The WichiTanpage 3

The sTudenT voice of MidwesTern sTaTe universiTy

Wednesday, april 30, 2008

Hidden truthsGraduating art majors’ master-pieces to be put on display for senior exhibition

page 11Polk to DallasRecord-setting quarterback was signed as a “priority” free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.

Brain disease forces beloved professor to retireChris Collins

Managing Editor

A strong, cool wind cuts through a warm April afternoon as Dr. Michael Flavin slouches through the front door of his Wichita Falls home to stand on the porch. The gray-headed, 66-year-old political scientist ambles onto a path in the yard, his formida-ble 6’4” frame slouching in the house’s shadow. He comments on the railroad ties that decorate his lavish home front. They were cut from the tracks many years ago, he says. Now they’re rotting. His tall, spare figure movesback onto the porch with notice-

able effort. He’s getting old, and he knows it. His head is bald. His joints hurt. His memory is failing. But his humor is still intact. “I’m almost 23!” Flavin ex-claims when wife, Dawn, walks outside and jokes about his age. “You can be old and handsome,” she tells him reassuringly. Flavin was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about three years ago. It ended his 38-year tenure as a professor of politi-cal science at MSU in Septem-ber 2007. He has taught at the universitysince1969.Onlyfivecurrent professors have been here longer. “I’m even funnier than I used to be!” the political scientist said

when asked about the progres-sive brain condition. Humor is key in coping with the disease, he said. A reception will be held Wednesday for Flavin, who re-tired in April 2008. He had been on extended sick leave since September 2007. Personal friends of Flavin and MSU political science staff will speak about the distinguished professor’s life and career in the Clark Student Center Kiowa room at 2 p.m. “It’s a great pleasure to help organize a party to honor a good friend and a good colleague,” said Dr. Michael Preda, political science professor. “Michael was a major contributor to the com-

munity in a lot of ways. He’s just an all-around really nice guy.” Flavin was the political sci-

ence department’s senior mem-ber until 2007. “Now I’m the senior member,” Preda said. “I’m very sad he’s leaving,” said Ernest Dover, professor of political science and graduate instructor. Flavin occupied the room across the hall from Dover for 23 years. “I’m going to miss him,” Do-ver said, “but I guess it’s time for him to retire.” Flavin has taught more than 20,000 students in his MSU ca-reer. He’s tried to treat them all like the children he never had, he said. “We’re childless by choice, but so many of the students have been special to him throughout the years,” said Dawn. “We’ve

gotten so many wonderful letters from so many students telling him he made a huge difference in their lives.” Though Flavin has dedicated much of his life to MSU, his hu-mility won’t let him take credit for it. It’s all about giving back to the community, he said. “That’s part of what life is,” he said. “You can live in a cave and say, ‘Everything is for me,’ but you’re going to live a bad life over time.” Flavinwas the first coach ofthe MSU intercollegiate soccer team. He took the position with-out pay. The team went 1-8-1 during its first season because

Photo by Richard CarterMSU students Richie and Cortny Bates perform Saturday at the Gilrose Studios juried art show. Also playing that night were Ali Holder, Abbey Laine, Adam Duke and Paul Shults. A number of painters, sculptors and musicians were past or present MSU students.

Art Show Rodeo

Melissa dos Prazeres-silva erika Moss

For thE Wichitan

Thissummer,asmanyasfiveMSU students will travel to Ger-many to help cobble together a business plan for a beverage company.

For the Americans, the Euro-pean assignment will be more than just a class project.

It will be a global effort.Students from the Dillard Col-

lege of Business will collaborate with their counterparts from In-dia, Indonesia, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom and tutors from Germany.

The 14-day project sprang from MSU’s partnership with the Fachhochschule University of Applied Sciences in Erfurt, Germany.

“The students’ work will not be based on how perfect the plan is, but how well the students work together with their differ-ent ideas,” said Steffen Schwarz, professor of entrepreneurship

studies at the German university. Schwarz and Dr. Klaus Mer-forth, vice president of technol-ogy transfer and international relations, are on the MSU cam-pus this week to work out details of the program with Dr. David Wierschem, associate professor of management information sys-tems at MSU.

The two German professors said each student brings his own unique intercultural perspective to the table, which makes com-ing to a decision the most chal-lenging part of the project.

MSU’s International Summer School Program began in 2007, taking three students and two professors. This year it will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13.

This year’s topic will involve the International Aspects of Entrepreneurship-Market Strat-egies for the Beverage Sector. The students must collect infor-mation and develop a business idea to present to a critical jury

lindsey leMon

For thE Wichitan

The Criminal Justice Depart-ment at MSU is taking part in the International Education trip to London this summer.

According to Dr. Nathan Mo-ran, chair and associate professor in the Criminal Justice Depart-ment, students will be in London for one month during the second summer session.

Moran said students will at-tend lectures and class every day as well as visit different police stations, prisons, and courts.

Students will stay in dorm rooms at Queen Mary College at the University of London, ac-cording to Dr. Larry Williams, director of international educa-tion.

According to Williams, of the 55 MSU students attending the summer semester in London, approximately 14 students are

attending the criminal justice classes.

The cost of the trip, according to Williams and the International Education Web site, is $5,350, but each student who is accepted receives a scholarship.

“Each student receives an automatic $1,000 scholarship,” Williams said.

The cost of the trip, according to the International Education Web-site and Dr. Moran, does not include food or personal en-tertainment.

Students attending the crimi-nal justice classes will be exam-ining the criminal justice system in the U.K. and comparing and contrasting it to other systems, such as the system in the U.S. and others throughout Europe, according to the Web site’s course description.

Students will receive a total of six hours for their participation

Jet-setting students study business abroad

Taking global viewon criminal justice

First juried competition at Gilrose Studios brings in a slew of area artists

Chris Collins

Managing Editor

B.C. Gilbert, gallery director of Gil-rose Studios in Wichita Falls, is kind of like a cowboy in a Cadillac. On one hand, Gilbert owns B.C. Country and Weldrite, a metalwork-ing company. On the other, Gilbert is a successful Texas artist whose work has been shown in Texas, Oklahoma and even Peru. So it may be fitting that the ArtShow Rodeo, Gilrose Studios’ April 26 exhibition, was a pairing of sophis-ticated, abstract art and gritty Texas naturalism. “I like dry and tongue-and-cheek humor,” Gilbert said. He describes his own art as “reinventing the Western stereotype.” The show was Gilrose Studios’ fifthexhibitionsinceitopenedinJuly2005.It’sthevenue’sfirstjuriedcom-petition. “You do one show and everybody keeps asking for the next one and the next one,” Gilbert said.

Theeventwentterrifically,accord-ing to Gilbert. “We had a huge success with this last show,” he said. “You’re a rock star in your own town. You’re on cloud nine.” The exhibition featured 38 artists, mostly from Texas. There were 50 entries. About 15 of the contributors came to the event. Bonnie Young from Houston won best in show with her pencil/ watercol-or Let the Poor Eat Themselves. She was awarded $300 and a custom-made belt buckle. “I thinkwe’re thefirstart showtogive a belt buckle as a prize!” Gilbert exclaimed. “Rodeo is part of our cul-ture. Whether you participate in it or not, you know what it is.” Though Gilrose Studios ran out of refreshments (thewinefirst, then thebeer), regular patrons picked up the slack. Greg Johnson, studio manager at San Antonio Southwest School of the Arts, was the competition’s juror. The artists funded the competition themselves with a $25 entry fee. Gil-

rose Studios broke even on the show. “Sometimes when you’re an artist you have to spend your own money and not get much of it back,” Gilbert said. The average show costs between $350 and $500. “It comes out of our pockets,” he said. Any excess funds go to pay for studio equipment. “We’re dedicated to the arts,” Gil-bert said. “It’s draining when you put that much work into it.” Three pieces were sold at the show. Gilrose Studios will take 30 percent of every sale to cover costs. “We’re not trying to make money,” Gilbert said. Gilbert said his goal as gallery di-rector is to change artistic expecta-tions. “We’re trying to put a new perspec-tive on art and give a little culture to Wichita Falls,” he said. “This is some-thing we think this town needs. We’re exposing the city to different art than it’s seen.” Catherine Prose, gallery director at

See “Gilrose” pg. 6

See “Justice” pg. 6

See “Germany” pg. 6

See “Flavin” pg. 6

Photo by Brenda Rich-MillerMichael Flavin

Staff Editorial

Play with puzzles, not play-doh

Haley CunningHam

For The WichiTan

ViewpointsThe WichiTan

Finalist2004 Associated Collegiate Press

Pacemaker Award

Sweepstakes Winner 2006 Texas Intercollegiate

Press Association

The WichiTan

Copyright © 2007. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Asso-ciation. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. First copy of the paper is free of charge; additional copies are $1. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before in-tended publication. Letters should be brief and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a telephone number and address for verification purposes. The editor retains the right to edit letters.

