CAMPUS
OPINION
Pg. 2
Should you vote in 2018 midterm election on Nov. 6? Find out why and how.
SPORTS
Pg. 4
Did you know Congressman Marc Veasey is a Ram? Learn about his history at TXWES.
Pg. 7
Former Athletic Director Steve Trachier continues as head coach for women’s basketball.
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WEDNESDAY Oct. 3, 2018 Vol. 102 • No. 7 www.therambler.org
The Rambler
Spiritual Life cooks up conversations at Common Meal Elena Maldonado
ecmaldonado@txwes.edu
Students gather every Tuesday during free period on the third floor of the Polytechnic United Methodist Church for Common Meal. The students eat lunch provided by Spiritual Life while they talk about lighthearted topics. Taylor Date, a junior religion major and one of the chaplain assistants, helps direct Common Meal. “Common Meal is an interfaith gathering here on campus that allows us to find commonalities between one another throughout the turmoil of the world right now,” she said. “It is about being able to sit down, talk to people, and find common ground rather than differences.” Date said Spiritual Life encourages community through programs
like Common Meal. “[We want] people to connect to one another, be able to walk around campus and not feel alone, and be able to have that friendly group that they want,” Date said. “That is what we want to accomplish. If we were to leave a mark, it would be to make sure there are plenty of people that love one another, Wesleyan, and the community.” According to Date, approximately 15 students attend Common Meal each week. “Usually people who come are pretty interested because we have free food first of all, but I hope that it is the community that makes them want to stay and continue to experience Spiritual Life,” Date said. Date said that with its budget, Spiritual Life is able to provide free meals to the students during meal. page 3 Common Meal.
Project Transformation stacks up more participants
Graphic by Elena Maldonado Common Meal provides home-cooked meals.
Residence Life recruits new hall directors Kaylee Conrad kmconrad@txwes.edu
Photo contributed by Julie Harding Project Transformation interns from summer 2018 pose outside of the Eunice and James L. West Library; 27 young adults volunteered.
Elena Maldonado ecmaldonado@txwes.edu
Project Transformation, a non-profit organization that works toward improving literacy among kids in the Fort Worth area, held its eight-week summer camp from May 26 to July 28. According to the program’s impact report, a total of 188 children attended the summer program, and 27 young adults served the organization. Julie Harding, Project Transformation’s executive director, said the summer camp was successful. “Ninety-eight percent of our kids maintained or improved their reading level over the summer,” she said. Harding said the program had great growth in comparison to summer 2017. “[The program] had more kids, more interns, and the summer ran more smoothly,” Harding said. She said that from summer 2017 to summer 2018, the program had time to build relationships with community members. One of the relationships strengthened was with Read Fort Worth and its Summer Scholar Cohort. “Through that partnership we were able to have retired reading specialists help out at our two Fort Worth sites: Meadowbrook and University,” she said. “Those reading
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Photo contributed by Julie Harding Families get off the mechanical bull brought in for Family Fun Night at Medowbrook’s United Methodiist Church in July. This was one of the three sites for Project Transformation.
specialists were able to work with our reading coordinator interns and help coach them, train them, and help with the logistics of getting all of our pre and post testing done.” The camp has three host sites: University United Methodist Church, Meadowbrook United Methodist Church, and First United Methodist Church at Bedford. Harding said the organization is looking to add another host site for next summer. “Next summer we are going to have four sites,” Harding said. “We want to expand to be able to serve more children, college students, and churches. Adding a fourth site will let us provide the program up to 80 more kids, and
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hire about eight more interns,” she said. In preparation for summer 2019, the organization’s focus is on adding that fourth site and continuing to increase partnerships with churches. “With adding a new site, we will be creating a whole new library,” Harding said. “We will be looking for volunteers to help us code them, and we will be bringing new partners to support that church.” Harding said the legacy she hopes Project Transformation leaves on its participants is “a life transformed in a positive way through
PROJECT. page 3
Only one hall director remains. As Lizzie Martin, former hall director of Stella Hall, and Chelsea Skinner, former hall director of OC and Elizabeth Hall, have moved on to the next steps in their careers, new hall directors are being hired. It is not confirmed how many people are going to be hired, wrote Sarah Ouimet, assistant dean of students for Residence Life, in an e-mail. It is not unusual to hire multiple hall directors at once, Ouimet wrote. “I expect to have to hire a new hall director every 1-2 years,” Ouimet wrote. The hall director position is a fulltime, live-in position that is responsible for supervising the Photos contributed by txwes.edu ongoing operation Lizzie Martin (top) of a residential and Chelsea Skincommunity, Ouimet ner (bottom) wrote. “The hall director is charged with building community within their residence hall and encouraging personal growth of both residential students and student staff members through individual and group interactions,” Ouimet wrote. Ouimet wrote that when hiring hall directors, Student Services looks for candidates with prior experience in residence life, that have a master’s degree in higher education, administration in a field that would make them proficient in student development, and a genuine passion for student development. “Smaller. Smarter. is not just about our approach in the classroom – in Residence Life we’re dedicated to providing that experience and want hall directors and leaders who truly care about our students and giving them the individual attention they need,” Ouimet wrote. Ouimet wrote that about 40-50 candidates apply for the position of hall director each time it is posted. It is not confirmed which dorms the new hall directors will be in or when they will start. Carson Dinger, assistant director for Residence Life, wrote in an e-mail that the new hall directors try to minimize the impact that staff turnover has on students. “Any time a Hall Director leaves, we ensure that they leave a thorough transition manual in order for us and the new, incoming Hall
DIRECTORS. page 3
Texas Wesleyan’s Overwatch eSports team received its jerseys last Wednesday, three days before participating in the first tournament of the semester. “The Overwatch team had to have a rush delivery to get their jerseys since they had a tournament that following weekend,” said Eugene Frier, executive director of eSports and recreation...
