Stock Show and Rodeo p. 4AM

Volume 79 Issue 18

Feb. 15, 2013

AGERP

Chinese New Year Celebration p. 3

Buzz is growing among students about the new philosophy major that will be implemented next fall.

“I am ecstatic about the philosophy major,” graduate student Cayla Clinkenbeard said. “As an undergraduate, I took every philosophy course, and I would have ma-jored in philosophy if it had been available. These courses have really ben-efitted me in other areas of study, and I’m sure that they will be interesting and useful for other stu-dents as well.”

Dr. Susana Badiola, As-sociate Professor of phi-losophy, has been work-ing with her colleagues and administrators for the past two years to make philosophy a major.

“When I first started working here in 2004, the major was just a dream,” Badiola said. “The pro-gram has been growing steadily and it was really a student demand. It has been a long process and we had to overcome many obstacles but we have also had a lot of help.”

Philosophy is the un-derstanding of the world around us and who peo-ple are, Badiola said.

“Philosophy doesn’t re-ally attract the masses,” Badiola said. “Once stu-dents start to hear more about philosophy and realize what it is then it will be very attractive to students.”

Badiola said she is ex-cited to see how students respond to the major and how many students will want to study philosophy.

“We have people who have already said that they will major in philoso-phy, and that is a fantastic start for us,” Badiola said. “I certainly expect the ma-jor to be successful. The fact that the university is

offering a philosophy ma-jor should be a matter of great news for everyone.”

Badiola said that hav-ing a philosophy major is a great opportunity be-cause few universities of-fer the same degree.

“We realized that this is a striking opportunity to offer [this degree],” Badiola said. “We could compete better with other universities and it is also a sign that ASU wants to promote programs that are not as popular to a society. It says a lot about ASU.”

Junior and Philosophy Club president, Joshua Hansen, is looking for-ward to this new change because it is an ideal time for the major to come to ASU, he said.

“Philosophy is different from most other fields of study in that in emphasiz-es critical thinking from the outset,” Hansen said. “It teaches a methodology of rigorous analysis and logical problem solving which will be indispens-able to me in my graduate studies. Also, it stimulates the intellect and keeps life exciting.”

The philosophy club has been growing and is always accepting new members who are pas-sionate about discussing new ideas, Hansen said.

“The philosophy club has been very active for the last couple of years,” Clinkenbeard said. “Every week we have discussions about various philosophi-cal issues including hu-man nature, law, morality, reality and epistemology. We have optional read-ings that help us under-stand these problems.”

ASU has already offered a philosophy program for many years and students were able to minor in phi-losophy, Badiola said.

“Even though I have al-ready graduated, I’m con-sidering returning as an undergraduate to pursue a degree in philosophy,” Clinkenbeard said. “I think these extra courses will build my knowledge and writing skills.”

New major to make ASU competitive with other schools

Allison Price Managing Editor

New philosophy major on campus

The First Generation RAMS pro-gram had a Sweetness War Tues-day, Feb. 12. Members baked treats that judges critiqued for presenta-tion, taste and creativity.

Sweetness War

Photos by Rio Velasquez

The meaning of 400

On Jan. 30 in the Junell Center when the buzzer hit triple zeroes, Head Coach Sally Walling Brooks was christened into a new club.

The ‘Belles’ 54-47 victory over Eastern New Mexico University secured Brooks as one of the few coaches who achieved 400 career wins as a head coach in college basketball.

Although Brooks doesn’t care that much about milestones as much as she does winning the next game; one has to appreciate the important value of such an ac-complishment.

Along with 400 wins over 22 years, Brooks has coached her teams to four Lone Star Confer-ence Championships, seven con-secutive NCAA Regionals appear-ances and has had eight seasons with 20+ wins in the regular sea-son.

“I think what really allows her to be successful is how passionate she is about the game,” Assistant Coach Stacy Duffell said. ”She wants her players to succeed and is always putting her players first to put them in the best situations where they can win games.”

Duffell started her relationship with Brooks as one of her players, then became an assistant under her and has known Duffell for 18 years.

