050109 front.qxp - Midland College

May 1, 2009
Volume XXXVI, No. 12
Express Hilda Simmons Levitt Poetry Contest
Pinning ceremony
Everyone is invited to attend the
Midland
College
Pinning
Ceremony honoring students who
have completed the Licensed
Vocational Nursing Program and
the Associated Degree Nursing
Program at 6 p.m., Wednesday,
May 6, at the Al G. Langford
Chaparral Center.
Scholarship awards
The public is invited to attend
the
Graduating
Sophomore
Scholarship Awards Ceremony and
Reception at 3 p.m., Thursday,
May 7, in rooms 110/111 of the F.
Marie Hall Academic building.
MC’s 36th
Commencement
to be held on May 8
At 7 p.m., Friday, May 8, MC
will host its graduation ceremony
for all students graduating from
certificate, associate and bachelor
degree programs. The ceremony
will be held at the Al G. Langford
Chaparral Center.
Spring Interim
Late registration for Spring
Interim continues and classes begin
May 11. Students may register in
person or on-line at www.midland.edu. Payment is due at the
time of registration. Spring Interim
runs through May 27 with a holiday on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day.
Summer I, II
Registration continues for
Summer I and Summer II. Classes
for Summer I begin May 28 and go
through July 7. Classes will not
meet on July 2 in observance of
Independence Day. Summer II is
July – Aug. 13. For more information, go to www.midland.edu or
call 685-4500.
Fall semester
Early advising for the Fall 2009
semester begins June 1 and lasts
through July 23. July 14-16 the
college will offer JumpStart Early
Registration (two sessions per
day). Students should register online at www.midland.edu. On-line
registration for the fall semester
begins at 8 a.m., Monday, July 27.
Walk-in registration is Aug. 3–
Aug. 28. Classes begin Aug. 31.
Kids’ College
online registration
now underway
Midland’s favorite summer
enrichment program for first
through sixth graders brings 12
new classes to the kids of Midland!
The new courses include Bead It!,
Broadway
Lights,
Selective
Detective and Funky Forensics.
Online registration is available at
www.midland.edu/kidscollege.
Session I is from June 1-11;
Session II is from June 15-25; and
a third session has been added from
July 6-16. Please call (432) 6854518.
Basic Excel course
meets May 11, 13
This two-day afternoon course
offers the opportunity to develop
basic Excel 2007 skills by studying
spreadsheet terminology, exploring
Excel’s window components and
Help system and discovering how
to navigate through worksheets and
workbooks. This hands-on course
also covers entering and editing
text, values, formulas and pictures;
saving workbooks in various formats; basic formatting techniques;
printing, creating and modifying
charts; and managing large workbooks. The course costs $139 and
meets 1 - 5 p.m. on Monday, May
11 and Wednesday, May 13 at the
ATC. Online registration is available at www.midland.edu/workforce or by calling (432) 681-6330.
By Rebekah Karth
Editor
First place in the 21st annual Hilda
Simmons Levitt poetry contest went
to W. Ross Feeler, last year’s secondplace winner. Ross Feeler has now
won first place in every category of
Midland College’s two writing contests, the HSL poetry contest and the
Creative Writing Contest.
Ross Feeler is the son of Billy
Feeler, dean of fine arts and communication.
“He amazes me that he writes what
he does at 20,” Billy Feeler said. “He
writes very mature poetry.”
This year’s contest had a record of
16 honorable mention winners.
“The contest was impressive in both
the number and the quality of poems,”
said Thom Satterlee, assistant professor of English at Taylor University
and judge of the 2009 Hilda Simmons
Levitt poetry contest.
“I felt inclined to give out several
awards because there were many
poems deserving congratulations and
poets deserving encouragement for
their work,” Saterlee said.
The prizes this year were $600 for
See Poetry, page 7
Photo courtesy of Nancy Thorne, MC public relations
Benefactor Carol Schwartz, front center, who lives in Washington, D.C, and to the left Thom Saterlee, HSL judge
from Taylor University in Indiana, are surrounded by many of this year’s award winners following the awards
ceremony for the 21st annual contest.
Thomas to officiate at 36th annual commencement
Editor’s Note: Please note the following abbreviations: H – Honors,
HH – High Honors, * - Phi Theta
Kappa and † – Legacy Society. The
list of potential graduates is as of
April 28, 2009.
Kaegan Saenz
Staff Reporter
Midland College President Steve
Thomas will officiate at his first commencement ceremony at 7 p.m.,
Friday, May 8, in the Al G. Langford
Chaparral Center.
More than 625 students are potential graduates at the 36th annual commencent including 12 in the Bachelor
of Applied Technology program.
An MC tradition is that the faculty
and administrators line the corridors
leading to the seating area while the
students pass between the two lines
shaking hands and gathering congratulations.
Attendees are invited to the
President’s Reception immediately
following the ceremony.
Potential graduates receiving bachelor of applied technology degrees
are: Robert Gibbs H, Laura J. Hanson
H, Misti Hathcock, Araseli A. Licon
†, Jeremy Linebarger †, Jack R.
Maines H, Ed Damian Mendez, Tana
Moreno, Katrina Nicole Perez, Cody
D. Rich, Patrick Roberson and Jessica
L. Trantham-Rich.
Potential graduates receiving associate of arts degrees are: Maria de la
Luz Acevedo, Lissette Aguirre †,
Laura Anastasio, Paz E. Arenas,
Lyrell D. Barfield, Glynis K. Barnes
HH, Maria Carmen U. Barrera, Lyne
V. Brown HH, Katheleen Chaney †,
Katie Chiles, Deja Chrisman, Jason
Clardy, Bianka Simone Davis,
Christina Deramus, Melissa Di Pane,
David Diaz †, Samantha Victoria Diaz
†, Andrew Eaton H †, Christian Estep
and Patrick Evans.
Other AA potential recipients are:
Pamela Falcon †, Kimberly Farmer,
Oralia Galicia, Melissa Gail Galusky
H †, Annessa Garcia, Antonio Garcia
IV, Maria Azucena Garcia, Trina
Gillette, Melissa Kaye Graham H,
Brooke Hernandez, Gregory L. Hill,
Jr., Taylor Howard †, Isabel Hudson
H, Cheri Elizabeth Hurley, Kaleb
Hurley, Jessica Renee James H,
Cyndee Jeffries H, Deborah Ellen
Johnson, LeeShantea Johnson, Amber
Kamaka, Rebekah Joanna Karth HH*,
Alan Kaup, Bradley J. Kelleher,
Candice Kohn † and Jessica Ann
Kounce.
Also, Carter Allan Lacy, Travis
Lawler, Melemalama K. Leasau,
Garrett Lamar Lever, Amanda Nicole
Long HH , Marlon Marcio Luz
Louzeiro, James Lynch †, Kavon
Lytch, Kristen Marris H, Jeremy
Mason †, Michael Daniel Montalvo †,
Dymond Morgan, Sharon Renee
Nelson, Christina Norton, Elva E.
Olivas, Kristine D. Otero H,
Kimberley M. Patten H, Lauren Priest
†, T’Erika Raftie, Tara J. Rains H,
Guadalupe
Yharte
Ramirez,
Alexandria Riedeman, Chelsie Marie
Robbins H †, Ana G. Rodriguez, Betsy
Rodriguez †, Raul Rodriquez, Kylie
See Grads, page 3
Tuition hike necessary as state funding dwindles
By Rebekah Karth
Editor
A tuition increase was approved by
the Midland College Board of
Trustees at its April board meeting.
This fall, in-district students will
pay $3 more per credit hour; out-ofdistrict students will pay $5 and outof-state students will pay $7 more.
The distance learning fee for Webbased classes will increase by $9.
“Raising tuition was a hard decision
we had to make and not something we
really wanted to do,” said MC
President Steve Thomas. Costs continue to rise and Thomas said he
expects that not only will there not be
an increase in state funding, but quite
possibly a decrease.
MC has two other main sources of
income, taxes and tuition and because
of the way the state comptroller has
assessed minerals income, ad valorem
tax has been affected, Thomas said.
That left the board with the choice of
raising taxes or tuition.
Several MC students who did not
know that tuition was going to be discussed were at the board meeting to
fulfill class requirements.
“I think it’s a little unfair, but at the
same time I think it’s not too much,”
said Alinna Holguyn, one of the students who was at the meeting. “I think
there’s other places they could raise
fees on like the chapel (which was
approved to have a fee increase at the
meeting).”
The trustees also approved a new
security system at the meeting, something that Thomas said is important.
Classroom technology costs are going
up, something that Thomas called a
black hole in funding because equipment continually needs updating.
“We will continue to benchmark
costs against the state average and
against local colleges,” Thomas said.
“We will tighten our belts and do the
best we can to serve students.”
One of those ways of serving students is by providing financial aid.
Students can apply for financial aid
from a number of sources.
“Apply for financial aid and apply
now,” said Latisha Williams, director
of financial aid. Students need to fill
out the FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal aid and MC students can
also fill out the college’s general academic scholarship online.
If a student knows that their household income for the coming year is
going to be less than the previous
year, such as due to a loss of employment or a pay cut, the student can go
to the financial aid office to file a special circumstances form, Williams
said. This allows the financial aid
office to have a more accurate picture
of the student’s financial situation for
See Tuition, page 7
Coca-Cola Scholars, USA Today
Karth named Gold Scholar on All-State Academic Team
From staff reports
MC student Rebekah Karth was
recently designated as a Gold Scholar
for the 2009 Coca-Cola All-State
Academic Team.
As a winner in this national competition—sponsored by the CocaCola Scholars Foundation, USA
Today, Phi Theta Kappa Honor
Society and the American Association of Community Colleges—
Karth will receive a $1,500 scholarship, a gold medallion and a certificate. She will also be honored at
MC’s commencement ceremony on
the evening of May 8, 2009.
“Being an active student—in the
classroom and the community—really does pay off,” Karth said.
“Education is very important to me
because I want to develop my skills
further so I can make a positive
impact on the lives of others.
Midland College has provided me
with an excellent environment to start my collegiate
career—I’ve grown and
learned so much from
everyone here,” she continued.
This year, nearly 1,500
technical and junior college nominees competed
for the All-USA Academic
Team. Karth is one of only
50 students nation-wide to
receive the “Gold Scholar”
designation, which was
awarded based on her
application, essays, letters
of recommendation and
excellent academic record.
She was also mentioned in the April
6 issue of USA Today with the other
Gold Scholars.
In addition to maintaining a 4.0
GPA for the past three semesters and
volunteering with numerous community organizations, Karth has served
as president of MC’s Student
Government Association and editor
of MC’s newspaper, El Paisano. She
is also a member of Students in
Philanthropy and Phi Theta Kappa
Honor Society.
She was voted into “Who’s Who
Among American University and
College Students” for 2009. Karth
said she plans to attend the
University of Texas at Arlington
where she was offered a $20,000
scholarship.
She will pursue a degree in communications with a minor in classics,
and then earn her master of library
and information science degree.
Commentary
Page 2
Editorial
Good news abounds
as school year ends
As another school year ends, we would like to reflect on some of the good
things that have happened at the college during the past two semesters.
