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WHAT’S INSIDE? Bitcoin currency is a pyramid scheme SHSU professors looking for music talent Progress expected at Orange vs White game

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Volume 125/ Issue 23

Facebook.com/ TheHoustonian Thursday, April 10, 2014

CITY

Hospital to offer vital rape victim service KASSIDY TURNPAUGH Assistant News Editor After years of being unable to properly address sexual assault in Walker County, Huntsville Memorial Hospital will be gaining a new sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE), according to hospital officials.

Huntsville Memorial Hospital’s formation of a sexual assault response team (SART) has reached a turning point after struggling to find a SANE nurse to complete it.

The hospital’s search for a sexual assault nurse examiner has set back the formation of a SART since 2013, according to Charmin White, assistant professor of nursing at Sam Houston State University.

Anne Stiles, Ph.D., director of the School of Nursing, said after finding a SANE nurse who then left Huntsville, the hospital’s SART

hasn’t developed according to plan.

The lack of an in-city SART has led to many issues within the hospital as it has been forced to turn away any sexual assault victims coming to them for aid, according to HMH’s public relations officer Calli Dretke.

Dretke added anyone who needs additional care that cannot be provided by the hospital is forced to go to another facility.

A Texas law passed in May 2013 says that all medical facilities with an emergency department must have a SANE nurse on staff. The law went into effect Sept. 1, 2013.

Prior to the passing of the bill, Walker County released a community plan in fall 2012 detailing plans to have a sexual assault nurse examiner hired at both Sam Houston State University and at Huntsville Memorial.

“Photography equipment is needed for SART (Sexual

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Assault Response Team) program initiative due to the ever increasing number of sexual assault cases,” according to Walker County’s Community Plan. “We would also need training for SANEs in the hospital, the community and on campus at Sam Houston State University.”

Dretke said the hospital wants to have the completed SART available and fully operational within the next few months, with White as the SANE. “We recently offered the position to a local nurse practitioner,” Dretke said. “If they were to accept the position it would be a few weeks to months before they could start.”

According to White, in addition to being offered the position at the hospital she has also been helping Stiles form a SANE training program at SHSU. The program would feature two different courses that address the

treatment of adult and adolescent victims, and pediatric victims, respectively.

“We are offering a program unique in the state of Texas,” White said. “We are going to offer an option of a 40-hour didactic classroom. Nurses will register to take the course and receive that training or they can choose to select an option that will include the clinical practice.”

According to White, gaining the certification from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) becomes much more difficult because of time constraints on the validity of certain courses.

“In the past the problem is not the lack of desire, but the problem is that once they have those 40 hours of didactic they seem to fall through the cracks when it comes to getting the clinical practice and court room observation,” White said.

The program is set to begin this

summer with 25 open positions per session and two individual sessions available.

The first class will take place June 2-6 and will cover the aspects of treating adult and adolescent victims of sexual assault. The second session will take place July 14-18 and will address the treatment process for pediatric victims.

White and Stiles said they hope to see a rise in reported assaults within the coming months, proving that the practice of having a readily available SART will encourage more victims of sexual assault to seek out the help they need.

“We are hoping for an increase, and that is a good thing because sexual assault is the most under reported sex crime there is,” White said. “When you start offering these services to a community, —

SANE, page 2

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Student gov’t elections commence JAY R. JORDAN Associate Editor Candidates are biting nails, crossing fingers and hoping the Sam Houston State University student body votes them into their respective positions in the 2014-2015 student government executive board and Senate.

Students are also voting on Senators within their colleges.

On the ticket are: • presidential candidates Emmanuel Omoegbele and Spencer Copeland • vice presidential candidates Brooke Hunter, Drew Carson and Jonathan Rodriguez • secretary candidates JoAnna Moore and Tyler Livezey • treasurer candidates Victor Ihezukwu and Samuel Iredia • chief of staff candidates Tyler Patek, Robert Ferguson and Isaac Ruiz Omoegbele, Hunter, Moore, Ihezukwu and Patek belong to the B.I.G. Bearkat ticket, while Copeland, Carson, Livezey, Iredia and Ferguson are a part of the New SGA ticket. Rodriguez and Ruiz are each running independently from either ticket.

Responding to this year’s controversial administration run by Student Body President Ramiro Jaime, Jr., both tickets up for election are running on a platform of reform.

