The Rambler, Vol. 92, No. 23

Coffee X Spot teams with student organizations to raise funds.College Life, page 4

The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917

WEDNESDAYNovember 11, 2009

Vol. 92 • No. 23

ONLINE: www.therambler.org

The RamblerStudent-athletes juggle families, class and sports.Sports, page 6

Campus safety still an issue for someJonathan [email protected]

Campus security is a concern at every uni-versity, no matter how large or small.

According to campus security reports, there were 19 burglaries and five assault violations on or around Wesleyan since 2007. Compar-ing these numbers to Texas Christian Uni-versity’s 27 burglaries and 10 assaults would make Wesleyan appear safe.

For some Wesleyan students, however, safe-ty is still a concern.

Heath Scott, president of the Student Gov-ernment Association, said campus security is the only SGA priority that hasn’t made dis-cernible progress this year.

“I can’t walk around this university without hearing students talk about the lack of camer-as, lack of lighting and things in that regard,” he said.

Over the summer, Scott met with Felisa Barnes, security manager, and Kun Dunson, director of facilities and security, to discuss a campus lighting and security camera initia-tive. SafirRosetti, a nationally renowned se-curity firm, was hired by Wesleyan to do an assessment of the campus’ security.

The report included possible short-term and long-term security investments Wesley-an could consider. Suggestions for physical factors such as lighting and fencing were in-cluded along with personnel suggestions like hiring an armed police force.

“We had a lot of anecdotal evidence and individual opinions about, ‘We need to do this or that,’ but it was good to have an ex-pert opinion as to what we ought to do,” said Bill Bleibdrey, senior vice president of finance and administration. “Some of the things were kind of no brainers, and we had them under-way already. We knew we needed better light-ing.”

Bleibdrey said some of the things in the re-port, like blanketing the campus in security cameras, will not be implemented because they are “impractical.”

The lighting project still has a way to go, especially as more parking lots are added, Bleibdrey said. For some students, campus

Theater students hard at work in new shopAmanda [email protected]

The long-awaited Claudia Stepp Scene Shop opened this semester at the corner of Binkly Street and Avenue C, giving theater students a functional place to work on technical theater.

“I absolutely love it,” said senior Jenny Jones, student foreman at the new scene shop. “It’s nice to have a new building with enough space and work areas.”

The scene shop is where theater students go to build the sets for all of their perfor-mances. This scene shop is not only the first one on campus to be designed specifically as a construction zone for sets, but it is also the first building ever designed specifically for the theater department’s use.

“It makes it more appropri-ate to the environment our students are going into,” said Bryan Stevenson, designer and technical director of the theater program. “It brings us more up to the industry stan-dard.”

The previous home of the scene shop was in the Baker

Building, built in 1915, before its extensive remodel last year. It was originally three differ-ent storefronts and was pur-chased by Wesleyan in 1982 to serve as the international gymnastics headquarters cen-ter.

That idea was terminated and – fortunately for the the-ater students who, at the time, were working out of a three-car garage – it was approved to house the scene shop.

“Everything we had there we had found to come in; and that was our home,” said Joe Brown, theater professor.

However, while the Baker Building improved upon the garage, it was still less than ad-equate. It had only basic elec-tricity, an old central heating and cooling unit and one tiny

bathroom. “It was really not meet-

ing code; it was a dangerous building,” Brown said.

Last year, when the school was given the opportunity to remodel the Baker Building into the new Coffee X Spot and community center, the theater department was given the chance for the new scene shop.

This was due in large part to Wesleyan board member, Claudia Stepp, the benefactor and namesake of the scene shop. She donated the down payment for the building and provided additional funding for landscaping.

“It’s a replacement building for something we really need-ed, a good classroom space,” Stevenson said.

Although the students have been working in the scene shop all semester, it will be-come official the evening of Nov. 14, when the shop will have its ribbon cutting and a reception prior to the Wesley-

an production of The Woman in Black.

That’s when the theater stu-dents – who have been busy customizing the shop and putting together sets for two shows – will get their chance

to celebrate.“They haven’t had time to

stop, look and enjoy because we had to get shows built,” Brown said. “But generations will benefit from this shop.”

Wesleyan business school seeks titleKimberly [email protected]

The school of business is working to receive accredi-tation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The AACSB is an in-ternational accreditation that symbolizes the highest stan-dard of accomplishment for business schools worldwide.

“Only about 5 percent of all schools of business hold the elite title,” said Dr. Hector Quintanilla, dean of the school of business.

The main purpose of the ac-creditation is to show that the institution confirms its pledge to quality and continuous im-provement through meticu-lous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB has a standard of excellence in management education.

“Schools like [the University of North Texas and the Uni-versity of Texas at Arlington] are AACSB, and we want Wes-leyan to join this prestigious level,” Quintanilla said.

AACSB puts colleges and universities through a process to obtain the recognition.

It begins with the school establishing AACSB inter-national membership, then moves to a recommendation for accreditation by the ac-creditation committee are sent to the board for approval or remand.

“AACSB would enhance the look of the school because the school would be on an interna-tional level,” Quintanilla said. “It would allow students from other countries to attend, and it would allow them to transfer credit hours from their cur-rent school to Wesleyan.”

The possible status has stu- SECURITY, page 3

 BUSINESS, page 3

Laura Rosser | Rambler StaffWhile efforts are made by the univerity each year to improve campus security, some students still think improvements are needed.

