the rambler vol. 94 no. 10
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The Rambler Vol. 94 No. 10 Published April 6, 2011TRANSCRIPT
The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917
The RamblerRam baseball wins third series game, 15-4, against Warriors. Sports, page 8
Wesleyan hosts exploration of math and science careers. Campus, page 5
WEDNESDAYApril 6, 2011
Vol. 94 • No. 10
www.therambler.org
Shauna [email protected]
With less than a month left of classes, the Wesleyan community will soon elect a new student body president and other Student Gov-ernment Association representa-tives and executives.
“We’re governed by our con-stitution,” Heath Scott, current SGA president said. “Within our constitution, we have a section called the election code, so ev-erything we do from the names that go on the ballot, to the way the ballot is produced—every-thing about this election is gov-erned by that code.”
Elections for executive SGA po-sitions, including president and vice president, will take place April 19-20 in the Brown Lupton Stu-dent Center and Eunice and James L. West Library.
Elections for representatives will take place April 27-28 in the same locations.
Scott said anyone wanting to run for office should come by the SGA
offic-es on the second floor of O.C. Armstrong Hall and pick up a “petition for of-fice” sheet.
The petition requires 50 signa-tures for students running for an executive office, and 25 signatures for those running for representative positions.
“Those signatures mean that you have some people who are at least interested in your petition for candi-dacy,” Scott said.
Several constitutional amend-ments will also be included on the voting ballot during executive elections.
Scott said one amendment pro-
posed would reduce the amount of positions elected to 14, instead of the current 24, changing to five ex-ecutives and nine representatives.
Scott said most same-size schools nationally have 12-14 elected positions.
Another amendment proposes that the SGA president appoint the chief justice in the future, instead of it being an elected position. If the amendment does not pass, elections for chief justice will take place at representative election
time. S c o t t
said that since the SGA is now han-
dling citation appeals for students, he did not want the chief justice to have to campaign and make prom-ises to students to get elected, with those same students expecting to receive preferential treatment if they later had to go through the hearing process.
One of the biggest changes for the Wesleyan student body will be elect-ing a new president after Scott’s two-year presidency, which officially ends April 26.
Blanche Giquinto, freshman bi-ology major, said she is looking for
leadership skills in the next president elected.
“[I’d like to see] someone that hears everyone out, lis-
tens to what they have to say and gives everyone equal op-
portunity to make organizations and everything they’re trying to
do,” Giquinto said. Joel Herbel, junior theater major,
said he wants to see someone elected who is charismatic and truthful and who also has the sense of moral-ity and honor not typically found in politicians.
Robyn Shelton, junior liberal stud-ies major, said she would like to see a president that is passionate about making sure student voice is heard.
“Confidence, intelligence and enthusiasm about holding the posi-tion of SGA president are also im-portant,” Shelton said. “He or she must also possess honesty, dedica-tion and the ability to communi-cate his or her vision for the school effectively.”
For more information concern-ing the rules for candidate cam-paigning, visit the SGA offices,
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Yearly salaries for paralegal jobs
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Melissa [email protected]
His first time attending a President’s Hon-ors Concert, Frederick Slabach, president of Texas Wesleyan, said he was blown away by the hidden talent in the music department.
The 15th annual President’s Honors Concert took place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in Martin Hall.
The concert was hosted by Slabach and Wesleyan alumna and Board of Trustees member, Beverly Volkman-Powell and her husband, Charles. Heath Scott, president of the Student Government Association led the concert as master of ceremonies.
“I knew we had talented faculty,” Slabach said. “I’m just amazed at the talent in our stu-dent body. But what I would really love to see is more students attending these wonderful programs we have.”
Dr. John Fisher, professor of music and department chair, said the concert started in 1995 by Jake Schrum, university president at the time, and his wife, Jane.
“Every single one rose to the occasion,”
Fisher said. The audience truly enjoyed it.”Becca Mitchell, sophomore vocal perfor-
mance major, performed in last year’s con-cert. Mitchell said she was one of two fresh-men chosen to perform.
“I thought it was really cool last year, as a freshman, to be a part of that, because it’s normally an upperclassman thing,” Mitchell said. “I just enjoyed singing with my peers, my favorite people.”
Mitchell also said she enjoyed this year’s concert.
Wiley Lindsey, sophomore vocal perfor-mance major, had not performed in the Pres-ident’s Honors Concert before. Lindsey said he was honored to perform.
“All these voices and musicians are fabulous ,and it is just an honor to get to sing with them and be a part of the program,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey also said the President’s Honors Concert was his first big performance.
“I was fine for most of the song but got re-ally nervous and started shaking towards the end,” Lindsey said. “I really enjoyed it. I was into the song.”
