wednesday
November 28, 2012
Vol. 95 • No. 18
www.therambler.org English professor strives to make a difference. Campus, page 4
The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Wesleyan soccer player talks about his journey to America Sports, page 8
Wesleyan students bring world flavor It’s that time of year again, the hustle and bustle of running from store to store trying to figure out how to get the last ingredients for the pumpkin pie, stuffing and sweet potatoes. Oh wait, don’t forget the most important thing of all, the turkey. For some of Wesleyan’s international students, this is their first year to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas. Wei Sun, graduate education major, is from China and this will be her first time to see what the holiday seasons hold in America. Sun said she came to America less than a year ago on a student visa and plans on going to one of her professor’s houses for Thanksgiving this year. In China they do not celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving, they celebrate Chinese New Year and what is called the Spring Festival in February. “They give kids small red pockets. It represents fortune and luck,” Sun said. “Then they put some money inside as gifts.” Sun said families in China spend time with their families and make dumplings out of pork, beef and vegetables, and the children receive new clothes. “Kids always wear new clothes on the first day of the Chinese New Year,” Sun said. “It’s kind of like New Year’s Day here.”
Some of the foods Sun and her family make during the holidays in China are moon cake, which is a common food item during the holiday Mid-Autumn Day. Moon cake is small round cake that can be made with different foods on the inside. Abir Rahman, freshman business management major, is also new to American traditions. Rahman came to the U. S. four months ago from Bangladesh on a student visa. “In winter, public schools and private schools are all closed,” Rahman said. “So children go for picnics and campfires.” Rahman said in his country, the festivals they celebrate are mainly religious festivals, but they celebrate the New Year with a festival as well. Some of the other holidays they celebrate are Victory Day on Dec. 16 and on Feb. 21 they celebrate International Mother’s Language Day. Rahman said once Bangladesh was part of Pakistan, until 1971 when Bangladesh won the war. Rahman said they celebrate International Mother’s Language Day because Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan. The Pakistanian’s wanted to pressure Bangladesh to speak Urdu, so they went on strike against Pakistan and a lot of people were killed. “We are the only nation in the world that sacrificed their lives for their mother
Rachel Peel
rlpeel@txwes.edu
China
rlpeel@txwes.edu
Bangledesh
Rachel Peel
Photo Illustration by Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff
language,” Rahman said. Like Sun, Rahman’s family makes unique food items during the holiday seasons. One of the foods they make is called hilsha fish, which is a common fish in his country and with it, they make rice. “[Hilsha fish] is a traditional food we make for our own New Year,” Rahman said.
Elyssa Ruesing, senior English major, said her family traditions are the normal traditions everyone does around the holidays. “On Thursday we go to my in-laws house and have Thanksgiving with my husband’s family,” Ruesing said. “Then on Friday we drive to Tyler, and have Thanksgiving out there with my family.”
Ruesing said since her parents, sister and brother live in Tyler, she and her husband are split between going here and there. “We do the normal eat, nap, eat again,” Ruesing said. “We eat turkey, ham, potatoes, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and my favorite is the deviled eggs, my hus-
band loves the pea salad yuck!”
New CETL director arrives,looks forward to future Tristian Evans
tkevans1098@txwes.edu
The Center for Excellence in Teaching in Learning, at Texas Wesleyan has a new director, and his name is Dr. Nakia Pope. Pope hails from South Carolina and earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Furman University. Be that as it may, Pope is no stranger to Texas. He earned his master’s degree in Philosophy from Texas A &M, where he met his wife. He went on to earn his Ph.D is Philosophy from the University of Virginia. “My academic background is in philosophy and education,” Pope said. “And those are the type of courses I taught as well as general education and humanities courses.” Prior to coming to Texas Wesleyan, Pope worked at Winthrop University and during his seven years there he served as a faculty member and then an assistant dean. Pope said he and his wife wanted to get back to Texas to be close to family, and when he began his job search he found out about the CETL
Tristian Evans | Rambler Staff CETL Director, Dr. Nakia Pope, previously taught at Winthrop University.
director position at Texas Wesleyan. When he realized that his knowledge and skills would be complementary to the position he applied. “We’re really excited to be back here in Texas,” Pope said. “My wife is very happy and my mother-in- law is ex-
New IT director shares life story
traordinarily happy because she’ll be closer to her grandchildren.” Pope said he’s excited to be the CETL director and looks forward to helping faculty enhance their teaching experience, which will in turn; enhance the learning experi-
ence for students. “We’re interested in helping faculty meet student needs,” Pope said. Pope said in the spring, he hopes to hold Friday open house events at the CETL. These would give faculty a chance to talk with him and
his staff and ask questions about utilizing different technologies in the classroom. Pope said he loves that Wesleyan is small, and it has allowed him to meet and become familiar with a lot of people in a short amount of time. “Everybody I have met has been very welcoming and happy to have me here,” Pope said. Pope said in the future, he looks forward to getting to know more students, he said because of his background as a teacher, he enjoys the opportunity to interact with students. “I look forward to getting know students more and maybe teaching a class or two in the future,” Pope said. Pope said he wanted faculty and students to know he and his staff in the CETL are always available to help anytime. Lisa Hammonds, who is a instructional designer in the CETL, said she has enjoyed working with Pope so far. “He’s been really nice and innovative,” Hammonds said. “He’s an excellent listener, and has been able to guide the staff in [strengthening] and rebuilding the CETL.”
