El Paisano, Volume XXXII, No. 9

Golf in full
swing
Page 8
Express
MC friend dies
Midland philanthropist Dorothy
Turner Scharbauer, 73, a native
Midlander and long-time friend of
Midland College, died Feb. 23,
2005.
Dorothy Scharbauer was born
March 9, 1931 to Fred Turner, Jr.,
and Juliette Miller Turner in
Midland County. She spent much
of her childhood growing up in the
Turner Mansion, which became the
foundation of the Museum of the
Southwest following the death of
her parents in the 1960s.
Mrs. Scharbauer graduated from
Midland High School in 1948. On
Aug. 27, 1949 she married
Clarence Scharbauer, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Scharbauer were
both reared in Midland and have
always promoted the importance of
public education.
The Scharbauers “have made
many, many contributions to
Midland College, not the least of
which was the Student Center,”
David E. Daniel, MC president,
said.
In 1995, the Scharbauer Student
Center was renamed the Dorothy
and Clarence Scharbauer, Jr.
Student Center to honor the couple’s $1 million gift to the
Chaparral Circle Endowment
Fund.
Mrs. Scharbauer is survived by
her husband, Clarence Scharbauer,
Jr, of Midland; son, Clarence
Scharbauer, III and his wife, Kerry;
son, Douglas Scharbauer and his
wife, Karen, all of Midland; son,
Chris Scharbauer and his wife
LaVonne of Amarillo; daughter
Pamela Ruth Scharbauer of Palm
Springs, Calif. and 10 grandchildren.
HSL Poetry Contest
awards celebration
From Staff Reports
The awards celebration for the
17th Annual Hilda Simmons Levitt
Poetry Contest is scheduled for 6
p.m., Thursday, April 28 in the
Wagner-Brown Auditorium.
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,
Mrs. Levitt lived in Midland where
she took creative writing courses at
Midland College.
In her memory, her husband,
Stanley Levitt, established the
Hilda Simmons Levitt Poetry
Competition at Midland College.
After Mr. Simmons died in 1994,
the Levitt children—Carol Levitt
Schwartz, Washington, D.C., and
John Simmons Levitt, Austin—
pledged to continue funding the
competition. John Levitt died in
August 2004 and his sister continues to support the annual contest.
This year’s juror is Katie Ford,
the author of Deposition, a collection of poems published by
Graywolf Press in 2002. Her individual poems have appeared or are
forthcoming in the American
Poetry Review, Ploughshares, the
Partisan Review, Pleiades, the
Seneca Review, Poets & Writers,
the Colorado Review and other
journals.
Ford will attend the awards ceremony and offer readings from her
work. She is a graduate of
Whitman
College,
Harvard
University and the Iowa Writers’
Workshop. She now teaches at
Loyola University in New Orleans,
where she is associate poetry editor
of the New Orleans Review. She
lives near the French Quarter with
her husband, novelist Josh
Emmons.
Winner of the Grand Award
receives $500; Second Place wins
$300; Third Place receives $200;
and Fourth Place gets $100. Each
winner also receives an award
plaque.
Winning poetry from the HSL
Contest is eligible to be published
in the Tableau magazine—the MC
literary magazine that is published
each fall. The public is invited to
attend the awards celebration.
Ground Floor
Closes doors
Students visit with
Speaker Craddick
Page 6
Page 4
El Paisano
The Student Newspaper of Midland College
Through the reporter’s eyes
April 8, 2005
Volume XXXII, No. 9
Chaps play in National Tournament
By Jessica Gonzales
Staff Reporter
Imagine walking into a 6,900-seat
capacity sports arena. The event is
sold out and more people are standing
around watching. When you and your
teammates walk onto the court, the
entire arena takes a stand and starts
applauding. The entire arena is abuzz
as the teams meet center court for the
tip-off. You can feel the anticipation
as the referee tosses the basketball
into the air and the game begins.
The
entire
community
of
Hutchinson, Kan. helped welcome the
Midland College men’s basketball
team along with 15 other community
college teams in the 2005 National
Junior College Association National
Tournament March 22-26.
The tournament marked the Chap’s
second consecutive appearance in
Hutchinson, Kan. The men advanced
to the national tournament after
defeating Howard College at the
regional tournament.
Photo by Jessica Gonzales
The MC men ended their 20042005 basketball season with a 70-67 The Chaps men huddle around Head Coach Grant McCastland as they game-plan against Highland Community
loss to Highlands Community Colleg College. The Chaps lost 70-67 to end their 2004-2005 season.
See Hutchinson, page 7
31st Annual Creative Writing Contest
Creative writers honored
By Cory Lehman
Staff Reporter
Midland College students were recognized for their creative writing
skills in essay, poetry and short story
categories, several receiving multiple
awards for their efforts in the 31st
Annual Creative Writing Contest
awards presentation last month.
Jason Ross, an MC student, won
several awards that evening.
Ross took first place in the essay
category for Try Me! Said the
Mushroom to Alice; second place in
the poetry category for Wheels; and
honorable mention for his short story,
My Father’s Stories.
Kevin Porter also won multiple
awards, receiving first place for his
poem Caffeine Me and honorable
mention for his poem Mountain
Haiku.
Also in the poetry category, Jacob
Lindsey-Hicks won two honorable
mentions for his poems, Mother Was
a Chimney and It’s an Apron Leader.
Winners in the poetry category also
included: Nikolos McMillan, won
third place for A Time of Touch and
Whisper, and Robyn Routh, honorable mention for The Day Mama Left.
Photo by Randy Rodriguez
Other winners in the essay category were Lyne Brown, second place Ross reads aloud from his essay Try
for A Teacher’s Love; Denise Me!.
Spencer,
third
place
for
Forgiveness; Liisa Ringqvist, honorable mention for The Evilness of
the World; and Lisa Tindol, honorable mention for Perfection is a
Form of Procrastination.
Matt Bruner won first place in
the short story category for I am
Jeremy; Tyson Paul won second
place in short story for Carry On,
Ye Wayward Son.
J e n e `
Brown won third place short story
for Spirit Sisters; and Shawn
Goodlett won an honorable mention for Ripped From the
Headlines.
See Contest, page 3
Activist speaks at MC Job Fair 2005
By Amy Johnson
Staff Reporter
The spotlight will fall on the worldrenowned anthropologist Richard
Leakey at the next installment of the
Midland
College
Davidson
Distinguished Lecture Series April 12.
For more than 30 years, the second
son of the famed fossil hunters Louis
and Mary Leakey has made international headlines for his service in
Kenya as a paleoanthropologist, conservationist and political activist.
“He not only continues his parents’ trade of anthropology, but has
extended the family influence on a
world stage,” said Elise Coombes,
MC director of public relations. “I
hope people who don’t know Dr.
Leakey’s reputation will take the time
to read up on him and attend the meeting.”
The Leakey Foundation website
says that Leakey and his team have
exhumed more than 200 fossils since
the 1960s, and have been credited
with some of the most significant discoveries of the 20th Century. He has
also worked from various administrative positions to end elephant poaching and raise money for the preservation of Kenyan culture and wildlife.
In 1993, Leakey survived a plane
crash that claimed both of his legs
without marring his determination.
Since then, he has taken a stand
against the corrupt Kenyan government in forming the Safina opposition
party and bringing issues such as
poverty, AIDS and the privatization of
state-owned enterprises to the table
during his appointments as Head of
Civil Service and Secretary of the
Cabinet.
Leakey has recently joined Stony
Brook University as a visiting professor of anthropology.
He is organizing an annual environmental forum that will bring 100 of
the world’s top scientists and political
figures to Stony Brook to address
solutions to the climate change, biodiversity, inequities of wealth, AIDS
and sustainable development.
The Davidson Distinguished
Lecture Series is an endowed series
that was made possible after a
fundraising campaign in the mid-90s.
Interest made from some of the
invested donations is used to bring
two speakers to Midland each year,
providing a free lecture for both the
fall and spring semesters to the community.
Some MC officials are looking forward to his visit.
“One of my favorite parts of this job
is to administer this series because it’s
an opportunity to meet people I’d
never meet and share them with West
Texas,” said Eileen Piwetz, vice-president of institutional advancement.
Photo by John Paul Martin
More than 1,000 people visited 88 booths at the annual MC Job Fair,
held at Chaparral Center Tuesday, April 5.
Companies such as Midland Memorial Hospital (MMH) attended this
year’s event. Michael Cole, nursing recruiter manager for MMH, said Job
Fair is a great recruitment tool for their organization.
“Exposure is excellent for us,” Cole said. “We may not hire a single
person, but it lays the groundwork for us. They have exposure to our
programs as well as an idea of what MMH is about.”
Commentary
Page 2
Editorial
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
MC teams deserve praise
With the success of this year’s basketball programs, it is time to commend
both the men and women on a job well done.
The men’s basketball team ended the regular season with a 25-8 record
and as the Region V tournament champions, which helped carry them into
the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
The Chaps, under first-year head coach Grant McCasland, defeated number one-ranked Arizona Western College by seven points. The Chaps then
lost their next two games, first to College of Southern Idaho on a last-second shot and then to Highand Community College in the consolation bracket.
The MC women’s basketball team also had a strong year and ended the
regular season with a 23-9 record before losing in the regional tournament.
Despite the losses, the Chaps and Lady Chaps demonstrated some of the
best teamwork around.
As with the basketball programs, so goes the other athletic teams at MC.
The college has a long history of excellence in both the athletic and academic areas. MC athletes are trained not only to be competitors on the playing field or on the court, but in the classroom as well. Athletes and students
alike are expected to excel and, with discipline and hard work, success in
any field is almost certainly guaranteed.
With the end of the basketball season, spring sports are in full swings and
are set for successful years. MC students are encouraged to attend the games
and show support for the spring sports programs. Baseball, softball and golf
have already begun, and all three are doing well. But it doesn’t hurt to have
the extra support from the student body.
The athletes involved in the programs are representing the student body
as a whole, and fan support would be good encouragement for the athletes
to work even harder.
Just like the basketball games, all games for spring sports are free to students who show a college ID. Home games are played at either Christensen
Stadium for baseball or Ulmer Park for softball.
Quo Vadimus
by Randy Rodriguez
Can we live with the sins of our
past? Is there a place where the white
lies and words said in anger, time
spent envious of others and drowning
our sorrows become trite?
Too often we try to convince ourselves that what happens in the past,
stays in the past. This has not been
my experience.
