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WEDNESDAY Sept. 19, 2018 Vol. 102 • No. 6 www.therambler.org
Martin Center construction progresses Fall 2019 The Nick and Lou Martin Center will open
Photo by Hannah Onder The center of campus is fenced in for the Martin Center construction.
Hannah Onder hlonder@txwes.edu
Summer 2019 -Completing the building -Moving in the furniture -Moving in the staff
Fall 2018 -Poured first-floor cement slab -Erecting the steel on the building pad -Pouring the secondfloor cement -Setting the roof -Completing all the steel structure and floor setting
Summer 2018 -Construction started -Completition of underground utilities -Replaced ground soil -Drilled 130 piers -Finished perimeter grappling
Jada Elzie feels like the Nick and Lou Martin Center is something that should have been at Texas Wesleyan to begin with and is something she’d like to see before she graduates. “I feel like it’s something that should have happened a long time ago,” said Elzie, a junior business management major. “I don’t want to go to the library or sit in the lobby to chill. I think it will be a place where all the students can come together and do many different things.” Construction on the center began in June and is projected to be completed in June 2019 for an August opening. According to txwes.edu, the 44,000-square-foot building will be the biggest capital improvement project at Wesleyan in the last century, and it will be the central hub for student life and engagement on campus. “It’s been a fun project, but it’s kind of funny that it’s been two, two
and half years of design work for 12 months of construction,” said Brian Franks, the executive director of facilities, development, operations and emergency services. “There was a tremendous amount of behindthe-scenes action going on for the last two years, so it’s pretty exciting to see it come out of the ground finally. It’s a nice project because you don’t get to build university centers very often.” Franks said the center will include more dining options, a variety of comfortable seating and furniture, student engagement and admissions offices, study space, a game room, an atrium, a ballroom, the bookstore, and student organization meeting
Photo by Hannah Onder Construction on the Martin Center began in June and is expected to be completed by June 2019 in time for the fall 2019 semester.
space. “It will have a dining space that will accommodate about 65 people,” Franks said. “There’s a variety of seating such as banquets, bar tops, high tops, and tables. All of that’s being designed with comfort in mind. We want to encourage students, staff, and faculty to come hang out there.” Franks said the food places will be operated by the university’s dining service, Aramark. “We’ll probably brew Starbucks in the building with the agreement that
Aramark had with Starbucks they offer most of everything that typical Starbucks would have,” Franks said. “Tentatively, Aramark is looking at doing personal burritos and personal pizzas, so that’s two different spots similar to what they do at the WEE currently. Something that’s new to campus is Which Wich, which is in the last area there, and then it’s a large drink station with the freestyle soda machines.” Franks said the construction was
CONSTRUCTION. page 3
Students react to aftermath of Wesleyan’s deregistration policy Hannah Lathen
hrlathen@txwes.edu
In August, senior theater major Julian Rodriguez wrote an open letter to Texas Wesleyan University on Facebook about why he could not return in the fall and finish his degree. “Here I sit losing everything I have worked so hard for because you decided to implement a payment plan policy that has so negatively impacted many of your students,” wrote Rodriguez, who had been a resident assistant and a member of -Completition and numerous student organizations approval of paperwork and including Ram Squad. permits “Smaller. Smarter? Not anymore,” he wrote. Rodriguez is one of the students that have left Wesleyan since deregistration began in August. One hundred and 10 students are no longer at the university, Vice President of Finance and Administration Donna Nance wrote in an email. The deregistration policy at Wesleyan was first implemented this Graphic by Hannah Onder semester. The university’s website A rough timeline of the constuction states that students registered for of the center from Brian Franks. classes must “assume financial
Spring 2018
For more news and sports watch Rambler TV on Channel 25
Photo by Hannah Onder The Byrne Construction company has been contracted to build the Nick and Lou Martin Center.
responsibility for tuition and fees as established by the University and approved by the University Board of Trustees. Students must meet financial obligations or will be dropped from classes.” Students were deregistered from classes starting in August if they had not paid their bill in full or set up a
that be spring, students are coming in, they are signing up, taking out debt, in some cases, many thousands of dollars and then they are not able to pay that debt,” Veilleux said. “So that causes a couple of issues.” The first issue is that it puts the student in debt to the university. “That is unfair to the student
“We need to put in best practices that allow us to meet our financial obligations as a university as a business. We don’t do the student a favor and we don’t do the university a favor by not being able to pay our bills.” - John Veilleux payment plan. Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications John Veilleux said the policy was put in place because the school was finding itself in debt at the end of each semester from students not paying their bills. “Whether that be fall, whether
because then that student can’t get their transcript. That student can’t move on to another university,” he said. “They are sort of locked in because they now have this debt that they have to pay off.” The second issue, Veilleux said, is that Wesleyan can’t appropriately budget for the school year and then
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work within it without funds from student enrollment. “By bringing in students into the university and not providing that revenue or making arrangements to pay for it, it doesn’t help the university meet its budget obligations and therefore bills, lights, paying faculty, making sure kids have supplies in the classroom or whatever the case may be, all the various costs that go with running a university,” he said. Veilleux said last year Wesleyan budgeted to be $600,000 in bad debt but ended up being more than $1 million in bad debt because students did not pay their bills. “We need to put in best practices that allow us to meet our financial obligations as a university as a business,” he said. “We don’t do the student a favor and we don’t do the university a favor by not being able to pay our bills.” The deregistration is set to stay in place, he said. “There are going to be opportunities that go along with the service of deregistration. I know there have been some hiccups along the way with payment plans,” he
DEREGISTRATION. page 3
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Texas Wesleyan’s Student Government Association will be sponsoring the first 100 student runners in the 5K run in November. SGA passed the bill at Friday’s general business meeting and will allocate $1,000 to the Texas Wesleyan Alumni Association, which hosts the run. Athletic Representative Lynzie Moore presented the bill...
