PrairieTuesday, Oct. 04, 2011 Volume 94, Issue V

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The sTudenT newspaper of wesT Texas a&M universiTywww.theprairienews.com Follow us onlinePartly Cloudy

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InsIdesporTs:Lady Buffs golf team wins two games in a row.

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news:Google + opens to the public.

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enTerTainMenT:Find answers from last week’s crossword puzzle, Sudoku and Try Square.

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CaMpus Life:Dance department under review by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

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feaTure:Woot and the Handclaps wins Battle of the Bands.

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theprairiewt the_prairie

ryan sChaapsTaff wriTer

Convocation continued on p. 5

Time capsule sealed in special ceremony

Kelsey Timmerman visits WT campusMoniCa GaMBerTsTaff wriTer

TuesdayNoon: Tuesday at the Tank.6:00 p.m.: “Minute to Win it” at JBK.Midnight: Weenie Roast at Buffalo Sports Park and Grand Lawn.WednesdayNoon: Midweek Homecoming live band and free lunch.5:00 p.m.: Tractor Pull Thursday11:30 am: Canyon Chamber of Commerce Cookoff on the square.7:00 pm: WT Volleyball vs. Texas A&M Commerce.Midnight: Pancake Breakfast at the Caf.Friday7:30 a.m.: President’s Circle Breakfast at the Amarillo Club.10:00 a.m.: WTAMU Homecoming Classic Golf Tournament. 7:00 p.m.: Pigskin Revue 9:00 p.m.: Homecoming Concert featuring Hellogoodbye.Saturday8 a.m.: WTAMU Alumni Breakfast.8-9:30 a.m.: Attebury Honors Program Alumni Come-and-Go Reception.9:00 a.m.: Canyon Chamber of Commerce Fair on the Square at Downtown Canyon.10:45 a.m.: Buffalo Stampede 5K begins at First United Bank Center. 11:00 a.m.: Homecoming Parade at 4th Avenue.3:00 p.m.: WTAMU Alumni Tailgate Party.4:00 p.m.: Cook-off Challenge at the Alumni Tailgate Deck.6:00 p.m.: Homecoming Football Game against Angelo State University.

Homecoming

Convocation 2011 took place Sept. 29 at the First United Bank Center. This year, convocation featured Kelsey Timmerman, author of “Where Am I Wearing.” As part of the annual WT Readership program, incoming freshmen were encouraged to read Timmerman’s book and write an essay for an opportunity to travel to Honduras.

Before convocation, some WT classes had the opportu-nity to meet Timmerman at The Legends Club. He also met with the 48 WT Readership Essay Contest semi-finalists.

Mason Bray, a freshman at WT, said Timmerman’s speech was encouraging.

“I liked how he motivated us to use our talents to help the workers,” he said.

During his speech, Timmerman talked about his passion for traveling and meeting people around the world. He said he became a different person after his quest that became “Where Am I Wearing,” a quest he said was jam-packed with adventure and life lessons.

“It really just started as a reason to travel,” the author said. “After Honduras I decided to abandon my quest. I then became obsess with tags. I was the weird guy at department stores looking at women undergarments checking for the tags.”

Taco Villa opens its doors to Canyon

Taco Villa opened up for business on Sept. 29. The Mexican fast-food restaurant was being constructed over the summer and the people of Canyon became eager to see Taco Villa open.

“We’re booming,” Penny Castillo, general manager of Taco Villa. said. “I’m surprised because we expected to be

busy but it’s over the top.”This is not the first time Canyon has

had a Taco Villa. The Taco Bell off of 23rd Street used to be a Taco Villa, until PepsiCo bought out the building.

“I worked there when it was a Taco Villa and PepsiCo bought it out but never bought the name,” said Castillo. “The original owner bought the name back and started building Taco Villas again. We are glad to be back in full swing.”

“We hired any body who would apply because we knew we had to have 35 to

40 employees and we are still looking for help,” said Castillo. As of Sept. 30, 10 more positions need to be filled at Taco Villa.

The people of Canyon have been looking forward to the re-opening, according to a Facebook group called “Bring Taco Villa back to Canyon,” which has 473 members. The construction of the new Taco Villa, according to city information, is valued at $800,000.

Taco Villa continued on p. 2

On Oct. 3, a time capsule was interred in a special ceremo-ny at the Fine Arts Mall.

Dr. Patrick O’Brien opened the ceremony with a speech, leav-ing a message for the future University president and the class of 2060, which is the year when the capsule will be opened.

“I hope that some of you will be here when the time capsule is opened,” Dr. O’Brien said to students.

Students were able to sign a block that will cover the time cap-sule. Refreshments such as Dr Pepper punch and buffalo cookies were served.

Various campus organizations contributed items to the capsule, such as shirts, letters, and pictures. Items from the last time capsule, which was opened on WTAMU’s Founder’s Day party in 2010, were put into the new capsule as well.

“I love WT so I’ll be around [when the cap-sule is opened],” Logan Moore, a senior Commu-nication major, said. “I’ll be a contributing alumni for the rest of my life.”

KrysTina MarTineZassisTanT ediTor

Photo by KRYSTINA MARTINEZDr. O’Brien signs the time capsule lid.