Brooks’ husband Kevin, the head coach of ASU’s baseball team, said he has the utmost re-spect for his wife not only as her spouse, but as a fellow coach.

“She’s very knowledgeable,” Kevin Brooks said. “She’s passion-ate, works her tail off and she’s really good as what she does. She has a great relationship with her players and she’s able to motivate them. She’s a lot better than I am.”

Her husband’s team is the reigning Lone Star Conference Champions.

One of her players that Brooks has motivated is senior Morgan Youngblood, who has been a play-er under Brooks for four years.

“She does a great job of get-ting us all to work together as one unit,” Youngblood said. “All of us strive for the same goal so it really helps us.”

Besides motivational, many have described Brooks as intense.

To describe Brooks as intense is to describe the universe as fairly large.

Brooks is one of the most in-tense people that anyone would ever encounter at game time be-cause of her competitive drive and that drive has made her a suc-

cessful coach.“She knows the game of bas-

ketball,” Duffell said. “She knows the Xs and Os so that the team has the best ability to win when they step out on the floor.”

Youngblood said that many years from now, she will remem-ber Brooks for her intensity and motivational ability

“She told us before one of our games this year, ‘I’ve got your six,’” Youngblood said. “Just like marines tell each other meaning she’s got our back in this game and it really got us motivated and ready to play. Now, before every game we take a little sharpie and write ‘six’ on our hands to be a motivating factor.”

Perhaps Brooks’ greatest coaching moment came against Southeastern Oklahoma in the semi-final of the 2002 Lone Star Conference Tournament.

“That was her second year here and the year before she to-tally turned them around,” Kevin Brooks said. “They started in the fall and did not do well; lost a lot of non conference games and the only way they were getting to re-gionals is if they win the confer-ence. They had to win the con-ference tournament to get to the postseason.”

See MEMORIESPage 6

Brooks’ recent win seals the deal

Stephen Cogan Staff Writer

Photo by Rio Velasquez; edited by Adam SaucedaCoach Sally Brooks has coached basketball for 22 years and has been with the ‘Belles since 2000.

Dr. June Smith, professor of communications, has been ap-pointed interim dean of the Col-lege of Graduate Studies and begun fulfilling the role on Feb. 1

Dr. Brian May chose Smith to take the position on an interim basis meaning Smith has agreed to not be an applicant for the posi-tion.

“Taking the position on an in-terim basis allows an open search for possible candidates without anyone having a home court ad-vantage,” Smith said.

Smith said she encourages stu-dents to think about attending graduate school.

“In this economy, a graduate de-gree gives you an extra edge,” Smith said. “We have a huge graduate school here. One out of every seven student that is enrolled at Angelo State is a graduate student. There is a lot of support, good scholarships and excellent faculty.”

Angie Wright, the associate vice president for finance and admin-istration, will also take over an in-terim position as the vice president for finance administration begin-ning March 15.

May hopes to have a perma-nent appointee in place for the vice presidential position by June 1 and a permanent appointee for the graduate dean position by August 1.

Graduate school gives students “extra edge”

Allison Price Managing Editor

Interim dean looks to keep graduate program on right track

Friday, Feb. 15, 2013Page 2 NEWS

Events CalendarGet involvedon campus!

Here’s what’s going on this week.

Friday Feb. 15

Softball: ASU vs. Colorado State University-Pueblo. 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. @Home.

Softball: ASU vs. St. Mary’s University (TX). 2:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. @Home.

Baseball: ASU vs. Lubbock Christian University (TX). 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. @Home.

Arts at ASU: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.” This tragicomedy expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The per-formance will begin at 8 p.m. in the Carr Education-Fine Arts Building Modular Theater.

Saturday Feb. 16

Softball: ASU vs. University of Texas of the Permian Basin. 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. @Home.

Baseball: ASU vs. Lubbock Christian University (TX). 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. @Home.

Softball: ASU vs. St. Mary’s University (TX). 2:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. @Home.

Women’s Basketball: ASU at Midwestern State. 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Wichita Falls, TX.

Men’s Basketball: ASU at Midwestern State. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Wichita Falls, TX.

Arts at ASU: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” continues at 8 p.m. in the Modular Theatre.