Group offers experienceMelissa [email protected]
For people wanting to gain real-life law and paralegal experience, the Texas Wesleyan com-munity now offers an outlet.
In the works since last fall, the Student Para-legal Organization is reaching out to potential members after being approved by the Student Government Association earlier this semester.
John West, junior paralegal studies major and president of the SPO, said the key focus of the organization is to set up networking for students and get involved in the community.
“The goal is to set up networking within the legal community of Dallas-Fort Worth as well as all of the students on the campus,” West said.
He said the organization belongs to the stu-dents and its success can only be based on stu-dent participation.
“It can become very vital when it comes to
job seeking and networking, if you show par-ticipation in a group that benefits the commu-nity,” West said. “That’s definitely a plus to help further your career.”
West said by serving the community and also being a part of national paralegal orga-nizations, members will get first-hand expe-rience in what really happens out in the real world versus the content offered in textbooks for classes.
West said he was also the president of the Student Paralegal Organization at Tarrant County College Northeast.
Amanda Hazel, junior paralegal studies ma-jor, said she served as the vice president then president of the Student Paralegal Organiza-tion at TCC Northeast prior to West taking office. Hazel is now the vice president of the Wesleyan Student Paralegal Organization.
Yearly salaries for paralegal careers
Rachel Peel| Rambler StaffKatreeva Phillips, senior vocal performance major and mezzo-soprano, sings “In Time of Sil-ver Rain” and “Dream” at the President’s Honors Concert April 1 in Martin Hall, with Keith Kritcher, coach-accompanist and adjunct on the piano for her performance.
Honors concert showcases talent PARALEGAL, page 3
Opinion2 | April 6, 2011 The RambleR | www.therambler.org
Member of the Texas Inter-collegiate 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 indi-vidual 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 [email protected]. Sub-missions due by noon Friday to see brief in the following week’s issue.
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The RamblerShauna Banks, editor-in-chiefBarry Grubbs, opinion editor Eliana Mijangos, sports editorMeisa Keivani Najafabadi, photo editorStephanie Mejia arts & entertainment editorJonathan Resendez, multimedia editorErica Estrada, graphic designer/cartoonistWendy Moore, faculty adviserDr. Kay Colley, faculty liaison
“We are not afraid to follow the truth ... wherever it may lead.”
— Thomas Jefferson
What do you think about legalized gambling in Texas?
“I guess it’s okay if we have it, but I’m really indifferent about gambling”
- Cristina Brewis,junior, Spanish
“I understand if that’s what people want to do, but gambling your kids college fund away isn’t smart.”
- Paige Jennings,freshman, mass communication
“I think gambling could be bad, but it could be fun until it gets out of hand.”
- Ashley Bringol,junior, business marketing
“I think if it’s controlled then it’s fine.It shouldn’t be that big of an issue.”
- Skyler Gentry,freshman, Psychology
“I think legalizing gambling could bring money to the Metroplex.”
- Gina Kautai,junior, finance
“I say it’s fine if it’s allowed in Las Vegas.”- Eiji Davis,
freshman, undecided
Rams can make difference in disaster zone
On March 11, Japan was hit by one of the biggest earthquakes in history, and shortly after the quake followed a tsunami devas-tating parts of the island.
According to ABC News, waves as high as 10 meters in some areas reached as far as five kilometers inland.
Thousands of farms, houses and people were swept away from the unexpected natural disaster. More
than 40 fires were started be-cause of the tsunami as well.
A nuclear plant in the path of the waves was severely dam-aged, and contaminated ev-erything around it including people.
Those people who have been affected by the radiation
are left in confinement separated from the outside word in fear of further contamination.
Many universities and organiza-tions are doing what they can to give aid to the Japan tsunami sur-vivors, and I believe Texas Wes-leyan should be one of them.
More than 18,000 people have been presumed dead or missing, and police officials say that num-ber will only grow larger.
Those who have survived the di-saster have been left with little to nothing. Thousands are without electricity, clean water, food, shel-ter and families.
According to The Guardian more than 452,000 people are lo-cated in packed shelters until fur-ther assistance can be available.
Texas Christian University, our neighbor school, is throwing a block party to benefit the relief ef-fort in Japan.
Students have joined together to throw a benefit called the West Berry Block Party where local bands and businesses join togeth-er in an effort to raise money for aid to Japan.
The event begins on April 16, and the majority of the funds go
to Disaster Relief International. General admission for anyone
is $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event, according to the TCU Daily Skiff.
I think Texas Wesleyan should participate in the relief efforts as well.