Campaigning ended at 8 a.m.

Wednesday, per the Student Government Association Election Code. At that time, each candidate on the ballot was required to fill out and turn in a detailed expense report.

The New SGA ticket spent $552.82 total, with $369.33 going towards promotional expenses and $189.49 going towards photos, graphic design and various supplies. The B.I.G. Bearkat ticket spent $692.99 total on promotional expenses, including posters, bracelets, yard signs and donuts. Each Senator candidate reported spending $0.

Voting ends today at 5 p.m.

Visit our website! www.HoustonianOnline.com

Brynn Castro | The Houstonian

DISCUSSION. Student Affairs Chief Alex Rangel (left) shakes his head at Student Body President Ramiro Jaime, Jr. (middle) and parliamentarian Heath Scott (right) after they interrupted his response to questions by the Senate.

Gender neutral homecoming in question STACY HOOD Contributing Reporter Tense deliberation scattered across the Senate floor as to whether or not the homecoming ballot should become gender neutral during Tuesdays Student Government Association meeting.

The bill, proposed by Student Affairs Chief Alex Rangel, would change the wording of Student Government Association’s Homecoming Election Code by stripping the gender requirements for Homecoming king and queen nominees.

Senator Xochilt Endsley (CHSS) was quick to comment, saying SHSU is not ready for this kind of change since only this year’s homecoming queen broke the race barrier.

“I don’t think something like this is ready to happen,” Endsley said. “I don’t think we’ve evolved enough. We are breaking barriers

slowly but surely. This past year, a woman of color [being voted as Homecoming] queen is crazy in itself. Us changing the image of Sam Houston State University to have a homecoming queen as a male is extreme right now. I don’t think this is the right time for us to make this decision.”

Senators Gregory Curatola (COBA) and Colton Barber (COCJ) stood in agreement with Endsley against the bill, stating it was “too bold” and “extreme.”

Further concern about the bill was based on the contradiction of the gender neutrality for who can be nominated and each title’s anatomical connotation.

Many members including Student Body President Ramiro Jaime. Jr. said by definition, the titles of king and queen imply a separation of gender and the only way the bill could be neutral is if the titles were changed.

“If we were to go with this

idea, then we would go with one person, because if we have two males win that’s fine, but we would just have two winners,” Jaime said.

“The point of having king is to have a representative for it. If we are going to have a king and queen it needs to be a male and female.

If we want it to be gender neutral than it needs to be one person.”

Rangel, in recognition of what the titles implied, felt the title itself holds tradition and has an emotional attachment. Keeping the bill neutral and the titles the same, he said, is the best compromise.

“There is a lot of emotional attachment to the titles king and queen,” Rangel said. “A lot of individuals are socialized growing up to want to be king or queen. To remove that would be too sore of a spot to remove. This bill was a compromise, to be inclusive and progressive but not so much so that it would completely change

the institution.”

The bill was tabled due to time constraints and will be brought up for more discussion and vote at next week’s meeting.

Constitutional Referendum S14-20, which would have created a separate branch of student government for the President and Vice President, failed.

Senate Bill S14-22, which would have established a speaker of the house upon S14-20’s passage, was tabled indefinitely.

Graduate student Heath Scott was appointed by Jaime and approved by the Senate as the meetings parliamentarian with Jaime citing the absence of Rules and Regulations Chief Steven Perry.

SGA meets every Tuesday in the Lowman Student Center room 310 at 6:30 p.m.

Be sure to check out the Houstonian Orientation Guide located around campus and the City of Huntsville! Can’t find one? Let us know and we’ll get you a copy.

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News

Thursday, April 10, 2014 houstonianonline.com/news

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Panel, music to discuss wrongful convictions CONNOR HYDE Editor-in-Chief With the state of Texas exonerating more people in 2013 than any other state who were wrongfully convicted, the Sam Houston State University Global Center for Journalism and Democracy has partnered with the school of music to address the issue of misidentification and wrongful convictions.

To close the three-day contemporary music festival which started today, the GCJD and associate professor of percussion John Lane will intertwine music and academic discussion to bring light to the social issue Saturday evening.

Kelli Arena, director of GCJD, said the panel discussion, which will feature representatives from the Innocence Project of Texas, the Texas Tribune and Criminal Justice professor Dennis Longmire, Ph.D., will serve as a preamble to the musical performance.