When you walk into the office of Wesleyan’s new information technology academic services director Micah Marin, the tall muscular man looks intimidating behind his desk, but this well-dressed IT guru has everyone fooled. He has both the brains and the attitude Wesleyan has been looking for. Marin said he started working at Wesleyan Sept. 5 and he got there in a very roundabout way. Marin grew up in Springtown, Texas, not far from Fort Worth, and his original goal was to leave Texas, but when he got to Texas Christian University, his plans changed. “I was trapped in a small town, and I was looking to find bigger and better things,” Marin said. Marin said he was going to play football, but decided to quit the sport and ended up getting a music scholarship to TCU where he met his wife. She didn’t want to leave so they stayed in Fort Worth and decided to have a family. At TCU, Marin earned his degree in elementary music education, but once he taught in a classroom for a year, he had enough and decided he wanted to go to grad school, so he ended up back at TCU. While at TCU he figured out he could get tuition benefits by working on campus, so he got his first job on campus in the admissions office in 2000. Then a few years later, he went to work in the financial aid office and by working these two jobs he got into technology. “I knew that I liked technology,” Marin said. “I picked up a lot while I was there, and found out that I was kind of good at it, so I did what I could to learn more.” While he was at TCU Marin got his masters and then went to seminary at TCU where he received another master’s degree. After earning his master’s, Marin worked for a company called Oracle. “That [working for Oracle] actually helped a lot,” Marin said. “I was able to get a lot more experience and was able to do a lot more management,” Marin said he got tired of traveling and being on a plane every week for four years while his wife was at home with four children, three boys and one girl, ranging from the age 4-10 years old. “That kind of lifestyle [traveling] is not good,” Marin said. “It’s an awesome job if you’re married without kids, or single, but once you have kids, four specifically, it takes its toll on you.” Marin said his job includes being a liaison to faculty and deans in regards to technology
IT Director, page 3
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Marijuana should be legalized, regulated use of marijuana. Washington and Colorado ekfradette@txwes.edu legalized the use of marijuana on Nov. 7, but users have to be over the age of 21. Although the two states After Barack Obama be- have legalized it, the federal came the 44th President of government is not pleased the United States and started and will be fighting back to his second term, two states keep the drug illegal. Aclegalized the recreational cording to the Cable News
Network, CNN, Washington will impose a 25 percent tax rate on the grower, the seller and the consumer of marijuana. I think this is a positive movement. Not only are states fighting for their rights, but taxing the drug will bring the government so much money. Imagine every time the grower, seller and buyer invest in marijuana; 25 per-
family member’s dog was an American rpeel@txwes pit bull, but he was the sweetest, most lovable dog they ever owned. He was defending himThere have been several self when her dog attacked accounts of dogs attack- him, but because he was an ing children in the news American pit bull, and her recently and it is time for dog wasn’t, the city autosomeone to stand up and be matically assumed my famthe voice for these animals. ily member’s dog was the Call me an animal rights instigator. The city court activist if you want, but it then ordered my family is not fair for a dog to be member’s dog to be euthaeuthanized when it has the nized, without having any right to defend itself if it regards or punishment for feels threatened. the other dog who attacked I feel very strongly about my family member’s dog. this because someone in This is an outrage to me! my family was ordered to Now, I understand in euthanize his dog. His dog some cases, there are some was labeled an “aggressive dogs who are truly aggresdog” by a neighbor when sive and give certain breeds her dog attacked my family a “bad rep.” But come on, member’s dog. Granted my not all dogs of these ‘so
called’ aggressive breeds are aggressive, it depends on how they are raised and who raised them. Someone can have a Labrador or a Golden Retriever who has been abused and beaten, and attack someone just as easily as any other breed. Heck, when I was a little girl, about 7 or so, I was angry at my mom’s cocker spaniel, so I pushed her off the couch and low and behold, she bit me on the cheek. Now was that the dog’s fault? No, it was mine. Put the shoe, or in this case paw, on the other foot. If you felt threatened, would you just stand there and take it or would you react? Most of us would react. It’s plain and simple, if one dog attacks the other dog than not only should the other dog pay the price, it’s owner should too.
Eating good food and receiving gifts rdwest@txwes.edu are what we, as Americans, seem to value the most. We can’t wait until Thanksgiving is over, It’s that time of year again, because it means it’s about where most of us are head- time to start writing out ed home for the holidays Christmas wish lists and and are anxious to splurge maxing out our bank acon black Friday and turkey counts to get our family with all the holiday fixings. members the best. On one side of the table sits Obviously, this is somethe beautiful roasted turkey thing we all have bought leading to an array of food; into as the greatest time of with dad saying a prayer year, but evidently we have and everyone laughing and forgotten the real meancatching up. ings of Thanksgiving and
Christmas. Thanksgiving is a holiday for family, and a time where we recognize God for all he has done for us by giving thanks. Whether someone is religious or not, there is a connection they associate with this holiday. The sad realization is most of us wait until Thanksgiving to really get our families together. Christmas is a holiday associated with presents, food and family, but honestly it is not the essential purpose. If you are religious you know this holiday is set aside for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Many of us have
Emma Fradette Content Producer
cent of all the money spent goes to the government. The U.S. could gain millions of dollars in just taxing marijuana; millions of dollars this country is in desperate need of. Sure people may say smoking weed impairs judgment, but so does drinking alcohol, dipping tobacco and smoking cigarettes. All of those things are legal with the proper age
stipulation. If the government can control the market by taxing marijuana and putting an age limit on it, I don’t see the big issue. It’s not like the two states are just putting it out there for anyone and everyone to have. Partakers have to be of age and a citizen of the state. Everyone has their beliefs and their morals, but is smoking weed, as long as it’s
controlled and legal, such a bad thing? Alcohol is legal and we don’t consider having a beer or glass of wine now and then such a horrible thing. After all, marijuana is natural, not a chemical such as alcohol and cigarettes. It’s time to put Uncle Sam’s green thumb to use. Let’s follow the progressive steps of Colorado and Washington and plant our seeds as well.
