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WEDNESDAYJan. 27, 2016Vol. 100 • No. 1www.therambler.org

OPINION

Stereotyping Muslisms is getting out of control

A job is an app away

New year, new you

Theatre Wesleyan kicks off the spring semester

Wesleyan to remain gun free

It is becoming common to use derogatory words and state-ments against Islamic people.

More and more people are finding jobs through apps such as Uber and Lyft.

Find out the top resolutions of 2016 and common traditions from around the world.

The 39 Steps brings laughter to the Thad Smotherman Theatre starting Feb. 11.

The 2016 Texas Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame Induction will be Feb. 5.

Fersing and four others to be honored

Texas Wesleyan joins TCU, SMU and others in opting out of S.B. 11.

Need a job? Get the appMiles Straiton needed a part-time

job with flexible hours, where he could work as needed and not have a set schedule.

Straiton, a Fort Worth resident, turned to Lyft, an app-based taxi ser-vice, to meet that need.

“I can work whenever I want and based on my availability,” Straiton said. “I can turn it on for an hour to make a little money and then turn it off and go to a movie. It’s convenient and easy and I don’t have to worry about dealing with a manager or any other normal work-related hassle.”

Straiton also works full time as a crew member at a Trader Joe’s in Fort Worth, but needed the extra in-come to help cover his car payment and student loan debt.

He loves the “easy money,” and he’s not the only one. More and more people are beginning to take advan-tage of the flexibility and benefits of app-based employment through ser-vices like Lyft.

According to a study released in May 2015 by Requests for Startups, a business newsletter, an estimated 40 percent of the American work force

will be contractors or freelancers, rather than traditional full-time em-ployees, by the year 2020.

And according to a separate survey released in October 2015 by Free-lancers Union and the online work marketplace Upwork, the number of freelancers who earn 10 percent or more of their income through so-called “sharing economy” platforms like Lyft has almost doubled within the past year.

Uber, another app-based taxi ser-vice, is a perfect example. According to Forbes, Uber has grown its active driver base from practically zero in mid-2012 to more than 160,000 at the end of 2014, and the number of new Uber drivers has more than doubled every six months for the last two years.

The trend is dubbed the “1099 Economy,” so-named because free-lancers typically provide a 1099 Form when filing their personal in-come taxes, rather than a W-2 form used by workers with traditional full-time jobs.

These tax benefits, along with the freedom of the job, are what attract-ed Nicholas Franda to app-based employment.

Franda, a former Texas Wesleyan

student and Fort Worth resident, works about 30 hours a week as an Uber driver and enjoys the lack of direct management.

“With Uber, you are mostly your own boss, which is nice,” Franda said.

Even though Franda’s weekly in-come with Uber is slightly less than what he made previously working as a server in a restaurant, he would still recommend app-based employ-

Student uses music as therapy

Dalise Devosdndevos@txwes.edu

APP JOBS, page 3

Julian Rodriguez, a sophomore and music education major, was elected last semester as president of the Nu Beta Chapter for Kappa Kap-pa Psi at Texas Wesleyan University, a national honorary society and fra-ternity for bands.

He is currently KKPsi’s vice presi-dent and plays flute in the Texas Wesleyan Music Department, and his goal is to become a vocal music therapist for special needs children with autism and learning disabilities.

His interest in music therapy start-ed 10 years ago when he used music as an aid for his little sister, Gabrielle, when she was seven years old.

“She had a learning disability and couldn’t focus which made her par-

ents doubt her learning skill,” Rodri-guez said. “I was able to know her strengths and weaknesses and helped her develop her learning disability after playing my music.”

Rodriguez learned there was a “healing power of music.”

“There was a soothing nature to it,” Rodriguez said. “To be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just singing and playing my flute.”

Years later, when he was in high school in Fort Worth, he worked as a party host for six months at a Chuck E. Cheese’s and worked primarily with special needs children by assist-ing them at their parties.

“When I started working with more special needs kids, it just kind of sparked in my head about pursu-ing it professionally,” Rodriguez said.

