Vol. XXXV, Issue 10, April 10, 2012 www.richlandchronicle.com

Richland

It’stornadoseason

Page 3 Page 11

CHRONICLE

Money,money,money

We’ve gotspring fever

Page 6Baseball schedule

WWW.TAMU-COMMERCE.EDU 903.886.5000 or 888.868.2682

A Member of The Texas A&M University System

LEARN MORE about Julie and how Texas A&M University-Commerce can change your future by visiting:

MEET.TAMU-COMMERCE.EDU

Julie, a graduate psychology major, chose Texas A&M University-Commerce because of her interest in the university’s psychology program.

Julie’s chief interest involves teaching children about developmental disabilities and increasing their sensitivity toward disabled children.

“A&M-Commerce has a wonderful program and it’s making great advances,” Julie said.

As a graduate assistant for Dr. Kashunda Williams and Dr. Jennifer Schroeder, Julie has enjoyed opportunities to participate in various research projects pertaining to her career goals. In addition to her academic endeavors, Julie is also a student leader in Psi Chi, and represents A&M-Commerce for the national organization.

For Julie, faculty members like Drs. Williams and Schroeder make the A&M-Commerce program effective by providing both a solid academic founda-tion as well as guidance for their students. “My professors do everything they can to help us as we progress through the program,” Julie said.

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Image courtesy AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Parrish Velasco

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NEWS

WWW.TAMU-COMMERCE.EDU 903.886.5000 or 888.868.2682

A Member of The Texas A&M University System

LEARN MORE about Julie and how Texas A&M University-Commerce can change your future by visiting:

MEET.TAMU-COMMERCE.EDU

Julie, a graduate psychology major, chose Texas A&M University-Commerce because of her interest in the university’s psychology program.

Julie’s chief interest involves teaching children about developmental disabilities and increasing their sensitivity toward disabled children.

“A&M-Commerce has a wonderful program and it’s making great advances,” Julie said.

As a graduate assistant for Dr. Kashunda Williams and Dr. Jennifer Schroeder, Julie has enjoyed opportunities to participate in various research projects pertaining to her career goals. In addition to her academic endeavors, Julie is also a student leader in Psi Chi, and represents A&M-Commerce for the national organization.

For Julie, faculty members like Drs. Williams and Schroeder make the A&M-Commerce program effective by providing both a solid academic founda-tion as well as guidance for their students. “My professors do everything they can to help us as we progress through the program,” Julie said.

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Tornado warning sirens were sounded around the campus last Tuesday around 2 p.m. when severe weather swept through Dallas County.

Students were instructed to go to the cata-combs of the college where they would be protected from possible tornadoes or damag-ing weather.

While some students used the time during the storm to talk with friends and work on homework, others spent the entirety of the storm calling family members to ensure their safety and inform them of the severe condi-tions.

According to The National Weather Ser-vice at press time 11 tornadoes have been confirmed to have touched down in the Dal-las-Fort Worth area. The most severe has been linked to Forney where a tornado of

EF-3 magnitude (on the Enhanced Fujita Scale that ranks the strength of tornadoes anywhere from EF-0 to EF-5) is said to have had a path 8 miles long and 150 yards wide.

Other cities that confirmed tornado touch-downs include Kennedale, Lancaster, Arling-ton, Royce City and Joshua. Officials say at least 20 people were injured, but there were no deaths reported.

Stephen Levine, Richland academic advis-er and storm chaser, was on campus during the storm. He provided the Chronicle with an explanation of how the tornadoes formed in the area.

“There were storms overnight in Oklaho-ma. That was a set called an ‘outflow bound-ary’ moving southward toward the Dallas area. What that did was set up a shift of the wind. The winds the first 3,000-4,000 feet started coming out of the east. It provoked a major torque in the atmosphere that was unforeseen,” Levine said. “These storms came in and the winds were blowing gener-ally from the south to southeast. They hit a

region where the winds were also out of the east, and that’s called ‘torque’. What this torque did was when the storms hit it, that started rotating…and that’s what set off the tornadoes.”

Students and fac-ulty agreed that the precautions and safety measures taken by the school were executed well and efficiently.

“I had people com-menting to me this morning how well done the evacuation process

LAURA GARSEAEditor-in-Chief

Tornado warnings prompt safety measures

•Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from cor-ners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck.

•Follow campus instruction and do not leave the shelter until Richland’s Emergency Response Team tells you that it is safe.

•In a high-rise building, go to a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible.

•If available, put on a bicycle or mo-torcycle helmet to protect yourself from head injuries.

•Put on sturdy shoes.•Do not open windows.

For more information on what to do before, during and after a tornado visit Ready.gov/tornadoes

During a tornado warning:

Image courtesy wxedge.com

Two large trailers are shown being thrown through the air by a tornado near Lancast-er, TX on Tuesday, April 3.

was. I think that they should be commend-ed,” Levine said. “They were really storm ready. I was outside in the parking lot with my camera and the policemen were herding students away from the classrooms and to-ward shelter. They were on it.”

Members of Richland’s Emergency Re-sponse Team cleared students after it was certain that the conditions were safe.

April and May are the most common months for tornadoes to occur in the area. Portions of north Texas are part of “Tornado Alley” which is a designated portion of the United States where tornadoes are the most common and severe. North Texas, Oklaho-ma and Arkansas are some of the most heav-ily affected areas.

Do you have photos, videos or stories from the storm? Share them with us at www.RichlandChronicle.com.

Mary Jane Higginbotham and Alice Robinson contributed to this piece.

A tornado touches down in Lancaster, Texas south of Dallas on Tuesday, April 3.

Over the course of a week Richland’s three presidential candidates toured the campus and spoke at open forums to the student body and faculty.

On March 28, Rich-land’s interim president, Dr. Kay Eggleston, toured the campus and spoke at various fo-rums.