Owners of aggressive pets must be held accountable Rachel Peel Content Producer
Let’s celebrate the holidays for the right reasons Rolandra West Content Producer
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strayed away from this fact because it’s easier to think of Christmas as a holiday for ourselves, to wrap our own presents and receive as many presents as we possibly can. It shouldn’t take holidays and special events for a family to get together. Family is the closest bond we can ever have. Frankly, most of us, whether we admit it or not, take our families for granted. We get so busy with our lives and what we have going on, we never stop to think about what is going on with our families. There are many people
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loved ones they once shared their holidays with. I’m not here to change any one’s view on the holidays, but let’s take the time to actually think about what values are most important in life such as; family, having clothes on your back , food on the table and a place to sleep. Can you be honest with yourself knowing that you take these things in life for granted. Have we become greedy in our society today? That is a question we all should ask ourselves when it comes to not just the holidays, but our everyday lives.
thumbs up Thumbs up to the men’s soccer team going to nationals, show off your Wesleyan pride for the entire nation to see. Thumbs up to the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams starting off their season with a bang. Way to make us proud. Thumbs up to the Veterans Club putting on the concert for our veteran’s. You have made Wesleyan proud with all your hard work.
thumbs down Thumbs down to Thanksgiving break not being a week long. Some students need the extra days to visit family.
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who do not have families to go home to, let alone food or a table to eat Thanksgiving dinner on. Yet, it has become a habit for us to complain about the minimum we don’t have when everything we actually need has been given to us already. In the past couple of years, there have been so many natural disasters that have separated people from their families. Even the loved ones of our departed soldiers have been separated from their families without any choice or say so. I guarantee all they would want for the holidays is the
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Thumbs down to MetroPCS and the phone service or lack there of. It is very annoying when someone is talking and the signal gets lost. Thumbs down to the lack of Christmas decorations in some of the buildings on campus. Take a clue from the Maybee Business Center and the James L. West Library and get your Christmas on.
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What are you thankful for?
“I’m thankful for my family. I have a family willing to stand behind me and support me in anything I do.”
Carl Howell, junior history major
“I am thankful for being alive. I have come back from war two times and I am still here,” Evan Carr, junior criminal justice major
“I am thankful for life in general. I am thankful for having this giddy, happy smile of mine, and I am also thankful for the opportunity I have to get a great education that my university provides me,” Philip Chavez, sophomore exercise science major
“I am thankful for my freedom which is protected by the soldiers who fight for our country. While I’m eating and spending time with my family this Thanksgiving, some soldiers are overseas away from their families fighting for what we as a nation believe in.”
“I am thankful for being given the opportunity to go to school for four years on a softball scholarship. I am thankful for the experience softball has given me. I have gotten to meet new people and travel to a new state because of the sport.” Alexis Beltran, senior criminal justice major
Lindsey Owen, senior criminal justice major
“I am thankful for the love and support of my wife, who I married just two years ago. She encourages me and challenges me to be a better husband, man and a better pastor.” Johnny Brower, senior religion major
Morton Fitness Center wishes you good luck during finals week!
November 7, 2012
IT DIRECTOR services by making sure the classrooms and the professors have what they need as far as technology is concerned. Marin said his team also supports blackboard, online courses or manages all the media services such as smart-boards. “We work directly with the academic community to make sure that folks are getting exactly what they need,” Marin said. Gerry Nichols, manager of media and classroom support, works closely with Marin and said so far everything has been good since Marin joined the team. “We are learning how to get along with him [Micah],” Nichols said laughing. “He is actually a real good guy,” Nichols said Marin is a good sales man, and Weleyan needs people like that to be able to relate to all the deans, the provost and the university to learn what their needs are and how they can meet them. “The first word that comes to my mind is ‘salesmen’, and that’s not a derogatory term,” Nichols said. “He is really smart; he is more of an outward facing kind of guy, not an inward facing guy.” Marcus Kerr, chief information officer, said in an email Marin has a sharp mind and a keen understanding of how value is created and measured in higher education and can effectively communicate the role technology plays in creating that value. “I have been most impressed with his ability to listen empathically,” Kerr said. “Being able to truly understand what someone is saying has proving indis-
Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff Micah Marin, new IT academic director joined Wesleyan’s IT team on Sept. 5 becasue he wanted to be closer to home.
pensable.” Kerr said Marin is like several other candidates who scored highly on the competence measure but what set him apart was his positive attitude and character. “It has been my experience that when it comes to making a successful new hire, attitude and character count more,” Kerr said. Kerr said having a business type persona in the IT department makes him a part of the majority. In the second decade of the twenty-first century, simply knowing information technology or being an ‘IT person’ is not enough. “We actively seek out
and hire people who are hybrids,” Kerr said. “They know and understand both the business/academic side of higher education and information technology.” Kerr said what stood out the most about Marin over all the other candidates was how he has demonstrated his ability to inspire and maintain trust. “Others that he had worked with consistently mention his ability to treat individuals with dignity, fairness and respect,” Kerr said. “To demonstrate consistency between what he said and what he did, and to personally maintain the same standards that he expected of others.”