Sunday Feb. 17

Softball: ASU vs. Colorado State University-Pubelo. 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. @Home.

Baseball: ASU vs. Lubbock Christian University (TX). 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. @Home.

Monday Feb. 18

Golf: ASU at Dominion Country Club in San Antonio. The event will last all day.

Tuesday Feb. 19

Golf: ASU at Dominion Country Club in San Antonio. The event will last all day.

Customize your own 18” street sign in the UC from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Softball: ASU at Texas A&M International University. 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. @Laredo, TX.

Softball: ASU at Texas A&M International University. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. @Laredo, TX.

UCPC Weekly Meeting at 5:30 p.m. located in the UC room 203-204.

SMART workshop: What Are You Going To Be When You Grow Up and Why? The presentation begins at 6 p.m. in the Academic Building 119.

Wednesday Feb. 20

Summer and Fall 2013 schedules available for advis-ing. Contact your department to set up an Academic Advising appointment.

Art Gallery Talk with John Hartley on his exhibit, “Child-hood Play/Adult Realities. The talk begins at 3:30 p.m. in the Carr Building room 101.

Thursday Feb. 21

Black History Month Celebration will be in the Multicul-tural Center Lobby from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Baseball: ASU at Colorado State University-Pueblo. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Free Root Beer floats courtesy of Concho Educators Federal Credit Union in the UC at 2 p.m.

SMART workshop: You Can’t Study Math... Can You? The presentation will begin at 4 p.m. in the Math Lab.

UCPC Movie Night will show Red Dawn. There will be two times to catch the movie, once at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the Mathematics-Computer Science Building room 100.

Planetarium weekly showings continue every Thursday beginning at 7 p.m.

Submit event requests by 5 p.m. Tuesday for Friday publication to rampage@angelo.edu

Fun Valley Family Resort South Fork Colorado

needs young adults to work summer employment Salary room board & bonus

Call 817.279.1016 email:annette.fain@gmail.com

Dinner returns to refresh, enlighten students on etiquette

The Career Development Center will host the University Etiquette Dinner on Feb. 27 at the Elks Lounge.

Students will have a chance to grasp basic table etiquettes from Dr. Sierra Howry, assistant pro-fessor of agriculture and certified etiquette expert from the Etiquette Institute of Saint Louis, Missouri.

“There will a five course meal in which our speaker will talk about different etiquettes during each course, such as how to pass the salt and pepper shaker and how to use your utensils in a professional set-ting,” Career Development assis-tant Adra Enos said. “We go over little helpful hints on how to pres-ent yourself well when at a business dinner or lunch interview.”

These same basic tips can be used at conventions or weddings, Enos said.

The dinner will be followed by an optional event, Networking Over Cocktails.

“We will have different profes-sors there to work with students on how to visit with them on a more casual level but not making your-self sound too casual,” Enos said. “Even though you’re in a casual at-mosphere, you still want to make a good first impression for that per-son to remember.”

Enos said there is always some-thing to learn about etiquettes.

“Even if you think you know eti-quette and the proper way of do-ing things, the dinner is good to attend,” she said. “I learned new things last year and I’m sure every-body that attended learned some-thing that they did not know be-fore.”

There are only about 14 spots available for the dinner, Enos said. Over 130 people attended the eti-quette dinner last year, but this year’s venue has a capacity of 56 people.

If there is enough interest in the event, the Career Development Center hopes to have another eti-quette dinner in April, Enos said.

The networking event will have alcoholic beverages, with a show of ID, at the cash bar and non-alco-holic beverages available, she said.

“Sometimes nervous, people have a tendency to drink too much

so we will go over tips to pace your-self in a professional setting,” Enos said. “If you know you do not han-dle alcohol well, then don’t drink. It’s not like being at a party where you want to fit in, if you don’t want to drink it is acceptable to say no.”

Career Development Center stu-dent worker Besspher Mannah said last year’s dinner was really profes-sional but it was still fun.

“We learned some great things, such as where to put your fork and how to scoop soup,” he said. “Those are things you don’t realize every day, I definitely wouldn’t have just known those etiquettes. It helped educate me on things I would not have known then going into a busi-ness meeting or interview over lunch.”