First, Midland College started the fall 2008 semester with its fourth president—Steve Thomas—in place. He is the first MC president who has previous ties to the college, and we think that this is a good thing. His quiet
presence and ability to survey his surroundings before making any drastic
changes has served him and the campus well. We look forward to many
more years of his leadership.
When you read this issue you will see many stories spotlighting student
success.
First, in its 36th commencement ceremony next week, potentially 625 students will graduate. From the 12 who should receive bachelor of applied science degrees to the hundreds receiving associates degrees to the certificate
graduates—the students have worked hard and will now reap the benefits of
the education they received at Midland College.
The members of MC’s Students in Philanthropy (SIP) worked hard during
the fall semester raising money that would be matched by the Abell-Hanger
Foundation. Last week, they awarded more than $20,000 to area non-profits
who had completed grant applications. This organization teaches students
about more than just the importance of making good grades. They teach students about giving back to the community in which they live.
The Hilda Simmons Levitt Poetry Contest’s entries were so good this year
that the judge, who was from Indiana, chose not only the top four award winners, he also awarded honorable mentions to 16 other students. This expanded the scope of the contest and allowed more students to be recognized for
their work.
One student was recently awarded a Gold Scholar All-State Academic
Award for her excellent academic record. The student moved to Texas in
2007 from Michigan with her large family. A move that might have stymied
some only made her stronger, and MC was a springboard for her successes.
The award put her name in USA Today and won her a $1.500 scholarship …
and that award led UT Arlington to offer her a $20,000 scholarship, which
she has accepted. Michigan’s loss was Texas’ gain.
Hundreds of MC medical students go on to work not only in the Permian
Basin, but all over the country. Next time you are at the doctor’s office or
when you are having a procedure done, ask the nurse, radiologist, sonographer or physician’s assistant where they went to school. Chances are they
will say “Midland College.”
Last night, the MC athletes held their annual awards banquet. The awards
are too numerous to mention but we can say around 114 student athletes
were honored for their work in the classroom and in their respective sports.
At last count, eight current athletes have signed to play their sport at the
next level at four-year schools around the U.S. Most MC athletes excel at
their new schools and in life after college.
MC not only trains student athletes, we also train coaches. Many of MC’s
coaches have gone on to coach at larger schools … and one in particular is
leaving us this year after a stellar MC career.
The economy made be bad. Flu and viruses may be attacking some areas
of the world. The ozone may be depleting. Tuition may be rising. But today
we want to celebrate the good things that are happening and there are many
of them to pick from right here where we live, play and study.
May 1, 2009
Roye’s Theory of Relativity
by Peyton Roye
Page Editor
After days upon days of extensive replace the batteries in his remote taining a clear view of the assailant
research, I had seen all the 007 films with some that were no good, he and his entire room.
After a few seconds of thinking, he
necessary to compose my own arsenal would seek fresh, working batteries
went for it. By the nightstand, under
of insidious espionage tactics. I was elsewhere.
now prepared to carry out my objecPrior to his arrival I had taken all of the old posters, he now had batteries
tives with precision not yet achieved AA batteries in the house and put and I now had location.
Phase two, however, would be a litthem into a secure hiding spot. Thus,
by the average 18-year-old.
As the rightful owner of the CD leaving only two available working tle more difficult. How was I to get
player, I could have easily approached batteries. The ones in my CD player. him out of the room long enough to
grab my player?
my dearest cousin and simply asked Now all I had to do was wait.
The good thing was I needed only a
I went into the kitchen and proceedfor it back, but that was easy, too easy.
ed to make me a sandwich as if it were small window of opportunity, 10 secHe would be expecting that.
So I decided that it was essential to just another ordinary day. I could onds max. This left me with many
devise a plan so that this operation overhear Chris complaining about the options. Keeping someone occupied
would go as smoothly as possible. remote. Things were going as planned for 30 seconds is easy let alone 10.
So, I grabbed a rather large piece of
Phase one of my plan: Recon, pure so far.
He came into the kitchen and construction paper and folded in half
and simple.
If I was to have even a slight hope looked into the drawer which normal- on the front I wrote, “ I will get you
Chris,” in big thick lettering.
of success, I needed informaOn the inside I wrote down
tion, and the only way to
my
favorite knock- knock
obtain this much-needed info
“Before entering the jungle
joke. This was an attention getwas reconnaissance work.
Something I learned from one must be knowledgeable ter and it would give me the
ol’ Bond, was that awareness in regards to the terrain if time needed to retrieve my
goods.
is a key tool. You must know
I tied the diversion to the tree
everything about your mis- one wishes to tread it sucin the front yard so that it was
sion.
cessfully.”
perfectly visible from the door.
Before entering the jungle
He was sure to see it. It was
one must be knowledgeable in
now go-time. Do or don’t get
regards to the terrain if one
ly contains the batteries, only to find it your CD player back.
wishes to tread it successfully.
I exited out of the back door,
The most important thing I needed was completely empty.
He asked, “Do you know where the walked to the front and rang the door
to know was where my CD player
bell.
was being held. It would be far to batteries are?”
As quickly as I could I ran around
“No sir I don’t, what seems to be
sloppy to spend time digging around
to the back door and listened. When I
for it once I had gained entry to the problem?” I asked inquiringly.
“Remote batteries are dead,” he heard that he opened the wooden
Chris’s room.
door, I made my re-entry.
To make this a quick-and-easy, in- replied.
When he opened the screen door, I
So I helpfully insisted: “Just use
and-out type of ordeal, I needed to
dashed to his room. While sprinting
know its location beforehand. At first, batteries out of something else.”
The moment of truth was near. past, I saw that indeed he was going to
I tought finding out where it was,
Recon was going exactly as I had look and the note addressed to him.
would be difficult.
Perfection had been achieved. I
Fortunately that was not the case. hoped.
He made his way back to his room grabbed my walkman, ran back into
From past observance, I knew that the
remote controlling my cousin’s TV and I quietly followed a few paces the living room and sat down just as
he was coming back in. Mission comrequired two AA batteries, like my behind.
I crouched behind a chair to plete. Ian Fleming would have been
portable music device.
It was then I concluded that if I decrease visibility while still main- proud.
Opinion
Students debate legalization of marijuana
By Kaegan Saenz
Staff Reporter
When most people think of marijuana, they picture criminals, gateway
drugs and dangerous narcotics.
Most popular during the time of
“free spirits” and “stellar tunes” of the
70s, marijuana (Mary Jane) has been
illegal since the first found law in
1905, El Paso, Texas.
But what is it that makes this drug
so bad for us; that makes it constitutionally illegal and is frowned upon
by many across the country?
More and more debates seem to be
rising about the possible legalization
of marijuana and if so, how it would
be distributed.
The downfall of our economy is
rapid; would the production of marijuana help the U.S. out? How would
the people of Midland handle the
legalization of the drug?
Some Midland College students
have had this topic on their minds for
some time now and are starting to
speak out about it. David Edens, soci-
ology professor, recently held a class
debate on the legalization of marijuana.
The debate covered many different
things about the possible decriminalization of the plant and both the pros
and cons about the drug.
“There is no physical evidence that
smoking marijuana is dangerous,
while on the other hand cigarettes are
proven to be a deadly addiction,”
debated Christy Landry, an MC student who spoke pro for the debate.
The opposing side brought up many
statements about the harmfulness of
marijuana and the dangers of users
being led down a road of bigger
drugs.
“I know I wouldn’t want my kids
any where near it. Marijuana will lead
kids to other dangerous things,” said
Andrea Lewellen, an MC student and
a debater on the negative side.
Other than the physical effects of
marijuana, the debaters also talked
about the economic standpoint and
how it could help our collapsing
financial problems.
“With the downfall in our economy,
the taxation of cannabis will create
more jobs and bring in many billions
of dollars to the U.S.,” debated Mario
Siqueiros, MC student and a debater
for the pro marijuana team.
A quote taken from a recent article
titled How to Stop the Drug Wars
states, “The United States alone
spends some $40 billion each year on
trying to eliminate the supply of
drugs. It arrests 1.5 million of its citizens each year for drug offenses,
locking up half a million of them;
tougher drug laws are the main reason
why one in five black American men
spend some time behind bars.”
Not only will the prisons be less
crowded but also money to tackle bigger issues would be conserved for the
law enforcement and prison systems
due to the legalization
Pro debater Siqueiros said law
enforcement should be focused on
harder drugs such as cocaine and
meth.
“Marijuana is not harmful. We
should stop wasting time and focus on
getting the harder drugs out,”
Siqueiros said in his opening rebuttal.
With that being said, how would the
conservative town of Midland feel
about the legalization of cannabis and
its distribution?
Several different viewpoints were
heard but the majority would not like
to see it come to the West Texas town.
Many views were based on their family up-bringing and the example they
want to set for their children.
While campaigning, now President
Barack Obama had speculated about a
new change and actions to make marijuana legal for all who choose to use
it as a recreational activity.
However, Obama does not seem to
be on the same page, as many “recreational smokers” seem to think.
In an online questionnaire, Obama
answered some of those important
questions that have been on the minds
of many.
When asked the question whether
legalizing marijuana would improve
the economy and job creation, Obama
“laughed” and said, “This was a popular question. We want to make sure
it’s answered. The answer is no, I
don’t think that’s a good strategy to
grow our economy.”
Many people seem to think that his
opinions will change throughout his
term.
With this question out there, would
marijuana help the economy?
It seems like it could be a possibility. With the economic melt-down of
the times, it only seems that it could
be a helpful solution for the re-growth
of our world.
With a new year and a “change”
promised to the American people,
what lies ahead for the country?
As the debate of legalizing marijuana heightens, many are starting to
question whether or not this could be
the turning point our economy needs.
Time will only tell, as this idea is
played out in the media and across the
country.
Opinion
Japanese student laments cost of getting American education
By Hotaka Demura
Staff Reporter
I love America, but I am not
American. I am Japanese. I don’t have
a green card.
I am a non-resident alien. F-1 visa
students are not qualified to get the
residency of a certain district even if
they stay in the region for a year.
They have to pay international student tuitions to public universities forever and can’t earn federal financial
aid like American students.
I am taking 12 hours for $1,296 at
Midland College.
In-district residents are paying $684
for the same number of classes,
according to MC 2008-2009 Catalog
& Handbook.
Both are still acceptable. I can
invest this amount of money for my
future.
It is okay to pay 300 bucks each, for
example, for history, government,
French and journalism classes in a
semester.
Students, who want to transfer to
the college of communication at the
University of Texas in Austin, are
advised to take French sophomore
courses in advance of enrollment,
according to a 2008-2010 transfer
guide for UT’s Texas community college students.
I have decided to take the courses
outside MC this summer, because the
school does not offer the courses.
I went to the Web site for UT first. I
was surprised when I saw the summer
tuition that international students must
pay.
The tuition for two courses, equiva-
lent to six hours, is $8,297, according
to a document named “2010 summer
undergraduate tuition.”
At MC, six hours cost $648. The
difference between the two is $7,649.
I could easily decide to get into the
cheaper one and will buy a car.
