The Rambler Vol.100 No.12

WEDNESDAY Nov. 9, 2016

Vol. 100 • No. 12

www.therambler.org

OPINION

Ram Squad expa n d

Presidential race got you considering packing?

s

If moving to Canada isn’t an empty threat, here’s some things you should consider.

NEWS

Ram Squad reaching expansion goals A group that started out as two basketball fans makes its mark on campus.

CAMPUS

Mental health issues matter to many Stastically speaking, you or someone you know may well suffer from mental health issues.

A&E

Chance to start something new in music industry The rapper gains fame without being signed to a label.

SPORTS

Athletes weigh in on the new weight room Athletes and coaches share why they love the new facility on campus.

Photo by Hannah Onder Ram Squad members Katie Matthews, Anthony Harper II and Akeel Johnson cheer at a Friday night volleyball game aganist John Brown University.

Hannah Onder hlonder@txwes.edu

Flashback to two years ago: Feb. 26, 2015.

Stella Hall director Jeremy Hunt and senior business major Ricky Hall watched Mid-America Christian University’s fans plop themselves into Texas Wesleyan’s Sid Richardson Center’s home stands during a men’s basketball game.

“They were rooting for their team in our home stands and me and Ricky we just really disappointed at the lack of respect that they had for our team and our student section,” Hunt said.

Brown-Lupton hosts art event

Students created art and donated canned goods on campus Tuesday.

performed a dance and threw spirit wear to the crowd.

The organization is open to all students, faculty, and alumni willing to support the squad and a membership fee is being decided on soon, said organization President Cameron Bennett.

“This year as far as expanding we’ve been going to different sporting events for different teams and sports organizations like volleyball but also we’ll be going to basketball as well,” said Bennett, a sophomore computer science major. “We’ve gone to some soccer games supporting them.”

The squad recruited more students

both last spring and earlier this semester, Bennett said, and has taught the new members what the organization is about. Ram Squad now has about 20 members.

Hunt and Hall originally established the program to have a good time and enjoy the sport they loved.

“We just wanted to create an organization, a collective of people,” Hunt said, “who wanted to enjoy going to thing that we loved, which was basketball, and to be a part of something where there are other people that just come together and have a good time.”

“One thing always at the top of the list was Texas Wesleyan, this small yet innovative university that was also going through its own period of

Dunbar students can begin taking the classes as freshmen, Miller said.

There are 29 students in the program, but he hopes to have up to 70

have an aptitude for academic success and the desire to engage.

He expects that at some point, Dunbar students will attend classes at Wesleyan.

“I really wanted to make it as inclusive as possible,” Miller said.

Jamal Williams, Wesleyan’s director of collegiate academy and college credit partnerships, describes the program as a strategic pathway for higher education.

“The way the partnership works is that Dunbar has been awarded a $9.5 million grant over the next five years and a part of that grant fund will be used to finance the student’s academics here at Wesleyan and also provide them with help, not only academic support, but social support,” Williams said. “A holistic process to help those students move forward and do something for their educational careers and their lives, free of

 RAM SQUAD. page 3

Wesleyan partners with Dunbar Nicholas Acosta nacosta4@txwes.edu

Texas Wesleyan University has partnered with Dunbar High School to allow its students to take college credit classes.

This new partnership, which began this fall, currently has students taking college credit classes at Dunbar.

It is, if not the first, then one of only two programs in the United States where a public high school and a private college have teamed up to offer students college credit, according to Dr. Allen Henderson, Wesleyan’s provost.

Dunbar Principal Sajade Miller, a Wesleyan grad, said the idea of bringing Dunbar students to Wesleyan came from when he was applying for a grant to build Dunbar’s academics.

He was looking for a university to partner with.

“I think students sometimes like to have thoughts that they could go to a four-year institution. I hope that we attract many of those students to Wesleyan but would also prepare those that maybe had opportunities.”

- Dr. Allen Henderson transformation,” Miller said. “So as we try to transform, why not tap into their positive energy and create this synergy and this collective impact to change the lives of our students?”

students participating by next year.

Students can earn up to 60 hours of credit toward a bachelor’s degree, Miller said.

The students in the program must

 CENTER. page 3

Martin Center to open in fall 2019 Nicholas Acosta

nacosta4@txwes.edu

ONLINE

Wesleyan’s men’s basketball team lost 81-76 that night, and the two dedicated themselves to creating a respectable student cheering section.