News2 October 04, 2011www.theprairienews.comPrairie

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Editor- Maria MolinaAssistant Editor- Krystina MartinezWeb Editor - Georgia RomigLayout- Kati WatsonAd Manager- Bryan SamuelFaculty Adviser- Butler Cain

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 reflect 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 reflect the board’s views. Advertising rates are available upon request at (806) 337- 2090 or at theprairiewt@gmail.com. WTAMU Box 60754, Canyon, Texas 79016. The Prairie is distributed on Tuesdays during the semester and has a circulation of 1,500. It is printed by The Amarillo Globe-News.

Reporter- Jes RoskensReporter- Melissa Bauer-HerzogReporter- Ryan SchaapReporter- Matt WatkinsReporter- Lisa Hellier

Prairiethe

Staff 2011-2012

Reporter- Jordan FryReporter- Daniela FierroReporter- Monica GambertReporter- Melissa BennettPublic Relations- Aurora OrtizPhotographer- Alex Montoya

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a

redress of grievances.- First Amendment to the

U.S. Constitution

Local Professionals analyze Google + efficiencyJes Roskensstaff WRiteR

Taco Villa continued from p. 1“I like Taco Villa because it’s got a classy feel to it,”

Lindsey Steele, a first year graduate student studying Psychology, said. “Anything that’s new in Canyon is exciting.”

Taco Villa will be having late hours as well. On Mondays through Thursdays, the

restaurant will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. On the weekends, hours are 10:00 a.m. to midnight.

“I’m very excited there’s somewhere else to go late at night,” said Steele. “McDonald’s and Wendy’s seem like the only options right now.”

“College kids love midnight snacks,” Daniela Aburto, a sophmore studying Sociology, said. “Everybody raves about the Taco Burgers.”

“I think being a college campus, any additional restaurant chain is a good idea,” Steele said. “There’s somewhere else to go so that other places are less busy. [We have] more options. As WT grows, I feel like the town of Canyon should grow too.”

After months of testing, Google has opened Google + to the public and continues to capture the at-tention of the digital masses.

The company has had its foot in the social media door for a while with Google Buzz and Wave. Both applications failed to grab the people’s attention, but Google has persisted. According to WTAMU assistant professor Dr. Jeffry Babb, Google is not discouraged when faced with challenges.

“Google is an experimental, adventurous company,” Dr. Babb said. “They are not afraid of making mistakes.”

According to the Google + website, Google + has reached over 50 million members in 88 days as op-posed to Facebook’s 1,325 days or Twitter’s 1,096 days. However, compared to Facebook’s total of over 800

million users, Google + still has work to do. Despite the numbers, Denai Vaughn “the Networking Queen”, a networking specialist and public speaker on online and offline opportunities for businesses, said that Google has what it takes to challenge Facebook.

“Google and Facebook are filled with intellectual employees,” Vaughn said. “This is going to push both companies to be competitive.”

Eric Spellmann, owner and president of Spellmann & Associates, an Amarillo company that specializes in social media management, has a less conservative opinion of Google +.

“Google + is better than Facebook,” Spellmann said.As a social website, Google + has the features that

have become standards for such sites such as the ability to post photos, blog posts, checking statuses of friends and family and so on. Vaughn and Spellmann point to a few aspects of Google + that help it stand out and show potential. One was Google +’s circles, which

allows users to make certain content on their profile available only to certain people on their contacts list. Dr. Babb also said that this feature could be helpful to a professional like himself.

“It’s just good to be able to keep friends and busi-ness separate,” Dr. Babb said.

Facebook has a similar feature called “Smartlists”, but Spellmann said it is not as simple to move contacts in and out of “Smartlists” as it is on Google +’s circles. Another prominent feature to Spellman and Vaughn was “Hangouts”, which allows Google + users to join in a live chat with their contacts on computers or smart phones quickly and easily. Even more features have been announced by Google as the company plans to connect Google + in useful ways to more of its services like the Android systems and Gmail.

“Google has learned a lot from what’s wrong with Facebook, so get ready,” Spellmann said.

Photo by Ryan SchaapCanyon locals enjoy the new Taco Villa. Photo by Ryan Schaap

The new Taco Villa is located at 23rd Street in Canyon.

days a week while in poland.“I would practice Monday through

Friday from eight to ten hours a day and spend two hours teaching,” he said.

Galaska said that one of his favorite things about teaching is “seeing a

student get that ‘a-ha’ moment.” Galaska didn’t start as a dancer at a young age. His first year of dance was not the best.

“But sometime after that first year, something just clicked,” he said.

In December, Galaska will travel to Singapore to dance with the Arts Fission Company until February.

the studio, other dancers and most of all dance,” he said.

Galaska is originally from Georgia. He received his bachelors degree from WT and earned his Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona. It was there that he learned about

a program in Poland. A year before he finished his masters, he applied and was accepted.

“Living in Poland taught me so much,” Galaska said. “I learned a lot about the culture and got to work with wonderful dancers.”

Typically Galaska taught six

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DANIELA FIERROStAFF WRtIER

Woot and the Handclapswins Battle of the BandsLISA HELLIER

StAFF WRItER

On Sept. 30, the CORE office sponsored the Battle of the Bands for the second consecutive year.This year’s winner, Woot and the Hand-claps, will have the honor to open for Hellogoodbye on Oct.7 in a free concert at the Buffalo Sports Park.