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Professor Campbell ropes students into literature Rolandra West
rdwest@txwes.edu
Dr. Stacia Campbell, professor of English at Texas Wesleyan, was just a small town girl from Snyder, Texas or what she calls ‘Footloose America’. She grew up on a farm full of livestock and raced barrels for fun. Campbell now lives the life she has always wanted to live as a successful professor, friend, a loving mother and wife who takes the world on by her knowledge and strength Campbell has been a professor for 18 years and has taught at Wesleyan as an English professor for 11 of those years. Campbell said what she loves about teaching is the energy of the students and meeting new students every semester. “I enjoy just as much to see students grow, develop, become better writers and become leaders on campus,” Campbell said. “Having the opportunity to watch students graduate after teaching them as freshmen four years ago, I really enjoy that.” Campbell said when her students cross the finish line and earn their degrees, it is very important to her. “It doesn’t matter if my student is 60 years old or 18. They’re all looking forward to the finish line,” Campbell said. “I think that is what keeps me young, because it is a good positive energy.” Campbell said she always knew she wanted to teach even at a young age, but it wasn’t until age 18 she realized she wanted to teach college students. Campbell said she started out in college as a math major, shegenuinely loved math. “It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I realized that I was really enjoying my litera-
ture courses and that I had the writing skills to do well in that field,” Campbell said. Campbell said it is hard to choose what class she teaches as her favorite, but her number one pick is women’s rhetoric. “That one is so much fun. I joke about covering from Aspasia to Oprah because we go from ancient Greece all the way to contemporary women,” Campbell said. “I think we call it women wielding words and we look at any woman who spoke or wrote for an urgent purpose about a topic that was important to society.” Campbell said she would advise those who want to be English professors to try and overcome the negative attitude about grading. “It is a lot of work, but once you really dive into what the students can do and they work Dr. Stacia Campbell | Courtesy hard, it’s a lot of fun,” Campbell said. “Break it up and be a good Dr. Stacia Campbell, professor of English, her husband, Dr. Gary Campbell, and their five children unite on their wedding day, time manager so you won’t be May 25, 2012 at a small Italian restaurant called Aldino’s at the Vineyard in San Antonio. Campbell said in her spare time overwhelmed because it’s a lot she likes to travel, read and go to concerts. of grading.” Campbell said it is very dif- ing to see Pink for my birthday and her husband are going to her teaching in the past five would be if I didn’t have her ferent from a business profes- in February.” Italy for their honeymoon. years. partnership in helping me sor who gives multiple choice Campbell said her name The two have five children “I’ve been encouraged to make that transition.” tests, that professor is not tak- is up on the national wall of combined. Campbell said stretch and grow in ways that Not only does Campbell ing home 14 - inch tall stack of tolerance in Atlanta, Ga. be- she loves spending time with I would not have,” Campbell inspire her colleagues but papers to grade. cause she is a founding mem- them and doing fun activities said. “We have that relation- she inspires her students as “I looked around and saw ber of the national campaign such as hiking, roller skating, ship that every professor well. Trent Sandles, junior how happy my professors were for tolerance. snow skiing and sports. dreams of, having that person business management major, and they had some autonomy. “I’ve been to Atlanta twice When it comes to friends who is motivating and help- said Campbell is a professor They had the ability to set their but I have not seen the wall,” Dr. Campbell said Dr. Carol ing you at the same time.” who does everything she can own schedules and still ben- Campbell said. Johnson-Gerendas, professor Johnson-Gerendas said to make sure her students are efit people,” Campbell said. “I Campbell said she also of communications, is her Campbell has been her men- well prepared for class, tests knew I wanted to help people, loves to go to England, New go-to gal. tor ever since she came to and life in general. but I also wanted some auton- York, Mexico and many more “She has been such a joy Wesleyan five years ago, when “Before just going on to omy, so being a professor gives places. for me, she’s pretty much she transitioned from the cor- the next subject in a class she me both of those things.” “For four years I went to better than me at every- porate world into academia. makes sure that you underCampbell said in her spare England every May, but I thing,” Campbell said. “You have to transition stand and can apply the infortime she loves to travel, reads stayed with my friend from “Some people are intimi- from the mindset you have mation that you just learned, edgy poetry, loves open mic college and it saved me a lot dated by that, but I love be- in the corporate world, to that way you can retain it betevents and loves music and of money,” Campbell said. ing inspired by her, and we the mindset you have in aca- ter,” Sandles said. “It definitely concerts. Campbell recently mar- work well together.” demia,” Johnson-Gerendas helps out in the long run. “I love to go to concerts,” ried her college boyfriend Campbell said she is very said. “Stacia has been the per- Dr.Campbell is the epitome Campbell said. “This year I’ve Dr. Gary Campbell on May thankful for the influence son to help me navigate the of what a Wesleyan professor seen Jason Mraz, and I am go- 25, 2012. Campbell said she Johnson-Gerendas has on waters. I don’t know where I should be.”