2 | Wednesday | September 19, 2018
Opinion
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People shouldn’t lose jobs over old posts EDITORIAL
What if one written word could ruin your whole career? In 2018, it’s become a common trend to see people fired for old comments made five, 10 and, recently, 35 years ago. According to the Indianapolis Star, in late August retired Indy 500 and Formula One driver Derek Daly was fired from his job as a longtime racing analyst for WISH-TV. This occurred after an interview surfaced of him using the n-word in reference to himself as a scapegoat more than three decades ago. Daly, who at the time had recently come over from Ireland, released this statement on Twitter following his firing: “I had no idea in this country that phrase had a horribly different meaning and connotation, as it was commonplace in Ireland. After moving to the United States, I learned what a derogatory term it was. When I was first informed of this, I was mortified at the offense I might have caused people. I have therefore never used the word since.” Was it fair that Daly was fired in 2018 for a radio comment he made in the early 1980s? No, it was not. Daly claims he was a foreigner that, at the time, didn’t know any better and it doesn’t seem like any other scenarios with him using the word have surfaced. From that, we can believe his statement that at the time he just didn’t know America’s connotations for the word and has since learned from it. Besides, do you want someone judging your character based on comments you made three decades ago? No, you don’t and neither does anyone else. This is because we know people can change. Individuals can learn and grow over the years to where when they look back in hindsight at their old opinions, they’ll think about how stupid they were. Heck, it doesn’t even take years for people to change their opinion; just take
that selfie you posted last week that you now wonder why you posted it. Another example would be James Gunn, the writer/director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. According to People, Walt Disney Studios fired Gunn in late July for decade-old tweets that involved jokes about pedophilia and rape. “Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous or taboo,” Gunn wrote on Twitter. “As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. In the past I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I felt truly sorry and meant every word of my apologies.” Gunn said he doesn’t blame his past self, but he recognizes he is human and humans make mistakes and grow from them. During his career, according to snopes.com, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has earned more than $1.5 billion in global box office. Was it worth it to fire a talented filmmaker in the middle of scripting a new movie over tweets made a decade ago? No. It’s going to take some effort to find a decent replacement writer, and if Disney had a problem with Gunn’s old tweets they shouldn’t have hired him in the first place. Why don’t people just delete their inappropriate comments? Some people are smart and cautious enough to go through their social media before applying to jobs. However, it can be hard to keep track of every stupid thing your younger self thought was cool. Also, society’s opinions on different topics can change, and something that was once considered appropriate can be considered inappropriate now. If employers have issues with what their employees have posted on social media, they shouldn’t have hired them in the first place. It is possible for employers to check people’s public social media pages and it isn’t that time
Cartoon by Hannah Onder People shouldn’t be losing their jobs over old social media posts. People grow in chaacter through experience, and employers should check social media before they hire people.
consuming for the average person. Texas Wesleyan recently suspended offensive coordinator Kyle Cox because of tweets he made four to five years ago as a college student that were called racist and homophobic by people on Twitter. This situation should never have occurred. If Texas Wesleyan has a problem with these old tweets, Cox shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. It doesn’t take an unreasonable amount of time to dig through someone’s public social media accounts. It was because someone took the time to dig through Cox’s social media when the university didn’t that these issues erupted. Therefore, if employers are going to make a big deal out of people digging up their employees’ old tweets or comments they should take a more active role in looking into their job candidates’ social media. The same goes for politics. When we elect people, we should do our research and go
digging into their social media before they’re elected. Once someone is elected they should be judged on the character they display and the actions they take. Should there be a cut-off date when old tweets and comments shouldn’t matter? Yes. People say stupid things when they’re young that don’t reflect their adult opinion. When people are young, they can be exposed to negative environments where things are said that may be considered inappropriate to the general public, and they just don’t know any better. When they grow and experience different things and meet more people, they can learn to understand that the n-word, for example, is not acceptable. Therefore, people should not be fired for old tweets and comments. If they aren’t using inappropriate language or opinions on social media now, they shouldn’t be penalized for what they have grown past.
Journalists are not America’s enemies Hannah Lathen Content Producer hrlathen@txwes.edu
To my Wesleyan community, I want you to know that despite what you hear from President Donald Trump, the media, which includes myself, is NOT the enemy of the people. This past July, Trump tweeted, “The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media,” following time he spent in Russia. Later that month he tweeted, “The Fake News Media is going CRAZY. They are totally unhinged and in many ways, after witnessing first hand the damage they do to so many innocent and decent people, I enjoy watching. In 7 years, when I am no longer in office, their ratings will dry up and they will be gone!” Trump seems to be the only one unhinged. The phrase “enemy of the people” goes back in history to when it was used in Nazi Germany and by the Soviet Communist Party by Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin. In August, Trump tweeted, “The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to
the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!” “Fake news” seems to be one of Trump’s favorite phrases to throw around and it is usually directed at outlets such as CNN and NBC. His tantrums toward the media have negative consequences not on just the media, but
The role of journalists is crucial to a functioning society simply because people need to know what is going on. A free press is one of the most important rights one can have in this country; that is why it is in the First Amendment. At every student newspaper I have worked at, it is engrained in us to tell stories truthfully
“The role of journalists is cruical to a functioning society simply because people need to know what is going on. A free press is one of the most important rights one can have in this country; that is why it is in the First Amendment.” - Hannah Lathen all of the American people. His words lead people to having serious distrust of the industry. As a student journalist who aspires to go into media, I have a great amount of respect for those who work extremely hard to keep the public informed on what is happening around the world. Trump’s words disgust me because so many people are actively trying to reveal to the world the truth about what is happening and because Trump has a skewed view of that, journalists’ work is being discredited.