“It’s kind of surreal and kind of nerve wracking,” bass player and singer Josiah Robinson said. “But it’s really exciting though. I wasn’t even sure what I would do if we won, it really hasn’t hit me [that we won], but I’m sure that I’m going to totally freak out later.”

This current band line up was fi-nalized this past summer, but Hoot and the Handclaps has been in exis-tence for four years, said Robinson.

“When we decided to play at the Battle of the Bands, we practiced practically every day for the past three weeks,” Robinson said. “It’s definitely an ideal thing for all of us. [Playing for Hellogoodbye] is going to be the most professional thing we’ve done as a band togeth-er.”

The three songs that they played in their set were cov-ers of Radio Active by Kings of Leon and Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO, as well as an origi-nal song named Sound Waves and Static by vocalist and acoustic guitar player, Tanyon Sann Allison.

“It’s definitely a stepping

stone for our career,” Robinson said.Sophomore Kara Lacy attended

Battle of the Bands and said she en-joyed the event.

“It was my first time going to the Battle of the Bands,” Lacy said. “I thought it was very well put to-gether and the bands were amaz-ing. Personally, I think Woot and the Handclaps deserved to win because they played beautifully.”

Assistant Director of Student Ac-tivities Stephanie Brackett said that the Hellogoodbye concert will start right after the Pigskin Revue. Robin-son wanted to express gratitude for the band’s win.

“Personally, I would like to thank everybody in the band,” said Robin-son. “But also the CORE office, the people who came and voted, all the other bands that played, to our fam-ily and friends who have supported us musically and the Calvary Baptist Church for letting use their facilities for practice.”

Woot and the Handclaps are plan-ning to appear on an acoustic ses-sion of KWTS’s “The One Sessions” in November.

In “Cacoethes” the author, M. Scott Craig, uses a collection of fiction and poetry to guide readers through a relationship and tells of love along with the positive and negative obstacles and experiences that are naturally bound to follow.

“Dating and being in love is sometimes a confusing addition to our world,” Craig said. “It’s beautiful and frustrating, and we love it and hate it at the same time.”

Craig is a WT alumnus whose career started in singing and acting. During his time at WT, he was involved in TEXAS: The Musical. It was the beginning of a stage career that lasted ten years and came to an unexpected end when Craig realized the challenge was gone.

“Not that I was a perfect actor, but the chal-lenge of it was gone, almost overnight,” Craig said.

The end of his career as a performer initi-ated his desire to write. Ideas were written, formed and further created while Craig worked to develop his personal writing style.

“I became much more passionate about cre-ating stories from scratch rather than acting

them out,” Craig said. In 2007, Craig broke off from writing in

order to focus his time on studying helicopter piloting. It became a new passion for him to explore.

With a changed voice, he came back to writ-ing in 2009, and “out came this overflow of material that had been waiting to come forth,” Craig said.

He has a book called “Thoughtica,” that is in the process of being published and a third book called “Inhale,” that is expected to be released by next year. According to Craig, “Thoughtica” explores the physical aspects of relationships. “Inhale” looks into the large expression of human emotions from despair to shocking feelings people do not expect to experience. The three books are not a part of a connected series, but they can interrelate with one another.

“I don’t really enjoy self-help books, so I made sure that these books were of fiction and poetry, not essay, but it happens to be on a theme that I think everyone can relate to and one that many people need a little helping hand with,” Craig said.

Along with his writing, Craig continues to work as a helicopter pilot in Missouri where he lives with his wife Melissa.

WT alumnus publishes book

Students in the WTAMU dance department had the opportunity to spend extra hours outside of class with a former dance student. Daniel Galaska graduated from WT in 2004 and returned to teach classes in contemporary dance for one week.

Galaska recently taught in Poland for two-and-a-half years. “Coming back to teach has been great,” said Galaska. “It gives the students a chance to work with someone else. It also gives them a piece of the professional world.”

Galaska started his career in dance at WT in 1999. He began as a theatre major, but fell in love with dance.

“While attending WT, I had the opportunity to be instilled with a great work ethic. The instructors here really taught me respect for

MELISSA BENNEttStAFF WRItER

Daniel Galaska returns to WT

Photo by Daniela FierroWoot and the Handclaps at Battle of the Bands.

Photo by Melissa BennettDaniel Galaska (left) works with Taylor Hall.

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Lady Buffs golf wins Invitational

The Lady Buffs golf team met victory for the second time in a row on Sept. 27 after com-peting in the Lady Buffs Stampede Invitational Tournament.

Head Coach Meredith Jameson said this win combined with their win at the Colorado Christian University Invitational on Sept. 11- 13 marks the best start to a season the Lady Buffs golf team has ever had.

“In golf, it’s not like other sports…where you play one team when you go,” Jameson said. “There were eight or nine teams in the first tournament and 10 in the second. When you win, you’re beating more the one team, so a win is a big deal.”

Lady Buffs shot a team score of 300 on Monday and 301 on Tuesday, carding a total of 601 to finish out the two-day tournament. They were just ahead of Western Texas, who finished second with a 606 total score. Alisa White, a senior Journalism major at WT, claimed first place in the individual standing with a total score of 144. She shot a 70 on Monday and 74 on Tuesday, her best college tournament round yet.

