Budget cuts en-rage DCCCD faculty

London Riots: Students reflect on chaos in London

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Vol. XXXIV, Issue 2, August 23, 2011 www.richlandchronicle.com

CHRONICLERichland

Volleyball: A new season and spirit

A Member of The Texas A&M University System

: Music Education

: Irving High School, Irving, Texas

: It’s a relatively small school, and has a fantastic music program.

: Piano

: Piano applies to real life. It teaches hand-eye coordination as well as how to think outside the box. This applies to my career as well because it teaches me how to read score, something I’ll need to know as a band director.

: Dr. Goranson. He motivates me to do well in everything I do. He will help you achieve your goals, as long as you are willing to try.

: I attend concerts and plays on campus. I also play the saxophone in the band. I want to join the Catholic Student Organization because they help you achieve your goals spiritually, and will not turn their back on anyone.

: I plan to continue pursuing music education, minor in computer science, and hopefully go to graduate school.

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about Franco and how Texas A&M University-Commerce can change your future by visiting:

Meet.taMu-coMMerce.edu

PATRICIA VILACINStaff Writer

NEWS

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NEWS

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Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday 2 p.m. in E-020-------

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Patricia Villacin

Incoming freshman Wynter Duncan was in for a big surprise when she walked through the doors of Thunderduck Hall to begin her registration. She was greeted by many tired and impatient faces in the hall leading to the advising office, which was filled with people waiting to set up their schedules.

“I had called the office the day before and the lady said to get there as early as possible – they open at 8 – because there would already be a line, but my friend and I didn’t believe her and got there at around 1,” Duncan said. “It was so ridiculous. There were 17 people ahead of me at the time and the room was so full that we ended up just walking around the building because there was literally nowhere to sit.”

According to Duncan, the registra-tion process itself was overwhelming, especially for a first-year student. She said that the advisers she saw tried to be helpful at first, but as time went by, they

started “putting [her] in classes [and talked] about how they [had] to hurry because they [had] ‘tons of kids in the waiting room.’”“When you’re in high school, they stress getting

scholarships and actually getting signed up and accepted to the college of your choice,” Duncan said. “While that is important, it’s not even the start of it. They don’t tell you what comes next. It seems like trying to get a hold of anyone at the

college is near impossible if done by phone. They either call you back days later, if at all, and you end up having to go to campus anyway, only to wait for hours to talk to [someone].”

Instances like these are what prompted the advising office to devise ways to make the regis-tration process more efficient by decreasing the influx of students coming to the office.

Incoming students with no prior college ex-perience are required to attend a 3½ hour OAR

[Orientation, Advising, Registration] session, which gives them the opportunity to tour the campus and learn how to use eConnect. Students who attend the orientation also learn how to register for their classes themselves. Once the fall semester starts, students have the option of attending the First Time in College session.

“We want students to be responsible for their

own education,” said Cindy Berry, director of academic advising and career educational place-ment. “We stress the importance of setting up goals and partnering up with advisers. Advis-ers tell [students] what courses they need to take and work with them throughout their first semester.”

According to Berry, teaching students how to register themselves is key in improving the regis-tration process. She said that students should not

have to come to the office unless they have computer issues and blocks.

However, the office still sees about 500-600 students – new and returning – daily. Advisers mainly see students in group sessions and take them into the computer room where they have them pull up eConnect and search and input their classes into their own schedules. After a 4-5 hour wait, Duncan finally saw a counselor by 5:20 p.m. and left the campus around 6 p.m. She returned three more times but at much earlier hours. Duncan suggests that the advisers prepare pamphlets that explain what students should do

step-by-step, what they need to have planned out, who to talk to first, how to navigate eConnect and also give hints about the best days and times to come by the office.

“I would suggest figuring out the classes you want before going in there, and when you leave and get back home, double-check your sched-ule,” Duncan said. “If it is possible, register online because it is so much easier that way.”

Registration. Class schedules. Financial aid. Stress. Homework. Time management. These are just some of the things that are plaguing students’ minds as they prepare to begin a new school year.

As the countdown starts, students are scram-bling to get some last-minute details taken care of and are worrying about all the tests, papers and projects on the horizon. However, students can help lower their stress levels and guarantee a successful school year by following a few simple strategies.

Set up college and career goalsMany students enter college without know-

ing what to major in. Taking advantage of Career Services during the semester can help students determine a career goal and give them a better idea of the courses they need to take.

“It makes advising sessions so much better when students know what they want to major in and which university they want to transfer to,” adviser Lorrie Anderson said. “Filing official degree plan paper work would be much easier because advisers can tell them the right classes they need to take.”