It is a risky bet to presume that the
sophomore French courses, provided
by UT—a school ranked among the
best 50 national universities in the
United States by US News and World
Report—are far greater than what
community colleges offer.
They are just intermediate French
courses. In addition, these courses
offered by UT and Texas community
colleges are interchangeable with
each other.
These courses are technically the
same. For what reason would interna-
tional students take the courses at UT?
This is a story not only about
French courses but college tuition
itself. Such problems also bother
American students who have to pay
non-resident tuition or who go to private schools.
What is education worth? Many
may regard an education as an investment for future life.
It is not profitable, however, when
a person spends a hundred grand for
schools of as little fame in the world
as UT.
UT is neither like Harvard,
Princeton, Yale nor Stanford. People,
who say that education is for knowledge, should go to the public library.
My mother said that education is
nothing. She is correct in the respect
that education does not guarantee a
person’s life in every case, but particularly in case of the bar and restaurant
businesses.
Students who want to become
artists like me cannot make money
from their diplomas. Their successes
depend entirely on their talents and
luck.
Education is still needed for such
kinds of people, but only as long as
the fee is restricted within a reasonable extent.
I came to the United States to study
and make films. I will choose to study
in a school ranked in tier three or four
for $5,000 a year tuition rather than a
school ranked in tier one for $30,000.
And I will buy a professional camcorder, a Mac computer, Final Cut
editing software and whatever else
using the difference between them.
May 1, 2009
Commentary/News
Page 3
Opinion
Sponsors provide hope for less fortunate
By Bailee Hennis
Page Editor
I adopted a child last month. I just
turned 20, and I was inspired by my
sister to adopt my child.
Hawa Musa is three-years-old and
lives with her biological parents in
Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is one of
the poorest places in West Africa.
I did some research about Sierra
Leone and also read Angelina Jolie’s
book called Notes on my travels.
Jolie takes you on an emotional journey of happiness and sorrow as each
page depicts the life of people in need.
Jolie travels to Cambodia,
Pakistan, Africa and Ecuador. “The
children grab your hands and walk
with you smiling and singing. They
have nothing. They are wearing
ripped dusty clothes and are smiling,”
Jolie says in her book.
As you may or may not know
Angelina Jolie has adopted many kids
from all over the world.
She adopted her youngest child,
Maddox, from Cambodia after visiting there many times. Although Jolie
physically adopts children, Hawa is a
child I sponsor through the Christian
Children’s Fund online.
Hawa is unique. I like to think we
were brought together for a special
reason.
When you sign up on the Web site
you get to choose what age, what
country and the sex of your child.
I wanted to adopt them all, but for
some reason I kept going back to this
little girl wearing a camouflaged tank
top.
Hawa has to travel to school. She
walks miles by herself to get to class.
One of her friends has to leave three
hours early to get to class on time, but
has to wait for the sun to come up so
he doesn’t get attacked by wild animals.
Hawa and her parents live in a hut
with a mud floor. During the rainy
seasons the roof leaks. Her parents do
some farming and grow their own
crops.
Children in Sierra Leone have very
poor health care. Pregnant mothers
are given Tetnis shots before they give
birth to try and reduce the chance of
infection both to her and the baby.
Photo courtesy of Bailee Hennis
Three-year-old Hawa Musa
Everyone in the city lacks good water
and toilet facilities.
I get Hawa’s report card from
school. I also get to send her pictures
and write her letters. I feel close to
Hawa even though she is so far away.
Some of her favorite toys to play
with are tin cans. The Web site lets
you buy certain items from them for
your child. You can get things such as
seeds, lanterns, plants, emergency
medicine and even buy them chicken
farms and camels.
I can send her toys from America
but there is no guarantee she will get
to keep them because other people
steal them.
The Web site recommends sending
string or coloring books.
It’s sad to think that Hawa gets
such enjoyment out of tin cans when
we just toss them in the trash here at
home. Even though her life is so
unfortunate and devastating, she finds
happiness in what she can.
I am saving up money to buy her a
birthday present in October when she
turns four. I also want to take a trip to
visit her one day.
I don’t know how she will act. It’s
hard to think that you rely on someone
who you’ve never met. She might be
too young to understand the truth of it
all.
I would love to bring her home with
me, but I know I couldn’t break the
bond between her and her parents.
They are her only refuge, her safe
haven.
When you take a trip to Sierra
Leone, you have to get briefed and
escorted to your child’s home. They
tell you not to make promises and not
to mention coming to America.
They do this because citizens of
Sierra Leone don’t know what’s in
store for them in the future.
Hawa and her parents live on $150
a year. That’s 30 cups of coffee from
Starbucks. That’s 11 CDs or DVDs.
I think about Hawa all the time. I
have a niece that’s her age. I never
regret becoming her sponsor.
$24 a month is what she relies on
for her health, food and education.
For
more
information,
visit
Christianchildrensfund.org
News
French course to be offered at MC again
By Hotaka Demur
Staff Reporter
Midland College will offer French
2311 in fall 2009, according to
William Feeler, dean of fine arts and
communications.
The sophomore French courses,
2311 and 2312, had been offered at
MC until two years ago, said Susan
Leshnower,
French
professor.
However, because “we did not have
sufficient enrollments, the class was
cancelled.”
Actual numbers of students who
attended last time were two in French
2311 and one in French 2312,
Leshnower said.
This spring, eight students will successfully pass French 1412, an elementary French course, which is a
prerequisite for the sophomore French
class. The dean made the decision to
offer the course, Leshnower said. In
addition, many of them “have asked
to have intermediate French offered
because they need two years of college French,” she said.
Intermediate French courses are
included in the humanities area of
core curriculum, according to the MC
2008-2009 Catalog & Handbook.
The sophomore French “is a basic
intermediate French course with
emphasis on speaking, comprehension, reading and writing,” Leshnower
said. In addition, “the course will
review the grammar already taught in
beginning French and expand conversation.”
French 2311 will be offered both
on-campus and online. The on-campus schedule is from 11 a.m. to 12:20
p.m., Tuesday and Thursday,
Leshnower said.
In the online course, “the grading
policy will be based on test scores,
which should be taken online, and on
the scores of Quia, the online workbook,” Leshnower said.
In the on-campus course, even
though the policy may be “subject to
change,” it is comprised of: chapter
tests and the final, 100 points each,
600 points in total; six Quia online
workbook units, 100 points each, 600
points in total; class participation 300
points. The total points 1500 (A =
1350-1500, B = 1349-1215, C = 12141093, D =1092- 984 and F = 983 or
below), according to Leshnower.
“The main difference between
online and on-campus courses is that
students have more opportunities to
hear French on-campus than in an
online course, because I conduct the
classes in French,” Leshnower said.
If enough students attend French
2311 in fall 2009, consecutive French
2312 will be offered in spring 2010,
Feeler said.
And, Robai Nabibya, Garrett James
Nichols, Tanya M. Nichols H, Fungai,
Patience Njunga H, Shana O’Neal †,
Matthew Olgin, Nikki Paulins, Kevin
Pearce, Kristopher Pearce, Stacy
Lynn Pickett, Jeffrey Kyle Pinkstaff,
Nathan Wade Pirtle
Omobolanle
Popoola, Samantha Portillo, Danny
Lee Presley, Jr., Rueben Pride,
Charles T. Pruitt, Kristin Rebecca
Quine, Delma Velasquez Ramirez,
Laura Ramirez H, Victoria Crystal
Ramirez, Wanda Ramirez, Brittany
Allison Ramos †, Robert R. Redman
H, Andres A. Reyes, Ashley Reyes †,
Luz Rodriguez, Stephanie Rodriguez
H, Erika J. Rodriquez †, Daisy Roman
and Tara Sloane Rowland †.
Other potential AS graduates are:
Audon Saldivar, Jr., Christina Eve
Sanchez †, Edwin Ari Sanchez, Olivia
Sanchez †, Sylvia Sanchez, Jessica
Santorelli †, Taylor Wayne Scott †,
Chelsea Brianne Sheppard, Tyler
Sheppard H†*, Lee Sinclair †, Charlie
Winterhawk
Soap
H,
Carly
Sparkman, Lindsey Anne Stamper
H*, Gina Beth Stewart HH, Kaci
Lynn Taylor, Ricardo Francisco
Teodoro H, Cheyenne Rochelle
Thaggard abd Amanda Tinney H†*.
Also, William McMillan Tyler,
Amber Lilly Valadez, Gracie O.
Vallejo H, Phillip Vandiver, Hector
Villareal H, Angela Voyles, Matthew
Walker, Tara Megan Walters †, Taylor
Walton †, Monica Sue Washington,
Erin Francis Webster HH , Jamie West
H*, Virginia LouAnn White †, Larry
Darrell Wilkins, April Williams †*,
Ashley Williams †, Kelli M.
Williams, Brandon Williamson †,
Janis Beck Wilson H, Ashley
Angelina Winner, Jacob A. Worsham
and Logan Zamora.
Potential graduates receiving associate of applied science degrees:
Melissa Acosta, Mawwko Agbemabiese H, Hilda Aguirre, Megan A.
Avila †, Krystal Lynn Baird, Justin
Baker HH, Angela M. Barela, John
Paul Bargas †, Mashanda Elean
Baugh †, Jack D. Beall, Tarshina
Renee Belcher, Bradley R. Bell H,
Dalia Bernal, Chane L. Blandford,
and Nizar Boodhwani †.
Also, Shannon R. Brewer,
Christopher P. Brideweser H, Sherry
Bromley, Charles Alan Brooks †,
Laura Ashley Brooks, Melissa
Christine Broten †*, Tina Broughton
H, Brandi Kaye Buck H, Heather D.
Burns †, Jason Lee Burns, Dannen
Noble Bushman HH and Sandra
Elaine Bustamante.
And Stacy Marie Cabral, Kelsey L.
Cain †, Cami Callahan H, Ricardo
Campa, Lori Campos, Martha
Robledo Cantu, Karina Carrasco †,
from page 1
Ysmelda Torres Castro, Stuart
Cauthron H, Kimberly Michelle
Cedillo †, Reyna Cerda, Rosemary
Chacon, Rukia Chambuso, Crystal
Lannette Childers H†, Melanie
Childress *, Frances Chuchu, Michael
Cipriani and Jason D. Cooley HH.
Others are: Arcenia Corral, Nancy
Terisa Cravens, Tracie Cross, Amy
Cura, Jane Dagdag †, Krystal Davis
Ana De La Cruz H , Samantha A. De
La Pena, James Warren Dean HH,
Anna Rosa Delgado, Gustavo Diaz,
Jeff Dickson, Rebecca Dubose,
Beverly Tercero Dutchover, Kayla
Delane Edward, Janell S. Erickson H,
Sanya Estes, Brandy Lynn Evans †,
Matthew Evans †, Tisha DeShanna
Falcon, Emma Flowers, Dana Floyd,
Cammie Lee Ford, Melissa Ann
Freeman and Tressie Fulcher.