She spoke on her career, her accomplish-ments and her ability to

lead the college as its permanent president.Eggleston started her career with the

DCCCD at El Centro before she moved over to Richland, and holds a doctorate in management and administrative sciences from UT Dallas.

Dr. Rodney Ellis, executive vice president of Atlanta Technical College of Georgia, vis-ited Richland March 29.

His schedule followed a similar one to that of Dr. Eggleston.

He began his morning with a tour, and followed it up with open forums and semi-private discus-sions with student and

faculty groups.The Georgia native spoke often about his

history at the technical institute, and on ini-tiatives he had helped spearhead.

Ellis graduated from the University of Georgia, and holds a doctorate in higher education administration.

On April 4, Dr. Stuart Savin, who previ-ously served as presi-dent at Cuyamaca Col-lege in California, made his way to the Richland campus.

Like the two nomi-nees before him, Savin followed the same rig-orous schedule of meet-

DACotA tAyLoRChronicle-tV Student Manager

President candidates tour campus

Eggleston Ellis Savin

ings and tours until day’s end and was asked similar questions at the open forums.

Savin, while speaking a lot about his past, also spoke about his family and the possibil-ity of moving to the Dallas area.

He holds a doctorate in education/com-munity college leadership from Oregon State University.

The three nominees are vying for the full-time position of president of Richland Col-lege.

Eggleston has held the interim president title ever since “chief Thunderduck” Dr. Steve Mittelstet, stepped down after 30 years as president.

Images credit: file photos

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Letters to the editor

Dear Editor,I am writing in response to the editorial

by Joyce Jackson in the March 27 issue of the Chronicle.

In my view, this article was vitriolic, and filled with rhetoric such as “socialist,” “reli-gious freedom,” “freedom,” and I would like to offer a different viewpoint for a newspa-per that serves more than 20, 000 students.

First, I would like to offer a definition of “conservative.” Conservative principles are tried and true, surviving the test of time, and maintain their integrity through social changes and other shifts of social conscious-ness.

Ancient conservative principles spoken and written thousands of years ago continue their relevance today just as when they were first uttered or scrolled.

Following is a list of some of these basic principles and where/when they originated:

•“Love your neighbor as yourself ” – Ten Commandments

•“I am my brother’s keeper” – Jesus as well as in other religious texts and traditions

•“We are all related” – especially found throughout indigenous societies thousands of years old

•“When considering an action, think of the next seven generations” – Native Ameri-can tradition centuries old.

•“Thou shalt not steal” – Ten Command-ments

•“When someone is hurting, lend them a helping hand” – Several religious traditions

•I also add the ancient Buddhist commit-ment towards compassion and the ending of suffering in the world.

Progressed forward into today’s social is-sues and policies they translate as following:

•When considering an environmental policy, think of our children first and their children. Respect our environment and do our best to preserve its sacred beauty and integrity for all to enjoy

•Enact laws that serve to protect consum-

ers and support the greater good of all citi-zens

•Allow Universal Access to quality afford-able health care

•Everyone deserves a decent job at a livable wage and with benefits that support a com-fortable lifestyle

•Wealth needs to be distributed equitably, rather than concentrated into the hands of a few

•Be open and honest regarding what’s in our products. Allow consumer access to in-gredients with labels that are free from de-ception and/or deliberate withholding of information necessary for making informed purchases

•Create programs to assist our brothers and sisters who face unemployment that will get them back to work

•Put money back into the lower and middle classes to help stimulate the economy

•Everyone deserves the opportunity to have a quality education

•Be open, honest and transparent in our business transactions

Many of our policies that began during the Reagan years of the 1980s and strongly sup-ported by today’s so called “conservatives” serve to turn these principles directly upside down and result in enhanced suffering and hardship in America.

Our government collects taxes. This is a given. The issue is where we would like that bounty of tax money to go.

I would like to see a movement beyond rhetoric that engages in an open, honest, respectful philosophical dialogue regarding where and how we wish to use our tax rev-enues. This dialogue would include the fol-lowing inquiries:

•Do we wish to continue to promote eco-nomic policies that focus wealth into the hands of a privileged few, thereby creating increasing suffering and hardship for the rest of us?

•Are we willing to risk the increased social,

political and economic instability that results from these policies?

•Do we wish to roll back environmental and consumer safety protections and put our citizens – especially children, our future gen-erations at risk?

•Do we wish to elect politicians who vio-late our Constitutional commandment of separating church and state, and who believe that they have the right to tell people how to run their intimate affairs, or do we wish to keep the policies of church and state sepa-

rate? What’s an appropriate balance between the two?

•Do we wish to continue to grant taxpay-er handouts to corporations who decimate the environment, or do we wish to begin to focus support on companies both big and small who prefer to work in harmony with nature?

Sincerely,Stephen LevineAcademic Advisor

Dear Editor,I was dismayed recently when I opened the

Richland Chronicle and found that such an enormous amount of space, practically a full page, had been cleared for Joyce Jackson’s “Anybody but Obama” editorial. Of course, Ms. Jackson is free to believe whatever she wants, and a college campus and/or its me-dia outlet is nothing if not a forum for shar-ing ideas, popular or otherwise; however, I do believe the editors have erred by printing such a potentially inflammatory piece that has a few too many loose ends.

To Ms. Jackson’s credit, the first half of the article is reasonably well researched and harmless in its banality, but when she approaches the issue of Christianity, Ms. Jackson stumbles, and the integrity of the newspaper stumbles as a result. Ms. Jackson rails against what she sees as a movement to undermine Christianity, but her point is not well supported. First, given that this piece is supposed to be about the downside of the current administration, I believe that Ms. Jackson overstates her case by not offering one tangible piece of evidence to show that

any of this debate has anything to do with President Obama. Surely Jackson does not mean to suggest that a lack of tolerance for her brand of religion began when Obama took the oath of office in 2009. The truth is that there has long been a battle waged in this country for the separation of church and state. This is not an Obama issue. The facts show that the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and the words “In God We Trust” on our paper money are fairly modern inventions, going back only as far as the 1950s. This is not news.

