Campus News p. 8RTV kick-off rally'12 Mighty Orphans' is this year's RTV book

News-JournalNews-JournalTrinity Valley

Volume 56 Issue 1 September 21, 2012Serving Trinity Valley Community College since 1972

See CASH page 6

Instead of purchasing the usual meal plan, Trinity Val-ley students now have the op-tion of buying an alternative plan−Cardinal Cash.

Cardinal Cash gives stu-dents the flexibility of putting money on their student ID in order to pay for their daily meals, either in the cafeteria, Grille Works, or the conces-sion stand at the gym for all of the Cards home games. Students are allowed to use money from their Pell Grant, scholarship or from their pockets.

Al Mariani, food service di-rector, has been working on implementing this program since May.

“Basically, how the plan op-erates is that students or fac-ulty can come in and purchase any amount of cash they want and put it on their TVCC card,” Mariani said. “It’s just an easier way for a student to have money on their card, and not necessary have money in their pocket or have a credit card handy.”

Mariani said, by doing this, it gives students who don't live on campus the chance to stay connected with friends as well as with what is going on

around campus.“We really want to get the

students that don’t live on campus involved in the com-munity," Mariani said. "Really to say, ‘hey, go to the Student Union meet with your friends, meet with your fellow stu-dents, grab a sandwich and go to class.'”

Cardinal Cash is basically turning one’s student ID into a debit card, to say the least.

Robert Cheek, a music ma-jor from Mabank, has used Cardinal Cash in the past.

“It’s like a bank account,” Cheek said, “you can use the money, know how much is on there and know much you can

spend. It’s very efficient."Taking advantage of using

this payment method is rec-ommended, Mariani said. He also advises students to look for advertisements around campus talking about Cardi-nal Cash.

“You want to buy it [Cardi-nal Cash], at the time when we offer it as an incentive to get more for your dollar," Mariani said. "We offered a 20 percent increase in whatever a student purchased between orientation and the first week of school.”

Photo: Lace Donaghe/News-JournalSam Fowler, 18, from Crosby, Texas, is getting the most out of his money by using the time-saving advantage: Cardinal Cash.

TVCC offers a different kind of meal planLis ValenciaEditor-in-Chief

Cardinal CA$H

Hispanic Heritage Month: 30 Days of CelebrationFeature p. 4

Opinion/Editorial p. 3Election timeElectoral College vs. the popular vote, let the people pick the POTUS

Campus News p. 6From Senate to SGATVCC student leaders implement a few changes

Opinion/EditorialNews-Journal2

www.tvccnewsjournal.com September 21, 2012

Editor-in-ChiefLis Valencia

Managing EditorTBA

A&E EditorJake Yarbrough

Photo EditorLace Donaghe

Sports EditorTBA

Web/Social Media EditorShayla Wright

Staff WritersTasha Walker-Carroll, Lace Dona-ghe, Kazandra Gutierrez, Adrian

Price, Carley Shultz and Jake Yarbrough

PhotographersAshton Hargrove, Lace Donaghe

Student Media AdviserDeidre Jones

Memberships: TIPA, TCCJA and ACP

The TVCC News-Journal is a monthly publication and is produced by the journalism students at TVCC’s Athens campus. Views expressed in the editorial section are the opinions of the writers and do not reflect the views of the TVCC administration. The News-Journal welcomes letters and suggestions. The TVCC News-Journal reserves the right to edit let-ters for grammar or length. Letters to the editor can be mailed to 100 Cardinal Drive, Athens, TX 75751; or emailed to journalstaff@tvcc.edu.

FOLLOW USwww.tvccnewsjournal.com

New film sheds light on Obama's views Earlier this month, while I was in Dallas, I had

the chance to see the controversial movie, “2016 Obama’s America,” based off Dinesh D’ Souza’s best selling book, “The Roots of Obama’s Rage.”

This film asks the question: Where will our coun-try be in 2016 if President Barrack Obama is re-elected for a second term?

Walking into the theatre it was very obvious that it was filled with older couples. I definitely had to be the youngest person seeing the film.

