the PrairieTuesday, February 8, 2011

Volume 93 Issue XV

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Since Egyptian protests began on Jan. 25 against the 30-year presidency of Hosni Mubarak , concerns have been raised about political and economic implications of the conflict.

Egypt controls a major port that could lead to an increase in oil prices world wide.

“The one thing to remember about Egypt is that the Suez Canal flows through Egypt,” Dr. David Rausch, professor of political science at WTAMU, said. “It makes shipping a lot easier and

consider most of what gets shipped through there is oil and oil products.”

Dr. Syed Anwar, professor of marketing and international business, said that the Suez Canal is the third largest industry in Egypt.

“Six to seven percent of the global traffic going to ships goes to Egypt,” he said.

Rausch said that if the problems in Egypt do not end, oil prices are going to rise.

“It is hard to get the oil from Europe to here because if we lose the Suez Canal or the Suez Canal is closed for whatever reason, it is going to make the shipping more expensive,” he said.

Another industry that Anwar and Rausch said will be affected is tourism, which is Egypt´s largest industry.

“Over 12 million people visit Egypt every year from other countries,” Anwar said.

However, Anwar said that the biggest concern that Egypt faces right now is the violation of human rights.

“We saw more than 20 people, Westerners and Egyptians, blindfolded and handcuffed,” Souad Mekhemmet and Nicholas Kulish, two detained journalists from the New York Times, said Feb. 4 in an article published online.

“Mubarak is a perfect example of a dictator,” Anwar said. “Few people are

controlling the country and there have been huge human right violations in Egypt for the last 20 years.”

EgyptContinued on p. 2

Egyptian government faces criticismProtests call for the resignation of President Mubarak

The actions of Wikileaks, an or-ganization that publishes secret docu-ments, could adversely impact freedom of the press in the United States.

Dr. Dave Rausch, a political science professor at WTAMU, said Wikileaks should be considered a branch of the media.

“Wikileaks is a media outlet,” he said. “I am a bit concerned that the writers for Wikileaks aren’t trying to inform the public as much as they are trying to get lots of public attention. It might have been better to provide the information to newspapers that have a more established line of protection.”

Rausch noted that he does not sup-port any restrictions against the press. He feels the actions of Wikileaks do not validate the government taking a hold of the media and filtering content.

“The challenge with Wikileaks is the website is causing Americans to con-sider some restrictions on the press,” he said. “Any opinions about restric-

tion the press are not good.”He said he thought a more time

tested part of the media could have handled the dissemination of the infor-mation better than Wikileaks.

“A traditional newspaper could have published the basic outline of the doc-uments without releasing specifics or damaging details,” he said. “Wikileaks just published the documents with little commentary.”

Matthew Schmitto, a member of the group Young Americans for Liberty, said he feels Wikileaks has not violated the Constitution because its founder, Julian Assange, is not an American.

“I don’t think Wikileaks is bound by our Constitution,” he said. “[They] owe no loyalty or anything else to the United States. If anything we should be thanking them for showing us [what] our government is using our tax money towards.”

Rausch said using the internet as the main medium to spread Wikileaks information causes a new problem.

“The Internet makes it easy to distribute information to a worldwide audience,” he said.

He noted that the Internet makes jurisdiction problematic. If none of the leaked information was published on U.S. soil, it would be difficult to validate charging and trying Wikileaks members in America. Additionally he said that it would be difficult for the courts to decide whether the person that gave the information to Wikileaks or Wikileaks itself was responsible for committing a crime.

Schmitto said he foresees regula-tions against the Internet taking place. He expects fewer attempts to control freedom of the press.

“I definitely think that the govern-ment will continue to gather new regu-lations on the Internet in the future in an attempt to prevent something of this nature from happening again,” he said.

Schmitto said that U.S. government is already planning restrictions to pass into law.

People question legality of WikileaksW i k i l e a k s n o m i n a t e d f o r N o b e l P e a c e P r i z e

WikileaksContinued on p. 3

MARIA MOLINAEditor

KATELYN GARRITYAssistant Editor

Courtesy of Sulekha.comEgyptian anti-government protesters.