Furthermore, in spite of what Ms. Jackson believes is a “war on Christmas,” the fed-eral government shuts down each and every year like clockwork on Christmas Day even though the First Amendment stipulates that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” That it does so seems to be contradiction of our Constitu-tion and in actuality grants privileges to one specific religion over all other religions that are not accorded such reverence. Think about it. Does the government shut down for Ra-madan, Rosh Hashana, or Samhain? The an-

swer: most certainly not. Plus, per the same amendment, Ms. Jackson and other Christians are not being kept from their observance of Christmas. They are still allowed to worship how they please, but their right to celebrate only extends as far as the next person’s right to not participate in such a celebration. Why is that a problem? By the way: correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t churches still tax-ex-empt? I do not see that as a war of any kind. Furthermore, I am frankly surprised that any person’s belief in a supreme being is so tenu-ous that is must be tethered to actually seeing its existence reaffirmed on paper currency or in a pledge. Is the writer afraid that her belief in a deity will somehow disappear without this constant reminder? What about faith? Go back and read the book of Matthew in the New Testament.

I also take issue with Ms. Jackson’s need to align President Obama with the Occupy Wall Street movement, which she does without providing a single shred of concrete evidence. As presented in this text, her claim is specious at best and irresponsible at its worst. I also feel compelled to point out that no less than

Republican contender Mitt Romney lobbed his own salvo in the class warfare frenzy when he said that he did not care about the poorest Americans. Oh sure, he apologized or back pedaled later, and why not? He’s running for office and wants to get elected.

Once again, I do understand that Ms. Jackson was writing an opinion piece, and that’s certainly her privilege; likewise, pro-viding an opportunity for an ongoing dia-logue is a welcome thing. On the other hand, I believe that even an editorial should not misrepresent the facts, especially in a college newspaper where the emphasis is all about reason to need to dispel misinformation. Furthermore, in order for such a piece to be truly persuasive, the writer needs to present a well-informed opinion rather than rely on generalizations and unsupported claims.

Thanks for your consideration,

Melanie Diane PruitDWRI Adjunct Faculty

Please see “Dear Readers”

Dear Readers,

We appreciate the recent responses we received to the opinion piece (“One Student’s View: Anybody But Obama”) published 3/27/2012. The Chronicle’s constant aim is to provide balanced, informative, accurate and interesting coverage to our readers. And reader feedback is an integral part of making that happen.

We were certainly aware, as the aforementioned issue went to press, that the view ex-pressed therein would not be shared by the entire RLC community. In fact, our intentions were to publish a side-by-side “counter point” column expressing an alternate view. How-ever, because our reporters and columnists are students first, the opposing viewpoint was simply not available as we went to press. The decision was made to proceed with publica-tion of Ms. Jackson’s column with publication of the “counter point” to follow.

Let me say unequivacally that the Chronicle stands behind the published work of all of our writers. All content goes through a well-established and tested editorial process with multiple layers or editing and review. We also encourage our columnists to take strong positions. It is, in fact, consistent with the finest traditions of American journalism to spur open discussion – even debate – of the compelling issues of the day. We’re glad to have “provoked” a few thoughts and hope to continue a healthy dialogue among the various points of view represented on this campus. (Which, I would like to point out, is clearly in line with our ThunderValues of Considerate, Meaningful Communications and Diversity – maybe even a little Responsible Risk-Taking.)

In closing, I would like to reiterate that we welcome and encourage feedback from all of our readers, and hope you will continue to share your ideas with us so we may continuously improve our publication to best serve our community.

Sincerely,

Laura GarseaEditor-in-Chief

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A peace pole by the lake reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in Korean. The poles represent 60 different languages.

CAMPUs

OKLAHOMA CITYUNIVERSITY

YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE!

TRANSFER DAY

THURSDAY, APRIL 5TH

For more information regarding transfer credits and scholarships:Visit www.okcu.edu/transfer or call 405.208.5050

Register for transfer day at www.okcu.edu/admissions

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Once you’ve got your FAFSA all filled out and your transcripts ready to be sent to their respective universities before the deadline, you can get excited to walk that stage once again!

Graduation takes place every year in May. This year, it will take place on May 10 at the Special Events Center at 4999 Naaman Forest Blvd. in Garland.

Make sure you stop by the Admissions Of-fice in Thunderduck Hall April 9-19 to pick up your graduation packet containing your graduate instructions, photographer bro-chure, guest tickets and guest instructions.

All packets must be picked up by April 19 so be sure you pick yours up. You must pur-chase your tassel, cap and gown at the Rich-land College Follett Bookstore on campus in Sabine Hall.

The purchase price for cap, tassel, and gown will be $29.12 (tax included) but you must have completed all of your ceremony information to be able to make the purchase.

All of this information and more can be found on the Richland website, http://www.rlc.dcccd.edu/graduation/

Be sure you get everything done so you can just enjoy your reward for all of the hard work you have done these past semesters, and congratulations, everyone!

JANE HENRYStaff Writer

Last-minute graduation prepAll around campus there are red cedar

peace poles planted that display “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in English and three other languages on each side of the pole.

According to an item posted on www.rlc.dcccd.edu/peacepoles/, Richland cur-rently has 20 peace poles that represent 60 different languages around the world.

The peace poles are dedicated each year and are part of Richland’s Intercultural Festival. This year’s festival will take place April 18.

“We will have a parade of countries and students wear their country’s tra-ditional clothing and perform dances,” said Jason Barr, student programs spe-cialist in the Office of Student Life.

The festival will include at least four varieties of ethnic food that will be catered. Local vendors will also have booths that sell such goods as bags, jewelry and clothing.

The festival will start with the plant-ing of the peace pole around noon. The events following will be located on the east breezeway near Fannin Hall.