His desire to do music therapy as a job became stronger at the same

time, when he found out music ther-apy was a field of study for college.

Rodriguez said participated in the all-region band and choir during his junior year of high school, and the all-state band and choir in his senior year before graduating in the spring of 2013. He was a four-time state so-loist and got a passing score in the University Interscholastic League Solo and Ensemble contest, where he sang for judicators and was then able to advance to the state contest held at the University of Texas at Austin.

In his senior year, Rodriguez re-ceived an award from UIL for Most Outstanding Vocalist and received one of the highest scores of the day in the competition, he said.

In between his senior year in high school and freshman year at Texas

JULIAN, page 3Photo by: Michelle Brueggemann

Julian Rodriguez is a flautist.

Texas Wesleyan adding football and lacrosse would both enhance student life and increase university revenue by the first year of intercol-legiate play, according to President Frederick Slabach.

In a memorandum sent out to faculty, staff and students by Dean of Students Dennis Hall in Decem-ber 2015, Slabach wrote 34 small colleges and universities have added football since 2008.

Doing so, he wrote, can mean generating “significant revenue net of all expenses” at small colleges and universities at the NAIA or NCAA Division III level.

Slabach will be announcing whether or not Wesleyan will be adding football and lacrosse some-time this spring, said John Veilleux, vice president for Marketing &

Communications.The decision of whether or not

to add football and lacrosse was debated several times last semester, including at two “listening ses-sions” attended by faculty, staff and students.

Here are some key aspects of add-ing football and lacrosse:

The Grille Works will be convert-ed into a new weight room, accessi-ble to all athletes, and will be moved in the Baker building, Veilleux said.

Adding both sports could bring in as many as 200 students, Veilleux said.

The football team would take a two year phase-in approach. This means that the football team will be present on campus its first year but will not be playing any official NAIA games. Only in its second year will Wesleyan take on a full NAIA season, Veilleux said.

The lacrosse team would begin competing this fall, Veilleux said.

The football team would most likely play at Herman Clark Sta-dium, a multi-use stadium in Fort Worth, Slabach said during the first listening session.

Wesleyan would play in the Cen-tral States League, a mixture of both the Sooner Athletic Conference and the Red River Conference, Slabach said during the same session.

These teams include Arizona Christian University, Bacone Col-lege, Langston University, Lyon College, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Texas College and Wayland Baptist University, according to the memorandum.

“The first year will be seen as a ‘leadership class,” Slabach said in November. “This class will see a recruitment of between 50-75 students. It will be a redshirt season meaning no games will be played. Just practice and scrimmaging within the team.”

In its second year, the football

team will play a full season in the NAIA, Slabach said. In terms of recruitment, other colleges that have added football such as Wayland Baptist University, Bacone College and Southwestern Assemblies of God have seen classes big as 200 students.

As much as $626,000 will spent on the football team its first year, including staff, equipment, uni-forms, transportation and renting Clark Stadium, Slabach said. But these costs will be paid for by the additional tuition revenue of the 75 new students.

“At the NAIA level the revenue comes from the students who want to attend,” he said. “So as more students come to play so does the tuition revenue.”

Year one of football at Wesleyan won’t cost anyone anything extra,

FOOTBALL, page 3

Michelle BrueggeMannmabrueggemann@txwes.edu

ricarDo cortezrcortez@txwes.edu

Photo by Dalise DevosJohn Bartell is an Army veteran who works for an app-based company.

Wesleyan to add two new sports?

2 | Wednesday | January 27, 2016

Rams up

Rams down

Thumbs up to mild temperatures.

Thumbs up to no guns on campus.

Thumbs up to the men’s basketball team being ranked No. 13 in the nation.

Thumbs up to the start of a new semester.

Thumbs down to spring break being so far away.

Thumbs down to our offices in the church being so cold.

Thumbs down to having to supply your own K-cups and mugs in the student lounge.

Thumbs down to waking up early for 8 a.m classes.

