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Daily Toreador The

Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Special Edition

Finals Frenzy Inside Professors give opinions about final exams, Page 5 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY DE SANTOS/The Daily Toreador

Experts say alcohol not best companion for finals, Page 2 Experience will be key in football’s future, Page 8 Opinions May Vary: Religious references in public education, Page 4

Page 2 Friday, Dec. 5, 2014

Campus

Students find ways to keep brain active News editor

While the winter vacation brings a welcome mental break, it can make getting back into the routine of class in January more difficult.

Connie Scarborough, a professor in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures at Texas Tech, said it is important for students to keep up with their work, especially languages, during the break as to not forget what they learned the previous semester.

“Especially for language,” she said, “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.”

Jimmy Kim, an education professor at Harvard, said, according to an article from The Associated Press, students who read during breaks usually do not experience the drop in scores that students who completely let their brain rest will.

While Kim said it is important for students to read, they should also be motivated to do the reading,

which means picking out a book on a topic the student enjoys reading.

“Studies show leisure reading overall is down in the U.S.,” he said, “and there’s evidence the frequency with which you read predicts your literacy levels. Literacy levels are also highly correlated with the kind of job you have an how much money you make.”

Another good thing to do during the break, according to the article, is make a list of the things that need to be done during the break at the beginning when the brain is still in college mode.

That means applying for jobs, internships or working on longterm projects that may be major related, according to the article.

It is also important to tell the people at home that the student will need to dedicate time to accomplish things that have to do with school during the time home for vacation.

Instead of just reading and keeping up with activities, Scarborough

said there are many opportunities having conversations and actively for students to keep up their lan- speak the language while not in class, she said. guage work while on break.

“TV programming in Span“Some native speakers of Spanish who want to ish is always a fun way to keep learn or improve English may up,” she said.

Coming back after their “I particularly welcome an interencourage stu- sleeping until noon ev- cambio. They will dents to watch you lessons ery day is already hard. trade news programin Spanish for lesming in Spanish This way I’m doing sons in English,” because many of she said. “If you what I can do to help have a favorite the items will probably be famyself ahead of time. coffee shop, you might put up an miliar and there are many visual ad offering such an SARAH BRANDT arrangement. You clues to help STUDENT orient listeners never know who TEXAS TECH and viewers. may answer your ad. Our son met Publications in Spanish on the Internet are also a his Spanish wife of nearly 15 years good way. Most major newspapers through just such an ad.”

Students also have their own ways to are available online for free.”

Keeping up with other students stay working through the winter break.

Tristan Gables, an undeclared who either already know the language or are also taking language freshman from Austin, said he classes is a good way to continue has signed up for short classes at

“

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By KAITLIN BAIN

his community college to take during break.

“There’s an abbreviated session that will work for when I’m home,” he said. “It’s like summer classes. I get to take the class, get the credit but it only lasts three weeks. I guess it will keep my brain active, too.”

Sarah Brandt, a sophomore English major from Austin, said she will not be taking classes during the break, but staying active in learning is important to her.

She uses different apps, she said, to keep active and get away from staying home to watch Netflix all of break.

“There are these apps, I forgot what they’re called now, but they have short little games to keep your mind going,” she said. “There are some where you pick the right color from the words that are mismatched with which color they say and which color they actually are and things like that. The games basically target specific parts of your brain and are fun too. Better than sitting

BRAIN GAMES

• Talk to other language learners • Use brain game apps • Take classes at local community college • Read books • Watch news or other programming in different languages and doing actual work.”

She said she learned about these apps after sitting at home surfing the app store one day.

They are short, she said, so they do not interrupt a daily routine.

“Coming back after sleeping until noon every day is already hard,” she said. “This way I’m doing what I can to help myself out ahead of time.” ➤➤news@dailytoreador.com

Experts say alcohol not best companion for finals

By JONATHAN LAUREL staff writer

With finals looming and classes ending, some students are spending their time at the bars and not at the library.

Dead week is common at some universities, but Texas Tech students are given one dead day, which is a day to study and prepare for the final stretch of the semester before students can head back home.

During this time, some students feel stressed out by the pressures finals and turn to drinking.

Four out of five college students drink alcohol according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

However, virtually all college

students experience the effects of college drinking whether they drink or not, according to the NIAAA. Cameron LITTLEFIELD Culp, a sophomore from San Antonio, said he does not think there is anything wrong with drinking as long as it does not get in the way of time spent studying.

“Some people abuse the privilege of a dead day with alcohol,” he said, “and then complain that school is hard.”

Culp said many people he knows plan to attend dead day parties instead of hitting the books Thursday.

“I understand that people are

stressed out, but school is almost over and alcohol isn’t the answer,” Culp said.

According to a study done by the University of Portland, alcohol leads to missing deadlines, performing badly on a test or project because of the after effects of drinking and an impaired ability to think abstractly for up to 30 days, which limits the ability to relate textbook reading to in-class discussion.

The average college student consumes 3.3 alcoholic drinks a week, according to the NIAAA. Students who consume the average amount of 3.3 drinks had an A grade point average. As the number of drinks goes up the grade point average goes down, according to the study. Students who indulge themselves with more than 9 drinks a week have a D/F GPA.

Andrew Littlefield, an assistant professor of clinical psychology, said people use alcohol for different reasons, including coping with anxiety and other emotions.

“There are numerous studies that suggest individuals who tend to use alcohol to cope are more likely to experience alcohol-related problems and meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder,” he said. “Thus, students who use alcohol excessively to reduce anxiety related to finals or other problems are more likely to also encounter various alcohol-related problems.”

Sheila Garos, director of the psychology clinic at Tech, said anything can contribute to a person’s desire to consume alcohol but not everyone will.

Misty Ramon, a Raider assistance program manager with Student Health

POLICE BLOTTER Tuesday investigated a traffic accident in the 12:04 p.m. — A Tech officer 800 block of Akron Avenue.

12:14 p.m. — A Tech officer investigated a traffic accident in the investigated criminal trespass R-16 parking lot.

FOR RELEASE DECEMBER 4, 2014 12:11 p.m. — A Tech officer at the Robert H. Ewalt Student Los Angeles Times DECEMBER Daily Crossword Puzzle FOR RELEASE 5, 2014 Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

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A safe place to bring concerns and find solutions.

The tassel’s worth the hassle!

~Author Unknown

232 E SUB • 806.742.SAFE • www.safeplace.ttu.edu

Recreation Center.

8:37 p.m. — A Tech officer arrested a student for the possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the Z4-P parking lot after a check

on suspicious activity. The student was transported to the Lubbock County Jail.

Information provided by B.J. Watson of the Tech Police Department.

Services, said contrary to belief, taking a shot before a test will affect it but not necessarily positively.

“If a student has severe enough test taking anxiety that they feel they need to consume alcohol to calm down for the test, I would recommend they seek out services at the Student Counseling Center,” she said.

If a student were to get caught smelling of alcohol in class, the professor is likely to make a report to the Office of Student Conduct, she said, as this would be a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and would ultimately just increases the stress in the long run.

Even hangovers will affect a student’s academic ability, according to a study by Villanova University.

“A hangover would not be conducive to studying,” Ramone said. “Al-

ALCOHOL STATS • The average college student consumes 3.3 alcoholc drinks per week • Students who consume the average amount kept an A GPA • Students who had more than 9 drinks per week kept a D/F GPA

cohol has a negative impact on sleep quality. As a result, the drinker will feel unrested, unrefreshed, groggy, fatigued and lowered ability to concentrate and focus the next day.” ➤➤jlaurel@dailytoreador.com

Son: Hockey great Howe didn’t have major stroke LUBBOCK (AP) — An MRI taken Tuesday night shows hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe didn’t have a large stroke this week, as the family had feared, his son said.