Courtesy of the NY Daily News.Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

2 the Prairie

The Prairie Editorial Sta� 2010-2011

Editor- Maria MolinaAssistant Editor- Katelyn GarrityManaging Editor- Randi Hudson Copywriter- Krystina Martinez

The Prairie is a student-operated publication at West Texas A&M University. It functions to inform, educate, and entertain readers accurately and responsibly. It does not necessarily re�ect the opinions of the administration, faculty or students. The editorials that appear on these pages represent the opinion of the Prairie editorial board. The views expressed by other columinsts are the writers’ opinions and do not necessarily re�ect the board’s views. Advertising rates are available upon request at (806) 651- 2410 or at theprairiemail@yahoo.com. WTAMU Box 60754, Canyon, Texas 79016. The Prairie has a circulation of 1,500 and is printed by the Amarillo Globe-News.

Web Editor - Georgia RomigFaculty Adviser- Butler Cain

Video game legislation could change rulesViolent game restr ic t ions may inc rea se for minorsJES ROSKENSStaff Writer

EgyptContinued from p. 1

He also said that human rights violations have existed in Egypt for a long time, but it’s more evident now that Egypt has become world news.

“Everybody knew Egypt was a dictatorship, but we looked the other way,” Anwar said. “Then suddenly we started to see things because now it´s on the radar screen.”

He said that problems will get worse if Mubarak does not step down and that he believes the United States will eventually have to intervene.

“The U.S. is trying to make sure that nothing goes wrong and the transition takes place in a smoother way, but it´s not easy,” Anwar said. “Transition for other people is that Mubarak stays in power for another eight months.”

“But transition for people on the street is ‘get out within 2-3 days, we don´t want you’,” he said.

The question of Mubarak’s successor is another hot issue.

“The challenge is if Mubarak goes

away, who replaces him?” Dr. Rausch asked. “Right now Egypt allows for some freedom of religion, [but] will they lean into becoming more Iran-like?”

He said that there is a connection between religion and government and that the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt´s oldest and largest Islamic organization, is also trying to get power.

“There is a group called the Muslim Brotherhood”, he said. “They are trying to become more main stream, but will they take over Egypt and make it into a more Muslim state?”

Even though Mubarak is trying to hold on to power, Anwar believes that he will eventually have to step down due to unrest.

“The problem is that it´s easy to get rid of dictators, but it is very dif�icult to go through what we call ‘the day after’” he said. “The day after is ‘so what are you going to do?’ because there is no democratic institutions in Egypt.”

California lawmakers are currently �ighting for a bill in the Supreme Court that would make the sale of video games with mature content illegal to minors. The proposed law’s de�inition of such a game is one that “appeals to a deviant or morbid interest of minors,” is “patently offensive” to prevailing community standards and lacks “serious literary, artistic, political or scienti�ic value.”

“We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultra-violent actions, just as we already do with movies,” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said to the Washington Post.

Texas, along with 10 other states, has �iled an amicus brief in California’s favor. If

the bill passes in California, it is possible that Texas will pursue similar restrictions on the sale of video games.

Those defending the video-game industry will likely challenge the Court’s ruling if they rule in favor of California, claiming that the law would be redundant, due to existing rules and regulations designed to prevent children from buying violent games without the consent of their parents or guardians. The video-game industry would also agree that such a ruling is unconstitutional because it

violates the First Amendment. “Videogames are fully

protected speech, and both the ‘violence’ and ‘interactivity’ feared by California’s law are expressive aspects of books, plays, and movies, not just videogames,” Lee Tien, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a brief to the Supreme Court.

Some gamers, like WTAMU junior Jaxon Boyd, said that plenty of regulations exist with the Entertainment Software Rating Board. The goal of this system is to keep

children from gaining access to violent games without government interference.

“Such a law just seems useless to me,” Boyd said.

On the other side of the argument are people like 27-year-old gamer and parent Jonathon Land, who would support such a law. However, he said that with or without a law in place, the duty of keeping such games will still fall to the parents.

“I would support such a law,” Land said. “But if a parent doesn’t care and doesn’t pay attention to their kid, then a kid can get access to whatever they want.”

The Supreme Court has heard arguments over California’s law but has not stated when its members will come to a decision and release its ruling to the public.

