Lasso September 10 issue

The L asso On the scene since 1914

Student-run newspaper | Never a dull moment

Wednesday, September 10, 2014 | Vol. 101, No. 18

Local | Political

NAACP rally for Michael Brown

Matt Olson Reporter molson3@twu.edu

Friday, Sept. 5, students and staff of UNT and TWU gathered together for the universities’ National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapters’ Justice Rally and Vigil.

The event featured passionate speakers and moving spoken word pieces and focused on raising awareness on the issues of police brutality and the institutionalized racism that allows for impingement upon personal freedoms. The rally was held at UNT’s Library Mall with a somber vigil following in front of Goolsby Chapel.

Associate Psychology and Philosophy professor Kenneth Foster spoke on the purpose of the event: “It is a recognition of and protest against unwarranted violence at the hands of

Continues pg. 4 Photo by Tammi Paul

Denton Campus | Arts

Campus

TWU offers health care Community dances Students now are now offered health care plans Savannah Peer Copy Editor speer@twu.edu A new health care plan now is now available to any currently enrolled student.

Assistant Director of the Student Health Services Tanisha Freeman said: “The greatest benefit is that the plan is with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, so the network of providers that are available to students is really comprehensive.”

Other aspects of the plan include more

services being covered, a greater coverage benefit, access to a 24 hour nurse line, the opportunity to enroll in preventative care programs, availability to TWU students out of state and more.

In terms of premiums and deductibles, Freeman stated: “Students have the option to pay for the academic year or pay the insurance premium by the semester. If a student chooses to enroll for the

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Denton | Recreational

TGIF: Art in Denton Oak Street hosts artists once a month Shelby Baker Editor-in-Chief sbaker3@twu.edu The square at night is beautiful. There’s always a musician playing, people buzzing and an atmosphere unique to Denton.

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But I’ll admit that until a year ago, I never ventured past the square. I never knew about Shop the Barn, never set foot in Banter. Thanks to a few individuals, more and more people are adventuring beyond.

The first Friday of every month, some of the businesses off the square on Oak Street host First Friday Denton, a night where they stay open later, provide entertainment and open their arms to the community.

Teaching Dentonites to shake, shimmy and jive Tammi Paul Photographer tpaul3@twu.edu Never let age or ability get in your way when it comes to taking a dance class. Even if you are not a student, you can enjoy moving to the beat on campus.

For the past 40 years, TWU’s Dance Department has opened its doors to the Denton community by offering dance classes for all ages and all experience levels. There are classes ranging

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Sports | Tournament

Volleying for wins TWU tallied three wins in the Lady Buff Tournament INSIDE THIS ISSUE Opinions Rick Perry’s indictment...............................2

News 100 healthy habits......................................4

Community Hoochie’s food review................................5

Arts & Entertainment Fall TV shows.............................................6

Amanda Clark Page Editor aclark9@twu.edu This past weekend, the TWU volleyball team kicked off the 2014 season at the BritKare Lady Buff Classic in Canyon, Texas with two games on Friday and two games on Saturday. The Pioneers walked away with two wins on Friday and

split the games on Saturday.

The Pioneers faced off against Regis to open the season, winning 25–22, 25–19, 20–25, 17–25 and 15–10.

Head volleyball coach Shelly Barberee said in a press release: “We started out great against Regis and captured the first two sets. After we made some subs in the next two sets we didn’t match-up well and struggled a little. Overall we played great

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defense in this game and our serve-receive was outstanding.”

Senior Kelci Lind led the team in kills, achieving a career-high of 14 while also adding 19 digs on defense for a doubledouble. Sophomore Mallory Kuechle also led the team with 10 kills and 24 digs to achieve a double-double.

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Opinions

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

twulasso.com

Government

Rick Perry’s defense is offense-ively weak Perry has now become a beacon of bad behavior - overspending, abuse of power, clouded judgement Matt Olson Reporter molson3@twu.edu Texas governor Rick Perry was indicted Aug. 15 with two felony charges brought against him.

Perry stands accused of abusing his position as governor and attempting to force a public official to step down. The public official in question, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, was arrested for driving while drunk in 2013. Lehmberg’s actions were reprehensible — calling the police footage of her field sobriety tests “pathetic”

doesn’t go far enough — but she took responsibility and served time for her wrongdoing. Perry was, of course, not satisfied and decided to take matters into his own hands. Such shameless acts of selfjustification and a lack of self-questioning have led the state governor for years, and this time, the legal ramifications have finally caught up with him.