Anderson recommends that students visit the Transfer Center to have transfer questions answered and to meet with a university represen-tative about the particulars related to the school of their choice. The Transfer Center organizes on-campus university visits every month. The three universities who normally send representatives and have students set up appointments with them are the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington.

Partner with an adviserOne of the tips that the Advising Center is pass-

ing along to students is to partner with an adviser once the hectic registration period is over in order to receive personal attention.

“Whenever we’re not in registration, advisers are able to work with students, help them set up degree plans and have questions answered in a much more leisurely way,” Anderson said.

The advising center has set up links to the advis-ers’ profiles and contact information on its web-site. According to Anderson, advisers are readily available to assist students throughout the school year, either by personal appointment or drop-ins.

Make use of on-campus resourcesFrom a wide selection of texts online, databases

and free tutoring, Richland’s library, computer labs

and the Learning Center offer many resources that provide advantages to students.

The college librarians are available to assist students with research, while the Learning Center offers free tutors for different subject areas at different times. Both facilities also offer a variety of student success workshops throughout the year.

“It’s very common for students to come in with questions they’ve had trouble with for a long time, so we assist them and usually figure those ques-tions out in 30 minutes,” librarian Amy Ferguson said.

The library also offers a tool called ASAP, which stands for A Student Assignment Research Planner, designed to help students stay more organized and keep things on track in terms of research.

For more of this story and additional tips see “Back to School” on the Chronicle website: www.richlandchronicle.com

PATRICIA VILACINStaff Writer

Registration lines out the door

Back to school:Tips and tricks to get you through the semester

Wanted: Writers, Editors, Photographers Stop by Student Media in E-020

CAMPUS

Image credit Sean Dunbar

DENNIS Q. LYStaff Writer

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Finding Neebo: just keep saving

Neebo, one of the largest suppliers of textbooks, lo-cated in or around 280 college campuses nationwide, is set to open on Walnut Street near Richland College on a date yet to be determined. It replaces the defunct book-store, Used Textbooks.

According to Neebo’s official website, the company of-fers savings of up to 55 percent off the price of new books and every textbook rental and up to 25 percent on every used book purchase.

Comparing the rental price of the 10th edition of the “American Democracy” by Thomas Patterson at Neebo and the Richland College bookstore, one finds the rental price cheaper on the Neebo website at $70.45, including free shipping vs. the rental price of $78.45 for the same textbook at the campus bookstore. However, the cam-pus bookstore sells the textbook in new condition for $157.05, compared to Neebo’s price of $163.35.

Another example is the 13th edition of “Earth Science” by Edward J. Tarbuck, which rents through the Neebo website for $63.65, while the same textbook rents at the campus bookstore for $71.30.

“Prices at Neebo are reasonable, and better for those who are in an economic crunch. Prices everywhere are a little higher and I feel sometimes overpriced because

we tend to just use the book for class and never open it again,” said fashion merchandising major Jeanne Alvarez, 19, who is attending her second year at Richland College. “Some people don’t even open it at all and Neebo having its prices lower is good and can save you some money.”

Alvarez is excited about Neebo’s opening. She also acknowledged that students would not have to wait five to seven business days for their online purchase. They will just walk across the street from Richland College and pick it up.

Although students of Richland Collegiate High School get their textbooks for free, electrical engineering major Taha Akhawala, 17, finds Neebo to be beneficial when he transfers to a university.

“If the books are cheaper, I will definitely be buying from Neebo for the fall semester of 2012,” said Akhawala. “Hopefully, they will open a Neebo at the University of Texas at Austin.”

In addition, Neebo is a college outfitter, selling clothes, accessories and gifts. As a prominent source of fan gear for approximately 280 collegiate teams, Neebo has partnered with numerous clothing and sportswear companies, such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Colum-bia, Russell, Dakine and American Apparel.

“The clothing at Neebo is nice because it’s a college bookstore that doesn’t only have clothes with the college logo on it,” said Akhawala. “Also, Neebo is really conve-nient because it is close by.”

Professor Profile: Jon EwingOriginally from Southern California, Jon Ewing has

been a full-time professor and department head of Reli-gion at Richland College since fall of 2008.

Born and raised in Southern California, Ewing has described himself as a beach kid. He has lived in areas of Orange County, such as Santa Ana, Tustin, Irvine and Laguna Beach.

Ewing earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from California State University, Fullerton, master’s degree in theological studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and doctorate in the History of Christianity from Graduate Theological Union.