Barr said that the details about this year’s peace pole are not yet finalized but information will be available as the date approaches.

Students who would like to participate

REBECCA BANKSStaff Writer

Give peace a chance

Image credit Fred Allen

Images credit Richland College

Last day to pick up graduation packets

is April 19!

in the festival are welcome to sign up in the Multi-cultural Center located in Thunderduck Hall.

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Play ball!

At Bethel University we have empowered students to achieve academic and professional success for 170 years. We understand the unique pressures you face, and we design our programs with this in mind.

About our Bachelor of Science Program in Organizational LeadershipiPads are provided to every student.

Classes meet online.

Instructors are leading industry experts.

Personal advisors partner with students to ensure success.

www.BethelSuccess.net For more information, please contact Catherine Foster

731-358-9260 fosterc@bethelu.edu

successful

April 24, 2012

Come visit ourinformation table in the

NTAB Business Buildingto learn more about

the opportunities we can offer you!

4:00 - 7:00 pm

Image credit Fred Allen

Richland’s Aaron Blanton swings during the March 27 home game against Wer-stern Oklahoma.

The Richland College baseball team is un-der the leadership of head coach Guy Sim-mons and assistant coach Devin McIntosh.

The baseball team is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association and at press time, was in the top 10 teams on the

Men’s Baseball Division III National Poll.Go watch our boys take on East Texas

Baptist this afternoon at 3 p.m. and cheer them on as they play Cedar Valley College here on Friday at 2 p.m.

Apr. 10 Tuesday East Texas Baptist JV Away 3:00PM Apr. 13 Friday Cedar Valley College Home 2:00PM Apr. 14 Saturday Cedar Valley College Home 11:00AM Apr. 14 Saturday Cedar Valley College Home 2:00PM Apr. 17 Tuesday East Texas Baptist JV Home 3:00PM Apr. 20 Friday Brookhaven College Away 2:00PM Apr. 21 Saturday Brookhaven College Away 11:00AM Apr. 21 Saturday Brookhaven College Away 2:00PM Apr. 27 Friday Eastfield College Home 2:00PM Apr. 28 Saturday Eastfield College Home 11:00AM Apr. 28 Saturday Eastfield College Home 2:00PM May 4-5 Fri-Sat. District C Play in Series TBA TBA May 11-13 Fri-Sun. District C Tournament McKinney, TBA May 19-25 Sat.-Fri. NJCAA World Series Tyler, TX TBA

CaMPUS

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Images courtesy Prototypegame.com, Buttonmasher.tv

Preview/review

1. Christ-centered EducationFaith is woven into all aspects of a DBU

Christ-centered education.

2. Developing Servant LeadersOur goal in teaching servant leadership is to equip Christian leaders who have the ability to transform the lives of others for the glory of God.

3. Changing the WorldFrom mission trips abroad to local service at homeless shelters and food banks, Dallas Baptist students have a heart for changing the world.

Reasons to ConsiderDALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

4. Majestic CampusStepping onto the DBU campus, visitors are struck by the beauty of their surroundings. It is an impression born of the American colonial-style buildings nestled within a majestic landscape.

5. Location and OpportunityThe Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is home to a vast array of churches and service organizations, supplying students numerous opportunities for internships and service-learning experiences.

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1.800.460.1328 | admiss@dbu.edu | whydbu.com

Developing servant leaders. Transforming lives.

learn more at

go.dbu.edu/richland

Radical Entertainment returns with “Pro-totype 2” bringing back shape-shifting and sandbox action world that all of us gamers have come to love and to know. In this sec-

ond installment players take on the role of Sgt. James Heller. The ultimate goal is to

annihilate the original and not-so-heroic Prototype, Alex Mercer, the man who infected Heller and turned him into a

monster. Now Heller wants revenge.Players will get to experience new fea-

tures like unleashing a powerful sonar-pulse from your character’s body to track down enemies. As Heller, you will hunt, kill and morph into anyone standing in your way. So yes, you get to disguise your-self, absorb their memories and gain new abilities!

Be ready to engage in the supreme form of shape-shifting destruction.

Heller’s amazing new tendril powers let you lift and tear apart vehicles of all kinds, capture vigorous infected beasts and slash through large groups of en-emies.

“Prototype 2” will be released April 24 and will be available

on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC platforms.

MARY CHANNELLGaming EditorRevenge is

sweet

Two years ago Legendary Pictures un-leashed a pile of trash upon us that they tried to pass off as “Clash of the Titans.”

Besides the last few minutes of the film where Zeus famously releases the ferocious Kraken, the film was an utter post-converted 3D mess. “Clash” was boring, looked ter-rible, and I left feeling robbed. After a gross of nearly $500 million, it only made sense for Warner Brothers to pump out its sequel. Does this film do anything to fix the issues with the previous entry to this series? Or does it fall flat on its face once again?

“Wrath of the Titans” reunites us with the demigod hero of “Clash,” Perseus (Sam Worthington), who has now gained a son but lost his wife. He luckily has been living an easier life since the first story and spends his time raising his son instead of fighting off mythical creatures. That is until his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) calls upon Perseus for his help. The gods have been weakened by humanity’s lack of faith in them.

As a result, they are losing control of the Titans, most specifically their evil father, Kronos. One thing leads to another and Per-seus is off fighting minotaurs and such all over again.

Not much can be said about the film’s story. It slightly feels like the one found in “Clash,” where Perseus just believes he doesn’t have the power to be considered anything special. The son of Zeus is obviously wrong, though, and keeps the audience entertained by slaying

monsters all throughout this film. “Wrath” is packed with action. It feels like

it follows a certain formula where something really amazing happens for a while, the action calms down to give you a second to catch your breath, and then something really amaz-ing happens all over again. It’s simple, but it describes the movie really well. There really is never a dull moment throughout the film, and it does everything the first should have done.