Andie Massingill| Rambler StaffNick Young-Davis and Michael Rudd work on sets in the new Claudia Stepp scene shop.

“It makes it more appropriate to the environment our students are going into. It brings us more up to the indus-try standard.”

Bryan StevensonTheater Program Designer and Technical Director

Opinion2 | November 11, 2009 The RambleR | www.rambler.org

Do you think marijuana should be legal?

Daniel Martinez-Torresjunior psychology

“My concern is it will become an outlet for

worse drugs.”

Kevin Keathleysenior religion

“Yes. I don’t do it, but people are going to do it

regardless.”

Rene’ Rossersenior psychology

“I agree with legalization for medical reasons.”

Loic Morvannoufreshman mass communication“Yes, I don’t think it’s more dan-

gerous than alcohol.”

Ashly Spencersenior education

“There are pros and cons to both sides.”

Jonathan Resendez, news editorLaurence Sheehan, opinion editorConner Howell, college life editorJoakim Söderbaum, sports editorChuck Fain, entertainment editorLaura Rosser, photo editorRachel Horton, multimedia editorLaShawnda Mayhorn, social media directorDaniel Bravo, advertising managerKelli Lamers, faculty adviserDr. Kay Colley, faculty liaison

Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press As-sociation, Associated Collegiate Press, Student Press Law Center, College Media Advisers and College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers.

Opinions expressed in The RambleR are those of the individual authors only and do not neces-sarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan community as a whole.

RambleR Contribution Please send all news briefs to [email protected]. Submissions due by noon Friday to see brief in the following week’s issue.

Letters to the editor: The RambleR, a weekly publication, welcomes all letters. All submis-sions must have a full printed name, phone number and signature. While every consider-ation is made to publish letters, publication is limited by time and space.The editors reserve the right to edit all submis-sions for space, grammar, clarity and style. Letters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and students on the opinion page.

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

— Thomas Jefferson

Address all correspondence to:Texas Wesleyan UniversityThe RambleR1201 Wesleyan St.Fort Worth, TX [email protected] contact The RambleR

(817) 531-7552Advertising Inquiries:(817) 532-7582

The RamblerFounded in 1917 as The Handout

Publisher: Harold G. Jeffcoat

Several generations ago, herb was thought to bring about states of hysteria, cause insa-tiable addiction and drive a person insane. Anyone who’s ever tried marijuana knows this to be a laughable sum-mation of its effects.

Unfortunately, this propa-ganda along with unofficial marijuana mascots such as Cheech and Chong, Jay and Silent Bob and possibly Shaggy and Scooby, have hurt the herb’s reputation.

However, pot has kept classier company with the likes of Fredric Nietzsche, Duke Ellington and most all of our founding fathers.

The times, they are a changing’ – and so are peoples’ view of marijuana.

According to TimesOnline.com 44 percent of Americans think marijuana should be legal. California and 12 other states in the union have legal-ized marijuana for medical use, with five more currently

considering the measure. Even Texas gives its police

officers the option to issue citations for possession of marijuana under two ounces (though most of them choose to waive that option). Most recently, President Obama announced that the federal government would not spend any more time raiding medi-cal marijuana dispensaries in states that have legalized it.

Now that’s change I can believe in.

This is great news for my fellow mellow brethren, even for those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to live in one of the sativa savvy states. This means the tide is turn-ing, change is on the way, and the future looks a whole lot greener.

This is also a welcome change from the former administration (led by he-who-shall-not-be-named) that seemed to relish enforc-ing their big government federal law over the populous approved state law (doesn’t sound very Republican of

them, does it?).Of course, there are those

wet blankets out there who will tell you that legalizing marijuana, even for medical use, will corrupt our national morals and turn us into a nation of dope smok-ing sex fiends who prey on one another and eat baby kittens.

The kill-ers of buzzes also say that marijuana dis-pensaries will be a haven for organized and street crime, and that the medical license used to obtain said herb is just a bureaucratic loophole for people to abuse drugs.

First off, marijuana le-galization will not be the downfall of this great nation. It’s like accusing the Bush administration of setting up the Sept. 11 attacks – it attri-

butes so much to something capable of so little.

Smoking pot is non-addic-tive, has no severe withdrawl symptoms and has a grand total of zero fatalities for

excessive use. Try saying that about any other drug, includ-ing Tylenol.

No, my hemp hating friends, marijuana is not a drug with the necessary po-tency or addictive properties to destroy a nation. That’s a job for less benign drugs such as your cocaines and your

heroines. I must concede; however, pot does make kit-tens look delicious…

The concern about soar-ing crime rate is exaggerated. Sure, there may be some people jumped for their stash on the way home from the marijuana dispensaries, but there’s people jumped for their money after leaving an ATM. There’s people who have been killed for their shoes. There have been rob-beries at donut stores where the thief stole only pastries.

The point is, people will steal anything that’s valuable. Just because there’s a threat of another person stealing said item doesn’t mean we should legally penalize it. You just have to be smart about when and where you purchase.

And, concerning Cali-fornia and their permissive prescription policy, I say, so what. Are you a doctor? (If yes, could you take a look at this thing on my back?) Have you done extensive research on the subject of marijuana and classified all its known

effects on the human body? If not, what right do you have to tell someone what works for them doesn’t work for them?

