The Rambler Vol.101 No.14

WEDNESDAY Sept. 20, 2017 Vol. 101 • No. 9

www.therambler.org

OPINION

How will universities protect DACA students?

With the recent rescinding of DACA ,university presidents have begun to speak against the decision.

NEWS

SGA budget cut for fall 2017 Hannah Lathen

hrlathen@txwes.edu

Want to get your MBA from Texas Wesleyan?

The university’s Internationally accredited business program is offering a shortened, online degree opportunity.

CAMPUS

The demand for nurse practitioners continues to rise.

The School of Health Professions is working hard to prepare future nurse practitioners.

A&E

Texas Wesleyan’s Student Government Association will be working with $50,000 less this semester than last semester, Treasurer Clarissa Murillo announced at the Sept. 7 meeting.

Due to budget cuts, SGA President Zahraa Saheb said SGA will probably no longer be able to fund things like the travel abroad scholarship, conferences and certain events on campus.

“We are going to be focused towards events and being the voice of the student body whether that is from forums, student surveys, kind of just talking back with the student body versus funding a lot of those things,” she said.

Saheb said the decision to change the budget came from the Wesleyan administration. Director of Communications Ann Davis was asked for a statement from the administration as to why the SGA’s budget was reduced. She did not provide a statement in time for publication.

Graphic by Shaydi Paramore This is the Student Government Association budget that was presented for approval at the Sept. 14 meeting.

Saheb said the new SGA budget is more of a redistribution of funding than a budget cut and that the money will be going to Student Life.

Student Life will set up student advisory boards and will oversee hearing students’ requests.

“For example, if you want to go to a conference, instead of going to student government and having the bill presented here,” she said, “you will have to go to Student Life now under that fund for conferences and a student advisory board will hear

your case, the conference information and will make recommendations to Student Life about funding that conference.”

At the Sept. 7 meeting, the first

Beverly Volkman Powell wants to see change at all levels of government, from right here in Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. A Texas Wesleyan graduate, member of the university's board of trustees, and Tarrant County native, she does not like President Donald Trump's views and the way he puts ideology ahead of the American economy.

She thinks it's time to focus more on education, and to take a more businesslike approach to the Texas Senate.

This is why she has just announced that she will be trying to unseat state Sen. Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, from District 10 in the November 2018 election.

“I think that it is time for a change," said Powell, Wesleyan's 2016 Alumna of the Year. "I think it is time to

elect lawmakers who understand that it is essential to work together as leaders for local communities and school districts, rather than against them, and to create jobs to build infrastructure. It is time for a change and, in fact, I can be that change.”

Powell said she understands the district, which includes Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield and Colleyville.

“Vote for me because I understand this district, I was born in Fort Worth, I have been a long-time businesswoman here in the district," she said. "I have lived here my whole life.

I understand District 10.”

In November 2014, Burton defeated Democrat Libby Willis to take the district back for the Republican Party after Democrat Wendy Davis held the position for six years, according to an article in the Fort Worth StarTelegram.

Powell is running against fellow Democrat Allison Campolo in the

March 2018 primary election.

Marco Rosas Jr., executive director of Tarrant County Democratic Party said he is excited that Powell is running in the primary.

"The Tarrant County Democratic Party is pleased and excited to see the entrance of so many strong Democratic women into the races up and down the ballot here in Tarrant County and the state," Rosas said. “We are equally excited that Beverly Powell … will be running on our Democratic ticket in the March primary.”

D.K. Haggard, a Fort Worth Democrat, said a Democrat needs three things to win a race.

"Honesty, integrity and money," she said.

Haggard said it is a "possibility" that Powell can unseat Burton.

"It would take a lot of

students to be flexible with their schedule.”

courses completely held online, according to txwes.edu. The semesters

sions in the spring, and two sessions in the summer.

Students are able to start the program in any of these sessions, so if a student wanted to enroll in the program for the fall semester in August, but the deadline has already passed, they can still enroll in the second or third session of the fall, which begins in October, wrote Procter-Wilman.