In a text message to The Associated Press, Mark Howe said the test showed his father didn’t have a “big stroke” on Monday. He couldn’t immediately provide other details of the MRI, including whether he’d sustained a minor stroke. He said the family planned to release a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, the hockey player’s daughter, Cathy Purnell, said her father suffered a “significant stroke” on Monday, which would have been his third since late October. Howe was stable and “a little bit alert” Tuesday morning, and doctors at a Lubbock hospital where he was taken were scheduled to do additional tests, she said.

“He’s a fighter,” Purnell said. “The man is tough. He has this will to keep going, all things considered.”

The man known as “Mr. Hockey” set NHL marks with 801 goals and 1,850 points, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, records later broken by Wayne Gretzky.

Purnell said therapists who have been tending to Howe arrived at her house Monday morning and discovered him nonresponsive in bed. Howe remained that way until evening, when Purnell said he recognized family members once he became alert.

Howe suffered what his children called a serious stroke in late October and another in early November. He has been staying at his daughter’s home in Lubbock.

She said the family wants to get the 86-year-old Howe back to her house as soon as possible.

“It scares the daylight out of me,” Purnell said, adding that she told him Monday night to “stop pulling these games on me. He gave me a smile. His sense of humor is intact.”

1 2 WWW.DAILYTOREADOR.COM

DEC. 5, 2014

NEWS

3

Going home means playing by parents’ rules T

hey, whoever that is, say we will all reach a time in our lives when we realize everything our parents said was not only right but was in our best interest.

What they do not address though, is the time when we realize our parents are right based on principle, but we do not necessarily enjoy whatever it is they are right about.

That is currently the state I am in. The actions in question? High school rules I still have to follow in college.

When I moved to Lubbock, I was, for the first time in my life, living 10 hours away from my parents and free to do whatever I wanted,

Kaitlin Bain within the constraints of the law.

With that said, I could still break the law, I just would not have anyone to bail me out: one of the many reasons I have yet to break the law.

It was my newfound freedom that inspired me to create my own rules.

Who cares what time I come home at night or when I sleep until in the morning? I am now the only one in charge of me.

With winter break approaching

for my second time in college, I am now faced with the knowledge that for the next month, give or a take a few days, I will be expected home at 10 p.m. and if I want to stay up later I have to be as quiet as, if not more quiet than a mouse. Yay. Coming home my freshman year without knowing this was the plan is not my favorite memory in the world. It was like the rules from years past brought back the Kaitlin from years past.

Hello, senior in high school who thinks she is older than she is.

This year, however, I am determined to prove to my parents that not only am I more mature, but my rules should be, too. Here are my new break resolutions that might

STUDY SESSION

PHOTO BY ZACK BRAME/The Daily Toreador

TYLER HARMAN, A senior petroleum engineering major from Chicago, studies for finals Wednesday in the Student Union building.

Court grants Texas prisoner execution reprieve HUNTSVILLE (AP) — A federal appeals court halted Wednesday’s scheduled execution of a Texas killer whose attempt to subpoena Jesus Christ as a trial witness and other behavior led his attorneys to argue he is too mentally ill for capital punishment.

Scott Panetti, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia some 14 years before fatally shooting his estranged wife’s parents in 1992, was granted the reprieve less than eight hours before he was set to receive a lethal injection. In stopping the execution, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the legal complexity of putting a mentally ill inmate to death.

In a two-sentence ruling, the court said it needs time to “fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issue in this matter” and that it will schedule briefings and hearings to consider arguments.

The Texas attorney general’s office said it has no immediate plans to appeal and that state attorneys will present arguments to the 5th Circuit once the court sets a date for them.

Panetti’s lawyers described him as delusional and argued that he was too mentally ill to qualify for capital punishment and they sought the delay so Panetti could undergo new

competency examinations.

Panetti, who acted as his own trial lawyer, testified as an alternate personality he called “Sarge” to describe the slayings of Joe and Amanda Alvarado. He wore a purple cowboy outfit, including a big cowboy hat, during trial and largely ignored a standby attorney the judge appointed to assist him.

Appeals also were before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has said mentally ill people cannot be executed if they don’t have a factual and rational understanding of why they’re being punished. The high court took no action once the lower court stopped the punishment.

Panetti, 56, was still at a prison outside Livingston when the ruling came. He had not been moved to Huntsville, where executions are carried out, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said.

The Hayward, Wisconsin, native, who was convicted and sentenced in 1995, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1978. He had been hospitalized more than a dozen times for treatment in the decade before the shootings.

Panetti’s appeals lawyers said they are grateful for the reprieve that will allow “a careful review of the issues surrounding his competency.”

“Mr. Panetti has not had a

competency evaluation in seven years, and we believe that today’s ruling is the first step in a process which will clearly demonstrate that Mr. Panetti is too severely mentally ill to be executed,” Greg Wiercioch and Kathryn Kase said in a statement.

Both visited with Panetti in prison in the past few weeks and said his mental condition had worsened.

Wiercioch said Panetti told him devices implanted in his teeth by prison system dentists were sending messages to his brain.

Panetti also has insisted Satan is working through prison officials to execute him to keep him from preaching the Gospel.

State attorneys said records showed no significant change since Panetti’s last competency examination. During his trial and subsequent appeals, no court has found him incompetent or insane.

Panetti’s estranged wife and her 3-year-old daughter had moved in with the Alvarados at their home in Fredericksburg, about 60 miles north of San Antonio. She obtained a court order to keep Panetti away.

Enraged, he dressed in camouflage clothing and armed himself with a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and knives. He broke into the home and shot the couple.

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help you out at home.

One: Do not fight my parents on whatever rule they lay out.

We all know the fastest way to make a parent even more mad is to argue with them about something they are already tense about.

My parents say be home by 10 p.m.? You better believe I will try to be walking in the door at 9:55 p.m.

I have to stay home and babysit my niece and nephew? I would love to.

Accepting the boundaries happily will prove to my parents I am mature enough to not need so many.

Two: Embrace family bonding.

Watching my mom and brother bicker over his lack of desire to help put up our house decorations always

makes me feel bad.

I am determined not to be that way. I will come to each family event happy to be there and happy to see everyone. I mean if I did not want to see my family, why did I come home from Lubbock in the first place?

Three: Be grateful for the family I have. Here is where it gets sappy.

What can I say, I am a little bit homesick.

Sure my family may think sleeping later than 10 a.m. makes me a lazy bum and bringing immense amounts of laundry home and asking my mom to do it is unacceptable but they are my family.

I could not have gotten to Texas Tech without them and very deep down I know that (I think that is

part of the realization thing they say we will all get one day).

Coming home should be a special time filled with remembering memories and making new ones, not fighting until every one needs to be sent back to their corners.

Everyone and every family has quirks and that is what makes each of them special.

It is that realization and the fact I really do love my family that I am going to try, I cannot make any promises, to play by the rules.

Bain is The DT’s news editor and a junior journalism and political science dual major from Houston. ➤➤ news@dailytoreador.com

Multistate coalition sues over immigration order AUSTIN (AP) — Texas is leading a 17-state coalition suing over President Barack Obama’s recently announced executive actions on immigration, arguing in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the move “tramples” key portions of the U.S. Constitution.

Many top Republicans have denounced Obama’s unilateral move, which was designed to spare as many as 5 million people living illegally in the United States from deportation.

But Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott took it a step further, filing a formal legal challenge in federal court in the Southern District of Texas. His state is joined by 16 other mostly conservative states, largely in the south and Midwest, such as Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana and the Carolinas.

The states aren’t seeking monetary damages, but instead want the courts to block Obama’s actions.

The lawsuit could make things awkward come Friday, when Abbott travels to Washington to meet with Obama as part of a group of newly

elected governors.

Under Obama’s order, announced Nov. 20, protection from deportation and the right to work will be extended to an estimated 4.1 million parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and to hundreds of thousands more young people.