If you aren’t an Austinite, you may be wondering what this political nonsense has to do with you. Perry attempted to oust Lehmberg by cutting $7.5 million in state funds while she was leading a special

unit seeking to prosecute corruption. That the unit happened to be looking into an agency suspected of corruption and fronted by the governor seems an unlikely coincidence.

Furthermore, despite his political leanings, Perry has been perfectly comfortable spending thousands upon thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund his own defense.

Morally, Perry behaved reprehensibly.

Determining whether or not Lehmberg had been sufficiently shamed by her arrest and jail time was not the governor’s job.

If the people of Travis County had requested her

removal, then perhaps the governor’s intervention could be seen as somewhat justified. Legally, Perry was careful not to overstep his bounds in certain areas — cutting Lehmberg’s funding is something Perry can do — but showed blatant disregard in others — cutting funding in the way he did serves in some ways as an obstruction of justice.

Both Perry and Lehmberg are guilty of hypocrisy. As a DA, Lehmberg prosecutes individuals and organizations for the crimes they commit.

That she decided to drive drunk instead of sobering

up, sleeping it off, or calling a cab — after likely prosecuting countless drunk drivers — shows a serious lapse in judgment, one rectified by her admittance of guilt. Perry seems to believe in his (self-)justification so much that his political principles now allow him to spend public funds on his defense. He lives in a world where hypocrisy doesn’t exist, likely because it has too many letters.

Perry has shown blatant disregard for the consequences of his actions throughout his political career. Remember his 2012 run for the presidency, all his constant

flubs and gaffs, his inability to remember the points he was trying to make? None of it would have happened if Perry had stopped to think of the consequences.

If nothing else, one definite piece of good news has emerged from the mess: Perry announced that he does not plan to run for Texas governor again. With luck, his 2016 bid at the presidency will dissolve once the legal ramifications for his wrongdoing set in, and then we will all be free from the used car dealership salesman of a politician that is Rick Perry.

Student Resources

Body Image

What happens when your classes get dropped last minute and you need to replace it and deal with financial aid?

than size

Departments drop the ball Health more Emily Nickles Page Editor enickles@twu.edu It’s the second day of classes, and I’m ready to be challenged and expand my current knowledge of the world. Imagine my disappointment when I walk into the classroom and no one is there. Ten minutes tick away, and there is still no sign of anybody.

Who hasn’t wished for the day that their professor is 15 minutes late to class and there’s the option to leave? I know I’ve sometimes wished that would happen on my worst days, but I wasn’t expecting to find out there wasn’t going to be a class at all.

I had my first taste of a dropped or cancelled course. Students every semester struggle with adjusting schedules, classes, work, and extracurricular activities around the event of a dropped course. While some students may never experience this inconvenience, there are others who have had to deal with more than two or more in one semester.

This is part of what comes with attending a smaller

university, but there is also the standard that students expect to be informed about changes in their schedules.

Like me, most students are on their own to figure out what to do. I did what I felt was the most logical thing and visited the Registrar first. Rumour has it that the Registrar is supposed to supply a list of potential classes that students can take in the place of the course that was dropped. But from my personal experience, I didn’t find the answer to my questions there, only a redirection to my advisor.

My advisor could look up classes I had taken, but I had to supply myself with other options of what I could take. It’s a matter of finding which class is still open and meets at a time that will fit in the schedule.

One of the things I was most concerned about was the deadline for adding a course by 5 p.m. on Thursday. I had to make a decision quickly and there was a risk of choosing a class that would overextend my abilities or not meet my schedule requirements.

I did eventually find a solution that worked for

“Students are let down when they can’t find consistent answers because the different departments have difficulties communicating hierarchy.”

- Emily Nickles, Lasso Page Editor

me.

After another series of visits to the Financial Aid Office, Registrar and department of the class that was dropped, I found out that there aren’t any recorded statistics of the number of classes cancelled a semester, and most sources claim that it is an unusual or “rare” occurrence.

It didn’t matter that I wasn’t clear on what to do. Fact is, this isn’t high school and the institutions on campus will treat students like adults.

There’s no spoon feeding here. That’s important for growth, but it should be easier to find answers.

I often got the impression that nobody really knew what the other departments were doing. Students are let down when they can’t find consistent answers because the different departments have difficulties communicating hierarchy.

There should be a clear designation of who is in charge of what in order to make effective decisions.

In my case, there was a definite miscommunication.

Mistakes happen, and that’s okay, but there’s no changing the fact that I was disappointed with how there was a significant lack of straight answers in my search.