Unlike its predecessor, “Wrath” was shot with the use of 3D in mind. It was post con-verted just like “Clash,” but you can definitely tell they put some time into making this film look good. Maybe it was due to how bad the first film looked, but I cannot speak highly enough about how great this one looked in 3D. It really just has this depth to it, and al-most every computer-animated shot will find its way to pop out at you. The only gripe I have is how the picture switched to letterbox for about two seconds and had a snake pop out at you on the screen. This only happens once in the movie, but it really brings you out of the experience. I just can’t seem to under-stand the purpose for this decision.

Two years ago, “Clash of the Titans” left such a bad taste in my mouth that I almost didn’t want to see its sequel. After viewing this one though, it’s hard to find much of anything to complain about in “Wrath of the Titans.” The film is everything that the former should have been and then some. It’s worth your time and even a little extra cash for that 3D premium. If you weren’t a fan of “Clash,” you’re hurting yourself by not giv-ing its sequel a chance.

SCOTT JACKSONStaff Writer

Give the sequel a chanceImages courtesy Warner Bros., Digitaltrends.com

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8*AccreditAtion: capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning commission and is a member of the north centralAssociation of colleges and Schools (ncA), www.ncahlc.org. cApeLLA UniverSity: capella tower, 225 South Sixth Street, ninth Floor, Minneapolis, Mn 55402, 1.888.cApeLLA (227.3552), www.capella.edu © 2012 capella University / 12-6082

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6082 Ad-DCCCD_5.125x5.25.indd 1 3/12/12 10:14 AM

The League of American Bicyclists has a longstanding program called The Bicycle Friendly University (BFU). It recognizes in-stitutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bicycle-friendly cam-pus for students, staff and visitors.

The BFU program provides a roadmap and other technical assistance to create great campuses for cycling through an extensive checklist and a formal application process. The second round of recognition for Bicycle Friendly Universities was recently announced and 26 schools were given Platinum, Gold and Silver Awards. Fourteen more earned Honorable Mentions.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), based in Lexington, Ky., also lists 61 free and low-cost rental bike programs at U.S. col-leges and universities. The majority are free. At least nine started in the past year and at least three more are scheduled to launch in 2012. Many private four-year schools, like Emory University in Atlanta and Rice Uni-versity in Houston, as well as the University of Texas at Dallas, offer student bike share programs.

Here are a few more details of some of the bike promotion programs in place at colleges and universities around the country.

The University of Arizona at Tucson pro-vides its bikers a complete network of small roadways, separated pathways and ample parking options. Tucson has a reasonably flat terrain and a mild climate similar to Dal-las. Their bike program, which employs five full-timers and around 10 part-time students, plans, implements, operates, and enforces a broad array of bicycle policies and pro-grams.

For example, the university’s police de-partment focuses on bicycle education and enforcement at the beginning of each new term, and then works with several student or-ganizations to implement ongoing bike safe-ty campaigns. Typically, they will conduct a month of bike rules education, followed by one month of targeted enforcement action. When citations are given to cyclists, they have the option to take a safety course in lieu of paying a fine.

The overall enforcement effort includes citing motorists who pose a particular threat to bicyclists. The university also participates in a program that features a Guaranteed Ride Home voucher, and it runs an interactive website where bike commuters can log their trips, sign up for a bike buddy or participate in a commuter challenge raffle.

The University of Minnesota’s most sig-nificant recent investment for bicyclists has been the expansion of its bicycle park-ing from a base capacity of 2,500 to 9,000 bicycles. This is in the city of Minneapolis, where the weather is certainly not always the friendliest for bikers.

Stanford University in Palo Alto, Ca-

lif,. has an outstanding platinum-level bike program with some of the following features: Clean Air Cash Rewards where they give commuters up to $300 per year for biking or not driving alone to the campus; commuter clothes lockers which are located in most b u i l d i n g s and that rent for $16 per year; two gyms with lockers and showers that they rent at a cost of $50 per year for faculty and staff, or $35 per year for students; a Bicycle Tu-tor video that details how to fix your own bike; a Free Ride Home Program for emergencies like bike breakdowns and which is usable up to four times a year.

At California State University-Long Beach local bike shop employees come onto cam-pus each month with a van to provide free bike safety checks and tune-ups. Volunteers teach Traffic Skills 101 to cyclists on campus each month free of charge. The University provides ample free showers and lockers for students and staff who commute by bicycle. Also, all faculty, staff or student workers who bike to their campus jobs earn $1 a day in reward points which they can cash in for a variety of gift cards.

Pamona College, part of the Claremont California College System, has a Green Bike Program with two main functions: 1) a bike giveaway at the beginning of each se-mester that provides over 100 students with free bikes for the entire term with parts and service included, and 2) a student-run main-tenance shop that services bicycles for all members of the five-college community and that charges only for parts at cost.

This month, both the University of Cen-tral Florida and the University of Illinois are offering the “CyclingSavvy” workshop program (which is also to be given in Dal-las in April and May. See http://cyclingsavvydfw.org for more details.) This is a nationwide educational program designed to encourage and empower folks to get on their bikes and safely and confidently get around town.

It’s not your typical “bike safety” class. Incidentally, there are three CyclingSavvy in-structors in Dallas who have been putting on monthly workshops in the Northpark area. Part of their workshop involves a “tour” where they teach participants how to safely and confidently navigate different types of streets and traffic situations.

But perhaps the most comparable campus to Richland is Portland State University in Oregon. This urban school now has 30,000 students (up from 17,000 in 2000) of which

55 percent are full-time and 45 percent are part time. Only about 2,000 of their students are housed on campus. The average age for all students is 27. The relatively high percent-age of part time and older students means that for many who only come to school a

few hours a week, trans-p o r t a t i o n options that take a long time or that are meant for full-tim-ers, don’t make much sense. But biking does.

