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Pg. 2: Can global warming end the world as we know it? Pg. 4: Who will you side with for the 2018 midterm election? Pg. 6: Theatre Wesleyan to capture “The Hostage” on Nov. 1. Pg. 8: Whatever happened to womens lacrosse?
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WeDNesDaY Oct. 31, 2018 Vol. 102 • No. 9 www.therambler.org
international students share their superstitions
Wesleyan unwraps killer candy myth DAVID CAsON dlcason@txwes.edu
Photo by hannah Lathen Sophomore biochemistry major and international student Anahita Keer discusses supersititions from her home country of India.
HANNAH LATHeN hrlathen@txwes.edu
Superstitions such as not walking past black cats and avoiding walking under ladders have played a role in American culture, but they are a much bigger deal in other parts of the world. Superstitions are a major part of Indian culture, international student and biochemistry sophomore Anahita Keer said. “India in general is a really superstitious place since there are so many religions,” Keer said. In India there are priests called Babas that people go to for certain big events in their lives. “Let’s say there is a wedding. They look at your horoscope, your astrology and read the numbers. Then they say, ‘OK, you should get married on this day, at this place,’ otherwise if you don’t get married on this date, it is inauspicious,” she said. If someone is going to have a baby, then the priest will tell you what the first letter of their name should be as well at the number of letters in their name. Keer said she had a friend whose name was Mayank, and it was decided that he needed to have seven letters in his name based on his chart. “They legally got their name changed to add an extra ‘y,’’’ Keer said. “They said he needed to have seven letters in his name or an odd number, so his mom legally changed his name to add, Mayyank.” Keer said it is common to see people hang chili peppers and limes in their cars to ward off ghosts. When leaving the house, people should eat yogurt and sugar before they go. The number three means bad luck.
The spooky season is upon us and that means that trick or treating will be happening soon. Whether you are passing out the candy or the one receiving it, you might inspect the wrappers to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. You probably won’t be eating candy apples or homemade treats of any type. But have you ever wondered why? Out of 12 Texas Wesleyan students polled, 10 said their parents made them sort through their candy before they could eat it. “My parents would dump out my candy and check it before I was able to eat it,” said criminal justice major Allysa DeLeon. The myth that someone is randomly poisoning children has been around for decades. The most famous case in Texas involved 8-year-old Timothy Marc O’Bryan, who was poisoned after eating a Pixy Stix laced with cyanide that he got while he got while trick or treating in 1974. But what the news failed to cover was that his father, Ronald Clark O’Bryan from Houston, intentionally poisoned his son to collect a large insurance policy. O’Bryan, dubbed “The Candyman,” was executed by lethal injection in 1984, according to chron.com, the Houston Chronicle’s website. “We were all shocked that someone would kill their own son, their own flesh and blood, for a lousy ... $40,000 life insurance policy,” said former Harris County Assistant D.A. Mike Hinton, according to chron.com. Several other Wesleyan students said they and their parents were concerned enough about the stories of poisoned candy to search
Graphic by hannah onder International students share supersitions from India, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mexico, and Serbia.
“If a woman’s left eye twitches, it is good luck or you are going to hear some good news,” she said. Keer said the most common and important superstition in India is always handing money to someone with your right hand. “If you hand it with your left hand, it is bad luck,” she said. Also when giving gifts such as money, Keer said, it has to be an odd amount. “If you give $100, it has to be $101,” she said. “Or if you have to give $50, you have to give $51 as a gift.” Blen Hussain, a political science sophomore and an international student from Ethiopia, said one of the biggest parts of her culture is
to respect one’s parents or else you are cursed. “No matter what your parents say, even if it is ridiculous, you listen to them,” Hussain said. “If your parents say don’t date, don’t do it.” Hussain said that if a person’s left palm itches, it is believed that they are about to receive money, and if the right palm itches, they are about to lose money. “If the inside of one’s foot itches, it is believed that that person is about to travel,” she said. Ethiopians believe in bouba, Hussain said, which is an evil being often associated with jealousy. “For example, if a beautiful woman is unable to find a
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Graphic by hannah onder Students recall their parents checking through their candy on Halloween.
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Thomas leads rams into the 2018-2019 season THOMAs MOORe ttmoore@txwes.edu
Senior guard Rob Thomas leads from the front. The 5-foot-10-inch 185 pound Odessa native has cemented himself as a key leader on 2017-2018 Texas Wesleyan men’s basketball team, according to head coach Brennen Shingleton. The team was ranked No. 11 in the NAIA in a poll released Oct. 23. “He displays leadership with hard work and consistency,” Shingleton said. “He’s even balanced every day, he’s a good communicator with us and with his teammates.” Shingleton knows firsthand the difficulty of learning to be a leader, and he maintains that although Thomas is new at this, his intentions are in the right place.
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“I think his instincts are right. Rob [Thomas] does what is best for the team,” Shingleton said. “He does what he needs in order for us to win and that displays true leadership.” Thomas claims that the events leading to him coming to Wesleyan were almost serendipitous; previously he was playing at Southern Mississippi under head coach Doc Sadler. “It sounds crazy, but it just sort of happened,” Thomas says. “I was playing at Southern Mississippi and I was struggling.” The 21-year-old liberal studies major credits Southern Mississippi’s video coordinator and Texas Wesleyan alumnus Doug Compton with leading him to Wesleyan’s basketball program. “Doug had told me how great the program was here,” Thomas says. “They [Wesleyan] had just won a national championship, so I decided
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Photo by Thomas moore Senior guard Rob Thomas (right) practices for the fall 2018 basketball season. The Rams were ranked No. 11 in the NAIA in a Oct. 23 poll.
The Eunice & James L. West Library celebrated its 30th birthday Thursday with cake, singing, and lots of free supplies. The library staff served two birthdays cakes, gave out T-shirts to students and faculty who sang happy birthday to the library and also gave out keychains, pens, and lanyards to people who came to celebrate with them...