2 | Wednesday | October 3, 2018
Opinion
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Students should not be afraid to vote EDITORIAL
With the Nov. 6 midterm elections right around the corner, you may be asking yourself, “Am I going to vote?” However, the question you should be asking yourself is, “Who am I voting for?” Voter turnout among young people, such as college students, is often low because young people feel they are not qualified to vote because they are not as well informed as older people. According to an article published last month in the Washington Post, only 16 percent of people 18-29 voted in the 2014 election. So many people want to rant about politics on social media, but that won’t change anything except your followers. The only true way for the average person to make a difference in the political field is to cast their votes. However, even out of the people that vote, many don’t vote outside of presidential elections. Why should I vote outside of the presidential election? The president is not the only person that represents you. The people that truly represent you are your congressional representatives and local politicians. So if you’re one of those people passionate about President Donald Trump and you want to reign in or secure his power, voting in the representatives that match your viewpoints in the midterm elections would be a wise choice. The first step to making sure your local and state government reflect your values is to make sure you register to vote. How do I register to vote? You can register to vote by going to votetexas.gov to get the application that you fill out and mail to your County Voter Registrar. The site can also help you figure out if you’re already registered to vote. Some of you may not even know which candidates are running and where, let alone who to vote for. So how do I know who to vote for? If you choose to vote, it should be for someone that you choose for yourself. Your candidate represents you, so if they aren’t doing what’s in your best interest then you should probably find someone who will. The current education system may not be the best at informing young people of when, where, and how to decide who to
Cartoon by Hannah Onder Young adults should take the political opinons they post on social media and take them to the ballot box Nov. 6.
vote for. You also may not want to vote for a specific party because you don’t feel you identify with either. You may want to vote based on the individual candidates. That’s OK, but none of these is an excuse not to vote. With a little googling, people can pull up websites talking about the different candidates’ history, beliefs, and previous legislation. The bigger the candidate the more information there should be out there on them. It can be a little intimating at first, but so are all things when you first start them. Why is it important to vote?
Voting allows people to get their voices and issues out there. It seems like the average politician doesn’t care about young people and their problems. We’ve seen little mention of student loan debt, for example, even though it’s a growing problem in the country. This is because the politicians don’t see us as reliable voters worth fighting for even though young people are the largest population of voters. The only way this is going to change is if young people break the cycle of ignorance by voting and showing the country the power of their voice.
