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Baseball, France and Bill Murray:

Hidden GemsPage 6 has played host to a mul-titude of lists over the course of the 8rst half of the semester, and now others are itching to get into the listomania fun that Editor Andrew Burnes has been enjoying for weeks. Inspired: former East Texan front page star Jon Zananiri curated a list of his own: hidden gems from the silver screen that he’s enjoyed over the course of his two-decade lifetime. What made the list? Hint: the guy’s a big fan of Bill Murray.

PAGE 6

A mid-semester

nightmareAlong with Week 8 comes a famil-iar amount of the mid-semester stress brought on by a plethora of tests designed to push students to the limit. 9e issue weighed heav-ily on the minds of many of the writers at T.) E&*# T)4&%, two of whom penned columns about their concerns and stresses leading up to the week of worry.

PAGE 2

Rec Center spa to be reopened

after years of inactivity

Following an abnormally warm summer, the A&M-Commerce rec center is already preparing to open the outdoor pools next month. Even bigger news: for the 8rst time in several years, plans to reopen the hot tub are in the works.

PAGE 4

The Blacker the Berry

Kerry WilsonSta: Writer

Created in 2012 after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the murder of Trayvon Mar-tin, the Black Lives Matter movement has become a sensitive topic among conversations concerning social justice.

9e sensitivity of the topic has even led to protests in which members and support-ers of the organization march, calling for equality and aware-ness of issues. While there has been widespread support for the organization and move-ment, there has also been op-position. Opponents of the movement claim the move-ment enables violence and is, in e:ect, hypocrisy.

Out of all of the events happening around the United States in larger colleges with the Black Lives Matter move-ment, one can wonder how Texas A&M University-Com-merce would handle a Black Lives Matter event.

A&M-Commerce UPD Lt. Jason Bone said he thinks it would not be a problem.

“It’s not a big deal,” Bone said. “9e thing that I like about our school, Commerce, and I’m proud of it too, we seem to have not a lot of ten-

sions here. We all seem to get along. I’m not saying that’s all the time, but I don’t see the trouble brew-ing like, say, what was up in Mizzou.”

9e demonstrations and events A&M-Com-merce has held in the past, in Bone’s opinion, has never been a problem.

“We’ve had them before, and it’s never been any

problem,” Bone said. “We’ve had demonstrations before. I remember that we had something after the Trayvon Martin shooting. We had a group that did a peaceful march from one end of the campus to the other, and I don’t even think we had o;cers there. I mean it was a showing of support and we

CONT. ON PAGE 3

Touch the Sky

EAST TEXAN PHOTO/BECCA NAYLOR

PHOTO COURTESY/JOSEPHCPHILLIPS.COM

Fight the PowerThe Black Lives Matter movement, spurred in large part by multiple murders of unnarmed black men by police o!cers, has swept across the nation, bringing along with it questions, concerns, and controversies about the state of racial inequality in America 50 years after the Civil Rights movement.

The Rock in the BuildingTexas A&M-Commerce played host to the regional Gravity Check competition as representatives from schools around the state gathered to compete in Rock climbing challenges including our own Cade Lake on March 5.

PAGE 4

A&M-Commerce UPD Lieutenant Jason Bone gives his take on Black Lives Matter

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Letters to

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MARCH 10, 2016P!"# 2

What are your plans for Spring Break?

O!"#"$#C

ampu

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men

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Editor Andrew BurnesManaging Editor Travis HairgroveNews/Social Media Editor Joseph AldermanSports Writer Carter LacyOpinion Editor Hunter KimbleStudent Life Editor Alissa SilvaLead Reporter ToddPhotographer Kristen TaylorPhotographer Aaron HwangCopy Editor Kyria AhoDistribution Manager Sean BatesDistribution Assistant Michelle WhiteheadFaculty Adviser Fred StewartPhone 903-886-5985E-mail theeasttexan@gmail.comEast Texan Website tamuceasttexan.comEast Texan Print Issue Online issuu.com/tamuc.easttexan

“It’s going to be great, my fiancé and I are going to Dallas to visit her mom and we’re going to spend some time together.” -William Domengeaux

“I’m just going to work.” - Justin Murphee

“I’m going to Colorado for a ski trip.” -Julia Hernandez

Jasmine BakerStaff Writer

‘Honestly, I don’t know how we do it. This past weekend as I fretted over the impending midterms week, and my blood pressure, it dawned on me that college students are some of the most overworked individuals in America. Between parents, friends and certain noisy relatives asking how school is going in passing, I don’t even mince words anymore. “I’m tired and ready to dropout, why didn’t yall tell me not to take 18 hours this semester?!”. I feel like I’m in Hunger Games, been stung by a few tracker jackets and Katniss is nowhere to be found. Save me.

In addition to writing this article for the paper, I still have to work on a few papers for my other classes. I’m beyond tired. The levels I’ve tapped into this semester to pull out papers deep into the night would impress David Blaine. Most of us don’t get enough sleep as it is, especially those of us who have loud neighbors with no home training. His name is Kevin and he’s driving me crazy. I’ve resulted in blasting country music anytime he has company over. He’s going to learn.

Half of us hang with friends and try to have an inkling of a social life, while the other half eat, study, sleep, and repeat. Then, there’s this elite group of students who maintain a 3.0 GPA, volunteer, join campus organizations and still manage to post pictures of themselves smiling on Instagram daily. Not to mention student-athletes who are able to juggle their hectic schedules. Shout out to single parents and commuters.

It’s amazing to me how much we’re expected to perform day in and day out. I get it though. It’s college; you knew what you were signing up for before you got here. We knew it wasn’t going to be like orientation or summer camp. Most of us just want to sleep, have two weeks to do a paper and a meal that isn’t Ramen.

I’m just trying to make it to spring break without overdosing on coffee and beef jerky. Dipping into my mental reservoir is my only option at this point.