The only advice that I can give is that students should know their degree plan and know where they are at

The Lasso editorial staff Editor-in-Chief

Designer

Managing Editor

Page Editors

Shelby Baker • sbaker3@twu.edu Alexander Ancira • aancira@twu.edu

Reporters

Toi Ferguson • lferguson2@twu.edu Emily Nickles • enickles@twu.edu Amanda Clark • aclark9@twu.edu

Monica Alcaraz • malcaraz@twu.edu Matt Olson • molson3@twu.edu Sarah de Schweinitz • sdeschweinitz@twu.edu

Copy Editors

Photographer

Advisor

Tammi Paul • tpaul1@twu.edu

Savannah Peer • speer@twu.edu Tiffany Lam • tlam6@twu.edu Rhonda Ross• rross7@twu.edu

on their timeline. There are sheets that advisors sign with suggested classes when students go for their semester appointment, hold on to those. Also, through the Pioneer Portal, the Degree Audit Reporting System keeps track of the classes and credits that are completed each semester as well as transfer classes.

If students have issues or questions about financial aid when a course is cancelled or dropped, go to the Financial Aid Office in the ACT building. The faculty there are fantastic and will work with students to help them fund their classes.

Adding a course is difficult once the semester has started; there are less options and less time availability. Once a student knows their class is dropped, go straight to WebAdvisor and search a few class options that will work with the degree plan.

It also helps to keep an updated university catalog on hand for checking required and available courses, especially for core.

Students that only have 12 hours or don’t mind remaining at 12 hours if a class is dropped should still monitor their schedule through WebAdvisor just in case a class is cancelled and their financial aid requires full-time.

In the end, everything worked out perfectly for me. But I know not everyone is so fortunate.

How healthy you are — and your self confidence — should not be dictated by weight or size Monica Alcaraz Reporter malcaraz@twu.edu Hi, my name is Monica, and I am overweight. I am a self-conscious person with a poor self-image, but I don’t believe that it is right for me or any woman to feel this way.

With a boom in exploring natural beauty, it seems only right to acknowledge the natural beauty that is our bodies and the scrutiny they suffer on a daily basis. Why is everyone worried about weight? How much was gained? How much needs to be lost? What to do about that pesky belly?

But like Meghan Trainor says in her song that takes a step toward empowering women and girls to look to themselves and find their own perfection: “every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top.” It is up to each and every woman and girl to realize that size does not have any bearing on their beauty.

The other day, I was having a girl’s night in with my two nieces. We were going to watch Disney princess movies and eat snacks late into the night.

Just before the trip to the store, my oldest niece looked at me and said: “Tia Monica, don’t you want to be skinny like me?”

“No,” I responded jokingly. “You’re eight, I

All rights reserved. The Lasso is a weekly student publication of Texas Woman’s University, written and produced by students and printed at DFW Printing.

Editors develop their own editorial and news policies.The presentation of news and editorials and the personal opinions expressed in The Lasso are those of Lasso staff and writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, staff, students, administration or the Regents of Texas Woman’s University.

This week’s issue Vol. 101 No. 18

can’t survive at that weight.”

She followed with telling me how important it was to be skinny and eat healthy.

On our trip for snacks, she picked fruits and vegetables and I couldn’t have been more proud of her. But I later told her that to be healthy, you don’t necessarily have to be skinny. Women of all sizes live with little to no health problems. With the average woman wearing a size 14, girls of bigger sizes aren’t hard to come by.

That conversation with my niece really made me think about what children are taught when looking at television today and the ideas that they are given about what is beautiful and acceptable today by social standards. These standards of beauty are ruining the self-esteem of women everywhere. Even the women in the best shape are photoshopped to look thinner by high-profile magazines. What does this say about natural beauty?

The idea that we will only get the guy if we are a certain size, or would look so much better if we were just a few pounds lighter, is what is making it hard for women to feel good about themselves.

I’m tired of looking in the mirror and thinking “I wish I looked like ‘insert beautiful thin celebrity name here.’”

When will it be popular to love ourselves for who we are at the natural size that we are?

Mail

Letters from Readers The Lasso Stoddard Hall Rm 311

Email lasso@twu.edu Website twulasso.com

We value reader submissions. As a university newspaper we have certain criteria that limit what we will place inside our newspaper. Please limit letters to 300 words.

Columns submitted should be no longer than 600 words. Please include your name, address, phone and email. Your contact information will not be published. Unsigned submissions will not be published. All submissions are also edited for length and clarity.

Submissions become property of The Lasso.