Sexual assault is never a joking matter Hannah Lathen Content Producer hrlathen@txwes.edu
The behavior of Republicans toward Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has been completely disgusting and misogynistic. Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, has been accused by Ford of attempted rape that she said took place in 1982 when she was 15 and he was 17. Kavanaugh denies the allegations and Republicans have been rallying around him in support to get him on the Supreme Court. Many feel that the allegations are a way to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Because Republican’s do not take Ford’s allegations seriously, they feel they can mock her. Republican Ralph Norman joked about the situation Sept. 20 at a debate when explaining why he was late. “Did y’all hear the latest, late-breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings?” Norman said. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out that she was groped by Abraham Lincoln.” What is even more disgusting is Donald Trump Jr. posting a meme Sept. 15 regarding the situation with Kavanaugh. It is a photo that reads, “Judge Kavanaughs sexual assault letter found by Dems,” and then it shows a photo of a piece of paper written in crayon reading, “Hi Cindy will you be my girlfriend,” and then boxes for yes and no. Trump Jr.’s caption on the post reads, “Oh boy... the Dems and their usual nonsense games really have him on the ropes now. Finestein had the letter in July and saved it for the eve of his vote... honorable as always. I believe this is a copy for full
transparency.” To make light of a situation as serious as allegedly trying to rape someone is appalling and should be taken very seriously. Mocking someone alleging that they went through such a traumatizing event is WRONG. This kind of attitude is incredibly dangerous because it encourages others to not take allegations of sexual assault seriously, and it is influencing others to spew hate. CNN reported that her lawyers revealed Ford has been receiving death threats and harassment, forcing her to leave her home. Whether anyone believes that Kavanaugh is a sicko, Ford should not be harassed as much as she has been especially from our government leaders. When will sexual assault and the #MeToo movement be considered a bipartisan issue and not a leftist attempt to bring down conservatives? Since then, many celebrities and public figures, including Eva Longoria, America Ferrera and Gabrielle Union, came together to make a video addressed to Blasey called #DearProfessorFord reading the same letter. “We know how difficult it is to stand up to powerful people,” the letter reads. “We want to thank you for publicly sharing your story of sexual violence. As members of the Senate determine whether Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should serve as a Supreme Court Justice, this context is critical.” The letter applauds Ford for being courageous enough to speak out. “You are strong,” it reads. “And you are not alone.” The letter is signed, “Your sister,” and I am happy to see that women are standing with her through this time because I am one of them. Sexual assault is wrong. It does not matter how long ago it was, if the person did it as a teenager or if you even believe it happened. The issue of sexual assault or harassment should
“We are not afraid to follow the truth... wherever it may lead.” — Thomas Jefferson Print/Web Content Producers: Hannah Onder, Hannah Lathen, Tina Huynh, LaTerra Wair, Elena Maldonado, Ashton Willis, David Cason
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Editorial Staff: Hannah Onder, Hannah Lathen, Elena Maldonado and LaTerra Wair.
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always be discused with sensitivity. From my understanding of Republicans from the behaviors they have exhibited in this situation, attempted rape should only be taken seriously when you believe the victim. Well, unless you were there, I do not think it is for you to decide. This is Ford’s story and she should be able to tell it. If people do not believe what she is saying, it is still not OK for you to mock her. Discrediting someone’s story of sexual assault sends a terrible message to those who have dealt with these situations and are afraid to speak up. No person should be mocked because they decide to share their story with the world, whether you believe it or not.
Graphic by Hannah Lathen A poll was run on @TheRamblerTWU on whether mocking sexual assualt allegtions is OK even if you don’t believe the victim. Of the 13 people who voted, 92 percent of the voters said no and eight percent said yes.
Rams up Thumbs up to Halloween coming up. Thumbs up to Homecoming week coming up. Thumbs up to fall break on Friday. Thumbs up to Lyft providing discouted rides for voters.
Rams down Thumbs down to the elevator being broken in the library. Thumbs down to cockroaches in the water bottle station in Sid Richardson. Thumbs down to clown costumes on display. Thumbs down to broken sprinklers in West Village.
Wednesday | October 3, 2018|3
News
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Meal
continued from page 1 Common Meal for a year and a half now. “Dr. Gladys Childs asked me to [help],” she said. “We go to the same church.” Date said Childs, the interim dean for the School of Arts and Letters, is the chaplain for Spiritual Life. Hegeman said she prepares lunches for Common Meal and Chapel, which is on Thursdays during free period in the church. Haley Arnspiger, a junior religion major and chaplain assistant, works alongside Date to make sure everyone has an enjoyable time during Common Meal. “Common Meal is a safe place where you can kind of talk about anything,” Arnspiger said. “Sometimes we talk about silly things, sometimes we talk about race, so it is just a Photo contributed by Haley Arnspiger good space to kind of cultivate that.” Dexter Collins and other students gather on She said Common Meal is not only a space the third floor of the church for Common Meal. for students to go and have discussions, but to “Evelyn Hegeman comes every week to cook develop relationships. for us,” she said. “She is a huge blessing for us “I think it is important to create a group that to have.” you can rely on and is consistent,” Arnspiger Hegeman has been cooking food for said. “If you come consistently you will form
relationships and you can kind of depend on those relationships.” Arnspiger said Spiritual Life plans on holding Common Meal in the residence halls on campus. “Right now, in terms of our university, it is important to come together more and strengthen the community, because I think it has fallen apart within our residence halls and throughout activities on campus,” she said. “If you come to Common Meal, it is something we can do to strengthen spirit and community.” She said they are also working on opening up the multi-purpose room in PUMC 312 for students to have as a study room. “Tuesday through Thursday we are going to open up the office where Common Meal is held for study hours from 11a.m. to four p.m.,” Arnspiger said. “We have nooks, a big room, a coffee maker, snacks, floor pillows, and spots to nap. We are going to try to open the office so kids can come and hang out.” Joseph Rodriguez, a sophomore liberal arts major, enjoys attending Common Meal.