The lawsuit raises three objections: that Obama violated the “Take Care Clause” of the U.S. Constitution that Abbott said limits the scope of presidential power; that the federal government didn’t follow proper rulemaking procedures; and that the order will “exacerbate the humanitarian crisis along the southern border, which will affect increased state investment in law enforcement, health care and education.”

Abbott said Obama’s actions “directly violate a fundamental promise to the American people” and that it was up to the president to “execute the law, not de facto make law.”

Republican presidents, including

Ronald Reagan, have issued past executive orders pertaining to immigration.

Abbott said those were in response to actions by Congress — unlike Obama, who Abbott said acted in lieu of congressional approval.

Overwhelmingly elected governor last month, Abbott has been Texas attorney general since 2002. Wednesday marks the 31st time he has sued the federal government since Obama took office.

Many of those were over environmental regulations or the White House’s signature health care law, however. The only other high-profile lawsuit against Obama’s executive order has come on behalf of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Earlier this week, House Majority Leader John Boehner told lawmakers the GOP-led House may vote to undo Obama’s executive action, but the move would be mostly symbolic, as Obama would certainly veto such legislation and the Democratic-led Senate wouldn’t go for it, either.

Page 4 Friday, Dec. 5, 2014

Opinions

Opinions May Vary: Religious references in public education Laura Gonzalez Gonzalez is a junior public relations major from Amarillo. ➤➤ lgonzalez@dailytoreador.com

Opinions May Vary is a weekly segment in which columnists present opposing viewpoints.

John White White is a junior petroleum engineering major from Albuquerque, New Mexico. ➤➤ jwhite@dailytoreador.com

Public institutions should not embrace specific religions Privately funded religious displays permissible at schools

M

EDITORIAL BOARD

ost can agree that society today is bound together by unique individuals that embrace different traditions and carry diverse backgrounds. The same principle can be applied to any institution whose success depends on the cooperation of those working to bring the institution world-wide recognition and success. It is vital for an institution to embrace this equation of respect and equality when welcoming students from different regions and ethnicities.

Failing to take into account the masses that do not always practice what the founders of a large organization, corporation or institution believe in is a breach of power.

Thousands are enrolled in public institutions across this diverse country striving toward a common goal. Being accountable for the masses that belong to an institution brings the institution into a position of power; authority over others also brings immense responsibility and obligations to those who fall under the pyramid, which in this case would be the students.

Allowing an institution to embrace religious traditions is insensitive and wrong on many levels, often resulting in the implementation of irrational, outdated regulations.

Danielle Powell, a recent student at Grace University, was a victim of the insensitivity that an institution can manifest when dangerously rooted in religious practices and traditions.

“Danielle Powell was one semester short of earning her bachelor’s degree when she was kicked out of Nebraska’s religious Grace University for being gay in the year two thousand and twelve.

Now, she says the only way the school will transfer her credits to another university is if she agrees to pay up to $6,300,” according to a Jezebel article.

The article adds, “The school stripped Powell of her scholarship, and is now requesting that Powell pay back the $6,000 of the scholar-

maintain the fine line between church and state today.

The article adds, “Last year, civil rights groups demanded that a school district in Texas prevent cheerleaders from holding banners with Bible verses, and the matter has reached the state Supreme Court.”

I myself am a religious individual and thrive in all that my faith constitutes. Oftentimes, one needs reinforcement and structure. For many, that reinforcement is religion.

However, not all carry or share that same form of structure when pushing through the challenges that life brings. Acknowledgement of this will bring many institutions into the brink of success, reflected by the numbers of those enrolling during registration seasons.

Most importantly, diffusing such analogy absent of prejudice and discrimination will help many feel welcomed into existing institutions today. Our world is a better place due in part to the acceptability and connectivity that many feel among one another; embracing religion will only deteriorate that relativity that people feel amongst others when working or living together.

E

very year around this time, the issue comes to the forefront of whether or not government-funded institutions, such as public universities like Texas Tech, should recognize “religious” holidays like Christmas. Many colleges have reverted to more generic terms, such as “holidays” or “winter break,” citing concerns relating to the first amendment. This has drawn criticism from some who point out that Christmas and Judeo-Christian tradition is a crucial aspect of American history and as such should continue to be recognized.

Currently, according to the Tech calendar posted online by the Office of Official Publications, the period from December 24 to January 1 (including Christmas) is not given an official name, while the rest of the break is labeled as “Winter Intersession.” It is reasonable to wonder if the university intentionally avoided naming this week to avoid controversy.

In reality, there are several reasons why public institutions should be allowed to display religious symbols and recognize religious holidays. It also will become clear that the “separation of church and state” concept often used in anti-religious arguments is completely flawed and based on a misinterpretation of the language and intent of the Constitution.

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First of all, Christianity is inextricably intertwined with American history and tradition. Symbols such as the Christmas tree, nativity scene, Ten Commandments and cross have been used and displayed publicly throughout our history, and the Constitution hasn’t changed its language on this matter since 1789.

Why, then, is this suddenly a problem? The answer is clear: With the recent growth of the non-JudeoChristian population, some see this as a winning issue politically. I can’t think of a single rational person who is genuinely offended at the hearing the word “Christmas,” yet somehow today’s political correctness culture has all but marginalized the word.

Now we must determine whether or not a public school has the right to display religious icons such as a nativity scene on its property. While I agree that the government should not fund public religious displays, there is nothing that legally prohibits a university from displaying a nativity scene, for example, if it is funded by a private source.

Then, whoever is in charge of the area on which the display is to be placed has the discretion as to whether or not to accept the “donation.” In so doing, he will need to consider the possible reactions of others who see the display.

If someone is offended, they will know exactly who to contact.

Furthermore, if the offended party wishes to display a different religion’s symbol, they can feel free to donate one.

That’s how this sort of thing should be regulated — through common sense, not through costly lawsuits.

However, recently, many local governments have banned displays of Christian icons on public property. The Supreme Court has held that only religious displays that serve a “legitimate secular purpose” may be displayed on public property.

Clearly this is a very vague requirement and leads to a great deal of disagreement. Unfortunately, neither the ban nor the court decisions have a strong constitutional basis; instead, they rely on a controversial interpretation of the first amendment, as the “separation of church and state.”

In resolving this controversy, it is important to recognize the difference between being forced to witness prac-

tice of a different religion as opposed to being forced to participate in another religion. This difference is best illustrated through examples. In the first category would be instances of a Buddhist being wished a “Merry Christmas” at the DMV or a Muslim being forced to walk by a Christian nativity scene on the way to class.

In the second category would be the Buddhist being required to attend a Christian church service to graduate college or a Muslim being required to bow before a Christian altar. The difference is clear. In the first set of examples, the government is not endorsing Christianity; however, it is not protecting the public from any references to Christianity. In the second instance, the government would be clearly requiring others to recognize Christian principles.

This is a crucial difference. The second instance is clearly unconstitutional.

On the other hand, the first instance involves no illegal conduct on the part of the government. The first amendment prohibits the government from establishing a national religion and guarantees that each person must be allowed to practice his religion freely. It does not guarantee freedom from religious references in one’s everyday lives.

It is very difficult to argue that a university recognizing Christmas or displaying Christmas-related material (that were not purchased with public funds) is an example of the government establishing a national religion or that it is interfering with another’s religious practices.

It is also important to note, contrary to popular opinion, that the words “separation of church and state” are never found in the Constitution. Given what was at stake, if the founders intended that the government should never make a reference to a religion, they certainly would have included it in the Constitution. It is very unfortunate that years of American jurisprudence have referenced this nonexistent concept.

Given all of this, publicly funded universities such as Tech should be allowed to recognize religious holidays and display religious symbols on a limited basis, pursuant to the conditions outlined earlier.

And with that, I wish you all the best of luck on finals, and a very merry Christmas!