I have found that the past has a
sneaky way of showing up at the most
inopportune times—namely when
there is something important on the
line.
I have been the victim of my own
transgressions. I have been a liar, a
cheat, a scoundrel, a louse and a con
man. But I never expected it to come
back and bite me in the end. I feel my
luck has run out.
Those things that are truly important to us are the things that are affected the most.
For some, it may be career
advancement or that house in
Richland Hills. For others, it may be
family or love. Mine have been all of
the above.
When I think of all the mistakes I
have made, they seem trivial when
compared to my ultimate goal.
I have never been one to have a
direction or path that I follow. My
philosophy has always been to go
with what life gives me. This has
worked for any number of reasons,
but not so much anymore.
I am coming to a point in life where
it is imperative that I set my sight on
something and work like a rabid dog
to achieve that goal.
But, to steal an expression from a
colleague, I have to question why?
I know many successful people
who have worked hard their entire
lives and have nothing to show for it
but a meager bank account, a heart
condition and ulcers.
I have never been shy when it
comes to hard work; in fact, I am at
my best when I am faced with insurmountable odds.
But my point is when does it all
payout—when I finally get that million-dollar mansion, when I have the
three Mercedes sitting in my garage,
when I have the summerhouse in
Malibu and my winter getaway in
Aspen?
What is it that I will look back upon
and say, “I did that. I created something that will endure the test of
time.”?
I want to be able to leave a mark on
history and not for any selfish reason.
I just feel an obligation to contribute
something to the annals of documented achievement.
The Roman Empire, the United
States Constitution, Hamlet, the
Gettysburg Address, Citizen Cane
and the Sistine Chapel. These are the
things that many great men have
given their blood, sweat and tears for
and will be remembered for creating.
Where is our place in history? Our
place is buried underneath the baggage we carry around with us from
the past.
I can’t remember the last time I had
the time to daydream. In the sixth
grade, Mrs. Smith told me that daydreaming was for those people who
have nothing better to do with their
time. I could not grasp the magnitude
of such a blanket generalization.
Now I do.
Now I realize that history has no
place for those whom have nothing
better to do than read about important
people and pontificate about what
could have been.
I fear that I will be relegated to
standing on the shoulders of great
men.
Richard Nixon said, “I would have
made a good Pope.” Well, I think I
would have made a good president—
if those skeletons in my closet did not
scream so loudly.
El Paisano
The Student Newspaper of Midland College
Co-editors: Ruby Moore and Randy Rodgriguez
Editorial Staff: Michael Flax,
Tim Garlitz and Angie Wennerlind
Reporters:
Cartoonist:
Ryan Alexander
Tommy Simmons
Joe Aylor
Bradley Bourke
Lab Instructor:
Nikki Brooks
Karen Lanier
Raenell Diffie
Mona Garcia
Adviser:
Jessica Gonzales
Bob Templeton
Emily Green
Rael Henson
Comments and views expressed in
Amy Lyn Johnson
El Paisano reflect the thoughts
of individual student writers and
Cory Lehman
do not necessarily reflect the
John Paul Martin
beliefs or opinions of other
Tonia Martindale
students, faculty members,
Jason Rhode
administrative officers or the
Kelley Ricker
board of trustees.
El Paisano is a member
Teressa Thompson
Photographers:
Jessica Gonzales
Ruby Moore
Randy Rodriguez
of the Texas Community College
Press Association and the Texas
Intercollegiate Press Association.
The publication and its
student staff members have won
numerous statewide awards.
MC Student Publications 3600 N. Garfield, AFA 185
Midland, Texas 79705 432-685-4768
email: [email protected]
April 8, 2005
By Angie Wennerlind
What is love? For centuries, poets
and musical artists have tried through
prose and lyrics to describe it. In feeble estimations some great minds
have come close, but none have adequately put their finger on it. I know
our culture certainly hasn’t.
This frequently quoted Bible passage offers a suitable description:
“Love is patient, love is kind, it does
not envy, it does not boast. It is not
proud or rude, it is not self-seeking or
easily angered. It protects, trusts, perseveres and never fails.”
Never fails, huh? And where exactly are we supposed to find such
diehard love in this day and age?
Well, it certainly isn’t found in the
52 percent divorce rate. And I don’t
think you’d find it on Desperate
Housewives, Temptation Island or
Sex in the City either.
The truth is, our society has come
to view love as something temporal—
as some sex on the side here, an affair
there. Relationships are as disposable
and flushable as toilet paper.
No longer are relationships about
seeing how much one can give, but
about how much one can have per-
sonal needs met. When fickle emotions wane, it comes time to simply
pack up and move on.
I was recently taken aback when
keeping up with a peculiar, now infamous court case.
People can speculate over exactly
what kind of a vegetable state that
Terry Schiavo was in and what it was
exactly that she wanted if her life
state began to deteriorate.
One thing I know for sure though
is that she certainly wouldn’t have
wanted to see her family suffer the
way they have.
And her husband? I don’t know if
he thinks he did his beautiful bride a
favor, but to see someone go to courts
so determined to take a life makes me
think of someone like Michael
Schiavo as a little less than a loving
husband.
Those of you who have seen The
Notebook can contrast the two scenarios.
In one, you see a man’s patient
care, love and devotion for his
Alzheimers-stricken
sweetheart.
Though his wife’s deterioration
means she scarcely recognizes him,
Question Why?
Why do people have to have the
biggest and best of everything?
Instead of being satisfied with good
enough, or even above average, they
rush out for updates, new releases and
new credit cards to pay for it all.
I grew up with just enough and am
a perfectly well-adjusted person.
Some of my best friends grew up with
not enough and are some of the happiest people I know.
So, why is there such a rush to be
number one in everything?
Stereos, cars, houses, clothes; they
all have to be the latest, greatest, best
there is.
Or what? You don’t get to be
friends with the cool kids? Cool!
You don’t get the job working at the
premiere country club? Awesome!
I read a quote the other day that I
really liked. Will Smith said, “people
spend too much money that they
don’t have to buy things that they
don’t want to impress people that they
don’t like.”
Is it really that important to be better than everyone else? To some people, it is.
If they don’t have the newest 2004
Eddie Bauer Edition vehicle, then
they can’t drive.
If they don’t get the newest design-
he still realizes that somewhere
behind her smile, his “sweetheart is in
there.”
In the other situation, you see a
husband yanking out his wife’s lifeline on the basis that “she would
never have wanted to live in such a
state,” a statement never clearly made
in writing.
I will never understand why, when
a family of parents and siblings was
selflessly willing and ready to care for
Terry, her life was denied by her husband.
Meanwhile, Mr. Schiavo has
moved on to greener pastures, remarried and has children.
Sigh. What a love story.
Sometimes situations lead me to
wonder if the wedding vows “till
death do us part” mean anything. And
can true love truly exist?
The answer? It can and has.
And where can you find it? In the
personal ads? On one of the myriads
of dating web-sites?
Try looking instead at the image of
a man— broken, bruised and bloody
on a cross. His love is the true kind,
and love never fails.
by Ruby Moore
er skirt first, they can’t show their
face at school for a week.
Because they have the money, they
have to flaunt it. I mean really, what
good does it do to have money if no
one knows how much “wealthier”
they are than everyone else.
Guess what? Wealth isn’t measured
by money.
When someone who has very little
receives a single Christmas present, it
usually means more to that person
than anything because they know that
a sacrifice was made in order for them
to have something that they wanted.
I had a friend who was supposed to
get the car of his choice for his 16th
birthday. When he turned 15, his dad
decided to surprise him by getting a
brand new truck that would be his on
his 16th birthday.
He always told me that when he
turned 16 he wanted his dad to buy
him a new truck because the other one
was old and he didn’t like the color.
Fortunately, his dad told him no,
but let him drive any of the five vehicles they owned. He got first choice
every morning.
But he wasn’t happy because he
didn’t get the new truck with the latest stereo system and the 12-inch lift
kit that he wanted. He’s had five cars
at his fingertips since the day he
turned 15.
I drove the same car that my older
brother drove before me and my
younger brother drove after me.
Having the biggest and best isn’t
always a good thing.
When you can’t have the latest and
greatest anymore, you find out quickly who your true friends are.
So, why do people rush out for the
newest thing on the market? Is it
because they really can’t live without
it? No, my parents always told me
before I buy anything that I think I
need, I should wait one week, see
how well I do without it and then
make the decision to buy or not. Is it
because they want people to know
that they can afford to do whatever
they want?
Possibly, but at some point they are
going to realize that money can’t get
them everything. The most likely reason is because they don’t know any
different. People who are raised with
the best of everything being handed to
them by mom and dad don’t know to
expect anything differently in real
life. They haven’t been taught that
when they have more, they should
share it with those that have less.
Why?
Opinion
House Bill 3 runs into opposition in Senate
By Michael Flax
Page Editor
Recently, the Texas House of
Representatives passed a law called
House Bill 3, making new laws to
help fund public schools.
Now that it has reached the Senate
for debate, however, it is running into
strong opposition.
If anyone should support a bill that
helps fund public schools, it should be
the superintendents of the school systems.
So, what does it tell the voter to see
the superintendent of Copperas Cove
speak to the Senate in opposition of
the bill? Maybe it says that this bill is
no good, and it should get trashed.
The biggest complaints are those
items that had been chopped from the
bill.
How is it that the government
thinks it will be able to get or keep
good teachers if they cross out mandates like teacher pay raises?
Instead, our school systems are
ending up with those teachers who
find the pay acceptable, because they
are just starting out, or because they
need work.
And then getting rid of accountability measures just helps those teachers
looking who maybe shouldn’t even be
teachers.
People all across the state claim
that our public education is lacking,
but how can that be remedied without
high-quality educators?
Even the Texas Comptroller of
Public Accounts, Carole Strayhorn,
has written against the bill.
In a letter to the Speaker of the
House, Midland Representative Tom
Craddick, Strayhorn claims that HB 3
would produce approximately $6 billion in new state revenue to offset a
reduction of $6 billion in local school
property taxes each year.
In other words, what ever is gained
this year, the same amount would be
lost. She goes on to say that for 2006
the bill raises $2.8 billion in new state
taxes with no local property relief,
meaning they would be losing money.
And the progression only gets worse.
If all HB 3 will do is hurt the taxpayers, then why should it even be in
discussion.