Students and faculty have a tre-mendous opportunity to do some-thing important for others around the world.
Athletes make up a large part of the student body at Wesleyan.
I believe if all the athletic pro-grams got on board, they could come up with a type of game where students and faculty could come out and watch to raise mon-ey for the relief efforts.
Concessions could be sold and
a general admission into the game could be set as well.
Another option is students can collect non-perishable food items such as canned foods, rice and other boxed items to donate.
As a university, Wesleyan could send the items over to be used by the survivors. We could send old clothes, shoes, blankets and toys as well.
A university meeting could be held to discuss these and further options for students to participate in.
Wesleyan’s community should not turn away from this devastat-ing event for Japan because it has and will continue to affect the rest of the world as well. Our college community can find a way to help.
Legalized gambling brings games but no real winners
As students, we may not consider the issue of legalized gambling worth worrying about. After all, who has any cash left over to bet with after books, tuition and fees?
However, the issue is gaining mo-mentum in our state whether we like it or not. Texans do gamble, just not in Texas.
It is estimated by Texas legislators that Texans spend between $4 - 6 bil-lion every year on gaming in neigh-boring New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana. That money eventually pays for roads, and educational pro-grams among other things—but not in Texas.
Yes, I agree that letting that kind of money cross our state lines on a one-way trip is sickening.
I do not however believe legalized gambling will solve Texas’ budget crisis.
Texas lawmakers do not all share my view.
District 29 Senator Jose Rodriguez says, “Given our current fiscal crisis, it would be irresponsible to not con-sider the expansion of gambling.”
I wonder if he or any who support the notion of legalizing gambling remember the prom-ises made about the state lottery.
On Aug. 26, 1991 the state gov-ernment signed bill 54 to instate the Texas lottery, I recall pre-dictions that this would virtu-ally solve the education funding
crisis. After being fed that promise, Texas voters had no problem voting it through.
You probably realize by now that it didn’t exactly work out the way it was planned.
By the way, Rodríguez also sup-ports using the $9.2 billion in Texas’ rainy day fund to help balance the budget.
Here’s an idea: let’s try that first before making the same lame lotto-style promises to taxpayers about gaming dollars solving our fiscal problems.
Texas senators and representatives have already filed casino gambling bills and bills that would allow slot machines at racetracks in the Texas House and Senate.
Whether you are a college student or limping along on social security, this irresponsible behavior by law-makers will affect you.
House Joint Resolution 112 would call for an election on a constitution-al amendment that would allow the creation of a five-person Texas Gam-ing Commission.
That sounds like more govern-ment to me. I do not think they will work for free.
There is no get rich scheme to bail us out of this mess.
And please do not be fooled when supporters explain how gambling re-ceipts will save our economy.
They are the same legislators, re-sponsible for a budget that will see an estimated 8,000 jobs lost in edu-
cation, mostly teachers. There is always some quick fix for
our economic problems but our law-makers don’t seem to follow through.
A recent poll of registered voters conducted by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Tribune in-dicates 74 percent support casinos in Texas, and fewer than 20 percent op-pose the expansion of gambling.
Whether or not these numbers
accurately represent Texan’s beliefs, there is no way to keep government from re-appropriating any funds the state receives from legalized gam-bling.
Maybe they will legalize gambling eventually.
Maybe some of the money will be used responsibly to rescue our state from its grave economic situation. All I’m saying is—don’t bet on it.
Emma FradetteSports [email protected]
Barry GrubbsOpinion [email protected]
Choosing war solves nothing
What do we actually fight for? Yes, we have one mil-lion reasons to fight in a war. But why do we fight when everything is for ev-eryone.
We weren’t put on earth to fight for our land, our food or our independence. We have always had what was ours.
It’s just that people want to take away from others what we all share.
Sharing isn’t so hard. Why can’t we all just get along? We think we have reasons to kill each other, but does it really make sense?
What does killing each other mean in the end? It means some win and some lose, but what is really won? We don’t stop fighting once we’ve won the war.
We pray to our God to
help us win. Let’s think really hard, and ask ourselves why we really fight. Instead of taking the time to fight, we can take the time to talk and get an under-
standing of one another. No one would have to die. The population would even be bigger.
This land and this world belongs to all of us
Yes I’m proud of the sol-diers who defend my coun-try. They are really strong, and they sacrifice their lives, which is a really big deal.
But doing this is avoid-able. Instead of fighting, we can make promises that one country won’t hurt the other.
When there are problems to solve, we can talk about it. Everyone disagrees, but sometimes you just have to agree to disagree, move forward and follow through with that.
Just because we are differ-ent, and we live in different
places does not mean we should fight one another.