and it is taken very seriously. The first thing I learned in one of my introduction to journalism classes was to maintain truth and accuracy in my work. While journalists strive to be fair and accurate, mistakes happen but correcting them is also a big part of the job. The media plays a significant role in society and with or without the help of Trump, I would like to see more appreciation for the journalists who are trying to put spotlights on the truth. The sole reason I decided to make this my career is because I value awareness and
“We are not afraid to follow the truth... wherever it may lead.” — Thomas Jefferson Print/Web Content Producers: Hannah Onder, Hannah Lathen, Tina Huynh, Elena Maldonado, LaTerra Wair
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Advisers: Dr. David Ferman, Dr. Ngozi Akinro Faculty Liaison: Dr. Kay Colley Publisher: Frederick Slabach
Rambler TV Director: Tina Huynh
Editorial Staff: Hannah Onder, Elena Maldonado, LaTerra Wair
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Graphic by Hannah Lathen President Donald Trump has often reffered to the media as the “enemy of the people.” This phrase was also used by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and Joseph Goebbels in Nazi Germany.
I want to make sure the public is exposed to as much truth as possible. I only hope that one day people on both sides see the hatred Trump is spewing and decide to view things on their own and form opinions based on facts. Do not take Trump’s word for it. The only “fake news” being put out is that the media is the enemy of the people.
Rams up Thumbs up to the football team beating Texas College for their first win of the season. Thumbs up to Hispanic Hertitage Month Sept. 15Oct. 15. Thumbs up to cooler weather. Thumbs up to the volleyball team’s SAC conference record of 5-1.
Rams down Thumbs down to students being deregistererd from classes. Thumbs down to campus contruction limiting walkways. Thumbs down to the lack of parking on campus. Thumbs down to allergies on the Wesleyan campus.
Wednesday | September 19, 2018|3
News
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CONSTRUCTION continued from page 1
ahead of schedule for a few weeks in August due to good weather and Franks and others being on top of project paperwork; however, rain and other bad weather can slow down the project. “They’re doing everything that they can to build that momentum to gain initial days, and that’s all in good effort,” Franks said. “Hopefully we’ll continue that momentum. Things are looking good right now. There’re no issues to speak of. There haven’t been any budget overruns or any unforeseen issues.” While Franks can’t control the weather, he said both the construction company and architect working on the center have institutional knowledge and experience from working on previous Wesleyan construction projects. “The construction company, the general contractor, is Byrne Construction,” Franks said. “They’ve built just about everything new on this campus, all the new construction and major renovations on this campus in the last 20 or 30 years. They’re also a 90-year-old company, so they know what they’re doing. The architect that is working with us is Bennet Benner Partners. They’ve been the architect of record for the last 10, 15 years. “It’s a very well-designed building, and it’s being built by a very reputable contractor, so all of that goes hand-in-hand with completing the project in budget and on time. We’re very lucky and very excited to have those two teams here on campus.” However, it can be a struggle to go to
DEREGISTRATION
school on a campus with active construction occurring, said Dr. Amy Bell, an associate professor of Spanish. “It’s a little irritating being in class and having the noise go on,” Bell said. “Students have to find alternate routes to get to class, so it’s like a labyrinth around campus. It makes everything a little bit more difficult, but it’s so that we can grow, so I’m grinning and baring it.” Bell said she likes seeing the growth on campus and around the community and hopes the center will benefit both the students and
parking area, the need for that will go away, so we’ll be able to start shrinking the construction fence, site down.” While working on the center, Franks said, the construction company has also been fixing the sidewalks in the area. “A lot of our sidewalks were very old, and some had trip hazards so we’re taking this opportunity to improve those sidewalks that’s within the construction site,” Franks said. “Some of those have already been done.” As for the center, Franks said the
“It’s a very well designed building, and it’s being built by a very reputable contractor, so all of that goes hand-in-hand with completing the project on time. We’re very lucky to have those two teams here on campus.”
- Brian Franks the community. “I hope it’s a real community locus that brings people together,” Bell said, “just like the renovation on Rosedale.” Franks said as the construction progresses the construction fence area will continue to shrink. “Currently we have marked routing for students and visitors on campus,” Franks said. “As the construction site shrinks, I’d say about mid-fall use of all of the horseshoe clocktower
underground utilities, ground soil replacements, as well as the drilling for 130 piers and the perimeter grappling, have been completed. “Moving forward, we’re looking at pouring the first floor slab,” Franks said. “That’s scheduled to happen the second week of September and immediately after that you’ll start seeing steel being erected on the building pad. Then about two or three weeks after the first floor slab is poured all that steel will go
Photo by Hannah Onder The Byrne Construction company has built most of the construction projects on campus in the last 20 to 30 years.