Letters to the editor: The RambleR, a biweekly publication, welcomes all letters. All submissions must have a full printed name, phone num-ber and signature. While every consider-ation is made to publish letters, publica-tion is limited by time and space. The editors reserve the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar, clarity

and style. Letters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and students on the opinion page. Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, Associated Collegiate Press, Student Press Law Center, College Media Advisers and College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers.Opinions expressed in The RambleR are

those of the individual authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan community as a whole.RambleR Contribution Please send all news briefs to twuram-bler@yahoo.com. Submissions due by noon Friday to see brief in the following week’s issue.

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Stop the discrimination of Muslims “We have a problem in this country. It’s called

Muslims,” Donald Trump said recently.Derogatory comments like this are, once

again, sweeping across the nation and corrupt-ing America’s fragile social system.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric is being used more and more in today’s news, political campaigns and mainstream media.

This growing sentiment in our nation initially began in 2001 after the attack on the Twin Tow-ers, causing an anti-Muslim backlash.

People of the Islamic faith are automatically associated with terrorism now.

Moreover, people are using the media’s nega-tive perception of Muslims in their daily lives, resulting in violence and oppression, including hate crimes and discrimination, in America.

This is partly due to the acts of terrorism in Paris last November. People are so panicked about this happening to them that they have be-come suspicious of all Muslims.

Have the people of this country completely forgotten what this nation was founded upon? America was founded on religious freedom.

And did we forget about the negative effects racism can cause a society? Did we forget about how hard people had to fight to live in a world without racism? If you need a reminder, check your calendar. We celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day two weeks ago.

Yet Muslim Americans with no ties to the radical Islamic militants are being questioned, while others fleeing horrific living situations are being accused and judged due to their religion.

People should be able to practice and an-nounce their faith without the fear of persecu-tion, exile and hatred.

Yet acts of violence toward Muslims are still occurring all around the nation.

Political candidates such as Trump are fuel-ing the fire with words of hatred. And people are increasingly calling for closing our borders and screening and tracking all Muslims.

People are grouping all Muslims together as possible terrorists, thus associating them with ISIS and other radical groups. This is like as-suming that all Texans are cowboys, or everyone who is a Republican is going to vote for Trump.

The current concern for the security of the na-tion is understandable, but that is no reason to automatically assume and turn our back on oth-ers in need and oppress those with similar traits

and faiths as the terrorists, when they are not. In fact, Muslims apart from members of ISIS

have completely different viewpoints, and those who are radical militants only represent a tiny

portion of the Muslim population. You need to check your math, and quit stereo-

typing.

EDITORIAL

Cartoon by: Sang Hyun Park

Raising the minimum wage is outrageousRowan LehrContent Producermlehr@txwes.edu

Is it time for Texas to raise minimum wage?Fourteen states, including New York, Cali-

fornia and Michigan, raised their minimum wages effective Jan. 1, 2016, according to Huff-ingtonpost.com.

Texas, however, is not among them.The main reason there are so many advo-

cates for raising minimum wage is the increas-ing cost of living in Texas.

But raising the minimum wage to compen-sate for increased cost of living is not as simple as it sounds, nor is it wise idea.

There are several factors to consider, includ-ing whether or not employees who already make what the new minimum wage will be-come also receive increased wages, and should the quality of work be expected to increase along with hourly wages?

These are just two of the questions that

should be addressed before a wage increase should be implemented. The biggest problem to consider is that increasing minimum wage does nothing to lower the cost of living.

The issue of raising the minimum wage in Texas has come up in the past.

In 2015, a bill proposing to raise the mini-mum wage in Texas from its current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour was defeated in the House by a vote of 92-50, according to Lana Shadwick, a contributing writer and legal ana-lyst for Breitbart Texas.

Even with the cost of living going up, a $2.85 per hour raise is too much to be taken seri-ously by the state at this time.

According to Costoflivingbystate.org, Texas ranks second lowest in cost of living. It makes no sense to raise the minimum wage to almost match that of California, which ranks in the top 10 for highest cost of living.