Love the differences, cher-ish and explore why people are different. We can love one another and just stop the violence. It is a choice. There is not really anything that can help us while we are crying about wars we put ourselves into.
When are we going to wake up, and realize we are all one? I guess it would be asking too much for us not to go to war. It would also be asking too much for us to love one another. Going to war while loving one another is the wrong thing to do. So let’s fight, let’s go to war.
Let’s fight against the peo-ple that are different from us. Don’t help the people that may need us on the other side of the world.
We don’t need them, right? I am saying that all of our wars were pointless.
There are reasons we have fought, but do any of them justify killing each other?
I guess it would be really crazy if what I’m suggesting were to happen.
Regina [email protected]
NewsThe RambleR | www.therambler.org April 6, 2011 | 3
The Rambler staff was awarded first place in Division 3 Overall Excellence for college newspapers at the
Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference March 31 - April 2.
(from left to right) Dr. Kay Colley, Rachel Peel, Melissa Bates, Jonathan Resen-dez, Shauna Banks, Barry Grubbs, Wendy Moore, Meisa Keivani Najafabadi.
On-site competition awards: Honorable Mention - Print Advertising Design - Shauna BanksHonorable Mention - Video News - Jonathan Resendez
Mail-in competition awards:Honorable Mention - News Story - Eliana MijangosHonorable Mention - News Feature Story - Jonathan ResendezSecond - Sports Column - Eliana MijangosHonorable Mention - News Photo - Meisa Keivani Najafabadi Third - Advertising Design - Josh GraceThird - Illustration - Erica EstradaThird - Information graphic - Angie Ruiz
TIPA 2011TIPA 2011
“We try to provide a format and a place for students to come to learn about the dif-ferent things they can do with their paralegal degree,” Hazel said.
Hazel said the books and professors help provide the foundation paralegal studies majors need, but books and lectures do not show what real world experience is like.
“You usually use your books as a reference guide, but you actually learn how it’s really done once you get out in the real world,” Ha-zel said. “The teachers do a great job preparing us as best they can, but there’s nothing that beats that real world experience.”
Mara Garrison, senior para-legal studies major, said she
became a paralegal to help others and sees the SPO as one avenue toward her goal of being an attorney.
“I’m actually honored to be a part of the creation of the foundation,” Garrison said. “I just want other paralegals to partake in the amazing challenges and successes that will occur within this society.”
Kesley Bryant, junior paralegal studies major, said the SPO gives paralegal studies majors the ability to meet people currently in the industry.
For more information, stu-dents should contact John West at [email protected].
The SPO meets biweekly at 6 p.m. on Thursdays in Polytechnic United Method-ist Church room 124, where anyone interested in becom-ing a member can attend.
PARALEGAL continued from page 1
Melissa [email protected]
Administration, faculty and staff at Texas Wesleyan are taking new strides to make the college experience more enjoyable for all classifi-cations and types of students.
From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. March 29 in the Baker Building, more than 50 members of the Wesleyan faculty and staff attended the Signature Student Ex-perience Projects Kick-Off meeting to discuss how to improve student experience.
The Signature Student Experience is an initiative started in Fall 2009 by Wes-leyan’s administration, with the intent to improve the experience students receive from their education.
In the meeting, Marcus Kerr, chief information offi-cer, said the first few years of the Signature Student Expe-rience consisted of finding out what worked before and what did not work.
“Through the process we learned Texas Wesleyan Uni-versity is extraordinary and the things other institutions seem to struggle with come naturally to us,” Kerr said.
Kerr said Wesleyan and its students are unique in their cultures, beliefs and values.
“The Signature Experi-ence is really about identi-fying what it is that makes us unique and then align-ing the key elements to em-phasize the positive aspects of the university and neu-tralize the negatives,” Kerr said.
In the meeting, Pati Al-exander, vice president for enrollment and student services and steward of the Enhancing Transfer Student Engagement Project, said some transfer students have said they feel like they are being ignored by Wesleyan.
Alexander said Wesleyan recruits 500 transfer stu-dents every year, 350 in fall and 150 in spring.
“This project will look at the entire process for trans-fer students; from the time we enroll them here all the way to the time they gradu-ate and become alum,” Alex-ander said.
Alexander said one step of this transfer enhancement program is to find out what other universities in the area are doing for their transfer students.
Alexander said she be-
lieves the current Wesleyan transfer student orientation process is good but there is room for improvement.
Also in the meeting, Al-len Henderson, provost and senior vice president and steward of the Organizing to Deliver on the Career Promise Committee said his project is to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the career services of-fered and point out room for improvement.