The program is built for busy students who want a new and innovative way to jumpstart their career.

Powell aims for District 10 seat Heather Shannon hoshannon@txwes.edu

Could Johnson’s digitized collection pave way for more?

The theatre collection is the first of its kind to be a part of the online archive.

SPORTS

Richter adjusts to “intense” program at Wesleyan.

After suffering a serious injury, Linus Richter has decided to bring his talent to the revived men’s tennis team, all the way from Germany.

ONLINE

Music Department presents Voice-Versa RamblerTV gives us an inside look at the first Voice-Versa.

 SGA. page 3

Courtesy of Gary Jones Beverly Volkman Powell is running for the state Senate District 10 seat.

 POWELL. page 3

Wesleyan starts online MBA degree Sam Bastien skbastien@txwes.edu

Texas Wesleyan University launched a new 100 percent online MBA program this semester that students can complete in as little as 12 months.

“What sets us apart is that you can finish this degree in 12 months because we have it brought down to a 30-hour completion,” said Amber Procter–Willman, academic services coordinator. “Offering smaller sessions gives more opportunity for

“What sets us apart is that you can finish the degree in 12 months because we have brought it down to a 30-hour completion.”

- Amber Procter-Willman The program consists of seven starts per year with seven–week

are broken up into sessions. There are three sessions in the fall, two ses-

 MBA. page 3

2 | Wednesday | September 20, 2017

Opinion

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DREAMers confronting deportation EDITORIAL

On Sept. 5, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it clear to the young undocumented immigrants brought to this country that the administration will no longer protect them from deportation.

Trump’s administration formally announced the end of the Obama administration’s policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, according to cnn.com.

The administration immediately informed the Department of Homeland Security to stop the process of any new DACA applications.

With the decision to end DACA, around 800,000 people will face deportation, according to citylab.com. Of that 800,000, 10,000 graduate from college each year.

This means a huge decrease in students, staff and faculty at universities.

Multiple universities are standing by their dreamers.

Iowa State University and the University of Iowa are two universities that have decided to not stand by Trump’s decision.

On a Sept. 5, Iowa State University Interim President Ben Allen sent out a message to the staff, faculty and students which stated the university’s need to protect DREAMers, according to the gazzette.com. In the message, Allen wrote, “Regardless of the future of the DACA program, the way Iowa State University police interact with citizens will not change.”

The presidents of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Cornell are only a few of the university officials that have written pro-

Photo by Hannah Lathen Thousands of Dallas residents protested for immigration rights in downtown Dallas on April 9 as part of the Mega March.

DACA letters and pleas for Congress to roll back the decision, according to theatlantic.com.

Not only are university presidents writing personal letters to the administration, but some are signing on for a lawsuit against the Trump administration, according to citylab.com.

For example, the University of California, which has about 4,000 DACA beneficiaries, signed onto lawsuit against the administration on Sept. 8.

Other universities are supporting their DREAMers by offering free legal support, counseling programs or mentorship programs.

For instance, the University of New Mexico is starting group

therapy sessions for undocumented students and working to offer free individual therapy sessions, according to citylab. com. Har- vard President Drew Faust announced a 24-hour hotline for any undocumented Harvard affiliate and saw a huge spike in demand. In one week, the service saw a 350 percent increase in the number of students seeking support.

Texas Wesleyan is showing DACA students they are protected by creating supports groups, offering counseling and hosting forums where DACA students can learn their rights.

Even with all that, there is more that we can do for our DREAMers. Maybe it’s time for us to ask ourselves what we can do next to help protect them.

to pick up groceries.

Just like him, I had no control over where I was born and where I was raised. However, because of the simple fact that I was born here in America, I can vote, receive financial aid, join the military, get a driver’s license, run for an elected office or just apply for a legitimate job. These are rights people, including myself, often take for granted because it seems natural to have them.