A full-time employee in the state of Texas working for minimum wage earns $15,080 an-nually before taxes, according to poverty.ucda-vis.edu.

Earning $7.25 an hour is far from desirable for anyone who has any higher education, which is why the jobs that pay this are typically

entry level positions that require minimal to no higher education.

According to the federal government, the poverty line for an individual is $11,770 per year.

If you are not earning enough at minimum wage, it may not be the job’s fault.

Within entry level positions there is always the option for promotion, which leads to in-creased pay.

Those seeking to earn more within non-spe-cialized minimum wage fields should consider working toward middle or upper management positions opposed to waiting for the value of

their work to go up. Those with aspirations greater than non-

specialized work should consider higher edu-cation or technical training programs.

Raising minimum wage would only be a short term fix to a long term problem.

Increased production and labor cost equals increased cost of manufactured goods and ser-vices, and increased cost of goods and services equals overall increased cost of living.

Simple economics and logic show that in-creasing the minimum wage does more harm than good to the people that it would suppos-edly help.

Minimum Wage Federally Mandated Minimum $7.25 Highest: District of Columbia $10.50

Texas $7.25 Michigan $8.25 New York $8.75 California $10.00

Information courtesy of minimumwage.org Source: minimumwage.org

NewsTheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.

Wednesday | JANUARY 27, 2016|3

Onyesonam Nolisa finishes a practice session with optimism for the season. Photo by Paula Justice

Dining Services

Come celebrate MARDI GRAS at DORA’S.February 9, 20164:30pm to 8:00pm

Jambalaya, Gumbo, King Cakes and MORE!

WELCOME BACK!

VISIT US ONLINE at www.txwes.campusdish.com

ment to others.“There is much more freedom in

app-based employment,” Franda said. “You are treated more like a manager, because you manage your part of the job.”

Mark Berenbrok also enjoys the lack of management that driving for Uber has to offer, despite the fact that he also works more than

50 hours a week as a “mate” or manager for a Fort Worth Trader Joe’s.

“I like that you make your own

schedule, don’t work when you don’t want to, and don’t have anyone looking over your shoulder,” Beren-brok said. Berenbrok was attracted to app-based employment out of sheer boredom and only drives for Uber about 10-20 hours per week.

“I recommend app-based em-ployment for people who have a hard time with schedules,” Beren-brok said. “But in order to make it worth your time, you need to be able to hustle.”

John Bartell, an Army veteran

from Aledo, is certainly no stranger to “hustling” and works more than 40 hours a week for app-based em-ployment alone.

Bartell was first drawn to app-based employment in August 2015 when he discovered PICKUP through a veteran organization’s Facebook page. PICKUP, an app-based service that connects custom-ers with drivers of pickup trucks to aid in tasks like moving, targets drivers who are military veterans because of their work ethic and

clean background.“I recognized right away the po-

tential for PICKUP to become very profitable and rewarding,” Bartell said, “but it started in Dallas, so I was forced to go out and draw busi-ness from the Fort Worth area. I saw that if I could hang in there, I could be seen as someone the starters of the company could count on to help it grow.”

Bartell then sought employment through both Lyft and Uber to help him make money so he can “hang

in there” while he continues to help grow PICKUP. Unfortunately, the money is not regular, Bartell said.

“It’s hard to depend on how much you’re going to make,” Bartell said. “Since Uber and Lyft are in com-petition to keep their prices low, income is low for drivers. Uber and Lyft are also both constantly recruit-ing, which is starting to saturate the market with drivers, making it hard-er to make money.”

Wesleyan, he assisted his high school choir director and several middle school choir directors in coach-ing students for contests. He taught students from Western Hills High School, Leonard Middle School and McClain Middle School.

“I was helping and teaching stu-dents how to sing in a more profes-sional manner and style that fit with-in the song that they are auditioning for,” Rodriguez said.

His teaching helped students com-pete in auditions like the Region 7 All-Region choir and the 2014 State Solo and Ensemble contest.