Sports

twulasso.com

Sports | Soccer

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

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T-Dub bests Lady Buff 3–1 Continued from pg. 1

Photo courtesy of TWU Athletics

Above: Sophomore Gabrielle Larson battles for possession of the ball.

Pioneer soccer scores first win of the season In a roughly skill-tied game, Pioneers rise victorious against Colorado Mesa Matt Olson Page Editor molson3@twu.edu The TWU soccer team emerged victorious from its latest match Saturday, Sept.

6. The Pioneers faced off against Colorado Mesa at Fort Lewis Women’s Soccer Classic and scored two goals in the first half, leaving the score 2–0. This win, the first of the season, advances the Pioneers and improves their record, now 1–1.

The first 25 minutes of the game saw intense action on both sides of the field. Both teams made numerous attempts on their opponents’ goals.

Sophomore forward Natalia Diaz made TWU’s first goal shortly before the 26th minute mark, having received a pass from fellow sophomore forward Nancy Chavez. Mere minutes later, Diaz scored the team’s second goal thanks to an interception and pass from junior defender Madison

Purdy.

In a TWU press release, head coach Babak Abouzar said: “Colorado Mesa is a good team, and this is a big win for us. We came in with a game plan of how we wanted to play them, and the girls stuck to the plan.” Commending specific players, he added: “Nancy played a great ball to Natalia for the first goal, and Madison had a great defensive play to intercept the ball for the second goal.”

Junior goalkeeper Ariana Morrison spent the entire game defending the net and managed to block 10 shots on the goal.

Congratulating the defense team, Abouzar said: “Our backline played great.

[Junior midfielder] Kayla Gorney did a good job in the backfield with Madison keeping them organized.”

Chavez, Diaz and Purdy started playing for the Pioneers this year.

Their first game was on

The TWU volleyball team played New Mexico Highlands in their second game on Friday, winning in three sets, 25–20, 25–20 and 25–19. Across the board, the Pioneers played well offensively with four players having five or more kills in the match up, led

by Freshman Elizabeth Pennington, Lind and senior Katelyn Barnett.

Barberee said: “We played an okay game against NM Highlands and no one really stood out.

I am very happy that we started the season 2–0 with two regional wins.”

The following day the TWU volleyball team split two five-set games, losing in their first game against

Thursday, Sept. 4. The Pioneers competed against Fort Lewis at Fort Lewis Women’s Soccer Classic and put in a noble effort but ultimately lost, 2–1.

TWU’s goal was scored by first-year midfielder Megan Coppedge, playing her first game for the Pioneers.

Speaking on the loss in a press release, Abouzar said: “In the second half, we didn’t win as many balls at midfield as we would have liked, and that threw us off our rhythm. It would have been nice to get a result out of this game, but I am happy the way the girls played.”

The Pioneers’ next game will take place Sunday, Sept. 14 at noon. TWU will play against Harding in Searcy, Arizona, at Steven Soccer Field.

Adams State, 25–14, 22–25, 21–25, 26–24 and 14–16 and winning their second game against UC-Colorado Springs, 23–25, 25–12, 29–27, 22–25 and 15–10.

The Pioneers started the first match well but struggled in the second and third sets. Working hard in the fourth set, the team pushed for a fifth, but lost out to Adams. Despite the loss, the Pioneers fought offensively with a great record of kills, led by Pennington with 15 and three other players reaching double digits.

In TWU’s final game of the BritKare Lady Buff Classic, they came out on top with higher hitting percentages and four

players hitting double digits on kills. The Pioneers came out strong in the second and fifth sets, but struggled to maintain consistency during the match.

Barberee said: “I am happy that we got the win in five sets. It was great to see four players in double digits in kills in both games.”

The Pioneers will return again to the floor this weekend in the Texas A&M-Commerce Tournament in a game Friday at 5 p.m. against Arkansas-Fort Smith. To keep up with the TWU volleyball team and see stats from recent games, visit https://www.twuathletics. com.

WELCOME DSS welcomes all new and returning students with disablities

Come and talk to JoAnn

Katy

Jay

Laura

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Please join the TWU Pioneer Family on October 3-5, 2014 for Family Weekend.

Events at Family Weekend include:

Welcome & Campus Tours Luncheon H Traditions Talks TWU Athletic Events H Weekend Tailgate Shuttles to Downtown Denton H Arts & Crafts Station We would love to see you and your guests join us for this year’s Family Weekend!

For registration, costs, program details, and more information, Please refer to www.twufamilyweekend.com.

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News

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

twulasso.com

Community Dance classes Michael Brown vigil held Continued from pg. 1

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TWU offers health care plans Continued from pg. 1 academic year then that premium can be paid monthly.”