“I usually attend Common Meal because I like talking to people about different ideas, and experiences,” he said. “Coming here, everyone is friendly. No one is ever really in a bad mood. You come here and it’s like stepping away from stress.” He said conversing with other students at Common Meal makes him forget about his worries. “People just talk about whatever they want to talk about,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about homework, or taking notes. Everyone is just in conversation, enjoying themselves. It’s taking a step back from all of the stress.” Rodriguez encourages students to go to Common Meal. “There will always be people that will open you up [if you are shy],” Rodriguez said. “Nobody here is shy for a reason. [Arnspiger] will talk to you and treat you like you are her best friend even though you just met. [The people at Common Meal] will bring you in and make you feel welcomed.”
“We expect that when new professional staff are hired that the knowledge and experience they bring will have a positive impact on the overall system of Residence Life.” Like Hall, Ouimet wrote that hall directors make an impact on the hall through their leadership skills. “Hall Directors can provide leadership for residents and RAs living in the Residence
Halls. They work to provide a structure from which students can engage successfully with their campus and fellow students,” she wrote. “They help students see what it means to love Smaller. Smarter. by providing 1:1 interactions, proactive and engaging resources and opportunities, and tailoring the experiences in the halls to the residents’ needs and interests.”
“For one, I did not think I would make as many friends this summer as I did. We really bonded fast and got to know each other on a deeper level than I thought possible in eight weeks.” - Azeez Akande, sophomore
in eight weeks.” He wrote that he did not expect to enjoy interacting with the children as much as he did. “While I have no problem with children, sometimes they can really get on my last nerve,” he wrote. “That didn’t happen but a few times and they would come back better the next day.” Akande wrote that he will definitely intern again with Project Transformation next summer. “I had a lot of fun doing the internship and made a whole lot of connections; from the children that were at my site to my fellow interns I feel a strong bond was made and can be strengthen next summer along with some new bonds being made,” Akande wrote. Applications to intern for summer 2019 opened Monday. For more information visit https:// projecttransformation.org/central-texas/
Directors continued from page 1
Director to be informed on what’s happening with the building, staff, and residents,” Dinger wrote. Hiring new hall directors gives Texas Wesleyan an opportunity to take their fresh perspective and the things they’ve seen be successful and translate it to fit within the university and departmental mission and culture, Dinger wrote.
Project
Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dennis Hall wrote in an e-mail that the hall director position is an important one to the community development efforts in residence halls. “The Smaller. Smarter. approach that the Residence Life team has developed help ensure that students are not negatively impacted by the departure of a hall director,” Hall wrote.
continued from page 1 relationships.” Cassie Samuelson, a Project Transformation volunteer and community engagement coordinator, noticed the impact the summer camp had on its interns. “A lot of the interns spoke about their convocation discernment and how whether or not they knew what they wanted to do with the rest of their summer or the rest of their lives, they at least had begun a thought process,” she said. Azeez Akande, a Texas Wesleyan sophomore psychology and Christian studies major, interned with Project Transformation this summer. “I wanted to find something to do this summer as an internship,” he wrote in an email. “Since [Project Transformation] offered me an opportunity to do something in the church while helping children, I decide to pursue this [internship].” He mainly worked at the Meadowbrook site. “I had to create lesson plans for the children
each week so that the overall lesson we wanted for the week was taught and the children had fun,” he wrote. “I also had to make sure the children were safe and followed the rules that had been set for them.” Akande wrote that his favorite part of the summer program was the last day of the program. “The last day of the summer, the children and my fellow leaders just had a nice going away day and showed our love for each other
before everyone had to go back to school,” he wrote. “Some of the children even gave the leaders gifts to remember them by and it was so precious.” Akande wrote that his Project Transformation experience was not what he expected, but more. “For one, I did not think I would make as many friends this summer as I did,” he wrote. “We really bonded fast and got to know each other on a deeper level than I thought possible
campus events
Oct. 3 - Oct. 20
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday Oct. 3
-ASC Workshop @ 3 p.m.