“That following summer,” Hunt said. “I met [senior business management major] Omar Dominguez and he was like, ‘Yo man, we should do a spirit organization’ and I was like, ‘Dude, yeah, and let’s call it Ram Squad.’”

Ram Squad became an official organization in January 2016, focusing on promoting the men’s basketball team. There were 10 members.

Now Ram Squad has expanded in both numbers and event coverage.

At Midnight Madness, the squad

If all goes well, Texas Wesleyan will have a new heart by late 2019.

That’s how Jim Lewis, vice president of university advancement, describes the Nick and Lou Martin University Center, which will provide a focal point for the campus.

“It’s going to be a game changer for Texas Wesleyan,” he said. “It will touch everyone on campus.”

Lewis said the center will be 44,000 square feet and two stories tall. It will be located behind the Canafax clock tower and will be a major point of entry for students, their families, and

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Wesleyan guests.

Lewis estimated the total cost of the center at $20,250,000, which includes $13,500,000 for construction and $1,350,000 for furniture.

Among the amenities will be a welcome center, bookstore, food court, dining area, ballroom, student organization spaces, meeting spaces, a terrace that will feature patio space, and an amphitheater.

“It will have a major impact on potential enrollment,” Lewis said, “by not only creating a great first impression for prospective students but also changing the complexion of student life here in a way that would make Wesleyan a lot more attractive

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Rendering courtesy of Texas Wesleyan University An illustration of how the Nick and Lou Martin University Center will look.

 DUNBAR. page 3

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2 | Wednesday | November 9, 2016

Opinion

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So you’re moving to Canada, eh?

EDITORIAL

As this is being written, neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump has yet been elected president.

But what’s obvious is that in the runup to this week’s presidential election, many Americans seem to be wondering if it’s time to abandon ship and head north if their favorite candidate loses.

According to MarketWatch, “moving to Canada” internet searches are at their highest since George Bush was elected in 2004.

Here’s how you do it. According to the government of Canada’s website, candidates must first complete an online express entry profile that includes information on such things as skills, work experience, language ability, education, job offers in Canada, and other details.

You join a pool of candidates and are graded on this information.

Those with the highest scores are invited to apply for citizenship; you then have 60 days to submit an application for permanent residency.

Still interested? If you’re serious about it, here’s why you should consider moving to Canada.

Just want to get away from America and don’t have a job? That’s not necessarily a deal breaker. If you come into the country without one, you can register with the Employment and Social Development Canada job bank and they will help you find one.

There are definitely benefits to heading north. Let’s start with the cost of living. It’s cheaper than in America. According to Numbeo.com, living in Canada is 8.13 percent lower than in America. And you’ll probably be paying far less in rent, which is 27.50 percent

lower than in America.

In part because it’s cheaper to live there, there are about 300,000 fewer homeless people than in America, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Living in Canada is also safer: Firearm-related violence accounts for only two percent of all violent crime in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. The murder rate is 2.05 per 100,000, as opposed to America’s five in 100,000. Crime levels in general are very low: Canada is ranked 53rd out of more than 100 countries, according to NationMaster; America is ranked 30th, meaning it is far more violent.

Another benefit to moving to Canada is universal healthcare. With the rising cost of medical procedures and hospital stays, cheaper health care Illustration by Dalise DeVos benefits all. In an parThis election’s unpopular presidential candidates have many American citizens considering moving to Canada. ticle published on the Huffington Post website, USA Today colum- with 22 percent, and 17.5 percent of people turn off most conservatives. According to an nist Bill Mann gave an example: when his son speak both English and French. So most of article in the New York Times published in was born in Montréal, his wife got excellent the people you will encounter in Canada will 2015, Trudeau was noted to be a strong believcare and three days in a semi-private room. speak English. No language issues to worry er in climate change and legalizing marijuana, Total cost: $21. about. among other things.

If you’re worried about a language barrier, A Clinton fan fleeing a Trump presidency But regardless of your choice of presidential don’t fret. As of 2011, 58 percent of the popu- would have more to agree with than vice versa. candidate, if you believe the ship is sinking and lation’s primary language is English, according Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is you don’t mind packing up your life and movto Statistics Canada; French is next highest considered very liberal and would probably ing, Canada’s a good choice.