in place and then the concrete for the second floor will go in place. Then in another two weeks you’ll have the roof being set, so they’ll move very quickly. By the end of November all of the steel structure will be in place and in all the floors will be set.” Franks said the first tour of the construction site will be on Nov. 3 during alumni weekend and homecoming. “That will be open to everyone and anyone,” Franks said. “Even though it’s a Saturday and the site will probably be closed, we’re actually going to open up the construction fence and have guided tours by me and the superintendent of Byrne. We take probably about groups of 30 just so that we can manage them up to the building pad and explain how we got there and where we’re at and talk a little bit about project completion dates.”
continued from page 1
Graphic by Hannah Lathen Texas Wesleyan implemented a new deregistration policy this semester that is here to stay.
said. “I think we want to make sure we have more flexible payment plans out there.” Dean of Freshman Students Joe Brown said
the deregistration policy affects returning students the most. “For them it is a real shock and when you
factor in the same time the university put a cap on hours, the 16-hour cap, with some exceptions, returning students were hit with the 16-hour cap, plus, ‘OK. You are going to have to set a payment plan up,’” Brown said. Brown said the university lost some students because they were unable to make the first payment of the payment plan. However, he sees both sides. “I see why we can’t have $1.1 million in student debt for students who chose to come here who basically sat in classes, were taught, faculty were taught, labs were done, and they basically had what we call goods and services and then end up not totally paying the balance,” he said. Student Government Association President Alyssa Hutchinson said she was one of the returning students who got deregistered. She said her issues with deregistration are with how the policy was implemented. “That was a frustrating experience,” Hutchinson said. She said that for three weeks before the first deregistration, she was passed around from office to office trying to figure out when her
scholarships would be applied to her account before she would ultimately be pulled from classes. “No one person could deal with what I was trying to deal with, they just kept sending me to another person,” she said. “I have heard that experience has happened to a lot of people in having to do that. It was very scary.” Hutchinson said much of her frustration stems from when Financial Aid introduced the policy to SGA last semester. She said it was presented to the organization with three options. “You could either pay in full, make a payment plan or you could talk to financial aid and give them whatever they need to not get deregistered,” Hutchinson said. “You have told them your situation.” The three options were the only reason SGA supported deregistration, she said. “Whenever I got deregistered, I had asked them what I could do to not get deregistered, the cashier’s office told me I could either make a payment plan or pay it in full,” she said. “We were literally told one thing and given another.”
campus events
Sept. 19 - Oct. 6
Sept. 23
Sept. 24
-MTEN vs. TBA @ 8 a.m. -MGOLF (home) -WTEN vs. TBA @ 8 a.m. - West Library Snap Shot Day @ 9 a.m.
Sept. 30
Oct. 1
-Theatre Wesleyan “Tartuffe” @ 2 p.m. -Greater Fort Worth Community Band Concert @ 3 p.m.
-MGOLF at Lewis University -Last day to drop classes -Art Exhibit: Southern Gothic @ 10 a.m.
Sept. 25 -WSOC vs. Wayland Baptist University @ 5 p.m. (away) -MSOC vs. Wayland Baptist University @ 7 p.m. (away) -Grad Fair @ 12 p.m. - Banned book talk @ 12:15 p.m. - PAC Dooms Day Escape Room @ 5 p.m. -Senior Recitial: David Walter @ 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2
-MGOLF at Lewis University -MSOC vs. Oklahoma City University @ 7 p.m. (home) -WSOC vs. Oklahoma City University @ 5 p.m. (home) -VB vs. Wiley College @ 6 p.m. (away) -Faculty Recital: Jose Cubela & Chamber Ensemble @ 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19
Sept. 20
-ASC Workshop @ 2 p.m.
- North Texas Giving Day - New Smaller Smarter commerial & free T-shirt @ 12:30 p.m. -Game Night @ 3 p.m. -Theatre Wesleyan Opening Night of “Tartuffe” @ 7:30 p.m
Sept. 26
Sept. 27 -Graduate and Professional Fair @ 1 p.m -Game Night @ 3 p.m. -Counseling Open House @ 5 p.m. -Theatre Wesleyan “Tartuffe” @ 7:30 p.m. -Faculty Recital Showcase @ 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 3
Oct. 4
Sept. 21 -MTEN vs. TBA @ 8 a.m. -WTEN vs. TBA @ 8 a.m. -VB vs. John Brown University @ 7 p.m. (home) -Theatre Wesleyan “Tartuffe” @ 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 -VB vs. Mid-America Christian University @ 7 p.m. (away) -WXC at Midwestern State University @ 5 p.m. -Theatre Wesleyan “Tartuffe” @ 7:30 p.m.
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)
Sept. 22 -MTEN vs. TBA @ 8 a.m. -WTEN vs. TBA @ 8 a.m. - FB vs. Arizona Christian University @ 6:30 p.m. (away) -WXC at Our Lady of the Lake -Theatre Wesleyan “Tartuffe” @ 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 29 -MSOC vs. Central Christian College @ 12 p.m. (home) -VB vs. University of Science and Arts @ 1 p.m. (away) - WSOC vs. Central Christian College @ 2 p.m. (home) -Theatre Wesleyan “Tartuffe” @ 7:30 p.m.
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)
4 |Wednesday September 19 , 2018
Campus
Flat Earthers believe TheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.