JES ROSKENS Video game violence may be closely regulated.

3the PrairieNew

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WikileaksContinued from p. 1

“I think Wikileaks is going to dramatically affect the freedom of the Internet,” he said. “Senators and Congressmen have already begun writing up new legislation that will provide immense amounts of regulations in effect jeopardizing the freedom of the Internet that we are used to.”

Both Schmitto and Rausch agree that freedom to publish information will be adversely impacted because of the panic WIkileaks has caused. However, it is unclear whether the government will try to rein in established forms of media or try to strictly regulate the Internet.

Recently, a Norwegian of�icial nominated Wikileaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize because it is a step towards more transparency

and a heightened level of freedom of speech. Founder Julian Assange said, in a 60 Minutes interview, that he feels Wikileaks is based off of the same inquisitive nature that propelled the Founding Fathers.

This month the editors of the New York Times and the Guardian both promised to defend Assange if the U.S. ever attempts to prosecute him for the information released through Wikileaks. Since the initial outrage caused by the leak of previously unknown government secrets, many supporters have come out of the woodworks to back the efforts of Assange towards transparency.

It’s unlikely that Wikileaks will go away. Wikileaks reported that the organization has released less than one percent of the amount of data it has gathered.

A week without Facebook is much easier said than done. The thing about Facebook is that I can go without it as long as my friends do not mention or discuss the daily updates they read. But once they start, it is only a matter of clicks before I log on too. I did not though, for a week.

Facebook is a social network with over 600 million active users around the globe. Facebook is available in different languages so making contact with someone in the opposite side of the globe is much easier than before. Facebook is free to users, however the user must be at least 13 years of age or older to have an account.

I felt like I was out of the loop from WTAMU and from my friends the �irst morning I was without Facebook. It �irst became evident that I was in trouble during an Eternal Flame meeting on Monday. The �irst topic on the agenda that day was concerning the Facebook contest we had recently started. I survived the meeting though, assigning other members to check the status of the contest online and updating the Eternal Flame page.

Later that day, I received some gossip via text message from a friend in Waco. She was telling me about something that happened to one of our friends from back home. I laughed at the message and asked my friend how she found out. She replied with a message reading, “Facebook,” of course. Was my friend

being a “creeper” or was she just passing on valid information that was posted on Facebook for others to see?

This brings me to a point I have asked my friends and myself. What is the point of having hundreds or thousands of friends on Facebook? I bet if each of us went through our “Friends List” we would most likely stumble upon people we have never met, have not talked to in ages or people that have not used their account in years. I did.

During the winter break I went through my “Friends List” and realized that I did not communicate in any way, shape or form with many of them. So, I did something horrible, I deleted them. I did not delete them from my life, just from Facebook. Is that bad? I do not think so. Some of them were “friends” from high school that we probably didn’t say one word to each other then, so why would we say anything years later on a social network site?

The remaining part of the week without Facebook went a little smoother, except when I was with friends who were on the site or whenever I was not busy I had the urge to log on and check out what my friends were doing.

Overall I believe that as a mass communicator, well in the process of becoming a mass communicator, Facebook is something that I hear about every single day whether I am with friends or in class. Most of my mass communication classes usually mention Facebook during the period. It is because Facebook has become part of our culture, it is who we are, at least right now. What a better and

easier way to communicate news, stories, updates, photos, videos and links than with Facebook.

*This story is being reprinted because of technical dif�iculties that made this story impossible to read in its entirety. We hope this printing error will not be repeated in future issues of the Prairie.

DAVID MERAZStaff Writer

O n e we e k w i t h o u t Fa ce b o o kMass Comm student survives week without status updates

Every year in February, the nation celebrates black history and the priceless contributions that the African American society has made to the culture and history of the United States of America. African Americans have come a very long way since the slave trading during the time of our forefathers. They have made many signi�icant contributions that made America the nation it is today. They went through an era of oppression and racism and fought the long hard battle to end it and earn civil rights as citizens of the nation. Black History Month was started in order to educate the citizens of the nation about the cultural backgrounds and achievements of African Americans.