The other committees are the Making Our Spaces Count committee headed by Bill Bleibdrey, senior vice president finance and administration and the En-hancing Campus Commu-nications committee head-ed by Joan Canty, interim vice president of university advancement.
After each administratror presented their projects, the faculty and staff in atten-dance chose which project they wanted to be involved in, then broke into groups to discuss how to improve the student experience via their project.
The results of the Signa-ture Student Experience Projects will not be released until fall 2011.
Passion for music shines in annual concert
Student experience receives attention
Photos by Rachel Peel | Rambler StaffLeft: Mary Banks, sophomore music education major, sings at the President’s Honors Concert April 1 in Martin Hall. Banks performed “O Mio Babbino Caro (O My Dear Daddy)” by Gia-como Puccini. Above: Becca Mitchel, sophomore vocal performance major, also performs at the concert, singing “Give Me to Jesus,” arranged by Moses Hogan.
Arts & Entertainment4 | April 6, 2011 The RambleR | www.therambler.org
Religious Life at Texas Wesleyan
Live music with brief time of worship Tuesdays at 12:15 in PUMC Chapel Free lunch after on PUMC 3rd Floor – Room 312
Free lunch and discussion/dialogue Thursdays at 12:15 in PUMC Chapel PUMC 3rd Floor – Room 312
“Faith seeking understanding” – ALL are welcome!
For info: http://www.txwes.edu/religiouslife/index.htm
University Chapel:
Common Meal:
Texas Wesleyan Universityand
The Department of Musicpresent
The Virtuoso String Quartet and Wesleyan Faculty Soloists
April 7 at 7:30 p.m.Martin Hall
For more information, visit http://www.txwes.edu/music/music/index.htm or call 817-531-4992
Greater Fort Worth Community Band
April 10 at 3:00 p.m. Martin Hall
Henry Schraub, director
Wind Ensemble Concert
April 12 at 7:30 p.m. Martin Hall
Christine Beason, director
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RRAC BaseballTWU vs. Northwood
Fri. at NU 3:00 p.m.Sat. at LaGrave 1:00 p.m.
Sun. at LaGrave 1:00 p.m.
Support your Rams against the rival
Knights.
Let’s
GO
RAMS!
!!
Ram Jam jives with international weekDaniel McGary [email protected]
Texas Wesleyan contin-ues its annual Ram Jam tradition.
This year’s Ram Jam will be combined with Wesleyan’s International Fair. Attend-ees will be treated to booths set up by the university’s In-ternational Programs Office. The event is open to all stu-dents, faculty and staff and will feature free food and entertainment.
Aramark Dining Services will cater free fajitas.
Tu-Tones, a local blues rock band, and Indie Rock artist Shwa will perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Each booth will represent one of the countries,” Marie Boisvert, director of inter-national programs said. “At each booth, students from that country will be serving food and handing out infor-mation pamphlets about the country.”
At the event, a group of henna tattoo artists from Irving will offer attendees Middle Eastern body art.
Henna tattoos are not permanently dyed into the skin like real tattoos. The image is dyed on the top
layer of skin, usually last-ing about two weeks.
Student Life will be give away 200 free T-shirts.
Printing equipment fur-nished by a college nov-elty company will be on hand to customize each student’s shirt.
“We can take the person’s picture, then place the face into a photo-shopped scene,” said Michael Chaney, coordinator of student life. “We have one design where the student’s face is photo-shopped onto a giant muscle man, as well as several other scenes.”
Chaney said a little bit of a line may form at the T-shirt printing exhibit, but it will most likely move quickly.
“It doesn’t take very long for a student to select a shirt and photo-shop scene then have their pic-ture taken,” Chaney said. “I don’t expect a long line backed up.”
A laser tag game will also be held.
Chris Windsor, associ-ate dean of students, said 10 laser tag guns will be available as well.
“We borrowed some football tackling dummies
from a nearby high school,” Windsor said. “Those dummies will provide some
obstacles for the laser tag players.”
The international student
booths will hold a passport contest game. The winner willl receive a USB drive.
Ram Jam will take place April 7 in the mall in front of the library at 11 a.m.
Theatre Wesleyan presents annual musicalJordan [email protected]
In a comedic play where knowing how to spell guar-antees victory and the woes of teenage puberty run ram-pant, Theatre Wesleyan will debut its annual musical.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical about six students who participate in a spell-ing bee, while also explor-ing their personal lives.
“We hope the audience will find it funny,” said Connie Whitman, director
of the musical. “There are also some touching mo-ments because some of the children who are there as spellers have some rather poignant stories.”
Whitman said members of the audience should be prepared for anything, and that the musical is unique because the actors par-ticipate with the audience during the production.