“If you just present the music without the facts and some stories, the music is powerful, but if you take the two and combine them, the music is extra powerful,” Arena said.

Also joining the panel discussion is Anthony Graves.

Graves held the name “Death Row Exoneree 138” for 18 years, with 12 of those years on death row, for a crime he did not commit. Arena said having Graves’s personal story as a victim of wrongful conviction will help add “to the seriousness to the discussion.”

“A lot of people still think in this day in age [wrongful convictions]

Courtesy John Lane

JUSTICE. Allen Otte, left, and John Lane, right, perform “The Innocents.” The two will take the stage Saturday to perform their original composition following a panel discussion involving misidentification and wrongful convictions hosted by the Sam Houston State University’s Global Center for Journalism and Democracy.

still don’t happen,” Arena said. “It still goes on. It’s still a problem in our society that needs attention.”

Moderating the panel will be FOX 26 anchor Don Teague.

Following the panel discussion, Lane, joined by Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music professor Allen Otte, will perform a two-part musical set inspired by wrongful convictions and the

1971 Attica Prison Riot.

The first half of the performance will deal exclusively with mistaken identify, wrongful imprisonment and exoneration through Lane and Otte’s original composition “The Innocents.” According to Lane, “The Innocents” was inspired by the photographs of Taryn Simon. Simon traveled across the United States taking pictures of

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especially a campus-based community, you to be rehabilitated, so that they can come are going to see the numbers increase.” back into society.”

The formation of the program also will allow the victims who do come forward to exist in a safer and accepting environment.

Facebook.com/ “Our long term vision for this program is TheHoustonian the ability to create a long-term safe house for the victims of sexual assault or victims of human trafficking,” White said. “We want to Follow us today! create an environment where we can allow @TheHoustonian these victims a time where they can grow and

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wrongfully convicted inmates at various scenes of arrests, scenes of the alleged crimes or the scenes of prisoners’ alibi.

These photos molded the inspiration for Lane and Otte’s composition.

“Technology can blur truth and fiction,” Lane said. “So we took those elements and responded to the photographs and created this

piece.”

Lane said the blending of social issues and music has been a staple for his inspiration as an artist and as a professor. “… One of the things I do as an artist is I try and make pieces or perform pieces about issues I think are important,” he said. “I do that, not only for myself, to learn about these issues but to let my students know about what’s going on in the world.”

Throughout the first half of the performance, Lane and Otte will use an array of unconventional instruments, including smashing rocks complemented by prison songs with a traditional African instrument called the Kalimba providing the main melodic source.

To close the presentation, Lane and Otte will be joined on stage with various SHSU faculty members and Atlanta music group Bent Frequency. The collaborative force will perform Fredric Rzewsky’s “Come Together,” and “Attica.”

Both “Come Together” and “Attica” were inspired by the riot at Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York. The riot stemmed from detrimental living conditions and demands for political rights. About 1,000 of the prison’s 2,200 inmates rebelled and took control of Attica Correctional Facility and ultimately killed 43 people.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for a meet and greet with the panelists and performers at the Gaertner Performing Arts Center lobby.

The main program will begin at 7:30 p.m.

For ticket information, call 936294-2339.

Page 3

Viewpoints

Thursday, April 10, 2014

NATION

Autism-vaccine worry illogical

BRENT LEITH Columnist It’s difficult to imagine the panic new parents must feel when their child begins to exhibit the first symptoms of an autism disorder.

The causes of disorders that fall under the autism umbrella are not completely understood by medical science, making an autism spectrum diagnosis a nightmare scenario. Life as they know it will change with autism.

April is National Autism Awareness Month, and I can think of few issues more deserving of an awareness campaign.

Autism disorders are almost impossible to understand outside of personal experience. Individuals diagnosed with autism contend with severe communication difficulties that make everyday activities frustrating for both the individuals and their caretakers.

The need for public awareness has become clearer in recent decades as the number of autism disorder diagnoses has risen. One out of seventy children receive a diagnosis on the autism

spectrum as of 2012. It’s unknown whether the actual prevalence of autism disorders is rising or detection is getting better, but we now know it’s not an insignificant number.

Unfortunately, between the potential severity of autism disorders and the incomplete medical understanding of their causes, falsehoods surrounding autism have flourished. The most notable is a link between autism and early childhood vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella.