I had a lot of preconceived notions before seeing this political piece. I was positive that it was going to be full of extreme conservatives who fell in the older Caucasian-male category. As soon as the film started, it was apparent that was not the case.

D’Souza was born in India and moved to the Unit-ed States to attend college. Seeing that the writer of the film was an immigrant and of a different race, really impressed me from the start and helped me throw some of my previous thoughts out the window.

Everyone knows that race has played a huge role in recent politics. If you voted for Obama in 2008, you only voted for him because he was black, and if you voted for McCain, you only voted for him be-cause he was white. These statements have been thrown back and forth for the past four years.

I was really interested in how this film would ap-proach this taboo subject and surprisingly they han-dled it quite well. D’Souza really tries to defuse race in this film. It was refreshing that the writer was

Indian, so I knew that race did not have an impact on him, but he did state the facts: Race did have a big impact in the previous election.

The film showed how white Americans want to erase racism and be delivered from its racist past, so this prompted many people, regardless of their race, to vote for Obama. This fact alone is what makes Obama appealing to so many people.

The film went through all of the stages of Obama’s life and pointed out significant details that perhaps have had a big influence on choices he has made, as well as on future ones.

D’Souza made several references to Obama’s book titled “Dreams of my Father.” He was very knowl-edgeable about Obama’s past, including his history with his father that he only saw a few times.

D’Souza really explores and investigates the an-ti-colonialist views Obama’s father had. When he approached this subject, he gave us a psychological view on the way Obama is wired and the influence his past has played in his decision-making.

D’Souza says that Obama is “influenced by a third-world theology," because many of Obama’s mentors have communist beliefs.

While America is not necessarily seeking to be a colonial nation, it does pride itself on being one of the most successful and powerful nations and an overseer of global affairs. I am afraid that if Obama is elected to another term, he may end up under-mining the American spirit in effort to put us on the same playing field with other less prosperous na-tions.

It is pretty scary to think about how different our nation, which was built on freedom, could evolve into a communistic and weak nation. Maybe before we keep complaining about how our country is go-ing under, we should explore what is actually on Obama’s agenda.

Overall, I do not think this film will have a big im-pact on the upcoming election, even though it is cur-rently one of the top documentaries this year. When it was first released, it was showing in about 1,000 North American theatres or around 1/3 as many theatres as a big blockbuster movie.

I encourage everyone to see this movie, no matter which side you stand. You can never be too informed when choosing the leader of your country. I chal-lenge you to vote based on a person’s beliefs, quali-fications and performance rather than the color of one’s skin.

www.tvccnewsjournal.com

Carley Shultz

You can never be too informed when choosing the leader of your country.

Well it’s that time again−just like four years ago−time for the presidential election.

There are so many people I talk to who are tired of hearing the Republicans and Democrats blam-ing each other for the problems with our country but they still don’t do anything about the problems.

Well maybe it’s time for another party to enter the race. But what many people don’t know is that there already is a third party running in this elec-

tion, the Libertarian Party. I'm a Libertarian, and I will be voting for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's candidate.

Most people might wonder: What does the Lib-ertarian Party stand for? According to the party's website, “The Libertarian Party is your represen-tative in American politics. It is the only political organization which respects you as a unique and competent individual.”

But of course the party website would say that, so let’s look at the issues, like foreign policy. Accord-ing to Johnson's website, the No. 1 issue with for-

eign policy that he wants to change is this: “Ameri-can military activities in Afghanistan should end,” because he believes that “America can achieve our foreign policy goals without sacrificing American values.” When talking about sacrificing values, he is referring to the Abu Ghraib incident where sol-diers were caught torturing and abusing prisoners.

I believe that a third party needs to rise to power to show Republicans and Democrats that we don’t need them to run our government, if all they are going to do is blame each other. Let's start getting things done. Let's vote Libertarian.

News flash: There is a 3rd-party candidate running tooJake Yarbrough

A&E Editor

News-JournalOpinion/Editorial

September 21, 2012 www.tvccnewsjournal.com3

jouViewfrom thealley

Trinity Valley New-Journal @ Facebookwww.tvccnewsjournal.com

Does your voice really count in a presidential election?