Hannah Lathen
hrlathen@txwes.edu
Most people do not question the shape of the Earth. It is something explained to us as children; we accept it and move on. However, for some the shape of the Earth matters significantly, especially to those who believe it is flat. A group of people called flat Earthers who believe the Earth is flat and the concealment of it is a deep conspiracy has long existed. Recently, though, the group has gained a larger audience on social media. The Flat Earth Society has more than 62,000 followers on twitter and the idea of a flat Earth has been referenced by celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal and Kyrie Irving. “We are actively promoting the view that the surface of the known Earth (that is, the continents currently known to mankind) is roughly flat,” Pete Svarrior, a member of the Flat Earth Society, wrote in an email. The second part of the Flat Earth Society’s mission is to encourage skepticism and questioning of everything, “especially authorities,” Svarrior wrote. “The layout of the continents is not dissimilar to that depicted in the United Nations emblem, and the emblems of many international organizations.” The Flat Earth Society does not expect people to believe the Earth is flat; rather, organization members want people to experience it, Svarrior wrote. “One of my favorite examples is the Bishop Experiment, an observation of the water and coastline across Monterey Bay which should be impossible under the Round Earth model,” he wrote. Flat Earthers are a diverse group, Svarrior wrote. “Many Flat Earthers we encounter outside of the Society are deeply spiritual or religious, which is perhaps less common within the FES (although certainly not absent!),” he wrote. “I’ve also encountered some groups which are much less accepting of dissenters - those who still accept the mainstream Round Earth cosmology as the accurate model. I’d like to think that we’re more dialogue-oriented.” Matt Long, creator of FlatWorth.com and FlatEarthPodcast. com from Fort Worth, developed his belief of a flat Earth from studying the Bible. Long said he and flat Earthers he interacts with do not associate with the Flat Earth Society. “I didn’t come into flat Earth through any other conspiracy theories; some people jump from one conspiracy theory to the next and then they end up with flat Earth,” Long said. “I came to it from a Biblical search. “I believe that we are in a world that is not a ball flying through space. That is still is motionless and that everything you think is outer space stars and things like that, outer space does not exist to me. But the sun, moon and stars exist but they are much smaller and much closer around us in a circle above our head we do not go around them or anything like that. And I base that on first and foremost the Bible.”
Long said he started his Biblical journey 10 years ago. Even though he always considered himself a Christian, he had never read the Bible. “Once I started doing that I couldn’t believe how different it was. I was intrigued by how for example you couldn’t believe the Bible and evolution because the two are mutually exclusive,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the Biblical account of kinds producing after their own kinds and the Darwinian ideals of evolution.” Long said he looked at the “geological column,” for example, and saw that Noah’s Flood better explained fossil layers than catastrophic processes. “When I started reading this,” he said, “I started saying, ‘Oh man, I kind of need to make a decision. Am I going to believe the Bible or what I call scientism, which is the religion of science, which is the act of removing God from all theory in relation to the place that we live?’” Long said he and the flat Earthers believe that the North Pole is the center of the Earth and the outer ring is Antarctica. “If you want to circumnavigate the earth, if you want to leave in the east and come back in the west, you can do that because the North Pole is the center and everything just lays out flat,” he said. When Long started doing research into the different subjects mentioned in the book of Genesis, he came across a video on YouTube from Rob Skiba that talked about flat Earth. “I had never read the Bible looking for flat Earth clues, but as soon as I did I was like, ‘How could I read this any other way?’ When you read it literally the Bible is unequivocally a flat Earth book,” he said. In short, Long said the Bible talks about Earth set on pillars under a dome. Psalm 104:5 in the King James Bible reads, “Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever.” Genesis 1:2 in the King James Bible reads, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The Earth cannot have a face if it is a sphere, Long said. Genesis 1:7 reads, “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.” Long said these verses confirm his beliefs that the Earth is flat and is covered by a firmament or a dome. “It either comes to rest in Antarctica or beyond Antarctica. It is possible that is comes down far beyond Antarctica,” he said. “There is actually more land that we don’t even know exists beyond Antarc-
tica.” Dr. Gladys Childs, Texas Wesleyan’s interim dean for the School of Arts and Letters, wrote in an email that most Christians would disagree with Long’s beliefs. “While most modern Christians also accept science as a basis for truth in our world today, there still remains a small fraction of believers who completely reject science and modern thinking in favor of radically literalistic approaches to interpreting the Bible,” Childs wrote. “Once such approach is found in flat Earth theorists.” After examining the verses Long uses to prove flat Earth in the Bible, Childs wrote that he is a “good example of when someone can be sincere; but, be sincerely wrong.” “If we were to take all the scriptures extremely literally, then eventually, most human beings would become murderers,” she wrote. “For example, in Deut. 21:1821, the Bible says we should stone all children who become
Photo by Hannah Lathen Matt Long, the creator of FlatWorth.com and the FlatEarthPodcast.com, developed his beliefs on flat Earth from reading the Bible. He said that the Bible is a flat Earth book.
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Photo contributed by Matt Long Part of the flat Earth belief is that the moon does not reflect the light of the sun; it is a light on its own. Matt Long said that in the Bible, in Genesis 1:6, God talks about creating two lights, the sun and the moon. The sun is the greater light for daytime and the moon is the lesser light to govern the night.
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Graphic by Hannah Lathen The Rambler took a poll on twitter Sept. 4 asking, “Do you think the Earth is flat?” Of the 75 people who voted, 23 percent chose“yes,” 73 percent chose “no” and four percent chose “I Don’t Know.”