T h e school only has 3,900 car park-ing spaces plus on-street park-

ing spaces for 350 more cars, but it also has 2,300 bike parking spaces. The result is that its bike ridership is currently at 12 percent, up from 2 percent in 2000. This means that on a campus where the student body closely resembles Richland in both numbers and de-mographics, as many as 3,600 bikes can be seen at various times on any given day.

To further encourage and support its bike riders, Portland State has four secure

indoor bike parking garages with a total of 228 spaces. These rental facilities include ID card access, security cameras, locked storage facilities, and several self-repair stations. The principal garage location, known as The Bike Hub opened in 2004.

It has a parts vending machine and four self-serve repair racks with free guided in-struction available from trained staff mechan-ics. There is also a full-service paid repair op-tion. The Bike Hub membership now stands at 1,600. In 2011 it had sales of $268,000 and there were over 3,200 self-service repairs performed.

The common denominator to all these successful college campus programs is that they were initiated by and are fully supported by the administration. Although in many cases students and staff volunteers have con-tributed valuable resources, none of the suc-cessful programs were the result of just some nebulous grass-roots upsurge of interest by students. It was the school administration that saw a need and opportunity and stepped up and met it.

In the concluding article of this series, I’ll detail the specific steps I think are essential for our school leaders to take to put Rich-land College on the road to becoming as well known for its bicycling activity as it is for its other nationally recognized efforts at envi-ronmental sustainability.

[This is the third of a four-part series on biking to the campus]

PETE SHANNON Contributing Writer

Cycling efforts of other colleges

College campuses all across the nation have programs to accommodate their cyclists.

Image credit Julio Nieto

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Aspiring screenwriter may find way to Sundance

Sometimes it pays to do a little extra re-search on a subject that isn’t too well known. That’s exactly what Kassiopia Jackson did, and it’s working in her favor.

Jackson, who is an art student and recep-tionist in the Richland Health Center, began to read about selective mutism, a childhood anxiety disorder. Children with this disorder get nervous easily and don’t speak. If kids don’t get the right medical attention, some-times they can enter adulthood with the dis-order, making it hard for them to function.

Jackson carried her interest in this disor-der one step farther and wrote a 90-minute screenplay titled “Through Emerald Eyes.” It concerns the main character, Francheska Valentine, 18, who has just graduated from high school. The story takes place here in Dallas within a two-or three-year span.

“Poor Francheska didn’t get proper treat-ment for her selective mutism,” Jackson said.

“After her father died, she closed up. Her mother really wasn’t a mother. The mother kicked her out of the house.”

Jackson describes her screenplay as a “love-drama.” Francheska ends up meeting a guy named Julian and becomes attached to him, but he breaks off their relationship and tells her to “go find herself.”

The story does have a happy ending. Francheska comes into her own by realizing that she needs to overcome her anxiety so she can speak to people and meets somebody who helps her overcome her disorder. She eventually finds her mother, they make up and Julian comes back into the picture.

Jackson said she’s really excited about her screenplay.

“It’s positive and it is, despite it being somewhat dark, very realistic,” Jackson said. “I’m hoping someone relates to it. I hope it will bring attention to this particular disor-der.”

Jackson said when she first wrote her screenplay she didn’t want to show it to anybody. Then her friends and family read

it and thought it was really interesting. Her brother and sister both attend Richland.

“My brother is going into animation, and my sister is going into art as well,” Jack-son said.

Jackson said she found out about the Sundance Film Festival on the web and noticed they do screen-writing workshops. She read the rules carefully and applied by sending the first 10 pages of her screenplay. Someone from the Festival said they will respond to her Aug. 15, when they will request the full 90-minute screenplay. She could also have the chance to attend a five-day retreat where she would shoot a scene from her screenplay.

Jackson has high hopes that “Through Emerald Eyes” will become a movie.

“It would be amazing,” she said. “I’ve always want-ed to make stories that help people. I always try to draw attention to a particular issue.”

Jackson said she has been writing since she was in the second grade. That includes short stories and articles for her high school news-

JOYCE JACKSONCopy Editor

“I’ve always wanted to make stories that help people. I always try to draw attention

to a particular issue.”-Kassiopia Jackson

paper. She has written three other screen-plays: One focuses on family, another on morals and a third on learning. She will be graduating this spring with an associate de-gree in art.

Kassiopia Jackson is an art student and receptionist in the Richland Health Center. She wrote a screenplay titled “Through Emerald Eyes” and has submitted it to the Sun-dance Film Festival.

Image credit Joyce Jackson

Everybody out of the pool

Summer is coming soon and many stu-dents are getting ready for swim season.

Unfortunately, the campus pool will re-main closed and will be filled in the future.

The campus pool is closed to students and faculty. A discussion is under way to identify other uses for the gated area in which it is located. The pool faces the west side of cam-pus and is outside Guadalupe Hall.

“It is very costly to maintain the pool for operation and the administration is looking for other ways to use that location,” said Ed-die Hueston, the college director in the de-partment of facilities management.

“The pool was an extension to the fitness center and anyone that had access to the cen-ter was able to use the pool,” said Michael Iachetta, program coordinator in the depart-ment of Learning Enrichment and Academic Development.

Iachetta also said that Richland did offer classes that used the pool but they eventually were canceled because of recurring problems with maintenance, upkeep and the classes scheduled.

Furthermore, he said the upper adminis-tration is asking for input from the physical education faculty and coaches for ideas on

what the area can be used for in regard to recreational activities.

“There is no meeting set to discuss the ac-tivities that will take over the pool but in the upcoming weeks more information may be available,” said Iachetta.

REBECCA BANKSStaff Writer

The Richland pool is permanently closed. What will fill the space remains undeter-mined.

Image credit Johnny Smith

Upcoming EventsEach week, the music department of the

Division of Humanities, Fine and Perform-ing Arts presents its Recital Series in the Fan-nin Performance Hall, Room F-102. All per-formances are on Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. and are free to the general public. For more infor-mation about this series, contact Dr. Michael Crawford, associate dean of Performing Arts at 972-238-6284.