In 1926, NAACP Historian and legendary educator, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, originally started Black History Month as Negro History Week. His rationale for starting this phenomenon was that during that period, black history and the contributions of the African-American society towards the birth of America was simply omitted from the history books and was not taught in schools. Therefore, there was a need to create something to educate people and to honor the accomplishments of blacks in every area of endeavor. Woodson chose the second week of February because it coincided with the birthdays of two men who made signi�icant contributions towards the freedom of slaves.

ORE OSIKOYAStaff Writer

Black History Month

Black History Month Continued on p. 6

Going into the Feb. 2 matchup against Texas A&M Kingsville, the WTAMU Lady Buffs were on a two-game losing streak.

The Lady Buffs took out a week of frustration on the Hoggies as they routed them 84-44 on the road in Kingsville.

TAMUK held its only lead of the contest at the 19:22 mark of the �irst half when they were lead-ing 3-2. At the 14:29 mark, the Lady Buffs were leading 12-10 and from that moment on the rout was on. WT used a 12-0 run to blow the game wide open and take a 24-10 with 9:10 left before

halftime. Things didn’t get much better for the Hoggies as they only scored eight points the rest of the half. The Lady Buffs went into the locker room for halftime leading 39-18.

When the second half started it looked as though Kingsville might try and mount a comeback as they opened with a 7-2 run that made it a 41-25 game at the 17:11 mark. However, the Lady Buffs countered with an 11-0 run of their own which seemingly put the contest out of reach. At that point the game was 52-27 with 14:08 remaining in the game. WT kept up the offensive attack and poured it on throughout the rest of the contest. The Lady Buffs came away with a convincing 84-44 victory over Kingsville.

Leading the scoring on the night for the Lady Buffs was freshman Ariel Robertson with a career-high 21 points followed by fellow freshman Lacee Logan who also had a career-high with 14 points. Junior Aly Sherman chipped in 14 points while re-cording a new career-high of seven rebounds. Ju-nior Jamie Simmons scored 11 points on the night as well. A couple of other freshman also recorded career-highs in points on the night. Jordan Vessels tallied four points with Kenisha Harris getting �ive points.

The Lady Buffs overall record now stands at 12-8 with a 5-2 record in LSC play. Kingsville falls to 3-16 overall with a 1-6 record in LSC play.

The #19 ranked WTAMU men’s basketball team came out ready to play against Texas A&M Kingsville on Feb. 2. A delayed travel schedule which included a bus ride to Lubbock followed by a flight to Austin plus a five-hour bus ride to Kingsville seemed to take the Buffs out of their rhythm.

However, that wasn’t the case as WT rebounded from their loss to Midwestern and ran past Kingsville 70-56.

Things didn’t start out so great for the maroon and white as they fell behind early 4-0 at the 18:19 mark of the first half. WT closed to within one point at 4-3 with 17:44 remaining before halftime. The Buffs took their first lead at 12-10 with 9:56 remaining in the first half. That lead grew to as many as

seven points as the Buffs kept Kingsville at bay the rest of the half. Going into the locker room for halftime the Buffs were leading 27-23.

After the break the Buffs came out firing on all cylinders as they opened with a 13-0 run to take a 40-23 lead at the 15:48 mark of the second half. WT went on cruise control from that point on and eventually came away with a crucial 70-56 victory.

Leading the scoring on the night for the Buffs was senior LaDarius Hall with a career-high 26 points followed by junior Lionel Foster with 14 points. Senior Joe Mincey scored seven points on the evening.

WT’s overall record now stands at 17-3 with a 4-3 mark in LSC play. Kingsville falls to 6-13 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

the Prairie4Spo

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EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

Lady Bu�s snap losing streak against Kings-Ariel Robertson scores 21 in rout to victory against Javelinas

EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

#19 Bu�s rebound with win against JavelinasLaDarius Hall scores 26 points in victory against Kingsville

It’s a known fact that not everyone in the world likes sports or for that matter even cares about sports. However, I’m one of the people that love sports. First and foremost it’s my job and I’m not going to follow something I don’t like.

One of the biggest events in this industry for a person like me is the Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter if my team is playing in it or not. This is the event that you dream of going to whether it is as a fan, player or a journalist. Where else can you get such high emotional drama and real-life heroics?