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rebellious. What parents have children who have not at some point rebelled?” Long said that people who object to the idea of a flat Earth often ask why people don’t fall off the edge of the planet. “With Antarctica and the dome, it is impossible to fall off the edge,” he said. Long said people also question how sunrises and sunsets are possible if the Earth is flat. He said viewing sunrises and sunsets is all about perspective. “If you are standing on a street downtown and you see street lights and they get lower and lower as they go on towards the horizon,” he said. “That is essentially what the sun is doing. The sun makes circles above us.” Flat Earthers also view outer space differently than other people. “While I agree that there are lights in the sky and there are some lights that don’t follow the same rules as the other ones, as the fixed stars, peo-
ple refer to them as planets, I refer to them as wandering stars,” he said. “I think they are there. I just don’t think they are a place I can get on a rocket ship and land on.” Long said that once he came to understand the notion of flat Earth, it changed his outlook on everything. “I watch a sunset and I think about the sun going further away from me as opposed to the ball rotating,” he said. “The same thing with the sunrise. I look at the moon very different now because the moon in our model and according to the bible gives off its own light.” Long said a huge question people often ask when trying to debunk flat Earth is how could people have gone this long thinking the Earth is a sphere when it could be flat? How could it be flat if images from space are public and America has been to the moon? Flat Earthers believe there is a bigger plan to deceive people into thinking that everyone is just a tiny part of an infinite galaxy, whereas people are much more significant than that. “I think the whole lie is to convince us that we are not powerful individuals, we are slaves and we need to do things a certain way in order to not disrupt the laws of society and if we don’t abide by those we are going to be thrown in prison or worse,” Long said. When Long developed his beliefs in flat Earth, it made him wonder what else he could potentially be lied to about. The first thing he looked at was 9/11 and he does not believe what the public was told. “I am not saying it was this person or this person, I am just telling you, I don’t believe it,” he said. “I think the whole notion of countries and governments is a way to control people in tiny little pockets. This notion of patriotism, that we are better than someone else, is flawed to the extreme.” As for the moon landing, Long believes it is fake because, he said, the sun, moon and stars are inside the firmament, only thousands of miles away at most. “The moon landing in the 60s, we have been saying we are on a globe for 500 years and that was actually the first time we supposedly, only had the opportunity to go high enough to look back and see if we did live on a ball,” he said. “By the way, we haven’t gone back.” Long said it blows his mind when people say the shape of the Earth doesn’t affect them. “I cannot understand if you were a dog living in someone’s backyard and you got outside the fence,” he said, “you don’t think that would affect the dog’s mindset like, ‘Wow, what else is out here?’” Dr. Chad Pevateaux, assistant professor of philosophy and religion, said the notion
Graphic contributed by Matt Long Flat Earther Matt Long said that Earth is a flat disk, rather than a planet, with the North Pole in the center of Earth and Antarctica surrounding the edge. He said he believes there is a dome or a firmament covering the planet. The flat Earth map can also be seen on the United Nations Flag.
Photo contributed by Matt Long Flat Earther Matt Long said that since understanding flat Earth he sees sunrises and sunset differently. He sees the suns setting as the sun getting further from him rather than rotating around the Earth.
of a flat Earth is nothing new. “The ancient Babylonian cosmos was a circle with flat Earth at the center and then the heavens were up and the abyss was down,” Pevateaux said. “Christians are going to overlay that with still a flat Earth, everybody who had anything to do with what was written in what we call the Bible, what Christians will designate with Old and New Testament, everybody who had anything to do with that, believed the world was flat.” However, there is a mismatch between present knowledge and previous knowledge, Pevateaux said. “The Bible has a flat Earth view of things, but that is the thing,” he said. “These ancient stories no longer really fit our modern mentalities.” In some ways, the values and language used in ancient times still affect us today, Pevateaux said. “’Up’ and ‘down’ are pretty key ways to think about it because up in our modern scientific knowledge, ‘up’ is not what is was for the ancients. For the ancients it was a stable thing,” he said. Because the Earth is spinning rapidly through space, “up” is a changing, fluid thing, he said. “Also, down, we would love there to be a firm foundation, we would love for there to be a flat Earth that was stable, but we actually know with plate tectonics and things that down is not what we thought it was,” he said. “The firm foundation is only relatively firm.” Dr. Bruce Benz, biology professor, said much of flat Earthers’ understanding is willful denial that comes at a cost. “In order to understand some of these things, it takes time and effort to embrace how the relationship between particular observations can make sense of the universe and that isn’t something trivial in many cases,” Benz said. Benz said that every object in the solar system that science has attempted to describe and then accurately depict through imaging is spherical or nearly so. It is because the Earth is spherical that the cycles of night and day exist. “If it weren’t spherical there would be different cycles,” he said. “We could predict different cycles because it would flat.” Benz said if someone is exposed to the sun, they would be in sunlight and the moment they stopped being in sunlight, it would be dark. “In no place except the tropics does sunrise and sunset appear abrupt. There in fact is supporting evidence that it is spherical because as you move away from the equator, dawn and dusk are long-term phenomena,” he said. “Why is that? Because of the sphericity of the earth.” Long said that anyone interested in the notion of a flat Earth should do the research on their own, because the evidence is out there. “I believe we have the ability to recognize truth,” Long said. “If we have the love for truth in us, I think we are able to recognize it when we see it.”