Spencer Baker, freshman theatre major, plays Leaf Coney Bear, one of the chil-dren in the spelling bee.
“Leaf Coney Bear is the only kid there who is homeschooled,” Baker
said. “He’s kind of the out-sider and not that smart.”
Baker said this is his first time as a lead in one of Wesleyan’s musicals, and that it is definitely going to be a great time.
The set designers are working to convey a spell-ing bee setting.
Bradley Gray, fresh-man assistant set design-er, helped come up with a plan to make the audience feel as if they are in the real gym where the spelling bee takes place.
“We’re building bleach-ers that you will find in an auditorium that will be
actual seating for the audi-ence,” Gray said.
The musical is set in modern times and design-ers want to make sure it has a campy feel to go along with the humor of the play.
“The colors and every-thing involved is going to show there’s humor,” Gray said. “It’s meant to be a good time.”
The 25th Annual Put-nam County Spelling Bee will premiere April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Thad Smoth-erman Theatre. Repeat performances will run April 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. and April 17 at 2 p.m.
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
April 14-16 7:30 p.m.
April 17 2 p.m.
Ticket Prices
$12 general admission
$8 Wesleyan faculty and staff
$6 students with valid ID
Texas Wesleyan’s annual Ram Jam event will take place April 7 in the mall area in front of the Eunice and James L. West Library. The event will be combined with international week and will offer free fajitas and entertainment to Wesleyan students, faculty and staff.
The RambleR | www.therambler.org April 6, 2011 | 5 CampusConference encourages girls to excel in math
Rachel [email protected]
On April 2, Wesleyan opened its doors to middle school girls interested in pursuing a math or science degree at the 23rd annual Ex-panding Your Horizons Con-ference.
Dr. Jane Moore, professor of mathematics, said more than 400 seventh and eighth-grade girls from Tarrant area schools registered for the conference.
“It’s important because it tells young women what they can be,” Moore said. “I sup-pose it started out a little bit of women’s lib, but I hope we have moved past that now.”
EYH began in 1989 when Moore heard about the con-ference out of the Univer-sity of California Berkley and joined with LouAnn Mah-aney, a then graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. They decided to start the program at Texas Wesleyan.
According to the EYH web site, the goal of the conference is to encourage young women to pursue science, technology engineering and mathematics careers.
“The big thing is to go to college and have a career,” Moore said. “If they want to be a lawyer, that’s fine; if they want to be an engineer, they can be an engineer.”
Moore said not all middle school girls are interested in pursuing a career in math and science, so now EYH in-cludes women with expertise
in fields such as surgery, vet-erinary medicine, astronomy, law and piloting.
“I have had a wonderful life teaching, but I think if I had known back then, and the op-portunities had been there, I probably would have been an engineer,” Moore said.
Sarah, seventh-grader at Venus Middle School, said the workshop helped by let-ting her know what type of careers are out there and what she has to do to pursue them in the future.
“I want to be an astrono-mer,” Sarah said. “It told me how many years it would take me to graduate and the classes I would have to take.”
Krista Wallen, Venus sev-enth-grade math and honors teacher, said EYH helps stu-dents by showing them differ-ent career opportunities.
“It broadened their hori-zons in knowing that there are a lot of different oppor-tunities out there for them,” Wallen said.
The girls were divided into 24 groups with two leaders each and rotated throughout classrooms to various activi-ties and workshops focused on different areas. Activities included teaching the girls how to sew wounds, do a rou-tine pet check-up, test tooth-paste in the lab, and how pi-lots know which direction a plane is going.
“I think it gave them more of a path, or paths, that they can choose from in order to meet their goals in science and mathematics,” Wallen said.
Photos by Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff
1: A middle school student decorates her airplane. 2: Maria Salgueiro, senior math major, mixes materials to make clay fossils. 3: A middle school student performs surgery on a ba-nana. 4: A middle school student assembles her airplane.
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Community6 | April 6, 2011 The RambleR | www.therambler.org
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Budget cuts cash out pre-K assistantsRachel [email protected]
Wesleyan educationa stu-dents are having second thoughts about their majors after Fort Worth Independent School District trustees voted to cut pre-K teacher assis-tants.
On Wednesday, March 22, trustees voted 8-1 to cut 207 pre-kindergarten teacher as-sistants throughout the dis-trict. According to Clinton Bond, external communica-tions coordinator for Fort Worth ISD, this information is true but not entirely.
“The superintendant also recommended that princi-pals use campus level funds to rehire those teacher’s assis-tants,” said Bond.
Dr. Patsy Robles-Goodwin, assistant professor and direc-tor of ESL/bilingual educa-tion does not think these cuts will have a positive impact.