The link was first claimed in a 1998 research paper by UK medical research Andrew Wakefield. The paper and Wakefield were both subsequently discredited, but initial media treatment of the paper’s conclusions as valid led to a marked decrease in MMR vaccinations in the UK and a predictable increase in the diseases it fights.

The media warnings went international. Despite a comprehensive debunking of the vaccine-autism link by trustworthy medical institutions in the United States, several measles and mumps outbreaks occurred as a result of unvaccinated individuals. The incidence of autism disorders was not reduced in the unvaccinated population.

Some level of public distrust in the vaccination persists 16 years later.

It’s easy to understand why. Autism disorders cast a long shadow due to their severity. The timing of early diagnoses for autism disorders coincides with early childhood vaccination, making vaccinations a convenient target for fear of autism. No parent wants to willingly cause autism in their child, so the mere suggestion that vaccinations might have

an impact on autism disorders triggers distrust.

The anti-vaccination movement received renewed media credibility when former Playboy model (and totally not a scientist) Jenny McCarthy became the celebrity face of the movement. She began touting the vaccine-autism link publicly in 2008 after her son Evan was diagnosed with an autism disorder.

The anti-vaccination movement has invaded efforts to provide services to individuals living with autism. The National Autism Association still claims the link officially. The association directs patrons to an organization that is ideologically opposed to vaccinations in general for more information on the link.

The anti-vaccination movement leaves us with many things to consider.

The free marketplace of ideas often promotes baseless and damaging conceits. Propositions as tenuous as the autism-vaccine link can thrive and produce social ills in their wake, including outbreaks of preventable disease in this case, while doing nothing to further public knowledge.

Be wary of the information presented to you about autism this month. If it does nothing to further your ability to understand individuals living with autism, it may not be worth your consideration. If a time comes when you must consider autism as a possible outcome for your own child, consult a doctor, not the media. Reliable medical information is built on the rigor of peer review, not at the whims of conflicthungry news audiences.

Word on the Street: What restaurants would you like to see around campus?

“One of either Joe’s Crab Shack, a pizza by the slice place or TGI Friday’s” -Brent Arents Mass Communication Senior

“Cheddar’s – it’s inexpensive and great food.”

-Jacqueline Bolden Political Science Sophomore

TECH

Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme MONTY SLOAN Columnist When I first wrote about Bitcoin, The Houstonian received a nice letter calling me an idiot.

Now, I have to admit some days that’s a pretty accurate depiction of me, but when it comes to the famous internet “currency” I’d say if anything, I was too easy on the people that have dived into the digital pyramid scheme.

And that’s exactly what Bitcoin is - a pyramid scheme.

You see, last time I wrote on the subject I mentioned the few token Bitcoin “millionaires” that have become the messiah figures for Bitcoin investors.

What I unfortunately failed to mention is that all of their millions are out of their reach.

Even if there were a Bitcoin exchange with enough money to cash out a fraction of these people’s digital coin hoard, which there isn’t, a single exchange of that magnitude would cause the already pathetic value of Bitcoin to plummet to

worthlessness.

You can’t cash out the bitcoins you have, but if you want to retain or grow their value, you’ve gotta convince other people to buy in. The speculative market nature of cryptocurrency and the way it encourages saving rather than spending the coins means they lose value if people want to trade them for cash and only gain value when the reverse is true.

This doesn’t invite a healthy market of exchanging goods for coins, it creates one where the only way to keep your investment solid is to con other suckers into joining the fold.

That’s all old hat for Bitcoin critics, let’s catch up on what’s new with the currency. In February, MT. Gox, an exchange responsible for over 70 percent of all Bitcoin exchanges, filed for stopped all trading, declared bankruptcy and reported 850,000 Bitcoins that belonged to their customers were missing.

The value of all those Bitcoins at the time was more than $450 million.

Lawyers and creditors are on the case looking for their client’s money, but by all accounts its extremely unlikely anyone will ever see their money again.

Mark Karpeles, owner of MT. Gox, has been ordered to appear in a Federal court in Dallas on April 17. It is doubtful that Karpeles will step anywhere inside an American border anytime soon.

Kicking a coin when it’s down, The People’s Bank of China is ready to enforce a ruling that will take effect April 15 stopping all Bitcoin trading in China.