Other potential AAS graduates are:
John Gagne HH, Abel Renee Galindo
H, Rebecca Garcia, Jodi Garvin, Julie
Melissa Gary, Leah Hart Deputy
Garza, Twila Michelle Hillger Garza
*, Michelle N. Gignac, Latonya
Gilbert, Gabriel Lee Gonzales Roni
Segal Gonzalez, Sandra S. Grajeda,
Tara Green, Joshua Dale Greer,
Jordan Hall, Charlie S. Hammerle H,
Wendy Harper H, Rebecca L. Hejnal,
Aaron L. Hicks, Valentin Hinojos,
Benjamin Kyle Hirth, David Morgan
Houston HH, Kristin Leigh Irvin,
Mishaela Ivy †, Nataly Jasso, Oscar
Jimenez, Jr., Dawn Aldray Johnson,
Jessica J. Jones † and Tori Jones.
Also, Darla Klatt*, Robert W.
Knappage, Christy Laing †, Aimee
LeDoux, Karen Anne Leiker †, Tasha
E. Long, Elizabeth Lopez, Justin W.
Lowry, Holly J. Ludington, Jeffrey A.
Luna, John Luoma, Brandon Kyle
Luttrell, Jessica Luzadder H*,
Esteban Maldonado † and Analisha
Marie Marquez H.
Others are: Krystal Marquez †,
Sarah Marquez, Esther U. Martinez,
Tammy S. Mason H, Justin D.
McConnell †, Ashlyn Jane McKee
H*, Anthony McPherson, Cullen P.
McQuhae, Tamika R. Pride-Medrano,
Jim, Hale Miller III, Tammy C.
Miller, Shirley Mitchell H, Edith
Montes †, Kevin A. Moore H, Melissa
Kay Moore †, Isabel M. Moralez H,
Victoria E. Munguia and Brittany
Michelle Murphree †.
Others are: Norman E. Nary HH,
Justin Ncho, Sheryl Ann Norred HH,
Patricia Marie Nunez, Diane Ochoa,
Oggoluwa Omolola Olorunfemi *,
Georgina Elizabeth Olvera, Julia
Nicole Osburn, Chritina Ornelas H,
Kelly L. Overton, Cynthia Dawn
Patterson, Joyce Patterson, Heather
Marie Peets H†, Tonya Marie Perez,
Ryan Perna, Stacy Gutierrez Pharies
H, Kelley M. Pickens and Tristan M.
Pickering.
Others are: Kriston Nachelle
Pinkstaff †, Ombolanle Popoola,
Peggy J. Quintela H, Flash Gordon
Rainey, David Ramirez H, Eliana
Ramos †, Kelli R. Reavis, Dylana
Provancha Reid, Sherah Lauren,
Render H, Gilbert A. Rivera H†*,
Sharon Elaine Rodriguez, Kori Dian
Rogers, Jennifer Roland H†, Theodore Ruiz †, Venessa R. Saldana H,
Blanca N. Salgado, Jose Louis Salgado, Cynthia Sanchez, Juanita
Sanchez, Maria Santana †, Deborah J.
Schafer, Jason Schwartz, Ryan Scott
H, Naomi Scurlark H, Esther Shambare H, Kayla F. Sheen H, Kevin W.
Shelton, Chitalu Luke Sikazwe, Justin
Simpson †, Henry Barasa Sirengo *,
Alayna Gayle Smith, Cortney Smith,
Bianca Cynthia Ramirez Sosa †, Gina
Beth Stewart HH and Gracy Subia.
And, Thomas G. Taylor H,Angelica
Flores Urias, Manuela Urquizo, Jesse
T. Valenzuela, Gary Valeriano,
Brittany Van Every †, Matthew Aaron
Vann, Andrea Vasquez H, Raquenel J.
Vela, Leslie Ann Velasco, Angela
Voyles, Jo Wagner †, Rita Lynn
Wallace, Tonia J. Wallace
H,
Matthew Weatherford †, Mary Elaine
Weaver, Meghan Brooke Weir †,
Spencer West, Joshua Wilson, Charles
G . Wood HH, Lisa Diane Wright,
Randi Michelle Young H†* and
Shannon Tiffany Young H.
Students scheduled to receive certificates are: Maria D. Acosta, Anita
K. Ali H, Lourdes Alonzo, Alicia
Oyuki Alvarado, Jessica Alvarado,
Glenn Antrim, Mimie Armendariz
HH, Oyuki Athayde, Melva Ann
Baeza H, Charles Max Barns, Mallory
Marie Blahnik, Jonathan Blakes,
Christopher T. Brewer, Levi D.
Bruttomesso, Leana Rae Bryan,
Melanie Lynn Bueno H, Adriana
Reyes Camacho, Tanya Canady, Anna
Lisa Carrasco, Angeline Alyssa
Casarez, Joe Castro III, Marisa
Cervantes HH†, Kam Chaan Wah H,
Alexandra Leann Cook, Karen Garcia
Cordova †, Taylor Cox, Tasha
Michelle Creech, Maria R. Cura .
Also, Josh Dean, Brandy Dearing.
Jeana West Derrick H, Harry J.
Doshier, Georgia Edgar, Esmeralda
Elrod †, Antonio Enriquez, Stephanie
Ann Feaster, Leonardo Flores H,
Michelle Foster, Regina Franko,
Rosamaria Fuentes, Chance L.
Gafford H, Abel Renee Galindo H,
Vanessa Galindo † and Haley Rebecca
Galvan.
And Antonio Garcia IV, Emily
Aileen Garcia H, Jesus Arturo Garcia,
Miriam Sanchez Garcia, Raquel
Garcia, Julie Mae Garza, James
Gipson H, Joel Gomez, Adam
Gonzales H, Andrea Lexuas
Gonzales, Elsa Gonzales, Whitney
Cheyenne Gonzalez and Trent Graves
H†.
And, Rhonda L. Greer, Belinda
Gutierrez, Ethan Hammons H†, Lisa
A. Harrison HH, Guadalupe M.
Hernandez
H, Lourdes Alonzo
Hernandez, Ricardo Hernandez, Elida
B. Herrera, Whitney Hillin †, Deanna
Hinojosa, William S. Hooper HH,
Shaquilla Hopper, Carey Ann
Houston-Smithson
H, Kayleigh
Howard and Steven C. Inabnet.
Others are: Nichole Jankowaik †,
Marla Dru Keith, Darla Klatt *,
Amand Kuhns, Joshua E. Lamb H,
Shawna Lee, Jeremiah A. Lucio,
Jason C. Machen, Irfanali K.
Maknojia
HH, Joseph Mango,
Krystal L. Mann H, Angela Martin,
Justin D. McConnell †, Tommy Jacob
McKandles H, Billy McLaughlin,
and Victor Joselito D. Medina HH.
Also, Rachel Melendez Milan,
Mayra Moreno †, Micah Morgan,
Ashley N. Mosely, Monica Neatherlin, Kim Lee Nelson, Diana Oaxaca,
Sherri Lee O’Hara, Tara Ann Olgin †,
Osinowo Jayeola Ololade H, Christina B. Ornelas H, Marivel Ortiz,
Yuko Ota, Janet Rodriguez Pacheco,
Adelita Padilla, Melisa G . Phillips,
Nathan Wade Pirtle, Amy Pacheco
Ponce, James E. Radtke HH, Delma
Velasquez Ramirez, Ramon Ramirez
†, Virginia Ramirez, Sonya Rincon,
Jessica Roberson †, Alejandrina
Rodriguez †, Chelsea Renee Rodriguez H, Josefa Ornelas Rodriguez,
Rebecca Rodriguez, Caroline Rubaka,
Jorge Rubio, Shannon R. Rucker HH
and Aimee Russell †.
Other possible certificate graduates
include: Dana Jean Saenger, Monica
M. Salgado, Bryna Salmon, Amalia
Sanchez †, Richard N. Sanders H,
Maria Rosario Santana †, Cassandra
Santillan, Jessica Santorelli †,
Gregotio Sarapao, Jason Schwartz,
Ryan Scott H, Yvercia M. Serrano,
Kayla F. Sheen H, Bilma Y. Silvas,
Alayna Smith, Carey A. Smithson,
Justin M. Snow H, April Soto,
Krystal R. Taylor † and Daron
Thompson HH.
Also, Wendy Tomlin, Bridgette
Townsend, David L. Tucker, Yolanda
Tucker, April Renee Tuxhorn, Anabel
Vasquez, Beronica Villegas HH,
JoAnne L. Wallace H, Matthew Seth
Weatherford †, Linda Wiebe H,
Jennifer K. Williams, Katelin Williams H, Joshua Wilson, Michelle
Renae Wooten HH, Jessica Ybarra H,
Nana Yaa A. Yeboah H, Jhonalou
Nicole Young, Roger E. Zeledon H
and Daisy Zubia †.
Grads
Rogers †* and Daniel Richard Ryan
III.
And Melissa Danielle Sanchez,
Heather Ruth Sanders HH, Michael
Schulle, Jessica L. Schweizer, Randi
Lyn Shackelford, Tommy Sikes,
Whittney Ann Silva H†, Daniel
Feliciano Sotelo †, Chadwin Jefrie
Stang, James M. Storey H, David
Terrell, Rachel Elizabeth Tranum
H†*, Jessica K. Upton †, Adrian Van
Buren, Jessica Wagner †, Charmaine
Williams, Kara Beth Wilson HH,
Ashley Worley H, Britni Janea’ Young
† and Jessica Cooper Youngblood.
Potential graduates receiving associate of science degrees are: Roberta
Afrifa H†*, Ivonne Alanis, Ariadne
Alcantara, Eliud Aaron Amparan †,
Benjamin Ashton, Alecia Atchley,
Sylvia G. Athayde, Michael Reese
Avery †, Haylea Kaylynn Bates,
Logan Bawcom H†, Rosa M. Beltran,
Heather Bolding H†*, Carly Britton †,
Robert T. Brosig H†, Kristi Brunette
†, Joe B. Bryand H, Lauren Marie
Burr † and Elizabeth A. Canneady.
Others are: Abigail A. Carrasco †,
Jennifer Carrasco †, Cristina Danette
Carrion, Kaime R. Cerecero H, Steven
Chamblee H, David Chavez †,
Alfonso Alberto Cisneros Ortega H,
Natalie BreAnn Combs, Brent L.
Compton, Lauren M. CopelandDisney H*, Arcenia Corral, Jordan
Coulon †, Kimberly D. Courtney,
Sandi D’Ann Cox and Shauna
Michelle Crawford.
Also, Keral B. Dahya H†, Veerle
De Maesschalk HH, Kimberly
DeLong HH, Rafael Delval, Jr. †,
Sylvia Ashley Elliott, Lauren Epler,
Soledad Esquivel †, Trevor S. Foote
*, Zachary Ryan Forest †, Michael
Lance Friday †, Heinrich Frylinck,
Melissa Fuentes and Yvonne
Gabaldon H†*.
And Abraham A. Gai, Grisel
Aranda Galindo, Bryan Garza †, Mark
Anthony Gomez †, Denecia Goodley
†, Charles Larry Griffith, Jr., Daisy
Grimaldo †, Ivan Grimmett H, Teri B.
Hall H†, Wendy Harper H, Aleesha
Hightower † and Skipper Hollar †.