Oct. 7
Oct. 8
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-WGOLF at Dallas Baptist University
Oct. 14
Oct. 15 -WGOLF at Oklahoma City University
Oct. 9 -ASC Workshop @ 12:15 p.m. -WGOLF at Dallas Baptist University -WSOC vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God University @ 1 p.m. (away) -MSOC vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God University @ 4 p.m. (away)
Oct. 16 -ASC Workshop @ 3 p.m. -WGOLF at Oklahoma City University -WSOC vs. University of Arts and Science @ 5 p.m. (home) -MSOC vs. University of Arts and Science @ 7 p.m. (home)
Thursday Oct. 4
- Marjorie Herrera Lewis book launch party @ 12 p.m.
Oct. 10
Oct. 11
-ASC Workshop @ 3 p.m. -Counseling Open House @ 5 p.m.
-N&SS Dean’s Honor Reception @12:15 p.m. -Wind Ensemble Concert @ 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 17
Oct. 18
-ASC Workshop @ 2 p.m.
Friday Oct. 5
-Fall Break; University closed -MTEN vs. Texas Lutheran University @ 8 a.m. (away) -WTEN vs. Texas Lutheran University @ 8 a.m. (away) -VB vs. Langston @ 7 p.m. (away)
Oct. 12 -VB vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State University @ 7 p.m. (home) -MXC at Ranger College @ 8 a.m.
Oct. 19 -MTEN and WTEN vs. Southwestern Christian University @ 8 a.m. (home) -WSOC vs. Mid-America Christian University @ 5 p.m. (home) -MSOC vs.Mid-America Christian University @ 7 p.m. (home) -VB vs. Oklahoma City University @ 7 p.m. (away)
Saturday Oct. 6 -WXC at Oklahoma Baptist University @ 8 a.m. (away) -VB vs. Central Chrsitian College @ 1 p.m., 5 p.m. (away) -WSOC vs. Southwestern Christian University @ 1 p.m. (away) -MSOC vs. Southwestern Christian University @ 3 p.m. (away) -FB vs. Langston University @ 7 p.m. (home)
Oct. 13 -Art Reception: Southern Gothic @ 2 p.m. -VB vs. Wayland Baptist University @ 11 a.m. (home) -FB vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State University @ 2 p.m. (home)
Oct. 20
-WXC at Southwestern College @ 8 a.m. (away) -VB vs. Southwestern Christian University @ 1 p.m. (away) -FB vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God University @ 6 p.m. (away)
Wednesday October 3, 2018| 5
4 |Wednesday October 3, 2018
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Veasey values Texas Wesleyan education C
ongressman Marc Veasey has spent the last six years serving as the United States Representative for Texas’ Congressional District 33. He is up for re-election on Nov. 6 against Republican Willie Billups and Libertarian Jason Reeves. Veasey has worked on the issues closest to him, which include education, health care reform and fighting for the rights of women, minorities, veterans and laborers. He is focusing on these issues as he campaigns in his district, which includes parts of Fort Worth, Grand Prairie and Dallas, and he has been endorsed by both the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News. However, before his success in politics and before becoming a husband and father, Veasey was a mass communication major at Texas Wesleyan, an experience that prepared him for the future. His family has been in Fort Worth since around the 1940s, he said, and he was born and raised here. “I graduated from Arlington Heights High School and eventually went to Texas Wesleyan, which I really liked because it gave me a foundation in a small setting which I thought I would need to be successful in college,” Veasey said. “I would consider myself as well rooted in the community as anyone that is an elected official in Fort Worth for sure.” Veasey developed an interest in politics and broadcast news from his uncle, who worked for Jim Wright, the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. Veasey said that when he was in middle school he enjoyed watching “NBC Nightly News” with Tom Brokaw. “I asked my uncle, ‘How did that person get that job that’s answering those questions?’ and he said, ‘Well they are a spokesperson for the White House or the State Department. Their job is to answer questions for the president without making him look bad,’” Veasey said. It was then that Veasey knew he wanted to go into news, covering politics, and would major in journalism, just like his uncle. Veasey recalled one summer in high school when his friends asked him to come outside to play tennis and he had to turn them down because he was busy watching the Iran-Contra hearings. “I was just enamored with politics,” he said. After graduating from high school, Veasey took classes at Tarrant County College before transferring to Wesleyan. Veasey said he knew he had to choose a school that was local because he could not afford to go to a school far from home. He said he chose Wesleyan after exploring other local universities. “I found Texas Wesleyan, and it was just right for me. The average class had about 25, 20 people in it,” Veasey said. “I was
