RAMBLER TV WEDNESDAY
October 23, 2013
Vol. 97 • No. 11 www.therambler.org
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The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
Campus safety report
Charleston White: from courtroom to role model in 180-degree turn
Dakota Baggett
dabaggett@txwes.edu
This is the first installment of the Texas Wesleyan security report, and there have been multiple reports of thefts on campus in recent weeks.. There is some basic safety information pertinent to all institutions of higher learning. Campus security reports are mandated by the The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or the Clery Act, for short, to keep a crime log of all crime reported, according to Clerycenter.org. The log also must be updated to include all crimes within 48 hours of their report and must include a log of the past 60 days. The campus crime log is free to view in the security office located in the OC Armstrong Hall Room 117, and Wesleyan Campus Security Manager Blake Bumbard has printed copies on request. Students might have noticed all the shiny new signs posted throughout the library that keep telling people to keep an eye on valuable items, and the reason is due to the recent string of thefts in the library. There have been four total thefts since Oct. 2. According to Bumbard, prior to this string of thefts in October, the library has only had three in the past three years. What security knows about the thefts is that they all have happened on the same floor of the library, and all the items stolen have been laptops and other small electronics. Security is taking measures to apprehend this criminal, and students are cautioned
Charleston White is within three semesters of completing his undergraduate degree at Texas Wesleyan University. Santiago Munoz
smunoz1367@txwes.edu
From sitting in a courtroom waiting to be tried for murder to sitting in a classroom perusing his bachelor’s degree as a criminal justice major, Charleston White has done a complete 180 with his life, and is now a motivational speaker for troubled youth throughout the state of Texas. Without the presence of a positive male role model, White became involved in the streets as a teenager. His mother, who raised him as a single parent, wasn’t around because she had to work the night shift at the General Motors plant in Arlington in order to provide for his brother and him. Without the presence of a positive male role model and a mother who was working all the time, it was easy for White to follow in his brother’s footsteps and become associated with
the criminal elements of society. “Lack of supervision,” said Youlanda White, mother of Charleston White. “I didn’t have anyone to supervise them.” On Sept. 18, 1991, at the age of 14, Charleston White and three buddies ran out of a shopping mall in Arlington after stealing athletic jackets. During the process, a newlywed good Samaritan intervened and was shot and killed by White’s associate when he attempted to stop them, according to an article in the Star-Telegram written by Bob Ray Sanders. White was charged with murder and was sentenced to 12 years. While incarcerated, White joined a gang in order to fit in and be a part of something. Even though White was only 5’9” and 140 pounds, he used his mind to fight his battles; soon, he became the leader of his gang. “He had a tough personality when I met him back in 1992,” said Har-
vey Hughes, who was also serving time for murder, and joined White’s gang during their incarceration at the Texas Youth Commission detention facility in south Texas. “It was tough in there, so we had to do what we had to do to survive.” After seven years of paying his debt to society, White was released in 1998 at the age of 21. After returning home to his native Fort Worth, White returned to the streets. His association with drug dealers, pimps and killers was inevitable because that’s all he knew, said White. Also, according to White, his social skills weren’t up to par with the rest of society because he was lacking the life experiences that most teenagers have to live a conventional lifestyle. “Mentally when I got out at 21, from a mental aspect of things, my thinking, the process of my emotions was on a 14-year-old level,” White recalls. “I didn’t have the natural prog-
Jessica Liptak | Rambler Staff
ress needed for social skills. I didn’t have the experiences that a natural 14-year-old experiences. I didn’t go to high school; I didn’t graduate, so I didn’t have those experiences that you need in society to succeed.” At the age of 25, White became a father. White began working regular jobs to support his son but remained affiliated with the streets. It wasn’t until White had his second child at the age of 31 that he finally realized something had to change, and he enrolled in college. “The turning point was when I had my daughter,” White said. “I always knew the value of an education; I’ve always been very intelligent; I always did good in school. Carrying the weight of being the father to two children, I knew I had to go get a degree to make a change and do what I want to do, and that’s what I’m doing today.”
SAFETY, page 3
Campus,
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CH, page 3
Committees researching possible funds’ usage from summer sale of Law School to Texas A&M Rosy Perez
rperez1196@txwes.edu
Halloween comes to Wesleyan and Fort Worth. Check out details. For More Current News, check out TheRambler.org
With the Law School being sold in August and earning Texas Wesleyan new funding, students are seeking answere about how that money is going to be used. Everything was passed over to Texas A&M’s hands in August. This includes transferring over the staff and changing the name of the Law
School, so Texas Wesleyan is no longer in charge of the school. When it comes to the $73.2 million payout over five years from A&M, it is still under consideration about how it will be used. “The university is in the process of designating the best use for those funds at the time, and that means several committees are researching possibilities and options on
how to make the most of the money,” said Wesleyan Director of Marketing and Communications Darren White. Some of the renovations currently happening at Texas Wesleyan are the Rosedale Renaissance and a new entry way onto campus along with a bell tower. So what exactly will happen to the money is not yet determined, but it is safe to say that students might want
to attend meetings where their voices can be heard. Senior English major John A. Ortega had much to say about the renovations needed on campus. “First and foremost, they need to fund the endowment, fix the sidewalks along with making a parking garage or something,” Ortega said. The sidewalks that are going to be fixed initially are the ones located on Rosedale.
Other sidewalk repairs still are to be undetermined. “Equipment for disabled or special needs students should be provided,” he added. “I think rather than getting a clock tower, we should use the money on things needed at the moment rather than planning for something that’s just aesthetically pleasing.” So if committees are wondering what students want, there is a healthy sample.
Recent sidewalk petitions send notice to administration Erica Estrada
eestrada@txwes.edu
On On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Student Government Association released a petition to improve all the cracked and uneven sidewalks of Wesleyan. Some students have been signing the petition in hopes of approval from administration.
Hafidh Alghussein, junior school of business representative, has a positive attitude about repairing the sidewalks and making progress and is happy for the students’ optimistic concerns. “Right now we’re just focusing on getting the signatures of the petitions,” said Alghussein. “The main reason is to serve the students and a
lot of students ask to repair the sidewalks.” According to Alghussein, the length of the project is to be announced once the petition has been approved. Kelsi Holland, president of the Student Government Association and senior Sociology major, has major concerns and positive outlooks to make progress
on the sidewalks to prevent injuries since there have been previous injuries from Wesleyan students. Holland said how pleased she is that the majorities of the student body have the same concerns and want to make a difference. “The plan is to get the number of student body who are interested in improving
the sidewalks,” said Holland. “We have a cover sheet that explains to them what we’re trying to do and what the petition actually means. The whole point of the petition is to get signatures, basically showing evidence to administration that this is what we’re wanting to fix: the sidewalks or whatever issue it is.”
SIDEWALK, page 3