One of the beautiful things about pot is its versatility. I’ve known it to cure depres-sion, anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite and nausea due to chemotherapy and to serve as a general relaxation tool.

What if someone wants to smoke pot just to get stoned? Is that so wrong? People drink the legal substance of alcohol to get drunk. Given the drugs we’ve already legal-ized in this country that have no medical benefits, I say why the hell not?

The Obama administration is slowly lifting off the shack-les of oppression from our herbal homie, opening the door for new policy and new ways of thinking. As I stand at this newly opened door, I don’t see a danger that should be feared, I see an opportu-nity that should be taken in … and inhaled.

Finally, can’t we all just hit a bong?Chuck [email protected]

Nov. 12, 2001, a CNN article reads, “The flight that crashed in Rockaway, a Queens neighborhood, car-ried 260 people including five infants. At least six people have been reported missing in the neighborhood follow-ing the crash. By late Monday, searchers had recovered 265 ‘relatively intact bodies’. The crash was attributed to hu-man error.”

Aug. 27, 2006 a CBS News article reads, “A commuter jet mistakenly trying to take off on the wrong runway crashed into a field and burst into flames killing 49 people. Among the dead was a newlywed couple start-ing their honeymoon and a man that took an early flight to get home to his children. The Black Box has confirmed pilots made this deadly error.”

These news stories have one thing in common and it’s not that they are about plane crashes that occurred in the United States. Give up? These stories are perfect examples of how the media take tragedy and mold it into sensational journalism.

Stories of planes falling out of the sky and body counts in the hundreds have a remark-able way of tormenting the

public and portraying air travel as a risky game of Rus-sian roulette.

“The media is so good at highlighting the dark-est hours of commercial air travel,” said Robert Danforth, a pilot for Skywest Airlines. “The media always delivers the bad and the ugly and conveniently fails to mention the good.”

According to the Interna-tional Herald Tribune, the aircraft yearly loss rate in the United States from 1995 to 2006 was 0.37 per million flights. These numbers are miniscule when compared to the average number of vehicle-related fatalities in this country.

“Air travel is by far the safest form of travel there is,” Danforth said.

In the last 10 years, nearly half a million people died in traffic related fatalities in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration. Of those accidents, 95 percent are caused by human error.

“I would choose travel-ing by air over driving any day,” Danforth said. “There are so many distractions on the road, and people are so unpredictable when behind the wheel.

“I’ve been flying for 10 years, and I have a flawless track record in the air. I wish I could say the same for my driving record.”

“Passengers ask me all the time if the plane is safe or if the pilot knows what he is doing,” said Lisa Hutchins, a flight attendant for United Airlines. “It’s troubling to see the fear and anxiety that comes over them the second they board the aircraft.”

The media’s dramatic por-trayal of airline crashes dis-torts the reality of air travel and adds to the mistrust and stress that is associated with traveling nowadays.

Air traffic is in controlWendy [email protected]

Laurence J. [email protected]

The attack on Fort Hood last week echoed through the hearts of Americans.

On Nov. 5, Maj. Nidal Ma-lik Hasan went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

Hasan is the suspected killer of the 13 indviduals -- 12 soldiers and one civilian -- and is also responsible for injuring 42 others, according to CNN.com.

A couple of days after the incident, Hasan was taken off his ventilator and began talk-ing to investigators.

If anyone has been paying attention to the news since the shootings, you know half

of the garbage being spewed by the media.

The search for Hasan’s syndrome that made him snap is underway. Fox News is claiming that several media outlets are giving Hasan an out in blaming his shooting spree on a mental illness.

Hasan is an Army licensed pyschiatrist and has been helping soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with their stress issues.

Some speculate that Hasan, who has not been to Iraq or Afghanistan, is suffering from the same stresses.

Can you suffer from stress by association? I’ll never claim to be an expert to this, but I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to become bipo-

lar just because one of my friends is bipolar.

Hasan was set to deploy overseas and had said, ac-cording to Fox News, that he could not see killing other Muslims.

He’s right. He shouldn’t kill Muslims. None of us should. Islam is a beautiful religion. But your’re not going there for the sake of killing Mus-lims.

I have no pity for this guy, and the darkest part of me hopes he gets the worst treat-ment and is executed.

His life should be left up to the 13 families that are left without sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. Then justice will be served.

Maj. Hasan, I share no pitty for you

“The media always delivers the bad and the ugly and conveniently fails to mention the good.”

Robert DanforthSkywest Airlines Pilot

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Finding his purpose in life kept Dr. Michael Ellison’s heart searching for the career he always wanted. A desire to fulfill his purpose and a word of advice from his coworkers forced him to get his head out of the clouds and to make the landing of his life.

Forty years ago, Ellison, psychology professor and di-rector of the counseling de-partment, graduated from Oklahoma State University and started to work as a juve-nile felony rehab counselor. Soon, he experienced a burn-out period.

“I was 21-years-old, and I realized I was too young to work with that group of peo-ple,” he said.

Ellison started to experi-ence stress because he didn’t believe he could effectively help them. As a stress reliever, he began sky diving. Ellison found himself at the mouth of a whole new world that he had grown to love. In fact, he loved it so much that he even-tually began flying charter planes.

“I eventually became an air-line pilot, and the whole while I was thinking of counseling,” Ellison said. “I just couldn’t get away from wanting to

counsel and help others.”Ellison kept his ears ready

and available for the oppor-tunity to offer help to anyone that needed it.