Mannah said he realized that he was doing a lot of things wrong at the dinner table.

“I am looking forward to sharp-ening my dinner etiquette because there are things I forgot from last year’s dinner,” he said.

Participants will be served a five course meal. It is $10 for ASU stu-dents and $15 for non-students. Stop by the Career Development to sign up for this event. The deadline to sign-up to be a part of this event is Feb. 22.

Fun event teaches proper and profes-sional table manners

Mariah Powell Editor

Professor hopes to gain new outlook on community

Dr. Amy Williamson, an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, will join the Leader-ship Texas Class of 2013, a year-long leadership de-velopment program.

Williamson said she was anonymously nomi-nated and is only the third woman in San Angelo to participate in the program.

“This will be an opportunity for me to see other community service projects and ways that under-privileged members of the community are being served,” Williamson said. “[It will help me] to get involved and find out what more I can do in the state and in my local community.”

Leadership Texas is a program of Women’s Re-sources that seeks to advance the power of lead-ership and legacy through programs that connect, inspire, empower and honor women.

Women’s Resources considers it a privilege to

offer influential women leaders new perspectives, opinions and validation on issues they might not otherwise encounter, O’Keefe-Mathis said.

According to CEO of Women’s Resources Can-dace O’Keefe-Mathis, Williamson will be joined with 91 other women from around Texas who were competitively selected to participate in the pro-gram.

Participants are selected based on their public or private sector endeavors, volunteer experience and professional, educational, and personal back-grounds.

The program is designed to help women become better, more informed leaders in Texas communi-ties, organizations, and corporations, O’Keefe-Mathis said.

“It’s a very interactive way to not only develop our leadership skills but to also get involved in a variety of communities throughout the state,” Wil-liamson said.

Participants will visit Dallas in March, Bryan/College Station in May, Galveston in September, and Austin in November.

The three-day seminars include listening to speakers, doing volunteer work, and leadership development.

Williamson third woman from San Angelo to be in program

Adam Sauceda Staff Writer

NEWS Page 3Friday, Feb. 15, 2013

$2.00DRAFT BEER

midnightrodeosanangelo.com

Writers Conference features award-winning writers with Texas connections

The 17th annual Writers Conference, beginning Friday, Feb. 22, will feature writer Christina Garcia and guest writers Jackie Rosenfeld and Carmen Tafolla.

Kornasky said the conference focuses on inviting writers with Texas connections.

“We consider it very important that we encourage creative writing here in the state of Texas, both for up-and-coming writers and for well-established writers,” Kornasky said.

Garcia, a native Cuban and creative writing profes-sor at Texas Tech University, is the author of six novels, including “The Lesser Tragedy of Death,” “A Hand-book to Luck” and “Dreaming in Cuban,” according to the Writers Conference webpage. Garcia draws from stories about her native land, and focuses on contro-versial issues around her heritage, Kornasky said.

“[Garcia] is very much focused on the Cuban Amer-ican experience and various Cuban American legends, cultural myths, etc.,” Kornasky said.

Senior Amanda Hill said the overall focus of the conference is important to different issues in today’s society.

“I think there is a shortage of Mexican-American

voices and I think it is important for their voices to be heard,” Hill said.

Garcia has received several awards including the National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Whiting Writers Award and Princeton University’s Hodder Fellowship, according to the Writers Conference web-page.

“Garcia has won many awards,” Kornasky said. “She runs several of workshops in the Southwest for writers who want to hone their craft. She is known as an excel-lent workshop leader. Our students will really be able to benefit from interacting with her.”

Rosenfeld, currently a senior lecturer at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, is an ASU alumna and a playwright whose most recently play, “keepingabreast,” was honored, Kornasky said. “Keep-ingabreast” is a play about a young woman facing the decision to undergo a mastectomy after chemothera-py treatments have failed.

“This is a funny play about breast cancer,” Kornasky said. “It has been cited as a very warm, funny and in-sightful play about the meaning of breasts in our cul-ture. It is a very great opportunity for us to have some-one from ASU to come in.”