“I think the decision to cut the pre-k assistants really hits the most vulnerable popu-lation that we have in our schools,” Robles-Goodwin said.
Robles-Goodwin said if pre-K programs begin to get cut the long-term effects ha-ven not been looked at.
“I challenge any lawmaker to spend a day in a pre-K classroom and see what these assistants do,” Robles-Good-win said. “When it hits home and when it’s personal that’s
when people see these issues from a different point-of-view.”
Robles-Goodwin also said most of the children who will be affected by the cut of pre-k programs come from minor-ity groups.
“You need to educate the ma-jority population of the state, and if you don’t do that, what does that say about our state as being competitive glob-ally for our educational sys-tems,” Robles-Goodwin said. “Why can’t we cut somewhere else? Why can’t we get funds somewhere else? It seems like we take many steps forward and one big leap backwards.”
Dr. Carlos Martinez, dean of education, said there is no doubt in his mind the state-wide cuts are going to be long lasting and could have an im-pact on how children are edu-cated in the future.
Martinez said some school districts are proposing to cut half-day pre-K and curricu-lum materials, increase the size of classrooms, eliminate conference periods and re-duce the amount of staff de-velopment.
“To me, pre-K and K are the most difficult, the most com-plex classrooms out there; you have 20 little people that are not designed to be sitting down,” Martinez said. “You can have all different levels of kids. You can have readers, non-readers, children who know the lan-guage, and children who don’t.”
Martinez said lots of pre-k classrooms are center driven, meaning teachers organize their classrooms around centers for instruc-tion and do rotations. Pre-k classrooms have six to seven rotations and usually one or two people are manning centers.
“Making sure that students are doing what they are sup-
posed to be doing in those centers is going to be the greatest challenge,” Martinez said.
Tasmin Turner, junior edu-cation major, said she has had second thoughts about being just an education major.
“I was one of those kids, first grade,” Turner said. “I’m going to be a teacher, and people said you never are
what you are when you’re that little, but here I am, going to be a teacher,” she said.
Turner also said she is look-ing into adding a minor just in case education falls through.
“The school system isn’t going to magically fix it-self in that short amount of time,” Turner said. There’s not going to magically be all these jobs opened.”
Not all students are con-cerned about the recent budget cuts in the educa-tion world. Andrea Wag-goner, senior english major, said that the budget cuts do not affect her decision to go into the teaching field.
“I know I am supposed to be a teacher and the layoffs will not affect my pursuit,” she said.
Photo Illustration by Rachel Peel | Rambler Staff
In the spotlight...Lena Pope Home Inc.
History: Founded in 1930, by Lena Pope at Broadway Baptist.Mission: Once an orphanage when they first opened, they now assist children and their families through counseling and family intervention. Services Offered: Chapel Hill Academy Charter School, is a public free charter school that offers parents a choice to enroll their child in their home school or CHA.Behavioral improvement class, Tarrant County juvenile justice AEP, Family mat ters counseling and family preservation services.
3131 Sanguinet StreetFort Worth, TX 76107
817-255-2606
This is the first in a series of spotlights for local non-profit organizations.
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SportsThe RambleR | www.therambler.org April 6, 2011 | 7
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Gough pursues dreams in MexicoEmma [email protected]
Texas Wesleyan men’s basketball graduates six seniors this year, some of who to contin-ue their basketball careers overseas.
One player on the men’s basketball team who has embraced his opportunity is senior center Ty Gough who has the chance to play basketball in Mexico.
“I’m graduating in May and wanting to settle down before I start my career,” Gough said. “I think it will look good on my resume as I plan to be a personal trainer with my de-gree.”
According to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics website, Gough is ranked 11th in Division 1 for total rebounds for the season with 296. He averages about eight rebounds per game to go with his aver-age nine points per game.
“We have several players this season that agents and teams have inquired about,”head coach Terry Waldrop said. “Our staff will do whatever we can in order to help them get an opportunity to pursue a professional career.”
Waldrop talks to professional scouts more
than once a month and said these scouts are very aware of the raw talent some the players have on the Wesleyan basketball team.
“Over the last 10 years we have had play-ers go through this process,” Waldrop said. “It is a regular occurrence for our program, and something we enjoy almost on a yearly basis.”
Jonathan Blake, senior guard, said Gough has a great jump shot, which is rare for a player his size.
“I am very proud of Ty, and I consider him as a brother of mine that has a lot of great things ahead of him,” Blake said.
Gough said he does not plan on playing more than a year or two.
“Just want to try it out and make a little cash until I get my career wiring in the fit-ness corporation,” he said.