The deductible to be met for each student that enrolls in the plan is $500 annually, which is an extremely low rate for health insurance plans.

Many students are not

currently enrolled in the plan. “The students that do enroll are quite pleased with the plan and have found it to be beneficial to not have to worry as much about the adverse financial burden of medical expenses they weren’t planning for,” said Freeman.

100 healthy habits Amanda Clark Page Editor aclark9@twu.edu

Campus Blotter Suspicious Person A report of a suspicious person was made on Aug. 27. No arrest was made.

Theft A report of theft was made on the Denton campus on Aug. 28. No arrest was made, but there was property damage.

Stuck Elevator A call was made regarding a stuck elevator on Aug. 28 on the Denton campus.

Criminal Trespass A report of criminal trespass was made on Aug. 30 on the Denton campus. No arrest was made.

Trespass Notice An arrest was made for trespassing on Aug. 29 at the Denton campus.

Fire Alarm A report of a fire alarm was made on Sept. 4 on the Denton campus.

Minor in Consumption/ Possession An arrest was carried out on Sept. 4 late at night for a minor consuming alcohol on the Denton campus.

Harassment A report of harassment was made on Sept. 7 at Denton campus’ residence halls.

No arrest was made.

Texas Woman’s University

Volunteer Fair Discover how to get connected to the DFW community through volunteer opportunities.

September 16 11 am - 1 pm Student Union 2nd Floor For more information, contact Michelle Behm at 940-898-3593 or mbehm1@twu.edu

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If you have a disability and need accommodations for this event, please contact Disability Support Services at (940) 898-3835.

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Every year TWU Student Health Services puts on the Well Wednesday Community Health Fair to educate the TWU community about health and wellness resources both on campus and in the surrounding Denton area.

Assistant Director of Health Promotion at SHS Sonia Redwine said that with the 100th anniversary of The Lasso they decided to theme this Well Wednesday “100 Ways to Stay Well.” One Wednesday a month both in the fall and the spring, SHS will be sharing 100 health and wellness tips to help students improve various aspects of health and wellness.

Some of the top health tips shared from the first Well Wednesday last week focused on the physical dimension of health and wellness including things like hand washing and ways to improve your sleep routine. On future Well Wednesdays, SHS will cover tips on social and mental health dimensions, according to Redwine.

SHS has a full calendar this semester. They are

holding an open house Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. as an opportunity for students to tour the clinic, meet staff and ask questions.

Also upcoming on the calendar are SHS’s Mindful Mondays starting on Sept. 15 that will focus on stress management. SHS is also introducing an online Mindfulness group via Blackboard for students who are not able to make the program in person.

In addition to these events, SHS will again host their StressLess series held in the Student Union, room 113 from 12:25-1 p.m. To kick off this series will be a seminar entitled “What is Stress?” on Sept. 17.

Other seminars for the semester will discuss time management and test anxiety. The Stress Less series will continue into next spring.

For health and wellness articles, Redwine encourages students to read SHS’s online health and wellness magazine, Student Health 101 at https://www.readsh101. com/twu.html.

For more information about SHS health promotion events, follow TWU Student Health Services on Facebook and @healthyTWU on Twitter and Instagram.

Any student who is interested in enrolling in the plan or would like more information can stop by Student Health Services, visit the website at http:// www.twu.myahpcare.com/, or call the toll free number 855-247-2273.

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dance shoes or to try out some new ones.

For more information about the Community Dance Center at TWU, contact TWU’s Department of Dance at 940-898-2085 or email dance@twu.edu.

the vigil, members of the NAACP chapters placed white roses on a fountain in remembrance of victims of police brutality, excessive force, and hateful violence, including Michael Brown, Cesar Cruz, Shantel Davis, Manuel Diaz, Aiyana Jones, Dr. King, and Emmett Till, among others. Foster then led a prayer, after which the attendees gathered for a “Don’t Shoot” picture, a photograph in which the subjects held their hands above their heads, pantomiming surrender.

The event ended with the NAACP chant.

Foster said of the students who arranged the event: “It is my hope that the two student chapters, like other student organizations, will continue to reach out to each other and engage in positive, productive collaboration. I am very proud of these students and their continually growing track record of their commitment to community service and the historical mission of the NAACP.” Howard added: “NAACP unit 6906 would like to encourage students to get involved at school, in their communities, and at the polls. Your voice matters, and don’t forget it!”

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and $90 per class during late registration, making it an affordable opportunity to the Denton community.