Tafolla is the Poet Laureate of San Antonio and is best known for writing poetry, some fiction and short fiction, Kornasky said.

“[Tafolla] is one of the writers who has been very prominent in the Mexican American cultural move-ment of the 1970s through to the present time,” Kor-

nasky said. “She is a very good person to have here as the Mexican American studies program is getting off the ground. We are very happy to have her as well.”

The Writers Conference is in memoriam of San Angelo-native Elmer Kelton, who was the first speaker for the conference and an award-winning novelist, Ko-rnasky said.

“In the past, the Writers Conference included sev-eral writers,” Kornasky said. “There were 10 to 15 ses-sions that would run through Thursday and Friday. This year we thought, we would still have a variety of writers but not as many so there would be a stronger focus for the conference. Naturally in the past we told everyone to go to different sessions. This time we have it more honed down to just three writers. It will be a great benefit for all the students.”

Hill said she attended the Writers Conference last semester and thinks all students will benefit from at-tending.

“I thought the conference was very interesting be-cause someone who has been through the publishing process is able to share that experience and their life story,” Hill said.

Kornasky said every year hundreds of ASU students attend but local high school students and teachers also attend.

“It is great that we are able to serve the educational needs of our community and not just our own stu-dents at the university,” Kornasky said.

Speakers focus on different cultures

Allison Price Managing Editor

RatOx

TigerRabbitDragonSnakeHorseSheep

MonkeyRooster

DogBoar

19841985198619871988198919901991199219931994 1995

Chinese New Year Calendar

Chinese New Year Celebration

Arts at ASU will begin showcasing on Feb. 15 a new take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “Rosencrantz and Guilden-stern are Dead” is a play written by Brit-ish playwright Sir Tom Stoppard. It is an absurdist, existentialist, tragicomedy about the exploits of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

“It’s a classic piece of modern theatre that is not often performed,” director Michael Burnett said. “It’s funny and entertaining on subjects dealing with life and death.”

Jacob Scott, co-director, said he hopes people will take away a new per-spective on a classic Shakespeare play.

“When I read the play and professor

Burnett asked me to be co-director, I couldn’t refuse,” Scott said.

Joey Hancock, who will play the part of Rosencrantz, said he hopes people will see the play and get a sense of living their lives instead of fearing death.

“I thought the script was funny and I wanted to add my own spin on it,” Han-cock said. “It’s also gotten me to work harder on my craft.”

Tyler Tennell, who will play Guilden-stern, said he hopes people will see the funny side of death.

“I usually play the comedic parts, so I chose to play Guildenstern because of his intellect and because it has allowed me to expand my acting,” Tennell said. “It has really added to my vocabulary as well.”

Tickets are available at to the Modu-lar Theater Box Office in Carr, or call 325 – 942 – 2000 to reserve tickets in advance. The price for ASU students is $3, Non-ASU students $4, and general admission is $8.

Hamlet’s minor roles become major

Terrence Cain Staff Writer

Tragedy meets comedy

Birth Year Animal

Photo by Adam SaucedaFrom left: senior Victoria Lacy and sophomore Paige Smith with the Honors Program volunteered at the Meals for the Elderly Mardi Gras event Tuesday Feb. 12.

Meals for the Elderly

Mardi Gras event

Friday, Feb. 15, 2013Page 4 FEATURES

Carnival kicks off local Stock Show and Rodeo

The annual San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo continues to draw in large crowds as it enters its second weekend.

“We have tons of the commu-nity that come out here,” stock show and rodeo Marketing Direc-tor Tom Thompson said. “Over our three week period we will run about 150,000 to 170,000 people through the gates.”

Thompson said the agriculture department at ASU is very in-volved with the show and provides judges, helps and assists with nearly all of the livestock show events.

“This is a very busy season for us and, our agriculture students volunteer to help with agricul-ture literacy events and livestock showing events for K-12 grades,” Assistant Professor of animal sci-ence Kirk Braden said. “The stock show and rodeo helps us to come in contact with large amounts of students, parents and people in-terested in animals.”

