WEDNESDAY Feb. 22, 2017 Vol. 101 • No. 3
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OPINION
Grammer comes full circle Guadalupe Sanchez gsanchez3@txwes.edu
Celebrate all the people you love. Valentine’s Day isn’t just to showcase the love you have for your signficant other.
NEWS
Wesleyan will open new art gallery. A new exhibition will open in April honoring alumnus George Grammer.
CAMPUS
Celebrate Black History Month February is an important time to celebrate the diversity we have in America.
Texas Wesleyan University will develop a permanent art gallery at the Bernice Coulter Templeton Art Studio. Wesleyan President Frederick Slabach announced the addition of the gallery on Feb. 14 during a 2020 Town Hall meeting. “We are developing a permanent art gallery that would include outside art, maybe some children’s art and some student’s art,” Slabach said. Dr. Mark Hanshaw, interim dean of the School of Arts and Letters, said the gallery represents a longneeded vehicle that can help both students and faculty. “Most universities have exhibition spaces.” Hanshaw said. “Wesleyan’s art gallery will open up a host of opportunities for students, opportunities for campus-based artists, artists from around the community and opportunities for different classroom instructors to bring art into specific components in ways we haven’t been able to do before. Not to mention that it also gives space for students to display their own art work.” Hanshaw said he hopes the gallery will be a unique learning space for students and a space that will have a rotating cycle of uses so that there will be varied artists in the gallery. “This space will also connect Texas Wesleyan with area artists in a way we haven’t done before so that artists will see Wesleyan as a venue for the display of their art and will be certainly encouraged to visit Wesleyan in order to see the exhibits as
Kristi Taylor is now being featured in multiple movies and television series.
SPORTS
Coach Natnael Amare sets high hopes. Track has added 18 freshmen to the roster since the fall of 2016.
ONLINE
Naked but Real The Black Student Association and Phi Epsilon Nu will have an open mic night on Feb. 23.
Courtesy of Kit Hall George Grammer is pictured in Texas Wesleyan University’s 1947 yearbook.
attending Texas Wesleyan, studied under professor of art Kelly Fearing, who introduced Grammer into the Fort Worth Circle and made him the youngest member in 1946. He graduated from Wesleyan in 1947.
Grammer, now 90 years old, will travel from his home in New York for the exhibit; he he will also be given an honorary doctorate in the humanities, as recommended by Sla-
GRAMMER. page 3
Wetrich turns salary into scholarship April Suarez Olvera asuarezolvera@txwes.edu
A&E
Theatre Wesleyan alumna soars to new heights.
they pass through our art space.” Hanshaw said. The opening exhibition will commemorate and celebrate the work of George Grammer, a Wesleyan alumnus and last surviving member of the Fort Worth Circle. George Grammer: Full Circle opens on April 20, Slabach said. “One way we are moving forward and going to start rolling this out is for the alumni reunion weekend in April,” Slabach said. “Where we are going to have an exhibit of George Grammer’s work. George Grammer is one our alumni and is the last living member of the Fort Worth Circle of artists, which is a prominent circle of artists, and he will be helping us kick that off.” The exhibition will feature paintings from many private collections and museums, art professor Kit Hall said. Grammer’s work has been featured in two exhibitions at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center: Exhibiting Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Artists in the 1940s in 2008 and 2011’s Looking for the Lone Star: Early Texas Art from Private Fort Worth Collections. He has also exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art, Hall said. The Fort Worth Circle was a group of 11 artists who explored modernism and expanded the way Texans saw art in the 1940s. The Circle was created by theatre and art lovers who enjoyed partying and spending time with others, Hall said. Grammer, who has spent more than 60 years as an artist and attended Paschal High School before
Texas Wesleyan University adjunct business professor James G. Wetrich has pledged to fund a scholarship. Although Wetrich currently owns two businesses, Wetrich Group SCO and Wetrich Group LLC, providing “expertise to serve human capital assets to all sectors of the healthcare industry” according to Business Wire, he has chosen to spend his time off teaching at Wesleyan. “I’ve always loved teaching,” Wetrich said. “More than anything, it helps keep me relevant because stuff is changing all the time.” With the changing marketing field, teaching keeps him educated with new information, Wetrich said. “The reason I went back to get my MBA at 52 years old is because the world has changed, climate has changed, the environment has
Photo by April Suarez Olvera Adjunct business professor James Wetrich teaches Principles of Marketing.