Pray for me and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Hunter KimbleOpinion Editor

Well here it is, the week of midterms. We finally reach that midpoint in the semester where a student breaks their back and sanity to maintain or bring up their grade average in their classes. At least in my case it’s the latter. Now, I’m not going to complain about how I’m struggling in two of my classes or moan and groan about how midterms are unpleasant. However, what I am going to talk about is how there are some positives to midterms in addition to the many negatives.

As I mention before, midterms can help bring up a person’s grade…if they study enough. In my case, I’m taking a class that is killing my G.P.A at this point. $ere are some people out there telling me to just drop it, but it’s apart of my DegreeWorks so I cannot. Also, I’m unable to substitute it with a di%erent class. I tried it twice and got the same results. Anyway, I see the exams as a saving grace. I’ve been studying a lot, so I’m convinced I can produce a decent enough grade to bump up my average in the class. I’m at least hoping for a low C for this class at this point in the semester.

$e other good thing about midterms is that a comeback from a low grade like a D or F is possible. Look at it this way. You have between the last weeks of March and the first week of May to make your grade up. It seems inconceivable, but with hard work and sacrifices it is possible. Just try to do well on the assignments and projects and strive for at least a C for your finals and you’ll pass your class with a C or possibly a B if God is willing.

$e last reason why the midterms are not so bad is because it’s just midterms…it’s in the middle of the semester. $is means that beyond this point everything else for this semester is all downhill from here, and then we have finals in May. $at’s right. Finals, the time where one really should be worried. $ose exams are the ones that will make or break a girl. Midterms are starting to sound a little nicer compared to finals, but then again not taking an exam at all sounds ten times better.

In conclusion, midterms are not as bad as we make them out to be. $ey can help boost a person’s average, give someone enough time to fix their grade, and more importantly, they are not that big of a deal. It can always be worse, people. So, for finals week I wish everyone the best of luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.

A Cry from an Overworked

Student

Nothing, I’m just going home and hanging out with friends.” -Guadalupe Baeza

Coming to terms with midtermsEDITORAL CARTOON BY JOSEPH ALDERMAN

P!"# $M!%&' (), *)(+ N!"#

Agnes GonzalezSpecial Contributor

That is right; that well deserved break is really right around the corner now! It’s time to break the routine of going to classes, cafeteria, and back to your room an endless number of times each week, and create a different experience for your-self that can bring back a smile on your face.

You may already have a road trip scheduled with your friends, or plan to head back home. Whatever your way of recharging is, make sure that it will be truly giving you the energy you need for the rest of the semester instead of further depleting you or leaving you with unpleasant consequences to deal with.

So before you jump head f irst into your next adventure, just think for a moment about what you really need at this point in the semester. Surely, you need a break from studies and re-sponsibilities, which are something to do away with for a short few days, but also ask yourself about what you could use more of during this mini vacation.

Maybe it is time to catch up on some sleep. If you are worn out from juggling deadlines, and you are short on sleep, this is the moment you have been waiting for. You can treat your-self to a few extra hours of sleep knowing that your morning classes will be waiting for you for another week.

Possibly you also may have neglected other aspects of your physical well-being, by priori-tizing spontaneous get-togethers with friends or having overnight cram sessions to make up for the time spent staying current on social media.

This can be your chance to start eating some great nutritious meals again instead of trying to survive on fast food only. Plus you can also have the extra time to reconnect to your favorite physical activity – may it be walking, running, playing team sports, or doing yoga. Your body will def initely thank you for these, and your mind will also get the needed fuel as a result. It’s a worthy investment for sure.

The beauty of these simple tips is that you can put them in practice wherever you go. You can be back at your parents’ home or at a beach, and you can still take some time out of each day to replenish your vitality by sleeping well, eating well, and exercising.

Of course, you may have some more extrav-agant experiences in mind, but whatever you choose to do, f ind ways to keep yourself safe so you can look back on this time with no regrets. So stay around people you trust, be mindful of your decisions, and respect your own and others’ boundaries regarding alcohol and sex.

Even if you do not get to go on a trip or you do need to catch up on some school work, make sure your break is truly one, a break from your norm, a chance to incorporate even small things you enjoy so that you can have a new sense of mo-mentum upon your return. Wishing you a relax-ing and enriching time! Stay healthy and safe!

Counseling Corner

Ready, Set, Break

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UPD Lieutenant weighs in on Black Lives Ma!er

THE AUTHOREXPERIENCE

Distinguished Alumni Symposium

03.23.1610 A.M. - 12 P.M.

PACPERFORMING ARTS CENTER

SPEAKERSDr. Keith McFarlandFormer President of A&M-Commerce and Author

Jim AinsworthDistinguished Alumnus and Award-Winning Author

Alton BiggsDistinguished Alumnus andSenior author of Glencoe Biology

FEATURED FACULTYDr. William ThompsonSociology and Criminal Justice

Dr. Sharon KowalskyHistory

Dr. Christopher GonzalezLiterature and Languages

Humanities, Social Sciences & Arts

Cont. from Page 1

didn’t have any problems.”Bone said he thinks the city of Com-

merce would not have any issues with a Black Lives Matter movement either.

“I think they [the police] would be very similar to what we do,” Bone said. “I think they have dealt with a couple of – but they were peaceful marches, that kind of thing. I really don’t see a big di,erence between us and them as far as how they would handle some-thing like that.”

Bone does not have a prob-lem with Black Lives Matter movements. In fact, he be-lieves the movement as a whole is misunderstood.

“I think that in a lot of ways the Black Lives Matter move-ment is misunderstood,” Bone said. “Some of it rightfully so, some of it not. I don’t think, and this is just my humble, personal opinion, that it’s not necessarily about something between blacks and the police. I think the Black Lives Matter movement is try-ing to address a lot of other issues. Not just race relations in law enforcement. I don’t think it’s just to do with law en-forcement. I think it’s just to do with other issues of inequality and trying to draw attention to them, if that makes sense.”

Bone sees the opposition’s argument, that the Black Lives Matter movement promotes black supremacy, as confusion in the movement’s core message.

