant director of student receive their bid(s) from each fraternity and development and orientation, said he thinks that fraternity members are unaware of who a factor in the record numbers of new recruits has accepted or declined their bid. The Interfraternity Council is that there are more hosts a mock-NFLtraditional students draft-style event in this freshman class where each fraterniwho are eager and ty has shirts laid out able to get involved on a table in front of in the organizations an audience in Sunthis university has watcher Plaza. The to offer. Duval said a potential new memgreat effort was made bers are announced this year to improve individually, and their public relations hold up the shirt of sector.“Not only were the fraternity from social media, flyers, PHOTO BY HANWOOL LEE / WICHITAN which they acceptand emails utilized Aliya Siddigi, junior in finance and Isabel Perez, much more than be- junior in marketing, sell cupcakes and brownies ed a bid. They then fore, but each frater- to fundraise money for the Greek community. join their new fraternity also joined us in “We are basically doing bake sale. I’m the fund- nity brothers in the our efforts to promote raise chair and am rasing money for Delta Sigma crowd. For the sororities, going Greek, rather Pi,” Siddigi said. incoming recruits than just joining a spend four days in respecific fraternity,“ Duval said. “This showed to be very effec- cruitment, while active members prepare for tive, and reflected humility and selflessness at least a month, making sure they are ready for the recruitment process and the incoming throughout the fraternity community.” Mary Williamson, director of Panhellen- recruits. “It is all worth it in the end when receivic recruitment, said this year’s recruitment week is the most successful they’ve had in ing a bid card, because being in a sorority eight years because of the increased size in isn’t just for four years, it’s for a lifetime,” Wilthe freshman class and how effective the Pan- liamson said. ”Sororities allow you to become hellenic executive board members were in a volunteer, a leader, a team player, a hard promoting formal recruitment both on cam- worker. A woman.” During the Panhellenic recruitment week, pus and in the Wichita Falls community. “Greek public relations starts with Spirit potential new members meet with all four Days, engaging with some of the incoming organizations before making any selections. students through student organization fairs, This ensures that recruits are exposed to through flyers, emails and Facebook,” Bazner each sorority equally, and they can make an said. “And we also engage with incoming stu- informed decision of which is the best fit for dents through conversation about the oppor- them. So far this year, the sororities have hosted tunity to join [a sorority or fraternity].” There are four sororities and six frater- an ice cream social, a “Meet the Greeks” pool nities on campus. Each chapter has its own party at the Wellness Center, and held a conrecruitment process, with each taking a dif- vocation highlighting the rules and guideferent approach to facilitate potential new lines of formal recruitment, among other members in finding which organization is things. “The benefits of joining a sorority are endright for them. “For the interfraternity council, the pro- less,” Williamson said. “Not only do you gain cess is informal,” Bazner said. “They do pre- a wonderful group of women who become sentations on the backgrounds of each orga- your best friends, but unforgettable memonization and then engage in conversations ries.” ALEISHA SOLORIO REPORTER
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PHOTO BY HANWOOL LEE / WICHITAN
Taylor Duval, senior in mechanical engineering, Jason Tallbot, graduate student, a chapter advisor, David Grates senior in finance, Jeremy Morrow, senior in finance, Zach Moore, senior in finance, Tyler Cobbs, senior in biology hang out and enjoy the company of the members from all IFC chapters and alumni. Duval said, “We’re out here to help potential new members to meet freshman and learn about each chapters.”
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