“My copilots would tell me about their problems, and the counselor in me immediately kicked in,” he said. “They fi-nally told me to shut up and go be a psychologist.”

After 10 years of flying planes, Ellison took their ad-vice.

“Boring holes in the sky were no longer interest-ing to me, and being away from home 20 nights out of a month was breaking more than my spirit to fly,” he said.

With a renewed hunger, Ellison decided to go back to school. He eventually gradu-ated with a PhD in psychol-ogy and began working in the field.

After gaining years of expe-rience with companies such as MHMR, he was recruited to Texas Wesleyan as an ad-junct professor. After being offered a permanent position, he saw the huge demand for a counseling training program in Fort Worth.

In fall 2004, the graduate program opened its doors for the first time. According to Ellison, Texas Wesleyan had the first counseling master’s program in Fort Worth.

“I know we are successful because I continue to see the number of students increase each year,” he said.

The graduate program has almost reached the maximum number of students allowed this year. Its mission is to “cre-ate a learning environment where each student is provid-ed an opportunity to pursue individual excellence, to think clearly and creatively, to com-municate effectively and to develop professionally.”

For at least some students, that’s exactly what’s happen-ing.

“The counseling program has helped me see the world through new professional eyes and I’m very grateful for that,” said counseling gradu-ate student Selena Alexander. “I have re-discovered myself in the counseling program.”

While Ellison is pleased with the success of the pro-

gram, he continues to look for ways to improve the quality of the education offered to stu-dents.

“I’m looking forward to of-fering a PhD degree in mar-riage and family therapy some day,” Ellison said.

He credits his faculty with the success of the program as it is today.

“Our professors are highly qualified, and they are all ac-tive counselors,” he said. “Our professors welcome students through the front door of the program, and they congratu-late colleagues on the way out.”

According to Ellison, 100 percent of professional coun-seling students pass the Na-tional Counseling Exam on the first try. Wesleyan’s pro-gram currently ranks among the top schools for its coun-seling program, according to university search engines

such as EducationPortal.com.“Before I decided on Texas

Wesleyan, I looked at several schools, and I couldn’t find any schools that came close to what I’m getting right here at Texas Wesleyan,” said William Polk, a graduate student in the counseling program.

Now that he’s back where he always wanted, Ellison is de-

termined to allow students in the program to do the same.

“It’s a certain component that develops during a coun-seling session that I want my students to experience,” he said. “It’s not religion, but it’s that intangible stuff that con-nects the counselor with the clients, and I like to call it spirit.”

dents excited as well. Senior Lauren Bell said she thinks it is a great opportunity to take advantage of the accreditation.

“As a soon-to-be graduate, I am very pleased with the edu-cation that I have received,” she said. “I believe that Wesleyan is one of the finest institutions, and getting accreditation will not be the basis of the high standards of business educa-tion for Wesleyan. “Instead, it will show the high educational standards that Wesleyan has always held for their students prior to this accreditation pro-cess.”

BUSINESS continued from page 1

Renee Greer | Rambler StaffDr. Michael Ellison returned to counseling after a stint as an airline pilot.

Ex-pilot lands in right place“Boring holes in the sky were no longer interesting to me, and being away from home 20 nights out of a month was breaking more than my spirit to fly.”

Michael EllisonDirector of Graduate Counseling Programs

Photos by Renee Greer | Rambler Staff

Back in business

lighting is even a deterrent for enrolling in night classes.

Morgan Yinger, junior edu-cation major, is a commuter student who has a night class in McFadden that ends at 9:30 p.m. She said she parks in the faculty parking because it feels safer.

“I haven’t noticed anyone, no,” she said, in reference to campus security at that hour.

After-hours personnel is another issue at the forefront of security at the moment, said Dr. Harold Jeffcoat, uni-versity president. The uni-versity is increasing the after-

hours personnel and focusing on the training of newly hired security.

In the spring, Stanley Se-curity Solutions offered Wes-leyan a proposal with four dif-ferent payment plans of about $16,000 over a five year period with a free upgrade at the end.

Wesleyan did not follow through on the deal.

Jeffcoat said the university budgeted conservatively at the beginning of the fiscal year because of uncertainty on how the economy would af-fect enrollment and funds.

“The first place that we gen-

erally look to if we have extra resources is keeping the fac-ulty,” he said. “The priority for the institution has been things like personnel.”

Bleibdrey said there is a four-phase campus security initiative that includes light-ing, fencing and controlled access, a camera system and personnel additions that will reach completion within three to four years.

Kesha Carter, freshman so-ciology major, lives in Stella and believes campus security in general is inadequate.

“I think they’re being cheap about campus security,” she said.

WANTED

Seeking applicants for ALL positions in the Spring 2010 semester

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If you are interested and would like to applyplease visit www.therambler.org

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SECURITY continued from page 1

The academic success center officially reopend its doors Nov. 5. The center operates under the guidance of Coor-dinator of New Student Programs Blair Ensign, shown above helping a student, and Assistant Director of the ASC Michael Greer Hall (left). The center offers free tutoring in writing, math, biology and his-tory. The ASC is open daily Monday through Saturday. For hours and details visit www.txwes.edu/arc.

College Life4 | November 11, 2009 The RambleR | www.therambler.org

Veteran cook loves to serveAndie [email protected]

Shawn Robinson’s career has been in food.