During his freshman year at Texas Wesleyan, Rodriguez competed in the National Association of Teach-ers of Singing (NATS) competition, which is a private association that is run by college and high school teachers. He placed third out of 10 competitors in his division, which is for first-year college students be-tween the ages of 18 and 20.

Last spring Rodriguez sang in the annual President’s Honors Concert.

“As a freshman, for me to perform for the president was a huge honor,” Rodriguez said.

Hayley Eaker, a senior music edu-

cation major and former president of KKPsi, praises Rodriguez for his accomplishment and said his goals will become more challenging dur-ing the next semester.

“He made the President’s Honors Program as a freshman, which is an outstanding opportunity,” Eaker said. “He plans on venturing deeper into conducting for his next couple of semesters and is learning more difficult and renowned vocal litera-ture.”

Rochelle Beeson, a junior and mu-sic major, said Rodriguez doesn’t let anything get in his way in music.

“He is very serious about music—practicing and studying hard—and he is very outgoing,” Beeson said. “He is a great person and is dedicat-ed to his major and everything else he does.”

Christine Beason, the Nu Beta chapter sponsor for KKPsi and Tex-as Wesleyan band director, is excited to see what Julian will do in the next few years.

“Julian is outstanding! He is a natural leader with clear ideas and opinions,” Beason said. “He is a hard worker and works to raise the bar for himself and everyone around him.”

Rodriguez plans to graduate in fall of 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in music education and hopes to teach music and choir at a secondary level. He is aiming for his master’s and doctorate degree in music therapy by 2024, after teaching.

“My future is going to be mold-ed on where my music takes me,” he said. “I hope to one day inspire others to follow their dreams. As a music therapist I hope to help those who need music to heal them. As a person I hope to continue to follow my dreams and lead my life in the right direction.”

Slabach said.“The tuition revenue in the first

year for the 75 students minus all expenses, including the new weight room, will net out at zero,” he said. “It would not cost the university any money.”

2018, the first year of intercol-legiate competition for the football team, is when the program will start to have a positive financial impact for the university, according to the memorandum.

Wesleyan is projected to make $1.5 million from football in the

first year of full competition, ac-cording to the memorandum.

“You can begin to see that when Wesleyan is realizing positive returns that it’s actually football and lacrosse that’s providing other op-portunities for investment with the university,” he said. “That’s what’s happening in year two.”

The material sent out to faculty, staff and students by Hall in early December contained much less information about women’s lacrosse than football. However, a docu-ment titled “Why Consider Adding

Women’s Lacrosse?” notes that:Lacrosse is one of the fastest

growing women’s sports in America.Wesleyan already has the existing

facilities to support the sport.There are plenty of available pro-

spective student-athletes in Allen, Coppell, Plano, Westlake, Keller and other nearby communities.

There is little competition for recruiting lacrosse players in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

There is available competition at several Texas schools, including Rice University, Texas Tech, Texas

A&M, and others.Women’s lacrosse is a “low budget

sport,” and lacrosse players are “ca-pable students.”

Additional women’s lacrosse play-ers will bring in more revenue for Wesleyan.

Kiersten Mebane, sophomore psychology major and player on Wesleyan’s volleyball team, believes that maybe attention should be focused elsewhere.

“I don’t think that Wesleyan should bring these two sports here,” she said. “I think there is enough al-

ready on campus that isn’t handled right and that needs to change.”

Pat Listach, a junior history major and basketball player for Wesleyan, is all for the two sports.

“I really want to see both the football and lacrosse teams here on campus because I feel like there will be more to do on campus.”

APP JOBS continued from page 1

FOOTBALL continued from page 1

JULIAN continued from page 1

Campus TheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.

4 |Wednesday | January 27, 2016

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

20161920January 28, 201611:30a.m. - 1:30p.m.Location: Avenue D

Questions? Contact us at 817-531-6512 or careerservices@txwes.edu

Free Food including: Hot Chocolate, Sodas, Snow Cones, Pop Corn, Hotdogs, and

a Gourmet Donut food Truck.

First 100 people get a free T-shirt!!!