Before DACA, his hopes of going to college and having a career were small because he was an immigrant. DACA truly made him a dreamer because he finally had the ability to chase his dreams without fear.

This is the case for nearly all dreamers. They want a life they can’t have that simply contains being able to have a chance to make it in America.

If my best friend is forced to go back to his country, not only am I losing a very big part of my life, but America is missing out on all the good he is going to bring for this country, like he has been doing.

America will miss out on all that the dreamers are contributing.

I hope U.S. citizens realize these dreamers are incredibly important to this country. They are not just dreamers; they are our neighbors, our coworkers, our classmates, and our friends.

Even if one is not a dreamer or even an immigrant, everyone needs to take a stand and stick up for these people, who are just trying to better themselves. People need to open their eyes and hearts to dreamers such as my best friend, who know no other home than the United States.

I do not defend DACA just because my best friend is a dreamer. I defend DACA because I know how it can inspire and assist dreamers in creating a better life for themselves, something they all deserve.

Something we all deserve.

Americans impacted by DACA’s end Hannah Lathen Content Producer hrlathen@txwes.edu

When U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this month that the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program will be rescinded, 800,000 dreamers had to question the fate of their lives in America.

Among those 800,000 is my best friend.

When I learned the program was going away, my heart broke for my friend, his family and the other dreamers who might have the opportunities they deserve taken away.

My best friend is someone who has made full use of DACA. He came to America with his family when he was only seven years old and has spent almost 20 years living here.

In that time, he learned how to fix and assemble cars, acquired two college degrees and now works as a freelance photographer and Uber driver.

One might be able to find him charging a stranded person’s car battery on the side of the highway, or helping a drunk college student get home safely. Wesleyan students may have seen him moving my stuff into my dorm or taking me to Walmart

I do not defend DACA just because my best friend is a dreamer. I defend DACA because I know how it can inspire and assist dreamers in creating a better life for themselves, something they all deserve.

All my best friend wants is to not be sent back to a country he is not accustomed to and to be able to build a life in the country he knows.

When he applied for DACA, he had faith in this program to give him a Social Security number so he can have the privilege to work a job or obtain a driver’s license and not risk deportation for giving his name and address.

“We are not afraid to follow the truth... wherever it may lead.”

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Editorial Staff: Hannah Onder, Shaydi Paramore, Hannah Lathen

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The editors reserve the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar, clarity

and style. Letters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and students on the opinion page.

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Rams up Thumbs up to donations made to Wesleyan on North Texas Giving Day. Thumbs up to Theater Wesleyan’s first production of the season, Blithe Spirit, opening tomorrow.

Thumbs up to volleyball performing well so far this season Thumbs up to September being National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Rams down Thumbs down to issues in the Student Government Assocation’s budget.

Thumbs down to gates constantly broken at West Village.

Thumbs down to President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind DACA. Thumbs down to football losing historic home opener.

Wednesday | September 20, 2017|3

News

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SGA

continued from page 1 general business meeting of the semester, Murillo, senior theater major, presented SGA with the amount organization members will be paid this semester; in other words, their stipends.

“Since our budget has decreased significantly, I feel like it is important for us to come to an agreement on the stipends,” Murillo said. “If you can see the total right now, we are spending on stipends is about $17,000.”

Because last semester’s budget was more than $88,000, $17,000 was not a big deal, Murillo said, but if SGA continues with that, the stipend takes up more than half the budget.

“That is quite a lot that we are paying ourselves,” she said. “So, there are options where we can decrease by 10, 20, 30, 35 percent.”

The representatives saw the stipends for the

POWELL

first time at the meeting, Natural and Social Sciences Representative Alyssa Hutchinson said, and since it felt like a lot of information

Hutchinson said SGA was given the news of the new budget two to three weeks before school started in an email from SGA Budget

being thrown at them at once, they tabled it for the next meeting.