The San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Association began hosting this event in the 1930s. The Coli-seum was built in 1959 and it has been home to the stock show and rodeo for a majority of its lifespan, Thompson said.

The association is dedicated to hosting events that draw a vast majority of people into San An-

gelo, according to www.sanange-lorodeo.com.

“We are the largest economic impact to San Angelo and the sur-rounding community,” Thomp-son said. “The whole fairgrounds brings about $24 to $26 million a year in economic business.”

Thompson said the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo is possi-bly the fifth largest in the nation, beating Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

“We are the largest contestant rodeo in the PRCA,” Thompson said. “We are a very prestigious ro-deo. There is a lot of [honor] if you win on San Angelo dirt.”

At this year’s event there will be a different shows throughout the time the stock show and rodeo is in town, Thompson said.

“We will have 1199 rodeo con-testants and 10 performances at the rodeo starting Feb. 14 and fin-ishing Feb. 23,” Thompson said. “Our livestock show will bring over 5,000 livestock exhibitors to San Angelo with their families to do over 11,000 entries. Some of the entries include; sheep, goat, pig, cattle, horses, lamas, chicken, and rabbits. There will also be a carni-val that covers three weekends.”

The stock show and rodeo will continue to run until Feb. 24. Thompson said he encourages everyone to check out what the event has to offer.

“The rodeo is action packed, fast-paced, and national finals quality,” Thompson said. “We take it very seriously and run it as pro-fessionally as we can. If you haven’t been to our rodeo, you won’t un-derstand it until you leave.”

Stock Show and Rodeo continues to be amaze after 80 years

Allison Price Managing Editor

All photos by Rio Velasquez

OPINIONS Page 5Friday, Feb. 15, 2013

PUBLISHING POLICYPublished every Friday and available to students, one copy per student, the student newspaper of Angelo State University is a public forum, with its student editorial board making all decisions concerning its contents. Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board.Ram Page welcomes all letters. Please include your name, classification/position and a phone number and/or e-mail ad-dress for verification purposes. Letters must be signed and be no more than 350 words. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscenity, libel and privacy. Deadline is 5 p.m., Monday. Submission does not guarantee publication. Letters may be mailed, e-mailed or submitted at the newspaper’s office, Room 324 on the third floor of the Porter Henderson Library. Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff, nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as the opinion or policy of the administration, unless so attributed.

Ram Page Staff

2012-2013A n g e l o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y

Editor: Mariah PowellManaging Editor: Allison PriceCopy Editor: Rachel RiggsOnline Editor: Riley MashburnStaff Writer: Stephen Cogan Staff Writer: Terrence CainStaff Writer: Adam SaucedaCirculation Manager: Mariah PowellPhoto Editor: Rio Velasquez Photographer: Adam SaucedaAdvertising Manager: Kaitlynn Glendinning Adviser: Dr. Cathy Johnson

Ram PageASU Station #10895

San Angelo, Texas 76909-0895

Editor: rampage@angelo.edu Advertising: rampageads@angelo.edu

Newsroom: (325) 942-2323 Advertising: (325) 942-2040 Fax: (325) 942-2551 Member of

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“I went last year be-cause I had nothing to do. I had a lot of fun and am glad I went.”

“Yeah, because I’m from here.”

“No, but I have been to the carnival and I

really like that.”

“Yes because I like stock show and I’m from a

small town. I really like animals.”

“No, it never really appealed to me but

I’ve been to plenty of other ones.”

Chevis FlaniganSophomore

Briseida Ramirez Junior

Jazmin HumphreysSenior

Madelyn LeaFreshman

Jessica Gonzalez Junior

Have you been to the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo?

Maybe it’s a short month, but appreciate it’s worth.

I am writing this column to pay respect and observe Black history month.

Being African American is beauti-ful and I have never wanted to be any-thing other than that. As an African American female, from Burleson, Tex-as, I have seen some racism, but as the bigger person I have learned to grow and move around it.

Some people say I act too white, or even too black, but do these balances exist? Where is the scale that weighs your characteristics; your behavior;

your thoughts?In my world, I am just a human

breathing the same polluted air as the person beside me.

