Vol. XXXIII, Issue 17 February 15, 2011 www.richlandchronicle.com

CHRONICLERichland

Budget cuts enrage DCCCD faculty

Egypt unrest cont inues

A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

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When I graduate, I want to start my ownbusiness. I’m confident that my degree fromA&M-Commerce will make it possible.

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Four community colleges originally cut from the Texas House budget would still be funded under the state Senate’s spending plan.

According to the Star-Telegram, the House budget is reported to be undergoing huge changes after lawmakers scrutinized extensive budget cuts in the draft, including cutting funding to Odessa College, Brazosport College, Frank Phillips College and Ranger College.

Fred Newbury, economics professor and president of the Texas Community College Teachers Association, said in an interview with KDUX Web Radio that the reasoning behind eliminating the colleges is unclear.

“Their [the coordinating board staff ’s] response was that it was primarily based on enrollment patterns over the last 10 years,” Newbury said. “Well, virtually all of those colleg-es have had rather substantial growth over the last 10 years. So, one would have to assume that there might be some

politics involved in terms of why they were selected.” Rep. James Keffer, R-Eastland, told the Star-Telegram

that the proposed closure of the colleges is “the height of irresponsibility.”

Dr. William Campion, the president of Ranger College, told the Richland Chronicle that he is confident that the budget plan will be changed in the college’s favor.

“We have every assurance and reason to believe that in the next version of the House appropriations bill, Ranger College will be in there,” Dr. Campion said.

According to the state legislative bills, the Senate’s plan funds public schools with approximately $500 million more than the House’s plan.

However, it is still $9.3 billion less than what is currently being funded for education.

The budget cuts in education are in contrast to higher enrollment rates in community colleges state-wide.

“This year we have record enrollment,” Patty Sayes, the director of public information and communications at Brazosport College, told the Chronicle. “Our classrooms are full, our campus is full. It’s busy.”

Brazosport College was recently honored as an Achiev-

ing the Dream Leader College, a title given to schools across the nation that have shown sustained improvement in student success sponsored by Community Colleges Count.

“We’re so excited about all our successes and our student success,” Sayes said. “We’re moving forward and we’re having a great semester and that’s what we’re concentrating on.”

Dr. Campion said that the inclusion of the colleges in the Senate’s proposed budget plan comes as a relief.

“A college education is indeed a privilege,” Dr. Campion said. “Sometimes we take it for granted until we’re threat-ened with not having it, and then we realize how much a privilege it is.”

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NEWS

LINDSEY JUAREZManaging Editor

Texas community colleges may be spared

Image courtesy- Rangercollege.edu

from funding cuts

A death row inmate’s federal lawsuit claims Georgia’s stockpile of a key lethal injection drug has expired, and he’s asking a judge to halt an execution he says may cause him to die in excruciating pain.

The lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of Roy Willard Blan-kenship raises new questions about Georgia’s supply of sodium thiopental, a sedative that has been in short supply even before the drug’s sole U.S. manufacturer decided last month to stop producing it.

“No matter where Georgia obtained its supply of the drug, the drug is almost certainly expired and no longer effective,” said the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court by the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights.

The shortage has delayed executions in several states, and an Associated Press review found that at least five states - Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia and Ten-nessee - had to turn to England for their supply of the drug. Nebraska, meanwhile, secured a stockpile from an Indian firm.

Georgia corrections officials did not respond to a

request for comment. But state attorneys have said the drug expires in February 2014, and that the same batch of drugs was used without problems for earlier executions in Georgia and Arizona.

Blankenship was set to be executed last Wednesday

for the 1978 murder of an elderly woman, but the state pardons board postponed it earlier this month to give authorities more time to conduct DNA testing on the victim’s remains. The lawsuit urged the judge to call off the execution until the state releases more details of the state’s supply of the drug.

Sodium thiopental is a barbiturate used by most states as part of a three-drug cocktail. It puts inmates to sleep before officials administer pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the muscles, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart. The lawsuit contends that the expired drug may not fully put Blankenship to sleep - which could make his death extremely painful as the other drugs take effect.

The lawsuit, citing state documents, claims the sodium thiopental is stored in vials labeled “Link Pharmaceuticals,”

a firm purchased five years ago by Archimedes Pharma Limited, another British company.

Link Pharmaceuticals didn’t exist in 2010, and its name hasn’t been on labels since May 2007, the lawsuit said. Sodium thiopental typically has a shelf life of four years, meaning even the state’s newest supply would expire in May of this year, according to the lawsuit.