There are few dance studios that offer classes to such a wide variety of ages. It is an opportunity for people to dust off their

“You are still less than a person to America.” She ended her speech with a call to action: “For all you freedom fighters out there, I want you to NBA: never back away.”

UNT students Rodderick Parker and Cherita Cunningham delivered stunning spoken word pieces with accompanying performances.

Parker briefly introduced his work by speaking about Israel Hernandez, a young Florida teen who had been killed by a police officer’s stungun. The reason? Hernandez had been making graffiti art.

“Some artists can’t afford to buy a canvas larger than life,” Parker began his poem and reiterated throughout, demanding answers from the officer who killed Hernandez.

Cunningham’s work was equally affecting.

She spoke from the perspective of a victim of police brutality.

She emphasized the degradation of the violence — “They were trying to put me in my place” — and the need for unity amongst disenfranchised communities — “There has never been a justice system; there has always been a just us system.”

Following a silent walk to Goolsby Chapel, a vigil was held on the chapel lawn.

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Photo by Tammi Paul

- Kenneth Foster, Associate Psychology and Philosophy professor

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from Ballet and Ballroom to Contemporary Jazz and Hip Hop. Children as young as three years old take classes at the Community Dance Center.

Fall classes started Sept. 2 and will continue until Nov. 10. After a friend told her about the Community Dance Center, Becky Jackson decided to join a Hip Hop class. She received a hug from her teacher, Megan Marcano when she announced that it was her “first time ever” to dance hip-hop.

When asked why she decided to take the class, Jackson stated: “I turn sixty this year and I’m doing things I never got to do. And it’s fun!”

Dance classes at the Community Dance Center are $80 per class during early registration

“I am very proud of these students and their continually growing track record of their commitment to community service and the historical mission of the NAACP.

TWU

Photo by Tammi Paul

individuals sworn to protect all citizens.”

He added: “My hope is that all in attendance will come away with a sense of awareness of the obligation we all have to become educated and informed about issues such as these and to not lose sight of the need to respond to facts and not react to or with misguided emotion.”

UNT student and NAACP chapter president Brittany Burnam said prior to the event: “I’m hoping people will leave tonight feeling empowered.”

She emphasized the importance of political participation: “We can do rallies, and we can protest, but we need to get involved in the political process if we want to make a difference.”

The rally began at 6:30 p.m. with a brief introduction, a prayer by UNT NAACP chapter advisor Cheylon Brown and a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by UNT Voices of Praise.

Texas NAACP state youth advisor Ericka Cain delivered a rousing speech on being politically active.

“You’re not feeling what you need to be feeling,” she began, commenting on the lower than expected numbers in attendance.

She referenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech to comment on the lack of activism: “We might as well end the Civil Rights era and call it a nonmovement era because we have no movement.” Cain demanded of attendees “Have society and social media taken your voice?” before offering the sobering reminder:

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Community

twulasso.com

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

5

Hoochie’s Oyster House: New face, same taste Denton’s best seafood stop just moved to a location just as good as the food Alex Ancira Managing Editor aancira@twu.edu Sometimes, you’re in the mood for something spicy and savory. In the south, and specifically in Texas, this can be a tricky venture. Barbecue is more sweet and savory (as it should be!), and our nationally renowned brand of Tex-Mex has a sharp spice to it with a hint of lime. Neither of those really hit that spicy and savory slice of foodie Nirvana, but for Dentonites that have traveled to Louisiana or New Orleans, the answer is obvious and not nearly as elusive: Cajun seafood.

You can’t find good seafood in the Metroplex just anywhere, and if you add the word Cajun in front of it, the list of great options dwindles even more so. Luckily Denton is gifted with a great option to get your seafood urge sated in Hoochie’s Oyster House, an affordable Cajun seafood shop off the square that will have you coming back time and time again. Hoochie’s trip

Photo by Tammi Paul

Above: Hoochie’s new location provides an aesthetically pleasing storefront with a combination of red and brick.

Owner John Blackwood personally greets customers as they walk in and takes their order once inside.

to its current location at the corner of Industrial Street and Hickory Street has been long and seems to be a smart business move so far. Just off the train tracks, the exposure for students and tourists on Denton’s historic square wasn’t always the best — but that is no longer the

case for Hoochie’s in its new location.

A clean exterior with a Sean Starr signature front signage hides a comfortable interior, with wide open walking space, a stage for musicians to jam on, a long comfortable bar area and ample seating for customers to enjoy. Having

First Friday commerce

walked in, customers are happily greeted by smiling employees and owner John Blackwood himself.