In his previous teaching experience, Ewing taught for two years in Berkeley at the Pacific School of Reli-gion during his PhD candidacy. For two years, he served as the director of religious education for a Russian Or-thodox Church in West Los Angeles.

“They say if you can teach in Berkeley, you can teach anywhere,” said Ewing. “Berkeley is sort of the Alexan-dria of the modern world, and I think I gained a won-derful perspective from my time there.”

Having extreme difficulty in obtaining a full time teaching position in the field of humanities, Ewing decided to relocate and apply to schools in the Dallas area. Those associated with the Richland School of Hu-manities went out of their way to facilitate his first few months in Dallas. Ewing was hired quickly.

“Teaching at Richland continues to be a great life

experience,” said Ewing. “We have students from all over the globe, as well as from quite near to the campus. This makes for a healthy and quite diverse student popula-tion. Since I teach world religions, this makes every class unique, challenging, and rewarding when all is said and done at the end of the semester. I learn so much from my students, from their comments during in-class discussion, and from their group presen-tations.”

Primarily teaching ma-jor world religions, Ewing also teaches a section of historic survey of reli-gions (previously known as history and literature of the Bible) in the fall, and philosophy of reli-gion (previously known as contemporary issues in religion) in the spring with his good friend and colleague, Professor Rob-ert Bennett.

“I have been blessed with so many supportive colleagues in my three years here,” said Ewing. “I would mention especially Professor Robert Bennett, who was one of the reasons why I am here at Richland. He has

been a solid mentor as well as a great friend and teaching partner. Also, my dean, Ms. Sherry Dean, was willing to take a risk in hiring me, and I trust that I have lived up to her expectations, at least as much as I am able. Her

oversight and advice over the past three years have been vital for my profes-sional development.”

Ewing views his con-tribution to Richland as bringing students the ability to articulate what they believe in and why. According to him, com-munication is something we hear a lot about in to-day’s highly technological world, and yet it is some-thing of an art form.

“It doesn’t come au-tomatically, but through hard work, and much self-reflection,” said Ewing. “If I can get a student to self-reflect and communi-cate a bit of that in class, then I have served my purpose and one of my life’s goals.”Additionally, Ewing serves

as lead adviser to Richland College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Former Richland College professor Larry Polk asked Ewing if he would be

DENNIS Q. LYStaff Writer

Image credit Dennis Q. Ly

interested in becoming a faculty adviser in spring 2010. Although Ewing knew virtually nothing about the honor society, Polk thought he had the knack of being a quick learner.

“I have had great experiences already in my less than year and a half as adviser,” said Ewing. “Being an adviser helps me build rapport with students outside of my nor-mal classroom setting. It allows us to work together on various projects, fund-raisers, etc. And it affords us with opportunities to travel and to gain and grow from our experiences together.”

Outside of Richland College, Ewing has been active in a volunteer capacity at various churches. He has also attended academic conferences in theology and phi-losophy and likes to stay up-to-date on research and general goings-on in those fields.

Ewing enjoys reading religious texts, poetry, theol-ogy and philosophy, as he didn’t have much time for literature as a doctoral student. He also loves watching older films and off-the-beaten-path films. Ewing occa-sionally goes on summer road trips, as well as to Phi Theta Kappa conferences, since he enjoys traveling.

“Let me say that one thing I really appreciate about teaching at Richland is that, especially for teachers and instructors relatively new to the field, there is an em-phasis here on becoming a great teacher, as opposed to what graduate school normally teaches you to become, simply a person who knows a lot about your particular field,” said Ewing. “There is a big difference between be-ing a ‘scholar’ and being a ‘teacher.’ And I think people at Richland understand that difference and try to active-ly foster the latter vocation.”

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Prior to attending Richland College during a semester last year, Julian Rodarte, 18, business major, had been home-schooled since first grade.

“I was home-schooled basically my entire life,” said Ro-darte. “I loved it because i didn’t have a set schedule. It was kind of like college, you met at a class once or twice a week with anywhere from 10 to 30 kids your age and did all the work at home.”

What Rodarte enjoyed most about being home-schooled was the sports program, which had every sport possible and multiple teams to choose from. His JV bas-ketball team won Nationals his freshman year.

“Most people assume being home-schooled means you’re a social outcast,” said Rodarte. “Truthfully you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a public school kid and home-schooled kid.”

At Richland College, Rodarte participated in student clubs by serving as fellowship co-chair of Phi Theta Kappa. He decided to join the honor society because he thought it would look impressive on a college resume, and he wanted to be surrounded by like-minded people.