But what was decided to help fund
our public schools? Some have
referred to it as the “Snack Tax”: a tax
on any item ordinarily sold for consumption without further preparation
and is not considered part of a balanced diet. The tax rate will increase
three percent for all snack foods, as
well as soft drinks. The reason for this
is the claim that Texas has become an
obese state.
According to WebMDHealth, there
are only 39 out of 50 states actually
doing something to fight obesity.
Of those 39, Texas is rated the sixth
highest obesity state for the year
2004. That means that there are 17
states that are doing worse than us. So
instead of telling people to go out and
exercise, the government has decided
to instead tax us each time we buy a
Dr. Pepper. But it goes to a good
cause.
There will also be a higher tax on
all tobacco products. The tax rate for
tobacco products other than cigars
goes up 40 percent of the manufacturer’s price. So, for those people who
want to continue with their cancerous
addiction, it’s going to cost a little
more. But it goes to a good cause.
And to add to all that, the general
sales tax will also increase. The general sales tax will increase from 6.25
to 7.25 percent. But it goes to a good
cause.
The tax increases are meant to go
for a good cause, but the cause was
lost when there was too much missing
from the bill. And if this state loses
more than it gains to help in the cause,
then those taxes are meaningless,
especially if the local property relief
goes nowhere but down.
According to the Morgan Quitno
Press state rankings, Texas public
schools are ranked 34 out of 50. That
means that our state isn’t in the hole,
yet. But if we can’t afford to keep
good teachers coming back to teach
everyday, then it will be our children
that pay. Our children need good educators to make their most important
muscle strong: their brain. It’s up to
us to make sure our legislators make
the right call.
Editor’s Note: Because we have not published an El Paisano since
Feb. 18, we have included some “older” news items that we felt still
deserved coverage. Most of these stories are on page 6.
We have two more issues this semester—April 22 and May 6.
Also, look for the Chaparral 2005 news/feature magazine
in stands around May 1.
News
April 8, 2005
Page 3
Campus police raise awareness
By Kelley Ricker
Staff Reporter
Midland College police are actively
informing students of possible crimes
such as rape, according to Charles
Gunn, chief of the MC police force.
Such an effort counteracts the frequency reported of rape. At the same
time, rape is seldom discussed or
understood publicly, according to the
Texas Association Against Sexual
Assaults.
“We are very aware of the possibilities of rape here on campus,” Gunn
said.
The campus police inform different
student campus groups of preventative measures for rape upon request.
“We advised the female students
who leave class in the evenings to
walk through the parking lots in pairs,
if it is not possible to leave in a larger
group,” Gunn said durring a presentation to the nursing classes.
Gunn added that if a rapist wants to
rape, a victim will be found. Rapists
look for vulnerable, helpless citizen—
a rapist will wait for someone who is
alone.
He said that pinching the key that
opens a car could be a great escape
weapon.
“A swift jab to the eye will disable
the assailant and send him on his
way,” Gunn said.
Midland Rape Crisis Center’s statistical reports show that from January
through August 2004 in Midland,
there were 795 persons raped; 183 of
reported attacks occurred in the
month of August.
“There have been no reported rapes
on campus in the past seven years I
have worked at Midland College,”
Gunn said.
The Midland Rape Crisis Center
reports show that 90 percent of all
rapes are premeditated and in 87 percent of the cases, the assailant either
carried a weapon or threatened the
victim with death or bodily injury if
he/she resisted.
Contest
Stan Jacobs, associate vice president of instruction, welcomed everyone to the ceremony.
“You are people who create something out of nothing; you create order
out of chaos,” Jacobs said. “I admire
your ability to express yourself.”
During the course of the evening,
the first place winners of each category read their award winning entry.
Mary M. Williams, associate professor and contest coordinator, presented
the awards.
Offenders have other means to
intimidate including the use or threat
of force, trickery, coercion or bribery.
Generally, the offender takes advantage of some power imbalance, such
as age, size, strength development or
knowledge to humiliate, violate or
control the victim.
Good habits result in a smaller
chance for confrontation with an
assailant.
“If you have a remote entry to your
car, use it.” Gunn said. “Develop this
habit as safety prevention. We do
everything we can to keep students
safe,”
Campus policemen advise the
female students to call them in the
case of a flat tire. Police will fix the
tire while the student waits in the car
for safety.
“We will not fix a male student’s
tire, but we would be glad to guide
them through the process,” Gunn
added.
A sampling in higher education
from page 1
“It is a lot of fun and a blessing. We
get to listen to other people’s gifts,”
she said.
Cash prizes were: $100 for the firstplace winners, $75 for the secondplace winners and $50 for the thirdplace winners in each category.
Eligibility in the contest was restricted
to any full or part-time student of MC
registered in English classes any time
since Sept. 1, 2003.
There were three sets of two judges
for each category in the contest:
‘Leave no child behind’
something over always costs more
than just continuing,” Gibbs said.
Jonathan Rauch, of the Jewish
World Review, holds the same
opinion. In his article, Rauch compared current policy with Bush’s
proposition to cut the budget in half
by 2009.
A portion of the budget follows
the “Impact of Budget Policy,” and
Rauch noted that Bush’s budget
would actually increase the collective deficit by $42 billion before
leveling with current policy in the
year 2010.
According to the Chronicle of
Education, Bush has proposed
year-round access to the Pell Grant,
maximizing the grant from $4,050
to $4,550 per student.
He has also provided $125 million to create a new grant program
as an incentive for community colleges to create dual-enrollment
programs like the one at MC.
For now, the sun has not set on
the two programs.
Mid-March saw the Senate pass
an education amendment to the
budget that would restore these
programs as well as maintain the
Pell Grant increase suggested by
Bush and verified in emails sent
out by the National Council for
Community
and
Education
Partnerships.
should let a friend know the exact
date plan. They should also be aware
of one’s decreased ability to react
under the influence of alcohol and
drugs.
Many sexual assaults are unavoidable. Regardless of previous training
and preparation, some people will
face situations where the rape is going
to occur.
Elaine Barnes, a client advocate of
the Midland Rape Crisis Center, said,
“In the emergency of a sexual assault,
the survivor should not wash his/her
hands or any other part of the body;
do not use the bathroom and do not
hesitate to call the police. The sooner
the victim gets to the hospital, with all
evidence, the better the chances for
justice.”
Should a student need assistance,
the MC police are able to receive calls
24 hours a day.
The campus police office is located
in the Student Center, Rm.101, 6854734.
Students ‘finish out’ classrooms
Jeannine Hurst and Myra Salcedo of
the University of Texas of the
Permian Basin judged the essay category; Michael Kearns and Jim
McGarrah of the University of
Southern Indiana judged the poetry
category; and Doris Russell and
Claudia Philpott of Odessa College
judged the short story category.
Winning entries are eligible for
publication in Tableau magazine to be By John Paul Martin
published during the fall 2005 semes- Staff Reporter
Last year, Midland College began
ter.
the foundation for a new program to
serve the community and train workers with the help of a $600,000
Hispanic
Serving
Institutions
Assisting Communities (HSIAC)
grant from
the Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
MC’s building science technology
this year’s projected $427 billion deficit.
program
offers
degrees
and
The question is how to go about it.
certificates
through
credit
classes,
“The danger for any administration is getting caught up
in the numbers instead of the individuals behind them,” continuing education classes for
hobbyists and craftsmen and a nonJones said.
The Midland Talent Search provides 650 individuals, credit certificate program, which is
aged 11-27, from not only Midland, but Fort Stockton and funded by the HSIAC grant.
The goal of the program is to bring
Ozona, with much of the same services that Upward
young
people into the building trades
Bound offers. The key differences are the wider range of
area
and
help improve job skills for
students and the absence of a summer program.
people
in
entry-level construction
“Our focus at Talent Search rests on students in the sevjobs.
enth through twelfth grades, but we can also work with
Pervier said MC building science
returning high school graduates and G.E.D. recipients who
students
will assist in finishing the
want to further their education as well,” Jones said.
inside
of
the
building.
“The need doesn’t go away just because our program is
By
doing
the
“build-out,” students
cut, so where will those families and students go to get
will
learn
carpentry
interior finishing
additional help to prepare them for college?,” Jones said.
and
blueprint
reading
while they
North Texas Daily reported that the funding from these
build.
programs would be redirected to a high-school extension
Now a new structure, built with the
of Bush’s No Child Left Behind initiative designed to help
help
of the grant, is continuing to
at-risk youth complete high school successfully.
address
community development
“We’re already doing it,” Ryan Gibbs, director of Gear
needs
on
Midland’s
south-side.
Up II said. Gear Up has two grants with Midland High
According
to
dean
of Technical
School designed to follow the classes of 2006 (Gear Up I)
Studies,
Curt
Pervier,
the
exterior of
and 2008 (Gear Up II) to graduation. Services are readily
the
Science
Technology
building
at
available to students on campus, first-generation or not, as
Cogdell
Learning
Center
is
complete
long as they’re members of the specified class.
“Why scrap these programs and start all over? Starting and the equipment is being installed.
Budget raises concerns
By Amy Johnson
Staff Reporter
President Bush’s commitment to “leave no child behind”
will leave some with furrowed eyebrows if his proposed
budget for 2006 succeeds in eliminating three federallyfunded programs aimed at preparing needy students for
post-secondary education.
Upward Bound, Talent Search and Gear Up all have
extensions at Midland College, and the community Student
Support Services would see a net loss of $4.7 million over
the next five years if the grants are cut; more than a thousand local college-hopefuls would be left to fend for themselves.
These programs are relatively new in Midland, all having their starts here between 1999 and 2003, but they are
not fledglings on a national scale. Upward Bound and
Talent Search had their inception during Lyndon B.
Johnson’s “War on Poverty” in the 1960s.
Now, they provide services for about 455,000 students
and veterans nation-wide. Gear Up doesn’t have the
longevity in years that the TRIO programs do, but in its
first year (1998) had more than 450,000 students enrolled.
“I don’t call that inefficient,” said Mechelle Jones, director of Midland Talent Search. “This is a service that the
students need, and we’re here to provide it.”
The service is far from singular—the programs provide
everything from after-school tutorials and financial aid to
leadership seminars and college visits—but Upward
Bound, Talent Search and Gear Up work under separate
names and grants for one common goal, to provide support
groups for low-income students through high school and
make sure they enroll into college.
“Upward Bound starts working with students in the
ninth grade and nearly all of them graduate from high
school and go on to college,” said Cheree Smith, director
of Midland Upward Bound.