Archimedes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But it has said the firm does not export the drug to the U.S. and that it doesn’t keep information on the purchasers and users of its products.

Blankenship’s lawsuit also includes an affidavit from Randall Tackett, a University of Georgia pharmacy profes-sor, who said using an expired batch of the drug could have grave consequences.

“There is an extremely high risk that the use of ex-pired sodium thiopental would cause the individual being executed to experience excruciating pain due to inadequate sedation,” he said. (GREG BLUESTEIN- Associated Press)

Georgia inmate’s lawsuit claims execution drug expired

Image courtesy- Britanica.com

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NEWS

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An already busy off-season for the Texas Rangers just became more interesting.

The team failed to re-sign Cliff Lee who left for the Philadelphia Phillies, but man-aged to sign third baseman Adrian Beltre to a six-year, $96 million deal. The club also traded for first baseman/catcher Mike Nap-oli, and signed many others to minor league deals.

Now the Rangers are being asked to trade their long time locker room leader Michael Young.

According to ESPN, Young feels as if he’s been “misled and manipulated on dif-ferent occasions” by the team, and has re-quested a trade.

“I think it’s important to address what I think is kind of an inaccurate portrayal,” Young said. “The suggestion from the team that I’ve had a change of heart and that’s

A Young Club with a Young Decision

why I asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth in my mind.”

Teammates such as Josh Hamilton have spoken out.

“You think about his leadership and how long he’s been with this organization and just think about him not being here and it’s hard to think about,” Hamilton said. “He’s been here since I’ve been here. He’s been a guy that I could go to and really look at as a veteran leader. If we lose him, it’s going to be a big loss.”

Young has a no-trade clause in his contract with an exception for eight teams. This limits the possible moves the Rangers could make, but some sort of trade seems imminent.

“I didn’t want anybody to have to be dragged into riding the emotional roller coaster,” Young said. “I’ve tried to handle myself with a respect in the community and treat the fans with integrity and class and I feel like I’ve done the same thing this offsea-son. But I can’t let people speak for me and say things that are inaccurate when it comes to how I feel.”

Portions/Quotes of this were taken from ESPN.com

BRYAN CYTRONMATTHEW MAHN& PATRICK WYATTStaff Writers

Image courtesty - academic.ru

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Party like it’s 4709!

The Lunar New Year of 4709, celebrated in many Asian countries, started on Thurs-day, Feb. 3. This marked the beginning of the Year of the Metal Rabbit.

The Chinese calendar has a cyclical dating method unlike the United States which uses the Gregorian, Western linear system. The Chinese calendar repeats every 60 years and is based on two cycles that interact with each other. The Chinese Zodiac is divided into 12 parts and five elements. The Zodiac animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The five elements assigned to the animals’ years are metal, water, wood, fire and earth.

According to Chinese legend, Buddha asked all the animals to come to him. Twelve of them showed up and he assigned each one a year, declaring that a person born dur-ing that animal’s year would have personality traits of that animal.

The origin of the lunar festival dates back thousands of years through another legend. Nian was an extremely cruel and ferocious beast that the ancients believed would de-vour people on New Year’s Eve. Red-paper couplets were pasted on doors and bamboo torches were lit that made loud noises that scared the beast away.

Today, people wear red, light beautifully painted lanterns and set off firecrackers to commemorate the legend.

The 15-day celebration ends with a night-time lantern festival and a dragon dance. The lanterns are works of art with intricate paintings of birds, flowers and other ani-mal symbols of the zodiac. The dragon is made from colorful silk, paper and bamboo. The dragon is normally held high above the heads of a few men who dance through the streets.

It is a Chinese custom not to sweep the house on New Year’s Day because you might sweep your good fortune away. After the first day, one can sweep but only toward the center of the house.

Tangerines are given as gifts of luck and prosperity.

The Trammel Crow Collection of Asian Art is hosting a Year of the Rabbit celebra-tion on Friday, Feb.18, from 6 p.m. until midnight. The family-friendly event in-cludes indoor and outdoor activities such as decorating red envelopes, lantern lighting, candy and tea tasting, martial arts demon-strations, fortune telling and musical per-formances, including and the Four Seasons Choral Society and Chinese Orchestra. The evening ends with the glow in the dark drag-on and lion dance.