changed, marketing has changed, and I think it’s just important to stay relevant. One of the ways I do that is by teaching you folks (students),”
he said. Wetrich also hopes that his experience in the field will translate in the classroom and provide students with
an insight on marketing in the business world. Growing up, he was immersed in a culture of giving back. Although it was at a relatively small scale, his parents were very philanthropic, Wetrich said. “From as long as I can remember going back to Halloween, my mom used to go out and raise money for UNICEF,” Wetrich said. “My parents always gave back, they donated time and they donated money.” Wetrich said it’s really important to give back. “I’d rather the money Texas Wesleyan is paying me ultimately go back to Texas Wesleyan to help students that really need it,” he said The first scholarship he funded was on behalf of his wife Nancy, who has been an ICU nurse for 35 years, to the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory Univer-
WETRICH. page 3
Wesleyan makes college affordable Guadalupe Sanchez
gsanchez3@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan University focuses on attracting low-income students. According to a New York Times article published on Jan. 18, Wesleyan ranked 136th of all public and private American universities in mobility rates, based on The Equality of Opportunity Project, which looks for new ways to improve economic opportunities for American children, according to nytimes.com. Mobility rates are defined in the article as “the share of all students at a given college who both came from a low-income family and ended up
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in a high-income family.”
according to nytimes.com.
“I think because it’s private and a little bit more expensive than public Texas colleges, it gives off the illusion that it is a rich school.” - Isabel Guereca At Wesleyan, the percentage of students from families in the bottom 40 percent of income is 35.9; Wesleyan also has a 52.9 percent success rate, and a 19 percent mobility rate,
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The study reported on by theTimes researched the highest upward mobility rates in colleges from students who came from families in the bottom fifth of income distribution and
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reach top fifth. Many American college students think they do not have the potential to attend the college of their choice because of their financial situation. But the study shows that no matter where students choose to go, they have the potential to overcome and earn as much as their classmates who come from families in the top one percent, according to the article. Public colleges rather than elite colleges such as Yale or Dartmouth dominate the top of the list when it comes to colleges with the highest mobility rate from the top 40 percent
LOW INCOME. page 3
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Opinion
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Why care about Valentine’s Day? EDITORIAL
Every year on Feb. 14, we celebrate that one feeling that has shaped our stories from romance to tragedy and has seeped into our reality to be the goal of many and the dream of others. That feeling is love. Valentine’s Day has become the holiday of love, not just in the U.S., but in many countries. But the holiday has lost some of its earlier charm and now has become just another commercialized holiday that does not seek to bring loved ones together, but to sell flowers and chocolate. Valentine’s Day needs to go back to the feeling that it claims to showcase and expand the idea of love not only to couples, but to others such as close friends and family. According to history.com, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated in the U.S. since the 1700s. It wasn’t until Esther A. Howland, nicknamed “the mother of the American Valentine,” began to mass produce Valentine’s Day cards in the 1840s that we began to see Valentine’s Day as we now know it. American retail spending reached $19 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2015, according to usnews.com. Flowers and chocolates are expected on this day, but you shouldn’t rely on just one day to show how much someone means to you. The Greeting Card Association calculated that 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent out every year in the United States and that Americans spend an average of $130.97 per person on Valentine’s Day. Couldn’t some of those cards not be sent to, and some of that money be spent on, a family member or friend?
Graphic by Shaydi Paramore Valentine’s Day is viewed as a holiday for couples and as a commercial holiday, but shouldn’t there be more to it than that?
If you’re thinking, wow, thank goodness I don’t have a significant other who I have to spend money on, you might want to rethink how you view Valentine’s Day because you are only thinking about one definition of love -- as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
There is another definition of love -- as a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. Both definitions can be used to describe love and yet people associate Valentine’s Day with only the first definition even though the second definition is just as valid.
Everyone talks about love, but then we have this day where we simplify the word to mean only one of its definitions. Valentine’s Day should be redefined to show that love comes in many forms, and a day to celebrate the ones in our life that we care about, and let them know we care.