The menu hangs over the register with categories ranging from “Grilled Stuff ” to “Fried Stuff ” to “South O’ the Border” — and every item sampled is excellent. Members of The

Lasso staff ordered snow crab, fried-and-battered shrimp, Buffalo wings, and a salad bread bowl.

Every item was tasty in the best artery-clogging way. We started out with an appetizer, fried jalapenos, which the staff felt utilized an effective Cajun-spiced breading on sliced peppers.

So far so good. When the snow crab was rolled out, large platter and all, we all gave it a shot and fell in love with the soft, well-boiled crab meat, no skimping on the garlic butter sauce. The Buffalo wings came with soft french fries and were battered and coated in a vinegar based hot sauce, reminiscent of Louisiana Hot Sauce. It was, to say the least, deliciously spicy.

The shrimp was battered and fried to perfection, but who could mess up shrimp?

Finally, the salad was a little more wet with dressing than some might like, but the bread bowl was robust and soft to add some carbs to a light meal.

Refills were poured aplenty and the servers seemed genuinely interested in how we were doing, asking multiple times if we were good or if there was anything we needed. Hoochie’s new location is the perfect bait to reel in the patrons this Cajun carrier deserves. Just remember to take your friends with you.

Editorial Cartoon

Continued from pg. 1 on First Friday and we put out snacks and beverages,” Shop the Barn employee Heath Squires said. “Business is generally pretty good, but it can be hit or miss. When it first started, there was a really good turnout. It supports local commerce on Oak Street.”

This last First Friday saw local musicians Rachel Yeatts, who just released her first CD, and Oui Bis perform at A Creative Art Studio.

Artists featured this month were metal artist Daren Fagan alongside painter and photographer Tina Alvarez. Guests had the opportunity to buy a dollar a minute sketch from Bailey Parrish, or they could create their own painting.

The business also hosts themed nights, an example being last February when attendees were encouraged to dress in Steampunk attire, and Huttash plans to do the

same in 2015. Where First Friday falls depends on what the theme for the event is and if there even will be a theme. However, the music, art and community never change.

“I’d like to see First Friday become so big that the streets are closed.

When the street becomes the walkway and musicians play. I hope Denton can get on board.”

Huttash encourages TWU students to apply to be a featured artist.

All media is accepted including sculpture, ceramic, painting and mixed media. Students can contact Huttash at acreativeartstudio@gmail. com, but space is limited.

For more information, visit http://www. firstfridaydenton.com or check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/pages/First-FridayDenton-Texas/295347591389.

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HE FRA T T A H CK

CLEAN boost local economies America’s Natural Gas

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Photographer Shannon Drawe approached owner of A Creative Art Studio Robin Huttash in 2010 with the idea. According to Huttash, Drawe’s inspiration came from visiting Athens, Georgia, where they held their own first Friday event.

From there, a website and Facebook page was created and the monthly event was born.

“I’ve always liked to throw parties,” Huttash said. “It’s a lot of work, but once the evening starts everything is worth it. I wanted to have a place people felt comfortable hanging out. First Friday helps achieve that goal.”

Though Huttsash had to bribe her friends the first time, businesses caught on soon after.

Shops like Circa 77, Shop the Barn and Banter keep their doors open late to bring foot traffic to that side of the square.

“Independent dealers sometimes put on sales

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

expensive AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE Air Pollution REGUL ATED Affordable LACK OF ENVOIRNMENTAL CLEAN UP SAFE UNSAFE DRINKING WATER EARTHQUAKES HAZARDOUS SUPERFUND SITES

Graphic by Toi Ferguson

Dentonites are split on the fracking ban issue. One of Texas’ greatest resources is natural gas, but the elimination of fracking within the city has people flocking to oppose or support the November vote. If the ban passes, this could push Texas to reevaluate fracking laws.

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A&E

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

twulasso.com

Art | Campus Events

Television | Preview

Fall TV: Fresh starts, sad goodbyes Art Reception

Bright outlook for final seasons, but new shows’ quality is TBD Alex Ancira Managing Editor aancira@twu.edu

New kids on the programming block Distinguishing the wheat from the chaff in the endless sea of pilots is similar to attempting to divine next year’s stock prices.

So good luck with figuring out with accuracy which of these shows will even be around next year, let alone be good: “State of Affairs”: Let’s start with the easiest one.

Katherine Heigl has the star power this political drama needs, and NBC seems to be nailing dramas lately with hits like “The Blacklist” and “Hannibal.” But early reviews cite problems with scripting. Here’s hoping that we will see some real quality over the season for this budding drama.