“I think that’s been, and this is just my opinion, in my mind, one of the hardest things for people to truly un-derstand what the movement is really about,” Bone said. “Do you ever get on Snapchat for the university or YikYak or something and somebody will put ‘Black

Lives Matter’ and then somebody will come along and say ‘All Lives Matter,’ so I think that’s part of the misunder-standing.

“When you say ‘Black Lives Mat-ter,’ and somebody says ‘Well, don’t all lives matter?” he added. “And they’re like ‘No, Black Lives Matter.’ What the Black Lives Matter people are trying to say is don’t detract from the issue. I real-ly think that’s what they’re trying to say. But I think other people are interpreting that as supremacist.”

While Bone acknowledged that some parts of the movement do not promote peace among all people, he still agreed that a lot of people have the wrong per-ception of it.

“I think that maybe Black Lives Mat-ter, the movement, is just something

that’s taken o,,” Bone said. “-ere’s no real leaders and there’s a Black Lives Matter or-

ganization by the way. -ey have chapters and take donations and things like that. I don’t know if I initially agree with everything they kind of have done, because they’re the ones that have done the protests where you’ll hear people chanting ‘Fry the pigs,’ that kind of thing. It takes two people to .ght and that doesn’t foster peace and unity, and that’s all I’m trying to say. But I do think a lot of people aren’t get-ting that message that it’s really just trying to draw attention to a few issues. Whether you agree with the issues or not, I think a lot of people are just not keeping up on it.”

Concerning the argument that the Black Lives Matter movement fosters black supremacy, Bone said that is an-other misconception.

“You usually hear the terms white su-premacist, KKK, Skin head, and I think people are also thinking ‘OK, well you’re just nothing but another hate group. You just think you’re better than all the other races.’ I think some people are interpret-ing it that way. And I don’t think that’s what the intent is for the movement. I really don’t.”

“I don’t know if I agree with everything they have done, because they’re the ones that have done the protests where you’ll hear people chanting ‘Fry the pigs.’ It takes two people to !ght and that doesn’t foster peace and unity.

- Jason BoneLieutenant: A&M-Commerce University

Police Department

C!"#$% MARCH 10, 2015PAGE 4

HairgroveManaging Editor

Reach by reach, pull by pull and grunt by grunt, each competitor concentrated mind and muscle, !ghting gravity itself as they ascended the 45-foot-tall rock wall inside the Morris Recreation Center, at A&M-Commerce’s 13th annual Gravity Check collegiate climbing competition, this past Saturday.

"ere, students from universities including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University College Station, the University of North Texas, Stephen F. Austin State University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette joined their fellow climbing enthusiasts at Texas A&M University-Commerce for a bit of competitive adventure. In the Collegiate Climbing Series-sanctioned event, climbers ranging from six-month rookies to lifelong altitude seekers vied to take home robust, handmade trophies made from limestone and sandstone as well as to beat their own personal bests.

“Climbing’s really a great, equalizing sport,“ Justin Crossland, Assistant Director of the Outdoor Adventure Program said. “People who have seen a lot of athletic success in other areas, be it in track and !eld, basketball or football…it often doesn’t translate to being a good climber. A lot of times, we see climbers come to the gym who have been very studious and have not taken a lot of opportunity to explore their athleticism. But, the unique challenge of climbing allows them to start o# on an even leg with more accomplished athletes. Climbing gives those less athletically successful students an opportunity to !nd a deeper part of their identity and learn that they can do far more than they thought they could do.”

Jon Rosenbaum, Vice President of A&M-Commerce’s Climbing Society echoed much of Crossland’s belief that climbing can be rewarding regardless of experience or natural ability.

“Climbing is one of those sports where you don’t have to be the best to achieve something,” Rosenbaum said. “If you’re at a level where you’re climbing 5.6 [considered a relatively easy level of di$culty], the level of accomplishment is the same as if I !nished a 5.12 [a more advanced climb, requiring greater balance and more delicate footwork]. It doesn’t change. No matter what level you’re at, there’s still something you can achieve without being the best at it, and that’s awesome. "ere’s not a better feeling than that.”

"e high-energy, ultra sportsmanly collegiate competition was a long time in the making. "e week preceding the event alone required the members of the A&M-Commerce Climbing Society to put in very long days to prepare, according to their president, Becca Naylor.

“We had to completely strip the rock wall of all of the holes that were on it, take down all of the tape that indicated the routes, clean the holes and then set new routes,” Naylor said. “We also had to organize how everything was going to run…all the logistics of it, and get all the labeling and scoring set up. We set up 60 [climbing] routes, and that covered the entire tower…and those were all set over the course of the week. Each route can take anywhere from an hour to six hours to set, so there was a lot of time and energy put into setting all the new routes on all of our sta# ’s part.”

Another issue that had to be taken into account in the planning of Gravity

Check was making sure the various climbing routes were the appropriate di$culty level.

“We have to go through and test each route individually, to make sure that our grade is consistent here at the wall as far as the di#erent di$culty levels,” Crossland. “We have an idea of how di$cult a 5.9 climb should be, so we want to make sure that all the climbs we’ve scored a 5.9 are easier than a 5.10 but also harder than a 5.8, so we have a standard progression. And, we also have climbers of di#erent body types and di#erent climbing styles climb those routes to make sure that it [the grading scale] goes across the board. We have a reputation for putting on a very good comp. We have real high quality routes. We have a great facility.”

After a whole week’s worth of intense work, Saturday came, and in the end, after the climbing chalk dust settled, Alina LaPotin

(1st) and Christina Nguyen (2nd) of UT, and Breanna Steele of A&M (3rd) placed the highest in the women’s advanced category while Liam Shea (1st) of UNT, and Michael Sulkis (2nd) and Zach Vanderbosch (3rd) of UT emerged victorious in the men’s advanced division.

All in all, though, Crossland insists that Gravity Check and climbing in general…especially that which is done on natural rock formations is more about sharing an enjoyed activity with friends than it is about competition.

“"e thing that stands out most about those climbs is the camaraderie,” Crossland said. “"e bond that’s shared between climbers is very strong. Between you and your climbing partners, there’s a level of responsibility and a level of risk that you’re taking for each other. It really strengthens and forms really strong friendships.”