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Fax (940) 397-4025 • E-mail WICHITAN@mwsu.eduWeb site: http://wichitan.mwsu.edu

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Brittany Norman

Managing Editor Chris Collins Entertainment Editor Courtney Foreman

Op-Ed Editor Position Open Sports Editor Bobby Morris

Photo Editor Patrick Johnston

ReportersRichard CarterJosh Mujica

PhotographersLoren Eggenschwiler

Advertising ManagerCorrelle Ferlance

Copy EditorMarissa Millender

AdviserRandy Pruitt

THINK GREEN:Please recycle The Wichitan

after reading.Bins are located in Clark Student Center and Bolin Hall

Most of the time when you read my columns, you can either ex-pe r i ence some of my witty repar tees or philo-s o p h i c a l

anecdotes. I have yet to write a personal story with a life-lesson cleverly attached. Until now.

I have never been one to be romantic. I am not a lovey dovey kind of girl (on the out-side.) And I don’t want to write one of those love-lost articles with a nice dose of pain and suf-fering, so I’m not going to.

But let me clear the air of something before I get on with the excerpt from Haley’s book of Romance.

The definition of a break-up in Haley’s eyes: Depressing. You are no longer in a relation-ship, you are free from expecta-tions and bitterness is inspired. It is consoling, when love has let you down. To me, you final-ly hear that happiness was never part of the plan. Who, me? Bit-ter? No.

Now, on with the lecture. Let me start off with an example of all the hundreds and hundreds of love letters that the famous se-rial killer Ted Bundy received.

American women were crazy about this loony, even though he had been caught doing psy-chotic and revolting things with women he picked up in bars.

The women that wrote him the love letters claimed they could “change” the rapist-killer. Yeah, I call that crazy.

You know what else is just as crazy in my opinion? How many people I know that go into a relationship with some-one they don’t particularly like, but “it’s okay, people change. I can change them.”

Upon a recent occurrence, that I’m sure you have figured out by now, I have finally ac-cepted something that has been slapping me in the face for years. Never ever try to change someone. And more important still, never ever change yourself for someone else.

You cannot, nor should you want to, change your significant other. I wouldn’t want someone to be with me with the intention of changing me to fit their de-sires. Who would?

I’m speaking from both par-

ties, the manipulator and the victim (once upon a time).

Those annoying habits and other things you can’t stand are what create the person you are with. Although it may be quite bothersome at times, everyone has quirks in their personality, for God’s sake, let them be.

If you don’t like something in someone, don’t vie to change it. Change your attitude. Don’t complain.

Love someone for them, pes-ky parts included. Don’t go out looking for play-doh.

By play-doh I mean some-thing you can mold and mash and manipulate to your liking to where you can cock your head and say “Oh, now isn’t that pretty?”

Instead of play-doh, go shop-ping for a puzzle! Puzzle pieces fit together without any type of trimming.

In my opinion, along with ac-ceptance, the key to a healthy relationship is honesty. Some may argue that it is communica-tion that Is the most important aspect, but I will have to dis-agree with you.

If you are with someone that is just going through the motions, doing what they are trained to do, isn’t that lying? Being hon-

est with yourself about what you truly seek in a person is just as significant as being honest with your significant other.

Never should you let yourself be molded to someone else’s expectations, and you should give them the same courtesy. Do you really want to be some-one’s puppet? How should you expect someone else to?

It is against the moral code of Haley’s Book of Romance, and plus it is just plain unfair to the other guy.

But Haley, what if someone “swears” that they will change for you?

You mean, if they make a big boo-boo and their life is flash-ing before their eyes? That is something anyone in a corner will always resort to.

Call me cynical, but I don’t buy it. No one will change un-less they want to, and until that time, what were they doing be-fore? Acting? Lying?

It may be fun when you get your way and the annoyances disappear for the time being. However, not everyone’s per-sonality will cooperate forever.

And then you have to ask yourself, where are you going to be when the promises break and the make-believe runs out?

Internet evals Online course evaluations might sound

good in theory, but when it comes to putting

this new system to use, the flaws become more

and more visible.

First, when a professor hands out a sheet

of paper fifteen minutes before class is over,

says “I’m leaving, do your evaluation,” and

heads for the door, there’s always the chance

that a handful of students will wait five minutes

and slip out after them, leaving the evaluation

form untouched on the desk.

But the convenience of this “old” meth-

od, paired with the fact that once a student is

finished with the three-minute survey, they can

walk out the door and head to lunch a few min-

utes early, makes it incredibly convenient.

It also is far more likely that students

will complete the evaluations using this meth-

od.

Now, take the online method. Instead of

passing out a stack of papers and disappearing,

the professor has to beg, wheedle, cajole, even

bribe students with extra credit to even get

them to log onto the Web page.

Even with the prospect of extra points on

that dreaded final exam hanging overhead, the

chance of students taking a break from their on-

line activities long enough to rate their profes-

sors on something other than Myspace is slim.

College students have a short attention span for

things on the Internet that aren’t directly re-

lated to social networking.

The odds of them providing a worth-

while critique of their class? It gets even slim-

mer.

The online method may save the lives

of a few trees, but it certainly doesn’t seem to

draw as many students to participate as the old

tried-and-true.

Feature The WichiTanApril 30, 2008 3

Joel AbeytA“There is a constant pres-

sure to consume in American culture. Advertisements like: “You deserve a new car… for zero down…” “Want to look good? Drink this…” “Your cell phone is old; get this new one…” are leaking out of magazines and popping up unannounced and unwanted in our digital and analog mail boxes. They’re becoming our new roadside scenery and filling every corner they can.

“The average human size is not zero. Only eight percent of the world’s population owns a car. Americans throw away about 30,000 cell phones a day. The images I have put together are advertisements to invest in relationships. They are advertisements for people in need. All of the images are for sale. All of the money will go to the Casa Hogaw Benito Juarez orphanage and the Jesus Ministry in Reynosa, Mexico, and New Life Church in Wichita Falls, Texas.”

CAmeron Hill“Physical and sexual exploi-

tation of children, rape, and spousal abuse are all vicious attacks. For several differ-ent reasons, numerous people become victims as the result.

Four children die every day from child abuse alone and even more survive and are wounded because of these heinous crimes. We do not ac-knowledge or hear about most cases. Individu-als who are victimized will frequently deny that something occurred. They may not come forward because the aggressor has threatened and/or frightened them. When they do tell, they are not believed or are attacked again. Others can be mentally absent through what is called disassociation, where they separate themselves psychologically from the situation.

“In this series of oil paintings, cast bronze sculptures, and metal work I address these hor-rific crimes both metaphorically and literally. All of this series encompasses how we look away or ‘close the door’ on this subject. We become accomplices when we turn out head and pretend it is not happening.”

AsHley lindsey“My collection of photo-

graphs captures nature from a different perspective than the ordinary still life or landscape. Most intriguing to me is the unusual beauty that is found by close examination. I used my camera almost like a magnifying glass to isolate these aspects. I concentrate on plant life because there is an endless variety of picturesque specimens. Also included are shells, curious rock forms, and an insect.

“I looked for interesting shapes or patterns in nature, like the graceful curves of leaves, odd designs in rocks, or peculiar elements of insect anatomy, such as the markings on a moth. By employing a deep depth of field, I captured all of the minute details and made the focus of the picture.”

stACy loudAmyGraffiti (gre-fe’te): A draw-

ing or inscription made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public. –American Heritage Diction-ary

“Because the public nature of graffiti often deters viewers from inspecting it, I have cho-sen to document it through my photographs. Some of my images capture the location where the graphics were created, while others focus on my interest in the abstraction of the lines and color without a point of reference.