Photo Illustration: Adrian Price and Staff

America was founded on a democracy set in place by our forefathers, and every citizen has the right to vote as long as they are a registered voter.

Every four years, Americans select a new person to lead this country, but do we (the people) really pick the President of the United States?

According to the Cen-ter for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engage-ment, young adults be-tween the ages of 18-29 make up 24 percent of the population that is eligible to vote. Many of those young adults do not feel the need to vote because they think their voice doesn’t matter, or

they simply don't care.Most young people

don’t vote because they don’t understand the process. When people start talking about the popular vote and the Electoral College, things can get a little confus-ing. The bottom line is this: In order to be the POTUS, a candidate must have 270 electoral votes.

The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, and each state is en-titled to an allotment of electors equal to the number of its congres-sional delegation and representation.

The Electoral College was put in place because the founding fathers feared that someone could manipulate the

voting system. But who’s to say the

process is not being ma-nipulated today. How can we guarantee that our elector is going to do the right thing? How can we be assured that the person is not being influenced by any politi-cal party? We can’t.

Former Vice President Al Gore has been advo-cating revamping the Electoral College. He and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) are supporting a plan, called the National Pop-ular Vote, which would elect a president based off the popular vote.

Gore is all too familiar with the Electoral Col-lege. He lost the 2000 election to George W. Bush by four electoral

votes, even though he won the popular vote.

There has been more than 700 proposals to amend or eliminate the Electoral College, ac-cording to the Office of the Federal Register's website.

The Electoral College is a pointless system that could possibly be rigged, and having it in place does not constitute a true democracy.

The Preamble begins with “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…” The people (us) are more than qualified to vote for the candidate who is the best person to lead this country.

NJ

“I don’t feel there is a need to vote because with the Electoral Col-lege, I feel like even if majority wins, America says, 'I want this guy as president,' they [Electoral College] can come back and overrule that decision."

Nic HairlMusicEustace, Texas

Do feel the need to vote in the upcoming election?

"I feel, because of the Electoral College, our voice is still misrep-resented. At the same time, if I

don’t vote, I don’t have the right to say ‘I don’t like our President.' I could have been the one vote that swung the other way."

Kaitlyn WhiteLiberal Arts

Eustace, Texas

"We still persuade the Electoral College, because they are not going to vote for a candidate who didn't have the popular vote in their region."

Kelton RobersonPsychologyMabank, Texas

FeatureNews-Journal4

www.tvccnewsjournal.com September 21, 2012

Did you know that the estimated Hispanic population in the United States is around 52 million.

According to FactMonster.com, His-panics are the nation's largest ethnic or race minority. They cover 16.7 per-cent of the nation's total population.

Even though Hispanic Heritage Month is only covered from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, America is influenced by His-panic culture every day.

Hispanic Heritage Month was start-ed in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson and was later expanded in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan to cover a total of 30 days, according to hispanicheritagemonth.gov.

Sept. 15 is a very significant date,

and it was chosen to be the starting date for Hispanic Heritage Month because it is the anniversary of in-dependence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. These countries declared their inde-pendence in 1821 from Spain.

Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16, Sept. 18, and Sept. 21, respectively.

Hispanic Heritage Month does not only celebrate when these countries received their independence, but it also celebrates the importance influ-ences of Hispanic-Americans in North America.

It all started on Oct. 12, 1492, with the discovery of America by Spanish conquistadores, led by Christopher Columbus.

According to hispanicheritage-month.gov, the presence of Hispanics in the United States can be traced back to the 16th century, earlier than any other group after the Native Americans.

Juan Ponce de León was confirmed to have achieved the first European landing in the continental U.S. He landed in 1513 at a place he named La Florida, which we now know as Florida.

Nearly three decades after Ponce de León's arrival, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Ap-palachian Mountains, the Missis-sippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains, according to hispan-icheritagemonth.gov.

The list of important Spanish ex-plorers goes beyond anybody’s imagi-

nation. Some of those important figures include Sebastián Vizcaíno, Gaspar de Portolà, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Juan de Oñate, as well as many more.

Spaniards uncovered half of today’s lower 48 states before the first English colonization attempt in 1585 in Roa-noke, North Carolina.