6 |Wednesday | September 19, 2018
Arts&Entertainment
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Theatre Wesleyan presents ‘Tartuffe’ Elena Maldonado
ecmaldonado@txwes.edu
Theatre Wesleyan will open the season with an adaption of Molière’s “Tartuffe” at the Thad Smotherman Theatre on Thursday. The play is directed by Jeanne Everton, an associate professor of theatre, and the entire cast is composed of Wesleyan students. Senior theatre major Alexandra Flurry will be playing Madame Pernelle. She explained what “Tartuffe” is about. “’Tartuffe’ is about a man named Orgon, who invites a man named Tartuffe into his home to be treated like a friend, and believes him to be a righteous holy man,” Flurry wrote in an email. “However, Tartuffe is a complete hypocrite, and his hideous underlying intentions eventually expose themselves throughout the piece.” Flurry described her character as “an old shrew.” “She is extremely judgmental, bitter, and thinks everyone in her family is doing something wrong,” Flurry wrote. “The only person who seems to do no wrong is Tartuffe. She interacts with all of her family in a huge nagging fit at the beginning, and it is one of my favorite roles I’ve ever played.” Flurry wrote that she was able to connect to her character without a problem. “Throughout high school, I often auditioned for the part of the bully, mean girl, or cranky old lady just because they were so fun to portray,” she wrote. “At the time, it would be something completely out of my comfort zone, because I wasn’t used to being the center of attention on stage and yelling most of my lines. Now the character almost feels like second nature and like an old, bitter friend.” She hopes the audience is able see the play as a “clever, timely satire” because she believes it correlates with how society is today. “Hypocrisy is all around us, even today, and it is entirely ridiculous when someone cannot see the obvious intentions of another,” Flurry wrote. Torris Curry, a senior theatre major, is playing Tartuffe. “[Tartuffe] is a con man. He’s a big hypocrite, and he tries to get everyone to believe that things are happening that aren’t happening, so I really like him,” he said. Curry described the play as funny, witty, and interesting. “Funny because it’s a comedy. Witty because it uses higherend language, and interesting because the audience knows things the characters don’t know,” Curry said. He said he is excited to be a part of “Tartuffe.” “It’s a really nice show, and it’s a show you have to pay attention to to understand,” Curry said. “What sets it apart from other shows that I’ve been in is the language because it’s not quite Shakespearean, but it’s not modern either. It’s definitely something people will enjoy.” William Bull, a senior theatre major, is also playing a part in the play. “I play Orgon, the father of the household, and the man who brings Tartuffe to his house,” he wrote in an email. “Orgon is a man who loves his family, but also loves Tartuffe as a holy man
Grpahic contributed by Jacob Sanchez “Tartuffe” is the first Theatre Wesleyan production of the semester. The show features Organ (William Bull), a man who lets a conman, Tartuffe (Torris Curry), stay in his home with his family. Opening night is Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Thad Smotherman Theatre.
whom Orgon believes has greatly helped the household. [Orgon] is not the brightest, but he intends the best for his household.” Bull wrote that he has had some challenges with this production, but nonetheless the play is something he is excited to present to the audience. “The biggest challenge in this show is learning and presenting the lines in a way that is easily understandable,” he wrote. “The least challenging [part] has been finding the meaning of the lines. Most of the time they’re easy to translate, in a sense, to
modern language, but you can’t do that for the audience during the show.” Bull wrote that he and the rest of the cast are working together well to produce the show. “I’m very excited to be a part of this production!” Bull wrote. “This is a very funny show, but to me the energy that people have brought to this show makes it special.” “Tartuffe” will be performed Sept. 20-22 and Sept. 27-29 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. at Thad Smotherman Theatre. Tickets are available at txwes.edu or by calling 817-531-4211.
Wednesday | September 19, 2018
|7
Sports
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Dotson selected as new athletic director 1967
1985
1989
Photo by Kaylee Conrad Ricky Dotson was appointed as the new athletic director at Texas Wesleyan. Before that he coached mens’ golf and basketball.
Kaylee Conrad kmconrad@txwes.edu As a kid, all Ricky Dotson ever dreamed of being was a basketball coach. Dotson remembers going to practices with his dad, Dale Dotson, who was an assistant coach at the University of Texas. Dotson said he used to hang out at the gym and around the offices all day on Saturdays. “As a young, impressionable kid, all of those experiences left an indelible mark on me. When I graduated from UT, I went straight into coaching and loved every second of it,” Dotson said.
Dotson said that growing up around sports had a profound impact on his career decision. As he continued in his career, he became really interested in the administrative part of athletics and education. “I feel extremely confident that I’m doing exactly what I was meant to do,” Dotson said. Dotson was named Texas Wesleyan’s athletic director in June after serving as an assistant coach for five seasons. He was referred to Wesleyan through his friend, head basketball coach Brennen Shingleton, five years ago. Dotson enjoyed being an associate director and was thrilled that the opportunity came to be athletic director at Wesleyan.
Dotson was born in 1967. He grew up in Austin playing several different sports.
Dotson played basketball and golf throughout high school in Corsicana. He graduated in 1985.
Dotson graduated from the University of Texas in 1989. He didn’t play any sports while in college.
1991
Dotson began his first job coaching basketball in 1991 at Lon Morris College.
2012
Dotson came to Texas Wesleyan as an assissant coach in 2012.
Graphic by Hannah Onder and Kaylee Conrad Athletic Director Ricky Dodson has grown up playing sports and being around coaches. He became a Ram in 2012.