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November 28, 2012
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Pop Culture Wesleyan encourages aspiring musicians Junkie Emma Fradette
ekfradette@txwes.edu
Tristian Evans Content Producer
tkevans1098@txwes.edu
Glee creator gains credit for his works I really admire the body of work of writer-director Ryan Murphy. Just in case you aren’t familiar with whom Murphy is; he’s the creator and executive producer of Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story and The New Normal. Whether you enjoy these shows or not, look at how different they all are from each other. Nip/Tuck is a medical drama/thriller, Glee is a high school musical drama/comedy, American Horror Story is a horror-drama, and The New Normal is a drama/comedy. If you’ve seen even two of these shows, you’re probably surprised that the same man created them, and that’s the genius of Murphy. He is a master at telling moving, though provoking stories that center on characters who strive to be good people and, just as we all do, sometimes fall short of the mark. Glee may be annoying at times, but it realistically portrays how it is to be an underdog or outsider in high school. In the first season of American Horror Story, the Harmon family were a realistic portrayal of a family trying to recover from lies, betrayal and loss. The high concept was they were trying to do this while living in a haunted house. On the show Nip/Tuck Christian and Sean are two best friends who own a plastic surgery firm. The irony is that they help others achieve perfection; and their personal lives are anything but perfect. Like other great modern TV writers such as Joss Whedon, Murphy’s work is diverse and he is a master storyteller. He manages to make viewers care for his characters and manages to make their actions and decisions believable even if their world is anything but realistic. As someone who would love to write for television some day, I hope I can someday create fictional worlds that are as diverse, and interesting as the one’s Murphy has created throughout his career.
Standing on a stage with all eyes on you may seem stressful to many students. For music performance majors at Texas Wesleyan, a senior recital is a necessity to graduate and it is an option for music education majors. Leslie Elston, former Wesleyan student, has been a music performance major since 2006. He also was a singer in the music program. Elston had to perform in his own senior recital. “A performance major has to have around 12 to 18 songs to sing at the recital,” Elston said. “In my senior recital I had 16 to 18 songs to sing.” Elston said he performed all songs by himself in front of everyone with the exception of one song. “The senior recital is supposed to be your last final, fun performance,” Elston said. “Students get really creative and it is fun to watch.” Elston said he plans on coming back to Wesleyan to finish out his degree. “Once I graduate from Wesleyan, I want to sing on Broadway in New York,” Elston said. Selena Stewart, senior music education major, has been at Wesleyan for four years. “Once I knew I wanted to major in music, there were only two schools close that were close that had music majors,” Stewart said. “Wesleyan gave me the better offer. If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing because I do better in a smaller setting.” Stewart said because she isn’t a performance major, she didn’t
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff
Selena Stewart, senior music education major, practices the piano after her senior recital in the Anne Waggoner Fine Arts Building. Piano is one of her musical talents. have to perform in the senior recital but she chose to. “I ended up adding a few more songs to my recital,” Stewart said. Stewart said for her senior recital she sang two German songs, two French songs, an English piece and three Spanish songs. Stewart sang her recital Nov. 6 and is now looking forward to her future. “I would like to teach for a year or two to get the experience, but I want to go back and get my master’s to be a speech pathologist,” Stewart said. “I want to work with kids who
have vocal disorders or speech impediments.” Kylie Wrinkle, senior music education major, has been at Wesleyan since 2010. “I chose Wesleyan because I really liked the music education department, and the rest of the campus,” Wrinkle said. “Everyone made me feel very welcomed, and I liked the idea of having small classes because I was a transfer student from a junior college.” Wrinkle said she chose to do the senior recital as well. “I chose to do one because I think it helps you as a musician,”
Wrinkle said. “You perform about an hour of music.” Wrinkle said the music department has helped her out a lot with future plans. “The faculty and staff are so great at preparing us for our future careers as music educators and performers,” Wrinkle said. Wrinkle said she plans to become an elementary music teacher after graduating from Wesleyan. “I also want to teach private lessons,” Wrinkle said. “I love music and Wesleyan’s music department has only strengthened my love.”
Concerts & Events Concerts
Check out other Pop Culture Junkie columns on therambler.org.
Events
Nov.28th Rush in Dallas 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center
Nov.30th Andrea Bocelli 8 p.m. American Airlines Center
Nov.29th Lantern Festival with Global Grounds 4 p.m. UT Arlington
Dec.1st Comedian Jo Koy 8 p.m. The Majestic Theatre
Nov.29th Old Crow Medicine Show 8 p.m. House of Blues-Dallas
Dec.1st Aaron Lewis 10:30 p.m. Billy Bob’s Texas
Nov.30th A Christmas Carol 7:30 p.m. Kalita Humphreys Theatre
25th Annual Children’s Medical Center Holiday Parade 10 a.m. Downtown Dallas
Andy Davis with Homestead 8 p.m. House of Blues-Dallas
Dec.10th Michael Martin Murphy 7p.m. Bass Performance Hall
Twas the Night before Christmas 7p.m. Casa Manana Theatre
Unsilent Night Festival in Dallas 7p.m. Fair Park Dallas
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Wesleyan
PRESENTS at Martin Hall
November 27 at 7:30pm Women’s Chorus/Chamber Singers Concert Dr. Jerome Bierschenk, director Emily Maples-Davis, piano & Dean Peiskee, piano © Puzzles provided by sudokusolver.com
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Channel 25 on campus or www. the rambler.org
November 29, 2012 at 7:30pm Wesleyan Jazz Combo Concert Lou Carfa, director December 2, 2012 at 3:00pm Greater Fort Worth Community Band Henry Schraub, director December 4, 2012 @ 7:30pm Wesleyan Choral Concert Dr. Jerome Bierschenk, director
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November 28, 2012
THE RAMBLER | www.therambler.org
Theatre Arts professor drives students to achieve
Tristian Evans
tkevans1098@txwes.edu
Kind, caring and thoughtful, anyone who has ever met Connie Whitt-Lambert, professor of theatre arts, instantly likes her. Connie Whitt-Lambert reclines comfortably in the chair in her office as she talks about her time at Texas Wesleyan. Whitt-Lambert has taught at Wesleyan since 1989, and said she has enjoyed every minute of it. Students who know Whitt-Lambert may be surprised to discover that teaching theatre wasn’t always her career plan. When she was a child, Whitt-Lambert said she had dreams of being a shuttle pilot. However, when she found out she needed glasses, she moved on from that dream. “Back then, you couldn’t be a shuttle pilot if you had any kind of corrective vision,” Whitt-Lambert said. After realizing she couldn’t become a shuttle pilot, she decided she wanted to become a veterinarian. “When I first went to college, I was pre-med,” WhittLambert said. “I wanted to be a doctor or a vet because I love animals.” Whitt-Lambert said when she realized how much math would be involved, being a vet or doctor didn’t work out either. But, she had always been a writer. Whitt-Lambert said she has written since she was in the third grade. She even wrote scripts for tv shows and sent them off to Hollywood with the help of her uncle who bought her first typewriter. Whitt-Lambert said she received rejection letters from major networks such as NBC, who probably weren’t aware they were sending those letters back to a child. Whitt-Lambert’s family
Connie Whitt-Lambert, professor of theatre arts, works hard at her desk on a typical day.