Rodarte plans to transfer to Southern Methodist Uni-versity because it has a well-known business school, with really good networking, as well as having a beautiful cam-pus.

Outside of school, Rodarte works as a part-time waiter at On The Border. He has stated that it is easy to keep up with work because he loves his job.

Rodarte’s role model is his father, whose current occu-

Student Profile: Julian RodarteDENNIS Q. LYStaff Writer

pation is the head culinary corporate chef of Chili’s. His father has also created food for On The Border.

“[My father] came from nothing,” said Rodarte. “He lived in Mexico with his grandparents when he was little. His single mother brought him to the States when he was 12. He only spoke Spanish, yet he was able to catch up in school to learn English and finish college while having a full-time job since he was a young kid.”

During his free time, Rodarte enjoys working out. It gives him a sense of gratification and starts off his day. He also loves to cook because he loves to eat and believes good food makes people happy.

Image credit Dennis Q. Ly

The 2010 season was a forgettable one for the Rich-land College volleyball team. A series of personal issues and family tragedies left the team decimated and dis-tracted en route to an underwhelming 8-29 record.

“We had a very small team,” said head coach Zelda Smith. “We had a lot of tragedy and some personal is-sues that some girls had to go through.”

But the team has regrouped heading into the 2011 season, which begins Friday. After welcoming a num-ber of freshman and transfer students, the roster has grown to 17 players. The team has been engaged in two-a-day workouts since Aug. 1, running laps in the morning and participating in team scrimmages in the afternoons.

“They are definitely hard workers, extremely athletic, and just really disciplined girls,” said Smith.

Though the Thunderducks have yet to face off against a single opponent, the competition at practice has been fierce. With 17 players in competition for six starting positions, each and every practice is meaning-ful.

“There’s pressure knowing that there are a lot of other girls that can do what they are doing,” said Smith. “Un-like last year, there is a lot of competition.”

Though figuring out the lineups might be an arduous task for Smith, Friday’s season opening tournament in Tyler will present a more difficult challenge for the team. Each of their potential opponents is a DI school, a higher classification than Richland (DIII).

“You’re always going to be the underdog in these games,” said Smith. “A lot of times you can catch teams sleeping and not playing their own game, but winning is always the goal.”

Win or lose, this weekend’s tournament will allow Smith an opportunity to evaluate her team. Moreover, in Smith’s eight seasons as head coach at Richland, the team has always welcomed the challenge of facing elite competition.

“It’s always our goal to play tough competition in the preseason, get a lot of experience, and then win our con-ference,” said Smith.

Whatever the result, this weekend’s tournament is just the beginning of what the coaches see as a promising sea-son. Despite last year’s showing, Smith knows this team has the talent to do special things.

“Compared to last year, it’s a whole new world,” Smith said.

Volleyball looking past 2010 seasonADAM CROUCHStaff Writer

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It’s the final countdown. The last few glorious sum-mer days of freedom before waking up early, late night study sessions and a life where an absence of sleep haunts us. So to end the summer right, here are some achievable, budget friendly and memorable things to do to make the most out of the time left. Whatever you do, try to avoid spending your precious time waiting in line to see an adviser or playing phone games in the financial aid line.

CHOCTAW CASINOGrab your friends and pile into the car that has the

best gas mileage. From Richland, Choctaw in Durant, Okla., is less than two hours away. This casino is fun to explore and makes a good day trip. You don’t need to bring much cash to have fun, just don’t start playing high stakes. If you’re planning on taking it to the next level, sharing a room with friends can cut down the cost

of staying the night and will give you more of an opportu-nity to get to know casino night life.

SIX FLAGSA great excuse to take a day off with a large group of

friends or even just a special someone, Six Flags in Arling-ton is a great escape. There are plenty of coupons floating around for discounted admission. So hold on to your college ID, it may save you some serious cash.

CONCERTSThe final week is a great time to kick it local and

check out the music scene that Dallas and Plano have to offer. Both have incredible venues where fun, young and talented musicians come to bring pleasure to your ears. If you need a lead, check out The Door Dallas located in Deep Ellum. From blues to punk, there is plenty lined up this week to fit anyone’s interest. Heads up - most local concerts run around 10 bucks.

FREE STUFFFree stuff is always the best. So here are some things to

do that will leave your credit card a bit dusty: Try cooking, see what you can whip up from ingredients you already have. This is fun to do with your partner because you can get creative in the kitchen and cook up something tasty. Go swimming. It’s your last chance to get the best tan pos-sible and clean up those farmer’s tan lines before bravely facing new peers. Bring on that vitamin D!