The Midland grant is currently in its sixth year and can
accommodate 50 Midland Independent School District students, aged 15-19, from either a first-generation college or
low-income bracket; two thirds of the participants need
both to qualify.
According to Smith, this smaller number allows for
more intense services, averaging about $5,000 per student
each year.
Students involved in Upward Bound must commit six
weeks of their summer and every other Saturday during the
school year to enhancement classes that, not only build on
their core high school curriculum, but also provide them
with life-lessons from career placement to budgeting
checkbooks.
After-school tutorials are also required for those who do
not maintain straight As in high school.
This gives them “an opportunity to see what its like to be
a quasi-college student,” Smith said. The summer component of Upward Bound allows students to live and take
classes on the Midland College campus.
“The programs serve a tremendous need because they
take students who do not have parents with a college background and familiarize them with the sights and sounds of
college life,” said Eileen Piwetz, MC vice president of
institutional advancement. “They become the sort of surrogate parent for the students.”
Necessity, however, is also the mother of Bush’s budget.
Few may argue against a Weight Watchers approach for
finds that primary targets of acquaintance rape or “date” rape are females
in their last year of high school or
freshman year of college.
The MC dorm regulations are set
for residents’ protection against these
types of crimes.
“Observe the hours for guests and
obey the rules,” Gunn said. “Though
many students in the dorms are not
legal age to drink alcohol, they should
not ever take a drink from any person.
Alcohol or not, make it yourself.
Students should not put themselves in
unsafe situations where they can be
drugged.”
He said students should not assume
that they can trust a person.
Carrie Reischling, the Licensed
Professional Counselor Intern of The
Texas Department of Public Safety
(L.P.C.I.) said, “Students should
always be aware of their surroundings
and notice places an assailant could
hide.”
In an acquaintance date, students
Building science
moves to new home
The building was constructed with
the support of MC, the Midland
Community
Development
Corporation (MCDC) and the Texas
Workforce Network.
The 80-foot x 90-foot steel structure
that will house MC’s building
science technology program is located
just
east
of
the
college’s
Cogdell Learning Center.
The building will be the new home
to all the program’s construction
equipment, woodworking and cabinet-making classes along with offices,
a library and a fenced yard.
The Comanche Trails Woodturners
Club-led by the club’s project chairman
Ernest Showalter–donated the
equipment including lathes for a
woodturning class, benefiting many
craftsmen and hobbyists who enroll in
the continuing education classes
offered through the program.
“The collaboration with community
partners, the Midland Community
Development Corporation and the
Midland Workforce Network, with
our HSIAC grant and the Comanche
Trails Woodturners Club with their
gift of equipment, represents what
Midland College does best,” said MC
President David Daniel about MC’s
continued expansion of services to
South Midland.
For more information about the
building technology program, contact
Previer at 685-4677
News
Page 4
Ground Floor set to close
By Angie Wennerlind
Page Editor
Good coffee, live music, espresso
and granitas are just a few things on
the menu at The Ground Floor, a contemporary coffee shop located in
downtown Midland.
Despite the café’s charm and its
delectable coffee blends, come the
end of April, the business won’t be
rendering its services any longer.
The building that The Ground Floor
is located in, former home to
Midland’s first bank, was recently
purchased by a man wanting to renovate it. From there, the decision was
simple, out with the old and in with
the new—no more Ground Floor.
“I’m sad; I think everyone’s sad.
[The Ground Floor] has always been
here—somewhere to go,” said Rachel
Taylor, a Midland College student
who has worked at The Ground Floor
for almost two years.
Since the shop is located in the
heart of downtown Midland, many
business persons who work in the area
have become regulars at the shop.
Not to mention the fact that the
business is near Midland High
School, making it a convenient stop
for students.
When faced with the task of
informing customers of the business’
closure, Taylor noted that the responses she got were sad ones.
“A lot of people love The Ground
Floor,” she said.
And they love it for good reasons.
The Ground Floor offers an atmosphere conducive not only to conversation, art and creativity, but to musical
performances as well.
It’s one of the few places in
Midland that teens can gather to listen
to local bands or aspiring “coffee
house” musicians, Taylor said.
“Some bands have even had their
start here,” she added.
A branch of the shop that plans to
reopen, called “Pony Espresso,”
won’t be able to offer such musical
ambiance.
It will be a drive-thru coffee stop
only.
Other than that, the shop has no
plans of reopening, leaving Taylor on
the job hunt.
“I’m thinking about Starbucks,” she
said.
Not surprising, considering how
she has grown to appreciate the coffee
business.
MC to offer second baccalaureate program
By Tim Garlitz
Page Editor
Midland College will soon be offering baccalaureate degrees from Sul
Ross University in three separate
departments: biology, geology and
natural resource management.
While MC has offered the biology
degree for a little over a year and
geology degree for nearly six months,
this summer they will begin a program for natural resource management.
The courses are interactive and are
broadcast from Sul Ross to students at
MC via television.
Once a month, the students who
participate in the program travel to
Sul Ross to get a feel for the actual
class that they have been attending
171 miles away.
“Dr. (Paul) Mangum and I meet
with the geology and resource department once a month,” said Margaret
Wade, dean of math and science.
“Since biology was the first degree
we offered, the students in those
classes will be much farther along
than the others,” Wade said.
The first student to graduate from
this program will graduate in May
with a degree in biology.
Students who choose to major in
one of these areas must also pick one
of the other two fields as a minor. For
more information on the above
degrees, contact Margaret Wade at
685-4615 or Paul Mangum, associate
professor of biology, at 685-4729.
Keeping Midland Beautiful
April 8, 2005
Fox Science Building Update
Photo by Randy Rodriguez
Dennis Sever, vice president of information technology and facilities
stands in the new anatomy and physiology as he overlooks the blueprints for the new Fox Science Building. Sever says this is the most
state-of-the-art building in the area.
Hastings helps authors
By Jason Rhode
Staff Reporter
Aspiring authors and established
authors alike say that getting published is the hardest business to break
into. That might be true, but it’s not
impossible to be sold.
Here’s the recipe:
Contacts: know someone at your
local bookstore.
Initiative: the aspiring author must
have the initiative to ask questions.
A Co-signing Plan: a co-signing
deal is a binding contract between an
author and a bookstore where the
bookstore agrees to put the published
book or manuscript in its shelves for a
set time to sale for a percentage of the
take. The author retains the book
rights and the other percentage of
sales.
Hastings Books, Music and Video
at 3111 W. Cuthbert Avenue has such
an opportunity for published and
unpublished authors.
The author prints 15-20 copies,
bound or spiraled, which then gets put
on Hastings’ shelves for 30-60 days
Joey Rhode, 26, an aspiring author
of fantasy novels who has finished
her first novel, A Quest for Freedom,
said she thinks the co-signing deal at
Hastings is a good idea since it benefits both parties financially.
“Then, the author can take those
sales results to his or her agent(s), and
say, ‘This is what I’ve sold already.’
So it can be a publishing tool,” Rhode
said.
Linda Sue Draper, a published local
author, said she had no idea that such
a deal was possible and that it was a
great idea.
Draper added that she would keep
the co-signing deal in mind the next
time she’s trying to pitch a book to a
possible publisher.
Hastings’ deal is a 60/40 deal financially. However, Rhode recommended that writers should not try this
solely for the possible profit.
After the prescribed time period has
passed, the author can choose to take
those results to an agent to use as a
publishing tool or continue printing
more copies for Hastings to sell.
Hastings is the only local bookstore
to offer a co-signing deal to writers.
UNITY designed as voice
for African-American students
Photo by Ruby Moore
Members of MC Students in Philanthropy and Student Government Association volunteered for Keep
Midland Beautiful’s Make a Difference Day on April 2. Eleven students collected a total of 11 bags of
trash along Wadley Avenue and “A” Street.
Data workshop held at MC PPDC
By John Paul Martin
Staff Reporter
Last month the Midland College
Petroleum Professional Development
Center (PPDC) along with Permian
Basin Petroleum Technology Transfer
Council (PTTC) presented a one-day
workshop,
“Production
Data:
Collecting It and Using It!” at the
Advanced Technology Center.
“Getting production data from the
field to decision makers and accounting personnel in a timely and efficient
manner has been revolutionized by
the electronic age,” said Hoxie Smith,
PPDC Director.
The workshop presented a survey
of the methods being currently used
by more than 30 operators to capture
field production data and was conducted by Bob Kiker, PTTC Permian
Basin program director.
“There are a number of software
and hardware approaches that can be
taken,” Smith said.
“This workshop will show each
with speakers from small to large
operators and a variety of vendors
presenting.”
Kiker showcased the results of the
survey conducted to “accumulate
information on the techniques/methods operators in the Permian Basin
are using to collect, record and transmit daily production (oil, gas, water)
and other associated operational data
and determine if the methods that are
used correlate with size of the operator (operations) and/or location
(remote or centralized).”
Oil and gas operators, production
managers, field production supervisors, pumpers, lease operators, office
production accounting personnel,
engineers, regulatory personnel and
field and office production administrative personnel were among the
attendees of the workshop.
“The new digital technologies
available are greatly improved and
offer time-saving opportunities, but
there is a need for good communications between the field personnel and
the office personnel who are responsible for production accounting,” Smith
said.
“The larger companies are not as
efficient as the smaller ones, probably
because of the accounting bureaucracy of the larger ones.”
The MC PPDC is a result of the
July 1, 2004, consolidation of the
Permian Basin Graduate Center and
MC’s Petroleum Geotechnology
Training Center.
It is one of seven mid-career training centers worldwide recognized by
the American Association of
Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).
According to the PPDC’s Web site,
many of its classes qualify for re-certification credits that engineers, geologists, certified public accountants
and petroleum landmen use to maintain their certification status.
By Joe Aylor
Staff Reporter
Are you a new student looking to be
involved and don’t know where to
start? Have you thought about one of
the many clubs on campus?
There are clubs for all shapes and
sizes. Are you a crazy fan, soccer
lover or soon to be nurse? There is a
club for you.
There is one club that has united to
become a helping hand in the community.
Club UNITY is a group of young
people involved in the community as a
whole, but the club also focuses on the
African-American community.
This club was established in 1998
for the African-Americans at MC to
be involved in more than just routine
classes.
“UNITY is designed to be a voice
for the African-American students,”
said club sponsor Latisha Williams.
“We also want to help educate and
unite the public by holding positive
events and community outreaches,”
Williams said.
UNITY does this by holding expositions every year during Black
History Month.