FAFSA ignores middle-class students Hannah Onder Content Producer hlonder@txwes.edu
When throwing your graduation cap in the air, saying goodbye to childhood friends and setting off on new journeys, something that often slips the mind of graduating high school seniors is paying for college. Students may think completing FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) and having top grades is good enough to get them a free or relatively cheap ride to college. However, as the first semester in college approaches and students began digging into finances, some realize this isn’t always the case. What students usually don’t know is FAFSA determines the need for aid by subtracting the EFC (expected family contribution) from COA (the cost of attendance). The COA is the price of the tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and other fees the school estimates for the year. The EFC is determined depending on how the government classifies the student. There are three main statuses: dependent, independent and independent with dependents. For the average undergraduate under the age of 24, the classification is dependent unless they are orphaned, homeless, with the armed forces, married or have dependents. What this means is that a student’s financial is mainly based on their parents’ income.
For some students, this works well enough to qualify for aid. However, this isn’t the case for everyone. Like me. The government’s argument when calculating EFC is that the parents make enough income to contribute to their child’s education. As with all arguments, there are people that fall through the cracks, especially m i d d l e class students. As a middle-class student myself, I live in house with five people. Both my parents are employed, and it’s a rare month we don’t live paycheck to paycheck. I’ll admit my dad working as a nurse has advantages, but not enough that he can support a family of six and help fund my college. My mom, a teacher, helps where she can, but in a house with two teenage boy athletes it’s rough to keep food in the fridge longer than a day. Basically, the government expects families that don’t have extra cash laying around to be able to dish it out for their kids’ college just because there’s potential for there to be extra cash in the bank. The truth is, some parents don’t have that estimated money to contribute, so they don’t. I’m certainly not going to be the one to ask my family to change their current lifestyle to accommodate the beginning of my adult life, when I should be learning to be independent of them. As a student worker, I make about $700 a month working 20 hours a week. I am carrying 15 hours this semester, so I don’t feel that I can take a fulltime job. This income is nothing
Photo by Hannah Onder Tuition is a problem for most students, but what can middle -class student do to get through?
compared to the student loans I’m forced to tie my name to in order to get my education. I graduated in the top ten of my class, held several leadership positions and gave many hours volunteering. I worked my butt off in high school to get into college, and when I started college, I had not even $1,000 to my name, no extra money from my parents and
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not a cent from the government. But none of this seems to matter to the government when it is determining how much aid I should receive. I’m most likely not in this boat alone. There’s definitely a problem emerging with the government’s process of determining aid for middle-class college students.
Rams up Thumbs up to the student food pantry opening. Thumbs up to the cheerleaders winning an award at NAIA conference. Thumbs up to being able to rent an Iphone or Android usb cable at the library. Thumbs up to new football assistant coaches.
Rams down Thumbs down to the coffee maker and printers being removed from the student lounge. Thumbs down to Morton Fitness Center not having fresh towels. Thumbs down to volleyball coach Kimberly West resigning. Thumbs down to the West Village gate still being broken.
Wednesday | February 22, 2017|3
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GRAMMER continued from page 1
bach. Hall said the honorary doctorate is a big deal. “A lot because of the history of the art that’s coming here and he (Grammer) started here, at Wesleyan,” Hall said. “Now at the ripe old age of 90, he’s full circle and coming back to have the exhibition here, again so that’s where the name comes from, hence why the title of the exhibition is Full Circle.” Hall said students and faculty should make a special trip to this exhibition, since it is only out for a short time. “Not everyone is gonna see it on opening day,” Hall said. The committee of faculty members that choose who should receive honorary doctorate degrees base their choices on a list of members who have contributed to humanity and Wesleyan, Hall said. The choices are then approved by Slabach.