As athletic director, Dotson’s main goal is to have successful athletes both in their sports and in their classes. “One thing I hope is that our athletes are successful academically, because first of all, they’re here to be students,” Dotson said. Dotson said that the main difference between coaching and directing is that as a coach, you are isolated to a specific sport, and do not generally associate with anyone outside of your team. As a director you deal with all sports and make decisions that affect everyone in the athletic department. “From an athletic director’s standpoint, the thing I like most is I feel like I have the opportunity to make a positive impact on a greater number of people,” Dotson said. “The other thing that I like the most is the responsibility. The responsibility to know that I need to make the right decisions. That I need to do what’s best for everyone involved.” Dotson’s most memorable moments at Texas Wesleyan were becoming the athletic director, when the men’s basketball team won the national championship in 2017, and when two golfers won national championships. When not at work, Dotson enjoys travelling, playing golf, and spending time with his family. “Any time I get a free moment and I can get to a golf course, I try to do that,” Dotson said. Dotson did not play sports in college; instead, he took an academic scholarship at the University of Texas. He graduated in 1989. “I did not [play college sports] and sometimes I really, truly kind of wish that I had, just to see how that would’ve turned out,” Dotson said. He did, however, play basketball and golf all throughout high school in Corsicana. “I played every sport growing up,” Dotson said. “When I got to high school I settled on basketball and golf.” Growing up in Austin, Dotson was surrounded by family member who were coaches.
His father, mother, and grandfather were all coaches. “My father is Dale Dotson and he was a men’s basketball coach at the high school level and collegiate level (University of Texas and Lon Morris College),” he wrote in an email. “My mother, Sherrye Dotson, coached volleyball and track at the high school level (LaVega High School and Corsicana High School) for a number of years before moving into school administration. My grandfather was Floyd Dotson and coached boys and girls basketball at the high school level for over 40 years.” Later in life Dotson was still surrounded by family members who were coaches because his sister, brother, and brother-in-law were also coaches. “My brother coached high school basketball at two different high schools and is currently the golf coach at Corsicana High School,” he wrote. “My brother-in-law, Jeremy Hubbard, is an assistant football coach at the Brook Hill School and my sister, Tiffany Hubbard, is the Cheerleader Coach at the Brook Hill School.” Dotson got his first basketball coaching job in 1991 at Lon Morris College, which is in Jacksonville, just south of Tyler. Shingleton met Dotson in 1994 when Dotson recruited him from his high school basketball team. Shingleton said that Dotson has a good understanding of college athletics and displays great leadership skills. “[Dotson] values the importance of winning,” Shingleton said. Steve Trachier, associate athletic director and head women’s basketball coach, met Dotson when he came to Wesleyan from Lon Morris to coach golf. Trachier says that Dotson works well with people and his ability to network with people is incredible. “We are always looking for opportunities to expand in sports opportunities for women, and I think [Dotson] will take the lead on that,” Trachier said.
8 | Wednesday | September 19, 2018
Sports
TheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.
Lady Rams aim to return to nationals
Photo by Miranda Day The Lady Rams set up in anticipation for the volley during their match against Our Lady of the Lake University on Sept. 1. The Lady Rams won the match 3-0.
Lady Rams’ 2018 Record
Photo by Little Joe The Lady Rams pose for a team photo including head coach Jessica Ransom (top left). The team record last year was 27-7.
Miranda Day
Photo contributed by Hannah Altman Hannah Altman, senior setter for the Lady Rams, shows off her moves for the volleyball team’s media day in August.
Overall
Conference
8-5
5-1
Graphic by Hannah Onder As of Sept. 17, the team has only lost one SAC game.
things out and really get into a rhythm for conference play.” Hannah Altman, a senior setter for the Lady Rams, said that despite the multiple injuries the team has endured already she believes they will still be successful. “Given the fact that we have already gone
“Last year we made it to nationals which was a huge accomplishment for us as a team. But, I mlday@txwes.edu think we’re all hungry to get back there and be The Texas Wesleyan volleyball team has much more successful this time around,” she opened the season with a record of 5-1 in the said. Sooner Athletic Conference and 8-5 overall as Ashley Curry, freshman defensive specialist, of Monday. wrote in an email that she is enjoying her first Jessica Ransom, Wesleyan’s season as a Lady Ram. new head volleyball coach, “So far my freshman season has wrote in an email that the play- “Last year we made it to nationals which was a huge been great!” she wrote. “I was acers just need to continue to tually here last semester so I was work hard every day in prac- accomplishment for us as a team. But I think we’re able to bond with the team early. tice and focus one week at a But all in all I love my team!” time. all hungry to get back there and be much more suc- Curry is very confident that “The great thing about our the team will return to nationals team this year is everyone con- cessful this time around.” again this year. tributes in different aspects of “This season I am most looking the game,” Ransom wrote. - Hannah Altman forward to going to nationals. Not The Lady Rams are coming only me, but the whole team is reoff last year’s successful season ally excited about it and looking when they finished with a record of 27-7 and through so much adversity so early on as a forward to going,” Curry wrote. an appearance in the NAIA National Tourna- team, there isn’t much that could get in our The Lady Rams’ next home game is 7 p.m. ment, according to ramsports.net. way,” Altman said. “We have a lot of talent and Friday against John Brown University in the Sid “Our goal this year is to build off of last sea- potential on this team.” Richardson Center. For more information, go to son’s success,” Ransom wrote. “Because it is still According to Altman, this year is all about ramsports.net. so early, we are still working to smooth some redemption.
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