PHOTO COURTESY/TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COMMERCE

Hunter KimbleOpinion Editor

After being closed for cold weather and maintenance updates, the pool and hot tub at the Morris Recreation Center will !nally open.

"e aquatic section of Morris Recreation Center will open on April 25, 2016. "e directors of the rec center thought this date would give them enough time to !nish further repairs to the pool and hot tub/spa.

“"ere are a lot of opening procedures we need to go through: maintenance,” Al Diaz, assistant director of aquatics, said. “"is o#-season we had to do a lot of maintenance and repairs, so that’s why we’re pushing it further than what we usually do just for a lot more maintenance.”

"e maintenance to the pool involved upgrading the chlorinator; checking the old and new documentations, staying up to date with state laws and checking the pump house. "e hot tub/spa went through several structural issues for several years that caused malfunctions such as the water temperature being low because it’s to far away from the pump house. "e spa is now operational.

“We have a long history of trying to get that up and operational,” Director of Campus

Recreation Center Rick Rosenstengle said. “"e building has been built ten years ago and that spa has been operational and not operational. We had a lot of issues we had to deal with. We’re to the point now where we think that we have a good control of it and we think the students and patrons will enjoy it.”

According to Diaz, there are plans for a grand opening for the pool and hot tube. "ey are thinking about doing an event in conjunction with intramurals.

“With the spa opening again, we are working on something, but not an event with 800 people, but we are doing something like we do every season,” Diaz said.

Directors want students and patrons to follow their policies as usual once the pool opens. "eir three biggest rules to follow are to listen to the lifeguards, not run around the pool deck, and to not bring Styrofoam cups.

“We’re a student recreation center with a university campus, we do have a lot of policies for safety reason,” Diaz said.

“In whatever we do at our department we want to make sure the facility is well maintain and our sta# is trained in safety and risk management,” Rick

Rec center staff prepares for a grand reopening of the pool and hot tub to help

students wash a bit of that stress away

The ClimbCompetitiors from several Texas universities swarm into the

Morris Recreation Center for 13th annual Gravity Check

MARCH 10, 2016PAGE 5 F!"#$%!&

From the Eyes of the Audience

Todd KleiboerSta! Writer

Myths and legends are often the inspiration for the best crafted plays, and Sarah Ruhl’s play “Eu-rydice,” performed by the university’s "eatre Department last week, shared this inspiration with its traditional plot while also mixing in several original elements.

Ruhl’s play is based o! the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, two star-crossed lovers sepa-rated by death. Orpheus, an extraordinary musician, goes down into the Underworld and pleads for his wife’s life to Hades, the god of the Underworld. Hades agrees, but adds in a catch: Orpheus can-

not look back at Eurydice as the two climb out or she will return. How-ever, like all tragedies, Orpheus fails to keep his eyes in front of him.

Elements of the original leg-end are apparent in Ruhl’s version, such as Orpheus’ musical talent and Eurydice’s descent into and ascent out of the Underworld, but Ruhl chooses to focus on Eurydice’s side of the story. She maintains the seri-ousness of grief and mourning, but it is punctuated by a few comical moments.

She also changes existing charac-ters such as Hades, who shifts from steely to comical, and adds new ones such as Eurydice’s dead father. "e addition of her father may have been to soothe Ruhl’s personal feelings, as this play was written after her own father’s death.

Departing from analyzing the plot of the play and arriving to ex-amine the performance from the eye of an admittedly inexperienced audience member, the "eater De-partment did amazing technical work with the costumes, lights and set. "e actors, as well, were able to stand out by #tting into their roles so well.

Designed entirely by Casey Watkins, the costumes of Orpheus and Eurydice while they both were alive were coordinated beautifully. Even the costumes of the dead matched, the colors red and white always being present in some article of clothing.

Lights operations were handled by Gabe Coleman and designed by Michael G. Knight Jr. "e most memorable lighting e!ects occurred during scenes in which letters were read, when the light-ing would make words appears on the stage. Sound, operated by Deondra Walters and designed by Kelsey Cooper, was also coordinated with the lights, creating remarkable scenes.

Also designed by Mi-chael G. Knight Jr., it was curious to watch the set be utilized in many di!erent ways, such as a $ight of stairs equaling the climb from the Underworld or an elevator symbolizing the dead’s decent into it.

All around, the play “Eurydice” was funny and tugged at the heartstrings, and the actors pulled o! their roles to the best of their abilities. Brittney Noland, who played Eu-rydice, delivered her lines with the right tone and good timing, and Oscar Quintero, who played Ha-des and a partygoer, kept the audience chuckling whenever he was onstage.

Ruhl’s play, performed by the university’s "e-atre Department, was a remarkable show that the audience enjoyed, and from the eyes of the people seated, it was performed, produced and written in a well-done manner.

PHOTO COURTESY/MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

SoundtrackBurnes’ Turns

MARCH 10, 2016PAGE 6 E!"#$"%&!'#!"

Did you know that there are actually mildly famous people that have come out of our own little slice of small-town Heaven (besides Mark Seliger, of course. Love ya, Dude)? But our own Jasmine veri!es from her time in Austin, this dude is the real deal. "is “slacker lifestyle” touting nugget straight from the early ‘00s named after our very own Commerce proves that point. “I’ve got a bad #avor/I’ve got dirty clothes/I’ve got a strange neigh-bor/who doesn’t have curtains on her window,” the Com-merce native grins before launching into a chorus about how long it’s going to take to cross that !nish line. No kidding, Bro. Bonus points for the hilarious music video. "e dude really knows how to hold a drag.

One of my go-to tracks when walking around the univer-sity grounds on a regular basis, Living Colour’s anthem on the corruptness of political !gureheads in many ways plays as a theme song for my daily life. Even if it doesn’t mean as much to you, that face-melting guitar solo alongside those head-cracking drum hits as the track reaches its climax are universal.