The monster that no one else hears Dalise DeVos Editor In Chief dndevos@txwes.edu

What does it mean to have anxiety?

For my best friend, it means pulling over to the side of the road when you’re five minutes away from the house. It means walking.

And walking. And breathing. And walking. It means trying to listen to the voice of your best friend over the voice in your head that tells you you’re dying. It means resisting the urge to dial 911 when your heart is pounding and your chest is aching as the panic launches its fullfledged attack on your body. It comes without reason, without warning. It just . . . is.

For my boyfriend, it means cowering at the mention of a double date. It means shaking hands with sweaty palms and forcing out a shaky “Hey.” It means fighting against your body to have a “normal” social encounter, every moment resisting the urge to flee. It means constantly racking your brain for the next acceptable excuse as to why you can’t come to that party, because “I have social anxiety” just isn’t a good enough reason.

But for me, anxiety looks a little different.

Anxiety means straight A’s. It means editor-inchief, internships and making the Dean’s list. It means, “Wow, you’re going to be famous one day,” “You killed that interview,” and “Keep up

the good work!”

At least, that’s what they tell me. But those voices are but whispers compared to the monster that no one else hears.

“You’ll never be good enough.” “You’re a bad [friend] [daughter] [sister] [girlfriend].” “No one will ever really love you.”

The monster that is my anxiety first reared its ugly head in grade school. My mom gave it a name: perfectionist. I guess that’s what you call a five-year-old who throws away coloring pages when she barely goes outside the lines. Or an eight-year-old that crumples up her paper and throws in the trash, screaming because she misspelled one word and now has to start all over because having one scratchedout word is unacceptable.

The monster grew as I entered my teen years.

This time, they named it Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. “They” being the counselor my mom made me start seeing when she heard my bedroom door banging against its frame over and over as I made sure it was closed every night.

The door was just one part of the nightly ritual that included closing and locking all the upstairs windows – 10 times to be exact – as well as all the upstairs doors. This, of course, would be after the routine stretching, push-ups and sit-ups that also had to be done in the same order and the same number of times every night. This would last until the early hours of

the morning, but it had to be done. Otherwise, any attempt to sleep would be as pointless as ordering a Diet Coke with your Big Mac. While the counseling helped with the severe OCD, the anxiety remained, and, as I entered my early 20s, led to drug and alcohol use. It started with smoking pot and drinking at parties, but soon evolved to other narcotics – my favorite of which was Xanax.

Nothing could make me feel more at peace than those four white squares of freedom. That is, until one night when the Xanax mixed with a God-knows-what-else cocktail caused me

I’m not the only one who battles the monster every day - sometimes winning, sometimes losing. to black out in an unsafe place. I was awake enough to know what was happening to me, but too out of it to be able to stop it.

Six years later, I wish I could say I was free, but the truth is, I never really will be. At least now I know what to call the monster inside my head. It’s called anxiety, high-functioning anxiety to be exact.

High-functioning anxiety doesn’t mean panic attacks like my best friend. And it doesn’t mean social avoidance like my boyfriend.

It means late nights under the harsh glow of a computer screen. It means another cup of coffee. It means saying yes to writing a book as a full-time student with a full-time job. It

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means hiding behind a smile and a 3.5 GPA. It means fighting the urge to quiet the monster with a little pill and a glass of wine.

I don’t write this for pity. I don’t write this for attention. I write this because I know I am not alone. I’m not the only one who battles the monster every day – sometimes winning, sometimes losing.

According to a 2012 survey on mental health conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 11 percent of college students nationwide have been diagnosed with anxiety.

Just like me, these students battle not only their illness, but the fear that no one understands the war that wages inside their head.

Understanding might not cure anxiety, but it sure beats the hell out of: “You’re just stressed.” “Why don’t you go home and take day off?” “Why are you freaking out?” “Just relax.”

As if it were only that easy.

If you were born without the monster, be thankful. But if someone trusts you enough to confide in you about their monster, don’t think for one second you’re consoling them in your attempts to belittle it. Instead, recognize that their illness is as real as the flu you caught last winter. They might not show it on the outside or be contagious, like you were with your runny nose, coughing and sneezing, but it’s there, and it never goes away.