Having cooked for fast food chains, country clubs and ca-tering services, Robinson is at home at the SUB. He has worked as a cook at Wesleyan for six years.

“It just keeps getting better and better,” Robinson said.

Supervising the coffee shop, store and grill, Robinson has been quick to make friends.

“He is a very nice guy, al-ways wanting to make sure you don’t have to wait too long for your food,” said Linette Brandon, a freshman business major.

Robinson gets to work Monday through Friday at 5:30 a.m. even though he is not required to be at work un-til 6 a.m.

“I get here early every day to make sure everything is in its place,” Robinson said.

Originally from Ohio, but raised in Waco, Robinson said he really likes that he settled in Fort Worth.

“I started with 12 Oaks Ca-tering, which was contracted with the food distributing company Aramark. That is how I got to Wesleyan,” Rob-inson said. “I have these kids spoiled. They know I will make up their burritos and burgers just the way they like.”

The students enjoy more than just Robinson at the SUB.

“I love the pizza,” said Sortia Burnham, a freshman biology major. “Shawn makes sure the food is always really good.”

Robinson said that what makes every day great is meeting new people and get-ting to be his own boss.

“The students seem to like me and call me by name,” Robinson said.

Kaylee Perry, a sophomore English literature major, ate at the SUB for the first time

recently “It was awesome,” Perry

said. “I will be back.” Glenda Johnson, head ca-

shier, has worked with Robin-son for four years now. Rob-inson supervises Johnson and has her working all over the SUB.

“He is really about team-work,” Johnson said. “He is a great supervisor.”

Kory Davis, an employee that works in the coffee shop at the SUB said, “I have only been working here about a month, but Shawn is really good with the kids and gets a lot of work out of me.”

Robinson said, “Dealing with people that don’t want to work and just chill and make a check is my biggest chal-

lenge. We have inventory to keep up with and students to keep happy; it’s all about your attitude.”

Working at Wesleyan is more than a job to Robinson, it’s a family affair.

“I bring my 6-year-old son to the basketball and table tennis games,” Robinson said. “We have lots of Wesleyan novelty items that my son likes to collect.”

Katie Romig, a freshman exercise science major says, “He is really funny – always ready to crack a joke with you.”

Robinson likes to keep life fun for everyone by keeping things light and simple. “I am here for the students,” Robin-son said.

Coffee X Spot offers student group fundingConner [email protected]

It’s a win-win situation as the Coffee X Spot partners with Wesleyan student orga-nizations to sponsor fund-raising events and donate the proceeds to student groups.

Donna Griffin and Ve-ronica Ricard, co-owners of the Coffee X Spot, said they were looking for ways to ex-pand their client base among the community when they were approached by a student group looking to host a fund-raiser.

“A student with the Lamb-da Theta Alpha Latin Soror-ity approached us and asked if we would be interested in partnering with them,” Ricard said.

Seeing it as a chance to in-crease their exposure to the local Wesleyan community, the duo became interested in the group’s proposal, Griffin said.

“The school is a great sup-porter of ours, and we depend upon the students, faculty and staff,” Griffin said.

Griffin said the student sug-gested the idea of sponsoring the group’s fundraising event and 10 to15 percent of the proceeds made by the Coffee X Spot during the event would be donated to the group.

“We thought it was a good idea,” Griffin said. “That way we’re helping each other.

Griffin said it’s a very flex-ible system in which student groups can request a date to host an event at the Cof-fee X Spot and negotiate the amount of time the group needs for the event.

“We’re open to working with the organizations how-ever they want to do it,” Ri-card said.

Griffin said student group events are scheduled after hours, and she sends out a no-tice in her newsletter letting people know to come support the organization.

Griffin said she and Ricard have gotten requests to spon-sor fundraisers for other orga-nizations at Wesleyan and the surrounding community too.

“Right now we’re talking to another sorority at Wesleyan

and a church group,” Griffin said.

Yuri Valenzuela, chapter orientation adviser for the Alpha Gamma Graduate chapter of the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, said Griffin and Ricard were eager to support the event.

“They were very open about the idea,” Valenzuela said, “and they worked with us to help make the event a suc-cess.”

Valenzuela said Griffin and Ricard agreed on 10 to 15 per-cent of the proceeds because

it was based on a similar per-centage that other businesses donate to organizations.

Because of its convenient location next to Wesleyan and its connection to the neigh-boring area, the Coffee X Spot provided a singular opportu-nity for LTA, Valenzuela said.

“The coffee shop is with-in the community we work with,” Valenzuela said. “Our passion and love for Texas Wesleyan, its students and the surrounding community were the motivation to work with them.”

Conner Howell | Rambler StaffFreshman Dustin McAlpin is one of many Wesleyan customers who support the Coffee X Spot.

All-nighter

Students debate library hoursAngel [email protected]

While the West Library op-erates during the week from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., some students need more time to study.

“I spend about three or four hours a day in the library,” said senior advertising major Josh Grace.

Grace said he works during the day and usually only has time to do work late at night.

“I have to get papers and research done late at night, and it’s frustrating when the library isn’t open,” Grace said.

At Texas Christian Univer-sity, the library stays open 24 hours every weekday. Junior communication major Jas-mine Quezada said she likes having the hours to work late.

“I think it’s a big advantage having access to our library pretty much all the time,” Quezada said. “Sometimes I don’t finish assignments until 3 a.m., so it helps to be able to stay and finish up.”