They invite students, teachers,
churches and black business owners to
these events, where they perform concerts and plays for the local black
community.
UNITY has an average of 15 mem-
bers.
Since there is a growing number of
non-traditional students, students who
work and attend school, the off-campus activities are scheduled well in
advance.
This means that students with busy
and hectic schedules are easily accommodated by Club UNITY. They hold
weekly meetings at the Senate Room
in the student center at noon on
Wednesday to discuss club issues and
just to socialize with each other.
“My favorite part of UNITY is the
coming together of different people
who talk about the same things. I have
found great relationships within our
group,” said first year member Jashe
Fuller.
Fuller added that she became a
member through one of the black
expos held every year.
Although UNITY is a club promoting the welfare of African Americans,
it is open to everyone.
“It’s not like we come together just
to dance to 50 Cent all the time. We
come together to make relationships
with each other,” Fuller said.
It is a club for anyone wanting to
make new friends and help other people.
Fuller concluded that UNITY is a
place where people come to support
each other through friendships and
events—helping not only themselves,
but the community as well.
MIDLAND COLLEGE MATH DEPARTMENT
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Midland College Math Department will once again award several math
scholarships to students enrolling in transfer-level MC math classes,
or transferring to a four-year university with a declared major in math.
Criteria for awarding of these scholarships will be based on achievement in
math classes as evidenced by grades, math instructor recommendation and
future plans. Applications are available in the Math Lab and from Midland
College math instructors and are due by Monday, April 25, 2005.
Also, the math department wants you to test your math aptitude.
By going to the math lab, located in room 138 of the Technical Building, and
proving your mathematical prowess, you are eligible
for a prize courtesy of the math department.
For more information, see Debbie Vandergriff in the math lab.
Entertainment
April 8, 2005
Page 5
Concert Review
Music Review
Fowler shares Texas roots
‘Ain’t In It For The Money’
By John Paul Martin
him become “Mr. Redneck”?
Staff Reporter
“In high school I had short
Yeeeeeeeeeee-hah! Kevin
hair, you know the ’80s hairFowler, the man who gave the
do. So, I think they were defworld the Bubba anthem, Beer
initely more shocked by the
Bait and Ammo, the man who
rock and roll days than this. I
devotes an entire page on his
went back for my 10-year
Web site to hunting pictures,
reunion and I still had my
does not know any redneck
long hair, and everybody was
jokes.
like, ‘Damn, dude, what hapBefore his show at the
pened to Fowler?’”
Ranch in Midland March 18,
So how did the transition
Fowler sat down for an interfrom rock and roll to country
view and talked about everycome about? Fowler said it
thing from the music business
was natural.
to hunting.
“When I tried to become
Fowler said he was excited
more of a singer/songwriter,
to bring his music to the rest of
all of my rock and roll budAmerica in his first national
dies were telling me my
release, Loose, Loud & Crazy,
songs had too much of a
in 2004.
country sound,” he said. “I
“Look at all the guys that do
figured I would try it and if it
it (perform Texas music); your
didn’t work out, what the
Jerry Jeffs, your Robert Earls,
hell?”
Gary P. Nunn. There’s lots of
In 1998, Fowler put togethguys who have made a living
er his first country band and
like this for decades, and
landed a weekly gig on
there’s nothing wrong with
Tuesday nights on Austin’s
Photo by John Paul Martin legendary Sixth Street. The
that. But sooner or later you
want to go see what else is out Fowler sings to the crowd at The Ranch recently in crowds started out small, but
there and take a swing. But if Midland.
soon more people were capthis is what my career is suptivated by his music.
posed to be, just being in Texas, you won’t hear any comFowler’s merchandise reflects his love for hunting.
plaints out of me.”
“I hunt at least six to eight weeks a year,” he said. “The
Fowler said he grew up listening to hard country music last couple of years, I let hunting season slip by because I
at home and on the radio. Picture a real redneck, the guy was so busy, but I’m bound and determined to take some
with his truck on the lawn who upsets all the neighbors. time off this year. I’m taking time out in September to go
That’s the kind of music Fowler said he writes and per- bow hunt elk in Colorado. I’ve been hunting since I was
forms.
born pretty much. My dad was always a big bow hunter.”
“I’m really not that redneck. I’m just from Amarillo. I
One thing an artist may worry about when signing with
just act like everyone else from Amarillo — the triple- a major label is that some of the hardcore fans call the
wide central on the planet. But I did once drink a beer artist a “sell-out.”
while hunting,” Fowler said.
“We still do what we do. I hear people say that about Pat
Fowler has not always written country music through. (Green), and I always shut ’em down, because his music
He got his first experience playing guitar with Dangerous still sounds like his music. He still sounds like the same
Toys, a Texas hard rock band that recorded two albums for old Pat. I don’t see how people can say he’s sold out. I
Columbia Records (one of them certified gold). They were don’t think you’re selling out. I think you’re buying in.
one of the MTV hair-band bands around the same time as The fan wants to be able to hear the stuff on the radio and
Poison and Mötley Crüe.
be able to buy the stuff, and it sure helps having someone
“It started out, growing up, my dad wouldn’t allow any
in your corner helping you swing.”
rock‘n roll in his house,” Fowler said. “So it was all Merle
What makes Fowler connect with his fans is what he
Haggard, Johnny Horton, all that stuff. Then as soon as I
says
makes Texas so great.
got old enough, I had to find music that would irritate my
“We
play the kind of music that we want here. As long
parents. I started getting into Judas Priest and all the
heavy metal of the day. You can’t listen to something your as it’s good, people accept it, buy it and go with it. It’s not
pretentious, it’s not fashion music, it’s not Nashville, it’s
parents dig – that wouldn’t be cool.”
So, were his high school friends shocked when they saw not commercialized hype, it’s simply what’s good.”
MIDLAND COLLEGE VIP LISTING
(Show your Midland College I.D. for discounts at the following locations)
STORE NAME
Aviare Apartments
The Lakes Apts.
Meridian Apts.
Windscape Apts.
Windtree Apts.
Amber’s Salon
Chic fil A (mall)
Chili’s
Domino’s Pizza
Famous Cajun Grill
Fazoli’s
Fuddruckers
Furr’s
Gatti’s Pizza
Hollywood Theaters
I Hop
Johnny’s BBQ
KFC
Luby’s
Luca Pizza
Manchu Wok
Papa Johns Pizza
Pizza Hut
Quiznos
Schlotzsky’s
Ski Skeller Sports
Smoothie King
Subway Sandwich Shop
Swensen’s Sandwich Shop
Trendy T’s
DISCOUNTS
5% off rent
5% off rent
5% off rent
5 % off market rent
5 % off
10% off
free drink with combo
10% off
$6 medium 1 topping
10% off
10% off
10% off
all you can eat $5.95
$4.99 lunch buffet (11-2)
$1.00 off
15% off
10% off
10% off
15% off
10% off
10% off any combo meal
$6.99 Large 1 topping
$3 off Large $2 off Med.
10% off
10% off
10% off
50 cents off
10 % off
15% off
10% off
LOCATION
2600 W. Loop 250
516 N. Loop 250
4400 N. Holiday Hill Rd.
3609 Caldera
3600 W. Loop 250 N.
4610 N. Garfield
4511 N. Garfield
2100 W. Loop 250
all Midland locations
Midland Park Mall
4505 W. Loop 250
4511 N. Midkiff (Mall)
1116 N. Midkiff
614 W. Wadley
4915 W. Loop250
2507 W Loop 250 N
316 N. Big Springs
4727 N. Midkiff
2510 W. Louisiana
Midland Park Mall
4511 n. Midkiff
4408 W. Loop 250
All Midland Locations
4706 N. Midkiff
2 Midland Locations
3325 W. Wadley `
2200 W. Wadley
All Midland Locations
900 W. Loop 250 N
Midland Park Mall
PHONE #
685-6889
689-9865
699-7435
697-4984
697-7953
682-8299
697-1427
687-3745
689-3030
520-4260
689-0448
694-1619
688-3977
522-2200
684-5759
683-4581
694-0503
682-6256
697-7951
694-5273
694-7272
694-7225
694-0769
687-2687
697-0427
686-2665
682-5541
570-7271
697-5105
Movie Review
Spring movies offer various themes
By Raenell Diffie
Staff Reporter
Constantine
The ancient battle between good
and evil, God and the Devil, has been
waging for thousands of years, and
now John Constantine is caught in the
middle. This is a wonderful premise
for a motion picture. However, I’m
not quite sure it fully lived up to its
potential.
Keanu Reeves played the title role
and it seemed as if it was written just
for him. The character was Reeves’
famous angry, brooding, sarcastic,
cynic persona that he has mastered in
so many other films, as he rarely plays
anything else.
I must say I was surprised and
delighted at many of the less obvious
choices that were made to advance the
story. One in particular that stands out
was the character of the archangel
Gabriel. The androgynous and manipulative qualities exuded by this role
made the audience want to know
more.
If you are one who is a fan of special effects, this film will not let you
down. It is chocked full of amazing
imagery and spectacular computer
generating image creations.
If you are not inclined to see films
of the occult persuasion, then this
movie is not for you. However, if you
are like me and enjoy this particular
genre, then go see it. It is a breath of
fresh air as other occult films of late
have been little more than a few
explosions and a bad story line.
Take the kids, take your friends and
take a date. It doesn’t matter; everyone will have a good laugh and a good
time at this one.
Be Cool
Talk about an A-List cast! This film
included just about every movie star
on this planet. And on top of that it
was a well-written script, especially
for a sequel.
The famous Chili Palmer, portrayed
by John Travolta, has moved out of
the movie business and into the music
business, so now everyone is trying to
kill him. He hooks up with struggling
music mogul and recently widowed
Eddie, played by Uma Thurman, and
an aspiring singer played by Christina
Million.
Throw in an angry manager, a suburban gangster, a gay bodyguard and
some pissed off Russians and a few
crazy plot twists later you have one
heck of a comedy.
At times it was a bit difficult to
decipher who was plotting against
whom and who was the one doing the
scheming and who was being
scammed. But the hilarious performances more than made up for the confusion.
Other cast members included: The
Rock, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the
Entertainer, Harvey Keitel, Danny
DeVito, James Woods and Steven
Tyler, with a few cameos like Seth
Green, Joe Perry, Fred Durst and others.
Even if you have not seen Get
Shorty, go see this film. It will have
you rolling in the aisles.