Use Your Illusion II was Guns N’ Roses at its most overtly political featuring rallies against war and police brutality alongside the band’s typical musings on the usual (i.e., sex, drugs, lust, anger, paranoia, etc.). “Get in the Ring” was political in its own way (Axl really doesn’t like the mainstream music media), but its biggest triumph was capturing the joyful rage that pervades most of Guns N’ Roses’ best moments.

A broken, ba!ered GN’R manage one more cohesive classic

PHOTO COURTESY/YOUTUBE.COM

Andrew BurnesEditor

Following a chaotic two years after the dual release of the Use Your Illusion twins, Guns N’ Roses were in a completely di$er-ent space. Following a creative peak and a triumphant tour, Axl Rose’s manic depres-sion, perfectionism and lust for complete control over the direction of the group was taking a marked toll on the band. Izzy Strad-lin, the co-originator of Guns N’ Roses and an important creative Rock for the band’s Roll was gone, so staunching any potential for further work as the band looked toward the future. Or so it seemed. In reality, the band had one last ace in the hole, one last classic to rip out of Rock and Roll Fantasy for the ages: perhaps the greatest, most cohe-sive cover album of all time.

Guns had already proven that they were true masters of taking the works of others and making them their own; a skill that has been integral to many of the greatest of all time since Elvis. But releasing an entire al-bum of covers was a ballsy move that almost certainly would end in doom and dispair, and at the very least critical panning across the board. "e latter certainly existed in spades upon the album’s 1993 release (not to mention, the album didn’t even move 200,000 copies in its !rst week, a big down-ward trend from debuting two albums at the top simultaneously with over 1.5 million copies between them). But for those

that got it, "e Spaghetti Incident? actually played like a return to form from the band that saved ‘80s Rock and Roll with Appe-tite for Destruction.

Considering the relatively wide range of bands represented on the album ("e Sky-liners’ ‘50s hit “Since I Don’t Have You” appears next to "e Damned’s ‘70s Brit-ish Punk “New Rose”), the album’s #ow is remarkably consistent. Many of the tracks like "e Professionals’ “Black Leather” and Fear’s “I Don’t Care About You” came from band’s little-known in the mainstream Rock world, and thus sounded completely fresh and new. But the members of Guns (particu-larly Du$ McKagan who has the aural time of his life on this album with four lead vocal tracks) even give classics like "e Stooges’

“Raw Power” a new edge for a new genera-tion. And almost every track on the album, (with the possible exception of “New Rose”) provides moments that stand alongside the band’s legendary catalog of original works. “Buick Makane/Big Dumb Sex” (which merged T.Rex and Soundgarden into one badass Rock and Roll minuet) and “Black Leather” in particular are awesome return to forms for the Guns N’ Roses’ rollicking, sex-fueled roots, and the joyous “Human Be-ing” upstages even the legendary New York Dolls; you don’t have to understand a word of Axl’s venomous spit to have the time of your life.

"e Spaghetti Incident?, more than any other, was the record the proved Guns N’ Roses’ legacy; the band could take anything, even songs that weren’t their own, and cre-ate a classic LP for all time. But the record also drove home the !nal nail in the band’s co%n. Axl’s inclusion of the Charles Man-son-penned “Look at Your Game Girl” as an unlisted hidden track at the end of the album o$ended the masses, but it was his unquenchable thirst for validation as the band’s dictator spelled the end for the great Hard Rock band of all time as Slash, Du$ and Matt Sorum all left one after the other beginning in 1995. Down to just Axl and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, the legendary star that was Guns N’ Roses had !nally reached its supernova that would spawn Slash’s Snakepit and Velvet Revolver leaving the re-mains of the former entity all but completely obliterated.

Parlez-vous Français? Me Either, but these Movies are Magni!que

Jonathan - Blake E. ZananiriSpecial Contributor

Below is a list of movies that I trea-sure. While all of my favorites are not

listed, I picked f ive that are seldom on the viewer’s radar as of late. For stu-dents and teachers alike, college can be tremendously tasking. To remedy the sleepless aura of college, you would cer-

tainly be doing yourself a favor in giv-ing at least one of the below two hours of your time. By the way, this article is completely my opinion. What’s up, Burnes?

"e NaturalFirst o$, 1984 … nope, I wasn’t alive, and nope, not that Orwell novel, but thanks to the birth of a “"e Natural,” we can enjoy the story of the real Roy Hobbs. Whereas this movie was inspired by a true story, the story of a baseball player with the purest gift for the game stimulates a transcendent viewing experi-ence. As I think most of us could agree, there is just something about witnessing something so honest, so real. While I was raised in the U.S., both my parents were immigrants from Jordan, in that I did not grow up learning the love of America’s past time (rather the love of food), much less many American-isms. Nevertheless, thanks to exceptional writing and the grace of Robert Redford, I received just that. Set in the 1930s, “"e Natural” provides a window to America’s !rst beloved game (personally, I prefer basketball), but more than that, it is 137 minutes of virtuous authenticity, a man and his gift.

"e IntouchablesOn the subject of inspirational !lms, “"e Intouchables” (a French !lm) is also inspired by a true story yet of a wealthy quadriplegic and his new life-assistant – a welfare seeking man from the projects who unintentionally gets the job. "eir comical antics and uncanny chemistry are a brilliant reminder of how friendship can surpass any cultural barrier. With our school recently being dubbed a minority-majority school, “"e Intouchables” is a testament to the potential impact that such friendships can breed. Pure bliss.

What About Bob?“What About Bob?” starring Bill Murray as an unassuming patient of Dr. Marvin was only known to me just two years ago despite its 1991 debut. Well-written comedy is a treasure in this day and age, and this !lm is a joyous escape that consistently sends my little brother (he’s actually like 6’ now, weird how that happens, right?) into silent, hysterical laughter. If you need a little laughter in your life, Bill (Bob) is your guy.

October SkyWith the exception of m’ lady, few other visuals are as beautiful as an October sky. 1999 brought us the near end of the world and “October Sky,” the inspirational true story of a young boy, Jake Gyllenhaal, from an oppressive mining town. With a lofty dream and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, watching this movie as a kid was always a reminder to me that no matter the challenges, my passions are worth it. As I am still !nding out what all of my passions are (can I get an amen?), “October Sky” has always been a token of a%rmation.