WETRICH
“One of the criteria is the contribution to humanity and so I felt like Grammer was a perfect fit because he was part of a group of very famous artists here, as well as Texas and national, that changed the way we see art,” Hall said. “Once the Fort Worth Circle started doing their art and exhibiting their art and teaching their art so they have quite the legacy of students that fell after them, so once they did that their circle just got bigger and bigger because they influenced students and those students influenced other students. “So we’re all now continually influenced by what they brought to Fort Worth but it expanded the way we look at art and try to understand it. To me, that qualifies him to receiving a doctorate in humanities.” Hanshaw said he gives a lot of the credit to Hall since it was her vision. “What she wanted to do was have a space
on campus where students and visiting artists could display their works and students would have access to this space to view the works as a learning tool,” Hanshaw said. “She really put together the bulk of the proposal and the proposal went to President Slabach and he reviewed it and found it compelling and suddenly we have a gallery.” Hanshaw said Grammer deserves the honorary doctorate because he is a global representative of Fort Worth in his capacity as a renowned artist. “He is an individual who is deeply interested in inspiring new artists and new creativity,” Hanshaw said. “For that reason, he really is the sort of person that deserves this kind of honor. In addition, he also has a direct connection to Wesleyan and has supported programs and capital construction on the campus. He is an individual that is directly related to this institu-
Courtesy of Kit Hall George Grammer pictured in the yearbook.
tion and a product of Wesleyan. We certainly celebrate his connection to our institution and his influence. We see him as a source of inspiration for present and future students.”
continued from page 1 sity, Wetrich said. “I’ve set up a scholarship at Emory University School of Nursing in my wife’s name and part of it is because she wouldn’t have been a nurse if she hadn’t been able to get a scholarship,” Wetrich said. His second scholarship is at Wesleyan. He has been working in accordance with the development office and has begun the process of setting up a scholarship for students in the School of Business Administration. “I have formally signed documents with the development office and told them that ultimately over five years I’d donate $25,000 to the
LOW INCOME
“I’d rather the money Texas Wesleyan is paying me ultimately go back to Texas Wesleyan to help studnets that really need it.” - James G. Wetrich school,” Wetrich said. “I designated it to go the business school, to go to a student that has financial need.” Carly Ann Crisp, donor relations coordinator for Wesleyan, works with the students who
receive these types of scholarships. Every time a student receives a scholarship, it is a gift that should be celebrated, Crisp said. “I think that anyone that wants to give for the purpose to make sure that students have
ing area and campus. “All the improvements that Wesleyan is making would say that they are a pretty wealthy school,” Pozos said. David Mejia, a freshman business major, thinks Wesleyan is a wealthy university but knows that his tuition will do great things to keep Wesleyan maintained. “Look at the campus and its condition,” Mejia said. “It looks pretty polished. I’ve gone inside to the University of Texas at Arlington and Wesleyan is in way better condition.” Mejia also thinks Wesleyan is not as rich as
Texas Christian University but said Wesleyan does put money back into the university to help future students. “Wesleyan is in the middle,” Mejia said. “It’s not as rich as TCU but it’s moderately rich in that students can be assured that their money is going into the right place and keep Wesleyan maintained. The fact that it’s private also makes me think that it’s rich also.” While Pozos and Mejia both believe Wesleyan is a rich school because of its infrastructure, another important factor is the affordability of attending college.
resources to go to school is honorable and commendable and something that should be celebrated,” Crisp said. “We celebrate it every time it happens.” Phuong “Finn” Le, a sophomore marketing and management major, was surprised when Wetrich told her Principles of Marketing class about his plans. “I was surprised, I was like wow, it’s a very generous act because not only does it benefit students financially, but also mentally,” Le said. “It encourages students to try harder to get more scholarships.”
continued from page 1
to the bottom. The article also notes the role colleges have often had in helping poorer students. But some elite colleges have focused on being more affordable to low-income families than on expanding access. But is Wesleyan really affordable for students? Three students that are attending Wesleyan because the school is paying much or all of their tuition say yes. Lissette Pozos, a freshman bilingual education major, believes Wesleyan seems expensive but the price is vital to improve the surround-
e s e h T ? t a a a h W t s e W at s n o i t op ry e t a E s Expres ! are
This is what attracted freshman English major Isabel Guereca. “I think because it’s private and a little bit more expensive than public Texas colleges because it gives off the illusion that it is a rich school,” Guereca said. “I chose Wesleyan because they offered me a scholarship and enough financial aid that it covered the cost of attending. I didn’t have to pay as much as I would have if I would have gone somewhere else because they didn’t offer the same amount of money on the scholarship like Wesleyan did.”