The University of Texas at Arlington has similar library hours, staying open 24 hours during the week with short-ened hours during the week-end. Eric Hernandez, a junior kinesiology major from UTA, said the longer hours makes studying easier.

“It’s convenient having all that time to work into your schedule,” Hernandez said. “Especially when doing group work, it’s easier to find a time suitable for everyone.”

While neighboring uni-versities extend their library hours throughout the night, Sheri Parker, coordinator of library operations, said com-muting is a main reason why

the West Library closes when it does.

“Wesleyan is more of a tra-ditional school,” Parker said, “and there is a significant age difference amongst the stu-dent population. Most com-muters don’t return to the campus at night.”

Wesleyan has 3,333 under-graduate students this fall, and only 344 live on campus.

Cindy Potter, director of the West Library, said she keeps an open ear and mind toward student needs.

“We hear things from our student workers about what can be changed as well as take a count to see how often stu-dents use the library,” Potter said. “I really would like to hear what students want their library to be like.

“What we usually get in our suggestion box are comments about getting better candy, which is something too gen-eral,” Potter said. “I would like to see a focus group in which the library and its staff could work with students and/or [Student Government Associ-ation] so we can find out what students need.”

Senior business administra-tion major Nathaniel Gagnon said he likes the idea of a focus group.

“If you keep that channel of communication open, it may be easier to keep up with stu-dent needs,” Gagnon said.

Potter said she would be open to anything that would help students.

“I truly do want to know if there is anything that the li-brary could add that would be positive towards the student body’s education,” Potter said. “After all, ultimately, that is what students are here for.”

 JUMP, page 4

Andie Massingill | Rambler StaffShawn Robinson (left) talks with Carlos Rangel and Brandon Flowers at the food line in the SUB.

Arts & EntertainmentThe RambleR | www.therambler.org Novermber 11, 2009 | 5

Fort Worth film festival features both local, international flavors Chuck [email protected]

With its premier museums, stunning architecture and impressive theaters, down-town Fort Worth is quickly becoming a cultural force to be reckoned with. Not bad for a town largely associated with cows.

The Lone Star International Film Festival is headed to Sun-dance Square begining Nov. 11 to add even more clout to our bubbling cultural scene.

The festival brings with it “an impressive slate of narrative and documentary features and short films from around the world,” according to its Web site.

Since 2007, the Lone Star Film Society has put on this festival in downtown Fort Worth, giving local and in-ternational filmmakers alike the chance to showcase their talents.

These are not your average Hollywood films with a big budget and even bigger explo-sions.

These cinematic stories cap-ture the true heart of filmmak-ing and storytelling, reminding

the audience that car chases do not a movie make.

“Our films represent an eclectic cross-section of genres and artistic move-ments, with an emphasis on the future of the art of film-making,” said Alec Jhangiani, LSFS artistic director.

Aside from the hot tickets this year, such as The Scenesters, Artois the Goat, The Messenger and Serious Moonlight, there will also be special screenings, after parties and an awards cer-emony for audience and critic favorites.

“With films of this quality, from U.S. and international talents, there is such true di-

versity in this selection that it offers an absolutely unique experience to expand one’s horizons,” said Dennis Bish-op, LSFS director.

So, break out from the norm this weekend and get expand-ing on that horizon.

What better way to experi-ence the local flavor than by seeing it on the big screen. Open your mind to a different culture, a different type of sto-ry and a different way of look-ing at the world around you.

The festival runs through Nov. 15. Movie venues, times and prices vary. For ticket purchase and more informa-tion, visit www.lsiff.com.

Beyond Shakespeare Teachers do more than just teach Chuck [email protected]

The Arts and Letters Faculty Showcase takes place at 2 p.m. Nov. 11in the Orientation Room of the West Library. This is an event to showcase the often unknown accomplishments of Wesleyan professors in the school of arts and letters.

At the helm of the faculty showcase’s maiden voyage is author, sailor and creative historian Dr. Jeffery DeLotto.

Dr. DeLotto is a Wesleyan English professor, who was also the first author that Texas Wesleyan University Press published. His book, Days of a Chameleon: Collected poems, is currently available on Xlibris.com and Amazon.com.

Recently, however, his fancy has turned to fic-tion – historical fiction.

“I’ve always been interested in the recreation of history through creative writing,” DeLotto said, though he’s not referring to simply making things up about the past. He is talking about trying the best he can to fill in the gaps that history has left behind due to absence of any official record.

“Much of what we believe today of people like Richard II, III, Henry the IV, we get from Shake-speare’s plays,” DeLotto said. Though the facts may have been altered for entertainment purpos-es, DeLotto believes that links to the past such as these are important “not only in conveying histor-ical fact, but in conveying people’s interest in what happened a long time ago. I think it’s an impor-tant role for someone involved in creative writing to take on, getting and maintaining people’s inter-est in history.”

DeLotto will expound more on the role creative writing plays in historical recreation during the faculty showcase.

“Aristotle says that, ‘Poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history.’ In other words, it takes a good writer, a good creator to bring the history enough to life so that we’re interested enough to learn from it,” DeLotto said.

The history that has interested DeLotto most as of late, featured at the faculty showcase, is that of the Native American peoples known collectively as the Caddo Nation, or the Caddo Confederacy.