Also, Tasha A. Jobe, Dawn Aldray
Johnson, David R. Jones, Colton
Kidd, Gemini Uranus Kooro H,
Christine A. Landry, Andrea Lewallen
†, Toby Littlefield †, Gerald Waiti
Mabele H, John Ngesa Magomere,
Melissa Ann Maldonado, Jeneva A.
Marmolejo †, Katherine Martindale
H, Nancy A. McIntosh H, Michael
Keith McLendon, Ileana Alexandra
Meraz †, Luciano Mireles, Conrado
Molinar †*, Mauro Montoya, Reesa
Leann Moore †, Ron Moore, Riozelle
Morales †*, Brian Adam Morin † and
Astrid Murray.
News
Page 4
May 1, 2009
SIP awards more than $20,000 to nonprofits
By B. Francino
Staff Reporter
Midland College’s Students in
Philanthropy (SIP) awarded $20,056
to 18 area agencies during its 12th
Annual Grant Awards reception.
MC’s SIP had four fundraisers this
year – T-shirt sales, a chili pie supper,
a playhouse raffle and Santa letters.
Andrew Eaton, SIP president said in
the Midland Reporter-Telegram that
this year presented a bit of a fundraising challenge, although most economic problems didn’t hit the Permian
Basin right away.
“We’ve developed a good base, a
wide stratification of donors and people willing to commit to SIP, both
financially and coming to speak to us
and offering us volunteer opportunities,” Eaton said.
Community Children’s Clinic and
the Muscular Dystrophy Association,
won the Dr. David Daniel Award for
Agency Excellence. It is named for
former MC President David Daniel.
SIP students said it goes to organizations that show leadership in their
community and have compelling
grant applications.
“To me, these nonprofits are where
the rubber meets the road. It’s where
needs are met, lives are changed and
people are served,” said Abell-Hanger
Foundation Grant Officer Suzanne
Thomas,
in
the
MRT.
“Being able to make a difference in
my community by volunteering and
getting to meet other people in the
group
who
also love to
make a difference in our
community, is
the best part
of being a
member
of
SIP,”
said
freshman
Irma Bueno.
Kaitlyn
Fuller, historian of SIP said,
“Giving away
money makes
everything
better. It helps
them to better
their facility,
and it makes
us feel better.
Helping people is what From left, current SIP
Eaton, SIP president.
SIP is about.”
Fuller has been in SIP for three years,
two at MC and one year in high
school. “I love the people here and it
is so much fun.”
Laura McCabe, SIP coordinator for
12 years, said that she is proud of all
the students, the goals they reached,
the people they have helped and the
money they have raised.
“Students do all the work. I only
facilitate the activities. I have a calendar for them. I know their time is
valuable and they have a lot on their
plate, but I know they love the way it
Photo by B. Francino
members Justin Perez, Irma Bueno and Susana Ortega pose with Andrew
feels to deliver to their community
and to watch the impact they have on
it as well,” McCabe said.
SIP gave grants and awards for the
following:
-Alzheimer’s Association, $1,000
for the Maintain Your Brain program.
-American Heart Association, $750
promotional supplies, for refreshments and advertising, for Midland
Heart Walk.
-TV station Basin PBS, $1,500 for
camera equipment.
-Casa de Amigos, $1,500, for dia-
betes test strips.
-Centers for Children & Families,
$1,200 for new video cameras.
-Communities in Schools of the
Permian Basin, $1,000 for dropout
prevention.
-Community & Senior Services,
$1,000 for the handyman program.
-Community Children’s Clinic,
$800 for flu shots. It also received an
additional $400 for winning the David
Daniel Award.
-George W. Bush Childhood Home,
$814 for supplies for the Laura Bush
Literacy program.
-High Sky Children’s Ranch,
$2,105 for its Life Program.
-Junior Achievement of West Texas,
$464 for program materials and staff
support.
-Muscular Dystrophy Association,
$1,000 for its weeklong camp. It also
won the David Daniel Award giving
them an extra $600.
-National Alliance of Mental
Illness-Midland (Permian Basin
Community Centers for MHMR),
$800 for its mental health workshop
program.
-National Kidney Foundation, $
1,000 for its patient assistance program.
-Palmer Drug Abuse Program, $822
for a laptop.
-Safe Place of the Permian Basin,
$1,000 for new living room furniture.
-Salvation Army, $1,500
-Samaritan Counseling Center,
$800 to fund two workshops for area
clergy.
President of the Community
Children’s Clinic board and MDA
District Director Angie Felts, said in
the MRT, “We were really excited,
shocked and thrilled that they think
our agency is run so well.” Sparks
said, the funds would be presented to
the board so it can decide on the best
use of the money.
Felts said the additional money will
be used for MDA’s summer camp in
the Permian Basin-Concho Valley
area.
Voyles ‘rustlers up’ winning design for local sports team
By Iline Tang
Staff Reporter
Midland College sophomore Josh
Voyles distinguishes himself from
other students with his artwork and
design.
Voyles won a contest to design the
logo of the West Texas Rustlers football team.
The West Texas Rustlers team is an
indoor football team. The team has
already signed 10 players and the
inaugural season for the team will
begin March 27, 2010.
“I submitted the design sometime
last semester,” Voyles said. “I
want to say it was before finals
week and I completely forgot
about it until January.”
“It was another student and I
in my Photoshop class,” Voyles
said. “My instructor Kent Moss
told us about the logo and we
just designed it because it was
also for a grade.”
Voyles said he called Steve
Williams, co-owner of the
Rustlers, back in January and
asked about his design.
“Steve told me that my design was
picked to be the logo of the team,”
Relay for Life draws crowd
By Jessica Garcia
Staff Reporter
Midland College hosted the American Cancer
Society’s Relay for Life in April.
“This was a great relay for MC because it
brings in more people to the college and what it
has to offer,” said Rachel Tranum, MC student
and team coordinator for Midland College Team
Awesome. “It was it a great event for everybody
to come out.”
Tranum was part of the Relay for Life with a
pair of teams that participated by walking all
night to try to raise money.
“The teams [MC Team Awesome and MC
Team Awesome—the Second Coming] consisted
of Students in Philanthropy and student government,” Tranum said. She also mentioned that one
person out of the two teams would have to keep
walking the entire night.
“The first team consisted of 15 members and
the second team consisted of 10,” Tranum said.
The MC Awesome teams had a joint tent and
fundraisers, but were officially split into two
groups because of limits on team size.
“I will spend a good 12 hours walking,”
Tranum said, but said it was for a great cause and
had found out that everyone in the team had
somehow all been affected by cancer, including
family members, friends and partners. All the
students volunteered to do it because it was for a
great cause, Tranum said.
Tranum said that Domino’s pizza had helped
by donating pizzas for the students to raise
money. This was Tranum’s first time ever participating in a team for the Relay for Life and she
was excited to help in every way she could.
“There will be lots of food that will be sold and
there will be music and a cake walk for people to
come out and enjoy the fun and most importantly because it is for a good cause,” Tranum said.
“It will make a big difference in some way to
someone who is affected by cancer,” Tranum
said.
Each of the MC Awesome teammates in the
relay had been touched by cancer in some way
and felt like this was a great way in helping out
anyway they could.
“I hope that everybody in Midland can come
out to this great cause because it is for a good reason and will help tremendously,” Tranum said.
See you in September
from El Paisano’s staff
Voyles said. “I was really
proud to know that my
design was picked.”
Voyles described his
design as a cowboy football raider.
“I was told that the
design had to reflect a
rugged
West
Texas
theme,” Voyles said. “The
way I draw designs is I
first draw them as a rough
draft and then scan it on
the computer. Next, I
revise and trace over it on Photoshop
and add all the color to it and that’s
what I did with this design.”
Voyles said not many MC students
have recognized the design for the
team.
“I think I haven’t gotten recognized
for this because the season doesn’t
start until next year,” Voyles said.
“Not many students know about it as
well.
“I was told I’m going to get recognized for the design at the games,”
Voyles said. “Other than that, I’m
really proud of myself. It’s the first
big thing I’ve done.”
News
May 1, 2009
Page 5
Earth Day Fair makes splash on campus
By Rebekah Karth
Editor
Winners at Midland College’s Earth
Day Fun Fair came in all different
sizes, with the first prize in the trash
art contest going to the students at the
Helen L. Greathouse Children’s
Center and the dodge ball tournament
champion team being composed of
faculty.
MC’s Earth Day celebration was
attended by a larger than expected
crowd, said Claudia Hinds, assistant
professor of biology and recycling
committee chair. Participants were
“enthusiastic—they came to eat, too,”
Hinds said.
“The hamburgers were great,” said
Lori Tennison, MC student. “So was
the carrot dessert—I don’t know what
it was—but it was good!”
The day’s festivities included informational booths, hamburgers, a dodge
ball tournament, an art contest, a
dunking booth and music from 95.1
BOB FM.
Organizations providing informational booths included Keep Midland
Beautiful, Butts’ Recycling, Habitat
for Humanity, Midland Memorial
Hospital, the Texas Center for
Environmental Quality, Carver
Elementary’s
Junior
Master
Gardeners and MC’s engineering program students.
Karalina Venable, a 4th grade social
studies teacher at Carver Elementary,
said that the Junior Master Gardener
program gives children a way to be
outside and learn about nature. The
JMG students at the Earth Day Fair
conducted demonstrations with plants
at the fair.
It’s important to begin the habit of
recycling at a young age so that it
becomes a habit, said Kevin Butts
from Butts’ Recycling. He added that
the planet has resources, such as
petroleum, which is a key part of plastic, that are not going to last forever
and that there are simple ways to
make more environmentally conscious decisions. This includes using
cloth bags or boxes when shopping
instead of paper or plastic bags.
The trash art contest showcased that
items can be used again to create
something new. 2nd place went to
Claudia and Natalie Hinds for
Chameleon, 3rd place went to Lyne
Brown for French Shoes and
Honorable Mention to Ann Armour
for Plastic Handbag.
“I’m always impressed by how
much artistic skill people can put into
whatever medium they use—whether
trash or treasure, gold, silver or aluminum,” said Stan Jacobs, associate
vice president of instruction--transfer
and one of the three contest judges.
The other two judges were Danny
Holeva from Arts Assembly of
Midland and Doreen
Richardson
from
Keep
Midland
Beautiful.
The art contest
entries are currently
on display in the
Marie Hall Academic
Building.
MC’s engineering
students displayed
two projects the students had previously
designed, a solar oven
and a water filtration
system, said Sonia
Ford, mathematics
instructor. The projects are designed to
be built with minimal
cost and equipment,
Ford said.
Area businesses
pitched in to give
Photo courtesy of Karen Lanier
prizes to the winners
at the fair including:
Shogun’s,
Target, Richard Jolly, executive vice president of MC, gets dunked by Bahola Edwards, assistant to
Outback Steakhouse, the president, at the Earth Day Fun Fair.
Logan’s Roadhouse,
and added that she thought the event (including phone books)-77,280
Abuelo’s, Jason’s Deli and Chili’s. fostered some camaraderie between pounds (38.64 tons); aluminum-1,200
The faculty dodge ball team gave their the students, staff and faculty at MC.
pounds (0.6 tons); cardboard-25,080
prizes to the students they were playThe recycling efforts on campus pounds (12.54 tons).
ing, Hinds said.
were officially kicked off at the 2008
The college and those using its bins
The recycling committee’s goal for Earth Day ceremony. The total collec- have recycled a total of 111,260
the fair was to provide recycling and tion donation for the year is: plastic - pounds (55.63 tons), according to the
conservation information, Hinds said, 7,700 pounds (3.85 tons); paper MC recycling Web site.