Music&

Free Food

Welcome to 2016: Start the New Year off right

Traditions around the world United States- The midnight kiss is said to bring purification and mak-ing loud noise protects you from evil spirits.

England- The first guest to arrive at a home must enter through the front door bearing gifts such as bread or coal and exit through the back door.

Spain and Peru- Eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the new year, to bring good luck. However, in Peru they eat 13 grapes to assure good luck.

Japan- Special home decor, just for the New Year, such as pine branches, bamboo and plum blossom will bring longevity, prosperity and nobility.

Sicily- A lasagna dinner will bring good luck. Only lasagna is served becuase all other noodles will bring bad luck.

China- Painting your front door red is said to bring good luck. All knifes are put away for 24 hours so people do not cut themselves.

Lose Weight

Live a

Healthier

LifestyleQuit

SmokingQuit

Drinking

Help Others

Learn

Something

New

Get Organized

PayDownDebt

Save More,Spend Less

+ Time with

Family &Friends

Most Popular Resolutions of 2016

Top Resolution of 2016

• Enjoy Life to the Fullest

Happy New Year! 3 2 1

Source: statisticbrain.com

Source:telegraph.co.uk

CampusTheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.

Wednesday | January 27, 2016|5

HOMECOMING

3 p.m. – Women's Basketball Game4-6:30 p.m. – Food served in the SUB5 p.m. – Homecoming Court5:15 p.m. – Men's Basketball Game

February 06 - 3 p.m.

Sid Richardson Gym

Free food, T-shirts,

and more.

Home Basketball GamesThursday Feb. 28 vs. SAGU 6&8pmSaturday Mar. 6 vs. SW Christian 3&5pm

Wesleyan resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions by the numbers

• “Eat less popcorn, and give more away. Texas Wesleyan is thriving because of our great pro-fessors and one of my goals this year is to strengthen my commitment to recognizing fac-ulty. One way I’ll do that is with more faculty pop-in videos.” - President Frederick Slabach

“Be more positive.” - Shelby Nowl-and, junior religion major

“See more of the world.” -Lori King, senior religion major

“Make better grades.” -Panya Chaibu-lom, senior liberal studies major

45 of Americans typically make New Year’s Resolu-tions

17 % 80

38

1in 25 %

%

of Americans occasionally make New Year’s Resolutions

Americans are succes-ful at achieving their resolution

of Americans are unsuccessful at achieving their resolution

of Americans never make a resolution

1million

1billion people around the world watch the ball drop on TV

people celebrate New Year’s in the famous Times Square.

B.C. the celebration of a new year began with the Babylonians

2000

Julius Caesar declared January 1 the first day of the new year.

46 B.C. %

Source: statisticbrain.com

Arts&EntErtAinmEnt TheRambler.org | For news throughout the day.

6 |Wednesday | January 27, 2016

Texas Wesleyan Religious Life

Polytechnic United Methodist Church

1310 S Collard St Fort Worth, TX

Common Meal Free lunch & discussionEvery Tuesday @ 12:15

PUMC 312

University chapel Free lunch & live worship Every Thursday @ 12:15

PUMC 117

Keep up with programs and events by liking the Texas Wesleyan Religious Life Facebook page.

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Hart, Cube hilarious in Ride Along sequel

Photos courtesy of IMDB.comRide Along 2 is a hilariously funny comedy. The film stars Kevin Hart and Ice Cube as future brother in laws who are traveling down to Miami to bring down a drug lord who is dispersing product to the streets of Atlanta. Olivia Munn and Ken Jeong also star in the must see comedy of the year.