For more information call 214-979-6430 or go to www.crowcollection.org.

ROBIN D. EVERSONContributing Editor

A Louisville, Ky., couple has exchanged vows atop the Empire State Building, with the groom exclaiming: “We can only go up from here.”

Air Force Capt. Jon Wu and Stephanie Hull were the grand prize winners of a nationwide contest hosted by TheKnot.com. They had a sunrise ceremony Monday on the 86st floor observatory.

Hull wore a strapless, creamy white gown with a long train. She said she was

Empire-State-Valentine’s Contest winners wed atop Empire State Building

“on cloud nine.”Their prize includes a honeymoon in the

Bahamas.They are among 14 couples from eight

states exchanging vows on Monday at the landmark building. The other ceremonies will be on the 61st floor with full views of New York City.

Wu proposed to Hull by spelling out “Will you marry me” in Christmas lights on a lawn. Courtesy of Associated Press

Image courtesty - coastguard5publicaffairs.com

JOYCE JACKSONA&E Editor

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CAMPUS

www.tamu.edu/aggiesaturday

Including 2 Sessions for Transfer Students!

February 19, 2011

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

www.twitter.com/aggiesaturday

Literary festival features discussions on ‘Catcher in the Rye’

Richland Collegiate High School classes also.

“It’s important for composi-tion courses because there’s such a unique voice in the story,” Murphy said. “We try to teach our students to write with voice. ‘Catcher’ is a great example of that. I think it’s an excellent book for history class-es and sociology classes.”

“Catcher” was chosen by a liter-ary festival committee made up of Richland employees.

Each of the Dallas County Com-munity Colleges have a “common book” program, where faculty, stu-dents, staff and administrators read one chosen book, which culminates in a discussion of it.

It’s also popular with other uni-versities around the country.

Murphy said when “Catcher” came out in 1951, it was an impor-tant time right after the war and a time when so many baby boomers were born.

It became the “very book” in

the 1960s, with the counter-culture movement.

“The main character became a symbol of rebellion,” Murphy said.

English Professor Jerry McElveen will oversee the campus-wide dis-cussion of “Catcher,” Murphy said, which will take place from 7:05 to 8:25 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28.

Faculty, students, staff and the public are invited to take part in the discussion, which will include sharing one’s experiences, interpre-tations, opinions and favorite pas-sages from this classic American novel.

“Catcher” discussions will con-tinue from 12:30 to 1:50 p.m. and from 5:40 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 1.

Other literary festival events will take place the rest of the week. All are free and will be held in the Richland library.

For a list of events go to the Of-fice of Student Life in El Paso Hall, Room E-040 or call 972-238-6130.

Music Events: Each week, the Music Department of the School of the Division of Humanities,

Fine and Performing Arts will present its Recital Series on Tuesdays. All performanc-es are free and open to the general public. For more information, contact Dr. Michael Crawford, associate dean of Performing Arts, at 972-238-6284.

Tuesday: Feb. 15: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. All music events will be held in the Fannin Performance Hall, Room F-102The Richland College Instrumental Faculty will perform today.

Tuesday, Feb. 15: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free, confidential STD TestingEast Circle DriveFor more information, call 972-238-6135

Wednesday, Feb. 16: 10 a.m. to NoonRepresentatives from Argosy University will speak with students about programs. El Paso Hall

Thursday and Friday, Feb. 17-18: No classes todayDistrict Conference and Faculty Development Days

Monday, Feb. 21: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. (by appt. only)Representatives from the University of North TexasEl Paso Hall

Tuesday, Feb. 22: 9 a.m. to NoonRepresentatives from the University of Texas at DallasEl Paso Hall

Upcoming Events

Richland’s 28th annual Liter-ary Arts Festival will feature a new and controversial topic this year – a discussion of one of the books banned by many American schools and libraries. It’s “Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, pub-lished in 1951.

While “Catcher” has been banned in some locations, it has been placed on required reading lists in others.

But, it’s still considered an im-portant part of American literary history.

It’s relevant to other disciplines as well, such as composition, ESL, psychology, cultural studies and sociology.

English Professor Patrick Mur-phy said “Catcher” is required reading in his four English classes this semester, and some of the

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MATTHEW MAHN, MARISOL RODRIGUEZ AND PATRICK WYATTStaff Writers

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If there’s anyone out there who can spare $1.5 million or more for a good cause, they need to come forward quickly. The fate of Rich-land’s new Buzz Aldrin Center for Science and the Arts depends on a generous, but so far unknown, con-tributor.