Waldrop said he is very excited for Gough along with other players and looks forward to keeping up with them as their careers take off.
“We are thankful for the time they have spent with us and the impact they made both on and off the court at Texas Wesleyan,” Wal-drop said.
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler StaffTy Gough, senior post, goes up for a tear drop against Wiley College after getting a rebound in a game at the Sid Richardson Center. Gough is headed to Mexico to play basketball after he graduates from Wesleyan in May.
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Rams fight Warriors, lose series 2-1Eliana [email protected]
Ram baseball went 2-1 in a Red River Athletic Conference series match up against Bacone College April 3-4 at Syca-more Park.
Game one started out slow as the Rams gave away three runs in two innings off of three walks and an error.
Taylor Jockers, junior outfielder, tried to turn around the momentum with an RBI single in the third, while Derek Vaughn, sophomore pitcher, held the Warriors off the score board until the seventh inning.
Vaughn allowed six runs, one earned on five hits and four walks in the six in-nings he pitched. The Rams finished game one with a 6-1 loss.
In game two, the Warriors once again took a 3-0 lead in just three innings.
Christian Soberanes, junior short stop, tried to save the Rams going 2 for 4 in the game, but the Rams couldn’t pull it out and the Warriors took the 4-0 win.
Colton Farrar, junior pitcher, tossed six scoreless innings before allowing three hits and five walks.
In game three, the Rams blew out the Ba-cone Warriors 15-4.
“Game three was a wake up call for us,” Eric Epperson, senior outfielder said. “We really turned it on both offensively and defensively,
and I think it made us realize out potential.”Ram offense turned on in the second and
third innings as Soberanes hit a double fol-lowed by Epperson with a single to left field.
Jason Holmes, first and third base, brought in both Soberanes and Epperson with a dou-ble hit to left field, while Matt Taylor, senior outfield, finished the four straight hits with a bunt. This episode gave the Rams a 4-3 lead, the largest in the series.
Epperson hit a homer to bring the Rams to a 10-3 lead in the fourth inning. Epperson fin-ished the game with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Stephen Niedwicki, junior first base, got three hits in his five trips to the plate in the Ram win Soberanes finished with a power house two RBIs, two runs and two doubles for the day.
“The first two games were embarrassing. There was no intensity, and we didn’t hit the ball,” Christian Mendoza, sophomore pitcher said. “Sunday was the opposite and was the game that’s going to turn our season around.”
The Rams will hit La Grave field once again at 1 p.m. April 9 where they will take on school rivals Northwood University.
“Sunday, we finally got stuff to go our way,” Jacob Lyons, sophomore pitcher, said. “I really think we will be able to keep up this streak as we face our rivals.”
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler StaffEric Epperson, senior outfielder, hits a single to left field for the Rams in a Red River Athletic Conference game against Wiley College March 25 at Sycamore Park. The Rams took on Bacone College April 3 where they suffered two losses, game one 6-1 and game two 4-0. However, the Rams came out on top in game three 15-4 April 4.
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler StaffColton Farrar, junior pitcher, throws a no hit inning against Wiley College March 26 at Syca-more Park as the Rams took a 2-1 series win. The Rams will be back in action April 9 at 1 p.m. as they take on Northwood University at La Grave Field.
Player ab rr h rbi
Jockers, Taylor cf 3 2 1 1
Lassiter, Joseph lf 4 2 2 1
Melton, Patrick dh 5 0 2 1
Niedwiecki, Stephen 1b 5 2 3 2
Snider, Justin 3b 4 1 0 0
Soberanes, Christian ss 4 2 2 2
Epperson, Eric rf 5 3 4 3
Holmes, Jason 2b 2 1 1 3
Taylor, Matt c 3 0 1 0
McFadden, Garrett pr 0 2 0 0
Sewell, Trent c 0 0 0 0
Cavender, Drew p 0 0 0 0
Totals 35 15 16 13
Rams 15 (26-15,16-8 RRAC) Player ab rr h rbi
Jackson, Brandon p/dh 4 0 1 1
Gonzalez, Lester 2b 4 1 2 0
Consuegra, David rf 2 1 1 0
Miller, Mike 3b 2 1 0 0
Smith, Steven 1b 3 0 1 1
Hamilton, John c 3 0 1 1
Norton, Garland pr/ph 1 0 1 0
Seabold, Anthony cf 2 0 0 0
Lima, Rolando ss 3 0 0 0
Simms, Will lf 3 1 1 0
Aguillard, Eric p 0 0 0 0
Wearing, Brian p 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 4 8 3
Bacone 4 (9-26,6-15 RRAC)