Michael acostarmacosta@txwes.edu

Ride Along 2 is a hilariously funny com-edy and is worth the hype. The film (101 min, rated PG-13) stars Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and Ken Jeong. It is the sequel to Ride Along, which grossed $154,468,902 and ranks 13th among buddy comedies, according to boxofficemojo.com. The movie starts out right-away with an action scene reminis-

cent of the Fast and Furious movies. James Payton (played by Ice Cube) and his partner Mayfield (Tyrese Gibson) are at a car show where they are trying to take down a drug ring in their home town of Atlanta. Payton’s soon to be brother-in-law Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) shows up with his antics and once his badge is dropped on the ground, hilarity ensues. Back at the police station, Payton and Barber get reprimanded by Lieutenant Brooks (Bruce McGill) but then receive information that a drug lord named Antonio Pope (Benja-min Bratt) is in Miami running a drug opera-tion and supplying the people of Atlanta with product.

Barber is getting ready to get married and while he still has to deal with Payton not giving him a chance to prove himself, he also has to deal with a crazy wedding planner (Sherri Sheppard). But when finally given the chance to go with James down to Miami, he jumps at the opportunity and you can guess what happens while they’re down there. The rest of the movie involves James and Ben keeping A.J. (Ken Jeong), who is a cocky, funny computer hacker and who stole a bunch of money from Pope, safe while hoping that he can help lead them to the drug lord. Olivia Munn also stars in this movie, playing Maya, a Miami detective who doesn’t

take any nonsense from anybody. The movie brought in $34,000,000 on opening weekend, good enough to overtake Star Wars as the top film at the box office but less than the original Ride Along made when it was released in 2014, according to boxoffic-emojo.com. But even if the new film did not top the original for debut weekend box office, it’s still worth seeing, because it’s better than the first one. This second Ride Along is full of action, has more comedy, and Cube and Hart work perfectly together on screen. If you like action comedies, this is the movie to see.

The 39 Steps, the upcoming The-atre Wesleyan production, is a comedy that takes the audience on a mysterious interactive European spy chase. "It’s your classic spy story and this show just heightens it and makes it funny," said Dean Phillips II, a sopho-more theatre major and cast member. "It turns all the cliches of that standard story on its side while also still having a main character you can like and want to see succeed." The play was written by Patrick Barlow and adapted from both a 1915 novel and Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film. Phillips said that one of the most dif-ficult parts of preparing for the produc-tion is giving each character his or her own identity. "I play multiple characters from multiple parts of Europe. Making sure that we separate each character as clear-ly as possible and getting our accents down will help bring the script to life," said cast member Carlos Brumfield, a senior theatre major. Phillips and Brumfield agree that the most difficult part of the production is the accents. "Accent work is already tricky," said Phillips. "However, this show has three of the actors, myself, Carlos Brumfield, and Clarissa Murillo, play several differ-ent roles with several different voices." The 39 Steps is directed to be an interactive experience, Phillips said. "There is a part, and I won’t give

it away, that takes place actually in the audience," Phillips said. "It’s a fight, sort of, and with the way we will have built the audience area I think people will really like that and be surprised when that part happens." "I don't want to give too much away but it's going to be cool," Brumfield said. According to Phillips, the script was written to be fast paced. "It’s a high mile-per-hour comedy. Not only are there quick changes, there are puns, physical comedy, fourth wall humor," he said. He also said the production has a little bit of everything: romance, action, mystery, and laughs. “The 39 Steps was produced to be entertaining and includes the five-mem-ber cast taking on more than 30 roles,” Phillips said. "I’m working with a phenomenal team, and so much hard work is going into this production. If you’re thinking of seeing the show, go see it, you will not regret it." he said. The 39 Steps runs Feb. 11-13 and 18-20 at 7:30 p.m. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 21. Tickets are $5 for faculty, students and senior citizens. General admission tickets are $10. Tickets can be reserved by calling (817) 531-4211. All performances are at the ThadSmotherman Theatre, which is on the campus at the corner of Avenue E and Binkley Street.

Victoria Garciavpgarcia@txwes.edu

The 39 Steps offers mystery and comedy

Art courtesy of Theatre Wesleyan

Join the Texas Wesleyan Department of Music as we celebrate 70 years with the Fort Worth alumna chapter at the Sigma Alpha Iota Amer-ican Music Competition on February 28, 2016 at 3:00 pm, located at First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth (1000 Penn St.).