Some people make a big deal about Black history month being the short-est month of the year, but I am thank-ful there even is a Black history month.

People often look at the smaller picture rather than the overall view. In my opinion, this month is nationally designated for African Americans to review and celebrate their past, pres-ent and future, but we find too many people complaining rather than ex-ploring. If you are so wrapped up in the length of the month take out your own personal time 365 days a year to grow and become more knowledge-able of your culture.

There are so many things to know about African American history, but you have to research it. Other than the tedious ship ride, our history classes never dish out the history of blacks and what they were doing in Ameri-ca, unless it almost caused a fight or ended with a death of a black man. Of course, everyone is quick to bring up the most known African Americans, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks for their work with the Civil rights moment, or George Wash-ington Carver, scientist and educator

credited for the birth of peanut butter.But have you heard of Lewis Lat-

imer?He invented the carbon filament,

an important part of the light bulb. Latimer worked in the laboratories of both Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.

What about Garrett Morgan?He invented one of the first traffic

signaling devices. Saving many lives back then, and even now of course.

Or Lyda Newman?She invented the first hairbrush,

which is a tool that most people can-not leave the house without paying a visit to.

Lonnie G. Johnson?He invented the Supersoaker water

gun, creating summer fun in back-yards near you.

These are just a few of the millions of items out there invented by African Americans. I am not writing to brag about my culture, because every cul-ture comes up with something worth mentioning, but I am writing to in-form people. There is much more to African Americans than the Civil rights movement and that every meal isn’t chicken, watermelon and Kool-Aid.

When you ignore stupidity you find room, in your heart and beyond

your body, to grow. I am so thankful I found that room early in life. I know plenty of people who cannot turn the other cheek and be the bigger person in hostile situations, especially when pertaining to race. I see it as: If they can’t take it from you or change you, who are they to be against you?

Knowing what makes the skin you’re in beautiful is important, not just to African Americans, but to ev-eryone.

I love being African American and would not change who I am for any-body. I just wish people wouldn’t place themselves under stereotypes because they feel that others will do it any ways. I was that way before and it isn’t fun. You lose your true character try-ing to be what other people crave. It is not attractive and you soon realize that other people are not in your skin at the end of the day. Stereotypes are only true if you allow them to be, but please do be yourself.

Make the rest of the month a beau-tiful black parade. And remember that Black history month only goes as far as you take it. If you do not educate the blind they will never know what it is hidden.

Facts from www.scholastic.com

Mariah Powell Editor

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If you have cool story ideas you want to share with us we are ready to respond.

Friday, Feb. 15, 2013Page 6 SPORTS

Rams win 25 new players for 2013 season

The Rams may have struck gold this year by signing 25 new players that will wear the blue and gold for ASU on the sideline in the 2013 season.

22 of the players are straight out of high school, and three of the players are transfers from other colleges.

Head Coach Will Wagner announced the signings at the Junell Center on Friday, Feb. 8, and said he was pleased with this signing class.

Signing day is like free agency for colleges and universities with players committing to play football.

Instead of lucrative contracts with salaries, scholarships are offered to students as incentives.

Wagner said ASU landed several talented players – not just one player that wowed everyone.

“I feel really good about all of them,” Wagner said. “They were all top recruits at those spots and we’re very fortunate to get them. Right now, I don’t say there is one player that wows.

One recruit, offensive lineman Andre Gillette, comes from Odessa Permian High School, which is the same alma mater as Coach Wagner.

“A lot of coaches give me a hard time about that,” Wagner said with a smile. “I just tell them that’s where all the athletes are. We were very fortunate to get Andre.”

ASU mainly focused on recruiting in Texas; only three of the 25 players came from outside of Texas.

Many of the players will not gain a lot of playing time immediately as they do not have enough experience, but one player is sure to be have a great chance to earn a starting job.

Since the Rams’ previous kicker, Jarred Martin, has graduated, Wagner said he expects for new kicker Rhett Peterson to compete to be the Rams’ kicker for the 2013 season.