World-traveler Bryson comes to Midland
By Rebekah Karth
Editor
Bill Bryson is a best-selling author
who has not only written several travel books, but also campaigned against
litter in England. Because of his antilitter work, the latest Davidson
Distinguished Lecture Series’ was
awarded a community achievement
award and honorary board membership at Keep Midland Beautiful which
were announced by Midland College
President Steve Thomas.
Bryson discussed writing, growing
up in the Midwest in the post-World
War II years, traveling and what to do
when hiking with bears in the area.
Bryson grew up in Iowa and moved
to England as an adult after meeting
his wife while on a trip in England.
The first job Bryson had in England
was as a journalist, something that
Bryson said he realized he was completely unqualified to do because he
didn’t know enough about history,
culture and spelling in England.
John Deats, director of the Murray
Fasken Learning Resource Center,
said he enjoyed Bryson’s explanations
of how American English is different
from the English spoken in England.
Bryson said that “there is serious
difference between stealing a car and
taking a car,” something he didn’t
know until he made the mistake of
reporting that a person had stolen a
car when they had taken it.
As a travel writer now, “traveling is
an occupational hazard of what I do,”
Bryson said. He added that while his
wife hates that he has to be gone, she
accepts it because it’s what he does
for his job. It’s also a mixed bag for
Bryson. “I like
to
move
around, but the
place I’m happiest is my
home
in
England,”
Bryson said.
Freelance
writers used to
be able to sell
articles to more
than one publication with the
publishers’
knowledge that
others
were
also printing
the story and
the freelancer
would make
money
with Davidson Distinguished Lecture speaker Bill Bryson chats
each transac- lecture at the Al G. Langford Chaparral Center
tion. Now that
publications often have Internet ver- society. Bryson said he did all the
sions of stories, the chances of being research himself instead of employing
able to sell the same article more than researchers, partly because he said he
once are very slim, Bryson said. This is too cheap to hire help and also
has made it harder for freelancers to because the most enjoyable part of
writing is going to the library and
make it financially, Bryson said.
When starting on a new book proj- making discoveries.
People in today’ society are so hurect, Bryson looks at topics that appeal
to him and will keep him occupied for ried and involved that taking time to
the amount of time required to finish amble through life isn’t a high prioriwriting the book, Bryson said. Such ty, Bryson said. “When you’re worktopics include ideas and experiences ing 17 hours a day you don’t have
time to joke—life’s too short to just
that he would like to explore.
Out of all the books that he has work,” Bryson said. Bryson’s father
written so far, the one Bryson said that was an inspiration for his becoming a
he is most pleased with is A Short writer. “My dad and I weren’t always
History of Nearly Everything, a book real close, but I had a lot of respect for
that delves into scientific history and his writing,” Bryson said. “I admired
discovery for the non-scientists in what he could do with the written
Watson taking it ‘one year at a time’
By Christopher Sylvester
Staff Reporter
It’s possible that any past
student of Midland College
may have come into contact
with MC’s longest serving
teacher. Rebecca Watson has
been at MC for the past 36
years. “I taught at MC part
time from 1973 to 1975 and
started full time from 1975 to
present,” Watson said.
Watson, who is originally
from Oregon (pretty close to
the Columbia River) moved
to Midland in 1973. “I was
married to someone who came here to
teach at UTPB and I haven’t left
since,” Watson said.
Watson was no stranger to teaching
when she arrived at MC. “I taught at
South Eugene High in Oregon and six
years at Evanston Township High
School in Illinois,” Watson said.
“I’ve made many friends while
here, a lot of who are faculty of MC,”
Watson said.
“The most challenging experience
I’ve had since moving here was teaching part time; I taught at MC and
Odessa College initially; it was the
same class, however, it was two different textbooks,”
Watson teaches freshman composition classes and has taught the creative writing and technical writing
classes. “I taught most of the survey
sophomore
literature
classes,”
Watson said.
“I want to
teach in the
classroom,”
Watson said.
“That way I
can actually
see if the
students are
getting the
lesson but
there are so
few campus
classes in sophomore Lit.”
Watson has a real appreciation of
the MC campus as she emphasized the
beauty of the campus.
“I really enjoy working at such a
lovely campus,” Watson said. “Just
this morning I asked myself how
many people get to work in such lovely surroundings?”
Watson also enjoys hearing from
some of her past students. “I got an email from a student I taught in 1978;
he wrote to tell me he got his doctorate in English,” Watson said. “It’s like
a parent seeing their children accomplish everything they hoped for; it’s
pleasing to me.”
Watson has scaled back on some
things though, all in an effort to continue with her teaching passion. “You
can burn out doing something you
love. Simply doing too much for too
long,” she said.
“Three years ago I stopped teaching
year round; I totally stopped teaching
the interim classes, simply to avoid
burning out,” Watson said.
Watson has no immediate plans for
retirement.
“Oh no, I’m just taking it one year
at a time,” she said.
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moved back when they did in
2003, because he “couldn’t
take another New Hampshire
winter
being
essentially
trapped in the house.”
A work day for Bryson starts
around 6 a.m and he said he
finishes writing around 1 p.m.,
leaving time in the afternoons
to do other things such as gardening and yard work.
The DDLS is an opportunity
for students to expand their
mental horizons.
“The lecture series exposes
students to different viewpoints,” said Tomas Hernandez,
project director for the CCRA
Rural Science cooperative
grant and DDLS committee
Photo by Rebekah Karth member. “Whether you agree is
with MC President Steve Thomas before the not the point, at least you
understand where they’re coming from.”
word—he just seemed fantastically
The next speaker for the DDLS is
intelligent to me.”
E.O. Wilson, a biologist who has won
Bryson also said that his father was the Pulitzer Prize for two of his books,
a sportswriter for a local newspaper Ants and On Human Nature.
and every year the paper sent him to
Wilson’s message will be on the
cover the World Series. Upon his idea that “everyone should essentially
return from the World Series, have an interest in taking care of creBryson’s father would come home ation and science and religion should
with stories of the wider world outside come together to take care of creIowa.The Bryson family lived in New ation,” Hernandez said. “It’s a very
Hampshire for eight years to give important environmental message.”
their four children a chance to experi- Wilson will be speaking at 7:30 p.m,
ence the other side of their family her- Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Tickets will
itage. Bryson said that the family had be made available closer to the event
always planned to move back to at the Al G. Langford Chaparral
England eventually and said they Center. Tickets are free.
Entertainment
Page 6
Movie Review
Movie goers Obsessed with new Beyonce thriller
By Karen Buenrostro
Staff Reporter
Where reality ends obsession
begins and the truth is in between.
These concepts are put to the test in
the drama thriller Obsessed starring
Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles and Ali
Larter.
Obsessed follows the dangerous
fixation of a sexy, psychotic, temp
Lisa (Ali Larter), who will stop at
nothing to entrap her successful asset
manager Derek Charles (Idris Elba.)
Lisa is hired as a temp secretary for
Derek’s firm while his secretary is out
sick, but Derek soon finds himself in
compromising situations with this
temptress, while his dutiful housewife
Sharon (Knowles) cares for their
infant son.
What started as an innocent temptation, such as Lisa trading shifts with
other temps to “wrangle” her bosses
desk, or seeking sympathy from
Derek for her break up with her
boyfriend, soon turns into Derek’s
worst nightmare.
Lisa’s fixation for Derek has no
boundaries. She starts to cross the line
from being in lingerie in his car to
hiding in the stall in the men’s restroom and conveniently placing herself
at each of his events.
Sharon, Derek’s former secretary
and now wife, starts to suspect that
something is just not quite right. He
doesn’t return her phone calls or
hangs up in the middle of their conversations and she starts to suspect the
sexy new temp has something to do
with these mishaps.
Sensual scenes such as Lisa’s luring attempt to seduce Derek to go to
her room at a company function and
the bizarre perception Lisa has about
her non-existing relationship with
Derek drives this movie forward.
One of the most climactic scenes
was the much anticipated catfight
between Sharon and Lisa. Let’s just
say a woman scorned and a protective
mother does not mix in a room full of
furniture or anywhere near a set of
stairs.
When what you hide makes you
innocent and what you reveal makes
you guilty, fact becomes fantasy.
Deciphering the end of Obsessed
was not a difficult task since it basically followed the predictable screen
play of psycho stalker movies but the
catfight made it all worthwhile.
Slippin’ and a slidin’
Photo by B. Francino
Students let loose at Chappapalooza on a giant, wet tarp. Chappapalooza is an end-of-the-year ourdoor celebration that was held Monday afternoon. It involved wet area as well as rolling, blow up soccer balls and
other fun activities.
Student art show opens to big crowd
By Kayla Gamboa
Page Editor
Last Thursday, Midland College
hosted the opening reception for this
semester’s student art show. Art classes included ceramics, sculpture, digital art, photography, watercolor, painting, printmaking, drawing and design.
Art is “when artist can express
themselves in different ways and
approaches,” Astghik Nalbandyan
said. “I like the ceramic part.”
Nalbandyan said her favorite piece
of art in the show was of the metal
stork and turtle by Lyne V. Brown.
“I
know
Stevlana
Webb,”
Nalbandyan said. “She’s my friend.
She invited me.” Webb created the
over-sized matches and matchbox.
“Art has many different meanings,”
art student Merle Taylor said. “I’m a
painter.” Taylor taught at Robert E.
Lee High School for 25 years. “I
taught watercolor, paint and photography.”
Taylor painted the older man sitting
by the water fountain. “I saw this man
in France who was sitting by a water
fountain,” Taylor said. “It looked like
the water fountain was going to spill.”
“There’s really a lot of beautiful
pieces here,” Taylor said.
“I usually have a painting hung at
each art show,” MC art student,
Bobby Aguirre, said. “I didn’t paint
anything for the show this time ...
maybe next fall.”
Art pieces included: a ceramic collection by Delores Olsen, Kathy
Nunley, Mary Stanford, Jane Swartz,
Juanett Hindi and Georgann Harben;
surrounding the ceramic collection
were masks by Sheryl Norred, Cody
Embry, Aaron Estep, Ashley Hancock
and Andrea Lewallen.
Many students have more than one
piece in the exhibit because they take
several different art classes.
May 1, 2009
Movie Review
Final scene makes movie
By Hotaka Demura
Staff Reporter
Running on Empty (1988) is
worthwhile because of its final
scene, but not any other.
The film describes a family with a
son who has to decide what to do for
his future. To make the film exciting
enough to show on screen, it unnecessarily adopts a trite setting: the
parents, former anti-war protesters,
are wanted by the FBI because of a
bombing at a napalm laboratory
when they were young.
This setting is not aesthetic. But
the film is still nice because it
depicts a father who has a son. The
father cannot change his own life.