“We have already discussed that with the budget cut, no matter what we do, even with the stipends, we still need to think about some fundraising options,” said Hutchinson, a sophomore biology and psychology major.

Manager Eugene Frier.

“It was a lot of shock there,” Hutchinson said.

She said in the summer SGA attended workshops to learn procedure and how to run everything smoothly, and when they received the email it was as if everything they learned was for nothing.

“I just want students to kind of understand that we are trying our best to learn, and trying our best to go through this,” she said.

Saheb said SGA is still adjusting to the new budget and planning for the year.

“We are trying to set up how SGA is supposed to look like,” she said. “We are re-evaluating our mission and our understanding of how to serve the student body and with less money; that is going to look different this year.”

Faculty advisor and biology professor Dr. Bruce Benz said he anticipates SGA will make the necessary decisions and move forward with accomplishing tradition.

“I think it will channel their efforts and make them as productive as they have been in the past or more so,” he said.

governor from 1991 to 1995; she worked on Richards' campaign and attended her inauguration.

"I can remember the evening she was elected sitting there with tears streaming down my face; it was the first time in my life to see a woman elected governor of our state," Powell said. "Every day or two since I have been working on my campaign I think about her.”

On the national front, Powell said she is strongly against Trump's proposed border wall.

“It is a bad idea," she said. "I believe I am the person that can bring that common sense that builds bridges and not walls.”

She also said that the Trump administra-

tion's stance on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy is devastating.

“I believe in equality, in regard to DACA in particular," she said. "I stand with the teachers, the business community, the local officials, and our Christian leaders, and Texas family. I think, yet again, he has put ideology ahead of our economy, and he has ignored hundreds of thousands of young people who take advantage of DACA who serve in our military, who have been first responders, and brave folks who put themselves out there every day on the line for America. I consider those young people Americans. Beyond the economic issue, this is their home.”

Powell has faith that the DREAMers will be able to become American citizens.

“I have some faith that our legislature will come together and do what is right here and they will develop an expedient path to citizenship for our DREAMers," she said. "These are young people who belong to America. At the end of the day, I have some faith we are going to do what is right there.”

In the end, Powell said she wants to be remembered for her compassion.

“I would love to be remembered for the work I have done to educate children," she said. "I have lots of compassion for young people. I’ve had a great passion for children and education."

program offers flexible class times, which is extremely convenient while she juggles a full– time career while receiving her MBA. “I think there is a lot of potential to grow the graduate programs at Wesleyan and kind of put us out there since our business school is AACSB accredited,” Birge said. “I think it has a potential to help our school gain more recognition in the business world.”

Wesleyan still plans to stay true to its Smaller. Smarter. promise, Procter-Wilman said.

The program runs through the true academic school year so students can expect professors

to be easily reachable.

“Even though the program is 100 percent online, professors are committed to being focused on engaging with students regularly,” Wright said.

Students will be taught in small classes by some of the highest quality, professional professors at Texas Wesleyan, according to txwes. edu. Students will have full access to the Texas Wesleyan campus, such as the library and other facilities and support staff.

Students can expect to take courses needed to meet professional standards, according to

txwes.edu. Some courses required include Accounting Analysis for Decision Making, Financial Management, Global Perspectives in Business, and Organizational Behavior.

“With the online MBA program, I’m hoping that we get to see other graduate programs on campus become available as well,” ProcterWillman said.

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has been waived for students with a GPA of 3.0 or above on their bachelor’s degree, Procter-Willman said.

“I just want students to understand that we are trying our best to learn, and trying our best to go through this .”

- Alyssa Hutchinson

continued from page 1 campaigning for District 10 since Konni Burton is well known," she said. "Powell can get her name out there, go to town hall meetings and debates so she can face her opponent and put her best foot forward."

Powell said voters can relate to her beliefs.

“I am like a lot of Americans who believe that our state and federal governments are not functioning like they should, decisively and ideologically,” she said. “I think people will recognize that I am a leader based on reason and logic and I am driven by making decisions that are good for the whole. I will also contribute a more business-like approach.”