A perfect example was last year when the Saints won. If you would have told someone that after Katrina the Saints were going to win the Super Bowl, let alone still be playing in New Orleans, people would have said you were crazy and out of your mind. But with that victory they not only proved everyone wrong, but they single handedly re-energized a city and a community through sports.

We’ve also seen that even the most unstoppable forces can be derailed in the Super Bowl. New York proved that when they took down the Patriots in Arizona thus tarnishing what otherwise would have been a perfect season for New England. Eli Manning went from being the “Other Manning brother” to a hero in one night

through his play and his commitment. This year people of Amarillo, especially

Palo Duro High School, have something to cheer about. One of their own is playing in the Super Bowl, Ziggy Hood. It’s not often that players from this area get to showcase their talents in the NFL but Hood has been one of those blessed with an incredible opportunity. He has shown through his play that he deserves his spot and through his actions that he’s never forgotten where he came from either.

So when you combine all of these things and look at the big picture, it’s kind of hard to argue against why so many people love the Super Bowl and sports in general.

What’s not to love about sports?EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

Evan Grice

The WTAMU baseball team wasn’t scheduled to open up the new Wilder Park on Feb. 5, but Mother Nature had other plans. Due to the inclement weather in Oklahoma, the LSC series with Northeastern State was forced to be cancelled. In its place was a double header with NAIA member Sterling College.

In the �irst game of the day the Warriors came out with an early 3-0 lead after the top of the �irst inning. WT responded in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2. The third inning brought a little bit of history as junior Kendall Boone hit the �irst ever homerun at the new ballpark over the left �ield fence. SCU simply had no answer for the Buffs bats as WT coasted to a 12-4 victory over the Warriors.

The Buffs offense was led by senior Will Miller who went 3-4 on the day with three RBI. Boone and fellow junior Jess Cooper each drove in two runs apiece on the day. Senior pitcher Irving Camacho picked up the win on the mound for the Buffs in his �irst ever collegiate

start. He went four innings while giving up four runs on three hits and striking out two.

Game number two saw the Buffs grab a �irst inning lead thanks to a sacri�ice �ly by senior Garrett Camp�ield combined with a two-run homer by fellow senior Will Miller to give WT a 3-0 lead.

However, SCU came right back in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 3-3. In the bottom of the third, the Buffs regained the lead highlighted by Camp�ield colliding with Sterling Catcher Matt Watson to help give the Buffs a 5-3 lead. The de�icit proved to be too much for the Warriors to overcome as the Buffs claimed a 7-3 victory, thus completing the sweep.

Junior Justin Kuks picked up the victory on the mound for the Buffs pitching three innings and not giving up any hits or runs while striking out four. Camp�ield and Miller led the offense for the Buffs each recording two RBI on the day.

WT’s overall record now stands at 2-0. The Buffs will be back in action Feb. 8 taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State in doubleheader action. First pitch from Wilder Park is scheduled for noon.

the Prairie 5

EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

KATELYN GARRITYAssistant Editor

The Super Bowl is America at its finest – football fans slouched in front of a TV, gorging on junk food, screaming at inanimate objects and betting on the outcome of something they have no control over.

Perhaps this is a generalization. Perhaps millions of Americans use the Super Bowl as a chance to gather with friends and enjoy some common ground. Perhaps Super Bowl Sunday is a reprieve from the reality of budget deficits, wars in foreign

countries and past-due bills lying on the desk in the bedroom. Perhaps Super Bowl Sunday is one day for Americans to indulge.

Perhaps…but I think not. From August to February, there is at least one game every week that symbolizes American indulgence. It also shows American’s inability to prioritize. Facebook screams in outrage when a player fumbles a pass, but merely groans (if it is mentioned at all) when a nation such as Egypt is in turmoil, or when major legislation is being proposed or when something of actual importance happens.

I realize that football and all professional sports stimulate the

economy; therefore, I don’t think they should be banished entirely. I do, however, firmly believe that sports should be lowered from its pedestal in America. The only value I find in sports is when the U.S. participates in the Olympics because that is a tool for strengthening foreign relations.