China was a major player in the Bitcoin game, both for miners and traders so the country pulling out of the currency is a major blow to cryptocurrency enthusiasts. FXBTC, one of China’s largest exchanges, posted that they are stopping customer withdrawals, some banks have asked for accounts to be cancelled and that the Central Bank will not provide “clearing services” for Bitcoin businesses, according to ZDnet. com All of this news comes at the back of one of the worst years for Bitcoin since it’s inception. For the past few months I’ve read essentially the same nonsense posts about Bitcoin: January: we won’t go back below 800!

February: we won’t go back below 700!

March: we won’t go back below 600!

2 days before April: we won’t go back below 500!

As of the time of this writing, Bitcoin sits at $452 and with April 15 looming, I doubt we will see the coin trend upward any time soon.

I’m not a market analyst. I’m not even an economics major. I’m a film student that’s been called an idiot at least once since I started writing for The Houstonian.

Bull and bear markets aren’t my thing, but Bitcoin drama has been a sick obsession of mine. So by all means, ignore my opinion on the subject, I’ll be waiting with my popcorn and crocodile tears when China officially pulls out.

“Red Lobster – those biscuits, oh my gosh!”

-Angelica Caceres Criminal Justice/Psychology Freshman

“Raisin’ Cane’s – they have the best chicken.”

-Vanessa De Paz Mass Communication Freshman

The Houstonian Editorial

The Houstonian was named in the top 100 college newspapers for journalism students by JournalismDegree.org. Members of Associated Collegiate Press and Texas Intercolligiate Press Association.

EDITOR’S NOTE Articles, letters and cartoons by Houstonian staff members or others in this paper are their own and not the opinion of the Houstonian, unless it is noted as such. Submissions and letters to the editor are welcome. Please send submissions to viewpoints@houstonianonline.com. Articles may be edited for grammar and spelling at discretion of editor. Unsolicited oppinions should be 150 words or under. Please contact us if you wish to submit anything longer. Deadline for submission is by 5 p.m. on Mondays or Wednesdays.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Connor Hyde ........................................................................................................................................936-294-1505 FACULTY ADVISER Robin Johnson..................................................................................................................................936-294-1499 STAFF Jay R. Jordan .................................................................................................................................Associate Editor Colin Harris...................................................................................................................................Viewpoints Editor Jeremy Villanueva..................................................................................................................................Sports Editor Kizzie Frank.............................................................................................................................Entertainment Editor Stephen Green...........................................................................................................................................Web Editor Kassidy Turnpaugh.............................................................................................................. Assistant News Editor Dharmesh Patel.........................................................................................................Assistant Entertainment Editor Marissa Hill........................................................................................................................................Sports Reporter Hannah Zedeker.................................................................................................................................Senior Reporter Steven Snook.............................................................................................................................Multimedia Reporter Samantha Zambrano.............................................................................................................................Layout Editor Lillie Muyskens..............................................................................................................................Graphic Designer Staff Reporter(s)..................................................................................................... Kaleigh Treiber, Alex Broussard

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BUSINESS MANAGER Paty Mason......................................................................................................................................936-294-1500 ADVERTISING MANAGER Stacy Hood.........................................................................................................................................936-294-1495 STAFF Cristina Tazado.............................................................................................................................Delivery Manager

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Page 4

Arts&Entertainment

Thursday, April 10, 2014 houstonianonline.com/a-e

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Raveen Johnson| The Houstonian

RAW MATERIALS. The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery in SHSU’s Department of Art is currently having their 15th Annual Student Juried Exhibition. The show is set to run through April 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every year the exhibit includes different art pieces submitted by art students, and the pieces are judged and awarded with cash prizes. This year’s juror for the exhibition was contemporary artist, Heyd Fontenot. The exhibit harbored a wide variety of art forms from sculptures and paintings to videos and photographs. All students are encouraged to visit the exhibit and vote for your favorite piece.

MTV AWARDS

Oscar snubs favored for MTV Awards PARBATTEE MAHARAJ Contributing Reporter Golden, crunchy and maybe even a little bit stale.

The MTV Movie Awards are just around the corner and the producers are busy

popping the “Golden Popcorn Awards” to be handed out to all of the movies that didn’t win the Oscar.

“Pitch Perfect” star Rebel Wilson opened the show with a musical performance last year. MTV asked late night talk show host Conan O’Brien to do the honors of hosting this year.