Tired of all the monkey business? Keep up with dining services at: txwes.campusdish.com
4 |Wednesday | February 22, 2017
Campus
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Celebrate Black History Month Shaydi Paramore
ssparamore@txwes.edu
Black History Month celebrates the achievements made by black Americans and recognizes the hardships they have overcome. The annual celebration begin half a century after the abolishment of slavery in the United States, according to history.com. Historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), which focused on researching events in black history and promoting achievements made by important black Americans. The organization later decided to create and sponsor a week-long celebration for black history called Negro History Week and chose to celebrate on the week of Abraham Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglass’s birthdays. The event later evolved into Black History Month when President Gerald R. Ford recognized it in 1976. Ford called upon the public to use the month to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Miracle Lewis, a junior theatre major at Texas Woman’s University, believes the monthlong celebration is important to her heritage. “Black History Month is important to me because it tells the truth about what happened in this nation,” Lewis said. “We call it the land of
the free and the home of the brave and how that was not true.” The purpose of Black History Month is to remind ourselves about slavery and the discrimination that occurred for so many years, Lewis said. “I really think black history brings a lot of things we forget and hide but need to brought to light,” Lewis said. “That’s essentially what black history means it’s not just about slavery even though that was a huge part, but black history also shows the reason why we have a testimony today.” Ambrosia Hagler, senior theatre major at Trinity Valley Community College, shouldn’t focus on the fact that other ethnic groups don’t have a month of celebration. “I posted a quote on Facebook about Black History Month and how I’m glad we get the chance to celebrate it and someone said ‘Why do black people get a whole month?,’” Hagler said. “To me Black History Month is a time where everyone stops and remembers the strong and brave black people that lost their lives so I can have the freedom I have today.” It’s important to pay tribute to the men and women who fought for the freedom to celebrate our history today, Hagler said. “It’s important to remember how I got here and I take pride in that,” Hagler said. Tori Donald, a junior theatre major at Texas A&M Commerce, believes it’s important to be prideful of the hard work many black Americans had to go through.
“African Americans are making strides by creating inventive and creating new endeavours for our future,” Donald said. Lewis hopes more Americans will use Black History Month to focus on diversity and experience different cultures in America. “Am I happy with the diversity in today’s time?” Lewis said. “I will say this: I do think it could be even better, but I am happy that it’s not what it used to be.” Trezjon Cothran, a psychology major and vice president of the Black Student Association, agrees with Lewis that diversity is nowhere where it should be. “Being that blacks were restricted from certain areas and had limited rights in the past, this excites me that those issues are no longer an issue today,” Cothran wrote in an email. “However, the diversity in America is not where it should be. Many college and university campuses throughout the nation are still predominately one race, with a small portion of a variety of other races.” Cothran believes the best way to increase diversity in America is by embracing every aspect of it. “Often times, black history is pushed aside or glossed over because it can be quite uncomfortable to discuss the pain and suffering of our people,” Cothran wrote. “By celebrating black history, we acknowledge the mistakes, sacrifices and the progress over time.”
Visitors at the Stone of Hope, a memorial to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C.
M.D. Anderson
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Featuring: Kristi Scales *Sideline Reporter for the Dallas Cowboys
Wednesday | February 22, 2017|5
Campus
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Historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), which focused on researching events in black history and promoting achievements made by important black Americans.
Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.
The organization later decided to create and sponsor a week-long celebration for black history called Negro History Week and chose to celebrate on the week of Abraham Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglass’s birthdays.
The event later evolved into Black History Month when President Gerald R. Ford recognized it in 1976. Ford called upon the public to use the month to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Images from pixabay.com
Come out, Butterfinger! We’re The Rambler’s Pet Pick of the Issue!
REALLY?!!
Would you like to see your pet featured in the next issue of The Rambler? Email pictures of your pet to IMG Director Dalise DeVos at dndevos@txwes.edu.
Butterfinger and Belle belong to Ashley Coen, administrative assistant in the department of social sciences.
