The anger Volume 93 • Issue 14 San Antonio College A forum of free voices since 1926
April 8, 2019 WWW.THERANGER.ORG
Statistics classes find problems with lottery — again Texas and other states show misleading odds on websites. By Lionel Ramos lramos174@student.alamo.edu Math Professor Gerald Busald led two of his statistics classes to uncover misleading advertising in the popular Mega Million lottery game in Texas and other states. What Busald and his students discovered, Busald said, was that the website for the game advertised misleading odds. “My overall point is: lottery is government; you ought to have truth in government,” he said during
an interview March 28. He explained that the problem has more to do with the semantics of the website than it does math. The Mega Millions site, www.megamillions. com, states “odds of winning any prize” are one in 24, but these odds include both the odds of winning a profit and winning break-even prizes yielding no net gain. For example, buying a $2 ticket that “wins” $2 is a break even, not a win. “Not losing is not the same as winning,” he said. Busald and his students found the way the odds are described is misleading because the odds of
actually winning a profit are one in 69.6 – significantly lower than one in 24. He said the Powerball, a lottery with the odds of winning being one in 24.9, does not have the same problem because it does not award breakeven prizes. He further said lottery players comparing the odds of the Powerball and Mega Millions would be comparing two sets of odds that don’t define ‘‘winning’’ the same way. “If you look, which is better? Overall odds of one in 24.9, or overall odds of one in 24? Well, it looks like one in 24 is better, but it’s not, because it’s not the same thing,” Busald said.
He said he is not sure if the Texas Lottery Commission is being vague in word choice on purpose, but by not adding something like “including break-even prizes” in the description of the odds, the commission is engaging in false advertising. A letter, written and signed by students in both of Busald’s Math 1442, Elementary Statistical Methods, classes, including their findings and a potential solution, was sent April 1 to Texas state officials Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbot, and various Texas Lottery Commission officials such as Executive Director Gary Grief, Chairman J. Winston Krausse,
See LOTTERY, Page 2
Texting between students, college coming soon The service will include all Alamo Colleges and district offices By Sergio Medina smedina104@student.alamo.edu
Miguel Ocampo, a member of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, argues with political science sophomore Danielle Knabel about original sin April 3 in the mall. Ocampo said Christians are born without original sin, but then choose to sin. Knabel disagreed with that, saying it goes against Christian doctrine. “I’m not super religious
the professor,’ accepting the role of what a teacher plays.” Both Yusuf and his students earn a participation certificate in small business administration at the end of the week, but it is not an accredited course. The idea to teach outside of this college originated four years ago when three students from his business class, Manuel Zuñiga, Manuel Lastiri and Rene Castaneda who are from Puebla, Mexico, approached him about teaching at the institute. They told Yusuf they knew the dean of the institute and wanted to see if he would be interested in teaching classes there. On spring break 2016, Yusuf traveled to Mexico City and drove two hours before arriving at the institute to meet with Raul Espinosa, the dean at the time. He agreed to teach small business administration courses at the university, but instead of being paid for his work, Yusuf wanted to have his compensation of $1,000 go to something more important than himself. He instructed the institute to put his pay into
The Alamo Colleges will install a texting system where students will be able to text school offices to get information about topics such as recruitment, admissions, financial aid and scholarships. The service, Two-Way Texting Solution, is expected to begin in the summer and will be permanent. The service will feature two-way texting communication between students and district offices. Patty Parma, associate vice chancellor of student access and success initiatives, said April 2 the ideal scenario is one where, eventually, students will be able to text at any time of the day, with texts sent at night answered by a system using artificial intelligence. “During the day, it’s not difficult to answer a student right away,” Parma said. “We’re looking to have a service overnight, but probably going to go with more of an eventually, artificial intelligence.” For example, the A.I. would be able to immediately answer questions about how to apply for financial aid because it is universal information that can be automated, Parma said. However, if students wished to find out about in-depth information such as holds on their record, the system would refer them to a real person, she said. “And then whoever is responsible for that area would get a message the next day and contact you,” Parma said. Offices at each college will have dedicated lines students will be able to text. Offices would include financial services and admissions. Students will be able to get information about recruitment, admissions, payments, financial aid, scholarships and non-emergency communication. An example of non-emergency communication may include reminders, such as due payments or registration dates. The system will not have dedicated lines for specific individuals. “Each college will identify who is responsible for responding to that student within that office,” Parma said. Parma said the text replies will be short and to the point to encourage engagement.
See EDUCATION, Page 2
See TEXTING, Page 2
or anything, but if you’re going to preach, preach what your entity preaches for,” Knabel said. Ocampo also said San Antonio was a city of sinners who would go to hell. Read the full story at www.theranger.org. Mitchell Gawlik
Professor pays it forward through education At spring break, Dr. Mahmud Yusuf traveled to Puebla, Mexico, to teach entrepreneurship. By Geoffrey Hovatter sac-ranger@alamo.edu Dr. Mahmud Yusuf, coordinator of banking and financial services, traveled to Puebla, Mexico, to teach students at the Instituto Tecnólogico Superior de la Sierra Norte de Puebla in Zacatlan, during spring break. “If one can change their life, I won the race as a human being,” Yusuf said March 8. He taught 43 students small business administration in an intensive five-day workshop. Yusuf taught two classes per day 10 a.m.noon and 3-5 p.m. Each day, students examined one of five concepts taught in the workshop. Those subjects are the entrepreneurial life, integrity and ethics, starting a small business, the business and marketing plan and the location plan. At the beginning of the spring semester, the business department at the institute informs third-year business majors about the class. The course is internet-based. While attendance is required, there is no final exam.
The institute instructed Yusuf to teach in English to help prepare students for the business world outside of Spanish-speaking countries. Yusuf said he loved the idea of only speaking English to his classes because it gives them the chance to learn more. All of his classes had a translator to help translate English for students who struggle with the language. “I speak slowly for my students to make it easier for them to learn from the class,” Yusuf said. The words that students struggle with most are business terms such as “entrepreneurship” and “ethics.” Yusuf Yusuf said Spanish-speaking students struggle to understand these words because of how similar they are in Spanish and English. To help with this problem, Yusuf puts on YouTube videos with Spanish and English subtitles for his students. Yusuf said student behavior is one of the biggest differences he has seen between Mexican and American students. “They (Mexican students) always stand up when I come into class, they listen to you and won’t argue with you,” he said. “It’s more ‘he’s