Growing national debt problem difficult to solve Editor-in-Chief Carson Wilson editor@dailytoreador.com Managing Editor Chantal Espinoza managing@dailytoreador.com News Editor Kaitlin Bain news@dailytoreador.com La Vida Editor Amy Cunningham features@dailytoreador.com Opinions Editor Andrew Gleinser opinions@dailytoreador.com Sports Editor Everett Corder sports@dailytoreador.com

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ship meant for her final semester (you know, the one they wouldn’t allow her to complete), and said that they would not transfer her credits until she did.”

It is unethical to embrace such principles that are irrelevant and incompatible with the millions that form part of our country today.

Grace University is not the only institution discriminating against those who are different from what the university aspires to be.

According to an article in The Denver Post, “In what appears to be a perversion of the ethic of inclusiveness, a growing number of colleges and universities are telling evangelical students that they won’t be given official recognition unless they allow any students, no matter what their religion, to serve as leaders.”

Placing loopholes in order to seek a position of leadership among a student organization is absurd; a student should never be restricted or detained from seeking an officer position because of his or her beliefs. It is for this reason that authorizing an entire institution to openly advocate and relinquish in a particular religion will result in bias and discrimination against those who form part of it.

Clemson University does not fall behind the list of those whose actions and practices are one-sided in regard to the student body.

According to an article in The Washington Post, “The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, sent Clemson a letter in April, calling coaches’ endorsement of Christianity an unconstitutional crossing of boundaries separating church and state.”

Aside from laws governing our land, it is comforting to witness the works of organizations such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation pushing to emplace distance between Christianity and school traditions such as football.

Modern ideals and those who stand for equality are what help

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H

ow the U.S. national deficit is proposed to be resolved and ultimately dissolved is a pressing issue.

Currently our debt is more than $17 trillion, according to www. usdebtclock.org, and still continues to grow even though the taxes and other elements are supposed to be tackling this. They don’t even cover a fraction of the overall total at this point.

My brother mentioned a video

by Tony Robbins called “The National Debt and Federal Budget Deficit Deconstructed,” which covers this topic with legitimate facts about what we as a country would need to cover this debt for a year. The video in summary states the U.S. would not be able to retain our assets and still remain afloat.

However, the fact of the matter is it’s not changing anytime soon.

I believe this is in part due to the simple fact that the government, from bureaucracies all the way down to most individuals, has never had to be accountable for a budget.

How can we trust a government to do something that we ourselves aren’t?

What is even more embarrassing is how most people don’t have an accurate view of what the dollar is really worth. With the technology age it’s becoming easier to use virtual money or a plastic card than it is to buy something using an element without the interest accumulating factor like cold hard cash. When was the last time you

Kendra Kimberlin calculated the hours it would take you to buy an item beforehand?

Another small thing that comes in to play in order to change these money issues is writing to our representatives. While it may be an option most don’t think would change much, people are influenced by a number of things, and for senators and congressmen, your vote and major inflow of mail says a lot.

Now those are just a few things that as an individual can help, but it’s ultimately up to the legislative branch to implement policies to reduce this growing debt.

The two proposed solutions to this problem are taxation and shrinking expenses. Neither taxation nor reducing expenses needs to be done solely; they need to be done in correlation. Both solutions will have consequences, but are necessary for progress and becoming a solvent entity once again.

Taxation is useful to a certain extent in that it directly contributes to the government. While on the other hand, who wants to give up a larger portion of their paycheck to the IRS? Not anyone.

Which is why some say it would only be fair to heavily tax those that have plenty to spare, but this

is not what we want to begin as a nation to rule on what people can give based on the retained earnings of an individual or corporation. We would be going back to the very reason we broke ties with Britain and continue to fight against certain countries.

Reducing expenses is often harder to see the immediate relationship, as it requires careful planning and looking over what things we can afford to lose. The first thing that is brought up with this solution is the armed forces being either eliminated altogether or cut back.

As a major force of diplomacy, this is a crucial area that needs to be understood as more than expenses in the monetary sense, but in the safety and lives of U.S. citizens and others around the world.

These are a few things to consider when looking at the national debt and panacea for the economic ills we continue to face as the United States of America.

Kimberlin is a junior business management major from College Station. ➤➤ opinions@dailytoreador.com

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Christmas season should be about giving

T

he season upon us is one for giving without receiving. As a society, we should focus more on others versus ourselves.

“One North American survey reported that 45 percent of respondents dreaded the festive season,” says psychologist Ray Williams. How can this be that almost half of Americans don’t enjoy a few days off work, granted a freedom to do whatever they please?

While there may be some theories of Seasonal Affective Disorder, meaning dark winter weather brings out a sad side of people, most of the dismay branches from unrealistic expectations and excessive selfreflection.

This season is a time for giving to others and being thankful for what you have, no matter how small it might be. Many times people’s notion that they must get someone the perfect gift or pull off a flawless Christmas dinner minimizes the true value of the holidays.

Along with perfect expectations, people’s debt, aging family members and magnified existing problems play a role in the holiday blues as well.

“

Nick Smith Effective ways to combat these not-so-joyful thoughts are to think about all of the good things that have happened in the past year. Focus on making pleasant memories for the future and perform acts of service that help those who don’t have as much as you.

Instead of worrying if a special someone is going to get you that special something, we can focus on getting someone else a gift, which starts from thinking about others instead of yourself. By placing the focus outward instead of inward, you may realize there are many that are struggling throughout the holidays. Even though you may not feel like exerting yourself, simply listening and offering words of comfort and encouragement to someone can divert from your self-indulgence while bringing someone else joy.

Surely it is easy to get wrapped

Instead of worrying if a special someone is going to get you that special something, we can focus on getting someone else a gift, which starts from thinking about others ...

up in our society full of competition to be the best and get ahead of others by getting that new car or the iWhatever, but it would be wise and beneficial say for us to rather than take a step backward, stand still and help somebody else. You might find that standing still got you much further.

A quote from Neil DeGrasse Tyson says, “Lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.” Ironically, there are many benefits to yourself and others when you put others before yourself.

A suggestion from Candy Arrington, author of Aftershock, encourages us to “lower (our) personal goals.” Instead of piling on a list of regrets about what we didn’t get a chance to accomplish, we should prevent these unrealistic goals by taking a serious look at what we hope to accomplish and strike through or decrease requirements for your list.

This holiday season, I encourage all of my peers to spend time with loved ones and dedicating some down holiday blues time to doing good deeds to help others.

Instead of focusing our energy on the perfect gift or what someone else might do for us, I encourage everyone to enjoy the special time they get to have with their families and prevent from indulging too much of your thoughts about yourself. Rather, think about others in a season fabricated from being thankful and giving to others.

Smith is a senior mechanical engineering major from Frisco. ➤➤ nsmith@dailytoreador.com

“

Additional ‘dead days’ needed before exams

F

inals time is just around the corner here at Texas Tech and that means cramming, stress and silently begging for our mommies. Finals time is without a doubt the worst part of being a college student and the time needed to study to do well on these exams is astronomical.

That being said, we only have one “dead day” to study. It is an unreasonable expectation that we need only one day to prepare for our final exams. Classes end on Dec. 3, Dead Day is on Dec. 4 and finals start on Dec. 5.

T he St a nford Daily News reports, “No time for sleep, no time for playing games, no time for going to parties.

You must get that six-figure job, you have to get an “A” in this class, and you must succeed. These days, it seems like stress levels are skyrocketing on college campuses.”

According to Time Magazine, “College students are more stressed out than ever before — at least according to the latest findings of a large, national survey that has been conducted annually for the last 25 years.”

College students are more stressed out today and the stress of studying for finals only exemplifies that stress. Technology doesn’t make studying, or in some cases cramming, for finals any easier.

According to an article by The Stanford Daily, “Besides worrying about their careers and activities, students also have to face the fast pace of life created by modern technology … ‘Technology has made (life) more stressful, with email and cell phones – you never get any break from it all,’ said junior Sharon Chen, a peer health educator in Otero.”