just like, ‘I think this is home for me.’” Veasey said he was commuter student who worked two jobs at certain points. “I worked the whole time. I was a working student,” he said. “Texas Wesleyan was the type of campus where you could work and do those things.” After graduating from Wesleyan, but before jumping into politics, Veasey worked many different jobs from substituting to retail. He eventually got a job working for the Star-Telegram and then got a job as a congressional staffer, getting his foot in the door in politics. Today, Veasey serves on Texas Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and represents Wesleyan in Congress, which falls in his district. Wesleyan President Frederick Slabach wrote in an email that since Veasey graduated in 1995, he has made his neighbors proud by serving for eight years in the Texas House of Representatives and then the United States Congress for the last six years. Veasey serves on several committees such as the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Throughout that time, he has been a proud member of the Texas Wesleyan community, now serving on the Board of Trustees. We could not be more excited for him to continue his work both here at home in Fort Worth and in Washington, D.C.,” Slabach wrote. Daniel Castro, a staffer for Veasey’s congressional district, said he believes in Veasey because he cares about his community. “He would much rather get invited to a cookout rather than a reception where he is getting an award,” Castro said. “He really loves talking to people.” If he had not worked hard in school, Veasey said, he knows he would not be where he is today. “Education to me is the most important issue that I can think of because it is the difference between what type of life you are going to have and your work ethic to go along with that,” he said. Veasey said if people work hard and are competent and diligent, they will be fine. “You have to be willing to do that and you have to have an education to really be able to fit in from that stand point at a very basic level,” he said. In a recent interview, Veasey seemed confident that he would win in November. He intends to focus primarily on education. “I want to continue to focus on what I can to help young people and help the constituency that I represent be able to have a good education and participate in our economy,” he said. “That is going to be my number one goal.” Story by Hannah Lathen hrlathen@txwes.edu
How to Vote
• Step One: Register to vote. Pick up an application from your local election office and fill it out or download it from access.tarrantcounty.com. To be eligible to vote you must be at least 18 years old by election day, be a US citizen and be a resident of the county you are are voting in. You also cannot be a convicted felon. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 9. • Step Two: VOTE. Early voting is Oct. 22-Nov. 2. To find out where you can vote early in Tarrant County, go to access. tarrantcounty.com. If you do not vote early, Nov. 6 is your only chance to vote and you can only vote at the precinct written on the Voter Register Card you will receive in the mail. Photo by Hannah Lathen Congressman Marc Veasey (right) talks to protesters last spring about the 16-hour block rate.
BALLOT
Photo by Hannah Lathen Congressman Marc Veasey represents Texas Senate District 33, which includes parts of Fort Worth, Grand Prairie and Dallas. He has held the seat since 2013 and is up for re-elction this year.
Photo contributed by Marc Veasey Congressman Marc Veasey graduated from Texas Wesleyan in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication.
Campus
6 |Wednesday | October 3, 2018
Arts&Entertainment
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Wesleyan staff win big at State Fair Elena Maldonado
ecmaldonado@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan faculty and staff will have award-winning food items displayed at the State Fair of Texas this year. They submitted their entries during the prefair competition. The State Fair started Sept. 28. Hannah Owsley, administrative assistant for the Office of the Provost, entered her spicy sweet tomato jam in the vegetable jam section in this year’s competition, winning an honorable mention ribbon. In an email, Owsley wrote it is her first year participating in the State Fair of Texas competitions. “In the pickle competition, I entered my sweet and spicy pickles which I refer to as my sweet and sassy pickles,” Owsley wrote. Owsley wrote about becoming interested in participating in the State Fair competition. “Since I was a little girl, I have wanted to compete in the State Fair competitions,” she wrote. “My grandfather Edward B. Owsley, Jr. showed me the old Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ‘State Fair’ and I was hooked!” Owsley wrote that she was excited when she discovered that people from Wesleyan were also listed as prizewinners at the State Fair. “It’s exciting to find other people who are interested in similar things that you do outside of work and class,” she wrote. She wrote that, surprisingly, her favorite part of participating in State Fair competitions was not winning. “Once I saw [Connie Whitt-Lambert] was on the winner list, I reached out to her, and she said [Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘State Fair’] is the reason she started entering years ago,” Owsley wrote. “If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said my favorite part was the competition and winning, which don’t get me wrong is still pretty high up there, but now my favorite part is the comradeship that it has created. Little did I know I was entering with people I knew and much less that one of them started entering for the same reason I did.” Whitt-Lambert, professor of theatre, has been participating in the State Fair competitions since 1994. “I had some peaches that were too ripe to eat but too good to throw away so I mashed them up, added some sugar and spices, put it all in jars and boiled them in a canner for a while,” she wrote in an email. “I had NEVER done any canning in my life and wasn’t really sure what
Photo contributed by Hannah Owsley One of the award-winning dishes was sweet and spicy pickles from Administrative Assistant Hannah Owsley. Photo contributed by Connie Whitt-Lambert Several Texas Wesleyan faculty and staff won awards for their food, which will be featured at this year’s State Fair of Texas. The winning foods include sweet tomato jam and pear butter.