“Although tagging is a defacement of prop-erty, internationally renowned artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat started their careers by spray painting on walls and public surfaces. My images reveal while other graf-fitists consider themselves artists.”

CAssAndrA skArsten

“These works of art are rep-resentations pertaining to an aspect of human nature, and the consequences of our be-havior. They signify prejudi-cial conflicts we have with animals and other cultures.

“A life-size sculpture of my mother sym-bolizes my Native American culture and how our way of life is lost through each generation. Small circular metalworks made of nickel, brass and copper are titled “Human Fantasy” and “What Goes Around Comes Around.” These pieces metaphorically refer to concepts of de-nial, trophy animals and the extinction of an-cient cultures. The jewelry depicts animals and their natural beauty and provides an alternative to wearing animals as garments. The works are my way of honoring the spirits of my ancestors, as well as the many animals lost to extinction throughout time.”

Discovering hidden truths

GrAduAtinG seniors to displAy portfolios

At WiCHitA fAlls museum of Art

Brittany norman

ediTor in chief

Graduating art majors will have their artwork on display at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU from May 2 to June 20.

“Hidden Truths” is the theme for the senior exhibition. There will be an opening reception on Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the depart-ment of art foyer gallery in the Fain Fine Arts Center.

The exhibiting artists are Joel Abeyta, Cam-eron Hill, Ashley Lindsey, Stacy Loudamy, and Cassandra Skarsten.

The WichiTanApril 30, 2008 5News Campus briefs• April 30 Math Club Coke

Float Sale; CSC Sundance Food

Court; Wed. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

•Delta Sigma Theta; Deltaro-

bics; Sunwatcher Clubhouse;

Wed. 7:13 p.m.

• May 1 Finals Tent; Sun-

watcher Plaza; Thurs. 9:00 a.m.

to noon

• Finals Frenzy: free activities

for students; CSC; Thurs. 7 p.m.

to 11 p.m.

• May 2 Department of Rec-

reational Sports; T-shirt design

contest; $100 MSU bookstore

gift card; submit by Fri. at D.L.

Ligon Coliseum

• May 3 MSU Singers and

Oratorio Chorus present “Franz

Joseph Haydn’s Lord Nelson

Mass;” Conductor Dr. James

Schuppener; First United Meth-

odist Church, Sat. 7:30 p.m.

• May 10 Commencement

ceremonies; Sat. 10:00 a.m. for

the colleges of Health Sciences

and Human Services, Science

and Mathematics, and Fine Arts

majors, 2:00 p.m. for the colleg-

es of Business Administration,

Education, and Humanities and

Social Sciences; D.L. Ligon Col-

iseum.; Speakers Glen Veteto

and Dr. Lynwood Givens

• MSU democrats and Sierra

Club; camping trip; contact Jo-

anna at (971)404-6876 by May 1

3114082

1908 9th Street www.dciplasma.com

Name: Kevin Lloyd Occupation: Student Hobbies: Playing music and surfing the

internet Why I donate plasma: Donating

plasma is a worthy cause.

Name: Lua Augustin Occupation: ISM lead at Sears

Hobbies: Reading and dancing Why I donate plasma: A simple way to contribute to

medical advances. My mother is a nurse and I always wanted to do something to help other people.

When You Donate Plasma You Help Create Life Saving Therapies for:

Newborns and their mothers

Children and adults with hemophila

Burn, shock, and trauma victims

Vaccine development • Surgical patients • Hepatitis patients

Bone-marrow transplant adult recipients

Immunedeficient children and adults

Research and development in medical testing

12579

students are members of the Golden Thunder Marching Band. This is the �fth consecutive year of new record enrollments.

percent of MSU students receive some form of �nancial assistance including grants, scholarships, loans, waivers, exemption, and work study.

Melissa dos Prazeres-silva

For The WichiTan

The end of the college jour-ney bears upon 10 MSU mass communication students who will showcase their learnings of the field/from over the years by producing documentaries, as required by their senior produc-tions class, which is instructed by Assistant Professor Jim Gor-ham.

Senior Productions is the course all mass communications majors take in their final semes-ter before graduating.

“It is the capstone course, which means it’s essentially the last thing you will do in mass communication,” Gorham said.

The class of 10 has been sepa-rated into three groups, each of which must produce a 12-15 minute documentary on any subject, provided it has not been done in previous years.

The documentaries will be shown at the Senior Screenings at 3 p.m. in Shawnee Theater at the Clark Student Center on May 2. The screenings will be held in-conjunction with the Mass Communcation Department’s year-end event, “Lights, Cam-era, Dinner!”

The groups have to also pre-pare a script, a month before the final product is due. Scripts tend to be a minute per page.

One group’s documentary highlights the positive aspects of beauty pageants. Shinice Curry, Shae Pittman and Lucy Peters have traveled miles to capture the brighter essence of the beau-ty contest world.

The idea derived from Peters’ former pageant participation and the girls drove to Oklahoma and Arlington and Shamrock, Texas to get over 20 hours of pagentry footage.

“All the information we got will make you realize there’s whole other side of pageants other than the negative points, like eating disorders, which are always picked on,” Curry com-mented upon interviewing par-ticipants, parents, judges and directors.

Another group, consisting of Minna Gilliam, Amar Spencer, Bethany Berry and Marissa Mil-lender, are documenting the role ‘Meals on Wheels’ plays in the Wichita Falls community.

‘Meals on Wheels’ is a non-profit organization which deliv-ers food once a day, every week-day, to people who cannot afford food.

“Professor Gorham handed out a list of topics that had been done before, which eliminated a lot,” Spencer said. “We chose this organization because we wanted something that would relate to Wichita Falls and also appeal to human interest.”

To depict a regular day at ‘Meals on Wheels,’ the girls filmed the staff preparing and packaging meals. They rode along with volunteers delivering meals in the community.

With nearly 15 hours of foot-age, Spencer said their toughest challenge has been deciding what to use for the 15 minute docu-mentary, and since they have so much information, which angle they want to show the documen-tary from.

After assessing each mem-ber’s suggestions, the third group of Randall Mobely, Cor-relle Ferlance and Amanda Viet-enheimer decided to shoot their documentary on locally owned restaurants.

“I was watching a documen-tary on the Food Network and I liked the idea of food for a docu-mentary,” Ferlance said.

To add a local twist to the food idea and tie it in to the Wichitan culture, the trio picked Casa Ma-nana, Gene’s Tasty Burger and Pioneer 3, three local restaurants that have been in business for a long time.

The documentary will ac-centuate what it entails to run the restaurants and the joys and challenges of the business by sharing candid moments.

“The restaurants have been very accommodative and co-operative with us, but we try to maintain our limits,” Ferlance

said.This group has also put in

their share of sleepless nights at work, spending a total of 22 hours in one weekend on writing their script.

Conflicting ideas, schedules and personalities have been one of the main challenges faced while putting together this labor-intense project.

Creating these documentaries solicits the combining of all the skills attained from the degree courses mass communication students have taken over the years.

News writing provides inter-viewing and reporting exposure, the studio classes instill videog-raphy and editing experience, and the media law class teaches the legalities of the field, Gor-ham explained.

“That’s why we leave it till last, because this way you’ll be ready for it,” he said.

Despite the hours of planning and implementing, the seniors agree that it will all be worth it in the end.

“Producing this documentary gives me a sense of accomplish-ment,” Spencer said. “We come into school and enroll in the most basic class, introduction to mass communication, and when the end comes around we’re pro-ducing documentaries.”