They were a group of Native Americans liv-ing in parts of Louisi-ana and East Texas. In fact, Texas got its name from the Caddo, who the Spanish explorers called “Tejas Indians.”

DeLotto’s research has produced three short stories on the subject of the Caddo Nation. They all fea-ture a fictional Native American character, a detective named Two-Hawks. The most re-cent of the Two-Hawk stories, “A Gutting on the Camino Royal,” was read on Nov. 5 as the opening event for the Eighth Native Ameri-can Symposium and Film Festival at South-eastern Oklahoma State University.

Excerpts from these stories as well as a poem written in the voice of Two-Hawks are tenta-tively planned for the showcase.

The Karankawas, an-other tribe of Native Americans, have also caught DeLotto’s liter-ary attention. This tribe lived around the South-ern Texas coast between Galveston and Corpus Christi. They were very tall, known to practice ritualistic cannibalism and by 1850, they were completely wiped out. DeLotto plans to travel to the area and research to get a feel for what these people’s lives were like.

This is the first even of its kind, and DeLotto

hopes it continues, saying that it’s a shame no one is aware that so many professors are doing fasci-nating research, publications and other academic activities outside of school.

Laura Rosser | Rambler StaffDr. Jeffery DeLotto presents his research at the Arts and Letter Showcase Nov. 11.

Chuck [email protected]

Chopin and Bach aren’t for everyone, and if you hap-pen to fall into that camp, the Wesleyan Music department has a class for you. It’s called “Music in America.”

It’s the perfect class to take for that lacking Fine Arts credit, or if you’d like to take a more contemporary mu-sic appreciation course or if you’re just looking for some-thing fun and entertaining to fill that empty hole in your schedule.

Music in America is offered next semester, spring 2010.

According to Dr. John Fisher, music department chair, the class will include “a chronological survey of vari-ous styles of American mu-sic from New England Psalm singing to the avant-garde, in-cluding art music, folk, popu-lar music and jazz.”

Students are also ready for the new course.

“Finally,” said junior the-ater major Andrea Allmond, “a music appreciation class about music I actually appre-ciate.”

There are no prerequisites for this course, which counts as a three-hour credit. It will take place in room 102 of the Ann Waggoner Annex, also known as the music building.

The course takes place Tues-days and Thursdays at 9:40 a.m. and includes lecture, demonstration, discussion, listening and participation with American music styles.

The RamblerThe Voice of Texas Wesleyan University Students Since 1917

Not just a newspaper anymore.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Narrative Feature FilmsBen Foster and Woody Harrelson in The Messenger.

Photo courtesy of lsiff.comMeg Ryan wraps things up in Serious Moonlight.

American music class features pop, jazz

Sports6 | November 11, 2009 The RambleR | www.therambler.org

“So yourautobiography is out inpaperback. What’s it about?”

Jeremy VineRadio 5

Parent-athletes struggle to do it all

Game Time/Place

Thursday JV Basketball vs.North Lake College

3 p.m.Irving

Friday

Volleyball ConferenceTournamentWomen’s Basketball vs. Evangel UniversityMen’s Basketball vs.SouthwesternAdventist Univ.

11 a.m. - 9 p.m.Sid W. Rich.2 p.m.Claremore, OK3 p.m.Waxahachie

Saturday

Volleyball ConferenceTournament FinalMen’s Basketball vs.Sterling CollegeWomen’s Basketball vs. Roger State Univ.

2 p.m.Sid W. Rich.5:30 p.m.Sid W. Rich.6 p.m.Claremore, OK

SundayJV Basketball vs.El Centro College

3 p.m.Sid W. Rich.

MondayWomen’s Basketball vs. Dallas Christian C.

6 p.m.Dallas

Tuesday JV Basketball vs.Cedar Valley College

7 p.m.Sid W. Rich.

Upcoming Sports

WesleyanWeek-in-Sports

•The Lady Rams Volleyballteam(16-16,10-6RRAC)splitapairofgamesNov.7.TheLadyRamstooka3-0(25-15,25-17,25-17)losstoninth-rankedUT-BrownsvillebeforedefeatingOurLadyoftheLakeUniversity3-0(25-15,25-10,25-10).Finishingfourthinconference,theLadyRamswillplaythefifth-seededOurLadyoftheLakeUniversityinthefirstroundoftheconferencetournament.Thegameisscheduledtobeginat11a.m.,Nov.13intheSidW.Rich-ardsonGymnasium.

•The Lady Rams Soccerteam(14-6)defeatedBaconeCol-lege4-0inthefirstroundoftheconferencetournamentNov.5.Despiteaone-goalleadathalftime,theLadyRamsdidnotmanagetofollowupwithanotherwininthesemi-finals.TournamentchampionsUT-BrownsvilleendedtheLadyRams’seasonwitha4-2winNov.6.

•The Rams Soccerteam’s(11-8)seasoncametoanabruptendastheRamssufferedaclose2-1lossagainstOurLadyoftheLakeUniversityinthefirstroundoftheconferencetournamentNov5.

•The Rams Basketballteam(0-2)droppedtheirseasonopener77-72toEvangelUniversityNov.6beforesufferingan88-65losstoLSU-ShreveportNov.7.