I’d concocted. So, I called my mom who lived in West Virginia and told her what I’d created. She told me it sounded like I’d made peach butter, and I entered the State Fair just like [the characters] did in [‘State Fair’]. Ironically, I don’t really enjoy cooking so everyone was quite surprised, especially me, when I won the Blue Ribbon that very first year.” Lambert wrote that she entered the butter competition this year. “This year I entered ‘Peach Butter’ which received second place in that category, and ‘Pear Butter’ which received honorable mention,” she wrote. Lambert wrote that over the course of 20 years, she has entered a large range of jams and butter and won more than 40 ribbons. “I’ve also entered several photographs and won honorable mention twice for photography,” Lambert wrote. She wrote that she has been awarded 11 first place ribbons, seven second place, 10 third place, one fourth place, and 12 honorable mentions.
Entering State Fair competitions has become a tradition for Lambert. “I love entering the fair,” she wrote. “It makes me feel like I am a part of a community. The ladies at the entry desk down in the Creative Arts Building know me by now, so it’s like visiting old friends whenever I take my entries. I have fair friends here at Texas Wesleyan like Linda Carroll and Hannah Owsley. It’s nice cheering for each other when we win and commiserating when we don’t.” Carroll, professor of English, is also a longtime participant in the State Fair competitions. She wrote in an email that she began participating in competitions 15 years ago. “I began to enter my own creations: dill pickles, orange marmalade, etc.,” she wrote. “I also enter photography some years, but I have only won one third place ribbon in photography, which is my favorite category.” Carroll wrote that she did not enter any State Fair competitions this year, but her family was there to represent. She wrote that all of her family enters the
pre-fair competition of preserves: jellies, jams, and pickles. “My husband Johnny Carroll entered his preserves and won four ribbons; he usually wins around eight to 10,” she wrote. “Johnny has his recipes in the State Fair Cookbook each year for his first-place preserves. Our daughter [Audrea Carroll-Weimer] usually has one of her recipes in as well.” Carroll also wrote that her daughter Annette Luke entered a State Fair cooking competition last year with her son Weston Luke. “The family loved it when Weston beat his mom,” she wrote. “Weston won third and Annette won honorable mention. The competition was like ‘Chopped’ where they received a bag of ingredients and had to prepare a dessert in 30 minutes. Weston’s cake is in this year’s cookbook.” Carroll encourages people to participate in State Fair competitions. “Go, have fun!” Carroll wrote. “It does not matter if you get a ribbon or not. The competition is what is fun. Be creative.” The State Fair of Texas runs Sept. 28 through Oct. 21. For more information, go to bigtex.com.
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Trachier transitions into full-time coach
Photos by Thomas Moore Steve Trachier talks to his players after warmups and before the team starts running drills. Former head coach Bill Franey (white shirt) watches; he frequently attends practice and gives advice.
Thomas Moore ttmoore@txwes.edu This isn’t women’s basketball head coach Steve Trachier’s first time around the block. After dividing his time last season between being Texas Wesleyan’s athletic director and head coach, Trachier begins the 2018-2019 season just doing the latter. “It’s the difference between having two full time jobs and one,” Trachier says. “It allows me to spend time working kids in my own program and developing our program.” Trachier’s move from athletic director to head coach came during an eventful time in the school’s athletic history. The men’s basketball team won a national championship in the spring of 2017, and a few months later football returned after Contributed by Ryan a 75-year hiatus. Keating “What I’m proud of is the kids,” Trachier says. “I’m most proud of the fact that academically, the athletic department has done better and better every year.” Trachier chalks up the successes to an athletic program that stresses results not only during game days, but in the classroom as well. “You can witness that in terms of the NAIA all-American scholars and the number of Commissioner’s Honor Roll scholar-athletes that we’ve had over the last five or six years,” Trachier says. “We are in the business of edu-
Lady Rams’ 2017 Record Overall
Conference
9-19
6-14
cation and I am most proud of the staff in the athletic department for putting an emphasis on education and getting degrees.” According to ramsports.net, in 2017-2018 Wesleyan had 147 students on the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the third year in a row the university led the conference. New Athletic Director Ricky Dotson witnessed firsthand the expansion of the department under Trachier. Dotson, who begain his tenure as athletic director in June, attests to Trachier’s leadership and the culture he built in the department. “Steve has been a wonderful leader of our department,” Dotson says. “When you look back on his time as AD, the athletic department grew tremendously in size, competitiveness, and integrity.” Trachier’s help during this move proved to be invaluable to Dotson, who was the assistant coach for the men’s golf team before replacing Steve Trachier offers guidance to the team during an offensive drill during a recent practice. Trachier. “He guided me through a transition period example of that success. Gleason ended the books, he just does everything he can to help and continues to help me when something 2017-2018 campaign with a minimum 3.25 us. comes up that I don’t really know the back- GPA, cementing her eligibility for the SAC ground,” Dotson says. “His assistance has pro- Academic All-Conference Team during her The women’s basketball team begins the vided a continuity within our department that sophomore year, according to ramsports.net. 2018-2019 season Nov. 1 against Tarleton I believe is essential to sustaining success.” “He’s really for the players,” Gleason says. State University in Stephenville. Junior shooting guard Nicole Gleason is an “Even if it’s little things like needing socks or
Steve Trachier Quick Facts 1) Earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Texas State University.