Effectively preparing for finals is almost impossible to do in any time frame, but only one day certainly is not enough time to transition from class-mode to study-mode. A U.S. News article cites five ways college students can prepare for finals: “plan your schedule, set reasonable expectations, take care of your physical self, eat well and exercise and utilize the resources that are available to you.”

How are we, as Tech students, supposed to do all of those in a span

“

DEC. 5, 2014

OPINIONS

Erin Wallace of 24 hours?

According to the U.S. News article, “Time has a tendency to slip away during finals week, so plan and keep track of it the best you can.

“Be realistic when it comes to planning your schedule. Allocate (and use!) time to sleep, get some exercise, eat well and just hang out. Your brain needs a break from all the studying, so let it relax by hanging out with friends, surfing the Internet or just mentally checking out for a while.

“Treat your body kindly during finals week, and it will return the favor! Will you get as much sleep as you ideally need?

Probably not. But you should get enough so that you can be mentally sharp both during your study sessions and during your exams

We all know that cramming for tests rarely works out in receiving a good grade and yet that is essentially what our university is asking us to do.

themselves.

“Technically, what you’ve eaten over the last 24 hours may count as food — but it didn’t provide much nutrition. You don’t need to visit your doctor to know how much better you feel when you’ve had a good breakfast, a respectable lunch, sensible snacks and a smart dinner.

“You don’t have to be failing or on academic probation to utilize campus resources.”

How is one day of free time enough to accomplish all of these tasks? Many universities in the state of Texas have at least three days of free study time, such as The University of Texas, Baylor and Texas A&M. We all know that cramming for tests rarely works out in receiving a good grade and yet that is essentially what our university is asking us to do. If you have an exam on Dec. 5, you basically have to pull an all-nighter on dead day in hope of receiving even a passing grade.

It is time that Tech steps up and gives us a longer time to study. I understand that would mean moving back the end of the semester, but I am willing to accept that for a better chance on my final exams.

Good grades make for a good GPA, which leads (hopefully) to a good job. Tech students can’t afford bad exam grades because we didn’t have the time to study.

Wallace is a sophomore social work major from Austin. ➤➤ ewallace@dailytoreador.com

Sure Shots

5

By Luke Watson

Physical fitness vital for student success

A

lthough it may be tough to stay motivated, many college students have become lazy on keeping themselves in shape and physically sound. With all the social influences such as partying, drinking and even being by one’s self away from parents, it is easy to fall into a trap of believing that college is simply a party and a degree will be given to you after four years.

It is important for students to understand fully that college does not mean that one can do anything because one is alone and away from parents. Laws within each city and state that each college is located still apply to everyone, including the socalled “adults” college students are considered to be by law.

Attending a university means making the act of studying a number one priority in order to earn a degree. College is not simply a place to pay thousands of dollars in order to party and put oneself in an awful situation with the law.

In solution, college students should focus more on physical fitness. In turn, they will focus more on their physique and learn to mentally motivate themselves in their schoolwork. Instead of drinking, waking up with a hangover and being lazy all day recovering from the night before, students will wake up healthier and be more productive in their daily lives.

With a strong and fit physique comes a strong mind. According to Edutopia.org, “regular workouts in the gym or on the playground improve attention span, memory and learning.” Instead of being hung over in class, students can be alert and in turn learn better.

Every college student wants good grades, so why not give the experiment of daily exercise a try? Students will not be disap-

Conrad Polkosnik pointed with the outcome.

While fitness is important to keeping one’s motivation, it is a great stress reliever as well. If one is having a bad day or needs some free time from the stress that schoolwork is bringing them, getting a solid workout in could be a great solution. According to an article by Natural News, “exercise essentially burns away the chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine that cause stress.” In a sense, it is scientifically proven that exercise helps relieve stress.

Also, the time spent in the gym will keep students away from trouble. After a solid workout, students will usually become tired and hungry, spending more time cooking and getting rest at home.

This process in its entirety keeps students out of trouble and keeps them healthier. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a short nap “provides significant benefit for improved alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy or interfering

with nighttime sleep.”

Last but not least, it is evident that no new college student wants to gain weight. According to the Obesity Action Coalition, “eating late at night, eating unhealthy, the lack of exercise, poor nutritional skills, along with poor sleep habits” all contribute to gaining weight. Remember that night you went out, drank a little too much and ended up at Whataburger at three or four in the morning? Yes, eating out late in such a way contributes to gaining weight that none of us as college students want.

Overall, exercise keeps students focused and keeps them focused on their schoolwork and learning in the classroom.

Although going out and having a good time could possibly have a negative effect on many college students today, it is not always bad to go out from time to time. It is actually healthy.

But, if students are abusing the fun, struggling in their classes or simply wanting a change for the better, exercise could be a great solution.

Polkosnik is a sophomore petroleum engineering major from Dallas. ➤➤ opinions@dailytoreador.com

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Professors give opinions about final exams

By JENNIFER ROMERO Staff Writer

As the end of the semester nears, the preparation for finals begins as students study for the last exam they will take in a class.

While students prepare for these final exams, professors can choose whether to give a final test and how to format it.

Bart Durham, an assistant professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at Lubbock Christian, said he teaches a class at Texas Tech without a final at the end of the semester.

“This is the only class that I don’t have any tests or a final of some sort,” he said. “Some of them are different. In one of them, I gave a take home final. I like to do that in that particular class because we’ve done a lot of

reading and I can ask more open-ended questions.”

Take-home exams give students more time to develWEINDORF op responses.

Durham said he receives more thoughtful responses on these exams.

Different styles of exams are conducive to certain types of classes, and he said while takehome exams work well in classes with many reading assignments, he would not give one to his statistics class.

“I really do try to match up the final and how I administer the final to the class with what I’m trying to accomplish,” Durham said. “In a few disciplines,

those finals are set up to be big comprehensive exams. We don’t want our students to be unprepared for academic settings like professional programs.”

Some students move on to graduate school, law school or veterinary school, and Durham said those programs are structured to have one big exam at the end.

David Weindorf, the associate dean for research in the Department of Plant and Soil Science, said he structures his finals for each class differently and many of them are comprehensive.

“This is my last opportunity to determine the student’s overall comprehension of the subject,” he said. “In most cases, the comprehensive final exam closely reflects the student’s pre-final average in the course.

A student’s grade in the course should reflect their level of comprehension and understanding of the subject matter.”

The number of college classes giving finals may be decreasing, according to an article by Alan Reifman, a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

Statistics from a Harvard study show only 23 percent of undergraduate courses at the university had finals in 2011, and, according to the article, Reifman said he supports more frequent, lower weighted tests along with written assignments.

“I feel as though final exams are important,” Weindorf said.

“We are gravitating towards a point and click society, but higher education is not like that at all.

Critical thinking cannot be as-

FINAL EXAMS

• Harvard 2011 study - 23 percent of undergraduate courses gave final exams at the university - 3 percent of graduate courses gave final exams at the university sessed by bubbling in true or false.

What I want more than anything is for students to write more and more and at higher levels.”

Professors can choose to evaluate students how they feel is best, and he said students who are doing well in a class may not need to take a final.

The pressure from finals comes from them being the last tests and everyone placing emphasis on them, and Durham said students worry about a final

because it is their last chance to change their grade.

“I think finals are overblown in the mind of the student because they have that title of a ‘final,’” Durham said. “To most professors who have finals that are not comprehensive, the final is just another test. There’s really not anything different between that test and any of the other ones besides that it comes at the end.” ➤➤jromero@dailytoreador.com

Students should utilize stress relief methods during finals W

ith very few days remaining in the semester and finals beginning, the stress has begun to weigh on me. The amount of hours spent solely on completing last-minute homework assignments and studying for finals has increased dramatically compared to the beginning of the semester.