By Tim Garlitz
Page Editor
Up-and-coming
independent
Texas country band Micky And The
Motorcars released their latest CD,
Ain’t In It For The Money, in late
2004 on the Smith Entertainment
Label.
Forsaking traditional country
instruments such as the mandolin,
fiddle and pedal steel guitar, Micky
And The Motorcars incorporates
more rock and roll and blues instruments like harmonica and B-3 organ
for an edgier sound than most country artists.
Songwriting duties for the band
are divided almost evenly between
lead singer Micky Braun and lead
guitarist Joseph Deeb. Braun’s
vocals draw comparisons to both
Jack Ingram and Steve Earle, while
the overall sound of the band is similar to a more countrified version of
The Wallflowers or Gin Blossoms.
The band has also received a
career boost by associating themselves in the Cross Canadian
Ragweed-Pat Green circle of Texas
musicians.
As for the album itself, many
songs reflect a desire to mainstream
their music as much as possible by
writing simple lyrics and melodies
that straddle the line between country and pop. The first song on the
album, Little Baby, sounds very
much like the Wallflowers and is a
very strong opener for the album.
However, the band seems to rely
too often on styles made popular by
older bands, particularly the Gin
Blossoms. The second song on the
album is even titled Follow You
Down, one of the Gin Blossoms’
biggest hits, while the third song,
July, You’re a Woman, has an almost
identical harmonica part to the Gin
Blossoms’ Follow You Down.
One of the weakest songs lyrically
on the album is the title track which,
despite claiming that he “ain’t in it
for the money,” the singer ironically
chooses this song to incorporate
enough clichés that you can’t help
but think that maybe they are in it for
a little bit of money.
With lines like “Everybody wants
to be somebody/Everybody wants to
have somebody” and “(She) left me
singing the same old song,” it’s kind
of hard to take their claims seriously.
One of the better songs on the CD
is “Miserable Year”, which is both
funny and a little depressing as the
singer relates stories of taxes, band
troubles and a summer “filled with
car wrecks, breakups and things I’d
rather not say.” The song uses different instruments and more forceful
percussion to make it a decent rockcountry song.
The best song on the album is the
last song, Holdin’ On, Long Gone,
which has a dreamy, atmospheric
quality that makes it one of the more
sincere songs from this type of country.
While the album is sure to please
fans of the genre, Ain’t In It For
The Money doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.
For those who aren’t familiar with
Texas country or don’t care, this
album probably won’t change their
minds.
Movie Review
Robots sing, dance
By Cory Lehman
Staff Reporter
Alert! Robots have taken over our
world! No wait, ROBOTS ARE THE
WORLD in the newest animated film,
Robots, in theaters now.
Directed by Chris Wedge and produced by Jerry Davis, John C. Donkin
and William Joyce, the new movie
included quite a cast of stars. Robin
Williams turned in one of his characteristic performances, much like his
Aladdin days.
Other
stars
include
Ewan
McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks,
Greg Kinnear, Al Roker, Terry
Bradshaw, Jay Leno, Drew Carey,
Amanda Bynes and Jim Broadbent.
The setting in Robots is impressive.
Robot City, the town in which the
majority of the tale takes place is a
city out of a little boy’s dreams. The
contraptions that make up the city
reminded me of a high-tech Lego
town.
Clearly, the architectural construction is one of the most impressive
aspects of the movie. Watching to see
how different day-to-day objects in
the city will work is entertaining.
Transportation, for instance,
involves the worst roller coaster ever
imagined combined with painful, nauseating leaps to get to where one
wants to go. Personally, I’d rather stay
home.
This comedy, science fiction/fantasy animation movie is set in a world
with a population entirely of robots. It
tells the story of young genius inventor, Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by
McGregor), who dreams of making
the world a better place.
His dream is challenged by his
long-time hero, now corporate tyrant
and master inventor, Bigweld (voiced
by Brooks); or so he thinks, at first.
The moviegoer later discovers that
Bigweld is quickly becoming obsolete as a younger, “newer” looking
robot, Phineas T. Ratchet (voiced by
Kinnear), takes over the day-to-day
running
of
the
Bigweld
Inventor/Spare-parts Company.
Ratchet, the “bad guy” in the
movie, along with his dominating
mother, Madame Gasket (voiced by
Broadbent), comes up with the evil
scheme of no longer making spare
parts. This, of course, would make it
impossible for robots to repair themselves.
The antagonists begin promoting
upgrades—highly expensive, newer
models.
As young robots mature, they are
fitted with hand-me-down parts until
they finally get their “adult” robotic
bodies. These bodies are a conglomeration of used parts, unless the robots
are wealthy enough to buy the brand
new, upgraded models for every stage
of maturity.
At this time in the movie, a new
moral develops. No person, or in this
case, robot, should be considered
junk.
Every life, or more accurately stated, machine, is worth saving and
worth repairing. No one is without
value. No one deserves to be melted
down at Madame Gasket’s lair, no
matter what his social class.
Are you inspired yet? Surprisingly,
this PG-rated movie about robots is
quite touching, and, yes, viewers were
soon anxiously awaiting the end,
wondering, would the good guy again
beat all of the odds and find his
dreams realized? Would he get the
girl? Would all stray strings be tied
neatly in a happily-ever-after ending.
As most movies go, robotic in
nature or not, the movie must involve
a lover-interest. Cappy, a well-polished, corporate robot, voiced by
Berry fills the leading lady, loveinterest-of-Rodney role.
And, no, I will not tell you how the
side plot ends.
Robots is a value-filled movie that
will entertain children and adults
alike.
Rodney’s hilarious robot friends,
the scenes throughout Robot City, the
plot and script writing combine to
make the movie well worth the time
and money to see.
Take Ten
Top 10 Worst Pick-up Lines
10. “If I said you had a beautiful body, would you
hold it against me?”
9. “If life were a meat market, you’d be prime rib.”
8. “I lost my teddy bear, can I sleep with you?”
7. “I’ve got a thirst, and baby you look like my Gatorade.”
6. “If I was Peter Pan, you’d be my happy thought.”
5. “I know milk does a body good, but how much
do you drink?”
4. “If you were a booger, I’d pick you first.”
3. “I’m here, what are you’re other two wishes?”
2. “Are those space pants, because your butt looks
out of this world.”
1. “If you were a hamburger, you’d be McGorgeous.”
News
Students visit House on College Day
Page 6
By Ruby Moore
Co-Editor
February 17, 2005, was recognized
as Community College Student Day
at the Capitol by the House of
Representatives and the Senate in
House Resolution 398 and Senate
Resolution 144.
For the 110 Midland College students and faculty members, it was a
chance for the students to see how the
state legislature works and to make an
impact on the way legislators view
community colleges.
As constituents of the Speaker of
the House, students from MC and
Odessa College were given the
opportunity to have a meeting with
Speaker Tom Craddick and Sen. Kel
Seliger.
“Meeting with the legislators doesn’t mean that they are going to change
anything, but it might make them
think twice,” said Scott Lynch, MC
student. “They might actually consider someone else’s thoughts and feelings about the issue before making
rash decisions.”
The primary concern for several
community college students is the
fact that as tuition continually
increases, financial aid doesn’t.
“There is no real help for white,
April 8, 2005
middle class males,” Lynch said.
In the case of MC freshman Will
McAdoo, the situation is even more
difficult.
“It is expensive for middle class
families and they are the ones that
[tuition increases] hurt the most—
especially for families like mine, with
more than one kid, when we don’t
qualify for things like Pell Grants,” he
said.
The meeting with Craddick and
Seliger left students with more questions than when they started, but it
also gave them something to work
toward when they got home.
“At this point, the important thing
is that people are becoming more
aware of the situation,” McAdoo said.
“It makes (legislators) aware that
there is a growing group of people
asking questions and becoming more
aware of what they are doing.”
A simple meeting with a legislator
isn’t always an effective method of
bringing light to an issue.
Some people resort to techniques
that include signs, banners and burning flags to get the attention of their
legislators.
“You don’t hear about the 100 students at the capitol who met with
Craddick,” Lynch said. “You hear
about the police arresting someone
for causing a disturbance, which
gives their issue free publicity. You
won’t get ahead if you do something
tame.”
This time, the meeting had enough
of an effect to keep the contenders
happy.
“Not even a week after we were
there [Speaker of the House Tom
Craddick] was on the front page saying there would be more money for
community colleges,” said McAdoo.
“He didn’t say how much more
money, but that’s still very productive, and I think our presence did
make a difference.”
Jan Reed, director of Student
Activities, agreed.
“If we did nothing else, we allowed
them to see the people they make
decisions about,” Reed said.
“Look at the front page (of the
Midland Reporter-Telegram),” Terry
Gilmour, MC government teacher
said. “I think seeing 100 plus kids
made a huge difference.”
“It made the legislators recognize
that behind the city leaders there is
another force that’s picking up steam,
knocking on the door and saying ‘Let
us in. We want to get involved,’”
McAdoo said.
Two MC women honored
By Randy Rodriguez
Co-Editor
The Girl Scouts of America have
been honoring the most influential
women of this community for more
than a decade now. This year, they
honored two of Midland College’s
own.
Eileen
Piwetz
and
Karen
Nicholson, along with five other
recipients, received the Girl Scouts
Women of Distinction award at a
luncheon held
March 1.
These two women were recognized
as pillars of the community and as
role models for girls and young
women, according to Ann Parish, Girl
Scout representative.
“Each of the women, being honored
today, has learned her place in the
puzzle of life,” Parrish said. “They
have decided that her place, her piece
so-to-speak, is volunteering in her
community.”
Photo by Randy Rodriguez
Piwetz recieves the Girl Scouts
Women of Distinction award.
Piwetz, MC’s vice-president of
institutional advancement, has been
an active member of several organiza-
tions including serving as a board
member of the Midland Community
Theatre Board of Governors, president and board member for
Community and Senior Services and
member of the editorial board of the
Community College Journal of
Research and Practice.
Nicholson, MC math instructor, is a
member of the Midland Chamber of
Commerce Education Committee,
served as president of the Midland
City Council PTA and chairs the After
School Child Care Task Force.
“I am so excited,” Piwetz said.
“When you look at the people who
have received this before me, it is
such an elite group; it is just an honor
to be named.”
Past recipients of this award
include: Deana Savage, MC associate
vice president of instruction; Nancy
Shaw, retired MC administrator; and
Margaret Wade, MC dean of math and
science.
