Vol 119 | Issue 30
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Publishing since 1913
Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Houston State University
Meningitis vaccine required for college students, pg. 4
KAT Links
For additional content and news updates, visit houstonianonline.com.
Animation at Sam, pg. 5
INDEX Viewpoints ....... pg. 2 Special ............... pg. 6 Holiday Guide .. pg. 3 Sports................. pg. 7 News .................. pg. 4 Special ............... pg. 8 A&E ................... pg. 5
Salaries: checks and balances
Gender equity in faculty pay under inspection By McKinzie Brocail Senior Reporter Upon first glance there appears to be a gender-based discrepancy between Sam Houston State University’s male and female faculty’s salaries. Research of 2010 faculty salaries by the Houstonian revealed that throughout faculty ranks, the discrepancy increases: Male assistant professors make an average of roughly $2,000 more than female assistant professors. There is a nearly $6,500 difference between what male associate professors make compared to female associate professors, and male professors make nearly $9,000 more than female professors. When all categories are combined, the average male salary is $74,909 compared to $65,731 for females. “The university is in the process of running data through the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis,” Jaimie Hebert, Provost and Vice President
Christian Pratt | The Houstonian
for Academic Affairs, said when confronted with the dissimilarities. While the numbers at SHSU are skewed based solely on gender, there are other factors involved. “Where you see the largest discrepancies are
in the disciplines,” Hebert said. Different fields of study tend to pull in different salaries. “A lot of it depends on which degree you select,” Mary Davis, Ph.D., a sociology assistant
everyone that entered into a giddy, excited mood. “It’s a great way to start off the holiday season,” Gabe Chavarria, freshman mass communication student, said. There were boughs of garland along the walls, wreaths with red bows, poinsettias, ornate Christmas trees, holiday food and treats, a brass quartet and jazz ensemble playing holiday favorites, and, of course, Old Saint Nick. Guests were encouraged to get their photos taken with Santa Claus. Free copies of the photos were available on sight.
“It is nice to have the opportunity to see other staff members outside the office,” Kristi Kreier, Budget and Finance Director of the CJ Center, said. “We don’t normally get to see and enjoy some holiday cheer with them.” The festive dishes included Swedish meatballs, pigs-in-a-blanket, spinach dip and spicy cheddar grits. The dessert table offered a plethora of sweet treats including peanut brittle, chocolate toffee, various tartlets, peppermint bark, seasonally flavored muffins, pumpkin cheesecake, brownies, cookies and various fruit. Literally all that was missing were sugarplums. “It’s so diverse,” Danny McNeely, freshman music education student, said. “They brought everyone together.” Students coming in from the chilly weather enjoyed the variety of hot chocolate with marshmallows, coffee, and hot wassail. “The Holiday Open House has been a tradition for more than 20 years,” Dan McDaniel, the LSC director, said. “It’s always the first Wednesday of December.” Students from the music department performed in the brass quartet and jazz ensemble. The holiday joy was coordinated by the LSC and hosted by the President’s Cabinet. Aramark Food Services and the campus’ Barnes & Noble bookstore sponsored the Holiday Open House.
Spreading the cheer By McKinzie Brocail Senior Reporter The Lowman Student Center Ballroom was transformed into a grand scene of impressive holiday cheer for Sam Houston’s State University’s annual Holiday Open House on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Upon entering the ballroom, a vision that came close to mimicking childhood memories of Christmas morning evoked students, faculty and staff alike. The red and green colors and twinkling of Christmas lights put
Christian Pratt | The Houstonian
CHRISTMAS CHEER. The Lowman Student Center Ballroom got a makeover Wednesday for the SHSU annul Holiday Open House, held 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., which featured food and music.
professor, said. “Certain degrees earn more money than others, like physical science and engineering. When you’re comparing salaries, you must also compare the area of its study.” Along with their fields
of choice, faculty pay equity is also dependent upon production (including publications). “Sometimes the equity issue is that women are sometimes over-represented in their department, which occurs the same with
males,” Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences John de Castro, said. “Relative to their discipline, years and rank, factor in when determining if their salary — See SALARIES, page 4
Basketball comes up short, 64-37 against Texas A&M
Jessica Gomez | The Houstonian
ROUGH ROAD GAME. Basketball traveled to College Station Wednesday, losing to the Texas A&M Aggies (7-1) 64-37.
By Zach Birdsong Sports Editor
With a beat up team, the Bearkat men’s basketball squad traveled to Texas A&M on Wednesday. It was a rough night for the Bearkat squad as the Aggies ran rampant and easily won 64-37. The Aggies (7-1) opened the game seemingly on fire, and at the 9:34 mark of the first half, led 23-6. At the end of the first half, the Aggies lead 31-17 and shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the field, while limiting Sam Houston to 21.9 percent (9-of-37). In the second half, it was more of the same as the Aggies outscored Sam Houston, 33-20, and with three minutes left to go in the game, held a commanding 31 points lead. Overall, the Aggies shot
46.7 percent from the field, and 35.7 percent from threepoint territory. Junior forward Ray Turner led all scorers, putting up 15 for the Aggies. Turner also managed to get a doubledouble, pulling down 10rebounds. “I needed one of these,” Turner said. “This is probably my first doubledouble that I’ve ever got here at Texas A&M. One thing I told myself is that I’ve got to get a double-double. I’ve got to show people that I have improved, and I have been working hard this offseason.” Guard Elston Turner added 14 points for the Aggies and forward David Loubeau scored 11. The defense of the Aggies was relentless and limited Sam Houston to shooting 25 percent from the field (15of-60) and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-24).
Though the offense didn’t shoot well, they limited their turnovers with eight compared to the Aggies 11. “We were really bad tonight,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “You always have to find some silver linings. We turned the ball over 8 times against a good defensive team, I was pleased with that.” Demarcus Gatlin led all Sam Houston players with 13, shooting just 25 percent from the field (5-of-20). “Texas A&M is a tough place to play,” Gatlin said. “They had a lot of fans but we were solely focused on the task at hand. We didn’t execute defensively or on the offensive end. Coach tries to take the blame but we didn’t focus on our gameplan. We also didn’t rebound the ball well.” Against the Aggies, Sam Houston was outmatched on size and the Aggies took full advantage of that. “(When you’re limited big players) you get outrebounded 50 to 31 and give up 47 percent from the field,” Hooten said. “Not much you can do. It’s not like them where Roberson can’t play tonight and you have four other big guys. I have a 7-foot freshman. We’re trying to keep those guys out of foul trouble. The thing that hurts us the most is we can’t run much with one post man.” Next up, the Bearkats will travel and take on North Texas in Denton on Saturday night.
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