moved around a lot because of her dad’s job. She went to three different junior high schools, and four different high schools and was always the new kid. “When you’re always the new kid, you can either be off by yourself or you can be the loud one and try to get attention, and I did both,” WhittLambert said. Through theatre she met new people; however, writing still remained her first love. Whitt-Lambert calls theatre the “ultimate melting pot” where any and every type of person could fit in. “You can do anything and still be a part of theatre,” WhittLambert said. “We need every kind of person with every kind of talent.” Before coming to Wesley-
an in 1989, Whitt-Lambert stopped teaching to be a stayat-home mom. Whitt-Lambert said even during that time, she was giving private acting lessons, writing and performing in plays, but she still missed teaching. It was while she was working on a play at the Circle Theatre when she met two students from Wesleyan who were acting in one of her shows. WhittLambert said she was impressed by their acting ability. “They were such amazing young men who I cast without knowing anything about them,” Whitt-Lambert said. Opening night, Whitt-Lambert had to step in at the last minute for an actress who had gotten ill. It just so happened Joe Brown, dean of freshmen,
was there to see his students. Whitt-Lambert said the students were eager for her to meet Brown, but during the play, she experienced a ‘costume malfunction’, which made her less than excited. “I was mortified and Joe was in the audience and these young men wanted me to meet him,” Whitt-Lambert said. “I thought how do I meet him when I had my shirt ripped. I was so embarrassed.” Embarrassment aside, Whitt-Lambert met Brown that night and a few months later, when she decided she wanted to go back to teaching, she contacted Brown, knowing she had made a lasting impression. Whitt-Lambert said working with those students and
Tristian Evans | Rambler Staff
meeting Brown was when she realized Wesleyan was the place for her. “I knew that after working with those students and having met [Joe] that [Texas Wesleyan] was the kind of place where I would fit in,” she said. Whitt-Lambert started out as a speech teacher and when a tenure track position opened up, she applied for it and got it. Given her own love for the written word, Whitt-Lambert said she felt strongly about making sure the playwrights of Wesleyan had an opportunity to develop their writing. Whitt-Lambert said she created Texas Wesleyan’s annual play-writing competition, PlayMarket, to give the budding playwrights at Texas Wes-
leyan a platform to showcase their work. “We have so many good writers,” Whitt-Lambert said. “[They] generate so much good dramatic literature.” Whitt-Lambert said one thing she loves about theatre is that great memories are made each and every day. One memory that stands out to her above the rest is the night a confetti cannon misfired right before the show was to be performed on opening night. “It was The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged,” she said. “[A student] accidentally touched them, and both cannons fired full out right before we opened house. We had confetti all over everything. Everyone was sweeping like crazy.” Whitt-Lambert said theatre is collaborative if nothing else. While theatre may have not been a part of her original life plan, all these years later, she is still enjoying it. “Low and behold, I’m still writing, and I’m still doing theatre because it is a welcoming and open place,” she said. Eduardo Aguilar, senior theatre major, said he loves working with Whitt-Lambert. Aguilar said she reminds him of his favorite theatre teacher from high school. “She always wants to help when [the cast] is having trouble with something,” Aguilar said. “She communicates well on how she envisions a show.” Brittany Adelstein, junior theatre major, said one of the things that makes Whitt-Lambert such a great director and writer, is she understands the people around her. “She’s extremely perceptive of people in general, which makes all of her characterization advice work so well,” Adelstein said. “She also catches so many things we can’t onstage, and is so good at explaining how to fix them.”