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

This year some big names – and flops – were listed in each category. Leading the pack with the most nominations are none other than Jennifer Lawrence with four, and Leonardo DiCaprio with five. Other nominees include Sandra Bullock for Oscar winning film, “Gravity,” Josh Hutcherson for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” Kevin Hart for ”Ride Along,” Jennifer Aniston for “We’re the Millers” and Henry Cavill for “Man of Steel.”

The categories include Movie of the Year, Best Male and Female Performance, Breakthrough Performance, Best Kiss, Best Fight, Best Comedic Performance, Best Scared-As-Shit Performance, Best OnScreen Duo, Best Shirtless Performance, WTF Moments, Best Villain, Best OnScreen Transformation, Best Musical Moment, Best Cameo Performance and Best Hero.

Predictions about who will take away the award in each category vary. “Gold Derby” editor David Schnelwar predicted Kevin Hart will walk away with the award for Comedic Performance in “Ride Along.”

In the best kiss category, he predicts that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams will win for ‘American Hustle’. For Best On-Screen Duo, Schnelwar predicted Paul Walker and Vin Diesel will take home the award for “Fast and Furious 6.”

Along with those nominated, other big names will be in attendance of the movie awards including Amanda Seyfried, Zac Efron, Mila Kunis and Dave Franco. Musical performances will include Ellie Goudling

and Zedd, twenty one pilots and returning act Eminem and Rihanna.

The rap/pop duo will be embarking on their international stadium tour in August and this should be a great preview for fans.

Mass communication major sophomore Dannielle Shaw is looking forward to their performance.

“I am so excited to watch Rihanna and Eminem. ‘Monster’ is my jam and I already have my concert tickets” she said.

According to CNN.com, the MTV Movie Awards draw in a large audience for the network and managed to pull in nearly 3.8 million viewers last year, a viewership MTV hopes to exceed Sunday night.

The MTV Movie Awards will air Sunday at 8 p.m.

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SHSU professors search for musical talent MARISSA NUNEZ Staff Reporter Student vocalists and pianists at the SHSU School of Music have teamed up for the first annual Art Song Competition taking place at the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall on Sunday April 14 at 2:30 p.m.

The dean of the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication, Ronald Shields, created the competition in an effort to promote achievements in the performance of song literature, as well as promoting degree studies that incorporate both vocal and piano arts.

“We want to highlight and support the excellence in vocal/piano performing that is taking place at our school,” said Wayne Barrett, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication and vocal area coordinator for the school of music.

“This helps the students by providing the training and seasoning that comes from preparing for a musical event such as this.”

The competition is made up of 18 teams,

with both undergraduate and graduate students competing for the cash prizes awarded at the end of the competition.

Before entering however, a voice or piano instructed had to nominate a student.

After selection, teams were formed based on

student creativity and faculty advisement.

“All students were welcome to compete, —

ART, page 6

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Page 5

Sports

Thursday, April 10, 2014 houstonianonline.com/sports

FOOTBAll

Progress a goal for Orange vs. White MARISSA HILL Sports Reporter After a month of workouts, Sam Houston State football will take the field again in the annual Orange and White scrimmage Friday at Bowers Stadium.

The Bearkat offense will be in white, and the defense will be in orange and will play as if they were in season.

Despite the sizeable group of returning lettermen, head coach K.C. Keeler still finds that it will be tough to divide into two teams.

“It’s a matter of numbers,” he said. “Several players are still working to come back from late season injuries, but this system gives both the offense and defense an opportunity to score points.”

The Bearkats played their second full-contact scrimmage Saturday and Keeler is pleased with what he has seen.

“We’ve told the kids we’ve really made tremendous progress since day one,” he said. “But we’re a long way from being able to compete with an outstanding team like Eastern Washington.”

SHSU will kick off their 2014 season a week earlier than usual, facing Eastern Washington Aug. 23 in Cheney, Wash.

At this point in workouts, the offense has progressed the most, offensive coordinator Phil Longo said. He added the offensive scheme will involve more from the aerial attack. With the shift in the play book, quarterbacks as well as receivers have been forced to adjust to the new game plan.

An adjustment sophomore wide receiver Stephen Williams said has been embraced.

“It’s like any new thing that

Alex Broussard | The Houstonian

PROGRESSION. The Bearkats continue to develop their understanding of the new offense and defense in their final spring sessions before Friday night’s annual Orange vs. White game. Head coach K.C. Keeler has been pleased with what he’s seen out of his team in the Bearkats’ two spring scrimmages thus far.

comes to you,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult, but we’ve started to get on a roll.”