Seniors produce documentaries

zachary shiPP

For The WichiTan

To get to CSC Apache on Thursday night, one was re-quired to weave through the groups of well-dressed football players wandering the halls and resist the smell of grilled steaks wafting in from Sunwatcher Pla-za. Once inside the Apache board-room, the atmosphere calmed down. The east end of the Clark Student Center was much qui-eter and free of athletes. A TV hummed muted in a corner. Seated at one end of the table were John Dotson and Chamu Prince. It was 7:25 p.m., and the first meeting of the new student organization Club Greenlight was five minutes away. Club Greenlight is an organi-zation for aspiring filmmakers and Dotson’s baby. He had al-ready filed a club roster and by-laws with Matthew Park at Student Activities, canvassed the campus with flyers, and reserved the room for the meeting. Now, they just needed peo-ple to show up. Things didn’t look good. The band was holding its spring concert at the same time as the Greenlight meet-ing, and the Student Athlete Dinner in the other side of the student center wouldn’t help either. “That probably took up half of the population,” Dotson said jokingly. But he had a point. This late in the semester, with finals around the corner and organi-zations trying to tie things up before school lets out for the summer, students and faculty have a lot to get done. He was aware that trying to organize an entirely new group was bound to be difficult. Dotson and Prince had been joined by student Walter Lam-

bert and Liz Minden, the club’s faculty adviser. Lambert got out his phone and tried to locate some additional students. Con-versation was friendly and ca-sual. Everyone in the room knew everyone else, mostly from ear-lier film or theater projects. Slowly, the meeting began to take form. With the arrival of one more student the group got down to business. Club Greenlight won’t be an official student organization un-til the fall semester. Thursday’s meeting was more of a strategy session than anything else, while the members discussed plans to raise money and increase mem-bership. Membership dues were set—$20 per semester—and the group made tentative plans for a showing of Dotson’s short film Pulverized early next semester to promote the club. The brainstorming that eve-

ning was intense. Some of the ideas were solid, others were quickly dismissed as impracti-cal. Dotson proposed a contest for screenwriters on campus, then Minden suggested it be used as a fundraiser. Sandeep Singh, a graduate student from India, turned it around and proposed a contest where Greenlight would provide the script to competing directors. Occasionally, the serious dis-cussion broke down and the room filled with laughter. At its core, the club’s members were just a group of friends, hanging out, united by a common interest and thinking of ways to nurture that interest around campus. “We have not won the heart of the campus,” Dotson said. “We need to win the hearts of the campus.” Student organizations at least have the advantage of knowing

their audience. Greenlight mem-bers acknowledged that students are broke, that free food and free stuff will get them to do almost anything, and that they don’t like to write very much. The MSU students were central to every step in the discussion. The meeting drew to a close at about 8:20, after a good 30 min-utes of planning and brainstorm-ing. The meeting was frustrat-ingly vague. Some of the most promising ideas, like the con-tests for screenwriters or pulling a film crew together, couldn’t be implemented for months. De-spite this, the attitude of the club was optimistic. “There’s a community of tal-ent,” Dotson said of the MSU student body. “They’re hid-ing and we need to smoke them out.”

Filmmaking club has hope for future

NewsThe WichiTanApril 30, 20086

sport before. “We had a lot of fun. We were proud of what we had done,” he said.. Flavin has also served as the MSU adviser for the NAACP, Alpha Phi, College Republi-cans and Young Democrats. He was the president of the Faculty Senate and TACT and a board member for the Hotter ‘N Hell bicycle race. He spends so much time and effort volunteering because he loves to help others, he said. “I had a lot of teachers who helped me in school,” Flavin said. “They were my mentors. You have to give back what you have.” Flavin founded MSU’s Fac-ulty Award in the mid-1980s. The award, which Flavin won in 1988, is one of the most prestigious among current fac-ulty. The professor refused to be considered for the honor un-til several years after he created it. Flavin was also instrumen-tal in creating the Congressio-nal internship program about 20 years ago. The internship sends MSU students every year to Washington D.C. to work in Congressional offices. “One year we had so many requests we didn’t have enough students to participate!” he said. “He’s been very helpful,” Pa-tricia Puig, constituent service representative for Congressman Mac Thornberry, said. Puig was an intern for Thornberry before being hired to a paid job. She credits Flavin for her current career. “If it hadn’t been for him I wouldn’t have this position,” she said. “He sees people through. That’s his reward.” Libby Hastings, who also works in Thornberry’s office, took Flavin’s American History course in 1986. She still vividly remembers it. “I thought he was the most knowledgeable, interesting per-son ever. He inspired me to get into politics and get a job here at the Congressman’s office,” she

said. “Dr. Flavin’s passion for political science has been the catalyst for so many students to find the right career path.” Flavin was born April 11, 1942 in St. Louis, MO. His fa-ther was a firefighter. He earned his B.S. in politi-cal science at St. Louis Univer-sity in 1964; earned his M.A. in political science at St. Louis University in 1966; earned his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Arizona in 1977. Flavin was interested in gov-ernment even in high school, he said. One year he dressed up as Abraham Lincoln to recite the Gettysburg Address to a class. “I couldn’t do it. I got up to give it and they all started laughing at me.” The political scientist first planned to teach high school government, but then decided he wouldn’t have the patience. It turned out to be a good idea: Flavin met his future wife dur-ing the first class he taught at MSU. “It was pretty outrageous to be dating back then,” Dawn said, laughing. Flavin’s wife also attended his last class in September 2007. It was special to both of them, they said. They have been married for 35 years. “We work as a double unit,” Dawn said. “I’ve inherited some of his memories.” Life has changed a lot for Flavin in the past several years. The Alzheimer’s has caused him to give up driving, a re-sponsibility Dawn is happy to take up. He resigned his license voluntarily. “We have a joke around here now,” Dawn said. “Sometimes when I’m stressed and wacky, I’ll say, ‘Who’s the one with Alzheimer’s?’” Flavin’s diagnosis was reached after several years of testing at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Alzheimer’s Research Facility. The disease was dis-covered in its early stages. Doc-tors told the political scientist to continue teaching as long as

he could. “One morning I woke up and I was physically tired,” he said. Flavin knew it was time to quit teaching. He waited until he was sure he had the disease to mention it at work. He wasn’t ashamed, rather he didn’t want anyone to focus on the condition instead of his teaching. “I wanted to make sure it didn’t hurt the students,” he said. “If I had gone any longer than I had it would have started to deteriorate.” The professor said he had to put extra effort into planning classes and grading tests be-cause of the disease. It was tak-ing too much out of him. “We chose to accept the situ-ation with as much grace and humor as we could muster.”

Flavin said he hopes his legacy will be a message of selfless-ness. “I’ve dedicated my life to Dawn and my family,” he said. “I hope students will learn something, and if people help them they give back. They need to give back to the community.” Flavin urged students to stay in Wichita Falls and try to do as much good as possible. “I would be surprised if there was anyone who didn’t want to make a difference in someone’s life,” Dawn said. “To know you made a difference in someone’s life is huge.” Upon Flavin’s death, his bran will be donated to medical re-search for comparative study in the Alzheimer’s disease.

“Flavin”.......................................................................................................................................................................................continued from pg. 1

Photos courtesyPictures of Michael Flavin from the past.

six hours for their participation in the London summer program, according to Moran.

Williams said that students must have at least 30 hours to participate in the criminal justice program in London.

Students will leave from DFW International Airport on July 10 and will return on August 10.

This is not Moran’s first trip to London with MSU’s Criminal Justice Department.

“I took a group of students

back in 2005,” said Moran.According to Williams, the

International Education Depart-ment has been taking trips to London since 1985.

The date for this year’s dead-line has passed, but students who may be interested in future trips are welcome to look at the Inter-national Education Department’s course and trip descriptions at their web site: http://academics.mwsu.edu/internationaleduca-tion/.

and public audience on Sept. 12.

Besides gaining educational knowledge and experience, Wierschem said that the stu-dents get exposure to different cultures, languages and what’s available.

“As a faculty member, the experience was wonderful and more than just content,” he said. “The students get to know that people aren’t all that different and realize what a small world it really is.”

The cost for the program is

$375, which covers the regis-tration and accommodations. Not included are airfare and the train ride from Frankfurt to Er-furt, Germany. MSU offers three $1,000 scholarships to help de-fray those expenses.

To be eligible for the program, each student is required to be a business major and must submit an application. The two-week course will transfer to MSU as an elective credit. Informational meetings will be held April 30 in Dillard 121 and May 1 in Dil-lard 189 at 10 a.m.