6 |Wednesday | February 22, 2017
Arts&Entertainment
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Alumna makes it into the spotlight Kayla Prachyl klprachyl@txwes.edu
Almost four years after graduating from Texas Wesleyan, Kristi Taylor has been cast in numerous stage productions, TV series and films. Taylor, 33, who received her undergraduate degree in performance arts in 2013, originally planned to graduate with a degree in forensic pathology. “Making the connection and building a reputable name for myself in the film and theatre world across the world has to be one of my greatest accomplishments,” Taylor wrote in an email. “Without the lasting impressions that were made when working with various directors, stage and film production crews I would have no name.” Taylor’s post-Wesleyan career as an actor includes commercials for Red Lobster and Coca-Cola, and small roles in The Leftovers and 11.22.63, the latter based on a Stephen King novel and starring James Franco and Chris Cooper. Taylor wrote that attending Wesleyan was the best decision she ever made and if she could go back in time she would spend all four years here. She was in several Theatre Wesleyan productions, including Into the Woods, The Anniversary, and The Laramie Project, according to her imdb resume. “I wouldn’t say I learned everything at Wesleyan,” Taylor wrote. “I was definitely placed with professors and other scholarly professionals that could always point me in the right direction.” Taylor wrote that apart from her artistic successes she is widely known for her positive attitude, constant humor, talent, willingness to help others, and ability to live in the moment. “Pure determination for success and to become an inspiration to others became my goal,” she wrote about her time at Wesleyan. “Wesleyan set me up for success by teaching me the rewards of hard work, determination, and knowledge of many subjects.” Connie Whitt-Lambert and Kristin Spires, two of Taylor’s Wesleyan mentors, agreed with Taylor that these are her strongest traits. “These two wonderful ladies gave me courage, and inspired Courtesy of Kristi Taylor me to pursue my dreams and never give up,” Taylor wrote. “It’s interesting to think back at all the wonderful memories I have Kristi Taylor in the studio recording new songs Kiss Me and Professional for her first album, due to be released spring 2017. from my time at Wesleyan and know just how much I learned and have grown.” “She had a dream, and believed it would become a reality,” attitude and was dedicated to being the best she could be.” Whitt-Lambert, professor of theatre arts and Taylor’s aca- wrote Spires, an adjunct theatre professor. “She always pushed Taylor’s advice to anyone wanting to become famous in the demic advisor and director at Wesleyan, wrote that she knew persistently through whatever challenges were put in front of arts is to know that success does not come overnight, and alTaylor would succeed after graduation. her. I believe her tenacity, her determination, and her belief that though it may not seem worth it, the hard work and long hours “After I got to know Kristi, I realized she would succeed,” acting and performing were what she was supposed to do with lead to knowledge and experience that eventually lead to that Whitt-Lambert wrote in an email. “She is one of the kindest her life drove her in the direction of success.” dream role you’ve worked so hard to get. people I know. She had the talent and the drive, two things you Spires wrote that Taylor had a positive effect Taylor on the “I kept a positive attitude and never gave up,” Taylor wrote. absolutely need for success.” entire theatre department. “In saying this, I do not mean that I never failed at anything. Spires, Taylor’s voice teacher at Wesleyan, wrote that she also “Kristi was a real leader,” Spires wrote. “Not just a leader in Believe me, I did. However, these so called failures helped me knew Taylor would be successful because of her drive and pas- the sense of managing or being in charge, but also a leader in to learn and grow.” sion. the way she supported her peers, always maintained a positive
Wednesday |February 22, 2017
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Senior runners give back to freshmen Chalon Anderson cnanderson@txwes.edu
With track season kicking off, head coach Natnael Amare has high hopes for his athletes. In addition to the returners, 18 freshman have been added to the roster since last fall. With only two seniors on both the men’s and women’s teams, Amare will look to his younger athletes this season. “My goal is to get them over those first butterflies,” he said. “We have a young team, and what I want is for them to experience what it means to compete at this level. After that, the goal is to qualify for nationals as individuals and as a team on the relay.” Amare says having a young team has its benefits in the long run. “You want to be able to teach them from scratch,” he said. “I’ve had experience with transfers and it doesn’t work out well. You want to mold them the way you want, the reward is great in the end.” Senior Carrie Finson, captain of the women’s track team and a distance runner, wholeheartedly accepts her leadership role. “It feels awesome,” said Finson, a business marketing and finance major. “I love this group of girls; we work hard and we push and support each other. They don’t act like freshman. I was nervous at first, but now it