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Wednesday | January 27, 2016 |7

Jan Fersing never attended Texas Wesley-an, but he’s supported the university for more than a decade.

Fersing, a Vermont native, is an Ivy Leaguer but has lived in Fort Worth for decades. His passion for helping Wesleyan athletes is shown in attendance at athletic events and a scholar-ship devoted to foreign students and athletes that began in 2005.

“Though neither I nor my four children at-tended Wesleyan I prefer to donate my time and money here rather than my Ivy League roots where it will hardly make a student,” Fersing said.

Fersing is being honored for his contribu-tions to Wesleyan’s athletic program on Feb. 5 at the 2016 Texas Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame Induction.

The event will be at the Ridglea Country

Club in Fort Worth. The other four inductees are Ian Leggatt, Irvin Rue, Dianne Urey and Robert Wood.

“It’s always nice to be recognized and thanked, and I especially appreciate being se-lected as an Athletic Hall of Fame inductee,” Fersing said.

Fersing has been a businessman all his life. Af-ter graduating from Cornell University in 1958 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for two years as an engineer for IBM, then got his MBA from Harvard uni-versity in 1964, he said.

Fersing became familiar with Wesleyan from volunteer activities in Fort Worth, where he owned a successful insulation business for 27 years, he said.

“I came to Wesleyan after I sold my company and endowed a scholarship whose beneficia-ries are chiefly foreign students and athletes,” Fersing said.

Fersing said he was named an Honorary Alumnus by the Wesleyan Alumni Association

in 2011, and has been on the board of trustees for about a decade.

“I have time to give back now after retir-ing in 2005,” he said. “One of my professors at Harvard suggested for everyone to spend thirty percent of their lives in public service, I just want to fulfill that.”

Fersing said he particularly enjoys the warm reception by staff members, students, and pro-fessors every time he comes on campus.

Athletic Director Steven Trachier said Fers-ing is an important part of the athletic pro-gram.

“Mr. Fersing is genuinely interested in all athletes and events and attends as many events as he can,” Trachier said. “He interacts with the coaches and the athletes also.

Fersing is still on the Board of Trustees and most likely will continue supporting Wesleyan as much as he can, Trachier said.

“He has given modest financial support to the university for many years now, but I think how he stays involved with the programs as

much as he has is more meaningful for the school,” Trachier said.

Assistant Athletic Director and Women’s golf coach Kevin Millikan agrees with Trachier about how helpful Fersing has been.

“He’s really just a big fan of athletics and re-ally enjoys spending time with everyone in the department, everyone knows who he is and how he builds relationships with the coaches and athletes,” Millikan said.

As a strong supporter of Texas Wesleyan for more than ten years, Fersing said he par-ticipates as much as possible as a spectator at sporting events.

“I love Fort Worth and Wesleyan, and great-ly appreciate the opportunity to volunteer and contribute where I can see a difference from my efforts,” Fersing said.

The 2016 Texas Wesleyan University Ath-letic Hall of Fame Induction is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 5. at the Ridglea Country Club. Reservations are $40 and can be made at www.ramsports.net.

Fersing, four others to be honored

Jared rabyejdrabye@txwes.edu

Photo courtesy of Jan FersingJan Fersing first became familiar with Wesleyan through different volunteer activities in Fort Worth. His scholarship, devoted to foreign students and athletes, has been around since 2005.

Photo courtesy of ramsports.netIan Leggatt played golf at Wesleyan from 1986 to 1989, earning NAIA All-American honors in 1988 and 1989. Leggatt was inducted in the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2011.

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The Hatton W. Sumners scholarship provides up to

$7000 per year toward tuition for outstanding

students during their junior and senior years. All majors are invited to apply. Sumners

Scholars participate in exclusive forums, lectures and programs on public policy, leadership, and

civic participation.

The Hatton W. Sumners SCHOLARSHIP

For more information:Office of Financial Aid

Texas Wesleyan University1201 Wesleyan St.

817-531-4420txwes.edu

DEADLINEFebruary 19, 2016

Pick up an application at

O�ce of Financial Aid