The Spanish were also the first Eu-ropeans to permanently settle, taking up residence in St. Augustine, Fla., in 1565. They also settled in San Anto-nio, Texas; Tucson, Ariz.; San Diego, Calif.; Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as many more other places.

In this significant month for His-panics, it is important to recognized and remember everything the Span-ish have done for this country.

www.tvccnewsjournal.com

Hispanic Heritage Month30 Days of celebrating culture, independence

Kazandra Gutierrez Staff Writer

La Celebración de St. Edwards de la herencia mexicana

En honor al Mes de la Herencia His-pana, La Iglesia de St. Edwards, está en la ciudad de Athens llevó acabo su celebración anual que estuvo llena de comida con un gran sabor, juegos para los niños y un baile con música mexicana.El evento tuvo lugar en el estaciona-

miento de la iglesia, y era un asunto de familia completo con globos rojos, blancos y verdes por todas partes, los mismos colores que representan la bandera mexicana. Música mexicana se oía desde kilómetros de distancia, así como el olor de unos tamales de-liciosos.El ambiente era de honor y admi-

ración en la celebración donde el pueblo se reunió para dar gracias a los valientes hombres que lucharon en el año del mil ochocientos diez por la independencia de México.El evento fue posible gracias a la

ayuda de muchas personas de la co-munidad."Me siento muy orgulloso de mi

país, de mi nacionalidad y ser capaz de honrar a mi bandera", dijo María

Aranda una miembra de la iglesia.Una de las razones porque la iglesia

de hizo este evento, no sólo fue para celebrar la independencia de México, sino también para ayudar a recau-dar dinero para los próximos eventos como el que se celebró el sábado.Una porción del dinero recaudado en

el evento fue llevado por tres estudi-antes de secundaria, Marissa Cerrilo, Cyntha Chaves y Leslie Chairez que durante semanas antes de la cel-ebración del sábado habían estado recolectando dinero para la iglesia.Las tres muchachas, fueron parte

de una competencia para ver quién podía levantar la mayor cantidad de dinero para la iglesia. Algunos de sus recaudadores de fondos incluyeron la venta de alimentos o aceptaron dona-ciones de personas de la comunidad.El ganador se anunció más tarde esa

misma noche en un baile que se cele-bró en la iglesia.Marissa Cerrillo, un estudiante de

segundo año, en la Escuela Secundar-ia de Athens donó la mayor cantidad de dinero, por lo que fue coronada como la reina de la Iglesia en esta cel-ebración.A pesar de que el evento del sábado

estaba lleno de diversión y risas, fue también una época donde la gente reconoció y recordó los acontecimien-tos que tuvieron lugar hace muchos años."Este es un momento para recor-

dar nuestros orígenes, así como a nuestros héroes por lo que hicieron por la nación de México", dijo Alejan-dra Campa, miembro de la iglesia.Tomó cientos de personas valientes

para conseguir el reconocimiento de la cultura hispana en esta sociedad actual.Ya sea por la exploración pionera de

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado en América del Norte o Sonia Sotomayor por ser nombrado como la primera mujer hispana en el Tribunal Su-premo. Hispanos han jugado un pa-pel importante en moldear la cultura americana a lo largo de la historia.

Kazandra Gutierrez /News-JournalMarissa Cerrillo, a sophomore at Athens High School, raised the most money for the church.

Kazandra Gutierrez Staff Writer

FeatureSeptember 21, 2012 www.tvccnewsjournal.com News-Journal

5

Join us for Preview Friday!Designed with you in mind, Preview Friday allows you to

mingle with other transfer students and learn about:

• How the transfer process works• Financial aid and scholarship opportunities

• The Comet Connection tuition guarantee • Campus life

You’ll also have the chance to talk one-on-one with an advisor in your major. Choose the date you’d like to attend:

RSVP at utdallas.edu/enroll/events. Directions to the UT Dallas campus available at utdallas.edu/directions.

Oct. 19, 2012Nov. 9, 2012Feb. 1, 2013

Feb. 15, 2013

REGISTER NOW

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the mos-quito population.