The Weekly Sports Quote

Fantasy FootballPig Skin Pick'Em

Leaderboard Name Pts.Cara Lumpkin 83Jeremy Newton 82Michael Greer 81Rachel Loftin 79Phillip Blockinger 79Fabiola Duron 79Terry Waldrop 78Jason Simpson 78June Johnson 77Oscar Lazarki 76Daniel Bravo 75Ryan Amador 75Trey Bomar 75Erik Hall 74Keith Wright 74Sandy Gonzalez 73Kyle Morgan 73Barbara Kirby 72Randy Pistorious 72Ken Flowers 70Michael Chaney 56Julie Handley 56Justin Payne 30Thomas Vasquez 30Melanie Mudukuh 26Carolyn Ikens 22Michael Wylie 19Ken Dunson 11Andrew Grace 11

Jacqueline [email protected]

WhenTexasWesleyansoc-cerplayerDanielleParksandvolleyball player Evoni Dar-lingwinamatch, theirnightdoesn’tconsistofgoingouttocelebrate.Parks rushes home to her

7-month-old daughter Kace-lynn, and Darling can’t waitto pick up 2-year-old Chey-enne.Beingastudent-athleteincollegecomeswithenoughresponsibility, but for a few,being a parent-student-ath-leteisevenmorechallengingand makes every momentevenmorevaluable.“Iquicklyhadtolearnhow

to manage my time better,”Darlingsaid.“It’sallaboutfit-tingmoreinwithlesstime.”Having the job of par-

ent, student and athlete canaddup.As involvedparents,Park’sandDarling’sdays in-volve class, diaper changing,homeworkandpractice.ForParks,aseniordefender

onthewomen’ssoccerteam,collegelifesuddenlychangedfromrevolvingaroundhertorevolving around blue-eyedbabyKacelynn.“Before Kacelynn, I would

justgetupandgotoclassorpractice,” she said. “Now Ihave to pack both our bagsthenightbefore.It’sallaboutwhat’sbestforher.”Ifthebabyisupat4a.m.,so

isthestarplayer.“Without a doubt, Kace-

lynnalwayswakesupatleasttwice a night, usually at 1[a.m.] and 4 [a.m.],” Parkssaid. “It’sdefinitelychalleng-ing, especiallywhen Ihaveatestorgamethenextday.”Thewomen’ssoccercoach,

Josh Gibbs, witnesses Dani-elle’s perseverance and ac-complishments as a mother,athleteandstudent.Gibbshas

coachedParkssince2006andhas seen her excel as a newmother.“Danielleisagreatassetto

our teamandmotivation for

all of us to stay positive inlife,”hesaid.“Shehasatoughsituation, but she’s excellentatwhat shedoes, on andoffthefield.”

Many times, Parks willbring Kacelynn to soccerpracticewhenshecan’tfindasitterorGrandmahastogotowork.“Ihavetoplanatleastone

day in advance,” she said.“Sometimes my only optionistobringKacelynntoprac-tice,”shesaid.“Ifcoachdidn’tlet me bring her to practicesomedays,Idon’tknowwhatIwoulddo.”Atpractice,oneofthetrain-

ersorinjuredplayerswillplaywith Kacelynn until practiceisover.Parks’ teammates enjoy

seeing Kacelynn’s precioussmileandvibranteyes; someevenbuyoutfitsforher.“Next to buy are toddler

soccer cleats, so she can bejustlikehermom,”teammateHeatherPaganosaid.Juggling parenthood along

with athletics and college isnot easy. Darling, a junior,understands.Breaksdon’tcometoooften

forDarling.Sheisenrolledin15 hours this semester andpractices from 7 p.m. to 9p.m., with matches runningthroughDecember.

“I had to learn how to fitinallmyhomeworkandstillhave quality time to spendwith Cheyenne,” she said.“My life has definitely be-comemoreschedule-orientedandfilledwithmoreresponsi-bility.”Grandma Darling cares

forCheyenneduringthedaywhile Evoni is in class andpractice. Cheyenne is oftenpresentatDarling’smatches.Her grandparents bring herouttosupportherhardwork-ingmom.Head Volleyball Coach

Christy Clawson knowsDar-ling’s situation is a difficultone,as it is for any parent-athlete. But, Darling has

managed to maintain a 3.5GPA and was voted co-cap-tainbyherpeers.“She has done a great job

of balancing academics, athletics and being the best mom she can be,” Clawson said.

With great support, Dar-ling has made the best of her difficult situation.

“No matter how you look at it, a child is a blessing,” Clawson said. “Evoni is blessed to have a beautiful child, teammates that are supportive of her and a fam-ily that has been her rock.”

When Darling told her teammates that she was pregnant, they were sur-

prised and even thought shewas joking, but now it’s cer-tainlyreality.“My teammates are very

supportive and they loveCheyenne,” Darling said.“Sheislikeanextrapersononourteam.”Spending asmuch time as

possible with their preciouslittleonesarealwaystoppri-ority for Parks and Darling.After this semester, the littlegirlscanexpecttospendmoretimewiththeirmothers.Offseasonbringsthepossi-

bilityofalittlemorefreetime.Parkswillearnherdegree inkinesiology this December,and Darling will return forhersenioryearnextfall.

Laura Rosser | Rambler StaffParks and 7-month-old Kacelynn

Courtesy of Evoni DarlingDarling with her 2-year-old daughter Cheyenne

“My life has definitely become more schedule-oriented and filled with more responsibility.”

Evoni DarlingStudent-Athlete and Parent

Next week: a closer look at basketball

Laura Rosser | Rambler Staff