Understanding might not cure anxiety, but it can cure the feelings of loneliness and unacceptance that accompany it – and it might just be the thing that prevents someone who’s losing the battle from taking their life.

Rams up Thumbs up to the planters in front of the PUMC. Thumbs up to Stella being featured in a Netflix commercial.

Thumbs up to clearance-priced candy.

Thumbs up to an extra hour of sleep.

Rams down

Thumbs down to cold/flu season.

Thumbs down to mental health issues.

Thumbs down to three more weeks until Thanksgiving break.

Thumbs down to no entry to Stella’s main lobby after midnight.

Wednesday | November 9, 2016|3

News

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RAM SQUAD continued from page 1

Freshman Qualon Gray, a new member of Ram Squad, understands those ideals.

“I see Ram Squad as a bunch of good people who want to get together and enjoy basketball games, volleyball games, football games, and just school events in general,” said Gray, who has not decided on a major. “We want to make it fun because especially nowadays people are too cool to get up and cheer but not Ram Squad. It is cool to get up in cheer.”

Gray was recruited this semester.

“Well, I saw their booth and I saw people that I knew so of course of I was interested,” Gray said. “It was like, ‘Oh, it’s Ram Squad and they go to the games and cheer.’ I had something like that in high school and I wasn’t in it but I wanted to be. This was my chance to be in it.”

Hunt didn’t find the expansion unexpected.

“I expected a lot of buying in from a lot of different people because we saw the way it made people feel,” Hunt said. “We saw the

DUNBAR

way it brought people together. It didn’t matter what you looked like, where you were from, what major you was, whatever the case was as long as you loved basketball, you love having a good time, and you loved your school.”

Bennett noticed Ram Squad has been getting better known on campus.

“Well, basically this last year we’ve noticed that our name has come up a lot more,” Bennett said. “We’re starting to get talked about a lot more. The bigger we get the bigger expectations we are going to have from other people in order to keep that greatness we’ve already started since last year.”

Even with Ram Squad now cheering a variety of sports, Bennett plans to keep the focus on basketball.

“We’ll make sure we get basketball all the way covered showing this is who we care for,” he said. “The other sports and organizations not necessarily because the people within the basketball team come and speak to us, we

know each other by name, and they interact with us. Now that we are building a relationship with other teams, I feel as though there will be something like that just as big down the line with the volleyball team. We’re starting to know them and they’re getting to know people within Ram Squad building that connection.”

Gray is glad to see Ram Squad working to branch out to other sports.

“I feel it’s good because that way other sports don’t feel left out,” Gray said. “Not only is it good for those sports, it’s good for the students too because a lot of them that are in it had never been to a volleyball game. It’s a good experience to go and see all the sports on campus.

You should go at least to one game of every sport a year.”

Hunt’s only worry about the expansion is that it might wear down all the members.

“My biggest issue that I have -- it’s more of a miscommunication -- is that a lot of people will see the Ram Squad as a certain group of people

and they will want this group of people to be at every single event,” Hunt said. “Those guys have lives and they need that energy reserved for other organizations and other events that are taking place.”

Hunt said Ram Squad is heading in the right direction, and toward his ultimate goal.

“I think my biggest hope for Ram Squad and for people to understand is that we are all Ram Squad,” Hunt said. “It’s not just like this group of people. I just don’t want them to forget the original reason why they started. It was because they love their school, they love going to the games, and they love the people they are hanging around with.”

Students interested in participating in Ram Squad should contact one of the following people: Cameron Bennett at cdbennett@txwes. edu, Darien Edwards at dedwards@txwes.edu, Anthony Harper II at arharper@txwes.edu, or DeLisa Taylor at dstaylor@txwes.edu.

help students coming from families who want to get an education but lack the means.

“I think students sometimes like to have thoughts that they could go to a four-year institution,” Henderson said. “I hope that we attract many of those students to Wesleyan but would also prepare those that maybe had opportunities to go somewhere else.”

Henderson said to be a better learner, you need to understand that it takes work, dedication and commitment.

“You need to be really interested in learning and be willing to do the homework and read, is what I would say to any college student to be successful you have to give some time to that endeavor,” Henderson said.

Miller said many of his colleagues around the Metroplex have reached out to him for information on the Dunbar/Wesleyan partnership.

“Everyone is very interested,” Miller said.

“It’s a model that can change lives.”