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Sports Column ekfradette@txwes.edu
More in-depth health checks could save lives You take a deep breath while the doctor holds a stethoscope to your chest. Everything sounds fine, so you go on with your physical, and you are cleared to play. Student Athletes have to get a physical done by a licensed doctor, and pass it in order to play college sports. Is this physical really enough evidence that there is nothing going on wrong in a student-athlete’s body? Tennessee State University’s football program experienced a tragic loss Nov. 8 when William Wayne Jones III, defensive back, collapsed suddenly while practicing at 4 p.m. By 5:50 p.m. he was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. The head coach said he didn’t know of any pre-existing health conditions, and although cause of death hasn’t been ruled yet, his death is being treated as a cardiac health defect. In May 2011, Wes Leonard, 16-year-old high school basketball player, died after he made the game-winning shot in his game. The doctors ruled his death due to an enlarged heart, doctors call cardiomyopathy. Doctors say enlarged hearts often go unnoticed but can be deadly. I understand, as a coach, if your athlete isn’t complaining of pain, normally you wouldn’t think anything is wrong, but that may not always be the case. If there was some kind of more in-depth health screening for athletes, maybe some of these enlarged heart cases could be caught before it’s too late. I know health screenings can get costly for schools, but is it not worth it if it can potentially save lives?
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November 28, 2012
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Dotson follows in family footsteps Rachel Peel
Emma Fradette Content Producer
Sports
rlpeel@txwes.edu
From the time he could walk, Ricky Dotson, assistant men’s basketball coach, has followed in his father’s footsteps on the basketball court. Dotson said his entire family is filled with coaches. His father is a coach and his grandfather as well. Coming from a long line of basketball coaches, Dotson said being a coach has been more than a part of his life, it is in his blood. “It’s one of those deals that have been in my family forever. I just kind of fell in line with all of it,” Dotson said. “I was just around it from the time I could remember.” Dotson said he remembers watching the scoreboard was how he learned how to add. Dotson said he can remember being at games and when someone scored two points, he would think in his head if they scored the next two points it would be four. Dotson went to school at the University of Texas in Austin and earned a bachelor’s in journalism. Soon after, Dotson began coaching at Lon Morris College in 1993 as the assistant basketball coach to his father, Dale Dotson. During his time at Lon Moris, Dotson was the assistant men’s basketball coach and the assistant athletic director. Dotson joined the Wesleyan men’s basketball coaching staff Sept. 5 after Lon Morris closed their doors due to financial difficulty. Dotson said coaching is not just about practice and teaching plays on the court. “Ultimately it is teaching individuals, teaching students, teaching kids,” Dotson said. “What we learn on the basketball floor really goes beyond just playing. It’s learning life, its learning lessons
Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff Ricky Dotson, assistant men’s basketball coach, talks to his team during a scrimmage at practice.
that are going to help you further in life.” Dotson said he hopes he teaches his players how to be a better husband, a better businessman and that he helps them do things in their future that maybe they can’t get from other places. “I feel like I am able to have an influence on some guys that will help them later down the line,” Dotson said. Dotson said his favorite thing about coaching is the relationships he ends up with. “The relationships that I have been able to make through my career have changed my life, enhanced it,” Dotson said. “It is really, more than anything, the biggest influence on my life and my family.” Brennan Shingleton, head men’s basketball coach, said Dotson is more than an asset to the team, he is like family to him.
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“He is more of a friend than anything,” Shingleton said. “We are very good friends. We have shared a lot of experiences together.” Shingleton said he and Dotson go back almost 20 years. Dotson recruited Shingleton to play on Lon Morris’ team straight out of high school. “In the coaching profession you have very few close friends, just because of the competitiveness of it,” Shingleton said. “He is a very good friend that I trust dearly.” Shingleton said Dotson brings a new perspective because he is an outsider. “But, he has a unique ability communicating because he really adapts to these young guys,” Shingleton said. Shingleton said their goal as coaches is not only to have their players become very good basketball players, but good citizens, good fathers
and good husbands. “He [Dotson] is a good levelheaded guy,” Shingleton said. He said Dotson understands the small-school environment and understands the team has to work hard to succeed. “I 100 percent trust him,” Shingleton said. “And that’s a big deal.” Jazz Holman junior mass communication major and guard on the men’s basketball team, said Dotson has been a great asset to the team. “It’s going good,” Holman said. “I feel like he is looking out for us.” Holman said this is his third year on the men’s basketball team at Wesleyan, and one of the things he likes about Dotson is how he has taught him to be more aggressive on and off the court. “You got to do whatever you have to do to win,” Holman said.