MSU, helps Gilbert organize and plan shows. The two were married in 1997. They moved to Wichita Falls from Lubbock in 2005. Gilrose Studios is even the combination of the couple’s last names, ‘Gilbert’ and ‘Prose.’ She used to be more involved at Gilrose Studios, but has since cooled out. “Catherine’s been a big help,” Gilbert said. “She has a lot of professional art show experi-ence.”

Prose eventually relinquished most control of the venue to her husband. “I got very controlling, It made me crazy,” Prose said. Gilrose Studios will probably host its next show sometime in the fall, Gilbert said. Its next juried show will probably be in May. “The community wants us here,” Gilbert said. “The com-munity wants us to stay.”

For The WichiTan

For those students who love math and science, MSU offers yet another major to curb their interests, mechanical engineer-ing. The first graduating class will take to the stage in May 2008. Since its establishment three and a half years ago, approxi-mately 10 students have almost completed the requirements to receive their mechanical engi-neering degree from the Mc-Coy School of Engineering. “These graduates will be eli-gible to work in any sector of the industry,” Dr. Jerry Faulk, associate professor for the en-gineering school, said. According to Faulk, potential employers include Howmet Investment Casting, Cryovac, Certainteed, Tranter, Carrier, Wichita Clutch, Washex, PPG, General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motor Company, located in the region, and Ford, Chrysler, Pratt & Whitney, Westing-house, NASA, JPL, Sandia, Boeing and numerous other companies located across the country and the world. “MSU has been offering the manufacturing engineering Technology program for the last 22 years. The establishment of the

McCoy School of Engineer-ing has led to the creation of the mechanical engineering program, which is a four-year, professional-track engineering degree,” Faulk said. The manufacturing engineer-ing technology schools’ name-sake, Jim McCoy, is the cre-ator and owner of Echometer, which is a Wichita Falls based company. McCoy earned an engineer-ing degree from the University of Oklahoma and later devel-oped a successful business. “Mr. McCoy’s interest in engineering and technology brought him to MSU. I was told he wanted to meet with me to discuss a mechanical engi-neering technology program for MSU and, within an hour, we had a plan laid out on the table,” Dr. Jesse Rogers, presi-dent of MSU said. “He chose us.” Until the late 1990s, the Tex-as Higher Education Coordi-nating Board did not allow any new engineering program to be established at small universi-ties. “MSU has always had a very strong science and math pro-gram,” Rogers said. “The pro-gram started as a manufactur-ing technologies program and then, after receiving approval for an engineering program,

was renamed to include the engineering aspect of the pro-gram.” “The mechanical engineer-ing program includes 150 stu-dents and has been increasing at the significant rate of 33 per-cent,” Faulk said. The education of the me-chanical engineering students culminates in capstone proj-ects, which require students not only to design the system on paper, but also to build a physical model of the design. Student projects are spon-sored by the local and regional industry, which allows students to solve real design problems, not just academic designs. According to Faulk, the background of faculty mem-bers includes: mechanical en-gineering and aerospace, engi-neering physics degrees as well as industrial experience. This broad range of com-bined experience is vital to the education of students in me-chanical engineering. “A professional track engi-neering program is very valu-able to the local and regional industry. Of all engineering degrees, mechanical engineer-ing is the most viable for MSU. Mechanical engineering curri-cula are very broad and there-fore give the graduate a greater number of employment oppor-

tunities,” Faulk said. According to Faulk, a com-puter engineering degree would not be useful for graduates wishing to remain in the region of North Texas because very few employment opportunities exist for such a degree. Faulk also said the same is true for other non-mechanical engineering degrees. “A mechanical engineering program has always been im-portant to MSU and the North Texas region. However, due to state and economical con-straints, such a degree could not be offered,” Faulk said. Financial contributors to the program included Jim Mc-Coy and his family, Phil Bolin, the Priddy Foundation and the Bridwell Foundation. Together, they have pro-vided in excess of $10 million to MSU for the establishment of the mechanical engineering program. President Jesse Rogers pro-vided the necessary guidance and the faculty were charged with the design of the pro-gram. Vice President of University Advancement and Student Af-fairs, Dr. Howard Farrell also played a key role in securing funds for the program, Faulk said.

“Germany”......................continued from pg. 1

“Justice”.........................continued from pg. 1

“Gilrose”..........................continued from pg. 1

First mechanical engineering majorsto walk the stage at commencement

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Jermey elliottFor The WichiTan

Alargegroupofstudentsfileinto the Shawnee Theater and taketheirseats.Theairisfilledwith the soft murmur of conver-sation. Seven well-dressed students sit center stage talking amongst themselves. The audience quiets as the MC comes to the podium and introduces the group of seven. The crowd focus on the group. The audience has high expectations, “Funky Monkey and the Ebola Virus” is a student improv group that performs shows on campus throughout the year. The group is comprised of MSU students Joey Dassinger, Derrius Burks, Dustin Webb, Simon Welch, Ja-cob Casey, Bronson Wilson, and Rob Gray. Improv or improvisational theater is a comedy acting tech-nique that is performed spon-taneously. Actors typically use audience suggestions to guide the performance as they create dialogue, setting and plot. An example of a famous im-prov troupe is the cast of ABC’s “Whose line is it anyway?” star-ring Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Moch-rie. The group started after junior

theatre major Joey Dassinger had a conversation with some fellow theatre students. “David Henne, Donald Gibson, MaryOkonkwo,andmyselffirstthought of the idea. The original name of the group was ‘Risky Brisket Slow Cooked Comedy.’ We are all in theater, but every-one else was busy with other obligations so I took it under my wing,” Dassinger said. Dassinger held open auditions during the spring of 2007. About 35 people showed up for the two-day tryout. “I was really surprised how many people came out for the firstaudition.Therewerealotofpeople interested in being a part of the group,” Dassinger said. Dassinger picked nine students to be a part of the improv group. The original group was made up of Dassinger, Webb, Welch and Casey, as well as Pierre Lafaille, Aaron Munoz and E.J. Eddins. Senior Dustin Webb went to the original audition as a joke. “It was kind of by accident. I went to the audition with a friend. The only reason we went was to see people make a fool of them-selves and get a quick laugh. We saw some people struggling so we got up there and tried out. Joey talked to us after and asked us both to be in the group. We both agreed and it’s been awe-

some,” Webb said. After the auditions the group got to work practicing. The prac-tices are held in Killingsworth Halls upstairs lounge. “It’s funny to see some of the girls reactions when a bunch of guys head upstairs on their el-evator. We hold the practices there because we all live on campus and Killingsworth has large lounges and it is pretty qui-et. We try hard not to bother any of the women in the building,” Dassinger said. Dassinger explains how the practices are run. “We practice twice a week. A lot of people think we don’t have to practice for improv, because it’s improvisation, but during our practices it’s more of training. We run through the games and get familiar with the rules. Improv is all about keep-ing your mind fresh and being able to come up with scenes and scenarios on the spot. We don’t memorize any scenes or charac-ters before shows, it’s all at ran-dom,” Dassinger said. Thegroupheld itsfirst showin the spring of 2007. The hour-long show was done in front of a packed house of about 70 stu-dents in Shawnee Theatre. “All of us were kind of ner-vous. We just didn’t want to bomb on stage. Plus, during the

show, we rely on the audience to give good suggestions and be involved, so we hope they were into it,” Dassinger said. “Forourfirstshowitwentre-ally good. There were a lot of people just cracking up and re-ally into it. It’s a good feeling to have people congratulating you after the show,” Webb said. At the end of the semester the group lost Lafaille, Eddins, Mu-noz so more auditions had to be held when classes resume in the fall. “Pierre was trying to become more focused on academics, and Aaron and E.J. transferred to other schools. It was tough be-cause they all brought a lot of talent to the group,” Dassinger said. After a second set of auditions were held, the group brought in three new members, Derrius Burks, Bronson Wilson and Rob Gray. “Improv has really opened up a whole new crowd of pople to me and forced me to find newways to be funny. Also it has given me a chance to work with some really cool guys,” junior Derrius Burks said. Though the shows have gone well this year, at one show the group ran into a problem. “We had a situation where two of the members couldn’t show