Photo courtesy of Texas Wesleyan University Jamal Williams, Weleyan’s director of collegiate academy and college credit partnerships, helped coordinate with Dunbar.

years ago, the board of trustees made the center a funding priority, he said.

“The discussion of the project has been around for over a decade,” Lewis said. “I saw an old proposal that was done 20 years ago.”

Executive Director of Facilities Development and Operations Brian Franks said constructing the center will be the largest building operation on campus since the Eunice and James L. West Library was built in 1987.

“We probably have 12 to 18 months of preconstruction,” Franks said.

Franks said he, Lewis and other Wesleyan officials toured other university centers to get a

sense of what was wanted and needed at Wesleyan.

“This not something you build very often,” he said. “It’s actually fairly prestigious for the architect and construction manager and everyone one else involved because you don’t do these every day.”

Dean of Students Dennis Hall was one of the people who toured other university centers; he wanted to see what other universities have done.

“I think creating a space that feels unique and is dynamic is really important,” Hall said.

“This building has the intention of being the

heartbeat of the campus and really promote that vibrant on-campus experience for our students.”

Hall believes the new university center will be transformational for the campus and become a unified place for students to congregate.

Hall’s office and all of Student Life will be relocated to the center when it is finished, but what else will fill the center has yet to be decided, he said.

“I’m excited, the more I think about it, that central mall area becomes more collegiate and very traditional in a college sense,” Hall said.

continued from page 1 charge.”

Williams said that he was working with Henderson as well as Admissions & Aid and Student Life to build a relationship with the students to let them know that they have special spot at Wesleyan.

“We’re giving you the experience your freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year; why not continue that on two more years to get that bachelor’s degree?” Williams said.

Henderson said that one mission of his is to

CENTER

continued from page 1 to students and their families.”

Wesleyan President Frederick Slabach said in October that the center is named after Louella Martin, a member of the board of trustees, and her husband, Nick. The Martins made a substantial donation to the center’s construction.

Lewis said that assuming the university can finish fund-raising by January 2018, ground will be broken by late 2018 and the center would be open by late 2019. Lewis said that the majority of the $20.25 million will come from donors.

When he started working at Wesleyan two

4 |Wednesday | November 9, 2016

Campus

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56 percent of American adults suffer some type of mental illness and never receive treatment.

40,000,000 adults suffer from

anxiety disorders each year.

Nearly threequarters of those with an anxiety disorder will have their first episode by the age of 21.

Bipolar Disorder

P s y c hosis Social Phobia y t e i Anx d r o De s i D pre ssi on

Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adults each year.

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|5

Campus

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90 percent of people who commit suicide suffer

from some type of Obsessive mental illness.

Compulsive Disorder

e d i c i

Su

y s r e d

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

2.2 million people in the U.S. suffer with schizophrenia.

Nearly 3.3 million Americans suffer from Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder.

Don’t suffer alone. Contact Tarrant County Mental Health Resources at (817) 569-5900.

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Arts&Entertainment

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Giving musical freedom a Chance Calvin Johnson

ccjohnson@txwes.edu

Becoming successful in the music industry without signing to a label is a lot like becoming successful in your field without having a degree; a lot of people would say that it’s nearly impossible to do.

Yet Chance the Rapper has managed to not only succeed this way, but to excel.

Born Chancellor Bennett in Chicago, Chance has been writing mixtapes since his senior year in high school. Back in 2012, he began garnering more recognition when Childish Gambino featured him on a track.

Chance got to return the favor when he featured Gambino on a song on his independently released 2013 mixtape, Acid Rap. Wesleyan senior psychology major Willies “Trey” Hunt says this is when Chance first caught his attention.

“Acid Rap -- that mixtape was just amazing,” Hunt said. “He’s setting new standards . . . showing that you can be independent and not have to be a part of the mainstream.”

Chance first performed on Saturday Night Live, a popular sketch comedy show, last December. This appearance brought him into the public eye, and was made even more notable by the fact that he was the first unsigned artist to perform on SNL. Freshman Qualon Gray feels that Chance’s lack of representation is absolutely a good thing.

“It allows him to stay true to himself; it allows him the artistic freedom that most people don’t have nowadays,” Gray said.

This sentiment is reminiscent of an October 2014 Billboard interview where Chance talked about this exact idea.