Whoever can provide some funding for Richland’s new center will achieve a little fame and will share the spotlight with Aldrin. They will also have naming rights for the center.

As part of a moon shot effort to raise funds to relaunch Richland’s planetarium, Apollo 11 moonwalk-er Buzz Aldrin visited the campus Oct. 30, 2009, to raise funds for the center. Aldrin held a news con-ference in which he fascinated an audience with a beautiful video pre-sentation of the Apollo 11 moon voyage. He also held a private eve-ning dinner for corporate sponsors at the Adolphus Hotel.

The day’s fundraising events brought in $86,600, but since then, efforts to raise more to finish the center have fizzled. In addition to his moon mission in July, 1969, Aldrin had an equally significant mission at Richland – to lend his inspiration, vision and legacy to the center.

Janet James, dean/executive as-sistant to president, said the $86,600 that was taken in was used to defray the expense of the events.

“They just broke even,” James said. “The target was $1.5 million. We just didn’t come close. The timing was such that the economy went south.”

someone with at least $1.5 million to spare

Since Aldrin’s visit in 2009, two retired Texas Instruments donors have contributed financially to-ward the center, James said. They are Robert W. England and Edwin B. Hassler. Yet it doesn’t come close to the amount needed to complete the center.

James said though the fundrais-ing efforts have not succeeded for the Buzz Aldrin Center, the plan-etarium won’t be idle.

“We need to put it in use as a classroom,” James said. “We will knock out the back storage area to expand the seating area. We’ll paint, put new lighting, freshen the carpet and use it as a class-room starting in the first summer session. It will be used as a general purpose classroom.”

The planetarium is closed this semester, but as soon as facilities services finishes renovations on the Office of Student life, they will begin work on it.

Michael Gorton, chairman of the committee that brought Al-drin to the campus in 2009, said the whole project has been put on hold, but he would like to pick it back up.

Gorton said he wasn’t sure now if there is the option to restore the planetarium for the Buzz Aldrin Center. There’s the possibility it could be built near Woodall Rog-ers Park. He said he has spoken to Aldrin about the center and that they both want to see the project happen. It’s just at a stalemate at this point.

For more information about the center, contact James at 972-238-6974 or at jjames@dcccd.edu.

JOYCE JACKSONA&E Editor

Wanted:

Inclement weather in the Lone Star State not only led to rolling blackouts, but also to food shortages in gro-cery stores. Many stores, including the Tom Thumb Supermarket in Rockwall, were unable to get shipments in for multiple days.

Produce Manager John Wilson said he nearly ran out of everything.

“We had gotten a truck in on Tuesday and then didn’t get another until Saturday,” Wilson said. “Most of my tables were empty, all thanks to those icy roads. When we finally did, it was probably three to four times the normal amount of stuff we usually get.”

The winter storm caused thousands of problems on icy roads, especially on highways and major interstates. The Texas Department of Transportation, along with other transportation agencies throughout Texas, worked numerous hours sanding the roads to make them more drivable.

The icy weather didn’t hinder fans in Dallas for the Super Bowl during the first weekend of February. How-ever, on Friday, Feb. 4, large chunks of ice fell from the roof of Cowboys Stadium, injuring six hired contrac-tors. Four had minor injuries but the other two were in stable condition after being struck on the head and shoulder by falling ice.

Winter Blows Into Richland

Image Credit - John Kosanke

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CAMPUS

Images credit - Jason Barry & Alice Robinson

Something for everyone: Richland Club Fair

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Editorial PolicyThe Chronicle is the official student-produced newspaper of Richland Col-lege. Editorials, cartoons, columns and letters are the opinions of individual students and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other individual stu-dent writers, editors, advisers or the college administration.

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EDITORIAL

Recently the world has had its eyes on Egypt and the unfolding revolution.

However, it would be impossible for us to see the country’s actions if it wasn’t for reporters.

These journalists have been brutally at-tacked by protesters and have risked their lives to report news back to America and the world.

This behavior from protesters in Egypt is nothing new.

Journalists have fallen victim to brutal attacks, torture, imprisonment and death in foreign countries for decades.

These acts of harassment have onlookers wondering if risky journalism to this extent is worth it.

As journalists at the Chronicle, we believe that although there might be great risk when reporting, it’s our job to expose the facts and inform the public of current events.