The West Nile virus is normally found in Africa and the Middle East, but according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the West Nile virus has been in the United States since the sum-mer of 1999.

Since that time, the West Nile virus has taken numerous lives. It’s hard to believe that a tiny bug could be so deadly and be the cause of countless deaths.

The United States has had 2,636 cases reported of the West Nile virus as of Sept. 11, according to the CDC. Out of those 2,636 cases, two-thirds of those have been in these states: Texas, Louisiana, South Dakota, Mississippi, Michigan and Okla-homa. Around 40 percent of those cases have been report to have come from Texas.

Henderson County has reported three cases of the West Nile, Kaufman County has reported ten cases, and Anderson County has not had any cas-es, as of Sept. 7.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ website, the best way to not get

infected by West Nile is to use caution when you're outdoors this fall. If you must be outside when mosquitoes are present, keep these suggestions in mind:

• Stay away from water because mosquitoes tend to flock there.

• Keep mosquito spray on, especially those that contain DEET, Picaridia or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

• Wear long sleeve shirts and jeans when out-doors and try to avoid being outdoors from dusk to dawn, because this is the time when mosquitoes are out the most.

According to the TDSHS, only 20 percent of the people infected by West Nile will have symptoms. The symptoms of the West Nile virus are fever, headache, swollen lymph glands, body aches and an occasionally skin rash.

A more serious case of West Nile is called Neuro-invasive. Symptoms of this disease are headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, and paralysis. Only 1-in-150 people infected with West Nile will have the severe kind. People over the age of 50 and those with a weak immune system have a higher chance of getting the virus.

Currently, there are no vaccinations for the West Nile virus, but there could be one in the future. The West Nile Neuroinvasive virus usually occurs in late summer to early fall. Since Texas weather is unpredictable, the West Nile virus can be trans-mitted all year long, according to the TDSHS.

Mosquitoes still a problem in the fallTasha Walker-Carroll

Staff Writer

Tasha Walker-Carroll/News-JournalTyler Carroll, a TVCC student, uses mosquito repellent while outside.

News-Journal6 Campus News

www.tvccnewsjournal.com September 21, 2012

Campus and Community News Campus

Read Through the Valley

The Read Through The Valley Book Club kicked off with its first event earlier this month. This year’s book is “12 Mighty Orphans” by Jim Dent. The book club will have several events throughout the school year.

The Ark The Ark, located right across campus on S Prairieville Street, of-fers free lunch for col-lege students every Monday and Wednes-day. They also offer Internet and TV access as well as games like ping-pong and pool and places to study.

Collegiate MinistryThe Collegiate Min-istry is located right across campus, on FM 2494, next to the Ki-wanis Park. They offer free lunch for college

students every Tues-day and Thursday. They also offer bible study and places for students to study and relax.

Student Government

Student Government meetings will take place every Tuesday in the cafeteria confer-ence room at 12:15 p.m. They will have free lunch at the meetings.

Student Music Recitals

The music department will be having student recitals in the Fine Arts Building in Room 112 on Oct. 5 and Oct. 19 at 12:30 p.m. There is no admission for the recitals and they are open to the public.

Community

Black-eyed Pea Festival

The annual Black-eyed Pea Cook Off and Fes-

tival will be at the East Texas Arboretum Oct. 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Arboretums website: www.easttex-asarboretum.org

Farmers MarketThe Athens Farmers Market runs from 8 a.m.- noon each Satur-day through the end of October. The Market has numerous vendors that include locally grown produce, crafts, and baked goods. It is located in the City Parking Lot next to the Railway Café.

Family Fishing Tournament

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center will have a bluegill-fishing tournament Saturday, Sept. 29. There will be numerous prizes given throughout the tourna-ment, contact the cen-ter at 903-676-2277.

Carley Shultz

With a name change and a new head of office, Trinity Valley’s student leaders are starting the fall semester strong.

Although it will not be a deviation from their goals and agenda, the stu-dent senate has made a few changes.

“We changed the name from senate to government because it makes more sense,” said Cortney Curran, director of student services and student gov-ernment adviser.