Casino Night draws crowd
By Ruby Moore
Co-Editor
More than 90 Midland College students tried their skills and tested their
luck at a variety of casino games in
the 15th Annual MC Casino Night,
held Feb. 28, in the student center.
The three students who had accumulated the most money at the end of
the night received cash prizes.
Tawna Tagaloa and Noe Lujan tied
for first place and received $25 each.
Melissa Williams won $15 for third
place.
Each student was given $375 in
poker chips as they arrived. For two
hours students competed with each
other at Blackjack, Roulette, Craps
and Texas Hold ‘Em, all dealt by MC
faculty and Chap Booster Club members.
In the past, students have been able
to bid on prizes using the money they
won. However, this year a new system was used. At the end of two
hours, all chips were cashed in for
$500 tickets. The tickets were placed
in a bucket to draw for an assortment
of prizes including MC T-shirts, hats,
picture frames and mugs.
Casino Night was started by the
Photo by Ruby Moore
Chap Booster Club in 1991 to teach Coleen Cosner, Hannah Oliver and
students how to correctly play the Krista Blagrave try their luck at the
casino games.
Blackjack table.
Photo by Ruby Moore
Midland College students gathered on the front steps of the Texas
Capitol before heading home on Feb. 17.
Opinion
Experience leaves doubts
By Ruby Moore
Co-Editor
The system of government that Texas has is supposed to be one of representation. But if elected officials do not take the time to consider the opinions of
their constituents, how can they accurately represent them?
During a recent legislative visit to Austin, students from Midland College
and Odessa College were given the opportunity to meet with Speaker of the
House Tom Craddick and Sen. Kel Seliger. Our excitement about the privilege
of meeting with the Speaker was quickly replaced with disappointment and
anger at the non-diplomatic way he responded to the people who have kept him
in office for 34 years.
There is no doubt that Craddick is a fine politician. When he was elected to
the House, he was one of nine Republicans. He was appointed as a committee
chairman in 1975, the first Republican in 100 years.
In 2003, he was the first Republican to be elected Speaker of the House after
he helped gain the Republican Majority for the first time in 130 years.
During the brief meeting students were invited to ask questions. Many of the
questions dealt with tuition increases and financial aid for students who don’t
qualify for grants and other forms of aid.
Craddick’s response was that tuition is expensive. In the late 1970s, legislation had to make the decision whether to cut education or raise tuition.
“We didn’t raise tuition,” Craddick said. “So instead of five math classes
there are two. And people started complaining that they could not get into
classes.”
Many of his answers were diplomatic, in the sense that he never really
answered the questions. Instead, facts and figures were given in, what seemed
to be, hopes that the students would get confused and forget what they were
talking about.
Somewhere, a happy balance needs to be found. If tuition is going to
increase, financial aid needs to increase proportionally. If legislators are going
to continue ignoring the issues that concern their constituents, the constituents
need to start yelling a little louder.
And the winner is...
Richard Hirth and Vicky
Bakhos were crowned homecomeing king and queen at halftime of the Chaps men’s basketball game Feb. 21.
The two were nominated from
Student Govenment
Photo by Randy Rodriguez
Play Review
MC stage drama highlights deep family troubles
By Randy Rodriguez
Co-Editor
The award-winning play Crimes of
the Heart came to the stage of the
Wagner & Brown Auditorium, courtesy of the Midland College Drama
Department, Feb. 25 and 26 and left
audiences wanting more.
This involved and intriguing piece
about three sisters who have dealt
with the suicide of their mother and
the legal troubles of the youngest sister lends itself the sentimental familybonding story only the stage can
bring.
The story begins with a solemn
entrance by Lenny Magrath (Heather
Bullard) as she celebrates her birthday alone. She has a somewhat convoluted life with the illness of her
grandfather and the impending trial of
her sister Babe Botrell (Amber
Bowman).
Babe begins the play incarcerated
for shooting her husband in the stomach because she “didn’t like his
looks.”
A third sister, Meg Magrath (Teri
Carper), shows up to help her sisters
through their troubled times. Meg is
the “wild child” who fails to make it
big as a songstress and has come back
to Hazelhurst to confront the past she
left behind.
While the meek and soft-spoken
Babe must come to terms with the
extramarital affair she had with a 15year-old boy that only serves to complicate her self-defense case, her
lawyer, Barnette Lloyd, (Dustin
Traylor) has crafted her case around
the years of mental and physical
abuse she has endured throughout her
marriage.
Lenny serves as the mother hen
throughout the play as she struggles
with her self-esteem, or lack thereof,
and tries to hold the sisters together.
Her mild-manner and unassuming
way begins to fade as the story progresses.
Under the direction of David Allen,
this cast blends wonderfully and playoff one another like clockwork. The
story goes into tangents of several
subplots but inevitably comes together in the end.
This play is littered with a colorful
supporting cast that includes the sisters’ busybody cousin Chick Boyle
(Candace Brooks) and Meg’s former
boyfriend, Doc Porter (Eddie Garcia).
These characters give nice comedic
relief to the story and breathe life into
the dark tone of the story.
The standout performance of the
play comes from Brooks. Her portrayal of Chick includes wonderful
timing and a perfect blend of overthe-top with a grounded zeal.
The eighth character of this feature
was most certainly the set. Constructed by Amber Bowmen, Candace
Brooks, Heather Bullard, Teri Carper,
Eddie Garcia, Dustin Traylor and
Belinda Cross, and designed by
Allen, the set’s marigold walls and
working kitchen interweaves seamlessly with the storyline.
Photo by Randy Rodriguez
Bullard, Carper and Bowman celebrate the birthday of ‘Lenny,’ the oldest
sister in Crimes of the Heart. These three sisters were entangled in a web
of plot twists and turns throughout the play.
Sports
April 8, 2005
Sport
Shorts
MC’s Martin
All-Tournament
honoree
Congratulations to Tristan Martin
who was named to the 2005
NJCAA All-Tournament Team after
competing in
the tournament
in Hutchison,
Kan. The underdog Chaps beat
No. 1 Arizona
Western College
76-69
to
Martin
advance in the
tournament. They then lost at the
buzzer to the College of Southern
Idaho 70-69. This sent them to the
consulation round where they lost to
Highland Community College 7067.
WJCAC honors
MC players
The Midland College men’s basketball team had three players honored, while the
MC women’s
team had two
players honored
by the Western
Junior College
A t h l e t i c
Conference
Lewis
coaches in their
all-conference
team.
J.D. Lewis, a
6-foot-2 freshman guard from
Amarillo, TX
and Ivory Clark,
a 6-6 sophomore forward
Clark
from
New
Orleans,
LA
were named to
the
AllConference
men’s
team.
Lewis, who is
averaging
18
points per game,
also made the
Crowell
All-Region V
team.
Tim Crowell, a 6-1 freshman guard
from
Albuquerque, N.M.,
received honorable mention
recognition.
On
the
women’s side,
5-8 sophomore Kmitaite
guard
Irma
Kmitaite, from
Sirvintos,
Lithuania, and
Britney DavisWhite, a 5-7
sophomore
guard
from
Houston, TX,
Davis-White were named to
the all conference team. Kmitaite
was also named to the All-Region V
team.
Ramos hits
winning mark
In the first
game of the
2005 Western
Junior College
A t h l e t i c
Conference
( W J C A C ) Ramos
opener, versus
Frank Phillips College, Coach
Tommy Ramos picked up the 300th
win of his coaching career. The 6-0
win elevated his career record to an
incredible 300-88-1 career mark.
Ramos has guided the Lady
Chaps to three trips to the NJCAA
National Softball Championships,
finishing in seventh place in 2001,
fourth in 2002 and seventh in 2003.
He has won WJCAC Coach of the
Year and NJCAA Region V Coach
of the Year honors.
Page 7
Lady Chaps season ends after much success
By Jessica Gonzalez
Howard College 64-45 to end the regular season.
Staff Reporter
“Overall, I think the team improved as a whole
The Midland College Lady Chaparrals
over the season,” coach Ron Jones said. “They
ended their 2004-2005 basketball season
improved from the beginning to the end.”
with a 67-65 loss to McLennan
“We played some of our best basketball during the
Community College in the second round
last few weeks,” Jones said.
of the Region V play-offs last month in
“I think our sophomore’s improved from last year,”
Lubbock, TX.
Jones said. “Adriaansz and Brazell also improved
Evelina Janistye led the Lady Chaps
over the season. Brazell had a good, solid freshman
with 16 points. Irma Kmitatite scored 12
year.”
points and Britney Davis-White scored
Kmitaite was the only Lady Chap to be named to
nine points.
the All-Region V team.
This was the second time that
Kmitaite and Davis-White were named to the AllMcLennan had defeated MC in Regional
WJCAC team. Kmitaite also broke the school
playoffs.
record formerly held by Shannon Jordan for most
MC was defeated in the first round in
three points made in a season and most three points
the Regional play-offs of 2003-2004.
attempted in a season and career.
MC came into the second round after an
The previous record for three-points made was 73
89-65 victory over Temple College.
in a season and 126 in a career. Kmitaite’s record is
Kmitaite had three three-point field goals
Photo by Randy Rodriguez 96 in a season and 132 in her two-year career at
and led the Chaps with 21 points.
MC. Jordan’s record for attempted three-points
MC and New Mexico women volley for a rebound durring
Rachel Brazell made all four of her the Feb. 21 game at the Chap Center.
was 218 and Kmitaite’s record is 233.
attempted three-pointers and finished with
Coach Jones also reached a highlight in his career.
18 points. Caroline Adriaansz finished with 15 points, Lyza Koubiteb scored 11 Jones has won more than 400 games in his coaching career.
points and Davis-White had 10 points. No players fouled out.
“Our goal is always the same,” Jones said. “We as a team are trying to win a
The Lady Chaps went into the Region V tournament off a three-game win- national championship. That is not just a goal we set (for ourselves), it’s a basning streak. MC defeated Frank Phillips 81-75, Clarendon College 66-43 and ketball team’s goal.”
MC baseball defeats early
opponents in swinging fashion
By Ryan Alexander
Staff Reporter
The Midland College Chaparrals
took to the diamond, Monday,
March 21 in a doubleheader rematch
with Wayland Baptist University,
and nothing between the two sets of
games was different as the Chaps
once again crushed them in victorious fashion.
The first game went the Chaps
way by favor of a 22-9 final score.
Dustin Bordovsky led the way
with four hits including a homerun
and five runs batted in.
Game two was on the same level
as the Chaps shut WBU out 16-0.