Super Bowl Sunday is super boring: lots of loud louts screaming at a TV while non-sports fans wait for a possible witty commercial about beer. Super Bowl is some sort of falsified holiday smashed in between Valentine’s Day and Groundhog Day to keep commercialization flowing at its peak. Personally, I won’t be buying into it.

Super boring: Football is overrated

Bu�s sweep doubleheader

It was a rematch when the WTAMU Lady Buffs took on Texas A&M Kingsville on Feb. 5 at the First United Bank Center in Can-yon. The matchup marked the second time in a week that these teams had met up with WT taking the �irst meeting 84-44 in Kingsville the �irst time around.

TAMUK put up more of a �ight this time, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Buffs got their second straight victory 72-51.

“The situation is really dif�icult playing someone back-to-back especially when you blow them out the �irst time,” head coach, Krista Gerlich, said. “We talked before the game about them (Kingsville) having nothing to lose. I wasn’t concerned in the �irst half because I felt like we were matching them.”

Kingsville wasted little time in taking a quick 3-0 lead at the 19:16 mark of the �irst half. WT took its �irst lead of the game at the 18:50 mark at 4-3. TAMUK then went on a 12-2 run to take a 15-6 lead at the 15:34 mark. The Lady Buffs kept battling, but it seemed like Kingsville had an answer at every turn. With 11:22 left before halftime Kings-ville held a 20-12 lead. WT �inally regained the lead at the 6:15 mark when it was 23-22. Both teams battled throughout the rest of the half as the Lady Buffs went into the locker room holding a 33-30 lead.

After the break, the Lady Buffs came out on �ire going on a 7-0 run to start the half.

With 17:46 left in regulation it was 40-30 WT. Kingsville couldn’t get closer than nine points in the second half. A huge part of why the Lady Buffs were able to jump out to a huge lead was freshman Lacee Logan hitting some clutch three-pointers.

“When I catch it and I’m open then I make them pay for it,” Logan said. “It’s just apart of my game. After we beat them (Kingsville) by 40 the �irst time then we knew we had to be ready to play because they weren’t going to lay down for us.”

The Lady Buffs led by as many as 25 points in the second half as they strolled to a 72-51 victory over Kingsville.

Leading the scoring on the night for the Lady Buffs was junior Jamie Simmons who recorded her �ifth double-double of the sea-son with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Fresh-man Lacee Logan was close behind with 13 points on the night. Fellow Freshman Ariel Robertson scored nine points and recorded 12 rebounds.

“Coach Gerlich kept me motivated out there,” Simmons said. “I could feel that the defense wasn’t as strong as it was before and she was able to see that out there and help me get those points.”

With the victory, head coach Krista Gerlich earned her 125th victory at the helm of the Lady Buffs. She is the fastest coach in Lady Buff basketball history to reach 125 wins.

The Lady Buffs overall record now stands at 13-8 overall with a 6-2 record in LSC play. Kingsville falls to 3-17 overall and 1-7 in LSC play. WT will now prepare for its rescheduled matchup against Abilene Christian on Feb. 9. Tip-off from Moody Coliseum is set for 5:30 p.m.

EVAN GRICEStaff Writer

Lady Buffs roast KingsvilleCoach earns 125th victory as head coach

Katelyn Garrity

the Prairie6Opinion

Philadelphia-born Amos Lee returns with a skillful performance in his fourth album, and this time he brought friends.

With Mission Bell, Amos Lee continues on his journey of blues, jazz, folk and spiritually-inspired lyrics. Collaborators include Lucinda Williams and Sam Beam of Iron &Wine. Willie Nelson and Joey Burns of Calexico produced the album. While this album is familiar territory for Lee, his work is more re�ined and polished

than ever. With his simple, intelligible words and inspiring melodies, Lee is able to get his message across while still being able to move listeners.

Mission Bell begins with ‘El Camino,’ a downtempo song that speaks of heartbreak, redemption and gratitude. Lee speaks of a journey that moves him past the troubles of a former life, while the real story lies in the transition that he is still going through.

‘Out of the Cold’ is a somber tune that mirrors the darkness of a life without love. Lee offers no simple answers or steps to follow in this song, but instead offers up a solution that leaves us to �ill in the steps in between.