Powell’s greatest inspiration and role model is Ann Richards, a Democrat who was Texas'

MBA

continued from page 1 “There are a lot of employers that look at that accreditation as very attractive,” says Dr. Meghan Wright, assistant professor of management, referring to the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the premier accreditor of business schools around the world.

AACSB accreditation has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business programs, according to a billboard in the Armstrong-Mabee Business Center.

For students like Heather Birge, a 2017 graduate of Texas Wesleyan, the 100 percent online

Photo by Shaydi Paramore Texas Wesleyan’s online MBA program, which is accredited by the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, has a billboard in the Armstrong-Mabee Business Center.

4 |Wednesday September 20, 2017

Campus

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School of Health Professions on track Colt Taylor

gctaylor@txwes.edu

The School of Health Professions is in its second year, and going just as Dean Heidi Taylor and Program Director Deborah Flournoy hoped it would.

The school was formed in response to a growing need for nurse practitioners in the industry, said Dr. Allen Henderson, Provost and Senior Vice President. With the aging baby boomers entering retirement hospitals and even local pharmacies will need more and more nurse practitioners.

Pharmacies and neighborhood clinics are opening across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and will be hiring nurses and nurse practitioners, Henderson said.

“The medical field is evolving,” Henderson said.

A new doctorate program has been created specifically to help meet the growing need of family nurse practitioners called the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Family Nurse Practitioner, or DNP/FNP. This program will train registered nurses into nurse

practitioners.

“Nurse practitioners have more independence than registered nurses,” Flournoy said.

They can make diagnoses, prescribe medication, and perform minor surgeries in their medical offices, Flournoy said. In the past, families had a single, go-to physician. Now, family nurse practitioners are filling that role by becoming the primary care provider. Beyond their family focus, family nurse practitioners

“We’re hoping to help our students remember why they went into nursing,” -Dr. Heidi Taylor can also specialize in certain areas of healthcare, much like traditional doctors.

“Nurse practitioners can be family nurse practitioners, women’s health nurse practitioners, neo-natal nurse practitioners, or

pediatric nurse practitioners,” Taylor said.

Because of these specializations, nurse practitioners are considered advanced practice, Taylor said. It is this advanced practice classification that allows them to make diagnoses, prescribe medicine and order tests. In this they also bring their skills as a nurse, which a doctor may lack.

“The School of Health Professions aims not only to train nurse practitioners in healthcare skills, but the business aspect of running a practice as well,” Flournoy said.

Nursing students are being taught how to market themselves by selling their services at a price that represents the value they bring to a firm, Taylor said. Some nurses bring in millions of dollars for a practice, and only receive a small amount of that sum. Business education is lacking in other healthcare programs, and this emphasis on business will teach students how to be reasonably compensated for their work.

“We’re hoping to help our students remember why they went into nursing,” Taylor said.

Photos provided by pixabay.com. Graphics on provided by Shaydi Paramore.

News Engagement Day is October 3!

Find events and join us in celebrating!

Get Engaged!

Check out the Mass Communication Department’s Facebook page @txwescommunication

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Campus

6 |Wednesday | September 20, 2017

Arts&Entertainment

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Alumnus added to digital archives Gloria Andrade-Borja

giandrade-borja@txwes.edu

In April, the Mason Johnson Theatre Collection was officially made accessible in the Digital Archives website.

Johnson was a director and writer at Texas Wesleyan’s Theatre Department from 1956 to 1985, according to txwes. edu. He was also the founder and first dean of the Children’s Theatre at Casa Manana and served on Casa’s board of directors, according to Louis Sherwood, associate professor and university archivist.

“Johnson was a driving influence in bringing high-quality professional theatre to Fort Worth,” Sherwood wrote in an email. “To have the first ever digital collection of Mason Johnson available online not only benefits students but everyone who might come across them. This is huge for a variety of people ranging from student, to history buff, to Hollywood and Broadway producers and performers.”