“Everyone played well and mostly everyone im-proved the second day,” White said. “It was our home course so it was kind of inspiring.”

Senior Hammerli Sriyai finished four strokes behind White with a 148 total; 73 the first day and 75 the second. Tied for 13th were junior Lindsay Shoot and senior Eva Rogers carding a 155. According to Rogers, it wasn’t her best individual score, but not her worst.

“I did great for not doing great,” Rogers said.According to Coach Jameson, two wins in the same

season is a rare occurrence for most teams because of the number of competitors in a single tournament. The two wins did not come without drawbacks, however. Maternity leave toward the beginning of the season rendered Jameson partially unavailable for some tournaments, leaving it up to the players to at-

tend the first two tournaments without a coach. “When they played there practice round on Sun-

day in Colorado, one of the girls called me and was like ‘how do I hit this shot?’ So I explained it over the phone,” Jameson said. “It’s like remote coaching.”

Despite the inconvenience, the Lady Buffs have found ways to take advantage of Coach Jameson’s temporary absence and still challenge themselves as a team.

“We’ve learned a lot for ourselves,” Rogers said. “We won two tournaments without her…so we know what were capable of.”

Jameson said this year’s team is the strongest WT has ever had due to the equality of skills and depth each player possess. The difference between this year’s team and past years is the collected unity among the players and their ability to get along on and off the course.

“This is the team,” Rogers said. “We get along so great. There’s really just that team unity there that wasn’t there before, but now everybody’s together, which makes a huge difference.”

The Lady Buffs will travel to Oklahoma City on Oct. 3-4 to compete in the Central Oklahoma Invita-tional.

ASHLEY HENDRICKStAff WRItER

WTAMU volleyball wins three weekend gamesMAttHEW WAtKINSStAff WRItER

The No.14 WTAMU Lady Buff volleyball team participated in the Pitt-State South Central Regional Crossover on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Pittsburg, Kan. The Lady Buffs won their first three matches, but fell against Central Missouri in straight sets.

WT opened the weekend by defeating the host team Pittsburg State 25-14, 25-19 and 25-18. The Lady Buffs and Gorillas alternated scoring until WT went on an 8-0 run to build a 19-9 lead in the first set. The second

and third sets played out in similar ways. Junior Sarah Martin had 16 kills, junior Lauren Beville had 23 digs and junior Lacy Hayes registered 41 assists.

“We matched their energy and effort, but executed at a high level,” Head Coach Jason Skoch said.

The second match of the first day saw WT defeat the St. Edwards Hilltoppers in four sets, 25-22, 25-19, 18-25 and 25-21. Sophomore Ashley Davis led the Lady Buff offense with 20 kills. Beville posted a career-high 31 digs, and Hayes had 41 assists. WT hit .188 while St. Edwards hit .204.

“We won, but were not solid. All the focus and en-ergy from the first match was gone,” Skoch said.

The Lady Buffs kicked off day two by defeating Missouri Southern in four sets: 25-10, 23-25, 25-9 and 25-8. Junior Stormi Lancaster led WT with 16 kills. Sophomore Halie Harton and Beville each had 12 digs and Hayes dished out 12 assists.

WT closed out the weekend by suffering their second loss of the season to the No. 7 Central Missouri Jennies. The Jennies swept the Lady Buffs 12-25, 7-25 and 17-25. Martin had seven kills for WT, which as a team hit just .115 against Central Missouri’s .444. Beville registered 12 digs, while Hayes and sophomore Robin Marsala both got 10 assists.

Photo courtesy of Brent SealesLady Buffs hold up trophies from the tournament.

Lady Buffs soccer wins road games

The Lady Buffs hit the road this weekend for the fourth time this season as they traveled down to San Angelo and San Antonio for games on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 to add to their winning season record.

“[Our goal is to] make the conference tournament and go on to Nationals,” forward Becky McMullen said.

The women took on Angelo State on Sept. 30 in a Lone Star Conference match. The first goal of the match came from ASU off of a penalty kick at the 27:52 mark to start off the game. But WT didn’t let them get away, with Leslie Briggs scoring with five minutes left in the first half, tallying her seventh goal of the season.

No more goals were seen in the rest of the game, in-cluding overtime, giving WT their first tie of the season.

The Lady Buffs had their second LSC match of the sea-son on Oct. 2, taking on Incarnate Word in San Antonio. However, this time they would be down some players due to injuries.

“We didn’t have three of our starters for this game today so I think we did very well,” Briggs said.

Just like Friday, the Lady Buffs let the other team score first and went into the intermission with a score of 1-0 in favor of Incarnate Word with six shots on the board for WT.

The second half was WT’s as Melanie Shannon tied the game at the 69:21 mark, forcing the game into WT’s second overtime of the weekend. Becky McMullen ended the game with 10 minutes left in OT as she scored her fourth goal of the season. Yvette Bedoy got the win in net for the game, collecting six saves on the day.

“We came together as a team and worked hard to ac-complish our goal to get a win,” Bedoy said.

The win took the Lady Buffs’ season record to 6-4-1 and their LSC record to 3-3-1. The women travel to Wichita Falls on Oct. 7 to take on Midwestern State at 6 p.m.

MELISSA BAuER-HERzogStAff WRItER

After his traveling, Timmerman wrote this year’s common reader, “Where am I Wearing.”