Another change is how the stu-dent government operates. Now members have to put in time before becoming a vot-ing member, log-ging in at least ten hours of com-munity service. Working on proj-ects in the office with fellow coun-cil members will also be considered as community ser-vice. With a to-do list that needs to be done, members are required to check in daily to see what they can do to help out.

The student government has also revamped how they keep TVCC stu-dents more informed about what is happening on campus. They are using social media websites such as Face-book (TVCC Student Government) and Twitter (Twitter @TVCCsga) to promote their events.

In order for a student to hold office, they must put in an application, then run for the position.

“Student government is a resume builder and great for school applica-tions,” said SGA President Chelsea Malone.

Voting meetings are at 7 p.m. the last Tuesday of every month in the caf-eteria conference room. That meeting

is only open to voting members of the student government.

Non-voting meetings are held at 12:15 p.m. every Tuesday in the same room, and it's open to any TVCC stu-dent. Lunch is also provided.

“Everyone’s welcome; we would love to have you in our meetings for anoth-er student’s opinion on what matters on campus," Malone said.

There is also a focus group open to the campus that meets around the middle of each month. Anyone can at-tend and express what changes they’d

like to see on cam-pus.

“It is like a poll, but more vocal,” Malone said. “It actually means more because it is coming from a stu-dent to a student.”

One of the main responsibilities of the student government is to write bills and up-date the constitu-

tion to reflect things they would like to see changed at TVCC. At this time, 13 voting members are the only ones making decisions on the bills being passed on the campus.

They are currently working on a bill to implement a campus-wide recycling program. Agenda for the next meeting will be about future bills and upcom-ing events on campus.

Since the beginning of the school year, the student government has scheduled weekly social events to help students get involved and become bet-ter acquainted with their fellow peers.

“It gives them something to do and a place to go with an active student activities organization,” Curran said.

The student government will be do-ing a lot more business, planning ac-tivities, making changes on campus, and getting more things accomplished this year.

www.tvccnewsjournal.com

Student Senate no longer in sessionStudent Government ready to serve

Lace DonaghePhoto Editor

Mariani plans to offer this incentive again the second week of October. It will be called Cardinal Cash Reload.

Mariani said the more the campus community knows about their dining options, it will give campus dining the chance to expand what the Grille Works can offer to students. By of-fering more items on the menu and staying open for longer hours, will give those students who take evening

courses a chance to eat at The Grille, instead of going off campus for a bite to eat.

Although eating on campus is not required, it is recommend, because students don't have to worry about where to go off campus to eat. Cardi-nal Cash will allow students the flexi-bility to have dining options that suits their needs.

Cash--continued from page 1--

WWW.TAMUC.EDU • 903.886.5000 or 888.868.2682A Member of The Texas A&M University System

Michelle, a biology pre-med student from Plano, TX, chose to attend Texas A&M University-Commerce after she was

accepted into the Regents’ Scholars Program.

An active member of the campus community, Michelle traveled to Costa Rica with the Regents’ Scholars last May, joined the Student Government Association, the Student Healthcare Outreach Society, and participated in the Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant.

“A&M-Commerce has made me more open-minded,” Michelle said. “The Regents’ Scholars Program has allowed me to see just how many opportunities were lingering before me.”

Michelle’s favorite class at A&M-Commerce has been anthropology, which taught her about different world cultures, and showed her life from different points-of-view. The class made Michelle aware of the new social norms and customs that may arise with any future endeavor she may pursue.

After graduation, Michelle plans to attend medical school in hopes of becoming a dermatologist, and eventually open her own practice.

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SCAN thiS QR CODE To learn more about Michelle, see her video profile and learn how Texas A&M University-Commerce can change your future.

News-Journal8 Campus News

www.tvccnewsjournal.com September 21, 2012

The Henderson County Young Republicans, which had previously been disband-ed for several years, is back.

The HCYR has meetings the first Monday of every month at the Henderson County Republican Headquarters in Athens.

Comprised of young adults in their 20s and 30s, HCYR members said that they have an urgent sense of purpose, and one of the organization's goal is to help strengthen the party in Henderson County and in Texas.