The collection includes playbills, scripts, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and audio and video recordings from both Johnson’s time in the Navy and at Wesleyan, according to a brochure about the collection.

Digital Initiatives Librarian Caitlin Rookey was part of the

team that took care of the digitization of the collection, which includes more than 1,400 items. Rookey did the physical act of scanning, recording and preserving the collection and the publication to the digital archives. She was also in charge of applying for funding to make the collection digital.

The project was made possible by the TexTreasures grant created by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Rookey said. The grant ran from Sept. 1, 2016 through Aug. 31, 2017.

“The grant was for a bit over $5,000 and it was used to send items for digitization and preservation and for scanners for our lab,” Rookey said.

Rookey said the collection is a big deal because it’s the first time a collection like this has been digitized at Wesleyan.

Sherwood wrote that Johnson began pursuing his interest in the arts in the fall of 1939, when he enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin to study drama. His senior year was interrupted by World War II. During the war, Johnson wrote his first musical, Square Your Hat, a spoof of Navy life, in 1945.

Many of the early productions had never been staged in Fort Worth before and featured some professional perform-

ers as well as Wesleyan students, Sherwood wrote. Over the years, Wesleyan’s musicals became anticipated community events, and promoted on television. They were also promoted and reviewed by the arts columnists in the local newspapers.

The theatre program during Johnson’s years produced several graduates who went on to have careers on Broadway.

Special Collections Assistant Nancy Edge assisted with the project by displaying the physical scripts, props, costumes, playbills and tickets of the shows Johnson worked on for students to see at the library.

Edge thinks digitizing the Johnson collection will lead to Wesleyan digitizing other collections, as other universities do, and will also be very beneficial for researchers who at times are not sure what they are looking for or can’t physically come to see the collection.

“It’s not only that we have a digital copy that we can store, it’s so it can have a greater access, so anybody can use it or see it,” Edge said.

The other team members that worked on the Johnson digitization are Collection Management Librarian Lizz Bridges and Preservation Clerk Juan Ontiveros.

Photo by Gloria Andrade-Borja Part of the digitized collection are playbills from the 1980 performance of Tempest.

Graphic by Caitlin Rookey The Mason Johnson Digital Theatre Collection is now accessible in the Digital Archives.

Photo by Gloria Andrade-Borja Wesleyan presented Annie Get Your Gun, which was directed by Mason Johnson, at the Texas Wesleyan Auditorium.

Blithe Spirit appears at Wesleyan Hannah Odner

hlodner@txwes.edu

When a classic piece was needed for Theatre Wesleyan’s season, Dr. Connie Whitt-Lambert jumped at the chance for Blithe Spirit to fill the space.

“I’m a huge fan of Noel Coward,” Whitt-Lambert, professor of theatre, said, “and I’ve always wanted to direct one of his pieces.”

Whitt-Lambert doesn’t have a very long list of plays that she has to direct in her lifetime, but Blithe Spirit makes the cut.

Blithe Spirit tells the story of Charles Codomine, a remarried writer, who is literally being haunted by his previous marriage, when some research goes wrong and his ex-wife Elvira is brought back from the dead to live with him and his current wife, Ruth. The show opens Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. and runs to Oct. 1 in the Thad Smotherman Theatre.

A period comedy written by Coward in the 1940s but set in the ‘30s, Spirit is a piece she has often taught to her classes.

“It is a piece of classic drama that has a lot of history,” WhittLambert said. “He wanted to write something light-hearted that his fellow Londoners could go see and laugh at, which is why he set it in the 1930s before the war actually took hold and they started getting bombed. There’s a point behind the play; it’s not just to make people laugh, but to make people, who were in a pretty miserable situation, feel a little better about life.”

Malik Offor, the stage manager of the production, believes the humor in the show is the reason the audience will come out to see it.