When most people see journalists being attacked, they wonder why anyone would want to risk their life to report the news.

But what we have to remember is that with almost every occupation there comes a great amount of risk, and without people willing to take those risks, society wouldn’t be able to function.

Even though we may not experience life-threatening mob attacks here at Richland, there may be situations that challenge us as journalists and put us in situations we may not be particularly comfortable with.

However, as members of the student press, it is our responsibility to report the news to the campus and do it to the best of our abilities.

The best stories are captured by journal-ists who aren’t afraid to take risks.

If you take a moment to think about the most interesting stories you’ve read in the paper or seen on the news, chances are those stories were reported by journalists who had to step out of their comfort zone to get them.

But the fact that you remember a story, that it stands out and that you’ve been able to recall it as the most interesting, is pre-cisely why journalists do what they do.

Anderson Cooper and other journalists have the same responsibility.

Seeing the violent videos of the report-ers (camera men included) being attacked by swarming crowds who are throwing rocks and punches can be a deterrent to aspiring journalists.

Nevertheless, there are thousands of journalism majors and reporters all around the world, watching these reporters risk all they have to report the news. In many cases, the events are viewed as inspira-tional.

Firefighters and police officers put their lives on the line every day, and realize the risk they are taking.

Journalists, especially those who travel overseas, are no different. When choos-ing the occupation, they are aware of the consequences.

A common answer among journalists about why they risk so much to report is that “communication is a common instinct.”

When you find a nugget of information that has potential to affect many people, like the protests in Egypt, it almost seems

to be a reaction to want to turn around and inform everyone around you about what you’ve just found out.

Alerting those around you of a situa-tion is natural. When prey senses danger, a typical reaction is to run. By doing so, they alert the rest of the herd. Journalism isn’t much different.

We also believe that journalists should have the option to go to foreign countries and report, but they shouldn’t be forced into risk-filled environments. There are many reporters who will jump at the opportunity to go to the front lines of an event just for the experience and the adrenaline rush, while there are others who would rather stay local.

Violence against journalists can make it extremely difficult to cover some of the world’s most important stories.

In countries where the government does not provide security for their journalists or support them, like Afghanistan and Soma-lia, reporters are on their own.

In many cases, journalists in foreign countries are told what to report and if they don’t report it exactly as specified, it can cost them their lives.

Usually, these stories end up being false, basically rumors and are extremely unreliable sources of information. These fabricated stories are typically published to embellish the image of the government and to hide disturbing truths from citizens.

In America, we’re extremely fortunate to have freedom of the press and qualified journalists who take the risk to report the news.

Journalist risk lives to report the news

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VIEWPOINTS

“

”

Yes. Otherwise the American media has full

control over what we know and those journalists who

give us the actual real news within the news. That’s what journalism is really

about – risking your life for the story or putting your-self in places where things are going on. If you take that out that’s not really

journalism.

Perry Leynor, Sophomore, Psychology

It’s extremely important to make sure that we do ev-

erything for the safety of our journalists but we must keep

lines of communication over in order to protect our

freedom.

“”

Lois Parrott, Faculty, Humanities

Definitely. When you think about it, there’s always a risk in everything. In order for

there to be an answer, there needs to be a question and

you have to go after what that question’s going for. Obvious-ly it means that we don’t know enough about what’s going on

there and so we want to get our own answers. It doesn’t always have to be American

journalists but it’s part of what the United States has always

done.

“

”

Eric Lara, Freshman, Music

Do you think that it’s appropriate for American journalists to go to foreign countries and risk their lives to report for American viewers and stations?

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When Alan Ross was a child, he took an aptitude test. When the results came back saying he would be an artist, his mother thought it was a waste of money. Ross thought it was hysterical.

“I never thought I would be an artist,” said Ross, who thought he would be an architect or an engi-neer.

Born in Chicago, Ross’s fam-ily moved to California where he grew up in the Sausalito area of San Francisco.

He went to the University of California at Davis and studied mechanical engineering but found it too confining. He transferred to the Berkeley campus looking for something that would resemble environmental studies but ended up in Forestry which was the study of the lumber business. He also took classes in photography and practical arts.

Photographer Alan Ross makes his North Texas debut

The photography seed was plant-ed over 50 years ago when Ross was in eighth grade and asked a fellow student on a school bus about the contact sheet he was holding.