Eventually, stress can have a physical, emotional and psychological impact on everyone, whether you realize or not.

There are many ways to distinguish if you are experiencing stress. Some signs of stress include impatience, frustration and irritability over minor things that can usually happen with roommates or close friends; chronic fatigue or difficulty sleeping; frequently feeling anx-

Anthony Estolano iety or panic and feeling increasingly disorganized.

Before you start to pile more stress on top of your current workload, use the following 10 tips to reduce your stress.

My first tip to those experiencing stress is to take some time off, go outside and take a 20-minute run. Running outside will help you wake up and releases feel-good endorphins to boost your mood and can help calm an over-active mind. Consider fitting in a quick run after classes

or right before you begin to study.

Second, use your family and friends as a good resource to sit down and talk about what you are experiencing. Talk to them about what is stressing you out. Talking things out can ultimately help reduce stress and anxiety that comes with issues affecting someone.

For my third tip, I recommend keeping your study environment clean. Taking an hour to clean your workspace can help clear your mind and focus again on your work.

My fourth tip is to maintain a detailed calendar. In your calendar, make sure to include your exam dates and anything you want to accomplish in the day.

Color-coding or sticky notes can also help maintain your calendar

and keep it more organized.

Listening to music is my fifth tip to relieve stress. While not all music is calm and relaxing, choosing a simple online or radio station with calm music can help you relax your mind.

Songza.com and online radio has a pre-set studying station that includes classical music and instrumental melodies.

We will all do it eventually, so my sixth tip is to take a social media break. While using social media can increase procrastination, a small break won’t hurt. Prior to beginning your studying, turn or log off all social media sites and leave them aside for an hour or two, that way you are not always trying to use them during your studying.

A crucial part to beginning any day is eating a healthy well-

balanced breakfast, so it should be no surprise why this is my seventh tip to relieving stress. Denying breakfast in the morning can lead to low motivation throughout the day and an increase in stress levels. Consider eating a banana or a granola bar if you do not feel like eating a big breakfast.

Having fun may seem like an absurd idea during finals, but it may be what you need. As my eighth tip, I recommend spending anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes doing something that is fun to you. Watch some funny Vines or play a quick game of FIFA to relieve some stress.

Around this time of the year, there are a few things students can attend to take some time off like sporting events. My ninth tip is to attend a sporting event

and participate in some school spirit with students that are all experiencing the stress of finals.

My last and tenth tip to relieving finals stress is to take some time and do absolutely nothing. While this may be challenging to some, try to turn off all technology and sit down and relax. A few minutes with this technique can help clear and recharge your mind.

Using any of these tips may be beneficial to reducing stress levels. While these tips may not fit everyone’s personalities, there are certainly other stressrelieving techniques that may suit you better.

Estolano is a freshman journalism major from San Antonio. ➤➤ aestolano@dailytoreador.com

Bill Cosby faces underage abuse claims Mental health is priority while studying LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bill Cosby was sued Tuesday by a Southern California woman who claims the comedian molested her in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974 when she was 15 years old.

Judy Huth’s sexual battery lawsuit does not specify how much she is seeking from Cosby, who has in recent weeks faced renewed accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted more than a dozen women for many years.

Huth’s lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, however, is the first time a woman has gone public claiming Cosby abused her when she was underage. A second woman told Pittsburgh television station KDKA last month that Cosby drugged her to the point of unconsciousness in the 1980s when she was 15.

Huth’s lawsuit states that she and a 16-year-old friend first met Cosby at a Los Angeles-area film

shoot and the comedian gave the girls drinks a week later at a tennis club.

The lawsuit states that Cosby took them to the Playboy Mansion after several drinks, and told the teenagers to lie and say they were 19 years old if asked. Her lawsuit states Cosby forced her to perform a sex act on him with her hand.

An email message sent to Cosby’s attorney Martin Singer was not immediately returned. Singer has denied previous accusations or said the women raising the claims in interviews had been discredited.

Singer’s statement does not apply to a lawsuit brought in 2005

by Andrea Constand, who claimed Cosby drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. Constand, who worked for the women’s basketball team at Temple University, and Cosby settled the case before trial.

Cosby resigned from the university’s board of trustees on Monday.

He had been the school’s public face, appearing in advertisements, fundraising campaigns and delivering commencement speeches.

The accusations have put a significant dent in Cosby’s recent comeback efforts, forcing the cancellation of shows on his comedy tour and prompting Netflix and NBC to shelve projects featuring the comedian.

Cosby, 77, has never been criminally charged stemming from any of the sex-abuse allegations, many of which date back to the 1970s and 1980s.

Huth claims she suffered severe emotional distress and that she discovered its effect on her within the past three years, which allows her to file the lawsuit under California law.

“This traumatic incident, at such a tender age, has caused psychological damage and mental anguish for (Huth) that has caused significant problems throughout her life,” the lawsuit states.

T

he American Psychological Association released a report stating young Americans between 18 and 33 years old are more stressed out than the rest of the population. This is a result of the societal expectations set on this population, specifically on college students.

At this time in our lives, we are expected to make life-changing decisions about our futures.

First-year students go from living at home to being entirely alone in a time period that feels like overnight. College seniors go from the safety of classes and internships or jobs to “the real world” and are expected to be the responsible, mature adults they saw their parents as.

And then suddenly, we are our parents.

We have a house on our own and bills and stress and gray hairs coming in, and for what?

A paycheck? Where did the time go? How on earth do we manage to make the transition from our high school football games to watching our kids high school games in such a short amount of

Kristen Barton time? The societal expectation of the youth of America is that they stop being youth.

The “best” years of our lives are spent preparing for a midlife crisis and planning our future.

In the midst of finals week, this rings more true than ever.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have heard, “I can’t fail this test or I won’t have a perfect GPA and I won’t get a job and I will end up working at McDonald’s.” This week, students put so much stress on themselves and receive so much from the expectations of professors that we lose our minds.

It’s time to put an end to viewing students as a number.

We look at finals grades, GPAs and graduation years so much we are not even viewed as unique people anymore. Professors don’t look at your thoughtful discus-

sion answers but instead, your final grade.

Of course, a lot of this is not the professor’s fault. Class sizes at universities can be overwhelmingly huge, and it is impossible for a professor to put a name to every face they teach.

It’s time for a reform in our education system. We need to value teachers and the work they do so we can have more professors and smaller classes.

We need a new way to determine if students have actually learned the material and did not just cram the week before the final.

In the midst of this insanely hectic week, I urge all college students to please do whatever it takes to put one’s mental health before a test score.

Sleep, eat, do something you enjoy. While learning and performing well in the classroom are completely necessary and should take place, it is important you remember you are more than just a number.

You aren’t just a test score.

You are more than the number of chapters in textbooks you read.

You are more than however many formulas you memorize. You are more than that never-ending essay.

You are more than what the education system makes you out to be. Remember that as a student your only obligation is to learn — that’s it. It doesn’t mean getting the perfect grade or being the top student in the class. Your GPA does not and never will define you.

Remember during finals week to take time for you — take time to do something you enjoy, whether that’s going for a run, reading a book, playing video games, journaling, sketching or whatever it is that you enjoy that makes you unique and, most importantly, happy.

Don’t let a number define you — do that for yourself.

Barton is a freshman journalism major from Longview. ➤➤ kbarton@dailytoreador.com

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DEC. 5, 2014

LA VIDA

7

Cramming for final exams not good idea T

he last stretch of the school year can be difficult for students, especially when it comes to preparing for final exams.

Some people are easy test takers and breeze through tests with no problem, while others struggle more to remember everything they learned all year.

Developing good study habits and systems that make it easier to study help greatly when it comes to preparing.

One important thing to think about going into finals, as cheesy as it sounds, is having a positive attitude.

If you go into a final or start studying for one with a negative attitude or already believing

Liana Solis you are going to fail, it will not reflect positively on your grade.