He may be too stubborn to change
his values. He overprotects his son
as if his son is his possession. This
film has universal enlightenment:
the father finally decides to change
the son’s life.
Its music is just beautiful. The
theme, created by Tony Mottola, has
several versions and each one is
associable with daily emotions but
not fugitives’ thrills. Such daily
emotions sometimes run on empty,
whereas sometimes there are joyful
expectations of the future.
Classical pieces inserted throughout the story come from Beethoven.
This accent usage of the classical
music gives both poetic creativity
and academic equanimity in the
film.
The story itself is rather boring.
The eighties are a golden generation
of science fiction and action adventures which are still famous today:
ET, Back to the Future, The
Terminator, Indiana Jones and
Star Wars. If ’79 is included, Star
Trek and Alien are also within the
group.
In competing with these blockbusters for box office, the genre
which this movie belongs to is
vague. But it is surely not a fugitives’ action movie. This is a routine
story between a father and his son.
River Phoenix, as the son, nominated for both an Academy Award
and a Golden Globe Award for a
best supporting actor, and Christine
Lahti, as the mother, nominated for
a Golden Globe Award for a best
leading actress, are nice as well.
Particularly Phoenix is a defini-
tive example which confuses the
leading figure with the supporting
figure. In the final scene, Phoenix
looks at his mom, Lahti, when the
father says good-bye to him. It is not
sure whether or not this action is
clearly directed. Phoenix represented the son’s anxiety by doing so.
On the other hand, the leading
actor Judd Hirsch, as the father,
seems to do nothing. But his actions
represent that he, not Hirsch but the
father, is an uncorrectable and rampageous dad. Such an awkward
father cannot join the family’s conversation. If he is in the same room
as his family, they cannot relax.
Hirsch perfectly portrays such a
father.
Martha Plimpton, as a girlfriend
of Phoenix, is nice as well. There
would be other young actresses who
were more beautiful in their appearance than she was. By using someone other than Plimpton, the production might be able to assure a
bulk of male audiences to some
extent.
But the casting technically deepened on Phoenix’s original color
without having such insurance: If an
another star was on the screen,
Phoenix’s existence may be weakened.
Plimpton’s tenderness, which
eases the boy’s shyness, seems to be
her instinctive character. Her matching with Phoenix achieves an unpredictable success.
Naomi Foner was nominated for
Best Original Screenplay at the
Academy Awards and for Best
Screenplay of Golden Globe
Awards. She won the Golden Globe.
What the story tries to convey is
great, but it seems it was difficult to
embody its ideas as an aggregation
of speech. There is a bunch of elocution which may have to be acted
in a strained manner.
A series of emotional stresses
acted with tears or anger by main
characters largely depends on the
script. Such scenes often involve
over actions and look cheap.
This movie is not too bad.
Spending a hundred minutes to
watch is still a safe investment. And
the movie’s final scene may be more
valuable to see than that of all 80s
films.
News
May 1, 2009
Page 7
Communications students win in ‘live’ contests at TIPA
From Staff Reports
Midland College students earned 23
awards at the annual Texas
Intercolliegate Press Association convention held April 9-11 in downtown
Dallas.
Two students won awards in the
live contests that were held during the
three-day convention. El Paisano editor Rebekah Karth, won second place
in the public relations crisis management category. El Paisano page editor
Bailee Hennis won an honorable mention in the live print advertising contest. Both MC students competed
against students from Texas community colleges and four-year universities.
MC students garnered a total of 21
awards in the “canned” competition.
Entries in the “canned” competition
included works published January December 2008.
“We normally earn 10 or more
awards in the previously published
contests. However, it is rare to win the
live on-site contests against not only
all the two-year colleges, but also the
four-year institutions,” said Bob
Templeton, Allison Chair of
Journalism.
“I am very excited about the awards
won by Rebekah Karth and Bailee
Hennis in addition to all the other
awards earned this year. My appreciation especially goes to Lab Instructor
Karen Lanier for the tremendous contributions she has made toward the
journalism program’s success.”
Hennis also brought
place for the cover design and
home a first place in the
the staff won second place in
canned competition for
story package for the layout of
a newspaper story
“My brother and me.”
about the MC golf team
All of these items appeared
winning its fourth
in Tableau 2008, which was
national title.
published during the fall 2008
Second place newssemester.
paper awards went to
In the canned newspaper
contest, MC competed with
former El Paisano editor Ethan Higginbothschools whose enrollment and
am for his column
publication frequency are simipiece about hair color
lar such as: Angelina College,
and to Andrew Eaton
Houston Baptist University,
for his news photoParis Junior College, St.
graph about recycling.
Edwards University, Trinity
Honorable mention
Valley Community College,
newspaper awards were
University of Mary Hardinas follows: Peyton
Baylor and the University of
Roye, feature story - for
Texas of the Permian Basin.
his story about Lee
In the magazine competition,
Almaguer;
Lauren
MC competed against all
Disney, news/feature
schools that are members of
story–Fiddlesticks
TIPA. Some of those schools
Farms; Eaton, critical
Staff photo include: Amarillo College,
review–for his Chicago
Baylor University, Del Mar
Journalism students Rebekah Karth, Iline Tang and Bailee Hennis competed at the annual Texas
10 review; Karth, edito- Intercollegiate Press Association convention in the Dallas area in early April.
College, Eastfield College,
rial–Nov.
4;
and
Richland College, San Antonio
Hennis, feature photoCollege, Sul Ross University,
tons of ‘a-moos-ment’.”
Chris Speight won an honorable
Several students won awards in the mention in general magazine for his Texas Christian University, UT
for her Halloween photograph.
The El Paisano staff won honor- general magazine category for work opinion piece about being a foreign Arlington, UT Pan American and the
able mentions for: single-subject pres- that appeared in Chaparral 2008, exchange student.
University of North Texas.
entation for the breast cancer story MC’s news/feature magazine. Krystle
The convention was hosted by a
In the literary magazine canned
package; feature page design for the Cantu won a second place for her competition, Chong Wei won a sec- coalition of Dallas schools including
breast cancer story; sports page design story on the vet tech operating room. ond place for the short story “Scary Dallas County Community Colleges,
for the Oct. 3, 2008 sports page; page Cantu also won two honorable men- Night.”
Southern Methodist University and
one design for the front page of the tions – one for her photograph “nurse
Karth won a second place in essay others.
Feb. 1, 2008 El Paisano; and headline shaves cat”; and one for her picture for her piece “My brother and me.”
Templeton attended the convention
writing for “Fiddlestick Farms brings story on the vet tech program.
The Tableau 2008 staff won third with Hennis, Karth and Iline Tang.
Fly-In Breakfast highlights MC’s aviation programs
By Leatra Ahmad
Staff Reporter
For the fourth year in a row, the
Midland College aviation department
hosted a Fly-In Breakfast at Midland
Airpark to highlight its programs.
The Saturday morning fly-in on
April 18 offered discovery flights for
anyone who was interested in taking a
flight.
Discovery flights were priced at
$50 a person.
“We had more discovery flights this
year more than any other year,” said
Karen Harris, technical program coor-
dinator.
“The reason we have the air shows
is because we want to spread the
awareness of our program,” Harris
said.
“Some students will find our program cheaper than other aviation programs in the country,” Harris said.
Harris not only coordinates aviation
events, she also handles the accounts
and registration of each student hoping to get into the aviation field.
Though Harris has been employed
at MC for 29 years, she has been the
technical program coordinator for MC
for the last five years and she also
coordinates the pilot’s schedules, the
aviation maintenance and the division
recruiting.
The fly-in was also to show the
community how successful the program is to the students and the faculty
in the aviation program, Harris said.
According to Harris, five years ago
Midland didn’t have a pilot program
for students trying to become pilots.
MC did, however, have an aviation
maintenance program.
“The aviation program has brought
in new students throughout the years
Tuition
Tomorrow’s leaders
Photo by Rebekah Karth
first place, $400 for second place,
$200 for third place and $100 for
fourth place, Billy Feeler said.
The master of ceremonies for the
event was Rabon Bewley, instructor
of instrumental music.
The welcome was given by MC President
Steve Thomas.
“Poetry writing seems to be a lost
art in our culture,” Thomas said.
Satterlee read several poems from
his book Burning Wyclif, which is a
collection of poems concerning the
life and times of 14th century theologian John Wyclif. Burning Wyclif
won the 2006 Walt McDonald prize.
Ross Feeler is on track for finishing
his bachelor’s degree in English at the
University of North Texas in
December. After that, Ross Feeler said
that he is thinking about getting a
Master of Fine Arts in Creative
Writing.
Beyond that, he said he plans to
keep writing. “I just want to write,”
Ross Feeler said. “I really like fiction
the best. Poetry is really hard for me
to break into.”
thinking about attending the class.
“Midland’s aviation program has
been a major success for its pilots
because now students who are graduating from the program can go straight
to work right after they graduate or at
least close to graduation,” Harris said.
“It has been really good for the last
five years of us having it, and it was a
success this year. Hopefully, it will
continue to be a success when I’m
gone,” Harris said.
For more information on a career in
aviation, contact Harris at 432-6854799.
from page 1
the next school year.
Other forms of aid are the Marie Hall Scholarship which can be accessed at
http://www.pbaf.org/scholarships/mariehall.html and the Ambassador and
Students in Philanthropy programs at MC.
Besides the general academic scholarships, the different academic departments also have scholarships for students, such as in math, science, fine arts and
history.
Students can go to the financial aid office if they have any questions.
“We’re here to help anybody who needs help,” Williams said.
When filing the FAFSA, avoid tax information errors because that could slow
down the processing or a request, Williams said.
Rita Nell Diffie, vice president of student services said that one thing that
may help is a new software program that student services is getting. The software will match students with all available scholarships, something that was
done by hand before. Diffie said she hopes this will allow more students to
receive scholarships.
“We are here to support students,” Diffie said. “We want students to be able
to come to classes.”
Next year’s student government officers take a break from Chappapalooza to pose for a picture.
From left to right: Jarred Boone, parliamentarian; Lauren Abel, vice president; Poonam Patel,
president; and Landon Bell, secretary.
Poetry
from all over the world, but mainly
from Texas,” Harris said. Students
have come from as far as Mongolia,
England, Korea and Africa.
There also students in the pilot program from Tennessee, California and
Colorado.
Harris said they hoped to attract at
least 250 people to fly-in each year.
“I think this year we had close to
250 people, which is good,” Harris
said.
There was information about the
aviation and pilot program at the show
for any future students who might be
from page 1
The HSL Poetry Contest was established by the late Stanley Levitt in
1986 in memory of his wife, Hilda,
who had taken classes at MC.
Hilda Simmons Levitt graduated
with honors from Louisiana State
University with a degree in journalism. At LSU, she studied English with
Poet Robert Penn Warren. From 1952
until she died in 1986, Hilda Simmons
Levitt lived in Midland where she
took creative writing courses at MC.
After Stanley died in 1994, the
Levitt’s children, Carol Levitt
Schwartz, of Washington, D.C., and
John Simmons Levitt, who died in
2004, pledged to continue to support
the contest. Schwartz has continued
her support of the contest and was in
attendance at this year’s ceremony.