“The book has a great lesson behind its cover,” freshman Jesus Lopez said. “It teaches us so much

about globalization and of the sweat shops and how the people aren’t getting paid evenly for the hard work they do.”

After convocation, attendees could stay for a tailgate party, which was also an opportunity to get convocation shirts and books signed by Kelsey

Timmerman. Some were also able to take a photograph with the author. The WT peer leaders were also there to support all of their NSO students.

“I really liked convocation [be-cause] it was really interactive,” peer leader Tyler Sweeney said. “My favor-ite part was Kelsey’s humor and his usage of the Jingle these boxers under his regalia.”

KWTS provided music for the tail-gate party and free t-shirts were given to lucky winners that could answer some simple questions.

“My words of encouragement to the class of 2015: enjoy these years in college and work your tail off because if you work hard now, it will pay off in the long run for you,” Seph Stiles, member of the NBS and KWTS, said.

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JORDAN FRYStAFF WRiteR

Photo by Alex MontoyaFreshmen sing to WT’s Alma Mater at Convocation.

WT's Dance department under review by THECB

The West Texas A&M dance program has recently been under review by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

According to the THECB, the review process includes “review of the statistical data with emphasis on indicators of student success and program excellence.”

Dr. Robert Hansen, depart-ment head of Art, Theatre, and Dance, explained that the board conducts periodic reviews of all programs and a program must average five graduates per year over a five-year span.

“The dance program has fallen below these standards,” Hansen said. “The report came back that they were going to close the program, so we began the appeal process.”

The Texas Administrative code states that institutions can

appeal the decision to eliminate a program by “[requesting] an exemption from the coordinat-ing board at a quarterly board meeting.”

To request a temporary exemption, the university must provide an explanation of low production, justification for continuing the program and a plan of action for the degree program.

Dr. Jessica Mallard, interim dean of the College of Fine Arts and Humanities, said that the coordinating board is “looking at [the program] from a num-bers perspective.”

“It just so happened that the year they looked at our num-bers, the numbers were low,” she said. “If they would have looked at the numbers this year, we would have been okay.”

Hansen said that the dance program hit a couple of years of unsuccessful recruiting, but this year has yielded 13 new majors.

“Thirteen new majors in

a program with 30 majors is huge,” he said.

He also said that with the number of new majors and nine anticipated graduates, the dance program should be back in compliance within a year.

Mallard said that another part of the University’s appeal is that “once students get in the dance program, they stay there.”

One of the biggest defenses that will be presented in the appeal process is the dance program’s correlation with the TEXAS Musical Drama and Lone Star Ballet.

“Our dance program is vital to the culture in this part of the state,” Hansen said. “Many of the dancers in the Lone Star Ballet and TEXAS come from WT.” Hansen feels that the loss of the dance program would negatively impact both the Lone Star Ballet and the TEXAS Musi-cal Drama.

In the 2011 season of the TEXAS Musical Drama, 39

dancers were from WT. In the 2010-2011 season of the Lone Star Ballet, 10 WT dancers performed in Dracula, 10 in The Nutcracker, and 11 in Lone Star Trilogy and there is currently nine students working on Jekyll and Hyde.

“Even if they’re not im-pressed with our numbers, they’ll see what a big part of our community the dance pro-gram is,” Mallard said.

President O’Brien will go before the THECB this month to

present the University’s case. If the coordinating board denies the request for appeal, the BFA of Dance would no long be of-fered, but the dance program would continue under a differ-ent degree.

However, Mallard said every-one “feels like they have a really good chance” and they are feel-ing positive about the situation.

“We have an extremely strong case,” Hansen said. “Once we make it clear, they’ll be sup-portive.”

Convocation continued from p. 1

Photo by Alex MontoyaFreshmen play games at the Freshmen cookout that followed Convocation.

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Nursing program undergoes curriculum changesSTEPHANIE WILLIAMSMCOM 3309NEWS EdITINg & REPORTINg

Despite the rumors circulating around the conditional status that was placed on the West Texas A&M University Nursing program, it is not closing. The program is in the process of rearranging its curriculum to better prepare its students not only for their NCLEX, the test to become licensed, but to better equip them when they enter the medical field.

In April of 2008 ,WTAMU’s testing percentage dropped from the recommended 80 percent wanted by the state to an estimated 77 percent. The status of the school’s yearly passing rates is well over 95 percent, but that’s not necessarily on the first try. The Texas Board of Nursing sets the 80 percent mark for students taking the test and passing it the first time.

“The industry standard is to pass the NCLEX within one year of graduation,” Dr. Dirk Nelson, dean of Nurs-ing, said. “Our first time pass rates have become a concern for the Board of Nursing, but our students still pass the NCLEX within one year at about 97 percent, which is really good. But the crux of concern from the Texas Board of Nursing is that first time pass rate, even if it’s slightly off,”

WT’s program has a high pass rate but with the dif-ficulty of the test, some require taking it twice before passing.

“Ninety-five to ninety-six percent of them are still passing. This is the difference and I don’t know why nursing is this way, but when you look at having to take the bar exam, CTA or anything else, you’re not penal-ized. They know that the test is hard and you really have to be on your game to pass, and I don’t know why the powers above make it different,” College of Nursing Department Head Helen Reyes said.