up. Simon hadn’t practiced with us before the show because he had a lot of tests and wasn’t able to put in any practice time. We asked him at the last minute if he couldfill inandheranovernoquestions asked,” Webb said. “It was just unexpected, plus I hadn’t been to any practices in about a month. I got over my nervousness and just went up there and did my best. The show went really good though,” junior art major Simon Welch said. To date, the group has done eight one-hour shows, including a show during Greek Week and last years Final’s Frenzy. “It’s been really fun, I really enjoy it. It thinks it really cool how other organizations want us to come and work with them,” Webb said. The group has received very positive feedback from students that have attended the shows. “The shows are good. They do very well and are really funny. The only thing they really need now is a funny girl in the group,” sophomore Stefen Nweke said. “My favorite game is when they do “say P and die.” It’s so funny because they can’t say any word with the letter P in it. I love that,” junior Patrick Johnson said. “Those guys are innovators and it’s cool. They put themselves out

there and just have a good time,” junior Melissa Higgs said. “I’ve only had the opportu-nity to go to two shows. I wish they had more. Every time I hear about a show I can go to, I try my hardest to make it,” junior Brit-ney Martin said. “I think the students enjoy our shows because it gives them something else to look forward to. Its different from the other run-of-the-mill activities on cam-pus.” Burks said. The group has many plans for next year, including a trip out of town. “We’re going to try and have a little retreat where we attend a Improv workshop run by a pro-fessional group in Fort Worth,” Dassinger said. “I see us having a television show in a bout a year, and Joey getting kicked out of the group because of money laundering or for being involved in a prostitu-tion ring,” Burks jokingly said. “But seriously we would really like to have more shows and get some of the ladies involved,” he said. The group will have its finalsow of the year Thursday May 1st at 6:00p.m. in Comanche Suite located in the Clark Stu-dent Center.

Improv comedy group entertains on the spot

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20 years and 14 albums describe the success describe the mega-mo-gul Christian rock band The News-boys. The band originally formed in the late 1980s and really found success in the ‘90s as they became one of the more popular Christian bands of the time.

Over the years, the Australian- based band has had six number-one singles on the Christian charts and surprisingly, have been featured in more secular media outlets than other Christian bands at the time. The Newsboys have truly made a mark on the music industry most bands haven’t.

Aussie singer/songwriter Paul Coleman was kind enough to an-swer a few questions about the major success this band has come to know over the years.

The Newsboys are familiar with travel. Because the band has a pop-rock sound, it hasn’t become regional to any place in the world. This allows the band to travel glob-ally without hesitation.

On a recent trip to Israel, the band played at a New Age Festival in the Sea of Galilee,

“Historically for a biblical scholar, that would be where Jesus descended back to heav-en,” said Coleman.

“Music has this incredible way of leaking over the bound-aries and I think that’s the thing I fell in love with about music even more than music itself,” Coleman said, about traveling internationally and the impact they can have on people.

Because the band has been all over the world and been a part of the music industry for years as a Christian band, one might wonder if there was more pressure on being a Christian band than another genre.

“You’re definitely held to a different standard,” Coleman said. “The very genre we’re in helps us be humbled by the message and realize that we are servants as opposed to lords.”

Knowing that the band has a little amount of added pressure because of their beliefs, Coleman challenges people to, “find the validity not in what you do, but in who you are” when it comes to whatever you might be doing in this world.

The band has come from an era

where everyone bought CDs to to-day, downloading music for free. The band is just rolling with the punches.

Coleman knows there’s nothing you can do to fight people on the topic.

“Just look for way to keep sur-viving. Let’s keep writing great

songs, let’s keep traveling and put-ting on a great show and be faithful to the core of who we are.”

The band believes there are still many ways to survive in the music industry today.

Despite downloading and other obstacles, the band has produced 14 albums.

A person has to wonder if each song composed by the band is try-ing to get across a certain message to their listeners.

Coleman knows about great songwriting.

“Its got to be emotional, not instructional. Otherwise you get too in your head and to write a song, you really have to be in your heart.”

As the band continues to write great songs, the success contin-ues to follow. But, the question remains: what is it that puts The Newsboys aside from other bands and why they stand out from the crowd?

Coleman broke down in three simple steps why he believes his band has lasted the test of time. From a business aspect there’s a need to write great songs, a need to put effort into each and ev-ery show, and people who work around you in management and

booking that are good with busi-ness and even better with money.

On the other side, from a re-ligious point of view, “the most important reason why I believe the Newsboys have had success is because we believe it’s what God wanted. I think anything that sur-

vives that has God’s name on it survives because of his enduring grace.”

The band truly believes the main reason why they have kept performing has to be because it was God’s idea in the first place. Coleman thinks it too ironic that a bunch of guys from Australia have survived for 20 years and has been playing arenas for 15, and to think that it was all about them would be forgetting the main message in the end.

So, with a music career most musician would die for, Coleman gave some advice to up-and-com-ing Christian bands that are just getting started.

“Write great songs and work hard and always commit your ways to the Lord,” he said. “The Bible says if you do that, he will direct your steps and he will bless you. It’s a journey to find that balance at getting that trade right and working hard at it, and always remembering where life comes from.”

The band’s latest CD, Go, is in stores now. Paul Coleman and The Newsboys will be gracing Wichita Falls with their presence on Satur-day, May 3 at the MPEC. Tickets are on sale now.

Courtney Foreman

enTerTainmenT ediTor

Lauren Wood

For The WichiTan

May 16The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Following the original “Narnia,” this tale contin-ues a year later when the Kings and Queens of Nar-nia return to the phenomenal realm, but they soon discover that more than 1,300 years have passed.

With most of the original cast, the main new-comer is Prince Caspian, played by Ben Barnes, who has had little acting experience. Barnes played a small role in the 2007 film Stardust.

During the children’s absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has disappeared and is now under new control of an evil king. The four children soon dis-cover this new character Caspian and learn that he is the rightful heir to Narnia and the King is out to kill him.

With help from kind and courageous creatures, they all embark on a journey to find Aslan and res-cue Narnia.

May 30The Strangers

This horror/thriller flick is sure to leave the audience in suspense and on the edge of their seats. Actors Scott Speedman, from the sci-fi hit Underworld, and Liv Ty-ler, from the romantic comedy Jersey Girl, star in this film about a couple who return from a wedding recep-tion and stay in an isolated vacation house. One late night they receive a knock on the door which leads into a violent invasion of three masked strangers. The couple finds themselves in a life-threatening struggle, both of them just trying to survive. Rated “R” for violence/terror as well as language and is being pre-viewed as a movie that will make you check your locks twice.

Summer blockbusters set to hit the big screenMay 9

Speed Racer With a full cast of stars including Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox, this action/ad-venture flick is called Speed Racer, an aggressive and fearless driver who is loyal to his family’s rac-ing business, led by his father. When Speed turns down an offer from Royalton Industries, he uncovers a secret and pisses off the company’s owner. If Speed doesn’t race for Roy-alton, then they will see to it that Speed will never see the finish line. It is up to him to save his family’s business and beat Royalton. With the support of his family and girlfriend, Speed teams with is one-time rival, Rac-er X, to win the cross-country rally known as The Crucible. This science fiction/fantasy film is rated “PG” and also includes actors Susan Sarandon and John Goodman playing Speeds’ mom and pops.

Mega-Christian rock band set to play MPECOne-on-one with Paul Coleman of The Newsboys

Band Members: Peter Furler, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein, Paul Colman

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Softball - @ LSC Postseason Tourna-ment in Durant, Okla.

Softball - @ LSC Postseason Tourna-ment in Durant, Okla.

Softball - @ LSC Postseason Tourna-ment in Durant, Okla.

Sophomore Katie Peterson said that the one thing she loves other than softball is playing card games, “especially poker.” Peterson is a mathematics major and has been the starting pitcher for the Lady Mustangs the past two seasons. Influencedbyherparentsatavery young age, Peterson played several sports but grew to love softball the most. In high school, Peterson also competed in vol-leyball, but said that she chose softball because she was better at it. Along with being the Pitcher of the Week in the Dallas Morn-ing News her junior and senior years at Plano West High School, Peterson was also the school’s pitcher of the year her freshman and sophomore years, and the MVP of her district in her senior campaign.