“It’s a fun show,” said Offor, a sophomore theatre major. “It’s really funny, it’s very witty, and there’s lots of very subtle jokes in it. If you don’t pay attention you’ll miss them.”

Offor also says there will be other big surprises during the show, but the production has also had its challenges as well. “(One of the challenges) not for me personally, but for the

actors, is the script,” Offor said. “It’s very wordy and very British. It’s from the 1940s so there’s a lot of big words right after each other. The hardest part for (the actors) probably is mak-

“There’s a point behind the play; it’s not just to make people laught, but to make people, who were in a pretty miserable situation, feel a little better about life. ” -Dr. Connie Whitt-Lambert ing sure that they are verbatim.”

Brianna Hunter, a sophomore theatre major, says that along with the rehearsals there’s also a lot of research and planning that has gone into the show.

“There’s a lot of studying and research that goes behind it (the production), it’s not like we’re just throwing something together,” Hunter said. “Everything that goes into one play is highly researched and highly worked. (Spirit has) a British accent, so we have a dialect class just sitting in and helping everyone with their accents.

“We have spirits and stuff throwing things across the stage to factor in. Set and props have to figure out how we are going to make this happen, so that it doesn’t look tacky. It’s a factor that has to be extremely thought out and well planned, because the safety of our cast is influenced. Everything, even colors and set props, has to be thought through, which is what I find amazing especially since this is not a modern piece, it’s a time period piece.”

Whitt-Lambert also believes the props and set designed by

Dr. Joe Brown, professor of theatre and mass communications and dean of freshman success, will also be another big draw because of the 1930s setting.

“They’re all putting in a lot of extra time to ensure that all of the details and marks are hit,” Whitt-Lambert said. “It’s a very detailed piece not just in the British dialect, but in the detail work physically on set. It’s going to be visually a banquet, a splendid banquet.”

Whitt-Lambert believes the student talent and work ethic is what is going to make this play great.

“We have amazing students who work far harder than anybody understands,” Whitt-Lambert said. “So many people show up at the theatre and go, ‘Oh that was nice,’ but not realizing the weeks, months, and sometimes years of work that has gone into getting the production ready. I just think that every time in every production, we do really showcase the depth of talent of our theatre majors, even though people don’t realize it all the time.”

Hunter’s favorite part about the production is having the whole department come together for big projects like Blithe Spirit.

“Our whole major comes together and works toward one goal, which is really cool,” Hunter said. “We don’t just go mediocre, we go above and beyond, and we always try our best.

My favorite part is working together to achieve new heights.”

Whitt-Lambert said the overall goal of the production is to draw in the audience and lift their spirits.

“Hopefully they’ll walk away from this in a kind of light hearted and fun mood,” Whitt-Lambert said, “because we’ll have achieved some laughter along the way.”

Blithe Spirit will open Thursday, Sept. 21 and runs for seven shows until Oct.1. Individual tickets are $5 for students, staff, and senior citizens and $10 for adults. The doors will open at 7 p.m. on opening night. For more information, go to txwes.edu.

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Sports

Alumna becomes assistant volleyball coach

Photo by Mattie Morris Kristina Gafford stands outside the gym in the Sid W. Richardson Center. Gafford was named assistant coach in June of 2017.

Mattie Morris mmmorris@txwes.edu Kristina Gafford is taking on a completely new role this semester.

After completing one season as a student assistant in the fall of 2016, Gafford was named the assistant volleyball coach in June 2017.

Gafford is excited about this new transition with the Lady Rams.

“I’ve been wanting to coach for a long time now,” she said. “I really wanted to get this job and stay with this team. I already had a plan coming into it. I knew what I really wanted to do and how I wanted to be as a coach.”

The Lady Rams have gotten off to a strong start this season, winning their first eight matches, according to ramsports.net.

This Friday the team will take on University of Science and Arts in Oklahoma.

Even though Gafford is excited for this new role, the transition has been quite difficult for her.

“The transition from player to coach is that as a player you see the player side of things but as a coach you understand why your coach made you do some of the things that you might not have been a fan of when you were a player,” she said.