Ross’s interest was piqued and a cousin gave him a plastic 35 mm Kodak camera. In high school, Ross upgraded to a Nikon and was on the yearbook staff as a pho-tographer. Ross carried his photo-graphic hobby through college and numerous changes in majors. He graduated with an independent ma-jor in Design/Photography.

Ross never regretted the changes which afforded him the opportu-nity to try several different artistic mediums. He took classes in the history of furniture, silversmithing, graphic design, music appreciation and had an extensive background in the sciences (physics, chemistry, calculus).

Out of college, he worked as a photography assistant in a San Francisco advertising studio and through that contact was intro-duced to Ansel Adams.

ROBIN D. EVERSONContributing Editor

Image credit - Robin D. Everson

Things weren’t always smooth, and Ross spent a time unem-ployed.

He got the Ansel Adams job help-ing with workshops for a year and it turned into full-time employment in Carmel. Ross assisted Adams for five years and in 1979 left to create his own advertising studio.

Some of Ross’s clients included Ladies Home Journal, IBM, Boeing and the National Park Service.

Ross teaches private workshops and his work is on display through-out the world.

The Ansel Adams Trust commis-sioned Ross as the sole producer of The Ansel Adams Special Edi-tion prints. Ross lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Julie and daughter Jenna.

The ALAN ROSS Black & White exhibit of gelatin silver prints is on display from January 20 through March 5 at Sun to Moon Gallery, 1515 Levee Street, Dallas. For more information, call 214-745-1199 or www.suntomoon.com.

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Drumming Up Support

GET ON BOARD!!!Looking For Steel Band PlayersMembers Wanted C.C. Island House is Seeking Talented Steel Band Members and Drummers.All Interested Candidates Please Contact Trini

Phone: 214-622-7819Or mail resume to: 2205 Foreman St. Dallas, TX. 75210

Seth Rogan and newcomer Jay Chou reprise the roles of Britt Reid and Kato in the remake of the popular ‘60s TV show “The Green Hornet”. The movie fol-lows the same story line as the TV series, in a two hour format rather than a 30 minute episode. The movie begins with the death of James Reid, a newspaper mo-gul, whose entire fortune is left to his irresponsible son Britt. He discovers that one of his father’s former employees, Kato, has more unused talent than he could ever imagine and the two decide to become modern day crime fighters.

The plot is just like any other action comic book movie released in the past 10 years. There are two main crime fighters and a bad guy, a man named Bloodnofsky, who is just about as scary as “My Little Pony”. The villain is an overage mobster that has a horrible accent; almost the same accent he has had in his other American made movie “Inglourious Basterds”.

Rogan plays the same slacker role he has played in almost all his other movies. The only difference between this and previous movies is that he has a gas gun that emits knock-out gas. In his defense he did have a gas gun in “Knocked Up”, but it didn’t come until the end of the movie and it was in the form of a baby.

Kato’s fight scenes are an awe-

some part of the movie. You can definitely tell that whoever played the role of Kato was going to have to be trained in martial arts. Bruce Lee played the origi-nal role of Kato in the TV series. Some other action scenes were awesome, but you could definitely tell where the wires were in other ones.

The movie was mediocre at best and not worth the $12.50 I paid to watch it in 3-D. It would probably be worth it if it was at the dollar theater or if a friend offered to pay for the ticket. The greatest part of the whole experience was that I went to the Inwood theater to watch the movie

PATRICK WYATTStaff Writer

and I sat next to a very attractive girl.

Image courtesy - art-wallpaper.net

The Green Hornetstrikes again

Bulletstorm is one of the most anticipated games out there this year. It’s a first-person shooter ac-tion game with its trademark, “kill with skill” gameplay. The game is set on a futuristic confederation protected by a team of black ops soliders called Dead Echo. The main characters you play as, are Dead Echo members Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato. They figure out that they have been working for the “wrong side.” They have been betrayed by their fellow commander and are banished to the end of the galaxy on an aban-doned planet where they are sur-rounded by mutant flesh eating gangs.

Your main objectives, obviously, is to get off the planet alive and to take revenge on your command-er who put you on that horrific planet.

You’ll be expecting over-the-top combat moves, extremely large guns (seriously, these guns are HUGE), and a collection of skillshots where the skillshot system actually rewards the players to provoke mayhem in the most creative way you possibly can. The more deranged skillshots, the more points you get to upgrade your character and be able to un-lock weapons. By doing this you are able to kill with even more creative and insane skillshots.