doesn’t even feel that way.” Finson will be out during the indoor season due to stress fractures she suffered last season. She will be using the outdoor season – which starts March 17 – to prepare for running a half marathon. “During outdoor track it’s mainly going to be me fine-tuning so I can qualify for nationals in the full marathon,” she said. Finson said watching from the sidelines has not been easy. “It has been hard, “ she said. “But I know my team supports me so it’s not that bad. Going to practice and watching the girls put in the effort and getting to coach them and lead them and encourage them. The girls are really good.” For senior David Switocha, it’s all about being able to give feedback to his younger teammates. “You take on this leadership role, and you get to see them grow as athletes and students,” said Switocha, an exercise science major and distance runner. “It’s good to have young guys who don’t really know what college athletics is yet.” Despite having a small team, the Rams look to qualify for the indoor nationals, he said. The NAIA Indoor National Championship is March 2-4 in Kansas City. “This season it’s all about getting us qualified,” he said. “We don’t have a full team for the men’s program so it’s mainly about having them hit the qualifying marks.” “I wouldn’t mind a couple more upperclassmen, but it’s good they’re so young. They are going to be the future of the program.” The Rams and Lady Rams return to action on Saturday, when they travel to San Antonio to compete in the Trinity Open at Trinity University. The teams will return to Fort Worth on March 17
Photo by Josh Lacy Senior business marketing and finance major and captain of the women’s track team Carrie Finson accepts being a leader.
for the TCU Invitational at Texas Christian University. For more
information, go to ramsports.net.
February 22 - March 11 Don’t be a geek.... 22
23
JVBB vs Western Oklahoma State College 2 PM
24 BB vs Our Lady of the Lake University 2 PM
25 BB vs Our Lady of the Lake University (DH) 12 PM WTEN vs Howard Payne University 1 PM BB vs Our Lady of the Lake University (DH) 2 PM TT vs NCTTA Regionals
26
27
28 BB vs LSUShreveport MBB SAC Tournament WBB SAC Tournament
TT vs NCTTA Regionals JV WTEN vs College of the Ozarks (MO)
1 MBB SAC Tournament
2 MBB vs SAC Tournament
WBB SAC Tournament
3
4
MBB SAC Tournament 3 WBB SAC Tournament
MBB SAC Tournament 4 WBB SAC Tournament
WBB SAC Tournament
Go Greek! kick off Greek Week Feb. 28 with a Quiz Bowl during free period outside West Library!
Martin Hall Happenings February 23 @ 7:30 pm
26 5
27 6
28 7 BB vs Austin College 2:30 PM
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2 9
10 BB vs University of Science and Arts (OK) 2:30 PM SB vs MidAmerica Christian University (OK) (DH) 5 PM
11 SB vs University of Science and Arts (OK) (DH) 12 PM BB vs University of Science and Arts (OK) (DH) 12 PM & 2 PM
Sigma Alpha Iota Student Recital
March 2 @ 7:30 pm
Wind Ensemble Dr. Paul Sikes, conductor
March 4 @ 9:00 am Scholarship Auditions
March 7 @ 7:30 pm
Senior Recital Nicholas Squyres, bass
8 | Wednesday | February 22, 2017 TheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.
Rams named All-Academic scholars Karan Muns
kemuns@txwes.edu
Soccer player Michael Brown began playing for the Rams after serving in the Navy, and says that being able to play at the college level is a dream come true. But part of being able to do that is keeping up his grades, which can be challenging, because during the season, the team practices multiple days a week and plays anywhere from one to three games per week. Brown said he has been able to maintain his GPA by planning ahead and communicating with his teachers, most of whom have been understanding and flexible about class deadlines. “It helps also if you do quality work in class and they know you’re capable of it then they’re going to be a little more willing to work with you because of a school obligation,” Brown said. By maintaining at least a 3.25 GPA, Brown has become one of Wesleyan’s scholar athletes. The Sooner Athletic Conference announced the list of 2016 academic all-conference athletes on Feb. 1, and Wesleyan had 22 of the conference’s total of 199. SAC scholar athletes must maintain a 3.25 GPA in the previous two semesters and be regulars, or letter winners, on their team, according to ramsports.net. “It really was a great opportunity to play at the college level and at the same time earn good enough grades to receive this reward is an honor,” Brown said. Athletic Director Steve Trachier said he is “awfully proud” of Wesleyan’s scholar athletes; the department’s goal is to have athletes do well in the classroom, create competitive professionals and earn a degree, and part of being competitive is keeping a high GPA. “If you go back and look at the history of the athletic department over the last several years, you’ll see the number of scholar athletes that we have increasing, you’ll see the number of scholar teams we have increasing, you’ll see the athletic department GPA increasing,” Trachier said. “We are an institution of learning.” Wesleyan’s scholar athletes for fall 2016 included nine from women’s soccer, five from men’s soccer, two from men’s cross country, one from women’s cross country, and five from volleyball, according to ramsports.net. Every scholar athlete has to balance schoolwork with practice and games, and doing so often means sacrificing sleep and free time.