Finally, sleep. Your body will thank you and this may be one of the last opportunities to sleep in past noon. Take advantage of it.

LAURA GARSEAEditor-in-chief

Last week of summer break

The electronic and dubstep act, Nero, com-posed of Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray, finally released its anticipated debut album “Welcome Reality” last week. For those who do not yet know, dubstep is a type of electronic music focusing on reverberating heavy bass and drums.

Before listening, I highly recommend mak-ing sure that the shuffle function on your media player is off. This album has a strong feeling of a beginning and end and the tracks flow seamlessly together. I often found myself tracing back to find

where one song ended and the other began. The album builds a slow and steady introduc-

tion with its first track, “2808.” Then the aptly named track, “Doomsday,” quickly drops any unsuspecting listener head first into an explo-sive mixture of encompassing bass and sharply synthesized notes.

The third single from the album, “Guilt,” ramps up to a large drop early on that does not disappoint. A strong vocal performance by Alana Watson is showcased in this track, as well as throughout the album.

The single “Me and You” is further promoted through an arcade game on the band’s Facebook page, a concept coming from the single’s music video. It is one of many danceable tracks that should give the album great longevity in clubs.

“Welcome Reality” is also available as a deluxe edition through iTunes. This version is well worth the purchase price for the extended version of their track “2808.” This track is a fresh mix of electronic music that makes use of a full orches-tra to create a unique symphonic experience.

Evocative of Nero’s ties with the UK drum ‘n’ bass scene, there is no shortage of distinctive drum beats. If you are not a Nero fan already, this album is a great opportunity to dive into the electronic scene and become a follower.

TIMOTHY POTTERStaff Writer

Album review: “Welcome Reality”

Attention all anime, manga, cartoon and video game fans: AnimeFest 2011 is almost here. The convention will be held Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-5, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Tower.

AnimeFest is a non-profit organization that aims to educate people about Japanese culture through this convention, which is the third longest running in the nation.

Wearing a costume isn’t required, but it’s highly rec-ommended to enhance the convention experience. It’s a great excuse to dress up as your favorite character or just put on a bunch of fun clothes that don’t normally come out of the closet except for Halloween.

Make sure your camera battery is charged because there are guaranteed photo opportunities

everywhere you walk. An arcade, cosplay shows and a dealer’s room

with fun merchandise (don’t forget to bring some spending money) are scheduled.

Bowling for Soup was announced as the main musical guest this year. The band is famous for such hits as “1985” and “Girl All the Bad Guys Want.”

From Power Rangers to Naruto, be prepared for an extreme case of nostalgia and the awe of recognizing your favorite animated stars.

If you plan to attend, it is advised that you purchase your pass online as soon as possible. There is a chance to get a cheaper rate on your admission badge and hotel room.

Additional information can be found on AnimeFests’ Facebook page as well as on its website, www.animefest.org.

LAURA GARSEAEditor-in-chief

AnimeFest

to get your costume onalmost time

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JOE STUMPOStaff Writer

column

Early on in “Thor,” King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) strips his egotistic warrior son (Chris Hemsworth) of his superhero powers and casts him from the kingdom of Asgard to Earth to live as a mortal.

I could have easily applied that scene to what studios do now with these comic book movies. By comparison, the stu-dios are the gods who cast these long-awaited big-budget adaptations from their back-lots in hopes of making millions the first two weeks before immediately dropping off the Top 10 before the month is out. The audiences are the earthlings who shell out their hard-earned money in hopes of being entertained.

I understand why when I come across an entertain-ment article that lists the top summer mov-ies, film critics are most excited about seeing. Chances are they are not going to list movies like “Thor” or “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” on their must-see list. The reason is ob-vious. These movies are not summer movies. They are franchise movies, or to put it simply “Franchises.”

As I look back on all these comic book movies and sequels released the past four months, I have come to the conclusion that the hottest time of the year should not be

called Summer Movie Season but Summer Movie Franchises.

Like Dr. Frankenstein who cre-ated a monster, I believe now that director George Lucas created good and bad things when he made a little science fiction movie with a $13 million bud-get called “Star Wars” in 1977. “Star Wars” changed the way movies are now marketed.

I am beginning to won-der if filmmakers and studios today are as con-cerned about churning out a good movie, worthy of my time, with a great story and memorable characters, as they are in mass marketing it as a toy prod-uct.

Call me a party pooper, or for that matter “a critic,” before sending me to the depths of hell but there was a time when the summer movie season began, I actually got excited about the upcoming films. I saw a few of them as “event movies” like “Batman” (1989). This summer’s offerings are not event movies. They include: “Captain Amer-

ica,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “ Green

Lantern,” “X-Men: First Class” and needless sequels like “ Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” They are all one-hit won-ders.