Tuesday, April 10: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.Fannin Performance Hall, Room F-102The Music Department presents the

Richland Choral Ensembles.

April 10: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.Fannin Performance Hall, Room F-102Guitar Ensemble Concert

Thursday, April 19: Noon to 1 p.m.Reception for the Annual Student

Photo ExhibitionBrazos Gallery

The exhibition will be on display from April 19 through June 3. Gallery hours are: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by ap-pointment. For information call Gallery Co-ordinator Ryder Richards at 972-238-6339.

Every Monday: 6 to 7 p.m. El Paso Hall, Room E-082Substance Abuse Recovery Support GroupEl Paso Hall, Room E-082Connect with others who are seeking

sobriety. All support information is confidential.

Every Thursday: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.El Paso Hall, Room E-091Veterans 2 VeteransCome and connect with other veter-

ans. The group will discuss relevant topics, exchange information and solve problems. You can start attending any week.

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Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday 2 p.m. in E-020-------

Letter PolicyLetters to the editor may be edited for space. They will be edited for spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous state-ments. Letters must be the work of the writer and must be signed. For identification and verification purposes, letters also must include the writer’s classification (grade level), full name, address and telephone number, although address and telephone number will not be published.

Editorial PolicyThe Chronicle is the official student-produced newspaper of Richland College. Editorials, cartoons, columns and letters are the opinions of individual students and do not neces-sarily reflect the opinions of other individual student writers, editors, advisers or the college administration.

© Richland Chronicle 2012

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ACP Online Pacemaker Finalist, 2007, 20081st Place - TIPA Sweepstakes, 20053rd Place - TIPA Online, 2005 & 2006

Over 150 Texas college journalism awards since 2000

Richland Chronicle Editor-in-ChiefKDUX Web Radio Station Manager

Chronicle-TV Station ManagerChronicle-Online EditorAsst. Managing Editor

News EditorRadio News Director

Sports EditorPhoto Editor

Viewpoints EditorCopy Editor

Radio Sport DirectorLayout Editor

Gaming Editor

El Paso Hall, Room E-020, 12800 Abrams Rd. Dallas, 75243Newsroom: 972-238-6079 E-mail: chronicle@dcccd.eduAdvertising: 972-238-6068 E-mail: advertise@dcccd.edu

Fax: 972-238-6037

MEETINGS & POLICIES

COVER AND FONTS

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

CONTACT INFORMATION

AWARDS

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF

SPRING 2012 ISSUES

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS

Certain fonts are provided by the following:http://www.nymfont.com - http://www.bvfonts.com

ON THE COVER

Esther ChoErica EdwardsJack Fletcher

David GoodloeTim Jones

January 17January 24January 31February 7February 14February 21February 28

Laura GarseaTBADacota TaylorAdrien MerlissTBATBACarla DavisTBAJulio NietoTBAJoyce JacksonTBATannia GarciaMary Channell

Fred Allen Rebecca Banks

Terry BlendMary ChannellTannia Garcia

Jane Henry

Scott Jackson Patricia VillacinJulio NietoRaymond PronkJohnny SmithJoe Stumpo

Steve NovielloJames RaglandLarry RatliffMarshall Siegel

March 6March 27April 10April 17April 24May 1May 8

Richland College baseball season begins.

Cover Page Design/IllustrationTornado

Lottery

Laura Garsea, Fred AllenAPkhq.com

Jennifer PastorRicky MillerMary Jane

HigginbothamJordan Nichols

Kisten S. Chetty

Members of the Richland Chronicle staff top from left: Devin Joseph, Jane Henry, adviser Jack Fletcher, adviser Erica Edwards; bottom from left: Patricia Villacin, Laura Garsea, Ladise Perez, Rebecca Banks and Tannia Garcia.

All performances are free to the public. Concert Schedule is tentative and subject to change.

Symphonic Instrumental Concert 1:Wind Symphony, String Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble

Tues. April 3, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin HallRichland Guitar Ensemble

Tues. April 10, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin Hall

Richland Choral Concert: Women’s Chorale, Richmen, Gospel Choir, Jazz Singers, Chamber Singers

Fri. April 13, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin Hall

Carnival of Steel Festival: C S Guest Artist Steel Drum Concert Sat. April 14, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Fannin Hall $15 Admission Guest Artist Clinics: 3:15-6:00 p.m. Fannin Hall $5 Admission

Richland Jazz Showcase: Jazz Combo, Lab Band, Jazz Singers, & Jazz Ensemble

Tues. April 17, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin Hall

Richland Evening Jazz Ensemble: Directed by Phares Corder

Thurs. April 19 , 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin Hall

Symphonic Instrumental Music Concert 2: Wind Symphony, String Orchestra, Chamber Ensembles

Tues. April 24, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin Hall

Student Composer’s Concert: Works composed by students of Dr. Paul Bonneau

Tues. May 1 , 2012, 7:30 p.m.

World Beat Concert: Richland Percussion Group [RPG], Steel Bands & World Drumming Esemble

Thurs. May 3, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Jerry Wallace Music Scholarship Concert:Wind Symphony, String Orchestra, Chamber SingersRichland Percussion Group

Saturday, May 5, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Fannin HallGo to www.richlandcollege.edu/music for latest updates.

Call Derrick Logozzo at 972.238.6254 ) or Dr. Michael Crawford (972.238.6284) for information.

Richland College Music DepartmentSpring 2012 Evening Concert SeriesN AT I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y®

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SET YOUR GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM

Richland Chronicle staff members competed at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention in Corpus Christi March 29 to 31.

Colleges all across the state attended the competition, which gives student journalists the opportunity to compete against other students in their same field.

On-site competitions took place where contestants were put into a real-world expe-riences in their field of expertise in order to produce a finished product in a certain time frame.