“The Flash,” “Constantine” and “Gotham”: I’m rolling these three up into a superhero burrito for your convenience, readers.

With the expansion of superhero media on TV, it’s simply a matter of time before we have a dud, right? And yet here I am believing that maybe — just maybe — all three of these will be quality. Early reviews from IGN and Den of Geek suggest that “The Flash” has a rather good pilot, and an early screener of the pilot of “Constantine” I received seemed to suggest quality as well. “Gotham” looks to be the weakest of the three but even still that seems promising.

Hard to tell if any of these will see a “Smallville” or “Arrow” ballooning effect though. Stay tuned.

“Selfie”: Fall’s most polarizing comedy has its pilot available on Hulu right now, so go check it out. It isn’t terrible for starters, and John Cho and Karen

Photo courtesy of CW

Gillan seem to have good chemistry for this show’s social-media fueled premise. Look for it to have a decent season and not be renewed.

This is only a few of the options this fall. Watch out for “Star Wars: Rebels,” “Gracepoint,” “Z Nation” and “Red Band Society,” as well when they hit your small screen soon.

hit “The Blacklist,” are also returning to Monday nights to duke it out in the ratings circles.

Comedy also returns with a bit of Emmy and Golden Globe clout to think about this fall.

“The Big Bang Theory” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” return to CBS and Fox respectively, with stars Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher and Jim Parsons giving these shows constant injections of quality week in, week out. In years past “Two and a Half Men” would have garnered attention due to quality, but the show’s final season at least makes it noteworthy enough to mention. Also who can forget about mainstays like “Family Guy” and “South Park”? The fall’s returning shows are a ratings force to be reckoned with, and that’s not even mentioning “The Walking Dead,” “Arrow,” “Agents of SHIELD” and “Supernatural.”

Return of the kings If you love dramas, it’s a great fall season to tune in on. HBO’s hit period drama “Boardwalk Empire,” which explores bootleggers during prohibitionaddled America, has launched its eight-episode final season.

“Sons of Anarchy,” FX’s little biker-drama that could, also moves into its seventh and final season, with series lead Jax Teller behind bars and the motorcycle gang in disarray.

Last year’s two most successful fall dramas, Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow” and NBC’s sleeper

Photo courtesy of HBO

The wonders of art revealed Sarah de Schweinitz Reporter sdeschweinitz@twu.edu For an artist, the only thing better than creating art might be sharing it with others. Of the many events on the TWU Visual Arts calendar, the current exhibition in the East and West galleries is unique in that it gives faculty and selected guests a chance to display their work on campus.

The pieces range from sculpture to paintings to photography to drawings. Art History professor Dr. John Calabrese, who has been a part of the TWU faculty since 1981, had some graphite on paper drawings featuring women in cosmological settings.

“The whole point is two beauties: the sacred and the profane.

Profane is the woman because she’s earth. The heavens are ominous and frightening but they are also awesome and beautiful.

That’s the theme behind all of them. I take one extreme and put it next to the other,” Calabrese said.

He then pointed to one work of his titled Phobos: The Confrontation and said: “People don’t like to look at what scares them. But that’s the whole point — it should scare you. It’s bigger than you.”

Another faculty member Colby Parsons, who has been at TWU since 1998, had his sculptures on display. The pieces, titled “Landscape #1” and “Landscape #2,” were paired with video projection.

“There is something that happens with projectors,” explained Parsons, “when a projection is pointed at something that’s not flat or even if it’s flat but at an angle, you see all the pixels.”

Parsons said he noticed the enhancement of the pixels while working with projectors for a different reason, but it inspired him

Photo by Tammi Paul

Above: guest artist’s work is featured at art reception. to incorporate it into this project.

“There are certain things that come out when you let the material do what it’s good at doing,” said Parsons, “That’s called materiality. It has this beauty inherent in it in something that could otherwise be seen as a flaw. So if you are a manufacturer of projectors, you don’t want people to notice this stuff. I’m taking advantage of something that they would rather cover up.”

Book designer and Visual Arts Department Chair Michelle Hays has a piece on display, which features some of the publications she has designed. “I like to design books in multi-page systems. In each of my books, there is some sort of system that is evident and then kind of a hidden system within each structure,” Hays said.

Among the books shown were “Wurzbach Manor” by the Borderland Collective and two books of Central Texas artist Randall Reid’s work. “Wurzbach Manor” is about three families living in San Antonio and their experience of being relocated from Tanzania, New Orleans, and Burma.

See the Visual Arts page on the TWU website for upcoming events throughout the year.