Then again, per-haps I should just

accept that practically all these films were not

made for older people like me anyway. Many

debate that George Lucas’ focus was not

gearing the “Star Wars” prequels (1999-2005) to the older audiences who fell in love with the original trilogy (1977-1983). He was more

concerned with appealing the prequels to the younger generation, or “younglings” as they are called in the “Star Wars” uni-verse.

The same could well apply to all these formulaic, predictable superhero movies and sequels. They are for eager die-hard fans of the comic books who hope the

filmmakers will be faithful to the material. Then they can debate with other fellow geeks and nerds at comic book stores about what they did and didn’t like about the adaptations

‘Movie franchises’ sums up summer movies

w h i l e marveling at the character

tie-ins to other soon-to-be- made superhero movies.

I suppose if there is any consola-tion in being subjected to all these “franchise” movies on a yearly basis, it is that the studio gods will not tolerate a big-budget, mass-marketed financial failure. To them, who cares what the

critics think. Movie critics don’t matter much any-

more, if at all. As long as audiences walk out satisfied and get their money’s worth, that’s all that matters. When it comes to giv-ing thumbs up or thumbs down, the audi-ences have as much power to dictate a film’s success as we do in voting for president. Like Odin, in “Thor,” casting his son into exile, we earthlings have as much power to send a superhero back to the drawing board if the film fails to deliver the goods.

Hell hath no fury like a Hol-lywood studio scorned if the first install-

ment, in what is hoped to be a lucrative franchise, fails to bring in tens of millions warranting a sequel. As the saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” The same could apply if a superhero film adaptation fails. At that point, films are no longer called franchises. They’re called reboots.

Other Movies to look for:

“Conan The Barbarian”Aug. 19

“A Good Old Fashioned Orgy” Sept. 2

“Paranormal Activity 3”Oct. 21

“A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas”Nov. 4

“The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 1” Nov. 18

“The Muppets” Nov. 23

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LAURA GARSEAEditor-In-Chief

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The reason behind the start of the riots in northern London was lost in the frenzy of looting and frustration that citizens and po-lice faced at the peak of the riots. In the end, many rioters didn’t even know the reasons that they were fighting.

The riots in north London began after a man named Mark Duggan, the center of a shooting investigation, was shot and killed by police. Protests began after Duggan’s death and quickly turned violent.

As of last week, over 1,900 people had been arrested for rioting and looting, accord-ing to CNN.

“The whole country has been shocked by the most appalling scenes of people looting, violence, vandalizing and thieving,” Prime Minister David Cameron said in his state-ment on public disorder on Aug. 11. “It is criminality pure and simple and there is ab-solutely no excuse for it.”

In his speech, Cameron addressed the loss of a reason for the rioting.

“It is simply preposterous for anyone to suggest that people looting in Tottenham at the weekend, still less three days later Sal-ford, were in any way doing so because of the death of Mark Duggan,” he said. “The young people stealing flat screen televisions and burning shops was not about politics or protest. It was about theft.”

People were caught on camera robbing wounded citizens. Businesses were being looted and set on fire. YouTube video blog-ger Philip Defranco also argued that the rea-sons for the riots have been lost.

“It may have started with a reason but then you look at what’s happening and you see that there really is no reason. Not anymore,” he said in his video blog titled “London Ri-ots Rage Across UK!” “I’m down for decon-struction and destruction of a corrupt gov-ernment, but where’s the message when you destroy an innocent Panera bread and steal PS3s? I really don’t see the message there.”

To restore order, Cameron said that more police forces would be sent out. He stated that the number of police deployed would in-crease from 6,000 to 16,000 in order to pros-ecute more criminals.

The world watched as buildings burned and thieves raided stores. However, it also watched as a group calling themselves Riot Cleanup carried brooms instead of weapons to help clean the streets and repair damage.

Riot Cleanup started a website and cre-ated social media pages to gain followers and help. Although members of the group have

stopped clean-up for now, they stated they will start again if need be. For now they are attempting to help shopkeepers gain dona-tions to replace their stock and help police identify suspects.

While some think that the cleanup is point-less, others say it is a proactive way to build the community back up.

“I am definitely team Cleanup. I’ve been working in retail for three years, and I get annoyed when someone leaves an empty cup in my store. I totally feel for all of the shop owners and innocent people being put through hell because of this,” Richland Psy-chology major Catherine Boynton said.