The nursing program’s conditional status has only affected allowing students to be accepted into the actual nursing program. However, it was enough for Darren Darthard to change majors.

“I changed because of the testing percentages,” Dart-hard, a new junior Mass Communications major, said.

“We have heard rumors about students being wor-ried that they will have to go to another school to be ac-cepted into a nursing program because we are closing. We aren’t closing,” Reyes said. “What that conditional status really means is that we aren’t allowed to accept any new students as of right now. It doesn’t affect the admission cycle because we had already admitted for the fall and by the time we go back to admit for the spring we will have gone back to the board.”

Although the status of the program was changed

because of a few students having to take the test twice, the nursing program has started making changes through a new curriculum, and the passing rate is up to 93 percent.

Altogether the status has not hurt the program’s credibility, Nelson said. Over the summer the program sent out letters to students and parents to let them know what this meant for them and the program as a whole.

“I haven’t had an overwhelming response from students or families but the few I have had have been positive,” Nelson said.

Nelson explained that he has been as transparent about the situation as he can be and even talked to par-ents at each new student orientation to let them know all is well.

Because of the dates [September to September] that the board reviews each school’s scores and statuses, WT’s program will be reviewed again in October. Both Nelson and Reyes said they feel confident that every-thing will be restored.

“I’m not too worried about it now. I have talked to the dean and my advisor and they both say that the nursing program is improving on their scores and doing the best they can,” Krystal Linn, a Pre-Nursing junior major, said.

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Last week’s answers

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ALEX MONTOYAStaff Photographer

COLTON HARADAMCOM 3309News Editing & Reporting

Department of Communication hosts workshopHigh school students learn about journalism and multimedia

Ryan Schaap spoke to students about proper reporting techniques.Area high school students toured WT facilities during the workshop.

KWTS staff gave away door prizes to students. Dr. Trudy Hanson, Communication department chair, welcomed students.

Dr. Butler Cain, a Communication faculty member, helped organize it.

More than 150 students gathered in the Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall.

Students wait for financial aid verification process

A month into the fall semester, the university’s financial aid department is still busy at work. One task the department is currently trying to complete is verifying the approximately 4,000 students selected this semester.

According to WT’s Associate Director of Student Financial Services Marian Giesecke, the U.S. Department of Education requires all federal universities to “verify” a third of their enrolled students, which simply means the university’s financial aid department has to check that the information on the FAFSA matches the informa-tion on the other forms filed, like a tax return. Since the selection is taken at random, there is no way to avoid it.

“Whenever you file a FAFSA, if you just happen to be that third one that they pick, then you get kicked out for verification,” Giesecke said. The verification process is not an easy mild procedure. Since the process requires the collection, submission, and then verification of a number of different pieces

of paperwork, verification can be a time-consuming process.

“Right now, at this time of year, it’s about six to eight weeks from the time we get all your paperwork,” Giesecke said. When students are selected for verification, their finan-cial aid, such as grants or loans, cannot be awarded to them until the process is completed. This can trouble some students who rely on their student loans, grants or other form of aid to pay for their tuition. WT Alumni Mandi Miller was selected for verification the fall se-mester of her senior year.

“It was really hard to pay rent,” she said. “It was the semester I was doing my internship. I was depending on my financial aid as my income.”

Although Giesecke said that the financial aid office at WT sends an email to students to notify them that they have been selected for verification, some students said they never received an email and found out about being selected by chance.

“I called financial aid. They never told me,” Kellie Chandler, a WT sophomore selected for verification this semester said. “I called them and they were like ‘Oh, by the way, you’ve been selected for verification, and we need this and this and this.’”

Be Proactive. Instead of waiting to hear from the financial aid of-fice, call them and find out exactly what paperwork is needed. “I had to go in every few days to ask what the progress was on my verification,” Miller Said.

Be Prepared. Since every student is eligible to be chosen for veri-fication, have a backup plan in case you are selected. Also, submit your FAFSA early. The sooner you file your FAFSA, the more time you have to complete the verification procecss. “Fill [the FAFSA] out early, so you can get it done early,” Chandler said.

Be Patient. Remember you are not the only one going through this process. “It just takes a while.” Giesecke said. “Even after you turn stuff in, if we see any contradic-tions, we have to request it. We have to be sure there’s no contradictions.”

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CORE helps students get involved on WT campusABBY WALKERMCOM 3309NEWs EditiNg & REpORtiNg

The CORE Office at West Texas A&M offers many resources for both individuals and organizations. CORE stands for Campus Organizations, Re-sources, and Entertainment.

Any organization on campus has the opportunity to register with the CORE office. Three student consultants work specifically with these organizations.

PULSE is the peer education sector of the office. They provide programs to public schools in the area and campus organizations with topics ranging from leadership to alcohol awareness. They host many alcohol-alternative events, like karaoke, for students looking for ways to have non-alcoholic fun. The student workers in CORE are certified

peer educators. “Studies show that students are more

willing to talk to a peer than counselors,” Stephanie Brackett, assistant director of Student Activities and Peer Educator Advisor, said.

The CORE office can help organiza-tions recruit and retain members. If an individual approaches the CORE office looking for a way to get involved on campus, one of the consultants will match his interests with the profile of any organization registered.

The CORE Roundtable is a monthly lunch to which all organizations are required to send one representative. This lunch serves as a time for the CORE office to present any new information regarding policy, but the main purpose is to help all the organizations stay on the same page with current events.