“Rhett’s got a great range,” Wagner said. “He gets the kickoffs in the end zone or close to it nearly every time and as for field goal range; anything under 40 he’s

going to be money.”The Rams’ main focus was on defensive backs and

eight of them were signed to the team.Wagner, who played defensive back before coaching,

said that was a position where they wanted to add depth.

Five of the players are offensive linemen, and will be under the direct coaching of offensive line coach Jay Eilers.

“All five of our offensive linemen are required to pull

on different schemes,” Eilers said. “We want to find the offensive linemen that have good feet, that are very athletic, but we don’t want to shorten ourselves in that area. We want to find the players that are long bodies and have the potential to get to 285-290 pounds. We don’t feel like we need to have the immediate 300 pound guy, and I think we did a good job in finding those athletes.”

The entire staff at ASU participates in the recruiting process and ASU has a good reputation.

“Our whole staff just does a phenomenal job at that,” Eilers said. “We know and understand that this is a people’s business. We have great people at every position from the coaches to the president of the university.”

Even the current players get involved with the recruiting process.

“When they come to us, they will spend a night at a hotel,” Eilers said. “We’ll put them with one of our current players and that gives both the recruit and the player an idea of how it is going to work here.”

The player then accompanies the potential recruit on tours of the facilities, the campus, etc and Eilers said he encourages the recruits to ask the players questions about ASU.

“I always tell the recruits to ask our players questions about what they want to know,” Eilers said.

ASU tries to create an atmosphere that appeals to the players and it can be compared to selling real estate.

“It’s kind of like buying a house,” Eilers said. “You can go into a house one day and as soon as you know that’s where you want to live and raise your family; it’s that kind of feeling that they have to have to know that this is the right place for them.”

Now that recruiting is over, Wagner said who will redshirt and who will play this season will depend on how players do in fall practice.

Wagner said he doesn’t want to tell a player that they are redshirting immediately, but rather have them compete for the job and then decide who starts and who doesn’t.

Wagner said the strategy is to see who are the best players and not let anyone slack off if they have the knowledge that they’ll be on the bench.

As for the recruits, they must have had that kind of feeling that Eilers was talking about.

Stephen Cogan Staff Writer

Football coaches focus on upcoming season with new players

Photo by Rio Velasquez Head football coach Will Wagner publicly announced the new Rams at a press conference Friday, Feb. 8.

Remembering fond memories from Brooks’ coaching career

Cont. from p.1ASU was hosting the tournament, so they had

home court advantage but Southeastern Okla-homa had something else.

“Southeastern had the best player in the coun-try, and we weren’t supposed to win that game and probably shouldn’t.” Kevin Brooks said.

And what happened?“She had them prepared and had them feeling

like if they can win that game, they can win in finals and they did.” Kevin Brooks said. “It was a great feeling and I was really proud of her.”

Brooks has made her career by being able to take players with a range of personalities and tal-ents and figuring out how to use them to the best of their ability.

“Each year is different because you are get-ting different players every year, so each year she brings a new level to her coaching ability and meet the challenge of the players to make them successful.” Duffell said.

As the years go by, the game naturally evolves and changes, but so does Brooks.

“She’s been able to revamp offenses, change offenses to put the players in successful positions and recruit athletes that will fit in her offense.” Duffell said. “As the years have gone by, the game has changed and she’s been able to stay up there in the coaching realm. I don’t think the game will ever go by her.”

And if Brooks has anything to say about it, it won’t.

Photo by Adam Sauceda Left: First baseman Quaid McKinnon catches a ball from his teammate before his opponent touches the bag. Right: Pitcher Mike Weatherly tries to strike out the batter. The Rams won two out of three games while at home on Feb. 8-9.

Photo by Rio Velasquez Freshman Haylee Oliver dribbles down the court during the Wednesday night game against Cameron University. The Belles won 60-50. They will take on Midwestern State, in Witchita Falls, on Feb. 16.

Rams still hold heads up after

eight game losing streak

The Rams lost 72-76 against Cameron Univer-sity at home Wednesday Feb. 13. Striving to hold a spot in the Lone Star Conference, the Rams will take Midwestern

State University to the court Saturday Feb. 16,

at 6 p.m., in Wichita Falls.