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November 28, 2012
THE RAMBLER | www.therambler.org
Kovacevic takes on Wesleyan one kick at a time
Rachel Peel
rlpeel@txwes.edu
Families quickly fled the city of Kakanji, BosniaHertzegovina, gathering what they could before being forced to flee their homes without any warning. Fires raged uncontrollably and engulfed his home as a 5-year-old boy, his two brothers and his mother fled for their lives with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Nothing was left for Ivan Kovacevic, junior business management major and midfield forward on the men’s soccer team, but a backpack. “We saw other people flee so we did the same,” Kovacevic said. “What I remember was shooting and grenades shooting at us from all sides.” This scene is not a scene from a movie, but the end of Kovacevic’s life in his country, and the beginning of his journey to America. “They burnt our house down and everything,” Kovacevic said. “We had to leave everything else [in Bosnia].” Kovacevic said all they had in their backpacks were a few pair of clothes, some shoes and documents. That was it. Kovacevic said his father was in the army, and had to drop everything and leave his family when the war started. After Kovacevic’s family fled from their hometown in 1993, they had to walk two or three days just to get to the next city where they would receive transportation to Bremen, Germany where they
found refuge from the war. Kovacevic remained in Germany until 1999, and then they came to Texas on June 11, 1999 where they had family. Kovacevic said the hardest thing about living in Germany was learning the language. “I had a pretty hard time adjusting,” Kovacevic said. “I didn’t speak the language at all. It was the same here, but I was younger then, and I couldn’t comprehend stuff.” Kovacevic said even though it was difficult to learn all three languages he can now speak English, German and Serbo-Croatian. “I lived the longest time [in the United States] and I know how things go here,” Kovacevic said. Kovacevic said he spends a lot of time with his family and his two brothers, Marian, 22 and Goran, 30. Kovacevic said he started playing soccer when he was 4 years old, but it wasn’t until he got to Germany he started playing on a team. He said soccer is still very much a part of his life. “I am very passionate about it,” Kovacevic said. “It’s what I have been basically all of my life, and if I have a bad day I just go out on the field and basically forget everything.” TJ Romaguera, senior criminal justice major and midfielder, said soccer is very much a part of Kovacevic’s life and that he is good at it. “Ivan is a great player and a great asset to the team,” Romaguera said. “He has the skill and the ability to create plays out of nothing,
Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff Ivan Kovacevic, senior business major, practices at Martin Field for the upcoming conference tournament. The Rams men’s soccer concluded the season in the opening round of the Natioanl Association of Intercollegiate Athletes national championship on Nov. 17 in Mobile, Ala. The Rams tied the seventh-ranked University of Mobile, who advanced to the finals in penalty kicks.
and always seems to score the first goal.” Romaguera said Kovacevic is also a great person and always looks out for his friends. “Ivan is a good person and will give you the shirt off his back if you need it,”
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Romaguera said. Romaguera said there are many aspects which set Kovacevic apart from other teammates. “I think that his aggressiveness and powerful shot set him above all other players,” Romaguera said.
“He finds the back of the net on a consistent basis and that really helps us gain momentum in tough games.” Dejan Milosevic, senior business management major and goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team, agrees that Romaguera, Kovacevic
is a great asset to the team. “In my opinion if he wasn’t on this team, this team wouldn’t be the same,” Milosevic said. “My family is not here and his is, so they treat me like I am a part of their family.”
Walsh lends healing hand
Emma Fradette
ekfradette@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan offers many degrees for students, but what is the back story as to why students chose their degree? John Walsh, senior athletic training major, has a clear reason why he chose to be in the athletic training program at Wesleyan. Walsh grew up in Bixby, Okla. and started wrestling when he was 7 years old. Walsh said he wrestled his way all the way to college, earning a spot on the Labette Community College men’s wrestling team in Parsons, Kan. It was there he realized athletic training is the degree he wanted to choose. “I went to junior college for wrestling and I got hurt,” Walsh said. “I had to do my rehab with athletic trainers, and after being told I can’t wrestle anymore due to numerous injuries throughout my wrestling career, athletic training is what I wanted to do.” Walsh said he found out about Texas Wesleyan through his athletic trainer at his junior college, and he decided to attend. “This is my third year at Wesleyan, and I came here for the athletic training program,” Walsh said. Walsh said right now he is a level four athletic trainer, and mainly observes but next semester he will be more hands-on. “Next semester I can examine, treat and help athletes in the rehab process like a normal trainer would do,” Walsh said. “My last semester is basically getting used to being an athletic trainer because as a senior I have already taken all my athletic training courses.” Walsh said Kyle Morgan, Wesleyan’s head athletic trainer, has been his precep-
“He was willing to stay after or come in
before in order to get an athlete ready for a game or practice.” Makelle Akin
senior history major, Spring softball player tor and mentor since he arrived at Wesleyan. “Kyle has always been there to answer any of my questions,” Walsh said. “He is there to talk to, even if it’s not related to athletic training.” Walsh said he has to get a certain amount of clinical hours each semester for his degree. “I have to have 300 clinical hours this semester, and 300 next semester,” Walsh said. “For my clinical rotation criteria, I had to help assist in a pad intensive sport so I worked at Centennial High School in Burleson for their football team.” While being a student athletic trainer, Walsh said his most severe and memorable injury he has seen so far was an injury at one of the high school games. “A kid at the school had a concussion and I had to hold his head still for 30 minutes till the EMS team arrived,” Walsh said. “Holding the head is the most important job while stabilizing the cspine of an athlete.” Walsh said as a student trainer at Wesleyan, he has assisted with men’s soccer, softball, baseball and this year he will help out with the women’s basketball program. Walsh said after graduating from Wesleyan with his athletic training degree, he will probably go into graduate school. “I want to be an athletic trainer at the college level, and most colleges want
someone with a master’s degree,” Walsh said. Makelle Akin, senior history major, played on the softball team last year and said she appreciated Walsh’s efforts as their assigned student athletic trainer. Akin said Walsh went above and beyond for her team. “He was willing to stay after or come in before in order to get an athlete ready for a game or practice,” Akin. “Aside from that, John, Alicia and Kirsti were some of our biggest fans and it was pretty cool to see how excited they got when someone made a good play.” Chelsea Boles, junior exercise science major and outfielder on the softball team, had Walsh for a student athletic trainer and said having a good trainer is beneficial for making sure athletes get the treatment they need. “Having someone you know you can rely on to help you when you get hurt makes you more comfortable to actually go ask for help,” Boles said. “Whereas other trainers who are rude make you not want to ask them to help you get better.” Akin said all the trainers are a huge part of the sports teams and help them become successful. “He never complained about having to access or stretch anyone,” Akin said. “You could tell he really cared about us and would ask everyday how the injury was.”