Collegiate Link is a new website CORE is asking organizations to use. The

website can be used to share documents such as organizational constitutions, presentations and pictures amongst members, and can be used for voting as well. Students can also log service hours for their organization.

“If you need a resume, we can print off all your service hours and the posi-tions you’ve held in all organizations and combine them into one sheet,” Amanda Kraemer, student consultant for Peer Education and PULSE President, said.

Other areas in the CORE Office include Diversity, Student Activities, and Enter-tainment. Diversity focuses mainly on highlighting different cultures by giving WT students a taste of that culture in the JBK. Entertainment is responsible for activities like the video-game challenge, Battle of the Bands, the annual Home-coming Concert, and bringing other acts to campus, like a comedian who will be here in November.

Miguel Sosa, who works with Student Activities, listed several events such as kickball and free movie nights and novelty events such as making leather bracelets that are sponsored by the CORE office that many students may not realize.

“No two days are the same,” Sosa said.

The CORE office also reaches out to the community whenever possible. They helped put on Buff-a-Rama, a safety day for children, on September 24. They also put on the Halloween carnival, a safe alternative to trick-or-treating on Hal-loween.

Though the CORE office is already highly involved on campus, Brackett said they would love to help more students find the right fit for an organization to join. The CORE Office is also open to co-hosting events with organizations.

The WT Graduate School is offering a four-week GRE (Graduate Record Examination) prep course, designed to help students increase their GRE score.

Starting Oct. 13 and lasting until Nov. 3, students will have the opportunity to have four, three hour face-to-face sessions with two different instructors who have a thorough under-standing of the updated GRE. Additionally, every student will receive an official GRE Prep Book and other related resource materials. The cost is $100.

“If your program requires the GRE, I recommend a prep course,” said Dr. Robin Capt, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, who will be heading the course. “A lot of students need help with the GRE. They don’t prepare prior, so their scores aren’t as high as they want it to be.”

“I am definitely going to grad school, but I have not signed up for the class yet,” said senior Jessica Peters, a

communication major. “It’s a good idea to prepare for the GRE, but I didn’t think I could afford the class. We are poor college students and we need all the help we can get!”

Retaking the test instead of preparing is a costly option. While some students may feel that they can’t afford $100, it’s far more expensive to take the test multiple times at $160 each.

“The October class will be based on all of the new changes,” said Cheree Burleson, Admissions Coordinator at the Graduate School. “The scoring scale has changed …. You can move freely through the test … and it’s longer.”

The newly revised GRE was started Aug. 1. It lasts four hours as opposed to three, and has a more precise scoring scale. Instead of providing a score in ten point increments on a 200-800 scale, it provides

scores in one point increments on a 130-170 scale. There is an additional math and verbal sec-tion as well.

Knowledge of the test material will not be the only thing taught during the course, however.

“A big component is just test anxiety,” explained Dr. Capt. “It [the course] will help students [who are] scared of standard-ized tests.”

If students are interested in other post-graduate courses, such as GMAT prep courses, Dr. Capt recommends emailing the graduate school to express in-terest. The more interest that is drummed up in these courses, the more likely the graduate school is to offer them in the future, she said.

Anyone interested in signing up for the course can send an email to GRE@wtamu.edu or call 806-651-2730. Payment can be made by going to the Business Office, or by bringing it to the first day of class.

ERiN MARviNMCOM 3309NEWs EditiNg & REpORtiNg

GRE course preps students

On Sept. 25 Kathy Cornett, chairwoman of Mc-Cormick Company of Amarillo, spoke to the MCOM 1307 class about the advertising industry.

“It’s stimulating for me to see young people,” Cornett said. “WT is a very important source for us for employees.”

Cornett started working for McCormick Company forty years ago as a receptionist

“If you have the urge, you’ll make it,” she said. “You can start small but in the end, it’ll be alright.”

Cole Young, a WTAMU graduate, started at McCor-mick as an intern and eventu-ally landed a permanent job there.

“It’s rewarding for me to come back and talk about where I came from and where I am,” Young said. “The innova-

tion of the industry and how it’s always changing keeps us on our toes. It keeps us

continually having to learn and progress with the industry.”

Cornett recommends that campus involvement is critical for students.

“I would say that every college student should get involved in campus or in chari-ties,” she said. “Spend your time studying but enrich your life in volunteer life. Get a feel of what life is all about because it will build your social skills. Give back to the community or give to the needy.”

Young said he didn’t know what he wanted to do at the beginning of his college career but everything had changed when he decided to indulge himself into everything WT had to offer.

Kathy Cornett speaks to studentsdANiELA FiERROstAFF WRitER

Cornett cont’d on p.10

Campus Life10 October 04, 2011www.theprairienews.comPrairie

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WTAMU students are offered sev-eral services through the Office of Student Affairs. It is located at the front entrance of the JBK and its across from the CORE office.

According to the WTAMU website, the office of Student Affairs is basically the center that offers “…rich and varied pro-grams, services, and facilities that support lifelong learning.”

Services include career, fitness, coun-seling, testing, student employment and student medical. However, only a small percentage of WT students actually take advantage of them. If students do not know where to look for the kinds of services that they need or if they need to make a statement or complaint about any-thing related to WT, the Office of Student Affairs is the place to start.