See No Evil, Hear No EvilYou know when someone laughs so hard, they are silent? Just like my little brother in watching one of Bill Murray’s !nest, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” sends me into a jubilant stupor. Starring Richard Pryor as a blind man and Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka) as a deaf man, this all-star comedy duo sends brilliant writing to an even higher tier of yes please. Comedies are simply not written as well and as ef-fortlessly anymore, and this movie only left me wanting a part two. Unfortunately, my desire for more was too little, too late; rest in peace, good sirs. Make sure to watch this one with those that love or ought to laugh.

1. Guns n’ Roses“Get in the Ring”

PHOTO COURTESY/YOUTUBE.COM

Guns N’ Roses went all-in on their Punk-Rock roots on "e Spaghetti Incident?, but this prowling Rocker about a femme fatale that’s even too much for Axl to handle (!) would be right at home on any of Guns’ other classic LPs.

PHOTO COURTESY/VASHTIE.COM

PHOTO COURTESY/AMAZON.COM

"e Jersy native’s heartbreaking reverie on being a one-hit pony was the perfect compainion piece for the grip-ping 2008 movie of the same name. But like everything the greatest single writer of all time does, it’s a showstop-per on its own. And all too relateable.

PHOTO COURTESY/OVERTHINKINGITLCOM

1. Guns n’ Roses“Black Leather”

2. Living Colour“Cult of Personality”

3. Ben Kweller“Commerce, TX”

4. Bruce Springsteen“The Wrestler”

14The number of rebounds by Angelo State’s

Jasmine Prophet at the Lone Star Conference Championship.

hotshot.412

The overall batting average of West Texas A&M’s Softball

numbersgame

MARCH, 2016

men’s hoops

Individual LeadersPointsPlayer Avg./GDavid Chavlovich, WT .................... 20.5EJ Reed, TSU ................................ 17.6Tre Bennett, ASU ........................... 16.9Jordan Stevens, MSU .................... 16.1Jamaal Brantley, CAM ................... 15.8

ReboundsPlayer Avg./GKhapri Alston, MSU ..........................9.5Troy Jones, A&M-K ...........................8.1Lawrence Domingo, ENMU ..............7.9Omari Gudul, ASU ............................7.6Romond Jenkins, TSU ......................7.5

AssistsPlayer Avg./GTre Bennett, ASU ..............................4.7Michael Hardge, TSU ........................4.6JV Long, CAM ..................................4.2Jeremy Jones, A&M-C ......................3.9Anthony Adams, A&M- C ..................3.9

StealsPlayer Avg./GJV Long, CAM ................................. 1.6Michael Hardge, TSU ....................... 1.6Bretson McNeal, MSU ..................... 1.6Anthony Adams, A&M-C .................. 1.5Malcolm Hamilton, TSU .................. 1.3

women’s hoops

Individual LeadersPointsPlayer Avg./GTaylor Dorsey, ASU ........................ 16.8Dayla Threatt, CAM ....................... 13.9Jasmine Prophet, ASU .................. 13.6Bailey Wipff, TSU ........................... 13.4Michaela Neuhaus, WT .................. 12.7

ReboundsPlayer Avg./GErin Maxwell, TWU............................7.9Ikpeaku Iwobi, TSU...........................7.7Amari Jones, A&M-C ........................7.5Maddison Wild, WT ..........................6.8DJ Vallier, CAM .................................6.3

AssistsPlayer Avg./GSasha Watson, WT ...........................5.0Taylor Dorsey, ASU ...........................4.0Shomari Harris, A&M- C ...................3.6Morgan Ashmore, TSU .....................3.4Michaela Neuhaus, WT .....................3.4

StealsPlayer Avg./GMadison McLain, WT ....................... 2.1Sasha Watson, WT .......................... 2.0Michaela Neuhaus, WT .................... 1.9Sarah Stinnett, ENMU...................... 1.9Allie Decker, WT .............................. 1.6

REGIONAL QUARTERFINALSMarch 12

Arkansas-Fortsmith vs.

Angelo State~

Lubbock Christianvs.

Midwestern State~

Colorado Minesvs.

Tarleton State

REGIONAL QUARTERFINALSMarch 10

UC-Colorado Springsvs.

West Texas A&M

~Texas Woman’s

vs.Lubbock Christian University

~Colorado Mines

vs.Angelo State

Stevens leads balanced Mustangs to LSC title

Rambelles claim LSC title; edge WTAMU in double OT

MEN’S Basketball

PHOTO COURTESY/LONESTARCONFERENCE.ORG

PAGE 7

Team CONF OverallWest Texas A&M 8-0 24-0Angelo State 7-1 18-5Cameron 3-1 18-7Texas Woman’s 3-1 14-8A&M-Commerce 5-3 19-5Midwestern State 3-5 15-13East. New Mexico 2-6 9-15Tarleton State 1-7 13-12A&M-Kingsville 0-8 6-13

After wrestling away the regular sea-son title from four other contenders on the !nal week of the season in a parity-stricken LSC race all year, Midwestern State showed more domi-nance in its three victories this weekend at the Allen Event Center.

"e Mustangs claimed the LSC Championship title with an 88-72 win over No. 2 seeded Angelo State Saturday night, win-ning all three games by at least double-digits. Point guard Jordan Stevens led the Mustangs with 30 points for his third straight 20-point e#ort, making it no surprise he took home tournament MVP honors. Stevens’ 72 points set an MSU tourna-ment record for points in a postseason tourney. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Sheldon Hagigal and DeVaughn Jones, two players who

came o# the bench in all three games and most of the season.

"e Mustangs have now won eight straight games and will likely retain their No. 1 regional ranking and host the South Central Regional tourna-ment next week in Wichita Falls.

MSU won its !rst LSC tournament title since 2012, but now have a league-

best seven championships, including four since the conference moved the tourney to a neutral site in 2008.