The �irst single off of Mission Bell is ‘Windows Rolled Down,’ a powerful anthem that feels like it was made for the summer. Moving past the pain of loss, Lee continues to speak of his travels but in this part of his story you can feel the growth, change and hope associated with his journey.

This is Amos Lee’s fourth album with label Blue Note Records Mission Bell can be found in stores and iTunes now.

***Windows Rolled Down can be heard on KWTS 91.1 & online at www.wtamu.edu/kwts

Headin’ Out to the Mission BellDANNY GROSSKWTS Music Director

Lee releases new album

Courtesy of Harper Smith photography

The WTAMU theatre department brought The Secret Garden back to life on Feb. 3. The musical, directed by professor of theatre Royal Brantley, is an adaption of the classic children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The main character, Mary Lennox, is orphaned by a cholera outbreak in India. She moves to Yorkshire and is put under the guardianship of her uncle, Archibald Craven, a melancholy man who has some ghosts of his own.

The acting of most of the cast was certainly commendable. Each character, from Mary down to the “ghosts” that inhabit almost every scene, were portrayed with zeal. The standout of the night was Dickon, played by Brandon Wilhelm, a senior musical theatre major. Although he had fewer musical numbers than some other cast members, Wilhelm had enormous stage presence and stole the show. However, Wilhelm acknowledged that the musical was challenging for him

“The most dif�icult thing about musicals is actually getting the acting down and becoming the character,” he said.

Brantley also admitted that there is some dif�iculty when it comes to directing musicals.

“Once the show opens, it’s out of your control,” said Brantley. “It’s up to the cast and crew [after that].”

Despite the worry, Friday’s performance went off almost without a hitch. There were many opportunities for mishaps, due to the constant moving of sets for each scene, but the cast was able to pull it off.

The set designs took the musical to another level. They were simple in comparison to past shows because of the number of transitions, but they still made an impact. The use of lighting and large

pieces such as chandeliers set up the story well.

The Secret Garden is a long musical, clocking in at about two and a half hours. The script is witty, yet there were many touching moments throughout. By the end of the performance, a few audience members were in tears.

The Secret Garden is a charming and captivating musical, and it is certainly one of the best performances that the Branding Iron Theatre has put on. Students still have a chance to catch the musical in action. The Secret Garden will be showing in the Branding Iron Theatre, Feb. 9 - 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Secret Garden cast blossoms on stage Musical rendition of classic children’s novel

These two men are Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The creation of the Negro History Week inspired schools, communities and churches to hold local celebrations and other events in commemoration of the week. As the years went by, government of�icials in cities began issuing yearly proclamations recognizing Negro History Week. In 1976, due in part to the Civil Rights Movement and awareness of black identity, Negro History Week became Black History Month. Since then, every president has designated February as Black History Month and approves a theme for it.

From 1619, when the �irst African slaves were brought to America to date, African Americans have made accomplishments in every area and have had large contribution

towards America as a nation. African Americans have come a long way in the struggle for civil rights. From Harriett Tubman who helped slaves escape in 1849, to the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education that ended segregation, to the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States in 2008, there is a continuous need to celebrate and remember the achievements of African Americans in the history of America. On the founding of Negro History Week in 1926, Dr. Woodson said “we should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.”

Krystina MartinezStaff Writer

Black History Month Continued from p. 3

Courtesy of Quickstep.comCourtesy of PBS.com Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass inspired the creation of Black History Month.

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8 the Prairie

Rushing into recruitment week at WT

Sheryl Proctor - KWTS News Team

“Rush Week for me means we get to prove our pride and joy about our fraternity.” - Frankie

Sanchez, Sigma Nu President.

“At WT it’s much more of a community atmosphere, it’s more friendly competition

and, of course, no hazing.” - Travis Ruiz,

Kappa Alpha member.

Monday kicked o� the beginning of Rush Week. This is a week

for men to apply to be in the fraternities on

campus.

Sororities on campus have a continuous

recruitment throughout the semester.

For more information about WT’s fraternities

and sororities go online to www.wtamu.edu

and search under the Student Life tab.

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