“I can do whatever I want,” Chance said. “I can do whatever videos I want, I can play whatever shows I want, I can release when I want, talk how I want, freely about any subject.”

In May, Chance released his long awaited album, Coloring Book, on various streaming sites. The album became the first streamingonly project to make it to the top 10 of the Billboard 200 list.

Shortly after Coloring Book’s release, the Recording Company changed its guidelines to make streaming-only works eligible for Grammy Award nominations.

In an interview with Billboard, Bill Freimuth, the Recording Company’s senior vice president of awards, denied that the change was made specifically for Chance, but his unprecedented success may have aided their decision.

Freshman education major Morgunn Minor thinks his influence may be felt by artists in the future.

“A lot of people will probably see how good he’s been doing, maybe try to get advice from him,” Minor predicted. “He could be starting something new.”

Chance has since started his widely-acclaimed Magnificent Coloring World Tour, recently performing in Dallas at the Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum.

Just two days later, he attended President Barack Obama’s final White House state dinner. His invitation to this prestigious event underscores just how far a musician can make it on their own.

Whether you’re a fan or not, it’s obvious that this musical underdog has become an unmitigated success, and the impact of his actions could be felt for years to come.

Photo courtesy of chanceraps.com Chance the Rapper’s album, Coloring Book, made it to the top 10 of the Billboard 200 list.

Holiday movies offer variety for fans Shaydi Paramore

ssparamore@txwes.edu

With the holiday season approaching you may be wondering, “What can I do to escape the numerous carolers or the drunken rant my aunt goes on every Thanksgiving?”

That’s when you look to hide in your local movie theater for a couple of hours.

The movie theater is a great place to watch a funny movie, snack on some delicious popcorn and candy and just escape from the real world.

Here are the top five holiday movies that I am looking forward to.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Based on a Hogwarts textbook in the Harry Potter series, Beasts focuses on Newt Scamander, a man interested in learning more about magical creatures in America. After he meets a No-Maj (no magic person) by the name of Jacob, Scamander's beasts escape from his suitcase and cause trouble in New York City.

The film is being directed by David Yates, who worked on the las0t four Harry Potter feature films, and J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay.

Beasts opens Nov. 17th and is rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, according to imdb. com. As a huge Harry Potter fan, the fact that the filmmakers are expanding on storylines in the series excites me. At the premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Rowling said Photo courtsey of fantasticbeasts.com “Harry is done” but the Beasts franchise start- Eddie Redmayne(left) and Katherine Waterston perform in the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which opens Nov. 17. ing shows that Rowling is not done with the Plus, I’m a big Disney fan so that gives me the mean we will finally get a Bioshock film? Like Star Wars films that we now try to educate ourmagical Potter world. chance to show off my inner child. every Bioshock fan, I will be praying for this. selves about the series and how it’s evolving to Moana Assassin’s Creed Rogue One: A Star Wars Film excite a younger generation of fans.

In the ancient South Pacific world of OceThrough revolutionary technology, CalA rogue band of resistance fighters, possibly Bleed for This ania, Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in An inspirational story starring Miles Teller search of a fabled island. During her jour- lum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences lead by Boba Fett, unite for a daring mission to ney she teams up with her hero, the legend- his ancestor’s adventures and learns about the steal and destroy the plans for the Death Star. about a world champion boxer, Vinny Pazienary demi-god Maui, to traverse the ocean on Assassins, a secret society. Creed is a spin-off The film is rumored to be set after Episode III: za, who made an incredible comeback after a an action-packed voyage. They encounter sea movie franchise based off the video game se- The Revenge of the Sith and before Episode IV: A near fatal car crash, Bleed will be released Nov. creatures, underworlds and ancient folklore. ries created by Ubisoft. The film was set to New Hope. According to Walt Disney Pictures 18 and is rated R for language and some nudiMany Disney fans are excited at the diversity open in summer 2015 but was pushed to Dec. and Lucasfilm, a new Star Wars movie or a 3D ty, according to imdb.com. Movies about athcreated in this animated film, since Moana is 23, 2016 and is rated PG-13, according to reboot of the original Star Wars movies will be letic comebacks are always very heartwarming the first Polynesian Disney princess. The film imdb.com. I’m actually not a huge fan of the released in the next few years. Rogue is released and great to see, but I’m interested in seeing is released on Nov. 23 and rated PG, according video game series, but it’s interesting to see Dec. 16 and rated PG-13 for intense sequences how Teller is going to act in such an adult film. to imdb.com. I’m super excited at the diversity how filmmakers can take a video game fran- of sci-fi war violence and language, according With his recent appearance in War Dogs, I feel Disney is promoting with this film. Now kids chise and create a more visual world for fans. I to imdb.com. If it wasn’t for Star Wars: Episode he is evolving from films directed to teenagers growing up don’t have to worry about the fact love Michael Fassbender and am excited to see I -- The Phantom Menace I would haven’t had to films directed to older audiences. Plus, who they can’t become a princess because of their all the great visual effects. Now that we have a my first date with my fiance. We bond so much doesn’t love a great boxing movie? ethnicity, because any girl can be a princess. film based on the Creed video games, does that over the fact that we didn’t grow up watching