Defensively, SHSU looks to improve upon their foundation and continue focusing upon their spring goals, according to defensive coordinator Mike Collins.

“They’ll see a good mix of what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “Defensively, they’ll see a team that’s going to pressure the ball.”

Even though the defense is suffering from some injuries, there have still been some standouts during spring workouts, Collins added.

“Michael Wade has had a really good spring,” Collins said. “He’s doing a good job in the secondary.”

Wade was a second-team AllSouthland safety last season positioning himself as the secondleading tackler for the Bearkats.

He recorded 105 stops for the season, including four games

where he broke into double figure tackles.

Sophomore defensive tackle Sione Latu has also caught Collins’ attention this spring.

“He’s continuing to learn and be productive on the defensive line,” he added.

Collins said his overall goal for his defense this spring was improvement.

“One of our main goals was to improve our rush defense,” Collins said. “We were ranked highly in the

conference for our rush defense, but not to our expectations.”

Now that the Bearkats are approaching the end of the spring, Collins said he knows they can continue to make steps toward their expectations for the beginning of the 2014 season.

“We’re more mature now,” he said. “We have a fall and a spring under our belts, so now we have a better understanding.”

The annual Orange vs. White scrimmage will begin at 7 p.m.

BASEBALL

Alex Broussard | The Houstonian

COMEBACK KID. Third baseman Carter Burgess takes the plate and brings in the winning run,4-3, in the Bearkats’ late-game thriller against Baylor Tuesday night at Don Sanders Stadium.

Kats’ rally ousts Bears 4-3 KYLE KELLY Staff Reporter Sam Houston State third baseman Carter Burgess played a hand in every run the Bearkats sent home during Tuesday night’s game against Baylor.

To add onto 2-4 outing, Burgess drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with a two-run single to seal the 4-3 win over the Bears.

The win moves SHSU to 22-11 on the season and 3-1 against Big XII schools.

“That was a fun win for us tonight,” Burgess said. “Our makeup and our character is that we can overcome some errors. We gave away some runs early but good teams are able to overcome those things and we were able to do that tonight.

With two outs on the board, singles from centerfielder Colt Atwood and catcher Anthony Azar sparked the rally for the Bearkats, while designated hitter Hayden Simmerly reached on an error by Bears’ shortstop Brett Doe to load the bases.

Burgess connected early in the count to bring home Atwood and Azar.

The win also makes SHSU 3-1 in the last four games following two consecutive losing series against Southland Conference opponents before rebounding last weekend against Oral Roberts.

“We’re starting to play better,” Burgess said. “The last three wins have been real team wins.”

Freshmen Dylan Ebbs received the nod on the mound from head coach David Pierce and rewarded Pierce with 6 2/3 innings, only giving up two hits.

Unfortunately for Ebbs, his defense would not give the same performance. The Bearkats gave up three errors in the fourth inning and surrendered three unearned runs for the Bears to take a 3-1 lead.

“We didn’t play great defense tonight,” Pierce said. “The great thing is that we got the big hit late to win the game and in the latter part of the game we did play good defense. You might call this one an ‘ugly win’ but I’ll take it.”

With the Bearkats down heading into the seventh inning, SHSU late in the game magic was needed.

Reliever Ryan Brinley took over for Ebbs and pitched a speedy seventh inning to get the Bearkats back up to the plate.

Closer Alan Scott captured the save hurling 1 2/3 innings while striking out two and working around men on base to give the Bearkats and Brinley the win.

The Bears’ loss would be Pierce’s 100th win in the Bearkat uniform.

The Bearkats will head back to Don Sanders Stadium this weekend for a threegame SLC series against Abilene Christian University.

Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Page 6

News

Thursday, April 10, 2014

STATE

Texas SAT scores below average

SHSU students’ scores on par with national average HANNAH ZEDAKER Senior Reporter When compared to the rest of the country, the state of Texas ranks near the bottom in terms of average math and critical reading scores on the SAT, according to the 2014 Texas Public Higher Education Almanac, Compiled by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the almanac revealed while the state’s average SAT reading score in 2013 was 477 and the average math score was 499, Sam Houston State University’s average admission scores coincide more closely with higher national averages than they do with those of the state.

