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WEDNESDAY
February 29, 2012
Vol. 95 • No. 7
www.therambler.org
The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Wesleyan alumna turns passion for jewelry into business.
Discover how movie industry greats did at Academy Awards.
Community, page 4
Arts & Entertainment, page 6
Chemistry professor set to serve country Tristian Evans
Tkevans1098@txwes.edu
Over the years, two desires have remained with professor Phillip Pelphrey—his love for the field of chemistry and his desire to serve his country. In addition to being an assistant professor of chemistry at Wesleyan, Pelphrey has recently become an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve. “It was always a strong desire of mine to serve the country in what-
ever capacity I could,” Pelphrey said. “So I’m definitely happy that the time has come.” Born in Virginia, Pelphrey said he developed a love for chemistry the moment he stepped into his first chemistry class in high school. “I had a really excellent high school [chemistry] teacher. I just really loved it,” Pelphrey said. He said being raised by two parents who worked for the government and having a grandfather who was in the military, he grew
Budget cuts still creating lasting Wesleyan impact
up knowing the importance of giving back to his country. Pelphrey attended a military high school in South Carolina. He said he would have gone into the military after high school, but chose to finish his education first. “To get a Ph.D. in chemistry and try and do full time military stuff is very difficult. They both have a lot of demands,” Pelphrey said. After getting his bachelor’s, Pelphrey attended the University of Florida for his graduate studies, and then attended Dartmouth
College for his Ph.D. After that he spent two years doing research at the University of Buffalo, and eventually made his way to Texas Wesleyan. When he moved to Texas he decided to try and join the military. “It’s not as simple as saying ‘I want to [join the military]’ I think a lot of people have that mentality that if you say ‘I want to be in the Naval orArmy Reserves’ it’s a done deal,” Pelphrey said. “If you’re in the support side of things, it’s actually very competitive.”
Pelphrey said the process took two and a half years. He said it’s like any other job interview—you submit your resume, you are interviewed, and you submit letters of recommendation. All of this information is sent to a board who reviews all the applicants. “They called me up and said with [the] science background [I] have, the Navy [was] looking for an intelligence officer with that
NAVY, page 3
Johannes Möller serenades Wesleyan
Eliana Mijangos
emmijangos@txwes.edu
Following a 3 to 4 percent rise in tuition last fall, faculty and staff must now work with the provost to adjust to budget cuts recently initiated. John Veilleux, vice president of marketing and communications, said this budget cut is due to a lack of student enrollment and a rise in costs. “We need to identify areas we can save and we will depend on the provost to act with academic officers to decide where those areas will be,” Veilleux said. Joe Brown, professor of theater arts and communications and dean of freshmen success, holds a 34-year tenure at Wesleyan. He said he is prepared and expects raises and bonuses to be out of the question this year and the next to come. “The school has to pay its electric bill,” Brown said. Veilleux said Frederick Slabach, Wesleyan’s president, is looking to cut as many miscellaneous expenses from the budget before cutting student services. “The president said [referring to a faculty meeting that took place Feb. 15] the first place they do not want to
BUDGET, page 3
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff Swedish guitarist and composer Johannes Möller performs some of his original work during a concert in Martin Hall Feb. 24. Möller is an award-winning musician who has been playing concerts since age 13. This performance was his third in Fort Worth, and was one in the line up of the annual Wesleyan Masters Concert Series presented by Guitar Fort Worth. After his performance, Möller signed autographs in Martin Hall.
Big Read brings classic literature to Ram territory Rolandra West
rdwest@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan and Fort Worth partners have combined efforts to re-establish Fort Worth’s community reading called The Big Read –Fort Worth Reads Together. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an initiative that provides a grant to universities and other or-
ganizations, to re-establish reading in American culture. Texas Wesleyan has been awarded an $11,700 grant to participate in the event. Texas Wesleyan staff and faculty will work along with other partners such as: Fort Worth Independent School District, Tarrant Area Food Bank, Friends of the Fort Worth Library, Texas Christian University, Tarrant County College, The
Reading Connection, Dallas Model A Club, Barnes & Noble and many more. Dr. Twyla Miranda, professor of education, said the intention of The Big Read is to provide opportunities for communities to read and enjoy books together. “Canned food will be collected at all events in February, March, April and May so that as people talk about the book, The Grapes of Wrath,
by John Steinbeck,” Miranda said. “We will remember what hard times are like.” The Grapes of Wrath is about the depression of the 1930s and how people had a difficult time finding enough work to feed their families. “The story is relevant today, because we have seen such an increase in non-employment,” Miranda said. Annette Lance, Big Read student worker and senior
advertising public relations major, said she is working on soliciting funding for the Big Read. “Part of my job as a student worker on the grant is to contact private schools to see if we can also get them to participate in the Big Read,” Lance said. “Another area we are looking into is the senior living, active senior citizens that were alive during the great depression have been
invited to all of the events.” Deborah Roark, director of grants and research at Texas Wesleyan, said she is honored that Wesleyan has received the grant from the National Endowment of the Arts for the Big Read-Fort Worth Reads Together. “This funding supports the collaborative efforts of so many across Fort Worth
BIG READ, page 3
Today is Leap Day. Did you know... ¤ It was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the man-made calendar year
didn’t always match up. ¤ That’s because it actually takes the Earth a little longer than a year to travel around the Sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact. ¤ According to astrologers, those born under the sign of Pisces on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities reflecting their special status. ¤ Most have to wait every four years to “officially” observe their birthdays, but leap year babies typically choose either February 28 or March 1 to celebrate in years that aren’t leap years. Illustration by: Erica Estrada
Mon‐Wed @ 5:15pm Tues‐Thurs @ 12:30pm
Graphic by: Shauna Banks, Information source: chiff.com