“This club is about life, lib-erty and the pursuit of happi-ness," said Desarae Lindsey, the organization’s director of publicity. “We, young people, are the future of the Repub-lican Party and we will be heard. This is a huge part of why we are doing this. We see where this country is going and we want to put a stop to it. We just want to take this country back to the way it is supposed to be."

The HCYR is currently seeking members who have a strong sense of political awareness and the desire to gather with other like-minded people. New members will

become educated in politics, learn the inner workings of the GOP, and understand what the party's role is and should be in today’s society.

"Given the chance, this club would like to become a signifi-cant factor in decisions made by their elected officials." Lindsey said. "This is a coed social gathering, which has many social engagements planned."

HCYR president Josh Tru-itt said the agenda of the next meeting will be mainly dedi-cated to coming up with fund-raising ideas and planning for the organization’s future. He said the HCYR wants to

have numerous fund-raising events, so it will be possible for them to support elected officials and the Republican Party. They will also have guest speakers at some of their meetings.

At the next meeting, mem-bers will receive an update on the status of the organization, discuss what their agenda will be for the upcoming elec-tions and get ideas for fun so-cial events.

"It's important for us to get this club going again," said HCYR vice president Clint Stutts."A lot of people in the leadership roles of the Party are seniors, and we, young

people, need to be prepared to take these responsibilities on."

Anyone between the ages of 18-41 who live in Henderson County can join HCYR. People not in this age group or who live outside of the county can become an associate member for $20. Annual dues for reg-ular members are $25 for an individual, $10 for a student and $40 for a couple.

To inquire about member-ship, contact membership director Melanie Truitt at 903-802-2808, or by email at HCYoungReps@gmail.com.

www.tvccnewsjournal.com

Henderson County Young Republicans back in operation after extended hiatus

Lace DonaghePhoto Editor

Rah, Rah , Rah, Ready to R-E-A-D

Read through the Valley had its first event, “Rally through the Valley," introducing the new book, “12 Mighty Orphans,” for the 2012-2013 aca-demic year.

The RTV Committee set up in the courtyard on the Athens Campus and many of the student organizations took part in the event. The Cardinal Regiment Drumline played their cadence while the Cardettes helped serve hot dogs and soda to the students who stopped by the booth.

RTV chairman Dr. Marianne Leeper invited students to future events and told them how they can leave their contact information to receive in-formation on the book club.

Dates of the events for RTV are printed on bookmarks and can be found throughout campus. -Lis Valencia

Photo: Lis Valencia/News-Journal

East Texas ArboretumThe East Texas Arboretum is located in Athens and has over 100 acres of native Texas land covered with flow-er gardens, historic buildings and hiking trails. They are open seven days a week and it only cost $2 for admission. For more information, check out their website:www.east-texasarboretum.com.

Hippie HutThe Hippie Hut, a carhop café, is lo-cated in Mabank and offers a vintage twist to dining. So if you are looking for a fun atmosphere to grab dinner, this would definitely be the place. The address is 2104 S 3rd St., Ma-bank, TX 75147.

New York, Texas Zipline Adventures

New York, Texas Zipline Adventures is located about 15 miles from Ath-ens, in the New York community. They feature both a six and nine line Zipline tour. They are open Thursday through Sunday, reservation only. Show your TVCC ID for $5 off your tour. For more information, check out their website: www.GoZipTexas.com.

Good Times SkateGood Time Skate in Athens is open

on Fridays and Saturdays. To skate on Saturdays during the day it's $4. Evening prices on Friday and Satur-day are $5.

Henderson County Performing Arts Center

The Henderson County Performing Arts Center features live perfor-mances every month. It will pres-ent its fall musical, "Smoke on the Mountain," in October. To see a list of shows and times, visit their web-site: www.hcpac.org.

Whatz Up Family Fun Park Whatz Up Family Fun Park is locat-ed in Seven Points. They offer a wide spectrum of activities including bat-ting cages, paintball, miniature golf, bumper cars, a rock wall and a large arcade. They have plenty to offer to keep anyone entertained. Check out their website: www.wuffp.com.

Athens Scuba ParkThe Athens Scuba Park, located on N. Murchison Street is a great place to learn how to scuba dive. For more information, visit their website: www.athensscubapark.com.

Carley Shultz

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