A website was even created that has pho-tos of the rioters hoping to get Londoners to identify the criminals.

Social media was also blamed as an aid to the riots.

“Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media,” Cameron said. “Free flow of information can be used for good, but it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.”

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have re-cently received a lot of negative press. Youths have been blamed for using these websites to

organize criminal activity. Some students disagree and argue instead

that social media is a tool and not something to be blamed.

“That’s like blaming a certain car model for helping a criminal escape. If any govern-ment sees social media to blame for their problems, then they are simply being narrow minded and trying to create a scapegoat for their inadequacy to predict the mood of the people they govern,” mechanical engineering major Omer Jemal said.

“Social media is neither positive nor nega-tive and is simply what it is, a tool in which information can be divulged and communi-cated. To say it is a positive or negative is simply a perspective on how it’s being used, and not whether it is in its essence a good or bad thing,” Jemal added.

Others, like Boynton, believe that social media has largely affected the riots.

“I feel like social media is a large factor in everything. I think that because there’s such easy access to things like Facebook and Twit-ter, where people are allowed to say whatever they want, that the problems in London es-calated,” she said.

For now, the riots have died down, but the repercussions and damages are nowhere near resolved.

Looting, social media overshadow reasons for riots in London

British police officers arrest a man as rioters gathered in Croydon, south London Monday, Aug. 8, and (below) make an arrest.

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JOYCE JACKSONCopy Editor

Casino entices players with random riches

I love to watch people on a bus as they make their way to a casino. I had my chance last weekend when I took the free bus to the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Okla.

My expectations were high of course, and I like the other hopefuls on the bus, I was ex-cited by the prospect of a big win. When peo-ple first board the bus, I always notice how they’re all smiles, chattering with their seat-mates and comparing notes on their favorite slot. The closer we get to the casino, antici-

pation builds and I see some riders straining their backs peeking people’s heads to be the first to see the casino as we arrive.

Choctaw is only an hour away from Dallas, and we made stops in Plano and McKinney to pick up more riders. That made the trip just a little longer, but there wasn’t an empty seat coming or going.

When we arrived, a Choctaw employee slowed everyone down by checking player IDs. I hadn’t been there in over a year so I didn’t have one. Some of us had to follow the woman to get a new ID for that day. They want to be sure you are who you say you are. Your player’s card must match your driver’s license or some form of ID. Those who al-ready had one scurried off the bus and beat the crowd to their favorite slot.

Well, guess what, folks? I don’t really care for the slots that much. Instead, I’d rather try my luck in Choctaw’s High-Stakes Bingo Hall. Since they had just moved and remodeled the bingo room, I had to ask where it was and how to get there. When I found the Center Stage Bingo, I found they were already play-ing, but discovered that it was just the early bird mini-games, paying only $200 per game. I didn’t mind missing those games.

I bought an electronic handset for $20 and

one paper card set with 12 cards for another $10. Both paid $1,000 per game, if I won. I could be happy winning that, but it’s a long way from what they paid last year. Then, each game paid $1,199, plus additional games worth several thousand dollars more. A couple of years ago they were giving away a pickup truck on a blackout game. I didn’t win it, but someone did.

If there was one captivating moment throughout the entire day, it was when I found a seat in the bingo hall and discovered that there was no smoking there now. What a relief for us players who didn’t smoke!

I’ve played bingo countless times at Choc-taw over the last 15 years or so, and was always forced to breathe smoke from the people sitting near me. It was totally miser-able. I finally quit going there because of the smoke. No one should have to be in a public place, such as a bingo hall, breathing noxious smoke.

In all those years, I’ve learned not to ask smokers to move their cigarette to one side or the other so their smoke won’t hit me in the face. They’d just get mad and tell you to move to the non-smoking section.

That wouldn’t work because there were 800 to 1,000 people in this huge hall but only about five or six tables crammed together in one corner for non-smokers. Those 50 to 60 seats were taken by the time the games started.

The games lasted from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and

I didn’t win, but there’s a winner for every game. Three or four winners won $2,000. By the way, if you’ve never played bingo, Choc-taw is not the place to learn. The games are complicated and beginners won’t be able to keep up on the paper cards. It’s better to play a handset, which plays itself.

Bingo players had a one-hour break in the middle of the session to eat or to play slots. However, that presented another problem for me.

I was looking for the keno slots, my fa-vorite, but every time I found some, they were taken by smokers. I just could not sit between two people smoking. Being that miserable wasn’t worth it to me. Finally, after the bingo session was over, I did find a long line of bingo slots that nobody was playing. I had about 45 minutes until the bus left, so I played about $5 worth and ended up win-ning $3.