Peterson said the difference between college softball and high school softball is the basic conditioning. “In high school we only lifted weights and conditioned dur-ing the season,” Peterson said. “When playing college softball, we practice during the season and during the off-season and practice is about an hour lon-ger.” Peterson also said that com-paring her high school head coach Mike Ledsome to MSU head coach Brady Tigert, who is not so laid back. “Tigert is about winning,” said Peterson. “He wants the best nine playersonthefield.Tigertisnotgoing to play you because your parents make a fuss about you (not) being on the field. CoachTigert is more intense and if you are not, he will make you.” Peterson has had two success-ful years at MSU. In 2007 and

2008, Peterson was named the Pitcher of the Week in the Lone Star Conference along with be-ing named to the LSC All-Con-ference second-team last season. “Getting to pitch and being a starter,” Peterson said when asked what her favorite things about softball are. Peterson also said that she has never had any major injuries playing softball; just back prob-lemsandafewjammedfingers. Pizza is Peterson’s food, “me and my roommate would get two and eat one apiece.” Peter-son said that during the season she actually gains more weight because the team eats fast food all the time. “Softball takes up a lot of your time,” Peterson said. “Most girls on the team can’t work, be-causetheyareonthefieldevery-day from about 2 to 6 p.m. And there’s a game every Saturday.” Peterson said that on away

games she feels that if she falls asleep on the bus, she will do badly in the game, while “all the rest of the players like to go to sleep on the bus.” “I love to play them at home,” Peterson said. During the off-sea-son Peterson loves to go home on the week-end, because during the season she never has time. Peterson’s family makes the situ-ation better, because they are at every game on the weekend, and sometimes, if the game is impor-tant enough, they will even be at a game during the week. Peterson said the hardest thing about playing college softball is managing grades in school and being on the field at the same

time. She is undecided what she wants to do after college, but she knows for sure that she does not want to coach softball, because she doesn’t want to do anything pertaining to teaching. Peterson said that her most

memorable experience playing softball was her junior year in high school when she pitched a perfect game against Mesquite Potette, but said that she has not been able to accomplish that again, yet.

Erika Moss

For The WichiTan

Mustangs softball ace thriving at MSU

The 3-year-old thorough-breds are inexperienced, the equine equivalents of human teenagers. They are asked to run 1 1/4 miles for the firsttime, against as many as 19 op-ponents, amid a circus atmo-sphere. Many are not bred to go the distance. Traffic problemsruin the chances of others. “On Derby Day, just about any-thing can happen,” trainer Eoin Harty said. Usually, it does. There’s no race like the Kentucky Derby, where the best horse often doesn’t win. Superstars Na-tive Dancer, Round Table,

Easy Goer, Holy Bull and Point Given didn’t. Many two-legged all-time greats have had prob-lems in America’s Race, too. D. Wayne Lukas won it four times, but he sent out 12 losers before breaking throughwith thefillyWinning Colors. Ron McAnal-ly (0-for-10) and Bobby Fran-kel (0-for-8) are world-class Derby maidens, and the late, great Charlie Whittingham was 73 before he got the job done with Ferdinand in 1986. In the spring of 1988, Risen Star was the best 3-year-old in America, but a wide trip com-promised him in the Derby, wherehefinished thirdbehindfront-running Winning Colors.

Risen Star ruled the Preakness and the Belmont, and trainer Louie Roussel will always be-lieve he should have swept that Triple Crown. “The Derby is such a unique race,” Roussel said recently. “It is the ultimate race of all time because you’re going to face so many horses and so many possible pace scenarios that it’s justsodifficulttowinit.Ifeelsorry for the bettor, because it’s a tough, tough race to handi-cap.” Jockey Alex Solis is 0-for-15, and Hall of Famers Pat Day (1-for-22) and Laffit Pincay(1-for-21) spent many years wondering if they’d ever pos-

sess that elusive blanket of roses. In his darker moments, perennial leading trainer Todd Pletcher has to be thinking the same thing. He’s a record 0-for-19 in the Derby. Pletcher’s run of futility has become an obligatory sidebar on the first Saturday in May.He’s been philosophical about the frustration, but he’d be over-joyed if one of his two runners - Monba or Cowboy Cal - could end those questions forever on Saturday. RagstoRiches,thefirstfillyto win the Belmont since 1905, lastyeargavePletcherhisfirstclassic and “in some ways got the monkey off our back.”

He’s trained eight champions, won four consecutive Eclipse Awards and keeps shattering his own record for yearly earn-ings. A Derby would crown the resume of a 40-year-old who is a lock for the Hall of Fame. “We’ve done a very good job of getting a lot of horses to the Derby,” Pletcher said. “We’ve had some horses run very well. We’ve also probably brought horses that just simply weren’t good enough. And now I feel confident that if we show upwith the right horse, we can get the job done. If it happens, great, but if not, then we’ll con-tinue to try.” Steve Asmussen, 43, is an-

other win machine still chasing his first Derby. He has morethan 4,000 victories, including 488 last year, and trains King of the World Curlin, who swept the Preakness, Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders’ Cup Classic on the way to becoming the 2007 Horse of the Year. On Saturday, Asmussen will saddle his eighth and ninth Derby run-ners, Pyro and Z Fortune. “Anybody who wins the Der-by is going to have a little bit of a shock,” Asmussen said. “I got Curlin beat in the race last year, so I know how hard it is to win. It has to be a horse’s lifetime-best race that day.”

At the Kentucky Derby, anything can happen... and often doesEd McNaMara

McT

A quiet draft day for the Dallas Cowboys is a good sign For a team with 13 pro-bowl-ers returning off of a team that finished13-3ontheseason,evenwith the Super Bowl champs in their division, the Cowboys sure have a lot of doubters. Looking back though they entered this draft with very min-imal, but glaring needs. It was obvious last season that the secondary was not only bad at times, but just horrendous, overall. Ken Hamlin provided a nice spark and made some plays, while Terrence Newman is slowly developing into an elite, “Neon Deion” type of corner-back, but that was about it out of the secondary. Roy Williams has been strug-gling for the past few seasons,

giving up huge plays over the top when either Anthony Henry or Newman were injured, which seemed to alternate week to week. But there were no truly as-tounding cornerback prospects in this year’s draft. There were some excellent chances but every corner, it seemed, came with a downfall. However, the runningback position was absolutely packed with potential this year, espe-cially backs that would be draft-ed in the twenties, where Dallas drafted. So, despite rumors circulat-ing about Jerry Jones trading obscene amounts of picks to get his Razorback runningback, he stayed patient and true to what his team really needed. The Cowboys have a po-tential elite running back with

Marion Barber III. A pro-bowl style runner as a back-up last season, but he has never truly carried the entire rushing load for any team. The last few seasons, Julius Jones signed with Seattle in the offseason, carried the initial load to wear down a team be-fore Barber would blow it up in the second half. Even in college Barber split

time with Laurence Maroney, presetly the top back for the New England Patriots. What they needed was a speedy back to take some load off of Barber. They got that in Felix Jones from Arkansas, with the 22nd pick. Then they made a very little trade to get a hold of a top-3 de-fensive back in Mike Jenkins,

from South Florida, with the 25th pick. So, while some may be worry because the Cowboys didn’t make as many moves as in year’s past, don’t. They just have an overall out-

standing team, so while others were making noise with block-buster trades, the Cowboys just sat back and quietly added more potential pro-bowlers to their already potent roster.

BoBBy Morris

SporTS ediTor

Patrick JohNstoN The WichiTan

Katie Peterson (19) tosses a pitch towards the plate in a mid-season tilt against the University of Central Oklahoma.