SHSU students’ average SAT reading score is 495, and

its average math score is 510.

Comparatively speaking, both of these scores fall just short of national averages—reading being 496 and math being 514.

In fall 2013, SHSU changed its admission standards and expanded its automatic admission, which has no minimum standardized testing scores, from the top 10 percent, to the top 25 percent. In addition, the minimum requirement for a composite SAT math and reading scores was raised to 960 for students in the second quarter of their class and 1060 for students in the third quarter of their class.

Students in the fourth quartile of their high school class are “considered by review only,” according to the admission standards.

Trevor Thorn, director of SHSU undergraduate admissions, said although SAT scores are important

it terms of college acceptance and scholarship eligibility, they do not necessarily reflect intellect.

“I think SAT scores reflect what students are capable of,” Thorn said. “However, they don’t necessarily reflect intelligence, because we may have students that have really low test scores but they’re very intelligent—they may just get nervous, whether they get test anxiety or they just don’t perform well on standardized tests. That’s the reason our initial requirements are set up the way they are, because if you work hard enough, you’re going to be fine regardless of your test score, for the most part.”

Thorn added in the opposite situation, there may be students with superior SAT scores who will get accepted and then fail out once they begin their college career.

“There’s not a perfect system,

but we can look at potential,” Thorn said.

The only states with critical reading scores lower than Texas are Delaware, Idaho and Maine.

However, Texas’ SAT math scores are considerably better than its critical reading scores.

Additionally, when it comes to the ACT, Texas is on point with the national average ACT composite score, equaling 20.9, a score SHSU barely beats with an average of 21.

Although Thorn said he knows how Texas high schools prepare their students for standardized tests, he is unsure of how other states equip their students.

“Personally, I don’t know that higher test scores for a high school student is the answer,” Thorn said. “I think the bottom line is that if students are being taught what they need to be taught from elementary up through high

school, then ultimately their test scores are going to be good because they learned what they needed to learn.”

Thorn said components in the Sam Center such as writing, reading, math, study skills, time management and freshmen success courses can help students improve both their morale and efficiency in those areas.

Despite the revealing statistics that portray Texas’s low performance on the SAT, Thorn said what students do at present is much more important than any test score.

“The best indicator of future success is recent history,” Thorn said.

competition include Bowling Green State University’s associate professors of voice and opera, Christopher and Ellen Scholl.

Ellen Scholl said she is looking for specific qualities in performers.

“What we are looking for is a team that works well together, listens carefully and supports each other’s performances, as well as the composer’s intentions,” Ellen Scholl said. “A great performance has all of the characteristics listed about, and in addition to that we want to be moved emotionally by what we see and hear.”

Preliminary rounds begin

at 2:30 p.m. and will consist of 7-minute auditions. From there, only five finalists will be chosen to perform at the final round at 8 p.m.

Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the concert and will receive a cash prize for first, second and third place.

All rounds of the competition are free and open to the public.

For more information contact the SHSU School of Music at 936.294.1360 or music@shsu.edu

JUMPS

ART,

page 4

however I think the teachers were really quick to encourage those students who were really serious about their craft,” said Rebecca Grimes, director of opera workshops.

For the competition, participants had to prepare two art songs, which are a blending of music and words, and one aria, a piece of music for a solo voice that is sung in the opera style.

Out of the three selections, one will be performed in English and

the remaining two will be performed in a foreign language.

For judge Grant Loehnig of Rice University’s Shepard School of Music, what makes a great art song performance is the ability of the performers to tell a story to the audience.

“There’s a degree of vulnerability required in performing art song.

For singers used to performing in operas and musicals, it’s easy to feel naked on stage in front of audience without all the costumes, lighting and orchestra to hide behind,” Loehnig

said. “Art songs demand honesty.”

He says performers must figure out the song’s basic message or idea and communicate that to the audience, as well as understanding the composer’s musical style.

“It’s always a magical experience when you see artists perform who have processed and inhabited the music and words to such an extent that it feels like they are creating something completely spontaneous and from the heart,” Loehnig said.

Other judges for the

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HOME AS IN HOUSTON. First Lady Michelle Obama (left) and President Barack Obama (right) share words with former President George H.W. Bush (center) as he welcomes them to Houston on Wednesday. The Obamas were in town for two fundraising events.

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