However, if you have a focus and keep a good attitude about what you are studying, it will be much easier and you will learn much faster.

That is hard to think about because the idea of finals makes us all want to groan, but it is definitely something that will get you started.

Another important thing to

remember is to take things onestep at a time. Do not just jump right in to a study guide and think it can knock it out and relearn everything in one setting.

If you know a test is coming up in a few days, start studying ahead of time. Go through all the material little-by-little every day. By the time the test comes around, it will be easier to remember everything you learned.

Many college students, including myself, think its better to just procrastinate and cram the day before the test.

According to a research study conducted at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 99 percent of students have admitted to cramming for tests, even thought it is

not effective.

Trying to stuff that much information into your brain at one time is not healthy for it. It is much more productive to relearn little pieces of information at a time.

Additionally, most students stay up very late or do not even go to sleep in order to study for an exam they have the next day.

If you read any article or research this topic, they will tell you sleep is one of the most important things it get when it comes to test taking.

Staying up all night to cram may seem like a good idea, but it will not be so useful the next day when you have a brain fart trying to remember everything

you learned for the test.

Another common problem is the idea of distractions and not being able to concentrate on studying.

One thing that will help is shutting off or putting away all distractions while you study. Put your phone away, exit out of all your social media accounts or anything else you need to do.

This does not mean you have to completely ignore all of these things during finals week or the whole time you are studying.

Taking short breaks while studying can very often be useful to help push yourself to study more.

Reward yourself with a snack or an episode of your favorite Netflix show after a certain point.

Passion important during holiday season Jemima W hile this season is generally known as a time to engage in an assortment of festivities, it is also the perfect time of year to question every possible plan you have for your future.

Over the course of the break between the holidays and the New Year, all the proper factors align for you to reevaluate your life. Family and friends are gathered and ready to inform you about the favorable trajectory of their lives and inquire after the direction of your life. A new year brings with it the temptation to create a notebook full of New Year’s resolutions in an effort to do a complete lifestyle overhaul.

Along with the new year comes a new semester and a new classes, which is a reminder of how close the future inches with every passing year. In this season of self-doubt, it is important to remember to follow your passion in whatever the future holds, especially in a potential career path.

Critics of the “follow your passions” philosophy say passions are fickle, and therefore following them

Johnson

is a faulty premise to live by. This criticism comes from the common misconception that “following your passion” is aimlessly pursuing things you like, blowing off things you don’t like and jumping from interest to interest.

In reality, following a passion is about discovering what you love and finding ways to integrate it into everything you do. Discovering a passion is a process and takes both commitment and consistency to be successful. In fact, following a passion is primarily about finding a passion first.

Furthermore, critics state not all people have passions. Keep in mind, passions don’t have to be some kind of distinguished discipline. After all, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a passion as “a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement

for something or about doing something.” This means a passion can be any number of things, no matter how simple.

Basically, following your passion can be effective as long as it is approached the right way with the right state of mind. The path won’t always be easy, but it should always be rewarding in the end.

One benefit of prioritizing passions is an increased personal investment in whatever is being pursued.

When something is a passion, more effort is usually put into it than with something that is not. Because of this higher quality input, the product resulting from these efforts is also much better.

In addition, being passionate about tasks can go a long way with peers. As unlikely as it may seem, most people notice whether or not someone has a passion for what they are doing. It is obvious in the work the person does and how the person approaches it, and passion is a surefire way to impress a future employer.

Another benefit of prioritizing passions is increased motivation to pursue the task. Since motivation

By using a reward system, you will be more motivated to want to get your work done knowing there is an immediate reward in it for you. Then, you can get back to studying after your break and repeat the process.

Many people have different techniques or study habits that help them get everything done, it is just based on the person.

By finding your own niche way of studying, you can more easily get all that work out of the way so you can just relax and have fun once your finals are done.

Solis is a junior electronic media and communications major from Dripping Springs. ➤➤ lsolis @dailytoreador.com

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DAILYTOREADOR

is high in your pursuits, your productivity in these pursuits is likely to be higher.

More important than the benefits it can provide in career pursuits, prioritizing passions makes for a much happier person. When a person is allowed to do something they feel a high amount of enthusiasm or excitement for, he or she can’t help but be happier from day to day.

Oprah Winfrey, one of the most successful people in the world, gave the best advice when she said, “You’ve got to follow your passion.

You’ve got to figure out what it is you love — who you really are. And have the courage to do that.”

This season is a time for both relaxation and reflection, and sometimes the latter can leave you overwhelmed. However, you should never lose sight of who you are and what you love in the process. If you do, you will always have your passions to put you back on track.

For all your Tech news and sports

Johnson is a freshman electronic media and communications major from Lubbock. ➤➤ jjohnson@dailytoreador.com

University of Texas: Missing brains were destroyed HOUSTON (AP) — Dozens of human brains seemed to be missing from a research lab at the University of Texas in Austin. One professor guessed students either pulled a Halloween prank or went looking for an odd home decoration in the form of formaldehyde-packed jars.

The university said Wednesday

that environmental workers disposed of between 40 and 60 jars, some of which contained multiple brains, about 12 years ago after faculty members said they weren’t in good enough condition for research or teaching.

The questions were promoted by a recently released book about a brain collection that the university

received 28 years ago from the Austin State Hospital. The thought-to-be missing specimens were part of the original collection of 200 brains and had been stored at the campus’ Animal Resources Center.

On Tuesday, psychology professor Tim Schallert, a co-curator of the collection, told the Austin

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American-Statesman it wasn’t clear what had happened to about half of the collection. Fellow professor and co-curator Lawrence Cormack said it was “possible word got around among undergraduates and people started swiping them for living rooms or Halloween pranks.”

The university then investigated.

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UNFURNISHED

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TTU MUSUEM shop part‑time. Approximently 20 hours per week. Retail or PR experience pre‑ ferred. To set up interview call 742‑2443.

VISION EMPLOYMENT GROUP Temporary positions available for concessions at Tech sports events. For more information contact us today (806)445‑0426. www.visionemploymentgroup.com

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Page 8 Friday, Dec. 5, 2014

Sports

Lauderdale wants to double his production

By JEREMY KRAKOSKY Staff Writer

Sophomore wide receiver Devin Lauderdale flew past Baylor defenders on his 48-yard touchdown reception from freshman quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter of Texas Tech’s two point loss on Saturday.

The only player that could have caught him on the play was Tech junior wide receiver Jakeem Grant, he jokingly said.

The touchdown marked his seventh of the year, one more than his total touchdowns during his freshman year at Navarro in Corsicana.

Lauderdale said playing at Tech this season was a much more enjoyable experience because every player wanted to be there.

“When I got here, it was like a family. Everybody was working towards a Big 12 Championship,” he said. “At Navarro, everybody was working to get to D1. Now that I’m at D1, everybody is working together to try to get to the next level. We are together more.”

Against Iowa State, Lauderdale pulled in an 82-yard touchdown catch, which is tied for the eight

longest touchdown reception in school history, according to a Tech Athletics news release. Along with this touchdown, many of his seven scores this season were long plays.

Despite making many long range plays, Lauderdale said he can do much more than just be a deep threat receiver.

“I just see myself as a playmaker. I can catch the ball from three yards and take it the whole way. I can go deep,” Lauderdale said. “I just look at myself as an all-round playmaker.”

The second year wide receiver was not named a starter at beginning of the season and did not start most games in the first half of the year.

Lauderdale had his breakout game against West Virginia when his last name was spelled incorrectly on his jersey and he recorded over 100 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter.

After the game and throughout the second half of the season, coach Kliff Kingsbury said multiple times that he was impressed with the receiver’s progress.

Now that the season is over, Lauderdale said the main thing he needs to improve on in the offseason is

his route running and his footwork.

Along with his seven touchdowns, Lauderdale recorded 31 catches for 589 yards, 19 yards per catch.