"e Rams, who entered the game with No. 2 ranking in the region, fall

to 23-6 and still should be one of the top seeds in the regional tournament.

ASU’s only lead of the game was 2-0, but did manage to keep the game close for most of the !rst half. A running jumper by Hagigal at the halftime buzzer pushed MSU’s lead to eight – 46-48 – at the break.

In the second, MSU con-tinued pushed the lead up to 16 with the 10-minute mark and Angelo never could get the lead down to single digits.

MSU’s substantial lead occurred despite a sizeable disadvantage in free-throw attempts. "e Rams nearly doubled the Mustangs with a 36-19 edge in foul shots. But ASU didn’t help its cause with

just 3 of 21 shooting from beyond the arc.

"e Mustangs controlled the paint with a 44-32 lead and outscored ASU in bench points 32-9.

2016softball

ScheduleMarch 11A&M-Commerce vs. East. New MexicoMidwestern State vs. Texas Woman’sCameron vs. A&M-KingsvilleAngelo State vs. West Texas A&MMarch 12Midwestern State vs. Texas Woman’sSt. Edward’s vs. Tarleton StateA&M-Commerce vs. East. New MexicoCameron vs. A&M-KingsvilleAngelo State vs. West Texas A&M

For the !rst time in 11 seasons, the Angelo State Rambelles are the cham-pions of the LSC Championship.

ASU swept the regular-season series with the Lady Bu#s, including a triple-overtime thriller. On Saturday with the stakes even higher, the Rambelles

outlasted WTAMU in two overtimes, 68-65 at the Allen Event Center. Saturday’s game marked the !rst-ever double-overtime tournament !nal in LSC Championship history.

Angelo State claimed their !rst title since 2005 and prevented WTAMU from a third straight championship.

Jasmine Prophet, the LSC Player of the Year, was also the MVP of the tour-nament with a 21-piont, 14-rebound performance. And with the scored tied

at 65 in the second overtime, Prophet made a free throw for the lead, and then two more with 5.3 seconds to play for a 3-point lead.

WT’s Michaela Neuhaus attempted a

game-tying 3-pointer, but the shot fell way short, prompting ASU’s bench to rush the court in excitement.

First-year head coach Kevin Baker, the LSC Coach of the Year, ironically helped WTAMU win three straight tournament titles from 2008-10 as an

assistant coach and recruiting coordi-nator.

"e one player he brought over from UT-Tyler was Prophet, who was a steady force in the tournament all three

rounds for the Rambelles. But she got some help Saturday from Lexi Murphy, who scored all 22 of her points in the second half and overtime. Murphy earned a spot on the All-tournament team as did Brea Mitchell, who had !ve points Saturday, but made clutch baskets in Saturday’s win over TWU in the quarter!nals.

ASU improves to 22-7 and gets an automatic bid to next week’s South Central Regional. WTAMU falls to 26-4 and will now get ready for the regional tournament as well.

Sasha Watson led the Lady Bu#s with 23 points and had eight rebounds. Maddison Wild had 10 points and 14 points and joined Watson on the all-tournament team.

In the !rst overtime, the Lady Bu#s grabbed a four-point lead, but the Rambelles fought back with layups by Prophet and Murphy to tie the game. In the !nal seconds, Taylor Dorsey’s short jumped rolled o# the rim to send the game to a second overtime.

In the next !ve minutes, both teams cooled o# and the score was tied at 60 when Prophet made one free throw to give the Rambelles the lead. On WT’s next possession, the Lady Bu#s missed a short layup by Watson, setting up Prophet’s game-clinching foul shots.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

PHOTO COURTESY/LONESTARCONFERENCE.ORG

SOFTBALLWT’s Starkey, ASU’s Marlett named top playersPLAYERS OF THE WEEKHITTERShayne Starkey, West Texas A&M University, FR, Infielder, Denton, Texas, Guyer HSStarkey had a monster weekend for the Lady Buffs as the freshman hit .667 with three doubles and a triple to drive in six RBI to go along with five walks and no strikeouts for a slugging percentage of 1.222 and an on-base clip of .786 as the top ranked Lady Buffs swept No. 20 Tarleton State to move to 20-0. The Denton native scored seven runs in her nine at-bats of the weekend with six hits for 11 to-tal bases for the unbeaten Lady Buffs. The freshman also played a big role in four wins on the defensive side with 15 putouts and just one error. Starkey was the spark in the series opener as she went 2-of-3 at the plate with a double and a triple as she scored three runs followed by a four RBI perfor-mance in Saturday’s opener as WT routed TSU 20-2 in five innings.”

PITCHERBrandy Marlett, Angelo State Univer-sity, SO, Pitcher, Henderson, Nev., Rancho HS

Marlett led ASU in the circle with a 2.55 ERA and a 2-0 record. The soph-omore struck out 10 batters and did not allow an extra base in 11.0 innings

pitched. She held Texas A&M-Kings-ville to a .111 batting average. Marlett only gave up four hits combined in the two games she pitched.

PHOTO COURTESY/LONESTARCONFERENCE.ORG

Individual LeadersBatting AveragePlayer Avg./GStacey Ramirez, WT ...................... .514Kourtney Coveney, WT .................. .500Katelyn Vinson, MSU ..................... .481Haley Howerton, MSU ................... .451

ERAPlayerTori Bice, TWU ............................... 1.85Kilee Halbert, WT ........................... 1.99Tori Bayer, WT ............................... 2.14Brittany Woolridge, AM-C .............. 2.35

S!"#$% MARCH 10, 2016PAGE 8

Kourtlynd Buggs-TorresSports writer

The Lion’s Men’s basketball team faced the Tarleton State Texans in the 2016 Lone Star Conference playoffs. The Lion and Texans rival took its twists and turns during the regular season leaving the two teams tied for the season against each other and the playoffs would serve as an official tie breaker with more on the line. Both teams had something to prove to the other, thus setting the stage for a hard played, exciting playoff game.