Rene Calderon started the game and
Ricky Heines closed it out and
together they combined for a two-hit
shutout.
Sunday, March 20 the Chaps met
with rival University of Texas of the
Permian Basin junior varsity squad,
and had the Falcons at their mercy.
The first game was called in the
fifth due to the mercy rule. The
Chaps, by that point, already had a
26-0 lead and a UTPB comeback
seemed impossible.
Steve Ellington contributed two
singles, along with a double and four
batted in. Ryan Watkins was only a
homerun shy of the cycle, while
knocking in six.
Starting
pitcher
Kurtis
Schumacher allowed only two hits
and improved to 5-0 on the year.
Game two provided no mercy rule
for UTPB but it might as well have.
The Chaps took them 18-2, with a
double, triple and four runs in from
Bordovsky.
Schafer took the hill and also
improved to 5-0.
Even though this was UTPB’s JV
squad, the Chaps took out the varsity team on Feb. 27 in a doubleheader by a combined score of 20-3.
Hutchison
College (HCC) from Freeport, Ill.
The Chaps were held down by HCC
in the first half by three points. Both
MC and HCC scored 41 points in the
second half. J.D. Lewis finished the
game with 17 points, Tristan Martin
scored 14 points and Tim Crowell had
13 points.
Ivory Clark was the only player to
foul out of the game. MC had 13
turnovers and forced 21 turnovers for
HCC. Neither team had technical
fouls.
“It was a tough game,” coach Grant
McCasland said. “I thought we got
them there at the end. Highland did a
good job. They played hard and we
played hard, too.”
“It’s a big blow because both teams
are such tough competitors,”
McCasland said.
The MC Chaps went into the game
with HCC after a loss to the College
of Southern Idaho (CSI) 70-69.
Region V men’s results
By Mona Garcia
Staff Reporter
The 2005 NJCAA Region V
Basketball Tournament at Lubbock
Christian University March 11-13th,
was one of pure excitement for the
Midland College men’s basketball
team as they took home another
Region V Championship.
In the first contest on March 11,
MC faced a very good McLennan
Community College team. MC outpaced McLennan with a score of 9170.
Lewis led the Chaps with 23 points
while Tristan Martin and Alonzo
Hinds followed with 11 points each.
Arturus Valeika and Tim Crowell
added 10 points each.
Midland
College
played
Weatherford College in the second
round of the tournament. The game
was hard-fought with no team gaining
a clear advantage until the second
half.
Riding on the hot outside shooting
of Lewis and Martin along with the
strong inside play of Ivory Clark,
Mamery Diallo and Blake Huggins,
the Chaps pulled out an 83-72 win.
Lewis led the Chaps with 26 points
while Clark and Martin 15 and 14
respectivly.
In Sunday’s finals on March 13,
MC playing controlled basketball
against Howard College with neither
teams giving an inch to the other.
MC hasn’t faired well agaisnt the
hawks this season, losing both matchups to Howard this season, but this
game was different.
Lewis once again led the Chaps,
pouring in 28 points; Tim Crowell
contributed 18 points and Tristan
Martin had 13.
Martin also clamped-down on
Howard’s Burgess, holding the freshman to only five points.
In the end, Midland College triumphed over the Hawks 67-62 to
move on to the national finals in
Hutchinson, Kan..
from page 1
Ironically, CSI has beaten MC two of
the last three times by a one-point
margin, including the national championship game in 1987 where CSI
defeated MC 70-69.
The MC men were ahead in points
for most of the game. The winning
basket for CSI came with one-half of
a second left in the game to clinch the
win.
Martin had a game-high 18 points.
Clark finished with 14 points,
Crowell scored 13 points and Arturas
Valeika had 11 points. MC had 17
turnovers and CSI had thirteen. CSI
committed two technical fouls. No
players fouled out.
“It was competitive,” Martin said.
“I don’t know what to say. It took a lot
of momentum out of us.”
MC’s first game of the tournament
was against Arizona Western College,
who were ranked the number one
community college in the nation. MC
Baseball team struggles
By Ryan Alexander
Staff Reporter
The Odessa College Wranglers swept the Midland
College Chaparrals in a four game series on Friday
–Saturday, April 1-2. OC put up a total of 48 runs compared to only 27 by MC.
Saturday’s games saw the Chaps lose 10-8 and 2310. Game one sent Adam Moser to the hill where he
lasted 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits, with five earned
runs, while fanning five batters.
The Chaps had a total of 18 hits with Drew Winston
and Steve Ellington going 3-5 with two runs batted in.
Game two got even worse for MC as the Wranglers
blew them out 23-10.
Rene Calderon got the start, but only went 2.1
innings, giving up five hits and four runs.
Tim Smith was 5-5 with five knocked in with Rebel
Riddling and Karlton Banks knocking in two apiece, it
was the team’s five errors that helped OC win the
game.
The Chaps played Friday’s games in Odessa hoping
to turn around their performance at home; the results
were similar.
After starting with a 4-1 lead in the fifth, the Chaps
blew the lead in the bottom half of the inning allowing
the Wranglers eight runs, to win the game, 9-4.
Shaun Shaefer took the loss to fall to 5-2 on the year.
Game two saw the Chaps do the same thing: blow
the lead. The Wranglers took the game 11-5.
Kurtis Schumacher was hit with the loss to also fall
to 5-2 on the year. Smith and Riddling each had two
runs batted in the game.
The Chaps are now 24-10 on the year and 2-10 in the
Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
defeated them, the number one ranked
team in the country, 76-69.
MC finished the first half down by
two points. The Chaps rallied in the
second half to score 46 points over
Arizona’s 37 points.
Lewis led the Chaps with 16 points,
Martin scored 15 points, and Crowell
finished with 14 points. Clark fouled
out of the game. Neither team had any
technical fouls.
The MC men finished the season
with a 26-10 record. Martin was the
only athlete from MC to make the alltournament team. Lewis was named
to the All-Region V team and joins
Clark on the All-WJCAC team.
Crowell made honorable mention.
“It was amazing walking into that
arena,” Clark said. “There were just
so many people clapping; it was awesome.”
“I thought it was amazing playing
in front of a crowd that big,” Lewis
said. “I didn’t play as well as I would
have liked, but Crow (Crowell) and
Tristan both had a really good tournament.”
Mamery Diallo is the only athlete
committed to a university next year.
He will be attending Gonzaga
University in the fall.
Lewis plans to visit the University
of Texas at Austin April 15 and 16. He
has said it is a “definite possibility” of
committing to UT Austin once he visits.
“We had a great season,” Lewis
said. “We played great as a team and I
wish I could have done better. At least
we made it to nationals. I wish we
could do it all over again.”
Editor’s Note: Jessica Gonzales
is a reporter with El Paisano.She traveled with the
men’s team to Kansas and
wrote this piece from her perspective on the sideline.
Chap Golfers
Page 8
April 8, 2005
Creighton Honeck
Sophomore
Austin, Texas
Bobby Hutcherson
Sophomore
Memphis, Tennessee
Derek Jordan
Sophomore
Monahans, Texas
Brent Kirstein
Sophomore
Cape Town, South Africa
Derrick Bohannon
Sophomore
Shelbyville, Kentucky
Andrew Ludlow
Freshman
Cypress, Texas
Aaron Marshall
Freshman
Midland, Texas
Coach Delnor Poss
28-year MC golf coach
Heath Barnett
Freshman
Memphis, Tennessee
Nisse Bjorling
Freshman
Borlange, Sweden
Sung Ko
Freshman
Carrolton, Texas
Greg Bowden
Freshman
County Kildare,
Republic of Ireland
Peter Lane
Freshman
Bracknell, England
Robin Lofgreen
Freshman
Ingaro, Sweden
Chase Watkins
Freshman
Ft. Collins, Colorado
Chaps continue
winning tradtion
By Ryan Alexander
Staff Reporter
The Chaparral golf team
won the tournament at the
Inn of the Mountain Gods
Golf Club last weekend in
dominating fashion by defeating rival Odessa College by
22 strokes.
The team shot a 286 final
round to finish with a of 849
for the tournament. Brent
Kirstein and Greg Bowden
each shot a 215 to tie for fifth.
At the Omega Treating
Chemical Invitational, the
Chaps were on course to take
the top two spots.
The MC gold team took
first; followed by the green
team in second. Kirsten shot a
final round 72 to win individual honors.
Creighton Honeck finished
second at six shots under and
Derek Jordon took third,
seven off the lead.
At the Ronnie Black
Invitational at New Mexico
Junior College, the Chaps
won the tournament with a
total round of 841.
Honeck shot a 69 the first
two days and finished up with
a final round 65 to take the
individual honors.
The MC golf team began
their spring season at the
University
of
TexasBrownsville in South Padre
Island on Feb. 11-13.
The Chaparrals finished
second to Paris Junior
College, but did not leave
empty handed.
Honeck took home the
medalist honors with a total
round of 144 and Derrick
Bohannon tied for third. The
MC golf team will host the
Texas State Junior College
(JUCO) Champion-ships at
the Midland Country Club
April 10-12.
... a little MC golf history
From the MC Web site
People often ask, what is it that makes a great golfer great?
Bobby Jones, arguably the best amateur golfer in the history of the game once said,
“Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your
ears.”
It is that organic approach to golf that has made the Midland College golf program, led by
National Junior Collge Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame Coach Delnor Poss, one
of the best in the JUCO ranks.
In Poss’ 28-year history at MC, he has helped develop 32 NJCAA All-Americans (Andrew
Lanahan and Hamilton Wheeler in 2003), four NJCAA National Medalist Runners-up, four
Texas JUCO Individual Champions and 20 former players on various professional tours,
including Chad Campbell of the PGA Tour and Andrew Coltart of the European PGA Tour.
Campbell and Steven Dundas are former Chaps who have played in the prestigious Masters
Golf Tournament.
Additionally, Poss' teams have earned other titles. The list of championships include: two
NJCAA National titles in 1992 & 1995, 11 NJCAA Region V titles, eight Texas State Junior
College titles and 11 WJCAC titles. MC golf teams have also made 16 consecutive NJCAA
National Tournament appearances including 14 Top 6 finishes, including a fourth place finish in 2003.
What’s Next?
Midland College Chaparral Golf Schedule 2005
April 10-12, 2005
Texas State JUCO Championships@Midland Country Club, Midland, Texas, Time TBA.
April 24-26, 2005
NJCAA Region V Championships@Odessa College, Odessa, Texas, Time TBA.