2) Worked as a teacher, coach and administrator in public education before coming to Wesleyan.
3) Worked as Texas Wesleyan’s athletic director from 2011 to 2018.
4) Bgan working as head coach for women’s basketball during the 2017-2018 season. Information from ramsports.net
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eSports boots up teams and practices Rachell Aguilar
rlaguilar@txwes.edu
The electronic sports and gaming program that launched at Texas Wesleyan in the spring began tryouts and practices the first week of school this semester. Eugene Frier, executive director of eSports and recreation, said there are six teams in the program including League of Legends, FIFA, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros and Madden. Overwatch began their season in September with a tournament in Irving; Hearthstone and Madden seasons begin in October; and several teams start their seasons next spring. Frier said 30 more students than were participating in the spring have signed up and turned in paperwork. Each team practices on its own. “Our practice that we do depends on the game and how long it takes to complete matches,” Frier said. “For example, right now Overwatch will be practicing 12 or so hours a week and in that time they will get through four-six games.” Frier said tryouts are during both game season and in the off season. “Tryouts involve myself, the coaches of the teams watching the players play the game that they are interested in and we evaluate their performance,” he said. “I also speak with each of our recruits one on one to talk about the program and give some basic expectations.” Frier said fitness is very important for the players. “Our workouts are expected from all of our players,” Frier said. “We don’t have a set workout schedule just yet but most of the workouts that we will be doing will involve lots of cardio and lots of weights.” Frier said there will be a lot of exciting things happening with the program, including different teams going to tournaments as well as events being hosted on campus and social media management positions being available. “If everything thing goes according to plan for the program, we will have at least 40 students on each of the six competitive teams,”
Keep up with eSports:
Photo by Rachell Aguilar Lukien Sheremeta, a freshmen chemistry major and member of the Overwatch Team, practices during his free time. The Texas Wesleyan eSports program began recruitung last spring and has begun practicing for competitions this semester. Overwatch’s season starts next spring.
“The time that we do spend practicing together is dedicated to having a team dynamic and making sure that we as a team understand what everybody else is playing and how they are doing.” - Jacob Chesney, senior Frier said. Cameron Bennett, coach and captain of the Super Smash Bros team, said that eSports is different from regular sports in a way because it is more about thinking about reflexes, strategies and overall knowledge of the game. “You need to be able to understand the mechanics of the game, such as how long a certain character in the game moves within
TXWES Esports & Gaming @TXWESesports
the certain amount of frames,” said Bennett, a senior criminal justice major. Senior business major Jacob Chesney, coach of the Hearthstone team and coordinator of eSports, feels that some of these games are much more practice intensive. “The game Hearthstone for instance is much more like Kendell or chess,” Chesney said. “It’s a game of more decision making
(rather than) reaction time.” Chesney said games like Hearthstone can be practiced alone. “The time that we do spend practicing together is dedicated to having a team dynamic and making sure that we as a team understand what everybody else is playing and how they are doing,” Chesney said. Frier said he and Chesney never going to be done looking for people to be on the teams. “We want as many people who are involved in the program that are interested in being involved in the program,” Frier said. “I’ve literally had students come up to me and say, ‘I love video games, but I’m terrible at them. Can I do stuff?’ We want to teach these students to care, but we also want to teach them to get better.”
TXWES Esports & Gaming @txwes_esports
Eugene Frier ejfrier@txwes.edu
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