Works from the spring and fall semester of 2011 were entered in the competition last December and the winners were announced at the convention.

The Parallax also submitted works and re-ceived an array of awards.

Richland Chronicle AwardsFirst Place -- Rebecca Banks, On-Site:

Copy EditingFirst Place -- Devin Joseph, On-Site:

Television Advertising Second Place -- Lindsey Juarez, Newspa-

per Division 3: In-Depth Reporting Third Place -- Mary Channell, Newspa-

per Division 3: Feature Page DesignThird Place -- Tannia Garcia, Newspaper

Division 3: Page One DesignThird Place -- Julio Nieto, Newspaper

Division 3: News PhotoThird Place -- Patricia Villacin, On-Site:

Video NewsHonorable Mention -- Benjamin Guth-

rie, Newspaper Division 3: Illustration

Image credit Julio Nieto

Honorable Mention -- Chronicle Staff, Newspaper Division 3: Headline

Honorable Mention -- Adam Crouch, Newspaper Division 3: Sports News Story

Honorable Mention -- Dacota Taylor, Newspaper Division 3: Feature Photo

Parallax AwardsFirst Place -- Literary Magazine: Overall

ExcellenceFirst Place -- Eyejan Saadoon, Feature

Photo

First Place -- Eyejan Saadoon, Photo Es-say

Second Place -- Priyanka Jayaprakash, Short Story

Second Place -- Daisy Lopez, Story Pack-age

Third Place -- Ashley Curtis, IllustrationHonorable Mention -- Yeseylon Ouro-

boros, EssayHonorable Mention -- Daisy Lopez, Fea-

ture StoryHonorable Mention -- Cover Design

Media staff brings home awards

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ColUMn

NORTHWOODUN IVERS I T Y

In case you are wondering, and I know not a single one of you is, I do not hold, nor am I one of the three people who possess, that winning $640 Mega-Millions lottery ticket from March 30.

Like I really had a chance! Quite frankly, the odds are more in my favor to fly, maybe even pilot, a starship through an asteroid field, as Han Solo (Harrison Ford) did, defy-ing the odds spoken by protocol droid C3PO (3,720 to 1) in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), than to win a lottery worth more than $600 million.

That didn’t stop me and countless others across the country, from dreaming up delu-sions of grandeur as to what we would do with the money if we won as we purchased our lottery tickets last week.

Oh, the things I would spend that money on. Of course, I’d take care of priorities first. I’d give my parents whatever they need to pay off the house, make repairs, then sell the place and get out of the lousy town they live in now. I know that’s one of the first things I’d do, and I am not talking about leaving town. I am talking about leaving the state!

I’d move to some beach and buy myself a lighthouse that I can maintain myself. I read a few years back that the government is trying to sell the Penfield Lighthouse in Connecti-cut for just $1. It’s reportedly haunted, but

with all that money I’d win (whether it’d be the lump sum for the next 20-plus years or the entire amount after taxes.) that might be more than enough to hire a medium to get rid of the ghost.

I’d also give my sister whatever money she needs to pay off her house and bills and start a college fund of $10,000 each for my two nephews. Make that $100,000.

If I had won that $640 million . . . JOE STUMPOColumnist

Then I’d focus on the real necessities – my needs – like getting a house built to my per-sonal specifications that would have, besides a pool, a movie theater with a big screen and a cold, dark auditorium that is as large as the General Cinema Northpark I & II in Dallas that was torn down in 1998. Forget those home theater centers and the 52-plus inch flat screens with the stereo surround sound systems. I’ll watch all my movies on blu-ray on my own big screen with its own state-of-the-art sound system and much more com-fortable seats but yet still maintain that cold, dark atmosphere real movie theaters of yes-teryear had. Not the megaplexes today where, when kids are bored by the movies, they go play video games in the lobby.

That’s not to say my home won’t have a game room or a “man cave,” as we guys call them, with several arcade games like Space Invaders. The walls would be adorned with old classic movie posters that are currently going for more than $5,000, like “The Yellow

Submarine” (1968) according to Cinemas-terpieces. Perhaps I’d get back to collecting those 12-inch Star Wars figures from Side-show Collectibles and Hot Toys that I no longer get, thanks to their ridiculous $200-plus price tags.

As those $19 million checks came in for the next several years, I’d probably start getting into more extravagant expenses like complete some of the things on my bucket list and move to England. I would not return to the states until I got what I went there for. I am not telling you what that is, except to say that that pipe dream will never happen now, but if I had won, it would all be legal.

Perhaps I’d rent out an entire floor in an office building and start a movie production company and bring in all the people I know who dream of making and writing films they want to see made and not the predictable re-gurgitated unimaginative garbage Hollyweird churns out today.

Since I would be moving to England, I would need a private jet to get there. For me, one of those Airbus A380 superjumbo double-decker planes will do. I wouldn’t care if one of the plane’s four Rolls Royce engines explodes during flight so long as I get to where I am going. If needed, I would use my new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Perhaps I’d buy one of those retired Concordes that are now out of service, sitting in aviation mu-seums around the world. Not to fly it, mind you. I’d just want it to say I have one. I can always auction it off on Ebay later and get my money back.

On the other hand, I could put all that re-maining $200 million-plus into getting NASA to build me a spaceship just like the Millen-nium Falcon that would take me to one of those possibly-inhabitable planets we are hearing about. Like the Man of Steel’s nem-esis, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) in “Super-man” (1978) and “Superman II” (1980) who has a love for real estate, especially beach-front property, like owning all of California and Australia, I have always wanted a planet I can call my own.

If only I had won that $640 million.

Image courtesy top AP Photo/Belleville News-Democrat, Tim Vizer, bottom mirror.co.uk

Illinois Moto Mart store manager Denise Metzger looks at an oversized check given to her by lottery officials March 31 in Red Bud, Ill.

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