Schwartz, who lives in Washington,
D.C., attended this year’s awards ceremony.
Selected entries from the contest
will be printed in the fall in MC’s student literary magazine, Tableau.
The awards were: First Place for
a group of poems -W. Ross Feeler for
Absolution; Before I Fall Asleep; I Am
Thinking; On a Sunday Afternoon;
and The Surgeon. Second Place for
two poems-Robert Merkett for
Sunday Morning and My Mother’s
Bus. Third Place to Troy Farris for
Invisible. Fourth Place to Angela
Ellis for Unspoken.
Honorable Mentions to the following: Anna Antony for Dreaming
and Carnival; Diahn Berry, Pink
Chiffon; Trudie Borgen, Arachne the
Argiope Aurantia; Kaleigh Campbell,
Love is a Terrible Curse; Scott
Carlson, Night Upon a Sandy Beach;
Christine Carrillo, A Mother’s
Symphony and Linda Ellis, Today’s
Rain.
Also, Genelle Felio, To My Dad;
Rebekah Karth, Statues of Time; Amy
Kelly, I Wish; Brittany Miles, He’s
Inside of Me and Galilah’s Tremble;
Susana Ortega, Morphine Dreams;
Condoa M. Parrent, A Prayer for
Macie and Letting Go; Cassandra
Raffaelli, My Love; Elissa Russell,
Splendor; and Andre’ van Eeden,
Beautiful?.
Sports
Page 8
May 1, 2009
Student athletes honored at annual sports banquet
By B. Francino
Staff Reporter
Midland College’s athletic department hosted the annual sports banquet
earlier this week at the Midland
Hilton and honored the following student athletes.
Athletic training coach Sonya
Mikeska introduced the student trainers: Deja Chrisman, Sarah Louder,
Raelyn Ramirez, Andres Reyes and
Vidal “Billie” Valles.
Then cheer coach Stacey Wheeler
recognized the cheerleaders for their
work this year. The cheerleading
squad consists of: Lauren Abel,
Chrisman, Jorden Foldger, Betania
Francino, Tatum Guinn, T’Erika
Raftie, Alyssa Snow, Jamesha Toland
and Tara Walters.
Head Softball Coach Tommy
Ramos congratulated his team on
their outstanding season. They will
play in the Region V West
Tournament in Big Spring this weekend. Team members are: Elsa Apo,
Carly Briton, Dessie Farmer, Annessa
Garcia, Brooke Hernandez, Gabby
Hernandez, Taylor Howard, Amber
Kamaka, Tiffaney King, Kristen
Marris, Clarissa Molina, Dana
Nathanson, Dina Ortiz, Alex
Riedeman,
Charleen
Romero,
Amanda Woodward and Logan
Zamora.
Assistant coach of the softball team
is former MC player Mailei Hilva.
The Chaparral baseball team is led
Sports
Shorts
Ramos records
500th MC win
MC softball coach Tommy
Ramos recorded his 500th win of
his coaching career in a 5-2 victory over Western Texas College in
Snyder, Texas. Ramos, who is in
his 11th season as head coach of
the Lady Chaps, has a record of
501-151-3 (.765). He is also the
only coach in the program’s history. In his tenure at MC, Ramos has
guided the softball program to
seven WJCAC championships,
eight Region V Tournament
appearances, four Region V
Championships and four appearances in the NJCAA Division I
Fast Pitch National Tournament
(2001, 2002, 2003, 2008).
Three more
athletes sign
Lyrell Barfield (women's basketball), David Terrell (men's basketball) and Brad Kelleher (men's
basketball) signed letters on intent
to further their student athlete
careers on April 16.
Each of the three students signed
with NCAA Division I universities. Barfield will attend Florida
Atlantic University; Terrell will
attend Morehead State University,
KY and Kelleher will play at
Hofstra University, NY.
Valles, David
Walking,
Taylor Walton,
Trey Whaley,
B r a n d o n
Williamson and
Jake Worsham.
The
Lady
Chap volleyball team, led
by Head Coach
Kimberly
Boone
and
Assistant
Coach Tammie
Boone was also
honored during
the banquet.
Team members
are:
A r i a d n e
Alcantara,
Kristen Beck,
Jessica Brown,
Bianka Davis,
M e g a n
Photo by Tatum Guinn
Gwatney,
Chaparral fans filled a ballroom at the Midland Hilton on Tuesday evening to honor all of this
Tamara Loiola
year’s student athletes. Kimberly Boone, volleyball coach, is at the podium talking about the
Leite,
Asia
team, standing at left.
Manning,
by Head Coach David Coleman along Day, Trent Hudson, Kaleb Hurley, Christina Norton, Sarah Otwell,
with Assistant Coaches Hector Casey Jackson, Jeremy Jackson, T’Erika Raftie, Samantha Salazar and
Rodriguez, Ryan Mummert, Jim Travis Lawler, James Lynck, Spencer Gabriela Zeller.
Lawler and student assistant Justin Mailman, Matt Moreno, Kris Pearce,
The
defending
National
Van. Team members are: Logan Brian Perry, Chris Posada, Reid Championsship MC golf team was
Bawcom, Robert Brosig, Ben Redman, Michael Schulle, Cody presented by long-time Head Coach
Cammer, Byron Chew, Jake Scott, Toby Semler, Chad Stang, Delnor Poss. Team members are:
Cimerhanzel, Jordan Coulon, Lance Jamie Storey, Ryan Turner, Steven Kyle Blackney, Darryn Els, Heinrich
Frylinck, Nathan Park, Jon Mark
Peterson, Tyler Sheppard, Tommy
Sikes, Alexander Sobstad and David
Thomas. The golfers will defend their
title later this month.
Head Coach Ron Jones and
Assistant Coach Ginger Gatliff of the
Lady Chap basketball team praised
their team members for an excellent
season. Team members are: Lyrell
Barfield, Camille Cooper, Sade
Dunkley, Florencia Hernandez,
Shaquiri
Graham,
Leeshantea
Johnson, Candice Kohn, Mele
Leasau, Lauren Mansfield, Dymond
Morgan, Heather Sheppard, Adrie
Shiels, Arika Ullman and Erika
Warren.
MC’s nationally ranked men’s basketball team was also commended for
its season that ended when the team
came in second at the national tournament. The team is coached by
Assistant Coaches Jamaal Greene and
Chris Mudge along with outgoing
Head Coach Grant McCasland.
Team members are: Dominique
Andrews, Jason Clardy, Marcel
Campos, Juvon Demerson, Bryant
Evans, Charles Griffith, Greg Hill,
Brad Kelleher, Garret Lever, Marlon
Louzeiro, Kavon Lytch, David
Terrell, Justin Tubb, Adrian Van
Buren, Jason Walker and Larry
Wilkins.
For specifics on individual awards
or team statistics, please visit
www.midland.edu.
Basketball coach moves to Midwestern State University
By Iline Tang
Staff Reporter
Midland College men’s basketball
head coach, Grant McCasland led the
Chaps to a National Junior College
Athletic Association Championship in
2007.
He said he plans to accomplish the
same goal as he moves to Midwestern
State University where he will be the
new men’s basketball head coach.
“It’s an honor to go to Midwestern
State,” McCasland said. “My number
one goal going there is to do our
best.”
McCasland said his biggest challenge in going to MSU is the new
level of basketball.
“This will be my first year as a head
coach at a university,” McCasland
said. “I was the assistant coach at
Texas Tech University though before
coming to MC.”
Not only has McCasland coached at
Texas Tech and Midland College, but
also Northeastern Junior College in
Sterling, Co.
“I learned so much
being here in Midland,”
McCasland said.
“The best thing about
Midland is the people.
My family and I love it
here, but the hardest
thing about leaving is
leaving the people,” he
said.
“I’m just very appreciative of the opportunity I
received from Dr. Daniel
when I was first hired,”
McCasland said. “The
administration is so
great.”
McCasland said several
factors were involved in
deciding to coach at MSU.
“There are plenty of good reasons
why my family and I are moving to
Wichita Falls,” McCasland said.
“First, we’re going to be closer to
family. Second, it’s a brand new chal-
McCasland
lenge, especially at a different level.
Last, it’s going to help financially.
“My wife is pregnant with our fourth
child, so going to coach at MSU is
going to help a lot financially,”
McCasland said.
McCasland graduated from Irving
High School and earned a bachelor of
business administration degree with a
double major in entrepreneurship and
management from Baylor University
in 1999 where he also was a four-year
basketball player.
He also earned a master of science
degree in interdisciplinary studies
from Texas Tech in 2001.
McCasland is married to his wife
CeCe and they have three childrendaughters Amaris and Jersey and son,
Jett.
“We’re hoping for a boy,”
McCasland said. “So then it’ll be girl,
boy, girl, boy.” They are expecting a
fourth child as well.
McCasland has served at MC for
five years, one year as an assistant
coach, and the last four years as head
basketball coach.
“The most memorable moment I’ll
remember is winning the NJCAA
championship in 2007,” McCasland
said.
Softball team heads to regionals in Big Spring
From staff reports
The Midland College Lady
Chap softball team finished the
2009 season with a spectacular
47-13 overall record and a No. 12
national ranking.
MC concluded their regular season going 2-2 in its four game
home stand, a double-header
against Clarendon College on
Friday, April 24, and two games
versus Frank Phillips College on
Saturday, April 25.
On Friday the Lady Chaps suffered back-to-back losses to conference runner-up Clarendon
College (3-7 and 5-8).
However, the Lady Chaps righted the ship with two wins over
Photo courtesy of MC athletic department
Frank Phillips College on Vice-president of student services, Rita Nell Diffie, throws out the first ball before the Breast Cancer Awareness softSaturday (8-0 and 9-2).
ball game on April 24.
Friday was also Midland
The Regional tournament will be
The winner will advance to the Saturday, May 2 @ 1:30 p.m. (Game
College Lady Chap Breast Cancer
held Saturday, May 2 through Sunday, national tournament in St. George, 3): Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Awareness Day.
Saturday, May 2 @ 3:30 p.m. (Game
The Lady Chaps donated pink jer- May 3 in Big Spring (hosted by Utah (May 14-16).
Howard College).
The tournament bracket is as fol- 4): Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game
seys to commemorate the event.
The tournament field will be com- lows (four-team double-elimination):
2 Sunday, May 3 @ 11 a.m. (Game 5):
This was the third and final Breast
Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Cancer Awareness event of the school prised of the top four teams in the Saturday, May 2 @ 9:30 a.m. (Game
year with prior events being held dur- WJCAC. MC will be the No. 1 seed 1): #2 Clarendon College (31-18) vs. Sunday, May 3 @ 1 p.m. (Game 6):
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
ing volleyball and basketball seasons. followed by No. 2 seeded Clarendon #3 Odessa College (34-27)
Saturday, May 2 @ 11:30 a.m. (Game Sunday, May 3 @ 3 p.m. (Game 7 if
The Lady Chaps will open the post- College,
No. 3 seeded Odessa College and 2): #4 Howard College (32-22) vs. #1 necessary): Repeat of Game 6 if necseason in the 2009 NJCAA Region VNo. 4 seeded Howard College.
Midland College (47-13)
essary.
West Volleyball Tournament.