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Room for all Rams in new weight room Karan Muns

kemuns@txwes.edu

Texas Wesleyan’s athletes are enjoying all the extra space the new weight room provides, Athletic Department Director Steve Trachier said.

“The university is growing,” Trachier said, “the athletic department is growing, and it’s getting better for all of us. I like where we’re heading right now.”

The athletic program at Wesleyan had already outgrown the old weight room that was located upstairs in the Sid W. Richardson Center, Trachier said.

The department and the university looked for an existing building on campus that would be large enough to turn into a functional weight room for the rapidly expanding athletic program, he said.

“We knew that with adding football, women’s lacrosse and men’s tennis that we had to expand our facilities,” Trachier said.

“The only space large enough that we might be able to retrofit to become a weight room was that snack shop area” in the Brown-Lupton Student Center.

GrilleWorks had been moved to the west side of campus to the Baker Building in previous years for various reasons and it worked well so it was moved for the weight room, Trachier said. “[This] allowed the opportunity to retrofit that facility for the new weight room. [We were] trying to use existing facilities to support our programs,” Trachier said.

Construction began in the upstairs loft area of Brown-Lupton in the spring of 2016 while food was still being served downstairs in the same area.

“They started work upstairs,” Trachier said, “to make sure that those areas were wired for internet so that our football coaches could work out of those offices, then they started working on that loft area to create meeting space for athletes up there.”

Trachier thinks that the original plan was to have the weight room ready to use in the summer before the volleyball and soccer teams got to campus to begin practicing.

“The flooring company had to come in and put the flooring in before the weights could be put in, so we were running several weeks behind, but I want to say by Labor Day weekend we were ready to go,” he said.

Everyone that has learned anything about general health and athletics know that weight-

Photo by Karan Muns Freshman offensive and defensive lineman Logan McGee squats during the football team’s practice in the new weight room.

lifting is extremely beneficial, he said.

“It lends to muscular strength that protects the joints better,” Trachier said. “Obviously, it improves your performance during the activity and the sport.”

Trachier expects to see nearly all of the sports teams using the new facility, but there will be a select few that might not use it as frequently.

“Some [teams] are a little more seasonal than others,” Trachier said. “Right now the soccer teams are in season, but they’re going to start their conditioning stuff from when the season ends on into the spring.”

Trachier believes that almost all athletes will use the new space because it is more efficient than the old weight room.

“We’ve needed a large space with a lot of weights and stations that can accommodate a lot of students at one time,” Trachier said.

Most student athletes thinking of coming to Wesleyan want to see the dorms, the cafeteria, and the other facilities available to them, Trachier said.

“Absolutely when you can walk them into that beautiful facility that is a selling point,” Trachier said.

Defensive coordinator Paul Duckworth and linebacker coach Michael Rosas worked with Richardson’s Rogers Equipment Company to

create the weight room, head football coach Joe Prud’homme said.

“I think they are very pleased with how it all turned out,” Prud’homme said.

The weight room is where most of the football team’s work occurs, Prud’homme said.

“We are in there four days a week,” Prud’homme said. “It’s our number one training tool, because we don’t really have a field to go to. It’s the most important thing we have right now.”

In order to keep from wasting valuable practice time the team is split in two sections for practice, Prud’homme said.

“We go half at a time,” he said. “That way half can do outside work, agility work, speed work, and the other half can work out, and then we flip flop.”