This game will be released Feb. 22 and will be available on the Play-station 3, Xbox 360 and the PC.

MARY CHANNELLLayout Editor

Game brings flesh-eating gangs on killing spree

Image courtesy - evilavatar.com

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Jude AyozieOn the morning of Feb. 3, 1993,

Jude Ayozie woke up only seeing a faint light in the corner of his eye. Doctors confirmed that abusive beat-ings by his stepmother caused brain trauma, leaving him blind.

With the loss of his mother at age 2, the abuse from his stepmother and the blindness that resulted, Jude could have easily given up. Instead, he persevered.

“There has always been a part of me that refused to give in. And that was my resolution to make a success story out of misfortunes,” Jude said.

He graduated from Richland Col-lege in 2000 with an associate degree and a 3.15 GPA. He later received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas and a master’s degree in education from the University of North Texas.

Jude became a Wall of Honor stu-dent in spring 2010.

Cynthia AndersonCynthia Anderson has had her fair

share of obstacles, and none were easily conquered.

Among her physical struggles, Cyn-thia has had cancer, cataracts, a brain injury, two strokes, diabetes, and is confined to a wheel chair. On top of that, she is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, where she lost everything in her home in New Orleans.

When she moved to Dallas after the disaster, she fought through her hardships and enrolled at Richland College as part of the Total Re-Inte-gration Program. Despite being out of school for 30 years, she excelled in her studies and became a Richland Honor student and a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

Her nominators describe her as someone who “never complains about her circumstances” and who encourages other students to do their best in school.

Cynthia was awarded a spot on the Wall of Honor in spring 2009.

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Francis LubuulwaFrancis Lubuulwa, from the AIDS-

stricken country of Uganda, is no stranger to loss.

His father died of AIDS when he was 10 years-old. His stepmother and stepsister were claimed by the disease two years later. Soon after, his mother revealed that she, too, was HIV positive.

Francis was sent to an orphanage in southern Uganda, where he realized his talent for music. In 2002, he was selected to go on tour performing Ugandan songs, dances, and drum-ming for an American fundraiser.

He earned several awards during his years in high school. He toured in America again in 2008, and re-ceived a scholarship from the Em-power African Children organization in Dallas. He used the scholarship to attend Richland College.

Francis gained leadership posi-tions in the Peace and Justice Club and the African Student Union, be-came a featured advocate for AIDS relief programs in Africa, and was awarded a Sharon Conine Scholar-ship for International Students.

Francis was added to the Wall of Honor in fall 2009.

Black History MonthRichland Wall of Honor students

For the Month of February, the Richland Chronicle will be running a series of features for Black History Month. These fea-tures will include individuals who the staff agrees personify qualities of leadership, forti-tude, and inspiration.

If you would like to nomi-nate someone from Richland to be included in a Black History Month feature, please come to the news room, El Paso Room 020, to speak with an editor.

Biographical information courtesy of Richlandcollege.edu. See other Wall of Honor students at Richlandcollege.edu/wallofhonor. Written By: Lindsey Juarez

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FEATURE

1 Bedroom, 1 Bath Walk to Richland College Washer and Dryer

Swimming Pool Covered Parking Gated Community

Located in a quiet community at: 9605 Walnut St, Dallas, TX 75243Conveniently near Richland College, Texas Instruments & Hong Kong Market

Easy Access to 75 N. Central Expy and LBJ I-635 Applicants must not have eviction(s) or prior rental obligations,

no criminal conviction(s), only non aggressive pets allowed

Monday nights really sizzle – with love, romance and sex – in two of the funniest sitcoms on TV. They are “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike and Molly” from 8 to 9 p.m. on CBS.

I think these two sex-driven comedies are clear-cut winners because they have three key elements that make the shows to-tally enjoyable: intriguing characters, really funny dialogue and a believable plot.

“Two and a Half Men,” starring Charlie Sheen, has been running since September 2003 and has been renewed through at least the 2011-12 season. It has been ranked among the Top 20 programs every season since the series began.

Let’s face it – Sheen is a hunk. It’s hard to take your eyes off him, no matter what show he’s in. He stars as Charlie Harper, a hedo-nistic jingle writer living in a beach house in California and driving a Mercedes.

Sex scenes sizzle on funniest sitcoms

Then, there’s his insecure brother Alan, played by Jon Cryer, who is quite the oppo-site: while Charlie sets the ladies on fire with his charm, Alan always does something to extinguish it with his awkwardness.

