The Rambler Vol. 94 No. 6

Page 1

WEDNESDAY

February 23, 2011

Vol. 94 • No. 6

www.therambler.org

The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917

Antique shop offers creative inspiration to art department.

Find out what happens in an MTV inspired love triangle.

Community, page 7

Arts & Entertainment, page 4

Tier 1 ranking attracts future Rams Shauna Banks

sbbanks@mail.txwes.edu

With undergraduate enrollment on the rise, faculty, staff and students at Texas Wesleyan University continue to build a reputation—one that has now been recognized by the national media outlet, U.S. News. “This is real important to potential students and their parents because a national system recognized our programs,” Frederick Slabach, president of the university, said. “I think it is

a growing recognition among our peer schools that Wesleyan has a great academic program.” Tied with Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas A&M International University and the University of Texas-Tyler, Wesleyan has been ranked 71 among regional university west schools by U.S. News. “Students naturally are researching when they want to choose a school,” said William Bleibdrey, senior vice president for finance and administration. “The U.S. rankings

Mentor luncheon sparks inspiration

are very well known, and are one of those rankings that students go to determine if what we have to offer matches with what they want.” Bleibdrey said the university will not be directly affected financially by this ranking, but that the recognition could make Texas Wesleyan even more appealing for potential students. “The more students we have, the more revenue we have, and we can offer a greater variety for students on campus,” Bleibdrey said.

With most classes at less than 20 students, teachers are able to give individual attention to students when needed in their classroom settings. “We are very focused on giving every individual a very positive, very direct experience,” Bleibdrey said. “Our average class size is such that students will deal with a faculty member on a one-on-one basis.” According to the university quick facts for spring 2011, available on the university’s website, 58 percent of the faculty on campus are tenured,

with 27 percent on the tenure track. Bleibrey also said that unlike some large schools in and around Fort Worth, Wesleyan makes sure that only credentialed professors are teaching students of each classification. “We have a terrific faculty that bring a lot of credentials with them to the classroom,” Bleibdrey said. “I think the credentialed faculty makes a big difference when it comes to the

  RANKING, page 3

Community band presents classics

Melissa Bates

mdbates@mail.txwes.edu

During free period Feb. 10 at Baker-Martin Pavilion students, faculty and staff involved in the mentorship program were given the chance to sit down to an talian meal with their mentors or mentees. Blair Moore, coordinator of New Student Programs and director of the mentorship program, said the mentorship luncheon takes place every semester as a way for newly assigned mentors and mentees to spend time together, as well as mentors and mentees from previous semesters to reconnect. “We hope to create a relationship with the students and their mentors so they feel like they have a go-to person on campus— they have somebody they can go to if they have questions about things, needs, concerns,” Moore said. “Our main goal is for it to increase retention.” Although Moore said mentorship luncheon attendance is between 60 and 75 people, on average, they still need more mentors. The ratio of mentees to mentors for fall is usually two or three mentees to one mentor, Moore said. She said the ratio decreases to one- to-one in spring. “It’s not a huge time commitment,” Moore said. “It just depends on the needs of your mentee basically.” Mentors do not have to be faculty or staff, she said. “We want upperclassmen students as well or, at least, students who’ve been here one year,” Moore said. Chris Windsor, assistant dean of students, has been a mentor since October 2010 and said he sees the mentorship program as another avenue to get students involved on campus and for students, faculty and staff to connect with each other outside of a classroom or office setting. Windsor said he attends the luncheon to spend quality time with his mentee. “It’s another great opportunity to have reallife conversations with students,” Windsor said. “I do what I do because I want to see students succeed. I cherish the connections I have with the students; it’s the best part of this job.” Junior finance major Mia Daniels has been a mentee since she came to Wesleyan in fall 2010. She said she really enjoys being involved in the program and is grateful to have someone she can turn to for help or advice. “I really love it, and I really hope to one day be a mentor to someone else who’s new, like I was,” Daniels said. “Just be able to help them. Be a friend on-campus.”

Photos by Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff Members of the Greater Fort Worth Community Band perform for students, faculty and staff Feb. 20 in Martin Hall. The band played an array of songs, including the National Anthem by Francis Scott Key, Four Scottish Dances by Malcolm Arnold, Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre, The Girl I Left Behind Me arranged by Leroid Anderson, Pineapple Poll by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Little English Girl by D. Delle Cese. Made up of 58 members and conducted by Henry Schraub and Don Hanna, the band travels to different schools around the Fort Worth area. They will return to perform at Texas Wesleyan on April 10 and May 8 in Martin Hall. Admission is free to all students, staff and faculty.

On-campus housing receives modern touch Stephan Moritz

srmoritz@mail.txwes.edu

Texas Wesleyan University currently has a three-year plan to improve the on-campus college experience. The plan includes laundry equipment and furniture upgrades in the West Village student apartments, Stella Russell Hall and Elizabeth Means Armstrong Hall. “The plan is to get all of Stella and Elizabeth up to the same furniture standard we have in the newer West Village,” said Sharon Manson, director of residence life. The plan was to include remov-

ing and replacing the used desks in Stella Hall, but the desks will stay. “They’re ugly, they’re huge, you can’t move them,” Manson said, “But the students said, ‘no, we love them.’” According to Manson, students use the oversized desks to split the room in two to create a sense of privacy. Manson’s decision to keep the desks came from student feedback. “I’m going to change my preferences to match the students’ expectations,” Manson said. The improvement plan will incorporate ordering several new lizzy chairs, which are the recliners currently found in Stella Hall’s game

rooms. These chairs and two new footstalls are set to be in every room by the fall 2011 semester. “They’re very, very comfortable,” Manson said. The laundry equipment will be upgraded. Manson has decided to bring in the contracting company Mac-Gray to maintain the washers and dryers. “It will still be free,” Manson said. “All of the washers and dryers will be replaced.” Manson also said Mac-Gray is experimenting with a text messaging service that will notify students when their laundry is finished. Some dorm residents are en-

thusiastic about the new laundry technology. “That’s perfect,” said Shaun Murphy, study abroad student in the school of business. “You could wait for hours for a washer to be free.” Murphy said he is interested in the new furniture as well. “The lizzy chairs are a lot more comfortable,” Murphy said, “It’d probably encourage studying in the room.” Within the next three years, Wesleyan is also planning to improve the streets and parking lots on campus. “We restripe about a third of the campus every year,” Ken Dunson, director of facilities, said.

Dunson also said the parking lots will begin to encompass yellow signs with blue lettering to signify student parking and white signs with blue lettering to signify visitor parking. Every summer, the facilities department also repaints one building in the West Village apartments and one floor in each dorm building. Dunson also said the air conditioning units in Stella and Elizabeth halls will receive upgrades. Students with concerns regarding maintenance should submit a request with Facilities Operations under the information resources tab on the Wesleyan home page.


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