He already his goals in mind for next season as he looks to increase his production during his junior year.

“I expect to be over 600 yards (next season),” he said. “I didn’t start many games this season but I think I can start and get about 900 yards receiving. That’s what I expect.”

Grant said the team was surprised by Lauderdale’s explosiveness because of how much he has improved since the offseason.

“Lauderdale and Sadler stepped up big time. We didn’t see Laudy in the beginning of the season but he stepped up tremendously,” Grant said. “He has showed us what he can do when you put the ball in his hands. He’s got speed, he can make guys miss and he has great hands. He is going to do big things in the future.”

Senior leader and a team captain Bradley Marquez played his last game as a Red Raider on Saturday but he said the future for Tech

PHOTO BY ZACK BRAME/The Daily Toreador

TEXAS TECH WIDE receiver Devin Lauderdale makes a catch despite tough defense from a Baylor defender.

Lauderdale would score on this drive, but Texas Tech would lose to Baylor 48-46.

receivers is bright because of hard working players like Lauderdale.

After learning from veteran players like Marquez, Lauderdale

said he is going to step up and be one of the leaders on and off the field next year.

“I think I should step up and

be a leader,” he said. “I also think Jakeem Grant and Reginald Davis will step up.”

Experience will be key for football’s future Tech need to go back to basics with uniforms

T

he Texas Tech football team finished this season with an overall record of 4-8, the programs first four-win season since 1990 and the worse winning percentage since 1983 when the team went 3-7-1.

In Kliff Kingsbury’s first year as the coach head, the Red Raiders finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and beat a heavily favored Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl.

Soon before this season began, Tech signed Kingsbury to a contract that runs through the year 2020, hoping the young coach will elevate the program.

After the surprising bowl victory last year, expectations for the 2014 team were high for some fans.

Now after a historically poor record, Kingsbury and his staff have their work cut out for them in the spring and summer before kicking off again on Sept. 5, according to a previous article in The Daily Toreador.

One of the main reasons the team struggled this season was due to the rosters lack of experience and depth.

An area where inexperience was a major factor was in the defensive secondary.

Two of the Red Raiders top three cornerbacks, Nigel Bethel and Tevin Madison were true freshman. The third cornerback, Justis Nelson had started in only three games entering this season.

Starting safeties, J.J. Gaines and Kennon Ward had started a combined eight games in their careers and both struggled with injuries throughout the year.

Jeremy Krakosky After struggling to defend the deep ball at times, the Red Raiders secondary will be much more experienced and should improve in the coming years.

Throughout Kingsbury’s first two seasons at Tech, he has started four true freshmen quarterbacks, including two walk-ons.

With Davis Webb entering his junior season, Patrick Mahomes becoming a sophomore and incoming recruit Jarrett Stidham competing for the starting job in the spring, Kingsbury will be hoping for more consistency from his former position.

The Red Raiders have led the Big 12 Conference in turnovers for the past two season, which was a major reason for the team missing out on a bowl this season. I expected a point of emphasis this spring is for quarterbacks to protect the ball better.

Besides senior Bradley Marquez and junior Jakeem Grant, Tech’s wide receivers were also inexperienced. While the receivers are not lacking in talent, many struggled to catch the ball consistently throughout the entire year.

After showing off his speed and finishing the season with seven touchdowns, sophomore wide receiver Devin Lauderdale

could emerge as one of the most dangerous pass catcher in the conference next season.

Freshman wide receiver Ian Sadler showed flashes of his talent in the second half of the season as he could likely claim the void left by Bradley Marquez.

Sophomore wide receiver Dylan Cantrell proved he can bring in the most difficult catches, but will have to work on producing more regularly next season.

After not seeing much playing time towards the end of this season, sophomore wide receiver Reginald Davis will try to reclaim a starting role in the spring.

Once a defensive coordinator is chosen for Tech, the defensive personel will be able to continue improving as a unit.

With Mike Mitchell and Brieden Fehoko playing next season, the defensive front seven will have more help in stopping the run.

Entering his senior season, Pete Robertson will have a chance to move even higher on the Red Raiders sack list, after recording 11 sacks this season.

While Tech will be more experienced next season, the team will likely not competing for a Big 12 title in the end of the year. The Red Raiders will improve from a 4-8 record and be eligible for a respectable bowl next season.

Krakosky is a junior marketing and management major from Red Oaks. ➤➤ jkrakosky@dailytoreador.com

This establishment, Texas Tech University & The Daily Toreador do not encourage underage drinking or alcohol abuse.

T

exas Tech’s 2014 football season has come to end which means it is time to begin preparing for 2015.

While the coaches will spend most of the offseason recruiting new players to fill roster spots vacated by seniors graduating, Tech’s equipment manager will begin another important part of the spring.

The arrival of January will start the Tech equipment staff setting up the team’s 2015 uniforms, according to a previous article in The Daily Toreador, and after seeing what the Red Raiders wore this year, I’m not very hopeful for what we’ll see in the future.

According to a previous article in The DT, the football coaches got together in November to make decisions on what uniforms will be worn for next season, and the equipment staff will begin putting those uniforms together in January.

When Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury was hired as the new face of Red Raider football in 2012, he had a clause added in his contract that made him unique among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. According to a USA Today article, the always-stylish Kingsbury has “creative license” with the design of the team’s uniforms.

What a team wears on Saturdays, Kingsbury said in the article, creates a lot of buzz between other players and especially recruits, so he wanted to be a part of those decisions.

“At all the schools I’ve been at, you hear the players talking about it: ‘Hey, did you see so-and-so’s uniforms this week?’ Kingsbury said. “So you just want to have as big a hand in creating that excitement for your own program as possible.”

Everett Corder Kingsbury, the Tech equipment staff and the brilliant minds at Under Armour, the official outfitter of Tech Athletics, seem to have a serious problem over-thinking when it comes to the Red Raiders’ on-field apparel and it has culminated in some truly terrible jerseys.

We started off the 2014 season simply enough wearing the plain white or black uniforms with red accents for the first two games of the season. These uniforms make up a solid base pair, and while I think there should be a red uniform in the regular mix, we’ll talk about that later.

In the third game of the season, we hit what I consider the pinnacle of Tech uniforms under Kingsbury with the mid-1990s throwbacks.

These uniforms were simple, elegant and different, all while paying homage to the great former Red Raider linebacker Zach Thomas and his time at Tech.

Since the throwbacks in the Arkansas game, everything has been downhill. Tech has worn two different variations of an “ombe´” uniform, both in all white and in a red to black fade, and a Lone Star Pride uniform in the game against Texas.

The problem with all these uniforms is that somebody turning on the TV on a random Saturday would not know it was Tech based off the uniforms they would see on the field.

Even Oregon, the team that started the college football uniform craze, keeps either the iconic O or the wings on every single one of their helmets. When people turn on a college football game with Oregon in it, they know it’s the Ducks.

The other problem with Tech’s uniforms seems like a pretty simple problem to take care of, if Kingsbury would allow it.

Tech needs red uniforms.

Rumors I have heard around the football program say that Kingsbury is the main hindrance to this problem. The second-year coach only wore red uniforms during his freshman year when he was a player, and apparently he wants to keep that going as a coach.

The problem is, the color is in our name. Tech is not the black Raiders, the white Raiders and it is definitely not the gray Raiders, but we have uniforms in every one of those colors.

The Lone Star Pride helmets were even half blue, but the Red Raiders have not worn a predominantly red uniform in the past two years.

I get that having special uniforms attracts recruits and maybe I just have an old school mindset when it comes to things like this, but I attend this school, and I would like for us to look good when we’re playing on a national stage.

Here’s hoping that when the equipment staff starts putting together uniforms in January they take my advice and go back to basics with the 2015 uniforms.

Corder is The DT’s sports editor a juior journalism major from Amarillo. ➤➤ sports@dailytoreador.com