Their characters complement each other, and that’s part of what makes the show work so well.

Adding to the competition of the dueling Harper brothers, mainly over beautiful, sexy women and Alan’s living and mooching off Charlie, are other colorful characters that add even more humor to the show.

Angus T. Jones excels at playing the dim-witted teenager Jake, Alan’s son, who doesn’t

see himself as college material. Alan’s divorce from his neurotic ex-wife, Judith, is always there to haunt him and Jake gets bounced back and forth from Charlie’s house to Ju-dith’s.

Conchata Ferrell is excellent in her role as the Harpers’ mouthy housekeeper Berta, al-ways wising off about the brothers’ bizarre lifestyle and making smart cracks about their sexcapades with the ladies.

Both Charlie and Alan have no love for

their narcissistic mother, Evelyn, played to the hilt by Holland Taylor, but they do love Jake and put his interests first, no matter what the kid screws up.

The strong family element carries the show and makes it believable, even though it’s rather dysfunctional – but whose family isn’t in one way or another?

If there is a problem with “Two and a Half Men,” it might be with parents of young teenagers who think there’s a bit too many bed scenes and a lot of sex-related chatter – orgasms, penises – little is left to the imagi-nation. In one episode, even a white cocka-too in Alan’s bedroom is talking sex when the

blatant bird blurts out, “I’m a bad girl. Spank me.”

“Mike and Molly” isn’t quite as humorous as “Two and a Half Men,” but has somewhat stranger characters as part of a family com-edy. A new element is added in this show – both leading stars are obese.

It concerns two professionals, Chicago Po-lice Officer Mike Biggs, played by comedian Billy Gardell, and Melissa McCarthy as his love interest, school teacher Molly Flynn.

The plus-sized couple meet at an Overeat-ers Anonymous meeting and the romance lights up. The emphasis on food and over-eating permeates the show, which comple-ments the other characters, none of whom are overweight. Perhaps the funniest charac-ter on “Mike and Molly”

is Billy’s sourpuss mother, Peggy, played by Rondi Reed. Reed is a riot as every son’s nightmare.

Between her sarcasm toward Molly, who becomes Billy’s girlfriend, her nagging about “her rat-bastard husband” who ran off with a hooker and her ugly little dog, Reed steals the show in every scene she’s in. I can imagine every young man cringing if he has a clinging vine like her for a mother.

The pencil-thin Swoosie Kurtz as Molly’s

JOYCE JACKSONA&E Editor

mother, Joyce, and Katy Mixon as her other daughter, Victoria, add a lot of pizzazz to the show with constant sexual chatter.

The attractive Victoria beautifies dead people and seems to resemble one in some scenes when she appears to be spaced out on drugs – the writers really play this up with sexy dialogue that contrasts with Mol-ly’s conservative thinking and teaching job.

Along with Mike and Molly’s ongoing romance are Billy’s co-worker, Officer Carl McMillan (Reno Wilson) and his friend and Senegalese waiter, Samuel (Nyambi Nyam-bi), who runs a restaurant. Both provide even more humor by offering faulty advice for the insecure Billy as he struggles to win Molly over.

If there is one fault I find with the show since its inception, I would say that Mike and Molly’s romance ignited much too quickly – just after the first few shows they had already jumped into bed together. Ev-ery show thereafter has a bed scene either at her house or at his apartment.

It’s a bit overdone and puts too much fo-cus on their sex life. I would have liked “the chase” to take a little longer before the lov-ers got that serious about their relationship.

It’s hard to beat either of these sitcoms for one hour of pure entertainment. I can’t help but wonder, however, what direction “Mike and Molly” will go after this season.

While it seems to be as strong a show as “King of Queens” or “That 70s Show,” I’m wondering if either Mike or Molly lose weight as the show progresses, how will that change their relationship, since it’s based on their obesity? If they end up being thin, then the show might lose its focus. Only time will tell if the series will last, but for now, it’s a hit, and so is “Two and a Half Men.”

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Transfer now and start your career with UNT. www.unt.edu/transfertoday940-565-4104

Jerrell TaylorSenior English major

UNT was my #1 transfer choice.“ With a wide range of programs to choose from,

extremely knowledgeable professors, reasonable tuition and a great location in DFW, UNT was clearly for me. At UNT, I found a place where I fit in and they’re helping me become the person I want to be.”

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