The Lions came into Thursday night’s game with a record of 17-10 landing them at the number 6 seed in the playoffs, while the Texans were number 3 with a 21-7 record making them the favorite to win the game.

The Lions performance was one of their best of the sea-

son with three players in double digits in scoring, Jon Jones recording one of his best career games with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Lions also lead in shot percentage, shooting 38% overall to Tarleton’s 36%, and the Lions shot 25% from the 3-point line to the Texans’ 22%.

The Lions loss came down to the fundamentals, free throws and turnovers. The Lions had 22 turnovers that the Texans managed to convert into 22 points and the Lions lost the battle at the free throw line shooting 70% to the Texans’ 75%.

“We had too many unforced turnovers and that really hurt us,” said forward Everett Pleasant.

The Lions also had issues at times with scoring in the game going on three minute cold streaks twice in the second half that allowed the Texans to pull away from a tie and a narrow lead. One of the scoring droughts saw the Texans

gone on 18-4 scoring rampage that put the Lions in a game of catch up until the closing moments of the game.

“I feel like we could have played better we missed shots that we usually make,” said Guard J.R Owens.

The Lions played a very hard and intense game and fought until the buzzer rang, but fell short losing by 8 points, but the players still felt that they were the better team, and even though the Texans had a good game, they defeated them-selves. The Lions fought like champions but fell short, the game finished with Tarleton advancing with a score of 60-68.

“ I felt we played hard as we ever played, but we didn’t play our best. I still believe we are the better team they just played better that day,” said J.R Owens.

Team Gold won A&M-Commerce football’s Annual Blue & Gold Spring Game 9-3 over Team Blue in front of a good-sized crowd inside Memorial Stadium.

Team Blue led 3-0 early, but Andrew Gomez connected on !eld goals of 45 yards, 37 yards and 32 yards to give the Team Gold the win.

Team Blue had the ball at the 50 yard line with two minutes to play, but Corey Christensen picked o" a pass sealing Team Gold’s win.

Ovie Urevbue led Team Blue with 14 carries for 89 yards, while Richard Cooper paced Team Gold on the ground with nine rushes for 46 yards. Tristan Slaughter followed Cooper with 39 yards on 11 carries.

Luis Perez and Preston Wheeler split time under center for Team Blue with Perez complete 11 of his 19 passing for 94 yards and Wheel-er connecting on three of his !ve passes for 18 yards. Perez also threw an interception.

3/5/2016 Football 2016 Blue & Gold Spring GameTeam Gold’s signal callers, Jared Cate and Gabriel Rodriguez, went

8-of-15 for 60 yards and 4-of-8 for 23 yards respectively.Team Blue’s Darby Smith led all receivers with !ve catches for 52

yards.Team Gold’s Tavita Faaiu had seven total tackles including four

sacks, Garrett Blubaugh and Josh Reyonlds followed with !ve tackles each. Team Blue’s Cameron Rogers racked up seven tackles followed by Uriah Harris and his six tackles. Darent White led all players with two pass breakups in Team Blue’s secondary.

With the running clock, Team Blue had 185 yards of total o"ense highlighted by 116 through the air, while Team Gold accounted for 147 total yards including 84 yards through the air.

Lions wrap spring training with scrimmage

Defeated a!er a hard-fought game

#e A&M-Commerce softball team earned its !rst Lone Star Conference series sweep of the season after a 10-3 win and a 9-3 win over Tex-as A&M-Kingsville Saturday afternoon at the John Cain Family Softball Field.

With the sweep, the Lions improve to 19-5 overall and 5-3 in LSC action.

A&M-Commerce won their !rst game against A&M-Kingsville 10-3. Trailing 3-2, the Lions broke through with six runs on one hit and a Javelina error highlighted by Johnna Sturm’s three-run homer in the fourth inning to take an 8-3 lead over the Javelinas.

Baylea Higgs was two for three with two runs scored, while Tyler Oppenheim was a per-fect 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Cherie Jack-son and Sturm each went 1-for-3 with three RBI and a home run. Katie Dean picked up win after !ve innings of work. Dean struck out !ve and allowed only three runs. Selena Rima struck out four in two innings of work preserving the win.

During the !rst inning, Kingsville struck !rst for the second time in the series with three runs on three hits.#e Lions got on the scoreboard in the third inning when Jackson launched a two-run bomb over the center !eld fence cutting the de!cit down to 3-2.#e Lions’ big inning came with six runs in the sixth on one hit. #e only hit in the fourth inning was Sturm’s three run home run. During !fth inning, A&M-Com-merce tacked on two insurance runs in the !fth

with RBI from Haley Colwell when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and by Luci Ponce when she was walked with the bases full.

A&M- Commerce won their second game against Kingsville 9-3. A&M-Commerce pushed across six runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead after two. #e Lion pitching sta" did the rest as they hold the Javelinas o" over the !nal !ve innings for the 9-3 win.

Monica Cherry led the Lions at the dish with two hits in four trips to the plate. She also knocked in two runs. Rima earned the win toss-ing two and a third innings for her eighth of the season.

A&M-Commerce scored six runs and sent 11 batters to plate in the big second inning. Monica Cherry had a big two-run single up the middle in the inning to spark to the rally.Kingsville an-swered with two runs in the top of the third in-ning, but the Lions responded with three more runs on four hits thanks to an RBI double o" of Kylene Hatton’s bat to start the surge. Jackson singled in the !nal run of the inning to give the Lions a 9-2 lead. Kingsville scored the !nal run of the game to reach the !nal score of 9-3.

A&M-Commerce will stay at home with a doubleheader against Oklahoma Christian Tuesday, March 8 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. #e Li-ons hit the road for their next LSC series at East-ern New Mexico over the weekend.

So!ball begins their season with double win against Javelinas

EAST TEXAS PHOTOS/ KRISTEN TAYLOR

Senior Kylene Hatton (top) and freshman Kailene Dean( bottom) played key roles in the Lions’ wins over A&M-Kingsville.

Team gold wins blue and gold spring game 9-3 Saturday. PHOTO COURTESY/ LIONATHLETICS.COM