As a whole, I had a great time, didn’t spend a whole lot and determined that I will go back. If there is one thing that has to be changed though, it’s to ban smoking in casi-nos. It may take a law to do that, but it has to be done. Or, at least the casinos should have a large number of slots in a non-smoking hall and the other half, presumably for smokers, in some other area.

I can’t imagine having to work in a casino where employees have to breathe smoke all day. It has to be much worse at night with all the gaming tables and crowds. That’s just

Image credit bkwilliams-catskidsandcrafts.xblogspot.com

Image courtesy www.thechurchreport.com Rich

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2011 Iowa straw poll:RAYmONd ThOmAS PRONKStaff Writer

Bachmann knocks off Pawlenty, Paul builds momentum, Perry crashes party—Show me the money!

The straw poll conducted by the Iowa Republican Party, in Ames on Aug. 13, was the first real test of the political candidates. The poll is an early indicator of which candidates are both well organized and can attract cam-paign contributions from their support-ers.

Minnesotan Congresswoman Michele Bachmann won the poll with 4,823 votes. She was followed closely by Texas Congressman Ron Paul with 4,671 votes, a gap of only 152 votes. Bachmann and Paul combined received more than 60 percent of the 16,892 votes cast.

Lagging far behind in 3rd place was former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty with 2,293 votes and former Pennsyl-vania Sen. Rick Santorum with 1,657 votes. Atlanta businessman and former talk radio show host Herman Cain received 1,456 votes, for a strong 5th-place finish without spending a penny for radio or television advertising.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican establishment front-runner, received 567 votes and a 6th-place finish. Former Speaker of The House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, finished 7th with 385 votes.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry officially

announced his candidacy for president in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina on Aug. 13. Perry promised that “I’ll work every day to try to make Washing-ton, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can,” and unveiled the tag-line for his campaign, “It is time to get America working again.” Perry then flew off to Waterloo, Iowa on Aug. 14 and the Republican Party’s Black Hawk County Lincoln Day fundraising dinner, where he and Bachmann were invited speakers.

Pawlenty announced on Aug.14 that he was dropping out of the race due to his 3rd-place finish in the Iowa straw poll and his performance in the debates. Perry’s entry into the race was also a factor.

I am still supporting Paul as the presi-dential candidate and Bachmann as the vice-presidential candidate. That would unite the fiscally responsible libertarian and social conservative wings of the Re-publican and Tea Party movements.

I consider both Romney and Perry to be closet progressives or RINOS (Repub-lican In Name Only) with Perry also sup-porting a neoconservative interventionist foreign policy. Neither Romney nor Perry is up to the job of aggressively cutting the size and scope of the federal government,

which would require closing eight to 10 federal departments, cutting defense spending upward of 25 percent, cutting entitlement spending (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and welfare pro-grams) and comprehensive tax reform--The FairTax.

Paul is the one candidate who truly believes in a limited constitutional repub-lic with balanced budgets and a non-in-terventionist foreign policy by bringing the troops home, cutting unnecessary

defense spending and ending foreign aid. His long voting record in Congress clearly demonstrates this. Paul is the only peace and prosperity candidate of either political party.

While the American people may believe and trust Paul, it is still not clear whether they will support him and send him enough money, enabling him to run against the Republican establishment candidates Romney and Perry.

Who will win the Republican Party nomination for president in 2012? Which candidates will bring in the most money and use it wisely, building a well-orga-nized campaign with a clear and concise message? Both Romney and Perry are capable of bringing in big Republican

establishment money, especially from the military industrial complex and the petroleum industry.

“Show me the money” will be one of the tests all candidates must meet to remain viable collect money to pay for television and radio ads during the primaries and general election. With insufficient advertising, the majority of the American people, who do not fol-low politics, simply won’t be familiar enough with the candidates or their position on the issues.

What is interesting to note is that Paul leads all the other candidates for president, including Barack Obama by a large margin in terms of campaign contributions from active duty military. It remains to be seen whether he and Bachmann can consistently bring in enough money from the rest of the American people. If they cannot, then either Republican Party establishment candidates, Romney or Perry, should win the presidency in 2012.

[Raymond Thomas Pronk is host of the Pronk Pops Show on KDUX web radio from 3-5 p.m. Wednesdays]

Image courtesy boortz.comImage courtesy chinaconfidential.blogspot.comImage courtesy iowacaucus2012.wordpress.com

column

- Rick Perry“ It is time to get America working again.”

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