Gafford wasn’t the only one excited about the job. Right side hitter and senior Kiersten Mebane was just as ecstatic as

Gafford was.

“I was really excited to find out that Kristina would be our coach,” Mebane said. “I knew that she was very qualified for the job. It was exciting to know that a piece of us was going to stick around, someone who has our back and knows the culture. She knows what she is talking about when it comes to volleyball.”

Outside hitter and senior Shelby Steinett said she loved the time she had playing with Gafford but also loves that she is her coach now.

“She was who I looked up to, the one who I saw as the person to follow,” Steinett said. “She would put that confidence in me that I didn’t know I had. She kept the team together and would put it back together if anything went wrong. Her transition to a coach was a little awkward at first but she still has that fun friend side. So if something is bugging you or you have an issue, she’s that coach where you could go talk to her about stuff.”

Gafford added that being a student assistant really helped her get to where she is now.

“I was able to separate myself from the team as their friend,” Gafford said. “I was starting to make sure they understood that I was their coach.”

Gafford’s goal is to one day become a head coach but she knows that this job is the best thing for her right now.

“The ultimate goal is to be a head coach and that’s really with any kind of job everyone wants to work their way up,” she said.

Graphic by Karan Muns

8 | Wednesday | September 20, 2017

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Richter adjusts to “intense” program Peyton Prud’homme pprudhomme@txwes.edu

One year ago, Linus Richter was not so sure where his tennis career was headed.

The freshman from Bremen, Germany had suffered a serious ankle injury that sidelined him for nearly a year.

“The road to recovery was long and arduous, but I knew that I had to get back to the game that I love. I have been playing since I was seven years old,” said Richter.

Richter said his love for the game never wavered. A year later and more mature, the 19-year-old was ready to make his imprint on the game once again.

His coach in Germany sent his film out to several schools around the country and many responded positively.

Richter was grateful to get another shot at playing; the only decision he faced was which school to attend.

“I had many schools contact my coach in Germany from the NCAA Division II and the NAIA level,” said Richter, who according to ramsports.net had won the Federal Championship U16 in both singles and doubles in 2014.

“I sat down with my family and we decided that in terms of the area and the scholarship presented to me that Texas Wesleyan would be the best fit for me not just as a tennis player, but also as a student,” Richter said.

Richter chose Texas Wesleyan because of the scholarship the school offered. He also liked the Dallas/Fort Worth area and what Wesleyan has to offer academically. He signed with Wesleyan in early August, according to ramsports.net.

Also, he said, the Wesleyan tennis program is “intense.”

“It is a lot more serious than tennis in Germany,” he said.

“Then, as a bonus, we get some pretty cool gear like bags, shirts, et cetera.”

Richter is part of the first men’s tennis team at Wesleyan since 2001. Of the team’s eight players, seven are freshmen.

Richter and his roommate, Florian Schmitt, 17, are the only international players. Schmitt is from Heidelberg, Germany, acPhoto courtesy of Little Joe cording to ramsports.net.

Schmitt said that because he and Richter are both from Ger- Linus RIchter poses for his roster picture on ramsports.com. many, “we clicked right away.” up to be a good preseason for us,” said Foster, who played for “I really enjoy playing doubles with Linus and I think that Wesleyan for several years. could be a strength for our season,” Schmitt said.

“We hope to overcome our biggest rival, LSU-Alexandria, The women’s tennis team, meanwhile, is returning to play for and I think that we have a chance this year,” Foster said. “We its third season since the program was revived in 2015. have the leadership and the new talent to really make some Assistant coach Kathy Foster said she has high expectations noise in the national polls.” for the team, which has finished as the NAIA Unaffiliated Both teams will compete this week in the ITA Regional, Group Regional Runner-Up two years in a row. which is being held in Wichita, Kan. “We have a couple of veterans returning so it should shape

Graphic by Karan Muns

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