Infographic by Karan Muns The infographic at left shows the number of scholar athletes at all Sooner Athletic Conference schools; Wesleyan is fourth in the conference.
Men’s soccer midfielder Kian Hosseinpour maintains his GPA because getting a work visa is very competitive and any kind of edge can help. “I knew that playing soccer, playing a sport and a high GPA would help me in getting a visa and finding work later on,” said Hosseinpour, a sophomore finance major from New Zealand. In season practices involve a lot of skill work and working as a team, Hosseinpour said. “In the fall [balancing grades and soccer can be] a bit trickier because we travel so much and we’re away in Oklahoma or west Texas a lot,” he said. Hosseinpour tries to be proactive and get his schoolwork done ahead of time in order to keep his GPA up. “I try to do everything before I leave for trips so I can have a free mind and obviously sometimes that means staying up a bit later and you don’t have as much time to do other things,” Hosseinpour said. Volleyball practices are two hours every day and the team plays between two and three games a week during their season, said Kiersten Mebane. “Currently, we have fitness at 5:30 a.m. and fitness is basically just lifting weights and run-
ning,” Mebane, a criminal justice major, said. “Following fitness at 6:30 am we have volleyball practice like usually from 6:30 am to 8:00 am sometimes 6:30 to 8:40. So you’re already tired before your day even begins.” Mebane uses whatever time she can find to get her homework done. “When we travel is just like homework time,” Mebane said. “Homework on the bus, in the hotel room, at the game. I have written so many papers on charter busses.” Mebane strives to make good grades because it makes her feel that she has accomplished something, and because it will make it easier to get into a reputable graduate program. Junior accounting major and volleyball player Shelby Stinnett said that she will just grab a book for her classes during any free time she has. Stinnett, an outside hitter, makes an effort to keep her GPA as high as possible because of the competitiveness of graduate school. “My dad has always held me to a high standard. It does feel good to get a better grade because it makes you feel like you actually know the stuff,” Stinnett said. “[Our coach] does grade checks, so we’ll have to have our teachers sign off [on things] like ‘do we pay attention?’,
‘are we doing good in the class?’ and ‘what’s our progress?’ so she keeps us accountable for it but it’s ultimately our responsibility.” Katie Baugh, a sophomore athletic training major and soccer player, said her dyslexia means she has to work harder to keep up her grades; being on the soccer team -- which practices five times a week and plays two or three games a week -- takes a lot of time. “It’s really somewhat tough to be a college athlete and balance school,” Baugh said. Maintaining grades is a team goal for the women’s soccer team because if one player fails it affects the whole team, Baugh said. “It’s tough. But you do what you can for the game that you love to play basically,” Baugh said. In order to keep good grades, the team communicates with their teachers and plans ahead so they can keep up with classwork, Baugh said. “I study a lot on the bus. I like to sleep a lot on the bus too but I always have my computer with me,” Baugh said. “You do whatever you can, like if I have an essay due I’d type it [then] wait until we get to the hotel and then send it.”
A PPLICAT ION DE A DLI N E : F E BRUA RY 2 4 , 2 017
The Hatton W. Sumners SCHOLARSHIP
The Hatton W. Sumners Scholarship provides up to $3,500 per semester toward tuition for outstanding students during their junior and senior years. The scholarship is open to all students–particularly those studying political science, pre-law, history or social studies. Sumners Scholars participate in exclusive forums, lectures and programs on public policy, leadership and civic participation. For more information or to pick up an application, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 817-531-4420.