With their backs up against the wall the MSU golf team fired their best round of the Lone Star Conference Championships, but it wasn’t quite enough for the team. This was the last time for teams to make some noise and make their bid to the NCAA Di-vision II National Men’s Golf Committee, while they wait to select both the teams and indi-viduals to compete in the annual NCAA Division II Super Re-gional held in Austin from May 5-7. After a steady but slightly disappointing 9-over par first round, the team fired a 3-under 285 to grab fifth place at the tournament, which was held at the Par-72, 7,194-yard WinStar Golf Course. “I feel we might have played our way into the regional,” MSU coach Jeff Ray said. “We knew

we had to play well to at least have a chance and we had a great round today as a team.” Freshman of the year Travis Klutts led the way in the final round for the Mustangs with a team-best 3-under par round of 69. Klutts’s final round improved his final score to 215 (-1), good enough to place tenth overall. Senior Brady Jones wasn’t far behind thanks to an eagle on the final hole of the tournament to card a 2-under 70. After the completion of the tournament last Tuesday, the Mustangs had to anxiously wait for the announcement of the Su-per Regional participants until this past Friday. On Friday, however, the Mus-tangs were left out of the field of eight schools to qualify. This would have been their second-straight appearance after last year’s record-setting campaign. It wasn’t all negative for the MSU golf program, however, as two of their individuals will be

heading to the Super Regionals to compete. Both Klutts and Jones were invited to participate, individu-ally, at the Super Regionals. The Super Regionals will be held on May 5 in Austin at the Grey Rock Golf Club. Klutts earned a medalist spot

at the South/South Central Re-gional after averaging slightly over a 73 in 24 rounds of the ten tournaments he competed in. His season-best finish was second at the St. Edward’s Invi-tational before finishing fourth at the Texoma Championship. He will be joined by the senior

Jones who averaged a 75 in his 20 rounds and eight tournaments this season. His season-best fin-ishes came at the Red River In-tercollegiate and UCO/Kicking-bird Classic where he finished tied for third both times. The winner of each regional and the top finishing individual

not on a winning team will ad-vance to the Division II Spring National Championships Festi-val from May 14-17 in Houston. The finals will be hosted by Rice University and the Harris County-Houston Sports Author-ity.

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Sports

Sports briefsJeff Williams Update Women’s Tennis “Let it Fly”Tennis NewsMen’s Tennis

Record-setting quarterback joins Dallas Cowboys franchise as ‘priority’ free agent

Daniel Polk spent much of his Sunday answering calls and watching coverage of the NFL Draft just waiting for opportuni-ty to finally buzz his cell phone.

“It was nerve wracking watching names go up on the board,” Polk said. “The best thing to do was to be patient and let God take care of the situation for me.”

Polk didn’t have time to con-sider his patience as the seventh round neared its close.

“Several teams started to call me about possibly drafting me,” he said. “Buffalo called a few times and then Arizona and St. Louis. They told me to be on standby.”

But Polk’s name was never called, but his night was far

from over as each of what the NFL calls “priority” free agents were contacted.

“It (being drafted) was some-thing that I wanted,” he said. “But what really matters is get-ting an opportunity. This is a dream come true.”

A native of Dallas, Polk nar-rowed his choices to two teams before making his decision to sign with the hometown Dallas Cowboys.

“It came down to Miami or Dallas and what I thought was the best situation for me,” Polk said. “It was a long wait, but we finally got it done.”

Polk’s opportunity with the Cowboys will come in a special teams role and will hinge on his ability to adapt to the wide re-ceiver role, but he has a good example to follow.

“I’ve been compared to (cur-rent Dallas receiver) Patrick Crayton a lot,” he said. “It’s the same situation for me and I’ll have to play special teams, too.”

Crayton, a converted quarter-back from NAIA Northwestern Oklahoma State, was picked in the seventh round in 2004 and has blossomed into a starter at the wide receiver position.

Polk capped a brilliant four-year career with Midwestern State by becoming the school’s first NCAA Division II first-team All American and was the only quarterback in all of col-lege football to pass for more 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 last season.

Polk led NCAA Division II’s top offense while carrying a 153.74 pass efficiency rating

after completing 65.7 percent of his passes (188-of-286) for 2,487 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw just five interceptions.

Polk also rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the second-straight season finishing with 1,069 yards on 147 carries with a school-record 19 touchdowns.

He also finished fourth in the nation with 322.6 total yards of offense, 12th in scoring with 10.4 points per game, 14th in pass efficiency rating at 153.7 and 32nd in rushing yards.

Polk’s 3,556 yards of total offense in 2007 also stand as a school record.

He finished his career as MSU’s all-time leader in rush-ing yards (3,560), total offense yards (8,276), touchdowns scored (44) and touchdowns ac-counted for with 82.

MsuMustangs.coM

Polk Joins Dallas Cowboys

A clutch RBI-single by third baseman Kristen Stonecipher into right-field in the top half of the seventh inning lifted the Lady Mustangs to a 3-2 victo-ry over the No. 4 Angelo State Rambelles in the second game of the double-header to secure the third seed in the LSC postseason tournament. The victory also marked the

300th career win for MSU head coach Brady Tigert. Tigert is 190-93 (.671) in five seasons with the Lady Mustangs. Before coming to MSU, Tigert coached Texas A&M-Kingsville in three seasons to a 110-55 (.671) re-cord. Senior Ashley Kuchenski paced the Lady Mustangs of-fense again as she extended her career-best hitting streak to twelve games with her fifth-

straight multi-hit outing. Catcher Lindsey Voigt led the game off with a line-drive double down the third base line, and then came in to score off of a Lauren Craig fielder’s choice. The Lady Mustangs then ex-tended their early lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth when soph-omore pitcher Katie Peterson drove in Tabitha Yannetti on a sacrifice fly. Until the sixth inning, Peter-

son was pitching a shutout gem, then it seemed to unravel with a two-run double by Laura Lopez to tie the ballgame at 2-2. After getting down with only one out left in the final half in-ning in regulation, Maranda Bishop began a tough two-out rally. With Bishop on first after her single to left field, first base-man Jessica Rodriguez drilled a single up the middle to put the

go-ahead run in scoring position. Kristen Stonecipher then came up to bat and pounded the RBI-single into right field and plated Bishop before Rodriguez was gunned out at third. The win improved the Lady Mustangs’ regular season record to 33-25 and secured the No. 3 seed for the North division in the LSC postseason tournament. The come-from-behind vic-tory marked the 23rd win for

MSU ace Peterson. The Lady Mustangs will be looking to de-fend their LSC championship for the third-straight season as their first pitch is slated for 5 p.m. on Thursday at the Durant Multi-Sports Complex in Du-rant, Okla. Tarleton State will be squar-ing off against Midwestern State as they secured the No. 2 seed in the South division earlier last week.

Softball team looks poised to defend conference championshipBoBBy Morris

SporTS ediTor

Golf squad snubbed; Klutts, Jones invited to Super RegionalsBoBBy Morris

SporTS ediTor

• MSU will be hosting the Sixth Annual “Let it Fly” 7-on-7 Passing Champion-ship. The event will be held on Saturday June 14 at the MSI Practice Fields. Teams will be places into groups in which they will play in a round-robin format. Accord-ing to records, a single-elim-ination tornament will be set up and is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

• Early registration costs $170 and has to be recieved by June 2. Any teams regis-tering after June 2 will need $220.

• Jeff returned home this weekend on a day pass from the Neurorestorative Specialty Services Center in Tyler

• On Midwestern State University’s athletics’ website their is an open letter from Jeff Williams and his family to the university in the commu-nity. Visit msumustangs.com to read the letter and click on the Jeff Williams’ icon to check for updates on his status.

• At one point the Lady Mustangs hed the lead in four matches on the court last Friday, however the No. 11 Northeastern State RiverHawks swept through the first five games to defeat the Lady Mustangs and drop their overall record to 10-8.

• The Lady Mustangs now must wait until the final South Central Region rankings are announced this week in order to see if they will be competing in their eleventh-straight NCAA Division II national tournament.

•Last Friday, the No. 29 Mustangs battled the No. 13 Abilene Christian Wild-cats. MSU was only able to claim to victories out of the match and ended up dropping to 12-7 on the season after the 5-2 loss.

• The Mustangs now must wait until the final South Central Region rankings are announced this week in order to see if they will be competing in their eleventh-straight NCAA Division II national tourna-ment.

• Vjekoslav Stipanic was named the Freshman of the Year in the LSC.

• Two Lady Mustangs were honored last Friday when the LSC announced their annual awards. Ann Sophie Indeherberge and Melissa dos Prazeres-Silva were named to the Commis-ioner’s Honor Roll for this past season. Two Mus-tangs were also honored on the All-Academic team. Travis Stgner and John Svard were both named to the All-Academic team last Friday.

Patrick Johnston The WichiTan Daniel Polk laughs with teammates at the end of the game against Southwestern Oklahoma State University.