“This [Student Affairs] office deals with complaints of staff, students, and even community complaints,” Cheryle Dill, administrative assistant of Student Affairs, said.

But handling complaints is only a small bit of what the office is busy doing throughout each semester. This office is also busy with committee meetings at this particular time of year.

“Centennial Hall and the JBK expan-sion construction meetings are keeping Dr. O’Brien busy right now,” Linda Wash-ington, executive secretary of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, said. “Homecoming is a busy time for us, as well. Fitting in all of the construction meetings on top of that already busy week keeps us occupied plenty.”

Knowing how to balance an eventful Homecoming week and meetings upon meetings is an every day task for Student Affairs. Adding in the many services that it provides for the student body allows for little to no free time in the day.

“I’ve heard of the Career Services, and Employment Services, but never thought that Student Affairs was the center for getting information over all of that,” Tarah Groomer, senior WT student said.

Some students also make the mistake of equating Student Affairs with Student Government.

“I thought Student Affairs was just Stu-dent Government or the office that deals with contacting you or your parents if you’ve missed several class days without an excuse,” Jose Garcia, senior Graphic Design major, said.

Students who visit the Office of Student Affairs can find information about the current campus construction projects, studying abroad, or simply ask questions.

Yadira GarciaMcOM 3309News editiNG & repOrtiNG

The WT Tech Club is sponsored by the College of Business, but they do not only focus on new and current technology from a business perspective. One of their biggest focuses is the WT Tech Club Gaming Club and Gaming Lab which is open to all WT stu-dents each weekday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Assistant Professor Dr. Jeffery Babb, advisor of the tech club, said that the club has an interest in all sorts of technology but the prime focus for the students is the game aspect of the club.

“It’s a focus on technology in terms of people want-ing to learn more about it, and doing things with it. The spirit of the club has traditionally been this game tournament and things to do with games,” he said.

Each year the club hosts a game tournament out of

the WT Gaming Lab. The tournament usually consists of a football game or a first person shooter game. On the night of the tournament players compete to work their way up a bracket, passing time in between games with food and getting to know others in the tournament. The top players go away with prizes, which in the past have included Visa gift cards.

The WT Gaming Lab has several gaming devices which include six Xbox 360s, two Playstation 3s, and six dual screen gaming PCs. Kody Koenning, vice president of the Tech Club, said that the Tech Club is very lucky to have such a great set up and that they are there to promote technology and encourage gam-ing.

“We are here to help people get past the barrier of games and technology. The Tech Club encourages people to get their hands on this stuff and we are here to help them learn,” he said. “All WT students are wel-come to come in and use this facility. They don’t have to just be a Business or CIS major.”

James Schmidt, president of the Tech Club, said that his goals are to help people learn new things and draw them in together. He wants to bring people in if they’re interested in games or the technology behind them.

“I’ve got big goals for this club, but it is going to take some time to get it to that point. I want to get us all involved with each other. I’m trying to get every-one on a common interest so they can build relation-ships,” he said.

Schmidt said the club gets new releases added to their game library all the time. They get new games every month.

“Dean Neil Terry is very gracious in providing games to us on a monthly basis,” he said.

Later on this semester the Tech Club will be host-ing their annual gaming tournament, which is open to all WT students. The tournament will take place on Nov. 12 and times will be announced soon.

cOltON wedekiNGMcOM 3309News editiNG & repOrtiNG

Tech Club sponsors annual gaming tournament

Student Affairs helps students with complaints “I decide to dig deep and I created

a tunnel vision of what I wanted,” he said. “My first goal was to graduate, then get the internship and then get hired on.”

Sonji Alexander, a part-time instructor, invited Cornett to speak to the MCOM 1307 class based on a recommendation from another faculty member.

“My former WT professor recom-

mended her as an advertising profes-sional,” Alexander said. “I made the contact and we decided on a date.”

Alexander said that she doesn’t know everything about other jobs in the Communication field and felt it was a great idea to bring a guest speaker with experience.

“I wanted the students to be able to have a wider range of choices for jobs,” Alexander said. “I really think that as an instructor, part of my job is to introduce them to careers that they didn’t know were there.”

Story continued from p.9

The Residential Living office will finally move into its permanent home, located in Centennial Hall on Nov. 1.

Their current location is in a tem-porary building behind the cafeteria, which has caused some confusion for some students.

“The Residential office is over by the police station,” freshman Abbey Coufal said. Such mistakes are com-mon because the office is not even on the WTAMU campus map. Previously, the Residential Living office was lo-cated in the old security building.

“Our old location was not conve-nient for students. It wasn’t as big and it had leaks and critters,” Jon Behrens, senior director of Residential Living, said. The “critters” in question were snakes and mice that periodically intruded.

“Prior to the mobile home it was lo-cated in the intramural field which was very inconvenient. I’m really excited about it becoming more centralized to campus and becoming more conve-nient, especially for Centennial,” Ron-nie Hall, the Area Coordinator, said.

Due to the continuous expansion of WT, the Residential Living office has had to move in order to make way for Buff Hall and the intramural fields.

“We are excited to get over to Cen-tennial,” said Behrens.

alisa whiteMcOM 3309News editiNG & repOrtiNG

Residential Living office will relocate to Centennial