Prud’homme expects the weight room to be instrumental in getting players to come play for Wesleyan.

“I think the weight room, how well designed it is, how functional it is, and it looks good too, is a definite recruiting tool for us, no question about it,” Prud’homme said.

The weight room wasn’t built just for the football team; it is supposed to help all the teams improve, Prud’homme said.

“We’re real proud of it; we think it’s going to

be a great addition for all the sports programs,” Prud’homme said. “They’re already starting to use it and get a great feel for it.”

Strength training is an important part of every football program and every sport program, Prud’homme said.

“I think all championships start in the weight room,” Prud’homme said.

The weight room is a great tool for the football team to use to develop and build as a team, said tight end Logan Butler, a biochemistry sophomore.

“I lift basically so I can be strong enough to protect the quarterbacks,” he said. “We lift because it makes us stronger and keeps us healthy to play.”

Butler is excited to continue lifting in the weight room because it is such a nice facility.

“I love the new weight room,” Butler said. “I told coach Prud’homme it’s like Christmas. It’s really amazing.”

The new weight room is beautiful but it is functional and meets the team’s needs as well, Butler said.

“The new weight room meets all of the needs we have so that our team can meet our goals,” he said. “It’s great for conditioning and getting bigger and stronger.”

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Cheerleaders move beyond the mat

Photo courtesy of Karan Muns The Wesleyan cheerleaders build pyramids during warm ups at the NAIA national competition. The pyramid on the left includes Zack Lanham, Isaac Johnson, and Zeke Johnson on the bottom.

Cheyan Fite cjfit@txwes.edu

Many Texas Wesleyan University cheerleaders don’t only cheer for Ram sports.

They play them as well.

Cheerleaders Zackary Lanham, Demi Dotson, Sachiko Jayaratne, and Ezekiel and Isaac Johnson show their Ram spirit as they balance cheer and playing on multiple athletic teams, as well as participate in academics and student life.

“Good time management and a support system that reminds me when stuff is due is the basis for a student athlete,” said Lanham, a sophomore criminal justice major. “Friends are very important.”

Lanham was excited to add football to his already busy schedule this semester.

“This is my third year cheering, only my second at Wesleyan, and I have six years of football experience prior to Wesleyan,” Lanham

said. “Football is my favorite of the two sports.”

Remaining a competition cheerleader gives Lanham the ability to participate in both sports.

“I am a competition cheerleader, so I won’t cheer at the games, and won’t be on the traditional team.” Lanham said. “I will only cheer at qualifying rounds and nationals. I can play football through the year and the practices do not overlap.”

The Johnson twins were also eager to add football to their roster this fall.

They attended all meetings and practices, but due to eligibility reasons, they are unable to continue to play.

“I recently found out that we were out of eligibility, so sadly we don’t participate in football any more,” said Ezekiel Johnson, a senior history major.

So they are sticking to cheering and playing basketball.

“It’s pretty tough balancing my time between

sports and academics, but as long as I manage my time I can get it knocked out,” Johnson said. “My Google calendar keeps me up to date on upcoming assignments, practice times, and work.

“Without that calender, I would be behind for sure.”

Johnson has been cheering since the start of his college career at Kilgore Junior College five years ago, but brings his true passion to the basketball court.

“I love basketball,” Johnson said. “My twin and I have played each other since we were kids. We pushed each other to get better, and the love for the game got stronger as well.”

Unlike Lanham and Johnson, Dotson, a junior psychology major who both cheers and plays for the Lady Rams softball team, does not have a preference between the the two sports.

“I have cheered competitively since I was about five and started playing softball in my teens,” Dotson said. “I do not have a favorite

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sport. That is why I chose to continue to play both in my collegiate career.”

Dotson relies on the support of her coaches to maintain her busy lifestyle.

“Coach (Shannon) Gower and coach (Carolyn) Ikens work well with my schedule,” Dotson said Dotson also relies on her ability to prioritize her various responsibilities.

“During season, games trump practice for any sport. If there is a game on the same day as practice, or a competition on the same day as practice, I don’t go to practice,” Dotson said.

“The only time the two conflict during season is if the cheer team goes to nationals, I usually miss two to three games in the beginning of softball season.”

The Ram cheerleaders are looking forward to competing at nationals again in the spring. Follow them both on and off the mat at ramsports. net.